The bomber’s weapon is the grenade or ‘bomb’. In battle, the bomber’s task is to throw hand grenades or fire rifle grenades at the enemy. To protect himself against the cold and rain, he is wrapped in a waterproof groundsheet. In his hands he is holding a couple of rifle grenades on rods. These rods slide down the barrel of his rifle and enable him to fire a grenade much further than it could be thrown. At his feet is a pile of Mills bombs, the most effective British hand grenade of the Great War. As the war on the Western Front dragged on, the infantry learned to work as teams of bombers, riflemen with bayonets, and light machine-gunners using their different weapons in combination to destroy the enemy.
On this day
1942 — Battle of MIDWAY began. This decisive victory by the US Navy over the Japanese Navy shifted the balance of sea power in the Pacific and forced Japan to abandon plans to attack New Caledonia, Fiji and Samoa. Japanese losses were 4 aircraft carriers, 1 cruiser, 248 aircraft, and over 3,000 sailors. American losses were 1 aircraft carrier, 1 destroyer, 150 aircraft, and 307 men
1944 — 78 Squadron, RAAF, carried out the last major air combat by the RAAF in WW2, off BIAK Island, New Guinea. 10 enemy planes were shot down for the loss of one Australian plane and pilot
1969 — HMAS MELBOURNE collided with USS FRANK E EVANS in the South China Sea. EVANS was cut in half and 74 of her crew were killed