Driver, Field Artillery
The field artillery driver is equipped to ride a horse team into battle on the Western Front
Most of the field artillery pieces on the Western Front were towed into action by a horse team. The driver is ready to mount the lead horse of a team harnessed to an ammunition limber. On his left leg he wears a standard leather legging, while on his right he wears one that is reinforced with a narrow steel shield to protect his leg from being crushed by the central spar of the limber. He is holding a bridle for his horse. Accurate artillery fire was essential to the success of any attack during the Great War. Men and horses took extraordinary risks to get their guns into action where the infantry needed them most.
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On this day
On this day
3 June
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