#Messerschmitt Me 26

[pilot4008]

(via "Vintage German Fighter Jet Illustration" iPhone Case for Sale by PatternFusions)

[deutschland-im-krieg]

Junkers Ju 90B-1 transport (J4+JH) of Lufttransportstaffel 290 under attack by a Martin B-26 Marauder, flown by Wing Commander WSG Maydwell, the Commanding Officer of No. 14 Squadron RAF flying from Tunisia, 23.7.43. The Ju 90 headed for shore at Bastia, the Marauder then breaking off to avoid Flak. The Ju 90 was hit by the Marauder and Flak. The pilot, Oberfeldwebel H H Boldt, ditched it in the sea, where it remains for the enjoyment of divers. Wg Cdr Maydwell’s crews had 3 confirmed kills, all large transports: this Ju 90, a Messerschmitt Me 323 Gigant and a Savoia Marchetti SM.82. For more, see my Facebook group - Eagles Of The Reich

[pinturas-sgm-aviacion]

1944 02 Me410 ZG26 - Steven Heyen

Messerschmitt Me.410A1 of I/ZG 26 attacking a stream of B-24s in early 1944

[carbone14]

Messerschmitt Bf 110E du 26e Escadron de chasseur lourd (Zerstörergeschwader 26 – Stab I./ZG 26) survolant le littoral de l'Afrique du Nord - 1940′s

[drunk-poets-society]

ok so

this young fella is No. 85 Squadron’s Hurricane pilot Richard Lee. he was awarded the DFC and DSO for his service, just a couple months before he was shot down over the English Channel on 18/8/1940, at age 23, sadly never to be seen again.

details under the cut -

Richard Hugh Anthony Lee was born in London in 1917 (the exact date or month is unknown). Growing up, he went to Charterhouse School.

On September 1935 he joined RAF Cranwell as a Flight Cadet, and graduated in July 1937. He was posted to Debden on June 1, 1938 to join no.85 Squadron at its reformation. He flew Gloster Gladiator biplanes to begin with, before no.85 was re-equipped with Hawker Hurricane Mk1s.

No.85 sqn. Was posted in France to protect cross-channel convoys. On November 21, 1939, while on patrol over Boulogne, Flight Lieutenant ‘Dickie’ Lee scored the squadron’s first victory when he successfully attacked a Heinkel 111 which crashed into the channel and burst into flames. This also scored the Squadron’s first accolade as he was awarded a DFC on March 8, 1940 “for outstanding brilliance and efficiency”

Not much happened over the winter. That was to change, however, when on May 10, 1940, the sound of Anti Aircraft guns and Luftwaffe planes filled the air. No. 85 squadron immediately jumped into action, and within a few minutes, one section of “A” flight, and one section of “B” flight were up in the air. Lee was leading B flight with Flying Officer Derek Allen and Pilot Officer Patrick Woods-Scawen flying as his numbers 2 and 3 respectively. the section attacked a Henschel 126, and managed to severely damage the aircraft, leaving two of its crew wounded.

Later that morning, Lee was flying Hurricane L1779 into combat, leading his section again. They engaged a Junkers-88 at about 15,000 feet. His combat report reads: “after being sighted E/A dived to a very low height. i could only overhaul from astern very slowly. From 500 yards to 700 yards the enemy rear gunner fired continuously. I fired short bursts and finished ammunition closing to 200 yards. No apparent results except black smoke from one engine. My own aircraft shot badly.”

Later that evening Lee shared in the destruction of a Ju-86 with his section. Lee was the first to open fire and set the enemy’s starboard engine on fire. When they landed, ground crew found that he had fired 50 rounds from each of his eight Browning machine guns during the engagement.

on 11/5/1940, the squadron was back in the thick of it. however, this time after a busy morning patrol, Allen and Woods-Scawen returned without their section leader. Richard Lee was missing. He’d been flying Hurricane N2388, code marked ‘VY-R’ over Maastricht when he engaged a Dornier 17P at approximately 1300 hours. His aircraft had been hit by Anti Aircraft fire and he bailed out of his aircraft slightly wounded. Parachuting down, he landed in a field, where he spotted a local man passing by. He asked the man which direction he should travel to get to the Belgian tanks that were nearby. He took off in the direction, only to find out that they were, in fact, German. Lucky for him, his uniform was concealed underneath a smock or overcoat he had acquired. He was believed to be a peasant and was locked into a barn with some other refugees. Thinking quick, he climbed up to a window and noticed a ladder perched beneath it, and promptly climbed out, walked several miles, and hitched a ride with some Belgians before returning to his unit the very next day. The squadron’s diarist reported that “11/5/40. Eight E/A were shot down today. Flight Lieutenant R.H.A Lee failed to return from the offensive patrol covering the advance of the BEF over the Tongres-Maastricht Section – he was reported last seen on a Dornier’s tail at about 2,000 ft.”

On May 22, No. 85 squadron started to return to Debden to re-equip and reform, and Lee was transferred to No. 56 Squadron. The next day the squadron engaged enemy aircraft over St. Omer while patrolling Manston to Dunkirk. he expended all his ammunition in the dogfight that ensued between the Hurricanes and the 109s, before his starboard wing was badly hit. He broke off and returned to Manston unharmed, and aircraft deemed repairable.

On May 27, he flew another offensive patrol from Manston with the Squadron, flying Hurricane P3311. On this occasion he was shot down by Messerschmitt 109s during an attack on Henschel 111s. he ditched his aircraft in the sea and was fished out of the water and taken ashore an hour later.

On May 31, Lee was awarded the DSO. The London Gazette published the following: “Flight Lieutenant Richard Hugh Anthony Lee, D.F.C. (33208) this officer has displayed great ability as a leader and intense desire to engage the enemy. On one occasion he continued to attack an enemy aircraft after his companion had been shot down, and his own machine hit in many places. His section shot down a Dornier 215 in flames one evening in May, and another in the course of engagement the next day. In his last engagement, he was seen at 200 feet at the tail of a Junkers 89, being subjected to intense fire from the enemy occupied territory. This officer escaped from behind the German lines after being arrested and upheld the highest traditions of the Service.”

In June, he returned to No. 85 squadron, under Squadron Leader Peter Townsend. His experience was called upon to help bring the new recruits upto scratch before the squadron was again ready for operational flying.

On June 26, Richard Lee and his close friend Gerald Lewis flew to an investiture where Lee received his DSO and DFC for his service.

Lee’s reputation as a daring and aggressive fighter pilot was quickly spreading around the air force. Peter Townsend’s good friend Flight Lieutenant John Simpson wrote a letter to his intelligence officer, after hearing about the exploits of Richard Lee.

Simpson, who also coincidentally often flew with Patrick Woods-Scawen’s younger brother Tony, wrote “I hear that Dickie Lee has done wonders. You see how these boys, who were always looked upon as being the naughty ones, are doing so well. They needed a war to convince the old gentlemen at Whitehall. Do you remember that Dickie was almost given his bowler hat for low flying? The same low flying has apparently stood him in good stead.” (apparently he had flown through an open barn, but i have no way of confirming or denying that)

In Hector Bolitho’s book Combat Report published in 1943, he wrote of an afternoon spent with Lee, Townsend and Simpson. “Peter Townsend and Dickie Lee had been posted to an aerodrome a few miles from the house… in the early summer, John and I went out to find them… we found Peter and Dickie and took them back to the house. Dickie followed the car on a hellish motor bicycle.

It was a pleasant enough afternoon and we lay on the lawn, the four of us, with a bowl of ice, a bottle of gin, some tonic water and four glasses, and talked the world away. All three, looked older. Both Dickie and Peter had been shot down and a certain solemnity seemed to have touched them. Dickie had changed more than others.

We used to call him Dopey in the old days because he always fell asleep if the conversation took a serious turn. He was already a hero and in most newspapers there had been photographs of him receiving his decorations from the King. The long hell in France had left creases at the corners of his sleepy eyes. But he would have none of our attempts at war talk. He said that he had a date with a blonde in Saffron Walden and that he could not stay very long.

Dickie’s taste in blondes was not always reassuring to his friends, but he was obviously more concerned with his date than with our efforts to make him talk about how he has won the DFC and DSO on his tunic. I remember when he stood to go I noticed a hole in the leg of his trousers where a bullet had gone through without touching his skin.

I suppose that Peter and John and I were a bit pensive, being the older ones, so Dickie yawned and said ‘Well, I must get cracking’ he made one gesture to sentiment before he went. On the day that was declared he left his favourite pictures with me… before his squadron flew off to France.

They were photographs of friends, of aircraft, and one of a spaniel. He asked me for them, so I brought them down from the attic and he flew off to his blonde with them, piled before him on the screeching, violent motor bicycle.”

August 18, 1940 “the Hardest Day” of course, was when Dickie was lost. Flying as Blue 1 in Hurricane P2923 ‘VY-R’ during this patrol, he was last seen by Squadron Leader Townsend and Flying Officer Arthur Gowers ten miles north-east of Foulness Point chasing Bf 109s out across the Channel.

