Camp Kilmer
Camp Kilmer, New Jersey is a former United States Army camp, activated in June 1942 as a staging area and part of an installation of the New York Port of Embarkation. The camp was organized as part of the Army Service Forces Transportation Corps. Troops were quartered at Camp Kilmer in preparation for transport to the European Theater of Operations in World War II, it became the largest processing center for troops heading overseas and returning from World War II, processing over 2.5 million soldiers. It closed in 2009; the camp was named for Joyce Kilmer, a poet killed in World War I while serving with 69th Infantry Regiment. His home was in nearby New New Jersey; the site was selected in 1941 by the War Department as the best site to serve the New York Port of Embarkation. Construction began in early 1942. Located in Piscataway Township, New Jersey and Edison Township, New Jersey at 40°31′00″N 74°26′45″W, the closest city was New Brunswick located two miles to the south. Plainfield was located four miles north of the camp.
New York City, about 22 miles to the northeast, could be reached by the mainline of the Pennsylvania Railroad. A flyover loop crossing the four-track mainline allowed movements into the large train loading yards without interference with mainline traffic. Many troop embarkations would be at the New Jersey locations of Military Ocean Terminal at Bayonne and Hoboken; the camp was served by the Port Reading branch of the Reading Railroad and the Amboy branch of the Lehigh Valley Railroad. The post was activated in June 1942 and the first unit to arrive at Camp Kilmer was the 332nd Engineer General Service Regiment, a complement of 1,239 enlisted men and 52 officers; the unit arrived July 1942 on three separate trains from Camp Claiborne, Louisiana. The buildings were constructed of wood and were painted bright contrasting colors for a camouflage effect; this was similar to the dazzle camouflage used for ships in World War I. The camp consisted of ten "Disposition Areas", or sets of barracks in which units and soldiers were assigned while awaiting transportation to Europe.
At Camp Kilmer troops sent personal effects home, received medical injections and the supplies needed before loading onto transport ships for travel to the European Theater of Operations. After V-E Day, the post was used to process troops returning from Europe, prior to sending them on to their local Personnel Center, Separation Center or Reception Station; the camp remained active until the fall of 1949. In the fall of 1950, with hostilities in Korea, the camp was reactivated, it was placed on inactive status again in June 1955. In November 1956 it served as an initial place for housing for refugees from the 1956 Hungarian Revolution until June 1957. In March 1958, Camp Kilmer became Headquarters for the U. S. Army II Corps, the controlling headquarters for United States Army Reserve units across the northeast. Camp Kilmer housed a maintenance and repair facility supporting the Nike/Hercules missile sites in the greater New York metropolitan area; this facility included large, armored rooms with heavy blast doors where missile engines and conventional warheads were stored and maintained.
During the Cold War after the failed 1956 Hungarian Revolution 30,000 refugees were resettled at Camp Kilmer. Many settled in New Brunswick. In 1963, most of the 1600 acres was auctioned and sold to local governments, Rutgers University; the Livingston College campus sits on 540-acres acquired by Rutgers in 1964. Camp Kilmer By the 1960s much of land were dispersed. Today, there is a Vocational Training Center located at the site as well as schools. Camp Kilmer The concentration camp scenes for the 1964 movie The Pawnbroker were filmed in the section of Camp Kilmer, used for the movement of prisoners-of-war. Throughout the 1980s and 90s, the remnants of Camp Kilmer known as the Sergeant Joyce Kilmer Reserve Center, was the location for Headquarters, 78th Division and for the Division's 1st Brigade headquarters, both units of the US Army Reserve; the 78th Division, nicknamed the "Lightning Division" or "Jersey Lightning", is the lineal descendant of the 78th Division of World War I and the 78th Infantry Division of World War II.
