After
a three month refinish of the hull and other work in a Pearl Harbor dry-dock --
which the Japanese failed to destroy along with all the sub and fuel depot
areas on December 7, 1941 -- the USS Missouri is back in water next to the USS
Arizona. The USS Arizona was the only battleship that could not be returned to
service after the Japanese sneak attack (a few other smaller ships also were
un-repairable) and the USS Missouri was the ship where the Empire of Japan
signed the formal surrender documents in Tokyo Bay which ended armed resistance
of the last enemy state of World War II on September 6, 1945.
There is a plaque on the deck marking the exact spot where General Douglas MacArthur accepted the surrender. General MacArthur was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor on 1 April 1942.
Tsutomu
Yamaguchi had the distinct (bad) luck of being in both Hiroshima and Nagasaki
when both were bombed using atomic weapons. He was burned by the Hiroshima
bomb, spent the night in hospital, went back home to Nagasaki, and was there
when Bock’s Car dropped the 2nd atomic bomb (of a totally different
design than the one dropped by the Enola Gay on August 6, 1945). He was
certified by the Japanese Government as being the only person – though later on
there have been confirmed cases of others who were in both cities but none
certified by the Japanese Government.
The Seattle Museum of Flight on Saturday the 23rd of January at 2 PM will have Oregon-native Elgen M. Long, author and consultant on the recent movie about her becoming an aviatrix, give a presentation on the movie and the book. Cost is $55 for Museum members, $70 for general admission and $30 for designated drivers.
When looking to recover a plane that went through the ice last year in 500 feet of water, they discovered a Tiger Moth at the bottom of the lake also. Now they are trying to raise both of them back up.
http://www.bclocalnews.com/bc_thompson_nicola/clearwatertimes/news/79104622.html
Ambassador Pierre Vimont told the crowd assembled in Roanoka Virgini December 9th : "Today we are honoring a true hero, a legend indeed . . .the sign of my country's exceptional recognition of Captain Overstreet's heroic contribution to the liberation of France." The Legion of Merit was established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802.
Bill flew P-51, nicknamed “Berlin Express” in the 357th FG when he chased a German Bf 109G aircraft over Paris and THROUGH the Eiffel Tower. The German was hoping the local German AA gunners would shoot the P-51 down but they did not and Oversteet shot down the German.
http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/229101
Bailing out of his flak damaged B-24 in the Loire Valley in the fall of 1944, this Liberator pilot evaded the Germans and joined the French Resistance fighting with them for three months before making his way back to Allied lines.
http://www.rossmoornews.com/articles/2010/01/06/news/community_news/11world%20war%20ii%20bomber.txt
A local diver seems to have discovered a nearly intact SBD-5 “Dauntless” dive bomber off the coast of Maui. Only 5 of these were ever reported as being lost off of Maui. A local fisherman complained to the tour operator about fish hiding under the wings and he could not catch them.
http://www.starbulletin.com/news/breaking/81750822.html
Osprey Combat Aircraft Series has two new books out about the C-47 / R4D twin engine transports of World War II ISBN:1841767506.
In these two detailed, well-illustrated works, veteran military and aviation historian David C. Isby gives up a concise overview of the operations of American C-47 and R4D "Skytrain" aircraft during the Second World War.
· C47/R4d Units of the ETO and MTO. Osprey: Oxford, 2005. Pp. 96. Illus, diagr., append., notes, biblio., index. $22.95. ISBN: 978-1-84176-750-5
· C47/R4d Skytrain Units of the Pacific and CBI. Osprey: Oxford, 2007. Pp. 96. Illus, diagr., append., notes, biblio., index. $22.95. ISBN: 978-1-84603-046-8.
http://www.strategypage.com/bookreviews/430.asp
Luther flew 133 missions out of North Africa and Italy before being forced to bail out of the P-51 Mustang when the engine caught fire while on a mission and was captured in Yugoslavia on 13 October of 1944. He died Wednesday December 9, 2009 at Bryn Mawr Hospital.
“Days after then-Lt. Smith was captured, an SS officer stood over his hospital bed and asked him, "You volunteer to fight for a country that lynched your people. Why?"
Before he was liberated in May 1945, he said, he was often asked by the Germans why, as a black man, he was fighting for the United States. "He would become indignant and respond that he was proud to serve his country," his son, Gordon, said.”
http://www.philly.com/philly/obituaries/79116537.html
Lyon Air Museum is now open as of December for vintage aircraft.
The only flying B-26K in the world left the Lynch family owned Billings Aviation flying off to a new home much further south than Billings Montana -- to investors in Texas. It will undergo restoration to WW II era status and then likely go onto the air show circuit.
http://billingsgazette.com/news/local/article_ae82e25c-fdac-11de-90e8-001cc4c002e0.html
On June 13, 1944 Lt Kushe’s P-38 was damaged in air combat with the Luftwaffe and he was flying it down the ground for a crash landing when his flight path put him into a possible collision with a house – and he instead turned the aircraft toward a different direction which resulted him being killed.
"During World War II, the local people did not speak about such events," Braun wrote in an e-mail. "It was too dangerous. ... At the end of World War II, the story did spread like wildfire among the few local people and was soon written down in the local history. But nothing more happened for many years."
U.S. Navy Machinist Mate First Class Charles Gatto was the gunner on TBF “Avenger” torpedo bomber and is credited with 6 confirmed victories. He flew 35 missions in the Pacific during World War II. He almost had to bail out when an ammo can caught fire during a fighter attack but he got the radio man to put out the fire. Good thing it worked since after they landed they found out the parachute was full of holes from the Zeros guns. In a TBF the radio operator and gunner stowed their parachute below the turret and they had to leave their position at the radio or turret, get the parachute, and then bail out from the bottom. The pilot would bail out from his cockpit after opening the canopy.
Author Robert Dorr, who has an article "B-17 to Berlin" in the February 2010 issue of Combat Aircraft magazine, is looking for anyone who participated in 8th AF Mission #817 that went to Berlin on February 3, 1945 (either side) and bombed the Tempelhof marshalling yard. He is doing research for his next book. You can contact him via e-mail at: robert.f.dorr@cox.net 3411 Valewood Drive, Oakton, Virginia 22124 (703) 264-8950
Under the overall banner of “The American Experience” PBS Boston is putting on a 1 hour show on the Combined Allied bombing strategy during World War II on February 8 & 10th 2010.
This is the web site for the Boston PBS station http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/schedule.html which produced it.
The Bombing of Germany TV show lasts for 1 hour. Locally in Portland it premiers on Monday February 8th at 9:30 PM and repeats on the 10th.
http://www.opb.org/television/programs/bombing-of-germany-american-experience/
“In World War II British and American Allied forces carried out a bombing campaign of unprecedented might over Germany’s cities . . .”
Verne Woods has a set of photos that he took while in the 91st BG (Heavy Bombardment) that is posted on the web site. He is featured in the episode.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/bombing/photoGallery/
Called WW II in HD this is a compilation of the History Channel TV series using WW II films that were filmed in color with 8 or 16 mm cameras (likely Afga & Kodak negative, maybe some Kodachome) and then transferred into the High Definition format. Each episode is centered on a persons’ experience during the war and then they found color film to fit into that person’s combat history.
Previews of what was in the series is at the History Channel: http://www.history.com/content/wwii-in-hd/videos
MSRP start at $29.95 and goes up with various DVD combination packages when bought online at the History Channel web site.
“On Dec. 20, island resident Eva Friotofson read a Daily News article about efforts of a French organization called The Normandy Association for Air Remembrance to find relatives of Graham, whose P-47D fighter plane crashed after being hit by German flak. Graham died Aug. 13, 1944, at the age of 20. His daughter was born Dec. 6 the same year.”
Graham was a P-47 “Thunderbolt” pilot in the 350th Fighter Squadron of the 353rd Fighter Group in the Eighth Air Force.
