Good Sunday Morning August 16, 2020
.Regards.
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Aug. 16
1822—USS Grampus investigates and pursues a brig flying Spanish colors. When called upon to surrender, the privateer brig Palmyra from Puerto Rico fires cannon and musket fire. USS Grampus fires back on Palmyra's broadsides reducing Palmyra's rigging to a complete wreck, killing one and wounding six. The brig surrenders with a crew of 88, one long 18-pounder gun and eight 18-pound carronades.
1863—During the Civil War, three Union ships, USS Rhode Island, USS De Soto and USS Gertrude each capture steamers loaded with cargoes of turpentine, cotton, tobacco, coffee, cigars and dry goods from the Bahama Islands to the Gulf of Mexico to Cuba.
1864—During the Civil War, USS Saratoga, commanded by Cmdr. George Colvocoresses, captures 100 prisoners and a quantity of arms on a raid into McIntosh County, GA. Cmdr.
1944—USS Croaker (SS 246) sinks Japanese auxiliary minesweeper, Taito Maru.
1954—Operation Passage to Freedom begins. The operation transports refugees from Haiphong to Saigon, Vietnam.
1958—USS Seadragon (SSN 584) launches at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.
1986—USS Nevada (SSBN 733) is commissioned at Groton, CT. The Ohio-class ballistic-missile submarine is the fourth named after the Silver State.
2009—USNS Matthew Perry (T-AKE 9) is christened and launched at San Diego, CA. The Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo ship is named to honor Commodore Matthew C. Perry, who led the expedition to open trading between the West and Japan.
No CHINFO on the weekends
Today in Naval History
Aug. 16
1822—USS Grampus investigates and pursues a brig flying Spanish colors. When called upon to surrender, the privateer brig Palmyra from Puerto Rico fires cannon and musket fire. USS Grampus fires back on Palmyra's broadsides reducing Palmyra's rigging to a complete wreck, killing one and wounding six. The brig surrenders with a crew of 88, one long 18-pounder gun and eight 18-pound carronades.
1863—During the Civil War, three Union ships, USS Rhode Island, USS De Soto and USS Gertrude each capture steamers loaded with cargoes of turpentine, cotton, tobacco, coffee, cigars and dry goods from the Bahama Islands to the Gulf of Mexico to Cuba.
1864—During the Civil War, USS Saratoga, commanded by Cmdr. George Colvocoresses, captures 100 prisoners and a quantity of arms on a raid into McIntosh County, GA. Cmdr.
1944—USS Croaker (SS 246) sinks Japanese auxiliary minesweeper, Taito Maru.
1954—Operation Passage to Freedom begins. The operation transports refugees from Haiphong to Saigon, Vietnam.
1958—USS Seadragon (SSN 584) launches at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.
1986—USS Nevada (SSBN 733) is commissioned at Groton, CT. The Ohio-class ballistic-missile submarine is the fourth named after the Silver State.
2009—USNS Matthew Perry (T-AKE 9) is christened and launched at San Diego, CA. The Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo ship is named to honor Commodore Matthew C. Perry, who led the expedition to open trading between the West and Japan.
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From NHHC
Team Naval History,
A hundred years ago, on Aug. 18, 1918, the first naval railway gun became operational in France during World War I. The Allies developed railway guns in response to the Germans' long-range artillery guns, such as the Leugenboom, that enabled the Germans to bombard Dunkirk from a distance of over 24 miles. NHHC's website includes several pages of detailed history on the railway batteries, as well as a large selection of historic photos from the period, including several of Capt. Charles P. Plunkett—later Rear Adm. Plunkett—who commanded the U.S. naval railway batteries.
