Wwii

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There has never been a collection of Original "Big Band" Music such as this World War II Golden
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GET READY FOR S O M E GREAT LISTENINGAND S O M E EVEN GREATER MEMORIES!!

With Your REMEMBER PEARL HARBOR album, you will receive a complete
Discography listing the recordings, bands, vocalists, and recording dates; plus
an incredible full-color booklet about The Music and the War, illustrated with
beautiful, nostalgic, original U.S. Government "Morale Posters". And--you can
own the most famous poster of them all! A copy of this January, 1942, 30"x40"
Office of War Information poster, in full color, shipped rolled in an
indestructible tube, for just $14.95!! Our supply of this great poster from the
dawn of the War is very limited. So use your credit card AND ORDER NOW!
Produced and Manufactured
The Pearl Harbor
by
Day
Project
THE N C S T A t e i A ARCHIVE
Exclusive United States
Distributor
Post Office Box 5023 Garden Grove, California 92645-5023
(714) 693-3096
O 1991 The Notalgia Archive
FLY WITH LIVING

LEGEND JIMMY DOOLITTLE
The Art of William S. Phillips. I Could Never Be So Lucky Again.

A Limited Edition Fine Art Print, Countersigned by Gen. James H. "Jimmy" Doolittle, 22Ww x 20Wh. Accompanied
by a complementary hardcover copy of Doolittle's autobiography; I Could Never Be So Lucky Again. $295 U.S.
Relive April 18, 1942,

f
I GREENWICH
when James H. "Jimmy"
WORKSHOP
Doolittle led the first ever Please send me more information on the art of William S. Phillips
bombing raid on Japan. my nearest Greenwich Workshop dealer.
The one and only Doolittle Name
stands alone with this
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historic limited edition
State
print, countersigned by City _
Phone
Doolittle himself, that in- Zip _
cludes a copy of his auto- |
The Art of Discovery
and
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b i o g r a p h y w i t h every
purchase. It is the definitive artistic statement of a
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available only through an
a u t h o r i z e d Greenwich
Workshop dealer. Please
write or call for more
information and the name
of the dealer nearest you.
THE GREENWICH WORKSHOP, INC., 30 Lindeman Drive, Trumbull, CT 06611 (203) 371-6568 Toll free (800) 243-4246
THE GREENWICH WORKSHOP LTD., 3781 Victoria Park Avenue, Unit 6, Scarborough, Ontario Ml W 3K5 (416) 490-8342 Toll free (800) 263-4001
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EDITORIAL
8 PERSONALITY
After fruitlessly h u n t i n g
submarines off the
California coast, B-25 pilot
"Brick" Holstrom got a new
targetTokyo.
Efy Horace S. Mazet
10 U N D E R C O V E R
Why was a British reconnaissance plane overflying
t h e Soviet Caucasus oil
fields o n April 5, 1940?
By Wayne R. Austerman
14 A R M A M E N T
T h e hardest thing about
t h e U.S. Army's request for
a quarter-ton utility vehicle
was t h e time schedulea
prototype in 49 days.
By Bill Siuru
54 B O O K S
Some of t h e most intense
fighting of t h e Pacific War
took place o n an island
t h a t couldand should
have been bypassed.
By Edward R. Crews
11 TO GERMANY, ALONE
By Dan
Bauer
T h e r e were gasps w h e n t h e target map was unveiled

during t h e 91st Bomb Group's m o r n i n g briefing on
March 4, 1943. T h e objective was t h e railroad marshaling
yards at Hammdeep in the Reich.
30 ATLANTIC TURKEY SHOOT

By James T.
Cheatham
Asked it he had ever been to Long Island, N.Y., U-boat

C a p t a i n Klaus Friedland stated, "No, but I have seen it."
Fifty years ago, he and numerous other G e r m a n
submariners were r u n n i n g amok off America's east coast.
38 ENDLESS CHAIN OF BATTLE

By John F. Murphy,
Jr.
Private Bernard Goldstein of t h e 291st C o m b a t Engineer

Battalion was scouting t h e road outside Malmdy w h e n he
encountered the vanguard of Kampfgruppe Peiper. Springing
in front of t h e lead vehicle, he c o m m a n d e d it to halt.
46 PEARL HARBOR REPLAYED

By John F. Wukovits
T h e British light carrier Hermes was in a most
embarrassing position 50 years agofacing an
overwhelming onslaught of Japanese carrier-based dive
bombers, a n d not o n e plane o n her own flight deck.
COVER: An M8
G r e y h o u n d armored car
leads a column o n t h e
road to Berlina road
that would be seriously
interrupted without t h e
help of combat engineers
to build t h e bridges over
which t h e vehicles
advanced (story, P. 38).
LEFT In March 1943,
t h e Eighth Air Force's
daylight b o m b i n g
campaign over Fortress
Europe had barely gotten
underway w h e n some of
its B-17s were ordered to
b o m b H a m m (story, P.
22). M I D D L E : Prior to
t h e G e r m a n invasion of
t h e Soviet Caucasus, t h e
British made secret plans
to deny t h e m that oil
source (story, P. 10).
R I G H T In February
1942, Admiral Karl
Dnitz launched a
U-boat offensive off t h e
American east coast
with catastrophic results
for the Americans (P. 30).
W O R L D W A R II ( I S S N 0 8 9 8 - 4 2 0 4 ) is p u b l i s h e d b i m o n t h l y b y E m p i r e Press, 6 0 2 S . K i n g S t r e e t , S u i t e 300, L e e s b u t g , V A 2 2 0 7 5 . (703) 771-9400. S e c o n d - c l a s s p o s t a g e p a i d a t L e e s b u t g , V A a n d a d d i t i o n a l m a i l i n g office. W O R L D W A R II, V o l u m e

6, N u m b e r 6 , 1992 b y E m p i r e Press, all rights reserved. A C o w l e s M e d i a C o m p a n y A f f i l i a t e . T h e c o n t e n t s o f t h i s p u b l i c a t i o n m a y n o t b e reproduced i n w h o l e o r i n p a n w i t h o u t c o n s e n t o f t h e c o p y r i g h t o w n e r . W O R L D W A R II a n d i n d i v i d u a l
a r t i c l e s a r e a v a i l a b l e o n 1 6 m m a n d 3 5 m m m i c r o f i l m a n d 1 0 5 m m m i c r o f i c h e f r o m : U n i v e r s i t y M i c r o f i l m s Inc., 3 0 0 N o r t h Zeeb R o a d , A n n A r b o r , M l 4 8 1 0 6 . Subscription Services and Information: W r i t e t o W O R L D W A R II, P.O. B o x 375, M t . M o r r i s ,
I L 6 1 0 5 4 - 7 9 6 2 . (815) 734-1115. S i n g l e c o p i e s $2.95, p l u s $1 f o r p o s t a g e . Yearly s u b s c r i p t i o n i n U . S . A . : $16.95; C a n a d a a n d O v e r s e a s : $ 2 2 . 9 5 , p a y m e n t i n U S . f u n d s o n l y . Edinitial Office: S e n d e d i t o r i a l mail t o E d i t o r , W O R L D W A R II, 6 0 2 S. K i n g
S t . , S u i t e 300, L e e s b u t g , VA 2 2 0 7 5 . W O R L D W A R II w e l c o m e s e d i t o r i a l s u b m i s s i o n s b u t a s s u m e s n o r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r t h e loss o r d a m a g e of u n s o l i c i t e d m a t e r i a l . M a t e r i a l t o b e r e t u r n e d s h o u l d b e a c c o m p a n i e d b y a s e l f - a d d r e s s e d , s t a m p e d e n v e l o p e .
W e suggest t h a t y o u s e n d a s e l f - a d d r e s s e d , s t a m p e d e n v e l o p e f o r a c o p y o f o u r a u t h o r ' s g u i d e l i n e s . P O S T M A S T E R : Send address changes to W O R L D WAR II, RO. Box 375, Mt. Morris, IL 61054-0375. C a n a d i a n G S T N o . R 1 2 3 4 5 2 7 8 1 .
* VICTORY AT SEA
The drama of W I I ' s exciting war at sea is brilliantly detailed

in this award-winning historical epic. The entire 6-volume
set contains over 12 hours of action covering the unique
phases of the American and Allied naval operation. By
ordering the entire set, you save over ' 1 0 0 from various
TV offers!
# 2 4 8 7 6-Volumes ' 1 4 9 . 9 8
THE MEMPHIS BELLE

A two part action-packed documentary. First, the full color
story of the B-17 and it's crew that completed 25 missions
over Europe in WWII. Then experience the non-stop action
of the 8th Air Force as they bomb factories and aircraft
production facilities. Exciting actual air action!
# 3 6 0 3 Approx. 6 0 minutes
'29.98
TRIUMPH OF THE WILL

One of the most powerful propaganda films ever made!
Nazi filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl created a film classic which
showed the Nazis to be invincible. It's music and images
caused the Allies to ban the film and it's style was later
copied by the great Frank Capra.
# 2 7 0 9 Approx. 50 minutes >29.98
THE FIGHTING LADY

The outstanding story of the U.S.S. .
Yorktown, The Fighting Lady. This carrier
fought in numerous battles including
Midway, Guadalcanal, Iwo and Okinawa.
Features some of the best gun camera
action ever recorded by Navy pilots in
WWII. Filmed in color.
# 3 5 8 9 Approx. 60 minutes
'29.98
pjstHTIlp
t ^ P
'
NAZI WAR TRIALS
The Nuremberg Trials, a theatrical trailer and five

newsreels detail the facts of the remaining Nazis after
TOI.
A grisly portrait.
'29.98
DAS LEBEN VON ADOLF HITLER

(THE LIFE OF ADOLF HITLER)
Startling portraits of the rise of
the Nazi Part>', the birth of the
Third Reich, Nazi plans for war,
Nazi parades and spectacles, and
the campaign against the Jews.
Features the last films ever taken
o f Hitter before his retreat into
the Bunker.
#4606
Approx. 101 minutes
'29.98
THE HISTORY
OF THE LUFTWAFFE
The Luftwaffe was to become the

handmaiden of Hitler's dream of conquest.
Controlling the skies was his obsession and
the rise and fall of the Luftwaffe mirrors
the fate of Germany during the war.
'29.98
TRIBUTE TRILOGY
" I t is important for all Americans to know of the triumphs
and sacrifices made by men called to w a r " awardwinning producer Arnold Shapiro. This three volume
series is a brilliant salute to America's finest.
R E T U R N T O IWO JIMA
This volume remembers the American
Marines during W W I I in the bloodiest
and fiercest battle ever.
49.98
THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER

T h i s v i d e o p a y s h o m a g e to the
thousands lost during America's most
devastating war.
# 3 6 1 1 Approx. 58 minutes >19.98
* P.O.W. - AMERICANS IN
ENEMY HANDS:
WWII, KOREA. & VIETNAM
Profiles prisoners of war and their
remarkable experiences,
# 4 7 9 7 Approx. 9 3 minutes >19.98
NAZI CONCENTRATION CAMPS
This is the official record of the death camps as photographed

by Allied forces advancing into Germany. Many of the scenes
were actually used in the Nuremburg trials. W A R N I N G :
Graphic and disturbing scenes.
'29.98
MEN AT WAR COLLECTION
FIGHTING 17: THE JOLLY ROGERS

This is the story of Navy Squadron VF17, the Jolly Rogers. Flying their
beloved Hogs, the F4U-1 Corsair, they
cleared the skies of 154 Japanese planes
in 76 days of combat over the Solomon
Islands. Never losing a bomber to
enemy attack, the Jolly R o g e r s
destroyed the heart of Japanese Fighter
C o m m a n d over B o u g a i n v i l l e a n d
Rabaul, paving the way for the .Allied
advance.
>29.98
PISTOL PACKIN' MAMA:

T H E M I S S I O N S OF A B-17
Five crew members of Betty Boop,
Pistol Packin' Mama relate what it was
like in the grim early days of daylight
bombing. The life of a bomber crewman
is described here as never before ..the
strain and cold, the fear, the sense of
death a n d loss, the b o n d o f
camaraderie. Enhanced by stunning combat film and
personal photos, this is how it was battling fighters and
flak 25,000 feet above Hitler's Third Reich.
'29.98
17TH AIRBORNE: THE BULGE TO THE RHINE

This film chronicles five green, young soldiers who
thought the war might end before they would see action.
Instead, they enter combat on Christmas Day 1944 at
the Battle of the Bulge and four months later, glide
over the Rhine to push forward the inevitable allied
advance. Hear Jack Fisher and four of his buddies as
they describe first combat, the bone-chilling cold of a
European winter, the constant fear, and the ferocious
enemy.
#3517
Approx. 4 8 minutes
>29.98
PURCHASE ALL 3 VOLUMES 6 SAVE S15.Q0!

#4819 3 VOLUMES s 74.94
I Send Check or Money Order (no cash| To: FUSION

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NAME
NIGHT 6 FOG
This award-winning short film takes us inside Hitler's

concentration camps right after the war and then revisits
these death camps (in color) 10 years after the carnage
ended. A brilliant and disturbing document.
'19.98
TARGET:
PEARL HARBOR
This video commemorates the 116 minutes

that changed America f o r e v e r t h e
b o m b i n g of Pearl Harbor. Features
captured Japanese war film that puts you
into the cockpits of attacking fighter planes.
'1
WAFFEN S S
The history of this elite fighting force began

in the street politics of the Weimar
Republic. From there it grew to be one
of the most feared forces during the war.
After the war they were implicated in Nazi
war crimes.
'29.98
ADDRESS
ITEM N U M B E R S
STATE
THE STORY OF G.I. I0E

This is the story of America's young men.
"small town farm boys" and "big city
slickers," who were the G.I. Joes of the
Armed Forces. This video features live
action footage of G.I.'s who made history
with their bravery and sacrifices (291,000
killed) during WWII.
# 4 3 9 7 Approx. 55 minutes >29.98
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Editorial
Fifty years ago means all that came

after Pearl Harbor, too!
udie, did
you
say...?
Serving as occupant of the

White House ahead of all
five, t h o u g h , w o u l d b e
Dwight D. "Ike" Eisenhower,
thanks without doubt to the
fame and success he achieved
in World War II as overall
c o m m a n d e r of the Allied
a r m i e s t h a t swept i n t o
France by way of N o r m a n d y
("D-Day!") in 1944, to signal t h e last throes of t h e
war in Europe.
A u d i e who? O r h o w
about a general named Ike?
A n Ike jacket! D-Day? Liberty ships, the Final Solution,
the A-bomb or, strictly on the
war's lighter side, that o d d
epigram "Kilroy was here"?
In our innocence of 50
years ago, even after Pearl
Harbor, n o one in early 1942
quite knew what to expect . . . n o o n e could quite
This time 50 years ago,
predict t h e personalities to
however, Ike was not very
emerge from t h e war, the
well k n o w n even within
tragedies or t h e triumphs,
U.S. A r m y circles. But he
t h e mechanical barbarity of
was moving up fastprot h e Final Solution matched
moted to brigadier general in
against t h e technological
September 1941, he was a
marvels that produced t h e
major general by April '42,
atomic b o m b o n o n e side,
a lieutenant general by July
ballistic missiles a n d jet air- In 1942, black American pilots flying combat missions was
(all temporary ranks later
unprecedented.
In
1944,
men
like
Captain
Armour
G.
McDaniels
planes o n the other. (Nazi
made permanent).
(left) of the 332nd Fighter Group would help set that precedent.
Germany's latter, thankfully,
By war's end, the Supreme
were too little and too late to
Allied
C
o
m
m
a
n d e r would be a full fivetisans,
was
there
as
chairman.
So
was
be of measurable impact u p o n the war's
Adolf Eichmann, the SS officer later kid- star general (and inspiration for the short
final outcome, even if the barbarism did
napped, tried and executed by Israel (it- belt-length "Ike jacket").
continue until war's end.)
A n d in 1942, the future architect of
Who, or what, was o n t h e move, self a postwar creation) for the murder
of millions of Jews.
the successful invasion of Hitler's "Fort h o u g h , just 50 years ago?
Loosed at the Wannsee Conference tress Europe" already was warming to
Audie Murphy, 17, had not yet enlisted
in the U.S. Army. By June, t h e Texas of January 1942, of course, had been that gigantic task. . .by planning (and
sharecropper's son had joined up, how- t h e specter of Holocaustthe deci- t h e n commanding) t h e first Allied invaeverby war's end, with 28 decorations, sions implementing Nazi Germany's sion of t h e war, the Torch landings in
"Final Solution."
N o r t h Africa of late 1942.
including the Medal of Honor, Lieutenant
In America, meanwhile, just entering
As for that fictitious American male
M u r p h y came h o m e as America's most
Kilroy, meanwhile, it's hard to say where
highly decorated hero of World War II flight training in 1942 was a fellow named
(and went o n to have a postwar movie J o h n G l e n n . Later to achieve fame a n d a n d when he was created, b u t certainly
career encompassing more t h a n 35 films). historic status as an astronaut after t h e his ubiquitous legend, "Kilroy was here,"
war, G l e n n today is k n o w n as the first in short order would be springing up all
N o t yet k n o w n either was one Edward
H e n r y " B u t c h " O ' H a r e , A n n a p o l i s American to orbit t h e earth in a space over t h e globeon signs, walls a n d flat
graduate, fighter pilot, U.S. Navy's first capsule. But first, as yet u n k n o w n in surfaces, anywhere the American GIs of
early 1942, he had 59 combat missions World War II themselves appeared.
ace of World War II, Medal of H o n o r
recipient alsoand, sadly, a wartime cas- to fly in t h e Pacific during World War II
Remember? So m u c h to remember,
ualty. How many of t h e airline pas- (and another 90 during the Korean War). actually. New icons, new heroes, b r a n d
sengers who pass through Chicago's In more recent years, of course, this fre- new terminology of all kinds. For the
O ' H a r e International Airport today are quently decorated Marine Corps flier has duration, for instance. In early 1942
been a U.S. senator from Ohio.
aware of its namesake?
E V E R Y T H I N G was for the
durationU n b e k n o w n s t to most combatants of
Five other young Americans serving even, in t h e U n i t e d States, daylight
saving time, imposed o n February 9.
World War II early in 1942, too, was the their country in uniform during the war
beginning of a program t h a t emerged years were not yet quite the national In those difficult days, everyone knew
from a meeting of 15 governmental ad- figures they later would becomeJohn F. what for the duration meant. A t t h e
same time, no one really knew what it
ministrators in Gross en-Wannsee, a sub- Kennedy, Richard M. Nixon, Lyndon B.
meant, right?
urb of Berlin. Reinhard Heydrich, the SS Johnson, Gerald Ford and George Bush,
general later assassinated by Czech par- future presidents one and all.
C.B.K.
6
World warII
VOLUME 6
NUMBER 6
Editor
C . B R I A N KELLY
Senior Editor
JON G U T T M A N
Editorial Director
WILLIAM M. V O G T
Managing Editor
K E N N E T H H . PHILLIPS
Associate Editors
T I M O T H Y BAKER S H U T T
J O H N F. W U K O V I T S
G R E G O R Y LALIRE
Advertising Director
MERIDEE REGIMBAL
Contributing Editors
Wayne Austerman, Wilfred P. Deac, Thomas Fleming, Luther Y. Gore, Lawrence M. Greenberg, Albert Hemingway, Charles E. Kirkpatrick, Eric
Niderost, Mark Sufrin, Truman R. Strobridge, Barry
M. Taylor, David T. Zabecki.
Art Director
S T E P H E N S. V A N N
Assistant Art Director
JENNIFER L. M c M A S T E R S
T H E AVIATION ART CATALOG

HERITAGE AVIATION ART brings you the widest selection
of aviation fine art by the world's most accomplished and
well-known aviation artists. We represent the finest in
aviation art prints from Aerodrome Press, The Greenwich
Workshop, The Military Gallery, and others.
ORIGINAL PAINTINGS, SIGNED LIMITED EDITIONS,
POSTERS, AND BRONZE SCULPTURES are on display
in our gallery Monday-Saturday, 10-5, at Seattle's historic
Boeing Field we invite you to visit us, or send $5.00
($10.00 outside the U.S.), refundable with first pur
chase, for our 40-page color catalog and newsletter.
HERITAGE AVIATION ART 7201B Perimeter Rd. S.
Dept. WWII B o e i n g Field Seattle, WA 98108
P h o n e : 1-800-331-9044 or (206) 767-4170
Proudly Presenting A Tribute to the Valiant U.S. Armed
Forces
The World War II 50th Anniversary

Silver Proof Commemorative Collection
Composition
RALPH SCHERER
HEIDEMARIE RANDALL
PHYLLIS M . H U T C H I S O N
Pictorial Research
JENNIFER S. KEEN
Copy Assistants
SINDY H O L M E S
A N N ROBB
FRANK REGISTER
Editorial Assistant
MELISSA G R O V E
Office Manager
ROBERTA S. PHILLIPS
Customer Service
CYNTHIA COOPER
Advertising Support
T A M R A L. SENEFF, Supervisor
M A R G A R E T A . F O W L E R , Asst. Supervisor
TANYA L. SENEFF, Assistant
K A R E N M. BAILEY, Assistant
Circulation
GAIL WEAVERLING
Group Circulation Director
CONNIE SHOEMAKER
Group Circulation Coordinator
B A R B A R A M. J O H N S T O N
Fulfillment/Promotion Specialist
Advertising Office
602 S. King St., Suite 300, Leesburg, VA 22075
(703) 771-9400 / Fax (703) 777-4627
Newsstand Consultants:
MAGAZINE C O M M U N I C A T I O N S
CONSULTANTS
Ralph Perricelli/Irwin Billman
P.O. Box 277, Tuckahoe, NY 10707
Published by Empire Press
Carl A. Gnam, Vice President, General Manager
Mark W. I lint:, Vice President
I C O W L E S MEDIA COMPANY
Picture Credits: National Archives:

C O V E R , 14, 27, 38, 40, 45, 50; B u n d e s archiv, Koblenz: 32 ( A B O V E ) , 36; Everett
W. H o l s t r o m : 8; C o u r t e s y of J o h n F. M u r phy, Jr.: 41, 42, 43, 44; Signal: 10, 33;
U P I / B e t t m a n n : 25, 26, 28, 49, 52; U S . A i r
Force: 6, 22, 24; U S . A i r Force A r t C o l l e c t i o n : 46; U S . A r m y A r t C e n t e r , A l e x a n d r i a , Va.: 30, 54; U.S. N a v a l I n s t i t u t e :
35; U.S. C o a s t G u a r d : 34.
G r e a t e s t U.S. A c h i e v e m e n t s
The pride and glory. The resounding
victory
for freedom.
Now,
to
c o m m e m o r a t e t h e 5 0 t h A n n i v e r s a r y of
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fought battles are strikingly captured in 10
silver p r o o f s r e p r e s e n t i n g the greatest
a c h i e v e m e n t s of t h e 5 b r a n c h e s of o u r
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Historic Commemoratives
Shown
a b o v e are historic
commemoratives depicting the Marines hoisting
the American flag at Iwo Jima; the N a v y ' s
s t e e l " T i t a n s of t h e S e a " in a c t i o n ; a n d
General MacArthur directing the recapture
of t h e P h i l i p p i n e s by A l l i e d f o r c e s . T h e
o t h e r d e s i g n s f e a t u r e B - 1 7 b o m b e r s in a
pitched battle over Europe, the Enola Gay,
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a m p h i b i o u s assaults, marines returning to
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WW465
Personality
On the raid that electrified Americaand

Japans ultimate fate.
foretold
By Horace S. Mazet
aimed toward the target.

A b o u t the time the turn was
"Brick" Holstrom was
completed I saw t h e subcarrying out his orders, b u t
marine on t h e surface behe did not relish them. Flyneath a rain shower and
ing a N o r t h American B-25B
took control.
Mitchell medium bomber,
" W h e n t h e bombardier
he was o n submarine patrol
saw the sub also, he toggled
duty off t h e coast of Washout three bombs, all of them
ington, a n d t h e weather was
landing over their mark. I
totally hostile. Fog, low ceilmade a tight t u r n of 180
ing, intermittent rainstorms
degrees a n d f o u n d the suba n d uncertain winds were
marine attempting to subhis world there, out of sight
merge and hoped we were
of land. But while following
luckier this time.
his navigator's course, he
"Three
more
bombs
a n d t h e others aboard h a d
dropped and this resulted in
to keep out a sharp eye for
an explosion we felt in t h e
submarines on the ocean's
air, different from those of
surface below. T h e U.S.
the previous bombs. T h e top
Navy, alert for enemy subs,
turret gunner called to say
had notified Army fliers that
we h a d scored a hit just forCaptain
"Brick"
Holstrom
(far
right)
as
commander
of
the
11th
any submersible they sighted
ward of the conning tower.
Bomber
Squadron,
with
fellow
Tokyo
raiders
Sergeant
Doug
Rodney
should be sunk.
O n returning to t h e area we
(second
from
left)
and
Captain
Clayton
Campbell
(fourth).
It was little more t h a n two
saw only an oil slick a n d
weeks since the infamous atsome
debris
in the water, with n o sign
tack on Pearl Harbor, and the 17th Bom- ing an indefinite ceiling and a quarterof t h e sub. We radioed t h e Navy at
mile
visibility.
b a r d m e n t G r o u p h a d been ordered to
Before taking off at dawn, the airplane Bremerton [Washington] a n d reported
protect the shipping and coastline of t h e
had
received only a perfunctory inspec- our action. T h e y asked us to remain in
Northwest. Seventy-five B-25s had gone
tion,
and the result gave the pilot fits: the the area as long as possible since they
west to aid in t h e defense against possiwere directing a surface vessel to our
ble Japanese aggression. In very bad fly- cover of the pitot tube was still on, resultlocation. But eventually we had to head
ing
in
n
o
airspeed
indication.
But
patrol
ing weather they flew one night up t h e
for t h e hangar as our fuel [gauge] indicoast, employing only small blue naviga- was required, and Holstrom continued
cated it was necessary."
to
fly
his
search
grid
u
n
d
e
r
a
ceiling
of
tion lights to maintain formation posiabout
400
feet.
T
h
e
bombardier,
who
T h e return h o m e was not pleasant.
tion. All ships made a safe landing,
although the far end of t h e runway was h a d been to a celebration t h e previous W h e n seeking landing instructions from
evening, got sick a n d had to use the ground control in t h e Seattle area, Holobscured by fog.
"Looking back o n this operation," said bombsight cover as an airsick bag. T h e strom received word that t h e operator
Holstrom recently, "we realize how stupid entire affair, t h o u g h t Holstrom, was off there could not give weather conditions
over t h e air.
the whole thing was, because t h e only to a bad start.
Denied permission to land at a nearby
U n c e r t a i n exactly how long he had
combat-ready medium b o m b group in
airfield, Holstrom soon had so little
the country could have been lost. It been patrolling, Holstrom approached an
reflected the widespread panic prevail- area about 35 miles northwest of the fuel he had to use desperate measures.
ing on the West Coast at t h e early part m o u t h of the Columbia River. He He told ground control to give him a
of World War II. There was simply n o received a call o n t h e i n t er p h o n e from place to land within t h e next 10 minutes
capability, no air defense and, with t h e t h e top turret gunner, w h o advised him or he would be forced to have the crew
exception of a few National Guard com- of a submarine o n t h e surface below at bail out. He was told to head for Seattle,
3 o'clock. Instantly all aboard eyed the and he now started a radio-range appanies, n o ground defense. A n enemy
proach through the "soup" without any
carrier force could have b o m b e d at will, sea for a glimpse.
airspeed indication.
even t h o u g h t h e entire West Coast was
"I started a t u r n to t h e right w h e n
blacked out at night."
Fortunately, t h e training he h a d
Hoss [Lieutenant Rodney R.] Wilder, my
Brick Holstrom was o n his third sub- copilot, nudged me," Holstrom recalled. received in the last few m o n t h s on in"He had spotted the submarine. I ordered struments lent him confidence. He knew
marine patrol the morning of December
24, and t h e weather was terriblerain- the bombardier to open the b o m b doors what conditions would give him certain
Continued on page 64
ing a n d foggy at the same time, produc- while Hoss took over to keep the airplane
ieutenant
Everett
W.
O N E WILL G O O N TO GLORY. THE OTHER, UP I N FLAMES.
95
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tax a d d e d to all o r d e r s .
undercover
Allied fears over Soviet oil almost resulted in an

