The List 6179 TGB
Good Wednesday Morning August 3 .
A bit of history and some tidbits
Regards,
Skip
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This Day in Navy and Marine Corps History:
August 3
1804
Commodore Edward Preble's Mediterranean Squadron launches the first of a series of bombardments on the harbor of Tripoli. Designed to destroy the defending batteries and sink enemy ships, the bombardments are part of the blockade that Preble established in 1803.
1861
Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles calls for designers to submit plans for ironclad warships to the Navy Department. The design, by inventor John Ericsson, is chosen for USS Monitor, a revolutionary armored ship, carrying her guns in a rotating turret.
1942
Mildred H. McAfee takes the oath of office to become the first female line officer. She is commissioned a lieutenant commander in the Naval Reserve and simultaneously undertakes the duties of being the first director of the newly-established WAVES ("Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service").
1943
PBM aircraft (VP 205) sinks German submarine (U 572), north of Dutch Giuiana. Also on this date, USS Buck (DD 420) sinks Italian submarine, Argento, off Tunisia.
1950
Marine Fighter Squadron Two Hundred Fourteen (VMF 214) operating from USS Sicily (CVE 118) attacks Chinju with rockets and incendiary bombs, in the first Marine Corps aviation mission against North Korea.
1958
USS Nautilus (SSN 571) becomes the first submarine to cross the "top" of the world during Operation Sunshine when the boat passes under an arctic ice cap at the North Pole. "For the world, our country, and the Navy - the North Pole," declared the boat's commanding officer, Cmdr. William R. Anderson. The mission had been personally authorized by President Eisenhower as a response to the USSR's Sputnik program.
2017
Richard V. Spencer is sworn in as the 76th secretary of the Navy. Spencer, a Connecticut native, graduated from Rollins College in 1976 with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics. Upon graduation he joined the United States Marine Corps and served as an H-46 pilot until 1981.
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Today in History: August 3
1347 Six burghers of the surrounded French city of Calais surrender to Edward III of England in hopes of relieving the siege.
1492 Christopher Columbus leaves Spain on his voyage to the new world.
1546 French printer Etienne Dolet, accused of heresy, blasphemy and sedition, is hanged and burned at the stake for printing reformist literature.
1553 Mary Tudor, the new Queen of England, enters London.
1610 Henry Hudson of England discovers a great bay on the east coast of Canada and names it for himself.
1692 French forces under Marshal Luxembourg defeat the English at the Battle of Steenkerque in the Netherlands.
1805 Muhammad Ali becomes the new ruler of Egypt. I had to look it up
Search Results
Featured snippet from the web
The process of Muhammad Ali's seizure of power was a long three way civil war between the Ottoman Turks, Egyptian Mamluks, and Albanian mercenaries. It lasted from 1803 to 1807 with the Albanian Muhammad Ali Pasha taking control of Egypt in 1805, when the Ottoman Sultan acknowledged his position.
1807 The trial of Aaron Burr begins. He is accused of plotting the secession of New England.
1864 Federal gunboats attack but do not capture Fort Gains, at the mouth of Mobile Bay, Alabama.
1882 Congress passes the Immigration Act, banning Chinese immigration for ten years.
1908 Allan Allensworth files the site plan for the first African-American town, Allensworth, California.
1911 Airplanes are used for the first time in a military capacity when Italian planes reconnoiter Turkish lines near Tripoli.
1914 Germany declares war on France.
1916 Sir Roger Casement is hanged for treason in England.
1945 Chinese troops under American General Joseph Stilwell take the town of Myitkyina from the Japanese.
1958 The first nuclear submarine, USS Nautilus, passes under the North Pole.
1967 President Lyndon B. Johnson announces plans to send 45,000 more troops to Vietnam.
1972 Former Beatle Paul McCartney announces formation of his new group, Wings.
1975 The Louisiana Superdome is dedicated.
1977 Radio Shack unveils TRS-80 personal computer, which with Apple and Commodore would form the "1977 Trinity." Its price and Radio Shack's established retail outlets made it a bestseller for several years.
1990 The US commits naval forces to the Persian Gulf region in the wake of Iraq's invasion of Kuwait.
2004 Statue of Liberty's pedestal reopens to visitors after being closed following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
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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 Wednesday, 3 August 2022… Bear🇺🇸⚓️🐻
OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER (1965-1968)…
From the archives of rollingthunderremembered.com post for 3 August 1967… Ike has an idea…
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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From the Coast Guard's Birthday to a U-2 First by W. Thomas Smith Jr.
08/03/2010
This Week in American Military History:
Aug. 1, 1943: Operation Tidal Wave -- also known as the Raid on Ploesti --
commences: 177 U.S. Army Air Forces B-24 Liberators flying 1,000-plus miles from their bases in Libya, attack the heavily defended Ploesti oil fields in Rumania.
The raid is flown against waves of counterattacking enemy planes, heavy antiaircraft fire, and at treetop level above the target area. Many of the
B-24 crews are forced to fly through thick black smoke over targets just-attacked by their comrades ahead of them, and they are caught in the bursts and shock waves of delayed-action bombs.
Damage will be heavy on the oilfields said "to be supplying 60 percent of Germany's crude oil requirements," according to the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. But USAAF casualties will also be high: "Of 177 planes and
1,726 men who took off on the mission, 54 planes and 532 men failed to return."
Five Medals of Honor will be awarded for the daring raid. Recipients
include: Col. Leon W. Johnson, Col. John R. Kane, Lt. Col. Addison E. Baker (posthumous), Maj. John L. Jerstad (posthumous), and 2nd Lt. Lloyd H.
Hughes (posthumous).
