I Found a New Picture of the HMS Kestrel Dog in the WW I Plane

One of the pictures that accompany this blog is of the bulldog dog in the cockpit of what appears to be a WW I plane.  I attempted to find out some more information about it.

I came across a similar photo, this time in color, of the English bulldog in the cockpit of the WW I era airplane.

He is wearing an HMS Kestrel sailor hat.

At first I thought that meant the plane might have flown off the HMS Kestrel, but since it was a destroyer, it was way too small to have a plane.  Plus, I did not read anything about it having a plane.

So, not sure about why the bulldog had the hat on in that plane.

Quite the Dog.

Neat Picture, Though.  --Cooter

Deaths in May 2022-- Part 6: Mineta, Gilley, Lanier, Akleh and Liotta

NORMAN MINETA, 90

**  He broke racial barriers for Asian Americans serving in high profile government posts who ordered commercial flights grounded after the 9/11 terror attacks as the Federal Transportation Secretary.  Died May 3.

MICKEY GILLEY, 86

**  Country singer whose namesake Texas honky-tonk inspired the 1980 film "Urban Cowboy" and a nationwide wave of Western-themed night spots.  Died May 7.  No Bull!!

What great music.  But, I never got on one of those mechanical bulls.  My back is still okay.

BOB LANIER, 73

**  The left-habded big man who muscled up beside the likes of Kareen Abdul-Jabbar as one of the NBA's top players of the seventies.  Died May 10.

SHIREEN ABU AKLEH, 51

**  A correspondent who became a household name synonymous with with Al Jazeera's coverage of life under occupation during her more than two decades reporting in the Palestinian territories.  Died May 11.

RAY LIOTTA, 67

**  Actor best-known for playing mobster Henry Hill in "Goodfellas" and baseball player "Shoeless " Joe Jackson in "Field of Dreams."  Died May 26.

"Do I Amuse You?"  

A Timeline of 9/11-- Part 4: Flight 77 Crashes Into the Pentagon and South Tower Collapses

Times are Eastern.

**  9:21 am:  The New York Port Authority closes all bridges and tunnels in the New York City area.

**  9:24 The FAA notifies NEADS of the suspected  hijacking of Flight  77 after some passengers and crew aboard the aircraft are able to contact family members on the ground.

**  9:31:  Speaking from Florida, President Bush calls the events in New York City an "apparent terrorist attack on our country."

9:37:  Terrorists aboard Flight 77 crash the plane into the western facade of the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., killing 59 aboard the plane and 125 civilian and military personnel inside the building.

9:42:  For the first time in history, the FAA grounds  all flights over the continental United States.  Over the next two and a half hours, some 3,300 commercial flights and 1,200 private planes are guided to land in airports in Canada and the United States.

9:45:  Among escalating rumors of other attacks, the White House and U.S. Capitol building are evacuated along with numerous other high-profile buildings, landmarks and public spaces.

9:59:  The South Tower of the World Trade Center collapses.

I conducted my regular class schedule for first period.  It ended at 8:45 am (9:45 Eastern) and that is when I learned about what was going on from another teacher.  I went back inside the room (we had to watch the halls during passing time) and tried to get reception on my 12-inch black and white TV, but couldn't, so turned on the radio.

Second period started at 8:50.  We listened to that radio and talked about what had happened the rest of the day in my next four classes.

A Timeline of 9/11-- Part 3: The Second Crash

**  8:47 am:  Within seconds after the first crash, NYPD and NYFD dispatch units to the World Trade Center, while Port Authority officers on the site begin immediate evacuation of the North Tower.

**  8:50:   White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card alerts  President George W. Bush that a plane has hit the World Trade Center; the president is visiting a m elementary school in Sarasota, Florida, at the time.

**  9:02:  After initially telling occupants of the WTC's South Tower to remain in the building, Port Authority officials broadcast orders to evacuate both towers via the public address system; an estimated  10,000 to 14,000 are already in the process of evacuating.

**  9:03 am:  Hijackers crash United Airlines175 into floors 75-85 of the WTC's South Tower, killing everyone on board and hundreds in the tower.

