Showing posts with label History World War 2. Show all posts
Showing posts with label History World War 2. Show all posts

Sunday, May 10, 2020

The Nazis' Last Transmission In World War II Said 'Closing Down For Ever'

The intercepted message, which was sent as he signed off on 7 May 1945 at 7.35am, said: 'British troops entered Cuxhaven at 1400 on 6 May - from now on all radio traffic will cease - wishing you all the best. Lt Kunkel'

Daily Mail The Nazis' last transmission: Message from German WWII radio station 'closing down for ever' that was decrypted by Bletchley Park is released by GCHQ

* Bletchley Park code breakers kept intercepting German messages until the end of the Second Word War
* Lieutenant Kunkel sent out a message 'closing down for ever... all the best' hours before the end of the war
* Intelligence chiefs were worried about a possible German final stand so were monitoring communications

The last recorded message to be intercepted from a German military communications network at the end of the Second World War has been revealed to the public for the first time.

It shows that Britain's Bletchley Park code breakers carried on working in the dying days of the war to ensure there would be no final stand by the Nazis, according to GCHQ historian Tony Comer.

Mr Comer added the message, released to mark the 75th anniversary of VE Day, gives 'a small insight into the real people behind the machinery of war'.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: How fitting .... "closing down forever".

Friday, May 8, 2020

Did The U.S. Lend-Lease Aid Program Tip The Balance In The Soviet Fight Against Nazi Germany?

American and Soviet pilots pose in front of a Bell P-39 Airacobra, supplied to the Soviet Union under the Lend-Lease program. Photo: Museum of the U.S. Air Force (Courtesy Photo)

Robert Coalson, RFE: 'We Would Have Lost': Did U.S. Lend-Lease Aid Tip The Balance In Soviet Fight Against Nazi Germany?

On February 24, 1943, a Douglas C-47 Skytrain transport aircraft with serial number 42-32892 rolled out of a factory in Long Beach, California, and was handed over to the U.S. Air Force.

On March 12, 1943, the plane was given to the Soviet Air Force in Fairbanks, Alaska, and given the registration USSR-N238. From there, it flew 5,650 kilometers to the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, one of some 14,000 aircraft sent by the United States to the Soviet Union during World War II under the massive Lend-Lease program.

This particular C-47 was sent to the Far North and spent the war conducting reconnaissance and weather-monitoring missions over the Kara Sea. After the war, it was transferred to civilian aviation, carrying passengers over the frozen tundra above the Arctic Circle. On April 23, 1947, it was forced to make an emergency landing with 36 people on board near the village of Volochanka on the Taimyr Peninsula.

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WNU Editor: This is a debate that I have had more than once with my father and his World War II comrades. They told me that they never saw or use any US equipment or supplies during the war. I know that my father did ride a US jeep after the war, and he accidentally crashed it a day later. Considering how lousy and careless my father was as a driver, I do believe that story. But during the war my father and his buddies were very adamant. They never saw US aid. They may not have seen any aid, but IMHO US aid did help. The records on what the U.S. shipped to the Soviet Union are  a manner of public record, in both the U.S. and in Russia. It may not have been enough to tip the war, but it did contribute to the eventual victory.

Friday, February 14, 2020

Seventy-Five Years Ago The German City Of Dresden Was Firebombed





Daily Mail: Into the inferno: Families boiled alive as they hid in water tanks and fleeing survivors trapped in molten tarmac... 75 years on, the most horrifically vivid account you'll ever read of the Allied bombing of Dresden – by a British PoW who saw it all

* During the final months of WWII, Allied forces bombed German city of Dresden
* British rifleman Victor Gregg was one of hundreds of men being held as a PoW
* On the 75th anniversary of the bombing, this is his eyewitness account

During the final months of World War II, from February 13 to 15, 1945, Allied forces bombed the ancient, cathedral city of Dresden, in eastern Germany.

The bombing was controversial because Dresden's contribution to the war effort was minimal compared with other German cities — though it was a key transport junction and used by German forces to defend the country against Soviet forces approaching from the east.

Before the huge air raid, it had not suffered a major Allied attack. By February 15, however, it was a smouldering ruin — 2,400 tons of high explosives and 1,500 tons of incendiary bombs were dropped on the city. An unknown number of civilians, somewhere between 35,000 and 135,000, were dead.

