Vultee Vengeance dive bombers operated in Australian service between 1942 and 1950, and saw combat during World War II. A total of 400 of the type were ordered for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) in 1942. Large-scale deliveries commenced in 1943, and 342 arrived before the order was cancelled. RAAF Vengeance-equipped units entered combat in mid-1943. The main frontline deployment of the type began in January 1944, but ended after only six weeks as the Vengeance was considered inferior to other available aircraft. All combat units equipped with Vengeances were converted to operate heavy bombers. The type remained in RAAF service for training and support purposes until 1946, and some were used by the Royal Australian Navy until 1950. While there is consensus among historians that the Vengeance was obsolete at the time it entered Australian service, some argue that it proved successful. Others, including the RAAF's Air Power Development Centre, have judged that the type was unsuitable.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vultee_Vengeance_in_Australian_service

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

324:

Roman emperor Constantine the Great defeated former colleague Licinius in the Battle of Adrianople. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Adrianople_(324)

1754:

French and Indian War: George Washington surrendered Fort Necessity in Pennsylvania, the only military surrender in his entire career. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Fort_Necessity

1938:

On the 75th anniversary of the end of the Battle of Gettysburg, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated the Eternal Light Peace Memorial (pictured). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eternal_Light_Peace_Memorial

1970:

The Troubles: The British Army imposed the Falls Curfew on Belfast, Northern Ireland, which resulted in greater Irish republican resistance. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falls_Curfew

1988:

United States Navy warship USS Vincennes shot down Iran Air Flight 655 over the Persian Gulf, killing all 290 people aboard. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran_Air_Flight_655

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

mythos: 1. A story or set of stories relevant to or having a significant truth or meaning for a particular culture, religion, society, or other group; a myth, a mythology. 2. (by extension) A set of assumptions or beliefs about something. 3. (literature) A recurring theme; a motif. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mythos

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

All writers in some insane place believe that to write is a holy chore — that what one wishes to do is speak to one’s time, to make a difference, to say: "I was here. I was a force for good in some way."   --Harlan Ellison https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Harlan_Ellison