Subject: WWII-L Digest - 24 Jan 1994 to 25 Jan 1994

From: Automatic digest processor <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 26 Jan 1994 00:00:34 -0500

There are 20 messages totalling 715 lines in this issue.

Topics of the day:

  1. WEAP: Soviet BA-10
  2. UK Opens Files on WWII Massacre
  3. Monino Museum (2)
  4. Movie realism
  5. USAAF 25 JAN 44
  6. MOVIES: realism
  7. Machinery of Destruction (2)
  8. MEDIA: Telly Savales dead at 70
  9. Admiral Nimitz (2)
 10. Big Week
 11. Schweinfurt raid and FW-190 (2)
 12. Books on Rangers (for Sidney) (2)
 13. Monino museum
 14. Americal Div in WWII
 15. ADMIN: Patience please...

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date:    Mon, 24 Jan 1994 21:16:45 EST
From:    John Sloan <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: WEAP: Soviet BA-10

Joe Barone wrote asking about the Soviet BA-10. I have been to the Museum of
Tank Troops at Kubinka 3 times and took quite a few photos, but not of that
particular item. However, I plan o nreturning and can take photos of any
specific vehicles desired. I have the full catalog of the museum .   I can
send it on request. There are a great many rarities there. Did take some
photos of the MAUS, and of some experimental Soviet tanks.  Also visit the
Museum of Artillery, Engineer, and Signal Troops in St. Petersburg often. it
has got to be the largest militarymuseum anywhere. The title is not
descriptive of what it really has. Also have been to the aviation museum at
Monino. The director there wants to organize a WWII commemoration of aviation
for 1995. Anyone interested or with ideas please let me know. Have quite a
few photos from Monino and the Artillery museum also. Visited some other
museums as well, but those are the three best.  John Sloan
[email-masked]

------------------------------

Date:    Tue, 25 Jan 1994 08:37:34 GMT
From:    Stephen Baldwin <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: UK Opens Files on WWII Massacre

Peter E. Beal writes
>       Why were the files not to be made public until 2021.  I thought the
>       British government had a 30 year rule for sensitive material.  And why
>       was it considered sensitive in the first place?  And how did it get out
>       early?
>
>       I am not asking because I think you *should* know; just in the hope that
>       you do or somebody else on this list does.

Peter,
I believe the decision was taken to release these documents
due to the perceived shortcomings of the german enquiry
into Muncke's guilt/innocence.

The attidue of the British Government/Civil Service towards
"secrets" is of course legendary in its absurdity. Freedom of Information
act please!

Steve Baldwin
[email-masked]

------------------------------

Date:    Tue, 25 Jan 1994 09:38:09 MET
From:    Ireneusz Jakobik <[email-masked]>
Subject: Monino Museum

John Sloan writes:

>descriptive of what it really has. Also have been to the aviation museum at
>Monino. The director there wants to organize a WWII commemoration of aviation

John,
Not so long ago I read that Monino was still oficially a military base and that
you needed a special permission if you wanted to visit it. Of course there
were no problems if you were a journalist or worked for TV, etc, but if you
were a 'normal' visitor you could have some problems with getting there.
Is it true? Or is Monino an open museum now?
BTW, Just after the war Soviet army captured a two-seater trainer version of
Me-163 Komet. Is it on display at Monino?
Irek.

------------------------------

Date:    Tue, 25 Jan 1994 08:11:03 EST
From:    Ken Koester <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Movie realism

>> BTW, someone mentioned a B&W WWII movie with Bob Newhart; it was HELL IS
>> FOR HEROES, starring Steve McQueen.
>
>Newhart spoke about this film on the Tonight Show recently.  He basically
>said the whole thing was weird.  They kept rewriting the script and went
>way, way over budget.  Eventually, Paramount just said "no more money.
>After such-and-such a date, everything stops."  When that date came, they
>stopped, but the story never got finished.  The movie was released anyways.
>
>He said the movie ends when someone is crawling towards a machine gun
>bunker in the midst of a battle and then ... roll credits.
>
>Totally weird.