From the Armarillo.com web site Galveston Texas:
http://www.amarillo.com/stories/122709/new_news17.shtml
France has awarded 1069 World War II veterans with France’s Legion of Honor since 2004.
The British archive system is different than the USA – with different release rules -- than the US archives. The BBC published this simple guide to get started in researching military service.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/familyhistory/get_started/archives_01.shtml
They reference the British archives web site: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/
In addition there are LOTS of genealogy web sites out there. One site that lists lots of references (more than on my taphilo.com web site) specific to military research is at:
Does anyone know if there is a DFC chapter in Oregon, or
Washington? Web site, POC, meetings?
Last issue an article about a TBF gunner who was credited with two kills in the Pacific was unusual in getting credit; in the ETO lots more gunner claims filed and in a book I read where a B-17 gunner was credited with 7 – but is there any definitive list showing claims and credits to aerial gunners?
If people who put in claims could you send me the number you claimed and what you were awarded (or know where to find out this info) please send any information that you have to me. Chapter members are especially requested to send me this info so we can add that into your record.
There is a book for the US Navy claims by Frank Olynyk's which includes some gunner victories.
How did the British handle this – credit to the crew or to the person?
WORLD WAR II AIRPLANES / ZERO FIGHTER is an iPhone application developed and sold by Headway Inc. with the express permission of Zokeisha Publications Ltd., the owner of the copyright of the original book The Great Book of World War II Airplanes. Continuing on from the Zero fighter, Headway is planning to develop a series of iPhone applications for a number of the other great airplanes featured in The Great Book of World War II Airplanes, such as the P38 Lightning, the P-51 Mustang, etc. A Japanese edition of the present application is scheduled to be available within 2010.
[Editor’s note: I have the original books.]
Tom Rozga flew an L-5 Stinson as an artillery spotter over Iwo Jima – and that plane is still around and flying.
Rozga plans to attend a reunion of the survivors of the Battle of Iwo Jima in February in California. The aircraft owner, Polley plans to bring the plane to that reunion event.
http://www.thevillagesdailysun.com/articles/2010/01/22/news/news02.txt
Down in Savanna you can become part of the 8th Air Force for three days by paying $1,941 and become an aircrew on a B-17.
The company that puts this on re-creates mission planning, dance etc as if it is 1943 and gets you into a flight simulator for you “mission” but afterwards a real B-17 – The Liberty Belle – you go flying for an hour and a half. WW II Adventure is the company and only mission planned so far is on January 29-31. Other dates announced at random – just like in the war. http://www.wwiiadventure.com/
In January of 1943, Magee was a ball turret gunner in a B-17 Flying Fortress on a bombing run on the Atlantic coast of Nazi-occupied France. During the raid, his plane, called the "Snap! Crackle! Pop!", took enemy fire and broke up over the U-boat yards of St. Nazaire. Acting quickly, Magee escaped his turret and jumped from the flaming bomber without a parachute. Because of the altitude, Magee lost consciousness mid-fall before smashing through the glass roof of St. Nazaire's train station. Hours later, he awoke to find German doctors putting him back together. His injuries included a broken right leg and ankle, a nearly severed right arm, and 28 shrapnel wounds from shards of glass.
Dr. Seth Izenberg, a trauma specialist at Legacy Emmanuel Hospital in Portland, Ore., says that while a fall from 20,000 feet sounds incredible, the extreme height makes little difference. "Anything above 10 or 12 stories and you've reached terminal velocity. So a fall from 20,000 feet sounds dramatic, but there's really no difference from a 500-foot fall."
In 1944 a tail turret gunner jumped from his aircraft in the middle of winter also without a parachute – falling through pine trees then into a large snow drift – he walked out, got captured and then was asked where his parachute was and stated he had none. Not believing him the guards make him go back to where he fell, discovered it was true – then he made the guards sign statements attesting that he did indeed land uninjured without a parachute – he knew no one would believe him.
U.S. Army Air Corps Sgt. Murray Dunst repaired the radios of P-40s in China during WW II. As part of the 14th Air Force stationed at Chungking the unit he supported was formed from the disbanded AVG squadron on 4 July 1942.
http://www.mydesert.com/article/20100129/NEWS01/1290309/Dunst+kept+P-40+fighter+planes+communicating
"88 Days" by Byron Van Fleet - The story of Clem Pine (Klamath Falls resident) who flew with the 351st (25 missions including the Aug. 15, 1943 Schweinfurt mission) and then volunteered for another tour of duty. He was assigned to the 91st BG and on his 4th mission was on one of the planes in the 324th Sqdn hit by the Luftwaffe on Aug. 16, 1944. Lowell Getz describes the action in "Forty Seconds Over Eisenach" in "Mary Ruth Memories of Mobile". Clem was on ship "613" as the tail gunner and was wounded and bailed out and became a POW. His days as a POW included participating on the Nazi Death March in Feb. 1945. This was a part of the war I had heard nothing about.
(Note - Last week I visited Clem in Klamath Falls and interviewed him and parts of his story will be included in my book, along with stories from other vets I have been able to interview over the past year.)
"Lucky Dog" by Douglas Holt - I met Doug last summer in Mequon, WI. He is a member of the EEA and helps host events in WI when the Aluminum Overcast is on tour. The book is his personal story covering the period from when he enlisted in March of 1943 through Sept. 1945 when he received his discharge. Doug was a pilot with the 381st BG. The book is based on entries from his flight logs. He covers his time in flight school and his 35 missions.
(Note - I interviewed Doug in Sept. 2009 in Mequon)
"Brother Bob's War" by Ralph Ekwall - The author tells the story of his brother who served in the 15th AF in the 99th BG. This is the guy who did a mass mailing to the 91st GG member list. He writes about a lot of topic beyond his brothers missions (war strategies, fighter aces, the B-17 story, etc.). He also spends time talking about "Brother Bob's life in the Ekwall family. The book held my interest for some time, but I got tired of reading about "Brother Bob" this and "Brother Bob" that. I found the number of typos and formatting errors a distraction and want to make sure my end product is proofed thoroughly and end up a better product.
I would give "88 Days" a very high recommendation, "Lucky Dog" a good recommendation" and "Brother Bob's War" a lukewarm recommendation at best. It is the only book I have in my home library that I probably will not reread.
Reviewed on this web site (http://www.energypublisher.com/article.asp?id=26544
) the book by Michael and Elizabeth Norman is a heavily researched book about the Bataan Death March and the aftermath. Interviews with hundreds of survivors, local Filipino civilians, and Japanese soldiers, this delves into both how it occurred, the military mistakes which General Douglas MacArthur made in the field which caused a lot of suffering before the surrender, as the march itself, and the “hell ships” that took some 125,000 prisoners to Japan as slave laborers of which some 12,000 died enroute due to both Japanese deliberate maltreatment as well as ships sunk by subs and bombed by US planes since none of the transport ships were marked as transporting prisoners.
Hardback from 17.99 and in paperback.
Hardcover: 480 pages ;Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux; 1St Edition edition (June 9, 2009) ISBN-10: 0374272603 ISBN-13: 978-0374272609
John Ahrens was a crew chief in the 479th Fighter Group which flew both P-51 and P38s out of England and then later on moved into France and maintained aircraft at the the front lines across France, Belgium and Germany on field bases.
“I never lost a pilot. A couple of my planes cracked up on landing, but I only lost one plane. I called my last pilot ‘the kid’ because he was younger than I was. He was 17, I was 19,”
He was earned the Good Conduct Medal, the American Campaign Medal, European-African-Middle East Medal, Campaign Medal with Bronze Star, the World War II Victory Medal, a Presidential Unit Citation and an Honorable Service lapel button.
http://www.wellsvilledaily.com/news/x1920348514/Ahrens-awarded-WW-II-medals
Col. Archer was one of the pilots of the Tuskegee Airmen and
went into the 302 Squadron of the 332nd Fighter Group in Italy
initially flying ground support missions in a Bell P-39 “Air Cobra”. The unit
later transisitoned to the P-51 Mustang where in a fight over the Danube in
October of 1944 he shot down three German fighters in a single engagement. He
also is credited with destroying six aircraft on the ground. He is also the
only pilot of the Tuskegee airmen recognized as achieving “Ace” status during
the war.
