Picture of the day
- Thread starter jwhc
- Start date
Mmm, a little rocket assist and even pigs can fly.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regulus_missile_submarines
Grizz
Dark Alley Dan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Darkest Edmonton
Taken by the Americans, 1918:
Brilliant, and almost certainly entirely accidental composition. Looks like a painting.
Brilliant, and almost certainly entirely accidental composition. Looks like a painting.
For comparison, another super Connie I took in Arizona, looks like the stretched`it.
Grizz
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Dark Alley Dan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Darkest Edmonton
Just south of the Big Ditch. I've walked through that Connie.
Dugout Doug's personal ride.
Dugout Doug's personal ride.
here’s what BATUS is ....
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Army_Training_Unit_Suffield
it would seem a more likely place to purchase a Chieftain ... particularly if one lived in Alberta.... but the British used and sold Chieftains and Centurions to lots of folks around the world
They did some nasty biological and chemical research at Suffield during and after the war. Book about it but the name escapes me.
https://nationalpost.com/news/canad...nada-during-the-cold-war-researcher-discovers
Grizz
Thanks.
John Bryden is a politician, journalist, and historian. He was first elected to the House of Commons in 1993, where he served for more than a decade before retiring in 2004. His publications include "Best Kept Secret: Canadian Secret Intelligence in the Second World War" and "Deadly Allies: Canada's Secret War 1937-1947". He lives in Hamilton, Ontario.
Grizz
"Born Under a Bad Sign
Been down since I began to crawl
If it wasn't for bad luck, you know I wouldn't have no luck at all"
USS William D. Porter (DD-579)
The ship is predominantly remembered today for the string of extremely unfortunate events that plagued her short three-year career.
On 12 November 1943, she departed Norfolk to rendezvous with Iowa (BB-61). That battleship was on her way to North Africa carrying President Franklin D. Roosevelt to the Cairo and Tehran Conferences.[2] William D. Porter was reported to have been involved in a mishap while departing Norfolk when her anchor tore the railing and lifeboat mounts off a docked sister destroyer while maneuvering astern.[a] The next day, a depth charge from the deck of William D. Porter fell into the rough sea and exploded, causing Iowa and the other escort ships to take evasive maneuvers under the assumption that the task force had come under torpedo attack by a German U-boat.[3] Ships logs from William D. Porter and Iowa do not mention a lost depth charge nor a U-boat search on 13 November. Both logs do mention that William D. Porter experienced a boiler tube failure on #3 boiler causing the ship to fall out of position in the formation until #4 boiler was brought online.[4][5]
On 14 November, at Roosevelt's request, Iowa conducted an anti-aircraft drill to demonstrate her ability to defend herself. The drill began with the release of a number of balloons for use as targets. While most of these were shot by gunners aboard Iowa, a few of them drifted toward William D. Porter which shot down balloons as well. Porter, along with the other escort ships, also demonstrated a torpedo drill by simulating a launch at Iowa. This drill suddenly went awry when a torpedo from mount #2[6] aboard William D. Porter discharged from its tube and headed toward Iowa.[3]
William D. Porter attempted to signal Iowa about the incoming torpedo but, owing to orders to maintain radio silence, used a signal lamp instead. However, the destroyer first misidentified the direction of the torpedo and then relayed the wrong message, informing Iowa that Porter was backing up, rather than that a torpedo was in the water.[3] In desperation the destroyer finally broke radio silence, using codewords that relayed a warning message to Iowa regarding the incoming torpedo. After confirming the identity of the destroyer, Iowa turned hard to avoid being hit by the torpedo. Roosevelt, meanwhile, had learned of the incoming torpedo threat and asked his Secret Service attendee to move his wheelchair to the side of the battleship, so he could see.[3] Not long afterward, the torpedo detonated in the ship's wake, some 3,000 yards astern of the Iowa. Iowa was unhurt, but according to legend, trained her main guns on William D. Porter out of concern that the smaller ship might have been involved in some sort of assassination plot.[7] The entire incident lasted about 4 minutes from torpedo firing at 1436 to detonation at 1440.[6][8]
