Picture of the day

[Ganderite]

Not a drag chute.

My guess would be a huge flare or maybe a large life raft. It appears to have a large parachute on it, suggesting it is heavy.

 

[grelmar]

Good question - maybe a parachute to help to brake the plane on landing.

My guess is an emergency survival kit with a parachute... Skyraiders were very commonly used in Korea and Vietnam for locating downed pilots... Having a parachute drop survival canister ready to go seems like a fairly logical thing to do.

The mounting looks a tad flimsy to me for it to be an airbrake drogue chute, although I could be wrong there. Impossible to tell what the cords of the chute might actually be attached to in terms of the airframe.

 

[fat tony]

I thought it could have been a life raft but was off the mark there even. Fwiw, I found this entry online about what was included in WWII USAAF liferafts.

http://pwencycl.kgbudge.com/A/i/Air_And_Sea_Rescue.htm

^There are some really good tips on distress flare launcher use in this link.

SCR-578

 

[sail32]

The treatment of POWs by the Japanese was bad, I worked with a ex-POW and even in the 60s he still hated the Japanese.

The treatment of the Japanese solider by the higher ranks was brutal as well.

 

[fat tony]

I have heard some rumours that the Japanese Army assembled for the overseas adventures in Manchuria, etc. were formed around ranks of commissioned officers and ncos with Yakuza backgrounds. Not sure if this is true or not as even in a populous country like Japan in the early 20th century, there probably were only so many professional gangsters to go around. Internet gibble gabble or was there some kernel of truth to this?

HMS Nabob on her way to Scapa Flow after being torpedoed, late August, 1944.

Cargo ship Nabob in Bremen, 1959.

 

[RRCo.]

I thought it could have been a life raft but was off the mark there even. Fwiw, I found this entry online about what was included in WWII USAAF liferafts.

http://pwencycl.kgbudge.com/A/i/Air_And_Sea_Rescue.htm

^There are some really good tips on distress flare launcher use in this link.

SCR-578

Pretty funny that they called that the "Gibson Girl" radio. The Gibson Girls phenomenon goes back to around 1900 so the name must have come from the old guys in the Navy remembering their youths.

"Air Ground Survival Kit"?

 

[Gibbs505]

Make sure that you don't land on the wrong carrier!! You'll get tagged!!

 

[Rifleman1911]

My grandfather was a welder and served in the RCAF in WWII. He got stationed at one of the many training bases in North Ontario for the duration of the war. He spent the war on crash crews, cutting open wrecked planes so they could pull out what was left of kids who "failed" their solo flight tests. At one point, more pilots were dying in training in North Ontario that were in the skies over England and Europe - they were pushing people through the mill so fast, that it was a case of selection by survival.

He never even left Canada, and he was badly scarred by what he saw. He had to be a very special level of drunk to talk about it.

My father was never in the services. But as a now retired RCMP a officer. It is only now coming to light what his 35 years of policing has done. Just recently found out he has been dealing with PTSD stemming from an incident he was involved in at three months out of depot. Again. A special kind of drunk is the only way the stories come out.

 

[AP]

][/U]I have heard some rumours that the Japanese Army assembled for the overseas adventures in Manchuria, etc. were formed around ranks of commissioned officers and ncos with Yakuza backgrounds. Not sure if this is true or not as even in a populous country like Japan in the early 20th century, there probably were only so many professional gangsters to go around. Internet gibble gabble or was there some kernel of truth to this?

HMS Nabob on her way to Scapa Flow after being torpedoed, late August, 1944.

Cargo ship Nabob in Bremen, 1959.

So immediately post war the rumours of Jap soldiers cannibalizing Allied POW's were suppressed - to spare the next of kin and to put a small lid on what some thought had to be fiction. And to calm down postwar emotions. Since then at least one former Jap soldier has been interviewed who corroborated the stories ... of course foolishly the war crimes tribunals held for Japanese criminals chose not to investigate this element anymore than they looked into the TAMA detachment that the Soviets grabbed. You need to read the detailed reports provided (even the western reports by diplomats and religious representatives if you chose not to believe Chinese stories) of the Nanking (Nanjing) massacre or "Rape" as it is colorfully referred to! Nobody could make that up. And then decide for yourself what they were capable of....and why many of our soldiers who experienced their hospitality have no time for them. Yakuza? who cares -- they were animals and behaved well beyond the acceptable - and whether anyone (their officers??) tried to stop it - there is no evidence. Like I said before - Truman had no reservation for what he approved - and ordered! for a very good reason.

