Messerschmitt Me 410A-1/U1: 2. Staffel (Fern)/Aufklärungsgruppe 122

(Author's Collection)

     In August 1943, a Messerschmitt Me 410A-1/U1 carrying the identification code of 'F6+WK' on the fuselage was captured intact by the British in Trapani, Sicily. The aircraft belonged to the 2nd. Staffel (Fern) of Aufklärungsgruppe 122 (2.(F)/Aufkl.Gr.122; 2nd. Squadron (Remote), Reconnaissance Group 122) that had been based at Trapani from January 1942 to June 1943. 2./Aufkl.Gr.122 was stood up on January 4, 1936 and conducted reconnaissance missions against the British Isles in 1939 flying Dornier Do 17 and Heinkel He 111 aircraft. During the 1940 campaigns against France and the Low Lands, the squadron had transitioned to the Junkers Ju 88 and the Messerschmitt Me 110 and as the war shifted to the Eastern Front, the squadron was exclusively flying the Ju 88. Starting in May 1943, the squadron received a number of Me 410A-1/U1 aircraft to supplement their Ju 88s.

     The Me 410, nicknamed the “Hornisse” (“Hornet”), was the evolution of the earlier, unsuccessful, Me 210 which was supposed to be the successor to the Me 110 heavy fighter. However, delays in development didn't see the type enter production until January 1943 and it never fully replaced the Me 110. Power came from two Daimler-Benz DB 603A 12-cylinder, inverted-V, liquid-cooled engines, each generating 1,750 horsepower for take-off and 1,625hp at 18,700ft. This gave the Me 410 a maximum speed of 388mph at 21,980ft. in altitude. The A-1/U1 model was a modification of the Me 410 from heavy fighter to that of a fast photo reconnaissance aircraft. This involved the removal of the two 7.9mm MG 17 machine-guns from the nose to allow for the fitting of either a Rb 20/30, Rb 50/30, or Rb 75/30 camera. This left the forward firing armament of two 20mm MG 151 cannons, each with 350 rounds. Fitted to each side of the fuselage was a barbette-mounted 13mm MG 131 machine-gun which was remote controlled and provided a measure of rear defense. Each of these machine-guns was provided with 500 rounds of ammunition.

     Following the capture of 'F6+WK', it was found to carry the Werknummer (Work Number) of W.Nr. 10018. This aircraft was built at Messerschmitt's Augsburg facility and it had the radio call sign of 'DI+NN'. It was decided to keep the aircraft for evaluation and so it was ultimately given the Foreign Equipment number of FE-499. After being prepared for shipment, it was placed aboard a transport and sent to the United States and arrived at Wright Field in Dayton, Ohio in January 1944. On April 1, 1944, FE-499 was still in a disassembled state in Hanger Three and it would not be until October 4, 1944 was it finally fully assembled. At some point, FE-499 was sent to Freeman Army Airfield (located in Seymour, Indiana) which was the location of the Foreign Aircraft Evaluation Center (FAEC), the latter established at the airfield on June 11, 1944. That FE-499 was there came from an inventory book that listed it on May 17, 1946. However, FAEC was soon stood down by mid-1946 as there was little need for it any longer. Nevertheless, records still showed FE-499 at Freeman Army Airfield on August 1, 1946 where it was designated as a display aircraft. It is believed to have been transported to Air Technical Service Command's storage facility in Park Ridge, Illinois and ultimately, it ended up in the hands of the National Air and Space Museum where it remains today, housed in unrestored condition at the Paul E. Garber Preservation, Restoration, and Storage Facility located in Silver Hill, Maryland.

