To All,
Good Saturday Morning August 17. Yes it really is the 17th. My mind must have been in a different world yesterday because I got the date wrong and everything in it was for the 20th. I am catching up today and will figure out what to do to do to get back on track. My apologies to all. I hope you all have a great weekend. Both cars are back and operating for just over a Grand. Work on the addition to the chicken cage is progressing.
Warm 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/. Go here to see the director's corner for all 83 H-Grams
This Day in Navy and Marine Corps History:
August 17
1812—The frigate, USS President, captures British schooner, HMS L'Adeline, in the North Atlantic.
1841—Secretary of the Navy George E. Badger signs that the Chief Clerk's signature is valid on the certified copy of the medal citation awarded to Capt. Stephen Decatur, for his gallantry in action against the British frigate, HMS Macedonian, on Oct. 25, 1812.
1942—The submarines USS Nautilus (SS 168) and USS Argonaut (SM 1) land more than 200 Marines on Makin Island, Gilbert Islands, in the first amphibious attack made from submarines.
1943—Army troops enter Messina terminating the campaign in Sicily. Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 15 conducts unopposed landings from motor torpedo boats (PT 215), (PT 216) and (PT 217) on islands of Lipari and Stromboli. Commander Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 15, Lt. E.A. Dubose, accepts the unconditional surrender of the Lipari Islands (Alicudi, Filicudi, Vulcano, Stromboli, Salina and Lipari). Destroyer Trippe (DD 403) covers the operation.
1959—Adm. Arleigh A. Burke, is reappointed as Chief of Naval Operations for his third, two-year term, serving the longest as Chief of Naval Operations.
1962—The Navy's first hydrofoil patrol craft, USS High Point (PCH 1) is launched at Seattle, WA.
2002—USS McCampbell (DDG 85) is commissioned at San Francisco, CA. The Arleigh Burke-class destroyer is named for Medal of Honor recipient Capt. David McCampbell, the Navy's leading ace pilot during World War II.
2017—Expeditionary sea base USS Lewis B. Puller (ESB 3) is commissioned in a ceremony at Khalifa bin Salman Port in Al Hidd, Bahrain. The ship honors Lt. Gen. Lewis Burwell "Chesty" Puller, a distinguished combat veteran of World War II and the Korean War. The commissioning transitions the ship, previously a U.S. naval ship (USNS), to a U.S. naval warship.
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Today in World History August 17
1743 By the Treaty of Abo, Sweden cedes southeast Finland to Russia, ending Sweden's failed war with Russia.
1812 Napoleon Bonaparte's army defeats the Russians at the Battle of Smolensk during the Russian retreat to Moscow.
1833 The first steam ship to cross the Atlantic entirely on its own power, the Canadian ship Royal William, begins her journey from Nova Scotia to The Isle of Wight.
1863 Union gunboats attack Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina, for the first time.
1942 Marine Raiders attack Makin Island in the Gilbert Islands from two submarines.
1943 Allied forces complete the conquest of Sicily.
1944 The mayor of Paris, Pierre Charles Tattinger, meets with the German commander Dietrich von Choltitz to protest the explosives being deployed throughout the city.
1945 Upon hearing confirmation that Japan has surrendered, Sukarno proclaims Indonesia's independence.
1960 American Francis Gary Powers pleads guilty at his Moscow trial for spying over the Soviet Union in a U-2 plane.
1978 Three Americans complete the first crossing of the Atlantic in a balloon.
1987 93-year-old Rudolf Hess, former Nazi leader and deputy of Adolf Hitler, is found hanged to death in Spandau Prison.
1988 Pakistani President Zia-ul-Haq is killed in an airplane crash suspected of being an assassination.
1998 President Bill Clinton admits to the American public that he had affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
1999 A 7.4-magnitude earthquake near Izmit, Turkey kills over 17,000 and injures nearly 45,000.
2005 Israel begins the first forced evacuation of Israeli settlers from the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank, as part of a unilateral disengagement plan.
2012 Moscow's top court upholds ban of gay pride events in Russia's capital city for 100 years.
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OPERATION COMMANDO HUNT Thanks to the Bear
Skip… For The List for the week beginning Monday, 12 August 2024 and ending Sunday 18 August 2024… Bear🇺🇸⚓️🐻
OPERATION COMMANDO HUNT (1968-1972)
From the archives of Dan Heller's world-class website rollingthunderremembered.com post for 10 August 1969… In the words of Robert McNamara in his 1995 book, "In Retrospect": "We were wrong." And he cites eleven reasons for our defeat in Vietnam.
OPERATION COMMANDO HUNT (1968-1972)
(Please note the eye-watering ongoing revamp of the RTR website by Webmaster/Author Dan Heller, who has inherited the site from originators RADM Bear Taylor, USN, Retired, and Angie Morse, "Mighty Thunder")…
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. .Micro is the one also that goes into the archives and finds these inputs and sends them to me for incorporation in the List. It is a lot of work and our thanks goes out to him for his effort.
From Vietnam Air Losses site for "for 16 and 17 August
16-Aug: https://www.vietnamairlosses.com/loss.php?id=19
17-Aug: https://www.vietnamairlosses.com/loss.php?id=1899
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
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Some great snippets of history - Dutch
A Short History of the T-34 Tank
The Russian designed T-34 tank of WW II fame is arguably the best and most influential tank of WW II. Based on when it was designed, entered combat, and how long it was in front line service, it still performed well even in the 1950s, earns it that distinction.
