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Operation Hasty
Operation Hasty was a mission behind German lines in Italy, during the Second World War. The operation was carried out in June 1944, by a small force of 60 men drawn from the 2nd Independent Parachute Brigade. Their objective was to land behind German positions in the Abruzzo region near Trasacco and interdict supply lines and the movement of troops as they withdrew from Sora to Avezzano. The operation had mixed fortunes, the Germans responded in force, using a brigade of troops to hunt down the parachutists and a division was held in reserve instead of moving to the front. However, the British parachutists were attacked almost immediately upon landing and had to evade the German searchers. Little over a week later, when the mission ended less than half the force returned safely to British lines. Background The 1st Airborne Division landed in Italy in September 1943, during Operation Slapstick. By the end of the year the majority of the division had been withdrawn to England, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eighth Army (United Kingdom)
The Eighth Army was an Allied field army formation of the British Army during the Second World War, fighting in the North African and Italian campaigns. Units came from Australia, British India, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Free French Forces, Greece, New Zealand, Poland, Rhodesia, South Africa and the United Kingdom. Significant formations which passed through the Army included V Corps, X Corps, XIII Corps, XXX Corps, I Canadian Corps and the II Polish Corps. History North Africa The Eighth Army first went into action as an Army as part of Operation Crusader, the Allied operation to relieve the besieged city of Tobruk, on 17 November 1941, when it crossed the Egyptian frontier into Libya to attack Erwin Rommel's Panzer Army Africa. On 26 November the Commander-in-Chief Middle East Command, General Claude Auchinleck, replaced Cunningham with Major-General Neil Ritchie, following disagreements between Auchinleck and Cunningham. Despite achieving a number of tactical su ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Drop Zone
A drop zone (DZ) is a place where parachutists or parachuted supplies land. It can be an area targeted for landing by paratroopers, or a base from which recreational parachutists and skydivers take off in aircraft and land under parachutes. In the latter case, it is often beside a small airport, frequently sharing the facility with other general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services .... At recreational drop zones, an area is generally set side for parachute landings. Personnel at the site may include a drop zone operator or owner (DZO), manifestors (who maintain the flight manifest documents defining who flies and when), pilots, instructors or coaches, camera operators, parachute packers and riggers, and other general staff. History The concept of a drop ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
8th Airlift Squadron
The 8th Airlift Squadron is part of the 62d Airlift Wing at McChord Air Force Base, Washington. It operates Boeing C-17 Globemaster III aircraft supporting the United States Air Force global reach mission worldwide. Mission Train and equip Boeing C-17 Globemaster III aircrews for global airland and airdrop operations. History Initial organization The squadron's origins date to 1 October 1933 when it was constituted as the 8th Transport Squadron and assigned to the 2d Transport Group in the Fifth Corps Area in inactive status. The unit became a Regular Army Inactive unit when reserve personnel were assigned to it in June 1938 at Patterson Field, Ohio.Regular Army Inactive units were units that were constituted in the regular army. Although they were not activated, they were organized with reserve personnel during the 1920s and early 1930s. Even though they had reserve personnel assigned, they were not Organized Reserve units. Because they had no regular personnel they were st ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Douglas C-47 Skytrain
The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota (RAF, RAAF, RCAF, RNZAF, and SAAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in front-line service with various military operators for many years.Parker 2013, pp. 13, 35, 37, 39, 45-47. Design and development The C-47 differed from the civilian DC-3 by way of numerous modifications, including being fitted with a cargo door, hoist attachment and strengthened floor - along with a shortened tail cone for glider-towing shackles, and an astrodome in the cabin roof.Wilson, Stewart. ''Aircraft of WWII''. Fyshwick, ACT, Australia: Aerospace Publications Pty Ltd., 1998. . During World War II, the armed forces of many countries used the C-47 and modified DC-3s for the transport of troops, cargo, and wounded. The U.S. naval designation was R4D. More than 10,000 aircraft were produced in Long Beach and Santa Monica, California, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gaudo Airfield
Gaudo Airfield is an abandoned World War II military airfield in Southern Italy, approximately 3 km north of Paestum, where the neolithic necropolis belonging to the Gaudo Culture was discovered, about 70 km southeast of Naples. It was a temporary airfield built by the United States Army Corps of Engineers. Its last known use was by the United States Army Air Force Twelfth Air Force in 1944 during the Italian Campaign. * 12th Bombardment Group, 19 January-6 February 1944, B-25 Mitchell * 321st Bombardment Group, February–April 1944, B-25 Mitchell * 62d Troop Carrier Group, May–June 1944, C-47 Skytrain A significant number of aircraft were damaged at the airfield in March 1944 when Mount Vesuvius Mount Vesuvius ( ; it, Vesuvio ; nap, 'O Vesuvio , also or ; la, Vesuvius , also , or ) is a somma-stratovolcano located on the Gulf of Naples in Campania, Italy, about east of Naples and a short distance from the shore. It is one of s ... erupted. The la ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
127th (Parachute) Field Ambulance
