To All
Good Friday Morning. May 22, 2020
I hope that you have a good weekend
Regards
Skip
This day in Naval History May 22, 2019
1943 During the battle to protect British Royal Convoy (ON 184) in the North Atlantic, TBFs from (VC 9) based on board USS Bogue (ACV 9) sink German submarine (U 569) and damage (U 305).
1967 New York City reaches an agreement to purchase the New York Naval Shipyard, also known as the Brooklyn Navy Yard, after it was closed in 1966.
1968 USS Scorpion (SSN 589) is lost with her crew south-west of the Azores. In late Oct. 1968, her remains are found on the sea floor more than 10,000 feet below the surface by a deep-submergence vehicle towed from USNS Mizar (T-AGOR-11).
1986 Military Sealift Commands USNS Sgt. William R. Button (T-AK 3012) is christened and launched. The ship serves as one of 17 Container and Roll-on/Roll-off vessels for the Navy and is part of the 36 ships in the Prepositioning Program.
Thanks to CHINFO
Executive Summary:
Executive Summary:
• Multiple outlets report that the Senate confirmed Kenneth Braithwaite to be the next Secretary of the Navy.
• CNO Adm. Mike Gilday and Commandant Gen. David Berger told multiple outlets that naval operations are currently unimpeded by COVID-19, but warned that the pandemic put future readiness at risk.
• The FBI is investigating a Thursday morning shooting at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi as an act of terrorism, multiple outlets report.
• Numerous outlets report that President Trump said Thursday that the United States will withdraw from the Treaty on Open Skies.
Today in History May 22
1246 | Henry Raspe is elected anti-king by the Rhenish prelates in France. | |
1455 | King Henry VI is taken prisoner by the Yorkists at the Battle of St. Albans, during the War of the Roses. | |
1804 | The Lewis and Clark Expedition officially begins as the Corps of Discovery departs from St. Charles, Missouri. | |
1856 | U.S. Congressman Preston Brooks of South Carolina beats Senator Charles Sumner with a cane for Sumner's earlier condemnation of slavery, which included an insult to Brooks' cousin, Senator Andrew Butler. | |
1863 | Union General Ulysses S. Grant's second attack on Vicksburg fails and a siege begins. | |
1868 | The "Great Train Robbery" takes place as seven members of the Reno Gang make off with $98,000 in cash from a train's safe in Indiana. | |
1872 | The Amnesty Act restores civil rights to Southerners. | |
1882 | The United States formally recognizes Korea. | |
1908 | The Wright brothers register their flying machine for a U.S. patent. | |
1939 | Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini sign a "Pact of Steel" forming the Axis powers. | |
1947 | The Truman Doctrine brings aid to Turkey and Greece. | |
1967 | The children's program Mister Rogers' Neighborhood premiers. | |
1972 | Ceylon becomes the Republic of Sri Lanka as its constitution is ratified. | |
1985 | Baseball player Pete Rose passes Hank Aaron as National League run scoring leader with 2,108. | |
1990 | In the Middle East, North and South Yemen merge to become a single state. | |
1992 | Johnny Carson's final appearance on The Tonight Show on NBC, after 30 years as the program's host. | |
2004 | An EF4 tornado with a record-setting width of 2.5 miles wipes out Hallam, Nebraska, killing 1 person. | |
2004 | Fahrenheit 9-11, directed by Michael Moore, becomes the first documentary ever to win the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. | |
2010 | Following a 200-year search for the tomb of Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus his remains are reburied in Frombork Cathedral | |
2011 | An EF5 tornado kills at least 158 people in Joplin, Missouri, the largest death toll from a tornado since record-keeping began in 1950. | |
2015 | The Republic of Ireland, long known as a conservative, predominantly Catholic country, becomes the first nation in the world to legalize gay marriage in a public referendum. |
NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
Thanks to the Bear
ROLLING THUNDER REMEMBERED…When Naval Aviation Roared… Tales of the Brave and Bold… The Odyssey of Bo Smith…
May 21, 2020Bear Taylor0 Comments
COMMEMORATING THE 50th ANNIVERSARY OF THE VIETNAM WAR (1961-1973)… and honoring the intrepid Naval Aviators, Naval Flight Officers and aircrewmen who carried the war to the heartland of North Vietnam in the years of Operation Rolling Thunder (1965-1968) and in this post, the warriors who destroyed the will of the enemy to fight with Operation Linebacker… BO SMITH WAS THERE FOR IT ALL…
THE ODYSSEY OF BO SMITH: The Air War Against North Vietnam in Three Parts…
