195 - Wrapping up the North African Campaign - WW2 - May 21 1943 

My deepest sympathy to his family.

RIP Mark you will be remembered

Condolences to the entire family and friends of Mark.

Please go extra in depth about all the soviet counter attacks following Kursk. You read so much about the German offensive getting completely blunted, but so little about the massive counter-attacks that ensued. The average person doesn't know that equally massive counter-offensives followed the massive german attempt.

RIP and condolences to the family

That was about to be my post for this week but you beat me to it. There was actually a movie made before Star Wars specifically about the Dam Busters which George Lucas saw and used as his inspiration for the trench run in A New Hope.

*stay on target*

Dam Busters movie dialogue was used pretty much word for word

Ironic addendum, the trench run wasn’t a thing, until the mould of the Death Star cracked around the middle. This forced Lukas to think laterally and the trench run was born, inspired by your aforementioned comment.

And the bouncing bomb was made in my home county! As were the 617, Dambusters.

Thank you for sharing about your uncle Frank. It is nice to read that he made it through the war to raise a family.

@@WorldWarTwo Thanks for the reply and keep up your outstanding work.

I read this in Indy's voice

Glad he was captured in North Africa and not on the Eastern front.

@Dickson Phua that makes me think we need a "Completely Failed Inventions of WW2" special 🤣

@@WorldWarTwo Now then you mention it, maybe we do NEED one. After all, we already had a WW2 Duck Tape Secret Weapons special, so why not a special on the other end of the spectrum (failed or bizarre inventions of WW2 etc) 😅 Oh, and for those interested, there's another bizarre idea called the pigeon guided missile under Project Orcon too. I do wonder though if the Batman had something to do with this. Hmmm...

Secret Botches of WWII would be a good special. You can do the Habakkuk carrier if it runs short.

@@WorldWarTwo That list could get very long. Especially when looking at some of the crazy ideas that Germany and Japan had. Such as creating a death ray mirror out of the sun or spreading bubonic plague in a bomb that dropped rats with the disease over the United States. They are funny at first and then we remember how crazy good humans are at thinking up different and more effective ways of killing each other.

@@WorldWarTwo It doesn't actually matter to me, it was jus ta minor throw away comment I made. I am just wondering/trying to think what I said in my post in this thread that YT felt the need to filter it out? It seems so innocent to me. There are only 3 words in the post that I think would have any shot of being a filtered word but even them I have seen posted in other comments and by me myself. O am avoiding posting them in this post to prevent it from being filtered also. YT is just getting so weird with your videos on what comments they want to filter out. I guess it has to do with once your videos are released to the public there must be lots of posts by unsavory people posting lies and hurtful things that is causing them to over correct. It would be cool if YT had a way of knowing who in your comments was a Patron member to prevent their posts from being blocked since I don't see anyone who is giving you guys money to support your project as we do wanting to make hurtful posts or posting things that are purposefully historically incorrect or just lie about something significant.

Literally 😂

What is this shite? You do realise that the Royal Navy beat the German and Italian fleets in the Mediterranean. Plus the RAF took care of the Luftwaffe and Italian airforces. Then the British eighth army pushed Rommel and the Italians out of North Africa. Then the Yanks turned up.

Even the british flag needs support from the americans ^^

@@oLii96x cos it’s been fighting longer than everyone else.

Respect

Sounds like he had a week left to live, if he hadn't been saved 😮

@@MrNicoJac Could be, although he had only been a prisoner for about 6 months. A priest stole the cod liver oil for him and nursed him back to relative health.

How old are you?

@@Nolant. Pushing 70. He's been dead for about 30 years but I have a copy of his memoirs.

😥

Thank you 😊

2:46 - Constant Threat of Sodomy by Arab guards.

The video is too short for that but ok

@Allan Binney Normandy was chosen during the early stages of planning for Overlord during the second half of 1943 when it was under the purview of British Lt Gen Frederick Morgan. Morgan was appointed Chief of Staff to the Supreme Allied Commander (COSSAC) after the Casablanca conference and it was this office that began planning for the invasion of France. COSSAC was absorbed into SHAEF under Eisenhower in January 1944

Hey, we had been fighting since 1939! We're tired.

There were additional benefits for Allies in Italian campaign , first of all it was not a stalemate , 15th Army Group gradually advanced to Northern Italy and eventually destroyed German Army Group C at Po Valley in April 1945 but its slower than than expected advance and temportary halts in winter seasons disappointed press and post war writers in an era of Blitzkrieg as if Germans were always considerate to let their armies surrounded or give ground easily on mountain terrain full of rivers. 1) Surrender of Italian goverment by Marshal Bodoglio became official in September 1943 , that forced to divert a huge manpower (40+ divisions) from thinning German reserves from East and West to Italy , Balkans and Dordenaccesse to disarm surrendering Italian garrisons and replace them 2) Surrender of Italian Navy and take over of Italian naval bases in Southern Italy was a huge bonus. Not only Mediterranean route was officially secure but Royal Navy Mediterranean Fleet could be diverted to other theaters including back to Britain where her capital ships couıld reinforce and support Cross Channel attack. 3) Capture of Foggia air bases in Central Italy let 15th Air Force to stage strategic bombing campaigns against Germany , Balkans and Ploesti from south 4) It showed neutral countries like Axis oriented Spain and haggling Turkey that who was winning the war and caused to adjust their policies accordingly. Not to mention causing morale to fall in German home front and Axis sattalites (Romenian dictator Antenascou was seeking a way out of war at this stage same with Hungary with Miklos Horty) In contrast , taking out one of the Axis partners would raise morale at US and esp. UK home front. And showing Stalin that Allies diverting German resources from Eastern Front , therefore no possibility of seperate peace by Soviet Union left like in 1918 or 1939 Nazi-Soviet Pacts. Even a paranoid Stalin had to cease his Second Front insistence.