British rifleman Victor Gregg was one of hundreds of men being held as a PoW in the city by the Germans. On the 75th anniversary of the start of the bombing, this is his eyewitness account of the devastation he left behind.

Read more ....

More News On Remembering The Fire-Bombing Of The German City Of Dresden Seventy-Five Years Ago

Commemorating the legacy of the WWII bombing of Dresden -- DW
Germany marks 75th anniversary of Dresden bombing as far-right seeks to downplay Nazi crimes -- France 24
German president calls for country to stand up to extremism, nationalism on 75th anniversary of Dresden bombing -- FOX News
Dresden marks 75th anniversary of city's destruction -- Al Jazeera
Bombing of Dresden: A survivor looks back 75 years later -- DW
Dresden: The World War Two bombing 75 years on -- Toby Luckhurst, BBC News

Thursday, January 30, 2020

Last Battle Of Britain Flying Ace Paul Farnes Has Died At Aged 101



Daily Mail: Last Battle of Britain 'ace' pilot Paul Farnes dies, leaving only two alive from 'The Few' who defended Britain against the Nazis' air attack in 1940

* Wing Commander Farnes died peacefully at his home in Hampshire on Tuesday
* He was a Hurricane pilot, one of 3k Allied airmen who fought the Battle of Britain
* Farnes was an 'Ace' - a pilot who brought down five or more enemy aircraft

The last fighter ace of the Battle of Britain has died, meaning just two of 'The Few' are still alive.

Wing Commander Paul Farnes died peacefully at his home in Hampshire on Tuesday morning, aged 101.

Mr Farnes, a Hurricane pilot, was one of 3,000 Allied airmen who fought in the Battle of Britain and was the last surviving ace - a pilot who brought down five or more enemy aircraft.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: I can only imagine the stories that he shared over the years.

More News On Britain's Last 'Battle Of Britain' Flying Ace Dying At The Age Of 101

Battle of Britain ace fighter pilot Paul Farnes dies aged 101 -- BBC
Last Battle of Britain flying ace Paul Farnes dies aged 101 -- The Guardian
Paul Farnes, the last Battle of Britain flying ace, dies aged 101 -- Euronews
Last Battle of Britain fighter pilot ace dies at 101 -- Washington Examiner
'The Few' WWII Fighter Ace Paul Farnes Dies Aged 101 -- Forces Network

Monday, November 11, 2019

Missing WWII Submarine The U.S.S Grayback Found After 75 Years Off The Coast Of Okinawa

This map shows where the U.S.S. Grayback was found 1,427 feet deep and 50 nautical miles south of Okinawa, Japan



Daily Mail: The last resting place of WW2 submarine the USS Grayback is found off the coast of Okinawa using high-tech undersea drones 75 years after the Japanese dropped a 500 pound bomb on it sending it 1,400ft down

* The missing WWII submarine the U.S.S Grayback was found in June after the ship mysteriously disappeared 75 years ago off of Japan
* It was presumed lost, along with 80 American servicemen, in March 1944
* The Grayback sank more than a dozen ships during the war
* Researchers with Lost 52 Project are dedicated to finding the final resting places of the 52 U.S. submarines lost in action during WWII
* They combed Japanese military records which said their planes dropped a 500-pound bomb on the Grayback 100 miles east-southeast of Okinawa
* This year a Japanese researcher reviewed those records and found one digit of the Grayback's final coordinates was mistranslated
* The real location of the Grayback was about 100 miles off and the sub discovered 1,427 feet deep and 50 nautical miles south of Okinawa

A lost American war submarine that was sunk by Japanese forces more than 75 years ago and claimed the lives of 80 servicemen has been miraculously found after researchers realized war records mistranslated the coordinates of its last sighting.

The U.S.S. Grayback SS-208, hailed as one of the most successful American submarines of World War II, was patrolling the South Pacific and South China Sea when it mysteriously disappeared in February 1944.

The submarine left Pearl Harbor on January 28, 1944 for its 10th combat mission and failed to return to a nearby naval base in March. The Grayback torpedoed numerous enemy vessels, rescued downed American aviators, and sank more than a dozen Japanese ships during the war, according to the New York Times.

Read more ....

