Subject: WWII-L Digest - 14 Aug 1994 to 15 Aug 1994

From: Automatic digest processor <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 16 Aug 1994 00:01:13 -0400

There are 23 messages totalling 992 lines in this issue.

Topics of the day:

  1. RIP
  2. [INF] USAAF 15 AUG 44
  3. Re[2]: Koreans in Russia [was German squad vs. U.S. Squad]
  4. WEAP: British Naval Aircraft (was Seafire)
  5. [INF] Wake Island revisited again. (2)
  6. INF: USN Chronology 08-14-94
  7. INF: 50 Years Ago - 16-AUG-1944
  8. INF: USN Chronology 08-15-94
  9. Joe Kennedy Jr's Last Mission (2)
 10. Media: Search for Hitler (3)
 11. NOST: More shameless plugging.  :-)
 12. WEAP Japanese Cruiser Names (2)
 13. MIKUMA and MOGAMI -- and question for John Lundstrom
 14. MODELS:  Re-issue
 15. Japan ponders the war
 16. [INF] USAAF 16 AUG 44
 17. [INF] WAKE ISLAND REVI
 18. Research topic

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

Date:    Mon, 15 Aug 1994 07:56:00 EDT
From:    mc killop <[email-masked]>
Subject: RIP

The Associated Press is reporting that Lieutenant Commander Leonard
Goldsworth, RAN Retired, died on 7 Aug at the age of 85.  He was the
most decorated World War II naval officer in Australia.  Goldsworth
served in the Philippines and helped the USN detect and remove
mines during the Philippine campaign and is credited with
potentially saving many Allied ships and thousands of lives.

Requiescat in pace.

-------------------------------------------------------------------
|  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:    Sun, 14 Aug 1994 19:46:00 EDT
From:    mc killop <[email-masked]>
Subject: [INF] USAAF 15 AUG 44

COMBAT CHRONOLOGY OF THE US ARMY AIR FORCES
TUESDAY, 15 AUGUST 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
  C-47, Douglas Skytrain
  F-5, Lockheed Lightning
  F-6, North American Mustang
  L-5, Stinson Sentinel
  Mosquito, deHavilland
  P-38, Lockheed Lightning
  P-39, Bell Airacobra
  P-40, Curtiss
  P-47, Republic Thunderbolt
  P-51, North American Mustang

AMERICAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS

  CARIBBEAN (Sixth Air Force): The 24th Fighter Squadron, XXVI Fighter
Command, moves from Madden Field, Panama to France Field, Canal Zone with
P-39s.

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA (CBI) THEATER OF OPERATIONS

  BURMA-INDIA (Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 70+ P-51s, P-47s, P-40s, and A-36s
hit numerous N Burma targets including general targets of opportunity in the
Bhamo area, a monastery at Pegu, troops E of Mawhun, Loiwing and Lashio
Airfield and rail targets between Naba and Hopin; close support strikes are
flown for ground forces in the Pinbaw and Naba areas; and supply dumps at
Mainghka are bombed and 2 villages N of Kazu are hit and burned out.

  CHINA (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 12 B-25s bomb Kutkai, demolishing 2
large buildings and leaving 14 burning; 35 P-40s attack Tingka, Hsenwi,
Lungling, and Tengchung; and nearly 100 P-40s and P-51s attack troops,
horses, trucks, river shipping, artillery pieces, warehouses, and general
targets of opportunity in or near Sungpai, Sinshih, Hengyang, Chaling,
Leiyang, Sinyang, Siangtan, Hukow, and Changsha. In French Indochina, 4 P-40s
hit coastal shipping at Hongay and Nam Dinh.