In Townsend’s book Duel of Eagles he wrote the following of Lee’s last action: “Come back, Dicky,’ I called but he was drawing away. Again and again I called, but he kept on. It was useless to chase Huns out to sea; they would be back again the next day. Something had gotten into Dicky and there was no stopping him. We were both low on fuel and I was out of ammunition. There was only one thing to do: turn back”

Like several others, he was gone too soon. Neither his aircraft nor his body were ever recovered. and aside from these mentions, and a few documents, and acknowledgement on the Runnymede Memorial, Panel 6, there isn’t much about him out there. there’s really not much one can do about that either, other than remember, and keep them alive in our thoughts; those who never returned, whose names faded into obscurity.

Source

[usafphantom2]

Ronnie Bell Following

Mitsubishi J8M Shusui.

A Japanese fighter jet Mitsubishi J8M Shusui at the u.s. base in Yokosuka, Japan. 1945, The Mitsubishi J8M Shūsui (Sharp Sword) deriving from the swishing sound swords make) was a Japanese World War II rocket-powered interceptor aircraft closely based on the German Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet. Built as a joint project for both the Navy and the Army Air Services, it was designated J8M (Navy) and Ki-200 (Army).

The J8M1 was intended to be a licence-built copy of the Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet. Difficulties in shipping an example to Japan meant that the aircraft eventually had to be reverse-engineered from a flight operations manual and other limited documentation. A single prototype was tested before the end of World War II.

The Japanese were quite aware of the results of the strategic bombing of Germany, and knew that the B-29 Superfortress would be bombing Japan and the resultant problems which would arise from trying to combat this. Japanese military attachés had become aware of the Komet during a visit to the Bad Zwischenahn airfield of Erprobungskommando 16, the Luftwaffe evaluation squadron charged with service test of the revolutionary rocket-propelled interceptor. They negotiated the rights to licence-produce the aircraft and its Walter HWK 509A rocket engine. The engine license alone cost the Japanese 20 million Reichsmarks.[1]

The agreement was for Germany to provide the following by spring 1944:

Complete blueprints of the Me 163B Komet and the HWK 509A engine.

One complete Komet; two sets of sub-assemblies and components.

Three complete HWK 509A engines.

Inform Japan of any improvements and developments of the Komet.

Allow the Japanese to study the manufacturing processes for both the Komet and the engine.

Allow the Japanese to study Luftwaffe operational procedures for the Komet.

The broken-down aircraft and engine were sent to Kobe, Japan in early 1944. It is probable that the airframe was on the Japanese submarine RO-501 (ex-U-1224), which left Kiel, Germany on 30 March 1944 and was sunk in the mid-Atlantic on 13 May 1944 by the hunter-killer group based on the escort carrier USS Bogue. Plans and engines were on the Japanese submarine I-29, which left Lorient, France on 16 April 1944 and arrived in Singapore on 14 July 1944, later sunk by the submarine USS Sawfish on 26 July 1944, near the Philippines, after leaving Singapore.

The Japanese decided to attempt to copy the Me 163 using a basic instructional manual on the Komet in the hands of naval mission member Commander Eiichi Iwaya who had travelled to Singapore in the I-29 and flown on to Japan when the submarine docked.

From its inception, the project was a joint Imperial Japanese Army Air Service (JAAF)/Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (JNAF) venture. The JAAF wanted a new design to be drawn up. The JNAF, on the other hand, felt the design should mimic the German Komet because it had already proven to be a stable aerodynamic body. It was the JNAF which won and issued the 19-shi specification in July 1944 for the design of the rocket-powered defence fighter. The contract went to Mitsubishi Jukogyo KK, which would produce both the JNAF version the J8M1 Shūsui and the JAAF version Ki-200.

The project was headed by Mijiro Takahashi. The JAAF, however decided to undertake their own design to meet the 19-shi specifications, working at their Rikugun Kokugijitsu Kenkyujo (JAAF Aerotechnical Institute) in secret.

At the 1st Naval Air Technical Arsenal in Yokosuka, in association with Mitsubishi and Yokosuka Arsenal, work began to adapt the Walter HWK 509A engine to Japanese manufacturing capabilities and techniques. This was also where efforts were underway to produce a glider version of the J8M to provide handling data. While working on this glider, the MXY8 Akigusa (秋草, "Autumn Grass"), Mitsubishi completed a mock-up of the J8M1 in September 1944.

Both the JAAF and JNAF approved its design and construction and a prototype was built. In December 1944, the MXY8 was completed and, on 8 December 1944, at the Hyakurigahara Airfield, Lieutenant-Commander Toyohiko Inuzuka took the controls of the MXY8. Once in the air, Inuzuka found the MXY8 almost perfectly emulated the handling characteristics of the Komet. Two additional MXY8 gliders were constructed in the naval yard at Yokosuka, one being delivered to the Rikugun Kokugijitsu Kenkyujo (JAAF Aerotechnical Institute) at Tachikawa for evaluation. The JNAF initiated the construction of another prototype, production designation Ku-13. This was to use water ballast to simulate the weight of an operational J8M complete with engine and weapons. This variant was to be built by Maeda Aircraft Institute, while the JAAF version was to be constructed by Yokoi Koku KK (Yoki Aircraft Co). The JNAF also proposed a more advanced trainer, designated the MXY9 Shūka (Autumn Fire") which would be powered by a 441 lbf (1.96 kN) thrust Tsu-11 ducted-fan engine. The war, however, ended before this model could be built.

Mitsubishi and partners Nissan and Fuji proceeded with development of the airframe and Yokosuka Arsenal was adapting the engine for Japanese production, designated the Ro.2. The Japanese succeeded in producing prototypes that outwardly looked very much similar to the Komet. The J8M1 had a wet weight that was 900 lb (410 kg) lighter, the aircraft having a plywood main spar and wooden vertical tail. The designers had also dispensed with the armoured glass in the cockpit and the aircraft carried less ammunition and slightly less fuel.

The Ki-200 and the J8M1 differed only in minor items, but the most obvious difference was the JAAF's Ki-200 was armed with two 30 mm (1.18 in) Type 5 cannon (with a rate of fire of 450 rounds per minute and a muzzle velocity of 2,350 ft/s (720 m/s), while the J8M1 was armed with two 30 mm (1.18 in) Ho-105 cannon (rate of fire 400 rounds per minute, muzzle velocity 2,460 ft/s (750 m/s). The Ho-105 was the lighter of the two and both offered a higher velocity than the MK 108 cannon of the Me 163 (whose muzzle velocity was 1,705 ft/s (520 m/s). The Toko Ro.2 (KR10) rocket motor did not offer the same thrust rating as the original, and Mitsubishi calculated that the lighter weight of the J8M1 would not offset this. Performance would not be as good as that of the Komet, but was still substantial.

The engine still used the German propellants of T-Stoff oxidizer and C-Stoff fuel (hydrogen peroxide/methanol-hydrazine), known in Japan as Ko and Otsu respectively.

A total of 60 of the training version (Ku-13, Ki-13, MXY-8, MXY-9) were produced by Yokosuka, Yokoi and Maeda[disambiguation needed]. Seven of the operational version (J8M1/Ki-200) were built by Mitsubishi.

In 8 January 1945, one of the two J8M1 prototypes was towed aloft, water ballast added in place of the fuel tank and rocket engine to test its aerodynamics. The test flights confirmed the design. Training courses for JAAF and JNAF pilots began on the Ku-53 glider, which shared a similar configuration to the J8M1. The 312th Naval Air Group was selected to operate the first J8M1. Mitsubishi, Fuji Hikoki, and Nissan Jidosha all had tooling for mass production well into the advanced stages, ready to produce both the J8M1 and the J8M2 variant, which differed from the J8M1 in sacrificing one of the Type 5 cannon for a small increase in fuel capacity. The first J8M1 prototype to be equipped with the Toko Ro.2 (KR10) was ready in June 1945. They were then transferred from the Nagoya plant to Yokoku for final checks before powered flight testing, after final glide tests with the engine installed.

The J8M took to the air for its first powered flight on 7 July 1945, with Lieutenant Commander Toyohiko Inuzuka at the controls; after his "sharp start" rocket-powered takeoff, Inuzuka successfully jettisoned the dolly upon becoming airborne and began to gain speed, climbing skywards at a 45° angle. At an altitude of 396 m (1,300 ft), the engine stopped abruptly and the J8M1 stalled. Inuzuka managed to glide the aircraft back, but clipped a small building at the edge of the airfield while trying to land, causing the aircraft to burst into flames. Inuzuka died the next day.[4] While Mitsubishi and naval technicians sought to find the cause of the accident, all future flights were grounded. The engine cutout had occurred because the angle of climb, coupled with the fuel tanks being half-filled for this first flight, caused a shifting of the fuel, which in turn caused an auto cutout device to activate because of an air lock in the fuel line. Requests to continue flight testing were denied pending the modification of the fuel pumps in the aircraft. The sixth and seventh prototypes were to be fitted with the modified Ro.2 engine.

Full scale production readiness was almost at hand and in fact, component construction was already underway. Flight testing was to resume, despite another explosion of the fuel mixture during a ground test days after the crash, in late August 1945 and the J8M2 design was finalized. But on 15 August 1945, the war ended for the Japanese and all work on the J8M ceased. The end of the war also spelled the end of the JAAF's Ki-202 Shūsui-Kai (Modified Shusui), whose design had begun in secret months before. The Ki-202 was to offer improved flight endurance over the Ki-200 and was slated to be the priority fighter for the JAAF in 1946, but no metal was cut before Japan's surrender.

