Ulm is a beautiful city by any standard and has been home to Carl Walther GmbH since 1945
The current Walther factory, in Lehrer Feld along the autobahn just outside of the Danube bastion city of Ulm, contains nearly 130,000 square feet of floor space and opened in 2006. It is the birthplace of such innovative firearms as the PPQ and its all-steel sisters, the Q5 and Q4 Steel Frame, and today’s PDP series while continuing the company’s Olympic sports heritage with designs such as LG 400, LP 500, and KK 500, along with being the home of legacy designs such as the PPK.
I was lucky enough to be invited inside for a behind-the-scenes tour of the facility.
Warship Wednesday, June 12, 2024: Good ol’ Walrus Skull
This image, as are most in this post, via the Danish Nationalmuseet system, call no. THM-3787
Above we see the humble little inspektionsskibet (inspection ship) Ingolf of the Royal Danish Navy at anchor in Umanak (Uummannaq), Greenland in the summer of 1934, some 90 years ago.
She was a brawler for her type and task, and if you look closely at the front of her wheelhouse, you just may see her unofficial ship’s mascot, a walrus skull.
Meet Ingolf
Ingolf was ordered in 1932 with inspiration drawn from the large inspection ship Hvidbjornen (1,050 t, 196 feet oal, 2x87mm, 1 aircraft, 14 knots, circa 1928).
Hvidbjørnen with Heinkel HM 8 seaplane abord. Ingolf would be about 20 feet longer, a little faster, and with a more powerful battery of 4.7-inch guns. THM-18978
You can see the resemblance in Ingolf. THM-18464
Our subject’s name comes from the Old Norse name Ingólfr, meaning the wolf of the king Yngvi. The Dane had previously used the name several times, most recently for an iron-hulled sail-rigged steam schooner cruiser (skonnert-krydseren) that, commissioned in the 1870s, had spent the last two decades of her life as a training ship and polar exploration/survey vessel before retiring in 1926.
The old Krydseren Ingolf
It was (and is) a popular boy’s name, including for use in the Danish royal family.
A young Prince Ingolf of Denmark, shown with Danish Guards. Currently titled as Count Ingolf of Rosenborg, he is a grandson of Danish King Christian X and twice great-grandson (through both his mother and father’s lines) of King Frederik VIII of Denmark.
Constructed in Copenhagen at Orlogsværftet, the Danish naval shipyard, Ingolf was officially a fishery protection vessel intended for service off Greenland, Iceland (a Danish dependency until WWII) and the Faeroes Islands. However, she was a decent little gunboat by any measure.
With some 1,180 tons standard displacement, she ran 213 feet overall with a tubby (roughly 6:1 ratio) 35-foot beam and the capability of floating in just 16 feet of water. Powered by two Thornycroft boilers driving a VTE engine, she could make 16.5 knots on a single screw.
Her main battery consisted of a pair of 4.7-inch P.K. L45 M.32 mounts in shielded turrets fore and aft, a single 57mm L40 M.1885 gun, two 20mm/56 Madsen Rek. K. AAA guns, and two 8mm Madsen light machine guns.
Ingolf in Greenland in the summer of 1936, one of her 4.7-inch mounts being cleaned. Note the light shield of the mount and the fatigue coveralls of her crew, along with the wooden deck. THM-21466
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The 57mm gun was typically used for saluting and “shots across the bow,” saving the 4.7-inchers for “war use.” THM-19102
The same model 57mm gun, dating back to the 1880s, was used by the Icelandic Coast Guard on their cutters until the early 2000s. THM-18893
Note the Madsen LMG in an AAA mount. THM-19341
The crew was just 66 men, of which a light platoon-sized landing/survey party could be spared for work ashore in her remote patrol area. The ship carried several whaleboats and survey ships for the task.
Amazing for her size, she was designed from the outset to carry an armed floatplane, which would be craned off and on for operations. More on this later.
Going well beyond Hvidbjornen, when compared to the five other Danish G-I-F fisheries protection/survey flotilla vessels that routinely sailed from Denmark to patrol those waters– Hejmdal (705 t, 175 feet oal, 2x75mm, 13 knot, circa 1935), Beskytteren (389 t, 143 feet oal, 1x57mm, 2x37mm, 11.8 knots, circa 1900), Hejmdal (817 t, 174 feet oal, 2x75mm, 12 kts, circa 1935), Islands Falk (730 t, 183 feet oal, 2x75mm, 2x47mm, 13 knots, circa 1907) and Freja (322 t, 124 feet oal, 2x75mm, 10 knots, circa 1938)– Ingolf was by far the largest, fastest, and strongest of the lot.