Following these events, the ship and her crew were ordered to Bermuda for an inquiry into the Iowa affair. Chief Torpedoman (CTM(AA)) Lawton Dawson,[9] whose failure to remove the torpedo's primer had enabled it to fire at Iowa, was later sentenced to hard labor, though President Roosevelt intervened in his case, as the incident had been an accident.[3] Contrary to Internet legend, LCDR Walter was not relieved of command following the incident and remained in command until 30 May 1944.[10] He later commanded other ships and eventually became a Rear Admiral.[11][12] William D. Porter was in Bermuda from 16 to 23 November 1943, no mention was made of awaiting Marines or the entire crew being "arrested" in the ship's logs.[13][14]
On 25 November, William D. Porter returned to Norfolk[15] and prepared for transfer to the Pacific. She got underway for that duty on 4 December, steamed via Trinidad, and reached the Panama Canal on the 12th. After transiting the canal, the destroyer set a course for San Diego, where she stopped between 19 and 21 December to take on cold weather clothing and other supplies necessary for duty in the Aleutian Islands.[2]
The constant air raids—launched from Kyūshū and Formosa—prompted the Americans to establish a cordon of radar picket ships around Okinawa, and it was to this duty that William D. Porter switched in early May. Between 5 May and 9 June, she stood picket duty, warned the fleet of the approach of enemy air raids, and vectored interceptors out to meet the attackers. She brought down another enemy plane with her own guns; and fighters under her direction accounted for seven more.[2] At some point[when?] during the early part of the Battle of Okinawa, William D. Porter accidentally damaged USS Luce (DD-522).[3]
On 10 June 1945, William D. Porter fell victim to a unique—though fatal—kamikaze attack. At 08:15 that morning, an obsolete Aichi D3A "Val" dive bomber dropped unheralded out of the clouds and made straight for the warship. The destroyer managed to evade the suicide plane, and it splashed down nearby her. Somehow, the explosive-laden plane ended up directly beneath Porter before it exploded. Suddenly, the warship was lifted out of the water and then dropped back again, due to the force of the underwater blast. She lost power and suffered broken steam lines. A number of fires also broke out. For three hours, her crew struggled to put out the fires, repair the damage, and keep the ship afloat. The crew's efforts were in vain; and, 12 minutes after the order to abandon ship went out, William D. Porter heeled over to starboard and sank by the stern. Miraculously, her crew suffered no fatal injuries. The warship's name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 11 July 1945.[2]
William D. Porter received four battle stars for her service in World War II.[2]
Been down since I began to crawl
If it wasn't for bad luck, you know I wouldn't have no luck at all"
USS William D. Porter (DD-579)
The ship is predominantly remembered today for the string of extremely unfortunate events that plagued her short three-year career.
On 12 November 1943, she departed Norfolk to rendezvous with Iowa (BB-61). That battleship was on her way to North Africa carrying President Franklin D. Roosevelt to the Cairo and Tehran Conferences.[2] William D. Porter was reported to have been involved in a mishap while departing Norfolk when her anchor tore the railing and lifeboat mounts off a docked sister destroyer while maneuvering astern.[a] The next day, a depth charge from the deck of William D. Porter fell into the rough sea and exploded, causing Iowa and the other escort ships to take evasive maneuvers under the assumption that the task force had come under torpedo attack by a German U-boat.[3] Ships logs from William D. Porter and Iowa do not mention a lost depth charge nor a U-boat search on 13 November. Both logs do mention that William D. Porter experienced a boiler tube failure on #3 boiler causing the ship to fall out of position in the formation until #4 boiler was brought online.[4][5]
On 14 November, at Roosevelt's request, Iowa conducted an anti-aircraft drill to demonstrate her ability to defend herself. The drill began with the release of a number of balloons for use as targets. While most of these were shot by gunners aboard Iowa, a few of them drifted toward William D. Porter which shot down balloons as well. Porter, along with the other escort ships, also demonstrated a torpedo drill by simulating a launch at Iowa. This drill suddenly went awry when a torpedo from mount #2[6] aboard William D. Porter discharged from its tube and headed toward Iowa.[3]
