The FReeper Foxhole Remembers The Battle of the Denmark Strait (5/24/1941) - Oct. 28th, 2003

http://www.kbismarck.com/operheini.html ^ | José M. Rico

[U S Army EOD]

And you may step on them but not step in them.

[snippy_about_it]

Good afternoon ct. Welcome back, glad you made it out of California okay. :)

[U S Army EOD]

The Prinz Eugen was not friendly to the Hood either. However there were numerous examples of "fire from a friendly source" in naval engagements during WWII. One that comes to mind was in the Solomons in 1942 when a group of American and Japanese destroyers and light cruisers almost ran into each other at night. They were so close that they were firing light anti-aircraft guns at each other. One American ship thought he was being fired on by another American ship, so he turned on his recognitition lights. According to the survivors, they think that when the lights were turned on, EVERY AMERICAN AND JAPANESE SHIP THAT WAS THERE OPENED UP ON THEM.

[GailA]

From my email this morning

Read to the very last line. LETTER FROM A FARM KID, NOW AT SAN DIEGO MARINE CORPS RECRUIT DEPOT

Dear Ma and Pa:

I am well. Hope you are. Tell Brother Walt and Brother Elmer the Marine Corps beats working for old man Minch by a mile. Tell them to join up quick before maybe all of the places are filled.

I was restless at first because you got to stay in bed till nearly 6 a.m., but am getting so I like to sleep late.

Tell Walt and Elmer all you do before breakfast is smooth your cot and shine some things. No hogs to slop, feed to pitch, mash to mix, wood to split, fire to lay. Practically nothing.

Men got to shave but it is not so bad, there's warm water.

Breakfast is strong on trimmings like fruit juice, cereal, eggs, bacon, etc., but kind of weak on chops, potatoes, ham, steak, fried eggplant, pie and other regular food. But tell Walt and Elmer you can always sit by the two city boys that live on coffee. Their food plus yours holds you til noon, when you get fed again.

It's no wonder these city boys can't walk much. We go on "route" marches, which the Platoon Sergeant says are long walks to harden us. If he thinks so, it is not my place to tell him different. A "route march" is about as far as to our mailbox at home.

Then the city guys get sore feet and we all ride back in trucks. The country is nice, but awful flat.

The Sergeant is like a schoolteacher. He nags some. The Capt. is like the school board. Majors and Colonels just ride around and frown. They don't bother you none.

This next will kill Walt and Elmer with laughing. I keep getting medals for shooting. I don't know why. The bulls-eye is near as big as a chipmunk head and don't move. And it ain't shooting at you, like the Higgett boys at home.

All you got to do is lie there all comfortable and hit it. You don't even load your own cartridges. They come in boxes.

Then we have what they call hand-to-hand combat training. You get to wrestle with them city boys. I have to be real careful though, they break real easy.

It ain't like fighting with that ole bull at home. I'm about the best they got in this except for that Tug Jordan from over in Silver Lake.

He joined up the same time as me. But I'm only 5'6" and 130 pounds and he's 6'8" and weighs near 300 pounds dry.

Be sure to tell Walt and Elmer to hurry and join before other fellers get onto this setup and come stampeding in.

Your loving daughter,

Betty Sue

I thought the ladies would enjoy this!!!!

[snippy_about_it]

LOL. Thanks Gail.

[SAMWolf]

A Prinz is a Prince. ;-)

[SAMWolf]

Thanks for the link to the Polish Navy Site. You don't hear a lot about them in WWII because they didn't have any major surface ships but their subs and DD's helped the Allied effort and they were represented in many Naval engagements.

[skeeter]

EVERY AMERICAN AND JAPANESE SHIP THAT WAS THERE OPENED UP ON THEM.

You're referring to the USS Atlanta at the First Naval Battle of Guadacanal. It is known for certain that the USS San Francisco hit Atlanta with at least one full main battery salvo 'cause the Atlanta's bridge was covered with the green marker dye the San Francisco used to spot its shell shots. That salvo wiped out the command staff & the admiral on board.

I don't think it is clear the Atlanta was intentionally shot at by US ships, though. The accounts I've seen had her drifting into their line of fire.

[SAMWolf]

The FReeper Foxhole Remembers Ruel Nathan Lawrence - Warrior Wednesday - Jan. 29th, 2003

We did a thread on Convoy PQ-17, one of the Murmansk Convoys that ended up a disaster.

[SAMWolf]

I saw the documentary and have the Book. Amazing pictures!

[SAMWolf]

Welcome back CT.

Anytime is a good time to get out of Kalifornia

LOL! I have it on DVD. Good movie for the time it was made and you're right Dana Wynters was a hottie.

[SAMWolf]

LOL! The scene in Jurrasic Park where she checks the Triceritops poop - Yuk!!!!!

[SAMWolf]

LOL! Modern Man in America!!

[SAMWolf]

Thanks for the link to the pics of the Prinz Eugen. It must be something to dive into those old wrecks.

[U S Army EOD]

No it was a small night battle. I think National Geographic did an article on it or at least someone did who had a lot of underwater photos of the ships, to include that one, that were sunk. The battle was mass confusion on both sides. I will try and find info on it.

[skeeter]

Thanks - I'd appreciate knowing where you got this info.

[quietolong]

On a Rock in Rural Iowa
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1009819/posts

[GATOR NAVY]

A fairly long analysis here on What Destroyed the HMS Hood?

[The Mayor]

Hi Sam : )

[SAMWolf]

Thanks Gator Navy. Very interesting reading.

The Battle of Jutland:

At 15.45 with both fleets roughly parallel at 15,000 yards Hipper and Beatty opened fire. At around 16.05 the Indefatigable exploded (two survivors) and at 16.25 the Queen Mary did the same (twenty survivors). Beatty stated "There seems to be something wrong with our bloody ships today". There was a definate problem in British Battlecrusier design that was not corected in the HMS Hood.