Hitler's Third Reich and World War II in the News is a daily edited review of WWII news, providing thought- provoking collection of hand-picked WW2 information.

Category: Avitation & Airforce: Luftwaffe, RAF, USAF  -- See latest WWII news here. See also 'WW2 Warbirds', 'Aircrafts', 'Aces - Pilots', 'Female Pilots', 'Bomber Pilots', 'Spitfire'.

Melbourne airport opens aviation museum
Melbourne International Airport once trained over 2,000 pilots during the Second World War. That history, not widely known, is a key element in a 1,000-square-foot aviation museum that showcases the airport's past. Operating from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., the museum is open to the public but mainly is for travelers at the airport. Items on display include a World War II-era Link Flight Trainer - used to train over 500,000 pilots during the war.     [ tcpalm :: 2008-04-17 :: Avitation & Airforce: Luftwaffe, RAF, USAF ]

On the trail of a missing aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry : The last pieces of the puzzle
After the disappearance of Amelia Earhart, the death of Saint-Exupéry (in self-exile from Vichy France) has been one of flying's great mysteries. On July 31, 1944, he took off from Corsica in a Lockheed P-38 Lightning, one of many French pilots who aided the American war effort. A Messerschmitt fighter plane wreck located near the remains of Saint-Exupéry's plane belonged to Prince Alexis von Bentheim. With the Jägerblatt, a magazine for Luftwaffe veterans, veterans who had flown in von Bentheim's unit (the Jagdgruppe 200) were tracked down. Luftwaffe pilot Horst Rippert told he shot down a P-38 with French colors, and only days later learned of Saint-Exupéry's disappearance.     [ iht :: 2008-04-11 :: Avitation & Airforce: Luftwaffe, RAF, USAF ]

Mystery solved: German fighter ace Horst Rippert shot down Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"If I had known it was Saint-Exupery I would never have shot him down." German fighter ace Horst Rippert shot down Antoine de Saint-Exupery, a pioneer aviator known for his book "The Little Prince." He said he had been flying a Messerschmitt Me-109 near Toulon on July 31, 1944, when he spotted Saint-Exupery's twin-tailed Lightning. "I saw his markings and manoeuvred myself behing him and shot him down." Rippert, 28 victories in WWII, only found out for sure recently who it was he had killed, when he was tracked down by Luc Vanrell and Lino van Gartzen, authors of "Saint-Exupery, the last secret."     [ adetocqueville :: 2008-03-16 :: German Pilots and Flying Aces ]

Enthusiasts restoring a World War II airbase boosted with £130,000
History buffs aiming to restore a World War II airbase have been encouraged with over £130,000 in funding. The old control tower at Carew airfield in Pembrokeshire has been brought back to how it would have looked in the 1940s. Work is underway on restore a Stanton air-raid shelter and an Avro Anson plane of the type based there and used for detection German U-boats. The airfield was first built in 1915 as an airship base to counteract the German U-boats in World War I. With Welsh Assembly Government funding volunteers will further develop it as a tourist and educational centre.     [ bbc :: 2008-02-29 :: Avitation & Airforce: Luftwaffe, RAF, USAF ]

Link Trainer - Rare WWII-era flight trainer at Millville Army Airfield Museum
The open space in the canopy is the only way to see out. The panel is full of dials and gauges. Equipment, over 60 years old, is designed to help you navigate. Flight trainer Ron Frantz orders to even her out. The craft starts to dip and roll to the right as an unsteady hand struggles to get the craft level. "You crashed," Frantz notifies. In a building at the Millville Municipal Airport, a blue pod, for just one passenger, comes with everything you find on a WWII-era plane. It's called a Link Trainer, and in its day it was a top-notch instrument used for flight instruction. 7,000 were bought by the U.S. Army and Navy sometime around World War II.     [ pressofatlanticcity :: 2008-02-24 :: Avitation & Airforce: Luftwaffe, RAF, USAF ]

3D plane wreck image aids to raise WW2 Sunderland Flying Boat from the seabed
Enthusiasts planning to raise the wreck of a World War II aircraft from the seabed have a better idea of the task ahead of them, after a sonar survey combined with digital technology led to the 3D images of the Sunderland Flying Boat under 60ft of water off Pembroke Dock. A trust aims to recover, restore and display the Mark 1 Sunderland, which sank in a gale in 1940.It's the only surviving Mark I Sunderland. There are just 3 other military Sunderlands left, all later Mark V versions. The unique aeroplanes played a central role in the Battle of the Atlantic and Pembroke Dock became the largest flying boat station in the world.     [ bbc :: 2008-02-19 :: Avitation & Airforce: Luftwaffe, RAF, USAF ]

