The official AHF USA quiz thread

[Ironmachine]

Thanks, Edge.
Next question: which unit had the assignment of recovering and identification of the remains of the U.S. soldiers killed in the Malmedy massacre?

[The Edge]

The 3060th Quartermaster Graves Registration Service Company's 4th Platoon drew the assignment of recovering, processing and identification the remains. The company had activated in October 1944 and started training its assigned soldiers in France. Company personnel began performing actual graves registration duties during the last week of December. Under the supervision of the platoon leader and first sergeant, the platoon element arrived in the Malmedy area and entered the massacre site on January 13, 1945, immediately after US units had recaptured the crossroads area.

Location of individual remains required assistance from a platoon of the 291st Engineer Battalion. The 291st Engineers used mine detectors to locate the bodies from the metal of gear or personal effects. When mine detectors located a set of remains, Quartermaster soldiers used brooms to sweep away the snow covering the bodies.

http://www.qmfound.com/malmedy.htm

[Ironmachine]

3060th Quartermaster Graves Registration Service Company's 4th Platoon

Correct!
Over to Serbia.

[The Edge]

Thanks - previous one looked like a "quiz killer", but actually only small "googling" was needed.

And now, from gloomy history to shining "hardware issues" (identification of these two trucks & the plane)

[The Edge]

Gee, I wonder when that Bill Murray Jr. (aka "The 2nd") would notice this question?

[David Reasoner]

I'm not Bill, but I'll take a stab at the right-hand vehicle in the photo, which is probably the most obscure of the three. Perhaps a Sterling DDS235 6x6 heavy wrecker? Bill (the first or the second...) will likely know for sure!

David

[The Edge]

Blimey, you wrecked the wrecker - and that was a heavy one! Since our Bill (second to nobady) is lost somewhere between Chevrolet and Buick departments, I proclaim you a winner! (Other two items are juvenile stuff)

Photo surce: http://dieselmaschinen.blogspot.com/200 ... nieve.html

Over to David for lotta Reason!

[David Reasoner]

I proclaim you a winner!

Doh! I was hoping someone else would claim the 'prize' while I wasn't looking.

How about a rather obscure USN auxiliary:



A couple of clues may be in order. Although designed and built as a Great Lakes collier capable of navigating the canals of the northeastern U.S., she was converted to handle a different manner of cargo and acquired by the USN during WW1. She spent most of her career very far indeed from the Great Lakes and survived WW2, in spite of falling into enemy hands very soon after the shooting started.

Her name please, and any of the 3 alpha-numeric designations she carried during her USN career.

David

[Ironmachine]

USS Robert L. Barnes (AK-11, AO-14, AG-27)

[David Reasoner]

That certainly didn't take long, despite the ship's relative obscurity. Ironmachine has it right, of course! His answer even points out a mistake in my question; as the Robert L. Barnes had not three but four designations during her career, the first being ID-3088. It is clear the USN had trouble making up it's mind exactly how to classify this rather unusual vessel during her career as station ship and floating fuel storage depot at Guam.

http://www.navsource.org/archives/09/19/19014.htm

The photo I posted is a cropped version of US Navy photo # NH 99600 from the above website.

Over to Spain!

David

[Ironmachine]

Thanks, David. It was certainly a difficult question, but you provided so many good hints...

Next question: a submarine (obviously )

sub.jpg (21.28 KiB) Viewed 907 times

[David Reasoner]

Well, I've been waiting for days in the hope that someone else would take a crack at your submarine photo, but since there have been no takers I'll post my answer:

USS Cachalot SS-170, photo taken off the New England coast in 1943 while she was serving as a training boat with the New London Submarine School.

http://www.navsource.org/archives/08/08170.htm

http://www.navsource.org/archives/08/0817009.jpg

David

[Ironmachine]

Right on target, David!
Over to you.

[David Reasoner]

This one should be much easier. What's this:



David

[The Edge]

The second pilot half-truck T17 (made by Autocar)