The List 6156 TGB
Good Sunday Morning July 10.
I hope that your weekend is going well
Regards,
skip
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This Day in Navy and Marine Corps History:
July 10
1934 President Franklin D. Roosevelt travels to Cartagena, Columbia, by USS Houston (CA 30). His visit was the first by a U.S. president to South America.
1943 In Operation Husky, naval gunfire helps Allied troops land on Sicily, Italy. It is the first extensive use of LST's and smaller landing craft to deliver heavy equipment over the beach.
1945 USS Runner (SS 476) sinks the Japanese minesweeper (No.27) off Tado Saki, Honshu.
1945 - 14 carriers from Third Fleet carriers begin air strikes on Japanese Home Islands which end 15 August
1971 USS Ponce (AFSB 15) is commissioned. The final Austin-class amphibious transport dock is named after a city in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
1993 USS Nebraska (SSBN 739) is commissioned at New London, Conn., the 14th Ohio-class submarine.
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Today in History July 10
1520 The Spanish explorer Hernan Cortes is driven from Tenochtitlan and retreats to Tlaxcala.
1609 The Catholic states in Germany set up a league under the leadership of Maximilian of Bavaria.
1679 The British crown claims New Hampshire as a royal colony.
1776 The statue of King George III is pulled down in New York City.
1778 In support of the American Revolution, Louis XVI declares war on England.
1850 Millard Fillmore is sworn in as the 13th president of the United States following the death of Zachary Taylor.
1890 Wyoming becomes the 44th state.
1893 Dr. Daniel Hale Williams performs the first successful open-heart surgery, without the benefit of penicillin or blood transfusion.
1925 The trial of Tennessee teacher John T. Scopes opens, with Clarence Darrow appearing for the defense and William Jennings Bryan for the prosecution.
1940 Germany begins the bombing of England.
1942 General Carl Spaatz becomes the head of the U.S. Air Force in Europe.
1943 American and British forces complete their amphibious landing of Sicily.
1945 U.S. carrier-based aircraft begin airstrikes against Japan in preparation for invasion.
1951 Armistice talks between the United Nations and North Korea begin at Kaesong.
1960 Belgium sends troops to the Congo to protect whites as the Congolese Bloodbath begins, just 10 days after the former colony became independent of Belgian rule.
1962 The satellite Telstar is launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, beaming live television from Europe to the United States.
1965 "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" becomes the Rolling Stones' first No. 1 single in the USA.
1967 Singer Bobbie Gentry records "Ode to Billie Joe," which will become a country music classic and win 4 Grammys.
1976 In Seveso, near Milan, Italy, an explosion in a chemical factory covers the surrounding area with toxic dioxin. Time magazine has ranked the Seveso incident No. 8 on its list of the 10 worst environmental disasters.
1985 Coca-Cola Co. announces it will resume selling "old formula Coke," following a public outcry and falling sales of its "new Coke."
1991 Boris Yeltsin is sworn in as the first elected president of the Russian Federation, following the breakup of the USSR.
1993 Kenyan runner Yobes Ondieki becomes the first man to run 10,000 meters in less than 27 minutes.
1940 The Battle of Britain begins as the Luftwaffe attempts to destroy the RAF in anticipation of a German invasion of England
1943 Allied forces commence the invasion of Sicily
1965
MiGs shot down as bombing of North Vietnam continues »
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Thanks to Red ...and Dr. Rich
TOP GUN 2 "Maverick" - BEHIND THE SCENES Footage
More on making the new Top Gun Movie
Love the "Gift from Tom" comment …
Looks like they've got some kinder/gentler Dilberts ….
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ROLLING THUNDER REMEMBERED Thanks to the Bear … Bear🇺🇸⚓️🐻
OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER (1965-1968)…
Thanks to THE BEAR
… For The List for Sunday, 10 July 2022… Bear🇺🇸⚓️🐻
OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER (1965-1968)…
From the archives of rollingthunderremembered.com post for 10 July 1967… For God, country, family and humankind…
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.
This is a list of all Helicopter Pilots Who Died in the Vietnam War
. Listed by last name and has other info
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Thanks to Barrett
Dear Skip,
I was fortunate to know Bob Scott well. Even among the historic aviators I've known more than casually, he stands tall in my memory among Jimmy Doolittle, Joe Foss, Marion Carl, Alex Vraciu, Robin Olds, and Dolfo Galland.
If you'd like to share it, here's my Aviation History retrospective from 2018.
Colonel Robert L. Scott: God's Pilot | HistoryNet
Son of the South Bob Scott was a rebel with a cause: helping the United States defeat the Japanese. In 1943 General Henry H. Arnold's secretary buzzed his inner sanctum, informing the U.S. Army Air Forces chief, "Colonel Scott is here, sir." "Hap" Arnold, who lived in a frequent boil, replied, "Oh, you mean God's personal pilot?"
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The Strike Fighter Time Management Problem - War on the Rocks
To All
Here is a good series of related discussions from a couple of Naval Air Legends. Read from the bottom up.
skip
From: SteveD7 [mailto:steved7@earthlink.net]
Sent: Saturday, July 09, 2022 4:49 PM
To: robtdunn@aol.com; Jerry Taylor
Cc: Dutch Rauchiii; John Lehman; hook_president@tailhook.net; sleonard001@san.rr.com; chaser@tailhook.net; dps3@pobox.com
Subject: Re: The Strike Fighter Time Management Problem - War on the Rocks
Thanks, Bob.