John Myers, American World War II Test Pilot, dead at 96
John W. Myers, a leading civilian test pilot in World War II, who helped develop the first American fighter plane designed for night combat, died. He joined Northrop Aircraft as its chief engineering test pilot in 1941 and was renowned for testing its P-61 Black Widow fighter, then teaching military pilots to fly it. His skills brought him the nickname Maestro. The radar-equipped twin-engine Black Widow was almost as large as some bombers and covered with machine guns and cannons. Flown by a 3-member crew, it started combat operations in mid-1944, the first American craft intended to find enemy planes at night and in bad weather.     [ nytimes :: 2008-02-10 :: Avitation & Airforce: Luftwaffe, RAF, USAF ]

The Long Arm of the US Strategic Bombing Survey - USSBS
When the report was first issued, 2 months after the WWII, Time magazine did not hold back: "Awesome and Frightful ...The definitive source on man's inhumanity to man, pre-atomic style." General Carl A. Spaatz, the wartime head of US Strategic Air Forces and later the first Chief of Staff of the new US Air Force, allegedly refused to read it at all. "It" was the United States Strategic Bombing Survey, a controversial look back at the 1940s air wars that the Allies waged against Nazi Germany and Japan. Few documents can brag its staying power. For 60 years, the USSBS has distorted opinion about the efficacy of airpower and the value of the Air Force to the nation.     [ afa :: 2008-02-02 :: Avitation & Airforce: Luftwaffe, RAF, USAF ]

Civil Air Patrol: World War II's Minute Men of the sky
The Civil Air Patrol is a nonprofit corporation that serves as the official auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force. It was set up Dec. 1, 1941. During the Second World War, its main task was protecting ships from attacks from Nazi submarines. There was a time in 1942 when Axis subs were sinking 2-3 vessels a day along the East Coast and the Gulf of Mexico. America's navy was spread too thin along a 1,200 mile coast to keep the Nazis at bay. U-boats sank 12 vessels in January, 42 in March, and by May the losses were so bad that the govt released no stats. German u-boats were so bold, that when the u-boats surfaced, sailors hung out their wash to dry and took sunbaths on deck.     [ beaumontjournal :: 2008-01-16 :: America during World War II - United States Home front ]

RAF Air Vice Marshal Sir Arthur Coningham Talk: Army-Air Operations
By early 1943, British forces had been fighting Field Marshal Erwin Rommel across North Africa for months. British leaders had collected hard-won lessons about command arrangements. There were 3 truths. 1) The air commander had to have centralized authority. 2) The supreme requirement was air superiority. 3) Airpower could be used to control enemy maneuver forces. Air Vice Marshal Arthur Coningham, the overall allied tactical air commander, gave a famous rundown of these lessons in Tripoli. ... There are differences between the army and the air forces: An army has one battle to fight. The air has two: It has to beat the enemy air, so that it may go into the land battle.     [ afa :: 2008-01-03 ]

B-24s 1943 air raid on Ploesti oil fields - Operation Tidal Wave
The Aug. 1, 1943 air raid, Operation Tidal Wave, on Ploesti had a huge goal: Shorten World War II by eliminating much of Nazi Germany's petroleum production in a single blow. The attack by 5 American Army Air Forces bomber groups was well-designed, but American intelligence underrated he strength and skill of the German-Romanian resistance and the ability of German intelligence. Five Medals of Honor were granted from the mission that day, more than in any other single air action. Ploesti was ringed by 7 major refineries that produced about 1/3 of Nazi Germany's oil and 1/3 of its aviation fuel.     [ afa :: 2007-12-04 ]

WWII relics (11 Japanese aircrafts) to be removed, sold in Solomons
News on sale of World War II relics in Shortlands and having them removed from their resting places has caused public protest. The government has agreed for the sale of all WWII relics at the community of Balalae to an international group. The signed agreement gave way for removal of 11 remains of Japanese planes that has been in place since after the Second World War. The relics are said to be too old and not of much value for tourism, but the move has stirred anger among the community as it is not just the physical removal of relics, but also the removal of history for the people of the province.     [ solomontimes :: 2007-11-22 ]

Honoring eastern front French pilots: Normandie-Niemen air regiment
Sarkozy and Putin will honour the legendary French pilots who fought in World War II by unveiling a memorial to the Normandie-Niemen air regiment at Layfortovo Park in Moscow. They became the most decorated French fighter unit ever. The regiment - called the Normandie squadron - was formed in 1942, when Charles de Gaulle, the leader of the Free French resistance movement, sent over 70 volunteers to fight with the Red Air Force on the eastern front. The French pilots and mechanics spent a bitter winter learning how to fix and fly soviet Yaks. In late March 1943 the squadron headed to the front. By April it was upgraded to a fighter regiment.     [ russiatoday :: 2007-10-10 :: Avitation & Airforce: Luftwaffe, RAF, USAF ]

