SBD Dauntless and TBF played a big role in battle of Midway. Navy F4U Corsairs and P51 Mustangs were always my favorite WWII fighters. Also P38 Lightning. A bad *** night fighter almost the same size of B25 Mitchell med. Bomber that most never heard of was the P61 Black Widow. All black. A four 20mm turret and four 50 cal. Turret top and belly. B26 Martin Maurader another great medium boomer. Just a little too big to take off from carrier. Doolittle fire bombed Tokyo with raid off Carrier with B25's. Some crashed in China. Japs were anilating China . Payback from Pearl harbor bombers . My uncle that I was named after flew the hump over the Himalayas from India to Burna. Supplying the Chinese against the Japs in a C47. He got shot up . Crash landed and died a day later. A friend's grandpa went down on the Arizona . I studied WWII from a young age. Was always interested in planes and tanks of WWII. I still remember a lot. Brain is turning now you can tell. Both my cousins were in M1Abrams tanks in Desert Storm. Youger cousin was outside of tank taking a leak. They cut loose with main 120 mm cannon. Knock him flat and out. Lost hearing in one ear, like me. Medical discharge. Other cousin to me, classified. I don't care anymore. They sent a lazor signal to French tank. No signal back. French toast. I'll probably get a knock at door now. I don't give a rats behind .
Don't remember whether I mentioned this before. Since this is a gun forum, speaking of rifles; my Dad, who was a trooper with the 26th Cavalry in the Philippines, carried the M1 Garand (issued to them in Aug of 41 just enough time to familiarize and qualify) when the Japanese invaded and of course every horseman of the 26th all have sidearms, all time favorite of mine, the 1911.
McArthur sent the 26th and the light tank battalion from the Midwest to meet the invading force from the North, and they ran pitch battles town-by-town till they joined the main force in Bataan.
Sadly, in Bataan they were ordered to turn their mounts to the quartermaster. Dad said, they almost had a firefight as the troopers refused to turn their mounts till directed by the Gen. Wainwright.
It went down in history, in one of the battles along the way, the 26th executed the last cavalry charge of the US Army.
Long live the horsemen of the 26th.
Last edited: