Stars and Stripes Review: May 22, 1943

In this issue of the Stars and Stripes, the headline details the latest exploits of the famed 8th Air Force, with the destruction of German submarine construction yards in Emden and Wilhelmshaven, both on the northwestern part of Germany itself. The most visible piece of the front page is the picture of the M12, basically a modified Sherman tank equipped with a 155mm gun that can shoot a 95 pound projectile over ten miles, and is supposedly capable of sinking a heavy cruiser.

Another story of note in this issue, while not pertaining to the European theater is the death of Admiral Yamamoto, the senior Japanese naval officer, and planner of the attack on Pearl Harbor. His death was likely received with the same kind of response at home and in the field as the death of Osama bin Laden has received today.

Further stories of note in this issue are the completion of Andrews Field, an air force base in Essex, England built entirely by the US and used by both the Eighth and Ninth Air Forces later on in the war. Also, there are reports of flooding in the Mississippi River area, forcing over 100,000 people to evacuate in six Midwestern states. There is also a report of a B-24 Liberator crashing into a gas tank in Chicago, an event eerily echoed 70 years later when a restored B-17 bomber crashed outside of Chicago earlier in June.

One of the more interesting features in this issue is a featurette entitled 'Diary of an American Ranger', a first-hand account of the war from the perspective of a US Army Ranger. While it does cover the war to some extent, it mostly describes the daily life of a soldier, the expectations they have and the disappointments they face when confronted with reality.

Besides news related to the war, there is also coverage of how the Brooklyn Dodgers beat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-2, and the Philles smashed the Cubs in a double header, 3-0 and 2-0. There is also an amusing story of how Winston Churchill, after a meeting in Washington, got bumped by a passer-by and dropped his cigar. He swiftly picked it up, narrowly butting heads with a US senator!

Out of the relatively few issues of The Stars and Stripes in my possession, this issue is one of my favorites. Until next time, take care,and thank you.

Norden: The Norton of Bombsights

Many might be wondering what the title of this article could mean. After all, many computers today use Norton as their Internet security provider, and many users swear by it. However, many more people say that Norton is ineffectual and causes more problems than it fixes. This remarkably parallels the remarks made of the Norden bomb sight, lauded by the Allies as the tool that would single-handedly win the war. As one pilot remarked, the Norden was said to be able to land a bomb in a pickle barrel at 20,000 feet. The pilot also said they were lucky to land a bomb in France.

The Norden bombsight was developed by Dutch immigrant Carl Norden. It was originally intended for the US Navy as a guide for bombers to destroy enemy shipping at sea. This was due to the fact that while dive bombers were effective against shipping, they could only achieve good ranges with the assistance of an aircraft carrier. With the Norden, the theory was for the bombers to stay at high altitude and still land their bombs within a 100 foot circle of the intended target. All of these theories would soon be put to the test.

The Royal Air Force were the first to use the Norden, in B-17s provided to Britain under Lend-Lease. One thing to keep in mind was the Norden was developed while America was still holding a non-interference policy, and this showed when the bomb sight went into combat. The RAF were unable to get the sights to work effectively, eventually assigning the planes to other duties. The US Army Air Corps soon got into the game, using the B-17s of the Eighth Air Force to bomb Axis targets. However, their results were little better. The USAAC was able to calculate the effectiveness of the bomb sight with reconnaissance flights after missions. The criteria for a good hit was a bomb landing within 1000 feet of the target. Most of the time the accuracies of each target was under 50%. Almost 90% of all the bombs in any given mission landed outside of this 1000 foot area. While this did improve later in the war, it was clear the Norden was just an ordinary bomb sight, and would not win the war on its own.

However, the Norden did prove to be a useful tool. It was soon realized that the bomb sight was fine, it was the manner in which it was used that was flawed. For example, the Norden's stabilizers were intended for use in areas and altitudes with minimal wind shear, and the bombers over Japan were flying at over 30,000 feet, where the Pacific air streams wreaked havoc on the accuracy of the sight.

Also, while the mechanical complexity of the sight made it a potent tool, some military officials mistook complexity for infallibility and put the Norden on all bombers. This prevented the formation from achieving any group accuracy because all the sights were slightly different and therefore slightly off from one another. This was fixed, however, when the idea came to install a Norden on the lead plane of a formation only, and that plane would determine where the other planes would release their payloads. This increased accuracy significantly.

The Enola Gay in Washington D.C, which contains the original Norden from the bombing of Hiroshima.