It is with highest respect, admiration and appreciation that Humble Host posts the enthralling narrative of CAPTAIN ROBERT S. SMITH, USN (Retired) on this website. Included in my last post, the story of the USS INTREPID and CVW-10 attack on the NVN barracks and SAM storage area seven miles southeast of Hanoi on 8 July 1967, was a request for additional comment and input from the participants. As a consequence of that request, I was directed to the incomparable website of Bo Smith. Today I direct your attention to three chapters of Bo's "work in progress" that he calls "Bo's Memoir." It is a masterpiece — a diamond in the rough (editing in progress)– that deserves a place in the history of the Vietnam war and constitutes a magnificent legacy for Bo's extensive family. It is an awesome project, especially his capture of the years of Rolling Thunder and Linebacker, of which he was a bold, brave participant. This post is made with his permission.
In this period of "staying at home" to deny COVID-19 the opportunity to spread, there is no better time for the Old Navy (or Marine or Air Force) participant in the war, family member of a participant, student or researcher to dig into Bo Smith's extraordinary remembrance of our nation's air war with North Vietnam. Here are the links to the entire memoir and the three (of 18) chapters reporting from the years of Rolling Thunder and Linebacker…
Bo's Memoir: http://bo-smith.net/bosmemoir/
Bo's 1st Rolling Thunder Cruise: http://bo-smith.net/bosmemoir/VA15Circa66/
Bo's 2nd Rolling Thunder Cruise: http://bo-smith.net/bosmemoir/VA15Circa67/
Bo's 1972 VA-82 Linebacker Cruise: http://bo-smith.net/bosmemoir/VA821972/
CAPTAIN ROBERT S. SMITH's odyssey continues from his home in Florida, glory gained, duty done. Bo flew with some of Naval Aviation's greatest. He had great instructors, mentors and combat leaders while taking the fight to the enemy on his more than 300 strikes on North Vietnam. Guys like Jerry Tuttle, Possum Terrell, Ron Moreau, Paul McCarthy, Tom Scott, and Snuffy Smith. And then he went on to command and other assignments where he represented Naval Aviation in the Air Force and the Royal Air Force. He retired as an O-6 to teach school and hunt rocks. Truly an odyssey. Humble Host scanned the three war chapters of Bo's Memoir for a bit of the man and warrior for this post. I settled on the second of his three Distinguished Flying Cross citations to make the case for RTR readers… I quote…
"For extraordinary achievement in aerial flight as a pilot attached to and serving with Attack Squadron FIFTEEN, embarked in USS INTREPID (CVS-11), during the conduct of an Air Wing strike against the Kien Bat highway ferry at Haiphong, North Vietnam on 5 October 1967. Lieutenant SMITH was assigned as wingman in a 23-plane Air Wing strike against this important transshipment point. Numerous warnings indicating that enemy aircraft were orbiting just west of the target were received during the approach to the target. Despite the obvious danger, he maintained his position as the last bomber element on the exposed western flank of the strike force. Fighting his way through 37mm, 57mm and automatic weapons fire, Lieutenant SMITH rolled in and with exceptional accuracy placed all his ordnance on the target. Departing the target area his aircraft sustained a direct hit causing heavy damage and a serious fire in his tail section. As the section retired from the area, two enemy MiG-17 fighter aircraft engaged his section leader. With complete disregard for his own safety and with equal contempt for the enemy fighters, Lieutenant SMITH charged his guns and turned toward the two MiGs while calling breaks for his section leader. He continued to outmaneuver the MiGs and call breaks until the MiGs broke off the engagement at the coast line. Demonstrating outstanding airmanship, he then managed to keep his crippled aircraft flying and brought it back aboard ship where the fire was finally extinguished. Lieutenant SMITH's outstanding abilities in maintaining flight integrity, determined aggressiveness and courage in the face of enemy fire contributed directly to the success of the strike and were in keeping witth the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service…. For the President //S// John J. Hyland, Admiral, USN, Commander in Chief U.S. Pacific Fleet"….. oohrah…
HUMBLE HOST FINAL NOTE… I hope you enjoy the words, pictures, charts and collection of Vietnam war memoribilia included in Bo's Memoirs as much as I have. And thanks, Bo Smith, for your one-of-a-kind contribution to the living record of "our war."… Youdaman….
