Showing posts with label U.S. Navy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label U.S. Navy. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 10, 2025

Sunday, June 10, 1945. Action in the Far East.

Today in World War II History—June 10, 1940 & 1945: 80 Years Ago—June 10, 1945: Australian troops land at Brunei on Japanese-occupied Borneo, an important port, and capture Labuan airfield.

Sarah Sundin's blog.  It was, we'd note, a largescale operation.

The also landed at Labuan and Muara.

The Battle of Porten Plantation ended in a Japanese victory.

US and Philippine forces prevailed at Davao.

The USS William D. Porter was sunk off of Okinawa by kamikazes.

"A guncrew of the 383rd Inf. Regt. loads a shell into the new 57mm recoiless rifle to fire against Jap pillboxes and caves on Okinawa. 10 June, 1945. 383rd Infantry Regiment, 96th Infantry Division."  This is the first photograph of a recoiless rifle being used in World War Two that I've seen.  It's sometimes debated if they saw action in the war at all, but clearly they did.

The Chinese Army took Wenchow..

Japanese Prime Minister Suzuki is granted dictatorial powers by the Imperial Diet.

Last edition: 

Saturday, June 9, 1945. Parade.

Thursday, June 5, 2025

Thursday, June 5, 1975. Reopening the Suez Canal.

The Suez Canal reopened for the first time since the Six Day War, with the USS Little Rock making the first transit.


Voters in the United Kingdom voted to say in the European Community by  a margin of 17,378,581 to 8,470,073.

Last edition:

Tuesday, June 3, 1975. New rules for boys and girls.

Tuesday, June 5, 1945. The Berlin Declaration.


The Berlin Declaration was signed by the United States, USSR, Britain and France, confirming the complete legal dissolution of the German state.

Declaration regarding the defeat of Germany and the assumption of supreme authority with respect to Germany by the Governments of the United States of America, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the United Kingdom and the Provisional Government of the French Republic.

The German armed forces on land, at sea and in the air have been completely defeated and have surrendered unconditionally and Germany, which bears responsibility for the war, is no longer capable of resisting the will of the victorious Powers. The unconditional surrender of Germany has thereby been effected, and Germany has become subject to such requirements as may now or hereafter be imposed upon her.

There is no central Government or authority in Germany capable of accepting responsibility for the maintenance of order, the administration of the country and compliance with the requirements of the victorious Powers.

It is in these circumstances necessary, without prejudice to any subsequent decisions that may be taken respecting Germany, to make provision for the cessation of any further hostilities on the part of the German armed forces, for the maintenance of order in Germany and for the administration of the country, and to announce the immediate requirements with which Germany must comply.

The Representatives of the Supreme Commands of the United States of America, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the United Kingdom and the French Republic, hereinafter called the "Allied Representatives," acting by authority of their respective Governments and in the interests of the United Nations, accordingly make the following Declaration:

The Governments of the United States of America, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the United Kingdom, and the Provisional Government of the French Republic, hereby assume supreme authority with respect to Germany, including all the powers possessed by the German Government, the High Command and any state, municipal, or local government or authority. The assumption, for the purposes stated above, of the said authority and powers does not affect the annexation of Germany.

The Governments of the United States of America, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the United Kingdom, and the Provisional Government of the French Republic, will hereafter determine the boundaries of Germany or any part thereof and the status of Germany or of any area at present being part of German territory.

In virtue of the supreme authority and powers thus assumed by the four Governments, the Allied Representatives announce the following requirements arising from the complete defeat and unconditional surrender of Germany with which Germany must comply:

ARTICLE 1

Germany, and all German military, naval and air authorities and all forces under German control shall immediately cease hostilities in all theatres of war against the forces of the United Nations on land, at sea and in the air.

