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Posted on 09/26/2003 3:57:09 AM PDT by snippy_about_it
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 are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
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| Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans. In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should feel free to address their specific circumstances or whatever issues concern them in an atmosphere of peace, understanding, brotherhood and support. The FReeper Foxhole hopes to share with it's readers an open forum where we can learn about and discuss military history, military news and other topics of concern or interest to our readers be they Veteran's, Current Duty or anyone interested in what we have to offer. If the Foxhole makes someone appreciate, even a little, what others have sacrificed for us, then it has accomplished one of it's missions. We hope the Foxhole in some small way helps us to remember and honor those who came before us.
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U.S. Army Camps in the Le Havre Area  After the Allies secured the French harbor of Le Havre (on the eastern side of the Bay of the Seine, opposite Cherbourg, as in the modern map view of Northern France below), the Americans began ringing the city with camps that served as staging areas for new troops arriving in the ETO. Most of the camps were located between Le Havre and Rouen. [They also constructed the so-called "City Camps" around the city of Reims; these camps served as assembly areas for units about to enter combat. And there were additional embarkation camps in Southern France, north of Marseilles, and, of course, Camp Tophat near Antwerp, Belgium.]  The wartime plan was for incoming units to first pass through staging camps on their way to the assembly areas, and then to the front. The staging-area camps were named after various brands of American cigarettes; the assembly area camps were named after American cities. The names of cigarettes and cities were chosen for two reasons: First, and primarily, for security. Referring to the camps without an indication of their geographical location went a long way to ensuring that the enemy would not know precisely where they were. Anybody eavesdropping or listening to radio traffic would think that cigarettes were being discussed or the camp was stateside, especially regarding the city camps. Secondly, there was a subtle psychological reason, the premise being that troops heading into battle wouldn't mind staying at a place where cigarettes must be plentiful and troops about to depart for combat would be somehow comforted in places with familiar names of cities back home (Camp Atlanta, Camp Baltimore, Camp New York, and Camp Pittsburgh, among others). (I doubt if the GIs heading into Europe were taken in by any of that cigarette and city mumbo-jumbo!) By war's end, however, all of the cigarette and city camps were devoted to departees. Many processed liberated American POWs (Prisoners of War) and some even held German POWs for a while.  The city of Le Havre had fallen on September 12, 1944, but because of the persistence of the German defense and the ferocity of the Allied air assault, much of it was destroyed, including the world-class harbor facilities so coveted by the British and Americans. After sustaining heavy bombing throughout the war — between 130 and 150 air raids had been launched against the city — the town center was completely destroyed in the span of just four hours on 5/6 September 1944, in routine "carpet bombing" operations carried out by the Royal Air Force (RAF).  The necessity of liberating this great port on the north bank of the River Seine, in order to provide the necessary supplies for the Allied troops which were progressing north (Paris was liberated on 25 August), prompted General Montgomery to give the order for this large-scale attack, which made Le Havre the most severely damaged city in France. In the meantime, the Germans, in order to prevent the Allies from using the port, chose to destroy all of the port facilities before evacuating the city: 17 kilometers of quaysides were thus destroyed, leaving only one crane in working condition.  All in all, the war took the following toll: 5,000 people were killed, 12,500 buildings were destroyed, 80,000 people were left homeless; the population lost all tangible traces of its history. A few terrible words proved enough to express the feeling of the city's population in the face of this wasteland, which spread out over almost two kilometres, all the way to the sea front: "You could see as far as the sea!"  Considering that Cherbourg's harbor facilities were slowly being restored after being demolished by the Germans prior to surrendering the port, most of the Allies' men and materiel were being landed directly on the Normandy beaches and ferried inland, initially to be injected directly into combat and later to be sent to staging areas for placement.  The British had liberated the city, rested there for just a few days, and then continued their pursuit of the retreating Germans. The Americans arrived next, who desired to convert the harbor into a powerful logistical base from which to supply their armies with men and materiél. As they moved further and further from the Normandy beaches, Le Havre seemed ideally situated to feed the assault across Northern France.  The Americans, as they had done in Cherbourg, began to restore the harbor facilities, of which nearly 90% had been destroyed by the Germans, first by increasing the depth of the channel through which ships entered and then the general water level by prodigious dredging in the dock areas.  The XVIth Port Command also constructed dozens of ramps to facilitate the easy shuttling of personnel and supplies from ship to shore, since the city's beautiful quays were unusable by U.S. Quartermaster Corps standards since they were too high above the water. The Americans were practical and many physical changes were necessary to ease the transfer of supplies from ship to amphibious vehicles (such as LCAs and DUKWs) to the warehouses and storage areas where trucks (mostly operated under the auspices of the famous "Red Ball Express") would load up.  