Thursday, February 28, 2019

Today In Vapor

Good News For Modern Man

The Black Death is back, and so are these other diseases you thought were gone

Also:

Whooping cough

There are "clusters" of pertussis in L.A. County as I type.

Scarlet fever

Polio

Bubonic plague

Every decade or so locally, per the County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health's Acute Communicable Disease Control.
The potential for exposure exists throughout the county, but the major threat of plague to humans is in the rural recreational and wilderness areas of the Angeles National Forest, as well as the Santa Monica and San Gabriel mountains. Since 1979 there have been three cases of human plague contracted within the county. Two cases were the result of contact with infected rodent fleas, the third was from exposure to a pet cat infected with plague.

The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services has recently detected evidence of plague in both feral and free-roaming domestic cats within the county. These animals can prey upon rodents infected with plague or can transport plague-infected fleas.

Two Days In One!

MON 28 FEB 1944
Pacific
Destroyer Abner Read (DD-526) is damaged by grounding off eastern New Guinea, 08°44'S, 148°27'E.

Submarine Sand Lance (SS-381) sinks Japanese transport Kaiko Maru just east of Musashi Wan, off Paramushiro, Kurils, 50°20'N, 155°26'E, but is later damaged when she runs aground off Paramushiro.

Submarine Balao (SS-285), in attack on Japanese convoy, sinks army cargo ship Akiura Maru and transport Sh_h_ [sic] Maru about 90 miles northwest of Manokwari, New Guinea, 00°06'N, 132°53'E.
Extensive research indicates the transport is the Shoho Maru. Her story:
1940:
Laid down by Mitsubishi Jukogyo K.K. Kobe Zosensho (Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Kobe Shipbuilding Yard) as a 2,723-ton cargo ship.
2 November 1940:
Launched and named SHOHO MARU.
8 March 1941:
Completed for Towa Kisen K.K., Kobe.
1 January 1943:
Requisitioned by the Imperial Army (IJA) as a troop transport. Alloted IJA No. 875.
27 February 1944:
SHOHO MARU departs Halmahera, Moluccas for Manokawari, New Guinea in an unknown convoy also consisting of passenger-cargo AKIURO MARU and freighter TOYO MARU and an unidentified escort.
LtCdr Cyrus C. Cole’s SS BALAO (SS–285) sights smoke on the horizon and commences tracking the three ships and escort.
28 February 1944:
About 90 miles NW of Manokawari, New Guinea. Shortly after midnight, BALAO goes to battle stations and closes for attack. After firing her six bow tubes at the lead ship, she swings her stern toward the wing ships in the formation and fires her stern tubes. BALAO hears several explosions at the expected times, as torpedo after torpedo strikes home.
One of the ships trains a 3 in (76 mm) gun on BALAO, but a heavy internal explosion silences the gun before BALAO can be hit.
29 February 1944:
TOYO MARU picks up survivors and carries them to Manokawari.
Postwar study of Japanese shipping records identifies her victims as 2,723 ton SHOHO MARU, 34 men KIA, and 6,803-ton AKIURO MARU, 497 troops, 10 gunners and 55 crewmen KIA. Both ships sank at 00-15N, 132-53E.
© 2017 Bob Hackett

Leap Yr. Bonus

TUE 29 FEB 1944
Pacific
TG 76.1 (Rear Admiral William M. Fechteler), comprising nine destroyers and three high speed transports, lands Army troops (First Cavalry Division) on Los Negros Island, Admiralty Islands,
The first wave of US troops lands on Los Negros, Admiralty Islands, 29 February 1944
in Operation BREWER, continuing the strategic encirclement of Rabaul.
The two light cruisers and four destroyers of TF 74 provide cover and bombard Japanese positions on Los Negros and Manus.

Destroyer Division 44 (Commander James R. Pahl) bombards wharf areas and installations at Rabaul.

PB4Y-1s (VB 108, VB 109, VD 3), flying from Apamama and staging through Kwajalein and Roi, carry out low-level bombing raid on Japanese installations on Wake Island.

Submarine Rock (SS-274), while making a night surface attack on a convoy of three Japanese freighters, is damaged by surface gunfire off Nansei Shoto Islands, 25°33'N, 130°42'E, and is forced to terminate her patrol.

Submarine Sargo (SS-188) attacks Japanese convoy and damages army cargo ship Uchide Maru about 120 miles west of Palau, 08°57'N, 132°52'E (see 1 and 2 March 1944).

Submarine Trout (SS-202) attacks Guam-bound Japanese convoy about 625 miles east of Formosa. She sinks army transport Sakito Maru southeast of Okinawa, 22°40'N, 131°50'E, and damages transport Aki Maru, but Trout is later sunk, most probably by Japanese destroyer Asashimo, 22°40'N, 131°45'E.

USAAF B-25s sink Japanese merchant tow boat Choka Maru on the Yangtze near Chiuhsienchen.

USAAF B-24s damage Japanese cargo ship Narita Maru 45 miles east of Hollandia.

Mediterranean
Tank landing ship LST-197 is damaged by shore battery off Anzio.

FORD Truck

"Antique"?
No rear bumper; that legal?

FORD Coupé

"Deal?" "No Deal."

Wednesday, February 27, 2019

Air China

Flock Of ...

... yup.

Bottom Third

Decided this part deserves a close-up.
Ugly, wants to die.

"Shithole Country"

Nice Work If You Can Get It

SUN 27 FEB 1944
Pacific
Submarine Cod (SS-224) sinks Japanese army cargo ship Taisoku Maru west of Halmahera, 02°00'S, 127°40'E.

Submarine Grayback (SS-208)* sinks Japanese cargo ship Ceylon Maru in the East China Sea, 31°50'N, 127°45'E.

Submarine Trout (SS-202) sinks Japanese cargo ship Aki Maru east of Formosa, 22°40'N, 131°50'E.

Covered by large infantry landing craft LCI(L)-24, Army units carry out unopposed occupation of the Magine Islands.

Mediterranean
Light cruiser Philadelphia (CL-41) carries out seven gunfire support missions off Anzio.
*Grayback is listed as overdue, presumed lost, on 30 March 1944. If the Japanese account for a definite "kill" on that date is accepted, then the attribution for the sinking of naval transport Ceylon Maru on 27 February at 31°45'N, 127°45'E, for Pogy is questionable. Commonly given credit for the sinking, Pogy did not report any such attack in her patrol report for that date. Grayback could have been damaged and continued her patrol, sunk Ceylon Maru, and then succumbed to the effects of the damage inflicted on 26 February.

Damn Album's 40 Fuckin' Yrs. Old

Released October 1979. Yet ...

"Just Sayin", As They Say

A big damn nuclear war on the sub-continent would go a long way toward solving the excess population problem.
BBC:
India Pakistan: Kashmir fighting sees Indian aircraft downed  —  Pakistan says it has shot down two Indian military jets and captured a pilot in a major escalation between the nuclear powers over Kashmir.  —  India said it had lost one MiG-21 fighter and demanded the immediate and safe return of its pilot.
Steven Hayward / Power Line:   The War Next Time?  —  The media and the Acela corridor …
Saim Saeed / Politico:   Inside the India-Pakistan rivalry
Michael Safi / The Guardian:   Pakistani PM Imran Khan appeals for talks with India to avoid war
Associated Press:   Pakistan says 2 Indian warplanes downed, 2 pilots captured
Al Jazeera:   India-Pakistan crisis disrupts international flights
Tim O'Donnell / The Week:   Pakistani PM to India: ‘Can we afford miscalculation?’
RT:   Pakistan downs 2 Indian aircraft inside its airspace, pilot arrested - military
Franz-Stefan Gady / The Diplomat:   Has Pakistan's JF-17 ‘Thunder’ Block II Fighter Jet Engaged in its First Dogfight?
Jon Brown / The Daily Caller:   Pakistan Reportedly Shoots Down Indian Fighter Jets
Glenn Reynolds / Instapundit:   NONE OF THIS SOUNDS GOOD: India Pakistan: Kashmir fighting sees Indian aircraft downed.Maria Abi-Habib / New York Times:
Pakistani Military Says It Downed Two Indian Warplanes, Capturing Pilot  —  NEW DELHI — Pakistan said Wednesday that it downed two Indian fighter jets and captured a pilot, escalating hostilities between the nuclear-armed neighbors a day after Indian warplanes struck inside Pakistani territory for the first time in five decades.
Ishaan Tharoor / Washington Post:   India and Pakistan may not go to war. But the crisis is escalating.
Nikhil Kumar / CNN:   Why being seen as tough on Pakistan helps India's Modi
Doug Mataconis / Outside the Beltway:   Tensions Flare Between India And Pakistan
Alexia Underwood / Vox:   The recent spike in tensions between India and Pakistan, explained
Rahul Bedi / The Irish Times:
Tensions rise sharply as India and Pakistan engage in aerial dogfights
RT:   1st VIDEO of captured and injured Indian pilot released by Radio Pakistan
CNN:
Pakistan shot down two Indian jets inside its airspace, government claims, as border crisis escalates
Washington Post:   Pakistan shoots down two Indian aircraft in its airspace, captures pilot
Al Jazeera:   Pakistan shoots down two Indian fighter jets: Military
Lauren Frayer / NPR:   Pakistan Says It's Holding Indian Pilot After Jet Shot Down In Cross-Border Airstrike
Let's you & him fight reduce each other to a smoldering heap of radioactive rubble!