  EASTERN AIR COMMAND (EAC): Air Marshall (USAAF Lieutenant General) William
A Coryton assumes command of the Third Tactical Air Force, a major component
of EAC; tactical air force functions remain under Coryton until it is
dissolved on 4 Dec 44.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): Mission 554: 932 bombers and 443
fighters are dispatched to attack 11 airfields in NW Germany, the Netherlands
and Belgium in conjunction with 1,000 Royal Air Force (RAF) heavy bombers and
Mosquitos raiding 9 airfields in the Netherlands and Belgium; 16 bombers and
5 fighters are lost; numbers in parenthesis indicate the number of bombing
attacking:
  1. 219 B-17s are dispatched to hit German airfields at Cologne/Ostheim
(108), Frankfurt/Eschborn (65) and Wiesbaden (38); 3 others hit targets of
opportunity; they claim 4-2-0 Luftwaffe aircraft; 9 B-17s are lost, 2 damaged
beyond repair and 86 damaged; 7 airmen are KIA, 8 WIA and 81 MIA. Escort is
provided by 112 of 141 P-51s; they claim 10-0-1 aircraft; 1 P-51 is lost
(pilot MIA) and 2 damaged.
  2. 350 B-24s are dispatched to German airfields at Wittmundhaafen (91),
Zwischenahn (90), Vechta (67), Plantlunne (54) and Hopstein (10); they claim
9-1-2 aircraft; 4 B-24s are lost and 6 damaged; 1 airman is WIA and 40 MIA.
Escort is provided by 163 P-38s and P-51s; they claim 4-0-0 aircraft in the
air and 7-0-9 on the ground; 2 P-38s and 2 P-51s are lost (pilots MIA); 3
P-51s are damaged; 1 pilot is WIA.
  3. 298 B-17s are dispatched to Dutch airfields at Handorf (109), Venlo
(104) and Twente/Enschede (75); 3 others hit targets of opportunity; 2 B-17s
are lost and 6 damaged; 19 airmen are MIA.
  4. In Belgium, 59 of 65 B-24s hit Florennes/Juzaine Airfield and 1 hits a
target of opportunity; 1 B-24 is lost and 3 damaged.
  The two missions above are escorted by 118 of 124 P-51s without loss.
  33 of 35 P-47s dive-bomb and skip-bomb a repair shop and locomotives in the
marshalling yard at Braine-le-Comtes; 1 P-47 is lost and 4 damaged; 4 pilots
are MIA.
  12 B-24s fly CARPETBAGGER missions during the night.
  HQ 491st Bombardment Group (Heavy) and the 852d, 853d, 854th and 855th
Bombardment Squadrons (Heavy) move from Metfield to North Pickenham, England
with B-24s.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): The 50th and 53d Troop Carrier
Wings, on loan to the Mediterranean Allied Air Force (MAAF), participate in
the invasion of S France as part of the Provisional Troop Carrier Air
Division. In France, 330+ A-20s and B-26s with fighter escort bomb Marseille-
en-Beauvaisis and Foret de Chantilly ammunition and fuel dumps, rail bridges
at Auvers-sur-Oise and L'Isle-Adam, Serqueux marshalling yard, and coastal
defense at Saint- Malo; fighters fly cover for 5 infantry and armored
divisions, and fly extensive armed reconnaissance over N and W France; HQ
365th Fighter Group and 388th Fighter Squadron move from Azeville to
Lignerolles with P-47s; HQ 370th Fighter Group and the 401st, 402d and 485th
Fighter Squadrons move from Cardonville to La Vielle with P-38s; the 14th
Liaison Squadron, XIX Tactical Air Command (attached to Third Army), moves
from St Germain to La Bozoge with L-5s; the 33d Photographic Reconnaissance
Squadron, 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Group, moves from Chalgrove, England
to Le Molay with F-5s; the 356th Fighter Squadron, 354th Fighter Group, moves
from Cricqueville to Gael with P-51s; and the 392d, 393d and 394th Fighter
Squadrons, 367th Fighter Group, move from Carentan to Cricqueville with
P-38s.

MEDITERRANEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (MTO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Fifteenth Air Force): In the Fifteenth AF's first
mass night raid, 252 B-17s and B-24s after a predawn takeoff pound beaches in
the Cannes-Toulon, France area in immediate advance of Operation DRAGOON; 28
other fighter-escorted B-17s bomb highway bridges over the Rhone River; B-17s
sent against coastal gun positions abort the mission owing to poor
visibility; and 166 P-51s escort Mediterranean Tactical Air Force (MATAF)
C-47s carrying airborne invasion troops.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Twelfth Air Force): In France during the night of
14/15 Aug A-20s bomb Le Vallon, Istres, and Orange/Plan de Dieu Airfields and
other Rhone Valley targets while the US Seventh Army carries out preliminary
operations to isolate Operation DRAGOON invasion beaches; the US Special
Service Force invades Levant and Port-Cros Island and secures the left flank
of the assault area; French commandoes land E of Cap Negre and clear coastal
defenses, the French Naval Assault Group lands SW of Cannes and secures the
right flank; the 1st Airborne Task Force drops in the rear of assault beaches
and blocks off the invasion area from the interior; the main force, the US VI
Corps, lands 3 divisions abreast between Nice and Toulon at 0800 hours local;
A-20s bomb barracks in the invasion area while B-25s, B-26s, P-38s, and
P-47s, supporting the invasion, pound beaches, enemy concentrations, and gun
positions in coastal areas and later in the day move attacks inland to
interdict enemy communications lines successfully hitting numerous bridges;
fighters maintain constant patrol over the convoys and invasion area; HQ 64th
Fighter Wing moves from Santa Maria di Caputa, Italy to St Tropez; and the
111th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, XII Tactical Air Command, based at
Borgo, Corsica, sends a detachment to operate from St Maxime and Grimaud with
F-6s.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: B-24s bomb Lolobata
Airfield on Halmahera Island and B-25s attack shipping in the Ternate Island
area, setting a 1,200-ton vessel afire and damaging several luggers and
barges; aircraft on armed reconnaissance hit targets of opportunity in the
Ceram Island area and Tanimbar Island. In New Guinea, P-39s dive-bomb AA
positions at Wewak Point; HQ V Bomber Command moves from Nadzab to Owi,
Schouten Islands; HQ XIII Fighter Command moves from Guadalcanal Island to
Sansapor; HQ 347th Fighter Group and 339th Fighter Squadron move from
Stirling Island, Treasury Islands to Sansapor with P-38s; and the 67th
Fighter Squadron, 347th Fighter Group moves from the Russell Islands to
Middleburg Island with P-38s.