The 127th (Parachute) Field Ambulance was a Royal Army Medical Corps unit of the British airborne forces during the Second World War. The 127th (Parachute) Field Ambulance (127 PFA) was originally a pre war Territorial Army unit and served alongside the 125th and 126th Field Ambulances, and 5th (Western) General Hospital RAMC (Now 207 "Manchester" Field Hospital) in the North West of England. It was converted to parachute duties, becoming the second parachute field ambulance in the British Army. As such it was assigned to the 2nd Parachute Brigade at the time part of the 1st Airborne Division. As part of the 1st Airborne Division it moved to North Africa in 1942, in preparation for the Allied invasion of Sicily. A lack of suitable transport negated their use it that campaign, but they did take the lead in Operation Slapstick, which was an amphibious landing at Taranto in Italy. Remaining in Italy with 2nd Parachute Brigade when the 1st Airborne Division returned to England, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
6th (Royal Welch) Parachute Battalion
The 6th (Royal Welch) Parachute Battalion was an airborne infantry battalion of the Parachute Regiment raised by the British Army during the Second World War. The battalion was created in 1942 by the conversion of the 10th (Merionethshire and Montgomeryshire) Battalion, Royal Welch Fusiliers to parachute duties. It was then assigned to the 2nd Parachute Brigade, at that time serving in the 1st Airborne Division in England. The battalion's first combat action was in 1943, when it participated in an amphibious landing, Operation Slapstick, at the port of Taranto in Italy. When the 1st Airborne Division left Italy, the battalion, still with the 2nd Parachute Brigade, remained behind, where it took part in the Battle of Monte Cassino. The battalion's first combat parachute jump was during Operation Dragoon the Allied invasion of the south of France. Soon after the invasion, the battalion returned to Italy and took part in a second combat parachute jump, Operation Manna in Greec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dummy Parachutists
A paradummy is a military deception device first used in World War II, intended to imitate a drop of paratroop attackers. This can cause the enemy to shift forces or fires unnecessarily, or lure enemy troops into staged ambushes. The dolls used for Operation Titanic were nicknamed Rupert by British troops and Oscar by American. The official name was "Device Camouflage No. 15". They were made of burlap and filled with straw or green waste. Some were found in a warehouse on an old British airfield in the 1980s. Some of the original dolls from this find are now exhibited in war museums. The dolls are immobile and about 85 cm tall, consequently smaller than a person, but on the ground during twilight it is difficult to tell the difference between real parachutists. In addition, real parachutists let themselves be hung motionless on the ropes during the jump, so that the ground troops could not tell them apart from real jumpers or comrades who had already been shot in the air. See a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brigadier
Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In other countries, it is a non-commissioned rank. Origins and history The word and rank of "Brigadier" originates from France. In the French Army, the Brigadier des Armées du Roi (Brigadier of the King's Armies) was a general officer rank, created in 1657. It was an intermediate between the rank of Mestre de camp and that of Maréchal de camp. The rank was first created in the cavalry at the instigation of Marshal Turenne on June 8, 1657, then in the infantry on March 17, 1668, and in the dragoons on April 15, 1672. In peacetime, the brigadier commanded his regiment and, in maneuvers or in wartime, he commanded two or three - or even four - regiments combined to form a brigade (including his own, but later the rank was also awarded to l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gothic Line
The Gothic Line (german: Gotenstellung; it, Linea Gotica) was a German Defense line, defensive line of the Italian Campaign (World War II), Italian Campaign of World War II. It formed Generalfeldmarschall, Field Marshal Albert Kesselring's last major line of defence along the summits of the northern part of the Apennine Mountains during the fighting retreat of the Wehrmacht, German forces in Italian Social Republic, Italy against the Allied Armies in Italy, commanded by General (United Kingdom), General Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis, Sir Harold Alexander. Adolf Hitler had concerns about the state of preparation of the Gothic Line: he feared the Allies would use Amphibious warfare, amphibious landings to flanking maneuver, outflank its defences. To downgrade its importance in the eyes of both friend and foe, he ordered the name, with its historic connotations, changed, reasoning that if the Allies managed to break through they would not be able to use the more i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rimini
Rimini ( , ; rgn, Rémin; la, Ariminum) is a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy and capital city of the Province of Rimini. It sprawls along the Adriatic Sea, on the coast between the rivers Marecchia (the ancient ''Ariminus'') and Ausa (ancient ''Aprusa''). It is one of the most notable seaside resorts in Europe with revenue from both internal and international tourism forming a significant portion of the city's economy. It is also near San Marino, a small nation within Italy. The first bathing establishment opened in 1843. Rimini is an art city with ancient Roman and Renaissance monuments, and is also the birthplace of the film director Federico Fellini. The city was founded by the Romans in 268 BC. Throughout Roman times, Rimini was a key communications link between the north and south of the peninsula. On its soil, Roman emperors erected monuments such as the Arch of Augustus and the Tiberius Bridge to mark the beginning and the end of the Decumanus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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