The American Air Force on the Eve of World War II
In the years leading up to WWII, the US was well down on the list of military powers. In 1939 the US Army (174,000 men) was 19th in the rankings of ground forces. In 1939 the Army Air Corps had 1,200 bombers and fighters, mostly obsolete. Eddie Rickenbacker, America's "Ace of Aces" from WWI, said the US was 10 years behind Nazi Germany in military aviation. In 1939 Luftwaffe had 4,100 first-line combat aircraft. US pursuit airplanes were no match for the Messerschmitt Bf-109. The Ju-87 Stuka was better than the standard American attack aircraft - and the British Hurricane and Spitfire were superior to the best American fighters, as was the Japanese A6M Zero.     [ afa :: 2007-10-02 :: Avitation & Airforce: Luftwaffe, RAF, USAF ]

US team finds World War II B-17 bombers, P-47 fighter off Corsica
Article no longer available from the original source.
A US military team searching for the remains of American WW2 soldiers has discovered the wreckage of two B-17 bombers and a P-47 fighter plane off the coast of Corsica. The 13-man team led by Captain George Mitroka conducted 7 days of marine searches equipped with sonars, radars, cameras and video equipment. A B-17 bomber that crashed off the coast of Calvi in Feb 1944 after a missed landing was found at a site known to local divers. A second one was discovered near Ajaccio airport at a depth of 12 metres. The P-47 fighter plane was discovered off the coast of Bastia after a diver provided the US team with the exact GPS coordinates of the wreckage.     [ ttc :: 2007-09-27 :: Avitation & Airforce: Luftwaffe, RAF, USAF ]

World War II: A Glimpse From The Pilot's Seat [photos, video]
Sometimes my job as videojournalist is pretty interesting. I had the thrill of flying in vintage World War II planes - the opportunity to meet and fly with 6 "Rosie the Riveters" who back in the 1940s helped build these planes. We boarded the B-17 Flying Fortress at the American Airpower Museum in Farmingdale. The B-17's takeoff was loud. Once airborne, it was unbelievable to have free reign of the aircraft: Sitting in the front turret, the radio position, the bombardier's position and in the cockpit. Two days later, I was assigned to Republic Airport again. This time flying in a 1942 SNJ-Texan fighter-pilot training plane for a story on the Skytypers.     [ wnbc :: 2007-09-22 :: Avitation & Airforce: Luftwaffe, RAF, USAF ]

Bomber Command's mission: Efficient bombing stopped Nazi production
Some claim the resources expended by Bomber Command were wasted. But Richard Overy maintains the resources used by Bomber Command were modest: "Measured against the totals for the entire war effort, bombing absorbed 7%, rising to 12% in 1944-1945." The bombing destroyed all of Nazi Germany's coke, ferroalloy and synthetic rubber industries, 95% of its fuel, hard coal and rubber capacity, 75% of its truck producing, and 70% of its tire production. It also generated huge aircraft and armoured vehicle production losses. Because of bombing oil targets German pilot training suffered, and eventually there was no fuel to power aircrafts or battle tanks.     [ legionmagazine :: 2007-09-06 :: Avitation & Airforce: Luftwaffe, RAF, USAF ]

World War II Bristol Blenheim bomber recovered - after 65 years
65 years after a World War II plane crashed at Pawlett, killing its crew, the aircraft has been recovered - thanks to a 10-year research by plane enthusiast Tim Hake, who is "obsessed" with aviation archaeology, finding, researching and recovering aircraft from war-time crash sites. He is part of a group called Somerset Aviation Enthusiasts, and in 1996 he and historian Colin Parish set out to locate and recover a Bristol Blenheim bomber thought to have crashed at Pawlett Hams. Tim's research has provided him with a full history of the aircraft, the crash report, and pictures of the crew.     [ bridgwatermercury :: 2007-07-22 :: Avitation & Airforce: Luftwaffe, RAF, USAF ]

Vintage Nazi aircraft bearing swastikas flew low over the German village
Vintage World War II aircraft bearing swastikas and other Nazi symbols flew low over the German village of Loepten on Sunday - but residents had been warned in advance it was for a film. The planes were being used to film a segment of thriller Valkyrie, starring Tom Cruise. He plays German army Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, who was executed after a failed attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler in 1944. Pictures taken of the planes flying at low altitude over the village were published in Bild newspaper. It is illegal to display Nazi symbols in public in Germany, although filmmakers are exempted.     [ news24 :: 2007-07-18 :: Avitation & Airforce: Luftwaffe, RAF, USAF ]

