Good Sunday Morning July 11
I hope that your weekend is going well
Regards
Skip
This Day in Navy and Marine Corps 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 |
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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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Thanks to Carl,
This is a repeat that I had never read before last year.
skip
http://cdrsalamander.blogspot.com/2020/07/fullbore-friday_10.html
Friday, July 10, 2020
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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Thanks to Dr. Rich and Tam
Must have been playing with his Lego set
🤯
An entire hour?!
Tam
American Airlines passengers on Miami flight are ordered to put their hands on their heads for an HOUR due to an undisclosed security threat
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Thanks to Carl
This one is REAL! 🤣
The NILE Virus, type C We are still battling the COVID-19 and the next thing is here already. Virologists have identified a new Nile virus - type C. It appears to target those who were born between 1930 & 1970.
Symptoms: Causes you
1. To send the same message twice.
2. To send a blank message.
3. To send a message to the wrong person.
4. To send it back to the person who sent it to you.
5. To forget to attach the attachment.
6. To hit SEND before you've finished.
7. To hit DELETE instead of SEND.
8. To SEND when you should DELETE.
It is called the C-NILE virus!
And if you cannot admit to doing the above,you have obviously caught the mutated strain:
the D-NILE virus.
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ROLLING THUNDER REMEMBERED Thanks to the Bear
LOOKING BACK 55-YEARS to the Vietnam Air War— ... … For The List for Sunday, 11 July 2021… Bear🇺🇸⚓️🐻
OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER (1965-1968)…
From the archives of rollingthunderremembered.com post for 11 July 1966… "The Bear Cave" also NYT quotes MLK on Black Power"…
NOTE: PLEASE SEE THE ATTACHMENT. THERE WAS A GARBLE IN THE ORIGINAL TRANSMISSION SO I WENT IN TO THE SITE AND MADE A COPY OF 11 JULY
…SKIP
This following work accounts for every fixed wing loss of the Vietnam War and you can use it to read more about the losses in The Bear's Daily account. Even better it allows you to add your updated information to the work to update for history…skip
Vietnam Air Losses
Access Chris Hobson and Dave Lovelady's work at: https://www.VietnamAirLosses.com.
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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.
1941 – Roosevelt appoints William Donovan to head a new civilian intelligence agency with the title "coordinator of defense information." This appointment will lead to the creation of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) which in turn will develop into the modern CIA.
1942 – MCAS El Centro, California activated.
1945 – The redeployment of 2118 4-engined bombers of the US 8th Air Force, to the USA (en route for the Pacific theater) begins. It is completed in 51 days.
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
BRATLING, FRANK
Rank and organization: Corporal, Company C, 8th U.S. Cavalry. Place and date: Near Fort Selden, N. Mex., 8-11 July 1873. Entered service at: ——. Birth: Germany. Date of issue: 12 August 1875. Citation: Services against hostile Indians.
HUMPHREY, CHARLES F.
Rank and organization: First Lieutenant, 4th U.S. Artillery. Place and date: At Clearwater, Idaho, 11 July 1877. Entered service at: ——. Birth: New York. Date of issue: 2 March 1897. Citation: Voluntarily and successfully conducted, in the face of a withering fire, a party which recovered possession of an abandoned howitzer and 2 Gatling guns Iying between the lines a few yards from the Indians.
*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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Thanks to USC Carl
I found this bit of USC history this morning.
Fight On !!
Carl
07 JULY 1944 .........
Benjamin Lewis Salomon (September 1, 1914 – July 7, 1944) was a United States Army dentist during World War II, assigned as a front-line surgeon on Saipan.
When the Japanese started overrunning his hospital, he stood a rear-guard action in which he had no hope of personal survival, allowing the safe evacuation of the wounded, killing as many as 98 enemy troops before being killed himself during the Battle of Saipan.
In 2002, Salomon posthumously received the Medal of Honor. He is one of only three dental officers to have received the medal, the others being Alexander Gordon Lyle and Weedon Osborne.
Salomon was born into a Jewish family in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on September 1, 1914. He was an Eagle Scout, one of nine who were awarded the Medal of Honor. He graduated from Shorewood High School and attended Marquette University, before transferring to the University of Southern California, where he completed his undergraduate degree. He graduated from the USC Dental School in 1937 and began a dental practice.