In October of 2005 he and three other WW II Tuskegee airmen went to Iraq to visit the current members of the 332nd Group.
He died at the end of January.
The 15th Air Force out of Italy had a different set of combat situations than the 8th. The Air Force Command considered that the Italian / Mediterranean front to be much easier than what was facing the 8th Air Force out of England so the mission requirements were higher. In the MTO – Mediterranean Theater of Operations -- flying 50 missions before finishing a tour was normal for a bomber crew. Cliff Stone was a pilot of a B-24 with the 763rd Squadron of the 460th Heavy Bombardment Group of the 55th Wing of the 15th Air Force in the European theater of operations in Italy who while on his 50th mission was shot down and spent the rest of the war in Stalag Luft I, Barth “Rest Haven on the Baltic” after his capture.
He died January 21st in El Dorado Kansas.
http://www.eldoradotimes.com/news/x867963175/Losing-a-friend
Over in the Pacific flying the number of missions before a tour was officially over varied widely . Alvin was a gunner in a B-29 and flew over 30 missions before the war ended as a CFC gunner. The B-29 had remotely controlled turrets so that a single person could fire the top and bottom turret while a person still manned the tail turret.
He was a member of the CAF – Commemorative Air Force (originally called
Confederate Air Force until Political Correctness forced the name change some
years ago) and owned 3 WW II a/c at one point in time.
He died in January in Atlanta Georgia.
http://www.ajc.com/news/alvin-theron-george-84-284970.html?cxtype=rss_news_128746
LSTs played a pivotal role in allowing the allies to launch invasions all over the world. These ships were built to land on beaches – and not built to take a lot of battle punishment.
On December 15, 1944, Mindoro Island was the target of a US invasion force and in that force was a lot of LSTs including LST 605.
This is an account of one of the first really successful Kamikaze attacks by the Japanese during WW II against invasion shipping.
“Thirty seconds, separated me from another appointment with death.”
From a discussion board:
“Howard Camp, a fighter pilot friend, flew both P-51s and P-47s in World War II. I once asked him which airplane he preferred. “It depends”, he replied without hesitation, “on whether you are shooting or being shot at. You want the Mustang if you are shooting and the Thunderbolt if you are being shot at!”
Congress set the date for the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) Congressional Gold Medal ceremony for March 10, 2010 at 11 a.m. at the U.S. Capitol.
Here is a press release from Senator Hutchison’s office: http://www.hutchison.senate.gov/WASP.html
B-17s, B-24, and B-25 and other aircraft are already on tour around the southern USA. In Florida at Fernandina Beach one woman learned from a WW II waist gunner, Larry Carastro who bailed out of the plane, about the day her father died at the controls of his B-17 over Anzio, Italy.
http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2010-02-06/story/world_war_ii_history_is_also_a_family_history
Yes, there is an association for the B-17s. A newsletter is published by Don R. Hayes; 1640 Cambridge Drive; Walla Walla Washington, 99362. Web site http://www.airwarb17.net/ ; e-mail: b17assndhayes@bmi.net Don is a retired Lt. Col., USAF.
There will be a new book coming out soon called “Splendor in the Skies Echoes from the Past” which will have 250+ accounts from the men who flew in the B-17 during World War Two over Germany.
The B-17 was used in the Pacific thru mid 1943 when it was replaced by the B-24. The B-24 had a longer range of operation and due to the large amount of over-water flying required in the Pacific to get to strategic enemy bases this limited the B-17 as to what targets could be hit from the few bomber bases available in the Pacific.
Outside of Vicksburg there is a now a P-51D replica of Cary Salter’s aircraft that he flew during WW II at Jackson’s Hawkins Field. “Charlotte’s Chariot” was his assigned aircraft that he flew from December 1944 until the end of the war. This replica was created by Vicksburg’s Dan Fordice, one of the owners of Fordice Construction of Vicksburg.
There are also other restored aircraft at Southern Heritage Air Museum at the Vicksburg-Tallulah Regional Airport in Mound.
http://www.vicksburgpost.com/articles/2010/01/31/news/doc4b6516fe67ad8124476815.txt
US
Postage Stamps Honor 4 Naval PersonnelOn February 4 the US Postal Service issued a set of 4 stamps honoring four different Naval Personnel starting from the Boxer Rebellion thru World War II.
John McCoy got his two Medal of Honors from his actions in the Boxer Rebellion where he was wounded and in Mexico in 1914.
This is part of the "Distinguished Sailors stamps" series.
http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=50876
On May 29th is the start of the Cascade War Birds Fly-in for the weekend and on the same day at the museum there is a Tuskegee Airmen Panel that takes place.
On June 12 there is an American Fighter Aces Panel which just happen to co-inside with the 75th Celebration of the B-17.
On August 21 the 475th Fighter Group is having a reunion panel.
Check the museum web site for exact times. www.sprucegoose.org
B-17 Ball Turret Comes to Life
For more than a year, EAA volunteers and staff have been working to get
Aluminum Overcast's ball turret operational again. Only a few B-17s in the
world have working turrets, and a few weeks ago, EAA's spun for the first time
since WWII. Watch how the ball turret works, as well as what went into getting
it operational again. http://www.eaa.org/video/eaa.html?videoId=71171263001
In the March 20th issue of “Shotgun
News” www.shotgunnews.com on page 42 is
an article where people can try their hand at shooting down aircraft with WW II
(or any era) type machine guns – model airplanes that is. “Actually, the
ultimate challenge is shooting down a plane that’s shooting at you.”
It gives a brief history of WWII gunnery training and then talks about how they built RC model aircraft and then fly them along the range giving people a chance on trying to hit them.
In Tillamook Air Museum on the Oregon coast there is a real WW II RC model that was used by ships’ gunners for target practice. Scaled to fly and act like a real aircraft at 2 miles out, but only flying around 500 yards from a ship, one ship banned use of it since none of their gunners shot it down during practice.
In '67-'68 in RVN, I flew several artillery missions with Gerald "Pappy" Devine. After one such mission he was awarded the DFC, one of 12.
I got to know him well. He flew combat missions in three conflicts. I was told by a high ranking DA DCSOPS official at a Rotary club meeting that Pappy had enough wartime service that he retired as a W4 and was advanced to LTC at age 60. He told me that Pappy had died (I think (93 or so.)
Pappy told me he went to Canada as a 17 year old and joined the RCAF and flew in the battle of Britain in Hawker Hurricanes-then shipped over to the US Air Corps where he flew P-51s and later P-47s in Asia. He also flew combat in Korea in F-51s and F-80s. He was in the Air Force Reserve. When Viet Nam started, the Air Force wanted him to fly a desk so he went to Sen. Mike Munroney (sp) who got him an appointment as a Warrent Officer in the Army. He flew three tours in RVN in Birddogs and was later assigned as curator of the Army Aviation Museum at Ft Rucker. He had enough war time service plus the last tour to retire as a CW4. The DCSOPS guy I told you about told me that at age 60, Pappy was advanced to his USAFR rank of LTC.
I believe my info to be as accurate as 40 some years will allow.
Don Mohr, COL USAR RET
In a 2008 “Milk Run” an article about tail gunner SSGT Robert Otto, of Everett WA, talked about him going to Austria for the dedication of a painting called “LIBERATOR”, honoring American airmen who helped liberate Austria.
