Showing posts with label Aircraft. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Aircraft. Show all posts

Sunday, March 17, 2024

Monday, March 17, 1924 Telephones and grim news.

The first around the world flight attempt was commenced by the United States Army Air Service.  The aircraft consisted of four Douglas World Cruisers.


The initial leg of the trip was from Santa Monica, California, to Seattle, which was the actual departure point.




Today In Wyoming's History: March 17: St. Patrick's Day1924  Work began on a dial telephone system at Guernsey. 

If Guernsey was getting good news, there was grim news on this St. Patrick's Day for central Wyoming residents.



Last prior edition:

Saturday, March 16, 2024

Thursday, March 16, 1944. Lucky Legs II


One of the most iconic photographs of World War Two was taken on this day in 1944, that being a rare combat action photograph.  The subject was M4 Sherman supported infantrymen on Bougainville.

From Sarah Sundin's blog:

Today in World War II History—March 16, 1944: US Air Transport Command begins airlift of 5th Indian Division from Arakan in southern Burma to reinforce besieged Imphal and Kohima in India.

The Japanese Indian Ocean Raid ended inconclusively with lackluster results, and Japanese atrocities.

The Tautoq sank the Shirakumo east of Muroran, Hokkaido.

M2HB being fired at Japanese installations on Manus Island, Admiralty Group.

US and British aircraft sank the U-392 in the Strait of Gilbralter.

President Roosevelt addressed Finland:

March 16, 1944

It has always seemed odd to me and to the people of the United States to find Finland a partner of Nazi Germany, fighting side by side with the sworn enemies of our civilization.

The Finnish people now have a chance to withdraw from this hateful partnership. The longer they stay at Germany's side the more sorrow and suffering is bound to come to them. I think I can speak for all Americans when I say that we sincerely hope Finland will now take the opportunity to disassociate herself from Germany.

 


The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, the predecessor of NASA, proposed a jet-propelled transonic research airplane be developed, which would leads to the "X" series research airplane projects.

Bell X-1, which would first fly in 1946.

Last prior:

Wednesday, March 6, 2024

Monday, March 6, 1944. "Black Monday"

The first large scale daylight bombing raid on Berlin occured.  The raid, remembered as Black Monday, involved 814 bombers and 944 fighters from bases in southern England.  69 bombers were lost.

Miss Donna Mae II sustaining damage after the B-17 drifted under another B-17 dropping its bomb load. The plane would go down with all eleven crewmen.

P-51 pilot Donald Blakeslee would fly the first such aircraft over the city.  An early American fighter pilot, he first joined the RCAF in 1941, he served in the USAF until 1965 and passed away in 2008 at age 80.

For those watching Masters of the Air, it is depicted in Episode 7.

The Red Army took Volochysk.

Finland rejected a Soviet peace proposal that included interning German troops that were inside of Finland and restoring the 1940 borders.  The proposal was very similar to what the Finns would accept the following September and represented, effectively, a defeat, which is likely why it was not accepted, in part, at this time, although it was also surprisingly generous on Moscow's part.


Company B, 2nd Chemical Bn. Cassino area, Italy. 6 March, 1944.

The U-744 was sunk in the Atlantic, and the U-973 was sunk in the Arctic.

Orderlies from 25th Field Hospital loading wounded Chinese soldiers into airplane.

Albanian partisan Ramize Gjebrea age 20, was executed by a partisan firing squad for "immoral behavior", that being having intercourse with a male partisan.  She was engaged to another person.  The charge was denied by both parties, but she was convicted and, on this day, shot.


This is interesting partially as Albanian partisans were Communist dominated, but as was often the case with Communist partisan groups, and even Communist societies, traditional morality was strictly observed even though Marx had expressly rejected it and Communist revolutionaries most definitely did not observe them.

Baker City, Oregon, weather station.


Wednesday, February 28, 2024

Saturday, February 28, 1944. Foreigners in the Wehrmacht.


In what was becoming a late war rarity, German and Estonian's in German service decisively defeated the Red Army's first Narva Offensive.  The Estonian's were mostly recent volunteer conscripts, brought into service after Estonian leaders urged an end to an Estonian boycott of German conscription in hopes of defending Estonia from being retaken by the USSR.

