Subject: WWII-L Digest - 30 Sep 1994 to 1 Oct 1994

From: Automatic digest processor <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 2 Oct 1994 00:00:38 -0400

There are 17 messages totalling 684 lines in this issue.

Topics of the day:

  1. TRIV Re: German-Japanese Tech Transfer
  2. TACT:Could they have won ? (2)
  3. INF: USN Chronology 10-01-94
  4. Italians in WW2 (my $0.02)
  5. WWII-L Digest - 29 Sep 1994 to 30 Sep 1994
  6. "What if" discussions.
  7. Italy in WW2, my $0.02--part II
  8. WEAP:aircraft comparisons
  9. Warsaw Uprising
 10. POL:Hiroshima
 11. INF: More on Aero engines
 12. TACT:Could they have won (2)
 13. [INF] USAAF 1 OCT 44
 14. [INF] USAAF 2 OCT 44
 15. Palau

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

Date:    Sat, 1 Oct 1994 00:01:17 EST
From:    "CARL WERNKE (TCWERNC@VCCSCENT)" <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: TRIV Re: German-Japanese Tech Transfer

 To: Multiple recipients of list WWII-L([email-masked])
 In-Reply-To: note of Fri, 30 Sep 1994 13:49:56 EDT

 Brian Nicklas wrote:
 > The Mitsubishi J8M Shusui was a copy of the Me 163 b. Two subs carried the
 > parts to Japan, one was sunk.... Bob Mikesh published a "Monogram Close_up"
 > on the Kikka that gave a great explanation of how it grew from the Me 262.

 Design work on the Kikka (Orange Blossom)-- the only Japanese jet-powered
 aircraft capable of taking_off on its own power, although only twice during
 the second World War-- began in  September 1944. The reports on the progress
 of the Messerschmitt Me 262 twin-jet fighter received from the Japanese Air
 Attache' in Germany had prompted the Naval Staff to instruct Nakajima to
 design a single-seat twin-jet attack fighter based on the German Me 262.
 Requirements included: (1) maximum speed 375 kt (432 mph); (2) range 110
 naut miles (127 st miles) with a bomb-load of 500kg (1,102 lb) or 150 naut
 miles (173 st miles) with a bomb-load of 250 kg (551 lb); (3) landing speed
 80 kt (92 mph); and (4) take-off run 350 m (1,150 ft) when using two 450 kg
 (992 lb) thrust RATOG bottles. In addition, provisions were to be made for
 folding wings, to enable the aircraft to be hidden in caves and tunnels and
 also for ease of production by semi-skilled labor.

 The aircraft, designed by Kazuo Ohno and Kenichi Matsumura, externally
 resembled the Me 262 but was smaller. The two turbojets were mounted in
 separate nacelles under the wings to allow, with a minimum of changes, the
 installation of engines of various types. At this time,the project had been
 designated Navy Special Attacker Kikka, but its future was still uncertain
 as the Ne-12 failed to deliver sufficient thrust. Fortunately ( for the
 Japanese ) , photographs of the German BMW axial-flow turbojet had been
 obtained by Eichi Iwaya of the Japanese Navy, and from these the Japanese were
 able to design a similar turbojet, designated Ne-20, offering a thrust of
 475 kg (1,047 lb). It appeared that with two Ne-20 turbojets the Kikka would
 meet its design performance and the project rapidly picked up speed.

   Completed in August 1945, the first Kikka made its maiden flight on
 7 August at Kisarazu Naval Air Base with LCDR Susumu Takaoka at the controls.
 A second prototype was almost ready for flight trials and eighteen additional
 prototypes and pre-production aircraft were in various stages of assembly
 when on 15 August, the development of the aircraft was terminated.

 The above material was obtained from _Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War_,
 by Rene'J. Francillon, Putnam & Co., 1979.

 Carl Wernke
 [email-masked]

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

Date:    Sat, 1 Oct 1994 00:53:19 EDT
From:    William Lippert <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: TACT:Could they have won ?