In 1940, he was drafted into the U.S. Army and began his military service as an infantry private, qualifying expert in rifle and pistol. In 1942, he was notified that he would become an officer in the Army Dental Corps and was commissioned a first lieutenant.
On August 14, 1942, the 102nd Infantry Regt. commanding officer declared him the unit's "best all-around soldier".
In May 1943, he was serving as the regimental dental officer of the 105th Infantry Regiment, 27th Infantry Division. He was promoted to the rank of captain in 1944.
In June 1944, Salomon saw his first combat — going ashore on Saipan with the 105th Infantry. With little dental work to do during active combat, Salomon volunteered to replace the 2nd Battalion's surgeon, who had been wounded. As the 2nd Battalion advanced, casualties were high. On July 7, Salomon's aid station was set up only 50 yards behind the forward foxhole line. Fighting was heavy and a major Japanese assault soon overran the perimeter, then the aid station. Salomon was able to grab an M1 Garand that was near him, kill the enemy that entered the hospital tent and ordered the wounded to be evacuated, while he stayed and fired upon the incoming enemy with an M1917 machine gun to cover their withdrawal.
When an Army team returned to the site days later, Salomon's body was found slumped over the machine gun, with the bodies of 98 enemy troops piled up in front of his position. His body had 76 bullet wounds and many bayonet wounds, up to 24 of which may have been received while he was still alive.
Capt. Edmund G. Love, the 27th Division historian, was a part of the team that found Salomon's body. At the request of Brig. Gen. Ogden J. Ross, the assistant commander of the 27th Division, Love gathered eyewitness accounts and prepared a recommendation for the Medal of Honor for Salomon.
The recommendation was returned by Maj. Gen. George W. Griner, the commanding general of the 27th Division. Officially, Griner declined to approve the award because Salomon was "in the medical service and wore a Red Cross brassard upon his arm. Under the rules of the Geneva Convention, to which the United States subscribes, no medical officer can bear arms against the enemy." However, the guideline for awarding the Medal of Honor to medical non-combatants states that one may not receive the Medal of Honor for actions in an offensive. More recent interpretations of the convention, as well as the US Laws of Land Warfare, allow use of personal weapons (i.e., rifles and pistols) in self-defense or in defense of patients and staff, as long as the medical soldier does not wear the Red Cross. Part of the problem in Salomon's citation was that a machine gun is considered a "crew-served" weapon, not an individual one.
Prior to Salomon, only two Jewish Americans had been awarded Medals of Honor during World War II, and none for Korea, though some (like Salomon) have been decorated years later, including Pfc. Leonard M. Kravitz (uncle and namesake of the pop star Lenny Kravitz) and Corporal Tibor Rubin, who was awarded the Medal of Honor in 2005.
In 1951, Love again resubmitted the recommendation through the Office of the Chief of Military History. The recommendation was returned without action with another pro-forma reason: the time limit for submitting World War II awards had passed. In 1969, another Medal of Honor recommendation was submitted by Lt. Gen. Hal B. Jennings, the Surgeon General of the United States Army. In 1970, Stanley R. Resor, Secretary of the Army, recommended approval and forwarded the recommendation to the Secretary of Defense. The recommendation was returned without action.
In 1998, the recommendation was re-submitted by Dr. Robert West (USC Dental School) through Congressman Brad Sherman, with the support of Maj. Gen. Patrick D. Sculley, new chief of the Army Dental Corps. Finally, on May 1, 2002, President George W. Bush presented Salomon's Medal of Honor to Dr. West. West then presented the Medal to Sculley for permanent placement in the Army Medical Department Museum in San Antonio, Texas. A replica of Salomon's Medal of Honor is displayed at the USC Dental School. The Army Medical Department, at this point, was supportive.
