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 Post subject: Operation Torch 1942 ...
PostPosted: Fri Sep 23, 2016 3:03 pm 
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Per Wiki: Operation Torch was the British-American invasion of French North Africa during the North African Campaign of the Second World War which started on 8 November 1942
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Torch

Another nice LIFE series covering the landing at Morocco (or attempted landing) of several aircraft from the USS Ranger.

Part 1

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Last edited by Mark Allen M on Fri Sep 23, 2016 4:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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PostPosted: Fri Sep 23, 2016 3:37 pm 
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Part 2

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PostPosted: Fri Sep 23, 2016 3:39 pm 
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Part 3

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PostPosted: Fri Sep 23, 2016 3:41 pm 
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Part 4

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PostPosted: Fri Sep 23, 2016 3:55 pm 
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Part 5

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M. D. Mokos, Photographer's Mate Second Class Gives the "thumbs-up" gesture as Lieutenant C. V. Johnson, USN, the pilot, prepares to take off on a photo-recon "hop" from USS RANGER (CV-4) during operation "Torch." The plane is a Douglas SBD-3 "Dauntless" form VS-41. Note code on side, 41-S-3; details of flaps; "Torch" markings (yellow surround to star).

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Douglas SBD-3 Dauntless scout bomber The plane's radioman-gunner test fires his twin .30 caliber machine guns, while on an aircraft carrier's flight deck. The yellow marking around the national insignia indicates that this photograph was taken during Operation Torch, the November 1942 invasion of North Africa. Two other sailors are observing, with one slightly protecting his hearing by holding a finger in one ear. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.

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Grumman F4F-4 Wildcat fighter (nicknamed Rosenblatt's Reply) On board USS Suwanee (ACV-27), circa late 1942 or early 1943. The plane bears traces of the yellow Operation Torch marking around its national insignia. Photographed by Ensign Barrett Gallagher, USNR. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.

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Douglas SBD-3 Dauntless scout bomber The plane's radioman-gunner test fires his twin .30 caliber machine guns, while on an aircraft carrier's flight deck. The yellow marking around the national insignia indicates that this photograph was taken during Operation Torch, the November 1942 invasion of North Africa. Two other sailors are observing, with one slightly protecting his hearing by holding a finger in one ear

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Grumman TBF-1 "Avenger" torpedo bomber Being hoisted aboard USS SANTEE (ACV-29) at Norfolk, Virginia, just before she sailed to take part in Operation Torch, November 1942. Photographed by Lieutenant Horace Bristol, USNR

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Lieutenant Junior Grade W. L. McVay, Jr., A-V (N), USNR (L), watches his radio-gunner, K. W. Jobe, ARM2c, check the flexible .30-clas. MGS in their Douglas SBD-3 "Dauntless" of VS-41 during operation "Torch," November 1942, on board USS RANGER (CV-4).

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Grumman F4F-4 "Wildcat" Fitted with drop tanks, of VF-4 takes off from USS RANGER (CV-4) on a photo-recon mission over French North Africa, during operation "Torch," November 1942. Note yellow surround to fuselage star, which partially obscures the fuselage number, "28."

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USS RANGER (CV-4) Plane captains "standing by" their planes--Grumman F4F-4s form VF-9--as pilots receive last minute instructions below, in November 1942, during operation "Torch." Note large-size ensign flying from RANGER's gaff, also CXAM-1 radar and YE "Mayrake" at the truck.

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PostPosted: Fri Sep 23, 2016 4:02 pm 
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Part 6

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USS RANGER (CV-4) Plane captain catches a few winks with a chock for his pillow, during "stand by" to flight quarters, during operation "Torch" in November 1942, beneath a Grumman F4F-4 "Wildcat." Tires are "Silvertownes."

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Douglas SBD "Dauntless" Dive bombers, from USS RANGER (CV-4), flying in a "V" formation during operation "Torch," in November 1942, returning from strikes on gun emplacements and ships off Casablanca, French Morocco.

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Piper L-4 "CUB" (236389) Named "Elizabeth" is being brought to the flight deck of USS RANGER (CV-4) via an elevator, to spot gunfire and carry out reconnaissance near French positions, during operation "Torch" in November 1942. Note yellow surround to fuselage star.

