TheList 7026

The List 7026     TGB

To All,

Good Thursday morning December 5, 2024. Well the bobcat made it two nights in a row last night. The ring cameras lit it up. Last night it came early around eight o'çlock and I was not home from testing and it gave my wife a start because she was out with the dogs and had just got them back in the house..

Clear skies this morning and tomorrow morning.

More testing tonight.

Tomorrow is Bubbas Breakfast and I hope to see a lot of you there.

Regards,

Skip

Make it a GREAT 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 84 H-Grams 

 

This day in Naval and Marine Corps History

December 5

1813—During the War of 1812, the frigate Congress captures the British brig Atlantic in the North Atlantic. Also on this date USS President captures schooner Comet off New York.

1862—During the Civil War, boats from the gunboat Mahaska and the converted tug General Putnam capture and destroy "several fine Confederate boats," a schooner and two sloops in branches of Severn River, MD, and bring back schooners Seven Brothers and Galena.

1941—USS Lexington (CV 2) sails with Task Force 12 to ferry Marine aircraft to Midway, leaving no carriers at Pearl Harbor. Previously, on Nov. 28, USS Enterprise (CV 6) sails from Pearl Harbor for Wake Island to ferry Marine aircraft to island.

1943—USS Narwhal (SS 167) embarks nine evacuees at Alubijid, Mascalar Bay and then sinks Japanese cargo ship Himeno Maru off Camiguin Island.

1944—USS Hake (SS 256) evacuates downed aviators and turns over all supplies that can be spared to Filippino guerilla forces ashore at Libertad, Panay, Philippines.

1945: Aircraft squadron disappears in the Bermuda Triangle

See more below

 

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Today in World History

December 5

1484     Pope Innocent VIII issues a bill deploring the spread of witchcraft and heresy in Germany.

1776     Phi Beta Kappa is organized as the first American college Greek letter-fraternity, at William and Mary College, Williamsburg, Va.

1791     Composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart dies in Vienna.

1861     In the U.S. Congress, petitions and bills calling for the abolition of slavery are introduced.

1862     Union General Ulysses S. Grant's cavalry receives a setback in an engagement on the Mississippi Central Railroad at Coffeeville, Mississippi.

1864     Confederate General John Bell Hood sends Nathan Bedford Forrest's cavalry and a division of infantry toward Murfreesboro, Tenn.

1904     The Japanese destroy a Russian fleet at Port Arthur in Korea.

1909     George Taylor makes the first manned glider flight in Australia in a glider that he designed himself.

1912     Italy, Austria and Germany renew the Triple Alliance for six years.

1916     David Lloyd George replaces Herbert Asquith as the British prime minister.

1921     The British empire reaches an accord with the Irish revolutionary group the Sinn Fein; Ireland is to become a free state.

1933     The 21st Amendment ends Prohibition in the United States, which had begun 13 years earlier.

1934     Italian and Ethiopian troops clash at the Ualual on disputed the Somali-Ethiopian border.

1936     The New Constitution in the Soviet Union promises universal suffrage, but the Communist Party remains the only legal political party.

1937     The Lindberghs arrive in New York on a holiday visit after a two-year voluntary exile.

1945     Four TBM Avenger bombers disappear approximately 100 miles off the coast of Florida.

1950     Pyongyang in Korea falls to the invading Chinese army.

1953     Italy and Yugoslavia agree to pull troops out of the disputed Trieste border.

1955     A bus boycott begins under the leadership of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., in Montgomery, Alabama.

1966     Comedian and political activist Dick Gregory heads for Hanoi, North Vietnam, despite federal warnings against it.

1978     The Soviet Union signs a 20-year friendship pact with Afghanistan.

1983     Military Junta dissolves in Argentina.

2006     Commodore Frank Bainimarama overthrows the government in Fiji.

2007     A gunman armed with a semi-automatic rifle kills 8 people at Westroads Mall, Omaha, Neb., before taking his own life.

 

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Thanks to the Bear. .

OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER ….

. rollingthunderremembered.com .