   While I will not disagree that the Ardennes offensive was a general
failure for the Germans, I do not think that Hitler made a particularly
poor decision.  In general, leaders (political and military) have often
been criticized for being too timid or indecisive; unwilling to go on
the offensive.  I will cite Bernard Montgomery here as many consider him
a little slow to attack.  Or in the Battle of the Coral Sea, where the
Japanese retreated and allowed the American carriers to escape, damaged
but usable.
   Hitler and the Germans knew that the end would come later if they
stayed on the defensive.  An offensive operation, if successful, would
have had the effect of raising German morale, shaking Allied confidence,
and perhaps permitting a political settlement with the West.  No doubt
that these were very unlikely, but they were better than conceding to
inevitable defeat.

William Lippert
The American University

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

Date:    Sat, 1 Oct 1994 07:14:34 PDT
From:    "Keller, Theron P." <[email-masked]>
Subject: INF: USN Chronology 10-01-94

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

1944
10/01 Sun. Office of Deputy Commander in Chief United States
           Fleet and Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Vice Adm.
           R. S. Edwards) is established.
            United States naval vessel sunk:
             Motor minesweeper YMS-385, by mine, western
              Caroline Islands area,
              09 d. 52'N., 139 d. 37'E.
            United States naval vessel damaged:
             Destroyer FORREST (DD-461), by collision, Southern
              France area,
              43 d. 20'N., 05 d. 20'E.
             Destroyer BAILEY (DD-492), by strafing, Palau
              Islands area, Caroline Islands,
              06 d. 59'N., 134 d. 13'E.
            Japanese naval vessel sunk:
             Coastal minelayer AJIRO, by submarine SNAPPER (SS-
              185), northwest of Bonin Islands,
              28 d. 11'N., 139 d. 30'E.

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

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

Date:    Sat, 1 Oct 1994 09:16:36 -0500
From:    Greg Kelley <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Italians in WW2 (my $0.02)

Never though there was anything wrong with the Italians as a military
power other than some VERY severe limitations.  Yes, their contribution
in Spain was impressive, but the books I've read suggest this represented
the bulk of Italian military capacity.  Much as I hesitate to quote
Badoglio due to his "let's rewrite history to save my reputation" style
of memoirs, when your Army's C of S reports only ten divisions at full
strength in 1940, then that does kinda sound like the Italians were
woefully underequipped.

As for German arms shipments to upgrade their forces, I agree this would
have been politcally impossible.  For the Duce, who was inclined to
select tanks and airplanes with a bombastic gesture of "build that one" to
thereby admit Italian shortcomings to someone he saw as a an upstart
copycat (and not necessarily a trusted one at that), well, not bloody likely.

Some recommended titles:

Denis Mack Smith, MUSSOLINI'S ROMAN EMPIRE

MacGregor Knox, MUSSOLINI UNLEASHED, 1939-1941: POLITICS AND STRATEGY IN
FASCIST ITALY'S LAST WAR

John JT Sweet, IRON ARM: THE MECHANIZATION OF MUSSOLINI'S ARMY, 1920-1940

from another fan of anything dealing with a shipment codenamed TANNENBAUM...

                                          Glad To Be Of Service!

                                          Greg Kelley
                                          St. Paul Public Library
                                          [email-masked]

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

Date:    Sat, 1 Oct 1994 10:28:00 EDT
From:    Kendall Miles <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: WWII-L Digest - 29 Sep 1994 to 30 Sep 1994

  In reply to Dennis Sparks:

  In Ishoven's Messerschmitt 109 at War, he quotes from the log of
Capitaine Hans Thurmeer who flew in the Swiss Air Force in an
Me 109.  According to Thurmeer, they (his Compagnie d'Aviation)
shot down two He-111's on 1 June 1940.  Then on 4 June, when
Goering was provoked and deliberately send Bf-110 escorted
He-111's over the border, Thurmeer says that 2 Bf 110's were
downed, as well as an He-111, and one Swiss 109 was lost.  Then
on 8 June a Zerstorergruppe was sent over the border, and three
were downed to at least one 109.
  In addition, Ishoven also shows a picture of an He-111
supposedly downed by the Swiss in May 1940.
  Anyway, that's what I've seen about the Swiss i combat with
the Luftwaffe...I guess you can take it or leave it. :)

Kendall Miles                        "Otium sine litteris mors est."
[email-masked]
Graduate Student-Military History    "Leisure without literature
University of South Carolina                  is death."

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

Date:    Sat, 1 Oct 1994 10:20:11 -0500
From:    GEORGE BAUER <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: TACT:Could they have won ?

Please spare me the "what if" and "if only" discussions.  They can go on
forever, and require little or none of the scholarship for which this list is
(for the most part)  well known.

George Bauer
U.S.A.:  [email-masked]
         [email-masked]

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

Date:    Sat, 1 Oct 1994 11:43:17 EDT
From:    STeven Vest <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: "What if" discussions.

 George Bauer states that he doesn't want to the list to engage in What If
discussions......(I apologize for not being able to quote him directly).

I'm afraid I will have to respectfully disagree here.  I find the What If
discussions interesting and, as long as they don't go on too long and/or
don't go into any of the forbidden areas I can't see where you have a valid
complaint here.  This is NOT strictly a scholarly list.  It is a list which
fortuitously often contains a high level of scholarship.  If something goes
on too long or becomes a problem, then is the time to act.  We've done quite
well here for quite a long time with the few rules we have, well enforced by
our (excellent) listowners.  I see no reason to change that now.

Just one man's opinion.

Best,

    STeven Vest

------------------------------------------------------------------------
STEVEN VEST            *      "TWO BROKEN TIGERS, ON FIRE IN THE NIGHT,
PURDY/KRESGE LIBRARY   *       FLICKER THEIR SOULS TO THE WIND."
WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY *              AL STEWART "ROAD TO MOSCOW"
[email-masked] *                    _PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE_
________________________________________________________________________

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

Date:    Sat, 1 Oct 1994 11:53:44 -0500
From:    Greg Kelley <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Italy in WW2, my $0.02--part II

Continuing in the vein of Italy's miltary prowess, both real & imagined,
does anyone out there really, honestly & truly consider the MSVN
Blackshirt Legions to be comparable to the Waffen-SS?  The impression I've
gathered would class them closer to armed SA units--more a political
militia that, to be sure, were considered "elites", but more due to
political status & indoctrination rather than anything resembling special
forces training or weapons.  Probably more dedicated or inpsired than
regular troops, which when you're fighting in southern Russia or Eastern
Africa might make quite a difference.

Hey, don't mind me.  I'm still trying to find anyone to agree with my
contention that the Rumanians were good troops.

                                          Glad To Be Of Service!

                                          Greg Kelley
                                          St. Paul Public Library
                                          [email-masked]

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

Date:    Sat, 1 Oct 1994 17:59:42 EDT
From:    Henry Sirotin <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: WEAP:aircraft comparisons

Re odd fighter groupings, Bf109s and Hawker Hurricanes fighting side
by side for the Rumanians in 1941, if I recall correctly.

Henry Sirotin

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

Date:    Sat, 1 Oct 1994 18:14:38 EDT
From:    Henry Sirotin <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Warsaw Uprising

Dr. Dziewanowski is probably drawing on Soviet data that has come to light
in the last two years. 500,000 dead in 1945 could be right. The limiting
factor on any Soviet drive in Summer 1944 would have been their logistics
capability, which almost certainly could not have sustained a drive from
western Byelorussia to Berlin in one shot. In addition, the Germans would
have had available the forces eventually committed to the Ardennes              offensive, and they were experts in jury-rigged defenses.

Henry Sirotin

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

Date:    Sat, 1 Oct 1994 18:29:47 EDT
From:    Henry Sirotin <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: POL:Hiroshima

Hiroshima was the headquarters of the IJA 2 General Army, responsible           for the defense of the southern home islands, including Kyushu, which
was scheduled to be invaded in eleven weeks. The atomic bomb destroyed          the top of this command structure. It was also a significant port,
although this was a minor factor by 1945.

Nagasaki had no military justification I am aware of, beyond it being           an industrial center.