Germany tried to send another Komet in U-864, but the submarine was sunk near Bergen by British submarine HMS Venturer in February 1945.

Role Interceptor

Manufacturer Mitsubishi

First flight 7 July 1945

Primary users IJA Air Service

IJN Air Service

Produced 1944-1945

Number built 7

Developed from Messerschmitt Me 163

Variants Yokosuka MXY8

Yokosuka MXY9

Via Flickr

[greatworldwar2]

• Hanna Reitsch

Hanna Reitsch was a German aviator and test pilot. Along with Melitta von Stauffenberg, she flight tested many of Germany's new aircraft during World War II and received many honors. She set more than 40 flight altitude records and women's endurance records in gliding and unpowered flight, before and after World War II.

Reitsch was born in Hirschberg, Silesia (today Jelenia Góra in Poland) on March 29th, 1912 to an upper-middle-class family. She was daughter of Dr. Wilhelm Willy Reitsch, who was ophthalmology clinic manager, and his wife Emy Helff-Hibler von Alpenheim, who was a member of the Catholic Austrian nobility. Hanna grew up with two siblings, her brother Kurt, a Frigate captain, and her younger sister Heidi. She began flight training in 1932 at the School of Gliding in Grunau. While a medical student in Berlin she enrolled in a German Air Mail amateur flying school for powered aircraft at Staaken, in a Klemm Kl 25. In 1933, Reitsch left medical school at the University of Kiel to become, at the invitation of Wolf Hirth, a full-time glider pilot/instructor at Hornberg in Baden-Württemberg. Reitsch contracted with the Ufa Film Company as a stunt pilot and set an unofficial endurance record for women of eleven hours and twenty minutes. In January 1934, she joined a South America expedition to study thermal conditions, along with Wolf Hirth, Peter Riedel and Heini Dittmar. While in Argentina, she became the first woman to earn the Silver C Badge, the 25th to do so among world glider pilots. In June 1934, Reitsch became a member of the Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Segelflug (DFS) and became a test pilot in 1935. Reitsch enrolled in the Civil Airways Training School in Stettin, where she flew a twin-engine on a cross country flight and aerobatics in a Focke-Wulf Fw 44. At the DFS she test flew transport and troop-carrying gliders, including the DFS 230 used at the Battle of Fort Eben-Emael.

In September 1937, Reitsch was posted to the Luftwaffe testing centre at Rechlin-Lärz Airfield by Ernst Udet. Her flying skill, desire for publicity, and photogenic qualities made her a star of Nazi propaganda. Physically she was petite in stature, very slender with blonde hair, blue eyes and a "ready smile". She appeared in Nazi propaganda throughout the late 1930s and early 1940s. Reitsch was the first female helicopter pilot and one of the few pilots to fly the Focke-Achgelis Fa 61, the first fully controllable helicopter, for which she received the Military Flying Medal. In 1938, during the three weeks of the International Automobile Exhibition in Berlin, she made daily flights of the Fa 61 helicopter inside the Deutschlandhalle. In September 1938, Reitsch flew the DFS Habicht in the Cleveland National Air Races. Reitsch was a test pilot on the Junkers Ju 87 Stuka dive bomber and Dornier Do 17 light/fast bomber projects, for which she received the Iron Cross, Second Class, from Hitler on March 28th, 1941. Reitsch was asked to fly many of Germany's latest designs, among them the rocket-propelled Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet in 1942. A crash landing on her fifth Me 163 flight badly injured Reitsch; she spent five months in a hospital recovering. Reitsch received the Iron Cross First Class following the accident, one of only three women to do so.

In February 1943 after news of the defeat in the Battle of Stalingrad she accepted an invitation from Generaloberst Robert Ritter von Greim to visit the Eastern Front. She spent three weeks visiting Luftwaffe units, flying a Fieseler Fi 156 Storch. On February 28th, 1944, she presented the idea of Operation Suicide to Hitler at Berchtesgaden, which "would require men who were ready to sacrifice themselves in the conviction that only by this means could their country be saved." Although Hitler "did not consider the war situation sufficiently serious to warrant them...and...this was not the right psychological moment", he gave his approval. The project was assigned to Gen. Günther Korten. There were about seventy volunteers who enrolled in the Suicide Group as pilots for the human glider-bomb. By April 1944, Reitsch and Heinz Kensche finished tests of the Me 328, carried aloft by a Dornier Do 217. By then, she was approached by SS-Obersturmbannführer Otto Skorzeny, a founding member of the SS-Selbstopferkommando Leonidas (Leonidas Squadron). They adapted the V-1 flying bomb into the Fieseler Fi 103R Reichenberg including a two-seater and a single-seater with and without the mechanisms to land. The plan was never implemented operationally, "the decisive moment had been missed."

In her autobiography Fliegen, mein Leben Reitsch recalled that after two initial crashes with the Fi 103R she and Heinz Kensche took over tests of the prototype Fi 103R. She made several successful test flights before training the instructors. "Though an average pilot could fly the V1 without difficulty once it was in the air, to land it called for exceptional skill, in that it had a very high landing speed and, moreover, in training it was the glider model, without engine, that was usually employed." In October 1944, Reitsch claims she was shown a booklet by Peter Riedel which he'd obtained while in the German Embassy in Stockholm, concerning the gas chambers. She further claims that while believing it to be enemy propaganda, she agreed to inform Heinrich Himmler about it. Upon doing so, Himmler is said to have asked whether she believed it, and she replied, "No, of course not. But you must do something to counter it. You can't let them shoulder this onto Germany." "You are right," Himmler replied. During the last days of the war, Hitler dismissed Hermann Göring as head of the Luftwaffe and appointed Reitsch's lover, von Greim, to replace him. Von Greim and Reitsch flew from Gatow Airport into embattled Berlin to meet Hitler in the Führerbunker, arriving on April 26th, as the Red Army troops were already in the central area of Berlin. Reitsch and von Greim had flown from Rechlin–Lärz Airfield to Gatow Airfield in a Focke Wulf 190, escorted by twelve other Fw 190s from Jagdgeschwader 26 under the command of Hauptmann Hans Dortenmann. In Berlin, Reitsch landed a Fi 156 Storch on an improvised airstrip in the Tiergarten near the Brandenburg Gate. Hitler gave Reitsch two capsules of poison for herself and von Greim. She accepted the capsule.

During the evening of April 28th, Reitsch flew von Greim out of Berlin in an Arado Ar 96 from the same improvised airstrip. This was the last plane out of Berlin. Von Greim was ordered to get the Luftwaffe to attack the Soviet forces that had just reached Potsdamer Platz and to make sure Heinrich Himmler was punished for his treachery in making unauthorised contact with the Western Allies so as to surrender. Troops of the Soviet 3rd Shock Army, which was fighting its way through the Tiergarten from the north, tried to shoot the plane down fearing that Hitler was escaping in it, but it took off successfully. Reitsch was soon captured along with von Greim and the two were interviewed together by U.S. military intelligence officers. When asked about being ordered to leave the Führerbunker on April 28th, 1945, Reitsch and von Greim reportedly repeated the same answer: "It was the blackest day when we could not die at our Führer's side." Reitsch also said: "We should all kneel down in reverence and prayer before the altar of the Fatherland." When the interviewers asked what she meant by "Altar of the Fatherland" she answered, "Why, the Führer's bunker in Berlin ..." She was held for eighteen months. Von Greim killed himself on May 24th, 1945. Evacuated from Silesia ahead of the Soviet troops, Reitsch's family took refuge in Salzburg. During the night of May 3rd, 1945, after hearing a rumour that all refugees were to be taken back to their original homes in the Soviet occupation zone, Reitsch's father shot and killed her mother and sister and her sister's three children before killing himself.

After her release Reitsch settled in Frankfurt am Main. After the war, German citizens were barred from flying powered aircraft, but within a few years gliding was allowed, which she took up again. In 1952, Reitsch won a bronze medal in the World Gliding Championships in Spain; she was the first woman to compete. In 1955 she became German champion. She continued to break records, including the women's altitude record (6,848 m (22,467 ft)) in 1957 and her first diamond of the Gold-C badge. During the mid-1950s, Reitsch was interviewed on film and talked about her wartime flight tests of the Fa 61, Me 262 and Me 163. In 1959, Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru invited Reitsch, who spoke fluent English, to start a gliding centre, and she flew with him over New Delhi. In 1961, United States President John F. Kennedy invited her to the White House. From 1962 to 1966, she lived in Ghana. The then Ghanaian President, Kwame Nkrumah invited Reitsch to Ghana after reading of her work in India. At Afienya she founded the first black African national gliding school, working closely with the government and the armed forces. The West German government supported her as technical adviser. Reitsch's attitudes to race underwent a change. "Earlier in my life, it would never have occurred to me to treat a black person as a friend or partner ..." She now experienced guilt at her earlier "presumptuousness and arrogance". She became close to Nkrumah. The details of their relationship are now unclear due to the destruction of documents, but some surviving letters are intimate in tone. In Ghana, some Africans were disturbed by the prominence of a person with Reitsch's past, but Shirley Graham Du Bois, a noted African-American writer who had emigrated to Ghana and was friendly towards Reitsch, agreed with Nkrumah that Reitsch was extremely naive politically. Throughout the 1970s, Reitsch broke gliding records in many categories, including the "Women's Out and Return World Record" twice, once in 1976 (715 km (444 mi)) and again, in 1979 (802 km (498 mi)), flying along the Appalachian Ridges in the United States. During this time, she also finished first in the women's section of the first world helicopter championships. Reitsch was interviewed and photographed several times in the 1970s, towards the end of her life, by Jewish-American photo-journalist Ron Laytner.