I agree to a point. The war was never going to be won through Italy as the British still tried to argue in 1944. By the point the Allies were reaching mid Italy and Italy had surrendered was the point the invasion of Italy had accomplished it's reasonably achievable goals. Could the Allies have used a brute force style attack like in WW1 or the USSR in WW2 to force their way through the heavily defensive positions in North Italy and then especially the Alps? Yes, they could have done that but and a insane cost of life. Which would have been a waste of life as the Allies already knew the war was won, it was just a matter of getting the Axis to admit it. So the American strategy of just keeping the US 5th and British 8th armies in Italy as a distraction to the Axis was the proper move. It forced the Germans to keep a large amount of their forces not in France or the Eastern Front against the USSR. The Allies could then advance up Italy at a slow pace as they found the Germans were weak in areas due to them trying to pull forces out of that front to use elsewhere. So to sum up my position, the British were correct in the invasion of Italy being a good idea, as it led to the Axis losing the 3rd strongest member of their alliance after Germany and Japan (so many people always forget that the Axis had more members then just German, Japan and Italy). It also forced the Germans to then dedicate a large force defending their Southern front and to take over the occupation role the Italians had been doing in the Balkans/Greece. Those were all great positive points to help win WW2 that the Allied Invasion of Italy created. But the British were incorrect that the war could be won in a positive manner for the Western allies via Italy. As I said above it could have physically have been completed but it would have just cost way more lives and would have led to a war much more like WW1 being fought in WW2. And that is just in the Northern part of Italy. Just imagining the Germans setting up defensive positions in the Alps makes me think of the carnage the US, UK and Canadian forces would have had to go through to push through those mountains. So I do think the Americans officers were correct that a major invasion and offensive on the beaches of France and then into Germany was the best way to end the war in Europe. Many of the high level British officers also agreed the better move to end the war in Europe was to create a 3rd front against the Germans in France and make the Western Allies primary advance towards Germany through the new opening they create. I believe that Churchill and the officers he had who supported his consistent plan to push more and more forces up through Italy was to give the West more leverage at the end of the war to get control over some of the Balkans nations as anti-communist nations.

@@PhillyPhanVinny A lot of the British thinking behind focusing on Italy and the Balkans in 1944 was as you say to try and limit Soviet influence in Eastern Europe after the war. That's one of the reasons the British went into Greece after the Germans abandoned it, but this was their only success on that score.

@@PhillyPhanVinny I agree with you, the war would have never been decided in Italy, since the Italian landscape wasn't suitable for large scale Operations, but as we already said it still diverted forces away from where they were so desperatly needed and knocked the third strongest alliance member out of the war.

​@@cobbler9113 Agreed, and it did make total sense. The British at the time of WW2 had a better insight into the true intentions of Stalin and the Soviet Union then FDR and many Americans did. FDR and many of the people who thought like him in America wanted to think the USSR would be an ally of ours (like the British) from WW2 forward. But Churchill was a realist and knew the history of Russia and the evils' of communism much more then FDR and many American did at the time. Not to say there were not Americans then (Especially US officers such as General Patton) who knew the USSR was the next enemy of the free world and that the USSR didn't fall far down the rings of evil from Hitler and the Nazis. Which is why it is always great that the US has had a ally a good and true as the British have been to the US since the end of the war of 1812. The British have always been at the side of the US giving it advice and teaching it as the US grew into the power that the British used to be. I like to see it as the British are the Grandfather teaching their grandchild on his knee. I think the British from the past would be very proud of how the US (and other allies) have handled the crises in Ukraine. Helping other nations fight the British true enemy through alternative means without involving itself has always been a staple of British foreign policy. And seeing what the US is doing in Ukraine would just make those long dead British leaders smile I think.

Thanks for sharing about it, Alexander

Meh sounds like dramatization. Wasn’t the issue dir Normandy the lack of well equipped troops and not the lack of bunkers?

Or their effect might have been slightly exaggerated/idealized by an author who wanted to sell a book about them.

We have a whole special coming out soon about the development of the whole technique. The script was delayed though and I only shot it a few days ago, but it'll come out within a few weeks finally.

The Dambusters are a national myth in the UK and way over-emphasized for nationalistic reasons. What _is_ trivialised in the video is the victims of the attack: the biggest group weren't civilians but mostly Soviet forced-labourers in a concentration camp that was flooded.

