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Carte de visite by Mathew B. Brady of New York City. The oppressive heat blanketing Petersburg and Richmond during the summer of 1864 did not slow the frontline fighting. On August 18, Union forces seized a section of the Weldon Railroad, a critical link in the Confederate supply chain connecting Petersburg to the port of Wilmington, N.C. Confederates counterattacked the following afternoon, but fell short of recovering the rails.
Two days later, the Confederates tried again with an all-out attack commanded by Lt. Gen. A.P. Hill’s corps.
For one lieutenant on the other side, this second attempt to retake the railroad ended with a brevet rank of captain for gallantry.
He’s pictured here: 1st Lt. George Warren Dresser of the 4th U.S. Artillery. Born and raised in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and in Brooklyn, N.Y., his father prospered in a Wall Street insurance firm. Young Dresser decided not to pursue career opportunities in business, opting for the military. In 1856, he entered West Point and proved a solid student, studying alongside fellow cadets Adelbert Ames, Orville Babcock, Hugh Judson Kilpatrick, Charles E. Hazlett, and others.
None of these cadets could have imagined that their graduation would coincide with the nation’s plunge into civil war.
On May 6, 1861, less than a month after the violence at Fort Sumter and the Baltimore Riots, Dresser graduated 19th of 45 cadets and secured a commission as a second lieutenant in the 4th Artillery. Dresser likely posed for this portrait about this time in the New York City studio of Mathew B. Brady, dapper in a broad-brimmed hat and dressed for field command.
He was soon promoted to first lieutenant.
Ordered to Washington, D.C., Dresser arrived at a precarious moment as loyal state volunteers with varied levels of training poured into the city, and neighboring Virginians verged on ratifying secession, taking the commonwealth out of the Union.
One of his earliest assignments placed him in command of a section of the 4th U.S. Artillery on the expedition across the Potomac River into Virginia to capture Alexandria. According to an eyewitness, Dresser ordered his men to unlimber a 12-pounder on a city street and aim it at a company of enemy cavalry. "They saw at a glance there was no chance of escape. Everyone seemed paralyzed, and no one came forward or raised a hand. Some were mounted, some with a foot in the stirrup and some standing at their horses' heads. All sat or stood as motionless as statues" until the Union officer commanding advanced and demanded their surrender, which they did. The prisoners, 35 total, belonged to Capt. Mottrom Dulany Ball's Fairfax Cavalry.
Dresser put his military education into practice. One of his assignments involved training the 5th Massachusetts Infantry. He worked with the regiment’s lieutenant colonel, James Durrell Greene, a Harvard graduate, to whip the men into shape. According to a news report, the “regiment is practicing the severest kind of drill daily,” adding that Greene and Dresser “are devoting themselves assiduously to the work of making this one of the best regiments in the service.” The daily routine included six hours of drill and another hour of target practice.
The ambitious drill program transformed the men into a crack regiment. In a mid-June review, President Abraham Lincoln and members of his cabinet reportedly dubbed it the “‘Steady Fifth’ on account of gentlemanly conduct and soldierly bearing.” A month later at the Battle of Bull Run, the 5th struggled along with its brother regiments in the vicinity of Henry House and eventually retreated in confusion to the Defenses of Washington.
Dresser also participated in the engagement, though not with the 5th. He fought with Battery E of the 3rd U.S. Artillery, popularly known as Sherman’s Battery for Capt. Thomas West Sherman. The talented West Pointer who graduated in 1836 commanded the battery during the Mexican War Battle of Buena Vista, during which he and his artillerists successfully defended an enemy attack. Reports of its gallant conduct spread across the country, cementing Sherman’s status as a national hero. Though Sherman no longer commanded the battery—the honor belonged to Capt. Romeyn Beck Ayers—the name “Sherman’s Battery” stuck.
During the fighting at Bull Run, Sherman’s Battery, under Ayers’s competent command, distinguished itself in the thick of the fray. Its six guns pounded away at the enemy from various positions. At one point, Ayers stated in his official report, Confederate cavalrymen arrived and as they prepared to charge, “the whole battery poured canister into and demolished them.” Ayers praised Dresser for his good conduct when the troopers threatened. All the guns were brought off the field intact.
Following the stunning Confederate victory, dejected Northerners sought Union successes wherever they could be found. A correspondent from the New York Herald who covered the battle as shot and shell whizzed about shone a light on the artillery, “Capt. Ayers’ (later of Sherman’s) battery earned new laurels during the affair. Its fire was sustained with wonderful precision and rapidity.” The correspondent noted the brave conduct of Ayers and his lieutenants, including Dresser, “was the theme of universal praise among the staff officers.”
Dresser frequently received orders for various temporary duties, making such assignments a routine part of his wartime experience. Though none lasted long, he excelled in each one.
It may be fairly stated that he was a quintessential utility man.
During the 1862 Peninsula Campaign, he served as an engineer during the Siege of Yorktown and as Acting Ordnance Officer of the Third Corps. Following the end of the campaign, he returned to his alma mater and spent most of 1863 as an assistant instructor of artillery tactics, where he brought real-life experience into play as he educated the next generation of officers. He left West Point under orders to report to besieged Chattanooga for duty with Maj. Gen. William Farrar “Baldy” Smith and the Army of the Cumberland. Smith had devised plans to open up a more reliable supply line—and Dresser helped him do it. According to one report, Dresser used his engineering skills to construct a pontoon bridge, then led a force across it. He and his men were met by heavy enemy fire, which they countered and routed the Confederates. Smith succeeded in his plan, which was dubbed “The Cracker Line” as much needed food and other supplies reached the beleaguered Union troops.