More News On The Discovery Of The U.S.S. Grayback

Navy Submarine, Missing for 75 Years, Is Found Off Okinawa -- The New York Times
WWII US submarine wreck discovered 75 years after it sank -- FOX News
Missing for 75 years, WWII submarine found after translation error discovered -- USA Today
WWII submarine USS Grayback, missing 75 years, discovered off coast of Japan -- NBC
Explorers find long-lost USS Grayback submarine after 75-year mystery -- UPI

Saturday, September 28, 2019

80 Years Ago The City Of Warsaw Fell To The German Army

Bombing of Warsaw in World War II - Wikipedia

Fall of Warsaw - September 1939 - from Memories of Jerzy Kajetanski - Part III

Below is the last part of the excerpts from the memories of Jerzy Kaletanski, the author of very dramatic paintings illustrating the war. You can magnify the picture by clicking into it. Read the previous part September 1939 - from Memories of Jerzy Kajetanski - Part II. Read also the press review by Richard Poremski Images of War by Kajetanski - Graphics of Poland's WW II Suffering. 

On the next day we returned to Uncle Adam's apartment because it was impossible to continue to be in that crowd.

There began to be air raids during the day, and the artillery fusillade continued at night. The whole operation was directed toward the center of town. The Germans were systematically demolishing whole city blocks.

After a few days we decided to return to the Wola section because it became evident that the outlying sections of town were less threatened. Telephones were still in service here so we called my cousin Jasio who invited us over to his house.

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Tuesday, September 3, 2019

On This Day In 1939: Britain And France Declare War On Germany

Photo: Neville Chamberlain broadcast the news to the nation at 1115 hours

BBC: 1939: On This Day In 1939: Britain And France Declare War On Germany

Britain and France are at war with Germany following the invasion of Poland two days ago.

At 1115 BST the Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, announced the British deadline for the withdrawal of German troops from Poland had expired.

He said the British ambassador to Berlin had handed a final note to the German government this morning saying unless it announced plans to withdraw from Poland by 1100, a state of war would exist between the two countries.

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WNU Editor: And so it began.

Saturday, August 31, 2019

80 Years Ago Today Germany Invaded Poland That Started The Second World War



DW: Poland, Germany and the shadow of World War II

To this day, German-Polish ties are haunted by the events of World War II. The invasion of Poland cast a long shadow, as demonstrated by current demands for reparations and plans to erect a memorial to Polish victims.

Poland wasn't just the first country invaded by Germany in World War II. It also suffered the largest number of casualties as a proportion of its total population, in addition to the systematic, wholesale destruction of Polish towns, cities and cultural assets.

These days, however, 80 years after the invasion of Poland, few Germans realize the full extent of the damage wreaked upon their neighbor. Germany's foreign minister, Heiko Maas, admitted as much on a recent visit to the country.

Read more ....

Update: WWII: A memory battleground on the 80th anniversary (AP)

WNU Editor: Every Saturday night we light a candle in my home to remember someone who has passed on and/or a historical event. Tonight we are remembering the German invasion of Poland and the start of the Second World War.

Thursday, August 15, 2019

An Eye Witness Account On the Sinking Of The U.S. Aircraft CArrier Yorkton During World War II


National Interest: See This Picture? This Aircraft Carrier Was Sunk (A Member of the Crew Told Us How)

A real tragedy.

I still couldn’t get over it myself. I mean, Siwash was senior to most of the other quartermasters—probably the smartest, too—but he was not an officer. He was an enlisted man—a petty officer, second class––the same as me. I saw nothing unusual when the first fighter plane came in. The airdales [sailors on an aircraft carrier whose job involves working with aircraft] towed it forward; the pilot was still in the cockpit when the next plane approached the stern.

After working in a Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp in Idaho, Ray Daves enlisted in the Navy in the spring of 1938 and reported for basic training the following year. He was at Pearl Harbor, serving at Pacific Fleet Headquarters as a radioman, when the Japanese attacked; he was wounded in the hand. Afterward, he requested sea duty on a warship and was assigned to the submarine Dolphin (SS-169), on which he served one war patrol before being reassigned as a radioman second class aboard the aircraft carrier Yorktown (CV-5).

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WNU Editor: A riveting war story.

Wednesday, May 29, 2019

What Did U.S. Soldiers Really Thought About America And The Military During World War II

U.S. Troops wading through water and Nazi gunfire”, circa 1944-06-06. Chief Photographer's Mate (CPHoM) Robert F. Sargent

Edward Gitre, Task & Purpose/The Conversation: Uncensored surveys reveal what US soldiers really thought about America and the military during World War II

I can still recall the exhilaration I felt in the reading room of the National Archives in College Park, Maryland.

