Picture of the day
- Thread starter jwhc
- Start date
Corporal G.E. Mallery covering other members of the Scout Platoon, Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada, advancing towards Fort van Brasschaet, north of Antwerp, Belgium, October 9th, 1944.
Photo: Lieut. Ken Bell/Canada. Dept. of National Defence/Library and Archives Canada/PA-184142
Colour: ColourisedPieceofJake
Photo: Lieut. Ken Bell/Canada. Dept. of National Defence/Library and Archives Canada/PA-184142
Colour: ColourisedPieceofJake
A stick of 1,000-lb bombs dropped by a Consolidated Liberator B Mark VI of RAF no 70 Squadron, hit another Liberator B Mark VI, KK320, 'V' Victor, of RAF No 37 Squadron, flying underneath during a daylight raid on the shipbuilding yards at Monfalcone, Trieste, Italy, 1945.
'V' Victor was flying at 12,000 feet when it suffered from 'friendly fire’. Struck by two bombs from a higher Liberator, Sqn Ldr L.С. Saxby and crew in KK320/ V of No 37 Squadron had a miraculous escape.
One bomb struck the port inner engine and sheared off the propeller and the second went through the fuselage just behind the flight deck, narrowly missing the top-turret gunner, P. Off. Walter Lewis and leaving a large hole in the fuselage behind Sqn Ldr L. Saxby, the pilot. Although the bombs had not fallen far enough to become 'live' the perspex of Wally Lewis's mid-upper turret was completely ripped away.
Lewis later described the incident: 'I was looking up and saw a bomb leave an aircraft above us. I saw it getting bigger and bigger as it came towards us. The next thing I realised was that the fuselage had been hit near the flight deck and I seemed to be pushed down in front of my seat. The perspex above me was taken clean off. All that happened to me was a bump on the shoulder.'
The only injury was to Cliff Hurst the radio operator who was injured by flying metal pieces and left unconscious for a while although later on, he worked on his radio sets on the way home.
Saxby pulled the plane out of a steep dive at the last minute, while the crew thought it was going to break up. They started limping home to their Base in Tortorella, more than 300 miles away. They all assumed that on final approach, the wheels were not down so everybody assumed crash positions the Liberator landed smoothly. The aircraft was struck off charge on 26 April 1945.
Squadron Leader Lionel Charles Saxby is the chap leaning out of the hole; the chap sticking his head up out of the top is the navigator, P/OG T. Barker. Both can be seen inspecting the damage.
Flt. Sgt. K.H. Westrope, the tailgunner of 'V' Victor published his memoirs called "A rear gunners tale".
Caption: Cited from: militarian.com/threads/raf-b-24-hit-by-falling-bombs.1765/) and airpages.ru/eng/us/liberator_1.shtml
'V' Victor was flying at 12,000 feet when it suffered from 'friendly fire’. Struck by two bombs from a higher Liberator, Sqn Ldr L.С. Saxby and crew in KK320/ V of No 37 Squadron had a miraculous escape.
One bomb struck the port inner engine and sheared off the propeller and the second went through the fuselage just behind the flight deck, narrowly missing the top-turret gunner, P. Off. Walter Lewis and leaving a large hole in the fuselage behind Sqn Ldr L. Saxby, the pilot. Although the bombs had not fallen far enough to become 'live' the perspex of Wally Lewis's mid-upper turret was completely ripped away.
Lewis later described the incident: 'I was looking up and saw a bomb leave an aircraft above us. I saw it getting bigger and bigger as it came towards us. The next thing I realised was that the fuselage had been hit near the flight deck and I seemed to be pushed down in front of my seat. The perspex above me was taken clean off. All that happened to me was a bump on the shoulder.'
The only injury was to Cliff Hurst the radio operator who was injured by flying metal pieces and left unconscious for a while although later on, he worked on his radio sets on the way home.
Saxby pulled the plane out of a steep dive at the last minute, while the crew thought it was going to break up. They started limping home to their Base in Tortorella, more than 300 miles away. They all assumed that on final approach, the wheels were not down so everybody assumed crash positions the Liberator landed smoothly. The aircraft was struck off charge on 26 April 1945.
Squadron Leader Lionel Charles Saxby is the chap leaning out of the hole; the chap sticking his head up out of the top is the navigator, P/OG T. Barker. Both can be seen inspecting the damage.
Flt. Sgt. K.H. Westrope, the tailgunner of 'V' Victor published his memoirs called "A rear gunners tale".
Caption: Cited from: militarian.com/threads/raf-b-24-hit-by-falling-bombs.1765/) and airpages.ru/eng/us/liberator_1.shtml
Infantry of the Canadian Regiment de Maisonneuve moving through Holten to Rijssen, both towns in the middle east of the Netherlands. 9 April 1945.