Aug. 1, 1955: The famous U-2 high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft (yes, the same type of aircraft piloted by CIA pilot Francis Gary Powers when he was shot down over the Soviet Union by a surface-to-air missile in 1960) makes its first-ever flight above Groom Lake (Area 51), Nevada.
Aug. 3, 1958: USS Nautilus -- the world's first nuclear-powered submarine and the U.S. Navy's sixth so-named vessel -- becomes the first "ship" to cross the North Pole. The submarine's simple transmission is, "Nautilus 90 North."
Aug. 4, 1790: Congress approves Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton's proposal to "build ten cutters to protect the new nation's revenue,"
establishing the Revenue Cutter Service – first of the predecessor services of the modern Coast Guard. Thus today will become the officially recognized birthday of the U.S. Coast Guard.
Aug. 5, 1864: One of the great makers of Naval tradition, Rear Admiral David Glasgow Farragut, commanding a strike force of 14 wooden warships and a handful of ironclads, attacks and decisively defeats Confederate Naval forces under Adm. Franklin Buchanan and the Confederate forts defending Mobile Bay, Alabama. It is during this action that Farragut purportedly utters the command, "Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!," or the more likely command, "Damn the torpedoes! Four bells. Captain [Percival] Drayton, go ahead! [Lt. Commander James] Jouett, full speed!"
Aug. 6, 1945: A single American B-29 bomber, Enola Gay, flying from the island of Tinian drops the first-ever atomic bomb used in war on the Japanese city of Hiroshima.
At 8:15 a.m., the bomb, codenamed Little Boy, detonates nearly 2,000 feet above the city center instantly killing between 80,000 and 140,000 people, and seriously wounding another 100,000. According to Hiroshima & Nagasaki Remembered, "The blast wave shattered windows for a distance of ten miles and was felt as far away as 37 miles. Hiroshima had disappeared under a thick, churning foam of flames and smoke. The co-pilot, Captain Robert Lewis, commented, 'My God, what have we done?'"
In three days, Nagasaki will suffer the same fate.
Japan's ability to wage war is finished.
In time, the bombings will be decried as cruel and excessive in terms of the lives lost; as if to suggest all war is not both cruel and excessive to the vanquished. Indeed, nuclear weapons are horrible. What is incalculable, however, is the number of American lives saved by decisively ending the war with the bombs before having to invade the Japanese mainland.
Aug. 7, 1942: Exactly eight months to the day after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, elements of the soon-to-be-famous 1st Marine Division – under the command of Maj. Gen. Alexander Archer "Sunny Jim" Vandegrift (a future Marine Corps commandant) – begin landing on Guadalcanal in the southern Solomon islands, launching America's first large-scale ground offensive of World War II.
Simultaneous landings take place on the nearby islets of Tulagi, Gavutu, Tanambogo, and Florida Island. The landings are the first decisive ground actions aimed at eating away at the Japanese who have extended their lines deep into the Western Pacific and threaten Australia.
Vandegrift is destined to receive the Medal of Honor, and he will become the first Marine officer on active duty to attain four-star rank.
Aug. 7, 1964: Congress passes the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which "approves and supports the determination of the President, as Commander in Chief, to take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression."
The Vietnam War is officially on.
Aug. 7, 1782: Gen. George Washington creates two badges of distinction for enlisted soldiers and noncommissioned officers: The first is a chevron signifying three years of service (two chevrons for six years) "with bravery, fidelity, and good conduct." The second is a medal – the Badge of Military Merit – for "any singularly meritorious action."
According to The U.S. Army Center of Military History, the badge was the "'figure of a heart in purple cloth or silk edged with narrow lace or binding.' This device was affixed to the uniform coat above the left breast and permitted its wearer to pass guards and sentinels without challenge and to have his name and regiment inscribed in a Book of Merit. The badge specifically honored the lower ranks, where decorations were unknown in contemporary European Armies."
Though the standards for recipients have changed, the medal exists today as the Purple Heart, and is awarded to "any member of an Armed Force who, while serving with the U.S. Armed Services after 5 April 1917, has been wounded or killed, or who has died or may hereafter die after being wounded."
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This is a great story that has been in the List before a few times but when I came across it the other day I thought I would add it again….skip
C-124 GLOBEMASTER VS A REAR ADMIRAL
The C-124 was a lumbering transport aircraft first fielded by the Air Force in 1949. Designed to haul outsized cargo, or up to 200 troops, it featured a 77-foot-long cargo bay. Pretty, the Globemaster was not.
It looked like a pregnant schnauzer and was only slightly faster. The four massive Pratt & Whitney 4360 radials on its thick wings looked ridiculously undersized for the job and could only propel the ungainly brute to a cruising speed in the high 200 mph range. In flight, the aircraft's cavernous fuselage and the 4360s combined to produce a less than smooth ride; hence, the Globemaster's nickname 'Old Shakey.'
Rear Admiral Edward L. 'Whitey' Feightner was trained as a fighter pilot, he proved himself during WW II, with nine Japanese kills. By 1959, Feightner's career had also included stints as an Admiral's Aide, a Blue Angel and a test pilot.
Feightner had flown just about every Navy fighter and a remarkable variety of other military land and sea aircraft. Prolonged exposure to the sun and his fair complexion produced frequent sunburns. And having no tan earned him the nickname Whitey.
Typically, the only thing that a Navy fighter pilot and Globemasters had in common was a need to be at a certain destination at a certain time. In the winter of 1959, Cmdr. Feightner was flying the A-4D Skyhawk in Jacksonville, while the Globemaster was a hundred miles north at Charleston AFB, serving Military Transport Service-MATS.
