Odd WWII Trivia

In reply to Duke:

There IS a gun on both sides there......chances are, they were fairly pointless and just there to add to the total on paper. It was supposed to be a fortress that didn't need escort, remember?

I think that B17 is just missing the left cheek gun. There was a fair amount of "field modifications" to planes anyway, so it could be how it was flown (save weight, make room for something etc.)

You may be thinking about the radio operator. He sits just behind the bomb bay with that little sky light type window. I can't imagine he is terribly busy most of the flight and can see very little of what is going on outside. The only plane he could hit with that gun would have to be well above the plane, or making some sort of wild vertical diving attack.

The cheek guns can at least shoot at planes making a front attack. It's a bit of a spray and pray I am sure, but I suspect a lot of gunner fire falls into that category.

Regarding the H-bomb "setting the atmosphere on fire" thing. That was actually a worry (although small ) during the Trinity test. It didn't, so I think they pretty much dismissed that potential problem after that.

just so you guys can know....

my dad trained in a B25....

My Dad trained on a Caterpillar dozer. On Iwo Jima, clearing runways. Never talked about it , ever.

My grandfather landed at D-Day, and never talked about it either, until right before he died. One of his jobs was to check dead enemy soldiers for booby traps after the battle ended. All he really had to say was that the kids that were the most frightened were usually the first to die, and that Austria was the prettiest place he had ever seen. Other than that, nothing.

In reply to pinchvalve:

And that the Japanese developed a nuke and set it off on an island off of what is today North Korea. And they planned on putting one on a suicide submarine and setting it off in San Francisco harbor.

Speaking of Japan and nukes. So many Purple Heart medals were produced in anticipation of the planned invasion of the Japanese mainland(had nuclear weapons not been used), that they are still handing them out today.

I read that Mazda unleashed the wankle engine on the U.S. in retaliation for Nagasaki.

Dr. Hess wrote: I've read that they started training gunners by teaching them skeet and/or trap shooting with shotguns. Mastering the leading with the shotgun directly transferred to shooting down aircraft.

There is a recruiting /training film on youtube starring Burgess Meredith depicting skeet shooting as part of gunnery training. Meredith was chosen because he was a small guy. The film was about tail gunners and ball turret gunners so the AAC was looking specifically for small skinny men to do those jobs.

Here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKdLbEQ6Dv8

Dr. Hess wrote: In reply to pinchvalve: And that the Japanese developed a nuke and set it off on an island off of what is today North Korea. And they planned on putting one on a suicide submarine and setting it off in San Francisco harbor.

I'm assuming this is facetious. The Japanese did have an A-bomb program, but they never got remotely close to producing a weapon. There was a reporter named Snell for one of the Atlanta papers who claimed they did, but that claim has been pretty well debunked.

There is so much stuff to dig into about WW 2. The Germans used the first remote controlled bomb to attack an Italian ship. It was dropped from a bomber and wire guided, kind of like a TOW missile. They also put infrared search lights on some tanks and the most "successful" sniper in WW 2 was Finnish and did not use a scope.

Both of my Grandfathers were in the war, one in North Africa and the other landed at Normandy. I now with I had been able to talk more with them about things.

aircooled wrote: I think that B17 is just missing the left cheek gun. There was a fair amount of "field modifications" to planes anyway, so it could be how it was flown (save weight, make room for something etc.)

No, they're both still there. I think Duke needs an eye exam. Look really close, they're both there in the pictures he posted.

Duke wrote: No, I'm not talking about the chin turret. I'm talking about the cheek gun, located only on the right side near the nav station. Note the fairly limited fire zone. No gun on the left side.

Besides my dad I had 3 uncles fight in WW II and another uncle that was in the Seabees. Two were in the army and served in Europe. One uncle was in the navy and served in both Europe and the Pacific. He was in a destroyer off Omaha beach on D-day and for a number of weeks afterward. When he moved to the Pacific he and my dad who was also in the navy were lucky enough to run into each other twice while in port. My father also served on destroyers and was on one of the 8 that escorted the USS Missouri to the surrender ceremony. Only one of them is still around, my uncle who was in the navy. He's in his 90's.

cwh wrote: My Dad trained on a Caterpillar dozer. On Iwo Jima, clearing runways. Never talked about it , ever.

