Subject: WWII-L Digest - 13 Sep 1994 to 14 Sep 1994

From: Automatic digest processor <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 15 Sep 1994 00:00:14 -0400

There are 55 messages totalling 1742 lines in this issue.

Topics of the day:

  1. Info on Taft organization? (4)
  2. "Holocaust" -- Ron Skinner's dictionary (2)
  3. BUZZ BOMBS
  4. MEDIA: PELELIU
  5. INF: USN Chronology 09-14-94
  6. ROMMEL and/or "The Grief" (6)
  7. AZON BOMBS 2
  8. WEAP: V-1's (2)
  9. Arnhem (2)
 10. 50TH: PACIFIC ANNIVERSARIES (2)
 11. [INF] USAAF 14 Sep 44 (2)
 12. MIAs
 13. NYC TV (3)
 14. Re[2]: WWIIHRS in Fremont, NE.
 15. Ref: Where is MAJ Barrett??? (2)
 16. INF: 50 Years Ago - 15-SEP-1944
 17. Japanese Television & WWII
 18. NOST: Miss Mitchell heading towards Dayton
 19. Holo vs. holocaust
 20. Re[2]: WEAP: Essex-class carriers
 21. Wargames and acadaemia
 22. CMH stipend "guilty of subsudizing successful killers?"
 23. MIAs ... Right. (2)
 24. VietNam Forum on e-mail
 25. "Stalin wanted to ... maintain peace in urban centers ..."  ?!
 26. Note of respect to Benjamin Weber
 27. Code Breakers (was NYC TV)
 28. Guided Weapons (Was V-1s)
 29. Air launched anti-ship missile
 30. [INF] USAAF 15 SEP 44
 31. NOST
 32. Frequent Flier Miles? MoH
 33. Aprhodite Aircraft
 34. 50TH:  Operation Market Garden
 35. 50TH: PACIFIC ANNIVERS
 36. WEAP: Essex-class carriers
 37. Alabama and Drum
 38. Japanese sailors

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

Date:    Tue, 13 Sep 1994 12:02:46 -0400
From:    Pascal Sauve <[email-masked]>
Subject: Info on Taft organization?

HI! Looking for info on the German Taft group,they're accomplishments as
engineers for German fortifications in WWII.

Thanks!

Pascal Sauve
[email-masked]

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

Date:    Wed, 14 Sep 1994 01:06:56 -0500
From:    "Louis R. Coatney" <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: "Holocaust" -- Ron Skinner's dictionary

Ron,

     Thanks for the spadework, but what is your source, the
OXFORD ENGLISH DICTIONARY (OED)?

     Obviously, I would invoke 3.b. ... capitalized.

Lou Coatney

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

Date:    Wed, 14 Sep 1994 00:12:47 PDT
From:    Sidney Allinson <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: BUZZ BOMBS

Seldom mentioned nowadays, is the *air-launched* method used by the
Luftwaffe to fire V1 buzz-bimbs against cities in the north-east and
north-west of England.
The V1's were carried piggy-back on various German aircraft types,
then fired and launched from the air. Theses air-launched doodle-bugs
caued considerable havoc against unlikely places like Manchester and
Tyneside, far from the London area which was the main target of
the usual ground-launched V1s.
-- Sidney.

--

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

Date:    Wed, 14 Sep 1994 00:31:42 PDT
From:    Sidney Allinson <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: MEDIA: PELELIU

Hi, ben...
        Just this evening, I was reading a back copy of SMITHSONIAN
Magazine that has an excellent account of the Peleliu battle.
        I was just about to ask if you had seen it. Silly question...

--

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

Date:    Wed, 14 Sep 1994 00:33:26 PDT
From:    Sidney Allinson <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Info on Taft organization?

"...Taft Group..."
??
Surely, Organization Todt.
?

--

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

Date:    Wed, 14 Sep 1994 01:11:43 PDT
From:    "Keller, Theron P." <[email-masked]>
Subject: INF: USN Chronology 09-14-94

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

1944
09/14 Thu. Submarine PARGO (SS-264) lays mines near Natuna
           Island, South China Sea.
            United States Coast Guard vessels sunk:
             Cutters BEDLOE (PC-128) and JACKSON (PC-142), by
              storm off Cape Hatteras, N. C.
             Lightship NO. 71, by storm, Vineyard Sound, Mass.
            Japanese naval vessel sunk:
             Transport NO. 5, by carrier-based aircraft,
              Philippine Islands area,
              06 d. 10'N., 126 d. 00'E.

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

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

Date:    Wed, 14 Sep 1994 20:08:47 +0900
From:    Akira Takiguchi <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: ROMMEL and/or "The Grief"

>From the old archives of wwii-l:

I wrote, in October 1993
>     "Greif", a griffin, was a command vehicle (Sd.Kfz.250/3) of Rommel's.
>There were at least two of the same type with different name painted;
>"Adler" (eagle) and "Igel" (hedgehog).  Fair amount of photographs of
>"Greif" are available in various books.  Interior photographs are available
>in a few books about half tracks.

Akira Takiguchi  ATSON, Inc.

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

Date:    Wed, 14 Sep 1994 07:10:00 EDT
From:    mc killop <[email-masked]>
Subject: AZON BOMBS 2

I posted an article on Azon bombs from home last night and then did a
little more reading.  As of 14 Sep 44, small numbers (10-12) of Eighth Air
Force B-24s had flown four Azon missions (17 and 25 Aug and 1 and 13 Sep)
against targets in France, the Netherlands and Germany.  In late 1944 or
early 1945, one of the major users of Azon bombs, the Tenth Air Force,
began using them against bridges in Burma.  (NOTE: I posted an article
about 18 months ago about the need  to hit these bridges and will repost if
anyone is interested.)  But I am getting ahead of myself and I will cover
this in my daily combat chronology of the USAAF.

Another point is that I have only mentioned B-24s in both posts.  I
understand that the transmitter and control box were installed in some
Tenth Air Force Droopsnoot P-38s and they also were used to attack Burmese
bridges.

I will try to dedicate some additional time to see if additional
information is available about this weapon.  As I heard many times during
my youth, "stay tuned, same time, same station."

-------------------------------------------------------------------
|  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:    Wed, 14 Sep 1994 07:13:51 EDT
From:    Alan Wild <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: WEAP: V-1's

Drew Halevy <[email-masked]> said,...

>The German's also developed an air lauched, radio controled anti-ship
>missle.-Drew

Hi Drew,... do you have anymore info on this? Was it ever used? -Al

Alan G. Wild
Admin. Computing
University of Rhode Island
Kingston, R.I.  02881

I am the NRA.

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

Date:    Wed, 14 Sep 1994 07:41:00 EDT
From:    mc killop <[email-masked]>
Subject: Arnhem

The Associated Press is reporting that approximately 6,000 veterans
are returning to Arnehm, the Netherlands next weekend to commemorate
the battle of the same name.  Also attending the event are members
of the Dutch royal family and the British Prince Charles.

The Battle, which was  described in Cornelius Ryan's book A BRIDGE
TOO FAR and the film of the same name, cost more Allied lives
that had been lost at Normandy, i.e., about 7,500 British, 4,000
Americans and 85 Poles.

One of the stories in the AP article is that after the battle, 6
Dutchmen were executed by the Germans for sheltering British troops.
(I had never heard that story before; does anyone else have any
additional information?)   All told, about 800 Dutch civilians were
killed during Operation MARKET-GARDEN.

During the weekend, 4 Brit and Amercian vets will parachute, the
British vets will re-enact their original landing at Hinkel Heath
near Arnhem, while American paratroopers will drop near Eindhoven
and Nijmegen.

-------------------------------------------------------------------
|  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:    Wed, 14 Sep 1994 07:24:44 GMT-6
From:    "Robert T. Moore" <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: WEAP: V-1's

Hello, Alan!

It was an experimental concept but was not employed. There were other
weapons that were used, such as the Mistel, a combination Ju-88
loaded with explosives coupled with a FW-190,  and the Fritz-X missle
that was used against shipping. The CO of this unit, KG-100, which
used employed this weapon, was Bernhard Jope, who is still alive.

Sorry to have butted in, but I hope that this helps, and thanks.

