The FReeper Foxhole Remembers Task Unit Taffy 3 - (10/25/1944) - May 30th, 2003

http://www.foreigncorrespondent.com/archive/taffy-3.html ^ | 12 Nov 1998 | Eric Margolis

[SAMWolf]

Dear Lord,

There's a young man far from home,
called to serve his nation in time of war;
sent to defend our freedom
on some distant foreign shore.

We pray You keep him safe,
we pray You keep him strong,
we pray You send him safely home ...
for he's been away so long.

There's a young woman far from home,
serving her nation with pride.
Her step is strong, her step is sure,
there is courage in every stride.
We pray You keep her safe,
we pray You keep her strong,
we pray You send her safely home ...
for she's been away too long.

Bless those who await their safe return.
Bless those who mourn the lost.
Bless those who serve this country well,
no matter what the cost.

Author Unknown

.

FReepers from the The Foxhole
join in prayer for all those serving their country at this time.

.

.................................................................................................................................

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TAFFY-3:
A Study In Heroism

This week, as Canadians and Americans honor our war dead, remember the heros of `Taffy 3:'

Leyte Gulf. 25 Oct, 1944, 0644hrs. Japan's seemd about to win its last, desperate gamble to halt the American invasion of the Philippines. Two powerful Japanese fleets were to converege on the US landings at Samar.

Japan had no carrier aircraft left: its only hope was for its powerful battleships to close with the US invasion fleet. As a first step, Adm. Bull Halsey's fast carriers and battleships covering the Samar beachhead were decoyed north by a Japanese suicide force. This ruse left the approaches to Samar unguarded.

At dawn, Vice-Admiral Takeo Kurita's Center Force of four battleships - including the world's largest, mighty `Yamato,' with 18.1 inch guns - 6 heavy cruisers, 2 light cruisers, 11 destroyers, emerged off Samar.

Before Kurita lay the entire US invasion fleet, horrifying unprotected: small escort carriers, troop transports, tankers, supply ships. Sink them, and US invasion force would be cut off and destroyed.

All that stood between Kurita's capital ships and the beaches was a tiny American escort group: Task Group 77.43, better known as `Taffy 3:' 6 small escort, or `jeep' carriers(each with about 25 aircraft), 3 destroyers(DD), and 3 destroyer escorts(DE's). None had guns larger than 5-inch. Such small shells could not pierce the armor of Japanese battleships or heavy cruisers.

As the Japanese bore down on the American ships, the jeep carriers launched their aircraft. Lacking armor-piercing bombs, these planes could only harass the Japanese warships with high- explosive bombs, some torpedoes, and machine-gun fire.

Rear Admiral `Ziggy' Sprague issued an immortal order to the six destroyers: `small boys- intercept.'



The DD's and DE's made smoke to mask the carriers. Then, the escorts wheeled, and attacked the advancing Japanese fleet - six unarmored `tins cans' with popguns against the pride of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Not since Sir Richard Grenville took the HMS `Revenge' against the entire Spanish Armada had there been such a gloriously unequal battle at sea.

DD-553 `Hoel, Cmdr Leon Kinterberger commanding, led the attack, followed by `Hermann' and `Johnston'. The three escort destroyers - led by `Samuel Roberts,' each with only 2x5-inch guns, followed.

At 14,000 yards, the pagoda-masted Japanese battleship `Kongo,' opened fire on `Hoel' with its 14-inch main battery and secondary guns. The rest of the Japanese fleet raked the attacking destroyers, and pounded the fleeing jeep carriers.

At 9,000 yards, `Hoel,' her bridge shattered by `Kongo's' 14-inch shells, launched torpedoes. Like nearly all of America's defective torpedoes, they missed. But they forced `Kongo' to turn violently, throwing off her gunnery and sowing confusion in the Japanese formation. Heavy and medium shells riddled `Hoel,' wrecking her port engine, and three of four turrets. Many of the big 14-inch armor-piercing shells passed completely through the thin skins of the unarmored destroyers without exploding.



Undaunted, the shattered, burning `Hoel' attacked a column of enemy heavy cruisers, firing five more torpedoes and her 40mm AA guns. A mortally wounded gunner held his spilling intestines in one hand while he rammed shells into the `Hoel's' last gun with the other.

At 0855, after 40 more hits, `Hoel' sank, with 253 of her gallant crew, her battle flags still flying.

While `Hoel' lay dying, the other DD's and DE's launched torpedoes at the Japanese battleships and heavy cruisers, charging in close to pepper them at close ranger with 5-inch rounds. The American tins cans were shredded by a storm of Japanese shells ranging from 5-18.1 inch.

DD532 `Hermann' furiously attacked heavy cruisers `Haguro' and `Chikuma,' then battleship `Haruna,' then the monster, 71,000-ton `Yamato' with torpedoes, forcing the world's largest battleship to veer out of line. `Hermann's' gunfire, torpedoes, and air attacks from the jeep carriers finally sank cruiser `Chikuma.' Incredibly, `Hermann' survived to sail into Tokyo Bay for Japan's surrender in Sept, 1945.



DE `Johnston' attacked at point-blank range and was sunk. The other American ships were badly damaged. Enemy gunfire sank two of the jeep carriers. But the hopeless, unbelievably brave American attacks so confused and demoralized Adm. Kurita, he broke off the battle and withdrew, snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Attacks on Kurita's force by US submarines and aircraft in previous days had sunk the admiral's flagship and broken his spirit.

Hours before, Adm Jesse Oldendorf's old battleships, raised from the bottom of Pearl Harbor, crossed the enemy T at Surigao Strait, annihilating the second Japanese pincer, sinking two enemy battleships. History's greatest naval battle was won.

Without the naval Thermopylae at Samar fought by the `small boys', Leyte would have been a disaster. A few courageous sailors turned it into a triumph that should be taught in every American school for as long as the republic survives.

Eternal glory to heros of Taffy-3.

[SAMWolf]

The Escort Carriers

The Navy's escort carriers, called "Jeep carriers" or (by the press) "baby flat tops," never received the headlines or glory accorded their bigger sisters. Jeeps did the routine patrol work, scouting and escorting of convoys that their larger fleet-type counterparts couldn't do. Lightly armored, slower than the fleet carriers and with far less defensive armament and aircraft, they performed admirably when called upon.

Jeep carrier crews, who joked that "CVE" (the Navy's designation for this type of ship) really stood for "Combustible, Vulnerable and Expendable," became experts at hunting, finding and killing U-boats in both ocean theaters. Jeeps and their crews also provided fighter and close air support for amphibious landings, and served as aircraft transports as the tempo of the carrier war in the Pacific mounted to a crescendo.

