Replies

"Flak !"

Many stories have been written about the gallant defenses and the huge losses that were sustained by the Eighth Air Force as a result of Luftwaffe attacks on our bomber formations. And, to be sure, they were especially devastating and very often resulted in major losses of bombers and crews. Aircrew gunners have written time and again of the exchanges between their 50 caliber guns and the 20 millimeter cannons of the enemy and how bomber crews had fought off enemy planes and persisted in spite of the attacks. The "Memphis Belle" and "Twelve O'clock High" films are testaments to the tenacity of aerial combat.

I'm sure, however, that when the records are finalized and one looks closely at the losses, it will be determined that more B-17's were lost to antiaircraft fire than to FW190's or ME109's. One could not shoot back at "Flak" so it tended to be less glorious -- but nonetheless deadly.

Feared even more than the German fighters was the deadly shrapnel of the flak cannon. Bomber crews felt every muscle of their bodies tighten as they entered a target's flak field (photo courtesy of ROBERT W. BROWNE).

Whenever there was heavy overcast we would encounter barrage type flak, that is, all antiaircraft guns were controlled by a central radar unit and all fired simultaneously causing hundreds of shell bursts in one general area and at one specific altitude. This was the kind of flak that was described as "heavy enough to walk on" -- and was the most deadly if it happened to be accurately placed.

On a clear day, when the antiaircraft gunners could see our formation, they were cleared to fire at any plane which they might pick out and adjust the direction and altitude of their shell bursts as they fired and as might be necessary. The quality of the German antiaircraft guns and the skill of their gunners made life miserable for those of us who had to fly straight and level through a sea of bursting flak and flying shrapnel. If "practice makes perfect", then the German gun crews were the best. Here is a typical German battery of four 88 milimeter antiaircraft guns and their crews firing in unison (barrage).

The following is about one of our many encounters with flak. It's about a German gun crew firing at a plane almost five miles above them. A gun crew whose accuracy and persistence almost brought to an end the tour of one crew of ten men in a B17.

This particular encounter occurred on Feb. 16th, 1945. It was our twenty-fourth mission and our target on this date was the synthetic oil facilities at Gelsenkirchen, Germany. The route of the 457th was on course and on schedule. The visibility in the target area was crystal clear with only light cloud cover at about 5000 feet. From the initial point to the targer the flak was extremely heavy and accurate, something we had come to expect on a clear day such as this. But this day, moreso than others, it seemed that each shell was bursting immediately adjacent to us and with each burst our plane shuttered a little as if fatally hit. Every plane in the squadron was taking a murderous beating from the flak. Midway on the bomb run the deputy lead plane in the low box sustained a direct hit in his starboard wing between the number three and four engine. Almost immediately the wing folded up and broke off, almost colliding with another plane. The two parts of the plane spiraled out of control with fire billowing from each part as it fell. No one in our crew saw any parachutes. The intercom was ominously quiet.

Weeks later we learned that six of the crewmen did not survive.

It was not unusual, after a visual bomb run with heavy flak, for the formation to break after dropping its bombs. Each plane would take it's own evasive action to try to avoid the flak and then later reassemble with the squadron after leaving the target area. We felt safe from Luftwaffe fighters at this time since any attack while we were in the target area would also expose them to their own friendly flak fire.

On this day, immediately after dropping our bombs, we broke formation to the right from the high box and immediately were tracked by a single antiaircraft gun. The flak bursts were directly in front of the nose of our plane -- one after the other in rapid succession about 3 seconds apart. It seemed they were no more than 50 feet in front of the nose of our plane. The black bursts were unusually large and we were instantly engulfed in the residual smoke from the burst. We dove sharply and the flak followed. We turned as tightly as a B17 can turn and the flak followed directly in front of us.

Then, suddenly we were hit.

The explosion was in the nose compartment of the plane where the navigator and bombardier were located. Even with our helmets and headphones on, the sound was deafening. A fierce, cold wind suddenly blew through the pilots compartment. A quick glance at the instrument panel told me that engine number three had been hit. The oil pressure was dropping rapidly. Flying bits of aluminum gave me a clue that there was damage overhead in the pilots compartment and our instrument panel now had a major dent from the force of shrapnel hitting the forward side of the panel.

We immediately feathered engine #3 and cut the switches. Oil was streaming from the engine nacelle. I tried to contact Joel Lester in the forward compartment but could not. The silent intercom to the navigator's compartment only reinforced my belief that we had sustained major injuries.....or worse. My worst fears were relieved when Joel's head appeared through the opening leading from the nose compartment to the flight deck. His oxygen mask had been blown off by the force of the wind and he was asking the flight engineer to get him the emergency portable oxygen bottle. We were still at 20,000 feet altitude and oxygen was an imperative. Joel shouted to me that he and the navigator "didn't have a scratch" but were about to freeze from the blast of subzero air now blowing through the front of the plane. The flak bursts were still coming but we were almost out of the range of the gun and were no longer concerned with evasive action.

A quick look upward told me that some flak had penetrated the fuselage above my head and there were several nicks in the bullet resistant glass of the windshield that had not been there before. Our bombardier and navigator crawled out of the nose and retreated through the pilots compartment to the radio room. From the rush of cold air we new there was a major opening in the nose of the plane and the acrid smell of gunpowder lingered in the air. The air temperatures at this altitude in the winter frequently exceeded 40 degrees below zero.

We were now down to about 16000 feet and far from our squadron which was reassembling several thousand feet above us. With only three engines we were never able to catch up with our group but we were able to keep them in sight till we reached the English coast. Again we were fortunate that no fighters were in the area as the physical condition of our plane and our isolated location was a 'made-to-order' type kill for them.

Our bombardier, Joel, having found a throat mike and helmet in the radio room, proceeded to update me on what had happened. He reported that the burst had not been in the nose but directly in front of it. The shrapnel had shattered the plexiglas nose, damaged the bomb sight, and sprayed the nose compartment with deadly pieces of flying metal. It had miraculously spared both he and the navigator. It seems that one of the pieces of shrapnel had hit a 50 caliber ammunition box on the floor adjacent to his foot and had exploded several shell which, in turn, had blasted a hole through the aluminum fuselage of the nose compartment without injuring him.

After crossing the Dutch coast we dropped down to about 2000 feet over the North Sea where the air temperature was considerably warmer. It had become unbearably cold in the pilot's compartment and, although it was February the blast of air now flowing through our compartment felt comfortably warm.

We continued to Glatton on our three engines and landed without incident.

As I loosened my parachute to leave my seat and review the damage first hand, I observed that the flak fragment that had pierced the fuselage almost directly above my head had indeed come close. It was lodged in my parachute directly behind my left shoulder. I later dug out the fragment and still have it today. A souvenir of a close call -- both to the plane, the crew, and to me. A slow walk around the plane made me aware of how fortunate we had been. The front end of the plane suffered major damage. The plexiglas nose was almost completely gone. There was a hole just above and to the starboard side of the navigator's compartment about a foot in diameter (where our exploding 50's had exited) and the chin turret was inoperable. One of the two 50 caliber guns veered off at a sharp angle from the other. Several other fragments had punctured the fuselage in the navigator compartment, the leading edge of the right wing, and the cowling of the number three engine.

This was one of many episodes with flak. I cannot recall a mission where we were not under fire from antiaircraft guns for at least a portion of the time we were over enemy territory. This time our plane suffered major damage but none of the crew was scratched. We had a few silent prayers of thanks as we returned to our hut that night.

Addenda:

The following is an excerpt from official War Dept. document about "Flak" and the results of flak on the air war over Europe.

Fliegerabwehrkanonen ( FLAK ) Ack-Ack

The accuracy and effectiveness of FLAK or anti-aircraft artillery fire was derided at the start of the war but it gained a healthy respect as the war dragged on. By 1942 15,000 88mm ( 3.46 in ) guns formed the bulk of heavy flak defenses for Germany. Large numbers of 37mm ( 1.47 in ) and 20mm ( 0.79 in ) guns filled the skies with shells during every air raid. Often arrayed in "belts" around a city or target 88s could fire 22 lb ( 10 kg ) shells up to 35,000 ft ( 10,600 m ) at a rate of 15 - 20 rounds per minute. The excellent 88mm ( 3.46 in ) gun proved very effective especially when radar was used to help with aiming. The shells exploding at a preset altitude sending metal splinters flying in all directions. Later groups of up to 40 heavy flak guns Grossbatterien fired rectangular patterns of shellbursts known as box barrages that proved very deadly to enemy bombers.

