The FReeper Foxhole Remembers the Raid on Magdeburg (January 1945) - June 23rd, 2005

Aviation History Magazine | September 2001 | Gary Rosentrater, as told by Glen M. Hotz

[SAMWolf]

Lord,

Keep our Troops forever in Your care

Give them victory over the enemy...

Grant them a safe and swift return...

Bless those who mourn the lost.
.

FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer
for all those serving their country at this time.

.................................................................. .................... ...........................................

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Eyewitness:
Raid on Magdeburg

The curtains are pulled back, revealing a big map of Europe with red ribbons leading to our target -- the synthetic oil refineries near Magdeburg, Germany. There is a low murmur among the crew members as the target is announced....

Glen Michael Hotz, born in 1921, flew roughly 30 missions as a radio operator in Consolidated B-24 Liberator bombers over Germany and occupied Europe between December 1944 and April 1945. He was stationed in England, near Norwich in East Anglia at the Old Buckenham Air Base, with the 734th Squadron, 453rd Bomb Group, Eighth Air Force. At the time, he was 23. Several decades after the war, he wrote an account of his experience printed in pencil, filling 119 yellow-pad sheets. Hotz died in 1986, a year after he retired from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The following article, which describes a raid in early 1945, is excerpted from Hotz's unpublished book, edited by Gary Rosentrater.

My deep, sound sleep is disturbed by the air-raid siren. Mixed with the low moan of the siren comes the heavy rumble of many engines; Jerry is active tonight. The question now is, do I get dressed and go to the shelter or do I just stay in bed? "Nuts," I say to myself, "I guess I'll stay where I am, and at least I'll die warm." In about 30 minutes, the all-clear sounds and I'm back in dreamland.

The door to the hut opens and closes quietly. The figure with the flashlight consults his clipboard and asks in a low voice, "Feldman's crew in here?" I mumble something, and he says, "You are scheduled to fly." I ask, "How is the weather?" and his reply is "Clear and cold." "What is the gas load?" "Twenty-five hundred gallons, topped off." "Thanks," I say.

I realize then, given that amount of fuel, that our mission will probably involve a deep penetration into Germany. Topping off the tanks means that after the engines are run up and checked by the ground crew, they are shut down and the fuel tanks are refilled to the necks, usually giving us an additional 200 to 300 gallons of fuel. I crawl out of the old sack and put my feet on the cold concrete floor, which jars me into total consciousness. I grab some heavy socks, pull on my wool pants. Then I'm startled by a noise on the shelf above my head. I shine my flashlight at the shelf, and a pair of eyes look back at me from behind my girl's picture. It's the ferret we keep in our hut to prevent the rats from invading our quarters.



I remove my personal belongings from my pockets and place them in my footlocker, grab my toilet articles and head for the latrine. I return to the Quonset hut and grab my heavy flight jacket and mess gear; no one else on my crew is yet stirring. I walk over to the engineer's cot, pick the end up about 12 inches off the floor and let it go. It lands with a loud thud -- minor compared to the noise that comes from the engineer. I hastily retreat, followed by a verbal barrage of typical GI language.

The walk to the mess hall gives me an opportunity to be alone with my thoughts. The early morning sky is filled with stars. Right now, I'm at ease and unafraid of what the day might bring. If I do not survive the day, at least I will be prepared and have all my faculties. I will not let fear enter my thoughts!

I arrive at the mess hall, greeted by its familiar warm, steamy atmosphere. I stop at the coffee can, draw a cup of coffee and add powdered milk, then walk to the serving table, where the cook asks, "How do you want your eggs?" with a big grin on his Irish kisser. I laugh at him and say, "Sunny side up with bacon and toast." I hold out my metal plate and he places on it three fresh eggs, fried as I requested, with bacon and toast. I am so amazed that I almost drop the plate. Still muttering in disbelief, I sit down and enjoy the best breakfast I've had in months. Boy, what a morale booster! I even have applesauce on my toast.



Content and warm, with my stomach full, I amble outside to wash my mess gear. There's still no sign of the rest of the crew. Oh, well, it's not my rear end that's going to get chewed if they are late for the briefing. I take a bus to the flight building, where I go directly to the equipment room, get my electric heated suit and return to where my flight gear is stored. I get dressed and go to the briefing room and take a seat with the navigator.

"Ten-hut!" comes the call, and everyone pops to attention. The commanding officer enters with the briefing officer. "As you were," he says and turns the meeting over to the intelligence officer. The curtains are pulled back, revealing a big map of Europe with red ribbons leading to our target -- the synthetic oil refineries near Magdeburg, Germany. There is a low murmur among the crew members as the target is announced. We are briefed on where to expect the heavy flak and possible fighter opposition, also the altitude from which we are expected to drop our bombs. Then the weather officer takes over, a close friend of mine. I often kid him about how accurate his reports are. He is right 50 percent of the time. I call him Lieutenant Maybe. Today he says the target area will be under clouds and we probably will not be able to drop our bombs visually.

Once the briefing is over, I get my first-aid boxes and radio logs with my assigned frequencies. I also pick up my escape kit and maps. The navigator and I are standing together, waiting for transportation to the plane, when two enlisted flight personnel come up to us and introduce themselves. It turns out that today we are flying in the lead group, not in the capacity of a lead crew but in a special plane, a Consolidated B-24 with a ball turret and a radar set -- called a "Mickey set" -- that is used for bombing in bad weather. The aircraft will be heavier because of the additional gear, the ball turret and the two extra crew members.


A radar, or "Micky" ship. The ball turret has been replaced with a radar dome. The radar allowed the lead ship to find the target even in heavy overcast.

About that time, the rest of the crew shows up and we catch a truck out to the plane. The B-24J -- a plane that I'm not familiar with -- is equipped with several other goodies, such as a formation stick that enables the pilot to fly the plane with his left hand. This control is hooked into the C-1 autopilot. Earlier in the European theater, quite a few B-24s had ball turrets, but as enemy fighter attacks dwindled, the turrets were removed. Now Jerry is beginning to attack from below once again, so the turrets have been reinstalled in selected planes. As a result, we have 12 men in our crew on this mission.