Not really--the movie resolves every thing that needs resolution.  The
biggest problem is that it tries to do too much:  it starts out to be the
story of how an understrength platoon covers way too much front while the
rest of the batallion is attending to other business, but then it gets a
little sidetracked by the subplot of why Steve McQueen got busted down in
rank & how many shots of his grease gun they can cram in (-: & has a
little difficulty figuring out how to end both plots at the same time.
Newhart's simulation of the rest of the batallion radio chatter to confuse
German eavesdroppers is priceless, IMHO.

ken koester
[email-masked]

------------------------------

Date:    Tue, 25 Jan 1994 07:06:00 EST
From:    mc killop <[email-masked]>
Subject: USAAF 25 JAN 44

COMBAT CHRONOLOGY OF THE US ARMY AIR FORCES
TUESDAY, 25 JANUARY 1944
FTP SITES
  1. ftp.rutgers.edu in directory pub/wwii/usaf
  2. byrd.mu.wvnet.edu (129.71.32.152) in pub/history/military/airforce/
     wwii_chronology

AIRCRAFT MENTIONED IN THIS REPORT:
  A-20, Douglas Havoc
  A-24, Douglas Dauntless
  A-36, North American Apache
  B-24, Consolidated Liberator
  B-25, North American Mitchell
  B-26, Martin Marauder
  Beaufighter, Bristol
  C-47, Douglas Skytrain
  P-39, Bell Airacobra
  P-40, Curtiss
  P-47, Republic Thunderbolt
  P-70, Douglas

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA (CBI) THEATER OF OPERATIONS

  CHINA (Fourteenth Air Force): B-25's on sweeps of the E China coast claim
a patrol boat, a tanker and 2 freighters sunk S off Wenchow.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): Mission 192: During the evening,
5 of 5 B-17's drop 1.2 million leaflets on Caen, Reims, Chartres,
Chateauroux and Brest, France without loss.
  Mission 193: In an Oboe Mk II test, the Oboe equipment failed 3 minutes
before the target (Aachen, Germany) and the B-17 dropped on the ETA; the
B-17 was damaged by flak.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): Nearly 150 B-26's, airborne to bomb
V-weapon sites in France, are forced to abandon the missions because of heavy
clouds.
  HQ 391st Bombardment Group (Medium) arrives at Matching, England from the
US.
  HQ 435th Troop Carrier Group and 76th and 78th Troop Carrier Squadrons
transfer from Langer to Welford Park, England with C-47's.

MEDITERRANEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (MTO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Fifteenth Air Force): In Italy, B-17's bomb targets
of opportunity (highways and railroad bridges) at Pedaso, SE of Pedaso, at
Stazione di Monte Silvano and on the Vomano River NW of Pescara; other B-17's
return bombs to base after finding targets obscured by bad weather.
  HQ 456th Bombardment Group (Heavy) and 745th, 746th and 747th transfer from
Cerignola to Stornara, Italy with B-24's; first mission is 10 Feb.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Twelfth Air Force): In Italy, B-25's bomb Valmontone;
B-26's hit the Sezze marshalling yard, the Sezze-Bassiano road, Amelia, and
Rieti marshalling yard; A-20's attack Terelle; A-36's hit Civita Castellana,
Itri, Velletri, and railroad rolling stock in the area; P-40's hit Velletri
and Belmonte in Sabina and strafe trucks E of Fondi; P-40's and P-47's hit
shipping in Dubrovnik, Yugoslavia, and nearby road and rail traffic. British
fighters of the Royal Air Force (RAF) Desert Air Force hit bridge approaches
at Popoli, near the British Eighth Army front.
  Detachment of the 416th Night Fighter Squadron, Twelfth Air Force (attached
to RAF No. 286 Wing) at Rerhaia, Algeria returns to base at Grottaglie, Italy
with Beaufighters.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA, Seventh Air Force): In the Marshall Islands, 24
A-24's from Makin Island, Gilbert Islands, supported by 12 P-39's, attack gun
positions on Mille Atoll; 8 B-25's from Tarawa Atoll, Gilbert Islands, bomb a
vessel and shore targets at Taroa Island, Maloelap Atoll; later, in a dusk
attack, 18 B-24's flying out of the Gilbert Islands bomb Kwajalein Atoll,
hitting runways and AA positions.
  26th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 11th Bombardment Group (Heavy),
transfers from Nukufetau Island, Ellice Islands to Tarawa Atoll with B-24's.