Captain Ben L. Salomon was serving at Saipan, in the Marianas Islands on July 7, 1944, as the Surgeon for the 2nd Battalion, 105th Infantry Regiment, 27th Infantry Division. The Regiment's 1st and 2d Battalions were attacked by an overwhelming force estimated between 3,000 and 5,000 Japanese soldiers. It was one of the largest attacks attempted in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Although both units fought furiously, the enemy soon penetrated the Battalions' combined perimeter and inflicted overwhelming casualties. In the first minutes of the attack, approximately 30 wounded soldiers walked, crawled, or were carried into Captain Salomon's aid station, and the small tent soon filled with wounded men. As the perimeter began to be overrun, it became increasingly difficult for Captain Salomon to work on the wounded. He then saw a Japanese soldier bayoneting one of the wounded soldiers lying near the tent. Firing from a squatting position, Captain Salomon quickly killed the enemy soldier. Then, as he turned his attention back to the wounded, two more Japanese soldiers appeared in the front entrance of the tent. As these enemy soldiers were killed, four more crawled under the tent walls. Rushing them, Captain Salomon kicked the knife out of the hand of one, shot another, and bayoneted a third. Captain Salomon butted the fourth enemy soldier in the stomach and a wounded comrade then shot and killed the enemy soldier. Realizing the gravity of the situation, Captain Salomon ordered the wounded to make their way as best they could back to the regimental aid station, while he attempted to hold off the enemy until they were clear. Captain Salomon then grabbed a rifle from one of the wounded and rushed out of the tent. After four men were killed while manning a machine gun, Captain Salomon took control of it. When his body was later found, 98 dead enemy soldiers were piled in front of his position. Captain Salomon's extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.
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thanks to THE Bear
Gentlemen… superb explanation… engineering a NavCad can understand…
Here's another thought… the collapse of the Surfside condominium is a model for the collapse of our country. A few design problems at Surfside going in that were recognized at various times over the past 40 years—2 1/2 centuries for our country— but were either ignored or insufficiently addressed…
So the rebar rusted and spalling weakened the supporting structure.
Ditto the American Condominium… then came the 1960s and the cracks began spreading and widening… LBJ established a commission to assess the damage, and in 1968 the Kerner Commission delivered a comprehensive fix to save the American Condominium…But LBJ and the Congress were too busy wrasslin' with the Vietnam war and the Great Society to give the 15 paramount recommendations of Governor Kerner and his commission the time of day… Fifty years later folks began to appreciate the error of their complacency, but the realization came too late to arrest the damage done by time, human nature and failed leadership. As a consequence, the collapse of our constitutional republic— our great democratic condominium on a hill— is unavoidable and increasingly imminent.
Bear🇺🇸⚓️🐻
Begin forwarded message:
Subject: Collapse Surfside in Detail
This comes from my friend, Engineer Dave on what brought down the very beautiful condo that has been on the news daily. Take a few minutes and see what was telling them a collapse was moments away.
Hal
Really good analysis.
Here's Cause Of Miami Condo Collapse Champlain Condo Towers, Surfside
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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)
NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
The F35 fortunately, no surprise here -
Thanks to Shadow and YP
Way too many hogs of all categories lined up at this trough.
Two bad ideas, especially for USMC.
YP
On Jul 9, 2021, at 10:09 AM, Roy <rwstafford1@comcast.net> wrote:
Come on guys… When are we going to admit the obvious. This thing started out as a basic "Hovering Hornet" for the Marine Corps, that has morphed into the biggest boondoggle in aviation history! I swear there needs to be an "Office of Common Sense" established in every military R&D and Procurement Office. And they ought to be a sign on the wall that reads… "Just because we can do something; doesn't mean we should do it, especially when considering the cost".
Industry is as much to blame as the Pentagon… and you can bet your bippy… that for every drop of perfume put on this pig… there was probably a politician pimping for it. Somebody should go to jail over this disaster.
I was against this thing from the beginning… VSTOVL and Stealth are the two biggest oversold concepts in military aviation history. I was challenged by some of my Marine Brothers… "Back off Shadow, if we don't get this plane, it might mean the end to Marine TACAIR". I sarcastically replied… "It might bankrupt Marine TACAIR". Seems I was too focused… it has the potential to bankrupt the Navy, Air Force and Marine aviation programs. Time to pull the plug!
Shadow
Sent from my iPad
On Jul 9, 2021, at 7:14 AM, Dutch R <flyboy@helndutch.com> wrote:
GAO Warns of Ballooning F-35 Sustainment Costs, Need for Plan to Cut Billions
Military.com | By Oriana Pawlyk
The cost to sustain the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter may balloon in the next 15 years, and the Pentagon needs to come up with a plan -- fast -- before it's faced with the choice of buying fewer stealth jets or flying them less often, according to a new watchdog study.
