Where have I been?

Hello to everyone and I just want to say I hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving and ate a lot, because I know that I did, sorry it's been so long since I have posted in any of my blogs but once again I went into the hospital for 30 days and am doing good, I am really trying to beat this muscular dystrophy, but I am doing good.  I have some pain but not as bad as it used to be. I am trying to walk at least 3 miles a day so my legs and hips stay strong, and now I am living in Spring Valley, Ca. and my walking path is nothing but hills now so my hips should stay strong.  I never went and got the cane my Neurologist recommended I don't want to have to rely on any thing but myself and my family. well this is it for now but I will post more later now that I am settled again.

Confusing

Hello all, here I go confusing my self again, but that i besides the point, I hate it if there is even a possibility I let someone down or didn't do my very best to assist someone.

Oh yeah back to the confusing part, just back at the beginning of Sept I posted on this blog that me, my wonderful wife Sandi, and the best son a man could have and that is 5 year old Jesiah Raine, that we were moving Permanently Indianapolis, In how ever once I arrived it started off like a dream, like everything was going to work out great, yet this is just the start of the story!

You bet, myself, Sandi and Jesiah are back in San Diego after spending a month and a few days in Greenfield, In and although it was a really nice little town, it is not settle down and buy a house material. Now don't get me wrong because the majority of the people living in Greenfield and the near by city of Indianapolis are very nice and help you the best of their ability if they can do it.

The one good thing that did come from us "moving" to Greenfield is that first I got to see my sister, Teresa Washburn for the first time in 27 years, that is how busy my 20 years in the navy kept me. Also I was able to meet some of my nephews and nieces, who are Crystal, Kayla, Jennifer and my nephew Johnny.

As I write this right now I am sitting in San Diego, Ca knowing I will never try to move out of San Diego, I may travel because Sandi and I love road trips, but as far as moving from San Diego if I can prevent it, it will never happen, unless it is my wife Sandi who requests to try somewhere else.

OK my friends I will say again, sorry for the confusing blogs entries but my goal really is to make at least one post in each blog I have up and running, down deep in my heart I am a writer, and as it may be, probably not a very good one at that, but as anyone you want to ask that knows me I really try to updates these for my readers, of course that is assuming over the last year or so I do have readers.

OK everyone until next time have have a great few days until we shall meet again

Retired military man recently moved to Greenfield, In with wife and 5 year old son, looking for employment - Classified Ad

Retired military man recently moved to Greenfield, In with wife and 5 year old son, looking for employment - Classified Ad

Sherman Firefly

Sherman Firefly/Photo US Army

The Sherman Firefly was a World War II British variant of the American Sherman tank, fitted with the powerful British 17 pounder anti-tank gun as its main weapon. Originally conceived as a stopgap until future British tank designs came into service, the Sherman Firefly became the most common vehicle with the 17 pounder in World War II.
Though the British expected to have their own new tank models developed soon, British Major George Brighty championed the already-rejected idea of mounting the 17 pounder in the existing Sherman. With the help of Lieutenant Colonel Witheridge and despite official disapproval, he managed to get the concept accepted. This proved fortuitous, as both the Challenger and Cromwell tank designs experienced difficulties and delays.
After the problem of getting the gun to fit in the Sherman's turret was solved, the Firefly was put into production in early 1944, in time to equip Field Marshal Montgomery's forces for the Normandy landings. It soon became highly valued as the only British tank capable of defeating the Panther and Tiger tanks it faced in Normandy at standard combat ranges. In recognition of this, German tank and anti-tank gun crews were instructed to attack Fireflies first. Between 2100 and 2200 were manufactured before production wound down in 1945.

The concept of fitting a 17 pounder gun into a Sherman tank had initially been rejected by the Ministry of Supply's Tank Decision Board. Although the British Army had made extensive use of the American-built Sherman tank, it was intended that a new generation of British tanks would replace it in the anti-tank role. First there was the Cromwell tank, which was expected to use the Vickers High Velocity 75mm gun; this gun would have had superior anti-tank performance to the US 75mm and 76mm guns that were mounted in the Sherman. The second was the A30 Challenger which was based on the Cromwell but with the even more powerful 17 pounder gun. These two tanks - and their successors, the Comet and the Centurion, which were already on the drawing board - were to have replaced the Sherman in British service, and so the prospect of spending time and money mounting a 17 pounder on the Sherman was not seen as desirable.
Nonetheless several unofficial attempts were made to upgun the Sherman. The earliest attempt can be credited to Major George Brighty of the Royal Tank Regiment while he was at Lulworth Armoured Fighting School in early 1943. Despite the fact the A30 Challenger was undergoing initial trials at Lulworth, Brightly was convinced that the Sherman was a better mount for the 17 pounder. However he was stymied by the turret of the Sherman, which was too small to allow for the very long recoil of the gun. In a rather desperate move, Brighty removed the recoil system and locked the gun in place, thus forcing the entire tank to absorb the recoil, but this was a far from ideal situation and there was no telling how long the tank would have been able to handle such a set-up.
Around June 1943, a colleague of Brighty, Lt. Col. George Witheridge of the Royal Tank Regiment, arrived at Lulworth. A veteran of the North Africa campaign, Witheridge had experienced firsthand the lopsided battles between British tanks armed with 2 pounder guns against Rommel's formidable panzers and anti-tank guns. During the disastrous Battle of Gazala in mid 1942, Witheridge had been blown out of his Grant tank, and though he recovered from his wounds, he was declared unfit to return to combat duty. Instead, in January 1943, he was posted to Fort Knox in the United States for six months to advise on gunnery, where he was "sold" on American tanks. While at Lulworth, Witheridge inspected the A30 Challenger, and "joined in the chorus of complaints" about the tank. Upon looking up Brighty and learning of his attempts to use the Sherman, Witheridge lent his assistance. He advised Brighty on methods to solve the recoil issue.
Not long after, Witheridge and Brighty received a notice from the Department of Tank Design (DTD) to cease their efforts. Unwilling to abandon the project, Witheridge, using his connections with such influential people as Major General Raymond Briggs, former GOC of the 1st Armoured Division in North Africa and now Director of the Royal Armoured Corps, and successfully lobbied Claude Gibb, Director General of Weapon and Instrument Production at the Ministry of Supply, to make it an official ministry project. In doing so, the endeavour was taken out of the hands of the highly enthusiastic and devoted amateurs at Lulworth who had initiated it and given to professional tank developers.

