The FReeper Foxhole's TreadHead Tuesday - The U.S. Tank Destroyer Forces

You familiar with this ole' feller, Sam?

Popular American writer of western fiction. L'Amour was the most significant writer of the genre since the 1950s. His publishing numbers surpassed Frederick Faust (Max Brand), while his popularity rivaled Zane Grey. Hailed on one book cover as the 'World's Greatest Writer', L'Amour sold over 225 million copies, making him the third top-seller in the world (according to Saturday Review). L'Amour's books have been translated into dozens of languages and made into 30 films.

"I am probably the last writer who will ever have known the people who lived the frontier life. In drifting about across the West, I have known five men and two women who knew Billy the Kid, two who rode in the Tonto Basin war in Arizona, and a variety of others who were outlaws, or frontier marshals like Jeff Milton, Bill Tilghman, and Chris Madse, or just pioneers." (from Education of a Wndering Man, 1989) Louis L'Amour was born in Jamestown, North Dakota, the last of his parents' seven children. The family name was originally LaMoore or Larmour, reflecting the French-Canadian background. His father had many occupations, including a salesman of farm machinery, a veterinarian, a chief police, and a teacher. L'Amour's mother was trained as a teacher, and she was also an amateur poet. The future author grew up hearing stories of pioneers and Native Americans. He began reading earlier than most - from his parent's bookshelf he found collections of Longfellow, Whittier, Lowell, and Emerson. All in the family had library cards.

From the ages of fifteen to nineteen L'Amour worked at a variety of jobs: he tried boxing, worked as a circus hand, a lumberjack, and a seaman, and traveled in the Far East, China, and Africa. In the ring, he won 51 of 59 fights as a professional boxer. He was even an elephant handler for a while. During the 1930s he became a successful boxer and traveled in Asia. After returning to the United States, he moved with his parents on a small farm near Choctaw, Oklahoma. L'Amour took some creative writing courses at the University of Oklahoma, and started his career as a book reviewer. Almost all of his early short stories were rejected. SMOKE FROM THIS ALTAR (1939) was L'Amour's first book, a collection of poems, in which he crystallized his wanderlust in 'Out of the ocean depths': "Out of the distance / that holds me enchanted, / Up from the green, / shifting violence below - / A voice from the twilight, / the bauty, the stillness, / A voice that comes calling / and calling to go. ..." The book was only for sale in Oklahoma bookstores. Although L'Amour's collection was not a commercial success, it received good reviews. "For he has the three things which it takes to make a writer: a love for words, industry, and something to say," wrote the Daily Oklahoma.

During World War II L'Amour served in a tank destroyer unit in France and Germany. In 1946 he settled in Los Angeles and wrote Western stories for pulp magazines - he was nearing 40 and could use his own experiences as material. First story he had sold in 1935. It was a gangster story, 'Anything for a Pal', published in True Gang Life. L'Amour's early tales were not of the West, but of the Far East or of the prize ring. But the West was where he had grown up and it was an easy step for him to write about the frontier. L'Amour's first novel, WESTWARD THE TIDE (1950) appeared in England. It was not published in the United States until Bantam Books acquired the rights many years later. In 1951 appeared L'Amour's first Western, HOPALONG CASSIDY AND THE RIDERS OF HIGH ROCK, under the pen name Tex Burns. Hopalong Cassidy character had been created by Clarence Mulfor, but soon L'Amour established his own name as a novelist.

