To All
Good Tuesday Morning February 13, 2024. .
Regards,
skip
HAGD
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This day in Naval and Marine Corps History (thanks to NHHC)
Here is a link to the NHHC website: https://www.history.navy.mil/
This day in Naval and Marine Corps History February 13
1913—The Naval Radio Station, Arlington, VA, begins operations. The station is a pioneer in communications, most notably with ether wave experiments with the Eiffel Tower in France.
1917—Marine Capt. Francis T. Evans performs the first loop with a seaplane in an N-9 float plane at 3,000 feet, then forces it into a spin and successfully recovers. For this contribution to the science of aviation, he is later awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.
1943—Women Marines were reestablished as Marine Corps Women's Reserve. Col. Ruth Cheney Streeter, the first Director of the United States Marine Corps Women's Reserve, serves until December 7, 1945.
1945—USS Sennet (SS 408) is damaged by gunfire of Japanese gunboat (No.8 Kotoshiro Maru or No.3 Showa Maru), east of Tanega Shima, but then Sennett sinks No.8 Kotoshiro Maru after it had been shelled by USS Lagarto (SS 371) and USS Haddock (SS 231). Haddock then sinks No.3 Showa Maru, which had already been shelled by Lagarto and Sennett.
What happened this day in World History
February 13
167 Polycarp, a disciple of St. John and Bishop of Smyrna, is martyred on the west coast of Asia Minor.
1542 Catherine Howard, the fifth wife of Henry VIII, is beheaded for adultery.
1689 British Parliament adopts the Bill of Rights.
1692 In the Glen Coe highlands of Scotland, thirty-eight members of the MacDonald clan are murdered by soldiers of the neighboring Campbell clan for not pledging allegiance to William of Orange. Ironically the pledge had been made but not communicated to the clans. The event is remembered as the Massacre of Glencoe.
1862 The four day Battle of Fort Donelson, Tennessee, begins.
1865 The Confederacy approves the recruitment of slaves as soldiers, as long as the approval of their owners is gained.
1866 Jesse James holds up his first bank.
1914 The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) is founded.
1936 First social security checks are put in the mail.
1945 The Royal Air Force Bomber Command devastates the German city of Dresden with night raids by 873 heavy bombers. The attacks are joined by 521 American heavy bombers flying daylight raids.
1949 A mob burns a radio station in Ecuador after the broadcast of H.G. Wells' "War of the Worlds."
1951 At the Battle of Chipyong-ni, in Korea, U.N. troops contain the Chinese forces' offensive in a two-day battle.
1953 The Pope asks the United States to grant clemency to convicted spies Ethel and Julius Rosenberg.
1968 The United States sends 10,500 more combat troops to Vietnam.
1970 General Motors is reportedly redesigning automobiles to run on unleaded fuel.
1972 Enemy attacks in Vietnam decline for the third day as the United States continues its intensive bombing strategy.
1984 Konstantin Chernenko is selected to succeed Yuri Andropov as Party General Secretary in the Soviet Union.
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OPERATION COMMANDO HUNT Thanks to the Bear
Skip… For The List for the week beginning Monday, 12 February 2024 and ending Sunday, 18 February 2024… Bear🇺🇸⚓️🐻
OPERATION COMMANDO HUNT (1968-1972)
From the archives of rollingthunderremembered.com post for 5 May 2019… "Ho Chi Minh Trail Reviewed: Vietnam Death March," by Keith B. Richling (Washington Post, 26 April 1990)
Thanks to Micro
To remind folks that these are from the Vietnam Air Losses site that Micro put together. You click on the url below and can read what happened each day to the aircraft and its crew. ……Skip
From Vietnam Air Losses site for "Monday 12 February
12: https://www.vietnamairlosses.com/loss.php?id=995
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.
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 https://www.vhpa.org/KIA/KIAINDEX.HTM
MOAA - Wall of Faces Now Includes Photos of All Servicemembers Killed in the Vietnam War
(This site was sent by a friend . The site works, find anyone you knew in "search" feature. https://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/ )
Wall of Faces Now Includes Photos of All Service members Killed in the Vietnam War
By: Kipp Hanley
AUGUST 15, 2022
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. The List 6370
To All,
Good Monday morning February 13, 2023. Clear and cool again today. No visitors and time to hit the leaves and weeds. I hope that your week is off to a good start where ever you are
Regards,
Skip
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This day in Naval and Marine Corps History (thanks to NHHC)
Here is a link to the NHHC website: https://www.history.navy.mil/
This day in Naval and Marine Corps History February 13
1913—The Naval Radio Station, Arlington, VA, begins operations. The station is a pioneer in communications, most notably with ether wave experiments with the Eiffel Tower in France.
1917—Marine Capt. Francis T. Evans performs the first loop with a seaplane in an N-9 float plane at 3,000 feet, then forces it into a spin and successfully recovers. For this contribution to the science of aviation, he is later awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.
1943—Women Marines were reestablished as Marine Corps Women's Reserve. Col. Ruth Cheney Streeter, the first Director of the United States Marine Corps Women's Reserve, serves until December 7, 1945.
1945—USS Sennet (SS 408) is damaged by gunfire of Japanese gunboat (No.8 Kotoshiro Maru or No.3 Showa Maru), east of Tanega Shima, but then Sennett sinks No.8 Kotoshiro Maru after it had been shelled by USS Lagarto (SS 371) and USS Haddock (SS 231). Haddock then sinks No.3 Showa Maru, which had already been shelled by Lagarto and Sennett.
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What happened this day in World History
February 13
167 Polycarp, a disciple of St. John and Bishop of Smyrna, is martyred on the west coast of Asia Minor.
1542 Catherine Howard, the fifth wife of Henry VIII, is beheaded for adultery.
1689 British Parliament adopts the Bill of Rights.
1692 In the Glen Coe highlands of Scotland, thirty-eight members of the MacDonald clan are murdered by soldiers of the neighboring Campbell clan for not pledging allegiance to William of Orange. Ironically the pledge had been made but not communicated to the clans. The event is remembered as the Massacre of Glencoe.
1862 The four day Battle of Fort Donelson, Tennessee, begins.
1865 The Confederacy approves the recruitment of slaves as soldiers, as long as the approval of their owners is gained.
1866 Jesse James holds up his first bank.
1914 The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) is founded.
1936 First social security checks are put in the mail.
1945 The Royal Air Force Bomber Command devastates the German city of Dresden with night raids by 873 heavy bombers. The attacks are joined by 521 American heavy bombers flying daylight raids.
On the evening of February 13, 1945, a series of Allied firebombing raids begins against the German city of Dresden, reducing the "Florence of the Elbe" to rubble and flames, and killing roughly 25,000 people. Despite the horrendous scale of destruction, it arguably accomplished little strategically, since the Germans were already on the verge of surrender
Recovering of bodies in the central city after the bombing of Dresden. The city of Dresden issued a revised estimate of the number of people killed during the Dresden bombings, placing the number of dead between 22,700 and 25,000.
Among the conclusions reached at the February 1945 Yalta Conference of the Allied powers was the resolution that the Allies would engage in concerted strategic bombing raids against German cities known for war-production and manufacturing, in an effort to bring the Nazi war machine to a crashing halt. The tragic irony of the raid on Dresden, a medieval city renowned for its rich artistic and architectural treasures, is that during the war it had never been a site of war-production or major industry.
Both Allies and Germans alike have argued over the real purpose of the firebombing; the ostensible "official" rationale was that Dresden was a major communications center and bombing it would hamper the German ability to convey messages to its army, which was battling Soviet forces at the time. But the extent of the destruction was, for many, disproportionate to the stated strategic goal—many believe that the attack was simply an attempt to punish the Germans and weaken their morale.
More than 3,400 tons of explosives were dropped on the city by 800 American and British aircraft. The firestorm created by the two days of bombing set the city burning for many more days, littering the streets with charred corpses, including many children. Eight square miles of the city was ruined, and the total body count was between 22,700 and 25,000 dead, according to a report published by the city of Dresden in 2010. The hospitals that were left standing could not handle the numbers of injured and burned, and mass burials became necessary.
Among the American POWs who were in Dresden during the raid was novelist Kurt Vonnegut, who conveyed his experience in his classic antiwar novel Slaughterhouse Five.
1949 A mob burns a radio station in Ecuador after the broadcast of H.G. Wells' "War of the Worlds."
1951 At the Battle of Chipyong-ni, in Korea, U.N. troops contain the Chinese forces' offensive in a two-day battle.
1953 The Pope asks the United States to grant clemency to convicted spies Ethel and Julius Rosenberg.
1968 The United States sends 10,500 more combat troops to Vietnam.
1970 General Motors is reportedly redesigning automobiles to run on unleaded fuel.
1972 Enemy attacks in Vietnam decline for the third day as the United States continues its intensive bombing strategy.
1984 Konstantin Chernenko is selected to succeed Yuri Andropov as Party General Secretary in the Soviet Union.
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OPERATION COMMANDO HUNT Thanks to the Bear
Skip… For The List for the week beginning Monday, 12 February 2024 and ending Sunday, 18 February 2024… Bear🇺🇸⚓️🐻
OPERATION COMMANDO HUNT (1968-1972)
From the archives of rollingthunderremembered.com post for 5 May 2019… "Ho Chi Minh Trail Reviewed: Vietnam Death March," by Keith B. Richling (Washington Post, 26 April 1990)
Thanks to Micro
To remind folks that these are from the Vietnam Air Losses site that Micro put together. You click on the url below and can read what happened each day to the aircraft and its crew. ……Skip
From Vietnam Air Losses site for "Tuesday 13 February
13: https://www.vietnamairlosses.com/loss.php?id=2805 (the ONLY loss of any kind on this date during the entire war)
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.
