10 years ago today:
San Diego, Dec. 19, 2007, the guided-missile destroyer USS John Paul Jones (DDG 53) moored pier-side, ready for a judging panel’s inspection during the 2007 holiday ship decoration contest. Ships and shore commands were judged on four criteria: degree of difficulty, originality of display, holiday spirit and creativity. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Mark A. Leonesio
In 1962, with the “Skybolt crisis,” which arrived when the promised GAM-87 Skybolt cruise missile tanked, leaving British Vulcan bombers hamstrung, the Royal Navy announced they would add a ballistic missile program to HMs Submarines and moved to produce five Resolution-class SSBNs, a 8,400-ton vessels each armed with 16 U.S.-made UGM-27 Polaris A-3 ballistic missiles, each able to deliver three British-made 200 k ET.317 warheads in the general area of a single metropolitan-sized target. This enabled a single British Polaris boomer on patrol to plaster the 16 most strategic targets in the CCCP.
HMS RESOLUTION, BRITAIN’S FIRST POLARIS SUBMARINE. JUNE 1967, DURING SPEED TRIALS AFTER LEAVING VICKERS SHIPYARD, BARROW-IN-FURNESS. (A 35095) HMS RESOLUTION at speed during her trials. Copyright: © IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205016469
With all of the moving parts and ominous tasking, the Resolutions, a modified Valiant-class design, were given traditional battleship/battlecruiser names (Resolution, Repulse, Renown, Revenge, and Ramillies) though just four were ultimately completed.
On 15 February 1968, HMS Resolution fired the first British Polaris on a test range off Florida and on 15 June began her first deterrent patrol.
Now, fast forward 49 years and the British have announced that between the four Resolutions and the four follow-on Vanguard-class Trident missile boats (also named for battleships) that replaced them in the 1990s, the force has completed 350 patrols, with at least one at sea at any given time, ready in case the world needs a nuke fed-exed. They also advise there has never been a time since then that a Brit SSBN has not been out there lurking somewhere drinking tea and running EAM missile drills.
“That the Royal Navy has completed 350 deterrent patrols without once breaking the chain is simply a momentous achievement,” said Rear Admiral John Weale OBE, Head of the UK Submarine Service. “Everyone knows that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Whether it is the dedication of our submariners, the expertise of our engineers and support staff, or the love of our families– each link remained strong throughout.”
The RN is planning to replace the Valiants with the Dreadnought-class, which will be the most expensive undersea warships ever built in Europe but will keep the UK with an SLBM option into the 2060s, at which point they will have been in the buisness for going on 100 years.
British Vanguard class SSBN
The end of the Great War saw three great Imperial families scattered to the winds– the Prussian Hohenzollerns, the Austrian Hapsburgs, and the Russian Romanovs– and the resulting dismantling of their empires. With that being said, the end of WWII saw an equal fall of a number of minor houses, including the Savoy family in Italy, the Saxe-Coburg-Gotha house in Bulgaria, the Karađorđević dynasty in Yugoslavia, and the Romanian Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen franchise. Meanwhile, the House of Glücksburg in Greece just barely held on.
Two of those came full circle this month.
King Michael I of Romania (25 October 1921 – 5 December 2017) cousin of Queen Elizabeth II and member of the Royal Victorian Order, was given a full state funeral in Romania last week attended by members of just about every royal family in Europe. He was escorted by a military honor guard and his coffin– with the crown he was forbidden to wear– carried to the sepulcher on an artillery caisson pulled by a U.S.-made humvee, Romania being a NATO ally and all these days.
The crowd, reportedly, went wild.
Michael of course was no saint, allowing much of the crap that happened in Romania during the era of dictator Ion Antonescu. Nevertheless, he did, in the darkest days of WWII, turn against the Germans and support a coup ousting Antonescu that brought the country to the side of the Allies and saved his throne until the communists forced him from it at gunpoint in 1947, going into exile in the West simply as “Prince of Hohenzollern” rather than King of Romania.
Further, as reported by the AP: “The remains of Italy’s King Victor Emmanuel III were repatriated from Egypt and interred in a family mausoleum Sunday in northern Italy, 71 years after Italians rejected the monarchy in a referendum and the country’s royals went into exile.”
Notably, he was placed at the Sanctuary of Vicoforte, a church in the northwest Piedmont region tied to his family, rather than the Pantheon where Italy’s first two Savoy kings, Victor Emmanuel II and Umberto I, and its first queen, Margherita, are buried.