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On the afternoon of February 13, 1959, fighter pilot and Old Shakey met. 1200 Hours: Pinecastle Bombing Range, February 13, 1959
I had orders to fly to the Mediterranean and replace the Air Wing Commander of Carrier Air Group-10 on the Forrestal. Relieving a senior officer in the middle of a cruise wasn't SOP, but the people in Washington wanted this particular commander back at the Pentagon pronto. This meant I got a real hurry up in my orders. In fact, I was out flying an A-4D Skyhawk over a bombing range area, when I got a call from the air station. I was to land immediately.
I jumped out of the jet into a waiting car that sped directly to the BOQ. I threw my clothes into a bag, and in less than 30 minutes, I was on my way to Charleston AFB.
On arrival, I was taken straight to an Air Force C-121, which immediately fired up and taxied out. Just as we got to the runway, the tower called. They stopped our airplane.
Two MPs walked into the cabin and asked whether Commander Feightner was on board. I held up my hand and I was told to follow them. I looked at them and said,
"Not so fast. Here are my orders. I'm wanted in the Med right away." They said, We understand that Sir . . but read this. It was an authorization to commandeer anybody . . at anytime . . for an urgent mission.
I got off the airplane. We got into a car, and I was driven to the operations tower, where I found out they had a special mission headed for Europe. The Navy had 10,000 pounds of top-secret gear that needed to go overseas, and it was tucked into a C-124 sitting on the ramp. And I was now commandeered to baby sit this gear.
The C-124 was a huge airplane, even by today's standards. In your mind, just think of expanding cargo bay size of a C-130 five to six times and you'll get an idea of what the C-124 looked like. And its pilots sat twenty-four feet above the tarmac.
This airplane's squadron was just getting a new squadron commander: an Air Force Lieutenant Colonel with a new Major as his Operations Officer. This flight was also to be their line checkout before they were qualified to take over the MATS squadron.
The plane was about ready to depart, and I was given a .45 to strap on and was led to a seat bolted to the deck in the rear of this cavernous airplane. A tarpaulin covered the 10,000 pounds of gear, and in this huge space, that just amounted to one little mound. And I was back there all alone.
I didn't even know what it was I was guarding other than 10,000 pounds of top-secret gear. And I was to not allow anybody to take it away from me.
By the time we taxied out to the runway, it was just about dusk, and it was raining. We started the takeoff roll, and I was sitting back there and couldn't see anything. I knew there was a check pilot up front with the Colonel and the Major for the flight.
Sure enough. Like all good check pilots, he chopped power on an engine during takeoff. I heard the power come off, come back on and then come off again, and we lunged to a sudden stop. The crew hadn't really handled this very well. And we were now off the runway with the six-and-a-half-foot tall right mains up to their axles in the mud.
It took about four hours to get the airplane back on the runway. They hosed off all the mud, determined there wasn't any real damage and decided that we'd go ahead. We went back out onto the take-off runway. But this time, the check pilot didn't chop an engine.
We climbed and headed out across the water on a course just past Bermuda, when it was decided that the flight crew had run out of crew time. So, we dropped into Bermuda to stay overnight and let them get the proper rest.
The next morning, we needed to get on the road again soon so the crew wouldn't run out of crew time before we got to the Azores.
It was between breakfast and lunch then, and there wasn't any place open to feed us except the British O' Club. They said that breakfast would be Hungarian Goulash, they were about to serve for lunch that day. I can't stand Hungarian Goulash and talked their cook into making an egg omelet for me
1700 Hours: Bermuda, February 14
I ate my omelet. And everybody had their goulash. We got airborne at about 16:30 in the afternoon and were climbing through 1,500 to 2,000 feet, when there was a loud bang!
In the back, out of a small porthole-type window I could make out that they were shutting down the number-three engine. I was still strapped in, and as I didn't know what was happening, I stayed strapped in! We orbited off Bermuda for probably an hour while they assessed the situation.
They figured out that an exhaust stack had loosened on that starboard inboard engine. They decided that three engines would be fine since we didn't have a heavy load. There had been enough delays already, so we just pushed on. [ Later I discovered that a Navy ship was waiting for this gear we were delivering.]
2030 Hours: 9,000 feet, Mid-Atlantic
We headed off across the pond toward the Azores. About three hours later, the crew chief came and asked me to come up to the cockpit. I was delighted; I was freezing to death in the back. We went forward and climbed a ladder through the tremendous cargo bay up to the flight deck.
That's when I was told we had a real emergency going on. The check pilot, who was an Air Force Captain in the Reserves, had just come down with ptomaine poisoning. He was now strapped into a bunk behind the flight deck, and he didn't look good at all. He was in convulsions, and he was as white as he could be.
The pilot Major also looked like he was bitten by the goulash. But he had his headphones on and was standing next to the Captain, talking on the radio to a doctor somewhere, getting medical advice on what to do about this.
I assumed we would turn around and head back home, but the Colonel said to me, " We're about to run into a weather front, and I would like to get that engine back on-line. The crew chief and I want to go out [ into the wing ] and fix it."
The C-124's wing thickness was so great that you could actually walk [crawl out is more like it] into the wing during flight and perform maintenance on the engines.
He asked if I would fly the airplane for a little while. I was happy to; anything was better than sitting in that cargo bay. So, I jumped into the left seat and took over; everybody else left the cockpit and went elsewhere.
I'm flying along about 9,000 feet, and after about 25 or 30 minutes, not a soul had come back to the cockpit. The airplane was on auto pilot, and I just monitored everything and made sure we stayed on course.
