To All,
Good Monday Morning September 9. Still going to be 100 today and then it starts dropping tomorrow into the low 90s. I do not know why they call these the dog days because my dogs certainly do not like them.
I wanted to make sure that you all heard that John C. Davis CDR (Ret) passed away on 31 August from Prostate Cancer complications. I knew John for many years. He was an A-4 driver. No word on any services for him.
Warm Regards,
skip
Make it a good Day
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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
Today in Naval and Marine Corps History
September 9
1841 Congress authorizes the first iron-hulled warship. Designed by Samuel Hart, USS Michigan launches in December 1843 and serves to protect the Great Lakes.
1943 Operation Avalanche, Task Force 80 (Western Naval Task Force) under Vice Adm. Henry K. Hewitt, lands the Allied Fifth Army on the assault beaches in the Gulf of Salerno, Italy. Naval gunfire delivers a great volume of counter-battery, interdiction, and neutralization fire m becoming one of the decisive factors in holding the Salerno beachhead.
1944 USS Bang (SS 385) attacks a Japanese convoy 3905, en route from Tokyo Bay to Chichi Jima, and sinks transport Tokiwasan Maru, and freighter Shoryu Maru.
1945 Japanese forces in the southern part of Korea surrender in ceremonies held in Seoul, marking the end of three and a half decades of Japanese rule in Korea.
1947 Lt. Grace Hopper is part of a team that finds a moth that is bugging up the Mark II Aiken Relay Calculator at Harvard. After debugging the system, the moth is affixed to the computer log, where Hopper notes: "First actual case of bug being found." Lt. Hopper later attains the rank of rear admiral.
1961 USS Long Beach (CG (N) 9) is commissioned at Boston as the first nuclear-power surface warship in history and is assigned to the Atlantic Fleet and home ported at Norfolk, Va.
1989 USS Pennsylvania (SSBN 735) is commissioned at New London, Conn. The fourth Navy vessel to be named after the Keystone State, the Ohio-class nuclear-powered.
2006 USS Texas (SSN 775) is commissioned at Newport News, Va. The second Virginia-class attack submarine is the first named for the Lone Star State. Previous ships named Texas have included two battleships and a cruiser.
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Today in World History
September 9
0337 Constantine's three sons, already Caesars, each take the title of Augustus. Constantine II and Constans share the west while Constantius II takes control of the east.
1087 William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy and King of England, dies in Rouen while conducting a war which began when the French king made fun of him for being fat.
1513 King James IV of Scotland is defeated and killed by English at Flodden.
1585 Pope Sixtus V deprives Henry of Navarre of his rights to the French crown.
1776 The term "United States" is adopted by the Continental Congress to be used instead of the "United Colonies."
1786 George Washington calls for the abolition of slavery.
1791 French Royalists take control of Arles and barricade themselves inside the town.
1834 Parliament passes the Municipal Corporations Act, reforming city and town governments in England.
1850 California, in the midst of a gold rush, enters the Union as the 31st state.
1863 The Union Army of the Cumberland passes through Chattanooga as they chase after the retreating Confederates. The Union troops will soon be repulsed at the Battle of Chickamauga.
1886 The Berne International Copyright Convention takes place.
1911 An airmail route opens between London and Windsor.
1915 A German zeppelin bombs London for the first time, causing little damage.
1926 The Radio Corporation of America creates the National Broadcasting Co.
1942 A Japanese float plane, launched from a submarine, makes its first bombing run on a U.S. forest near Brookings, Oregon.
1943 Allied troops land at Salerno, Italy and encounter strong resistance from German troops.
1948 Kim Il-sung declares the establishment of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
1956 Elvis Presley makes his first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show; cameras focus on his upper torso and legs to avoid showing his pelvis gyrations, which many Americans—including Ed Sullivan—thought unfit for a family show.
1965 US Department of Housing and Urban Development established.
1965 Hurricane Betsy, the first hurricane to exceed $1 billion in damages (unadjusted), makes its second landfall, near New Orleans.
1969 Canada's Official Languages Act takes effect, making French equal to English as a language within the nation's government.
1970 U.S. Marines launch Operation Dubois Square, a 10-day search for North Vietnamese troops near Da Nang.
1971 Attica Prison Riot; the 4-day riot leaves 39 dead.
1976 Communist Chinese leader Mao Tse-tung dies in Beijing at age 82.
1990 Sri Lankan Army massacres 184 civilians of the Tamil minority in the Batticaloa District of Sri Lanka.
1991 Tajikistan declares independence from USSR.
1993 The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) officially recognizes Israel as a legitimate state.
2001 A car bomb explodes outside the Australian embassy in Jakarta, killing 10 people.
2001 Two al Qaeda assassins kill Ahmad Shah Massoud, leader of the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan.
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Thanks to the Bear
Skip… For The List for the week beginning Monday, 9 September 2024 and ending on Sunday, 15 September 2024… Bear🇺🇸⚓️🐻
OPERATION COMMANDO HUNT (1968-1972)
From the archives of rollingthunderremembered.com post of 8 September 1969… Ho Chi Minh, dead at age 79. His will and final "pep talk" are included in this post. Also, the issue of whether our captured air crewmen—Yankee Air Pirates held in North Vietnam — were POWs or war criminals subject to trials and execution resurfaces.
(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 9 September
September 9th: https://www.vietnamairlosses.com/loss.php?id=249
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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Monday Morning Humor thanks to Al
Monday Morning Thoughts
Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once Talked about a contest he was asked to judge. The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child. The winner was:
• A four-year-old child, whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman, who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old Gentleman's' yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there. When his mother asked him what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy just said, 'Nothing, I just helped him cry.'