airstrike against the USSR's oil facilities.
By Wayne R. Austerman
n April 1940, World War II
T h e mysterious intruder
was not a Luftwaffe Junkers
was just entering its eighth
or Heinkel, reconnoitering
m o n t h , b u t since the surin preparation for Hitler's
render of the last remnants
intended surprise offensive
of t h e Polish army early
against Russia, which lay 14
in t h e preceding October,
m o n t h s in the future. T h e
the struggle had entered a
camera plane was actually an
static phase d u b b e d " t h e
American-built Lockheed
Phony War." T h e British and
H u d s o n piloted by an officer
French confronted t h e Gerof t h e Royal Air Force's No.
m a n s along t h e Maginot
224 Squadron. T h e LockLine and still-neutral nations
heed was painted in a light
like Norway and the Netherduck-egg-blue scheme a n d
lands hoped that an armibore a civil registration code
stice might yet e n d this
instead of R A F roundels. Its
new conflict.
crewmen wore civilian clothes
T h e Soviet U n i o n rea n d carried bogus credenmained warily quasi-neutral
tials to support their cover
after sharing in t h e spoils
identities as sport fliers o n
of a prostrate Poland, apparholiday. In reality, the m e n
ently counting o n its recent
a n d aircraft were part of t h e
non-aggression pact with
secret preparations for a joint
Germany to avoid being
Franco-British
bombing
drawn into t h e larger war.
strike on the USSR's vital
In November, Stalin had
Caucasus petroleum comunleashed t h e Red A r m y
plexes and related transporagainst Finland, only to see
tation system. H a d it been
his divisions decimated in
executed as planned in the
t h e snowy forests by t h e Denied oil from the Soviet Caucasus by Hitler's invasion of Russia, spring of 1940, this operation
savagely defiant Finns. A t German mountain troops camp on Mount Elbruz on August 21,
would have left the two allies
1942, during the unsuccessful drive to take the oil fields.
t h a t point, however, Stalin
fighting Russia as well as
was more concerned about
Germany in a disastrous t u r n of events
T h e plane completed a leisurely r u n
Imperial Japan's ambitions in the Far
that undoubtedly would have altered the
East t h a n any possible c o n f r o n t a t i o n over the sprawling city and swung about course of t h e war.
o n a reciprocal course to take more picwith t h e Western powers.
O n April 5 of 1940, t h e Soviet air and tures, b u t its crew spotted the silhouette
W h e n the Soviet U n i o n and the Third
ground forces posted to secure the key of a Soviet fighter climbing steeply in Reich signed a non-aggression pact on
railroad center a n d Black Sea port of an attempt to intercept, and t h e pilot August 23, 1939, t h e U S S R was t h e
made a steep b a n k to the left to begin second-ranking oil producer in t h e
Batum h a d n o reason to fear an attack
a high-speed dash for t h e sanctuary of world, boasting an annual o u t p u t of 35
o n t h e region t h a t day, but ground
observers were still alert w h e n an un- Turkish airspace.
million tons. Of that total, 30 million
identified twin-engine aircraft entered
T h e sun threw a dazzling glare off tons of petroleum came from the BakuSoviet airspace o n t h e Turkish frontier
t h e snowcapped peak of M o u n t Ararat Groznyy oil fields that lay in the shadows
at 20,000 feet a n d bore northward for
in the distance, as t h e mystery plane of t h e Caucasus between the Black Sea
Batum. Anti-aircraft units were alerted left t h e Russian fighter struggling to and the Caspian. W h e n Hitler's panzers
to repel t h e intruder, a n d red-cored overtake it. Ironically, the Red aircraft rolled into Poland o n September 1, t h e
bursts of flak filled t h e sky in impotent was o n e of five Messerschmitt Bf-109E war planners in L o n d o n a n d Paris realfury a full 2,000 feet below the u n k n o w n recently sold to the Russians by their new ized that they could not afford to let t h e
aircraft as it brazenly cruised over t h e German friendsalthough it represented G e r m a n s keep fueling t h e Wehrmacht
docks and rail yards.
t h e finest in Nazi aviation technology, with petroleum purchased from Stalin.
Buried in its fuselage was a precision even its powerful engine could not com- T h e Soviet oil fields h a d to be neutralhigh-altitude camera, its film magazine pensate for the altitude advantage enjoyed ized by o n e means or another.
loaded with 125 exposures to ensure by the foreign spy plane, which was back
Late in 1939, the joint Anglo-French
adequate recording of the intricate details over Turkey long before the Soviet fighter
Supreme War Council began secret
possibly could bring its guns to bear.
of t h e potential targets below.
consideration of military action against
10
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"Applicable sales tax, if any, will be billed with shipment.
A sweeping, landmark history of World War II

which chronicles the U.S. Army's overnight
mobilization and stunning march to victory
Both lively and
authoritative, a
rare blend in
historical writing."
By early March 1940, t h e Allies had

begun to formulate definite plans for
such an operation, a n d by May 7 t h e
joint plan was completed, except for
target maps, which were being assembled
by means of covert photoreconnaissance flights over t h e oil fields and shipping points. T h a t task had been assigned
to the RAF's Photographic Developm e n t U n i t , which was home-based at
Heston aerodrome, near t h e later site
of Heathrow Airport. Wing C o m m a n d e r
Sidney C o t t o n assembled a brace of
aircrews led by S q u a d r o n Leader H u g h
C. Macphail a n d Flying Officer Frederic E. Burton. Both pilots were veterans, although only Burton was rated
o n t h e Lockheed H u d s o n . Burton's
No. 224 Squadron had been the first
British unit to fly the H u d s o n on operations, and o n October 8, 1939, Burton a n d two other H u d s o n pilots had
shared the RAF's first victory over t h e
Luftwaffe in t h e war. Now fitted out
with civilian clothes a n d credentials,
t h e airmen operated a single Lockheed
14 Super Electra (the civilian variant
of t h e Hudson) from a desert airstrip
at Habbaniyah, Iraq, o n the Euphrates
west of Baghdad.
D. Clayton James
Very impressive
and well written...
a readable, fastpaced narrative."
Stanley Falk
32 pages of
photographs and maps
At bookstores now, or call
1-800-733-3000
RANDOM
HOUSE
From bombers to battleships...

they got there by Hamilton time
Hamilton made thousands of timepieces for our armed
forces during World War II, and the watches shown
above are their direct descendents. Updated with
state-of-the-art quartz movements, they're military
tough and high tech sharp. Water resistant stainless
steel cases. Luminescent hands and markers.
12
t h e Caucasus oil complex. A submarine

warfare campaign against oil tankers sailing t h e Black Sea was dismissed as impractical, as was the proposed dispatch
of an expeditionary force to invade Russia for t h e purpose of destroying t h e oil
fields a n d refineries. T h e logistics of t h e
latter effort, of course, would make
incredible d e m a n d s u p o n the forces
involved, while Turkey was virtually certain to bar Western troops from passage
through its territory. T h e only solution
lay in m o u n t i n g airstrikes from Britishdominated Iraq and t h e French protectorate of Syria.
JOSEPH EDWARDS
323 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10017
1-800-833-1195
O n March 30, 1940, Burton and his

crew took off with full film magazines,
b o u n d for Baku on their first mission.
Flying over t h e northwestern corner of
Iran, they penetrated 150 miles into
Soviet airspace without incident a n d
spent an h o u r cruising over the target
while compiling a comprehensive photomosaic of t h e ground facilities. After a
nine-hour flight, the Lockheed was safely
back in Habbaniyah. Within 24 hours
t h e developed prints h a d been airlifted
in t h e Lockheed to Headquarters, Middle East, in Cairo, Egypt.
O n April 5, t h e spy plane took wing
again on a mission against Batum, where
it was met by the flak a n d t h e attempted
fighter interception. Forced to break off
his p h o t o r u n before it h a d been completed, Burton still returned to base with
film exposed over 75 percent of t h e target area. It was quickly forwarded to
Cairo. Soon afterward, the Lockheed was
Continued on page 62
LIMITED EDITION PRINT
FIRST TO FIRE
T h e 2 0 0 t h C o a s t A r t i l l e r y in D e f e n s e of C l a r k F i e l d , t h e P h i l i p p i n e s , D e c e m b e r 8 , 1 9 4 1
DOM S T I V E R S
The 200th Coast Artillery (Anti-Aircraft), originally the 111th Cavalrya New Mexico
National Guard unithad been sent to the Philippines to provide air defense for Clark Field.
Typical of American guard units, it was a hodge-podge of races and colors with Mexican and
Native American blood running through the men's veins. There was a certain pride in this
uniquely American mixture; while overseas dictators preached the dominance of a master race,
they served for the freedom of all.
In the summer of 1941, while American attention was directed to Europe, the Japanese
outblitzkrieged their Nazi allies by suddenly occupying nearly Vz of the globe. They struck
America at Pearl Harbor. At 5:00 a.m. on December 8,1941 (10:00 a.m. December 7 in Hawaii)
the men in the 200th CA were notified that the United States was officially at war with Japan;
just six and a half hours later, Japanese bombers and fighters attacked. Now, it was an entire
planet at war with itself.
The men rushed to their weapons as the first bombs fell, some of them firing live ammunition
for the first time. Only one of six of the ancient shells exploded. Yet they brought down five
enemy fighters with their fierce anti-aircraft fire.
The next four months would bring determined rearguard fighting as American and Filipino
defenders retreated onto the Bataan Peninsula. On April 9, 1942 the 200th and 515th Coast
Artillery, along with the rest of the Bataan defenders began the march of death to prison camps
where they would be interned for three and one half years. Of the 1841 men of the Regiment who
began the march, 819 would not survive the war.
And while their war ended after just a few months fighting, the men of the 200th forged a
legacyand left a military maximfor all those who would serve as air defenders in World
War II: "First to Fire."
Image: l&/2 x 21"
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Armament
GI or VIF.I anybody taking part in World War II

knew the friendly jeep.
By Bill Siuru
days. By September 23, 1940,

within the 49 days required,
Bantam had delivered the
first p r o t o t y p e to t h e
Armya miracle, considering the company's shaky
financial situation. T h e remaining vehicles followed
before t h e Army's deadline.
Except for being overweightabout 700 p o u n d s
more t h a n t h e Army's 1,300
poundsthe Bantam prototypes were successful. A few
lingering "bugs" were quite
While t h e n a m e is univernatural, considering t h e exsally k n o w n nowadays, t h e
ceedingly fast pace of t h e
term for a small, four-wheelvehicle's development. A n d
drive off-the-road vehicle
t h e vehicle, even with only
originated with a cartoon
a 46-horsepower engine,
character, Eugene the Jeep,
could still easily climb hills,
from E.C. Segar's Popeye It was said that jeeps could do just about everything except fly.
f o r d s t r e a m s a n d plow
comic strip. T h e benevolent This jeep, equipped with a communications set, seems determined
through mud, all just what
little jeep h a d extraordinary to do even that, as it rolls aboard a C-47 for air transport.
t h e A r m y wanted.
powers a n d was capable of
doing anything. He also had a name that t h e world's largest producer of trucks for
Even t h o u g h Bantam was o n the road
rolled naturally off an Army man's tongue a short, heady period. Between wars to success, its limited production faciliw h e n he abbreviated "General Purpose" there was m u c h experimenting with ties were not capable of producing veinto "G.P." Never have an official acro- 4 W D (four-wheel-drive) vehicles ranging hicles in t h e quantity needed as World
nym and a mythical creature been more from Marmon-Herringtons, which were War II approached. Thus, after producing
fortuitously or appropriately combined. too heavy and bulky, to American Ban- a few t h o u s a n d of its version of the jeep,
American-Bantam ceased its production
N o one quite knew it would be t h e tamstoo small and fragile. In 1940,
however, with war clouds looming o n the in December 1941.
jeep when the requests for bids were sent
to some 135 U.S. automobile manufac- horizon, it was time for t h e Army to get
Meanwhile, over at Willys-Overland,
turers and suppliers. A n d for most, prob- serious about a general-purpose vehicle. Barney Roos developed Willys-Overland's
ably the most difficult condition was the
Tiny American-Bantam of Butler, Pa., entry in t h e competition. With its 61-hp
time schedule. T h e Army asked for deliv- h a d the most responsive reply to the " G o Devil" engine, recently developed
ery of 70 vehicles in only 75 days, with Army's requirements, especially t h e for the company's line of civilian cars
t h e first prototype within 49 days.
and trucks, it was the most powerful of
schedule part. This was motivated
O n l y three companies, American- mainly by t h e fact that Bantam, manu- the three jeep candidates. O t h e r pieces
Bantam, Willys-Overland a n d Ford, facturer of a subcompact car based o n of t h e W-O prototype came from conresponded, even t h o u g h other com- the British Austin Seven, was in financial temporary Willys passenger cars and
difficulty a n d saw the vehicle as a way light trucks. There were two W-O protopanies such as Chevrolet a n d Checker
were experimenting with vehicles to to survive. Also important was the fact types, o n e with two-wheel steering and
meet the Army's requirements for a that Harold Crist, a Bantam engineer, o n e with four-wheel steering, since t h e
h a d helped Robert Brown, an engineer Army's initial specifications had called
motorized "mini-mule."
T h e specifications were developed from with the Quartermaster Corps, in draft- not only for four-wheel drive, but fourdecades of extensive A r m y testing a n d ing the specifications. Earlier, Bantam wheel steering as well.
even limited use of a variety of concepts h a d supplied a couple of its stock miniT h e story of the jeep's development
intended to replace t h e motorcycle a n d convertibles for testing by t h e Army. In
has been steeped in controversy over t h e
horse. D u r i n g World War I, t h e A r m y all, American-Bantam was working in jeep's early history, it should be noted at
used four-wheel-drive trucks built by very familiar territory.
this point. Some say t h a t Probst and
FWD, Jefferies and Nash. Indeed, in 1918
Karl K. Probst a n d his associates at Bantam actually "invented" the jeep
Nash received an order from the govern- American-Bantam designed a vehicle before Roos and Willys-Overland entered
ment for 11,000 of its " Q u a d " four-wheel- t h a t essentially met t h e Army's specifi- the picture. Others call Roos the "Father
drive vehicles, an order making N a s h cations, except for weight, in only five of the Jeep." In the final analysis, it seems,
t should weigh approximately 1,300 pounds, have

a carrying capacity of 600
pounds, sport an 80-inch
wheelbase, boast an engine
developing at least 85 footp o u n d s of torque a n d be
equipped with four-wheel
drive. Those in essence were
t h e specifications issued by
t h e U n i t e d States A r m y in
June 1940 for its "Truck,
General Purpose, 1/4-ton,
4x4." In short, t h e jeep!
14
"Old C r o w "
Cloud cover was thick as the P-51D Mustang escorted the B-17 bombers into
enemy territory. The pilot could barely see the ground below. Unexpectedly, the
clouds began to thin, revealing the enemy countryside ... an omen that the day's
mission would be a success.
Now, as we commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the United States' entry into
World War II, The Hamilton Collection presents "Old Crow," an exciting collector
plate featuring one of the greatest fighter planes of all time. Noted aviation artist
Raymond Waddey, in his first-ever collector plate premiere, enlisted the help of
fighter ace C.E. "Bud" Anderson ... the pilot of "Old Crow"... to verify the accuracy
of this premiere issue.
"Old Crow" introduces Great Fighter Planes of World War 11, a dramatic plate
collection featuring eight Raymond Waddey originals. Each issue will be limited
to a total of 14 firing days, hand-numbered on its reverse and accompanied by a
same-numbered Certificate of Authenticity.
As an owner of "Old Crow," you will have the right but never the obligation
to acquire each issue in this dynamic collection. The Hamilton Collection 100%
Buy-Back Guarantee allows you to return any plate within 30 days of receipt for
a prompt replacement or full refund.
Reservations will be considered in order of receiptsend in yours today!
1991 HC. All Rights Reserved.
Respond by: March 31, 1 9 9 2 n

Limit: Two plates per collector
Please accept my reservation for
(1 or 2) "Old Crow"
P-51D Mustang plate(s) at $29.50* (plus $2.68 shipping
and handling) each.
I need send no money now. On acceptance, 1 will be billed
$32.18 per plate, prior to shipment.
UJM1 QH JA
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Address
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Telephone (
Signature
CA and FL residents will be charged the appropriate stale sales
tax. All reservations must be signed and are subject to acceptance.
The Hamilton Collection

4810 Executive Park Ct., P.O. Box 4 4 0 5 1
(acksonville, FL 32231-4051
NO MILKRUN TODAY"
100% Archival Paper
g y
Henry Godines
IMAGE SIZE: 14w x 23"
Colonel John A. Murphy U S A F (Ret.) leading elements of Bombardment Group 306, 423rd Squadron over Ruhland, Germany Oct. 7, 1944, in his ship "Milkrun Special." In addition to heavy flak,
the "grim reaper" squadron experienced a close encounter of the Third Reich when Me-262 jet-propelled
fighter aircraft penetrated their formation.
EDITION: 950 Signed & Numbered Prints @ $85. 00 ea.
50 Artist Proofs Signed & Numbered @ $120. ea.
All Prints Co-Signed By John A. Murphy

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Frontline ttFLF A W13 - Two Japanese Pilots Running to Plane for the Attack (54mm). Less than 1000 of each
sefMetal figures exquisitely painted in toy soldier traditionmThis is one set in the Air War Series available
exclusively from TNC Enterprises (2 pes. plane/setting not included) Price $24.95
Shipping add $4. All foreign countries. Hawaii and Alaska, add $18 for shipping/handling-Visa/Mastercard
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Toy Soldier Catalog-Presenting hundreds of new boxed sets of collectable 54mm figures. Historical periods
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T N C E N T E R P R I S E S * 3 1 8 C h u r c h i l l C t . D e p t . W W E l i z a b e t h t o w n , K Y 42701
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n o b o d y can be singly credited with

inventing t h e jeep, a n d there are several
reasons for t h e similarities to be f o u n d
in t h e designs by t h e three companies.
First, all three were working by the same
Army specifications. Second, they shared
some c o m m o n partslike the transmission designed and supplied by Spicer
Manufacturing, another company t h a t
h a d advised t h e Army w h e n the specifications were being written. Finally,
because of t h e urgencies of the impending war, t h e Army gave Bantam's plans
to Willys and, in turn, Ford, with instructions to adopt all the proven features of
t h e vehicle unless they came up with a
decided improvement.
T h e Army's weight requirement of
1,300 pounds, subsequently raised to
1,600 a n d t h e n 2,160 pounds, was a
severe challenge for all three companies.
Willys-Overland went to an elaborate
weight reduction program that included
a tougher, b u t lighter alloy for t h e
frame; reduced gauge for t h e body sheet
metal; t h i n n e r paint; a n d even shorter
bolts. Finally, t h e A r m y upped t h e
curb weight to 2,600 pounds, partly
because of Roos' insistance that too
light a vehicle would compromise t h e
vehicle's structural integrity.
Ford, in t h e meantime, used many
parts from its production inventory, some
of which dated back to t h e Model A.
T h e 40-hp engine, for instance, was a
modified Fordson tractor engine.
T h e Ford prototype, in any case, was
delivered about a week after the deadline. A n d actually, t h e government h a d
to pressure Ford to even participate
in t h e jeep program, which was n o t
t h e case with American-Bantam a n d
Willys-Overland.
After some 8,000 miles of Army field
tests o n t h e three prototypes, the final
infantry board report stated t h a t the
Willys showed superior acceleration,
climbing a n d cross-country capability,
not only because of its powerful engine
b u t also because it had a heavier drivetrain and stronger frame a n d body. Even
so, all three companies each received
orders for 1,500 units t h a t were f u r t h e r
tested between late 1940 and early
1941some 40 million miles in the most
grueling environment the Army could
find. After that, not only did the WillysOverland model have t h e most satisfactory engine but W-O was also the lowest
bidder, a factor making t h e decision to
buy t h e next increment of 16,000 units
quite simple to make. (Most of t h e
Bantam-produced jeeps were shipped to
the Russians under the Lend-Lease program, mainly because their parts were
not totally interchangeable with t h e
m a s s - p r o d u c e d jeeps f r o m WillysOverland a n d Ford.) Un t i l the end of
World War II, American-Bantam pro-
W W I I ACES
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Each glossy photograph is individually autographed by the ace. The photographs are highly detailed, wartime
pictures of the pilot generally wearing flight gear in the cockpit or with his plane.
AMERICAN
GERMAN
Erich Hartmann
Bud Anderson
Gunther Rail
Adolf Galland
Walter Krupinski
ENGLISH
Paul Conger
Bob Goebel
John Mitchell
Goeffrey Page
Rex Barber
Bob DeHaven
Jim Goodson
Bruce Porter
Johnnie Johnson
Charlie Bond
J o e Foss
T e x Hill
Ed Rector
Jim Brooks
Hershel Green
T o m Hayes
M a n n y Segal
R o g e r C o n ant
Gabby Gabreski
Scott McCuskey
JAPANESE
R. T. Smith
Saburo Sakai
And many, many
more.
Send $3.00 for list and updates, which includes autographed books and limited edition aviation art catalog. Specializing in Robert Taylor art-both current and secondary market. We buy single prints or complete collections.
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T U M U L T IN T H E
C L O U D S , by J a m e s A.
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F I V E U P , by Laddie
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D I M S I E , by Donald
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THE LAST OF THE

K N I G H T S , by J a m e s A
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IN F U L L F L I G H T , by
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N I N E L I V E S , by
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FLIGHT T O FREED O M , by Michael

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TALE OF A GUINEA
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and wartime experiences.
TITLE
il T.E? BE 5
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S E A , by David R.
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20
duced trailers for jeeps; then the company folded.

After Pearl Harbor, war production
began at full throttle, and jeeps were no
exception. Since Willys-Overland was a
relatively small company, Ford also was
given contracts to build jeeps to the
Willys' blueprints to ensure the interchangeability of parts. Between 1941 and
1945, about 650,000 jeeps were produced
by the two manufacturers, with Willys
making 359,849 jeeps and Ford the rest.
While the Willys-Overland and Fordproduced jeeps were essentially identical,
there were some minor differences. T h e
first 25,000 featured the name "Willys"
or "Ford" on their tails. After that, Ford
put an "F" on bolt heads. Again there
is controversy as to why. O n e story is
that the bolt designations were there so
Ford personnel could determine which
parts were theirs and which were W-O's
when it came to doing warranty work.
A n o t h e r tale is that Henry Ford wanted
the Ford insignia and later the F-stamped
bolts to ensure that the Russians did not
claim the latest jeep as their own inventionas they had done with the original
Bantam jeeps they received.
Ford did influence the jeep's characteristic jeep grille design, which still today
is as instantly recognizable as the front
ends of any Mercedes-Benz, Rolls-Royce
or BMW. T h e slotted-grille motif first
appeared on the Ford design and was
adopted by Willys. By comparison, the
early Willys-Overland jeeps used a
round-bar grille.
T h e jeep's war exploits during World
War II, of course, could fill a book (and,
indeed, several such books have been
written). Suffice to say, during World War
II, the jeep was called u p o n to do an
uncountable number of tasks, from carrying VIPs to serving as a light attack
vehicle by adding a machine gun. As a
field ambulance, it could carry as many
as four stretcher cases, plus a medical
attendant. With railway wheels it could
pull a 25-ton train. Lightweight versions
were air-dropped with paratroopers. President Roosevelt, Prime Minister Churchill, General Eisenhower and General
MacArthur were frequently photographed
in jeeps (some of them given a bit of
American-style customizing).
Many jeeps, incidentally, were purchased for the the military by schools,
civic organizations or even private individuals. For every $900, often accumulated through savings stamp and b o n d
drives, one jeep could be bought and
sent overseas. A high school in Stockton, Calif., supplied a total of 275 jeeps
for American fighting forces. In return,
the donors would periodically receive
letters describing the exploits of their
particular jeep, sometimes even the terse
report that it had been lost in action.
Even though the jeep was military to

the core, it subsequently became a civilian vehicle with remarkable ease. T h e
last military jeep rolled off the WillysOverland assembly line in Toledo, Ohio,
in October 1945. But the jeep's life was
only really beginning. W h e n Ford
dropped out of the picture at war's end,
the "Jeep" became an exclusive WillysOverland trademark, and even before
the official end of the war, Willys was
turning out the CJ-2A, Universal Jeep.
T h e " C " stood for civilian and the "J"
for Jeep. T h e first CJ-2A was ready in
May, 1945, only 10 days after V-E Day.
The transition to civilian production was
easy for Willys-Overland, since the only
changes needed were minor mechanical
ones or cosmetic, such as a revised grille,
remounting of the headlamps, addition
of a tailgate and the return of the Willys
name to the front and rear.
These CJs, plus thousands of warsurplus jeeps, were soon working on
farms, towing aircraft at airports, mowing
golf courses, herding cattle, plus many
more chores. T h e jeep's capabilities were
soon seen by the hunter and fisherman
the seeds for today's popular sportsutility vehicles were sown.
Willys-Overland was able to capitalize on the fame. Every GI had ridden
in one; almost every civilian had at
least seen one. "Jeep" was a household
word, and the vehicle was a proven product. W h e n in 1946, Willys produced
the auto industry's first all-steel station
wagon, its jeep heritage was readily recognized. Likewise the design was retained
on the W-O pickups and panel trucks
that appeared in 1947, as well as the
Jeepster two-door phaeton that was
offered after 1949. Except for the Willys
Aero sedans, all Willys-Overland
products had the jeep look. This product
identity was retained through a succession of new ownersHenry J. Kaiser
(1953), American Motors (1970) and
Chrysler (1988). T h e design was also
faithfully reproduced in several countriesfor example, by Hotchkiss in
France and by Mitsubishi in Japan.
That is not to say that the jeep did not
change to keep up with the times. In
1951, the military version was updated
and designated the M38A1, a model that
was in production until 1971. Like its
ancestors, the M38A1 earned many more
combat ribbons in Korea and Vietnam.
The most noticeable changes in the
M38A1 were the more rounded fenders
and body contours.
Few pieces of military hardware have
had the staying power of the original
jeep. Its successors, like the more recent
M151 and "humvees," were somewhat
less successful and, let's face it, will never
have quite the same "character" of the
lovable jeep!
Precision-engineered model of
Shoo Shoo Baby is shown smaller
than actual size of 9%" (23.81cm)
in length. Wngspan of 12%"
(32.70 cm). Scale 1:96.
B-17 "Flying Fortress." It was the very

jl backbone of the Allied aerial offensive
during World War II. Now, to commemorate
the 50th anniversary of World War II, the
Air Force Museum Foundation authorizes
the authentic re-creation of a rare surviving
B-17G that actually saw combat. It's called
Shoo Shoo Baby, now on permanent display
at the U.S. Air Force Museum.
Here is a remarkable die-cast model of
the original, precision engineered of 111
components with a vast array of operating
features. The propellers actually spin. The
landing gear is retractable. The bomb bay
doors open and close.
Shoo Shoo Baby also has astonishing
detail. With a removable canopy that
reveals the interior of the plane. Even
the nose art re-creates the original's.
The price, just $195. A customdesigned display stand is included at no
additional charge. Available only from
Franklin Mint Precision Models.
B-17G "FLYING
FORTRESS"
On the 50th Anniversary

of World War II,
the Air Force Museum Foundation
Presents Its First Official
Die-Cast Re-creation of
the B-17G "Flying Fortress."
Even the nose art captures the authentic look

of the original.
PLEASE MAIL BY MARCH 31,1992.
Franklin Mint Precision Models
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reproduction of Shoo Shoo Baby, a rare surviving B-17G that actually saw combat during
WW II. My imported model will arrive with its
own display stand at no additional cost.
I need SEND NO MONEY NOW. I will be
billed for a deposit of $39? when my model is
ready to be sent to me and, after shipment, for
the balance in 4 equal monthly installments
Of $ 3 9 *
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be removed from its
handsome display s t a n d .
-plus my state sales tax and

a one-time charge of S3, for shipping and handling.
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within 30 days of your receipt of that
purchase for replacement, credit or refund.
ADDRESS
This aircraft was designed and engineered from the actual
B-17G "Flying Fortress," nicknamed Shoo Shoo Baby. It has
not been authorized or endorsed by any branch of the United
States Military or its manufacturer.
CITY
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APT. NO. _
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Franklin Mint Precision Models. Simply Miles Ahead.
To Germany,
Alone
Men, not robots, flew the dangerous
bombing strikes against the e n e m y including the first such missions
far inside Germany.
By Dan
Bauer
t 3:45 a.m. o n March 4, 1943, C a p t a i n George Birdsong