 

[ipscgraz]

Like I said before - Truman had no reservation for what he approved - and ordered! for a very good reason.

There was a lot of research and planning on how to invade the Japanese home islands. Best estimates were that the US Marines alone would suffer 500, 000 casualties to successfully capture and hold Japan. I remember reading that the US DOD ordered so many purple heart medals in preparation for the expected, eventual invasion that the supply of medals on hand didn't run out until well into the Viet Nam war.

The brutality of the Japanese towards captives and civilians really didn't come out until after the war ended; Truman ordered the two atomic bombs dropped because he was doing what he thought would save hundreds of thousands of American lives.

 

[AP]

There was a lot of research and planning on how to invade the Japanese home islands. Best estimates were that the US Marines alone would suffer 500, 000 casualties to successfully capture and hold Japan. I remember reading that the US DOD ordered so many purple heart medals in preparation for the expected, eventual invasion that the supply of medals on hand didn't run out until well into the Viet Nam war.

The brutality of the Japanese towards captives and civilians really didn't come out until after the war ended; Truman ordered the two atomic bombs dropped because he was doing what he thought would save hundreds of thousands of American lives.

Nanjing was no secret anymore than other atrocities performed by Japs in Manchuria - and these were well known before the Americans even entered the war.

 

[fat tony]

Mistreatment at the hands of Axis forces is part of my family history like many others on this forum. Regardless,we all enjoy the peace provided by our veterans. Regards, Tony

Edit: I read about the cannibal accounts from the New Guinea theatre & believe them.

 

[DragonFire]

DF

 

[johnny rotten]

DF

Good day, Personal Insurance Company how may we be of service

Umm, yes, there's a Heinkel in our living room, and we'd like to start a claim

 

[Ganderite]

Good day, Personal Insurance Company how may we be of service

Umm, yes, there's a Heinkel in our living room, and we'd like to start a claim

Lucky it was not a fire claim.

 

[zupermann]

DF

I guess that the safest place to be in a plane is in the tail.

 

[Dark Alley Dan]

"Oi! You can't park that here!"

From the other side:

"You've crushed me Missus's greenhouse! You're in it now, ye hun bastard!"

Story here:

Shortly after takeoff from Prague-Ruzyne Airport, while climbing, aircraft went out of control and crashed into houses located in the village of Jeneč, near the airport. The aircraft was destroyed while the crew fate remains unknown.

 

[fat tony]

Warlord era wall gun (bottom gun) China, seen in the West Point Academy Military Museum.

If there is a terms of use problem with linking to these pics I can remove them. I looked for tou but could not find any.

 

[Dark Alley Dan]

I am reminded of this:

And having now drawn us completely off topic, I present a ww2 photo for discussion.

A happy time. Later, less so:

20 April 1940: Stabsstaffel KG1 Heinkel He111H-2 (2020). Attacked near Maubeuge by Cpl Cukr, S/Lt Troyes, S/Lt Codet, Adjt Poincourt, Sgt Vie, and Sgt Loï of GC II/3 during photo-reconnaissance sortie between Reims and Paris and chased into Belgium with port engine disabled. Then intercepted over Visé by Gladiators of 1/I/2 flown by Sgt Delorme, Sgt Verpoorten, and Sgt Van den Broeck and eventually belly-landed at Bunde in The Netherlands 11.40 a.m. (Bs) Sonderführer Fritz Stern (Kriegsbildberichter) badly wounded, died next day. (Beo) Lt Paul Lehmann, (Bm) Oberfw Augustin Wutz, (Ff) Fw Hans-A. Kopitz, and (Bf) Uffz Kurt Koschorreck interned. Aircraft V4+DA 100% write-off. War correspondent Fritz Stern was buried with full military honours at Maastricht four days later.

 

[Dark Alley Dan]

Speaking of HE111's...

http://1.bp.########.com/-zllOE-Oxug4/UoHGo52m3-I/AAAAAAAAo2k/a2xKQhTeVi0/s1600/HE-111-Captured.jpg