"The tank evolved from the light Soviet BT (bystrokhodny tank/high-speed tank) of the 1930s, which had been derived from the American M1931 Christie tank. First brought to the Soviet Union as a turret-less example under the designation of "farm tractor", the Christie and subsequent Spanish variants provided a basis for Soviet designer Mikhail Koshkin."
"The T-34 reportedly saw action in 2014 too, when pro-Russia fighters in eastern Ukraine removed at least one display example from its pedestal, and after a quick overhaul took it into combat once more."
The most decorated unit of all time, in total numbers of awards presented to a unit compared to the number of people assigned to it, the Nisei unit participated in 8 campaigns during WW II. A WW II US regiment usually consisted of 3 Battalions of 600 men. The 442 RCT had only 2 battalions but were awarded 9,486 Purple Hearts. 21 Nisei were awarded the Medal of Honor.
"Journey of Heroes: the Story of the 100th Infantry Battalion and 442nd Regimental Combat Team" by Stacey T. Hayashito.
American WW I Commissioned Artists – May see Light of Day Over 700 pieces of art were created for the US Government during World War I in France, but most have never been seen by anyone other than the person who put them away in 1929.
Myths about Myths of WW I
John T. Kuehn dispels some of the myths of WW I often repeated by really bad armchair historians.
http://warontherocks.com/2014/08/the-great-war-myths-about-myths/
Hooves On The Ground
Q: I have heard the position of a horse's legs in an equestrian statue of a fallen solder tells how he died. Is there any truth to this? — C.G., Bethesda, Maryland
A: The quick answer is no. According to the urban legend, if the horse is rearing, the rider died in battle; one leg up means the rider was wounded in battle or died of battle wounds; and if all four hooves are on the ground, the rider died outside battle. I'm told this was created to be the guide for monuments at Gettysburg National Military Park, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, but there are several exceptions to the rule.
How B-17s Were Purchased and Brought to Israel in 1947 The US was not always an ally of Israel. During their 1947, 1956 wars no US military aid was delivered – and all military aid was actively blocked – by the USA. 1962 was the first year Israel was allowed to buy US military equipment.
Three B-17s however, did avoid the military embargo of the US and make it to Israel and bombed Cairo in 1948 escorted by Czech Built BF 109s.
http://theaviationist.com/2014/07/22/how-israel-got-the-b-17/
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Thanks to Barrett
Skip, I've run this elsewhere but feel free to duplicate it. Shadow knows the story—and more!
I was secretary of the fighter aces assn when we reviewed records in the 80s.
Here's the FACTS about Boyington:
Two credited air-air with AVG (he lied about 6 and Uncle Sam's Misguided Children chose to believe him.)
22 credited air-air with USMC including non-regulation postwar entries (unobserved of course) in the VMF214 war diary. The CO never knew.
Total credited (as opposed to verified) 24.
Fact: 24 is less than Joe's 26, and therefore so is 22.
The asst commandant (a RIO) spoke at Joe's memorial service and pledged to see about correcting the record.
Wellll...he punted.
Eventually some of us got a boiler-plate message from a GS-something saying both Joe and GB made valuable contributions and yadda-yadda.
Joe Foss was far-far more loyal to his corps than the corps was to him.
Barrett
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A few more 'routine' days at the office ...Thanks to Dr. Rich and YP and Dennis
Thanks To YP
Dennis,
Re reading your email: the max cat shot weight for our A-4E's was 23,500. It would literally oblate your eyeballs, and you'd be blind for a couple of potatoes after the shot. We had a warning tone connected to the bug on our radar altimeter, and I would set it for around 40' above the water. If the tone went off, I had the choice of try to keep flying, shedding the whole load, or punching. This was particularly good for night tanker cat shots. It was also useful for low altitude weapons deliveries like SnakeEye (yes, we used them), and it saved me a couple of times in murky conditions around ship in the Med, once when my Skipper tried to fly the division (I was section lead, had my bug set at about 1000') into the water from our holding pattern waiting for Charlie. I hollared PULL UP! PULL UP! PULL UP! and we didn't die. I told the Ops O that I dinna want to fly with the Skipper anymore, and he honored it. Nice guy, admin whiz, but a weak aviator.
Enjoyed your email again.
YP
On Aug 13, 2023, at 4:16 PM, Dennis Carroll wrote:
Thanks to Dennis
Thanks for sharing. I sprung for this incredible book when I first found out about it via you all.
Once I retired, my objective was to bring the VA-164 Ghost Riders back together in 2012. It was and is like we had never left, and 40 years from the time, we were one band of brothers thrown together in war. We became involved with the Veterans Heritage Project and the memories book. The book is no scholarly work, but in looking for records to bring more definitely, I learned those records for 1972 combat reports were lost. Sadly, even when I offered to go to DC and look through their storage, the Navy was uninterested. They had concerns about what some lone ranger might do out of ignorance.