We arrive at the plane at 5:30 a.m., with a scheduled time of 6 to start our engines and 6:30 for departure. I stoop down low under the bomb doors next to the catwalk and heave my parachute and gear up on the flight deck, then kneel in front of the auxiliary power plant (APU), turn on the fuel and hit the starter button. The APU shudders a few times and comes to life. Lights began to appear in the aircraft as the co-pilot turns on the master switch. I verify that the auxiliary hydraulic pump is on. The plane quickly becomes a beehive of activity, with many checkouts going on all at once.

[SAMWolf]

The navigator and bombardier crawl under the flight deck through a small tunnel covered with thin aircraft plywood to the forward part of the plane. They complete their checks, carrying their parachutes with them, and go to the waist positions for takeoff. The bombardier says that our bombload is 10 500-pound bombs. We are light. The engineer checks his slip stick for weight and balance, to verify where the crew should be placed for takeoff. Normally, the navigator and bombardier would be on the upper flight deck for takeoff, but not today. The radar set and its operator will occupy the whole left side of the flight deck directly behind the pilot. The viewing tube of the set is a large cathode-ray tube, resembling an early television set.



By now, the flight engineer has completed his weight and balance calculations and has verified them with the aircraft commander. My checkouts are complete, as well. I leave the plane to make a last-minute pit stop, consult with the armorer and get three empty fuse cans, which I stow alongside my seat. I see the double-green flares are in the sky, signaling us to start our engines. The pilot leans out of his window and yells, "Clear left!" The co-pilot does the same for his side and yells, "Clear right!" The flight engineer verifies that fire guards (ground crewmen) are in place, and the pilot says, "Start No. 3!" I hear the thud of the inertia starter and the whine begins; the co-pilot holds the button to the "energize" position and the whine increases to a high-pitched scream. The co-pilot adjusts the magnetos, yells, "Contact!" and the propeller blades begin to move slowly. The engine backfires, belches smoke and fire, then the blades turn into a blur with a yellow ring around the outside.

The procedure is repeated until all the propellers are turning. The ground crew removes the wheel chocks, and after some more checking, a blast of the engines gets us moving. We assume our place in line, lurching and waddling along like some prehistoric, noisy, fire-belching dragon. The brakes hiss and squeal like an old, worn-out Mack truck in need of a brake job. The noise level in the cockpit is so high that we find it necessary to use the intercom for all communications. We finally reach the run-up area, angle away from the plane astern of us and perform the engine checks.



When we are finally ready to leave the ground, we go through the usual takeoff procedures. Once we're airborne, the wheels are retracted, and we verify that all wheels are up and locked and their doors are closed. We are soon at 2,000 feet and climbing at the rate of 200 feet per minute. I remember my flight instructor telling me that the engines should not be worked more than necessary in order to reduce the chance of engine failure. This point in the mission, outside of actual combat, is one of the most dangerous. Many planes are climbing to formation altitude, and when we enter clouds at about 10,000 feet, we cannot see the aircraft around us. I know there have been incidents where two planes have collided, and I am relieved when we are above the clouds. We reach 20,000 feet, the assigned formation assembly altitude, and move into our position. All the gunners move to their positions and check their weapons.

Flying a B-24 is not particularly difficult, but formation flying is a whole different story. The plane is a bear to handle, and depending on its position in the formation, either the pilot or co-pilot must look across the cockpit to monitor the ship off the wing. You fly with one hand on the throttles and the other hand on the wheel. About a 20- or 30-minute stretch is all the average pilot can stand. The aircraft is equipped with what is called a formation stick. The pilot engages the autopilot and then uses his left hand to move the short control stick -- the same as moving the joystick in a single-engine fighter. Pilots say this takes a lot of burden from formation flying. It is a great device as long as the C-1 autopilot operates correctly.

"Navigator to crew, Dutch coast coming up." We skirt the German-held island of Helgoland because it is heavily fortified with anti-aircraft batteries. I see some telltale black bursts off our wing, and one of the waist gunners sings out, "Two planes have taken hits." I wonder why our lead crews don't give that darned island more leeway.



"Right waist gunner to pilot, one Liberator is in trouble." We count three parachutes; there goes the plane -- it has fallen into a spin. We are at 26,000 feet, so I calculate 1 1/2 minutes to eternity for the remainder of the crew on the doomed plane. Once a plane has fallen into a spin, escape is just about impossible for the crew in the forward part of the plane. Imagine yourself trying to crawl up a vertical wall that is spinning around -- that is what the crew is trying to do. Our tail gunner advises that the plane has crashed into the North Sea. A sight like that is not exactly a morale booster.

The nose gunner calls for an oxygen check. All the crew members respond in sequence, indicating that everyone is OK. We are flying in a cloudless sky and will be approaching our target from the north. Clouds are beginning to build ahead of our formation. The weather officer appears to have been right. Our Mickey operator will earn his keep today if we have to deal with clouds. I glance over and notice that his eyes are glued to his screen, monitoring our progress.

After our brush with anti-aircraft batteries on Helgoland, the mission has settled down to almost a milk run, with very little enemy opposition. The second cup of coffee that I enjoyed for breakfast has made me glad to have my fuse cans next to me. I glance up and see the pilot climbing out of his seat. Directly behind his seat is the relief tube, and he uses it. The tube drains along the bottom of the aircraft, and at our speed of 180 mph, creates a spray that freezes all over the ball turret. Forgetting that we had a ball gunner today, the pilot neglected to call the waist gunners and tell them to wind up the ball turret. As a result, I get a call from one very angry ball-turret gunner wanting to know who was pissing in his face. It is all I can do to keep from laughing. A glance at the free air temperature gauge indicates minus 40 degrees. Who says this is a glamour service?

[SAMWolf]

The ground is now completely obscured by cloud cover, but we are flying in brilliant sunshine above the clouds. The weather officer was right. It is a plus for us that we've had no fighter opposition. Jerry is grounded due to bad weather. It is now 10 a.m. -- two hours to the target.