Lest we forget… Bear
NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
75th Anniversary of World War II
USS England Sinks Six Japanese Submarines, May 1944
England (DE-635)
(DE-635: dp. 1,400; l. 306'; b. 37'; dr. 9'5"; s. 24 k.; cpl. 186; a. 3 3", 3 21" tt., 8 dcp., 1 dcp.(hh.), 2 dct.; cl. Buckley)
John Charles England, born, in Harris, Mo., 11 December 1920, enlisted in the Naval Reserve 6 September 1940, and was commissioned ensign 6 June 1941. On 3 September 1941, he reported for duty in Oklahoma (BB-37), and was killed in action during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor 7 December 1941.
England (DE-635) was launched 26 September 1943 by Bethlehem Steel Co., San Francisco, Calif.; sponsored by Mrs. H. B. England, mother of Ensign England; and commissioned 10 December 1943, Commander W. B. Pendleton in command.
England arrived at Espiritu Santo 12 March 1944 from San Francisco, Pearl Harbor, Funafuti, and Guadalcanal. She took up escort duty between Espiritu Santo and Guadalcanal, occasionally sailing to Noumea, and once to the Marshalls.
On 18 May 1944, with two other destroyers, England cleared Port Purvis on a hunt for Japanese submarines during a passage to Bougainville. During the next 8 days, she was to set an impressive record in antisubmarine warfare, never matched in World War II by any other American ship, as she hunted down and sank 1-16 on 19 May, RO-106 on 22 May, RO-104 on 23 May, RO-116 on 24 May, and RO-108 on 26 May. In three of these cases, the other destroyers were in on the beginning of the actions, but the kill in every case was England's alone. Quickly replenishing depth charges at Manus, England was back in action on 31 May to join with four other ships in sinking RO-105. This superlative performance won for England a Presidential Unit Citation, and the assurance from the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral E. J. King, "There'll always be an England in the United States Navy." His pledge was fulfilled 6 October 1960, when DLG-22 was assigned the name England.
Through the summer of 1944, England sailed throughout the northern Solomons, providing the escort services necessary for the building up of bases, preparations for the renewed assaults on Japanese territories to the north, and provision of supplies to garrison forces on the islands of the southwest Pacific. In August, she underwent repairs at Manus, and between 24 September and 15 October voyaged from the Treasury Islands to Sydney, Australia. From the Treasuries, she sailed guarding a convoy to Hollandia, where she arrived 18 October, and on the 26th got underway on the first of two voyages to escort reinforcement convoys to newly invaded Leyte. She returned to Manus and local escort duty 2 December.
From 2 January 1945, England escorted convoys between Manus and Ulithi, the major base for operations of the carrier task forces, and later to be the staging point for the assaults on Iwo Jima and Okinawa. The escort vessel sailed to Kossol Roads in February, bringing in a convoy later routed on to the Philippines, then resumed her duty on the Manus-Ulithi sealanes. She sailed from Ulithi 23 March for the preinvasion bombardment of Okinawa, returned to Ulithi to join the screen of two cruisers, guarding them back to Okinawa to join the 5th Fleet just after the initial assault on 1 April. Between 6 and 17 April, she voyaged to Saipan screening unladen transports, then took up a screening and patrol station north of the Kerama Retto.