William D. Porter attempted to signal Iowa about the incoming torpedo but, owing to orders to maintain radio silence, used a signal lamp instead. However, the destroyer first misidentified the direction of the torpedo and then relayed the wrong message, informing Iowa that Porter was backing up, rather than that a torpedo was in the water.[3] In desperation the destroyer finally broke radio silence, using codewords that relayed a warning message to Iowa regarding the incoming torpedo. After confirming the identity of the destroyer, Iowa turned hard to avoid being hit by the torpedo. Roosevelt, meanwhile, had learned of the incoming torpedo threat and asked his Secret Service attendee to move his wheelchair to the side of the battleship, so he could see.[3] Not long afterward, the torpedo detonated in the ship's wake, some 3,000 yards astern of the Iowa. Iowa was unhurt, but according to legend, trained her main guns on William D. Porter out of concern that the smaller ship might have been involved in some sort of assassination plot.[7] The entire incident lasted about 4 minutes from torpedo firing at 1436 to detonation at 1440.[6][8]
Following these events, the ship and her crew were ordered to Bermuda for an inquiry into the Iowa affair. Chief Torpedoman (CTM(AA)) Lawton Dawson,[9] whose failure to remove the torpedo's primer had enabled it to fire at Iowa, was later sentenced to hard labor, though President Roosevelt intervened in his case, as the incident had been an accident.[3] Contrary to Internet legend, LCDR Walter was not relieved of command following the incident and remained in command until 30 May 1944.[10] He later commanded other ships and eventually became a Rear Admiral.[11][12] William D. Porter was in Bermuda from 16 to 23 November 1943, no mention was made of awaiting Marines or the entire crew being "arrested" in the ship's logs.[13][14]
On 25 November, William D. Porter returned to Norfolk[15] and prepared for transfer to the Pacific. She got underway for that duty on 4 December, steamed via Trinidad, and reached the Panama Canal on the 12th. After transiting the canal, the destroyer set a course for San Diego, where she stopped between 19 and 21 December to take on cold weather clothing and other supplies necessary for duty in the Aleutian Islands.[2]
The constant air raids—launched from Kyūshū and Formosa—prompted the Americans to establish a cordon of radar picket ships around Okinawa, and it was to this duty that William D. Porter switched in early May. Between 5 May and 9 June, she stood picket duty, warned the fleet of the approach of enemy air raids, and vectored interceptors out to meet the attackers. She brought down another enemy plane with her own guns; and fighters under her direction accounted for seven more.[2] At some point[when?] during the early part of the Battle of Okinawa, William D. Porter accidentally damaged USS Luce (DD-522).[3]
On 10 June 1945, William D. Porter fell victim to a unique—though fatal—kamikaze attack. At 08:15 that morning, an obsolete Aichi D3A "Val" dive bomber dropped unheralded out of the clouds and made straight for the warship. The destroyer managed to evade the suicide plane, and it splashed down nearby her. Somehow, the explosive-laden plane ended up directly beneath Porter before it exploded. Suddenly, the warship was lifted out of the water and then dropped back again, due to the force of the underwater blast. She lost power and suffered broken steam lines. A number of fires also broke out. For three hours, her crew struggled to put out the fires, repair the damage, and keep the ship afloat. The crew's efforts were in vain; and, 12 minutes after the order to abandon ship went out, William D. Porter heeled over to starboard and sank by the stern. Miraculously, her crew suffered no fatal injuries. The warship's name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 11 July 1945.[2]
William D. Porter received four battle stars for her service in World War II.[2]
Last edited:
gewehr76
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
"Born Under a Bad Sign
Been down since I began to crawl
If it wasn't for bad luck, you know I wouldn't have no luck at all"
USS William D. Porter (DD-579)
The ship is predominantly remembered today for the string of extremely unfortunate events that plagued her short three-year career.