The current 78th Division is responsible for conducting simulations exercises and field training for US Army Reserve and Army National Guard units across 14 states from North Carolina to the Canada–US border. In the immediate aftermath of the September 11th terrorist attacks, the Federal Emergency Management Agency created a temporary headquarters at the facility; as of October 2009 the Sergeant Joyce Kilmer Reserve Center was closed as per the recommendation of the Base Realignment and Closure, 2005. The last tenant units relocated to Fort Dix. In Fall 2014 the last section of Camp Kilmer was occupied by the Edison Township Public Works Department. Areas surrounding the former base now belong to Piscataway Township or to Rutgers University and many existent buildings and facilities were part of the former Camp Kilmer. Portions of the World War II-era camp are still used by the Edison Job Corps, including some of the original barracks, the chapel and post flag pole. A few extant structures are now occupied by the Timothy Christian School.
New York Yankee star Joe DiMaggio and comedian Red Skelton, both serving with the Army, were temporarily assigned to the Camp. DiMaggio autographed baseballs for wounded soldiers and gave hitting and fielding lessons, while Skelton made unannounced visits to the hospital for his version of "laugh therapy." The former environs of Camp Kilmer, the current Kilmer Reserve Cen
Schweinfurt
Schweinfurt is a city in the Lower Franconia region of Bavaria in Germany on the right bank of the navigable Main River, spanned by several bridges here, 44 km northeast of Würzburg. The city was first documented in the year 790, although as early as 740 a settlement called Villa Suinfurde was mentioned. In the 10th century Schweinfurt was the seat of a margraviate. After the defeat of count Henry of Schweinfurt in 1002/1003, in the feud against King Henry II of Germany, his family lost its leading position in the town. In the first half of the 13th century Schweinfurt expanded to become a proper city with city wall and city gates. At that time the Nikolaus hospital was founded, a mint was established and construction work on the Saint Johannis church began. Around 1250 Schweinfurt was destroyed during a feud between the Count of Henneberg and the Prince-Bishop of Würzburg. In the following years it was reconstructed. A document from 1282 signed by Rudolf I of Habsburg states that Schweinfurt was a free city within the Holy Roman Empire.
At least since the coat of arms of Schweinfurt has been an imperial white eagle. In 1309 the city was given to the Count of Henneberg, but in the 1360s the city regained its independence and joined the Swabian–Franconian Confederation. In 1397 King Wenzel entitled the town to utilize the River Main, in 1436–1437 Schweinfurt acquired the village of Oberndorf, as well as the Teutonic Order Fort on the Peterstirn and a small piece of land – including the villages of Zell and Weipoltshausen; some years there was the first uprising of Schweinfurt's citizens against the town council, followed by a second in 1513–1514. This time the issuing of a constitution was allowed; the city joined Martin Luther's Reformation in 1542. Schweinfurt was again destroyed in the course of the Second Margrave War, in 1554; the years up to 1615 were spent by the citizens for its reconstruction. Schweinfurt joined the Protestant Union in 1609. In the Thirty Years' War it was occupied by Gustavus Adolphus, who erected fortifications, the remains of which are still extant.
In 1652 the four doctors Johann Laurentius Bausch, Johann Michael Fehr, Georg Balthasar Wolfahrt and Balthasar Metzger founded the Academia Curiosorum in Schweinfurt, known today as the German Academy of Life Scientists, "Leopoldina". At some point Schweinfurt became a predominantly Roman Catholic city owing to migration from the surrounding Catholic territories, only again to receive a large section of Lutheran refugees/expellees after 1945 from Germany east of the Oder-Neisse line; the latest addition to the Lutheran churches in Schweinfurt arrived during the last years of the Soviet Union. In 1777, Johann Martin Schmidt began to produce white lead. Schweinfurt suffered from heavy casualties during the Napoleonic Wars of 1796–1801. Schweinfurt remained a free imperial city until 1802. Assigned to the grand duke of Würzburg in 1810, it was granted to the Kingdom of Bavaria four years later; the first railway junction was opened in 1852. In the following years Schweinfurt became a world leading centre for the production of ball bearings.
