The FReeper Foxhole Remembers The Battle for Saipan (Jun - July, 1944) - July 29th, 2003

http://navysite.de/ships/lha2about.htm ^

[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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Operation Forager:
The Battle for Saipan

Plans to launch an offensive against the Japanese in the islands of the Pacific were initiated in 1943 at the Quadrant Conference held in Quebec. President Franklin Roosevelt received the proposal that the Allied effort in the Pacific should be directed first toward the Gilbert Islands, then the Marshalls, followed by Wake, the Eastern Carolines, and finally the Marianas. It was at Saipan that American military planners were presented with the problem of how to cope with a dense civilian population, the first to be encountered in the Pacific war. American forces were to be under the overall command of Admiral Chester Nimitz.

Aerial view of Saipan, July 1944. (National Archives)

The American drive across the Pacific would be two-pronged. While Nimitz fought his way across the central Pacific, General MacArthur would advance across the southwest Pacific to the Philippines. The islands of the central Pacific either succumbed one by one under the sheer weight of American forces or were bombed, neutralized and bypassed. With their supply lines cut, the defenders of by-passed islands were left to starve. After the fall of the Marshall islands, no other island in the central Pacific would be invaded by American ground forces until the American armada reached the waters off the Marianas and the island of Saipan.



American war strategy in the western Pacific was developed around the premise that Japan would never surrender and that the nation would fight to the last man, woman, and child, particularly if the home islands were invaded. It was anticipated that such an invasion, if it were to occur, would result in the loss of one million American lives. In planning for this eventuality, air bases in the Marianas were essential in order to accommodate the new B-29 Superfortress, a U.S. bomber that was just beginning to be mass-produced in early 1944 and which had a flying range equal to the distance from Saipan, Tinian and Guam to Japan and back. The B-29's normal range was 2,850 miles at 358 m.p.h. with a 20,000 ton carrying capacity at 32,000 feet. The capture of the island of Saipan thus became crucial in the preparations for this massive invasion.

The assault on Saipan began on June 15,1944, almost a week after the invasion of Europe. An armada of 535 ships carrying 127,570 U. S. military personnel (two-thirds of whom were Marines of the 2nd and 4th Divisions) converged on the island. The ships of the invasion force carried 40,000 different items to support the assault - everything from toilet paper to government-issue coffins. A single supply ship carried enough food to feed 90,000 troops for one month. Navy tankers transported the gigantic quantity of petroleum products required to support the invasion. Aircraft alone consumed over 8 million gallons of aviation fuel during the battle, while the aircraft carriers burned more than 4 million barrels of fuel.



Seven American battleships and 11 destroyers shelled Saipan and Tinian for 2 days before the landings, firing 15,000 16-inch and 5-inch shells at the islands along with 165,000 other shells of other caliber. To even begin to comprehend the magnitude of this onslaught, one needs to realize that a single 16-inch round weighs slightly more than a Volkswagen Beetle, besides being packed with high explosives. On the second day of the bombardment, this force was joined by 8 more battleships, 6 heavy cruisers and 5 light cruisers. The islands were ringed by American warships with their guns blazing. Shells rained down on the island, its villages, inhabitants, and defenders, gouging huge craters in the sand and coral. The earth trembled under the tremendous explosions of naval bombardment and simultaneous air attacks.

The Battle

The main attack of the Marine Divisions was centered near Chalan Kanoa, just as planned. The 2nd Marine Division was to land at Red and Green Beaches north of the town while the 4th marine Division would land on Blue (opposite the town) and Yellow Beaches. As with most amphibious operations, not everything went as planned. The tractors moved faster than the tanks and in several cases blocked the ability of tank to fire. 2nd Marine Division's landings in the south were made slightly to the north of their planned objectives, this caused a gap to occur between the flanks of the two divisions. Although the original plan had allowed for a small gap between the two divisions, the northward landing of the 2nd Battatlion, 8th Marines more than doubled the size of this gap. By 0907, the first wave had reached the beach with only minimal losses and 8,000 marines were ashore.



Besides the large gap between the two divisions, another problem that occurred during the landing was in the use of the amphibious tanks and tractors. In the 2nd Marine Division's area, the tanks were to move ahead of the tractors and advance inland about 1,500 yards and then set up defensive positions and lay down defensive fire while the initial wave of tractors moved up to this defensive line and the troops off loaded. The second - fourth waves were to unload their troops on the beach. In the 4th Marine Division area, the tanks were to lead the first two waves of tractors all the way to the objective, about a mile inland on some high ground. These tanks would then support the troops as they moved inland. The follow-on would be unloaded at the beaches.

In general, although most of the tanks and tractors made it to the beaches unharmed, the combination of their thin armor and slow movement made them easy targets for the Japanese artillery once ashore. The amphibious vehicles were under-powered and were easily stopped by obstacles (loose sand, trenches, holes, and trees) that normal tanks would not have had a problem with. This significantly slowed the movement of the amphibious vehicles. The lack of suitable paths inland from the beaches also inhibited the inward movement of the marines. By nightfall, despite the various delays, both divisions were fully ashore and had established a defensive belt over 1,000 yards deep and over 10,000 yards long. Seven battalions of artillery had also landed and so had two heavy tank battalions. Division command posts were also established ashore. One of the benefits of using the troop carrying amphibious tractors was that it allowed the men to be carried ashore in armored vehicles, rather than having to wade ashore as at Tarawa.



The Japanese had killed or wounded many Americans during the invasion, but the exact numbers for D-Day are unknown. The Marines had landed against the strength of the Japanese defensive area and at a time when four battalions of men who had not had time to move to their assigned positions elsewhere on the islands were located in vicinity of the beaches! The landing area was well registered for artillery and the Japanese had sixteen 105-mm, thirty 75-mm, and eight 150-mm guns on the high ground overlooking the beaches and were extremely accurate due to the pre-registration of the guns and the use of the bamboo sticks to help in adjusting fire. Yet, the Japanese artillery could have been more effective if they would have practiced concentrating their fire and not simply firing each weapon individually wherever the commander of the gun wanted to fire. On the first day, the Japanese relied almost solely on artillery, heavy weapons, and a few tanks to defeat the marines on the beaches. The infantryman rarely saw battle on D-Day.

To H. Smith's G-3, the most critical phase of the Battle for Saipan was the fight on the beaches. To succeed the marines had to establish a beachhead into which sufficient troops, heavy equipment, and supplies could be brought ashore. On the first day, the marines gained control of the beaches, but they were not secure since artillery and heavy weapons were still able to attack men and equipment on the beach. It would take six days before the beachhead was actually secure. One of the major problems was the gap between the 2nd and 4th Marine Divisions at Afetua Point and on the outward flanks of each division. This gap, which should have been closed the first day, took three days to close due to it being larger that originally planned thereby allowing the Japanese to defend this area in greater strength than expected.