Building on his success in the environs of Chattanooga, the War Department called Dresser to Washington for a brief stint in the Inspector General’s Office before being detailed on another assignment, this time as Inspector for the hard-fighting Fifth Corps of the Army of the Potomac, commanded by Maj. Gen. Gouverneur Kemble Warren, who had distinguished himself a year earlier along the crest of Little Round Top at Gettysburg.
It was while serving in this capacity that Dresser again proved his abilities at the Weldon Railroad on August 21, 1864, when Confederates sought to reclaim that portion of the rails captured by Union forces three days earlier.
That morning, two of Lt. Gen. A.P. Hill divisions, commanded by generals William Mahone and Henry Heth, launched a determined attack against Warren’s corps. As his troops countered this threat, Col. Charles S. Wainwright brought his artillery up to support the Union infantry. When Mahone’s battle line emerged from a thicket of pines, artillerists from a pair of New York batteries, the 1st and 15th, wheeled their eight Napoleons into position and hit the oncoming Confederates, scattering them. When the rebels reformed, the cannon of the 1st New York and 1st Massachusetts Battery, with its eight rifled guns, went into action and stopped them again.
Meanwhile, Confederate Col. William Pegram brought up his artillery in the vicinity of the Vaughan Road and started a duel.
The late historian Edward C. Bearss, quoting official reports, described Dresser’s role at this moment: “Colonel Wainwright had given Lieutenant George W. Dresser a special assignment. The lieutenant was to gallop to the right, get Battery C, 1st New York, and ‘post it toward the left of our line’ so it would be able to deliver an enfilading fire upon the guns which Colonel Pegram had massed in the Vaughan road sector. Dresser discharged his mission successfully. Unlimbering their four 3-inch rifles, the New Yorkers, in conjunction with several other batteries, compelled the Rebels (with whom they were dueling) to shift their guns.”
By noon, Warren’s corps had secured the critical Confederate supply line. The four-day engagement, known as the Second Battle of the Weldon Railroad or the Battle of Globe Tavern, resulted in about 4,296 Union and 1,620 Confederate casualties.
Dresser received a brevet promotion to captain for gallantry in securing the Weldon Railroad for the Union.
There’s one more anecdote about Dresser, in the form of a brief after-action report he filed in late October 1864 during the Richmond Campaign. It is preserved in the annals of the Official Records of the War of the Rebellion. In it, Dresser relates an incident during the Battle of Fair Oaks and Darbytown Road on October 27. On this day, Dresser struggled to get a battery into position to support elements of Warren’s advancing 5th Corps. Unable to find a position, he turned back to headquarters. Along the way he had several close encounters with the enemy. In one of them, Dresser “came upon tail of rebel column, resting in road, sitting down, arms in their hands and in good order. Supposing them prisoners at first, asked, ‘to what regiment do you belong?’ Answer, ‘10th Alabama.’ Asked, 'where is your provost guard?’ Answer, ‘None here; we are a brigade; Wilcox’s old brigade.’ Saw at least two companies.” Dresser rode off, undetected.
During the war’s waning months, Dresser received a final assignment when he returned to the staff of Maj. Gen. “Baldy” Smith in New Orleans and New York City. At the end of hostilities, Dresser resigned his commission and received a second brevet, as major, for his wartime service.
Dresser applied his talents as a civil engineer in New York City and New England and later became the editor of the American Gas-Light Journal. He died in May 1883 at age 45, just six weeks after the passing of his wife, Susan Fish LeRoy, the daughter of New York aristocracy dating back to colonial times and the founding of the United States. She and Dresser lost battles with cancer—Dresser in his face and Susan in her breast. They left behind five children under 20 years old.
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All gave some, some gave all: U.S. Army Africa Soldiers honor World War II fallen during North Africa Memorial Day ceremony
By Rick Scavetta, U.S. Army Africa
TUNIS, Tunisia – As the lonely sound of “Taps” drifted over 2,833 bleached-white headstones Monday, dozens of U.S. Army Africa Soldiers raised their hands in salute at the North African American Cemetery.
They were among a group of U.S. service members who traveled to the cemetery to honor the fallen, men who paid the ultimate sacrifice during the North African campaign in World War II.
The ceremony began with a prayer and remarks from Hon. Gordon Gray, U.S. Ambassador to Tunisia. Then Gen. William E. Ward, commander, U.S. Africa Command, stepped to the podium echoing the words of Gen. Omar Bradley, who led U.S. Army II Corps in North Africa.
“We are given one life. The decision is ours whether to wait for circumstances to make up our mind, or whether to act… and in acting, to live,” Ward said. “Those whom we honor today certainly embody this sentiment. The results of their sacrifice live within us and in our way of life.”
Wreaths were laid, anthems played and salutes rendered. But the most moving part of the event followed the ceremony, when U.S. service members fanned out among the seemingly endless rows of white markers.
A strong Mediterranean breeze caught the huge U.S. flag hung at half staff. Tiny American flags next to each grave marker fluttered. Single roses, wilted from the hot Tunisian sun, marked headstones of the unknown that read, “Here rests in honored glory a comrade in arms known but to God.”
In all, there are 2,841 burials in the cemetery, to included 240 unknowns. Amid the graves are fountains surrounded by flowers, where Soldiers sat to contemplate those who gave the ultimate sacrifice in the defense of freedom.
“This should be the first stop for any American planning to visit Tunisia,” said Maj. Philip Archer, a U.S. Army Africa officer who plans the command’s partnership engagements in North Africa. “This is a solemn place.”
For U.S. Army Africa Soldiers, the Memorial Day service was the culmination of a four-day journey through Tunisia’s World War II battlefields.
In late-1942, U.S. forces landed in North Africa with British troops. Their first fights were with Vichy French units, who later joined the Allied cause. Together, they pushed east into Tunisia, where they clashed with German and Italian troops among craggy, cactus-covered hills and washed out wadis.