WW1@100—First Railway Gun Becomes Operational
During World War I, the Allies were seeking a way to defend themselves from German long-range artillery guns and bombard the German supply and concentration positions behind the front. The solution came in the form of a "rail gun"—a 14-inch, .50-caliber Mark IV Navy rifle mounted on a railway carriage. U.S. Navy railway batteries in World War I were commanded by U.S. Navy Capt. Charles P. Plunkett—later Rear Adm. Plunkett—and manned by crews of Sailors. Those assigned to U.S. naval railway batteries received training on how to put the guns in place, load, fire, and disassemble. They also learned to operate trains and locomotives, and build railway tracks. On Aug. 18, 1918, the first naval railway gun became operational in St. Nazaire, France. The batteries continued to operate until the signing of the Armistice on Nov. 11, 1918. A railway battery gun and mount used in France currently sit in Washington Navy Yard's Willard Park. To learn more about the U.S. Navy's railway batteries, check out this fascinating official history originally published in 1922.
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The Battle of Athens TN.
news, but not covered as well as this video shows. They don't teach this in schools... Hal
Thanks for this, Virginia...
Really great piece of history.
The Battle of Athens (TN) 1946
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Thanks to John for telling me about this four motored dogfight
An Interesting Dog Fight by Stan Stokes. (B)
October 23, 1942 was a typical day for American troops at Esprito Santo, but for the crew of a B-17 Flying Fortress it would become a most memorable day. Early that morning the Japanese began shelling the field. Lt. Ed Loberg, a former farm boy from Wisconsin, was ordered to take his B-17 up for a reconnaissance mission to determine where the Japanese guns may be located. Not finding anything they returned to the field. The brakes failed on the B-17 upon landing, and they hit several parked Navy aircraft. Fortunately for Lobergs crew a 100 pound bomb dislodged in the crash did not explode. Later that day the crew boarded another B-17 and went hunting out to sea. Around mid-day the crew noticed a PBY being attacked by a Kawanishi H6K Mavis flying boat. Diving the B-17 straight down, the Mavis and the Flying Fortress soon entered a rain squall. The windows were black with clouds and rain, and the plane was buffeted by strong winds. Emerging from the squall at low altitude into blinding sunlight the B-17 emerged only fifty feet from their adversary. Immediately every gun on both aircraft began firing in a broadside exchange reminiscent of age old sailing ship battles. Thousands of bullets criss-crossed the narrow spread of air, and the Fortress shuddered from the impact. Tracer bullets from the B-17 pelted the Mavis like darts with many ricocheting off its armor. The Mavis made a tight turn, and Loberg turned inside him to avoid the mortal sting from the Mavis tail guns. In and out of rain squalls this interesting dogfight continued for 45 minutes. The Mavis kept very close to the wave tops to protect is vulnerable under belly. Several times during the fight the Mavis disappeared for three or four minutes into clouds, but each time as it reemerged Lobergs B-17 resumed the attack. Twice the B-17 passed over the H6K so close that the jagged bullet holes in the Mavis and the round glasses on its two pilots could be seen clearly. Finally, the Mavis began smoking, and the Japanese plane dropped into the sea and exploded in a large ball of flame. In the words of Ira Wolfert, a war correspondent, who was on the flight; During the duel, the Fort that I was on, with a bullet in one of its motors, and two holes as big as Derby hats in its wings, made tight turns with half-rolls and banks past vertical. That is, it frequently stood against the sea on one wing like a ballet dancer balancing on one point, and occasionally it went over even farther than that and started lifting its belly toward the sky in desperate effort to keep the Jap from turning inside it… Throughout the entire forty-four minutes, the plane, one of the oldest being used in the war, ran at top speed, shaking and rippling all over like a skirt in a gale, so many inches of mercury being blown into its motors by the superchargers that the pilot and co-pilot, in addition to their other worries, had to keep an eye on the cowlings to watch for cylinder heads popping up through them. Others on Lobergs crew that day were B. Thurston the co-pilot, R Spitzer the navigator, R. Mitchell the bombadier and E. Gustafson , E. Jung, G. Holbert , E. Smith, and P. Butterbaugh who manned the guns during this unusual dogfight. Both Mitchell and Spitzer were wounded during the battle.
