The List 5385 TGB

The List 5385 TGB


Good Saturday Morning

I hope you all have a great weekend.

Regards,

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Today in Naval History

July 11

1798 President John Adams signs an act that reestablishes the Marine Corps under the Constitution. The following day, Maj. William W. Burrows is appointed Commandant of the Marine Corps.

1918 Henry Ford launches the first of the 100 intended Eagle boats. These boats have a solid cement bow, especially built for ramming and sinking submarines. Note, production is halted after (PE 60), though some of the boats continue to serve as training and transport vessels until 1947.

1943 Gunfire from U.S. cruisers and destroyers stop German and Italian tank attacks against Army beachhead at Gela, Sicily. Troop transport SS Robert Rowan is set afire by air attack and explodes. USS Orizaba (AP 24) rescues all hands of 421 troops, merchant marines and guards.

1944 USS Sealion (SS 315), in the Yellow Sea off the west coast of Korea, near Shosei Jima, sinks two Japanese freighters.

1987 USS Helena (SSN 725) is commissioned at Groton, Conn. The Los Angeles-class nuclear attack submarine is the fourth named for the capitol of Montana.



Thanks to CHINFO

No CHINFO on the weekends





Today in History July 11



1302

An army of French knights, led by the Count of Artois, is routed by Flemish pikemen.


1346

Charles IV of Luxembourg is elected Holy Roman Emperor in Germany.


1533

Henry VIII is excommunicated from the Catholic Church by Pope Clement VII.


1708

The French are defeated at Oudenarde, Malplaquet, in the Netherlands by the Duke of Marlborough and Eugene of Savoy.


1786

Morocco agrees to stop attacking American ships in the Mediterranean for a payment of $10,000.


1799

An Anglo-Turkish armada bombards Napoleon Bonaparte's troops in Alexandria to no avail.


1804

Alexander Hamilton is mortally wounded by Aaron Burr in a duel.


1862

President Abraham Lincoln appoints General Henry Halleck as general-in-chief of the Federal army.


1942

In the RAF's longest bombing raid of World War II, 44 British Lancaster bombers attack the Polish port of Danzig.

WWII@75: Japanese Resistance Ceases on Saipan

After more than three weeks of brutal combat, organized Japanese resistance ceased in the World War II invasion of Saipan, July 9, 1944, 75 years ago. Dubbed Operation Forager, the bloody battle's victory provided the Allies the opportunity to build airfields that would bring Tokyo into range of U.S. B-29 bombers. Although the operation was a success, it was costly. Americans suffered 26,000 casualties, 5,000 of which were deaths. At least 23,000 Japanese troops were killed and more than 1,780 captured. It was the deadliest campaign of the Allied Pacific offensive to date. To learn more, read H-032-1: Operation Forager and the Battle of the Philippine Sea by Director Sam Cox and Operation Forager: The Battle of Saipan by COD's Adam Bisno.


1972

American forces break the 95-day siege at An Loc in Vietnam.


1975

Archaeologists unearth an army of 8,000 life-size clay figures created more than 2,000 years ago for the Emperor Qin Shi Huang.


1995

Full diplomatic relations are established between the United States and Vietnam.





1804


Burr slays Hamilton in duel



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This is a repeat but worth a skim again

NHHC Webpage of the Week

This week's Webpage of the Week is a report recently published to NHHC's website that covers combat operations up to March 1, 1944, during World War II. Our Navy at War, an official report by Adm. Ernest J. King, Commander in Chief, United States Fleet and Chief of Naval Operations, provided the Secretary of the Navy a comprehensive report on the peacetime and wartime Navy, including combat operations up to that point. King's progress report notes "the importance and complexity of our naval operations and the tremendous expansion of our naval establishment since [the United States] entered the war." Check it out today and learn more about the U.S. Navy during the war.



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This was a year ago but I think we are in worse shape now.

Thanks to Donald

Military Readiness

5 minute video. It is scary huh??? WE AIN'T IN GOOD SHAPE!!



