RE: A few little known facts about WWII

[brad kaste]

Hi All,...received this from my brother just awhile ago. I assume they're all factual,...but not sure if I'd bet the house on it:kilroy:.

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); The highest ranking American killed was Lt Gen Lesley McNair, killed by the US Army Air Corps.

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.

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, an airman's 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 big 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.

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 actually been any Japanese on the island.

12. The last marine killed in WW2 was killed by a can of spam.
He was on the ground as a POW in Japan when rescue flights dropping food and supplies came over, the package came apart in the air and a stray can of spam hit him and killed him.

[PRB]

Good stuff, Brad. I read a book recently about the Guadalcanal campaign, forget the author, but another interesting statistic was pointed out. Many Marines and historians "agree" that the US Navy "abandoned" the Leathernecks on "Starvation Island" after the August 1942 invation. While I've always disagreed with this point of view, it came as a surprise to me to learn that between August and November 1942, the height of the struggle for Guadalcanal, the US Navy suffered almost three times the number of KIA as the USMC in that theater. Interesting, no?

- Paul

[SSI01]

Hi All,...received this from my brother just awhile ago. I assume they're all factual,...but not sure if I'd bet the house on it:kilroy:.

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); The highest ranking American killed was Lt Gen Lesley McNair, killed by the US Army Air Corps.

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.

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, an airman's 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 big 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.

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 actually been any Japanese on the island.

12. The last marine killed in WW2 was killed by a can of spam.
He was on the ground as a POW in Japan when rescue flights dropping food and supplies came over, the package came apart in the air and a stray can of spam hit him and killed him.

I don't know about all of them, but have over the course of time seen these or supporting stats quoted elsewhere. A number of US aces insisted on no tracers in their ammo loads, simply because they had confidence in their marksmanship and did not want to warn a potential target he was under fire. What was more imporant to them was harmonization of impact point and the sight. Few were masters of deflection shooting and instead achieved their kills from dead astern - successful fighter pilots tended to be "back shooters." The stat re: the 8AF casualties in WWII is spot-on. What I have seen quoted is that just one numbered Air Force, the 8th, lost more men killed than the entire US Navy and Marine Corps in WWII. Roger Freeman's histories of the 8th AAF should back this up. When you add up the losses from the other Air Forces that saw combat - the 5th, 7th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, and 20th plus 21st Bomber Command - it becomes staggering. If you think this stat is bad, consider RAF's Bomber Command with a loss rate of 50%. Death was common in the training establishment in the U.S. - it had a loss rate that would have led to a congressional investigation at any other time. The US Navy's submarine service had a loss rate of 25%, but even this paled in comparison to that suffered by the 8AF. Dad was involved in Attu and Kiska - he didn't talk much about either one, except for the cold. Just relieved there were no Japanese on Kiska when it was invaded. The 45th Division's handle was "The Thunderbird division." It was drawn mostly from NM and AZ National Guard units when formed. The swastika was a common American Indian symbol so it's plausible the divisional insignia could have been a swastika early on. "CINCUS" stood for "Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet." Upon assuming command of the Pacific Fleet following Pearl Harbor, FADM Nimitz had this swiftly changed to CINCPAC - "Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet." Fun trivia!

[pfflyers]

Not sure where the bit about the Me-264 came from. It never went into service and only three or four prototypes were built. I guess you could say the Germans decided it wasn't worth the effort to fully develop the aircraft.

[CWOJackson]

Not sure where the bit about the Me-264 came from. It never went into service and only three or four prototypes were built. I guess you could say the Germans decided it wasn't worth the effort to fully develop the aircraft.

A few years back I read a book dealing with the engineering/technical aspect of the B-29's development (I wish I could recall the name of it) and it had some not too subtle between the lines inferences about William Boeing. It appears that he was edged out of direct access to bomber development because of possible security concerns. Interestingly, after the war, it was found that the Me-264 had some features and characteristics that were oddly reminiscent of some B-29 design/features.

Also, a member of the Boeing family, back in the old country, was a Luftwaffe fighter pilot with a few Boeing aircraft to his credit.

I've never read anything further or more detailed into these vague allegations/suggestions, however, I'm assuming this would have been something that the government would have wanted to keep very quiet.

[SSI01]

A few years back I read a book dealing with the engineering/technical aspect of the B-29's development (I wish I could recall the name of it) and it had some not too subtle between the lines inferences about William Boeing. It appears that he was edged out of direct access to bomber development because of possible security concerns. Interestingly, after the war, it was found that the Me-264 had some features and characteristics that were oddly reminiscent of some B-29 design/features.

Also, a member of the Boeing family, back in the old country, was a Luftwaffe fighter pilot with a few Boeing aircraft to his credit.

I've never read anything further or more detailed into these vague allegations/suggestions, however, I'm assuming this would have been something that the government would have wanted to keep very quiet.


Quite possible. I have in my possession a book containing a photo of the funeral of Luftwaffe Leut. Wilhelm Boeing, killed in combat with American escort fighters protecting his uncle's (or cousin's?) aircraft.

[brad kaste]

What's interesting too that Hermann Goring's nephew, Captain Werner Goring, flew a B-17 in the 8th Army Airforce over Germany. Two tours no less.

http://www.commandposts.com/2012/03/why-was-herman-goering%E2%80%99s-nephew-piloting-an-american-heavy-bomber-over-germany/

[Jagdflieger]

Here's another odd WWII story that is almost unbelievable.

The USS Ward fired the first American shot in WWII. It's captain and crew sank a Japanese mini sub outside of Pearl Harbor and reported it, though the warning went unheeded. The sinking of the sub was finally confirmed just a decade or so ago.

The Ward, a Wickes class DD, was converted to a high speed troop carrier and had an extremely active war career.

While patrolling off of Ormoc Bay during the Letye Island campaign, she was hit by a Kamikazi on December 7, 1943; three years to the day she fired the first US shot of WWII.

She was ordered scuttled and the USS O'Brien, commanded by William Outerbridge, the officer commanding the USS Ward on December 7, 1941; fired the shots that sank the brave little Ward.

How sad is that?