WWII secrets...

[bil_maxx]

I recently came across information that states that Naval Command may have left the fleet at Pearl Harbor even with the Japanese attack imminent because of the depth of the water in the harbor. The argument being that kamikaze planes had caused massive amounts of damage to even huge battleships and carriers and that rescuing sailors was much easier in the shallow waters of Pearl rather than in the depths of the Pacific Ocean. Also, it was felt that with the attack concentrated in one spot, it was easier to defend against.

Makes for one heck of a secret it it's true.

I too would like to know where the Nazis ended up putting the Amber Room by-the-way.

What did Roosevelt know, and when did he know it?

Answer me that one will ya!?

-dixon cannon

 

[Bluebird Marsha]

^^^
The Japanese didn't use planned kamikaze attacks until late in the war. Damage to Allied carriers and battleships by the IJN first occurred during the attack on Pearl, and during the attacks on Britain's Repulse and Prince of Wales a couple of days later. I doubt that the commanders of the Pacific Fleet would have made any plans based on the assumption that the fleet was going to be sunk.

I wish the Amber Room would turn up, but I have an unsupported suspicion a bomb took it out.

 

[HodgePodge]

How about how many Japanese soldiers got to west coast of the U.S. and how close the Nazis got to the east coast?

Sincerely,
the Wolf

Japanese submarines got close enough to do some minor shelling on the west coast. There are U-boat wrecks up and down the US east coast, U-Boats caused a good deal of trouble in the mouth of the St. Lawrence river, and a number of spy missions, launched from U-boats, made landfall in both the US and Canada. So, *that* close.

 

[Two Types]

Where the tunnel is which links Thurleigh/Twinwoods airfield to a local country mansion next to the London rail line, right in the middle of the 'Bedford Triangle'.

Apparently used for absolute secrecy on insertion missions. Not even the pilot got to see who was getting in. I used to work on the airfield and never managed to confirm this urban myth.

I lived close to the airfield for all of my childhood. If a tunnel did exist, you can guarantee that local kids would have found it at some time between 1945 and 1984 (when i left the area). I never even heard of the tunnel until the book 'The Bedford Triangle' was published.

My father always used to tell me that Glenn Miller didn't die in a plane crash. Instead he was still living in one of the barns up at the farm at Twinwoods! (not very likely)

Another story that circulated in the area was that Miller died of throat cancer and was secretly buried in the churchyard at Milton Ernest. (slightly more believable)

Personally, I doubt both versions!

 

[Rathdown]

I'd love to know (more) about the understanding reached between the Irish Free State (as then officially was - recognition of the 26 counties as an independent republic wasn't forthcoming from Britain until 1949) and the British. Officially neutral in the war, the Free State managed to ignore a radio in the german embassy for some time - as well as smuggling RAF aircrew shot down over Ireland back up over the border. Apparently this happened on a number of occasions. Most intriguingly, it is said that Churchill told deValera he'd "see what could be done" about Northern Ireland being handed over to Dublin rule following the war in exchange for deV ensuring that Irish neutrality was preserved and no advantage given to Germany. And of course there were many Irish boys from the Free State who joined the British forces and fought in WW2. Bearing in mind the Free State had been a reality for nearly 20 years by 1939, there must have been some interesting politics / issues of identity tied up in there. Not the mystery that some things mentioned above are, but certai nly something that is of interest.

In 1937 Ireland officially changed it's name from The Irish Free State to Eire (Ireland in the English Language) when it adopted a new constitution. At that time the Governor General was replaced by the President of Ireland, and such was the status at the outbreak of hostilities in 1939. Even though Ireland chose not to enter the war, those RAF air crews who ended up in Ireland most definitely were not smuggled back across the border into Northern Ireland. Two Royal Navy officers did leave Ireland while on parole to Dublin, and both were returned by British authorities. Likewise, one German internee was executed in the German camp, by German military personnel, following a court martial for an assault against an Irish civilian, and was buried in an unmarked grave in the German military cemetery at Glencullen, Co. Wicklow. Despite its neutrality, more than 30,000 Irish men enlisted in the British forces during "The Emergency" as we euphemistically called the Second World War in Ireland.

There was never any discussion of handing over the six Northern counties to the Irish Government-- official or otherwise-- in exchange for Irish neutrality. There were, however, definite plans for a joint allied-Irish response should Germany (1) continue to "accidentally" bomb the republic, or (2) should the Germans attempt to invade the country. It should be remembered that when Belfast was fire bombed by the Germans, every available fire engine, along with every available fireman, was sent from Ireland to the Ulster Province to fight the fires. Had German troops invaded Ulster, Ireland most likely would have responded by sending troops to repel the invaders as the Irish constitution (at that time) specifically stated that Ireland was composed of the entire 32 counties.

All accredited Embassies in Ireland, including the British Embassy, were allowed the courtesy of openly communicating with their respective governments throughout the duration of the 1939-45 war in Europe. And no, there weren't Nazi submarine pens in the west of Ireland; there is, however, a WWI German submarine lying at the bottom of the bay in Killybegs, Co. Donegal, scuttled there at the end of the Great War.

The big question is what happened to the £2 million in gold that was withdrawn from the German embassy bank accounts in Dublin the day before the official announcement of Hitler's death?