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'MythBusters' co-host 'nearly rendered speechless' by incredible footage of pistol firing round at 73,000 frames per second
Aug. 17, 2015 8:03am
"MythBusters" co-host Adam Savage was "nearly rendered speechless" by amazing video footage that captured a pistol firing off a round at 73,000 frames per second.
"Adam Savage is nearly rendered speechless by incredible slomo footage that captures a bullet being fired at 73,000 frames per second. Shot at these speeds, the video reveals a dance of pressure and fire that would otherwise be missed by the unaided eye," the video's description reads on Discovery's official YouTube channel.
Watch the incredible video, which has been viewed over 250,000 times, below:
Pistol Shot Recorded at 73,000 Frames Per Second - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7y9apnbI6GA
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Some great snippets of history - Dutch
A Short History of the T-34 Tank
The Russian designed T-34 tank of WW II fame is arguably the best and most influential tank of WW II. Based on when it was designed, entered combat, and how long it was in front line service, it still performed well even in the 1950s, earns it that distinction.
"The tank evolved from the light Soviet BT (bystrokhodny tank/high-speed tank) of the 1930s, which had been derived from the American M1931 Christie tank. First brought to the Soviet Union as a turret-less example under the designation of "farm tractor", the Christie and subsequent Spanish variants provided a basis for Soviet designer Mikhail Koshkin."
"The T-34 reportedly saw action in 2014 too, when pro-Russia fighters in eastern Ukraine removed at least one display example from its pedestal, and after a quick overhaul took it into combat once more."
10 facts about WW I's Eastern Front
In the West the front remained static for almost 4 years, but the battles in the East were ones of massive land capture and re-taking over the whole 4 years of war.
442 RCT – Capturing a Sub
The most decorated unit of all time, in total numbers of awards presented to a unit compared to the number of people assigned to it, the Nisei unit participated in 8 campaigns during WW II. A WW II US regiment usually consisted of 3 Battalions of 600 men. The 442 RCT had only 2 battalions but were awarded 9,486 Purple Hearts. 21 Nisei were awarded the Medal of Honor.
"Journey of Heroes: the Story of the 100th Infantry Battalion and 442nd Regimental Combat Team" by Stacey T. Hayashito.
Under the Doodlebug
How from the WW I Zeppelin raids, the Gotha Bombers, and then Spanish civil war influenced and created the event where a child who survived a V1 (Fi-103) in a backyard London shelter affects people for a long time.
American WW I Commissioned Artists – May see Light of Day
Over 700 pieces of art were created for the US Government during World War I in France, but most have never been seen by anyone other than the person who put them away in 1929.
Myths about Myths of WW I
John T. Kuehn dispels some of the myths of WW I often repeated by really bad armchair historians.
http://warontherocks.com/2014/08/the-great-war-myths-about-myths/
Hooves On The Ground
Q: I have heard the position of a horse's legs in an equestrian statue of a fallen solder tells how he died. Is there any truth to this? — C.G., Bethesda, Maryland
A: The quick answer is no. According to the urban legend, if the horse is rearing, the rider died in battle; one leg up means the rider was wounded in battle or died of battle wounds; and if all four hooves are on the ground, the rider died outside battle. I'm told this was created to be the guide for monuments at Gettysburg National Military Park, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, but there are several exceptions to the rule.
How B-17s Were Purchased and Brought to Israel in 1947
The US was not always an ally of Israel. During their 1947, 1956 wars no US military aid was delivered – and all military aid was actively blocked – by the USA. 1962 was the first year Israel was allowed to buy US military equipment.