MW was awakened by a G r o u p corporal w h o informed him
^ ^ that briefing would begin at 5 a.m. Rubbing his eyes,
which t h e corporal's flashlight had temporarily blinded, Birdsong slowly struggled out of t h e warm bed to face the cold
English morning. He stumbled over to the wash basin, turned
o n a small light a n d doused his face with cold water. T h e
shock was just what he needed to get going.
Birdsong, a veteran pilot, attached a sheathed hunting knife
just above his left ankle. H e t h e n strapped a holstered Colt
.45 automatic pistol u n d e r his left arm. Making sure he had
n o personal articles in his pockets, Birdsong collected two
plain handkerchiefs a n d an extra clip of a m m u ni t i o n . He
checked to see if his dog tags were around his neck. Now completely dressed, Birdsong quietly walked into the black night.
Bob Abb, bombardier, was waiting for Birdsong outside the
front door. Using a diffused-lens flashlight to check for landmarks a n d obstacles, A b b a n d Birdsong wended their way
along a blacked-out route, crossing t h e soccer field in front
of the officers' mess.
After a breakfast there, Birdsong hurried over to t h e 91st
Bomb Group's briefing room to get a report on his plane's
readiness a n d to check on his crew's status. G e n e Remmell,
Birdsong's flight engineer, said the Delta Rebel II was ready
to go, b u t radio operator "B-Z" Byrd was down with the flu
and would not make the mission. Birdsong cursed softly under
his breathhe hated crew substitutions.
T h e n , just before roll call, t h e assistant operations officer
approached Birdsong with two strangers in tow. Birdsong was
informed that his crew h a d been selected to give t h e m "newcomer rides." T h e two m e n were from one of t h e recently
22
Captain Allen V. Martini and his "cocktail kids" gather

before their B-17F of the 364th Squadron, 305th Bomb
Group. The 305th was one of four groups sent to attack
Hamm on March 4, 1943, but dropped out due to poor
visibility and attacked Rotterdam instead.
23
Two B-17Fs of the 322nd Squadron, 91st Bomb Group, depart Bassingbourne to violate Festung Europa. Prior to March 4,
1943, the Eighth Air Force had struck at German coastal cities but had never before made a daylight raid into the hinterland.
arrived b o m b groups a n d would take t h e place of t h e regular
copilot, G. Joseph Reynolds, and bombardier Abb.
T h e two crew substitutions and the illness of radio operator
Byrd made Birdsong uneasy. A n y unnecessary substitutions
for experienced crew members was like playing Russian roulette.
T h e new copilot informed Birdsong that he was a first pilot,
and that he and his bombardier were fully trained a n d
represented o n e of t h e best crews in their group. T h e copilot
asked Birdsong how m u c h time he had in B-17s and was
impressed w h e n Birdsong answered, "Twelve combat trips."
T h e conversation between Birdsong a n d his replacement
copilot ended as t h e briefing began. T h e r e were loud gasps
from all t h e assembled crews when t h e target map was unveiled. T h e string led across t h e map to a target deep inside
Germany, to a city called H a m m . For this stage of World War
II, it would be a very deep daylight penetration of Germany.
H a m m was adjacent to the Ruhr Valley, famous as a vast
steel- a n d arms-producing industrial area but well-known to
b o m b e r crews as a site of concentrated flak batteries. T h e
railroad marshaling yards at nearby H a m m were large a n d
important because of the eastbound traffic from the Ruhr. T h e
yard's capacity was 10,000 cars in 24 hours, as compared to the
3,000-car capacity of Germany's medium-size marshaling yards.
As Birdsong looked at the wall map, he recalled the lines
of a Royal Air Force (RAF) song he h a d heard recently: "You
can send me twice a day,/ to the Pas de Calais,/ But don't send
me to t h e R u h r , / Send me to Paris or a target in France,/ A n y
old place where I might have a chance." Birdsong thought:
"Today, we are going to see why those lyrics were written."
" S u n s h i n e " Atwell, t h e 91st Group's weather officer, told
t h e men that t h e weather would be passable for takeoff and
assembly, but it would be deteriorating over the English C h a n nel. O n c e t h e crews flew across the D u t c h coast, t h e weather
24
should improve. Target visibility should be excellent, briefed

Atwell, due to a large high-pressure center over mid-Germany.
Next, an intelligence officer briefed the men o n what opposition they could expecta grim recitation predicting large concentrations of flak and fighters. W h e n the briefing officer
warned that more t h a n 200 enemy fighters could be encountered, a sobering silence settled over t h e room.
T h e r e was never any attempt to belittle t h e adversary, n o
pretending t h a t t h e G e r m a n s were not good. T h e pilots a n d
aircrews knew that they would face resourceful, determined,
courageous G e r m a n s flying superb, heavily armed fighters.
O n o n e occasion, a misguided company back in America
had put out an advertisement showing an inane-looking
b o m b e r pilot grinning cheerfully a n d demanding, "Who's
afraid of t h e new Focke-Wulf?" A member of t h e 91st had
pinned the advertisement o n t h e group bulletin board with
a laconic note u n d e r n e a t h . "Sign here," the note said. Every
combat officer in t h e group signed.
After the briefing, Birdsong took a jeep ride with t h e
replacement copilot to t h e off-base revetment area where t h e
squadron aircraft were parked. Birdsong a n d t h e copilot
climbed out by t h e side of Delta Rebel II.
S o o n the assistant operations officer arrived with a substitute radio operator and told Birdsong that a spare aircraft
would be available t h a t day in case of any problems with previously assigned bombers. T h e spare B-17 was "Pappy" Rand's
brand-new Stormy Weather, which had yet to be flown in
combat. Pappy a n d his crew were away from t h e station on
a 48-hour pass. Stormy Weather would be parked next to t h e
control tower if needed.
In time, all crews were ready, aboard their Flying Forts. T h e
"start engines" signal was received, and the big, heavily loaded
B-17s began to maneuver to t h e takeoff position, the morning
Bombs fall on the rail marshaling yards at Hamm during one of 28 raids made against the city by the Royal Air Force in 1940.
By 1943, Hamm and the adjacent Ruhr Valley were heavily defended by anti-aircraft guns and fighter aircraft.
air throbbing with the sound of their powerful Wright
Cyclone engines.
Soon after takeoff the Delta Rebel II experienced a power failure in No. 3 engine. With a feathered engine, Birdsong knew,
t h e Rebel would be unable to keep up with t h e group. He
quickly decided to land and transfer to the spare Stormy Weather.
T h e ground crew was waiting and helped the crew of the Delta
Rebel transfer gear a n d a m m u n i t i o n over to t h e spare plane.
S o o n Stormy Weather was airborne in Rebel's place a n d flying
at top speed to overtake t h e rest of the 91st Bomb Group.
T h e 91st was leading the bomber formation, with three more
groups, the 303rd, 305th a n d 306th, following behind. Birdsong spotted t h e rear group and, using maximum power,
moved his new B-17 from group to group until he fell into
a "Tail-end Charlie" position with his own 91st. Two of t h e
aircraft that began the mission with the 91st h a d aborted by
nowBirdsong counted 16 planes, including Stormy Weather,
in t h e formation.
Birdsong could have flown back to t h e field after losing an
engine in the Delta Rebel II. He could have sat out the H a m m
mission, but it was typical of him to transfer to another plane
a n d continue on. By his own explanation: "Anybody with
wings on his chest who shied away from flying sorties, misrepresented, a n d were a disgrace to, t h e professional corps.
Hell, we were all scared, b u t pride, peer pressure, and maybe
a little patriotism, kept the 'regulars' going. Some figured they
owed the government something for making it possible to get
those wings a n d bars."
Bob Abb, w h o flew many missions with Birdsong as bombardier of the Delta Rebel II, admired a n d respected his first
pilot: "George was typical of Mississippi. He had a drawl t h a t
made Texans think he was a foreigner. His home was in Clarksdale, Mississippi, a n d he never let anyone forget it. His build
was that of a halfback on a varsity ball team. His disposition

was that of a St. Bernardcool, wonderful, calm and happy.
H e was always happy a n d easygoing. O n c e in a combat zone,
he became methodical to perfection."
Leading the 91st Bomb G r o u p to H a m m was a 22-year-old
squadron c o m m a n d e r named Paul Fishburne. He had grown
up in Montgomery, Ala., a n d acquired the flying bug early
in life: "Maxwell Field was in Montgomery. I knew when I
was 13 or 14 what I wanted to doI used to watch C a p t a i n
Claire Chennault and his Flying Trapeze practice in their P-12s
at Maxwell. I got t h r o u g h two years at A u b u r n a n d t h e n
applied for b o t h t h e A r m y and Navy flying schools. T h e
A r m y came through first, and I graduated from flying school
o n May 29, 1941."
For H a m m , Fishburne was in t h e right-hand seat of a B-17
n a m e d Chief's Fly. He recalls his role as leader of t h e mission:
"At that time squadron or group commanders didn't have
their own planethey always took a lead crew and ran things
from there. I was in the copilot's seat. My job was one of trying
to control things, as well as driving the airplane."
As the B-17s climbed, the weather began to deteriorate. "We
climbed through a whole b u n c h of overcast," adds Fishburne.
William Beasley, w h o was flying the B-17F Motsie, agrees. "At
altitude," he says, "we got into a mistit was not thick enough
for instrument conditions, b u t you couldn't see more t h a n
a quarter of a mile. We could see our own group all right,
and we continued on our course."
As the 91st broke out of t h e mist at 22,000 feet, t h e B-17
crews found they were crossing the German border. A n d none
of the other three groups was in sight. "We were supposed
to stay roughly in contact," recalls Fishburne, "but we got
separated in the weather and we had radio silence, and I didn't
know what the other three groups were doing." Two of the
25
G e r m a n s had. I can remember a group

of Ju-88s pulling up ahead and turning
into us head-on, and suddenly we could
see streamers coming toward us, apparently from some kind of rocket, b u t we
avoided t h e m through evasive action. I
lost two engines, which I assumed were
knocked out by the fighter attacks, b u t
when I got back I f o u n d o u t that b o t h
my inboard engines h a d been hit by
,50-caliber shells from t h e tail gunner of
the lead ship. We had been bobbing up
and down through his gunfire."
For more t h a n an h o u r as they withdrew from the target, t h e B-17s of the
91st G r o u p were subjected to relentless German fighter attacks pressed home
with great daring. " T h e G e r m a n fighters
came in closer t h a n I h a d ever seen
'em in t h e movies," observed Sergeant
A r t h u r Cressman, a gunner. "I could
almost have shaken h a n d s with o n e of
those fellows."
Luckily, t h e attacks were uncoordinated. H a d t h e G e r m a n s coordinated
their attacks, as they learned to do later
in t h e war, it is likely that all 16 of t h e
B-l 7s t h a t made the attack on H a m m
would have been shot down.
Captain "Tex" McCrary, on board the
B-17 Invasion II, was there to shoot newsreel photographyhis mission was to get
good pictures of G e r m a n fighter attacks.
M c C r a r y was standing quietly in t h e
radio hatch when suddenly "t he radio
gunner landed against my back, knockB-l 7Fs drop their bombs through a cloud bank to hit Emden, Germany, on January
ing me through the passageway, down
1944 Virtually unopposed over Hamm, the 91st flew into trouble on the way home.
onto t h e curved top of the revolving ball
turret. My foot caught in t h e turret gears. A little panicky,
other groups, discouraged by t h e soupy weather, b o m b e d t h e
I tried to yank it loose. But looking at my hands, I saw blood
shipyards at Rotterdam, a n d one group returned to base.
washing d o w n t h e rubber-matted floor a n d curling over my
A s t h e 91st crossed t h e G e r m a n border all by itself, Fishfingers. A n d t h e n I looked beyond my hands, slowly. C r u m b u r n e had to make a final decisioncontinue o n to target or
pled on the floor was the radio gunnerthe strong-legged boy
not? "Where in t h e hell were t h e other groups?" he recalls
w h o h a d just snapped o n my oxygen mask for me not 10
asking himself. "Should we go on? T h e weather was getting
seconds ago. I saw his face. It was twisted in pain. T h e red
better now. I asked t h e tail gunner how many ships we had.
t h a t was sogging my gloves a n d flying boots was burbling out
'Sixteen, sir.' Sixteen Fortsagainst the best defenses Germany
of a w o u n d in his back. A slug h a d crashed d o w n through
had to offer. Should I risk those 160 boys' lives to b o m b
the b o m b bays a n d struck him squarely."
Hamm? It was an important target, b u t the other groups had
After this incident M c C r a r y would have little time for
apparently gone to attack an alternate. N o t h i n g would be said
if I t u r n e d back. We went on."
As the 91st continued on alone toward the target, t h e
G e r m a n fighter controllers somewhere below apparently were
confused by t h e various b o m b e r trails, for t h e first G e r m a n
fighter planes didn't appear until the B-17s were only a halfh o u r from t h e objective.
Neither t h e appearance of t h e Luftwaffe nor a heavy flak
barrage disrupted an excellent b o m b r u n that planted t h e
b o m b s of t h e 91st right o n t h e rail yards. O n c e t h e b o m b e r s
t u r n e d for home, t h o u g h , t h e G e r m a n defense system was
well-alertedfighter opposition became intense.
William Beasley of Motsie remembers the heavy fighter opposition after H a m m all too well. "Apparently," he recalls, "we
had gotten into the jet stream, and if I remember correctly we
were making a ground speed of about 90 m p h fighting against
the jet stream. There was a time w h e n my copilot was flying
when I looked from my left on around to the front and around
to t h e right a n d was just counting fighter aircraft in groups of
five or six, a n d I counted in the neighborhood of 65 fighters.
We had night fighters on us and every other kind of fighter the
26
photography. He would spend t h e rest of his time aboard

Invasion II m a n n i n g the w o u n d e d radio operator's machine
gun. (McCrary would survive the H a m m mission a n d coa u t h o r with David Scherman a book, entitled First of Many,
dealing with t h e early days of t h e Eighth Air Force.)
George Birdsong's Stormy Weather, meanwhile, had taken
hits from 20mm shells just before reaching the IP (initial point)
of t h e b o m b r u n . Birdsong h a d to feather his No. 3's prop.
" T h e fighters were attacking with determination bordering
o n desperation," recalls Birdsong. "We had never been u n d e r
such a siege. Some of t h e fighters seemed like m a d dogs as
they recklessly hurled themselves at our formation."
Birdsong had to take positive action o n two occasions to
avoid being rammed by G e r m a n fighters. A n d it became
difficult to maintain close formation because of the evasive
action being taken by the individual B-17s. T h e crews seemed
to realize that their chances of returning h o m e depended on
using every trick possible.
Suddenly Birdsong felt t h e plane shudder. "We were hit
again and hard." A c a n n o n shell fired from a Fw-190, head-on,
m a n fighters started any attacks from the 10- to 2-o'clock sechad penetrated t h e windshield on the copilot's side. Birdsong
tor, "I would t u r n directly into them, doing my damnest to
felt a sharp pain in his face a n d left eye: "A quick glance over
ram them. O n other attacks, I'd try to do something else unat the copilot, t h e left side of his face was laid open like it
predictable. Now they were the ones to blink, duck and dodge."
had been hit with an axe. . . .Number Two engine was fast
losing power a n d I tried to feather it, b u t n o luck. Oil was
Stormy Weather took more hits in t h e next 20 minutes, b u t
spewing over the wing. Frantic call from the bombardier saying
n o t h i n g vital. As t h e N o r t h Sea came into view, there was
the navigator h a d a head w o u n d . Waist gunner also had a
just one G e r m a n plane left, flying parallel to Birdsong's right,
bad leg w o u n d o n t h e inside of the thigh.
just out of gun range. T h e Bf-110 skidded closer, and Birdsong
could see t h e pilot as he pulled forward. "He carefully gave
"I realized I could not see out of my left eye. Fragments
us a good once-over. T h e n he slowly waggled his wings, gave
in face and oxygen mask. Copilot slipped from his seat belt
us a salute, and channeled to the right, back to land."
d o w n out of his seat, jamming control column a n d rudder
pedals. . . .The copilot passed out a n d was a limp rag lying on
Finally alone, Birdsong dropped t h e B-17 down to just over
the control column. Remmell [flight engineer] came to the resthe green waves of t h e N o r t h Sea and pointed t h e nose of
cue, a n d managed to pull him free, and the R O [radio operator]
t h e plane for home.
helped get him back to t h e radio room."
Looking ahead, Birdsong saw they
were a good 400 yards b e h i n d t h e group.
He p u t the two good engines o n maxim u m power, b u t still Stormy c o n t i n u e d
to drop back. Remmell returned and tied
Some m o n t h s later, Target Germany,
O n March 4, 1943, 71 B-17s from
a compress bandage over Birdsong's eye.
four U.S. b o m b groups based in Eng- an official publication of t h e Eighth
U p ahead, Birdsong noticed two other
land took off into a gray dawn in o n e Air Force, stated that the H a m m misstraggling B-17s. "I wagged my wings for
of t h e first deep-penetration attacks sion, flown without fighter escort or
t h e m to close in. T h e y did, a n d we h a d
in daylight by t h e Eighth Air Force supporting fire from other b o m b
ourselves a three-ship formation for
groups, h a d convinced do u b t i n g offiagainst targets in Germany.
mutual support. It was all we had, for the
T h e Flying Fortress crews had been cials in Washington, D.C.
group was just tiny specks in front."
T h e prior belief had been that in
briefed t o b o m b t h e H a m m rail marT h e B-17 on Birdsong's right was Stupn
a theater as strongly defended as the
shaling yards, located just outside of
Takit, piloted by "Charlie" McCarthy,
t h e Ruhr Valley a n d 160 miles inside skies of G e r m a n y a n d in a climate
a n d o n the left was Hells Angels, piloted
where weather conditions provided so
t h e outer ring of G e r m a n defenses.
by "Happy" Felton of the 322nd SquadHeavy overcast a n d cloud for- many obstacles, precision, high-altiron. Both planes were shot up, with
mations forced two of t h e groups tude bombing in daylight was unsound
several engines out.
to t u r n south a n d b o m b Rotter- a n d would lead to large losses.
dam, a last-resort target. T h e third
T h e successful b o m b i n g of H a m m
Suddenly from M c C a r t h y ' s 3-o'clock
group returned to its base with bomb- gave a much-needed morale boost to
position, an Fw-190 came boring in,
loads intact.
t h e promoters of daylight bombing.
machine guns and c a n n o n blazing.
M c C a r t h y ' s B-17 took hits all over a n d
Above t h e overcast, 16 B-17Fs of However, t h e strike against H a m m
disappeared in one giant ball of fire.
t h e 91st B o m b G r o u p flew alone to was not achieved without loss. Four
t h e target, overcoming heavy flak and Flying Fortresses failed to return, and
At almost t h e same instant, Felton's
t h e attacks of an estimated 150 Ger- practically all t h e other B-17s making
B-17 took hits from a Messerschmitt
m a n fighters. Smoke partially ob- t h e attack suffered damage.
Bf-110. Birdsong watched helplessly as
scured t h e target, but t h e objective
T h e b o t t o m line is: n o mission of
" h e just pulled right u p and rolled right
was b o m b e d in accordance with t h e the Eighth Air Force, escorted or
over, almost o n top of us a n d went
briefed instructions.
not, was ever beaten back by G e r m a n
straight down, spinning slowly."
Birdsong took a quick appraisal of t h e
For its determination a n d valor in flak or fighters. T h e attack against
nasty situation and figured there were at
attacking, alone, such a heavily H a m m by t h e 91st Bomb G r o u p was
least 20 fighters getting ready to attack.
defended target, the 91st Bomb Group a part of that proud tradition, even
if still a n d forever k n o w n a m o n g t h e
Realizing t h e odds were hopeless where
was awarded t h e first Presidential
they were, Birdsong called t h e crew o n
Citation to be given to a unit belong- members of t h e 91st as simply "the
H a m m Massacre."
t h e intercom and said, "Hold on, everying to the Eighth Air Force.
body, we're going for the deck!"
Stormy Weather was at about 20,000 feet
w h e n Birdsong began t h e dive. He
watched as t h e airspeed indicator went
past 310 m p h , t h e m a x i m u m speed the
B-17 was supposed to be flown. Finally,
at 350 m p h , Birdsong eased back on the
stick a n d leveled off just a few feet above
t h e ground.
At such a low level, t h e fighters were
hampered in their attacks. They could
n o t roll in a n d dive away. Even so, t h e
tail gunner reported to Birdsong that
most of the fighters had followed the wild
dive to t h e deck.
With only two good engines, the B-17's
Chow Hound, a 91st Bomb Group B-17G with additional machine guns in a chin
airspeed h a d dwindled to 115 m p h .
Fighting to survive, Birdsong began to
turret, in 1944- The group received a Presidential Unit Citation in 1947.
use desperation tactics. W h e n t h e Ger-
Fads M M 4 tough Mission
27
completely to t h e floor, m e a n t n o pressure. T h e main brakes

were out! Tried emergency brakes, but t h a t system was also
inoperative. . . try a ground loop before we go off the e n d of
t h e pavement.
" H a n g on! T h e end of t h e runway passed b e n e a t h us, a n d
we cut through the perimeter fencing, rolled barbed wire in
large coils, like it was a plate of spaghetti. We were really
moving! Rolled across t h e main road which bordered t h e
station, bounced through a large ditch, and just squeezed
through two telephone poles. Was careening across a Brusselssprouts field w h e n I saw a large haystack in f r o n t . . . had to
ground-loop it now! We made t h e 180-degree t u r n in just a
few seconds, a n d I quickly shut down b o t h engines."
March 4, I943, was just the beginning for Hamm. Here, a

soldier of the Ninth Army's 95th Infantry Division looks over
what was left of it on April 18, 1945.
As Stormy Weather skimmed over the waves, the radio operator, w h o had been attending to the wounded copilot, came
back on t h e intercom a n d asked Birdsong what he wanted
to d o a b o u t t h e bombs.
"Bombs! W h a t bombs?" t h o u g h t Birdsong. It had been
standard operating procedure for B-Z Byrd, t h e regular radio
operator, to notify t h e crew w h e n t h e b o m b s left t h e b o m b
bay, b u t B-Z was back in Bassingbourn, England, with t h e
flu. " H a d t h e bombardier actuated t h e manual release, standard operating procedure after electrical release?"
T h e bombardier told Birdsong t h a t he h a d forgotten to
actuate the manual release. "This was his first mission," recalls
Birdsong, "and he was green as grass. I didn't blame him as
m u c h as t h e p h o n y crew-substitution system."
A decision h a d to be made about the bombs. Only two
of Stormy Weather's engines were running, and they had been
going full speed for more t h a n an hour. T h e bombs they were
carrying were RDX bombs, which were very sensitive. Usually,
crews h a d to climb to at least 4,500 feet to drop t h e m to be
sure the plane wouldn't receive structural damage in case t h e
bombs exploded. Standard bombs could be salvoed at a much
lower altitude with little risk of detonation.
Birdsong knew there was n o way his crippled B-17 could
climb to 4,500 feet, so he decided to bring t h e bombs h o m e
a n d attempt to land safely with them.
T h e control tower personnel at Bassingbourn were expecting Birdsong as he neared t h e field. Setting up a straight-in
approach, Birdsong dropped landing gear a n d began letting
d o w n for t h e landing: "We floated a bit d o w n t h e runway
before I could get Stormy to accept t h e ground, a n d got
on the brakeslightly to get a feel, for steering control.
There was n o feel! Pumped brakes. But b o t h toe pedals,
28
As Stormy Weatherer ground-looped to a halt amid the Brussels sprouts, the No. 3 engine blazed up. While t h e crewmen
were evacuating the wounded, the trucks came racing up, and
fire crews began spraying volumes of Foamite o n the flames.
Later, Birdsong looked over t h e damaged B-17. H e f o u n d
more t h a n 20 gaping holes made by enemy c a n n o n shells and
h u n d r e d s of smaller holes made by shrapnel and bullets.
" W h a t an airplane!" he t h o u g h t .
Invasion II, with photographer Tex M c C r a r y aboard, had
landed earlier. " T h e medics raced out to our bomber from the
ambulance," wrote McCrary. "Men swarmed inside. O u r gunner
was stretchered out through the side entry, as gently as men who
admire courage can lift a mortally wounded boy. He died a few
minutes later. H e never h a d a chance. His spine was severed."
Birdsong was rushed to t h e hospital. His eye was saved,
a n d he went o n to finish his tour of 25 missions. He would
fly combat missions again in V i e t n a m , logging 212, primarily
in t h e A-l Skyraider, a fighter-bomber.
After the H a m m mission, t h e gunners of t h e 91st would
claim they destroyed 13 G e r m a n fighters, b u t the cost was
high, with four bombers lost, one damaged beyond repair and
some damage to all t h e rest. All told, 33 m e n were missing,
o n e was k n o w n dead a n d five more seriously wounded.
A l t h o u g h other missions a n d dangers would soon follow,
t h e m e n of t h e 91st would never forget their first foray to the
Ruhr. "A bunch of us used to kid each other," remembers flight
engineer G e n e Remmell. " W h e n we were going to breakfast
early in the morning before a mission, we used to say, 'Would
you like some Hamm for breakfast?' A n d of course the answer
was definitely a big, 'Hell N o ! ' "
T h e r e was talk of court-martialing Paul Fishburne because
he had led the 91st alone to H a m m . "He was literally demoted
after the mission," Bill Beasley says.
O n c e the strike photos came back, however, all talk of a
court-martial for Fishburne ended. In April 1943, in fact, Paul
Fishburne received t h e Distinguished Flying Cross for his
leadership on the H a m m mission. Furthermore, the 91st would
receive a Presidential U n i t Citation for the courage its crews
displayed in flying unescorted to H a m m . But t h a t award was
not made until 1947some say a reflection of c om m a n d fears
t h a t if the heroics of such an action were overemphasized,
other formations of inadequate strength might rashly attack
targets with disastrous results.
In May 1987, George Birdsong returned to t h e wartime
h o m e of the 91st Bomb Group, Air Station 121, Bassingbourn,
England. He journeyed down to the end of a long runway,
d o w n to the e n d of t h e field where Stormy Weather h a d come
to a stop that day long ago. H e looked ar o u n d a n d noticed
"t he d a m n Brussels sprouts are still there."
School administrator Dan Bauer writes from Monroe, Wis. He
has been interviewing WWII aircrew personnel for years as part
of a now extensive oral history collection. Related books: Chick's
Crew, by Ben Smith, Jr. (Rose Printing Co., P.O. Box 5078, Tallahassee, FL 32301); T h e Mighty Eighth, by Roger Freeman; and
the aforementioned First of Many, by McCrary and Scherman.
50th Anniversary of the Attack on Pearl Harbor1
To Benefit FRA Branch 79

LOYALTY
TABLE OF LOSSES
07 DECEMBER 1941
CASUALTIES
Killed
Wounded
SHIPS
Sunk/Beached
Damaged
8
13
AIRCRAFT
Destroyed
Damaged
"I fear we have only awakened a sleeping

giant and filled him with a terrible resolve!"
Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto
Chief of Japanese Combined Fleet
Pearl Harbor, the resting place of heroes. Now, in this 50th commemorative year, you can remember places and friends of yesteryear with your own,
"50th Anniversary of the Attack on Pearl Harbor" Limited Edition Collectors Stein.
Remember your brave friends and relatives who made the ultimate sacrifice with the first stein ever produced for any Fleet Reserve Association branch.
This beautiful stein was produced by CUI, Inc., the leading designer and manufacturer of collectible steins in America, featuring original art, Arizona's Last
Portrait, from renowned naval artist Tom Freeman.
Made of pure, unblemished, white porcelain, the "50th Anniversary of the Attack on Pearl Harbor" limited edition collectors stein stands a full 71/2" tall.
It features a solid pewter and ceramic lid emblazoned with the proud logo of the Fleet Reserve Association.
Commissioned to directly benefit Chattahoochee Valley FRA Branch 79, this beautiful collectors stein has been restricted to a limited edition firing of
only 6,950 pieces. Each stein bears the misty memories of the USS Arizona as it appeared in a spectacular run for the ocean before that fateful day.
Value priced at only $49.95 (plus shipping), you may order your collectors stein today! Simply complete the order coupon below, or for faster service, you
may call our toll free number, 1 -800-457-9700. Your satisfaction is guaranteed!
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this announcement. I understand that if I am not completely satisfied, I
may return the stein within 30 days for prompt replacement or refund.
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Atlantic
Turkey
Shoot
Fifty years ago, sinkings of Allied ships
by German U-boats reached a critical
high in March, with 48 (274,295 tons)
sunk in American coastal waters.
By James T.
Cheatham
our m o n t h s after Pearl Harbor,