In 1944 Flak accounted for 3,501 American planes destroyed, enemy fighters shot down about 600 less in the same time period. More flak guns gradually appeared, mainly the 128mm ( 5 in ) German Flak accounted for 50 of the 72 RAF bombers lost over Berlin on the night of March 24th, 1944. An incredible 56 bombers were destroyed or crippled by flak during a B-17 raid on Merseburg in November of 1944.

457th Bomb Group History

The 457th Bombardment and the 748th, 749th, 750th and 751st Squadrons came into existence on July 1st, 1943 under General Order number 78. Their first home field was Geiger Field, Spokane, Washington.

The commanding officer was Col. Herbert Rice. While Spokane was designated as the home base, the group was shortly thereafter transferred to Rapid City, South Dakota. Lt. Col. Hugh Wallace replace Col. Rice shortly thereafter. The group was then transferred back to Spokane to Ephrata AAB and the first combat crews began their flight training there to meld into the first fighting group know as the 457th. Approximately 72 crews commenced training in formation flying, gunnery, instrument flying, night flights, practice bombing, cross country navigation, Link training, etc. On Jan 4, 1943, Col. Luper replaced Lt. Col. Wallace. Col. Luper was a 1938 graduate of West Point and proceeded to set up the flight crews in a fashion that he learned at West Point. This was not readily accepted by the converted civilian airmen and soon the group labeled itself "Luper's Super Troopers".

The group aircraft left the United States for England on Jan. 17th 1944, landing at Presque Isle, Maine, Goose Bay, Labrador, Iceland and from there on to Glatton. They arrived on Jan 22nd, 1944. The ground echelon left New York by troop transport on Jan. 18th, 1944 and arrived at Glatton on Feb. 2, 1944. With the end of World War II the field at Glatton was officially closed and it's existence terminated on June 1st, 1945.

The base was located along an old winding two lane road built by the Romans and known as Old North Rd. It was about 60 miles north of London and near the town of Peterborough. The 457th's air base was located in the parish of Connington, County of Huntingdonshire in East Anglia and was given the name of a small local hamlet called Glatton.

The Group was part of the 94th Wing of the 1st Division of the 8th Air Force. Three Bomber Divisions made up the 8th, the 1st and 3rd were B-17's and the 2nd was B-24's. The 94th Wing was made up of three Groups; the 457th located at Glatton, the 351st at Polebrook and the 401st at Denethorpe -- all located within 10 miles of each other. The Wing commander was Brigadier General Williams. The groups rotated wing leads in the bomber stream and for the most part, each group in the wing flew to the same bomb target. Here is some information on the setup of the 94th Bombardment Wing

457th Bomb Group - Glatton

Squadrons; 748th, 749th, 750th, 751st

First Mission - Feb. 21, 1944

Last Mission - Apr. 20, 1945

Total Missions Flown - 237

Total Bomb Tonnage Dropped - 16,915

351st Bomb Group - Polebrook

Squadrons; 508th, 509th, 510th, 511th

First Mission - May 14, 1943

Last Mission - Apr. 20, 1945

Total Missions Flown - 311

Total Bomb Tonnage Dropped - 20,357

401st Bomb Group - Deenethorpe

Squadrons: 612th, 613th, 614th, 615th

First Mission - Nov. 26, 1943

Last Mission - Apr. 20, 1945

Total Missions Flown - 255

Total Bomb Tonnage Dropped - 17,778

The group's first combat mission was on Feb. 21st, 1944 to Gutersloh, Germany and it was on this mission that the 457th lost it's first bomber and crew. The crew of Lt. Llewellyn Brederson was shot down by flak on the bomb run.

The Glatton Base Call sign was "Nuttree" and the group air call sign was "Woodcraft Baker". The squadron call signs were; 748th "Wedon", 749th "Eclipse", 750th "Bluebell", 751st "Cutter".

The group motto was "Fait Accompli" (An Accomplished Fact) and the group nickname was "The Fireball Outfit".

The group flew 236 combat missions with a loss of 86 planes and 729 men, either killed, wounded, taken prisoner or interned in neutral territory. Some 78 men made it through enemy lines after being shot down. The 457th Bombardment Group was credited with participation in the following campaigns:

Air Offensive Europe

Normandy
Northern France
Rhineland
Ardennes-Alsace
Central Europe

The two group commanders, Col. Luper and Col. Rogner were each killed in military aircraft crashes after the end of World War II.

