Tuesday, May 31, 2022

American light cruiser USS Miami (Cl-89) takes a break from bombarding Japanese fortifications on the Islands of Angaur and Peleliu amid Operation Stalemate II. 7 September 1944

 


16 comments:

  1. Who the hell give an operation the code name Stalemate? Seems like that's just inviting disaster. Kind of like christening a ship Titanic Two. DON'T TEMPT FATE THAT WAY!

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  2. Have often wondered why the smaller islands were shelled and bombed for only a few days. A week or two of fighter/med/heavy bombers and bombardment was possible. May not have gotten them all but would probably rendered more combat ineffective due to other reasons. Men can only take so much.

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  3. What is the stuff piled on top of the turrets?

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    Replies
    1. It appears to be emergency flotation -- cork around the exterior and webbing for flooring. That's a guess as many types of life rafts that didn't take up room were tried out.

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  4. Interesting.
    My uncle was a 20 year old B-24 pilot over Peleliu at that time....a good man all his life.

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  5. A good shooter polices up their brass!

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    1. There are two guys aft of the 20mm tub, picking up the 5"/38 casings, so the chaps picking up after the 6"/47 must be just about to enter the scene.

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  6. the AAA gunners went deaf a little bit ago.

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  7. had a co-worker years ago who was on a destroyer during Vietnam, he said the empty brass cases from WW2 era shells leftover from fire support missions were in great demand.

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  8. Watch out for that flying brass!!! The PMC brand of ammunition from Korea was built upon all of the piles of free brass we left laying all over the country after the Korean war. So now they are selling it back to us in small arms calibers.. Capitalism works!

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  9. That's ten days before I was born...

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  10. My Dad's 22nd BD. He was doing other stuff in Europe on this day.
    Would be 100 this year.
    I miss him.

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  11. did a full ammo loadout on a Spruance destroyer. 540 forward, 540 aft. Those cruisers had staggering magazines. So did the New Jersey. I did tour her magazines courtesy of my former DCA. I got the cook's tour of the Missouri. He was a nice guy and a pro.

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