I'm inclined to agree with you, with two limited/partial exceptions.
1) CAS/DAS is more dynamic than strike/interdiction/BAI — one is frequently hunting moving targets [admittedly only in two dimensions and at comparatively slow speeds], and the specific targets often aren't known in advance, only a general location. However, with modern technology most CAS/DAS can and should be done by delivering weapons as requested and either designated by or given digital target coordinates by a TACP/FAC/fires controller on the ground with our engaged friendlies. Easy-peasy.
2) Aircrew scheduling must be properly prioritized with an emphasis on live flying [especially DACT] and simulator time, not politically correct and/or administrivia "classroom" or "interactive" training mandates from inside the DC Beltway, and availability of flying hours must be sufficient to achieve/maintain full proficiency in the primary air-to-air and secondary air-to-surface roles.
I would further suggest that DoD should return to requiring and buying air dominance fighters, with air-to-surface capabilities as secondary included features. Requiring, designing, building and buying multi-role, one-size-fits-all "strike fighters" puts the emphasis on the wrong role for a fighter, making victory in the air-to-air role against peer adversaries that much more difficult. There is such a thing as a dedicated strike aircraft optimized to have the range/payload, survivability, sensors, weapons mix, and crew composition to succeed in that mission. They are called bombers or attack jets. Properly spec'ed, mission-focused requirements got the Navy excellent aircraft like the F8U, F-4 Phantom II and F-14 [especially the D] on the air dominance side, and the A-6E and A-7E on the attack side.
—SteveD
On Jul 8, 2022, at 8:35 PM, robtdunn@aol.com wrote:
Recognizing that I am indeed an Old F--t, I take exception to the idea that air combat trained Naval Aviators cannot learn air-to-surface and vice versa. As an old attack pilot, and one who came to air-to-air late in life, I realize and acknowledge that air-to-air will take more training, but since the air-to-ground is rather simple that's okay. The hardest part of being an attack pilot is identifying the target and having the guts to roll in and persist in the run despite flak and SAMs flashing by. The target doesn't bob and weave and jink all over the place and come out of the sun as must be expected in air-to-air.
Air-to-ground is relatively simple. My evidence is a squadron mate of mine from long ago at Fallon. Not noted for his airmanship, he managed to score six bullseyes with six bombs on a Fallon target, then returned to the field and landed on a taxiway! So much for excellence in air-to-ground. He would have been "Meat on the table" as a fighter.
Like my friend with the six bullseyes targets for attack pilots are generally certain and known beforehand, "Targets" for fighter plots may come from anywhere...not only out of the sun but at six o'clock, four o'clock and twelve: high and low too.
Anyhow, so much for pontification from an old f***. The answer to time management for strike-fighter pilots is to be the best fighter pilot you can be, catch up on air-to-ground when you have time. That goes for people building the training curricula too.
Tie for my nap....
Bob Dunn
P.S. You can leave your silk scarf at home and still be a great fighter pilot.
-----Original Message-----
From: Jerry Taylor <beartaylor@comcast.net>
To: Gregory Keithley <chaser@tailhook.net>
Cc: Eric Doyle <hook_president@tailhook.net>; Dutch Rauchiii <flyboy@helndutch.com>; Skip Leonard <sleonard001@san.rr.com>; SteveD7 <steved7@earthlink.net>; David Steinmann <dps3@pobox.com>; John Lehman <toad@toadhall.co>
Sent: Sun, Jul 3, 2022 2:13 pm
Subject: The Strike Fighter Time Management Problem - War on the Rocks
Chaser… a powerful message that rates a response, and the Tailhook 22 stage may be the right forum… a superb mouthful to chew and swallow at our celebration of the 100th anniversary of the aircraft carrier… Bear
[Skip Leonard]
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Thanks to Carl
(Go to read the whole thing for many neat pics and the complete story!)
Friday, July 09, 2021
Fullbore FridayAs the D-Day invasion was ongoing, the German Navy sortied what they could to try to drive the allies back across the channel. The most feared were the French based U-boats.
Please read the whole thing, but here is a nice summary of one of the under-told stories of WWII, Coastal Command.
One night. One crew. Two U-boats.
Fullbore.
"G-George" droned on through the night. Men drank coffee from thermos flasks, kept the chatter to a minimum, scanned the endless sea and began to feel the numbing weariness set in that came with these long over-water patrols. But adrenalin shot through their bloodstreams like amphetamine just after 2 a.m. when Foster announced on the intercom that he had a solid return on his radar 12 miles dead ahead in the vicinity of Ushant Island (Ouessant). It was too early to tell whether it was a French fishing smack or the conning tower of a U-boat. Moore corrected his course slightly to port to put the target in the path of the moon reflecting on the water. Three miles out the conning tower of a submarine was made out in the moonlight.
Coastal Command anti-submarine crews were trained to attack the moment a U-boat was detected and without deliberation. An undamaged Type VIIC U-boat, with a well-trained crew could crash dive beneath the surface in 30 seconds. Time was of the essence, as was complete surprise.
