The FReeper Foxhole Remembers Flying the Hump (1942-1945) - July 3rd, 2003

http://www.afa.org/magazine/1991/0391hump.asp ^ | March 1991 | C. V. Glines

[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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Flying the Hump

When the Japanese closed the Burma Road, the route to China was over the Himalayas by air.

In mid-December 1941, in the wake of Japan's massive land, sea, and air offensive in the Far East and its attack on Pearl Harbor, the Allies had no doubts about the need to support China fully to keep it in the war. China's forces would tie down Japan on the mainland. China would provide bases for attacks on Japan. In any event, Gen. Claire Chennault's China Air Task Force, the "Flying Tigers," had to be supplied.


Burma Road to China was closed by the Japanese conquest of Southeast Asia (from ILN 1942/01/10)

Suddenly, in March 1942, supplying China became immeasurably harder. Japanese forces cut the Burma Road--the only overland path to China--and all land supply ceased.

The Allies came back with a response unprecedented in scope and magnitude: They began to muster planes and pilots to fly over the world's highest mountain range. The route over the Himalayas from India to Yunnanyi, Kunming, and other locations in China was immediately dubbed "the Hump" by those who flew it.

Though relatively short, the route is considered the most dangerous ever assigned to air transport. The reason is apparent from this description contained in the official Air Force history:

"The distance from Dinjan to Kunming is some 500 miles. The Brahmaputra valley floor lies ninety feet above sea level at Chabua, a spot near Dinjan where the principal American valley base was constructed. From this level, the mountain wall surrounding the valley rises quickly to 10,000 feet and higher.

"Flying eastward out of the valley, the pilot first topped the Patkai Range, then passed over the upper Chindwin River valley, bounded on the east by a 14,000- foot ridge, the Kumon Mountains. He then crossed a series of 14,000-16,000-foot ridges separated by the valleys of the West Irrawaddy, East Irrawaddy, Salween, and Mekong Rivers. The main 'Hump,' which gave its name to the whole awesome mountainous mass and to the air route which crossed it, was the Santsung Range, often 15,000 feet high, between the Salween and Mekong Rivers."



Pilots had to struggle to get their heavily laden planes to safe altitudes; there was always extreme turbulence, thunderstorms, and icing. On the ground, there was the heat and humidity and a monsoon season that, during a six-month period, poured 200 inches of rain on the bases in India and Burma.

Fifty Years Ago

If the US was to conquer such obstacles, it would have to build an organization to ensure the smooth flow of planes, people, and supplies. The seeds of such an organization already existed. On May 29, 1941--fifty years ago this spring--the US Army had created the Air Corps Ferrying Command. Out of this small organization grew the US Air Transport Command, under the command of Maj. Gen. Harold L. George.


"Flying the Hump, Moonlight, CBI" by Tom Lea. Pilots flying this treacherous route kept Allied supply lines open. (Army Art Collection

"It seems almost incredible," Gen. William H. Tunner remarked in his memoirs, "that up until three o'clock in the afternoon of May 29,1941, there was no organization of any kind in American military aviation to provide for either delivery of planes or air transport of materiel."

When the Japanese closed the Burma Road, the US devised an initial plan that called for sending 5,000 tons of supplies each month over the Hump into China as soon as possible. American C-47s delivered the first, small load of supplies in July 1942. It was a meager beginning. If the resupply effort was to be greatly expanded, airfields would have to be built, pilots would have to be trained, and transports would have to be manufactured and ferried to the China-Burma-India (CBI) theater.


Generals Stilwell (left) and Merrill. (DA photograph)

The air transport task in the CBI fell first to Maj. Gen. Lewis H. Brereton, commander of Tenth Air Force. The Ferrying Command was to deliver seventy-five C-47s to the CBI, but some were diverted to support British forces in North Africa. Of the sixty-two that finally reached the theater, about fifteen were destroyed or lost, and many of the rest were out of service for long periods due to a shortage of parts and engines.

It was obvious that the theater air commander should not be responsible for a supply route reaching from factories in the US to destinations in China. On October 21, 1942, Air Transport Command (ATC) officially took over the task.

Operations under ATC began in India on December 1. The original small air transport unit was established as ATC's India-China Wing. As air transport activity increased, it became the India-China Division, comprising several wings. "Every drop of fuel, every weapon, and every round of ammunition, and 100 percent of such diverse supplies as carbon paper and C rations, every such item used by American forces in China was flown in by airlift," General Tunner said later.


Few aircraft are as well known or were so widely used for so long as the C-47 or "Gooney Bird" as it was affectionately nicknamed.

Tonnage flown across the Hump increased slowly. Thirteen bases were established in India and six in China. Curtiss C-46s gradually replaced the Douglas C-47s and C-53s. Consolidated C-87s, the cargo version of the B-24, and some war-weary B-24s were added. In December 1942, 800 net tons were delivered to China. In July 1943, 3,000 tons were delivered. The target was 5,000 tons per month, but Gen. Chiang Kai-shek, the Chinese leader, wanted more. President Franklin D. Roosevelt personally ordered the target increased to 10,000 tons a month.

[SAMWolf]

"Safer to Bomb Germany"

Increases in tonnage came at great cost. In the last six months of 1943, there were 155 accidents and 168 fatalities. General Tunner commented in his memoirs, perhaps somewhat facetiously, "It was safer to take a bomber deep into Germany than to fly a transport plane over the Rockpile from one friendly nation to another."

Aircrews were in short supply. Those on hand were flying more than 100 hours per month. Pilots, most of whom had never before flown a twin-engine aircraft, were quickly recruited from among basic flying training school instructors in the Air Training Command. They were sent to bases at Assam, Karachi, and later Gaya, India, for checkout in the C-46 Commando.

Accidents mounted. Spare parts soon were in short supply. Maintenance personnel were inexperienced and worked under severe handicaps. Col. Edward H. Alexander, commander of the India-China Wing, reported, "Except on rainy days, maintenance work cannot be accomplished because shade temperatures of from 100 degrees to 130 degrees Fahrenheit render all metal exposed to the sun so hot that it cannot be touched by the human hand without causing second-degree burns."

