Free Republic

On Veterans Day we remember from WWII the hazards faced by the young men who became our fathers, grandfathers, and great-grandfathers. For example, the 8th Air Force suffered over 26,000 dead compared to the Marine Corps losing nearly 20,000 killed in the Pacific. Their bombers were mainly crewed by teenagers and men in their early twenties, but of all crew members the ball turret gunner confronted the most dismal fate.The emerging certainty the United States would be drawn into WW II promoted creation of an autonomous Army Air Force. Until the war in Europe began, dominate Army doctrine gave the...

The remains have been identified as those of a gunner killed when the badly damaged aircraft crashed into the sea in 1943.Archaeological divers have recovered human remains from the wreck of a U.S. bomber that crashed near the Mediterranean island of Malta in May 1943.Scientific analysis by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) has confirmed the remains are those of U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF) Sgt. Irving R. Newman, who was 22 years old when the aircraft — a B-24 Liberator based in Libya — suffered engine trouble and was hit by anti-aircraft fire during a bombing raid over the...

Searchers have located the wrecks of five B-24 bombers that crashed into the Adriatic Sea during World War II, three of which are associated with 23 still-missing crew members. The search mission – conducted over a two-week period in August off the coast of Croatia – was a partnership between Project Recover and the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. It was the culmination of a lengthy process of researching military records and obtaining needed permits from Croatia, Mark Moline, the mission leader and a cofounder of Project Recover, said in a phone interview Thursday. Along with the B-17, the B-24 Liberator...

The near certainty the United States would be drawn into WW II prompted creation of an autonomous Army Air Force. Until the war in Europe began, dominate Army doctrine gave the air corps no mission beyond supporting the ground forces. In opposition to this entrenched position, Giulio Douhet, an Italian general, and air power theorist, maintained air power could shatter civilian moral and elicit demands to surrender by destroying a country’s vital centers. Now air power advocates fought and won the Pentagon battle for the authority to prove the theory that bombers could win wars.The instruments for this initiative in...

The near certainty the United States would be drawn into WW II prompted creation of an autonomous Army Air Force. Until the war in Europe began, dominate Army doctrine gave the air corps no mission beyond supporting the ground forces. In opposition to this entrenched position, Giulio Douhet, an Italian general and air power theorist, maintained air power could shatter civilian moral and elicit demands to surrender by destroying a country’s vital centers. Now air power advocates fought and won the Pentagon battle for the authority to prove the theory that bombers could win wars.The instruments for this initiative in...

The near certainty the United States would be drawn into WW II prompted creation of an autonomous Army Air Force. Until the war in Europe began, dominate Army doctrine gave the air corps no mission beyond supporting the ground forces. In opposition to this entrenched position, Giulio Douhet, an Italian general, and air power theorist, maintained air power could shatter civilian moral and elicit demands to surrender by destroying a country’s vital centers. Now air power advocates fought and won the Pentagon battle for the authority to prove the theory that bombers could win wars.The instruments for this initiative were...

The near certainty the United States would be drawn into WW II prompted creation of an autonomous Army Air Force. Until the war in Europe began, standard doctrine gave an air corps no mission beyond supporting the ground forces. Now air power advocates fought for the authority to prove the theory that bombers could win wars. The B-24 Liberator and B-17 Flying Fortress carried 10-13 .50cal machine guns for defense and the Norden bombsight for precision daylight attack. Under combat conditions peacetime accuracy was never realized and bombers suffered horrendous losses until the P-51 Mustang could escort them all the...

1898: Following the Battle of Manila Bay, Marines from the cruisers USS Baltimore (C-3) and USS Raleigh (C-8) raise the Stars and Stripes for the first time in the Philippines over Cavite, the historical capital. 1923: 26 hours and 50 minutes after taking off in New York, Army Air Corps first lieutenants Oakley Kelly and John Macready touch down at Rockwell Field, San Diego, becoming the first aviators to fly non-stop across the United States. The specially modified Fokker T-2 passenger plane averaged a blistering 92 mph. 1942: Off the Florida coast, two German U-boats each sink a cargo ship,...

Jimmy Stewart suffered such extreme PTSD after being a fighter pilot in World War II that he acted out his mental distress during 'It's a Wonderful Life'. Stewart played George Bailey in the classic movie and channeled his anger and guilt into the scenes where he rages at his family. Stewart was haunted by 'a thousand black memories' from his time as an Air Force commanding officer that he took with him back to Hollywood after the war. Pilots who flew with him said that became 'Flak Happy' during World War II, a term to describe what is now known...

