The title says it all really. Anything unusually,funny or obscure concerning the Allied forces etc during WW2, then post it here and share it with us.
Andy H
Obscure Allied Facts & Trivia during WW2
Obscure Allied Facts & Trivia during WW2
Last edited by Andy H on 11 Jun 2005, 22:30, edited 1 time in total.
During 1936 it had become clear that the Royal Navies requirement for armour plates would exceed that which would be currently available.
Britains 3 major manufactures-Beardmore, Colville & English Steel could only produce some 18,000tons per year versus a forecast requirement of 44,000 tons in 1938-39. Though plans were put into place to increase production to some 40,000tons, it would still leave a near term shortfall of 15,000tons.
Matters got worse when the number of armour plates failing tests increased thus making the gap between requirement and production greater. So in January 1938 it was agreed that plates would be sourced abroad. It was thought that British cemented armour was much better than that produced in other countries, so the only non-cemented armour would be sourced outside of the UK. Approaches were made to Germany!, USA,France, Sweden and Czechoslovakia, and only the latter was willing to assist.
In March 1938 an order for some 12,000tons was placed with the Skoda factory at Vitkovice, with a further 2200tons to be placed at a later date. By time war broke out some 10,000tons had been delivered. This armour plate was used on the flight decks of HMS Illustrious & Victorious, plus hanger decks on HMS Formidable, as well as most deck & bulkhead armour on the Cruisers HMS Trinidad & Kenya.
The last trainload of plate was brought across on August 30th 1939, and that the German railroads hade been keen to fulfil it’s part of the transportation contract.
Source DK Brown “Nelson to Vanguard”.
Andy H
Britains 3 major manufactures-Beardmore, Colville & English Steel could only produce some 18,000tons per year versus a forecast requirement of 44,000 tons in 1938-39. Though plans were put into place to increase production to some 40,000tons, it would still leave a near term shortfall of 15,000tons.
Matters got worse when the number of armour plates failing tests increased thus making the gap between requirement and production greater. So in January 1938 it was agreed that plates would be sourced abroad. It was thought that British cemented armour was much better than that produced in other countries, so the only non-cemented armour would be sourced outside of the UK. Approaches were made to Germany!, USA,France, Sweden and Czechoslovakia, and only the latter was willing to assist.
In March 1938 an order for some 12,000tons was placed with the Skoda factory at Vitkovice, with a further 2200tons to be placed at a later date. By time war broke out some 10,000tons had been delivered. This armour plate was used on the flight decks of HMS Illustrious & Victorious, plus hanger decks on HMS Formidable, as well as most deck & bulkhead armour on the Cruisers HMS Trinidad & Kenya.
The last trainload of plate was brought across on August 30th 1939, and that the German railroads hade been keen to fulfil it’s part of the transportation contract.
Source DK Brown “Nelson to Vanguard”.
Andy H
On February 25th 1942 the US IV Interceptor Command in Los Angeles went into action against a Japanese Air Raid.
In less than 30minutes some 1440 rounds of 4inch and 37mm went into the night sky, in some 10tons of ammunition.
After much searching it was decided that an errant meteorological balloon from203rd Coast Artillery Regiment was the prime cause for this incident.
Some units fired even though they saw no target and just because everyone else ws firing, they decided to join in.
Andy H
In less than 30minutes some 1440 rounds of 4inch and 37mm went into the night sky, in some 10tons of ammunition.
After much searching it was decided that an errant meteorological balloon from203rd Coast Artillery Regiment was the prime cause for this incident.
Some units fired even though they saw no target and just because everyone else ws firing, they decided to join in.
Andy H
During the 1940 invasion of Luxembourg, the German column heading for the capital paused when it its forward scouts came across a line of defense outside the capital. The German commander, wishing to avoid bloodshed moved forward and looked the situation over.
The Luxembourg Army, roughly a batallion, was in position. A German officer, under flag of truce, approached the lines and spoke to their commander. He advised him that if his men did not surrender, they would all be destroyed. He was given 30 minutes to make up his mind. 10 minutes later, they surrendered.
The Geman commander, noticing their quality and antiquated weaponry, sent them all home instead of making them POW's. It was early in the morning, all of them were home in time for lunch.
This story was told to me by one of my history professors in college.
The Luxembourg Army, roughly a batallion, was in position. A German officer, under flag of truce, approached the lines and spoke to their commander. He advised him that if his men did not surrender, they would all be destroyed. He was given 30 minutes to make up his mind. 10 minutes later, they surrendered.