The German 14th Army renewed attacks against the US VI Corps at Anzio.

Ukrainian's in German service carried out the Huta Pieniacka Massacre of ethnic Poles, killing between 500 and 1,200 people.   The actions were carried out principally by police units of the 4th SS Volunteer Galician Regiment and the14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Galician), which were under German command at the time.

The 14th Waffen Grenadier Division continues to have fans in Ukraine today, who deny its association with atrocities.  Many of its surviving members, who surrendered to the Western Allies late in the war, were allowed to immigrate to the United States and Canada in 1947, in part due to the intervention of Polish General Anders who knew some of its commanders due to their pre-war Polish Army service.  In spite of claims to the contrary, the early arrival of the Cold War clouded their association with atrocities, which were accordingly not well known at the time, as Anders intervention demonstrates.  The unit was sufficiently well thought of that a memorial to Ukrainians bearing their unit symbol was put to them in St. Volodymyr Ukrainian Cemetery, Oakville, Ontario.

Aviator Hanna Reitsch visited Hitler at Berchtesgaden to receive a second Iron Cross.  She suggested kamikaze like volunteers there to fly piloted variants of the V-1.  Hitler rejected the idea as a waste of resources.

Reitsch survived the war and went on to a long post-war life. She never disavowed her association with Hitler, but did heavily alter her pre-war racial views.

Sunday, February 25, 2024

Friday, February 25, 1944. Operation Avalanche concludes.

Operation Argument, the "Big Week", concluded.  The last raid was as combinedone by the US 8th and 15th Air Forces on the Messerschmidt works at Regensburg and Augsburg followed by the RAF hitting the same target that night.

Regarded as an Allied victory, actual results

  • On 2/20 the 1st, 2nd and 3d Bombardment group failed to reach its target and attacked their secondary targets.
  • On 2/21 all the 924 bombers launched failed to hit their assigned targets and all hit secondary targets.
  • On 2/22, 252 B-24s were assigned targets, but only 177 were launched and only 74 saw combat action.  None of the 33 B-17s in the 3d Bombardment Division reached their targets as they were all recalled due to weather conditions.
  • 2/23.  All operations were suspended due to bad weather.
  • 2/24.  The RAF conducted an ineffective raid on aircraft plants at Schweinfurt.
  • 2/25/26 The RAF carried out an accurate and effective raid on Augsburg, destroying 60% of the city.  It had been hit earlier than day by the 8th and 15th U.S. Air Forces.

During the offensive, the Eighth Air Force lost 97 B-17s, 40 B-24s and another 20 aircraft were scrapped due to damage. Operational strength of bomber units dropped from 75% to 54%.  The 15th Air Force lost 14.6% of its operational strength.  RAF Bomber Command, which of course operated at night, lost 5.7% of its strength.  It is noted by historians that these losses were significantly smaller than prior raids.

German losses were massively overestimated by Allied aircrews, something that was highly typical.  However, the Germans did sustain high losses of fighters overall, with the mission partially designed to draw in fighter attacks.  14% of its fighter pilots were killed in the raid, a loss that ended up partially crippling the Luftwaffe for the remainder of the war.

The accidental bombing of Nijmegen was a humanitarian disaster.  Perhaps somewhat ironically, Queen Wilhelmina's home in exile was bombed on this day by the Luftwaffe, and she narrowly escaped death.

B-17G "Nine O Nine"





















The Collins Foundation B-17G Nine O Nine.  This plane isn't the original Nine O Nine, but a B-17G painted to match the original Nine O Nine's colors.


Riding in a B-17









B-17G Madras Maiden























A B-17 and a B-24



















The B-17 Nine-O-Nine, which has appeared here in prior photographs, back at the Natrona County International Airport.




The Republic of Iceland was founded with the Icelandic parliament, severing ties with the Danish monarchy.  A referendum in May would make it official.

The Tango Maru was sunk in the Java Sea by the Rasher, taking 3,500 Japanese laborers and hundreds of Allied POWs down with her.  The Rasher also sank the Ryūsei Maru that same day with 5,000 Japanese soldiers going down with her.

The HMS Inglefield was sun by a guided bomb off of Anzio.