The WWII Thread

[HudsonFalcon]

Like many of you here I’m an avid history buff, especially military history, and no conflict has shaped the world quite like The Second World War.

It is an all encompassing war that saw some countries rise to greatness while others descended into madness.

Even though most of the generation that fought this war, on all sides, are now gone the effects of the war can still be felt today. From the initial causes of the war to the start of the nuclear age there’s so much to unpack from this conflict.

This thread is intended to discuss and debate any and all aspects of WWII.

From technology and weapons to the battles, tactics and politics of the day please feel free to post.

I find stories from relatives to be especially poignant so I’ll share mine.

My grandfather Jim served with Battery C 554th Anti Aircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion.

As I got older and was getting into history I decided to do some research. As luck would have it I was able to locate the battle history of his battalion from Boot Camp and D-Day to The Battle of the Bulge and the push into Germany.

He was never one to talk openly about his experiences but he wasn’t against talking about what he went through.

One particular passage described his unit being strafed in the Normandy area by a BF-109 on D-Day +22. When I asked him about it my always happy go lucky pop commented:

“Yeah, I remember that son of a bitch, he couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn.”

A funny reaction to a terrifying scenario I guess.

Thanks in advance for your stories and interest fellas.

Oh and of course OP is a……

 

[03Sssnake]

My grandfathers little brother Ray. 5th Marines, landed on Iwo Jima and by the grace of god lived. Hard m’fer!

Bottom Row, 2nd from the right...

 

[HudsonFalcon]

My grandfathers little brother Ray. 5th Marines, landed on Iwo Jima and by the grace of god lived. Hard m’fer!View attachment 1777065View attachment 1777066

That’s badass Dave. Hell of a fight on Iwo.

 

[HudsonFalcon]

I do believe the Panther was the best tank of the war but I still love the Tiger. Even got me this shirt lol.

 

[03Sssnake]

I do believe the Panther was the best tank of the war but I still love the Tiger. Even got me this shirt lol.

View attachment 1777089

I really like the tiger and fwiw its my favorite WWII tank. Germany could never make them in numbers that mattered. Begrudgingly I think the commie T34 was the best. Easy to operate/crew, maintain and they built a shitload of those ****ers.

 

[svtfocus2cobra]

My grandfathers little brother Ray. 5th Marines, landed on Iwo Jima and by the grace of god lived. Hard m’fer!
View attachment 1777065View attachment 1777066

Posted these a long while back but here are some of my photos from our visit to Iwo To (Iwo Jima). Being there on that small island and knowing that 450 American ships surrounded it and shelled it while over 100k people fought on it defies your ability to fathom what happened there. It's incredible and there is so many remains and debris from ships and vehicles that made land.

 

[HudsonFalcon]

I really like the tiger and fwiw its my favorite WWII tank. Germany could never make them in numbers that mattered. Begrudgingly I think the commie T34 was the best. Easy to operate/crew, maintain and they built a shitload of those ****ers.

T-34 and the Sherman definitely helped win the war. The 88 on the Tiger I and II was an awesome main gun. I can’t imagine going up against something like that.

 

[Silverstrike]

T-34 and the Sherman definitely helped win the war. The 88 on the Tiger I and II was an awesome main gun. I can’t imagine going up against something like that.

Just to tell you the 88's on the Tiger I and II was not the same the KwK 36 on the I had shorter less powerful rounds over the longer KwK 43 for the Tiger II and Jagdpanther.

 

[Silverstrike]

I play Warlord games Bolt Action a 1/56 scale model mini war game this is my SD Kfz 251/21 Drilling. My poor StuH 42 went up in smoke with a long range shot from a M-18, 55 inch range. You basically have order dice per unit and vehicle and you put them in a bag and then pull them out each with different colors representing the two sides, until there is none left per move of said unit then you go to turn 2 until you do 6 to 8 turns for the game. You have 6 different actions on a dice to take. Best look it up on Youtube or Warlord Games Ltd to get the gest of it. Then my lend lease Ford GPA SEEP for my Soviets. I have 7500 points for my Germans, almost 6,000 points for my Soviets, and 3500 total for my US Army, Tank destroyer/ Motorized Anti Aircraft force.

I also play the real deal 1:1 scale on GWA (Great War Association) land in Newville Pa WWI reenacting this is a Belgian Neiuport 17 doing strafing runs on the trench lines and there is one pilot that actually does them only 20 feet off the ground!!!!! But they only show up for the November event not the April as we do 2 per year other than 2020 for obvious reasons (mostly the country losing it's mind over a certain virus).

 

[HudsonFalcon]

Just to tell you the 88's on the Tiger I and II was not the same the KwK 36 on the I had shorter less powerful rounds over the longer KwK 43 for the Tiger II and Jagdpanther.

Good post. It never clicked that the King Tiger had a more powerful 88mm main gun but looking at pictures it’s obvious just looking at barrel length.

 

[HudsonFalcon]

Love this channel for tank porn.

https://youtube.com/@thetankmuseum

 

[Silverstrike]

Panzer Archeology a Polish metal hunter where he has found a few parts of Panthers, Pz IV's and even a rare Ferdinand/Elephant in a few fields in Poland. Everything on this channel is from his personal photo collection. This clip is the M-36 Jackson probably my favorite American AFV during the war. Check out the last photo at the end it is of the M-36 B1 where they made 187 of them by fitting the M-36 turret onto a M4A3 hull. It was loved by it's crew due to the hull mounted M-1919 being able to keep Panzerfaust packing Germans outside the maximum range of the rocket AT weapon.