He subsequently wrote a book of his experiences called “A WALK WITH GOD”. It is available by contacting him at 425-355-1505 or via Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=A+Walk+with+God+by+Robert+Otto&x=11&y=26
HBO is showing a 10 part series about the Pacific War, like what they did with the ETO ground combat series “A Band of Brothers”. However, unlike a lot of WW II movies made during and through the 1970s, this series does not have WW II veterans playing WW II veterans.
From Phil Richart:
“A fair number of actors and athletes were involved in D-Day, the strangest story is the actor Richard Todd who played Major Howard at Pegasaus Bridge in "The Longest Day", at one point he speaks to another actor playing . . . Richard Todd! He was a junior officer at the bridge! “
Please help me to identify an old pin that I recently inherited. It is silver with black enamel. The image appears to be a walking eagle, holding a torch in one talon.
I found that this image, carrying a torch was used on a patch for the Royal Air Force, flying training school. The motto below reads: "Proof by Trial". I cannot find any info on the net. Thank you, Frances Panczyk, RN.
World War II, just like WW I, trained and used dogs in combat, especially in the Pacific.
Dogs are not allowed to awarded medals – officially anyway.
http://ricks.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2010/02/19/rebecca_s_war_dog_of_the_week_chips_the_brave
Three went to war, one came home at the end of the war.
Raymond Check was part of the 306th BG.
http://www.bismarcktribune.com/news/columnists/article_ec816ea0-d72f-11de-8d1d-001cc4c002e0.html
From Phil Richart:
I had the privilege of
participating in two interviews with Arthur Chin several years ago, it was
interesting to hear him describe flying Arados (likely Ar 65s) and the Heinkel
"Ein-und-funfzig" (German for 51), he also flew an aircraft from
the school at Schleissheim to Berlin for the fly-over at the Olympics
although he didn't participate in the actual event. All of his victories
were in biplanes, Curtiss Hawk II and Gloster Chinese Gladiator Mk I. In the
course of the second interview it was noted that he had dropped out of High
School to learn to fly and never graduated. The Principal of Benson High School
was contacted and a review of his student records (They still had them!)
revealed he was short only one point towards graduation. The ground school
portion of learning to fly alone satisfied that requirement. Being
commissioned in the Chinese Air Force and achieving the rank of Major and his
various accomplishments was over the top. As a sidelight, on arriving in
China the Americans found difficulty in joining the Chinese Air Force (The
Chinese INVENTED bureaucracy!) They discovered that each Provincial War
Lord had an Air Force so they joined the Canton Air Force! It was as
a member of that organization that Chin went to Germany.
If you are doing research this may help you.
|
D: History (general) |
|
|
DA: Great Britain DB: Austria DC: France DD: Germany DE: Mediterranean DF: Greece DG: Italy DH: Low Countries DJ: Netherlands |
DK: Former Soviet Union DL: Scandinavia DP: Iberian Peninsula DQ: Switzerland DR: Balkan Peninsula DS: Asia DT: Africa DU: Oceania DX: Gypsies |
In
1945 this Curtiss SB2C “Helldiver” crashed on a ferry flight, and it seems to
now been found again by loggers near Rockaway beach on March 18th.
The Helldiver, also known as "the Beast," but Christian Gurling, curator at the Tillamook Air Museum said it was also "plagued by problems."
"In the earlier planes, the pilots were told to not dive for fear the planes would fall apart," said Gurling. "Which wasn't good for a dive bomber."
On July 18, 1944, his group was assigned to attack Memmingen, Germany where an aircraft plant was located for a total of 155 B-17s. Like those out groups flying out of England, bad weather forced many of the groups back, caused a missed rendezvous with the fighter escort – and thus 14 out of the 26 B-17s fell to enemy fighters.
Bailing out Charlie thought he did not have a parachute, but in the breakup of the B-17 as he fell through the nose he grabbed a chute lying in there and thus had it – but only after he had fell a few thousand feet and then realized he a chest chute on.
Lying about his age so he could join, Reginald Earnshaw joined the merchant marine at 14 and was dead at 14 years and 152 days when he was killed on the SS North Devon on 6 July 1941 by attacking German bombers.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8498113.stm
This Long Range Navigation system was developed during World War II so that better radio navigation over water was possible. The Coast Guard shut them down after President Obama called the system obsolete and that GPS has replaced this old system. There is no backup system for GPS.
19 of the 24 stations were shut down on February 8, 2010.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/02/08/loran.navigation.shutdown/
What makes that phrase so rememberable – at least to the people who have seen “Tora Tora Tora” movie, is that he is the man who told the radar operators that phrase on December 7, 1941 based upon the assumption that they were B-17s flying in from the mainland.
It was his 2nd day on the job, with no instructions and no training overseeing the new radar station on Oahu.
He died January 23, 2010.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/26/us/26tyler.html
Best known for his part in the “Mission Impossible” TV series, but his breakout role was in the movie “Stalag 17” where he was, actually, a German spy trying to stop breakouts out of the POW camp. William Holden was also in the movie as the main character which the story revolved around.
A true gold medal, The Congressional Gold Medal, made in honor of the WW II WASP pilots will go on display somewhere in the Smithsonian Institution, while each of the remaining will get a bronze version.
38 pilots died during WW II, almost 2000 were recruited and trained, some 1100 or so are left alive. Only in 1977 were the women given veteran status.
http://www.enterprisenewspapers.com/article/20100314/NEWS01/703149878/0/ETPZoneLT
At FedEx with have the MD-11 which of course we call the "Mad Dog" but the MD-10, being a DC-10 with an MD-11 cockpit, is called the "Angry Puppy"
Mustangs & Mustangs Features Fighter Aces in Florida April 17
Third in the Living History Symposium Series, "Victory in the
Sky" will also take place Saturday, April 17, featuring American
Fighter Aces of World War II. This elite strata of combat pilots shot down five
or more hostile aircraft in air-to-air combat, becoming living examples of
courage and service. Legendary P-51 Ace Col. Clarence E. "Bud"
Anderson will be headlining the panel of heroes during the
interactive symposium.
Don't miss this chance to meet several WWII Aces and see their glorious chariot of choice: the North American P-51 Mustang. This symposium is presented in conjunction with Mustangs & Mustangs.
Both brothers were navigators at the same time in the same squadron in Italy. Both completed 50 missions.
"Surviving combat is 99 percent luck and maybe 1 percent skill. But as the guys always tell me, ‘You better have that skill when your luck runs out.'"
Earl Shanken, Navigator, 722nd Squadron of the 450th "Cottontail" Bomb Group.
http://www.mydesert.com/article/20100326/NEWS01/3260310/Twin+navigators+flew+bombing+missions
As a pilot of the B-17, Jack Hitt flew 47 combat missions. He later flew 35 combat missions as a P-51 Mustang fighter pilot.
Hitt won two Distinguished Flying Crosses and eight air medals.
"You know what DFC stands for, don't you?" he said. "Don't fly combat."
Gentis participated in one of the largest raids of the war during a mission to Berlin on Feb. 3, 1945.
"There were about 5,000 planes that took part from dawn to dark," he said. "We were told it would be 10/10 coverage — full cloud cover, which meant we wouldn't see the target. The lead aircraft had a Pathfinder radar. We would release whenever they would. We weren't in radio contact."
http://www.tulsaworld.com/business/article.aspx?subjectid=45&articleid=20091031_45_E1_WorldW21078
On March 2, 1945, "Possible Straight" [his B-17] was part of a formation being pummeled by enemy fire. He had lined up a waist machine gun on an enemy fighter, but nothing happened when he pulled the trigger.
Varnedoe used gloved hands to open the ammunition box - it was 40 degrees below zero at altitude so you couldn't touch metal with bare skin - and found a bent link in the chain of bullets that fed the machine gun, fixed it, and within a moment had turned his attention back outside the plane.
"They had shot down both of my wingmen," Varnedoe said, and also the plane that had been in front of his.
