MISSIONS OF CONQUEST

William I

The 27^th of September marks the beginning of the Norman Conquest of England 945 years ago in 1066. William (Guillaume in French, a.k.a. William the Bastard) was then William II Duke of Normandy. He had planned to set off much earlier, but the weather prevented his fleet from sailing. On 12 September the wind direction turned and William's fleet sailed. A storm blew up and the fleet was forced to take shelter at Saint-Valery-sur-Somme and again wait for the wind to change. On 27 September the Norman fleet finally set sail, landing in England at Pevensey Bay (Sussex) on 28 September.

An evening in a hotel restaurant at
St Valery-sur- Somme

Saint Valery is at the mouth of the Somme River in Picardy, northern France. The name Somme comes from a Celtic word meaning tranquility. Its history has hardly been tranquil, given the number of soldiers who died during the Battle of the Somme in World War I from July to November 1916. The river also featured in a military campaign of Edward III in 1346, culminating in the Battle of Crécy; and in a campaign of Henry V, which led to the Battle of Agincourt in 1415.

In keeping with the military theme of the month, The first of the Liberty Ships was launched on the 27^th September 1941. The ships initially had a poor public image and to try to assuage public opinion, 27 September 1941 was designated Liberty Fleet Day, and the first 14 "Emergency" vessels were launched that day. The first of these (with hull number 14) was Patrick Henry, launched by President Franklin D. Roosevelt at the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard in Baltimore, Maryland. Other "Emergency" vessels launched that day, in various yards around the country included: SS John C. Fremont, SS Louise Lykes, SS Ocean Venture, SS Ocean Voice, SS Star of Oregon, and SS Steel Artisan (later known as USS Barnes and HMS Attacker).

In the speech delivered at the launching, Roosevelt referred to Patrick Henry’s “Give me liberty of give me death” speech of 23 March 1775. Roosevelt said that this new class of ships would bring liberty to Europe, which gave rise to the name "Liberty ship". Here is a view of the last of the liberty ships 1944.

The  SS Patrick Henry’s maiden voyage was to the Middle East. During World War II she made 12 voyages to ports including Murmansk, Trinidad, Cape Town, Naples, and Dakar. She survived the war but was seriously damaged when she went aground on a reef off the coast of Florida in July 1946. She was scrapped at Baltimore in 1960.

It has been stated that on the 27^th September 1944, the Kassel Mission resulted in the largest loss by a United States Army Air Force group on any mission in World War II. Herewith is a combat chronology of the USAAF for that day:

WEDNESDAY, 27 SEPTEMBER 1944

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS

STRATEGIC OPERATIONS

(Eighth Air Force):

Mission 650: 

1,192 bombers and 678 fighters are dispatched to hit industrial and transportation targets in W Germany and use PFF methods for all targets; 28 bombers and 2 fighters are lost:

1 - 421 of 462 B-17s hit a secondary target (Cologne) and 10 others hit Blatzheim; 1 B-17 is damaged beyond repair and 165 damaged; 3 airmen are KIA; 7 WIA and 1 MIA. Escort is provided by 221 P-47s and P-51s; they claim 5-0-0 aircraft in the air; 3 P-47s are damaged. 

2 -  415 B-17s are dispatched to hit Ludwigshafen/Opau oil refinery (214) and Mainz (171); 4 others hit targets of opportunity; 2. 2 B-17s are lost and 142 damaged; 3 airmen are KIA, 9 WIA and 19 MIA. Escort is provided by 212 P-47s and P-51s; they claim 1-0-0 aircraft in the air; 1 P-47 is damaged. 

3 - 315 B-24s are dispatched to hit Kassel/Henschel aircraft plant (248); 35 also hit Gottingen; they claim 5-3-0 aircraft; 26 B-24s are lost, 6 damaged beyond repair and 41 damaged; 20 airmen are KIA, 2 WIA and 245 MIA. Escort is provided by 207 P-38s, P-47s and P-51s; they claim 25-0-6 aircraft in the air and 5-0-1 on the ground; 2 P-51s are lost (pilots MIA), 1 P-51 damaged beyond repair, and 2 P-38s and 2 P-47s damaged. 

Mission 651: 

8 of 10 B-17s drop leaflets in France, the Netherlands and Germany during the night. 163 B-24s on a TRUCKIN' mission carry fuel to France.

Somebody had to shoot the pictures: