Happy Enola Gay Pride Day!

On August 6, 1945, with the surprise carried to its target by the B-29 Enola Gay, the United States did the biggest gender reveal in history:

It had a Little Boy.

 

At 8:15 am, the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, with an equivalent of 15 kilotons of TNT, making The Land Of The Rising Sun become The Land Of The Rising Suns.

The bombing killed approximately 70,000 military personnel and civilians in the city.

Still, Japan did not surrender even after being introduced to the nuclear age the hard way.

It would take a second atomic bombing on August 9 to finally get Japan to surrender and bring World War 2 to an end. 

London Trip 12 - HMS Belfast

After thoroughly enjoying our time at Churchill's War Room, we started walking towards another Imperial War Museum - HMS Belfast.

There Mr. B and I met up with Lagniappe's Keeper and toured the ship.

HMS Belfast is a Town-class light cruiser, that fought in World War 2 and the Korean War.

We boarded and passed by the ship's bell:

HMS Belfast's main firepower comes from twelve six-inch guns arrayed in four triple turrets with a range of 14 miles.

It's rather cramped inside those turrets.

 

The six-inch guns have an interesting ammunition hoisting mechanism below decks in the Shell Rooms that got ammunition to the guns quickly:

HMS Belfast fired over 4,000 shells in support of the D-Day invasion on Gold Beach and as the troops pushed inland.

 The ship also mounts 12 4-inch guns, 40 mm antiaircraft guns and pom-pom guns as well as torpedoes.

There's everything on board a crew might need at sea.

From a heavily-stocked machine shop:

Galleys for food preparation and a bakery:

 

Damage Control Lockers

 

Sick Bay:

 

and more.  The engine room is rather impressive to visit and the ship is a fitting monument to the fighting British sailors of World War 2.

Moored alongside Belfast was a visitor to the United Kingdom, the Indian frigate INS Tabar, a Talwar-class frigate. 

 Built in Russia, she's now shown her mettle.

Yes those are two drone kill patches on the missile launcher, and a ship kill patch below the RBU-8000 rocket launcher.  INS Tabar shot down two Iranian-made Houthi-piloted Shahed drones. 

Jai Hind.

Inspired by the presence of the INS Tabar, the three of us headed off to have Indian food for dinner. 

It was quite delightful and flavorful.

We then walked across Tower Bridge and went on our way.

 

It had been a very interesting and informative day with many sights seen and over 22,000 steps taken.

London Trip 11 - Churchill's War Room

We arrived and got in line for tickets to the Churchill War Room Tour.

We waited in line for tickets beside a couple very friendly Aussies who were visiting London, and we had a very nice chat to pass the time before we got in. 

The War Room is a bunker complex located beneath the Treasury building in Westminster. The complex became operational a week before Britain declared war on Germany and remained open and active until the end of the Second World War. The complex has been preserved to look as it did during the war years.

Inside, you can see where Churchill and the Cabinet conducted the war.

The complex is tight to maneuver in and full of offices and areas for running the war.

Security in the complex was rather tight:

The threat of bombardment was a real concern as the bunker complex was not quite as bomb-proof as they would have liked.

Some notices are rather polite:

The bunker complex is quite interesitng with lots of recorded recollections written up rfom people who worked in the bunker posted for people to read and learn about the experience.  It's very much walking through a place where history was made and a war won due to the decisions made in these rooms.

The bunker also had a very informative poster, and very knowledgeable and helpful docent who explained the secret and secure encrypted communication line that had been setup between Churchill and FDR - the SIGSALLY.:

=

A very cool bit of cryptography history and technology right there.

In addition to the bunkers setup as they were in Churchill's time, there's a museum dedicated to the man.

The museum has a display oif the many hats  Churchill wore: 

There's also Churchill's sidearm from when he served on the Western Front in World War 1 when commanding the Royal Fusilliers:

Yes, it is a Colt 1911.

The Nazis used a famous photo of Churchill in their propaganda against him:

It likely didn't , work nor change anyone's mind.  Indeed international and national socialists both are always quick to accuse their opponents of what they themselves are doing.