Terry

> Hi Drew,... do you have anymore info on this? Was it ever used? -
Al >
> Alan G. Wild
> Admin. Computing
> University of Rhode Island
> Kingston, R.I.  02881
>
> I am the NRA.
>

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

Date:    Wed, 14 Sep 1994 20:51:53 +0200
From:    JOHN AUSLAND <[email-masked]>
Subject: 50TH: PACIFIC ANNIVERSARIES

  September 14.  I was glad to see the posting regarding Peleliu and
interested to learn that Ben Frank was there.  Ben, I have been reviewing the
Pacific campaign, in connection with plans to interview my brother, who was also
a Marine.  (He was with the 2nd Marine Division at Tarawa and on board a
ship at Okinawa.)  Once again, I am glad that the fates sent me to Europe.

  It is a pity the media do not pay more attention to the Pacific anniversaries,
but they only become interested if the President is there.

  I note from the schedule that there are plan for a number of ceremonies on the
Philippines and wonder whether these will get any attention.

  My guess is that the next big media event will be VJ-Day.

  Regards, John Ausland/Oslo Norway

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

Date:    Wed, 14 Sep 1994 08:32:21 -0500
From:    "Tim J. Watts" <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: [INF] USAAF 14 Sep 44

I noticed in today's message that an APHRODITE mission was flown and that
it missed the target.  There was some discussion on the list recently about
APHRODITE and what it was.  My question is whether any of the APHRODITE
missions were ever successful?
Tim J. Watts
Valparaiso University

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

Date:    Wed, 14 Sep 1994 09:44:00 EDT
From:    mc killop <[email-masked]>
Subject: MIAs

The following is from the US Air Force News Agency

642.  America honors its POWs/MIAs
by MSgt. Merrie Schilter-Lowe
Air Force News Service
     WASHINGTON -- Twenty-three U.S. servicemembers were captured and
released during Operation Desert Storm and 29 others were killed in action.
But, they were all accounted for after the cease fire.  That is not the case
with other conflicts.
     More than 90,000 Americans -- most of them from World War II -- are
still listed as prisoners of war or missing in action since the First World
War ended in 1918.  On September 16, America will honor these military and
civilian patriots with ceremonies, memorial services, and displays, according
to a presidential proclamation.
     President Clinton is expected to soon sign the proclamation designating
September 16 as National POW/MIA Recognition Day.  The proclamation will
also encourage Americans to express their gratitude to the families of
POW/MIAs, said White House officials.
     Having learned from the war in Southeast Asia and previous wars, the
United States took steps to ensure that no U.S. servicemember remained a
POW or MIA following Desert Storm, said Pentagon officials.  One of the
biggest changes was establishing a joint rescue coordination center before
hostilities began in the Persian Gulf and working with other defense agencies
to rapidly locate and identify downed flight crews and crash sites.  Even the
12 people who crashed over water were located, although it was a more
difficult task, officials said.
     More than 2,200 Americans are still unaccounted for in Southeast Asia,
including 809 Air Force members.  The majority are believed to be in Vietnam
or in nearby countries that were controlled by the Vietnamese forces during
the conflict.
     Since 1988, the Vietnamese government has increased its level of
cooperation, which has resulted in the recovery of 289 U.S. servicemembers'
remains.  Although Clinton acknowledged the increased cooperation in February
by lifting the trade embargo against Vietnam, the president made it clear
that his decision did not constitute "a normalization of our relationships."
That would not happen, Clinton said, until the United States has "more
progress, more cooperation, and more answers" on POW/MIA issues.
     Some 8,100 people are still unaccounted for from the Korean War.  This
week, however, North Korea was planning to return 14 coffins containing the
remains of Americans killed in the conflict which ended in 1953.  The
civilian media reported that the North would hand over the remains September
13 to U.N. honor guards at the North-South border village of Panmunjom,
Korea.
     Last year, the North Korean government repatriated 148 sets of remains
which are being analyzed at the U.S. Army Central Identification Laboratory
in Hawaii.  Since 1990, the laboratory has only been able to identify one set
of remains from the Korean War, officials said.
     North Korea, South Korea and 16 members of the United Nations Command
agreed last year to "regularize" the recovery of remains from North Korea.
Additionally, former North Korean leader Kim Il Song offered to talk to
former President Jimmy Carter about joint recovery operations when Carter
visited his country in July.
     Pentagon officials said these are "positive signals" that future
recovery operations will be successful under the new North Korean government.
     Although the United States had access to World War II battlefields for
extensive searches after the war, 78,750 Americans remain unaccounted for.
And since 1977, the United States has recovered only 119 remains from crash
sites in Europe and the Pacific.  However, officials emphasized that the
United States still tries to recover remains whenever possible.
     Toward that end, the U.S. government expanded recovery operations to
Australia, Vanuatu, Tibet and the Netherlands this year, and is continuing
recovery operations in Panama, Okinawa, the Solomon Islands, New Guinea, Wake
Island and other areas, officials said.
     Additionally, the United States is working with the Russian government
to determine if any American POW/MIAs are being held in the former Soviet
Union.  The U.S.-Russian Joint Commission on POW/MIAs, inaugurated in March
1992, is also trying to obtain access to people, documents and other
information in Russia which could help answer questions about unaccounted
for Americans for Vietnam, Korea, the Cold War, and World War II.
     To date, the commission has met 10 times -- most recently in August --
and has "fostered unprecedented cooperation between Washington and Moscow on
this issue," said one official.  The commission will continue to work "until
we receive satisfactory answers to our remaining questions," the spokesperson
said.
--

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

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

Date:    Wed, 14 Sep 1994 10:09:41 -0400
From:    "Steven Pudlo, Dept. Computer Svcs." <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: 50TH: PACIFIC ANNIVERSARIES

If Ben Frank was at Peleleiu, than my hat is off (again) to one of our
best.

Strange thing is that I know very little about it.

my father once mentioned his uncla Walter Pudlo, who was involved in the island
hopping campaign. (OOPS, that's uncle Walt) Dad told me once, many years ago
that Walt was one of six survivors from his unit.

Strange thing is that dad refuses to discuss the subject further tho he loves
watching WW-II movies, as well as Jack McK's daily postings I bring him at
times.

The guy who used to live across the street, Al Shutt was there too. He only
talked about his experiences when extremely drunk, and even then not much.
Seemed to mention a little bag every Japaneese soldier carried filled with
some sort of opiate.

It's guys like you that we all owe so much to. Thanx

I often wonder why we don't knwo more about the Pacific theatre. A fellow
who retired from here a coupla years ago, Ed Rabinowitz, told me a story about
how he found himself wandering around in an underground facility built by
forced labor. Nobody could determine what happened to the workers. Well, to
hear Ed tall it, he rounded a corner, and discovered "Thousands of skulls"
and other bones.

Imagine! And it really happened.

I'd like to hear more about the PTO.
                                                                Steve

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

Date:    Wed, 14 Sep 1994 09:36:47 -0500
From:    "William L. Huber - SAA" <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: ROMMEL and/or "The Grief"

> I wrote, in October 1993
> >     "Greif", a griffin, was a command vehicle (Sd.Kfz.250/3) of Rommel's.
> >There were at least two of the same type with different name painted;
> >"Adler" (eagle) and "Igel" (hedgehog).  Fair amount of photographs of
> >"Greif" are available in various books.  Interior photographs are available
> >in a few books about half tracks.
>
> Akira Takiguchi  ATSON, Inc.

I knew Akira was lurking out there waiting for a panzer question.
Glad to see you back!  Any idea what happened to Greif or any of
Rommel's command vehicles after the fall of N. Africa?  Were they
destroyed, captured, returned to Europe with Rommel or just left to
slowly rust in Libya or Tunisia?

I did a bit of scratching around last night and in Law's biography of
Rommel (unindexed :-/ ) I found mention of Rommel using a Horch, the
Greif and the Mammut.  There was also an interesting story about how
on one operation Rommel was behind British lines with a column of
trucks when his Horch (heavy car) developed mechanical problems and
Rommel was left behind in Brit territory.  Along comes General Cruwell
in his Mammut and picks up Rommel and his adjutant and they all pile
in and make a mad dash to catch up with the column.

Unable to catch up, even with Rommel taking the driver seat for part
of the journey, they laager for the night buttoned up in the Mammut.
All night long British vehicles of the Indian division streamed past
the Mammut which contained the entire top echelon of Panzer Army
Afrika but never once did anyone approach the silent vehicle.  Next
morning they simply drove back into German lines.   Seigfried
Westphal, Rommel's aid de camp had dispatched 5 Fiesler Storch
aircraft to locate Rommel and had flooded the German comm centers with
messages looking for Rommel.

I wonder how the course of the war would have changed had just
one Indian soldier had banged on the Mammut's door for a tea bag?

It must have been around this time that Rommel became impressed with
the British Mammoth and decided to make it his command vehicle.  I
wonder if he took Cruwell's?  From what I understand it would not be
uncharacteristic for Rommel to have done so.  During the battle of
France Rommel had the nasty habit of commandeering German units from
other Divisions and ordering them to attack to support his 7th Panzer
Division advance through to Calais.  If it was just sitting around
Rommel took it!  Never mind that another General may have been
counting on that fresh unit for a key role in another battle or push.
It was overlooked by the Fuehrer because it worked and Rommel was
promoted and decorated with the Knights Cross for his accomplishments.
Nothing minimizes boat rocking like having the guy you are bringing
charges against become your immediate superior. C'est la guerre....

Also, one last thing that has bothered me for some time, somebody
mentioned that Hitler awarded estates to successful generals and how
criminal that was.  That idea was not a 3rd Reich invention.  It goes
back through history when Kings awarded Knights with titles and lands
to consolidate the King's rule and ensure that loyal subordinates had
a vested interest in keeping the King on the throne.

I wonder what the author of that post thought of the farm that the
State of West Virginia gave to Alvin York after the Great War.  And
what about the money paid monthly (for life) to Medal of Honor winners
and that sort of thing.  Is the US govt. guilty of subsidizing
successful killers?  It is not near the scandal that "Stern" made it
out to be.  When the Nazis were defeated those properties did not go
back to those from whom they were confiscated unless solid proof of
ownership was forthcoming.  Those properties (in the American Sector)
became US Govt. installations, including private residences of the
top Nazis.  A buddy of mine stationed in Berlin told me that civil
servants above the rank of GS-13 were housed in the former homes of
Gauleiters and Riechleiters.  Many of these properties have only now
been turned over to the German Government due to base closures in
Germany.  The Berlin Document Center is a classic case in point.  The
repository of the SS and Nazi Party records we call the BDC had been
the same building that housed those documents during the war.  They
just blew the swastika off the building and ran up old glory and bang
- instant US document repository.

Man, can I ramble on....

            Cheers, Bill Huber / [email-masked]

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

Date:    Wed, 14 Sep 1994 09:43:29 -0500
From:    Drew Halevy <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: NYC TV

> For those of you in the New York City metro area, there are two
> WWII-related TV shows on PBS tonight as follows:
>
> 8-9PM on WNET, Channel 13: NOVA.  "Codebreakers."  The WWII codebreaking
>   efforts knwon as "Enigma" and "Purple"
>
I caught Codebreakers on AETN, the Arkansas public television station. A
very good program in my view, since I had little understanding of the
mechanics of these machines.-Drew

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

Date:    Wed, 14 Sep 1994 09:41:31 CDT
From:    Tim not Timothy Scherrer <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re[2]: WWIIHRS in Fremont, NE.

Sorry it has taken me a couple of days to get back about this
matter--but my job has been kicking my butt lately.

The WWIIHRS National Battle will be held near Fremont, NE, at Spring
Lake recreation area located just outside Hooper, NE.  The event will be
held October 7-8-9, 1994.  The event is not intended to be a spectator
abttle, but a tactical event held in the field with no predetermined
outcome.

There is a $25 event fee which covers land usage and three meals.  There
is no billeting available at the site--however authentic and farbe
camping sites are available on the grounds.  Several hotels are
available in Fremont for those Ramada Rangers out there.

I am planning on attending, and would look forward to meeting anyone
else from the list attending.

I have the listing of the POC's for the event so please contact me
directly for more infomration.  Tim

************************************************************************
*  Tim A. Scherrer          "You'll be fighting WWII for the rest of   *
*  Facilities Supervisor     your life", Ron Scherrer, 1971            *
*  WP:816-785-5253                                                     *
*  HP:816-665-6704                                                     *
*  ID# [email-masked]                             *
************************************************************************

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

Date:    Wed, 14 Sep 1994 09:44:08 CDT
From:    Tim not Timothy Scherrer <[email-masked]>
Subject: Ref: Where is MAJ Barrett???

I know MAJ Lowe Barret moved to Ft. Leavenworth--does anyone have a good
phone number for him?  I'm going to be in the area soon and would like
to look him up.

I don;t have any contacts out east with the reenactors, but I know
people who do--who ever is interested in this pleae contact me directly
and I'll see what I can do for you.  TAS

************************************************************************
*  Tim A. Scherrer          "You'll be fighting WWII for the rest of   *
*  Facilities Supervisor     your life", Ron Scherrer, 1971            *
*  WP:816-785-5253                                                     *
*  HP:816-665-6704                                                     *
*  ID# [email-masked]                             *
************************************************************************

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

Date:    Wed, 14 Sep 1994 10:56:53 -0400
From:    "Steven Pudlo, Dept. Computer Svcs." <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: NYC TV

>> 8-9PM on WNET, Channel 13: NOVA.  "Codebreakers."  The WWII codebreaking
>>   efforts knwon as "Enigma" and "Purple"
>>
>I caught Codebreakers on AETN, the Arkansas public television station. A
>very good program in my view, since I had little understanding of the
>mechanics of these machines.-Drew

DREW;

I think I've seen that one before. Nice explanation of the Enigma. I'd
still like to see one in real life,tho...

A bit short on the Japanese code, tho, IMHO.

I wonder, do the Japanese have shows on the American Navajo code talkers?

                                                                Steve
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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:    Wed, 14 Sep 1994 09:20:23 -0700
From:    John Davis <[email-masked]>
Subject: INF: 50 Years Ago - 15-SEP-1944

On 15-SEP-1944, the following occurred -

World War II - The Battlefronts
-------------------------------
Western Front - Units of the US VII and V Corps reach the southwest frontiers
of Germany. Since June 6th, the Allies have landed more than 2,000,000 men in
France, 40,000 of whom have fallen in battle. During the same period the ranks
of the German army have been depleted by some 700,000 men. Apart from a strip
of land on the German border, Belgium and Luxembourg have been completely
liberated.

Eastern Front - The advance of the 2nd Ukraine Front is blocked by the German
South Ukraine Army Group, with 27 divisions and brigades in Transylvania.

Palau Islands - At 8:30 am the US 1st Marine Division (1st, 5th and 7th
Regiments) lands on the southwest coast of Peleliu Island. Japanese resistance
is minimal at the start of the landing but becomes more intense as the Marines
proceed inland, and is extremely heavy on the flanks. At the end of the day
the beachhead extends 1.5 miles from north to south, but is only a few hundred
yards deep. Over 30,000 crack Japanese troops are defending the Palau Islands.
Peleliu has been strongly fortified, with over 500 strongpoints in caves
connected by tunnels.

Moluccan Island - At 8:30 am the US 31st Division lands on the southwest
corner of Morotai Island, on the Gila peninsula. There is little opposition
from the Japanese, but the terrain is terrible. The entire peninsula is
occupied by the end of the day.

China/Burma - Chiang Kai-Shek threatens to withdraw his troops from the
Salween front if the Chinese and US forces in the Myitkyina sector do not
carry out an offensive in the south within a week. In Burma, the 5th Indian
Division continues to advance on Tiddim, establishing a bridgehead across the
river Manipur near Tuitum.

Arctic - A force of 28 British Lancaster bombers from a Russian base is sent
to attack the Tirpitz in the anchorage at Altafiord. Special 12,000 pound
bombs are used but only one hit is obtained on the Tirpitz's bow because of a
very effective smoke screen.

Foreign Affairs
---------------
Marshal Petain Ordered Arrested - In Paris, Francois de Menthon, the Justice
Commissioner has ordered the arrest of Marshal Petain and all the members of
the Vichy Cabinet because of their alleged collaboration with the Germans.
Twenty-seven Vichy officials are already under arrest.

The Homefront
-------------
Army Promotions Confirmed - The Senate has confirmed the promotion of Lt. Gen.
Omar N. Bradley to the permanent rank of major general.