Some general information about the B-17 appears in "B-17 Flying Fortress" compiled by Joseph Baugher and reads as follows:

"The B-17 Flying Fortress was perhaps the most well-known American heavy bomber of the Second World War. It achieved a fame far beyond that of its more-numerous stable mate, the Consolidated B-24 Liberator. A total of 12,677 Fortresses was built before production came to an end.

In August of 1944, the B-17 equipped no less than 33 overseas combat groups. It was to achieve lasting fame in the daylight precision-bombing campaign over Germany in 1943, 1944, and 1945. It achieved a reputation as being capable of absorbing a tremendous amount of battle damage and still continuing to fly. In later variants, it had an exceptionally-heavy defensive armament. It had an excellent high-altitude performance. It was able to win the affection of the crews who flew in it, since it was often able to bring them home safely.

B-17s dropped 640,036 tons of bombs on European targets during the war, as compared to 452,508 tons dropped by the Liberator and 463,544 tons dropped by all other US aircraft. Boeing records claim that the Fortress destroyed 23 enemy aircraft per thousand sorties as compared to 22 for Liberators, eleven by US fighters, and 3 by all US light and medium bombers.Approximately 4750 B-17s were lost on combat missions, which is about one out of three of all B-17s built".

The 8th Air Force flight crews had a higher percentage of casualties than any branch of the service during WWII. There were 340,000 persons in the 8th Air Force, of whom 135,000 were combat crewmen. Of this 135,000, more than 26,000 were killed and 28,000 became P.O.W.'s....a loss ratio of 40%.

Additional Sources:

www.wpafb.af.mil
sbl.salk.edu
www.brooksart.com
www.flightjournal.com
www.collectorslanehobbies.com
World War II Magazine

The bombing campaign over Germany needs to be remembered along with Gettysburg and Valley Forge. For a time the bombers were just shot to pieces by the German Air Force. The flak threat came later, after the German fighter force had been badly attrited.

Bomber boxes of B-17's or B-24's attacking alone gave the Germans a tactical problem they solved fairly easily. When you add the long range fighters to the mix, the Germans were not able to cope. To kill the bombers they needed heavy cannon and thick armor on thir planes. And the twin engine planes like the ME-110 and ME-210 had great utilty.

Throw even a few Mustangs, Thunderbolts or Lightnings into that mix, and the Germans had a serious problem. They never did solve that.

There would have been no 1944 invasion of Europe without the work the bombers and their escorts did in destroying the German day fighter force.

It should also be remembered that there were only four and then later 8 B-17 groups active in England. They might put up @ 100 aircraft for a given mission early in 1943. And yet this tiny force scared the Germans very badly, prompting them to bring back the bulk of their day fighters from the Mediteranean and the Russian Front. Eighty percent of the German day fighters were opposing the USAAF. When you realize of course that the Germans were losing in Russia, this is amazing.

"On March 18th at Vegesack, the 305th managed to place 76% of its bombs within 1,000 feet of the MPI [mean point of impact] in the most precise piece of bombing so far turned out by the B-17's. After two further missions to other French railyards without loss, the Force revisited to Germany. In perfect visibilty 73 B-17s and 24 B-24's dropped 268 tons of high explosive squarely on Bremer Vulkan Schiffbau, the submarine yards at Vegesack that had also been the briefed target for the first raid on the Reich back in January. From the evidence of reconnaisance photographs, seven submarines were assessed as severely damaged and two thirds of the shipyard buildings and much of the plant appeared to have been demolished....this mission was later said to have proved the case for high-altitude precision bombing, and its success doubtless influenced those US war leaders who sought evidence to justify the direction of a goodly part of the US war effort to creating a strategic bombing force."

"The first mission of April brought more evidence of the value of the bombardment campaign when Fortresess left the Renault works at Paris a smoking ruin; It took six months to resume full production, denying the enemy 3,075 lorries...the target was picked out inspite of industrial haze that shrouded much of the city...bombs of the 305th Fortresses struck at least 19 factory buildings..."

"The first mission fulfilled under the new directive was the disruption of the synthetic rubber plant at Huls...Although the Eighth's first large scale penetration of the Ruhr, the most heavily defended area of the Third Reich at that time, the mission resulted in the most effective bombardment of a strategic target yet achieved...just under one quarter of the bomb tonnage dropped, exploded within the factory area rendering the plant inoperative for a month. Full production was not resumed for six months."