By the night of the 15th, the Japanese knew that they had to drive the Marines back to the sea. Yet, Saito believed that the landings might be a feint and only ordered minor counterattacks against the marines. He wanted to save his major forces in case the Americans did launch an invasion near Magicienne Bay. At 2000, a large force of Japanese infantry, supported by tanks, attacked the left flank of the 6th Marines of the 2nd Marine Division. Fortunately for the marines, naval gunfire firing illumination rounds were able to light up the sky enough to allow the defending marines to see the outlines of the Japanese soldiers as they attacked. The marine's machineguns and heavy rifle fire, along with the assistance of a battalion of 75-mm howitzers, were able to stop the Japanese counterattack. At 0300, another attack was launched against the same area, but it also failed. Before daylight, tanks and infantry again attacked the defending marines. By this time, a few of the medium tanks were ashore and able to help the marines stop the Japanese third counterattack against the 2nd Marine Division.

The attack on Saipan, originally designed to overwhelm the Japanese with naval gunfire and rapid landings, failed on the first day. On this one day, the Marines failed to advance inland to their initial objective and were generally only 2/3 of the way to their objectives. An estimated 2,000 men were either killed or wounded and over 25% of the tractors and tanks were damaged or destroyed.



H. Smith, knew that a naval battle between the Japanese Mobile Fleet and the American 5th Fleet was most likely going to occur in the near future. Realizing this, he was determined to get as many supplies and men ashore as possible before the protective battleships, cruisers, and destroyers departed with the carriers to met the Japanese fleet. On the evening of the 16th, the 27th Infantry Division landed on Saipan. Their mission was to capture Aslito airfield and to cut off the Japanese in the southeast corner of the island. Meanwhile, the 2nd and 4th marine Divisions would continue their attack inland. By the fourth day the Japanese had given up on trying to defend the beaches and had moved inland to set up defenses in the hilly and mountainous terrain.

In the meantime, after the landing of the 27th Infantry Division, the majority of the 5th Fleet departed the Saipan area as H. Smith had figured they would. On 19 June to 21 June the 5th Fleet met the Japanese Mobile Fleet and defeated the Japanese fleet in the Battle of the Philippine Sea. Because of this naval battle, the Japanese on Saipan could expect to receive no further assistance. They were cut off from Japan and would have to fight out the battle for Saipan on their own. From this point onwards, it was believed by both sides that the American forces would defeat the Japanese on Saipan, the only question was how long would it take and how many men would die.

[SAMWolf]

By 18 June, the 27th Infantry Division had captured Aslito airfield. On 20 June, the command of the invasion force passed from Turner to H. Smith. From the 15th to the 22nd, the Japanese aggressively fought the American attacks as the marines attempted to push across the island and cut it in half. Casualties on both sides were extremely high and men were being slowly worn down and becoming combat ineffective.



Understandably, H. Smith could not afford the luxury of allowing his men the time to rest and the battle raged on. One of the most critical battles was the capturing of Mount Tapotchau. H. Smith had initially ordered the two marine divisions to capture the mountain. However, by 21 June he realized that he needed more men in order to capture this vital landmass since the Japanese were strongly defending it. On 21 June, H. Smith ordered R. Smith, commander of the 27th Infantry Division, to move his division and insert it between the two marine divisions in order to conduct a three division abreast attack on Mount Tapotchau. H. Smith ordered the 27th Infantry Division to fight generally up the mountain itself while the 2nd Marine Division continue to move northeast and the 4th Marine Division attacked eastward on the Kagman Peninsula, a relatively flat area but with plenty of Japanese defenders.

After two days of fighting, the division attack against the main Japanese defensive belt had stalled. The 2nd Marine Division was on the outskirts of Garapan and near the summit of Mount Tapotchau. The 27th Infantry Division had made very little progress against the stiff Japanese defense amongst the rugged terrain. The 4th Marine Division had overrun the majority of the Peninsula and was nearing the eastern side of the island. However, the main Japanese defense on Mount Tapotchau remained. The American forces were now bent into a U-shape, with the 27th Infantry Division at the center of the U with the two marine divisions at each end. This bend was over 1,500 yards deep and exposed the flanks of the marine divisions to attacks by the Japanese. During these two days of fighting the 2nd Marine Division lost 333 men, the 27th Infantry Division lost 277 men, and the 4th Marine Division lost 812 men. During this battle, the American artillery and tanks were generally useless in a jungle environment filled with broken terrain. The fighting was mainly man-to-man with mortars and machineguns providing the heavy firepower. Close air support was not overly present due to the Battle of the Philippine Sea and was of limited use against the Japanese infantry in any case. Only direct fire and small assaults could defeat the Japanese soldiers who were hiding in caves, ravines, and gullies.

On 25 June, H. Smith decided that the poor performance of the 27th Infantry Division was due to its lack of command and he decided to ask that R. Smith be relived of his command. After he talked this over with Turner the two of them approached Spruance. H. Smith stated that R. Smith had issued orders to units not under his command and contravened H. Smith's orders. H. Smith also stated that the 27th Infantry Division was late in conducting its attack on Mount Tapotchau and therefore it slowed the movement of its flanking marine divisions, causing them to suffer unnecessary losses.

The relief of R. Smith probably did not make any real difference in the aggressiveness of the 27th Infantry Division. However, it did stir up a Marine Corps / Army controversy. On Saipan itself, marines began to look down on the 27th Infantry Division soldiers and the army soldiers resented H. Smith for relieving their commander and the implications made on the fighting capability of the division. Off of the island the controversy grew much greater, with several Army generals going so far as to recommending to Lieutenant General Robert C. Richardson, commander of all Army forces in the Pacific, that H. Smith was extremely prejudiced against army forces and that no Army forces should ever be put under his command again!

Major General Sanderford Jarman, who was on Saipan to take charge of the garrison operation after the Japanese were defeated, assumed temporary command of the 27th Infantry Division from 24 to 28 June. On 28 June, Major General George W. Griner, Jr. assumed command of the 27th Infantry Division. However, when he assumed command of the division, he was surprised to find out that he only had control of four infantry battalions, the rest of the division was under Corps command. Griner was told by H. Smith that he would have to "earn" the rest of the division back. By 5 July, the 27th Infantry Division and the 4th Marine Division had captured Mount Tapotchau and had pushed northward up the narrowing island. Due to this narrowing of the front, the 2nd Marine Division was pulled into reserve. By 6 July, Griner regained the control of all of the 27th Infantry Division's units. On 7 July, three thousand Japanese soldiers conducted a bonzai charge against the 27th Infantry Division. The Japanese soldiers were armed with only grenades and bayonets, yet they broke through the 27th Infantry Division on the western flank near the coast. The Japanese soldiers destroyed two infantry battalions and were only stopped by marines of the 2nd Marine Division after the Japanese had passed through the 27th Infantry Division's sector. By this time, H. smith had had enough of the 27th infantry Division and various reports state that he ordered the entire division withdrawn from Saipan. In reality, only the decimated battalions were withdrawn from Saipan by destroyers. However, H. Smith did order the 27th Infantry Division into reserve and vowed that he would never use the division again.