Immediately, Moore instructed Foster to switch off the radar in case the submarine had detection equipment, and then began to drop lower and lower, adjusting his course to keep the enemy up-moon until he was at 50 feet above the calm surface. McDowall, the navigator, took his position at the bomb sight. Moore ordered the four big bomb doors opened and as they slid upwards and outboard on their rollers, he could hear the hydraulic pumps working and sense the difference in the airflow note down the sides of his warhorse. Approaching the U-boat, which they calculated was making 10–12 knots in a westerly direction, they selected 6 depth charges from their quiver, attacking due south and 90 degrees to the path of the U-boat on her starboard side. Moore chose to leave the powerful 22 million-candela Leigh Light off to further keep their whereabouts secret. As they screamed in for the attack, the spare navigator, Pilot Officer Alec Gibb, DFC sprayed the conning tower with heavy machine gun fire (some 150 rounds according to the after action report) from his position in the nose. Moore and Gibb later stated they could see as many as 8 submariners scrambling from the tower to get to the deck guns. There was some anti-aircraft return fire, but it was too little and too late. They had caught them completely by surprise.
As they roared over the submarine at 190 mph, six depth charges, set 55 feet apart, were falling from "G-George's" bomb bay, having been released by McDowall whose accuracy this night would be perfect. Three fell on either side of the submarine in a textbook straddling attack just ahead of the conning tower. A flame-float, designed to ignite when it hit the water was also dropped to identify the position of the submarine at the moment of attack. The rear gunner Flight Sergeant I. Webb watched in fascination as the detonations exploded white in the moonlight and appeared to lift the 700-ton submarine out of the water.
By the time they had climbed, swung around and were homing on the beacon of the flame float at the position of the attack, there was nothing left of the U-boat save for some floating wreckage and the oily slick of diesel fuel. A Type VIIC U-boat had disappeared and ceased to exist in a matter of seconds, the depth charges having done their job breaching the pressure hull and sending one of Karl Dönitz' hunters to the bottom with all hands. One can only imagine the last minutes of terror for the more than 50 men aboard.
Sadly, when this submarine sank, there was no one who could identify which U-boat it was. Postwar accounting pointed to U-629, commanded by Oberleutnant zur See Hans–Helmut Bugs on its 11th war patrol. She had just slipped out of her pen at Brest the day before. Still, other researchers disclaim the U-629 identification, pointing instead to U-441, commanded by Kapitänleutnant Klaus Hartmann on its ninth and final war patrol. It is not my goal to be definitive as to the identity of the fifty or so men killed that night, that best being left to experts in the field. Knowing would bring the story to a satisfying close, but it will not lessen the tragedy or the courage of the U-boat men who died that night.
Moore settled his crew down after the last pass over the wreckage, and ordered a course correction to take them back on their patrol. At 0231, just twenty minutes after the first radar contact was made, "G-George" sent a message to command that they had sunk a U-boat. The men were charged with electricity, but they had a job to do and hours before they could return home to St Eval.
Just a few minutes later at 0240 hrs, as they settled down at 700 feet ASL, Foster reported another radar contact 10 degrees off the starboard nose, this time just 6 miles ahead. Moore, with information from Foster, began to home in on the target, and at 2.5 miles range and 75 degrees to starboard, they sighted the conning tower of another U-boat on a northwesterly course running at an estimated eight knots on the surface. This time Moore needed to circle to port and come in on a course that would allow them to attack up the moon path.
Bringing the big Liberator down to 50 feet once again, Moore approached the U-boat at 110 degrees to its starboard side with plenty of time to set up another perfect attack at 190 mph. The remaining six Torpex depth charges were released at 55-foot intervals as well as a flame float. Again, Gibb, the spare navigator in the nose, was firing his machine gun at the conning tower, which answered this time with flak and tracer fire. As they roared overhead, the rear gunner Webb saw four depth charges strike the water to the starboard side of the U-boat and two on the her port side—another textbook straddling attack. Massive flumes of exploding water were seen rising on either side of the submarine, ten feet aft of the conning tower and totally obscuring the target.
Returning to the position of the flame float, Moore, Gibb and Ketcheson saw the U-boat in the bright moonlight, with a heavy list to starboard. As they approached, the bow rose steeply out of the water to an angle of about 80 degrees. The boat slid back into the sea "amid a large amount of confused water" according to the 224 Squadron ORB.
Moore circled in fascination and, coming around again, he turned on the powerful Leigh Light slung beneath his starboard wing outboard of engine No. 4. The blinding blue-white beam illuminated three yellow dinghies crowded with men floating on an oily surface strewn with bits of wreckage. One can imagine how exposed the survivors must have felt caught in the white light of the Leigh with a heavily armed Liberator thundering down its beam toward them. They passed overhead without further molesting the surviving crew, switched off the Leigh Light and left the German sailors floating in the moonlight.
The submarine was U-373, another Type VIIC boat commanded by Kapitänleutnant Detlef von Lehsten on its 11th war patrol. It had just slipped out of Brest after a six-month repair following a similar attack by a Coastal Command Wellington and Liberator in January. We know for certain that this was U-373 because all but four members of the crew survived to be picked up the next day by French fishing vessels and returned to Brest. Von Lehsten was one of the survivors.