Pearl Harbor Board Leaves Hawaii - The Naval board of inquiry into the Pearl
Harbor attack has arrived in San Francisco from Hawaii and opens hearings.

29 Killed in Train Wreck - Twenty-nine persons have been killed and 65 injured
in the collision of two Chicago and Eastern Illinois passenger trains near
Terre Haute, Ind. Many of the dead were overseas Army Air Force men enroute
to a Florida redistribution center after furloughs.

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

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:    Wed, 14 Sep 1994 10:05:52 PDT
From:    Sidney Allinson <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Arnhem

Absolutely the very best movie ever made about the battle of Arnhem was:
        THEIRS IS THE GLORY     .
British film, produced in 1946. Shot in semi-documentary style, the movie
employed hundreds of men and women who had actually *been* in the battle,
replaying themselves.
No bang-bang "heroics", but a restrained carefully accurate recreation
of the combat and survival there.
Sad to think THEIRS IS THE GLORY is probably long out of circulation, and
probably not obtainable. But.... maybe someone on here (in the UK) may
be able to track down this movie, what is now a first-class piece of
historic recreation.
Regards -- Sidney Allinson.

--

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

Date:    Wed, 14 Sep 1994 10:07:53 PDT
From:    Sidney Allinson <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: [INF] USAAF 14 Sep 44

APHRODITE missions now seem most notable because one of them cost the
life of a potential President of the United States -- Joseph Kennedy, Jr.,
        The world will never know...

--

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

Date:    Wed, 14 Sep 1994 13:06:08 -0400
From:    Ron Babuka <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: ROMMEL and/or "The Grief"

>what about the money paid monthly (for life) to Medal of Honor winners
>and that sort of thing.  Is the US govt. guilty of subsidizing
>successful killers?

1) I thought that the only compensation that a Congressional Medal of Honor
winner recieved was admittance of qualified children to the military
academies  (and A am not sure that you can consider that compensation)

2) A reminder that the Medal of Honor and other commendations are awarded
for service and gallantry NOT for killing the opposition.  There are a
substantial number of commendations that have been awarded for saving lives
and I think it does a disservice to all those who have been honored to use
that language.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ron Babuka                                         National Warplane Museum
Cornell University                                 Geneseo, New York
CIT - Information Resources
Ithaca, New York 14850
(607) 254-6492

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

Date:    Wed, 14 Sep 1994 10:13:23 PDT
From:    Sidney Allinson <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: ROMMEL and/or "The Grief"

Yes, Bill, you certainly can.
:-)

--

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

Date:    Wed, 14 Sep 1994 10:20:05 PDT
From:    Sidney Allinson <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: ROMMEL and/or "The Grief"

I believe FM Rommel was riding in his Horsch staff-car when attacked and
wounded by an RAF fighter plane piloted by Squadron Leader J.J. Le Roux,
a South African with 23 aircraft kills.
Rommel was on his way to headquarters at La Roche Guyon, France, south
of Caen, when he was hit by machine-gun fire from S/L Le Roux.
(Le Roux himself went missing over the English Channel a few weeks later,
and probably never knew he had taken Rommel out of action.)

--

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

Date:    Thu, 15 Sep 1994 00:23:25 +0700
From:    "Peter E. Beal" <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Info on Taft organization?

On Tue, 13 Sep 1994, Pascal Sauve wrote:

> HI! Looking for info on the German Taft group,they're accomplishments as
> engineers for German fortifications in WWII.
>
> Thanks!
>
> Pascal Sauve
> [email-masked]
>
I think you mean the "Todt Organization".  There must be books around on
this organization.

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

Date:    Wed, 14 Sep 1994 12:29:33 GMT-6
From:    "Robert T. Moore" <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Ref: Where is MAJ Barrett???

Hello, Tim!

I have Barry's e-mail address if you want that.

Please let me know.

Terry
> I know MAJ Lowe Barret moved to Ft. Leavenworth--does anyone have a good
> phone number for him?  I'm going to be in the area soon and would like
> to look him up.
>
> I don;t have any contacts out east with the reenactors, but I know
> people who do--who ever is interested in this pleae contact me directly
> and I'll see what I can do for you.  TAS
>
> ************************************************************************
> *  Tim A. Scherrer          "You'll be fighting WWII for the rest of   *
> *  Facilities Supervisor     your life", Ron Scherrer, 1971            *
> *  WP:816-785-5253                                                     *
> *  HP:816-665-6704                                                     *
> *  ID# [email-masked]                             *
> ************************************************************************
>

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

Date:    Wed, 14 Sep 1994 12:39:01 GMT-6
From:    "Robert T. Moore" <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Info on Taft organization?

Hello, Pacal!

It is definitely the "Todt" Organization as was posted to  you
earlier. It was headed originally by Generalmajor Fritz Todt, an air
force general. When he was killed in an air accident in 1943, Albert
Speer was named in his place.

Fritz Todt was a very popular figure in high Nazi circles.

Terry

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

Date:    Wed, 14 Sep 1994 13:54:32 EDT
From:    "Steve L. New" <[email-masked]>
Subject: Japanese Television & WWII

     >I wonder, do the Japanese have shows on the American Navajo code
     talkers?

     My impression of modern Japanese coverage of WWII is that it starts
     with the A-Bomb at Hiroshima.

        Steve L. New                     .............................
        Weapon System Manager            .............................
        Battalion Countermine Set        ............ /\ .............
        U.S. Army TACOM AMSTA-FR1D       ............/  \.............
        DSN: 786-5403  FAX: 786-7788     ............    .............
        EMAIL  [email-masked]   ............    .............

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

Date:    Wed, 14 Sep 1994 12:57:09 CDT
From:    "Robert J. Granvin" <[email-masked]>
Subject: NOST: Miss Mitchell heading towards Dayton

Miss Mitchell departs Thursday a.m. (weather permitting) to fly to Wright
Patterson AFB to take part in the dedication of a building complex to General
Jimmy Doolittle.  She'll arrive Thursday afternoon (early) and depart on
Friday about 4:00 ...

I have doubts that the public will get a chance to get close or even close
enough to see anything that's going on.

However, if there are any list members in the Dayton area, I'd be curious to
see if the media even notes the event or not.  I'm quite positive there will
be no notice of the dedication outside of the immediate area.  :-(

Also curious if you see a silver B-25 in the area.  :-)  Last time we
returned from Dayton, the crew "bombed" a Japanese car plant.  :-)

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

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

Date:    Wed, 14 Sep 1994 11:04:00 PDT
From:    Julie Jenkins <[email-masked]>
Subject: Holo vs. holocaust

Just in time to push the nail out the back side of the board, I just want to
bring up the importance of the capital "H" to the whole thing.  It was Elie
Wiesel, I believe, who first used the term, w/a capital H, Holocaust, to refer
to the destruction of the European Jews.  People now use the term w/a small h
to refer to any terrible event, to such a degree, that Wiesel thinks the word
has been irretrievably vulgarized and wishes that he had never used it as he
did and that the word be retired from discourse for the forseeable future.

"Genocide" if you want to be careful about it refers to the killing of the gens
the root, the source.  Therefore it always carries conotations of ethnicity &
race by definition.  People now use the word genocide to refer to any out of
control killing so other people feel that its WWII context has been vulgarized
and other people now quote statistics to prove that yes, they too, have exper-
ienced genocide.

But can one  really use the term genocide when talking about class war and ex-
termination for reasons other than race/ethnicity?  I  for one, don't think so.
If Stalin had wanted to commit genocide in  the Ukriane, he could have.  he
didn't need trains, that was just a bad joke.  Someone who wants to exterminate
a race, walks in & does so.  As Hitler proved.   Before the camps, there  were
the mobile gas vans, and before those there were roundups & mass shootings.
Stalin  wanted to wipe out a CLASS and also maintain peace in urban centers
that were suffering food shortages.  he starved the Ukraine to keep the cities
quiet.  He could care  less how many people died but he didn't singlemindedly
intend to exterinate the entire Ukrainian/Belorussian population.  Hitler in-
tended to exterminate the entire European Jewish population, hence the regis-
tries, proofs etc.

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

Date:    Wed, 14 Sep 1994 14:12:17 EDT
From:    Alan Wild <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: NYC TV

Drew Halevy <[email-masked]> said,...

