[PIC GALLERY] Wrecks and Relics

[Louis]

The USS Hornet, was sunk during the Battle of Santa Cruz Islands in the Pacific on Oct 26, 1942. Approximately 140 member were killed during a vicious Japanese air attack on the carrier that eventually resulted in its loss.

Hornet under attack by Japanese aircraft.

An early quad-1.1″/75 caliber anti-aircraft gun mount is seen on the deck of the USS Hornet.

 

[Louis]

Kübelwagen photographed on the Greek island of Kefalonia.

 

[Gunner]

I'll be you could still get a good buck for it.

 

[Louis]

At approximately 4.15 hours on 14 May 1943, the Australian hospital ship A.H.S. Centaur, ablaze with lights, with a compliment of 332 persons on board, was torpedoed by Japanese submarine I-177 off the coast of Brisbane, Australia.

The Centaur was struck in an oil fuel tank on the port side abaft No. 2 Hatch. Centaur caught fire immediately, and sank within two or three minutes. Centaur made no signals and there was no time to launch any boats although two boats broke adrift from the ship as she sunk. At the time of the attack, most of the crew and passengers were asleep and had little chance of escape. Of the 332 people on board at the time, 268 would die.
In 2009 her wreck was found.

The Centaur wrecksite has been marked as a war grave and protected with a navigational exclusion zone under the Historic Shipwrecks Act.

The Japanese submarine I-177 was sunk on 3 Oct 1944 by the destroyer USS Samuel S. Miles (DE-183), with no survivors.

 

[Louis]

Wreck (also inside) of German submarine U-869. The wreck of U-869 was discovered off the coast of New Jersey, USA, in 1991.

 

[Louis]

 

[Louis]

Savoia-Marchetti SM 79 "Sparviero" aircraft at the seabed of Poros Island, Greece, at a depth of 59 meters, at the southeast coast and just 200 meters from the shore.

 

[Gunner]

Wow. That's quite the rig the diver has.
Looks like two tanks on his back and three off to the side.

 

[mTk]

Aircraft seen in better days.
-----

 

[Louis]

The U-505 (commandant Harald Lange 1903/1967) was captured by the US Navy on June 4, 1944, after being damaged by depth charges and forced to surface off the coast of French Morocco. The crew was taken prisoner and the submarine was towed back to Bermuda for examination, where it was later repaired and converted into a training vessel for the US Navy.
It is now on display at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago as a memorial to the war effort and a symbol of the Allies' victory over the German U-boat fleet.

 

[Gunner]

I like the look of a torpedo is being fired in the middle picture.

 

[mTk]

Nice pick up!

 

[Louis]

I like the look of a torpedo is being fired in the middle picture.

 

[Gunner]

Wow. Nice shot that one.
Thanks for posting it Luis.

 

[Louis]

Existing in the 101st Airborne museum at Bastogne...

Pvt Leonard M. Rice (born 1923) served as a Private, 502nd Parachute Infantry Regt, 101st Airborne Div. He enlisted in the Army on Jan 19, 1943 in Buffalo, NY. He was awarded a Purple Heart.

 

[Nort]

Existing in the 101st Airborne museum at Bastogne...

Pvt Leonard M. Rice (born 1923) served as a Private, 502nd Parachute Infantry Regt, 101st Airborne Div. He enlisted in the Army on Jan 19, 1943 in Buffalo, NY. He was awarded a Purple Heart.

My wife and I were in that same museum, standing in front of that very display two days ago. That museum is extraordinarily well done, and a very moving experience.

 

[mTk]

The Chieftain did a couple of videos recently on the museum.
So I was there before you.

 

[Nort]

In 1940, in Bastogne, von Rundstedt used a building two doors down, from where the 101 Museum is today, as his HQ for the invasion of France. This photo was taken in the street in front of where the museum is today. Hitler came to visit because he thought that Guderian and Rommel’s armor was advancing too rapidly, leaving the the infantry supporting flank protection behind, exposing the southern flank of the armor to a potential French counterattack. Hitler came in person to tell von Rundstedt to slow the armor in order for the flank protection to catch up.

 

[Nort]

Today, the building that housed von Rundstedt’s HQ is private residence. The curator of the 101 museum went over, introduced himself, informed the homeowner of the building’s past history and brought photos. Needless to say, the homeowner was less than pleased.

Here is the front of the building.



Here is a photo taken inside when Hitler is telling von Rundstedt to alter his plans.

 

[Louis]

The Rahmi Koç Museum in Istanbul has an interesting exhibit: a B-24, numbered 41-24311-L, bearing the name Hadley’s Harem.

The flight life of Hadley’s Harem was short-lived: this bomber was released in 1941, and after only 2 years it took part in a raid on Romania. During the bombardment of Ploiesti B-24 was damaged by ground fire. An anti-aircraft shell pierced the skin of the aircraft and exploded inside, killing one of the crew members.

After dropping the bombs, the B-24 went back on its course, but due to damage to the No. 2 engine, it became clear that the plane could not reach Benghazi. Then the crew decided to fly to Cyprus, where at that time the British airbase was located. In the sky over Turkey, engine number 3 stopped, and engine number 1 began to work with malfunctions. In this situation, it was decided to continue the flight as long as possible, and then land on the water.

The remaining two engines stopped in the sky over the seaside town of Manavgat. The descending plane banked, caught the water with its wing and crashed into the Mediterranean Sea. Commander Gilbert Hadley and co-pilot James Lindsey were unable to get out of the sinking bomber. The remaining seven crew members managed to escape. Later they were picked up by Turkish sailors.

The wreckage of the B-24 Hadley’s Harem was only discovered in 1995, thanks to the efforts of one of the surviving crew members, Leroy Newton. The fuselage of the bomber rested at a depth of 33 meters, 200 meters from the shore. In the cockpit, the remains of the pilots were found, who, after lifting the plane with honors, were interred in the United States. The bomber was kept in a hangar for some time, after which it was transferred to the Rahmi Koch Technical Museum.