To All
Good Friday Morning June 23, 2023.
I hope that your all have a great weekend
Regards,
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On This Day in Naval and Marine Corps History June 23
1812
During the War of 1812, Commodore John Rodgers leads a squadron onboard USS President of New York until she battles HMS Belvidera. The first shot of the War of 1812 is fired by USS President during this engagement.
1861
During the Civil War, the Confederate Navy begins reconstruction of ex-USS Merrimack as the ironclad CSS Virginia at Gosport (Norfolk) Navy Yard, Va.
1898
During the Spanish-American War, USS Dixie fires on two Spanish gunboats at Maria Aguilar Point, Cuba.
1933
USS Macon (ZRS 5) is commissioned. Less than two years later, Macon crashes during a storm off Point Sur, Calif., ending the Navy's program of rigid airship operations.
1942
While on a routine search, a PBY rescues most of the crew of S 27 (SS 132) at Constantine Harbor, Amchitka, Aleutian Islands. The rest are brought out the next day.
1945
PB4Y 2s (VPB 118), flying from Okinawa, continue aerial mining of waters of Korean Archipelago, sowing mines in waters in channel north of Lion Do and Gantai Do, and off Ninshi Do and Chi Do.
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Today in World History JUNE 23
1683 William Penn signs a friendship treaty with the Lenni Lenape Indians in Pennsylvania.
1700 Russia gives up its Black Sea fleet as part of a truce with the Ottoman Empire.
1758 British and Hanoverian armies defeat the French at Krefeld in Germany.
1760 Austrian forces defeat the Prussians at Landshut, Germany.
1848 A bloody insurrection of workers erupts in Paris.
1863 Confederate forces overwhelm a Union garrison at the Battle of Brashear City in Louisiana.
1865 Confederate General Stand Watie surrenders his army at Fort Towson, in the Oklahoma Territory.
1884 A Chinese Army defeats the French at Bac Le, Indochina.
1885 Former general and president Ulysses S. Grant dies at the age of 63.
1902 Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy renew the Triple Alliance for a 12-year duration.
1934 Italy gains the right to colonize Albania after defeating the country.
1944 In one of the largest air strikes of the war, the U.S. Fifteenth Air Force sends 761 bombers against the oil refineries at Ploiesti, Romania.
1951 Soviet U.N. delegate Jacob Malik proposes cease-fire discussions in the Korean War.
1952 The U.S. Air Force bombs power plants on the Yalu River, Korea.
1964 Henry Cabot Lodge resigns as the U.S. envoy to Vietnam and is succeeded by Maxwell Taylor.
1966 Civil Rights marchers in Mississippi are dispersed by tear gas.
1992 Mafia boss John Gotti, who was nicknamed the "Teflon Don" after escaping unscathed from several trials during the 1980s, is sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty on 14 accounts of conspiracy to commit murder and racketeering. Moments after his sentence was read in a federal courthouse in Brooklyn, hundreds of Gotti's supporters stormed the building and overturned and smashed cars before being forced back by police reinforcements.
READ MORE: The Demise of the Mafia
Gotti, born and educated on the mean streets of New York City, became head of the powerful Gambino family after boss Paul Castellano was murdered outside a steakhouse in Manhattan in December 1985. The gang assassination, the first in three decades in New York, was organized by Gotti and his colleague Sammy "the Bull" Gravano. The Gambino family was known for its illegal narcotics operations, gambling activities, and car theft. During the next five years, Gotti rapidly expanded his criminal empire, and his family grew into the nation's most powerful Mafia family. Despite wide publicity of his criminal activities, Gotti managed to avoid conviction several times, usually through witness intimidation. In 1990, however, he was indicted for conspiracy to commit murder in the death of Paul Castellano, and Gravano agreed to testify against him in a federal district court in exchange for a reduced prison sentence.
On April 2, 1992, John Gotti was found guilty on all counts and on June 23 was sentenced to multiple life terms without the possibility of parole. While still imprisoned, Gotti died of throat cancer on June 10, 2002.
