Orange County's Last Pearl Harbor Survivor, John Hughes, Dies

From News Nation

Major John Hughes.

He died one month before his 103rd birthday. and was the last Orange County, California, Pearl Harbor survivor after another one recently moved to Oregon.  Afterwards, he went on to fly 150 dive bomb missions during the war.

In the process, he received four Distinguished Flying Crosses, the nation's highest award for  extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight.

He later helped develop the famed Sikorski helicopter and flew MEDEVAC missions throughout the war.

Death came to him on January 7.  His funeral service was held   on January 19 in Orange.

--GreGen

Al Oesterle Remembers USS Princeton Sinking-- Part 2: One Powerful Explosion

The explosion from the Japanese dive bomber's bomb started a fire that spread quickly across the ship.  Oeseterle and the other crew members scrambled to fight the fires as other American ships came to assist.  The USS Birmingham (CL-62) a light cruiser, pulled alongside the stricken Princeton.

The Birmingham's crew used high pressure hoses to pour water on the burning ship, but the fire reached  stored munitions and a massive  explosion rocked the Princeton.

The explosion shot out a storm of fire and debris.  On the Princeton,  108 men were killed.  On the Birmingham, where many of the crew were on deck or superstructure fighting the fire and assisting in rescuing,  233 men were killed and  another 426 wounded (out of 1255 crew).

Oesterle, who was standing on the deck of the Princeton next to Captain John Hopkins at the time of the explosion, suffered light burns on his neck, but otherwise was not harmed.    Captain Hoskins lost the lower part of a leg.

--GreGen

101-Year-Old Navy Veteran Al Oesterle recalls the End of the USS Princeton (CVL-23)-- Part 1

From the November 10, 2020, Coloradoan "101-year-old Fort Collins veteran remembers escape from ill-fated World War II carrier" by Kevin Dugan.

This story originally appeared in my November 11 Running the Blockade blog in honor of Veterans Day.  There was so much about this event (which I had never heard of) that I figured to write the rest of the story here.

Al Oesterle left the U.S. Navy in 1965 after a long career in it.   And, he had a near run-in with death that his family didn't learn about until nearly 40 years after it happened.  It was at a reunion of the crew that had served on the USS Princeton (CVL-23), a light aircraft carrier that was lost during the Battle of Leyte Gulf.  His wife, Joan heard that her husband might have been the last man to leave the stricken carrier before it sank.

Mr. Oesterle grew up in Joliet, Illinois and joined the Navy in 1939 at age 20 and attended the University of Illinois Dental School.   He graduated in 1942 and was appointed to the U.S. Navy Dental Corps.  After further training, he was assigned to the USS Princeton in December 1943.

The Princeton was operating in the Pacific Theater.

On October 24, 1944, east of  the Philippine island of Luzon, a lone Japanese dive bomber emerged from the clouds and dropped a bomb on the Princeton,  penetrating the flight deck and exploding  in the hangar bay, where aircraft were being armed and fueled.

--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 Main Weapons At the Battle of the Coral Sea

From the May 2018 We Are the Mighty  "Here's a run down of the main weapons at the Battle of the Coral Sea."

The number after the plane denotes how many were at the battle.

In 1942, fleet carriers had three types of planes:  fighters, dive bombers and torpedo planes.

**  F4F Wildcat  (42)--  One of the Navy's most successful fighter planes of all time.

**  Mitsubishi ALM Zero  (54)  Called the "Zeke" by Americans.  Japan's best fighter.

**  Douglas SBD Dauntless (74)  The U.S. Navy's most lethal ship killer.

**  Aicha D3A  (41)  Called "Val" by Americans.  Japan's primary dive bomber.

**  Douglas TBD Devastator  (25)

**  Nakajima B5N  Called "Kate" by Americans.  Japan's ship killer.

--GreGen

World War II Plane Grounded for Tuneup-- Part 3

The only plane being lowered this time is the Stuka.  All undergo servicing every decade or so.  A 3-D scan has shown that there is a small trap door under the pilot's seat that has been sealed over.  It is believed that at one time it was used for the pilot to have a clearer view of targets on the ground.  (Well, I believe it might have been used for relief.)

The plane;s mechanical systems are also being serviced and when it is again raised as early as Monday (Feb. 23) its flaps will be in a  more accurate position for portraying a divebombing run.

Cleaning is done partly like restoring a fine painting and partly like a car wash.  As we know, a lot of dust can build up over a decade.  But it's not just soap and water.  But, its deionized water applied with a chemical-free cleanser.

They say the bullet holes will remain.

And, the Museum of Science and Industry also has the German U-boat U-505.

Seeing My WWII Stuff.  --GreGen

World War II Plane Grounded for a Tuneup-- Part 1

From the Feb. 19, 2015, Chicago Tribune by Doug George.