>I caught Codebreakers on AETN, the Arkansas public television station. A
>very good program in my view, since I had little understanding of the
>mechanics of these machines.-Drew

Apparently we also owe very much to those code breakers who were able to
supply Adm.Nimitz with much needed info for the pilots of the Midway battle.
If it weren't for all of their keen judgement calls, the four Japanese
carriers might've gone on to take Hawaii... Imagine that these guys in
Washington built a machine from scratch to counter the Japanese Purple
cipher.

Also the Polish, British, and French code breakers who persued the German
Enigma machine. The systemitized "shuffling" of the tumblers by Doernitz's
navy made things difficult for allied shipping. As I understand it, the
German army, air corps, and state dept. didn't follow any planned "key"
changing sequence. Their compulsion to use Holywood icons and obsenities
('go well together) made things simpler for the breakers.

I have done a small amount of ciphering work in the math dept here at URI.
For all of my stats, a simple double substitution was entirely adequate
so long as the key was of substantial length (~ .5 length of the clear).
This eliminated any chance at letter freqs., letter combination freqs, or
word length freqs. With computers today,... multi dimensional substitutions
are possible within seconds. You'd have better luck trying all possible
combinations of letters, multi-nationally, of 2 * the cipher length of chars.
Todays supercomputers could do it,... but the number of meaningful phrases
which included "buzz" words would be large enough to stupify any decision
maker. You would get one negative statement for every positive statement.

'Fun, -Al

Alan G. Wild
Admin. Computing
University of Rhode Island
Kingston, R.I.  02881

I am the NRA.

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

Date:    Wed, 14 Sep 1994 16:04:54 CDT
From:    Tim not Timothy Scherrer <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re[2]: WEAP: Essex-class carriers

Someone asked what does a mobilization asset mean?  A navy mobilization
asset like a mothballed carrier means that if the navy started losing
carriers in a war, or needed to expand suddenly that these ships could
be very quickly adapted for sea use, and put back out to sea much
quicker than a new construction--they would probably require extensive
overhauling--but that is quicker than building a hull and a deck.  TAS

************************************************************************
*  Tim A. Scherrer          "You'll be fighting WWII for the rest of   *
*  Facilities Supervisor     your life", Ron Scherrer, 1971            *
*  WP:816-785-5253                                                     *
*  HP:816-665-6704                                                     *
*  ID# [email-masked]                             *
************************************************************************

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

Date:    Wed, 14 Sep 1994 14:29:15 -0800
From:    Ron Skinner <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: "Holocaust" -- Ron Skinner's dictionary

>     Thanks for the spadework, but what is your source, the
>OXFORD ENGLISH DICTIONARY (OED)?
>
>Lou Coatney

Nope, it was far easier than digging through my OED (compact version) with
the glass. It was a ten second cut-and-paste from my online dictionary, the
AMERICAN HERITAGE DELUXE DICTIONARY. This is the best disk-resident
reference I've seen and is even more convenient than the CD-ROM version. Of
course I can't make it say "darling" or other such endearments as I can
with the CD-ROM. :-)

Back to the subject at hand: The word "Holocaust," used as a proper noun,
has come to mean the murder of the Jews in WWII. The word "holocaust," in
its common noun form, is properly used in any other context.

And I thought I'd left the MLA behind for good! Sorry for bashing the
bandwidth, fellows.

Ron Skinner

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

Date:    Wed, 14 Sep 1994 14:29:29 -0800
From:    Ron Skinner <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: ROMMEL and/or "The Grief"

>>what about the money paid monthly (for life) to Medal of Honor winners
>>and that sort of thing.  Is the US govt. guilty of subsidizing
>>successful killers?

Ron Babuka responded:

>1) I thought that the only compensation that a Congressional Medal of Honor
>winner recieved was admittance of qualified children to the military
>academies  (and A am not sure that you can consider that compensation)
>
>2) A reminder that the Medal of Honor and other commendations are awarded
>for service and gallantry NOT for killing the opposition.  There are a
>substantial number of commendations that have been awarded for saving lives
>and I think it does a disservice to all those who have been honored to use
>that language.

Recipients of decorations for valor beginning with the Siver Star (?) can
apply for a stipend upon retirement. The amount varies by decoration and,
if memory serves, topped out at $150 per month during the late 60s for
holders of the Medal of Honor.

Bill Huber's comments obviously weren't intended to demean anyone's heroes
but rather to illustrate a long tradtion of rewarding heroes by grateful
nations of all stripes.

Ron Skinner

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

Date:    Wed, 14 Sep 1994 17:39:43 -0500
From:    "Louis R. Coatney" <[email-masked]>
Subject: Wargames and acadaemia

Richard, et al:

     A few years ago, I had "Games and Simulations in Academic
Libraries:  Are They Digestible?" published on ERIC (available
via your local university/research library).  In my survey, I
discovered that while 2/3s of acquisitions librarians realized
the educational/research value of wargames, hardly half of their
libraries collected them.

     Darwin Bromley and I have tried to locate some library
or institution having an exhaustive collection, but I/we have
found nothing.

     Does *anyone* know of a public/research library which
does collect wargames repletely?

Lou Coatney, Wargames Collector/Bibliographer at Large

     AND YES!, ERIC PASS, I WILL GET THAT LIST OF RUSSIAN
FRONT CAMPAIGN GAMES OFF TO YOU.

     Has anyone else seen/touched/*played* FALL BARBAROSSA
or OSTFRONT '41, by any chance?  :-)

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

Date:    Wed, 14 Sep 1994 17:53:48 -0500
From:    "Louis R. Coatney" <[email-masked]>
Subject: CMH stipend "guilty of subsudizing successful killers?"

I missed this cute little post.  Who said it?  Could someone
  send me a copy ....?

Lou Coatney

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

Date:    Wed, 14 Sep 1994 18:02:40 -0500
From:    "Louis R. Coatney" <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: MIAs ... Right.

While it is all very heartwarming to believe that the Clinton
  Administration (or an effective political majority of Americans)
  really gives a damn about American POWs,

Stephen J. Morris's "The `1205 Document:'  A Story of American
  Prisoners, Vietnamese Agents, Soviet Archives, Washington
  Bureaucrats, and the Media" in the Fall 1993 issue of THE
  NATIONAL INTEREST tells the real story of how the Clinton
  Administration has aided/abetted the NVNse coverup of the
  Katyn-like disappearance of 600 of our POWs in NVN, after
  they were no longer necessary/useful for negotiating our
  desertion of the Indochinese.

The people in our security communities had better be looking
  out for themSELVES, if they don't want their families
  watching their corpses being dragged Hector-like through
  the streets of some Third World dungheap ... or just
  eternally waiting for them never-to-return.

Has anyone (else) seen the classic Russian film "The Ballad
  of a Soldier"?

Lou Coatney
[email-masked]

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

Date:    Wed, 14 Sep 1994 16:27:35 PDT
From:    Sidney Allinson <[email-masked]>
Subject: VietNam Forum on e-mail

Hi.
If you're still not satisfied with the volume of interesting war-related
mail you already receive here, maybe you'd like to log on to
                VIET NAM FORUM.
To get aboard, send a message to:
                [email-masked]
Then, in the *body* of your message, type
                subscribe vnforum.
That's it! You're an instant subscriber to news about war in the 'Nam.
Not my thing, personally, but I think there's many a war-news junkie
will enjoy it.
Regards -- Sidney.

--

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

Date:    Wed, 14 Sep 1994 18:25:28 -0500
From:    "Louis R. Coatney" <[email-masked]>
Subject: "Stalin wanted to ... maintain peace in urban centers ..."  ?!

Yes, this *sounds* like the Julie Jenkins I know.  :-)

Julie, people were starving in the countryside as well.  The
  NKVD went out and rounded up *all* the foodstuffs.

If he had to exterminate every last Ukrainian to "pacify"
  the Ukrainians, he would have done it.  Sounds like mega-
  ethno-murder -- the Ukrainian Holocaust -- to *me*.

Lou Coatney
[email-masked]

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

Date:    Wed, 14 Sep 1994 18:28:39 -0500
From:    "Louis R. Coatney" <[email-masked]>
Subject: Note of respect to Benjamin Weber

You have spoken, well, Benjamin.  In time, however, I have
  faith that the "h" in holocaust will be generally capitalized
  for some other peoples, as well.

To be sure, the Jews have led the effort to raise consciousness
  -- an international sense of responsibility -- about such
  tragedies.