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Thanks to Pete
Skip-
This morning's List mentioned a sub kill by VP-94 on this date:
1943—PBY (VP 94) sinks German submarine (U 590) at the mouth of the Amazon River, Brazil.
Attached are some BDA photos, taken from the step of 94-P-10, my dad's PBY, if you are interested. I've got the official action summary as well!
My father was flying copilot in 94-P-10 (PBY-5A) that morning with his best friend (Ltjg Frank Hare) in the left seat (their lineal numbers were 1 # apart, and most crews alternated left & right seats on the long patrols). My dad spotted a sub on the surface, after another PBY (Ltjg Auslander 94-P-1) radioed that they had seen another 60 miles away. When Frank Hare rolled into the surfaced sub, their PBY was lit up by 50 cal fire from the sub. Apparently, the Germans were losing too many subs to the PBY's in the clear blue waters off Brazil, so they changed their tactics and decided to fight it out on the surface with the slow PBY's.
The first shots killed Frank Hare immediately, wounded my father in the left leg, and seriously wounded the port blister gunner. My dad was able to pull out, circle the sub and re-attack it, dropping 2 depth charges which apparently crippled the sub, because it didn't dive again. They remained circling overhead, radioing for backup; both sides licking their wounds. Until later, when Auslander arrived in 94-P-1 and finished off the sub.
My father never talked about this event in any detail; PTSD I suppose. I found out about it mostly in some books and war histories, and from some of his squadron mates. I'm an F-8 guy; I can't imagine having your best friend get blown away two feet away from you, and continuing the mission for another 3 hours!
Big day in my family! I was born 1 year later; probably conceived during his R&R recuperation!
Pete Phelps
Litning
Sub Kill report from 9 July 1943
The night of July 7-8, convoy TJ-1 was attacked in the Trinidad area, two ships being sunk and others damaged. Planes were immediately despatched from Belem to operate out of Amapa, taking over coverage of the convoys. On the morning of 9 July several sightings were made at a distance, both by planes and surface craft, indicating that the attack was being continued. BT-18 was entering the area from the South at this time and is was necessary for five planes in Belem and a limited number of pilots to give night and day coverage and fly daylight sweeps. Lt. (jg) Stanley Ernest Auslander, USNR, 104 673, Lt(jg) John Milton Elliot, USNR, 113 067, Lt.(jg) Frank Joseph McMackin Jr., USNR, 112 627, in 94-P-1, enroute to relieve on convoy coverage, sighted the swirl of a submerging submarine just before noon and advised the base that gambit tactics would be employed. At approximately 1230 Peter, 94-P-10 sweeping the area immediately east of TJ-1 sighted a surfaced submarine about 60 miles distant from the swirl sighting. Just after starting the first leg of the sweep at 1235 Peter, the co-pilot sighted the U-boat 12 miles distant at 03-54 North, 49-52 West. The submarine apparently did not see the plane until quite late for no attempt to submerge was made. At a distance of more than a mile from the submarine, orange flecks from the submarine's anti-aircraft fire were noticed, and almost immediately thereafter an explosive shrapnel shell enterd the bow on the port side exploding against the instrument panel, setting fire to the Sperry oil, and causing billowing smoke and flame. The pilot, Lt. (jg) Frank Fisher Hare, USNR, 112 640 was struck by shrapnel in the head, heart, and body. The run was continued and the two starboard depth bombs released. Interrogation of those of the crew who could see the drop of bombs indicated that they landed close together, approximately 25 to 35 feet from the stern of the submarine and about 45 degrees to starboard. There was no visible indication of damage. The bow gunner fired his .30 calibre guns continuously during the approach and the port blister ;.50 calibre gun was brought to bear after the drop. About 20 to 30 minutes after the original attack, the plane departed, the submarine being still surfaced. The evaluation of the attack was "no damage." 94-P-1 and 107-B-5 investigated the area about 1300 Peter, but found no traces of the submarine.