Seventy-two years after eight airmen in the B-24 Liberator Hot as Hell crashed in violent weather over India during World War II, part of the crew began their final journey home after a full-honors ceremony Wednesday, April 13, 2016, at Air Force Station Palam in New Delhi, India. TARA COPP/STARS AND STRIPES AIR FORCE STATION PALAM, NEW DELHI, India — Seventy-two years after eight airmen in the B-24 Liberator Hot as Hell crashed in violent weather over India, part of the crew has begun the final journey home. In a full-honors ceremony Wednesday at New Delhi’s airport, Secretary of Defense...

The World War II-era B-24 aircraft was so stiff, heavy, and hard to control that its American crews dubbed it the "flying coffin." Not only was its only exit hard to reach at the tail—leaving many trapped before being able to parachute out—but it was intended to drop bombs on bridges, train stations, and airports run by the Germans, thus living up to its name for those below it as well.

The roar of the propellers cutting the air is what sparks memories for WWII veteran Howard Mann. "The sound is the same," he said. "The sound brings it all back." Mann, 92, was a passenger in the B-24 Liberator "Witchcraft" that took flight from Long Beach to John Wayne Airport on Friday as part of the Wings of Freedom exhibition at the Lyon Air Museum... The last time Mann was in a B-24 was Jan. 3, 1945, flying over the Pacific...

Ford built at least 8000 B-24 aircraft in WWII. This a collection of 291 B&W photos from the Henry Ford Museum taken at the old Willow Run Airport and Ford Motor Co. in Detroit. During the war automobile manufacturing was suspended so that GM, Ford, etc., could concentrate on the manufacture of military vehicles and aircraft. Ford Motor Company's assembly line was located adjacent to Willow Run. The government and Boeing company told Henry Ford during the war that he could not build an airplane like a car on an assembly line. He built the freeway to the plant, built...

Lt. Nick Radosevich had his orders. Soon he would ship out to England and begin bombing targets deep inside Nazi territory. He sought an edge, a good-luck charm. He met a girl. They had some drinks and dinner. Her cocker spaniel had recently delivered puppies. "That's it,'' the handsome 26-year-old pilot said. He picked out a jet black female and named her Penelope — Penny for short. He attached a small metal cylinder to her collar that contained contact information in case Penny should get lost. 2/Lt. Nick Radosevich, 734th Squadron, 453rd Bomb Group. For the long trip from March...

MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) - World War II pilot Bernerd Harding feels he has finally completed his mission—65 years after his B-24, nicknamed Georgette, was shot down over Germany. Harding, now 90, flew Friday from Laconia to Manchester aboard the Witchcraft—the last B-24 still flying.

It is with sad regrets to report that Capt. John K. Nevin USAAC has passed away at the age of 87. Capt. Nevin was commisioned in Jan. 1942. Stationed Kumming China July 1942. Returned Stateside 1944. Received Bronze Star, 3 DFC's, 4 Air Medals, 2 Presidential Citations. Flew "the Hump" keeping the Chinese supplied. Prayers are requested for his family.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - In honour of the crouching, naked blonde painted on its nose, its pilot had named his bomber the "Hot as Hell". But it was a freezing and stormy day as the American B-24 Liberator made its way across the Himalayas on Jan 25, 1944, flying what was known as "the Hump", perhaps the most dangerous route in air transport history. It was one of nine American planes that went down that day as they tried to resupply China's besieged army in the city of Kunming, desperately trying to hold out against the invading Japanese during World...

3/11/2008 - PALAU INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, Palau (AFPN) -- A Kansas Air National Guard KC-135 Stratotanker crew from the 190th Air Refueling Wing returned the human remains March 3 to American soil after a recovery team recovered from a downed B-24 Liberator shot down near the Pacific island nation of Palau Sept. 1, 1944. According to military reports, the Army Air Forces B-24 was involved in a fight between American and Japanese forces over the island and suffered anti-aircraft fire. Three of the crew reportedly bailed out, one without a parachute, before the bomber crashed into the water. BentProp officials, a...

The remains of a World War II hero are returned to family members here in Tucson. For 63 years, the family of Tech Sgt. Hyman Stiglitz knew his plane was shot down over Germany. But not until now did the family learn of their loved one's heroic actions. It was the summer of 1944. Tech Sergeant Hyman Stiglitz was a radio operator on a mission flying over Germany. He was in a B-24 bomber part of the 492nd wing. Their target a bridge. But when they hit it not all of the bombs fell out putting the crew in danger....

8/22/2007 - RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFPN) -- The scene in the rotunda of Randolph's Taj Mahal Aug. 21 probably seemed like too much hoopla to one former Army Air Corps staff sergeant. But all the TV cameras and reporters there to capture the moment, the remarks by an Air Force major general and the admiration shown by servicemembers and civilians alike more than fit the occasion -- a long-overdue ceremony to honor a true American hero. With one of his daughters at his side, Roy E. Talbott, 84, a self-effacing veteran who once served as a B-24 gunner...