It was also intended to use her as a kadetskib, or school ship for naval cadets, a role her old schooner cruiser namesake had often filled.
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Commissioned on 23 April 1934, he had an almost idyllic life, at least until 1939.
Ingolf seen aft across to port lying at the quay at the Royal Yacht Club, Brussels 1934. THM-3731
Ingolf in the North Atlantic, summer 1936. The little round bottom boat, with her low speed and 6:1 length-to-beam ratio, must have been a zesty ride in high seas. THM-21440
The inspection ship Ingolf fires salutes in this very artistic image. THM-3788
The inspection ship Ingolf is docked in Nykøbing.
Note the walrus skull mounted to the front of her wheelhouse. FHM-165451
FHM-165458
It remained a fixture of her career.
inspektionsskibet Ingolf
Inspektionskibet Ingolf and Maagen at Godthaab. Maagen (110 t, 71 feet oal, sail/diesel 8 knots, 1x37mm gun) was one of several small twin-masted light draft vessels classified invariably as an inspection cutter (inspektionskutter) or orlogskutter (naval cutter) that were permanently deployed to Greenland, Iceland, and the Faeroes used for inspection, coastal survey, and civil administration, typically with a single officer, a CPO, and 6-8 enlisted, often locals. They would steam with the larger Inspektionskibet whenever in the area and perform such yeoman tasks as towing targets during gunnery exercises.
Aircraft
Throughout her service, Ingolf and her smaller OPV companion, Hvidbjornen, would carry two types of light scout or torpedoflyet (torpedo-carrying) aircraft.
The first of these was the Heinkel H.E.8, of which the Danish Marinens Flyvevæsen bought (8) or built from kits (16) two dozen between 1928 and 1938. Classed by the Versailles-restricted Heinkel as two-seat “mail planes” they were easily modified to carry two Madsen light machine guns (one fixed forward-firing, one flexible) and eight hardpoints for small 28-pound bombs.
Heinkel seaplane HM 87 being taken on board in Ingolf, Godthåb summer of 1936. Capable of 130 knots, they had an 800nm range. THM-21432
Heinkel HM 87 being craned. Note the kayak in the background. THM-19052
Heinkel HM 87 is taken on board Ingolf in Godthaab ship harbor, August 1936, after photo flights for the Royal Danish Navy’s Chart Archive. To the stern of the gunboat is the 3,800-ton Danish gunnery training cruiser, Niels Juel, with twin 5.9-inch mounts forward. THM-32196
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The second, and by far more formidable, floatplane used by the Danes from our subject was the Hawker Dantorp H.B. III, a type made specifically for the Danish Navy in 1933. Powered by an 850 hp Armstrong Siddeley Leopard IIIA air-cooled 14-cylinder twin-row radial engine– the most powerful radial engine in the world at the time– the three-place scout bomber carried a forward firing Vickers machine gun, a flexible Lewis gun for the gunner/radio operator, and up to 1,500 pounds of bombs or a single torpedo.
Dantorp torpedo plane No. 202 during practice on Isefjorden summer 1936. Note her steelfish centerline. They could reportedly stay aloft for an eight-hour patrol, albeit at 100~ knots. THM-21438
Torpedo plane No. 202 of the Dantorp type on board Ingolf. Talk about a tight squeeze! Note the Dannebrog national flash on the tail of the plane. THM-38091
The boom for launching and retrieving the torpedo plane ran off the mainmast. Just two Dantorps were ordered by the Danish Navy, No. 201 and No. 202. THM-3212
War!
Under the command of CDR Christian Vilhelm Evers (Søofficerskolen 1913) WWII began with Ingolf at the disposal of the Danish naval academy and would remain tasked with training cadets, along with her near sister, Hvidbjørnen.
Ingolf shown during WWII, note the Dannebrog painted on her side, a standard practice that Danish ships used in both world wars, used to try at armed neutrality. THM-9122
Same as above, THM-9123. Note she still has her walrus skull in this shot.
Ingolf, like much of the Danish fleet, was unable to get off a shot before the government capitulated.
Of course, that didn’t stop extensive Free Danish forces from being formed overseas, most of the Danish merchant marine to sail for the Allies– over 5,000 Danish merchant sailors manned over 800,000 tons of shipping for the Allies, many never to be seen again– and the training ship Danmark, in the U.S. in 1940, to train over 5,000 Americans for while operating for the USCG. Two small Danish Navy fisheries patrol boats, Maagen and Ternen, were in Greenland and would serve the Allies.
