WW II Historical Thread, Discussion, Pics, Videos

[Jeff Head]

I think, by 1943, the material superiority of the USA had provided a sufficient layered defence around her carriers which rendered them relatively safe from the Japanese,

And yet the Kamikazis and other means sank another 6 smaller US carriers, most of them after 1943, and the severely damaged several of the large Fleet carriers. The Franklin and the Enterprise were both nearly sunk.

When you have a dedicated foe, who is willing to sacrifice their life and attack you en mass, defenses can still be overcome and saturated if that foe has enough weapons. The Japanese were husbanding and saving up thousands of Kamikazi aircraft for such missions..

 

[Jura The idiot]

hi Lezt, Jeff commented on the first part of your post, I'll ask you about the second part

..., the Japanese on the other hand lost so much material, that their carriers are entirely exposed. With radar, it means the the Americans can picket, detect and wear them down quickly

can you give some example(s) what exactly you meant, as far as I know not even the
so called Turkey Shoot

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

was that easy ... or was it??

 

[Jura The idiot]

self deleted -- while editing my previous post, I made it a new one, sorry

 

[Miragedriver]

Though I would throw in some colorized World War II photographs just to spice things up a tad. Enjoy.

Panzer IV Ausf.H of 5. Kompanie/II. Abteilung/Panzer-Regiment 29/12.Panzer-Division on the Eastern Front in 1944.

(Colorized by our newest 'recruit' - Joshua Barrett aged 20 and from the UK)


Back to bottling my Grenache

 

[Miragedriver]

Elizabeth L. Remba Gardner, of Rockford, Illinois, Class 43-W-6 WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilot) at the controls of a Martin B-26 'Marauder' medium bomber. Harlingen Army Air Field, Texas. 1943 (Aged 22)

Elizabeth "Libby" Gardner 1921 - 2011 - died aged 90

Of the more than 1,100 women who volunteered and flew every fighter, bomber, transport and trainer aircraft in the inventory 72 years ago, only about 300 were still alive when the survivors of the first female military pilots received the Congressional Gold Medal at a ceremony in the US Capitol of Washington on March the 11th 2010.

Back to bottling my Grenache

 

[Miragedriver]

A Sniper (scharfschützen) aiming a Karabiner 98k 7.92x57mm with a telescopic sight and the 'Spotter' on the right who wears a Close Combat Clasp (Nahkampfspange) which was awarded for 15, 30 and 50 days of consecutive close action with the enemy. It came in three grades: bronze, silver and gold. It was instituted on November 25th, 1942 after 'Stalingrad'. The sleeve badge is the 'Krim Shield' which was presented to all members of the 11th German Army being instituted on July 7th, 1942, it commemorated the German advance into the Crimea led by General von Manstein.

Sniper Strategy and Targets;
Always two snipers at a time; one shoots, the other spots. Usual general order:- Elimination of observers, of the enemy's heavy weapons and of commanders, or special order, when all important or worthwhile targets were eliminated; for example, Anti-tank gun positions, machine gun positions etc. Snipers followed closely the attacking units and whenever necessary eliminated enemies who operated heavy weapons and those who were dangerous to their advance.

The German Sniper Code
1. Fight fanatically.
2. Shoot calm and contemplated, fast shots lead nowhere, concentrate on the hit.
3. Your greatest opponent is the enemy sniper, outsmart him.
4. Always only fire one shot from your position, if not you will be discovered.
5. The trench tool prolongs your life.
6. Practice in distance judging.
7. Become a master in camouflage and terrain usage.
8. Practice constantly, behind the front and in the homeland, your shooting skills.
9. Never let go of your sniper rifle.
10. Survival is ten times camouflage and one time firing.

Three top German snipers;
Matthais Hetzenauer of Tyrol fought at the Eastern Front from 1943 to the end of the war, and with 345 certified hits is the most successful German sniper.

Sepp Allerberger of Salzburg fought at the Eastern Front from December 1942, to the end of the war, and with 257 certified hits is the second highest scoring German sniper.

Helmut Wirnsberger of Styria fought at the Eastern Front from September 1942, to the end of the war and scored 64 certified hits (after being wounded he served for some time as instructor on a sniper training course).



Back to bottling my Grenache

 

[Miragedriver]

Ordnance men moving a 16" shell from its storage stall to ammunition hoist on board the Iowa Class Battleship USS New Jersey (BB-62).
Nov 1944.