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 https://www.vhpa.org/KIA/KIAINDEX.HTM
MOAA - Wall of Faces Now Includes Photos of All Servicemembers Killed in the Vietnam War
(This site was sent by a friend . The site works, find anyone you knew in "search" feature. https://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/ )
Wall of Faces Now Includes Photos of All Service members Killed in the Vietnam War
By: Kipp Hanley
AUGUST 15, 2022
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From the Archives for all you golfers out there
Thanks to Barrel
Golf Words Of Wisdom & Some History
Golf balls are like eggs - they're white, they're sold by the dozen, and a week later you have to buy more.
The pro-shop gets its name from the fact that you must have the income of a professional golfer to buy anything in there.
It's amazing how a golfer who never helps with house or yard work will replace his divots, repair his ball marks, and rake his and traps.
Did you ever notice that it's a lot easier to get up at 6:00 a.m. to play golf than at 10:00 to mow the yard or go to church.
It takes longer to become good at golf than it does brain surgery. On the other hand, you seldom get to ride around in a cart, drink beer and eat hot dogs while performing brain surgery.
A good drive on the 18th hole has stopped many a golfer from giving up the game.
A good golf partner is one who's slightly worse than you.
The rake is always in the other trap.
If there's a storm rolling in, you'll be having the game of your life.
If your opponent has trouble remembering whether he shot a six or a seven, he probably shot an eight.
Golf appeals to the child in all of us. This is proven by our frequent inability to count past the number 5.
It's easy to keep your ball in the fairway, if you don't care which fairway.
If profanity had any influence on the flight of a ball, most everyone would play better.
The greatest sound in golf is the, "Whoosh, Whoosh, Whoosh" of your opponent's club as he hurls it across the fairway.
A recent survey shows that of all jobs, caddies live the longest. They get plenty of fresh air and exercise, and if there's ever a medical emergency, a doctor is always nearby.
The best wood for lowering your score is a pencil.
You may need lessons if you had to regrip your ball retriever.
It's difficult to decide which is more stressful - hitting 3 off the tee or lining up your 4th putt.
With practice and strength training you can easily get more distance off the shank.
The only sure way to get a par is to leave a 4 foot birdie putt 2 inches from the hole.
Nothing straightens out a nasty slice like a sharp dogleg to the right.
Never wash your ball on the tee of a water hole.
No matter how badly you are playing, it's always possible to get worse.
Phillip E. "Skipper" Young, a graduate of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, founded Titleist in 1932.
When playing a round of golf with his dentist, Young missed a sure putt that seemed to be caused by the weight of the ball. He then asked his dentist friend to X-ray the ball and the film showed that the rubber core was off-center.
After this initial discovery, Young took X-rays of more golf balls and found that most were poorly constructed with off-center cores and prone to erratic shots. This inspired Young to produce his own line of golf balls, which would become known as Titleist.
1930: Young developed a machine that could uniformly wind rubber string around a rubber core, making a "dead center" golf ball. He named the ball "Titleist," noting it was the "winner" of the quest to create the best for the game.
1935: The golf division of the Acushnet Process Company produced the Titleist golf ball which had consistently been the company's most successful product.
1948: Introduced "Dynamite Thread" to increase the yardage of their balls.
1949: Titleist became the most used ball at the U.S. Open Tournament.
1976: Titleist was purchased by American Brands (now known as Fortune Brands).
1985: Fortune Brands sold off the Acushnet Company's Acushnet Rubber division, which was Acushnet's original business (circa early 1900s).
2002: Titleist reached the $1 billion mark in annual revenues.
On December 8, 2010, Fortune Brands announced that it would soon sell or spin off Titleist and some other brands. It was then announced on May 20, 2011 that a Korean group associated with Fila Korea, Ltd. and Mirae Asset Private Equity would purchase Acushnet for $1.23 billion in cash.
Acushnet employs roughly 3000 people in Massachusetts, making it one of the largest employers in the region. It is headquartered in Fairhaven, Massachusetts alongside its Packing and Distribution Center about three miles south of its original location.
They also have two golf ball manufacturing plants and an R&D Technology Center located in the New Bedford Industrial Park, as well as a Custom Golf Ball plant located in New Bedford.
And all of this due to a missed putt... and a lot of blood sweat and tears, persistence, & dedication to making things happen!
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A repeat from a while back
Very interesting story that just became UNCLASS
87 Octane Aviation Gasoline vs 100-130 Octane Aviation Gasoline in WW-II thanks to Doctor Rich and Dutch
Thanks to Duth … who says: Sent to me by Travis Foster--my grade school and high school chum who was separated by two classes from me in preflight at Pensacola (a fact we didn't discover until our 50th high school reunion).
This is a declassified article by the British Society of Chemists (Declassified in 2014)
"It has always puzzled me as to why the German Luftwaffe kept on using 87 Octane Aviation Gasoline while the Americans and British used 100 Octane Gasoline in their Spitfire Fighters and Americans used 130 Octane in our P-51 and other fighters.
This morning I discovered the reason!
It seems that the German and British aircraft both used 87 Octane Gasoline in the first two years of the war. While that was fairly satisfactory in the German Daimler-Benz V-12 engine, It was marginal in the British Rolls-Royce Merlin XX engine in British aircraft. It fouled the spark-plugs, caused valves to stick, And made frequent engine repair problems.