The complement of the aircraft included:
Pilot Lt. (jg) Frank Fisher Hare, USNR, 112 640
Co-Pilot Lt (jg) Jean Price Phelps, USNR, 112 158
Navigator Lt.(jg) Michael Carl Argento, USNR, 112 141
Tower Lombardo, Joseph (n), AMM3c, 316 78 75, USN
Bow Eisaman, Clifford Emery, AMM3c, 652 10 02, USNR
Starboard
Blister Testen, Andrew Frank, AOM3c, 613 99 69, USNR
Port
Blister Brown, Thomas Russell, ARM3c, 268 81 22, USN
Radio Lack, James Thomas, ARM3c, 356 66 90, USN
(4)
Lt(jg) Hare was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Purple Heart. J Price Phelps was awarded the Air Medal and Purple Heart for wounds sustained from the initial attack as well as for continuing the attack and probably damaging the sub; causing it to remain on the surface for Lt Auslander's later attack and kill. Meanwhile, 94-P-1 continued its gambit and at 1424 Peter, a surfacing submarine was sighted about three miles dead ahead, position 03-22 North, 48-38 West. The plane was flying at 3700 feet over a broken cloud base of .4 to .6 cumulus at 1700 feet and had just passed through a fairly heavy cloud. The U-Boat was about 2 1/2 miles distant. As the pilots could not see the submarine, the nose was pushed over to bring it into view. Water was running from its decks and within a few seconds it was fully surfaced, cruising at about 15 knots on 125 degrees true. The pilot held the plane in a dive directly toward the submarine, without changing course and threw on the bombing switch. Lt. (jg) McMackin blew the warning horn and rushed to the waist compartment to take pictures of the enemy underseas craft through the port blister. The throttles were cut, but still the plane attained a speed of 200 knots indicated. At an altitude of about 150 feet, Lt.(jg) Elliot released the depth bombs by intervalometer spaced at 73 feet. The submarine was fully surfaced, proceeding on course, and there was no evidence that the crew, three or four of whom could be seen in the conning tower, were aware of the approach of the plane. An easy turn to port was made after the plane was pulled out of its dive and while the spray was still visible. When the water subsided no trace of the submarine would be seen. All of the occupants of the waist hatch were thrown into the bilges by the pull-up. The gunner had been firing the .50 calibre and had sprayed the conning tower with 7 to 10 rounds. As he fell, the gun was apparently elevated, so that one or two bullets went through the starboard wing of the plane. No serious damage was done. While circling, a greenish-brown slick was visible and in the center of it, two swimming men, a large timber, several small articles and two boxes. A crew member then reported seeing three additional men in the water and Lt.(jg) Elliot spotted them on the next approach. Five were counted at this time, but three apparently sank very quickly. A life raft was dropped, but drifted away before the swimmers could reach it Four life jackets were dropped, two inflated and two uninflated and the survivors appeared to get into the inflated ones. Emergency rations were also dropped within reach. Four minutes after the drop a large amount of oil started to rise two or three hundred yards from the slick along the sub's track and observation showed the slick continuing to grow in length and breadth to a size of half to a mile long and a quarter of a mile wide. There was no forward motion to the oil slick. The attack was assessed as "probably sunk." 94-P-1 was manned as follows:
Pilot Lt.(jg) Stanley Ernest Auslander, USNR, 104 673
Co-Pilot Lt.(jg) John Milton Elliot, USNR, 113 067
Navigator Lt.(jg) Frank Joseph McMackin, Jr.,USNR, 112 627
Port Blister Denauw, Frank Joseph, AMM2c, 606 19 58, USNR
Starboard Blister Watson, John Harry, ARM2c, 406 77 87, USN
Radio Garren, Hoyt Edwin, ARM2c, 296 00 73, USN
Bow Smith, Elmer Bryant, AMM3c, 268 81 81, USN
Tower Mustone, Joseph James, Jr., AOM3c, 607 52 10, USNR
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July 10,
This Day in US Military History
1863 – Under Rear Admiral Dahlgren, ironclads U.S.S. Catskill, Commander G.W. Rodgers; Montauk, Commander Fairfax; Nahant, Commander Downes; and Weehawken, Commander Colhoun, bombarded Confederate defenses on Morris Island, Charleston harbor, supporting and covering a landing by Army troops under Brigadier General Quincy A. Gillmore. Close in support of the landing was rendered by small boats, under Lieutenant Commander Francis M. Bunce, armed with howitzers, from the blockading ships in Light House Inlet, The early morning assault followed the plan outlined by General Gillmore a week earlier in a letter to Rear Admiral Du Pont: "I cannot safely move without assistance from the Navy. We must have that island or Sullivan's Island as preliminary to any combined military and naval attack on the interior defenses of Charleston harbor. . . . I consider a naval force abreast of Morris Island as indispensable to cover our advance upon the Island and restrain the enemy's gunboats and ironclads."
1940 – The Germans begin the first in a long series of bombing raids against Great Britain, as the Battle of Britain, which will last three and a half months, begins. After the occupation of France by Germany, Britain knew it was only a matter of time before the Axis power turned its sights across the Channel. And on July 10, 120 German bombers and fighters struck a British shipping convoy in that very Channel, while 70 more bombers attacked dockyard installations in South Wales. Although Britain had far fewer fighters than the Germans-600 to 1,300-it had a few advantages, such as an effective radar system, which made the prospects of a German sneak attack unlikely. Britain also produced superior quality aircraft. Its Spitfires could turn tighter than Germany's ME109s, enabling it to better elude pursuers; and its Hurricanes could carry 40mm cannon, and would shoot down, with its American Browning machine guns, over 1,500 Luftwaffe aircraft. The German single-engine fighters had a limited flight radius, and its bombers lacked the bomb-load capacity necessary to unleash permanent devastation on their targets. Britain also had the advantage of unified focus, while German infighting caused missteps in timing; they also suffered from poor intelligence. But in the opening days of battle, Britain was in immediate need of two things: a collective stiff upper lip–and aluminum. A plea was made by the government to turn in all available aluminum to the Ministry of Aircraft Production. "We will turn your pots and pans into Spitfires and Hurricanes," the ministry declared. And they did.