Sherman Firefly of 7th Armoured Division in Hamburg, 4 May 1945

It was W.G.K. Kilbourn, a Vickers engineer at the time working for the Department of Tank Design, who transformed the prototype into the tank that would serve the British forces from D-day onwards. The first thing Kilbourn had to fix was the lack of a workable recoil system for the 17 pounder. The 17 pounder travelled 40 inches back as it absorbed the recoil of the blast. This was too long for the Sherman turret. Kilbourn solved this problem by redesigning the recoil system completely rather than modifying it. The recoil cylinders were shortened to allow the turret to take the gun and its recoil, and the new cylinders were placed on both sides of the gun to take advantage of the width of the Sherman's turret rather than be hindered by its height.
The gun breech itself was also rotated 90 degrees to allow for loading from the left rather than from on top.The radio which was mounted in the back of the turret in British tanks had to be moved. An armoured box (a "bustle") was attached to the back of the turret to house the radio. Access was through a large hole cut through the back of the turret.
The next problem encountered by Kilbourn was that the gun cradle, the metal block the gun sits on, had to be shortened to allow the gun to fit into the Firefly, and thus the gun itself was not very stable. Kilbourn had a new barrel designed for the 17 pounder that had a longer untapered section at the base, which helped solve the stability problem. A new mantlet was designed to house the new gun and accept the modified cradle. The modifications were extensive enough to require that 17 pounders intended for the Firefly had to be factory built specifically for it.
Kilbourn had to deal with other problems. On the standard Sherman tank, there was a single hatch in the turret through which the tank commander, gunner and loader entered and left the tank. However the 17 pounder's larger breech and recoil system significantly reduced the ability of the loader to quickly exit from the tank if it was hit. As a result, a new hatch was cut into the top of the turret over the gunner's position. The final major change was the elimination of the hull gunner in favour of space for more 17 pounder ammunition, which was significantly longer than the 75 mm shell and thus took up more room.
The Firefly had no armour or mobility advantages over the normal Sherman tank, although the gun mantlet was some 13mm thicker.
By October and November 1943, enthusiasm began to grow for the project. The 21st Army Group  was informed of the new tank in October 1943. Even before final testing had taken place in February 1944, an order for 2,100 Sherman tanks armed with 17 pounder guns was placed. This reaction was understandable, as the Challenger program was suffering constant delays and few would be ready for Normandy, and even worse, the realization that the Cromwell tank did not have a turret ring big enough to take the new High Velocity 75mm gun (50 calibres long), so the Cromwell would have to be armed with the general purpose Ordnance QF 75 mm. Thus the Sherman Firefly represented the only available tank with firepower superior to the QF 75 mm gun in the British Army’s arsenal. Not surprisingly, it was given the ‘highest priority’ by Winston Churchill himself.^[1]
The nickname "Firefly" is not found in wartime official documents. It was sometimes used at unit level (Brigade/Regiment) war diaries from March 1944, with another nickname being 'Mayfly'. During the war, Shermans with 17 pounder guns were usually known as '1C', '1C Hybrid', or 'VC', depending on the basic mark of the vehicle. In British nomenclature, a "C" at the end of the Roman numeral indicated a tank equipped with the 17 pounder.