Lost Squadron Pilot Brad McManus Recalls Ill-Fated WWII Flight
In July of 1942, 6 Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighters and 2 Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers took off from the US bound for England - but the entire squadron was forced to land on a Greenland glacier. Brad McManus, the last living member of the "Lost Squadron," was the first to land. "I elected right at that point I'm getting out of here, I got to get down while I have gas and power." On landing, the nose wheel of his P-38 dug into the ice causing the aircraft to flip on its back, but he escaped with only minor injury. "We slept in the B-17... When you're young... you don't worry about the negatives. We really believed we would get off."     [ aero-news :: 2007-06-28 :: Avitation & Airforce: Luftwaffe, RAF, USAF ]

Ulster microlight crews re-trace route of World War II Ruhr raid
An Ulster flying squad is taking a trip back in time for an airborne taste of one of the RAF's most legendary WWII missions. Those magnificent men in their flying machines, members of the Ulster Flying Club, are on course to retrace part of the journey made by the daredevil RAF heroes The Dambusters during World War II. Two intrepid teams from the microlight section of the Ards Aerodrome-based club set out on a 2,000-mile round-trip to the heart of the Ruhr. On May 16/17, 1943, 19 modified Lancaster bombers dropped bouncing bombs at the dams, which were vital for Nazi Germany's wartime steel industry.     [ sundaylife :: 2007-06-11 :: Avitation & Airforce: Luftwaffe, RAF, USAF ]

Dreams of dogfights - Friendly Foes Above the Falls airshow
Every so often, pilot Rob Gillman wonders how he would fare in actual combat. Thrilling a crowd is one thing, but every pilot thinks about a mid-air dogfight at some point. "Whenever I start to bank in to the airport and the speed starts kicking up, it's always on my mind. I think, these are the same sights and same smells those 18yo Canadians and British guys experienced 65 years ago. It never gets tiresome." To aviation buffs, neither does the sight of vintage bombers soaring overhead. 60 planes, including 40 authentic First First and Second World War fighters, fill the sky at Friendly Foes Above the Falls airshow.     [ niagarafallsreview :: 2007-06-09 :: Avitation & Airforce: Luftwaffe, RAF, USAF ]

Film salutes civilian pilots for hunting World War II subs
In 2006 heroes of the Civil Air Patrol were honored with a historical marker at the Lantana airport. Now the Historical Society of Palm Beach County will release "Puddle Jumpers of Lantana", a DVD documentary saluting the civilian pilots who made flights from Palm Beach County to Cape Canaveral in search of German U-boats. "It's a little-known story... They weren't getting paid for this. This was pure patriotism." The U.S. entered the war, and Nazi Germany launched Operation Drumbeat, sending submarines to attack shipping along the East Coast. In Feb 1942, the air patrol established bases at Rehoboth Beach, Del.; Atlantic City, N.J.; and West Palm Beach.     [ palmbeachpost :: 2007-06-04 :: Avitation & Airforce: Luftwaffe, RAF, USAF ]

The Lost Squadron: Glacier Girl to complete flight across Atlantic
Operation Bolero: On July 15, 1942, a US Army/Air Force Squadron departed American soil to support US allies in the war torn Europe. Due to weather-related problems en route, the squadron of 6 P-38s and 2 B-17 bombers was forced to make a landing on a remote ice cap in Greenland. "The Lost Squadron" drifted miles from its location... and only one P-38, encased in 268 feet of ice, was salvaged. 10 year recovery mission brought this P-38 Lightning, Glacier Girl, to her original flying glory... and on June 22, Glacier Girl will complete her transatlantic mission in Operation Bolero II - when she departs from Teterboro Airport bound for Duxford, England.     [ aero-news :: 2007-06-02 :: Avitation & Airforce: Luftwaffe, RAF, USAF ]

Aircraft played vital role in Battle of Atlantic
There was a gap in the middle of the Atlantic not covered in the early stages by aircraft, which attracted the U-boat wolf packs. It became a killing ground until Coastal Command aircraft were able to cover it. Sadly, the role of these aircraft of the RAF, RCAF and U.S. air force has never been fully told. It was the Coastal Command that delivered the coup-de grace to the U-boats, forcing their withdrawal. It was the Consolidated Liberators and PBY Catalinas, the Short Sunderlands, Lockheed Hudsons and even Vickers Wellingtons and Bristol Beaufighters which succeeded in destroying 2/3 of all U-boats sunk during World War II.     [ thetelegram :: 2007-05-13 :: Avitation & Airforce: Luftwaffe, RAF, USAF ]

Guernica - 70 years later myths and misinformation surround bombing
Itziar Arzanegi can still hear the German warplane overhead, and see the old woman shaking her fists at the foreigners destroying her town. She remembers the look of horror on the woman's face as the plane opened fire and cut her down. It has been 70 years since German and Italian fighter planes backing the fascist forces of General Francisco Franco in the Spanish Civil War leveled historic Basque town on April 26, 1937. Myths have shrouded the bombing from the outset, starting with the death toll, which historians have been revising downward for decades. Guernica has come to be seen as a foretaste of the WWII aerial blitzes.     [ post-gazette :: 2007-04-22 :: Avitation & Airforce: Luftwaffe, RAF, USAF ]

