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hands。〃 Right then； McGovern decided to forget about Rounds’s VD。 He figured he had better let the man do what he wanted on his off hours。 ___________________________ Lt。 Donald Currier was a part of one of the first B…24 squadrons of the Fifteenth Air Force to arrive in Italy and thus flew his first mission in January； 1944； one of the first of his group。 It was two days after his squadron had arrived in Italy。 The target was the railroad yards in Perugia； just off the Tiber River； in support of the ground troops。 But when the bombers arrived； it was snowing。 Landmarks were obscured。 The lead navigator； having no radar （which only came nine months later）； was unable to see anything but clouds。 Currier was the navigator flying in the B…24 on the wing of the lead plane。 〃I looked desperately for something I could see and recognize；〃 he recalled； but he saw nothing。 The lead plan opened his bomb bays。 The bombardier in Currier’s plane followed the leader。 He put his finger on the toggle switch。 When the leader dropped his bombs； he and the other bombardiers did the same。 Currier saw the bombs fall in open countryside。 He saw some bursts of flak on one side and far away and thought； I don’t know why the Germans bothered。 We certainly didn’t do them any harm。 He and the pilot and crew resolved 〃we would go again and again until we got it right。〃 Currier would go on to make a career in the Air Force。 Looking back four decades； he said that in his experience 〃it seems incredible that we would be flying a bat mission with so little training or experience。〃 But that was how badly the Fifteenth needed pilots and crews in January 1944。 It was because of that need that the AAF instituted the policy of requiring just…arrived pilots to fly as co…pilots for five missions before taking up their own plane and crew； since the men had gone through the speeded…up training program in 1944。 In 1945 the manders changed policy again； putting new pilots and their crews into action as soon as they arrived in Italy。 And it was the casualty list that forced the manders of the bomb groups to keep demanding more replacements。 Bombardier Lt Donald Kay arrived in Italy in May 1944 and was assigned to the 783rd Squadron； 465th Bomb Group。 Of the three classmates in bombardier school who came over with Kay and were close friends； two were killed in the air and the other became a POW。 Overall； Kay recalled that of the seventeen original crews that started the war with him； only six finished。 Sgt。 Anthony Picardi of the 455th Bomb Group’s 742nd Squadron （who had visited his family’s village and met his grandmother） saw a B…24 crash on the runway while trying to take off for a mission。 It blew up on impact。 Nine of the ten crew members were blown to bits。 But one had 〃his arms blown off from the elbow down and his legs blown off from the knees down。 He was actually crawling away from the inferno。 He was digging into the dirt with the stubs of his elbows； trying to survive。 Right then and there； I realized just how precious life is。 He crawled right up to us； looked us straight in the eyes； and then closed his eyes forever。〃 For McGovern； on his first five missions as Surbeck’s co…pilot； things were not so rough。 