10 Odd Jobs of World War II-- Part 3: Field Artillery Sound recorder and Airplane Woodworker

9.  FIELD ARTILLERY SOUND RECORDER

Until the development of radar, sound ranging was one the most effective ways to locate enemy artillery, mortars and rockets.  The process was first developed in World War I, and then continued being used through the Korean War.

From a forward operating post, a field artillery  sound recorder would monitor  an oscillograph and recorder connected to several microphones.  When the sound of an enemy gun would reach a microphone, the information would be recorded on sound film and the data from several microphones could be analyzed to locate an enemy gun.

The technology is still in use today by many countries, which often use  sound ranging in concert with radar.

10.  AIRPLANE WOODWORKER

Although wood was largely phased out and replace by tubular steel in airplane construction by the time World War II started, there was still a need for airplane woodworkers to repair and maintain existing aircraft-- especially gliders and some training aircraft.

Wooden gliders like the Waco CG-41--  the most widely used American troop/cargo glider of the war--  played critical parts in the action.  The CG-4A was first used in the invasion of Sicily in July 1943.  They most commonly flew airborne troops into battle, most famously on the D-Day assault on France on June 6, 1944 and in Operation Market Garden in September  1944.

They were also used  in the China-Burma-India Theater.

--GreGen

 

Two Pearl Harbor Survivors To Speak At WW II Round Table

From the November 29, 2017, Press & Journal (Pennsylvania)  "Pearl Harbor survivors to speak at local World War II Roundtable event December 7."

Richard "Dick" Schimmel of Allentown was at a radar station at Fort Shafter where he worked a s a plotter and switchboard operator.

William Bonelli was an aircraft mechanic with the Army Air Corps at Hickam Field

The Central Pennsylvania World War II Roundtable meets at the Grace United Methodist Church in Hummelstown, Pennsylvania.

I Sure Wish We had a WW II Round Table Around Here.  --GreGen

USS Oklahoma: The Final Story-- Part 1: The Attack

From the PBS show of November 23, 2016.

The USS Ward engaged a Japanese mini-sub shortly before the attack began.

The first wave of Japanese planes, 183 of them, was discovered 136 miles out when they were picked up on radar.  They were dismissed as being a flight of B-17s coming over from the mainland scheduled for that time.

The Japanese planes had veterans flying and the attack began with the words: "Tora, Tora, Tora."

  They couldn't believe they had caught the U.S. military on Oahu so unprepared.  Their planes flew so low that many Americans reported seeing the Japanese pilots laughing and smiling.

The TV show used actual footage and recreations using special effects.

--GreGen