SOUTH PACIFIC AREA (SOPAC, Thirteenth Air Force): 19 B-24's, following 3
which drop flares, attack Lakunai airfield, New Britain Island, during the
late evening.
  106th Reconnaissance Squadron (Bombardment), Thirteenth Air Force (attached
to 42d Bombardment Group (Medium)) transfers from Guadalcanal Island, Solomon
Islands to Sterling Island, Treasury Islands with B-25's. It will be
redesignated 100th Bombardment Squadron (Medium) on 9 May.
  419th Night Fighter Squadron, 18th Fighter Group, based on Guadalcanal
Island, sends a detachment to Bougainville Island, Solomon Islands with
P-70's.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA (SWPA, Fifth Air Force): In New Guinea, 50+ B-24's
pound the Hansa Bay area; 37 B-25's bomb Alexishafen and Madang; and P-39's
strafe barges on the Rai Coast. P-40's and A-20's hit Gasmata Island off
New Britain Island. 50+ B-25's bomb Lorengau, Manus Island and Momote, Los
Negros Island.

SOURCES:
AIR FORCE COMBAT UNITS OF WORLD WAR II, Office of Air Force History,
  Headquarters USAF, 1961, ISBN 0-912799-02-1
COMBAT SQUADRONS OF THE AIR FORCE, WORLD WAR II, Office of Air Force
  History, Headquarters USAF 1982
THE ARMY AIR FORCES IN WORLD WAR II: COMBAT CHRONOLOGY, 1941-1945 by the
  Office of Air Force History, Headquarters USAF, 1973
THE MIGHTY EIGHTH WAR DIARY by Roger A. Freeman, ISBN 1-85409-071-2

Jack McKillop
USAF (Airways and Air Communications Service)
1955-59

-------------------------------------------------------------------
|  Jack McKillop              |  Those who have long enjoyed such |
|  Bellcore                   |  privileges as we enjoy forget in |
|  Piscataway, NJ USA         |  time that men have died to win   |
|  [email-masked]  |  them.                     FDR    |
-------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------

Date:    Tue, 25 Jan 1994 09:21:00 EST
From:    "W. C. (RUSTY) DIVENS" <[email-masked]>
Subject: MOVIES: realism

For those of you interested in the aviation end of things, there
is a book (I probably mentioned it before) WHEN HOLLYWOOD RULED THE SKIES
that chronicles most,if not all, of the WWII aviation movies including
the hardware used, film sites used, etc.  It contains a lot of interesting
trivia including how some of the B-17's used in TWELVE o'CLOCK HIGH were
previously used in A-bomb radiation testing and were 'hot' and could
only be used so many hours per day.  It also tells the story of the
famous B-17 wheels-up landing sequence that was made for the movie and
has found its way into so many other WWII movies...and how a metal tent
pole was nearly fatal to the pilot (Paul Mantz or Frank Tallman, I forget
which) during the scene.

Great stuff for those interested.

Bill
[email-masked]
"Ercoupe driver"

------------------------------

Date:    Tue, 25 Jan 1994 09:29:14 -0500
From:    Patricia A White __ Oxford University Press __ MIS
         <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Machinery of Destruction

Raul Hilberg is the historian to read.
He wrote a three volume work entitled _The Destruction of the European
Jews_.  It's been condensed into a 1-volume academic edition but I'd
recommend the extended work.  It's jam packed with details and it
goes into how the bureaucracy worked.  One of the more interesting and
poignant anecdotes is that of Germany billing Romania for the train
fare of all the Jews going to Auschwitz.  They all had to pay for
second class fares (even though they rode in those cattle cars).  The
funds were, of course, appropriated from the victims.

-Patricia White
 [email-masked]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Those who know that they are profound strive for clarity.  Those who would
like to seem profound to the crowd strive for obscurity."  --Nietzsche

------------------------------

Date:    Tue, 25 Jan 1994 09:46:59 -0500
From:    Joe Barone <[email-masked]>
Subject: MEDIA: Telly Savales dead at 70

I just read in the paper that Telly Savales died on Saturday, 1/22,
of prostate cancer.  He was 70.  The obit mentioned his TV role as
Kojak and listed his movie roles.  "Kelly's Heroes" was in the list.
By some strange quirk, last night's episode of "Combat!" guest starred
Telly as a driven Greek colonel.  Bummer.
--
Joe Barone
[email-masked]
I'm not interested in defenders, I'm interested in hotels, OK?  Hey,
look, you have to think of us as tourists.  I don't want any military
information, I just want to know which hotel is the most comfortable.

