This particular bell was made from the cannons of Constantinople. The irony was that these cannons were originally made from the Christian bells of this same city. The bells were melted down and formed into the Ottoman cannons that manned the walls for centuries. As brass cannons were replaced, the metal was reused.
More chemicals were added, with the zinc and copper levels were adjusted to create a brass called tombak. It is easy to work and hand tools can punch, cut, enamel, repousse, engrave, gilt or etch it. It has a higher sheen than most brasses or copper, and does not easily tarnish. Some of the greatest works of art to come out of the Ottoman Empire were made from tombak.
As with most inventions of man, tombak can be used to create things of great beauty, and to kill and maim. Another use just as creative, yet very destructive to humans, is the full metal jacket. Gilding metal is a type of tombak that is one of the most common materials for jacketed hollow point bullets. The Hague Convention of 1899 prohibited their use. Jacketed hollow point bullets easily flatten and expand in the body. They rip a person’s insides to shreds once they penetrate the skin. They to triple their size as they enter. They are a monstrous invention on the par with shrapnel and napalm.
In less than a week, Toros and all he knew would be dead, burned or blown to bits. His wife, children, mother, sisters and cousins, aunts and uncles would be gone. All were killed in the first days of the invasion. His ferry would not be a footnote in history even after serving kings, queens, the rich and the poor. Not a picture or even a clear memory would remain of his movable bridge between east and west. Luckily he would be the first to die and none of this would enter his mortal life and spiritual memory. He would not take to the grave all the tragedies that were about to be endured by his family. We don’t even know Toros or his boat’s given name.
As ferry was sinking, and so was the livelihood of Toros and the future of his family. The feared and hated Ruskies were a few hundred meters away and about to attack. His wonderful ship's bell rang one more time before it was swallowed up by the waters of the Bosporus. One last clear tolling of his beloved bell.
“Any man's death diminishes me because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee. . . . from Meditation 17 by John Donne”
Figure 5- Turkish Tombac Pitcher
Chapter Two:
In the Air
Figure 6- Supplying the SAC Bases in Egypt 1946
Headquarters Mediterranean Command
Cairo Egypt
November 10, 1946 0842
Report # 134
Subject: After Action Report for October.
To: The Joint Chiefs of Staff
Attn: General Eisenhower
October 1946
Air Operations
Bombing of the oil production facilities of the Soviet Union continued unabated. Five large raids were planned for the weeks of 13-27 October, 1946. Availability of bombers and their crews postponed two out of the five raids. An unexpected loss of supplies and aviation fuel by submarine activity off the coast of Tunisia and Libya had caused the delays. Numerous reports of small mini-subs attacking shipping at chokepoints near Tunis, Benghazi and Tobruk.
The 15th Air Force started operations on 12 October 1946 with a 245 plane raid on Baku shortly after a raid by SAC. The raid seemed to catch the VVS reloading and was an unqualified success with major oil storage facilities destroyed near Khatai. Oil production in the Baku area is estimated at 37% and increasing despite our bombing efforts.
SAC continues to rely on large formation of B-29 entering enemy airspace at 24,000 ft. Leadership continues to insist that the Norden Bomb sight and radar bombing from a high level will significantly reduce oil production of the USSR. Evidence suggests that the same fast moving wind that covers Japan also is prevalent in this area and other tactics might be in order. They continue to take unsustainable losses.
The 15th AF has authorized the development of rather risky maneuver designed to allow a large formation of bombers to evade missile attacks. Currently progress has been made with no midair collisions reported. It is therefore suggested that this endeavor be allowed to continue.
All airbases in the area continue to operate with extreme efficiency. The unexpected losses off North Africa had caused the re-routing of convoys around the Cape to the Suez. This delay has been overcome by increasing the amount of shipping along the route with assistance from Canada, Brazil and South Africa. The re-routing had a temporary effect on SAC’s operations tempo that has been rectified. The 15 AF was not in operational status and was not affected.
The Soviet forces continue to mass on the borders of Turkey. Increase in air activity and a blatant disregard for Turkish sovereignty is apparent. Although no formal declaration of war has been declared, VVS air forces continue to make incursions into Turkish airspace in pursuit of our bomber formation. A number of attacks on airfields in Turkey have previously been noted. A long range, low level fighter sweep by Yak 9D fighter planes, code name Far Boy, attacked the air bases in Kaysari on 28 October as has been noted in previous reports.
Militarily, there has been no effect on operations of an undeclared war over Turkey. It is curious as to why neither side has done the obvious.
Naval Forces
The Mediterranean Fleet continues to prepare for future operations. The sight of a dozen aircraft carriers plainly seen steaming just off the coast of Egypt is a concern for operational security. It appears to be common knowledge that this large contingent of our Naval Air Arm was in the Mediterranean and not in the Atlantic. See attached report.
As mentioned previously, the threat of submarine warfare has been mitigated by using the longer route to the Suez. Tactics and new technologies are actively being developed to address this new threat caused by enemy submarines to our supply lines connecting the major islands in the Mediterranean as well as merchant marine traffic traversing the routes previously used.