Then came lend- lease and American aircraft began to enter British service in great numbers. If British engines hated 87 Octane gasoline, American, General Motors Built, Allison 1710 engines loathed and despised it. Something had to be done!
Along came an American named Tim Palucka, a chemist for Sun Oil in their South East Texas Refinery. Never heard of him? Small wonder, very few people have. He took a French formula for enhancing the octane of Gasoline, and invented the "Cracking Tower" and produced 100 octane aviation Gasoline. This discovery led to great joy among our English Cousins and great distress among the Germans. A Spitfire fueled with 100 Octane gasoline was 34 miles per hour faster at 10,000 feet. The need to replace engines went from every 500 hours of operation to every 1,000 hours. Which reduced the cost of British aircraft by 300 Pounds Sterling. Even more, when used in 4 engine bombers.
The Germans couldn't believe it when Spitfires that couldn't catch them a year ago started shooting their ME-109 E and G models right out of the sky.
Of course, the matter had to be kept secret. If the Germans found out that it was a French Invention, They'd simply copy the original French patents. If any of you have ever wondered what they were doing in that 3 story white brick building in front of the Sun Oil Refinery on Old Highway 90, that was it. They were re-inventing gasoline.
The American Allison engines improved remarkably with 100 Octane gasoline, but did much better when 130 octane gasoline came along in 1944. The 130 Octane also improved the Radial Engine Bombers we produced. The Germans and Japanese never snapped to the fact that we had re-invented gasoline. Neither did our "Friends" the Russians.
100,000 Americans died in the skies over Europe. Lord only knows what that number would have been without "Super-Gasoline". And it all was invented just a few miles west of Beaumont, and we never knew a thing about it."
As for jet fuel:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jet_fuel#JP-5
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Thanks to Interesting Facts
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5 Things You Might Not Know About the Panama Canal
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The Panama Canal is one of the most important waterways in the world. Without it, ships sailing from the East Coast to the West Coast in the United States would be forced to make the two-week-long journey around Cape Horn in southern Chile. Extending for about 50 miles, the canal connects the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean and divides North America and South America. But how much do you know about this famous artificial waterway? Here are five interesting facts about the Panama Canal you might not have learned in history class.
1 of 5
The Idea for the Canal Originated in the 1500s
The Panama Canal celebrated its 100-year anniversary in 2014, but many people don't know that plans for this canal had been in motion long before it opened in 1914. When Spanish conquistador and explorer Vasco Núñez Balboa discovered that the Isthmus of Panama was just a tiny sliver of land separating the Pacific and Atlantic oceans in 1513, he began to search for a waterway to bypass it.
When Balboa didn't find one by 1534, Roman Emperor Charles V ordered that his men find a way to build one — but this didn't work out either. In the 1880s, a French company began construction on a canal, but the project failed due to poor planning and bankruptcy. In 1904, President Theodore Roosevelt established the Isthmian Canal Commission (ICC) to see through the construction, and finally, after 10 more years, the Panama Canal was completed.
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Traveling Through the Canal Isn't Cheap
On average, it takes around eight to 10 hours for a ship to travel through the Panama Canal, as opposed to two weeks if it made the journey around Cape Horn. However, there's a hefty fee for the convenience. Each commercial ship that passes through the canal has to pay a toll based on its weight. The average toll is around $150,000, but some larger ships pay much more — the record is held by a cargo ship called MOL Benefactor from Hong Kong, which paid over $829,400 to pass through.
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… Unless You're a Swimmer
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While ships regularly pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to pass through the Panama Canal (even privately-owned boats have to pay between $800 and $3,200), the lowest toll ever paid was paid by an American man named Richard Halliburton, who swam the entire length of the canal in 1928. Since the toll price is based on weight, he only had to pay 36 cents.
4 of 5
It Was Almost the "Nicaragua Canal"
American engineers' first choice for connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans was to build a canal through Nicaragua instead of the Isthmus of Panama. They had seen the hardships the French had endured trying to build the canal in Panama in the 1800s (including malaria and yellow fever, which led to the deaths of more than 20,000 workers), so they wanted a fresh start in Nicaragua instead.
However, French engineer Philippe-Jean Bunau-Varilla strongly suggested that they reconsider this placement, as Nicaragua posed a significant seismic risk due to its close proximity to a volcano. Eventually, he was able to convince them to pick up where the French had left off in Panama.
5 of 5
It's Constantly Expanding
The Panama Canal brings in billions of dollars in revenue per year, some of which is then used for expansion purposes. Many larger ships used to have trouble bypassing the smaller canal, so it has been being expanded fairly steadily over the last few decades. New lock systems have been put into place, allowing more ships to pass through at the same time, as well as larger ships that can carry more cargo. This is no surprise, as the Panama Canal facilitates at least 5% of the world's trade and has to keep up with the times.
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Thanks to History Facts
There was a goldfish-swallowing craze in the 1930s.
