FLASH: ALLIES OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCED GERMANS SURRENDERED UNCONDITIONALLY-- Part 2

The end of the European warfare, the greatest, bloodiest,  and costliest war in human history -- it has claimed  at least 40 million casualties on both sides in killed, wounded and captured -- came after five years, eight months and  six days of strife that spread all over the globe.

Hitler's army invaded Poland on Sept. 1, 1939,  beginning the agony that convulsed the world for 2,319 days.

Gen. Eisenhower was not present for the signing, but immediately afterward Gen. Jodl and his fellow delegate, Gen. Adm. Hans Georg Friedeburg were received by the supreme commander.

They were asked sternly , if they understood the surrender terms imposed upon Germany, and if they would be carried out in Germany.

They answered yes.

Germany, which began the war with a ruthless attack on Poland, followed by successive aggressions and brutality in concentration camps, surrendered  with an appeal  to the victors for mercy toward the German people and armed forces.

After having signed the full surrender, Gen. Jodl said he wanted to speak (to the German people) and received leave to do so.

"With this signature, he said in soft-spoken German, "the German people and armed forces  are for better or worse delivered into the victors' hands."

"In this war, which has lasted more than five years, both have achieved and  suffered more than perhaps any other people in the world."

It's Partially Over.  --GreGen

FLASH: ALLIES OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCED GERMANS SURRENDERED UNCONDITIONALLY-- Part 1

Continued from previous post.  These are excerpts for AP dispatches that day.

BULLETIN:  Germany surrendered unconditionally to the Western Allies and Russia at 2:41 a.m., French time today.

REIMS, France:  Germany surrendered to the Western Allies and the Soviet Union at 2:41 a.m. French time today.  (This was at 8:41 p.m. Eastern War Zone Time, Sunday May 6. 1945.)

The surrender took place at the little red school house that is the headquarters of Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower.

The surrender was signed for Germany by Col. Gen. Alfred Jodl.  Gen. Jodl is the new chief of staff of the German Army.

The surrender was signed for the Supreme Allied Command by Lt. Gen. Walter Beddell Smith, chief of staff for Gem. Eisenhower.  It was also signed by Gen. Ivan Susloparov of the Soviet Union and by Gen. Francois Sevez for France.

Joy at the news was tempered only be the realization that  the war against Japan remains to be resolved.

--GreGen

Germany Surrenders 75 Years Ago: End of World War II in the European Theater

From the May 6, 2020, Mesa (Az) Daily Independent  "AP was there:  Nazis surrender, ending WW II in Europe" AP.

Reims, France.

Nazi commanders signed the surrender to Allied forces in a French schoolhouse on May 7, 1945, 75 years ago.  This ended World War II and the Holocaust.

Unlike the mass celebrations 75 years ago when the news went out (it had been expected for weeks), surviving veterans and civilians back then are not celebrating this milestone (which became known as V-E Day) because of the coronavirus confinement which is of particular danger to them because of advanced age and conditions.

During the war, AP reporters and photographers put their lives on the line with five of them killed and one,  correspondent Joe Morton, who was executed by the Nazis.

On May 7, 1945, AP witnessed the Nazi surrender and was first to  announce it to the Allied public, defying  authorities who wanted to delay the momentous announcement.

However, there was still the war in the Pacific against Japan to continue.

A Great Day.  --GreGen

The Fall of Berlin and Death of Hitler

From the May 6, 2020, MidWeek  "Looking Back."

1945. 75 Years Ago, as the War in Europe Was in Its Final Days.

"Hans Fritsche, Goebbel's deputy propaganda chief,  told Red Army troops who captured him that Hitler, Goebbels and General Kreb had killed themselves in the final hours of the Battle of Berlin.

"Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower said all evidence at hand indicated that Hitler had died of a brain hemorrhage.  The German radio version of Hitler's death was that he 'fell' a hero  directing the defense of Berlin."

Either Way, Hitler Was Gone.  --GreGen

Why's That Plane Flying So Low?

From the May 6, 2020, MidWeek (DeKalb County, Illinois)  "Looking Back.

1945, 75 Years Ago.

"An unidentified Army plane flew over Sycamore Tuesday afternoon and frightened  several people in the residential section because of his low altitude.