The battles that followed were retold in detail by Rick Atkinson in his book “An Army at Dawn,” a historical novel that brought the ghosts of the winter of 1943 to life during U.S. Army Africa’s staff ride, dubbed “Lion Torch.”
Maj. Gen. William B. Garrett III, commander of U.S. Army Africa and roughly 30 members of his staff made visits to places of Army legend, such as El Guettar, Longstop Hill and Kasserine Pass. They also paid respects at the resting place of French and British Commonwealth troops who died during the North African campaign.
Retired Army Col. Len Fullenkamp, who guided U.S. Army Africa’s staff ride, said discussions touched on the human dimension of war and the human costs of war.
“When we walk through a cemetery, stop at a marker and read the name of the Soldier, you make a connection. You read out loud the date he was killed and make a connection with a particular battle,” Fullenkamp said. “But there’s also a silent communication between the Soldier living and Soldier dead that is so powerful it reduces grown men to tears.”
Col. Bill Phillips, U.S. Army Africa’s chaplain, walked along the 364-foot limestone wall listing the 3,724 names of those whose remains were buried at sea or never found.
“There are more lost and unknown than there are headstones here,” Phillips said. “That really hit me.”
Phillips also thought of his visit to Hill 609, where the 34th Infantry Division fought in the final days of combat in Tunisia.
“We stood at the foot of the hill looking up, thinking about how they fought their way to the top, now we are here where many of them are laid to rest,” Phillips said. “It’s overwhelming.”
Nearby, Sheila Perks, a Wisconsin-native whose husband works in Tunisia, walked with her daughters Holly, 6, and Lauren, 4. The girls curiously ducked between headstones, asking questions about the men who died.
They wondered why the grave marker of Pvt. Nicholas Minue has a gold star and gold lettering. Minue, a 1st Armored Division Soldier, was awarded the Medal of Honor after braving machine gun fire to charge the enemy with a fixed bayonet. Perks, who thought it was important to bring children to such a place, especially on Memorial Day, spoke to the girls in a way anyone could understand.
“I explained to them, this is why we have our freedom,” Perks said. “These men did not die for you, they lived for you.”
PHOTO CAPTION:
Gen. William E. Ward, commander of U.S. Army Africa, speaks at the North African American Cemetery and Memoria near Carthage, Tunisia, Monday, during a Memorial Day service attended by several U.S. Army Africa officers
Photo by Rick Scavetta, U.S. Army Africa.
Cleared for public release.
The Flash Gordon serials are remembered for being the science fiction predecessors to everything the fifties and beyond would bring. They are believed to be the influence behind the "Star Wars" series and the "Indiana Jones" trilogy. This chapter, which features Flash with his ever ready raygun, and Ming, the Merciless with his army.
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Universal, 15 Chapters, 1938. Starring Larry “Buster” Crabbe, Jean Rogers, Charles Middleton, Frank Shannon, Beatrice Roberts, Richard Alexander, Donald Kerr, C. Montague Shaw, Wheeler Oakman.
Flash Gordon’s Trip to Mars picks up almost exactly where Flash Gordon left off, with our courageous trio of interplanetary adventurers–Flash Gordon (Larry “Buster” Crabbe), Dale Arden (Jean Rogers), and Dr. Zarkov (Frank Shannon)–returning to Earth from the planet Mongo. They are greeted to a royal welcome, since their voyage has saved the Earth from being destroyed by the late Emperor Ming of Mongo. Zarkov, however, attempts to curb the Earthlings’ ebullience by cautioning them that the defeat and death of Ming does not mean that their planet is free from other threats of extraterrestrial invasion. As usual, Zarkov is correct; shortly after his warning speech, the Martian Queen Azura (Beatrice Roberts) begins an operation designed to siphon off the “nitron” (aka nitrogen) in the Earth’s atmosphere. Azura’s primary goal is to create nitron-powered weapons with which to wage a war against her mortal foes, the Clay People of Mars. She’s indifferent to the devastating effect that it will have on the Earth, while her chief adviser and military consultant regards the destruction of Earth as the main attraction of the plan. That adviser is none other than Ming (Charles Middleton), still very much alive and longing for revenge on Flash and Zarkov for toppling him from his throne and driving him into exile on Mars.
As the Earth begins to experience catastrophic floods and storms, due to the effects of Azura’s “Nitron Lamp,” Zarkov, Flash, and Dale launch another interplanetary trip to discover the cause of the catastrophes, which Zarkov has determined are due to a beam that emanates from outer space. They discover an unexpected stowaway aboard after takeoff–reporter “Happy” Hapgood (Donald Kerr), who had set out to track down Zarkov and get his opinion of the world-wide disasters. Not long after arriving on Mars, our quartet of Earth adventurers find themselves embroiled in the war between Azura and the Clay People. The latter are one-time rivals of the Queen, who have been transformed into living clay by Azura’s magical powers and banished to underground caverns from whence they carry on a guerilla war against Azura’s forces. The Clay People’s king enlists the aid of Flash and his party, as both of them want to stop Azura’s nitron-collecting plans, and, with additional aid from Prince Barin (Richard Alexander)–who arrives on Mars to try to convince the Martians to expel Ming–Flash and his party pit themselves against Azura’s magic, Ming’s machinations, Ming’s savage allies the Forest People, and many other hazards, in their quest to save the Earth.