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aU3Lx59MfxE&t=1s&mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiTmpBMlltTmxOV05pWkRsaCIsInQiOiJuYWRhRzBtVngyaENNeWNneTZwaW1ETUV4VERjOGs0dVwvZE1BTUdEejFiME82bXN0YWRLNWtxMFdrUUEwWVwvVzBhRmFJcHN2elBGMnFCSEc3WE9PTTZpbjhmMWxucDZIS3krclBoR3pyWU5mQWlPY3J5MElhbWJIK0RKMUNYOXZ6In0%3D

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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for July 11, 2020 FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY



1914: R. A. D. Preston won the National Balloon Race by flying from St. Louis and landing at Point Pleasant, Ky., 305 miles away. (24)

1952: KOREAN WAR/Operation PRESSURE PUMP. Far East Air Forces flew 1,329 sorties, the highest daily total for the month. In the first raid, nearly every operational air unit in the Far East attacked 30 targets in Pyongyang, in the largest single strike so far of the war. Attacking aircraft destroyed three targets, including the N. Korean Ministry of Industry. Most others sustained heavy damage. (28)

1953: KOREAN WAR. Maj John F. Bolt became the first jet ace in Marine Corps history. He was flying an F-86 Super Sabre on temporary duty with the USAF's 51st Fighter Interceptor Wing. (16) (24)

1956: TAC's first KB-50 tanker arrived at Langley AFB.

1958: A KC-135 Stratotanker completed the first nonstop flight from Washington DC to Honolulu. It covered 5,000 miles in 11 hours 8 minutes. (9)

1960: The US emplaced the first Jupiter missile in an Italian missile base. (6)

1962: The USAF launched the second Titan II from Cape Canaveral. It flew 5,000 miles down the Atlantic Missile Range. (24)

1963: When SAC accepted three Blue Scout Junior launch sites at Wisner, West Point, and Tekamah, Nebr., th Emergency Rocket Communications System became operational. (1)

1967: In public ceremonies, Martin Marietta rolled out the X-24A, a manned, flat-iron shaped wingless lifting body for reentry studies. It was powered by a rocket engine. (16) (26)

1968: Two Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) satellites, OVI-15 and OVI-16, were placed in an orbit to measure density and density variations at low altitudes. (16)

1971: Operation COMBAT VEE. Through 22 July, in a joint operation with the US Department of Agriculture, seven UC-123Ks from Langley AFB and Hurlburt Field, and eight C-47s from England AFB sprayed Malathion on more than 2.5 million acres in southeast Texas to combat Venezuelan Equine Encephalomeylitis. (16) (26)

1972: The USAF launched a giant balloon, 962 feet tall, to support NASA's Viking Project for landing an unmanned spacecraft on Mars in 1976. (16) (26)

1975: The 550th Minuteman III became operational with the 341 SMW at Malmstrom AFB to give the Air Force a force mix of 450 Minuteman II/550 Minuteman III missiles. (1) (6)

1979: Skylab, after 38,981 orbits, reentered the atmosphere.

1993: Through 1 August, after one of the worst floods in American history covered 16,000 square miles in eight midwestern states near the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, 20 C-5 and C-141 missions airlifted 800 tons of relief equipment, supplies, sandbags, and water purification systems to the area. (16) (18)

1999: A C-141 from the 62 AW at McChord AFB and a KC-135 (Hawaii ANG) left Christchurch, New Zealand, on a 6,375-mile round-trip journey to the South Pole. The C-141 airdropped emergency medical supplies near the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station to support the diagnosis and treatment of a physician who had discovered a lump in her breast. The continual darkness and extreme cold of the Antarctic winter prevented her evacuation until 16 October, when a ski-equipped LC-130 from 109 AW (ANG) from Schenectady Airport, N.Y., made the trip from Amundsen-Scott South Pole Research Station to McMurdo NAS. (22)



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Thanks to Carl,

This is another one I had never read before.

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http://cdrsalamander.blogspot.com/2020/07/fullbore-friday_10.html



Friday, July 10, 2020

Fullbore Friday


How in one FbF can you do justice to a ship with 20 Battle Stars like the USS O'BANNON (DD-450)? 17 in WWII (second only to USS ENTERPRISE (CV-6) ), and three in Korea.

We aren't the only US Navy that has trouble getting its Sailors armed with the right weapons and enough weapons ... and we aren't the only US Navy with resourceful Sailors.

From the Destroyer History Foundation and Ernest A. Herr - BEHOLD!

On 5 April 1943, DesRon 21 was returning from a night of shelling Japanese shore installations deep in the New Georgia area of the Solomon Islands. Our destroyer, the O'Bannon, as part of this force, picked up a radar contact that turned out to be a large Japanese submarine cruising on the surface and apparently unaware of our presence. The Japanese lookouts undoubtedly were fast asleep.