Tuesday, February 26, 2019

Astrolabe A Total Loss

SAT 26 FEB 1944
Pacific
Submarine Gato (SS-212) attacks Japanese convoy Wewak No.20 as it proceeds along the Palau-Hollandia track, and sinks passenger-cargo ship No.3 Daigen Maru about 140 miles northwest of Hollandia, 01°51'N, 139°00'E. Narita Maru rescues over 700 of the 1,200 troops being transported in No.3 Daigen Maru.

Submarine Grayback (SS-208) is damaged by land-based Japanese naval aircraft, East China Sea, 25°47'N, 128°45'E.

Motor torpedo boat PT-251 runs aground during action with Japanese barges in southern Empress Augusta Bay; and is then sunk by shore battery, Solomons, 06°30'S, 155°10'E.

USAAF B-25s (14th Air Force) attack shipping in port of Tourane, French Indochina, sinking Vichy French surveying vessel Astrolabe and dredging ship Gilmot, 16°04'N, 108°13'E. Vichy officials consider Astrolabe a total loss, given the absolute impossibility of raising her with the means available in French Indochina.

Mediterranean
Tank landing ship LST-349 sinks after running aground off south coast of Italy, 40°55'N, 12°58'E; LCT-36 sinks after grounding off Naples.

REC & PARKS

Today In "I Hate Your Species"

"I Hate Americans" might be a more accurate title. What the fucking hell is wrong w/ you all?

Trianon

Do Not Give Cookies To Coyotes!

Uh-Oh. Beginning Of End?

Monday, February 25, 2019

Today In Copyright

Are there no laws?

Watery ...

A Warm Reception

FRI 25 FEB 1944
Pacific
Destroyer Division 90 (Commander Edmund B. Taylor) bombards Rabaul.

Destroyer Squadron 12 (Captain Rodger W. Simpson), en route to bombard Kavieng and its airstrips, shipping, and fortifications, encounters Japanese army cargo ship Tatsugiko Maru. In the ensuing action, destroyers Farenholt (DD-491), Buchanan (DD-484), Lansdowne (DD- 486), Woodworth (DD-460), and Lardner (DD-487) sink the enemy freighter at 02°46'N, 150°42'E. Japanese shore batteries subsequently give DESRON 12 a warm reception, damaging Buchanan and Farenholt, 02°20'S, 151°02'E.

Submarine Hoe (SS-258) attacks Japanese convoy at the mouth of Davao Gulf, 75 miles south of Davao, P.I., sinking fleet tanker Nissho Maru, 05°50'N, 126°00'E and damaging fleet tanker Kyokuto Maru, 05°38'N, 126°00'E, south of Davao Gulf.

Submarine Rasher (SS-269) sinks Japanese army cargo ship Ryusei Maru, 07°55'S, 115°15'E and merchant cargo ship Tango Maru, 07°41'S, 115°10'E off north coast of Bali.

Submarine Tang (SS-306) continues pursuit of Japanese convoy engaged the previous day, and sinks fleet tanker Choko Maru west of Saipan, 15°46'N, 144°10'E.

Mediterranean
Tank landing craft LCT-26 founders and sinks in heavy weather off Anzio, Italy, 41°04'N, 13°30'E.

Sunday, February 24, 2019

I Don't Think They Sell
Steinways Here Anymore

"targets of opportunity"

THU 24 FEB 1944
Pacific
Destroyers Buchanan (DD-484) and Farenholt (DD-491) are damaged by shore battery, north of New Ireland, 02°20'S, 151°02'E.

Submarine Grayback (SS-208) sinks Japanese oiler Nanho Maru about 20 miles east of Formosa, 24°20'N, 122°25'E, and damages transport Asama Maru, 24°15'N, 122°19'E. Escort vessel Shimushu's counterattack is ineffective.

Submarine Pogy (SS-266) bombards phosphate plant on Rasa Island.

Submarine Sand Lance (SS-381) is damaged by ice and heavy seas, Kurils.