This was to lead to grievous consequences for the city during World War II. In 1939 Schweinfurt produced most of Nazi Germany's ball bearings, factories such as the Schweinfurter Kugellagerwerke became a target of Allied strategic bombing during World War II to cripple tank and aircraft production. Schweinfurt was bombed 22 times during Operation Pointblank by a total of 2,285 aircraft; the Schweinfurt-Regensburg mission caused an immediate 34% loss of production and all plants but the largest were devastated by fire. Efforts to disperse the surviving machinery began and the Luftwaffe deployed large numbers of interceptors along the corridor to Schweinfurt. Bombing included the Second Raid on Schweinfurt on 14 October 1943 and Big Week in February 1944. Although losses of production bearings and machinery were high and much of the industrial and residential areas of the city were destroyed, killing more than a thousand civilians, the factories were restored to production and the industry dispersed.
Although German planners thought it essential to purchase the entire output of the Swedish ball-bearing industry, losses in the production of bearings were made up from surpluses found within Germany in the aftermath of the first raid. The decentralized industry was able to restore output to 85% of its pre-bombing level. Hitler made restoration of ball bearing production a high priority and massive efforts were undertaken to repair and rebuild the factories in bomb-proof underground facilities; the 42nd Infantry Division entered Schweinfurt on 11 April 1945 and engaged in house-to-house fighting. On 12 April an internment camp at Goethe-Schule held male civilians aged 16–60. After the war Schweinfurt became a stronghold of their dependants, thus Schweinfurt recovered quickly from its third period of destruction. Schweinfurt hosted the U. S. Army Garrison Schweinfurt, which the U. S. Army closed on 19 September 2014 due to an ongoing effort to concentrate the U. S. military's footprint in Germany to fewer communities.
In post-war years, the new suburbs of Bergl and Steinberg were developed to settle a growing population. In 1954 the city laid the foundation stone for the new town hall and commemorated the 700th and 500th anniversaries of the two earlier periods of destruction as well as the ongoing reconstruction following World War II. In 1998 German and American veterans and s
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, it is sometimes used or colloquially to refer to remotely operated vehicles and robots, as well as medium-sized or smaller vessels, such as the midget submarine and the wet sub. Although experimental submarines had been built before, submarine design took off during the 19th century, they were adopted by several navies. Submarines were first used during World War I, are now used in many navies large and small. Military uses include attacking enemy surface ships, attacking other submarines, aircraft carrier protection, blockade running, ballistic missile submarines as part of a nuclear strike force, conventional land attack, covert insertion of special forces. Civilian uses for submarines include marine science, salvage and facility inspection and maintenance. Submarines can be modified to perform more specialized functions such as search-and-rescue missions or undersea cable repair. Submarines are used in tourism, for undersea archaeology.
Most large submarines consist of a cylindrical body with hemispherical ends and a vertical structure located amidships, which houses communications and sensing devices as well as periscopes. In modern submarines, this structure is the "sail" in American usage and "fin" in European usage. A "conning tower" was a feature of earlier designs: a separate pressure hull above the main body of the boat that allowed the use of shorter periscopes. There is a propeller at the rear, various hydrodynamic control fins. Smaller, deep-diving and specialty submarines may deviate from this traditional layout. Submarines use diving planes and change the amount of water and air in ballast tanks to change buoyancy for submerging and surfacing. Submarines have one of the widest ranges of capabilities of any vessel, they range from small autonomous examples and one- or two-person vessels that operate for a few hours, to vessels that can remain submerged for six months—such as the Russian Typhoon class, the biggest submarines built.
