A Marine aviation first
1stLt Everett R. Brewer
GySgt Harry B. Wershiner
On Sep. 18, 1918, two Marines flying with the British Royal Air Force, 1st Lt. Everett R. Brewer and Gunnery Sergeant Harry B. Wershiner, were flying an air raid mission over Belgium with the Royal Air Force when they came under attack from 15 German scout planes. The Marines shot down two planes–only being credited with one–and became the first Marine aviators to shoot down another plane.
They were both seriously wounded–Brewer shot through the hips and Wershiner shot through both lungs—but managed to fly their de Havilland DH-9 back to the Aerodrome after shaking their opponents. Both were awarded the Navy Cross and the Purple Heart.
In: Military History · Tagged with: US Marine Corps, World War I
Today in Marine aviation history
On Jan. 21, 1918, 12 officers and 133 enlisted Marines from the 1st Marine Aeronautical Company deployed to Ponta Delgada, Azores for anti-submarine duty, becoming the first fully-equipped American aviation unit to serve overseas in World War I.
Throughout the war, the Marines flew constant daylight patrols over shipping lanes near the Azores in their Curtiss R-6, N-9, and HS-2L sea planes. More on Marine aviation in World War I here and here.
A Curtiss HS-2L flying boat. Source: San Diego Air & Space Museum archives
In: Military History · Tagged with: US Marine Corps, World War I
“Covered Wagon” – Navy’s First Aircraft Carrier
The USS Langley off San Diego, Calif. with USS Somers in 1930
The USS Langley (CV-1) was converted from the collier USS Jupiter in 1920 and became the U.S. Navy’s first aircraft carrier upon being commissioned in March 1922. Naval aviators of the old “Covered Wagon” crafted carrier operation tactics that were essential to our victory in World War II.
Interestingly, Langley’s sister ships all disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle: USS Cyclops disappeared during World War I, and the Proteus and Nereus were lost on similar routes during World War II.
The Langley was scuttled on 27 February, 1942 after taking five hits from Japanese bombers.
In: Military History · Tagged with: Bermuda Triangle, US Navy, USS Langley, World War I, World War II
Military Milestones from Second Saratoga to Striking the Taliban
This Week in American Military History (by W. Thomas Smith Jr.):
Oct. 7, 1777: Continental forces under the command of Gen. Horatio Gates decisively defeat British forces under Gen. John “Gentleman Johnny” Burgoyne in the Second Battle of Saratoga (also known as the Battle of Bemis Heights).
According to the National Parks Service, “This crucial American victory renewed patriots’ hopes for independence, secured essential foreign recognition and support, and forever changed the face of the world.”
But the war is far from over.
Oct. 7, 1780: Three years to the day after Second Saratoga, patriot militia forces armed with rifles, knives, and tomahawks decisively defeat musket-armed Loyalist militia under the command of British Army Maj. Patrick Ferguson (who will be killed in the fighting) in the bloody Battle of King’s Mountain on the N.C.-S.C. border.
Among the patriots is John Crockett, father of Davy Crockett.
In: Military History · Tagged with: American Revolution, US Army, W. Thomas Smith Jr., World War I
Military Milestones from the Turtle to 9/11
Originally published at Human Events
This week in American military history:
Sept. 7, 1776: Just before dawn, an odd-looking barrel-shaped craft silently makes its way down the Hudson River from Manhattan toward a British warship, HMS Eagle, anchored in New York Harbor.
The craft, designed by Yale graduate David Bushnell and christened “Turtle,” is piloted by a Continental Army sergeant who is hand-cranking two screws for propulsion. As the Turtle nears its target, the pilot opens a valve allowing enough water into a small ballast tank, increasing the weight of the craft and causing it to slip beneath the surface. Maneuvering underwater, the pilot positions his craft below the Eagle then attempts to bore a hole through the enemy hull.
If everything goes according to plan, a timed explosive-device will to be placed into the hole. The device will then detonate after the Turtle makes its escape.
The operation, however, will not be successful, as the pilot will be unable to drill through a layer of copper sheathing on the enemy hull. But the bold attempt will go down in history as one of America’s great Naval milestones.
Bushnell’s Turtle is not the first functional submarine in history (Dutch inventor Cornelius Drebbel’s “underwater boat” successfully navigated a portion of England’s Thames River in 1623). But the Turtle is the first-ever submarine to be used as an attack platform in combat.
In: Military History · Tagged with: 9/11, American Revolution, General George S. Patton, Jr., W. Thomas Smith Jr., War of 1812, World War I, World War II
Navy takes delivery of USS New York
The Navy took delivery of the amphibious transport dock ship USS New York, which contains 7 1/2 tons of steel from the World Trade Center. The AP reports that the New York will sail down the Mississippi River in October.
