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Operation Gomorrah lays waste to Hamburg
By Peter Ayers Wimbrow III Contributing Writer
(July 21, 2023) This week, 80 years ago, Hell came to Hamburg, Germany. It was delivered by the Allied Air Forces and was titled, “Operation Gomorrah.” When it was finished 42,000 of the city’s citizens were dead —21,000 women, 13,000 men and 8,000 children — and a million displaced.
Today, Hamburg is the second largest city in Germany and, with more than 1.8 million residents, the sixth largest city in the European Union. The greater metropolitan area counts 5 million inhabitants. It is located on the River Elbe and its port is the second largest in Europe and the 10th largest in the world. Its location on the Elbe gives it easy access to the North Sea and from there, the world.
By the time of Operation Gomorrah, Hamburg had already been subjected to more than 35 air raids of varying sizes, intensity and duration. But nothing prepared it for what occurred this week, eighty years ago.
On the night of July 24, 1943, 791 British bombers attacked the city. It was the first time that Allied bombers had used “Windows,” an anti-radar measure in which small pieces of aluminum are dropped to overwhelm the radar screens. The search lights, anti-aircraft guns and night fighters were all blinded, leaving them virtually useless. Hamburg was rendered defenseless against the Allied airborne terror.
The next day, approximately 100 American B-17 Flying Fortresses attacked the submarine pens at Hamburg. The Americans repeated this attack with 71 of the big bombers the following day. A 700-plane nighttime attack by the British was diverted to
Essen because of the smoke still lingering over Hamburg. Instead, six British de Havilland Mosquito bombers attacked Hamburg.
On the evening of July 27, another 787 British bombers — 353 Lancasters, 244 Halifaxes, 116 Stirlings and 74 Wellingtons — attacked the defenseless city using a high concentration of incendiary bombs. Unfortunately for the city, this particular summer, 80 years ago, was exceptionally hot and dry. These factors all coalesced to create a horrific fire storm. Winds reached up to 150 miles per hour, while temperatures reached 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit. The fires climbed to a height of more than 1,000 feet.
The streets burst into flames. As fuel from damaged and destroyed ships spilled into canals and harbor, it ignited. While the firestorm raged, it sucked the oxygen from the city and its bomb shelters, killing all. It swept people off the streets like dry leaves.
The next night, the city was attacked by four more British Mosquitos. On the night of July 29, 777
British bombers returned to attack the stricken city. After a two-day respite, 350 more British bombers returned on the evening of Aug. 2. Although Hamburg would be hit another 54 times before war’s end, it would never suffer death and destruction such as this week.
A total of 2,353 British heavy bombers dropped 7,196 high explosive and incendiary bombs, with a weight of 4,300 tons in less than a week. In all, the two air forces dropped about 9,000 tons of bombs, with 4,400 tons being high explosives, 2,700 tons of stick bombs, weighing 3.5 lbs. each and 1,900 tons of liquid incendiary bombs.
The operation involved more than 100,000 men, including air crews, technicians and ground support. The British lost 57 planes, or 2.4 percent. The RAF’s chief, Sir Arthur “Bomber” Harris described the losses as “minute.”
On the ground, half of Hamburg’s dwellings were destroyed with the remainder suffering varying degrees of damage. More homes were destroyed in Hamburg in this operation than all the homes destroyed by the Luftwaffe in England during the entire war.
In addition, industrial buildings,
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Kenneth Thom
Snow Hill
The Rev. Kenneth Stow Thom, 85, of Snow Hill, ascended to his Savior on Sunday, July 9, 2023, at Tidal Health Peninsula Regional Medical Center in Salisbury.
Born in Philadelphia on July 28, 1937, he was the son of the late William Angus Thom and Catherine Stow Thom.
He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Arlene McElhaney Thom; his daughter, Catherine “Cate” Easmunt, and her husband, David, of Hardin, Kentucky; his son, Kenneth Thom, and his wife, Nicole, of Palo Alto, California; and four grandchildren, Mitchell, Nicholas, Alexander and Zachary.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his brother, Angus Malcolm Thom.
Rev. Thom matriculated with the first class of the United States Air Force academy. He received his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Drexel University in Philadelphia.