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Piper L-4 "CUB" (236389) Named "Elizabeth" prepares to take off from the flight deck of USS RANGER (CV-4), to spot gunfire and carry out reconnaissance near French positions, during operation "Torch" in November 1942.

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Piper L-4 "CUB" (236389) takes off from the flight deck of USS RANGER (CV-4), to spot gunfire and carry out reconnaissance near French positions, during operation "Torch" in November 1942

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Piper L-4 "CUB" (236389) takes off from the flight deck of USS RANGER (CV-4), to spot gunfire and carry out reconnaissance near French positions, during operation "Torch" in November 1942

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PostPosted: Fri Sep 23, 2016 4:11 pm 
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Part 7

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Grumman TBF-1 "Avenger" Being spotted on the flight deck of USS RANGER (CV-4) in November 1942, during operation "Torch." Plane bears the letter "C" at the tip of the fin, indicating this is probably the aircraft assigned to the Commander, RANGER air group, Commander D. B. Overfield, USN.

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W. T. Chamberlain, AMM3c Relaxes on the wing of a Grumman F4F-4 "Wildcat", 9-F-12 (assigned to VF-9) during operation "Torch," in November 1942, on board USS RANGER (CV-4). Note how the "9" of the fuselage coding overlaps the yellow surround to the fuselage star.

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Grumman TBF-1 "Avengers" Spotted on the flight deck of USS RANGER (CV-4) in November 1942, en route to North Africa and Operation "Torch.

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Douglas SBD-3 "Dauntless" On board USS RANGER (CV-4), during operation "Torch" in November 1942. Ordnancemen mount a 1000-pound bomb beneath the plane's belly. Note canvas duck covers in use on the 5"/38 cal. gun in the gallery (L).

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North Africa Operation, November 1942 Testing machine guns of Grumman F4F-4 Wildcat fighters aboard USS Ranger (CV-4), while en route from the U.S. to North African waters, circa early November 1942. Note the special markings used during this operation, with a yellow ring painted around the national insignia on aircraft fuselages.

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North African Invasion, 1942 Crewmembers of USS RANGER (CV-4) rush aft to look for a submarine that had been reported astern, during the North African Invasion, November 1942. Planes on deck are F4F-4 fighters and SBD-3 bombers.

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PostPosted: Fri Sep 23, 2016 4:20 pm 
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Part 8

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North African Invasion, 1942 Douglas SBD scout plane, from USS RANGER (CV-4) flies anti submarine patrol over the invasion convoy, while en route to North Africa, in November 1942.

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USS SANTEE (CVE-29) SBD and F4F-4 aircraft on the flight deck, while SANTEE was en route to participate in the North African invasion, circa early November 1942. Photographed by Lieutenant Horace Bristol, USNR.

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North Africa Operation, November 1942 Invasion convoy enroute to Morocco, circa early November 1942. Ships include more than twenty transports, with USS TEXAS (BB-35) and USS AUGUSTA (CA-31) in the distance. Photographed from an SBD off one of the invasion force aircraft carriers.

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North African Invasion, 1942 Damaged navy planes at the Safi airfield, Morocco, 12 November 1942. The two SBD-3 "Dauntless" bombers in the foreground appear to have been damaged in landing accidents on the soft ground at this field. Note very old French transport plane in background.

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North African Invasion, 1942 An F4F "Wildcat" fighter on its back at the Safi airfield, Morocco, 12 November 1942, after nosing over on the soft ground.


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PostPosted: Fri Sep 23, 2016 6:47 pm 
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Thanks for posting Mark
As a photog myself I am often amazed at the quality and composition of pics taken during WWII
I wonder whether ... if I had been there then .. but with a modern digital camera I could have done better ... and in many cases the answer is no


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PostPosted: Fri Sep 23, 2016 7:28 pm 
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Wow Mark, those are some of the most amazing pictures you have posted to date.


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PostPosted: Fri Sep 23, 2016 7:34 pm 
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Mark Allen M wrote:
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Note very old French transport plane in background.

Great stuff as always, Mark! Can anyone ID the "old French transport plane" in these two photos?

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PostPosted: Sat Sep 24, 2016 11:56 pm 
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USS CHENANGO (CVE-28) ferrying army P-40F fighters to Morocco, with the North African Invasion force, November 1942.