SWALLOWING A GOLDFISH
Goldfish aren't exactly the best-treated pets — did you know, for instance, that they shouldn't be kept in bowls? But at least they no longer have to contend with the goldfish-swallowing craze of 1939. It began, like so many bad ideas, with a dorm room bet. After boasting to his friends that he had once consumed a live fish, Harvard freshman Lothrop Withington Jr. was told to put his money where his mouth was and do it again for $10. He did so on March 3 with at least one reporter and an ill-fated 3-inch goldfish present, remarking that "the scales caught a bit on my throat as it went down."
The event was picked up by LIFE magazine, which kicked off the craze among college students nationwide. Marie Hensen of the University of Missouri School of Journalism was among the first women known to have joined in on the strange trend, and a number of records were set and just as quickly broken. A student at the University of Pennsylvania swallowed 25 fish, an MIT student claimed the "new world's record for piscine deglutition" by downing 42, and Joseph Deliberato of Clark University is said to have bested them all by swallowing 89 innocent goldies in one session. The trend began to die down after the Animal Rescue League stepped in and Massachusetts state Senator George Krapf filed a bill "to preserve the fish from cruel and wanton consumption."
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This Day in U S Military History
February 13
1854 – Admiral Perry anchors off Yokosuka, Japan to receive Emperor's reply to treaty proposal. This agreement, forced on the Tokugawa shogunate by Commodore Perry's menacing "black ships," ended over two centuries of virtual exclusion (the exception being the Dutch) of foreign traders from the coast of Japan. The intrusion of the U.S. in the first place derived from the ill-treatment accorded American whaling crews when shipwrecked off the coast or landing for provisions or repairs. The treaty fully satisfied the U.S. government's concerns in this regard but left to the future the equally important matter of opening the country to foreign trade; concluded in 1858 with the signing of the Harris treaty. Perry's great achievement was widely recognized at the time. Perhaps there is no better praise for this naval veteran of 45 years' service than the collective memorial sent by the American merchants at Canton to the Commodore in Sept. 1854 on his return trip to the U.S.: "You have conquered the obstinate will of man and, by overturning the cherished policy of an empire, have brought an estranged but culturated people into the family of nations. You have done this without violence, and the world has looked on with admiration to see the barriers of prejudice fall before the flag of our country without the firing of a shot."
1923 – Chuck Yeager is born. Charles E. "Chuck" Yeager grew up in Myra, on the Mud River in West Virgina. His dirt-poor youth was filled with hillbilly themes that sound romantic today, but probably weren't much fun at the time: making moonshine, eating cornmeal mush three times a day, shooting squirels for dinner, chasing rats out of the kitchen, going barefoot all summer, butchering hogs, and stealing watermelons. At an early age Chuck could do well at anything requiring manual dexterity or math: ping-pong, shooting, auto mechanics. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps when he graduated from Hamlin High School in 1941, and became an airplane mechanic. He hated flying, after throwing up his first time in the air. But when the chance came to become a "Flying Sergeant," with three stripes and no K.P., he applied, and was accepted. His good cordination, mechanical abilities, and excellent memory enabled him to impress his instructors in flight training. Assigned to the 363rd Fighter Squadron, of the 357th Fighter Group, he moved up to P-39s with the squadron at Tonopah, Nevada. The 357th FG shipped out for Europe in winter of 1943-44, and began operations in February, 1944, the first P-51 equipped unit in the Eighth Air Force. Yeager shot down his first Messerschmitt on his seventh mission (one of the early Mustang missions over Berlin), and the next day, March 5, three FW-190s caught him and shot him down. He bailed out over occupied France, being careful to delay pulling his ripcord until he had fallen far enough to avoid getting strafed by the German fighters. Ike decided to allow Yeager to return to combat in the summer of 1944, which he did with a vengence, now flying a P-51D nicknamed Gorgeous Glennis, gaudily decorated in the red-and-yellow trim of the 357th. At first, the pickings were slim, as the German fliers seemed to be laying low. He flew in a four plane division with Bud Anderson and Don Bochkay, two other double aces. On September 18, he flew in support of the Market Garden glider drops over Arnhem, but couldn't do much to stop the appalling slaughter of the C-47s. By this time, he had been promoted to Lieutenant, a commissioned officer. Yeager became an 'ace-in-a-day' on October 12, leading a bomber escort over Bremen. As he closed in on one Bf-109, the pilot broke left and collided with his wingman; both bailed out, giving Yeager credit for two victories without firing a shot. In a sharp dogfight, Yeager's vision, flying skills, and gunnery gave him three more quick kills. He flew his last "combat" mission in January, 14 1945. After WW2, Chuck Yeager was assigned to be a test pilot at Muroc Field in California. The Army had developed a small, bullet-shaped aircraft, the Bell X-1, to challenge the sound barrier. A civilian pilot, Slick Goodlin, had taken the Bell X-1 to .7 Mach, when Yeager started to fly it. He pushed the small plane up to .8, .85, and then to .9 Mach. The date of Oct. 14, 1947 was set for the attempt to do Mach 1. Only a slight problem developed. Two nights before, after