^ ^ it was the Germans, n o t the
M Japanese, who were carrying the
war to t h e U n i t e d States.
A t a conservative estimate, from
January 1942 to t h e end of April
1942, more t h a n 200 ships, totaling
1,150,675 tons, were destroyed on
t h e eastern seaboard (50 of those
alone off the N o r t h Carolina coast). T h e villain this time was
the G e r m a n U-boat.
After U-124 sank nine U.S. ships off t h e N o r t h Carolina
coast, the U-boat's commander, Jochen M o h r , made a poetic
war report t h a t told of his success: " T h e new m o o n is black
as i n k . / O f f Hatteras the tankers sink./While sadly Roosevelt
c o u n t s t h e score/Some fifty t h o u s a n d tonsBy Mohr."
During these m o n t h s of G e r m a n success, only o n e U-boat
was lost: U-85 was sunk by the destroyer Roper after a determined chase south of Norfolk, Va., o n March 29, 1942.
T h e G e r m a n submarine skippers borrowed American folk
terminology w h e n they called these easy pickings in t h e
western Atlantic "t he American turkey shoot."
T h e war came quickly and disastrously to the whole eastern
seaboard of t h e U n i t e d States. Admiral Karl Dnitz, head of
WW
501
30
German artist Claus Bergen depicts another success for the

Kriegsmarine as A U-boat Returns from a Mission. At the
end of March 1942, five U-boat crews were returning to their
bases with glowing reports of the easiest pickings since 1940.
They had been along the American east coast, where they had
found the anti-submarine measures to be decidedly deficient.
31
Buarque
Corrolla
Ji&A-
* Currituck Beach
Byron D. Benson
JUS**
ATLANTIC
OCEAN
Norvana
Kitty Hawk
Kill Devil Hills
U-85
Manteo
Zane Orey
NORTH
CAROLINA
J K & Dionysus
Rodathe
Marore
J&-
Ciltvaira
Jl^**
jfcka
City ot Atlanta
of?
Hatteras
Unis
Ocracoke
*
Australia
Keshena
JCA- Empire Gem
J K & l
British Splendor
F.W. Abrams
.. . .
Clark
Proteus
Malchace
JH&L
Manuela
y p j ^ USS Tarpon
Graveyard ot the
Atlantic
-*-*
Wrecks
TOP: By the end of April 1942, the coast of North Carolina

had become a graveyard for merchant ships, for which the
Germans paid with the sole loss of U-85, sunk off Nags
Head on April 14 ABOVE: Admiral Karl Donitz inspects
his "Gray Wolves." Donitz believed that 12 U-boats
would paralyze American shipping completely, but Hitler
would only authorize half that number.
32
G e r m a n submarine operations, h a d long realized t h e Uni t e d

States was not prepared to combat the U-boat a n d seized his
opportunity to strike within one m o n t h of Pearl Harbor.
This was a welcome respite for the Germans from submarine
warfare in the eastern Atlantic, since the British had, through
t h e convoy system, air attacks, radar and A S D I C (sonar)
advances, begun to make inroads against the U-boats.
In March 1941, Germany had lost three of its top U-boat
aces, Giinther Prien, Joachim Schepke and O t t o Kretschmer.
In t h e fall and winter of 1941, a t u r n i n g point was becoming
apparent in all the theaters of t h e war. Before Moscow, t h e
troops of the Wehrmachtonly a few weeks after the triumphant German encirclement at Kievwere brought to a standstill for t h e first time. In N o r t h Africa t h e British went o n
t h e offensive. T h e Un i t e d States during this time was providing supplies for t h e Soviet U n i o n a n d England but was
not at war.
But while it quickly assembled fighting forces in the Pacific
a n d in Europe after Pearl Harbor, t h e U n i t e d States failed to
adequately protect its own eastern coastal waters.
As early as September 19, 1941, Donitz had anticipated the
possibility of war with the United States and had recommended
that such a war begin with what he called Paukenschlag ("roll
of t h e drums"). W h e n war was declared o n December 11,
Donitz urged Adolf Hitler to authorize the dispatch of 12
U-boats to the American coast, six of which should be t h e
new, long-range Type IXC, capable of operating for up to three
weeks in enemy waters. Fortunately for t h e Americans, t h e
Fiihrer would commit only six U-boatsnone of t h e m Type
IXCsto the American shipping lanes. These commenced
operations o n January 12, 1942.
W h e n the G e r m a n s arrived off t h e east coast, they saw
sleepy little fishing villages and resort towns with lights blazing. Even the buoys and lighthouses were in full operation,
as well as radio stations to provide navigational assistance.
Surfacing within a mile offshore after sunset, t h e U-boat
commanders could seethrough binocularspeople walking
a r o u n d porches of homes close to the water.
W h e n asked several years ago if he had ever been to Long
Island, N.Y., former G e r m a n U-boat Captain Klaus Friedland
stated, "No, b u t I have seen it." A n d so he hadfrom t h e
periscope of a G e r m a n submarine.
Wolfgang Frank, author of The Seawolves, describes t h e
happy conditions the U-boat commanders found: "There was
still n o evidence t h a t the Americans were switching over to
wartime conditions. After two m o n t h s of war their ships were
still sailing independently, their captains stopped torpedoed
ships and asked for information over t h e loud hailer; should
a ship be hit but remain capable of steaming the captain never
bothered to zigzag or vary his speed so as to impede the U-boat
in dealing with t h e coup de grce a n d they h a d n o idea of
security. They chatted about everything under the sun over
t h e 600-meter [radio] wave b a n d and as if t h a t were n o t
enough, the coastal defense stations sent out over the air a
regular program of information, giving details of rescue work
in progress, of where and w h e n aircraft would be patrolling
a n d t h e schedules of anti-submarine vessels."
Further, coastal buoys had not yet been extinguished, a n d
these were used by the U-boats to silhouette the passing ships.
Surface attacks by night were preferred by t h e G e r m a n s
to submerged daylight operations, for several reasons: visibility
was low; t h e subs could make better speed o n t h e surface
i.e., 18 knots as opposed to 6 underwater; deck guns could
be used to deliver the coup de grce, thus conserving torpedoes;
a n d t h e shallow coastal waters were more dangerous w h e n
t h e U-boats were submerged. By day, the U-boats would lie
o n the sandy b o t t o m . In fact, in some such instances there
would be the concern that ships passing overhead might hit
the conning towers of those subs submerged in shipping lanes.
Two Type VII U-boats make time along the surface as they head for the American east coast in March 1942. Their crews took
extraordinary measures to cram enough fuel and food aboard to extend their sea time until the longer-range Type IXs arrived.
T h e ultimate responsibility for the defense of shipping in
American waters belonged to t h e c om m a n d e r in chief of t h e
U.S. Atlantic Fleet, Admiral Ernest J. King (Annapolis, class
of 1901). S o o n after the outbreak of war, King was elevated
to c o m m a n d e r in chief, U.S. Fleet, while t h e Atlantic Fleet
post fell to Admiral R.E. Ingersoll. T h e new G e r m a n submarine offensive took Americans by surprise, and at first they
did almost nothing to minimize its effect. Every day thousands
of tons of irreplaceable cargo sailed unescorted up a n d d o w n
t h e coast. N o instructions were given to captains as to what
to d o if attacked. Few planes t h a t could fly far out to sea were
on h a n d to do so, and few American pilots knew how to deal
effectively with the U-boat if they spotted one.
Worse, perhaps, the American ships were conspicuous a n d
careless. Their personnel were b o t h inexperienced and gullible.
W h e n ships' crews talked to each other o n their radios, this
provided vital information to t h e lurking U-boats. O n e submarine commander, spying a freighter in t h e light of a tanker
the U-boat had just set ablaze, signaled, "You're standing into
danger. Direct your course to pass close to me." T h e freighter
immediately obeyed a n d was torpedoed and sunk, losing 20
men. Ashore, cities resisted t h e blackout orders.
T h e spectacular success of Dnitz's five Type VIIC U-boats
in American waters finally encouraged Hitler to release three
Type IXs to relieve them. More Type VIIs would follow. But,
as Dnitz also anticipated, t h e "Second Happy T i m e " could
not last indefinitely. O n April 18, American seaside resorts
began blacking out at night.
By late May t h e Americans were at last ready to institute
a convoy system along their coast. T h e result is best stated
in Admiral Dnitz's own words: "At the e n d of April, t h e

heavy sinkings off the east coast of America suddenly ceased.
As this was a full-moon period I hoped that t h e dark nights
to follow would restore the situation and that the sinkings
would regain their previous high level. Instead there was
a steady increase in signals from t h e U-boats reporting n o
shipping sighted. . . .
"In light of unfavorable conditions off the coast of America
and favorable conditions in the Caribbean, U-boats command
at once transferred six boats from the former area to the latter
and four other U-boats o n the way to American waters from
the Biscay ports were sent to t h e Caribbean."
Thus, the simple convoy system had diminished the U-boat
blight o n U.S. shipping. This was a remarkable vindication
of t h e convoy system, b u t t h e system was not extended to
the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean. U-boats sank more
t h a n 250,000 tons (most of the ships were tankers) in the Gulf
of Mexico alone; a n o t h e r 38 ships (more t h a n 200,000 tons)
were sent to t h e b o t t o m in t h e C a r i b b e a n area.
Natives of t h e O u t e r Banks, off mainland N o r t h Carolina,
actually saw t h e war firsthand m u c h more graphically t h a n
t h e Pacific Coast Americans, w h o only were involved in
hysteria over t h e threat of a Japanese invasion or air raid.
O n March 11, t h e American freighter Caribasca was sunk
near Ocracoke Island. Survivors were tossed about on life rafts
all day until they used a metal can as a reflector to attract
a passing steamship, Norlindo, b o u n d for Baltimore. Meanwhile, 21 crewmen were lost. O n e of those lost was James
Gaskill from Ocracoke. T h e ship's nameplate is said by island
residents to have floated through the Ocracoke Inlet and
33
was forced to leave t h e island and seek

employment elsewhere.
O n e day t h e principal noticed t h a t
many of the boys in school who usually
came barefooted were wearing new Florsheim shoes. Investigation revealed they
had washed up on the Outer Banks from
a merchant ship sunk by a U-boat. T h e
children's fathers, w h o were fishermen,
had quickly commandeered these shoes,
a n d the children wore t h e m proudly.
During t h e spring of 1942, Tyndall's
wife had to be transported to the Morehead City Hospital because she h a d a
serious case of appendicitis. While she
was a patient there he visited the hospital
daily and saw the many b u r n victims
being treatedseamen w h o had been
rescued off the coast from b u r n i n g
tankers. He began assisting t h e nursing
staff in caring for them, since the hospital
was overflowing with patients and was
short-handed. T h e public was not made
aware for fear of panic along the coast.
By now, all houses were required to have
blackout curtains at night, and car headlights had to be painted, which made for
only a small a m o u n t of light to drive by.
O n t h e sound near Salter Path, N.C.,
a small fishing village west of Atlantic
Beach, lived Mrs. Alice Hoffman, whose
niece married T h e o d o r e Roosevelt, Jr.
She had purchased approximately a ninemile portion of Bogue Banks in the early
1900s. Her name, of G e r m a n origin,
spurred many rumors that she was aiding
the enemy. O n e such r u m o r had Mrs.
H o f f m a n refueling submarines from the
dock of her h o m e (since the water in the
As the U-boat campaign intensified, the U.S. Coast Guard enlisted almost anything
sound was only a few feet deep, even the
that would float to guard the east coastin this case, an auxiliary schooner.
author, 6 years old at t h e time, could
figure out that this was impossible).
washed ashore near where Gaskill lived. M a r v i n Howard
f o u n d it a n d made a cross that can be seen today in t h e
Ocracoke Island resident Jack Willis, w h o was t h e n in his
Methodist church o n the island. James Gaskill was the brother
late teens a n d later served in t h e Army, remembers seeing as
of T h u r s t o n Gaskill, w h o still resides o n t h e island and witmany as four or five ships b u r n i n g at one time off the coast
nessed many of t h e U-boat attacks offshore.
at night. Both he a n d longtime native T h u r s t o n Gaskill
adamantly refute the r u m o r that native fishermen assisted
O n Harker's Island, a small island between Beaufort, N.C.,
G e r m a n submarines off the coast. In fact, further investigation
and Cape Lookout, Paul Tyndall, now a member of the N o r t h
t h r o u g h the G e r m a n Military Historical Research Office has
Carolina House of Representatives, remembers well t h e early
proved their contentions correct. C a p t a i n Werner R a h n , a
m o n t h s of World War II. He was t h e principal of the local
G e r m a n historian, in an interview in September 1987, stated
school at Harker's Island. A t t h a t time, t h e residents of t h e
he h a d read all t h e U-boat logs concerning activity along t h e
island consisted of many families who h a d moved over from
east coast a n d had f o u n d absolutely n o evidence of islanders
a C a p e Lookout whaling village, called "Di a m o n d City," after
selling supplies to U-boats.
t h e hurricane of 1933. T h e island was isolated, with n o telephones. A bridge to t h e mainland was just being built.
C a p e Lookout, with its fine natural harbor, is located close
to t h e village of Beaufort, N.C. During early colonial history
S o o n after t h e war started, passes were required for citizens
it was an ideal sanctuary for pirates. Here they could replenish
to go over o n the Outer Banks to fish, and Tyndall remembers
their supplies and careen their shipsthat is, haul t h e m up
seeing many ducks a n d loons washed ashore covered in oil
o n t h e beach to be scraped and retarred. T h e killing of Blackfrom tankers that were sunk off t h e coast. At night t h e winbeard at Ocracoke in November 1718 began t h e demise of
dows would occasionally be blown out by explosions from
piracy along t h e Carolina coast.
ships offshore. In this atmosphere, rumors flew about G e r m a n
spies and t h e possibility of signals from shore being given to
After a major hurricane in 1899, t h e cape remained in its
U-boats. A t Tyndall's school there was a teacher of G e r m a n
beautiful and isolated state, with only its historical lighthouse,
descent w h o was suspected of being a spy a n d was even
until early in World War II, w h e n new "pirates" roamed t h e
followed by well-intentioned natives. W h e n he began to leave
area and it became a "haven" for desperate seafaring men once
his home early in the morning and cross over to the mainland,
more. T h e German submarine menace on the N o r t h Carolina
the citizens immediately suspected he was rendezvousing with
coast in t h e winter of 1941-42 forced t h e Navy to form a
t h e enemy. As it t u r n e d out, he was only going to get milk
"bucket brigade." This consisted of a group of ships that would
for his children. However, by t h e end of t h e school year he
only sail during daylight hours a n d would spend their nights
34
the ship to obtain British flags to use in the burial at Cape

anchored in harbors such as Charleston, Cape Lookout and
Hatteras of Englishmen who had lost their lives in ship sinkthe Chesapeake Bay.
ings. Sub-Lieutenant C u n n i n g h a m was the officer who proO n e of the bucket-brigade havens was a specially mined
cured the flags for Brown. T h e Bedfordshire t h e n refueled at
harbor near Hatteras Inlet halfway between Cape Lookout
Morehead City and left to check out a submarine sighting
and the Chesapeake Bay. T h e mining was all too successfulreport. As it turned out, U-352 had been sunk near Cape
some American ships were sunk by the Mark 6 contact mines.
Lookout on May 9 by the Coast Guard cutter Icarus. T h e
Attempts to clear the minefield in 1943 were rendered very
Bedfordshire stayed in that area for a day or so before proceeddifficult because the mines were anchored to the bottom with
ing on its patrol duty.
chains instead of cables. It took several m o n t h s to sweep the
last of these mines, for a time as much a menace to American
O n the night of May 11, U-558, captained by Giinther
ships as the U-boats.
Krech, was cruising between Cape Hatteras and Cape Lookout. Its mission to date had been uneventful, and the captain
Many years after the war, one of the mines was taken by
a trawler that had snagged it in its net
to Jack's Store dock in Silver Lake on
Ocracoke Island. Apparently, the fishermen did not know what it was and hammered on it for several days, thinking it
Early morning, Saturday, February and some 30 other men. T h e ship's
might be a treasure from Blackbeard's
28, 1942: T h e USS Jacob Jones, a magazine exploded nextand t h e n a
time. When the U.S. Coast Guard heard
World War I-designed flush-deck second torpedo struck aft, shearing off
about it, guardsmen carried the mine to
destroyer, steamed south along the the stern. In blackness, oil-slick and
the n o r t h e r n end of the island to be
coast of New Jersey. "Old, weak and confusion, the survivors cut away tandetonated. O n the way, it fell off the
brittle," Samuel Eliot Morison called gled ropes and launched four rafts
truck but still did not detonate. Finally,
the ships of her class. They were 314 into the frigid Atlantic. T h e central
when a b o m b squad arrived from Norfeet long, about 1,200 tons, with a portion stayed afloat for about 45
folk, Va., the specialists determined the
peacetime complement of 122 men, minutes before plunging to the
mine was still live and with one shot
four 4-inch guns, 12 torpedo tubes b o t t o m w h e r e u p o n h e r d e p t h
exploded it. T h e explosion left a crater
charges blew up, killing men still
and a speed of 35 knots.
150 feet across and set the marsh on fire.
T h e Ocracoke Fire Department had to
Leaving New York on February 27, struggling in the water.
be called out. Needless to say, if the mine
A military plane spotted the rafts at
she was under orders to concentrate
had gone off in Ocracoke Harbor, there
on the area around Ca pe May, en- 0810, and the ancient Eagle 56like
would have been little left of Jack's Store
trance to the wide, busy and vital sea the Jacob Jones a relic of World War
and the surrounding area.
m o u t h of the Delaware River. Evi- Isteamed out from the Delaware
dence of U-boat activity emerged al- into gathering seas. Only 11 enlisted
Back in early 1942, alarmed by the
most immediately. That first day out, men were rescued, some 30 miles
large number of ships being sunk off the
she encountered the blazing wreckage southeast of Cape May.
east coast of the United States, the Britof the tanker R.P. Resor, about 20 miles
T h e Jacob Jones was the first U.S.
ish government in February, at the
off Manasquan. For two hours the naval vessel ever torpedoed by enemy
request of the United States, agreed to
Jacob Jones circled the hulk, looking action within coastal waters, and here
lend the U.S. Navy 24 anti-submarine
unsuccessfully for survivors. She then a curious irony attaches itself to the
corvettes. These ships were 170 feet long,
continued south at 15 knots. T h e sea sad end of men and ship. In World
with a crew of four officers and 33 enwas calm, the moon full, with surface War I, only one U.S. destroyer was
listed men. Their armament consisted of
haze. She showed no lights.
sunk by enemy attack. A four-stacker
a 4-inch, quick-fire deck gun and a
.303-caliber Lewis machine gun. They
Nevertheless, she was sighted by built in 1915, 310 feet long, 1,150 tons,
also carried approximately 100 depth
U-578, sinker of the Resor. A b o u t she was torpedoed off England's Scilcharges and sonar.
0500, Korvettenkapitan Ernst-August ly Isles on December 6, 1917. When
Rehwinkel, his boat on the surface, she sank, her depth charges explodIt seems ironic that only two years after
fired three torpedoes at his dim tar- ed and killed some of her crew.
the United States had given, through its
get. The first explosion blew away the
Her name was the Jacob Jones, the
Lend-Lease program, 50 destroyers to
bridge and everything forward, killing first Jacob Jones.
England, the British would have to t u r n
the captain, Lt. Cmdr. Hugo R Black,
Robert G o r d o n
around and provide ships to combat the
submarine menace to American shipping.
A m o n g the 24 corvettes leaving England in early March was the H M S Bedfordshire. T h e ships traveled through the
N o r t h Atlantic to Newfoundland, t h e n
Halifax, Nova Scotia and New York. At
least one ship was lost during the winter
gales, and the rest arrived in New York in
much need of repairs. Among the officers
on board the Bedfordshire was SubLieutenant T h o m a s C u n n i n g h a m . T h e
Bedfordshire spent April and part of May
patrolling off the N o r t h Carolina coast
between Morehead City, its home port,
and Norfolk. These were coal-burning
ships that required refueling regularly.
First Patrol First Victim
In early May, Aycock Brown, assigned

to the Office of Naval Intelligence, visited
The elderly destroyer Jacob Jones, victim of U-578 off the New Jersey coast.
35
An Allied tanker burns. In the first six months following America's declaration of war on Germany, the sight of ships burning
and sinking within sight of their own seaports along the eastern seaboard was disturbingly commonplace.
was beginning to wonder if he would have as successful a cruise
o n the American coast as his predecessors. Suddenly a ship's
screw noises were heard o n t h e submarine's listening device,
and a lookout saw t h e Bedfordshire. Since visibility was low,
U-558 made its attack o n the surface. After missing on its first
try, its second torpedo hit squarely amidships, catapulting the
corvette into t h e air a n d sinking it almost immediately. N o
o n e survived to explain how t h e h u n t e r was killed by t h e
h u n t e d ; o n e can only speculate that t h e British may have
become too complacent in their efforts to assist their allies.
A l t h o u g h t h e patrol ships were attached to the U.S. Navy,
naval officials were n o t very diligent in keeping track of
themit was several days before the Navy was aware of what
happened to the H M S Bedfordshire.
O n May 14, while patrolling the shore of Ocracoke Island,
a Coast G u a r d s m a n discovered the bodies of Sub-Lieutenant
C u n n i n g h a m a n d Bedfordshire telegraphist Stanley Craig.
Later two other bodies, unidentifiable, were recovered. All
four were removed to a small plot next to a local cemetery
in Ocracoke Village, and with Guard assistance and Protestant
graveyard services, t h e bodies were given proper burial. Ironically, the flag used for C u n n i n g h a m ' s funeral was one of t h e
very ones he had given to Aycock Brown about 10 days earlier.
In subsequent years, with the cooperation of t h e U S .
government a n d t h e citizens of Ocracoke Island, t h e small
plot was deeded to the British governmentit is now an official English cemetery.
It wasn't until the a u t u m n of 1945 that t h e Fifth Naval
District released the n u m b e r of merchant seamen a n d gun
crews lost off the coast by Axis submarines in World War II. In
this district's waters, which extend halfway to Bermuda a n d
36
include the shores of Maryland, Virginia and N o r t h Carolina

d o w n south to Onslow Bay, 843 men had lost their lives.
H a d the U.S. Navy been properly prepared in early World
War II to meet the U-boat offensive, a n d h a d it also listened
to its British counterpart's advice to institute convoys immediately a n d provide coastal air cover, perhaps the Germans' Atlantic "turkey s h o o t " would n o t have been such a success
a n d Hyde C o u n t y a n d o t h e r coastal residences would not
have had to witness the horrors of war. Hitler's refusal to heed
his U-boat commander's recommendation to send more submarines to t h e American east coast in early 1942 probably
saved the country an oil, sugar or coffee crisis.
England's ability to stockpile war materiel for pending
operations against t h e Axis was curtailed. By June 20, 1942,
a cross-Channel invasion for 1943 to open a second front was
ruled out. While all such postponements a n d setbacks cannot
be directly linked to t h e success of t h e G e r m a n U-boat off
the American coast, Dnitz's submarine offensive unquestionably restricted Allied operations. During the early part of 1942,
the U-boats were making their mark and the Americans were
repeating just what happened in World War Isending random, single ships out to h u n t them down. President Woodrow
Wilson had a saying for this action in World War I, and t h e
saying would become equally applicable for early 1942: "They
despaired of h u n t i n g the hornets all over the farm."
Author James T. Cheatham, who retired as a U.S. Naval Reserves
commander in 1979, lives in Greenville, N.C., and vacations on
Ocracoke Island. For further reading, try his own T h e Atlantic
Turkey Shoot: U-Boats Off t h e O u t e r Banks in World War
II or Edwyn Gray's Submarine Warriors.
An Heroic American
Leather Jacket will reappear for the AutumnVl
TypeB-
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McCOY'S B-3 (Mono-tone)

The parts are the same as the twotone version
but the hem and belting are thesame seal
brown colour as the jacket body. The 1942
version of the B-3 had the largestwartime
production. The wild brown colour gavestrong
emphsis to it's military use. This is thesame
B-3 that a ppeared in the movies, "THE WAR
LOVER" and "12 O'clock High"
SIZE 3 6 - 5 0
P R I C E $ 6 5 8 (INCLUDES POSTAGE)
JACKET-Flying, Winter
McCOY'S B-3 (Two-tone)
This jacket is a duplication of 1941 US
ARMY AIR FORCES Bomber Jacket.
It has a Seal Brown sheepskin
body with russet brown hose
leather parts.
SIZE 3 6 - 5 0
PRICE $658
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McCOY'S B-3 DETAILS

All components used in B-3 and D-1 are also of
superior quality. For exsample the arm leather,
the pockets and the seam tape are made from
Mustang leather. Saddle makers used tannin
and chrome to tan the leather and dyed it with
Military Specification colours. The metal parts
were first made by the snap maker RAU and
were special military designs. The zipper is a
brass, 34inch cotton tape model. From the mid
'30s to the '40s these parts were all based on
standard Pentagon specifications. To restore
these designs accurately took the effort of 21
companies in 4 countries. The lambskin and
horseskin parts are assembled at the factory
useing the same sewing machines and production method as the originals. A single person is
responsible for each jacket from the first process to completion. We have brought the B-3
and D-1 back to present.
Type D-1
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The D-1 Jacket, the favourite jacket of ground
crews, which work was as important as actual
flight crews. This jacket has a simple form and
the ground crews wore it very casually without
regard for buttons. The zipperd slash pockets
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WORLD WAR II
Endless
Cham oi
Battle
The 291st Combat Engineers missed
Normandy, but after that, they hit all
the "high spots"the breakout from
bocage country, Huertgen Forest, the
Bulge and, finally, the bridge at Remagen.
By John F. Murphy,
Jr.
here have been those times, those memorable times,

in military history w h e n t h e outcome of a major battle
depended o n t h e bravery of a small group of men. In
the Napoleonic Wars, the "Diehards" of the British Middlesex
Regiment stemmed t h e French tide at bloody Albuhera in
Spain in 1811. In America's Civil War, it was a stand by
Colonel Joshua Chamberlain's 20th Maine Regiment at Little
R o u n d Top that helped to win t h e Battle of Gettysburg for
the Union.
But in t h e 20th century, w h e n mass-conscription armies
grew to t h e size of large cities, t h e valor of a small group, be
it company, battalion or even division, could become lost in
an avalanche of numbers. In World War II, for every promin e n t unitDesert Rats at Tobruk, U.S. Marines o n Guadalcanal or French Foreign Legion at Bir Hakeimthere were
h u n d r e d s of small-scale units whose heroism would be obscured by accounts of t h e "big picture" or relegated to t h e
pages of narrowly circulated regimental histories.
Un t i l recently, t h e same obscurity seemed to be t h e fate of
the 291st U.S. Army C o m b a t Engineer Battalion, commanded
by Lt. Col. David Pergrin. T h e 291st, instead, ought to be
38
The Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen after its collapse on

