Nov 9, In History....

[Lost Cause]

Just some neat trivia, enjoy!


ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) was turned off temporarily on this day in 1946 for delivery to the Army's Ballistics Research Laboratory in Aberdeen, Pennsylvania. The computer, developed at the University of Pennsylvania's Moore School, occupied a 1,500-square-foot room, contained nearly eighteen thousand vacuum tubes and six thousand manual switches. In order to remove the machine from the building where it had been developed, the Moore School had to knock down several walls. The Ballistics Research Laboratory had commissioned the computer in 1943 to speed the calculation of firing tables for World War II artillery. Unfortunately, by the time the computer was finished, the war had been over for three months.

1983 Secret pact revealed
Newspapers reported that IBM and Hitachi had made a secret pact to settle an IBM lawsuit. IBM had sued Hitachi for using software stolen from IBM. Newspapers reported that IBM allegedly possessed a videotape that would have been "painfully embarrassing" to Hitachi. To keep the case from going to court, where the tape would be used as evidence, Hitachi reportedly agreed to pay some $300 million to settle the suit. Neither company would comment on the agreement.

1998 India to privatize Internet access
On November 9, 1998, India's government announced it would give up its monopoly on Internet service. The country issued rules governing the licensing of private Internet service providers. The demand for Internet service in India had started to outstrip the ability of the state-owned Internet access service to handle the traffic, and users had complained of high prices.

 

[Lost Cause]

My Uncle was busy today too...

Mission Number: 169
Date: Thursday, 9 November 1944
Group Air Commander: Capt. D.A. Currie
Crews Briefed: 39
Target: Metz
Target Details: Tactical gun emplacements

Flying Control
Runway: 23 View take-off plan form
Engines: 0555 hours
Taxi: 0610 hours
Take Off: 0625 hours
E.T.R.: 1334 hours

Flying Control Notes:
The Group was briefed at 0300 hours. The 50 degree crosswind at 20-25 miles per hour created a number of takeoff problems. One ship ran off the runway at 0647 hours, which delayed takeoffs for a time, and others were delayed by mechanical problems and the need to switch to ground spares. Most of the Group were off by 0721 hours, but one aircraft had to return at 0802 on three engines. In the end, all operational aircraft had returned from the mission by 1356 hours.

Mission Debriefing
Aircraft on Mission: 39
Aircraft Lost
Over Continent: 0
Other: 0

Mission Summary:
This mission was intended to assist General Patton's Third Army in its effort to capture the German bastion at Metz. The 401st put up the 94th Combat Wing "A" Group and carried 1,000 pound armor-piercing bombs. Special aircraft equipped with Gee-H equipment were provided to the 401st by the 303rd Bomb Group.
As the targets were cloud covered, bombing was carried out using the Gee-H procedure, which utilizes two radio beams to establish position. One report indicated that the Group's bombs fell 2 1/2 miles from the assigned MPI while another stated that photos disclosed that bombs dropped by at least one aircraft were in the vicinity of the MPI. In any event, General Patton and others commended the Group for its superior work, which paved the way for the capture of Metz.
No enemy fighters and no flak were encountered except for the "friendly flak" thrown up by American ground troops to mark the front lines.


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Combat Air Crews Flying this Mission

612th Bomb Squadron (H)
Aircraft
1st Lt A.F. Bloetacher and crew 44-6506 SC-N Satisfaction Guaranteed
1st Lt F.R. Boddin and crew 43-37628 SC-A Heavenly Body
1st Lt B.F. Carns and crew ?
1st Lt J.P. Comer and crew 42-39993 SC-C Hell's Angel Out of Chute 13
1st Lt W.E. Cox and crew 43-38541 SC-F Diabolical Angel
Capt J.L. Cromer and crew 42-32012 IW-P Shark Tooth
1st Lt D.G. Jones and crew 42-102393 SC-R Diana Queen of the Chase
1st Lt R.L. Long and crew 43-38637 SC-L
Capt C.T. Maxwell and crew 43-38733 SC-K I'll Be Seeing You