In November 1943, the ATC Ferrying Division opened the "Fireball" run from Florida to India. C-87s and, later, C-54s were put to work flying high-priority parts from the Air Service Command depot at Patterson Field, Ohio, to India. The aircraft were based at Miami, and crews were stationed at key points along the routes to Brazil, central Africa, and India.

Emergency shipments from the States could arrive in the CBI in as little as four and a half days after order placement.

In the organization of the complex Hump operation, a key player was Brig. Gen. Cyrus R. Smith, president of American Airlines, who served as chief of staff to General George. General Smith acted as a troubleshooter. In the fall of 1943, after the operation suffered many air accidents, he visited the theater to report on conditions.

In "Over the Top of the World" aviation artist Roy Grinnell has caught the moment that a China-bound Douglas C-47 Skytrain of the China National Aviation Corporation has just succeeded in transiting the most dangerous part of the "Hump" air route. The painting is dedicated to courage, perseverance, and sacrifice of American and Chinese airmen who flew the "Hump".

"We are paying for it in men and airplanes," General Smith reported. "The kids here are flying over their head--at night and in daytime--and they bust [the aircraft] up for reasons that sometimes seem silly. They are not silly, however, for we are asking boys to do what would be most difficult for men to accomplish; with the experience level here, we are going to pay dearly for the tonnage moved across the Hump. . . . With the men available, there is nothing else to do."

One of the unforeseen requirements was for the establishment of a search-and-rescue organization. Many crews, forced to bailout or crash-land, struggled for weeks, despite injuries, burns, and disease, to find safety. Terrain was so rugged that survivors would spend an entire day traveling one or two miles.

In the beginning weeks, when a plane was down, the first available transport crew went in the first available aircraft to conduct the search. This quickly proved unsatisfactory.

At Chabua, Capt. John L. "Blackie" Porter, a former stunt pilot, started "Blackie's Gang" with two C-47s. His gang carried Bren .30-caliber machine guns. The copilot carried one in his lap, while the other was kept in the cargo area. They sometimes carried Thompson machine guns and hand grenades. In 1943, virtually every rescue of crew members was due primarily to the efforts of Blackie's Gang.

The Search for Sevareid

One of the first of Blackie's rescue missions was a search for the twenty crew members and passengers, including CBS correspondent Eric Sevareid, who had bailed out of a C-46 in the Naga hill country of northern Burma. The area was populated not only by Japanese, but also by headhunters [see "America's Headhunter Allies," June 1988 issue, p. 84]. The men were found, and supplies were dropped. Lt. Col. Don Flickinger, the wing flight surgeon, and two medics parachuted to assist the survivors. A ground party walked in and took them to safety.

After many such successes, the US created a special search-and-rescue organization with Captain Porter as its commander. He was lost in action in December 1943 while on a search mission.

Although it came late to the war, the C-46 Commando earned great fame air-lifting supplies over the Hump in the China - Burma - India Theater.

In early 1944, tonnage to China reached the presidential goal of 10,000 tons per month. Soon, however, more was requested, and more was delivered. Brig. Gen. Earl S. Hoag, in charge of the India-China Wing at the beginning of that year, predicted that his men would deliver 77,000 tons during the last six months of 1944. His estimate was too conservative; more than twice that much was delivered. The rapid rise stemmed from a sharp increase in the number of aircraft and men, assigned to back up decisions made by President Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and the Combined (UK-US) Chiefs of Staff at a June 1944 strategy meeting.

General Tunner took command of the India-China Division of ATC in August 1944. A 1928 West Point graduate and strict disciplinarian, he made many changes in the interest of efficiency. One significant innovation was the introduction of production line maintenance, the brainchild of Lt. Col. Bruce White, a former executive with Standard Oil of New Jersey in China.

Planes brought in for maintenance would pass through three to ten stations as if on a factory production line. At each station, a plane would go through different maintenance functions. A rigorous inspection completed the procedure. If approved, each aircraft would be test-flown before being sent back to the line.

Engineers unload a bulldozer from an Allied transport plane. (U.S. Army Military History Institute)

The concept became standard practice throughout the Army Air Forces on bases with large numbers of a single type of aircraft.

When General Tunner arrived, pilots rotated out after 650 hours of flying time. Many pilots were flying as much as 165 hours a month in order to pile up the time and go home quickly. General Tunner's ,flight surgeon reported that fully half of the men were suffering from operational fatigue. Several accidents stemmed directly from such fatigue.

General Tunner immediately increased to one year the time a pilot would remain in the theater. He also increased the number of flying hours to 750. "It didn't make the pilots happy," the General wrote later, "but . . . it kept quite a few of them alive."

[SAMWolf]

The Accident Rate Declines

He appointed Col. Robert D. "Red" Forman as chief pilot, and, as training improved, the accident rate began to decline. When General Tunner took over the India-China Division, four-engine Douglas C-54s were being introduced. They could carry three times the load of the C-47s and would eventually replace them and the C-46s. As the Air Force history states, the operation brought airlift into "the age of big business."


Crossing the Himalayas - the world's highest mountains - was dangerous and difficult under the best conditions. But air crews flying heavily-loaded C-46 transports faced the dangers of bad weather, high altitude and hostile Japanese aircraft while flying vitally-needed supplies over the "Hump" to Allied Forces in China. Although hundreds of aircraft were lost, the men who flew these missions have never been fully recognized for their bravery

General Tunner felt that his hard-nosed management approach would result in improved efficiency and performance. "I had been sent to this command to direct American soldiers, and while I was their commander, by God, they were going to live like Americans and be proud they were Americans."

General Tunner inaugurated malaria-prevention spraying operations, using stripped-down B-25 "Skeeter Beaters." According to Tunner, this, combined with the use of repellents and mosquito nets, drove down the incidence of disease.