@@nirfz There have been a whole host of books published since that show that in a Aircraft lost v Damage Done, this raid can only be called an outstanding success. Yes had the Sorpe been taken out, the Ruhr would have been in very serious trouble, but the damage done by the Dams raid was directly responsible for around a quarter of lost German steel production in the Ruhr area in the second quarter of 1943. What all of the Books say is that the mission did lead to the Establishment taking up Wallis's big bomb concepts that lead to Tallboy being operational by June 1944 and that bomb took out a lot of stuff that other bombs couldn't touch. Without Upkeep's success against the two dams that it did break, Tallboy and Grand slam would not have happened.

Thank you for watching, Ognjen

You said Gurkhas. Plural. That means they sent two of them? Wow!!! Much respect for the Gurkhas.

Must be a very difficult front, they had to send two gurkhas smh Poor germans

The gurkhas are in the military of Britain, Nepal, India, Singapore, and Brunei.

Ubermensch

Pearl Harbor The Norfolk (Virgina) naval shipyard updated the vessel’s radar, installed a newer combat information center, added the U.S. Navy’s talk between ships (TBS) radio and retrofitted a homing system that allowed airplanes to find the carrier at night and in low visibility. Victorious’ anti-air defenses were also improved with 19 20-mm gun positions. Bomb damage to the bow was repaired and the aft part of the flight deck, known as the round down, was extended. The shipyard also installed the fire suppression system and a station above the hangar deck so the hangar deck officer could see its entire length. Since the Victorious left Scotland at the beginning of the winter, its crew did not have clothing for warmer climates. The U.S. Navy provided, to use the British expression, “tropical kit” for all the officers and men. The plan was to equip Victorious’ airwing with three squadrons of fighters 882, 896 and 898, each with 12 new Grumman Martlets/Wildcats. While in Norfolk, 832 squadron transitioned to their 16 new Grumman Avengers that replaced its Albacore biplanes. MHN HMS Victorious - Meet the British Aircraft Carrier That Joined the U.S. Navy in WW2 page

@@andrewallen9993 US vessels down to submarines had a stock of one air liner size bottle of booze for each member of the crew for celebrations or "medical" purposes. As I understand it.

@@andrewallen9993 Torpedo Juice

Makes one wonder had the Germans evacuated their troops in North Africa, would it have made a difference in Europe?

@@tigertank06 Presumably just delayed things

@@Pioneer_DE Probably. I think once America entered the war, Germany really couldn't keep up with industrial production.

@@tigertank06 If they were able to send ships to evacuate their troops that means they could also have sent in supplies and reinforcements to keep the war in Africa going. Which was probably what Hitler would have done anyway. Why retreat if you could keep it going? It was their inability to do so which spelled the doom of the Axis in North Africa. An

@@alexamerling79 That happened before december 7 already as US lend lease was being sent to the UK and the USSR. America's entry in the war only changed that US ground troops and the USAAF joined. Notice that I didn't say that the USN also joined it, because it had joined in the battle of the Atlantic months before Pearl Harbour. That was why Hitler declared war on the US, he felt that he was already at war anyway. At least by declaring war he reasoned he could shoot back.

Rather the Waitomo District, of which Te Kutiti is a part of.

There were actually 4 Dam busting raids attempted by the RAF in WWII. All involved bombs designed by B Wallis!!! The second raid was against the Kembs Barrage on the Rhine. 617 Squadron flew the mission in October 1944. All of the high level Tallboys missed, but 6 aircraft did a low level attack and one of the bombs blew out a sluice gate that released all of the water. two crews on the low level force were lost to the dams defences. 9 Squadron attacked the Sorpe dam with Tallboys in October 1944. They got at least 6 direct hits on it, but didn't break it. the last was the Uffet Dam which was attacked by both Squadrons in December 1944. Somebody from 617 managed to get a direct hit on the crest of the dam with a Tallboy that took a 30 metre wide (and deep) chunk out of top of the dam. Unfortunately the water level was below the damage. Upkeep only worked if there was 30 feet of water over the weapon when it went off, any less and the Shock waves went upwards instead of going through the dam. It could only be used for a few days in the year on most dams

@@richardvernon317 not to mention the other bouncing bomb raids....

@@michaelgreen1515 Weapon was only used once. The Highball weapon was deployed to the Pacific, but never used used in combat.

Thank you Samuel

Why not just watch the original version, or the movie made by Clark Gable (Clark Gable's film is less propagandist)? They are both available on YT for free.

Memphis Bellie ( 1990 ) movie was removed from RU-vid

@@PSMCR69 The original movie is still on YT, and the very similar film, "Combat America", made by Clark Gable, is also on YT. Both of these films were made during the war.

For what it is worth there are two films I would recommend as much better both as films and for accuracy. One is the original Memphis Belle, which is a documentary made at the time and remarkable (given it was released during the war) for the vividness of the images and the downbeat tone. The other is 12 OClock High, which uses wartime footage and was made by a whole bunch of people with direct experience of the campaign. And also includes film of a real B17 being landed wheels up shot specially for the film, just for extra jollies.

The Memphis Belle is on display in Memphis, TN. I saw it years ago near Mud Island. Has since been moved to a new location in Memphis.