 

Thanks to Micro

To remind folks that these are from the Vietnam Air Losses site that Micro put together. You click on the url below and get what happened each day to the crew of the aircraft. ……Skip

From Vietnam Air Losses site for Thursday 5 December

December 5: https://www.vietnamairlosses.com/loss.php?id=916

 

This following work accounts for every fixed wing loss of the Vietnam War and you can use it to read more about the losses in The Bear's Daily account. Even better it allows you to add your updated information to the work to update for history…skip Vietnam Air Losses Access Chris Hobson and Dave Lovelady's work at:  https://www.VietnamAirLosses.com.

 

This is a list of all Helicopter Pilots Who Died in the Vietnam War . Listed by last name and has other info  https://www.vhpa.org/KIA/KIAINDEX.HTM

 

MOAA - Wall of Faces Now Includes Photos of All Service members Killed in the Vietnam War

The site works, find anyone you knew in "search" feature.

 

  https://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/ )

 

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Thanks to Barrel,

I read this and realized I would not make it past the part where he mounts up. I would be trapped belopw the bike shouting for a crane to help me.

Feel's good to be on the road again.  Started the morning by suiting up for a brisk ride (high 50's in town to the mid 40's thru the pass) to Tok, AK.  I'm not the typical Harley Guy who dresses like the Village People (remember YMCA?) I'm more of a Walmart Man in leather chaps (bugs hitting you at 60 mph hurt, hence the chaps).  And nothing like the BMW guys who dress like Gumby. 

 

The fire breathing V-Twin 88 has been warming up as I finish zipping up.  You mount up on the left side (just like a horse), grab the handle bars and throw the right leg over and in the same motion pull the bike up off the kickstand (it leans about 20 degrees to the left on the stand).  It's a pretty good tug, she weighs about 1000lbs with all my stuff loaded for the trip.  Flip the kick stand up with the left foot, reach into my pocket and hit play on the iPhone (11,031 songs).  I had queued up Willie Nelson's "On The Road Again" in anticipation of the ride and random for the rest.  Sounds perfect thru the headphones and I was ready to roll.

 

A bit on the controls for those who have never ridden.  On the handle bars there are two levers in front of the left and right hand grips.  The left lever is the clutch and the right lever is the front brake in addition the right grip is also the throttle.  Roll the throttle towards yourself and it's the same as pressing your foot down on the gas pedal in a car.  There are two foot pedals, left and right.  The left foot lever is the gear shift and the right foot lever is the rear brake.

 

Now the tricky part getting me and the Harley off to a safe start.  The secret is to preplan and have a good 10 to 15 feet of straight away,  otherwise the degree of difficulty goes way up.  The right hand is holding the brake lever for the front wheel brake and the left hand pulls in the clutch lever and my left toe pushes down on the shift lever taking it out of Neutral into 1st gear.   

 

The left hand starts easing out the clutch lever while the right hand releases the brake lever and slowly starts rolling the throttle on.  After a foot or so both feet come up onto the foot floor boards and we're off.  I shift more by sound than RPM (approx 2500 RPM or so).  When it sounds right the left hand pulls in the clutch lever while the right hand rolls the throttle off a bit and the left toe goes under the shift lever and lifts up shifting into 2nd gear.  A nano second later the left hand is easing out the clutch and the right hand is rolling on the throttle.  If  I've done it right there is no change in the acceleration rate,  just constant smooth acceleration.  This process continues until I get into 5th gear and reach cruising speed.  For me that's the posted speed limit or 60mph (I avoid freeways/Interstates at all costs).  It's a great speed for enjoying the scenery and hopefully slow enough if an animal makes a move for the road.

 

Once I've hit cruising speed I lean back into the back rest put my feet up on the outboard riding pegs and enjoy the ride!   Getting out of Anchorage and out of Palmer was not a problem,  except for the two miles of mud I had to ride thru.  It was a road construction area and it had rained last night. 

 

One of the great sights you run into is the Matanuska Glacier which is between Palmer and Glennallen.  Just awesome!

 

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Thanks to the Smithsonian

 

When 170 Wild Monkeys Escaped From a 'Jungle Camp' and Terrorized New York

 

Hugely famous in his day, if barely remembered now, Frank Buck was a best-selling author and movie star, renowned for capturing wild animals all over the world and shipping them back to the United States by the boatload. There, the creatures took up residence in zoos, circuses, Buck's own attractions and sometimes even people's homes.