The need for escort carriers came early in the war when German submarines and aircraft were taking a devastating toll on convoy shipping. The heaviest losses occurred far at sea where land-based aircraft couldn't operate. The Royal Navy had experimented with catapult-launched fighter planes from merchantmen; while this was somewhat successful in combating the U-boats, the number of planes that could be embarked was limited. Something else was needed, and in a hurry. Great Britain appealed to the United States for help.

No real specifications had been developed for escort carriers at this time, although the Navy had looked into converting merchant ships for this purpose before the war began. Thus, the quick solution was to build the early CVEs on merchant ship hulls.

The first CVE was USS Long Island (CVE 1), converted from a Maritime Commission freighter. Due to a shortage of merchant ship hulls, four escort carriers were built on Cimarron-class fleet oiler hulls. These four, USS Sangamon (CVE 26), USS Suwanee (CVE 27), USS Chenanago (CVE 28), and USS Santee (CVE 29), were so successful in anti-submarine work and in covering amphibious operations that, after participating in the landings in North Africa, they were deployed to the Pacific. There, the fleet was in desperate need of carriers.

These early ships paved the way for a tremendous building program of Jeeps in the United States. Between June 1941 and April 1945, 78 escort carriers would be built and launched — a remarkable feat of wartime naval construction.

In the Atlantic, escort carriers originally stayed close to the convoys they were protecting. Over time, tactics evolved that enabled the Jeep carriers and their destroyer escorts to become independent "hunter-killer" groups. They could attack concentrations of U-boats at will and were no longer required to provide constant umbrella coverage for a convoy. This tactic was further refined by having the escort carrier groups concentrate their efforts in areas where U-boats met their supply submarines ("milch cows").

This operational phase was so successful that three Jeeps — USS Core (CVE 13), USS Card (CVE 11) and USS Bogue (CVE 9) [left] — and their escorting destroyers sank a total of 16 U-boats and 8 milch cows in a period of 98 days. During this time, U-boats sank only one merchantman and shot down only three planes from the escort carriers. This loss of submarines, particularly the milch cows, was a severe blow to the German Navy. With diminished capability for refueling U-boats at sea, and with no friendly bases in the area, Admiral Karl Doenitz, commander of the German U-boat fleet, was forced to withdraw his remaining supply submarines and cancel all U-boat operations in the central Atlantic.

Testimony indeed to the hard work, skill and dedication of the Jeeps and the men who served in them.

In the Pacific, Jeeps performed less glamorous but no less important duties. Whether providing air cover for amphibious landings, ferrying planes, resupplying the big carriers or performing tactical air strikes in support of ground forces ashore, the little flat tops did whatever work had to be done. With all of their versatility, however, they were never designed to go toe-to-toe with heavy enemy surface units in a running sea battle. They never had to — until Oct. 25, 1944, off the island of Samar in the Philippines.

[SAMWolf]

Task Group 77.4 consisted of 16 CVEs organized into three task units: Taffy 1, Taffy 2 and Taffy 3, so named because of their voice radio call signs. These Jeeps were tasked with protecting the transports unloading in Leyte Gulf and supporting troops ashore by striking enemy fortifications and airfields.



The little escort carriers were preparing for another day when, early in the morning of Oct. 25, lookouts on board ships of Taffy 3 spotted Admiral Takeo Kurita's heavy surface force attempting to enter Leyte Gulf and attack the transports and beachhead. What Taffy 3 faced were four battleships and six heavy cruisers. Outgunned and outmanned, the Jeeps and their accompanying destroyers and destroyer escorts did the only thing they could in the face of such overwhelming odds and firepower — they attacked.

Taffy 3, which would bear the brunt of the fighting, began launching aircraft and making smoke. Taffy 2 and Taffy 1, further away, began launching their aircraft to come to the aid of Taffy 3. No heavy American surface units or carriers were in the area; the Jeeps were on their own.



Aircraft from the Jeeps attacked and harassed the enemy, bombing and strafing. Pilots then made "dry" runs on the cruisers and battleships when they ran out of ammunition, in the hope of distracting the enemy gunners from shooting at the little carriers. The gutsy little destroyers, completely overmatched, bore in and carried out torpedo attacks, and fired at the massive battlewagons and cruisers with their relatively puny 5-inch battery guns. The escort carriers themselves were saved from utter destruction because of excellent maneuvering by their captains, and because, when hit, their thin armor permitted the Japanese shells to pass completely through without exploding.

Bold tactics on the part of the carriers, their planes and destroyers convinced Kurita that he had encountered a much larger force of heavy American surface ships and carriers. He had no idea that relatively little stood between his ships and the transports now unloading in Leyte Gulf.

With little knowledge of the situation, and with his ships widely dispersed after fending off the destroyer attacks, Kurita ordered his ships to break off the action and retire from the area. The fight, however, was still not over.



Following Kurita's withdrawal, ships of Taffy 2 and Taffy 3 came under attack from kamikazes, or Japanese suicide pilots. The kamikazes inflicted far greater damage on the little carriers than did Kurita's gunfire, which only managed to account for one carrier, USS Gambier Bay (CVE 73). Hits were scored on Santee, Suwanee, USS Kitkun Bay (CVE 71) and USS St. Lo (CVE 63). Of these four, St. Lo (left) was hit hardest, and she sank as a result.

This Battle off Samar, which lasted a little over two hours, wrote a glorious chapter in the history of the Jeep carriers. By the time Kurita broke off his attack and the kamikazes had been repulsed, more than 1,100 U.S. sailors were dead or missing. Two escort carriers were lost along with four of the gallant little destroyers. With no support from heavy American surface units or carriers, the Jeeps of Taffy 1, 2 and 3, their air crews and destroyers bravely and successfully defended the landing beaches and transports at Leyte Gulf

Additional Sources:

www.chinfo.navy.mil
www.history.navy.mil
stlomidway6365.org
www.ussgambierbay-vc10.com

[SAMWolf]

PRESIDENTIAL UNIT CITATION

Awarded to Task Unit 77.4.3 (Taffy III)

THE SECRETARY OF THE NAVY

WASHINGTON
The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the PRESIDENTIAL UNIT CITATION to TASK UNIT SEVENTY-SEVEN POINT FOUR POINT THREE, consisting of the U.S.S. FANSHAW BAY and VC-88; U.S.S. GAMBIER BAY and VC-10; U.S.S. KALININ BAY and VC-3; U.S.S. KITKUN BAY and VC-5; U.S.S. SAINT LO and VC-65; U.S.S. WHITE PLAINS and VC-4; U.S.S. HOEL, U.S.S. JOHNSTON, U.S.S. HEERMANN, U.S.S. SAMUEL B. ROBERTS, U.S.S. RAYMOND, U.S.S. DENNIS and U.S.S. JOHN C. BUTLER

for service as set forth in the following CITATION

"For extraordinary heroism in action against powerful units of the Japanese Fleet during the Battle off Samar, Philippines, October 25, 1944. Silhouetted against the dawn as the Central Japanese Force steamed through San Bernardino Strait towards Leyte Gulf, Task Unit 77.4.3 was suddenly taken under attack by hostile cruisers on its port hand, destroyers on the starboard and battleships from the rear. Quickly laying down a heavy smoke screen, the gallant ships of the Task Unit waged battle fiercely against the superior speed and fire power of the advancing enemy, swiftly launching and rearming aircraft and violently zigzagging in protection of vessels stricken by hostile armor-piercing shells, anti-personnel projectiles and suicide bombers. With one carrier of the group sunk, others badly damaged and squadron aircraft courageously coordinating in the attacks by making dry runs over the enemy Fleet as the Japanese relentlessly closed in for the kill, two of the Unit's valiant destroyers and one destroyer escort charged the battleships point-blank and, expending their last torpedoes in desperate defense of the entire group, went down under the enemy's heavy shells as a climax to two and one half hours of sustained and furious combat. The courageous determination and the superb teamwork of the officers and men who fought the embarked planes and who manned the ships of Task Unit 77.4.3 were instrumental in effecting the retirement of a hostile force threatening our Leyte invasion operations and were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service."

For the President,
/signed/ JAMES FORRESTAL Secretary of the Navy

[SAMWolf]

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[SAMWolf]

[Soaring Feather]

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[snippy_about_it]

