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

The Rudolph Wurlitzer Co. in WW II-- Part 2

From the Weebly.com  The TDR-1 Drone by Katie Steimel.

Roger Keys:  "Wurlitzer had the personnel and the know how.  They had several patents on unique assembly processes.  And, when they were approached to make the TDR-1, they were extremely enthusiastic about it.  In the span of about six months, they completely converted all their tooling to build them."  Rogat Keys

In 1942, the Navy approached Wurlitzer to start making musical instruments and juke boxes and to start making the first-ever drone, or guided missile.  They worked closely with the Intestate Aircraft Co. on this project.

This was so top-secret, that even the Wurlitzer workers did not know what they were making.  The general belief among them was that they were making training or target planes.

--GreGen

Happy 76th Birthday Battleship USS Wisconsin

From the April 16, 2020, We Are the Mighty Blog "World War II battleship celebrates 76th birthday" by Jessica Manfre.

Congress authorized her construction in 1939 and work started on her in 1941 at the Philadelphia Navy Yard.  The Wisconsin was launched on the second anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1943.  It was commissioned  April 16, 1944.  She fought in WW II in the Pacific, earning five Battle Stars with actions at Luzon, Formosa, Iwo Jima, Okinawa and Japan.

Decommissioned after the war, she was recommissioned for the Korean War and later, the Gulf War.  Finally, decommissioned for a third time, she sat in mothballs before becoming a permanent museum ship at Norfolk, Virginia, where she is today.

Happy Birthday Big Wis..  --GreGen

The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company in the War-- Part 1: Bomb Fuses and Drones

In my last post, the Rudolph Wurlitzer factory in DeKalb, Illinois, was looking for help to make aircraft during the war.  Here is some more information about the company in the war.

During World War II, the Rudolph Wurlitzer Company halted production of musical instruments.  The company's defense  production efforts  were recognized in 1943 and 1944  when its North Tonawanda and DeKalb plants received the Army-Navy "E"  Award.

In 1946, peacetime production resumed and the Wurlitzer Company  introduced two new instruments:  the electric organ (1947) and electric piano (1954).

The North Tonawanda, New York, plant stopped producing organs in 1942 and started making bomb proximity fuses.

The DeKalb factory had been retooled and was where the Interstate TDR was made.  This was an early drone plane used during WW II.  I will do do some more research on the TDR Interstate.  I always thought drones were a fairly new thing, but evidently not according to this.

--GreGen

Help Wanted: Making Airplanes in DeKalb, Illinois, in 1945

From the April 15, 2020, MidWeek  "Looking Back."

1945, 75 Years Ago.

"PART TIME AND FULL TIME WORKERS WANTED IMMEDIATELY:

"Help an urgent war need and help yourself!  Whether or not you have ever had factory experience makes no difference.

"Here's your opportunity to to participate in the thrills of building aircraft and its components.  Even if you can just spend 4-5 fours a day let us have your name.

"Every man hour will help us keep ahead  of schedule.

"The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company."

I certainly was not aware of airplanes of any shape being made in DeKalb County during the war.

--GreGen

DeKalb Joins Nation in Mourning for FDR

From the April 15, 2020, MidWeek  (DeKalb County, Illinois)  "Looking Back"

1945, 75 Years Ago.

"DeKalb joined the state and nation in mourning and prayer while funeral services were held for the late President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

"Announcement was made yesterday that the business houses in DeKalb would be closed from noon to 5 o'clock in conformance with the proclamation by Governor Dwight H. Green which proclaimed today as a day of mourning and prayer throughout the state and requested all business institutions, with the exception of those vital to public health, safety and the war effort, to close during that period."

FDR died April 12, 1945.

--GreGen

I'll Be Watching "NCIS" Tonight: USS Arizona

From April 13, 2020, TV Line "Inside NCIS' season-ending , long-in-the-making Pearl Harbor episode:  "It was a story that had to be told" by Matt Webb Mitovich.

The episode is titled "Arizona" and stars Christopher Lloyd as Joe Smith, a curmudgeonly 95-year-old who wants to be interred in the USS Arizona after his death.  But there is no evidence he was on it that day.  NCIS has to find out.

There will be no shooting or bad guys.

