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Ira C. Kepford
Ira Cassius Kepford (May 29, 1919 – January 19, 1987) was an American flying ace of World War II who served with a land-based unit of the United States Navy. In 76 days of combat flying with the VF-17 "Jolly Rogers," he was credited with shooting down 16 enemy aircraft. At the close of his combat service in April 1944, Kepford was the Navy's leading ace. Kepford first made headlines in local papers as a promising high school football player. He went on to become a starting halfback for Northwestern University before signing up as a Navy reservist in anticipation of World War II. Kepford attained the rank of lieutenant commander before his discharge from the Navy and his entrance into the private sector. He worked his way up from trainee at a Liggett Drug Company store to President of the company, retiring in 1960. Kepford died in 1987, aged 67. Early life Ira C. Kepford was born on May 29, 1919, in Harvey, Illinois. He grew up in Muskegon, Michigan, and attended Muskegon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harvey, Illinois
Harvey is a city in Cook County, Illinois, Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 20,324 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Harvey is bordered by the villages of Dixmoor, Illinois, Dixmoor and Riverdale, Illinois, Riverdale to the north; Dolton, Illinois, Dolton, Phoenix, Illinois, Phoenix, and South Holland, Illinois, South Holland to the east; East Hazel Crest, Illinois, East Hazel Crest to the south; and Hazel Crest, Illinois, Hazel Crest, Markham, Illinois, Markham and Posen, Illinois, Posen to the west. History Harvey was founded in 1891 by Turlington W. Harvey, a close associate of Dwight Moody, the founder of the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. Harvey was originally intended as a model town for Christian values and was one of the List of temperance towns, Temperance Towns. It was closely modeled after the company town of Pullman, Chicago, Pullman, which eventually was annexed into the city of Chicago. The city had its greatest growth in t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Naval Station Norfolk
Naval Station Norfolk is a United States Navy base in Norfolk, Virginia, that is the headquarters and home port of the U.S. Navy's Fleet Forces Command. The installation occupies about of waterfront space and of pier and wharf space of the Hampton Roads peninsula known as Sewell's Point. It is the world's largest naval station, with the largest concentration of U.S. Navy forces through 75 ships alongside 14 piers and with 134 aircraft and 11 aircraft hangars at the adjacently operated Chambers Field. Port Services controls more than 3,100 ships' movements annually as they arrive and depart their berths. Air Operations conducts over 100,000 flight operations each year, an average of 275 flights per day or one every six minutes. Over 150,000 passengers and 264,000 tons of mail and cargo depart annually on Air Mobility Command (AMC) aircraft and other AMC-chartered flights from the airfield's AMC Terminal. History The area where the base is located was the site of the original ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shortland Island
Shortland Island (once known as ''Alu'') is the largest island of the Shortland Islands archipelago, in the Western Province of the Solomon Islands, at . The original name was a Melanesian word, while the current name was given to the island by Royal Navy officer John Shortland in 1788. Shortland was the naval commander of a 1777–79 voyage by the First Fleet to establish a penal colony at Botany Bay, Australia. World War II On March 30, 1942, war ships of the Imperial Japanese Navy entered Shortland Harbour and landed two special naval landing force platoons and met no resistance. One platoon remained in the area to begin establishing Shortland Harbour Seaplane Base. The Allies considered invading the seaplane base in August 1943, but chose instead to bypass the Shortlands for Bougainville Island and the Treasury Islands, leaving the Shortlands under Japanese control until the war's end. On January 8, 1944, an Allied force of two light cruisers and five destroyers bombarded t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Empress Augusta Bay
The Battle of Empress Augusta Bay, on 1–2 November 1943 – also known as the Battle of Gazelle Bay, Operation Cherry Blossom, and in Japanese sources as the Sea Battle off Bougainville Island (ブーゲンビル島沖海戦) – was a naval battle fought near the island of Bougainville in Empress Augusta Bay. The naval battle was a result of Allied landings on nearby Bougainville in the first action in the Bougainville campaign of World War II and may also be considered as part of the Solomons and New Guinea campaigns. The battle was significant as part of a broader Allied strategy—known as Operation Cartwheel—aimed at isolating and surrounding the major Japanese base at Rabaul. The intention was to establish a beachhead on Bougainville, within which an airfield would be built. The naval battle took place at the end of the first day of the landings around Cape Torokina, as the Japanese sortied a large force from Rabaul in an effort to replicate the success they ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Combat Air Patrol
Combat air patrol (CAP) is a type of flying mission for fighter aircraft. A combat air patrol is an aircraft patrol provided over an objective area, over the force protected, over the critical area of a combat zone, or over an air defense area, for the purpose of intercepting and destroying hostile aircraft before they reach their target. Combat air patrols apply to both overland and overwater operations, protecting other aircraft, fixed and mobile sites on land, or ships at sea. Known by the acronym CAP, it typically entails fighters flying a tactical pattern around or screening a defended target, while looking for incoming attackers. Effective CAP patterns may include aircraft positioned at both high and low altitudes, in order to shorten response times when an attack is detected. Modern CAPs are either GCI or AWACS-controlled to provide maximum early warning for defensive reaction. The first CAPs were characteristic of aircraft carrier operations, where CAPs were flown to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dumbo (air-sea Rescue)