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 them.  |
|  [email-masked]  |                       FDR              |
-------------------------------------------------------------------

14/2348Z AUG

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

Date:    Mon, 15 Aug 1994 08:59:32 -0400
From:    Emery Ford <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Re[2]: Koreans in Russia [was German squad vs. U.S. Squad]

On August 14, Tim Scherrer wrote:

>
>
>It seems absurd the Koreans would be sympathetic to the Japanese for
>anything in this period.  My former sister-in-law is Korean and has no
>love lost for the Japanese.  Don;t forget the comfort girl stpry out a
>couple of years ago.  I can't confirm the Stalin story, but the premise
>seems unlikely.
>

I think I understand the absurdity of Stalin's perceived threats as much
as anyone.  I am particularly interested in theis topic because I am a
veteran of the U.S. Navy as a Korean linguist, who has spent a year over
in the ROK, 1982 to 1983.  I read about the Korean population in the
Soviet Union being relocated early in ww2 recently for the first time, I
think it was in Robert Conquest's book, _STALIN:_THE_BREAKER_OF_NATIONS_.
The passage was brief, as I recall.  The Koreans wouldn't have been the
only population that was relocated by Stalin without raional basis.  I'll
see if I can find it and excerpt it for you.

Does anyone else have any info on this?  Or, perhaps, a comprehensive
listing of the dates, as well as the size of the populations, and their
respective nationalities that were relocated by Stalin during his rule?

Thanks,
        Emery

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

Date:    Mon, 15 Aug 1994 10:58:26 -0400
From:    Barone <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: WEAP: British Naval Aircraft (was Seafire)

Robert E George <[email-masked]> writes:
>
>      I tend to think that British maritime aviation never got the resources
> it deserved: even during the Battle of the Atlantic Coastal Command had
> to fight tooth-and-nail for the long-range a/c earmarked for Bomber Command.

        I remember reading in Marshall Cavendish's "History of the Second
World War" that Coastal Command was painted as petty and self-serving when
Bomber Command commandeered all of its bombers for the first 1,000 bomber
raid on Germany.
--
Joe Barone
[email-masked]
I cut you in on everyt'ing; I don't need you!
Sixty feet of bridge I can pick up almost anywhere!

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

Date:    Mon, 15 Aug 1994 09:38:39 CDT
From:    Robert Hohlt <[email-masked]>
Subject: [INF] Wake Island revisited again.

Hello all,

Today while cleaning out some old posts gathering net dust in my
directory I remembered these 2 posts which still bother me.  The
topic was Wake Island and the 2 posters wrote this:

Mike Oaks  Fri, 17 Jun 1994 10:36:34:

>[ much deleted ] ...did the Japanese just abandon the island toward
>the end of the war when reality started to sink in?? Anybody have any
>facts on this subject???

then Jim Curry Fri, 17 Jun 1994 11:31:36:

>Wake Island actually fell on 23 December 1941.  The Japanese held it
>for the rest of the war like many other islands bypassed in the
>"island-hopping" Central Pacific offensive.  It was bombed several
>times by US aircraft but not considered worth the casualties it
>would have cost to retake.  The Japanese garrison surrendered in
>September 1945.  A well-illustrated short account of Wake Island
>in wartime is Stan Cohen's _Enemy On Island: Issue In Doubt_
>(Pictorial Histories Publishing Company,1983) which I consulted
>on this question.

Ok now here is the part that still bothers me.  There were a number
of civilian workers on Wake helping to strengthen its defenses before
and during the battle.  I have read somewhere (* but I can't remember
where *) that the civilians were executed or murdered on Wake before
the Japanese left the island?  Does anyone have any other information
on what happened to the civilian workers on Wake?  Were they moved
into internment?  Murdered?   What??????

Hope one or more of you can help me.

Jim Curry, is this information in
Stan Cohen's _Enemy On Island: Issue In Doubt_?

Thanks in advance,

Robert Hohlt, Jr.

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

Date:    Mon, 15 Aug 1994 09:24:15 PST
From:    "Keller, Theron P." <[email-masked]>
Subject: INF: USN Chronology 08-14-94

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

1944
08/14 Mon.  United States naval vessel sunk:
             LST 921, by submarine torpedo, English Channel,
             51 d. 05'N., 04 d. 47'W.
            Japanese naval vessel sunk:
             Transport NO. 129, by submarine Cod (SS-224), Netherlands
              East Indies area,
              04 d. 17'S., 126 d. 46'E.

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

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

Date:    Mon, 15 Aug 1994 09:29:23 -0700
From:    John Davis <[email-masked]>
Subject: INF: 50 Years Ago - 16-AUG-1944

On 16-AUG-1944, the following occurred -

World War II - The Battlefronts
-------------------------------
Northern France - The British II Corps enters Falaise and encounters heavy
     street fighting. To the north in the British 2nd Army sector, the British
     I Corps is moving towards the Seine. Polish troops in the I Crops begin
     to move over the River Dives. The US XV and XX Corps, which are advancing
     towards Paris, reach Dreux and Chartres.

Southern France - Units of the US VI Corps (3rd Army) consolidate the
     beachhead in Provence. The French II Corps passes through the American
     lines to lead the advance.

Eastern Front - The Russians reach Ossow, seven miles northeast of Warsaw; but
     they are pushed back by a German counter-attack.

Naval Dispatches
----------------
US PT-202, PT-218 and minesweeper YMS-24 sunk by mines in Southern France
     area.

LST 391 sunk by mine in Normandy area.

