#september 21 1942

[sefaradweb]

Una formación de seis policías judíos en el gueto de Varsovia, julio de 1942

🇪🇸 La policía judía del gueto de Varsovia fue creada al mismo tiempo que el gueto y estaba compuesta por jóvenes bien educados, principalmente abogados y personas de clase alta. Al comienzo, la policía se encargaba del tráfico, la limpieza y el orden en el gueto, pero en 1941 tuvo que suministrar trabajadores forzados a las autoridades alemanas. En julio de 1942, cuando comenzaron las deportaciones masivas de judíos de Varsovia a Treblinka, la policía judía recibió la orden de reunir a los judíos para estas deportaciones. A los policías judíos se les prometió inmunidad para ellos y sus familias, y algunos creyeron que al cumplir con estas órdenes, estaban ayudando a salvar vidas judías. Sin embargo, al participar en las redadas, se convirtieron en el grupo más odiado dentro del gueto. A medida que las deportaciones continuaban, los policías judíos se dieron cuenta de que su propio destino también era incierto y empezaron a desertar, buscar empleo en los talleres del gueto o esconderse. En respuesta, los alemanes aplicaron medidas más duras, amenazando con arrestar a sus familias si no cumplían con la cuota diaria de deportados. El 21 de septiembre de 1942, durante Yom Kipur, la mayoría de la policía judía y sus familias fueron deportados a Treblinka, terminando así las deportaciones masivas en Varsovia.

🇺🇸 The Jewish police of the Warsaw ghetto were established simultaneously with the ghetto itself and were comprised of well-educated young people, mostly lawyers and individuals from the upper class. Initially, the police were responsible for traffic control, sanitation, and maintaining order within the ghetto, but in 1941, they were tasked with providing forced laborers to the German authorities. In July 1942, when the mass deportations of Jews from Warsaw to Treblinka began, the Jewish police were ordered to gather Jews for these deportations. The Jewish police were promised immunity for themselves and their families, and some believed that by following orders, they were helping to save Jewish lives. However, their participation in the raids made them the most hated group within the ghetto. As the deportations continued, the Jewish police realized that their own fate was uncertain, and they began to desert, seek employment in the ghetto's workshops, or go into hiding. In response, the Germans took harsher measures, threatening to arrest their families if they didn't meet the daily deportation quota. On September 21, 1942, during Yom Kippur, the majority of the Jewish police and their families were deported to Treblinka, marking the end of the mass deportations in Warsaw.

[usafphantom2]

21 September 1942. First flight of the B-29 Superfortress XB-29-BO, 41-002, first of three prototypes. American four-engine heavy bomber. It reached 6,000 feet before testing the stability/control, control power/response and stall characteristics. The flight took 1 hr. 15 min.

@ron_eisele via X

[labyrinthofstreams]

Jewish musicians of the 1960s

✡︎ Bob Dylan (born Robert Allen Zimmerman; May 24, 1941)

✡︎ Lesley Gore (born Lesley Sue Goldstein; May 2, 1946 �� February 16, 2015)

✡︎ Leonard Cohen (September 21, 1934 – November 7, 2016)

✡︎ Barbra Streisand (born April 24, 1942)

✡︎ Marty Balin (born Martyn Jerel Buchwald; January 30, 1942 – September 27, 2018) and Jorma Kaukonen (born December 23, 1940) of Jefferson Airplane

✡︎ Robby Krieger (born January 8, 1946) of The Doors

✡︎ Paul Simon (born October 13, 1941) and Art Garfunkel (born November 5, 1941) of Simon & Garfunkel

✡︎ Phil Ochs (December 19, 1940 – April 9, 1976)

✡︎ Cass Elliot (born Ellen Naomi Cohen; September 19, 1941 – July 29, 1974) of The Mamas & The Papas

✡︎ Mary (December 28, 1948 – January 19, 2024) and Elizabeth Weiss (born November 27, 1946) of The Shangri-Las

✡︎ Neil Diamond (born January 24, 1941)

✡︎ Janis Ian (born Janis Eddy Fink; April 7, 1951)

✡︎ Robbie Robertson (born Jaime Royal Robertson; July 5, 1943 – August 9, 2023) of The Band

✡︎ Gary Hirsh (March 9, 1940 – August 17, 2021), Barry Melton (born June 14, 1947), Joseph Allen "Country Joe" McDonald (born January 1, 1942), and David Cohen (born August 4, 1942) of Country Joe and the Fish

✡︎ Manfred Mann (born Manfred Sepse Lubowitz; October 21, 1940)

[majorhortonisonleaveinlondon]

An updated (December 20, 2024 9:02pm pst) list of WW2 movies and TV shows in chronological order

thought out WW2 -(Imitation Game 2014) -(The Book Thief 2013) -(The Zookeeper’s Wife 2017) -(The Pianist 2002)

1937

October 26, 1937 Defence of Sihang Warehouse (The Eight Hundred 2020)

December 13, 1937 Nanjing Massacre - (John Rabe 2009) - (The Flowers of War 2011)

1938

Fall of 1938 (Munich – The Edge of War 2022)

1939

Summer 1939 (Six Minutes to Midnight 2020)

September 3, 1939 King George VI first wartime speech (King’s Speech 2010)

September 17, 1939, Soviet Union Invitation of Poland (The Way Back 2010)

November 30, 1939 Soviet Union invades Finland (The Winter War 1989)

1940

April 9, 1940 Operation Weserübung -(April 9th [movie] 2015) -(King’s Choice 2016) -(Narvik 2022) -(War Sailors 2023)

April 27, 1940 (Into the White 2011)

June 4, 1940 -Churchill gives “We Shall Fight on the Beaches” speech (Darkest Hour 2017) -Dunkirk Evaluation (Dunkirk 2017)

July 10-October 31, 1940 Battle of Britain (Battle of Britain 1969)

1941

May 1941 (Call to Spy 2019)

June 22, 1941 Operation Barbarossa -(Fortress of War [The Brest Fortres 2010) -(Defiance 2008)

