While US Army pilots were training at Eglin Field in Florida for the Doolittle raid, US Army and Navy units were fighting a rear guard action in the Phillipines. On March 11, US Navy motor Torpedo Boat (MTB) Squadron 3, commanded by the Navy Lieutenant J.D. Bulkeley, transported General Douglas MacArthur from the island of Corregidor to Mindanao in the southern Phillipines.
The MTB squadron remained in the Phillipines after MacArthur went on to establish his headquarters in Australia. The squadron's exploits were described in a book and film by the title of They Were Expendable.
The film, directed by John Ford, is one of my favorite WWII movies. Ford, who served in the navy during the war, captured the feel of military service with a high degree of technical and dramatic accuracy (though with some embellishment). Robert Montgomery, who played the Lieutenant Bulkeley figure in the movie, had commanded a PT boat during the war. Three other actors playing MTB squadron personnel also had served in the war (Marion Morrison -AKA John Wayne- not among them. He never wore his country's uniform except in make-believe.)
Another WWII movie among my favorites is Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo. Both movies were based on actual events and depicted with a high degree of accuracy.
Friday, April 6, 2012
Rights And Obligations
Our public discourse might be greatly improved if each of us were to give greater effort and support to the rights of others than to our own. And if we were to give greater emphasis to our own duties and obligations than to those of others; that would also be a good thing.
Just a thought.
Just a thought.
2012 Elections
Just returned from two days of training in Durham on Board of Elections matters.
We reviewed a number of matters concerning the responsibilities of county boards of elections to insure the fairness, honesty and integrity of the election process. The training emphasized the goal of increasing voter participation and of making elections voter friendly.
I'll share some of the information we received over the coming weeks.
We reviewed a number of matters concerning the responsibilities of county boards of elections to insure the fairness, honesty and integrity of the election process. The training emphasized the goal of increasing voter participation and of making elections voter friendly.
I'll share some of the information we received over the coming weeks.
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
US Navy Carrier Launches Army Airplanes
We have been following the planning and execution of one of the most remarkable operations during WWII, the launch of 16 US Army B-25's to attack Japan.
This was neither the first nor the last time that US Army aircraft took off from Navy aircraft carriers.
In October 1940, soon after USS Wasp (CV-7) completed her sea trials, she loaded 24 Curtiss P-40 fighters from the Army Air Corps' 8th Pursuit Group and nine North American O-47A reconnaissance aircraft from the 2nd Observation Squadron. Proceeding to sea on October 12, Wasp flew off the Army planes in a test designed to compare the take-off runs of standard Navy and Army aircraft. That experiment, the first time that Army planes had flown from a Navy carrier, foreshadowed the use of the ship in the ferry role later in World War II.
In 1941, as the US became more involved in shipping war materials to Great Britain, the Navy started so-called "Neutrality Patrols" to protect shipping. That June, as the United States became more heavily involved and the situation in Britain became more difficult, the United States made plans to occupy Iceland. Wasp played an important role in the move.
That July, while Wasp lay alongside Pier 7, NOB Norfolk, 32 Army Air Forces (AAF) pilots reported on board "for temporary duty". At 06:30 the following day, the ship's cranes hoisted on board 30 P-40Cs and three PT-17 trainers from the AAF 33rd Pursuit Squadron, 8th Air Group, Air Force Combat Command, home-based at Mitchel Field, New York.
The carrier's assignment was to ferry the army planes to Iceland because of a lack of British aircraft to cover the American landings. The American P-40s would provide the defensive fighter cover necessary to watch over the initial American occupying forces. Wasp slipped out to sea on 28 July, and joined Task Force 16—consisting of the battleship Mississippi, the heavy cruisers Quincy and Wichita, and five destroyers, bound for Iceland. On August 6, Wasp launched the P-40s and three trainers.
