Download or read book Captains of Bomb Disposal 1942 1946 written by T. Dennis Reece and published by Xlibris Corporation. This book was released on 2005-04-28 with total page 197 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bomb disposal was the most technically demanding and dangerous job outside of combat during World War II. Fewer than five thousand men did it in the American armed forces. During the war their activities were shrouded in secrecy, so that the Axis would not know what techniques the Allies were using. When they came home the citizen soldiers and officers who had done the work preferred anonymity to publicity. Furthermore, the units they had served in, often squads of six enlisted men and one officer, had been too small and independent to attract much notice by American chroniclers, official or unofficial, of the biggest armed conflict in history. Captains of Bomb Disposal, 1942-1946 attempts to bring some long-overdue public attention to this small group of neglected heroes. It chronicles two of their two most significant achievements during the World War II era: the contributions of the thirty-three bomb disposal squads of the Ninth Air Force, and the top-secret intelligence mission code named Operation Hidden Documents. In 1944 the Ninth Air Force was the most powerful tactical air force the world had ever seen. In the European Theater of Operations (ETO) it controlled more bomb disposal personnel than any other high command. Part I of Captains of Bomb Disposal, 1942-1946 mainly describes training at the Bomb Disposal School at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, and the support thirty-three bomb disposal squads gave the Ninth Air Force. Interwoven in the narrative covering events after D-Day is the wider context in which those squads, and all of the Ninth Air Force, operated, namely, air and ground forces pioneering a large-scale, close partnership which defeated the Germans in northwest Europe. Also discussed is how Ninth Air Force bomb disposal squads helped handle the problem after V-E Day of up to two million tons of surplus explosive ordnance in the theater. Most of the sources for Part I on bomb disposal operations are unpublished unit histories, Ninth and Eighth Air Force ordnance reports, theater-level reports, and related documents at either the National Archives at College Park, Maryland (NACP), or the Air Force Historical Research Agency (AFHRA), at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. Part I is organized around, but definitely not limited to, the World War II experiences of Capt. Thomas R. Reece. Now deceased and the authors father, he was one of the four highest-ranking bomb disposal officers in the Ninth Air Force. Some of his official and personal papers are utilized. Background material on the course of the war in the ETO is taken mainly from published official histories, and for the Ninth Air Force, also from unpublished documents at AFHRA. One of the passages in Part I describes how two men in the 80th Bomb Disposal Squad, Sgt. Russell F. McCarthy and T/5 Walter V. Smith, in 1945 won the Soldiers Medal, Americas highest military award for bravery in action not against the enemy. They were not the only bomb disposal personnel to win that award during the World War II era. Part II revolves around Capt. Stephen M. Richards, who was commanding officer of the 123rd Bomb Disposal Squad, attached during the war to General Pattons Third Army. Captain Richards and two combat engineers won the award for disarming a cache of booby-trapped documents outside Stechovice, Czechoslovakia in February 1946, as part of Operation Hidden Documents. The trio was apprehended by Czechoslovak authorities while the other mission members took the documents to Germany, and was only released after the documents were returned. Meanwhile, a diplomatic crisis was ignited as Czechoslovakia officially protested the American infringement of its sovereignty. Moreover, the Czechoslovak Communist Party used the controversy for propaganda purposes shortly before the national elections of May 1946. Shortly before the trio was released, the operation received fairly extensive publicity, in
Download or read book The Explosive Years written by Bert Blackmore and published by . This book was released on 1994 with total page 342 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Disarming Hitlers V Weapons written by Chris Ransted and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2013-09-19 with total page 339 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An account of the “brave men of the bomb disposal units who died disarming the weapons that Hitler hoped would save the Nazis from defeat” (Dover Express/Folkestone Herald). In 1944 the V-1s and V-2s, Hitler’s “vengeance” weapons, were regarded by the Allied leaders in London as the single greatest threat they had faced. It was feared that these flying bombs and rockets might turn the tide of war once again in Germany’s favor. Yet, little more than half of these missiles hit their targets, some failing to explode. Their wreckage lay across the southern half of England or in Europe, with contents liable to sudden and deadly ignition. It was the job of specialist Bomb Disposal teams to render the V-weapons safe and uncover their secrets. This is their story. In this unique book Chris Ransted has investigated the work of these unsung heroes who risked their lives every time they were called into action and, in the course of his research he has located the sites of many of the unexploded V-weapons, revealed here for the first time. Ransted also details the methods used by the Bomb Disposal men and the equipment they used. The book is richly illustrated with 266 photographs and diagrams, many of which have never previously been published. In completing this, the most comprehensive study of its kind, the author describes the deeds of those gallant Bomb Disposal men that were awarded one of the highest honors which could have been bestowed upon them by their country—the George Medal. “A particularly thorough and enlightening book.”—Military Vehicle Trust
Download or read book The Hidden Nazi written by Dean Reuter and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2019-10-08 with total page 259 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: He’s the worst Nazi war criminal you’ve never heard of Sidekick to SS Chief Heinrich Himmler and supervisor of Nazi rocket scientist Wernher von Braun, General Hans Kammler was responsible for the construction of Hitler’s slave labor sites and concentration camps. He personally altered the design of Auschwitz to increase crowding, ensuring that epidemic diseases would complement the work of the gas chambers. Why has the world forgotten this monster? Kammler was declared dead after the war. But the aide who testified to Kammler’s supposed “suicide” never produced the general’s dog tags or any other proof of death. Dean Reuter, Colm Lowery, and Keith Chester have spent decades on the trail of the elusive Kammler, uncovering documents unseen since the 1940s and visiting the purported site of Kammler’s death, now in the Czech Republic. Their astonishing discovery: US government documents prove that Hans Kammler was in American custody for months after the war—well after his officially declared suicide. And what happened to him after that? Kammler was kept out of public view, never indicted or tried, but to what end? Did he cooperate with Nuremberg prosecutors investigating Nazi war crimes? Was he protected so the United States could benefit from his intimate knowledge of the Nazi rocket program and Germany’s secret weapons? The Hidden Nazi is true history more harrowing—and shocking—than the most thrilling fiction.
