Author Topic: World War II History. The Men and the Equipment.  (Read 9313 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Exile

  • Official EllGab Thought Leader and towel snapper
  • Ellevated
  • ******
  • Posts: 6282
  • Have a day!
Re: World War II History. The Men and the Equipment.
« Reply #15 on: October 10, 2018, 11:30:45 PM »
An Interesting pic here. This is a early model T-34/76 M1940. It can be identified by the small hexagonal turret and the large single piece top hatch that was by both the tank commander and gunner.

These tanks had a decent gun and decent armor for this time period. Their main problem is they spend more time being broke down and under repair. It was quiet common to see tanks carrying at least one spare transmission chained to its deck plating. They broke down every 6-8 hours on average.


Compare this to a American M4 Sherman where 30 hours of constant operation was the norm.


This example was captured by and is being used by Italian troops of the Savoia Cavalry Regiment which was part of the CSIR which Mussolini sent to Russia to fight along side the Germans.

Along with capturing the tank, it looks a nice supply of shells came along with it.
This is one of three documented T-34s captured by the Italians and used against their former owners. Claims that can't be proven have up to twenty of these tanks were used after being captured.
Ask me about the legendary desert Bigfoot. A.K.A the Sandsquatch and his more elusive cousin, the Albino White Sands Dunefoot.

Walks_At_Night

  • Hall Of Famer, Morg!
  • Ellevated
  • *****
  • Posts: 16086
  • Morg!
Re: World War II History. The Men and the Equipment.
« Reply #16 on: October 11, 2018, 04:57:48 PM »
We've seen some equipment, so let's see some men. 

Here is a picture of my Father, Walks_At_Night Sr.  upon graduation from Naval Training School (Torpedo) at Naval Torpedo Station, Newport, R.I.
The picture was taken in Mid-1942.  His rating in the picture is Torpedoman's Mate 3rd class.  Dad volunteered for the Navy as soon as he could
after Pearl Harbor.  Not so much out of patriotic fervor, although he wanted a crack at the Japanese as did most guys, but out of fear of being
drafted by the Army or Marines.  After high school he had did a stint in the CCC's and ended up with a bad draw - he was sent to Seney way up in
Michigan's upper peninsula.  Their mission was to revive marsh land that had been drained in the 1800's back to it's natural state.  He worked in
mud and water day in and day out for 18 months. So he figured if you are going to war at least have good hot food, clean clothes and dry place to
sleep.   He took a leave of absence from his employer (who held his job for him) and went off to Great Lakes, Ill for his recruit training. Then
he went to Torpedo school for 16 weeks - from what I see in his papers finished 30th in a class of about 180.  Soon after the picture was taken, he
headed  out to the fleet and his war began.   The Navy asked him to serve on Submarines but he wanted to be able to see the sky all the time.  He
wanted PT Boats because they were fast and fun.  I guess they compromised because he ended up on Destroyers for the duration of the war. 

Walks_At_Night Sr.
visitors can't see pics , please register or login


Seney National Wildlife Refuge - Michigan
visitors can't see pics , please register or login



I don't have a great many artifacts from his time in the Navy but I do have his note book from Torpedo school - it is pretty interesting.

visitors can't see pics , please register or login


My parents were out of their minds.  They had kids in the 40's, 50's and me during the 60's so my Dad was no kid when I was born.
Fortunately he lived well into his 90's so I got to spend lot and lots of time with him.   He passed away a few years ago.  Per his request
he was buried at sea - from a fast ship built to go in harm's way - the destroyer USS Bainbridge.   This occurred in the  Mediterranean
off of the coast of Sicily where he tangled with Axis during the Invasion of Sicily some 70 years previously.

visitors can't see pics , please register or login
visitors can't see pics , please register or login
visitors can't see pics , please register or login



albrecht

  • Ellightened
  • ******
  • Posts: 2826
Re: World War II History. The Men and the Equipment.
« Reply #17 on: October 11, 2018, 05:39:11 PM »
We've seen some equipment, so let's see some men. 