613th Bomb Squadron (H)
Aircraft
1st Lt R.A. Annis and crew 43-37706 IN-U Satan's Chillen
1st Lt C.R. Budd and crew 42-31072 IN-K Betty J.
1st Lt R.B. Campbell and crew 42-97931 IN-Q Madame Queen
1st Lt F. Carson and crew 43-38187 IN-C Carrie B III
1st Lt H.P. Cox and crew 43-38646 IW-T
1st Lt L.N. Douglas and crew 44-6113 IN-R No. 2 Bandwagon
1st Lt C.W. Hopley and crew 42-31591 IN-J Homesick Angel
1st Lt R.J. Keck and crew 43-38160 IN-A
1st Lt D.R. Scheller and crew 43-38267 IN-M Maximum Effort

614th Bomb Squadron (H)
Aircraft
1st Lt F.H. Babcock and crew 43-38565 IW-X Miss Gee Eyewanna Go Home
Capt E.W. Mercer and crew 44-8033 IW-C (PFF Ship)
1st Lt R.E. Moran and crew 43-38677 IW-K
1st Lt W.L. Morton and crew 42-107151 IW-B Cover Girl
1st Lt N.L. Sisson and crew 44-6508 IW-A Maiden USA
1st Lt E.H. Spuhler and crew 43-37602 IW-O Lady Vivian
1st Lt G.H. St Aubyn and crew 42-97395 IW-F Chute The Works
Capt C.W. Utter and crew 43-38607 IN-H Lady Jane II
2nd Lt P.F. Wittman and crew 44-6464 IW-H Prop Wash


*Bless them all.

 

[Lost Cause]

And.....

1940 Prime Minister of Appeasement Dies
On this day, just months after he was chased (literally) out of office, Neville Chamberlain, the British Prime Minister at the outbreak of the European war, died. He is best remembered for his rather infamous policy of appeasement toward Hitler in the pre-war years. Chamberlain met first with Hitler in private consultations at Berchtesgaden—Hitler's Bavarian mountaintop retreat. The FÚhrer, who Chamberlain described as a "gentleman," convinced the Prime Minister to support Germany's territorial demands in Czechoslovakia. Hitler wanted the Sudetenland, an area in northern Czechoslovakia where three million ethnic Germans lived. On September 29 and 30, 1938, Chamberlain, Hitler, Premier Daladier of France, and Il Duce, Benito Mussolini, met in Munich to decide the fate of Czechoslovakia. Chamberlain convinced Daladier that joining England in support of Hitler's demands would avert war. The German army had already been mobilized, and Hitler had threatened to march into Czechoslovakia. The Munich Pact, signed by all four European leaders in attendance, created a new Czechoslovakia, stripped of the Sudetenland. Hitler was appeased for the moment, but the Pact left Czechoslovakia highly vulnerable for German attack. Returning to England from Munich, Chamberlain boasted the notoriously naïve claim, "I believe it is peace for our time." These words, as well as Chamberlain's umbrella, became widely recognized symbols of appeasement. When Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, Chamberlain issued an ultimatum to Hitler to immediately withdraw from Poland. Hitler ignored the ultimatum, and on Sunday, September 3, Chamberlain declared war. By this point, Britain's faith in its Prime Minister was diminishing quickly. Chamberlain stayed afloat until Germany launched the Denmark and Norway campaign in May 1940. Soon thereafter, one of Chamberlain's supporters stood up in Parliament session and quoted Oliver Cromwell: "Depart, I say, and let us have done with you! In the name of God, go!" Chamberlain was driven from the House amid unanimous chants of "Go! Go! Go!" Two days later, on May 10, King George VI asked Winston Churchill, then First Lord of the Admiralty, to succeed as Prime Minister.