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On This Day In History


Birthdates which occurred on May 30:
1220 Alexander Nevski [Aleksandr] Russian great ruler (1252-63)
1524 Selîm II Sari the blonde, sultan of Turkey (1566-74)
1578 Valentin Dretzel composer
1623 Wallerand Vaillant painter/engraver, baptized
1672 Peter I "the Great" Romanov tsar of Russia (1682-1725)
1757 Henry Addington Viscount Sidmouth (C), British PM (1801-04)
1797 Johann Christian Lobe composer
1800 Karl W Feuerbach German mathematician (Position of Feuerbach)
1808 Joaquim Casimiro Jr composer
1812 John Alexander McClernand Major General (Union volunteers)
1829 Levin Goldschmidt German business law expert
1830 Edward Winslow Hinks Brevet Major General (Union volunteers)
1832 George Doherty Johnston Brigadier General (Confederate Army)
1835 Alfred Austin Leeds England, poet laureate of England (Garden)
1844 Louis Varney composer
1845 Amadeus I duke of Aosta/king of Spain (1870-73)
1846 Peter Carl Fabergé Russia, goldsmith/jeweler/egg maker
1847 Alice Sophia Stopford Green Ireland, proponent of Irish independence
1853 Andries André Dutch actor/husband of Geertruida Meeuwissen
1853 Karl Fritjof Valentin composer
1859 Pierre Marie Felix Janet France, psychologist/neurologist
1867 Arthur Vining Davis Sharon MA, CEO (Alcoa-1910-57)
1879 Colin Blythe cricketer (outstanding English slow lefty pre-WWI)
1881 George von Küchler German fieldmarshal (Invasion Netherlands)
1883 Riccardo Zandonai composer
1887 Alexander Archipenko Ukraine sculptor/lithographer
1887 Gino Tagliapietra composer
1888 James A Farley postmaster general (1933-38)
1891 Iman J van den Bosch Belgian resistance fighter
1894 Hubertus J van Mook Dutch minister of Colonies (1942-45)
1895 Maurice Tate cricketer (great England pace bowler of 20's)
1896 Howard Hawks Goshen IN, director/producer (Rio Bravo, Scarface)
19-- John Terlesky actor (Dakota-Guns of Paradise)
19-- Michel Langevin Canada, rock drummer (Voivod-Angel Rat)
19-- Scott Holmes actor (Tom-As the World Turns)
19-- Steve West rocker (Danger Danger-Screw It)
1901 Cornelia Otis Skinner Chicago IL, writer (When Our Hearts Were Young & Gay)
1902 Seton Howard Frederick Lloyd archaeologist
1902 Stepin Fetchit [Lincoln Theodore Monroe Andrew Perry] Key West FL, actor (In Old Kentucky, Miracle in Harlem)
1903 Countee Cullen Baltimore MD, poet (Black Christ & Other Poems)
1903 Ray Howard-Jones artist
1904 Ernesto de la Guardia Jr President of Panamá (1956-60)
1908 Hannes OG Alfvén Swedish physicist (Nobel 1970)
1908 Mel[vin Jerome] Blanc San Francisco CA, voice (Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd & Porky Pig)
1909 Benny Goodman Chicago IL, clarinetist/bandleader (King of Swing)
1909 George Headley cricketer (in Panamá All-time great West Indies batsman)
1911 Douglas Fowley New York NY, actor (Grandpa-Pistols 'n' Petticoats)
1912 Alexander Langsdorf physicist
1912 Hugh Griffith Anglesey Wales, actor (Ben Hur, Mutiny on the Bounty, Oliver!)
1912 Joseph Stein dramatist/playwright (Fiddler on the Roof)
1912 Julian Gustave Symons writer
1913 Cedric Thorpe Davie composer
1914 Bobby Sherwood Indianapolis IN, orchestra leader (Milton Berle Show)
1915 Jerome Bert Weisner military scientist/disarmer
1916 Dr Joseph W Kennedy scientist (1 of 4 discoverers of plutonium)
1920 George London Montréal Canada, baritone (Dr Greenvil-La Traviata)
1920 John Heawood actor/singer/choreographer (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang)
1922 Harry Clement Stubbs US, sci-fi author (Needle, Iceworld)
1923 Jimmy Lydon Harrington Park NJ, actor (Richard-Love That Jill)
1924 Norbert Schemansky USA, middle heavyweight (Olympics-gold-1952)
1925 Claude Prey composer
1925 Eddy Bruma Suriname politician
1925 Gerard John Toorenaar political commissar in Amsterdam (1975-79)
1926 Christine Jorgensen pioneer transsexual
1926 Edouard Van Remoortel Brussels, conductor (1958-62 St Louis Symphony)
1926 James Whitman McLamore businessman
1927 Clint Walker Hartford IL, actor (Kodiak, Cheyenne, Dirty Dozen)
1927 Dick Noel Brooklyn NY, TV host (It's a Small Wonder)
1927 Evelyn Wesler Zemel US, author (American Glass Animals)
1928 Agnès Varda French photograph/director (Cléo de 5 à 7, Le bonheur)
1928 John Keith Wright English economist/assistant Secretary of State (1971-84)
1929 Michael Mellinger Bavaria, actor (Goldfinger)
1932 Pauline Oliveros Houston TX, composer (Sound Patterns)
1932 Seppo Antero Yrjonpoika Nummi composer
1934 Alexei A Leonov Siberia USSR, cosmonaut (Voskhod II, Soyuz 19)
1936 Galina Shostakovich daughter of Russian composer Dmitri
1936 Keir Dullea Cleveland OH, actor (2001, 2010, David & Lisa)
1936 Roy Harford cricketer (brother of Noel New Zealand wicketkeeper vs India 1968)
1936 Ruta Lee actress (Operation Eichmann, Marjorie Morningstar)
1937 Arthur C Jacobs poet
1938 Wilfried A de Pree Dutch MP (PvdA)/theologist
1939 Michael J Pollard Passaic NJ, actor (Bonnie & Clyde, Roxanne)
1940 David Ackroyd Orange NJ, actor (I Come in Peace, Memories of Me)
1942 Dan Miller (Representative-R-FL)
1942 Lenny Davidson London England, rock guitarist (Dave Clark 5-Glad All Over)
1943 Gale Sayers NFL running back (Chicago Bears)
1945 Meredith MacRae Houston TX, actress (Petticoat Junction, My 3 Sons)
1946 Candy Lightner political activist/founder (MADD)
1947 Jocelyne Bourassa LPGA golfer
1949 Bob Willis cricketer (superb England fast bowler 1971-84)
1951 Stephen Tobolowsky Dallas TX, actor (Single White Female, Thelma & Louise)
1952 Zoltan Kocsis composer
1953 Colm Meaney actor (Star Trek Deep Space 9)
1955 Nicky "Topper" Headon English drummer (Clash-Complete Control)
1957 Allison Roe Auckland New Zealand, marathoner (NYC-1981)
1957 Chris Van Jaarsveld guitarist (Sleeze Beez)
1957 Michael Clayton Melbourne Victoria Australia, Australasia golfer
1958 Marie Fredriksson Ostra-Ljuajak Sweden, singer (Roxette-Must Have Been Love)
1958 Michael E Lopez-Alegria Madrid Spain, US Navy Lieutenant Commander/astronaut (STS 73, sk 92)
1958 Ted McGinley Newport Beach CA, actor (Love Boat, Married With Children, Dynasty)
1960 Stephen "Tea Tower" Duffy rocker (Lilac Time-Paradise Song)
1961 Ella Arolovich Leningrad USSR, model
1961 Ralph Carter New York NY, actor (Michael Evans-Good Times)
1961 Trey Parker rapper/actor (Newsies, Hull High)
1962 Jan Gunnarsson Sweden, tennis star
1962 John Alt NFL tackle (Kansas City Chiefs)
1962 Tonya Pinkins Chicago IL, actress (Livia Frye-All My Children)
1963 Helen Patricia Sharman Great Britain, cosmonaut (Soyuz TM-12)
1963 Lynda Wiesmeier Washington DC, playmate (July 1982)
1964 Nhi Lan Le Vietnam, US fencer-foil (Olympics-96)
1964 Wynonna [Christina Judd] Ashland KY, singer (Judds-Why Not Me, Love Can Build A Bridge)
1965 Tammy Parks Rockville Centre NY, actress (Attack of 60' Centerfold)
1965 Tyronne Stowe NFL linebacker (Seattle Seahawks)
1966 Gary Martin cricket pace bowler (Zimbabwe ODI)
1967 Benoît Gauthier St Jerome Québec, canoeist (Olympics-96)
1967 Rechelle Hawkes Albany West Australia, field hockey midfielder (Olympics-96)
1968 Amy Fuller Westlake CA, rower (Olympics-92, 96)
1968 Jerry Springer White Plains NY, Canadian Tour golfer
1968 Tim Burgess English rock vocalist (Charlatans-Only One I Know)
1970 Audrey Wooding LPGA golfer
1970 Sam Rogers NFL linebacker (Buffalo Bills)
1971 Drahomir Kadlec Pribham Czechoslovakia, hockey defenseman (Team Czechoslovakia Republic)
1971 Jiri Slegr Jihlava Czechoslovakia, NHL defenseman (Edmonton Oilers, Olympics-gold-98)
1971 Kyle Vander Kuyp Australian 110 meter hurdler (Olympics-96)
1972 Allen Aldridge NFL linebacker (Denver Broncos-Superbowl 32)
1972 Anthony Cook NFL defensive end/defensive tackle (Tennessee Oilers)
1972 Jeff Jones NFL tackle (Detroit Lions)
1972 Manny Ramirez Santo Domingo Dominican Republic, outfielder (Cleveland Indians)
1972 Renita Farrell Townsville Queensland Australia, field hockey midfielder (Olympics-96)
1972 Terry Wilburn WLAF running back (Barcelona Dragons)
1973 Christine Pavone Miss USA-Connecticut (1997)
1973 Jennifer Darst Dallas TX, pairs skater (& Arthur Reid)
1973 Je'Rod Cherry safety (New Orleans Saints)
1973 Steve Charbonneau CFL defensive linebacker (Montréal Alouettes)
1974 David Wilkie Ellensburg, NHL defenseman (Montréal Canadiens)
1976 Omri Hairi Katz Los Angeles CA, actor (Marshall Teller-Eerie Indiana)
1978 Krassmira Todorava Miss Bulgaria Universe (1997)
1986 Ashley Slaney daughter of Olympians Mary Decker & Richard Slaney