Submarines can work at greater depths than are practical for human divers. Modern deep-diving submarines derive from the bathyscaphe, which in turn evolved from the diving bell. Whereas the principal meaning of "submarine" is an armed, submersible warship, the more general meaning is for any type of submersible craft; the definition as of 1899 was for any type of "submarine boat". By naval tradition, submarines are still referred to as "boats" rather than as "ships", regardless of their size. In other navies with a history of large submarine fleets they are "boats". According to a report in Opusculum Taisnieri published in 1562: Two Greeks submerged and surfaced in the river Tagus near the City of Toledo several times in the presence of The Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, without getting wet and with the flame they carried in their hands still alight. In 1578, the English mathematician William Bourne recorded in his book Inventions or Devises one of the first plans for an underwater navigation vehicle.
A few years the Scottish mathematician and theologian John Napier wrote in his Secret Inventions the following: "These inventions besides devises of sayling under water with divers, other devises and strategems for harming of the enemyes by the Grace of God and worke of expert Craftsmen I hope to perform." It's unclear whether he carried out his idea. The first submersible of whose construction there exists reliable information was designed and built in 1620 by Cornelis Drebbel, a Dutchman in the service of James I of England, it was propelled by means of oars. By the mid-18th century, over a dozen patents for submarines/submersible boats had been granted in England. In 1747, Nathaniel Symons patented and built the first known working example of the use of a ballast tank for submersion, his design used leather bags. A mechanism was used to cause the boat to resurface. In 1749, the Gentlemen's Magazine reported that a similar design had been proposed by Giovanni Borelli in 1680. Further design improvement stagnated for over a century, until application of new technologies for propulsion and stability.
The first military submarine was the Turtle, a hand-powered acorn-shaped device designed by the American David Bushnell to accommodate a single person. It was the first verified submarine capable of independent underwater operation and movement, the first to use screws for propulsion. In 1800, France built a human-powered submarine designed by the Nautilus; the French gave up on the experiment in 1804, as did the British when they considered Fulton's submarine design. In 1864, late in the American Civil War, the Confederate navy's H. L. Hunley became the first military submarine to sink an enemy vessel, the Union sloop-of-war USS Housatonic. In the aftermath of its successful attack against the ship, the Hunley sank because it was too close to its own exploding torpedo. In 1866, the Sub Marine Explorer was the first submarine to dive, cruise underwater, resurface under the control of the crew; the design by German American Julius H. Kroehl incorporated elements that are still used in modern submarines.
In 1866, the Flach was built at the request of the Chilean government, by Karl Flach, a German engineer and immigrant
World War II
World War II known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. The vast majority of the world's countries—including all the great powers—eventually formed two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. A state of total war emerged, directly involving more than 100 million people from over 30 countries; the major participants threw their entire economic and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. World War II was the deadliest conflict in human history, marked by 50 to 85 million fatalities, most of whom were civilians in the Soviet Union and China, it included massacres, the genocide of the Holocaust, strategic bombing, premeditated death from starvation and disease, the only use of nuclear weapons in war. Japan, which aimed to dominate Asia and the Pacific, was at war with China by 1937, though neither side had declared war on the other. World War II is said to have begun on 1 September 1939, with the invasion of Poland by Germany and subsequent declarations of war on Germany by France and the United Kingdom.
From late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Finland and the Baltic states. Following the onset of campaigns in North Africa and East Africa, the fall of France in mid 1940, the war continued between the European Axis powers and the British Empire. War in the Balkans, the aerial Battle of Britain, the Blitz, the long Battle of the Atlantic followed. On 22 June 1941, the European Axis powers launched an invasion of the Soviet Union, opening the largest land theatre of war in history; this Eastern Front trapped most crucially the German Wehrmacht, into a war of attrition. In December 1941, Japan launched a surprise attack on the United States as well as European colonies in the Pacific. Following an immediate U. S. declaration of war against Japan, supported by one from Great Britain, the European Axis powers declared war on the U.
