# Any famous urban legends of WWII? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 13, 2012, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-famous-urban-legends-of-wwii/634640 "2012-09-13T23:09:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-famous-urban-legends-of-wwii/634640/161 "2012-09-28T14:26:48Z")
Officially, maybe. But the October 1943 issue of _Time_ magazine detailed the shoot-down and named one of the pilots (the wrong one.) ---
**Author:** ![slaphead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@slaphead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slaphead)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-famous-urban-legends-of-wwii/634640/162 "2012-09-28T14:42:43Z")
> [@Cicero](#): > > There was a collection of information (from downed German fliers amongst others) that a large raid was planned, but due to a “technical” malfunction the British didn’t divert it. It wasn’t really much to do with Enigma. According to Mr R.V. Jones (who was certainly in a position to know) they knew that the germans were experimenting with highly accurate navigation aids, and were getting ready to carry out a major night raid. Various measures were readied to jam the navigation beams and generally hamper the raid, but on the night itself it all went wrong because of a mix-up over the frequencies in use by the [X-Gerät](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-Ger%C3%A4t). In his book I believe he pointed to a deficiency in the listening posts (they had supersonic filters fitted to their radios and couldn’t hear the signals) as well as the issue with the ECCM built into the german receivers mentioned on the wiki page. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-famous-urban-legends-of-wwii/634640/163 "2012-09-28T17:37:24Z")
And going back a bit, I want to comment on the ammo: Contrary to what Hollywood has taught you, one does not typically fire a machine gun in a long continuous burst. It was standard practice to fire your guns in short controlled bursts in order to avoid misfeeds. Consider that the bombers travelled at speeds around 150-200MPH and the German fighters would be moving closer to 400MPH, and you can see there were few opportunities for a long string of fire anyways. There’s a reason that fighter escorts and screens were so important to the survival of bombers. ETA: Also, the primary concern for carrying additional things (cargo, ammo, people, fuel, etc.) on a plane is rarely a question of volume, but rather of weight. If you look at lots of cargo and passenger planes, you will find many examples of designs that were lengthened (C-130, C-141, DC-9, etc.) because they realized their their primary cargo tended to not be all that dense. Bulky cargo vs. heavy cargo. Ammo is fairly dense, and thus disproportionately heavy. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2012, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-famous-urban-legends-of-wwii/634640/164 "2012-09-29T02:05:39Z")
In the previously mentioned ‘Dirty Little Secrets’ by Dunnigan another tale is told of the ‘gedunk’ (ice cream) line on one of the big ships. Seems there was a long line (there always was) and a couple of new officers came on the scene and decided they were too important to wait. So calling out ‘gangway for officers’ they started to make their way to the front. There was general grumbling but the officers didn’t stop until one person waiting patiently barked out ‘get back in line where you belong!’. The officers stopped and turn to dress down the rating who dared speak so to a commissioned officer of the US Navy. And out of the line stepped Admiral Halsey. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2012, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-famous-urban-legends-of-wwii/634640/165 "2012-09-29T02:08:52Z")
Another bomber tale told is that at one point a study was done concerning the defense of bombers and they concluded that the bombers would actually fare better if they removed the machine guns, ammo and all the crew needed to operate them as this actually added tons of weight to the plane and made it much more sluggish. The response to that from the bomber crews was a universal ‘heck with that! We want to shoot back!’ ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2012, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-famous-urban-legends-of-wwii/634640/166 "2012-09-29T03:16:57Z")
> [@Mr.Miskatonic](#): > > In the previously mentioned ‘Dirty Little Secrets’ by Dunnigan another tale is told of the ‘gedunk’ (ice cream)… Never heard of “gedunk” before. What’s the origin of the phrase? ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2012, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-famous-urban-legends-of-wwii/634640/167 "2012-09-29T05:15:09Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Never heard of “gedunk” before. What’s the origin of the phrase? [http://www.history.navy.mil/trivia/trivia03-3.htm](http://www.history.navy.mil/trivia/trivia03-3.htm) > [@](#): > > The origin of the word gedunk is uncertain, though it has been suggested it derives from a Chinese word referring to a place of idleness, or a German word meaning to dunk bread in gravy or coffee. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2012, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-famous-urban-legends-of-wwii/634640/168 "2012-09-29T12:56:26Z")
When the original breakers of the “Enigma” coding machine (Polish Army Intelligence) discovered how to generate the coding, the Enigma machine was fairly simple-I believe it had only 3 encoding discs. This made the number of possible combinations small enough to allow a primitive computer to search all the combinations. Later, the German increased the encoding discs to 4-which Bletchly Park could handle. Did the Germans figure out that their messages were being read, and increase the rings to five? ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2012, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-famous-urban-legends-of-wwii/634640/169 "2012-09-29T13:58:12Z")
