Latest news with #B-25Mitchell
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Here's everything headed to DC for the Army's 250th birthday parade
As the Army prepares for its 250th birthday parade, the service is hauling in millions of pounds worth of military equipment into Washington, D.C. The parade is designed to tell the history of the service, highlighting uniforms and equipment that date back to the Revolutionary War up until the present day, Col. Chris Vitale, an officer in charge of Army birthday week planning, told reporters in May. Army equipment will be showcased at a staging area in the heart of downtown D.C., while others will be part of the parade as soldiers march down Constitution Avenue, dressed in historical uniforms that are being supplied by a production company. 'What's unique about this parade is that the march units are going to be all designed around that specific conflict area, so you'll see the ground platforms or aviation platforms that will be associated with that time period that will be timed with when that march unit passes through,' Vitale said. Some of the armor and aircraft headed to the nation's capital are the poster children of the U.S. military's World War II campaign, like B-25 bombers or the M4 Sherman tanks, which were the most common ones used by Allied forces. North American B-25 Mitchell bomber planes were used to bomb Japanese airfields in the Pacific and are famous for their use by Gen. Jimmy Doolittle in the Tokyo Raid on April 18, 1942. There will also be a P-51 Mustang, a single-seat fighter aircraft used during World War II and the Korean War, and a Douglas C-47 Skytrain aircraft, which was used to carry paratroopers jumping into combat. Here's a list of the equipment that the Army is bringing in and using for the parade: Two M4 Sherman tanks One North American B-25 Mitchell bomber Four P-51 Mustangs One Douglas C-47 Skytrain One M4 Tractor One CCKW 2.5-ton truck One 37mm anti-tank Gun Six WWII-era Jeeps Three M151 Jeeps Two M35A2 2½-ton cargo trucks One M274 Mule utility truck 26 M1 Abrams tanks 28 Bradley Fighting Vehicles 27 Stryker vehicles Four M109 Paladins (self-propelled Howitzers) Five Joint Light Tactical Vehicles Seven M777 lightweight Howitzers Nine M119 smaller Howitzers Multiple variants of crew-served mounted weapons on different vehicles 17 Infantry Squad Vehicles One HIMARS battery with six trucks One MH-6 Little Bird helicopter, a small troop-transport helicopter used by the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment One AH-6 Light Attack helicopter, the 160th SOAR's gunship version of a Little Bird One MH-60 helicopter from the 160th One MH-60L DAP (Direct Air Penetrator) helicopter, the 160th's gunship version of the MH-60 17 Black Hawk helicopters 18 Apache helicopters 10 Chinook helicopters Four Bell UH-1 Iroquois or 'Huey' helicopters Two Bell AH-1 Cobra helicopters One Hughes OH-6 Cayuse helicopter One Renault tank (a French-made light tank primarily used during WWI) 34 horses An Australian Blue Heeler dog named Doc Holliday, who is part of the 1st Cavalry Division's Horse Cavalry Detachment Additionally, 64 aircraft will fly over D.C., including modern-day Chinooks, Apaches, Blackhawks, and historic bombers. The Army tanks and heavy vehicles are arriving by train from Fort Cavazos, Texas, and will be driven by truck to the staging area in downtown D.C. The Army estimates it will cost the service between $25 and $45 million. It's unclear how much the whole-of-government cost will be for extras like D.C. city workers and security personnel with the Department of Homeland Security. This amount doesn't include any potential damages that the heavy equipment could cause to DC streets, although Army planners aren't expecting any, Col. Jess Curry, executive officer to the Army Chief of Engineers, told reporters in May. 'If there's any damage, the Army will be responsible for any damage and the cost,' Curry said. 'This staging area and the routes have been selected to really minimize the risk from weight and damage.' The only areas of concern are where tracked vehicles might have to make sharp turns or 'where the surface of the pavement would typically receive an exaggerated level of stress,' Curry said. To address those concerns, engineers are putting down metal plates that are similar to those seen on the streets of New York City, which are less than one inch thick and range from four by eight feet to eight by 20 feet. The Army is sending around 6,200 soldiers to D.C. for the parade. This includes soldiers from six bands, two equestrian units, seven historical formations, vehicle crews, and color guards. Trump will also be giving the oath of enlistment to 250 soldiers who are re-enlisting and other new enlistees. An earlier version of this article incorrectly described the P-51 Mustang, which is a World War II-era single-seat fighter aircraft A Marine Corps reply-all email apocalypse has an incredible real-life ending Army shuts down its sole active-duty information operations command Army plans to close more than 20 base museums in major reduction Former Green Beret nominated to top Pentagon position to oversee special ops The Navy's new recruiting commercial puts the 'dirt wars' in the
BBC News
15-02-2025
- General
- BBC News
WW2 Veteran turning 100 recalls memories of war
Most people don't get an RAF flypast to celebrate their birthday, but then most people are not former RAF men turning Jennings, a veteran of World War Two, will reach that significant milestone this weekendOriginally from Newmarket in Suffolk, Fred joined the RAF in 1943 where he worked installing radar systems into the B-25 Mitchell living in Lisburn, his friends at the Ulster Aviation Society have organised a weekend of special events which began on Friday when an Atlas A400M flew over the society's hangars. Speaking to BBC News NI ahead of his celebrations, Fred recalled when he was first dispatched to the Netherlands, "the Dutch had no radar people, so the air force lent them four from the RAF, one of which was me"."So there were eight foreigners amongst 98 Dutchmen," he the allied forces captured an airfield in Belgium, Fred was stationed at Melsbroek, now Brussels International said it was "an interesting period, including when we were attacked by Focke-Wulf 190's", a type of German aircraft."Fortunately I was outside the radar shack and saw them coming," he added."And right beside it was an unfilled bomb crater, which was conveniently dived into." After the war, Fred was posted to RAF Agra in India until he left the service."Every morning when I climbed the stairs in air traffic control, I just looked down the river, and there's the Taj Mahal," he the war, Fred got a job at the Ministry of Civil Aviation and in 1963, he was given a letter telling him to take the radars he was working on to Nutt's sure where Nutt's Corner was, he asked his boss who replied: "I think it might be near Birmingham."But it was the County Antrim airfield that Fred was bound for."Nutt's Corner was one of the first air radars to be installed in Northern Ireland, but it worked perfectly." Fred went on to settle in Northern Ireland and has been an active volunteer with the Ulster Aviation Society for more than 20 years. During that time, he helped put together a radio display room, as well as putting together the society's Burrows, chairman of the Ulster Aviation Society, described Fred as "an outstanding example of living history"."He has a very special place in our hearts and we wish him the happiest and most memorable 100th birthday," he part of the society's celebrations for Fred, the RAF organised a flyover of an Atlas A400M at the hangars on Friday. Reflecting on how it feels to be turning 100, Fred thought back on his time with the RAF saying he feels "a bit unhappy about it"."Unhappy in a sense that you feel you did quite a lot while you were attached, and suddenly it comes to an end," he for the secret to a long life he joked: "It's a matter of avoiding fast women and slow horses."
