WWII Facts – Interesting facts about the Second World War
Complimenting our fact-files on Spitfire, Churchill, Hitler and Stalin, Military Times has compiled a list of frequently baffling facts about the Second World War.
Many of these have been widely reported and circulated, entering the
annals of modern folk-lore. Yet like all legends, they have been
embellished over time, either by hyperbole or simple miss-reporting.
Whilst there are many more beguiling facts and figures equally worthy
of inclusion, we have narrowed it to down to a selection of ten.
In the process, we have sought to debunk some of the myths, surrounding these events.
1. The Third Streich
It is said that lightning never strikes the same place twice. The
Norwegian merchant-seamen Birger Lunde would perhaps disagree. Lunde
was not only sunk by German U-Boats an incredible three times in
consecutive years, but miraculously survived to tell the tale, living on
to the age of 82.
His first encounter occurred in May 1941, whilst serving aboard the cargo ship
Taranger,
as second mate and radio operator. 250 miles off Iceland, and headed
for America for artillery modifications to strengthen the vessel, she
was met by a U-Boat which “shelled us until the ship literally fell
apart.” They were rescued from the lifeboat a couple of days later by
the British Navy.
Less than a year later, February 1942, his ship,
Blink, was
torpedoed. His lifeboat would capsize several times. Following several
deaths amongst the crew, hallucinations due to fatigue and a dearth of
supplies, and battles with sharks, the few remaining survivors were
picked up by an American ship.
Returning to the waters, again as second mate and radio operator, his vessel,
Oregon Express,
was hit by a torpedo in 1943 whilst cruising in convoy in the Atlantic.
This time he didn’t make it into a lifeboat, instead suffering a
broken collarbone, ribs, and injuries to his back. Thankfully for Lunde
he was spotted by a Danish ship, before ended up in New York.
2. German U-Boat trounced by Royal Flush
It is often reported across various sources that a malfunctioning
toilet sank the German submarine U-120. In fact this claim is
erroneously attributed; the sub in question was actually the much larger
U-1206, which was fitted with an advanced, yet complicated ‘deepwater
high-pressure toilet’.
As the name suggests, the new sanitation device was designed for use
at a significant depth. So complicated was the drainage procedure,
however, that specialised technicians were trained to do it.
The incident occurred on 14th April 1945, 8 miles off the coast of
Peterhead, Scotland, whilst cruising at a depth of 200 feet. Due to
misuse, the head started flooding rapidly, obliging the captain,
Karl-Adolf Schlitt to surface.
She was spotted and subsequently bombed by British patrols. Again,
faced with no other palpable option, Schlitt scuttled the U-boat. One
crewman died, three drowned and a further 46 were captured by the
British.
In a final epilogue to the story, the wreck was found by BP in the
1970s, whilst surveying underwater pipelines. The discovery provides an
alternative theory for the U-boat’s demise; the fatal leak may have
resulted from a collision with another wreck at the same site.
3. Collect 200 Marks as you pass Go!
35,000 Allied prisoners of war escaped German and Italian camps
during World War II. Some people may be surprised to learn that the
board game Monopoly was responsible for at least a third of these.
The Red Cross sent POWs special ‘prison escape kits’ disguised as
standard monopoly boxes. The specialised kits were marked by a red dot –
appearing to the uninitiated as a mere printing glitch – in the free
parking square.
Contents included: authentic German currency hidden amongst the
Monopoly money, a tiny compass embedded into the dog counter, a metal
file sandwiched inside the board itself, and silk maps of the prison and
its locality sealed inside the hotel pieces. Silk could not only be
compressed to a small size, but more importantly, it would not rustle
like a paper map which may potentially alert guards of escape.
The manufacturers, John Waddington Ltd, were specially commissioned
to create these kits for the British Secret Service. POWs were
generally allowed to play board games to pass the time, making the
monopoly box the perfect ruse. In a similar innovation, RAF pilots were
issued with playing cards which could be soaked in water, revealing
maps when unfolded.
Incidentally, in standard issue Monopoly sets during the war, the
dice were replaced with a cardboard spinner due to the short supply of
normal materials.
4. Island invasion catastrophe
On 15th August 1943, almost 35,000 American and Canadian troops
stormed the island of Kiska to repel a Japanese invasion force; 21 men
died in the ensuing pandemonium and crossfire. Little did they know,
however, that the island was in fact unoccupied. Kiska, the Aleutian
Island, an America territory since 1867, had been captured by the
Japanese the previous June. Although the island off Alaska was not
particularly strategically important in itself, the psychological impact
of Japan claiming American soil made its recapture even more desirable.
In addition to the 21 fatalities, a recorded 130 suffered trenchfoot,
whilst many more were injured either in the confusion, or as a result
of Japanese ‘booby traps’ that had been left on the island.
Before the attack on Pearl Harbor, the US Navy’s top command was
known by the abbreviation of CINCUS (or ‘sink us’). Naturally the name
was later changed.
5. The WWII origins of Fanta
Fanta, the fizzy, sugar-based drink owned by Coca Cola, symbolic of
the ‘American dream’, actually began its life in Nazi Germany.
Various conspiracy theories sporadically arise over this story, some
claiming that the drink was conjured up by the Nazi war machine to
counter American permeation of popular consumer culture. One could
reasonably argue that the negative propaganda inherent in mass
consumption of an American import would be damaging – potentially to
both parties. This line of reasoning leads some to suggest that both
Coke and Fanta were really the same product, only branded differently
for the respective markets.
However, other symbolic American brands, Ford being the obvious
example, had little qualms in articulating their proud relationship with
Hitler’s Germany.
In reality, the drink was developed not by the Nazis, but
independently by Max Keith, head of Coca Cola’s German operations, a
pragmatic solution to the problem of getting Coke ingredients into
Germany. Its ingredients varied, depending on which by-products were
available from German factories at the time.
The drink proved popular, and was adopted by Coca Cola internationally post-war.
In another allusion to Coca Cola’s wartime influence, it is reported
that the drink was so integral to the America war-effort that the US
Army took 3 bottling plants with them into North Africa.
6. Outnumbered
During the Second World War, the US Army had more ships than the US Navy.
7. The Price to Pay
The effects of war are both far-reaching and enduring. Britain was
still paying off its WWII debts owed to America and Canada as recently
as 2006. The final instalment of $83.25 was wired to America on the
last day of business, 2006; it was actually 6 years late, due to
intermittent financial difficulties, having negotiated a 50 year payment
plan in 1950. Britain was reportedly three months shy of bankruptcy
when the war finally drew to a close, mid-1945.
8. A Wooden Performance?
It has been claimed that during the war, Academy Awards were made out
of wood, as opposed to the traditional plated bronze or Britannia alloy
trophies. In actual fact this is a fallacy. Whilst it is true that
metal trophies were suspended for three years owing to a shortage, the
replacements were actually made of painted plaster. ”Following the war,
the Academy invited recipients to redeem the plaster figures for
gold-plated metal ones.”
9. Churchill takes a bow (and arrow)
‘Mad Jack’, Lieutenant Colonel Churchill
Traditionalist Lieutenant Colonel John Malcolm Thorpe Fleming
Churchill, or ‘Mad Jack’ as he was known, fought in World War II using a
longbow and sword. Churchill – of no apparent relation to his namesake
– once asserted that “any officer who goes into action without his
sword is improperly dressed.”
10. I Don’t Do Requests
In 1942, American radio DJs were prohibited from airing requests of
listeners. It was feared by the War Department that enemy spies might
embed secret intelligence messages, hence broadcasting valuable
information to be picked up by other agents.