The regiment mobilized Le Régiment de Maisonneuve, CASF, on 1 September 1939. It embarked for Britain on 24 August 1940. It was re-designated as the 1st Battalion, Le Régiment de Maisonneuve, CASF, on 7 November 1940.
On 7 July 1944, the battalion landed in France as part of the 5th Infantry Brigade, 2nd Canadian Infantry Division. It suffered heavy casualties in the Battle of the Scheldt, and was notably depleted by the time of the Battle of Walcheren Causeway.
The unit recovered during the winter and was again in action during the Rhineland fighting and the final weeks of the war, taking part in the final campaigns in northern Netherlands, the Battle of Groningen, and the final attacks on German soil.
The overseas battalion was disbanded on 15 December 1945.
The mill is the Looker Mölle and was built in 1899.
In 1942 there was a crude oil engine and the mill still had a wooden shaft and rods. The grain meal company had expired, the mill was out of operation but still in good condition, there was a sawmill located.
In 1949 the mill was restored and streamlined but burned down completely on a Saturday evening, June 17/18, 1961.
(Photo source - National Archives and Records Administration, (NAID) 541913.)
The regiment mobilized Le Régiment de Maisonneuve, CASF, on 1 September 1939. It embarked for Britain on 24 August 1940. It was re-designated as the 1st Battalion, Le Régiment de Maisonneuve, CASF, on 7 November 1940.
On 7 July 1944, the battalion landed in France as part of the 5th Infantry Brigade, 2nd Canadian Infantry Division. It suffered heavy casualties in the Battle of the Scheldt, and was notably depleted by the time of the Battle of Walcheren Causeway.
The unit recovered during the winter and was again in action during the Rhineland fighting and the final weeks of the war, taking part in the final campaigns in northern Netherlands, the Battle of Groningen, and the final attacks on German soil.
The overseas battalion was disbanded on 15 December 1945.
The mill is the Looker Mölle and was built in 1899.
In 1942 there was a crude oil engine and the mill still had a wooden shaft and rods. The grain meal company had expired, the mill was out of operation but still in good condition, there was a sawmill located.
In 1949 the mill was restored and streamlined but burned down completely on a Saturday evening, June 17/18, 1961.
(Photo source - National Archives and Records Administration, (NAID) 541913.)
Corporal G.E. Mallery covering other members of the Scout Platoon, Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada, advancing towards Fort van Brasschaet, north of Antwerp, Belgium, October 9th, 1944.
Photo: Lieut. Ken Bell/Canada. Dept. of National Defence/Library and Archives Canada/PA-184142
Colour: ColourisedPieceofJake
Finally! Someone who mounts the Enfield stock on the proper shoulder...
Cottage Hill Bill
CGN Regular
- Location
- Pensacola, FL USA
Everyone is born right-handed. Some of us overcome it.
Bubba Yugga
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Midwestern Ontario
That locks the bolt down. I like to store mine that way.
Ride the bolt forward with trigger pulled, and you don't have to dry fire.
Sergeant Lincoln Orville Lynch DFM, a West Indian air gunner serving with RAF No 102 Squadron, photographed wearing his flying kit by the rear turret of his Halifax at RAF Pocklington, February 1944.
Lynch, from Jamaica, volunteered for service in the RAF in 1942, and in 1943 won the Air Gunner's trophy for obtaining the highest percentage of his course during his training in Canada. On his first operational flight with No 102 Squadron he shot down a German Junkers Ju 88.
The historian Mark Johnson described this incident:
"He was a gentleman. He shot the night fighter’s engine with his machine guns, then he realized it was on fire and he then held fire while the German pilot and his crewmen climbed out and jumped off the back of the airplane and then he resumed firing and shot the rest of the airplane out of the sky".
In August 1944 he was promoted to Flight Sergeant, a rare promotion for a gunner. In September 1944 he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal. The citation noted his "high standard of determination and devotion to duty", exemplary conduct and declared him "a worthy member of a fine crew" who had "defended his aircraft with great skill on several occasions against enemy fighters".
In May 1947, Lynch was promoted to Flight Lieutenant.
In 1951, Lynch left the RAF and emigrated to the United States, taking up a role as Airline Flight Operation Officer.
But in 1962 when his children were denied access to a largely white Long Island elementary school, he took the school district to court. The failure of the case inspired Lynch to become "one of Long Island's most ardent and audacious civil rights activists.
In 1967, Lynch joined the New York Urban Coalition as Vice President and formed the Alliance of Minority Group Leaders. In the 1970s he taught community organisation and activism at Stony Brook University and testified before Congress.