an evening at Pancho's, Chuck and Glennis went out horseback riding, Chuck was thrown, and broke two ribs on his right side. He couldn't have reported this to the Army doctors; they might have given the flight to someone else. So Yeager taped up his ribs and did his best to keep up appearances. On the day of the flight, it became apparent that, with his injured right side, he wouldn't be able to shut the door of the Bell X-1. In the plane's tiny cockpit; he could only use his (useless) right hand. He confessed his problem to Ridley, the flight engineer. In a stroke of genius, Ridley sawed off a short piece of broomstick handle; using it with his left hand, Yeager was able to get enough leverage to slam the door shut. And that day, Chuck Yeager became the first man to fly faster than the speed of sound. Through the 1950's and 60's, Yeager continued his successful career as an Air Force officer and test pilot. One of the planes he tested in 1963 was the NF-104, an F-104 with a rocket over the tailpipe, an airplane which theoretically could climb to over 120,000 feet. Yeager made the first three flights of the NF-104. On the fourth, he planned to exceed the magic 100,000 foot level. He cut in the rocket boosters at 60,000 feet and it roared upwards. He gets up to 104,000 feet before trouble set in. The NF-104's nose wouldn't go down. It went into a flat spin and tumbled down uncontrollably. At 21,000 feet, Yeager desperately popped the tail parachute rig, which briefly righted the attitude of the plane. But the nose promptly rose back up and the NF-104 began spinning again. It was hopeless. At 7,000 feet Yeager ejected. He got tangled up with his seat and leftover rocket fuel, which burnt him horribly. He hit the ground in great pain and his face blackened and burned, but standing upright with his chute rolled up and his helmet in his arm when the rescue helicopter arrived. He went to Vietnam as commander of the 405th Fighter Wing in 1966 and flew 127 combat missions, and eventually rose to the rank of Brigadier General. In February 1968, he took command of the 4th Tactical Fighter Wing at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C., and in February 1968, led its deployment to Korea during the Pueblo crisis. In July 1969, he became vice commander of the 17th Air Force, at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, and then, in January 1971, he was assigned as U.S. defense representative to Pakistan. On June 1, 1973, he commenced his final active duty assignment as director of the AF Safety and Inspection Center at Norton Air Force Base, Calif. After a 34-year military career, he retired on March 1, 1975. At the time of his retirement, he had flown more than 10,000 hours in more than 330 different types and models of aircraft. In 1986, Yeager was appointed to the Presidential Commission investigating the Challenger accident.
1965 – President Lyndon B. Johnson decides to undertake the sustained bombing of North Vietnam that he and his advisers have been contemplating for a year. Earlier in the month, the president had ordered Operation Flaming Dart in response to communist attacks on U.S. installations in South Vietnam. These retaliatory raids did not have the desired effect of causing the North Vietnamese to cease support of Viet Cong forces in South Vietnam, and out of frustration, Johnson turned to a more extensive use of airpower. Called Operation Rolling Thunder, the bombing campaign was designed to interdict North Vietnamese transportation routes in the southern part of North Vietnam and slow infiltration of personnel and supplies into South Vietnam. The first Rolling Thunder mission took place on March 2, 1965, when 100 U.S. Air Force and Republic of Vietnam Air Force (VNAF) planes struck the Xom Bang ammunition dump 100 miles southeast of Hanoi. In July 1966, Rolling Thunder was expanded to include North Vietnamese ammunition dumps and oil storage facilities, and in the spring of 1967, it was further expanded to include power plants, factories, and airfields in the Hanoi-Haiphong area.Operation Rolling Thunder was closely controlled by the White House and at times targets were personally selected by President Johnson. From 1965 to 1968, about 643,000 tons of bombs were dropped on North Vietnam. A total of nearly 900 U.S. aircraft were lost during Operation Rolling Thunder. The operation continued, with occasional suspensions, until President Johnson, under increasing domestic political pressure, halted it on October 31, 1968.
1968 – As an emergency measure in response to the 1968 communist Tet Offensive, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara approves the deployment of 10,500 troops to cope with threats of a second offensive. The Joint Chiefs of Staff, who had argued against dispatching any reinforcements at the time because it would seriously deplete the strategic reserve, immediately sent McNamara a memorandum asking that 46,300 reservists and former servicemen be activated. Not wanting to test public opinion on what would no doubt be a controversial move, Johnson consigned the issue of the reservists to "study." Ultimately, he decided against a large-scale activation of the reserve forces.
2011 – For the first time in more than 100 years the Umatilla, an American Indian tribe, are able to hunt and harvest a bison just outside Yellowstone National Park, restoring a centuries-old tradition guaranteed by a treaty signed in 1855.
Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
HORTON, JAMES
Rank and organization: Captain of the Top, U.S. Navy. Born: 1850, Boston, Mass. Accredited to: Massachusetts. G.O. No.: 326, 18 October 1884. Citation: Serving on board the U.S.S. Constitution, at sea, 13 February 1879, Horton showed courageous conduct in going over the stern during a heavy gale and cutting the fastenings of the ship's rudder chains.