--The Mighty Eighth, by Roger Freeman

"The raiders managed to inflict heavy damage on the Focke-Wulf Factory at Oscherleben, where half their bombs fell within 1,000 feet of the aiming point, and on one of the three targets near Brunswick, where three quarters of the bombs found their mark."

"Despite the punishment they took, both the Regensburg and Schweinfurt raiders managed to inflict substantial damage on their targets. At Regensburg every important building was hit by incendiary or high explosive bombs."

--The Airwar in Europe, Time Life books

Erhard Milch, reich minister for production:

"The two great achievements of the Allied strategic air offensive must be conceded to the Americans: the defeat of the Luftwaffe by the Mustang escort-fighter, and the inception of the deadly oil offensive. 'The British inflicted grievous and bloody injuries upon us' said Milch after the war, 'but the Americans stabbed us to the heart.'

--"Bomber Command" p. 408 by Max Hastings

B-17's rule.

Walt

On This Day In History

Birthdates which occurred on July 02:
419 Valentinian III Roman emperor (425-55)
1489 Thomas Cranmer England, archbishop/reformer/martyr
1714 Christoph Willibald Ritter von Gluck Erasbach Germany, composer
1821 Charles Tupper (C) 6th Canadian PM (1896)
1865 Lili Braun Prussia, feminist/socialist writer (Im Schatten Titanen)
1877 Hermann Hesse Switzerland, novelist/poet (Steppenwolf, Nobel 1946)
1884 Dr Otto B”hm Prussia, scientist (helped create England Radar)
1887 Marcel Tabuteau CompiŠgne France, oboist (Phila Orch 1915-54)
1894 Walter Brennan Swampscott Mass, actor (Real McCoys)
1903 Lord Alex Douglas-Home (C) British PM (1963-64)
1903 Olav V England, King of Norway (1957)
1905 Jean-Rene Lacoste France, tennis champ/alligator shirt designer
1906 Hans Bethe physicist (Nobel 1967), peace worker
1908 Thurgood Marshall Md, 1st black Supreme Court justice (1967-91)
1914 Frederick Fennell Cleveland Ohio, conductor (Time & the Winds)
1916 Barry Gray radio personality (started call-in radio)
1916 Ken Curtis (actor: Gunsmoke, Mr. Roberts; singer: w/Tommy Dorsey Band, w/Roy Rogers and Sons of the Pioneers)
1919 Johnny Bradford Long Branch NJ, actor (Ransom Sherman Show)
1922 Dan Rowan Beggs Okla, comedian (Rowan & Martin's Laugh-in)
1925 Marvin Rainwater Wichita Ks, country singer (Ozark Jubilee)
1925 Patrice Lumumba Zaire, revolutionary
1926 Lee Allen Pittsburg, Ks, tenor sax (Walkin' With Mr Lee)
1927 Brock Peters actor/singer (Carmen Jones, To Kill a Mockingbird)
1927 Cornelius "Kees" Broekman Holland, speed skater (Olympic-silver-1952)
1928 Pavel Kohout Czech, author (Poor Murderer)
1931 Robert Ito Vancouver BC, actor (Sam-Quincy ME)
1932 Sammy Turner Paterson NJ, vocalist (Lavender Blue)
1935 Gilbert Kalish Brooklyn NY, pianist/professor (SUNY Stony Brook)
1937 Polly Holliday Jasper Ala, actress (Flo-Alice, Flo-Flo)
1937 Richard Petty auto race driver (Daytona 500-1979,81)
1939 John Sununu US Secretary of State (1989-91)
1940 Georgi Ivan Ivanov 1st Bulgarian space traveler (Soyuz 33)
1946 Ron Silver NYC, actor (Gary-Rhoda, Dear Detective, Baker's Dozen)
1947 Luci Baines Johnson Nugent Turpin daughter of Pres LBJ
1952 Linda M Godwin Cape Girardeau Missouri, PhD/astronaut (STS 37)
1954 Wendy Schaal Chicago Ill, actress (It's a Living, Julie-Fantasy Is)
1956 Jeffrey Cooper guitarist (Midnight Star-No Parking)
1956 Jerry Hall Mesquite Tx, model/Mrs Mick Jagger
1956 Julie Montgomery KC Mo, actress (Samantha-1 Life to Live, Kindred)
1957 Mike Anger rocker (The Blow Monkeys-Wicked Ways)
1959 Wendy B Lawrence Jacksonville Fla, USN Lt Commander/astronaut
1961 Jimmy McNichol LA Calif, actor (Fitzpatricks, California Fever)
1964 Dave Parsons rocker (Transvision Vamp, Sham 69-That's Life)
1964 Jos‚ Canseco Havana Cuba, Oakland As (1986 Rookie Year, 1988 AL MVP)
1967 Debee Ashby Coventry England, topless model