He had been employed with GE Aerospace later acquired by Lock-
World War Ii
Continued from Page 58 businesses, schools, hospitals, churches, banks and offices were all destroyed, as well as 180,000 tons of shipping sunk in the harbor. An estimated 40,000,000 tons of debris were created. From all the air raids, 55,000 citizens of Hamburg died - almost as many casualties as the British Army suffered between the evacuation of Dunkirk, in 1940, and the Battle at Arnhem, in 1944. Almost as many Hamburg residents died from the Allied bombing, as died on the front lines — 63,000.
Operation Gomorrah eliminated the last vestiges of the Luftwaffe Chief, Reichsmarschal Hermann Göring’s good standing among the German citizens. Once popular, he had guaranteed that “his” Luftwaffe could supply the Sixth Army at Stalingrad — and it failed — and as a consequence, their sons and brothers had died.
He had guaranteed that “his” Luftwaffe would protect German homes and cities from enemy air attacks — and it failed — and as a consequence German mothers, sisters and children were killed, maimed and left homeless.
Next week: Ploie ti heed Martin at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt. When living in Anne Arundel County, he enjoyed sailing with his family.
Mr. Wimbrow writes from Ocean City, Maryland, where he practices law representing those persons accused of criminal and traffic offenses, and those persons who have suffered a personal injury through no fault of their own. He can be contacted at wimbrowlaw@gmail.com.
He also earned his private pilot and flight instructor certificate. He achieved the rank of Colonel in the Civil Air Patrol and served as a pilot and Aerospace Education Officer. He
He had long felt a calling to ministry, so after retiring from Lockheed Martin he attended Virginia Theological Seminary and received his master of divinity.
He was ordained a deacon in May 2001, and a priest in November 2001.
He served as the Priest-In-Charge at All Hallows Episcopal Church in Snow Hill for ten years. After retiring from full-time ministry, he served as a supply priest at several Episcopal churches in Wicomico and Worcester counties, most recently serving for several years as Vicar of St. Philip’s Episcopal Church in Quantico.
A funeral service will be held 11 a.m., July 25, at All Hallows Episcopal Church, 109 W Market St, Snow Hill, MD 21863. Visitation will be one hour prior, The Right Rev. Robert Ihloff and The Rev. Andrew Cropper will officiate.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to All Hallows Episcopal Church, St. Philip’s Episcopal Church, 6457 Quantico Rd, Quantico, MD 21856, or to the Civil Air Patrol at gocivilairpatrol.com/?form=CAP2023. Letters of condolence can be sent to the family via burbagefuneralhome.com. Arrangements are in the care of The Burbage Funeral Home.
JEANNE DONALDSON TOWNSEND Snow Hill
Jeanne Donaldson Townsend, 92, of Snow Hill, passed away July 17, 2023.
A lifetime resident of her beloved Snow Hill, Jeanne served her community with commitment and a passion for the town’s long history.
Graduating from high school at the age of 16, Jeanne immediately began working at the Snow Hill Court House, later becoming the first woman supervisor of assessments in the state of Maryland.
She also volunteered for numerous organizations, was a member of her local DAR chapter and served in her church, All Hallows Episcopal Church, for decades.
The Worcester County Commission for Women named her a Worcester County Gem for her accomplishments in her community.
Jeanne spent her retirement years feeding her love of history as a genealogist. She helped families from all over the country research their roots as a hobby. Her love of travel also nourished her love of history. All of these accomplishments pale in comparison to her greatest achievement, her family.
Jeanne is preceded in death by her parents, James and Elizabeth; husband Melvin; son-in-law Earl; and great-grandchild, Easton, 2, of Charlotte, North Carolina.
She is survived by her daughter Janet; grandchildren Elizabeth (Brandon) and Thomas (Katie); great- grandchildren Grant and Emily; and many cousins and friends.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to Coastal Hospice, P.O. Box 1733 Salisbury, MD 21802; All Hallows Episcopal Church, 109 W. Market St. Snow Hill, MD 21863; or The Snow Hill Volunteer Fire Company, 4718 Snow Hill Rd. Snow Hill, MD 21863.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m., Saturday, July 22, at All Hallows Episcopal Church in Snow Hill. Friends may call from 10- 11 a.m. Arrangements are in the care of The Burbage Funeral Home in Berlin. Condolences can be shared with the family at burbagefuneralhome.com.
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OCTT gives biggest single-boat payout in tourny’s history
By Hunter Hine Staff Writer
(July 21, 2023) The 36th annual Ocean City Tuna Tournament paid out around $990,000 in prize money last weekend – the third largest purse in tournament history – although the weather made trouble for many anglers.
