Subject: WWII-L Digest - 10 May 1994 to 11 May 1994

From: Automatic digest processor <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 12 May 1994 00:01:25 -0400

There are 13 messages totalling 450 lines in this issue.

Topics of the day:

  1. INF: USN Chronology 05-11-94
  2. INF: USAAF 11 MAY 44
  3. MEDIA: Silent Service (2)
  4. Order of Battle
  5. P-61 Black Widow
  6. GEN: Horrors of WWII -- are they over? (2)
  7. military brats wanted
  8. Kit Carson
  9. How To Locate Croutier's Forbidden Diary
 10. TRIV Colorization
 11. Zhukov shoots Beria?

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Date:    Wed, 11 May 1994 01:17:39 PST
From:    "Keller, Theron P." <[email-masked]>
Subject: INF: USN Chronology 05-11-94

UNITED STATES NAVY CHRONOLOGY
from:
//byrd.mu.wvnet.edu/pub/history/military/wwii/naval_chronology/chr4(4,5).txt

1944
05/11 Thu. Submarine CREVALLE (SS-291) evacuates 28 women and
           children from Negros, P. I.
           United States Naval Advanced Amphibious Base,
           Southampton, England, is established.

Theron P. Keller
Logicon, Inc.
Dahlgren, VA  22448 USA
[email-masked]

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

Date:    Wed, 11 May 1994 06:57:00 EDT
From:    mc killop <[email-masked]>
Subject: INF: USAAF 11 MAY 44

COMBAT CHRONOLOGY OF THE US ARMY AIR FORCES
THURSDAY, 11 MAY 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-36, North American Apache
  B-17, Boeing Flying Fortress
  B-24, Consolidated Liberator
  B-25, North American Mitchell
  B-26, Martin Marauder
  Beaufighter, Bristol
  L-5, Stinson Sentinel
  P-38, Lockheed Lightning
  P-39, Bell Airacobra
  P-40, Curtiss
  P-47, Republic Thunderbolt
  P-51, North American Mustang

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA (CBI) THEATER OF OPERATIONS

  BURMA-INDIA (Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 70+ B-25s, A-36s, P-51s and P-40s,
attack the Myitkyina and Pinbaw areas, Sahmaw, targets NW of Kamaing, gun
positions at Nsopzup and targets of opportunity along the road from
Inkangahtawng to Kamaing; 24 P-51s attack the airfield at Meiktila, Anisakan
and Heho, shooting down 13 aircraft in the area; 14 B-24s pound Maymyo
railroad station; 12 B-25s attack the railroad in the Shwebo-Sagaing area;
and 12 other B-25s knock out bridges at Pyu, Thawatti, Ela and 7 mi (11.2 km)
S of Ela.