"The young man seemed to be master of his ship and flew at a  terrific speed  while low, causing persons to'duck' as he passed."

Maybe a left-over TDR-1?

Barnstorming at Home.  --GreGen

Interstate TDR-1 Drones-- Part 4: Testing and the Yamasuki Maru

The code name for the project was Operation Option and the U.S. Navy had plans for up to eighteen squadrons of the drones with 162 Grummans TBF Avengers as control aircraft and  1000 flying TDR-1 drones.

However, there were technical difficulties with their operation and unfortunately, low priority given to the project.  The contract was modified and the order reduced to just 300 of the aircraft.  A single TDR-1 was tested  bu the U.S. Army Air Force as the XBQ-4, however no extra production orders were received.

In 1944, under control of the Special Air Task Force (SATFOR), the TDR-1 was deployed operationally in the Pacific for operations against the Japanese.  Additional testing was done by SATFOR in July, complete with a strike against a previously beached Japanese freighter named the Yumasuki Maru  (Yamasuki Maru), including management of the flight from seven miles away by TBM Avenger aircraft, which could monitor the progress from the TDR's  via early television technology.

--GreGen

Interstate TDR-1 Delivery on the USS Marcus Island (CVE-77)

Photos of the TDR-1 drones accompany the Wikipedia article so you can get an idea what they looked like.  I found the most interesting one of the escort carrier USS Marcus Island (CVE) with a deck load of the TDR-1s and possibly some TBMs for drone control.

The caption reads:  The U.S. Navy Escort Carrier Marcus Island (CVE-77) in a South Pacific port 17 June 1944.  The airplanes parked on her flight deck from amidships to her stern appear to be  Interstate TDR-1 assault drones.

She is probably delivering elements of Special Task Force Group One (STAG-1), which employed TDR-1s in Solomons area operations during September and October  1944.

Other planes aboard appear to be TBMs (which might have actually been Grumman TDF Avengers which were the originally designated control planes), which were used for drone control.The ship is painted in Camouflage Measure 32,  Design 15A.

That Was One Packed Deck.  --GreGen

Interstate TDR-1-- Part 3: Why DeKalb Was Selected for the Drones

In September 1942, the U.S. Navy selected DeKalb, Illinois, to be the site for the manufacture of the DR-1 drones and they were to be built at an airport on the city's east side.  The site was selected because there was already an airport there with an airfield and a large hangar which already had a fence around it and was guarded around the clock (as a war measure).

Plus, the Wurlitzer Company, maker of pianos, was known for its expertise with wooden products and was already located in DeKalb.

So the parts were made at the Wurlitzer plant, then assembled by Interstate Aircraft and Engineering Corporation, based in El Segundo, California, at the airport.

About 200 drones were built and tested at the DeKalb airport and then boxed up and shipped to the South Pacific where they were assembled and used against the enemy after some more testing to see their effectiveness.

Top Secret DeKalb.  --GreGen

The Interstate TDR-1-- Part 2: Frame by Schwinn, Tricycle Landing Gear

Control of the TDR either came from a control aircraft, usually a Grumman TBF Avenger, with the operator viewing a TV screen showing the view from a camera mounted in the nose of the drone along with a radar altimeter's readout.

Or, the aircraft could be piloted by a human on board for test flights.

The TDR-1 had a remarkably simple design, with a steel tube frame constructed by the Schwinn bicycle company covered with a molded wood frame..  This was important because it didn't use much in the way of strategic materials so it didn't impede the construction of higher priority aircraft.

As before mentioned, the TDR-1 had the option of having a human pilot for test flights, there was a cockpit area.  In addition, the drone had a fixed tricycle landing gear that could be jettisoned during during operation after takeoff for improved performance.

Fly Me to the Target.  --GreGen

Interstate TDR-1-- Part 1: Drones the Brainchild of Lt. Delmer S. Fahrney

From Wikipedia.

The Interstate TDR-1 was an early unmanned combat aerial vehicle referred to as an "assault drone" and developed by Interstate Aircraft  and Engineering Corporation  during WW II for use by the Navy

It was capable of being armed with bombs or torpedoes and 2000 were ordered, but only 200 built.  They saw some service in the Pacific Theater against the Japanese, but continuing developmental problems along with the success of more conventional weapons, led to the decision to cancel the building program in October 1944.