We approached rapidly and were preparing to ram the sub. Our captain and other officers on the bridge were trying to identify the type of sub and decided, at the last minute, that it could be a mine layer. Not wanting to blow up ourselves along with the sub, the decision was made that ramming was not a wise move. At the last moment, the rudder was swung hard to avoid a collision and we found ourselves in a rather embarrassing situation as we sailed along side of the Japanese submarine.

On board the sub, Japanese sailors, wearing dark shorts and dinky blue hats, were sleeping out on deck. In what could be considered a rude awaking, they sat up to see an American destroyer sailing along side. Our ship however, was far too close to permit our guns lowered enough to fire and since no one on deck carried a gun, not a shot was heard. Ditto on the Japanese sub, no one there had a gun either. In this situation, no one seemed sure of the proper course of action and it probably would not have been covered in the manual anyway. Therefore everyone just stared more or less spellbound.

The submarine was equipped with a 3-inch deck gun and the sub's captain finally decided that now was probably a good time to make use of it. As the Japanese sailors ran toward their gun, our deck parties reached into storage bins that were located nearby, picked out some potatoes and threw them at the sailors on the deck of the sub. A potato battle ensued. Apparently the Japanese sailors thought the potatoes were hand grenades. This kept them very busy as they try to get rid of them by throwing them back at the O'Bannon or over the side of the sub. Thus occupied, they were too busy to man their deck gun which gave us sufficient time to put a little distance between our ship and the sub.

Finally we were far enough away to bring our guns to bear and firing commenced. One of our shells managed to hit the sub's conning tower but the sub managed to submerge anyway. At that time our ship was able to pass directly over the sub for a depth charge attack. Later information showed that the sub did sink. When the Association of Potato Growers of Maine heard of this strange episode, they sent a plaque to commemorate the event. The plaque was mounted in an appropriate place near the crews mess hall for the crew to see. Well, it was the crew's battle.

BTW - as any WESTPAC guy will tell you, even today the Japanese have no idea what to do with a spud.





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Another from Carl

Just to put privilege into prospective.






Issues which Americans should consider in discussing the current fashionable concept of "White Privilege.






What really is Privilege?



1). Privilege is wearing $200 sneakers when you've never had a job.



2). Privilege is wearing $300 Beats headphones while living on public assistance.



3). Privilege is having a Smartphone with a data plan, which you receive no bill for.



4). Privilege is living in public subsidized housing where you don't have a utility or phone bill and where rising property taxes, rents and energy costs have absolutely no effect on the amount of food you can put on your table, which is largely covered by Government Food Stamps.



5). Privilege is having free health insurance for you and your family that's paid for by working taxpayers who often can't afford proper health coverage for their own families.



6). Privilege is having multiple national organizations promoting and protecting just your race alone --- that are subsidized by federal tax dollars.



7). Privilege is having access to a national college fund that supports only your race.



8). Privilege is having a television network that supports only one race.



9). Privilege is having most of the media news networks refuse to cover incidents wherein one race (one-eighth of the population) commits 50% of the crimes.



10). Privilege is the ability to go march against, and protest against anything that triggers you, without worrying about calling off from work and the consequences that accompany such.



11). Privilege is having as many children as you want, regardless of your employment status, and be able to send them off to daycare or pre-school you don't pay for.



12). Privilege is being able to vote in many states without showing a driver's license, voter ID card or other credentials -- just because your race claims they should be exempt from such requirements.



13). Privilege is being able to riot, loot, commit arson and tear down historic monuments without consequences --- just because you don't like folks such as Christopher Columbus, U. S. Grant or even Abraham Lincoln.



14). Privilege is having most of your life paid for by the working men and women who do have to deal with rising taxes and costs!

You know, those you now call "PRIVILEGED".







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July 11, 2020

This Day in US Military History



1798 – President John Adams signed the bill that re-established the Marine Corps. The Continental Congress had disbanded the service in April of 1783 at the end of the American Revolution. The Marine Corps, however, recognizes its "official" birthday to be the date that the Second Continental Congress first authorized the establishment of the "Corps of Marines" on 10 November 1775. To add to the confusion of the Corps' actual "historical" birthday, on 1 July 1797 Congress authorized the Revenue cutters to carry, in addition to their regular crew, up to "30 marines." Congress directed the cutters to interdict French privateers operating off the coast during the Quasi-War with France and thought the additional firepower of 30 marines would be needed by the under-manned and under-gunned cutters. It is unknown if any "marines" were enlisted for service with the Revenue cutters during this time.