ARTICLE 2

(a) All armed forces of Germany or under German control, wherever they may be situated, including land, air, anti-aircraft and naval forces, the S.S., S.A. and Gestapo, and all other forces of auxiliary organisations equipped with weapons, shall be completely disarmed, handing over their weapons and equipment to local Allied Commanders or to officers designated by the Allied Representatives

(b) The personnel of the formations and units of all the forces referred to in paragraph (a) above shall, at the discretion of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Allied State concerned, be declared to be prisoners of war, pending further decisions, and shall be subject to such conditions and directions as may be prescribed by the respective Allied Representatives.

(c) All forces referred to in paragraph (a) above, wherever they may be, will remain in their present positions pending instructions from the Allied Representatives.

(d) Evacuation by the said forces of all territories outside the frontiers of Germany as they existed on the 31st December, 1937, will proceed according to instructions to be given by the Allied Representatives.

(e) Detachments of civil police to be armed with small arms only, for the maintenance of order and for guard duties, will be designated by the Allied Representatives.

ARTICLE 3

(a) All aircraft of any kind or nationality in Germany or German-occupied or controlled territories or waters, military, naval or civil, other than aircraft in the service of the Allies, will remain on the ground, on the water or aboard ships pending further instructions.

(b) All German or German-controlled aircraft in or over territories or waters not occupied or controlled by Germany will proceed to Germany or to such other place or places as may be specified by the Allied Representatives.

ARTICLE 4

(a) All German or German-controlled naval vessels, surface and submarine, auxiliary naval craft, and merchant and other shipping, wherever such vessels may be at the time of this Declaration, and all other merchant ships of whatever nationality in German ports, will remain in or proceed immediately to ports and bases as specified by the Allied Representatives. The crews of such vessels will remain on board pending further instructions.

(b) All ships and vessels of the United Nations, whether or not title has been transferred as the result of prize court or other proceedings, which are at the disposal of Germany or under German control at the time of this Declaration, will proceed at the dates and to the ports or bases specified by the Allied Representatives.

ARTICLE 5

(a) All or any of the following articles in the possession of the German armed forces or under German control or at German disposal will be held intact and in good condition at the disposal of the Allied Representatives, for such purposes and at such times and places as they may prescribe:

(i) all arms, ammunition, explosives, military equipment, stores and supplies and other implements of war of all kinds and all other war materials;

(ii) all naval vessels of all classes, both surface and submarine, auxiliary naval craft and all merchant shipping, whether afloat, under repair or construction, built or building;

(iii) all aircraft of all kinds, aviation and anti-aircraft equipment and devices;

(iv) all transportation and communications facilities and equipment, by land, water or air;

(v) all military installations and establishments, including airfields, seaplane bases, ports and naval bases, storage depots, permanent and temporary land and coast fortifications, fortresses and other fortified areas, together with plans and drawings of all such fortifications, installations and establishments;

(vi) all factories, plants, shops, research institutions, laboratories, testing stations, technical data, patents, plans, drawings and inventions, designed or intended to produce or to facilitate the production or use of the articles, materials, and facilities referred to in sub-paragraphs (i), (ii), (iii), (iv) and (v) above or otherwise to further the conduct of war.

(b) At the demand of the Allied Representatives the following will be furnished:

(i) the labour, services and plant required for the maintenance or operation of any of the six categories mentioned in paragraph (a) above; and

(ii) any information or records that may be required by the Allied Representatives in connection with the same.

(c) At the demand of the Allied Representatives all facilities will be provided for the movement of Allied troops and agencies, their equipment and supplies, on the railways, roads and other land communications or by sea, river or air. All means of transportation will be maintained in good order and repair, and the labour, services and plant necessary therefor will be furnished.

ARTICLE 6

(a) The German authorities will release to the Allied Representatives, in accordance with the procedure to be laid down by them, all prisoners of war at present in their power, belonging to the forces of the United Nations, and will furnish full lists of these persons, indicating the places of their detention in Germany or territory occupied by Germany. Pending the release of such prisoners of war, the German authorities and people will protect them in their persons and property and provide them with adequate food, clothing, shelter, medical attention and money in accordance with their rank or official position.