------------------------------

Date:    Tue, 25 Jan 1994 11:53:00 EST
From:    mc killop <[email-masked]>
Subject: Admiral Nimitz

The following is from the AIR FORCE NEWS AGENCY

This is from American Forces Information Service:

(NOTE TO EDITORS:  The following is the text portion of Art Pack World
War II piece.)

Rebuilding the Pacific Fleet Took Care, Precision and
'The Man to Win a War'

        Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, was a depressing and depressed place in January
1942. Most battleships of the U.S. Pacific Fleet were resting on the
bottom of the harbor as a result of the Japanese attack on 7 Dec 1941.
Navy and civilian workers were still retreiving bodies out of the
sunken ships.
        The news from around the Pacific was horrendous. The Japanese were
triumphant everywhere. Hong Kong, Guam and Wake Island had fallen,
American and Filipino soldiers were trapped in Bataan, and a scratch
team of American, British, Dutch and Australian ships was fighting a
losing battle against the Japanese in the Netherland East Indies.
        Gloom pervaded the staff of the Pacific Fleet. The Navy relieved
Admiral Husband E. Kimmel of command and charged him with dereliction
of duty. The staff was sure his replacement would clean house and bring
his own people in.
        But Admiral Chester W. Nimitz did no such thing. He arrived in Hawaii
and kept the staff together. He moved beyond the aftermath of the
Japanese attack and set out to rebuild the Pacific Fleet.
        He didn't have much to work with, but he recognized the face of naval
warfare had changed. Aircraft carriers replaced battleships as the
centerpiece of naval strategy. Nimitz used carrier task forces to
launch hit-and-run attacks in early 1942. Then, putting his trust in an
intelligence coup, he placed the last three U.S. carriers in the
Pacific in position to surprise the Japanese at the Battle of Midway.
        The American pilots sank four Japanese carriers during the battle,
and historians call it the turning point in the Pacific.  Nimitz was a
shrewd judge of character. He appointed Admiral William Halsey, Admiral
Raymond Spruance, Admiral Marc Mitscher, Marine General Alexander A.
Vandegrift, Marine Lieutenant General Roy Geiger and Army Lieutenant
General Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr.
        Nimitz handled his assignment with care and precision.  Historian
Edwin P. Hoyt said of the men who led the fight in the Pacific that,
"Halsey was the man to win a battle for you, Spruance was the man to
win a campaign, but Nimitz was the man to win a war."
        And Nimitz was right there aboard the USS Missouri as one of the
Allied leaders accepting the Japanese surrender in September 1945.
        President Franklin Roosevelt promoted Nimitz to five-star Fleet
Admiral in 1944. He died in 1955.

END OF PRESS PACK

--

      // \\
    //     \\                    Air Force News Agency
   |         |               Kelly Air Force Base, Texas, USA
   \\  {*}  //                   [email-masked]
   \  CMSgt  /      ___________________ /____________________________________
   \  Mike   /
   \ Bergman /
     \     /

------------------------------

Date:    Tue, 25 Jan 1994 12:02:00 EST
From:    mc killop <[email-masked]>
Subject: Big Week