 

Buck chronicled his expeditions in 1930s films like Bring 'Em Back Alive, Wild Cargo, and Fang and Claw—purported documentaries that featured the pith-helmeted, somewhat pudgy, middle-aged hunter and collector as their dashing hero. Buck's derring-do, such as wrestling an escaped python back into its crate, thrilled audiences, though critics questioned whether some scenes were staged. Reporters covered Buck's every arrival and departure, children joined clubs named after him, and Abbott and Costello featured him in their 1949 comedy Africa Screams.

 

When Buck died of lung cancer in 1950, at the age of 66, his New York Times obituary noted that by his own estimate, he'd "captured more than 100,000 birds of every variety, more than 50 elephants, scores of pythons, 65 tigers and also hundreds of other wild animals."

 

Among Buck's specialties was the rhesus macaque, a relatively small simian native to Asia. He scooped them up in such quantities that he once listed his bulk sale price as 100 monkeys for $850 to $1,000.

 

While apparently fond of the little animals, Buck also noted that monkeys could be a handful. "No other living creature is so completely imbued with mischievousness, no other so triumphantly relishes man's discomfort or can be so maddeningly impish," he wrote in a 1939 book. Monkeys, he added, are "the personifications of perpetual motion, whose every little movement has a troublemaking intention behind it."

 

Although they had to compete with other Buck marvels, such as the "biggest orangutan in the world," the "two biggest pythons in captivity" and a pair of "giant dragon lizards," the macaques became a crowd favorite at the 1933-1934 Chicago World's Fair. Some 500 of them cavorted at Frank Buck's Jungle Camp on a humanmade structure called Monkey Mountain. Buck even promised to give away one free, "live pet monkey" every week. When the fair closed, Buck moved his menagerie to Massapequa, New York, a hamlet on Long Island, where he opened a new Jungle Camp for local tourists with a Monkey Mountain of its own.

 

And there the trouble began.

 

All was peaceful until August 21, 1935, when as many as 175 rhesus monkeys escaped from their mountain, supposedly after a worker left a wooden plank over the moat that normally kept them in. (A similarly bold breakout made headlines last month, when 43 rhesus macaques escaped from a research facility in South Carolina.) Over the next several days, the animals terrorized motorists, stopped commuter trains, climbed flagpoles and raided local fruit stands. Their leader was said to be a particularly wily simian named Capone.

 

Newspapers across the U.S. covered the latest developments on a daily basis, often on page 1. "The papers had no war scares or kidnappings for their front pages at the time," Buck later reflected, "so the truants were real news, and the boys kept hot on their trail."

 

The day after the escape, the New York Daily News reported that "monkeys were everywhere—chattering, scampering, leaping from tree to tree. They swarmed down on 100 laborers, working on the right-of-way of the Long Island Rail Road, and the latter, with wild yells of fright, dropped their picks and shovels and fled." When a train came by, the monkeys, under Capone's leadership, blocked the track for five minutes, until resourceful crew members started tossing them bananas. Four days into the great escape, the Associated Press reported on a motorist who had swerved to avoid a roadblock of at least 35 monkeys, driving his car into a ditch and killing one of the creatures.

 

Meanwhile, volunteers with the Massapequa Fire Department had to erect a 65-foot ladder to bring monkeys down from flagpoles, according to the New York Times. Another pair of monkeys climbed a high-tension transmission tower near the town of Hicksville, resulting in a 30-minute power outage and fatal consequences for the two culprits.

 

The Jungle Camp offered $10 rewards (over $200 today) to anyone who could catch and return a monkey, and many locals took Buck's team up on the offer. In fact, some people were so motivated by the bounty that they reportedly turned in their own monkeys (a more common house pet in those days than these). Some would-be trappers started to leave saucers of whiskey in the nearby woods, hoping that drunk monkeys would be easier to capture—and, supposedly, the ploy worked.

 

Day after day, papers tallied up how many monkeys had been captured and how many remained on the lam. At one point, the list of remaining escapees was down to five: Capone plus four female companions. The female macaques were soon caught in traps baited with bananas and sweet potatoes, but Capone (who had a $50 bounty on his head) couldn't be fooled. On September 9, nearly three weeks after the zoo break, the AP reported that he was still at large. After that, the trail—or at least interest on the part of the press—appears to have gone cold.