Land Forces
The assignment of over 250 advisors to the Turkish military has been completed. Each of these experts were embedded in their respective Turkish units. Each of these experts where chosen by their commanders and tasked with training the Turkish troops in the latest infantry and small unit tactics. These highly trained experts are expected to double the combat effectiveness of the Turkish forces facing the Soviet Union.
Very preliminary reports indicate that the majority of the assigned personnel are working with their Turkish counterparts on a daily basis. The Turkish government has expressed its gratitude for this welcome assistance in its valiant effort to build up its defenses for an expected and eminent attack.
No other ground forces are currently engaged in the theatre.
NAVEL OPERATIONS
Continued preparedness of the amphibious forces is paramount. Training continues unabated. Most of the equipment stockpiled from the planned invasion of the Japanese islands have been retrofitted and brought back into service. Enough equipment has been brought back into service to land and support 25 divisions a month up to a total of 90 divisions worldwide by June 1947. Ongoing discussions are proceeding and focusing on the targets and goals for possible invasion scenarios.
It is highly recommended that each of these invasions be designed to trap as many Soviet units as possible, separating them from their bases of supply, and isolating them from their sources of command and control.
Recommendation for possible invasion sites:
Lebanon
Trieste
Salerno
Salonica
Possible invasions dates would start as early as 15 April 1947.
Naval forces should take every opportunity to hit Soviet forces with gunfire supported by air cover. The true extent of the strength of our Naval Air Arm should be hidden from the VVS and will play a major role in trapping Soviet forces worldwide.
18 Ton Ballerinas
Wait...wait...now! Easy, easy, common you beautiful thing...that’s right no
w keep the nose up. “How are we doing Wilkins?...over”
“Looks good Skip. The rest of the squadron is turning in unison. I never thought I see a squad of B-24s doing an aerial ballet. It looks real good from here and everything is nominal Skip...over.”
Okay rolling back to the port...nice and easy.
“Squadron...simulate a jink to the starboard on three, two, one, mark.”
Pull hard... rudder opposite keeping that nose up... come on don’t fail me now. God damn, you’re doing a thing of beauty here.
“Tail to Skipper... Watch Flying Wedge Skip she’s close to stalling out...over.”
“Copy...over.” Lieutenant Storm, get your speed up! You still have your trim flaps full.”
Jesus, who would have thought that I would have to help these guys fly as well as keep my bird in the air.
“Good call Tail...over.”
“How are the other squadrons doing Owens?..over”
“Remarkably well Skipper. It looks like number three has worked it out and their last maneuver was a thing of beauty...over”
“Good to hear...over.”
Owens had a ringside seat for some pretty amazing flying. We’ll let him tell the tale.
“When we first started it was awful. I mean bombers aren’t built to dodge and weave and especially when surrounded by other bombers. I mean everyone but LeMay knew it was possible, but no one was sure it could be done on a squadron level without putting other squadrons in danger.
Twelve B-24s dropping out of formation and making a tight turn in unison and then reforming with the rest of the bomber stream was quite a sight to behold. Yet, they were pulling it off. You really had to think in three dimensions to make it work and they had figured it out...in theory. We had yet to try it in combat. In fact, the whole 15th Air Force had yet to drop a bomb or see a Soviet fighter much less those missiles they shot at you.
The whole concept boiled down to the fact that those missiles were going so fast that a well-timed turn or change in altitude could make them miss. Well timed is the key. Make the maneuver too soon and the damn things adjusted. Make it too late, and well, it’s too late. The real challenge was timing and spacing.
The really new concept was that the maneuver involved the whole bomber stream. There was nothing new about turning in unison. Every time a squadron turned for home, they banked and turned together. They had that move down pat. It was everyone’s favorite part of every mission besides landing. The bomber stream followed as they got to the point where they had dropped their bombs.
They had all watched in envy as the fighters blithely jinked this way or that, and faked out the missiles. Very few fighters were shot down by either air to air or ground to air missiles anymore. Even a single bomber could just barely out maneuver one of Stalin’s Fire ground to air missiles if they did not have to worry about colliding with their neighbors. The air to air missiles were another matter and they would have to rely on the fighters to keep the launching platforms at arm’s length.
This new emphasis on squadron maneuvers might not have much effect on the actual hit rate of the missiles but it would have a huge effect on moral. The missiles seemed to always lock in on the lead bombers. Even if the whole squadron could not get out of the way of the missile, at least now the flight leaders had a fighting chance. The predictions were that the hit rate would go down only a small amount but that the damage would be more evenly spread out and not just the flight and squadron leaders.
Spreading out the damage was not emphasized or even spoken openly about. The goal was to lower the hit rate overall but everyone knew that it would have the effect of spreading out the danger more evenly. The missiles were focused so intently on their initial targets that it was easy to tell which squadron and even which plane it was locked on to and they very rarely deviated and chose another target. Knowing you’re the target of the missile meant two things for the plane in the crosshairs. One was a distinct advantage. The second was terrifying. Terrifying to know the missile was locked on to your plane and attempting to blow you and your crew to pieces.