S. in solidarity with their Japanese ally. Rapid Japanese conquests over much of the Western Pacific ensued, perceived by many in Asia as liberation from Western dominance and resulting in the support of several armies from defeated territories; the Axis advance in the Pacific halted in 1942. Key setbacks in 1943, which included a series of German defeats on the Eastern Front, the Allied invasions of Sicily and Italy, Allied victories in the Pacific, cost the Axis its initiative and forced it into strategic retreat on all fronts. In 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained its territorial losses and turned toward Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in Central China, South China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy and captured key Western Pacific islands; the war in Europe concluded with an invasion of Germany by the Western Allies and the Soviet Union, culminating in the capture of Berlin by Soviet troops, the suicide of Adolf Hitler and the German unconditional surrender on 8 May 1945.
Following the Potsdam Declaration by the Allies on 26 July 1945 and the refusal of Japan to surrender under its terms, the United States dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6 and 9 August respectively. With an invasion of the Japanese archipelago imminent, the possibility of additional atomic bombings, the Soviet entry into the war against Japan and its invasion of Manchuria, Japan announced its intention to surrender on 15 August 1945, cementing total victory in Asia for the Allies. Tribunals were set up by fiat by the Allies and war crimes trials were conducted in the wake of the war both against the Germans and the Japanese. World War II changed the political social structure of the globe; the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The Soviet Union and United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the nearly half-century long Cold War. In the wake of European devastation, the influence of its great powers waned, triggering the decolonisation of Africa and Asia.
Most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic expansion. Political integration in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities and create a common identity; the start of the war in Europe is held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred and the two wars merged in 1941; this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935; the British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the fo
Gunter Annex
Gunter Annex is a United States Air Force installation located in the North-northeast suburbs of Montgomery, Alabama. The base is named after former Montgomery mayor William Adams Gunter; until 1992 it was known as Gunter Air Force Station. It has been a military training base since its opening in 1940. Gunter Annex is a subordinate installation under the administration of the 42d Air Base Wing at nearby Maxwell Air Force Base. Gunter Annex is the home of the Enterprise Systems; the BES provides and supports secure combat information systems and networks for the United States Air Force, the Department of Defense and other Federal Government Agencies. The BES is a part of the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, headquartered at Wright-Patterson AFB, its subordinate activity at Hanscom AFB, Massachusetts; the 26th Network Operations Squadron provides network defense for the Air Force Enterprise Network. The host unit of Gunter Annex is the 42d Air Base Wing, headquartered at Maxwell AFB; the former 42d Bombardment Wing took over host duties at both Maxwell AFB and Gunter AFB on 1 October 1994 when the wing was redesignated and reassigned from the closing of Loring Air Force Base, Maine.
The facility is named after a long-time mayor of Montgomery Alabama. Mayor Gunter was an aviation advocate who championed aviation and was a major force behind the construction of the original Montgomery Municipal Airport at this site in 1929. There were several efforts to have the airport named in his honor while he was still living. Although he resisted these efforts, the site is still referred to by residents as'Gunter Field'. In 1940, the'Plan for the Expansion of the Air Corps Training Program' was published and indicated a need for a preliminary flying school in the Montgomery area; the Commandant of the Air Corps Tactical School at Maxwell Field, Colonel Walter Weaver, picked the Montgomery Municipal Airport and the surrounding area as the location for the flying school. This included a newly built, but as yet unoccupied state hospital for tuberculosis patients. In June 1940, the War Department approved the recommendation to lease the land. In August 1940 the first military personnel arrived and construction began.
The hospital was used as a headquarters building and Colonel Aubrey Hornsby was the project officer and the first commanding officer. The Army leased the 187 acre municipal airport and purchased an additional 300 acres for the cantonment area. Complicated leasing agreements delayed construction and the Army facilities were not completed in time, so the first two classes, Class 41-A with 107 students and Class 41-B, trained at Maxwell Field on the other side of town; the first class to train at Gunter was 41-C which began instruction on November 28, 1940. In late 1940, Mayor Gunter died and, on the recommendation of Colonel Hornsby, the flying field was named'Gunter Field' in early 1941. By July 1941, construction of the field was complete. In addition to the main airfield, the following known sub-bases and auxiliaries were used: McLemore Auxiliary Field 32°22′30″N 086°07′10″W Elmore Auxiliary Field 32°31′46″N 086°19′42″W Mount Meigs Auxiliary Field 32°21′30″N 086°01′30″W Taylor Field 32°18′15″N 086°07′20″W Dannelly Auxiliary Field 32°18′04″N 086°23′25″W Deatsville Auxiliary Field 32°35′41″N 086°26′52″WIn 1943, 3,500 foot long hard surfaced runways were added.