---

Deaths which occurred on May 30:
0727 Hubertus bishop of Tongeren-Maastricht/saint, dies at about 72
1035 Boudouin IV count of Flanders (988-1035), dies
1252 Ferdinand III the holy King of Castilië/León, dies
1416 Jerome of Prague burned as a heretic by the Church
1431 Joan of Arc burned as a witch by the English at Rouen at 19
1434 Prokopius Bohemian leader of taboriets, dies in battle
1574 Charles IX King of France (1560-74), dies
1593 Christopher Marlowe British dramatist (Tamburlaine the Great), murdered
1640 André Duchesne French historian/genealogy, dies
1640 Peter Paul Rubens Flemish painter, dies at 62
1718 Arnold J van Keppel Earl of Albemarle/General, dies at about 48
1718 Bernard Nieuwentyt physician/theologist, dies at 63
1744 Alexander Pope English poet (Eloisa to Abelard), dies at 56
1746 Giovanni Antonio Pollarolo composer, dies at 69
1778 Voltaire [François-Marie Arouet] French writer (Candide), dies at 42
1791 Ildephons Haas composer, dies at 56
1797 Carl Ludwig Junker composer, dies at 48
1809 Johan B Scheffer portrait painter, dies at about 43
1833 Josef Slavik composer, dies at 27
1840 Dominique J de Eerens Governor-General of Dutch-Indies, dies at 59
1864 James Barbour Terrill US attorney/Confederate Brigadier-General, dies at 26
1865 William Clarke Quantrill criminal/Confederate bushwhacker, dies at 27
1870 Gustave Vogt composer, dies at 89
1906 William Yeates Hurlstone composer, dies at 30
1912 Wilbur Wright US aviation pioneer, dies
1918 Georgi V Plechanov Russian revolutionary theorist, dies
1919 Lord John Raleigh British physicist (Nobel 1904), dies
1922 David Mendes Chumaceiro Curaçaos poet (Adelfas), dies at 45
1923 Camille Chevillard composer, dies at 63
1923 Charles Fichardt cricketer (South Africa batsman in 2 Tests 1892-96), dies
1935 Lothar Windsperger composer, dies at 49
1938 Raden Sutomo Indonesian freedom fighter, dies at 49
1940 Y de Smit-Rog eldest Dutchman, dies at 104
1944 Jessie Ralph actress (Good Earth, San Francisco), dies at 79
1945 Irma Laplasse Flemish farmer/Nazi collaborator, executed
1947 Sidney Hugo Nicholson composer, dies at 72
1951 Hermann Broch writer, dies at 64
1953 George Barnes cinematographer, dies at 60
1954 Ahmad Amin Egyptian historian/author, dies at 67
1957 Toivo R Pekkanen Finnish writer (Black Ecstacy), dies
1959 Thomas Carl Whitmer composer, dies at 85
1960 Boris Pasternak Russian poet (Dr Zhivago), dies at 70
1961 Rafael L Trujillo Molina dictator Dominican Republic (1930-61), murdered at 69
1964 Leo Szilard Hungarians/US nuclear physicst, dies at 66
1966 Wäinö V Aaltonen Finnish sculptor, dies at 72
1967 Claude Rains actor (Invisible Man), dies at 77
1969 Gaston Brenta composer, dies at 66
1969 John Cipollini guitarist, dies of ephysema at 45
1971 Audie Murphy WWII hero/actor (Sierra), killed in plane crash at 46
1971 Marcel Dupré French composer, dies at 85
1971 Rodd Redwing actor (Buffalo Bill in Tomahawk Territory), dies at 66
1972 Margaret Ruthven Lang composer, dies at 104
1973 Hal Hastings orchestra leader (Chevrolet on Broadway), dies at 66
1975 Michel Simon actor (Panic, Plague, Two of Us), dies at 80
1975 Steve Prefontaine middle-long distance runner, dies in one-car accident at 24
1977 Claire Goll writer, dies at 86
1977 Paul Desmond US jazz saxophonist, dies at 52
1979 Jack Raine actor (Quartet), dies at 82
1980 Carl Radle bassist (Derek & Dominoes), dies of a kidney ailment
1980 Timmy Caldwell rocker (Marshall Tucker Band), dies
1981 Ziaur Rahmen President of Bangladesh, is assassinated
1983 Alfred M Gruenther US General/NATO-commander (1953-56), dies at 84
1986 Hank Mobley US jazz saxophonist, dies at 55
1987 Frank Carlson (Governor/Representative/Senator-R-KS), dies at 94
1987 Turk Murphy jazz trombonist, dies at 71
1988 Ella Raines actress (Uncle Harry, Runaround, Impact), dies at 66
1989 Zinka Milanov Metropolitan Opera Diva, dies of a stroke at 83
1991 Manolo Gomez Bur Spanish comedian dies at 74
1992 Daniel Addes actor (Victor-Sunst Grill), dies at 59
1992 Karl Carstens President German Federal Republic (1979-84), dies at 77
1992 Leen 't Hart organist/composer, dies at 72
1993 Herman S Blount Sun Ra, US jazz pianist (Solar Arkestra), dies at 79
1993 Sun Ra blues pianist/orchestra leader, dies of strokes at 79
1994 Baron Marcel Bich inventor (Bic Pen), dies at 79
1994 Ezra Taft Benson 13th head of Mormon Church, dies at 94
1994 Jean Gattegno translator/scholar, dies at 58
1994 Juan Carlos Onetti Uruguayan writer (La vida breve), dies at 85
1994 Marcel Bich Italian/French baron/pen manufacturer (Bic), dies at 79
1995 Bobby Stokes soccer star, dies at 44
1995 Philip Owen A Sherrard scholar theologian poet/translator, dies at 72
1995 Ted Drake soccer star, dies at 82
1995 Thomas Dorrington Tomlinson British national park warden, dies at 87
1996 Bob Stroup trombonist, dies at 57
1996 John Cameron judge, dies at 96
1996 John Kahn bassist, dies at 47
1996 Leon-Etienne Duval archbishop/cardinal, dies at 92

---

Reported: MISSING in ACTION

1962 GERBER DANIEL A.
{TAKEN FROM LEPROSARIUM}
1962 MITCHELL ARCHIE E. ELLENSBURG WA.
{TAKEN FROM LEPROSARIUM}
1962 VIETTI ELANOR A. HOUSTON TX.
{TAKEN FROM LEPROSARIUM}
1966 HATCHER DAVID B. MT. AIRY NC.
{02/12/73 RELEASED BY DRV, ALIVE AND WELL 98}
1967 MEHL JAMES P. BELLE HARBOR NY.
{03/04/73 RELEASED BY DRV, ALIVE IN 98}
1968 IODICE FRANK C.
{06/01/68 ESCAPED}
1968 POTTER ALBERT J.
{06/01/68 ESCAPED, DECEASED}
1968 SMITH LEWIS P. II BELLEFONTE PA.
1970 DUKE CHARLES R.
1970 ISHI TOMOHARA JAPAN
{NOT ON OFFICIAL DIA LIST.}
1970 MARK KIT T.