The German Luftwaffe Stuka airplane that has been soaring up at the ceiling of the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry's Transportation Gallery is not up there right now.  It has been lowered to the floor and undergoing a deep cleaning and inspection.

The Stuka, more specifically the 1941 Junkers Ju-87R-2 Tropical Stuka, was a World War II-era dive-bomber is exceedingly rare, one of only two such aircraft left in the world.

It is not in perfect condition.  There are bullet holes in the fuselage which is part of the reason it ended up in Chicago.

According to Kathleen McCarthy, the museum's director of collections, the Stuka was forced down in fighting over North Africa and made an emergency landing in Libya just before the British captured the German air base.

More to Come.  --GreGen

German Divers Recover Stuka Radiator-- Part 2

Stukas carriedsirens that produced a distinctive sound during dives.

The wreck of the Stuka was first discovered in the 1990s when fishing nets snagged on it about ten kilometers off the coast of the German Baltic island of Ruegen in about 18 meters of water.

The only two surviving Stukas are at the Royal Air Force Museum in London and Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry.

--GreGen

The German Stuka in Chicago

In the last entry, I came across mention that there is a Stuka in Chicago.  I was unaware of it, however.  It is in the Transportation Gallery of the Museum of Science and Industry.  It is a 1941 Junkers Ju-87R-2 Tropical Stuka.

Their website also refers to it as one of the only two-known surviving Stukas in the world.  (The museum also has the German U-boat U-505.)

This plane revolutionized military aviation and warfare with its blitzkrieg tactics using its fast, aggressive dive to support the quick advancement of German ground troops.

The one at the museum is shown in a steep dive, much like Allied ground forces would have seen.  With its wind design, this is one really scary-looking plane, especially coming right at you.

--GreGen

German Divers Recover Stuka Dive Bomber Radiator-- Part 1

From the June 12, 2012, Washington Post.  AP.

An engine was recovered from the Baltic Sea this weekend.  It was originally thought to be from a JU87D model, but now, because of the radiator, historians are about sure it is from a later model, the JU87G.  What makes the recovery remarkable is that there are only two-known complete Stukas on display (one at a museum in London and the other in Chicago.

There are pieces of others at other sites, but only those two complete ones.

--GreGen

Jim Landis' Pearl Harbor Plane-- Part 2: Left Behind at Pearl

From the Naval Aviation Museum website.

The plane in question at the Naval Aviation Museum was built by Douglas Aircraft Co. on its assembly line in El Segundo, California on in December 1940.  It was an SBD-2 Dauntless (Bureau Number 2106) and delivered to Bombing Squadron VB2 at NAS San Diego on December 31, 1940.

Starting the next year it flew with that squadron from the deck of the aircraft carrier Lexington (CV-2) and participated in military maneuvers in Louisiana.

In the first week of December 1941, the Lexington was ordered to deliver aircraft to the Marine Scout bombing squadron at Midway.  While at Pearl harbor, aircraft, including 2106, were offloaded from the carrier to make room for others and left behind on Ford Island when the ship left port for Midway.  That's where it was the day of the attack (and the lexington at sea heading for Midway.

It sustained no damage and was put back on board the Lexington when it returned.

That's Just the Beginning of Its Career.  --GreGen

Jim Landis' Pearl Harbor Dive Bomber

From 2011 WKRG News 5, Mobile, Alabama.

The dive bomber Jim Landis was assigned to when the attack came at Pearl Harbor is on display at the Naval Aviation Museum at NAS Pensacola (Florida).

Jim Landis on the attack:  "I was posting the watch that morning on Ford Island.  When I realized we were under attack I ran to one of the SBD planes that I knew was loaded with ammunition.  When I pulled back the canopy to get out the guns, a bullet went through my hand.  Somehow I managed to get the guns out and did some shooting."

The Pearl Harbor Survivors Association was trying to organize a trip for seven of its remaining members to Pearl Harbor for the 70th anniversary.

I see that they made it to the anniversary.

The Greatest generation.

Navy Dive Bomber recovered

May 2010

In an operation costing $125,000, a SB2C-4 Helldiver was brought up fronm the bottom of Lower Otay Reservoir in San Diego, and will be on display after conservation at the National naval Aviation Museum in pensacola, Florida.

A took off from an aircraft carrier May 28, 1945, and develped engine failure causing pilot E.D. Frazer of Texas and gunner Joseph  Martz of Ohio to crash in the water.  They both swam to shore, but unfortunately, have since died.

The plane's final resting place was forgotten until March 2009 when fishermen using an electronic fish-finder found it in 85 feet of water.

Only six Helldivers are in existence which makes this a rare find.

Always Glad to hear of Recoveries Like This.  --GreGen