Even then, Why couldn't we prevent Rwanda?

Lou Coatney
[email-masked]

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

Date:    Wed, 14 Sep 1994 16:37:41 -0700
From:    John Riegsecker <[email-masked]>
Subject: Code Breakers (was NYC TV)

>From:         Alan Wild <[email-masked]>
>Subject:      Re: NYC TV

>Apparently we also owe very much to those code breakers who were able to
>supply Adm.Nimitz with much needed info for the pilots of the Midway battle.
>If it weren't for all of their keen judgement calls, the four Japanese
>carriers might've gone on to take Hawaii... Imagine that these guys in
>Washington built a machine from scratch to counter the Japanese Purple
>cipher.
>

Read "And I was there", Edwin T. Layton.  "Those guys in Washington..."
were led by William Friedman.  There is a great deal of literature on
this.  See "The Man Who Broke Purple", Ronald Clark or best of all, "The
Code Breakers", by David Kahn.

>Also the Polish, British, and French code breakers who persued the German
>Enigma machine. The systemitized "shuffling" of the tumblers by Doernitz's
>navy made things difficult for allied shipping. As I understand it, the
>German army, air corps, and state dept. didn't follow any planned "key"
>changing sequence. Their compulsion to use Holywood icons and obsenities
>('go well together) made things simpler for the breakers.
>

See "Seizing the Enigma", by David Kahn.

>I have done a small amount of ciphering work in the math dept here at URI.
>For all of my stats, a simple double substitution was entirely adequate
>so long as the key was of substantial length (~ .5 length of the clear).
>This eliminated any chance at letter freqs., letter combination freqs, or
>word length freqs. With computers today,... multi dimensional substitutions
>are possible within seconds. You'd have better luck trying all possible
>combinations of letters, multi-nationally, of 2 * the cipher length of chars.
>Todays supercomputers could do it,... but the number of meaningful phrases
>which included "buzz" words would be large enough to stupify any decision
>maker. You would get one negative statement for every positive statement.

I don't know what you mean by a double substitution system, but history
is littered with "unbreakable" or "difficult to break" systems with
fatal flaws.  For example, using a linear congruential random number
generator is a favorite that is easy to break.  Is it practical to use a
system that requires the key to be half the length of the clear?

John Riegsecker
Department of Mathematics and Computer Science
University of Puget Sound

[email-masked]

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

Date:    Wed, 14 Sep 1994 19:49:37 EDT
From:    Brian Nicklas <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Guided Weapons (Was V-1s)

In addition to Ron's excellent post on V-1s, IMHO one should also look
in Antony L. Kay "Buzz Bomb" 1977, Monogram Aviation Publications, Boylston,
Mass.  Kay describes the FZG 76/Fi 103 as well as the American JB-2 Thunderbugs
and LVT-N-2 Loons.  A great selection of photos.  Monogram is due to release
a new book on the V-1/V-2s by Dieter Holsken this fall.  An expanded version
(I understand) of his thesis, it sounds like a great volume to have
if you have an interest in missiles or "Wonder weapons."
A Late report - I just found my ad for the book, in Finescale Modeler
(Nov 94) "V-Missiles of the Third Reich"  352 pages, hdbk.  Includes
the V-3 and V-4 and piloted (Reichenberg) V-1s.  Pre-pub price was $39.95
but that offer has expired.
The Henschel company built a series of "stand-off" missiles,
the Hs 293, 294, and 295.  Other minor types also built.  The
Hs 293 series was the most prolific.  Ships credited to the 293A
are the destroyers Inglefield, Boadicea, Intrepid and Dulverton (I assume
HMS __ ) and the Greek destroyer Vasilissa Olga.
These are all outlined (and ships listing from) J.R. Smith and Antony L. Kay
"German Aircraft of the Second World War" Putnam, London, 1972 (1990 print)
A great missile section towards the back.  If you have a interest in the
Air War in ETO, this book is a must.  Much better than Green's "Warplanes
of the Third Reich" IMHO.

Hope this helps this along -
Brian Nicklas

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

Date:    Wed, 14 Sep 1994 18:56:44 -0500
From:    Drew Halevy <[email-masked]>
Subject: Air launched anti-ship missile

> Hi Drew,... do you have anymore info on this? Was it ever used? -Al
>
> Alan G. Wild
I saw it on an episode of Wings of the Luftwaffe on A&E (isen't cable
great?) they showed it being launched in the Med against British
shipping. The missile was launched and guided towards the target with a
radio control unit. The operator tracked the missile through a flare in
the tail of the weapon. It was very interesting, but I lack any more
details. Anyone else?-Drew

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

Date:    Wed, 14 Sep 1994 21:03:00 EDT
From:    mc killop <[email-masked]>
Subject: [INF] USAAF 15 SEP 44

COMBAT CHRONOLOGY OF THE US ARMY AIR FORCES
FRIDAY, 15 SEPTEMBER 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
  L-5, Stinson Sentinel
  P-38, Lockheed Lightning
  P-39, Bell Airacobra
  P-40, Curtiss
  P-47, Republic Thunderbolt
  P-51, North American Mustang

NOTE: A number in parenthesis after a target name indicates the number of
bombers attacking.

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA (CBI) THEATER OF OPERATIONS

  BURMA-INDIA (Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 8 P-47s bomb Kutkai, 16 sweep
the river from Bhamo to Katha and bomb Naba, Katha, and Mohnyin; several
other P-47s sweep the Burma Road from Lungling, China to Muse to Bhamo and
strafe a boat on the river at Myothit; 12 P-51s hit Mawhun while 8 B-25s hit
fuel storage and targets of opportunity in the the Chefang, China area; 13
B-24s fly fuel to Liuchow, China; a detachment of the 1st Combat Cargo
Squadron, 1st Combat Cargo Group, based at Sylhet, India begins operaing from
Yunnani, China with C-47s; and the 89th Fighter Squadron, 80th Fighter Group,
moves from Nagaghuli, India to Myitkyina with P-47s.

  CHINA (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 19 B-24s bomb a military storage
area at Hengyang; 20 B-25s hit Chuanhsien and 5 pound a ferry crossing and
bus station at Lingling; 90+ P-40s and P-51s on armed reconnaissance attack
river shipping, numerous buildings, troops, and general targets of
opportunity from NE of Ichang to Liuchow Peninsula concentrating on the
Kiyang and Changsha areas; and HQ 68th Composite Wing moves from Kweilin to
Liuchow.

  EASTERN AIR COMMAND (EAC): Combat Cargo Task Force is formed as a command
of EAC; Brigadier General Frederick W Evans is Commanding General; HQ is
temporarily located at Hastings AB and later moved to Comilla, India; the
command is responsible to air deliver supplies to the British Fourteenth Army
and other organizations as required, a task it fulfills until its disbandment
on 1 Jun 45.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): Mission 632: As part of Operation
FRANTIC, 110 B-17s are dispatched to drop supplies to Warsaw patriots and
then proceed to bases in the USSR; a weather front is encountered over the
North Sea and the bombers are recalled. Escort is provided by 149 of 156
P-51s; 2 P-51s collide in a cloud and are lost.
  Three Fighter Wings and the 15 Fighter Groups are reassigned from the VIII
Fighter Command to the three Bombardment Divisions as follows:
  1st Bombardment Division
    67th Fighter Wing: 20th, 352d, 356th, 359th and 364th Fighter Groups
  2d Bombardment Division
    65th Fighter Wing: 4th, 56th, 355th, 361st and 479th Fighter Groups
  3d Bombardment Division
    66th Fighter Wing: 55th, 78th, 339th, 353d and 357th Fighter Groups

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): In France, bad weather prevents
bomber operations; the IX Tactical Air Command supports US First Army troops
and in Germany, flies armed reconnaissance around Cologne and from Trier to
the Rhine River area; the XIX Tactical Air Command supports the US Third Army
and flies armed reconnaissance in the Nancy-Strasbourg area; HQ Ninth AF
moves from Sunninghill Park, England to Chantilly; HQ 48th Fighter Group and
the 492d and 494th Fighter Squadrons move from Villacoublay to Camrai/
Niergnies with P-47s; HQ 50th Fighter Group and the 10th, 81st and 313th
Fighter Squadrons move from Orly to Laon with P-47s; HQ 365th Fighter Group
moves from Bretigny to Juvincourt; the 365th, 366th and 367th Fighter
Squadrons, 358th Fighter Group, move from Pontorson to Vitry-le-Francois with
P-47s; and the 597th and 598th Bombardment Squadrons (Medium), 397th
Bombardment Group (Medium), move from Gorges to Dreux with B-26s.

MEDITERRANEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (MTO)

  AAFMTO: "A" Flight of the 121st Liaison Squadron, AAFMTO, moves from St
Tropez to Lyons, France with L-5s (squadron is based at Pomigliano, Italy).

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Fifteenth Air Force): In Greece, 276 B-17s and B-24s
bomb Tatoi, Eleusis, and Kalamaki Airfields and Salamis submarine base; P-38s
and P-51s fly escort, target cover, and sweep target areas; the attacks are
aimed at hampering the withdrawal of enemy forces from the area. 53 B-24s fly
a supply mission to S France and 24 B-24s begin evacuating aircrews formerly
imprisoned in Bulgaria from Cairo, Egypt to Bari, Italy.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Twelfth Air Force): HQ 87th Fighter Wing, 47th
Bombardment Group (Light), 57th and 86th Fighter Groups, and several other
units are transferred from HQ XII Tactical Air Command to HQ XII Fighter
Command; HQ XII Tactical Air Command, based in S France, remains assigned to
the Twelfth AF but is put under operational control of the Ninth AF. In
Italy, all medium bomber missions are cancelled or aborted due to weather;
fighter-bombers, though restricted by weather, carry out armed reconnaissance
against enemy communications and defensive positions in the Milan-Genoa-
Modena-Pistoia areas, as Allied forces (joined on this date by elements of
the Brazilian Expeditionary Force) attempt to penetrate enemy strongholds in
the N Apennines; HQ XII Fighter Command moves from Caserta to Florence; HQ
62d Fighter Wing moves from Naples to Antignano; and the 347th Fighter
Squadron, 350th Fighter Group, moves from Sardinia to Tarquinia with P-47s.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA)

  AAFPOA (Seventh Air Force): P-47s from Saipan Island hit AA positions on
Pagan Island with machinegun and rocket fire. A lone B-24 on a snooper
mission bombs Iwo Jima Island; all other B-24 missions abort. US forces land
on Morotai and Peleliu Islands.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: On Halmahera
Island, B-24s, A-20s, and P-47s bomb Kaoe, Lolobata, and Hate Tabako. In New
Guinea, P-39s bomb Manokwari Airfield and town area; and the 675th
Bombardment Squadron (Light), 417th Bombardment Group (Light), moves from
Saidor to Noemfoor Island with A-20s.

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

15/0106Z SEP

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

Date:    Wed, 14 Sep 1994 20:42:44 -0500
From:    "Danny G. Cox" <[email-masked]>
Subject: NOST

If any of you are going to be in the Springfield, MO area the weekend of
Sept. 24-25 the Ozark Mountain Squadron of the Confederate Air Force is
having an air show at the Springfield Regional Airport (more like an
airplane viewing show no mock battles etc).

According to their advertising, I'm not a member of the CAF, at least one
each of the  following is to be there.  An F4U-Corsair, P-51 Mustang,
Japanese Zero (Replica), B-24 Liberator the "Diamond Lil", B-29 the "Fifi".
A C-45, C-46, C-47, T-6 PT-19 Kaydet, A.M.M.O. Cobra Gunship, and a SOKO
Galeb, an Eastern Euorpe jet trainer, fighter.

Also to be on hand is Travis Hoover (I think thats the right name) who
was a pilot on the Doolittle Raid.

Hoping everyone had a good one today.

+==================================+
|   Dan Cox                        |
|   REPUBLIC, MO                   |
|   [email-masked]   |
+==================================+

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

Date:    Wed, 14 Sep 1994 21:54:22 -0400
From:    David Rising <[email-masked]>
Subject: Frequent Flier Miles? MoH

Taken from _The Congressional Medal of Honor Library: World War II The
Names, The Deeds_ (great book and one of the few I still have available
to me since moving) Reprinted without permission.

"Apart from the great honor which it conveys, there are certain small
privileges which accompany the Medal of Honor. Its recipiants can, under
certain conditions, obtain free air transportation on military aircraft
within the continental United States on a "space available" basis. A
veteran who has been awarded the medal for combat in any waris eligible
for a special pension of $200/month, starting from the date he applies
for the pension"

The extra pay was added to the medal in 1918, when it was realized that
the Distinguished Service Cross (formally the Certificate of Merit), a
lesser medal, carried a $2.00/month pay bonus. The $2.00 was thus
attached to the MofH.

David Rising

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

Date:    Wed, 14 Sep 1994 22:06:00 EDT
From:    mc killop <[email-masked]>
Subject: Aprhodite Aircraft

 >I noticed in today's message that an APHRODITE mission was flown and that
 >it missed the target.  There was some discussion on the list recently about
 >APHRODITE and what it was.  My question is whether any of the APHRODITE
 >missions were ever successful?
 >Tim J. Watts
 >Valparaiso University

APHRODITE was conceived in Jun 44 to attack V-1 sites in France.  The
larger V-1 sites could withstand any conventional bombing methods,
including the RAF's 12,000-pound (5,443 kg) Tallboy bombs.  The USAAF
conceived the idea of taking war-weary B-17s, load them with 20,000-pounds
(9,072 kg) of explosives, and using them as a guided "missile" to hit the
target.  The 562d Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 388th Bombardment Group
(Heavy), a B-17 outfit at Knettishall, Suffolk, England was given the
responsibility of developing the concept.  A normal mission consisted of
the "flying B-17 bomb" with all unnecessary equipment, armament and armor
removed and the necessary electronic equipment installed for guidance.  The
control aircraft was an ex-RAF Lockheed Model 37 Ventura while a second
B-17s was used for naviation and observation.  A fighter escort was
provided as necessary along with at least one fighter that could destroy
the B-17 "bomb" if necessary.  A crew of 2 or 3 took the "bomb" off,
climbed to altitude, turned on the control equipment and set the fuses,
and then bailed out while the aircraft was still over England.  The control
aircraft would then guide the aircraft to the target and control its glide
to hit the target.

The first Eighth Air Force mission was 4 Aug 44 when 4 "B-17 flying bombs"
and 6 control aircraft were dispatched to hit V-weapon sites at
Mimoyecques, Siracourt, Watten and Wizernes, France.  One of the "bombs"
crashed into a wood area near Sudbourne Park, Suffolk; a crater 100-feet
(31 m) across and the trunks of fully grown oaks completely severed for
200-feet (62 m) around it and fused metal parts were all that was left of
the B-17.  Only 2 of the "bombs" were effective and they missed their
targets.

On 6 Aug, 2 B-17 "bombs" with 2 B-17s and a B-24 control aircraft were
dispatched to hit V-weapon sites at Watten but one "bomb" crashed in the
English Channel and the second did not hit the target.

On 12 Aug, the US Navy dispatched a Consolidated PB4Y Liberator "bomb" to
Heligoland Island, Germany.  Piloting the aircraft was Lieutenant Joseph
P. Kennedy, Jr, USNR; a young radioman was also aboard.  At 15,000-feet
(4,572 m) over the Blyth estuary, as the two men were apparently preparing
to jump, the aircraft suddenly blew up in two consecutive explosions.

Needless to say, the Brits were becoming very concerned lest an Aprhrodite
aircraft should fall into a populated area.  This second loss was only 15
miles (24 km) from Sudbourne Park, the first crash site and a few weeks
prior to these crashes, the 491st Bombardment Groups bomb dump at Metfield
had exploded.  Because of these concerns, the word came down to go back to
the drawing board and check the design and operation of these "flying
bombs."

A month passed and by Sep, the Allies had captured the V-1 sites and new
targets had to be found.  On 14 Sep, 2 B-17 "bombs", 2 B-17 control
aircraft, 1 deHavilland Mosquito observation aricraft and 31 P-47s were
dispatched to hit the Hemmingstedt oil refinery, Germany but both aircraft
missed the target.

The next mission was 15 Oct when 2 B-17 "bombs," 7 B-17 and 2 P-38
control and observation aircraft and 16 escort P-51s were dispatched to hit
naval installations on Heligoland Island, Germany; my book does not list
any results.  On 30 Oct, 2 B-17 "bombs," 3 control B-17s and 7 P-47s were
again dispatched to Heligoland Island.  One "bomb" failed to respond to
radio commands and crashed in Sweden; the second dropped on the island.