The Geman commander, noticing their quality and antiquated weaponry, sent them all home instead of making them POW's. It was early in the morning, all of them were home in time for lunch.
This story was told to me by one of my history professors in college.
During the build up to Op.Uranus in late 1942 the Russian high command realised that the tanks had insuffiecent Anti-Freeze. So several gliders from Saratov under the command of Dimitri Kosits were sent to the Stalingrad area under the most hazardous conditions to deliver the Anti-Freeze before the offensive began-maybe a potential What If..... 
Andy H
Andy H
Andy and others,
Little sideline: Do you know about the Soviet use of spermicide oil as an lubricant in extremely cold enviroment ?? I have read vague descriptions about it's use in ac engines (magnificent base for lubricant, everything i have read is a praise about it's qualities - but surely it is difficult and very expensive to acquire even in peacetime, and it would had been in any case only a small trickle of the total lube-oil needs of Red Air Forces.)
Mark V
Little sideline: Do you know about the Soviet use of spermicide oil as an lubricant in extremely cold enviroment ?? I have read vague descriptions about it's use in ac engines (magnificent base for lubricant, everything i have read is a praise about it's qualities - but surely it is difficult and very expensive to acquire even in peacetime, and it would had been in any case only a small trickle of the total lube-oil needs of Red Air Forces.)
Mark V
Andy H,
I heard back from my Uncle, through my cousin, about some of his experiences that were obscure or funny. He has two.
The first one happened in 1943. He was leading a patrol of 4 Spitfires on patrol in Southern England. They spotted a lone JU-88. The plane was alone and without escort and my uncle guessed that it was on a recon mission. The plane changed course for France shortly after it was spotted.
My uncle decided to attack. Just as they finished making their attack dives, my uncle noticed people jumping from the aircraft and parachutes opening. Apparently, the crew decided to save themselves instead of facing a certain death from the RAF attack.
My uncle and the rest of his patrol laughed out loud. The Junkers continued flying so my uncle directed a young pilot to take it down. He did and scored his first kill.
The second one concerns a fellow pilot in his squadron during the Battle of Britain. He was shot down over England and landed in the countryside. When he landed, he was confronted by 5 farmers, one of whom was armed with a shotgun, who surrounded him.
He was wearing a flight suit without any rank or insignia. He realized that and said to them in English, with a British accents, that he was in the RAF and showed them his uniform. They were not quite convinced and thought he might be a spy.
They took him to a Home Guard posting that was nearby. Their commander wasn't convinced either. He was then taken to the local police. They were convinced and made arrangements to return him to his squadron.
He arrived the following morning with quite a tale. He was captured and held by his own countrymen!
Enjoy!
I heard back from my Uncle, through my cousin, about some of his experiences that were obscure or funny. He has two.
The first one happened in 1943. He was leading a patrol of 4 Spitfires on patrol in Southern England. They spotted a lone JU-88. The plane was alone and without escort and my uncle guessed that it was on a recon mission. The plane changed course for France shortly after it was spotted.
My uncle decided to attack. Just as they finished making their attack dives, my uncle noticed people jumping from the aircraft and parachutes opening. Apparently, the crew decided to save themselves instead of facing a certain death from the RAF attack.
My uncle and the rest of his patrol laughed out loud. The Junkers continued flying so my uncle directed a young pilot to take it down. He did and scored his first kill.
The second one concerns a fellow pilot in his squadron during the Battle of Britain. He was shot down over England and landed in the countryside. When he landed, he was confronted by 5 farmers, one of whom was armed with a shotgun, who surrounded him.
He was wearing a flight suit without any rank or insignia. He realized that and said to them in English, with a British accents, that he was in the RAF and showed them his uniform. They were not quite convinced and thought he might be a spy.
They took him to a Home Guard posting that was nearby. Their commander wasn't convinced either. He was then taken to the local police. They were convinced and made arrangements to return him to his squadron.
He arrived the following morning with quite a tale. He was captured and held by his own countrymen!
Enjoy!
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stalingrad
- Member
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- Location: seattle wash.
Fugo balloon bombs
Lucky Oregon. Oregon was also the only state to be bombed by an enemy aircraft during the war.