Deaths which occurred on July 02:
1566 Nostradamus French astrologer/physician/prophet, dies in Salon
1644 William Gascoigne introduced telescopic sights, is killed at 24
1798 John Fitch American inventor, clockmaker, etc, dies
1822 Denmark Vesey & 5 aides hanged at Blake's Landing, Charleston, SC
1882 James Garfield assassinated by "job-seeker"
1935 - Alfred Dreyfus, once-disgraced, but then vindicated French colonel, dies
1946 Anthony Overton publisher/cosmetics manufacturer/banker, dies at 81
1961 Ernest Hemingway shot himself to death in Ketchum Idaho
1964 Glenn "Fireball" Roberts biggest NASCAR money winner, dies in crash
1969 Brian Jones founder of the Rolling Stones, drowns
1970 Jessie Street Australian civil rights activist, dies
1973 George Macready actor (Martin Peyton-Peyton Place), dies at 73
1973 Swede Savage dies from injuries at Indianapolis 500
1987 Karl Linnas accused Nazi, dies of heart failure in Russia
1987 Michael Bennet Chorus Line director, dies of AIDS at 44
1991 Lee Remick actress, dies at 55 from cancer
1997 Actor James Stewart died in Beverly Hills at age 89.
1999 Mario Puzo, the author of "The Godfather," died at age 78 in Long Island, N.Y

Reported: MISSING in ACTION

1967 KASCH FREDERICK M. SAN DIEGO CA.
[REMAINS RETURNED 02/22/89]
1967 RAYFORD KING D. JR. DETROIT MI.
[03/16/73 RELEASED BY PRG]
1967 WILSON WAYNE VASTER THOMASVILLE NC.
1968 TIPPING HENRY ALBERT PHILADELPHIA PA.
1969 FRANSEN ALBERT M JR. LAS VEGAS NV.
1970 HARBER STEPHEN J. FAIRMONT MN.