It was mid-April 2009. I was scrolling through roll after microfilm roll of the War Department's “ Opinion Surveys Relating to the Morale of U.S. Army Personnel."

What I had discovered were tens of thousands of statements written by World War II American soldiers about their military experiences. Not only were they uncensored, but they were also composed during the conflict – not afterward, from re-created memories.

A postdoctoral fellow at the time in modern U.S. history, I felt confident that no other collection of WWII records compared to what had been saved on these unreproduced 44 microfilm rolls. Neither had I ever seen these documents used in any history of WWII.

I had just discovered a historian's gold mine.

If only the public had access to these, I thought to myself.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: Here is today's version on what soldiers and their families think of military service .... A U.S. Army Tweet Asking 'How Has Serving Impacted You?' Got An Agonizing Response (NPR).

Sunday, May 19, 2019

This Documentary Shows The B-17 Bomber Like You've Never Seen It Before



Popular Mechanics: 'Cold Blue' Shows the B-17 Bomber Like You've Never Seen It Before

The hero of WWII is the star of a brand-new kind of documentary.

The B-17 “Flying Fortress” is one of the most iconic aircraft of World War II. Built by Boeing, the four-engine bomber was the United States’ primary weapon of destruction in the air campaign to annihilate cities and bring Nazi Germany to its knees. Its combat performance was decidedly uneven, yet no one questions its primacy in the war.

The B-17E, the first mass-produced model, carried nine machine guns and a 4,000-pound bomb load. Its distinctive and enormous tail improved control and stability during high-altitude bombing. Crews loved its smoothness—“It flew like an overgrown Piper Cub,” said one pilot—and its ability to absorb enemy fire and keep flying.

“Without the B-17 we may have lost the war,” said General Carl Spaatz, commander of U.S. Strategic Air Forces in Europe.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: If the above trailer is any indication, this documentary looks awesome.

Wednesday, April 24, 2019

Allied World War II Bomb Detonated in Germany Causes Widespread Damage

The bomb - seen in the lower left - was uncovered during construction work

BBC: WW2 bomb blown up in Germany after evacuation

A 250kg (550lb) World War Two bomb caused damage in a German city when it exploded on Wednesday under controlled circumstances.

It was discovered in the southern city of Regensburg during construction work.

The bomb could not be transported or defused, experts found. So they instead evacuated some 4,500 people in a 1.5km (one mile) radius.

Despite the planned explosion, nearby buildings were damaged in the blast, their windows shattering.

Unexploded bombs from the war are not uncommon in Germany, which was heavily bombed by Britain and, later, the US.

Read more ....

Update: U.S. World War II Bomb Detonated in Germany Causes Widespread Damage (Time/AP)

WNU Editor: This is a huge problem in my mother's home town of Vyazma, 60 kilometers west of Moscow. This is where the German Army was stopped in their drive to Moscow, and the leftover ordinances still pose a huge problem for construction and development projects. In one project that I know of the construction crew uncovered a cache of hundreds of artillery shells that were left behind and forgotten until they were accidentally uncovered by an excavator. Bottom line. This is going to be a persistent problem until the next century.

Wednesday, April 10, 2019

Last Surviving Member Of The Doolittle Raiders, Dies At 103 In Texas

Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Richard E. Cole, the last surviving Doolittle Raider, tours a U.S. Navy B-25 Mitchell similar to the aircraft he co-piloted. Cole has died at age 103. (Staff Sgt. Vernon Young Jr./Air Force)

Daily Mail: Last Doolittle Raider: Retired Air Force Lt. Colonel who took part in daring raids over Japan in the wake of the Pearl Harbor attack striking a crucial blow for America, dies aged 103

* Richard 'Dick' Cole, the last of the Second World War's infamous Doolittle Raiders, passed away early Monday
* The retired Air Force Lt. Col.took part in daring raids on Japanese mainland following the Pearl Harbor attack
* Led by the legendary James 'Jimmy' Doolittle, the aviators flew 16 stripped-down B-25s 650 miles to Japan
* They took off from aircraft carriers in the middle of the Pacific and bombed key Japanese positions in Tokyo
* After the audacious Tokyo raid the brave men all bailed out of their planes safely onto friendly Chinese fields
* When asked his clearest memory of the raid, he joked: 'The thing I remember most... is my parachute opening'
* While the attack caused only minor damage, it played a huge role in boosting morale on the US home-front
* Cole remained a hero within the Air Force after retiring and in 2016, announced that a new series of bombers - the B-21 stealth bombers would be named the 'Raider' in honor of Doolittle, Cole and their band of brothers

A retired Air Force Lt. Col. who took part in the daring Doolittle Raids on Japan in the wake of the devastating attack on Pearl Harbor has died, aged 103.