Submarine Tang (SS-306), in attack on Japanese convoy west of Saipan, sinks merchant cargo ship Echizen Maru, 15°45'N, 143°29'E.

USAAF B-25s, P-40s, and P-38s hit targets of opportunity along the Yangtze, damaging Japanese guardboat Yoko Maru.

U.S. aircraft sink Japanese transport No.2 Shunzan Maru off Kusaie, Carolines, 05°20'N, 162°58'E.

British submarine HMS Tally Ho damages Japanese torpedo boat Kari in Strait of Malacca.

Atlantic
PBY-5As (VP-63), employing Magnetic Anomaly Detection (MAD) gear, and a PV-1 (VB-127), together with RAF Catalina (No. 202 Squadron) bomb German submarine U-761 as she attempts to transit the Straits of Gibraltar, 35°55'N, 05°45'W. British destroyers HMS Anthony and HMS Wishart rescue the 51 survivors who abandon their badly damaged U-boat after scuttling her to avoid capture. U-761 is the first U-boat destroyed through the employment of MAD equipment.

Open lighter YC-523 sinks after grounding off Portsmouth, N.H.

Occluded Moon

Back to mono(chromatic)!

FDC

Meat Bird, Metal Bird

Saatchi Gallery

Saturday, February 23, 2019

Poop: Not So Gawd-Damn Funny ...

... When One Almost Steps In It.

That's America: A pile of shit left on the sidewalk by a rich person's lap-dog.

Today's Time & Temp

Gaping Maw

Produce & consume until it's piled over your empty heads.

Nazi-Punchin' Time!

Meanwhile ...

"destroyed by accidental explosion"

WED 23 FEB 1944
Pacific
During strikes on Japanese shipping in Tanapag harbor, Saipan, F6Fs, TBFs and SBDs from carriers Essex (CV-9) and Yorktown(CV-10) (in TG 58.2) damage cargo ship Shoan Maru, 15°15'N, 145°45'E; planes from carrier Bunker Hill (CV-17) (in TG 58.3) sink cargo vessel Seizan Maru off Tinian, 15°00'N, 145°30'E.

Submarine Balao (SS-285), in attack on Japanese convoy about 35 miles north of Biak, New Guinea, sinks army cargo ship Nikki Maru, 00°11'S, 135°00'E.

Submarine Cod (SS-224) sinks Japanese fleet tanker No.3 Ogura Maru off Halmahera, 04°23'N, 129°05'E.

Submarine Plunger (SS-179), in attack on Japanese convoy, sinks transport Kimishima Maru about 200 miles northwest of Chichi Jima, 30°11'N, 140°49'E.

Submarine Pogy (SS-266) attacks Japanese convoy, sinking merchant cargo ship Horei Maru, 26°20'N, 126°11'E, and damaging merchant tanker Teikon Maru, 26°22'N, 126°16'E, about 60 miles west of Okinawa.

Submarine Snook (SS-279) attacks Japanese convoy, sinking transport Kayo Maru about 120 miles north- northwest of Chichi Jima, 28°49'N, 141°13'E.

Submarine Sunfish (SS-281) and planes from carrier Yorktown (CV-10) sink Japanese collier Shinyubari Maru about 40 miles west of Saipan, 15°23'N, 145°03'E.

Submarine Tang (SS-306) sinks Japanese repair ship Yamashimo Maru west of Saipan, 14°45'N, 144°32'E. The cataclysmic explosion of the enemy auxiliary damages Tang, but not badly enough to prevent the boat from remaining on patrol.

Japanese gunboat Eiko Maru is sunk by aircraft north of Saipan, 15°12'N, 144°52'E, as she proceeds to the position of the loss of Fukuyama Maru that had been sunk by Tang (SS-306) on 22 February.

Japanese cargo ship Gyoko Maru is destroyed by accidental explosion in Naha harbor, Okinawa, 26°13'N, 127°40'E.

Indian Ocean
U.S. tanker E.G. Seubert in convoy PA 69, is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-510 about 200 miles from Aden, 13°45'N, 48°56'E; three of the 27-man Armed Guard (including its commander) perish, as do three of the ship's merchant complement. Australian minesweeper HMAS Tamworth and Indian Navy corvette RINS Orissa rescue survivors.

Friday, February 22, 2019

Friday Freak-Out

Geeze, what an ugly mess.

Frank Zappa’s Kids In Legal Battle Over Media Attacks

Synchronicity

O.K., missed it by a day.
A man was stabbed near the Wiltern Theater in Koreatown and a suspect was arrested, it was reported Thursday.