"Upper turret to pilot, B-24 off our left wing just feathered No. 1 engine. He is dropping back and losing altitude." The tail gunner calls and says the plane has just jettisoned its bombs. A few moments later, the tail gunner calls, "He just feathered No. 4 engine; he is changing course." Then we hear, "Pilot to crew, the B-24 that lost Nos. 1 and 4 engines is going to Sweden." The Swedes and the Swiss will let Allied planes land if they are having mechanical trouble and cannot make it to their home base. The plane and the crew will be interned for the duration of the war. Not a bad choice -- better than going down into the North Sea. I understand that Sweden is the land of blondes. The thought crosses my mind that maybe there was nothing wrong with that plane, maybe the crew decided that they had had enough. This is not the first time that the Army Air Forces has had planes leave formation for an unknown destination. If the crewmen decide among themselves that they have had enough, or even if the pilots make such a decision, it is not a difficult job to fake mechanical trouble or sabotage the plane and enter a neutral country.

There is a great deal of boredom in flying combat, almost a lull before the storm. Then the navigator calls out to the pilot, "Thirty minutes to target." I look out my window -- complete cloud cover. Just a sea of white below us. Without the Mickey operator along today, we would have to scrub the mission because of inability to see the target. The bombardier and radar operator are engaged in a discussion about the target. I'm on my assigned radio frequency, a direct contact with the base. However, I only listen; I do not acknowledge any radio contact. I'm in my own little world as we drone along.



"Radar to pilot, I have identified the target. We are about 10 minutes out."

"Pilot to radio, get ready to open bomb doors."

"Radio to pilot, how about flak suits?"

"Pilot to radio, never mind the suits."

I descend to the lower flight deck next to the bomb-bay door lever and crouch next to the bomb doors. The call comes over the intercom, "Open bomb doors," and I press the lever. The four big doors roll up the sides of the plane like the lids of roll-top desks. All I can see below are clouds. The radar operator is in direct contact with the bombardier; I hear his voice as the radar operator gives instructions to the bombardier. The bombardier is making cruise corrections -- flying the plane with his control. The radar operator stays steady and clear on his directions. I hear him say, "Steady now," and his next words are "Bombs away!" I feel the plane lurch upward, then I verify all bombs have been dropped and reach for the door lever.



"Tail to pilot, flak directly astern of the plane." We are diving and turning away from the target; the flak stays with us. The German gunners are good. They know our action after bombs away and have compensated for it. With the next flak burst, it feels like something has lifted the tail of the plane. The next burst is a loud "Ka-blam!" The left wing goes up to about a 45-degree angle, and the pilot corrects to bring the wing level.

"Waist to pilot, No. 2 engine smoking bad." "Top turret to pilot, what's our oil pressure on No. 2?" "Co-pilot to engineer, oil pressure is a little low." "Engineer to pilot, we've been hit in the oil system on No. 2 engine. Continue to operate the engine, monitor the oil pressure. When the pressure begins to fluctuate, feather the engine." The smoke from the engine comes from a leak that is hitting the exhaust collector ring. "Engineer to co-pilot, does the engine check out OK otherwise?" "Co-pilot to engineer, manifold pressure is down about 10 psi, rpm is down about 400." "Engineer to pilot, my advice to you if it means anything is to continue to run the engine as I suggested; the decision is yours." "Pilot to co-pilot, feather No. 2 engine. Give me a little more boost on the other three engines. We'll see if we can stay with the group." "Pilot to crew, damage reports." "Tail to pilot, the whole top is gone from my turret." "Left waist to pilot, left vertical stabilizer is damaged extensively, additional holes in fuselage." "Top turret, no further damage visible up here." "Engineer to pilot, no further oil smoke from No. 2 engine." "Radio to pilot, several large holes in the bomb bays, holes in the lower flight deck." "Pilot to navigator, any further damage?" "Navigator to pilot, no damage up here."



Despite the battle damage, the aircraft is performing OK. We are pulling a lot more power from the remaining engines and maintaining our position in the formation. The whole formation is beginning to descend to lower altitudes. I can see that the cloud cover is just below our plane now. The fact that the formation is losing altitude as a group enables us to keep up easier. "Engineer to pilot, fabric is tearing on left rudder; how is rudder control?" "Pilot to engineer, no loss of rudder control that I can feel." The formation is spreading out before entering the cloud cover. That stuff looks like pea soup. Once we enter the clouds, the pilot and co-pilot are on the gauges, maintaining a constant rate of descent until we get out of the thick clouds. Everyone stays alert. I have left my position and am standing between the pilot and co-pilot, to provide another pair of eyes watching for aircraft. We finally break out of the cloud cover and I see the French landscape. We are at 14,000 feet and still descending. The three remaining engines are running well -- a fine compliment to Pratt & Whitney engineering.

I realize that I'm cold, even though my heat control is at "maximum." I guess my electrically heated suit has failed. "Radio to co-pilot, is your heated suit working?" "Co-pilot to radio, negative, I'm froze." "Top turret to radio, I have no heat either." I'm silent for a moment. "Radio to engineer, does the generator on No. 2 engine supply current to our suits?" "Engineer to radio, you are right -- loss of No. 2 engine means loss of electrical power to some positions on the flight deck."



I go back to the liaison position on the intercom and continue to monitor my assigned frequency. In some ways, this is the loneliest job on the crew most of the time. You are completely unaware of intercom chatter. When anyone wants me, he must turn the control on the intercom box to "call" in order to override anything that I'm listening to. The altimeter indicates 12,000 feet, and I remove my helmet and oxygen gear, don my cap and headphones, snap a throat microphone around my neck, plug in my gear and continue to monitor the assigned frequency.

The free air temperature gauge indicates minus 16 degrees. It is now 3 p.m., three hours since we left the target. The lack of heat is beginning to affect me -- I'm darned near frozen. All I can think about is, "How can I do my duties for another two hours?" A glance out the window reveals the beautiful French landscape. We continue to descend at a gradual rate, still free of any enemy opposition. I'm daydreaming when I get a call from the pilot, requesting a weather report. We are over the Normandy coast. I break radio silence to ask for the base weather report. I change frequencies, snap on the transmitter and ask Old Buckenham Tower for the weather. After I answer questions about the challenge of the day and colors of the day, I receive the report -- which, as usual, is terrible. Visibility is down, with light blowing snow. I copy the report and forward it to the aircraft commander, then change back to my assigned frequency and continue my boring assignment.