Doing the book, we began sharing memories we did not have time to do during the deployment. We flew two combat sorties daily on the line and manned a spare. I began to read a significant variety of books written specifically about Naval Aviation in the Vietnam War. Bloody Sixteen was one, but Dead Men Flying is the most important for me. I wondered why VA-164 suffered so much worse in the '60s than in 1972. Why in 1972, for the first time in the war, VA-164 came home with all their pilots, and all our machines, no matter how damaged, got safely on deck someplace. The rest of the arising took the losses, and proportionally, the smallest group, the CO & XO teams, had the highest loss rate. I manually calculated that the squadron generated over 4,000 combat sorties! During the process of collecting any scrap of information at that time, by just pure chance, fate intervened.
A gentleman met with me when we both worked at the Raytheon Missile Systems business unit. He remembered me from 1972 in VA-164 as an AT and had collected many things electronically. One was a picture of the end of a cruise letter to families at home, which validated the number of over 4,000.
Now, why are some combat organizations so much more successful than others, especially over various periods of the war?
The most crucial element in the survival of a nugget entering combat is the quality of the squadron or whatever unit they drop into. I was a replacement pilot who arrived in April at the start of the Easter Offensive, which generated some of the most intense battles in that war—dropped aboard the Hancock in the Gulf of Tonkin from an ammo ship and into combat. Two years of training would seem to have prepared me. My first shorty swiftly demonstrated that only actual combat operations could make one prepared and competent. My first cat shot into combat was at a maximum of 24,500 pounds—something I had never experienced before. I never thought about the difference, nor did anyone think to give me a heads-up. That two-second cat shot struck. I thought the beloved little Skyhawk had come apart. So much sweat had poured into my mask and ejected into my eyes, blinding me during the launch. However, the plane was trimmed and configured for the launch. After being reminded with a bark by the Air Boss to clear the bow, I was back in charge. Training and procedures took care of me. As I joined and headed into the DMZ and set up my switches for combat, I reached up to turn on the Spad-type gunsight only to see the large object with lots of micro switches, but no matter which way I turned them, the reticle lights never illuminated. Flying on the XO's wing, I had to fess up. I could not turn on the sight. He informed me that the micro switch was behind this HUD-like thing, a laser spot-tracking gunsight. I had no clue we had LGBs or what they were then. Heading over the beach around the thunderstorms, we had CAS to do for a firebase being overrun. I was told to count down from the top some number of windscreen bolts, put an X in the center, and use that for my bombing runs. Experience saved me and, hopefully, some of the poor guys on the ground.
My first Alpha Strike and SAM engagement were experienced a few days later. I had been flying only with the CO or XO, continuing that for at least my first dozen sorties. This day, the XO told me to join up and fly tight on his wing, no matter what he did. When we went into the dive, look out, and I will see the target, make my run, or hang on and release when on his bombs. Then the RWR begins its classic signing from low to high PRF and finally the warble. I briefly would see flashes of SA-2s, but I never left that position. I was saved by experienced leadership. Stan Arthur, my XO, had 500 combat missions and many combat deployments by then. He had lived through those early and sometimes disastrous deployments. Along with the CO and department heads, they understood the war and provided us with their wisdom on how to fight the enemy and be the winner.
Winning in the air war in VN was simply killing more of them than they killed of you. Our combat leaders understood that, and in that period, we were what stood between the survival or death of our troops surrounded by the enemy. There was no risk we would not take to continue killing the enemy, no matter how many runs one took through the AAA. On the other hand, on a Road Recce in NVN, we were directed to choose the target carefully. There are no multiple runs on the same AAA site. Go down the road and find another target with the advantage of surprise. Get back the ship and do it again. Alpha strikes keep formation, get through the SAM engagements, and deliver your weapons on the target to the roll-in by flying through all the AAA they could put up. It was a numbers game for both sides; only the flak suppressors got to take them on and hopefully were effective. Also, we had a President who removed the stupid ROEs that ensured the enemy had an advantage. Our shackles were off, allowing us to engage and kill the enemy wherever and whenever to our advantage.
The Skyhawk was the right machine for this war: small, fast, powerful, and tough. Electronically well-equipped and compared to the earlier versions with little capability in that area. The engine was now almost 12,000lbs of thrust, so even with the fuel bomb load, it could maneuver hard and still arrive at the roll-in point with the speed and altitude needed. Once bombs are released, they could exceed 500 Kts at sea level, giving you all the Gs you could stand. It had the manual disconnect if your hydraulics were shot out, and if you had a three-foot hole in the wing, it would perform typically coming aboard.
The most critical element I learned in Naval Aviation over the years Is experienced leadership, which makes organizations highly effective. VA-164 in 1972 had everything going for it to be highly effective in killing more of them than us. Do not get me wrong; I am here today because of luck. Some days, being good is not enough; it is better to be lucky. Our leadership held us accountable for everything we did (assuming someone was there to witness the event) that was wrong. Even the XO would be up on the chalkboard for his mistakes. We did not allow repeats of mistakes by holding each other accountable in the Read Room, which was painful for one's ego but essential to burn into one's mind its importance to survival. On the other hand, if someone were getting carried away with their discussion, one of the bands of brothers would step in and point out enough.
This flowed down through the squadron, giving us the finest set of machines and sailors. Our leaders ensured that all our essential systems, like the CP-742 dive toss systems, were tracked daily. We had so much acft availability that pilots from our sister squadrons flew them. The airwing's LGBs, Walleye, and TIAS systems gave us precision at much longer ranges. I was never in an Alpha strike where a MIG got to the formation; our F-8s knew their job and did it well. The USS Hancock was the best-performing carrier I have ever operated on throughout my twenty years. She was old, with a wooden deck and two catapults, but could and did launch 40 plane Alpha strikes in order. Thereby allowing us to join up the strike en route time after time. When an Alpha Strike went off track, there was direct and intense discussion on the cause and correction. Our young sailors uploaded 6,000+ tons of bombs, missiles, and rockets by hand with solid backs, including the 2,000 MK-84s.