Definite watching material.

--GreGen

Coronavirus and the World War II Veterans

The "V" seems to especially target our dwindling number of World War II veterans since they are all in their 90s and 100s and most all have those underlining situations.

Here are some stories about them:

**  April 13:  99-year-old veteran beat COVID-19.  Albert Chambers turn 100 this July and was in the English Army during WW II and spent three years as a POW.

April 13:  Alan Camaron celebrated his 101st birthday with social distancing.  One of 1.3 million soldiers passing through Camp Shanks in Orangeburg, known as "Last Stop USA" before heading to France and later serving in Germany after the war.

April 13:  94-year-old Seymour Perlmutter released from Long Island hospital Saturday after beating COVID-19.  Admitted April 4 and said he'd beat it.

He Did.  --GreGen

HMS Venturer-- Part 5: The 4th's the Charm

Lt. Jimmy S. Launders fired off four torpedoes at 17-second intervals beginning at 12:02 and all took four minutes to reach their target.  Then he dived the Venturer, expecting German retaliation.  The U-864 heard the torpedoes coming at her and took evasive action, dived deeper and turned to avoid them.

She managed to evade the first three but steered directly into the path of the fourth.  Exploding, the German ship split in two and sank with all hands some 490 feet below the surface of the water.

Launders was awarded a bar to his Distinguised Service Order medal for this.

During the Venturer's career, it also sank five merchant ships.

When the war ended, the ship was destined for the scrapyard before being sold to the Royal Norwegian Navy and renamed the Ulstein and served until January 1964 when it was retired and scrapped.

And, I wouldn't have known this story except for writing about a War of 1812 ship.  That's called Road Tripping Through History.

Quite the Story.  --GreGen

HMS Venturer (P68)-- Part 4: A Real Good Guess

The Venturer, however, only had eight torpedoes as opposed to the 22 carried by the U-864.  After three hours of the cat-and-mouse, Lt. Launders decided to make a prediction about the U-boat's zig-zag and he released four of his eight torpedoes at what he figured would be its new course.

Now, I don't understand this, but will give it anyway:

This manual computation of a firing solution against a  three-dimensionally maneuvering target was the first occasion in which techniques were used and became the basis of modern computer-based torpedo targeting systems.  Prior to this, no target had been sunk by torpedo where the firing ship had to consider the target's position in three-dimensional terms, where the depth of the target  was variable and not a fixed value.

I'm guessing all this means that not only did Lt, Launders have to guess which direction the U-boat would go, but also how deep it would be running.

--GreGen

HMS Venturer (P68)-- Part 3: The Battle Is Joined

The HMS Venturer was sent to Norway on the basis of Enigma decrypts, to seek, intercept and destroy the U-864  which was in the area.

It was carrying 65 tons of mercury as well as Junkers Jumo 004B jet engine parts (used in the Messerschmidt ME 262 jets) to Japan in a mission code-named Operation Caesar to prop up Japan's faltering war effort.

The two submarines met in February 1945.

On February 9, the U-boat's engine noise was heard by the Venturer, which spotted its periscope.  What transpired after that was an unusually long engagement for a submarine and one in which neither crew had been trained.  The Venturer's commander, Lt. J.S. Launders waited 45 minutes from that contact before going to action stations.

He was waiting for the U-864 to surface and present an easier target.  Upon realizing that they were being followed by a British submarine and that its escort ship wasn't going to come, the U-864 started zig-zagging underwater in evasive measures.  The Venturer also dove.  The cat-and-mouse continued for awhile,  with both subs occasionally raising their periscopes to check out what the other one was doing.

--GreGen

HMS Venturer (P68)-- Part 2: Sank Two U-boats

The HMS Venturer was the lead ship of the "V" Class of submarines.  She was built at the Vickers-Armstrong Yard in Barrow-in-Furness.  Construction commenced  in August 1942 and launching was 8 months later, May  18943.  She was commissioned  19 August 1943.

At duty station off Norway, she kept watch on coastal traffic and U-boats entering and leaving their base.

She also sank the German U-771 on November 11, 1944.

But, her most famous voyage was her 11th, out of the British submarine base at Lerwick in the Shetland Islands, under the command of 25-year-old Jimmy Launders.