Just as the concept of "hards" (which resembled sloping car parks that led directly into the water) had transformed dozens of British harbors prior to D-Day (and expedited the ferrying of troops from shore to large landing ships via assault craft), Le Havre's waterfront suddenly saw the construction of similar ramps to speed the delivery of spare parts and spare GIs to the mainland.  The men who disembarked in the harbor were ferried immediately to the Cigarette Camps, the hastily erected conglomerations of tents and wooden huts that rose up in the forests and fields to the east and southeast of the city.  There was Camp Herbert Tareyton, located in the Forest of Montgeon within the city limits, with a capacity of 16,400 men.  Camp Wings, with a capacity of 2,250 men, was situated — somewhat appropriately — on the grounds of the Blaville Aerodrome.  At Sanvic, 2,000 men called Camp Home Run home;  at Gainneville, Camp Philip Morris held 35,000 men;  and at Etretat, Camp Pall Mall provided rather soggy billets for 7,700 men.  But these were not the largest, or even the busiest, camps. That distinction goes to the "Big Three" — Camp Lucky Strike, located between Cany and Saint-Valery (capacity 58,000); Camp Old Gold, at Ourville (capacity 35,000); and Camp Twenty Grand, at Duclair (capacity 20,000).  It is estimated that nearly three million American troops either entered or left Europe through Le Havre, which led to it becoming known as the "Gateway to America" in 1945-46.  In late 1944 these camps were rather primitive places, usually sprawling tent cities characterized by a sense of transience, with little if any conveniences. These "canvas" camps were at the mercy of the weather that was particular to Northern Europe in the Fall and Winter of 1944-45, and many U. S. veterans who spent time at any of them before the onset of the Battle of the Bulge and prior to being shuttled forward recall nothing but cold rain and colder mud, and, of course, snow. Trenchfoot ran rampant. So did the flu.  The camps, located in what the Army designated the "Red Horse" staging area, were, as noted, named for American cigarettes, which were fast becoming a universal currency in the ETO. Soon, GIs were cursing places called Camp Chesterfield and Camp Lucky Strike. And there was Camp Old Gold too, and Philip Morris, Pall Mall, Herbert Tareyton, Wings, Home Run, and Twenty Grand.  They'd cross the channel in some LST or an even tinier tub, perhaps an LCI, spend a few days in what must have seemed like a hell hole, and then entrain to the front in boxcars known as "40 and 8s" (so called for the French designation "40 hommes et 8 cheveaux," which means the boxcars had a capacity of 40 men or eight horses;)or in trucks. The camps were also known as "pneumonia holes," "repple-depples," or "Repo Depots" (denoting Replacement Depots, also spelled as Repo Depos). (WW II movie buffs will recall that the opening scenes of WIlliam Wellmann's Battleground evoke the atmosphere at these camps pretty accurately.)  The camp sites first had military designations like B-19 and in the fall and winter of 1944 were not more than snow-covered patches of France on top of which squad tents had been erected. The following account (culled and condensed from the experiences of many units that were there) of the changes they saw at Camp Lucky Strike between their arrival in open trucks in late 1944 and their departure the following spring shows how these camps evolved:  "New arrivals were cold, tired, and hungry, but there was work to be done before they could get some shut-eye. They had to assemble their own cots and set up stoves and pick up fuel and haul it back. (There was no room service!) The heat from the stoves barely heated the tents and seemed only effective at thawing the frozen dirt floors so by morning the cots had settled into a good four inches of mud. Soon gravel was available to put down and the men hauled it back in pails, steel helmets, and any other container that could be found. The paths leading through the rows of tents were also graveled and the situation was beginning to improve. After a few months, most of the tents had wooden floors, doors, shelves, and cabinets. A softball diamond, as well as volleyball and basketball courts, had been constructed. Day room and theater tents had been set up. Soon resident units were printing their own newspapers. And the whole place was wired for electricity. Twenty-four hour passes were available to Le Havre, Rouen, Fecamp, and Yvetot. Since bathing facilities at camp were nonexistent, one of the first places visited by men on pass was the Red Cross shower room. Perhaps the next most popular spot was the Hotel Metropole in Rouen, where for a price just about anything could be obtained. It was also while on pass that most of the men had their first experiences with French wines, cognac, calvados, and benedictine."  "There was a sign at Lucky Strike, prominently displayed, that in no uncertain terms stated that 'personnel being processed through this camp were entitled to have one souvenir pistol in their possession, but only one. Anyone found to have more than one will be court marshaled and given a sentence of six months hard labor in the European Theater of Operations!' There were pyramidal tents pitched on platforms and outside each tent was a large hogshead full of water to be used in case of fire. Before we had been in the camp more than an hour or so, these barrels were overflowing and by evening you could clearly see that they were half full of all sorts of side arms. If you'd ever been there, many GIs agree that you would have no desire to revisit the camp. Under the floor of the tents the rats grew to cat size and sounded as though they were wearing boots when they tramped around while the men were trying to sleep at night. Really nothing to do all day, don't remember being allowed to go into the city and time passed slowly waiting for a ship."  Happy U.S. veterans head for harbor of Le Havre, France, the first to be sent home and discharged under the Army's new point system. [Signal Corps photo dated May 25, 1945 (111-SC-207868].  The SS Maritime Victory at Le Havre prior to boarding after leaving Philip Morris, January 1946      |
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Air Power |
Rarely mentioned in the same context as the Lancaster as a great aeroplane, the Halifax, through successive improvements to the basic design, became a very able support aircraft to the Lancaster.