September 8, 1941, Siege of Leningrad begins. -(Battle of Leningrad [Saving Leningrad] 2019) -(Leningrad 2009)

October 1941 Battle of Moscow (The Last Frontier [The Final Stand] 2020)

October 1941 Battle of Sevastopol (Battle for Sevastopol 2015)

December 7, 1941, the Empire of Japan attacks Pearl Harbor (Tora! Tora! Tora! 1970)

December 8, 1941 Japan invades Shanghai International Settlement (Empire of the Sun 1987)

1942

January 20, 1942, Wannsee Conference (Conspiracy 2001)

February 1942 Battle of the Atlantic (Greyhound 2020)

February 1942 (The Railway Man 2013)

February 19, 1942, Bombing of Darwin (Australia 2008)

Spring 1942 (U-571 2000)

April 18, 1942 The Doolittle Raid (In Harm’s Way 2018)

June 4, 1942 Battle of Midway (Midway 2019)

1942 Summer Occupation of Jersey Island (Another Mother’s Son 2017 Prime)

July, 10 1942 Easy Company Trains in Camp Tocca (Band of Brothers 01x10 Currahee 2001)

July 21, 1942, Kokoda Track Campaign (Kokoda: 39th Battalion 2006)

August 7, 1942, 1st Marine Division land on Guadalcanal (The Pacific Ep. 1 Guadalcanal/Leckie 2010)

August 19, 1942, Dieppe Raid (Dieppe 1993)

August 23, 1942 Battle of Stalingrad begins (Stalingrad 1993)

September 1942 Formation of Troop 30 (Age of Heroes 2011)

September 18, 1942, 7th Marines Land on Guadalcanal (The Pacific Ep. 2 Basilone 2010)

Autumn of 1942 Battle of the Atlantic (Das Boot 1981)

October 18, 1942, Operation Grouse (Heavy Water War Ep. 2 2015)

November 8, 1942, Operation Torch (The Big Red One 1980)

November 10-17 1942 Vasily Zaytsev kills 225 German Soldiers during the Battle of Stalingrad (Enemy at the Gates 2001)

December 1942 The 1st Marine Division on Guadalcanal is relieved (The Pacific Ep. 3 Melbourne 2010)

December 15, 1942, Battle of Mount Austen (Thin Red Line 1998)

1943

March 13-14 1943, liquidation of the Kraków Ghetto -(Schindler’s List 1993)

April 17, 1943 Operation Mincemeat (Operation Mincemeat 2021)

April 19, 1943, beginning of the Warsaw Uprising (Uprising 2001)

May 4, 1943, Final Mission of The Memphis Bell (Memphis Bell 1990)

May 15, 1943, Salamo Arouch and his family arrive in Auschwitz Concentration Camp (Triumph of the Spirit 1989)

May 27, 1943 Louis Zamperini plane crashes on a search and rescue mission (Unbroken 2014)

May 30, 1943 first All-American Girls Professional Baseball League game played (A League of Their Own 1992)

June 25, 1943, 100th Bomb Group flew its first 8th Air Force combat mission (Master of the Air: Part One 2024)

July 1943 -(The Tuskegee Airmen 1995) -(The Liberator Ep. 1 2020) -(Heavy Water War Ep. 5 2015)

July 16, 1943, The 100th Bomb Group bombed U-Boats in Tronbhdim (Masters of the Air: Part Two 2024)

August 17, 1943 the 4th Bomb Wing of the 100th Bomb Group bombed Regenberg (Masters of the Air: Part Three 2024)

September 16, 1943, William Quinn and Charles Bailey leave Belgium (Masters of the Air: Part Four 2024)

September 18, 1943 John ‘Bucky’ Egan returns from leave to join the mission to bomb Munster (Master of the Air: Part Five 2024

October 14, 1943, John ‘Bucky’ Egan interrogated at Dulag Lut, Frankfurt Germany (Masters of the Air: Part Six 2024)

December 26, 1943, 1st Marine Division lands on Cape Gloucester (The Pacific Ep. 4 Gloucester/Pavuvu/Banika 2010)

1944

January 22, 1944, Battle of Anzio -(The Liberator Ep. 2 2020) -(Red Tails 2012) -(Anzio 1968)

February 20, 1944, Hydro Ferry bombing (Heavy Water War Ep. 6 2015)

March 7, 1944, Stalag Luft III Sagan, Germany, Germans find the concealed radio Bucky was using to learn news of the War (Master of the Air: Part Seven 2024)

March 24/25, 1944 Allied Mass Escape of Stalag Luft III (The Great Escape 1963)

June 1944 (Cross of Iron 1977)

June 6, 1944, 00:48 & 01:40 First airborne troops begin to land on Normandy (Band of Brothers 02x10 Day of Days 2001)

June 6, 1944, 06:30 D-Day landings -(Storming Juno 2010)

-(Saving Private Ryan 1998)

June 10, 1944, Easy Company Takes Carentan (Band of Brothers 03x10 Carentan 2001)

June 15-July 9, 1944 Battle of Saipan

-(Windtalkers 2002)

-(Oba: The Last Samurai 2011)

July, 1944 The Monuments Men land in Normandy (The Monuments Men 2014)

July 20, 1944 Operation Valkyrie (Valkyrie 2008)

August 12, 1944, The 332nd Fighter Group attack Radar stations in Southern France (Masters of the Air: Part Eight 2024)

September 15, 1944, U.S. Marines landed on Peleliu at 08:32 (the Pacific Ep. 5 2010)

September 16, 1944, U.S Marines take Peleliu Airfield (the Pacific Ep. 5 2010)

September 17, 1944, Operation Market Garden

-(Band of Brothers 04x10 Replacements 2001)

-(A Bridge Too Far 1977)

October 2, 1944 Battle of Scheldt (Forgotten Battle 2021)

October 12, 1944, Battle of Peleliu, Assault on Bloody Nose Ridge (the Pacific Ep. 7 Peleliu Hills 2010)

October 13, 1944, Rovaniemi public buildings were destroyed (Sisu 2022)

October 14, 1944, Erwin Rommel is arrested (Rommel 2012 Prime)