1943 – Operation Husky: The Allied landings begin. Patton's 7th Army lands in the Gulf of Gela between Licata and Scoglitti. Assault elements of the 180th and 157th Infantry regiments, both part of the 45th Infantry Division (AZ, CO, OK) storm ashore as part of the invasion of Sicily. They meet little resistance and quickly move to secure the British right flank as it moves north to take Messina, the island's closest point to the Italian mainland. This operation marked the first time any Allied force attacked an Axis power on its home ground. The Italians soon overthrow their dictator, Benito Mussolini and asked the Allies for peace. However, the Germans quickly moved large numbers of troops into the country and fought the Allies all the way back to the Alps, not surrendering until the end of the war on May 8, 1945.
1945 – US Task Force 38 aircraft, 1022 in all, raid 70 air bases in the Tokyo area, destroying 173 Japanese planes. Only light anti-aircraft fire is encountered. This is the first time that elements of the US 3rd Fleet have attacked Tokyo. Included in the task force carrying out the raids are the aircraft carriers Lexington, Essex, Independence and San Jacinto, the battleships Indiana, Massachusetts, South Dakota and Iowa, the cruisers Chicago, San Juan, Springfield and Atlanta and 14 destroyers. Tokyo radio refers to the "dark shadow of invasion" in mention of the raid.
1950 – At Taejon, Lieutenant Harold E. Morris demonstrated a T-6 trainer aircraft to be better suited for the airborne controller mission than liaison aircraft.
1950 – The first engagement between U.S. and North Korean tanks occurred near Chonui. One enemy T-34 was destroyed while two outclassed U.S. M-24 Chafee light tanks were lost. Near Pyongtaek, the Air Force achieved its greatest single-day destruction of enemy tanks and trucks during the war
1965 – U.S. planes continue heavy raids in South Vietnam and claim to have killed 580 guerrillas. U.S. Phantom jets, escorting fighter-bombers in a raid on the Yen Sen ammunition depot northwest of Hanoi, engaged North Vietnamese MiG-17s. Capt. Thomas S. Roberts with his backseater Capt. Ronald C. Anderson, and Capt. Kenneth E. Holcombe and his backseater Capt. Arthur C. Clark shot down two MiG-17s with Sidewinder missiles. The action marked the first U.S. Air Force air-to-air victories of the Vietnam War.
1967 – Outnumbered South Vietnamese troops repel an attack by two battalions of the 141st North Vietnamese Regiment on a military camp five miles east of An Loc, 60 miles north of Saigon. Communist forces captured a third of the base camp before they were thrown back with the assistance of U.S. and South Vietnamese air and artillery strikes. Farther to the north, U.S. forces suffered heavy casualties in two separate battles in the Central Highlands. In the first action, about 400 men of the 173rd Airborne Brigade came under heavy fire from North Vietnamese machine guns and mortars during a sweep of the Dak To area near Kontum. Twenty-six Americans were killed and 49 were wounded. In the second area clash, 35 soldiers of the U.S. 4th Infantry Division were killed and 31 were wounded in fighting.
The Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
*PARLE, JOHN JOSEPH
Rank and organization: Ensign, U.S. Naval Reserve. Born: 26 May 1920, Omaha, Nebr. Accredited to: Nebraska. Citation: For valor and courage above and beyond the call of duty as Officer-in-Charge of Small Boats in the U.S.S. LST 375 during the amphibious assault on the island of Sicily, 9-10 July 1943. Realizing that a detonation of explosives would prematurely disclose to the enemy the assault about to be carried out, and with full knowledge of the peril involved, Ens. Parle unhesitatingly risked his life to extinguish a smoke pot accidentally ignited in a boat carrying charges of high explosives, detonating fuses and ammunition. Undaunted by fire and blinding smoke, he entered the craft, quickly snuffed out a burning fuse, and after failing in his desperate efforts to extinguish the fire pot, finally seized it with both hands and threw it over the side. Although he succumbed a week later from smoke and fumes inhaled, Ens. Parle's heroic self-sacrifice prevented grave damage to the ship and personnel and insured the security of a vital mission. He gallantly gave his life in the service of his country.
*SCHOONOVER, DAN D.
Rank and organization: Corporal, U.S. Army, Company A, 13th Engineer Combat Battalion, 7th Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Sokkogae, Korea, 8 to 10 July 1953. Entered service at: Boise, Idaho. Born: 8 October 1933, Boise, Idaho. G.O. No.: 5, 14 January 1955. Citation: Cpl. Schoonover, distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and outstanding courage above and beyond the call of duty in action against the enemy. He was in charge of an engineer demolition squad attached to an infantry company which was committed to dislodge the enemy from a vital hill. Realizing that the heavy fighting and intense enemy fire made it impossible to carry out his mission, he voluntarily employed his unit as a rifle squad and, forging up the steep barren slope, participated in the assault on hostile positions. When an artillery round exploded on the roof of an enemy bunker, he courageously ran forward and leaped into the position, killing 1 hostile infantryman and taking another prisoner. Later in the action, when friendly forces were pinned down by vicious fire from another enemy bunker, he dashed through the hail of fire, hurled grenades in the nearest aperture, then ran to the doorway and emptied his pistol, killing the remainder of the enemy. His brave action neutralized the position and enabled friendly troops to continue their advance to the crest of the hill. When the enemy counterattacked he constantly exposed himself to the heavy bombardment to direct the fire of his men and to call in an effective artillery barrage on hostile forces. Although the company was relieved early the following morning, he voluntarily remained in the area, manned a machine gun for several hours, and subsequently joined another assault on enemy emplacements. When last seen he was operating an automatic rifle with devastating effect until mortally wounded by artillery fire. Cpl. Schoonover's heroic leadership during 2 days of heavy fighting, superb personal bravery, and willing self-sacrifice inspired his comrades and saved many lives, reflecting lasting glory upon himself and upholding the honored traditions of the military service
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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for July 10, 2020 FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY
10 July
1910: Walter Brookins became the first American aviator to reach one mile in altitude, when he flew a Wright Biplane to 6,259 feet at Atlantic City, N. J. He set an FAI altitude record and won the Atlantic City Aero Club prize of $5,000. (9)
1911: Lt Frank P. Lahm won the National Balloon Race by traveling 772.5 kilometers from Kansas City, Mo., to La Paz, Ind. (24)
1935: Bell Aircraft company founded.
