German Coastal Artillery in Norway

German coastal artillery in Norway. Photo by Bildberichterstatter Gundlach.

In the beginning of the Norwegian campaign, there were 6 Marineartillerie-Abteilungen: MAA Horten, MAA Kristiansand, MAA Stavanger, MAA Bergen, MAA Drontheim, and MAA Narvik. These units were to man captured Norwegian Coastal Fortresses. In June 1940, the MAA’s got number designations, the first ones for just 1 month, before they got permanent numbers.

The German MAA’s were divided into companies, each company manned a battery. Each MAA usually consisted of 6 companies, but this could range from 2 – 12 coys. The commander of a MAA was usually Korvettenkapitän, but could also be Fregattenkapitän or Kapitänleutnant.

Army artillery units designed for coastal defense appeared in Norway in 1941. They established several Heeresküstenartillerie-regimenter (HKAR), Heeresküstenartillerie-Abteilungen (HKAA) and 160 Heeresküsten-Batterien (HKB). At the end of the war, there were 221 batteries divided into 29 units & 10 regiments. The Germans had serious problems in commanding and controlling this effectively. The mix-up between army and naval artillery also caused serious problems when it came to effective command.

The Heeresküstenartillerie had standard army OOB, but had guns of varying quality.They were also equipped with tanks, mostly French captured ones, like the Somua. The coastal defense had a big need of men. In 1930, the whole Kriegsmarine counted 15000 men. In Norway, the total number of Army / Naval Coast defense personnel was about 65000 (1945). Artillery Schools were established several places, amongst them Rauöy in the Oslo-fjord, and Stavern.

Source :
Akira Takiguchi photo collection
https://www.facebook.com/groups/237076659811098/posts/1906782666173814/?__cft__[0]=AZUuO_vSByS790n9KaQIsAbuwn8LeoffMWol5IX4nTf8sMPB_b34YSFLfnbFNMHPXLxRg0lkaLFjrhIf2gtox2fDPXMGqWLcR0qR6L5drmcG2BYeiqK9p9N8otNjwmO1Rf-6ZdxwqD1wJhtPEqRwEXJ0&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R
https://www.feldgrau.com/ww2-german-norway-coastal-defence/

Sherman Tanks Set Fire to Japanese Aircraft

Marine flamethrowing Sherman tanks set fire to Japanese aircraft in Sasebo, Japan, on November 2, 1945. Sasebo is a core city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. It is also the second largest city in Nagasaki Prefecture, after its capital, Nagasaki. The city which had 206,000 inhabitants in 1945 suffered severe damage by bombing on June 29, 1945 during World War II and was destroyed by 48%. Sasebo was one of the original 17 targets selected for the dropping of the atomic bomb. After the end of the war, part of the base facilities were taken over by the United States Navy, forming U.S. Fleet Activities Sasebo.

Source :
National Archives and Records Administration 127-GW-137979
Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sasebo
https://www.flickr.com/photos/airandspace/albums/72157715574200936

The M1 Flamethrower

 

 

Camouflaged U.S. Army engineer with his flamethrower, 1941.

The M1 and M1A1 were portable flamethrowers developed by the United States during World War II. The M1 weighed 72 lb, had a range of 15 meters, and had a fuel tank capacity of five gallons. The improved M1A1 weighed less, at 65 lb, had a much longer range of 45 meters, had the same fuel tank capacity, and fired thickened fuel (napalm). Development of the weapon began in July 1940. The first prototype had the designation of E1. The prototype was further refined into the E1R1 model, which resulted in the adopted M1 model in August 1941. These man-portable weapons saw little use in Europe. They were more common in the Pacific, where they were used extensively when attacking pillboxes and fortifications. The M1's unreliability and lack of developed tactics resulted in the failure of the first flamethrower attack on a Japanese fortification in December 1942. The M1 was gradually replaced by the M1A1 in 1943. The M1A1 was replaced by the M2 flamethrower later during the war.

Source :
Bettmann Archive
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M1_flamethrower?fbclid=IwAR26fIvT2J84OFfmebNLcph_smlulynrT75k1K4gSZ4QkQRUG7hDmA2zX_k
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=450225342912962&set=gm.1689193411266075

Testing New Weapons at Aberdeen Proving Ground

Soldiers testing new weapons at the Aberdeen Proving Ground, 1942. Photos by Bernard Hoffman. Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG) (sometimes erroneously called Aberdeen Proving Grounds) is a U.S. Army facility located adjacent to Aberdeen, Harford County, Maryland, United States.

Source :
https://www.facebook.com/groups/237076659811098/permalink/1656920917826658/?__cft__[0]=AZW8flX6_CPTaDnXSztsHb0FAPeWgivDN1_TRzjvTHK7d-WyJqYyLZjEuZ3J1Cmcdj0CA70m-ZEjQxpaZ7FrWSsScG6C55ceEt1YJsXZzwOWb2R1MyblxHT8s6oQRQOf0ubpKgw1INMR0RJZXw6zYTQxtyg6aChPWE7jr4nRUiwmjRGw9Mrbi8v5uaBAr_Lz6QE&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R