This is the sixth so-named American vessel. The first USS New York was a gondola built on Lake Champlain in 1776.
The second was built in and also funded by the citizens of New York City. The 36-gun frigate served as the flagship during the First Barbary War before being burned by the British in 1814.
The third was laid in 1820 but never finished. The 74-gun ship of the line was burned in 1861 to prevent it from falling into the hands of the Confederates.
The bow of the fourth USS New York (CA-2) on display at the Intrepid Museum in New York City
The fourth was commissioned in 1893 and served as the flagship for Admiral Samson during the Battle of Santiago when the American Squadron destroyed the Spanish fleet in 1898.
The fifth saw service in both World War I, where it was present during the surrender of the German Fleet in 1918, and World War II, where it saw action in the Atlantic.
More info available at Great White Fleet
In: Military, Military History · Tagged with: American Revolution, Civil War, Spanish-American War, US Navy, USS New York, World War I, World War II
Military Milestones from a Midnight Ride to a Pre-Dawn Airstrike
Originally published at Human Events
Apr. 12, 1861: Confederate Brig. Gen. Pierre G.T. Beauregard’s artillery forces — strategically positioned around Charleston harbor, S.C. — open fire on Union-held Fort Sumter (constructed atop shoals at the harbor entrance).
Unable to effectively return fire and with his position indefensible, Union Army Maj. Robert Anderson will surrender the fort: The garrison will be evacuated on the 14th.
The firing on Fort Sumter is considered to be the opening engagement of the Civil War. Technically it is; though shots were fired in January by militia batteries — including a battery manned by cadets of the Citadel (the Military College of South Carolina) — on the U.S. commercial paddlesteamer “Star of the West” in Charleston harbor.
In: Military History · Tagged with: American Revolution, CIA, Civil War, Doolittle Raid, Mexican-American War, US Air Force, US Navy, World War I, World War II
Military Milestones from a Kentucky Raider to ‘a Bulldog of a Fighter’
Originally published at Human Events
Mar. 15, 1781: British Army forces under the command of Lt. Gen. Charles Cornwallis march toward a pyrrhic victory over Continental Army and militia forces commanded by Maj. Gen. Nathaniel Greene at Guilford Courthouse (near present-day Greensboro), N.C.
Once engaged, the two armies fight for less than two hours. Tactically, it ends in a victory for Cornwallis, who drives Greene’s forces from the field. But British losses are heavy.
Cornwallis will purportedly say, “I never saw such fighting since God made me. The Americans fought like demons.” When word of Guilford Courthouse reaches London, Parliamentarian Charles James Fox will declare: “Another such victory would ruin the British army!”
Cornwallis’ entire army will surrender to the combined American-French forces of Generals George Washington and Comte de Rochambeau at Yorktown, Virginia, Oct. 19, almost seven months to the day after Guilford Courthouse.
In: Military History · Tagged with: American Revolution, Black Jack Pershing, Civil War, Operation Iraqi Freedom, US Army, USS Langley, World War I, World War II
Daniel J. Daly’s Distinguished Service Cross citation
The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to First Sergeant Daniel Joseph Daly (MCSN: 73086), United States Marine Corps, for repeated deeds of heroism and great service while serving with the Seventy-Third Company, Sixth Regiment (Marines), 2d Division, A.E.F., on 5 June and 7, 1918 at Lucy-le-Bocage, and on 10 June 1918 in the attack on Bouresches, France. On June 5th, at the risk of his life, First Sergeant Daly extinguished a fire in an ammunition dump at Lucy-le-Bocage. On 7 June 1918, while his position was under violent bombardment, he visited all the gun crews of his company, then posted over a wide portion of the front, to cheer his men. On 10 June 1918, he attacked an enemy machine-gun emplacement unassisted and captured it by use of hand grenades and his automatic pistol. On the same day, during the German attack on Bouresches, he brought in wounded under fire.
Born: 11 Nov. 1873, Glen Cove, N.Y…. 73rd Company, 6th Regiment (Marines), 2d Division, American Expeditionary Forces… Also awarded the Navy Cross (for the above actions) and the Medal of Honor… One of only 19 men to receive the Medal of Honor twice… Of the 19 double recipients, is one of only two men to receive the Medal for two separate engagements… Offered a commission on several occasions but refused… Also saw action during the Boxer Rebellion and Hayti… Retired as Sergeant Major in 1929… Namesake of USS Daly (DD-519)… Departed: 27 Apr. 1939.
In: Men of Valor · Tagged with: Daniel J. Daly, Distinguished Service Cross, US Marine Corps, World War I, World War I Distinguished Service Cross recipients