Soon we are down to 4,000 feet and over the English Channel. The background static in my headphones is broken up by a loud, clear distress signal. I'm alert to the message -- a CHIPP call sent twice, followed by a loud, steady signal. A Boeing B-17 radioman has locked in his key. I forward the message to Air Sea Rescue, then give the downed plane's position to our navigator, who plots a course to the position given. Our B-24 banks away to a new course, and in a few minutes we spot the downed plane's crew getting into rubber rafts. We continue to circle for about 15 minutes, until we spot the Air Sea Rescue boat. When the boat arrives, we set a course for England. I feel good about our part in the rescue because, after all, we are flying a battle-damaged B-24 with only three fans turning.

In about 30 minutes we spot the English coast. Our base, Old Buckenham, is the first field in from the Channel. The rest of our group has already landed. We enter the pattern and start the normal prelanding checklists. We will come in with a little higher approach speed, due to one dead engine. The co-pilot makes contact on the 274N command set: "Flame Leap, this is Army 217 requesting landing instructions, over." "Army 217, this is Flame Leap, you are cleared to land." I hear the high-pitched whine of hydraulics as the landing gear comes down and is verified as locked; the flaps are coming down, too. I leave my position, start the APU, reach over the bomb doors and switch on the auxiliary hydraulic pump. Now I can see the end of the runway. The throttles come back, the gear touches, and we bounce once and touch again, but the nose wheel is still off the runway. Finally, the nose wheel is down, and the pilot gets on the binders hard. The Liberator slows down, and after one more hard brake application we slow enough to enter the taxiway.



The top hatch opens. The engineer is standing on the seat back of the radar operator's chair with his head and shoulders out of the hatch. He is in contact with the pilot by intercom. The ends of other wings are about 65 feet away. It is easy to misjudge the distance between our wingtips and those of other aircraft. We are following a jeep with a sign on the back that reads "Follow Me" to our hardstand. We obey the crew chief's signals that tell us where to park. The plane shudders as the three remaining fans come to a stop. The pilot and co-pilot complete their checklists, and the wheels are chocked by the ground crew.

The free air temperature is 20 degrees, but six hours with no heat is really a long time. I gather my gear into my flight bag while the pilot completes the required form and slides it into its metal container.

Additional Sources:

216.22.196.152
tinpan.fortunecity.com
www.wpafb.af.mil
www.liberatorcrew.com
www.brooksart.com
www.worldwar2pilots.com
www.military.cz
www.the467tharchive.org

[SAMWolf]

The postflight inspection reveals that the plane has suffered a lot more damage than I had imagined. We throw our flight gear into the back of a waiting transport and ride the mile to the flight building for the debriefing. By the time the debriefing is over and I've returned and stored my gear, it's 6 p.m., and I grab the field bus to go to the mess hall. There is no line, so I get a cup of tea, some dark bread and marmalade and a plate of something that resembles beef stew. The unappetizing mess tastes good -- I must be getting numb or something. I'm still cold from the flight. After eating, I walk down the path to my hut, get a towel and head for the shower.



When we arrived in England, previous crews had set up a shower building. There were about 10 showers inside the building, with a separate stall at one end that housed a coal-fired hot water boiler. We hired an English farmer to fire the boiler and provide hot water for the crews, chipping in one British pound per week to pay his wages. He thought most Yanks were nuts because we showered so often. The old Limey just stank.

I enjoy the luxury of a glorious, hot shower and walk a mile back to my Quonset hut. As I enter the hut through the double doors, a card game is in progress. The hut is about 15 feet wide and 30 feet long, heated by one small coal stove. Every inch on the inside of the hut is covered with pictures of good-looking women. Most of the popular movie stars are posted.



I sit down on my cot and get my writing gear out. I have my most welcome daily letter from my dad and letters from several girls. I settle down and answer all of the letters. By the time I finish, it is 10 p.m., and I'm really bushed. I make a fast trip to the latrine, then crawl into my nice warm bunk, lie there for a few moments thanking God for my safe return, and go to sleep.



Note: The radio operator's position was in the upper fuselage aft of the cockpit and the top turret. The Operator sat for hours on end listening to the static crackling in his ears and giving position reports every 30 minutes, assisting the navigator in taking fixes and informing headquarters of targets attacked and results. When needed, the radio operator manned the second waist gun.

[SAMWolf]

Veterans for Constitution Restoration is a non-profit, non-partisan educational and grassroots activist organization. The primary area of concern to all VetsCoR members is that our national and local educational systems fall short in teaching students and all American citizens the history and underlying principles on which our Constitutional republic-based system of self-government was founded. VetsCoR members are also very concerned that the Federal government long ago over-stepped its limited authority as clearly specified in the United States Constitution, as well as the Founding Fathers' supporting letters, essays, and other public documents.

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We here at Blue Stars For A Safe Return are working hard to honor all of our military, past and present, and their families. Inlcuding the veterans, and POW/MIA's. I feel that not enough is done to recognize the past efforts of the veterans, and remember those who have never been found.

I realized that our Veterans have no "official" seal, so we created one as part of that recognition. To see what it looks like and the Star that we have dedicated to you, the Veteran, please check out our site.

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UPDATED THROUGH APRIL 2004



The FReeper Foxhole. America's History. America's Soul

Click on Hagar for
"The FReeper Foxhole Compiled List of Daily Threads"

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LINK TO FOXHOLE THREADS INDEXED by PAR35

[GailA]

Good morning

[BureaucratusMaximus]

Wow...great story!

[Soaring Feather]

Good morning everyone.

[The Mayor]

June 23, 2005

Gaining Respect

Read:
Daniel 1:1-16

Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself. —Daniel 1:8

Bible In One Year: 2 Kings 4-6

When a professional musician nicknamed "Happy" became a Christian, he quit playing in nightclubs and offered his services to a rescue mission. Some time later, he received a phone call from a club manager who wanted to hire him to do a show that would have brought in a lot of money. But Happy turned down the offer, telling the manager that he would be playing at the mission. Happy said, "He congratulated me. That surprised me. Here was a man who wanted me to play for him and he was congratulating me for refusing his offer." The manager respected Happy's decision.