Gunter was the first base established by the Southeastern Training Center for Basic Flight Training. As such, it trained instructors and other personnel for the other Basic Training bases opened in the Southeast that included Cochran AAF in Macon, Georgia. Students would come to Basic Flight Training after completing Primary Training. In 1941, the Basic course was 10 weeks in length. After completion of the course, students would be chosen for advanced single or multi-engine training. During World War II, the field served as a flying school for not just Army pilots, but for British and Canadians as well. By 1944, there were nearly four hundred aircraft assigned to Gunter Field; the primary aircraft used for Basic Training, by both the Army and the Navy, during most of the war was the fixed gear Vultee BT-13 and BT-15 Valiant. By 1944, the BT-13s and 15s were worn out and they began to be replaced by the North American AT-6 Texan. After World War II ended, flight training was transferred to Spence AAF and, other than some contingents of French and Chinese flight students, aviation training ended at Gunter.
By February 1946, Gunter's remaining aircraft were transferred to Maxwell Army Air Base and the field went to "stand by" status. In January 1948 Gunter Field was redesignated Gunter Air Force Base. In May 1950, the Air University located its Extension Course Institute there. In October of that year, a branch of the School of Aviation Medicine was established. In 1957 a Semi Automatic Ground Environment Data Center was established at Gunter AFB; the SAGE system was an early generation computer network linking Air Force general air surveillance radar stations into a centralized center for continental air defense, intended to provide early warning and response for a Soviet nuclear attack. It was under the Montgomery Air Defense Sector, established on 8 September 1957. MoADS was synonymous with 32nd NORAD Region, which encompassed an area from the Cuban landmass north to Florida, Alabama
Boeing B-52 Stratofortress
The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is an American long-range, jet-powered strategic bomber. The B-52 was built by Boeing, which has continued to provide support and upgrades, it has been operated by the United States Air Force since the 1950s. The bomber is capable of carrying up to 70,000 pounds of weapons, has a typical combat range of more than 8,800 miles without aerial refueling. Beginning with the successful contract bid in June 1946, the B-52 design evolved from a straight wing aircraft powered by six turboprop engines to the final prototype YB-52 with eight turbojet engines and swept wings; the B-52 took its maiden flight in April 1952. Built to carry nuclear weapons for Cold War-era deterrence missions, the B-52 Stratofortress replaced the Convair B-36. A veteran of several wars, the B-52 has dropped only conventional munitions in combat; the B-52's official name Stratofortress is used. The B-52 has been in active service with the USAF since 1955; as of December 2015, 58 were in active service with 18 in reserve.
The bombers flew under the Strategic Air Command until it was disestablished in 1992 and its aircraft absorbed into the Air Combat Command. Superior performance at high subsonic speeds and low operating costs have kept the B-52 in service despite the advent of more advanced aircraft, including the canceled Mach 3 B-70 Valkyrie, the variable-geometry B-1 Lancer, the stealth B-2 Spirit; the B-52 completed sixty years of continuous service with its original operator in 2015. After being upgraded between 2013 and 2015, it is expected to serve into the 2050s. On 23 November 1945, Air Materiel Command issued desired performance characteristics for a new strategic bomber "capable of carrying out the strategic mission without dependence upon advanced and intermediate bases controlled by other countries"; the aircraft was to have a crew of five or more turret gunners, a six-man relief crew. It was required to cruise at 300 mph at 34,000 feet with a combat radius of 5,000 miles; the armament was to consist of 10,000 pounds of bombs.