 

Whatever inconvenience it meant for Massapequa, its fire department and its human citizenry, the well-publicized monkey business proved to be lucrative for Buck. As one local paper reported on August 29, "Last Sunday, over 10,000 persons who have read about the goings-on at the Jungle Camp overran the place in their curiosity to see the zoo and hope of catching a glimpse of one of the hairy fugitives."

 

But some newspapers, including the show business daily Variety, suspected it was all a publicity stunt from the get-go. In its initial report, Variety joked that the monkeys "either eloped or were turned loose by the press agent."

 

Buck himself had some experience in that area. "Early in his career," says Elizabeth Hanson, author of Animal Attractions: Nature on Display in American Zoos, "he had a stint booking vaudeville acts for a hotel, and in 1915, he worked as a publicity agent for the amusement zone at the Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco."

 

Perhaps coincidentally, in separate episodes a year before the 1935 breakout, at least two of Buck's monkeys escaped from their enclosure at the Chicago World's Fair, garnering both newspaper coverage and a lawsuit from a pottery company whose exhibit was smashed up by one of the creatures. Later, at the 1939-1940 New York World's Fair, a six-monkey escape made the newspapers, too.

 

One syndicated columnist wrote that he didn't know if the mayhem in Massapequa was a stunt or not, but "if it was, I salute the [press agent] who pulled it. Not only did it make headlines everywhere, but it coincided nicely with the reappearance of Buck himself … after a year's absence in the jungles."

 

Indeed, Buck was conveniently out of town at the time of the escape. Arriving in San Francisco from Asia about a week later, he told reporters he'd be rushing back to New York to take personal charge of the recapture effort. But he needn't have worried about losing a monkey or two. The cargo from this latest trip, he noted, included "another fine collection of monkeys from all over southern Asia—15 varieties."

 

 

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Thanks to DR and Rich

Subject: Chaos Around the World

 

Hi to all -

 

12-04-2024   Chaos Around the World

 

South Korea

 

The situation in South Korea is confused.  The government is trying to convince people that an attack from North Korea is about to happen.  This seems unlikely, but rather, the leader of South Korea seems to be targeting his political opposition, to silence them.  This leader declared martial law, and suspended civil rights, etc.  The Parliament rejected this by a vote of 190-0.  The government refused to back down, so there are violent protests all over South Korea.  Not sure how this one will play out.

 

France

 

The PM there is facing a 'vote of no confidence'.  This person could also lose his job.

 

Michel Barnier, PM

 

Emmanuel Macron, president

 

Lebanon

 

Seems the war is continuing just as before.  As we predicted, Hezbollah just cannot stop shooting at someone, anyone, for very long.  Hezbollah attacked an IDF army post, and the IDF says 'Stand by for heavy rolls, Hezbollah.'    If Israel did not exist, these other groups would still be cheerfully slaughtering each other, as they have done for centuries.

 

Hamas is blaming Israel for their refusal to return the hostages.  Yes, boys and girls, here is classical logic from these terrorists.  See, according to Hamas, Israel should just forgive and forget the October 7 attacks, and let Hamas continue to attack Israel.  Because they did not do this, Hamas cannot return the hostages.  It is believed that four of the seven American hostages are still alive.  I have no doubt that they will be released, as close to January 20 as Hamas thinks they can get away with.

 

META

 

They are also looking at the calendar and counting down to January 20.  META is suddenly admitting that perhaps, just maybe, they 'overdid it' with regards to their coverage of Covid and censorship.  This translates from democrat speak to 'please do not put us in jail for our crimes, we promise to be good, at least as long as you are in office.  Please do not break up our company and take away all our money.'

 

Google is very worried that 'Project Nimbus', a high tech collaboration with experts in Israel, might 'damage their reputation' - whatever that reputation might be.  Most high tech companies have huge ties to Israel.  The high levels of education among Israelis and their superb work ethic makes their work force and brain power highly desirable, especially in high tech fields.  If you use a cell phone, computer, advanced medical equipment or other such items, it likely had much of its development done in Israel.

 

NYC

 

The CEO of United Healthcare, Inc., Brian Thompson, was ambushed and shot dead on the street outside of a hotel by a young man wearing a hoodie.  No suspects yet.  This was described as a targeted murder.  Maybe it will also serve as a wake up call for crime fighting NYC politicians.