MATTHEWS, JOSEPH
Rank and organization: Captain of the Top, U.S. Navy. Born: 1849, Malta. Accredited to: Pennsylvania. G.O. No.: 326, 18 October 1884. Citation: For courageous conduct in going over the stern of the U.S.S. Constitution at sea, 13 February 1879, during a heavy gale, and cutting the fastenings of the ship's rudder chains.
WILLIAMS, HENRY
Rank and organization: Carpenter's Mate, U.S. Navy. Born 1833 Canada. Accredited to: Pennsylvania. G.O. No.: 326, 18 October 1884 Citation: For going over the stern of the U.S.S. Constitution, at sea, 13 February 1879, during a heavy gale, and performing important carpenter's work upon her rudder.
*PEREZ, MANUEL, JR.
Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Army, Company A 511th Parachute Infantry, 11th Airborne Division. Place and date: Fort William McKinley, Luzon, Philippine Islands, 13 February 1945. Entered service at. Chicago, Ill. Born: 3 March 1923 Oklahoma City, Okla. G.O. No.: 124, 27 December 1945. Citation: He was lead scout for Company A, which had destroyed 11 of 12 pillboxes in a strongly fortified sector defending the approach to enemy-held Fort William McKinley on Luzon, Philippine Islands. In the reduction of these pillboxes, he killed 5 Japanese in the open and blasted others in pillboxes with grenades. Realizing the urgent need for taking the last emplacement, which contained 2 twin-mount .50-caliber dual-purpose machineguns, he took a circuitous route to within 20 yards of the position, killing 4 of the enemy in his advance. He threw a grenade into the pillbox, and, as the crew started withdrawing through a tunnel just to the rear of the emplacement, shot and killed 4 before exhausting his clip. He had reloaded and killed 4 more when an escaping Japanese threw his rifle with fixed bayonet at him. In warding off this thrust, his own rifle was knocked to the ground. Seizing the Jap rifle, he continued firing, killing 2 more of the enemy. He rushed the remaining Japanese, killed 3 of them with the butt of the rifle and entered the pillbox, where he bayoneted the 1 surviving hostile soldier. Single-handedly, he killed 18 of the enemy in neutralizing the position that had held up the advance of his entire company. Through his courageous determination and heroic disregard of grave danger, Pfc. Perez made possible the successful advance of his unit toward a valuable objective and provided a lasting inspiration for his comrades.
*CREEK, THOMAS E.
Rank and organization: Lance Corporal, U.S. Marine Corps, Company I, 3d Battalion, 9th Marines, 3d Marine Division (Rein), FMF. Place and date: Near Cam Lo, Republic of Vietnam, 13 February. 1969. Entered service at: Amarillo, Texas. Born 7 April 1950, Joplin, Mo. Citation:: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a rifleman with Company 1 in action against enemy forces. L/Cpl. Creek's squad was providing security for a convoy moving to resupply the Vandegrift Command Base when an enemy command detonated mine destroyed 1 of the vehicles and halted the convoy near the Cam Lo Resettlement Village. Almost immediately, the marines came under a heavy volume of hostile mortar fire followed by intense small-arms fire from a well-concealed enemy force. As his squad deployed to engage the enemy, L/Cpl. Creek quickly moved to a fighting position and aggressively engaged in the fire fight. Observing a position from which he could more effectively deliver fire against the hostile forces. he completely disregarded his own safety as he fearlessly dashed across the fire-swept terrain and was seriously wounded by enemy fire. At the same time, an enemy grenade was thrown into the gully where he had fallen, landing between him and several companions. Fully realizing the inevitable results of his action, L/Cpl. Creek rolled on the grenade and absorbed the full force of the explosion with his body, thereby saving the lives of 5 of his fellow marines. As a result of his heroic action, his men were inspired to such aggressive action that the enemy was defeated and the convoy was able to continue its vital mission. L/Cpl. Creek's indomitable courage, inspired the Marine Corps and the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.
