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By Lone_Sentry_Admin, on November 27th, 2011%
“Lessons Learned” by U.S. Eighth Air Force fighters against German flak taken from Light, Intense, and Accurate: U.S. Eighth A.F. Strategic Fighters Versus German Flak in the ETO, Headquarters, 65th Fighter Wing, August 1945. The booklet was the work of Lt. Col. San Souci and Capt. William D. Thurston, assisted by Lt. Col. R. F. Kennedy, Wing A-2.
CHAPTER XI: LESSONS LEARNED
In fighting back at light flak, Enemy No. 1 of our fighters in the Eighth Air Force, we all learned a great deal. Operating as we did in East Anglia in England, a tight little area crowded to capacity with strategic air units, we were ideally situated to analyze, discuss and record what we learned over a considerable period of time. Our military communications net was perhaps the finest that ever existed in any combat zone, and the exchange of information among units left little to be desired.
Some of the lessons that grew out of this particular situation are worth setting down in a list, followed in Chapter XII by recommendations based on our experience:
1. Specialization in Fighters is a Myth. Anyone using fighters in a strategic air force might just as well make up his mind in the beginning that before it’s over his pilots will come up against every type of defense the enemy has. It was an error in the early days in the ETO to assume that high-level escort fighters would not be bothered by light flak. Ultimately we had to prepare to meet it, and we should have started sooner than we did.
2. Photo Interpretation is Reliable in Locating Flak. Our own experience as we went along, and investigations on the ground in Germany after the war, both proved that the flak defenses pin-pointed by photo reconnaissance were over 90% correct.
3. Reconnaissance Must be Continuous. It is obvious that frequent photos of every area reached by the strategic air force are absolutely essential in order to keep abreast of the fluid flak situation.
Continue reading Flak: Lessons Learned
By Lone_Sentry_Admin, on November 6th, 2010%
Map of Allied front lines in Europe in April 1945 from Newsmap, April 23, 1945.
 Liepzig was outflanked, Dresden threatened, and to the north the Elbe River was crossed despite stiff resistance. Allied airpower was smashing the Luftwaffe impotent from lack of fuel.  Two Soviet Armies liberated Vienna, and on the heels of this southern victory, Adolph Hitler told his people, the Red Army drive on Berlin had begun. Moscow remained silent, as of 17 April.  The Italian front was no longer static, both the Fifth and the Eighth Allied Armies taking the offensive. American troops took Vergato, while Eighth Army forces swept up Highway Nine through Imola toward Bologna.
By Lone_Sentry_Admin, on June 20th, 2010%
A collection of photographs of the 265th Engineer Combat Battalion by Pfc Ben Fox is available on footnote.com at the topic page: 265th Engineers WWII
For pictures of the 265th training at Camp Shelby with the 65th Infantry Division, see the 65th Infantry Division Yearbook, pages 46 and 47.
By Lone_Sentry_Admin, on March 13th, 2010%
 Soldiers Phil Richardson and Lester Haycock with Camera This digital collection at Brigham Young University contains over 1,350 photographs by Sergeant Heslop covering the last nine months of World War II in Europe, from September 1944 through May 1945. The photographs were scanned from the original negatives, prints, and slides deposited by Harold B. Lee Library at Brigham Young University. Sergeant Heslop served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps, 167th Signal Photographic Company.
The collection includes detailed photos on the installation and testing of “duck feet” tank track extensions. What is this?
 M4 Sherman Tank Destroyed near Cassino, Italy The Melvin C. Shaffer collection of World War II photographs and images depicts the conflict in North Africa, Italy, Southern France, and Germany from 1943 to 1945. The Frank J. Davis collection of frontline photographs and images cover both Europe and the Pacific including images from Washington, D.C., Italy, France, and Saipan. Both collections are hosted at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.
 American Red Cross Clubmobile Augusta This digital collection at the University of Wisconsin includes extensive sets of photographs from Ray Cunneen and Pat Hitchcock, including over 200 color photographs.
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Sgt. Rock, Vol. 2
Sgt. Rock, Vol. 3
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