1938: Through 14 July, Howard Hughes and his four-man crew started an around-the-world flight from New York. They stopped their Lockheed Model 14 Super Electra passenger aircraft in Paris, Moscow, Omsk, Yakutak, Fairbanks, Minneapolis, and returned to New York. They covered the 14,791 miles in 3 days 19 hours 8 minutes. (9) (24)
1943: Allied airborne troops landed at Gela and Syracuse, Sicily, in the first large-scale airborne operation attempted by the allies in World War II. (24)
1945: The last aircraft carrier action of World War II began with attacks against targets in the Japanese home islands. (24)
1950: KOREAN WAR. Fifth Air Force started using T-6 trainers for the forward air control mission, because the liaison aircraft were too slow to evade enemy fire. When an enemy convoy stopped at a bombed-out bridge near Pyongtaek, F-80s, B-26s, and F-82s attacked and claimed the destruction of 117 trucks, 38 tanks, and 7 halftracks. (28) A joint USAF and Royal Canadian Air Force conference agreed to erect the Pinetree radar network on Canadian soil. (24)
1951: KOREAN WAR. A flight of F-80s reported a long N. Korean Army convoy of trucks and tanks halted by a demolished bridge. Fifth Air Force diverted every available aircraft to attack with bombs, rockets, and gunfire, resulting in the destruction of over 150 vehicles, a third of them tanks. (28)
1952: KOREAN WAR. Beginning this date, over the next three weeks the 315th Air Division airlifted the 474th Fighter-Bomber Wing from Misawa AB, Japan, to Kunsan AB, S. Korea, the largest unit movement by air to date. (28)
1959: The first Red Richard unit relocation began. This program withdrew atomic-capable USAFE units from France. (4)
1961: The Air Force conducted a test to see how far a pilot could fly using radar navigation under simulated combat conditions. For this test, an F-105D flew a 1,520-mile nonstop blind flight at altitudes between 500 and 1,000 feet. (24)
1962: NASA used a Delta rocket booster to launch Telestar I, the world's first experimental commercial communications satellite (AT&T). (24) 1965: Two 45 TFS aircrews, flying McDonnell-Douglas F-4C Phantom IIs from Ubon RTAFB, used Sidewinder missiles to shoot down two MiG-17s some 75 miles northwest of Hanoi. These were the first enemy jets shot down in air-to-air combat over North Vietnam. (17)
1966: William R. Berry flew his Raven S50R balloon to an FAI altitude record of 18,980 feet for subclass AX-7 balloon (1,600 to 2,200 cubic meters) at Livermore, Calif. (9)
1968: The DoD stopped the Navy's F-111B development program, following a budget reduction.
1971: The Aeronautical Systems Division announced a decision to proceed with the full-scale development of the Subsonic Cruise Armed Decoy (SCAD) missile.
1979: Exercise GLOBAL SHIELD. During this annual exercise, SAC launched two Minuteman III ICBMs from Vandenberg AFB. One mission, Glory Trip 40GM, was the last Phase I Minuteman III flight test. (1)
1980: Exercise PROUD PHANTOM. Through 3 October, 12 F-4Es flew from Moody AFB to Cairo to participate in the exercise. It was the USAF's first tactical deployment to Egypt. (16) (26)
1998: Col Teresa M. "Marné" Peterson became the first active duty woman to command an operational flying wing when she assumed leadership of the 14 FTW at Columbus AFB, Miss.
2002: A C-5 from the 436 AW left Dover AFB for Kabul, Afghanistan, with 13,115 pounds of school supplies collected by children from 58 American schools. (22) The USAF lost a second Global Hawk (AV-4) in a combat zone. An engine component failed, causing further internal damage to the engine, and the UAV was destroyed while making an emergency landing in Pakistan. (3) Through 11 July, the 210th Rescue Squadron (Alaska ANG), using an HC-130 tanker and an HH-60 helicopter, rescued a seriously-ill Filipino sailor from his ship 1,000 miles at sea and delivered him to a hospital at Kodiak. The mission lasted about 26 hours. (32)
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Thanks to Brett
Stratfor - THE WEEKLY RUNDOWN
KEY DEVELOPMENTS WE'RE TRACKING
Upper house elections in Japan. Japan will hold elections for the House of Councilors, the upper house of its bicameral legislature, on July 10. The Liberal Democratic Party, which leads the ruling conservative coalition, is projected by pollsters to win a majority of contested seats. Additional popular support for the party following the July 8 assassination of former Prime Minister and LDP elder Shinzo Abe will likely enhance its electoral momentum. A landslide in the July 9 elections would give the LDP a stronger mandate, perhaps reinforced by a two-thirds majority in the upper house. The conservatives do not, however, hold the two-thirds majority in the lower house necessary to pass constitutional amendments; elections for that body were held in October 2021.
