Lesser known details of WW2 part four

In April 1942 90% of German industry was still working only a single shift (!).

Mx Hastings " Bomber Command"

 

Francis K Mason has examined claims by RAF fighter pilots in every traceable report of air-to-air combat in the WW2. They total 11,400. He found that Hurricane pilots made 55%, Spitfire pilots 33%, other fighters 12%.

This from D Robinson " Invasion 1940 " though

So there you have it!

 

From Bernd Freytag von Loringhoven book " In the bunker "

The last days in the bunker....

A second telegram from Göring, inviting Ribbentrop for a consultation, finally convinced Hitler of treachery.

 

Poor Stirling Mk III....

Some way to remedying the poor performance of the basic Stirling design with the introduction of the Mark III from the start of 1943, but still the aircraft suffered much higher losses than the other aircraft of the Main Force. Within five months of being introduced, 67 out of the 84 aircraft delivered had been lost to enemy action or written off after crashes.

http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/stirling.html

 

How the hell do you find all this!

 

Kai is our Wunder boy. Salute!

 

The problem with the Sterling from the start was that the RAF required the design to fit into existing hangers which in turn limited the designers to the original wingspan leaving the aircraft with those stubby wings that in turn limited lift loaded and resulted in poor operational altitude.

 

I always wondered why they could not have retro fitted wing extensons to the aircraft after they discovered the error of their ways. I guess they were happy with the Halifax and Lancaster and did not want to spend the money perhaps. Seems like it would be an easy fix though.

 

During the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia during World War II, Prague Castle became the headquarters of Reinhard Heydrich, the "Reich Protector of Bohemia and Moravia". It is said that he placed the Bohemian crown on his head, believing himself to be a great king; old legends say that a usurper who places the crown on his head is doomed to die within a year. Less than a year after assuming power, Heydrich was assassinated.

Don't mess with other people's crowns.

 

Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart is one of the most remarkable figures in British military history, renowned for bravery, his striking character and the sheer adventure of his long life. He is thought to be the model for "Brigadier Ben Ritchie Hook" in the Sword of Honour trilogy of Evelyn Waugh.

He was captured in 1941 and evaded capture for eight days disguised as an Italian peasant. But he was in northern Italy, did not speak Italian, was 61 years old with an eye patch, one empty sleeve and multiple injuries. He did well to stay out so long. Ironically, de Wiart had been approved for repatriation due to his disablement but notification arrived after his escape...


This is much more to his amazing story, and well worth reading the entry on wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrian_Carton_de_Wiart

 

Axis Sally ( or actually one of them )

Mildred Gillars

Perhaps Sally's most famous broadcast, and the one that would eventually get her convicted of treason, was a play titled Vision of Invasion that went out over the airwaves on May 11, 1944. It was beamed to American troops in England awaiting the D-Day invasion of Normandy, as well as to the home folks in America. Gillars played the role of an American mother who dreamed that her soldier son, a member of the invasion forces, died aboard a burning ship in the attempt to cross the English Channel. The play had a realistic quality to it, sound effects simulating the moans and cries of the wounded as they were raked with gunfire from the beaches. Over the battle action sound effects, an announcer's voice intoned, "The D of D-Day stands for doom...disaster...death...defeat...Dunkerque or Dieppe." Adelbert Houben, a high official of the German Broadcasting Service, would testify at Axis Sally's trial that her broadcast was intended to prevent the invasion by frightening the Americans with grisly forecasts of staggering casualties.

http://www.historynet.com/magazines/world_war_2/3032576.html

 

House of Commons Munitions Factory.
Between December 1943 and the Japanese surrender in 1945, a munitions factory operated under the House of Commons, London.

 

General Johannes Blaskowitz

He was Commander-in-Chief East (Oberbefehlshaber Ost) in Poland from October 20, 1939. There he was repeatedly outraged by the atrocities committed by the SS and the Einsatzgruppen against Polish and Jewish people and issued two detailed memoranda to Commander-in-Chief Walther von Brauchitsch on these war crimes. He even didn't hesitate to impose death sentences against members of the SS and Gestapo in case of involvement in war crimes (these sentences were later abolished by Hitler). He used an exceptionally open language:

The attitude of the troops against the SS and the police fluctuates between disgust and hatred. Every soldier feels cloyed by these crimes committed against the Poles by citizens of the Reich and representatives of the government. (Aide memoir January 1940).

Hitler was reportedly infuriated by Blaskowitz's "childish attitude", and he was relieved of command in Poland on May 14, 1940 at the insistence of Governor General Hans Frank.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Blaskowitz

 

General Clark in Rome....

Shortly after finding the Piazza Campidoglio, Rome's main square, he was joined by Juin (the French General), and the American Generals Truscott, Crittenberger, and Keyes - his corps commanders. What he did say at his press conference offended the British, effecting surprise at something he had arranged, he said "Well, gentlemen, I didn't really expect to have a press conference here - I just called a little meeting with my corps commanders to discuss the situation. However I'll be glad to answer your questions. This is a great day for the Fifth Army." - and that was it. He then pretended to look over a map with his subordinate commanders, and had himself photographed with generals Keyes and Truscott climbing the steps of the Capitol. D'Este records that "Juin flushed with embarrassment and the other corps commanders chafed at their role in this contrived 'opéra bouffe' ... [and] many of the correspondents were profoundly offended by Clark's insensitive remarks, which pointedly failed to mention British or French participation in the bloody battles to liberate Rome."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories/85/a6531185.shtml

quote taken from the end part of the site (!)