 

The NY Times just unleashed their latest phrase in Newspeak.  Actual women are now described as 'non-transgender women'

 

There is actually a trans attorney appearing before the Supreme Court to argue that castration for children is a good thing.  Could anyone have even imagined such a thing as little as five years ago?

 

A new ruling has come out about Andrew Cuomo and his forcing elderly people with Covid back into nursing homes (as he said:  'they are going to die anyway').  His actions have been ruled as 'medical malpractice'.  That opens a lot of doors for legal actions against Andrew.

 

Covid Report

 

The GOP just released its final report on the C-19 crisis, describing it as 'likely' caused by an escaped virus from Wuhan, and man made, etc. etc. just as all the 'conspiracy theorists' have been saying all along.  Democrats dispute that report, and are trying to block it.

 

 

Biden

 

He just pledged $1 billion in 'humanitarian aid' to Africa, which is in dire need of help, with wars all over the continent and millions displaced, and the usual famine and disease running rampant. 

As desirable as this aid is, did Joe not notice that North Carolina is still looking like a war zone?  Where are the cleanup crews?  Where is FEMA?  Oh, wait, I forgot - FEMA had booked all the available hotel rooms, and had some HQ sites, but little or no actual help in the field.  More than 5000 local residents - actual Americans - are still living in tents, and winter is upon them.  The aid funds, and hotel vouchers for the fortunate, are running out.  FEMA just shrugs and packs their bags to leave.  Well, the folks in Africa are not 'deplorables', or 'domestic terrorists', now are they?  Not even those wielding AK-47's to gun down their neighbors, or those using machetes to do the same.

 

Trump Appointments

 

Democrats are lined up to oppose all they can.  If Pete Hegseth does not win approval, then Ron DeSantis is next in line.  The fear and smear campaign against Kash Patel is in full swing.  If Kash goes in and cleans house at the FBI and DoJ, a lot of powerful people will face judgement, and they fear that more than death.  The social media accounts of Kash were hacked.

Guess who is investigating?  The DoJ.  They are blaming Iran.  More likely, it was the FBI that hacked the accounts, and so they want to deflect by blaming Iran.  Iran has little to fear from Kash, the FBI has a lot to fear.  Means, Motive and Opportunity.

 

Now that Hunter is pardoned, democrats want to limit the powers of a president to pardon people.  Better lock that barn door, now that the animals have escaped.

 

Fulton County

 

Judicial Watch sued to force the release of documents and communications by Fani Willis over her prosecution of Trump.  Fani refused to comply.  Superior Court Judge Robert McBureney has affirmed that the demand by Judicial Watch is valid and enforceable.  He says Fani is 'in default'.  Her days are numbered.

 

9th Circuit

 

This is a very liberal court.  A long history of left wing judgements.  So, it must come as a surprise to many that they have upheld the Trump plan for mass deportations.  More grist for the aching stomachs of the left.

 

Rich

 

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 Thanks to 1440

 

Some interesting bits and maybe a weather forecaster that we can rely on

Good morning. It's Thursday, Dec. 5, and we're covering the targeted killing of UnitedHealthcare's CEO, the shortest-lived government in France's history, and more

 

UnitedHealthcare CEO Killed

Brian Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealthcare, the insurance division of UnitedHealth Group, was shot and killed yesterday in what police called a targeted attack in Manhattan. The company was holding its annual investor day at the Hilton Hotel. A search for the suspect is underway.

 

The 50-year-old Thompson was arriving around 6:45 am ET when the suspect, wearing a ski mask and a dark hooded sweatshirt, fired three shots at his back and leg using a handgun before escaping on an e-bike. Police say the suspect was lying in wait for several minutes before the killing. Authorities have not publicly identified a motive as of this writing, but they say Thompson had recently faced several threats. See photos of the suspect here.

 

UnitedHealthcare is the largest private health insurance provider in the US, serving roughly 50 million customers. Thompson had worked at the company for more than 20 years, becoming CEO of UnitedHealthcare in April 2021.

 

 

France Prime Minister Ousted

France's National Assembly voted to oust conservative Prime Minister Michel Barnier yesterday, marking the country's first successful no-confidence effort since 1962. He is expected to resign imminently.