  CHINA (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 24 P-40s knock out the main bridge
N of Mangshih, bomb the town area of Lungchwanchiang, and in French
Indochina, damage a radio station on Cat Ba Island and destroy several large
junks off shore, and attack a power dam W of Cao Bang, buildings at Dong
Dang, and boxcars and oil drums at Lang Giai. In China, 6 B-25s and 24 P-40s
(some firing rockets) pound railroad yards and depot at Sinyang, blast a
warehouse area 30 mi (48 km) to the N and sink a small freighter, 3 motor
launches and several sampans between Siaokan and Chienli; 2 B-25s and 4 P-40s
hit troops, tanks and trucks in the Yenshih-Tengfeng-Mihsien area and in the
Luchou-Hsiangcheng vicinity; 6 P-40s pound supply dumps at Mienchih and 13
P-40s sink at least 5 supply boats on the Yangtze River in the Hosueh area.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): Mission 350: 364 B-24s and 536
fighters are dispatched to bomb marshalling yards in France; 8 B-24s and 5
fighters are lost:
  1. 144 are dispatched to hit Mulhouse; 94 bomb the primary, 19 hit Belfort,
13 bomb Orleans/Bricy Airfield and 2 hit Mezidon/Pithiviers; 1 B-24 is lost,
2 damaged beyond repair and 17 damaged; 1 airman is KIA, 7 WIA and 40 MIA.
  2. 74 are dispatched to Belfort; 33 bomb the primary and 24 hit Chaumont;
1 B-24 is lost.
  3. 76 are dispatched to Epinal; 68 hit the primary and 1 bombs Caen
Airfield; 3 B-24s are lost.
  4. 70 are dispatched to Chaumont but none bomb; 3 B-24s are lost, 1
damaged beyond repair and 30 damaged; 1 airman is WIA and 31 MIA.
  Escort is provided by 147 P-38s, 188 P-47s and 201 P-51s; the P-38s claim
2-0-0 Luftwaffe aircraft on the ground, the P-47s claim 3-0-2 in the air
and 2-0-6 on the ground and the P-51s claim 3-0-0 on the ground; 2 P-4s and
3 P-51s are lost, 1 P-51 is damaged beyond repair and 2 P-38s, 6 P-47s and
2 P-51s are damaged; 5 pilots are MIA.
  Mission 351: In the afternoon, 609 B-17s and 471 fighters are dispatched
to hit marshalling yards in Belgium, France, Germany and Luxembourg; 8 B-17s
and 4 fighters are lost; primary targets are Brussels/Midi (55 bomb),
Brussels (49 bomb) and Liege, Belgium (119 bomb, 2 lost); Saarbrucken (58
bomb, 5 lost), Kons Karthaus (55 bomb) and Ehrang (60 bomb, 1 lost), Germany;
and Luxembourg (53 bomb); 12 hit the secondary target at Thionville, France;
and 16 hit Volkingen, Germany; 19 hit Bettembourg, Luxembourg and 51 hit
other targets of opportunity; 8 B-17s are lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and
172 damaged; 2 airmen are KIA, 23 WIA and 83 MIA. Escort is provided by 99
P-38s, 182 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-47s and 190 Eighth and Ninth Air
Force P-51s; the P-51s claim 11-0-4 Luftwaffe aircraft; 4 P-51s are lost,
the pilots are MIA.
  Mission 352: 4 of 5 B-17s drop 2.4 million leaflets over Denmark; 2
airmen are KIA and 3 WIA.
  4 B-24s are dispatched on CARPETBAGGER missions.
  850th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), VIII Air Force Composite Command
attached to 801st Bombardment Group (Provisional), moves from Eye to
Cheddington, England with B-24s; the squadron is flying CARPETBAGGER
missions.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): 330+ B-26s attack airfields at
Beaumont-le-Roger and Cormeilles-en-Vexin and marshalling yard at Mezieres/
Charleville, France and Aerschot, Belgium. Bad visibility and failure to
rendezvous with fighters cause 100+ aborts. This is start of Ninth Air
Force's participation in AAF pre-invasion offensive against airfields.
  14th Liaison Squadron, XIX Tactical Air Command attached to Third Army,
moves from Alderley Edge to Knutsford, England with L-5s; first mission is
in Jul 44.

MEDITERRANEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (MTO)

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Twelfth Air Force): In Italy, medium bombers, hampered
by weather, attack Portoferraio, bridges near Orvieto and Ficulle, tracks at
Piombino, viaduct at Poggibonsi and bridges at Certaldo and Signa; fighter-
bombers hit Fondi, rail lines NE of Rome, Littoria Airfield, rail facilities
in the Perugia area, barge, harbor area, and factory in the Portoferraio
area, and tracks near Castiglione d'Orcia; other fighter-bombers attack
numerous positions along the main front as the US Fifth and British Eighth
Armies begin an assault through the Gustav Line and the drive toward Rome.
  414th Night Fighter Squadron, 63d Fighter Wing, based at Elmas, Sardinia,
sends a detachment to Alghero, Sardinia with Beaufighters; other detachments
are at Borgo and Ghisonaccia, Corsica.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA, Seventh Air Force): B-24s, staging through Eniwetok
Atoll, bomb Truk Atoll during the night of 10/11 May. During the day B-25s
from Engebi Island hit Ponape Island while others, based on Makin Island,
pound Jaluit Atoll.

SOUTH PACIFIC AREA (SOPAC, Thirteenth Air Force): On New Britain Island, 8
P-38s bomb a supply-personnel area W of Tobera; 12 B-25s, 12 P-40s and 3
B-24s hit Vunakanau Airfield; fighters on sweeps and bombing missions hit
various targets at Kabanga Plantation, the Gazelle Peninsula area, N of the
Sae River and at Labout. On Bougainville Island, 70+ P-39s, P-40s, and
P-38s (flying a total of 18 missions) attack a variety of targets, including
piers at Chabai, Ratsua and Porton, wooded area near Pipipaia, town of
Siruluna, bridge at Tokinotu, and Buka Airfield on Buka Island.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA (SWPA, Fifth Air Force): In New Guinea, 190+ B-24s and
B-25s bomb gun emplacements and supply areas on Wakde Island and Mokmer
Airfield and targets of opportunity on Biak Island; 220+ fighter-bombers,
A-20s, B-24s and B-25s continue to pound coastal bridges and villages, fuel
dumps, vehicles, gun positions, supply areas, bivouacs and various targets
along the shoreline from Hansa Bay to Wewak.

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    |
-------------------------------------------------------------------

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Date:    Wed, 11 May 1994 08:01:39 EDT
From:    [email-masked]
Subject: MEDIA: Silent Service

Joe,  If anyone would still have this " The Silent Service " produced in the
late 50s.  Here are some ideas... Naval Academy, Electric Boat, UCLA and or
USC Media Libraries.  Check even for the names of people associated with the sh
ow.....  The Pentagon used to have a media office that actually made films and
later tried to manage others who made them for the Services ie. training films,
health films, even civilian dos and don't distributed to local theatres.
And when all else fails try the Smithsonian Instituion's National Museum of
American History, Military History.  Or call American History Library branch of
the Smithsonian Libraries.  Good Luck!  or should I say Good Hunting!

