Sunday, September 28, 2025
Tuesday, August 5, 2025
Lex Anteinternet: Sunday, August 5, 1945. Enola Gay and Necessary Evil
Sunday, August 5, 1945. Enola Gay and Necessary Evil.
The 20th Air Force dropped 720,000 leaflets over twelve Japanese cities. Conventional bombing raids continued.
Gen. LeMay officially confirmed the atomic mission for the next day.
Paul Tibbets named the lead plane in the Hiroshima bombing mission the Enola Gay, after his mother. This was done over the objection of the planes normal designated pilot, Robert Lewis, who wanted to name the plane "The Pearl Harbor," "The Avenger," or "The USS Indianapolis". Lewis also wasn't happy about being moved to the co-pilot's seat for the mission.
Lewis would return to civilian life after the war, and died in 1983 at age 65.
The B-29 that would take photos on the mission would be named Necessary Evil. It featured, as many plans did, a buxom woman, albeit one clothed in a bikini, as nose art.
The Chinese 13th Army captured the town of Tanchuk. The Chinese 58th Division took Hsinning (Changchun).
Paul Ferdonet, the "Radio Traitor" of Stuttgart, was executed in France.
His pro Nazi broadcast had actually dwindled after 1942.
Oddly enough, today would have been Loni Anderson' birthday. She passed away yesterday.
Last edition:
Saturday, August 4, 1945. Tibbets briefs his crew.
Thursday, April 17, 2025
Lex Anteinternet: Tuesday, April 17, 1945. Flak Bait.
Lex Anteinternet: Tuesday, April 17, 1945. Flak Bait.: The B-26 Marauder Flak Bait, which completed 200 missions on this day. Winston Churchill eulogized the late Franklin Roosevelt in Parliame...
Tuesday, April 17, 1945. Flak Bait.
Sunday, April 13, 2025
Monday, November 4, 2024
Tuesday, October 29, 2024
Monday, October 28, 2024
Saturday, October 26, 2024
Saturday, July 27, 2024
Friday, July 26, 2024
Saturday, June 29, 2024
AT-6's (SNJ's) from the film Tora! Tora! Tora!, Natrona County International Airport.
I heard them flying over downtown and looked up and saw them flying, but didn't notice the Japanese markings. After realizing what they were, I went out the next day and to see if they were still there, and they were.
These are the SNJ's that were altered and remodeled to closely resemble Japanese Navy A6M's (Zeroes) and Nakajima B5N's (Kates) for the 1970s movie Tora! Tora! Tora!. The resemblance to the Japanese aircraft is truly remarkable.
In this instance, these aircraft were on their way to an airshow in Salt Lake City.
Monday, June 17, 2024
Lex Anteinternet: Saturday, June 17, 1944. A stateside tragedy.
Saturday, June 17, 1944. A stateside tragedy.
B-24J 42-100023 piloted by 2nd. Lt. Richard Zorn of Connecticut crashed on top of Casper Mountain, south of Casper, Wyoming, at about midnight, killing all on board.
Thursday, June 13, 2024
Lex Anteinternet: Tuesday, June 13, 1944. D+7. First use of V-1s on London.
Tuesday, June 13, 1944. D+7. Heavy fighting in Normandy.
The first V-1 rockets were launched on London.
V-1s are, basically, a pulse jet drone, and therefore heralded an advance in weaponry which we're only now seeing the full application of in combat. One of a variety of late war German "Wunderwaffe", they were primitive in their category and while they affected terror, they stood no chance of being war altering. The same can not be said of the V-2, which was a ballistic missile and truly revolutionary.
Armed drones would be revolutionary, but it would not really be until the advent of cruise missiles that they'd become effective. With advances in targeting, they're now a massive dangerous weapon which has been one of the things which has allowed Ukraine to disproportionately take on Russia in the ongoing Russo Ukrainian War.
Friday, May 24, 2024
Wednesday, May 1, 2024
Tuesday, April 16, 2024
Lex Anteinternet: Sunday, April 16, 1944. Black Sunday.
Sunday, April 16, 1944. Black Sunday.
The RAF hit Romania for the first time. On the same day, the Soviet Air Forces hit Galatz.
A large air raid was staged on Hollandia, Indonesia. The mission was successful with no losses, but the aircraft ran into a severe weather front on the return and 46 of the 170 aircraft in the raid went down. The day acquired the name "Black Sunday" as a result.
The attacking force was made up of B-24s, B-25s and A-20s, escorted by P-38s
Lex Anteinternet: Saturday, April 15, 1944. Romania attacked from the air
Saturday, April 15, 1944. Romania attacked from the air, Teenagers lose at Tarnopol, Politics in Minnesota, Hydro-Québec
The US 15th Air Force sent 500 sorties to Bucharest and Ploesti. The war had reached the point where the Western Allies air attacks were now directly assisting the Soviet offensive in the east.
Wednesday, March 27, 2024
Friday, March 22, 2024
Lex Anteinternet: Wednesday, March 22, 1944. Vesuvius destroys the 340th Bombardment Group and the XP56.
80% of the B-25s of the 340th Bombardment Group were destroyed by volcanic boulders from Vesuvius.
The only example of the Northrup XP-56, the first one having been destroyed in a crash, was photographed in anticipation of its first flight the following day.
Northrop XP-56 Black Bullet (s/n 42-38353) on the ground at Muroc Army Air Field, California, March 22, 1944.
The weird aircraft was not a success.
Last prior edition: