Picture of the day

[Sharps '74]

The Navy always struck me as among the hardest ways to serve.

Army? Under orders, sure, but you're largely self-directed. Huckering down or running off is always an option. Seek cover? You can do that. Show initiative? You can do that, too. Reckon I'll wait here for a minute or two, maybe evaluate what's going on? Sure, unless the Corporal tells you otherwise.

Air Force? See above, but running off is much faster and can happen in three dimensions.

But Navy? The Captain makes a decision. "Let's mount a suicidal charge against a superior foe". Meanwhile, down in the boiler room, the stokers run goon spoons until they're told to stop, or the water comes up past the doors of the firebox, or they die, either suddenly and horribly or over a period of some time, trapped in a metal box. There's no running off or huckering down, and it seems a great opportunity to have things happen to you rather than making things happen yourself.

Tough bloody gig, that. Tougher than me, to be sure.

The life of a combat infantryman is no different. Especially of late when the biggest danger is stepping on an IED. "Self directed", you say? In what army? Even elite units take and follow orders. Acting on one's own initiative is a sure fire way to get your ass kicked by a superior - unless it turns out you were right!

"Running off or hunkering down" is NOT an option if you ever expect to face your peers again. The fear of being ostracized overcomes the fear of death. In the end, you are fighting for your self and your buddies. The rest is smoke and mirrors.

 

[grabbers]

The Navy always struck me as among the hardest ways to serve.

Army? Under orders, sure, but you're largely self-directed. Huckering down or running off is always an option. Seek cover? You can do that. Show initiative? You can do that, too. Reckon I'll wait here for a minute or two, maybe evaluate what's going on? Sure, unless the Corporal tells you otherwise.

Air Force? See above, but running off is much faster and can happen in three dimensions.

But Navy? The Captain makes a decision. "Let's mount a suicidal charge against a superior foe". Meanwhile, down in the boiler room, the stokers run goon spoons until they're told to stop, or the water comes up past the doors of the firebox, or they die, either suddenly and horribly or over a period of some time, trapped in a metal box. There's no running off or huckering down, and it seems a great opportunity to have things happen to you rather than making things happen yourself.

Tough bloody gig, that. Tougher than me, to be sure.

I have done both. And I have operational experience both at Sea and in places like AFG. I will tell you not once in my years in the Army did I ever question my life's choices. Every god damned day I wake up at sea I ask myself the same question what the F have I done wrong... And that's with out anyone shooting at us at sea...

 

[bush1]

I have done both. And I have operational experience both at Sea and in places like AFG. I will tell you not once in my years in the Army did I ever question my life's choices. Every god damned day I wake up at sea I ask myself the same question what the F have I done wrong... And that's with out anyone shooting at us at sea...

My good buddy (RIP Bev), was a sailor on a Corvette during the war and he didn’t talk at all about the war but he did describe once the conditions on a Corvette. In flat water they were uncomfortable and in any kind of advanced sea state, they were unbelievable bad. He had the same thing to say that grabbers mentioned...... As a youngster he fantasized sailing the high seas and got caught up by the Navy recruiters pitch when the war broke out.

In his later years he was one of the many volunteer guys that worked from 8 to 4 every day at Trenton on the Halifax bomber restoration project and often said, damn, I wish I had been interested in airplanes way back then when I was a youngster.

They were a different breed of youngsters back then fore sure.

 

[cosmic]

My father, being a WW 2 vet, grew up in the Maritimes. On more than one occaision, he mentioned that boys from the Maritimes rarely went in the navy, knowing the risks faced in the cold Atlantic. He went on to say that lads from the prairies typically served in the Navy - don't know if he was joking or not...

 

[tokguy]

My father, being a WW 2 vet, grew up in the Maritimes. On more than one occaision, he mentioned that boys from the Maritimes rarely went in the navy, knowing the risks faced in the cold Atlantic. He went on to say that lads from the prairies typically served in the Navy - don't know if he was joking or not...

I've heard that Prairie boys made good sailors, they weren't bothered by the 'Endless Horizon'. Having grow up on the Southern Fence of CFB Suffield...I can believe the endless horizon anthology.

 

[CV32]

My father, being a WW 2 vet, grew up in the Maritimes. On more than one occaision, he mentioned that boys from the Maritimes rarely went in the navy, knowing the risks faced in the cold Atlantic. He went on to say that lads from the prairies typically served in the Navy - don't know if he was joking or not...