All of a sudden, we ran into the front, and it started to rain, and there was a lot of lightning. Since I'd never been in a C-124 before, the next thing that happened really alarmed me. The instrument panel kept jostling back and forth! Man, this thing was Old Shakey! I thought my eyesight was going bad, but the shaking was just characteristic of the airplane. It had a spring-mounted instrument panel that seemed to move through an inch and a half of travel back and forth in rough weather. You can imagine what it would be like to fly instruments by hand. Then we started to get some fairly hard jolts.
No one returned to the cockpit.
Because I didn't know how much stress the airplane could take, I turned off the autopilot and began to fly the instruments manually. The turbulence was getting more and more severe, and it was raining quite hard.
Just then, the crew chief called me over the intercom: "Skipper - get ready to crank up the number three engine." He went over the engine start checklist with me. I started up the engine.
The oil pressure came up just fine, the temperature looked good, and it idled just like it should. I decided to bring it back up on-line and synchronize the propeller.
Everything was going great except that we were really being thrown around by this storm. I had my hands full, and after an additional 15, or 20 minutes, I thought, "I'm still alone up here. What's going on with those guys?" So, I called the crew chief on the intercom.
But got no answer.
Shortly after, the cockpit door opened up and a slender young guy walked in. He was a Navy Lieutenant-jg. I looked at him completely baffled when he told me, "I'm Lt. Roberts, your navigator."
He saw my quizzical look and told me he had just gone through navigation school and that he was not an aviator; he was a Navy DESTROYER sailor!
I thought, " What else strange can happen?"
Well, he starts to bring me up to date [on the engine problem] saying, "When you started up the engine, the Colonel was in the engine nacelle. He got a terrible dose of carbon monoxide. He's down and gone blind! "
Later, I saw a big plaque on that engine that read: "DO NOT ENTER ENGINE AREA DURING FLIGHT: CARBON MONOXIDE"
Apparently, he and the crew chief had been able to put the blown stack back on and wire it into place. It seemed to be holding satisfactorily, so the Colonel told the crew chief to head out and tell me to start the engine, while he stayed behind to make sure there wouldn't be a fire around the stack when the engine was started.
When it fired up, the Colonel ingested a huge amount of carbon monoxide fumes and he passed out.
They got the Colonel out [of the engine area] and put him in a bunk. On top of everything else, by this time, the pilot Major was now upchucking from the same goulash.
0300 Hours: 9,000 feet, closing on the Azores, February 15
I am all by myself in Old Shakey's cockpit.
After a while, we got fairly close to the Azores. I shifted over to the Base frequency, and the next thing you know, I get a call from there saying, "We're sending a B-17 out to you. And when he picks you out on radar, he will give you a call." "He has an emergency boat on board."
And that got my attention. I didn't know what they knew. But they said, "Keep on coming. You'll break out of the storm 50 miles east of the Azores. The minute you break out, you'll orbit until daylight. And then we'll bring you down." That sounded good to me.
So, I kept on heading that way.
And pretty soon, I broke out of the storm and could see the moon and stars. Soon, I looked down and saw the island ahead. And reported I had them in sight. They "rogered" that, and I started to orbit.
At about 03:30 the tower called me. Apparently, the doctors decided we had to get the Colonel down or he might not make it. I asked, "Do you have a GCA?" They confirmed they did. I replied, " Well turn it on, because I am coming in." They said, "All right; we'll bring you in. But be advised that you'll have a slight crosswind and we've got clouds over the island down to about 800 feet ".
I said, "Fine, we'll just come in on the radar."
We got everything straight and I started talking to the GCA controller when all of a sudden, a voice from the Control Tower asks, "WHO ARE YOU?! "
I replied, " I'm a Navy fighter pilot . . and I'm flying the airplane."
They came back, "Wait one! "
I realized that my casual answer had probably worried them, thinking - how in the world is a Navy fighter pilot going to land that huge thing.
So, after a little pause, I called again and said, "If it's any help to you, I'm also a Navy test pilot. And though I've never been in a C-124 before, I've flown a lot of big airplanes."
That seemed to settle them down. I was again advised of a right crosswind on the base's single runway. I told them it wouldn't be a problem.
As I was getting ready for the approach, I got hold of the aircraft's crew chief and asked him, "How about getting that pilot Major up here with me."
I was on final, down to about 3,000 feet, when the Major trudged into the cockpit. He sat down in the right seat. And I figured, you know, this guy knows his airplane.
So, I told him, " OK, you've got it."
Right away, the Major says, "NOT ME! " " I'm not gonna take this thing! I'm too woozy, and I keep passing out!"
Well, I guess this was my day to do everything. So, I told the Major, " I'm gonna fly instruments all the way down. You let me know when we've made [visual on] the runway.
But then . . YOU TAKE OVER ! "
We kept going downhill, and we broke out about 1,000 feet. And I told him. "O K! IT'S . . ALL . . YOURS! "
He grabbed the wheel. [But I'll tell you, being an old flight instructor, I never REALLY let go of that thing!]
We got over the runway. I saw the wind drifting us. So, I cranked the wheel into it. And I didn't get any opposition from him. So, I'm not sure which one of us landed it, but we did put that airplane on the runway [from our perch 27 feet above the concrete.]
Later, I learned that the Colonel was soon medically discharged from the Air Force. And 'they' also managed to save the check pilot's [career.] On the other hand, [lying back there in the bunk] he had a really bad case of ptomaine poisoning.
The next morning, a new C-124 flight crew came in from somewhere, and we took off and flew to Rabat. When we landed there, the Forrestal had an A-3 Sky Warrior sitting on the tarmac waiting for me. In fact, my predecessor, the outgoing air wing commander was flying the airplane. They threw me on board, and my next stop was landing at sea aboard the carrier. We put the guy I relieved on another airplane. And presto I was an air wing commander.