The museum recounts Churchill's life and career in politics and the military, complete with his foibles and mistakes and all. It gives an excellent picture of the man and his incredible work ethic, life and legacy.

Did you know that Churchill was a pilot?  He learned to fly in 1913:

Did you know that Churchill was awarded honorary American Citizenship?

Now you do.  Back when Civus Americanus Sum had some weight behind it.

You definitely get a very good sense of Churchill the man, his legacy, and his massive impact on history. 

The museum is a very well done and is worthy of  a visit when you are in London.

The Day The Land Of The Rising Sun

Became The Land of The Rising Suns.

Today is variously known as:

"Don't Start a War if You Can't Take A Joke Day!"

"Do Not Touch The Boats Day!"

"Now Look What You Made Me Do Day!"

"Happy Enola Gay Pride Day!".

It was 79 years ago today that the Enola Gay did the best and biggest gender reveal ever when it showed Japan and the world that America had a Little Boy.

The Longest Day - 80 Years Later

80 years ago today, the greatest amphibious operation the world has ever seen headed for the shores of occupied France.

Thanks to the courage, devotion to duty and skill in battle of the airmen, sailors and soldiers from the United States, Britain, Canada, Poland and other allied nations, the Nazis stranglehold on continental Europe was broken.  Much more hard fighting would be needed to bring the war to an end, but the beginning of the end took place on June 6, 1944.

The Air Zoo: Find The Sniper!

The Air Zoo is not solely dedicated to Aviation.

It also has a detailed exhibit regarding the Campaign at Guadalcanal.

Why?  Because the founder of the museum, Preston "Pete" Parish served as a Marine Lieutenant during the campaign, and his best friend was killed there. 

There are detailed dioramas of the naval battles around Guadalcanal, exhibits of uniforms and many other  informational items that make the past come alive.

 

 

The museum has the only extant piece of the USS Juneau, part of Task Force 67 and sunk by a Japanese submarine during the campaign.  The five Sullivan brothers died in the sinking of USS Juneau:

As to spotting the sniper:

Can you find him before he gets you?

 

He's right there somewhere.

 

He's right there.

He's There!

 

A very impressive and educational (good addition juvat) exhibit about one of the most hard-fought battles and pivotal campaigns in the Pacific in World War II.

D-Day And The Liberation Of Europe - 75 Years On

75 Years Ago, beginning 10 minutes after midnight, the invasion of Europe began when hundreds of C-47 transports and gliders headed across the English Channel began to deliver their loads of paratroopers and glidermen onto continental Europe.

This was followed by thousands of men in landing craft arriving at the five invasion beaches in the greatest amphibious invasion in history.

The greatest invasion succeeded in gaining a foothold and breaching Hitler's "impregnable" Festung Europa, and it was the beginning of the end of the Third Reich.

Book Review: Finest Hour: The Battle of Britain

As Remembrance Day / Veterans Day passes us by this year, and the veterans that fought in the wars sadly do pass on as well, its good to read some books to remind us of why and what they fought for and their experiences.

Finest Hour: The Battle of Britain is one such book that is well worth reading, full of first-person accounts of Britain's finest hour.

Well written and full of first person accounts of those who fought in and experienced the Battle of Britain, this book is a wonderful source of the narratives of those who were there at the time - men, women and children, pilots, soldiers, sailors, politicians, newspapermen and more.

Lots of interesting historical detail of the Fall of France and the lead up to the Battle of Britain. There's a very high-level account of the relationship between Churchill, Roosevelt, and Mackenzie-King and the politics and changes in the Atlantic relationship that the Battle caused.

While it gives a good strategic overview, it is not a book to comprehensively learn all about the Battle of Britain. Instead, it is a nice deep look at the experiences and stories of a few who are intimately or peripherally involved in the battle on land, sea, and in the air.

A very worthy addition to any library about World War 2.

Book Review: The Battle of Britain The Myth and The Reality.

Richard Overy's The Battle of Britain: Myth and Reality is a high-level look at one of the most fateful battles in modern history.

Richard Overy presents an analysis of the Battle of Britain that ends some of the myths of the Battle and points out that the two sides fought under parallel misconceptions that shaped the battle:

The British thought the Luftwaffe was more powerful than it actually was at the time.