The Homefront
-------------
Roosevelt Leads Poll - Fortune magazine reports that voters favor President
     Roosevelt by 52.5% to 43.9% for Gov. Thomas E. Dewey.

Popular Songs - Variety reports that the most popular songs are 1) Swinging On
     a Star, 2) I'll Be Seeing You, 3) I'll Walk Alone, 4) Amor and 5) Time
     Waits For No One.

=============================================================================

Sources: "2194 Days of War" by Cesare Salmaggi and Alfredo Pallavisimi, "The
World Almanac Book Of WW II" by Peter Young, "United States Naval Chronology,
World War II" by Naval Historical Division - United States Navy, "Facts On
File Yearbook 1944, Person's Index Of World Events" edited by R.L. Lapica.

----------
John Davis  [email-masked]
Cary, N.C.
----------

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

Date:    Mon, 15 Aug 1994 09:25:03 PST
From:    "Keller, Theron P." <[email-masked]>
Subject: INF: USN Chronology 08-15-94

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

1944
08/15 Tue. Allied troops land on coast of Southern France between Toulon
           and Cannes. The assault is preceded by heavy naval gunfire
and
           aircraft attack. The operation is under the command of Vice
           Adm. H. K. Hewitt, USN, Naval Commander Western Task
           Force and Commander Eighth Fleet, and the ground forces are
           commanded by Maj. Gen. A. M. Patch, USA. After the landings,
           naval gunfire engages German coast defense batteries, and
           continues to support the troops ashore.
            United States naval vessel lost:
             LST 181, by radio-controlled bomb, Southern France area,
              43 d. 25'N, 06 d. 50'E.;
              beached and abandoned.
            United States naval vessel damaged:
             Submarine chaser SC-1019, by explosion, Southern France
              area,
              43 d. 12'N., 06 d. 41'E.

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

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

Date:    Mon, 15 Aug 1994 10:36:12 -0400
From:    "Eliot K. Friedman" <[email-masked]>
Subject: Joe Kennedy Jr's Last Mission

Someone recently mentioned the 50th anniversary of JFK's older brother's KIA.
I've heard stories about his last mission that I was hoping could be
confirmed/elaborated.

Supposedly, the Germans were building in France a huge concrete bunker,
containing a huge "High Pressure Pump Gun" angled to lob huge artillery
shells directly into London.  In an early variation on the cruise missile
concept,  a radio controlled bomber, laden with explosive, was to be
crashed/steered into the facility by a pilot in a chase plane.  Joe Jr.
had volunteered to fly the controlling chase plane.

What I read was that the bomber exploded shortly after takeoff, destroying
the chase plane (and Joe Jr.) in the blast.  Ground troops captured the
site before the gun became operational.

Can anyone confirm/deny the story?

El

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

Date:    Mon, 15 Aug 1994 12:51:36 -0400
From:    "Mr. Scott Hannon" <[email-masked]>
Subject: Media: Search for Hitler

Tim Scherrer writes:
>Did anyone see the "Search for Hitler" special Satiruday night on ABC.
>I caught the tail end of it.  THEY FOUND HITLER'S BRAIN!  AHHHHH

Yes, I saw the whole show. It was an hour special used as filler for
the baseball strike. It was much better than I was expecting...a cut
above "tabloid" journalism. The premise of the show was that recent
access to ex-USSR files and personnel allowed new insights into the
fate of Hitler's remains. There was some formerly secret footage of
USSR troops milling around a corpse thought to be Hitler, but which was
concluded to be a double. And footage of USSR SMERSH agents accompanying
some high ranking Nazi POWs walking around the Chancellory identifying
corpses, etc. Also some still photos. Yeah, kind of gruesome.

The main point of the show was that, contrary to previous reports,
the bodies of Hitler, Eva, and the Goebels were not cremated and
the ashed skattered to the wind. Rather, they were repeatedly buried,
dug up, moved and/or examined, etc, three times. Two old SMERSH
agents made a trip into Gemany with the film crew and pointed out the
approx (withing a few yards) location of the final graves. The
sites were partially dug up, but no bodies were found. Perhaps the
bodies had been moved again (or it was all nonsense). Also, as Tim
alluded too, some secret archive of Stalin's back in the ex-USSR has
(amoung other Hitler relics and assorted war prizes) what is thought to
be part of Hitler's skull (the bit with the exit bullet hole). Not
quite "They Saved Hitler's Brain", but close.  :-)

Scott.
Scott Hannon, Mon Aug 15 1994 ([email-masked])

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

Date:    Mon, 15 Aug 1994 11:30:58 CDT
From:    "Robert J. Granvin" <[email-masked]>
Subject: NOST: More shameless plugging.  :-)

I still get the occasional email asking for pictures of Miss Mitchell.
Those still interested might also want to check out the current
(September/October) issue of Air Progress "Warbirds" which just hit
the shelves.

About a zillion (OK, about a half dozen :-), pictures of Miss Mitchell
in the magazine, including the cover and a full color gatefold.

(BTW: Our airshow has been over for a week, but the P-51C Mustang
project was one of the big winners.  Even though we still need to
raise about $260,000 to complete it, we raised $10,668.00 during the
weekend alone... (!!)).