King Victor Emmanuel III (short) of Italy visits Russia – 1902. He kept his throne much longer than Tsar Nicholas II to his right, but in the end died in exile, just not at the hands of his own people as in Nicky’s case
The “Soldier King” was on the throne during both World Wars, the first an outright territorial grab by the Italians against their former allies Austria and Germany, the second the product of Il Duce, whom Victor abided and dutifully accepted the crown of “Emperor of Ethiopia” and “King of the Albanians” from after Mussolini’s further colonial efforts. In the end, with the Allies in Sicily, Victory dismissed Mussolini in 1943 in favor of Marshal Pietro Badoglio and ordered the strongman’s arrest (which is tempered with the fact that he allowed him and the Blackshirts to achive power in the first place in 1922), this knocked Italy out of the Axis bullpen and sparked a brutal civil war for two years. In the end, Victor abdicated but, in 1947 when the socialist government revoked the Italy privileges of all male members of the House of Savoy, left the country for Egypt where he died.
This month an Italian air force military plane officially repatriated the remains of Victor Emmanuel III, which were transferred from Alexandria to the sanctuary of Vicoforte, near Turin, and interred with honors over the howls of Italy’s Jewish community and those still around who fought against the fascists.
I guess in a way time heals all some wounds.
Seven Days in the Arctic by Keith Woodcock, Oil on Canvas, 2007, CIA collection
A true Renaissance man, Leonard A. LeSchack in 1962 jumped out of a perfectly good (CIA-flown) converted B-17 bomber over the Arctic. At the time, he was a lieutenant in the Navy Reserve but before joining up he had already cut his teeth as a petroleum geologist with Shell and some 14 months in the Polar Regions on Air Force Drift Station T-3 and during the International Geophysical Year as an assistant seismologist.
However, the geologist-turned-sailor who was falling through the air from the B-17 was up to something that, when compared to the rest of his epic life story, was altogether unique.
LeSchack was jumping into an abandoned Soviet Ice Station adrift on an ice floe.
Then came a week poking through the remnants the Russkis thought would have gone down with the floe to the frigid sea floor looking for secrets and a Fulton Skyhook zip line in reverse pulled him and his Air Force Russian linguist companion back into the safety of a surplus aircraft.
I spoke to Len back in 2006 when I was working on an article about the ice station break-in, known appropriately as Project Coldfeet, and have remained in contact with this gentleman and scholar over the past decade.
He only really achieved recognition in 2008.
“Leonard A. LeSchack, 46 years after the successful conclusion of Project Coldfeet, now promoted to Captain USNR (ret), while attending the unveiling ceremony of the original painting, “Seven Days in the Arctic,” is presented the “Special Operations Group (SOG) Challenge Coin” by the Chief Special Operations Group, on 21 April 2008, as recognition of his role in that operation. As stated by the Chief, “it was a young officer, Navy Lieutenant Junior Grade Leonard LeSchack, a former Antarctic Geophysicist, who had the early vision and technical expertise to conceive the operation.”
Len even has crossed paths with a relative of mine on a few occasions and I penned another piece or two on Coldfeet for Eye Spy Magazine (Vol 80 and 81) and others to help preserve the sheer elan of the act.
So when he sent me a copy of his memoirs last year, He Heard A Different Drummer, I devoured it.
Picking up the Presidential Legion of Merit in 1962, LeSchack again returned to the Antarctic with the Argentine Navy, roamed Europe from Paris to Moscow on a number of research assignments, created and led an intelligence unit operating out of the Florida Keys in the years just after the Bay of Pigs.
Then there was service in Panama, Colombia, Siberia; owning his very own yellow research submarine. Hanging out with world leaders, terrorists, and scientists all.
Then, there were the women.
Len’s story, his autobiography that could never have been told in real time due to the OPSEC, stretches two volumes but is well worth the read, as he has somehow managed to fit two lifetimes into one and is available over at Amazon in paperback and e-book.
Part James Bond, part Sylvanus Morley, part William ‘Strata’ Smith, part Penguin, my hat is off to you, Mr. LeSchack.
I was informed by a friend of Len’s over the weekend that he passed away on Dec. 14 and is expected at Arlington shortly. A final belated honor for a cold warrior.
Farewell, Len.
(U.S. Army photo by Ronald Lee)
Just SMA Dan Dailey chilling at the Army-Navy game in the new proposed ‘Pink & Green’ dress uniform. Looks like a scene from It’s a Wonderful Life.
I kinda like the WWII vintage look. Hopefully, they’ll keep it.