On This Day in History

Birthdates which occurred on February 10:
1670 William Congreve England, restoration writer (Old Bachelor, Way of the World)
1728 Peter III Feodorovich German/Russian czar of Russia (1761-62)
1775 Charles Lamb London England, critic/poet/essayist
1807 Abner Clark Harding Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1874
1818 Isham Green Harris Governor(Confederacy), died in 1897
1819 Richard Storrs Willis composer
1821 William Read Scurry (Confederate Army Brigadier General, died in 1864)
1824 Samuel Plimsoll Bristol England, inventor (Plimsoll line for ships)
1880 Jesse G Vincent Arkansas, engineer designed 1st V-12 engine
1890 Boris L Pasternak Russia, novelist/poet (Dr Zhivago, Nobel 1958)
1892 Alan Hale [Rufus Alan Mackahan], Washington DC, actor (Little John-Adventures of Robin Hood)
1893 Jimmy Durante New York NY, long-nosed comedian (and good-night Mrs Calabash)
1897 John Franklin Enders Connecticut, micro-biologist (polio-Nobel 1954)
1898 Dame Judith Anderson Adelaide Australia, actress (Laura, Rebecca, Tycoon)
1898 Bertolt Brecht Germany, playwright (Mother Courage)/composer
1898 Robert Keith Fowler IN, actor (Battle Circus, Branded, Wild One)
1902 Walter H Brattain Amoy China, US physicist (Nobel 1956-transistor)
1906 Lon Chaney Jr Oklahoma City OK, actor (Dracula vs. Frankenstein, The Phantom, Hawkeye, Pistols 'n' Petticoats)
1914 Larry Adler Baltimore MD, harmonica player (Harmonicats) (blacklisted performer)
1929 Jerry Goldsmith pianist/composer (Twilight Zone)
1929 Jim Whittacker mountain climber (1st American to climb Mt Everest)
1937 Don Wilson rock guitarist (Ventures-Walk Don't Run, Batman Theme)
1939 Roberta Flack Black Mountain (Asheville) NC, vocalist (The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face)
1950 Mark Spitz Modesto CA, swimmer (Olympics-9 gold/silver/bronze-68, 72)
1953 John Shirley US, sci-fi author (Eclipse Penumbra, Eclipse Corona)
1955 Gregory John Norman Queensland Australia, PGA golfer "The White Shark" (1984 Kemper)
1958 Sharon Stone Meadville PA, actress (Basic Instinct, Total Recall)
1961 George Stephanopoulos presidential adviser/slimy little toad (Clinton)
1967 Laura Dern Los Angeles CA, actress (Blue Velvet, Mask, Small Talk)
1971 Marty Nothstein Allentown PA, sprint cyclist Olympics-silver-96)
1977 Stephanie Ann Foisy Concord NH, Miss New Hampshire-America (1995)

Deaths which occurred on February 10:
1134 Robert III/II Curthouse Duke of Normandy, dies
1495 Sir William Stanley English lord chamberlain, executed for conspiracy
1567 Lord Darnley Stuart husband of English queen Mary, murdered
1837 Alexander S Pushkin writer, dies at 37
1879 Wolter R baron van Hoëvell Dutch vicar/abolitionist, dies at 66
1912 Joseph Lister 1st Baron Lister, surgeon (pioneer of antiseptic), dies
1939 Pius XI [Ambrogio D A Ratti], Italian Pope (1922-39), dies at 81
1948 Sergei Eisenstein Russian director (Battleship Potemkin), dies at 50
1957 Laura Ingalls Wilder US author (Little House on Prarie), dies at 90
1992 Alex Haley US writer (Autobiography of Malcolm X, Roots), dies at 70
1997 Brian McManus Connolly musician, dies at 47
1998 Buddy the Wonder Dog dog (Air Bud), dies of cancer at 9

Reported: MISSING in ACTION

1966 HUNTER RUSSELL P. JR.---GLASTONBURY CT. 1966 HOPPS GARY DOUGLAS---CORAL GABLES FL.
1966 KIEFEL ERNEST P. JR.---HARRISBURG PA.
1971 BURROWS LARRY---BRITAIN
[PHOTOGRAPHER LIFE MAG]
1971 HUET HENRI---FRANCE
[AP PHOTOGRAPHER]
1971 PIETRZAK JOSEPH R.---ROSEVILLE OH.
1971 POTTER KENT B.---PHILADELPHIA PA.
[UPI CORRES DOB]
1971 ROBERTSON MARK J.---DETROIT MI.
1971 SHIMAMOTO KEIZABURO---JAPAN
[NEWSWEEK PHOTOGRAPHER]

POW / MIA Data & Bios supplied by
the P.O.W. NETWORK. Skidmore, MO. USA.