“We unfortunately had some pretty rough seas for the weekend of the tuna tournament, so Friday, Saturday, Sunday. (It) looked beautiful right before … so we got the short end of the stick on the weather, but the turnout really didn’t get affected too poorly,” said Hunter Dortenzo, assistant dock master at the Ocean City Fishing Center, which hosted the tournament with Sunset Marina and Micky Fins. “We were thrilled with the outcome, with the number of boats fishing and the fish brought into the scales.”
Of the 74 boats registered, 35 went out Friday and 44 headed offshore Sunday, the two days that brought the roughest weather, Dortenzo said. Saturday was relatively nice out, and 71 boats took advantage for a day of fishing.
Bad weather forced many smaller boats to abstain this weekend, Dortenzo said.
“Winds out of the south (were) anywhere from 10-25 knots, seas probably four- to eight-foot range, so not the most pleasant conditions out there and definitely a bumpy ride for our guys fishing in the tournament, but the guys that did go out there and deal with those weather conditions got rewarded for it,” Dortenzo said.
The Cabana team took first place in the single heaviest tuna division, with a 236-pound bigeye caught by Mike McCarthy.
Cabana also brought in the heaviest tuna stringer with 763 pounds of fish caught across two days.
It was the tournament’s heaviest stringer since 2007, and the fourth heaviest in tournament history, Dortenzo said.
“That anticipation of seeing a big tuna come off the boat at the scales is always really exciting,” Dortenzo said. “That will get the crowd riled up pretty good.”
However, Cabana did not place for the stringer because competing boats can only win for either single heaviest fish or heaviest stringer, not both, in some added entry levels, Dortenzo said.
Also, in other winner-take-all categories that are split 50/50 between heaviest single fish and heaviest stringer, participants can only win one of the two categories.
“(In) levels G and H (the jackpot calcuttas) you can win both sides, which Cabana did,” Dortenzo said.
The Cabana team won a total of $495,100 along with a $5,000 Atlantic Capital gift card, which was also for the single heaviest fish, earning them the highest single-boat payout in tournament history.
Cabana also won heaviest single fish among 52-foot-and-up boats, which was included in the prize total.
“With the weather, with a number of registered boats, we couldn’t be happier to be able to give out payouts that big,” Dortenzo said.
The Boss Hogg crew took second place for single heaviest fish, earning $49,800 for a 230-pound bigeye landed by Mike Runk, Sr., and third place went to Full Service, who weighed Dan Brandt’s 209-pound bluefin to win $67,970.
Full Service also won heaviest bluefin and heaviest single fish for boats between 36-51 feet, the earn- ings of which were included in their total.
The Marli team took home $132,325 for the heaviest stringer, with a two-day combined weight of 506-pounds. Marli also won heaviest stringer among 52-foot-and-up boats, which was included in the total.
The BAR South crew came in second for stringers with a 471-pound total weight that won them $59,565, and the third-place prize was $27,835, which went to Ro Sham Bo whose stringer totaled 439 pounds.
Raymie Caiola was the top junior angler. He caught a 54-pound yellowfin aboard Talkin’ Trash. He was presented $1,500.
J.L. Cropper earned $2,000 after taking the first-place spot among the top lady anglers with a 108-pound bluefin she reeled in on Myra HT.
Heaviest dolphin fish, and the calcutta’s carry-over money from last year, went to the Lucky Duck team for its 32-pound catch, winning them $61,230.
The wahoo calcutta went unclaimed yet again this year, adding to the jackpot and bringing the payout money to over $60,000 for next year’s tournament.
The Fluid Dynamics team received $13,500 for the heaviest stringer in the category for boats between 36-51 feet with a two-day-total weight of 308 pounds.
In the small boats category (35 feet and under), the Zippy crew won $2,250 for the heaviest single fish and the Cluster Fish team won the same amount for heaviest stringer of 130 pounds.
The tournament was also able to give around $11,000 to Marlins for Mason, an organization that benefits the Dravet Syndrome Foundation in honor of Mason Prather, a 5-year-old Ocean City angler who lives with Dravet Syndrome, a rare lifelong form of epilepsy.
Dortenzo said the scales brought around 200-400 spectators each day with consistent lines of fish getting weighed at the marina and boats backed up from 4:15-7:30 p.m.
“Even Sunday when we had terrible weather here inland – it was pouring down rain, heavy winds, lightning at times – and we still had people out here at the scales, so we’re always thrilled with the spectators and we make it fun with them,”