     Source depending, FE-499 has been listed as a Me 410A-3 model, which was the definitive photo reconnaissance version which carried two cameras rather than one. It was not possible for 2.(F)/Aufkl.Gr.122 to have had the Me 410A-3 as the type was not received by units until October 1944, long after 2.(F)/Aufkl.Gr.122 had left Trapani (though it remained in Italy, based in various locations, until May 1945). In any case, only 1.(F)/Aufkl.Gr.122 and 3.(F)/Aufkl.Gr.122 ever received any of the Me 410A-3 models. Also, some sources claim that FE-499 was a Me 210 that was brought up to Me 410 standards. This was done to many Me 210 airframes and in some cases, Me 210 aircraft were built from the outset as Me 410. However, it is believed that none of these conversions were used outside of development testing for the Me 410 program, equipment trials, and armament trials. A review of Heinz Mankau and Peter Petrick's book Messerschmitt Bf 110/Me 210/Me 410 published by Aviatic Verlag in 2001 does not list the Werknummer 10018 in their roster of known Me 210 and Me 410 work numbers and in any case, most of the work numbers which began with 100XX were listed as Me 410 models with construction dates in 1943 whereas most of the conversions were done in 1942. Still, there are gaps in Mankau and Petrick's lists so we have to assume that the work number for FE-499 is accurate though it could be disputed that it is a converted Me 210.

     As a note, the unit emblem for 2.(F)/Aufkl.Gr.122 consisted of a blue shield upon which was a man wearing black boots and khaki shorts, a wide brimmed hat, and a shirt riding on a black bomb with a bellows camera under one arm. Beneath this was the motto “Holzauge sei wach!” which literally means “Wooden Eyes Be Aware!” but a more contemporary translation is “Keep Your Eyes Peeled!” This emblem was located on the left side of the forward fuselage.

 

Ruth B. Loving: Volunteer Nurse’s Aide Corps

     The Office of Civilian Defense tasked the American Red Cross with initiating a training program through which to graduate women as nurse's aides. The reason for this was to take some of the non-medical burden off nurses so that they could put more of their attention towards their patients medical needs. Any woman, aged 18 to 50, could volunteer for the program and had to pledge to serve no less then 150 volunteer hours. A massive campaign was launched to recruit volunteers for what was now called the Volunteer Nurse’s Aide Corps and those efforts paid off. By the close of the war in 1945, some 110,170 volunteers went through the 80 hour training course program, graduated, and served around the U.S. in some 2,500 military and civilian hospitals. The Volunteer Nurse’s Aide Corps was administered by the Volunteer Special Services and the Volunteer Nurse’s Aide Corps volunteers contributed a total of 42 million volunteer hours during World War Two.

     The photograph is that of Ruth B. Loving at her Volunteer Nurse’s Aide Corps course graduation in 1941. The uniform she is wearing was the standard for the Volunteer Nurse’s Aide Corps and consisted of a pale blue smock over a white, short-sleeved dress, a white and pale blue cap, white nylon stockings, and white lace-up leather shoes. The insignia for the Volunteer Nurse’s Aide Corps consisted of a dark blue circle upon which was a white triangle with a red cross inside the triangle. This was worn as a left sleeve patch as well as smaller patch sewn to the front of the nurse's cap. The pin seen between the dress' collars was gold edged with a white center. Around the gold portion, it read “American Red Cross Volunteer” while centered in the middle of the white center was a red cross. The entire pin was enameled. Upon graduating, the new nurse's aides received their cap, pin, and patches during the ceremony. Loving became a senior aide during her time in the Volunteer Nurse’s Aide Corps. As a note, one can see that the sleeve patch is pinned on as she was just issued it during the graduation.

     Loving was active in serving and following her entering into the Volunteer Nurse’s Aide Corps, she was part of the Massachusetts Women's Defense Corps (MWDC) which was authorized on May 1941 by Governor Leverett Saltonstall. The MWDC was overseen by the Massachusetts Committee on Public Safety and the organization supported the Massachusetts State Guard, the U.S. Army, Massachusetts state agencies as needed, and local organizations. The MWDC assisted in five critical areas which were air raid protection/air warden services, communications, food services, medical services, and transportation. Where possible, MWDC women were used to fill roles which could allow military men to be called to active duty for the war. In December 1944, the MWDC became the Massachusetts Women's Corps (MWC) but in September 1946, the MWC was inactivated. Loving enlisted on August 13, 1943. She was one of four African-Americans who served in the MWDC and unlike the U.S. Army's Women's Army Corps (WAC) which was segregated, the MWDC was integrated. Loving primarily worked in food services but also received training as a radio operator.