On 9 May 1945, while on station, England was attacked by three Japanese dive bombers. Her antiaircraft fire set the first of these flaming, but the plane crashed England on her starboard side, just below the bridge. The kamikaze pilot had remembered his instructions to knock out the ship's nerve center and kill as many as possible of her officers. With the bomb of the plane exploding just after the crash, England's men began a dangerous race against time, to quench the fires and save their ship, while combat air patrol shot down the two other attackers. She was able to make Kerama Retto under tow, with 37 of her men killed or missing and 25 wounded.
England sailed on to Leyte, where she received temporary repairs to put her in shape for the long voyage home. On 16 July 1945 she arrived at Philadelphia for permanent repairs and conversion to a high-speed transport. The end of the war, however, halted this work, and she was decommissioned 15 October 1945 and sold 26 November 1946.
In addition to the Presidential Unit Citation, England received 10 battle stars for World War II service.
Published: Wed Apr 20 01:58:42 EDT 2016
NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
Interesting
Breakfast, we are told, is the most important meal of the day. Not only do doctors tell us this, but so do advertisers who bombard us with messages about the health benefits of eating eggs, bacon, cereal, bagels, and oatmeal.
We are told that eating soon after waking up in the morning sets us up for success for the rest of the day. It makes us more productive, evens our blood sugar, speeds up our metabolism, helps us avoid becoming "hangry" and other unpleasant feelings.
But what if the things we have been told about breakfast weren't true? That they were all based on a lie perpetrated by biased researchers who worked to achieve a specific outcome rather than let the facts fall where they may?
Unfortunately, that looks like that's EXACTLY what happened. Read more about the breakfast myth that's just been destroyed. You won't believe what the TRUTH actually is!
I don't like to eat a lot in the morning. A granola bar and a cup of tea and a banana maybe. I am usually not hungry right after I wake up
skip
NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
Skip:
The report that there is no increase in total deaths in the U.S. for the first four months of 2020 concludes that there is no pandemic; therefore, we've been lied to. Quite a leap. What has not been factored in is that, with everything locked down, streets clear, few at work, the number of accidents and crimes has gone to near zero. I can't tell what else might be missing from the numbers, but the writer's simple analysis seems more simple than analysis.
That is not to say I don't believe we should open back up. I believe that government's job is to warn us, coordinate health resources, go to GQ to develop treatments, diagnostics, and immunizations, but deciding for us what we can and cannot do is not within their power. I live in a rural area, yet I am treated as if I lived in a downtown apartment, stacked on top of a thousand other tenants. I can go to the hardware store (the large ones), Target, Walmart, and a pharmacy but not a small café or church. Imagine fining a church for having a drive-in service where no one was closer than ten feet, nobody got out of their cars. We've all noted that the most draconian measures are in states run by Democrats or RINO's (my state, Larry Hogan). We know that Democrats believe that they know better how to "take care of" all us stupid people far better than we would if we exercised freedom, even with calculated risks.
I trust that laws will be passed, courts will rule, and government powers will be defined and curtailed for the future.
I fervently hope that everyone has gotten a good taste of why models of complex systems are suspect. We could always look at the multiple models that are always wrong on weather prediction, but we've become blind to it. We could also consider that, if we can't predict whether or not it will rain two hours from now, let alone tomorrow, what makes us think we can predict what the earth's "average temperature" will be 50 years from now. Those same types of models are used for predicting pandemics, of course, and for the same ultimate purpose. Those purposes have nothing to do with disease or climate.
It's time government, particularly the idiots in government, like the governors of Michigan and Maryland, got out of the way and let free citizens take the chances they want to take.
Micro
NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
ThaNks to Dutch
air carrier stuff -
Thanks to Mel
Hi,
Mel Frost here, over in Montana/ SW... only have been in Aviation since 1959...