Interesting that the man wanted to reach Rome first and then cannot make a decent "show" out of it....

 

M/S Mosdale

Cargo ship with most crossings of the Atlantic during the war: 96 ( some sources say 98 ) times.

http://www.warsailors.com/singleships/mosdale.html

 

Churchill and an interesting (?) idea:

Cunningham disliked the continuous pressure he was receiving from Churchill for an offensive and called his wild schemes irksome. He was particularly annoyed at the idea to block Tripoli harbour in Libya using the battleship Barham. Churchill was frustrated that enemy ships were getting through with valuable armaments and supplies. Cunningham called it insulting, childish and totally unrealistic. He had thoughts of Gallipolli. It would be an extremely difficult operation, a waste of a battleship and could be quickly reopened. It was too simplistic. Actually, on 20 April 1941, a bombardment was carried out by three battleships and a carrier in conjunction with a Malta convoy. It was a tricky operation but was successful and some damage to the port was done.

http://www3.bc.sympatico.ca/FrankWade/stories/15_cunninghampapers.html

 

Paratrooper´s song...

Beautiful Streamer
to the tune of "Beautiful Dreamer"

Beautiful streamer open for me
Blue Skies above and no canopy
Counted nine thousand - waited too long
Reached for my ripcord - the darn thing was gone.


Beautiful streamer, why must it be
White silk above me is what I should see
Just like my mother looks over me
To hell with the ripcord, twas not made for me.


Beautiful streamer, follow me down
The time is elapsing and here is the ground
600 feet and then I can tell
If I'll go to heaven or end down in hell.


Beautiful streamer, this is the end
Gabriel is blowing "My Body Won't Mend"
All you jump happy son's of a gun
Take this last warning - Jumping's no fun
TAKE THIS LAST WARNING - JUMPING'S NO FUN


----------

According to R. Edward O´Brien this song was taken rather lightly and was generally sung by troopers returning from a night on the town.

( "With Geronimo across Europe" O´Brien was a paratrooper medic with the 501st )

-----------

And another one...

http://www.west-point.org/greimanj/west_point/songs/bloodontherisers.htm

Blood on the risers

He was just a rookie trooper and he surely shook with fright.
He checked off his equipment and made sure his pack was tight.
He had to sit and listen to those awful engines roar.
You ain't gonna jump no more.



Chorus:
Gory, gory, what a hell of way to die.
Gory, gory, what a hell of way to die.
Gory, gory, what a hell of way to die.
He ain't gonna jump no more.

"Is everybody happy?" cried the sergeant looking up.
Our hero feebly answered, "Yes", and then they stood him up.
He jumped into the icy blast, his static line unhooked.
And he ain't gonna jump no more.

He counted long, he counted loud, he waited for the shock.
He felt the wind, he felt the cold, he felt the awful drop.
The silk from his reserve spilled out and wrapped around his legs.
And he ain't gonna jump no more.

The risers swung around his neck, connectors cracked his dome.
Suspension lines were tied in knots around his skinny bones.
The canopy became his shroud, he hurtled to the ground.
And he ain't gonna jump no more.

The days he lived and loved and laughed kept running through his mind.
He thought about the girl back home, the one he left behind.
He thought about the medicos and wondered what they'd find.
And he ain't gonna jump no more.

The ambulance was on the spot, the jeeps were running wild.
The medics jumped and screamed with glee, rolled up their sleeves and smiled.
For it had been a week or more since last a 'chute had failed.
And he ain't gonna jump no more.

He hit the ground, the sound was "Splat," his blood went spurting high.
His comrades they were heard to say, "A helluva way to die."
He lay there rolling 'round in the welter of his gore.
And he ain't gonna jump no more.

There was blood upon the risers, there were brains upon the 'chute.
Intestines were a-dangling from his paratrooper suit.
He was a mess, they picked him up and poured him from his boots.
And he ain't gonna jump no more.

 

The Order of the Winged Boot was given to flyers who were shot down behind enemy lines and evaded capture to return to their commands.

The Sea Squatter's pin was awarded to allied airman who crashed at sea and used an inflatable rubber life raft made by Walter Kiddle and Company.

http://www.angelfire.com/md2/patches/other/bootfish.html

 

"Hitler's greatest pleasure was when Blondie would jump a few centimetres higher than the last time, and he would say that going out with his dog was the most relaxing thing he could do."

Traudl Junge, Hitler´s secretary

BBC News | EUROPE | Hitler's final witness

 

"Allotment Annies"

A few women took advantage of a different wartime opportunity. They defrauded the government by collecting multiple allotment checks (a monthly stipend that the government sent to servicemen's families while the men were overseas).

To do this they had to marry multiple servicemen. Allotment Annies hung around military bases. When the opportunity presented itself, an Annie romanced and married an unsuspecting serviceman. She then tearfully saw her soldier off as he headed overseas.

As she began to collect his $50 monthly allotment check, she was already waiting to trap the next soldier. Some Annies collected six or seven checks per month, although authorities did eventually catch up with them.

"Allotment Annies" History | ahwt_01_package.xml

Also:

Love, Sex and War: The Girls They Left Behind. John Costello