Sergeant Major of the Army Dan Dailey (Center) stands with US Military Academy at West Point Command Sergeant Major Timothy Guden (Left) and US Army Chief of Staff General Mark Milley at the Army-Navy game in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania December 9, 2017. SMA Dailey was displaying the proposed Pink and Green daily service uniform. (U.S. Army photo by Ron Lee)
From the Thayer Soule Collection (COLL/2266) at the Archives Branch, Marine Corps History Division
“SNIPER GOES TO ROOST— Garbed in captured Japanese sniper’s outfit, a U.S. Marine on Guadalcanal Island proves that the Japs are not the only fighters who can “shinny” up a coconut tree, secret themselves in the lush foliage and hammer away at unsuspecting troops. Here he is giving them a mock dose of their medicine…
A U.S. Marine dons Japanese snipers outfit and mocks ascent into a palm tree. So well taught in the art of camouflage are the Japanese that were it not for the report of their rifles it would be almost impossible to spot them. Photo was taken on Guadalcanal, B.S.I.P.”
“This is one of mine. This is Sergeant Art I believe, or maybe Sergeant Fue. I get them mixed up. He was one of the survivors of the Getge patrol. Here he’s demonstrating the way the Japanese used that clip thing to climb the trees. Japanese rain cape, Japanese helmet, Japanese rifle. And before he went up, he was very careful to make sure everybody knew that he was one of us and not one of them.”
“Coming down” From the Thayer Soule Collection (COLL/2266) at the Archives Branch, Marine Corps History Division
November 4, 1942: “The U.S. Marine at the right shows a companion how he looks in a Japanese sniper’s jacket made of long-haired animal’s skin. The skin blends in with the underbrush making such snipers extremely difficult to locate.”
OFFICIAL U.S. MARINE CORPS PHOTO 6013611
Labeled “Japanese sniper suit for use in trees”
The above capture surely leads to this report:
“Japanese Camouflage Garment” from Tactical and Technical Trends, 14 Dec 1942, via Lone Sentry
The garment shown in the accompanying sketch was captured in the Solomons area. A number of similar garments were found packed in bales, and in at least one instance, one was found on a Japanese sniper shot out of a palm tree by U.S. Marines.
It is made from the shaggy, reddish-brown fiber that grows at the base of the fronds of the coconut palm tree. Sheets of this fiber are sewed together to form the garment.
It can serve as a camouflage garment to be used in areas where there are quantities of coconut palms. It has been used by snipers strapped in among the fronds of palm trees, and it could also be used effectively on the ground under suitable color conditions.
Comment: This type of garment is widely used in Japan as a raincoat. Those made of coconut palm fiber are used by Japanese fishermen, while the Japanese farmer makes his with reeds or rushes.
Beyond that, the suit was published in YANK in 1943, as a reference moving forward for Japanese uniforms (look at the right-hand corner).
Here is Patent Case File No. 1,892,141, Semi-Automatic Rifle, Rec’d 27 Dec 1932 from inventor John C. Garand– any of which makes great man cave or shooting house wallpaper.
Via NARA (70663520).
Enjoy.
Here we see an interesting picture that shows two relatively rare sights: horse-mounted Japanese cavalry equipped with Type 44 Cavalry Rifles. This particular example is of the Imperial Japanese Army Cavalry at Nomanhan (Khalkhin Gol), in May 1939.
Development of the Type 38 Arisaka, the 6.5x50mm Type 44 was fielded in 1912 and featured a 19-inch barrel (compared to the Arisaka’s 31.5 inches) which gave the diminutive carbine an overall length of just 38 inches, or about the same as a Ruger Ranch Rifle today. Just 90,000 of the guns were constructed and they are easily identified due to their folding bayonet mount, which was pretty revolutionary in 1912– the feature wasn’t copied by the Italians on their Modello 1891 Moschettos (carbines) until 1938 while the Soviets only put them on shortened Mosin 91s in 1944.
As the cavalry ranks of the Japanese were pretty slim, most Type 44s were actually issued to artillerists, auxiliaries, and second-line troops, as were later Type 38 carbines of the same length but without the folding bayo. In any form, they are pretty rare today and commonly go for around $2,000, which is a big bump over standard “mumless” Arisakas which go for about 1/10th that.
The Imperial Japanese Army fielded three full 2,300-man cavalry brigades (1st formed in 1901 and fought the Russians in 1904-05, as well as 3rd and 4th formed in April 1909) in WWII, assigned to the China-based Kwantung Army in April 1933 as part of the independent Cavalry Group.
They all saw extensive service on the Asian mainland from 1900 onward.
Japanese Imperial Guard cavalryman cleaning his horse with water from a local pond near Chinampo in mid-March 1904. Note his boots kicked off to the front. Source: The Russo-Japanese War by Collier.
Woodcut of Japanese cavalry fighting Russians 1904 Bajutsu maneuver of pulling the enemy off their horse.
Troopers of the Japanese 1st Cavalry Brigade in Manchuria 1904. Note the European-style jacket and short Type 30 carbines. These differed from the regular Type 30 rifle not only in being shorter– 18-inch barrel vs 31-inches– but also had the bolt stop latch and the sling swivels moved to the left side of the gun to prevent the bolt from digging into the cavalry trooper’s back.
Japanese cavalry Illustration by R. Caton Woodville, from the Sunday Times (Sydney) November 1904, reprinted from the Sporting and Dramatic News. He has a Type 30 carbine.
Fukushima Yasumasa, Lone Horseman In The Snow , Japanese cavalry
Japanese cavalry uniforms seen in 1904 Korea, from a German observer in the Bundesarchiv
These units consisted of the four-squadron strong regiments: 13th, 14th, 23rd, 24th, 25th, and 26th, pre-1939, as well as the 71st and 72nd formed in 1941. The old 2nd Brigade, originally consisting of the 15th and 16th regiments, was broken up before the war and their troops converted to dismounted reconnaissance scouts.
They were most commonly mounted on Australian Walers, a hardy variety hailing from that island continent, well adapted to rough terrain.
“Japan’s biggest orders were for the Russo-Japanese war but there were decades of sales – a total of 100,000 horses is a conservative estimate [between 1895 and 1939]. Most of the horses came from Queensland, some from NSW, Victoria and South Australia.”
Japanese youth magazine cover “Boys Club” with one of the Emperor’s cavalrymen and horse in matching gas masks. Note the Type 44 carbine slung over the back in traditional fashion and the saddle-mounted saber.
Freezing: Japanese cavalry bundled up against the cold in Manchuria, 1935, via the Underwood archives. Note the Type 44s.
Baking. Japanese officers in China, in the late 1930s, note the hats on horses, shielding their eyes likely from flies as much as the sun. For the same reasons, the horsemen have as much skin as possible covered
Type 44 carbine and saber
Sept 1941: Japanese cavalry Chinese city of Changsha. Note the distinctive Type 44 carbines over their shoulders
Relegated to Manchuria and Mongolia, most of the Japanese horse cavalry was dismounted by 1943 and converted to infantry or mechanized units with older members often going into Korean/Manchurian-based Kenpeitai field units.
Only the 4th Cavalry Brigade was still on their mounts in 1945– when they met the Soviet tank columns in August, showing that WWII combat began In Poland and ended in Manchuria with the same tank-borne forces vs. horse cavalry format.
1930s Japanese Cavalry Art Postcard Cold “Season Greeting” by Sankogan Ltd. (pharmaceutical company) depicts very cold IJA horsemen with their distinctive Type 44s. Via Japan War Art http://japanwarart.ocnk.net/product/3829
TCG Akin (A-585), 2013, image via ShipSpotting http://www.shipspotting.com/gallery/photo.php?lid=1825096
The news comes that the Chanticleer-class submarine rescue ship TCG Akin (A-585) was retired from the Turkish Navy last month, on whose flag she operated under since 1970. Starting life as USS Greenlet (ASR-10), the 251-foot was built by Moore Dry Dock & Shipbuilding Co., Oakland, California, commissioned 29 May 1943.
According to DANFS:
Constructed as a submarine rescue ship, she served at Pearl Harbor and at Midway for more than a year, making escort runs and conducting refresher training for patrol-bound submarines. As the progress of the war advanced steadily across the Pacific, she sailed to Guam 21 December 1944 to carry invaluable submarine training closer to the patrol areas.
While at Midway and Guam, Greenlet helped train some 215 submarines, among them such fighting boats as Tang, Tautog, Barb, Snook, Drum, and Rasher. Indirectly, she contributed to the sinking of 794 enemy ships, including a battleship and 6 aircraft carriers. Eleven of the submarines trained by Greenlet were lost during the war, but her charges sank more than 2,797,000 tons of Japanese military and merchant shipping.
She is listed as one of the Allied ships present in Tokyo Bay during the Surrender Ceremony, 2 September 1945 and later supported submarine operations in Korea and Vietnam before her warm transfer to the Turks where she served as that country’s only submarine rescue asset until replaced earlier this year by a newer ship. If you note in the above image, she has her floats and dive chamber ready on deck.
Moore Dry Dock & Co. sure knew what they were doing.
USS GREENLET (ASR-10) San Deigo 1949 80-G-427645
Using subscriber comments and about $35 worth of material, garage gun maker AK Custom crafted a classic potato gun but added some very 19th Century styling to set it apart.
While the spud-gun itself is made with a few pieces of schedule 40 PVC and fittings, the carriage is crafted from a few boards, some eye-bolts, a length of a fencepost and some repurposed cartwheels. The neat features that make the potato-launcher more of a replica cannon include some trunnions made from a length of a broomstick and a wick-hole for good ole’ green cannon fuze made from a rivet.
Interesting design. Want to see it in action?