--
Robert J. Granvin                                    Southern Minnesota Wing
[email-masked]                                       Confederate Air Force

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

Date:    Sun, 14 Aug 1994 19:45:47 EST
From:    "CARL WERNKE (TCWERNC@VCCSCENT)" <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: WEAP Japanese Cruiser Names

 To: Multiple recipients of list WWII-L ([email-masked]

 On 14 Aug 1994 at 14:31:52 [email-masked] wrote regarding names of
 Imperial Japanese Navy ships, especially IJN cruisers.

 Heavy cruisers:named after mountains.  Light cruisers:named after rivers.
 Light cruiser (CL) Isuzu (12 August 1923) sunk by U.S.S. Charr and Gabilan
 in Flores Sea, 7 April 1945. Abukuma, Yura and Kinu are light cruisers.
 Mogami, Tone, and Chikuma are heavy cruisers (CA). All were sunk. Write me a
 direct post if you require additional information.

 Information obtained from A BATTLE HISTORY OF THE IMPERIAL JAPANESE NAVY
 (1941-1945), by Paul S.Dull, by the United States Naval Institute, Annapolis,
 MD, 1978.
 Carl Wernke                History Instructor
 [email-masked]    Tidewater Community College, Portsmouth, VA

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

Date:    Mon, 15 Aug 1994 13:16:25 -0500
From:    "Louis R. Coatney" <[email-masked]>
Subject: MIKUMA and MOGAMI -- and question for John Lundstrom

Bob,

     These were light heavy cruisers.  Before the war, they
had 15 6.1" guns -- a treaty dodge -- but were converted at
the last minute to 10 8" guns.

     HOUSTON and PERTH were trying to escape to Australia
that last night and stumbled upon the Japanese invasion fleet.

     The Jap. picket destroyer FUBUKI fired (24" "Long Lance")
torpedoes at them which missed and hit the Japanese transports
instead!  :-)  ('Wonder what happened to the skipper, don't
you?)

     H and P then sailed on past and shot it out with M&M and
a flotilla of Japanese super destroyers.  They didn't last long.

     At the Battle of Midway, an American picket submarine
scared M&M's task force and the two ships collided.  Thus, they
lagged so that Midway land-based air and TF17 divebombers could
catch them (after Spruance wisely hung back during the night,
fearing a surface engagement with the main Jap. battlefleet.)

     The American torpedobombers were sorely missed.  The Jap.
cruisers would have been easy meat for torpedo attack, to
which they would have quickly succumbed.  M&M's AA was quite
potent, despite their crippled condition.

     As you noted, Mikuma eventually went down, but MOGAMI got
away.  It was so badly damaged that the aft turrets were
scrapped and a "hermaphroditic" flight deck was built, as in
the ISE and HYUGA.  That was its configuration when it was
sunk in the Surigao Straits night battle in Oct 44.

     Incidentally, the Jap. destroyer TANIKAZE -- which was
detailed to return to HIRYU and sink her with torpedoes, rather
than risk letting her fall into American hands -- proved to be
a formidable AA opponent as well.  It shot down a couple of
our planes, while nimbly dodging *everything* dropped at it.

     I don't think we had many fighters left for flak suppression.
John Lundstrom, *were* fighters used for flak suppression at this
stage of the Pacific War?

Lou Coatney

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

Date:    Mon, 15 Aug 1994 13:59:50 -0500
From:    "Louis R. Coatney" <[email-masked]>
Subject: MODELS:  Re-issue

Just thought I'd mention that Revell/Monogram has re-issued
  the 1:400 kits of the attack transport RANDALL -- remember
  Jeff Chandler in "Away All Boats"? -- and the seaplane
  tender PINE ISLAND.  Each kit goes for about $12.

Over the weekend, I did a cardstock/paper 1:1200 SIMS
  destroyer, for photo comparison of the scale flexibility
  of paper models.  It is a little jewel.  :-)

To think! that only one cast lead 1:1200 SIMS sells for
  $6-$25 !  Robbery!  :-)

Lou Coatney

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

Date:    Mon, 15 Aug 1994 14:37:08 CDT
From:    "Robert J. Granvin" <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Media: Search for Hitler

> Tim Scherrer writes:
> >Did anyone see the "Search for Hitler" special Satiruday night on ABC.
> >I caught the tail end of it.  THEY FOUND HITLER'S BRAIN!  AHHHHH
>
> Yes, I saw the whole show. It was an hour special used as filler for
> the baseball strike. It was much better than I was expecting...a cut
> above "tabloid" journalism. The premise of the show was that recent
[...]
> (amoung other Hitler relics and assorted war prizes) what is thought to
> be part of Hitler's skull (the bit with the exit bullet hole). Not
> quite "They Saved Hitler's Brain", but close.  :-)

It was definitely better than tabloid-TV and introduced a lot of interesting
footage, stories and places, but the end result was more or less "So what?"

We were watching the last half of this in the hangar and people were coming
up with simple questions like "how many skulls during WWII might have a
bullet's exit wound in them?"  There was no way to substantiate or prove
any of the artifacts or evidence submitted because you couldn't positively
connect the pieces to any one person.  Now, if it were complete with a
partial dental set...

It wasn't good Investigative-TV.  But neither was it Tabloid-TV, at least.
I guess it could be best described as just Filler-TV.  "We came, we didn't
see, we left."