Reitsch died of a heart attack in Frankfurt at the age of 67, on August 24th, 1979. She had never married. She is buried in the Reitsch family grave in Salzburger Kommunalfriedhof. Former British test pilot and Royal Navy officer Eric Brown said he received a letter from Reitsch in early August 1979 in which she said, "It began in the bunker, there it shall end." Within weeks she was dead. Brown speculated that Reitsch had taken the cyanide capsule Hitler had given her in the bunker, and that she had taken it as part of a suicide pact with Greim. No autopsy was performed, or at least no such report is available.

[airmanisr]

Messerschmitt Me209V-1 'D-INJR' by Alan Wilson Via Flickr: As far as significant airframes go, this machine is near the top of the list. It is the record breaking Messerschmitt Me209V-1 (c/n 1185), which held the world air speed record from 1939 till 1941, and for a piston engined aircraft from 1939 till 1969. During the war it became part of Hermann Göring's personal collection. The fuselage is now displayed in a building full of unrestored relics at the Muzeum Lotnictwa Polskiego. Krakow, Poland. 23-8-2013. It's history is given in the following info taken from the museum website:- "By the end of the 1930s a hard-fought competition had developed between Italian, British and German aircraft designers to build a speed record breaking aircraft. As a result of inter-German competition between the Heinkel and the Messerschmitt works, in 1937 in Augsburg the initial works on the “Project 1059” speed record aircraft started. The Third Reich Aviation Ministry (the RLM) designated the aircraft the Me 209 V1, demanding also a fighter version of this machine. The first prototype of the Me 209 V1 was powered with a 12-cylinder Daimler-Benz DB-601 engine. To achieve the highest maximum speed, the aircraft was almost devoid of equipment. One of the most interested technical solutions was the cooling system. Water after circling and cooling the engine, turned to a special ducts in the wings, where after partly vaporising through a small holes and condensed on the inner surface of the wing, was directed back to cool the engine. This system featured partial loss of the coolant, so a substantial reserve (200 l) of water was required, thus limiting the time of flight to only 30 minutes. The Me 209V1 prototype was flown on 1 August 1938 by dr engineer Herman Wurster on the Messerschmitt’s factory airfield in Augsburg. Unfortunately, the violent rise of temperature forced the pilot to quick landing. Further tests of the aircraft revealed several other defects. The most serious was unsteady work of the engine, overheating, interfering of the combustion gasses into cockpit, unsatisfactory visibility on the ground from the pilot’s seat, tendency to a dive during take-off and landing and poor acting of the rudder. All these defects were eliminated to no avail on the second Me 209V2 prototype, which crashed during the test flight on 4 April 1939. Meanwhile, on 30 March 1939 Hans Dieterle on the competitive Heinkel He 100 V8, broke the speed record, achieving 746 km/h. On 26 April 1939, Fritz Wendel, flying the Me 209 V1 powered by the DB 601ARJ engine, short time rated at 2300 HP, achieved 755 km/h. The part of the fuselage of that aircraft is displayed now at the Polish Aviation Museum. For the better propaganda effect, the Reich Propaganda Ministry, in all publications described the aircraft as the Me 109R, to point out that this is the serial fighter modification, and not a new construction. The serial production of the Me 209 was never undertaken and the Fritz Wendel’s record for the piston driven aircraft, stood up to 1969, to be beaten by Daryl G. Greenamyer flying the Grumman Bearcat F8F-2 "Conquest I"."

[uss-edsall]

Michael Lister Robinson, by Cuthbert Ode

Squadron Leader Robinson was an ace with at least six kills when he was shot down and killed. On 1st January 1942 he was appointed to lead Tangmere Wing, but on 10th April of the same year he was shot down while leading the Wing with 340 Squadron. His Spitfire Vb W3770 was probably shot down by Fw190s of JG.26.

After his death the following account was found in his personal papers. 

It differed from the details recorded in his combat report and logbook for the combat of 16th August 1940 which read:

He [the German pilot] never rose above 100 feet until well south of Maidstone and then throttled back. I overtook him and formated on him, pointing downwards for him to land. He turned away so I carried out a dummy quarter attack, breaking very close to him. After this he landed his Me in a field. I threw him a packet of twenty Players and returned to base.

Robinson's account follows:

We set off from Garmisch in a taxi about six o'clock on a cold and starry night to drive to Augsburg. Eventually we reached a gloomy and windswept expanse reminiscent of Lincolnshire and were escorted to the Richthofen Geschwader's Mess. It's difficult to describe one's first impressions, but generally I was very impressed. We were shown into the anteroom, which was sparsely furnished, but clean and attractive, decorated with pictures of aerial battles of the First World War - only course, the Fokkers were always on top and the odd SE5A’s and Camels were spinning down in flames. I pointed out to a young Leutnant that we too, had the same sort of pictures in our Messes except that the role of principal characters was usually reversed. This seemed to amuse him, the remark was passed round the room in German.

The officers were most polite, clicking their heels and generally be anxious to bring us as many drinks as they could. Personally, I was very impressed by the appearance of all of them. We were led into the dining room and were placed by ourselves at two ends and the middle of a long refectory table. I sat at one end beside the CO, a First World War pilot. My friend from the Welsh Guards was at the far end beside the adjutant, another last-war pilot. The third member of our party was down the middle of the table next to the second in command. The room was lit only by candlelight. The walls were panelled, and the only decorations were squadron banners hung along the sides. The general effect was very good. Like most Guest Nights the dinner started rather pompously and I was surprised when the CO turned to me and said: 'You must not be surprised if you find my boys getting rather out of hand after dinner.' 'Well, sir,' I said, 'I shouldn't worry too much about that. I think we know the form all right.' The CO hesitated. 'I'm afraid you don't understand me. You see, your Air Force and mine, as things used to be, were brought up to certain definite traditions. You may have to excuse my pilots, but remember they are very young and perhaps lack some of the training.'

The dinner was good and very well and impressively served. We reached the coffee stage and it was apparent that they were determined put us under the table as quickly as possible. More and more Kirsch arrived until I felt that so long as I remained upright at the table I could cope. I did notice, however, that gradually, one by one, the pilots were disappearing - seeing a doorway leading into the open air we went outside, rubbed our faces in the snow and ran a couple of times around the Mess. We came back into the Mess expecting to find the boys turning somersaults over chairs and that sort of thing. Instead, they were gathered about in odd groups having drunken arguments in German. A young Leutnant came up to me 'You've got Hurricanes?' he asked 'Yes,' I replied. 'Well,' he said, 'we've got Messerschmitt 109’s and God help you if you ever have to fight us in your old tubs.'

It was their Mess so I didn't want to provoke an argument. 'You know,' I said mildly, 'even so, we still think our Hurricanes are pretty good, too.'

'Then,' he countered, 'you don't believe me? When the war starts (and I hope it does soon) I will take on any three Englishmen with Hurricanes in my Messerschmitt.' A few days later, we returned home. I was destined to meet that young Leutnant once again - not in southern Germany, but in southern Kent, in a hop field near Maidstone.

It was a most perfect day and the dust he had created by landing his 109, wheels up, hung over the field. I followed him down, landed nearby and walked across two fields to where he was lying in the sunshine. I recognized him before he recognized me. 'Hello,' I said, 'are you all right?' He nodded. Then,' I asked, 'may I have your pistol?' As he handed it over I said to him: 'Your face seems familiar, haven't we met somewhere before?' 'Yes,' he said, 'wherever was it?' His English was immaculate, I think he had been at Oxford.

'Augsburg, February 1939,' I said. 'It was a good dinner.'

'Ah, yes,' he murmured. 'But tell me - why didn't you shoot me down when I was in the air? I couldn't have escaped.'

'As a matter of fact, I couldn't shoot you down,' I said. 'I had to force you down the way I did. I had used up all my ammunition on some other 109's'

Then the Home Guard came and took him away.

[hudsonespie]

75 Years Ago: The Last Nazi U-Boat Surrenders

Described as a “lanky, hawk-faced man,” Charles Eliot Winslow was born in 1909 and grew up in the Boston area. He preferred using his middle name and, by 1940, he was a successful paint salesman and engaged to be married. Winslow had second thoughts about his fiancé, but instead of calling off the wedding, he chose to join the U.S. Navy. So, in 1941, at the ripe age of 31, he found himself called to active duty with the enlisted rating of seaman 2nd class.

In his first assignment, Winslow served out of Boston on board USS Puffin, a Maine fishing boat converted into a minesweeper. In November 1941, just before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, he decided to apply for an officer’s commission in the United States Coast Guard Reserve. Winslow passed the competitive examination and, by December, he accepted a commission in the Coast Guard.

Winslow rose through the ranks quickly. During 1942, he served as executive officer on board the Coast Guard weather ship Menemsha, and then received an appointment to the anti-submarine warfare school in Miami, Florida. Following graduation, the Coast Guard promoted him to lieutenant junior grade and assigned him to the Argo, a 165-foot Coast Guard cutter originally built for offshore Prohibition enforcement. By February 1943, Winslow served as senior watch officer and navigation officer on board Argo. He rose rapidly through the ship’s officer ranks and, in April, he received a promotion to executive officer and gunnery officer.

After only two months as the cutter’s executive officer, the Coast Guard promoted him to commanding officer of Argo. In June 1944, the senior member of a Navy inspection team reported, “The [Argo’s] commanding officer is an able and competent officer, forceful, decisive, military in conduct and bearing, maintaining discipline with a firm yet tactful hand . . . .” Even though he enlisted to escape his fiancé, Winslow proved a solid leader and an excellent seaman, and the Service would retain him as Argo’s commanding officer for the rest of the war.

Johann Heinrich Fehler followed a different path than his American counterpart. A blond, clean-cut man, Fehler was born a year later than Winslow. As a boy growing up near Berlin, he longed to go to sea. After completing high school, Fehler signed-on with a German sailing vessel plying the waters of the Baltic Sea and, after two years, he began serving on a German ocean-going freighter. He next entered the German merchant marine academy and earned a mate’s certificate. In 1933, he joined Adolph Hitler’s National Socialist Party, which was recruiting new members throughout Germany. In 1936, he joined the German Navy as an officer cadet and he would remain a faithful Nazi Party member for the rest of his military career.

In the later years of the war, Fehler’s fate would be tied to the German submarine U-234. One of Germany’s oversized Type X-B U-boats, this 1,650-ton sub’s original mission was to lay mines rather than torpedo enemy shipping. However, after completing its trials and commissioning as a minelayer, the U-boat returned to the shipyard for conversion into a freight-carrying U-boat to transport vital cargoes through Allied patrolled waters.

Using the schnorkel mast, shown here next to the conning tower, U-boats could run their diesel engines while submerged by sucking air through an intake at the top of the mast while blowing diesel fumes out of the schnorkel’s exhaust manifold. (U.S. Navy Photo)

Back in the U.S., the Navy assigned Cutter Argo and its sister cutters to patrol and convoy escort duties. The cutter carried a crew of 75 men and supported radar and sonar equipment; an armament of 3-inch and 20 mm guns; and depth charges and other anti-submarine weapons. As escorts, Argo and its sister cutters were typically assigned to coastal convoys, tracking underwater contacts and attacking anything that resembled the sonar signature of a submarine.

In December 1944, the German high command summoned Johann Fehler to Berlin for meetings. There, he learned that his U-boat would serve as an undersea freighter to ship important cargo to Japan. The Nazi’s had sent U-boats to Japan before, but three out of four submarine freighters had been lost attempting the passage. However, toward the end of the war there was no alternative for shipping cargoes to Germany’s last surviving ally. Fehler’s assignment to command a transport U-boat proved deeply disappointing, because he wanted to join the fight and command one of the attack subs. But Fehler stayed with U-234 since requesting another position meant postponing his deployment or, even worse, serving in a shore assignment.

Shipping space was limited in even the largest U-boats. To maximize U-234’s capacity, the Germans allocated every conceivable watertight compartment to critical war material. The 300 tons of cargo included many of Germany’s latest armaments and military technology, such as new radar; anti-tank and armor weapons; and the latest explosives and ammunition. Military aviation materials included documents, technical drawings and instrumentation for Messerschmitt’s latest fighter aircraft. U-234 also carried raw materials rarely found in Japan, such as lead (74 tons), mercury (26 tons), optical glass (7 tons) and uranium oxide ore (1,200 pounds). By 1945, lines of communication between Germany and Japan had become tenuous, so U-234 also carried one ton of mail and correspondence for German military, diplomatic and civilian personnel located in Japan.

This image shows Argo moored at Portsmouth Navy Yard on May 19th, 1945, with U-234 crewmembers assembled on the fantail and Coast Guard officers and men looking on. (U.S. Navy Photo)

Not only did Fehler have to transport vital cargo to Japan, his orders required him to ferry critical military personnel. His twelve passengers included two officers of the Imperial Japanese Navy, two civilian employees of the Messerschmitt Aircraft Company, and four German naval officers. U-234 also carried four German air force officers, including flamboyant Luftwaffe general Ulrich Kessler.

Fully loaded with top-secret cargo and passengers, U-234 departed Kiel, Germany, on March 25th on course for Kristiansand, Norway. On April 15th, Fehler deployed from Norway dubious of his mission’s chances of success. He cruised without surfacing for more than two weeks using the U-boat’s advanced schnorkel system and, by early May, he reached the open ocean. In the meantime, the Nazi war machine had collapsed, Adolph Hitler had killed himself and other Nazi leaders had fled Berlin. So the surrender of German military forces fell to Admiral Karl Dönitz, former head of the German submarine fleet.

On May 8th, 1945, Dönitz broadcast the order for all deployed U-boats to surrender to Allied naval forces. By the time he received the order, Fehler was halfway across the Atlantic. He decided to surrender to the Americans and began steaming westward. Meantime, his two Japanese passengers chose to commit suicide to avoid capture and Fehler buried their bodies at sea.

On Saturday, May 19th, Argo rendezvoused with U-234 and its Navy escort, USS Sutton. Sutton’s whaleboat ferried Fehler, his officers and his passengers over to the cutter. According to Commander Alexander Moffat, the senior Navy representative on board Argo, Fehler climbed over the cutter’s rail and cheerfully extended his hand in greeting, but Moffat did not return the German’s proffer of a handshake. Denied a warm greeting by the American, Fehler proceeded belowdecks with his men, remarking, "Come now, commander, let’s not do this the hard way. Who knows but that one of these days you’ll be surrendering to me? In a few years, you will see Germany reborn. In the meantime, I shall have a welcome rest at one of your prisoner of war camps with better food, I am sure, than I have had for months. Then I’ll be repatriated ready to work for a new economic empire."

In his personal collection of photos from surrender of U-234, LTJG Eliot Winslow’s hand-written captions included: “The Finger: May 19, 1945, Kapitanen Leutnaut [sic] Jahann Heinrich Fehler . . . said in good English, ‘Ach—my men have been treated like gang­sters.’ With eyes meeting head on, I barked ‘that’s what you are GET OFF!’ My outstretched arm point­ed to the gangway.” (Courtesy of the Winslow Family)

Below, Argo’s armed guard ordered the prisoners to sit still with their arms folded prompting Fehler to complain bitterly to the American interpreter about their treatment. After learning about Fehler’s behavior, Winslow went below and ordered the guards to “shoot any prisoner who as much as scratches his head without permission.”

After they moored at the Portsmouth Navy Yard, an armed guard escorted U-234’s personnel to the brig. Luftwaffe General Kessler saluted Winslow and politely asked permission to depart the ship, to which Winslow silently pointed the way. Fehler left the cutter protesting to Winslow “Your men treated me like a gangster.” Already simmering over Fehler’s hubris and loud behavior, Winslow pointed to the gangway and barked, “That’s what you are. Get the hell off my ship!” 

Navy officials deemed Fehler, his passengers and officers of significant intelligence value and flew them from Boston to Washington, D.C., for further interrogation and processing.

Meanwhile, the Navy disbanded Winslow’s surrender group. Later, Winslow expressed his interest in returning to civilian life. In a letter to his command, he wrote, “If the Argo . . . is scheduled to fight the wintry blasts alone all winter, my answer is ‘Get me off.’ One winter upside down was enough for me. It took me three weeks [on shore] to regain the full use of my feet!”

To determine the contents of U-234’s cargo, the Navy surrounded the submarine with a shroud to shield the sensitive unloading activities. The Navy Department sent much of U-234’s cargo to its research facility at Indian Head, Maryland, distributing the German technology, including the Messerschmitt plans and instruments, to appropriate government offices for research and analysis. The Navy handed over the uranium oxide to the U.S. Army to support the Manhattan Project and development of atomic weapons.

Ultimately, U-234 was used for target practice by the U.S. Navy. On November 20th, 1947, USS Greenfish shot a torpedo at her as she lay on the surface, approximately 40 miles off Cape Cod. (U.S. Navy Photo)

After U-234’s surrender, the Navy continued to analyze the U-boat’s design and construction. The Navy subjected the U-boat to numerous tests to compare the durability and performance of German submarines to the latest American sub technology. By the spring of 1946, extensive dockside inspections and sea tests were complete and the Navy formally declared the U-boat “out of service.” Finally, on November 20th, 1947, 40 miles off Cape Cod, the Navy used the U-boat as a torpedo target for the American submarine USS Greenfish.