@Vinny Siracusa I'm sure Indy will give it a mention at least, but we'll keep our eyes out for it when it happens

​@@WorldWarTwo Sounds good to me team. I don't think I say it enough but you are by far my favorite YT channel. I look forward to your episodes every week on Wednesday. I refresh Patreon every hour waiting to see when the new episode is going to be posted. I think Indy will agree on the importance of the new unique and historically very rare rank holding and giving out of such ranks since the end of WW2. With the only 2 people getting the 5 star rank after the end of WW2 being Omar Bradley (who should have really gotten his 5th star during the war as the US General who lead the most US troops ) but ended up getting it during the Korean war so that Bradly a 4 star general and head of the US Army at the meetings of the joint Chiefs of staff that it was decided to promote Bradley since his sub commander Douglas MacArthur was a 5 star general leading the United Nations Forces against North Korea and China. A interesting note there is MacArthur is the only person ever to lead a United Nations Army to this point. Which would essentially be the type of command humanity would establish if we were ever to have to fight off against a invading alien species. It sounds funny typing it out but it all is actually prepared for humanity to defend itself through a joint United Nations command force (most likely lead by the United States). And then the second person to get the 5 star rank after WW2 was George Washington on the bicentennial of the birth of the United States. The nation that he played such a key role in it's creation. The first nation in human history that the majority of the population had the right to vote (despite it's initial bad history that all nations have) and continued to strive for a more perfect union to allow the access to vote to all citizens of the United States. A trend that the United States started, that France also quickly adopted (and then went kind of crazy) and then spread throughout most of the world now. Something so many people now today take for granted I feel like. But back to George Washington, it was decided that he would be was to be posthumously promoted to the 5 star rank as well as part of the U.S. Bicentennial. The appointment stated George Washington was to have “rank and precedence over all other grades of the Army, past or present”. So George Washington no wand forever will be the highest ranking member of the United States military, something he 100% justly deserves.

Thanks for sharing that about your Dad. Nice that he was able to visit the ship once more.

Yeshead The entire team thanks you for watching. We appreciate having such keen, thoughtful viewers as you in our audience. Please take care and stay tuned

617 is a fascinating story. I'm pretty sure Gibson himself only did the one mission with 617 - apparently he was on his last legs from a combat fatigue perspective when appointed, having just come off a tour leading 106 Squadron. 617 then sort of pottered about not being hugely effective and suffering heavy casualties (eg the Dortmund Ems Canal raid). The they appointed Leonard Cheshire to command, and he turned them into a crack, pinpoint accurate, elite force with genuinely revolutionary and accurate marking techniques. Two favorite stories: the first is Harris basically laying a bet with Cheshire that he couldn't mark an attack on Munich accurately, with the winning prize being four Mosquitoes for 617. The second is when Cheshire decided that Mossies weren't fast enough, so he borrowed a P-51 to do the marking, and flew it to the target to accurately mark, in literally the first time he had been in the plane. Just an awesome guy.

In Tunisia the Americans had to pay a stiff price for their experience, but it brought rich dividends. Rommel

banatul Thank you for your very kind words and sticking with us all through your high school career. Huge Congratulations and good luck to you on that next chapter in life. We wish you well and please stay tuned

Oh Oh. "He who sows the wind will reap the whirlwind." "Bomber" Harris really has it in for Germany. They had better beef up their AA defense...

Just don't get suckered in by the nonsense about the 'Race to Messina,' which, if it existed at all, it was only in Patton's head.

Bullshit Montgomery was given the inside road Highway 124,and preferential treatment by Alexander the immediate commander there. Patton demonstrated even when monty was given preferential treatment nonsaense he was average at best.Bernard went on to do less in Italy than Sicily. When the crown recalled him before he lost all face

@@bigwoody4704 Dolly Patton wasn't even average. Self obsessed, jealous, glory hunting bully and inscestuous racist, who didn't care how many of his men died for his lust for glory. Did bugger all in North Africa but cock up as a third teir commander. Don't overly rate either, but Patton less.

