Lex Anteinternet: Thursday, February 24, 1944. Big Week Climax.

Lex Anteinternet: Thursday, February 24, 1944. Big Week Climax.:   

Thursday, February 24, 1944. Big Week Climax.

 

B-26 “Marauder” bomber roars over Luftwaffe airfield at Leeuwarden, Holland, February 24, 1944.

The Gothaer Waggonfabrik (Gotha) aircraft plant was hit as part of the Big Week.

The plant had been targeted for February 22, but bad weather had prevented the raid from occurring.  On this day, 239 B-24s raided the plant.

Typical for such things, the US Army Air Force regarded the raid as a huge success.  In reality, however, the lead bombardier, who controlled the run ins via the Norden Bomb site, suffered from anoxia due to a faulty oxygen mask and mistook Eisenach as the primary target. Forty-three bombers accordingly followed his error. Thirty-four B-24s were shot down, twenty-nine were damaged.  Three aircrewmen were killed, six wounded and 324 went missing.  169 bombers did get through, and the plant was heavily damaged.

The Messerschmidt plants at Regensburg and Augsburg were hit and heavily damaged as well.  Production was disrupted, but as Albert Speer noted, the damage was to the frame plant which was quickly put back into production.  Had the engine plant been hit, results would have been different.

It was the climax of The Big Week.

The U-761 was sunk by tow U.S. Navy PBY's assisted by two Royal Navy destroyers.

Lex Anteinternet: Monday, May 3, 1943. The crash of Hot Stuff claims the life of Gen. Andrews.

Lex Anteinternet: Monday, May 3, 1943. The crash of Hot Stuff claim...: 

Monday, May 3, 1943. The crash of Hot Stuff claims the life of Gen. Andrews.

Lt. Gen. Frank Maxwell Andrews, for whom Andrews Air Force Base is named, died in the crash of the B-24 Hot Stuff in Iceland, when it went down in bad weather.

He had been on an inspection tour in the United Kingdom.

Only the plane's tail gunner, SSgt George A. Eisel, survived the crash.  Eisel had survived a previous B-24 crash in North Africa.  He'd live until 1964 when he died at age 64.  Married prior to the war, he and his wife never had any children.

Hot Stuff was the first B-24D to complete 25 missions, well before, it might be noted, the B-17 Memphis Belle did the same.  Hardly anyone recalls Hot Stuff, as the Army went on to emphasize the Memphis Belle following the crash of Hot Stuff and the death of all but one of its crew.  Of note, Hot Suff, predictably, had a much more salacious example of nose art than Memphis Belle, and it's interesting to speculate how the Army would have handled that had the plane been popularized.  At any rate, the story that Memphis Belle was the first US bomber to complete 25 missions is a complete myth.

Andrews was the CO of the ETO at the time of this death.  A West Point Graduate from the class of 1906, he had been in the cavalry branch from 1906 to 1917, when he was assigned to aviation over the objection of his commander.  A prior objection had prevented his reassignment in 1914.

Lex Anteinternet: March 28, 1941. Ford's Willow Run plant commences operations.

Lex Anteinternet: March 28, 1941. Royal Navy victory in the Mediter...: 

March 28, 1941. Royal Navy victory in the Mediterranean, manufacturing victory in Detroit.

B-24s being built at Willow Run.

Ford Motor Company began building B-24s components at Air Force Plant 31 in Michigan. The plant is better known as the Willow Run plant.  Ultimately it would construct entire aircraft, something that was not foreign to Ford which had manufactured civilian aircraft prior to the war.  The facility was actually leased, rather than owned, by Ford, which had an option to purchase it.  It would decline that option post war.

The plant was taken over by Kaiser after the war, a Ford competitor, which manufactured automobiles there until the Korean War, at which time it also manufactured C-119 cargo aircraft.  Kaiser was formed in July 1945, so it was a post war startup, and was originally the Kaiser-Frazer Company.  It technically lasted only until 1953, but it didn't disappear at that time but merged with Willys Overland, whose forte at that time were its 4x4 vehicles, lead by the Jeep.  It sold Willys to American Motors in 1970, but retained a minority interest in that company.  American Motors continues in operation today, contrary to the common assumption, as AM General, the manufacturer of the military and civilian variants of the Hummer.

It was a bad day for the Italians in the Battle of  Matapan as a heavy cruiser and two destroyers were sunk by the Royal Navy.  More on that here:

Today in World War II History—March 28, 1941

Italian fleet surprised at ‘The Battle of Matapan’

On the same day, the Italians suffered further losses in Eritrea.

Day 575 March 28, 1941

King Peter assumed the Yugoslavian throne to cheering crowds.