**  9:08 am:  The FAA Bans all takeoffs of flights going to New York City or through airspace around the city.

At 7:50 am I was outside my room supervising the arrival of students.  By 7:55 they were in the room and working on the Daily Challenge questions on the board while I took attendance.  Completely oblivious about what was going on.

A Timeline of 9/11-- Part 2: Two More Flights Hijacked and the First Crash

**  8:20 am:  American Airlines Flight 77 takes off from Dulles International Airport outside of Washington, D.C.  The Boeing 757 is headed to Los Angeles with 64 people aboard.

**  8:24:  One of the hijackers (name given but I do not honor them with a name) aboard Flight 11 makes one of two accidental transmissions to ground control.  Evidently he was trying to communicate with the plane's cabin.

**  8:40:  Air  traffic controllers at the federal Aviation Administration (FAA) alert  North American Aerospace  Defense Command (NORAD)'s Northeast Defense Sector (NEADS) about the suspected hijacking of Flight 11.  In response, NEADS scrambles two fighter planes located at Cape Cod's Otis Air National Guard Base to locate and tail Flight 11;  they are not yet in the air  when Flight 11 crashes into the North Tower.

**  8:41:  United Airlines Flight  93, a Boeing 757 with 44 people aboard, takes off from Newark (NJ)  International Airport en route to San Francisco.  It had been scheduled to take off at 8:00 am, about the same time as the other hijacked flights.

**  8:46 am:  (Name given, but dishonored) and other hijackers crash Flight 11 into floors 93-99 of the North Tower of the World Trade Center, killing everyone on board and hundreds inside the building.

By 7:46 am, I am at school preparing for my first class to start at 7:55 am.

A Timeline of 9/11-- Part 1: Flights 11 and 175

Every September 11 I stop my blogs to remember.

All times Eastern Daylight Savings Time.

On September 11, 2001, on a clear, sunny day, terrorists on board three hijacked  passenger planes carried out coordinated suicide missions against the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon outside of Washington, D.C..  Everyone aboard the planes were killed and  nearly 3,000 people on the ground.

A fourth plane crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania,  killing all aboard after the passengers tried to gain control of the plane themselves.

**  7:59 am:  American Airlines Flight 11, a Boeing 767,  with 92 people aboard,   takes off from Boston's Logan International Airport, en route to Los Angeles.

**  8:14 am:  United Airlines Flight  175, a Boeing 767 with 65 people aboard, takes off from Boston; it also is headed for Los Angeles.

**   8:19:  Flight attendants  aboard Flight 11 alert ground personnel that the plane has been hijacked; American Airlines notifies the FBI.

During this time I was at home finishing up my coffee and getting ready to drive from Spring Grove to my teaching job in Round Lake, Illinois.  We are at an hour's difference in Central Time Zone.

September 2 Events: Atlanta, the 'Big Stick', George H.W. Bush, USS Missouri, Vietnam, Integration and the Titanic

From "On Sept. 2" from Sep. 2, 2021, Chicago Tribune.

SEPTEMBER 2, 1864--  During the Civil War, Union Gen. William Sherman's army occupied Atlanta, Georgia.

SEPTEMBER 2, 1901--  Vice President Theodore Roosevelt offered the advice:  "Speak softly and carry a big stick" in a speech at the Minnesota State Fair.

SEPTEMBER 2, 1930--  The first non-stop airplane flight between Europe and the U.S. was completed in 37 hours.

SEPTEMBER 2, 1844--  During WW II, Navy pilot George Herbert Walker Bush was shot down by Japanese forces as he completed a bombing run over the Bonin Islands.  (Bush was rescued by the submarine USS Finback; his two crew members, however, died.

SEPTEMBER 2, 1945--  Japan formally surrendered in ceremonies aboard the battleship USS Missouri, ending WW II.

Also this date, Ho Chi Minh declared Vietnam an independent republic.  And, we know where that led.

SEPTEMBER 2, 1963--  Alabama Gov. George C. Wallace prevented integration of Tuskegee High School by encircling the building with state troopers.