 

The vote—331 out of 577—came two days after Barnier sidestepped Parliament to pass a 2025 budget with roughly $63B in spending cuts and tax increases. While France reels from two years of flat growth and high levels of debt, the budget—and its mode of passage—was opposed by both left-wing and conservative populist parties. Barnier's budget is now null and void, leaving some concerned about the direction of Europe's second-largest economy.

 

Barnier's government lasted only three months—the shortest-lived government in France's history. He was appointed by President Emmanuel Macron in September after snap elections over the summer left the National Assembly without a party in the majority. Barnier is expected to stay on as a caretaker prime minister until Macron appoints his replacement.

 

Sunny with a Chance of Accuracy

Google's DeepMind yesterday unveiled an AI model capable of predicting the weather more accurately than existing forecasting systems. The breakthrough marks an advancement in the field, promising quicker and cheaper results.

 

DeepMind researchers trained their model, GenCast, on data from 1979 to 2018 to predict the weather for 2019. In a study published in Nature, they found GenCast outperformed the world's leading atmospheric predictor—the ensemble system from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts—over 97% of the time on factors like wind speeds, temperatures, and precipitation. GenCast was also fast, producing 15-day predictions in eight minutes rather than the hours conventional systems can take. GenCast also outperformed in predicting fast-changing hurricane paths but underperformed in predictions of hurricane intensity.

 

At least 35 countries rely on Europe's ensemble system, which forecasts weather using room-sized supercomputers that calculate global observations from satellites and weather stations. In contrast, GenCast runs on smaller machines and uses historical data to spot patterns and present scenarios.

 

 

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This Day in U S Military History

 

Decemberr5

 

1861 – Gatling gun was patented.

 

1904 – Japanese destroyed Russian fleet at Port Arthur in Korea.

 

1929 – Marine Captain A. N. Parker was the first person to fly over unexplored Antarctica.

 

1932 – German physicist Albert Einstein was granted a visa, making it possible for him to travel to the United States. In 2003 Thomas Levenson authored "Einstein in Berlin."

 

1933 – Prohibition was repealed–much to the delight of thirsty revelers–when Utah became the 36th state to ratify the 21st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The nationwide prohibition of the manufacture, sale or transportation of alcoholic beverages was established in January 1919 with passage of the 18th Amendment. Prohibition's supporters gradually became disenchanted with it as the illegal manufacture and sale of liquor fostered a wave of criminal activity. By 1932, the Democratic Party's platform called for the repeal of Prohibition. In February 1933, Congress adopted a resolution proposing the 21st Amendment to repeal the 18th and with Utah's vote in December, Prohibition ended. Three-quarters of the states approved the repeal of the 18th amendment and FDR proclaimed the end of Prohibition

 

.1936 – Armenian SSR, Azerbaijan SSR, Georgian SSR, Kazakh SSR & Kirghiz SSR became constituent republics of Soviet Union.

 

1941 – USS Lexington, one of the two largest aircraft carriers employed by the United States during World War II, makes its way across the Pacific in order to carry a squadron of dive bombers to defend Midway Island from an anticipated Japanese attack. Negotiations between the United States and Japan had been ongoing for months. Japan wanted an end to U.S. economic sanctions. The Americans wanted Japan out of China and Southeast Asia and Japan to repudiate the Tripartite "Axis" Pact with Germany and Italy before those sanctions could be lifted. Neither side was budging. President Roosevelt and Secretary of State Cordell Hull were anticipating a Japanese strike as retaliation-they just didn't know where. The Philippines, Wake Island, Midway Island-all were possibilities. American intelligence reports had sighted the Japanese fleet movement out from Formosa (Taiwan), apparently headed for Indochina. The U.S. State Department demanded from Japanese envoys explanations for the fleet movement across the South China Sea. The envoys claimed ignorance. Army intelligence reassured the president that, despite fears, Japan was most likely headed for Thailand-not the United States. The Lexington never made it to Midway Island; when it learned that the Japanese fleet had, in fact, attacked Pearl Harbor, it turned back-never encountering a Japanese warship en route or employing a single aircraft in its defense. By the time it reached Hawaii, it was December 13.