The idea to use drones was first put forth by Lt. Delmer S. Fahrney in 1936, but due to limitations in technology at the time, nothing came of it until the early 1940s with the development of the radar altimeter and television made the project more feasible.

Trials were made using converted manned aircraft and the first operational test of a drone against a naval target was conducted in April 1942.  That same month, following trials at Naval Aircraft factory TDN, Interstate Aircraft received a contract  from the Navy for two prototype and 100 production aircraft to a simplified and improved design to be designated TDR-1.

--GreGen

Baby Got a New Pair of Shoes in 1945

From the April 29, 2020, MidWeek (DeKalb County, Illinois)  "Looking Back."

1945, 75 Years Ago.

"Everyone can have a new pair of rationed shoes August 1, the Office of Price Administration (OPA) announced today.

"OPA said  a new shoe ration stamp would become valid at that time for one pair of shoes for each ration book holder."

Wondering if that one pair for each person in a household or just one pair per household.

These Boots Were Made for Walking.  --GreGen

Philip Kahn, 100, Dies from COVID-19. His Twin Brother Died in the 1918 Pandemic

Philip Kahn of New York died April 17 of the coronavirus.  His twin brother, Samuel, died in the 1918 Pandemic.

The story is in today's Cooter's History Thing blog.  Go to the My Blogs column to the right of this and click on that blog.

--GreGen

DeKalb's "Secret Airplane"-- Part 4: "History Detectives" To Air Segment About It

When the project was completed.  there was a special ceremony held at the Egyptian Theatre in downtown DeKalb, Illinois,  where the workers were presented with the Army-Navy "E" for Excellence Award.  This was a major award given to special industries that had done an especially good job.

Roger Keys also said the TDR-1 drone built in DeKalb would be  the subject of a future episode of PBS' "History Detectives," tentatively scheduled to air July 17, 2011.

When he was making a presentation on the project in the fall at  the DeKalb Taylor Municipal Airport, someone in the audience had said he had found  a wooden propeller many years ago on a grass airstrip near Virgil, Illinois.  The man still had it and wanted to know if it might possibly have belonged to a drone.

The man later contacted the "History Detectives" producers  and they took an interest in researching the mystery.  Keys assisted them with photos and other material he has in his collection.

He would be interested in finding any person who worked at the plant or others interested in the plane so he can organize a special showing of the the episode in DeKalb.

I Never Knew About This Drone Before This.  --GreGen

DeKalb's "Secret Airplane"-- Part 3: Pilot and Radio-Controlled

The plane was designed with a fully operational cockpit so a pilot could fly 700 miles in it before landing and turning it into a remote control system.. A control plane flying up to six miles away, transmitted radio signals to guide the flight, including its altitude and speed.

The main component which made it a top secret  was a television camera mounted in the nose of the plane behind a glass shield.  The crew in the mother ship would watch the picture being transmitted from the nose of the plane and use it to pinpoint a target on the ground or even an enemy ship.

Over the years, Roger Keys has talked to many Wurlitzer workers and found out that none of them knew what it was doing in the Pacific.  He says:  "I like to see credit given to those on the home front here in DeKalb."

--GreGen

DeKalb's "Secret Airplane"-- Part 2: A Joint Operation Between Wurlitzer and Interstate

The Wurlitzer plant made the parts of the mostly wooden plane/drone while Interstate workers in the factory next door put the aircraft together.  Today, that building is owned by General Electric (as of 2011).  You can still see the large hangar doors today from Peace Road.

Since the project was classified top secret, the 1,400 employees who worked on it believed they were producing a trainer plane or target drone.  They did not know that the planes were designed to carry a 2000-pound bomb to its target while being remotely controlled by a nearby mother plane.

According to Roger Keys, "It was actually known as the first guided missile ever built.  During a two-year period, there were 189 of these planes/drones built in DeKalb.

They were delivered to a remote island base in the South Pacific where they were readied for missions against Japanese targets.  Kind of like a kamikaze with out a live human guidance system.  I saw a picture of an escort aircraft carrier with its deck covered in the drones as they was on their way to be delivered.