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

---

On this day...
1035 Boudouin V van Rijsel becomes earl of Flanders
1087 German emperor Henry IV crowns his son Koenraad
1100 Burchard becomes bishop of Utrecht
1381 English boer uprising begins in Essex
1434 Battle at Lipany
1498 Columbus departs with 6 ships for 3rd trip to America
1522 French troops driven out of Genoa
1527 University of Marburg (Germany) founded
1536 English king Henry VIII marries Jane Seymour
1539 Spanish explorer Fernando de Soto discovers Florida
1574 Henry III follows brother Charles IX as king of France
1574 Sea battle at Lillo Belgium (Adolf Van Haemstede vs Louis de Boisot)
1584 Earl Adolf van Nieuwenaar/Meurs becomes viceroy of Gelderland
1588 Spanish Aramada under Medina-Sidonia departs Lisbon to invade England
1631 France/Maximilian van Bavarian signs Accord of Fontainebleau
1635 Emperor Ferdinand II & Saksen sign Peace of Prague
1646 Spain & Netherlands signs temporary cease fire
1783 Benjamin Tower of Philadelphia publishes 1st daily newspaper in US
1793 Georges Couthon chosen member of French Committee the Salut Public
1808 Napoleon annexes Tuscany & gave it seats in French Senate
1814 1st Treaty of Paris, after Napoleon's 1st abdication
1821 James Boyd patents Rubber Fire Hose
1822 House slave betrays Denmark Vesey conspiracy (37 blacks hanged)
1832 Evariste Galois give his theory on free assembly (dies in duel May 31)
1842 John Francis attempts to assassinate Queen Victoria
1848 2nd battle at Gioto: Sardinia-Piemonte beats Austrians
1848 México ratifies treaty giving US; New Mexico, California & parts of Nevada, Utah, Arizona & Colorado in return for $15 million
1848 William G Young patents ice cream freezer
1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act repealed Missouri Compromise opens north slavery
1858 Hudson Bay Company's rights to Vancouver Island revoked
1862 Battle of Booneville MS - captured General Beauregard evacuates Corinth MS
1862 Battle of Front Royal VA
1864 Battle of Bethesda Church VA
1864 Cavalry fight at Old Church (Totopotomoy Creek) VA
1866 The opera "Die Verkaufte Braut" premieres (Prague)
1868 Memorial Day 1st observed when 2 women in Columbus MS placed flowers on both Confederate & Union graves
1872 Mahlon Loomis patents wireless telegraphy
1879 92º F highest temperature ever recorded in Cleveland OH in May
1879 Gilmore Garden (NYC) renamed Madison Square Garden
1883 Rumor that the Brooklyn Bridge is going to collapse caused a stampede that kills 12
1889 The brassiere is invented
1890 1st Dodger homerun (Dave Foutz)
1894 Bobby Lowe is 1st to hit 4 homeruns in 1 baseball game
1895 W G Grace scores his 1,000th Cricket run of the season after 22 days
1896 1st car accident occurs, Henry Wells hit a bicyclist (NYC)
1899 24th Preakness: R Clawson aboard Half Time wins in 1:47
1901 Hall of Fame for Great American on NYU campus dedicated
1903 28th Preakness: W Gannon aboard Flocarline wins in 1:44.8
1904 Frank Chance gets hit by pitch 5 times in a doubleheader
1906 40th Belmont Stakes: Lucien Lyne aboard Burgomaster wins in 2:20
1907 41st Belmont Stakes: G Mountain aboard Peter Pan wins
1908 1st federal workmen's compensation law approved
1908 42nd Belmont Stakes: Joe Notter aboard Colin wins
1908 Aldrich Vineland Currency Act forerunner to Federal Reserve System
1908 Paris advocate E Archdeacon is 1st passenger in a airplane
1908 US Assay Office in Salt Lake City UT authorized
1909 National Conference on the Negro is held
1909 Reuben Siegel laid cornerstone of 1st home in Tel-Aviv
1910 44th Belmont Stakes: James Butwell aboard Sweep wins in 2:22
1912 US Marines sent to Nicaragua
1913 1st Balkan War ends, Treaty of London
1913 John McGraw joins Fred Clarke, Cap Anson, Frank Selee, & Connie Mack as managers who have won 1,000 games
1913 New country of Albania is formed
1921 Lord Dunsany's "If" premieres in London
1921 Memorial to Captain Eddie Grant, killed in WWI, unveiled at Polo Grounds
1921 Salzburg Austria votes to join Germany
1922 Cubs swap Max Flack for Cardinals Cliff Heathcote during the middle of a doubleheader. Both play for both teams that day
1922 Latvia & Vatican sign accord
1922 Lincoln Memorial dedicated
1923 Howard Hanson's 1st Symphony "Nordic" premieres
1924 Socialist Matteotti falls in Italian parliament by fascists
1925 British mariners shoot on demonstrators
1925 Peter DePaolo became 1st man to average over 100 mph at Indianapolis 500
1925 Roger Hornsby replaces Branch Rickey as manager of Cardinals
1927 Walter Johnson records 113th & last shutout of his career
1930 Bill Arnold wins Indianapolis 500 car race (161.6 kph)
1931 Phillies Chuck Klein homers off Ben Cantwell (Braves) in both ends DH
1932 Yankees dedicate a plaque to Miller Huggins
1933 Patent on invisible glass installation
1935 Babe Ruth's final game, goes hitless for Braves against Phillies
1937 20th PGA Championship: Denny Shute at Pittsburgh FC Aspinwall PA
1937 61,756, 2nd-largest crowd in Polo Grounds history, sees Dodgers end Carl Hubbell's consecutive-game winning streak at 24 over 2 seasons
1937 Memorial Day Massacre - Chicago police shoot on union marchers at Republic Steel Plant in Chicago, 10 die
1938 Yankees sweep Red Sox 10-0 & 5-4 in front of 83,533 at Yankee Stadium
1941 1st anti semitic measures in Serbia
1941 English Army enters Baghdad, chasing pro-German coup government
1941 German capture Kreta
1942 1,047 bombers bomb Cologne in RAF's raid of WWII
1942 Reichsführer Himmler arrives in Prague
1942 Satchel Paige pitches 5 innings to defeat Dizzy Dean All-Stars 8-1
1942 US aircraft carrier Yorktown leaves Pearl Harbor
1943 French General De Gaulle arrives in Algiers
1943 US troops reconquer Attu Aleutians
1944 Transport nr 75 departs with French Jews to Nazi-Germany
1946 Braves Bernard Malamud homerun shatters Bulova clock in Ebbets Field
1946 United flight 521 crashes on takeoff at LaGuardia Airport (New York) 42 die
1948 Schenectady Blue Jays Tom Lasorda strikes out 25 in 15-inning game
1949 East Germans constitution approved
1949 NPS/VHP win 1st general election in Suriname
1949 WRTV TV channel 6 in Indianapolis IN (ABC) begins broadcasting
1950 Patty Berg wins LPGA Eastern Golf Open
1951 Ezzard Charles beats Joey Maxim in 15 for heavyweight boxing title
1952 Charlie Grimm succeeds Tommy Holmes as manager of Boston Braves
1952 Darius Milhaud's "West Point Suite" premieres
1953 1st major league network baseball game-Cleveland 7, Chicago 2
1953 23rd French Men's Tennis: Ken Rosewall beats Vic Seixas (6-3 6-4 1-6 6-2)
1953 23rd French Women's Tennis: Maureen Connolly beats Doris Hart (6-2 6-4)
1954 Dutch bishops forbid membership to non-catholic sporting clubs