On this day...
0060 St Paul thought to have been shipwrecked at Malta
1098 Crusaders defeat Prince Redwan of Aleppo at Antioch
1535 12 nude Anabaptists run through Amsterdam streets
1635 Académie Française is founded in Paris (by Cardinal Richelieu)
1676 Wampanoag Indians under King Philip kill all men in Lancaster MA
1713 Netherlands & England sign accord concerning anti-French Barrier
1716 Scottish pretender to the throne James III Edward returns to France
1720 Edmund Halley appointed 2nd Astronomer Royal of England
1749 10th (final) volume of Fielding's "Tom Jones" is published
1763 Treaty of Paris ends French-Indian War, surrenders Canada to England
1807 US Coast Survey authorized by Congress
1824 Simon Bolívar named dictator by the Congress of Perú
1840 British queen Victoria marries her cousin Albert von Saksen-Coburg
1846 British defeat Sikhs in battle of Sobraon, India
1846 Beginning of Mormon march to west US
1855 US citizenship laws amended all children of US parents born abroad granted US citizenship
1859 General Horsford defeats Begum of Oude & Nana Sahib in Indian mutiny
1860 John Brahms' 2nd Serenade in A, premieres
1863 1st US fire extinguisher patent granted to Alanson Crane, Virginia
1863 PT Barnum stages wedding of Tom Thumb & Mercy Lavinia Warren (New York NY)
1870 City of Anaheim incorporates (1st time)
1870 YWCA (Young Women's Christian Association) is founded (New York NY)
1879 1st electric arc light used (California Theater)
1879 Henry Morton Stanley departs to the Congo
1880 Pope Leo XIII publishes encyclical Arcanum about Christian marriage
1883 Fire at un-insured New Hall Hotel in Milwaukee WI, kills 71
1890 Around 11 million acres, ceded to US by Sioux Indians opens for settlement
1897 New York Times begins using slogan "All the News That's Fit to Print"
1899 -39ºF (-39ºC), Milligan OH (state lowest temperature record)
1899 US-Spain peace treaty signed by President McKinley; US gets Puerto Rico & Guam
1904 Japan & Russia declares war after Japan's surprise attack on Russian fleet at Port Arthur disabled 7 Russian warships
1906 Britain's 1st modern & largest battleship "HMS Dreadnought" launched
1908 Tommy Burns KOs Jack Palmer in 4 for heavyweight boxing title
1916 Conscription begins in Britain
1923 Ink paste manufactured for 1st time by Standard Ink Company
1925 AL decides to alternate leagues for game 1 of World Series each year
1931 New Delhi becomes capital of India
1933 -54ºF (-48ºC), Seneca OR (state record)
1933 Delivery of 1st singing telegram (Postal Telegram Company NYC)
1933 Hitler proclaims end of Marxism
1934 Byrd souvenir sheet issued, NYC; 1st unperforated ungummed US stamp
1934 1st Jewish immigrant ship to break the English blockade in Palestine
1940 "In The Mood" by Glenn Miller hits #1
1940 Tom & Jerry created by Hanna & Barbera debut by MGM
1943 8th Army sweeps through North Africa to Tunisia
1943 Van der Veen Resistance starts fire in Amsterdam employment bureau
1944 U-666/U-545/U-283 sink off Ireland
1945 "Rum & Coca Cola" by Andrews Sisters hits #1
1949 Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman" opens at Morosco Theater, NYC
1951 Shah of Persia marries 19 year old Soraja Esfandiara Bakhtiari
1954 Eisenhower warns against US intervention in Vietnam
1956 "My Friend Flicka" premieres on CBS (later NBC) TV
1956 Elvis Presley records "Heartbreak Hotel" for RCA
1957 Southern Christian Leadership Conference forms
1961 AFL's Los Angeles Chargers move to San Diego
1961 Niagara Falls hydroelectric project begins producing power
1962 USSR swaps spy Francis Gary Power to US for Rudolph Abel
1964 Destroyer Voyager sinks off Australia after colliding with aircraft carrier Melbourne
1970 Dry powder avalanche moving at 120 mph smashes into youth hostel killing 40 Belgian, French, & German youths (Val d'Isere, France)
1971 Royal Albert Hall bans scheduled concert featuring Frank Zappa
1974 Iran/Iraqi border fight breaks out
1977 Yehonathan Netanyou Lane in the Bronx named in honor of Bronx-born Israeli soldier who died freeing hostages in Entebbe Raid (1976)
1982 28 skiers perform backflips while holding hands, Bromont Québec
1985 -61ºF (-52ºC), Maybell CO (state record)
1988 3-judge panel of 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco strikes down Army's ban on homosexuals (later overturned by appeal)
1989 To gain deregulation WWF admits pro wrestling is an exhibition & not a sport, in a New Jersey court
1989 Ron Brown chosen 1st black chairman of a major US party (Democrats)
1990 Buster Douglas KOs Mike Tyson in 10 to become heavyweight boxing champion
1990 6th Largest wrestling crowd (63,900-Tokyo Dome)
1992 Bonnie Blair wins 1992 Olympics 1st gold medal for the USA
1992 Mike Tyson convicted of raping Desiree Washington in Indiana
1996 IBM's Deep Blue defeats chess champion Gary Kasparov
1997 Comet Shoemaker-Holt 2 Closest Approach to Earth (1.9245 AU)
1997 Lemrick Nelson found guilty in the fatal stabbing on Hasidic Jew Yankel Rosenbaum in Crown Heights Brooklyn in 1991
1997 O J Simpson jury reaches decision on $25 million in punitive damages
1998 AOL raises monthly flat rate Internet access from $19.95 to $21.95
1998 Monica Lewinsky's mother began two days of testimony before a grand jury investigating allegations that President Clinton had an affair with the former White House intern.

Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"

US : Tinhorn Politician Day
US : Celebration of Love Week (Day 3)
US : Child Car Safety Week (Day 3)
Return Shopping Carts to the Supermarket Month

Religious Observances
Malta : St Paul's Shipwreck
Methodist : Race Relations Sunday (2nd Sunday in February)
Roman Catholic : Memorial of St Scholastica, virgin

Religious History
1495 King's College was founded under Roman Catholic sponsorship in Aberdeen, Scotland. In 1860 it merged with the Protestant Marischal College (established in 1593) to become the University of Aberdeen.
1546 German reformer Martin Luther wrote in a letter to his wife Kate: 'Pray, and let God worry.'
1899 The Church of England first authorized use of the 1885 English Revised (RV or ERV) Version of the Bible in Anglican liturgy and worship.
1947 U.S. Senate Chaplain Peter Marshall prayed: 'Save Thy servants from the tyranny of the nonessential. Give them the courage to say "No" to everything that makes it more difficult to say "Yes" to Thee.'
1929 In London, renowned Baptist clergyman and devotional author F. B. Meyer, 81, preached his last sermon. He soon entered a nursing home where his health failed rapidly, and he died March 28.

Source: William D. Blake. ALMANAC OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1987.

Thought for the day :
"Now and then an innocent man is sent to the legislature."

Question of the day...
What do sheep count when they can't get to sleep?

Murphys Law of the day...(Harrison's Postulate)
For every action, there is an equal and opposite criticism

Astounding Fact #67...
1831 Edward Smith 1st indicted bank robber in the US. He was sentenced to five years hard labor.

Morning Archy. In January, 1945, Audie led his men against the German stronghold at Holtzwihr. For three days they attacked the fortress with no success. Soon, Audie was the only officer left alive. He took command of the company and organized the next assault. As they waited in the snow for the order to attack, 6 German tanks and 250 Infantrymen approached from Holtzwihr. Being greatly outnumbered, Audie ordered his men to pull back. Audie called in artillery on the approaching enemy but did not stop them.

Audie decided to take action. Near his position was a burning tank destroyer. Audie climbed on top, and turned the machine gun on the approaching Germans. As Audie fired from the burning tank, the artillery began to land in earnest and the German advance faltered. For almost an hour, Audie continued to lay down fire on the Germans. When he ran out of ammunition, he dropped into the snow and discovered he had been wounded, his third, in the leg. Enemy soldiers lay dead just 10 yards from the tank destroyer. For this daring feat, Audie was recommended for and received the Medal of Honor. His citation reads:

Rank and organization: Second Lieutenant, U.S. Army, Company B 1 5th Infantry, 3d Infantry Division.
Place and date: Near Holtzwihr France, 26 January 1945.
Entered service at: Dallas, Tex. Birth: Hunt County, near Kingston, Tex. G.O. No.. 65, 9 August 1945.
Citation

2d Lt. Murphy commanded Company B, which was attacked by 6 tanks and waves of infantry. 2d Lt. Murphy ordered his men to withdraw to prepared positions in a woods, while he remained forward at his command post and continued to give fire directions to the artillery by telephone. Behind him, to his right, 1 of our tank destroyers received a direct hit and began to burn. Its crew withdrew to the woods.

2d Lt. Murphy continued to direct artillery fire which killed large numbers of the advancing enemy infantry. With the enemy tanks abreast of his position, 2d Lt. Murphy climbed on the burning tank destroyer, which was in danger of blowing up at any moment, and employed its .50 caliber machine gun against the enemy. He was alone and exposed to German fire from 3 sides, but his deadly fire killed dozens of Germans and caused their infantry attack to waver. The enemy tanks, losing infantry support, began to fall back.

For an hour the Germans tried every available weapon to eliminate 2d Lt. Murphy, but he continued to hold his position and wiped out a squad which was trying to creep up unnoticed on his right flank. Germans reached as close as 10 yards, only to be mowed down by his fire. He received a leg wound, but ignored it and continued the single-handed fight until his ammunition was exhausted. He then made his way to his company, refused medical attention, and organized the company in a counterattack which forced the Germans to withdraw. His directing of artillery fire wiped out many of the enemy; he killed or wounded about 50.

2d Lt. Murphy's indomitable courage and his refusal to give an inch of ground saved his company from possible encirclement and destruction, and enabled it to hold the woods which had been the enemy's objective.