Craig in CDA can attest to my craziness, having "left perfectly good aircraft in flight" 26 times in SoROK ...This article got my attention too, when it first appeared last weekend (I think).
Notice, all the "numbers" are from overseas... The USA numbers are on hold until Sept/2020 due to Govt handout's
But - they are going to be similar "once the dust settles" - ie: Delta et al have already announced the retirement/parking of all 747 pass models (sooner than planned by 2 yr or so.... etc....And, with push down effect of the B737MAX once it is re-certified - many of today's B737 - 100/200/300/400/500/... will also be forced into the desert parking lots.We have "over capacity" out the waazoo now and with this bug - it'll continue for many years... will we ever get back to the hay-days numbers...I don't know...
Even with the UP-Tic in freight hauling... you still don't need the crew count you do for pass service...domestically as well as "near-by" box hauling... up to that 10/12 hr limit.
NOW....with what will most likely be a "direct loss" of at least 35% to 50% of today's drivers ... balanced against the projection of "witthin 5 yr retirements"....it still sucks.
(A very minor amount/headcount MIGHT do a reverse career move and head for the AF or ANG with high ratings and low hours...Uncle always want's willing minds...)
The current crop of "students" in the mills are going to be a lost cause ... the overseas ones right along side our domestic ones... this is double sad in my book...
So, what are say 100k to 150k pilots / crews / wrenches / tin beaters going to do about putting food on the table for say the next 5 to 8 years time frame ?...
Besides...these are people with that special gleam in their eye and love of the air - Real Estate is NOT an option for most....besides, it'll die it's own death soon too.
hat are these monster airlines going to "do" just trying to stay alive?.... They have "infrastructure" to worry about, as well as headcount... Gates/routes/Maintenance, etc.
What I see coming down the pike:
Any "re-start" is going to be a stutter step at best... At least contract fuel is down around $2.30 to $2.50 / gal for JP.... I think the current deliveries are around 15% of BC.
The big guys are going to fall back to "Hub to Hub" services to start with...luck you if you live within say 100/150 mi of one... and, only "need" to go to another....
This is for domestic routes. As for Int'l ones, again, very limited "hub to hub" only and very restricted due to "other countries controlling travel vs the "bug"....
The days of "direct to multiple cities overseas" in single countries are gone for I'm guessing near 5 years...+/-... only major hubs see anything "near" daily schedules.
With all the above in mind...and, the total lack of "many" smaller cities being offered here in the USA vs "hub only destinations"....and, excess pilots walking the streets...
How about some "Johnny Cab" operations?... Say 6-pl SEL birds being offered direct to traveler's at these "hubs"....ie: the last 200 mi to get home...or, 3-400 mi in some.
You need a "few" "bundlers" at the customs discharge area(s) , and the "outlet" areas for majors concourse(s)... The old "sign in hand" method saying (maybe):
"South and East areas" at Sea//Tac and maybe "East and North areas" at LAX... They gather up say 8 or 15 travelers with average baggage (no moose bags)...then they call the "owner-operator" of N1456Y, a Turbo Lance and say "I have 3 for Bakersfield and one for Sacramento with 240 lbs total bags - how much each?...pass the quote on to the traveler and get agreement...add $10/ea for bundler' services...stuff them in a cab (they pay) and send them to the "other side of the field" for GA operations... Youi could make money at around $150/ea for the "3" and say $400 for the single on to SAC... Under part 91 and with a Comm/Inst ticket... AND, the guy then calls another operator and sticks those going into Vegas together in one bird, and those going on to St George, UT in another...perhaps those going into AZ cities into yet another bird... Should only take maybe 30 min to "arrange" and be ready for the next load coming down the ramp...