Dumbo was the code name used by the United States Navy during the 1940s and 1950s to signify search and rescue missions, conducted in conjunction with military operations, by long-range aircraft flying over the ocean. The purpose of Dumbo missions was to rescue downed American aviators as well as seamen in distress. Dumbo aircraft were originally land-based heavy bomber aircraft converted to carry an airborne lifeboat to be dropped in the water near survivors. The name "Dumbo" came from Walt Disney's flying elephant, the main character of the animated film ''Dumbo'', appearing in October 1941.''Time'', August 6, 1945"World Battlefronts: Battle of the Seas: The Lovely Dumbos", page 1 an Retrieved on September 6, 2009. By extension, "Dumbo" became the unofficial nickname for ''any'' air-sea rescue aircraft, including flying boats that had less need to drop heavy lifeboats since the aircraft could land on the water and perform rescues directly.Algeo, John. ''Fifty years among the new ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ondonga Airfield
Ondonga Airfield is a former World War II airfield on New Georgia in the Solomon Islands archipelago. History World War II The Munda Point area was secured on 5 August 1943. While the rehabilitation and expansion of Munda Point Airfield was the first priority for the Seebees, the 37th and 82nd Naval Construction Battalions soon began building another fighter airfield on Ondonga Island across from Munda Point. Construction proceeded with difficulty as the island was covered with dense jungle over bog and the site was periodically shelled by Japanese artillery on Kolombangara Island and bombed by Japanese aircraft flying from Bougainville. After 25 days the Seebees had completed a coral-surfaced by fighter runway. By February 1944 the Seebees had completed a second parallel runway, roads, taxiways, hardstands, a control tower and a 12,000 barrel tank farm. Royal New Zealand Air Force units based at Ondonga included: * 14 Squadron operating P-40 Kittyhawks from November–Dec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combined arms, implementing its own infantry, artillery, aerial, and special operations forces. The U.S. Marine Corps is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. The Marine Corps has been part of the U.S. Department of the Navy since 30 June 1834 with its sister service, the United States Navy. The USMC operates installations on land and aboard sea-going amphibious warfare ships around the world. Additionally, several of the Marines' tactical aviation squadrons, primarily Marine Fighter Attack squadrons, are also embedded in Navy carrier air wings and operate from the aircraft carriers. The history of the Marine Corps began when two battalions of Continental Marines were formed on 10 November 1775 in Philadelphia as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New Georgia
New Georgia, with an area of , is the largest of the islands in Western Province, Solomon Islands, and the 200th-largest island in the world. Geography New Georgia island is located in the New Georgia Group, an archipelago including most of the other larger islands in the province. The island measures approximately long by wide. New Georgia forms part of the southern boundary of the New Georgia Sound. Kolombangara lies across the Kula Gulf to the west, Choiseul to the northeast, Vangunu is to the southeast, and Rendova to the southwest, across the Blanche Channel. New Georgia is a volcanic island, surrounded in some places by a coral reef. The highest point is Mount Masse, with an elevation of . The climate is wet and tropical, and the island is subject to frequent cyclones. New Georgia is covered with dense vegetation, in the marshy areas mangroves are located. Population The population of the island was 19,312 in 1999. Most of the population resides on the south coa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grumman F6F Hellcat
The Grumman F6F Hellcat is an American Carrier-based aircraft, carrier-based fighter aircraft of World War II. Designed to replace the earlier Grumman F4F Wildcat, F4F Wildcat and to counter the Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zero, it was the United States Navy's dominant fighter in the second half of the Pacific War. In gaining that role, it prevailed over its faster competitor, the Vought F4U Corsair, which initially had problems with visibility and carrier landings. Powered by a Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp, the same powerplant used for both the Corsair and the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighters, the F6F was an entirely new design, but it still resembled the Wildcat in many ways. Some military observers tagged the Hellcat as the "Wildcat's big brother".Sullivan 1979, p. 4. The F6F made its combat debut in September 1943. It subsequently established itself as a rugged, well-designed carrier fighter, which was able to outperform the A6M Zer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vought F4U Corsair
The Vought F4U Corsair is an American fighter aircraft which saw service primarily in World War II and the Korean War. Designed and initially manufactured by Chance Vought, the Corsair was soon in great demand; additional production contracts were given to Goodyear, whose Corsairs were designated FG, and Brewster, designated F3A. The Corsair was designed and operated as a carrier-based aircraft, and entered service in large numbers with the U.S. Navy in late 1944 and early 1945. It quickly became one of the most capable carrier-based fighter-bombers of World War II. Some Japanese pilots regarded it as the most formidable American fighter of World War II and its naval aviators achieved an 11:1 kill ratio. Early problems with carrier landings and logistics led to it being eclipsed as the dominant carrier-based fighter by the Grumman F6F Hellcat, powered by the same Double Wasp engine first flown on the Corsair's initial prototype in 1940. Instead, the Corsair's early deployme ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Manteo, North Carolina
Manteo () is a town in Dare County, North Carolina, United States, located on Roanoke Island. The population was 1,602 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Dare County. Geography Manteo is located at (35.904595, -75.669385), on the north central area of Roanoke Island. It is located off the exit at the South 16 mile post on US Hwy 158 at Whalebone Junction, the junction of NC Highways 158, 64, and 12, known as the Beach Road. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which is land and , or 3.09%, is water. History The town is named for an American Indian named Manteo, who was of the Croatans tribe of American Indians. Manteo traveled with the English to London in 1584 where he and another Indian, Wanchese, learned to become the liaisons between the Roanoke Colony settlers and the Indians. He also had favorable interaction with British colonist John White. In fact, Manteo was christened and given the name Lord of Roanoke, making ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
_docked_at_Naval_Station_Norfolk%2C_in_October_1937.jpg "Click for more on -> Naval Station Norfolk")