Not technically the Maritimes here, so ...

Newfoundland Royal Naval Reserve

In 1939 and during WW2, when Sir Winston Churchill was the First Lord of the Admiralty he wrote about the Newfoundland fishermen stating that, “...these men are hardiest and most skillfull boatmen in rough seas that exist.” Churchill gained that opinion of the Newfoundland seamen during WW1 when he was also served as First Lord of the Admiralty from 1911-1915. The Admiral of the Fleet, Sir Roger Keyes, spoke in the British Parliament about the Newfoundland fishermen sailors: “They are splendid hearty people, the finest small-ship seamen in the world. They did splendid service in the War.” The 1st Earl David Beatty, Admiral of the Fleet, refers to the Newfoundlanders as “The best small boatmen in the Grand Fleet.”

 

[Dark Alley Dan]

HMCS Saguenay:

On 15 November 1942, Saguenay was rammed by the Panamanian freighter Azra off Cape Race, Newfoundland. The impact of the collision set off Saguenay's depth charges, which blew off her stern.

Subsequently re-arsed (technical nautical term) and returned to service.

 

[koldt]

Dang, Cornwallis. Makes me shudder just thinking of the place.

 

[AP]

HMCS Saguenay:

Subsequently patched up and returned to service as a training ship.

’Yeah, but you should have seen the other guy!’. BTW - are there any pics of the ‘other guy’?

 

[grinder08]

From the reading I've done over the years German U-boat service and Bomber Command were two areas of service with very high causality rates.

Very true U Boat service casualties where in excess of 30,000 out of approximately 40,000 combat personnel. RAF bomber command was a bit better, but not much, if I remember correctly it was approximately 55,000 casualties (from all causes) out of about 100,000 bomber crew. Probably tougher on aircrew as once you are in a sub there is not much you can do but having to climb into that bomber mission after mission must have been really hard on the nerves.

 

[grinder08]

From the reading I've done over the years German U-boat service and Bomber Command were two areas of service with very high causality rates.

Very true U Boat service casualties where in excess of 30,000 out of approximately 40,000 combat personnel. RAF bomber commend was a bit better, but not much, if I remember correctly it was approximately 55,000 casualties (from all causes) out of about 100,000 bomber crew. Probably tougher on aircrew as once you are in a sub there is not much you can do but having to climb into that bomber mission after mission must have been really hard on the nerves. The two highest casualty rates of any branch of any service in any country during WW2.

 

[Dark Alley Dan]

’Yeah, but you should have seen the other guy!’. BTW - are there any pics of the ‘other guy’?

Apparently, Azra sank. Each ship lost a crewmember.

Saguenay wasn't self-propelled anymore after her re-arsing. Guess they parked her and put trainees on board to learn functions.

 

[The Wizard]

HMCS Saguenay:

Subsequently re-arsed (technical nautical term) and returned to service.

This was not the first time this ship lost something: "On 1 December 1940, Saguenay was torpedoed 300 miles (480 km) west of Ireland by the Italian submarine Argo while escorting Convoy HG-47, and managed to return to Barrow-in-Furness largely under her own power, but with 21 dead and without most of her bow."

 

[DOOK]

I read once that, when you were stationed on an Ammunition supply vessel, you slept well; knowing if you were hit, you would never make it to the water alive.
On any other supply vessel, you didn't sleep so well.

 

[Gov'tGrant]

Same sort of thing if you were a merchant marine sailor shipping out on a gasoline tanker.

 

[Dark Alley Dan]

Wanted - glamourous aviation job. Must come with office with great view.

Short commute a must.

Ach. Scheisse.

 

[purple]

What type of German AC is that.

My old pal, who flew his final mission at age 93 last spring, did 33 missions as a tail gunner in a Halifax and told me that he once had a unidentified 4 engine AC keeping pace directly above them. He felt that the Germans may have pressed a 4 engine FW Condor into service to drop flares or something.

 

[CV32]

What type of German AC is that.

Heinkel He 177.

 

[Ed Smurf]

Who writes these headlines?...from BBC.

 

[Ganderite]

Who writes these headlines?...from BBC.

To a pilot, that sort makes sense. A porpois bounce badly handled can lead to a crash. Or landing too fast, too far down the runway can lead to a crash.