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VH-6 (Rescue Squadron)
VH-6 (Rescue Squadron 6) was one of six dedicated (VH) Rescue Squadrons of the U.S. Navy during WWII. A more comprehensive write-up on the VH squadrons can be found in the history of Rescue Squadron 3 (VH-3), which was the US Navy's most active VH squadron. In the final week of the war, VH-6 rescued 13 aviators off the coast of Japan. VH-6 was established in January 1945 and disestablished in February 1946. The squadron employed the Martin PBM Mariner during its operations. Operational history * January 1945: VH-6 was established at NAS San Diego, California.. * 27 July 1945: VH-6 commences rescue operations around Okinawa, joining Rescue Squadron VH-3 which has been there since April. * 8-10 August 1945: VH-6 rescues 13 downed aviators off Japan. * 14 August 1945: While on a standby mission for a USAAF bomber strike, a PBM from VH-6 is harassed by three Zero Fighters. The Lockheed P-38 Lightning escort is called for assistance. In the ensuing melee, one attacking Zero is sh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
VH-3 (Rescue Squadron)
VH-3 (Rescue Squadron 3) was one of six dedicated VH rescue squadrons of the U.S. Navy during WW II. Prior to their creation, the rescue function was performed as an additional "spur of the moment" duty by regularly operating patrol squadrons. The Fleet Commanders made clear "that the men who risked their lives to rocket, bomb, and strafe the enemy wherever and whenever possible, should under no circumstances, be left to fend for themselves when disaster struck them." After the war the Japanese related that they could not understand why so much was risked to save airmen. This was a tremendous morale builder for the flyers, but there was a cold calculated logic behind this as well. It meant that very expensively trained and experienced aviators could be rescued from a watery grave or brutal captivity and put back into the fight. American aircrews captured after being shot down over the Japanese home islands faced a grim fate. VH-3 squadron members related "how intense, ''intense ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Martin PBM Mariner
The Martin PBM Mariner was an American Maritime patrol aircraft, patrol bomber flying boat of World War II and the early Cold War era. It was designed to complement the Consolidated PBY Catalina and Consolidated PB2Y Coronado, PB2Y Coronado in service. A total of 1,366 PBMs were built, with the first example flying on 18 February 1939 and the type entering service in September 1940, with the last of the type being retired in 1964. Design and development In 1937 the Glenn L. Martin Company designed a new twin-engined flying boat, the Model 162, to succeed its earlier Consolidated P2Y, Martin P3M and complement the Consolidated PBY Catalina, PBY Catalina and Consolidated PB2Y Coronado, PB2Y Coronado. It received an order for a single prototype XPBM-1 on 30 June 1937.Swanborough and Bowers 1976, p. 318. This was followed by an initial Mass production, production order for 21 PBM-1 aircraft on 28 December 1937.Green 1968, p. 177. To test the PBM's layout, Martin built a ⅜ scale f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
NAS San Diego
Naval Air Station North Island or NAS North Island , at the north end of the Coronado peninsula on San Diego Bay in San Diego, California, is part of the largest aerospace-industrial complex in the United States Navy – Naval Base Coronado (NBC), and the home port of several aircraft carriers of the United States Navy. The commanding officer of NAS North Island (NASNI) is also the Commanding Officer, Naval Base Coronado (NBC). As such, he or she commands or administers NASNI and seven other naval facilities: Naval Amphibious Base Coronado (NABC); Outlying Field Imperial Beach; Silver Strand Training Complex; Remote Training Site, Warner Springs; Mountain Warfare Training Camp Michael Monsoor; Camp Morena; and Naval Auxiliary Landing Facility San Clemente Island. NBC, with only its commands in the metropolitan San Diego area, brackets the city of Coronado from the entrance to San Diego Bay to the Mexican border. NAS North Island itself is host to 23 aviation squadrons and 80 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Okinawa Island
is the largest of the Okinawa Islands and the Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Islands of Japan in the Kyushu region. It is the smallest and least populated of the five main islands of Japan. The island is approximately long, an average wide, and has an area of . It is roughly south of the main island of Kyushu and the rest of Japan. It is north of Taiwan. The total population of Okinawa Island is 1,384,762. The Greater Naha area has roughly 800,000 residents, while the city itself has about 320,000 people. Naha is the seat of Okinawa Prefecture on the southwestern part of Okinawa Island. Okinawa has a humid subtropical climate. Okinawa has been a critical strategic location for the United States Armed Forces since the Battle of Okinawa and the end of World War II. The island was under American administration until 1972, and today hosts around 26,000 US military personnel, about half of the total complement of the United States Forces Japan, spread among 32 bases and 48 training sites ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
USAAF
The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II (1941–1945). It was created on 20 June 1941 as successor to the previous United States Army Air Corps and is the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force, today one of the six armed forces of the United States. The AAF was a component of the United States Army, which on 2 March 1942 was divided functionally by executive order into three autonomous forces: the Army Ground Forces, the United States Army Services of Supply (which in 1943 became the Army Service Forces), and the Army Air Forces. Each of these forces had a commanding general who reported directly to the Army Chief of Staff. The AAF administered all parts of military aviation formerly distributed among the Air Corps, General Headquarters Air Force, and the ground ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zero Fighter
The Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" is a long-range carrier-based fighter aircraft formerly manufactured by Mitsubishi Aircraft Company, a part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and was operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy from 1940 to 1945. The A6M was designated as the , or the Mitsubishi A6M Rei-sen. The A6M was usually referred to by its pilots as the ''Reisen'' (, zero fighter), "0" being the last digit of the imperial year 2600 (1940) when it entered service with the Imperial Navy. The official Allied reporting name was "Zeke", although the name "Zero" (from Type 0) was used colloquially as well. The Zero is considered to have been the most capable carrier-based fighter in the world when it was introduced early in World War II, combining excellent maneuverability and very long range.Hawks, Chuck"The Best Fighter Planes of World War II" chuckhawks.com. Retrieved: 18 January 2007. The Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJNAS) also frequently used it as a land-based fighter. In earl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lockheed P-38 Lightning
The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is an American single-seat, twin piston-engined fighter aircraft that was used during World War II. Developed for the United States Army Air Corps by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinctive twin-boom design with a central nacelle containing the cockpit and armament. Along with its use as a general fighter, the P-38 was used in various aerial combat roles, including as a highly effective fighter-bomber, a night fighter, and a long-range escort fighter when equipped with drop tanks. The P-38 was also used as a bomber-pathfinder, guiding streams of medium and heavy bombers, or even other P-38s equipped with bombs, to their targets."P-38 Lightning" National Museum of the United States Air Force. Retrieved 21 January ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yellow Sea
The Yellow Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean located between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula, and can be considered the northwestern part of the East China Sea. It is one of four seas named after common colour terms (the others being the Black Sea, the Red Sea and the White Sea), and its name is descriptive of the golden-yellow colour of the silt-laden water discharged from major rivers. The innermost bay of northwestern Yellow Sea is called the Bohai Sea (previously Pechihli Bay or Chihli Bay), into which flow some of the most important rivers of northern China, such as the Yellow River (through Shandong province and its capital Jinan), the Hai River (through Beijing and Tianjin) and the Liao River (through Liaoning province). The northeastern extension of the Yellow Sea is called the Korea Bay, into which flow the Yalu River, the Chongchon River and the Taedong River. Since 1 November 2018, the Yellow Sea has also served as the location of "peace ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
USS Pine Island (AV-12)
USS ''Pine Island'' (AV-12), a ''Currituck''-class seaplane tender, is the only ship of the United States Navy to hold this name. The ship was named after Pine Island Sound (off the coast of Lee County, Florida). ''Pine Island'' was laid down on 16 November 1942 at the Los Angeles Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, San Pedro, California; launched on 26 February 1944, sponsored by Mrs. Knefler McGinnis; and commissioned on 26 April 1945. World War II Departing California on 16 June 1945, ''Pine Island'' steamed to Okinawa. There she tended seaplanes engaged in air-sea rescue operations during the final phases of World War II. At the end of the war, she entered Tokyo Bay and contributed seaplane flight operations to the occupation of Japan in 1945. Following occupation duty in Japan, she conducted seaplane flight operations in the Whangpoo River near Shanghai, China. She left the Pacific in 1946, and steamed via the Suez Canal to Norfolk, Virginia. Operation Highjump ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
USS Rehoboth (AVP-50)
The second USS ''Rehoboth'' (AVP-50/AGS-50) was in commission in the United States Navy as a seaplane tender from 1944 to 1947 and as an oceanographic survey ship from 1948 to 1970. Construction, commissioning, and shakedown ''Rehoboth'' was laid down on 3 August 1942 at Houghton, Washington, by the Lake Washington Shipyard. She was launched on 8 November 1942, sponsored by Mrs. R. P. McConnell, and commissioned on 23 February 1944. World War II service ''Rehoboth'' was originally operated as a Barnegat-class seaplane tender. Following shakedown off San Diego, California, ''Rehoboth'' transited the Panama Canal on 25 April 1944 and reached Norfolk, Virginia, on 14 May 1944. On 17 May 1944 she sailed for Casablanca carrying men and cargo of Blimp Squadron 14. Returning to Norfolk on 9 June 1944, she carried cargo and personnel for Fleet Air Wing 7 in the United Kingdom from 8 July 1944 to 9 August 1944, then sailed south to Recife, Brazil, reporting to Commander, Fleet Air ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
USS Floyds Bay (AVP-40)
USS ''Floyds Bay'' (AVP-40) was a United States Navy ''Barnegat''-class small seaplane tender in commission from 1945 to 1960 that saw service in World War II and the Korean War. Construction and commissioning ''Floyds Bay'' (AVP-40) was laid down at Lake Washington Shipyard at Houghton, Washington. She was launched on 28 January 1945, sponsored by Mrs. R. R. McCracken, and commissioned on 25 March 1945. World War II operations 1945 After training at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and in the Mariana Islands, ''Floyds Bay'' arrived at Okinawa on 28 July 1945 to operate with Air-Sea Rescue Squadron 6 and other seaplanes. She was on these duties when World War II ended with the cessation of hostilities with Japan on 15 August 1945. Honors and awards ''Floyds Bay'' received one battle star for her World War II service. Peacetime operations 1945–1950 ''Floyds Bay'' continued her duties at Okinawa until 9 September 1945. From that time, she controlled seadromes at Wakanoura Wa ... [...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] |
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