This was the first time in the history of naval warfare that  one submarine intentionally sank another submarine while both were submerged.

--GreGen

Roadtrippin' Through History: HMS Venturer (P68)-- Part 1, A Famous Submarine

This is part of my Roadtrippin' Through History where I start with a story, even one from another blog, and continue to dig deeper and see where I end up.  This is kind of like going to You Tube to hear a song and four hours later, you're still on You Tube and a real long way from that original song. (This happens to me a lot.)

I have been writing about the second HMS Nimrod in my Not So Forgotten: War of 1812 blog.  The first HMS Nimrod captured a French privateer in 1807 and it was taken into the British Navy as the HMS Venturer.  Later it became the HMS Theodosia before being sold in 1814.

The next HMS Venturer wasn't until World War II and this one was a submarine.

From Wikipedia.

HMS VENTURER (P68)

Lead submarine of the British "V" Class.  Commissioned 18 August 1943.

Sank three Axis vessels in 1844, as well as the German submarine U-771 on 11 November 1944.

But what the Venturer is most noted for her her sinking of the U-864 with a torpedo while submerged, the first time ever that a submerged submarine had sunk an enemy submarine while it was also submerged.

--GreGen

Another USS Oklahoma Unknown Identified: Orval Austin Tranbarger

April 5, 2020, Springfield (Mo.) News-Leader  After 78 years, WW II seaman killed at Pearl Harbor to return to the Ozarks" by Claudette Riley."

Nearly eight decades after a U.S.Navy sailor from Missouri was killed in the attack on Pearl Harbor, he will return to his home town for burial.

Seaman 1st Class Orval Austin Tranbarger, 20, was from Mountain View, 100 miles east of Springfield.  He was one of 429 crew men killed when the ship capsized and was one of the men whose bodies could not be identified when the ship was finally uprighted.

The unknowns were buried in groups at the Punch Bowl Cemetery in Oahu, but, dug up earlier in the 2010s and researchers are using DNA to identify.

He was identified September 18, 2019, and now will be returning to Mountain View to be buried with his family.  The date has not been set yet.

--GreGen

Remains of USS Oklahoma Sailor from Grayslake (Ill.) Identified-- Part 2

The remains of the USS Oklahoma 's dead were found and gathered over the next three years as the ship was uprighted.  However, by then, there wasn't much to go on as far as identification and most were buried in group caskets.  One of these men was Herbert B. Jacobson of Grayslake, Illinois.

He was known as Bert to his many friends in Grayslake and trained at Great Lakes Naval Station in nearby North Chicago after joining the Navy.  He was then assigned to duty in Michigan and the Pacific after that.

The first group of dead from the Oklahoma were identified in 1947.  Thirty-five of them were id'd at the time.  Then in 2015, all of the rest of the remains were dug up and an ongoing investigation is being made using DNA and that is how Mr. Jacobson was identified.

--GreGen

Remains of Grayslake (Illinois) Sailor Killed at Pearl Harbor Identified-- Part 1: Herbert B. Jacobson, 21

From the March 16, 2020, Chicago Daily Herald by Russell Lissau.

This one is of special interest to me because I lived for 17 years in Round Lake Beach, which is next to Grayslake.  We still live within thirty miles of that village.  Until I found out he was going to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery I planned to go to his funeral if it was in the area.

Navy Fireman 3rd Class Herbert B. Jacobson's remains have been identified some 78 years after his death.  He was one of the USS Oklahoma's Unknowns after December 7, 1941.  These were the men whose remains could not be identified after the ship was finally raised some two years later.

DNA, dental records  and other analysis were used to confirm his remains.

After receiving multiple torpedo hits, the Oklahoma capsized and 429 sailors aboard her lost their lives.

--GreGen

WW II Hero Veteran and Hero Lt. Col. James "Maggie" Megallis Dies

From the April 3, 2020, Channel 3 WBTV Charlotte, N.C. "World War II hero dies at 103."

World War II veteran and "All-American Icon" James "Maggie" Megallis died Thursday, April 2 at age 103.