• Teacher Debbie Moon's first graders were discussing a picture of a family. One little boy in the picture had a different hair color than the other members. One of her students suggested that he was adopted. A little girl said, 'I know all about Adoption, I was adopted..' 'What does it mean to be adopted?', asked another child. 'It means', said the girl, 'that you grew in your mommy's heart instead of her tummy!'
• On my way home one day, I stopped to watch a Little League baseball game that was being played in a park near my home. As I sat down behind the bench on the first- base line, I asked one of the boys what the score was 'We're behind 14 to nothing,' he answered With a smile. 'Really,' I said. 'I have to say you don't look very discouraged.' 'Discouraged?', the boy asked with a Puzzled look on his face... 'Why should we be discouraged? We haven't Been up to bat yet.'
• Whenever I'm disappointed with my spot in life, I stop and think about little Jamie Scott. Jamie was trying out for a part in the school play. His mother told me that he'd set his heart on being in it, though she feared he would not be chosen. On the day the parts were awarded, I went with her to collect him after school. Jamie rushed up to her, eyes shining with pride and excitement. 'Guess what, Mom,' he shouted, and then said those words that will remain a lesson to me...'I've been chosen to clap and cheer.
• An eye witness account from New York City, on a cold day in December, some years ago: A little boy, about 10-years-old, was standing before a shoe store on the roadway, barefooted, peering through the window, and shivering with cold. A lady approached the young boy and said, 'My, but you're in such deep thought staring in that window!' 'I was asking God to give me a pair of shoes,'was the boy's reply. The lady took him by the hand, went into the store, and asked the clerk to get half a dozen pairs of socks for the boy. She then asked if he could give her a basin of water and a towel. He quickly brought them to her. She took the little fellow to the back part of the store and, removing her gloves, knelt down, washed his little feet, and dried them with the towel. By this time, the clerk had returned with the socks. Placing a pair upon the boy's feet, she purchased him a pair of shoes. She tied up the remaining pairs of socks and gave them to him. She patted him on the head and said, 'No doubt, you will be more comfortable now.' As she turned to go, the astonished kid caught her by the hand, and looking up into her face, with tears in his eyes, asked her. 'Are you God's wife?'
Submitted by Bob King:
A young couple moves into a new neighborhood. The next morning while they are eating breakfast, the young woman sees her neighbor hanging the wash outside. "That laundry is not very clean", she said. "She doesn't know how to wash correctly. Perhaps she needs better laundry soap."
Her husband looked on, but remained silent.
Every time her neighbor would hang her wash to dry, the young woman would make the same comments.
About one month later, the woman was surprised to see a nice clean wash on the line and said to her husband: "Look, she has learned how to wash correctly. I wonder who taught her this."
The husband said, "I got up early this morning and cleaned our windows."
And so it is with life. What we see when watching others depends on the purity of the window through which we look!
Submitted by Deb Smith:
Real life stories that teach you many things in life. Some things to think about before it is too late! These are based on true incidences both wonderful and inspirational.
• Today, I interviewed my grandmother for part of a research paper I'm working on for my Psychology class. When I asked her to define success in her own words, she said, "Success is when you look back at your life and the memories make you smile."
• Today, I asked my mentor - a very successful business man in his 70s- what his top 3 tips are for success. He smiled and said, "Read something no one else is reading, think something no one else is thinking, and do something no one else is doing."
• Today, after a 72-hour shift at the fire station, a woman ran up to me at the grocery store and gave me a hug. When I tensed up, she realized I didn't recognize her. She let go with tears of joy in her eyes and the most sincere smile and said, "On 9-11-2001, you carried me out of the World Trade Center."
• Today, after I watched my dog get run over by a car, I sat on the side of the road holding him and crying. And just before he died, he licked the tears off my face.
• Today at 7AM, I woke up feeling ill, but decided I needed the money, so I went into work. At 3PM I got laid off. On my drive home I got a flat tire. When I went into the trunk for the spare, it was flat too. A man in a BMW pulled over, gave me a ride, we chatted, and then he offered me a job. I start tomorrow.
• Today, as my father, three brothers, and two sisters stood around my mother's hospital bed, my mother uttered her last coherent words before she died. She simply said, "I feel so loved right now. We should have gotten together like this more often."
• Today, I kissed my dad on the forehead as he passed away in a small hospital bed. About 5 seconds after he passed, I realized it was the first time I had given him a kiss since I was a little boy.
• Today, in the cutest voice, my 8-year-old daughter asked me to start recycling. I chuckled and asked, "Why?" She replied, "So you can help me save the planet." I chuckled again and asked, "And why do you want to save the planet?" Because that's where I keep all my stuff," she said.
• Today, when I witnessed a 27-year-old breast cancer patient laughing hysterically at her 2-year-old daughter's antics, I suddenly realized that I need to stop complaining about my life and start celebrating it again.
• Today, a boy in a wheelchair saw me desperately struggling on crutches with my broken leg and offered to carry my backpack and books for me. He helped me all the way across campus to my class and as he was leaving, he said, "I hope you feel better soon."
• Today, I was feeling down because the results of a biopsy came back malignant. When I got home, I opened an e-mail that said, "Thinking of you today. If you need me, I'm a phone call away." It was from a high school friend I hadn't seen in 10 years.
• Today, I was traveling in Kenya and I met a refugee from Zimbabwe. He said he hadn't eaten anything in over 3 days and looked extremely skinny and unhealthy. Then my friend offered him the rest of the sandwich he was eating. The first thing the man said was, "We can share it."
An elderly Chinese woman had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which she carried across her neck. One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water. At the end of the long walks from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.
For a full two years this went on daily, with the woman bringing home only one and a half pots of water. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do.
After two years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the woman one day by the stream. 'I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house.'
The old woman smiled, 'Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side?' 'That's because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you water them.'
For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table. Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house.'
Each of us has our own unique flaw. But it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding.
Submitted by Barry Gaston:
The Magic Bank Account—The author is not known. It was found in the billfold of coach Paul Bear Bryant, Alabama, after he died in 1982
Imagine that you had won the following *PRIZE* in a contest: Each morning your bank would deposit $86,400 in your private account for your use. However, this prize has rules:
1. Everything that you didn't spend during each day would be taken away from you.
2. You may not simply transfer money into some other account.
3. You may only spend it.
4. Each morning upon awakening, the bank opens your account with another $86,400 for that day.
5. The bank can end the game without warning; at any time it can say, "Game Over!". It can close the account and you will not receive a new one.
What would you personally do? You would buy anything and everything you wanted right? Not only for yourself, but for all the people you love and care for. Even for people you don't know, because you couldn't possibly spend it all on yourself, right?
You would try to spend every penny, and use it all, because you knew it would be replenished in the morning, right?
Actually, this game is real ...Shocked ???
Each of us is already a winner of this *PRIZE*. We just can't seem to see it. The PRIZE is *TIME*
1. Each morning we awaken to receive 86,400 seconds as a gift of life.
2. And when we go to sleep at night, any remaining time is Not credited to us.
3. What we haven't used up that day is forever lost.
4. Yesterday is forever gone.
5. Each morning the account is refilled, but the bank can dissolve your account at any time WITHOUT WARNING...
So, what will you do with your 86,400 seconds? Those seconds are worth so much more than the same amount in dollars. Think about it and remember to enjoy every second of your life, because time races by so much quicker than you think.
So take care of yourself, be happy, love deeply and enjoy life!
Here's wishing you a wonderful and beautiful day, week, year, life. Start "spending"....
"Don't complain about growing old…!" Some people don't get the privilege!
Al
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THANKS TO DICK
Subject: A-4 WAR STORY
DON'T KNOW WHO WROTE THIS BUT YOU A-4 DRIVERS WILL LIKE IT.
I've got to tell you a story, about a guy who was in the
reserves with me. Jack Hartman and I were A4 pilots in the Naval Air
Reserve in the early 70s, and we both lived in the Kalamazoo area. One day
while we were sharing a ride to our drill weekend at NAF Detroit, he told me
this one:
On Yankee Station in the Tonkin Gulf, in 1969, he was in his A4 on the
starboard bow cat for a night launch. He was loaded with 250 lb iron bombs
and two external wing fuel tanks. Like the F4, the A4 needed a bridle to
hook it to the catapult shuttle. The bridle had a permanent eye at each
end, and the eyes slipped onto hooks on the belly of the airplane, and the
body of the bridle was hooked over the shuttle. He went to full power. The
shuttle fired and at about 70 knots or so the belly hook on the left side of
the A4, or maybe it was the eye of the bridle, broke. As the bridle whipped
across the shuttle it took off his left main and nose landing gear struts
and the airplane went down on its nose and left wing, shedding fuel tanks.
There was an explosion, which killed one of the kids in the starboard
catwalk, and Jack ejected out of the fireball as the bird went over the bow.
His lower legs were singed by the flames.
Jack's a character, and since he lived through it, it's a hoot to hear him
tell it. He went off in his RAPEC seat into the night as the bird went over
the bow, and he thought he was dead. The A4 was in a pronounced left wing
down attitude as he ejected, so his trajectory went out forward and to the
left of the ship.
The seat worked perfectly. He made one swing in the chute and hit the warm
water of the Gulf. He shucked his chute, and counted his blessings. But the
OOD's SOP for a bird in the water off the starboard bow cat was to make a
hard port turn. Jack looked up, his MK3C flotation having inflated, his
mask and helmet still being on, oxygen coming from his seat pan, and here
came the pointy end of the boat. It hit him, doing maybe 30 knots, and he
ricocheted down the side of the hull, through the barnacles, missing the
main engine intakes, was knocked unconscious, and the stern watch saw him
come up in the wake having somehow gone through the four propellers. The
ship was in the middle of launch and recovery so it resumed course, and the
plane guard destroyer astern never saw Jack, who was unconscious and only
half afloat. One chamber of his MK3C had been punctured during his slide
along the side of the hull. He drifted off into the night.
At some point soon thereafter, while he still had seat pan air, he regained
consciousness and got into his raft. He had no radio. Over the course of
the next day and a half, he drifted with wind and tide to within about four
miles of the shore of Hainan Island. There was a low overcast that
afternoon, but a random A3 at about 500 feet flew right over him and
reported the position to the boat, which dispatched a destroyer to pick him
up. But by the time the can arrived from Yankee station 50 miles away Jack
had drifted inside the three-mile limit of Hainan. Since the can presented
a big radar return, its CO stayed outside territorial waters and called for
a helo, which arrived when Jack was only about a mile offshore. The helo
driver was gutsy and he dropped down on the water and ran in and picked Jack
up. But by then the helo was low fuel, so it landed on the destroyer, and
they put Jack in one of those chicken wire stretchers for the long ride back
to Yankee.
When they got to Yankee, the destroyer came alongside for unrep and they
high-lined Jack across to the carrier in his wire stretcher. He had several
fractured ribs and a fractured right arm. When he got to the carrier, the
medics prepared to carry him down the long external escalator to sick bay,
which was one deck below the hanger bay. But on the way down the escalator,
they dropped him, and as he bounced down the escalator in his stretcher he
broke his other arm. As the flight surgeon examined him, he asked Jack,
"Did you even TRY to put on your brakes?" They sent Jack to Cubi Point on
the COD and put him in the hospital at Clark AFB.
But wait, there's more.
A few weeks later he was on the mend and was hanging around the OPS office
at Cubi, wearing bermuda shorts and a tee shirt. The ops duty yeoman asked
him if he was Lt(jg) Hartman and Jack said he was. They handed him a
message from the ship which directed him to fly an A4 back to his squadron.
It was an A4 that had been reworked at the repair facility at Nippi in
Japan. Jack said, "Well, OK." He borrowed some flight gear and manned up
(his quote: I was just a dumb (jg)). As I imperfectly recall, it's about
600 miles from Cubi to Yankee, all over water, of course, and single engine
birds weren't supposed to do that solo. But there was an A6 going to the
ship that day, so Jack arranged to fly wing on him and off they went.
Enroute, the A6 lost its radar. His inertial nav also went inop, and his
avionics suite quit, except for having UHF COM. As they approached Viet
Nam, the ship was IFR, so the A6 said he was going into Da Nang. Jack said,
well, OK, but I've got TACAN lock on the ship, so I'm heading there. He got
a Charlie time and landed aboard. Jack said he hadn't thought about it
ahead of time, but with one forearm in a soft cast and his ribs taped up, it
really hurt when he arrested. He parked his airplane and when he walked
into the ready room the brothers were aghast. "Hartman, what the hell are
you doing here?"
It turned out that he didn't have an up chit from the hospital at Clark and
was not authorized to fly. His squadron OPS officer lost his job for
originating the message to Jack at Cubi.
So they put Jack back on the COD and flew him to Cubi again, where he stayed
at Clark for a couple more weeks until the ship came in.
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The Mighty 8th------Who had more losses than all the Marines in the Pacific . One of my uncles survived this and made his 25 missions and then 10 more. ….In fact all 12 of my uncles served covering all services and all area of the world and all came back…..skip
I was talking to an old high school friend yesterday. The only one I really have any contact with from all of the many schools I attended while growing up from one end of the country to the other. We graduated from the little town of Lompoc next to Vandenberg AFB in 1961. We had to bus into town each day and the school had to do double sessions to be able to take care of the large influx of students brought there by the base. We (the juniors and seniors) had the early go and got out at 1220 to catch the bus home that had just dropped off the oncoming 9th and 10th graders.
Anyway he asked if I could find the story that I had in the List quite a while ago about launching the Mighty 8th 1000 plane raids from England. I did not take much time to recover it in the file where I dropped such things
Although it's stated "author unknown" in the header line, it seems that this chap was there....
I think that you will find this most interesting and maybe a little hair raising…skip
Harry
A story of the mighty 8th Air Force in World War II - Author Unknown
I was a pilot in the 95th Bomb Group, in late 1944 and early 1945, and what follows is a typical mission, as I remember it, from a crew member's perspective.
Early in the evening, our Squadron Operations would post the names of the crews that were scheduled to fly the following day. There were two ways we could be notified if the Group had been alerted to fly. One was by means of lights on the front of the orderly room, and the other with raising of colored flags. If a green light was on, the Group was alerted, if a red light was on we would fly, and if a white light was on, the Group would stand down. The light was monitored frequently throughout the evening to learn our status and, normally, we would know before going to bed if we would be flying the next day.
On the morning of a mission, the CQ (charge of quarters) would awaken the crews about four or five o'clock, depending on takeoff time. The questions we always asked were, "What is the fuel load?" and, "What is the bomb load?"
If his answer was," full Tokyo tanks," we knew we would be going deep into Germany. Shortly after being awakened, "6-by" trucks would start shuttling us to the mess hall. We always had all the fresh eggs we could eat, when flying a mission. After breakfast, the trucks carried us to the briefing room. All of the crew members attended the main briefing, and then the Navigators, Bombardiers and Radio operators went to a specialized briefing.
At the main briefing, in addition to the target information--anti-aircraft guns, fighter escort and route in--we received a sheet showing our location in the formation, the call signs for the day and all the information we would need to assemble our Group and get into the bomber stream
After briefing, we got into our flight gear, drew our parachutes and loaded onto the trucks for a ride to our plane. We were now guided by the time on our daily briefing sheet. We started engines at a given time and watched for the airplane we would be flying in formation with to taxi past, then we would taxi behind him. We were following strict radio silence.
We were now parked, nose to tail around the perimeter, on both sides of the active runway, and extremely vulnerable to a fighter strafing attack. At the designated takeoff time, a green flare would be fired and takeoff would begin. Every thirty seconds an airplane started takeoff roll. We were lined up on the perimeter so that the 12 airplanes of the high squadron would take off first, followed by the lead and then the low squadron
Each Group had a pattern for the airplanes to fly during climb to assembly altitude. Some would fly a triangle, some a rectangle and our Group flew a circle, using a "Buncher" (a low frequency radio station) which was located on our station. The patterns for each Group fit together like a jig saw puzzle. Unfortunately, strong winds aloft would destroy the integrity of the patterns, and there would be considerable over running of each other's patterns..
Many of our takeoffs were made before daylight, during the winter of '44 and '45, when I was there, so it was not uncommon to climb through several thousand feet of cloud overcast. Also it was not uncommon to experience one or two near misses while climbing through the clouds, although you would never see the other airplane. You knew you had just had a near miss, when suddenly the airplane would shake violently as it hit the prop wash of another plane. It was a wonderful feeling to break out on top, so you could watch for other planes, to keep from running into each other. To add to the congestion we were creating, the Royal Air Force Lancasters, Halifaxes, and Wimpys would be returning from their night missions, and flying through our formations. Needless to say, pilots had to keep their heads on a swivel and their eyes out of the cockpit.
After take off, the squadron lead would fire a flare every 30 seconds, so that we could keep him located and enable us to get into formation quicker.
The color of our Group flare was red-green. The first thing you would see, when breaking out of the clouds, was a sky filled with pyrotechnics, so you had to search the sky for the Group flare, which would identify the lead airplane of your Squadron. Once you had it located, you could adjust your pattern to climb more quickly into formation with him. As each airplane pulled into formation, they would also fire a flare, with the lead plane, making it much easier for the following aircraft to keep him in sight. I think most crew members would probably agree that the pyrotechnic show, in the skies over England, in the morning when the Eighth was assembling, was a rare sight to behold.
The order of progression for assembling the Eighth Air Force was to first assemble the Flight elements, the Squadrons, the Groups, the Combat wings, the Divisions and, finally, the Air Force. As soon as the four Squadron elements were formed, the high, low and second elements would take up their positions on the lead element, to form a Squadron. When the three Squadrons had completed assembly, it was necessary to get into Group formation. This was accomplished by having the three Squadrons arrive over a pre-selected fix at a precise time and heading. The high and low Squadrons were separated from the lead Squadron by 1000 feet and, after getting into Group formation, they would maintain their positions by following the lead Squadron.
Then it was necessary to get into the Combat Wing formation. We were in the 13th Combat Wing, which consisted of three Bomb Groups: the 95th, the 100th and the 390th. Whichever Group was leading the Wing that day, would arrive over a pre-selected point, at a precise time and heading. Thirty seconds later, the second Group would pass that fix, followed by the third Group, thirty seconds later. We were then in Combat Wing formation. The navigators in the lead airplanes had a tremendous responsibility, to ensure that the rendezvous times were strictly adhered to.
There were three Divisions in the Eighth, the 1st, 2nd and 3rd. The 1st and 3rd Divisions consisted of B-17s only, and the 2nd Division was B-24s. The B-24s were faster than the B-17s, but the B-17s could fly higher, therefore, the two were not compatible in formation As a result the 1st and 3rd Divisions would fly together and the 2nd Division would fly separately.
Now that the Groups were flying in Combat Wing formation, it was necessary to assemble the Divisions. This was usually accomplished at the "coast out"--a city on the coast, selected as the departure point "fix." The Group leader in each Combat Wing knew his assigned position in the Division, and the precise time that he should arrive at the coast out departure point, to assume that position in the Division formation. The lead Group in the Division, which had been selected to lead the Eighth on the mission, would be first over the departure fix. Thirty seconds after the last Group in the first Wing passed that point, the second Wing would fall in trail, and so on, until all Combat Wings were flying in trail and the Division would be formed. One minute later, the lead Group in the other Division would fly over that point, and the Combat Wings in that Division would follow the same procedure to get into formation. When all of its Combat Wings were in trail, the Eighth Air Force B-17 strike force was formed and on its way to the target. At the same time the 2nd Division B-24s were assembling in a similar manner and also departing to their target
Meanwhile, as the bombers were assembling for their mission, pilots from the Fighter Groups were being briefed on their day's mission. Normally, 600 to
800 P-38's, P-47's, and P-51's would accompany the bombers to provide protection against enemy fighter attacks. Fighter cover was not needed by the bombers until they were penetrating enemy territory, therefore to help conserve fuel. fighter takeoffs were planned to give them enough time to quickly assemble after takeoff, and climb on course up the bomber stream to the groups they would be covering. The combined strength of the fighters and bombers brought the total number of aircraft participating in a mission to approximately two thousand.
A major problem that presented itself, on each mission, was that the bomber stream was getting too stretched out. It was not uncommon for the headlines in stateside newspapers--in trying to show the strength of our Air Force--to state that the first Group of bombers was bombing Berlin, while the last Group was still over the English Channel. It made great headlines but was a very undesirable situation. It meant that the Groups were out of position, and not keeping the proper separation. Furthermore, it was almost impossible for them to catch up and get back into the desired formation. This made the entire bomber stream more vulnerable to fighter attacks
Finally, our planners figured out what we were doing wrong.. When the first Group departed the coast out fix, it started its climb to what would be the bombing altitude. Then, as each succeeding Group departed that fix, it, too, would start climbing. The problem with this procedure was that, as soon as the first Group started its climb, its true airspeed would start to increase, and it would encounter different wind velocities. Now it would start to pull away from the Group in back of it, and the "stretch out" of the bomber stream would begin. By the time the last Group had reached the coast out, to start its climb, the first Group would be leveled off, with a true airspeed approaching 250 miles per hour, and the bomber stream would be really stretching out.
The solution to this problem that had been frustrating the Bomber crews for so long was pretty simple. We would no longer start climbing at the coast out, but instead, at a designated time, all Groups would start climbing, irrespective of position. This meant that we all would have similar true airspeeds and would be influenced by the same winds aloft. That took care of the problem. It was still possible for a Group to be out of position, because of poor timing, but the entire bomber stream wouldn't get all stretched out.
When you consider the way our Air Traffic Control system operates today, and all the facilities at their disposal to guide each individual airplane through the sky to ensure its safety, it's almost unbelievable that we were able to do what we did. To think of launching hundreds of airplanes, in a small airspace, many times in total darkness, loaded with bombs, with complete radio silence, and no control from the ground, and do it successfully day after day, with young air crews, with minimum experience, is absolutely mind boggling. The accomplishments of the Eighth Air Force have been and will be reviewed by historians from World War II on. There never will be another air armada to compare to it. I feel confident that they will never cease to be amazed by our ability to assemble hundreds of heavy Bombers, under the conditions we were confronting, into the devastating strike force we now fondly refer to as,
"The Mighty Eighth.
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Thanks to Bill
Just for laughs . . .
Two best friends graduated from medical school at the same time & decided that in spite of two different specialties, they would open a practice together to share office space ...Dr. Smith was a *Psychiatrist* & Dr. Jones was a *Proctologist* (Colon to Anus.) They put up a sign reading *Dr. Smith & Dr. Jones* *Hysterias & Posteriors*
The town council was livid and insisted they change it.
So, the docs changed it to read *Schizoids & Hemorrhoids*
This was also not acceptable, so they again changed the sign to *Catatonics & High Colonics*
No go.
Next, they tried...*Manic Depressives & Anal Retentives*
Thumbs down again.
Then came..*Minds and Behinds*
Still no good.
Another attempt resulted in ...*Lost Souls & Butt Holes*
Unacceptable again!
So they tried *Analysis & Anal Cysts*
No, not a chance.
*Nuts and Butts*
No way
*Freaks and Cheeks*
Still no good
*Loons and Moons*
Just Forget it!
Almost at their wits end, the docs finally came up with...*Dr. Smith & Dr. Jones...* *Specializing in Odds & Ends.*
*_Everyone loved it._😊*
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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/
Sep. 8, 2000
Lt. Cmdr. Daniel C. Burbank became the second Coast Guard astronaut to fly on a shuttle mission (he had been selected by NASA for astronaut training in 1996). He flew as a mission specialist on NASA flight STS-106 Atlantis from Sept. 8-20, 2000. During the 12-day mission, the crew successfully prepared the International Space Station for the arrival of the first permanent crew. The five astronauts and two cosmonauts delivered more than 6,600 pounds of supplies and installed batteries, power converters, oxygen generation equipment and a treadmill on the Space Station. Two crew members performed a spacewalk in order to connect power, data and communications cables to the newly arrived Zvesda Service Module and the Space Station. STS-106 orbited the Earth 185 times, and covered 4.9 million miles in 11 days, 19 hours, and 10 minutes. Burbank, who retired as a Coast Guard captain, is a Daedalian.
Sept. 9, 1972
Air Force Capt. Charles B. DeBellevue, a Weapons System Officer flying on F-4D and F-4E Phantom II fighters, became the high-scoring American Ace of the Vietnam War when he and his pilot, Capt. John A. Madden Jr., shot down two MiG 19 fighters of the Vietnam People's Air Force west of Hanoi. DeBellevue, a retired colonel, is a Daedalian Life Member. Go HERE to read more about this historic date.
Sept. 10, 1942
The Secretary of War formed the Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron under the leadership of Nancy Harkness Love. The following month, female pilots began ferrying aircraft from production sites to airfields in the U.S.
Sept. 11, 1972
U.S. aircraft destroyed the Long Bien Bridge over the Red River in Hanoi, one of the most spectacular uses of precision-guided weapons in the war.
Sept. 12, 1968
Air Force Capt. Ronald Fogleman became the only F-100 pilot ever rescued by riding out on a Cobra helicopter, clinging to the opened gun bay panel door. General Fogleman, a Daedalian Life Member, served as Air Force chief of staff from 1994-1997.
Sept. 13, 1917
The 1st Aero Squadron arrived in France as the first air unit to serve with the American Expeditionary Forces.
Sept. 14, 2006
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen T. Michael Moseley, a Daedalian Life Member, selected the name "Reaper" for the new MQ-9 hunter-killer UAV.
AIR FORCE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPS HIGH-STRENGTH STEEL FOR 3D PRINTED MUNITIONS The U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) has developed a method to 3D print high-performance Air Force steel AF-9628 for weapon applications. Led by Captain Erin Hager, and sponsored by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Munitions Directorate, this powder bed fusion (PBF) technique enables the production of steel exhibiting higher tensile strength than conventional AM alloys
Navy recovers Greyhound wreckage from fatal 2017 crash at sea A Navy salvage team has recovered the wreckage of a C-2A Greyhound aircraft that crashed on Nov. 22, 2017, in the Philippine Sea, killing three sailors. The wreckage was brought up from a depth of roughly three nautical miles on May 21, U.S. 7th Fleet officials confirmed.
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This Day in U S Military History
1850 – Though it had only been a part of the United States for less than two years, California becomes the 31st state in the union (without ever even having been a territory) on this day in 1850. Mexico had reluctantly ceded California and much of its northern territory to the United States in the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo,. When the Mexican diplomats signed the treaty, they pictured California as a region of sleepy mission towns with a tiny population of about 7,300-not a devastating loss to the Mexican empire. Their regret might have been much sharper had they known that gold had been discovered at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California, nine days before they signed the peace treaty. Suddenly, the greatest gold rush in history was on, and "forty-niners" began flooding into California chasing after the fist-sized gold nuggets rumored to be strewn about the ground just waiting to be picked up. California's population and wealth skyrocketed. Most newly acquired regions of the U.S. went through long periods as territories before they had the 60,000 inhabitants needed to achieve statehood, and prior to the Gold Rush, emigration to California had been so slow that it would have been decades before the population reached that number. But with gold fever reaching epidemic proportions around the world, more than 60,000 people from around the globe came to California in 1849 alone. Faced with such rapid growth, as well as a thorny congressional debate over the question of slavery in the new territories, Congress allowed California to jump straight to full statehood without ever passing through the formal territorial stage. After a rancorous debate between the slave-state and free-soil advocates, Congress finally accepted California as a free-labor state under the Compromise of 1850, beginning the state's long reign as the most powerful economic and political force in the far West
1863 – Union General William Rosecrans completes a brilliant campaign against the army of Confederate General Braxton Bragg when his forces capture Chattanooga, Tennessee. The capture of Chattanooga followed a campaign in which there was little fighting but much maneuvering. On June 23, Rosecrans marched his troops out of their camp in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, just south of Nashville. Bragg, who hoped his defensive line could keep Rosecrans out and protect the rich agricultural resources of south central Tennessee, had his army arrayed northwest of Tullahoma. When Rosecrans moved his army to Bragg's right flank, the Confederates found themselves in a dangerous position and so Bragg pulled his forces further south to Tullahoma. But Rosecrans then feinted toward Chattanooga, forcing Bragg to give up Tullahoma and retreat into Chattanooga. At the cost of only 560 Yankee casualties, Rosecrans had taken south central Tennessee from Bragg. Approaching Chattanooga from the west on September 8, Union forces began crossing Lookout Mountain above the city. Again, Bragg was outmaneuvered and was forced to leave Chattanooga with only minor skirmishing. On September 9, triumphant Union troops entered the city. Bragg finally gathered his troops and dug in his heels in northern Georgia, just south of Chattanooga. The two armies collided again at Chickamauga on September 19 and 20, when Bragg finally sent Rosecrans in the other direction. The Union force then retreated back into Chattanooga.
