Picture of the day

Here's a weird bird - HE111 in Chinese markings, re-engined with radials:

He-111A_CNAC.jpg
 
Why would an HE111 have been in storage in the middle of WWII?

Pretty sure most all of China was under Japanese control by 1943.

Was it maybe 1953?

Nope but a major portion of it was. The north west section was in Chiang Kai Shek's hands and the US used it as a base to keep the Japanese occupied until they could ramp up manufacturing enough to be able to help supply the allies on several fronts with enough equipment to carry on the fight.

WWII was not a slam dunk, as many people believe and the outcome was in question right up to mid 1944. The win couldn't have happened without the materials delivered from North America and Australia. The other nations of the world were either supplying both sides or embroiled in struggles of their own.

It's a very similar story with the DC3 or Dakota, the Japanese bought many of them from the US, along with lots of aircraft parts and engines, then built copies of their own to use during WWII.
 
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Take a wild guess and you will likely be as close as anyone else in pinpointing the reason.

I would pin it on the unacceptable engines which were likely obsolete in a few years and lack of parts, forcing Chiang Kai Shek to turn to US made engines to bring the half dozen he had back into service.
 
The late Jimmy Buffett in the backseat of a VF-102 F-14 Tomcat piloted by John Dickson “Boomer” Stufflebeem.

Buffett-VF102-F-14.jpg

It was Stufflebeam as pentagon spokesman after 911 when asked by a reporter if the bombing of tora bora was an attempt to demoralize the enemy. Stufflebeam replied that they were not trying to demoralize the enemy but to kill them. They reported was a little shocked but it cheered much of the nation. LOL
 
Shortly after this photo was taken, Lt Col Felix Sparks stopped the executions by firing his pistol in the air, and kicking the guy behind the .30 cal in the ribs. Because the men were under his command, he was going to be charged with a war crime, but Patton himself dismissed the charges.

Fact: Winners do not commit war crimes.

VKkXaBr.png
 
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Hell of it is, aside from the obvious horrors specific to atomic weapons, Tokyo got it worse.

Operation Meetinghouse did this:

09ww11-firebombing-01-mediumSquareAt3X.jpg


1-tokyo-firebombing-1945-paper-cities-GettyImages-96833331.jpg


009wwi-saotome-end-articleLarge.jpg


RSDSO5GHKII6TBKNIBWI6S7HAY.jpg


Yes, it was war, and yes, this is manifestation of the second part of the ancient equation of "fvck around and find out", but there are few old buildings in Tokyo. It was wiped pretty thoroughly from the face of the earth in 1945. Biblical levels of destruction. No stone left atop another, or damned close to it. At risk of kicking off what will doubtless be a lengthy argument on a picture thread, does this constitute a war crime? Had the Japanese found a way to do this to Los Angeles and then lost the war, would they have been prosecuted? Not a hard question to answer.

The victors set the terms and the definitions. One man's war crime is another man's righteous retribution. Based on Dresden, Tokyo, and others, our grandfathers are fortunate to have won.
 
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The last US casualty of WW2 -

marchione-uniform-vert.jpg


30966890_122532097310.jpg


this from Wikipedia:

18 August 1945: The last U.S. air combat casualty of World War II occurred during mission 230 A-8, when two Consolidated B-32 Dominators of the 386th Bomb Squadron, 312th Bomb Group, launched from Yontan Airfield, Okinawa, for a photo reconnaissance run over Tokyo, Japan. Both bombers were attacked by several Japanese fighters of both the 302nd Naval Air Group at Atsugi and the Yokosuka Air Group that made 10 gunnery passes. Japanese IJNAS aces Sadamu Komachi and Saburō Sakai were part of this attack. The B-32 piloted by 1st Lt. John R. Anderson, was hit at 20,000 feet; cannon fire knocked out the number two (port inner) engine, and three crew were injured, including Sgt. Anthony J. Marchione, 19, of the 20th Reconnaissance Squadron, who took a 20 mm hit to the chest and died 30 minutes later. Tail gunner Sgt. John Houston destroyed one attacker. The lead bomber, Consolidated B-32-20-CF Dominator, 42-108532, "Hobo Queen II", piloted by 1st Lt. James Klein, was not seriously damaged but the second Consolidated B-32-35-CF Dominator, 42-108578, lost an engine, had the upper turret knocked out of action, and partially lost rudder control. Both bombers landed at Yontan Airfield just past ~1800 hrs. having survived the last air combat of the Pacific war. The following day, propellers were removed from Japanese aircraft as part of the surrender agreement. Marchione was buried on Okinawa on 19 August, his body being returned to his Pottstown, Pennsylvania home on 18 March 1949. He was interred in St. Aloysius Old Cemetery with full military honors. "Hobo Queen II" was dismantled at Yonton Airfield following a 9 September nosegear collapse and damage during lifting. B-32, 42-108578, was scrapped at Kingman, Arizona after the war.

Marchione's aircraft:

Consolidated_B-32_42-108578_Taxiing_Towards_The_Runway_On_Yontan_Airstrip_BeforeTake-Off__25_August_1945.jpg


Sakai:

Saburo_Sakai_in_A5M_Signed_1939.png
 
Hell of it is, aside from the obvious horrors specific to atomic weapons, Tokyo got it worse.

Operation Meetinghouse did this:

09ww11-firebombing-01-mediumSquareAt3X.jpg


1-tokyo-firebombing-1945-paper-cities-GettyImages-96833331.jpg


009wwi-saotome-end-articleLarge.jpg


RSDSO5GHKII6TBKNIBWI6S7HAY.jpg


Yes, it was war, and yes, this is manifestation of the second part of the ancient equation of "fvck around and find out", but there are few old buildings in Tokyo. It was wiped pretty thoroughly from the face of the earth in 1945. Biblical levels of destruction. No stone left atop another, or damned close to it. At risk of kicking off what will doubtless be a lengthy argument on a picture thread, does this constitute a war crime? Had the Japanese found a way to do this to Los Angeles and then lost the war, would they have been prosecuted? Not a hard question to answer.

The victors set the terms and the definitions. One man's war crime is another man's righteous retribution. Based on Dresden, Tokyo, and others, our grandfathers are fortunate to have won.

More to the point "we are fortunate to havfe had grandfathers that WANTED TO WIN".
 
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