Category Archives: World War Two

Farewell President Bush

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As a 10-year-old youth who spent his spare time watching B&W war films, building Testors scale models, and plinking with his .22 at targets that approximated the most heinous enemies you could imagine, I had a chance to attend the recommissioning of the battleship USS Iowa (BB-61) on a warm spring day in Pascagoula.

Visiting the immense haze gray super dreadnought, bristling with 16-inch guns and Tomahawk cruise missiles, I made extra effort to crawl, slide into, and otherwise creep around parts of the vessel that was…off limits…unless you were part of the crew. As I was a regular visitor to the USS Alabama and did the same there, I feel I had been training for that  very moment for years already.

This set me up for a collision course– literally– with a group who were getting a private, though more sanctioned, tour: Vice President George H.W. Bush.

It was one of the first times I had ever met a President (or Vice) and he spoke very briefly to me before his party resumed their endorsed inspection and I was promptly ushered back to more civilian-approved areas.

Anyway, that’s my story of how I almost got kicked off a battleship but met a Bush.

Vale, Mr. President.

Of note, he was a former WWII veteran himself, having joined on his 18th birthday. An Avenger pilot, the 20-year-old was shot down on a raid over Chichijima, about 150 miles north of Iwo Jima. Targeting an important radio station, Bush’s aircraft was hit by ground fire and, his engine aflame, headed out to sea back towards the U.S. fleet, desperate to reach his carrier again. Ditching his crippled aircraft, Bush was picked up by a U.S. submarine, the USS Finback, and eventually returned to his squadron.

Others were not so lucky. His two crewmen in the TBF were killed while aviators who were shot down and reached the isolated island were later found to have been killed and partially eaten on the order of Japanese officers.

In a 2007 interview with the U.S. Naval Institute, Bush said there is “nothing heroic” about getting shot down and that he still thinks of the loss of his two crewmen “to this very day.”

 

The Belgrade Hariken

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The Royal Yugoslav Army Air Force (Vazduhoplovstvo Vojske Kraljevine Jugoslavije, VVKJ) was born from the old Serbian Army Aircorps post-Versailles with the former tracing its origin to 1912.

An early armed Bleriot XI two-seater aircraft of the Serbian Army. Pilot Miodrag Tomic and Scout Sgt. Milutin Mihailovic at the machine gun. Taken on the Serbian Front, May 1915

By WWII, the force had a strength of some 30,000 officers and men, flying 460 aircraft. Astride Fascist Italy (who had just invaded Albania in 1939), the Yugoslavs had turned to the British to help flesh out their force for possible war.

In 1937, the VVKJ bought 24 Hawker Hurricane Mk.Is (“Hariken” in Yugoslav use) and secured a license to produce another 100 domestically in local factories from kits (60 at Rogozarski and 40 at Zmaj.)

Note the distinctive VVKJ roundels, which ceased to exist in 1941

Meanwhile, Rogožarski was putting the finishing touches on a very fast fighter plane of native design, the Ikarus IK-3, which could use the legendary Rolls-Royce Merlin II engine, and likely would have given the early P-51 Mustang a run for its money had it gone into full production.

As it turned out, by the time the Axis roared across the Yugoslavian border in April 1941, the country had just 41 Hurricanes to defend it and the handful of IK-3s were basically just experimental.

Hurricanes of the VVKJ’s 6th Fighter Squadron, 1940

Nonetheless, Yugoslav pilots gave it their all and downed a number of estimated German aircraft (claims vary but seem to run into a happy median of about 20) in their short 11-day war before destroying most of their remaining planes on the ground and displacing for British-held North Africa. Some were soon flying with the RAF’s transport service and by 1942 formed “B” Flight of No. 94 RAF squadron, flying
Hurricane IICs out of Egypt.

The Brits later formed two wholly-Yugoslav-manned squadrons in the RAF, 351 and 352, in Libya in 1944, as part of the Allied Balkan Air Force. Both units flew Hurricanes with No. 351 seeing their first combat on 13 October while No. 352 (which later converted to Spitfires) became active on 18 August.

By the end of the war, the two squadrons had deployed to Yugoslavian airfields, and, flying the Red Star of Tito’s National Liberation Army– his Partisans were the only WWII resistance movement to have their own air force–  had completed 593 combat sorties.