On 13 February 1946, the Air Force issued bid invitations for these specifications, with Boeing, Consolidated Aircraft, Glenn L. Martin Company submitting proposals. On 5 June 1946, Boeing's Model 462, a straight-wing aircraft powered by six Wright T35 turboprops with a gross weight of 360,000 pounds and a combat radius of 3,110 miles, was declared the winner. On 28 June 1946, Boeing was issued a letter of contract for US$1.7 million to build a full-scale mock-up of the new XB-52 and do preliminary engineering and testing. However, by October 1946, the air force began to express concern about the sheer size of the new aircraft and its inability to meet the specified design requirements. In response, Boeing produced Model 464, a smaller four-engine version with a 230,000 pound gross weight, deemed acceptable. Subsequently, in November 1946, the Deputy Chief of Air Staff for Research and Development, General Curtis LeMay, expressed the desire for a cruising speed of 400 miles per hour, to which Boeing responded with a 300,000 lb aircraft.
In December 1946, Boeing was asked to change their design to a four-engine bomber with a top speed of 400 miles per hour, range of 12,000 miles, the ability to carry a nuclear weapon. Boeing responded with two models powered by T35 turboprops; the Model 464-16 was a "nuclear only" bomber with a 10,000 pound payload, while the Model 464-17 was a general purpose bomber with a 9,000 pound payload. Due to the cost associated with purchasing two specialized aircraft, the air force selected Model 464-17 with the understanding that it could be adapted for nuclear strikes. In June 1947, the military requirements were updated and the Model 464-17 met all of them except for the range, it was becoming obvious to the Air Force that with the updated performance, the XB-52 would be obsolete by the time it entered production and would offer little improvement over the Convair B-36. During this time, Boeing continued to perfect the design, which resulted in the Model 464-29 with a top speed of 455 miles per hour and a 5,000-mile range.
In September 1947, the Heavy Bombardment Committee was convened to ascertain performance requirements for a nuclear bomber. Formalized on 8 December 1947, these requirements called for a top speed of 500 miles per hour and an 8,000 mile range, far beyond the capabilities of 464–29; the outright cancellation of the Boeing contract on 11 December 1947 was staved off by a plea from its president William McPherson Allen to the Secretary of the Air Force Stuart Symington. Allen reasoned that the design was capable of being adapted to new aviation technology and more stringent requirements. In January 1948 Boeing was instructed to explore recent technological innovations, including aerial refueling and the flying wing. Noting stability and control problems Northrop was experiencing with their YB-35 and YB-49 flying wing bombers, Boeing insisted on a conventional aircraft, in April 1948 presented a US$30 million proposal for design and testing of two Model 464-35 prototypes. Furth
North American T-6 Texan
The North American Aviation T-6 Texan is an American single-engined advanced trainer aircraft used to train pilots of the United States Army Air Forces, United States Navy, Royal Air Force, other air forces of the British Commonwealth during World War II and into the 1970s. Designed by North American Aviation, the T-6 is known by a variety of designations depending on the model and operating air force; the United States Army Air Corps and USAAF designated it as the AT-6, the United States Navy the SNJ, British Commonwealth air forces the Harvard, the name by which it is best known outside the US. Starting in 1948, the new United States Air Force designated it the T-6, with the USN following in 1962, it remains a popular warbird aircraft used for static displays. It has been used many times to simulate various Japanese aircraft, including the Mitsubishi A6M Zero, in movies depicting World War II in the Pacific. A total of 15,495 T-6s of all variants were built; the Texan originated from the North American NA-16 prototype which, modified as the NA-26, was submitted as an entry for a USAAC "Basic Combat" aircraft competition in March 1937.
