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Insignia of the 97th Bombardment Group.

97th_Bombardment_Group_-_Emblem.jpg


The 97th Bomb Group flew the Eighth Air Force's first heavy bomber mission from the UK when they bombed a marshalling yard at Rouen on 17 August 1942. Just a month later though the Group were reassigned to the Twelfth Air Force and left England for the Mediterranean theater. Flying first with the Twelfth, and later with the Fifteenth, Air Force, the Group flew bombing missions in support of ground operations as well as bombing more strategic targets in Germany. The Group received a Distinguished Unit Citation for leading a strike against an aircraft factory at Steyr, Austria, on 24 February 1944 during Big Week, 20-25 February 1944.
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http://www.americanairmuseum.com/unit/551

1 February 1943: During World War II, the 414th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 97th Bombardment Group (Heavy), 12th Air Force, U.S. Army Air Forces, was on a mission to attack the docks at the port of Tunis in order to cut the supply chain to the German and Italian armies operating in Tunisia.

A single-engine Messerschmitt Bf 109G fighter defending the city collided with All American III, a Boeing B-17F-5-BO Flying Fortress, serial number 41-24406, which was under the command of Lieutenant Kendrick R. Bragg, Jr., U.S. Army Air Corps. The fighter cut diagonally through the bomber’s fuselage, carried away the left horizontal stabilizer and elevator, and damaged the flight control cables.

The rugged design and construction that made the Flying Fortress a legend allowed the airplane to fly another 90 minutes to its home base at Biskra Airfield, Algeria. Lieutenant Bragg made a careful landing, holding the tail off the runway as long as possible. None of the ten men aboard were injured.
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https://www.thisdayinaviation.com/tag/97th-bombardment-group-heavy/

 
After midnight back east, so here's my early entry for Tuesday: CVE-96, the USS Salamaua, a Casablanca-class escort carrier.

At Lingayen Gulf in the Philippines in January 1945, a Japanese kamikaze plane, emerging from cloud cover, unexpectedly dove almost vertically towards Salamaua's flight deck. The speed of its descent, as well as the task group being on low alert, meant that the kamikaze was able to carry out its attack unmolested by anti-aircraft fire. Carrying two 551-pound (250 kg) bombs, it penetrated deep into the lower decks, leaving a 16-foot (4.9 m) by 32-foot (9.8 m) gaping hole in the flight deck and lighting a fire in the lower bulkheads that caused a pillar of smoke to rise from the hole. Admiral Durgin, querying Salamaua as to the origin of the smoke, received a reply that "Something just went through our flight deck". One of the bombs detonated near the tank tops, just above the bilge, narrowly missing the bomb stowage compartment. The blast sent debris from the engine and fuselage rocketing onto the flight deck, collapsing a number of bulkheads. Additionally, it sparked multiple fires throughout the flight deck, hangar deck, and engine room. Inside the hangar deck, aircraft were being readied for a strike, and the existence of armed munitions made the situation tenuous. The second bomb failed to explode, and was ejected through the starboard side of the ship at the waterline, near the engine, leaving a hole about 20-inch (51 cm) wide through which seawater rushed in. There was immediate loss of power, communications, and steering throughout the ship. The aft engine room was breached and flooded, rendering the starboard engine inoperational, albeit the flooding extinguished the engine room blaze.

Several fires were kindled, but most of the blazes were quickly put under control, with the exception of a major fire within the hangar deck, which was fed by gasoline saturated debris from the flight deck. Fighting the fire was further complicated by the loss of water main pressure along the aft of the ship, and by the detonation of hydrostatic fuses and various other ammunition. After 30 minutes, the blaze was contained, after a fight which first belayed, then prevented the detonation of more munitions. A more pressing concern was flooding, which an entire day of pumping could not alleviate. This resulted in the entire starboard engine being submerged, leading to the ship acquiring an 8° list to the starboard. The attack on Salamaua was the last successful kamikaze attack in the Philippines Campaign.