Three B-17s however, did avoid the military embargo of the US and make it to Israel and bombed Cairo in 1948 escorted by Czech Built BF 109s.
http://theaviationist.com/2014/07/22/how-israel-got-the-b-17/
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This Day in U S Military History
1812 – During the War of 1812, American General William Hull surrenders Fort Detroit and his army to the British without a fight. Hull, a 59-year-old veteran of the American Revolution, had lost hope of defending the settlement after seeing the large English and Indian force gathering outside Detroit's walls. The general was also preoccupied with the presence of his daughter and grandchildren inside the fort. Of Hull's 2,000-man army, most were militiamen, and British General Isaac Brock allowed them to return to their homes on the frontier. The regular U.S. Army troops were taken as prisoners to Canada. With the capture of Fort Detroit, Michigan Territory was declared a part of Great Britain and Shawnee chief Tecumseh was able to increase his raids against American positions in the frontier area. Hull's surrender was a severe blow to American morale. In September 1813, U.S. General William Henry Harrison, the future president, recaptured Detroit. In 1814, William Hull was court-martialed for cowardice and neglect of duty in surrendering the fort, and sentenced to die. Because of his service in the revolution, however, President James Madison remitted the sentence
1863 – U.S.S. Pawnee, Commander Balch, escaped undamaged when a floating Confederate torpedo exploded under her stern, destroying a launch, shortly after midnight at Stono Inlet, South Carolina. Four hours later, another torpedo exploded within 30 yards of the ship. In all, four devices exploded close by, and two others were picked up by mortar schooner C. P. Williams. In addition, a boat capable of holding 10 torpedoes was captured by Pawnee. Commander Balch informed Rear Admiral Dahlgren that the torpedoes were ingenious and exceedingly simple" and suggested that 'they may be one of the means" which the Confederates would use to destroy Northern ships stationed in the Stono River. The threat posed by the torpedoes floating down rivers caused grave concern among Northern naval commanders, and Dahlgren came to grips with it at once. Within 10 days, Lieutenant Commander Bacon, U.S.S. Commodore McDonough reported from Lighthouse Inlet that a net had been stretched across the Inlet "for the purpose of stopping torpedoes. . . ."
1896 – Sometime prospector George Carmack stumbles across gold while salmon fishing along the Klondike River in the Yukon. George Carmack's discovery of gold in that region sparked the last great western gold rush, but it was pure chance that he found it. In contrast to the discoverers of many of the other major American gold fields, Carmack was not a particularly serious prospector. He had traveled to Alaska in 1881 drawn by the reports of major gold strikes in the Juneau area, but failing to make a significant strike, he headed north into the isolated Yukon Territory. There he spent his days wandering the wilderness with the friendly Tagish Indians and fishing for salmon. On this day in 1896, Carmack and two Tagish friends were salmon fishing on Rabbit Creek, a tributary of the Klondike River. As he habitually did, Carmack occasionally stopped to swirl a bit of the river sand in his prospector's pan. He had seen a little gold, but nothing of particular note. At day's end, the men made camp along the creek, and Carmack said he spotted a thumb-sized nugget of gold jutting out from the creek bank. The two Tagish Indians later said that Carmack had been napping that evening and one of them found the nugget while washing a dishpan. Regardless, further investigation revealed gold deposits "lying thick between the flaky slabs of rock like cheese in a sandwich." Subsequent expeditions in the spring and summer of the following year turned up other sizeable gold deposits. In part, because the summer of 1897 was a slow one for news, the major mass-circulation newspapers played up the story of the gold strikes, sparking a nationwide sensation. In the years to come, as many as 50,000 eager gold seekers arrived in the Klondike-Yukon region. Few found any wealth, though their hardships and adventures inspired the highly romanticized Yukon tales of Jack London and the poems of Robert Service. Carmack did get rich, reportedly taking a million dollars worth of gold out of his Klondike claims and retiring to Vancouver, B.C. He died in 1922 at the age of 61, a wealthy and honored benefactor of the city.
1942 – The US Navy L-8 patrol blimp crash-landed at 419 Bellevue St., Daly City, Ca., after drifting in from the ocean. The ship's crew, Lt. Ernest Dewitt Cody (27) and Ensign Charles E. Adams (38), were missing and no trace of them was ever found.
1945 – The Emperor issues an Imperial Rescript (decree) at 1600 hours (local time) ordering all Japanese forces to cease fire. The Cabinet resigns. General Prince Higashikumi becomes the prime minister of Japan and forms a new government. He orders the Imperial Army to obey the Emperor's call and lay down their arms.
