|
308th Bombardment Wing (U.S. Army Air Forces)
The 308th Bombardment Wing (308th BW) is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Far East Air Forces at Nagoya, Japan, where it was inactivated on 30 June 1948. The wing (military aviation unit), wing served in combat with Fifth Air Force from February 1944 to August 1945, operating as a task force with various group (military aviation unit), groups and squadron (aviation), squadrons that were attached for brief periods. It earned a Philippine Republic Presidential Unit Citation for its actions on Leyte and Luzon. The 308th became part of the military occupation, occupation force from 1945 to 1947 when it was stripped of all personnel, remaining a paper unit until it was inactivated. History Background General George C. Kenney, commander of Far East Air Forces (FEAF), developed the concept in late 1942 for an task force, "Air Task Force“ to be located at an advanced base. The Air Task Force was to be a streamlined operational organization free ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
North American B-25 Mitchell
The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Major General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served in every theater of World War II, and after the war ended, many remained in service, operating across four decades. Produced in numerous variants, nearly 10,000 B-25s were built. These included several limited models such as the F-10 reconnaissance aircraft, the AT-24 crew trainers, and the United States Marine Corps' PBJ-1 patrol bomber. Design and development The Air Corps issued a specification for a medium bomber in March 1939 that was capable of carrying a payload of over at North American Aviation used its NA-40B design to develop the NA-62, which competed for the medium bomber contract. No YB-25 was available for prototype service tests. In September 1939, the Air Corps ordered the NA-62 into production as the B-25, along with the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Landing At Saidor
The landing at Saidor, codenamed Operation Michaelmas, was an Allied amphibious landing at Saidor, Papua New Guinea on 2 January 1944 as part of Operation Dexterity during World War II. In Allied hands, Saidor was a stepping stone towards Madang, the ultimate objective of General (United States), General Douglas MacArthur's Huon Peninsula campaign. The capture of the airstrip at Saidor also allowed construction of an airbase to assist Allied air forces to conduct operations against Japanese bases at Wewak and Jayapura, Hollandia. But MacArthur's immediate objective was to cut off the 6,000 Imperial Japanese troops retreating from Sio, Papua New Guinea, Sio in the face of the Battle of Sio, Australian advance from Finschhafen. Following the landing at Saidor, the Japanese elected to retreat rather than fight, and withdrew over the foothills of the rugged Finisterre Range. For the Japanese soldiers involved, the march was a nightmare, as they struggled through the jungles, acro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Freighter (ship)
A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. Cargo ships are usually specially designed for the task, often being equipped with cranes and other mechanisms to load and unload, and come in all sizes. Today, they are almost always built of welded steel, and with some exceptions generally have a life expectancy of 25 to 30 years before being scrapped. Definitions The words ''cargo'' and ''freight'' have become interchangeable in casual usage. Technically, "cargo" refers to the goods carried aboard the ship for hire, while "freight" refers to the act of carrying of such cargo, but the terms have been used interchangeably for centuries. Generally, the modern ocean shipping business is divided into two classes: # Liner business: typically (but not exclusively) container vessels (wherein "general carg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fighter Aircraft
Fighter aircraft are fixed-wing military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air superiority of the battlespace. Domination of the airspace above a battlefield permits bombers and attack aircraft to engage in tactical and strategic bombing of enemy targets. The key performance features of a fighter include not only its firepower but also its high speed and maneuverability relative to the target aircraft. The success or failure of a combatant's efforts to gain air superiority hinges on several factors including the skill of its pilots, the tactical soundness of its doctrine for deploying its fighters, and the numbers and performance of those fighters. Many modern fighter aircraft also have secondary capabilities such as ground attack and some types, such as fighter-bombers, are designed from the outset for dual roles. Other fighter designs are highly specialized while still filling the ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Consolidated B-24 Liberator
The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models designated as various LB-30s, in the Land Bomber design category. At its inception, the B-24 was a modern design featuring a highly efficient shoulder-mounted, high aspect ratio Davis wing. The wing gave the Liberator a high cruise speed, long range and the ability to carry a heavy bomb load. Early RAF Liberators were the first aircraft to cross the Atlantic Ocean as a matter of routine. In comparison with its contemporaries, the B-24 was relatively difficult to fly and had poor low-speed performance; it also had a lower ceiling and was less robust than the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress. While aircrews tended to prefer the B-17, General Staff favored the B-24 and procured it in huge numbers for a wide variety of roles. At approximately 18,5 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Owi Airfield
