Saturday, June 24, 2023
Lex Anteinternet: Wednesday, June 24, 1943. Heroic jump.
Thursday, June 22, 2023
Thursday, June 15, 2023
A "rash decision" on pilot retirement age.
The House Committee on Transportation, operating in a Boomer dominated era in which there's a persistent belief that nobody every gets old, voted to extend airline pilot retirement age from 65 to 67.
The Air Line Pilots Association, a commercial pilot's union, opposed the measure, stating:
The rash decision to move an amendment on changing the statutory pilot retirement age, without consulting agencies responsible for safety, or studying potential impacts of such a change as has been done elsewhere, is a politically driven choice that betrays a fundamental understanding of airline industry operations, the pilot profession, and safety.
The measure now goes to the full House.
Saturday, June 10, 2023
Lex Anteinternet: Thursday, June 10, 1943. Pointblank
Thursday, June 10, 1943. Pointblank
The Pointblank Directive was issued by the Allied Combined Chiefs of Staff directing the implementation of Operation Pointblank, the round the clock Allied bomber offensive over Europe. The order prioritized targets for the combined Allied air forces, starting with the German aircraft industry.
The order met with passive resistance from RAF's fighter command, which refused to provide escorts to the U.S. Army Air Force during the daylight, citing the inability to convert fighters for long ranges. This would lead the US to study the conversion of P-51 Mustangs to that use. It would also lead to considerable tension between the US and the UK on the topic of daylight escorts.
Sarah Sundin noted Pointblank on her blog:
Today in World War II History—June 10, 1943: US & UK begin Combined Bomber Offensive against Germany; priorities for bombing targets are submarine yards, aircraft & ball bearings factories, and oil targets
Tuesday, June 6, 2023
Lex Anteinternet: Sunday, June 6, 1943. Famous Navy Crewman, A-36
Paul Newman, having enlisted days before his 18th birthday, was called up for service in the Navy.
Newman wanted to be a pilot, but was taken out of flight school when it was discovered he was color blind. He went on to be a torpedo bomber crewman.
Sarah Sundin noted Newman's enlistment, but also noted the A36:
Today in World War II History—June 6, 1943: North American A-36 Apache flies first combat mission in a US Twelfth Air Force mission to Pantelleria. Future actor Paul Newman enlists in the US Navy, age 18.
We don't think much of the A-36, the dive bomber version of the P-51. The odd aircraft only came into existence in the first place as the 1942 appropriations for new fighter aircraft had run out and converting the assembly line to dive bombers kept the P-51 line open. Only 500 were built, with most used by the U.S. Army Air Force, but some used by the RAF.
Thursday, June 1, 2023
Skywest to receive additional subsidy payment
If SkyWest, the Delta provider, does not find that this makes the run more popular, it'll likely be cut, and air travel to Salt Lake will end.
NASA Opens Some UFO Files to Public
This was in its first public meeting.
I'm underwhelmed by this story. In a world in which technology is getting so advanced that our own creation that we should avoid making, AK, will probably end us, these are almost certain many made.
Monday, May 22, 2023
Lex Anteinternet: Saturday, May 22, 1943. ME 262 and Escort Carriers.
Sarah Sundin's blog reports:
Today in World War II History—May 22, 1943: USS Bogue’s TBF aircraft damage German U-boat U-569, which is scuttled by her crew, the first victory for an Allied escort carrier unassisted by surface ships.
She also noted that Luftwaffe General Adolf Galland flew the ME262 on this day and was impressed by it, as anyone would have had to have been.
Tuesday, May 16, 2023
Lex Anteinternet: Sunday, May 16, 1943. Dam Busters
While the raids caused civilian loss of life, German civilians regarded the destruction of the hydroelectric generating dams as legitimate. German authorities accurately reported the resulting loss of civilian lives. Albert Speer wrote of the attack; "employing just a few bombers, the British came close to a success which would have been greater than anything they had achieved hitherto with a commitment of thousands of bombers. But they made a single mistake which puzzles me to this day: They divided their forces and that same night destroyed the Eder Valley dam, although it had nothing whatsoever to do with the supply of water to the Ruhr."
While enormously celebrated as a British success by the population, perhaps the reaction of Harris, who seems to have had a particularly cold view of the destruction of Germany from the air, isn't too surprising. In reality, however, the raid demonstrated a very clever deployment of British resources with a real understanding of how industrial infrastructure worked.
The raid did cause the British to switch aerial munitions, going thereafter for massive "Earthquake Bombs" which caused a seismic effect when detonated.
Eight of the British aircraft were lost in the raid.