October 22/23, 1944, 2100 – 0200 Operation Pegasus (Band of Brothers 05x10 Crossroads 2001)

November 1944 middle of the Battle of Hürtgen Forest (When Trumpets Fade 1998)

December 16, 1944, Battle of the Bulge (Band of Brothers 06x10 Bastogne 2001)

December 1944 (Hart’s War 2002)

1945

January 2, 1945 (The Liberator Ep 3 2020)

January 10, 1945 (Attack Force Z)

January 13, 1945, Battle of Foy (Band of Brothers 07x10 The Breaking Point 2001)

January 30, 1945 The Raid at Cabanatuan (The Great Raid 2002)

February 14, 1945, David Webb rejoins the 506th in Haguenau (Band of Brothers 08x10 The Last Patrol 2001)

February 19, 1945, Battle of Iwo Jima starts. - (Letters from Iwo Jima 2006) - (The Pacific Ep. 8 Iwo Jima 2010) - (Flags of our Fathers 2006)

February 15, 1945, 6888 Battalion was inspected and marched in review before Major General John C. H. Lee (Six Triple Eight 2024)

March 21, 1945, Operation Carthage (The Bombardment 2021)

April, 1945 (Fury 2014)

April 5, 1945, 506th Finds abandoned Concentration Camp (Band of Brothers 09x10 Why We Fight 2001)

April 17, 1945 Lee Miller arrives at Concentration Camp Buchenwald (Lee 2023)

April 26, 1945, near the end of the war in Europe (A Woman in Berlin 2008)

April 29, 1945, 45th Infantry Division liberated Dachau Concentration camp (The Liberator Ep. 4 2020)

May 2, 1945, Fall of Berlin -(Downfall 2004) -(Jojo Rabbit 2019)

May 1945 Battle of Okinawa -(Hacksaw Ridge 2016) -(The Pacific Ep. 9 Okinawa 2010)

May 7, 1945, Germany Surrenders V-E Day - (Master of the Air: Part Nine 2024) - (Band of Brothers 10x10 Points 2001)

July 30, 1945, USS Indianapolis sank. (USS Indianapolis 2016)

August 15, 1945, The Empire of Japan surrenders end of the War. -(Oppenheimer 2023) -(The Pacific Part Ten: Home 2010)

September 11, 1945 US Military search and Arrest Japanese Leaders for war crimes (Emperor 2012)

1946 April 29, 1946 Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal (Tokyo Trial 2016)

[newyorkthegoldenage]

Gasoline rationing during wartime meant that one-third of New York’s 11,700 taxicabs ceased operations on September 21, 1942, under an order of the Office of Defense Transportation. They were stored in a parking lot with their tires removed and their bodies covered with protective grease.

Photo: Associated Press

[whencyclopedia]

First Battle of El Alamein

The First Battle of El Alamein (1-27 July 1942) was a series of encounters during the Second World War (1939-1945) in Egypt between Allied and Axis forces. The battle, focussed around the El Alamein defensive line, ended without a decisive result except that the advance into Egypt of the German General Erwin Rommel (1891-1944) was finally halted.

The British Eighth Army followed up with a victory at the Battle of Alam Halfa (September 1942) and then definitively turned the tide of the war in North Africa by winning the great set-piece encounter known as the Second Battle of El Alamein in October-November 1942.

Vickers Machine Gun Post, El Alamein

A. McLaren - Imperial War Museums (CC BY-NC-SA)

The Importance of North Africa

North Africa became a major theatre of WWII because of the importance of holding the Suez Canal and protecting vital shipping routes in the Mediterranean. In the early years of the war, North Africa was the only place where Britain could fight a land war against the Axis powers of Germany and Italy and so hopefully gain much-needed victories that would encourage the British people after the debacle of the Dunkirk Evacuation and the horrors of the London Blitz. The fighting in North Africa, which involved infantry, artillery, armoured divisions, and air support, became known as the Western Desert Campaigns (June 1940 to January 1943).

With Operation Compass (December 1940 to February 1941), British and British Empire troops obliged Italy's poorly equipped army to withdraw from Egypt and then Cyrenaica (Eastern Libya). From February, the Axis presence in North Africa was considerably boosted by the arrival of German troops such as the elite Deutsche Afrika Korps (DAK) with superior armour, weapons, and training compared to both the Italians and the Allies. Things improved further for the Axis powers when General Rommel took over command of Axis forces in North Africa. Rommel won a series of victories in March and April 1941, but the Allies kept hold of their vital supply port during the siege of Tobruk (April to December 1941). Rommel regained the initiative at the Battle of Gazala (May-June 1942) where the Allied Gazala Line of defences was smashed. Rommel even captured Tobruk on 21 June and so was promoted to the rank of field marshal. Rommel gained another victory at the Battle of Mersa Matruh, capturing the Egyptian port on 28 June. Here, as in other arenas of the conflict, the Allies were taking a beating.

Continue reading...

[pinturas-sgm-aviacion]

1941 01 13 Wellington over Venice - Graham Turner

Wellingtons over Venice, 12/13 January 1941 Eyewitness accounts that describe Bomber Command's operations to Italy often speak of the long duration (some 9 hours) of the trip, and a boredom that was only punctuated by the joy in seeing the snow-covered Alpine peaks and the short-lived drama of bombing the target. Yet the earlier attacks on Italy, in 1940 and 1941, often proved to be much more wild adventures. Individual aircraft selected their own way of getting to the target and, once there, they would not just drop their bomb load but often engaged in 'further activities', such as the low-level shooting-up of flak positions, airfields, road convoys, moving trains or - in this case - ocean liners. In early December 1940, 4 Group had been taken off Italian operations owing to the need to conserve its Whitley Mk Vs for large fire-raising operations against German cities, and the 'Italy assignment' was transferred to 3 Group, which operated the Vickers Wellington MxIc.

The operational instructions issued by HQ Bomber Command stated they were to attack Italian targets, but only with a maximum number of 15 aircraft; they were given a fixed list of German targets from which to choose alternatives if weather precluded attack upon Italian objectives, but clearly the latter was the priority.

