Posted on 11/13/2006 11:06:52 AM PST by InvisibleChurch
Clay City native and Bloomington resident Clarence B. Wolfe says in a new book that he accidentally took part in the death of 1940s band leader Glenn Miller during World War II. In “I Kept My Word,” the 82-year-old Wolfe says he calculated the computer that told anti-aircraft guns at Folkestone, England, where to aim to bring down the small plane in which Miller was flying. Wolfe’s commanding officer gave orders to shoot after the plane did not respond to requests for identification, Wolfe recounts. Wolfe says he warned against firing because a low-flying small plane was unlikely to be a bomber. Wolfe said the officer swore him to secrecy, but that he came forward to end the mystery. The book is published by AuthorHouse, the Bloomington-based self-publisher.
It's Roosevelt's fault!
Truth?
If shot down by AA, where is the crashed A/C? For years, the accepted story was that Miller's A/C crashed in Channel as it approached France.
Opinions?
hey, shoot first and ask questions later. if only we could get back to fighting wars like that again
Another story, bombers dishcharging their unspent bomb load over the channel hit his plane.
One of the other theories is that a British bomber (probably a Lancaster) jettisoned its payload over the channel and it struck Miller's aircraft.
Ah, you beat me to it. :-)
By 1944 the "gun laying" tables were being produced by the UNIVAC.
UNIVAC was developed by Dr Watson of IBM fame.
Female operators were the first programmers.
IBM was housed in Armonk New York.
New York is the home of sen Hildebeeast Xlintoon.
Ergo..Bush's Fault!
The plane was outbound, not inbound over the channel. Without more detail, I'll doubt the credibility of this one. The theory that a recalled bombing raid was dumping its bombs in the area has more credibility.
There was a show on PBS a couple of years ago that looked into the death of Miller. It showed that Miller's plane was probably struck by a bomb dropped by a Lancaster bomber that was returning from an aborted night mission over Europe. The flight plan of the plane Miller was flying in took it through the area in the English Channel that was the "safe drop" zone for bombers returning that night from over the continent. One of the surviving crewmen said that he remembers seeing a flash through the clouds below the plane, when there should not have been one seen because of the altitude of the plane over the channel. The navigator or bombadier also believe in retrospect that Miller's plane may have flown under them and was hit when the bombs were jettisoned.
"...In “I Kept My Word,” the 82-year-old Clarence B. Wolfe says he calculated the computer that told anti-aircraft guns at Folkestone, England, where to aim to bring down the small plane in which Miller was flying..."
The amazing thing is that my no-frills cellular telephone probably has more computing power than all the computers they were using to determine coastal anti-aircraft fire patterns.
~ Blue Jays ~
I guess it was cheaper and safer to dispose of unused bombs than attempt to land with a sputtering airplane full of explosives.
~ Blue Jays ~
Your cell phone brought down Glenn Miller? (Thinking like a confused Democrat voter.)
ping
My opinion is to note that Miller served his country honorably and made the supreme sacrifice, and I compare this to other entertainers such as the Dixie Chicks, among others, who have no idea nor desire to sacrifice on behalf of their country!
Here's an excerpt from an old Foxhole thread:
For years afterward, speculation about Miller's fate centered on the bad weather and the plane's lack of de-icing equipment. In late December 1985, however, two former members of a Royal Air Force bomber crew came forward with a story that provides the likeliest explanation of the accident that will probably ever surface. They had been aboard one of some 150 Lancaster bombers returning from an aborted raid on Germany on December 15, 1944. Following standard procedure, the crew jettisoned their bombs near Beachy Head on the southern coast of England. But as the bombs exploded, the gunner reportedly saw a Norseman below them fall into the sea, apparently downed by the shock waves. A check of the records at Britain's Ministry of Defense subsequently confirmed the aborted raid and the return of the Lancasters. Miller, in other words, may have been a victim of that grim military occurrence, "friendly fire."
From post 3 here: The FReeper Foxhole Profiles Major Glenn Miller - Feb. 21st, 2005
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-vetscor/1347628/posts
(warning: high graphics)
For more on that theory, see post 17 on this thread.
Musical greeting cards have more computer power than existed in the entire world in 1950. Your cell phone likely has more computer power in it than existed in the world in 1970.
But there is another theory that Miller died in France in the company of..... on the arms of........
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