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Army Curtiss P-40F fighters in the hanger deck of USS CHENANGO (ACV-28), to be ferried to North Africa with the invasion force. Photographed at Norfolk, Virginia, 15 October 1942.

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Daniel Rathbun and his P-40 fighter take off from USS CHENANGO (CVE-28), to fly shore for combat operations in Morocco, about 10 November 1942. Note U.S. flag markings, and bridle from catapult behind the plane.


The following is a personal account of Daniel B. Rathbun and the first Army Air Force P-40 squadron which was transported and launched off the escort carrier USS Chenango and subsequently landed at Port Lyautey as part of Operation Torch.

"My plane was on a catapult on the bow where it would be the first plane to be catapulted-off when we arrived at our unknown destination. In the meantime, we “stood watch” in our planes. I remember being chiefly interested in the sharp changes in the rate-of-climb indicator in the plane as the bow of the small carrier went up, up, up, and then down, down, down.

The next morning, the “fog of war” descended. We were about 100 miles offshore and ready to go, but word had been received that the field in Port Lyautey had not been taken. Our Group CO, doubtless harking back to Tripoli and the war with the Barbary Pirates, and to Mobile Bay in the Civil War, assumed a “darn the torpedoes” attitude and ordered, “Shoot Rathbun and his wingman off and we will see what the situation is.” So off we went. There was no way of returning to the Chenango since we had no arresting gear and the flight deck was filled with other P-40s.

When we reached Port Lyautey, we could see cruisers, destroyers, amphibious-assault and merchant ships offshore, many sending small landing craft to the beaches. The sight that interested me the most involved several bomb craters on the concrete runway, all made by our Navy planes in an effort to immobilize French aircraft. There were grass fields on both sides of the North--South runway but they had been flooded and pools of water remained on the grass. While the craters were big and the debris field on the north end of the runway covered the entire width of the runway, I decided to try to land just beyond the first crater and then slip past the crater farther down the runway.

Craters aside, the runway was short–approximately 1,800-2,000 feet long–and landing just past the first crater left not more than 1,000 feet of runway. Therefore, I had to land at the lowest possible speed. Alas, the plane stalled just as I reached the first crater, dropping the wheels into the crater and wiping off the landing gear.

I came to rest out on the grass on the west side of the runway, shaken but not injured. My wingman, a bright young man by the name of Dowd, saw what happened so he decided to try the grass on the west side of the runway. He made a good landing, but the wheels sank into the muddy ground and he nosed up, damaging the propeller and knocking the engine out of line.

After getting out of the plane, I knew that I had to do what I could to stop the other planes. I ran to the destroyer USS Dallas, tied up to a pier in the river that formed the northern and eastern edges of the airfield, and asked that the ship send a message to the Chenango that further launches should be canceled. I don’t know how rapidly the message was transmitted; I do know that forty-five minutes later, more planes arrived, led by our group CO.

Before the planes arrived, two events took place. First, I saw an American tank on the field and thought that the tank could help us clear the runway. Having driven Caterpillar tractors for a living, I knew that by locking one track and wheeling, the tank could push debris back into the craters. I ran to the tank and asked the soldier in the turret if he could help me. He agreed and we proceeded to the first crater, where he tried to fill the crater, with very limited success. A good bit of debris was moved into the crater, but the tank had no way of tamping-down the chunks of concrete and dirt, an essential step if the runway were to be made serviceable. So much for runway repair.

While this was going on, an American cruiser offshore was firing twelve-inch shells at a fort east of the airfield. I was surprised and fascinated by the fact that I could both see and hear the shells as they passed over the airfield. I never did learn if the shells hit the target.

When the group CO appeared, he decided to land on the extreme northern end of the runway. Unfortunately for him, there was a sharp drop in terrain off the end of the runway, leaving the northern end of the runway exposed. Also, unfortunately for him, he came in slow and too low, possibly having lost some of his piloting skills in the eighteen days at sea. In any event, he was too low and his wheels hit the exposed end of the runway, wiping out the landing gear and skidding to, what would be to most pilots, an embarrassing stop.

