Lone Sentry Blog

The New AR 850-15

Posted on December 26, 2010 by Lone_Sentry_Admin

Summary of vehicle painting and maintenance instructions from AR 850-15 from Army Motors, Vol. 6, No. 6, September 1945.

THE NEW AR 850-15

The law on “Miscellaneous—Motor Vehicles” gets a major overhaul for the first time in two years. This’ll help you get hep to what’s what.

Changes that affect you—because they affect vehicle operation and maintenance—blew in with the newly-revised AR 850-15 (1 Aug. 45). New do’s and don’t’s, new words like “semigloss” and “full gloss” have been written into the regulations. And a lot more, too.

NEW PAINT

Good news for maintenance men who’ve long been bitching about lusterless OD breaks out in par. 7, which prescribes approved semigloss olive drab for vehicles (certain ones excepted). The new paint is Enamel, olive drab, rust-inhibiting, U.S. Army spec. 3-181, amendment 3, type V—Fed. Stock No. 52-E-7574 for a 1-gal. can, 52-E-7574-75 for a 5-gal. can. But don’t start requisitioning it now—the stuff won’t get into supply channels for 60 to 90 days, and anyway, you only put it on when the vehicle’s due for a repaint. ASF Circular 291 (1 Aug. 45) says: “The new painting procedure… will be applicable to U.S. Army motor vehicles now in use, other than those excepted… when the vehicles require complete refinishing in accordance with established maintenance schedules and upon the availability of the semigloss paint prescribed.”

On busses, ambulances (except 3/4-ton 4×4’s), and passenger sedans, the AR goes whole hog on gloss. It says they may be painted a full gloss OD—but not until a repaint is necessary.

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Posted in miscellaneous, publications | Tagged AR 850-15, maintenance, miscellaneous, olive drab, paint, publications, regulations | Comments Off

Fighters over Saipan

Posted on December 26, 2010 by Lone_Sentry_Admin

A formation of three famous U.S. fighters of WWII over Saipan: a North American P-51 Mustang, a Lockheed P-38 Lightning, and a Republic P-47 Thunderbolt of the 318th and 15th Fighter Groups. (U.S. Air Force Photo)

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Posted in aircraft, photos | Tagged fighter, marianas, P-38, P-47, P-51, photos, saipan | 1 Comment

New WWII Kits from MiniArt

Posted on December 26, 2010 by Lone_Sentry_Admin

Several new WWII 1/35th scale plastic model kits have been announced from MiniArt. MiniArt continues to offer new subjects with interesting figures which offer a variety of diorama opportunities.

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Posted in scale models | Tagged 1/35th, field kitchen, harley davidson, limber, miniart, model, motorcycle, scale models | Comments Off

General Patton’s Prayer for Weather

Posted on December 26, 2010 by Lone_Sentry_Admin

In December 1944, Gen. George S. Patton Jr. commanded the U.S. Third Army in their breakout from the Normandy bridgehead and race across France to the German border. Faced with lengthening supply lines and stiffening German resistance, the Third Army advance slowed to a halt. Even the weather did not cooperate, as rains and snow delayed supplies, mired his troops, and grounded air support. So Gen. Patton turned to prayer.

From the LA Times “A 1944 Christmas Miracle for Gen. Patton”:

On Dec. 8, Patton turned to a higher power to clear the skies. He asked Chaplain James H. O’Neill if he knew of a “good prayer for the weather,” according to military historian and Patton expert Kevin M. Hymel. “We must do something about these rains,” Patton said, “if we are to win the war.”

After some thought and research, O’Neill came up with the following: “Almighty and most merciful Father, we humbly beseech Thee, of Thy great goodness, to restrain these immoderate rains with which we have had to contend. Grant us fair weather for Battle. Graciously hearken to us as soldiers who call upon Thee that, armed with Thy power, we may advance from victory to victory and crush the oppression and wickedness of our enemies, and establish Thy justice among men and nations. Amen.”

O’Neill typed the prayer onto an index card, and on the flip side typed a Christmas greeting from Patton. Patton ordered 250,000 copies of the card printed and distributed to every man in the 3rd Army….

In December 1944, his prayer was answered. The weather miraculously cleared (it did eventually snow, but the prayer hadn’t mentioned snow), and Patton was able to get his army moving again. When the Germans launched their final attack against Allied Forces, the Battle of the Bulge, Patton swung his men north toward the town of Bastogne, where German forces surrounded American troops from the First Army. On Dec. 26, he broke through the German defenses and relieved Bastogne.

