We're the Military and Airpower Guys of Jonah Goldberg of National Review Online + a stray we found wandering around looking lost. All original material JHD, BHD, JR, WT, and KA 2003-2007 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2008/02/someone_we_shou.html Tue, 23 Sep 2008 17:03:01 Z Movable Type 4.12 en Copyright 2008 http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification [Kat] On February 6, I read in the Kansas City Star that Robert Angus Barry had passed away February 4, 2008. I didn't know him, but, as I read his obituary, I realized that we should. He attended Central High School, Kansas City Junior College, and Central College, Fayettesville, MO. He married Dorothy Pope on December 13, 1940. During World War II he served as a B- 17 pilot with the 8th Air Force, flying 30 missions over Europe. He was awarded four Bronze Stars, four Air Medals, the Distinguished Flying Cross, and the Presidential Unit Citation. Returning to KC... http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2008/02/someone_we_shou.html http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2008/02/someone_we_shou.html Thu, 07 Feb 2008 02:00:11 -0600 Two of my Profs in College flew in Bomber Command. Cheers http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2008/02/someone_we_shou.html#comment-69436 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2008/02/someone_we_shou.html#comment-69436 Fri, 08 Feb 2008 01:02:49 -0600 Yeah, Pogue, kind of puts things in perspective, doesn't it. http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2008/02/someone_we_shou.html#comment-69413 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2008/02/someone_we_shou.html#comment-69413 Thu, 07 Feb 2008 12:16:18 -0600 Bless you, Mr. Barry; you are truly one of the Brave! http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2008/02/someone_we_shou.html#comment-69410 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2008/02/someone_we_shou.html#comment-69410 Thu, 07 Feb 2008 11:32:31 -0600 Just a note on the Schweinfurt-Regensburg mission. That 60 aircraft lost was 600 men. On. One. Mission. God bless them. And everyone else that geared up and went on every mission that came down after that one. http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2008/02/someone_we_shou.html#comment-69403 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2008/02/someone_we_shou.html#comment-69403 Thu, 07 Feb 2008 09:15:22 -0600 A true American hero who did his job. Lived his life Quietly and died the same way. Truly the Greatest generation. rest in peace American hero. Bless his family and friends http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2008/02/someone_we_shou.html#comment-69401 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2008/02/someone_we_shou.html#comment-69401 Thu, 07 Feb 2008 08:41:27 -0600 At its peak, the 8th AF could dispatch more than 2,000 four-engine bombers and 1,000 fighters on a single mission. For these reasons, the 8th AF became known as the "Mighty Eighth". See: mighty eighth The Americans flew heavily escorted missions against airframe manufacturing and assembly plants and other targets in numerous German cities including; Leipzig, Brunswick, Gotha, Regensburg, Schweinfurt, Augsburg, Stuttgart and Steyr. In six days, the Eight Air Force bombers based in England flew more than 3,000 sorties and the Fifteenth Air Force based in Italy more than 500. Together they dropped roughly 10,000 tons of bombs. During Big Week the Eighth Air Force lost 97 B-17s, 40 B-24's, and another 20 scrapped due to damage. The Fifteenth Air Force lost 90 aircraft and American fighter losses stood at 28. Although these numbers are high in absolute terms, the numbers of bombers involved in the missions was much higher than previously, and the losses represented a much smaller percentage of the attacking force. The earlier Schweinfurt missions cost the force just under 30% of their aircraft, for the Big Week it was under 7%... Big Week bolstered the confidence of U.S. strategic bombing crews…By the end of April, the Luftwaffe was a broken force. With the Luftwaffe a spent force, the hundreds of fighters available to the Allies were now turned loose on German supply lines, railroads, trucks, and practically any other target. See: Big Week The 306th Bombardment Group was activated on March 1, 1942… Took part in the first penetration into Germany by heavy bombers of the Eighth Air Force on 27 January 1943 by attacking U-boat yards at Wilhelmshaven. Sgt Maynard H. Smith received the Medal of Honor for his actions on 1 May 1943. When the aircraft