Flash Gordon’s Trip to Mars is fully as good as the first Flash Gordon serial, although its strengths are in slightly different areas. While Trip to Mars doesn’t measure up to Flash Gordon when it comes to colorful characters and fantastic monsters, its focused plotline surpasses the episodic story of the earlier serial. In Flash Gordon, the protagonists merely responded to the perpetual perils that were hurled at them by Ming, King Vultan, and King Kala, while Ming’s own plans for destroying the Earth were largely abandoned after the first chapter in favor of his attempts to marry Dale and destroy Flash. In Trip to Mars, Flash, Dale, and Zarkov initiate events instead of just coping with them, and Ming’s new grand design drives the plot far more strongly than his earlier one, giving the good guys a clear-cut objective (the destruction of the Nitron Lamp) beyond simple escape from Mongo.
While Trip to Mars has no characters to rival Flash Gordon’s King Vultan and no bizarre beasts like the Orangopoid or the Fire Dragon, it still has excellent other-worldly atmosphere. The sets are not as varied and intricate as in the first serial, but still surpass the backdrops of almost any other chapterplay. Especially striking are Ming’s “powerhouse,” with its laboratory equipment and its disintegration room, Azura’s massive palace with its unique architectural design (particularly the futuristic pocket doors), the Clay People’s eerie caves, and the wonderfully-designed realm of the Forest People, with its twisted trees, climbing vines, hidden tunnels amid tree roots, and treehouse-like observation platforms.
In addition to the big sets, there are dozens of other major and minor props and special effects that make Trips to Mars memorably atmospheric; there’s the the Martians’ flying capes, the Martian televiewer screens (which are cleverly incorporated into the recap sequences at the beginning of each chapter), the Clay People’s vapor-healing chamber, and the bridge of light that connects Azura’s rocket tower to the rest of her palace and is powered by a simple switch like any Earthling lamp (the scene where Flash and Zarkov are first forced to cross the unsafe-looking thing is quite funny), to name but a few. I also appreciate the fact that Azura’s spaceship squadrons–her “stratosleds”–are designed differently than any of the ships in the first Flash Gordon serial; one would expect the aerial fleets of differing planets to differ in appearance. Another neat touch of internal consistency is the use of three completely different forms of salute by the three principal Martian races–Queen Azura’s subjects, the Clay People, and the Forest People.
The serial’s screenplay maintains good continuity with the previous Flash outing, despite being the work of a completely different team of writers–Ray Trampe, Norman S. Hall, Wyndham Gittens, and Herbert Dalmas. The new writing team avoids any of the clunky lines that occasionally crept into Flash Gordon’s dialogue exchanges; they also, despite having to resort to a few flashbacks to the first serial for padding purposes, manage to make their plot fit its fifteen-chapter length quite nicely. The major plot thread of the heroes’ attempts to destroy Ming and Azura’s Nitron Lamp is skillfully interwoven with several subplots–the Clay People’s efforts to regain their natural shape, the attempts by both Flash and Ming to get hold of the Black Sapphire of Kalu (a talisman that can neutralize Azura’s magic), and Ming’s plot to undermine Azura and seize the Martian throne.
Trip to Mars’ script wisely spreads its plot developments over the course of the serial, instead of introducing all its ideas in the first chapter and letting them tread water until the final one: the Clay People aren’t introduced till the second chapter or the Forest People until the sixth, while Prince Barin first arrives in Chapter Seven. The Nitron Lamp is destroyed in Chapter Nine and rebuilt over the course of the following chapters until it must be destroyed again at the climax, and one of the principal villains is killed off in Chapter Thirteen.
The cliffhangers aren’t quite as varied as in the first Flash serial, due to the lack of the various monsters that frequently attacked Flash for chapter-ending purposes in the earlier outing. However, writers still manage to avoid excessive repetition; for instance, while there are three chapter endings involving stratosled crashes, each one is set up differently–the first has Flash crashing a stratosled into another stratosled to stop it from bombing Dale and Happy, the second has a stratosled crashing on top of Flash and Zarkov, and the third has Flash and the pilots of a ’sled grapping for the controls as it soars towards yet another crash. There’s also an excellent cliffhanger in which Flash, Dale, Happy, and Zarkov are surrounded by an ever-narrowing ring of fire in the Forest People’s kingdom, and a memorably unusual one that has a hypnotized Dale stabbing an unsuspecting Flash in the back.
Though Trip to Mars has no swordfights or wrestling matches corresponding to those in Flash Gordon, it still features a nice variety of action scenes–including stratosled dogfights, fights among the vines and treetops of the Forest Kingdom, and chases through Azura’s big palace; the palace sequence in Chapter Five, which has the nimble Flash vaulting through windows to avoid the guards, is a particular standout. Directors Ford Beebe (a Universal serial veteran) and Robert Hill (a talented director who rarely escaped from low-budget independent serials and B-films) do a fine job of orchestrating these action scenes, assisted by stuntmen Eddie Parker (doubling Buster Crabbe), George DeNormand, Tom Steele, Bud Wolfe, and Jerry Frank. All of the aforementioned stuntmen, except Parker, also pop up in minor acting roles.
The performances in Trip to Mars are all first-rate; the returning actors from the first serial are all just as good as they were in Flash Gordon, while the new major players fit in smoothly. Buster Crabbe’s Flash is just as tough, chipper, athletic, and likable as in the first serial–and a good deal more wise and resourceful than before, improvising strategy and coming up with plans in tough situations instead of just trying to batter his way out. Frank Shannon’s Zarkov, as consequence of Flash’s new-found intelligence, has a reduced part, not guiding the good guys’ actions as he did in the first serial; he still functions as the scientific brains of the group, though, and is still as intense, serious, and sincere as before.
Jean Rogers, with her long blonde hair bobbed and dyed brown to better match the comic-strip version of Dale Arden (she’s also dressed in less arresting fashion), isn’t as stunning as in Flash Gordon, but is still a warm, welcome, and lovely presence. Her part here is smaller than in the first serial, though, since Ming is not romantically interested in her this time out (Ming, though no gentleman, evidently prefers blondes). Richard Alexander’s Prince Barin is a lot more self-assured when it comes to delivering dialogue this time around (helped, no doubt, by the absence of any overly high-flown lines), while his convincingly royal bearing and his commanding size are as effective as before.
