In reply to ABATTBQ87

ABATTBQ87 said:

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Rabid Cougar said:

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ABATTBQ87 said:

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Goodness, being a POW was not a walk on the park

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BUT Hogan always got the prettiest fraulines!

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I'd never heard the original. Colter Wall has a great cover.

How did the Germans have all the POW's personal information even before they were interrogated???

In reply to Rabid Cougar

Rabid Cougar said:

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How did the Germans have all the POW's personal information even before they were interrogated???

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This is how we got info from Germans

In reply to Rabid Cougar Don't know but I've read so many accounts of Germans having amazing amounts and depth of info on American POWs.

It's crazy. Listening now to things our fathers saw and one story is one guy knew where every mission was going despite the high secrecy because the German radio propaganda would tell them the day before their mission.

The real John Egan

Tried to post photos but my work firewall doesn't like them.

In reply to Rabid Cougar

Rabid Cougar said:

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The real John Egan

Tried to post photos but my work firewall doesn't like them.

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Can most of this series be watched with an 11yo that is into history? So many movies id like for us to watch but mom keeps vetoing.

In reply to CS78 Only one episode has nudity/sex so far

The rest have some drinking, which my kid already sees me do, cussing, which my kid already hears from me sometimes, and some pretty graphic blood/guts.

I think it historically accurate. Not raunchy.

Today's episode covers Stalag 3, bombing raids over Berlin and the affect on morale, and introduction of the P51 Mustang

In reply to CS78 I'm watching with my 12y/o. I check the rating the night prior and screen them if I have to. Some sexual stuff this episode. I'll probably fast forward through it.

In reply to Rabid Cougar

Rabid Cougar said:

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How did the Germans have all the POW's personal information even before they were interrogated???

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To this day it is an enigma.

In reply to HarleySpoon

HarleySpoon said:

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Rabid Cougar said:

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How did the Germans have all the POW's personal information even before they were interrogated???

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To this day it is an enigma.

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Funny, but enigma wasn't used for POW information

In reply to ABATTBQ87

ABATTBQ87 said:

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HarleySpoon said:

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Rabid Cougar said:

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How did the Germans have all the POW's personal information even before they were interrogated???

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To this day it is an enigma.

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Funny, but enigma wasn't used for POW information

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You're kidding?

Joe W Bradford TAMC 1939
Army Air Forces
Rank: Staff Sergeant
Specialty: Tail Gunner
Unit/Group: 91st Bomber Group, Heavy, 322nd Bomber Squadron
Casualty Type: Died as a Prisoner of War under German control
Location: Germany or German-held territory or transport

After the first sweep by enemy fighters, the plane was hit in the left wing and peeled off to the left, apparently under control but out of view. No parachutes were observed.

Staff Sergeant Bradford graduated from Arlington High School, North Texas Agricultural College, and the A&M College of Texas (now Texas A&M University) as a member of the Class of 1939 majoring in Agricultural Education. He taught in the Gatesville public schools before entering the service.

Bradford received gunnery training at Tyndall Field in Florida. He had completed 19 missions when he was reported missing over Germany on June 21, 1944. The family received notification that he was a prisoner on July 17th and had died on July 22, 1944.

B-17 ball turret gunner Alan Magee, who fell 22,000 feet without a parachute, falling through the glass roof of St. Nazaire train station. In January of 1943. ✈️

He suffered multiple injuries, including a broken leg and a badly cut arm, but survived. 🏥 pic.twitter.com/8C1FO7QRM7

— J&L Historical (@Jason_R_Burt) March 7, 2024

In reply to Agthatbuilds

Agthatbuilds said:

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Don't know but I've read so many accounts of Germans having amazing amounts and depth of info on American POWs.

It's crazy. Listening now to things our fathers saw and one story is one guy knew where every mission was going despite the high secrecy because the German radio propaganda would tell them the day before their mission.

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How do you like those books. I only recent saw them and see the author has published quite a few. Are they any good?

In reply to wangus12 Yeah, I like them. They are a collection of interviews put together by a school teacher in New York state. Pretty good collection of individual stories and perspectives from the war.

There's a common theme that the war was fought by normal kids doing extraordinary actions.