1954 Emile Zatopek runs world record 5K (13:57.2)
1954 Hector Villa-Lobos' "Odisseia de Uma Raca" premieres
1955 KMVT TV channel 11 in Twin Falls ID (CBS/NBC/ABC) begins broadcasting
1955 Said el-Mufti forms Jordan Government
1955 Tunisia begins domestic self governing
1956 Bus boycott begins in Tallahassee FL
1956 Mickey Mantle misses by 18" hitting 1st homerun out of Yankee Stadium
1956 US performs nuclear test at Enwetak (atmospheric tests)
1957 Real Madrid wins 2nd Europe Cup 1 in Madrid
1957 Test Cricket debut for Rohan Kanhai vs England at Edgbaston
1958 Unidentified soldiers killed in WWII & Korean War buried in Arlington
1958 US performs nuclear test at Enwetak (atmospheric tests)
1959 "First Impressions" closes at Alvin Theater NYC after 84 performances
1959 "Nervous Set" closes at Henry Miller's Theater NYC after 23 performances
1959 Iraq terminates military assistance pact with US due to neutrality
1959 President Somoza ends emergency crisis in Nicaragua
1959 President Stroessner disbands Paraguay's parliament
1959 World's 1st hovercraft (SR-N1) tested at Cowes England
1961 Dutch DC-8 crashes after takeoff at Lisbon, 62 die
1961 Roger Maris hits his 10th & 11th of 61 homeruns
1962 69 killed in bus crash (Ahmedabad India)
1962 Benjamin Britten's "War Requiem" premieres
1964 "Beyond the Fringe" closes at John Golden Theater NYC after 673 performances
1964 Beatles' "Love Me Do" single goes #1
1964 Beatles 1961 record of "Cry for a Shadow" is #1 in Australia
1964 Giants sweep Mets 5-3 & 8-6 in 23 innings, records include elapsed time of 9:50, 47 strikeouts, 7:22 for 2nd game & New York's 22 K's in 2nd games
1965 France performs nuclear test at Ecker Algeria (Underground)
1965 Marlene Hagge wins LPGA Babe Didrikson-Zaharias Golf Open
1965 Viet Cong offensive against US base Da Nang, begins
1965 Vivian Malone, is 1st black to graduate from University of Alabama
1966 300 US airplanes bomb North Vietnam
1966 Graham Hill wins Indianapolis 500 car race (232.2 kph)
1966 US launches Surveyor 1 to the Moon
1967 Biafra declares independence from Nigeria
1967 King Hussein of Jordan visits Cairo
1967 Robert "Evel" Knievel's motorcycle jumps 16 automobiles
1967 Yankee Whitey Ford, nearing 41, announces his retirement from baseball
1968 Beatles begin work on their only double album "The Beatles"
1968 President De Gaulle disbands French parliament
1968 University church in Leipzig German Democratic Republic, blown up
1968 West German Parliament accepts emergency crisis law
1969 Derek Clayton runs world record marathon (2:08:33.6) at Antwerp
1969 Gibraltar adopts constitution
1969 People revolt in Willemstad, Curaçao
1970 "Minnie's Boys" closes at Imperial Theater NYC after 80 performances
1970 Baseball All-Star voting is returned to fans
1971 36 hospitalized during Grateful Dead concert; after drinking LSD apple juice
1971 Train crash at Duivendrecht Netherlands, 5 die
1971 US Mariner 9 1st satellite to orbit Mars launched
1971 Willie Mays hits his 638th homerun, sets National League record of 1,950 runs scored
1972 3 Japanese PFL terrorists kill 24, wound 72 at Tel Aviv's Lod International Airport
1973 Ajax wins 3rd Europe Cup
1974 10th Mayor's Trophy Game, Yankees beat Mets 9-4
1975 European Space Agency (ESA) forms
1975 Wings release "Venus & Mars" album
1976 22nd LPGA Championship won by Betty Burfeindt
1976 Bobby Unser sets world record for the fastest pit stop (4 seconds)
1977 Cleveland Indian Dennis Eckersley no-hits California Angels, 2-0
1979 Nottingham Forrest wins 24th Europe Cup 1 at Munich
1979 Pat Underwood makes his pitching debut for Detroit beats brother Tom
1979 Percom Data Company Inc release Microdos for Radio Shack's TRS-80
1979 Ted Coombs begins a 5,193 mile roller skate from Los Angeles to NYC
1980 1st papal visit to France since 1814
1980 Tiger relief pitcher John Hiller, 37, (who had a 1971 heart attack), retires
1980 Turner's painting "Juliet & Her Nurse" sells for $6.4 million
1980 Twins Ken Landreaux ends his hitting streak after 31 games
1981 "Nightline" extends from 4 nights to 5 nights a week (Friday)
1981 Bangladesh President Ziaur Rahman is shot by group of rebel officers
1981 Los Angeles Dodgers are quickest to get 1,000,000 attendence (22 games)
1982 "Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?" closes at Alvin NYC after 5 performances
1982 Closest Indianapolis 500, Gordon Johncock beats Rick Mears by 0.16 seconds
1982 Sandra Spuzich wins LPGA Corning Golf Classic
1982 Spain becomes 16th member of NATO
1983 American League president Lee MacPhail suspends Yankees owner George Steinbrenner for one week, for his public criticism of umpires
1983 Surrey all out for 14 vs Essex, their lowest score ever
1984 Bomb explodes in rebel leader Eden Pastora headquarters in Nicaragua
1984 Liverpool wins 29th Europe Cup 1 in Rome
1984 National League suspends Mario Soto 5 days for Reds-Cubs fight on May 27th
1985 Stanley Cup: Edmonton Oilers beat Philadelphia Flyers, 4 games to 1
1986 Ariane-2 (ESA) launched
1986 Bobby Rahal is 1st to average over 170 mph in the Indianapolis 500
1986 France performs nuclear test
1987 Mike Tyson TKOs Pinklon Thomas in 6 for World Boxing Council heavyweight boxing title
1987 North American Philips Company unveils compact disc video
1987 Tony Tucker TKOs Buster Douglas in 10 for International Boxing Federation heavyweight boxing title
1987 West German Mathias Rust lands airplane on Red Square
1989 Margaret Ray pleads guilty to breaking into David Letterman's house
1990 Dow Jones average hits a record 2,878.56
1990 Earthquake (6.4) hits Peru, killing 135
1991 64th National Spelling Bee: Joanne Lagatta wins spelling antipyretic
1991 Arturo Barrios runs world record one-hour distance (21,096 km)
1991 Supreme Court rules prosecutors can be sued for legal advice they give police & can be held accountable
1992 New York Lotto pays $30 million to one winner (#s are 12-15-30-33-40-48)
1992 New York Yankee pitcher Scott Sanderson becomes 9th to beat all 26 teams
1992 Paul Simon weds Edie Brickell
1992 UN votes for sanctions against Serb-led Yugoslavia to halt fighting
1993 Betsy King wins J C Penney/LPGA Skins Game Golf Tournament
1993 Kelly Robbins wins LPGA Corning Golf Classic
1996 69th National Spelling Bee: Wendy Guey wins spelling vivisepulture
1996 Albert Belle uses a forearm to break up a double play & nearly breaks Brewer 2nd baseman Fernando Vina's nose, Belle gets 2 game suspension
1996 John Tesh's final day as host of "Entertainment Tonight"
1997 Betty Shabazz, widow of Malcolm X, set afire by 12 year old grandson
1997 Ken Dryden becomes president of NHL's Toronto Maple Leafs