In 1944, General Tunner changed the route of the C-54 flights, creating a more direct flight to China. This placed the transports over 150 miles of Japanese-held territory and within range of Japanese fighters. To defend his aircraft, he requested and received fighter protection. "Enemy action was of little consequence" afterward, he reported.

Another area that needed improvement, as far as General Tunner was concerned, was the search-and-rescue capability, which he called "a cowboy operation." He appointed Maj. Donald C. Pricer, a Hump pilot, as commander of the unit and assigned to the job four B-25s, a C-47, and an L-5, all painted yellow. One of the first tasks was to pinpoint all known aircraft wrecks in the theater, the better to eliminate "duplication of work, for, after all, aluminum was scattered the length and breadth of the route."

It was during this period, moreover, that the helicopter was introduced into the theater and began to prove its potential as a rescue vehicle


Memorial to WWII American flyers who flew "The Hump", on the side of a mountain overlooking Kunming.

General Tunner ordered each base to establish a jungle indoctrination camp, with mandatory attendance for all new arrivals in the theater. Newcomers had to spend time in the jungle under the supervision of trained guides.

The General encouraged the introduction of competition into the operation and challenged each unit to beat its own records and those of other units. He authorized the publication of a newspaper, with prominent display given to tonnages carried over the Hump by individual units. He also encouraged the creation of press releases. One told of training elephants to load drums of gasoline quickly aboard aircraft. The photo that accompanied this story reached hundreds of newspapers.

The success of the Hump operation under ATC became apparent from statistics released on August 1, 1945. On that day, the command had flown 1,118 round trips, with a payload of 5,327 tons. A plane crossed the Hump every minute and twelve seconds; a ton of materiel was landed in China four times every minute. All of this was accomplished without a single accident.

When the war was over, Air Force historians added up the figures. The peak month was July 1945, when 71,000 tons of cargo were carried. Some 650,000 tons of gasoline, munitions, other materiel, and men had been flown over the Hump during the airlift, more than half of the tonnage delivered in the first nine months of 1945.



Besides helping to defeat Japan, the Hump operation was the proving ground for mass strategic airlift. The official Air Force history comments: "Here, the AAF demonstrated conclusively that a vast quantity of cargo could be delivered by air, even under the most unfavorable circumstances, if only the men who controlled the aircraft, the terminals, and the needed materiel were willing to pay the price in money and in men."

Additional Sources:

www.centercomp.com
www.army.mil
www.brooksart.com
www.stenbergaa.com
history.acusd.edu
www.celebratefreedomfoundation.org
www.burmastar.org.uk
www.wpafb.af.mil
www.mtsu.edu

[SAMWolf]

OVER THE HUMP

OH! History’s page through every age
Tells of men who accomplish things,
But few there are shine a brighter star
Than those of whom this bard sings.

I’ve flown up and down the airways
From Hartford to Cooch-Behar
And have flown on instruments hours on end
With a line on a single star.

Up where the oxygens needed;
Down where it’s gusty and rough;
When the radio compass is bouncin’ around
And the going is really tough;

I’ve flown from Natal to Ascension
When the scum wasn’t drained from the sumps,
But it’s nothin’ compared to the thrills ya get
In a ship flying “Over the Hump”.

Half round the world from home and Nell
Living in Bamboo Huts
(“Bashas they call ‘em”), the heat and bugs
And the damp almost drive you nuts.

To the boys in the 13th Squadron
It’s like saying your ABC’s,
Cross the Hump to the Lake and Mt. Tali,
Then over to Yunnanyi.

We take off from down by Doom Doom,
At a place called Sookerating,
With twenty-five drums of gasoline
To go over the Hump to Kunming.

First there’s the Fort Hertz Valley
And before the Taung Pit, which is green,
We cross the Yellow Mali,
Then the third, the dark brown Salween.

We’re getting to eighteen thousand,
And the engines are singin’ a song
As the fourth, a red river, slips by below;
The Lantsang Kiang, or Mekong.



Across the grim Himalayas
There’s a million rock peaks,
And you’re sweatin’ at twenty thousand
If the engine as much as squeaks;

For there’s no landin’ up in the mountains,
And those Japs are at Sumpra Bum,
And those widow-makers crowd on ya
Like tenenment homes in a slum.

In the best of weather the hazards
‘Twould take a year to tell,
But on instruments up in the “Soup” and ice
The going is really hell!

Rocky and evil and awful,
So you’re scared if you have to jump:
Crossing the ocean is easy
Alongside of flying the “Hump”!.

And what if you’re downed in the mountains
With thousands of rocky defiles?
If the tigers and Cobras don’t get you
A days work will net you three miles;

And what if you get to a river?
A raft gets you down to the Japs!
And you know that Home or for flying again
For the duration (At Least) it is “Taps”!

Did you say that you had met Bushey?
Well, in case you didn’t know,
He went down on his first trip over,
A week and a half ago;

Looking? Hell, No! They’re not looking!
Combing those rocky shelves?
A Hundred Years wouldn’t be enough time!
They’ll have to “Walk Out” by themselves.

Over the PanShan we’re still going great;
To the South lies the town of Yangpi,
And we hit the South end of Lake Tali,
And then on to Yunnanyi.



Now there’s many a cumulonimbus
That’s turned a hair gray in my head,
And too many times have I trembled
When I thought the right Engine went Dead;

Cross the Veldt up in Tanganyika
Each foot brings A “Rockier” Bump,
But it’s nothing compared to the Ride you get
With the boys flying “Over The Hump”!

It’s great to hold the controls
On that Giant Man-Made Bird ---
Pratt and Whitneys singing the sweetest
Concerto you’ve ever heard ----

For your Heart must be in your flying,
And you swell with Instrinsic Pride;
(You see, I’m a Navigator And I just go along for the ride!).

Most of the danger is over,
And we feel pretty safe with our load
When we “Spot” that old Ribbon of Freedom
That’s know as the Burma Road.

“Oil for the Lamps of China”
Was it the Poet said?
Oil and gas for American Boys!
They need it like Butter needs Bread!