(b) The German authorities and people will in like manner provide for and release all other nationals of the United Nations who are confined, interned or otherwise under restraint, and all other persons who may be confined, interned or otherwise under restraint for political reasons or as a result of any Nazi action, law or regulation which discriminates on the ground of race, colour, creed or political belief.

(c) The German authorities will, at the demand of the Allied Representatives, hand over control of places of detention to such officers as may be designated for the purpose by the Allied Representatives.

ARTICLE 7

The German authorities concerned will furnish to the Allied Representatives:

(a) full information regarding the forces referred to in Article 2 (a), and, in particular, will furnish forthwith all information which the Allied Representatives may require concerning the numbers, locations and dispositions of such forces, whether located inside or outside Germany;

(b) complete and detailed information concerning mines, minefields and other obstacles to movement by land, sea or air, and the safety lanes in connection therewith. All such safety lanes will be kept open and clearly marked; all mines, minefields and other dangerous obstacles will as far as possible be rendered safe, and all aids to navigation will be reinstated. Unarmed German military and civilian personnel with the necessary equipment will be made available and utilized for the above purposes and for the removal of mines, minefields and other obstacles as directed by the Allied Representatives.

ARTICLE 8

There shall be no destruction, removal, concealment, transfer or scuttling of, or damage to, any military, naval, air, shipping, port, industrial and other like property and facilities and all records and archives, wherever they may be situated, except as may be directed by the Allied Representatives.

ARTICLE 9

Pending the institution of control by the Allied Representatives over all means of communication, all radio and telecommunication installations and other forms of wire or wireless communications, whether ashore or afloat, under German control, will cease transmission except as directed by the Allied Representatives.

ARTICLE 10

The forces, ships, aircraft, military equipment, and other property in Germany or in German control or service or at German disposal, of any other country at war with any of the Allies, will be subject to the provisions of this Declaration and of any proclamations, orders, ordinances or instructions issued thereunder.

ARTICLE 11

(a) The principal Nazi leaders as specified by the Allied Representatives, and all persons from time to time named or designated by rank, office or employment by the Allied Representatives as being suspected of having committed, ordered or abetted war crimes or analogous offences, will be apprehended and surrendered to the Allied Representatives.

(b) The same will apply in the case of any national of any of the United Nations who is alleged to have committed an offence against his national law, and who may at any time be named or designated by rank, office or employment by the Allied Representatives.

(c) The German authorities and people will comply with any instructions given by the Allied Representatives for the apprehension and surrender of such persons.

ARTICLE 12

The Allied Representatives will station forces and civil agencies in any or all parts of Germany as they may determine.

ARTICLE 13

(a) In the exercise of the supreme authority with respect to Germany assumed by the Governments of the United States of America, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the United Kingdom, and the Provisional Government of the French Republic, the four Allied Governments will take such steps, including the complete disarmament and demilitarization of Germany, as they deem requisite for future peace and security.

(b) The Allied Representatives will impose on Germany additional political, administrative, economic, financial, military and other requirements arising from the complete defeat of Germany. The Allied Representatives, or persons or agencies duly designated to act on their authority, will issue proclamations, orders, ordinances and instructions for the purpose of laying down such additional requirements, and of giving effect to the other provisions of this Declaration. All German authorities and the German people shall carry out unconditionally the requirements of the Allied Representatives, and shall fully comply with all such proclamations, orders, ordinances and instructions.

ARTICLE 14

This Declaration enters into force and effect at the date and hour set forth below. In the event of failure on the part of the German authorities or people promptly and completely to fulfill their obligations hereby or hereafter imposed, the Allied Representatives will take whatever action may be deemed by them to be appropriate under the circumstances.

ARTICLE 15

This Declaration is drawn up in the English, Russian, French and German languages. The English, Russian and French are the only authentic texts.

BERLIN, GERMANY, June 5, 1945.

Signed at 1800 hours, Berlin time, by

Dwight D. Eisenhower,

General of the Army USA;

Zhukov,

Marshal of the Soviet Union;

B. L. Montgomery,

Field Marshal, Great Britain;

De Lattre de Tassisny,

French Provisional Government.