SEPTEMBER 2, 1985-- It was announced that a U.S.-French expedition had located the wreckage of the Titanic about 560 miles off Newfoundland.

--Cooter

Is It True About Ohio?

The U.S. Postal Service issued a stamp honoring the one hundredth anniversary of the first flight by the Wright Brothers.

The first man in powered flight was from Ohio.

The first man ever to orbit the Earth was from Ohio.

And, the first man on the Moon was from Ohio.

It sounds like a lot of people are trying to get out of Ohio.

But, really, congratulations to Orville, John and Neil and Ohio.

--CootOutofHere

Black History: Ruth Carol Taylor

RUTH CAROL TAYLOR (1931-present)

Became the first black flight attendant in the United States when she was hired Feb. 11, 1958, by Mohawk Airlines.

Only six months after breaking that historic barrier, Taylor's career ended due to another discriminatory barrier, the airline's practice of not employing married flight attendants.

These Five Weapons Made WW I an Absolute Bloodbath-- Part 2: Triplanes, U-boats and Monster Guns

FOKKER TRIPLANE

Baron von Richtofen flew it and Snoopy battled it, but the Fokker Dr 1 Triplane had the maneuverability and rapid climb rate, it terrorized the skies over the Western Front in 1917 and 1918.

TYPE 93 U-BOAT

They weren't fast, especially under water and had limited endurance and couldn't stay underwater for too long.  But armed with 88 or 101 millimeter deck guns and six torpedo tubes with 16 reloads.

The 24 Type 93s sank 411,000 tons of Allied shipping.

BIG BERTHA AND THE PARIS GUN

BIG BERTHA was a giant German howitzer  with 16.5inch caliber and could hurl a nearly one ton shell eight miles.  In 1914, it leveled Belgian forts and almost allowed German armies to capture Paris.

The PARIS GUN made history by hurling shells into the stratosphere.  It could hurl a 200-pound shell 81 miles which allowed Germans to bombard Paris.  But, it was expensive and fragile (the barrel had to be replaced after firing 20 shots).

But, being able to bombard targets that far away gave it notoriety.

--Cooter

Lloyd Evans Receives France's Croix de Guerre in 1919

From the February 27, 2019, MidWeek  "Looking Back."

1919, 100 Years Ago.

"Captain Lloyd Evans of Hinckley gas been decorated with the Croix de Guerre for bravery in France.

"He is an aviator and is now  with the American Army of occupation in Germany.  He is with the 88th aero squadron."

--Cooter

World War I's Ellington Field-- Part 2: Training the Pilots

In December 1917, the first  planes from Ellington Field took off and flew over Houston for a Red Cross benefit.  It was quite a sight and many people turned out for it.

During the war, the field served as an advanced training base.  By 1918, it had its own gunnery and bombing range.

For the first months of operations, Ellington Field had no pilot fatalities, but within a year that changed drastically.  By August 1918, it had the most pilot fatalities of any training base.  It also had many firsts, including:

First camp newspaper
First American aerial gunnery and bombing range
First "canteen girls"
First aerial  ambulance in American history

Before the end of the war, around 5,000 men and 250 aircraft had been assigned to the base

After the war, it was inactivated in 1920 with only a small caretaker unit remaining.  It was reopened in World War II.

--Cooter

Ellington Field, Texas, in World War I-- Part 1

In the last post, Ralph R. Roberts was home on leave from Ellington Field in Texas where he was training with the Army Air Corps for action in World War I.

From Wikipedia.

It still exists as Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base near Houston, Texas.  It is shared by active and reserve units as well as NASA which is nearby at Johnson Space Center.  It opened in 1917 and was one of thirty-two Air Service training camps established after the U.S. entered World War I.

It is named for Lt.  Eric Ellington who was killed in a plane crash in San Diego, California, in 1913.

In 1917, the U.S. government bought 1,280 acres of land to establish an air base in Houston.  It was completed in a few months.  By the end of 1917 it was ready to receive its first squadron of planes, the 120th Aero Squadron which transferred from Kelly Field in San Antonio, along with its Curtiss JN4 Jenny biplanes.

