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Posted on 09/07/2005 9:08:58 PM PDT by SAMWolf
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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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The 'Second Pearl Harbor' Dubbed the 'second Pearl Harbor,' the 1943 German attack on Bari also revealed an Allied secret--mustard gas.  ME-210 Bari was a city of some 200,000 people, with an old section of town that dated back to the Middle Ages. Old Bari, clustered on a fist of land that jutted out into the Adriatic, boasted such famed landmarks as the Castello Svevo, a brooding medieval fortress dating to Norman times, and the Basilica San Nicola, which allegedly contained the bones of St. Nicholas. In contrast, new Bari had broad boulevards and modern buildings. These new buildings included a sports facility nicknamed "Bambino Stadium," which had been built by Italian dictator Benito Mussolini as a reward to the citizens for producing the most babies in a specified period of time. Bari--old and new--had been fortunate, suffering little damage because the Allies had earmarked the city as a major supply port from the start.  As 1943 drew to a close, Bari's medieval torpor and somnolent grace were shaken off by the influx of Allied shipping into its harbor. Tons of supplies were offloaded almost around the clock, transforming the once quiet town into a hive of activity. On December 2, at least 30 Allied ships were crowded into the harbor, packed so tightly they almost touched. The port was under the jurisdiction of the British, in part because Bari was the main supply base for General Bernard Law Montgomery's Eighth Army. But the city was also the newly designated headquarters of the American Fifteenth Air Force, which had been activated in November of that year. The Fifteenth's primary mission was to bomb targets in the Balkans, Italy and especially Germany. Fifteenth Air Force commander Maj. Gen. James H. "Jimmy" Doolittle had arrived in Bari on December 1. The Americans had championed daylight precision bombing, but the Eighth Air Force in England was suffering terrible casualties in order to prove the theory valid. Luftwaffe strength was increasing, not decreasing, over Germany. The Fifteenth Air Force was intended to take some of the pressure off the beleaguered Eighth.  Bari Harbor In addition to the usual war materiel, ships moored at Bari carried aviation fuel for Doolittle's bombers and other much-needed supplies. Selection of Bari as the Fifteenth Air Force headquarters--about 75 miles from the Fifteenth's primary airfields at Foggia--meant a large infusion of staff personnel. About 200 officers, 52 civilian technicians and several hundred enlisted men were being brought into the city. Totally absorbed by the task of getting the Fifteenth Air Force off the ground, the Allies gave little thought to the possibility of a German air raid on Bari. The Luftwaffe in Italy was relatively weak and stretched so thin it could hardly mount a major effort. Or so Allied leaders believed. German reconnaissance flights over Bari were seen as a nuisance. At first, British anti-aircraft batteries fired a half-hearted round or two, but eventually they ignored the German flights altogether. Why waste ammunition?  Responding to rumblings about lax security measures, British Air Vice Marshal Sir Arthur Coningham held a press conference on the afternoon of December 2 and assured reporters that the Luftwaffe was defeated in Italy. He was confident the Germans would never attack Bari. "I would regard it as a personal affront and insult," the air marshal haughtily declared, "if the Luftwaffe would attempt any significant action in this area." Not everyone was so sure that the German air force was a broken reed. British army Captain A.B. Jenks, who was responsible for the port's defense, knew that preparations for an attack were woefully inadequate. But his voice, as well as those of one or two others, was drowned out by a chorus of complacent officers. When darkness came, Bari's docks were brilliantly lit so unloading of cargo could continue. Little thought was given to the need for a blackout. In the harbor, cargo ships and tankers waited their turn to be unloaded. Captain Otto Heitmann, skipper of the Liberty ship SS John Bascom, went ashore to see if the process could be speeded up. He was disappointed in his quest, but he might have been even more concerned had he known what was aboard SS John Harvey.  SS John Harvey John Harvey, commanded by Captain Elwin F. Knowles, was a typical Liberty ship, scarcely different from the others moored in the harbor. Much of her cargo was also conventional: munitions, food and equipment. But the ship had a deadly secret cargo. Approximately 100 tons of mustard gas bombs were on board. The bombs were meant as a precaution, to be used only if the Germans resorted to chemical warfare.
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Is tha a black widow? Saw one at Wright Pat one time, but I did not know any were flying.
On This Day In History
Birthdates which occurred on September 08:
1157 Richard I [Richard the Lion Hearted], King of England (1189-99)
1207 Sancho II, king of Portugal
1821 Henry Baxter, Bvt Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1873
1828 Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, Bvt Major General, Medal of Honor (Union volunteers, 20th Maine), hero of Little Round Top at Gettysburg
1829 George Crook, Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1890
1829 Seth Maxwell Barton, Brig General (Confederate Army), died in 1900
1841 Antonin Dvorak Nelahozeves, Czech, composer (New World Symphony)
1873 David O McKay Huntsville, Utah, 9th pres of Mormon church
1889 Robert A Taft (Sen-R-Ohio, Taft-Hartley Act)(Mr. Republican)
1897 Jimmie Rodgers Meridian Miss, country singer/singing brakeman (In The Jailhouse, "Blue Yodel No. 8" (Muleskinner Blues), Peach Pickin' Time Down in Georgia)
http://www.jimmierodgers.com/home.html
1907 Leon Askin Vienna Austria, actor (Gen. Burkhalter, Hogans Hero's)
1922 Lyndon LaRouche American presidental candidate/worldclass nutcase (1980)
1922 Sid Caesar Yonkers NY, comedian (Your Show of Shows)
1925 Peter Sellers England, actor (not now, Kato, Bobo, Pink Panther, Being There)
1932 Patsy Cline Va, country singer (Walkin' After Midnight)
1937 Virna Lisi Italy, actress (Assault on a Queen, Bluebeard)
1938 Sam Nunn (Sen-D-Ga, Sec. Defence)
1940 Willie Tyler Red Level Ala, ventriloquist (Lester)
1941 Alan Feinstein NYC, actor (Max-Berrengers, Family Tree)
1945 Jose Feliciano, singer/songwriter/guitarist, Lares, Puerto Rico.
1948 Great Kabuki, [Akihisa Yone Yoshi Mera], wrestler (NWA/NJPW/WAR/SWS)
1951 Randy T Odle, Port Arthur Texas, astronaut
1957 Heather Thomas Greenwich Ct, actress (Jody-Fall Guy, Coed Fever)
1964 Steffan Peters, equestrian dressage (Olympics-bronze-96)
1981 Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Bethlehem PA, actor (Randy-Home Improvement)
That's an A-26 Invader
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Mornin Tom, thanks for the huge greeting!
Thanks.
HOORAY FOR ME!!! :-)
Looks like an A-26 to me.
If you use Windows be sure to download those updates.
Thanks Sam, I knew nothing of this incident.
It's a Confederate Air Force A-26 flying supplies into Louisiana.
Beating taters doesn't seem that hard...
Hi miss Feather
Howdy ma'am
The little hump on the back (thought it was a gun turret) and paint job threw me. Having now looked a picture of a P-61 up on the web, I am embarrassed to have suggested it.
Oh, well time a remedial trip to the Air Force Museum for me.
Afternoon Foxhole!
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