By 9 July, the 4th Marine Division was at the northern tip of Saipan and H. Smith had declared the island secure from any significant organized resistance. By this time, almost 24,000 Japanese troops were known to have been killed and 1,780 captured. The United States lost 3,426 men killed and 13,099 men wounded; a casualty rate of 25%.

Earlier, on 22 June, the governor of Saipan had received a message from the Imperial Palace informing him that any civilian that died fighting the Americans would be granted the same afterlife privileges of the soldiers who died for the Emperor. Saipan was the first island encountered by the Americans that had a large number of Japanese civilians on it. The Japanese Government used propaganda that often showed the Americans as monsters. The naval and air bombardment, followed by three weeks of tough fighting did not dispel the fears of the Japanese civilians. Of the twenty-two thousand civilians on Saipan, thousands these civilians fought against the Americans during the battle for the island. As the Americans pushed northward, the civilians fled before them. By the time the Americans reached the northern end of Saipan on 9 July, thousands of Japanese men, women, and children were at the top of the cliffs overlooking the shark-infested waters. Once there, many of these civilians realized that they were cornered, and rather than surrender to the Americans, they dove off the cliffs into sure death in the water below. Out of the twenty-two thousand civilians, approximately eight thousand died in this lemming-like act. However, marine interpreters with loudspeakers did convince many of the Japanese civilians to surrender.

On 20 July, after engineers had made extensive repairs to and lengthened the runway of Asltio airfield, now renamed Isley Field, it received its first American plane. By early September B-24s were conducting missions against the Bonin Islands from Saipan. A second airfield was constructed to handle the larger B-29s. In October, the first B-29 raid from Saipan was flown against Truk. Saipan not only served as an airbase for attacks against other Japanese islands, but it also became an important naval base, particularly for submarines that would ultimately operate in the Japanese home waters.

[SAMWolf]

When the fighting ended, American losses on Saipan were double those suffered on Guadalcanal. Of the 71,034 U. S. troops landed on Saipan, 3,100 were killed, 13,100 wounded or missing in action. Out of the 31,629 Japanese on Saipan, approximately 29,500 died as a result of the fighting, and only 2,100 prisoners survived. Fighting between the Japanese and the Americans was by no means completely mechanized; while ships, aircraft, artillery, and tanks inflicted the largest amount of damage to the combatants, a great deal of the fighting was hand-to-hand. Besides machine guns, flame throwers, rifles, and pistols, deadly skirmishes were fought with bayonets, swords, bamboo spears, clubs, stones and fists.



The ratio of battle dead was 9.5:1 during the 24 days of fighting. Place names given the rugged Saipan terrain such as Death Valley, Purple Heart Ridge and Harakiri Gulch testified to the bitter fighting. One of the most lamentable events of the battle for Saipan involved the mass suicide of hundreds of families, many of whom jumped to their deaths from the high cliffs at the island's northernmost point. This tragic event could not be stopped, despite efforts by Americans and indigenous Saipanese using loudspeakers to try to convince the Japanese that surrender would be shameless and harmless.


Mountain Gun, Garapan, Saipan, 1944

Saipan provided the United States military with its first opportunity to learn about military occupation of enemy territory with a Japanese civilian population. Civilians encountered during the period of the battle and afterward, while emergency conditions still prevailed, were placed in secure camps to keep them out of the way of the fighting. Thus assembled, the U.S. military could better meet their basic needs for food, clothing, shelter and medical care. Schools were established as soon as conditions permitted. In September, 1945, the camps housed 13,954 Japanese, 1,411 Koreans, 2,966 Chamorros and 1,025 Carolinians. Contained within a two square mile area near Lake Susupe, the compounds were primitive and only the bare necessities were available. Weathered boards, tattered tents and battered tin sheets from the island's bombed-out sugar refinery provided the only shelter from the weather. Each hut (han) accommodated from 20 to 55 people. After the fighting, families were released from Camp Susupe during the day to cultivate vegetables, as food was scarce. Food production was increased from 79,469 pounds of produce in September, 1944 to 286,029 pounds in September, 1945. The camp also had a makeshift Buddhist temple, where Shinto religious ceremonies were held. Release from these camps is celebrated as "Liberation Day" by inhabitants of Saipan to this day on the 4th of July. The Japanese on Saipan had a high birth rate - about 300 babies per 1,000 women aged 15 to 45 - and there were many orphans in the camps who were attended and raised by Japanese nurses. Most of these were the children of Japanese parents who had killed themselves during the mass suicide.



After the capture of Saipan, the fighting continued elsewhere in the Pacific for another 13 months. Camps on Tinian were constructed to house 50,000 U.S. troops and 1.2 million pounds of crops were produced, all of which were consumed on the island. On August 6, 1945, an American Superfortress flying from Tinian dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, hastening Japan's capitulation. The war formally ended with Japan's surrender on August 15, 1945. The final surrender on the island of Saipan did not take place, however, until December 1, 1945, when Japanese Army Captain Sakeo Oba, who had continued to hold out in the mountains with 46 men as a guerrilla force, surrendered his Samurai sword to Major Herman Lewis and Colonel Scott, USMC.

About 90 percent of the civilian population on Saipan survived the war. These included Koreans, Okinawans, and Japanese who were subsequently repatriated to their respective homelands. As recorded on December 31, 1949, the indigenous population of Saipan was 6,225. In 1937 23,658 persons had inhabited Saipan (4,145 were indigenous).



Today, what little World War Two equipment remains after being collected and sold for scrap after the war is protected by law because of its historical value. Lying below the surface of a lagoon once congested with landing craft and ships of all type are the coral encrusted tools of war. Rifles, helmets, bullets, tanks, ships and landing craft litter the sandy lagoon floor as if in an underwater time capsule in silent testimony to one of the last battles fought in a pre-nuclear age. More than fifty years after the invasion, unexploded live ordnance still poses a very real danger to the unwary diver or souvenir hunter.


27th Division troops advance behind tanks on Saipan. (National Archives)

Four Marines received the Medal of Honor for heroism during the Battle of Saipan. Each lost his life in the action for which he was honored. The four were: Gunnery Sergeant Robert H. McCard, 4th Tank Battalion; Sergeant Grant F. Timmerman, 2nd Tank Battalion; Private First Class Harold G. Agerholm, 4th Battalion, 10th Marines, 2nd Marine Division; Private First Class Harold G. Epperson, 1st Battalion, 6th Marines, 2nd Marine Division. Gunnery Sergeant McCard, a native of Syracuse, NY, single-handedly covered the escape of his crew from a disabled tank. He faced the fire of a battery of anti-tank guns with hand grenades and a machine gun. Sergeant Timmerman, who came to the Marine Corps from Americus, KS, threw himself across an open tank hatch to protect his crew from an enemy grenade. PFC Agerholm disregarded heavy enemy fire and personally evacuated 45 wounded Marines during an enemy attack on an artillery position. Agerholm, a native of Racine, WI, was killed by a sniper as he tried to help two other wounded men. PFC Epperson of Akron, OH, threw himself on a hand grenade, which landed in his machine gun position during an enemy attack. His action saved the rest of his gun crew.