The main armament of the Sherman Firefly was the Ordnance Quick Firing 17 pounder. Designed as the successor to the British QF 6-pounder, the 17 pounder was the most powerful British tank gun of the war, and one of the most powerful of any nationality, being able to penetrate more armour than the 8.8 cm KwK 36 fitted to the German Tiger I, or the Panther tank's 7.5 cm KwK 42. The Firefly 17 pounder was able to penetrate some 140 mm of armour at 500 m (550 yd) and 131 mm at 1,000 m (1,100 yd) using standard Armour Piercing, Capped, Ballistic Capped (APCBC) ammunition at a 30 degree angle. When supplied, Armour Piercing, Discarding Sabot (APDS) ammunition could penetrate some 209 mm of armour at 500 m and 192 mm at 1,000 m at a 30 degree angle, which on paper could defeat the armour of almost every German armoured fighting vehicle at any likely range . However, early production APDS rounds lacked accuracy, and the 50 mm penetrator was less destructive after it had penetrated enemy tank armour than the 76.2 mm APCBC shell. In any case, APDS ammunition was rare until late 1944.
Despite the Firefly's superior antitank capabilities, the tank was regarded as inferior to the regular Sherman against soft targets such as enemy infantry, buildings and lightly armoured vehicles. As the war in Europe neared its close, the Allies found themselves encountering these more often than heavy German tanks. Allied tank units therefore typically refused to completely switch to Fireflies. A good HE shell only became available in late 1944 and even then was not as potent as the standard Sherman 75mm HE shell. Another problem was that the powerful blast from the 17 pounder gun kicked up large amounts of dirt as well as smoke, making it difficult for the gunner to observe the fall of the shell, forcing him to rely on the commander to observe the fall of the round and to order corrections. Dirt and dust revealed the position of the tank, so Sherman Fireflies would have to move every few shots to avoid detection. The recoil and muzzle blast could be severely jarring to Firefly crews and the muzzle blast frequently caused night blindness as well. This was a common problem on any tank armed with a high velocity gun, including Panther and Tiger tanks. The cramped nature of the turret meant that loading the large 17 pounder shell was difficult so Fireflies had a reduced rate of fire compared to regular M4 Shermans. Since the Firefly was a stopgap to get a 17 pounder gun mounted on a tank, these problems were never eliminated as the Firefly was to be retired with the introduction of the new British tank designs.
The Firefly's secondary armament was the standard .30 inch coaxial machine gun in the turret. The hull mounted machine gun had been removed to increase ammunition storage for the main gun. A top-mounted .50 cal machine gun was also attached, though many crews removed it due to awkward mounting and position near the commander which limited a full 360 degree view when unbuttoned in battle.
In 1945, some British Shermans were fitted with a rail on either side of the turret for two "60 lb" (27 kg) high explosive 3 inch rockets. These were used at the Rhine Crossing by the tanks of a single squadron of the 1st Coldstream Guards. The tanks were called "Sherman Tulips". The tanks fitted were conventional Shermans and Fireflies. The rockets, inaccurate when fired from aircraft, were less inaccurate when fired from a tank as they were being fired from a stationary point and had little slipstream over the fins. Despite this, the RP-3 was effective when its 60 pound warhead hit the target.

Three different variants of Sherman Firefly served during the Second World War, each based on different variants of the M4 Sherman. The Firefly conversion was carried out on Sherman I (M4), Sherman I Hybrid (M4 Composite) and Sherman V (M4A4) tanks. Some sources state that several Sherman IIs (M4A1) were converted and used in action, but photos allegedly showing these conversions are in fact views of the front half of Sherman I Hybrid Fireflies. To complicate matters, a very small number of Canadian licence-built Sherman IIs (M4A1), the Grizzly, were converted to Fireflies in Canada and used for training, but none saw action. The majority of Shermans converted were the Sherman V/M4A4 model, of which the British received about 7,200. The Sherman VC and IC variants are easily distinguished by their lower hulls; the VC having a riveted lower hull with a curved shape while the IC has a welded and angled lower hull. The Hybrid can be distinguished by its upper hull which is cast and which gives it a distinctive curved look in comparison to the more boxy hull of a typical Sherman.

Production of the Firefly started in early 1944, and by May 31, some 342 Sherman Fireflies had been delivered to Montgomery's 21st Army Group for the D-Day landings. As a result, British tank troops were composed of three regular Shermans and one Firefly. The same distribution occurred in Cromwell units, but this caused logistical problems, as each Cromwell troop now needed to be supplied with parts for two different tanks, and the Fireflies were slowly replaced by Challenger tanks as they came out. Churchill units received no Fireflies, and as a result often had to rely on any attached M10 or M10 Achilles units to provide increased firepower to deal with tanks their 75mm guns could not eliminate.
Production was limited by the availability of suitable tanks, with the phasing out of 75mm Sherman production. To make up numbers the Mark I "hybrids" were employed From D-Day in June to the end of the Battle of Normandy in late August, some 550 Sherman Fireflies were built, more than sufficient to replace any permanent tank losses during the battle. In late 1944, with the creation of an effective High Explosive shell for the 17 pounder gun, British units started to receive two Fireflies per troop. By February 1945, some 2,000 Sherman Fireflies had been built and British armour troops were equipped with a 50/50 mix of 75mm and 17 pounder armed Shermans.
In the spring of 1945, production of the Firefly was scaled down, with the last tank being delivered in May 1945. This was the result of several factors, from superior home-grown designs like the Comet and Centurion coming into service which would replace the Firefly, to the impending defeat of Nazi Germany, and the inferior design of Japan's tanks, which it seemed would be the next opponents the British would have to face after the fall of Germany.
Overall production of the Sherman Firefly reached some 2,100 - 2,200 tanks; exact numbers are hard to determine as documents give contradictory totals. Jane's World War II Tanks and Fighting Vehicles gives a production of 1783 over 1944 and 563 over 1945, for a total of 2346.