--GreGen

DeKalb's "Secret Airplane"-- Part 1: For the U.S. Navy, the Interstate TDR-1 Drone

Continued from my December 21, 2018, post.

From the May 24, 2011, DeKalb County Life "DeKalb had role in first guided missile" by Barry Schrader.

Roger Keys bought a model U.S. WW II plane at a garage sale in Waterman, Illinois, back about thirty years ago for $5.  But, he did not recognize what kind of plane it was, not could anyone else he asked.

Finally, someone who had worked at the Wurlitzer plant in DeKalb during the war, told him what he had bought and that they had built it for the U.S. Navy.   He spent the next decade gathering all he could on this strange plane.

In 1942, Wurlitzer signed a contract with the Navy to convert its peacetime piano factory in DeKalb, Illinois, into an aircraft production center.  They were to work with Interstate Aircraft based in Segundo, California, in the project.  It took just seven months for Wurlitzer to retool its plant and it went into the airplane business.

They were to build the Interstate TDR-1 drone plane.

Drones This far Back?  I Thought They Were of More Recent Vintage.  --GreGen

Another WW II Veteran's Death: Olison Oliver Wheeler, USN

From the April 22, 2020, Thomasville (Ga.) Times-Enterprise.

Born December 21, 1924, in Alabama.  Volunteered for the Navy in August 1941 and was a gunner on the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown and fought in nine major actions during the Pacific War, including Coral Sea, Midway, Iwo Jima, Okinawa,  and Philippines.

During the Battle of Midway, considered the turning point of the war in the Pacific, he spent hours in shark-infested waters after the Yorktown was sunk.  Then. he was transferred to the battleship USS West Virginia and served on that vessel for the rest of the war.

He was present at Tokyo Bay when the Japanese surrendered, ending WW II.

After the war, he founded the Fabulous Flamingos, a popular North Florida dance band during the 1960s and 1970s.

Another of the Greatest Generation Gone But Not Forgotten.  --GreGen

For Adolf's 56th Birthday

From the April 22, 2020, MidWeek  "Looking Back."

1945, 75 Years Ago.

"Adolf Hitler, the defeated dictator, passed his 56th, and probably last birthday today.  There was no celebration in his dying empire for the most hunted man in history.

"The only victory salutes came from the guns of the Allied armies  closing in on him from the east and west."

He was born April 20, 1889 and died April 30, 1945.

Near End-Game for Adolf.  --GreGen

Get Patriotic and Start That Victory Garden in Sycamore in 1945

From the April 22, 2020, MidWeek  "Looking Back."

1945, 75 Years Ago.

"If Mr. and Mrs. Sycamore  and all the little Sycamores wish to enjoy the many vegetables this coming year as they have in the past -- there is but one opportunity -- to raise a Victory Garden.

"Ultimatums are being issued daily by the United States Agriculture Department and other agencies in Washington, D.C., that the food situation this coming year will be acute.  More food will be required for the armed forces  as they are making the last dash for Berlin -- and then on to Tokyo."

Growing Food for the War Effort As It Nears Its End.  --GreGen

The Rudolph Wurlitzer Co. in DeKalb Goes to War-- Part 3: Today's Taylor Municipal Airport

The assault drone had a camera in its nose behind the glass shield.    The operator of the drone would use a telephone to navigate it.  This made the drone capable of flying pilotless.    The drone would be controlled by a mother plane almost seven miles away.

The drones were described as looking something like a German Stuka Dive Bomber.  During test flights in DeKalb, authorities would sometimes receive calls of a German bomber in the skies over Illinois.

The TRD-1s were sent to the Pacific Theater and used to attack Japanese bases.

The U.S. public did not learn about DeKalb's Wurlitzer Company's involvement in the drone experiment until 1960 when it was declassified.  During the two-year span they were made in DeKalb, some 200 were produced.

Wurlitzer had had the needed space to build, store and test these new weapons.  Surrounding land and buildings were bought to make a hangar and airfield.  This airfield would eventually become  the DeKalb Taylor Municipal Airport of today.

--GreGen