There is a persistent urban legend that says that during World War II, a German sailor came ashore on the coast of North Carolina and saw a movie at Southport’s Amuzu Theater. His body was reportedly washed up on shore after the submarine was sunk and a ticket stub was found in his pocket. I don’t know how famous it is, but a lot of folks around Wilmington, nc tell it. ---
**Author:** ![detop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@detop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/detop)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2012, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-famous-urban-legends-of-wwii/634640/170 "2012-09-29T15:47:39Z")
> [@Bill\_Door](#): > > There is a persistent urban legend that says that during World War II, a German sailor came ashore on the coast of North Carolina and saw a movie at Southport’s Amuzu Theater. His body was reportedly washed up on shore after the submarine was sunk and a ticket stub was found in his pocket. I don’t know how famous it is, but a lot of folks around Wilmington, nc tell it. This sounds similar to the one that we have here in Québec about U-boat crews coming ashore and purchasing supplies in isolated communities on the St-Lawrence. ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2012, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-famous-urban-legends-of-wwii/634640/171 "2012-09-29T15:56:17Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > …Later, the German increased the encoding discs to 4-which Bletchly Park could handle. Did the Germans figure out that their messages were being read, and increase the rings to five? Per [this](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enigma_machine), the answer appears to be no. My guess is that there wasn’t room in the existing chassis to squeeze a fifth rotor in. There was an attempt to alter the wiring with four rotors to further increase the complexity. From the cite: > [@](#): > > A device that was designed, but not implemented before the war’s end, was the Lückenfüllerwalze (gap-fill wheel) which implemented irregular stepping. It allowed field configuration of notches in all 26 positions. If the number of notches was a relative prime of 26 and the number of notches were different for each wheel, the stepping would be more unpredictable. Like the Umkehrwalze-D it also allowed the internal wiring to be reconfigured. IIRC, the Germans did not suspect that their later refinements to Enigma were being decoded. Per the [wiki for ULTRA](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultra), it was only declassified in 1974. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2012, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-famous-urban-legends-of-wwii/634640/172 "2012-09-29T16:03:49Z")
Didn’t the armed forces of germany all have different codes for the Enigma? From what I have seen on the History Channel, Alan Turing contributed greatly to the cracking of the code by reversing the procedure. Instead of what could be broken, he turned it around to what could not be broken. By all accounts he was an odd character. Riding around on a push bike with a mask on so pollen didn’t affect him. Even at Bletchley Park he stood out. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2012, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-famous-urban-legends-of-wwii/634640/173 "2012-10-01T15:52:15Z")
> [@Raguleader](#): > > The Tuskegee Airmen are generally credited with having never lost an escorted bomber to enemy fighters. Evidently this has been known not to be the case since during WWII, but the claim was printed in a newspaper and it made for good (and persistent) press. Their record was quite good, regardless, losing fewer bombers on average than most other units assigned escort. > > Another one for the Tuskegee Airmen is the claim that they are the only pilots ever to sink an enemy destroyer using only machine gun fire, which is more of an exaggeration than anything else. A pair of P-47s with the 332d Fighter Group engaged a former Italian destroyer (converted by the Germans into a torpedo boat) and managed to set off the torpedoes (stored on the deck of the ship), which resulted in the ship being badly damaged enough that it never saw combat again, and it was eventually scuttled in November 1944. I don’t know if it’s legend or ignorance, but I’ve heard people claim that the only Blacks that fought in World War II were the Tuskegee pilots! Not all Tuskegee were pilots, and not all Blacks in WWII were with the Tuskegee squadron. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2012, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-famous-urban-legends-of-wwii/634640/174 "2012-10-01T17:19:49Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > I don’t know if it’s legend or ignorance, but I’ve heard people claim that the only Blacks that fought in World War II were the Tuskegee pilots! Not all Tuskegee were pilots, and not all Blacks in WWII were with the Tuskegee squadron. Off the top of my head, I know there was also the Black Panthers, an all-black tank unit, and of course many others. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2012, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-famous-urban-legends-of-wwii/634640/175 "2012-10-01T17:27:04Z")
And the Red Ball Express, black truck drivers supporting the Third Army. Had their own [movie](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Ball_Express_(film))and their own [TV sitcom](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roll_Out), too. ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2012, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-famous-urban-legends-of-wwii/634640/176 "2012-10-02T10:09:40Z")