1804 – A duel between Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton leaves Hamilton dead. Since New Jersey did not have a law against dueling at the time, Burr and Hamilton, both New Yorkers, crossed the Hudson to Weehawken, New Jersey. New York had banned the practice earlier, partly due to Hamilton's own campaign efforts after his son was killed in a duel. Dueling was outlawed in the North much earlier than it was in the South. The state of Massachusetts declared it "detestable and infamous." Duelists in that state could be punished even if they both survived the duel. A typical penalty would be to stand an hour with a rope around their neck at the gallows and then to spend a year in prison. Transgressors might also receive lashes from a whip. For duelists who died, there was still a civic penalty to be paid. The loser was buried without a coffin near the spot of the duel with a stake driven through his body. The winner could be prosecuted for murder, executed, and buried in the same manner. Even the mere threat of a duel had serious consequences: In 1818, George Norton challenged someone to a duel in New York for insulting his honor and was sentenced to a month in prison for his dare. In the South, dueling was much more popular and accepted, especially among upper-class society. The practice was so common that legislators were asked to take an oath to declare that they had never been in a duel. Even after dueling became illegal, the law was rarely enforced. The Burr-Hamilton duel was not the last high-profile case. In 1809, future senator Henry Clay and Humphrey Marshall were arguing over legislation in Kentucky's state house when Clay called Marshall a demagogue and Marshall responded by calling Clay a liar. Their subsequent duel was fought with pistols at a length of ten paces. Luckily for both, neither was a good shot (nor were the weapons particularly accurate), and they both recovered from their injuries.



1953 – Lieutenant Colonel John F. Bolt became the 37th Korean War ace and the only U.S. Marine Corps pilot to qualify as an ace during the Korea War. He also has the distinction of being the only jet ace in Marine Corps history and the only U.S. Marine to become an ace in two wars (World War II and Korea). Bolt was flying an F-86 Sabre, "Darling Dottie," attached to the Air Force's 51st Fighter-Interceptor Wing.



1955 – The new US Air Force Academy was dedicated at Lowry Air Base in Colorado.

1979 – Parts of Skylab, America's first space station, come crashing down on Australia and into the Indian Ocean five years after the last manned Skylab mission ended. No one was injured. Launched in 1973, Skylab was the world's first successful space station. The first manned Skylab mission came two years after the Soviet Union launched Salynut 1, the world's first space station, into orbit around the earth. However, unlike the ill-fated Salynut, which was plagued with problems, the American space station was a great success, safely housing three separate three-man crews for extended periods of time. Originally the spent third stage of a Saturn 5 moon rocket, the cylindrical space station was 118 feet tall, weighed 77 tons, and carried the most varied assortment of experimental equipment ever assembled in a single spacecraft to that date. The crews of Skylab spent more than 700 hours observing the sun and brought home more than 175,000 solar pictures. They also provided important information about the biological effects of living in space for prolonged periods of time. Five years after the last Skylab mission, the space station's orbit began to deteriorate–earlier than was anticipated–because of unexpectedly high sunspot activity. On July 11, 1979, Skylab made a spectacular return to earth, breaking up in the atmosphere and showering burning debris over the Indian Ocean and Australia.



The Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day



*CRAIG, ROBERT
Rank and organization: Second Lieutenant, U.S. Army, 15th Infantry, 3d Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Favoratta, Sicily, 11 July 1943. Entered service at: Toledo, Ohio. Birth: Scotland. G.O. No.: 41, 26 May 1944. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life, above and beyond the call of duty, on 11 July 1943 at Favoratta, Sicily. 2d Lt. Craig voluntarily undertook the perilous task of locating and destroying a hidden enemy machinegun which had halted the advance of his company. Attempts by 3 other officers to locate the weapon had resulted in failure, with each officer receiving wounds. 2d Lt. Craig located the gun and snaked his way to a point within 35 yards of the hostile position before being discovered. Charging headlong into the furious automatic fire, he reached the gun, stood over it, and killed the 3 crew members with his carbine. With this obstacle removed, his company continued its advance. Shortly thereafter while advancing down the forward slope of a ridge, 2d Lt. Craig and his platoon, in a position devoid of cover and concealment, encountered the fire of approximately 100 enemy soldiers. Electing to sacrifice himself so that his platoon might carry on the battle, he ordered his men to withdraw to the cover of the crest while he drew the enemy fire to himself. With no hope of survival, he charged toward the enemy until he was within 25 yards of them. Assuming a kneeling position, he killed 5 and wounded 3 enemy soldiers. While the hostile force concentrated fire on him, his platoon reached the cover of the crest. 2d Lt. Craig was killed by enemy fire, but his intrepid action so inspired his men that they drove the enemy from the area, inflicting heavy casualties on the hostile force.