 

[Story]

A leading German industrialist who saved hundreds of Jews during World War II, has died aged 99, his company said. Berthold Beitz headed the ThyssenKrupp corporation, one of the world's largest steel producers. He passed away on Tuesday, the firm said in a statement. Mr Beitz was internationally recognised for saving Jews in occupied Poland from being transferred to Nazi death camps.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23522382

 

[Otter]

Interesting reading!
IIRC the Shingle Street files were declassified around a year ago. They had been classified as it was full of letters complaining about troops in the area breaking into and damaging evacuated properties. Naturaly the owners of said were claiming compensation. The files were sealed as some thought that the persons claiming compensation in a time of war could be seen as unpatriotic and the files were sealed to ensure the names would not come to light until the persons involved would be dead.

The charred bodies found along the coast at that time were probably a result of RAF raids on the invasion ports.

 

[skelly]

Did the Germans really have a device called 'the bell' ?
What happened to Hans Kammler ?
Was the Philladelphia experiment a work of fantasy ?
What were foo fighters ?

 

[rocketeer]

What were foo fighters ?

A guy into this sort of thing told me a Foo fighter was a special force assembled to shoot down UFO's.

My most wanted secret? As there was food rationing during WWII and some of the 1950s, how come Winston Churchill stayed so fat!
J

 

[Story]

Researchers have apparently discovered the remains of a World War II-era German U-boat and the skeletons of its crew off the coast of Indonesia. Experts say it's an unprecedented find that could provide insight into how the war was fought in the South West Pacific theater.
http://abcnews.go.com/International/world-war-ii-boat-found-skeletons/story?id=20984934

 

[the hairy bloke]

I was told that a Foo Fighter was the hallucination caused by too many combat missions for USN & USMC pilots in the Pacific, who saw streaks of fire.

Churchill stayed fat on a high calory diet of brandy smuggled out by the Resistance. Most of the major wine and spirit producers in France preferred to get the good stuff out to the Allies, while fobbing the WeinFuhrers off with stuff I wouldn't put on my chips (the fabled '39). Yes, I am re-reading "Wine and War" by the Kladstrups.

What I would like to know more about are the ex-International Brigade Home Guard units.

 

[A Bomber General]

I would like to know what intelligence the Dutch had regarding the imminent attack on Pearl Harbor and whether that intelligence was shared with US Navy, specifically in the Philippines. The voyage of the Tatsuta Maru also is of great interest.

 

[Stanley Doble]

What the hell was Hitler thinking when he started the war? How could he think it was a good idea?

Battle of Britain, why did he call off the invasion of England when he had them on the ropes?

What was Rudolf Hess up to?

Probably basic questions for you WW2 experts but they puzzle me.

 

[Sharpsburg]

Great questions, Stanley! I have always wondered about the BOB esp.

 

[Otter]

Lol, one of the forums I used to frequent had an endless mobius thread all about operation Sealion. Best guess is without air supremacy there was no way an invasion force could be put ashore and supplied for more than a few days. Look at Overlord, they never tried to take a port, just brought two with them.

 

[Stanley Doble]

Lol, one of the forums I used to frequent had an endless mobius thread all about operation Sealion. Best guess is without air supremacy there was no way an invasion force could be put ashore and supplied for more than a few days. Look at Overlord, they never tried to take a port, just brought two with them.

But they had the RAF beaten. There is a story that during the Battle of Britain Churchill visited an airfield where fighter planes were continually landing, refueling and taking off. He asked the officer in charge "where are your reserves?" the officer pointed to the planes being refueled and said "there".

 

[Captain Nemo]

Lol, one of the forums I used to frequent had an endless mobius thread all about operation Sealion. Best guess is without air supremacy there was no way an invasion force could be put ashore and supplied for more than a few days. Look at Overlord, they never tried to take a port, just brought two with them.

That would seem logical. OVERLORD was difficult enough with the logistic problems the allies encountered and that is with having naval and air supremacy. The allies had plenty of transport and over two years worth of lessons learned in amphibious invasions, and still a lot of things went wrong.

 

[the hairy bloke]

Something has popped into my head: a "secret" if it is one.

Some years ago I watched a BBC drama documentary about the D-Day landings, this was from the perspective of the German commanders.

I believe Rommel was the overall boss for that part of the World, but he was in Berlin (why? The Germans knew the invasion was coming, they just believed it to be somewhere else).

His 2iC managed to misdirect fresh and armoured units all over the place. After the War said officer (I forget his name) was made supreme commander of Nato.

Suspicious or what?

Had the Allies turned Rommel and some of his followers?

Thoughts on this, please.

 

[Otter]

After the reaction to Overlord I suspect that they thought he might have been tied in with the Operation Valkerie von Stauffenberg attempted Coup.
Mind you, rommel was often quoted as saying that they needed to beat the Allies on the invasion beaches, if the got a bridgehead then it was all over.

 

[the hairy bloke]

There were plenty of German generals who might have been tied in with the Stauffenberg plot. Why this one? Especially one who seemed at first sight to have mucked up a defence to invasion.

Unless he had decided that the War had to be finished as easily as militarily possible, or he had been turned (Canaris was working, as far as he could, against the Nazis).