We follow the road ‘Cross the Mountains,
And our Airspeed jumps as we Wing
Through the Valley that leads for the last hundred miles
To our destination ---- Kunming!

Yes! I’ve flown from Natal to Ascension
When the scum wasn’t drained from the sump,
But it’s nothing compared to the thrill you get
In a ship flying “Over the Hump”!

Oh! Historys page through every age
Tells of men who accomplished things,
But few there are shine a Brighter star
Than the boys with the Silver Wings!

--2nd Lt. J. D. Broughel
--1st Transport Group
--13th Transport Squadron
--U. S. Army
--July 25 to 27, 1943

[SAMWolf]

[SAMWolf]

Announcing Day 2 of the

"Viking Kitties Lightning Strike".

Readers of the Foxhole have been invited to visit Free Republic's first virtual fireworks display.

Bring your favorite Fireworks / Patriotic Graphics and join the celebration.


Click on the Graphic to join the fun

[snippy_about_it]

.......FALL IN to the FReeper Foxhole!

.......Good Thursday Morning Everyone!
The Wolf
speaks now...
thanks Jen!


If you would like added or removed from our ping list let me know.

[snippy_about_it]

The poem by 2nd Lt. J. D. Broughel is a great find SAM!

For your Heart must be in your flying,
And you swell with Instrinsic Pride;
(You see, I’m a Navigator And I just go along for the ride!).

LOL

But it’s nothin’ compared to the thrills ya get
In a ship flying “Over the Hump”.

[E.G.C.]

Good Morning, Snippy. How's it going?

[snippy_about_it]

Good morning EGC. Another tropical day in the flatland of Ohio. lol. Land of extremes.

Other than that, great! :)

[CholeraJoe]

Present, ma'am.

[GATOR NAVY]

The first B-29 strikes against Japan were flown from China, and they also had bring all their fuel, ammunition and supplies over The Hump.

[Valin]

On This Day In History


Birthdates which occurred on July 03:
1423 Louis XI king of France (1461-83)
1567 Samuel de Champlain explorer (Lake Champlain)
1731 Samuel Huntington (Gov-Ct), Continental Congress pres
1738 John Singleton Copley Mass, finest colonial American artist
1854 Leos Jan cek Hukvaldy Moravia Czech, composer (Foster Suite)
1861 Peter Jackson heavyweight, boxing hall of famer
1870 Richard B Bennett (C) 11th Canadian PM (1930-35)
1874 Sir Apirana Turupa Ngata Kawaka NZ, Maori political/cultural leader
1883 Alfred Korzybski Poland, scientist (Science & Sanity)
1883 Franz Kafka Czech, author (Metamorphosis, Trial, Amerika)
1900 John Mason Brown Louisville Ky, critic (Tonight on Broadway)
1906 Francis Steegmuller US, biographer (Cocteau)
1906 George Sanders Russia, actor (All About Eve-Academy Award 1950)
1909 Earl L Butz US Secretary of Agriculture (1971-76); a real Butz
1909 Stavros Niachos Greece (Those Fabulous Greeks)
1913 Dorothy Kilgallen Chic Ill, columnist (What's My Line?)
1920 Louise Allbritton Okla City, actr (Celia-Stage Door, Got a Secret)
1925 Tony Curtis [Bernard Schwartz] Bronx NY, actor (Some Like it Hot)
1927 Ken Russell England, director (Crimes of Passion)
1930 Carlos Kleiber Berlin Germany, conductor (Bavarian State Orch 1968)
1930 Pete Fountain New Orleans, jazz clarinetist (Lawrence Welk 1957-59)
1935 Harrison H "Jack" Schmitt Santa Rita NM, astronaut (Apollo 17)
1937 Tom Stoppard playwright (Rosencrantz & Guildenstern-1968 Tony)
1939 Jay Tarses Balt Md, actor/writer (Open All Night, Duck Factory)
1940 Fontella Bass St Louis Mo, vocalist (Rescue Me)
1940 Lance Larson US, 100m freestyle swimmer (Olympic-silver-1960)
1941 Gloria Allred feminist attorney
1943 Geraldo Rivera aka Gerry Rivers, nosey newsman (Geraldo)
1943 Norman E Thagard Marianna Fl, MD/astronaut (STS 7, 51-B, 30, 42)
1945 Iain MacDonald-Smith England, yachtsman (Olympic-gold-1968)
1945 Michael Cole Madison Wisc, actor (Pete-Mod Squad)
1945 Mike Corby guitarist (Babys)
1947 Betty Buckley Big Springs Tx, actress (Abby-8 is Enough, 1776, Cats)
1948 Paul Berrere rocker (Little Feat-Truck Stop Girl)
1949 Jan Smithers N Hollywood Calif, actress (Bailey-WKRP)
1951 Jean-Claude Duvalier deposed Haitian president-for-life
1951 Richard Hadlee Christchurch, NZ, leading cricket bowler
1952 Alan Autry NFLer (Green Bay Packers)/actor (The Heat of the Night)
1955 Julia Lyndon Buffalo NY, playmate (August, 1977)
1957 Laura Branigan singer (Gloria)
1959 Stoyan Deltchev Bulgaria, horizontal bar gymnist (Olympic-gold-1980)
1961 Liz Stewart SF Calif, playmate (July, 1984)
1961 Vince Clarke England, rocker (Yaz-Situation, Only You)
1962 Tom Cruise Syracuse, actor (Risky Business, Color of Money, Rainman)
1964 Pia Reyes Manila Philipines, playmate (Nov, 1988)
1968 Jeff Phillips Westwood NJ, actor (Hart Jessup-Guiding Light)
1975 Keri Houlihan Penn, actress (Molly-Our House)