On 4 December, 3 Group undertook its first Italian operation, when 15 aircraft were detailed to bomb the Royal Arsenal in Turin, and Wellingtons were also sent to italy on 18 and 21 December, and on 11/12 January 1941. The following night, seven Wellingtons were ordered to attack the oil refineries at Porto Marghera, near Venice, and the progress of this operation is depicted in this battle scene. The bombers scored direct hits on the target area: one 1, 000lb boob dropped from 700ft scored a direct hit on large buildings at the oil refinery, causing a massive explosion with reddish/white smoke and flames to 400ft, whilst further bombs caused oil storage tanks to explode and a large building to collapse and disintegrate. Fifteen minutes into the attack, the target area was described by aircrews as being a mass of flames. Yet 3 Group's aircraft had not travelled that far (a round trip of 1,500 miles) just to drop their modest bomb loads (at that range about 1,500lb).

With little chance of being intercepted - in early 1941 the Regia Aeronautica had yet to train for the night-fighter role - the Wellingtons used their machine guns to strafe the oil refinery and flak positions. Two aircraft got down very low - to about 300ft and 390ft respectively - to attack the Italian liners Rex and Conte di Savoia, which were being used as troop ships to North Africa. The raid report stated that another Wellington on its return journey attacked Padua aerodrome from an incredible 20ft. Such activity encapsulates the brave - if at times reckless - endeavour of the early bomber attacks on Italy. Operations did become a lot more organised, more controlled and, ultimately, more devastating from autumn 1942 onwards, though a final 'wild ride' would be the daylight operation to Milan by 5 Group's Lancasters on 24 October 1942, which culminated in some low-level flying and strafing by machine guns (...). As for the two Italian liners, the next time the Rex was attacked by the RAF, in conjunction with Beaufighters of the South African Air Force, was on 8 September

[musickickztoo]

U-Roy *September 21, 1942

[portraituresque]

Antonio-Bueno (with-Xavier-Bueno) - La-carrozza-passeggiata-alle-cascine-1942- self portrait

Antonio Bueno (21 July 1918 – 26 September 1984) was an Italian painter of Spanish origin.

[rabbitcruiser]

Alaska Highway, CDN (No. 3)

On September 24, 1942, crews from both directions met at Mile 588 at what became named Contact Creek, at the British Columbia-Yukon border at the 60th parallel; the entire route was completed October 28, 1942, with the northern linkup at Mile 1202, Beaver Creek, and the highway was dedicated on November 20, 1942, at Soldier's Summit.Replica log bridge at Aishihik River crossing

Although it was completed on October 28, 1942, and its completion was celebrated at Soldier's Summit on November 21 (and broadcast by radio, the exact outdoor temperature censored due to wartime concerns), the "highway" was not usable by general vehicles until 1943. Even then there were many steep grades, a poor surface, switchbacks to gain and descend hills, and few guardrails. Bridges, which progressed during 1942 from pontoon bridges to temporary log bridges, were replaced with steel bridges where necessary. A replica log bridge, the Canyon Creek bridge, can be seen at the Aishihik River crossing; the bridge was rebuilt in 1987 and refurbished in 2005 by the Yukon government where it functions as a popular tourist attraction. The easing of the Japanese invasion threat resulted in no more contracts being given to private contractors for upgrading of specific sections.

Some 100 miles (160 km) of route between Burwash Landing and Koidern, Yukon, became nearly impassable in May and June 1943 due to permafrost thawing under the road and destroying the layer of delicate vegetation that held the road together. A corduroy road was built to restore the route, and corduroy still underlies old sections of highway in the area. Modern construction methods do not allow the permafrost to thaw, either by building a gravel berm on top or replacing the vegetation and soil immediately with gravel. The Burwash-Koidern section, however, is still a problem as the new highway built there in the late 1990s continues to experience frost heave.

Pincers on Japan and Look to the North, both 1944 productions, were National Film Board of Canada documentaries that depicted the construction of the Alaska Highway.

Source: Wikipedia

[broadcastarchive-umd]

#VoxPop The long-running radio program Vox Pop often focused on the American railroad and railroad workers.

On September 21, 1942, the program highlighted the New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad in a broadcast from the Cedar Hill Yard in New Haven, Connecticut. Here, interviewee Benjamin T. Savory shows host Parks Johnson the controls of a steam locomotive. Savory joined the New Haven Railroad in 1903. He retired in 1949 after a 50-year career in railroading. He passed away in Manchester, Connecticut, in 1954 at the age of 73.

Source: Parks Johnson collection on Vox Pop

[usafphantom2]

Victoria Cross for Lancaster pilot Squadron Leader Ian Bazalgette – August 1944

Header main image: ‘Beyond Praise’ – Bazalgette’s blazing Lancaster ND811, ‘F2-T’, with only one engine still running, skims the village of Senantes, France, before crashing on 4th August 1944. (Artwork: Len Krenzler)

Eighty years ago this month, in August 1944, an incredible and selfless act of supreme gallantry by Lancaster Pathfinder pilot Squadron Leader Ian Willoughby “Baz” Bazalgette resulted in the subsequent award to him of a posthumous Victoria Cross (VC).

Ian Bazalgette was born in the Canadian city of Calgary in October 1918, to parents of English and Irish background. The family always called him “Will” and in 1927, when he was nine years old, they all moved back to England. When the Second World War began, he was almost 21 and having volunteered for military service he initially served with the Royal Artillery, being commissioned in 1940, before transferring to the RAF Volunteer Reserve. After completing his pilot training, he joined 115 Squadron at Mildenhall in September 1942, to fly the Vickers Wellington twin-engine bomber operationally. In the RAF his nickname became “Baz”.

When he had completed 13 operations flying Wellingtons, Bazalgette and his squadron transitioned to the four-engine Lancaster and he flew a further 15 ‘ops’ against heavily defended targets in Europe, surviving some harrowing experiences, including a crash landing. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC), with the citation mentioning his “great courage and determination in the face of the enemy”. When his first operational tour was complete, he was posted as an instructor at No 20 Operational Training Unit, based at Lossiemouth in Scotland. Then in April 1944 he was ‘head hunted’ for the Pathfinder Force and joined 635 Squadron at RAF Downham Market, Norfolk, as a flight commander with promotion to acting squadron leader. He completed a number of Pathfinder target- marking operations in the lead-up to D-Day and afterwards.

A 635 Sqn Lancaster with the unit’s ‘F2’ code letters at Downham Market in 1944. This aircraft has the H2S radar dome under the rear fuselage and is fitted with the then secret ‘Village Inn’ radar-directed Airborne Gun Laying Turret (AGLT) equipment for the rear turret. Bazalgette flew Lancaster ED811 ‘F2-T’ on 4th August 1944.

On 4th August 1944, on his 58th operation, Bazalgette was the master bomber for a daylight raid against the V-1 flying-bomb storage caves at Trossy St Maxim, France. He was tasked with marking the target and controlling the Main Force bombing. Nearing the target his Lancaster, ND811 ‘F2-T’, came under heavy anti-aircraft fire; both starboard engines were put out of action and serious fires broke out in the starboard wing and the fuselage. As the deputy master bomber had already been shot down, with the deaths of all those on board, the success of the attack depended on Bazalgette. Knowing this, he pressed onto the target, despite the state of his Lancaster, and marked it accurately.

Sqn Ldr Ian Bazalgette DFC (far left) with his usual 635 Sqn crew (L to R): Geoff Goddard, Ivan Hibbert, Chuck Godfrey, Bob Hurnhall (who was replaced by Vernon Leeder on 4th August 1944), Douglas Cameron and George Turner.

After dropping his markers and bombs, Bazalgette’s crippled Lancaster dived almost out of control and bursts of ‘flak’ hit the nose of the aircraft badly injuring the bomb aimer, Flight Lieutenant Ivan Hibbert, whose right arm was almost torn off. The flight engineer, Sergeant George Turner, and the wireless operator, Flying Officer Charles “Chuck” Godfrey, dragged Hibbert from his position in the nose in a critical condition, carried him to the rest bunk, applied a tourniquet and injected him with morphine. The crew attempted to fight the flames inside the aircraft, but smoke filled the fuselage and the mid-upper gunner, Flight Sergeant Vernon Leeder RAAF, was overcome by fumes. Leeder was not part of Bazalgette’s usual crew, but had replaced Flight Sergeant Hurnhall for this sortie. Then the port inner engine failed and, with only one engine running, altitude could no longer be maintained. Bazalgette ordered those of his crew able to do so to abandon the aircraft, and four of them bailed out from low altitude. All four survived and subsequently evaded capture with the help of the French Resistance. Aware that his bomb aimer and the mid-upper gunner could not bail out and refusing to leave them, Bazalgette attempted to crash-land the burning Lancaster in a last effort to save them. He managed to put the aircraft down in a field near the small French village of Senantes, but moments later the Lancaster exploded and Bazalgette and his two comrades were killed.

Left: Sqn Ldr Ian “Baz” Bazalgette. Centre: Bazalgette’s medals. Right: The BBMF Lancaster flies in tribute to all who flew with Bomber Command during the Second World War and especially those who lost their lives. (Lancaster image: Lisa Harding).

In August 1945 Squadron Leader Ian W Bazalgette DFC was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for his heroic sacrifice in not abandoning his two wounded comrades who remained on board. The citation for his VC in the London Gazette included the words, “His heroic sacrifice marked the climax of a long career of operations against the enemy. He always chose the more dangerous and exacting roles. His courage and devotion to duty were beyond praise.”

LEST WE FORGET

@memorialflightclub.com

[deutschland-im-krieg]

The U-66 was a Type IXC submarine operated by the Kriegsmarine (German navy).  It was laid down on 20 March 1940 at the AG Wesser yard in Bremen, and launched on 10 October and commissioned on 2 January 1941 under the command of Kapitänleutnant Richard Zapp as part of the 2nd U-boat Flotilla.

U-66 was the seventh most successful U-boat in WW2, and over nine patrols she sank 33 merchant ships, for a total of 200,021 gross registered tons (GRT) and damaged two British motor torpedo boats (MTBs). On 6 May 1944, during her ninth patrol, she was sunk west of the Cape Verde Islands by depth charges, ramming and gunfire from Grumman TBF Avenger and Grumman F4F Wildcat aircraft from the USS Block Island (CVE-21) and the destoyer escort USS Buckley (DE-51).

The U-66 is pictured here after returning from her 6th combat patrol, under the command of the young 27 year old Kapitänleutnant Frederick Markworth. This was his first combat patrol with U-66 and it was conducted in the Caribbean Sea. Lorient, France, September 1942

[breaniebree]

Kismet Characters & Trees Part One:

Patrick Finnigan (1938) MUGGLE m. Maureen O’Connolly (1942) GRYFFINDOR (1965): 1. Kathleen “Katie” Finnigan (1967) GRYFFINDOR m. Jason White (1965) NA(1997): a) Saoirse Kathleen White (4 January 1998) NA  2. Darcy Finnigan (1974) HUFFLEPUFF m. Penelope Clearwater (1976) RAVENCLAW (2008): a) Norah Shay Finnigan (7 September 2005) HUFFLEPUFF— father is Jonathan Pepper (1973) RAVENCLAW — m. Jake Longbottom (7 September 2005) HUFFELPUFF (2030): aa) Deanna Shay Finnigan (31 January 2026) — father is Edward Crabbe (27 September 1997) SLYTHERIN — m.  Jackson Sirius Black (22 October 2026) GRYFFINDOR (2055): i) Norah Edwina Black (2060) HUFFLEPUFF bb) Jude Neville Longbottom (21 June 2033) HUFFLEPUFF cc) Anna Darcy Longbottom (19 April 2036) RAVENCLAW 3. Seamus Finnigan (12 October 1979) GRYFFINDOR bf. Dean Thomas (16 September 1979) GRYFFINDOR

