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Operation Torch (8–16 November 1942) was the Anglo–American invasion of French North Africa during the Second World War. It was aimed at reducing pressure on Allied forces in Egypt, and enabling an invasion of Southern Europe. It also provided the ‘second front’ which the Soviet Union had been requesting since it was invaded by the Germans in 1941. The region was dominated by the Vichy French, officially in collaboration with Germany, but with mixed loyalties, and reports indicated that they might support the Allied initiative. The American General Dwight D. Eisenhower, commanding the operation, planned a three-pronged attack, aimed at Casablanca (Western), Oran (Center) and Algiers (Eastern), in advance of a rapid move on Tunis.
Operation Chastise was an attack on German dams carried out on 16–17 May 1943 by Royal Air Force No. 617 Squadron, later called the Dam Busters, using a purpose-built "bouncing bomb" developed by Barnes Wallis.
Consolidated PBY-5 Catalina BuNo 2419 was flown by Ensign William Tanner of VP-14 on 7 December 1941. Tanner had been warned “to be alert during this period of great tension”. A few hours before the Japanese air raid, Tanner spotted a Japanese midget submarine trying to penetrate the harbor and destroyed it with the assistance of the destroyer USS Ward. Consolidated PBY-5 Catalina BuNo 2419...
Robert Henry Maxwell (Bobby) Gibbes, DSO, DFC & Bar, OAM (6 May 1916 – 11 April 2007) was a leading Australian fighter ace of World War II, and the longest-serving wartime commanding officer of No. 3 Squadron RAAF. He was officially credited with 10¼ aerial victories, although his score is often reported as 12, including two shared. Robert Henry Maxwell (Bobby) Gibbes,...
"Gerd" Barkhorn (1919-1983) is the second highest-scoring fighter ace in history, claiming 300 aerial victories. He flew in almost all major Luftwaffe air operations during World War Two, from the Battle of France to the final defeat of Germany in 1945. "Gerd" Barkhorn (1919-1983) is the...