Daniel was a captive in a foreign land, but he did not forget his religious principles. He could not in good conscience eat meat that had been dedicated to a pagan god and had not been slaughtered in accordance with Hebrew laws. He asked for a simple fare of vegetables and water, and the steward risked his life to honor his request. I believe he did this because Daniel's noble conduct had earned his respect.

The world looks with disdain on Christians who do not live what they say they believe. That's why we should remain true to our convictions. Consistency of character is what gains the respect of others. —Herb Vander Lugt

You'll gain respect when people see
That you are faithful to God's Word;
There may be some who disagree,
But they will know you love the Lord. —D. De Haan

If you're living for Christ you may lose some friends, but you won't lose their respect.

FOR FURTHER STUDY
What Does It Take To Follow Christ?

[Valin]

On This Day In History


Birthdates which occurred on June 23:
1160 Johannes de Matha, French saint/founder (Trinitarians)
1763 Josephine Martinique, empress of France
1875 Carl Milles Uppsala Sweden, fountain sculptor (Wedding of Rivers)
1876 Irvin S Cobb Ky, writer/humorist (Old Judge Priest)
1884 Werner Krauss, Germany, actor (Cabinet of Dr Caligari, Joyless Street)
1887 John Finley Williamson Canton Ohio, conductor (Westminster Choir)
1894 Alfred Kinsey entomologist/sexologist (Kinsey Report)
1894 Duke of Windsor [King Edward VIII of England] (briefly in 1936)
1902 Dr Howard T Engstrom Boston, a designer of Univac computer
1904 Willie Mae "Mother" Smith, gospel singer/evangelist folk artist
1911 David Ogilvy advertising whiz (Ogilvy & Mathers)
1912 Alan Turing mathematician pioneer in computer theory (Turing Machine) (cracked the Enigma code in World War II)
1913 William P Rogers US secretary of state (1969-73)
1925 Art Modell, owner (Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens, Modells Stores)
1927 Bob Fosse Chicago Ill, choreographer/director (Cabaret, Damn Yankees)
1929 June Carter Cash Maces Spring Va, country singer (Johnny Cash Show)
1930 Donn F Eisele Columbus Ohio, Col USAF/astronaut (Apollo 7)
1933 Bert Convy game show host (Win, Lose or Draw)
1940 Wilma Rudolph US, 100m/200m sprinter (Olympic-gold-1960)

1948 Clarence Thomas, Savannah Ga, 108th US Supreme Court Justice (1991- )
1970 Tasmanianred ushered into the world to the sound of bells pealing and the huzzahs of 10's of thousands of telemarketers.
"What most persons consider as virtue, after the age of 40 is simply a loss of energy."

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Deaths which occurred on June 23:
1137 Adalbert I, archbishop of Mainz (1111-1137), dies
1817 Otto Carl Erdmann Kospoth, composer, dies at 63
1916 Victor Chapman, US legionaire/WW I pilot, killed
1945 Lt Gen Ushijima, Japanese commander, commits suicide at Okinawa
1972 Elton Britt country singer (Sat Night Jamboree), dies at 54
1973 Fay Holden actress (Mother-Andy Hardy films), dies at 77
1980 Sanjay Gandhi, Indian politician, dies
1995 Jonas Salk, biologist (Polio vaccine), dies of heart failure
1996 Andreas George Papandreou, PM of Greece (1981-89, 93-96), dies at 76
1997 "Wino" Willie Forkner, biker (Wild One), dies of heart attack at 77
1997 Betty Shabazz, widow of Malcolm X, suffering from burns, dies at 63
1998 Maureen O’Sullivan, film actress dies (Jane-Tarzan movies, Marion Drew-Bonzo Goes to College, Norma-Hannah and Her Sisters)
2001 Yvonne Dionne, one of three remaining Dionne quintuplets, died at age 67

---

GWOT Casualties

Iraq
24-Jun-2003 7 | US: 1 | UK: 6 | Other: 0
US Specialist Cedric Lamont Lennon Baghdad Non-hostile - not reported
UK Lance Corporal Thomas Richard Keys Majar al-Kabir Hostile - hostile fire
UK Sergeant Simon A. Hamilton-Jewell Majar al-Kabir Hostile - hostile fire
UK Corporal Russell Aston Majar al-Kabir Hostile - hostile fire
UK Corporal Paul Graham Long Majar al-Kabir Hostile - hostile fire
UK Corporal Simon Miller Majar al-Kabir Hostile - hostile fire
UK Lance Corporal Benjamin John M. Hyde Majar al-Kabir Hostile - hostile fire


Afghanistan
A Good Day

http://icasualties.org/oif/
Data research by Pat Kneisler
Designed and maintained by Michael White

---

On this day...
0930 World's oldest parliament, the Iceland Parliament, established (Althing)
1295 Pope Boniface VIII enters Rome
1298 Duke Albrecht von Habsburg chosen Roman Catholic German king
1683 William Penn signs friendship treaty with Lenni Lenape indians in Pennsylvania; only treaty "not sworn to, nor broken"
1757 Robert Clive defeats Indians at Plassey, wins control of Bengal
1760 Battle of Landshut, Silesia
1775 1st regatta held on Thames, England