Normandy

Fireflies were introduced to armoured brigades and divisions in the 21st Army Group in 1944 just in time for the Normandy landings. The timing was fortunate as the Allies discovered that the Germans were fielding a much larger number of formidable tanks, such as the Panther, than had been expected in the Normandy theatre. In fact the Allies had mistakenly assumed the Panther, like the Tiger, would be a rare heavy tank with a limited production run, rather than a total replacement for their medium tanks, and the larger-than-expected number of Panthers came as a nasty shock to the Allied commanders as well as the tank crews forced to engage them with guns that could not penetrate the frontal armour at long range.

Panthers and Tigers accounted for only 30% of the 2,300 German tanks deployed in Normandy (the rest being Panzer IVs, Sturmgeschütz IIIs and other tanks that the standard Shermans were able to effectively handle). However, the importance of Caen and Montgomery's operations, which pinned German armoured forces in front of the British positions so the American units could break out to the west, meant that British and Commonwealth units had to face over 70% of all German armour deployed during the Battle of Normandy, as well as over half of the elite, well-equipped Waffen-SS units. As a result, the Sherman Firefly was perhaps the most valued tank by British and Commonwealth commanders, as it was the only tank in the British Army able to effectively defeat the Panthers and Tigers at the standard combat ranges in Normandy.
This fact did not go unnoticed by the Germans, who realized that these long-barrel Shermans posed a much greater threat to their heavy tanks than the regular Shermans, and German tank crews and anti-tank gun crews were instructed to eliminate Fireflies first. Similarly, the Firefly crews realized that the distinctive long barrel of their 17 pounder gun made the Firefly stand out from regular Shermans, so crews attempted to disguise their tanks in the hope they would not be targeted. Some crews had the front half of the gun barrel painted white on the bottom and dark green or the original olive drab on the top to give the illusion of a shorter gun barrel. Another suggestion was for a shorter wooden dummy gun would be mounted on the rear of the turret and point forward; however, this tactic does not appear to have been used in combat.

British Firefly in Namur, 1944

Despite being a high priority target, Fireflies appear to have had a statistically lower chance of being knocked out than standard Shermans; this was probably due more to how they were employed than to the actual effectiveness of the attempted camouflaging of the long barrel. Given the high value placed on Fireflies, a common tactic was for commanders to reconnoitre the battlefield before a battle to look for good hull down positions. During the battle, Firefly tanks would stay behind in those position and cover the regular Shermans as they pushed forward, eliminating any enemy tanks that revealed themselves when they opened fire on the advancing Shermans and only moving forward when the regular Shermans had secured the area, or when they could no longer cover them from their current position. Similarly, when on the move, troop commanders tended to position Fireflies in the rear to reduce the chance of them being knocked out. However, given the relatively unpredictable nature of battle, this setup was not always practical or possible, and many times, Fireflies were forced to engage enemies in the open where they could be identified.
Despite this, the Firefly's increased firepower was much valued, and during many engagements, the Firefly proved its worth, knocking out Tigers and Panthers at long range, as well as less formidable tanks like the Mark IVs and StuGs.
One example of this increased firepower was displayed by Lt. G. K. Henry's Firefly during the defense of Norrey-en-Bessin on 9 June against an attack by the 3rd Company of the 12th SS Panzer Regiment of the 12th SS Panzer Division. Determined to capture the town in preparation for a larger offensive to drive the British and Canadians back into the sea, Kurt Meyer ordered an attack by 12 Panthers of the 3rd Company and infantry to attack Norrey-en-Bessin and drive the Canadians out of the town. The attack got under way at 1300 hours with the Panthers racing to the town at full speed only to stop to fire their guns, quickly outrunning their infantry support which was forced to the ground by Allied artillery fire. Within 1,000 m (1,100 yd) of the town, nine Shermans of the 1st Hussars opened fire into the advancing Panthers' flanks. Lt. Henry's gunner, Trooper A. Chapman, waited until the Panthers "lined up like ducks in a row" and quickly knocked out five with just six rounds. The attack was repulsed with the loss of seven of the 12 Panthers.
A similar example occurred on 14 June, during Operation Perch. Sgt. Harris of the 4th/7th Dragoon Guards, along with three standard Shermans, set up defensive positions along with the infantry after successfully driving out the Germans in the village of Lingèvres, near Tilly-sur-Seulles. Looking through his binoculars, Sgt. Harris spotted two Panthers advancing from the east. He opened fire at a range of 800 metres (870 yd), knocking out the lead Panther with his first shot, and the second Panther with his second. Relocating to a new position on the other side of the town, he spotted another three Panthers approaching from the west. From his well-concealed flanking position, he and his gunner, Trooper Mackillop, eliminated all three with just three rounds. Harris and his gunner had knocked out five Panthers with as many rounds, demonstrating the potency of the Firefly, especially when firing from a defensive position on advancing enemy tanks.
In perhaps its most famous action, a group of seven Tiger tanks from the 3rd Company and HQ Company, Schwere SS-Panzer-Abteilung 101 supported by several Panzer IV tanks and Stug IV assault guns were ambushed by Fireflies from A Squadron, 1st Northamptonshire Yeomanry, 33rd Armoured Brigade, A Squadron, the Sherbrooke Fusilier Regiment, 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade and B Squadron, The 144th Regiment Royal Armoured Corps, 33rd Armoured Brigade. Tanks of the 1st Northamptonshire Yeomanry and elements of the 51st (Highland) Division reached the French village of Saint-Aignan-de-Cramesnil on the morning of 8 August 1944 during Operation Totalize. While B Squadron stayed around the village, A and C Squadrons moved further south into a wood called Delle de la Roque. C Squadron positioned themselves on the east side of the woods and the understrength A Squadron in the southern portion with No. 3 Troop on the western edge of the wood. From this position, they overlooked a large open section of ground and were able to watch as German tanks advanced up Route nationale 158 from the town of Cintheaux. Under strict orders from the troop commander, they held their fire until the German tanks were well within range. Ekins, the gunner of Sergeant Gordon's Sherman Firefly (Velikye Luki - A Squadrons tanks were named after towns in the Soviet Union) had yet to fire his gun in action With the Tiger tanks in range, the order was given to fire. What followed was an almost 12 minute battle that saw Ekins destroying all three Tigers that No. 3 Troop could see; there were actually seven Tiger tanks in the area heading north along with some other tanks and self propelled guns. A short time later, the main German counterattack was made in the direction of C Squadron. A Squadron (less Sgt Gordon who had been wounded and had already bailed out of the Firefly) moved over to support them and in the resulting combat, Ekins destroyed a Panzer IV before his tank was hit and the crew were forced to bail out. One of the Tigers Ekins is credited with knocking out was that of Michael Wittmann, though there is still some controversy over whether Ekins really killed Wittman, as Fireflies of the Sherbrooke Fusilier Regiment also fired at the Tigers from a closer range of 150 m (160 yd).