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ROLLING THUNDER REMEMBERED Thanks to the Bear … Bear🇺🇸⚓️🐻
OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER (1965-1968)…
From the archives of rollingthunderremembered.com post
Skip… For The List for Friday, 23 June 2023… Bear🇺🇸⚓️🐻
OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER (1965-1968)…
From the archives of rollingthunderremembered.com post for 23 June 1968… A busy day in The Panhandle and a couple of wild tales…
This following work accounts for every fixed wing loss of the Vietnam War and you can use it to read more about the losses in The Bear's Daily account. Even better it allows you to add your updated information to the work to update for history…skip Vietnam Air Losses Access Chris Hobson and Dave Lovelady's work at: https://www.VietnamAirLosses.com.
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Thanks to Kenny
1945 Today in History June 21:
Japanese forces on Okinawa surrender to American troops. After 92 days of combat.
In 1973 (Maybe Sep?) My Company captured 3 Japanese Army Soldiers who had not surrendered in the Northern Training Area, NTA, (extreme North end of Okinawa). We had launched a night Practice/Rehearsal Raid from the USS Greyback (SSR -574). Rusted Rifles, only strips of shorts remaining, and 3 rounds of ammo? There was one later group of Japanese captured in other circumstances (1974). The Japanese Ambassador had to be flown in and convince them that the War was really over.
Kenny Moore
Semper Fidelis !
(Always Faithful)
Skip Note…When I was at Naha on Okinawa in 1968 they were working on the main Hiway near the entrance to the base and were digging into the hill and ran into a series of caves that shut down production because of the number of bodies and ammunition whey found. It was a major part of the Shuri line from the battle of Okinawa. That is when I really started learning about the battle for Okinawa….skip-
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Thanks to Barrel
Some humor
1. Pick a number from 1-9.
2. Multiply that number by 3.
3. Add 3.
4. Multiply by 3 again.
5. Your total will be a two digit number. Add the first and second digits together to find your favorite movie (of all time) in the list of 17 movies below:
Movie List:
1. Gone With the Wind
2. E.T.
3. Blazing Saddles
4. Star Wars
5. Forrest Gump
6. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
7. Jaws
8. Grease
9. The Joe Biden Resignation Speech
10. Casablanca
11. Jurassic Park
12. Shrek
13. Pirates of the Caribbean
14. Titanic
15. Raiders of the Lost Ark
16. Home Alone
17. Mrs. Doubt fire
... Now, isn't that something?
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From the archives….I liked this one
Thanks to Mud
What a Coincidence!
This one goes back a LONG way, so perhaps like me you'd forgotten it S/F,
- Mud
Definition of the word "coincidence".
A chicken farmer went to the local bar, sat down next to a woman and ordered a glass of champagne.
The woman said, "How strange, I also
ordered a glass of champagne".
"What a coincidence" said the farmer,
who added. "It is a special day for me...
I'm celebrating".
"It is a special day for me too. I am also celebrating" said the woman.
"What a coincidence" said the farmer.
While they toasted, the man asked.
"What are you celebrating"?
"My husband and I have been trying to
have a child for years, and today my
gynecologist told me that I was pregnant".
"What a coincidence" said the man.
"I'm a chicken farmer and for years
all my hens were infertile, but now
they are all set to lay fertilized eggs."
"This is awesome" said the woman.
What did you do for your chickens to
become fertile?"
"I used a different rooster" the farmer said.
The woman smiled and said.
"What a coincidence."
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Thanks to Carl
CDR Salamander: Fullbore Friday
(Amazing story about a remarkable Polish warrior! See the links below for much more.)
http://cdrsalamander.blogspot.com/2022/06/fullbore-friday_17.html
THE LEGENDARY MUSTANG PK-G OF S/LDR "DZIUBEK" HORBACZEWSKI Friday, June 17, 2022 Fullbore Friday When do you accept defeat? When do you allow your morale to be beaten down? Think you have an excuse to complain about things in your military career that are beyond your control? Really?
Years ago Pawel sent me a link to one of the many unsung (at least in the Anglosphere) heroes from Poland who fought on the Western front.
I've always had a soft spot for their story, but we've discussed them here mostly in their ground component support. Simply an amazing story of so many who fought for their nation only see it liberated from one occupier to be handed to another. Those who survived the war and fought in the West rarely had a chance to go home and had to find their way the best they could, mostly in post-war UK, Canada or the USA.
Not all made it, but their records remain. One such that Pawel rightly points out is worthy of mention is Captain Eugeniusz Horbaczewski, Polish Air Force contingent of the RAF.