1919 – The infamous Boston Police Strike of 1919 begins, causing an uproar around the nation and confirming the growing influence of unions on American life. Using the situation to their advantage, criminals took the opportunity to loot the city. As society changed in the 20th century, police were expected to act more professionally. Some of their previous practices were no longer countenanced. Explanations such as that given by the Dallas chief of police in defense of their unorthodox tactics-"Illegality is necessary to preserve legality"-was no longer acceptable to the public. Police forces were brought within the civil service framework and even received training for the first time. Soon, the American Federation of Labor (AFL) began to create local police unions. When the Boston Police went on strike on September 9, the country's leading newspapers sounded the alarm bells. Some falsely reported that gangs were running wild and attacking women throughout the city. Others saw it as evidence of the spread of communism. In actuality, the strike prompted a lot of property damage but did not seriously endanger the safety of the community-partly due to the quick response of the government. Calvin Coolidge, governor of Massachusetts at the time, called out the militia to assist Harvard students and faculty who were acting as a volunteer force. (He later used the incident to boost himself to the presidency.) While the Boston Police Strike proved disastrous for unions in the short term, police were eventually allowed to form unions. However, it is illegal for police to go on strike, and even informal work actions such as the "Blue Flu," whereby large numbers of police officers call in sick at the same time, are seriously discouraged.
1942 – A Japanese floatplane drops incendiary bombs on an Oregon state forest-the first and only attack on the U.S. mainland in the war. Launching from the Japanese sub I-25, Nobuo Fujita piloted his light aircraft over the state of Oregon and firebombed Mount Emily, alighting a state forest–and ensuring his place in the history books as the only man to ever bomb the continental United States. The president immediately called for a news blackout for the sake of morale. No long-term damage was done, and Fujita eventually went home to train navy pilots for the rest of the war.
1942 – Japanese General Hyakutake, commander of the 17th Army, with elements of the 2nd Infantry Division lands at Tassafaronga as part of the Japanese build up for the attack on the main American position at Guadalcanal.
Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
SMITH, ROBERT
Rank and organization: Private, Company M, 3d U.S. Infantry. Place and date: At Slim Buttes, Mont., 9 September 1876. Entered service at: ——. Birth: Philadelphia, Pa. Date of issue: 16 October 1877. Citation: Special bravery in endeavoring to dislodge Indians secreted in a ravine .
BELL, J. FRANKLIN
Rank and organization: Colonel, 36th Infantry, U.S. Volunteers. Place and date: Near Porac, Luzon, Philippine Islands, 9 September 1899. Entered service at: Shelbyville, Ky. Born: 9 January 1856, Shelbyville, Ky. Date of issue: 11 December 1899. Citation: While in advance of his regiment charged 7 insurgents with his pistol and compelled the surrender of the captain and 2 privates under a close fire from the remaining insurgents concealed in a bamboo thicket.
GROVE, WILLIAM R.
Rank and organization: Lieutenant Colonel, 36th Infantry, U.S. Volunteers. Place and date: Near Porac, Luzon, Philippine Islands, 9 September 1899. Entered service at: Denver, Colo. Birth: Montezuma, lowa. Date of issue: 16 July 1902. Citation: In advance of his regiment, rushed to the assistance of his colonel, charging, pistol in hand, 7 insurgents, and compelling surrender of all not killed or wounded.
SMITH, EUGENE P.
Rank and organization: Chief Watertender, U.S. Navy. Born: 8 August 1871, Truney, Ill. Accredited to: California. G.O. No.: 189, 8 February 1916. Citation: Attached to U.S.S. Decatur; for several times entering compartments on board of Decatur immediately following an explosion on board that vessel, 9 September 1915, and locating and rescuing injured shipmates.
LOGAN, JAMES M.
