Me-163 A-V4 – Prototype Komet interceptor aircraft in a field

by wikingeretowNo Comments

The Me 163A V4 was shipped to Peenemünde to receive the HWK RII-203 engine in May 1941. By 2 October 1941, the Me 163A V4, bearing the radio call sign letters, or Stammkennzeichen, “KE+SW”, set a new world speed record of 1,004.5 km/h (624.2 mph), piloted by Heini Dittmar, with no apparent damage to the aircraft during the attempt.

8.8cm flak mounted on a Vomag Omnibus 7

8.8cm flak mounted on a Vomag Omnibus 7

by wikingeretowNo Comments

An interesting photo as the Vomag Omnibus 7 was a civilian transport vehicle.  There isn’t a lot of information available about the Omnibus 7.

The variant is known as the Vomag 88mm Flak 18 Waffentrager.  It is an example of the need to get such an excellent but horribly immobile weapon into battle and as maneuverable as possible.

“A date that will live in infamy” – Dec 7th 1941

“A date that will live in infamy” – Dec 7th 1941

by wikingeretowNo Comments
uss arizona burns during pearl harbor attack
The USS Arizona burns during the attack on Pearl Harbor

A double post today – It’s the 8th down here in NZ but for our American readers it is the 7th.

american flags at half staff

“The attack commenced at 7:48 a.m. Hawaiian Time. The base was attacked by 353 Imperial Japanese fighter planes, bombers, and torpedo planes in two waves, launched from six aircraft carriers. All eight U.S. Navy battleships were damaged, with four sunk. All but the USS Arizona (BB-39) were later raised, and six were returned to service and went on to fight in the war. The Japanese also sank or damaged three cruisers, three destroyers, an anti-aircraft training ship, and one minelayer. 188 U.S. aircraft were destroyed; 2,403 Americans were killed and 1,178 others were wounded. Important base installations such as the power station, shipyard, maintenance, and fuel and torpedo storage facilities, as well as the submarine piers and headquarters building (also home of the intelligence section) were not attacked. Japanese losses were light: 29 aircraft and five midget submarines lost, and 64 servicemen killed. One Japanese sailor, Kazuo Sakamaki, was captured.


The attack came as a profound shock to the American people and led directly to the American entry into World War II in both the Pacific and European theaters. The following day, December 8, the United States declared war on Japan. Domestic support for non-interventionism, which had been fading since the Fall of France in 1940, disappeared. Clandestine support of the United Kingdom (e.g., the Neutrality Patrol) was replaced by active alliance. Subsequent operations by the U.S. prompted Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy to declare war on the U.S. on December 11, which was reciprocated by the U.S. the same day.


There were numerous historical precedents for unannounced military action by Japan. However, the lack of any formal warning, particularly while negotiations were still apparently ongoing, led President Franklin D. Roosevelt to proclaim December 7, 1941, “a date which will live in infamy”. Because the attack happened without a declaration of war and without explicit warning, the attack on Pearl Harbor was judged by the Tokyo Trials to be a war crime.”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_on_Pearl_Harbor

A Douglas A-20 making a bomb run on D-Day, 6 June 1944

A Douglas A-20 making a bomb run on D-Day, 6 June 1944

by wikingeretowNo Comments

Assigned to the Ninth Air Force the 416th Bombardment Group, they were equipped with Douglas A-20 Havoc aircraft, seen here wearing the invasion stripes – alternating black and white bands on the wings and fuselage – an attempt to increase recognition and thereby reducing friendly fire incidents.

D-Day invasion stripes were removed from the upper surfaces of aircraft a month later, and by the end of 1944 they were completely removed.