Just the start is enough;
On September 17th, with a large group of Polish aviators, he crossed the Romanian border and via Yugoslavia, Greece and France, arrived in Britain. After completing fighter training in British aircraft he was assigned to fly "Spitfires" with the Polish 303rd Squadron. To his squadron mates, Horbaczewski was also known as "Dziubek".
By 1944, at age 27, he took command of 315 squadron and as all good commanders do, set the example; On 16 February 1944 Horbaczewski took command of Polish 315 Fighter Squadron "City of Deblin," with squadron codes "PK". In March of1944, the Squadron was re-equipped, from "Spitfire" Mk Vs to "Mustang" Mk IIIs. On June 22, 1944 "Dziubek" had a performance of remarkable courage. During a ground attack on German units near Cherbourg, the aircraft piloted by Lt. Tadeusz Tamowicz was damaged and forced to land. Horbaczewski skillfully landed nearby on an airstrip just built by Americans. He found Tamowicz, who had injuries to both legs, and brought him back to "Dziubek's" P-51. Horbaczewski flew the two of them across the Channel to the home base of Coolham.
Read the whole thing - and Wiki has a good entry too.
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Thanks to Dan. This is a repeat but a great story and one of my favorites…skip
Here is the story of the two aviation maintenance officers who rescued the two downed fighter pilots in Laos:
In 1971, my aviation unit (Alpha Troop/2nd/17th Air Cavalry/101st Airborne Division) was based at Quang Tri, South Vietnam. Quang Tri is located a few miles S/O the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between North and South Vietnam. We were a company sized aviation unit, with our own aviation maintenance section. Assigned to that section were two maintenance officers whose primary duty was to coordinate all maintenance for the units aircraft, which consisted of three platoons of observation helicopters (OH-6 Cayuse), attack helicopters (AH-1G Cobra), and utility helicopters (UH-1 Huey). Following whatever maintenance was completed on the assigned aircraft, both maintenance officers had to perform a maintenance test flight on each aircraft, before it could be returned to service.
One day the two aviation maintenance officers were performing such a flight in the flatlands surrounding Quang Tri, which was a totally secure area, particularly during the daytime. The two maintenance officers took off, by themselves, in a stripped Huey, which had no weapons, or gunners aboard. However, during the flight, they monitored on the "guard" frequency, a request by a Forward Air Controller (FAC), for "any aircraft which can help in rescuing a downed fighter crew". The maintenance officers, who not only were unarmed, but had no maps, and had never been in any combat, anywhere, answered the call. The FAC immediately gave them directions from "Channel 103", the TACAN navigation beacon at Quang Tri. However, Army pilots have no TACAN equipment on their aircraft, and navigate with 1:50,000 scale map sheets, anyway.
Subsequently, the FAC gave a heading to our intrepid maintenance pilots, which took them far to the West of Quang Tri. Since they had never been there before, they flew on the assigned heading until the FAC had them in sight. He then vectored them into a clearing, where two downed fighter pilots ran out of the tree line and jumped into the Huey. The scene was not only not in Vietnam, it was deep in Laos, but the rescue crew, not knowing where they were, just flew where the FAC directed them to go.
As they climbed out, heading for Phu Bai Airfield, at Hue, S. Vietnam, the FAC reported that they were taking airbursts, which they were oblivious to, not having ever experienced that before. When the Huey landed at Phu Bai, the rescued fighter crew were met by several members of their unit, based in Danang, S. Vietnam. The aviation maintenance crew was rewarded for their actions by being "Shanghaied" by the fighter unit and wined and dined in Danang, then given "orientation" flights in a fighter aircraft at Danang. The Commander of the fighter unit also ensured that the maintenance crew received appropriate valor awards for their actions in rescuing the downed fighter crew.
This entire caper occurred in an area which, only a few months before, had been part of Lam Son 719 - The Invasion of Laos, where dozens of aircraft had been shot down by NVA anti-aircraft and small arms weapons. We routinely flew near that area, still within S. Vietnam, and almost daily were shot at. Those of us who flew there daily, were incredulous that our aviation maintenance personnel had accomplished the rescue, without any loss or injury, and without actually knowing where they were. It was the type of mission that those of us who flew in combat everyday only dreamed about accomplishing, but which none of us ever did!