Somebody has to do it. My grand father operated radio stations/relays in Europe. Not everyone is a Spec Ops.. All are important.

Fueled by Caffeine wrote:

cwh wrote: My Dad trained on a Caterpillar dozer. On Iwo Jima, clearing runways. Never talked about it , ever.

Somebody has to do it. My grand father operated radio stations/relays in Europe. Not everyone is a Spec Ops.. All are important.

Yep, someone had to. My grandfather worked on B-24's through Africa/Italy. He would rarely talk about it either. He was proud of his service though, for every time the planes came back, he knew he did his job.

My grandfather was a machine gunner in the Marines and was one of the first men to hit the beach at Okinawa. Moved through several islands, lost several partners (guys who fed the belt) but made it home OK. Never talked about it again...I didn't know he was a Marine until they buried him in his uniform. Wished I could have asked him about it.

That's him on the right...serious badass.

Will wrote:

Dr. Hess wrote: In reply to pinchvalve: And that the Japanese developed a nuke and set it off on an island off of what is today North Korea. And they planned on putting one on a suicide submarine and setting it off in San Francisco harbor.

I'm assuming this is facetious. The Japanese did have an A-bomb program, but they never got remotely close to producing a weapon. There was a reporter named Snell for one of the Atlanta papers who claimed they did, but that claim has been pretty well debunked.

Again, just stories that I have read but the Germans had no access to Uranium and were experimenting with Heavy Water. What little they did have was apparently sent to the Japanese via Sub late in the war. There seems to be conflicting stories on whether or not it made it.

The US story is really odd. Forgive me for not recalling the specifics, but the story goes that a US mining magnate offered the US government Uranium from his mines in South America or some such place early in the war, but we said no. He decided to ship it via rail to be stored in Canada secretly. Later, when the US realized that we did need it and shipping it would be dangerous and we didn't have time to mine a bunch of it....he simply handed it over.

Both of my grandfathers served south pacific during the war. Maternal was Army stationed in the Philippines pre-war. He avoided capture and hid out in the hills MIA for years while the island was under Japaneses control.

Paternal was Navy, PBY ground crew, yet still saw hand-to-hand at least once. I have his photo albums from the war. One of these days I will have to scan it in and upload it.

ThunderCougarFalconGoat wrote: I read that Mazda unleashed the wankle engine on the U.S. in retaliation for Nagasaki.

A young Kenichi Yamamoto applied to work at Toyo Kogyo because it was one of the few businesses still extant in Hiroshima post-war. I forget if it was his recommendation that the company join the Wankel consortium as a way to stand out as a company, or if he just tackled the job with gusto, but the rest, as they say, is history.

Kenny_McCormic wrote: Speaking of Japan and nukes. So many Purple Heart medals were produced in anticipation of the planned invasion of the Japanese mainland(had nuclear weapons not been used), that they are still handing them out today.

Don't know if this is a joke or not.

My grandfather and his squadron was slated to provide close air support for the invasion of mainland Japan. They were given their briefing. Told to expect 50% U.S. casualties, so get a good look at the guy on either side of you now, because one of you probably won't be making it back. Apparently they all felt bad for the other guy. When asked about civilians, women, and children, the orders were "if it's in front of you, and it moves, and it's not one of us, shoot it."

In reply to Beer Baron:

Its not a joke, everything I've seen/heard is that we are still working on handing out those very medals that were ordered way back then.

Fueled by Caffeine wrote:

cwh wrote: My Dad trained on a Caterpillar dozer. On Iwo Jima, clearing runways. Never talked about it , ever.

Somebody has to do it. My grand father operated radio stations/relays in Europe. Not everyone is a Spec Ops.. All are important.

yeah … my Dad was a corpsman stationed in Pensacola for the duration

both uncles flew, one as a navigator/bombardier in Europe .. the other pilot of B29 in WW2 and B26/B29's in Korea

my Granddad was an engineer (surveyor) in France during WW1