Lynch remained politically active and was one of many hundreds of people arrested during protests in Manhattan following the 1999 Shooting of (an unarmed 23-year-old Guinean immigrant) Amadou Diallo.
Lynch passed away in 2011.
Colour by Jake Colourised PIECE of JAKE
Source: iwm.org.uk
Lynch, from Jamaica, volunteered for service in the RAF in 1942, and in 1943 won the Air Gunner's trophy for obtaining the highest percentage of his course during his training in Canada. On his first operational flight with No 102 Squadron he shot down a German Junkers Ju 88.
The historian Mark Johnson described this incident:
"He was a gentleman. He shot the night fighter’s engine with his machine guns, then he realized it was on fire and he then held fire while the German pilot and his crewmen climbed out and jumped off the back of the airplane and then he resumed firing and shot the rest of the airplane out of the sky".
In August 1944 he was promoted to Flight Sergeant, a rare promotion for a gunner. In September 1944 he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal. The citation noted his "high standard of determination and devotion to duty", exemplary conduct and declared him "a worthy member of a fine crew" who had "defended his aircraft with great skill on several occasions against enemy fighters".
In May 1947, Lynch was promoted to Flight Lieutenant.
In 1951, Lynch left the RAF and emigrated to the United States, taking up a role as Airline Flight Operation Officer.
But in 1962 when his children were denied access to a largely white Long Island elementary school, he took the school district to court. The failure of the case inspired Lynch to become "one of Long Island's most ardent and audacious civil rights activists.
In 1967, Lynch joined the New York Urban Coalition as Vice President and formed the Alliance of Minority Group Leaders. In the 1970s he taught community organisation and activism at Stony Brook University and testified before Congress.
Lynch remained politically active and was one of many hundreds of people arrested during protests in Manhattan following the 1999 Shooting of (an unarmed 23-year-old Guinean immigrant) Amadou Diallo.
Lynch passed away in 2011.
Colour by Jake Colourised PIECE of JAKE
Source: iwm.org.uk
A US C-46 aircraft of the 5th Air Force is conducting an aerial evacuation of wounded American troops from Manila, the capital of the Philippines, shortly after US forces retook the city after intense fighting with the Japanese.
Thirty Medical Air Evacuation Transport Squadrons served in World War II in every combat theater. In all, 1,172,000 patients were transported by air. About half were ambulatory patients (the “walking wounded”) and half were litter patients. Only 46 patients died in flight, although several hundred did perish in crashes. By 1944, 18 percent of all Army casualties were evacuated by air.
The Douglas C-47 Skytrain was the workhorse of air evacuation. A C-47 carried 18-24 patients, depending on how many were on litters.
For transoceanic flights, the four-engine Douglas C-54 Skymaster was used. These flights carried patients from the combat theater stateside when the patient required 90-180 days of recovery or was eligible for medical discharge.
The Curtiss C-46 Commando was used less frequently. Although it could carry 33 patients, the cargo door made loading difficult, and the plane had an unsavory habit of exploding when the cabin heater was used.
Manila was officially liberated, albeit completely destroyed with large areas levelled by American bombing. The battle left 1,010 U.S. soldiers dead and 5,565 wounded. An estimated 100,000 to 240,000 Filipinos civilians were killed, both deliberately by the Japanese in the Manila massacre and from artillery and aerial bombardment by U.S. and Japanese forces.
Colour by Jake
Cation: https://www.sarahsundin.com/medical-air-evacuation-in.../
Thirty Medical Air Evacuation Transport Squadrons served in World War II in every combat theater. In all, 1,172,000 patients were transported by air. About half were ambulatory patients (the “walking wounded”) and half were litter patients. Only 46 patients died in flight, although several hundred did perish in crashes. By 1944, 18 percent of all Army casualties were evacuated by air.
The Douglas C-47 Skytrain was the workhorse of air evacuation. A C-47 carried 18-24 patients, depending on how many were on litters.
For transoceanic flights, the four-engine Douglas C-54 Skymaster was used. These flights carried patients from the combat theater stateside when the patient required 90-180 days of recovery or was eligible for medical discharge.
The Curtiss C-46 Commando was used less frequently. Although it could carry 33 patients, the cargo door made loading difficult, and the plane had an unsavory habit of exploding when the cabin heater was used.
Manila was officially liberated, albeit completely destroyed with large areas levelled by American bombing. The battle left 1,010 U.S. soldiers dead and 5,565 wounded. An estimated 100,000 to 240,000 Filipinos civilians were killed, both deliberately by the Japanese in the Manila massacre and from artillery and aerial bombardment by U.S. and Japanese forces.
Colour by Jake
Cation: https://www.sarahsundin.com/medical-air-evacuation-in.../
Very muddy soldiers of 3rd Battalion, 417th Regiment, 76th Infantry Division (“Bulge Busters”) in very muddy terrain, cleaning their M1 Garands and M1918A2 BAR “before moving up to the line.”