Dan
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Thanks to Çarl
June 23, 2023
Navy knew of Titan's implosion on Sunday, but allowed wall-to-wall media coverage to overshadow bad news for Biden and the Democrats
By Thomas Lifson
Of course, the now-politicized Navy is claiming they didn't have definitive knowledge that it was the sound of the implosion Titan that it picked up on Sunday, so that's why the public was kept in the dark and the media were allowed to obsess over the drama of possibly rescuing the doomed passengers. But oddly enough, that didn't prevent it from sharing this possibly, just barely possibly unrelated data to the people who would act on it. The Wall Street Journal broke the story:
A top secret military acoustic detection system designed to spot enemy submarines first heard what the U.S. Navy suspected was the Titan submersible implosion hours after the submersible began its voyage, officials involved in the search said.
The Navy began listening for the Titan almost as soon as the sub lost communications, according to a U.S. defense official. Shortly after the submersible's disappearance Sunday, the U.S. system detected what it suspected was the sound of an implosion near the debris site discovered Thursday and reported its findings to the Coast Guard commander on site, U.S. defense officials said.
While the Navy couldn't say definitively the sound came from the Titan, the discovery played a role in narrowing the scope of the search for the vessel before its debris was discovered Thursday, the officials said.
Hunter Biden's wrist-slap plea deal, the Pentagon's "accounting error" that is sending billions more to Ukraine, John Durham's congressional testimony, and yesterday's IRS whistleblower testimony were all shoved aside form media space by obsessive coverage of the "drama" whose grim conclusion the Navy picked up last Sunday.
The technology of the SOSUS system that the Navy used to listen for the Titanmay be top secret, but the existence of the system isn't. There is a long Wikipedia article on it, for example. So, protecting national defense secrets was no cause to suppress the finding.
Hey, the media got a compelling cliffhanger of a story to draw readers and eyeballs, the Coast Guard the useful information, and the Biden regime got a lot of silence on stories it didn't want publicized, at least until the real powers-that-be decided to let the public know and signal the Bidens to prepare for the end of their grifting.
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This Day in U S Military History…….June 23
1784 – The 1st US balloon flight was made by Edward Warren (13).
1812 – Marine Lt. John Heath became the first casualty of the War of 1812.
1944 – The Soviet attack begins. There are four front-level commands engaged in the operation, under the STAVKA direction of Marshal Zhukov (the southern wing) and Marshal Vasilevsky (the northern wing). From left to right: 1st Belorussian Front (Rokossovsky); 2nd Belorussian Front (Zakharov); 3rd Belorussian Front (Cherniakhovsky); and, 1st Baltic Front (Bagramian). The Soviet combat forces directly engaged in the offensive amount to over 1,250,000 men (in 124 divisions), over 4000 tanks and self-propelled guns, over 24,000 artillery pieces and over 6300 aircraft. Soviet objectives include tactical encirclements at Vitebsk and Bobruisk while a deep encirclement would aim for Minsk. Soviet forces are then to drive west toward the Vistula River. The target of Operation Bagration is German Army Group Center (Busch) holding a salient centered on Minsk, and including most of Belorussia. Its forces, from right to left, include: 9th Army (Jordan), 4th Army (Tippelskirch); and, 3rd Panzer Army (Reinhardt). On the right flank of the army group is the German 2nd Army (Weiss) which is not targeted by the Soviet offensive. The German defenders amount to 800,000 men in 63 divisions with about 900 tanks and assault guns, 10,000 artillery pieces and 1300 planes. Advances of up 11 miles are recorded by Red Army troops of 2nd, 3rd Belorussian and 1st Baltic Fronts. The 1st Belorussian Front does not join in the assault during the day. Meanwhile in the far north, forces of the Soviet 7th Separate Army cross the Svir River.
1944 – American forces of the US 7th Corps (part of 1st Army) penetrate the outer defenses of Cherbourg. Elements of British 2nd Army also make gains. The British 5th Division captures St. Honorina, northwest of Caen.
1944 – In one of the largest air strikes of the war, the U.S. Fifteenth Air Force sent 761 bombers against the oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania.
1944 – On Saipan, US 5th Amphibious Corps remains engaged in fighting. The 2nd Marine Division contineus to battle for Mount Tapotchau.
1945 – On Okinawa, the systematic mopping up of the island begins. General Stilwell takes command of the US 10th Army in place of General Geiger. Lt Gen Ushijima, Japanese commander, committed suicide.
1945 – American paratroopers land near Aparri on the north coast of Luzon, at the mouth of the Cagayan River, without incident. They link up with a large force of Filipino guerrillas. The combined force advances southward to make contact with the US 37th Division.