While sidelined and fundamentally interned in their own country by the occupying German forces, Ingolf and Hvidbjørnen were one of the few vessels allowed to cruise inside Denmark’s territorial waters as they were still allowed to train cadets. Of course, this was done with empty magazines and near-empty bunkers.
Thus, they were afloat in the Storebælt (Great Belt)– strait between the islands of Zealand and Funen on 29 August 1943 when the Danish Admiralty flashed orders at 0408 to scuttle or make for Sweden. The Germans had begun their Operation Safari to disarm and disband the remnants of the Danish military. However, before they could reach Swedish waters, they were intercepted by the German minesweeper M 413 and torpedo boat T 18.
CDR Evers and his crew tried to sink Ingolf by opening the sea valves and wreck her equipment but were stopped before the job was complete by the Germans who, according to reports, boarded and took hostages from among the cadets.
Meanwhile, Hvidbjørnen was more successful and was wrecked.
The last call on the inspection ship Hvidbjørnen before it was sunk in Storebælt off Korsør on 29 August 1943. The sinking took place in connection with the state of emergency on 29 August, after a German force had boarded the ship. FHM-167260
Limping to nearby Korsor, the Danish crews were interned and the proud Ingolf seized.
Operation Safari cost the Danish Navy six men were killed and 11 injured, while 258 officers and 2,961 ratings were taken into custody.
Ice distribution in Tårnborglejeren near Korsør, where the crews from the inspection ships Hvidbjørnen and Ingolf were interned after the Germans declared a state of emergency on 29 August 1943. FHM-174949
Danish sailors interned in KB Hallen. The dormitory is arranged on an indoor tennis court. Note the triple-decker bunks. FHM-170704
When the internment sites were closed in October 1943 the enlisted men were paroled although some officers remained in custody or were deported to Germany. Most of those let go subsequently took to a range of resistance activities.
The Germans renamed Ingolf as Sleipnir, then she was used as a flottentender from January 1943 and later bombed in the last months of the war during Allied air raids in Kiel. Leaking, she was towed out to Heikendorf on the east side of the Kieler Fjord, where she sank.
Ingolf as a wreck among wrecks in Kielshavn, May 1945. FHM-165480
She was later scrapped post-war.
Epilogue
CDR Evers, who commanded Ingolf from 1934-36 and 1939-43, retired from the Navy in August 1945, sat on the board of several Danish utility companies into the 1960s, and passed in 1967, aged 80. He was buried with full military honors at Holsteinborg cemetery
Post-war, the Royal Danish Navy would recycle the name for a second Inspektionsskibet Ingolfs (F350) which was in commission from 1962 to 1991. A 1,700-ton Hvidbjørnen class OPV armed with depth charges and a 76mm cannon, the little 239-foot vessel had both a hangar and flight deck for, first, a French Alouette III, and later a British Westland Lynx helicopter.
Inspektionsskibene af Hvidbjørn-Klassen OPV Ingolf (F350) with Sea Lynx S.181 aloft
Notably, members of the old crew from the circa 1934 Inspektionsskibet Ingolfs visited the new ship with the same moniker in April 1984, posing with the vessel’s embarked Lynx militærhelikopter, S.181.
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Ships are more than steel and wood And heart of burning coal, For those who sail upon them know That some ships have a soul.
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A breathtaking witness to history is the documented Colt .45 Single Action Army Revolver with pearl grips, No. 147306, from a legendary 10-gun shipment sent to the Dalton Gang and with ownership attributed to either Bob or Emmett Dalton:
The Colt is part of the Morphy’s auction during Brian Lebel’s June 21-23 Old West Show in historic Santa Fe, New Mexico.
This showy gun, purportedly engraved by Colt master engraver Cuno Helfricht, was shipped from the Colt factory on August 18, 1892, to a Kansas hardware store. Historical documentation indicates that each of the five Dalton Gang members received two Colts the day before the ill-fated Coffeyville Raid when they attempted to rob two banks simultaneously. Four of the five men perished, but Emmett Dalton, the youngest of the gang, miraculously survived after incurring 23 gunshot wounds. The storied auction firearm is in outstanding condition with matching numbers. Serial listed numbers are 147290, 142298 (at Davis Museum), 147303, 147304, 147305 (Autry Museum, purported to be Emmett Dalton’s), 147306 (this gun, accompanied by an article on this revolver by R. L. Wilson and attributed to either Emmett or Bob; this gun is pictured on the cover of the June 1995 Gun Report by Bill Gerber, which is included and where he confirms this association), 147307, (which was purchased by H.W. Read after the raid of October 5th, 1892 and was put on display by him), 147308, 147311 and 147338 (which was part of the Pemberton Collection). All known examples except one are reported to have pearl grips. There are accompanying articles explaining that the gang had ordered these ten guns, two for each member of the gang who went to Coffeyville that fateful day on October 5th, 1892. It will convey with an extensive archive of information and a copy of the relevant Colt factory letter.