THE FOLLOWING IS FROM THE AIR FORCE NEWS AGENCY

012.  "Big Week" Bombardment
by Maj. David B. Cox
     On 19 Feb 44, the winter cloud cover that had protected Germany
from accurate aerial bombardment since the autumn of 1943 began to
disperse.  Major General Frederick L. Anderson, deputy for operations,
United States Strategic Air Forces, now had the chance to commence
bombing of the German aircraft industrial complex and wear down the
defending Luftwaffe.
     Planned since November 1943, the 20-25 Feb bombing campaign,
code-named "Argument," later known as "the Big Week," would be the
largest bombing effort of World War II.  During "Big Week," American
heavy bombers from the Eighth and Fifteenth Air Forces, escorted by
long-range fighters, flew daylight raids deep into Germany.  The
British Royal Air Force flew night bombing stories to complement the
Army Air Forces operation.
     On the night of 19/20 Feb, the RAF struck airframe manufacturing
plants in Leipzig, weakening the German night fighter force.  The day
of the 20th, more than 1,000 B-17 and B-24 bombers attacked aircraft
manufacturing plants in Leipzig, Brunswick, Bernberg, and surrounding
areas.  The U.S. forces lost only 21 aircraft.  Building damage was
heavy, but the machine tools to manufacture the aircraft parts suffered
little damage.
     On the night of 20/21 Feb, RAF Bomber Command attacked aircraft
industries around Stuttgart.  During daylight on 21 Feb, 764 Eighth Air
Force bombers struck aircraft industry targets at Brunswick.  Inclement
weather prevented the Fifteenth Air Force from participating.  Since
targets were obscured by clouds, bombing accuracy suffered and targets
sustained little damage.  Opposition again was light and the U.S.
forces lost just three aircraft.
     Operations were not so easy on the 23rd.  Largely due to poor
weather and increased German fighter presence, less than 25 percent of
bombers launched made it to their primary targets.  The Eighth Air
Force lost 41 bombers and the Fifteenth Air Force lost 14.
     The final two raids of "Big Week," 24-25 Feb, struck the ball-
bearing plants at Schweinfurt and Stuttgart, and aircraft factories at
Gotha, Regensberg, Augsberg and Furth.  Damage to these targets was
extensive, but the raids cost the Americans 124 bombers.
     "Big Week" marked a turning point in the strategic bombing
campaign.  The first raid of "Big Week " convinced German plant
authorities to disperse operations into the countryside, cutting
aircraft production by two months when the Luftwaffe needed it most.
The Luftwaffe also suffered heavy casualties, losing 33 percent of its
single-engine fighter force and 18 percent of its trained pilots.  In
addition, the resolve of German pilots wilted before increasing numbers
of Allied escort fighters.  The Luftwaffe never recovered from the
losses in aircraft, pilots and morale sustained during the "Big Week."

(Maj. David B. Cox, USAFR, is assigned to the Air Force
Historical Research Agency, Maxwell AFB, Ala.)
--

      // \\
    //     \\                    Air Force News Agency
   |         |               Kelly Air Force Base, Texas, USA
   \  CMSgt  /      ___________________ /____________________________________
   \  Mike   /
   \ Bergman /
     \     /

------------------------------

Date:    Tue, 25 Jan 1994 12:22:48 EST
From:    John Sloan <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Monino Museum

Reply to IREK about Aviation museum at Monino generated by my earlier note
about it.
It is a closed military base. As an example, during my visit in July 93, I
wanted to leave early to return to Moscow for a meeting, while the group I
had taken was to remain the day. But when my friends in Moscow tried to send
a car for me they could not even find a driver who know where the place is.
Seems the entire region was previously off limits. ON the otherhand I note
that now they have set up a small sales store in the outer rooms and are
catering to civilian visitors. There were some groups of Russian school
childern on class tour there when we were. So the situation is expanding.
However, for the two group visits I took, I had prior arrangements and
military escorts. This is even more true for the Museum of Military Uniforms.
This is located on the compound of the Russian version of quartermaster and
is part of the laboratory for development of new uniforms - like our Natick I
guess. Anyway it is fabulous, with uniforms back to Peter I in rows of cases
on manikins etc. Special permission is required and no photos allowed.
As for the captured GErman aircraft. It was my clear impression that all
aircraft at Monino are Russian and Soviet. I did not see a single foreign
aircraft. More likely the captured German aircraft might be at the Central
Museum of the Armed Forces, unless it was  disassembled for reengineering
purposes. Of course some of the Russian aircraft at Monino are designs copied
from the West. I recall one early model rocket aircraft. Unfortunately I am
not into hardware and especially know nothing about aircraft. The American
air force officers I took with me were mightly impressed however.   Hope this
helps a bit and generates more comment.
John Sloan

------------------------------

Date:    Tue, 25 Jan 1994 12:01:57 -0600
From:    John Lundstrom <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Admiral Nimitz

Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz was certainly one of the finest commanders
in WWII. One somewhat unappreciated trait of his was his aggressiveness. Far
from executing just hit-and-run raids, he sought to grapple with the
Combined Fleet as soon as conditions allowed even marginal odds. In April
1942 he anticipated a widespread Japanese offensive in the South Pacific
with Port Moresby as only just the first objective. That was why he
committed his total carrier strength to battle in the South Pacific. That
only foreshadowed his equal determination to fight at Midway.
        FAdm. Nimitz died on 20 Feb. 1966.
                John Lundstrom [email-masked]

------------------------------

Date:    Tue, 25 Jan 1994 20:29:27 GMT
From:    Gudmundur Helgason <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Schweinfurt raid and FW-190

