The US Navy began bombarding the Atoll of Eniwetok today in 1944. It was part of the Marshall Islands. The 22nd Marine Regt landed the next day and the island was secured by the 21st.
US losses were over 300 dead, although 800 more were wounded; the Japanese lost 3000 killed.
What a lovely day.
It smells like peace! :-)
It all starts again on the 10th.
@aequitas:
What a lovely day.
It smells like peace! :-)
Depends what country you live in.
UK, France, and most Western European countrys celebrate May 07 as Victory day.
Norway have May 08.
USA and Russia celebrate May 09, because of the time delay, we live on a globe, not a flat map.
But other than that, yes it smells like peace and game over for this time. But, there will always be a next game, just wait
USA and Russia celebrate May 09, because of the time delay, we live on a globe, not a flat map.
Oh no, you just didn’t…
Where’s our forum flat-earth round-world deniers??? Kurt???
The Bismarck was sunk today, the 27th May, in 1941. Only 114 of her 2200 crew survived.
As a child, I must have made at least two Airfix models of her (and one Of the Hood). She was my favourite ship.
Happy 242nd Birthday U.S. Army!!
It was August 16th on this day in 1943…
And?…
My dad was born In a war torn Tuscan village on the 17th.
@wittmann:
And?…
My dad was born In a war torn Tuscan village on the 17th.
But that would be tomorrow… you’re a day early! :-D
I wondered what happened on The 16th. It seemed you were referencing something. Hence my question and mention of my dad.
I feel old now. My dad was born during the First World War.
Well that surprises me , Herr KaLeun. I always imagined you as younger than me.
My youthful appearance, probably. :mrgreen: Anyway, I was born well after WW II.
1940- 45 German aircraft shot down over England
1941-HMS Mercury, Royal Navy Signals School and Combined Signals School opens at Leydene, near Petersfield, Hampshire, England
1943-1st Long Tom bombs on Italian mainland (from Sicily)
1944-2nd Canadian Division occupies Falaise, Normandy
1944-Dutch begin diplomatic contact with Vatican in London
1944-US 15th Army corp reaches Eure, surrounds Dreux
1944-First flight of the Junkers Ju 287.
1943- wittman’s Grandma has had enough and is ready to give birth any time now, please!
Thanks GeneralHandGrenade.
On this day in 1947 (okay, so I’m off a bit on the subject matter), the United States Air Force was created… Happy 70th Birthday to my branch of military service… I was happy to serve 20 of those 70 years in the Air Force blue!
Did not know it was 70 years old. Thank you.
@wittmann:
Did not know it was 70 years old. Thank you.
Yes, the USAF was created in 1947, as a direct result of lessons learned in WWII and the need for a separate branch away from its direct ties to the US Army (during WWII it was the Army-Air Corps/Force). Certainly not the first, other nations realized this earlier, as both the RAF and Luftwaffe (and others) had separate air forces before the USAF separated from the Army.
Saw an awesome looking book from University of Cinn? press called “Grounded” about why the USAF was created based on the “air alone” doctrine that prevailed in the 1920s and 1930s but was totally discredited by WW2 and the wars after. Only skimmed it but basically its that the independent branch has become a huge boondoggle on the scale of the other branches but that has no remaining independent mission (if it ever legitimately had one) and has repeatedly developed assets that cannot be used, are never used (Hustler, etc.) or cannot be used as intended.
Devastating indictment, way worse than a stratbombing!
Here’s the blurb
The United States needs airpower, but does it need an air force? In Grounded, Robert M. Farley persuasively argues that America should end the independence of the United States Air Force (USAF) and divide its assets and missions between the United States Army and the United States Navy.
In the wake of World War I, advocates of the Air Force argued that an organizationally independent air force would render other military branches obsolete. These boosters promised clean, easy wars: airpower would destroy cities beyond the reach of the armies and would sink navies before they could reach the coast. However, as Farley demonstrates, independent air forces failed to deliver on these promises in World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the first Gulf War, the Kosovo conflict, and the War on Terror. They have also had perverse effects on foreign and security policy, as politicians have been tempted by the vision of devastating airpower to initiate otherwise ill-considered conflicts. The existence of the USAF also produces turf wars with the Navy and the Army, leading to redundant expenditures, nonsensical restrictions on equipment use, and bad tactical decisions.
Farley does not challenge the idea that aircraft represent a critical component of America’s defenses; nor does he dispute that―especially now, with the introduction of unmanned aerial vehicles―airpower is necessary to modern warfare. Rather, he demonstrates that the efficient and wise use of airpower does not require the USAF as presently constituted. An intriguing scholarly polemic, Grounded employs a wide variety of primary and secondary source materials to build its case that the United States should now correct its 1947 mistake of having created an independent air force.