March 17, 1945. By that time, the American 9th Armored
Division had secured the east bank of the Rhine, and the
291st Combat Engineer Battalion, along with the 988th and
998th Treadway Bridge Companies, had completed an
alternate span across the river.
39
ft/ 1
American troops lay a smoke screen prior to making a cross-river assault into Ludwigshaven on March 31, 1945. By that time,
the last western obstacle standing between the Allies and Germany had been breached, through the crossing of the Rhine.
remembered as one of t h e most renowned outfits in t h e annals of Americans at war.
W h e n Dave Pergrin, a captain in t h e U.S. A r m y C o r p s of
Engineers and a 1940 graduate of Penn State University, met
t h e m e n of t h e 291st at C a m p Swift, Texas, in July 1943, it
was a typical GI outfit, drawn from a cross-section of American
life. They were t h e men you see in a World War II moviethe
Irishman, t h e Italian, t h e Pole a n d t h e Jewish fellow, brought
together by the needs of a country mobilized for total war.
There was 1st Lt. M a r t i n Tintari, Lieutenant Alvin "Al"
Edelstein, Pfc Camillo Bosco, Tech. 5th Grade John C h a p m a n
a n d Master Sgt. Ralph McCarty.
A t C a m p Swift, Pergrin intended to make his outfit ready
for any eventuality it might meet. Ever since the army engineers were f o u n d e d in the American Revolution, the combat
duty of these highly professional fighting men has been twofold: to lead t h e way in an attack and to prepare the defense
w h e n t h e enemy did t h e attacking. O f t e n , b o t h dangerous
tasks were carried o u t u n d e r enemy fire. It is n o wonder that
war correspondent Ernie Pyle once wrote about the engineers
that "even t h e infantry took its hat off to themfor not
infrequently t h e engineers were actually out ahead of t h e
troops." In t h e case of the 291st, it would be so far out ahead
that t h e m e n would almost be sitting in t h e G e r m a n s ' front
lines o n two occasions.
To make sure t h a t his men would be ready, Pergrin crosstrained his willing students, so t h a t if a specialist in o n e field
went down, somebody else could immediately fill his place.
As he wrote in his recent book First Across the Rhine: "By t h e
time my cross-training syllabus was completed, every member of every squad was a qualified rifleman [and] was also
qualified to operate the squad's .30-caliber machine gun and
bazooka. All knew how to lay, detect, a n d clear mines, a n d
all knew how to prepare a demolition charge."
40
These apprentice warriors learned how to do everything,

from operating a chain saw to reading maps, in preparation
for t h e anticipated invasion of Hitler's Fortress Europe.
T h e 291st was n o t among t h e units t h a t assaulted "Bloody
O m a h a " o n that fateful June 6, 1944, however. Instead, it had
been part of t h e massive Allied disinformation ploy designed
to dupe Hitler into believing that the main Allied blow would
yet fall o n Pas de Calais.
W h e n the 291st finally did land o n N o r m a n soil on June 23,
it was D-day plus 17, a n d the beaches had been secured.
Pergrin and his engineers, nevertheless, h a d arrived in time
to take part in the next hard-fought phase: t h e breakout
from t h e N o r m a n d y beachhead a n d the struggle through
t h e bocage country. Here, ancient family farmsteads were
divided one from t h e other by tall, dense hedgerows growing
from high banks of earth, so different from the wooden fences
of Dave Pergrin's Pennsylvania. T h e Germans, with their
scientific eye for t h e defense, made each hedgerow a killing
field. It was in the hedgerows that t h e 291st first showed its
ingenuity u n d e r fire.
Tanks, it is true, had been used to crash through the hedgerows, b u t they suffered from a fatal flaw. W h e n a tank came
u p over a hedgerow bank, the soft armor of its underbelly
was exposed to often-fatal fire from a G e r m a n anti-tank gun.
To remedy the problem, Lieutenant Wade Colbeck, of B
C o m p a n y ' s 1st Platoon, proposed using bulldozers and their
heavy blades to crunch through and over the hedgerows, with
the driver's compartment shielded by armor plate. As Pergrin
reminisced, "Miraculously, none of the 291st's bulldozer operators was killed in this exceptionally hazardous undertaking."
After a m o n t h of some of the most dogged fighting of the
war, t h e Allied armies finally broke out of t h e bocage country o n July 26, a n d t h e race across France began. Charging
ahead with Lt. Gen. Courtney Hodges' 1st Army was the 291st
Disguised as an American M-10 tank destroyer, a Panther tank of Otto Skorzeny's 150th SS Panzer Brigade lies derelict next to
the paper mill at Malmdy after being knocked out by a bazookaman of K Company, 120th Regiment, on December 21, 1944.
C o m b a t Engineers, sometimes enlisting "liberated" G e r m a n
vehicles to keep pace with t h e great pursuit. O n August 28,
the 291st was with VII Corps as it passed through the hallowed
ground of Chateau Thierry, where General J o h n J. Pershing's
doughboys h a d fought in an earlier world war. By t h e middle
of September, t h e entire American military machine outstripped its supplies and ground to a halt before the West Wall,
t h e gate to Hitler's Reich. T h e n there was a n o t h e r push, a n d
t h e 291st f o u n d itself in the primeval depths of t h e Huertgen
Forest. T h e Roer River barrier was reached by December 2;
along t h e line, t h e ancient fortress cities of Metz a n d Strasbourg fell to t h e Americans.
T h e n , as Pergrin recalls, there came a pause, a time for t h e
Americans to prepare for t h e final push into t h e Reich. Yet,
this lull, this period of consolidation before t h e final battle,
gave the G e r m a n s time to strike first in their last great offensive, the Battle of t h e Bulge.
W h e n t h e G e r m a n tidal wave struck the unsuspecting
Americans o n December 16, the 291st was holding a position
in eastern Belgiumthe towns of Malmdy, Stavelot and TroisPonts. T h e night of December 15 had f o u n d Pergrin staying
in a Belgian castle with the o m i n o u s n a m e of C h a t e a u Froidcoeur"castle of t h e cold heart."
Early o n t h e m o r n i n g of the 16th, C a p t a i n J o h n C o n l i n
of B C o m p a n y called in to report that several heavy shells
had t h u d d e d into Malmdy, which was held by Conlin's men.
As Pergrin wrote later: " T h e event was unprecedented in our
experience. O u r zone of operations had not been molested
for months." Now, however, their quiet sector in the forested
A r d e n n e s would be shattered by t h e G e r m a n assault, as t h e
same terrain had been by the G e r m a n breakthrough in 1940.
S o o n there came news t h a t G e r m a n fallschirmjager, crack
paratroopers, had been seen landing to the n o r t h of Malmdy.
T h e n C o n l i n called Pergrin to warn that "Lieutenant [Frank]
Rhea has sighted a German armored column heading our way,

r u n n i n g free a n d clear."
From being in a sector b e h i n d the lines, where t h e battalion's annual Thanksgiving football classic (the enlisted men
trounced the officers) had been t h e main event, t h e 291st
suddenly f o u n d itself at the center of the G e r m a n onslaught,
Wacht am Rhein (Operation "Watch on t h e Rhine").
Heading toward Malmdy, t h e grinding whine of its tanks
breaking t h e silence of the Ardennes, was Kampfgruppe (Battle group) Peiper. C o m m a n d i n g Kampfgruppe Peiper, drawn
from t h e 1st SS Panzer Division of t h e fanatic Waffen (combat) SS, was Lt. Col. Joachim Peiper, o n e of the Fiihrer's
most feared warriors.
A r o u n d n o o n on t h e 17th, B Battery of the 285th Field
Artillery Observation Battalion passed through Malmdy. T h e
artillerymen ignored Pergrin's suggestion to remain in t h e
relative safety of Malmdy. Instead, they drove right into t h e
sharp teeth of t h e G e r m a n Panther tanks. T h e men of t h e
291st heard t h e sharp firing to t h e east. Always a field commander w h o led from the front, Pergrin jumped into his comm a n d car with Sergeant Bill Crickenberger, each carrying a
heavy-duty T h o m p s o n .45-caliber submachine gun. Fearing
the worst, they raced in t h e direction of the gunfire. A b o u t
a half-mile away, Pergrin and Crickenberger left their jeep and
advanced on foot into a pasture. Suddenly, they saw three
men coming toward them.
Taking n o chances, they were about to open fire, but at the
last instant held their fire. Says Pergrin: "I saw that one of
t h e m e n had U.S. Army sergeant's stripes sewn to t h e sleeve
of his jacket. I raised my weapon a n d yelled, 'They're ours!'"
T h e sergeant was Kenneth Ahrens, and the others were
Corporals Mike Sciranko and Albert Valenzi. Pergrin a n d
Crickenberger inadvertently had stumbled o n t o t h e scene
of o n e of the worst atrocities of t h e war, t h e Malmdy
41
After having blown up bridges when they were fighting on the defensive, Lieutenant Frank Rhea's engineers labor under fire to
erect a Bailey bridge across the Warche River at Malmdy on January 3, 1945, as the American forces retake the initiative.
Massacreand t h e 291st would rescue t h e only 29 survivors
from the slaughter of t h e American artillerymen by Kampfgruppe Peiper.
T h e survivors told how Kampfgruppe Peiper had taken B
Battery from b e h i n d . " T h e Americans," says Pergrin, "were
swiftly overrun, rounded up, herded into a roadside field, and
m o w n d o w n o n orders from t h e vanguard panzer battalion
commander, Ma j or Werner Poetschke."
H a d Pergrin decided to evacuate Malmdy instead of being
determined to hold it, t h e massacre might never have come
to light. Soon, the killing ground was covered in 2 feet of snow,
a n d t h e battle-shocked survivors could well have died of exposure or at t h e hands of the SS. A n d Peiper would have gone
free, never brought to justice for his war crimes at Malmdy.
Peiper's next objective was Stavelot on the road to Malmdy.
Sergeant C h u c k Hensel a n d his squad of 12 men from C
C o m p a n y of the 291st were rushed forward to m a n a scratchbuilt barricade outside the threatened town. Lieutenant Cliff
Wilson, Pergrin's assistant motor-transport officer, told Hensel
that, as Pergrin recalled, "any traffic coming up the road [the
N-23 highway] would definitely be G e r m a n a n d that it was
to be engaged."
A h e a d of his trip-wire squad, Hensel sent Private Bernard
Goldstein, armed only with his M-l rifle, the GI's best friend.
S o o n after he reached his lookout post, Goldstein heard t h e
unmistakable grind of a tracked vehiclemany tracked vehiclesand voices muttering in G e r m a n coming toward him up
t h e N-23. It was the vanguard of Kampfgruppe Peiper. Suddenly,
acting as if still in basic training, the lone private sprang out
in front of the lead vehicle a n d c o m m a n d e d it to halt!
S t u n n e d , t h e G e r m a n s , only yards away, did not shoot.
Before they could recover their senses, Hensel appeared
a r o u n d t h e b e n d in t h e road with a bazooka team. With t h e
G e r m a n paratroopers riding t h e tanks coming to life and
42
opening fire, the bazooka crew fired off a single rocket that disabled t h e lead tank by blowing off its tread. U n d e r cover of
the explosion, Goldstein, Hensel a n d the rest of the men beat
a hasty retreat back to the comparative safety of the roadblock.
T h e Germans, disoriented in t h e dark by Hensel's spirited
defense and apparently fearing Stavelot was heavily defended,
stopped their advance rather t h a n risk running into whatever
else the night had in store for them. It would be 12 hours
before Peiper would get his tank vanguard moving again, a
fateful delay t h a t would ultimately seal t h e fate of his battle
group. For, during this heaven-sent respite, Pergrin was able
to send for much-needed assistance.
As a result of Pergrin's repeated messages to First A r m y
Headquarters about the German breakthrough, help was soon
o n t h e way. First o n t h e scene was t h e 99th U.S. Norwegian
Battalion, led by Lt. Col. Harold Hansen. T h e 99th was made
up of Norwegian-Americans like Hansen whose ancestors had
immigrated in t h e 19th century to farm t h e American West.
T h e outfit also included refugees from Norway anxious to
avenge G e r m a n conquest of their homeland in 1940. More
reinforcements would come o n December 18among t h e m ,
the 526th Armored Infantry and two platoons of the A C o m pany, 825th Tank Destroyer Battalion.
At 7 a.m. on December 18, Pergrin and Hansen held a council of war. T h e y decided t h a t "our defensive positions from
Malmdy through Stavelot and Trois-Ponts to Werbomont
were as complete as they were going to b e . . . ."
T h e enemy's Panther tanks hit again at Stavelot in the
middle of t h e 291st's defensive line. Stavelot was held now
by M a j o r Paul Solis a n d t h e 526th Arm ore d Infantrymen.
Attempting at the last minute to fortify t h e strategic ridge
overlooking Stavelot's bridge, Solis' force was caught out in
t h e open, just as the m o r n i n g sun rose to illuminate t h e m
like a spotlight. In a split second, two tank destroyers and
t h e two halftracks towing t h e m were

blown apart. By 8:30, the G e r m a n armor
had sped across the vital bridge, left
intact by Solis' men. Stavelot was in t h e
h a n d s of t h e enemy.
Wasting n o time, Peiper's lead tanks
spun south and followed t h e Amblve
River toward Trois-Ponts, t h e town of
three bridges. Should the 291st fail to
halt Peiper's blitzkrieg, Pergrin wrote,
" t h e road to Lige and A n t w e r p would
be open."
Guarding t h e vital bridges at TroisPonts were Ma j or Bull Yates a n d his C
Company, 51st C o m b a t Engineers, along
with other units of the 291st: Lieutenant
Albert "Bucky" Walters' 1st Platoon of
A C o m p a n y ; Staff Sgt. Paul Hinkel's
squad of A C o m p a n y ; and C C o m p a n y
with Sergeant Angelo Magliocca. Also
on h a n d was a lone 57mm anti-tank gun
m a n n e d by the 526th Armored Infantry.
A t 11 a.m., the lead M a r k V Panther
tank crept toward t h e bridges across t h e
Amblve t h a t gave Trois-Ponts its name.
T h e tank was hit by a r o u n d from t h e
anti-tank gun a n d stopped in its tracks.
Even wounded, however, t h e Panther
could still strike back savagely, like t h e
great cat for which it was named. A
single shell from its 75mm c a n n o n
hurtled through t h e chill air, carrying
sudden death for t h e exposed anti-tank
Using mine detectors, troops of C Company, 291st Engineers, sweep the snow near
gun and its four-man crew. But their Baugnez for the bodies of Americans massacred by the German Waffen SS.
valiant stand h a d not been in vain.
While they were fighting their fatal duel with t h e lead tank,
attempt to crack through the hardening American defenses;
C C o m p a n y of t h e 51st C o m b a t Engineers h a d been able to
Peiper himself could not push past La Gleize. By n o o n of that
blow up t h e bridge.
eventful day, most of Stavelot h a d been reconquered by Lt.
Frustrated by t h e destruction of the span there, Peiper
veered toward t h e bridge arching over t h e Salm at Wanne,
a bridge already mined by t h e busy m e n of Bucky Walters'
1st Platoon. If Peiper could gain this critical link intact, he
might still be able to reach t h e strategic Meuse by nightfall
a n d threaten t h e entire American position. But w h e n paratroopers scouting ahead for a column of G e r m a n tanks
reached t h e middle of t h e Salm span, Sergeant Jean Miller
rammed down the plunger o n his detonator and dropped the
bridge and its load of surprised paratroopers.
Miller's decisive blast began the destruction of Peiper's blitzkrieg. At the bridge at C h e n e u x , tank-busting P-47 T h u n d e r bolts stopped Peiper's advance with their bombs, rockets and
,50-caliber machine guns.
T h e final act took place at t h e bridge at Neufmolin, spanning Lienne Creek. By gaining this passage, Peiper could still
use the crucial N-23 highway, lost to him at Trois-Ponts, as the
road to victory. At 4:45 p.m., as dusk closed in on December
18, t h e gathering gloom was shattered by the approach of
Kampfgruppe Peiper, spearheaded by a m a m m o t h M a r k VI
Konigstiger carrying an 88mm artillery piece. Just as its gunner
opened fire, Corporal Fred C h a p i n of Lieutenant A1 Edelstein's platoon of A C o m p a n y set off 2,500 p o u n d s of T N T
and blew up the Neufmolin Bridge in t h e Tiger's face. T h e
story is that Peiper reacted by muttering, "Those damned engineers!" A n d truly, Pergrin h a d trained his m e n well in those
h o t Texas days back at C a m p Swift. For Kampfgruppe Peiper,
t h e bridge at Neufmolin would mark the e n d of the line.
By the 19th, the entire G e r m a n offensive h a d r u n into
serious trouble. Sepp Dietrich's 6th Panzerarmee, of which
Peiper h a d been t h e point of the sword, was stalled in its
Col. Robert Frankland's battalion of the 117th Infantry. By

December 20, there seemed only one way for t h e G e r m a n s to
recapture their critical initiative: Seize the town of Malmdy
the only nearby road center through which the Meuse could
yet be reached. As Pergrin says, "We were the obvious target."
C h o s e n to strike at t h e 291st at Malmdy was t h e 150th
SS Panzer Brigade, led by O t t o Skorzeny, t h e daring comm a n d o and Hitler favorite w h o had rescued Benito Mussolini
w h e n he had been held captive t h e year before by t h e new
anti-Fascist Italian government. Now, Skorzeny's commandos,
among the war's best, were fighting t h e wrong battle at t h e
wrong time. As Pergrin commented, "It says m u c h about
the failed planning of the 6th Panzer Army that Skorzeny and
his elite troops were in Belgium being used as c a n n o n fodder
in a frontal attack o n Malmdy." (Some of t h e m w h o spoke
English infiltrated dressed as GIs.)
Ill-equipped and undergunned for such an assault, Skorzeny's
brigade struck Malmdy around 3:30 p.m. o n a fog-shrouded
December 21a company-size attack force charged into a
wall of fire laid d o w n by C a p t a i n Lawrence Moyer's C C o m pany a n d supporting infantry a n d artillery. T h e main thrust
was made by Skorzeny's 10 M a r k IV a n d Panther tanks, with
his c o m m a n d o s yelling "Surrender or die." It only reminded
t h e Americans of the Malmdy Massacre, in which those
who surrendered had been killed anyhow. T h e tanks crossed
a still-intact bridge over the Warche River a n d gained Malmdy. W h a t followed was a savage, small-unit action that
tested, in one eternal afternoon, all of t h e 291st's training
a n d combat experience.
W h e n a G e r m a n Panther disguised as a U.S. M-4 S h e r m a n
nosed down the street toward t h e paper mill, Tech. 5th Grade
43
C o m p a n y and paratroopers of E C o m p a n y of the 505th Para-chute Infantry, part of the hard-driving Maj. G e n . James
Gavin's 82nd A i r b o r n e Division. Still stalled ar o u n d La
Gleize, Peiper was decisively defeated by the 30th Infantry and
t h e 3rd Arm ore d Divisions. Finally, their trucks and tanks
out of fuel, the remnants of Kampfgruppe Peiper trudged back
toward the G e r m a n lines o n foot. "Fewer t h a n eight hundred
of t h e seven t h o u s a n d Waffen SS m e n Peiper ultimately comm a n d e d reached t h e 1st SS Panzer Division lines at Wanne
o n December 23," Pergrin says. For all intents, the Battle of
t h e Bulge was over.
With t h e coming of t h e new year, t h e 291st was transferred
to t h e 82nd A i r b o r n e because Gavin had seen it in action
at Lienne Creek a n d had liked what he h a d seen. Beginning
o n January 10, 1945, t h e 291st was o n the cutting edge of t h e
American counterstroke that would destroy t h e Bulge salient
in the line and open up the road into Germany. A t the e n d
of January, t h e engineers led t h e 82nd in t h e breakthrough
at t h e Siegfried Line, t h e inner defensive ring of the Reich,
a n d at Loshiem, where Peiper h a d begun his Bulge attack
many bloodstained days before. In February, the 291st was
o n the offensive at t h e Roer River dams, pushing ever deeper
into t h e Cologne Plain.
Colonel David E. Pergrin, commander of the 291st Combat

Engineer Battalion, poses over a German helmet prior to the
assault over the Seine River in July 1944Vince Consiglio and Private Joe Spires used their second-floor
vantage point to direct rifle fire at the infantry accompanying
t h e tank. Consiglio t h e n dashed outside to fire a ,50-caliber
machine gun, whose crew h a d been wiped out by enemy
action, until t h e appearance of a second t a n k sent him
hurrying for cover.
T h e two G e r m a n tanks now entered a fire zone where five
tank destroyers from t h e 825th Tank Destroyer Battalion,
providing t h e 291st with heavy artillery backing, devastated
t h e oncoming enemy with their 75mm guns. Two tanks were
destroyed, while a third was dealt a mortal blow by bazookacarrying infantrymen from K Company of the 120th Regiment.
Elsewhere, meanwhile, Skorzeny launched a flank attack
at a railroad e m b a n k m e n t and underpass. Here, t h e howling
commandos, reinforced by a Panther tank, ran "into the teeth
of our engineer-manned emplacements and B Company, 99th
Norwegian Battalion." Pergrin never forgot t h e fierce melee
that followed. " T h e G e r m a n s made it as far as the slope of
the embankment, but the engineers and Norwegians cut them
d o w n with machine guns a n d h a n d grenades while o n e of
t h e 825th Tanker Destroyer Battalion guns damaged t h e
Panther." Severely mauled, the attackers fell back in retreat.
T h e throwing back of t h e assault o n t h e railway embankment and the savaging of t h e G e r m a n armor in t h e center
of town effectively ended the struggle for Malmdy. Although
sporadic firing continued, "it was plain to see within an h o u r
of t h e initial assault that t h e 150th SS Panzer Brigade was
not going to secure t h e vital road junction." T h a n k s to t h e
gallantry of t h e engineers a n d their allies, a n d Pergrin's military talent in setting up a defense, the critical center of t h e
291st's line h a d held.
As Skorzeny's attack o n Malmdy lost its m o m e n t u m , so,
too, did the whole Bulge offensive. A furious, last-ditch effort
by the 1st SS Panzer Division was turned back in heated handto-hand combat at Trois-Ponts by 1st Lt. Bucky Walters' A
44
W h e n the 9th Armored Division churned toward the Rhine

in March, t h e Americans were surprised to find that t h e
Ludendorff Bridge spanning t h e Rhine at Remagen was still
intact. As elements of the 9th entered Remagen o n the west
b a n k o n March 7, t h e G e r m a n s attempted to blow up t h e
railroad bridge but failed, leaving open a pathway to the Reich.
" O v e r the next 24 hours," recalls Pergrin, "8,000 American
soldiers crossed the Ludendorff Bridge o n foot, in trucks and
jeeps, a n d aboard tanks. By nightfall M a r c h 8, "t he 9th
A r m o r e d Division was in possession of a battered b u t intact
bridge and a reasonably secure bridgehead o n t h e east bank
of t h e Rhine, Germany's last formidable defensive barrier in
t h e west."
Yet, that "reasonably secure bridgehead" was only as secure
as the Ludendorff Bridge b e h i n d itand the span itself was
by now severely weakened from shelling by b o t h sides. T h e
safety of the American toehold o n the east b a n k depended
o n pushing enough reinforcements across to hold t h e bridgehead against rapidly growing G e r m a n pressure. With the
bridge in danger of collapsing into t h e river momentarily, it
was imperative to throw an alternative bridge across the Rhine
as soon as possible. T h a t essential job was given to Pergrin
and his 291st Engineers.
Early o n the m o r n i n g of March 9, personnel of the 291st,
assisted by t h e 998th and 988th Treadway Bridge C o m panies, began their hurry-up job. A t 4 a.m., 1st Platoon's
C Company, t h e first 291st unit across the river, was already
o n t h e east b a n k destroying G e r m a n mines with a flailequipped bulldozer.
Working day and night, the men of the 291st and their comrades pushed the American lifeline across t h e wide river,
regardless of frenzied G e r m a n efforts to stop them. O n t h e
c o m m a n d i n g heights of t h e Erpler Ley, o n the eastern shore,
t h e G e r m a n s gathered an ever-growing battery of artillery to
hurl steel death at the engineers laboring furiously below.
Using t h e feared 88s, even an earth-shaking 540mm railway
mortar hurtling a projectile weighing nearly two tons, t h e
G e r m a n s tried to bury "those d a m n e d engineers" u n d e r an
avalanche of shells. A b o u t one salvo every two minutes. Says
Pergrin today: "We knew it would be hell. [It] was a wonderful
place for defense [and] hell for t h e offense."
N o t only had Headquarters set an awesome task for t h e
engineers but there was also the real fear that the entire operation would become a tragic "Mission Impossible." Just erecting
a bridge across "t he wide a n d swift Rhine"1,200 to 1,500
feetwould strain t h e bridge-builders' technical know-how
American forces advance over the Alexander Patch heavy pontoon bridge across the Rhine on March 28, 1945. Ernie Pyle wrote of
the engineers: "Even the infantry took its hat off to themfor not infrequently the engineers were actually out ahead of the troops."
to its limit. "It was questionable," Pergrin says, "whether you
could build such a huge bridge u n d e r such murderous fire."
Nevertheless, t h e 291st a n d t h e two treadway bridge companies were determined to make the effort.
As t h e U.S. 78th Infantry Division advanced across t h e
Ludendorff Bridge in support of the 9th Armored, every available artillery a n d anti-aircraft gun was brought into t h e area
to defend the engineers. A n d the 291st worked non-stop. "The
faster we built our bridge," Pergrin explained, "the more troops,
tanks, a n d artillery pieces our generals would be able to send
into the attack that would ultimately provide the best security
for our bridge." O n March 9, "in my mind t h a t afternoon,
everythingeverythingdepended o n us."
During o n e 45-minute cannonade, Sergeants Frank Dolcha
a n d "Black M a c " M a c D o n a l d were trapped in midstream in
a plywood utility boat, near-misses sending t h e water around
t h e m exploding skyward in huge geysers. A direct hit o n t h e
front end of the bridge about 2 p.m. on the 9th had wounded
five m e n of A C o m p a n y and killed Private M a r i o n Priester.
T h e forward tip of the bridge became known as Suicide Point.
T h e G e r m a n s not only resorted to their artillery, they also
unleashed an entirely new generation of killing machines.
D o w n from t h e skies screeched t h e new Messerschmitt
Me-262s, the war's first operational jet fighters, hammering
at the engineers with 30mm c a n n o n a n d 5cm rockets. (Ironically, the 291st had had an unpleasantly close encounter with
these same jet-engine birds of prey back in Normandy.) T h e
Messerschmitts were only prevented from wreaking havoc
among t h e exposed engineers by an intense anti-aircraft
defense in depth. Even then, the G e r m a n s hurled against t h e
engineers t h e V-2 rocket, Hitler's much-vaunted "revenge"
weapon a n d t h e world's first real ballistic missile. All told,
t h e Remagen bridgehead became ground zero for 17 of those
space-age juggernauts.
Nevertheless, the 291st, joined by the 988th and 998th combat

engineers, pressed on. By 10 a.m. on March 10, "t he bridge,"
Pegrin said, "now stood nearly 800 feet out in the stream, about
two-thirds across to the west bank." From n o o n until 12:45
p.m., the 291st came under the heaviest b o m b a r d m e n t of t h e
river crossing. Of the 30 casualties and one death (Priester)
suffered by the 291st during the Rhine operation, fully 20 were
inflicted by G e r m a n shellfire in those hellish 45 minutes.
Regardless of t h e G e r m a n fury, by 5:30 p.m. (5:10 officially),
t h e bridge builders had reached t h e far bank! Crossing the
Rhine was a newly laid p o n t o o n bridge. Pergrin was there to
witness the final connecting pin being driven down. With him
were Captain James Gamble of A Company; Captain William
McKinsey, the battalion S-2 officer; and the battered b u t
proud m e n of Alvin "Al" Edelstein's 2nd Platoon, who had
been out on Suicide Point during those two grueling days.
In spite of all the G e r m a n shot a n d shell, t h e Rhine barrier
h a d been breached. O n l y t h e n , politely, did the Ludendorff
Bridge fall apart!
O n c e the 291st had vaulted the Rhine, American reinforcements poured across that ancient G e r m a n frontier. O n March
17, a happy Saint Patrick's Day for the Irish in t h e battalion,
the First Army punched through the defending German forces
to carry t h e war into the heart of t h e Reich. By March 27,
the 291st had bridged the blue Danube. Within a little more
t h a n a m o n t h , t h e war, General Dwight D. Eisenhower's
" C r u s a d e in Europe," would e n d in total G e r m a n defeat.
John E Murphy, Jr., interviewed retired U.S. Army Colonel David
Pergrinand, of course, read his book closely. Suggested reading:
Dwight Eisenhower's Crusade In Europe; son John Eisenhower's
T h e Bitter Woods; Janice Holt Giles' T h e D a m n e d Engineers;
and, of course, First Across the Rhine: T h e Story of the 291st
Engineer C o m b a t Battalion, by David Pergrin, with Eric Hammel.
45
Harbor
Replayed
The scene looked so much the same, and
again the belligerent party was Japan
her same Nagumo Force. This time,
however, the setting was the Indian
Ocean; the target, a British fleet.
By John F.
Wukovits
WWII
' a p a n e s e C a p t a i n Mitsuo Furchida stared d o w n from his

plane's cockpit at t h e objective
below as he led an initial wave
of 36 fighters, 54 dive bombers
a n d 90 level bombers closer to
their early m o r n i n g strike. Fuchida
noticed t h e targetthe enemy's
main naval base in the areawas
"still wet from a recent rain squall" a n d t h e nearby city
"lay glistening in the sun." Fuchida hoped to demolish his
opponent's carriers, battleships, cruisers a n d shore installations, thereby giving his nation free rein of t h e surrounding waters.
5(3
A n d no, it was not Pearl H a r b o r below this time, b u t Britain's major naval base on the island of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka).
C o n t r o l of Ceylon, situated off India's southeast coast, was
important for b o t h Japan and Britain in early 1942. Japanese
leaders wanted to protect the western flank of their newly won
territories, to open sea supply lines to her forces fighting in
Burma and place themselves in position to possibly link u p
with Hitler's armies in the Middle East, should the G e r m a n s
continue to overrun the Soviet Union's reeling armies. If Brit46
Caught in the open sea by 80 Japanese planes dispatched to

attack an entire British task force, the hapless British cruisers
Dorsetshire and Cornwall come under attack by Aichi D3A1
dive bombers on April 5, 1942, in Naval Operations in the
Indian Ocean, by Kobayakawa.
47
Calcutta
Japanese
Movements
BURMA
FRENCH
Japanese
INDOCHINA
Air A t t a c k s
Ramree
INDIA
British
BAY OF
Movements
pjff
Vizaqapatam
BENGAL
British Ship
Losses
Ozawa's raids on shipping
April 5-6, 1942
S
Saigon"
A N D A M A N IS.
Mergui
Madras
ARABIAN
SEA
HMS Hermes
Sunk April 9,1942
NICOBAR IS.
Trincomalee
MALAYA
Nagumo's fast carrier force raid

