USAAF bombed during the day, RAF bombed at night.
This is why we were better than the Brits.
OT: War Stories
- Thread starter Roy_Faulker
- Start date
USAAF bombed during the day, RAF bombed at night.
This is why we were better than the Brits.
Well, there you go...don't quote me but there may have been a scene in Patton and that was when Dad brought it up. I may be wrong though but absolutly remember him telling us it was like nighttime in the middle of the day
Some of that was the sheer number of B-17s. A lot of it was the black clouds from the German flack shells exploding in the middle of all those planes.
As a pilot, I can't even begin to imagine how horrifying that must have been, day after day... You have no idea whether one is going to hit you. And most of those planes suffered some kind of shrapnel damage on every mission.
to be fair.. the Brits fended off the Nazis for years before we joined. It cost us dearly to do daylight bombings.. but in the grand scheme of things it was probably fair.
By '42 the Brits couldn't "afford" the losses the US was willing to accept.
Correct. They had no appetite for things like daylight bombing campaigns because they were severely resource-depleted.
So many puzzling air combat decisions during WWII, in hindsight. The brits, for example, ordered up a shitload of GR.III aircraft from the US. Built by Martin, known as the Baltimore and designated the A-30 by the USAAF, it was a light attack bomber of great capability. The RAF marveled at how much better it was than the Bristol Blenheim, for example. So what did they do with it? Mostly training. Limited combat duty in Africa and Italy.
I would have ordered a shitload more and put them into service attacking German supply lines and fixed weaponry - particularly AA gun emplacements. But back then there was limited enthusiasm for targeting the enemies air defenses as a precursor to strategic bombing.
The British bomber defensive armament was inadequate - 30 caliber machine guns.
The A-20 Boston/Havoc was better than the Baltimore.
(Thanks to @DJ Spanky for linking this thread in the Pearl Harbor thread.)
My father was with the 2nd Armored Division - nicknamed Hell on Wheels. The triangular patch on his left upper-arm in the photo below is a 2nd Armored Division patch. He drove a tank on Omaha Beach not on D-Day, but three days later, often referred to as D-Day plus 3.
My father (who passed away in 1996) was among the many veterans who rarely spoke about the war. I never asked him about it because I knew it would make him uncomfortable. He had a photo album (which I still have) with hundreds of WW2 pictures in it. I never saw him look at the album. I do wonder if he did when nobody was around. I have no idea where the photos were taken. A few of them are a bit disturbing, but not graphic in any way.
One of the few war experiences he did mention was when he landed at Normandy. He said when his tank hit the beach, his orders were to go full speed ahead. He had instructions to reach a certain spot ASAP. He wasn't to be concerned with bodies on the ground. Just go. As a tank driver, you would NEVER run over another human being... to respect the dead. He said that day the rules were different. I still get shivers thinking about it.
Digressing, my father did his basic training at Fort Riley, KS, where Joe Louis trained. I can remember my dad telling my brother and I how friendly he was and he got to watch him spar.
There's so much info online about the "Hell on Wheels" division, remarkable stuff.
https://www.armydivs.com/2nd-armore...BGr9qkIyQnn1YjXzP-y-rHC3WTGT96bxBgOCvCY8rs5HA
https://unwritten-record.blogs.arch...tKbXg91uYHe0wzS0LWzFRcshZL-31tPcT36-Ozj66-mWk
Great thread. All the combat stories are interesting and sometimes sad.
I would like to speak up for the average guy. The ones that just did their jobs and didn't win any medals.
My father served in the Navy in the Pacific in WWII and Korea. He was a clerk on aircraft carrier escorts (small aircraft carriers). I don't know much else about his service, but I know he was discharged after WWII and reenlisted for Korea.
I would like to speak up for the average guy. The ones that just did their jobs and didn't win any medals.
My father served in the Navy in the Pacific in WWII and Korea. He was a clerk on aircraft carrier escorts (small aircraft carriers). I don't know much else about his service, but I know he was discharged after WWII and reenlisted for Korea.
Same with my grandfather. Never said a word about it to his kids or grandkids, and everyone knew better than to ask. He had some minor permanent disfigurement to one of his feet that was attributed to the war; don’t know how it happened, and as far as I know he never explained it—even to his kids. My uncle on that side fought in Vietnam, he didn’t talk much about fighting itself, but shared stories about the extracurricular stuff, and passed along photos and letters from his time there.
I went to a relatives wedding back in the 90s.
I was by myself and ended-up seated at the singles table.
I had a old, old lady to one side of me, and figured I would have to yell to be heard.
It turned out she heard fine and was sharp as heck
She told me about her husband being dead.
The couple owned a plant where they made pots and pans.
The government came and told them they had to make nose cones for fighter planes.
They would make a few and rush them out in a taxi.
The husband was working 14-16 hour days/nights.
After a few years of that he dropped dead.
Reminded me of McCain's Admiral father who died at home just 4 days after being at Missouri surrender.
A lot of people - even at home - were very tired from 4 years of grinding.
That was another good reason for atomic cessation
I was by myself and ended-up seated at the singles table.
I had a old, old lady to one side of me, and figured I would have to yell to be heard.
It turned out she heard fine and was sharp as heck
She told me about her husband being dead.
The couple owned a plant where they made pots and pans.
The government came and told them they had to make nose cones for fighter planes.
They would make a few and rush them out in a taxi.
The husband was working 14-16 hour days/nights.
After a few years of that he dropped dead.