There were more kamikazes which followed up in the 10 minutes after the attack on Salamaua, but the Japanese had lost the element of surprise. One plane dove towards Tulagi, but was engaged by heavy anti-aircraft fire, including from Salamaua, and it veered towards Hoggatt Bay before being destroyed by a proximity-fuzed 5-inch shell. Another two planes tried to strike Salamaua, one passing above her port quarter before crashing into the sea, and another one detonating in midair as it approached her astern. Throughout this ordeal, she was able to keep up with her task group using her port engine. Fifteen men were killed, and 88 injured by the attack. At 19:25, she broke away from her task group to limp away for Leyte, accompanied by the destroyers Gridley and Ralph Talbot, along with the tug Apache.
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USS_Salamaua_(CVE-96)_underway_off_San_Francisco_c1945.jpeg


 
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"in January 1845, a Japanese kamikaze plane"??

The technologically advanced antebellum Japanese air force.  :D

 
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The Japanese Type 96 light machine gun.

type99.jpg


Combat record

The Type 96 came into active service in 1936 and was intended to replace the older Type 11; however the Type 11 had already been produced in large quantities, and both weapons remained in service until the end of the war. The Type 96 was regarded as rugged and reliable, but its 6.5 mm bullets lacked penetration against cover, especially in comparison to other rifle rounds of the day such as the American .30-06 Springfield and the design was supplanted by the more powerful Type 99 light machine gun with the larger 7.7 mm bullet in 1937.

After World War II, it was used by Indonesian forces during the Indonesian National Revolution against Dutch forces notably during the attack on Jogjakarta 1949.  It was used by the Viet Minh and the North Vietnamese forces during the First and Second Indochina Wars.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_96_light_machine_gun

 
The Chinese Type 96 second-generation main battle tank.

1920px-TankBiathlon2017Individual-02.jpg


Type 96

Domestic version of Type 85-IIM. Also sometimes mistakenly referred to as the Type 88C.  Renamed Type 96 when put into PLA service.  In comparison to the Type 85 and Type 88, the Type 96 features a more powerful engine, improved electronics and a western-style turret. Type 96 was accepted by the PLA in 1996.

Type 96A

Additional "arrow shaped" modular armor similar to the Type 99 is installed on the turret front. The back of the hull is now completely flat compared to the Type 96.  The Type 96A was first revealed in 2006, but in-service tanks were first seen in a military parade in 2009.

The Type 96A is a third-generation upgrade of the Type 96. Its internal electronics may have been upgraded to Type 99 standards.[7] The visual profile of the Type 96A is similar to the Type 99. However, the Type 96A can be distinguished from the Type 99 by the driver's position of the left side of the hull.[6] FY-4 ERA was added on front upper glacis.  The vehicle is equipped with a thermal imager. Features an upgraded 800 hp (600 kW) engine.

A laser defense system similar to the Shtora has been installed as well.  Electro-optical jammers which are able to jam enemy guided missiles, rangefinders, and designators are found on the tank.

Type 96B

Variant first seen in July 2016 loaded on a Russia-bound train to participate in the 2016 Tank biathlon. It is equipped with an improved engine, improved high-performance gun with an upgraded fire-control system, new transmission, chassis, ventilation, communications and computer systems, exhaust and suspension. However it still doesn't feature a commander independent sight which is vital for hunter-killer capabilities.  Compared to the previous variants, the two exhausts that were originally located on the right side of the hull is now located on the rear hull with air vents. The specifications of the upgraded engine is believed to be 1200hp with a max speed between 65km/h to 74 km/h.

VT-2
Export variant of Type-96A. Debuted at the 2012 Defence Services Asia Exhibition.  Can be equipped with Remote Weapons Station and has a maximum speed of 70 km/h (on road). Capable of turning on its own axis.
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USS Oakland, CL-95, in her haze gray camouflage.

1280px-USS_Oakland_(CL-95)_in_San_Francisco_Bay_on_2_August_1943_(NH_98442).jpg


 
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USS Lunga Point, CVE-94.

USS_Lunga_Point_(CVE-94),_in_May_1944.jpg


Philippine Sea

Lunga Point sailed on 27 December from Manus to supply air support for 6th Army landing operations at Lingayen Gulf. En route, on 4 January 1945, at 17:00, approximately 15 Japanese planes were picked up on radar, 45 miles (72 km) west of the task group, and approaching quickly. These planes split into two groups, one group heading towards the rear of the task group, whilst the other continued on its course towards the center. Albeit fighters from the carrier group was scrambled, false radar signals hampered their efforts to intercept, and the only successful interception was when P-47 fighters intercepted two enemy planes, shooting down one. The other plane escaped, and is believed to be the kamikaze which would attack Ommaney Bay. A lack of radar contacts led the task group to believe that the enemy planes had called off their attack.