In April and May, 1942, Wasp carried Royal Air Force Supermarine Spitfires to within about a hundred miles of the island of Malta, then under German attack and launched the planes to reinforce Malta's defenses. On the second delivery run, one Spitfire had a fuel problem and had to return to Wasp for a landing.
Meantime, on May 10, 1942, the carrier USS Ranger launched 68 US Army P-40's to fly to Accra, on the African Gold Coast, on the initial leg of their voyage to China to reinforce the Flying Tigers. In July, she launched another 72 P-40's at Accra for the same purpose.
In these operations as well as others during the early months of WWII, Army and Navy forces worked well together. Even before the war, coordination between the two services was close and effective, including collaboration on the most sensitive US communications intelligence effort.
This was neither the first nor the last time that US Army aircraft took off from Navy aircraft carriers.
In October 1940, soon after USS Wasp (CV-7) completed her sea trials, she loaded 24 Curtiss P-40 fighters from the Army Air Corps' 8th Pursuit Group and nine North American O-47A reconnaissance aircraft from the 2nd Observation Squadron. Proceeding to sea on October 12, Wasp flew off the Army planes in a test designed to compare the take-off runs of standard Navy and Army aircraft. That experiment, the first time that Army planes had flown from a Navy carrier, foreshadowed the use of the ship in the ferry role later in World War II.
In 1941, as the US became more involved in shipping war materials to Great Britain, the Navy started so-called "Neutrality Patrols" to protect shipping. That June, as the United States became more heavily involved and the situation in Britain became more difficult, the United States made plans to occupy Iceland. Wasp played an important role in the move.
That July, while Wasp lay alongside Pier 7, NOB Norfolk, 32 Army Air Forces (AAF) pilots reported on board "for temporary duty". At 06:30 the following day, the ship's cranes hoisted on board 30 P-40Cs and three PT-17 trainers from the AAF 33rd Pursuit Squadron, 8th Air Group, Air Force Combat Command, home-based at Mitchel Field, New York.
The carrier's assignment was to ferry the army planes to Iceland because of a lack of British aircraft to cover the American landings. The American P-40s would provide the defensive fighter cover necessary to watch over the initial American occupying forces. Wasp slipped out to sea on 28 July, and joined Task Force 16—consisting of the battleship Mississippi, the heavy cruisers Quincy and Wichita, and five destroyers, bound for Iceland. On August 6, Wasp launched the P-40s and three trainers.
In April and May, 1942, Wasp carried Royal Air Force Supermarine Spitfires to within about a hundred miles of the island of Malta, then under German attack and launched the planes to reinforce Malta's defenses. On the second delivery run, one Spitfire had a fuel problem and had to return to Wasp for a landing.
Meantime, on May 10, 1942, the carrier USS Ranger launched 68 US Army P-40's to fly to Accra, on the African Gold Coast, on the initial leg of their voyage to China to reinforce the Flying Tigers. In July, she launched another 72 P-40's at Accra for the same purpose.
In these operations as well as others during the early months of WWII, Army and Navy forces worked well together. Even before the war, coordination between the two services was close and effective, including collaboration on the most sensitive US communications intelligence effort.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Drug Overdose
Did you know that death from prescription drug overdose now exceeds all other accidental deaths, including automobile accident?
We learned that bit of information at last night's meeting of Pamlico County's Board of Commissioners. Ms. Tanya Roberts of ACT Now NC briefed the commissioners on Project Lazarus, which among other measures, is establishing a safe procedure for citizens to dispose of unneeded or out of date prescription medicine. The Pamlico County Sheriff has agreed to establish a medication drop box in the Sheriff's office.
The box, which will be under 24-hour surveillance, will solve the problem of disposal. The procedure will be described by pharmacists in a notice provided to everyone picking up a prescription.
We learned that bit of information at last night's meeting of Pamlico County's Board of Commissioners. Ms. Tanya Roberts of ACT Now NC briefed the commissioners on Project Lazarus, which among other measures, is establishing a safe procedure for citizens to dispose of unneeded or out of date prescription medicine. The Pamlico County Sheriff has agreed to establish a medication drop box in the Sheriff's office.
