Sunday, May 22, 2022

Solid Read

 


In 1943 the U.S. Army Air Forces created what would become the Air Commandos, a unit that marked a milestone in tactical operations in support of British ground forces invading Burma. William T. Y'Blood tells the story of how these daring American aviators trained and went into combat using unconventional hit-and-run tactics to confuse the enemy and destroy their lines of communication and supply. The force comprised light planes to evacuate wounded, transports to move heavy cargo, fighters, gliders, helicopters, and more than five hundred men. The book describes how this top-secret force successfully attacked the enemy from the air, resupplied British commandos on the ground, and airlifted the wounded out of the battle area--eventually driving the Japanese out of Burma.



17 comments:

  1. Helicopters in WW2?

    I thought only the Germans had a few prototypes?

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    1. Sikorsky R-4 check the Wiki

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    2. Check the USAF museum in Dayton, OH. Was there day before yesterday.

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  2. There was an American General - I forget his name - involved in this operating in Burma. Under his command was a wing of Soviet bombers.
    He was the one and only U.S. flag officer with operational control of USSR aircraft.

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    1. The Soviet Union was not at war with Japan until after we dropped the nukes.

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    2. Why? The Soviets were not at war with Japan until AFTER we dropped the Bomb, when they finally decided that they could take a chance to opportunistically grab some islands from them. They had no interest in opening a second front in their war, as all effort was against Germany.

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    3. Nowhere did I say soviets at war. You must had geeatly exasperated your teachers.

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    4. You said he commanded Soviet bombers and was in Burma....

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    5. The General may have been MG Brereton in command of the 10th. I really do not remember. I doubt it was Gen. Stillwell, although I could be wrong. I just do not remember.

      What I do remember is air cover of the evac on the Ledo Road, sometimes called the Stillwell Road. This was provided using Soviet aircraft. American General was in operational control. While I have the inclination, I do not have the time to research this further. I posted this, with footnotes, to a military history website back in 2005 or so. I forget the name of that website also.

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  3. I just watched an old Errol Flynn movie, "Objective Burma". Not bad at all.

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  4. Mr. Decker served in Burma. Best Marine I ever knew. Went quail hunting with once. I put my gun away and watched an artist paint with a shotgun. God Bless him and the Marines.

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  5. John George was an accomplished high power rifle competitor pre-WWII who wrote Shots Fired in Anger (as differentiated from shots fire on the rifle range) after returning from Guadalcanal and later expanded to include his experiences in Burma, where he went next. Highly recommended.

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  6. Don Adams (Get Smart) was a Marine in Burma.

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    1. During World War II, he joined the United States Marine Corps. Adams participated in the Battle of Guadalcanal in 1942 in the Pacific Theater of Operations. His combat service was short-lived as Adams contracted blackwater fever, a serious complication of malaria, known for a 90% rate of fatality. He was evacuated and then hospitalized for more than a year at a Navy hospital in Wellington, New Zealand. After his recovery, he served as a Marine drill instructor in the United States.

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    2. The piece I read said he caught the disease in Burma.

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  7. ...Also in Burma were the Naga Hills. There fierce Naga headhunters clad in loincloths stalked Japanese, crawling along wild pig trails through impenetrable jungle with the visibility four feet. They were armed with bows and poisoned arrows, spears and knives. Behind them crawled the "Queen of the Nagas" - a young Englishwoman anthropologist with a Sten gun. She never had a reason to fire it. Later, she trained soldiers in jungle survival. Perhaps the only civilian woman to command British troops.

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  8. Hi CW...,
    From that time and not too far away... Robert L. Scott's Book "God is my Co-Pilot!!" I have a original copy that was my cousin's.. he was killed in a B-17 crash in England in 1944. Lot's of great Action From "MEN" who saved us from haiving to speak German and Japanese!!! ....... Hopefully some of their progeny and my self will keep our future Americans from having to speak Russian and Chinese!!!
    skybill

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