The rule was that whatever squad started a turn first was given priority and until they had complete their evasive maneuver no adjoining squadron could leave the formation. If you left the bomber stream too soon you would be subject to charges. If you maneuvered too late you might get hit.
Any thinking person could see that this would not make much difference in the overall hit rate but is would boost the morale of the crews and at this point in the war that was critical. Twilling knew his men and how much they could take. This tiny gesture could just give him another month or so before it became apparent once again that they were not winning.
SAC was already at that point. The 15th would step in and take over for a while. He and his brand new but old, shiny B-24s were polished up and ready for action and they would give SAC a breather...a respite from the inevitable. Basically the bombers of the 15th were just more targets for the Reds to shoot at. They would be no more successful than the B-29s at reversing the oil production rate. They could and would slow it down and that was good enough in the eyes of the Joint Chiefs. That was good enough to justify their possible deaths. Sacrifices had to be made and they were.
15th Air Force - Moving Boxes
21 November 1946
Jonesy was a tail gunner in the Ypsilanti Queen B-24 bomber that was the tail end Charlie of the first box of 12 Squadron in the 7th raid on Baku. Over the last month, three raids had been sent with sorties of 500 or more bombers on each. The one raid where the planners pushed the envelope went through the deepest defended route. It was the fastest and most direct route and that is why it had the most flack batteries and missile installations. Their theory was the least amount of time you spent over enemy the fewer the losses. The planners’ theory was wrong.
The mission leader himself was lost along with 15% of the raid. It was the most devastating loss the Air Force had ever experienced in a single raid. 612 bombers entered enemy airspace and 522 returned to base. 99 crews and their planes were lost. Over 900 casualties were incurred. The next mission they tried something new, they had to.
The squadrons who had been practicing “Moving Boxes” were allowed to move their bomber box. Moving the box required an extreme amount of coordination and practice to prevent chaos during the maneuver. This simultaneous turning movement of a whole squadron was nicknamed the “Wiley Coyote.”
Figure 7- Typical Bomber Combat Box
The first five bomber boxes in this raid had all worked together before. The box that a missile was directed at was allowed to turn to port at the appropriate moment. The timing had to be precise and the choreographing well-rehearsed, to make it work.
The thought was that the Stalin’s Fire Missile was fairly easy to out maneuver if you were allowed to do so. Even a B-24 could prevent being hit if a hard turn and dive were performed. The fighters and medium bombers were doing it all the time and until today the Heavies had not been allowed to break formation. For the first time, the Heavies were to execute the new maneuver in squadron-sized formations.
The 15th had taken over the brunt of the sorties against the oil fields of the USSR. SAC was worn out and in desperate need of planes and personnel. LeMay had rolled the dice and lost. His men could not keep up with his ego and the B-29s were getting shot down faster than they could be made.
In the previous war, LeMay was a real advocate of change and of innovation. He had had a number of war winning ideas to his credit. He could rightfully take credit for the bombers’ box formation. There was a significant reduction in losses over Europe once the innovation was in place. Similarly, he recognized the Norden bombsight was of no use over Japan. The fast-moving river of air dissipated the bombs and accuracy was limited. LeMay’s brilliant and lucky response was to fly below this fast moving current of wind, striped the bombers of all their defensive guns and gunners. He had them pack the planes full of incendiaries. It had worked. Most raids of this type, kill
ed more Japanese civilians than the atomic bombs.[2]
For whatever reason, LeMay could not grasp that his current methods were not and would not work against the combination of flack, fighter planes, air to air missiles and surface to air missiles. He was locked into a mindset that did not let him admit defeat or let him change tactics. Consequently SAC’s losses had caused the Joint Chiefs to halt all operations and to turn it over to the 15th.
General Twining was in his element and operations were going smoothly as possible. The losses were unacceptable but within expectations. On this mission they were going to boost morale. The special Wiley Coyote squadrons were going to lead the way. They were to use their highly practiced maneuvering scheme to try and mitigate the Soviet SAM missiles. They were going to make the God Damn SAMs miss.
The moniker SAM had just recently caught on. It stood for Surface to Air Missile and was easy to say and remember. So SAM it was from this point forward. The Soviets would still call the missiles Stalin’s Fire but NATO called them SAMs.
The missiles fired from the Soviet medium bombers were given the name AAM for Air to Air Missile. Whatever their names, the various missiles were still very good at creating huge holes in the bombers’ combat boxes where the Soviet fighters could slip through for easier kills. In addition, the missiles were targeting the lead bombers and taking out the most experienced crews, adding to the demoralization of the units.
Jonesy had a ringside seat to the action behind him and he was an integral part in the formation flying they were about to engage in. The oil fields at Baku were spread out and dispersed after the initial raids. As Soviet repairs were completed, redundancy and camouflage were incorporated. It was very hard for the recon flights to discern what was wreckage and what was new construction made to look like wreckage. Some say that it was by accident and Soviet workmanship that the sites looked destroyed when others knew it was by design.
The Red White & Blue Page 3