The Doolittle Raid - April 18, 1942: Pearl Harbor Avenged
On April 18, 1942, just 4 months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, American bombers swarmed into the skies over Japan. They were carrying out the Doolittle Raid, which served little practical purpose but struck a symbolic blow for America during the darkest early days of the war. The American victory in 1945 was so decisive that it is difficult to remember how bad things looked 3 years earlier. The Japanese empire was on the rise: It ruled much of China, Korea, and Indochina, and after Pearl Harbor it snatched up the Philippines and Singapore. Only the scattered Allied navies stood between it and domination of the world's largest ocean.     [ americanheritage :: 2007-04-19 :: Avitation & Airforce: Luftwaffe, RAF, USAF ]

RAF war drawings found at hotel
Pictures believed to have been drawn by RAF pilots during World War Two have been discovered hidden behind wallpaper in a room at a hotel. Drawings of planes and technical details about wartime aircraft were found scribbled on walls at the Belle Vue Royal Hotel in Aberystwyth. The RAF pilots trained in Aberystwyth during the war and were probably billeted at the hotel. Pictures of wartime fighter aircraft and bombers were discovered when the hotel stripped the walls of the room. Technical data about the wingspan of British and German planes and dates from 1943 and 1944 were also uncovered.     [ bbc :: 2007-04-18 :: Avitation & Airforce: Luftwaffe, RAF, USAF ]

Project 19 - The secret World War 2 operation
Dudley Russell has terrible memories of the scarred planes he worked on in a secret base in Africa. "They were all shot up. We saw blood inside. We were shocked. We worked on planes that had been in the raid on the Ploesti oil field in Yugoslavia. I'm going to say it was a failure. Some of those planes that came back, I don't know how they flew." He thought he was signing on for an adventure. The ignorance vanished on the transport ships: "They started dropping ash cans (depth charges) over the side. We were under submarine attack, but since we were civilians they told us they were practicing. Every time we came under sub attack, they told us they were practicing."     [ thevillagesdailysun :: 2007-03-11 :: Avitation & Airforce: Luftwaffe, RAF, USAF ]

William H. Brandon flew key raid in WWII - Ploesti: Third Reich oil
A decorated World War II aviator William H. Brandon died at 89. He flew 27 missions, among them the first raid in 1943 on the oil installations at Ploesti, Romania. Destruction of the complex was crucial because it was believed Ploesti produced a third of the oil for Nazi Germany. On Aug. 1, 1943, the heavy bombers flew to Romania from Libya, where they had practiced low-level flying and bombing. The B-24s flew so low that "there were cornstalks on the bomb bay doors of my father's plane." Brandon, who flew the 44th's lead aircraft on that raid, received the Distinguished Service Cross, country's second-highest military award.     [ mysanantonio :: 2007-02-28 :: Avitation & Airforce: Luftwaffe, RAF, USAF ]

The military zeppelin USS Macon - Floating aircraft carrier
The military zeppelin USS Macon was meant to be a floating American aircraft carrier, but it crashed and has been lying on the ocean floor for more than 70 years. Now scientists have studied the wreck. The tragedy unfolded unusually slowly for an aviation catastrophe: The crew fought to control the USS Macon for more than an hour. But the Macon, the largest rigid airship ever constructed in the US, sank inexorably downward, the safety of the Moffett Field hangar just within reach. Two years later German airship LZ 129 Hindenburg caught fire and strategists lost interest in the use of airships for military purposes.     [ spiegel :: 2006-10-13 :: Avitation & Airforce: Luftwaffe, RAF, USAF ]

Blimps At War -- Nonrigid airships to escort convoys
In World War II, some of the Navy's most important craft were not ships, subs, or planes. Blimps made ideal surveillance platforms. On Dec 11 1941, a flotilla of u-boats set out to spread death along the Eastern seaboard of the US. The offensive had been planned by Admiral Karl Dönitz, commander of the U-boat fleet, to deliver a blow that would be as crushing as Pearl Harbor. The desperate situation called for desperate action: So the Navy revived an idea that had worked in WWI, when the British had countered the U-boat threat by using nonrigid airships to escort convoys.     [ americanheritage :: 2006-10-01 :: Avitation & Airforce: Luftwaffe, RAF, USAF ]