Although, we will admit -- as the end of the show approached and they
started digging up the burial sites (completely unhindered, BTW, which
to most people proved that they would find nothing), most people began
expecting Geraldo Rivera to come up from the one of the holes muttering
something about that "damn Al Capone's vault goes on FOREVER!"

:-)

--
Robert J. Granvin                                    Southern Minnesota Wing
[email-masked]                                       Confederate Air Force

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

Date:    Mon, 15 Aug 1994 16:56:43 -0400
From:    "Steven Pudlo, Dept. Computer Svcs." <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Media: Search for Hitler

Tim Scherrer writes:
>Did anyone see the "Search for Hitler" special Satiruday night on ABC.
>I caught the tail end of it.  THEY FOUND HITLER'S BRAIN!  AHHHHH

The part that intrigues me is the use of the acronym SMERSH. Wasn't that
taken from the origional James Bond books by Ian Flemming?

If so, then that is the basis for my skepticism.

We ALL know Hitler is alive and well in the company of a bunch of aliens,
the crew of the USS Eldridge, and Elvis at Hanger 18. Bigfoot told me ;-)

                                                                Steve

P.S. JFK and Marilyn are there too, but only as vacationers...

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Steven E. Pudlo  - [email-masked] |"Life may be a drag BUT
STC Programmer/Analyst - (203) 885-2343  |  it sure beats the only
Three Rivers Community-Technical College |           known alternative"
574 New London Turnpike                  |                     (S.E.P.)
Norwich, CT. U.S.A. 06360                |No one gets out of it alive..
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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

Date:    Mon, 15 Aug 1994 16:59:24 -0500
From:    John Lundstrom <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: WEAP Japanese Cruiser Names

The best source for translations of Japanese ship names into a Western
language is in the original German edition of Warships of the Imperial
Japanese Navy 1869-1945: Hansgeorg Jentschura, et al. Die Japanischen
Kriegschiffe 1869-1945. Munich: J.F. Lehmann, 1970. Each ship name is
rendered in German and explained.The light cruiser ISUZU means literally
"clear waters," and is named after a river in Mie Prefecture. Unfortunately
the English-language edition (published by Arms & Armour Press and the Naval
Institute Press in 1977 lacks these useful translations by Dr. Wolfram
Mueller-Yokota.
                     John B. Lundstrom  Milwaukee Public Museum

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

Date:    Mon, 15 Aug 1994 18:17:17 -0400
From:    Dan Ford <[email-masked]>
Subject: Japan ponders the war

Cabinet ministers divided over Japan's wartime past
Source: JN      Date: Aug 12, 1994              Time: 04:06 am

  TOKYO, Aug. 12 --
  Cabinet ministers expressed conflicting views of Japan's wartime past
Friday, offering different suggestions on how the nation should come to
terms with its responsibilities toward the rest of Asia.
  Members of the coalition cabinet aired their opinions following Friday's
cabinet meeting as the country looked ahead to marking the 49th
anniversary of the end of the war Monday.
  While Finance Minister Masayoshi Takemura characterized the war as a
"mistake" that requires Japan's "allinclusive remorse," Environment Agency
chief Shin Sakurai insisted Japan was not the only bad participant in the
war.
  International Trade and Industry Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto said he
would mark the end of the war as he does every year with a visit to
Yasukuni Shrine, a move which often elicits protests from Asian countries
worried about Japan's reemerging military power.
  On the other hand, Construction Minister Koken Nosaka urged the adoption
of a Diet no-war resolution that would alleviate Asian fears that Japan is
seeking to rearm itself.
  Takemura, 59, of New Party Sakigake, told reporters that with the
growing revelations about the Asian women forced into wartime prostitution
for Japanese soldiers, "Even without compensation from the state, it is
necessary for some kind of response and remorse."
  He added, however, that the issue of Japan's postwar reparations has
been dealt with through international agreements and that decisions
reached between governments should not be overturned.
  Hashimoto, 56, of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), held the view that
apologizing for the war and compensation are separate issues.
  "Looking at the Twenty-one Demands (of 1915), we must say there was the
undiluted color of invasion with regard to China and that Korea was no
less than colonized.  We can only apologize to the people of Asia who were
occupied (by the old . Japanese Imperial Army)," said Hashimoto.
  The LDP politician, however, said he would visit Yasukuni Shrine, which
enshrines Japan's war dead including some Class A war criminals, and the
Chidorigafuchi shrine for unknown soldiers, "as I do every year."
  Visits by Japanese cabinet members to the shrine in central Tokyo each
year regularly instigate protests from Asian countries that suffered under
Japan's military invasion and rule during World War II.
  Nosaka, 69, of the Social Democratic Party, said he hopes to see the
enactment of a bombing victims relief law and a no-war resolution adopted
by the Diet for the 50th anniversary of the end of the war next year.
  He added it is important for the people of Asia not to have anxieties
over Japan becoming a military power.
  LDP arch-conservative Sakurai, 61, said Japan had no intention of waging
a "war of aggression" and pointed to a more positive view of the results
of the war.
  "It is not necessary to take the view that only Japan was bad," he said.
As a result of the war, he added, the countries of Asia "became
independent, education is widespread, and the literacy rate is high," said
Sakurai, asking for international and domestic understanding.
  On the issue of compensation, Sakurai suggested that it is difficult to
know where to draw the line but noted the coalition administration
provides a chance for long-time opponents to make "forward-looking
arrangements."