Download or read book Nine from Aberdeen written by Jeffrey M. Leatherwood and published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing. This book was released on 2012-03-15 with total page 380 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Tunisia with II Corps, Lt. John Randall locates a downed German plane and demolishes two live bombs still mounted on the wreckage … In Italy, Capt. Ronald Felton’s team contends with dreaded “Butterfly Bombs” left behind to menace the US 5th Army … Landing with the 6th US Special Engineers Brigade, Capt. Jesse Donovan’s squad braves deadly 88mm shells in pursuit of enemy rockets on Utah Beach … Serving with the 9th Army Air Force in France, Capt. Thomas Reece survives a close encounter with a German landmine … Capt. Joseph Pilcher joins in the 78th Infantry’s final assault on a dam guarding the approaches to Germany … Sweeping the 11th Airborne Division’s trail on Luzon, Lt. Carl Cirocco’s team is ambushed by the Japanese … Capt. Richard Metress is dispatched to tackle enemy depth charges for the 19th Infantry Regiment on Mandog Hill … Capt. Clifford Sarauw covers the US 10th Army’s fateful landing on Okinawa … These aforementioned exploits are among the notable events contained in Nine from Aberdeen, the first academic history solely devoted to the US Army’s Ordnance Bomb Disposal Branch from World War II. Shortly after Pearl Harbor, nine US Army officers and sergeants were sent from Aberdeen Proving Ground to war-torn England in order to learn the invaluable technical skills pioneered by the British Royal Engineers. Led by the colorful Thomas J. Kane, these nine men inaugurated the new Ordnance Bomb Disposal School. Conceived initially for homeland defense, Col. Kane’s branch eventually fielded over two hundred Army and Air Force bomb squads for overseas service. These courageous officers and men were forerunners of today’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) specialists, responsible for supporting the US military during combat operations and for preserving the lives of noncombatants at all other times. Using documents and photographs – many from personal collections – as well as oral interviews, this work presents a cross-section of US Army and Air Force operations spanning three major theaters: Mediterranean, European, and the Pacific. Special emphasis is given to the European Theater, where Col. Kane served as Gen. Eisenhower’s chief ETO bomb disposal officer. Nine from Aberdeen also contains charts detailing campaign participations, ordnance statistics, and other significant data. Command Sergeant Major James H. Clifford (Retired), military consultant for the award-winning film, The Hurt Locker, provides an afterword on the continuity of modern EOD.
Download or read book Foreign Service Journal written by and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 530 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Air Force Combat Units of World War II written by Maurer Maurer and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 1961 with total page 520 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book War Activities of the Trustees and Staff 1939 1946 written by Carnegie Institution of Washington and published by . This book was released on 1946 with total page 72 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book World War II Army Airborne Troop Carriers written by Turner Publishing and published by Turner Publishing Company. This book was released on 1991-12 with total page 130 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Japan s Struggle to End the War written by United States Strategic Bombing Survey and published by . This book was released on 1946 with total page 48 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Troopships of World War II written by Roland Wilbur Charles and published by . This book was released on 1947 with total page 392 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This book contains authentic photographs and salient facts covering 358 troopships used in World War II. In addition, other vessels of miscellaneous character, including Victory and Liberty type temporary conversions for returning troops, are listed in the appendices ..."--Pref.
Download or read book The Atomic Bomb and the End of World War II written by Herbert Feis and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2015-03-08 with total page 222 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book discusses the decision to use the atomic bomb. Libraries and scholars will find it a necessary adjunct to their other studies by Pulitzer-Prize author Herbert Feis on World War II. Originally published in 1966. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.
Download or read book List of Admiralty Records written by Great Britain. Public Record Office and published by . This book was released on 1980 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Navy V 12 written by Henry C. Herge and published by Turner Publishing Company. This book was released on 1996 with total page 170 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A history of the Navy V-12 Program during World War II. The Program provided opportunities for young men whose families had suffered during the difficult times of the Great Depression. These high school graduates were offered the golden opportunity to attend colleges and universities. At the end of the program, more than 60,000 U.S. Navy and USMC officers had entered the armed forces for the war. Many, also entered the U.S. Naval Reserve in the post-ear period, and served in Korea and Vietnam. With photos -- 80+ pages of biographies of individual members of the program. Many include photos then and now.
Download or read book The Disposal of Radioactive Wastes in the Metropolitan St Louis Area written by Denise K. DeGarmo and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The radioactive waste that was dispersed throughout the St. Louis area during the Atomic Age was a result of atomic weapons work carried out by Mallinckrodt Chemical Works for the U.S. government under secret contract. As there has been no comprehensive study of the secret contracting effort, or the long-term consequences on the health and environment of the community to date, this book attempts to meet this need.
Download or read book Strategic Planning for Coalition Warfare 1941 1942 1943 1944 written by Maurice Matloff and published by . This book was released on 1953 with total page 490 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
