r/WW2info

Missions to Blechhammer are commemorated in an excellent private museum, run by the Blechhammer-1944 Association. It is located in a WWII-era air raid bunker, walking distance to the Blechhammer North complex, in Kedzierzyn-Kozle, Poland.
The missions, the factories, slave labor and POW camps are presented in much detail, and you can see a lot of historical artifacts there.
I have been working with this group since 2000. Back then, they had a lot of info about American crash sites, but could not link them to any particular aircraft. I had a lot of archival documents, but did not know where exactly the American planes went down. This, and the fact they are good people, made it a natural collaboration and friendship between us.

Check their Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/share/18pZ6HK16M/?mibextid=wwXIfr

And subscribe to my substack, and find out more stories about the USAAF over Poland.

https://substack.com/@usaafoverpoland

Hi all, this isn't a colorized photo, the original photo from the 1940s had color on it already, not sure if that's still against the rules or not, if it is I apologize. So what are these on the left breast of this UK uniform called? And can you tell anything by looking at it? For context it's my Grandfather and it's a UK uniform and I'm guessing from around the 1940s

During the Winter War (1939-1940), Finnish farmer Simo Häyhä achieved 505 confirmed kills in just 100 days using only iron sights — no scope — in temperatures of -40°C.

He packed snow in his mouth so his breath vapor wouldn't betray his position. The Soviets sent entire counter-sniper teams to eliminate him. None returned.

On March 6, 1940, an explosive bullet struck his jaw and took off half his face. He woke up from a coma on the exact day the war ended — March 13, 1940 — and lived to age 96.

What made Häyhä uniquely dangerous was his choice to use iron sights instead of a telescopic scope — this meant he had a much lower profile in the snow, and no lens glare to betray his position. He also wore white camouflage and memorized the terrain around Kollaa for years before the war began.

The battle took place near the Kollaa River, where Häyhä's unit of 32 men held a 6-mile front against Soviet forces that outnumbered them roughly 4,000 to 32. Finnish commanders famously said "Kollaa shall hold" — and it did, largely because of one man.

Häyhä never received formal sniper training. He was a competitive marksman who had practiced shooting as a hobby on his family farm. When the war ended, Finnish commander Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim personally promoted him to second lieutenant — the fastest battlefield promotion in Finnish military history.

What aspect of Häyhä's story do you find most remarkable — his survival, his technique, or the sheer scale of what one man accomplished against such odds?

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simo_H%C3%A4yh%C3%A4

This Memorial Weekend will be very special to me.

I have been supporting for 25+ years the US government efforts to recover WWII MIAs from Poland, and imagine this!!!

Yesterday, one of the identified MIAs from Poland was reburied in Omaha, Nebraska (8 MIAs in his crew, 5 were identified and returned to families in the last 10 years, and I gave my humble contribution to this effort).

And, TODAY!!!, an airman from another crew shot down over Politz (today Police, Poland) is buried in Praire du Rocher, Illinois! There were four MIAs in his crew, allegedly buried in one grave. We passed this information to the US government years ago, they worked with my friends from Szczecin, found the grave, and the identification process was finished on two men.

I will write more about each airman on the Memorial Weekend.

Meanwhile, the second part of my In The Air On The Air story is published on Substack.

Although I am linking plane names to songs and movies of the 1940s, this was a cruel war, and there were people dying on these planes, too.

My special thoughts go to Walter Shimshock (born Wladek Szymczak), who bailed out of the „I’ll Be Seeing You/‚Til We Meet Again”, landed safely near Warsaw, Poland, on September 18th 1944, and was brutally killed by German soldiers. Indeed, Til We Meet Again.

https://sserwatka.substack.com/p/in-the-air-and-on-the-air-part-2

On March 22, 1945, a few B-17s were damaged by German flak over Ruhland, and the crews decided to fly east to reach a Soviet/controlled emergency airfield in Poland. Three of the Fortresses never made it, as they were shot down by Soviet P-39s. The Russians not only downed the planes but strafed the airmen floating down helplessly in their parachutes.

During my research, I managed to identify crashsites of two of the three, and a good friend of mine identified the third one. This information was passed to the US government back in the 2000s.

One of the crash sites (B-17 #44-8191, with 8 MIAs) qualified for an escavation, and last year remains of four men were officially identified. Rae DeMatteis, Stephen Fatur, Donald Dorman, Robert Keuchel were returned to their respective families.