[With a tip of the virtual hat to DowVision and the original provider. In
the spirit of the Internet, this copyrighted material has been re-posted
for no personal gain. Deletions are shown with ellipses, thus: . . . .]

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

Date:    Mon, 15 Aug 1994 21:12:00 EDT
From:    mc killop <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: [INF] Wake Island revisited again.

 MUCH DELETED

 >Ok now here is the part that still bothers me.  There were a number
 >of civilian workers on Wake helping to strengthen its defenses before
 >and during the battle.  I have read somewhere (* but I can't remember
 >where *) that the civilians were executed or murdered on Wake before
 >the Japanese left the island?  Does anyone have any other information
 >on what happened to the civilian workers on Wake?  Were they moved
 >into internment?  Murdered?   What??????
 >
 >Hope one or more of you can help me.
 >
 >Jim Curry, is this information in
 >Stan Cohen's _Enemy On Island: Issue In Doubt_?
 >
 >Thanks in advance,
 >
 >Robert Hohlt, Jr.

On page 45 of HISTORY OF MARINE CORPS AVIAITON IN WORLD WAR II by
Rober Sherrod, 1952, ISBN 0-89141-111-9, Sherrod states:

"American prisoners of war were evacuated to the Empire about three
weeks after the surrender, excepting about 100 civilian workmen who
were retained to maintain the island's facilities.  Following heavy
carrier strikes and naval bombardment on 6-7 oct 43, Rear Admiral
Sakaibara IJN, the island commander, ordered these civilians
executed.  The Admiral was tried as a war criminal and executed 19
Jun 47."

-------------------------------------------------------------------
|  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:    Mon, 15 Aug 1994 21:18:00 EDT
From:    mc killop <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Joe Kennedy Jr's Last Mission

 >Someone recently mentioned the 50th anniversary of JFK's older brother's KIA.
 >I've heard stories about his last mission that I was hoping could be
 >confirmed/elaborated.
 >
 >Supposedly, the Germans were building in France a huge concrete bunker,
 >containing a huge "High Pressure Pump Gun" angled to lob huge artillery
 >shells directly into London.  In an early variation on the cruise missile
 >concept,  a radio controlled bomber, laden with explosive, was to be
 >crashed/steered into the facility by a pilot in a chase plane.  Joe Jr.
 >had volunteered to fly the controlling chase plane.

Joe Kennedy and a "white hat" were in the explosive laden B-24 and
they were to bailout after taking the aircraft off, climbing to the
proper altitude and arming the explosives.  I believe the aircraft
had reached the proper altitude when it exploded killing both Kennedy
and the "white hat."  I have read that the target for that day was
one of the German sub pens along the Bay of Biscay which had a very
thick layer of concrete and was extremely difficult to hit and
destroy with "normal" aerial bombs.

Someone mentioned the book OPERATION APHRODITE; I don't know if it
is still in print but I think this is the most detailed story of
the mission.

-------------------------------------------------------------------
|  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:    Mon, 15 Aug 1994 21:32:00 EDT
From:    mc killop <[email-masked]>
Subject: [INF] USAAF 16 AUG 44

COMBAT CHRONOLOGY OF THE US ARMY AIR FORCES
WEDNESDAY, 16 AUGUST 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
  B-17, Boeing Flying Fortress
  B-24, Consolidated Liberator
  B-25, North American Mitchell
  B-26, Martin Marauder
  C-47, Douglas Skytrain
  F-5, Lockheed Lightning
  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, as the last Japanese resistance in
India ceases, 16 B-25s bomb Indaw; 20 P-51s hit airfields at Lashio,
Nawnghkio, Shwebo, Anisakan, and Onbauk; 37 P-40s and P-51s hit strong
points, pillboxes, and machinegun positions in the Pinbaw area; 19 P-47s and
P-51s attack targets of opportunity at Katha, a bridge S of Bhamo, the town
of Tagwin, railroad targets of opportunity between Naba and Hopin, an enemy-
held monastery, and an ammunition dump at Pegu; and the 9th Photographic
Reconnaissance Squadron, 8th Photographic Reconnaissance Group, based at
Barrackpore, India, sends a detachment to operated from Tingkawk Sakan with
F-5s.