Archives of the legendary Eighth Air Force collected
The Eighth Air Force is alive and well at Penn State. But, there is a sense of urgency in the Special Collections Library, where history of the "The Mighty Eighth" is being collected. During World War II, under the leadership of Ira Eaker and Jimmy Doolittle, it formed the greatest air armada in history. By mid-1944, it had a strength of more than 200,000, and could send more than 2,000 bombers and 1,000 fighters on a single mission. "The Mighty Eighth" ran America's daylight strategic bombing against Nazi-occupied Europe, compiling an impressive but high priced war record, suffering about half of the Army Air Force's casualties.     [ psu :: 2006-09-29 :: Avitation & Airforce: Luftwaffe, RAF, USAF ]

Factory that built B-17 Flying Fortress bombers to be demolished
Article no longer available from the original source.
The Boeing factory in Seattle that produced a dozen B-17s a day during World War Two is set to be demolished. Called Plant Two, it rolled out nearly 7000 of the Flying Fortress bombers. And, the first 3 experimental models of the B-29 also were made there. During the war the roof was camouflaged to look like a neighborhood, in case of a Japanese bombing raid. Now the building is mostly empty except for two planes being remodeled by volunteers -- a B-17 and a B-29. Dale Thompson, says the "place just oozes with history." He and others, including historian Mike Lombardi, hope the building can be preserved.     [ kndo :: 2006-09-26 ]

Allied air raids on ball-bearing factories in Bavarian Schweinfurt
Article no longer available from the original source.
Allied air raids on ball-bearing factories in the Bavarian town of Schweinfurt in World War II form the subject of a talk at the Bossier Historical Center. Starting in 1943, it was a major target for Allied bombing missions, several of which were among the costliest in terms of both lost airplanes and air crew members captured and killed. In all, Schweinfurt was targeted nearly two dozen times in raids involving nearly 2,300 airplanes. 8,000 tons of bombs fell on the city, resulting in some damage to the ball-bearing production, but destroying half the houses and causing more than 1,000 civilian casualties.     [ shreveporttimes :: 2006-09-22 :: Avitation & Airforce: Luftwaffe, RAF, USAF ]

Risky WWII supply missions in Asia by Army Air Forces crews
Army Air Forces crews flew some of the most dangerous missions of World War II, taking supplies to Allied troops in the China-Burma-India theater, an effort called "Flying the Hump." Japanese forces closed the Burma Road, which had been used to move supplies to Burma. Johnny W. Martin was a member of one of the dozens of C-46 crews "Flying the Hump," so called because of the need to gain the altitude to clear the Himalayas. On one flight a Japanese Zero fighter attacked his aircraft. The pilot made an emergency landing. But the Zero returned and swooped down to strafe the plane. The C-46 crewmen hid in a trench.     [ dfw :: 2006-08-17 :: Avitation & Airforce: Luftwaffe, RAF, USAF ]

Founder of top-secret fighter unit Flying Tiger honored
The American Volunteer Group (AVG), better known as the "Flying Tigers," was a top-secret fighter unit that picked dogfights with Japanese planes over China in 1941 and 1942. "The experts said the AVG wouldn't last 3 weeks against the Japanese, as its Air Force enjoyed numerical superiority in the Pacific theater," said Jon Pensyl. "Well, we smashed the Japanese Air Force over China for over 7 months, keeping their bombers away from strategic points in that country." Pensyl, Director of the 5th Fighter Group, was back in the Pacific theater, along with his comrades in arms, to attend a ceremony honoring General Claire Chennault, the founder of the AVG.     [ taipeitimes :: 2006-08-14 :: Avitation & Airforce: Luftwaffe, RAF, USAF ]

U.S. trained Chinese pilots for a top secret WWII mission
Six Chinese military officers came back to Austin to receive honors for their bravery during World War II. The six were members of the elite FAB-100, officers brought over from China in 1945 to serve as interpreters for Chinese pilots. The United States worked to train the pilots for a top secret mission. "I think the top secret part was before we came down to train the cadets. I think they had something else in mind for us to do," Tommy Cheng said. To this day, nobody knows what that something was. The end of WW2 cut their project short. The bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, and the FAB-100 mission was all but forgotten.     [ news8austin :: 2006-08-01 :: Avitation & Airforce: Luftwaffe, RAF, USAF ]

General Doolittle led the first U.S. air strike against Japan
Book examines the life of General James Doolittle who led the first U.S. air strike against Japan in 1942. He was a military and aviation legend who was the first to fly across the U.S. in less than 24 hours, became a four-star general, won the Medal of Honor and was commander of the 12th, 15th and 8th Air Forces during WWII. The Doolittle Raid: On April 18, 1942, he led 16 Army B-25 bombers off the deck of the USS Hornet on a bombing attack of Japan. The bombers crash-landed or were forced to ditch in Russia, China and in the ocean. 3 died in the immediate aftermath. 8 were captured by the Japanese. The crew in Russia were held prisoner until escaping.     [ heraldtribune :: 2006-07-21 :: Generals of World War Two Commanders ]