Italy

Overall the Firefly proved itself a very successful tank despite the fact it was only intended as a stopgap tank until future British tanks like the Comet and the Centurion came into service. While Normandy had priority, Fireflies also served with distinction in Italy in British and Commonwealth units. British units in Italy also used the Sherman with the US 76mm gun.

once again

Ok now you are probably thinking, Oh there Duane goes again saying that he's going to catch up on all his blogs, well I just want to say I am sorry for not keeping up on my blogs, however I am starting to feel better now and really want to try and work on each and everyone of my blog at least once a week.

Currently my favorite blogs are this one, Navy's  of the world blog, 44 college student and side stepping through life. So I am not giving anyone a promise because my health can drop dramatically with out warning.

AD Scout Sparrow British Fighter Aircraft

A.D. Scout Sparrow ExCC. 1915/Photo Public Domain

The AD Scout (also known as the Sparrow) was designed by Harris Booth of the British Admiralty's Air Department as a fighter aircraft to defend Britain from Zeppelin bombers during World War I.
The Scout was a decidedly unconventional aircraft - a biplane with a fuselage pod mounted on the upper wing. A twin-rudder tail was attached by four booms, and it was provided with an extremely narrow-track undercarriage. The primary armament was intended to be a 2-pounder recoilless Davis Gun, but this was never fitted.
Four prototypes were ordered in 1915 and two each were built by Hewlett & Blondeau and the Blackburn Aeroplane & Motor Company. Trials flown by pilots of the Royal Naval Air Service proved the aircraft to be seriously overweight, fragile, sluggish, and difficult to handle, even on the ground. The project was abandoned and all four prototypes scrapped.

Operators

 United Kingdom

• Royal Naval Air Service

Specifications (AD Scout)

Data from The British Fighter since 1912

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Length: 22 ft 9 in (6.93 m)
• Wingspan: 33 ft 5 in (10.18 m)
• Height: 10 ft 3 in (3.12 m)
• Powerplant: 1× Gnôme Monosoupape rotary engine, 100 hp (75 kW)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 84 mph (73 knots, 135 km/h)
• Range: 210 miles (336 km)

Armament

• Guns: 1x 2-pounder (40 mm) Davis recoilless gun (intended, but never fitted in view of the fragility of the Scout's construction)

US Marines 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit

The 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit (15th MEU) is one of seven Marine Expeditionary Units currently in existence in the United States Marine Corps. The Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) is a Marine Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF) with a strength of about 2,200 personnel. The MEU consists of a command element, a reinforced infantry battalion, a composite helicopter squadron and a combat logistics battalion. The 15th MEU is currently based out of Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California.

Mission

The mission of the MEU is to provide geographic combatant commanders with a forward-deployed, rapid-response force capable of conducting conventional amphibious and selected maritime special operations at night or under adverse weather conditions from the sea, by surface and/or by air while under communications and electronics restrictions.

Current subordinate units

• Ground Combat Element: 1st Battalion, 4th Marines
• Aviation Combat Element: HMM-165 (REIN)
• Logistics Combat Element: Combat Logistics Battalion 15

History

Early years

In April 1983, the Commandant of the Marine Corps approved the original Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) Headquarters concept, providing for the sourcing of two Marine Amphibious Unit (MAU) headquarters from each Marine Amphibious Brigade headquarters.^[3] The Commandant directed the establishment of two additional MAU headquarters in November 1985. As a result, the Headquarters, 15th Marine Amphibious Unit was activated July 1, 1987 at Camp Pendleton.
The Commandant directed the replacement of the title "Headquarters" with "Command Element" in the titles of the MAGTFs in August 1987. The 15th MAU’s designation was further changed in February 1988 to the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit. Both changes were made to more accurately reflect the operational and expeditionary nature of the MAGTF. Before World War II, and in the period between then and the Vietnam War, Marine units dispatched for overseas service were generally designated as “expeditionary brigades."
Since its activation in July 1987, the 15th MEU has trained to meet its mission in the rotation with the 11th and 13th MEUs to provide a continuous presence in the Western Pacific, Indian Ocean, and Persian Gulf and as a ready MAGTF in the continental United States.
In October 1989, the MEU assisted in relief efforts following the San Francisco earthquake, performing their assigned missions and also taking on several volunteer projects to help the victims of the disaster.

