Joy Division (2006)

Joy Division - not the band, or a film about the band, is an excellent film about a young German boy in the last days of Nazi Germany. It is very watchable, graphic in places and follows the trials and tribulations of a young Thomas from fighting the Red Army, his flight from the advancing troops to his capture and love of a neighbour called Melanie. Then it aspires that Thomas is living in the Soviet Union and becomes a spy for the KGB.  What is original is that it does not run chronologically but more in a Pulp Fiction style which I enjoyed. It is very dark in places, showing the brutality of Soviet troops, but one can't help but feel admiration for the main character as he never gives up on whatever tasks lie ahead, he keeps going  no matter what.

Remember The Liverpool Blitz January 9th 1941

Lord St, Liverpool, found at:http://liverpoolblitz70.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/lord-street-blitz-1.jpg

One gets the impression that people are unaware that Germany bombed other towns and cities as well as our beloved capital - London. Liverpool in World War 2 was an importnat port as that was where most imports from the North American continent arrived, hence it became a target. Have a look at this link re. the Liverpool Blitz, http://liverpoolremembrance.weebly.com/bombings-1941.html .

Freedom Of Speech & Je Suis Charlie

Freedom of speech. Is this going to be a thing of the past? What is wrong with putting opinions onto paper and distributing them?

Ithink there is nothing wrong with this as long as the material is decent and not obscene. You will always upset someone. Keep writing. Tell it how it is. Print the truth. We have a decent society where freedom of speech is allowed and not suppressed.  Above all, remember:

JE SUIS CHARLIE

1st Royal Norfolks

Image found at: http://lowres-picturecabinet.com.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/162/main/1/727233.jpg accessed 18/11/14.

I thought it was about time I changed my main picture of the Olde Curiosity Blog so Ichose the 1st Royal Norfolks to have pride of place. The picture of them is while they were pausing during an advance in Holland in November 1944.

The Hawker Typhoon

The Hawker Typhoon was an aicraft that was designed primarily for attacking ground forces with rockets, bombs and machine gun fire. The Jet Age Museum has aquired a hawker Typhoon cockpit and it is going to be renovated, enjoy the YouTube video.

 It was massive,the specifications were as follows:

Image found at: http://www.hyperscale.com/features/2001/images/typhoonir_1.JPG

Hawker Typhoon - Specifications:

General

• Length: 31 ft., 11.5 in.
• Wingspan: 41 ft., 7 in.
• Height: 15 ft., 4 in.
• Wing Area: 279 sq. ft.
• Empty Weight: 8,840 lbs.
• Loaded Weight: 11,400 lbs.
• Maximum Takeoff Weight: 13,250 lbs.
• Crew: 1

Performance

• Maximum Speed: 412 mph
• Range: 510 miles
• Rate of Climb: 2,740 ft./min.
• Service Ceiling: 35,200 ft.
• Power Plant: Napier Sabre IIA, IIB or IIC liquid-cooled H-24 piston engine each​

Armament

• 4 × 20 mm Hispano M2 cannon
• 8 × RP-3 unguided air-to-ground rockets
• 2 × 500 lb. or 2 × 1,000 lb. bo

Information found at: http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/WorldWarIIFighters/p/World-War-Ii-Hawker-Typhoon.htm ,  accessed 15/11/14. 

For more information click on this link: Hawker Typhoon, Military History Site

1st Vale of Pickering Scout Archives: War weekend 2014

1st Vale of Pickering Scout Archives: War weekend 2014: Well that's another War Weekend gone and lots of very interesting scouting chin wags, many nostalgic memories shared. A big thanks to th...

Jack Higgins - Flight Of Eagles

Yes, I know I should be completing a blog post about D-Day, but I'm finding it heavy going at the moment.

I will be posting a blogpost about the Allied breakout in Normandy soon, but in the meantime here is a review of the excellent Second World War thriller by Jack Higgins; Flight of Eagles.