@Trench Jackass Congratulations! Now you are fully along for the ride 😉

Two daylight attacks were made on 3 May against boats sighted on the surface in the Derange ribbon: by Sunderland “S” of 461 Sqdn., at 1044, and by Whitley “R” of 10 Sqdn. O.T.U. In the first instance, the initial contact was made by eye and four D/Cs were released 22 seconds after the U-boat had submerged. In the second, the contact was also made by eye, and five D/Cs (one having hung up) were released while the boat was still on the surface. There were no visible results in either case. On the next day, 4 May, Halifax “S” of 58 Sqdn. was on morning patrol, having lifted off at 0555 for the Derange area, where the seas were very rough under 7/Ioths-8/Ioths cloud, visibility 8-10 miles. At 1740, the crew made the visual sighting of a creamy wake, bearing Green 90°, which led to a surfaced U-boat, outbound from base at 6-8 knots on a course of 270°, distant 4-5 miles. Pilot Flying Officer John M. Hartley turned to starboard, lost height rapidly, and approached out of the sun. At 1,400 yards the U-boat opened fire with what Hartley thought was an impressive amount of armament: “heavy guns” from the afterdeck, followed at 1,200 yards by “cannon at the front of the bridge,” and later by cannon on the forward deck and two pairs of machine guns on a stepped gun platform in front of the conning tower. He could see about fifteen of the boat’s crew, most of them manning the cannons and guns, but two men in black uniform and another in a white sweater, all wearing peaked caps, standing on the deck at the port side of the tower. Hartley ordered answering fire against the pugnacious boat, which scattered some of the men manning cannon and machine guns, the rest maintaining heavy and light flak. By evasive action Hartley managed to prevent his four-engine Halifax from being hit by that fusillade, and at a quarter of a mile from target, he leveled out to release six Mark XI D/Cs from the U-boat’s port quarter at an angle of 60°-70° to track. The navigator firing the front gun saw one man on deck hit and fall overboard. Altitude at the time of release was a relatively high 200-400 feet. The rear gunner reported that the D/Cs straddled aft of the conning tower, two on the port quarter and four on the starboard beam. In addition, the gunner had fired 500 rounds at the tower and hull as the aircraft passed. But the U-boat submerged thirty seconds after the Halifax, turning back, caught sight of it again, and no damage was visible, only the usual D/C scum. Baiting procedure was followed, Hartley returning at 0910, but the marker could not be found. With PLE reached at 1000, the Halifax returned to base, landing at 1258. Subsequent assessment by NHB/MOD has identified the boat as U-/90, which suffered “slight damage,” nothing to prevent her continuing on Feindfahrt. Three more attacks in the Bay were made later in the day: by Halifax “A” of 502 Sqdn. at 1920, by Catalina “J” of 202 Sqdn. at 2110, and by L/L Wellington “P” of 407 Sqdn. at 2309. In the first, initial contact was made by eye and six D/Cs were released on a surfaced U-boat. In the second, contact was also made by eye and five D/Cs (one hanging up) were dropped 37 seconds after submergence. In the third, contact was obtained by S/E and six D/Cs were dropped 10 seconds after submergence. No results were evident, but minor damage was done to U-405 (Korv. Kapt. Rolf-Heinrich Hopmann) by the Halifax, and the target of the Catalina was later assessed to be U-6oo (Kptlt. Bernard Zurmühlen). Three daylight attacks were made on 7 May in the Derange area, the first two on diving boats by Wing Commander Wilfrid E. Oulton of 58 Sqdn. At 0656, just after dawn (Oulton forbade his crew to eat breakfast prior to a morning flight because it put “spots,” not U-boats, before the eyes), Oulton sighted a U-boat’s wake from the cockpit of Halifax “S,” dived on the target, and dropped six D/Cs over its swirl 10-15 seconds after the U-boat’s submergence. And at 1015, Oulton dived on another U-boat’s wake and released three D/Cs on the submerging boat while its conning tower was still visible. The first attack yielded no visible results. The second, now known to have been against the outbound U-214, badly wounded her Commander, Kptlt. Rup-precht Stock, and forced the boat back to her base at Brest. Oulton’s aircraft received machine-gun hits during the run in. The third attack was made by Sunderland “W” of RAAF. 10 Sqdn. Flying on Derange, aircraft captain Flight Lieutenant Geoffrey G. Rossiter and his eleven-man crew had been airborne from Mount Batten in Cornwall since 0635 when, at 1023, they sighted a wake, then the conning tower, of an outbound U-boat on the starboard beam, distant 10 miles. As the flying boat turned to attack, the U-boat, now known to have been XJ-603 (Oblt.z.S. Rudolf Baltz), dived and disappeared, making attack inadvisable. Patrol was resumed at 2,000 feet just below 6/10ths cloud base, and at 1220 a fully surfaced U-boat was sighted through binoculars 17 miles away on the starboard bow, in position 47°O6’N, IO°58’W. The sea state was moderate, the wind was 235° at twenty-six miles per hour, visibility was twenty miles. Rossiter estimated the U-boat to be making 12 knots on an outbound course of 280°. He made a climbing turn into cloud and broke out of it on course 225° with the still-surfaced U-boat four miles distant on the starboard bow. As he pushed the elevator column forward into a dive, the U-boat altered course to starboard. Rossiter turned with it and ran in across track 6o° on its starboard quarter, the nose gunner opening fire with 100 rounds at 800 yards range, scoring hits on the conning tower, where two men were seen. From a height of fifty feet Rossiter released four D/Cs that straddled the boat just forward of the tower, and the resulting explosion plumes completely obscured the boat. Before the explosions, as the aircraft passed, the tail gunner fired 600 rounds at the tower. Rossiter pushed hard left rudder and turned the ailerons for a quick return to the site. Setting up, he attacked a second time, from the U-boat’s port quarter at 45° to track, again releasing four D/Cs from fifty feet. The first D/C fell within twenty feet of the port side aft of the tower; the three remaining overshot.The U-boat, plainly wounded, made several complete tight circles to starboard at 4-5 knots, trailing oil and gradually losing way. At 1300 it submerged slowly on course 090°, still putting out oil, and disappeared bows up four minutes later. By 1330 a crescent-shaped oil patch 250 yards in diameter and 500 yards in circumference covered the site. The Sunderland remained in the area for another hour and a half, then shaped course for home with its photographs, becoming waterborne at Mount Batten at 1655. Rossiter received the DFC for this action. The NHB/MOD assessment has identified the stricken U-boat as U-663 (Kptlt. Heinrich Schmid). Seriously damaged, she sank the next day with all hands, probably as the result of these injuries Black May - Michael Gannon