Rank and organization: Sergeant, U.S. Army, 36th Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Salerno, Italy, 9 September 1943. Entered service at: Luling, Tex. Birth: McNeil, Tex. G.O. No.: 54, 5 July 1944. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of life above and beyond the call of duty in action involving actual conflict on 9 September 1943 in the vicinity of Salerno, Italy. As a rifleman of an infantry company, Sgt. Logan landed with the first wave of the assault echelon on the beaches of the Gulf of Salerno, and after his company had advanced 800 yards inland and taken positions along the forward bank of an irrigation canal, the enemy began a serious counterattack from positions along a rock wall which ran parallel with the canal about 200 yards further inland. Voluntarily exposing himself to the fire of a machinegun located along the rock wall, which sprayed the ground so close to him that he was splattered with dirt and rock splinters from the impact of the bullets, Sgt. Logan killed the first 3 Germans as they came through a gap in the wall. He then attacked the machinegun. As he dashed across the 200 yards of exposed terrain a withering stream of fire followed his advance. Reaching the wall, he crawled along the base, within easy reach of the enemy crouched along the opposite side, until he reached the gun. Jumping up, he shot the 2 gunners down, hurdled the wall, and seized the gun. Swinging it around, he immediately opened fire on the enemy with the remaining ammunition, raking their flight and inflicting further casualties on them as they fled. After smashing the machinegun over the rocks, Sgt. Logan captured an enemy officer and private who were attempting to sneak away. Later in the morning, Sgt. Logan went after a sniper hidden in a house about 150 yards from the company. Again the intrepid Sgt. ran a gauntlet of fire to reach his objective. Shooting the lock off the door, Sgt. Logan kicked it in and shot the sniper who had just reached the bottom of the stairs. The conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity which characterized Sgt. Logan's exploits proved a constant inspiration to all the men of his company, and aided materially in insuring the success of the beachhead at Salerno.
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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for September 9, FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY
9 September
1908: Lt Frank P. Lahm became the first military passenger to fly with Orville Wright in the Wright Flyer at Fort Myer. They set new a duration record of 57 minutes 25 seconds, making 57 trips around the field at 100 feet. Later that day, Wright also flew for 62 minutes 15 seconds. (24)
1950: KOREAN WAR. While N. Korean forces neared Taegu, FEAF bombers started a rail interdiction campaign north of Seoul to slow enemy reinforcements. Medium bombers attacked marshalling yards and cut rails at multiple points along key routes. (28)
1951: KOREAN WAR. Some 70 MiGs attacked 28 F-86 Sabres between Sinanju and Pyongyang. Despite such odds, Capt Richard S. Becker, 334 FIS, and Capt Ralph D. Gibson, 335 FIS, each destroyed a MiG, increasing the number of jet aces from one to three. (28)
1952: KOREAN WAR. Protected by F-86s, 45 F-84s attacked the N. Korean Military Academy at Sakchu. Of approximately 64 MiGs in the area, some penetrated the Sabre screen, shot down three ThunderJets, and forced several flights to jettison their bombs. The F-86s suffered no losses during the aerial combat and destroyed five MiGs. (28)
1958: A Lockheed X-7 ramjet, air-launched from a B-50 bomber, exceeded Mach 4 to become the fastest air-breathing missile. (24)
1959: KEY EVENT. A SAC crew fired the first Atlas D from Vandenberg AFB. Afterwards Gen Thomas S. Power, SAC's Commander-in-Chief, declared the system operational. The missile traveled 4,300 miles at 16,000 MPH. (6) (21) Big Joe, NASA's test version of a Mercury astronaut capsule, recovered from the Caribbean in good condition after making a 1,500-mile flight aboard an Atlas rocket. The capsule reached an altitude of 100 miles and a speed of 14,000 MPH. (24)
1962: The first Atlas F squadron, the 550 SMS, became operational at Schilling AFB, Kans. (6)
1967: AIR FORCE CROSS: A1C Duane D. Hackney (ARRS) became the first living enlisted man to receive an Air Force Cross for his heroic efforts to rescue a pilot downed in North Vietnam's jungles. (See 6 February 1967) (16) (26)
1972: To become the Vietnam War's leading ace, Capt Charles B. DeBellevue, flying as a weapon systems officer in a 555 TFS F-4, shot down his fifth and sixth enemy plane. He became the first non-pilot ace in the USAF. For this feat, DeBellevue shared the 1972 Mackay Trophy with Captains Richard S. "Steve" Ritchie and Jeffrey S. Feinstein. (17) (21) (26)
1975: A Martin Marietta Titan III/Centaur booster launched the Viking 2 Mars mission. (8: Sep 90)
1976: The ALCM completed its first fully guided flight test. (6) 1983: The Belgian government announced the deployment of GLCMs at Florennes AB. (4)
1998: Operation KEIKO LIFT. Through 10 September, a 437 AW C-17 aircrew from Charleston AFB flew Keiko, the Orca killer whale who starred in the movie Free Willy, on a 8,630-mile, 10-hour nonstop flight from the Oregon Coast Aquarium at Newport, Oregon, to Iceland's Vestmannaeyjar Island. A KC-10 from Travis AFB and KC-135s from McGuire AFB refueled the C-17 during its flight to Iceland. (22)
2000: Operation CENTRAZBAT 2000. Two C-17s, one from Charleston AFB and one from Altus AFB picked up 160 paratroopers from Fort Bragg's 82d Airborne Division at Pope AFB and then flew 20 hours nonstop to a drop zone near Almaty, Kazakhstan. The paratroopers joined troops from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and other NATO partners in this operation, a humanitarian assistance and peacekeeping field training operation. The C-17s each received two aerial refuelings on the 6,700-mile flight to Kazakhstan. (22) The 185th Fighter Wing (Iowa ANG) learned it would convert from F-16s to KC-135 tankers by 2004. The change would cost $32.2 million in construction and $30 million in training and conversion costs to place 10 KC-135s with the unit. (32)
2003: The first production RQ-4A Global Hawk (AV-8) arrived at Edwards AFB for sensor installation and a sensor acceptance flight. Following completion of a 23 September sortie, the aircraft was delivered to the 9th Reconnaissance Wing at Beale AFB. (3)
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