I have always been an avid reader of Higgins, his thrillers have the usual twists and turns but can also be very dark, they don't always have a happy ending. What I do like about this book is how it ties up with several others, especially Cold Harbour. The main characters in the book are twins, Harry and Max Kelso. Their father was American, the mother German. They both turned out to be great pilots whilst in their teens following World War 1, taking after their father who had been an ace. When their father dies they are separated, one brother staying in the United States, the other leaves for Germany with his Mother - Baroness Von Halder. I don't think this would really happen to any family, would you want to separate siblings, especially twins?

The twins join the R.A.F and Luftwaffe respectively and also like their father, become decorated heroes. Himmler becomes involved and takes a special interest as Baroness Von Halder is conspiring against Hitler with the military elite who also oppose him.

Higgins captures the atmosphere of London under the blitz, you can nearly hear the bombs drop, Brigadier Munro makes his usual appearance and the book begins with the author surviving an air crash and meeting a lifeboat crew who tell him the story of the twins...

I can highly recommend this book, if you haven't read it, order it from Amazon :-)

D-Day- What Did It Achieve? #Dday70 #Dday

Royal Marines at Pegasus Bridge, image found at: 

http://www.military-art.com/mall/images/dhm1394.jpg

This question could be really simple to answer without going into great detail. Firstly Operation Overlord was the stepping stone the Allies needed to defeat Germany. They had to invade mainland Europe somewhere other than Italy, which turned out to be a tough old gut rather than the soft underbelly of Europe.

Caen was an objective which was supposed to have been taken on D-Day itself, but maybe it was an over ambitious objective? The British advanced from Sword Beach to 5km from Caen, they had landed 29,000 men and taken many prisoners. By noon the Juno, Sword and Gold beaches were consolidated into one large bridgehead. The British 6th Airborne had held onto Pegasus Bridge and the bridge at the River Orne and were relieved by Lord Lovat's Royal Marines. U.S paratroopers had caused havoc behind enemy lines even if most were dropped in the wrong areas. At Omaha beach, the Americans had encountered fierce opposition (352nd Infantry Division) and large numbers of beach obstacles and were nearly evacuated back onto the ships. At Utah Beach the American troops realised they had been  landed in the wrong place, but took advantage of  lighter opposition and made good progress inland. 

Carentan, St Lo and Bayeux were objectives which were not captured on D-day, but the Allies were able to consolidate their foothold in France and land more men, vehicles and supplies on the beaches and by using the Mulberry Harbours. What did D-Day achieve? It helped end the war in Europe in less than 12 months from the 6th  June 1944. We should not forget the sacrifice these people made.

Waiting.... Would D-Day Be Cancelled Again? #Dday70 #DDay

British Paratroopers Operation Overlord found at: http://www.dday-overlord.com/img/para/gbbritanniques_interieur.jpgca/parachutistes_

The troops waited. They waited in the ports in England. They waited at the airfields. Tonight D-Day was not cancelled. Tonight they went. Even if you are a pacifist please have some respect for those who sacrificed themselves for the liberty of others and the liberty of future generations.Italy had been invaded in 1943, but the invasion of France in 1944 was the path to victory that the Allied armies would follow.

Midget Submarines On D-Day #dday70 #dday

Midget Submarine X 23 alongside H.M.S Largs , image from: 

http://assets.dday7.channel4.com/images/timeline1024/4026-x23-alongside-hmslargs.jpg

Midget submarines played a vital part as any other naval craft on D-Day. Their task was to lie up off the Normandy coast on 4th June 1944 during the day, then surface at night. In the early hours of 5th June 1944 2 midget submarines surfaced only to receive a radio signal that the invasion was postponed due to bad weather. They had to dive and lie up for another day. They resurfaced on 6th June 1944 and set up their green signal beacons, which were 18ft high and shone a green light, visible to seaward but not from land.  When the invasion fleet arrived they took the beacons down and erected signal flags. 

Midget Submarine X 23 , image found at ibid.

The use of these submarines were essential so that the troops landing landed in the correct place. During Operation Torch, some landing craft had hit a false beach, landed vehicles and men into the sea who then drowned. It was important, especially with a massive fleet used on D-Day that this was not repeated.

There is some useful info on this on the Royal Submarine Website .