H. A. Kurt Luginbyhl
Scientific Computer Specialist
National Museum of Natural History
Washington D.C. 20560

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Date:    Wed, 11 May 1994 07:21:35 GMT-6
From:    Terry Moore <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Order of Battle

Hello, James!

I can check on that for you, bu it may be some time before I can get
it to you. Please be patient. I won't forget you.

    Terry

Terry Moore, Professor of German and French, Amarillo College
P.O. Box 447, Amarillo, Texas 79178, voice 806-371-5077
fax 806-371-5370

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Date:    Wed, 11 May 1994 07:36:26 GMT-6
From:    Terry Moore <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: P-61 Black Widow

Hello, Emmanuel, Peter and Aldo!

Here goes with some more info on the P-61A.

On 20 July 1943, the Army activated the 481st Night Fighter
Operational Training Group at Orlando Field, Florida. Not only was
the 481st responsible for training night fighter crews for
operational units, it also conducted the service tests for the YP-61
and was responsible for night air defense of Florida and the southern
US. Initially the group had one squadron assigned-the 384th NFS. As
the training program developed, squadrons would form as part of the
481st, train their crews, then be issued new aircraft and rotated
overseas on their respective combat assignments.

Only 2 USAAF NF squadrons did not have their crews trained at
Orlando. The 6th NFS and the 414th NFS were operational night fighter
units equipped with either P-70s or Beaufighters and their P-61As
were ferried to them in the combat zone. Initial pilot training for
new units was carried out in the Douglas P-70. They trained in ground
gunnery, both day and night gunnery, skip bombing and night
interception tactics. Radar operators received their first training
in Beech AT-11s followed by the yp-61s. The training course was four
months long. During January, 1944, the 481st NFOTG moved from Orlando
Field to Hammer Field, California.

Before the P-61s had become available the Army had tried several
different aircraft in the night fighter role. Mosquitoes and
Beaufighters had been obtained from the RAF under a kind of reverse
Lend-Lease. These aircraft were fitted with SCR-520 AI radars and
assigned to units in England. In the Pacific, several P-38Js were
fitted with SCR-540 AI radars in an attempt to augment the aging
Douglas P-70s.

The first unit to take the P-61A into combat was the 6th NFS in
Hawaii. The 6th NFS had been a night fighter squadron since late
1942, flying Douglas P-70s and P-38J conversions. On 1 May 1944, the
6th NFS received its first P-61A Black Widow at Hickam Field on Oahu.
Once all the squadron's aircraft were assembled and checked out, the
6th began the long flight to Saipan. Two days later, the 419th NFS
based on Guadalcanal exchanged its war-weary P-70s and P-38
conversions for P-61s.

In Europe, the first unit to take delivery of the P-61A was the 422nd
NFS which had been trained at Orlando Field in YP-61s. On 9 May 1944,
the 422nd brought their P-61As to Scorton RAF Station. They were
followed a month later by the 425th NFS. Combat operations in both
theaters began almost immediately. Although it was the 6th NFS on
Saipan that scored the first Black Widow kill.

More tomorrow.

Terry

Terry Moore, Professor of German and French, Amarillo College
P.O. Box 447, Amarillo, Texas 79178, voice 806-371-5077
fax 806-371-5370

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

Date:    Wed, 11 May 1994 08:39:24 -0400
From:    Kevin Kamphaus <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: MEDIA: Silent Service

Another possibility is the Television Museum in New York City. I doubt that they will give you copies but they may be able to tell you who to contact.

Kevin Kamphaus
[email-masked]

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Date:    Wed, 11 May 1994 08:35:52 -0500
From:    "Sidney W. Kitchel" <[email-masked]>
Subject: GEN: Horrors of WWII -- are they over?

        My wife gets _Travel & Leisure_, a magazine associated with
American Express. The most recent issue came with a smaller magazine
commemorating D-Day. As could be expected this add-on was mainly a
vehicle for travel ads. It was also the vehicle for collateral ads for
stuff like WWII videos. One of these was for _The Longest Day_, the
color version! When will this plague of colorization stop? When will
the WWII horrors end??
                                                        --Sid
--
Sidney W. Kitchel           [email-masked], [email-masked]
Data Parallel Systems, Inc.  ============||  DPSI  ||===============
4617 E. Morningside Drive                             (812) 334-8100
Bloomington, Indiana,  47408  USA               FAX:  (812) 334-8121

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Date:    Wed, 11 May 1994 14:29:01 EDT
From:    [email-masked]
Subject: military brats wanted

          VOLUNTEER BRATS WANTED

          VOLUNTEER BRATS WANTED to participate in a paper and
          pencil survey of military/civilian/missionary/state
          department/international business Brats...We are
          conducting a study of American adults who spent any
          time between birth and 12th grade overseas during
          the Cold War.  If you meet this criteria, send a
          postcard to Morten G. Ender, Department of Sociology,
          University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742 or
          e-mail [email-masked] for more information.
          The study is completely confidential.  We simply
          want to learn more about your experience overseas
          and your life today.

