HISTORY IN IMAGES: Pictures Of War, History , WW2: Worst airplane disaster: Canary islands; KLM

Worst airplane disaster: Canary islands; KLM - Pan Am jets collide: 583 die

March 27, 1977. Two Boeing 747s collide on a fog-shrouded runway at Tenerife in the Canary Islands, killing 583 people in the worst accident in aviation history. Sixty-one people survive.

The planes — Pan Am flight 1736 originating in Los Angeles and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines flight 4805, a charter from Amsterdam — crashed into each other on Los Rodeos Airport's single runway.

Visibility on the ground was poor, limited to 1,000 feet or so, but many other factors led to the disaster. Muddled instructions, malfunctioning runway lights and an overcrowded airport played roles, too, but perhaps the major factor was pilot error, specifically the bad judgment exercised by the Dutch captain.

The Pan Am plane before the collision.

The KLM plane before it ended up in an inferno

A photo taken minutes before the collision

A computer generated image of the crash

Dante's Inferno? The horrific aftermath. Just a few lucky people survived.

A Spanish police officer guards the wreckage

DRAMATISED VIDEO OF THE CRASH

Points To Ponder

WHY WAS THE FIGHTING ON THE RUSSIAN FRONT SO FIERCE DURING WW2?

It is difficult to distinguish between the quality of both the German and Russian soldiers. Both were motivated by their love for their motherland. But there were others factors that drove the two sides to such desperate fighting.

One, both sides knew that this was a no-holds bar war. Not fighting was thus not an option.

Second, both Hitler and Stalin had squads that killed any deserter. Turning away from fighting was just not possible.

Thus was seen some of the most bitter, brutal and desperate fighting on the WW2 eastern (Russian) Front.

Quotes....

"Naturally the common people don't want war; neither in Russia, nor in England, nor in America, nor in Germany. That is understood. But after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country."
--Hermann Goering

SOME WW2 FACTS..........The Germans had an aircraft carrier called “Graf Zeppelin” that never left port due to lack of finishing. After the war, the USSR used it to learn ways to sink Western carriers. The USSR had limited experience in naval combat during WW2 and was seeking ways to learn about carrier combat..........The invasion of Okinawa was larger than that of D-Day..........The US & UK actively worked on ways to assist their own POWs to escape prison camps. The United Kingdom had a very interesting method – Send care packages via the Red Cross that contained maps. The maps were made out of cloth Monopoly boards and contained secret codes..........Thousands of American servicemen were killed off the coast of the United States by the German submarines. In fact, this is the reason the saying “Loose Lips Sink Ships” became so popular. The US government’s intention wasn’t to avoid ship route information being leaked to the Germans (Granted, that certainly could have been a side benefit). The primary reason was to prevent American morale from faltering if Americans knew that German submarines were operating in as little as a few hundred yards off the coast. Sinking ships and killing American sailors who had very little defense. An etimated 609 American ships were lost during the ‘Second happy time’ for a total loss of 22 German U-boats..........The first Tiger tanks could actually act as submarines. Each tank was fitted with a snorkel that would allow the tank to operate underwater as long as it could reach fresh air. This was intended to allow tanks to drive through deep rivers in Russia. Eventually the parts were dropped in favor of making the tanks easier to produce..........Between December 7th 1941 and September 22nd 1945 it was illegal to sell a new car in the United States. In fact, new cars simply wouldn’t be produced during the entire war period. Any individual caught storing or selling new cars risked imprisonment..........Nickel was so valuable in the United States that the metal was actually removed from the 5-cent piece during the war. It was substituted with silver, which was considered less valuable for war. If you happen to find a nickel minted between 1942 and 1945, it most likely contains 35% silver content, which is worth anywhere between $1 and $2 depending on market prices. Pennies in Canada and the United States were also stripped of their copper content and replaced with galvanized steel..........Although making up around 2% of total naval tonnage, the United States submarine force accounted for more than 50% of enemy ships destroyed..........A battalion of Japanese Americans liberated the Dachau prisoner camp. Initially American soldiers in the camp feared that soldiers from the Empire of Japan were there to kill them. The soldiers quickly realized they were mistaken when the soldiers spoke English and started passing out cigarettes..........On November 11, 1940, Molotov met with Ribbentrop in Berlin, where the German Foreign Minister insisted that Britain was “finished.” Then an air raid alarm blared, and everybody went to the shelter, and waited out the bombing. Molotov asked acidly, “If the British are finished, why are we sitting here, and whose bombs are falling on us?” Ribbentrop had no answer..........Pearl Harbor was bombed a total of three times during ww2. Twice on December the 7th, 1941, and again on March 4th 1942. The first two attacks resulted in significant devastation to the US navy. The third attack resulted in no American casualties, the bombs dropped by the Japanese however did damage some private property..........The French government recruited SS and former Wehrmacht prisoners to fight against the Vietnamese in the French-Indochina war..........A total of 236 submarines were used by the United States during WW2. A total of 52 were destroyed, resulting in a 22% casualty rate, the highest of any branch during WW2..........Nicknamed the “White Mouse”, a Australian citizen by the name of Nancy Wake led a one-woman army through occupied France and parts of Germany. She managed to kill (by some estimates) dozens of German soldiers while blowing up no less than one munitions factory..........Source: KnowledgeGlue