Ripping open the heart of Hitler's Third Reich - Flooding the Ruhr
On May 16, 1943 16 Lancaster bombers thundered down an runway on a mission that would shake Germany to its core and buoy Britain's war-battered spirits. Within nine hours the squadron had suffered catastrophic losses, with 8 aircrafts down and 53 men dead. But the raid - regarded by many as the most daring of any mounted during WW2 - was an success. It had ripped open the very heart of Hitler's Third Reich, flooding the Ruhr and Eder valleys and crippling canal networks, railways, steelworks and the national grid. The squadron's motto was "apres moi le deluge" - "after me, the flood." To millions it became known as The Dambusters.     [ hbtoday :: 2006-05-17 :: Avitation & Airforce: Luftwaffe, RAF, USAF ]

May 6, 1937: Hindenburg lands in fiery explosion
Even in newsreels it looks gigantic, and 70 years later it is still the largest aircraft ever to fly. Measuring 3 football fields long, it boasted luxurious staterooms and spacious lounge. It could - and did - travel from Germany to America in two days. Deutsche Zeppelin had one problem: It was almost broke. In Germany in 1937 there was only one institution with enough cash - Nazi government. Because of the zeppelin's military potential U.S. refused to sell Helium needed to keep the Hindenburg safely in the air. Deutsche Zeppelin had only one fuel alternative: Highly flammable, extremely volatile hydrogen. You know the rest.     [ poconorecord :: 2006-05-01 :: Weapons, Guns & bombs of WWII ]

Me262 Flies Over Germany Once Again
Aero-News has learned that Tango Tango -- the second flying reproduction of the groundbreaking Messerschmidt Me262 WWII jet fighter -- took to the skies over Germany earlier this week. The historic flight marked the first time that an Me262 has flown over Germany since 1945. Upon successful flight testing, the Me262 Project plans to fly and display Tango Tango at the Berlin ILA 2006 Airshow, May 16-21.     [ aero-news :: 2006-04-30 :: Aircrafts of WWII ]

Guernica honours Times man for telling its story
George Steer, the journalist for The Times whose report of the German bombing of Guernica outraged the world, is honoured in the Basque town where the massacre happened. Exactly 69 years after the Luftwaffe Condor Legion squadron attacked the civilian population of the Basque town on a busy market day, a bronze bust of Steer will be unveiled and a street named after him. Steer was among the first journalists to reach Guernica just hours after more than 1,600 civilians were killed by the bombing and subsequent firestorm on April 26, 1937.     [ timesonline :: 2006-04-26 :: Avitation & Airforce: Luftwaffe, RAF, USAF ]

Bridge Busters - 397th bomber group
After basic training, "Jim Bob" Williams was sent to the Glen L. Martin aircraft factory school, where the B-26 Maurader medium bombers were built. The intensive training there would enable him to survive several harrowing experiences during some of his 59 bombing missions in Europe. There the 397th bomber group was known as the 'Bridge Busters' because of their ability to knock out highway and railroad bridges that were important to the German Wehrmacht. The Group supported Gen. Patton's Third Army. On a mission calling for very close support, their bombs fell 300 yards from his command post.     [ lompocrecord :: 2006-04-18 :: Avitation & Airforce: Luftwaffe, RAF, USAF ]

Black Sunday - The greatest non-combat aviation loss in WWII
Article no longer available from the original source.
On April 16, 1944, Capt. Thomas Paschal and his B-24J crew vanished in the clouds. Paschal's Liberator and more than 300 other planes were returning from a bombing run over Dutch New Guinea during WWII when they ran into what one pilot called the "worst storm I ever saw." The bad weather gave the American planes a tougher fight than they had gotten from the Japanese, claiming 54 crew members and 37 aircraft. It was the Army Air Forces' greatest non-combat aviation loss in WWII. Thirty fighter and bomber crew members are still missing.     [ greenbaypressgazette :: 2006-04-15 :: Avitation & Airforce: Luftwaffe, RAF, USAF ]

Opposition to plan to honor Nazi air pioneers Messerschmitt, Dornier
A Jewish leader protested plans to honor German aviation pioneers Willy Messerschmitt and Claude Dornier, saying their role under the Nazis should disqualify them. "With their arms firms, Messerschmitt and Dornier supported the National Socialist regime and exploited thousands of forced laborers and concentration camp inmates." Messerschmitt developed the Messerschmitt Bf 109, which became the most important fighter in the Luftwaffe as Germany re-armed prior to WWII. Dornier was best known for developing bombers.     [ haaretzdaily :: 2006-04-12 :: Avitation & Airforce: Luftwaffe, RAF, USAF ]