I'm also shocked at the mental and knowledge acumen of the boys of that time.

In reply to ABATTBQ87

ABATTBQ87 said:

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Just watched episode 8

I have to admit I have a sense of pride watching this show as I wonder if I would be brave enough to climb into a B17, or P51, or jump from a C47 into combat.

I'm in awe of these men and what they experienced

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I had the pleasure of sitting and talking with some D-Day veterans about 12 years ago and shared very similar comments with them. I was with a group of combat wounded Iraq and Afghanistan vets and the D-Day veterans all said they couldn't believe we went out on missions without knowing where the enemy was or who they were. They all said they would much rather face what they faced than to not know. So I think familiarity brings comfort even in the face of extreme danger.

In reply to ABATTBQ87 Am a life member of the CAF. Had the privilege to have flown in Texas Raiders and Sentimental Journey and got to fly with some of the guys that flew them in WWII years back. It was surreal to be in the plane with them…. Hearing and sharing their stories.
My dad was a B-25 crew chief in Guam and New Guinea and he shared some sobering stories.
The amazing thing to me is they would survive a mission and knew that had to do 25 more of them and they had the guts to keep getting in them day after day.
Not only did they have the danger of fighters and flak but they had the dangerous cold temps, weather, and common mechanical failures to bring them down. In addition to navigational errors.
My dad's brother was in the European theater in the 3rd Army… fought in Bastogne. He said my dad and the other AAC guys were nuts going up in those planes and said he would much rather have his feet on the ground and have German snipers, land mines, and tanks trying to kill him than fly in planes that always had to come to the ground one way or the other!

In reply to Rabid Cougar True for sure. But those great guys are on the ground at least.

Why would they burn their barracks only then to sleep on the ground in tents?

In reply to BQ_90

BQ_90 said:

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Why would they burn their barracks only then to sleep on the ground in tents?

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My lazy guess is they knew most of the men would be evacuated soon and they didn't want to leave behind anything for the Germans to use, especially after finding the concentration camps.

Here's an article my aunt Cynthia wrote about my uncle Art (my dad's brother). He was a navigator on B-17s in Europe. The articles titled War through Dad's Eyes. My aunt Cynthia is still living and is now 101. Still has a pretty sharp mind.

https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth312940/m1/9/

In reply to jwoodmd

jwoodmd said:

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They were really lazy and cheap on their CGI. In 1945 those B-17s would have been mostly G models with the chin turret but none had them, They at least moved to the unpainted aluminum which was phased in fully by then.

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In February 1944, both the 8th and 15th Air Force were receiving B-17 bombers in an unpainted state to mitigate production costs, reduce bomber weight, and speed up the delivery process.

Comparing Painted Vs Unpainted B-17s
Flight tests in March 1944 tried to determine the performance differences between a painted and unpainted B-17G bomber.

Here's what they found:

At 24,900 ft, the painted B-17 flew 2 to 4 mph faster than the unpainted B-17 at the same engine power.
The same speed increase was also consistent for the tested altitude of 5,100 ft.

The study concludes with the painted B-17 being 2.5 to 4.5 miles faster than an unpainted B-17.

An unpainted B-17 will need to increase its engine power by 3% to maintain the same air speed of a painted B-17. However, this also meant it would consume about 3% more fuel than a painted one.

A painted B-17 will have a 90-mile range advantage when traveling at formation speeds.

80 gallons of fuel equates to 490 lbs of more fuel to meet the range requirements of a painted B-17.

https://worldwarwings.com/b17-paint-importance/

In reply to BQ_90

BQ_90 said:

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That's crazy. Never would have thought that.

In reply to Rabid Cougar Yes, that was counterintuitive to what you would expect.

So if they put extra coats of paint on to further reduce the rivet drag, would there have come a point where the weight of the paint became prohibitive?

Of course the B-29 sunk rivets solved the problem and saved on the cost of painting.

In reply to BQ78

BQ78 said:

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Of course the B-29 sunk rivets solved the problem and saved on the cost of painting.

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Possibly the same for the bare metal fighters. (P-51s and P-47).

Interestingly no other air force abandoned paint during the war.