Operation Blog is ACTIVE

OK students...this is the platform upon which students will share their knowledge and understanding of the great marker event of 20th century world history: World War 2. The rules are simple:

1. All students must make at least one post to this blog. Posts are in the form of reflections, opinions, links to articles, video, music, images, etc. Students must relate the nature of their posts to a theme of the conflict and make commentary.

2. All students must make at least one comment on another students post. Comments must be thoughtful, argumentative if inclined, insightful, or you my pose some question leads to another post by you or another classmate.

3. You must tag your post with the applicable theme(s).

4. Grades will be based on an holistic scoring scale which heavily weights the frequency and substance of posts and comments. Minimum participation equates to minimum scores for this class exercise.

Monday, March 1, 2010

Fun Facts on WW2

  • The first German serviceman killed in the war was killed by the Japanese (China, 1937)
  • The first American serviceman killed was killed by the Russians (Finland 1940).
  • 80% of Soviet males born in 1923 didn't survive World War 2
  • The highest ranking American killed was Lt. Gen. Lesley McNair, killed by the US Army Air Corps.
  • Between 1939 and 1945 the Allies dropped 3.4 million tons of bombs, An average of about 27,700 tons of bombs each month.
  • 12,000 heavy bombers were shot down in World War 2
  • 2/3 of Allied bomber crews were lost for each plane destroyed
  • 3 or 4 ground men were wounded for each killed
  • 6 bomber crewmen were killed for each one wounded
  • Over 100,000 Allied bomber crewmen were killed over Europe
  • There were 433 Medals of Honor awarded during World War 2, 219 of them were given after the receipiant's death
  • From 6 June 1944 to 8 May 1945 in Europe the Allies had 200,000 dead and 550,000 wounded
  • The youngest US serviceman was 12 year old Calvin Graham, USN.
  • He was wounded in combat and given a Dishonorable Discharge for lying about his age. (His benefits were later restored by act of Congress).
  • At the time of Pearl Harbor, the top US Navy command was called CINCUS (pronounced "sink us"), the shoulder patch of the US Army's 45th Infantry division was the swastika, and Hitler's private train was named "Amerika". All three were soon changed for PR purposes.
  • Germany lost 110 Division Commanders in combat
  • 40,000 men served on U-Boats during World War 2; 30,000 never returned
  • German Me-264 bombers were capable of bombing New York City but it wasn't worth the effort.
  • A number of air crewmen died of farts. (ascending to 20,000 ft. in an un-pressurized aircraft causes intestinal gas to expand 300%!)
  • Germany lost 40-45% of their aircraft during World War 2 to accidents
  • The Russians destroyed over 500 German aircraft by ramming them in midair (they also sometimes cleared minefields by marching over them). "It takes a brave man not to be a hero in the Red Army". - Joseph Stalin
  • The average German officer slot had to be refilled 9.2 times
  • The US Army had more ships that the US Navy.
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3 comments:

  1. Aparna :)March 6, 2010 at 10:34 PM

    Again with the 'fun facts!' :P

    Did you know that dropping the atom bomb had far more worse consequences that what we hear? Although hundreds of thousands were killed by its initial immense damage, many more suffered from the aftermath. The effects included heavy radiation that caused skin damage. There were also deaths as a result from the nuclear winter due to the impenetrable layer of dust that formed. These effects were not there for only a couple of days - in fact, they lasted for years!

    ReplyDelete
  2. NewtonT2013March 6, 2010 at 11:27 PM

    Out of all the things a soldier could die from..FARTS. That's really sad.

    ReplyDelete
  3. PremMarch 7, 2010 at 12:56 AM

    HAHAHA they died from farts. I think THAT one deserves to be a FUN fact. XD
    Aparna the effects are still happening today. The children of the people affected also have disabilities. I read from a book that this woman was affected by the radiation from the Fat Man and her son ended up being crippled with only 3 fingers on his hand.

    ReplyDelete

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