1776 Final draft of Declaration of Independence submitted to US Congress

1784 1st US balloon flight (13 year old Edward Warren)
1810 John Jacob Astor organizes Pacific Fur Co (Astoria, Oregon)
1836 Congress approves the Deposit Act, which contained a provision for turning over surplus federal revenue to the states
1845 The congress of the Republic of Texas votes to accept annexation by the US after 10 years as an independent republic
1848 Bloody insurrection of workers in Paris
1860 Congress establishes the Government Printing Office
1860 US Secret Service created
1863 Tullahoma campaign, TN
1863 Confederate forces overwhelmed a Union garrison at the Battle of Brasher City in Louisiana
1865 At Fort Towson, Gen Stand Watie surrenders last sizeable army
1868 Christopher Latham Sholes patents "Type-writer"
1884 Chinese Army defeats the French at Bacle, Indochina
1903 M Wolf discovers asteroid #512 Taurinensis
1915 Yanks get record 16 walks & 3 wild pitches beat A's Bruno Hass, 15-0
1924 V Albitzkij discovers asteroid #1022 Olympiada
1925 Landslides create 3-mile long "Slide Lake" (Gros Ventre Wyoming)
1930 Chicago Cubs beat Philadelphia Phillies 21-8
1938 Civil Aeronautics Authority (US) established
1938 Marineland opens in Florida-1st aquarium
1939 Bronko Nagurski beats Lou Thesz in Houston, to become wrestling champ
1943 RAF discovers Werner von Brauns V1/V2-base in Peenemunde
1945 Last organized Japanese defiance broken (Tarakan)
1944 4 tornadoes strike Appalachia, killing 153
1944 Thomas Mann becomes a US citizen
1947 Truman's veto of Taft-Hartley Act overridden by congress
1949 1st 12 women graduate from Harvard Medical School
1950 Yanks & Tigers hit record 11 HRs, Tigers win 10-9
1951 British diplomats Guy Burgess & Donald Maclean flee to USSR (SHOCK)
1951 Most expensive US hailstorm ($1.5M crop damage & $14M property-Kansas)
1952 US Air Force bombs power plants on Yalu River, Korea
1954 122ø F, Overton, Nevada (state record)
1955 Walt Disney's "Lady & the Tramp" released
1956 Gamal Abdel Nasser "elected" president of Egypt
1961 Cubs Ernie Banks ends his 717 consecutive-games-played streak
1961 USAF Maj Robert M White takes X-15 to 32,830 m
1963 Julius Boros wins golf's US Open
1963 NY Mets Jimmy Piersall, hits his 100th HR, he circles bases backwards
1964 Gen Maxwell Taylor appointed US ambassador in South Vietnam
1967 Jim Ryun sets mile record of 3 min, 51.1 sec (Bakersfield, CA)
1967 US Senate censures Thomas J Dodd (D-Ct) for misusing campaign funds
1969 Joe Frazier beats Jerry Quarry for the heavyweight boxing title
1969 Warren E Burger sworn in as Supreme Court Chief Justice
1970 Charles Rangel defeats Adam Clayton Powell in Democratic primary (Meet the new boss, same as the old boss)
1970 Rocker Chubby Checker arrest for marijuana pocession
1972 Nixon & Haldeman agree to use CIA to cover up Watergate
1972 Pres Nixon signs act barring sex discrimination in college sports
1976 CCN Tower in Toronto, tallest free-standing structure (555 m) opens
1979 The Charlie Daniels Band releases "Devil Went Down to Georgia"
1981 33-inning game ends, Pawtucket 3, Rochester 2
1981 Amanda Maccaro becomes 1st American to win Russian Ballet Competition
1981 NYC mayor Koch turns down a $7,500 offer to perform comedy
1982 -117ø F; All time low at the South Pole
1982 Himmy, of Australia, weighs in at domestic cat record 20.7 kg (45 lb)
1983 US Supreme Court ruled Congress could not veto presidential decisions
1985 Bomb destroys Air India Boeing 747 in air near Ireland, 329 die
1986 Tip O'Neill refuses to let Reagan address House
1987 W Landgraf discovers asteroid #3683 Baumann
1988 Yank manager Billy Martin's 5th term ends, Lou Pinella named manager
1990 A rally to save Alien Nation from cancellation held at Statue of Liberty
1990 TV Guide selects Arsenio Hall as TV personality of the year (Who?)
1992 Mafia boss John Gotti, who was nicknamed the "Teflon Don" after escaping unscathed from several trials during the 1980s, was sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty on fourteen accounts of conspiracy to commit murder and racketeering.
1993 Lorena Gallo Bobbitt amputates husband's John Wayne Bobbitt's...equipment
1994 A U.N.-approved French intervention force crossed into civil war-torn Rwanda.
2002 Two major Arizona wildfires merged and by the next day had consumed 330,000 acres and moved close to the town of Show Low (population 8,000) that had been evacuated. (Here we go again)
2003 Former Vermont Gov. Howard "the duck" Dean announced that he's running for president
2004 In Iraq Polish forces purchased 17 rockets for a Soviet-era launcher and two mortar rounds containing the nerve agent cyclosarin for an undisclosed sum.

---

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

Denmark : Midsummer Eve
Finland, Latvia, Scandinavia : Midsummer Eve/St John's Eve
Luxembourg : Official birthday of the Grand Duke of Luxembourg
Ireland : Day of Cuchulaine
National Sheriff's Week (Day 4)
National Pink Day
Males only : Protect Your Manhood Day
Triumph Over Adversity Day
Ragweed Control Month

---

Religious Observances
RC, Ang : Vigil (eve) of St John the Baptist
RC : Feast of St Audrey (St Ethelreda), virgin
RC : Commemoration of St Joseph Cafassio, Italian priest

---

Religious History
1415 Bohemian reformer and martyr Jan Hus wrote in a letter: 'It is difficult to...esteem it all joy in various temptations. It is easy to talk about...but difficult to fulfill it.'
1683 English Quaker William Penn signed his famous treaty with the Indians of Pennsylvania. Voltaire once remarked that it was the only treaty never sworn to, and never broken.
1738 Birth of Samuel Medley, English Baptist clergyman and author of the hymn, 'O Could I Speak the Matchless Worth.'
1775 Anglican hymnwriter John Newton wrote in a letter: 'True religion is not a science of the head so much as an inward and heartfelt perception.... Here the learned have no real advantage over the ignorant.'
1967 Paul VI issued the encyclical 'Sacerdotalis Caelibatus,' reaffirming the Catholic Church's requirement of celibacy with the priesthood.

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

---

Man Wakes Up With Bullet In Tongue

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- There's a good reason Wendell Coleman woke up with a splitting headache: he had been shot.

Police in Jacksonville report Coleman walked 12 blocks to a hospital the other day after waking up with a very bad headache. His lip was swollen, he appeared to have powder burns and he had trouble speaking.

Doctors found a bullet in Coleman's tongue. He told police a woman stuck a gun barrel in his mouth during an argument late the night before. Coleman said he heard a gun go off, but then went home and went to sleep not realizing he had been shot.