1990s

Marines of the 15th MEU relieved the 1st Battalion, 24th Marines (1/24), to continue the evacuation of the Republic of the Philippines in August 1991 after the eruption of Mount Pinatubo that had occurred 6 weeks earlier. Assistance lasted over a month as the Marines distributed food and medical supplies, evacuated stranded villagers and provided security to other rescue personnel.
The MEU spearheaded Operation Restore Hope on December 9, 1992, to provide humanitarian assistance to the civil war torn and famine-stricken country of Somalia. After a predawn landing, the Marines secured the capital city of Mogadishu, the international airport and maritime shipping port facilities, as well as the American Embassy, and quickly moved into other inland areas to protect food distribution convoys and patrol the streets to restore order. The MEU pushed into and secured the inland cities of Baidoa and Balidogle and the coastal town of Kismayo in order to establish relief efforts and maintain security. The span of operations for the Battalion Landing Team was over 150 miles (240 km).
During its deployment in 1994, the MEU provided a detachment of CH-53Es to assist in the Rwanda Relief Effort. The detachment, based in Entebbe, Uganda, provided the only heavy lift capability to the joint task force commander. A few weeks later the MEU assisted in the relocation of the United States Liaison Office from Mogadishu, Somalia, to Nairobi, Kenya.
In October 1994, the MEU was called on again to provide a quick reaction force to counter any possible Iraqi aggression against Kuwait. Within 48 hours, the MEU sent Marines ashore in Kuwait City to demonstrate U.S. resolve in maintaining peace and security in the area.
In January 1996, July 1997, and October 1998, AV-8B Harriers from the 15th MEU (SOC) participated in Operation Southern Watch, patrolling the No-fly zone over southern Iraq maintaining continuous surveillance of the Kuwait-Iraq border, and to ensure the Iraqi military did not violate any United Nations resolutions passed since the Gulf War.
During its 2000 deployment, the 15th MEU (SOC) also participated in the Australian-led Operation Stabilise, providing desperately needed assistance to the people of East Timor, and again patrolled the skies over Southern Iraq in support of Operation Southern Watch.

Global War on Terror

15th MEU Camp Rhino Afghanistan Nov 2001/Photo US Navy

Marines of the Forward Command Element of the 15th MEU (SOC) were in East Timor readying for the arrival of the ARG to conduct Humanitarian Operations, while the ARG was in Darwin, Australia during the Attacks. Following the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the 15th MEU (SOC) continued their plans of humanitarian operations to assist the war-torn country of East Timor, before sailing to the North Arabian Sea in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
On October 7, 2001, the 15th MEU participated in the United States' new "War on Terrorism,"Pakistan to establish a forward operating air base and logistical hub. These Marines provided security to USAF personnel who arrived on location shortly after the 15th MEU Marines of Battalion Landing Team 1/1 had established security.
On November 25, 2001, the Marines and Sailors of the 15th MEU (SOC) conducted an Amphibious assault over 400 miles (640 km) into the land-locked country of Afghanistan. The Marines and Sailors set new standards for Marine Corps amphibious doctrine. Landing at a remote airbase, 90 miles (140 km) southwest of Kandahar, the Marines established Camp Rhino, America's first Forward Operating Base while maintaining the first significant conventional ground presence in Afghanistan. The Marines and coalition forces later moved north to Kandahar International Airport securing a new forward operating base. With the move, the Marines and coalition forces were able to continue with new missions and build a prison camp that housed numerous Taliban and Al-Qaeda fighters.
On January 6, 2003, this time onboard the USS Tarawa ARG, the 15th MEU (SOC) departed once again for another deployment. In mid-February, elements of the MEU off-loaded and established a training camp in Northern Kuwait while other members of the MAGTF – primarily the helicopter squadron – remained onboard the Tarawa ARG in the Persian Gulf.
During February and March 2003, tactical control (TACON) of the MEU was assigned to the United Kingdom's 3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines for Operation Iraqi Freedom. On March 21, 2003, Marines from the 15th MEU crossed the border into Southern Iraq and secured the ports of Umm Qasr and Az Zubayr in order to destroy Iraqi resistance and enable follow-on humanitarian assistance to begin.^[6]
In late-March 2003, the MEU again became part of the I Marine Expeditionary Force and moved to An Nasiriyah, Iraq to relieve the Marines of Task Force Tarawa. In An Nasiriyah, the 15th MEU secured the remaining sectors of the city, conducted a supporting attack during the rescue of American Prisoner of war Jessica Lynch and continued to establish security throughout the greater An Nasiriyah area. The MEU provided humanitarian assistance to the local population that included purifying drinking water, and doctors and corpsmen assisted medical care. The MEU began helping establish the local government to include police and other local services in addition to continuing to conduct airborne surveillance and direct-action raids on the ground to seek out and capture any Ba’ath Party or Fedayeen resistance.
In January 2005, the 15th MEU participated in Operation Unified Assistance by providing disaster relief to survivors of the massive tsunami in Sumatra, Indonesia and southern Sri Lanka. Immediately after wrapping up those operations, the 15th MEU proceeded south of Baghdad, Iraq to Forward Operating Base Falcon near Al-Mahmudiyah, Babil province, south of for security and stability operations in between rotations of army units. Their deployment into Iraq lasted about 30 days.
On September 13, 2006, the 15th MEU was once again deployed to Iraq. It left San Diego on the USS Boxer, USS Dubuque, and USS Comstock and in mid November began operating in Al Anbar province as Task Force Bullrush, composed of elements of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable); Bravo Company, 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion; C Company, 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, and Alpha Company, 3rd Platoon, 1st Combat Engineer Battalion.
On February 11, 2007, the unit received notice of its second extension of their deployment in support of President Bush's surge of additional forces into the critical areas of Iraq. While operating in Al Anbar, the MEU conducted combat operations in Rutbah, Barwana, Haditha, Haqlaniyah, Ramadi and Al Asad in support of Multinational Force-West. The unit returned to San Diego on May 30, 2007.