Merrick Thomas (1926) GRYFFINDOR m. River Smith (1935) RAVENCLAW (1958): 1. Sunshine "Sunny" Dusk Thomas (1961) GRYFFINDOR affair with Kellan Jabari Morgan (1947) NA a) Dean Merrick Thomas (16 September 1979) GRYFFINDOR bf. Seamus Finnigan (12 October 1979 (GRYFFINDOR) 2. Meadow Moonlight Thomas (1962) RAVENCLAW (d. 1997)

Neville Longbottom (28 July 1980) GRYFFINDOR m. Hannah Abbott (19 April 1980) HUFFLEPUFF (2002): 1. Jacob “Jake” Franklin Longbottom (21 January 2007) HUFFLEPUFF m. Norah Finnigan (7 September 2005) HUFFLEPUFF (2030): a) Deanna Shay Finnigan (31 January 2026) HUFFLEPUFF — father is Edward Crabbe (27 September 1997)— m. Jackson Sirius Black (22 October 2026) GRYFFINDOR (2055): i) Norah Edwina Black (2060) HUFFLEPUFF b) Jude Neville Longbottom (21 June 2033) HUFFLEPUFF c) Anna Darcy Longbottom (19 April 2036) RAVENCLAW 2. Ava Alice Longbottom (1 July 2008) m. Gideon Weasley (19 August 2004) GRYFFINDOR (2029): a) August “Auggie” Gideon Weasley (5 July 2033) HUFFLEPUFF b) Caleb Neville Weasley (11 June 2035) RAVENCLAW c) Reed Jacob Weasley (15 March 2037) GRYFFINDOR

Thank you to @ellieoryan7447 for taking the time and effort to create these.

[kemetic-dreams]

Charles Leroy Thomas was born 17 April 1920 in Birmingham, Alabama. He grew up in Detroit and graduated from Cass Technical High School in 1938. Thomas then worked as a molder for the Ford Motor Company (Ford River Rogue factory) with his father, and was a student at Wayne State University studying mechanical engineering.

He was drafted, and entered the U.S. Army on January 20, 1942, at Fort Custer, Michigan. He completed Basic and Advanced Infantry Training at Camp Wolters and was assigned to the Infantry Replacement Training Center at Camp Wolters.

When the Army began forming tank destroyer units, Thomas was transferred to Camp Carson, Colorado and joined the segregated 614th Tank Destroyer Battalion, which had been activated on July 25, 1942. The soldiers were African, but most of the officers were white. Thomas quickly rose to the rank of Sergeant during unit training and was chosen to attend the Tank Destroyer Officer Candidate School (OCS) Class # 21 at Camp Hood, Texas when the battalion was transferred to Camp Bowie Texas on December 18, 1942.

Thomas was commissioned a second lieutenant upon graduation from OCS on March 11, 1943, and returned to Camp Bowie to assume command of Company C, 614th Tank Destroyer Battalion and prepared the unit for the move to Camp Hood that was completed on March 23, 1943.

On August 27, 1944, he deployed with the 614th to England, arriving on September 7. On October 8, the 614th was on Utah Beach in Normandy, France. The 614th led by Lieutenant Colonel Frank S. Pritchard, then would join General Patton's Third Army in Metz, France. The 614th saw its first combat on November 28. On December 5, the 614th was attached to 411th Infantry Regiment, and on December 6, the 614th was attached to the 103rd Infantry Division..

On December 14, 1944, 1st Lt. Thomas volunteered to lead 3rd Platoon, C Company, 614th Tank Destroyer Battalion in a task force named "Task Force Blackshear" to storm and capture the village of Climbach, a strategically important town which was five miles from the German border. The task force spearheaded by Thomas' M20 scout car (modified M8), consisted of a platoon of Sherman tanks from the 47th Armored Battalion, 14th Armored Division, a platoon of F Company (riding on tanks), 411th Infantry, 103rd Infantry Division, 3rd Platoon, C Company, 614th Tank Destroyer Battalion, rest of F Company, 411th Infantry, and a heavy weapons platoon. Approaching Climbach was uphill, Thomas' armored scout car was knocked out by enemy fire from the German 21st Panzer Division, and he was wounded.

Thomas helped his crew out of the vehicle, but as he left the car's protection, he was again wounded in the chest, legs and arms. Despite his wounds, Thomas directed the dispersal and emplacement of the anti-tank guns, which then returned fire and covered the attempt by the rest of the task force to outflank the defenders. He briefed the 3rd Platoon leader of C Company, a first lieutenant, on the general situation, and only when he was sure the situation was under control did he allow himself to be evacuated. 3rd Platoon, C Company continued to fight for four hours, losing two of its four guns and over half its men as casualties (3 dead, 17 wounded).

The "valorous conduct" of the platoon, "in the face of overwhelming odds enabled the task force to capture its objective", the village of Climbach, and forced the defenders to withdraw to the Siegfried Line. 3rd Platoon, C Company, 614th Tank Destroyer Battalion, was awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation, the first black combat unit, and the first unit attached to the 103rd Division to be so honored. Its soldiers received four Silver Stars and nine Bronze Stars. Captain Thomas received the Distinguished Service Cross on February 20, 1945, and returned home a hero, though he played down his role – "I know I was sent out to locate and draw the enemy fire, but I didn't mean to draw that much." Thomas remained in the Army, and retired with the rank of major on August 10, 1947.

Thomas married in 1949, and his wife and he had two children. He went to work as a missile technician at Selfridge Air Force Base and later as a computer programmer for the Internal Revenue Service. He died of cancer on February 15, 1980. He was buried in Westlawn Cemetery in Wayne, Michigan.

In the early 1990s, it was determined that African soldiers had been denied consideration for the Medal of Honor (MOH) in World War II because of their race. In 1993, the U.S. Army had contracted Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina, to research and determine if there was racial disparity in the review process for recipients of the MOH. The study commissioned by the U.S. Army, described systematic racial discrimination in the criteria for awarding decorations during World War II. After an exhaustive review of files, the study recommended in 1996 that ten African Americans who served in World War II be awarded the MOH. In October of that year, Congress passed legislation that would allow President Clinton to award the Medal of Honor to these former soldiers. Seven of the ten including Thomas were approved, and awarded the MOH (six had Distinguished Service Crosses revoked and upgraded to the MOH) on January 12, 1997. On January 13, 1997, President Clinton presented the MOH to the seven African Americans; Major Thomas and five others were posthumously presented the MOH. A niece of Thomas accepted his MOH during the ceremony. Vernon Baker was the only living recipient of the medal at the time.