Navy intelligence officials processed Fehler and the other U-234 officers through Fort Hunt, located near Mt. Vernon. After that, the Navy sent the officers to internment camps along the East Coast. Fehler went to a facility reserved for fervent Nazi officers and, in 1946, he returned home by sea along with other repatriated Germans. While Fehler sank no ships as a submarine commander, his association with U-234 made him the subject of journalists, writers and researchers as one of the better-known U-boat captains. After returning to Germany, he settled in Hamburg and passed away in 1993 at the age of 82.

After completing the successful transfer of surrendered U-boats to Portsmouth, Captain Winslow navigated Argo up to Southport, Maine, to anchor in front of his parents’ home on Love Cove. The cutter barely fit through the rocky narrows and is the only vessel of its size and kind to have visited the sparsely populated area. (Courtesy of the Winslow Family)

After retiring from active duty, Eliot Winslow settled in Southport, Maine (near the port city of Bath), where he started a business running tugs and local tour boats. For years, Winslow gave summertime tours of the southern Maine coast on board the sightseeing vessel he named for his old cutter, the Argo. Winslow lived to see his nineties at his home in Southport.

William Thiesen is the Coast Guard Atlantic Area historian. This article appears courtesy of Coast Guard Compass and may be found in its original form here. 

from Storage Containers https://maritime-executive.com/article/75-years-ago-the-last-nazi-u-boat-surrenders via http://www.rssmix.com/

[krypto-outsourcing-contable]

Fatal error de la Segunda Guerra Mundial que disparó la muerte lenta del dinero en efectivo

En la mañana del 3 de septiembre de 1939, el embajador británico en Berlín le entregó un ultimátum al gobierno alemán. La nota decía que, a menos de que antes de que el reloj marcara las 11:00 a.m. anunciara planes de retirarse de Polonia -a la que había invadido el primer día de ese mes-, existiría un estado de guerra entre los dos países. "Debo decirles que no se ha recibido (noticia de) tal compromiso y, en consecuencia, este país está en guerra con Alemania", le dijo a los británicos el primer ministro Neville Chamberlain a las 11:15 a.m., en un mensaje radial. Entre tanto, Francia hizo algo similar y también declaró la guerra ese mismo día, unas horas más tarde. Apenas tres días después, el 6 de septiembre, a las 6:00 a.m., el nuevo sistema de defensa de radar de Reino Unido detectó unos aviones cruzando la costa sur de Inglaterra. Ante la alerta de ataque aéreo, un escuadrón de aviones de caza Hawker Hurricanes despegó, seguido por otros dos de reserva. Pero algo salió terriblemente mal.

El primero en caer

Ninguno de los pilotos había estado en combate. Estaban volando entre las nubes y bajo la luz del sol de la mañana.

Todos los que estaban volando esperaban ver aviones enemigos, pero ninguno había visto uno antes. Para identificar al enemigo, los pilotos dependían del reconocimiento visual instantáneo. El elegante Spitfire era fácil de detectar, pero el Hurricane se parecía al Messerschmitt 109 alemán. Los dos reservas fueron identificados como aviones enemigos y ambos fueron derribados. Uno de los pilotos sobrevivió ileso, pero el otro fue alcanzado en la parte posterior de la cabeza por una bala y probablemente murió instantáneamente. En esta etapa inicial de la guerra, los aviones de combate de la RAF no estaban equipados con una armadura para la cabeza. A los 26 años, Montague Hulton-Harrop, se convirtió en el primer piloto de combate británico en perder la vida en la Segunda Guerra Mundial, víctima de lo que la jerga militar llama "fuego amigo". Su muerte, en cierta forma, no fue en vano: obligó a la RAF a desarrollar sistemas eficientes de identificación de aeronaves antes del verano de 1940.

¡No disparen!

La Batalla de Barking Creek, como se le llamó a ese trágico incidente, hizo que se intensificaran los esfuerzos de quienes trabajaban en un proyecto secreto para que los operadores de radar pudieran saber cuáles de esos puntos que veían en sus pantallas eran naves amigas y cuáles, enemigas.

Sir Robert Alexander Watson-Watt (1892-1973) con el aparato que desarrolló para detectar ecos de radio reflejados de aviones enemigos. Su trabajo resultó en una red de receptores de radio a lo largo de la costa este de Inglaterra que permitió a la RAF desplegar con éxito sus aviones contra bombarderos alemanes. El equipo encargado de tal tarea estaba bajo el liderazgo de Robert Alexander Watson-Watt y era el mismo que había desarrollado "el arma secreta de los británicos": el radar. En esta ocasión crearon un aparato que se hizo conocido como identificación por radiofrecuencia o RFID: una pieza sustancial que, instalada en los aviones aliados, reaccionaba al radar emitiendo una señal que significaba "estamos de su lado, ¡no disparen!". Y, aunque quizás no habías oído hablar de ella, probablemente tienes una cerca en este momento. Lo que pasa es que las señales que ahora emiten significan otras cosas y ya no es tan sustancial.

La otra víctima

A medida que los circuitos de silicio comenzaron a reducirse, se hizo posible producir una etiqueta que se pudiera adjuntar a cosas mucho menos valiosas que un avión, y por razones menos loables que salvar vidas.

Lo que fue todo un aparato de RFID se convirtió en etiquetas, que se fueron haciendo más pequeñas y se filtraron por todas partes. Las etiquetas RFID son ubicuas en el mundo moderno: han sido usadas para monitorear desde trenes hasta reses, los pasaportes las tienen, las encuentras en prendas de vestir, en fin... hay incluso entusiastas que se las han implantado en sus cuerpos para poder abrir puertas o entrar la metro con solo un movimiento de la mano. RIFD además es la tecnología que está dentro de tus tarjetas de crédito y débito con las que puedes hacer pagos sin contacto, una tecnología que en varios países ha ido destronando el efectivo como método de pago preferido. Es por eso que hay quienes señalan que otra víctima de la Batalla de Barking Creek es el dinero contante y sonante.

¿Un adiós?

¿Por qué abandonaríamos el método que la humanidad ha usado para comprar y vender desde que China creó las primeras monedas hace 3.000 años? Para las personas, la razón más obvia es la comodidad. Para algunas instituciones, la lista de ventajas es larga.

¿Está mandado a recoger? Por un lado, el dinero en efectivo es caro. Hay que imprimirlo, distribuirlo, retirarlo, gastarlo, recibirlo, tenerlo en bancos, contarlo, asegurarlo, una y otra vez. Además, las transacciones directas -aquellas en las que sólo participas tú recibiendo o dando efectivo a cambio de un bien- no le generan beneficios a terceros que existen solamente para lucrarse de esos intercambios. A eso le puedes sumar muchas otras razones a favor del modo digital, como que hay delitos que se hacen más fácilmente con billetes y monedas, entre ellos, según estudios, la evasión fiscal. O el banquete de ganancias que traen los datos. Las transacciones digitales dejan un rastro que permite que te clasifiquen, registren tus preferencias y hasta vendan esa parte de ti.

La otra cara de la moneda

El dinero en efectivo, en cambio, no tiene memoria. Y esa característica probablemente será una de sus tablas de salvación.

99% de la población de Hong Kong entre las edades de 16 y 65 años usa Octopus, una tarjeta inteligente de valor almacenado reutilizable sin contacto para realizar pagos electrónicos en sistemas en o fuera de línea. Incluso en lugares como Hong Kong, donde se hacen más de 14 millones de transacciones diarias con la tarjeta Octopus, uno de los sistemas de pagos electrónicos más exitosos del mundo, recientemente se vieron largas colas frente a las máquinas de boletos para el metro. A pesar de que es altamente probable que quienes estaban esperando para comprarlos con dinero en efectivo tenían tarjetas Octopus, con las que podían entrar con solo acercarlas a los lectores que abundan en los servicios de transporte, usarlas los ponía en peligro. Se trataba de gente que había participado en las manifestaciones contra Pekín, y no quería ser identificada. Otra característica a favor del dinero físico es que no depende de una infraestructura digital. El colapso que la tarjeta Visa sufrió en el verano de 2018, que afectó a toda Europa, fue una señal de alarma para un continente que -a pesar de ciertas excepciones- se mueve rápidamente hacia la economía sin dinero en efectivo. En esa ocasión, el grupo de consumidores Which? advirtió que "la tendencia hacia el pago con tarjeta y sin contacto podría representar un riesgo sistemático para la economía en su conjunto". Así que los anuncios sobre la muerte definitiva del dinero en efectivo pueden ser un poco prematuros, a pesar de los grandes avances del RFID a los microchips de hoy. Read the full article

[chrislaguna1-blog]

The Messerschmitt Me 209 was designed as a record-breaking aircraft. On 26 April 1939, bearing the registration D-INJR, the Me 209 V1 set a new world speed record of almost 756 km/h. This was not broken until thirty years later, on 16 August 1969! For propaganda purposes, the Me 209 was given pseudo-military markings. In actual fact, studies were made about the possibility of redesigning the type as a fighter, but it proved to be unsuiitable. https://www.instagram.com/p/BvsObaXhyL9/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1auevzbex8hra

[pinturas-sgm-aviacion]

1944 02 22 Reich, Me410 Zerstörer units - Mark Postlethwaite

On 22 February 1944, as part of Operation Argument (a major air offensive directed against German fighter production centres),the USAAFs Fifteenth Air Force despatched a force consisting of four groups of B.17 Flying Fortresses and four groups of B.24 Liberators (183 aircraft in all) to bomb the Messerschmitt components works at Prufening and the fighter assembly plant at Obertraubling, respectively. Leading the 5thBomb Wing were the B.17s of the 97th BG,which, along with the 301st BG, were the only two groups able to locate the primary target, onto which they dropped 153 tons ofbombs. As part of a concerted response, in the early afternoon the Luftwaffe sent up aforce of ten BK 5 cm cannon armed Me 410/U4 Zerstorer of 5./ZG 26 from Oberpfaffenhofen led by the Staffelkapitan, Oberleutnant Fritz Stehle. As the B.17s completed their bomb run, the Zerstorer closed in to intercept. Shortly before 1300 hrs, Feldwebel Baunicke opened fire with his cannon and shot down the first bomber with the BK 5. Around ten minutes later, Stehle claimed another south of Dachau. Mark Postlethwaitefs painting captures the moment that the Me 410s passed through the rear of a formation of B.17Fs from the 97th BG during the air engagement over Prufening.