Here is a picture of my Father, Walks_At_Night Sr.  upon graduation from Naval Training School (Torpedo) at Naval Torpedo Station, Newport, R.I.
The picture was taken in Mid-1942.  His rating in the picture is Torpedoman's Mate 3rd class.  Dad volunteered for the Navy as soon as he could
after Pearl Harbor.  Not so much out of patriotic fervor, although he wanted a crack at the Japanese as did most guys, but out of fear of being
drafted by the Army or Marines.  After high school he had did a stint in the CCC's and ended up with a bad draw - he was sent to Seney way up in
Michigan's upper peninsula.  Their mission was to revive marsh land that had been drained in the 1800's back to it's natural state.  He worked in
mud and water day in and day out for 18 months. So he figured if you are going to war at least have good hot food, clean clothes and dry place to
sleep.   He took a leave of absence from his employer (who held his job for him) and went off to Great Lakes, Ill for his recruit training. Then
he went to Torpedo school for 16 weeks - from what I see in his papers finished 30th in a class of about 180.  Soon after the picture was taken, he
headed  out to the fleet and his war began.   The Navy asked him to serve on Submarines but he wanted to be able to see the sky all the time.  He
wanted PT Boats because they were fast and fun.  I guess they compromised because he ended up on Destroyers for the duration of the war. 

Walks_At_Night Sr.
visitors can't see pics , please register or login


Seney National Wildlife Refuge - Michigan
visitors can't see pics , please register or login



I don't have a great many artifacts from his time in the Navy but I do have his note book from Torpedo school - it is pretty interesting.

visitors can't see pics , please register or login


My parents were out of their minds.  They had kids in the 40's, 50's and me during the 60's so my Dad was no kid when I was born.
Fortunately he lived well into his 90's so I got to spend lot and lots of time with him.   He passed away a few years ago.  Per his request
he was buried at sea - from a fast ship built to go in harm's way - the destroyer USS Bainbridge.   This occurred in the  Mediterranean
off of the coast of Sicily where he tangled with Axis during the Invasion of Sicily some 70 years previously.

visitors can't see pics , please register or login
visitors can't see pics , please register or login
visitors can't see pics , please register or login


Thanks for his service. I laughed about the CCC gig, that must have sucked in winter and in black fly, tick, and mosquito seasons. and the Naval Compromise. And your comments about your parents being out of their minds for having kids across the decades. Haha.

Walks_At_Night

  • Hall Of Famer, Morg!
  • Ellevated
  • *****
  • Posts: 16086
  • Morg!
Re: World War II History. The Men and the Equipment.
« Reply #18 on: October 11, 2018, 06:19:25 PM »
Thanks for his service. I laughed about the CCC gig, that must have sucked in winter and in black fly, tick, and mosquito seasons. and the Naval Compromise. And your comments about your parents being out of their minds for having kids across the decades. Haha.

He would have appreciated your thanks but would have told you it isn't necessary.  In later years he was always stoked that Golden Corral gave him a free buffet dinner on November 11th.

Yeah - he didn't have great time in the CCC's.  The black flies are just horrific where he was and the winters would have been brutal.  Even the town/camp was ugly - Germfask

visitors can't see pics , please register or login
 

albrecht

  • Ellightened
  • ******
  • Posts: 2826
Re: World War II History. The Men and the Equipment.
« Reply #19 on: October 11, 2018, 06:28:09 PM »
He would have appreciated your thanks but would have told you it isn't necessary.  In later years he was always stoked that Golden Corral gave him a free buffet dinner on November 11th.

Yeah - he didn't have great time in the CCC's.  The black flies are just horrific where he was and the winters would have been brutal.  Even the town/camp was ugly - Germfask

visitors can't see pics , please register or login

I was wondering about the awful name, figuring it was just foreign German deal or something. Or back in the days when folks didn't worry that their town names wouldn't be good for marketing, tourism, etc. But the name was taking the letters of each founding fathers of the town surname. This sounds like something figured out over some beers,  late at night and drawn on a the back of cigarettes.

"John Grant, Matthew Edge, George Robinson, Thaddeus Mead, Dr. W. W. French, Ezekiel Ackley, Oscar (O.D.) Sheppard, and Hezekiah Knaggs"

Walks_At_Night

  • Hall Of Famer, Morg!
  • Ellevated
  • *****
  • Posts: 16086
  • Morg!
Re: World War II History. The Men and the Equipment.
« Reply #20 on: October 11, 2018, 06:34:24 PM »
I was wondering about the awful name, figuring it was just foreign German deal or something. Or back in the days when folks didn't worry that their town names wouldn't be good for marketing, tourism, etc. But the name was taking the letters of each founding fathers of the town surname. This sounds like something figured out over some beers,  late at night and drawn on a the back of cigarettes.

"John Grant, Matthew Edge, George Robinson, Thaddeus Mead, Dr. W. W. French, Ezekiel Ackley, Oscar (O.D.) Sheppard, and Hezekiah Knaggs"

Well how about that.  A Texan just taught me something about the Great State of Michigan that I didn't know.  There was a mad method behind the naming of the metropolis of Germfask, Mich.  I've got some photo's somewhere from his time at Germfask and Seney but this is a WWII thread.............

MaxPower

  • Drone Pilot
  • *****
  • Posts: 757
  • My favorite breed is Rescue
Re: World War II History. The Men and the Equipment.
« Reply #21 on: October 11, 2018, 08:37:34 PM »
We've seen some equipment, so let's see some men. 

Here is a picture of my Father, Walks_At_Night Sr.  upon graduation from Naval Training School (Torpedo) at Naval Torpedo Station, Newport, R.I.
The picture was taken in Mid-1942.  His rating in the picture is Torpedoman's Mate 3rd class.  Dad volunteered for the Navy as soon as he could
after Pearl Harbor.  Not so much out of patriotic fervor, although he wanted a crack at the Japanese as did most guys, but out of fear of being
drafted by the Army or Marines.  After high school he had did a stint in the CCC's and ended up with a bad draw - he was sent to Seney way up in
Michigan's upper peninsula.  Their mission was to revive marsh land that had been drained in the 1800's back to it's natural state.  He worked in
mud and water day in and day out for 18 months. So he figured if you are going to war at least have good hot food, clean clothes and dry place to
sleep.   He took a leave of absence from his employer (who held his job for him) and went off to Great Lakes, Ill for his recruit training. Then
he went to Torpedo school for 16 weeks - from what I see in his papers finished 30th in a class of about 180.  Soon after the picture was taken, he
headed  out to the fleet and his war began.   The Navy asked him to serve on Submarines but he wanted to be able to see the sky all the time.  He
wanted PT Boats because they were fast and fun.  I guess they compromised because he ended up on Destroyers for the duration of the war. 

Walks_At_Night Sr.
visitors can't see pics , please register or login


Seney National Wildlife Refuge - Michigan
visitors can't see pics , please register or login



I don't have a great many artifacts from his time in the Navy but I do have his note book from Torpedo school - it is pretty interesting.

visitors can't see pics , please register or login


My parents were out of their minds.  They had kids in the 40's, 50's and me during the 60's so my Dad was no kid when I was born.
Fortunately he lived well into his 90's so I got to spend lot and lots of time with him.   He passed away a few years ago.  Per his request
he was buried at sea - from a fast ship built to go in harm's way - the destroyer USS Bainbridge.   This occurred in the  Mediterranean
off of the coast of Sicily where he tangled with Axis during the Invasion of Sicily some 70 years previously.

visitors can't see pics , please register or login
visitors can't see pics , please register or login
visitors can't see pics , please register or login

Interesting story about your father's Naval service. The record book in the photo looks like it has weathered the time well like my father's service folder. The pages have discolored a bit but everything is still readable after all these years. I can understand your father's desire to want to see the sky vs. submarine duty. I had a chance to tour a sub many years ago and they are a lot smaller and narrower that I thought they would be. Close quarters for sure. Is the USS Bainbridge still based out of Norfolk?

We are in a big Navy town here in Jacksonville, with two Navy bases, and also the Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base about 45 minutes up the road to the north.

Exile

  • Official EllGab Thought Leader and towel snapper
  • Ellevated
  • ******
  • Posts: 6282
  • Have a day!
Re: World War II History. The Men and the Equipment.
« Reply #22 on: October 13, 2018, 07:22:40 PM »
When you think of tanks you usually think about larger German Panthers or Tigers on the Eastern Front. If mention is made of Poland at all it's usually insulting or derogatory.

