Posted on 07/29/2015 4:13:33 AM PDT by Homer_J_Simpson
LOL
I didn’t know about the B32 Dominator either. Our new Superbomber
Baldwin’s article today about unity of command in the Pacific certainly caught my eye.
Actual “news” in the NYT. Who’da thunkit?
It was hard to read Daniels’ article about the mod of the British electorate. The hardest part was reading how the British thought they were voting for guarantees of post war dreams and prosperity. All they guaranteed with their vote was economic malaise for generation and beyond. It wasn’t until they had the twin boon of MargaretThacher and North Sea oil that there was anything like prosperity in Britain again.
The socialists lied to get power, and then made the voters perpetually dependent in a society that rewarded mediocrity. But that’s how the left rolls.
Thanks
But, as you say, it turned out different.
When Lady Thatcher was elected Britain's GDP per capita was approaching pre-EU Spain. Britain was leaving behind Northern European standards of living, unless something was done. Thatcher did it and they still revile her for it.
They should be. One of the nine U.S. Army Principles of War, our bedrock doctrine, is Unity of Command: for every objective, ensuring unity of effort under one responsible commander.
Failing to follow this Principle can be a recipe for disaster.
But you can take it to the bank that in a few months NOAA will proclaim this the hottest year on record.
B-32 info here:
http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_bombers/b32.html
In August of 1944, the popular name of the B-32 was changed to Dominator. However, in August of 1945, this name was officially dropped because of objections made by the State Department at a United Nations conference. I am not sure of the reasons for the objection, but the name “Dominator” must have been deemed to be “politically incorrect” for the postwar environment. After that, the aircraft was officially referred to as simply B-32.
The last Dominator mission of the war was flown by four B-32s on August 28 in a reconnaissance mission to Tokyo. The mission was a disaster, although not because of any enemy action. 42-108544 lost an engine on takeoff and skidded off the runway. All 13 men aboard perished when the aircraft exploded and burned. On the way back from the target, 42-108528 lost power on two of its four engines. The plane’s pilot ordered the crew to bail out, but two men were killed.
Although its brief combat career was unspectacular, it did have the distinction of flying the last aerial combat mission against Japan.
Great post. I intend to take a very close look at those nine principles.
http://www.wpi.edu/academics/military/prinwar.html
Mass:
Concentrate combat power at the decisive place and time.
Objective:
Direct every military operation towards a clearly defined, decisive, and attainable objective.
Offensive:
Seize, retain, and exploit the initiative.
Surprise:
Strike the enemy at a time, at a place, or in a manner for which he is unprepared.
Economy of force:
Allocate minimum essential combat power to secondary efforts.
Maneuver:
Place the enemy in a position of disadvantage through the flexible application of combat power.
Unity of command:
For every objective, ensure unity of effort under one responsible commander.
Security:
Never permit the enemy to acquire an unexpected advantage.
Simplicity:
Prepare clear, uncomplicated plans and clear, concise orders to ensure thorough understanding.
You betcha.
July 29, 1945: 509th Composite Group Receives Attack Order
Nobody knows
Into the air the secret rose
Where they´re going, nobody knows
Tomorrow they´ll return again
But we´ll never know where they´ve been.
Don´t ask us about results or such
Unless you want to get in Dutch.
But take it from one who is sure of the score,
the 509th is winning the war.
When the other Groups are ready to go
We have a program of the whole damned show
And when Halsey´s 5th shells Nippon´s shore
Why, shucks, we hear about it the day before.
And MacArthur and Doolittle give out in advance
But with this new bunch we haven´t a chance
We should have been home a month or more
For the 509th is winning the war
Anonymous, doggerel made up by pilots of other air groups about the “hush-hush” 509th
Activated on December 17, 1944, the 509th Composite Group of the United States Army Air Corps was commanded by Colonel Paul Tibbets, at 29 already a seasoned air combat veteran in Europe. The flying units of the Group, in addition to support units, consisted of the 393rd Bombardment Squadron and the 320th Troop Carrier Squadron, 1767 personnel, 15 B-29 bombers and 5 C-54 transports. The Group was based and trained at Wendover Air Force Base in Utah.
Training was conducted in intense secrecy with the officers and men advised that any breach of security would be punished with the utmost severity, which might well include the death penalty. Curious officers and men of other units were warned away at gun point.
The unit re-deployed to Tinian on June 11, 1945. The unit engaged in numerous practice bombing missions, including twelve over targets over the Home Islands, with special “pumpkin bombs” replicating the dimensions of the “Fat Man” atomic bomb.
The order for the attack arrived on July 29, 1945. Four target cities were designated: Hiroshima, Kokura, Niigata, and Nagasaki, with the attacks to occur after August 3, 1945, when weather permitted.
Interview with the crew of the Enola Gay crew:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7Pt215DLio
Men of the USS Indianapolis, beware, just after midnight.....
Rare photos from the USS Indianapolis:
http://www.usni.org/ussindianapolis
http://photos.usni.org/category/uss-indianapolis-photos-from-the-alfred-j.-sedivi-collection
Obviously, some people never learned the Principles, like Adolph Hitler and the Japanese high command.
Are they largely unchanged now?
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