Such a bird can be had today for around $100K or so... 3 pilots go together and buy it outright..."share" a mechanic with maybe 3 or 4 other such "groups"... maybe even share a hanger, etc... The 3 pilots put in $40k each...as this is a business, they can do a self-directed IRA investment before taxes out of their severance package from the big airline... Multiply this by say 1000 or even 5000 times across America...(I don't know where that many used, older, cheap, 200 mph, 6-pl SEL would come from)... For higher demand routes, ie: LAX or ElMonte or BUR to LAS...you might get some forward thinkers to go for a Cessna 208 turboprop...a la Hacienda flights back in the 60's?) I stay with the "single eng" models due to costs and flexibility... You could load up with 2ea for Kingman AZ and 2 ea for Bull Head City and make money...and, be back at LAX for another load, and another....etc. A Twin just doubles the cash needed, ie: $200K and burns more fuel/profits potential... You don't gain even the 7th seat until you get into the $3-400K range twins...there are very few Cessna 207's offered for sale and they usually go for $250k or so... You can stay "pure turbine" for say $500K cash, but the fuel bill (older eng family) will scare off your customers...(Westwind-I or II...or, G-2 or -3)... Cost per hour to operate ruins the profit picture..
Looking at the Jet Charter marketplace is like looking into a black hole right now... I know a Hawker driver back east, usually does 15+ flight hours per week BC... (before CV-19)... he is currently stuck at ONE FLIGHT per week, maybe 2 hr or so...tough, eh?... And that is a larger fleet operator, Hawker 600's, 800's, and Falcon 900B's.... Just saying, even with some fuel cost relief - this market is still stuck with very limited usage for these "Hub Outbound last mile" operations... Even packaging 14 pass on a G-IV from BUR/LAX to LAS is going to run $500 to $700/seat and you'll have to fill the bird in LAS for the return leg too...otherwise, it's $1000/seat easy just one way usage... Even the Citation Mustang would run nearly the same, due to fewer seats - and, is "cramped" to say the least... of course, it is still a pure jet....but...
BTW: the rental car companies are taking gas as we speak...Hertz may end up in BK soonest...next few days....this is going to be reflected all the way back into the car Mfg. The demand for one-way business could force some changes on them as well... This would start to look like the Limo business, or Airport Shuttles"...eh?
Perhaps we should all just buy stock in Grayhound....?
Anyway...them's my thoughts and I'm stuck with them like a hand-crank phonograph...
Mel Frost in Whitehall/Butte, MT area.... "the dark side of the RF moon"...
KD7DCR
NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS For May 22
FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS FOR MAY 16
THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY
22 May
1908: Roy Knabenshue's three-man airship made its first ascent at Toledo, Ohio, with the owner, Charles K. Hamilton, and George Duesler aboard. (24)
1912: 1Lt Alfred A. Cunningham reported for "duty in connection with aviation" to the Philadelphia Navy Yard. He thus became the Marine Corps' first aviator and the fifth in the Navy. As such, today is the birthday of Marine Corps aviation. (10)
1917: Curtiss schools at Newport News and Miami stopped training civilian pilot candidates for Air Service Signal Officers, Reserve Corps. The students were assigned to cadet schools at several universities. (24)
1934: MACKAY TROPHY. Capt Westside T. Larson received the 1933 trophy for developing procedures for instrument takeoffs and landings on land and sea and instrument flying over water. (4) (11) 1941: The Curtiss Hawk 87A Warhawk first flew.
1946: Majs F. T. Caschman and W. E. Zims in a Sikorsky set a 703.6-mile distance record for helicopters. Technicians at White Sands launched the first WAC Corporal E. It was the first US ballistic missile to use a guidance system (a ground-controlled radar system). (6)
1951: KOREAN WAR. In close air support sorties, Fifth Air Force fighter-bombers inflicted some 1,700 casualties on enemy forces, one of the highest daily totals thus far. (28)
1952: KOREAN WAR. Fifth Air Force flew 472 fighter-bomber sorties at the Kijang-ni industrial area near Pyongyang to destroy more than 90 percent of the complex, which produced hand grenades, small arms, and ammunition. (28) An Air Force Aerobee rocket carried two monkeys and two mice to a height of about 38 miles. These astronauts returned to earth safely. (16) (24)
1958: Over a two day period, Maj E. N. LeFaivre (USMC) piloted an F4D-1 at NAMTC Point Mugu to five world records in speed of climb to 3,000, 6,000, 12,000, and 15,000 meters with marks of 44.392, 66.095, 90.025, 111.224, and 156.233 seconds.