The box, which will be under 24-hour surveillance, will solve the problem of disposal. The procedure will be described by pharmacists in a notice provided to everyone picking up a prescription.
Monday, April 2, 2012
Courage, WWII Style
Seventy years ago today, on April 2, 1942, USS Hornet (CV-8) got underway from San Francisco, enroute to a planned launch point 450 miles from Tokyo. At that point, some six thousand miles west of the Golden Gate, the ship intended to launch sixteen Army B-25 twin-engine bombers to attack Japan.
The plan was to launch the aircraft before dawn on April 19, drop bombs on the targets early that morning, and proceed to air strips in China ten hours after launch. The targets selected to be bombed were in Tokyo, Yokohama, Yokosuka, Nagoya, Kobe and Osaka.
By today's standards, the B-25 was a primitive aircraft. It had a very crude radio navigation system dependent on a homing transmitter at an airfield. Otherwise, it would navigate over water with a bubble sextant and printed air navigation tables. The planes did not have any autopilot. The pilot and co-pilot would fly the plane by hand the entire distance of the mission, over 2,000 miles.
They expected to encounter antiaircraft fire and enemy fighter aircraft. To increase the plane's range, two defensive machine guns had been removed, including the tail gun.
Each plane had a five-man crew.
It was not a suicide mission, but every man knew he might not return.
The leader of the mission, LCol Jimmy Doolittle, was an aeronautical engineer with a doctorate in engineering, and one of the most experienced and valuable staff officers in the Army Air Corps. He had to fight for the right to lead the aircraft into combat.
The mission didn't proceed exactly as planned.
More about this later.
The plan was to launch the aircraft before dawn on April 19, drop bombs on the targets early that morning, and proceed to air strips in China ten hours after launch. The targets selected to be bombed were in Tokyo, Yokohama, Yokosuka, Nagoya, Kobe and Osaka.
By today's standards, the B-25 was a primitive aircraft. It had a very crude radio navigation system dependent on a homing transmitter at an airfield. Otherwise, it would navigate over water with a bubble sextant and printed air navigation tables. The planes did not have any autopilot. The pilot and co-pilot would fly the plane by hand the entire distance of the mission, over 2,000 miles.
They expected to encounter antiaircraft fire and enemy fighter aircraft. To increase the plane's range, two defensive machine guns had been removed, including the tail gun.
Each plane had a five-man crew.
It was not a suicide mission, but every man knew he might not return.
The leader of the mission, LCol Jimmy Doolittle, was an aeronautical engineer with a doctorate in engineering, and one of the most experienced and valuable staff officers in the Army Air Corps. He had to fight for the right to lead the aircraft into combat.
The mission didn't proceed exactly as planned.
More about this later.
Friday, March 30, 2012
More Thoughts On Trayvon Martin
Here's a thought-provoking op-ed from the New York Times tying the Trayvon Martin killing to the rapid growth of gated communities and the fear that feeds them.
The author, Rich Benjamin, suggests taking a broader view than just race toward "stand your ground" laws. "Those reducing this tragedy to racism," he observes, "miss a more accurate and painful picture. Why is a child dead? The rise of “secure,” gated communities, private cops, private roads, private parks, private schools, private playgrounds — private, private, private —exacerbates biased treatment against the young, the colored and the presumably poor."
But it is clearly about fear - unreasoning, irrational fear, fed by clever marketing.
Earlier, I referred to "stand your ground" as a lynch law. Some seem to think of lynching as a racist phenomenon. I don't. Out West, there were many lynchings of alleged robbers, horse thieves, rapists and other miscreants who were white.
Henry Fonda's "The Ox-Bow Incident" is only one of many western movies depicting the theme.
What is common about lynchings, whomever the victims, is that private citizens take the law into their own hands. More to the point, lynchings demonstrate a contempt for the rule of law itself. "Stand your ground" laws are founded on contempt for professional law enforcement.
