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Posted on 11/02/2004 10:54:39 PM PST by SAMWolf
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 are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
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| Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans.
Where the Freeper Foxhole introduces a different veteran each Wednesday. The "ordinary" Soldier, Sailor, Airman or Marine who participated in the events in our Country's history. We hope to present events as seen through their eyes. To give you a glimpse into the life of those who sacrificed for all of us - Our Veterans.
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and the SS Ohio Save Malta In mid-1942, the war was going badly for the Allies. During the first six months U-Boats sank 3,250,000 tons of shipping in the Atlantic (an average freighter was 7,000 tons). Rommel rolled through Northern Africa, threatening the Suez Canal, but stopped 35 miles short of Alexandria, Egypt, because of a shortage of supplies. The Nazi war machine reached Stalingrad, with plans to head through the Caucasus for the Middle East oil fields. The Allies had Gibraltar, Malta, and Egypt. The Axis controlled France, Italy, Yugoslavia, Greece, and most of northern Africa. A few countries were neutral (Turkey), or pro-Axis (Spain).  Malta's strategic airfield was key to holding the Mediterranean, but food and oil had to get through past German and Italian bombers. The 250,000 Maltese and 20,000 British defenders were dependent on imported food and oil. In September of 1941, 8 of 9 merchant ships arrived in Malta bringing 85,000 tons of supplies. A February 1942 convoy of 3 ships from Alexandria was unsuccessful -- no supplies reached Malta.  A March 1942 convoy of 3 merchant ships plus a Navy oiler, was accompanied by 4 cruisers and 16 destroyers, while another cruiser and its covering force sailed from Malta to meet them. This escort succeeded in keeping an Italian battleship carrying nine 15-inch guns, 3 cruisers and 10 destroyers away from the convoy, but the freighters faced Germans bombers near Malta. One ship was sunk just 20 miles from Malta. The oiler sank within 8 miles of Malta. The remaining two ships arrived to cheers by the Maltese, but were sunk in the harbor with only a fraction of their cargo unloaded. Great Britain had no tankers capable of 16 knots, so President Franklin Delano Roosevelt turned over the SS Kentucky and SS Ohio to Britain for use in supplying Malta.  SS Ohio in peacetime colors The tanker SS Ohio was launched on April 20, 1940 at Sun Shipbuilding Yard in Chester, Pennsylvania for Texas Oil Company (now Texaco). In anticipation of war and due to unofficial conversations between the American military and the oil company, the Ohio was the largest tanker built at that time. At 9,263 tons, 485 feet long, she and her sister ships, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Colorado, Montana, Georgia, Delaware, Indiana held 170,000 barrels of oil. With 9,000 shaft horsepower Westinghouse turbine engines, they were rated at 16 knots, but in sea trials Ohio made 19 knots.  HMS Indominatable and HMS Eagle in a photo taken from HMS Victorious during Operation Pedestal 10-15 Augaust 1942. A June 1942 convoy sent 6 ships including SS Kentucky, escorted part way by a battleship, 2 aircraft carriers and 4 cruisers east from Gibraltar, Simultaneously, 11 merchant ships escorted by 8 cruisers and 40 others headed west from Alexandria. The capital ships withdrew before the narrow channel between Sicily and Africa, leaving the anti-aircraft cruiser HMS Cairo and 13 escorts. The results: 6 merchant ships sunk, 3 damaged, 7 turned back to Alexandria, 2 supply ships arrived in Malta; British Navy - 5 cruisers damaged, 4 destroyers sunk and 1 damaged. No fuel oil got through.  Operation Pedestal in August 1942 was the final effort to supply Malta before she was forced to surrender.
August 10-11 night  OPERATION PEDESTAL - EMPIRE HOPE AND WAIMARAMA IN THE CENTRE OF THE PICTURE
 HMS Eagle sinks
 OPERATION PEDESTAL. UNDER ATTACK. 1942. August 12 
 A torpedo hits the Ohio August 13 
 August 14  The heavily damaged Brisbane Star arrives in La Valetta
 Two destroyers "sandwich" Ohio as she is towed in the Grand Harbour August 15  Ohio towed in the Grand Harbour.
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Dang, hitting the "a"s a little light. Must be time for bed!
BTTT!!!!!!!
Phil,
Sorry, but I am one of these forgive and forget guys, I think Bush should offer Kerry the Ambassadorship to Vietnam. After all he would be among friends and with his true "band of brothers".
David McCampbell was the LSO on the Wasp when the US loaned her to Britian to help ferry Spitfires to Malta. This was in the March and April of 1942. On one of the cruises one of the Spitfires devolped a fuel problem which would have kept the pilot from reaching Malta. McCampbell was so good at the LSO job the he was able to talk the Spitfire pilot into a landing on the Wasp. Notice this was a Spitfire and not a Seafire, no tail hook! The American pilots were so impressed with the Spitfire pilot's feat that they made him an honorary Naval Aviator.
Maybe there is a Foxhole thread here.
Regards
alfa6 ;>}
Fantastic prose and graphics! Thanks.
Morning Phil Dragoo.
Excellent commentary as usual. Now we have to be prepared to stop Hillary in 2008.
Are you reading my mind? I'm covering "Mush" Morton and Wahoo on Monday.
If we're gonna go through all that waork lets just change it to no terms for Democrats. ;-)
WOW! I don't blame them for making him an Honorary Naval Aviator. Carrier landing are tough enough with the properly equiped plane and training.
That is unless you are flying a Swordfish where you are hard pressed to keep up with the carrier so you can land on it.
You know that 25% of the guys who made a submarine combat patrol against the Japanese were killed in action? A lot more than that of the early guys.
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