1969 – Ben Het, a U.S. Special Forces camp located 288 miles northeast of Saigon and six miles from the junction of the Cambodian, Laotian and South Vietnamese borders, is besieged and cut off by 2,000 North Vietnamese troops using artillery and mortars. The base was defended by 250 U.S. soldiers and 750 South Vietnamese Montagnard tribesmen. The siege lasted until July 2 when the defenders were reinforced by an allied relief column.
1972 – US helicopters are required to fly almost all the dangerous missions around An loc because South Vietnamese crews have panicked under fire. Several US helicopters and their crews have been lost in the last two weeks of heavy fighting causing bitterness among US airmen.
Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
DRURY, JAMES
Rank and organization: Sergeant, Company C, 4th Vermont Infantry. Place and date: At Weldon Railroad, Va., 23 June 1864. Entered service at: Chester, Vt. Birth: Ireland. Date of issue: 18 January 1893. Citation: Saved the colors of his regiment when it was surrounded by a much larger force of the enemy and after the greater part of the regiment had been killed or captured.
*BUTTS, JOHN E.
Rank and organization: Second Lieutenant, U.S. Army, Co. E, 60th Infantry, 9th Infantry Division. Place and date: Normandy, France, 14, 16, and 23 June 1944. Entered service at: Buffalo, N.Y. Birth: Medina, N.Y. G.O. No.: 58, 19 July 1945. Citation: Heroically led his platoon against the enemy in Normandy, France, on 14, 16, and 23 June 1944. Although painfully wounded on the 14th near Orglandes and again on the 16th while spearheading an attack to establish a bridgehead across the Douve River, he refused medical aid and remained with his platoon. A week later, near Flottemanville Hague, he led an assault on a tactically important and stubbornly defended hill studded with tanks, antitank guns, pillboxes, and machinegun emplacements, and protected by concentrated artillery and mortar fire. As the attack was launched, 2d Lt. Butts, at the head of his platoon, was critically wounded by German machinegun fire. Although weakened by his injuries, he rallied his men and directed 1 squad to make a flanking movement while he alone made a frontal assault to draw the hostile fire upon himself. Once more he was struck, but by grim determination and sheer courage continued to crawl ahead. When within 10 yards of his objective, he was killed by direct fire. By his superb courage, unflinching valor and inspiring actions, 2d Lt. Butts enabled his platoon to take a formidable strong point and contributed greatly to the success of his battalion's mission.
*KINGSLEY, DAVID R. (Air Mission)
Rank and organization: Second Lieutenant, U.S. Army Air Corps, 97th Bombardment Group, 15th Air Force. Place and date: Ploesti Raid, Rumania, 23 June 1944. Entered service at. Portland, Oreg. Birth: Oregon. G.O. No.: 26, 9 April 1945. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty, 23 June 1944 near Ploesti, Rumania, while flying as bombardier of a B17 type aircraft. On the bomb run 2d Lt. Kingsley's aircraft was severely damaged by intense flak and forced to drop out of formation but the pilot proceeded over the target and 2d Lt. Kingsley successfully dropped his bombs, causing severe damage to vital installations. The damaged aircraft, forced to lose altitude and to lag behind the formation, was aggressively attacked by 3 ME-109 aircraft, causing more damage to the aircraft and severely wounding the tail gunner in the upper arm. The radio operator and engineer notified 2d Lt. Kingsley that the tail gunner had been wounded and that assistance was needed to check the bleeding. 2d Lt. Kingsley made his way back to the radio room, skillfully applied first aid to the wound, and succeeded in checking the bleeding. The tail gunner's parachute harness and heavy clothes were removed and he was covered with blankets, making him as comfortable as possible. Eight ME-109 aircraft again aggressively attacked 2d Lt. Kingsley's aircraft and the ball turret gunner was wounded by 20mm. shell fragments. He went forward to the radio room to have 2d Lt. Kingsley administer first aid. A few minutes later when the pilot gave the order to prepare to bail out, 2d Lt. Kingsley immediately began to assist the wounded gunners in putting on their parachute harness. In the confusion the tail gunner's harness, believed to have been damaged, could not be located in the bundle of blankets and flying clothes which had been removed from the wounded men. With utter disregard for his own means of escape, 2d Lt. Kingsley unhesitatingly removed his parachute harness and adjusted it to the wounded tail gunner. Due to the extensive damage caused by the accurate and concentrated 20mm. fire by the enemy aircraft the pilot gave the order to bail out, as it appeared that the aircraft would disintegrate at any moment. 2d Lt. Kingsley aided the wounded men in bailing out and when last seen by the crewmembers he was standing on the bomb bay catwalk. The aircraft continued to fly on automatic pilot for a short distance, then crashed and burned. His body was later found in the wreckage. 2d Lt. Kingsley by his gallant heroic action was directly responsible for saving the life of the wounded gunner.