The author, Rich Benjamin, suggests taking a broader view than just race toward "stand your ground" laws. "Those reducing this tragedy to racism," he observes, "miss a more accurate and painful picture. Why is a child dead? The rise of “secure,” gated communities, private cops, private roads, private parks, private schools, private playgrounds — private, private, private —exacerbates biased treatment against the young, the colored and the presumably poor."
But it is clearly about fear - unreasoning, irrational fear, fed by clever marketing.
Earlier, I referred to "stand your ground" as a lynch law. Some seem to think of lynching as a racist phenomenon. I don't. Out West, there were many lynchings of alleged robbers, horse thieves, rapists and other miscreants who were white.
Henry Fonda's "The Ox-Bow Incident" is only one of many western movies depicting the theme.
What is common about lynchings, whomever the victims, is that private citizens take the law into their own hands. More to the point, lynchings demonstrate a contempt for the rule of law itself. "Stand your ground" laws are founded on contempt for professional law enforcement.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
A Case Of Serious Planning
When twenty-two B-25 aircraft left Eglin Field on March 25 seventy years ago, the Doolittle raid had been in planning since December 21, 1941, two weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor. On that day, President Roosevelt met with his Joint Chiefs of Staff and expressed the desire to bomb Japan as soon as possible.
Both Army and Navy planners went into high gear. Three weeks later, a navy captain proposed launching Army twin-engine bombers from a navy aircraft carrier. The question became: which bomber? The two services considered the B-18, an obsolescent medium bomber, its successor the B-23 Dragon, the Martin B-26 Marauder and the B-25B. The B-25B, though untried in battle, met the requirements best.
Even so, the B-25 needed extensive engineering modifications to meet the range and bomb load requirements for the mission.
February 3rd, 1942, two B-25's successfully flew from the flight deck of USS Hornet (CV-8). It was not quite two months since Pearl Harbor.
Less than a month later, two dozen crews and modified aircraft began three weeks' intensive training in simulated carrier deck takeoffs, low-level and night flying, low-altitude bombing and over-water navigation. This training in itself was a major accomplishment. When the 22 remaining aircraft flew to California, it had been three months since President Roosevelt charged the Joint Chiefs of Staff with the mission.
In the meantime, USS Hornet was preparing for a voyage halfway around the world, into hostile waters.
Hornet left Norfolk March 4 for the Panama Canal and then on to Pearl Harbor to join Yorktown, Saratoga and Enterprise in the Pacific. Her immediate orders were to head to San Diego. She arrived on March 20, mooring at the carrier berth on North Island. She had steamed more than 6,000 nautical miles from Norfolk.
Preparing for combat, Hornet's Air Group 8 squadrons were provided with upgraded aircraft. Fighting 8 (VF-8) received the F4F-4 Wildcat. Bombing 8 (VB-8) and Scouting 8 (VS-8) received the SBD-3 Dauntless. Torpedo 8 (VT-8) remained stuck with the antiquated TBD-1 Devastator due to a delay in the delivery of the new TBF-1 Avenger. Hornet spent the next week qualifying the pilots for carrier launches and landings.
On March 28, Hornet tied up at North Island again to give her crew a final weekend of liberty in the US mainland. Captain Mitscher received a new set of Top Secret orders that would take the brand new ship on a very circuitous route to Pearl Harbor. Two days later Hornet sailed north, heading towards Alameda Naval Air Station, where she arrived on March 31 and moored at pier 2.
The Doolittle Raid
Meanwhile, twenty-two USAAF B-25 Mitchell bombers arrived at Alameda. On March 31 and April 1, with Hornet’s aircraft stored in the hangar deck, sixteen of the bombers were craned aboard and tethered to the flight deck. Shortly thereafter, 134 Army pilots and aircrew, led by LtCol Jimmy Doolittle, boarded the ship and Hornet slipped out to a mooring in SF Bay to spend the night. At mid-morning on April 2, Hornet and her escorts (Task Force 16.2) steamed under the Golden Gate Bridge, beginning the legendary mission known as the Doolittle Raid.
