Kentucky's Tankers

Kentucky's Tankers This page is dedicated to the tankers of the 123rd Armor Regiment. The Kentucky Army National Guard was home to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Battalions.

A gathering place for tankers, cavalry, and troops of the 3 battalions of the 123rd Regiment of Armor and Cavalry of Kentucky.

11/09/2022

HMCS Mayflower (K191), circa 1942.

HMCS Mayflower was a "Flower" class corvette. She served most of the time in the Royal Canadian Navy, as an es**rt ship during the Battle of the Atlantic.

During her short service, HMCS Mayflower es**rted 38 transatlantic convoys. It's hard to imagine what people felt on such a small ship when crossing the Atlantic Ocean, especially in winter. Service life - from 1940 to 1949.

Colour by Alex Colors Studio

11/06/2022

RAF Short Sunderland crewman eats while on a North Atlantic Patrol in 1940
by Jecinci

Picture taken in a Short Sunderland Mark I based at RAF Mount Batten while on a North Atlantic Patrol in 1940.
The RAF Short Sunderland had a feature not many warplanes in WW2 had; a galley with a eating area, this area was even heated for those cold North Atlantic anti-submarine patrols.

LIFE Magazine Archives - William Vandivert Photographer
original&info via World War Pictures

11/06/2022

1944. Italian soldiers, possibly an operator from the “Istituto Luce” with a camera. The second holds an MAB 38. They wear jackets made from tent cloth “Telo tenda mod.29”. The tent cloth could be worn over the uniforms.

Italian Army camouflage tent cloth M29. On the four sides it has buttonholes and buttons for joining other sheets and a hole at each corner for the insert of a pole.. In the center it has an opening for the use of the cloth itself as a waterproof cape.

Combining different pieces of clothwould enable soldiers to build a tent, in fact it was delivered together with parts of steel sticks and stakes. With the use of more sheets, more or less large tents could be built. The camouflage was formed by reddish blotches shaped and rounded with green and havana splashes. The reverse did not have a real camouflage, but was reddish in color.

Colour by Roberto ROCOlor

11/03/2022

Paddy Mayne near Kabrit, Egypt, in 1942
by Jecinci

Lieutenant Colonel Robert Blair "Paddy" Mayne,
DSO & Three Bars
(11 January 1915 – 14 December 1955)

British Army officer from Newtownards, a town in County Down, Northern Ireland, capped for Ireland and the British Lions at rugby union, lawyer, amateur boxer, and a founding member of the Special Air Service (SAS).

During the course of the Second World War, Mayne became one of the British Army's most highly decorated soldiers. He was controversially denied a Victoria Cross.

11/01/2022

Men of the 2/31st Australian Infantry Battalion having a bathe in the Brown River, between Nauro and Menari, Papua, New Guinea, 4-6 October 1942.

It was their first wash for about five days, during the advance of the 25th Australian Infantry Brigade, chasing the Japanese across the Owen Stanley Ranges. The Bren gunner on the left is on watch for any stray Japanese soldiers who may still be in the area.

Originally listed as taken in September, I've trawled through the 2/31st AIF unit diary and identified the most likely dates of this photo. The battalion had left Brisbane in early September for Port Moresby and had an early taste of the poor conditions that lay ahead. On 11 September, they recorded:

'Transported by lorries as far as Uberi Track which was traficable. Proceeded per foot along Uberi trail - through Owens Corner down to Goldie River - up to Uberi where night was spent. This track was particularly tough - single file - mud up to knees - slippery.'

During the following month they had repeated contact with the enemy, amidst mixed weather conditions. This period spanned the subsequent Battle of Ioribaiwa, between 14-16 September, during the Kokoda Track campaign.

The 2/31st arrived at Ioribaiwa on 15 September, but almost immediately were forced to pull back to Imita Ridge. The Japanese, however, had exhausted their supply lines and were unable to follow and thus Australian forces were able to begin their own advance.

By early October, the battalion had moved to the top of a hill between Ioribaiwa and Nauru. (The unit diary abbreviates the enemy, which admittedly would now be considered as a racist slur, however I have left it stand for the purpose of historical accuracy):

On 2 October: - 'Track very steep but surface good. Past considerable Japanese Field Works and Gun emplacements from which Ioribaiwa had been shelled. The range was point blank. Much Japanese amm had been abandoned, also water purification apparatus.