Air Power
Hawker Hurricane

The Hurricane was the first monoplane fighter produced by Hawker, and was available in substantial numbers at the beginning of World War II. Hurricanes played a decisive role in the Battle of Britain and went on to fly on more fronts than any other British fighter. Canadian Car and Foundry manufactured 1 451 Hurricanes between 1938 and 1943. With increasingly heavy armament, Hurricanes served to the end of the war. Hurricanes were used in Canada for training and coastal patrols.

Hurricanes equipped 26 RAF squadrons at the beginning of the Battle of Britain and shot down more enemy aircraft than all other defences combined. The RCAF received its first Hurricanes in August 1939, including those flown by Number 1 Squadron RCAF in the Battle of Britain. Later in the war, Sea Hurricanes were launched by catapult from ships at sea to defend convoys against air attack. A "tank buster" version with 40mm cannon was used in North Africa.

The Hurricane was designed to Air Ministry Specification F.36/34, the prototype making it's first flight on November 6th, 1935. Put into production in 1936, the first production Hurricane I flew in October, 1937.

Although it was no longer in production when the war ended the Hurricane was still in service as a first-line aircraft. It served on seventeen battle fronts - in the British Isles, France, Norway, North Africa, Sicily, Italy, The Middle East, The Far East, Russia, in the Battles of the Atlantic, the Mediterranean, and the Northern Convoys, to mention the most important - as a fighter, fighter-bomber, an R.P. fighter, a "tank buster", a catapault fighter, and a carrier fighter. In 1944-45, equipped with rocket projectiles (R.P.), the Hurricane was used with great effect against enemy shipping in the Adriatic, and as a fighter-bomber it served with distinction in Burma.

Well over 14,000 Hurricanes were built, the last one being delivered from the Hawker factory in September, 1944.

Hurricane Mk I
Rolls-Royce Merlin II or Merlin III engine. Armament consisted of eight .303-in Browning machine guns, four in each wing. Originally had fabric covered wings, two blade wood fixed-pitch airscrew and was without armour or self-sealing tanks. In 1939 the Mk. I was fitted with either the D.H. or Rotol constant-speed airscrew, ejector exhaust stacks, metal covered wings, armour, etc. In the Battle Of Britian the Hurricane Mk. I accounted for more enemy aircraft than any other type of aircraft and altogether in the first year of the war Hurricane squadrons accounted for more than 1,500 confirmed victories over the Luftwaffe, almost half the total of enemy aircraft destroyed by the RAF in that period. In 1940 the Mk. I was fitted with air cleaner and desert equipment for service in the Middle East.

Hurricane Mk. II
Rolls-Royce Merlin XX engine with two-speed supercharger. Except for slight alterations to the wings to cater for increased armament, a new engine mounting for the longer engine and strengthening of the fuselage and landing-gear to take care of the increased power and weight, no other structural changes were necessary.

Hurricane Mk. IV On 14 March 1943 a modified Mk II KX045 flew in the guise of the prototype IV. Powered by a Merlin 24 producing 1650hp the new version was externally very similar to the Mark II with the exception of the heavily armoured radiator bath, which now had an angular appearance. An additional 350lb of steel plate had been added to this version in response to increasingly accurate and lethal anti aircraft fire being experienced on all fronts. The Mk IV wing was designed from the outset to accept the 20mm cannon, 40mm anti tank guns, drop tanks, bombs and the 3-inch rocket projectile. The operational debut of the Mk IV took place on the 2 September 1943 when No 137 Sqn attacked lock gates in Holland. The escort was provided by Hawker Typhoons, which would gradually replace the Hurricane in the ground attack role. By mid 1944 the Hurricane Mk IV was withdrawn completely from the European theatre, but continued to give excellent service in the Far East where six squadrons were so equipped.

Specifications:
Manufacturer: Hawker
Primary Role: Fighter
Power plant: One Rolls-Royce (Packard) Merlin XX V-engine with 1,280 HP
First flight Prototype: 6.11.1936
Date deployed: October 1937
Number built: 12,870 (+ 1,451 in Canada)

Dimensions:
Wingspan: 40 ft 12.2 m
Length: 32 ft 3 in 9.8 m
Height: 13 ft 1 1/2 in 4 m
Weights: empty 4,982 lb 2,259 kg / max. 6,665 lb 3,023 kg

Performance:
Speed cruising: 206 mph / max. 348 mph
Initial: climb rate 2,707 ft/min
Ceiling: 34,000 ft
Range: 460 mi

Armaments:
Eight .303 machine guns (12 m.g. Hurricane IIb) or Four 40mm cannons;
up to 226 kg in bombs

All photos Copyright of British WWII Aircraft

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.