Henry Sirotin

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

Date:    Sat, 1 Oct 1994 16:33:01 PDT
From:    Sidney Allinson <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: INF: More on Aero engines

Burt...
        Tou are absolutely right on with your comments about the British
reluctance to produce a rougher-finished Lee-Enfield, preferring to retain
high standards of workmanship, regardless of the needs for mass production.
        Oddly, the British went in entirely the opposite direction when it
came to electronic devices for aircraft. The "Boffins" ( as scientists were
then called ) would come up with an innovative electronic device -- new
form of radar, or detection device, say -- cram it into a cheap sheet metal
container and slap it into the aircraft any-old-way. "Biscuit-boxes", they
called them. The idea being that, when a *better* version was invented, the
engineers could simply rip out the cheap container, and slap the up-grade in
place with the minimum of delay. The Germans' high standards of engineering
rather worked against them, as they insisted on meticulously fitted devices
in their aircraft, which of course took much longer to retrofit.

--

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

Date:    Sat, 1 Oct 1994 23:38:00 UTC
From:    "Edward S. Miller" <[email-masked]>
Subject: TACT:Could they have won

  Re possible German success at the Bulge, a speculative essay is "Ardennes,
1944: Bulge and Fishhook," in Col. Trevor N. Dupuy, =Options of Command=
(NY: Hippocrene Books, 1984). The scenario is that the Germans capture
Batogne and push toward Antwerp.  The "Fishhook" is the shape of the
extended Bulge which reaches the Meuse at the farthest point.  But they
never reach Antwerp.  In the end the defeat is about the same for the same
reason: long exposed flanks vulnerable to Allied attack from north and south.
  BTW the book has ten such WWII essays (8 Europe, 2 Pacific).  Interesting.

  A general view: The most significant decision of WWII was the demand for
unconditional surrender.  Had the western allies adopted a lesser goal,
there were many conceivable ways for Hitler to "win" by a compromise peace.
  Edward S. Miller [email-masked]

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

Date:    Sat, 1 Oct 1994 21:43:27 EDT
From:    William Lippert <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: TACT:Could they have won

On Sat, 1 Oct 1994 23:38:00 UTC Edward S. Miller said:
>
>  A general view: The most significant decision of WWII was the demand for
>unconditional surrender.  Had the western allies adopted a lesser goal,
>there were many conceivable ways for Hitler to "win" by a compromise peace.
>  Edward S. Miller [email-masked]

      I can't say which was the most significant decision of the war -
some decisions were so large that they can't be properly qualified.  Anyway,
Not only would Hitler have perhaps compromised (which was one reason why he
executed the Ardennes Offensive, to approach the West on more favorable
terms); or the other generals of the Wermacht (and even the German citizens)
would have been more disposed to remove Hitler with the knowledge that the
Allies would be more sympathetic to a non-Hitler government.
      Additionally, the same would go for the Japanese.  The Japanese might
have surrendered if there was a posibility that their Emporer would be able
to stay in power.  But as this was viewed as unlikely, they were forced to
fight to the end.

William Lippert
The American University

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

Date:    Sat, 1 Oct 1994 22:08:00 EDT
From:    mc killop <[email-masked]>
Subject: [INF] USAAF 1 OCT 44

COMBAT CHRONOLOGY OF THE US ARMY AIR FORCES
SUNDAY, 1 OCTOBER 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-6, North American Mustang
  F-7, Consolidated Liberator
  L-5, Stinson Sentinel
  Mosquito, deHavilland
  P-38, Lockheed Lightning
  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, 34 P-47s bomb Thetkegyin while 20
others hit railroad targets throughout the N Burma railroad corridor and
troop concentrations at Ponlon; 4 P-47s bomb Shwegugale while 6 others hit
Lungling, China and sweep the Burma Road in the area. The 9th Bombardment
Squadron (Heavy), 7th Bombardment Group (Heavy), moves from Kurimitola to
Pandaveswar, India with B-24s. During Oct 44, the 24th Combat Mapping
Squadron, 8th Photographic Reconnaissance Group, based at Guskhara, India,
sends an element to operate from Hsinching, China with F-7s.