16"/50 calibre Mark 7 gun

These guns were 66.6 feet (20 m) long—50 times their 16-inch (406 mm) bore, or 50 calibres, from breech-face to muzzle. Each gun weighed about 239,000 pounds (108,000 kg) without the breech, or 267,900 pounds (121,517 kg) with the breech. They fired projectiles weighing from 1,900 to 2,700 pounds (850 to 1,200 kg) at a maximum speed of 2,690 feet per second (820 m/s) with a range of up to 24 miles (39 km). At maximum range the projectile spent almost 1½ minutes in flight. Each turret required a crew of 79 men to operate.

Back to bottling my Grenache

 

[Miragedriver]

The Consolidated B-24 'Liberator' waist gunner c.1944

Waist gunners were charged with the defence of the Liberator’s vulnerable sides through use of single 12.7mm machine guns. As such, these positions aboard Liberators suffered the most casualties by incoming fighters ready to strafe the large profile sides of the bomber. These two positions, left and right, were later staggered to compensate for each gunners firing arc. Unlike other turreted positions in the B-24, spent shell casings at these waist positions were not jettisoned from the aircraft automatically, forcing crew-members to clear their areas themselves. Since firing from these side-perspective positions required a great deal of hand-to-eye coordination via tracer rounds while taking into account target speed and the Liberator’s airspeed itself, waist gunners relied on simple targeting sights in the early years. Only later did they receive assistance in the form of compensating sights to help improve accuracy.

(Colorized by Mike Gepp from Australia)


Back to bottling my Grenache

 

[Miragedriver]

Soldiers of Fallschirm-Panzer-Division 1. 'Hermann Göring' pass by the immobilised Panzerjäger Tiger (P) 'Elefant' of Feldwebel Gustav Koss, 1./653 schwere Panzerjäger-Abteilung and continue to advance during the counterattack against the allied beachhead at Anzio, Italy.
Early March 1944.

When the Allies landed at Anzio in January 1944, the division was rushed to the area and took part in the battles against the invasion force, and for a time was employed opposite the 1st Special Service Force. From February to April 1944, the division saw fighting at Cisterna, on the Rapido River and at Minturno.

Fallschirm-Panzer-Div 1 HG was an elite German Luftwaffe armoured division. The HG saw action in North Africa, Sicily, Italy and on the Eastern Front.
The division was the creation of Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring and increased in size throughout the war from an Abteilung (battalion) to a Panzer corps.

Panzerjäger Tiger (P) 'Elefant' (Sd.Kfz. 184);
VK4501(P), the Tiger developed by Porsche, submitted alongside the Tiger developed by Henschel in 1942, was put into production but quickly halted after serious failures in the ability to solve engine and drive chain problems after only 5 were completed. When the Tiger P failed to materialize a successful carriage for the large 8.8cm KwK L/71, it was decided that a StuG with 200mm of frontal armour be immediately designed with the Tiger P's chassis as the basis mounting the 8.8. With Alkett designing and producing, and Nibelungenwerke providing the completed chassis, 90 existing Tiger P's were converted into the Panzerjäger Tiger (P), Ferdinand, eventually some were modified again, in the Elefant modification.

(Source - Bundesarchiv Bild - 101I-311-0940-35)


Back to bottling my Grenache

 

[Miragedriver]

1st Battalion Welsh Guardsmen near Arras in North-Eastern France, January/February 1940.

(Nb. The second man in line carries a Bren LMG and is followed by one with a Boys Anti-Tank rifle)

In November 1939 the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards were sent from Gibraltar to France, where they were to provide protection for the GHQ, this was located eight miles away from Arras.

The 1st Battalion Welsh Guards from the 17th - 24th May 1940 formed the nucleus of the force defending Arras. After a week during which the town was bombed and shelled and the garrison had
repulsed persistent armoured attacks, the order came to withdraw. In the days between leaving Arras and embarking at Dunkirk the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards was involved in costly company actions at Cassel, Vyfewg and West Cappel.
After returning home from France the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards spent the next four years between Wimbledon, Byfleet, Midsomer Norton and Knook Camp, Heytesbury where they carried out their training continuously in case of another invasion which seemed imminent.



Back to bottling my Grenache