Like its illustrious partner, the Halifax can trace its origins back to a failed design tendered in 1936/37 against the latest Air Ministry bomber Specifications. In this case, the HP56 which was offered for Specification P13/36 which called for a long-range medium-heavy bomber capable of cruising at 275mph at 15,000ft and defending itself with nose- and tail-mounted powered gun positions. A crew of four was specified (2 pilots (1 acting a navigator, bomb aimer and front gunner!), wireless operator and rear gunner). Handley Page, like Avro, who were offering the Manchester against the same specification, chose the power the aircraft with two Rolls Royce Vulture engines.
The company foresaw problems with the supply of these engines, which had not yet been flown, and was allowed to alter the aircraft design to incorporate four Merlin engines. This revised design was known as the HP57 and two prototypes were ordered early in September 1937, although this subsequently increased to 500 aircraft in light of the planned expansion of Bomber Command.
The change of engines benefited the Halifax, as the design was christened, as the Vulture engines of the rival Manchester proved incredibly unreliable, and only 200 of a planned 1500 entered service before Avro's hand was forced and the Manchester re-engined with four Merlins. This new aircraft, the Lancaster (originally, the Manchester III), went on to far greater success than its ill-fated predecessor.
The first Halifax took to the air on 25 October 1939 from the RAF airfield at Bicester but it was to be almost a year before the second aircraft flew (August 1940). Within two months however, the first production aircraft had flown and barely five weeks later the first squadron to form on the Halifax, No 35, was receiving its initial aircraft at Leeming. The Aircraft was the second of the RAF's new four-engined 'heavies', being preceded by the Stirling by three months into service.
After working up on its new mounts, No 35 Squadron carried out its first operation on the Halifax during the night of 10/11 March 1941 - an attack on Le Havre. The debut was unfortunately marred when one of the aircraft was shot down by an RAF fighter whilst returning to Linton-on-Ouse with the loss of the crew. The following night saw the debut of the Halifax over Germany when two aircraft joined an attack on Hamburg. In June of 1941, No 76 Squadron became the second Halifax unit and within a year a further ten squadrons (all in No 4 Group) had converted to the type.
This first series operations highlighted several weaknesses in the Halifax design, namely a lack of speed, and so Handley Page revised the design, removing the mid-upper turret and exhaust fairings to reduce drag as well as the nose turret which, it was deemed, was underused. A revised nose with a perspex fairing in place of the turret was produced and these aircraft were known (somewhat confusingly) as the Halifax B.II Series 1 (Special). These were superseded by the B.II Series 1A which, equally confusingly, restored the mid-upper turret (albeit a low-drag one) and featured an extended nose which was to become standard on all models as well as higher-powered Merlins. Later versions, still, had rectangular fins in place of the triangular ones of earlier models, and these improved the directional stability of the Halifax, particularly during the bombing run. A full list of the myriad of Halifax Marks and sub-Variants can be found on the specifications page.
With these improvements in place, the Halifax was a far more capable aircraft, and a Halifax became the first aircraft to carry a new bombing aid known as H2S in March 1942. That said, it still suffered from a lack of power from its Merlins which adversely affected its bomb-carrying capability at higher altitudes and a restriction preventing Halifaxes attacking more hazardous targets was imposed in September 1943 until improvements had been made. The next version to enter Bomber Command service was the B.III fitted with Bristol Hercules radial engines, a retractable tailwheel to further decrease drag and either H2S or a mid-upper gun turret. These changes allowed an increase in altitude of some 2,000ft and the restriction on targets was lifted in February 1944.
Subsequent versions of the Halifax had higher-powered Hercules engines and additional fuel tanks, but the aircraft was still inferior to the Lancaster and this was reflected in the higher losses suffered by Halifax squadrons on operations throughout its service life. The final Halifax Bomber Command operation took place during the night of 2nd/3rd May 1945 when aircraft from Nos 171 and 199 Squadrons raided Kiel. Immediately after the war, the Halifax was withdrawn from Bomber Command and declared obsolete at the start of 1946.