Relief came a few days later: 'No sign of enemy. Past from hill above Nauro through the village to biv[ouac] area N of Nauro and on banks of Brown River. Troops enjoyed a swim, washed clothes.'

The following day, planes dropped stores to the battalion and further supplies were obtained from the Nauro supply dump. A day later, the battalion rested at the biv area, more swimming and washing. Rest very beneficial.'

The battalion would continue to experience the hardships of the New Guinea campaign throughout the remainder of 1942 before embarking in January 1943 to Australia for a six month period.

Colour by Benjamin Colours of Yesterday

Photographer: Warrant Officer (later Lieutenant) Thomas Fisher, NX17395, Official Photographer
Image courtesy of the Australian War Memorial

10/31/2022

An F-5E (Reconnaissance variant of the P-38J) from the 7th PRG - 22nd PS, rising into the bright sunshine over the English countryside during the first few days of D-Day.

Photo: WikiCommons Ref: N/A.

Image Repair & Colourisation - Nathan Howland HowdiColour Image Recovery & Colour

10/31/2022

Native scouts leading U.S. Marines of the 1st div. up the Tenaru River before the Japanese were driven from Guadalcanal. 1943-01-04, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands

A few days after the Marines had established a toehold on the island of Guadalcanal, a trio of natives appeared at the mouth of the Tenaru River. One of the individuals spoke English, and he offered their services to the Leathernecks as scouts. A tall, muscular man, he explained he had retired from the native constabulary as a sergeant major but had fled from his home when the Japanese had invaded his beloved Solomon Islands. Realizing his value, a group of Marines quickly whisked him to the CP to be briefed. He shook the hand of division intelligence officer Lt. Col. Edmund J. Buckley and introduced himself: “I am Sergeant Major Jacob Vouza.”

Native scouts were a tremendous asset to the Marines during the Guadalcanal campaign. These select men had been recruited and trained by the British for law enforcement purposes. Together with men like Captain Martin Clemens, a coastwatcher and former official in the civil government, this dedicated group of men provided the Marines with information on enemy troop movements while also serving as guides through Guadalcanal’s often tricky terrain and as laborers.

Vouza volunteered to scout behind enemy lines. On 20 August, while scouting for suspected Japanese outposts, Vouza was captured by men of the Ichiki Detachment, a battalion-strength force of the Japanese 28th Infantry Regiment. Having found a small American flag in Vouza's loincloth, the Japanese tied him to a tree and tortured him for information about Allied forces. Vouza was questioned for hours, but refused to talk. He was then bayoneted in both of his arms, throat, shoulder, face, and stomach, and left to die.

Leaving him for dead, the Japanese departed. When the indomitable islander awoke, he gnawed his way through the ropes and began to make his way back to friendly lines. Although weakened and near death, Vouza crawled for nearly four miles. Discovered by Martin Clemens, who could “barely look at him” because of the severity of his wounds, he was taken to an aid station. Before being treated, he informed Clemens of the size and location of the Japanese forces approaching the Marine perimeter.

Remarkably, the determined islander ultimately survived his horrendous ordeal. After spending 12 days in the hospital and receiving 16 pints of blood, Vouza returned to duty as the chief scout for the Marines. He continued to lead other patrols throughout the remainder of the struggle for Guadalcanal.

For his exemplary bravery, he was presented with the Silver Star and Legion of Merit. In addition, he was awarded Great Britain’s George Medal. Also, a scholarship fund was set up in his name to assist underprivileged Solomon Island children in attaining a better education. In 1979, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II. He was now the Honorable Sergeant Major Sir Jacob Vouza.

Revisiting Guadalcanal years after the war, The Marine Raider Association placed a bronze plaque on a granite block, which read: “We dedicate to SERGEANT MAJOR JACOB VOUZA and his SOLOMON ISLAND SCOUTS for supreme intrepidity and valour in the face of the enemy during the struggle for Guadalcanal 1942-43.”

Vouza passed away in 1984. The stone block with the bronze tablet became his headstone.

Colourised PIECE of JAKE

Caption: Al Hemingway
Photographer: Cpl. Robert Brennen
Original Image Source: U.S. Marine Corps

10/31/2022

10 September 1944.
Soldiers of 'B' Company, 16th Infantry Regiment, US 1st Infantry Division, advancing through Battice in Belgium, en route to Aachen.