Schneider CA1 First French Tank

Schneider CA1 World War 1 Tank/Photo Public Domain

The Schneider CA1 (originally named the Schneider CA) was the first French tank. It was inspired by the need to overcome the stalemate of the trench warfare of the Great War.

Caterpillar development

Schneider & Co. was a large arms manufacturer in France. Having been given the order to develop heavy artillery tractors, in January 1915 the company sent out its chief designer, Eugène Brillié, to investigate tracked tractors from the American Holt Company, at that time participating in a test programme in England. On his return Brillié, who had earlier been involved in designing armoured cars for Spain, convinced the company management to initiate studies on the development of a Tracteur blindé et armé (armoured and armed tractor), based on the Baby Holt chassis, two of which were ordered.
Experiments on the Holt caterpillar tracks started in May 1915 at the Schneider plant with a 75 hp wheel-directed model and the 45 hp integral caterpillar Baby Holt, showing the superiority of the latter. On 16 June, new experiments followed in front of the President of the Republic Raymond Poincaré, leading to the order of 10 armoured tracked vehicles for further testing. In July 1915 the Schneider programme was combined with an official one for the development of an armoured barbed wire cutter by engineer and Member of Parliament Jules-Louis Breton, the Breton-Prétot machine. Ten of the fifteen available Baby Holt vehicles were to be armoured and fitted with the wire cutter. On 10 September, new experiments were made for Commander Ferrus, an officer who had been involved in the study (and ultimate rejection) of the Levavasseur tank project in 1908.

 Souain experiment

On 9 December 1915 in the Souain experiment, a prototype armoured tank, a Baby Holt chassis with boiler-plate armour, was demonstrated to the French Army. Among the onlookers were General Philippe Pétain, and Colonel Jean-Baptiste Eugène Estienne (1860–1936), an artillery man and engineer held in very high regard throughout the army for his unmatched technological and tactical expertise. The results of the prototype tank were excellent, displaying remarkable mobility in the difficult terrain of the former battlefield of Souain. The length of the Baby Holt however appeared to be too short to bridge German trenches, justifying the development of longer caterpillar tracks for the French tank project. For Estienne the vehicle shown embodied concepts about AFVs which he had been advocating since August 1914.

 Estienne's proposal

On 12 December he presented to the High Command a plan to form an armoured force, equipped with tracked vehicles. This plan met with approbation and in a letter dated 31 January 1916 Commander-in-chief Joffre ordered the production of 400 tanks of the type designed by Estienne,^[6] although the actual production order of 400 Schneider CA1 was made a bit later on 25 February 1916, at a price of 56,000 French francs per vehicle. In January it had been decided not to use the Baby Holt chassis, but the longer 75 hp Holt tractor; for this the armoured superstructure had to be completely changed, which was done in an army workshop in February. The first vehicle of the production series was delivered on 5 September. Meanwhile, production had shifted to the SOMUA company, a dependency of Schneider.

Designation

The name of the tank was Schneider CA. The meaning of "CA" is uncertain. Later it was usually understood to mean Char d'Assaut (literally "chariot" and today the full word for "tank"). For several reasons this interpretation is dubious. Firstly, the designation predates by some months the first known usage of char as "tank". Secondly, word order would be unusual: in French the normal order is Char d'Assaut Schneider. Thirdly, at the time the letter codes at the end were normally used to indicate consequent prototypes. We know the first army prototype based on a lengthened 75 hp Holt was called the Tracteur A, a second shortened Schneider prototype with tail the Tracteur B and that the type as produced was again different from that second prototype. It is plausible that the code means "third type" (C) in its first (A) production version; a further indication for this lies in the fact that it was not uncommon to use a reversed order: AC.

Description

To the modern eye, the tank is hardly recognizable as such. It has no turret, and its not very prominent main armament, a fortification petard mortar, the 75 mm Blockhaus Schneider, was placed in a sponson in the right front corner. Two 8 mm Hotchkiss machine guns, projecting from the flanks in ballmounts, complement the small gun. Another awkward feature is the overhang of the frontal part of the chassis which had been designed to crush down barbed wire. However this feature caused the tank to ditch itself readily. The fighting compartment is extremely cramped: the crew of six was mostly flat on their bellies in a 90 cm space between the roof and the 60 hp (45 kW) engine. Luckily, top speed was only 8 km/h. All this was protected by 11 mm steel plate, later improved by a spaced armour of 5.5 mm, raising the weight to 13.5 tons.