If that's the case we'll have to cover it when the time comes for D-Day… whenever that may be

Thanks for watching, R K

When the US Army landed in North Africa in Nov 42 it had M3 mediums because FDR had taken M4's away from the Army so they could be Lend Leased to Britain before Second el Alamein. The first combat for Tiger I's in NA was against the US Army. Churchill "As for the American tanks-the admirable Shermans-they came to us in the following way, On that dark day when the news of the fall of Tobruk (June 42) came in, I was with President Roosevelt in his room at the White House. The House knows how bitter a blow this was. But nothing could have exceeded the delicacy and kindness of our American friends and Allies. They had no thought but to help. Their very best tanks-the Shermans-were just coming out of the factories. The first batch had been newly placed in the hands of their divisions who had been waiting for them and looking forward to receiving them. The President took a large number of these tanks back from the troops to whom they had just been given. They were placed on board ship in the early days of July and they sailed direct to Suez under American escort for a considerable part of the voyage. 22 The President also sent us a large number of self-propelled 105 mm. guns, which are most useful weapons for contending with the 88 mm. high velocity guns, of which the Germans have made so much use. One ship in this convoy-this precious convoy-was sunk by a U-boat, but immediately, without being asked, the United States replaced it with another ship carrying an equal number of these weapons. All these tanks and high velocity guns played a recognisable part, indeed an important part, in General Alexander's battle." Hansard Debate on the address HC Deb 11 November 1942 page

It's always difficult to know, even for most British people. Your right about 617, although we had other derisory names for them when they flew Vulcans, as they always thought they should have priority over the other Squadrons at Scampton! As a rule of thumb, if the Sqdn had three digits, as 101 and 208 Sqns each digit was pronounced individually. Two digits, you would generally say the Sqn number. EG: Thirty one or Seventeen. The only exception I can remember was 216 Sqdn, when it re-formed with ex FAA Buccaneers from 809 Sqn back in the late seventies. For some reason they wanted to be known as Two Sixteen?

Attributing the start of the german surrender to any one point is a misrepresentation of the actual events and in some ways down plays all the fighting that took place after whatever event is identified. El Alamein itself was an event with many prior contributors that could all have a case for being “the start of the german surrender”, but to be entirely honest it matters very little as heavy fighting happened before and after both events, none of which can be discounted as unimportant.

Major Thorneycroft on Operation Torch "At the other end of the Mediterranean a great Allied force, under American command, has laid its grasp on French North Africa. I am not going to seek to describe the import of that great event, but I will say this. It is perhaps the greatest combined operation that has ever taken place in the whole history of war." below 19 Hansard DEBATE ON THE ADDRESS HC Deb 11 November 1942 on line

@@johnp8131 I was thinking about the Buc's wasn't there also a SAR's squadron with a similar thing? Might be something to do with the water?

The loss of the planes and personnel from the raids was high, but 'worth it' when seen in perspective of what it cost the Axis.

At least this time the Soviets learned from it. They finally realized that making huge attacks against the German front wasn't the way to defeat them and tried retrograde actions for a change. Works out well in Kursk.

@@Raskolnikov70 The Soviets then realized they were overstretched and had run out of supplies as they outran their logistics. They had assumed that the Germans were unable to mount an attack after Stalingrad and the defeat of the Axis armies. They fell into the same trap as the Germans which was overestimating your strength and underestimating your opponent.

Thank you a lot!

Thank you for watching, Shawn

Thank you for watching, Rockdio. Your Grandfather must have had some incredible experiences there, I'm glad he made it through even though talking about it is sometimes impossible

@joezephyr Thanks! Hmm, well I think wherever you go you're going to encounter mud at some point, so go for the mud tires!

@Lematth88 Indy's line in script there is, as you say, something of an over-simplification but it wasn't the time and place to delve in to the subject while listing who was there and what they were (either in reality or just their own minds) representing. Thanks as always for bringing us the detail on the French situation!

@@WorldWarTwo No problems, I just like to add little details that (may or no) matter, must be a deformation of my academic studies XD And you're right it was not the time to delve into it too, maybe someday, like in June and July ;)

Thanks for making this comment about the Battle of the Atlantic.

@@markfryer9880 I am glad you appreciated it

He's quoting from Rick Atkinson's ARMY AT DAWN. I remember reading that bit a few days ago and my eyes went wide.

we have a special on Wallis and the background tech coming out soon.

@@Southsideindy brilliant thank you

@@Southsideindy without trouble making, do note the squadron is 6-1-7, and Upkeep is a mine not a bomb… (and please please don’t fall for the canard that Barnes Wallis was an outsider who was ignored by the establishment. That’s ahistorical guff from the film… Wallis couldn’t have been more establishment if he tried).

A neighbor of mine, well the father of one of my playmates, John Ross, was there also. He was terse in his description of there. Cold, damp, wet, grey, cold and damp.