>
> >>
> >
> >Hi,
> >The FW-190 had upward firing cannons (I think the designation was G8)
> >that were totally automatic and activated by light sensors when the
> >fighter flew beneath the belly of a bomber. It has been estimated the
> >over half of the USAAF bombers shot down in the Sweinfurt raid had been
> >shot down with this equipment.
> >The FW-190 also had DOWNWARD firing cannons at one time (tank killers).
> >
> >Bye for now,
> >
> >
> >
>
> Gudmundur,
>      I've read a lot of books on the Luftwaffe, but the only mention of upward
> firing guns I've seen were the "schrage Musik" that night fighters used. That
> light sensor system sounds awfully impractical, especially with the shades of
> light caused by clouds and other aircraft.  Do you have a reference where I can
> read more about this?  I also have never seen any mention of upward firing FW
> 190's in Schweinfurt records.  Which raid are you discussing, the first or
> second?
>
>                                              LTC Con Crane
>                                              USMA
>

        Hi, Crane
        The equipment I am talking about (G8 I think) was a variation of
the "Jazz music" and had 4 upward firing machine guns IN THE WINGS and
not one in the back of the cockpit. The source of this information is
Green's excellent book "The Warplanes OF The Third Reich" and the G8 is
just one of many examples of these experiments.
        I am talking about the later Schweinfurt raid (okt. 14 1943)
when 65 were shot down, 2 crashed and 17 damaged beyond repair (these
numbers seem to vary a bit)
        I have to disagree with you Crane about the effectiveness of
these light sensors, they did not active by clouds only by very string
shadows and the Germans were very pleased with them I believe.
        Also the downward firing cannons, also in the wings, were
activated by magnetic responces when they passed over a T-34 for
example.
I will go and get the Green book again just to double check, but I am
quite sure these fact are correct.

bye

Gudmundur J. Helgason

E-mail to:    [email-masked]

------------------------------

Date:    Tue, 25 Jan 1994 15:41:24 EST
From:    Lowe Barrett MAJ <[email-masked]>
Subject: Books on Rangers (for Sidney)

Sidney,

Reference your earlier post about some books on the Rangers
in WWII.

These I have in my library.  There are others, but this is
a good start.

Bear

Books about Rangers in WW2

We Led The Way by William O. Darby and William Baumer
(Baumer was one of Darby's classmates at West Point)
Presido Press, 1980  (sorry no ISBN)

Commandos and Rangers of World War II by James Ladd
St. Martin's Press, 1978  (sorry no ISBN)

William Orlando Darby:  A Military Biography by Michael J. King
ISBN 0-268-01867-0
Archon Books, 1981

US Army Rangers and LRRP Units, 1942-87 by Gordon L. Rottman
Osprey Elite Series
ISBN 0-85045-795-5
Osprey Publishing, 1987

Rangers:  Selected Combat Operations in World War II
by Michael J. King
Leavenworth Papers #11  June 1985
Combat Studies Institute, Ft. Leavenworth, KS  66027

US Army Special Operations in World War II
by David W. Hogan, Jr.
Center of Military History
Department of the Army, Washington DC 1992
(available thru GPO)
Barrett F. Lowe               RANGERS LEAD THE WAY!
MAJ, IN
Dept of Physics, West Point  (e-mail:  [email-masked])

------------------------------

Date:    Tue, 25 Jan 1994 22:35:18 +0100
From:    Emmanuel Gustin <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Schweinfurt raid and FW-190

Regarding the Fw 190... Someone mentioned the use of the Fw 190 as a
radar-equipped night fighter. Most Fw 190 night fighters were 'Wilde Sau'
aircraft without radar, but in Air International, June 1992, Alfred Price
writes that:

   "A small number of Fw 190s were fitted with the FuG 218 Neptun radar and
   flew operationally on night defence missions but these aircraft achieved
   little, and the idea was soon dropped."

Designation might be the Fw 190A-6/R11, a version that is often classified
as 'all-wheater' rather than 'nightfighter' (and some sources do not
mention a radar installation.) 'Neptun' had a maximum range of 5km and a
minimum range of 130m. Antenna configuration is shown elsewhere as rows of
three antennas on the nose before the cockpit, on the tail before the fin,
and under the wings. It must have been very difficult for the pilots to
use their radar; aslo remember that German radar development was far
behind allied (mostly British) know-how.