Owi Airfield is a former World War II airfield located on Owi Island in the Schouten Islands, Indonesia. The airfield was ordered built by General MacArthur on 6 June 1944. It was constructed by the 864th Engineer Aviation Battalion with B Company initiating the construction on 8 June 1944. The rest of the battalion was on the island by 11 June and the field was completed and operational on 22 June, a total construction time of three weeks. Improvements were made until the end of the war. The island and the airfield were used as a major command and control, as well as an operational fighter and bomber base from the summer of 1944 until the end of the war in September 1945. The airfield was abandoned after the war and today is almost totally returned to its natural state. The construction proved to be a fairly simple concept; scrape off soil and expose the white coral - then level out the coral for a good, sound runway surface. Because the base was natural coral it was somewha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Morotai
Morotai Island ( id, Pulau Morotai) is an island in the Halmahera group of eastern Indonesia's Maluku Islands (Moluccas). It is one of Indonesia's northernmost islands. Morotai is a rugged, forested island lying to the north of Halmahera. It has an area of some , including Rao Island which lies to the west of Morotai. It stretches north-south and no more than wide. The island's largest town is Daruba, on the island's south coast. Leo Wattimena Airport is located on the island. Almost all of Morotai's numerous villages are coastal settlements; a paved road linking those on the east coast starts from Daruba and will eventually reach Berebere, the principal town on Morotai's east coast, from Daruba. Between Halmahera and the islets and reefs of the west coast of Morotai is the Morotai Strait, which is about wide. History Morotai was part of the Ternate Sultanate, which was a vassal of the Dutch East India Company by the end of the 17th century. Second World War The Empire of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Biak
Biak is an island located in Cenderawasih Bay near the northern coast of Papua (province), Papua, an Indonesian province, and is just northwest of New Guinea. Biak is the largest island in its small archipelago, and has many atolls, reefs, and corals. The largest population centre is at Kota Biak (Biak City) on the south coast. The rest of the island is thinly populated with small villages. Biak is part of the Biak Islands (''Kepulauan Biak''), and is administered by Biak Numfor Regency. Geography Biak covers an area of The island is long and wide at its widest point. The highest point is approximately 740 meters elevation, located in the northwest of the island. The island of Supiori Island, Supiori lies close to the northwest, separated from Biak by a narrow, shallow channel. The smaller Padaido Islands lie south and southeast of Biak. Collectively Biak, Supiori, the Padaido Islands, and the island of Numfor to the southwest are known as the Schouten Islands, also called ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wakde
Wakde is an island group in Sarmi Regency, Papua, Indonesia, between the districts of Pantai Timur and Tor Atas. It comprises two islands, Insumuar (the larger) and Insumanai (much smaller). History Occupied by Japanese forces in April 1942, they built an airbase. United States forces landed in May 1944 (the Battle of Wakde or Operation Straight Line) and renamed the facilities Wakde Airfield Wakde Airfield is a World War II airfield located on Wakde Island, off the northern coast of New Guinea in Papua, Indonesia. The airfield was abandoned after the war and today is almost totally returned to its natural state. History The airfiel .... In September 2005, the remains of Japanese soldiers and Papuans were found in a cave on the uninhabited island. Geography Th ...[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1st Cavalry Division (United States)
The 1st Cavalry Division ("First Team") is a Armored brigade combat team, combined arms division (military), division and is one of the most decorated combat divisions of the United States Army. It is based at Fort Hood, Texas. It was formed in 1921 and served during World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Persian Gulf War, with the Stabilization Force in Bosnia-Herzegovina, in the Iraq War, in the War in Afghanistan (2001–present), War in Afghanistan and in Operation Freedom's Sentinel. As of October 2017, the 1st Cavalry Division is subordinate to III Armored Corps and is commanded by Major General John B. Richardson. The unit is unique in that it has served as a Cavalry, horseback cavalry division until 1943, an infantry division, an air assault division and an armored division during its existence. History The history of the 1st Cavalry Division began in 1921 after the army established a permanent cavalry division Table of Organization and Equipment, table o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
