DID YOU KNOW

[henry r]

I had heard about the Halifax explosion, but never read up on it. quite frightening the number of explosions with big death tolls caused by ammunition transport.

this one is interesting too: Air raid on Bari - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Flying10uk]

Thanks for finding the interesting information about the Fauld explosion, cinders. I did hear about it a long time ago but I couldn't remember many details and by the look of it it could have been an even bigger explosion if everything had gone off. This isn't the only unintended explosion which I've heard about that may have been caused by hammer and chiselling/brute force being used in an attempt to remove a stubborn fuse.

[mike1967]

Returning home, his plane was shot down by friendly fire from a Lancaster, whose rear-gunner mistook the Mosquito for a German fighter a Junkers JU 88 and shot it down

The other theory is he simply didn't change over fuel tanks and crashed due to engine failure at low level. Highly plausible as he had very minimal flying time in Mosquito's.

[rayg]

WING COMMANDER GUY GIBSON, VC. (1918-1944)

Copenhagen, in German occupied Denmark, was a favourite spot for German officers on R & R. In an effort to 'get their own back' members of a Danish resistance group opened up an Arts and Craft shop specializing in scroll work. They offered to personalize the officers side weapons by fitting ivory handles to their Lugers and cover the gun with artful designs and scroll work. Some were customized as gifts for fellow officers serving on other fronts. Trade was brisk, but what was not explained was that the barrels were being modified by reducing the diameter inside and weakening the breach of the gun, which, when fired for the first time would blow up in the officers face. Of course these guns were never fired while the officer was on leave and any 'accidents' at the front were put down to 'casualties of war'. According to Harry Jensen, the only survivor of the resistance group, hundreds of these Lugers were modified this way before they closed shop and fled.

Wonder how they did that? Maybe spot welding/braizing a lump/spot in the bore you think? Or most likely adding a sleeve to the bore with smaller dia which wouldn't be as obovious, Ray

[Gil Boyd]

Ray,
I think it must have been the latter so it exploded in their face, bet they were chuffed with their handles though as they walked out of the shop!!!!!!!!

[Gil Boyd]

Talking about Mosquitos, did you know:

EDDIE CHAPMAN

A deserter from the Coldstream Guards in the 1930s he then turned to crime. A safecracker by profession and serving fourteen years in jail on Jersey in the Channel Islands, at that time under German occupation, he volunteered to spy for the Germans in England. He was trained at the Abwehr sabotage school at Nantes in France and then was parachuted into England on December 20, 1942, with a mission to blow up the De Havilland aircraft factory at Hatfield, in Hertfordshire, which was producing the new fighter-bomber, the Mosquito. After landing, he contacted British Intelligence who contrived a plan to blow up part of the factory not in use, giving the Germans the impression that the mission had succeeded. On returning to Jersey for more work, Eddie Chapman (Code Name 'Zigzag') was decorated with the German Iron Cross, the only Englishman thus awarded. After the war, Chapman was also given a British decoration plus a £6,000 payment from MI5. Later he set up a health farm and died aged 83 in 1997 leaving a wife Betty, and daughter Suzanne.

also:

S.O.E. (Special Operations Executive)

The S.O.E. was formed in July, 1940, on Churchill's orders to "Set Europe Ablaze." With headquarters at 64, Baker Street, London, its first recruits were originally from the armed forces but later both men and women were recruited from the civilian sector. Speaking a foreign language, especially French, was essential before being passed on to Military Intelligence for a security check. Training courses included Parachute and First Aid training at Ringwood airfield near Manchester followed by four weeks Radio and Cipher training. Physical Fitness, small arms and map reading, were conducted in the Western Highlands of Scotland where all forms of Commando and clandestine warfare were also taught. Among many of its famous secret agents were Violet Szabo and Odette Sansom. Of the 418 SOE agents sent to Europe, 118 failed to return. Only one plane, a Lysander of 161 squadron and its pilot, F/O James Bathgate of New Zealand, were lost in the French operation. In the town of Valencay, 50 kms south of Blois in central France, a memorial bearing the names of 91 men and 13 women agents of S.O.Es 'F' Section under Major Maurice Buckmaster, who from 1932 to 1936 had been General Manager of the French Ford Motor Company, are commemorated. It was inaugurated on May 6, 1991, in the presence of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. In 1946 the SOE was dissolved, its wartime role completed.