*ENDL, GERALD L.
Rank and organization: Staff Sergeant, U S. Army, 32d Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Anamo, New Guinea, 11 July 1944. Entered service at: Janesville, Wis. Birth: Ft. Atkinson, Wis. G.O. No.: 17, 13 March 1945. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty near Anamo, New Guinea, on 11 July 1944. S/Sgt. Endl was at the head of the leading platoon of his company advancing along a jungle trail when enemy troops were encountered and a fire fight developed. The enemy attacked in force under heavy rifle, machinegun, and grenade fire. His platoon leader wounded, S/Sgt. Endl immediately assumed command and deployed his platoon on a firing line at the fork in the trail toward which the enemy attack was directed. The dense jungle terrain greatly restricted vision and movement, and he endeavored to penetrate down the trail toward an open clearing of Kunai grass. As he advanced, he detected the enemy, supported by at least 6 light and 2 heavy machineguns, attempting an enveloping movement around both flanks. His commanding officer sent a second platoon to move up on the left flank of the position, but the enemy closed in rapidly, placing our force in imminent danger of being isolated and annihilated. Twelve members of his platoon were wounded, 7 being cut off by the enemy. Realizing that if his platoon were forced farther back, these 7 men would be hopelessly trapped and at the mercy of a vicious enemy, he resolved to advance at all cost, knowing it meant almost certain death, in an effort to rescue his comrades. In the face of extremely heavy fire he went forward alone and for a period of approximately 10 minutes engaged the enemy in a heroic close-range fight, holding them off while his men crawled forward under cover to evacuate the wounded and to withdraw. Courageously refusing to abandon 4 more wounded men who were Iying along the trail, 1 by 1 he brought them back to safety. As he was carrying the last man in his arms he was struck by a heavy burst of automatic fire and was killed. By his persistent and daring self-sacrifice and on behalf of his comrades, S/Sgt. Endl made possible the successful evacuation of all but 1 man, and enabled the 2 platoons to withdraw with their wounded and to reorganize with the rest of the company.

ROBERTS, GORDON R.
Rank and organization: Sergeant (then Sp4c.), U.S. Army, Company B, 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry, 101st Airborne Division. Place and date: Thua Thien Province, Republic of Vietnam, 11 July 1969. Entered service at: Cincinnati, Ohio. Born: 14 June 1950, Middletown, Ohio. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Sgt. Roberts distinguished himself while serving as a rifleman in Company B, during combat operations. Sgt. Roberts' platoon was maneuvering along a ridge to attack heavily fortified enemy bunker positions which had pinned down an adjoining friendly company. As the platoon approached the enemy positions, it was suddenly pinned down by heavy automatic weapons and grenade fire from camouflaged enemy fortifications atop the overlooking hill. Seeing his platoon immobilized and in danger of failing in its mission, Sgt. Roberts crawled rapidly toward the closest enemy bunker. With complete disregard for his safety, he leaped to his feet and charged the bunker, firing as he ran. Despite the intense enemy fire directed at him, Sgt. Roberts silenced the 2-man bunker. Without hesitation, Sgt. Roberts continued his l-man assault on a second bunker. As he neared the second bunker, a burst of enemy fire knocked his rifle from his hands. Sgt. Roberts picked up a rifle dropped by a comrade and continued his assault, silencing the bunker. He continued his charge against a third bunker and destroyed it with well-thrown hand grenades. Although Sgt. Roberts was now cut off from his platoon, he continued his assault against a fourth enemy emplacement. He fought through a heavy hail of fire to join elements of the adjoining company which had been pinned down by the enemy fire. Although continually exposed to hostile fire, he assisted in moving wounded personnel from exposed positions on the hilltop to an evacuation area before returning to his unit. By his gallant and selfless actions, Sgt. Roberts contributed directly to saving the lives of his comrades and served as an inspiration to his fellow soldiers in the defeat of the enemy force. Sgt. Roberts' extraordinary heroism in action at the risk of his life were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the U.S. Army.


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