Reminded me of McCain's Admiral father who died at home just 4 days after being at Missouri surrender.
A lot of people - even at home - were very tired from 4 years of grinding.
That was another good reason for atomic cessation
I have ancestors who fought on both sides of the Civil War. We have a ton of material from my great grandfather, who was a surgeon in the 22nd Mississippi Black Hawk Infantry regiment. Lots of great stories from the letters he wrote home. But maybe the one that is the most entertaining is a diary entry from when he was in medical school at the University of New Orleans:
"24 hours straight of surgery yesterday, after which I went into town for some 'horizontal refreshment.'"
"24 hours straight of surgery yesterday, after which I went into town for some 'horizontal refreshment.'"
I had the good fortune to be friends with Roscoe Brown. We served on committees together for the Department of Education in New Jersey, and I was his son's masters advisor. I had known him for years before I knew he was a Tuskegee Airman. I went up to him at our next meeting and had this conversation with him:
Me: Roscoe, you were a Tuskegee Airman? You never told me.
Roscoe: I did have that honor in the war, Jeff.
Me: That is so amazing. I'm just dumbfounded.
Roscoe (laughing): I'm sure you have done wonderful things that I don't know about.
Me: Yeah, I was a good football player and got to go to Princeton, but I was never A TUSKEGEE AIRMAN!
Roscoe: Let's get some coffee and Danish before the meeting starts.
He was a great guy. And not just a Tuskegee Airman, but a squadron commander who once shot down a Messerschmitt jet fighter in his prop plane! From wikipedia:
He graduated from the Tuskegee Flight School on March 12, 1944, as member of class 44-C-SE[1] and served in the U.S. Army Air Forces in Europe during World War II. During this period, on March 24, 1945, mission to Berlin Captain Brown shot down a German Me 262 jet fighter and several days later, on March 31, a Fw 190 fighter (he is credited as the first 15th Air Force pilot to shoot down a jet).[2][3] He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.[4]
Me: Roscoe, you were a Tuskegee Airman? You never told me.
Roscoe: I did have that honor in the war, Jeff.
Me: That is so amazing. I'm just dumbfounded.
Roscoe (laughing): I'm sure you have done wonderful things that I don't know about.
Me: Yeah, I was a good football player and got to go to Princeton, but I was never A TUSKEGEE AIRMAN!
Roscoe: Let's get some coffee and Danish before the meeting starts.
He was a great guy. And not just a Tuskegee Airman, but a squadron commander who once shot down a Messerschmitt jet fighter in his prop plane! From wikipedia:
He graduated from the Tuskegee Flight School on March 12, 1944, as member of class 44-C-SE[1] and served in the U.S. Army Air Forces in Europe during World War II. During this period, on March 24, 1945, mission to Berlin Captain Brown shot down a German Me 262 jet fighter and several days later, on March 31, a Fw 190 fighter (he is credited as the first 15th Air Force pilot to shoot down a jet).[2][3] He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.[4]
I've told this story before but many years ago I was at a Memorial Day ceremony and a member of the 101 Airborne and Battle of the Bulge veteran was present. After the ceremony I went up to him and thanked him for his service. He looked at me and his reponse was:
"Someone had to do it."
A different breed of men.
"Someone had to do it."
A different breed of men.
I have no stories to tell about actual action. My father and m uncle both must have lived right. My father entered the army at the conclusion on ww2, spent his entire service time in occupied Japan and was discharged just before the Korean War. My uncle was drafted into the army. He was on a boat sailing to Europe when Germany surrender. Boat turned around and came back to NY.
I had the great privilege to be in Washington DC several years ago when an Honor Flight was scheduled. We stood with our American Flags at the WWII Memorial to greet them. Very moving ceremony.
Amazing.
Honor flight triggered a memory for me. We went to the commissioning of the WW2 memorial in early 2000s.
Went with my wife’s grandfather (same one as the first post). He was a coal country guy so very blue collar and old fashioned.
We were in the hotel and families had shirts made up to honor their veteran family member. Some amazing shirts - D-Day survivor with a Higgins Boat on the back of his shirt and the caption “Just Another Day on the Beach” among others.
Grandfather sees a man in a Tuskegee red tails shirt and he makes a b-line to him. Stops him dead in his tracks and shoves out his hand. Thanks him profusely for bringing him home when flying over Italy. Introduced his family. Still gets me choked up.
Honor flight triggered a memory for me. We went to the commissioning of the WW2 memorial in early 2000s.
Went with my wife’s grandfather (same one as the first post). He was a coal country guy so very blue collar and old fashioned.
We were in the hotel and families had shirts made up to honor their veteran family member. Some amazing shirts - D-Day survivor with a Higgins Boat on the back of his shirt and the caption “Just Another Day on the Beach” among others.
Grandfather sees a man in a Tuskegee red tails shirt and he makes a b-line to him. Stops him dead in his tracks and shoves out his hand. Thanks him profusely for bringing him home when flying over Italy. Introduced his family. Still gets me choked up.
If you remember we discussed that my ancestor, under Sherman for a time, may have faced off against your ancestors regiment on his way thru the south. I know he was in the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida. Wild to think about.
Hope all is well wayyyyyy down under prof.
I went to the WWII Memorial when it was 1 week old. It was June 6th, I believe it was the 60th anniversary of D-Day. Moving day.
Here is a link to the WWII MEMORIAL Registry, you can look for your family members there:
https://wwiiregistry.abmc.gov/