Operational history

As their production numbers were more ambitious the French lagged behind the British somewhat — it took them more time to build larger factories — deploying their tanks for the first time on 16 April 1917 at Berry-au-Bac during the infamous NivelleArtillerie Spéciale 1-20, under the overall command of the now brigadier Estienne. In 1918 these "old" tanks were gradually phased out in favour of the new Renault FT-17, but production only ended in August 1918, when exactly 400 had been built including the prototype. At least one Schneider was delivered to Italy, which after testing abandoned the plan to build 1500 of them.

After World War I

After the war, the tanks were rebuilt as recovery vehicles and tank transporters. Six were sold to Spain in 1922, from 1923 to 1926 fighting in Morocco, the surviving four vehicles later taking part in the Spanish Civil War near Toledo on the side of the Republicans. The only surviving vehicle, at the Musée des Blindés in Saumur, is also the world's oldest tank in running condition. It was preserved in the Aberdeen Proving Ground Ordnance Museum in Maryland, USA and later donated to France for restoration.

Lat75mm howitzer of the CA1 at the Museum of Armored Vehicles at El Goloso, Spaer designs

There were several projects for the production of more Schneiders with turrets and/or better guns: the CA2, 3 and 4. Only prototypes were made of the CA2 and CA3. The CA4 remained largely a paper project. Because of the project designations, later books would name the original tank CA1. The heavy St. Chamond tank was developed from the Tracteur A prototype of the Schneider, leading to much confusion among later historians.

Anatra DS Russian World War 1 Fighter

Anatra DS/Photo Public Domain

The Anatra DS or Anasal was a two-seat reconnaissance aircraft developed from the Anatra D (Anade). It was built in the Anatra factory in Odessa in the Russian Empire and flown during World War I and by both sides during the Russian Civil War.
The main difference from the previous model was the replacement of a primitive 100 hp rotary engine with a much more powerful 150 hp Salmson radial engine, which improved performance. The engine was unique, being one of the few water-cooled radial engines, hence the plane had a water radiator in front of the upper wing. This engine was license-built in Russia. The forward fuselage was similar to its predecessor, with a partial engine cowling, open at the bottom, with characteristic holes. The plane was also slightly larger and more heavily armed, adding a synchronised forward-firing machine gun for the pilot in addition to the observer's weapon.
The plane, named Anasal (short for Anatra Salmson) was first flown on 7 August 1916 (25 July 1916 old style). The first orders came only in 1917, and before the Soviet revolution in November 1917 some 60 to 70 had been manufactured, many others being in different stages of completion^[1]. Many details differed between individual aircraft.
In March 1918 Odessa was occupied by Austro-Hungarian forces, in accordance with the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk and in May the Austrian government ordered 200 Anasals, as the Anatra C.I, for training and observation. 114 were received by the Austrians by September 1918, some half being given to training units before the end of World War I. In October, the remainder of the order was cancelled.
The major post-war user of the Anasal was Czechoslovakia, with 23 former Austrian aircraft, used by the military, and later in civilian aviation. One of these has survived and is in the Prague Aviation Museum, Kbely. Eight Anasals were used by revolutionary forces in Hungary. Eight aircraft were acquired in March 1919 by the Polish 4th Rifle Division in Odessa, fighting in the Russian civil war on the White side, but only 4 were assembled and used until April. Another Anasal was captured and used by the Poles during the Polish-Soviet war in 1919-20.
A more advanced model was the Anatra DSS, with 160 hp Salmson engine, but few were made.

Variants

• DS - two-seat reconnaissance aircraft
• DSS - a small number of aircraft with a more powerful 160 hp Salmson radial engine for slightly higher speed
• Anatra Anadis - fighter aircraft based on the Anasal design

Operators

 Austria-Hungary

 Czechoslovakia

• Postwar, 23 aircraft.

 Hungary

 Poland

• Postwar, 5 aircraft in 1919-1920 (further 4 not assembled)

 Russia

• Imperial Army
• White Russians and Kuban Cossacks

 Soviet Union

Specifications

General characteristics

• Crew: two, pilot and observer
• Length: 8.10 m (26 ft 7 in)
• Wingspan: 11.43 m (37 ft 6 in)
• Height: 3.2 m (10 ft 6 in)
• Wing area: 37.0 m² (398 ft²)
• Empty weight: 814 kg (1,795 lb)
• Gross weight: 1,164 kg (2,566 lb)
• Powerplant: 1 × Salmson 9U radial, 112 kW (150 hp)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 144 km/h (90 mph)
• Endurance: 3 hours  30 min
• Service ceiling: 4,300 m (14,100 ft)
• Rate of climb: 3.0 m/s (600 ft/min)

Armament

• 1 × fixed, forward-firing 7.7 mm (.303) Vickers machine gun (Des Camps synchronizer)
• 1 × 7.7 mm (.303) Lewis machine gun for observer
• up to 50 kg bombs