Over 2,500 Lockheed F-104 Starfighters were constructed across 30 years between 1954 and 1984– a lengthy run only bested in recent years by the F-16 and F-15 series. Of these, some 949 F-104G variants were built under license for West Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Italy by the ARGE consortium in Western Europe of which the Dutch firms of Fokker and Aviolanda were major partners.
F-104G starfighter diagram, April 1999 Flight magazine
In all, the Koninklijke Luchtmacht (Royal Netherlands Air Force) operated no less than 120 F-104Gs including 95 8000-series Fokker-built models and 25 Italian Fiat-built 6000-series birds, augmented by 18 Lockheed-built 5000-series two-seat TF-104G trainers in five squadrons (306, 311, 312, 322, and 323) in a mixture of recon, fighter bomber, and interception roles.
First ordered in 1959, the initial airframes started to trickle in by 1962 and they would remain in service until 21 November 1984, chalking up over 345,000 cumulative hours.
Drie Lockheed F-104 Starfighters van vermoedelijk 312 Sqn bevinden zich in een steile klim boven de wolken. NIMH 2157-048-021
Fokker F-104G Starfighter D-8098 of No. 322 Sqn at Leeuwarden. NIMH 2157_016018
The Fokker F-104G Starfighter with registration number D-8319 of No. 323 Squadron in a dive between the villages of Lies (right) and Formerum (left). Note the center double AIM-9 Sidewinder rail arrangement. NIMH 2039-02-01-01
Three Fokker F-104G Starfighters (D-8318, D-8061, D-8244), above the Air Force Electronic and Technical School (LETS) in Schaarsbergen, November 1983. The bottom two are marked to No. 312 Squadron of Volkel Air Base. NIMH 2156_023496
Early USAF F-105 FH-436; British Gloster Javelin XH771, Netherlands F-104G, D-8060 Canadian CF-104, 815 Belgian F-104G, FX07 German F-104G, DA+243 French Mirage IC 2-EI, Operation Seven-Up an international formation flown to mark the 13th anniversary of Allied Air Forces Central Europe on April 2nd 1964, taken at Voelkel. NIMH 2157_130-018
In the 1970s, they started to use the excellent Dutch-Italian-designed NVOI Orpheus Recce pod, which included five high-speed daylight cameras and an infrared scanner, for photo recon work.
Fokker RF-104G Starfighter D-8273 of No. 306 squadron with Orpheus pod (no.28), circa 1983. NIMH 2157_052451
A well-mustachioed Dutch recon pilot of an RF-104G of No. 306 Squadron preparing for a mission a Volkel. Note the squadron emblem on his helmet: a giraffe with the numbers 3-0-6 and a piece of film. Circa 1978. NIMH 2157_054096
A Lockheed RF-104G Starfighter from 306 squadron with a Giraffe in the cockpit, October 1974. NIMH 2157_050643
Dutch F-104G Koninklijke Luchtmacth RF-104G “D-8145” 306th Squadron, Volkel A.B. in 1978 markings via the Italieri kit
Replaced by early (Block 5) Fokker-built F-16A/Bs in the early 1980s, the last Dutch F-104s were flown by “The Sons of Bonzo” in No. 312 Squadron out of Volkel.
A Fokker F-104G Starfighter (D-8114) of No. 312 squadron with a General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon (J-232 #78-0232) of No. 323 squadron in the foreground with a target tow modification under the wing, circa 1984. NIMH 2157_063-013
The farewell flight of the last five No. 312 Squadron Starfighters over the Netherlands on 21 November 1984: three Lockheed-built TF-104 two-seaters (D-5804, D-5803, and D-5810) and two Fokker-made F-104 (D-8063 and D-8258) single-seaters, all camouflaged, fly in formation at low altitude. NIMH 2157-048-007
Same as above, 2157_048-008
Correspondingly, The Sons of Bonzo will be the final Dutch F-16 squadron, with the last Viper replaced by F-35s in the coming months.