Robert Keuchel will be buried this Friday in Omaha, Nebraska.

https://www.heafeyheafey.com/obituaries/Robert-A-Keuchel?obId=48321494

I will write up this story in more details on my substack.

https://substack.com/@usaafoverpoland

The Photo of the #44-8191 is from https://www.reddit.com/r/WWIIplanes/s/KEhrH7eMUS

Wikipedia article says that B-4 had 15 crew members, but I can not find out what were their roles and I seek for your help!

Scharsterbrug: April 1945

Set in the Frisian village of Scharsterbrug during the final days of World War II, this custom Call to Arms: Gates of Hell map recreates the fierce fighting that erupted around the strategic bridge over the Scharsterrijn canal in April 1945.

Steam Workshop: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3725439581

The First Battle – The Resistance

Before the Canadian army arrived, local Dutch resistance fighters launched a daring attempt to prevent the Germans from destroying the bridge over the Scharsterrijn. During this action, resistance scout Richard Jung was killed while gathering information on German positions around the bridge and the nearby Hollandia dairy factory. His death became a symbol of the village’s sacrifice.

The Second Battle – The Canadians

On 16 April 1945, Canadian troops from the Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa and the Régiment de la Chaudière attacked Scharsterbrug. German forces had entrenched themselves around the bridge, farmhouses, and the Hollandia dairy factory, turning the village into a strongpoint covering the road to Lemmer. The Canadian assault began with a heavy artillery barrage, followed by mortar fire that pounded the German defenses. Houses and barns burst into flames. Two Canadian vehicles were destroyed by a German anti-aircraft cannon covering the approach to the village. At the Hollandia factory, Canadian flamethrower teams were brought forward to clear stubborn German positions. The fighting raged from building to building until the Canadians finally overran Scharsterbrug.

The Aftermath

Liberation brought no immediate celebration. Eyewitness Otto Haitsma, who was six years old at the time, described a horrific scene: shattered houses, smoldering farms, and dead cows and horses lying swollen and blackened in the streets. Near the dairy factory were piles of bodies, torn apart by shellfire and machine-gun fire, their uniforms soaked in blood. The bridge itself had been destroyed, forcing Canadian engineers to construct a Bailey bridge the next day so the advance toward Lemmer could continue.

A Map That Demands New Tactics!

Unlike most Gates of Hell maps, Scharsterbrug revolves around one critical objective: the bridge over the Scharsterrijn canal. The bridge can be destroyed during the battle, just as it was in real life. If that happens, tanks, armored cars, and supply vehicles will be unable to cross the canal for the rest of the match. There are no alternate vehicle routes and no replacement bridge. Infantry, however, can still wade and swim across the canal, turning the fight into a brutal close-quarters struggle for the village and surrounding fields.

Commanders must decide quickly:

A destroyed bridge changes the entire battle, forcing players to adapt just as the real commanders did. This does not make tanks useless. Although armor cannot cross, tanks positioned in the surrounding fields can still provide crucial fire support from hull-down positions behind dikes and hedgerows, bombarding enemy strongpoints across the canal and covering infantry assaults.

- Seize and secure the bridge before it is demolished.

- Defend it at all costs.

- Prepare for a vehicle-restricted battle if the crossing is lost.

- Use infantry to flank across the water and establish a foothold on the far bank.

Roadmap – V2

Version 2 will focus on improving immersion, atmosphere, and overall polish of the Scharsterbrug map.

- Enhanced visual FX including fires, smoke, and battlefield atmosphere

- Introduction of new game modes, offering different ways to experience the Scharsterbrug battlefield with varied objectives, pacing, and tactical focus

- General visual polish and refinement of key areas

- Bug fixes and visual glitch corrections to improve stability and presentation

- Continued refinement based on community feedback

Help Wanted!

I’m looking for someone experienced with creating triggers and singleplayer missions in Call to Arms: Gates of Hell to help expand a custom WW2 map project: Scharsterbrug. If you have experience with mission scripting, AI behavior, or trigger systems and would like to contribute, I’d really appreciate your help. Interested? Add me on Steam and message me about the project.

Special Thanks!

Jennifer Unabia - For helping design the beautiful Frisian farms and countryside.

Kane - For playtesting the map and providing valuable feedback.