  CHINA (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 18 B-25s bomb Tien Ho and White
Cloud Airfields in Canton, the town of Wuchou, and targets of opportunity in
the Samshui and Canton areas; 100+ P-40s and P-51s on armed reconnaissance
throughout areas S of the Yangtze River hit a variety of targets of
opportunity, concentrating on communications targets and troops in the
Mangshih and Hsinganhsien areas.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

  AIRBORNE OPERATIONS (IX Troop Carrier Command): In France, HQ 50th Troop
Carrier Wing moves from Exeter, England to Le Mans; the 99th and 301st Troop
Carrier Squadrons, 441st Troop Carrier Group, move from Villeneuve/Vertus to
St Marceau with C-47s.

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): Mission 657: 9 of 10 B-17s drop
leaflets in France, the Netherlands and Belgium during the night.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): In France, HQ XXIX Tactical Air
Command (Provisional) locates advance HQ at Arlon; weather prevents bomber
operations; a few fighters fly armed reconnaissance over E France and wide
areas of W Germany and patrol the battle areas; night patrols are flown over
E France and Luxembourg; HQ 36th Fighter Group moves from Athis to
Juvincourt; HQ 371st Fighter Group and the 406th Fighter Squadron move from
Perthes to Dole/Tavaux with P-47s; the 553d Bombardment Squadron (Medium),
386th Bombardment Group (Medium), moves from Great Dunmow, England to
Beaumont-sur-Oise with B-26s; the 573d, 574th and 575th Bombardment Squadrons
(Medium), 391st Bombardment Group (Medium), move from Matching, England to
Roye/Amy with B-26s. In Belgium, HQ 84th Fighter Wing moves from Vermand,
France to Arlon; HQ 404th Fighter Group and the 506th, 507th and 508th
Fighter Squadrons move from Juvincourt, France to St-Trond with P-47s; HQ
474th Fighter Group moves from Peronne, France to Florennes; the 125th
Liaison Squadron, Ninth Air Force (attached to Ninth Army), moves from
Rennes, France to Arlon with L-5s. In Luxembourg, HQ 363d Tactical
Reconnaissance Group moves from Le Mans, France to Luxembourg City.
  In Belgium, during Oct 44, HQ IX Fighter Command moves from Charleroi to
Verviers.

MEDITERRANEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (MTO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Fifteenth Air Force): HQ 5th Photographic
Reconnaissance Group and the 15th, 23d and 32d Photographic Reconnaissance
Squadrons are assigned to HQ Fifteenth AF, completing the full establishment
of 21 heavy bomber groups, 7 fighter groups, and 1 reconnaissance group, as
authorized in the War Department directive of 23 Oct 43.  Weather permits
only photo and weather reconnaissance missions.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Twelfth Air Force): In Italy, B-25s and B-26s attack
bridges, fuel dumps, factory, and barracks in C and W Po Valley, including 3
attacks on Piacenza while XII Fighter Command's A-20s hit a fuel dump and
bivouacs and fighter-bombers blast guns and communications in the mountainous
battle areas between Florence and Bologna; the 416th Night Fighter Squadron,
62d Fighter Wing, moves from Rosignano to Pisa with Mosquitos.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA)

  AAFPOA (Seventh Air Force): B-24s from Saipan Island, Mariana Islands,
strike the airfield on Iwo Jima Island, Volcano Islands. In the Gilbert
Islands, B-25s from Makin Island bomb Nauru Island while B-24s, staging
through Eniwetok Atoll, Marshall Islands, hit Truk Atoll, Caroline Islands.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: On Celebes Island,
B-24s bomb Langoan while B-25s hit Lembeh Island, Menado, and Bolaang-oeki
port. B-24s bomb Taka in the Moluccas Islands while P-38s hit Amahai, Ceram
Island, Kairatoe, Celebes Island, and shipping off Amboina, Ambon Island.
B-25s and P-38s on shipping sweeps off Halmahera Island destroy several
barges and luggers. In New Guinea, A-20s and P-38s attack Urarom Airfield and
Fak Fak supply dumps, while P-40s hit Doom Island and targets of opportunity
in Windissi, Idorra, and MacCluer Gulf; P-47s and A-20s hit Doeroa, Langgoer,
and Faan Airfields; the 63d and 70th Troop Carrier Squadrons, 403d Troop
Carrier Group, move from Los Negros Island, Admiralty Islands and Hollandia
respectively, to Biak Island with C-47s. The 82d Tactical Reconnaissance
Squadron, 71st Tactical Reconnaissance Group, moves from Biak Island, New
Guinea to Morotai Island, Moluccas Islands with P-40s and F-6s.