This is more of a post-World-War-II legend, but it is about the war: The Norwegian gold reserves were smuggled out of the country, right under the noses of the Nazis, by little children on sleds who hid the gold under their coats. Not true. This is from a children’s novel, and it is entirely fictional. Much of the gold was indeed smuggled out, at times just in front of the advancing German army (it took two months to fully occupy Norway), but no children were involved. Gold bars are _heavy._ A child on a sled couldn’t carry one, certainly without raising suspicion. Besides, the occupation started in April, and sledding conditions near the coast are not exactly good in April… ---
**Author:** ![gunnergoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e95f7d/32.png) [@gunnergoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gunnergoz)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2012, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-famous-urban-legends-of-wwii/634640/177 "2012-10-02T17:43:55Z")
All or mostly black (then officially called “Colored”) WW2 US Army units included: 92nd Infantry Division 366th Infantry Regiment 93rd Infantry Division 369th Infantry Regiment 371st Infantry Regiment 2nd Cavalry Division 4th Cavalry Brigade 9th Cavalry Regiment 10th Cavalry Regiment 5th Cavalry Brigade 27th Cavalry Regiment 28th Cavalry Regiment Air Corps Units 332d Fighter Group (Tuskegee Airmen) Non Divisional Units Infantry Units 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion Cavalry/Armor Units US Military Academy Cavalry Squadron 5th Reconnaissance Squadron 758th Tank Battalion 761st Tank Battalion 784th Tank Battalion Field Artillery Units 46th Field Artillery Brigade [15] . 184th Field Artillery Regiment, Illinois National Guard. 333rd Field Artillery Regiment [16] . 349th Field Artillery Regiment [17] 350th Field Artillery Regiment [18] 351st Field Artillery Regiment [19] 353rd Field Artillery Regiment [20] 578th Field Artillery Regiment [21] 333rd Field Artillery Battalion 349th Field Artillery Battalion 350th Field Artillery Battalion 351st Field Artillery Battalion 353rd Field Artillery Battalion 578th Field Artillery Battalion 593rd Field Artillery Battalion 594th Field Artillery Battalion 595th Field Artillery Battalion 596th Field Artillery Battalion 597th Field Artillery Battalion 598th Field Artillery Battalion 599th Field Artillery Battalion 600th Field Artillery Battalion 686th Field Artillery Battalion 777th Field Artillery Battalion 795th Field Artillery Battalion 930th Field Artillery Battalion, Illinois National Guard 931st Field Artillery Battalion, Illinois National Guard 969th Field Artillery Battalion 971st Field Artillery Battalion 973rd Field Artillery Battalion 993rd Field Artillery Battalion 999th Field Artillery Battlaion Tank Destroyer Units 614th Tank Destroyer Battalion 646th Tank Destroyer Battalion 649th Tank Destroyer Battalion 659th Tank Destroyer Battalion 669th Tank Destroyer Battalion 679th Tank Destroyer Battalion 795th Tank Destroyer Battalion 827th Tank Destroyer Battalion 828th Tank Destroyer Battalion 829th Tank Destroyer Battalion 846th Tank Destroyer Battalion Two segregated units were organized by the United States Marine Corps: 51st Defense Battalion. (Composite) 52nd Defense Battalion. (Composite) [http://5thplatoon.org/notable.html](http://5thplatoon.org/notable.html) This list does not include non-combat and support units such as Engineers, Transportation, etc. where black soldiers served with distinction in both European and Pacific theaters. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2012, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-famous-urban-legends-of-wwii/634640/178 "2012-10-02T17:45:17Z")
> [@flodnak](#): > > This is more of a post-World-War-II legend, but it is about the war: The Norwegian gold reserves were smuggled out of the country, right under the noses of the Nazis, by little children on sleds who hid the gold under their coats. Not true. This is from a children’s novel, and it is entirely fictional. Much of the gold was indeed smuggled out, at times just in front of the advancing German army (it took two months to fully occupy Norway), but no children were involved. > > Gold bars are _heavy._ A child on a sled couldn’t carry one, certainly without raising suspicion. Besides, the occupation started in April, and sledding conditions near the coast are not exactly good in April… Heh I remember reading that kid’s book. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2012, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-famous-urban-legends-of-wwii/634640/179 "2012-10-02T19:06:43Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > Heh I remember reading that kid’s book. 😃 Yeah, 3rd or 4th grade I think. [Snow Treasure](http://www.librarything.com/work/34146). ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2012, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-famous-urban-legends-of-wwii/634640/180 "2012-10-02T19:18:01Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > According to folklore, the Germans had a commando unit that dressed in American uniforms and spoke English with flawless American accents. They infiltrated behind American lines to commit espionage and sabotage. > > One sentry caught them by asking them to sing the third verse of “The Star-Spangled Banner”. The Nazis, with Teutonic diligence, had committed the entire song to memory. Real Americans had probably never heard the third verse more than once in their lives, and were unlikely to be able to remember it. That was the plot of one of Isaac Asimov’s short mysteries. Seemed dumb then, seems dumb now. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-famous-urban-legends-of-wwii/634640.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-famous-urban-legends-of-wwii/634640.md?page=10)