Posted in miscellaneous | Tagged christmas, patton, prayer, third army, weather | 1 Comment

WWII iPad Wallpapers

Posted on December 24, 2010 by Lone_Sentry_Admin

A collection of WWII-themed wallpapers for the iPad and other computer desktops are listed below. All images are sized to 1024×1024 pixels.

	P-51 Mustang P-51 Mustang flown by pilot Ed Shipley in a heritage flight at the air show at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia. (U.S. Air Force photograph by T/Sgt. Ben Bloker via AF.mil.)
	B-17 Flying Fortress Formation of B-17 Flying Fortresses over Germany from the 398th Bombardment Group en route to Neumunster, Germany in April 1945. (U.S. Air Force photograph via AF.mil.)
	Bastogne, Winter 1944 U.S. Army infantrymen advance during the harsh winter weather near Bastogne in winter 1944 (World War II Signal Corps via ARMY.mil.)
	We Can Do It! WWII “Rosie the Riveter” poster from War Production Board. (U.S. National Archives.)
	A-20 Havoc Bomber Douglas A-20 Havoc bomber being serviced at Langley Field, Virginia in July 1942. (Photographed by Alfred T. Palmer via Library of Congress.)
	MPs of the Big Red 1 Military policemen of the 1st Infantry Division “Big Red 1” in Normandy shortly after D-Day, June 1944. (U.S. National Archives photograph.)
	M3 Tanks U.S. M3 tanks during armored training at Fort Knox, Kentucky in summer of 1942. (Photographed by Alfred T. Palmer via Library of Congress.)
	Luftwaffe FW 190 Focke-Wulf Fw 190 D-9 in the collection of the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. (U.S. Air Force photograph.)
	B-29 Superfortress B-29 “Gravel Gertie” of 882nd BS, 500th BG suffered collapsed landing gear on Saipan. (U.S. Air Force photograph.)
	Tank Attack U.S. tank drives over defeated Germany to attack Japan. (Cover of “Army Motors”, May 1945, Sgt. Tirman.)

Instructions to save an image as wallpaper on the iPad:
• Step 1: When browsing the Internet in Safari on the iPad, simply press and hold on an image and a menu will appear to save the image in “Saved Photos” on your iPad.
• Step 2: On your iPad home screen or desktop, open “Settings” and then choose “Brightness & Wallpaper.” Touch that to open it, and a “Wallpaper” box will appear. Click on the “Wallpaper” box to select images from your “Saved Photos”.

Posted in photos | Tagged desktop, ipad, photos, wallpaper | 11 Comments

Removing Inner Bogie Wheels on Horizontal-Volute Suspension

Posted on December 24, 2010 by Lone_Sentry_Admin

Instructions for removing the inner bogie wheels on the M4 tank with horizontal-volute spring suspension (HVSS) from Army Motors, Vol. 5, No. 11, February 1945.

SPECIAL TOOLS FOR YOUR NEW H.S./M.F.T.
Meaning: Horizontal-Suspension M-Four Tank. If that is your brand, this SOP is your oyster.

If you’re an M4-series medium tankman. with a new-fangled horizontal-volute suspension to nurse, you’ve a break comin’ that’ll help with your chores. A new set of special tools just issued to the 2nd and higher echelons makes a couple of tough jobs a damn sight easier—to wit, removing the volute springs from the suspensions, and taking off an inner bogie-wheel.

As you know if you’ve seen them, these horizontal-volute suspensions come with two types of tracks—the T66 with all-steel track-shoes, and the T80 with rubber-shod track-shoes. If you’ve got a T66, you can use the riser block as originally designed, but if it’s a T80, be sure to use the modified riser block. Any or all volute springs can be removed while the center bogie-assembly is raised up on the jack. We posed the T66 for the revealing photos that follow.

When you go to remove an inner bogie-wheel, be sure to leave the hub-caps on throughout the job or you’ll have the wheel-bearings full of grime and grit before you know it—and we don’t have to remind you that spells woe. Another thing—if the outer bogie-tire is worn, you’ll be wise to change it before you start to change the inner bogie-wheel. Then you’ll have good clearance between the wheel and hull, and between the wheel and track on the inner wheel. Carry on.

Fig. 1—Here’s all the special tools you need to do either of these exercises: (A) Block, riser, bogie-wheel, Fed. Stock No. 41-B-1411-200 (before modification). (B) Block, riser, bogie-wheel, Fed. Stock No. 41-B-1411-200 (after modification). (C) Adapters, volute-spring removing, Fed. Stock No. 41-A-30-650. (D) Lock, riser-block, Ord. No. B-7080204. Any other tools you’ll use are OVM or common tools found on your M1 Heavy Wrecker.