(Because of the rivalries and jealousies between SOE, SIS and other Military Intelligence units, the operations of SOE were doomed from the start. Its record was one of the poorest of the whole war, its achievements being outweighed by its many disasters ie. the collapse of the vast Prosper and Scientist networks in France. The lives it wasted, especially in Holland, the money and time it cost makes it one of the most tragic Secret Service organisation ever mounted.) Nevertheless, General Eisenhower, said the French section of SOE had contributed significantly to shortening the war by several months.

and finally the USA did alright out of us, we always did get stiffed when we needed something urgently...................NEVER AGAIN!!

A FAMOUS CHURCHILL SPEECH

In a memorable speech, Churchill asked America "Give us the tools and we will finish the job." But America wouldn't 'give' anything without payment. After two years of war, Roosevelt had drained Britain dry, stripping her of all her assets in the USA, including real estate and property. The British owned Viscose Company, worth £125 million was liquidated, Britain receiving only £87 million. Britain's £1,924 million investments in Canada were sold off to pay for raw materials bought in the United States. To make sure that Roosevelt got his money, he dispatched the American cruiser USS Louisville to the South African naval base of Simonstown to pick up £42 million worth of British gold, Britain's last negotiable asset, to help pay for American guns and ammunition. Not content with stripping Britain of her gold and assets, in return for 50 old World War I destroyers, (desperately needed by Britain as escort vessels) he demanded that Britain transfer all her scientific and technological secrets to the USA. Also, he demanded 99 year leases on the islands of Newfoundland, Jamaica, Trinidad and Bermuda for the setting up of American military and naval bases in case Britain should fall.

Of the 50 lend-lease destroyers supplied to Britain, seven were lost during the war. The first was taken over by a British crew on September 9, 1940. After 1943, when no longer useful, eight were sent to Russia, while the others were manned by French, Polish and Norwegian crews. These destroyers were renamed when they arrived in Britain. All were given the name of a town or city, hence the term 'Town Class' destroyer. During the course of the war, Britain had received 12 Billion, 775 million dollars worth of goods under the Lend-Lease program.

[Flying10uk]

Of these 50 veteran U.S. destroyers, U.S.S. Buchanan would later become the most famous of all after being renamed HMS Cambell-Town. This was the ship which was modified to include a large mine/explosive device hidden in her hull and some changes to her armaments. The ship was then rammed into the gates of the large dry dock (*Normandie?) at St. Nazaire, France which was capable of accommodating the largest of the ships in the German Navy. There was also a Commando raid on the ancillary equipment associated with the dock and Campbell-Town's mine did explode later than planned, I believe.

*Named after the passenger liner of the same name, if I remember correctly, and of which the dock was capable of holding.

[Gil Boyd]

It certainly did whilst a large number of German search teams and interested officers were aboard her

[CINDERS]

There were a few V.C's handed out for that raid the motor boats (ML's) that were escorting the Cambell-Town copped a severe pasting from the shore defenses and as they were petrol fueled burned quite readily being of wooden design did not much good either with rounds passing clean through them and personnel. Along with the ramming was a raid by Commando's on the electrical installations in the area with ferocious pitched battles in the area with the German soldiers stationed there. From memory I think there was to be an air raid as well but it was called off due to cloud cover could be incorrect there.(I read the book along time ago)
A good read of the raid is a book called "The Greatest Raid of All" another great read of heroism with daring do's also along the same lines but the Brits this time used a Cruiser, Submarine and Block ships was the "Zeebrugge raid" in WWI

U K ~ a bag load of nosey civies went up as well

[Flying10uk]

Surprising that the Germans never suspected that there may be any "little extras" aboard the ship in the form of explosive devices. I think that the German examination/search of the ship before the explosion was mainly a case of curiosity/interest rather than suspicion. From what I've read, pretty much anyone was allowed to have a nose round the ship from the German side.