February 8th, 1945 in the woods near Echternach, Luxembourg,
L to R: Pvt. Dom Bocci: 379 Boyleston St., Newton Centre, Mass.; Pvt. Russell J. Sacriol, 151 Canterbury St., Worcester, Mass.; Pvt. John Ducharme, Glover Road, Millbury, Mass. Signal Corps image 111-SC-364288 via the LOC
Colour by Jake
Source: Flickr, Signal Corps Archive
February 8th, 1945 in the woods near Echternach, Luxembourg,
L to R: Pvt. Dom Bocci: 379 Boyleston St., Newton Centre, Mass.; Pvt. Russell J. Sacriol, 151 Canterbury St., Worcester, Mass.; Pvt. John Ducharme, Glover Road, Millbury, Mass. Signal Corps image 111-SC-364288 via the LOC
Colour by Jake
Source: Flickr, Signal Corps Archive
This photo, taken on January 14, 1945 (during the Battle of the Bulge), in the Ardennes, Belgium, shows a sniper of the 6th Airlanding Brigade, 6th Airborne Division, tracking down a relentless enemy. Day after day, this British hero confronted German forces with his Lee-Enfield rifle, and enabled Allied troops to keep moving forward.
A stick of 1,000-lb bombs dropped by a Consolidated Liberator B Mark VI of RAF no 70 Squadron, hit another Liberator B Mark VI, KK320, 'V' Victor, of RAF No 37 Squadron, flying underneath during a daylight raid on the shipbuilding yards at Monfalcone, Trieste, Italy, 1945.
'V' Victor was flying at 12,000 feet when it suffered from 'friendly fire’. Struck by two bombs from a higher Liberator, Sqn Ldr L.С. Saxby and crew in KK320/ V of No 37 Squadron had a miraculous escape.
One bomb struck the port inner engine and sheared off the propeller and the second went through the fuselage just behind the flight deck, narrowly missing the top-turret gunner, P. Off. Walter Lewis and leaving a large hole in the fuselage behind Sqn Ldr L. Saxby, the pilot. Although the bombs had not fallen far enough to become 'live' the perspex of Wally Lewis's mid-upper turret was completely ripped away.
Lewis later described the incident: 'I was looking up and saw a bomb leave an aircraft above us. I saw it getting bigger and bigger as it came towards us. The next thing I realised was that the fuselage had been hit near the flight deck and I seemed to be pushed down in front of my seat. The perspex above me was taken clean off. All that happened to me was a bump on the shoulder.'
The only injury was to Cliff Hurst the radio operator who was injured by flying metal pieces and left unconscious for a while although later on, he worked on his radio sets on the way home.
Saxby pulled the plane out of a steep dive at the last minute, while the crew thought it was going to break up. They started limping home to their Base in Tortorella, more than 300 miles away. They all assumed that on final approach, the wheels were not down so everybody assumed crash positions the Liberator landed smoothly. The aircraft was struck off charge on 26 April 1945.
Squadron Leader Lionel Charles Saxby is the chap leaning out of the hole; the chap sticking his head up out of the top is the navigator, P/OG T. Barker. Both can be seen inspecting the damage.
Flt. Sgt. K.H. Westrope, the tailgunner of 'V' Victor published his memoirs called "A rear gunners tale".
Caption: Cited from: militarian.com/threads/raf-b-24-hit-by-falling-bombs.1765/) and airpages.ru/eng/us/liberator_1.shtml
Had a bomb hit amidships on the main spar, the B24 would have folded like a house of cards.
This photo, taken on January 14, 1945 (during the Battle of the Bulge), in the Ardennes, Belgium, shows a sniper of the 6th Airlanding Brigade, 6th Airborne Division, tracking down a relentless enemy. Day after day, this British hero confronted German forces with his Lee-Enfield rifle, and enabled Allied troops to keep moving forward.
Is that magazine about to fall off or is there a 15-20 round Enfield mag I've never heard about...???
Brothers Make the Ultimate Sacrifice in FranceLieutenants Joseph "Philippe" Rousseau (left) and Joseph "Maurice" Rousseau, of the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion both jumped over Normandy on D-Day. Many paratroopers were killed before touching the ground, but the two brothers landed on French soil and fought heroically. Sadly, a few hours later, Philippe was killed in action. He was only 23 years old. Three months later, on 20 September 1944, his older brother Maurice was fighting in Igney (northeastern France) when he was mortally wounded by enemy fire, and died at the age of 25. These two Canadian paratroopers are now resting side by side, at the Ranville War Cemetery in Normandy.
Original description and photo sourced by: Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3565514