[carbone14]

Messerschmitt Bf 109E-7 du 7e Escadron de l'escadre de chasse JG26 (7./JG 26) – Gela – Sicile – Février 1941

Ces chasseurs de la Luftwaffe basés en Sicile étaient destinés à assurer la suprématie aérienne en Méditerranée et participaient au siège de Malte.

[osobypostacieludzie]

Hanna Reitsch - niemiecka pilot, oblatywaczka, rekordzistka sportów szybowcowych i honorowa kapitan lotnictwa wojskowego, jedna z dwóch kobiet w historii Niemiec odznaczona Krzyżem Żelaznym I Klasy. Od dzieciństwa marzyła o lataniu; początkowo chciała być „latającym lekarzem” w Afryce. Zawsze po szkole jechała rowerem na lotnisko w Jeżowie Sudeckim koło Jeleniej Góry, ucząc się w szkole szybowcowej Wolfa Hirtha. W 1931 roku, po otrzymaniu matury, uczęszczała do „Szkoły Kolonialnej dla Kobiet” w Rendsburgu. Od 1932 studiowała medycynę w Berlinie i Kilonii. W tym samym roku otrzymała licencję pilota po ukończeniu nauki w szkole lotniczej na lotnisku Berlin-Staaken i jeszcze tego samego roku ustanowiła rekord długości lotu dla kobiet (5,5 godziny w powietrzu). W roku 1933 została nauczycielką lotnictwa w szkole lotniczej na Kaltes Feld koło Schwäbisch Gmünd. W latach 1933–1934 uczestniczyła w wyprawie badawczej do Brazylii i Argentyny. Po powrocie do Niemiec ustanowiła w 1936 kolejny rekord długości lotu dla kobiet (305 km). W roku 1934 porzuciła studia i poświęciła się całkowicie lotniczej pasji, a decyzję tę przyśpieszyła propozycja podjęcia pracy w charakterze pilota doświadczalnego w Niemieckim Szybowcowym Instytucie Badawczym, którą przyjęła. Odtąd oblatywała wszystkie nowe konstrukcje szybowcowe powstające w Niemczech. Została znanym pilotem śmigłowców, w tym np. Fw 61, na którym w 1938 roku wykonała liczący się przelot z Berlina do Bremy (229 km) i jako pierwsza kobieta w historii lot wewnątrz budynku – w Deutschlandhalle w Berlinie. Jej sukcesy sportowe i popularność, sprawiły że stała się wielką gwiazdą nazistowskiej propagandy, chętnie wcielając się w nową rolę. Od 1937 zaczęła współpracować z Luftwaffe jako wojskowy pilot-oblatywacz w centrum badawczym lotnictwa wojskowego w miejscowości Rechlin. Testowała nowe modele samolotów myśliwskich, bombowców, samolotów i szybowców transportowych. W tym samym roku Ernst Udet nadał jej jako pierwszej kobiecie w historii, tytuł honorowego kapitana lotnictwa i jednocześnie jako pierwsza kobieta odbyła lot nad Alpami. W 1939 roku ustanowiła kolejny rekord lotu do celu. Testowała szybowce transportowe DFS 230, samoloty bombowe Dornier i Heinkel. W 1942 jako pierwsza kobieta w historii, odbyła lot samolotem odrzutowym Messerschmitt. Miała poważny wypadek podczas jednego z oblotów rakietowego myśliwca Messerschmitt Me 163, gdy podczas startu nie odczepił się od samolotu wózek z kołami podwozia – lądowała kapotując i doznając licznych obrażeń. Do latania wróciła po 10 miesiącach leczenia i rehabilitacji. Wraz z innymi pilotami testowymi, wykryła przyczyny niepowodzeń podczas prób z bronią V1 – odbywając loty w miniaturowej, stworzonej do badań kabinie, wewnątrz latającej bomby V1. Zimą 1943/44 r. uczestniczyła w opracowaniu planu wykorzystania oddziału pilotów-samobójców wzorujących się na japońskich (kamikaze), do ataków na cele alianckie. Propozycja ta, przedstawiona Hitlerowi w Obersalzbergu w lutym 1944 po uroczystości wręczenia Krzyża Żelaznego, nie znalazła jednak jego uznania. Wielokrotnie odnosiła rany w czasie lotów testowych. Za zasługi dla lotnictwa wojskowego odznaczona została Krzyżem Żelaznym II (w marcu 1941) i I Klasy (28 lutego 1944) oraz Złotą Odznaką Pilota-Obserwatora z Brylantami. W dniu 26 kwietnia 1945 roku podjęła desperacką próbę przelotu do oblężonego przez Armię Czerwoną Berlina. Usiłowała tam namówić Adolfa Hitlera do ucieczki, ale odmówił. Z wielkim trudem udało jej się wylecieć z Berlina i w maju trafiła do amerykańskiej niewoli, gdzie przebywała 15 miesięcy. Przez kilka lat po wojnie obywateli niemieckich obowiązywał zakaz latania samolotami. Dopiero w 1952 Reitsch wzięła udział (jako jedyna kobieta) w lotniczych mistrzostwach świata w Hiszpanii, gdzie zajęła 3 miejsce. Od roku 1954 pracowała jako pilot testowy w Darmstadt, a w roku 1959 wyjechała do Indii, aby w ramach programu rządowego rozbudować lotnictwo transportowe. W 1961 odwiedziła Biały Dom na zaproszenie prezydenta Johna F. Kennedy’ego. Od 1962 do 1966 roku w Ghanie wybudowała i prowadziła szkołę szybowcową. W latach 70. XX wieku zdobyła wiele rekordów lotniczych. Latała do ostatnich dni życia, zmarła na atak serca w wieku 67 lat we Frankfurcie nad Menem i została pochowana na cmentarzu w Salzburgu (Salzburger Kommunalfriedhof). Była niską i drobną blondynką, mierzyła 154 cm wzrostu i ważyła 45 kg. Ustanowiła ponad 40 rekordów lotniczych, zarówno wytrzymałościowych, jak i wysokościowych. Postrzegana jako czołowa pilotka III Rzeszy i entuzjastka narodowego socjalizmu, nigdy nie należała do NSDAP.

[ritterkreuz1939-1945]