 

1945 – At 2:10 p.m., five U.S. Navy Avenger torpedo-bombers comprising Flight 19 take off from the Ft. Lauderdale Naval Air Station in Florida on a routine three-hour training mission. Flight 19 was scheduled to take them due east for 120 miles, north for 73 miles, and then back over a final 120-mile leg that would return them to the naval base. They never returned. Two hours after the flight began, the leader of the squadron, who had been flying in the area for more than six months, reported that his compass and back-up compass had failed and that his position was unknown. The other planes experienced similar instrument malfunctions. Radio facilities on land were contacted to find the location of the lost squadron, but none were successful. After two more hours of confused messages from the fliers, a distorted radio transmission from the squadron leader was heard at 6:20 p.m., apparently calling for his men to prepare to ditch their aircraft simultaneously because of lack of fuel. By this time, several land radar stations finally determined that Flight 19 was somewhere north of the Bahamas and east of the Florida coast, and at 7:27 p.m. a search and rescue Mariner aircraft took off with a 13-man crew. Three minutes later, the Mariner aircraft radioed to its home base that its mission was underway. The Mariner was never heard from again. Later, there was a report from a tanker cruising off the coast of Florida of a visible explosion seen at 7:50 p.m. The disappearance of the 14 men of Flight 19 and the 13 men of the Mariner led to one of the largest air and seas searches to that date, and hundreds of ships and aircraft combed thousands of square miles of the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, and remote locations within the interior of Florida. No trace of the bodies or aircraft were ever found. Although naval officials maintained that the remains of the six aircraft and 27 men were not found because stormy weather destroyed the evidence, the story of the "Lost Squadron" helped cement the legend of the Bermuda Triangle, an area of the Atlantic Ocean where ships and aircraft are said to disappear without a trace. The Bermuda Triangle is said to stretch from the southern U.S. coast across to Bermuda and down to the Atlantic coast of Cuba and Santo Domingo.

 

Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day

 

MAGEE, WILLIAM

Rank and organization: Drummer, Company C, 33d New Jersey Infantry. Place and date: At Murfreesboro, Tenn., 5 December 1864. Entered service at:——. Birth: Newark, N.J. Date of issue: 7 February 1866. Citation: In a charge, was among the first to reach a battery of the enemy and, with one or two others, mounted the artillery horses and took two guns into the Union lines.

 

WALLING, WILLIAM H.

Rank and organization: Captain, Company C, 142d New York Infantry. Place and date: At Fort Fisher, N.C., 25 December 1864. Entered service at:——. Birth: Hartford, N.Y. Date of issue: 28 March 1892. Citation: During the bombardment of the fort by the fleet, captured and brought the flag of the fort, the flagstaff having been shot down.

 

WELD, SETH L.

Rank and organization: Corporal, Company L, 8th U.S. Infantry. Place and date: At La Paz, Leyte, Philippine Islands, 5 December 1906. Entered service at: Altamont, Tenn. Birth: Sandy Hook, Md. Date of issue: 20 October 1908. Citation: With his right arm cut open with a bolo, went to the assistance of a wounded constabulary officer and a fellow soldier who were surrounded by about 40 Pulajanes, and, using his disabled rifle as a club, beat back the assailants and rescued his party.

 

*McWHORTER, WILLIAM A.

Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Army, Company M, 126th Infantry, 32d Infantry Division. Place and date: Leyte, Philippine Islands, 5 December 1944. Entered service at: Liberty, S.C. Birth: Liberty, S.C. G.O. No.: 82, 27 September 1945. Citation: He displayed gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while engaged in operations against the enemy. Pfc. McWhorter, a machine gunner, was emplaced in a defensive position with 1 assistant when the enemy launched a heavy attack. Manning the gun and opening fire, he killed several members of an advancing demolition squad, when 1 of the enemy succeeded in throwing a fused demolition charge in the entrenchment. Without hesitation and with complete disregard for his own safety, Pfc. McWhorter picked up the improvised grenade and deliberately held it close to his body, bending over and turning away from his companion. The charge exploded, killing him instantly, but leaving his assistant unharmed. Pfc. McWhorter's outstanding heroism and supreme sacrifice in shielding a comrade reflect the highest traditions of the military service.