Richard 'Dick' Cole, the last of the Second World War's infamous Doolittle Raiders, passed away early Monday morning in San Antonio, Texas, surrounded by his family.

Cole was part of a volunteer group of 80 Army Air Force aviators who took part in a series of bombing raids in retaliation for the attack on a United States naval base in Hawaii, which killed 2,403 American citizens.

Read more ....

More News On The Last Surviving Member Of The Doolittle Raiders Passing Away At 103 In Texas

A legend passes: Dick Cole, last of the Doolittle Raiders, dies at 103 -- Air Force Times
Richard Cole, last surviving member of the Doolittle Raiders, dies at 103 in Texas -- USA Today
Last WWII ‘Doolittle Raider’ dies at 103 -- FOX News
The last surviving Doolittle Raider, Richard E. Cole, dies at 103 -- ABC News
Dick Cole, last of the Doolittle Raiders, dies at 103 -- CNN
Last living Doolittle Raider dies in Texas at 103 -- Stars and Stripes

Friday, March 29, 2019

Remembering 'The Great Escape'



Stars and Stripes: US troops in Europe celebrate 75th anniversary of the Great Escape

American soldiers joined their Polish counterparts in Zagan, Poland, for two days of festivities over the weekend commemorating the 75th anniversary of the daring escape from a prisoner-of-war camp located there during World War II.

Though 73 of the 76 men were recaptured after fleeing Stalag Luft III through 334 feet of tunnels on that late March 1944 night, the event has come to be known as the Great Escape and was hailed for causing the Wehrmacht to expend manpower hunting down the escapees.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: Great movie.

Wednesday, March 20, 2019

Remembering The Japanese Battleship Yamato

Yamato running machinery trials off Bungo Strait (outside Sukumo Bay) on 20 October 1941

Kyle Mizokami, The National: Dead Battleship: How Japan's Monster Yamato Warship Committed Naval Suicide

How it all ended.

The story of the Yamato is a warning to all armed forces that the march of war technology is merciless and unsentimental.

In early 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy made a difficult decision: it would sacrifice the largest, most powerful battleships ever built to protect Okinawa, the gateway to Japan’s Home Islands. The decision sealed the fate of the battleship Yamato and its crew, but ironically did nothing to actually protect the island from Allied invasion.

The battleship Yamato was among the largest and most powerful battleships of all time. Yamato has reached nearly mythical status, a perfect example of Japan’s fascination with doomed, futile heroics. Built in 1937 at the Kure Naval Arsenal near Hiroshima, it was constructed in secrecy to avoid alarming the United States. Japan had recently withdrawn from the Washington Naval Treaty, which limited battleship tonnages, and was free to build them as large as it wanted.

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WNU Editor: Wikipedia's file on Yamato is an interesting read (see here).

Monday, February 18, 2019

The Kissing Sailor In Famous World War II Photo Dies At 95


NBC: George Mendonsa, Navy veteran identified as 'kissing sailor' in WWII photo, dies at 95

"He was very proud of his service and the picture and what it stood for," Mendonsa's daughter said Monday.

George Mendonsa, a World War II veteran whose claim of being a sailor kissing a nurse in an iconic image was verified using facial recognition technology, died early Sunday, his daughter said. He was 95.

Mendonsa was living in an assisted living facility in Middletown, Rhode Island, and had been suffering from severe congestive heart failure, daughter Sharon Molleur told NBC News. He would have turned 96 on Tuesday, she added.

Mendonsa, a retired fisherman, had maintained for years that he was the sailor locking lips in a picture taken on Aug. 14, 1945, by Alfred Eisenstaedt and published in Life magazine as a scene from "V-J Day in Times Square." On that day, Americans crowded the streets to celebrate the Japanese surrender to the Allies and the end of the war.

The photo has become one of the most enduring images of the 20th century. But when it was published in Life, there was no caption confirming the identities of the pair.

Read more ....

Update: George Mendonsa, The Kissing Sailor in famous photograph, dies at 95 (The Guardian)

WNU Editor: George Mendonsa and Greta Zimmer Friedman may be gone, but their picture will live forever.