Additional Sources:

www.geocities.com/Heartland/Plains/5850/saipan3.html
members.tripod.com/~Brian_Blodgett/Saipan.html#Invasion
www.skylighters.org
bingaman.senate.gov
www.libraries.psu.edu
www.photoman.co.kr
www.hopetribute.org
www.bluejacket.com
rjs.org
images.webshots.com
www.pbs.org
www.army.mil
www.grunts.net

[SAMWolf]

Our medical officer aboard ship described the following hazards on Saipan:

"In the surf, beware of sharks, barracuda, sea snakes, anemones, razor-sharp coral, polluted water, poison fish, and great clams. Ashore, there is leprosy, typhus, filariasis, yaws, typhoid, dengue fever, dysentery, saber grass, insects, snakes, and giant lizards. Eat nothing growing on the island; don't drink the water, and don't approach the inhabitants!"

At the conclusion of his lecture, the medical officer asked for questions. A PFC raised his hand. "Sir," he asked, "why don't we just let the Japs keep the island?"


Bob Hope visiting with wounded soldiers being evacuated from Saipan


TOTAL CASUALTIES SUFFERED BY ALL ASSAULT FORCES ON SAIPAN

2,385 Marines killed or missing
1,041 Army soldiers killed or missing
10,549 Marines wounded
2,550 soldiers wounded
______

16,525 total casualties

[SAMWolf]

[SAMWolf]

[Soaring Feather]

Good morning SAM, snippy, Darksheare, radu, all.

[snippy_about_it]

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

.......Good Tuesday Morning Everyone!


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

[snippy_about_it]

Thank you for remembering.

[snippy_about_it]

Morning feather.

[E.G.C.]

BTTT!!!!!!

[E.G.C.]

Good morning, Snippy. How's it going?

[snippy_about_it]

Good morining, running behind as usual, lol.

[aomagrat]

Today's classic warship, USS Canberra (CA-70)

Baltimore class heavy cruiser
Displacement: 13,600 t.
Length: 673’5”
Beam: 70’10”
Draft: 20’6”
Speed: 33 k.
Complement: 1,142
Armament: 9 8”; 12 5”; 48 40mm; 24 20mm; 4 Aircraft

USS CANBERRA (CA-70) was launched 19 April 1943 by Bethlehem Steel Co., Quincy, Mass.; sponsored by Lady Alice C. Dixon; and commissioned 14 October 1943, Captain A. R. Early in command.

CANBERRA departed Boston 14 January 1944 and sailed via San Diego to embark passengers for Pearl Harbor, arriving 1 February. She rendezvoused with TF 58 on 14 February and took part in the capture of Eniwetok. The cruiser steamed from her base at Majuro to join the YORKTOWN (CV-10) task group for the raids on the Palaus, Yap, Ulithi, and Woleai (30 March-l April), then got underway from the same base 13 April for air strikes against Hollandia and Wakde in support of the Army landings on New Guinea. CANBERRA joined with the ENTERPRISE (CV-6) task group for fighter sweeps against Truk, then bombarded Satawan, rejoining the carriers for further strikes on Truk (29 April-1 May).

After a raid against Marcus and Wake Islands in May 1944, CANBERRA sailed from Majuro 6 June to participate in the Marianas operation, including the far-flung Battle of the Philippine Sea, and the supporting air strikes and bombardment to neutralize bases in the Bonins. Following replenishment at Eniwetok, CANBERRA sailed 29 August for raids on the Palaus and the Philippines, and to back up the Morotai landings (15-16 September).

On 2 October 1944, CANBERRA sailed in company with TF 38 for air strikes on Okinawa and Formosa in anticipation of the forthcoming landings on Leyte. On 13 October, only 90 miles off Formosa, close to the enemy and far from safe harbor, CANBERRA was struck below her armor belt at the engineering spaces by an aerial torpedo which blew a huge, jagged hole in her side and killed 23 of her crew instantly. Before damage control could isolate the compartments, some 4,500 tons of water rushed in to flood her after fireroom and both engine rooms, which brought the cruiser to a stop. Then began one of the most notable achievements of the war in saving wounded ships. CANBERRA was taken in tow by WICHITA (CA-45). The task force reformed to provide escort for her and HOUSTON (CL-81) who had been torpedoed on the morning of the 14th. Retiring toward Ulithi, "Cripple Division 1" fought off an enemy air attack which succeeded in firing another torpedo into HOUSTON. Admiral Halsey (CTF 38) attempted to use the group, now nicknamed "Bait Division 1," to lure the Japanese fleet into the open, but when the enemy sortied from the Inland Sea, air attacks from the rest of TF 38 roused enemy suspicions of the trap, and the Japanese force withdrew. CANBERRA and her group continued unmolested to Ulithi, arriving 27 October, 2 weeks from the day she was hit. The cruiser was towed to Manus for temporary repairs, thence departed for permanent repairs at Boston Navy Yard (16 February-17 October l945). CANBERRA returned to the west coast late in 1945 and was placed out of commission in reserve at Bremerton, Wash., 7 March 1947.

CANBERRA received seven battle stars for World War II service.

Reclassified CAG-2, 4 January 1952, CANBERRA was towed from Bremerton to New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N.J., where she was converted to a guided missile heavy cruiser. Her after 8" turret was replaced by Terrier antiaircraft missile launchers and she was otherwise modernized. CANBERRA was recommissioned 15 June 1956, part of the sweeping revolution that is increasing the United States' seapower for peace. Local operations from her home port of Norfolk and Caribbean exercises were conducted until 14 March 1957 when she carried President Dwight D. Eisenhower to Bermuda for a conference with Prime Minister Harold MacMillan of Great Britain. On 12 June, she served as a reviewing ship for the International Naval Review in Hampton Roads, with Secretary of Defense Charles E. Wilson embarked. After a midshipman training cruise to the Caribbean and Brazil (13 June-5 August), she departed Norfolk 3 September to participate in NATO Operation "Strikeback," sailing on to the Mediterranean for duty with the 6th Fleet before returning home 9 March 1958.

In the spring of 1958, CANBERRA was designated as ceremonial flagship for the selection of the unknown servicemen of World War II and Korea to be buried with honor at the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National Cemetery. The cruiser rendezvoused off the Virginia Capes 26 May with BLANDY (DD-943) carrying the Unknown of the European Theater, and BOSTON (CAG-1) carrying the unknowns of the Pacific Theater and the Korean War. After BLANDY had transferred her Unknown to BOSTON, all three caskets were highlined to CANBERRA, where the selection between the two Unknowns of World War II was made. The selected casket along with the Korean Unknown was returned to BLANDY for transportation to Washington, D.C., and the unselected Unknown was buried at sea with military honors by CANBERRA.

CANBERRA carried midshipmen on a training cruise to Europe (9 June-7 August 1958), then after a brief visit to New York, entered Norfolk Naval Shipyard for overhaul.