Oberst Walter "Nowy" Nowotny (07.12.1920, Gmünd, Österreich - 08.11.1944, bei Achmer, Westfront) -Führer der berüchtigten Teufelskette- Der in Österreich geborene Nowotny trat unmittelbar nach Beginn des Zweiten Weltkrieges in die Luftwaffe ein und wurde zum Jagdflieger ausgebildet. Anfang Februar 1941 wurde er nach einer leicht verkürzten Ausbildung an die Ostfront versetzt. In der 9. Staffel des Elite-Jagdgeschwaders 54 "Grünherz" flog der junge Leutnant im Nordabschnitt der Russlandfront erst mal nur als Rottenflieger für erfahrene Piloten. Am 23. Juli 1941 konnte er während eines Einsatzes seinen ersten Luftsieg erzielen, wenige Tage später über der Insel Ösel sogar gleich drei weitere - aufgrund eines schweren Flaktreffers war Nowotny jedoch zum Notwassern gezwungen. Nachdem das Geschwader den jungen Piloten nach ergebnisloser Suchaktion bereits als vermisst abgeschrieben hatte, kehrte dieser völlig erschöpft und durchnässt auf seinen Heimatflugplatz zurück. Drei Tage nach seinem Abschuss war er in seinem winzigen Rettungsboot an Land getrieben und von deutschen Soldaten entdeckt worden. Anfang August stand der ehrgeizige Flieger wieder im Einsatz. Bereits ein knappes Jahr später konnte der Senkrechtstarter auf 45 bestätigte Luftsiege zurückblicken, am 4. August 1942 bezwang Nowotny in einem Einsatz sieben Luftkampfgegner - zu diesem Zeitpunkt trug er bereits beide Klassen des Eisernen Kreuzes, die Frontflugspange in Gold und hatte einen Ehrenpokal erhalten. Im Sommer hatte der junge Leutnant das Glück gehabt, eine Bruchnotlandung seiner schwer beschädigten Messerschmitt Bf 109 unverletzt überstanden zu haben, obwohl sich die Maschine überschlagen hatte. Als am 04.09.42 der 56. Gegner unterlag, erhielt Leutnant Nowotny im Alter von erst 21 Jahren das Ritterkreuz verliehen. Im Oktober übernahm er bereits das Kommando über die 9. Staffel, die aufgrund ihrer großen Erfolge und ihres Wappens innerhalb des Geschwaders als "Teufelsstaffel" bekannt wurde. Während der erbitterten Luftkämpfe über dem eingeschlossenen Leningrad reihte Nowotny Sieg an Sieg. In dieser Zeit wurde der junge Staffelkapitän als Führer der sogenannten "Teufelskette" berühmt-berüchtigt. Zusammen mit seinem Rottenflieger Karl Schnörrer sowie seinen Staffelkameraden Anton Döbele und Rudolf Rademacher bildete er die tödlichste und erfolgreichste Jagdkette der gesamten Luftwaffe. Mit den neuen Focke Wulf Fw 190 ausgerüstet, war das Team so gut aufeinander abgestimmt und hoch motiviert, dass die vier Piloten zwischen Januar und Dezember 1943 zusammen über 500 Luftsiege erzielten - davon gingen mehr als 180 auf das Konto des Kettenführers Nowotny. Aufgrund ihrer hohen Effizienz wurde die "Teufelskette" meist auf freie Jagd über der HKL geschickt. In einer beispiellosen Karriere erzielte Oberleutnant (01.02.43) Nowotny im Mai 20 Siege, im Juni 41, im August sogar 49(!) und im September etwas über 25. Am 15. Juni 1943 hatte er seinen 100. Sieg gemeldet, am 18. August unterlag (wahrscheinlich) mit dem sowjetischen Fliegerass Hauptmann Kuzmin (21 Siege) der 149. Gegner. Obwohl erst der vierte Jagdflieger der Welt, der diese phantastische Marke erreichte, erhielt Nowotny erst nach 200 Luftsiegen das Eichenlaub zum Ritterkreuz verliehen. Durch seine blitzschnellen Reflexe, seinem guten Sehvermögen und einem ausgezeichneten Gefühl für Entfernungen war Nowotny im Luftkampf mit einem Wolf unter Schafen zu vergleichen. Am 21. August 1943 wurde Hauptmann Nowotny mit der Übernahme der I. Gruppe beauftragt. Als er im September bei 220 Abschüssen angelangt war, erhielt er als 16. Jagdflieger die Schwerter zum Ritterkreuz mit Eichenlaub verliehen. Zu diesem Zeitpunkt war der erst 22jährige Nowotny das bereits erfolgreichste Jagdflieger-As des Krieges - jedoch dicht gefolgt von Hans Philipp, Hermann Graf und Günther Rall. Bei den Roten Jägern wurde Nowotny auch als "Tiger von Wolchowstroj" bekannt, nachdem er in diesem Gebiet atemberaubende Luftkämpfe ausgefochten hatte. Auch in Deutschland war er natürlich bereits äußerst populär - so wurde er im Oktober 1943 zum bereits fünften Mal im Wehrmachtsbericht genannt. Am 14. Oktober konnte Hauptmann Nowotny über Litauen während seines 421. Feindfluges mit dem Abschuss einer P-40 "Warhawk" als erster Jagdflieger der Kriegsgeschichte seinen 250. bestätigten Luftsieg erringen. Wenige Tage später erhielt er als 8. Offizier und zugleich 6. Jagdflieger die Brillanten zum Ritterkreuz verliehen - das bedeutete den Höhepunkt eines nur fünfwöchigen Ordenregens. Zwischen Ritterkreuz und Brillanten waren lediglich 400 Tage verstrichen. Doch nur wenige Wochen nach diesem Erfolg schlug das Schicksal in kürzester Zeit zweimal hart zu - am 11. November wurde Anton Döbele während eines Luftkampfes getötet, am nächsten Tag erwischte es Karl Schnörrer, der bei einer Notlandung schwer verwundet wurde. Dies bedeutete das plötzliche Ende des erfolgreichen Jagdschwarms. Aufgrund seiner großen Verdienste an der Front wurde Nowotny zu seiner Enttäuschung nun vom Kampfeinsatz zurückgezogen und zum Kommodore der Jagdfliegerschule 1 in Frankreich ernannt. Während seiner Dienstzeit am Schreibtisch stellte er mehrmals Antrag um Rückversetzung an die Front, dieser Bitte wurde aber vorerst nicht entsprochen. Als im Juli 1944 der erste Verband mit den revolutionären Messerschmitt Me 262 Düsenjägern aufgestellt werden sollte, wurde der hochdekorierte Offizier auf Initiative von Generalleutnant Galland dessen Kommodore. An der Spitze der "Erprobungsgruppe Nowotny", die über etwa 40 Maschinen verfügte, testete der Österreicher den neuen Jäger auf Herz und Nieren, erwirkte entscheidende Verbesserungen und flog auch mehrmals gegen amerikanische Bomberverbände. Der kampferfahrene Frontoffizier war sich mit dem General der Jagdflieger und vielen anderen Luftwaffenassen einig, dass die Me 262 eine Wende im Luftkrieg bedeuten konnte. Doch Hitler und Göring lehnten trotz fachlicher Beratung die Serienherstellung als Jäger ab und sahen in der Maschine hauptsächlich den lange propagierten "Blitzbomber". Nach einigen Einsätzen hatte der zum Major (01.09.44) beförderte Nowotny zusätzlich zu seinen 255 Siegen über sowjetische Piloten noch zwei amerikanische Bomber abgeschossen, als er erneut mit einem Feindflugverbot belegt wurde. Sein Versuchsverband hatte bis zu diesem Zeitpunkt zwar wertvolle Testarbeit geleistet, jedoch lediglich 18 Luftsiege bei 26 eigenen Verlusten erzielt. Diese waren doch zum Großteil auf Unfälle oder technische Probleme zurückzuführen gewesen. Am Morgen des 8. Novembers 1944 befand sich der Brillantenträger im Begleitung von Generalleutnant Galland auf dem Flugplatz von Achmer. Als eine kurz zuvor gestartete Me 262-Staffel über Funk einen schweren Luftkampf und einige Verluste meldete, hielt Nowotny nichts mehr. Er rannte aufs Flugfeld, sprang in seine Maschine und rollte zum Start. Generalleutnant Galland befahl über Funk mehrmals die sofortige Rückkehr, doch Nowotny reagierte nicht darauf - er wollte seine Männer nicht im Stich lassen. Bereits nach wenigen Minuten traf Nowotny im Gefechtsraum ein, schoss mit einer amerikanischen Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" seinen 258. Gegner ab und trat den Heimflug an. Er war sich dem bevorstehenden Anpfiff durch Galland bewusst. Über den deutschen Flugplätzen dieser Tage waren des öfteren amerikanische Jagdstaffeln eingesetzt, die landende oder startende Maschinen - vor allem die gefährlichen Düsenjäger - abfangen sollten. Während der Landung waren ihnen die sonst überlegenen Düsenmaschinen relativ hilflos ausgeliefert. Um dies auszugleichen, wurden die Me 262 während der Landung wenn möglich von eigenen Propellermaschinen abgesichert - doch ausgerechnet an diesem Tag waren in Achmer keine verfügbar. Als Major Nowotny sich dem Flugplatz von Achmer näherte, wurde er auch prompt von einer "Mustang"-Staffel entdeckt und aus großer Höhe angegriffen. Während der Kontrollturm des Flugplatzes über Sprechfunk mithörte, kämpfte Nowotny - ohne Katschmarek und ohne Landeschutz - gegen mehrere Angreifer um sein Leben. Nachdem seine Maschine mehrmals getroffen worden war und eine Turbine seiner Messerschmitt verstummte, warf der Brillantenträger in niedriger Höhe das Kabinendach ab und ließ sich aus der zusammengeschossenen Maschine fallen. Aufgrund der niedrigen Höhe zog er die Reißleine wohl sehr früh - tragischerweise leider zu früh. Der geöffnete Schirm verfing sich am Leitwerk seine Me 262 und zog den tapferen Flieger gnadenlos in die Tiefe. Es war der 443. Feindflug, von dem der Brillantenträger nicht mehr zurückkehrte. Nach Erich Hartmann (352), Gerhard Barkhorn (301), Günther Rall (275) und Otto Kittel (267) stand Walter Nowotny bei Kriegsende an der weltweit fünften Stelle der Jägerelite. Ohne das Feindflugverbot im Jahre 1943 wäre Nowotny mit ziemlicher Sicherheit der erste Jagdpilot der Welt mit 300 Luftsiegen geworden. Der ehemalige General der Jagdflieger Adolf Galland sagte später über ihn: "Nowotny war der beste Jagdflieger, den Deutschland je hatte! Obwohl er erst 24 Jahre alt war, brachte er eine besondere Eignung für höhere Kommandos mit. Ich glaube, er war in jeder Beziehung ein außergewöhnlicher Mann." Quelle Florian Berger: "Mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern", mit Verweis auf http://www.waffenhq.de/biographien/biographien/nowotny.html