[Milsurplus] History Chan - Pathfinders

[Unserviceable but Repairable]

Never saw program by this title & the probable appearrance of a Rebecca-
Eureka to guide in C47/Lancaster paratroopers.  Agonized over spending
time writing this, but did it anyway.

Here goes.

Did see

    I. NPR:  Inventions at D-day

   II. Hist Chan:   New facts exposed

on I. 

   I saw the Sherman DD for 1st time.  The 'floatation collar' for
   the tank.  English idea used this, their idea, right for Juno where 21 
   tanks came ashore, took immediate control of surroundings, & ended
   the invasion carnage.  Launched 1 mi. off shore

   At Omaha US launched 'em 11 mi.s out & all but 1 sank.  Also rockets
   to make automatic foxholes fired too far out.  

   plus lots more

on II.

   Ranger landing @ 7A shudda been 6A... Navy goof corrected by a Army
   Col.  They scaled cliffs @ Pt. du Hoc (been there) & found 155 em-
   placements empty.  Walked inland 1.5mi & found/disabled 'em.

   Rangers lost 130 of 220 men & weren't relieved for 2 days.

   No one'd wake Hitler for orders.  Rommel celebrating wife's 50th.  That
   good allied luck offset all the US Omaha goofs.

   One interviwee said some 'small tanks (Stuarts?)' came ashore @ Omaha
   near cliff opening but were trashed.  A LCM must have dropped these.
   Guy reitterated one "swimming Sherman" got in.

   Paratroopers found rocket launch site (called 'Schnitter???') and 'walked'
   naval artillery to zero-in for kill.  Used one of "only radios working
   at Omaha" & they showed a BC-611.  I doubt that was shore-to-ship.
   Bet ship & paratroopers had BC-1000s or BC-659s (ugh, heavy backpack)

   Things so bad @ Omaha that Gen. Bradley nearly ordered 2nd US wave
   to British beaches.

      ----BUT  USN  SAVED  DAY---

   Destroyer McCook ran in to within 500 yd.s of beach hugely risking
   grounding.  McCook's 4 & 5 inchers shot straight into on-shore pillboxes
   & dispatched 'em fast - they weren' designed for such.

On both

   British Commando glider landing @ Pegasus bridge.  II. showed a 
   bazooka-like giz used to stop German counterattack fm. point blank.  
   The "most important single shot of the landing"


  ======WHERE  WERE  THE  SHIPBOARD  YG/ZBs???====

Neither program showed that.  A YG/ZB system is how our carrier pilots
found their ship.  Supposedly used @ d-day but how were they employed???

Require huge elevation of their spinning 200mc yagis.  But there were
DE-size shps @ sea in many fotos with huge masts.  I submit these
had the YG/ZBs & were posted as pickets ~15 mi's out at 4A then sailed
up to "their beach" @ dawn's 1st light to guide in their piece of the
invasion floatilla.

WHEW, sed it all

  Marty