The most famous balloon-bomb incident, which involved the deaths of a pastor's wife and five kids from their Sunday school, took place in Oregon. But other incidents took place in Alaska, Canada, Idaho, California, Washington, Utah, Nevada, Michigan, South Dakota--even Mexico and Hawaii, of all places. Most of these "incidents" were simply the recovery of fragments of bombs and/or balloons. The total number of such incidents exceeds 300.
The most famous balloon-bomb incident, which involved the deaths of a pastor's wife and five kids from their Sunday school, took place in Oregon. But other incidents took place in Alaska, Canada, Idaho, California, Washington, Utah, Nevada, Michigan, South Dakota--even Mexico and Hawaii, of all places. Most of these "incidents" were simply the recovery of fragments of bombs and/or balloons. The total number of such incidents exceeds 300.
Two unbelievable stories from the RAF.
A waaf was laying across the tail of a Spitfire,so that the pilot could rev up the engine a bit.The stupid pilot took off, thinking the waaf was clear.
The poor girl had to hold on for dear life.(The pilot did wonder why the controls were a bit heavy.) Fortunately the ground controllers saw this calamity,and immediately told the pilot to land.He didn`t tell the pilot,that he had a woman on his tail,just incase he lost his nerve.
This is a well know incident,when a tail gunner bail out at 15,000 feet without a parachute and LIVED!!!.He landed in a fur tree
A waaf was laying across the tail of a Spitfire,so that the pilot could rev up the engine a bit.The stupid pilot took off, thinking the waaf was clear.
The poor girl had to hold on for dear life.(The pilot did wonder why the controls were a bit heavy.) Fortunately the ground controllers saw this calamity,and immediately told the pilot to land.He didn`t tell the pilot,that he had a woman on his tail,just incase he lost his nerve.
This is a well know incident,when a tail gunner bail out at 15,000 feet without a parachute and LIVED!!!.He landed in a fur tree
Little bit related to above, but more on humorous side. Told by E. I. Juutilainen:
"We unofficially transported mechanics, spare parts, oil canisters etc. in our Brewsters. Once, though two pilots went a little too far - a flight sergeant was flying, and in the fuselage was a second lieutenant, his friend, his dog and a lot of baggage. Upon landing the plane went off the runway and the suitcase came out. Both pilots were punished. Humorously, the lieutenant's sentence started with:"As the commander of the crew of a single-seat fighter.."
"We unofficially transported mechanics, spare parts, oil canisters etc. in our Brewsters. Once, though two pilots went a little too far - a flight sergeant was flying, and in the fuselage was a second lieutenant, his friend, his dog and a lot of baggage. Upon landing the plane went off the runway and the suitcase came out. Both pilots were punished. Humorously, the lieutenant's sentence started with:"As the commander of the crew of a single-seat fighter.."
Hi Matt, you go through life picking up bits of information,here and there.Matt H. wrote:Wow. Was the tail gunner of the RAF or USAAF?
Unbelievable (yet potentially tragic) story about the WAAF woman. Where did you find them out?
To be honest, i only had the RAF rear gunner in mind.But i did a quick search,and i found this.http://www.greenharbor.com/fffolder/ffallers.html
As for the WAAF, I`ve got this info from a book somewhere.I try and did it out.
Do you want to know about a airman who climb on a wing,to put out a fire,Without using a parachute?I was going to submit this guy to my earlier post"Bravest act,by a lone individual".But i can`t find the proof yet.Still searching.
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Paul Timms
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- Joined: 13 Mar 2002, 00:18
- Location: Warwickshire
Bravery etc
If i remember rightly the man who climbed onto the wing was in a Wellington and put out the fire by stuffing the life raft in the hole. All the time secured by the lifeline.
The rear gunner was in a Lanc late in the war. He got to the hatch of the burning plane without a parachute. Contemplating jumping to his death or burning, the decision was removed as an explosion blew him out. He hit a pine tree and fell into a deep snow drift breaking his ankle. His life came in some danger when captured as he had no parachute and his clothes burnt away. He survived so obviously they believed him in the end.
I cannot remember either name but have heard both stories before.
The rear gunner was in a Lanc late in the war. He got to the hatch of the burning plane without a parachute. Contemplating jumping to his death or burning, the decision was removed as an explosion blew him out. He hit a pine tree and fell into a deep snow drift breaking his ankle. His life came in some danger when captured as he had no parachute and his clothes burnt away. He survived so obviously they believed him in the end.
I cannot remember either name but have heard both stories before.