---

Deaths which occurred on July 03:
1642 Death of Marie de'Medici, widow of Henri IV, King of France
1778 Jean-Jacques Rousseau, French writer/composer (Pygmalion), dies
1863 Lewis Addison Armistead, Confederate brig-gen Gettysburg/dies in battle at 46
1863 Little Crow, [Ta-oya-te-duta], Santee Sioux indian chief, dies
1904 Theodor Herzl, Austrian journalist/Zionist, dies
1908 Joel Chandler Harris, created Uncle Remus, dies at 59
1965 Trigger, horse (Roy Rogers), dies at 25
1969 Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones drowns to death at 25
1971 Jim Morrison rocker (Doors), dies of heart failure in Paris
1978 James Daly actor (Medical Center), dies at 59
1981 Ross Martin actor (Mr Lucky, Wild Wild West), dies at 61
1986 Rudy Vallee singer (Vagabond Dreams), dies at 84
1988 Gabe Dell actor, dies at 68 of leukemia
1989 Andrei Gromyko Soviet diplomat, dies just short of his 80th birthday
1989 Jim Backus actor (Magoo, Gilligan's Island), dies at 76 of pneumonia

---

Reported: MISSING in ACTION

1966 GAGE ROBERT H. COLUMBUS OH.
1966 PHILLIPS DAVID J. JR. MIAMI BEACH FL.
[REFNO 0382 LIVE POW REPORT 1984]
1966 RENO RALPH J. FAYETTEVILLE NC.
1967 SEYMOUR LEO E. TOWANDA PA.
1972 CUTHBERT STEPHEN H. OAKLAND CA.
[REMAINS RETURNED...I.D. 12/20/90]
1972 MARSHALL MARION A. UPPER MARLBORO MD.
[03/29/73 RELEASED BY DRV, ALIVE IN 98]

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

---

On this day...
683 St Leo II ends his reign as Catholic Pope
987 Hugo Capet crowned king of France
1608 City of Qu‚bec founded by Samuel de Champlain
1754 George Washington surrenders to French, Ft Necessity (7 Years' War)
1775 Washington takes command of Continental Army at Cambridge, Mass
1778 British forces massacre 360 men, women & children in Wyoming, Pa
1806 Michael Keens exhibits 1st cultivated strawberry(Greenies protest introduction of GM foods)
1814 Americans capture Fort Erie, Canada
1816 French frigate "Medusa" runs aground off Cap Blanc. Gross incompetence kills 150 in calm seas
1819 1st savings bank in US (Bank of Savings in NYC) opens its doors
1839 1st state normal school in US opens, Lexington, Mass, with 3 students
1841 John Couch Adams decides to determine the position of an unknown planet by irregularities it causes in the motion of Uranus
1848 Slaves freed in Danish West Indies (now US Virgin Islands)
1852 Congress authorizes US's 2nd mint (San Francisco, Calif)
1853 Commodore Matthew Perry reach Japan
1861 Pony Express arrives in SF with overland letters from NY
1861 US Colonel Jackson receives his CSA commission as brigadier general
1863 Battle of Gettysburg Pa ends, major victory for North
1871 Jesse James robs bank in Corydon, Iowa ($45,000)
1886 1st NY Tribune printing using 1st commercial linotype machine
1888 NY Giant pitcher Rube Marquard ties record of 19 game win-streak
1890 Idaho admitted as 43rd US state
1895 Start of Sherlock Holmes "The Adventure of Black Peter" (BG)
1898 Joshua Slocum completes 1st solo circumnavigation of the globe
1898 US Navy defeats Spanish fleet in Santiago harbor, Cuba
1901 The Wild Bunch, led by Butch Cassidy, commits its last American robbery near Wagner, Montana, taking $65,000 from a Great Northern train.
1911 Ty Cobb hits in his 40th straight game. Does not get a hit next day
1912 NY Giant pitcher Rube Marquard ties record of 19 game win-streak
1913 Common tern banded in Maine; found dead in 1919 in Africa (1st bird known to have crossed the Atlantic)
1915 US military forces occupy Haiti, remain until 1934
1916 The Battle of the Somme begins. More than 100,000 men are killed in the first day.
1916 1st of 3 fatal shark attacks occurred near NJ shore (4 die)
1920 Royal Air Force holds an air display at Hendon, England
1930 Veterans Administration created
1932 1st Sunday game at Fenway Park, Yanks beat Red Sox 13-2
1932 John McGraw retires from baseball
1934 C Jackson discovers asteroid #1367 Nongoma
1934 FDIC pays off 1st insured depositors, Fon du Lac Bank, East Peoria IL
1939 Ernst Heinkel demonstrates 800-kph rocket plane to Hitler
1939 Lou Gehrig day; Gehrig makes "luckiest man" speech
1940 British Royal Navy sinks French fleet in North Africa
1944 Oriole Park (minor league baseball stadium) burns down in Baltimore
1947 252,288 people (record) pass through Grand Central Station, NYC
1947 Cleveland Indians purchase Larry Dolby, the 1st black in the AL
1950 1st time US & North Korean forces clash in the Korean War
1956 President Eisenhower authorizes the CIA's first U-2 flight over Russia (the first is flown the next day).
1958 "The Andy Williams Show" premiers on ABC (later on CBS & NBC)
1962 Algerian Revolution against French ends (Algeria gains ind on 7/5)
1965 Phillies Dick Allen & Frank Thomas get into a fight during practice
1966 Brave pitcher Tony Cloninger, is 1st NL to hit 2 grand slams in a game
1966 Race riots in Omaha Nebraska
1967 "News at 10" premieres on English TV
1968 Cleve Indian Luis Tiant strikes out 19 Minn Twins
1969 78,000 attend Newport Jazz Festival, Newport, RI
1970 200,000 attend Atlanta Pop Festival
1970 Calif Angels Clyde Wright no-hits Oakland A's, 8-0
1970 L Chernykh discovers asteroid #3702
1973 Brothers Jim & Gaylord Perry face each other for only time, Tigers beat Indians 5-4, as Gaylord loses
1974 Soyuz 14 carries 2 cosmonauts to space station Salyut 3
1976 Israel launches rescue of 103 Air France crew & passengers being held at Entebbe Airport in Uganda by pro-Palestinian hijackers
1978 Supreme Court rules 5-4, FCC had a right to reprimand NY radio station WBAI for broadcasting George Carlin's "Filthy Words"
1980 73,096 in Cleveland watch Indians beat Yankees 7-0
1981 NYC transit fare rises from 60 to 75, new brass Y-cut-out token
1982 Martina Navratilova defeats Chris Evert Lloyd at Wimbeldon
1983 Calvin Smith of US becomes fastest man alive (9.93 s for 100 m)
1983 John McEnroe regains men's singles title at Wimbledon
1984 Dolphin rocket launched off San Clemente Island
1984 Supreme Court rules Jaycees may be forced to admit women as members
1985 CBS announces a 21% stock buy-back to thwart Ted Turner's takeover
1986 Pres Reagan presided over relighting of renovated Statue of Liberty
1987 2 men became 1st hot-air balloon travelers to cross Atlantic
1987 NY Met Darryl Strawberry threatens teammates Wally Backman & Lee Mazzilli for criticizing his play
1988 US Navy shoots down Iranian civilian jetliner over Gulf, kills 290
1989 Peter Koech of Kenya sets 3k steeplechase rec (8:05.39) in Stockholm
1989 Supreme Court rules states do not have to provide funds for abortions
1989 The movie "Batman," set record of quickest $100 million (10 days)
1991 Donald Trump gives Marla Maples a 7.45 karat diamond ring
1997 his first formal response to charges by Paula Jones of sexual harassment, President Clinton denied all allegations in her lawsuit, and asked a judge to dismiss the case.
2000 A 1970's steel observation tower that preservationists said had desecrated the battlefield of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania was demolished.

