15 April 1969 (Korean time) marked the final flight of a Navy VQ-1 EC-121/WV-2 callsign Deep Sea 129. Roughly 100 nm off the North Korean peninsular site where the Hermit Kingdom today defies the world with its ballistic missile tests, lies the watery grave of 31 Americans (2 bodies were later recovered): The crew of…
Generally speaking — good advice. Doubly so where guns, planes and, well, Dilbert are concerned. See for yourself… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYlYThSozzo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cmVZoMo-cw
Fifth ship of the Essex class — fifth ship to bear Benjamin Franklin’s name… On the 19th of March, 1945, her crew would write a story for the ages as they were tested in the crucible. Today, like so many of their generation, the already small band of survivors of that day continue to dwindle….
27 Jan 1973: The Vietnam cease-fire, announced four days earlier, came into effect and the carriers Oriskany, America, Enterprise and Ranger, on Yankee Station, cancelled all combat sorties into North and South Vietnam. The cost of this endeavor in terms of lives and treasure was indeed dear. From 1961 t0 1973 the Navy lost 896…
Staggered, Bloodied but Unbowed After the morning’s attacks Enterprise had suffered significant damage, but still able to put up a fight defensively and conduct air ops. The number two elevator, aft most on the flightdeck, was temporarily stuck in the down position, leaving a large, square hole just forward of the arresting gear. Forward, just aft…
We resume the quite comprehensive articles provided by CINCLAX as part of the ongoing Solomon Islands Campaign blog project. With the exception of some noteworthy battles at sea and on land, the Solomons campaign slogged on in near anonymity, except for those doing the fighting. We would learn much in the process – about joint…
Today — part 2 of CINCLAX’s articles on the Bougainville Campaign… Battle of Empress Augusta Bay (the “short versionâ€) While the 3rd Marines were settling for their first night ashore, a critical sea battle was brewing offshore. As they had immediately responded in the air, the IJN was quick to counter attack by sea. In…
The next four posts will cover the invasion of Bougainville and are provided via guest author CINCLAX.– SJS The Last Spoke in the Cartwheel Strategic Progress Before the Guadalcanal operation (Watchtower) even began in August 1942, it had been decided to neutralize the Japanese bastion of Rabaul by moving up the Solomons one step at…
On Oct. 19, 1962, the Pentagon’s Bureau of Aeronautics contacted Koch while he and Ecker were fishing in Orange Park, Fla. The bureau had a top-security mission in mind. “They called up and said, ‘Can you really take pictures this good?’ †Ecker recalled. “We said not only ‘yes’ but ‘hell yes.’ †A few…
At the 11th hour, on the 11th day of the 11th month…the guns fell silent along what was known then as the Western Front as the Allies and Germany observed the agreement to end this “War to End All Wars.” While fighting continued sporadically elsewhere, in what were fast becoming the former empires of Russia…