March-April 1942
Cojpmbo
Singapore
SUMATRA'
INDIAN
-fiiWrri
OCEAN
HMS Dorsetshire
HMS Cornwall
Sunk April 5, 1942
Admiral Sir James F. Somerville's attempt to intercept Admiral Chuichi Nagumo's task force was a tragedy of errorspoor timing
and the dividing up of his force. When the Japanese struck at Ceylon, Somerville's main force was 600 miles away, at Addu Atoll.
ain was to counterattack anytime soon in t h e Far East, ships
a n d materiel would likely assemble at t h e two British naval
bases, C o l o m b o a n d Trincomalee, o n Ceylon. For Japan, a
pre-emptive strike thus appeared imperative.
But Britain absolutely could not let Ceylon fall to the
Japanese. In fact, t h e British chiefs of staff considered its
survival even more i mport a nt t h a n Calcutta's because its
naval bases ensured a c o n t i n u o u s supply line (particularly of
Ceylon rubber) from vital British Far Eastern sources to t h e
h o m e islands, and kept communications open with Australia
a n d t h e Persian Gulf.
To bolster Britain's meager strength in t h e Indian Ocean,
particularly after the stunning loss of capital ships Repulse and
Prince of Wales right after Pearl Harbor, Winston Churchill
dispatched five battleships and three carriers to Ceylon, all in
t h e charge of Sir James F. Somerville, the aggressive admiral
w h o had h u n t e d d o w n Hitler's feared battleship Bismarck.
Sixty British fighters and a h an d f u l of short-range b o m b e r s
also hurried to t h e naval port of Colomboa m u c h weaker
air force t h a n Churchill desired but one that he prayed would
"at least [make] sure t h a t a Japanese air attack would be
sharply resisted."
Somerville c o m m a n d e d a vulnerable flotilla. Four of t h e
battleships were old and so slow they could barely keep up
with t h e carriers. T h e aging carrier Hermes was joined by t h e
more imposing carriers Indomitable and Formidable, b u t they,
along with their escorts of 8 cruisers, 15 destroyers and 5 submarines, had little time to train as a coordinated unit. After
inspecting his available power, Somerville joked: "So this is
the Eastern Fleet. Well never mind. There's many a good tune
played o n an old fiddle." But privately, he wrote: "My old
Battleboats are in various states of disrepair & I've not a ship
48
at present that approaches what I should call a proper standard

of fighting efficiency. . .The fact is that until I get this odd
collection of boats together and train t h e m u p they aren't
worth much."
Somerville split his ships into a fast group a n d a slow one,
each guarded by an assortment of cruisers, destroyers and submarines. Force A , u n d e r his own c o m m a n d , consisted of t h e
battleship Warspite and carriers Indomitable a n d Formidable.
Force B, led by Vice A d m . Algernon Willis, contained the
slower carrier Hermes accompanied by the battleships Resolution, Ramillies, Royal Sovereign a n d Revenge.
O n March 28, 1942, British intelligence informed Somerville
that a potent Japanese force had entered the Indian Ocean and
predicted an attack on t h e British naval bases at the Ceylon
port cities of C o l o m b o a n d Trincomalee o n April 2 or 3.
Somerville immediately headed to sea on March 31, hoping to
lure the Japanese into a night action in which his battleships'
powerful guns would hold the advantage over Japanese carriers.
T h e British admiral failed to c o m p r e h e n d his opponent's
strength, which comprised nothing less than the strongest fleet
in the world at that time. Steaming toward t h e Indian O c e a n
was t h e mighty " N a g u m o Force," c o m m a n d e d by Admiral
C h u i c h i Nagumo. His fleet had devastated Pearl Harbor,
raided Darwin, Australia, a n d generally wrought havoc
t h r o u g h o u t m u c h of t h e Pacific while itself suffering miniscule losses. Aircraft carriers Akagi, Soryu, Hiryu, Shokaku and
Zuikaku; battleships Kongo, Hiei, Kirishima a n d Haruna,
collectively packing 32 14-inch guns; heavy cruisers Chikuma
a n d Tone; light cruiser Abukuma; a n d nine destoyers were all
m a n n e d by confident sailors a n d pilots ecstatic over their
recent successes. Six tankers, escorted by three destroyers,
carried sufficient fuel for the imposing fleet.
Commissioned in 1924, the British light aircraft carrier Hermesseen here in happier timescarried only 12 aircraft. Even those
were still ashore at Trincomalee's airfield when Nagumo struck the naval base on April 9.
T281
N a g u m o led his ships from the southeast Celebes toward

t h e Bay of Bengal o n March 26 for a planned surprise attack
o n C o l o m b o April 5. He knew Somerville's fleet existed, but
could only guess where it might be. O n e guess was that the
British fleet lay in C o l o mboan opportunity for a second
Pearl Harbor. O n April 2, south of Sumatra, however, a British Catalina stumbled o n t o t h e force, a n d t h o u g h Japanese
fighters quickly downed t h e luckless plane, N a g u m o could
only wonder if its crew managed to radio word to Ceylon first.
He need not have worried about Somerville. For three days
t h e British admiral conducted a fruitless search for Nagumo,
w h o m he expected o n April 1 or 2. W h e n n o t h i n g t u r n e d
up, Somerville incorrectly assumed the Japanese were nowhere
near Ceylon and ordered most of his ships to the secret British
port on A d d u Atoll, 600 miles southwest of Ceylon, for refueling. T h e admiral moaned, "I fear they have taken fright, which
is a pity because if I could have given t h e m a good crack now
it would have been timely."
H e t h e n mistakenly weakened his forces by dispatching the
small carrier Hermes a n d the Australian destroyer Vampire to
Trincomalee to pick up planes, while t h e cruisers Dorsetshire
a n d Cornwall headed toward C o l o m b o for repairs. T h e Catalina did reportit placed N a g u m o m u c h closer to Ceylon,
a n d Somerville could do little from faraway A d d u Atoll other
t h a n rush with his smaller force to Ceylon and hope to confront N a g u m o as he left Ceylon. Fast orders recalled the four
British ships already heading for C o l o m b o a n d Trincomalee.
Nagumo, bristling from criticism that his planes h a d blundered at Pearl H a r b o r by failing to hit crucial U.S. naval
shore installations such as fuel storage tanks, firmly reminded
his airmen to avoid repeating the error during t h e attack
o n Colombo.
T h i r t y minutes before dawn o n April 5Easter S u n d a y C a p t a i n Fuchida led his attack force from t h e decks of t h e
carriers Akagi, Soryu and Hiryu a n d headed toward the target
200 miles to t h e n o r t h . He held few illusions of achieving a
Pearl Harbor-type surprise. "We were expecting trouble this
time," he later recalled, "since an enemy flying boat had
spotted us t h e preceding day and, th o u g h shot down by our
combat air patrol, had undoubtedly reported t h e presence
of our force."
As it t u r n e d out, t h e first British planes Fuchida encountered never saw their fleet's enemy until too late. Twelve Fairey
Albacore torpedo planes flying from Trincomalee to join
Hermes passed directly below Fuchida. T h e Japanese leader
signaled their presence to his fighter group commander, Lt.
C m d r . Shigeru Itaya, w h o apparently delegated t h e disposal
of these obsolete biplanes to the Mitsubishi A 6 M 2 Zeros of
Hiryu's fighter group, c o m m a n d e d by Lt. j.g. Sumio N o n o .
N o n o a n d his m e n eagerly p o u n c e d on the unsuspecting
group, a n d within minutes eight were plummeting to t h e
ocean and the rest turning back for h o m e without having
inflicted a loss on t h e Japanese.
S o o n after, at 8 a.m., British radar at C o l o m b o picked up
the incoming enemy force. Immediately, 36 Hawker Hurricane
Mark I and IIB fighters of Nos. 30 and 258 Squadrons, and six
Fairey Fulmars of the Fleet Air A r m rose to deflect Fuchida,
w h o swung n o r t h of C o l o m b o in an attempt to avoid t h e m
while Nono's fighters peeled off to engage them.
A t that time, the Hawker Hurricane was the best fighter
t h e British had in any appreciable n u m b e r s in the Far East.
In Burma, fighting alongside t h e Curtiss P-40s of the American Volunteer Group, they had acquitted themselves well
against t h e Japanese Army Air Force. But they f o u n d t h e
Aichi D3Als warm up aboard a carrier of Admiral Nagumo's task force. In addition to causing havoc at the naval bases and
sinking several British warships, some of the dive bombers even attacked British Blenheim bombers on April 9.
Zeros, a n d t h e naval pilots w h o flew them, a far more formidable prospect. As for the Fulmar, designed to carry a pilot
and navigator in accordance with Fleet Air Arm's requirement
for a carrier fighter, that overweight machine proved n o match
for t h e Zero, either in theory or in practice.
While t h e outmatched British gamely engaged the oncoming Zeros, Fuchida pressed o n to the naval baseand a disappointing surprise. Peering d o w n at his objective, Fuchida
gloomily saw that t h e h ar b o r was empty of British warships.
Colombo would be no Pearl Harbor, but he intended to inflict
all t h e damage he could anyway.
Ferocious anti-aircraft bursts greeted Fuchida's pilots as they
dove toward their targets. T h e British fighters quickly leaped
into t h e fray, transforming t h e sky into a t u m u l t u o u s madhouse of careening planes and colorful explosions. O n e British
soldier exclaimed: "You've never seen anything like it. A n
absolute shamblesplanes o n fire, ships o n fire, buildings
o n fire, the guns crashing away at some high bombers which
h a d broken out of t h e clouds in perfect formation, just like
a H e n d o n Air Show."
Itaya's fighters a n d a few level bombers focused o n Colombo's airfield a n d shore installations a n d systematically
demolished rail yards a n d repair shops. Simultaneously, t h e
dive bombers and bulk of the level bombers attacked any ships
t h a t had delayed in leaving t h e harbor, sinking the destroyer
Tenedos and armed merchant cruiser Hector, a n d setting afire
a merchantman. In a matter of minutes the attack ended, and
a jubilant Fuchida radioed Nagumo's flagship, Akagi, that
there was n o need for a second strike.
While heading back to t h e carriers, Fuchida received a
report that two British cruisers had been sighted to the south.
Believing they intended to attack Nagumo, Fuchida wanted
to return quickly to offer aid, b u t a group of enemy fighters
T281
threatened to delay him. Fuchida countered by ordering Itaya's

Zeros to engage t h e British while he led his b o m b e r s home,
a decision he found difficult. "It was hard to leave the fighters
to find their way back alone," lamented Fuchida, "but it h a d
to be done. Most of t h e m did return safely, b u t several never
made it." In fact, only one Zero pilot, Seaman 1st Class Sachio
Higashi of the Soryu, was lost in the fight. A total of 27 British
fighters were claimed by the Japanese, including 14 by the nine
Zeros of Soryu's fighter squadron, led by Lt. j.g. Iyozo Fujita.
Actual British losses were not that far off17 Hurricanes a n d
four Fulmars. Besides Higashi's Zero, the British shot d o w n
five Japanese dive bombers.
N a g u m o hoped he had located the British fleet a n d
launched a second wave of 80 dive bombers, under Lt. Cmdr.
Takashige Egusa, n o longer needed for Colombo. Instead of
finding Somerville, however, his scout had spotted Dorsetshire
a n d Cornwall as they steamed to rejoin the British admiral.
T h e two hapless British cruisers now shuddered from repeated
blows as waves of dive bombers, attacking in groups of three
every few seconds, tore into t h e m mercilessly.
Ninety percent of all bombs dropped o n t h e cruisers either
f o u n d their mark or hit close by t h e ships. Dorsetshire, t h e
ship that had administered the coup de grce to Hitler's mighty
Bismarck, reeled from 31 hits before she disappeared. A.G. Elsegood, Dorsetshire's chief canteen manager, felt his vessel
shudder "as if some giant h a n d h a d seized the ship a n d shook
her bodily." In minutes, too, eight successive hits sent Cornwall to t h e b o t t o m as well.
"So thick were t h e explosions from the rain of bombs,"
concluded a postwar Japanese historian, " t h a t many plane
crews could not determine whether they had actually released
their missiles." Egusa's force, said t h e same historian, "established an all-time record in bombing accuracy." A sympathetic
Virtually helpless against the enemy onslaught, the Hermes takes her final plunge. The first British aircraft carrier to be built
from the keel up as such, she also had the dubious distinction of being the first carrier to be sunk by carrier-based aircraft.
Fuchida later said, "I could only feel pity for these surface
ships assailed from the air at odds of 40 to 1." Many British
sailors suffered multiple horrors in the attack424 men went
d o w n with the cruisers, while another 1,122 floated in sharkinfested waters, 200 miles from t h e nearest land, for 30 hours
before rescue ships arrived.
Nagumo, w h o yearned to meet Somerville in a daylight
encounter, now retired east to avoid any night action a n d
to maneuver into position for his assault o n Trincomalee.
T h e outfoxed Somerville intended to avoid a daylight battle a n d planned to stalk N a g u m o for a night attack, b u t
for two days the admirals maneuvered about the ocean without locating each other. Somerville, surmising that N a g u m o
was headed for A d d u Atoll, pulled back and positioned his
ships to hit t h e Japanese as they neared t h e British base.
U n f o r t u n a t e l y for Somerville, N a g u m o knew n o t h i n g of
t h e secret British base a n d was t h e n rushing in t h e opposite direction, toward Trincomalee. T h e British admiral had
again guessed wrong a n d placed his fleet a distant 600 miles
from Trincomalee.
W h e n a shocked Somerville learned of Nagumo's destination, he ordered British ships at Trincomalee to hustle out of
the harbor o n April 8. By the next morning the carrier Hermes,
destroyer Vampire and three escorting ships h a d departed and
were steaming south, hugging Ceylon's coast for protection.
T h e British ships were 65 miles away w h e n Fuchida led 100
planes from t h e carriers Akagi, Hiryu, Shokaku and Zuikaku
against Trincomalee o n April 9. Twenty-one British fighters,
including 16 Hurricane IIBs of No. 261 Squadron, recently
ferried in from t h e Indomitable, rose to meet the attackers and
a vicious aerial melee again broke out, with honors less uneven
t h a n had been the case over Columbo. T h e Japanese fighter
groups claimed as many as 56 killsmore enemy aircraft t h a n
were actually engagedbut a total of eight Hurricanes and

three Fulmars were shot down for t h e loss of six Japanese aircraft (the British claimed 15), including three Zeros whose
pilots were killed: Petty Officer 1st Class Toshio M a k i n o d a of
the Hiryu, Petty Officer 1st Class Fujio Hayashi of the Shokaku,
and Zuikaku's division officer, Lieutenant Masatoshi Makino.
Neither the British fighters nor heavy anti-aircraft fire were
able to b l u n t t h e incoming force, which ripped into a large
number of carrier planes lined up neatly o n the airfield before
demolishing port installations. Fuchida was struck by the sight
of one munitions depot that erupted "in a spectacular display
of fireworks." Terming the attack "highly effective," Fuchida
radioed t h e Akagi to send a second wave in pursuit of t h e
British ships that h a d been sighted at sea.
Those were the unfortunate Hermes and her escorts, whose
skippers had mistakenly assumed the Japanese attack to be over
and had reversed course for Trincomalee. Rather than steaming
to safety, the ships headed directly toward Egusa's second
wave, 90 attack planes that swarmed into attack at 10:35 a.m.
Incredibly, n o British fighters arose to meet Egusa. In fact,
w h e n the Japanese commander peered down at t h e Hermes,
he saw an empty flight deck. Just before the attack, t h e Japanese had intercepted a frantic plea from Hermes to Trincomalee
asking if t h e fighters from t h a t base h a d b e e n directed to
t h e carrier, b u t those planes h a d already been destoyed by
Fuchida. With n o air protection, Hermes lay vulnerable o n
t h e ocean waters, a n d within 20 minutes t h e Japanese planes
had pummeled her to the b o t t o m along with 307 of her crew.
Ten minutes later, a hammered Vampire split in half and also
sank. T h e corvette Hollyhock followed at noon, after a followup attack by planes from the Soryu. T h e Hollyhock lost 53 men,
b u t only eight men died aboard t h e Vampire. T h e prominent
red crosses on a nearby hospital ship, the Vita, were respected
T281
sisting of t h e light carrier Ryujo and six heavy cruisers, had

simultaneously succeeded in disrupting British interests in the
Bay of Bengal, sinking 23 merchant ships and forcing a suspension in the crucial shipping between India and British
forces in Burma. For b o t h predators it was now time to repair
ships a n d give t h e m e n some rest. Altogether, N a g u m o had
traveled one-third of t h e globe, almost unseen by his enemy,
while delivering smashing blows against the two most powerful
navies in t h e world. His successes at Pearl Harbor, Darwin,
Rabaul and now Ceylon came at t h e loss of a mere h a n d f u l
of planes a n d h a n d e d Japan control of an e n o r m o u s expanse
of water from t h e Bay of Bengal to t h e middle of the Pacific.
Crewmen from the Dorsetshire wait aboard a naval cutter to

be brought aboard one of the destroyers that rescued them
after 30 hours in the water.
by t h e Japaneseon this occasion, at leastand she was able
to rescue more t h a n 600 British seamen.
While those unprotected British ships met their sad fate,
N a g u m o h a d to c o n t e n d with a surprise of his own. In February, the Royal Air Force's No. 11 S q u a d r o n had arrived at
Ceylon, equipped with outdated twin-engine Bristol Blenheim
medium bombers. Even as the Japanese attack force was heading for t h e naval base at Trincomalee, 11 Blenheims of t h a t
unit took off against their carriers. Two Blenheims turned back
with engine trouble, b u t S q u a d r o n Leader K. Ault led t h e
remaining nine o n to t h e Japanese task force.
Somehow, t h e Blenheims managed to sneak through the
Japanese air patrol a n d drop six bombs that sent huge white
geysers soaring off each side of the Akagithe first time
N a g u m o had been attacked by enemy bombers since t h e
war had started.
O n e Blenheim was shot d o w n by t h e carrier's anti-aircraft
defenses. As they retired to base, the others were spotted by
the returning Japanese strike force. A 30-minute running fight
ensued, as Zeros and even Aichi D3A1 dive bombers peeled
off to give chase. Four Blenheims were shot down, including
t h e one flown by Ault, a n d two others damaged. In return,
t h e bombers' gunners claimed to have shot down two Zeros,
of which o n e was subsequently confirmed by Japanese recordsLieutenant Sumio N o n o , Hiryu's division officer, was
killed during t h e fight with the Blenheims.
N a g u m o now decided to head h o m e after four triump h a n t m o n t h s at sea. His compatriot in Indian Ocean waters,
Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa, c o m m a n d i n g a raiding force con-
Recognizing t h a t caution was now imperative, Somerville

withdrew his slower shipsForce Bto Klindini, near M o m basa, o n Africa's eastern coast, while keeping his faster vessels
near Ceylon, with the explanation that t h e British had to
"lie low in one sense b u t be pretty active in another; [to] keep
the old tarts out of the picture and roar about with the others."
Soon, t h o u g h , even the speedier ships h a d withdrawn to
Africa. Recalling that difficult time, Churchill later wrote, "We
had now for the time being completely abandoned the Indian
O c e a n , except for t h e coast of Africa."
Churchill notified President Franklin D. Roosevelt of his
desperate situation and asked that any spare American ships
be sent to t h e Pacific to lure Japan away from t h e exposed
British interests in t h e Indian Ocean. " W h e n I reflect how
I have longed a n d prayed for t h e entry of t h e United States
into t h e war," a somber Churchill stated, "I find it difficult
to realize how gravely our British affairs have deteriorated since
December 7th."
Roosevelt responded on April 17 that help was coming, b u t
he could not divulge much, "because of secrecy requirements,
b u t we hope you will find t h e m effective w h e n they can be
made k n o w n to you shortly." T h e American leader was here
hinting at the surprise Doolittle raid to be unleashed on Tokyo
t h e next daythe first time the Allies brought t h e war h o m e
to t h e Japanese populace.
Even though N a g u m o returned in triumph, other ominous
signs brewed o n t h e horizon. T h e main goal of t h e Ceylon
raids h a d been to destroy t he British fleet. N a g u m o had not
really d o n e so. Moreover, British pilots had inflicted losses
against Japanese pilots and shown them to be less t h a n invincible. A n d American carriers still remained o n the loose to
h a u n t the Japanese.
T h e N a g u m o force steamed h o m e exhausted a n d low on
supplies, rather t h a n rested and ready. W h e n t h e Imperial
Japanese Navy fought the Battles of the Coral Sea and Midway
just weeks later, t h e ships a n d m e n would not be as sharp.
Later, Captain Fuchida wondered about the wisdom of the
Ceylon operations, which h a d positioned Japan's powerful
fleet in a secondary area while American carriers roamed the
Pacific. He believed the American fleet, particularly its air arm,
held top priority a n d that its destruction could have given
Japan time to consolidate its new holdings.
Instead, Japanese naval leaders "improperly and wastefully
employed" their resources elsewhere. H e mused that, " O n e
c a n n o t help wondering what might have been t h e course of
t h e war had our top naval c o m m a n d been more prompt to
revise its o u t m o d e d thinking in t h e light of new experience."
Fuchida recognized the stunning importance of carrier operations for the coming struggle, strategy that was speedily utilized
by America"an enemy who was quicker to learn from defeat
t h a n our naval leaders were to learn from victory."
History writer and teacher John F. Wukovits is working on a
book about the Pacific War. Related readings already available:
T h e Pacific War, by John Costello; Midway: T h e Battle T h a t
D o o m e d Japan, by Mitsuo Fuchida and Masatake
Okumiya;
Engage T h e Enemy More Closely, by Correlli Barnett.
WARRIORS
WAR AND WARRIORS SERIES
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FLOYD
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WERNER
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Commander ot
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IHE^
LIFE
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U F T W F F
G A L L I P O L I A s England, France, and

Germany bogged down in the murderous mud
of Flanders and Lorraine, the British
Admiralty, led by First Lord Winston Churchill, hatched a daring plan to outflank the
Central Powers by striking at Germany's eastern ally, Turkeya desperate gamble and a
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heroism and self-sacrifice of the common
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and counterattack, thirst and disease, and the
folly of the politicians and generals who commanded them. Cloth, 384 pp., photos, $18.95
THE CRUISE OF THE RAIDER WOLF'
Gripping wartime adventure on the high
seasthe extraordinary saga of Germany's
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Arctic Ocean. Disguised as a merchantman, the
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returning to port. Cloth, 270 pp., $15.95.
W I T H R O M M E L IN T H E D E S E R T
Rommel's aide-de-camp, who served with the
Desert Fox from the first victories to the bitter
end, tells the dramatic inside story of Rommel
the commander, Rommel the man, and of
Rommel's epic victories and defeats, from El
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Agedabia and the Kasserine Pass. An unsurpassed account of his greatest campaign. Cloth,
240 pp., photos, $15.95.
THE RED KNIGHT OF GERMANY No

hero of the First World War has spawned a
more durable myth than Baron Manfred von
Richthofen, the ace who led the "Flying Circ u s " to victory after dramatic victory in the
skies above the Western Front. Floyd Gibbons' classic account captures the real man
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undying annals of wartime heroism. Cloth,
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M A R S H A L Z H U K O V ' S G R E A T E S T BATT L E S War on the Eastern Front as told by
Stalin's greatest warrior, the Red Army's
answer to Eisenhower, Patton, Montgomery,
Rommel, and Guderian rolled into one! Here
is the little-heard Soviet account of the
strategy and tactics by which Stalin's armies
repelled Hitler's Wehrmacht, then stormed into the heart of Europe t o raise the Red flag
over Warsaw, Budapest, Prague, and Berlin.
Must reading for all students of military
history. Cloth, 304 pp., photos, $18.95.
T H E LIFE A N D DEATH OF T H E LUFTW A F F E Werner Baumbach, a 29-year-old
colonel at the war's end, held the Luftwaffe's
supreme bomber post, General of the
Bombers. His classic Life and Death of the
Luftwaffe is both a stirring narrative of combat front the Faeroes t o the Caucasus, and an
informed, inside account of the triumph and
tragedy of the German air force in World
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by Charles
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BOOKS
The "forgotten" battle of the Pacific War quite

possibly wasn't needed at all.
By Edward R. Crews
T281
eleliu t u r n e d out to be
o n e of t h e U.S. Marine
Corps' hardest fought battles
in World War II. Today, oddly
enough, it is one of t h e least
studied, least understood
and least written about.
Bill Ross, a former Marine
a n d a veteran Associated
Press reporter, has tried to
bring t h e battle out of obscurity with his latest book,
Peleliu: Tragic Triumph: The
Untold Story of the Pacific
War's Forgotten Battle (Random House, New York, 1991,
$22). A n d his book is a moving yet unsentimental look
at t h e hard fighting t h e Marines experienced o n this
6-mile-long, 2-mile-wide coral
island in late 1944. T h e book
traces the reasons behind the
Peleliu invasion a n d shows
how the 1st Marine Division trained and then fought
t h e battle.
Japanese, as well as to use it

as an invasion staging ground,
an a m m o dump, an airfield
a n d a ship anchorage. In
truth, after all the blood was
expended to capture Peleliu,
it played n o role in MacA r t h u r ' s offensive.
If the strategic reasons for
seizing t h e island were
flawed, so were t h e tactics of
t h e 1st Division's commander, Maj. G e n . William
H. Rupertus.
T h r o u g h o u t t h e planning
of, training for a n d fighting
of t h e b a t t l e , R u p e r t u s
seemed to be out of touch
with the needs of his division. His prewar reputation
within t h e C o r p s was of a
difficult, unlikable, complex, moody and not overwhelmingly bright officer
w h o communicated poorly
with subordinates. All those
traits dogged Rupertus during Peleliu. In addition,
Ross argues that Peleliu
Rupertus was overly optimisnever should have been intic about the length of time
vaded and that t h e Marine
it would take to seize t h e
division's top leadership was
island. He repeatedly asserted
not up to t h e challenge of
t h e battle would last a few
preparing for t h e fight or Artist Tom Lea's most grisly depictions of war's realities were
days, t h o u g h c a s u a l t i e s
directing it once it began.
inspired by his experiences on Peleliu. This Marine's "thousandwould be high.
"What emerged was a sorry yard stare" was a common phenomenon during the campaign.
T h e general's problems
litany of almost everything
apparently
did
not e n d there. Ross
that can be d o n e wrong in preparing for
His research was extensive, relying o n
a major amphibious landing," Ross written eyewitness descriptions, inter- presents evidence that suggests Rupertus
was not in control of his own emotions
writes. " T h e situation was especially views a n d official historical material.
or thoughts during t h e battle and even
acute and foreboding since the target was
Two "all-important facts must be
a heavily fortified island garrisoned by a d d e d " to put t h e battle in its tragic tried at o n e time to h a n d over divihold-or-die troops c o m m a n d e d by a historical focus, he says. " O n e is t h e sion c o m m a n d to a subordinate while
t h e fighting was raging. Some reports
shrewd combat-wise Japanese colonel,
haunting, terrible total of 6,336 1st
whose ancestors h a d been renowned Marine Division casualties: 1,121 killed, described Rupertus as suffering so acutely
from depression that he could not comsamurai warriors for generations."
5,142 w o u n d e d a n d 73 missing. T h e
m a n d effectively.
o
t
h
e
r
is
an
even
greater
tragedy:
Peleliu
Despite this controversial position,
Peleliu is not a polemic directed at t h e should have been bypassed a n d never
T h e top Marine Corps brass evidently
C o r p s or its generals. In fact, it presents invaded at all."
was disappointed with his performance.
t h e sort of gimlet-eyed view t h a t only a
If Peleliu didn't have to be taken, why Rupertus was relieved soon after the battle
Marine deeply attached to t h e C o r p s was it?
a n d given a stateside billet. H e died of a
and well aware of its strengths and shortT h e war planners believed that seizure heart attack not long after, in March 1945.
comings could offer.
of t h e island was necessary to protect
Despite t h e snags a n d snafus, Peleliu
T h e author has gone to great lengths General Douglas M a c A r t h u r ' s flank
is a testimony to t h e bravery of t h e
to give a balanced view of t h e campaign when he began his invasion of the Philip- Marines w h o fought there. It was smalla n d t h e m e n charged with r u n n i n g it. pines. T h e strategy was to deny it to the unit leadership t h a t won t h e battle, and
GREAT BATTLES
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Ross' book is studded with vignettes of

courage and decisiveness by privates, sergeants, lieutenants and captains. Eight
Marines received the Medal of H o n o r at
Peleliu, a statistic that says m u c h about
t h e intensity of the fighting there.
Peleliu is a book that America has
needed for many years. It is a challenging, groundbreaking, uncompromising
work that will no d o u b t become the
standard volume o n this tragic battle.
U-Boat Ace, T h e Story of Wolfgang
Liith, by Jordan Vause, Naval Institute
Press, 1991, $24.95.
W h e n Allied m e r c h a n t m e n and their
escorts were pitted against Nazi Germany's U-boats in the relentless battle
for t h e N o r t h Atlantic, t h e submarine
captains were sanctified with a litany of
heroism and high pedestals in the Nazi
p a n t h e o n . T h e heroes were many: Uboat ace G u n t h e r Prien sneaked through
British defenses to sink a battleship at its
berth; Joachim Schepke was noted as
"debonair a n d dangerous with t h e face
and m a n n e r of a matinee idol"; O t t o
Kretschmer amassed staggering totals of
torpedoed Allied shipping.
A m o n g the lesser-known U-boat commanders was Wolfgang Liith, himself
dedicated to the Nazi cause. Liith was the
prototypical U-boat captain. During
intense enemy depth-charging, he displayed little emotion, believing this
would help inspire his men. To keep
them loose, Liith invented games a n d
athletic contests, as well as chess tournaments and music fests. Occasionally,
he b e n t rules to discipline crewmen.
Liith's orders would take him into
violent clashes with Allied convoys in
the N o r t h Atlantic, along the coast
of Africa a n d in the Indian Ocean.
During his 16 wartime patrols, he sank
47 merchant vessels a n d a French
submarinea total topped only by O t t o
Kretschmer. His efforts, including a
record 203-day patrol, earned him the
Reich's highest award for valor, the
Knight's Cross with Diamonds.
Aut hor Jordan Vause blends historical
records a n d valuable interviews with
Ltith's surviving crewmen to construct
a portrait of a complex warrior. T h e captain demonstrated concern for t h e
wounded survivors of the torpedoed
British refrigerator ship Clan Macarthur,
yet surfaced to shell t h e helpless sailing
vessel Herr Kaleu into splinters. A skillful stalker, he could penetrate a convoy's
defenses, sink ships, a n d t h e n seemingly disappear without a trace.
By 1944, t h e war at sea had turned
against G e r m a n y . Prien, Schepke,
Kretschmer a n d a host of others had
already been killed or captured. T h e
Reich could n o longer allow a decorated hero such as Liith to be risked at
Presidio * Press:
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Bill Mauldin's
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U S N (Ret.)
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380 pages, $18.95

HEROES OF
WORLD WAR II
Edward F. Murphy
384 pages, $24.95
COMMAND MISSIONS
Lt. General L.K. Truscott, Jr.
570 pages, $24.95
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David R. Mets
448 pages, $22.50
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21 July-10 August 1944
BUI M a u l d l n ' * G r e a t e s t W o r l d W a r II C a r t o o n
Harry A. Gailey
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Bill Mauldin's Greatest World War II Cartoons
Follow Willie and Joe from prewar training camp to
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Deluxe Hardcover edition $30.00, 8^x11, 384 pages
Lt. Gen. E.M. Flanagan, Jr.