I got a big letter of thanks from the Air Force. Apparently, the top-secret cargo was some kind of communications gear. To this day, I don't know exactly what it was, but eventually, it did get to where it was going. And so did I.
Whitey Feightner with Jan Tegler
Flight Journal April 2006
C-124 GLOBEMASTER
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Thanks to Brett
Geopolitical Futures:
Keeping the future in focus
Daily Memo: Russia's Protracted War in Ukraine
Moscow's war of attrition is meant simply to exhaust its enemies.
By: Ridvan Bari Urcosta
August 3, 2022
The war in Ukraine is raging with no end in sight. Neither Russia nor Ukraine is ready to sit at the negotiation table. Both claim that their goals are absolute and non-negotiable. With negotiations not an option, both are determined to exhaust the enemy's resources, manpower and technological potential, and to finally "throw his adversary, and thus render him incapable of further resistance," in the words of Clausewitz. In the meantime, Russia's actions in Ukraine paint a clear picture of Moscow's doctrinal thinking about warfare, and illustrate that Ukraine is only one part of Russia's broader economic and geopolitical objectives.
The invasion of Ukraine marks the next stage in the global confrontation between East and West. The East, led by China and Russia, wants to revise the political-economic order, which has the U.S. at the center. The confrontation's military expression, in Ukraine, could easily spill over into other parts of Eurasia. Neither side wants this, and perhaps a unique feature of this 21st-century confrontation will be its localization. There were many localized military confrontations between East and West during the Cold War, such as Vietnam and Afghanistan. So far, it is unclear who is benefiting more from the prolongation of the war in Ukraine. In fact, one could argue that all involved parties are losing; all are experiencing economic and other hardships that will only grow.
To understand the course of the war, it helps to understand the influences of contemporary Russian military doctrine. Russian doctrine begins with the Marxist theory of war, which teaches that war is a continuation of politics, a premise taken from Clausewitz. The mainstream Russian military school also inherited the dialectical vision of war, where any local war is part of the global geopolitical rivalry with "Western imperialism." Russian doctrine is also influenced by the Maoist view, which pursues multiple fronts in the event of protracted wars. In practice, this means Russia (and the Soviet Union before it), as well as China, targets the so-called Third World as a means to undermine Western power.
Finally, it is now obvious that when Russia initiated the war, the Kremlin decided on the theory of permanent mobilization. This was developed by the Soviet military theoretician Alexander Svechin, who proposed that the state must avoid "over-mobilization," which he defined as mobilization of all of society and the economy and which can set off political crisis or even revolution. Svechin suggested that the economic situation must be deeply assessed before and throughout the war. The economic rear should be secure and out of the enemy's reach.
These perspectives help explain Russia's economic and military approach to the Ukraine conflict. At the global level, Russia launched ideological, resource, energy and economic-financial wars against the West. The goal is to exhaust the West's economic and financial potential, particularly the dominance of the U.S. dollar. Ukraine is one of the biggest countries in Europe in terms of population and territory, so it can easily absorb a massive amount of dollars. Russia hopes that the enormous burden of economic and military support for Ukraine will create divisions inside NATO and the European Union. On the battlefield, Russia has not given up its primary goal to occupy the Donbas region and other areas of "Novorossiya" in southern and eastern Ukraine. It continues its hidden mobilization campaign, and continues to threaten Kyiv and the rest of Ukraine.
Russia understood the war to be against the West from the beginning, but since more advanced Western weapons started arriving in Ukraine, particularly HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System), it's become an inescapable reality. Effective rocket strikes on the Russian army's rear, bridges and ammunition depots were a wake-up call. The Ukrainians surprised with their ability to grasp and incorporate new technologies into the war. Russia responded with a change of tactics and strategy. It is now avoiding closing the front or concentrations of ammunition depots and hardware. Further, it is seeking new ways to counter the HIMARS, for example by using the Buk-M3 and Pantsir anti-aircraft missile systems to attempt to intercept the rockets.
But the geopolitical and military realities are such that Russian officials must continue to prosecute the war because they have yet to achieve their goals. To stop the assault without taking Donbas would be political suicide, even for Putin. Disruptions to food supplies, migration patterns and energy markets are the only real leverage Russia has left.
Indeed, the situation will escalate in spite of the red lines issued by both sides. Russia wants to keep the conflict an indirect one with the West, and it wants the West to limit military support and weaponry that could, for example, threaten the Russian homeland or undermine Russian control of its own airspace. The West, and especially NATO, wants to keep the conflict from spilling into more sensitive regions such as the Baltics and Poland. So far, no one seems ready to give up the ghost despite heavy losses.
Red lines aren't inviolable, of course, but they provide a sense of what it would take to kick off a much greater war, or even a nuclear exchange. So far, all sides, including Ukraine, are ready to continue apace. Russia hasn't yet directly attacked Ukraine's political and military centers, nor has it carpet bombed Ukrainian cities en masse. But the weaker the Russian army gets, the more tempting it will be for it to take more drastic actions. The West is still an important source of military assistance, but that assistance consists of older aircraft and other air-defense platforms. If it starts to send more sophisticated and cutting-edge technologies, it would alter the balance of power in the conflict and thus potentially draw the West and Russia into an escalated war. The West is not currently prepared to take this risk.
The Putin regime intends to survive, so it is more than willing to play the long game. Moscow sees the war in Ukraine as just the military front in an economic, political and diplomatic conflict with the West. At a recent economic forum in St. Petersburg, Putin even said that actions against Russia will only further aggravate divisions in the West, as evidenced by Russia's retaliation in the energy market.