We were lucky, but the essential piece of luck was benefiting from the experience that existed from bottom to top that made up the 1972 Ghost Riders.
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`More on Guadalcanal
Thanks to Boris
Below is discussion of first day air support thinking is as follows:
• While overall successful, numerous problems arose that would plague them for a while. This post then is a set up for a next offering on those problems. Their solution was critical to the Essex CV ops later
• So will work up a discussion of those problems for your consideration, then..
• Post on the decision making and issues around Fletcher's withdrawal
• Given that it's now the sixteenth, the following post could then be on the 23-25 Battle of the Eastern Solomons. This along with the attachment is H-Gram 010
First Day's Air Support – Overview
An hour before dawn on 7 August, Admiral Fletcher's three TF-61 carriers (with Admiral Noyes, CTG-61.1, in tactical command) closed Point Victor, thirty miles west of Guadalcanal. …TF-61 was ready to begin the first Allied counter-offensive of the Pacific War. Ghormley exhorted Fletcher, Turner, and McCain, "Electrify the world with news of a real offensive," and "Sock 'em in the Solomons."
The first days are highlighted by four significant aspects:
1. The unexpected mostly unopposed amphibious assault on Guadalcanal itself contrasted with the heavily opposed fight for Tulagi.
2. Initial indications of how new and uncertain this all was for carrier operations in the context of the need to support the land campaign and thus being tied to a "box" defined by staying close to the invasion/occupation. Defending against highly likely counter air strikes created significantly different requirements from open ocean ops.
3. The serious defeat of USN naval forces in the night Battle of Savo Island of 8 - 9 August.
4. The controversial withdrawal of the three aircraft carriers by Vice Admiral Fletcher also on the night of the eighth.
Significant pieces of the following come from The Combat Narrative program that was directed in February 1942 by Admiral Ernest J. King, Commander in Chief, U.S Fleet. A small team composed primarily of professionally trained writers and historians in the Office of Naval Intelligence was to prepare and disseminate these studies with their accounts based on research and analysis of the available primary source material, including action reports and war diaries, augmented by interviews with individual participants. Since the narratives were classified during the war, only a few thousand copies were published at the time, and their distribution was restricted.
Preliminary Air Plans - The understanding reached in July by Admiral Ghormley and General MacArthur for cooperation of the two air forces of their respective areas was that during the Tulagi-Guadalcanal action the Supreme Commander, Southwest Pacific Area, would provide for the interdiction of enemy air activities westward of the operating area with the dividing line between the South Pacific Area and the Southwest Pacific Area to be the one hundred fifty-ninth meridian from the equator southward. Admiral Ghormley further directed Admiral McCain, commander of the South Pacific Air Forces, to arrange with General MacArthur for the coordination of aircraft scouting by the land-based forces (mostly B-17s) of the two areas.
Air Support Force - The air support force, consisting of the carriers Saratoga, Enterprise, and Wasp, and their screening ships were to cooperate with Admiral Turner's amphibious force by supplying air offense and defense, while also protecting itself from enemy air attacks, and making such air searches as were ordered or might seem advisable.
Synchronizing the flights with the attacks of our sea and land forces was only one side of the problem. The other, almost equally important, was the maintenance of smooth operations aboard the carriers, so that decks would not become congested with planes taking off or landing, and so that at least one squadron of fighters would always be alert and in readiness in the event the carriers were themselves attacked.
Admiral Noyes' orders provided, in addition to the detailed flight schedules, for the following general procedure:
The carriers and their escorts were to operate southwest of Guadalcanal with the Saratoga in the center lane, the Wasp to the west and south, and the Enterprise to the north and east at distances of 8,000 to 12,000 yards. As primary Fighter Control Ship, the Enterprise was to furnish the combat patrol for all three carriers. Combat patrol for the transports and their screens was to be directed from the Chicago, which would have a fighter control unit provided by the Saratoga.
Air support flights were to be tactically commanded by two Air Group Commanders in the air, one over Tulagi, the other over Guadalcanal. They were to be directed by voice radio by the Commander Amphibious Force of Commander Landing Force in the McCawley or the Neville. The Saratoga Air Group Commander was to be in command over Guadalcanal until 3 hours after sunrise when he would be relieved by the Enterprise's AGC. The Wasp's AGC was to command at Tulagi for most of the morning, being relieved by the Saratoga's AGC not later than 7 1/2 hours after sunrise. Torpedo squadrons, some equipped with belly tanks and bombs, were to be held in reserve for search and attack missions.
Air attack – The air attack portion of Operation Watchtower was carried out by 85 carrier planes, 44 assaulting enemy positions on Guadalcanal, and 41 those on Tulagi. The Wasp provided 16 VF, 15 VSB, and the Air Group Commander over Tulagi; the Saratoga, 12 VF, 23 VSB, and the Air Group Commander over Guadalcanal; and the Enterprise, 8 VF for strafing at Guadalcanal and 9 VSB for bombing at Tulagi. The Enterprise furnished the personnel for the Air Support Director whose task was to set up the communications necessary for direct control of the Air Support Force and soon came to control and handle radio traffic between all the ground forces and all supporting aircraft overhead.