Yugoslavian pilot Tugomir Prebeg with his damaged Hawker Hurricane 1945

Yugoslav ground crew wheel a trolley of 3-inch RP-3 rockets past re-armed Hawker Hurricane Mark IVs of No. 351 Squadron (Y) RAF in their dispersals at Prkos, Yugoslavia. 31 December 1944 IWM CNA 3500

Post-War, the VVKJ ceased to exist, replaced by the new Yugoslav Air Force (Jugoslovensko Ratno Vazduhoplovstvo, JRV) which endured until 1992 after the Breakup of Yugoslavia. The organization continued to fly a small number of Hurricanes until 1952, ironically alongside German Me109s and Soviet Yaks.

One, Hurricane Mk IV RP LD975, is on display at the Yugoslav Aeronautical Museum adjacent to Belgrade’s Nikola Tesla Airport.

Photo: Muzej Vazduhoplovstva

USPS gives a salute to Mighty Mo

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Next year, this will be my go-to Forever stamp:

And they did it in Measure MS-32/22D camo!

The USS Missouri (BB 63) stamp will celebrate the nation’s “*Last Battleship.”

The release will coincide with the 75th anniversary of Missouri’s 11 June 1944, commissioning. The stamp art depicts Missouri in the disruptive camouflage she wore from her commissioning until a refit in early 1945. Missouri earned numerous combat awards and citations during her decades of service, which include World War II, the Korean War and Operation Desert Storm. She played a momentous role when she hosted the ceremony marking Japan’s surrender and the end of World War II. Designed by art director Greg Breeding, the stamp features a digital illustration by Dan Cosgrove.

How about a closer look at her late-WWII scheme for comparison?

Looks like Cosgrove did a great job. For reference: The U.S. Navy Iowa-class battleship USS Missouri (BB-63) during battle practice in Chesapeake Bay on 1 August 1944. She is wearing Camouflage Measure 32 Design 22D. (U.S. Navy photo 80-G-453331)

*Last Battleship: Wisconsin (BB-64), while ordered later than BB-63, commissioned 16 April 1944, two months before Missouri, while both follow-on sisterships USS Illinois (BB-65) and USS Kentucky (BB-66) never made it into the fleet. Further, Missouri decommissioned 1 March 1992, after all of her sisters went cold in 1990-91. In result, “Mighty Mo” was the final battleship to be completed by or operated for the United States, though not the last dreadnought built overall as the RNs short-lived HMS Vanguard commissioned post-war on 12 May 1946.

Overlord actually isn’t that bad of a movie, all things considered

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ICYMI, in theatres this month is Overlord, a hybrid war/horror movie. Produced by recent “Star Wars” boss J. J. Abrams, the film is really two movies spliced together. The first half is a general WWII tale highlighting a squad of 101st Airborne paratroopers (506th PIR) on a critical mission on the eve of D-Day. The second half pits said sky soldiers against not only dislikable Nazis but dislikable Nazi zombies.

In short, it’s like you are watching an episode of “Band of Brothers” and suddenly “28 Days” has clicked in, only with more gore.

As a fan of both war movies (just watched both “A Bridge Too Far” and BoB again within the past few months) and zombie stuff (um, what is the name of this blog?), I had to catch it and overall it is not too bad. More of a plot than “Dead Snow.” The CGI is on point as Abrams and Industrial Light & Magic were involved in the production. While it doesn’t bead out Romero of Peckinpah, it does a better job than you would expect.

Also, the hardware is pretty decent and correct. For reference:

One of the primary characters, Cpl. Ford, played by Wyatt Russell (yes, Kurt’s son), is a moody demo guy with a three-day beard who carries an M1 Thompson sub gun in .45ACP, an M1911 in the same caliber carried in an M7 shoulder holster, various fighting knives, and assorted Composition B. He notably does magazine exchanges in a few different scenes and carries the standard 20-round sticks for his Tommy gun in a five-cell pouch rather than the more flashy drum mags which typically were not used in combat.

Cpl. Ford, played by Wyatt Russell, shown getting some cover while using great trigger D in this production still. (Photo: Paramount Pictures)

For more on the guns and a little more review, head to my column at Guns.com

Also, for anyone that wants one, I have two (extra) Overlord posters courtesy of Cinemark. Shoot me a mailing address if you want one.

They are 16×20 and look great in the corner of the gun room.

(Garand not included)

Warship Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2018: The spaghetti boats of Mar del Plata

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Here at LSOZI, we are going to take off every Wednesday for a look at the old steam/diesel navies of the 1833-1946 time period and will profile a different ship each week. These ships have a life, a tale all their own, which sometimes takes them to the strangest places.- Christopher Eger

Warship Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2018: The spaghetti boats of Mar del Plata

Colorized by my friend, Diego Mar, of Postales Navales

Here we see the fine Italian-made Santa Fe (Cavallini)-class submarine ARA Santa Fe (S1) of the Argentine Navy sailing past Castello Aragonese in Taranto in 1933. The Argentinians often referred to this class as the “Tarantinos‘ due to their place of birth.