1964: Through 5 June, to combat the effects of the volcanic eruptions of Mount Irazu in Costa Rica, eight C-133s and five C-124s airlifted flood control equipment and personnel. (18)
1966: The US Army claimed 21 world records for its OH-6A light observation helicopter. Flights at Edwards AFB resulted in 12 speed records, with three each for distance, climbing, and sustained altitude. The records were submitted to the FAI in Paris.
1967: Two F-111As showed their long-range capabilities by flying from the US to Europe without refueling or external tanks.
1976: TYPHOON PAMELA. Through 15 June, after a typhoon struck Guam, MAC airlifted engineering repair teams and 2,650 tons of cargo, including generators, vans, utility vehicles, and communications equipment to Andersen AFB in 24 C-5, 83 C-141, 3 C-130 and 1 commercial missions. (18) (21)
1990: McDonnell Douglas pilot Larry Walker and Maj Erwin Jenschke landed the NF-15B STOL Maneuvering Technology Demonstrator in 1,650 feet at Edwards AFB. The Pratt and Whitney two-dimensional, thrust-reversing engine nozzles were used to stop the aircraft. (20)
1993: Lt Cmdr Kathryn P. Hire, the Navy's first woman to be assigned to a combat unit, flew her first mission in a Lockheed P-3C Update III Maritime Patrol Aircraft. (20)
2002: The X-45A Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV), designated Blue, flew for the first time at Edwards AFB over an oval shaped track for 14 minutes at 7,500 feet and 195 knots. It was the first unmanned aircraft designed for autonomous combat operations. (3) (21)
NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
This day in American Military History
May22
1843 – A massive wagon train, made up of 1,000 settlers and 1,000 head of cattle, sets off down the Oregon Trail from Independence, Missouri. Known as the "Great Emigration," the expedition came two years after the first modest party of settlers made the long, overland journey to Oregon. After leaving Independence, the giant wagon train followed the Sante Fe Trail for some 40 miles and then turned northwest to the Platte River, which it followed along its northern route to Fort Laramie, Wyoming. From there, it traveled on to the Rocky Mountains, which it passed through by way of the broad, level South Pass that led to the basin of the Colorado River. The travelers then went southwest to Fort Bridger, northwest across a divide to Fort Hall on the Snake River, and on to Fort Boise, where they gained supplies for the difficult journey over the Blue Mountains and into Oregon. The Great Emigration finally arrived in October, completing the 2,000-mile journey from Independence in five months. In the next year, four more wagon trains made the journey, and in 1845 the number of emigrants who used the Oregon Trail exceeded 3,000. Travel along the trail gradually declined with the advent of the railroads, and the route was finally abandoned in the 1870s.
1863 – U.S. Grant's second attack on Vicksburg, Miss., failed and a siege began.
See the MOH LIST BELOW
1943 – Admiral Dontiz orders all U-boat patrols in the north Atlantic to break off operations against the convoys. The submarine losses have grown too high. This decision effectively ends the battle of the Atlantic with an Allied victory. Some boats are moved south to the Caribbean and to waters off the Azores.
1944 – US 5th Army forces continue to advance. The US 2nd Corps (Keyes) advances north along the coast and Route 7. The French Expeditionary Corps captures Pico. There is continued heavy German resistance in the Liri Valley.
1944 – An American submarine detects the concentration of the Japanese fleet around Tawitawi.
1944 – Japanese forces attack US positions around Aitape. American forces make some withdrawals.
1944 – U.S. and British aircraft begin a systematic bombing raid on railroads in Germany and other parts of northern Europe, called Operation Chattanooga Choo-Choo. The operation is a success; Germany is forced to scramble for laborers, including foreign slave laborers, to repair the widespread damage exacted on its railway network.