In addition to the bombing flights which continued throughout the day, the carriers provided multiple search flights and maintained combat patrols over both the carrier and the transport areas.
Early in the morning Wasp sent out 7 torpedo bombers to bomb enemy installations on the eastern end of Florida Island and on Malaita followed by 16 Wildcat fighters and 15 Dauntless scout bombers. These flights had been assigned specific targets and areas in Tulagi, Gavutu, Tanambogo, Halavo, Port Purvis, Haleta, and Bungana. Arriving over their targets just as day was breaking. The Wasp fighters headed first for enemy aircraft on the ground or water, destroying 15 patrol craft and 7 seaplane fighters. The bombers concentrated their attention on antiaircraft and shore batteries, putting many of them immediately out of action. Except for 1 fighter, all planes of the first flights returned to the Wasp at 0715. The missing VF made an emergency landing on the Enterprise, refueled and returned home later.
Thereafter planes were launched as scheduled throughout the day, while a continuous attack group of four fighters and nine scout bombers was maintained over the transports in the Tulagi sector. These planes received orders as to targets from the Air Group Commander, Lt. Comdr. Wallace M. Beakley, above the island, or through him, from the Air Support Director Group aboard the McCawley.
The commander of the Saratoga Air Group, Comdr. Harry D. Felt, was assigned tactical command of the air units operating over the Guadalcanal area in the first few hours of the attack. His force consisted of 12 VF, and 23 VSB. Soon after his arrival over Guadalcanal, Comdr. Felt made a continuous reconnaissance of the area, determining that opposition did not exist in some places where it had been expected and that existing installations often varied considerably from descriptions in intelligence reports. All opposition was quickly silenced. Following the Saratoga's fighters over Guadalcanal, 8 planes of VF-6 from the Enterprise strafed antiaircraft emplacements and buildings on Lunga Field, and small boats and supplies along the beach from Tenaru to Kukum. They encountered little opposition and observed no aircraft or patrol boats.
As the Enterprise had been designated Fighter Control Ship for the three carriers and was primarily responsible for the protection of the carriers against enemy attack, her support of the land forces in Guadalcanal and Tulagi was less extensive than that of the other two carriers. By the same token, her activities in attempting to repel Japanese raids on our transport groups, were more formidable.
Operational summaries would indicate that our carrier-borne plane losses for the 2 days' operations were small. The action reports state that the Wasp lost 3 fighters and 1 scout-bomber, the Enterprise 6 fighters, and the Saratoga 7 fighters and 1 scout bomber, or a total of 16 fighters and 2 scout bombers. They also show that Japanese plane losses, including those destroyed on the ground or water during the dawn attack of August 7th, were more than double our own. Wasp accounted for 24 enemy planes of various types, the Enterprise 14, and the Saratoga 12. In 3 Japanese air attacks on the transport area only 3 of the 51 vessels were hit and damaged.
The biggest surprise was that the carriers themselves had not been attacked given Japanese demonstration of hard strike at long distance. Kinkaid recalled, "We could not reasonably hope that Japanese search planes would fail to locate us during the period of our operations south of Guadalcanal—it seemed obvious we were there—but that is just what happened. Nor were we molested during this period by Japanese submarines."
Fletcher could not count upon such good fortune lasting very long and it was now time to reevaluate the situation concerning fuel, proximity to the land, and risk of near term highly anticipated counter strikes by IJN carriers.
The initial operations of 7 and 8 August though mostly successful did indicate multiple serious problems. As this was most certainly an emerging warfare environment, operational learning was critical both in regard to holding Guadalcanal but also in regard to preparation for support of the planned operations of 1943-45. Indeed, carrier aviation in 1945 would barely resemble that of '42.
In their trial against the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) in the waters off Guadalcanal, the Navy mastered a new kind of fight. Expeditionary war was a new kind of enterprise, and its scale at Guadalcanal was surpassed only by its combatants' thoroughgoing deficits in matériel, preparation, and understanding of their enemy. It was the most critical major military operation America would ever run on such a threadbare shoestring. Hornfischer
Sources:
• Combat Narrative; The Landing in the Solomons. Office of Naval Intelligence
Neptune's Inferno: The U.S. Navy at Guadalcanal, Hornfischer, James D
Black Shoe Carrier Admiral: Frank Jack Fletcher at Coral Sea, Midway & Guadalcanal, Lundstrom, John B.