Medal of Honor Citation stated the following:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty: Then Lieutenant Charles L. Thomas distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action on 14 December 1944. One platoon of Company C, 614th Tank Destroyer Battalion, was designated as the lead element in a task force formed to storm and capture the village of Climbach, France. Lieutenant Thomas, the Commanding Officer of Company C, realized, with the obscurity of information regarding the enemy and a complete lack of reconnaissance, the mission would be an extremely dangerous one. Fully cognizant of the danger, Lieutenant Thomas volunteered to command the selected platoon of his company and ride in the column's leading vehicle - a highly maneuverable, but equally vulnerable, M-20 scout car. Lieutenant Thomas knew that if there was a concentration of enemy armor in the village, as was believed, he would absorb the initial shock of the first enemy resistance. The task force left Preuschdorf, France, at 1023 hours, and proceeded to advance in column toward Chimbach. Lieutenant Thomas in his scout car stayed well in front of the column. At 1400 hours, upon reaching the high ground southeast of the village, Lieutenant Thomas experienced initial contact with the enemy. As his scout car advanced to an exposed position on the heights, he received intense direct fire from an enemy artillery, self-propelled guns, and small arms at a range of seven hundred yards. The first burst of hostile fire disabled the scout car and severely wounded Lieutenant Thomas. He immediately signaled the column to halt. Before leaving the wrecked vehicle, Lieutenant Thomas and the crew found themselves subjected to a veritable hail of enemy fire. Lieutenant Thomas received multiple gunshot wounds in his chest, legs, and left arm. In spite of the intense pain caused by his wounds, Lieutenant Thomas ordered and directed the dispersion and emplacement of his first two antitank guns. In a few minutes these guns were effectively returning the enemy fire. Realizing that it would be impossible for him to remain in command of the platoon because of his injuries, Lieutenant Thomas then signaled for the platoon commander to join him. Lieutenant Thomas then thoroughly oriented him as to the enemy gun positions, his ammunition status, and the general situation. Although fully cognizant of the probable drastic consequences of not receiving prompt medical attention, Lieutenant Thomas refused evacuation until he felt certain that his junior officer was in full control of the situation. Only then did Lieutenant Thomas allow his evacuation to the rear. Throughout the action, Lieutenant Thomas displayed magnificent personal courage and a complete disregard for his own safety. His extraordinary heroism spurred the soldiers of the platoon to a fierce determination to triumph, and resulted in a mass display of heroism by them. Lieutenant Thomas' intrepid actions throughout the operation reflect the highest traditions of the military service.

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

Internment

"On January 11, 1940, the DOCR [Defence of Canada Regulations] were amended so as to permit preventive detention, internment before the fact of having committed a crime, ie. article 21. This meant that even though charges for precise offences might not hold up in court, communists could still be interned using vague terms. As well, should the police fail in making a DOCR charge stick, then the freed prisoner could quickly be interned. This situation applied to Ottawans Louis Binder and Arthur Saunders, and to westerners  Charles Weir, John McNeil, Pat Lenihan, Alex Miller, and Ben Swankey.

In June, 1940, via DOCR regulation 39C, the Communist Party and related  associations were made illegal. These associations included the Young Communist  League, the League for Peace and Democracy, which had succeeded the League to Fight  War and Fascism, and the Canadian Labour Defence League, as well as several pro-communist, ethnic associations: The Ukrainian Labour-Farmer Temple Association, the  Canadian Ukrainian Youth Federation, the Finnish Organization of Canada, the Russian  Workers and Farmers Club, the Croatian Cultural Organization, the Hungarian Workers  Club, and the Polish People’s Association. Membership in these organizations became illegal; it came to be the grounds most often used for internment.

The first internments took place on June 26, 1940, when Jacob Penner and John Navis, from Winnipeg, and Ottawans Louis Binder and Arthur Saunders were interned. Arrests for internment could follow at any time, but there were more active periods. On June 28 and 29, 1940, nine Montrealers as well as Nicholas Pyndus, from Trois-Rivières, and Robert Kerr and Fergus McKean, each from Vancouver, were interned. On July 8, 1940, seventeen Ukrainian Winnipegers were interned. On August 9, 1940, seven men  including five Montrealers were interned. On September 8 and 9, 1940, five more were  arrested for internment; on October 10, 1940, four more were interned. The last internment in Hull began on February 10, 1942 when Harvey Murphy was transferred from a Toronto prison.

The cases of Jacob Penner and Pat Sullivan provided important legal precedents about the question of habeas corpus. Were the governments and the police obliged to provide motives for the decision to intern someone, other than article 21 of the DOCR, whereby people presented a danger to the security of the state or the prosecution to the war, or article 39C, whereby people were members of an illegal organization? Jacob Penner was a highly-respected communist and municipal councillor in Winnipeg. After being interned in Kananaskis, Penner’s family hired a lawyer who successfully applied for habeas corpus , however, federal authorities simply held him during the summer of 1940 in an immigration centre in Winnipeg. In August, 1940, a federal appeals judge ruled that habeas corpus did not apply to DOCR article 21. Penner was returned to Kananaskis, providing an important precedent relative to internees from Western Canada.