Military theorist B. H. Liddell Hart said that "Grand strategy should both calculate and develop the economic resources and manpower of nations in order to sustain the fighting services." Putin seems to have taken this to heart. Russia's protracted war of attrition is meant to simply exhaust its enemies; making Ukraine a black hole that absorbs money and resources is central to this goal. For Russia to achieve its geopolitical objectives, it may only have to take its time.
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This Day in U S Military History…….August 3
1492 – From the Spanish port of Palos, Italian explorer Christopher Columbus sets sail in command of three ships–the Santa Maria, the Pinta, and the Nina–on a journey to find a western sea route to China, India, and the fabled gold and spice islands of Asia. On October 12, the expedition sighted land, probably Watling Island in the Bahamas, and went ashore the same day, claiming it for Spain. Later that month, Columbus sighted Cuba, which he thought was mainland China, and in December the expedition landed on Hispaniola, which Columbus thought might be Japan. He established a small colony there with 39 of his men. The explorer returned to Spain with gold, spices, and "Indian" captives in March 1493 and was received with the highest honors by the Spanish court. He was the first European to explore the Americas since the Vikings set up colonies in Greenland and Newfoundland in the 10th century. During his lifetime, Columbus led a total of four expeditions to the New World, discovering various Caribbean islands, the Gulf of Mexico, and the South and Central American mainland, but never accomplished his original goal–a western ocean route to the great cities of Asia. Columbus died in Spain in 1506 without realizing the great scope of what he did achieve: He had discovered for Europe the New World, whose riches over the next century would help make Spain the wealthiest and most powerful nation on earth.
1958 – U.S. nuclear submarine Nautilus accomplishes the first undersea voyage to the geographic North Pole. The world's first nuclear submarine, the Nautilus dived at Point Barrow, Alaska, and traveled nearly 1,000 miles under the Arctic ice cap to reach the top of the world. It then steamed on to Iceland, pioneering a new and shorter route from the Pacific to the Atlantic and Europe. The USS Nautilus was constructed under the direction of U.S. Navy Captain Hyman G. Rickover, a brilliant Russian-born engineer who joined the U.S. atomic program in 1946. In 1947, he was put in charge of the navy's nuclear-propulsion program and began work on an atomic submarine. Regarded as a fanatic by his detractors, Rickover succeeded in developing and delivering the world's first nuclear submarine years ahead of schedule. In 1952, the Nautilus' keel was laid by President Harry S. Truman, and on January 21, 1954, first lady Mamie Eisenhower broke a bottle of champagne across its bow as it was launched into the Thames River at Groton, Connecticut. Commissioned on September 30, 1954, it first ran under nuclear power on the morning of January 17, 1955. Much larger than the diesel-electric submarines that preceded it, the Nautilus stretched 319 feet and displaced 3,180 tons. It could remain submerged for almost unlimited periods because its atomic engine needed no air and only a very small quantity of nuclear fuel. The uranium-powered nuclear reactor produced steam that drove propulsion turbines, allowing the Nautilus to travel underwater at speeds in excess of 20 knots. In its early years of service, the USS Nautilus broke numerous submarine travel records and on July 23, 1958, departed Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on "Operation Northwest Passage"–the first crossing of the North Pole by submarine. There were 116 men aboard for this historic voyage, including Commander William R. Anderson, 111 officers and crew, and four civilian scientists. The Nautilus steamed north through the Bering Strait and did not surface until it reached Point Barrow, Alaska, in the Beaufort Sea, though it did send its periscope up once off the Diomedes Islands, between Alaska and Siberia, to check for radar bearings. On August 1, the submarine left the north coast of Alaska and dove under the Arctic ice cap. The submarine traveled at a depth of about 500 feet, and the ice cap above varied in thickness from 10 to 50 feet, with the midnight sun of the Arctic shining in varying degrees through the blue ice. At 11:15 p.m. EDT on August 3, 1958, Commander Anderson announced to his crew: "For the world, our country, and the Navy–the North Pole." The Nautilus passed under the geographic North Pole without pausing. The submarine next surfaced in the Greenland Sea between Spitzbergen and Greenland on August 5. Two days later, it ended its historic journey at Iceland. For the command during the historic journey, President Dwight D. Eisenhower decorated Anderson with the Legion of Merit. After a career spanning 25 years and almost 500,000 miles steamed, the Nautilus was decommissioned on March 3, 1980. Designated a National Historic Landmark in 1982, the world's first nuclear submarine went on exhibit in 1986 as the Historic Ship Nautilus at the Submarine Force Museum in Groton, Connecticut.
1999 – Arbitrators ruled the government had to pay the heirs of Dallas dressmaker Abraham Zapruder $16 million for his movie film that captured the assassination of President Kennedy.
2005 – The Battle of Haditha continues. Two days after the deaths of six Marine snipers in Haditha, Marine forces launched Operation Quick Strike to disrupt insurgent presence in the Haditha area. Around 1000 Marines from the Regimental Combat Team 2 (RCT-2) and Iraqi soldiers started "Operation Quick Strike", which included efforts to find the insurgents responsible, however the primary intent was to interdict and disrupt militants' presence in the Haditha, Haqliniyah, and Barwanah areas. The operation began when Marines and Iraqi soldiers moved into Haqliniyah, about seven kilometers southwest of Haditha. 40 insurgents were killed, including four in a Super Cobra helicopter attack. On the second day of the operation, a Marine amphibious assault vehicle, which was transporting Marines to the initial assault, hit a huge roadside bomb. The vehicle was completely destroyed and 15 out of the 16 people that were inside it were killed, with only one Marine surviving. The lone surviving Marine was a young man from Mississippi. Among the killed was also an Iraqi civilian interpreter.
Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
LAWTON, HENRY W.
Rank and organization: Captain, Company A, 30th Indiana Infantry. Place and date: At Atlanta, Ga., 3 August 1864. Entered service at: Ft. Wayne, Allen County, Ind. Birth: Ohio. Date of issue: 22 May 1893. Citation: Led a charge of skirmishers against the enemy's rifle pits and stubbornly and successfully resisted 2 determined attacks of the enemy to retake the works.
*WITEK, FRANK PETER
Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. Born: December 1921, Derby, Conn. Accredited to: Illinois. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving with the 1st Battalion, 9th Marines, 3d Marine Division, during the Battle of Finegayen at Guam, Marianas, on 3 August 1944. When his rifle platoon was halted by heavy surprise fire from well-camouflaged enemy positions, Pfc. Witek daringly remained standing to fire a full magazine from his automatic at point-blank range into a depression housing Japanese troops, killing 8 of the enemy and enabling the greater part of his platoon to take cover. During his platoon's withdrawal for consolidation of lines, he remained to safeguard a severely wounded comrade, courageously returning the enemy's fire until the arrival of stretcher bearers, and then covering the evacuation by sustained fire as he moved backward toward his own lines. With his platoon again pinned down by a hostile machinegun, Pfc. Witek, on his own initiative, moved forward boldly to the reinforcing tanks and infantry, alternately throwing handgrenades and firing as he advanced to within 5 to 10 yards of the enemy position, and destroying the hostile machinegun emplacement and an additional 8 Japanese before he himself was struck down by an enemy rifleman. His valiant and inspiring action effectively reduced the enemy's firepower, thereby enabling his platoon to attain its objective, and reflects the highest credit upon Pfc. Witek and the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.
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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for 3 August, FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY
3 August
1904: Capt Thomas S. Baldwin made the first circuit flight in an airship equipped with a Curtiss motor at Oakland. This was the first successful powered airship flight in the US. (21)
1938: Through 12 August, Maj Vincent J. Meloy led three B-17s of the 2 BG at Langley Field on a goodwill mission to Bogota, Colombia. (21)
1942: The US began work on its top secret Manhattan Project to develop an atomic bomb. (4)
1950: KOREAN WAR. Lt Gen George E. Stratemeyer, FEAF Commander, ordered Fifth Air Force to destroy key transportation facilities between the 37th and 38th parallels in Korea in FEAF Interdiction Campaign No. 1. (17) Marine fighters began operations over Korea. (16) (24) SA-16 amphibious rescue aircraft began flying sorties along the Korean coast to retrieve U.S. pilots forced down during operations. (28)
1954: The Navy's YF2Y-1 Sea Dart, a hydro-skifighter and the world's fastest water-based plane, exceeded the speed of sound in a test flight at San Diego. (24)
1956: The first missile wing in the USAF and USAFE, the 42924st Tactical Missile Wing, established.
1963: Sam Miller and Louis Fodor completed a round-the-world flight from New York and return in 46 hours 28 minutes to set a FAI record. (9)
1965: The first firing of a Lance battlefield missile from its self-propelled launchers took place at White Sands Missile Range.
1969: Members of the Alaskan Air Command helped put out Alaska's worst forest fire of the year.
1972: The F-15 Eagle fighter completed its first supersonic flight. It reached Mach 1.5 during a 45- minute test flight at Edwards AFB.
1973: The USAF accepted its first F-5E for flight testing at Edwards AFB. (3)
1981: USAF air traffic controllers manned civilian airport facilities in the US to replace striking air controllers. The USAF's assistance allowed civilian air operations to continue service despite the widespread strike. (26)
1982: The YA-10B flew its first test flight at Edwards AFB in the night attack evaluation program. The two-seat model allowed a safety observer to fly behind the pilot. (3)
1987: Martin Marietta rolled out its first converted Titan II space launch vehicle in a ceremony at its Denver facilities. NASA powered up the Space Shuttle Discovery at Kennedy Space Center to check out modifications made since the 1986 Challenger accident, marking a major milestone in the shuttle's return to flight.
1994: A B-52 launched a research satellite using a Pegasus rocket. (16) (26)
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World News for 3 August thanks to Military Periscope
USA—Saudi Arabia, U.A.E. Seek Additional Missile Defense Systems U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency | 08/03/2022 The U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency has announced that the State Dept. has approved potential missile defense system sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Riyadh is seeking to buy 300 MIM-104E Patriot Guidance Enhanced Missile-Tactical Ballistic Missiles (GEM-T) interceptors and associated equipment for US$3.05 billion, the agency said on Tuesday. The proposed deal would allow Saudi Arabia to replenish its stocks of GEM-T interceptors, which are used to defend against Houthi rebel attacks against Saudi civilian sites and critical infrastructure, said the DSCA. Meanwhile, the U.A.E. wants to buy 96 Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptors; two THAAD launch-control stations; two THAAD tactical operations stations; and associated technical and logistics support. The possible sale, valued at about US$2.25 billion, would enhance the U.A.E.'s ability to confront current and future threats and reduce dependence on U.S. forces, said the agency.
