Surgeon
Our surgeon is operating close to the battlefields of the Western Front
He is wearing a gown and rubber gloves and has an anaesthetic kit between his fet, yet his steel helmet and water bottle show that he is within range of enemy fire.
The new weapons and massive battle casualties suffered during the Great War taught the medical services that sophisticated care was required as close to the front line as possible if wounded soldiers were to survive.
Mobile medical units staffed by skilled surgeons who could provide expert treatment for badly wounded soldiers located themselves closer to the battlefields than in any previous war.
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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