After D-Day, the 16th Infantry became the division reserve, and after a brief rest, continued moving inland. In late July, the regiment was still in division reserve when it was ordered to be prepared to assist in a breakout through the German line near St. Lo. After the saturation bombing of the Panzer Lehr Division on 25 July, the Big Red One closely followed the 9th Infantry Division in the breakout attempt.

Two days later the 16th Infantry was launched on an attack through a break in the lines near Marigny and drove on the city of Coutance where it established battle positions on 29 July. By this time, the Germans were in headlong retreat and attempting to establish a new line well to the east. Their efforts would fail and the German Seventh Army would be largely destroyed as it attempted to escape via the Falaise Gap. Meanwhile, in an effort to keep up with the retreating Germans, the men of the 16th Infantry piled on trucks, tanks, and anything else they could find to move eastward as quickly as possible. After motoring south past Paris, the regiment caught up with the enemy again near Mons, Belgium, where it helped the 1st Infantry Division destroyed six German divisions in August and early September.

From Mons, the regiment pushed on with the Big Red One toward Aachen, Germany, just across the German frontier. For the next three months, the men of the 16th Infantry would experience some of the most grueling fighting of the war in the infamous Hürtgen Forest near Aachen, Stolberg, and Hamich, Germany.

After sustaining very heavy casualties from enemy artillery fire and the cold dreary weather, the entire division was sent to a rest camp on 12 December 1944. The stay was short, because Hi**er launched Operation Wacht am Rhein four days later and the Battle of the Bulge was on. The division was sent to bolster the northern shoulder of the bulge near Camp Elsenborn.

The regiment was ordered to positions near Waywertz. For the next month, the men of the 16th Infantry held defensive positions there, conducted heavy patrolling toward the German positions near Faymonville, and engaged in a number of firefights with troops of the 1st SS Panzer and 3rd Fallshirmjaeger Divisions. All of this was conducted in heavy snows during one of the coldest European winters on record.

(16thinfassn.org)
(Colour by Doug)

10/31/2022

"Rip" in 1941

A mixed-breed terrier, Rip was a Second World War search and rescue dog who was awarded the Dickin Medal for bravery in 1945. He was found in Poplar, London, in 1940 by an Air Raid warden, and became the service's first search and rescue dog.

Rip was not trained for search and rescue work, but took to it instinctively.
In twelve months between 1940 and 1941, he found over 100 victims of the air raids in London.
His success has been held partially responsible for prompting the authorities to train search and rescue dogs towards the end of World War II.

He was the first of twelve Dickin Medal winners to be buried in the PDSA's cemetery in Ilford, Essex.

Colorized by Jecinci

10/31/2022

WITOLD PILECKI
The only known voluntary inmate of Auschwitz, who spent two and a half years gathering intelligence from within the camp.

In 1947 he was arrested by Poland's communist authorities (the secret police) on charges of working for "foreign imperialism" and, after being subjected to torture and a show trial, was executed in 1948.

Witold Pilecki
13 May 1901 – 25 May 1948
Codenames Roman Jezierski, Tomasz Serafiński, Druh, Witold
Polish cavalry officer, intelligence agent, and resistance leader.

"The game which I was now playing in Auschwitz was dangerous. This sentence does not really convey the reality; in fact, I had gone far beyond what people in the real world would consider dangerous…"

by Jecinci

10/30/2022

Tanks of Combat Command A, 11th Armored Division, ford the Muhl River near Neufelden, Austria. 4 May 1945.

by Jecinci

10/30/2022

"The R**e of the Daughters of Leucippus"

A GI from George S. Patton's 3rd Army, pretends to sleep in Hermann Goering's bed, at Veldenstein castle, in Newhaus, Germany - 1945
by Jecinci

Hanging above the bed, is "The R**e of the Daughters of Leucippus"(reproduction), a 1618 painting by Peter Paul Rubens and Jan Wildens, now displayed at the Alte Pinakothek in Munich.

Veldenstein castle is a large medieval fortification situated above the town of Neuhaus an der Pegnitz, about 30 km North East of Nuremburg. Hermann Göring bought the castle in 1939 and had it renovated, including an air-raid bunker in the lower sections. However, he would not donate money for a swimming pool in the town, saying, "If I can bathe my ass in the Pegnitz River, so can the Neuhaus people." It now houses an Hotel and Restaurant.

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214 Wilson Square
Evansville, IN
47715

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Thursday 2pm - 8pm
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(812) 549-1343

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