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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS
FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS FOR June 23 THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY
1905: The Wright Flyer III made its first flight at Huffman Prairie, near Dayton. This first fully controllable aircraft could turn and bank and stay up in the air for 30 minutes. (20)
1924: RACE WITH THE SUN. In a Curtiss PW-8, powered by a 375 HP D-12 engine, Lt Russell L. Maughan began his 2,670-mile from Long Island, New York, to San Francisco. He landed at 9:47 p.m after five brief refueling stops. He spent 18 hours 20 minutes in the cockpit and 3 hours 20 minutes on the ground. (4) (9)
1931: Wiley Post and Harold Gatty left New York on a global flight in a Lockheed Vega, the "Winnie Mae," powered by a Pratt & Whitney 550 HP radial engine. The 15,474-mile trip ended 8 days 15 hours 51 minutes later. (9) (24) Ruth Nichols crashed in St. Johns, Newfoundland, during her attempt to become the first woman to fly alone across the Atlantic. (9)
1937: The US Army issued a contract to Lockheed to build the first XP-38. 1938: President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Civil Air Authority Act. (24)
1942: The first BOLERO flight with 7 P-38s and 2 B-17s left Presque Isle for England to begin the buildup of US Air Forces in Europe. (24)
1944: While escorting B-17s on a raid to Ploesti, the 52 FG downed 12 enemy aircraft. This gave the unit 102 aerial victories in 30 days for a record that was never equaled by another group in Europe. (4) MEDAL OF HONOR. 2Lt David R. Kingsley, 97th Bombardment Group, Fifteenth Air Force, earned a Medal of Honor for putting his own parachute on his wounded tail-gunner (whose chute had been damaged). Kingsley thereby was directly responsible for saving the life of the wounded gunner by sacrificing his own.
1950: First run of rocket-propelled research sled made on the 3,550-foot track at Holloman AFB. FIRST USAF LOSS IN KOREAN WAR. A C-54, grounded for a damaged wing at Kimpo Airfield, near Seoul, South Korea, became the first aircraft lost in the Korean War. (18)
1952: KOREAN WAR. Through 24 June, combined air attacks by the Air Force, Navy, and Marines nearly destroyed the electric power potential of North Korea. The 2-day attack involved over 1,200 sorties in the largest single air effort since World War II. The Sui-ho complex sustained seventy percent structural damage, rendering it non-operational. (16) (28)
1953: TAC transferred its F-51 aircraft, "the USAF's last propellor-driven fighter in front-line service," from the 366th Fighter-Bomber Wing.
1961: Maj Robert White set a speed record for manned airplanes by flying the X-15 at 3,603 MPH. He attained this speed with a 75-second full-throttle operation of the XLR-99 engine. (9)
1966: PAGEOS, a passive geodetic satellite used by US Coast Guard, Geodetic Survey, and US Army Map Service, launched for use with 41 ground stations to develop a worldwide reference grid. In space, the satellite inflated to its 100-foot diameter and served as a photographic target.
1972: Northrop Corporation at Hawthorne unveiled the F-5E international fighter in a ceremony. At Edwards AFB, Maj Larry D. Fortner became the first USAF pilot to fly Northrop's A-9A. (3)
1987: The 308 SMW removed the last Titan II from its silo at Little Rock AFB. This removal ended the deployment of the Titan II in SAC's strategic arsenal.
1997: An AFFTC team flew a model of the LoFLYTE Neural Network Waverider RPV. The NASA program tried to design a hypersonic (Mach 5.0+) low observable aircraft capable of riding its own shock wave in the manner of the XB-70. (3)
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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS
FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS FOR June 23 THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY
1905: The Wright Flyer III made its first flight at Huffman Prairie, near Dayton. This first fully controllable aircraft could turn and bank and stay up in the air for 30 minutes. (20) See more below..
