77 years ago, the last of the 40 Luftwaffe aircraft captured by the Allies, including aircraft such as the Arado Ar 234, Messerschmitt Me 262, and Dornier Do 335, arrived at Cherbourg, France (July 8, 1945). The aircraft were flown to France by members of “Watson’s Whizzers.” The aircraft were then hoisted aboard H.M.S. Reaper, and delivered to the United States for testing and evaluation.
Red Canyon Arch on Hwy 12 in Utah
VICTORY SHIPS
One byproduct of the war was that is was a driver of innovation. When Liberty Ships proved to be too slow and too small to carry the vast loads of supplies needed to ensure victory, the US responded by launching a new ship-building program to solve the problem.
The result was the Victory Ship, a faster, larger vessel with a modern steam turbine engine that propelled it forward, allowing it to join high speed convoys on its way to deliver cargo.
All of the ships’ names ended with the word “Victory” except the 117 Victory Attack Transports - named instead after state counties. A total of 531 Victory Ships were built. Most had a combined crew of Merchant Marines and naval personnel.
No Victory Ships were lost to U-Boat attack - the bane of the Liberty Ship - but Japanese kamikazes sunk three in April 1945.
Most Victory Ships were used to carry much-needed supplies, but the Navy converted 97 of them to carry troops. Those ships took part in Operation Magic Carpet, the effort that brought our men home after the end of the war. The troop versions of the Victory Ship could hold 1,600 men in the cargo holds – converted with bunks and hammocks stacked three high.
This National Archives Photo ID 520918 shows Victory Ships lined up at a U.S. west coast shipyard for final outfitting before being loaded with supplies for Navy depots and advance bases in the Pacific. Ca. 1944. 208-YE-2B-7.
In 1952, USS Sea Poacher (SS-406) performed a unique submarine-to-airship rescue when it towed the disabled K-86 blimp and its 10-man crew for 40 miles to NAS Key West
July 10, 1942 - The sharp-eyed crew of a US Navy Catalina spots the month-old wreckage of a Japanese A6M Zero fighter on the remote Alaskan island of Akutan. Recovery of the largely-intact plane allowed aviation experts to study and fly the Zero, teaching US pilots how to exploit its weaknesses.