U.S. War Department WWII Recognition Guide for the Italian Macchi C.202 Folgore (“Thunderbolt”) fighter. The Folgore fighter aircraft was designed by Mario Castoldi and manufactured by Macchi Aeronautica. The Folgore served with the Italian Regia Aeronautica throughout WWII on all fronts. (The Folgore is also referred to as the MC.202.)
Brief note on British attempts to capture an intact German Tiger I tank in Tunisia from “The Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers in Action”, Military Review, Vol. 23. Presumably, this Tiger is #231 of sPzAbt. 501 which was initially captured by the British largely intact, but the Tiger was then destroyed. Reports differ as to whether the Tiger was destroyed by the Germans or the British.
The work of keeping the minefields clear of wreckage or of immobilized vehicles has already received considerable public notice; no less important nor less hazardous is the location and salvaging of damaged equipment in close proximity to the enemy, and many a tank and gun has been so snatched from under the very noses of the enemy. Sometimes much stalking and considerable planning has been rendered abortive by some adverse turn of fortune’s wheel, and amongst such abortive effects may be mentioned a plan, almost successfully completed, for taking intact one of the earliest German Mk. VI (Tiger) tanks to be knocked out in Tunisia. After a stalk occupying one night and a day’s lie-up awaiting darkness for the actual removal of the tank, the Light Aid Detachment party were denied their success during the last few hours of daylight through circumstances over which they had no control. More frequently, however, as is testified by the astonishing proportion (eighty-three percent) of tank casualties restored to their owners without evacuation during the difficult opening stages of the action at El Alamein, the stalking and the plans are alike successful.
A story of the durability of the B-24 Liberator, from Informational Intelligence Summary, No. 44-17, Office of the Assistant Chief of Air Staff, Intelligence, Washington, D.C., May 30, 1944.
B-24 vs. 50 GERMAN FIGHTERS
The surprising durability of an AAF B-24 on a deep penetration mission over Germany when attacked by an overwhelming number of German fighters is described in this article, based on crew’s report.
Target time was assigned as 1300A and all planes of a B-24 Group had proceeded as planned until just over the heavily defended target of Regensburg, Germany. The flak over the target was heavy, intense and accurate. At 20,000 feet, just before the signal “Bombs Away,” the B-24 was hit by flak in No. 1 engine. A fire broke out in this engine but was soon extinguished and the prop feathered. Proceeding in formation with only three engines, the bombardier scored direct hits on the target.
Shortly after, many enemy fighters soon noticed the feathered engine and, thinking it was a good target, began to swarm in. Attack after attack was made and soon the No. 2 engine was knocked out, but it also was feathered successfully. By that time enemy fighters seemed to multiply. With two left engines gone, the Liberator gradually lost altitude and began dropping to the rear of the formation, soon to find itself without “friends” but in the company of some fifty enemy aircraft. The air speed had been cut considerably and a terrific tail flutter had developed due to 20-mm hits on the horizontal stabilizer. The left wing was down 30° and full right rudder trim was used to maintain as near normal flight as possible.
The Alps had yet to be crossed. Me 110s in pairs assembled high astern, and made repeated attacks knocking out the tail turret, but not until the tail gunner had accounted for two Me 110s destroyed. The top turret and ball turret were destroyed and many other hits had been scored on the B-24. After crossing the Alps, the co-pilot noticed that the oil pressure was indicating zero on the No. 4 engine but it did not quit. This engine operated for approximately one hour longer before it finally ceased to function. The pilot tried to feather the engine but the electrical system had been rendered useless.
With only one engine left and losing altitude very rapidly, the pilot decided to set her down. Finding this impossible and knowing they were over friendly territory, he ordered the crew to “hit the silk.” All then alive landed safely.
The final score:
• Tail gunner–2 Me 110s destroyed.
• Waist gunners–2 Me 109s destroyed.
• Bombardier–Me 109s destroyed. The bombardier manned the right waist gun when the gunner was injured and accounted for one Me 109, which, in recovery from a dive to blast out a fire in his engine, collided with another in mid-air.
One U.S. gunner killed. One B-24 crashed.
Procedure to jettison the nose ball turret in the PB4Y from Naval Aviation News, August 1944.
How to Jettison a Turret
PB4Y Gets Back Safe from SaipanA Navy photographic plane came back from a mission over Saipan recently after battling through 15 attacking Zekes which swarmed in when one of the PB4Y’s engines cut out. One of the main reasons it got back, however, was that the crew had worked out carefully the procedure for lightening the load by jettisoning the ball turret.
The Zekes attacked the plane 30 miles from Tinian on the trip home and continued the fight for 70 miles. Although the point at which the engine cut out was 1,000 miles from its home base, the plane made the grade because of skillful piloting and some active tossing-overboard of all movable gear. Major items included all guns and ammunition, all cameras, armor plating from turrets, all radio equipment except one set–and the ball turret.