Saturday, February 16, 2019

74 Years Ago The German City Of Dresden Was Destroyed

Piles of corpses in front of destroyed buildings in Dresden after air raids on February 13 and 14, 1945. Deutsches Bundesarchiv/Wikimedia Commons

Business Insider: 74 years ago, Allied bombers obliterated one of Germany's most beautiful cities — here are 18 photos of the bombing of Dresden

World War II was more than three years old when Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt, and other Allied leaders met at Casablanca in January 1943, but the decisions made there would shape the rest of the war in Europe.

During the conference, Allied leaders settled on a policy of unconditional surrender and agreed on a strategic bombing plan to bring the Axis to its knees.

For the US, bombing would focus on daytime raids against strategically valuable targets — factories, ports, military bases, and other infrastructure involved in the war effort. For the British, who had suffered during the Battle of Britain and the Blitz, the air war would target German cities with nighttime raids.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: I visited Dresden about 25 years ago. The scars of that bombing were still showing. I always believed that the bombing was not necessary. It should have been spared like the Japanese city of Kyoto was spared during the war.

Thursday, February 14, 2019

Release Of Japanese Wartime Photos Has Riled China

The online publication of an archive of 35,000 photos taken during the Japanese wartime occupation of China has riled Chinese social media. Photo: North China Railway archive

SCMP: Japanese wartime photos strike a nerve in China

* Kyoto University publishes 35,000 photographs taken during Japan’s occupation of China
* Chinese social media users recall legacy of invasion

The release online of 35,000 photographs taken during the Japanese occupation of China between 1936 and 1945 has riled Chinese social media commenters.

Until now the photographs, taken by the North China Transportation Company, a railway freight firm owned by the puppet government set up by the Japanese, were used only for historical research.

Japanese broadcaster NHK reported that Kyoto University’s humanities department had published the photographs online.

They include scenes of daily life during the wartime occupation and many of the photographs also show Japanese soldiers marching in formation, doing manual labour or posing with weapons.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: Even though the war ended 74 years ago, the animosities and bitterness still exists.

Tuesday, February 12, 2019

The WWII Aircraft Carrier USS Hornet Discovered Off The Solomon Islands In The South Pacific



FOX News: Wreck of WWII aircraft carrier USS Hornet discovered in the South Pacific

The wreck of the World War II aircraft carrier USS Hornet (CV-8) has been discovered off the Solomon Islands by a research organization set up by the late billionaire Paul Allen.

The carrier was located in late January by the crew of the Research Vessel Petrel resting on the floor of the South Pacific, according to a statement released by Allen’s Vulcan organization on Tuesday. Vulcan oversees Allen’s network of organizations and initiatives, which includes R/V Petrel’s research.

Researchers used information from national and naval archives to find the ship, as well as action reports from other vessels involved in the fateful Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands in 1942. The wreck was found at a depth of nearly 17,500 feet.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: The images are incredible.

Saturday, December 15, 2018

Colorized Photographs Showing The Battle of the Bulge

Panzergrenadier-SS Kampfgruppe Hansen in action during clashes in Poteau against Task Force Myers, 18 December 1944

Daily Mail: The Allied invasion as you've never seen it before: Stunning colorized photographs show the Battle of the Bulge in one of the final encounters of World War II

* Battle of the Bulge was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II
* It was launched through the densely forested Ardennes region of Wallonia in eastern Belgium, northeast France, and Luxembourg
* Incredible pictures were brought to life by colorist Royston Leonard, 55, an electrician from Wales

The terrible wintry conditions soldiers were forced to fight in during the last major German offensive of World War Two have been brought to light thanks to a series of colorised images to mark the 74th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge.

Striking pictures show three gunners prepare to fire a shell on New Year's Eve in 1944 with the inscription 'For Adolph, unhappy new year', American GIs are pictured resting on railway tracks after combat in Düren and two soldiers can be seen inspecting a deserted Panther tank formerly of the Panzer Division Das Reich near Grandmenil, Belgium.

Other vivid colour photographs show a US half track cross a temporary bridge over the Ourthe River, members of the US 101st Airborne Division move out of Bastogne and Panzergrenadier-SS Kampfgruppe Hansen in action during clashes in Poteau against Task Force Myers.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: The Battle of the Bulge began on December 16, 2018.