@@lynnwood7205 That's almost exactly how my grandfather described the place, with the additional descriptor of "hungry." For the rest of his life after being on Attu the man would not touch fish of any kind, because it was all he had to eat for about a month in 1943.

He go to Gulag.

Sort of… the designer was the same (Barnes Wallis) and the Damns gave him additional credibility. BUT… the earthquake bombs were already under development and Wallis already had a lot of credibility (he was very senior in Britain’s war industry) so it’s more “added to” rather than “began”…

@@qjnmh my apologies but I can’t help myself: The Damn dams were damned by dam buster bombs but we damned the dambusting crew to Damnation.

Thanks for watching, Nick

Thanks @Phillip Sounia !

I dunno, the 11'8" bridge channel is pretty good too even if they don't post as often.

The escort carrier (CVE) was a warship type coincidentally first produced by both the RN and USN in June 1941. In both instances a flight deck was mounted on a merchant ship hull. The RN type, HMS Audacity, embarked six Martlet fighters on the converted merchant ship Hannover captured from the Germans. Assigned to the U.K.-Gibraltar convoys, she had an outstanding six-month career, destroying five Luftwaffe aircraft, sighting nine U-boats, and on 17 December 1941 sharing in the sinking of U-131 (Korv. Kapt. Arend Baumann) with the 36th Escort Group (Cmdr. Frederic John Walker, R.N., SO), though the attacking Martlet and pilot were lost to the U-boat’s gunfire. While escorting Convoy HG.76 on the night of 21-22 December 1941, HMS Audacity was struck by three torpedoes from U-751 (Kptlt. Gerhard Bigalk) and sunk. Her American counterpart, carrier USS Long Island, capable of embarking twenty-one aircraft, would not see action in either the Atlantic or the Pacific theaters but spend her career in ferrying, training, and experimental duties. But beginning in 1942, the USN heavily committed funds to the CVE program, and American shipyards began turning out large numbers of improved carrier conversions from merchant hulls, eventually producing 128 by war’s end.11 British yards produced five. Many of the early U.S. CVEs went to the RN, which made additional modifications, mainly to the avgas fuel systems to prevent vapor explosions, and two of these, Biter and Archer, were in active service on the Atlantic convoy routes during Black May. Swordfish “L” from Biter had earlier, on 25 April, shared in the destruction of U-203 (Kptlt. Hermann Kottmann) along with the destroyer H.M.S. Pathfinder, while both ships were with EG5 supporting EG B2, the close screen of Convoy ONS.4. The aircraft’s principal contribution to the kill was two well-placed calcium sea markers, since her two D/Cs dropped 20 seconds after submergence apparently did not damage the U-boat. On 10 May, Archer, with Fourth Escort Group, was supporting EG B6 with Convoy ONS.6. British naval historian David Hobbs has commented on the relative merits of shore-based and naval-embarked aviation at that period. Most of the flying hours of the former, he points out, were expended in transit to and from their patrol areas rather than in patrol itself. Add to that the fact that significant numbers of shore-based bombers and crews had to be kept in constant rotation on successive legs to and from the convoy, and the economy of carrier aircraft, which were based constantly with the convoy, becomes apparent. Furthermore, Coastal Command aircraft did not always successfully rendezvous with their designated convoys; in 1942, for example, 34 percent of all Coastal sorties were Not Mets. Finally, unlike bombers from afar, the carrier aircraft lent themselves to rapid and flexible tactical use by the escort commander, the attack on U-403 being an apt example.12 The only problem at this date, apart from pilots’ tendency to get lost navigating, was the inadequacy of the Swordfish aircraft in speed and structural strength. Following the action against this boat, BdU decided that the main body of Rhein must be 90 miles behind the fast convoy, with little chance to catch up. Accordingly, it ordered that group, excepting U-403, to withdraw from the operation against HX.237 and to move instead against the slower SC.129, which was “considered to offer better chances of success.” The fast convoy would be left to the shadower U-403 and to the six boats of Drossel closing from the east.13 The daylight hours of 11 May were quiet, though HF/DF activity increased, and Chavasse sent two destroyers ahead to probe for threats, and two of Biter’s aircraft searched the convoy’s perimeter. Later in the day, U-436 (Kptlt. Günther Seibicke) of Group Drossel found HX.237 BD 9554 (44°15'W, 27°25'W). Another of Drossel’s boats, U-89 (Kptlt. Dietrich Lohmann), reported the presence of carrier-type aircraft circling overhead-either a confirmation or a first disclosure to BdU that the aircraft that attacked U-403 was carrier-borne. At 2013, another of Biters aircraft, Swordfish “L,” caught U-436 on the surface and attacked her with four D/Cs from 150 feet. During the run in, the “Stringhag,” as the frail biplane was called by pilots, took heavy anti-aircraft fire, but the pilot and gunner watched the tracers pass harmlessly between the port upper and lower wings, and the pilot returned fire with his front gun. Following the D/C drop, the pilot climbed to make a return run, but after he got the slow-gaited craft around, the U-boat had disappeared. The pilot dropped a smoke float and resumed patrolling.14 At 2100 U-89 reported the convoy on a new course, 000°, or due north.15 Contact was not resumed until daybreak on the 12th, when the surfaced Drossel boat U-230 (Kptlt. Paul Sieg-mann) sighted the ship columns in heavy swell astride BD 2826, confirming that the convoy, estimated at 9.5 knots speed, had made an evasive turn to north. Soon afterwards, U-230 found herself under attack by the first Swordfish to make it off Biter bucking deck that high seas morning, which was the twenty-third birthday of U-230's First Watch Officer (I.W.O.) Herbert A. Werner, a native of the Black Forest region of southern Germany, who was commanding the bridge watch: “Aircraft astern!” It was too late to dive. The single-engine plane came in low in a straight line exactly over our wake. I fingered the trigger of my gun. Again the gun was jammed. I kicked its magazine, clearing the jam. Then I emptied the gun at the menace. The mate’s automatic [machine gun] bellowed. Our boat veered to starboard, spoiling the plane’s bomb run. The pilot revved up his engine, circled, then roared toward us from dead ahead. As the plane dived very low, its engine sputtered, then stopped. Wing first, the plane crashed into the surging ocean, smashing its other wing on our superstructure as we raced by. The pilot, thrown out of his cockpit, lifted his arm and waved for help, but then I saw him disintegrate in the explosion of the four bombs [D/Cs] which were meant to destroy us. Four violent shocks kicked into our starboard side astern but we left the horrible scene unharmed." This loss had a sobering effect on HMS Biter, who decided that antiquated Swordfish should no longer engage in gunfire duels with U-boats, despite their crews’ keenness to do so. Henceforth, the Swordfish were to attack only with D/Cs when the U-boat was seen to be diving or had just dived. In other cases the pilot was to keep the U-boat in observation and, if possible, call in surface ship assistance. HMS Biter's next attack would include an excellent example of called-in assistance from HMS Broadway and the frigate H.M.S. Lagan. At 1230, in good weather, visibility 20 miles, Swordfish “B” sighted a wake, then a U-boat distant four miles, proceeding at 12 knots on a course of 060°. At about the same time, the U-boat-it was U-89-sighted the aircraft, altered course, and dived. By the time the Swordfish got down to 50 feet and dropped four D/Cs, U-89 had been under for 30 seconds. The pilot returned to the position, saw no evidence on the surface, dropped a smoke marker, and reported the action by R/T. HMS Broadway received the report and closed the position at 24 knots, while the Swordfish returned to HMS Biter short of fuel. At 1301 HMS Broadway reached the marker and, her asdic dome lowered, obtained a contact bearing 045°, range 1,500 yards. Chavasse decided on a Hedgehog attack, which he delivered just as U-89 accelerated across his bow. There were no explosions. HMS Lagan, in the meantime, had arrived to assist and she now made two unsuccessful Hedgehog attacks of her own. Ten minutes later, Broadway regained strong echoes on which to fire a second 24-projectile salvo, with a deflection of 15° right. This time, at 1359, there was a single sharp explosive CRACK! that was felt throughout the ship. Twenty seconds later, a second, muffled explosion was heard, and a marker was thrown overside. HMS Lagan made two Hedgehog attacks on the position without result, but forty-five minutes after Broadways hit on the U-boat’s hull, wreckage appeared on the surface. It consisted of a piece of wood with an electric light switch, two positions for plugs, and the identification “Schlüssel-M” (Enigma machine); several pieces of laminated wood varnished on one side and painted white on the other; a woolen jersey with a Nazi emblem; and various other articles of clothing that were not picked up. The single Hedgehog projectile had drilled a fair-size hole. No bodies were seen. They were all entombed below in the Type VIIC iron coffin.18 And the burying for that day was not over. Within the same hour as Broadway s puncturing hit, another Drossel boat was gored; subsequendy it would flail about wounded, call desperately for help, then die gamely from the last penetrating effects of a weapon never before used at sea. Ironically, U-89 was on her way to help that boat when death chose her first....by first Allied developed acoustic torpedo known as FIDO. Black May - Michael Gannon

