Interesting WWII trivia
Posted: Thu Nov 24, 2011 10:02 am
From an email... I did check the very last one and it's true. I didn't check the rest but I'm sure spot will.
You might enjoy this from Col D. G. Swinford, USMC, Ret and history
buff. You would really have to dig deep to get this kind of ringside
seat to history:
1. The first German serviceman killed in WW II was killed by
the Japanese ( China , 1937), the first American serviceman killed was
killed by the Russians ( Finland 1940); highest ranking American killed
was Lt Gen Lesley McNair, killed by the US Army Air Corps. So much
for allies.
2. The youngest US serviceman was 12 year old Calvin Graham,
USN. He was wounded and given a Dishonorable Discharge for lying about
his age. His benefits were later restored by act of Congress.
3. At the time of Pearl Harbor , the top US Navy command was
called CINCUS (pronounced 'sink us'), the shoulder patch of the US
Army's 45th Infantry division was the Swastika, and Hitler's private
train was named 'Amerika.' All three were soon changed for PR purposes.
4. More US servicemen died in the Air Corps than the Marine
Corps. While completing the required 30 missions, your chance of
being killed was 71%.
5. Generally speaking, there was no such thing as an average
fighter pilot. You were either an ace or a target. For instance,
Japanese Ace Hiroyoshi Nishizawa shot down over 80 planes.
He died while a passenger on a cargo plane.
6. It was a common practice on fighter planes to load every
5th round with a tracer round to aid in aiming. This was a mistake.
Tracers had different ballistics so (at long range) if your tracers
were hitting the target 80% of your rounds were missing. Worse yet
tracers instantly told your enemy he was under fire and from which
direction. Worst of all was the practice of loading a string of
tracers at the end of the belt to tell you that you were out of ammo.
This was definitely not something you wanted to tell the enemy. Units
that stopped using tracers saw their success rate nearly double and
their loss rate go down.
7. When allied armies reached the Rhine , the first thing men
did was pee in it. This was pretty universal from the lowest private
to Winston Churchill (who made a big show of it) and Gen. Patton (who
had himself photographed in the act).
8. German Me-264 bombers were capable of bombing New York
City, but they decided it wasn't worth the effort.
9. German submarine U-120 was sunk by a malfunctioning toilet.
10. Among the first 'Germans' captured at Normandy were
several Koreans. They had been forced to fight for the Japanese Army
until they were captured by the Russians and forced to fight for the
Russian Army until they were captured by the Germans and forced to
fight for the German Army until they were captured by the US Army.
AND I SAVED THE BEST FOR LAST....
11. Following a massive naval bombardment, 35,000 United
States and Canadian troops stormed ashore at Kiska, in the Aleutian
Islands. 21 troops were killed in the assault on the island. It could
have been worse if there had been any Japanese on the island.
You might enjoy this from Col D. G. Swinford, USMC, Ret and history
buff. You would really have to dig deep to get this kind of ringside
seat to history:
1. The first German serviceman killed in WW II was killed by
the Japanese ( China , 1937), the first American serviceman killed was
killed by the Russians ( Finland 1940); highest ranking American killed
was Lt Gen Lesley McNair, killed by the US Army Air Corps. So much
for allies.
2. The youngest US serviceman was 12 year old Calvin Graham,
USN. He was wounded and given a Dishonorable Discharge for lying about
his age. His benefits were later restored by act of Congress.
3. At the time of Pearl Harbor , the top US Navy command was
called CINCUS (pronounced 'sink us'), the shoulder patch of the US
Army's 45th Infantry division was the Swastika, and Hitler's private
train was named 'Amerika.' All three were soon changed for PR purposes.
4. More US servicemen died in the Air Corps than the Marine
Corps. While completing the required 30 missions, your chance of
being killed was 71%.
5. Generally speaking, there was no such thing as an average
fighter pilot. You were either an ace or a target. For instance,
Japanese Ace Hiroyoshi Nishizawa shot down over 80 planes.
He died while a passenger on a cargo plane.
6. It was a common practice on fighter planes to load every
5th round with a tracer round to aid in aiming. This was a mistake.
Tracers had different ballistics so (at long range) if your tracers
were hitting the target 80% of your rounds were missing. Worse yet
tracers instantly told your enemy he was under fire and from which
direction. Worst of all was the practice of loading a string of
tracers at the end of the belt to tell you that you were out of ammo.
This was definitely not something you wanted to tell the enemy. Units
that stopped using tracers saw their success rate nearly double and
their loss rate go down.
7. When allied armies reached the Rhine , the first thing men
did was pee in it. This was pretty universal from the lowest private
to Winston Churchill (who made a big show of it) and Gen. Patton (who
had himself photographed in the act).
8. German Me-264 bombers were capable of bombing New York
City, but they decided it wasn't worth the effort.
9. German submarine U-120 was sunk by a malfunctioning toilet.
10. Among the first 'Germans' captured at Normandy were
several Koreans. They had been forced to fight for the Japanese Army
until they were captured by the Russians and forced to fight for the
Russian Army until they were captured by the Germans and forced to
fight for the German Army until they were captured by the US Army.
AND I SAVED THE BEST FOR LAST....
11. Following a massive naval bombardment, 35,000 United
States and Canadian troops stormed ashore at Kiska, in the Aleutian
Islands. 21 troops were killed in the assault on the island. It could
have been worse if there had been any Japanese on the island.