The U.S. Army Air Force dropped 3,000 tons of incendiary bombs on Kobe, Japan. 

The 37th Infantry Division occupied Aritao on Luzon.

More hard fighting on Okinawa occurred and a sudden typhoon damaged 4 battleships, 8 aircraft carriers, 7 cruisers, 14 destroyers, 2 tankers, and and ammunition transport ship, of the US 3rd Fleet.

A Kamikaze attack crippled the USS Mississippi and the heavy cruiser USS Louisville.

Esquire magazines second class mailing privileges were restored by a US appellate court after having been suspended due to the feature of Vargas Girl pinups, which foreshadowed Playboy Playmates.  The decision was appealed to the United States Supreme Court which upheld the decision, unfortunately, in 1946.

This demonstrates that the widespread public acceptance of pornography was already occurring in advance of the 1953 introduction of Playboy, so the trend we've discussed here in other threads was already underway with the Courts frustrating efforts to restrict the development.  This also, we'd note, runs a bit counter to the heavy attribution we've attached to Hefner's rag, because, as noted, the trend was underway, although Esquire's depictions were illustrations, rather than photographs.  To a certain degree, the U.S. Army publication Yank had headed in the same direction, with its centerfolds, although they were always full clothed.

It wasn't a good trend.

Last edition:

Monday, June 4, 1945. Marines land on the Oroku Peninsula on Okinawa.

Wednesday, June 4, 2025

Cliffnotes of the Zeitgeist 85th Edition: Hegseth directs Navy to rename USNS Harvey Milk days into Pride Month.

Fleet oiler, the USS Harvey Milk (for now).

Wow, this is really a shot across the bow in the culture wars.

Hegseth directs Navy to rename USNS Harvey Milk days into Pride Month

The Navy may rename the USNS Harvey Milk, named for the 1970s gay civil rights activist, on orders from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Renaming a ship for any reason is a fairly phenomenal thing to do, something no doubt on the minds of those who named the ship after Milk in the first place.  It had an element of permanence, and was part of an effort to create acceptance for homosexuals.

Hegseth's actions, and these aren't the only recent ones (we were actually going to make the next in this series on another one of them) are really sending a signal of where the DoD is headed.  But the question ultimately will be is any of this permanent?  And also, how far does he intend to go?  I don't think, at this point, that anyone has thought that the DoD would reverse its position on allowing homosexuals to serve in the military, and it shouldn't reverse it, all of which makes this so surprising.

National Conservatives and Christian Nationalists hope the changes will be permanent, but Trump is losing steam pretty clearly, and the host of other issues, particularly the "size of government" and budgetary ones, are now in pretty stormy seas.  In order to make cultural changes really stick, they need more than four years, probably more than eight.  Hegseth, in the DoD is picking up steam, maybe aware of that, but where this all goes will be interesting to watch.

Last edition:

Cliffnotes of the Zeitgeist 84th Edition. The uncomfortably agreeing with the far right edition (on some things). Hegseth orders transgenderism out and a bill to outlaw pornography.

Wednesday, May 28, 2025

Monday, May 28, 1945. Memorial Day.

The USS Drexler was sunk in a kamikaze attack.  100 Japanese aircraft were shot down on the same day, bringing to an end the Japanese air offensive.

William Joyce, "Lord Haw Haw", was arrested by the British in Flensburg.

Queen Wilhelmina returned to the Netherlands.

The Royal Navy stopped the convoy system in the Atlantic, Arctic and Indian Oceans.

Admiral Halsey, commanding US 3rd Fleet, took command of American naval forces operating against targets in Japan.

French forces and Syrians engaged in combat against each other.

John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revival was born.

It was Memorial Day.

Last edition:

Sunday, May 27, 1945. Reversals of fortune in China.

Sunday, May 25, 2025

Friday, May 25, 1945. The Clock.