Charles Middleton’s Ming is even more entertainingly sinister here than he was in Flash Gordon, getting a good deal more screen time and given a more devilish appearance by a notably forked beard. Though still given opportunities to break into tyrannical and bloodthirsty rages (particularly in his insane rant in the final chapter), Middleton spends much of the serial displaying duplicity and sly subtlety instead, since his Ming must pretend to friendship with Azura even while plotting against her. Middleton carries off this slightly more multi-faceted version of Ming masterfully, winning a few laughs with his crafty cynicism while remaining thoroughly sinister and hateful.
Beatrice Roberts does a fine job as Queen Azura, eschewing the sneering, aggressive demeanor of other serial villainesses for a regal, dignified manner (with a wryly humorous undercurrent) that contrasts interestingly with her often cruel behavior. Her Azura comes off as selfish and ruthless, but not an abusive tyrant like Ming. Donald Kerr as reporter Happy Hapgood, the other principal new character, is as controversial among fans as most other serial comedy-relief characters are. Speaking for myself, though, I found him quite likable and entertaining; he provides an amusingly commonplace point-of-view towards the fantastic world of Mars and is never obtrusive, gratingly stupid, or obnoxious. Additionally, his character is allowed to be quite heroic and helpful when the chips are down, a far cry from one-dimensional cowardly “comic” pests like Sonny Ray in Perils of Pauline or Lee Ford in SOS Coast Guard.
Wheeler Oakman is very good as Tarnak, Ming’s wily lab assistant and co-conspirator against Azura. C. Montague Shaw, concealed under heavy makeup for most of the serial, conveys an impressive air of ruined dignity as the King of the Clay People and manages to seem both sinister and sympathetic at different times. Usual hero Kane Richmond brings appropriate depth of characterization to his key role as a Martian pilot, who proves instrumental in helping Flash overthrow Ming in the later chapters. Anthony Warde has a small part as Toran, king of the Forest People, but extracts as much snarling nastiness as possible from the role. Future director Thomas Carr is his second-in-command, Kenne Duncan is the officer in charge of Azura’s airdrome, Lane Chandler and Jack Mulhall both appear as pilots of her Death Squadron, and Warner Richmond has a small role as one of Ming’s palace cohorts.
Hooper Atchley and James Blaine pop up as self-important Earth scientists, propounding ingenious and inaccurate theories as to the causes of the damage brought about by the Nitron Lamp, while Edwin Stanley is the general presiding over a council comprised of these two and additional savants. Louis Merrill (a radio actor who played character roles in several feature films) has a brief but memorable turn as the blunt and slightly uncouth Dr. Metz, who alone among the scientists has the humility to admit that Zarkov is the only one capable of unravelling the riddle of the disasters. Merrill’s characterization is so vivid that one wishes the actor had taken a larger part in this chapterplay or in other serials.
Flash Gordon’s Trip to Mars is a nearly ideal sequel, in that it manages to preserve the basic strengths of its predecessor while deviating from it in some areas and improving on it in others. It’s also a nearly ideal serial, independent of its relation to the earlier Flash Gordon; it balances good acting, atmosphere, action, and plotting in such fine style that it would still be a notable achievement if it were the sole entry in the Flash Gordon series.
Flash, Dale, and Dr. Zarkov return from their former space adventures only to find that their enemy, Ming the Merciless of planet Mongo, has a new weapon: a deadly ray that crosses space to wreak havoc on earth. Earth's only hope is for our heroes to take off again and stop the ray at its source on Mars, where they (and a stowaway) familiar to sci-fi serial fans as Happy Hapgood the space traveling reporter). Must battle Ming's ally, Queen Azura, who turns her enemies into lumpish clay people.With the aid of the Clay People and Prince Barin, Flash and his friends are triumphant in destroying the ray and putting an end to the scheme of Ming the Merciless. Can they survive 15 chapters of deadly perils? Find out next week...
The Deadly Ray From Mars was an edited version of the 1938 Universal serial "Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars" that was released to TV in a syndication package in 1966.
Mars Attacks the World was the feature version of the 1938 serial titled Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars. aka "Space Soldiers' Trip to Mars" - USA (TV title)
Mars Attacks the World is the feature compilation version of the serial Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars, while Rocket Ship is the the feature compilation of the serial Flash Gordon.
Jean Rogers as Dale Arden
Charles Middelton as Emperor Ming
Frank Shannon as Dr. Zarkov
Beatrice Roberts as Queen Azura
Richard Alexander as Prince Barin
Montague Shaw as The Clay King
Donald Kerr as Happy Hapgood the space traveling reporter.
The title of this serial was originally going to be "Flash Gordon and the Witch Queen of Mongo." It was changed so that Universal could save money by shooting the outdoor scenes on the back lot and not have to build costly sets, and by reusing the set for Emperor Ming's palace.
In the stock footage from Flash Gordon, shown in this film, as Flash is telling The Clay People about his previous encounter with Emperor Ming, Ming is bald and Dale Arden has blond hair. In this sequel, Ming has "pasted on" hair and Dale is a brunette. It has been reported that Jean Rogers (Dale Arden) had many other film roles pending at that time (1938) which had called for her to portray a brunette.