on which he was a gunner was hit by the enemy and set on fire, the sergeant threw explosive ammunition overboard, manned a gun until the German fighters were driven off, administered first aid to the wounded tail gunner, and extinguished the fire. Without fighter escort and in the face of powerful opposition, the group completed an assault against aircraft factories in central Germany on 11 January 1944, earning a Distinguished Unit Citation (DUC) for the mission. See: Flying Training Group The 351st arrived at Polebrook on April 15, 1943 and departed June 10, 1945. It flew 9,075 sorties, dropped 20,778 tons of bombs, fired 2,776,028 rounds of ammunition, and destroyed 303 enemy aircraft. A total of 311 missions were credited. Out of 279 B-17 Flying Fortresses, 124 were lost in combat. See 351st Bomb Group The name Curtis LeMay stands out when talking about the Eighth Air Force. In fact, LeMay stands out as one man who did very grievous damage to the enemy in both Germany and Japan. Although his tactics were dangerous they produced results. He bombed German industrial cities, bombed Japanese cities, mined Japanese harbors, was involved in the Berlin Air lift and was a sword in the side of the Soviet Union as commander of the Strategic Air Command. The bombing of Japan stands out. [b-29s] Curtis LeMay had been sent to the Marianas to get results… Then came the radical decision by LeMay. The planes would go in at 10,000 ft. He ordered the removal of bomb bay fuel tanks claiming by not going to altitude they would not need the gas. All .50 cal. Guns would be removed, and all ammo. With no guns the gunners did not need to go. They would approach at night, low, not in formation but singly, each plane now carrying twice the previous bomb load… How many Americans would be killed in an invasion of Japan? It was to be a huge gamble… On March 9, 334 B-29s took off from Guam, arriving in Japan under good weather conditions. The planes were stacked up from 4,900 ft. to 9,200 ft. They dropped one 500 pound cluster of fire bombs every 50 feet. The target area was 3 by 5 miles, containing a large industrial complex, however each square mile held over 100,000 civilians. The bombs fell, and within thirty minutes the resulting fires were out of control, driven by 40 mph winds. Tokyo, hit by strings of incendiaries, became a holocaust. Water boiled in the canals after the temperature reached over 1800 degrees F. For three hour the B-29s kept coming…In only five raids the B-29s wiped out 32 square miles in four major cities. The population of Tokyo dropped to half as panic stricken civilians fled. Washington was finally satisfied that fire bombing was the answer to crushing the Japanese, and sent LeMay a list of 33 additional Industrial targets… See: The Firebombing I don’t know if we will ever see another Robert Barry or another Curtis LeMay. ]]> http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2008/02/someone_we_shou.html#comment-69399 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2008/02/someone_we_shou.html#comment-69399 Thu, 07 Feb 2008 06:16:39 -0600 If you're ever down Savannah way, stop by and visit the museum of the Mighty Eighth. They were men. http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2008/02/someone_we_shou.html#comment-69398 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2008/02/someone_we_shou.html#comment-69398 Thu, 07 Feb 2008 05:37:43 -0600 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2008/02/someone_we_shou.html#comment-69389 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2008/02/someone_we_shou.html#comment-69389 Thu, 07 Feb 2008 03:45:17 -0600 P.s. Many, many times more often than not. http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2008/02/someone_we_shou.html#comment-69388 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2008/02/someone_we_shou.html#comment-69388 Thu, 07 Feb 2008 03:30:42 -0600 The USAAF doctrine back then required cast-iron balls. You had to settle down on a straight and level course, to allow the bombsight to achieve a solution. The Germans knew this, and set up flak batteries with pre-computed solutions for that. I do believe that official United States Army Air Forces doctrine, for bomber pilots and bombardiers, concerning anti-aircraft artillery, was, "Ignore it." And they did, and stayed on the bomb run, straight and level, more often than not. http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2008/02/someone_we_shou.html#comment-69387 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2008/02/someone_we_shou.html#comment-69387 Thu, 07 Feb 2008 03:09:37 -0600