"A Battery, 465 FA Bn) located near Ballette Pass, Luzon, P.I.) in the 25th Div, one of action. Pfc R. Duffy; Pfc T. McDonald; Pfc A. Mullins; Pfc T. Kaskie; Pvt A. Rossetti; Capt H. W. Berberian; T/4 F. Grogorowich; Cpl D. Marcus; Cpl K. Cameron; Pfc J. Sullivan; Pfc E. Colby all of Boston, Mass, load the prepare to fire an 8 in gun. The Japs are located on a ridge about, 500 yds forward this position. 25 May, 1945.  465th Field Artillery Battalion."   This gun appears to be a 155mm "Long Tom", a long range artillery piece.  If this caption is correct, it's a freakish situation in that the gun is so close to the front lines.

The Battle of Odžak between Yugoslav (communist) partisans and the fascist Croatian Armed Forces ended in a Yugoslav partisan victory.  Fighting ended in Europe.

The American armed forces Chiefs of Staff set November 1, 1945 as the start date for the invasion of Japan.

USS Bates (APD-47) burning off Ie Shima, Ryukyu Islands, after being hit by three kamikazee.  May 25, 1945.

MGM released the wartime romance, The Clock.


The plot centers around a whirlwind romance of a soldier on leave and a woman he meets, taking place in 48 hours.  They meet and marry in that time frame.

Suffice it to say, a marriage contracted that rapidly would be risky.

The Post World War Two increase in divorces. . . maybe.*


On this general topic, I rewated The Best Years of Our Lives Friday night.  What struck me in rewatching it was the casual acceptance of divorce in the film.  Perhaps that's stretching it, but two of the central characters are involved, in a way, in a sort of semi illicit love affair, and are portrayed sympathetically.

The other thing that struck me, which has before, is that Cpt. Derry is shown to have nothing beyond a (presumed) high school education. That would be correct for his wartime role, but it would not have occurred very often any time post war, after which college educations became the norm for officers.

Last edition:

Thursday, May 24, 1945. Japanese paratroopers on Okinawa.

Friday, May 23, 2025

Wednesday, May 23, 1945. The end of governments.


Winston Churchill resigned as Prime Minister, forming a caretaker government in anticipation of July 5 elections.

The elections would be the first in a decade.

The German Flensburg government is arrested and deposed by the Allies.


Himmler committed suicide.  So did German admiral Hans-Georg von Friedeburg, who became a POW during the British occupation of Flensburg.

Julius Streicher was arrested in Bavaria.

US attacks on Yokohama bring shipping from the city to an end.

The United Nations Conference in San Francisco approved veto rights for China, France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and the United States on the Security Council.


Last edition:

Tuesday, May 22, 1945. Operation Unthinkable.

Saturday, May 17, 2025

The Aerodrome: Air Force One.

The Aerodrome: Air Force One.

Air Force One.

Air Force One has been in the news a lot recently, and it  started before the Qatari proposal to give the United States, or Donald Trump (it isn't clear which) a luxury outfitted Boeing 747.

Technically "Air Force One" is a call sign, and merely denotes an airplane the Chief Executive is a passenger in.  If a President rode in an Air Force Cessna, that would be Air Force One.  But everyone knows that it refers to one of two Boeing VC-25s, militarized 747s, that are designated for the Presidents use.

RD-2

Interestingly, the first aircraft designated for Presidential use was a Navy airplane, an amphibious Douglas Dolphin RD-2 that was luxury outfitted for use by President Roosevelt.  It was used from 1933 to 1939, and obviously not for transglobal flight.  The President didn't really do extensive travel until World War Two.

Roosevelt's once used VC-54C.

In spite of concerns over commercial aviation being used to carry the President during the war, it was in fact used and it wasn 't until 1945 that a new designated Presidential aircraft was acquired, that being a  Secret Service reconfigured a Douglas C-54 Skymaster (VC-54C) which was named the Sacred Cow.  It contained a sleeping area, radiotelephone, and retractable battery-powered elevator to lift Roosevelt in his wheelchair. It's only use by Roosevelt was to fly the then dying President to Yalta.  Truman used it thereafter, but it was replaced by military DC-6 (VC-118) thereafter.

Truman's VC-118.