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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for February 13, FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY
13 February
1913: Smithsonian Institute regents appointed an advisory committee to inaugurate the Aerodynamic Laboratory project at Langley Field, Va. (24)
1917: DISTINGUISHED FLYING CROSS. Capt Francis T. Evans (U. S. Marine Corps) became the first pilot to successfully loop a seaplane. At 3,500 feet above Pensacola Bay, Fla., he completed the maneuver in a Curtiss N-9. Afterwards, the N-9 stalled, went into a spin, and almost crashed. He avoided certain death by developing a life saving spin-recovery technique. Evans received a Distinguished Flying Cross in 1936 for this achievement. (10) (24)
1921: The first link of the Model Airways System opened with a route from Dayton, Ohio, to Washington, D. C. In June 1922, the Army Air Service began scheduled passenger and cargo flights over the government-sponsored nationwide air system "for the transport of Government officials and express." Before the federal government disbanded the airways in 1926 to foster private enterprise, Model Airways routes extended from Texas to Massachusetts and made possible the transit of 1,200 passengers and 62,000 pounds of cargo. (18)
1942: The North American Mustang I (NA-83), built for the Royal Air Force, first flew. (5)
1943: The Vought F4U Corsair went into action for the first time as Marine Fighter Squadron 124 pilots escorted PB4Ys to the Bougainville area. (24)
1951: KOREAN WAR. Through 16 February, the 315th Air Division (Combat Cargo) used 100-plus airlifters to drop 420 tons of food and ammunition around-the-clock to the 23d Regimental Combat Team and a French battalion at Chipyong-ni. H-5 helicopters delivered medical supplies to the troops and evacuated more than 40 wounded. Fifth Air Force flew close air support missions that enabled the surrounded troops to hold out until relieved by a friendly armored column. Additionally, the 315th Air Division airlifted 800-plus sick and wounded U.S. troops from forward airstrips at Wonju and other fields to Taegu and Pusan. This airlift used so many C-47s that they were not available for other airlift demands. (21) (28) A Pan American-Grace Airways DC-6 set a 9-hour, 53-minute record for the 2,734-mile flight from Miami to Lima, Peru. (24)
1954: In a P-51, Joe DeBona set a Federation Aeronautique International cross-country speed record by flying 2,467 miles from Los Angeles, Calif., to New York, N. Y., in 4 hours 24 minutes 17 seconds. (9)
1955: McDonnell test pilot C.V. Brown flew the F3H-1N Demon to an unofficial climb record to 10,000 feet in 71 seconds. (5)
1955: The Killian Report from the Technological Capabilities Panel of the Science Advisory Committee, Office of Defense Management, recommended assigning the highest national priority to the ballistic missile program. It also urged the simultaneous development of intermediate-range ballistic missiles.
FROM THE REPORT:
"The National Security Council formally recognize the present Air Force program for the development of an intercontinental ballistic missile as a nationally supported effort of highest priority."
James Killian (above) held several technology-related posts. He was Head, Technological Capabilities Panel, Science Advisory Committee, Office of Defense Mobilization; Chairman, President's Board on Foreign Intelligence Activities; and Special Assistant to President Eisenhower for Science and Technology.
1959: The 5th Bombardment Wing at Travis AFB, Calif., received the Strategic Air Command's first B-52G (Tail No. 57-6478), "The Spirit of Solano County." This model had more fuel tanks to increase its nonrefueled range from 6,000 to 10,000 miles. It could also carry two nuclear-armed Hound Dog missiles. (1)
1961: The USAF launched a solid-fuel air-to-surface missile, the GAM-83B Bullpup, at supersonic speed from an F-100 Super Sabre. This modified Navy Bullpup missile could carry a nuclear weapon or could be guided by the pilot of the parent aircraft to its target. (24)
1968: After the Commander United States Forces Vietnam asked for more troops to check the Tet Offensive, the Military Airlift Command airlifted 10,500 troops and equipment of the 82d Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, N. C., and a regimental landing team of the 5th Marine Division at Camp Pendleton, Calif., to Vietnam. The airlift continued through 17 February. In the meantime, Air Force Reserve military airlift units assigned to the Continental Air Command moved channel traffic in the states to assist the Military Airlift Command. (18)
1974: The first HAVE MILL program launch, using an Athena-H, took place from the Wake Island Launch Complex to test a reentry vehicle in an anti-ballistic missile role. (5)
1981: The U. S. and United Kingdom signed an agreement for Rapier missiles. They would be used for air base air defense in the United Kingdom. (4)
1982: Exercise TEAM SPIRIT 82. Through 26 April, Pacific Air Forces conducted this exercise in Korea. It involved nearly 14,500 people, 177 combat and support aircraft, and over 7,000 sorties. (16)
1987: TYPHOON UMA. Through 15 February, two C-141 Starlifters and two C-130 Hercules aircraft flew 64 tons of tents and plastic sheeting to Vanuatu, New Hebrides following this storm. The aircraft also searched the waters around the islands for survivors of shipwrecks. (16) (26)
1993: Operation PROVIDE REFUGE. Through 9 March, the USAF sent airlift aircraft with tons of food and relief supplies from Hawaii to Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands, to help 535 Chinese refugees whose ship had broken down in mid-Pacific. (16)
1999: An Air Force Flight Test Center test crew successfully flew a C-130 Autonomous Landing Guidance System technology demonstration flight test. The new system allowed aircraft to land safely on a prepared runway even in zero visibility conditions. (3)
2007: EXERCISE FALCON CONDOR 07. Through 16 February, nearly 150 Airmen participated in a joint military exercise with the Peruvian Air Force. The exercise allowed the U.S. military to build relationships with Peru's military and civilian leaders. It involved the C-130 Hercules, E-3A Sentry, F-16 Fighting Falcon, and the B-1 Lancer. Afterwards, the aircraft remained in Peru for two more days to perform in the Falcon Condor air show. (AFNEWS, "Airmen Work Alongside Peruvian Military During Joint Exercise," 13 Feb 2007.)
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