     As for the Volunteer Nurse’s Aide Corps, following the end of World War Two, its continued existence was seen by some as no longer necessary. However, the Red Cross pushed to maintain the program, in a much smaller scale, primarily to supply aides to under-served medical facilities. While it no longer exists as the Volunteer Nurse’s Aide Corps, the program went on to graduate new aides who would later volunteer during the Korean War, Vietnam War, and later conflicts. Today, the Red Cross offers Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA) training and certification, continuing the tradition started by the Volunteer Nurse’s Aide Corps.

Cushman Model 32: Homefront Mobility for the Military

(Author's Collection)

     The Cushman Motor Works began making scooters in 1936 and the U.S. military contracted Cushman to produce several models of scooters for both the Army and the Navy as a means to supplement cars and trucks as scooters were quieter, easier to maintain, less expensive to purchase, and did not consume as much petrol and oils. The most famous Cushman scooter was the air-droppable Airborne Model 53, the “Parascooter”, which was used primarily by the 82nd. and 101st. Airborne Divisions when they parachuted into combat during the commencement of D-Day. The Parascooter provided swift mobility for couriers to move messages between units and the Parascooter even had a trailer hitch to pull the M3A4 general purpose utility cart which allowed it to move supplies as well. Some 5,000 Parascooters were built and after the war, the majority remained in France and Germany.

     The Sergeant in the photograph, however, isn’t sitting on a Parascooter but instead, he is riding a Cushman Model 32. The Model 32 wasn’t meant for the battlefield and instead, it was used by both the Army and the Navy as courier vehicles and personal transportation on Army garrisons and facilities, military industrial complexes, and Navy bases and shipyards.

     Cushman did build a civilian version of the Parascooter, the Model 53-A, which was more comfortable and had less military esthetics. It was marketed following the end of World War II but sales were disappointing. In 1957, the Cushman Motor Works ceased to exist and was bought out by the Outboard Marine Company.

Gefreiter: Sibirisches Kosaken-Reiter-Regiment 2

      A Gefreiter of the Sibirisches Kosaken-Reiter-Regiment 2 (2nd. Siberian Cossack Regiment). Identification of this unit is made simple by the sleeve shield which consists of the Cyrillic letters for PSV in yellow with yellow upper and lower segments of the shield design with blue being the left and right segments. His rank is evidenced by the single silver tress stripe on each of his shoulderboards, as authorized for all Cossack units beginning May 29, 1943. The rank of gefreiter was the equivalent to a British lance corporal. 

     For decorations, he is wearing two Tapferkeitsauszeichnung für Angehörige der Ostvölker (Valor Award for the Eastern Peoples; shorted to Ostvolkmedaille [Eastern Peoples’ Medal]) of which both appear to be the Ostvolkmedaille 2nd. Class in Bronze (what appear to be stripes on one are more likely wrinkles in the ribbon material). The other is the Kriegsverdienstkreuz 2. Klasse mit Schwertern (War Merit Cross with Swords 2nd. Class). Although this ribbon could be worn through the button hole like the Iron Cross ribbon, it is said that veteran German soldiers held the War Merit Cross with Swords 2nd. Class in low regard, calling any soldier who elected to wear the ribbon as “soldaten im Eisenkreuz ausbildung” (“Soldiers in Iron Cross training.”). If the Iron Cross ribbon was worn with the War Merit Cross ribbon, the former took precedence and would be worn over the latter.