On 12 November 1943, she departed Norfolk to rendezvous with Iowa (BB-61). That battleship was on her way to North Africa carrying President Franklin D. Roosevelt to the Cairo and Tehran Conferences.[2] William D. Porter was reported to have been involved in a mishap while departing Norfolk when her anchor tore the railing and lifeboat mounts off a docked sister destroyer while maneuvering astern.[a] The next day, a depth charge from the deck of William D. Porter fell into the rough sea and exploded, causing Iowa and the other escort ships to take evasive maneuvers under the assumption that the task force had come under torpedo attack by a German U-boat.[3] Ships logs from William D. Porter and Iowa do not mention a lost depth charge nor a U-boat search on 13 November. Both logs do mention that William D. Porter experienced a boiler tube failure on #3 boiler causing the ship to fall out of position in the formation until #4 boiler was brought online.[4][5]
On 14 November, at Roosevelt's request, Iowa conducted an anti-aircraft drill to demonstrate her ability to defend herself. The drill began with the release of a number of balloons for use as targets. While most of these were shot by gunners aboard Iowa, a few of them drifted toward William D. Porter which shot down balloons as well. Porter, along with the other escort ships, also demonstrated a torpedo drill by simulating a launch at Iowa. This drill suddenly went awry when a torpedo from mount #2[6] aboard William D. Porter discharged from its tube and headed toward Iowa.[3]
William D. Porter attempted to signal Iowa about the incoming torpedo but, owing to orders to maintain radio silence, used a signal lamp instead. However, the destroyer first misidentified the direction of the torpedo and then relayed the wrong message, informing Iowa that Porter was backing up, rather than that a torpedo was in the water.[3] In desperation the destroyer finally broke radio silence, using codewords that relayed a warning message to Iowa regarding the incoming torpedo. After confirming the identity of the destroyer, Iowa turned hard to avoid being hit by the torpedo. Roosevelt, meanwhile, had learned of the incoming torpedo threat and asked his Secret Service attendee to move his wheelchair to the side of the battleship, so he could see.[3] Not long afterward, the torpedo detonated in the ship's wake, some 3,000 yards astern of the Iowa. Iowa was unhurt, but according to legend, trained her main guns on William D. Porter out of concern that the smaller ship might have been involved in some sort of assassination plot.[7] The entire incident lasted about 4 minutes from torpedo firing at 1436 to detonation at 1440.[6][8]
Following these events, the ship and her crew were ordered to Bermuda for an inquiry into the Iowa affair. Chief Torpedoman (CTM(AA)) Lawton Dawson,[9] whose failure to remove the torpedo's primer had enabled it to fire at Iowa, was later sentenced to hard labor, though President Roosevelt intervened in his case, as the incident had been an accident.[3] Contrary to Internet legend, LCDR Walter was not relieved of command following the incident and remained in command until 30 May 1944.[10] He later commanded other ships and eventually became a Rear Admiral.[11][12] William D. Porter was in Bermuda from 16 to 23 November 1943, no mention was made of awaiting Marines or the entire crew being "arrested" in the ship's logs.[13][14]
On 25 November, William D. Porter returned to Norfolk[15] and prepared for transfer to the Pacific. She got underway for that duty on 4 December, steamed via Trinidad, and reached the Panama Canal on the 12th. After transiting the canal, the destroyer set a course for San Diego, where she stopped between 19 and 21 December to take on cold weather clothing and other supplies necessary for duty in the Aleutian Islands.[2]
The constant air raids—launched from Kyūshū and Formosa—prompted the Americans to establish a cordon of radar picket ships around Okinawa, and it was to this duty that William D. Porter switched in early May. Between 5 May and 9 June, she stood picket duty, warned the fleet of the approach of enemy air raids, and vectored interceptors out to meet the attackers. She brought down another enemy plane with her own guns; and fighters under her direction accounted for seven more.[2] At some point[when?] during the early part of the Battle of Okinawa, William D. Porter accidentally damaged USS Luce (DD-522).[3]
On 10 June 1945, William D. Porter fell victim to a unique—though fatal—kamikaze attack. At 08:15 that morning, an obsolete Aichi D3A "Val" dive bomber dropped unheralded out of the clouds and made straight for the warship. The destroyer managed to evade the suicide plane, and it splashed down nearby her. Somehow, the explosive-laden plane ended up directly beneath Porter before it exploded. Suddenly, the warship was lifted out of the water and then dropped back again, due to the force of the underwater blast. She lost power and suffered broken steam lines. A number of fires also broke out. For three hours, her crew struggled to put out the fires, repair the damage, and keep the ship afloat. The crew's efforts were in vain; and, 12 minutes after the order to abandon ship went out, William D. Porter heeled over to starboard and sank by the stern. Miraculously, her crew suffered no fatal injuries. The warship's name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 11 July 1945.[2]
William D. Porter received four battle stars for her service in World War II.[2]
I guess Lady that christened her didn't brake champagne bottle.