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William Breuer
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480 pages, $24.95
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T281
As seen on
ABC's Prime
sea. Promoted to Kapitan zur See, Liith

was named commander of the Marineskriegsschule-Miirwik to train a new contingent of U-boat officers. He was at that
post when Nazi Germany collapsed in
1945. Ironically, the U-boat ace who had
survived countless dangers in battle was
accidentally killed by a young guard a
few days after peace had been declared.
U-boat Ace provides insights into the
paradoxical character of this little-known
German hero, within an accurate depiction of submariners and submarine warfare in World War II.
Kenneth R Czech
Time
Live. . .!
There's A War To Be Won: T h e

United States Army in World War
II, by Geoffrey Perret, Random House,
New York, 1991, $30.
George Catlett Marshall, once General
John J. Pershing's prize protg, was a
m a n of whom much was expected ever
since his junior officer days when he attended the School of the Line at Fort
Leavenworth, Kansas, and was graduated
first in his class. When he arrived at Fort
Benning, Georgia, in 1927 to run the Army's Infantry School, he saw more t h a n
a chance to improve the schoolhe saw
a once-in-a-century opportunity to remake the entire U.S. Army.
After World War I, Pershing had persuaded Congress to authorize a peacetime army of 200,000 men (less than half
the recent Desert Storm turnout), but
Congress would not provide enough
money for even that level. The Army was
a congeries of understrength, oldfashioned battalions scattered from New
York to China. Army strength dropped
to 132,000 men in 1923 and remained
close to that figure for the next 10 years.
Pay and conditions were abysmal. This
sad state of affairs, together with the ray
of hope evidenced by the emergence of
Marshall, is the starting point for There's
A War To Be Won.
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Paperclip recruits are currently u n d e r
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2 2 Years In s a m e l o c a t i o n
T281
Fort Benning gave Marshall the means

to conduct experiments in military
science. He simplified tactics, orders and
maps. He determined that the "square
divisions" the Army had created to fight
in France accumulated unnecessary
casualties and that the best geometric
shape for a division was a triangle, made
up of three regiments instead of four.
Marshall determined that the ideal size
of a battalion was 850 men; experimental battalions previously had ranged from
300 to as many as 2,000 men. T h e
850-man battalion is today the standard
all over the world. Marshall completely
revised and restructured the teaching
methods used in the Army.
During the 1930s, the strength of the
Army was modestly increased but not in
the interest of national security. T h e
gains in manpower were mainly to pro-
LITTLE
STORIES
FROM
..
WORLD WAR II
By C. Brian Kelly
ISBN 0-9624875-0-3
IT ALL DID HAPPEN!

101 WWII vignettes by C. Brian Kelly,
editor of Military History and World
War II Magazines.
Order your own oversize paperback
copy now! (Signed by request)
Montpelier Publishing
PO Box 3384, University Station
Charlottesville, Virginia 22903-0384
OR CALL 1-800-345-0096
Only $10.95 (includes postage & handling)
(VA R E S I D E N T S P L E A S E
A D D 4.5% S A L E S T A X )
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39, U n i t e d St a t e s C o d e ) filed S e p t e m b e r , 1991. T h e title of t h i s
p u b l i c a t i o n is W O R L D W A R 11 ( U S P S 002-124; I S S N 0898-4204).
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b u s i n e s s offices are l o c a t e d a t 6 4 0 5 F l a n k D r i v e , H a r r i s b u r g , PA
17112. T h e publisher is E m p i r e Press, 602 S. King Street, Suite 300,
Leesburg, V A 22075. T h e editor is C . Brian Kelly, 602 S. K i n g St.,
S u i t e 300, Leesburg, V A 22075. T h e o w n e r is C o w l e s Magazines,
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M e d i a C o . are J o h n C o w l e s , Jr.; J a n e Sage Fuller Cowles; M a r g a r e t
M . Bullitt-Jonas; R o b e r t Jonas; C h r i s t i n e Jonas; J o h n Terry Bullitt;
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S t e p h e n s ; C h a r l e s Fuller Cowles; Jenifer Keefe Cowles; Tessa Sage
Flores; Russell C o w l e s II; M a r g u e r i t e A . C o w l e s ; Melissa A n n
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Bullitt-Friedman; Allan H . Friedman, D u r h a m , N o r t h Carolina;
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York; G a r d n e r C o w l e s III, East S e t a u k e t , N e w York; Kate C o w l e s
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N e w York; G w e n Beatrix Strauss, Paris, F r a n c e ; K a t e A n n e
Strauss, A l b a n y , C a l i f o r n i a ; D a v i d K r u i d e n i e r ; L u t h e r L. Hill,
Jr., D e s M o i n e s , Iowa; Lisa K r u i d e n i e r , C a r b o n d a l e , C o l o r a d o ;
William A . C o r d i n g l e y , Scottsdale, A r i z o n a ; B r u c h & C o . in care
of First Trust C o m p a n y , M i n n e a p o l i s , M i n n e s o t a , a n d t h e Washi n g t o n Post C o m p a n y , W a s h i n g t o n , D.C. T h e r e are n o b o n d holders, m o r t g a g e e s o r o t h e r security h o l d e r s . T h e average n u m ber of copies p r i n t e d per issue d u r i n g t h e preceding 12 m o n t h s was
211,396; f o r N o v e m b e r 1991, 189,068. T h e average sale of copies
t h r o u g h dealers, carriers, street v e n d o r s , a n d c o u n t e r sales for t h e
p r e c e d i n g 12 m o n t h s was 14,228; for N o v e m b e r 1991, 13,384. T h e
average sale of copies t h r o u g h mail s u b s c r i p t i o n for t h e p r e c e d i n g
12 m o n t h s was 155,139; for N o v e m b e r 1991, 137,727. T h e average
paid circulation per issue for t h e preceding 12 m o n t h s was 169,367;
for N o v e m b e r 1991, 151,111. T h e average n u m b e r of sample, c o m p l i m e n t a r y or free copies distributed for e a c h issue d u r i n g t h e prec e d i n g 12 m o n t h s was 282; for N o v e m b e r 1991, 292. T h e average
n u m b e r of copies d i s t r i b u t e d for e a c h issue d u r i n g t h e p r e c e d i n g
12 m o n t h s by all m e a n s was 169,649; for N o v e m b e r 1991, 151,403.
I certify t h a t t h e s t a t e m e n t s m a d e by m e a b o v e are correct a n d
complete.
Carl G n a m , Vice President
International Historic Films takes you behind enemy lines with rare Herman
combat footage: the secret strategies.Jhe great battles captured...
Roll with the Panzers across Europe as you lollow the greatest battles ol
World War 2 through the eves ol the German soldier. Experience devastating
air strikes...the beaches on D-Day...via authentic combat films shot by Irontline German cameramen. You've seen the Allies' footage; now see the Second
World War as you've never seen it before: Through Enemy Eyes.
FORTRESS EUROPE
W O R L D WAR T W O IN T H E BALTIC STATES
THE BALTIC TRAGEDY
(Germany, 1940-1945)
Hitler's war on Russia is graphically portrayed in 11 original German wartime

newsreels. The northern sector of the Germans' eastern front, where ferocious
battles were fought in Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, and Finland, is featured.
Four additional international documentaries - including one produced by
the Soviets in 1944 - present a well-rounded picture of the tragic plight
of the Baltic peoples during World War II. Here is the story of the "captive
nations" - whose lands became a killing ground for one of history's most
brutal wars.
B&W, 148 minutes, English subtitles. s 49.95 #023.
GERMAN WARTIME
NEWSREELS PART 3
(Germany, 1940)
erttian
SKMAN
INVASION
',4>jm
* ', mtm
Of
POUND
(Germany, 1942-1944)
D r a w n exclusively
f r o m original G e r m a n
films, here a r e t h e
coastal
bunkers,
heavy bunkers, heavy
artillery, troops, a n d
commandersinOut of the inferno:
cluding von Runstedt,
R o m m e l , a n d S e p p of languishing await these
American prisoners from
D i e t r i c h t h a t m a d e the 82nd Airborne.
u p "Fortress E u r o p e " ,
the main line of defense against the Allied invasion of N o r m a n d y in J u n e 1944. Footage f r o m
front-line c a m e r a m e n s h o w s t h e resolute G e r m a n
defenders, including m e n of the SS divisions "Hitler
Y o u t h " a n d "Goetz v o n Berlichingen", fighting o n
France's beaches a n d in h e r villages, fields, a n d
forests. B&W, 88 minutes, English subtitles. 39.95
#279
MEN AGAINST TANKS

ENGINEERS TO
THE FRONT! (Germany, 1941)
(Germany, 1943)
Two Secret German Training Films

iNazi G e r m a n y at the zenith of its p o w e r a n d glory
is s h o w n in five G e r m a n newsreels f r o m 1939 t o
1940. Scenes of t h e G e r m a n invasion of Holland
a n d Belgium in 1940, Hitler's triumphal return t o
Berlin after the fall of France, t h e aerial Battle
of Britain, a n d U - b o a t s scourging the Atlantic a r e
c o m p l e m e n t e d b y footage depicting life o n t h e
G e r m a n h o m e front during t h e first w a r years of
confidence a n d victory.
B&W, 95 minutes, English subtitles. 35.95 #343
UNIItn
r A n A U t
(Germany, 1939)
T h e pageantry of the Third

pjMPWPff
i. M i ' . S m
Reich a n d the precision of its
army reached a dramatic
climax during the festivities honoring Adolf Hitler
o n his 50th birthday: April 20th, 1939. This
complete Nazi newsreel shows Berlinadorned
with flags a n d floral displays b y its citizens a n d
monolithic statuary designed b y Albert S p e e r
preparing for the holiday. Scenes of throngs of
G e r m a n s congratulating their leader are followed
by a review staged b y G e r m a n y ' s a r m e d forces
the greatest military demonstration in t h e history
of the Third Reich. B & W , 21 minutes, English
subtitles. 29.95 #016
(Germany, 1943):
^ ^ From bayonet
l
t o blastWljljr'
fighting
i n g bunkers,
SffllSk.
B g & i P
glacier climbing
t 0 sn
P e r fire
" ^ j L t i
* ^ i ^ T W H i here is the tough
training that m o l d e d the leaders
of Hitler's armies. This original
Nazi film, enhanced by actionpacked sequences a n d a
brilliant musical score, depicts
life a t G e r m a n s c h o o l s f o r
i n f a n t r y officers. B & W , 17
minutes, English subtitles. 24.95
#374
IHF MILITARY HISTORY
C A T A L O G over 300 titles.
>2.00 - FREE w i t h order.
FOREIGN O R D E R S S P E C I F Y PAL S T A N D A R D
M e n Against Tanks: German

soldiers re-enact c o m b a t exploits
in this elaborate a n d frightening
film s h o w i n g h o w i n f a n t r y m e n
battle Soviet a r m o r e d attacks.
B&W, 28 minutes.
E n g i n e e r s t o t h e Front!: G e r m a n engineersoldiers, t h e m e n w h o p a v e d t h e w a y f o r t h e
blitzkrieg, lift mines, build bridges, force river
crossings under fire, a n d eliminate bunkers with
flame throwers a n d explosives.
B & W , 19 minutes.
Both films on one vidocassette, total running time
47 minutes, English subtitles. 29.95 #024
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WORLD WAR U
50TH ANNIVERSARY, UNTRD STATES NOT

DECEMBER 7, 1941 - SEFTtMMR 2, 19AS
U.S. NAVAL CAMPAIGNS

February 2 7 , 1 9 4 2 - N o v e m b e r 30,1942
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HITLER'S
PANZERS EAST
World
War II
Reinterpreted
By R. H. S. Stolfi
This radical reinterpretation o f
Hitler and the capabilities of the
German Army leads to a rvaluation of World War II, in which the
lesson to be learned is not how the
Allies won the war, but how close
the Germans came to a quick and
decisive victory.
$24.95
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T281
vide employmentthe Great Depression

was in full swing.
T h e rest of t h e storyhow World
War II spurred t h e d e v e l o p m e n t of a n
effective A r m y fighting force of more
t h a n 8 million by 1945is related ably
by a u t h o r Geoffrey Perret as well.
Also p u b l i s h e d recently, a n d closely
related at t h a t , is George C. Marshall,
Interviews and Reminiscences for Forrest C.
Pogue (George C . M a r s h a l l Research
F o u n d a t i o n , Lexington, Va., 1991, $25),
a n d b e h i n d t h a t volume are a tale or two.
First, historian Douglas Southall Freem a n suggested to George C . Marshall
early in World War II t h a t he keep
m e m o r a n d u m s or a diary of i m p o r t a n t
daily events because such records would
someday b e of i m m e n s e significance.
Marshall, t h e n A r m y chief of staff, refused. H e said to d o so would encourage
a state of m i n d u n d u l y c o n c e r n e d a b o u t
possible investigations a n d lead to selfd e c e p t i o n or h e s i t a t i o n in reaching
decisions. H e remained t r u e to his word.
To fill this void, Marshall's official
biographer, Dr. Forrest C . Pogue, taped
a series of lengthy interviews with t h e
general in 1956 a n d 1957 a n d supplem e n t e d t h e m with his o w n notes. T h e
transcripts were m a d e available in photocopied f o r m in 1986. T h e interest in this
material proved so great t h a t t h e George
C . Marshall Research F o u n d a t i o n has
n o w p u b l i sh e d it in b o o k f o r m .
Sections of t h e b o o k are simply rand o m recollections, b u t t h e m a j o r pa rt is
devoted to t h e general's answers to specific q u e s t i o n s posed by Dr. Pogue,
a u t h o r of The Supreme Command a n d
later director of t h e f o u n d a t i o n . T h e
c o m b i n a t i o n provides a complete picture
of Marshall a n d his character.
His early life, i n c l u d i n g t h e b e g i n n i n g
of his military career, is interesting, b u t
a t t e n t i o n inevitably moves to Marshall's
recollections of a n d reactions to t h e
events leading u p to a n d c o n t i n u i n g
t h r o u g h World War II.
Here, he deals with t h e f a m o u s "conspiracy theory"that President Franklin
D. Roosevelt h a d invited a n attack such
as t h a t o n Pearl H a r b o r in order to foster his o w n chances of re-election (or
push the country into war)and discards
it vehemently. A t t h e same time, h e
reveals sides of FDR's n a t u r e t h a t were
n o t admirable. A s chief of staff in 1940,
Marshall was appalled at Roosevelt's
a p p a r e n t indifference to t h e A r m y ' s
weakness d u e to lack of f u n d i n g . In a
history-making meeting in t h e W h i t e
House, w h e n Roosevelt didn't even want
to h e a r f r o m Marshall, t h e general
angrily c o n f r o n t e d t h e president a n d
said, "You have to d o s o m e t h i n g a n d
you've got to d o it today!" Roosevelt
reluctantly took action.
A Rifleman Remembers
World W a r II
Leon C.
country.
Illustrated
$24.95
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Frank D. Register
Standifer
In a deeply personal search for the

meaning of war, Leon C . Standifer
recounts in vivid detail his experiences as an infantryman in France
during the latter part of World W a r
II. From the numbing boredom of
daily routine to the adrenalinepumping excitement of combat and
the anguish of losing friends in
battle, all is revealed from this
firsthand perspective of a nineteenyear-old soldier. Far more than a
conventional soldier's memoir, Not
in Vain serves as a
probing and timely
study of a citizen's
dedication to his
1011S
The Charge of the Light Brigade

:ji|j
By T Jones Barker
ever has so glorious a symbol of devotion to duty, such

an epic of courage under fire, so outweighed conventional
military logic!
O n October 25, 1854, the British-French army laying siege to
the Russian fortress of Sevastopol had come under savage counterattack from the Russians. General George Bingham, Lord Lucan,
through miscommunication with headquarters, mistakenly sent 673
mounted troops of the 13th Light Dragoons against Russians holding
a wooded valley to the north, rather than through the approach
to Balaclava.
The very causes of the Crimean Wareven the war itselfmay
be forgotten, but that monumental charge at Balaclava, that slaughter (113 killed and 134 wounded) at the end of a battle already
won by the Allies, will remain forever with us, thanks to the poet
Alfred, Lord Tennyson, and his stirring "Into the valley of the
shadow of death rode the 600...."
The charge achieved visual immortality in this classic work by
the great military painter T Jones Barker. Barker's painting epitomizes
the popular romantic images of the times, the cathartic energy of
cavalry in headlong charge The central figure, Major General James
Thomas Brudenell, Earl of Cardigan, wears the uniform of his old
unit, the 11th Hussars.
After the survivors of the Light Brigade rode through the Russian guns, Cardigan judged his job done and, wheeling his horse
around, rode back down the valley to the Allied linesright
through a group of 10 Cossacks who tried vainly to capture him
alive. Although slightly wounded, Cardigan rode on, sword at the
slope, looking neither left nor right, oblivious to the guns that
volleyed and thundered to either side of him, until he emerged
from the valley.
Perhaps the most apt appraisal of the charge was made by a
French observer, General Francois Joseph Bosqauet, when he
remarked: "It is magnificent, but it is not war."
We've long admired the Barker painting. Now we can offer this
handsome limited edition, available while supplies last.
Printed on acid-free artist's paper, using high-quality, fade-resistant
inks and precise sheet-fed printing.
Image Size: I8V2" x 24W'; Print Size: 22" x 29"
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Pearl Harbor 50th

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CIVIL WAR TIMES

ILLUSTRATED:
Continued, from page 12

"Lsr m
ordered back to England, arriving at

R A F Heston o n May 9.
Events had not exactly h u n g suspended in Europe while Burton a n d
Macphail had been defying t h e Red Air
Force. D e n m a r k and Norway had b e e n
overrun by t h e Wehrmacht, and only a
day after the airmen's return to England
Hitler unleashed his long-awaited major
offensive against Holland a n d Belgium.
His panzers struck southward into
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waged a d o o m e d defense against t h e
oncoming invaders. By June 4 nearly
350,000 Allied troops had been evacuated by sea from D u n k i r k as the front
collapsed. Paris fell 10 days later.
mmr
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" L E S T W E F O R G E T " A compilation of narratives

detailing the Japanese attack on Pearl H a r b o r submitted
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These exciting documents are t e e m i n g w i t h first hand
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that prevailed that day.
" L E S T W E F O R G E T " features photos of most ships at
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December 7, 1941 plus maps
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O n June 16, a signalman of Nazi Germany's advancing 9th Panzer Division

was rummaging through an a b a n d o n e d
French army baggage train w h e n he
f o u n d copies of the plans drafted for t h e
attack o n Stalin's oil fields. T h e documents were quickly forwarded to higher
headquarters for evaluation.
O n July 4, t h e G e r m a n s gleefully
made public t h e details of what the
Berlin newspapers described as " T H E
P L A N N E D ATTACK U P O N RUSSIA:
Details of t h e Criminal Intention of t h e
Western Powers to set fire to the Oil
Regions of Baku and Batum."
A diplomatic firestorm resulted as t h e
Germans sought to capitalize on Turkish
and Iranian fears of being drawn into the
war as t h e result of such reckless Allied
actions. T h e British claimed that the
plans were at best only "hypothetical"
case studies and that there had never
been any actual intention to attack targets in the USSR. By that time, Hitler
h a d forwarded copies of the documents
to Stalin, an action that resulted in
Soviet threats against Turkey and Iran for
allowing the passage of the British spy
plane over their territories.
British denials aside, t h e plan to strike
at t h e Soviet oil resources h a d been
framed in deadly earnest, as the papers in
German possession detailed in stark clarity. T h e facilities at Batum a n d Groznyy
had been assigned as targets to the Arme
de VAir, which planned to use a strike
force of five squadrons of American-built
Martin Maryland twin-engine bombers,
based at Dijezireh in northeastern Syria.
T h e R A F was to b o m b Baku with four
squadrons of Bristol Blenheims a n d a
fifth squadron of elderly, single-engine
Vickers Wellesleys operating from near
Mosul, in n o r t h e r n Iraq. T h e combined
force would total but 120 aircraft, and
assuming t h a t every plane reached the
target to deliver its payload, the total
b o m b tonnage o n target per raid would
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still equal only 48,000 pounds. Even

then, the total force would not strike its
targets simultaneously, for plans called
for the Wellesleys and Marylands to fly
only at night.
Even so, the Allied staffs had been
optimistic over the potential results of
such an operation, which French Prime
Minister Paul Reynaud once had characterized as "sure, decisive and easy." Intelligence reports stressed that safety
arrangements in the Soviet oil fields were
haphazard and grossly inefficient. Refining plants and processing tanks were
clustered closely together, with no regard
shown either for the containment of fires
or the dispersal of targets to forestall an
air attack. T h e tank farms built for storage of refined fuels were also crowded
together and lacked protective earthen
embankments around each tank to prevent the spread of fire to the others,
should one be ruptured and set ablaze.
A few attacks would, it was estimated in
L o n d o n and Paris, result in the total
loss of Soviet oil supplies to Germany
while also disrupting both transportation
and mechanized farming in the USSR
to the extent that "widespread famine
would result."
In retrospect, the French and British
planners seem to have been engaged in
dangerous self-delusion if they planned
to wipe out Soviet oil production "on the
cheap," with a handful of aircraft mounting a limited bombing campaign against

three targets. The Blenheims targeted for
Baku carried the heaviest striking power
per raid (21 tons of bombs), but that
would have been dispersed among the
70-plus refineries in that sprawling complex. The 250 flak guns deployed around
that target would also have posed a
threat to the raiders, as would an aroused
Soviet fighter force, which was sure to
have been reinforced following the first
attacks. Both the Blenheims and French
Marylands lacked effective defensive firepower and would have suffered heavy
losses to the Red fighters if intercepted
during daylight. T h e lumbering Wellesleys would have been little better t h a n
target drones for b o t h flak guns and
fighters in anything but night raids. In
any case, the lack of accurate charts, as
well as a dearth of radar and other night
navigation aids, would probably have
negated the efforts of the joint MarylandWellesley nocturnal strikes.
Given its likelihood of failure, the
Caucasus strike operation would have
had repercussions far exceeding the loss
of obsolescent aircraft and their gallant
crews. Stalin would have undoubtedly
declared war against England and France
while also increasing his oil exports to
Germany. T h e Red Army would have
struck southward against Iran, seizing its
precious oil fields, and probably invaded

Syria and Iraq to deny the Allies their
bases in those countries. T h e Soviets
would also have been in a position to
threaten British India with invasion. Ever
the opportunist, Hitler could have deferred his plans to conquer Russia until
he had used his new ally to break the
British at home and overseas.
All of this remains speculation, of
course, for the proposed Caucasus airstrikes never came about. O n April 24,
1940, Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain informed his cabinet that the plan
had been temporarily shelved, for the
German invasion of Norway had forced
the RAF to hold all of its bomber squadrons in the United Kingdom to respond
to the developing crisis. Planning continued on the operation, however, and
it was hoped that the airstrikes could
eventually be mounted in the autumn,
by which time it was thought that Germany would have expended much of her
stockpiled Russian oil reserves.
Chamberlain could not have foreseen
the renewal of the blitzkrieg in May and
the fall of France in June. Certainly no
one in a glum Whitehall could have realized in the bleak spring of 1940 that the
Nazi conquest of France had actually
served to spare Great Britain from making a potentially disastrous error in its
prosecution of the war.
"THE R O A D TO VICTORY"
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the U S S Arizona, in her full glory. T h i s is the first in a series of
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M o n t u r a n o , t h a t will recall o u r finest m o m e n t s o n the long r o a d
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airspeeds, and breaking out at 400 feet

with a mile visibility, he landed safely.
Strangely, little was said about the submarine bombing. Evidently, the word
was out to keep mum about air and troop
movements, ship sailings and even real
or imagined enemy activities. Shortly
afterward, the sub patrol was canceled,
and after that m o n t h , the group was
ordered to South Carolina. There, some
of the personnel were formed as a new
17th, to be equipped with Martin B-26s.
But Holstrom and others saw their B-25s
receive long-distance fuel tanks. His
aircraft and others were modified in
the upper part of the b o m b bay, where
the lower turret was removed and a collapsible tank installed in the crawlway
between front and rear of the fuselage.
N o t long afterward, the pilots learned
they might participateas volunteers
in one of the greatest airstrikes of all time,
but the destination was kept a strict secret. Lieutenant Colonel James H.
Doolittle wanted aviators for a dangerous mission. Holstrom and his comrades
all volunteered.
Most of February and March were
devoted to short takeoffs and formation
flying at Eglin Field in Florida. "We
kept busy also with changes in carburetors, improving controls and remedying machine-gun problems," Holstrom
recalled. "But as the days went by, our
admiration and respect for Jimmy Doolittle increased. A n d always security was
the keynote; little else mattered."
T h e fact was, they were chosen and
trained for a bold strike indeedagainst
Tokyo itself! In short order the Army
B-25s were at sea aboard a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier headed toward Japan.
Holstrom described what it was like
aboard the USS Hornet on April 18,1942:
"I was below decks in the early morning
when I heard gunfire, followed immediately by a klaxon and a voice on the
loudspeaker saying: A r m y pilots, man
your airplanes!' As I started for the flight
deck, I asked a Navy ensign, 'What's
going on?' He replied: 'I don't know. I
think they're firing at a submarine.' It was
much later that I found out we had encountered a fishing boat that had broadcast our positionand was sunk.
"The weather couldn't have been worse
from our viewpoint. Rain squalls lashed
across the deck, and the sea produced
30-foot waves. Deck crews were being
drenched by windblown whitecaps smashing along the deck. But all the aircrews
climbed aboard their respective airplanes.
"I started my engines shortly after
Jimmy Doolittle started his. Many people
have asked me what my thoughts were
RARE Patton Photo
"Send A Copy
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In February 1945, Field Marshal
M o n t g o m e r y vowed t o beat Patron
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O n M a r c h 23, 1945, a full 36 h o u r s
before M o n t y , General Patton, along
with elements of t h e 4 t h A r m o r e d Div.,
crossed t h e R h i n e o n a p o n t o o n bridge
several miles s o u t h of M a i n : . Halfway
across, t h e G e n e r a l s t o p p e d t o relieve
himself in t h e river. T h i s m o m e n t was
captured o n film b y a private in t h e
704th Tank Destroyer Battalion. T h e
General is quoted as having ordered the
PHOTO SIZE 8" x 10"
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Adolf Hitler and

The Holy Lance
by Col. H. Buechner
"He w h o holds the lance which shed the
b l o o d of Christ c o n t r o l s t h e d e s t i n y of t h e
w o r l d f o r G o o d o r Evil."
H i t l e r h e l d t h e l a n c e f o r s e v e n y e a r s . His
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Add wings to your home library!