In central Canada, Pat Sullivan, President of the Canadian Seamen’s Union, was arrested on June 18, 1940. The only explanation for Sullivan’s arrest offered to lawyer J. L. Cohen was Sullivan’s membership in the Communist Party, which the defendant denied. Cohen then launched unsuccessful habeas corpus proceedings in which an Ontario judge ruled that habeas corpus was not relevant since the detainer was not the minister of Justice, and the latter was not required to accept recommendations of a consulting committee considering the detention. Cohen was going to subject this tortured logic of the Ontario Appeals Court judge to the Supreme Court, but decided to desist when the federal government promised to improve the workings of the consulting committees, and to reveal more about the motives for Sullivan’s internment. Nevertheless, after considerable stalling by the minister of Justice, it became clear that the real reasons for Sullivan’s internment were strikes by the Canadian Seamen’s Union in 1938 and 1939, and especially in April, 1940, when Sullivan’s union closed shipping on the Great Lakes from the Lakehead to Montreal. Conciliation following this last strike was proceeding when Sullivan was arrested. Not only did Sullivan’s case show that habeas corpus was of no effect with respect to the internees, it also showed that for some internees, at least for Sullivan, the real motive of internment was union activity.

One suspects the considerable influence of C. D. Howe and his business colleagues working in Ottawa. This was also the case for several of Sullivan’s colleagues within the Canadian Seamen’s Union. A month after Sullivan was arrested, Jack Chapman, union secretary, was arrested while a few days later, Dave Sinclair, editor of the union’s newspaper Searchlight, was arrested for having written about the Sullivan case. Sinclair’s case also demonstrated farcically the incompetence of the RCMP. Sinclair was the nom de plume of David Siglar, a fact he did not hide. During his appeal before the consulting committee, the RCMP presented as evidence activities of someone unknown to Siglar named ‘Segal’, a common name among Jews. Siglar had no idea about whom or what the RCMP was talking not knowing the ‘Segal’ in question, but he did plead guilty to having known several people named ‘Segal’.

The case of Charles Murray, organizer for a fishermen’s union in Lockeport, Nova Scotia, a union affiliated with the Canadian Seamen’s Union, provided another example of how union activities might lead to internment. On June 15, 1940, Nova Scotia’s labour minister, L. D. Currie, sent a letter to Murray stating that:

…You are a communist and as such, deserve to be treated in the same manner as I would be treated if I endeavoured to carry on in Russia as you are doing in Nova Scotia. I warn you now to desist from your efforts to create industrial trouble, and I warn you too that your conduct will from now on be carefully watched and examined, and if I find out that you do not quit this sort of business, then it will be most certainly the worst for you. I am giving you this final word of warning. My advice to you is to get out of Lockeport and stay out…

A few days later, Murray was interned in Petawawa.

Other union leaders received similar fates to those of the leaders of the Canadian Seamen’s Union. Fred Collins had led a successful strike against furniture manufacturers in Stratford, Ontario. James Murphy was the leader of the Technical Employees Association of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and was arrested in the middle of negotiations. Orton Wade was negotiating with meat packing companies in Winnipeg when he was arrested. Bruce Magnuson was a union leader from Port Arthur, where he was local president of the Union of Lumber and Sawmill Workers. Unfortunately, his  federal MP was none other than C. D. Howe. In August, 1940, Howe responded to one of Magnuson’s colleagues complaining about the internment of Magnuson.

For very obvious reasons, the normal course of the law must be supplemented by special powers. Otherwise, the effort of the government to suppress fifth-column activities would be of no avail. The now tragic account of fifth-column activities in Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France is ample proof of the inadequacy of the ordinary peacetime machinery of the law in  controlling subversive elements… Persons who are considered to be friendly towards Canada’s enemies, or who in any way interfere with Canada’s war effort, are recommended for internment on the strength of evidence assembled by the Force (RCMP).

The motive given for Magnuson’s internment was his membership in the Party, but after the Party began supporting the war effort, Howe wrote to Magnuson in October, 1941: 

… do you think that the ends of justice would be served by your release merely because circumstances have caused a change of front by the Communist Party? You were interned because you were out of sympathy with Canada’s war effort, and because you were an active member of an organization which sought to impede that effort.

The case of Clarence Jackson also demonstrated the long arm of Howe. On June 11, 1941, Howe wrote to Justice minister Lapointe, demanding that Jackson be arrested. 

Please permit me to call your attention to the activities of one C. S. Jackson, who is undoubtedly one of the most active trouble makers and labour racketeers in Canada today. Jackson has been expelled from the Canadian Congress of Labour as a Communist. He has  been responsible for strikes at the R.C.A. Victor plant, the Canadian General Electric plant, and he is now boring in to the Canadian Westinghouse plant at Hamilton. The Westinghouse plant is the most important war manufacturer in Canada, having contracts for anti-aircraft guns, naval equipment, and a wide variety of electrical work important to our production. A strike at Westinghouse would directly stop many branches of our munitions programme. I cannot think why Canada spends large sums for protection against sabotage and permits Jackson to carry on his subversive activities. No group of saboteurs could possibly effect the damage that this man is causing. I feel sure that this is a matter for prompt police action. I suggest that responsible labour leaders can supply any information that you may require on which to base police action.

There is evidence, furthermore, according to the biographer of Jackson, that the Canadian Congress of Labour was complicit in the internment of Jackson. Jackson was arrested on June 23, 1941, but was released from Hull six months later owing to pressure by the American section of his union. 

Others were interned for strange reasons. Rodolphe Majeau, a member of the Canadian Seamen’s Union, was interned for having aided Communist candidate Évariste Dubé during the federal election of 1940, when the Party was still legal, an example of a retroactive charge. Scott McLean, a Cape Breton millwright was interned because of dynamite he had in his possession when arrested, dynamite he was using to explode rocks and a manure pile on his farm. John Prossack, from Winnipeg, an elderly Ukrainian  charged with membership in the Party, was not in the least involved in politics. Prossack believed that he was interned owing to a bad relationship with his former son-in-law, a paid police informer. Muni Taub, a Montreal tailor left the Party at the end of 1939,  one of the many Europeans disgusted at the Hitler-Stalin pact. Nevertheless, motives given for Taub’s internment included his writing for a leftist, Jewish newspaper; his  membership in the banned Canadian Labour Defence League, and most of all, Taub’s challenge of the constitutionality of Duplessis’ Padlock Law during the 1930s."

- Michael Martin, The Red Patch: Political Imprisonment in Hull, Quebec during World War 2. Self-published, 2007. p. 124-131