---

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

Channel Is, England, N Ireland, Wales : Spring Holiday
Guam, Puerto Rico, US, US Virgin Islands : Memorial Day
Lincoln City IN : Nancy Hanks Lincoln Memorial Day
US : The REAL Memorial Day (Decoration Day) (1868)
US : Memorial Day/Decoration Day, a legal holiday (1868) - - - - - ( Monday )
Virginia : Confederate Memorial Day (1868) - - - - - ( Monday )

---

Religious Observances
Roman Catholic : Commemoration of St Felix I, pope [268-73], martyr
Roman Catholic : Commemoration of St Ferdinand III, Spanish king/patron of engineers
Roman Catholic : Commemoration of St Jeanne d'Arc, Maid of Orleans, patroness of France

---

Religious History
339 Death of Eusebius, 74, Father of early church history. He attended the Council of Nicea in A.D. 325, and his "Historia Ecclesiastica" contains an abundance of detail on the first three centuries of the Early Church found nowhere else in ancient literature.
1431 French heroine Joan of Arc, 19, a prisoner of the English, was burned at the stake for heresy. (She was later canonized in 1920 by Benedict XV.)
1819 Anglican bishop Reginald Heber, 36, penned the words to the missionary hymn, "From Greenland's Icy Mountains."
1934 The two-day Barmen Synod ended in Germany. The resulting Barmen Declaration affirmed that the German Confessing Church recognized Jesus Christ to be the only authoritative voice of God, in clear contrast to all other (i.e., Nazi) powers representing divine revelation.
1968 Death of Martin Noth, 66, German Old Testament scholar. Noth was the first authority to note that 1&2 Samuel and 1&2 Kings contain virtually no mention of the classic prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos and Hosea.

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

---

Thought for the day :
"For every action there is an equal and opposite government program."

[Soaring Feather]

Hey snip, look what I found!!
Is she cool or what?

[E.G.C.]

Bump for the Foxhole.

Freepers, if you have not downloaded the news update to Windows Update 811493 and your computer is XP SP1-based, PLEASE do so!!!!!

I did yesterday morning and now my computer is running a little bit faster than it did when I downloaded the original 811493 last month.
Regards

[snippy_about_it]

But the hopeless, unbelievably brave American attacks so confused and demoralized Adm. Kurita, he broke off the battle and withdrew, snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.... History's greatest naval battle was won.

...A few courageous sailors turned it into a triumph that should be taught in every American school for as long as the republic survives.

Eternal glory to heros of Taffy-3.

What a testament to heroism, makes you proud. Good story today. Thanks for bringing it to our attention.

[snippy_about_it]

Yes. Good morning bentfeather.

[snippy_about_it]

Thanks E.G.C.

[SAMWolf]

Good morning Feather.

[SAMWolf]

Good morning Snippy.

<===Mash This

[SAMWolf]

1868 Memorial Day 1st observed when 2 women in Columbus MS placed flowers on both Confederate & Union graves

The real Memorial Day, not the Congress mandated three day Federal Holiday for convenience.

[SAMWolf]

I'm still running Windows 98. I have a doorstop for a computer.

[SAMWolf]

Painting of devastating explosion aboard the USS St Lo
Painting by Richard Moore

[SAMWolf]

St. Lo hit and burning

[Johnny Gage]

Air Power
Grumman F4F (FM-2) Wildcat

In 1936 the US Navy evaluated a number of designs which were competing to be the Navy's new carrier-based fighter. Grumman built a design which, after several re-designations and airframe modifications, won the contract and eventually became the F4F Wildcat. The prototype, the XF4F-2, first flew on 2 September 1937. The prototype of an improved version, the XF4F-3, was renamed the F4F and was ordered by the Navy in August of 1939. The first five aircraft off the assembly line were sent to Canada, with the next 90 (designated "Martlet Mk I" going to the 804 Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm where, in December 1940, two Martlets made history by becoming the first American-made aircraft to down a German plane in WWII.

The first US Navy F4F-3 was flown on 20 August 1940, powered by a Pratt & Whitney R-1830 engine with 1,200 horsepower. The subsequent F4F-4, incorporating several improvements including folding wings, six guns and self-sealing fuel tanks, was delivered in November 1941. It was then that the name "Wildcat" was first given to the F4F. As war raged around the world, the Wildcat's reputation and utilization grew immensely. It flew with the US Navy and US Marines in all of the major Pacific battles, and in North Africa with the Navy.

In mid 1942, Grumman realized that it needed to concentrate on the production of its new F6F Hellcat fighter, and so it contracted with the General Motors Company to build the Wildcat under the designation FM-1. The first FM-1 flew on 31 August 1942, and over 1,150 of them were produced, hundreds of which went to the Fleet Air Arm as the "Martlet Mk V." General Motors next developed an improved version, called the FM-2 ("Wildcat Mk VI" in the Fleet Air Arm), which was powered by a Wright R-1820 engine with 1,350 horsepower. It featured a taller vertical tail than the FM-1. Over 4,700 FM-2s were built before the Wildcat was eclipsed by the more capable fighters which appeared later in the war.

Specifications:
Primary Function: Naval Fighter
Contractor: Grumman
Crew: One
Unit Cost: N/A
Powerplant: One 1,200 horsepower Pratt & Whitney R-1830-86 double-row radial engine
Dimensions:
Length: 28 ft 9 in (8.76 m)
Wingspan: 38 ft 0 in (11.58 m)
Height: 9 ft 2.5 in (2.81 m)
Weights: - Empty: 5,758 lbs (2,612 kg) - Maximum Takeoff: 7,952 lbs (3,607 kg)
Performance:
Speed: 320 mph (512 km/h) at 19,800 ft & weight of 7975 pounds
Ceiling: 39,400 ft (12,010 m)
Range: 770 miles (1,239 km)

Armaments:
Six .50 caliber Browning machine guns
Two 100-pound bombs

All photos Copyright of Global Aircraft.Com