Most of what passes for common knowledge is patently false like Polish Cavalry charging German tanks. Do you ever think of these?

visitors can't see pics , please register or login


How would you like to fight with one of those little gnats? This guy did.  Probably the first tank ace of WW II Roman Orlik.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Roman_Orlik


A size comparison here. This is a TK3 which is the same basic chassis as TKZ sitting next to a twenty ton German Panzer IV. The TKZ weighed in at about 3 tons when fully loaded and crewed. The bravery of the men who went up against machines ten times their size cannot be denied.


visitors can't see pics , please register or login
Ask me about the legendary desert Bigfoot. A.K.A the Sandsquatch and his more elusive cousin, the Albino White Sands Dunefoot.

Walks_At_Night

  • Hall Of Famer, Morg!
  • Ellevated
  • *****
  • Posts: 16086
  • Morg!
Re: World War II History. The Men and the Equipment.
« Reply #23 on: October 13, 2018, 07:46:07 PM »
Interesting story about your father's Naval service. The record book in the photo looks like it has weathered the time well like my father's service folder. The pages have discolored a bit but everything is still readable after all these years. I can understand your father's desire to want to see the sky vs. submarine duty. I had a chance to tour a sub many years ago and they are a lot smaller and narrower that I thought they would be. Close quarters for sure. Is the USS Bainbridge still based out of Norfolk?

We are in a big Navy town here in Jacksonville, with two Navy bases, and also the Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base about 45 minutes up the road to the north.

Thanks.  Well life wasn't (and still isn't) a bed of roses on a Destroyer but definitely easier than on one of those fleet boats.  Yes, the Bainbridge is home ported out of Norfolk. 

Exile

  • Official EllGab Thought Leader and towel snapper
  • Ellevated
  • ******
  • Posts: 6282
  • Have a day!
Re: World War II History. The Men and the Equipment.
« Reply #24 on: October 23, 2018, 08:34:06 PM »
The U.S.S. Iowa in drydock. I have no notes as to when or why this BB was in drydock or even if it is a wartime photo or not.

Opinions?

Ask me about the legendary desert Bigfoot. A.K.A the Sandsquatch and his more elusive cousin, the Albino White Sands Dunefoot.

Walks_At_Night

  • Hall Of Famer, Morg!
  • Ellevated
  • *****
  • Posts: 16086
  • Morg!
Re: World War II History. The Men and the Equipment.
« Reply #25 on: October 23, 2018, 09:23:29 PM »
The U.S.S. Iowa in drydock. I have no notes as to when or why this BB was in drydock or even if it is a wartime photo or not.

Opinions?

Well all the 5" guns and the 40 MM's are still there so she hadn't been modernized at the time of the photo being taken.


Walks_At_Night

  • Hall Of Famer, Morg!
  • Ellevated
  • *****
  • Posts: 16086
  • Morg!
Re: World War II History. The Men and the Equipment.
« Reply #26 on: October 23, 2018, 09:26:50 PM »
Looks like the picture was taken on December 28, 1944.

Here is a another angle

visitors can't see pics , please register or login

Walks_At_Night

  • Hall Of Famer, Morg!
  • Ellevated
  • *****
  • Posts: 16086
  • Morg!
Re: World War II History. The Men and the Equipment.
« Reply #27 on: October 23, 2018, 09:50:03 PM »
She also sported a bath tub for a time, when FDR was a passenger
visitors can't see pics , please register or login

Exile

  • Official EllGab Thought Leader and towel snapper
  • Ellevated
  • ******
  • Posts: 6282
  • Have a day!
Re: World War II History. The Men and the Equipment.
« Reply #28 on: October 25, 2018, 08:58:00 PM »
Bummer.

Your pics are missing? Got another link or re upload please.

:)
Ask me about the legendary desert Bigfoot. A.K.A the Sandsquatch and his more elusive cousin, the Albino White Sands Dunefoot.

Exile

  • Official EllGab Thought Leader and towel snapper
  • Ellevated
  • ******
  • Posts: 6282
  • Have a day!
Re: World War II History. The Men and the Equipment.
« Reply #29 on: October 25, 2018, 09:02:11 PM »
visitors can't see pics , please register or login



This is a Polish PZL-23 Karas Light Bomber. Poland had about 160 of these aircraft. Ground support was their main role and when they were properly protected by fighters were quite capable at this job.

This particular plane was not shot down but was cannibalized by ground crews to keep other planes flying before Poland surrendered in September of 1939.
Ask me about the legendary desert Bigfoot. A.K.A the Sandsquatch and his more elusive cousin, the Albino White Sands Dunefoot.