1945 – Heinrich Himmler, the Reichsfuhrer SS, is captured by a British patrol at Bremervorde, near Hamburg. He initially claimed to be a rural policeman named Heinrich Hitzinger but under interrogation he removed the black eye patch he was wearing and put on his familiar glasses before admitting his true identity.
1945 – President Truman reports to Congress on the Lend-Lease program. He announces that up to March 1945, Britain had received supplies worth $12,775,000,000 and the Soviets $8,409,000,000. Reverse Lend-Lease, mostly from Britain has been worth almost $5,000,000,000 in the same period.
1945 – On Okinawa, American forces enter Yonabaru and capture Conical Hill. Heavy rains begin that hamper offensive operations for the coming weeks.
1945 – Elements of the US 24th Division reach Tambongan on Mindanao.
1945 – Operation Paperclip begins. United States Army Major Robert B. Staver recommends that the U.S. evacuate German scientists and engineers to help in the development of rocket technology.
1947 – In an effort to fight the spread of Communism, the U.S. President Harry S. Truman signs an act into law that will later be called the Truman Doctrine. The act grants $400 million in military and economic aid to Turkey and Greece, each battling an internal Communist movement.
1947 – The 1st US ballistic missile was fired.
1952 – Major General William K. Harrison succeeded Admiral C. Turner Joy as Senior U.N. Command Delegate for armistice negotiations.
1958 – Naval aircraft F4D-1 Sky Ray sets five world speed-to-climb records.
1969 – In Phubai, South Vietnam, Major General Melvin Zais, commander of the 101st Airborne Division, says his orders were 'to destroy enemy forces' in the Ashau valley and Apbia mountain form 10-20 May and says that he did not have any orders to reduce casualties by avoiding battles. Apbia mountain has been dubbed 'Hamburger Hill' due to high casualties on both sides. The US military command in Saigon states that the recent battle for Apbia mountain is an integral part of the policy of 'maximum pressure' that it has been pursuing for the last six months and confirms that no orders have been received from President Nixon to modify the basic strategy.
1969 – The lunar module of Apollo 10 separated from the command module and flew to within nine miles of the moon's surface in a dress rehearsal for the first lunar landing.
1970 – The White House announces the US is prepared to continue air cover, if needed, for South Vietnamese forces that are considered almost certain to remain in Cambodia after US troops are withdrawn.
1972 – President Richard Nixon arrives in Moscow for a summit with Soviet leaders. Although it was Nixon's first visit to the Soviet Union as president, he had visited Moscow once before–as U.S. vice president. As Eisenhower's vice president, Nixon made frequent official trips abroad, including a 1959 trip to Moscow to tour the Soviet capital and to attend the U.S. Trade and Cultural Fair in Sokolniki Park. Soon after Vice President Nixon arrived in July 1959, he opened an informal debate with Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev about the merits and disadvantages of their governments' political and economic systems. Known as the "Kitchen Debate" because of a particularly heated exchange between Khrushchev and Nixon that occurred in the kitchen of a model U.S. home at the American fair, the dialogue was a defining moment in the Cold War. Nixon's second visit to Moscow in May 1972, this time as president, was for a more conciliatory purpose. During a week of summit meetings with Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev and other Soviet officials, the United States and the USSR reached a number of agreements, including one that laid the groundwork for a joint space flight in 1975. On May 26, Nixon and Brezhnev signed the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT), the most significant of the agreements reached during the summit. The treaty limited the United States and the USSR to 200 antiballistic missiles each, which were to be divided between two defensive systems. President Nixon returned to the United States on May 30.
Congressional Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
1863 – U.S. Grant's second attack on Vicksburg, Miss., failed and a siege began.
99 MOH Citations: for Gallantry in the charge of the "volunteer storming party."
At Vicksberg Miss on 22 May 1863
I HAVE NEVER SEEN THIS MANY MOH FOR ONE BATTLE In a losing effort or any effort5338
NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.