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This Day in U S Military History
1863 – Naval forces under Rear Admiral Dahlgren, including ironclads U.S.S. Weehawken, Catskill, Nahant, Montauk, Passaic, Patapsco, New Ironsides, and gunboats Canandaigua, Mahaska, Cimarron, Ottawa, Wissahickon, Dai Ching, Seneca, and Lodona, renewed the joint attack on Confederate works in Charleston harbor in conjunction with troops of Brigadier General Gillmore. The naval battery ashore on Mossie Island under Commander F. A. Parker contributed some 300 rounds to the bombardment, "the greater portion of which," Parker reported, struck the face of Sumter or its parapet." U.S.S. Passaic and Patapsco also concentrated on Fort Sumter, though the Navy's chief fire mission, as it would be for the next 5 days of the engagement, was to heavily engage Confederate batteries and sharpshooters at Fort Wagner in support of Gillmore's advance. In the face of the Union threat, Flag Officer Tucker, flying his flag in C.S.S. Chicora, ordered Lieutenant Dozier to have the torpedo steamers under his command ready for action without the least delay" in the event that the ironclads passed Fort Sumter. During the day's fierce exchange of fire, Dahlgren's Chief of Staff, Captain G. W. Rodgers, U.S.S. Catskill, was killed by a shot from Fort Wagner. "It is but natural that I should feel deeply the loss thus sustained, for the close and confidential relation which the duties of fleet captain necessarily occasion im-pressed me deeply with the worth of Captain Rodgers. Brave, intelligent, and highly capable, [he was] devoted to his duty and to the flag under which he passed his life. The country, added the Admiral in his report to Secretary Welles, "can not afford to lose such men."
1942 – Lt. Col. Evans F. Carlson and a force of Marine raiders come ashore Makin Island, in the west Pacific Ocean, occupied by the Japanese. What began as a diversionary tactic almost ended in disaster for the Americans. Two American submarines, the Argonaut and the Nautilus, approached Makin Island, an atoll in the Gilbert Islands, which had been seized by the Japanese on December 9, 1941. The subs unloaded 122 Marines, one of two new raider battalions. Their leader was Lt. Col. Evans Carlson, a former lecturer on postrevolutionary China. Their mission was to assault the Japanese-occupied Makin Island as a diversionary tactic, keeping the Japanese troops "busy" so they would not be able to reinforce troops currently under assault by Americans on Guadalcanal Island. Carlson's "Raiders" landed quietly, unobserved, coming ashore on inflatable rafts powered by outboard motors. Suddenly, one of the Marines' rifles went off, alerting the Japanese, who unleashed enormous firepower: grenades, flamethrowers, and machine guns. The subs gave some cover by firing their deck guns, but by night the Marines had to begin withdrawing from the island. Some Marines drowned when their rafts overturned; about 100 made it back to the subs. Carlson and a handful of his men stayed behind to sabotage a Japanese gas dump and to seize documents. They then made for the submarines too. When all was said and done, seven Marines drowned, 14 were killed by Japanese gunfire, and nine were captured and beheaded. Carlson went on to fight with the U.S. forces on Guadalcanal. He was a source of controversy; having been sent as a U.S. observer with Mao's Army in 1937, he developed a great respect for the "spiritual strength" of the communist forces and even advocated their guerrilla-style tactics. He remained an avid fan of the Chinese communists even after the war.
1943 – The USAAF bombs the ball-bearing manufacturing centers at Schweinfurt and Regensburg in a daylight raid. A total of 51 bombers are lost. During the night (August 17-18), the German rocket research center at Peenemunde is bombed by nearly 600 British bombers. A total of 41 bombers are lost in the raid. This bombing creates a significant delay in the German rocket program. Also noteworthy about the raid is the British use of "window," dropped by Mosquito bombers, which causes about 200 German fighters to concentrate over Berlin.
1982 – The first Compact Discs (CDs) are released to the public in Germany.
1987 – Rudolf Hess, Nazi leader Adolf Hitler's former deputy, is found strangled to death in Spandau Prison in Berlin at the age of 93, apparently the victim of suicide. Hess was the last surviving member of Hitler's inner circle and the sole prisoner at Spandau since 1966. Hess, an early and devoted follower of Nazism, participated in Hitler's failed "Beer Hall Putsch" in 1923. He escaped to Austria but voluntarily returned to Germany to join Hitler in Landsberg jail. During his eight months in prison, Hitler dictated his life story–Mein Kampf–to Hess. In 1933, Hess became deputy Nazi party leader, but Hitler later lost faith in his leadership ability and made him second in the line of succession after Hermann Goering. In May 1941, Hess stole an airplane and landed it in Scotland on a self-styled mission to negotiate a peace between Britain and Germany. He was immediately arrested by British authorities. His peace proposal–met with no response from the British–was essentially the same as the peace offer made by Hitler in July 1940: an end to hostilities with Britain and its empire in exchange for a free German hand on the European continent. However, by May 1941 the Battle of Britain had been lost by Germany, and Hitler rightly condemned Hess of suffering from "pacifist delusions" in thinking that a resurgent Britain would make peace. Held in Britain until the end of the war, Hess was tried at Nuremberg after the war with other top Nazis. Because he had missed out on the worst years of Nazi atrocities and had sought peace in 1941, he was sentenced to life imprisonment. He was held in Spandau Prison in Berlin, and the USSR, the United States, Britain, and France shared responsibility in guarding him. On August 17, 1987, he was found strangled to death in a cabin in the exercise yard at Spandau Prison. Apparently, he choked himself to death with an electrical cord he found there. Some suspected foul play.
Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
BENDER, STANLEY
Rank and organization: Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company E, 7th Infantry, 3d Infantry Division. Place and date: Near La Lande, France, 17 August 1944. Entered service at: Chicago, 111. Born: 31 October 1909, Carlisle, W. Va. G.O. No.: 7, 1 February 1945. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of life above and beyond the call of duty. On 17 August 1944, near La Lande, France, he climbed on top of a knocked-out tank, in the face of withering machinegun fire which had halted the advance of his company, in an effort to locate the source of this fire. Although bullets ricocheted off the turret at his feet, he nevertheless remained standing upright in full view of the enemy for over 2 minutes. Locating the enemy machineguns on a knoll 200 yards away, he ordered 2 squads to cover him and led his men down an irrigation ditch, running a gauntlet of intense machinegun fire, which completely blanketed 50 yards of his advance and wounded 4 of his men. While the Germans hurled hand grenades at the ditch, he stood his ground until his squad caught up with him, then advanced alone, in a wide flanking approach, to the rear of the knoll. He walked deliberately a distance of 40 yards, without cover, in full view of the Germans and under a hail of both enemy and friendly fire, to the first machinegun and knocked it out with a single short burst. Then he made his way through the strong point, despite bursting hand grenades, toward the second machinegun, 25 yards distant, whose 2-man crew swung the machinegun around and fired two bursts at him, but he walked calmly through the fire and, reaching the edge of the emplacement, dispatched the crew. Signaling his men to rush the rifle pits, he then walked 35 yards further to kill an enemy rifleman and returned to lead his squad in the destruction of the 8 remaining Germans in the strong point. His audacity so inspired the remainder of the assault company that the men charged out of their positions, shouting and yelling, to overpower the enemy roadblock and sweep into town, knocking out 2 antitank guns, killing 37 Germans and capturing 26 others. He had sparked and led the assault company in an attack which overwhelmed the enemy, destroying a roadblock, taking a town, seizing intact 3 bridges over the Maravenne River, and capturing commanding terrain which dominated the area.
SIMANEK, ROBERT E .
Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Marine Corps, Company F, 2d Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division (Rein.). Place and date: Korea, 17 August 1952. Entered service at: Detroit, Mich. Born: 26 April 1930, Detroit, Mich. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving with Company F, in action against enemy aggressor forces. While accompanying a patrol en route to occupy a combat outpost forward of friendly lines, Pfc. Simanek exhibited a high degree of courage and a resolute spirit of self-sacrifice in protecting the lives of his fellow marines. With his unit ambushed by an intense concentration of enemy mortar and small-arms fire, and suffering heavy casualties, he was forced to seek cover with the remaining members of the patrol in a nearby trench line. Determined to save his comrades when a hostile grenade was hurled into their midst, he unhesitatingly threw himself on the deadly missile absorbing the shattering violence of the exploding charge in his body and shielding his fellow marines from serious injury or death. Gravely wounded as a result of his heroic action, Pfc. Simanek, by his daring initiative and great personal valor in the face of almost certain death, served to inspire all who observed him and upheld the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.
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This Day in Aviation History" brought to you by the Daedalians Airpower Blog Update. To subscribe to this weekly email, go to https://daedalians.org/airpower-blog/.
Aug. 16, 1960
Capt. Joseph W. Kittinger Jr. jumped from 102,800 feet over the Tularosa Valley in New Mexico and reached speeds over 600 mph during the 13:08 min descent. Now-retired Colonel Kittinger is a Daedalian Life Member.
Aug. 17, 1946
First Sergeant Lawrence Lambert, U.S. Army Air Forces, became the first person to eject from an aircraft in flight in the U.S. Lambert was assigned to the Air Material Command Parachute Branch, Personal Equipment Laboratory, and was an 11-year veteran of the Air Corps. Previous to this test, Lambert had made 58 parachute jumps. The test aircraft was a modified Northrop P-61B-5-NO Black Widow night fighter, redesignated XP-61B. The airplane was flown by Capt. John W. McGyrt and named Jack in the Box. The ejection seat was placed in the gunner's position, just behind and above the Black Widow's pilot. A 37mm cartridge fired within a 38-inch-long gun barrel launched the seat from the airplane at approximately 60 feet per second. Lambert experienced 12–14 Gs acceleration. Flying over Patterson Field at more than 300 miles per hour at 6,000 feet, Lambert fired the ejection seat. He and the seat were propelled approximately 40 feet above the airplane. After 3 seconds, he separated from the seat, and after another 3 seconds of free fall, his parachute opened automatically. Automatic timers fired smaller cartridges to release Lambert from the seat, and to open the parachute. He later said, "I lived a thousand years in that minute," before the pilot pulled the release. Following the successful jump, Lambert expressed only one desire: To "get around the biggest steak available." Lambert was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.
Aug. 18, 1945
A pair of B-32 Dominators over Tokyo, Japan, committed the final American reconnaissance mission of World War II. They were attacked by Japanese fighters, which killed one American and wounded two others, while losing two aircraft to bomber defenses. This was the final aerial combat mission of World War II.
Aug. 19, 1939
President Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaimed Orville Wright's birthday, Aug. 19, as National Aviation Day.
Aug. 20, 1955
Air Force Col. Horace A. Hanes flew the first North American Aviation F-100C-1-NA Super Sabre, 53-1709, to Mach 1.246 at 40,000 feet, setting a new Fédération Aéronautique Internationale speed record of 822.268 miles per hour over a measured 15/25-kilometer course at Edwards AFB, California. This was the first supersonic world speed record. It was also the first speed record set at high altitude. Previously, all speed records were set very close to the ground for measurement purposes, but with ever increasing speeds this practice was becoming too dangerous. For his accomplishment, Colonel Hanes was awarded the Mackay Trophy.