Procedure for jettisoning the turret had been worked out carefully in squadron drills ahead of time. By following this procedure, the crew got rid of it in 20 minutes, going through the following steps:
1. Turn off the electric power switch on the overhead and cut all electric wiring.
2. With the elevation handle, point guns straight down.
3. Disengage azimuth power clutch.
4. Disconnect oxygen system and remove oxygen bottle.
5. Remove the azimuth gear box by taking off the four holding nuts.
6. Remove the eight vertical bearings which are held in place by two bolts. They bear on the scarf ring.
7. Place the turret in the fore and aft position.
8. Lower the turret and the scarf ring together. This prevents the turret from swaying in the slipstream.
9. Using the waist-gunners’ safety belts, secure the turret so it will not drop when trunnion nuts are removed. The belts should be secured between the turret A frame and the turret retracting piston.
10. Remove the six nuts that secure the turret trunnion housing to the turret retracting assembly.
11. All hands stand clear and two men cut the two safety belts at the same time. It is suggested that nuts and bolts to be removed be painted same color other than the color of the turret, so that if an emergency arises they can be spotted immediately.
Before the turret and other gear were jettisoned, the plane lost altitude on auto-lean and gradually descended from 20,000 to 6,000 ft. As soon as the turret was dropped the plane was able to maintain its altitude in auto-lean.
New WWII 1/35th armor kit announcement from Dragon — Kit No. 6565: 1/35th Flakpanzer IV Ausf. G “Wirbelwind” Early Production with Zimmerit.
Diagram of the 28 cm Wurfkörper Spreng high-explosive rocket for the German Nebelwerfer from the German manual D 444/2839: Die Munition des 28/32 cm Nebelwerfers 41, Schweren Wurfrahmens 40 am gep Zgkw, Schweren Wurfgeräts 40, Schweren Wurfgeräts 41, 1943.
New 1/6th-scale Dragon WWII figure covering the Russian Front in 1943: Item No. 70835, “Igor Ivanovich Bazarov”, Red Army LMG Gunner w/Aerosan RF-8, Ukrainian Front, 1943. Scheduled for release August 2012.
Testor’s ScaleWorkshop No. 93: The Western Canadian Regional Model Contest 2012 — Testor’s ScaleWorkshop visits the 2012 Western Canadian Regional Model Contest in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The video includes appearances from Tom Cockle, Spencer Pollard, Mark Proulx, and Ron Volstad along with tons of dioramas, airplanes, ships, and armor builds in all scales.
Strange tale (tail?) from Air Force, April 1943.
DELAYED ACTION
CREWMEN of a B-17 had a surprise recently while flying over a quiet sector of England when a 20 mm. shell exploded in the left horizontal stabilizer. They had reason to be surprised. There wasn’t an enemy plane in sight.
After the big bomber had landed, Captain Henry J. Schmidt, an engineering officer with the Eighth Air Force, began investigating. He found that the B-17 had been carrying the shell around ever since it had attacked German installations in France some three weeks before. During that attack the shell had pierced the stabilizer without exploding. The hole it made was subsequently repaired, but without knowledge on anyone’s part that the missile was still in the ship.
Recommended length of machine gun length for B-29 gunners. Source: Combat Crew Manual, XX Bomber Command, December 1944.
LENGTH OF BURSTS
There are several factors to consider in arriving at an answer to the question of how long a burst it is practical to fire. The ammunition has a high degree of accuracy. At 600 yards, when fired from an accuracy rifle held in a V-block, it will group in a circle 18″ in diameter. When fired single shot, using an aircraft machine gun on a tripod mount, tests have shown a 20″ circle of fire. In a burst of 10 or 12 on the same mount the group was approximately five feet. When longer bursts were fired, it was observed that the gun soon lost accuracy, even though it remained relatively stationary in the mount. When over fifty rounds were fired, in one burst, the projectiles tumbled in flight and dispersed over a 75 foot area at 600 yards. When the barrel has been overheated, it will be found that it cannot be relied upon for further accuracy even though the lands and grooves measure up well and the barrel, to all appearances, seems good. If the exterior of the barrel has a burned appearance, it should be tested by ordnance before further use. When a barrel becomes over-heated it expands to such an extent that the muzzle velocity decreases several hundred feet per second. This decrease continues as the barrel continues to expand, until a point is reached where tumbling of the projectiles takes place and controlled fire is reduced to a few hundred feet. The accuracy of the fire delivered, therefore, depends not only on how steadily the gun is held, but also on the length of the burst, and the condition of the barrel. If a gunner fires short bursts of three to five rounds, constantly using his sights, he will have a tight group and a high degree of accuracy. This is the most effective method of firing your machine guns.
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