King Features Syndicate released the 3 Flash Gordon serials as well as "Buck Rogers," Red Barry", "Ace Drummond" and other comic strip cliffhangers to US TV in 1951. Because the television show Flash Gordon, starring Steve Holland as Flash, was in syndication in late 1953, the three Universal Pictures Flash Gordon theatrical serials were retitled for TV broadcast. Flash Gordon became "Space Soldiers", Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars became "Space Soldiers' Trip to Mars", and Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe became "Space Soldiers Conquer the Universe". To this day both the 3 original "Flash Gordon" serial titles and the 3 "Space Soldiers" titles are used.
Chapter Titles:
1. New Worlds To Conquer
2. The Living Dead
3. Queen of Magic
4. Ancient Enemies
5. The Boomerang
6. Treemen of Mars
7. Prisoner of Monga
8. Black Sapphire of Kalu
9. Symbol of Death
10. Incense of Forgetfulness
11. Human Bait
12. Ming the Merciless
13. Miracle of Magic
14. Beasts at Bay
15. An Eyes For An Eye
Arch Enemy in concerto al Graspop Metal Meeting 2023 di Dessel foto di Andrea Ripamonti per www.rockon.it
These carvings were made to impress any enemy
The Vasa: too many guns on the second deck brought disaster on her maiden voyage
Vasa (or Wasa)[1] was a warship that was built for King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden from 1626 to 1628. The ship foundered and sank after sailing less than a nautical mile (ca 2 km) into her maiden voyage on 10 August 1628. Vasa fell into obscurity after initial attempts at recovering her valuable cannons in the 17th century but was located again in the late 1950s, in a busy shipping lane just outside the Stockholm harbor. She was salvaged with a largely intact hull on 24 April 1961. She was housed in a temporary museum called Wasavarvet ("The Wasa Shipyard") until 1987, and was then moved to the Vasa Museum in Stockholm. The ship is one of Sweden's most popular tourist attractions and, as of 2007, has attracted more than 25 million visitors.
Vasa was built top-heavy with insufficient ballast. Despite an obvious lack of stability in port, she was allowed to set sail and foundered a few minutes later when she first encountered a wind stronger than a breeze. The impulsive move to set sail resulted from a combination of factors. King Gustavus Adolphus, who was abroad on the date of her maiden voyage, was impatient to see Vasa join the Baltic fleet in the Thirty Years' War. At the same time, the king's subordinates lacked the political courage to discuss the ship's structural problems frankly or to have the maiden voyage postponed. An inquiry was organized by the privy council to find someone responsible for the disaster, but no sentences were handed out.
During the 1961 recovery, thousands of artifacts and the remains of at least 15 people were found in and around the hull of the Vasa by marine archaeologists. Among the many items found were clothing, weapons, cannons, tools, coins, cutlery, food, drink and six of the ten sails. The artifacts and the ship itself have provided historians with invaluable insight into details of naval warfare, shipbuilding techniques and everyday life in early 17th-century Sweden. When she was built, Vasa was intended to express the expansionist aspirations of Sweden and its king, Gustavus Adolphus, and no expense was spared in decorating and equipping her. She was one of the largest and most heavily armed warships of her time and was adorned with hundreds of sculptures, all of them painted in vivid colors.
Source: Wikipedia
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
The OA-1E was a response to the 1963 "tri-service" specification for the Light Armed Reconnaissance Aircraft (LARA) for U.S. Navy, Air Force and Army. The LARA requirement was based on a perceived need for a new type of "jungle fighting" versatile light attack and observation aircraft. Existing military aircraft in the observation role, such as the Cessna O-1 Bird Dog and Cessna O-2 Skymaster, were perceived as obsolescent, with too slow a speed and too small a load capacity for this flexible role.
A total of eleven proposals were submitted, among them were the Grumman Model 134R (a tandem-seat version of the already fielded U.S. Army's OV-1 Mohawk), the Convair Model 48 Charger, the Helio 1320, the Lockheed CL-760, a Martin design, and the North American/Rockwell NA-300. The LARA competition raged on until mid-1964, and it eventually spawned the successful OV-10 Bronco, which made its maiden flight in 1965 and eventually entered frontline service in Vietnam in 1968.
Douglas had proposed the D-885 design to the LARA competition, but had already been working on a concept for an armed military observation and attack aircraft, designed for battlefield surveillance and strike capabilities, in all weather conditions, day and night. This had been a private venture proposal, and USN and USMC approved it under the condition that it would be a cheap solution, being ready for front line tests in mid-1965 – much quicker than the OV-10, which also lacked the all-weather capability at that time.
Since time was pressing, the aircraft was based on the AD/A-1 Skyraider airframe and the program christened "Low Altitude Gunship and Obeservation System" (LAGOS). The resulting YOA-1E was based on the "Flying Dumptruck", the A-1E (AD-5) airframe with side-by-side seating and a spacious cockpit which had become necessary for the crew of three: a pilot, a co-pilot/navigator and an observer/gunman, combined with state-of-the-art sensor and weapon equipment plus the technical infrastructure for both.
The YOA-1E's special equipment included a relatively compact, turreted forward looking infrared (FLIR) sensor ball under the fuselage, combined with a laser target designator, a highly innovative feature at the time. The respective ‘Paveway’ series of laser-guided bombs had just been developed by Texas Instruments, starting in 1964, and the LAGOS YOA-1E had been one of the first operational aircraft that could illuminate and deploy laser-guided smart weapons. Other sensors included low-light cameras and an array of IR sensors that were installed in a bulged faring on port side. Several passive radar and IR warning sensors completed the package.
Tactically, the idea was to identify a ground target, lock onto it with the sensors and either mark the target with the laser for other aircraft that would deploy laser-guided ordnance, or circle around the target at maximum cannon range (which was outside of typical small arms fire) at an altitude of 6.000-8.000 feet and suppress or destroy the target with gun fire.