1924: RACE WITH THE SUN. In a Curtiss PW-8, powered by a 375 HP D-12 engine, Lt Russell L. Maughan began his 2,670-mile from Long Island, New York, to San Francisco. He landed at 9:47 p.m after five brief refueling stops. He spent 18 hours 20 minutes in the cockpit and 3 hours 20 minutes on the ground. (4) (9)
1931: Wiley Post and Harold Gatty left New York on a global flight in a Lockheed Vega, the "Winnie Mae," powered by a Pratt & Whitney 550 HP radial engine. The 15,474-mile trip ended 8 days 15 hours 51 minutes later. (9) (24) Ruth Nichols crashed in St. Johns, Newfoundland, during her attempt to become the first woman to fly alone across the Atlantic. (9)
1937: The US Army issued a contract to Lockheed to build the first XP-38. 1938: President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Civil Air Authority Act. (24)
1942: The first BOLERO flight with 7 P-38s and 2 B-17s left Presque Isle for England to begin the buildup of US Air Forces in Europe. (24)
1944: While escorting B-17s on a raid to Ploesti, the 52 FG downed 12 enemy aircraft. This gave the unit 102 aerial victories in 30 days for a record that was never equaled by another group in Europe. (4) MEDAL OF HONOR. 2Lt David R. Kingsley, 97th Bombardment Group, Fifteenth Air Force, earned a Medal of Honor for putting his own parachute on his wounded tail-gunner (whose chute had been damaged). Kingsley thereby was directly responsible for saving the life of the wounded gunner by sacrificing his own.
1950: First run of rocket-propelled research sled made on the 3,550-foot track at Holloman AFB. FIRST USAF LOSS IN KOREAN WAR. A C-54, grounded for a damaged wing at Kimpo Airfield, near Seoul, South Korea, became the first aircraft lost in the Korean War. (18)
1952: KOREAN WAR. Through 24 June, combined air attacks by the Air Force, Navy, and Marines nearly destroyed the electric power potential of North Korea. The 2-day attack involved over 1,200 sorties in the largest single air effort since World War II. The Sui-ho complex sustained seventy percent structural damage, rendering it non-operational. (16) (28)
1953: TAC transferred its F-51 aircraft, "the USAF's last propellor-driven fighter in front-line service," from the 366th Fighter-Bomber Wing.
1961: Maj Robert White set a speed record for manned airplanes by flying the X-15 at 3,603 MPH. He attained this speed with a 75-second full-throttle operation of the XLR-99 engine. (9)
1966: PAGEOS, a passive geodetic satellite used by US Coast Guard, Geodetic Survey, and US Army Map Service, launched for use with 41 ground stations to develop a worldwide reference grid. In space, the satellite inflated to its 100-foot diameter and served as a photographic target.
1972: Northrop Corporation at Hawthorne unveiled the F-5E international fighter in a ceremony. At Edwards AFB, Maj Larry D. Fortner became the first USAF pilot to fly Northrop's A-9A. (3)
1987: The 308 SMW removed the last Titan II from its silo at Little Rock AFB. This removal ended the deployment of the Titan II in SAC's strategic arsenal.
1997: An AFFTC team conducted flew a model of the LoFLYTE Neural Network Waverider RPV. The NASA program tried to design a hypersonic (Mach 5.0+) low observable aircraft capable of riding its own shock wave in the manner of the XB-70. (3)
1905: The Wright Flyer III makes it first flight at Huffman Prairie near Dayton, Ohio. The 1905 Wright Flyer III, built by Wilbur (1867-1912) and Orville (1871-1948) Wright, was the world's first airplane capable of sustained, maneuverable flight. Similar in design to their celebrated first airplane, this machine featured a stronger structure, a larger engine turning new "bent-end" propellers, and greater control-surface area for improved safety and maneuverability.
The Wrights made several modifications to this flyer and learned how to perform aerial maneuvers safely during a series of flights at Huffman Prairie during 1905. The plane was dismantled after these flights, but rebuilt and flown in 1908 at Kitty Hawk, and ultimately restored for display in 1950 for Carillon Historical Park.