Police said they are looking for a suspect, but besides the bullet, don't have much to go on.

---

Thought for the day :
"The reward for work well done is the opportunity to do more."

[Professional Engineer]

Good morning ladies. Flag-o-Gram.

[Professional Engineer]

If Burt Rutan worked for Boeing...

[Professional Engineer]

Hi miss Feather.

[Soaring Feather]

Morning PE, WOW what is that?? A gonna be plane?? The Stealth Bomber?

[Professional Engineer]

That would be one of these...

...that was disassembled to be moved as a static display to Barksdale AFB.

[snippy_about_it]

"FALL IN" to the FReeper Foxhole!



Good Thursday Morning Everyone.

If you want to be added to our ping list, let us know.

[E.G.C.]

Good morning, snippy and everyone at the Freeper Foxhole.

[Soaring Feather]

Oh sure, I got a couple of those.

[Professional Engineer]

'morning sleepy head. ;-)

[Professional Engineer]

ROFLOL!

[ken5050]

Good morning, just saw that tonight on C-span 3 ..12:05 am EST they are going to show the unveiling of the restored Enola Gay at the Smithsonian, and show film of some of the restoration process...Might be worth pinging the list..watching, taping...even a thread....regards..

[Colonel_Flagg]

Good morning, Foxhole! Great read as always. Hope you are off to a great start today!

[snippy_about_it]

tonight on C-span 3 ..12:05 am EST they are going to show the unveiling of the restored Enola Gay at the Smithsonian, and show film of some of the restoration process..

Thanks for the 'heads up' ken. Here's some reading material to get ready for the show. :-)

The FReeper Foxhole Studies The Decision That Launched The ENOLA GAY - April 23rd, 2004

And

The FReeper Foxhole Profiles Colonel Paul Tibbets - May 10th, 2004

[alfa6]

20 years of schoolin' and they put ya on the day shift bump for the Freeper Foxhole.

Back to work go I must, more when I get home tonight

Regards

alfa6 ;>}

[ken5050]

Many thanks..probably catch you all tonight...I'll look for the ping..

[snippy_about_it]

Good morning Gail. First in! Up early for work?

[snippy_about_it]

Good morning feather.

[snippy_about_it]

Good morning Mayor.

[snippy_about_it]

LOL. Well when the story isn't posted til 3 a.m. PT what's a girl to do? Gotta sleep some time.

[snippy_about_it]

'morning sleepy head. ;-)

LOL. Sam forgot to wake me at 3 a.m. to tell me he posted. Good thing.

[snippy_about_it]

((Hugs)). Good morning EGC.

[SAMWolf]

LOL! Just doesn't have the same charm. :-)

Morning Snippy

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

Great bit of history here!

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

Spc. Corcy LaPoint from the 156th Infantry, 256th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd ID, provides security during a cordon and search mission in Baghdad, Iraq on June 10, 2005. Air Force photo by SSgt. Jorge A. Rodriguez. 050609-F-4441R-026 (Released)

050620-N-6495K-005 Atlantic Ocean (June 20, 2005) – The guided missile destroyer USS Ramage (DDG 61) departs Naval Station Norfolk along with other ships assigned to the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group for scheduled underway operations. The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) is currently at sea conducting routine carrier qualifications. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 3rd Class Kathaleen A. Knowles (RELEASED)

050622-N-1397H-004 Pacific Ocean (June 22, 2005) – U.S. Marines assigned to 3rd Amphibious Assault Battalion practice room-clearing techniques aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Peleliu (LHA 5) as part of Enhanced Marksmanship Program (EMP) training. Marines conduct EMP training to become proficient wartime fighters in urban combat situations. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer’s Mate 2nd Class Prince A. Hughes III (RELEASED)

050620-N-5345W-006 Atlantic Ocean (June 20, 2005) - Sailors assigned to the security force aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) stand a flight deck security watch as Truman gets underway from Naval Station Norfolk. Truman is currently at sea conducting routine carrier qualifications. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 3rd Class Kristopher Wilson (RELEASED)

[SAMWolf]

1943 RAF discovers Werner von Brauns V1/V2-base in Peenemunde

It was no secret that before WW2 the Germans were working on high energy fuels, explosives and rockets. The first reports started at the end of 1939. One was an anonymous letter to the British Naval Attaché in Oslo stating that the Germans were working on radio controlled flying bombs on the Baltic coast. Another was from the Polish Underground Army Intelligence saying that the Germans had set up a highly secret operation on a remote Baltic island, Usedom, and in the town of Peenemunde. In spite of this information the British scientists believed that there were no high energy fuels and high temperature materials available that would permit such weapons and, as a result, the reports were shelved.

One person who did take this information and threat seriously was R. V. Jones, the British Government Scientific Advisor. Knowing the reputation of Bletchley Park, he went there and briefed the intelligence section on the subject and asked for any Enigma intercepts that might throw light on the subject. Knowing the subject, they could now extract the pertinent information from many received and decrypted messages. One such superficially unimportant message, which had been previously decrypted and catalogued, concerned a German NCO from an Experimental Unit supporting beam bomber operation against Britain, who had been reassigned to Peenemunde. This was a very important and reliable confirmation of previous reports. A month after R. V. Jones' visit alerted Bletchley Park, intercepted messages indicated that the Germans were plotting the paths of flying objects over the Baltic Sea.

From the numerous data the British extrapolated the launch pad to be at Peenemunde. Further, the messages on missile tracking revealed its speed, flying height, and range. The final convincing argument came from an Enigma intercept that a special anti-aircraft unit was ordered for a location on the Baltic coast. Armed with that information R. V. Jones was able to make a presentation indicating the reliability of his data and accuracy of the weapon description. A few days later, an air reconnaissance mission brought photographs of Peenemunde showing a V1 on a launch pad and removing any remaining doubts about the purpose of this weapon. Due to the serious threat, that these weapons posed to Britain a massive air raid on Peenemunde, consisting of 600 heavy bombers, was ordered in August 1943. It was planned in absolute secrecy and even the bombing crews did not know what they were bombing. To achieve a total surprise a detachment of Mosquitoes was sent to Berlin to decoy German fighters from Peenemunde. The raid was led and controlled by Pathfinders who marked the target with coloured flares. As a result 130 German scientists and 600 foreign workers were killed and numerous sites levelled.