Aug. 21, 1947
W. Stuart Symington was named first Secretary of the Air Force and served from Sept. 18, 1947, to April 24, 1950. Learn more about him HERE.
Aug. 22, 1923
Lt. Harold R. Harris, Daedalian Founder Member #198, the pilot, and his copilot, Lt. Muir S. Fairchild, Founder Member #417, flew the XNBL-1 Barling Bomber, the Army's first long-range night bomber, in its first flight at Wright Field.
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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for August 17, FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY
17 August
1914: Capt Lewis E. Goodier, Jr., began official tests on the Scott bomb-dropping device in a new Martin T at Signal Corps Aviation School at North Island. This coincided with the start of unaided aerial bombing in the war. (24)
1918: Martin test pilot Thomas Eric Springer flew the first Martin Bomber at Cleveland. (24)
1942: FIRST EIGHTH AIR FORCE MISSION. Col Frank A. Armstrong, Jr., led 12 B-17s from the 97 BG against the Rouen-Sotteville marshalling yards in France. The raid, which was the first Eighth Air Force heavy bomber mission from the U. K. against Western Europe in World War II, demonstrated the feasibility of daylight bombing. (4) (21)
1943: Eighth Air Force sent more than 300 B-17s on its first raid against the ball bearing plants at Schweinfurt and the aircraft plants at Regensburg. It suffered heavy losses as 60 bombers fell, mostly to enemy fighters. Those losses caused military leaders to reexamine the heavy bomber's ability to protect itself and delayed the next mission to Germany until 6 September. This mission was also the first shuttle operation in the European theater as some aircraft landed at bases in North Africa. (4) (21) The ATC used a C-87 Liberator to carry Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt on a tour of the Pacific theater to boost morale, inspect Red Cross installations, and learn how women from Australia and New Zealand supported the war. (2)
1946: Sgt Lawrence Lambert at Wright Field became the first person in the US to be ejected from an aircraft by ejection seat. He ejected from a P-61 flying at 302 MPH at 7,800 feet in altitude. (21) (24)
1949: The Senate ratified the Geneva international treaty regarding rights in aircraft. (24) 1951: MACKAY TROPHY. Col Fred J. Ascani flew a combat-equipped F-86E Sabre at 635.686 MPH to set a 100-kilometer world record course at the National Air Races in Detroit. (21)
1955: Twelve F-84F Thunderstreaks flew nonstop 5,118 miles from London, England, to Austin in 10 hours 43 minutes to set distance and time records for a mass flight. (24)
1959: NASA launched a Nike-Asp rocket from Wallops Island to 150 miles in altitude and ignited a sodium flare to test wind direction, velocity and the rate of matter diffusion in the upper stratosphere. (24)
1961: The BOMARC-B missile completed a critical profile flight by destroying a B-47 drone at a minimum range of 50 nautical miles and 5,000 feet in altitude. (16) (24)
1962: The Douglas Aircraft Company fired the Saturn C-1 booster's S-IV stage in a 10-second static test at Sacramento. (24)
1963: A ferry from Okinawa sank in the Ryukyu Islands with 261 people aboard. PACAF rescue units from Naha AB and other military units responded and rescued 235 people from the sea. (17)
1969: Hurricane Camille, the strongest storm to hit the US to date, damaged the Mississippi Gulf Coast. People from TAC, MAC, ATC, and AFCS, the AFRES, and ANG provided emergency aid. The USAF delivered 5,900 tons of cargo with six different types of airlifters to the region by 16 September. (21)
1972: The USAF changed navigator bombardier training into a nonflying training program to save $1.9 million a year.
1974: The Teledyne Ryan long-range reconnaissance drone, Compass Cope, completed its first flight at Edwards AFB. (3)
1978: The Air Force accepted its first production-model F-16 Fighting Falcon in a ceremony at the General Dynamics plant in Fort Worth, Texas. (16)
1990: Operation DESERT SHIELD/STORM. President George Bush activated the Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF) for the first time since its authorization in 1952. The move increased the availability of airlift for the Middle East. CRAF aircraft transported 709,613 passengers and 126,309 tons of cargo during the buildup and wartime operations. (16) (18)
1993: A 13,000-pound steel guillotine cut the first of 350 B-52Gs into pieces by the Aircraft Maintenance and Regeneration Center (AMARC) at Davis-Monthan AFB. The bombers were being destroyed under the terms of the START II Treaty. (20)
1994: The Air Force's second operational B-2 (#8-0330), the Spirit of California, joined the 509th Bomb Wing at Whiteman. (15)
1995: Operation VIGILANT SENTINEL/Exercise INTRINSIC ACTION. Following turmoil in Iraq and renewed threats of military action against its neighbors, AMC initiated an airlift to augment Southern Watch forces under Operation VIGILANT SENTINEL. The operation later evolved into Exercise INTRINSIC ACTION. AMC dispatched over 100 strategic and commercial aircraft flights to carry more than 2,200 passengers and over 1,300 short tons of cargo to the region through late August. (18) The E-8C JSTARS began flight tests. (16) (26)
1996: Operation NOAH'S ARK. Due to increased terrorism in the Persian Gulf, AMC contracted a Boeing 747 to return 300 DoD family members from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to the US on 18 August. On 17 August, a C-141 flew 90 cats and dogs belonging to the families to the US in the operation. (18)
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