He saw some flak； went through it； and got out of it safely。 The B…24 did not take one hit。 〃I felt rather secure after flying those missions；〃 McGovern said。 I could observe all those things without having the responsibility of handling the plane myself。 I picked up a lot of touches。〃 This was not practice flying in Idaho。 This was Europe and the formation was much bigger — sometimes 500 or 600 planes。 After pleting his five missions as Surbeck’s co…pilot； McGovern said； 〃I felt fortable to take that plane up with my own crew an He summed up what he had learned from observing Surbeck： 〃I heard through the ear phones how he handled the radio transmissions to the tower and to the lead plane。 I saw how he brought the plane into formation； how slowly or swiftly he got that done； I watched him to see what he was looking at and listened to the way he was handling the crew — everything he said； I could hear through my earphones。 。 。 I saw how he flew formation in various positions； on the left side one day and the next he might be in the middle； the next day on the right wing。 I could observe all those things without having the responsibility of handling the plane myself。 I picked up a lot of touches。〃 This was not practice flying in Idaho。 This was Europe and the formation was much bigger— sometimes 500 or 600 planes。 After pleting his five missions as Surbeck’s co…pilot； McGovern said； 〃 I felt fortable to take that plane up with my own crew and get it into formation and get off on a bat mission。〃
相关评论与链接双重女间谍险些误大事
诺曼底登陆：双重女间谍险些误大事 诺曼底登陆是第二次世界大战中具有转折意义的一役。但据英国解密的文件显示，由于一位双重女间谍威胁要向纳粹德国告密，诺曼底登陆差点毁于一旦。 这位女间谍名叫纳萨莉·萨久依安。她出生于俄罗斯，后来加入法国籍。二战爆发后，经一名记者介绍，德国情报部门相中了她。她被派往马德里。在那里，她认识了 一位美国朋友。这位朋友建议她为盟国效力，并帮她联系了英国使馆。本来纳萨莉和纳粹德国的头目赫尔曼·戈林关系不错，哪知一踏上英伦三岛，纳萨莉就背叛了纳粹德国，开始为英国“军情五处”效力。通过纳萨莉，英国人得到纳粹德国的大量情报。 为爱犬之死 竟威胁翻脸 纳萨莉乖戾的性格也让英国人大伤脑筋。在5日解密的这份文件中，英国情报官员称她是一个“喜怒无常和麻烦不断”的女人。最大麻烦是她的一只爱犬。1943年，纳萨莉离开直布罗陀前往英国，被迫和她的爱犬分离。因为按照英国的规定，为防止狂犬病，入境的动物必须有6个月的隔离期。英国的这种规定让她勃然大怒，她甚至威胁不再为英国人效力。虽然已经对纳萨莉的可信度心存疑虑，但英国人还是认为，她具有不可替代的重要性。正是通过纳萨莉，盟军才得以蒙骗纳粹德国。她给纳粹德国送去的情报是：盟军将在法国加来登陆。 1944年5月17日，距诺曼底登陆还不到一个月，纳萨莉前往葡萄牙首都里斯本，准备提取德国间谍机构给她提供的一个发报机。恰在那时，她知道了爱犬已死的消息。纳萨莉当即大发雷霆。她对英国情报官员说，她将“破坏这件事（诺曼底登陆）”，告诉德国人她原来提供的情报是假的。 盟军成功日 纳萨莉被炒时 纳萨莉最终没有将威胁付诸实施，不过英国人再也不敢相信她了。德国电台随即被其他情报官员接收。1945年6月6日，盟军在诺曼底登陆，欧洲第二战场开辟。在诺曼底登陆的一个礼拜后，纳萨莉被德国老板辞退。 同英国人分道扬镳后，纳萨莉回到被解放的巴黎。她在1968年出版了回忆录。在那里，她终老一生。
相关评论与链接60年前最高军事机密
60年前最高军事机密：749名士兵命丧“诺曼底登陆演习” 据英国《卫报》4月24日报道，盟军诺曼底登陆可说敲响了纳粹元首希特勒的丧钟，然而不为人知的是，在诺曼底登陆前一个多月，盟军士兵曾在英国海岸举行过一次“诺曼底登陆大演习”，可是演习中却发生了“可怕的错误”，三艘美军舰船被悄悄潜至的德国E艇鱼雷击中，导致749名美军士兵当场遇难。由于担心这场突如其来的大灾 难会严重摧毁盟军士气，盟军远征军最高司令官、美国将军艾森豪威尔立即下达密令∶要求将这起演习灾难列为最高军事机密！直到60年后的今天，参加演习的美国二战老兵麦肯才首次向英国媒体披露了美军二战史上的这场秘密灾难！ 早在1943年底，英国战争内阁就计划在德文郡南海岸建立一个盟军诺曼底登陆演习中心，演习地点最后选在了英国海滨小村斯托肯汉姆附近的斯拉普顿海滩。这次盟军诺曼底登陆演习的代号是“猛虎军事演习”。 “猛虎军事演习”于1944年4月27日黎明时分正式开始。当天晚上，8艘满载支援部队、医护人员和工程师的美国海军“战车登陆舰”对英国海滩发动了“第二波攻势”，几艘船只穿过莱姆湾笔直驶往德文郡南海岸斯拉普顿海滩。 麦肯回忆称，当时他年仅15岁，是其中一艘美军“战车登陆舰”上的操舵手。由于一个文件上的错误，这些美军“战车登陆舰”和为它们护航的英军战舰之间错误使用了不同的无线电频率，以致于它们之间根本无法正常交换通讯信号。当英国皇家军舰“弯刀号”在一个意外碰撞中，导致吃水线上方撞出一个小洞后，“弯刀号”立即在另一艘船只陪同下返回普利茅斯港进行修理。8艘载满美国士兵的美军船只根本不知道它们已失去“保护伞”，处于巨大的危险之中。 4月28日凌晨2点前，灾难终于不期而至地降临了——这支美军舰队终于被9艘纳粹德国的E型鱼雷艇给发现了，其中一艘鱼雷艇立即发出两枚鱼雷，不偏不倚击中了美军507号战车登陆舰。15分钟后，美军531号战车登陆舰也被德军鱼雷击中，舰船立马进水下沉，许多美军士兵像饺子一样地摔向水中。凌晨2时30分左右，第三艘战车登陆舰也被一枚德军鱼雷击中了船尾，但幸免沉没。 这3起袭击共造成了749名美军死亡！
相关评论与链接诺曼底登陆——作战简评
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