"The war wasn't over yet," he said.
http://blog.al.com/breaking/2009/10/world_war_ii_veteran_takes_fir.html
Four
of the Eight remaining “Doolittle Raiders” met at the Air Force Museum. The
four were retired Lt. Col. Richard E. Cole, 94, of Comfort, Texas; Maj. Thomas
C. Griffin, 92, of Cincinnati; Lt. Col. Robert L. Hite, 90, Nashville, Tenn.,
and Master Sgt. David J. Thatcher, 88, of Missoula, Mont. As part of the event
a flyover of B-25s were staged in their honor. 17 privately owned B-25s from
throughout the country were on the museum runway to help celebrate the occasion.
April 16 is when then Col. Doolittle lead his land based B-25s off the deck of the carrier USS Hornet and attacked various targets throughout the main island of Japan. Damage was little, but the psychology damage to the Japanese – and the morale lift in the US and the rest of the Allied world - plus the direct military changes in keeping planes in Japan to protect against another raid, did alter the Japanese strategy in 1942 and for the rest of the war.
http://www.retirees.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123201041
From Tommy Garcia, via the 398th BG Newsletter published a list of all the B-17s known left in the world. 13 are flyable, 21 are on static display, 12 are undergoing restoration, and 4 are in storage giving a total of 49 known airframes.
There are plans to create a Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial in Washington DC on a four-acre site at the base of Capitol Hill between 4th and 6th Streets SW, south of Independence Avenue.
There is a statue of him outside of Bayeux, France (in the middle of a round-a-bout) but there nothing in DC other than a few of his quotes on the WW II memorial.
http://www.eisenhowermemorial.org/
The Rev. Richard J. Hardman, 87 was stationed on a converted oil tanker turned flattop, the USS Block Island, flying TFB Avengers on 8 to 12 hour patrols at night when the sub they were hunting sunk it.
He ended up with a land vacation in Casablanca.
http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2010/apr/02/veteran-spotlight-priest-was-once-a-wwii-navy/
This aviation museum now owns an SNJ-3 – the Navy version of the AT-6. They have a P-63, P-51s Skyraider and other a/c.
http://www.legacyflightmuseum.com/
Nick Knitter, 90 years old, was finally awarded a Bronze Star in Galloway Wisconsin at a VFW ceremony after his caregiver found papers stating that he was put in for it in 1945 but the paperwork never went through.
http://www.wkowtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=12270263
WASPs were everywhere, and they have settled everywhere, and in Fairbanks, Alaska, Nancy & Virginia were presented with their by Senator Lisa Murkowski.
2nd Lt. Robert L. Giles was over Berlin on April 18, 1944, when their plane was attacked by Luftwaffe fighters and set on fire. Staying in the aircraft as it was on fire and starting to go out of control, he got his wounded bombardier, Lt. Quintin Brown, into a parachute dragged him to and then out the hatch, before getting out himself.
They both spent the rest of the war in Stalag Luft III.
A person received an Air Medal after every five missions, but he was shot down before it could be awarded to him.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g8fXuDTdqbFaf9mLteHsRAtsAFJAD9ETQN501
Morris was one of two men who actually armed the atomic bomb carried to Hiroshima by the Enola Gay.
He flew only 1 combat mission during the war which was on August 6, 1945 flying out of Tinian.
Navy Capt. William S. Parsons installed the charge for the uranium compression explosion while Lt Jeppson armed the electrical system and the three fuses it used which set off the other charge.
Lt. Jeppson likely "put the last thing into the bomb that made it hot," said Dik Daso, curator of modern military aircraft at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum.
He stated that his wife's car had a bumper sticker that read:
"If there hadn't been a Pearl Harbor, there wouldn't have been a Hiroshima."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/06/AR2010040604104.html
The campaign to keep Malta supplied from 1940 thru 1943 was one of where both naval and aircraft had to work together to get supplies through. Being a fighter pilot on Malta from 1941 thru 1943 was a very dangerous place to be stationed during this timeframe. Lt Macqueen was KIA on 4 May 1942 during an air battle.
He was an ACE with 5 confirmed kills when he died.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/north_east/8623165.stm
Bill Seitz, a B-24 “Liberator” Pilot who flew 85 missions from 1943 thru 1945 as part of the 15th Air Force which operated in the Mediterranean Theatre of Operations (MTO) flying missions out of both North Africa (Tunisia)and later Italy, and ended up his WW II combat missions in the 344th squadron, 98th Bomb Group, 47th Wing, was surprised with an awards ceremony and a flight around Oregon this past April 8 on the anniversary of his last WW II mission. On the April 8, 1944 mission he was the lead plane, lead squadron, lead group for the whole 15th Air Force into Germany -- some 1000+ bombers.
No one shot at him this time around.
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2010/04/world_war_ii_pilot_takes_to_th.html
Veterans are invited to share their first-person military accounts, which will be recorded free of charge as part of the Library of Congress’s Veterans History Project between 1 and 5 pm. You must call and schedule in advance.
Ten 45-minute interviews will be conducted, and preregistered veterans will also receive free admission. Those who participate in this exciting opportunity to archive history will be mailed a copy of their interview, which will also be donated to the Library of Congress.
Contact APH at (503) 560-1945 or Joan E. Hamilton JHami828@aol.com to pre-register for interviews and visit www.ohs.org for more information.
Starting in the fall of 1942 Betty Oelke decided she wanted a job in the Willow Run aircraft plant which was starting to make B-24 “Liberators” 4 engine heavy bomber for the war. Though at 18, and a newlywed, she joined in to what became a 40,000 person around the clock work force turning out B-24 at that single Ford plant.
A complete B-24 -- ready to fly off to the fitting out depot – rolled off the assemply line every 55 minutes – 428 a month at the peak.
Every worker had to be trained first before they could work – there were no
skilled aircraft people in the immediate area – so it took a long time before
the factory reached that production speed in 1944.
B-17 tail gunner Jon Kaiser felt the AA shell hit on the #2 engine and could see the result so he bailed out – not knowing that the pilot had told to crew to stay put till they got back over Russian lines – he lived and the rest didn’t.
He became a POW on March 31, 1945 and was liberated just three weeks later.
He went flying again in “Aluminum Overcast” as it is making its tour around the USA.
http://www.independent.com/news/2010/apr/24/flying-aboard-fortress/
Shot down near Brussels on the return leg of the October 20, 1943 mission to Schweinfurt ball bearing factories (60 B-17s were shot down) he was able to evade capture and make it to Spain using the “Comet Line” escape organization which is estimated to have helped 700 airmen evade capture during the war.
When out celebrating his birthday while evading: "I gave the first guard my Belgian ID card and got through it. Then the second guard came and asked me in French if I'd already shown my identification. I somehow saved myself with my high school French. And this was what I said, 'Oui, oui.' Those words saved my life."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/22/AR2010042205666.html
In the Oregon / Washington 8th AFHS Chapter area we have a number WW II book authors.
Clayton Kelly Gross wrote “Live Bait”; ISBN-10: 1592991866 ISBN-13: 9781592991860. He was in the 355th FG and ended the war with 6 victories. You can buy it from him directly. 2306 SE Spyglass Dr, Vancouver, Wa 98683-5102. 360-254-2829 www.ww2livebait.com $29.95 plus Shipping/Handling $4.50.
Al Gould wrote “Millions of Ghosts Plead . . . Don’t Forget”. Al flew in the 8th was shot down on 7 January 1944 and was POW # 2767 at Stalag Luft I. ISBN 0-9659081-8-6. Hartley Press, PO Box 2657, Gearhart, Oregon 97138. $25 plus shipping.
C.M. Graham wrote “Under the Samurai Sword” about his POW experiences from the fall of Bataan till his liberation at the end of the war. He spoke at our 8th AF meeting a few years ago. Self published back in 1998. He was with the US Army, Field Artillery, Battery "G", 60th CA (AA) Ft. Mills - Corregidor, Camp Cabanatuan, Fukuoka camp #17 (Omuta). C. M. Graham; 1942 SW Canyon Drive, Unit 212; Redmond, Oregon 97756-7146 Phone: 503-789-3969. $25.00, includes shipping.