With the recent tragic loss of ARA San Juan, it should be remembered that the blue and white banner of the Armada de la República Argentina has been waving proudly over submarines for almost a century, with the fleet’s Comando de la Fuerza de Submarinos being established some 85 years ago and Santa Fe and her twin sister ships, known in Argentina as the “Tarantinos” due to their origin, started it all.

The Italians had started building submarines as far back as 1892 when the Delfino took to the water. Although they don’t get a lot of press, the Regina Marina put to sea with a formidable submarine force in both World Wars and the Spanish Civil War, which was used to good effect. In WWII, for instance, domestically made Italian subs working briefly in the Atlantic claimed 109 Allied ships, amounting to almost 600,000 tons. Further, Buenos Ares and Rome had a prior relationship stretching back to the 19th Century when it came to ordering naval vessels, so the two were natural partners when the Latin American country wanted in on submersibles.

Contracted with Cantieri navali Tosi on 15 October 1927, the Argentine government arranged for three submarines to be constructed at Taranto to a design of the Cavallini type derived from the Italian Navy’s Settembrini-class boats. At just over 1,100 tons when submerged and some 227 feet long, these were not big boats by any means, but they had a modern and efficient design.

Argentina submarines Sumergibles Salta, Santa Fe y Santiago del Estero. Año under construction in 1929. Astillero Franco Tosti. Tarento. Italia.

Equipped with Tosi diesels and electric motors, they could make 17.5 knots surfaced and about half that while submerged, which was pretty good for a 1920s-era submarine. Using a saddle-tank hull design with five compartments, they could make an impressive 7,100 nm at 8 knots surfaced, allowing them to deploy from Italy to their new homeland non-stop when completed and complete 30-day patrols. With a crush depth of 300~ feet, they mounted a 4-inch gun on deck and eight 21-inch torpedo tubes, making them capable of sinking a battleship with a single salvo. The Italians later developed the design into their Archimedes-class submarines.

ARA Santa Fe (S1) was the class leader followed by ARA Santiago del Estero (S2) and then ARA Salta (S3), all completed by early 1933, all named after Argentine provinces, a tradition in the Armada. After shakedown in the Med with Italian-trained crews and a short work-up cruise to the Canary Islands, they were on their way to Argentina.

Buenos Aires Argentine Italian subs Santa Fe, Santiago del Estero and Salta 7 April 1933

Inspected by national leaders including President Agustín Pedro Justo upon their arrival at their new homeland, they were given their naval ensigns in October 1933, scarcely six years after they were ordered.

Argentine submarine ARA Santa Fé (S-1) alongside battleship ARA Rivadavia and two Almirante Brown-class heavy cruisers, Puerto Belgrano Naval Base, 1937

The submarines were tended by the old (Italian-made) protected cruiser ARA General Belgrano until the latter was stricken in 1947, and then her place was taken by the coastal battleship ARA Independencia.

Argentine Santa Fe class submarines, Mar del Plata, circa 1947. Submarinos Tarantinos with coastal battleship ARA Independencia

Argentinian Cavallini class Submarines S-1 ‘Santa-Fe’, S-3 ‘Salta’, and S-2 ‘Santiago del Estero’ are seen here moored together at Mara del Plata with the Mothership Belgrano in the background.

Argentine Tarantino (Sumergible) Salta ,sala de Torpedos

Argentine Tarantino-Type Submarine Salta, in Mar del Plata

Operating from their base at Mar del Plata, the class would train and exercise regularly, and stand to (uneventful) service in WWII to protect Argentina’s neutrality and later (on paper) join the effort against Germany after the country declared war on 27 March 1945.

Argentine submarine SANTA FE (S-1) underway. She was the class leader of the Tarantinos 1933-1956

Famously, the last two German U-boats to surrender, U-530 and U-977, did so to Argentine military forces on 10 July and 17 August 1945 at Mar del Plata, respectively, and were briefly in the custody of the country’s submarine flotilla until transferred to the U.S. Navy.

U-977 lies in Mar del Plata, Argentina; rusty and weather-beaten after 108 days at sea – Photograph courtesy of Carlos J. Mey – Administrator of the Historia y Arqueologia Marítima website http://www.histarmar.com.ar/ via U-boat Archive

Post-war service continued with more of the same and the Santa Fe-class subs, growing long in the teeth and being hard to repair due to their 1920s Italian parts, often made by companies no longer in business after 1945, meant their timeline was limited. Santa Fe was stricken in Sept. 1956, followed by Santiago del Estero in April 1959.