At 17:12, a Yokosuka P1Y dove onto Ommaney Bay, rupturing the fire mains and sparking a fire which quickly became untenable. She quickly sank, with the loss of 95 crewmen.  Minutes after Ommaney Bay was hit, a second kamikaze dove towards Lunga Point. Gunners on the battleship California and cruiser Portland, joined with anti-aircraft fire on Lunga Point, tore the kamikaze apart. The flaming wreckage passed over her, about a hundred feet above her stern, showering her deck with metal fragments, which slightly wounded two men.

For the next few days, her task group fought their way through 14 enemy attacks, the majority of them kamikazes, most of which were repelled through excellent fighter cover and anti-aircraft fire. During this running engagement, Louisville, Stafford, and Manila Bay were all damaged by kamikazes. She arrived off Lingayen Gulf on 6 January, commencing 11 days of intensive air support during which time her aircraft flew an average of 41 sorties a day. On 17 January, the support carriers were withdrawn and returned to Ulithi.

Iwo Jima

From 23 January 1945 to 10 February, Lunga Point prepared for the invasion of Iwo Jima, and stood off the beaches with the amphibious forces, acting as target coordinators and striking enemy positions during the landings on 19 February.

On 16 February 1945, Vice-Admiral Kimpei Teroaka authorized the formation of a kamikaze special attack unit to counter the imminent landings on Iwo Jima. The kamikaze force consisted of twelve fighters, twelve carrier bombers, and eight torpedo bombers, divided into five groups, thirty-two aircraft in total. On the early morning of 21 February, they departed from Katori Naval Air Base, in Asahi, Chiba. They refueled at Hachijō-jima, and then proceeded towards the U.S. naval contingent surrounding Iwo Jima, arriving near sunset.

On the evening of 21 February, Lunga Point was performing routine close air support with the rest of Task Group 77.4. At the time, the escort carrier task group consisted of Lunga Point, her sister ships Bismarck Sea, Makin Island, Saginaw Bay, Rudyerd Bay, and Anzio, along with a destroyer contingent. The task group was steaming approximately twenty-one miles (34 km) east of Iwo Jima. At 18:45, the task group spotted the Japanese planes headed for them, when a Mitsubishi G4M made a dive towards Lunga Point. Gunners from Bismarck Sea shot it down. At 18:46, five Nakajima B6Ns dove towards Lunga Point. The first plane, approaching from the starboard missed with its torpedo, passing harmlessly in front of Lunga Point. It subsequently crashed into the ocean at a high velocity. The second plane also missed with its torpedo, but managed to disengage and fly away. The third plane also missed with its torpedo, which proceeded behind the stern, and, set aflame and damaged heavily, attempted to crash into the carrier, approaching from the starboard side. The kamikaze exploded before it could hit the ship, and the wreckage of the plane skidded across the deck, and off the side of the carrier, sparking a brief gasoline fire. The fourth plane detonated in mid-air, due to a direct hit from a 5-inch (127 mm) anti-aircraft shell. The fifth plane switched targets to Bismarck Sea, sinking it with the loss of 318 lives. Damage to Lunga Point was minimal, and eleven of her crew was wounded. There were no fatalities. She was able to continue operating in support of troops on Iwo Jima.

The special attack unit, in addition to sinking Bismarck Sea, also heavily damaged Saratoga, Keokuk, and slightly damaged Lunga Point, LST-477, and LST-809. Bismarck Sea was the only ship to sink as a result of the attacks. The kamikaze attacks killed 43 Japanese in total.

She supported operations on Iwo Jima until 8 March, when land-based planes were present in sufficient strength to allow the ship to return to Ulithi to get ready for the Okinawa campaign. When Lunga Point returned to Ulithi, she only had six bombs left in her magazine, having dropped 596 in support of operations on Iwo Jima.
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Kamikaze_crashes_aft_of_USS_Lunga_Point_(CVE-94)_on_4_January_1945.jpg


Scoreboard_of_USS_Lunga_Point_(CVE-94)_off_Iwo_Jima,_22_February_1945.jpg


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Lunga_Point

 
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