As initially built, the Flyer III looked almost the same as its predecessors, and offered equally marginal performance. Orville suffered minor injuries in a serious nose-dive crash in the machine on July 14, 1905. The Wrights made important design changes that solved the stability problems of the earlier models. They almost doubled the size of the elevator and rudder, and moved them about twice the distance from the wings. They added two fixed half-moon shaped vertical vanes (called "blinkers") between the elevators (but later removed them) and widened the skid-undercarriage which helped give the wings a very slight dihedral. They disconnected the rear rudder of the rebuilt Flyer III from the wing-warping control, and as in most future aircraft, placed it on a separate control handle. They also installed a larger fuel tank and mounted two radiators on front and back struts for extra coolant to the engine for the anticipated lengthy duration flights.
When testing of Flyer III resumed in September, improvement was obvious. The pitch instability that had hampered Flyers I and II was brought under control. Crashes, some of which had been severe, no longer occurred. Flights with the redesigned aircraft started lasting over 20 minutes. The Flyer III became practical and dependable, flying reliably for significant durations, and bringing its pilot back to the starting point safely, and landing without damage.
(for more details see https://www.asme.org/about-asme/engineering-history/landmarks/224-wright-flyer-iii & https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wright_Flyer_III )
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Thanks to Brett…..Interesting perspective
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Daily Memo: How to Read a Nation's Intentions
Thoughts in and around geopolitics.
By: George Friedman
June 23, 2023
Last week, several readers challenged my assertion that China was acting out of fear of the United States. They said the U.S. had in no way threatened China and had never claimed any intention of going to war with China, and that, in fact, Beijing had frequently threatened fundamental U.S. interests, including those in Taiwan. China, then, has no reason to fear the U.S. and could not, therefore, be acting out of fear. These are fair responses, but because they illustrate a critical element of forecasting – determining what matters and what doesn't – I'd like to articulate my reasons more thoroughly.
Nations don't evaluate other nations' intentions by what they say. They evaluate them by understanding a nation's imperatives and fears, and, as important, the ways in which another nation can hurt them, particularly militarily. Intent and ability mean everything. If a nation concludes it is in another nation's interest to act against it, then it must assume it is under threat. This rarely has anything to do with what is said publicly. The Japanese never threatened to attack Pearl Harbor; in fact, talks between the U.S. and Japan were underway in Washington when Japan attacked. The absence of words can mean anything.
If I were China, I would note the following about the United States. First, the U.S. regards China as a long-term threat, one that could someday expand its influence into the Pacific Ocean and thus threaten not just a buffer zone but the foundation of American security. Second, the U.S. maintains a large naval and air force presence near China. Third, China does not have a non-nuclear way to counter the U.S. by attacking the U.S. mainland. Fourth, as China expands its military force to contain the U.S., Washington's anxiety will only increase the threat. Last, the U.S. has indeed acted against what it sees as a threat from China's economic growth – potentially raising the odds of an eventual military threat.
From a strategic point of view, China's most vital and vulnerable assets are its ports on its east coast. The trade China's economy depends on must come through these ports. U.S. forces, then, could strangle Chinese trade by blockading these ports. This fear was compounded by the recent deal to allow more U.S. bases in the Philippines, and then by a similar agreement with Papua New Guinea. This creates a cordon that essentially stretches from the Aleutians to Australia. The U.S. has gone to great lengths to draw this line. The ability of the U.S. to block those ports frightens China far more than a hostile statement. In the real world, unspoken threats like these are the ones that really matter.
So even if Washington never explicitly threatens China with war, China nonetheless feels threatened by what the U.S. has done, not by what it has said. With little ability to respond militarily or diplomatically, China must for now accept the reality the U.S. has imposed on it and seek accommodation until the balance of power changes. The U.S. is content with the arrangement so long as China doesn't threaten U.S. interests in the Pacific.
Both act on the potential threat, not on verbal abuse and charges. That China placed a listening post in Cuba is minimally threatening. If it installed nuclear weapons on the island, that would be another matter. It is the significance of the threat that generates fear, and the U.S. has generated fear. As I formulate a forecast, I will watch how China responds. Will it break the American threat or impose a threat of its own? Until then, the Chinese fear of the United States will be real and rational, which is why now is the best time to negotiate with China – and this is precisely what Secretary of State Antony Blinken is doing.
China is concerned about U.S. intentions because of U.S. capabilities and its past actions. Or, put differently, China fears the U.S. The U.S. fears China too. The fact that the U.S. hasn't attacked China with words means nothing to a Chinese policymaker – that's certainly not something to bet a country on.
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