Then this Russian he has divided his channels into two the Easter Front and WW2 Heros this is the one about an obscure weapon that was nasty against vehicles and men as it used White Phosphorus and Sulfur which when exposed to air ignites into a 3,000 F fireball that can melt right through harden steel. The Ampulomet (Molotov thrower was not widely known.) WWII Heros

then Eastern Front about a certain badge you didn't want to be caught with when on the Easter front.
Then finally Tino Struckmann's Lost Battlefields and his exploration of abandoned factories and field works and fortresses across Europe mostly from the German side.

His latest one

 

[93Cobra#2771]

Following along, I'm really not super knowledgeable but just started rewatching Band of Brothers again (will be maybe the 5th or 6th time). Also I have read most of the books from members of Easy Company as well. The generation that went to war were truly a different breed than what we have now.

Maternal Grandfather was in the European theater, worked in intelligence in some aspect. Paternal Grandfather was too old to be drafted for WWII, and too young for WWI.

My dad wasn't really into WWII other than their firearms. Have an M1 Garand plus bayonet, 1911, etc.

 

[HudsonFalcon]

Following along, I'm really not super knowledgeable but just started rewatching Band of Brothers again (will be maybe the 5th or 6th time). Also I have read most of the books from members of Easy Company as well. The generation that went to war were truly a different breed than what we have now.

Maternal Grandfather was in the European theater, worked in intelligence in some aspect. Paternal Grandfather was too old to be drafted for WWII, and too young for WWI.

My dad wasn't really into WWII other than their firearms. Have an M1 Garand plus bayonet, 1911, etc.

Band of Brothers is a great show. Check out The Pacific too if you haven’t yet.

 

[03cobra#694]

Cool thread Tony.

 

[93Cobra#2771]

Band of Brothers is a great show. Check out The Pacific too if you haven’t yet.

I have, actually. Watched it 5-6 years ago. I just didn't get the connection to it that I did with BOB. However, I've decided that I probably just didn't give it a good chance and was expecting the same as BOB. I'm planning on a rewatch with a more open mind. After all, the European Theater was different than the Pacific theater, no reason why the two series should be the same.

Looking forward to the new WWII series that Tom Hanks is doing that is focused on Air Force. It's been in the works for a while, not sure how far along it is.

Also, if you haven't listened to the BOB podcast, it's very cool as well. Lots of behind the scenes stuff, interviews with cast members, etc etc.

 

[HudsonFalcon]

I have, actually. Watched it 5-6 years ago. I just didn't get the connection to it that I did with BOB. However, I've decided that I probably just didn't give it a good chance and was expecting the same as BOB. I'm planning on a rewatch with a more open mind. After all, the European Theater was different than the Pacific theater, no reason why the two series should be the same.

Looking forward to the new WWII series that Tom Hanks is doing that is focused on Air Force. It's been in the works for a while, not sure how far along it is.

Also, if you haven't listened to the BOB podcast, it's very cool as well. Lots of behind the scenes stuff, interviews with cast members, etc etc.

I’ll definitely check out the podcast and I had no idea Tom Hanks was doing a new project on the Air Corp. I’m sure it’ll be good.

I felt the same way about The Pacific the first time I watched. I felt like it wasn’t the same caliber as BOB. I recently watched it a 2nd time and it hit harder.

 

[93Cobra#2771]

I’ll definitely check out the podcast and I had no idea Tom Hanks was doing a new project on the Air Corp. I’m sure it’ll be good.

I felt the same way about The Pacific the first time I watched. I felt like it wasn’t the same caliber as BOB. I recently watched it a 2nd time and it hit harder.

Check out the YouTube clips of the new project. It looks absolutely riveting.

 

[2003RedfireVert]

My great grandfather fought in the European theatre and was shot in the leg. I don’t know much about his story, unfortunately. I never met him. My grandpa had his M1 for a long time but sold it sometime during my youth. I love learning about WW2. I’m not knowledgeable or a “history buff”. I would come home from school and watch Weapons At War on the History channel and always loved the WW2 episodes. There was another show I watched but I can’t recall the name. It went through famous battles. Again, WW2 battles were always my favorite to learn about it. I have always been more intrigued with the Pacific theatre for some reason.

I should do more reading on WW2 and not rely on movies/shows/etc but Saving Private Ryan is my all time favorite movie. BOB (both iterations) are great and I need to re-watch them.

Cool thread. I hope to read some stories about folks relatives who served. Knowing what I know now, I wish I had met more WW2 veterans. I’m just young enough that even when I was growing up, a lot of them had passed. I should get to know more Vietnam Vets.

The Greatest Generation were another breed of man that we may not ever see again (at least in my lifetime). I wish I had the opportunity to know more of them.

 

[HudsonFalcon]

My grandfather was also at The Battle of the Bulge.

I remember him telling my father and myself about it briefly at a family party.

He said that, in reality, the Germans could’ve overrun the American positions at any time but instead of attacking the whole line en masse they would attack one section at a time. The G.I.’s were able to mass troops and artillery at that position and hold off the attacks.

No idea if this was the case but that was his interpretation.