Departing from the normal operating schedule, CANBERRA sailed from Norfolk on 3 March 1960 on a good-will cruise around the globe, flying the flag of Rear Admiral J. McN. Taylor, Commander of the Atlantic Fleet, Cruiser Force and Cruiser Division 6. On this cruise, he took his flagship to the South Pacific, where her namesake had sunk, where she had engaged the enemy in 1944 and where he had served. On this cruise CANBERRA operated with both the 7th and 6th Fleets as she sailed across the Pacific, through the Indian Ocean, Suez, the Mediterranean, and across the Atlantic. She arrived home in Norfolk on 24 October. For the remainder of the year she operated on the east coast.

She took part in the Cuban Quarantine in the fall of 1962 and, in October 1963, was transferred to the Pacific Fleet. The Vietnam War soon became the focus of her final half-decade. Conducting her first combat deployment since the World War II, she spent the first several months of 1965 off Southeast Asia. A second Vietnam deployment followed in February-June 1966 and a third lasted from October 1966 until April 1967. During these operations her six remaining eight-inch guns were extensively employed for shelling enemy positions in both North and South Vietnam.

Bombardment duty dominated Canberra's next two war tours, in October 1967-April 1968 and from September 1968 to January 1969. This gunnery emphasis, plus the outdated nature of her "Terrier" guided missile system, caused her reclassification back to a heavy cruiser in May 1968, when she regained her original hull number, CA-70. Canberra's missile launchers and guidance radars were removed in 1969, following the end of her last Vietnam cruise. Soon thereafter, in October 1969, she arrived at San Francisco, California, to begin inactivation work. Decommissioned in early February 1970, USS Canberra was stricken from the Naval Vessel Regiser in July 1978 and sold for scrapping in July 1980.

Big guns in action! (The navy spent all that money converting her to missiles, only to have her to use her original WWII guns in Vietnam. Big guns rule!)

[manna]

Present!

[snippy_about_it]

:)

[Fiddlstix]

Good Morning Everybody.

You Know The Drill
Click the Pics J

Coffee & Donuts J

[snippy_about_it]

Off of the island the controversy grew much greater, with several Army generals going so far as to recommending to Lieutenant General Robert C. Richardson, commander of all Army forces in the Pacific, that H. Smith was extremely prejudiced against army forces and that no Army forces should ever be put under his command again!


ARMY Medal of Honor Recipients - SAIPAN


BAKER, THOMAS A.

Rank and organization: Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company A, 105th Infantry, 27th Infantry Division.

Place and date: Saipan, Mariana Islands, 19 June to 7 July 1944. Entered service at: Troy, N.Y. Birth: Troy, N.Y. G.O. No.: 35, 9 May 1945.

Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty at Saipan, Mariana Islands, 19 June to 7 July 1944. When his entire company was held up by fire from automatic weapons and small-arms fire from strongly fortified enemy positions that commanded the view of the company, Sgt. (then Pvt.) Baker voluntarily took a bazooka and dashed alone to within 100 yards of the enemy. Through heavy rifle and machinegun fire that was directed at him by the enemy, he knocked out the strong point, enabling his company to assault the ridge.

Some days later while his company advanced across the open field flanked with obstructions and places of concealment for the enemy, Sgt. Baker again voluntarily took up a position in the rear to protect the company against surprise attack and came upon 2 heavily fortified enemy pockets manned by 2 officers and 10 enlisted men which had been bypassed. Without regard for such superior numbers, he unhesitatingly attacked and killed all of them. Five hundred yards farther, he discovered 6 men of the enemy who had concealed themselves behind our lines and destroyed all of them.

On 7 July 1944, the perimeter of which Sgt. Baker was a part was attacked from 3 sides by from 3,000 to 5,000 Japanese. During the early stages of this attack, Sgt. Baker was seriously wounded but he insisted on remaining in the line and fired at the enemy at ranges sometimes as close as 5 yards until his ammunition ran out. Without ammunition and with his own weapon battered to uselessness from hand-to-hand combat, he was carried about 50 yards to the rear by a comrade, who was then himself wounded. At this point Sgt. Baker refused to be moved any farther stating that he preferred to be left to die rather than risk the lives of any more of his friends. A short time later, at his request, he was placed in a sitting position against a small tree.

Another comrade, withdrawing, offered assistance. Sgt. Baker refused, insisting that he be left alone and be given a soldier's pistol with its remaining 8 rounds of ammunition. When last seen alive, Sgt. Baker was propped against a tree, pistol in hand, calmly facing the foe. Later Sgt. Baker's body was found in the same position, gun empty, with 8 Japanese lying dead before him. His deeds were in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Army.

O'BRIEN, WILLIAM J.

Rank and organization: Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army, 1st Battalion, 105th Infantry, 27th Infantry Division.

Place and date: At Saipan, Marianas Islands, 20 June through 7 July 1944. Entered service at: Troy, N.Y. Birth: Troy, N.Y. G.O. No.: 35, 9 May 1945.

Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty at Saipan, Marianas Islands, from 20 June through 7 July 1944. When assault elements of his platoon were held up by intense enemy fire, Lt. Col. O'Brien ordered 3 tanks to precede the assault companies in an attempt to knock out the strongpoint. Due to direct enemy fire the tanks' turrets were closed, causing the tanks to lose direction and to fire into our own troops. Lt. Col. O'Brien, with complete disregard for his own safety, dashed into full view of the enemy and ran to the leader's tank, and pounded on the tank with his pistol butt to attract 2 of the tank's crew and, mounting the tank fully exposed to enemy fire, Lt. Col. O'Brien personally directed the assault until the enemy strongpoint had been liquidated.

On 28 June 1944, while his platoon was attempting to take a bitterly defended high ridge in the vicinity of Donnay, Lt. Col. O'Brien arranged to capture the ridge by a double envelopment movement of 2 large combat battalions. He personally took control of the maneuver. Lt. Col. O'Brien crossed 1,200 yards of sniper-infested underbrush alone to arrive at a point where 1 of his platoons was being held up by the enemy.

Leaving some men to contain the enemy he personally led 4 men into a narrow ravine behind, and killed or drove off all the Japanese manning that strongpoint. In this action he captured S machineguns and one 77-mm. fieldpiece. Lt. Col. O'Brien then organized the 2 platoons for night defense and against repeated counterattacks directed them. Meanwhile he managed to hold ground. On 7 July 1944 his battalion and another battalion were attacked by an overwhelming enemy force estimated at between 3,000 and 5,000 Japanese. With bloody hand-to-hand fighting in progress everywhere, their forward positions were finally overrun by the sheer weight of the enemy numbers. With many casualties and ammunition running low, Lt. Col. O'Brien refused to leave the front lines.

Striding up and down the lines, he fired at the enemy with a pistol in each hand and his presence there bolstered the spirits of the men, encouraged them in their fight and sustained them in their heroic stand. Even after he was seriously wounded, Lt. Col. O'Brien refused to be evacuated and after his pistol ammunition was exhausted, he manned a .50 caliber machinegun, mounted on a jeep, and continued firing. When last seen alive he was standing upright firing into the Jap hordes that were then enveloping him. Some time later his body was found surrounded by enemy he had killed His valor was consistent with the highest traditions of the service.

[Valin]

On This Day In History


Birthdates which occurred on July 29:
1805 Alexis de Tocqueville France, statesman/writer (Democracy in America)
1861 Alica Hathaway Lee Roosevelt 1st wife of Theodore Roosevelt
1869 Booth Tarkington US, novelist (17, Magnificent Ambersons)
1871 [Gregory Efimovich] Rasputin the mad Russian monk
1878 Don Marquis Ill, journalist/poet (archy & mehitabel)
1883 Benito Mussolini [Il Duce], Fascist Italian dictator (1922-43)
1887 Sigmund Romberg Nagykanizsa Hungary, operetta composer (Blossom Time)
1892 William Powell actor (Thin Man, My Man Godfrey)
1898 Isidor Isaac Rabi Poland, physicist (explored atom-Nobel-1944)
1900 Don Redman Piedmont WV, orch leader (Sugar Hill Times)
1900 Eyvind Johnson Sweden, novelist (Return to Ithaca-Nobel 1974)
1905 Clara Bow silent screen actress (It, Saturday Night Kid)
1905 Dag Hammarskj”ld 2nd UN Secretary-General (1953-61) (Nobel 1961)
1905 Thelma Todd actress (Dangerous Female, Devil's Brother)
1907 Melvin Belli Sonora Calif, lawyer, SF's "King of Torts"
1913 Stephen McNally NYC, actor (Split Second, 30 Seconds over Tokyo)
1914 "Professor Irwin Corey comedian (Car Wash)
1921 Richard Egan SF Calif, actor (Empire, Redigo, Pollyanna)
1924 Lloyd Bochner Toronto, (Cecil-Dynasty, Lonely Lady, Naked Gun 2«)
1924 Robert Horton LA Calif, actor (Kings Row, Wagon Train, Arena)
1925 Mikis Theodorakis Chios Greece, composer (Raven)
1926 Russel Firestone polo great (Circle F-1959 champs)
1930 Paul Taylor dancer & choreographer (Paul Taylor Dance Company)
1932 Nancy Kassebaum (Sen-R-Ks)
1933 Robert Fuller Troy NY, actor (Laramie, Wagon Train)
1935 Peter Schreier Meissen Germany, tenor (Dressden State Opera 1961)
1936 Elizabeth Dole US Secretary of Transportation (1983-87)
1938 Peter Jennings Toronto Canada, news anchor (ABC Evening News)
1941 David Warner Manchester NH, actor (Holocaust)
1943 Roz Kelly Mt Vernon NY, actress (Owl & Pussycat, Happy Days)
1946 Neal Doughty keyboardist (REO)
1950 Radu Voina Romania, team handball (Oly-silver/2 bronze-1972, 76, 80)
1951 Leslie Easterbrook LA Calif, actress (Ryan's Hope, Police Acadamy 5)
1953 Geddy Lee lead singer (Rush-Tom Sawyer)
1959 Gary Springer NYC, actor (Bernice Bobs Her Hair)
1959 Nelli Kim USSR, gymnist (Olympic-2 golds-1976)
1963 Alexandra Paul NYC, actress (Christine, American Flyers, Dragnet)
1964 Lisa Peluso actress (Search for Tomorrow, Ava Alden Rescott-Loving)
1972 Wil Wheaton actor (Star Trek Next Generation-Wesley, Stand By Me)
1973 Stephen Dorff Atlanta, actor (I Know My Name is Steven)
1973 Wanya Morris [Squirt], Phila Pa, rapper (Boyz II Men)

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Deaths which occurred on July 29:
1030 King Olav Haraldsson of Norway, dies in battle of Stiklestad
1164 King Olaf of Norway, dies
1794 Seventy of Robespierre's followers guillotined
1890 Vincent Van Gogh, painter, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in Auvers, France.
1900 Umberto I Italian king assassinated by anarchist Gaetano Bresci
1960 Richard Simon cofounder of Simon & Shuster, dies
1974 Cass Elliot singer of Mamas & Papas chokes to death at 30 in London
1982 Harold Sakata actor (Kenji-Sarge), dies at 62
1983 David Niven actor (Rugues), dies in Switzerland at 73
1983 Luis Bu¤uel movie director, dies at 83 of cirrhosis of liver
1983 Raymond Massey actor, dies of pneumonia in Beverly Hills, Calif at 86
1984 Fred Waring orch leader (Fred Waring Show), dies at 84
1984 Woodrow Parfey actor (Time Express), dies at 61 of a heart attack
1985 James F Nolan actor (Dante), dies of cancer at 69
1988 Ellin Berlin (MacKay) Mrs Irving Berlin, dies at 86

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Reported: MISSING in ACTION

1965 BROWN EDWARD D. JR. CHARLOTTE NC.
[KIA IN CRASH REMAINS DESTROYED]
1965 WEATHERBY JACK WILTON FORT WORTH TX.
[REMAINS RETURNED BY HANOI(NOT HIM???) REMAINS RETURNED 08/23/78]
1966 BOSSIO GALILEO F. DEER PARK WA.
1966 CAMERON VIRGIL KING MC ALLEN TX.
[SURVIVAL UNLIKELY REMAINS IDENTIFIED 08/06/99]
1966 CHIARELLO VINCENT A. NEW YORK NY
[POSS DIED IN CRASH REMAINS RETURNED 03/02/88]
1966 CONKLIN BERNARD STONEY POINT NY.
[DEAD REMAINS RETURNED 03/02/88]
1966 DI TOMMASO ROBERT J. BUFFALO NY.
1966 HALL JAMES S. GREENSBORO NC.
[REMAINS RETURNED 03/02/88]
1966 HOSKINSON ROBERT E. MORO OR.
1966 LAWS DELMER L. MINERAL POINT MO.
1966 MAMIYA JOHN II WAHIAWA HI.
[REMAINS RETURNED 03/02/88]
1966 SMITH HERBERT E. APPALACHICOLA FL.
[DEAD / RETURNED 03/88]
1967 BENNEFELD STEVEN HENRY GIRARD KS.
1967 JOHNSON RICHARD HERMAN WOLCOTT NY.
1968 AUXIER JERRY E. DIXIE WV.
1972 KULA JAMES D. MANCHESTER NH.
[03/29/73 RELEASED BY DRV, ALIVE IN 98]
1972 MATSUI MELVIN K. HILO HI.
[03/29/73 RELEASED BY DRV]

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

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On this day...
1588 Attacking Spanish Armada defeated & scattered by English defenders
1603 Bartholomew Gilbert is killed in Virginia by Indians, during a search for the missing Roanoke colonists.
1715 10 Spanish treasure galleons sunk off Florida coast by hurricane
1751 1st international world title prize fight-Jack Stack of England,beats challenger M Petit of France in 29 mins in England
1773 1st schoolhouse west of Allegheny Mtns completed, Schoenbrunn, OH
1786 1st newspaper published west of Alleghenies, Pitts Gazette
1835 1st sugar plantation in Hawaii begins
1844 New York Yacht Club forms
1851 A De Gasparis discovers asteroid #15 Eunomia
1858 1st commercial treaty between US & Japan signed
1858 US citizens allowed to live anywhere in Japan
1874 Major Walter Copton Wingfield patents a portable tennis court
1899 1st motorcycle race, Manhattan Beach, NY
1899 Southern Calif Golf Assn formed
1908 St Louis Browns Rube Waddell strikes out 16 Phila Athletics
1911 Boston Red Sox Joe Wood no-hits St Louis Browns, 5-0
1914 1st transcontinental phone link made between NYC & SF
1915 US marines land in Haiti, stay until 1924
1920 1st transcontinental airmail flight from NY to SF
1921 Adolf Hitler becomes the president of the Nationalist Socialist German Workers' Party (Nazis).
1924 Paul Runyan wins the PGA golf championship
1928 Walt Disney's "Steamboat Willie" is released
1930 115ø F (46ø C), Holly Springs, Mississippi (state record)
1936 RCA shows the 1st real TV program (dancing, film on locomotives, Bonwit Teller fashion show & monologue from Tobacco Road & comedy)
1937 C Jackson discovers asteroid #1431 Luanda
1938 Olympic National Park established
1942 Eastern Blvd in the Bronx renamed Bruckner Blvd
1947 Gas leak explodes in a beauty parlor, 10 women die in Harrisonburg Va
1948 King George VI opens 14th modern Olympic games in London
1952 1st nonstop transpacific flight by a jet
1955 Smokey Burgess hits 3 HRS to help Pirates beat Reds 16-5
1956 Cathy Cornelius wins the US Women's Golf Open in a playoff
1956 Jacques Cousteau's Calypso anchors in 7,500 m of water (record)
1957 International Atomic Energy Agency established by UN
1957 Jack Paar's Tonight show premiers
1958 Pres Eisenhower signs NASA & Space Act of 1958
1958 Southern Pacific Bay ferries stop running
1960 J Schubart discovers asteroid #2000 Herschel
1961 Phillies lose 1st of 23 straight games
1961 Wallis & Futuna Islands become a French overseas territory
1965 Beatles movie "Help" premiers, Queen Elizabeth attends
1965 Gemini 5 returned after 12d 7h 11m 53s
1965 Major league record 26 strikeouts, Phillies (16), Pirates (10)
1967 Explosion & Fire aboard carrier USS Forrestal in Gulf of Tonkin kills 134, $100 million in damage
1967 Moderate quake (6.5) strikes Caracas Venezuela causing severe damage
1968 Cincinnati Red George Culver no hits Phillies, 6-1
1968 Mount Arenal, Costa Rica kills 80 in Pelee-type eruption
1968 Pope Paul VI reaffirms stand against artificial birth control
1969 Mariner 6 begins transmitting far-encounter photos of Mars
1970 6 days of race rioting in Hartford Ct
1973 Greek plebiscite chooses republic over monarchy
1974 2nd impeachment vote against Nixon by the House Judiciary Committee
1974 St Louis Card Lou Brock steals his 700th base
1975 Ford became 1st US pres to visit Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz
1978 600,000 attend "Summer Jam" rock festival, Watkins Glen, NY
1978 Penny Dean swims English Channel in record 7h40m
1978 Pioneer 11 transmits images of Saturn & its rings
1981 Prince Charles of England weds Lady Diana Spencer
1982 Andy Taylor of rock group Duran Duran weds Tracie Wilson
1983 "Friday Night Videos" premiers on NBC TV
1983 Steve Garvey ends his NL record 1,207 consecutive game streak
1984 Summer Olympics opens in LA
1985 19th Space Shuttle Mission (51-F)-Challenger 8-launched
1986 NY jury rules NFL violated antitrust laws, awards USFL $1 in damages
1987 Ben & Jerry's & Jerry Garcia agree on a new flavor Cherry Garcia
1988 FDIC bails out 1st Republic Bank, Dallas, with $4 billion
1988 Gorbachev pushes plan electing president & parliament in March, 1989
1988 Judge orders NASA to release unedited tape from Challenger cockpit
1988 Last US Playboy Club (Lansing Mich) closes
1988 South African govt bans anti-apartheid film "Cry Freedom"
1989 Javier Sotomayor of Cuba sets high jump record (8'0") in San Juan
1989 Phillies retire Steve Carltons # 32
1989 Vince Coleman, record streak stopped at 50 straight stolen bases
1990 Boston Red Sox set major league record with 12 doubles in a game
1991 1st Sunday Night game at Shea Stadium (Mets beat Cubs 6-0)
1991 Donald Trump gives Marla Maples a 7+ carat engagement ring
1999 A federal judge in Little Rock, Ark., fined President Clinton $89,000 for lying about his relationship with
former White House intern Monica Lewinsky in his deposition in the Paula Jones sexual harassment case.

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

Norway : Olsok Eve Festival (1030)
Gilroy, California : Garlic Festival ( Friday )
National Eye Exam Month

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Religious Observances
Ang, Luth : Comm of Mary & Martha (Lazarus' sister) of Bethany
Luth : Commemoration of Olaf, King of Norway, martyr

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Religious History
1775 The U.S. Army Chaplaincy was founded, making it the second oldest branch of thatservice, after the Infantry.
1776 Pioneer Methodist bishop Francis Asbury remarked in his journal: 'My present modeof conduct is...to read about 100 pages a day; usually to pray in public five times aday.... If it were in my power, I would do a thousand times as much for such a gracious andblessed Master.'
1866 Birth of Thomas O. Chisholm, American Methodist pastor, teacher, editor and poet.Of the 1,200 sacred verses he penned, one later became the popular hymn: 'Great Is ThyFaithfulness.'
1905 Birth of Dag Hammarskj”ld, Swedish diplomat and Secretary-General of the U.N.(1953-61). His spiritual journal 'Markings' was published in 1964, three years after hisuntimely death in a plane crash.
1974 The first eleven women priests in the Episcopal Church were ordained inPhiladelphia's Church of the Advocate.

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

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Thought for the day :
"This will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave."

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You might be out of touch with reality if...
you keep yelling at everyone to shutup and leave you alone... and there is no one else in the room

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Todays Murphys law....(mothers laws)
You can’t "out mother" your mother. Don’t even try.

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Cliff Clavin says, It's a little known fact but did you know...
"Kemo Sabe" means "soggy shrub" in Navajo.

[Johnny Gage]

Air Power
Boeing B-29 "Superfortress"

The B-29 bomber, produced by the Boeing Aircraft Company during the war, was the first long-range heavy bomber employed by the United States. It was primarily used in the war’s Pacific Theater, and became notorious as the plane used to drop the world’s first atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, Aug. 6 and 9, 1945.