1960 – Air Force COL Joseph Kittinger parachutes from a balloon over New Mexico at 102,800 feet (31,300 m), setting three records that held until 2012: High-altitude jump, free fall, and highest speed by a human without an aircraft.
1972 – U.S. fighter-bombers fly 370 air strikes against North Vietnam, the highest daily total of the year; additionally, there are eight B-52 strikes in the North. Meanwhile, U.S. warplanes flew 321 missions (including 27 B-52 strikes) in South Vietnam, mostly in Quang Tri province. Despite this heavy air activity, hopes for an agreement to end the war rise as Henry Kissinger leaves Paris to confer with President Thieu and his advisers.
2001 – Zacarias Moussaoui (33), a French citizen of Moroccan descent, was arrested in Minneapolis on immigration charges. He was taking lessons on flying Boeing jets with no interest in taking off or landing. He was later suspected as a 5th member of one of the Sep 11 WTC attack teams. In Nov the FBI reported that Moussaoui wanted to learn how to take off and land but not to fly. Mueller also said Ramzi Omar of Yemen, aka Ramsi Binalshibh, may have been the 20th hijacker. The local FBI contacted the CIA for action on Moussaoui when FBI managers failed to take action. Agent Coleen Rowley later charged that senior officials fumbled an opportunity to possibly prevent the Sep 11 terrorist attacks.
Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
* HARDENBERGH, HENRY M.
Rank and organization: Private, Company G, 39th Illinois Infantry. Place and date: At Deep Run, Va., 16 August 1864. Entered service at: Bremen, Ill. Birth: Noble County, Ind. Date of issue: 6 April 1865. Citation. Capture of flag. He was wounded in the shoulder during this action. He was killed in action at Petersburg on 28 August 1864.
KELLY, THOMAS
Rank and organization: Private, Company A, 6th New York Cavalry. Place and date: At Front Royal, Va., 16 August 1864. Entered service at: ——. Birth: Ireland. Date of issue: 26 August 1864. Citation: Capture of flag.
SHELLENBERGER, JOHN S.
Rank and organization: Corporal, Company B, 85th Pennsylvania Infantry. Place and date: At Deep Run, Va., 16 August 1864. Entered service at: Perryopolis, Pa. Birth: ——. Date of issue: 6 April 1865. Citation: Capture of flag.
BURNETT, GEORGE R.
Rank and organization. Second Lieutenant, 9th U.S. Cavalry. Place and date: At Cuchillo Negro Mountains, N. Mex., 16 August 1881. Entered servlce at: Spring Mills, Pa. Birth. Lower Providence Township Pa. Date of issue: 23 July 1897. Citation. Saved the life of a dismounted soldier, who was in imminent danger of being cut off, by alone galloping quickly to his assistance under heavy fire and escorting him to a place of safety, his horse being twice shot in this action.
WALLEY, AUGUSTUS
Rank and organization: Private, Company I, 9th U.S. Cavalry. Place and date: At Cuchillo Negro Mountains, N. Mex., 16 August 1881. Entered service at: ——. Birth: Reistertown, Md. Date of issue: 1 October 1890. Citation: Bravery in action with hostile Apaches.
WILLIAMS, MOSES
Rank and organization: First Sergeant, Company I, 9th U.S. Cavalry. Place and date: At foothills of the Cuchillo Negro Mountains, N. Mex., 16 August 1881. Entered service at. ——. Birth: Carrollton, La. Date of issue: 12 November 1896. Citation: Rallied a detachment, skillfully conducted a running flght of 3 or 4 hours, and by his coolness, bravery, and unflinching devotion to duty in standing by his commanding officer in an exposed position under a heavy fire from a large party of Indians saved the lives of at least 3 of his comrades.
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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for August 16, 2020 FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY
16 August
1909: The Acting Secretary of the Navy disapproved a Navy Bureau of Equipment request to advertise for "two heavier than air flying machines," because the airplane's development had not progressed sufficiently for use in the Navy. (29)
1916: A group of American pilots fighting with the French set up the "Lafayette Escadrille."