President Eisenhower, who of course knew planes well, to Lockheed C-121 Constellations, Columbine II and Columbine III. The Constellation was a very popular airplane at the time, and Douglas MacArthur also had one, that one spending many years after its service at the Natrona County International Airport on an abandoned runway.

Columbine II was the first Presidential aircraft to receive the designation Air Force One.

At the end of Eisenhower's Presidency Boeing 707s came in, in part because the Soviets were using a jet to transport their Premier.  707s remained through the Nixon era, giving good service in this role.

747s, as VC-25s, entered specialized manufacture for use as Air Force One during Reagan's administration, although the first one would enter service after that.  They've been used ever since.

These aren't normal 747s.  They are packed with communications and electronic warfare equipment in order to have combat survivability.  

Replacing the current two aircraft that are used as Air Force One is a topic that the Air Force started looking at quite a few years ago.  The 747 variant which the VC-25 isn't made anymore.  Production of 747s stopped in 2023 in favor of more modern aircraft.  Still, the airframe remains useful in this role, and after the Air Force started to look into options, updating a 747-8 appeared to be the best option.  Only Boeing was interested in the project anyway, and it will take a massive financial loss to do it.  

The aircraft that are being retrofitted for this role was built, originally, as a commercial airliner. The projected is a massive one, and the delivery date will be in 2027.

What the new Air Force Ones will look like.

Enter Qatar.

Qatar has offered to give the US (I guess) a luxury Boeing 747-8 for use as Air Force One until the other 747-8s are complete.  But here's the thing.  Boeing has been working on the complicated task fo converting the two existing 747-8s for this use for several years. After all, it's basically a combat aircraft.  All accepting the plane would do is give Boeing a third one to convert, which wouldn't be ready for years.

Trump is being childish about this, as he is about a lot of things.  He doesn't seem to grasp the nature of the aircraft, and likely a lot of other people don't as well.  In his case, this is inexcusable.  It's a combat airplane.

Frankly, it's a Cold War combat airplane.

Which gets to this.

The 747 was a big massive airliner in an era in which it was the queen of the sky. That era is over and airlines have moved on to more modern aircraft.  The world in which Ronald Reagan ordered 747s is gone as well.  It's still useful to have an aircraft that can be used in a global thermonuclear war, which is what it is, but that's not going to happen and it makes no sense to use it to go on weekend golfing trips to Florida.

But that's what Trump tends to use it for.

That raises an entire series of other questions, many of which have little to do with aircraft, but some of which do.  It's notable that other Presidents have used lighter aircraft for more mundane trips.  In November 1999, President Bill Clinton flew from Ankara, Turkey, to Cengiz Topel Naval Air Station outside Izmit, Turkey, aboard a marked C-20C.  In 2000, President Clinton flew to Pakistan aboard an unmarked Gulfstream III.  In 2003, President George W. Bush flew in the co-pilot seat of a Sea Control Squadron Thirty-Five (VS-35) S-3B Viking from Naval Air Station North Island, California to the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, with that latter obviously being an exception. Barack Obama used a Gulfstream C-37 variant on a personal trip in 2009.

Trump can use something else than a 747 for what he uses Air Force One for in almost every single instance.

Indeed, the entire topic brings up a lot of things about the risks of having an airplane like this, a luxury airliner inside, which is really a combat aircraft.  It makes it easy to forget what it really is, and it makes a President feel like an Emperor, which he is not.

Thursday, May 15, 2025

Friday, May 15, 1925. Coolidge decides the Navy isn't a police force.

President Coolidge rejected prohibitionist Wayne Wheeler's plan to use the U.S. Navy to enforce the Volstead Act.

Coolidge believed the Navy was for national defense, not police duty.

Japanese editorials decried American plans to strengthen the naval base at Pearl Harbor.

Gen. Nelson A. Miles, famous for his role in the Indian Wars, and whose name was given to Miles  City, Montana, died at age 85.

Last edition:

Tuesday, May 12, 1925. President Hindenburg and Prosecutor Bryan.