---

Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"
USA Disobedience Day.
Algeria : Independence Day (1962)
Idaho : Admission Day (1890)
Iowa : Independence Sunday - - - - - ( Sunday )
Caribbean Common Market : Caribbean Day (1973) - - - - - ( Monday )
Lesotho : Family Day - - - - - ( Monday )
Zambia : Heroes Day - - - - - ( Monday )
Zambia : Unity Day - - - - - ( Tuesday )
National Purposeful Parenting Month

---

Religious Observances
RC : Feast of St Thomas, apostle
RC : Commemoration of St Leo II, 80th pope (681-83)

---

Religious History
1756 English founder of Methodism John Wesley wrote in a letter: 'One who lives anddies in error, or in dissent from our Church, may yet be saved; but one who lives and diesin sin must perish.'
1894 Birth of Don R. Falkenberg, founder in 1923 of the Mid-West Businessmen's Councilof the Pocket Testament League. In 1967 the name of this evangelical agency was changed toBible Literature International.
1907 Pope St. Pius X, in his encyclical 'Lamentabili,' formally condemned the'modernist' intellectual movement, as it exhibited itself in the Catholic Church.
1959 Pope John XXIII, in his encyclical 'Ad Petri Cathedram,' expressed the hope thatnon-Catholic Christians would see in the upcoming Vatical II Ecumenical Council 'a warminvitation to seek and find unity.'
1979 Thirty-four years after the end of World War II, the West German government votedto continue prosecution of Nazi war criminals by removing the statute of limitations onmurder.

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

---

Thought for the day :
"When in doubt, smile - It always makes people wonder what you're thinking"

Today's 'You Might Be A Redneck If...
"The original color of your carpet is an unsolved mystery."

[snippy_about_it]

Morning 'joe'.

[snippy_about_it]

Good morning Gator Navy.

It's wonderful to 'see' you this morning.

;)

[jriemer]

Thanks again for the Viking Kittie Lightning Storm link / ping!

[Fiddlstix]

Good Morning Everybody.

You Know The Drill
Click the Pics J

Coffee & Donuts J

[Darksheare]

Wow.

[Johnny Gage]

Good Morning everyone. Today's "Air Power" is a bonus issue. A three for one deal! LOL.

---

Air Power
"Over the hump"

C-46 "Commando"


Douglas C-47 Skytrain / Dakota


Douglas C-54 Skymaster

C-46 History:

In March 1940, the Curtiss-Wright company first flew a new 36-seat commercial airliner design, designated the CW-20. The US Army became interested in the aircraft for its cargo/transport capabilities, and ordered a militarized version, the C-46 Commando, be produced, utilizing two 2,000-hp Pratt & Whitney R-2800-43 engines. The Commando entered service with the USAAF in July 1942, becoming the largest and heaviest twin-engine aircraft in the Air Corps.

The first major variant to appear was the C-46A, which had a large cargo door in the left rear fuselage, 40 folding seats, a strengthened cargo floor, and higher-altitude capable engines. This last feature was to become important when the C-46 began flying cargo "over the Hump" from India to China. The C-46 was found to have much better load-hauling capabilities than the C-47 at the altitudes involved. The Commando also served in the Pacific theater, where it moved troops and supplies from island to island, contributing to the defeat of Japan. In the European Theater, C-46s served as glider tugs, towing two CG-4 gliders at a time across the Rhine River.

Other versions of the aircraft included the R5C-1 (US Navy/Marine Corps designation); the C-46D (personnel version with an extra door on the right side); C-46E (utility version with C-46A doors and a stepped windscreen); and C-46F (cargo model with doors on both sides and square wingtip ends).

Well over 3,000 Commandos were built, and they remained in service through the Korean War. A few even served during the first years of the war in Vietnam. Today, a small number continue to fly in various capacities around the world, mostly as freighters in Central and South America.

Nicknames: Whale; T-Cat (C-46s modified to U.S. Civil Aviation transport-category standards.)

Specifications: (C-46A)
Engines: Two 2,000-hp Pratt & Whitney R-2800-51 radial piston engines
Weight: Empty 30,000 lbs., Max Takeoff 45,000 lbs.
Wing Span: 108ft. 0in.
Length: 76ft. 4in.
Height: 21ft. 9in.
Maximum Speed: 270 mph
Cruising Speed: 173 mph
Ceiling: 24,500 ft.
Range: 3,150 miles
Armament: None
Number Built: 3,000+
Number Still Flying: 50+ (amazing huh?)