The German thought that the RAF's Fighter Command was weaker than it actually was.

It turns out the fighter strength that two sides committed to the battle that were relatively evenly matched, and the two misconceptions then affected both side's actions in the fight.

Overy also analyses the fateful decision by the Germans to shift from attacking Fighter Command's airfields to bombing cities and notes the while it was ordered by Hitler after the relatively ineffectual RAF bombing of Berlin, the shift had been in the works for some time and was not decided solely on the basis of revenge for the Berlin raid. This shift, brought on by the German's misguided analysis that Higher Command was a spent force, helped further relieve pressure on Fighter Command and caused the fight to tilt even further in the RAF's favor. Both sides continued to misapprehend and misunderstand the other's aircraft production and readiness for far beyond the battle itself.

The result of the Battle ended the German possibility of invading the British home isles, even if British fear of a German invasion lingered for some time after the battle had ceased.

A very engaging book, if you want a very quick and high-level look at the battle, it's worth a read.

Unknown World War 2: The Crosswords Of D-Day

As we remember the bravery of the American, Canadian, Britsh and other allied forces that participated in D-Day and the start of the liberation of Europe, there was an episode that has now been almost forgotten.

You see, the code words for D-Day started showing up in the British newspaper The Telegraph's crossword puzzles right before the invasion of Normandy was to take place.

Just prior to May 1944, the words Juno, Sword and Gold - names of the British and Canadian invasion beaches appeared in the Telegraph's crosswords.

Then on May 2 1944 a question appeared: "One of the U.S." the answer was Utah.

On May 22: "Red Indian on the Missouri" The answer: Omaha.

That's all of the invasion beaches.

On May 27: "... but some bigwig like this has stolen some of it at times." The answer: Overlord, the code-name for the entire invasion operation.

On May 30: "This bush is a centre of nursery revolutions."answer: Mulberry. Mulberry was the code-name for the artificial harbors to be used in the invasion.

On June 1, 1944 the clue: Britannia and he hold to the same thing. The answer: Neptune, which was the code-name for the naval portion of the action for D-Day.

This, as you might imagine, gave the British counter-intelligence service, MI-5, kittens.

There was an urgent investigation to see if the crossword was being used to tip-off the Germans and warn them of the invasion.

It turns out the compiler of the crossword puzzles, Leonard Dawe, headmaster of a school and crossword enthusiast, had come up with the words and after a through investigation MI-5 decided it had just been an interesting and complete coincidence and not espionage and the crossword panic faded into history.

It later turns out it wasn't quite as purely coincidental as all that.

Only later in 1984 was it learned that Dawe had been given the words by schoolchildren when he had asked them for some words to put in the puzzles. These schoolkids gave him the suggested words, the words which they had overheard then being discussed by American and British soldiers. At least two of these schoolchildren identified themselves later in 1984 and then in 1995 that they were the ones who gave Dawe some of the words to use in the puzzles.

The Telegraph: D-Day crosswords are still a few clues short of a solution

Unknown World War Two Tales - The Jews Awarded The Iron Cross

There was a country in World War 2 allied with Germany where:

Three of its Jews were awarded the Iron Cross, and all three declined the honor.
A Field Synagogue was setup near the front lines and actually visited by German officers.
The country's leader told the Nazis to go pound sand when they demanded he turn over the country's Jewish citizens to the Germans.

Yes, if you haven't guessed it by now, we're talking about Finland.

Finland in the Second World War was between the proverbial rock and a hard place. Invaded by the USSR in 1939, the Winter War, she fought the Soviets to a standstill. Then she fought alongside the Axis in the Continuation War 1941-1944 but with its own war aims, and finally fought the Lapland War in 1944-45 pushing the Germans out of Finland. Finnish Jews fought in all three wars.

It was during the Continuation War that three Jewish soldiers were awarded the Iron Cross.

Major Leo Skurnik served as a Doctor and organized the evacuation of a German field hospital under fire, thereby saving the lives of more than 600 German Officers and Soldiers. He refused to accept the award.

Captain Salomon Klass saved an entire German Company that had been surrounded by the Soviets. Two days later, German Officers came to offer him the “Iron Cross”. He refused to stand up at their presence and proclaimed the he was a Jew and did not want their Medal. Embarrassed, the Germans responded with a “Heil Hitler” salute and left.