This action delayed experimentation and production by at least six months and eventually forced the Germans to move the operation to southeastern Poland, out of range of the Allied bombers. The British realising that the threat was imminent ordered massive bombing of V1 launch ramps found in France and on any suspected manufacturing plants. They also ordered an all out effort to obtain intelligence information on V1 and V2 rockets.

Polish intelligence operating in Poland was best equipped to do this. They were able to penetrate German security and recruit a worker to report on flying bomb construction, weight, type of engine, launch ramp construction and layout of Peenemunde buildings. Also a separate activity pertaining to the V2s that were landing in southeastern Poland was started. With a very large network of observers and strategically located couriers they were able to locate the V2 drop sites and collect the remaining parts before the Germans were able to do so.

On May 20th, 1944 they beat the Germans to some rather well preserved V2 remains, which they dumped into the nearby Bug river for later recovery. After collecting all the sighting and technical data they wrote a report that contained the following intelligence information:

General description of V2
Detailed technical description and operation of many internal units
Drawings of the launch sites and buildings at Blizna, number of launches and locations where the rockets landed
Names of German plants involved in manufacturing of the V2
Eighty photographs of various V2 parts
Twenty-five drawings of internal parts that could not be photographed.

Arrangements were made to send a DC3 Dakota plane to a landing site in Poland to pick up the report, the V2 parts and the intelligence man responsible for V2 intelligence gathering in Poland. It almost ended in total disaster as the aircraft wheels sank in the rain soaked landing field. It took over an hour to dislodge them so the aircraft could take off. All together more than 400 partisans took part in this landing operation and in securing the area against German attack. More than 140 partisans lost their lives in the V1 and V2 operations. Of more than 10,000 V1 launched, 7488 reached England, 3957 were destroyed and only 3531 reached London. More than six thousand civilians were killed and eighteen thousand were wounded. The 1150 V2 that landed in London killed 2,742 civilians and wounded 6467. The total property damage was 23,000 houses totally destroyed and 100,000 damaged while the RAF lost 490 aircraft.

Had not R. V. Jones believed in Bletchley Park the British would have found themselves being attacked by a very large number of V1 and V2. This would have caused major civilian and military losses and disruption of the invasion of the Continent. The day before the invasion Bletchley Park was on full alert to listen for and decrypt German Enigma messages for any hints that the Germans knew of the impending invasion. There was no sign of it until early in the morning of 6th June when an order was given to attack landing craft. This was too late to be of any use to the Germans. Both the Prime Minister and the Allied Commanders were briefed on the status of German Command orders.

[colorado tanker]

Nice story today, Sam. There's also a good documentary, "Target For Today" that tells what it was like for the men of the Eighth Air Force.

Personally, I don't begrudge all the comforts they got, like eggs to order and hot showers, given the terrible odds they willingly faced.

[GailA]

Yes I get up at 5:30 when I have to work..next day off is Sunday...I will finally get to go to church for the first time in weeks.

[U S Army EOD]

Compared to the normal run to Maglenburg, that one was a "milk run". Glad they finally got to have a "easy" one.

[alfa6]

Y'all have a nice night ya 'ere

Regards

alfa6 ;>}

[Soaring Feather]

WOO HOO nice plane.

[alfa6]

A couple of B-24 pics to grace the pages of the Foxhole.

A formation of 3 B-24s in Europe I believe.

To help the units form up for the journey to Germany many Groups used "Formation Ships". Thes were usually a ship that was pretty well worn out for combat duty but was still flyable. Typically formation ship were painted some "distinctive" paint sheme to enable the groups plane to easily spot the formation ship. An example of one is below.

A sterling example of GI ingenuity, or what to do if your hydraulics are shot out!

And finally a low pass by the Collins Foundation B-24. Man would I like to have seen that.

Regards

alfa6 ;>}

[alfa6]

Operation Crossbow ping

Mot a bad movie either,if one like a bit of escapism in the war fliks.

Regards

alfa6 ;>}

[alfa6]

O all my SR-71/YF-12A pics that is pobably my favorite one. Running a close second and it is a hard fought finish would be this pic of an SR-71B

This pic is kinda cool for the composition of the picture

Regards

alfa6 ;>}

[Soaring Feather]

WHOA!! Fabulous pictures. Thanks.

[Valin]

Had not R. V. Jones believed in Bletchley Park the British would have found themselves being attacked by a very large number of V1 and V2. This would have caused major civilian and military losses and disruption of the invasion of the Continent.

John Keegan talks about this in his latest "Intelligence in War".

[Valin]

Wernher von Braun
Tom Lehrer

Gather round while I sing you of Wernher von Braun,
A man whose allegiance
Is ruled by expedience.
Call him a Nazi, he won't even frown.
"Ha, Nazi Schmazi," says Wernher von Braun.

Don't say that he's hypocritical,
Say rather that he's apolitical.

"Once the rockets are up, who cares where they come down?
That's not my department," says Wernher von Braun.

Some have harsh words for this man of renown,
But some think our attitude
Should be one of gratitude,
Like the widows and cripples in old London town
Who owe their large pensions to Wernher von Braun.

You too may be a big hero,
Once you've learned to count backwards to zero.
"In German oder English I know how to count down,
Und I'm learning Chinese," says Wernher von Braun.

[snippy_about_it]

Great pics, thanks.

[snippy_about_it]

LOL. I wish you all could hear Sam sing this!

[PhilDragoo]

Bill Washburn's photo taken from right gunner's position of his B-24J Liberator heavy bomber
in 1945 over Bremen, Germany. Note the three flak bursts to the left side of the picture.

Consolidated B-24 "Liberator" from the 465th Bomb Group en route to target.
BTO radar can be seen in place of the ball turret.

Page 17 from the Here's How--The C-1 Autopilot manual

WARNING: BIG ROUND ENGINE

SR-71 Flight Manual (Hardback)

1600 pages
300 illustrations
300 line drawings
Aircraft not included

[E.G.C.]

BTT!!!!!!!