  CHINA (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 18 B-25s bomb the Wanling area and
warehouses while 12 hit the Chaling area and warehouses at Siangtan; 90 P-40s
and P-51s hit bridges, fortified positions, troops, trucks, rivercraft,
supplies, gun positions, and other targets of opportunity in the Hsenwi and
Lungling areas and in the widespread area around Tunating Lake and the C
Yangtze River.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): Mission 556: 1,090 bombers and 692
fighters are dispatched to make visual attacks on oil refineries and aircraft
plants in C Germany; 23 bombers and 3 fighters are lost (number in
parenthesis indicate number of bombers attacking):
  1. 425 B-17s are dispatched to hit Delitzsch air depot (102), the aviation
industry at Schkeuditz (92) and Halle (60) and the oil industry at Bohlen
(88); other targets are Naumburg (15), Halberstadt Airfield (13) and targets
of opportunity (9); they claim 6-4-6 Luftwaffe aircraft; 10 B-17s are lost, 1
damaged beyond repair and 234 damaged; 4 airmen are KIA, 9 WIA and 93 MIA.
Escort is provided by 246 P-47s and P-51s; they claim 15-1-3 aircraft in the
air and 0-0-3 on the ground; 1 P-51 is damaged beyond repair; 1 pilot is WIA.
  2. 234 B-17s are dispatched to hit the oil industry at Rositz (105) and
Zeitz (101); 3 others hit targets of opportunity; 6 B-17s are lost and 88
damaged; 3 airmen are WIA and 56 MIA. Escort is provided by 166 P-47s and
P-51s; they claim 5-0-1 aircraft; 2 P-47s are lost (pilots are MIA).
  3. 65 B-24s are dispatched to Halberstadt Airfield (51); 10 others hit
Quedlinburg Airfield and 1 hits a targets of opportunity; 1 B-24 is damaged
beyond repair and 8 damaged. Escort is provided by 42 of 46 P-38s without
loss.
  4. 366 B-24s are dispatched to hit the aviation industry at Dessau (99),
Kothen (71) and Magdeburg/Neustadt (67) and the oil industry at
Magdeburg/Rothensee; 2 others hit targets of opportunity; 7 B-24s are lost
and 173 damaged; 5 airmen are WIA and 66 MIA. Escort is provided by 156 P-47s
and P-51s; they claim 12-0-0 aircraft; 1 P-51 is lost (pilot is MIA).
  Mission 557: 8 of 8 B-17s drop leaflets in France during the night.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): In France, about 130 B-26s and A-20s,
with fighter escort, hit a Foret de Roumare ammunition dump and rail bridges
at Pont-Audemer, Thibouville, Brionne, Nassandres, and Le Bourg; fighters
give air cover to an armored division and infantry forces, and fly patrol and
armed reconnaissance over N and W France; HQ 70th Fighter Wing moves from
Villedieu les Poeles to Le Teilleul; and HQ 50th Fighter Group and the 10th,
81st and 313th Fighter Squadrons move from Carentan to Meautis with P-47s.
The 93d Troop Carrier Squadron, 439th Troop Carrier Group, based at Upottery,
England, ceases operating from Ramsbury and begins operating from Membury.

MEDITERRANEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (MTO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Fifteenth Air Force): 89 B-24s, with fighter escort,
bomb a chemical works at Friedrichshafen, Germany. In France, 108 B-17s,
supporting Operation DRAGOON, attack railroad bridges at Saint-Vallier,
Saint-Pierre-d'Albigny, Grenoble, and Isere-Valence; 42 P-51s escort
Mediterranean Tactical Air Force (MATAF) C-47s on a supply dropping mission
to DRAGOON beachheads.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Twelfth Air Force): In support of Operation DRAGOON
forces, fighters and fighter-bombers continue to blast enemy defenses and
communications on the beaches and in the invasion area of S France; A-20s hit
lights and vehicles during the night of 15/16 Aug from N of the beachhead to
the Rhone River and during the day raid ammunition stores; medium bombers
pound Rhone River bridges and gun positions throughout the general area.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA, Seventh Air Force): B-24s from Saipan Island hit
Chichi Jima Island and Pagan Island. Marshall Island-based B-24s bomb Truk
Atoll.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: In the Molucca
Islands, B-24s and B-25s bomb Miti and Lolobata Airfields on Halmahera
Island, warehouses and shipping facilities on Ternate Island, shipping in
Wasile and Veda Bays, and Japanese positions on Tanimbar Is; and off Alor
Island, Sunda Islands, B-25s sink small vessel. In New Guinea, bombers hit
installations at Ajoe; A-20s support ground forces in the Maffin Bay area
while P-39s hit troops and positions from Manokwari to Windissi and bomb the
airfield at Ransiki, Moemi, and Waren. The 13th Troop Carrier Squadron, 403d
Troop Carrier Group, based at Espiritu Santo Island, New Hebrides Islands
begins operating from Los Negros Island, Admiralty Islands with C-47s.

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 them.  |
|  [email-masked]  |                       FDR              |
-------------------------------------------------------------------

16/0134Z AUG

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

Date:    Mon, 15 Aug 1994 21:44:43 -0400
From:    Ben Frank <[email-masked]>
Subject: [INF] WAKE ISLAND REVI

When Cdr Cunningham and his naval personnel and Maj Devereux and his Marines
were evacuted by the Japanese, they also took some of the civilian workers to
Japan POW camps with them. As I understand it, some of the civilians were kept
behind and later executed. I would have to do some research to verify this,
which I send from the top of my head. Ben Frank

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

Date:    Mon, 15 Aug 1994 22:46:14 -0400
From:    Margaret Mary Bedle <[email-masked]>
Subject: Research topic

My 16 yr. old daughter is taking AP American History.  By the end of next
month she needs to come up with a research topic on World War II.  Does
anyone have any unique ideas on a topic that she can write on?  I believe
that the paper needs to be 10 pages long.

  THanks for any ideas?
  Margaret

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

End of WWII-L Digest - 14 Aug 1994 to 15 Aug 1994
*************************************************