Rand McNally
Encyclopedia of
Military Aircraft
is the most complete and authoritative
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FIRST WORLD WAR
The book describes and
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famous German Zeppelin.
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P.O. B o x 1 4 1 9 6 - W 2
T u l s a , O K 74159-1196
at t h a t m o m e n t . I r e m e m b e r t h a t we
were very u n h a p p y at being forced to
depart early a n d c o u l d n ' t u n d e r s t a n d
why the Navy had panicked o n their first
e n c o u n t e r with a surface ship, t h e foul
weather being w h a t it was.
"But I h a d to check my i n s t r u m e n t
panel a n d controls. All my crew were
a b o a r d as H a r r y M c C o o l , my navigator,
came up, h a v i n g o b t a i n e d o u r ocean
location for takeoff.
"I t h e n estimated t h a t t h e Hornet a n d
its U.S. A r m y aircrews were a b o u t 800
miles 'off' J a p a n t o o far to reach Tokyo
a n d designated l a ndi ng fields in C h i n a
as p l a n n e d . M y t h o u g h t s were, ' W h a t
t h e hell d o we d o now?' Whatever it was,
we were h e a d e d straight for it, b u t I
resolved to give Tokyo t h e worst w i t h i n
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" A p p r e h e n s i o n a b o u t taking off f r o m
the carrier was rife," Holstrom continued.
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faith in Doolittle. H e h a d insisted t h a t
it was feasible, a n d t h a t was t h a t .
"Doolittle a dva nc e d his throttle, r a n
t h e length of t h e deck a n d rose i n t o t h e
o m i n o u s sky; it seemed to m e he was a
little nose-high at liftoff. T h e n [Lieut e n a n t Travis] Hoover a n d [Lieutenant
Robert M.] Gray took off. I was next a n d
moved i n t o position.
"It was exactly as briefed. W i t h engines
in t h e green, I gave t h u m b s - u p to t h e
signal officer. H e r e s p o n d e d , swinging a
checkered flag, going faster a n d faster. A t
t h e i n s t a n t t h e deck was b e g i n n i n g its
upward m o v e m e n t i n t o t h e surging seas,
he gave m e t h e 'go' signal. T h e n I f o u n d
o u t why Doolittle's airplane j u m p e d
off nose-high. T h e c o m b i n a t i o n of wind
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t h e way aft.
"It was simple to recover off t h e deck,
a n d we were o n our way at approximately 0830 A p r i l 18."
T h o s e w h o q u e s t i o n e d t h e early, daytime takeoff, w h i c h prevented t h e B-25s
f r o m reaching C h i n a a n d prearranged
l a ndi ng sites, were wrong, for t h e Japanese h a d b e e n alerted by the U.S. Navy's
o w n radio signals a n d were expecting
t h e small Hornet task force to arrive in
Japanese waters a r o u n d April 14. A n d
now, t h e A m e r i c a n s o n April 18 h a d enc o u n t e r e d a picket ship w h i c h could
w a r n t h a t A m e r i c a n ships were forging
a h e a d toward t h e h o m e l a n d . T h e Japanese navy was capable of dispatching 90
carrier fighters, 80 m e d i u m b o m b e r s , 36
carrier b o m b e r s a n d s o m e a r m e d flying
b o a t s against A d m i r a l William "Bull"
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Halsey's task force (including carrier

Enterprise a n d four cruisers). If t h e B-25
takeoffs h a d b e e n delayed until Hornet
was w i t h i n 450 miles, as p l a n n e d , probably t h e only U.S. N a v y task force in the
Pacific would have b e e n lost.
"Because of t h e s t o r m t h r o u g h w h i c h
we were flying I could n o t get a bearing
o n t h e three planes a h e a d of me, so [I]
navigated as best I could to reach t h e
distant goal o n time a n d let o u r b o m b s
go i n t o t h e target," recalled Holstrom.
" M c C o o l a n d I studied our maps together while [Lieutenant Lucian N.]
Youngblood [copilot] did t h e flying. I
w a n t e d to check o u r position periodically a n d decided to a p p r o a c h Tokyo
differently f r o m t h e course t a k e n by t h e
t h r e e preceding planes. We were tearing
along a b o u t 75 feet above t h e water
t h r o u g h i n t e r m i t t e n t clouds a n d fog."
H o l s t r o m confesses t h a t h e felt a few
m o m e n t a r y d o u b t s a b o u t t h e immediate
future, since his calculations based o n
fuel c o n s u m p t i o n predicted only ocean
below w h e n he a n d his crew would be
forced to ditch. Yet intervals of elation
followed: T h e y were o n their way at last,
a great relief after m o n t h s of intense
preparation. T h e n came discussions with
navigator M c C o o l about their procedure
w i t h r u b b e r life rafts a n d t h e likely
course to nearest land, c o n s t a n t checking o n t h e compass course being flown
a n d a d m o n i t i o n s to t h e navigator to
double-check everything. Still, they
plowed t h r o u g h dismal weather, just
above t h e waves.
"Bert Jordan, my gunner, came forward
to t h e cockpit to i n f o r m m e t h a t t h e
crawlway gas t a n k was empty a n d t h e top
turret completely inoperative," Holstrom
said. "Also, t h e guns would n o t fire. A s
this was our only defense e q u i p m e n t , it
s o u n d e d very serious to m e a n d t h e
f u t u r e loomed most dismal. We all felt it.
" T h e n we sighted a n island, identified
just south of Tokyo! We were flying faster
t h a n we h a d t h o u g h t , apparently. Perh a p s we would m a k e it!
"But elation lasted only a m o m e n t . I
spotted seven Japanese fighters c o m i n g
toward us. Youngblood was back in t h e
navigator's c o m p a r t m e n t transferring
fuel a n d I yelled for h i m to c o m e back
to his seat. A s h e sat d o w n I t u r n e d
u n d e r two fighters a n d we n o t e d tracer
bullets going over t h e cockpit. Youngb l o o d t h e n p o i n t e d to two m o r e fighters
t h a t were m a k i n g ready to attack. Trying
to rise into t h e scud above I s h o u t e d to
[Sergeant R o b e r t J.] S t e p h e n s , my b o m bardier, to try to get t h e o n e ,30-caliber
in t h e nose to fire in their direction. But
we were a sitting d u c k .
"In the next few seconds a fighter m a d e
a firing pass a n d I t h o u g h t I saw bullets
hit t h e left wing. I decided at once to try
to escape at all costsif we c o n t i n u e d to
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T281
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KA MI T y p e 2
In t h e w a t e r t h i s J a p a n e s e a m p h i b i a n s p o r t e d
b u o y a n c y t a n k s a n d a c o n n i n g tower. On land t h e s e
w e r e jettisoned, radically altering t h e vehicle's app e a r a n c e . G H Q is t h e o n l y m i n i a t u r e c o m p a n y o f f e r ing t h e KA MI a n d o u r m o d e l c o m e s in b o t h l a n d a n d
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The
Manitowoc Story
by
R A d m W i l l i a m T. N e l s o n
Going from a "crazy idea" to the drawing

boards, then from the shipyards to the war
zones, follow the exciting conception, construction and career of the USS PETO, the first
of 28 WWII submarines to be built and
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$7.95
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T281
merely evade, we w o u l d certainly be

shot down.
"I ordered S t e p h e n s to salvo o u r
b o m b s a n d I applied full power. W i t h
evasive t u r n s a n d u p i n t o t h e overcast,
we m a n a g e d to lose t h e fighters, to o u r
great relief. A t once I began regaining our
course for t h e Tokyo target, a l t h o u g h we
h a d d u m p e d o u r valuable aggressive
cargo. I k n e w t h a t if we could reach
C h i n a we would live to fight a n o t h e r
day, hopefully with better odds.
" T h e crew m o a n e d a b o u t t h e b o m b
jettison. All of us were very u n h a p p y
n o w . . . [we] rechecked o u r progress a n d
c o n c l u d e d t h a t we would r u n o u t of fuel
a b o u t 100 miles short of t h e C h i n a landfall. T h e r e seemed to be n o help for it
a n d mentally we hit a low ebb. C h a n c e s
to blast target zero h a d evaporated."
For H o l s t r o m a n d his crew of No. 4
b o m b e r off t h e Hornet, " t h e next few
h o u r s were u n e v e n t f u l , except w h e n
we were a b o u t 100 miles f r o m J a p a n
entering t h e C h i n a Sea a n d spotted
two aircraft o u t b o u n d f r o m t h e m a i n land, p r o b a b l y o n patrol. Fortunately,
they failed to see us, as we were o n t h e
deck a n d they were cruising at a b o u t
10,000 feet.
" M c C o o l n o w c a m e u p with a marvelous bit of news, just after dark. H e
h a d o b t a i n e d d a t a w h i c h gave us t h e
most welcome jolt possible: we h a d
picked u p a tail w i n d instead of t h e
prevailing a n d anticipated head wind, so
our g r o u n d speed was a b o u t 15 k n o t s
better t h a n predicted."
Hurriedly, Holstrom consulted his map.
Their destination now could be C h u h sien, 110 miles inland, just b e y o n d Japanese-held territory. Everyone o n b o a r d
sighed with relief.
But t h e gods of t h e weather were n o t
d o n e with t h e b o m b e r yet. S o m e 100
miles s h o r t of land, it e n c o u n t e r e d a
heavy r a i n s t o r m a n d low clouds. W i t h
t h e u t m o s t difficulty, t h e pilots maintained their low altitude over rugged
wave tops as they struggled toward shore.
Visibility was so p o o r t h a t t h e fliers
barely avoided h i t t i n g a totally u n e x pected small island o n t h e coast. Holstrom t h e n ordered a climb to 6,000 feet
o n i n s t r u m e n t s . It was n o w 9:30 p.m.,
a n d u p o n reaching t h e desired altitude,
all fuel t a n k gauges read "empty." T i m e
to bail out!
H o l s t o m called for a meeting at once.
W i t h all t h e p e r s o n n e l crowded i n t o t h e
n a v i g a t o r ' s c o m p a r t m e n t , h e said:
" W h e n I give t h e order to go, S t e p h e n s ,
J o r d a n a n d M c C o o l are to bail o u t
t h r o u g h this escape h a t c h . Youngblood
is to wait until I get u p from t h e pilot's
seat, t h e n leave. U n d e r s t o o d ? "
T h e r e was n o dissent, b u t all looked
a bit glum at leaving t h e faithful B-25 in
t h e d a r k a n d storm.
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1991, AECS.
T281
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T281
"And remember to check your survival

gear now," Holstrom continued, "and
abandon the chute if you happen to land
in water!"
Just t h e n one engine quit due to
fuel starvation.
Holstrom said, "Okay, lads. See you
later. Let's go!"
T h e first three bailed out. Holstrom
rose from his pilot's seat as Youngblood
left. T h e n Holstrom realized that the airplane was falling off on one wing; he had
failed to trim it well enough. He had to
regain his seat and adjust the trim tabs.
He then stood up and, as the other
engine quit, dived out the hatch.
T h e fall was short. " W h e n my parachute opened," Holstrom says today, "I
took about one complete swing and
landed on the steep slope of a mountain
in heavy brush. Everything was black
and rain fell in sheets. I decided to
remain where I was, lest I fall over a cliff,
pulling the parachute over me to spend
a most miserable night. I drank some rye
and ate a candy bar, b o t h of which I
carried in my flight jacket."
Daylight revealed he was in a mountainous, heavily covered area now
drenched by the continuous rain. Holstrom was wet to the skin but fortunately
not injured by the jump. He wondered
how his crew had fared; he looked
around for any sign of life but found
none. Brush was so thick down the slope
that he turned around and climbed back
up to a dim trail going in a westerly direction. This he followed until reaching
some huts where a few Chinese lived. He
had trudged for many hours and felt
relief at seeing human beings once more.
Moreover, they were friendly.
Darkness was approaching again. T h e
Chinese offered him a bowl of rice and
indicated that he could stay overnight
under shelter while his shoes and shirt
dried before the rude fire. In the absence
of a c o m m o n language it was almost
impossible to tell who he was or how he
happened to be wandering around in the
storm, so he decided to leave as soon as
possible in hopes of finding an improvement in his situation. With the Japanese
likely to be nearby, danger was always
in his mind.
T h e next morning, he started down
the trail alone and walked most of the
day. By evening he came to a larger
villageand by this time had perhaps
100 Chinese of all ages following him.
His clothes were totally different from
theirs. A n d he could not converse with
any of them. He felt like an alien from
another world.
By gestures and indications that he
should walk to a certain spot, he was led
to a guerrilla band's leader. A n d luckily,
with the help of a magazine containing
a picture of President Franklin D.
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T281
Roosevelt, he finally convinced the chief

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Famous Military
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VICTORIA CROSS
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Complete with Ribbon
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T h e next morning, after another
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A n d I rode in style to town, there meetCAVE C R E E K , A Z 85331
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2 6 2 7 V i n y a r d S t . H u n t s v i l l e . AL 3 5 8 1 1
" O n April 22, I arrived in C h u h s i e n

by train and was taken to a place which
had a cave for a b o m b shelter. There I
was overjoyed to meet with some of our
raiders, and we heard a lot of rumors
about what had happened to other
people from our flight.
" O n April 25, my copilot Youngblood
arrived, not much the worse for wear,
and on April 26 everyone was elated to
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following day Doolittle and [Major John
C.] Hilger went to Chungking. Before
leaving, the Colonel instructed Davy
[Captain David M.] Jones and me to
remain in Chuhsien until we were sure
that no other crewmen would show up.
A n d to my complete delight, the rest of
my crew arrived on April 28. It was a
happy reunion. We remained in the cave
quite a lot of the time since the Japanese
were bombing and strafing."
O n May 3, they were told it was time

to leave, since the enemy had moved
troops near Chuhsien with the objective
Limited Edition Aviation Art Prints.
of taking the airport. T h a t night, they
N e w releases and secondary prints available.
Stormbirds Over the Reich, Stuka, Knights Cross.
departed on a rickety train for Yan Ton,
Home Run. Eagles High. Ace ofAces. Blonde Knightsubsequently transferring to a Dodge
a n d o t h e r s . CALL O R WRITE FOR DETAILS!
bus, which ran on alcohol, b o u n d now
R i c h a r d L e e . 18177 P i o n e e r B l v d . , A r t e s i a . C A 9 0 7 0 1
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Ask for Rick or Leave
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for Ning To. Several days later, after
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Robert Taylor, Jerry Crandall
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. . . For WWII Japanese and
German Swords, Knives, Medals, Flags
Uniforms. We pay more because
we have to. Please call:
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traversing Kiangsi province, they reached

Hengyang, from which they were flown
to Chungking by a DC-3. It was all easy
from there.
"We were debriefed by Colonel Merian Cooper, the intelligence officer," Holstrom said. "And on the 17th we were
guests of Generalissimo Chiang KaiShek, several Chinese officials and Madame Chiang. At this function we were
decorated by the Chinese government."
But there was still a war in progress.
"Eventually," Holstrom said, "I was posted
to Allahabad, India, and with me also
were members of the Tokyo raid: Lucian
Youngblood, Clayton Campbell, Sally
Crouch, Sergeants Ed Horton, Adam
Williams and Doug Radney." They were
about to continue fighting the Japanese.
A n d on June 21, 1942, Everett W.
"Brick" Holstrom was promoted from
first lieutenant to captain.
A n d well he might have been, for the
Doolittle-led raid against Tokyo of 50
years ago was an electrifying morale
boost to an America still shocked by
Pearl Harbor. It also was a stunning "loss
of face" to the Japaneseand, for them,
an ominous harbinger of far worse blows
to come as the war tide shifted against
them, albeit much later.
Meanwhile, 80 men in 16 medium
bombers had accomplished an incredible
feat by launching at sea and penetrating
Japan's airspace, even if little material
damage was done in the raid, even if 15
of the aircraft were lost (and one was
interned at Vladivostok by the Russians).
Four of Doolittle's men drowned,
another four died after being captured
by the Japanese (three of these were executed, one died of malnutrition), and
one man was killed attempting to parachute from his fuel-starved plane. Four
raiders were captured but survived the
ordeal of Japanese prison camps. In all,
an amazing 71 out of the original 80 survived the raid, although several of them
would not survive the rest of the war.
Holstrom, moving on to other combat
theaters, wound up a brigadier general.
Doolittle not only was immediately
promoted to brigadier general (from a
mere lieutenant colonel) but also was
awarded the Medal of Honora m o n t h
and a day later (May 19, 1942) by FDR
himself. Doolittle's citation, one of the
shortest Medal of Honor citations o n
record, tells the grim odds that faced all
80 Doolittle fliers that historic day in
April 50 years ago. They went, the citation says, "with the apparent certainty
of being forced to land in enemy territory
or to perish at sea." Still, they went anyway, against the Japanese mainland, in
what military historian (Brig. Gen.)
S.L.A. Marshall once called "possibly the
most daring and spectacular operation in
American military history."
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HAMILTON
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Box 15-622, Falls Village CT 06031

T281
A Legendary Collection From

Our Proudest Days!
Homecoming
1945 ~
45 Original Hit Recordings by
On Records, Tapes & Compact Discs

STAR DUST/Artie Shaw MOONLIGHT
COCKTAIL/Glenn Miller w/Ray Eberle & The
Modernaires PAPER DOLL/The Mills Brothers
I D O N T WANT TO WALK WITHOUT
YOU/Harry James w/Helen Forrest ON THE
SUNNY SIDE OF THE STREET Tommy
Dorsey I CANT BEGIN TO TELL YOU/Bing
Crosby w/Carmen Cavallaro I'LL BE WITH
YOU IN APPLE BLOSSOM TIME/The An
drews Sisters TOGETHER/Helen Forrest &
Dick Haymes ALL OR NOTHING AT ALL/
Frank Sinatra w/Harry James RUMORS ARE
FLYING/Frankie Carle w/Marjorie Hughes IS
YOU IS OR IS YOU AINT (MA' BABY) Bing
Crosby & The Andrews Sisters THERE GOES
THAT SONG AGAIN/Russ Morgan S H O O
FLY PIE AND APPLE PAN DOWDY/Dinah
Shore WHO WOULDNT LOVE YOU/Kay
Kyser w/Trudy & Harry Babbitt JERSEY
BOUNCE/Benny Goodman YOU MADE
ME LOVE YOU/Harry James CANDY/
Johnny Mercer, Jo Stafford, & The Pied Pipers
STRAIGHTEN UP AND FLY RIGHT/Nat
"King" Cole AMOR/Andy Russell ON THE
ATCHESON, TOPEKA AND THE SANTA
FE/Johnny Mercer TILL THEN/The Mills
Brothers WE THREE (MY ECHO, MY
SHADOW, AND ME)/The Ink Spots MY
HEART TELLS ME/Glen Gray & The Casa
Loma Orchestra DREAM/The Pied Pipers
LONG AGO AND FAR AWAY/Helen Forrest &
Dick Haymes AMAPOLA/Jimmy Dorsey
w/Bob Eberly & Helen O'Connell DOLORES/
Tommy Dorsey w/Frank Sinatra & The Pied
Pipers FRENESI/Artie Shaw TWILIGHT
TIME/The Three Suns I HEAR A RHAPSODY/Charlie Barnett w/Bob Carroll A
STRING OF PEARLS/Glenn Miller G O D
BLESS AMERICA/Kate Smith IF I LOVED
YOU/Perry Como SYMPHONY/Freddy Martin w/Clyde Rogers TANGERINE/Jimmy
Dorsey w/Bob Eberly & Helen O'Connell SUNDAY, MONDAY OR ALWAYS/Bing Crosby
BLUES IN THE NIGHT/Woody Herman
I'LL BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS Bing
Crosby COCKTAILS FOR TWO/Spike Jones
RACING WITH THE MOON/Vaughn
Monroe I DREAM OF YOU/Tommy Dorsey
w/Freddy Stewart I HAD THE CRAZIEST
DREAM/Harry J a m e s ONE DOZEN
ROSES/Dick Jergens w/Buddy Moreno BELL
BOTTOM TROUSERS/Tony Pastor w/Ruth
McCollough (I'VE GOT A GAL IN)
KALAMAZOO Glenn Miller w/Marion Hutton
& The Modernaires
the Great Stars of That Golden Era

It was one of the greatest
moments in our history . . . a time
of celebration and joy . . . of family reunions and love ever after.
And it was the golden age of
America's popular music . . . the
Hit Parade . . . the bobby soxers
. . . and all the great men of our
Armed Forces who came marching
home to the sounds from
America's bandstands . . . The
Andrews Sisters promising that
I'LL BE WITH YOU IN APPLE
BLOSSOM TIME . . . Glenn
Miller's I'VE GOT A GAL IN
KALAMAZOO . . . and the song
on everyone's lips as the lights
came on again. TOGETHER
sung by Dick Haymes and Helen
Forrest . . . the very special
melodies and words that were a
part of our lives and still are.
Every soldier, sailor and marine
who endured the time of separation from loved ones will
remember the thrill of that first
homecoming embrace. It was a
moment that will live forever in
our hearts and in the music that
helped keep the home fires burning . . . in such songs as LONG
AGO AND FAR AWAY sung so
beautifully by Bob Eberly and
Helen O'Connell . . ALL OR

NOTHING AT ALL by Harry
James and Frank Sinatra . . . Kate
Smith's immortal rendition of
GOD BLESS AMERICA . . .
Benny Goodman's famous
JERSEY BOUNCE . . . PAPER
DOLL and TILL THEN by The
Mills Brothers . . . and the great
Artie Shaw's unforgettable STAR
DUST. Here are 45 original
classics that will rekindle your
warmest memories of that precious
era when America's boys came
home. It is a collection you will
cherish and enjoy for years to
come. Not available in any store.
No Risk Offer
All 45 HOMECOMING 1945
original hits come on either 4 big
Records . . . 3 Extra-Long Cassettes or 2 Compact Discs. We
promise that if you don't play and
enjoy this album as much as any
you have ever owned, it won't
cost you a penny. Simply return it
for a full refund, absolutely no
questions asked. HOMECOMING
1945 is not in any store at any
price and is available now only
through this limited by-mail offer.
So hurry and listen to the legend.
Order your collection today!
Plus A FREE GIFT. . yours for s e n d i n g us your order w i t h i n 3 0 days!

NOT IN STORES
MAIL COUPON TODAY

NO-RISK C O U P O N
P.O. Box 1 1 0 5 9 Des Moines, IA 5 0 3 3 6 - 1 0 5 9

YES please rush me the HOMECOMING 1945 COLLECTION to preview on your unconditional money-back guarantee. I understand that I may return the albums for any reason whatsoever and receive a full refund. (Make check or money order payable to Good Music Record Co.)
Mandatory NY, NJ, CA & IA residents add local sales tax.
Send 3 Cassettes
$19.95 111617
Send 2 Compact Discs

$24.95 111625
Send 4 Records
$19.95 111633
(Enclose $ 3 . 5 0 for mailing a n d handling p e r item.)
C H A R G E IT!
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MASTERCARD
Acct. No.
_Exp. Date
Name _
Address
City
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T281
THE G O O D MUSIC RECORD CO., D e p t . 0 4 0 1 5 4
_Zip
Three Years in the Making...
INTO A HORNET'S NEST

by
RANDY GREEN
A S A A (Charter Member A m e r i c a n Society of Aviation Artists)
USAFAP (Member United States Air Force A r t Program)
Image Size: 16" x 3 0 "
$190.00 (plus $10 shipping)
Overall Size: 19" x 3 2 "
viation Artist Randy Green has captured the spirit

. of the heroic sacrifice made by the 856th Bomb
Squadron on June 20, 1944. Their Missionthe destruction of oil refineries near Stettin, Poland. At 0430 that
morning, 12 B-24J Liberators with 121 crew members on
board launched from Pickenham, England. Engine trouble
forced one plane to return to England.
Tracking the unescorted B-24J's from departure, the
G e r m a n Central C o m m a n d alerted their 26th Destroyer
Squadron, a unit equipped with blue ME-410 Hornets.
Flying at 23,000 feet at 0910 hours, just off the Baltic
Coast, the remaining 11 planes flew into "A Hornet's
Nest." Unchallenged, the Hornets stung twice, first firing
rockets to scatter the B-24J's formation, then closing in
with cannon fire. In two minutes, nine of the bombers
were destroyed. Of the two remaining planesthe lead
plane flew to Sweden with only the pilot o n board, the
second aircraft, nicknamed Sknappy, and the artist's main
focus, escaped to Sweden with its crew of 10. Of the 111

airmen who entered the Hornet's Nest, 19 became
prisoners of war for a total of only 30 survivors.
A licensed pilot at age 17, Green turned his artistic
talent to dramatic and authentic portrayals of aviation
history. To authenticate "Into a Hornet's Nest," Green
spent 3 years conducting intensive interviews with the
survivors and researching military records. His painting
"Into A Hornet's Nest" ensures that the men of the
856th Bomb Squadron will never be forgotten.
"Into A Hornet's Nest"
crew members of the Sknappy and their Group Commander:

John P. Losee (Group Commander)
Elvern Seitzinger (Pilot)
Kent Dickson (Co-Pilot)
Andrew Gall (Navigator)
Tom Kelley (Nose Gunner)
John Kristynik (Gunner)
Visa/MasterCard/Discover/American Express accepted.
NEWMARK PUBLISHING. U.S.A.
only 950 signed by the
artist and consecutively numbered. Countersigned by all five surviving
Call Toll Free: 1 - 8 0 0 - 8 6 6 * 5 5 6 6

11700 Commonwealth Drive
Louisville, Ky. 40299
Enlarged
A Stunning and Elegantly

Detailed Ring Created in
Honor of World War II Victory
World War II Victory Medalthe fraternal symbol among fighting men who
made the ultimate sacrifice for our country 50 years ago!

For the first time ever, American Artifacts is proud to present The World War II 50th
Anniversary Victory Ring in honor of these brave men.
send to: A m e r i c a n
detail.
Artifacts,
L t
J.
P.O. Box 970

Chesterfield, V A 23832
1-800-334-1865
Please accept my request for T H E W O R L D W A R II
5 0 T H A N N I V E R S A R Y V I C T O R Y R I N G . I understand that m y V i c t o r y R i n g will be made in the
U.S.A., and includes the "Ruptured D u c k " pin and
presentation box. M y satisfaction is guaranteed or I
may return my ring within 30 days for replacement or
a complete refund.
I wish to reserve
A solid bronze patinaed inlay of the famous Victory Medal has been specially minted and
intricate
COMMISSION REQUEST
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W W I I Victory Ring(s).
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To further make this heirloom your symbol of pride, we will personalize your ring with
M y check or money order for the full amount of

$165, plus $5 shipping and insurance.
three engraved initials of your choice on the inside at no charge and include a genuine
M y c h e c k or m o n e y order deposit o f $ 6 5 is
enclosed. Please bill me in two equal monthly
installments of $50 each, plus $5 shipping and
insurance
inset into a brilliant custom-made sterling silver ring. Each ring is handmade in the United
States and includes a distinguished presentation box bearing genuine World War II Victory
ribbon with an appropriate patriotic inscription emblazoned in gold on the inside lid.
reproduction of the famous "Ruptured Duck" pin, originally awarded to all men during
World War II as they were discharged from active duty in the service.
VIRGINIA RESIDENTS PLEASE ADD 4.5% SALES TAX.
At the issue price of only $165, your satisfaction is guaranteed or you may return your
Credit Card #
ring within 30 days for immediate replacement or a complete refund.

The World War II 50th Anniversary Victory Ring is available exclusively through
Signature
American Artifacts. To commission your Victory Ring, call our Archives Staff toll free at
Address
1-800-334-1865. or write us. Experience the pride of The Victory Ring.
City
Cut out ring sizer

line and
you
arrow
wrap
will wear
along
it around
dotted
the
the ring on.
tip shows
1992 AAL
the correct
finger
The
size.
MEN'S
1
RING
SIZER
1 1 1 1 11 11 1 1 I I 1 1 1
K c o o - g z " ^
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Please engrave these initials on the inside:
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