@@merdiolu Thanks for your comment.

Don't know if you can find it, but I'm reading a book called "The Tigers Are Burning" by Martin Caidin, which goes into remarkable depth and detail on both sides. Before, during, and after the battle. Great read.

I would recommend Robert Citino's trilogy on the German army and the battles they fought after Kursk and later. Also excellent is Prit Buttar's trilogy on the Soviet offenses in the Ukraine after Kursk until the the Soviets forced the Germans completely out of the USSR. The books are available on Amazon and elsewhere. SEE THIS also en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgorod%E2%80%93Kharkov_offensive_operation

That is correct. They were in the Stalingrad area and other areas near damaged cities and infrastructure where their labor would be useful.

You're amazing, D D ❤️

There are a lot of similar stories about Axis POWs here in the US. Many of the farmers they worked for were themselves German so they treated them fairly well, sometimes almost like family.

Thanks Early Riser! We appreciate your support

You can’t forget the politically incorrect dog which is a staple of WWII RAF war films…

As amusing as it would be to see the WW2 channel try to get away with it, I don't think they want their entire channel memory-holed from existence.....

@@Raskolnikov70 I would have said "Gamer word" instead of the real name of the dog

Presumably, if the re-make ever happens, the dog will be called 'Floyd?'

Thank you for watching & please stay tuned