Tag: USAAF

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Hot Stuff

Arguably, the greatest combat contribution of any Hollywood celebrity during World War II was Jimmy Stewart (as opposed to Clark Gable and his photo ops). Stewart entered the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) as a private immediately following Pearl Harbor. Already a licensed pilot, Stewart demanded to be treated as any other enlisted man and by 1943, he was a pilot in the 445th Bombardment Group. In November of that year, the 445th was assigned to RAF Tibenham air base in England. Stewart flew twenty-five missions as a commander of a bomb squadron of B-24s and twenty uncredited missions before being sent home. He was promoted to major in January 1944 and was a full-bird colonel after his service was up. Jimmy Stewart was awarded the Croix de Guerre by Gen. de Gaulle as well as two Distinguished Flying Crosses. Stewart went into the Air Force Reserves and was promoted to brigadier general (one star). On 23 May 1985, President Reagan honored Stewart with the Presidential Medal of Freedom and promoted him to major general (two stars).

Maj. James Stewart confers with a B-24 crew member. Photo by anonymous (c. 1943). PD-U.S. Government. Wikimedia Commons.
Maj. James Stewart confers with a B-24 crew member. Photo by anonymous (c. 1943). PD-U.S. Government. Wikimedia Commons.
Memorial to USAAF Tibenham. Photo by Keith Evans (18 July 2008). PD-CCA 2.0 Generic. Wikimedia Commons.
Memorial to USAAF Tibenham. Photo by Keith Evans (18 July 2008). PD-CCA 2.0 Generic. Wikimedia Commons.

Today’s blog isn’t about Jimmy Stewart. It’s about the heavy bomber he flew: the B-24, or “Liberator.” We will highlight one plane known by its nose art as “Hot Stuff.” This blog also has a special meaning for my family. My paternal grandmother was a “Rosie the Riveter” during the war. She lived in San Diego and worked at the Consolidated Aircraft factory where B-24s were manufactured. Elsie Ross was assigned to the production line that built the wings for the B-24s. It is very likely she worked on the wings of the B-24 that would eventually be named Hot Stuff.

Women working on a fuselage component for the B-24 at Consolidated Aircraft. Photo by Howard R. Hollem (c. October 1942). PD-U.S. Government. Wikimedia Commons.
Women working on a fuselage component for the B-24 at Consolidated Aircraft. Photo by Howard R. Hollem (c. October 1942). PD-U.S. Government. Wikimedia Commons.

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Heavy Water

Toward the end of World War II, Hitler and his generals were anxiously waiting for the “miracle weapons” to turn the tide of war in their favor. There were two new weapons that the Nazis had developed which ultimately proved ineffective: a jet fighter and the electro-U-boat. How close did they come to using them against the enemy? More than one thousand jet planes, the Messerschmitt Me 262, were produced and put into action by mid-1944. The Allied fighter planes were no match for the Me 262 in the air. However, very few of the jets ever left the ground. German oil refineries were destroyed thereby limiting the availability of jet fuel. Second, runways had to be extended to accommodate the jets. When they saw the altered runways, Allied bomber and attack plane pilots knew the jets were parked nearby and went out of their way to target them. So, most of the Me 262s were destroyed on the ground and the jets never had any significant impact on the course of the war. Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz (1891−1980) promised Hitler that 126 new electro-U-boats would be put out to sea to once again wreak havoc on British/American shipping lanes. Only two were ever launched and like the jet, never lived up to expectations.

Hydroelectric plant where heavy water was manufactured and stored underground. The building was demolished in 1971. Photo by anonymous (date unknown). Gausta Telemark Norway. www.gausta.com.
Site of the former hydroelectric plant where heavy water was manufactured underground. The building which stood in front of the plant facility, was demolished in 1971. Photo by anonymous (date unknown). Gausta Telemark Norway. www.gausta.com.

The third “miracle weapon” and the one that worried Roosevelt and Churchill the most was the development of the German atomic bomb. After Frédéric and Irène Joliot-Curie wrote that atomic fission was possible and could be used to develop a powerful weapon, Hitler decided to begin his atomic weapons program in 1939. It needed two very important components to be successful: uranium and heavy water. The problem for the Nazis turned out to be heavy water was very scarce and hard to produce. That problem was soon solved after Germany invaded Norway on 9 April 1940. The Vemork Norsk Hydro plant near Rjukan, Norway was capable of producing heavy water. Read More Heavy Water