1922: The Sperry airway light beacon demonstrated at McCook Field. (24)
1927: Art C. Goebel and Lt William V. Davis (USN) won the Dole Oakland-Honolulu race in 26 hours 17 minutes in the Woolaroc, a small single-engine monoplane. It was named after the Woolaroc Ranch in northeastern Oklahoma, the retreat of oilman Frank Phillips. Of the eight aircraft beginning the race, only the Woolaroc and one other plane completed the flight. Ten people died in the event. (24)
1947: Physicist Martin Pomerantz announced at Swarthmore College that four free balloons carried cosmic ray equipment to a record height between 127,000 and 129,000 feet. (24) A production-model Convair B-36A flew for the first time. (24)
1948: Northrop's XF-89 Scorpion made its first flight at Edwards AFB. (12)
1949: The Berlin Airlift carried a record 12,940 tons of supplies in 24-hours. 1950: KOREAN WAR. On a 27-square-mile area near Waegwan, South Korea, 98 B-29s dropped more than 800 tons of bombs on suspected enemy troop concentrations. This attack was the largest employment of heavy bombers against ground forces since World War II's Normandy invasion. (21) (28)
1960: Capt Joseph W. Kittinger Jr. reached the highest altitude ever reached by man in unpowered flight. His 200-foot-diameter, helium-filled polyethylene balloon, with an open gondola, carried him to 102,800 feet over New Mexico. He then parachuted in free fall for 4 1/2 minutes, at speeds above 600 MPH, before opening his parachute at 17,500 feet. The jump took 13 minutes 8 seconds. (9) (24)
1965: MACKAY TROPHY. TAC's 464 TCW received the 1964 trophy for its November 1964 airlift of 1,500 hostages and refugees from rebel-held territory in the Congo.
1968: The first Boeing LGM-30G Minuteman III ICBM launch from Cape Kennedy succeeded. (6) (12)
1969: Darryl Greenaymer, a civilian test pilot, flew a Grumman F8F-2 Bearcat to a FAI record of 482.462 MPH for piston-engine planes on a 3-kilometer course at Edwards AFB. (3) (9)
1970: A C-5A Galaxy flew a 20.5-hour nonstop flight without refueling in the longest endurance mission for the world's largest aircraft of the time. The C-5A traveled more than 7,000 miles from Edwards AFB to Seattle, Bangor, Atlanta, and back to Edwards AFB, touching the four corners of the US. (3)
1972: The Air Force and Navy signed an agreement for joint participation in the F-15 engine program at the Pratt & Whitney plant in East Hartford, Conn. (12)
2002: GLOBAL WAR ON TERROR. The USAF extended the mobilization of over 14,000 Guardsmen and Reservists, mostly security forces, into a second year of this conflict. (32)
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From Galloping Gates to the Gulf of Sidra by W. Thomas Smith Jr.
This Week in American Military History
Aug. 15, 1845: The War Department transfers Fort Severn, Annapolis to the Navy Department, specifically the new Naval School under Commander Franklin Buchanan.
The U.S. Naval Academy is established.
Franklin, who serves as the school's first superintendent, is destined to become an admiral in the Confederate Navy.
Aug. 15, 1945: Japanese Emperor Hirohito broadcasts his surrender message to the Japanese people, a portion of which reads:
"…the war situation has developed not necessarily to Japan's advantage, while the general trends of the world have all turned against her interests. The enemy, moreover, has begun to employ a new most cruel bomb, the power which to do damage is indeed incalculable, taking toll of many innocent lives. Should we continue to fight, it would only result in the ultimate collapse and obliteration of the Japanese nation … but would lead also to the total extinction of human civilization."
Hours before the radio broadcast, Japanese Army Maj. Kenji Hatanaka – leading a group of diehards opposed to surrender – attempts a coup to prevent the broadcast. The coup fails. Hatanaka commits suicide.
