Daydream Notes

 I read the Hobbit for the first time in many years, to my nieces at their bedtime. This is what I learned. Ah, note that none of these observations are original; this is just "stuff I noticed" having not read the book for a few decades. Bilbo gets concussed. So if you are remotely familiar with Tolkien, you know he is a bit detail obsessed. Still, I was surprised to notice both times Bilbo takes a blow to the head, he actually shows signs of a concussion after. (The first time he's knocked out for an unknown length of time in the goblin caves; later he takes a rock to the head during the battle of the five armies.) That second time Bilbo is blacked out all night and till morning the next day. What's more, Tolkien even throws a line or two in on how Hobbits can recover from things like head trauma much faster than you'd expect.  It's a small thing, but I always appreciate any time media remembers that getting knocked out is like, super bad for you. Three magi...

Tent of Construction, Quidi Vidi. The warming shed. Vimy under construction. As anybody who uses their garage can tell you, keeping it dry when doing something is a help. On May 26th, the ship with the disassembled Vimy finally entered St. John's harbor. Vickers contracted the Teamster Lester, who hauled the massive shipping crates containing the Vimy and its spares to Quidi Vidi. There the Vickers crew set to work doing what its rivals had done: figuring out how to assemble an aircraft with a full set of tools but none of the structures or jigs, cranes, etc they normally would use, in an open field where the wind blew very cold. A tent gave some shelter, but they still needed a warming shack on the premises. Frequent rain squalls were also cold, and meant all work had to stop to cover completed sections in tarpaulins. It was cold enough that soldering irons warmed in a fire would often cool before they could be applied. Despite the difficul...

The book is my jam: it's a very detailed account of FAGr 5, the Luftwaffe long range recon squadron that flew Ju 290s. It also mentions the efforts of other Luftwaffe formations flying out over the Atlantic. Here's what I want to share from it: how tiny the Luftwaffe long range recon force was compared to the Allies. FAGr 5 was operational by November 1943, and by the middle of December had lost two aircraft and its crews: one to Coastal Command Mosquitoes, the other in a crash. On the 11th of December, total long range forces of Fliegerfurher Atlantik [unified Luftwaffe command for coordination with the Kriegsmarine] are: 3 Junkers 290s serviceable (of 6); 10 Focke-Wulf 200s (of 15); 1 Blohm und Voss 222 (of 2). I'm thinking if you stick to RAF Coastal Command, you can find individual squadrons with more serviceable four engine aircraft. After the operation on the 11th of December, U-boats were supported by two Ju 290s and one Fw 200.

Off St. John's. St. John's Harbor. The first man to discover the unexpected problems in the trans-Atlantic race was Captain Fairfax Morgan, navigator for the Martinsyde Raymor. He arrived in St. John's in January 1919, to look for a suitable field for the Raymor to takeoff from, but was delayed by his contracting the Spanish Flu on the way over. He was so weak that he had to be stretched off the ship. Fortunately for Morgan, the news that St. John's was the start point of a trans-Atlantic air race made everyone civic minded, and Morgan was nursed back to health in private homes rather than the hospital, which likely contributed to his survival. Morgan then experienced some depression, a common after-effect of the Spanish Flu (also, of being in St. John's in January and February), but by March, Morgan was ready to find a field. This was also rather depressing. First, it was clear that St. John's was not blessed with flat fields. To quote Morgan: ...