Since the Norden was considered the key to Allied victory, its development was kept a closely guarded secret, almost on the same level as the Manhattan Project. However, this security was breached by a German spy, who sent plans for the sight to Germany, and in turn the Luftwaffe introduced the Lotfe 7 bomb sight, a near identical copy of the Norden.

In the end, the Norden was remembered by the victors as one of the crucial pieces of technology that won the war over the Axis, putting it among the ranks of radar, sonar, and the atom bomb. While it was a useful tool for precision bombing, it was not the technology alone that won the air war, but the technology in conjunction with changes in technique and strategy that ultimately proved to be the key to Germany's levelling. Until next time, take care, and thank you.

Advertising During World War II

The thing that most ordinary people like to look at concerning World War II is the combat footage and coverage. Newsreels depicting all the great battles mere days after they happened, photos of those brave soldiers duking it out around Europe. While all of this is certainly worth looking at, there is an often overlooked aspect of the war that can be just as entertaining and interesting: consumer advertising.

It is often taken for granted that the home front of any wartime country has a patriotic air about it, and that the populace overwhelmingly supports the war effort. However, while this patriotism was photographed occasionally, it was not the main focus during the war. Nevertheless, a glimpse of how pervasive this patriotism was can be seen in the advertising of the time. Often, companies would put their product in a war context to make the consumer believe that not only are they helping their fellow fighting citizens, but they are also sharing in their experiences. After all, who wouldn't want to smoke the same cigarette as Sergeant America, who single-handedly killed twenty Germans without hesitation? Who wouldn't want to buy stock in companies that provided fuel to American bombers and tanks? Finally, who wouldn't want to buy a war bond to help finance the war and bring back their sons sooner?

This is just a small selection of various American advertisements circulated during the war years, circa 1942-45. Note the motifs of the war ever present in the ads, and place yourself in the shoes of the average American consumer of that time. Would these ads affect your spending habits?

Enjoy these ads, and feel free to look for others elsewhere. There are many sites that catalog these kinds of ads, from many countries other than the US. Until next time, take care, and thank you.

WWII Movie Review: "The Longest Day"

It is 67 years to the day that Allied troops landed on the beaches of Normandy, France in what was then the largest amphibious landing operation in history. Today, many across the world remember this day for what it signified in bringing about the end of Hitler's Germany, and remember those who gave their lives on this day. Over the years, many films have portrayed the events leading up to and including the Normandy landings, for more information look for the blog post entitled 'Operation Overlord'. Many people think of the film "Saving Private Ryan' as a quintessential film portraying the Normandy landings in every detail. However, there is another film much older than "Saving Private Ryan", which doesn't include Tom Hanks, but is a great movie nonetheless: "The Longest Day".

The film was made in 1962, and was based of the book written by Cornelius Ryan written in 1959. Only a decade or so after the actual event, many of the film's consultants were actual participants in D-Day. The film portrays the events leading up to the invasion from both sides. It shows the Germans preparing the fortifications of the beaches, in what Hitler called Fortress Europe. It also shows the Allies in their preparations, wrinkling out certain details and most importantly waiting for good weather.

The film portrays certain key players on both sides such as General Erwin Rommel, who was in command of Army Group B, which was held up north of Normandy because Hitler believed the Allied misinformation that the main invasion would come at the Pas de Calais. Also seen is Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt Jr, played by Henry Fonda, deputy commander of the 4th Infantry Division who insisted on going ashore with the men.

This movie has been noted numerous times for its all star cast, with such notables as John Wayne as Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin Vandervoor, Sean Connery as a British private, Robert Mitchum as Brigadier General Norman Cota, Robert Ryan as Brigadier General James Gavin, Richard Burton as an RAF pilot, even Richard Beymer of "West Side Story" fame plays a private with the 82nd Airborne Division. All of these characters come together in a spectacular portrayal of the events of June 6, 1944.

This movie also illustrates many problems faced by both sides during the operation. For example, when the Allies landed, the Germans wanted to move the reserve panzers to the front, but this required Hitler's approval and Hitler had just taken a sleeping pill, and the German High Command swiftly replied "The Fuhrer is not to be woken!". Also, the airborne landings planned by the Allies were for the most part off target. Units were scattered and some even landed right on top of German positions, only to be promptly shot while descending.

Overall, this film may not resonate with younger audiences because of it being in black-and-white, it may not have much gore and the acting may be seen in some places as crude, but put all of these aside and you will see that it is a wonderful film and one for anyone who appreciates a good war movie. Until next time, take care, and thank you.

This feature is intended to serve as a review of films portraying World War II; to analyze their portrayal of events, their historical accuracy, and what might have been different from actual events.