Aug. 16, 1780: The Battle of Camden (S.C.) – one of the worst tactical blunders on the part of the Continentals during the American Revolution – opens between British Army forces under the command of Gen. Sir Charles Cornwallis and Continental Army forces under Gen. Horatio Gates.
Though the Americans will be decisively defeated at Camden – thanks to Gates' improperly positioning inexperienced militia against seasoned regiments of the regular British Army, as well as his complete loss of tactical control – the battle will prove to be something of a highwater mark for British forces in the southern colonies (after Camden, it's pretty much downhill for the British).
Gates himself will break and run, earning him the nickname, "Galloping Gates." But the heroics of many of the ill-fated albeit last-standing Continental officers and men (like Gen. Johann Baron de Kalb) will prove to be exemplary. And Gen. George Washington – always able to recover from strategic setbacks – will choose the exceptionally able Gen. Nathanael Greene as Gates' replacement.
Aug. 16, 1940: Soldiers with the U.S. Army's parachute test platoon begin jumping over Fort Benning, Georgia. The airborne exercise (actually more of an experiment) is the first for the Army.
In 2001, Pres. George W. Bush will proclaim "August 16" of each year as National Airborne Day.
Aug. 17, 1942: Ahoy Raiders! U.S. Marine Raiders strike Makin Island in the Gilberts.
Sgt. Clyde Thomason, killed during the fighting, will become the first Marine in World War II to receive the Medal of Honor.
Aug. 17, 1943: U.S. Army Gen. George Smith Patton Jr. beats his British Army counterpart Gen. Bernard Law Montgomery to the gates of Messina, Sicily, in what Patton had purportedly referred to as "a horse race in which the prestige of the U.S. Army is at stake."
Aug. 19, 1812: In one of the most dramatic sea battles of the War of 1812, the frigate USS Constitution engages and captures the smaller frigate HMS Guerriere in a contest of broadsides and close-quarters combat between opposing crews of sailors and Marines (the American leathernecks pouring a terrific fire into the unfortunate British officers and men aboard Guerriere).
According to the Naval Historical Center, "Despite the rational excuse that Royal Navy frigates were not as large and powerful as their American counterparts, the real causes of these outcomes were inspired seamanship and vastly better gunnery. For the rest of the 19th Century, long after the War of 1812 was over, America's Navy was credited with an effectiveness that went well beyond its usually modest size."
Constitution (known affectionately as "Old Ironsides") is the oldest ship in the American Navy. Launched in 1797, she serves today as a duly commissioned ship crewed by active-duty U.S. sailors and Naval officers in order to further public awareness of American Naval tradition.
Aug. 19, 1981: One-hundred-sixty-nine years to the day after the victory over HMS Guerriere, the U.S. Navy – specifically two F-14 Tomcats -- knocks down two Libyan Su-22 fighters over the Gulf of Sidra.
Aug. 21, 1863: Confederate guerillas under the command of William Clark Quantrill (operating outside of the control of regular Confederate forces) launch a bloody raid on Lawrence, Kansas.
Quantrill – who purportedly once served in the Missouri State Guard – is widely considered a brigand and a cutthroat. That reputation continues today. To some, however, he remains a folk hero.
Aug. 21, 1942: Just after 3:00 a.m., "Banzai"-screaming Japanese assault forces – primarily members of the elite Japanese Special Naval Landing forces – attack U.S. Marine positions on Guadalcanal in what will become known as the Battle of the Tenaru River.
The first wave is momentarily slowed as the Japanese struggle to get through the Marines' barbed wire and American rifle machinegun fire rip into their ranks. At one point, the enemy breaks through and the fighting degrades into a savage hand-to-hand struggle with knives, machetes, swords, rifle butts, and fists. The Marines kill scores and hold their positions.
Subsequent Japanese attacks follow, but all are beaten back with heavy losses.
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Thanks to Bill. I never knew the extent of this group. I thought they were only there to make the Germans think that Patton was going to go across the channel at the Pas de Calais
The Ghost army.
Interesting history
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