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

02/0210Z SEP

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

Date:    Sat, 1 Oct 1994 22:17:00 EDT
From:    mc killop <[email-masked]>
Subject: [INF] USAAF 2 OCT 44

COMBAT CHRONOLOGY OF THE US ARMY AIR FORCES
MONDAY, 2 OCTOBER 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-6, North American Mustang
  P-38, Lockheed Lightning
  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.

AMERICAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS

  ALASKA (Eleventh Air Force): In the Kurile Islands, photo reconnaissance
missions, by 4 B-25s to Paramushiru Island and by 2 B-24s to Onnekotan
Island, abort due to weather.

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA (CBI) THEATER OF OPERATIONS

  BURMA-INDIA (Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 49 P-47s pound several towns and
bridges in the Bhamo area and destroy buildings in Shwekyina, Kaungsin,
Maingka, Kyungyi, Singan, and Kabani; 20+ P-47s hit N Burma railroad targets
and troops at Man He and Manla; 7 P-47s bomb Kutkai while 8 sweep the
Lungling, China-Loiwing, Burma area, destroying a warehouse at Selan; 8 B-25s
slightly damage road bridges N of Lashio; 4 others bomb and damage Nambkai
road bridges and their vicinity; troop carrier aircraft fly 260+ sorties,
delivering men and supplies to various points in the CBI. The detachments of
the 1st and 3d Combat Cargo Squadrons, 1st Combat Cargo Group, operating from
Yunnani, China with C-47s return to base at Sylhet, India.

  CHINA (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 11 B-25s attack the town of Pingnam
while 16 bomb Tien Ho and White Cloud Airfields in Canton and the town of
Samshui; 70+ P-40s and P-51s on armed reconnaissance over S China attack
various targets of opportunity, chiefly river traffic and troop areas around
Chuanhsien, Taochuan, Takbing, Wuchou, Dosing, and the Wenchow peninsula, and
attack shipping in the Campba Port-Hongay area of French Indochina.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

  AIRBORNE OPERATIONS (IX Troop Carrier Command): In France, HQ 441st Troop
Carrier Group and the 100th and 302d Troop Carrier Squadrons move from
Villeneuve/Vetrus to St Marceau with C-47s.

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): 4 missions are flown:
  Mission 658: 887 B-17s and 549 fighters are dispatched to make PFF attacks
on industrial targets at Cologne and Kassel, Germany; 2 B-17s are lost:
  1. 305 B-17s are dispatched to hit the Bettenhausen ordnance depot at
Kassel (129); targets of opportunity are Kassel (143), Fritzlar Airfield (12)
and other (1); 1 B-17 is damaged beyond repair and 89 damaged; 5 airmen are
WIA. Escort is provided by 228 P-47s and P-51s without loss.
  2. 458 B-17s are dispatched to hit the Henschel motor vehicle plant at
Kassel (384); targets of opportunity are Wiesbaden (31), Gesecke (9) and
other (17); 2 B-17s are lost, 2 damaged beyond repair and 144 damaged; 16
airmen are KIA, 1 WIA and 20 MIA. Escort is provided by 219 P-47s and P-51s
without loss.
  3. 110 of 124 B-17s hit the Ford motor vehicle plant at Cologne; 1 B-17 is
damaged beyond repair and 36 damaged. Escort is provided by 53 P-47s and
P-51s without loss.
  Mission 659: 308 B-24s are dispatched to make a PFF attack on the
marshalling yard at Hamm (266); targets of opportunity are Handorf Airfield
(29) and Munster (1); 2 B-24s are lost, 2 damaged beyond repair and 144
damaged; 1 airman is KIA and 18 MIA. Escort is provided by 212 P-38s, P-47s
and P-51s; 1 P-51 is lost (pilot MIA), 2 damaged beyond repair and 1 damaged;
1 pilot is KIA.
  Mission 660: 2 B-17s, escorted by 15 P-51s, drop leaflets on Dutch islands
during the day.
  Mission 661: 5 B-24s and 3 B-17s drop leaflets in the Netherlands, France
and Germany during the night.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force):  HQ XXIX Tactical Air Command
(Provisional) goes into operation along with the US Ninth Army (this new
Tactical Air Command is formed from elements of the IX and XIX Tactical Air
Commands); in Germany, the 9th Bombardment Division strikes the industrial
area of Ubach and defended positions at Herbach; fighters fly armed
reconnaissance (and later night patrol) over Belgium, E France, and W Germany
and support the US First, Third, and Seventh Armies in E France and W
Germany. In Belgium, HQ IX Tactical Air Command moves advanced HQ from
Janoulx to to Verviers maintaining the close association with the US First
Army; HQ 368th Fighter Group and the 395th, 396th and 397th Fighter Squadrons
move from Laon, France to Chievres with P-47s; the 428th, 429th and 430th
Fighter Squadrons, 474th Fighter Group, move from Peronne, France to
Florennes. In France, HQ 386th Bombardment Group (Medium) and the 552d, 554th
and 555th Bombardment Squadrons (Medium) move from Great Dunmow, England to
Beaumont-sur-Oise with B-26s. In Luxembourg, the 161st Tactical
Reconnaissance Squadron, 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Group, moves from
Montrevil, France to Sandwieler with F-6s.

MEDITERRANEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (MTO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Fifteenth Air Force): Unfavorable weather again
cancels bombing missions and limits operations to weather reconnaissance. The
885th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), Fifteenth AF (attached to Mediterranean
Allied Air Forces), begins a movement from Maison Blanche, Algeria to
Brindisi, Italy with B-24s (the squadron transports supplies to partisans and
drops leaflets in the MTO).

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Twelfth Air Force): In Italy, weather grounds medium
bombers and restricts fighters to reconnaissance and patrols; during the
night of 1/2 Oct A-20s bomb targets of opportunity in the Po Valley; HQ 27th
Fighter Group and the 522d, 523d and 524th Fighter Squadrons move from
Loyettes, France to Tarquinia with P-47s.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA)

  AAFPOA (Seventh Air Force): Saipan Island-based B-24s hit Marcus Island in
the North Pacific and shipping W of Chichi Jima Island, Bonin Islands.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: B-25s pound Laha
Airfield on Ambon Island while B-24s hit Haroekoe Island; P-38s cover the
Laha raid, attack shipping in Seri and Amboina Bays and hit Amahai on Ceram
Island and Kairatoe Airfield on Celebes Island. Off Halmahera Island B-25s
fly a barge sweep, bomb Laboehan, and attack the coastal villages on Weda and
Boeli Bays. In New Guinea, P-40s attack vessels off Tamoelol village and
Misool Island and bomb Otawiri and Ransiki Airfields; the 64th Troop Carrier
Squadron, 403d Troop Carrier Group, based on Biak Island begins operating
from Wakde Island 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              |
-------------------------------------------------------------------

02/0419Z OCT

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

Date:    Sat, 1 Oct 1994 23:37:00 UTC
From:    "Edward S. Miller" <[email-masked]>
Subject: Palau

Jack McKillop wrote:

  > Self-rule  existed on Palau until 1885 when Spain claimed it; it  was
  > sold to Germany in 1889...

The Palaus, as part of the Caroline Islands, were considered nominally
Spanish and in theory were administered from Manila from about the mid-
1500s.  (It was in the half of the globe awarded by the Pope when he divided
the world between Spain and Portugal, Treaty of Tordesillas I think).  Spain
didn't maintain a presence until 1885 when Germany's claim to the adjacent
Marshall Group threatened an encroachment.  During the Spanish-American War
the US gave some thought to taking the Carolines by diverting a warship from
one of the troop convoys en route to help Dewey at Manila after the naval
battle there. But the war ended too soon. As the islands were not occupied
by the US, they were not ceded by Spain at the Treaty of Paris. Germany
bought the islands from Spain a few days after the treaty, at the end of
1898 (not 1889).
  Ed Miller  [email-masked]

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

End of WWII-L Digest - 30 Sep 1994 to 1 Oct 1994
************************************************