It was less than four months since the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Two dozen aircraft had been re-engineered.
Two dozen Army air crews had been trained in new techniques.
A brand new aircraft carrier (USS Hornet) had changed from one ocean to another, loaded newly delivered modern aircraft, qualified pilots and aircrew to operate from the new aircraft carrier.
16 B-25's were tied down on the flight deck of a ship for which they were not designed.
The sixteen Army air crews had never taken off from an aircraft carrier.
It would be five thousand miles before Hornet would reach the launch point.
Both Army and Navy planners went into high gear. Three weeks later, a navy captain proposed launching Army twin-engine bombers from a navy aircraft carrier. The question became: which bomber? The two services considered the B-18, an obsolescent medium bomber, its successor the B-23 Dragon, the Martin B-26 Marauder and the B-25B. The B-25B, though untried in battle, met the requirements best.
Even so, the B-25 needed extensive engineering modifications to meet the range and bomb load requirements for the mission.
February 3rd, 1942, two B-25's successfully flew from the flight deck of USS Hornet (CV-8). It was not quite two months since Pearl Harbor.
Less than a month later, two dozen crews and modified aircraft began three weeks' intensive training in simulated carrier deck takeoffs, low-level and night flying, low-altitude bombing and over-water navigation. This training in itself was a major accomplishment. When the 22 remaining aircraft flew to California, it had been three months since President Roosevelt charged the Joint Chiefs of Staff with the mission.
In the meantime, USS Hornet was preparing for a voyage halfway around the world, into hostile waters.
Hornet left Norfolk March 4 for the Panama Canal and then on to Pearl Harbor to join Yorktown, Saratoga and Enterprise in the Pacific. Her immediate orders were to head to San Diego. She arrived on March 20, mooring at the carrier berth on North Island. She had steamed more than 6,000 nautical miles from Norfolk.
Preparing for combat, Hornet's Air Group 8 squadrons were provided with upgraded aircraft. Fighting 8 (VF-8) received the F4F-4 Wildcat. Bombing 8 (VB-8) and Scouting 8 (VS-8) received the SBD-3 Dauntless. Torpedo 8 (VT-8) remained stuck with the antiquated TBD-1 Devastator due to a delay in the delivery of the new TBF-1 Avenger. Hornet spent the next week qualifying the pilots for carrier launches and landings.
On March 28, Hornet tied up at North Island again to give her crew a final weekend of liberty in the US mainland. Captain Mitscher received a new set of Top Secret orders that would take the brand new ship on a very circuitous route to Pearl Harbor. Two days later Hornet sailed north, heading towards Alameda Naval Air Station, where she arrived on March 31 and moored at pier 2.
The Doolittle Raid
Meanwhile, twenty-two USAAF B-25 Mitchell bombers arrived at Alameda. On March 31 and April 1, with Hornet’s aircraft stored in the hangar deck, sixteen of the bombers were craned aboard and tethered to the flight deck. Shortly thereafter, 134 Army pilots and aircrew, led by LtCol Jimmy Doolittle, boarded the ship and Hornet slipped out to a mooring in SF Bay to spend the night. At mid-morning on April 2, Hornet and her escorts (Task Force 16.2) steamed under the Golden Gate Bridge, beginning the legendary mission known as the Doolittle Raid.
It was less than four months since the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Two dozen aircraft had been re-engineered.
Two dozen Army air crews had been trained in new techniques.
A brand new aircraft carrier (USS Hornet) had changed from one ocean to another, loaded newly delivered modern aircraft, qualified pilots and aircrew to operate from the new aircraft carrier.
16 B-25's were tied down on the flight deck of a ship for which they were not designed.
The sixteen Army air crews had never taken off from an aircraft carrier.
It would be five thousand miles before Hornet would reach the launch point.
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