He was in the 82nd Airborne Division during the war and took part in Italy fighting, where he was wounded.  Upon recovering  he parachuted into Belgium as part of Operation Market Garden  and made the legendary Crossing of the Waal Rive.  At the Battle of the Bulge, he was awarded the Silver Star for his actions.

Lt.Col. Megallis was the most decorated officer in the division and was nominated for a Medal of Honor.

--GreGen

Coronavirus Has Parallels With WW II's Home Front-- Part 2: Toilet Paper the Hawaiian Way

A big pressure today with the "V" is the hoarding of toilet paper.  This was also a problem of sorts in World War II, however, it was more of a problem with a smaller supply of the commodity rather than an increase in demand as we are having.

The TP problem was especially acute in the Hawaiian Islands.  The lack of trees on them and the fact that paper was used for packaging and transporting weapons, ammunition and blood plasma.

Instead of toilet paper, Hawaiians cut strips of newspaper for bathroom use.  If the person cutting the strips was especially kindhearted, they might crinkle and unkrinkle the strips to make them softer to make them softer.

We are also seeing current shifts in automobile production as Ford Motor Co. is now making ventilators and respirators.  During the war, the auto industry really did an about face.  No new cars were made between 1943 and 1945.    Automakers built jeeps, tanks, trucks and airplanes.

--GreGen

Coronavirus Has Parallels to WW II's Home Front-- From Working At Home to Production Changes in Manitowoc, Wi.-- Part 1

From the Manitowac (Wi) Herald Times Reporter by Shane Lee USA Network.

The Wisconsin Maritime Museum in Manitowoc tells the story of the impact of the war on Wisconsin and Midwest.    One point of local pride is that the city built 28 submarines during the war.

By 1943, 200,000 businesses across the country had converted their operations from civilian to military.

The Carron Net Co.  in Two Rivers was known for making fishing nets and nets for sporting events  In 1943, the company received a $1 million contract to make aerial cargo nets, camouflage nets and  and sports nets for troop recreation.  To keep up with orders, part-time workers made nets at home.

By far, the largest change in town was with the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company which switched from building car ferries, tankers, tugs and cutters to making submarines.  The company increased from 500 workers in 1939 to 7,000 a year later.

--GreGen

Pearl Harbor Survivor's 100th Birthday Cancelled Because of Coronavirus: Ed Miklavcic

From the April 1, 2020, 13 News NBC, Phoenix, Az. by William Pitts.

Ed Miklavcic survived Pearl Harbor and has lived 100 years and knows he will survive coronavirus, but there is one thing he is nor going to be able to do, and that is celebrate his 100th birthday.  he was based at Wheeler Field during the attack and is one of the few surviving survivors of that day.

He survived the rest of the war in the Pacific, went home, married, had four children and eventually retired to Arizona, where he  still golfs a few times a week.  His wife Lois, died in 2016, just a few weeks short of their 70th anniversary.

His 100th birthday party was scheduled for this Thursday and he was going to celebrate with 20-30 family and friends.  They had already bought plane tickets, booked hotels and were to gather at a local Italian restaurant.

But, then came that virus.  Only his daughter was able to make it.  But, he plans to  video chat with everyone.

As one of his friends pointed out, "You only survive Pearl Harbor once, and you only turn 100 once."

Happy Birthday, Mr. Miklavcic.  --GreGen

What WW II Can Tell Us About Battling Coronavirus-- Part 5: About That Mile-Long Assembly Line

The U.S. government also pressured companies into sharing intellectual property so production wasn't limited by the capacity of a single company.    When the military needed more B-17 bombers than Boeing could produce, it hired Lockheed to pick up the slack, requiring Boeing to pay Lockheed modest licensing fees.

Also during the war, FDR's administration eased back on antitrust enforcement.

These same sort of moves could now help in ventilator production, so desperately needed for the worst infected.  When this was written, President trump had not enacted his 1950 Defense Production Act which he has since done.

During WW II, the U.S. government paid to build plants, owned them, hired companies to run them  and bought all the output.  That allowed companies to expand their footprint  without worrying about a return on their investment and ensured that the government got what it needed, when it needed it.

That's how road-building  company Brown & Root ended up with a $90 million Naval Air Station in Corpus Christi, Texas, and how Ford got  the mile-long assembly line at the Willow Run bomber plant.

--GreGen