Salta would outlast them all, making her 1,000th dive in 1960 before striking on 3 August. The last of the Tarantinos was sold for scrap the following April. Salta‘s flag, as well as several artifacts from her days in the Armada, are on display at the Museo de la Fuerza de Submarinos in Mar del Plata but that is not the end of her legacy.

On 1 April 1960, the US and Argentine Navy signed an agreement to transfer two Balao-class submarines, USS Macabi (SS-375) and USS Lamprey (SS-372) who went on to be renamed ARA Santa Fe (S-11) and ARA Santiago del Estero (S-12), respectively, and were manned in large part by veteran submariners who cut their teeth on the Italian-built boats. Serving until 1971, they were in turn replaced by two other GUPPY-modified Balaos, USS Chivo (SS-341) and USS Catfish (SS-339) who served as (wait for it) ARA Santiago del Estero (S-22) and ARA Santa Fe (S-21). The latter, a Warship Wednesday Alumni, had somewhat spectacularly bad luck in the Falklands, becoming the first submarine taken out of service by a helicopter-fired missile.

Speaking of the Falklands, in 1971, Argentina ordered a pair of new Type 209/1200 submarines from Germany, named ARA Salta (S-31) and ARA San Luis (S-32), the latter was more or less active in the Falklands but faced the double-edged sword of not being sunk although an entire British task force (including modern SSNs) were looking for her but, in turn, not being able to make a hit with her malfunctioning torpedoes.

ARA Salta S31, a Type 209 SSK now some 45 years young and still on active duty

Salta is still on active duty although San Luis has since been decommissioned. With the recent loss of San Juan, Salta, and one remaining TR-1700 type U-boat, ARA Santa Cruz (S-41), are the only operational Argentine subs.

Argentine submarine classes in a nutshell from 1933 to the current. Between the 11 boats, only six names were used.

For more information on the boat and her class, see the dedicated memorial group for them at Los Tarantinos Argentina 1933 -1960 (Historia de submarinos) and the articles on the class at ElSnorkel (Spanish) and Histarmar.

Specs:

USN Submarine Sighting Guide ONI 31-2A June 1958 with Salta compared when she was likely one of the last 1920s-ordered submarines on active duty anywhere

Displacement: 755 tons (1155 submerged)
Length: 227 (oa) ft.
Beam: 21.91 ft.
Draft: 16.56 ft.
Diving depth: 80m operational
Engines: 2 Tosi diesels, 3,000hp. One electric motor, 1,043kW
Speed: 17.5 knots on the surface, 9 submerged
Range: 7,100nm at 8 knots surfaced on 90 tons of fuel oil, 80nm at 4kts submerged
Crew: 40
Armament:
1x 4″/40 Odero-Terni deck gun
2x machine guns
8x 21-inch torpedo tubes (4 forward, 4 aft)
1x 40mm/60cal Bofors single added in 1944 for WWII service

If you liked this column, please consider joining the International Naval Research Organization (INRO), Publishers of Warship International

They are possibly one of the best sources of naval study, images, and fellowship you can find. http://www.warship.org/membership.htm

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Of battlewagons and panzers, today, 76 years ago

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27 Nov 1942: Here we see Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf.G (Sd.Kfz.161/1) turmnummer 812 from Panzer-Regiment 25 7.Panzer-Division entering the French harbor of Toulon during Operation Lila. The battleship in the background is Strasbourg, sent to the bottom by order of French Adm. Laborde just moments earlier along with 77 other vessels in order to keep them out of German hands. You can just make out Strasbourg‘s #1 quadruple 330mm/50 turret to the far right. The PzKpfw IV, not expecting a fight, still has her muzzle cover on her 75mm L/48 main gun.

Dig all of those jerry cans! Photographer: Kriegsberichter Wolfgang Vennemann from PK (Propaganda-Kompanie) 649

As noted by WWII images:

On November 27, the Germans commenced “Unternehmen Lila” with the goal of occupying Toulon and seizing the fleet. Comprised of elements from the 7. Panzer-Division and SS-Panzergrenadier-Division “Das Reich”, four combat teams entered the city around 4:00 AM. Quickly taking Fort Lamalgue, they captured Adm. Marquis, the maritime prefect of Toulon, but failed to prevent his chief of staff and FHM commander Vice Adm. Jean de Laborde, aboard Strasbourg, from sending a warning via signal lamp and flag to prepare to destroy the unarmed fleet. Stunned by the German treachery, de Laborde issued orders to prepare for scuttling and to defend the ships until they had sunk. Advancing through Toulon, the Germans occupied heights overlooking the channel and air-dropped mines to prevent a French escape. Reaching the gates of the naval base, the Germans were delayed by the sentries who demanded paperwork allowing admission.