USA—SOCOM Selects AT-802U For Armed Overwatch Requirement Dept. Of Defense | 08/03/2022 U.S. Special Operations Command has chosen an Air Tractor light attack aircraft for its Armed Overwatch program reports the Dept. of Defense. On Monday, the command awarded L3 Communications Integrated Systems a contract with a maximum possible value of $3 billion for a fleet of AT-802U Sky Warden aircraft. An initial contract worth $170 million was awarded at the time. Air Tractor, which is known for its firefighting and agricultural planes, will build the baseline aircraft at its facility in Olney, Texas. L3Harris will then modify them to the Sky Warden configuration at its factory in Tulsa, Okla., starting in 2023, reported Defense News. The Air Force Special Operation Command's Armed Overwatch program seeks a fleet of up to 75 fixed-wing aircraft that can be supported from austere locations to provide close air support, precision strike and armed intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities for counterterrorism operations and irregular warfare. SOCOM officials said last year that they planned to maintain four operational squadrons each with 15 Sky Wardens, with one deployed and three training, recovering and being maintained at their home stations. A fourth squadron of 10-15 aircraft would be used for training. L3Harris plans to rapidly upgrade its prototype aircraft into the production configuration for delivery to SOCOM later this year for testing. Initial operational capability is anticipated in fiscal 2026 with full operational capability to follow in fiscal 2029, said SOCOM.
USA—Kansans Reject Ballot Measure To Overturn Abortion Protections British Broadcasting Corp. | 08/03/2022 Kansans have by a large majority rejected a ballot measure to eliminate protections for abortion from the state constitution, reports the BBC News. Projections show that more than 60 percent of voters support maintaining the state's constitutional right to abortion. The official results are expected to be finalized next week. Kansas is the first state to vote on such a measure since the Supreme Court overturned federal protections for abortion, allowing states to ban the procedure. Ten states, including Kansas, have established the right to abortion in their state constitutions, requiring a referendum to overturn. Abortion has become an issue for the U.S. military, which maintains bases in many states that have implemented severe abortion restrictions or bans, amid concerns it will hurt recruiting and retention.
Ukraine—Grain Vessel Passes Inspection, Heads For Lebanon Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty | 08/03/2022 The first shipment of Ukrainian grain since Russia's unprovoked invasion in February has passed inspection and is headed for Lebanon, reports Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. The inspection was performed by a 20-person team from a special joint coordination center established under a U.N.-brokered agreement, said the Turkish Defense Ministry. The Sierra Leone-registered ship Razoni departed Odesa on Aug. 1 with 26,527 tons of corn. It arrived on the Black Sea coast off Turkey late on Aug. 2. The U.N.-brokered deal specifies that inspections are to take place at sea and not in the port of Istanbul. Since the deal was brokered on July 22, 27 vessels at three Ukrainian ports are awaiting the go-ahead to set sail for Turkey, a U.N. spokesman said. If the deal holds, Ankara expects one grain ship to leave Ukraine a day, a Turkish official told Reuters.
Ukraine—HIMARS Knocks Out Bridges Near Kherson The War Zone | 08/03/2022 U.S.-supplied multiple launch rocket systems have taken out bridges over the Dnipro River in southern Ukraine, reports the War Zone website. Ukrainian M142 HIMARS destroyed the Antonivskiy Railway Bridge near Kherson, the website reported on Monday. Previous strikes took out the Antonovskiy Bridge, which carries the E97 Highway over the river a few miles downstream of the railway crossing. The two bridges and the dam at Nova Kakhovka upriver are vital supply links to Russian forces across the river, analysts said. Commercial satellite images showed Russian logistical bottlenecks around road bridges and pontoon bridges that are now being used to cross the Dnipro.
Taiwan—Pelosi Reaffirms Commitment To Democracy During Visit Wall Street Journal | 08/03/2022 U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi reaffirmed Washington's commitment to defending democracy during a meeting with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, reports the Wall Street Journal. Pelosi arrived in Taiwan on Tuesday night and left on Wednesday after a quick visit that included meetings with President Tsai and human-rights activists. She is the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit Taiwan in 25 years. The visit demonstrated Washington's commitment to supporting democracy and did not contradict longstanding U.S. policy regarding Taiwan, said the speaker's office. Shortly after Pelosi arrived in Taiwan, Beijing summoned U.S. Amb. Nicholas Burns to lodge an official protest. The Chinese government also announced a series of live-fire drills from Thursday to Sunday in six areas encircling Taiwan. The exercises could disrupt commercial shipping at Taiwanese ports, analysts said. Beijing also announced a ban on imports of Taiwanese citrus and other food, claiming it had detected pests, excessive pesticide residue and COVID-19 on previous shipments.
Spain—Mothballed Tanks Unfit To Send To Ukraine, Defense Minister Says Odessa Journal | 08/03/2022 Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles says that tanks that have long been in storage cannot be transferred to Ukraine due to their poor condition, reports the Odessa Journal (Ukraine). On Tuesday, Robles said that the Spanish government was considering its options for additional support for Ukraine but that the Leopard 2A4 tanks in storage in Zaragoza were in such poor condition they would pose a danger to anyone trying to use them, according to the Spanish-language El Mundo news portal. In June, Robles said Madrid was considering supplying around 40 Leopard tanks in storage to Ukraine, noted Reuters.
Finland—American, British Troops Join Finns For Readiness Exercise U.K. Ministry Of Defense | 08/03/2022 Over 750 American, British and Finnish troops recently concluded a four-day high-readiness exercise in western Finland, reports the U.K. Ministry of Defense. The Vigilant Fox drills in Niinisalo covered offensive and defensive operations, including helicopter assaults, covert landings and short-notice raids using American Black Hawk, British Chinook and Finnish NH90 helicopters, the ministry said on July 30. The training was also designed to enhance interoperability among the participants as Finland prepares to join NATO. British troops from C Company, 2 Rifles Battlegroup, deployed in Estonia were transported to Niinisalo by Royal Air Force Chinooks, joining high-readiness forces from the Finnish Jaeger, Karelian and Pori brigades. Troops, armored fighting vehicles and helicopters from the U.S. 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team also took part.
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