Fig. 2—To remove the volute spring, first loosen one wheel-bolt on each wheel of the bogie assembly involved. Place riser blocks, one in front of each wheel of the center bogie-assembly, and hunch the tank forward until the bogie-wheels center on the blocks as you see them here.

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Posted in armor, miscellaneous, research | Tagged armor, HVSS, maintenance, ordnance, repair, research, suspension | 1 Comment

Me 262 and Me 163 Aircraft Recognition

Posted on December 24, 2010 by Lone_Sentry_Admin

Recognition features for the German Me 262 and Me 163 aircraft from “Antiaircraft Artillery Notes,” HQ ETO, No. 8, December 1944:

SUBJECT: Aircraft Recognition — Me 262 and Me 163
SOURCE: AA Section, Headquarters, Twelfth Army Group

Of the jet-propelled planes now being operated by the German Air Force, two types are appearing over the Army Group area in increasing frequency — the Me 262 and Me 163, both fighters. Provisional drawings and descriptions of both those types appeared in Twelfth Army Group AAA Notes Nos. 2 & 3. German documents captured recently by Ninth US Army included silhouettes of the Me 262 and Me 163 prepared September 1944 by the High Command of the Luftwaffe; these are reproduced in Appendix I and II of this issue. It should be noted that dimensions differ very little from those given in previous publication, but certain recognition features are considerably different.

Me-262

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Posted in aircraft | Tagged aircraft, He 163, Me 262, recognition | 3 Comments

Antiairborne Defense

Posted on December 24, 2010 by Lone_Sentry_Admin

A guide to defense against airborne troops from Cavalry Mechanized Reconnaissance Squadron, Cavalry Field Manual FM 2-30, U.S. War Department, Washington, DC, March 1943:

ANTIAIRBORNE DEFENSE

The reconnaissance squadron is a highly effective agency in the scheme of antiairborne defense as outlined in FM 100-5. Generally speaking, airborne troops in force will be used either ahead or to the flank of their enemy for the purpose of seizing and holding key terrain or behind it as a vertical envelopment. In either case, the squadron has an active role.

a. The squadron operating ahead of the division will, in all probability, be the nearest element to any point at which an air landing is attempted in the division zone of advance. The points at which such an enemy operation will be profitable should be as well known to friendly commanders as they are to the enemy and should therefore be expected. Long-range air reconnaissance may further reduce the element of surprise. Division G-2 should immediately warn the reconnaissance squadron commander of any airborne movements observed either in preparation or aloft. Being thus alerted, the squadron commander can plan how he will oppose a landing at any probable point in his zone.

(1) Parachutists should be prevented from reaching and opening their weapon containers.

(1) The reconnaissance commander encountering airborne troops in his zone must make a rapid decision based on the stage of the enemy development, relative strength, and the urgency of his primary mission. He may decide to attack, to contain the force until reinforced by the division, or to bypass and report the incident.

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Posted in miscellaneous, publications, research, training | Tagged cavalry, field manual, FM, manual, publications, training | 1 Comment

Virtual Aircraft Website – Aviation Art by Jerry Boucher

Posted on December 23, 2010 by Lone_Sentry_Admin

Virtual Aircraft Website

Visit the Virtual Aircraft Website for a collection of aviation art and prints by artist Jerry Boucher. Along with the standard favorites, Boucher’s aircraft artwork also captures a wide variety of rare, lesser-known aircraft from WWI, WWII, and the modern era. Many of the images are also available for download as a computer desktop or iPad wallpaper.

Posted in aircraft | Tagged art, artwork, jerry boucher, links, prints, wallpaper, websites | 3 Comments

Sturmgeschütz at Cassino

Posted on December 23, 2010 by Lone_Sentry_Admin

Photographs of German Sturmgeschütz III (StuG III) captured near Cassino, Italy, from Report of the New Weapons Board, Office of the Commanding General, Army Service Forces, Washington, D.C., April 1944.

Italian Fifth Army Area — Ordnance Materiel

Captured German self-propelled gun. Later used as target for bazooka demonstration.

German self-propelled 75-mm PAK 40 AT gun captured near barracks north of Cassino.

Rear view of German self-propelled 75-mm PAK 40 AT gun captured near barracks north of Cassino.

Closeup of German self-propelled 75-mm PAK 40 AT gun captured near barracks north of Cassino.