Then the use of upward-firing rockets or guns on the Fw 190 has been
discussed. Upward firing rockets, triggered by photocells, were developed
for the Me 163 rocket-engined fighter, but they are never mentioned for
the Fw 190. I think that this has been confused with a weapon that the Me
109 and Fw 190 DID use: large 21cm rockets in underwing launch tubes, one
each. They had a 40kg warhead and were fused to explode at 1000m ahead.
They were intended to break up bomber formations, but were not very
useful; judging the correct firing distance was too difficult, and the
drag and weight were considerable. These were indeed used in the battle at
Schweinfurt.

Emmanuel Gustin

------------------------------

Date:    Tue, 25 Jan 1994 16:10:23 -0400
From:    "Dennis E. Sparks" <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Monino museum

Sorry to trouble the rest of the list, but I was too quick on the
"d" key and deleted John's original message unintentionally.....

John Sloan,

Could you please post at least a partial list of the aircraft at
the Monino museum?  (Keeping to the charter of the list, make that
the WWII-vintage aircraft...)  If you're interested, I'm always
eager to trade photographs of either airshow warbirds or from the
USAF museum at Wright Patterson AFB for photographs from other
museums, etc.

Dennis E. Sparks
[email-masked]
Lexington, Kentucky

New tag line, as heard on re-run of David Letterman's late night
TV show last night....

"Have you ever wondered what it would be like if there were no
hypothetical situations?"
                            John Mendoza

------------------------------

Date:    Tue, 25 Jan 1994 17:11:33 EST
From:    John Sloan <[email-masked]>
Subject: Americal Div in WWII

Shelby Stanton's book - _Order of Battle of US Army in WWII_ contains short
sketches of both American div actions and 164th REgiment. He says Americal
Div arrived on Letey to relieve 77th Div during period 8-28 Jan 1945.
Division was in attack on Villaba on Leyte Feb - mar 45. Then went on to
conduct heavier operations on Cebu.  For 164th Regt he says it arrived Leyte
21 Jan 45 and was attached to Eighth Army Area Command - 7 Mar 5 April. The
antitank co then assaulted Cebu Island on 26 Mar 45 and the rest of the
REgiment joined the division attack on the island on 10 April. It was then at
Negros Occidental on 26 April 45.
Hope this helps pin down a bit the actions you are interested in.
John Sloan
johns426@ AOL.COM

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Date:    Tue, 25 Jan 1994 08:41:05 -0500
From:    Christopher Morton <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Machinery of Destruction

>
> I am doing some research on the bureaucracy surrounding the Holocaust.
> Specifically, I am interested in the role played by the German rail
> system-such as what they charged to deport people, how they set their
> priorities as to who got the trains etc.  Does anybody know of any
> resource materials which may be helpful?  If so, please send me E-mail at
> [email-masked]    Thanks in advance,

Try "Order of the Death's Head" by Hoene(sp).  You should at least get some
leads.

------------------------------

Date:    Tue, 25 Jan 1994 22:08:27 EST
From:    Larry & Kim Jewell <[email-masked]>
Subject: ADMIN: Patience please...

I have doctors appointments Wednesday which will tell me when I can get up
to full speed. Please bear with me until I get clearance for full time
work with the list. For the proofreaders, I hope to have the final part done
by 1 Feb. and the disks in the mail soon after. Hang on to your work until
I contact you. I'll still be answering emergency mail, but Kim has promised
to lock up my keyboard if I spend too much time at the screen, so "stay
tuned to this station". Meanwhile, I'm training Kim to handle errors so
if you accidently get kicked on the list, send us a note.

Larry J

[email-masked]; Listowner: WWII-L; Moderator: BYRD.MU.WVNET.EDU
"Sunday's horoscope is note worthy because of its strange, sudden and wholly
unpredictable and inexplicable occurrences, affecting all phases of life."
Your Horoscope" L.A. Evening Herald Express, Sat, 12/06/41

------------------------------

Date:    Tue, 25 Jan 1994 20:37:57 PST
From:    Sidney Allinson <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Books on Rangers (for Sidney)

Many thanks!
The last two titles sound particularly promising for my researches.
I shall send for them tomorrow.
Once again, the Rangers lead the way, indeed.
Best regards.

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End of WWII-L Digest - 24 Jan 1994 to 25 Jan 1994
*************************************************