September 2005

Volume 4, No. 5

Cover: A German anti-tank gun crew takes position during street fighting in Russia. (Photo: The Granger Collection, NY)

Using a machine gun and carbine rifles, infantrymen sight up enemy positions during an attack on Cape Gloucester.

September 2005

WWII History

Operation Cartwheel: Seizing the Solomons and Beyond

by Douglas Sterling

On the island of New Britain, at the north end of the Solomon chain, lay a major base that provided Japanese forces with the naval power, supplies, and reinforcements to control the sea lanes of the Southwest Pacific. Read more

German soldiers in winter camouflage defend their lines against oncoming Russians.

September 2005

WWII History

Furious Fight in a Frozen Hell

By Pat McTaggart

It was the third winter in Russia for the men of Field Marshal Erich von Manstein’s Army Group South, and things were going from bad to worse. Read more

In this painting by Jack Fellows, P-39s flown by Major George Greene, Jr., (foreground) and “Buzz” Wagner take on Japanese Zeros over the Salamaua Peninsula.

September 2005

WWII History, Ordnance

WWII Planes: The Bell P-39 Airacobra “Peashooter”

by Sam McGowan

If there is an American combat airplane that has achieved an ill-deserved reputation, no doubt it would be the much-maligned Bell P-39 Airacobra, a tricycle landing gear single-engine fighter whose reputation was greatly overshadowed by the more famous, and of more recent design, Lockheed P-38 Lightning, Curtiss P-40 Tomahawk, Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, and North American P-51 Mustang. Read more

Donning camouflage, a team of OSS operatives lands ashore. Despite initial skepticism, the OSS more than proved its worth during numerous operations in Italy and North Africa.

September 2005

WWII History, Top Secret

OSS Operation Ginny

By Don Smart

The three rubber dinghies struggled through the rough surf in the pitch black night toward an inhospitable stretch of rocky beach. Read more