World War 2 - 4139 Strange and Fascinating Facts

Discussion in 'Books, Films, TV, Radio' started by bofors, Feb 10, 2010.

  1. bofors

    bofors Senior Member

    Hi all
    Just got given this book so I thought I would share some of the different facts with you. Will post 1 a week (if I remember) so it should take me nearly 80 years to do the lot!?? Na I'll just pick the ones I think are interesting

    1. AAA - Morse code emergency signal sent by ships in distress to indicate vessel under attack by aircraft - same as SOS


    Title is as above - authors Don McCombs and Fred L Worth
     
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  2. bofors

    bofors Senior Member

    Hi
    Ok I know you cant wait so here is another

    AAA-O - no its not a soccer chant

    It was a slogan that Colonel Harry Flint used for the 39th Reg 9th Infantry Division in Sicily in 1943 and means Anything,Anytime,Anywhere-Bar Nothing and was painted on all equipment by his orders to instill pride in it
     
  3. bofors

    bofors Senior Member

    Here is another

    ABC-1 (no its not the TV channel!)

    Designator for meeting in Washington from Jan to Mar 41 between America and Britain where it was decided that to work as allies, Germany should be defeated first with the main effort directed against them
     
  4. KevinBattle

    KevinBattle Senior Member

    Work it out, Bofors - 4,139 Facts at 1 per day.......
    At least push it up to 10 a day or we'll die of boredom (or you will!!)
    Must say it's a novel ploy to get us to buy the book if only to stop any more posts!! lol
     
  5. bofors

    bofors Senior Member

    Hi Kevin

    :D:D:D

    I have no finiancial connection with the book and dont know if I want to post all the entries, just the ones that catch my eye.
    Also dont want to spend all my day putting them in!!!!!

    here is 1 more

    ABCD - for all the people who dont know their alphabet

    no really - means Australian , British, Chinese and Dutch allies in the southwest Pacific at the start of the war

    ;):pB)
     
  6. bofors

    bofors Senior Member

    and another

    Abwehr - Greman navy secret service branch - espionage, sabotage and counterespionage were its 3 subsections. 3 brass monkeys was its insignia- hear, speak and see no evil- a bit funny considering what it was coming from!!
     
  7. bofors

    bofors Senior Member

    next

    ABC Express - learn your alphabet quickly

    - really means - Nickname to an Allied supply route from Antwerp to the bettle lines in the northern part of Europe

    and

    A-Day - day MacArthur invaded the Phillipines - 20/10/44
     
  8. slaphead

    slaphead very occasional visitor

    and another
    Abwehr - Greman navy secret service branch -

    Were the Abwehr a branch of the German Navy?????o_O
    I thought they were a separate organisation and also a bit Anti Nazi... Didnt stop em capturing spys and handing them over to the SS though :(
     
  9. bofors

    bofors Senior Member

    Hi slaphead

    Dont know about that- only going on what the book says! says navy but would not suprise me if they did not like the Nazi's!

    regards
    Robert
     
  10. Za Rodinu

    Za Rodinu Hot air manufacturer

    Hmm, no, the Abwehr was an organ of the OKW (High Command of the Armed Forces) who happened to be commanded by an Admiral (Canaris) from 1935 through to early 1944 when Canaris was fired (not literally at least yet) and the SS took over the function.
     
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  11. bofors

    bofors Senior Member

    Goes to show not to believe everything you read!!!???

    regards

    Robert
     
  12. bofors

    bofors Senior Member

    Here is a few more

    "Air Raid Pearl Harbour This Is No Drill " the message sent by both Admiral Patrick Bellinger and Captain Logan C Ramsey during the Japanese attack in 41

    AL-504 Churchill's private airplane- a B24 named Commando

    Marcel Albert - leading French ace credited with 23 kills
     
  13. Gerard

    Gerard Seelow/Prora

    Hmm, no, the Abwehr was an organ of the OKW (High Command of the Armed Forces) who happened to be commanded by an Admiral (Canaris) from 1935 through to early 1944 when Canaris was fired (not literally at least yet) and the SS took over the function.
    At the risk of sounding Trite Canaris was not so much "fired" as "Hung out to dry" :lol:
     