Col Lewis L Millett died at the age of 88 last November 14, 2009. Having served in three wars, WW II, Korea, and Vietnam, he won a Congressional Medal of Honor for leading the very last known US bayonet charge during the Korean War with M1 Garand rifles. They charged up Hill 180 near Osan on February 7, 1951 and captured it and then held it. The battle is now known at Battle of Bayonet Hill. He had lead an earlier bayonet charge on February 5. He was a Captain at the time of Easy Company, 27th Infantry.
Hill 180 is located near the distinguished visitor’s quarters above the 51st Fighter Wing Headquarters, Bldg. 1097, 7th Air Force, Korea.
There is now a WASP museum at Interstate 20 at 210 Loop 170, Avenger Field, Sweetwater Texas. The museum is there but their mailing address is P.O. Box 96679, Washington DC 20090-6679. WASP web site address is www.waspmuseum.org .
Over 25,000 applied, 1,830 were accepted, 1,074 got wings. 12,650 planes were flown from one field to another by the WASP.
Speaking of WASPS, Amanda Brown Meachem went flying again in an AT-6 (SNJ) at the age of 93 down in Florida on April 23, 2010.
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/04/23/1595641/surviving-wasp-93-fulfills-dream.html
Nothing reminds the people of Russia of the end of WW II like the May 9th parade in Moscow – which for the first time US, British, French troops were allowed to march in. 10,000+ Russian Federation soldiers marched in that parade. Over 102,000 soldiers marched in various parades throughout the country.
One of the best museums to visit in Russia is the Volgograd (Stalingrad) museum. No displays are in English, so find someone who reads Russian or find a good translator program if you go.
Flying in both WW II and Korea – where he was shot down strafing a truck in his F-86, he was one of the best fighter leaders during WW II. He had 20.5 confirmed victories in WW II in both the ETO and Pacific.
“I should never have gone after that truck,” Mr. Mahurin told the Gannett News Service in 2006. “You never want to trade a $500,000 airplane for a $50,000 truck. I figured, well, I’d go shoot that up and then I’ll have a good story to tell the boys at the officers’ club when I get back to base. And of course I never got back.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/16/us/16mahurin.html
Edward Uhl, Co-Inventor
of Bazooka, Dies at 92He was in the Ordnance Corps after he enlisted in 1941 and in 1942 came up with the idea of using a tube to hold the 60mm rocket that propelled the shaped charge grenade that would hit a tank. The name “Bazooka” came from the music instrument that comedian Bob Burns used in his act.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/17/business/17uhl.html?src=busln
She worked at the Sepulveda VA hospital for over 30 years.
An Audie Murphy web site: http://www.warfoto.com/AudieMurphy.htm
The
Flying Heritage Museum http://www.flyingheritage.com/ will roll out two of their AFVs – Armored Fighting Vehicles – a T-34/85 WW II
Russian tank and a German tank destroyer. The museum is located at Paine Field
at Everett. The Hetzer Jagdpanzer 38(t) Tank Destroyer is the other AFV that
will drive out on display this memorial day weekend. The 38(t) was built on the
Czech chassis tank type 38 – hence the name.
If you are in Seattle on Memorial day you can see some special vehicle events. The Puget Sound Military Vehicle Collectors Club will be there, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Memorial Day. The planned scheduled is to drive and fire the T-34 tank at noon, fire a Flak 88 artillery gun at 1 p.m. and drive and fire the Hetzer at 2 p.m.
http://blog.seattlepi.com/aerospace/archives/206632.asp?from=blog_last3
July 10-11 Flying Legends
August 20 American Air Day
September 4-5 The Battle of Britain Air Show
October 10 Autumn Air Show
It was dedicated on May 15th by the local 95th BG members as well as US and UK military personnel. The crew were killed when the plane crashed after taking off from Horham. Kenneth B Rongstad; Warren M Strawn; Richard E Diete; Joseph F Spicer; Gail A Richmond Junior; Gordon V Sorensen; Charles E Phinney; Louis M Mirabel; Julius W Torok; and Kenneth Cosby were the crewmembers.
If anyone has information about the crew, photos etc,
contact Janet Norman-Phillips at pc@redlingfield.suffolk.gov.uk
A flyover of a DC-3 was done during the ceremony.
Betty Oelke was a bride at 18 and a war-worker building B-24s at 18 and 1/3. Spending 6 days a week, plus overtime, building as fast as possible B-24 Liberators at the Ford operated Willow Run plant.
A slide show about Willow Run plant can be found here. 291 images.
http://public.fotki.com/Kos/members_photo_galle/wiilow_run_bomber/?cmd=fs_slideshow
Over 8000 B24's were built at the Willow Run complex during WWII.
If you are around Seattle on June 17th, a Thursday, there will be an anniversary party and hanger dance at the Museum of flight for the B-17.
Boeing has a B-17F that has been restored.
If you are in the mid-west you can visit a B-17E that is being restored.
Arrange via EAA Chapter 22 and
Contacts:
B17 project: Mike Kellner. Phone:
815-568-9464 Email: B17man@t6b.com
EAA 22: Elroy Hilbert. Phone: 815-543-473 Email: elroye61102@yahoo.com
EAA 1414: Lee Hilbert Phone: 847-652-3526 Email: leehilbert@comcast.net
The story of the B-17E s/n 41-2595 “Desert Rat” can be read here:
http://www.aerovintage.com/rat-4.htm
Airport Info: Ferris RLA (62IL) on Chicago Sectional. 4 miles South of Marengo
20805 E. Anthony Road; Marengo, IL 60152 Phone: 815-558-0581
Air Nav
Link: http://www.airnav.com/airport/62IL
Here is a video created and posted onto YouTube on how the 1940 era four course radio range worked – using a WORKING four point radio range system created at K43TN airport from Airlines Transport Communication corporate aircraft.
“The original four course ranges were very large because they operated in the very low frequency range, requiring 200 foot high towers with wide spacing. This model system operates in the high frequency 28 MHz band, so it is much smaller.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-VqtNY8vpw
On my web site I have a verbal explanation of how it works along with other radio navigation aids of the WW II era.
Related news: the LORAN station in Alaska was demolished in April since the 1000’ tall antenna was rusting out and they wanted a controlled destruction of it.
Spiegel is a news magazine that has been around for a long time. Since the re-unification of the two Germanys archives from the East have been found and are now being reviewed and in some cases published. Here are some photos taken during the final days and soon after of what was left of Berlin in 1945.
Some very graphic images.
http://www.spiegel.de/fotostrecke/fotostrecke-54631.html
“Bird with a Broken Wing” was written by Larry J. Bellarts in 1995. ISBN 0-8323-0514-6. Published in Portland, Oregon by Binford & Mort. Larry now lives in Hood River. Larry flew combat missions in WW II, Korea and Vietnam. He was shot at by all types of a/c and AA guns in WW-II- including a Me-262 who got his three wingmen down and was shot down by Larry’s tail gunner before the German could shoot down Larry’s B-17. We have that story in detail in our archive.
“Remembering My War” was written by Lt. Col. Paul E. Armentrout, USAF (Ret). ISBN 0-9759158-1-9. Printed by The Best Little Printhouse in Town, Eugene, Oregon. Paul flew 30 missions in B-24s in the 446th BG(H) 2nd Air Division, 8th Air Force. The book lists all his missions with maps, photos, statistics of each.
“North African Odyssey” by Norris H. Perkins in 1995 published by Four Mountain Productions in Portland Oregon. ISBN 0-9638442-1-0. Norris was a tank commander in North Africa in the 66th Armored Regiment and was also in on the invasion of Sicily in July of 1943.