--DaCoot

A Strange Aeroplane Over DeKalb County in 1918

From the October 24, 2018, MidWeek  (DeKalb County, Illinois)  "Looking Back."

1918, 100 Years Ago.

"A large aeroplane, flying high in the air and at a fast speed, passing over parts of DeKalb county this forenoon between 10 and 11 o'clock.  The machine was first seen when going over Hinckley and later it was seen as it passed over the northeast part of DeKalb by the piano workers.

"It is probable the machine was enroute from Rantoul to Camp Grant."

Rantoul was the site of Chanute Field which was used for airplanes during World War I.

At Least It Wasn't A German Attack By the Kaiser's Forces.  --DaCoot

Airplanes Flying Over DeKalb in 1918

From the November 14, 2018, MidWeek  "Looking Back."

1918, 100 Years Ago.

"Many DeKalb people witnessed a most perfect aeroplane  flight this forenoon just before 11 o'clock, when a big machine sailed over as graceful as any bird.  The machine was not flying fast or high and the continual purr of the motor was easily heard by pedestrians on the street.

"The machine came from the northeast and was flying in a southwesterly direction.  Another airplane was seen here shortly before one o'clock in the afternoon."

--Cooter

Korean War Veteran Chuck Class-- Part 4: The P-51 Mustang

One poignant story Mr. Class was about the P-51 Mustang pilot that had been shot down.  Most of the aircraft he saw were World War II vintage, very few jets.  This plane had been shot down, but the pilot had been able to make a crash landing and the plane was upright.  But the plane started smoking and Mr. Class was close enough that he could see the pilot slumped over in the cockpit.

He wanted to rush over to the pilot's aide, but enemy troops were nearby and firing at the plane.  The smoke turned into flames and burned the whole plane.  That was a hard one.

Mr. Class did his basic training at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri.  He was drafted into service.

--Cooter

WW I: St. Mihiel Offensive September 12-16

The first all-American offensive on the Western Front.

Seventeen U.S. divisions (or elements of divisions) participate.  This was a total of 665,000 men.

This was also the first time that tanks were used by U.S. military, the 1st Tank Brigade.

The offensive also featured the largest aggregation of air support during the war with 600 airplanes and crews.

The Doughboys take the German salient after a 36-hour battle.

15,000 Germans are captured as are 250 artillery pieces.

U.S. casualties, however, were enormous with 1,799 killed in action and 6,885 wounded in action.

--Cooter

Jefferson Barracks in World War I

From Wikipedia.

In the June 13th post I mentioned about 48 men from DeKalb County, Illinois, leaving from Sycamore to go for army training at Jefferson Barracks in Missouri (near St. Louis).

In March 1912, Jefferson Barracks became the first base for training in military parachuting.  Albert Perry, a civilian, became the first person to parachute from a plane.

1911--  Lt. Dwight D, Eisenhower began his military career at Jefferson Barracks.

During World War I, Jefferson Barracks served as a training and recruitment center for men heading overseas for Europe.  It was the largest U.S. induction and demobilization center for troops in World War I.

--Cooter

World War I Chronology, June 1918-- Part 4:

JUNE 11--

In its first such raid, the 96th Aero Squadron bombs the Dommary-Barancourt railroad station near Metz.

JUNE 28

ITALY.  First contingent   of U.S. troops arrives.  Doughboys are sent to bolster Italian morale on the Austro-Hungarian Front.

Units eventually committed:  332nd Infantry regiment, 331st Field Hospital, American Ambulance Service and Army/Navy aviators.

--Cooter

World War I Chronology, April 1918: Cantigny

APRIL 25-JULY 17--  Cantigny Defensive Sector.  U.S. casualties 963 KIA, 3,006 WIA.

APRIL 26--    U.S. forces reinforce the French at Montdidier.

APRIL 28--  First concentration of American troops in an active part of the Front.  The United States 1st Division takes up positions at Breteuil.

APRIL 29--  Eddie Rickenbacker, 94th Pursuit Squadron, shoots down the first of his 21 enemy aircraft.

--GreGen