Only one VC was awarded to a Halifax pilot. Pilot Officer Cyril Barton of No 578 Squadron was posthumously honoured after bringing his stricken aircraft back to England from the Nuremburg raid of 30th/31st March 1944. The aircraft could not be coaxed back to base and Barton was forced to crash-land. He unfortunately lost his life but the remaining members of the crew survived.
The aircraft did see service in other RAF Commands; with Coastal Command the Halifax soldiered on until March 1952 when No 224 Squadron finally retired its last aircraft and with Transport Command, Halifaxes flew many missions with Airborne Forces after the war and some were converted to carry a pannier tank for cargo in the bomb-bay and fitted out to carry 11 passengers. Including all marks, a total of 6,176 Halifaxes were built for the RAF.
Specifications:
Manufacturer: Handley Page
Primary function: Heavy bomber
Powerplant: Four Bristol Hercules XVI 14 cylinder radial engines with 1,650 HP each
Crew: Seven
First flight: Prototype 25.3.1939
Date deployed: Halifax I 11.10.1940 / Halifax III July 1943
Number built: 6,176
Dimensions:
Wingspan: 104 ft
Length: 71.6 ft
Height: 20.7 ft
Wingarea: 1,275 sq ft
Weights: empty 38,240 lb / max. 65,000 lb
Performance :
Speed: max. 311 mph
Initial climb rate: 751 ft/min
Ceiling: 24,000 ft
Range: 1,261 mi
Armaments:
9 - 7.7mm machine guns
5,890 kg bombs
All photos Copyright of their respective websites.
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Night Raid
 Members of A Company, 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) take cover by a wall as they wait for the signal to go into a house that is suspected of harboring members of the former Iraqi regime in Mosul, Iraq, during Operation Iraqi Freedom, Sept. 23, 2003. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Curtis Hargrave  U.S. soldiers from B Company, 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) pulls security by a wall near a house where other soldiers are conducting a cordon and search for members of the former Iraqi regime. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Kieran Moore  Members of B Company, 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) look through their night vision goggles as they pull security on the outside of a house suspected to be harboring members of the former Iraqi regime during a cordon and search. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Kieran Moore  Soldiers from B Company, 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) begin searching a house suspected of harboring members of the former Iraqi regime. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Kieran Moore  Soldiers of A Company, 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) detain two Iraqi men that they were seeking during their cordon and search mission. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Curtis Hargrave  Members of the 502nd Infantry Regiment discover large sums of Iraqi dinars and a pistol during the search of a home belonging to a suspected member of the former Iraqi regime. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Curtis Hargrave
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Bravo Zulu - USS Carl Vinson
 Disbursing Clerk 2nd Class Larry Pearlman assigned to the USS Ingraham (FFG 61) meets his new three week old daughter upon returning from deployment. Ingraham returned to Everett after an eight-month deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. U.S. Navy photo by PhotographerÕs Mate 2nd Class Eli J. Medellin  Gas Turbine System Mechanic 1st Class Eric McCartney assigned to USS Ingraham (FFG 61) meets his new five day old daughter upon returning from deployment. Ingraham returned to Everett after an eight-month deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. U.S. Navy photo by PhotographerÕs Mate 2nd Class Eli J. Medellin.  Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego, Calif. (Sept. 15, 2003) Ð Wendy Cordero was selected to get the first kiss from Seargeant Jason Reyes, after returning from an eight month cruise aboard USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70). Reyes is a member of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron Three One Four (VMFA-134). Carl Vinson and more than 6,400 Sailors assigned to the super carrier, arrived at Naval Air Station North Island, Calif., for a brief port visit to off load squadrons from Carrier Air Wing Nine (CVW-9), following a deployment to the western Pacific and Central Command area of responsibility in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Carl Vinson will return to her homeport at Naval Station Bremerton, Wash., on Sept. 19, 2003. U.S. Navy photo by PhotographerÕs Mate 2nd Class Brandon A. Teeples  Senior Chief BoatswainÕs Mate James Williams assigned to the USS Ingraham (FFG 61) is welcomed home by his wife and sons upon returning from deployment. Ingraham returned to Everett after an eight-month deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. U.S. Navy photo by PhotographerÕs Mate 2nd Class Eli J. Medellin.  A Navy Chief Petty Officer is greeted by his wife and child as the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) returns from an extended eight and one-half month deployment to the western Pacific. U.S. Navy photo.
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Happy TGIF, all.
Feel the burn!!!!
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