“The amazing story of Sergeant Jacob DeShazer” originally published in 1950 by Hoyt Watson who worked at Seattle Pacific College. ISBN 1-878559-00-1. Jacob was one of the Doolittle Raiders (crew 16, last ship off the Hornet) who was captured in April of 1942. 8 were captured, three were executed on trumped up charges by the Japanese, one died of malnutrition, and he and three others survived. He died in 2008.
“Easy Company Solder” by Sgt. Don Malarkey w/Bob Welch. ISBN 0-312-37849-1 St Martin’s Press published in 2008. Easy Company was made famous by the book “Band of Brothers” and then the HBO series of the same name about this one company in the 506 Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division of WW II. Their web site: www.menofeasycompany.com/
“A WALK WITH GOD”. Tail gunner SSGT Robert Otto, of Everett WA, went to Austria for the dedication of a painting called LIBERATOR in 2008, honoring American airmen who helped liberate Austria. He subsequently wrote this book of his experiences and it is available by contacting him at 425-355-1505 or online at Amazon.
These books can be found on Amazon.com
Please let me know of other local authors in the Pacific NW of books concerning WW I, WW II, Korea, Vietnam, Gulf War etc.
“Liberators Over Norwich The 458th Bomb Group (H) at Horsham St. Faith 1944-1945” (Amazon link) by Ron Mackay, Mike Bailey, and Darin Scorza. Published date set for June 16, 2010.
Lawrence Fick, a member of our local 8th AFHS chapter in Oregon, was in this unit from July 1944 until the end of war ending up as lead navigator for the group.
Home Page of 458th BG (H) http://www.458bg.com/
“Splendor in the Skies – Echoes from the Past” is a collection of over 200 stories (250+ pages) of the air war against Germany. Don R. Hayes has collected these stories and the book is at his editors for the summer. He is the editor of the publication for the B-17 Flying Fortress Association and was in the 97 BG(H) 4141 BS; 1640 Cambridge Drive, Walla Walla, Wa 99362. B-17 Association web site: http://www.airwarb17.net/
From official records . . .
From Pearl Harbor through September 1944, B-24 accidents in
the U.S. have resulted in 2,188 fatalities. In the first 9 months of 1944,
B-24’s did only 6% of total flying
in the U.S. but accounted for 26% of all fatalities. They flew 5% less than
B-17’s but had 105% more fatalities and 85% more wrecks. Had the B-24 had as
good accident rate as the B-17 during the period 7 December 1941 through
September 1944, there would have been a saving of 230 aircraft wrecked, 904
lives, and approximately $60,000,000.
Bill Steitz has stated that he went back to the 15th AF in Italy for another tour of combat since he felt it was safer in combat than training new pilots in B-24s. The above bears this out.
Getting there in October of 1944 still meant a lot of dangers lay
ahead to Marvin Hendrickson and the rest of the crew.
Jim Larson photo of B-24 and a new Me-262 flying in formation together near Whidbey Island with Paine Field in the background.
http://heraldnet.com/article/20100606/NEWS01/706069881
“Despite head wounds and other injuries, Finn, the chief of ordnance for an air squadron, continuously fired a .50-caliber machine gun from an exposed position as bullets and bombs pounded the Naval Air Station at Kaneohe Bay on Oahu. He then supervised the rearming of returning American planes. “
"Here they're paying you for doing your duty, and that's what I did," Finn told The Associated Press before his 100th birthday. "I never intended to be a hero. But on Dec. 7, by God, we're in a war."
He was the oldest of 97 living Medal Of Honor recipients still living from World War II.
He was awarded it on September 15, 1942.
http://www.navalhistory.org/2010/05/27/remembering-lt-john-finn-usn/
Unexploded Bombs – UXB (also sometimes referred to as UXO - Unexploded Ordinance) – are all over Europe and the Pacific. On June 3, 2010 a thirteen man team was trying to disarm one at a construction site when one of the two fuses that were used on US 1000 lb bombs finally set it off. It could also have been a delayed action bomb that whose timer malfunctioned when it hit and never timed out, but it finally did when it was disturbed.
Gottingen was bombed by the 96th BG (H) on May 9, 1943.
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/36758/
The mailing address for the museum is P.O. Box 456, Sweetwater, TX 79556. The phone number is (325) 235-0099 and website is www.waspmuseum.org . For more information people can e-mail Sharron Davis, the museum’s executive director, at waspinfo99@yahoo.com.
Memorial Day weekend at Sweetwater, Texas the museum had
its annual WASP Homecoming event. Seventeen of the women veterans returned to
Avenger Field where they learned to fly military airplanes in World War II. The
photo is of several of the women veterans sitting along the wishing well near
Avenger Field on May 29, 2010 … it was a WASP tradition that the first trainee
who soloed in her class was thrown into the wishing well. The statue in the
middle of the wishing well was made by WASP Dorothy Swain Lewis (who is seated
in the middle of the picture with a tan-colored purse between her feet). A
duplicate statue is at the USAF Academy in Colorado Springs.
The Boeing B-17E that went to war and then ended up in a New Guinea swamp, came to a Long Beach California unveiling on June 11.
The plane was struck by enemy fire in 1942 while bombing Rabaul, New Guinea. When it began to lose fuel at a drastic rate, Pilot Fred Eaton crash-landed into what appeared to be a grassy field. It took the crew six weeks to get back to safety
Fred Hagen and B-17 enthusiast, restaurateur and antique aircraft collector David Tallichet spent more than $1 million on excavating the aircraft and getting back to the USA.
http://www.scpr.org/news/2010/06/11/swamp-ghost-comes-home-unveiled-long-beach/
The Battle of Midway when fought from June 4 thru 6 1942 and involved aircraft carrier and land based aircraft on the US side. The Army Air Forces had a variety of a/c on the island to support it – including Martin B-26 Marauders – which the one Jim Muri flew was named “Suzie Q”.
Jim Muri performed a torpedo attack against the enemy carrier fleet targeting the Akagi and then fought against and survived a fight with Japanese Navy Zero pilots. Muri’s plane was riddled by anti-aircraft fire and bullets from attacking Japanese fighters. Muri probably saved his crew with an improvised maneuver. He banked hard and flew right down the length of the Akagi’s deck, correctly guessing that Japanese antiaircraft gunners couldn’t swing their guns fast enough to shoot him down. When he got back to Midway over 500 holes were in his a/c and three crewman had been wounded. He was 24.
http://billingsgazette.com/news/local/article_a23d83ea-7029-11df-affb-001cc4c002e0.html
Tech Sgt. Fili flew 34 missions, the last one was in “Destiny Deb”, when he was shot down over Romania and became a POW in April of 1944. “Passage to Valhalla II,” which is the memoir being republished after the initial printing in 1991, he wrote to honor of the 79,260 airmen killed during air battles over Europe (editor: not sure which nations that total is for) and to remind future generations to help prevent constant wars.
http://www.delcotimes.com/articles/2010/06/02/news/doc4c05cc24bf3be058795872.txt
At the Bath Iron Works in Maine on June 5, a new US Navy 9,200-ton Aegis destroyer
was launched and named in honor of the admiral that was in charge of one carrier battle fleet during the Battle of Midway.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gsyDQwoRUKFXZ26RzOI-Ow-nshYgD9G59E3O2
On September 27, 1944, a bombing mission into Germany would go down as the highest loss in history for a bomber group in a single day's battle. 20 B-24s were shot down over Kassel Germany.