A battle plan that made Germany the focus of the Allied airpower
On March 6, 1942, Lt. Gen. Henry H. Arnold had won approval for a battle plan that made the European theater the focus of the majority of Allied airpower, with minimal airpower in the Pacific theater. 3 days later, the Army released Circular 59, War Department Reorganization. The plan streamlined the Army's resources into three major commands, defining the Army Air Forces as an autonomous command within the Army. The technology gap between "us" and "them" had never been so pronounced as during the Nazi Luftwaffe's siege of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War in 1937.     [ dcmilitary :: 2006-03-11 :: Avitation & Airforce: Luftwaffe, RAF, USAF ]

27th Air Transport Group - goods to the battle front
Joseph W. (Bill) Stevens was assigned to the 27th Air Transport Group. A primary duty was ferrying goods to the battle front, gasoline for Patton's tanks, ammunition, and other goods. Return flights were usually filled with wounded headed. Most flights were uneventful - one wasn't. They were descending through a layer of clouds when they were hit by flak. One engine was damaged, the throttle and prop control were useless. A burst hit one wing just outboard of a fuel tank. Others hit the fuselage. The only passenger, a Frenchman was systematically destroying the documents he was carrying as the crew struggled to keep the aircraft flying.     [ jacksonholestartrib :: 2006-03-07 :: Avitation & Airforce: Luftwaffe, RAF, USAF ]

My Father Mr Spitfire
On an early spring afternoon a group of men watch a unique plane howl across the English countryside. In its maiden flight test pilot Mutt Summers will slam the experimental all-metal craft up to 370mph. For the first time ever the legendary Spitfire, scourge of Luftwaffe, has taken to the air. As it lands, creator RJ Mitchell rushes over to ask the flier his impression. "Don't change a thing," says Summers breathlessly. Satisfied, Mitchell turns towards his colleagues. It is 1936. A little over 12 months later the designer will be dead, killed by cancer. He will never see his creation fire a shot in anger. As the 70th anniversary of the Spitfire's first flight approaches, his son Gordon reveals his father's story.     [ mirror :: 2006-02-19 :: Supermarine Spitfire ]

Japanese Bomb the West Coast
Most Americans probably believe that continental United States has never been bombed. A floatplane launched from an Imperial Japanese Navy submarine dropped its bombs in September 1942--the first time the continental United States was bombed from the air. The IJN began experimenting with aircraft-carrying submarines in 1925. By the time of Pearl Harbor, 11 of its submarines were equipped to carry, launch, and recover one specially configured floatplane. Most of those early boats were classified as scouting submarines, B1 Type, of the I-15 class.     [ about :: 2006-02-14 :: Special Forces & Missions ]

WWII Victories of the Army Air Force
WWII Victories of the Army Air Force is the most complete work ever done on WWII fighter pilots. It lists 7,299 pilots, by assigned group and individually, who achieved aerial victories. It lists all 80 Fighter Groups, a total of 7,299 pilots, who had pilots that achieved aerial victories. The pilots within each group are listed in alphabetical order listing their rank, serial number, squadron and the number of victories earned while assigned to that squadron. The book is fully indexed for ease of use.     [ prweb :: 2006-01-14 :: Avitation & Airforce: Luftwaffe, RAF, USAF ]

The Search for World War II Planes Continues
World War II may have ended six decades ago, but leftovers from the conflict can be found everywhere -- if you're looking. One German group does just that. As head of the Search Group for the Missing (Arbeitsgruppe Vermisstenforschung), Uwe Benkel and his team of volunteers scour the country to find and excavate the thousands of fighter planes which crashed in Germany during WWII. They recover the remains of the pilots and provide them a proper funeral. In the process, Benkel has healed many a scar -- both within families and across continents.     [ spiegel :: 2006-01-04 :: Avitation & Airforce: Luftwaffe, RAF, USAF ]

Airman who destroyed Queen Wilhelmina's palace used as a SS headquarters
Air Commodore Robbert "Bergy" van Zinnicq Bergmann, who has died in Holland aged 87, escaped from that country during its occupation to become a Typhoon pilot flying with the RAF. The rocket-firing Typhoons of Bergmann's squadron, No 181, were detailed for a special operation on November 4 1944, in which they were to attack the north wing of the Dutch Royal Family's summer palace, which was being used by the SS as a headquarters.     [ telegraph :: 2004-06-26 :: Avitation & Airforce: Luftwaffe, RAF, USAF ]

See also

'WW2 Warbirds'

'Aircrafts'

'Aces - Pilots'

'Female Pilots'

'Bomber Pilots'

'Spitfire'.

What's new - recent & interesting categories.

Although the articles linked from Adolf Hitler's Third Reich 1933-1945 and World War II in the News are reviewed and specially selected, they do not necessarily represent the views of the editor, who is not responsible for the content of any external sites. This service is © Joni Nuutinen 2005-2008. All rights reserved.