---

C-47 History:

The Douglas DC-3 was born of the intense competition for modern commercial aircraft that characterized the post-World War I era. It was the direct descendant of the DC-1, which first flew in 1933 as Douglas' initial response to a short supply of competitor, Boeing Aircraft's, landmark 10-passenger 247, the first, low-wing, all-metal airliner. With only one 12-passenger sample flying, and already a record-breaking success, the DC-1 was quickly made obsolete, replaced by an a more powerful version with greater seating capacity, the 14-passenger DC-2, of which 193 were built.

When, in 1934, American Airlines asked Douglas for a larger version of the DC-2 that would permit sleeping accommodations for transcontinental flights, Douglas responded with the 24 passenger (16 as a "sleeper" craft) DST (Douglas Sleeper Transport), the 24-passenger version of which was designated DC-3.

The DC-3 is given most of the credit for an almost 600% increase in airline passenger traffic between 1936 and 1941. Recognizing its great potential as a military transport, the United States Army specified a number of changes needed to make the aircraft acceptable for military use, including more powerful engines, the removal of airline seating in favor of utility seats along the walls, a stronger rear fuselage and floor, and the addition of large loading doors. A large order was placed in 1940 for the military DC-3, which was designated C-47 and became known as "Skytrain," a name it would soon be asked to live up to.

Used as a cargo transport to fly the notorious "Hump" over the Himalayas after the Japanese closed the Burma Road, and as a paratroop carrier in various campaigns from Normandy to New Guinea, the Douglas C-47 was one of the prime people movers of WWII where, in one form or another, it was manufactured by belligerents on both sides, after first having been licensed to Mitsui before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and to the Russians, who manufactured it under license as the Lisunov Li-2. During the war, Mitsui built their own version, via contract with the Showa and Nakajima companies, which built about 485 "Tabbys" (the code name given to the aircraft by the Allies) as the Showa L2D.

Known also as "Dakota" (British designation), R4D (U.S. Navy), "Skytrooper" and "Gooney Bird," the Douglas C-47 (USAAF) went through many modifications during its long service life, largely with respect to engine power ratings, but also with structural modifications for specific tasks like reconnaissance and navigation training. It was even tested as a floatplane, and as an engineless glider, a task it performed well, but too late in the war to matter. It was also used as a fighting machine as the AC-47D gunship ( "Puff, the Magic Dragon") of the Vietnam war, where the plane was equipped with three modernized Gattling guns (General Electric 7.62mm "Miniguns," each mounted and firing from the port side) for use as a "target suppressor," circling a target and laying down massive fire to eliminate or at least subdue the enemy position.

By war's end, 10,692 of the DC-3/C-47 aircraft had been built, with 2,000 Li-2s by the Soviets, and 485 Showa L2Ds by the Japanese, for a total of about 13,177. Between its first flight on December 17, 1935, and this writing, the DC-3 will have had 65 years of continuous service. From its pioneering of military airlifts over the hump, to its perfecting of the technique during the Berlin Airlift, the C-47 has been prized for its versatility and dependability, factors that explain its remarkable longevity as an active carrier worldwide. [History by Kevin Murphy] Thanks to Tex Gehman.

Nicknames: Gooney Bird; Super DC-3 (R4D-8); Skytrooper; Biscuit Bomber; Tabby (NATO code name for the Showa L2D); Cab (NATO code name for Lisunov Li-2); Dumbo (SC-47 Search-and Rescue variant); Sister Gabby/Bullshit Bomber (EC-47 dispensing propaganda-leaflets in Vietnam); Spooky/Puff the Magic Dragon (AC-47 Gunship); Dowager Dutchess; Old Methuselah; The Placid Plodder; Dizzy Three; Old Bucket Seats; Duck; Dak; Dakleton (South African C-47s which replaced their Avro Shackletons), Vomit Comet (Nickname used by US Army paratroops during the Normandy invasion.)

Specifications (C-47):
Engines: Two 1,200-hp Pratt & Whitney R-1830-S1C3G Twin Wasp radial piston engines
Weight: Empty 16,865 lbs., Max Takeoff 25,200 lbs.
Wing Span: 95ft. 0in.
Length: 64ft. 5.5in.
Height: 16ft. 11.5in.
Maximum Speed: 230 mph
Cruising Speed: 207 mph
Ceiling: 23,200 ft.
Range: 2,125 miles
Armament: None
Number Built: 13,177 (All manufacturers)
Number Still Airworthy (All Variants): 300+ (more amazing huh?)

---

C-54 History:

When it was decided that the President of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt, should have a personal airplane to transport him to meetings around the world, the aircraft of choice was the US Army Air Corps’ (USAAC) C-54A Skymaster. Dubbed ‘The Sacred Cow’, this was the plane that took the president to Tehran, Casablanca, Hawaii and other less exotic spots in the USA.

The C-54 was the military derivative of the Douglas DC-4, a four-engine long range pressurized airliner with a three-man crew and accommodations for up to 49 passengers or 26 troops. Originally designed to a specification from United Airlines, the DC-4 had a maximum speed of 274 mph and a range of 3900 miles. The first 61 civilian orders were followed by a further buy for 71 from the USAAC though, in the end, most ended up in Army service.

To meet the military’s more stringent needs, the DC-4 was given a cargo door, stronger floor, cargo boom hoist and larger wing tanks. First flight of the military C-54 occurred on 26 March 1942. During the war years, 1242 C-54s were delivered with a wide variety of modifications. A few of the major ones were the C-54A, the original, fully militarized model capable of lifting 50 soldiers or 32,500 pounds of cargo; the JC-54D, which was modified for missile nose cone recovery; the C-54E, with larger Pratt & Whitney engines, bigger fuel tanks for longer range and a specially designed cabin for quick conversion between passenger and cargo roles; the C-54M, which was a C-54E stripped out to serve as a coal-carrier during the Berlin Airlift; the EC-54U, a post-war modification as an electronic counter-measures platform; and at least 14 sub-variants built for the US Navy originally called the R5D. There were numerous other variants which performed countless other roles, from VIP transport to multi-engine training.