Sadly, as in many others, the F-014 in Dutch service had a terrible safety record, with no less than 43 written off while in service to the Queen.
How about this amazing original Kodachrome, snapped 80 years ago today, showing the Iowa-class fast battleship, USS Missouri (BB-63) commissioning ceremonies, at the New York Navy Yard, on 11 June 1944. Photographed looking aft from atop her Number Three triple 16-inch/50 Mark 7 gun turret.
Official U.S. Navy Photograph 80-G-K-3858, now in the collections of the National Archives.
And the view from the stern with 16-inch gun turret Number Three in the foreground shows crewmen and other attendees saluting the colors, as the ship is placed in commission.
Note the SG surface-search radar antenna atop both mainmasts and the circular antenna for the SK-2 air-search radar on the foremast. Also visible are two Mk 37 gun directors with Mk 12 fire control radar for the 12.7 cm artillery and the Mk 38 gun director with Mk 8 fire control radar (“hedgehog”) for the 40.6 cm artillery.USN photo # 80-G-345692
The last of her class completed (Wisconsin, BB-64, had already commissioned two months prior on 16 April 1944), Missouri would spend the rest of the year in shakedown and spent Christmas Eve ’44 on Pearl Harbor’s Battleship Row on her way to the West Pac to get in the show. Just over eight months past that holiday, Missouri would host the formal Japanese surrender to the Allied Powers in Tokyo Bay, ending the conflict.
Some eight battle stars (three for WWII, five for Korea) later, she was decommissioned for the final time on 31 March 1992.
Opening to the public in 1999, she has been standing guard over the USS Arizona on Battleship Row for the past 25 years.
The Mighty Missouri Painting, Acrylic on Illustration Board; by Robert Adam Malin; 1998; Framed Dimensions 22H X 32W NHHC
Thought some of you guys who are scale modelers or just general naval history buffs, would find it of interest and should generally cover not only USS Alabama (BB-60), but also her sisters USS South Dakota, Indiana, and Massachusetts.
The new 158-foot Sentinel (Webber) class cutter USCGC David Duren (WPC-1156) sailed into their new homeport of Astoria, Oregon, and became the first Fast Response Cutter to be homeported in the Pacific Northwest.
In doing so, she crossed the Columbia River Bar, known to mariners as the “Graveyard of the Pacific,” escorted by a quartet of 47-foot Motor Lifeboats from the famed National Motor Lifeboat School located in Ilwaco, Washington, making a series of great images.
Photos by Chief Warrant Officer (Ret.) Tom Molloy:
As noted by the USCG:
The cutter is named after Master Chief Petty Officer David Duren, a distinguished Coast Guard Surfman. During his service in the Pacific Northwest, Duren used his Surfman skills and bravery to save many lives, earning the nickname “Big Wave Dave.”
Considered perhaps the finest boat driver in the history of the modern Coast Guard, he is remembered by his shipmates and mentees not only for his expertise in seamanship, but also for his leadership and character. Between 1979 and 1983, Duren deployed on search and rescue cases more frequently than any other officer-in-charge and, in one year, executed over 250 cases. During this tour, Duren received two Coast Guard Medals for exceptional heroism, and the Douglas A. Munro Inspirational Leadership Award. Perhaps more remarkable was the fact that the personnel under his watch at Depoe Bay earned a total of 24 medals and awards.
The legacy of Duren’s incredible bravery and dedication will live on through the missions performed by this new cutter for years to come.
Delivered by Bollinger in March– the 182nd vessel built for the USCG by the yard and the 56th FRC delivered– Duren is scheduled to be commissioned in late June.
In related news, the USCG exercised a contract option to award Bollinger two additional FRCs in late May. This announcement brings the total number of FRCs awarded to Bollinger up to 67 vessels since the program’s inception.
Apollo 8 was the first manned Saturn V mission, and the first to orbit the moon
(27 Dec. 1968) — “The Apollo 8 crew stands in the doorway of a recovery helicopter after arriving aboard the carrier USS Yorktown, the prime recovery ship for the historic Apollo 8 lunar orbit mission. Left to right, are astronauts Frank Borman, commander; James A. Lovell Jr., command module pilot; and William A. Anders, lunar module pilot. Apollo 8 splashed down at 10:51 a.m. (EST), Dec. 27, 1968, in the central Pacific approximately 1,000 miles south-southwest of Hawaii.” (NASA Photo S69-15737 )
Of the Apollo 8 Astronauts, only Jim Lovell now remains.