The first model went into production and 180 were supplied to the USAAC as the BC-1 and 400 to the RAF as the Harvard I. The US Navy received 16 modified aircraft, designated the SNJ-1, a further 61 as the SNJ-2 with a different engine; the BC-1 was the production version of the NA-26 prototype, with retractable tailwheel landing gear and the provision for armament, a two-way radio, the 550-hp R-1340-47 engine as standard equipment. Production versions included the BC-1 with only minor modifications, of which 30 were modified as BC-1I instrument trainers. Three BC-2 aircraft were built before the shift to the "advanced trainer" designation, AT-6, equivalent to the BC-1A; the differences between the AT-6 and the BC-1 were new outer wing panels with a swept-forward trailing edge, squared-off wingtips, a triangular rudder, producing the canonical Texan silhouette. After a change to the rear of the canopy, the AT-6 was designated the Harvard II for RAF/RCAF orders and 1,173 were supplied by purchase or Lend Lease operating in Canada as part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan.
Next came the AT-6A, based on the NA-77 design and was powered by the Pratt & Whitney R-1340-49 Wasp radial engine. The USAAF received 1,549 and the US Navy 270; the AT-6B was built for gunnery training and could mount a.30 caliber machine gun on the forward fuselage. It used the R-1340-AN-1 engine, to become the standard for the remaining T-6 production. Canada's Noorduyn Aviation built an R-1340-AN-1-powered version of the AT-6A, supplied to the USAAF as the AT-16 and the RAF/RCAF as the Harvard IIB, some of which served with the Fleet Air Arm and Royal Canadian Navy. In late 1937, Mitsubushi purchased two NA-16s as technology demonstrators and a licence. However, the aircraft developed by Watanabe/Kyushu as the K10W1 bore no more than a superficial resemblance to the North American design, it featured a full monocoque fuselage as opposed to the steel tube fuselage of the T-6 and NA-16 family of aircraft, as well as being of smaller dimensions overall and had no design details in common with the T-6.
It was used in small numbers by the Imperial Japanese Navy from 1942 onwards. None survived the end of the war, after the war, the Japanese Air Self Defense Force operated Texans; the NA-88 design resulted in 2,970 AT-6C Texans and 2,400 as the SNJ-4. The RAF received 726 of the AT-6C as the Harvard IIA. Modifications to the electrical system produced the AT-6D and SNJ-5; the AT-6D, redesignated the Harvard III, was supplied to the Fleet Air Arm. When the USAF was created in 1948, its final production variant was nominated T-6G and involved major advancements including a full-time hydraulic system and a steerable tailwheel and persisted into the 1950s as the USAF advanced trainer. Subsequently, the NA-121 design with a clear rearmost section on the canopy, gave rise to 25 AT-6F Texans for the USAAF and 931, as the SNJ-6 for the US Navy; the ultimate version, the Harvard 4, was produced by Canada Car and Foundry during the 1950s, supplied to the RCAF, USAF and Bundeswehr. A total of 15,495 T-6s of all variants were built.
Twenty AT-6 Texans were employed by the 1st and 2nd fighter squadrons of the Syrian Air Force in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, providing ground support for Syrian troops, launching air strikes against Israeli airfields and columns, losing one aircraft to antiaircraft fire. They engaged in air-to-air combat on a number of occasions, with a tail gunner shooting down an Israeli Avia S-199 fighter; the Israeli Air Force bought 17 Harvards, operated nine of them in the final stages of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, against the Egyptian ground forces, with no losses. In the Sinai Campaign, IAF Harvards attacked Egyptian ground forces in Sinai Peninsula with two losses; the Royal Hellenic Air Force employed three squadrons of British- and American-supplied T-6D and G Texans for close air support and artillery spotting duties during the Greek Civil War, providing extensive support to the Greek army during the Battle of Gramos. Communist guerillas called these aircraft "O Galatas", because they saw them flying early in the morning.
After the "Milkmen", the guerillas waited for the armed Helldivers. During the Korean War and
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This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.