The OA-1E would not carry laser-guided bombs, though, since it lacked proper speed to deploy them effectively, and laser-guided missiles were still far beyond the horizon (the light AGM-114 Hellfire's development started in 1974, and the laser-guided AGM-65C Maverick would enter testing in 1978!).
But the agile and stable aircraft had other benefits: One special feature of the YOA-1E was a turreted, three-barreled 20 mm (.79 in) XM197 gun under the rear fuselage. This gatling gun, also a new development, originally for the AH-1 attack helicopter, was slaved to the FLIR aimpoint and could cover almost the complete lower hemisphere. Using a gun turret instead of fixed armament was expected to improve versatility, esp. against small, mobile targets and at very low altitude. The gun could also fire directly backwards, so that a limited rear defense was provided, too.
The XM197 was supplied from a massive magazine of 1.500 linked rounds that occupied much of the cabin’s rear, with a total capacity including feeder system of 1.600 rounds. This early XM 197 had a cyclic rate of fire of 650 RPM, at a muzzle velocity of 1.030 m/sec. This resulted in a potential constant fire of almost 3 min., even though standard practice was to fire the cannon in 30 to 50 round bursts, in order to save ammunition and to prevent overheating problems.
As a weight compensation measure, two of the A-1E’s original wing-mounted cannons were deleted, as well as the central underfuselage pylon which made way for the sensor/gun installation. The rest of the underwings hardpoints were retained, though, even though offensive ordnance was rarely carried.
In the course of the LAGOS program a total of four A-1E aircraft were modified, and three of them outfited for field testing of equipment and tactics. All of these machines were ready for service in late 1966. The operational trio was immediately transferred to East Asia in order to support the USMC troops, which had been sent to the Vietnam war theatre since March.
The three operational YOA-1Es were attached to the US Navy’s VA-33, 'Ironhides'. This was a short-lived Attack Squadron, originally based at Naval Station Sangley Point, Philippines, but deployed to Cam Ranh Air Base. There, the Skyraider squadron flew missions next to VAH-21 'Roadrunners', another special unit that operated four highly modfied AP-2H night surveillance and attack versions of the Lockheed P-2 Neptune aircraft. VAH-21 also had a field test task, because the squadron carried out night interdiction and electronic surveillance missions, as part of the USN’s Project TRIM (Trails Roads Interdiction Multi-Sensor).
Flying covert operations, the YOA-1E trio helped a lot in technical development, and the front line test revealed several flaws and problems of the overall concept. Primarily, the early FLIR and laser designator were not reliable under the humid climate of Vietnam.
The XM 197 cannon was troublesome, too. The gun itself worked well, but the ammunition feeding system was prone to jamming – a flaw that kept haunting later, helicopter-mounted variants, too. Anyway, the massive firepower earned the YOA-1E the nickname “The Ewer” and the gun turret turned out to be highly effective.
The OA-1Es even scored a single, documented air victory: an unsuspecting Vietnamese MiG-17PF night fighter was shot down with the XM197 in early 1970, when VA-33's OA-1E ‘01’, 'Pluto', dodged a surprise attack from behind and the gunner instinctively opened defensive fire - not an aimed counterattack, but neverthless successful!
The three OA-1Es were frequently deployed in a wide range of tasks and missions. These started in 1967 with reconnaissance missions at night, but with more and more experience withz the machines, their capabilities and their maintenance, a multitude of assignments were tried and accomplished.
One very successful role was the OA-1E’s use as mini gunships during “Sandy” (pilot recovery) missions, in which they escorted CH-53 rescue helicopters, suppressed enemy fire or supported other escorting A-1s, guiding them to hidden targets.
The LAGOS Skyraiders were also tested in pathfinder missions for faster aircraft, which would deploy their laser-guided Paveway bombs in a more effective fashion from a safe distance and from higher altitudes.
Another field in which the OA-1Es helped to gather tactical information for the later OV-10 was FAC duty. The Skyraider’s high loitering time proved to be very valuable, as well as its rigidity and its sophisticated sensor array.
Furthermore, the three Ewers accomplished aerial radiological reconnaissance, tactical air observation, artillery and naval gunfire spotting, airborne control of tactical air support operations as well as front line, low-level aerial photography. One of the machines (‘03’, 'Journey's End') was even provisionally modified to lay smoke screens, and it was extremely successful.
The aircraft was kept in service by its evaluators for several months and only reluctantly released. The smoke screen system did not catch on, though, due to a perceived lack of missions.
Racked armament in the Vietnam War was usually light. Beyond drop tanks to extend loitering time, typical loads were seven- and nineteen-shot 2.75 in (70 mm) LAU rocket pods with white phosphorus marker rounds or high-explosive rockets or 5” (127 mm) four-shot Zuni rocket pods. Bombs, ADSIDS air-delivered seismic sensors, Mk-6 battlefield illumination flares, and other stores were carried as well.
But the heavy equipment load and the XM197’s ammunition (the rounds themselves weighed more than 3.500 lb (1.600 kg)!) naturally limited the external ordnance stores’ volume and made the aircraft rather sluggish.
The LAGOS OA-1E proved to be too heavy and limited for a COIN aircraft, even though it was popular among the crews and basically performed well. The Skyraider airframe could take a lot of punishment and still make it home, and the low speed/low altitude handling was very good, despite the ponderous special equipment. But the aircraft could only be safely deployed in total air superiority conditions, and in the end the modern technology could not make up the old airframe’s weaknesses.
Consequently, the field tests were stopped in late 1970, the three machines taken back to the US and Douglas and further development of the LAGOS concept was halted, even though the insights were transferred to other developments like the OV-10D NOGS for the USMC and the AC-130 gunships for the USAF.
