There must be very many strange or little known facts concerning WWII that never seem to get into print or are publicised to any great degree. Some are major some are minor, most just melt away into obscurity and are never heard of again. One I've just come across is the following. There were over 18,430 American B-24 Liberator aircraft built during the war. The aircraft served in all of the operational theatres of WWII but, did you know that it was first taken into action by the RAF. This event occured on 20 September 1941 when Liberator AM924 of No.120 Squadron RAF Coastal Command took off from RAF Nutts Corner in Northern Ireland on an anti-submarine sortie. The B-24 was used more by the American Air Force. But the RAF got there first. What would be the most obscure or little known fact you have come across?
We also took the Catalina and the Mustang into action first. The Mustang was built to a British specification. An RAF Catalina spotted the Bismarck on 25/5/41 after the RN had lost contact after the loss of Hood - and the co-pilot of the Cat was a US Navy officer, despite the US not having been at war at the time. Edited - just looked at your profile - your a Coastal Command specialist, you probably knew that anyway. Never mind, others may not. Adrian
There must be very many strange or little known facts concerning WWII that never seem to get into print or are publicised to any great degree. Some are major some are minor, most just melt away into obscurity and are never heard of again. One I've just come across is the following. There were over 18,430 American B-24 Liberator aircraft built during the war. The aircraft served in all of the operational theatres of WWII but, did you know that it was first taken into action by the RAF. This event occured on 20 September 1941 when Liberator AM924 of No.120 Squadron RAF Coastal Command took off from RAF Nutts Corner in Northern Ireland on an anti-submarine sortie. The B-24 was used more by the American Air Force. But the RAF got there first. What would be the most obscure or little known fact you have come across? The reason why the Liberator was supplied first to the Royal Air Force was that an initial order had been made by the French Government for 120 aircraft "off the drawing board" which could not be delivered when France was overrun in June 1940.These 120 aircraft were purchased by the British Government who then saw ready aircraft procurement as a neccessity and ordered another 165 aircraft without witnessing its performance.Deliveries to the Royal Air Force started as early as March 1941 and 6 of these unarmed aircraft as transports formed the Trans Atlantic Return Ferry Service between Prestwick and Canada whose role was to transport ferry pilots to Canada for the purpose of flying procured American aircraft back to the British Isles.Initially manned by BOAC,the ferry service was then operated by Royal Air Force personnel.(I am aquainted with a member of the PAF who was transferred from RAF No 1 Group B.C flying Wellingtons as a Navigator to a Navigator on this ferry service when it was formed,operating out of Preswick) The US Army Air Corps, as the US air arm was designated at the time were left behind in the delivery chain as they had ordered 7 aircraft as prototypes, YB -24 in late 1940 for assessment.In the meanwhile RAF assessment of the type was fed back to Consolidated and RAF recommendations adopted in the area of defensive fire power,adding armour plating and converting the fuel tanks to an non inflammable type led to the version designated, Liberator Mark 1.This was the version that entered RAF C.C in September 1941,one of 20 supplied at the time and was the version that the USAAC was supplied with again as a single test piece.The USAAC finally received the Liberator Mark 11 as an operational bomber aircraft in November 1941 and 139 of this type entered service with the Royal Air Force as the bomber variant seeing squadron service in India and the Middle East. Another aircraft purchased blind in the critical hour by the Royal Air Force was the Martin 167W,designated as an Attack Bomber.The aircraft specification had failed to impress the USAAC in the late 1930s but the aircraft was ordered as the Martin 167F by the French Government.However deliveries were cancelled when France was overrun and after France had received an initial batch,the remainder of the French order was diverted to the Royal Air Force in June 1940.The aircraft was named the Maryland by the Royal Air Force and the specification improved and the aircraft became the first US bomber to be employed in North Africa.Not entirely successful as a bomber,its role was confined to the Middle East where it tended to be used primary for reconnaissance. Another example of emergency procurement in time of war when the very survival of a country is at stake.
The S.25 Sunderland was a flying boat patrol bomber developed for the Royal Air Force by Short Brothers, first flown on 16 October 1937. Based in part upon the successful S.23 Empire flying boat, the flagship of Imperial Airways, it was extensively re-engineered for military service. Active throughout World War II, it was one of the most powerful and widely-used flying boats of the war, terrorizing the German U-boat fleet.<o></o> <o></o> The RAF received its first Sunderland Mark I in June 1938 when the second production aircraft was flown to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1>Singapore</st1></st1:country-region>. By the outbreak of war <st1>Europe</st1>, in September 1939, RAF Coastal Command was operating 40 Sunderlands.<o></o> Although British antisubmarine efforts were disorganized and ineffectual at first, Sunderlands quickly proved useful in the rescue of crews of torpedoed ships. On 21 September 1939, two Sunderlands rescued the entire 34-man crew of the torpedoed merchantman <st1:street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">Kensington Court</st1:address></st1:street> from the <st1>North Sea</st1>l. As British antisubmarine measures improved the <st1>Sunderland</st1> began to show its claws as well. A Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) <st1>Sunderland</st1> performed the type's first unassisted kill of a U-boat.<o></o>