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

On this day...
311 St Militiades begins his reign as Catholic Pope
1644 Battle of Marston Moor; Parliamentary forces defeat royalists
1776 The First Continental Congress adopts the Lee-Adams Resolution of Independence, resolving that “these United Colonies are, and of right, ought to be, Free and Independent States.” (later re-named the Declaration of Independance)
1777 Vermont becomes 1st American colony to abolish slavery
1787 de Sade shouts from Bastille that prisoners are being slaughtered
1808 Simon Fraser completes his trip down Fraser R, BC, lands at Musqueam
1822 Denmark Vesey is executed in Charleston, South Carolina, for planning a massive slave revolt.
1843 An alligator falls from the sky during a Charleston SC thunderstorm
1847 Envelope bearing the 1st US 10 stamps, still exists today
1858 Partial emancipation of Russian serfs
1862 Lincoln signs act granting land for state agricultural colleges
1863 Battle of Gettysburg (2nd day)
1864 Gen Early & Confederate forces reach Winchester
1864 Statuary Hall in US Capitol established
1867 1st US elevated railroad begins service, NYC
1881 Pres Garfield shot by Charles J Guiteau a disappointed office-seeker
1885 Canada's North-west Insurrection ends with surrender of Big Bear
1890 Sherman Antitrust Act prohibits industrial monopolies
1894 Government obtains injunction against striking Pullman Workers
1900 Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin 1st airship LZ-1, flies
1902 John J McGraw becomes manager of NY Giants (stays for 30 years)
1906 Yanks win by forfeit, for their 1st time
1921 1st million dollar gate ($1.7m) boxing match (Dempsey KOs Carpentier)
1926 US Army Air Corps created; Distinguish Flying Cross authorized
1927 1st American to win Wimbeldon in 20 years (Helen Wills Moody)
1932 FDR makes 1st presidential nominating conventional acceptance speech
1933 Carl Hubbell shuts-out Cards 1-0 in 18 innings without a walk
1935 C Jackson discovers asteroid #1357 Khama
1935 Great Britain boxers beat US team in 1st intl Golden Gloves
1937 Amelia Earhart & Fred Noonan disappear over Pacific Ocean
1937 C Jackson discovers asteroids #1429 Pemba & #1456 Saldanha
1938 Helen Wills Moody (US) wins her 8th & final Wimbeldon singles
1940 Lake Washington (Seattle) Floating bridge dedicated
1941 DiMaggio breaks Willie Keeler's 44 game hitting streak (45th of 56)
1943 Indians score 12 runs in 4th inning & beat Yankees 12-0
1943 Lt Charles Hall, becomes 1st black pilot to shoot down Nazi plane
1949 "Red Barber's Clubhouse" sports show premiers on CBS (later NBC) TV
1955 "Lawrence Welk Show" premiers on ABC
1956 Elvis Presley records "Hound Dog" & "Don't Be Cruel"
1957 1st sub powered by liquid metal cooled reactor completed-The Seawolf
1957 1st submarine designed to fire guided missiles launched, Grayback
1959: “Plan 9 From Outer Space,” one of the worst films ever, premieres in theaters
1961 Maris hits 29th & 30th en route to 61 homers
1964 Celia Black records Beatle's "Its For You," McCartney plays piano
1964 Pres Johnson signs Civil Rights Act
1966 Billie Jean King wins her 1st of 6 Wimbeldon single titles
1967 The U.S. launches Operation Buffalo in Vietnam.
1967 Catherine Lacoste becomes youngest (22), 1st foreigner (France) & 1st amateur to US Women's open golf tournament
1969 Leslie West & Felix Pappalardi form the rock group Mountain
1974 Fernando Mameda of Portugal sets record for 10,000 m (27:13.81)
1976 Formal reunification of North & South Vietnam
1976 Supreme Court ruled death penalty not inherently cruel or unusual
1977 Sweden's Bj”orn B”rg won Wimbeldon men's singles over Jimmy Connors
1978 Pitcher Ron Guidry sets Yankee record of 13-0 start
1980 Grateful Dead's Bob Weir & Mickey Hart are arrested for incitement
1981 L E Gonzalez discovers asteroid #3495 Colchagua
1982 Larry Walters using lawn chair & 42 helium balloons, rose to 16,000'
1982 Soyuz T-6 returns to Earth
1985 European Space Agency launches Giotto to Halley's Comet
1985 Proto launched to Halley's Comet
1986 Supreme Court upheld affirmative action in 2 rulings
1988 Steffi Graff beats Martina Navratilova for Wimbeldon crown
1990 Imelda Marcos & Adnan Khashoggi found not guilty of racketeering
2000 Opposition candidate Vicente Fox won Mexico's presidential elections, ending the Institutional Revolutionary Party's 71-year reign.
2001 A year to the day after his stunning election victory, President Vicente Fox surprised Mexico again by marrying his spokeswoman and longtime love, Martha Sahagun.
2001 Robert Tools received the world's first self-contained artificial heart in Louisville, Ky. (He lived 151 days with the device.)

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

Italy : Corso de Palio, horse-race
Norway : King's Birthday
Iowa : Independence Sunday - - - - - ( Sunday )
Canada : Dominion Day/Canada Day (1867) - - - - - ( Monday )
Caribbean Common Market : Caribbean Day (1973) - - - - - ( Monday )
Lesotho : Family Day - - - - - ( Monday )
Zambia : Heroes Day - - - - - ( Monday )
Zambia : Unity Day - - - - - ( Tuesday )
National Baked Beans Month

Religious Observances
Old Catholic : Visitation of Mary

Religious History
0311 Miltiades was elected 32nd pope of the Catholic Church. During his pontificate,Christianity was finally tolerated by Rome, following the Emperor Constantine's conversionto the Christian faith.
1489 Birth of Thomas Cranmer, first Protestant Archbishop of Canterbury and primaryauthor of the 'Book of Common Prayer' and 'Thirty-Nine Articles' of the Anglican Church.
1752 The first Bible in America printed in English was published in Boston.
1918 Death of Washington Gladden, 82, a popular Congregational theologian of the SocialGospel. He also authored the hymn, 'O Master, Let Me Walk with Thee.'
1930 Pioneer linguistic educator Frank C. Laubach wrote in a letter: '[God has saidto me,] If I do not speak to you in words at times, it is because the reality all about youis greater than the imperfect symbols of things which you have in words.'

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

Thought for the day :
"I ain`t broke, but I`m badly bent."