On New Georgia at Munda airfield a local resident named Graham Sale was wearing a chain of six old dog tags that he had found while digging next to the old Japanese then later on American Airfield. Shane Elliott, 44, of Washington state, works on research vessels in the South Pacific and in spare time does research of WW II sites. He wrote down the names from the dog tags and then became a detective since one of the six names in the chain, Edward Brennan Healy, 39 a gunner on a B-24 was presumed KIA since their plane nor any of his crewmen have ever been found.
http://www.ajc.com/news/dekalb/66-years-later-missing-538792.html?imw=Y
D-Day in France was just another mission day for the 15th Air Force in their air campaign against Germany and their allies. 2nd Lt Milton Friend was navigating his B-24 to Ploesti when after the bomb run a pair of Bf-109s came through and set the right engine on fire. “Because the gas lines on a B-24 were located in the wings, the planes "had a reputation for blowing up," Friend said; and so 9 of the 10 men were able to bailed out. Recued by the Chetniks, which were fighting the Germans and were led by Gen. Draja Mihailovic he was behind enemy lines for 66 days until the US Army sent planes behind German lines and rescued him along with 500+ other airmen who had evaded German capture.
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/66-years-after-d-day-boynton-veteran-recalls-729757.html
This web site lists all the training classes that the WASPs were in, where, and who was in them.
http://wwii-women-pilots.org/classlists/clslist.html
Hard to tell that it is a model.
http://www.hyperscale.com/features/2000/b17gkh_1.htm
Of course there is lots of interesting items for sale. You can buy the whole maintence B-17 on a CD for $15.00.
After the famous “Tidal Wave” mission to the Ploesti
refineries of 1 Aug 1943, the 8th AF units, 44, 93 and 389 Bomb
Groups , stayed around for a few more months flying some really long missions
into Austria – without any fighter escort. The first mission went off well –
the Germans were caught off guard on August 13. The 2nd mission to
Austria on 1 October 1943 they had upped the defenses, likely installed radar,
and per Clint Gruber who flew the missions:
“At the target the flak was very heavy, and swarms of German fighters bored
in. The hard luck 44th BG (they called themselves "The Flying Eight
Balls"), was especially hard hit. The force of 73 B 24s lost a total of 14
planes shot down over or near the target and 8 of those were from the 44th. The
93rd lost only one, and I believe it was the same for the 389th. Over the
course of the 2,000 mile trip we had been in the air over 12 hours.”
Does anyone know if spent .50 caliber shells unloaded from bombers were reloading in England? Did they send them back to a factory for reloading or were they hauled off the bases as scrap to be re-melted down and then reused in the war effort that way?
If anyone knows about this, please send me, secretary@8thafhsoregon.com an
e-mail.
They are on tour with the P-51C a/c and are of course trying to raise money to fund and fully restore it ($16 THOUSAND + for a new prop!).
http://www.redtail.org/ They have nice “thank you” gifts when you donate to them. I got the hat.
This aircraft carrier turns 53 on August 10, and they are throwing a party for it.
http://www.ussranger.org/ USS Ranger Foundation
DATE: Tuesday, August 10, 2010; TIME: 10:00 am; LOCATION: Chinook Landing Marine Park ;Fairview, Oregon (Just North of Blue Lake Park at 223rd and Marine Drive)
MORE: Join Former Oregon Governor Victor G. Atiyeh , City of Fairview Mayor
Mike Weatherby , and other special guests to hear an important announcement
regarding Ranger's future in Fairview.
Project Muddy Hill Reunion ; Scottsdale AZ
2nd Week of Nov 2011..
VP4 NW Breakfast Gathering Sep 12 2010 Seattle
VP4 P2V Officers Group Reunion 9-12 2010 Seattle
West Coast VP Officers Reunion 22-24 2010 San Diego
VP4 Veterans Association 13-16 2011 Jacksonville
Contact Bob Zafran at vpfourever@gmail.com for details.
Bob will be presenting at the November meeting on PMH.
Local Vancouver resident and P-51 Ace Clayton Gross when
to Air Ventures and saw a P-51 that has been restored back to look like the a/c
that he flew in WW II.
“Clayton Kelly Gross walked slowly toward the P-51 Mustang, the one with "Live Bait" painted in bright yellow on the nose, the aluminum skin gleaming as bright as a mirror, and looked at himself.
For a moment he was 23 years old again.
Hovering nearby Wednesday morning, soaking in the moment, were the Mustang's owner and restorer. They wanted to pay tribute to a fighter pilot, an American ace, a hero. They wanted this plane to look exactly like the P-51 Mustangs Gross flew when the skies above Europe were a death zone of lethal buzzing aircraft.”
http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/99516449.html
The idea of showing support for the troops and that someone in your family is serving by creating a blue stared flag and hanging it in your window, and a Gold Star if that person was killed, dates back to the 1st World War of 1914-1918.
Grantham University http://www.grantham.edu/ sponsors, since 2006, this revived tradition.
“In honor of all of the brave men and women in uniform, MyBlueStarFlag.com offers a FREE Blue Star Flag to service members and their families. “
http://www.mybluestarflag.com/
An SB2C-4 Helldiver will tried to be pulled up from 85 feet of water this August..
“The plane had been undisturbed since May 28, 1945. On that date, Navy pilot E.D. Frazar was forced to ditch in the lake when the big plane’s engine failed. Frazar and his passenger, Army gunner Joseph Metz of Ohio, survived the water landing and swam a couple hundred yards to shore. Both men have since died, but family members are aware of the recovery effort and some of them plan to be here.”
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/jul/14/prep-work-beginning-raise-wwii-plane-otay-reservoi/
The pilots and aircrew got all the press, but the ground crew who worked through the night preparing battle damaged aircraft, or just normal work, allowed the pilots to get the glory – and always the danger. Joe Parker was a ground crewman on Spitfires in 602 squadron before the war, and was one of the men who made it possible for “The Few” to defeat the Luftwaffe in 1940 England.
"When we were called up, we all thought it would last for two or three weeks and then we'd be back home, but I didn't get back home for seven years.”
When 602 was transferred down into 11 group as a replacement unit "It was only meant to be for 10 days, but the squadron they were taking over from had been reduced to only four aircraft and four pilots. The ground crew were originally bedded down in dog kennels which they were going to put up with for the 10 days.”
Supply ships, aircraft, trucks kept everyone (mostly) with what they needed, but one of the most dangerous runs to supply the front line troops was the Murmansk run due to the cold sea, long daylight hours, and German bases in Norway which often were just an hour away from the convoy. John Laid went on this run twice on the SS John Gibbon and came back.
http://www.delmarvanow.com/article/20100710/NEWS01/7100324
In the movie “Action in the North Atlantic” the ship is on the Murmansk run. One of the best lines (there are many) in the movie is the last one – it pretty well sums up the whole 1942 -1943 Murmansk run risks. Convoy PQ-17 (40+ ships) was almost completely wiped out during this timeframe – only weather saved them all from being sunk.
1930s came up with a lot of a/c types and the Defiant was a hybrid – looked like a fighter but had a powered turret facing backwards and no guns for the pilot. The first combat experience for the UK flyers in 141 Squadron was great – the 2nd combat engagement on the 19th of July 1940 was not so great. Only 3 made it back out of the 16.
Robin Lucas talks about flying it during the Battle – as a replacement pilot after the first group almost got wiped out. The plane was assigned to fly as a night fighter after daylight operations proved too deadly for the aircraft and in that it worked well.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/kent/hi/people_and_places/history/newsid_8840000/8840802.stm
“Hear that?” Corippo, co-founder of the Estrella Warbirds Museum in Paso Robles, asked with an exuberant and knowing smile. “Hear that hum? Only the C-47 makes that sound. You can tell it’s coming without even seeing it.”
The C-47 made it easily to Wisconsin , not surprising since it was only build in 1944 and still going strong. Sent to Europe after the Normandy invasion, it went on to serve in all the major parachute drops and resupply missions for the rest of the war.
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2010/07/26/1227726/paso-robles-warplane-takes-off.html
Trained as a signalman Bill Ross was on the USS McCawley when a Japanese aerial torpedo struck it and damaged it on June 30, 1943 near Rendova Island. During the night they stopped their salvage operation and got off and were waiting for daybreak to get back on and try and get it going again but US Navy PT boats thought it was a Japanese supply ship and sunk it with THEIR torpedoes.