The C-54 offered sterling service for both the USAF and the US Navy after the war, and was not fully retired until the late 1960’s. Ex-military Skymasters became popular as cargo transports and fire bombers, and many are still in active use around the world in these roles. A lucky few have been acquired by appreciative warbird groups in the USA. [History by Jeff VanDerford]

Nicknames: The Sacred Cow (FDR's personal transport); Rescuemaster (US Air Force's SC-54D air-sea rescue variant.)

Specifications:
Engines: Four 1,450-hp Pratt & Whitney R-2000-2SD-13G Twin Wasp radial piston engines.
Weight: Empty 43,300 lbs., Max Takeoff 73,000 lbs.
Wing Span: 117ft. 6in.
Length: 93ft. 10in.
Height: 27ft. 6in.
Maximum Speed: 280 mph at 14,000 ft.
Ceiling: 22,300 ft.
Range: 2,500 miles
Armament: None
Number Built: 1000+ military versions
Number Still Airworthy: At least 122 (amazing!)

All photos/information Copyright of War Bird Alley

[Valin]

What's so great about America (Must Read)
The Christian Science Monitor ^ | 7/3/03 | Dinesh D'Souza




RANCHO SANTA FE, CALIF. – The conventional wisdom is that immigrants come to America to get rich. This notion is conveyed endlessly in the "rags to riches" literature on immigrants, and it is reinforced by America's critics, who like to think of the United States as buying the affection of immigrants through the promise of making them filthy rich. But this Horatio Alger narrative is woefully incomplete; indeed, it misses the real attraction of America to immigrants, and to people around the world.


There is enough truth in the conventional account to give it a surface plausibility.
Certainly America offers a degree of mobility and opportunity unavailable elsewhere, even in Europe. Only in the US could Pierre Omidyar, whose ancestry is Iranian and who grew up in France, have started a company like eBay. Only in the US could Vinod Khosla, the son of an Indian Army officer, become a shaper of the technology industry and a billionaire to boot.


In addition to providing unprecedented social mobility and opportunity, America gives a better life to the ordinary guy than does any other country. Let's be honest: Rich people live well everywhere. America's greatness is that it has extended the benefits of affluence, traditionally available to the very few, to a large segment of society. We live in a nation where "poor" people have TV sets and microwave ovens, where construction workers cheerfully spend $4 on a nonfat latte, where maids drive very nice cars, where plumbers take their families on vacation to St. Kitts.
Recently I asked an acquaintance in Bombay why he has been trying so hard to relocate to America. He replied, "I really want to move to a country where the poor people are fat."


The typical immigrant, who is used to the dilapidated infrastructure, mind-numbing inefficiency, and multilayered corruption of third-world countries, arrives in the US to discover, to his wonder and delight, that everything works: Roads are clean and paper-smooth, highway signs clear and accurate; public toilets function properly; when you pick up the telephone you get a dial tone; you can even buy things from the store and then take them back.


The American supermarket is a thing to behold: endless aisles of every imaginable product, many types of cereal, 50 flavors of ice cream. The place is full of unappreciated inventions: quilted toilet paper, fabric softener, cordless phones, disposable diapers, and roll-on luggage.
So, yes, in material terms, America offers the newcomer a better life. Still, the material allure of America does not capture the deepest source of its appeal.


Recently I asked myself how my life would have been different if I had not come to America. I was raised in a middle-class family in India. I didn't have luxuries, but I didn't lack necessities. Materially, my life is better in the US, but it is not a fundamental difference. My life has changed far more dramatically in other ways.
Had I remained in India, I would probably live my entire existence within a five-mile radius of where I was born. I would undoubtedly have married a woman of my identical religious and socioeconomic background, possibly someone selected by my parents. I would face relentless pressure to become an engineer or a doctor.
My socialization would have been entirely within my own ethnic community. I would have a whole set of opinions that could be predicted in advance. In sum, my destiny would, to a large degree, have been given to me.


By coming to America, I've seen my life freed of these confines. At Dartmouth College, I became interested in literature and switched my major to the humanities. Soon, I developed a fascination with politics, and resolved to become a writer, which is something you can do in America, and which is not easy to do in India.
I married a woman of English, Scots-Irish, French, and German ancestry. Eventually, I found myself working in the White House, even though I wasn't an American citizen. I can't imagine any other country allowing a noncitizen to work in its inner citadel of government.


In most of the world, even today, identity and fate are largely handed to you. This is not to say that you have no choice, but it is choice within given parameters. In America, by contrast, you get to write the script of your own life. What to be, where to live, whom to love, whom to marry, what to believe, what religion to practice - these are all decisions that, in America, we make for ourselves. Here, we're architects of our own destiny.


"Self determination" is the incredibly powerful idea that is behind the worldwide appeal of the US. Young people throughout the world find irresistible the prospect of being in the driver's seat of their own lives. So, too, the immigrant discovers that America permits him to break free of the constraints that have held him captive, so that the future becomes a landscape of his own choosing.
The phrase that captures this unique aspect of America is the "pursuit of happiness."


Nobel laureate V.S. Naipaul analyzes that concept this way: "It is an elastic idea; it fits all men. It implies a certain kind of society, a certain kind of awakened spirit. So much is contained in it: the idea of the individual, responsibility, choice, the life of the intellect, the idea of vocation and perfectibility and achievement.
It is an immense human idea. It cannot be reduced to a fixed system. It cannot generate fanaticism. But it is known to exist, and because of that, other more rigid systems in the end blow away."


• Dinesh D'Souza is the author of 'What's So Great About America.' He is the Rishwain Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif.


Copyright © 2003 The Christian Science Monitor. All rights reserved.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/939842/posts

[snippy_about_it]

Thanks for the 3fer! lol.