Born in 1933, Bill began his career as an Air Force pilot and, earning a master’s degree in Nuclear Engineering in 1962, Major Anders was selected two years later to join NASA’s astronaut corps, serving as backup pilot for the Gemini XI and Apollo 11 flights, and lunar module pilot for Apollo 8– among the first man to orbit the moon, which he accomplished as a “space rookie” at age 35.
He later served as chair of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ambassador to Norway, and served on the board of General Dynamics.
Of the Apollo Astronauts who only flew to the moon, Biloxi’s Fred Haise, and Lovell are the last two among us. Only four moonwalkers are left, David Scott, Charles Duke, Harrison Schmitt, and Buzz Aldrin.
Some 50 years ago today: The first Northrop YF-17 Cobra prototype made its first flight on 9 June 1974, with Northrop’s Chief Test Pilot, Henry “Hank” Chouteau, at the controls. The flight ran 61 minutes, reaching an altitude of 18,000 feet, and clocked a maximum speed of 610 miles per hour in the clear skies above Edwards AFB.
Photo: National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution
YF-17 chief test pilot Hank Chouteau, left, shakes hands with the Northrop CEO, T.V. Jones. Chouteau logged more than 7,300 flight hours in more than 80 models of aircraft and, having flown F-51s in Korea and F-5s in Vietnam, called the YF-17 a fighter pilot’s plane. (Photo credit: Northrop Grumman)
The aircraft, a single-seat all-weather interceptor powered by a pair of General Electric YJ-101s, was Northrop’s initial entry into the US Air Force’s Lightweight Fighter (LWF) technology evaluation program but would lose out when compared to the YF-16.
Via the March 1974 issue of Air Enthusiast International, click to big up
However, it would later morph into the carrier-capable Navy Air Combat Fighter (NACF), the GE F-404 powered F/A-18 Hornet multirole fighter and attack aircraft, which would be adopted in 1978 with the first production aircraft delivered on 12 April 1980.
The same aircraft, now in Navy colors, was operated by NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center in May-July 1976 for a series of drag studies. NASA Photo Collection
The above aircraft, 72-01569 (MSN 1), had been rolled out on 4 April 1974 and passed on to the Navy as Bu. No 201569.
It was later retired and is currently in the collection of the Western Museum of Flight at the old Torrance, California airport.
It currently wears a now proudly displays a rather fictitious paint scheme as well as the emblem of the Navy Fighter Weapons School.
Its only Cobra sister, 72-01570 (MSN 2), flew in August 1974 and was exhibited for a couple of years marked as the “F-18 Prototype.” In the collection of the National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola since at least 1989, it has been on exhibit at the USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park since 1996.
YF-17(F/A-18) Prototype 72-01570 (MSN 2), Bu.No 201570 at USS Alabama Memorial Park, beside the USS Drum in the background. Note the Bicentennial flash on the tail, the Cobra program emblem on the nose, the GE logo on the body, and “Hank Chouteau” under the cockpit. The aircraft to the left is a Vietnam-era F-105B-1-RE 54-0102, an early Thunderchief test bird that spent most of her life at Edwards and in NASA’s hands before retiring to Brookley AFB and then the Alabama park. Photo by Chris Eger
More than 150,000 Allied troops from the U.S., Britain, Canada, Free France, and Norway made it ashore on D-Day– suffering some 12,000 casualties.
However, with the beachheads firmly secured, they kept coming.
The build-up of Omaha Beach. Reinforcements of men and equipment moving inland, D+2, 8 June 1944. Original caption: “Roadways appear as if by magic as long lines of men and materiel stream ashore at a beach in northern France. With the beach situation well under control, there is an increasing flow of troops and supplies to reinforce the units now in combat. 8 June 1944.” Note the heavy guns, mobile cranes, DUKWs, and other vehicles on the beach roads; the former German pillbox in the lower left; LCTs unloading at low tide; and shipping offshore. USS LCT-572 is at left, broached at the high tide line. Signal Corps Photo SC 193082
By the end of D+5, 11 June, more than 326,000 Allied troops had crossed the Channel, along with 50,000 vehicles and more than 100,000 tons of equipment.
Speaking to this immediate buildup, which would lead to the liberation of Paris by August, Pulitzer Prize winner Rick Atkinson has the excellent below program from the National WWII Museum (formerly the D-Day Museum). If you have a spare hour, it makes a good listen.