Dina Poljakoff, who served in the women's voluntary organization, Lotta Svard was the third Jew to be awarded the Iron Cross. Poljakoff went to look at her Iron Cross at headquarters, but she did not accept it.

The field synagogue, complete with a Torah scroll, was setup by the 24th Regiment which had a large number of Jews in its ranks. The Finnish army issued an order that all Jews in the army could have leave to attend services there.

German officers and soldiers did visit the synagogue, as the nearest German unit was only a kilometer away, which must have led to some interesting and awkward exchanges in the rather unique situation of a field synagogue located alongside Nazi lines.

Unknown World War Two Tales - The Tragedy Of The Cap Arcona And The Thielbek

The Cap Acona was a German liner of the Hamburg-South America Line, that interestingly enough stood in for the Titanic in the German movie of 1942 named, creatively enough, Titanic.

From operating as a cruise liner prior to the outbreak of the war, she was then painted grey and entered war service and its last runs were evacuating German soldiers in the Baltic from the advancing Soviet Army.

She then was floating in the Bay of Lubeck along with the SS Thielbek

and the SS Deutschland.

Himmler had ordered that concentration camp inmates were not to be allowed to be rescued by the allies alive.

Himmler and other Nazis, seeking to hide evidence of their crimes sought to wipe away all evidence.

Concentration camp inmates, mainly from the Neuengamme concentration camp near Hamburg, and the Stutthof and Mittelbau-Dorastarting camps began on April 20, 1945 and prisoners were ferried to and loaded on the ships Cap Arcona, Thielbek and Deutschland. The Cap Arcona, a liner by this time did not have functioning engines.

When the ships were full and there were still more concentration camp inmates from Stutthof and Mittelbau-Dorastarting could not be loaded, the SS simply machine-gunned or beat to death 500 inmates on the beach.

The full ships with prisoners locked aboard lacked the facilities for caring for them and 20-30 of the prisoners died daily from April 20 up to May 3, 1945. Hitler had already shot himself on April 30, but the killing went on.

The SS planned to sink the ships with all aboard. In a terrible irony of war, It turns out they would not be the ones to sink the ships after all. The ships were to be sunk by the Allies.

On May 3, 1945 just days before the end of the war, Typhoon fighter-bombers of Royal Air Force 83 Group roared overhead and commenced an attack, firing rockets and dropping bombs on the ships, and then strafing survivors in the water.

While Swedish and Swiss Red Cross officials had informed British intelligence on 2 May 1945 of the presence of large numbers of prisoners on ships at anchor in Lübeck Bay, and RAF intelligence was informed of this, this vital information failed to be passed on to the RAF pilots who were instead instructed to attack the ships on the belief that they might be used by the SS to escape and set up resistance elsewhere.

Wracked by rocket fire and bombs, The Cap Arcona was immediately set on fire and capsized soon afterward.

The Thielbeck was set afire and capsized in 20 minutes.

The Deutschland also capsized and sank but apparently all on board survived and were then loaded onto the SS Athen.

5,000 died when the Cap Arcona sank with only 350 concentration camp inmates surviving. By comparison, 490 of the 600 Germans on board survived.

Of the 2,800 prisoners aboard Thielbek, only 50 survived the attack.

The SS then proceeded to shot those survivors who could not move unassisted from the water.

1971 is the last year where known bones from this attack have washed ashore.

British records relating to the incident are apparently sealed until 2045.

Unknown World War Two Tales - Frenchmen Flyers In Russia

World War 2 was by its very definition a World War, engulfing the globe and having a cast of millions. While much of the course of it is well known, there are many aspects, units, episodes, and smaller engagements within it that I certainly have not learned about and I suspect others are similarly unaware.

So I've decided to do an occasional post, and perhaps should interest be sufficient make it a regular thing on this blog on some of those lesser known episodes.

So without further ado: Frenchmen Flyers in Russia!

In 1943, at the suggestion of Charles De Gaulle, a group of French pilots was sent to assist the Russians on the Eastern Front.