I questioned then (and now) his assumption that he could stop his plane in the less than 1,000 feet before he would reach the first crater. Of course, given his wrecked plane, we will never know. I do know that he was unfazed by his poor judgment and performance, and I do know that approximately twenty of the planes following him proceed to tear themselves apart in the muddy grass east of the concrete runway. Oblivious to the chaos he had helped create by his foolhardy, too early, departure from the carrier, he strode up to me and delivered his obiter dictum: “Rathbun, if you had used your head, you could have prevented all of this.” In subsequent days, this man was to continue to take my breath away on numerous occasions.

That night, cold and without bedding, we raided the parachute room in the hangar, each of us taking a silk parachute which we opened and used as bedding. I recall settling down in the cockpit of an unoccupied P-40 and spending a very uncomfortable night in the seat, wrapped in silk.

On November 10, we moved approximately 80 miles to the south to Casablanca, leaving a score or more of damaged planes for the service group to worry about. Upon arrival in Casablanca, I took stock of my clothing and determined that I needed help if I were to maintain a soldierly bearing--eighteen days at sea plus the wear and tear at Port Lyautey had eliminated all traces of sartorial splendor. Consequently, I took everything to a laundry-cleaning establishment–and that was the last I saw of my wardrobe. Repeated trips to recover my clothing yielded nothing.”


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PostPosted: Sun Sep 25, 2016 8:31 pm 
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Some other interesting factoids:

On November 8, USS Ranger launched its three US Army L-4A Cubs, which would be used as observation platforms. They were led by Captain Ford E. Allcorn. American ships, as well as French shore batteries, fired at the Cubs as they flew overhead. Capt. Allcorn was wounded and his aircraft caught fire. He was able to sideslip to the ground and exit the plane without further injury. He holds the distinction of flying the first L-4A Cub from an aircraft carrier, being the first USAAF aviator to be wounded in the campaign, and the first to be shot down in the campaign.

During Operation Torch, 29 SOC-3 Seagulls were carried aboard the battleships and cruisers of the task force. Their primary mission was observation of naval gunfire, however the Seagulls were also used for a short time in the close support role due to the loss of a number of Wildcats from USS Santee. Seagulls from the USS Texas and USS Savannah helped to break up a French tank column heading for the beachhead by dropping depth charges fitted with impact fuses. No Seagulls were lost during Operation Torch, although one Kingfisher was shot down by French Hawk 75s (export P-36s).

USS Santee was the hard-luck ship. She carried VGF-29 with 14 Wildcats, and VGS-29 with nine Dauntlesses and eight Avengers. Santee lost 10 Wildcats, four Dauntlesses and seven Avengers.

On the first day, November 8, Lt. (j.g.) George Trumpter lost oil pressure two hours into a mission and went missing while attempting to return to the ship. LtCdr. Tom Blackburn later ran out of fuel and ditched attempting to return to the ship due to high fuel consumption from partially retracted landing gear. He was rescued by the destroyer Rodman two days later.

Without Blackburn and Trumpter, the remaining four rookie ensigns got lost and made emergency landings at near Mazagan. Three of the four Wildcats overturned on landing. Ens. Uncas Fretwell, Ens. William Naylor, Ens. Robert Peterson, and Ens. Edward VanVranken were all taken prisoner by the French.

Back on Santee, two Avengers flown by Ens. Charles Warnstaff and Ens. Earl Lock crashed on takeoff, followed by a Wildcat piloted by Ens. Joe Gallano being destroyed in a hot landing.

On November 9, an Avenger flown by Lt. (j.g.) Donald Rodeen crash landed ashore after being hit by AAA fire while on a ground attack mission. Both he and AMM Enoch Tarsilla were taken prisoner.

On November 10, Ensign John Thompson made an emergency landing at Saif Aerodrome after taking hits in his Wildcat’s oil cooler. Two more Wildcats were ordered by Santee to land at Safi as a matter of convenience to the ship, which had suspended flight operations to refuel a cruiser. Both Wildcats, flown by Ens. Alfred Fecke and Ens. Joe Galanno (again) were damaged landing at the muddy field. During the day, eight more Santee aircraft from VGS-29 were lost, six attempting to land at Safi, one crash landing ashore, and one Dauntless ditching out of fuel.


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