The next mission was on 5 Dec when 2 B-17 drones, 3 B-17 control and
observation aircraft, a P-38 observation and photo aircraft and 17
escorting P-51s were dispatched to an unknown target with unknown results.
New Years Day 1945 saw the next mission; the only details I have are 2 B-17
drones and 3 control aircraft were dispatched to hit Oldenburg, results
unknwon.

-------------------------------------------------------------------
|  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:    Wed, 14 Sep 1994 22:24:41 -0400
From:    Joe Barone <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: MIAs ... Right.

To the list-members,

        Please do not respond to Lou Coutney's message.  I am privately
discussing the situation with Lou and I hope to have the issue resolved
shortly.  Thank you.
--
Joe Barone, WWII-L listowner
[email-masked]

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

Date:    Wed, 14 Sep 1994 22:21:51 EDT
From:    Cassady Craft <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: 50TH:  Operation Market Garden

Ok, I need help or will lose my sanity.  It's one of those I think I know I've
seen it someplace things.  I seem to remember an account of the planning of
Market Garden that went to great lengths to tell all the gritty details of
what was wrong with the operation.  Besides the narrow corridor, too many
bridges, wrong commander, and host of other things, the Brits perhaps didn't
do their homework either (or didn't trust the exiled Dutch).  Ok, here is the
kicker for me:  do I remember an account of how launching an operation aimed
at taking the bridge at Arnhem from Nijmegen was a staff exercise for the
Dutch Army in the 1930s?!?!?!  If I remember correctly (and for the life of
me, I cannot find the source), the Dutch had already come to the conclusion
that you could not use the road that Monty selected--the exercise was "solved"
by taking another route, longer, but without the drawbacks.  Someone please
tell me I'm either crazy, or look in so-and-so's book.

Cassady Craft
Department of Political Science
University of Georgia
e-mail [email-masked]
or
[email-masked]

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

Date:    Wed, 14 Sep 1994 22:41:37 -0400
From:    Ben Frank <[email-masked]>
Subject: 50TH: PACIFIC ANNIVERS

Yes, John, you are absolutely correct. The media has not paid much attention to
the Pacific with the exception of Pearl Harbor Day and Guadalcanal. Guam was an
important operation to commemorate, and the Guamanians made a big thing of it,
as did the Saipan citizens. I know that there will be a big bash next February
for Iwo Jima and in April for Okinawa. The media are having a feeding frenzy
over Haiti, issuing all sorts of scripts, and they don't know doodly. Too bad.
Cheers, Ben

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

Date:    Wed, 14 Sep 1994 19:41:38 -0700
From:    Ed Kettler <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: WEAP: Essex-class carriers

Basically, if we go to war and our front-line carriers end up in Davey
Jones locker or in dry dock for extended periods of time, then these
ships would be brought out of moth balls and refitted for battle
replacements.  I am guessing, but I would expect at least 6 months to
reactivate, update and then who knows how long to train the crew.

This assumes that the reserve fleets escape targeting by either
saboteurs, special operations forces or direct nuclear attack.

Ed Kettler                                       [email-masked]

On Tue, 13 Sep 1994, John Riegsecker wrote:

> >From:         Ed Kettler <[email-masked]>
> >Subject:      Re: WEAP: Essex-class carriers
>
> Ed,
>
> >CV-59  Forrestal has been redesignated AVT 59 to replace Lexington (AVT 16)
> >as the training carrier.  CV 41 Midway decommed on 11 Apr 92 for
> >retention as possiblew mobilization asset.
> >
> >Info from Combat Fleets of the World, 1993.
> >
> >Ed Kettler                                       [email-masked]
>
> Pardon a dumb question, but precisely what does mobilization asset mean
> in civilian?  I want to get some more information from the Bremerton
> Naval Museum for Jorge Merino, so perhaps I can find out from them if
> they have more recent information on the planned fate of CV41.  In some sense,
> it is very frustrating to be so close to these old ships, but not really
> able to do more than look at them from the outside.  If CV41 becomes a
> trainng ship, they have some sprucing up to do.
>
> John Riegsecker
> Department of Mathematics and Computer Science
> University of Puget Sound
>
> [email-masked]
>

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

Date:    Wed, 14 Sep 1994 22:38:58 EDT
From:    Cassady Craft <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Alabama and Drum

I was the one who recommended the Bama and Drum--and was seconded well by those
suggesting the visit to Pesacola.  I went there on the same recent trip and
have some interesting stories that my wife suggested that I share with the
list.

We had gone to Mobile during spring break as I was looking for a summer job
while in grad school at Bama.  We also decided to vacation a bit, and since
I knew that the BB was in the water, I craftily managed to enter town from the
right direction--boy you better watch the traffic, you're on a bridge!--so that
the Alabama showed itself nicely.  Imagine me saying, "Look Honey!"  and cagily
suggesting that we go for a look--just a drive around because we had our
German Shepard (with 3 kills (biten people) to her credit) with us.  Imagine
also my delight to find that the park people were/are brilliant--dog kennels
right there in the parking lot.  A little more talking ("yes, I think Stormy
will be OK, it isn't that hot--look we'll leave her a nice bowl of water") and
the dog was locked in and we grab the camera and head for the boat.  We get the
ticket, up the plank, stroll down the deck to the #3 turret, and the wife is
looking across the 600 yds or so of parking lot to the kennels (no, a normal
person cannot see a German Shepard at this distance).  Ernestly desiring to
comfort her with the news that the "dumbdog" (nickname) was laying down and
as happy as can be, I looked through the 35mm's (camera) telephoto....Egad!!!
Stormy wasn't there!

"Oh my god! she's not there"  I yelled!  We sprinted off the ship, broke
the 600 meter record while dodging cars, people, and tanks in the parking lot
to find the vicious German Shepard near our Honda--with boy scouts all over
the place!  Luckily, the scout master had a lick of sense, and was keeping the
troop from trying to pet the pretty dog--and probably getting bloodied in the
process (she hates kids and uniforms).  To make a longer story short, we
tied the dog, braced the kennel door (yes, that was a combination lock on it
the first time) and just generally hoped that the dog couldn't get out again
and if she did that she would find us on the ship without getting any blood on
the deck.  Later we toured Pensacola's Naval Air Museum.  Not so smart there,
not a kennel among the planes.  My wife went in first, then was a champ and
held the dog while I gleefully roamed amid the aircraft.

So, there are two morals of the story. 1) Please be good scout leaders and
teach any kid you can possibly reach that dogs without owners present are
dangerous and to be avoided at all costs.  2)  Definitely go have fun in the
sun in Mobile (there are Civil War era forts on both ends of the bay, too)
Egland, and Pensacola.

Cassady Craft
Department of Political Science
University of Georgia
e-mail [email-masked]
or
[email-masked]

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

Date:    Wed, 14 Sep 1994 23:26:23 EDT
From:    Cassady Craft <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Japanese sailors

As Emmanuel said, some of the great IJN aces did not choose to wear their
chutes--I believe Saburo Sakai used his for a seat cushion!

Incidentally, after mentioning Sakai, I must make a recommendation.  If you
are interested in reading a fantastic story which happens to be an autobio,
read _Samurai_ by Saburo Sakai and Martin Caido.  Sakai goes into great
detail on IJN training before the war, the early campaigns against the Dutch
and Americans (and Aussies, I suppose) in the East Indies and New Guinea.
I recall vividly his anticipation of flying against the USN pilots when the
Lex (?) launched sorties against the Buna beachhead.  His account of the
Japanese reaction to the invasion of G'canal is classic.  His personal story
of flying back from a sweep over the invasion site back to Rabaul in a shot-up
Zero while blind in both eyes and paralysed on one side is nothing short of
remarkable!  Later in the war, he flew off of Iwo during the US carrier raids.
One dogfight is unbelievable, as a one-eyed IJN ace (Sakai) flying the venerabl
e zero faced a dozen or so Hellcats.  What happened?  Read and find out!

Cassady Craft
Department of Political Science
University of Georgia
e-mail [email-masked]
or
[email-masked]

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

End of WWII-L Digest - 13 Sep 1994 to 14 Sep 1994
*************************************************