 

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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for December 5, 2020 FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY

 

5 December

 

1907: Wilbur Wright offered the Army's Board of Ordnance and Fortification an airplane that could carry two people for $25,000. The board asked the Signal Corps to submit its specifications for an airplane. (12)

1911: Bell aileron patent issued to the Aerial Experiment Association (Alexander Graham Bell and others). Glenn Curtiss later bought this patent. (24)

1929: Cmdr Richard E. Byrd made a 400-mile aerial mapping flight along the coast of Antarctica. (24)

1943: Ninth Air Force pilots from the 354th Fighter Group flew P-51s into combat for the first time. They escorted Eighth Air Force bombers 490 miles to targets in northern Germany. The presence of escort fighters reduced bomber losses significantly. (21)

1944: Eighth Air Force B-17s and B-24s, escorted by P-51s, P-47s, and P-38s from Eighth and Ninth Air Force, hammered German targets in Kassel, Mainz, Giessen, Soest, and Bebra. (4)

1949: The USAF diverted $50 million from other projects to build a radar screen in Alaska and certain US areas after detecting a Soviet Atomic explosion in August 1949. (16) (24)

1950: McChord AFB, Wash., received the first two Douglas C-124 Globemaster II aircraft. The Globemaster soon became the mainstay of the strategic airlift fleet. (18) KOREAN WAR. Far East Air Forces Combat Cargo Command evacuated 3,925 patients from Korea in 131 flights, with most of these flying from a frozen airstrip at Hagaru-ri. This effort was the most aeromedical airlift in one day during the Korean War. Greek C-47s joined the Combat Cargo Command airlift to supply UN troops surrounded in northeastern Korea. Additionally, the USAF suspended attacks on the Yalu River bridges, because enemy forces were crossing the frozen river on the ice. (21) (26) (28)

 1958: At Cape Canaveral, Fla., a Goose research missile completed the program's last test flight. (6)

1960: The Snark missile research and development effort ended when Cape Canaveral, Fla., launched the eleventh test missile. (6) A ship carrying F-102 Delta Daggers for the Hawaii Air National Guard arrived in Pearl Harbor. The delivery was part of an USAF conversion program from F-86 aircraft. (17)

1961: Cmdr George W. Ellis (US Navy) flew an F4H Phantom II at a speed of 1,400 MPH at a sustained altitude of 66,443.8 feet. (24)

1962: The USAF ended the Atlas flight test program with an "F" model launch from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on a 5,000-mile flight. Since 11 June 1957, 108 of 151 missiles launches were successful. (16) (24)

1963: Maj Robert A. Rushworth flew the X-15A-1 to Mach 6.06 over Edwards AFB, Calif. (3)

1970: The 954th Military Airlift Group (AF Reserves) from Hill AFB, Utah, assisted in a domestic action program to provide 40,000 pounds of food and clothing to Navajo Indians on reservations spanning the corners of four states. (16)

1974: Sikorsky Aircraft delivered the last HH-53 Super Jolly Green Giant helicopter to the USAF. (18)

1978: The Defense Systems Acquisition Review Council II recommended full-scale development of the M-X (Peacekeeper) missile in vertical multiple protective shelter basing. The council also wanted an airmobile basing mode for the missile investigated. (6)

1987: Following Typhoon Nina, six C-130 Hercules aircraft belonging to the 374th Tactical Airlift Wing flew 34 tons of relief supplies to the island of Luzon, Philippines. (16)

1994, The START I Treaty went into force, bringing about reductions in nuclear-capable bombers and missiles. The treaty barred its signatories from deploying more than 6,000 nuclear warheads and a total of 1,600 intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and bombers. START negotiated the largest and most complex arms control treaty in history, and its final implementation in late 2001 resulted in the removal of about 80% of all strategic nuclear weapons then in existence. Proposed by US President Ronald Reagan, it was renamed START I after negotiations began on START II. The treaty expired on 5 December 2009.

 

2001: The USAF awarded a $1.1 billion contract to Lockheed Martin to develop and demonstrate a Reliability Enhancement and Reengining Program for the C-5. The program included hydraulic upgrades, structural improvements to ensure the life of the C-5 to 2040, and environmental control system improvements related to the C-5's Avionics Modernization Program. In the program, four C-5Bs would be equipped with the higher-thrust General Electric CF6 engines used on Boeing's 747 and 767 as well as the Airbus A300. (22) Operation NOBLE EAGLE. The 125th Fighter Wing (Florida Air National Guard) sent its F-15s to patrol the skies over the Kennedy Space Center for the Space Shuttle Endeavour launch. It was the first shuttle launch since the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks on the U.S. (32)

 

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