Mexico's Lopez Obrador visits the White House. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador will meet with U.S. President Joe Biden on July 12 in Washington to discuss North America integration, cooperation on curbing migration flows and clean energy. The meeting is likely an attempt to demonstrate strong diplomatic relations between the two countries after Lopez Obrador refused to attend the Summit of the Americas hosted in Los Angeles in mid-June.
Biden goes to Saudi Arabia. The U.S. president will visit Israel, the Palestinian territories and Saudi Arabia from July 13-16. Biden's visit will begin with a focus on easing tensions between the Israelis and Palestinians, a challenge U.S. presidents have long had to address. Later, the trip will offer insights into the status of the normalization of ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia, and into how such normalization could provide new avenues for security integration in an unstable region. Facing high energy prices globally and at home, Biden will also discuss energy with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, though he is unlikely to convince the de facto Saudi ruler to increase its crude oil production substantially.
Nord Stream pipeline maintenance. On July 11, the Nord Stream pipeline transporting Russian gas under the Baltic Sea directly to Germany will begin planned maintenance scheduled to end July 22. The annual shutdown comes as the pipeline has been operating at just 40% of its capacity since June 15, and as flows of Russian gas via other routes such as Ukraine have fallen in recent weeks. Germany, which imports 35% of its gas from Russia, has instituted rationing measures for gas given these developments. The shutdown will fuel speculation that Russia could further restrict flows to send prices even higher and complicate European countries' efforts to fill their gas storage facilities ahead of the winter heating season — or even that Russia could cut off gas flows to Europe altogether.
MOST READ ANALYSIS FROM THE WEEK
An Uncertain World Threatens Saudi Arabia's Tourism Goals
New COVID-19 variants and global economic uncertainty could force Saudi Arabia to recalibrate its tourism development strategy, potentially leaving ongoing projects and plans either abandoned or delayed. Saudi Arabia's post-pandemic hajj season is underway, with a reported 1 million foreign and domestic pilgrims visiting Mecca for the pilgrimage ahead of Eid al-Adha, which begins July 8. These numbers are an improvement from 2020 and 2021, when only 1,000 and 60,000 pilgrims were allowed to visit Mecca for the annual pilgrimage, respectively. But 1 million is still a far cry from the 2.5 million hajj pilgrims that Saudi Arabia welcomed in 2019 -- due in part to continued COVID-19 restrictions, which include testing and vaccine requirements, capacity limits and age limits.
Johnson Has Resigned as U.K. Prime Minister. What Will His Successor Inherit?
While the appointment of a new prime minister will reduce political uncertainty in the United Kingdom, the new government will face a worsening cost of living crisis and a looming trade war with the European Union that will continue to create economic risks. On July 7, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced his resignation as Conservative Party leader and eventual plan to stand down as prime minister following the resignation of several members of his government in recent days. For months, multiple scandals and accusations of mismanagement had weakened Johnson, who narrowly survived a no-confidence motion from his own party in late June. Johnson will stay in a transitional government with limited powers while his Conservative Party elects a new leader, who will then become prime minister. Johnson said that the timetable for the Conservative leadership contest will be announced next week, and that his plan is to stay in power "until the autumn." However, the party may pressure him out of office sooner if the leadership contest is resolved quickly, because the Conservatives may want to avoid having a caretaker government in place amid the current cost of living crisis in the country. The United Kingdom does not need to hold a general election until January 2025, and the Conservatives will seek to avoid an early election because most polls suggest that it could lead to a victory by Labour, the main opposition party.
To Secure Its Foothold in Afghanistan, India Reaches Out to the Taliban
By improving ties with the Taliban, India is seeking to reduce security risks, counterbalance Pakistan's influence and improve economic opportunities in Afghanistan. But this strategy is likely to achieve only modest results because of Afghanistan's fragile economic and security environment, as well as New Delhi's enduring ideological and cultural differences with the Taliban. Indian officials recently visited Afghanistan for the first time since the Taliban took control of the country last year. A delegation led by J.P. Singh -- a secretary overseeing India's external affairs with Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran -- traveled to Kabul on June 6 to discuss the delivery of humanitarian aid with Taliban leaders. With the exception of sending such aid and indirectly contacting Afghanistan through third countries, New Delhi had not established a formal dialogue with Kabul since the Taliban seized power in August 2021. The diplomatic visit reflects India's new policy of engagement with the Taliban government in Afghanistan, given the new geopolitical realities of the region now that the Pakistan-backed Islamist group appears poised to retain control of the strategically important landlocked nation for the foreseeable future.
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