By 5:25 AM, German tanks entered the base and de Laborde issued the radio order to scuttle from his flagship. Fighting soon broke out along the waterfront, with the Germans coming under fire from the ships’ machine guns (the main guns being disarmed). Out-gunned, the Germans attempted to negotiate but were unable to board most vessels in time to prevent their sinking. German troops successfully boarded the Suffren-class cruiser Dupleix and closed its sea valves, but were driven off by explosions and fires in its turrets.

Soon the Germans were surrounded by sinking and burning ships. By the end of the day, they had only succeeded in taking three disarmed destroyers, four damaged submarines, and three civilian vessels.

In the fighting of November 27, the French lost 12 killed and 26 wounded, while the Germans suffered one wounded. In scuttling the fleet, the French destroyed 77 vessels, including 3 battleships, 7 cruisers, 15 destroyers, and 13 torpedo boats.

Five submarines managed to get underway, with three reaching North Africa, one Spain, and the last forced to scuttle at the mouth of the harbor. The survey ship Leonor Fresnel also escaped. While Charles de Gaulle and the Free French severely criticized the action, stating that the fleet should have tried to escape, the scuttling prevented the ships from falling into Axis hands. While salvage efforts began, none of the larger ships saw service again during the war. After the liberation of France, de Laborde was tried and convicted of treason for not trying to save the fleet. Found guilty, he was sentenced to death. This was soon commuted to life imprisonment before he was granted clemency in 1947.

Happy 76th to the ‘Forgotten 551st’

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The 551st Parachute Infantry Battalion (551st PIB) was formed 26 November 1942 at Fort Kobbe in the Panama Canal Zone, drawing its cadre came from Company C of the 501st Parachute Infantry Battalion and fleshed out with new recruits, formed initially to storm the Vichy French Caribbean island colony of Martinique. With the Vichy government folding before that could happen, the 551st was sent to Europe, dropping as part of the provisional 1st Airborne Task Force into Southern France in August 1944.

Over the next five months, the 551st would be bled white.

Attached later to the 82nd Airborne, they were wiped out at the Battle of the Bulge and the 110 remaining officers and men were folded into other All American units and the 551st quietly disbanded 27 January 1945 without ceremony at Juslenville, Belgium.

The official motto of the 551st, seen on the early unit patch above, “Aterrice y Ataque” is Spanish for “land and attack.” The insignia depicts an eagle on which is superimposed a shield bearing a palm tree and a machete. The green palm tree represents Panama, where the 551st was activated and began training in late 1942. The machete represents jungle warfare and the 551st original mission to invade Martinique. The red lightning bolt is symbolic of the battalion’s rapid insertion, quick-strike capability.

Long all but lost to history, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Eric Shinseki awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for extraordinary heroism during the Battle of the Bulge to the unit during an official ceremony at the Pentagon on 23 February 2001.

Blowing smoke, 75 years ago today

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USS Minneapolis (CA-36) bombarding Butaritari Island, Makin Atoll, on 20 November 1943, shortly before U.S. Army forces landed there. Guns firing are from the cruiser’s starboard side 5″/25-caliber secondary battery. Note smoke rings. Simultaneous discharge of these guns indicates that they are firing under remote control.

(NHHC: 80-G-202518)

A New Orleans-class cruiser, Minneapolis was designed as a light cruiser but was redesignated as a heavy before she was commissoned in 1934. “Minnie” earned an impressive 16 battle stars in WWII, but it didn’t save her from the breakers. She was sold for scrap, 14 August 1959, after spending 12 years in mothballs.

From the drawing board of a Budapest banker

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So I’ve been fooling with a vintage Frommer Stop this week. You do know of Rudolf Frommer, a bespectacled and balding banker who resembled the fictional Ernst Stavro Blofeld and, among other claims to fame, compiled the first Hungarian-German Stock Exchange dictionary of terms, yes?

Although not a trained engineer, after the banker joined the management of the Hungarian gun company FEG in 1896 to help it restructure after insolvency, he started taking out patents on his early semi-auto pistol designs. While interesting, they were over-engineered. However, they worked and over 300,000 of his Stop models were produced between 1910 and 1929, seeing service with military and police forces throughout Central Europe in both World Wars.

More in my column at Guns.com

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