General characteristics:
Crew: Three
Length: 38 ft 10 in (11.84 m)
Wingspan: 50 ft 0¼ in (15.25 m)
Height: 15 ft 8¼ in (4.78 m)
Wing area: 400.3 ft² (37.19 m²)
Empty weight: 11,968 lb (5,429 kg)
Loaded weight: 18,106 lb (8,213 kg)
Max. take-off weight: 25,000 lb (11,340 kg)
Powerplant:
1× Wright R-3350-26WA radial engine, 2,700 hp (2,000 kW)
Performance:
Maximum speed: 322 mph (280 kn, 518 km/h) at 18,000 ft (5,500 m)
Cruise speed: 198 mph (172 kn, 319 km/h)
Range: 1,316 mi (1,144 nmi, 2,115 km)
Service ceiling: 28,500 ft (8,685 m)
Rate of climb: 2,850 ft/min (14.5 m/s)
Wing loading: 45 lb/ft² (220 kg/m²)
Power/mass: 0.15 hp/lb (250 W/kg)
Armament:
2× M2 20mm (0.79 in) cannon in the wings
1× XM 197 20mm (0.79 in) cannon in a ventral turret
15 hardpoints for theoretically up to 8,000 lb (3,600 kg) of external ordnance, but rarely used due to the massive ammunition magazine of the XM 197
The kit and its assembly:
This has been on my whif agenda for long, and was initially inspired by the OV-10D NOGS project – a Bronco with night vision sensors and a turreted cannon under its belly. I wondered if this concept could not have been tested a few years earlier, during the Vietnam conflict? The technology underwent initial field tests at that time, e. g. in form of the AP-2H or the B-57G “Tropic Moon”. Gunships like the AC-47 or AC-119 were also a proven concept – so why not meld everything into a compact aircraft?
The A-1E seemed a good basis, with its spacious fuselage, and the basis for this modification is the Monogram kit from the late 60ies, in this case a Revell re-boxing.
The kit is rather simple and has some weak points, e.g. the crude landing gear and engine, or massive ejector pin markings under the stabilizer. I only changed what I deemed necessary, as this was to become a prototype on the basis of a stock A-1E. Hence, I only changed the interior layout with a massive box (the ammunition depot, actually a Revell Me 262 cockpit tub turned upseide down…) and a work station for the observer/gunner behind the pilots’ cabin with a seat and a screen.
The sensor and turret balls were scratched – these are actually shoulder joints from a Dorvack PA mecha kit, fitted in matching holes in the fuselage. As a side effect, the things can be moved and the shoulder fulcrum was used to mount the cannon, so that this became moveable, too. The space between the turrets was faired as good as possible.
On the hull, several antennae and bumps were added, and different main wheels (IIRC from an Italeri MiG-29!) were used. The flaps were lowered, too, for a more lively look. As ordnance, two drop tanks (smaller than those that come with the kit, from an Italeri BAe Hawk), a single pair of LAU rocket launchers on the outer wing stations (from an Italeri A-4M, IIRC) and two first generation ECM pods (an ALQ-81 and ALQ-101, from a Hasegawa aircraft weapon set) were added.
Painting and markings:
The wrap-around paint scheme was another important factor to build this whif kit - it looks pretty cool and popped up several times in the late 60ies and the 70ies, e. g. on the USMC’s OV-10D prototypes, and on the US Navy’s AP-2Hs from VAH-21 in Vietnam.
The scheme was, AFAIK, made from three grey tones: FS 36118 (Gunship Grey), FS 36231 (Dark Gull Grey) and FS 36440 (Light Gull Grey), and these colors were prone to weathering and bleaching under the tropical East Asia climate, so that the Light Gull Grey appears almost like white. This was simulated with some black ink wash and dry-brushing all over the hull.
The interior was painted in Neutral Grey (FS 36173), while the landing gear was kept all-white.
The decals were puzzled together, but mostly from the Revell kit's decal sheet that offers a USAF machine and two USN machines, a blue and a grey one.
IMHO, the result was worth the effort - the paint scheme looks very good on the bulky Skyraider, and the changes with the weapon/sensor gondola is rather subtle, it's only obvious at second glance and it IMHO even looks plausible in this position and arrangement?
The city of Los Angeles must have been the largest in the world before the War. The LA Boneyard stretched forever, the skeletons of buildings lying under the hot sun. Not even the wind entered this dead city.
I found many enemies, and a few friends, in the Boneyard. I killed when necessary and learned more about the nature of my true foes. Deep under the ground, I found an evil that was behind the mutants and their army. Within a dark and forbidding Vault, where the walls dripped with human flesh, and the screams of the dying echoed through the halls, I found many evil creatures and mutants.
Walking among the misshapen ones, I killed one of their servants and took his clothing. Hidden from casual searches, I made my way to the bottom of the Vault. The deeper into the Vault I went, the more gruesome the journey. More and more flesh was to be found, integrated into the very walls. The worst part of it was that the flesh was still alive, and even aware of my presence.
After a while, I found myself in the presence of the most hideous sight yet. I still cannot bring myself to write of this discovery, but let it be known that when I left, the Beast was dead and the Master of the mutant army was no more.
The Vats
My job was still not finished, for I still had one task remaining. The Master had literally built his army one mutant at a time. Humans, preferably with little radiation damage, were to be captured and sent to the Vats. There they were dipped in something called FEV, which transformed them into the large, grotesque mutants.
I had to find these Vats, and put them out of action as well, lest another take the Master's place and continue to build the mutant army. Fortunately, my friends at the Brotherhood had a few clues, and helped me reach my goal. Invading the Vats, I came across more mutants and robots. None could stand in my way. I had a mission. I had a goal. I had a really large gun. It was here that Dogmeat fell, a victim of a powerful energy forcefield. I miss that dog. I destroyed the Vats that day, and with it, the mutant army. The last I heard, they splintered and disappeared into the desert.