The new assessment from the Government Accountability Office found that the cost to operate and maintain the jet will grow to the point where the services may not be able to afford them.
"Since 2012, F-35 estimated sustainment costs over its 66-year life cycle have increased steadily, from $1.11 trillion to $1.27 trillion, despite efforts to reduce costs," the GAO said in its analysis, released Wednesday. The program's life cycle cost amounts to more than $1.7 trillion, the report states.
Sustainment includes the personnel needed to work on the jet, support equipment, training and other related expenses.
The GAO estimated that the cost to sustain the aircraft will be $6 billion more annually by 2036 than the Pentagon projects it will be able to afford.
Between the Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy, the services want to buy 2,456 of the fifth-generation aircraft for about $400 billion, according to the GAO, although the Pentagon plans to trim that to 2,443.
The Air Force would feel the brunt of the $6 billion price tag, with a total cost gap of $4.4 billion, according to a chart accompanying the report. That's because the service is the largest buyer, with 1,763 F-35A models anticipated to join its inventory.
In May, CNN reported that some Air Force officials had expressed a desire to cap the total number of F-35s the service buys, stopping at 800 of the conventional takeoff and landing A-variant to make room for future fighters.
The GAO confirmed that analysis.
"Air Force officials told us that the Air Force will not be able to afford the cost of sustaining the 1,763 aircraft it plans to purchase without making dramatic cuts to sustainment costs of the F35," the report states.
While "officials stressed that there is no single solution" to solving the cost problem, reducing its inventory would help; another alternative would be to fly the aircraft less, the GAO said.
Each of the services, the GAO report argued, should strive to reduce its cost per aircraft annually: $3.7 million per airplane for the Air Force; $2.3 million for the Marine Corps' F-35B short vertical and takeoff landing variant; $1.1 million for the Marine Corps' F-35C carrier-capable variant; and $2.4 million for the Navy's F-35C.
Lawmakers in recent months have also scrutinized the jet's sustainment, maintenance and supply chain management because of overspending.
In March, Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, dubbed the F-35 a "rathole," saying the government is spending way beyond its means for one Pentagon program.
"What does the F-35 give us?" Smith said during a Brookings Institution event. "Is there a way to cut our losses? Is there a way to not keep spending so much money for such a low capability? Because the sustainment costs are brutal."
A longtime military aviation specialist, who asked not to be identified because he is not authorized to speak to the press in his current job, said that while the report should give the services pause, it is only a prediction.
"Yes, the sustainment costs for the F-35 are projected to be very high," the specialist said. "[However], this is a very unusual number -- it's the first time we've tried to project the costs of a whole fleet over its entire lifetime.
"If you had projected the costs of [thousands of F-16 Fighting Falcons] for 40 years back when that program started, it would've been a pretty staggering number as well," the specialist said.
David Deptula, a retired Air Force lieutenant general and dean of the Mitchell Institute, said the focus from government agencies should also take into account how the jet is used and whether there are alternatives to meet the same objectives.
"What does it take in terms of alternatives to accomplish the same effects that can be accomplished by the F-35?" Deptula said in an email. "If it takes two or more other systems at an equivalent or even lesser cost, then the F-35 is more cost-effective and is the better choice."
The watchdog recommends that the Pentagon devise a plan to implement cost reduction measures before moving into full-rate production.
In a statement, the F-35's Joint Program Office, or JPO, said it agrees with many of the GAO's findings and understands that the U.S. military, international partners and foreign military sale customers don't have "unlimited funds" to maintain the program.
But the GAO's estimates do not take into account recent changes such as the expected service life of the aircraft, the office said.
The JPO says current plans call to retire the aircraft in 2064, but the GAO said it expects the Defense Department to fly the aircraft into 2077 -- adding 13 years onto the program, a crucial factor for increased sustainment costs.
The specialist said the report does not automatically mean that the services will start axing their aircraft purchases, even though the Air Force has already been considering a 10% cut in F-35 buys over the next five years, according to Air Force Magazine, citing a growing need to buy the most up-to-date jets and upgrade others as they become available.
Purchasing fewer F-35s "depends on who has the most influence on the decision-makers," Deptula said. "The accountants or warfighters?"
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