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

Date:    Wed, 11 May 1994 15:23:35 GMT-6
From:    Terry Moore <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: GEN: Horrors of WWII -- are they over?

Hello, Sid!

>         My wife gets _Travel & Leisure_, a magazine associated with
> American Express. The most recent issue came with a smaller magazine
> commemorating D-Day. As could be expected this add-on was mainly a
> vehicle for travel ads. It was also the vehicle for collateral ads for
> stuff like WWII videos. One of these was for _The Longest Day_, the
> color version! When will this plague of colorization stop? When will
> the WWII horrors end??

    Amen to that. And the real culprit in most cases is Ted Turner.
I, too, will never understand why any artist worth his salt would
want to take a masterpiece film made in black and white and colorize
it. Can you imagine "Twelve O'clock High" in living color?

    My thoughts anyway.

    Terry

Terry Moore, Professor of German and French, Amarillo College
P.O. Box 447, Amarillo, Texas 79178, voice 806-371-5077
fax 806-371-5370

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

Date:    Wed, 11 May 1994 16:25:29 -0400
From:    "Dennis E. Sparks" <[email-masked]>
Subject: Kit Carson

Noted in the May 1994 issue of 8th AF News, the quarterly journal
of the 8th AF Historical Society...

Leonard K. "Kit" Carson, died at Long Beach, CA sometime during the
last three months.  He was an ace with the Yoxford Boys, the 357th FG
of the 8th AF during WWII, flying several P-51s named "Nooky Booky",
and wrote a book titled "Pursue and Destroy", which I recommend.
Notice of his death had previously escaped my attention, or perhaps
never made the local paper.

On a different subject, I would like to hear from anyone with
information on the markings of any of the aircraft flown by Vermont
Garrison, an ace with the 4th FG.  A Kentucky native, he went on to
score several more victories while flying F-86s during the Korean War.
I would like to build a series of models of his aircraft for display
at the local airport, but haven't had a lot of success finding
photographs of his aircraft.

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

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

Date:    Wed, 11 May 1994 16:51:20 -0400
From:    William Newbold Ely III <[email-masked]>
Subject: How To Locate Croutier's Forbidden Diary

        Hi to all WWII buffs! My wife, Patty needs to get a good copy of
the following book related to the Philippines during World War II. To
quote her:
"I'm trying to find a out-of-print book called "The Forbidden Diary"
written by Natalie Croutier. It was published either in the late 1970's
or early 1980's and it's about an American woman who was captured by the
Japanese Army and imprisoned in the Philippines during the World War II.
Is there anyone who'd like to unload this book to me?  I'd be very happy
to buy it." unquote.
        Please feel free to e-mail me back or fax me at 703-866-4480.
Thanks, Newby!

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

Date:    Wed, 11 May 1994 20:01:17 -0400
From:    Steven VEST <[email-masked]>
Subject: TRIV Colorization

        There is a faint silver lining to colorization.  Before they
perform the procedure, they search and splice to get the absolute best,
most complete print of the film.  This means that a number of films (such
as 12:00 high) that might have had large sections lost due to breaks etc.
now exist once again in a "new" copy like it was when they showed it in
the theater.  I just turn down the color in my set, grab a beer and
enjoy it the way God intended.

Steven

==========================[email-masked]===========================
= Steven Vest: Head, Off Campus Lib. Services: Nova University, Ft. Ldl, FL =
= Two broken tigers, on fire in the night, flicker their souls to the wind. =
=                                     Al Stewart--Past, Present and Future. =
===============No statements made here reflect Nova University===============

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

Date:    Wed, 11 May 1994 21:41:26 -0400
From:    Emery Ford <[email-masked]>
Subject: Zhukov shoots Beria?

        Hello folks:

        I'm reading a 1990 vintage history of the Soviet Union by
MacKenzie and Curran.  In it, it says that Beria attempted a coup to
overthrow Malenkov after Stalin's death in 1953.  It says this was
thwarted and they speculate that Beria was shot by Zhukov.  Does anyone
know whether it was Zhukov, have any surrounding details, or know of
any other more factual account of the fate of Lavrentii Beria?

        --Emery

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End of WWII-L Digest - 10 May 1994 to 11 May 1994
*************************************************