Groupe de Chasse 3 of the Free French Air Force was sent to the Soviet Union to fight the Nazis, and soon became the most decorated unit in the French Air Force.

The unit was soon named the Normandie-Niemen Regiment, commemorating its contribution to the Battle of The Niemen River.

Initially flying the Yak-1 fighter that they used to good effect, and then transitioning to the superlative Yak-3 fighter, the Regiment racked up 273 enemy aircraft shot down, 37 probables, for a loss of 87 aircraft and 52 pilots.

The Yak 3 out turn and out run the Germans' Bf-109 and FW 190 fighters. German pilots were warned not to engage a Yak-3 in a dogfight below 14,000 ft, as it could roll with the Focke-Wulf Fw-190, and its turn radius was superior. With an excellent plane the excellent pilots of Normandie-Niemen made their presence felt.

Picture of a Yak 3 in Normandie-Niemen colors

Apparently the unit annoyed the Nazis so much that Field Marshall Keitel had issued an order that any French pilot captured on the eastern front would be executed rather than treated as a Prisoner of War.

4 of the French pilots were awarded the decoration of Hero of The Soviet Union, the Soviet's highest honor.

A surviving Yak 3 fighter from the Normandie-Niemen Regiment is on display at Le Bourget in France. There is a Yak 3 in flying condition at the Planes of Fame Museum in California sporting Normandie-Niemen colors.

To learn more about the story of the Normandie-Niemen Regiment, there's a book by John D. Clarke titled French Eagles, Soviet Heroes: The Normandie-Niemen Squadrons on the Eastern Front that looks rather good.

The Normandie-Niemen Squadron name lives on in active squadrons in both the French and Russian Air Forces today.

In the French Air Force as the Escadron de chasse 2/30 Normandie-Niemen, flying the Rafale, and in Russian air forces today s the "8-й гвардейский Витебский дважды Краснознаменный ордена Суворова второй степени истребительный полк ВВС России "Нормандия – Неман" of the 11th Air Army flying Mig-29s.

74 Years Ago, The 4 Chaplains Sailed Into History

On the night of February 2, 1943, the USAT Dorchester with 902 men aboard was sailing towards Greenland on the way to Europe with her cargo of American troops for the war effort. On board amongst the soldiers and sailors were four Army Chaplains. Those chaplains were Lt. George L. Fox, Methodist; Lt. Alexander D. Goode, Jewish; Lt. John P. Washington, Roman Catholic; and Lt. Clark V. Poling, Dutch Reformed.

The Dorchester would never make it to Europe.

Torpedoed by U-223 at 12:55 am, she began to sink in the icy Atlantic.

After the torpedoing of the ship, many men were without life jackets or clothing. The Chaplains kept the men calm and distributed life jackets, and when the supply of life jackets ran out, they gave their own to the next 4 men in line.

The Chaplains remained on the deck of the ship with linked arms and voices offering prayers for the men of the Dorchester. Of the 902 on board, there were 230 survivors. 672 died, including the 4 Chaplains. Their acts of selflessness and heroism would go down in history.

Each of the chaplains was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and Purple Heart posthumously and in 1961 Congress and the President authorized The Four Chaplains medal, an award equivalent to the Medal of Honor, and only awarded this one time, was awarded to the four posthumously to commemorate their heroism.

Holy Roller

Victoria Park in London, Ontario has a tank.

Holy Roller is an M4A4 Sherman tank. Not just any M4 Sherman tank mind you, it is one of but a handful that survived and fought from D-Day through the Northwest campaign until the end of the World War 2 in Europe. After World War 2, Canada left all its Sherman tanks in Europe to be given to the Dutch and Belgian armies except for 4 notable tanks, and Holy Roller was one of them.

Bullet and non-penetrating artillery strikes to the tank are still visible today:

A view of the other side:

The rear of the tank:

Plaques are affixed to the tank to both tell the passer-by of its significance and to commemorate the heroism of those who served in World War 2.

Holy Roller is in good shape. Her hatches are all sealed up, the machine guns removed and the cannon plugged, but there's easy access to both look closely and to climb up on the tank.

Hodie Non Cras - Today Not Tomorrow.

May their valor never be forgotten.