Police on patrol in the area of Wilshire Boulevard and Western Avenue witnessed the incident Tuesday night and attempted to stop the suspect, who ran from officers but was quickly located and arrested, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. A weapon was recovered.

The victim ran into the theater, where a sold-out Van Morrison concert was taking place, looking for help, ABC7 reported.
The victim was taken to a hospital in unknown condition.

A motive for the stabbing was not disclosed. The names of the suspect and victim were not released.
[Occurred 5 Feb, our pix shot 6 Feb.]

Eniwetiok Atoll Secured

TUE 22 FEB 1944
Pacific
TF 58 (Rear Admiral Marc A. Mitscher) planes bomb Saipan, Tinian, Rota, and Guam, in first strike against the Marianas. TF 58 planes sink Japanese transport Shoan Maru off Saipan, 15°15'N, 145°42'E; planes from TG 58.2 and TG 58.3 sink transport Seizan Maru off Saipan, 15°00'N, 145°30'E.

Marines land on Parry Island, Eniwetok Atoll, under cover of naval bombardment and carrier-aircraft bombing; this operation completes U.S. control of Eniwetok Atoll. Infantry landing craft LCI-365, LCI-440, and LCI-442 are damaged by friendly fire.

TG 39.4 (Captain Arleigh A. Burke) bombards Japanese airstrips, pier area, and anchorages at Kavieng; destroyers Charles Ausburne (DD-570), Dyson (DD-572), and Stanly (DD-478) sink Japanese minelayer Natsushima off New Ireland, 02°40'S, 149°40'E; the same three destroyers, joined by Conway (DD-507) and Spence (DD-512), sink tug Nagaura about 160 miles northwest of Kavieng, 00°54'S, 148°38'E. Other Japanese ships sunk during this action include auxiliary submarine chaser No.8 Tama Maru and small cargo vessels Choryu Maru and No.9 Tokuyama Maru. Destroyer Division 45 sinks Japanese auxiliary netlayer Kyosei Maru in Isabel Channel, New Hanover.

Submarine Gato (SS-212) sinks Japanese repair ship Yamashiro Maru off Truk, 07°13'N, 151°38'E.

Submarine Puffer (SS-268), despite presence of escort vessel, sinks Japanese army transport Teiko Maru (ex- French passenger liner D'Artagnan) about 120 miles northwest of Kuching, Borneo, 03°10'N, 109°15'E.

Submarine Ray (SS-271) lays mines off Saigon, French Indochina.

Submarine Tang (SS-306), in attack on Japanese convoy, sinks gunboat Fukuyama Maru about 60 miles southwest of Saipan, 15°14'N, 144°55'E.

Japanese auxiliary submarine chaser Cha 29 is sunk by mine (possibly laid by submarine Silversides (SS-236) on 4 June 1943) near Kavieng.

Navy SBD and TBF aircraft pound Japanese shipping in Keravia Bay, Rabaul, sinking guardboats No.2 Fuku Maru and No.2 Tenjin Maru, army cargo ship Taisho Maru, merchant tanker Takatori Maru, and damaging minelayer Nasami.

Vichy French river gunboat Francis Garnier is sunk by mine sown by USAAF planes (14th Air Force) in South China Sea off Cape St. Jacques, French Indochina, 10°30'N, 108°00'E.

Atlantic
Motor torpedo boatPT-200 is sunk in collision with unknown object off Long Island, N.Y., 41°23'N, 71°01'W.

Mediterranean
Five German E-boats approach Anzio beachhead during the night, but all are driven off without inflicting any damage. Submarine chaser PC-621 claims destruction of one E-boat and drives another ashore.

German submarine U-969 attacks convoy GUS 31 off the coast of Algeria, irreparably damaging U.S. freighters Peter Skene Ogden and George Cleeve, 37°18'N, 06°59'E; other than one fatality on board the former, there are no casualties to the American ships. Both ships are towed and beached to facilitate salvage: Peter Skene Ogden at Herbillon and George Cleeve to Bone, Tunisia. Both are later written off as total losses.

Every Damn Picture I Took Today

Could've been "All Five Photos I Took Today"; depends on mood & attitude.

Cool, virtually cloudless; little of our favorite subject matter. Did see two police terror/traffic accident situations, but was not motivated enough to get off the bus. (Slightly regretting not arsing myself w/ the big '90s pickup on the sidewalk wedged between a 'phone pole & wall that had moved a garage off its foundation, but the "Why Bother?" tag down there is no joke.)
The plague increases: These WHEELS dealies are so new I hadn't seen them before.