The Boeing B-29 was designed in 1940 as an eventual replacement for the B-17 and B-24. The first one built made its maiden flight on Sept. 21, 1942. Developing the Boeing B-29 was a program which rivaled the Manhattan Project in size and expense. Technically a generation ahead of all other heavy bomber types in World War II, the Superfortress was pressurized for high altitudes and featured remotely-controlled gun turrets. Most important, its four supercharged Wright R-3350-23 engines gave it the range to carry large bomb loads across the vast reaches of the Pacific Ocean.

A test flight of the plane’s XB-29 prototype ended in tragedy Feb. 18, 1943, when an engine caught fire and the plane crashed. The pilot, crew and 19 people on the ground were killed. The Boeing Company declared that it was “not going to build this airplane. It’s no good. It has too many problems.” Gen. Henry “Hap” Arnold, the Air Force’s first general officer, argued with Boeing and threatened to force them to repay the $200 million that they had been given to build the planes. Faced with having to pay back money already received, Boeing agreed to “operate the factories,” but they would “not take any responsibility for the airplane.” The Army took over the test program after the crash. Development continued that summer with flight testing of the YB-29 even as hurried production versions of the B-29 were being turned out.

In December 1943, it was decided not to use the B-29 in the European Theater, thereby permitting the airplane to be sent to the Pacific area where its great range made it particularly suited for the long over water flight required to attack the Japanese homeland from bases in China. As it came into the AAF inventory in mid-1944, the B-29 weighed 140,000 pounds loaded, with an effective range of 3,250 miles. Pavements failed, and at their best, behaved erratically. No airfield pavement had been designed for more than 120,000 pounds gross weight. The Corps of Engineers began experiments anew with pavement overlays at Hamilton Field north of San Francisco.

As the powerful B-29 "Superfortress" rolled off America’s production lines in the midst of World War II, General "Hap" Arnold, then Commanding General of the Army Air Forces, understood the need to bring the B-29’s unique strategic bombing capabilities to bear against the Japanese homeland. Thus, in April 1944, he created Twentieth Air Force and gave it the daunting mission of conducting one of the largest--and ultimately most successful--air campaigns in history. Arnold’s B-29s first flew in Operation MATTERHORN, which called for India-based Superfortresses to bomb Japan from forward bases in China. However, as allied forces advanced in the South Pacific "Island Hopping" campaign, Twentieth Air Force expanded its B-29 operations to bases in the Marianas Islands. During the last two months of 1944, B-29s began operating against Japan from the islands of Saipan, Guam and Tinian. Flying more than 1,500 miles one way, more than 1,000 bombers and 250 fighters conducted 28,000 combat sorties against Japan in the brief span of 16 months.

In early 1944 the Army Air Forces started its program to develop an atomic bomb delivery capability using the B-29 aircraft. The B-29 was the logical choice in view of its long range, superior high-altitude performance, and ability to carry an atomic bomb that was expected to weigh 9000 to 10,000 pounds. In March and again in June dummy atomic bombs were dropped by B-29s at Muroc Army Air Force Base in California to test the release mechanism. In August seventeen B-29s entered a modification program at the Glenn L. Martin plant in Omaha, Nebraska, to apply the lessons learned at Muroc. The "Silver Plate" project was the code name of the pilot and crew training program for the coming World War II atomic missions.

On 6 August 1945 the crew of the "Enola Gay" dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. The thirteen-hour mission to Hiroshima began at 0245 Tinian time. By the time they rendezvoused with their accompanying B-29s at 0607 over Iwo Jima, the group was three hours from the target area. The "Enola Gay" flew toward the AiOi T-Bridge in Hiroshima at a speed of 285 mph. After six-and-a-half hours of tough overwater navigation, the B-29 was over target within seventeen seconds of the scheduled drop time of 0915. When the 9,000-pound bomb "Little Boy" fell from the "Enola Gay," pilot Paul Tibbets put the aircraft into a 60-degree diving right turn and headed home. Seconds later, Hiroshima lie in ruins.

Despite widespread destruction, the Japanese still did not surrender. Three days later, Maj. Charles W. Sweeney, commander of the 393rd BMS and piloting "Bockscar" flew over Nagasaki. A few minutes after 9 a.m., bombardier Capt. Kermit K. Beahan toggled the bomb switch. Less than a minute later, Nagasaki became the second city attacked with the devastating weapon. The Japanese surrendered in the following days thereby ending World War II.

Immediately post-World War II, SAC’s bomber inventory housed the B-29 Superfortress, the plane that had dropped atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In 1946, the Soviets began design of their long-range bomber, the Tu-4, modeled directly on B-29s captured during 1944. The B-29 was SAC’s first Cold War aircraft, and even as late as the close of 1948 the Air Force had modified only 60 of the planes to carry the atomic bomb. Its infrastructure, hangars, and ancillaries were reused from World War II facilities. While the B-29 was the long-range aircraft that revolutionized air war, the aircraft could only fly the U.S.-Soviet corridor one way, and could not achieve that distance heavily loaded.

With the advent of the conflict in Korea in June 1950, the B-29 was once again thrust into battle. For the next several years it was effectively used for attacking targets in North Korea. The Warner Robins Air Materiel Area (WRAMA) literally unwrapped and refurbished hundreds of "Cocooned" Boeing B-29 Superfortresses. Understaffed and working around the clock, they made sure that United Nations forces in the Far East had the necessary tools to fight the North Korean invaders. This was particularly true with the key role B-29s played in bombing Communist supply lines and staving off the enemy's assault on Allied forces pinned down inside the Pusan Perimeter. B-29s detached from Twentieth Air Force continued flying combat missions until the end of the war in 1953. By 1955, with the situation in Korea stabilized and intercontinental-range bombers entering service, the need no longer existed for a B-29 numbered air force in the Pacific.

The B-29 MR [MR standing for Modified Receiver] could refuel in mid-air. The KB-29M was the tanker, using what was called the British 'looped hose' method, a 400 foot length of hose that tethered the two airplanes together. In order to extend the range of the new generation of jet aircraft, a B-29 was also fitted with a flying boom for experiments in air-to-air refueling.

A stop-gap measure to fill the long-range bomber requirement in the Cold War, the Boeing B-29D Washington began entering service with UK Bomber Command Squadrons during August 1950. The type began to be retired in 1953 with the advent of the V-bombers, but the last did not leave the RAF until 1958.

Specifications:
Primary Function: Long range heavy Bomber
Contractor: Boeing
Crew: 10
Unit Cost: $639,000
Powerplants: Four 2,200-horsepower Wright Double Cyclone engines

Dimensions:
Length: 99 feet
Wingspan: 141 feet 3 inches
Height: 27 feet 9 inches
Weights: Empty: 69,610 lb / Maximum Takeoff: 105,000 pounds (140,000 pounds postwar)

Performance :
Speed: 365 mph (mach 0.55)
Ceiling: 31,850 feet
Range: 5,830 miles

Armaments:
Eight .50-cal. machine guns in remote controlled turrets
Two .50-cal. machine guns and one 20mm cannon in tail
20,000 lbs. of bombs.

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All photos Copyright of Global Security.Org

[Darksheare]

Morning.
Will be bouncing around a bit again today.
Likely at random.