  14. bofors

    bofors Senior Member

    and more

    Aluminium Trail - air route from India to China over the Himalayas called because of the number of crashes along it

    Amazon Corps - formed in 1940 a British womens's organisation, as they wished to do their part to defend Britian when it was threatened with invasion. They trained with umbrellas and canes. Was changed to Women's Volunteer Defense Corps .

    Amerika and Brandenberg - names of Hitler's personal armored trains

    AMGOT - Allied Military Government of Occupied Territory
     
  15. bofors

    bofors Senior Member

    here are some more

    ANFA camp - area around a hotel of the same name in Casablanca for the 1943 conference and Reosevlet's villa was named Dar-es-Saada and Churchill's Mirador

    Anthropoid - name of a commado teram dropped in Czechoslovakia in 1941 to assassinate Reinhard Heydrich

    Anton Bruno and Caesar - Scharnhorst gun turret names from the front

    Apple - name of beach, west of Algiers attacked in Operation Torch
     
  16. bofors

    bofors Senior Member

    more A's

    Arbeit Adelt - work ennobles - found on daggers of RAD - Nazi Labour Service
    and
    Arbeit Macht Frei - you should all know where this was and what it says! and what as big lie it was

    Areopagus - the conference name callerd by Goering in 1944 with 30 top Luftwaffe officers to discuss changes to make it more efficient at fighting the war, but he withdrew because of the criticism and nothing became of it. - Typical!

    Armistice of Cassibile - signed on 3/9/43- ended war between Italy & Allies- also know as Short Armistice

    Army organisation - is that an oxymoron?? No, only kidding

    regards

    Robert
     
  17. bofors

    bofors Senior Member

    and still more

    ARP - Air Raid Precaution - for air defence

    ASDIC - Antisubmarine Detection Investigation Committee-a device on ships used sound waves to detect submarines - American verson SONAR

    Asia - name of Goering's personal armoured train

    ASV - - air to surface vessel - radar on planes used to detect ships

    ATA Girls - women of the British Air Transport Auxiliary
     
  18. Smudger Jnr

    Smudger Jnr Our Man in Berlin

    At the risk of sounding Trite Canaris was not so much "fired" as "Hung out to dry" :lol:

    He was later implicated in the July Bomb Plot against Hitler, although as far as I am aware, there was never any evidence of his being involved.

    It was later, on 9th April 1945 that he was executed by firing aquad at Flossenberg Concentration Camp.

    Regards
    Tom
     
  19. bofors

    bofors Senior Member

    a few more

    Atlantic Wall - the defensive barrier that ran along Europe's coast- designed by Hitler (hense the weak spots!) and supposedly impregnable - used 18 millions tons of concrete

    ATS - Auxiliary Territorial Service - women's branch of the army - primary responsibility was AA duty - included Mary Churchill (yes his daughter) and Elizabeth Windsor. Nora Caveney was first woman killed in action by a bomb fragment in April 41

    HMAS Australia - heavy crusier struck by 5 kamikazes in April 45 off Okinawa without being put out of action! (what else would you expect!!)
     
  20. bofors

    bofors Senior Member

    Axis Sally - Mildred Gillars nickname, she broadcasted Nazi propaganda

    Bachstelze - a kite towed behind a surfaced German submarine with a platform for a man to observe potential targets- only used rarely in the South Atlantic (I wonder why??!!)

    Bailey Bridge - a lightweight easily transportable, repairable and assembled bridge designed by Sir Donald Bailey

    Bari - Germans bombed this port on 2/12/43 and sank 17 ships and damaged 8 others. One ship - SS John Harvey had mustard gas on it which inflicted numerous casualties in the immediate area - only major accident involving poison gas in WW2
     

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