We at Aces High are going to look at something a little different this week. In the past we have looked at airfields that were built during World War 2 as a way of seeing the war effort at home. Now we are going to look at some of the 452 destroyers that were built during that time, most built between 1941-1943. Why? Because our combat flight simulator is number one only because of our dedication to this war.
Interestingly, many of the ships built during the war were built, in part, using women laborers. Most able-bodied men were off fighting, so that left the women to do much of the construction. This writer’s mother worked as a riveter in a shipyard in the Northwest, just one of thousands of women who stepped up during the war effort.
With that in mind, Aces High would like to salute a small sampling of destroyers built during those years.
- SS Arron Ward DD0483
- USS Aaron Ward DM-34
- USS Abbot DD-629
- USS Abner Read DD-526
- USS Adams DM-27
- USS Albert W. Grant DD-649
- USS Alden DD-211
- USS Allen DD-66
- USS Ammen DD-527
- USS Andersen DD-411
- USS Anthony DD-515
- USS Aulick DD-569
- USS Ault DD-698
- USS Aylwin DD-355
Yes, that was just the A’s; as we stated earlier, there were 452 destroyers alone built during that time, Now consider how many aircraft carriers, PT Boats, and other ships were built.
Where were they built? As you might have guessed, most were built in coastal cities in the United States. San Diego, Seattle, San Francisco, and of course the main harbors on the East Coast. There were even some boatbuilding businesses on the Great Lakes. And what has happened to these shipbuilding facilities? A variety of things, actually!
Some have been abandoned or torn down for commercialization. Some were retrofitted for industrial uses. Some are still active as military shipping facilities. Like the airfields we mentioned earlier, most facilities are still in place providing a useful purpose for our society today, so they, too, were investments that keep on reaping rewards for our country.
Aces High is your one-stop location for all things having to do with World War II. What else would you expect from the best flight sim game on the market? So strap on your helmet and fly the skies with Aces High.
So, do you know when the first simulation was produced? Since you are playing a combat flight simulation game, we thought we would give you a little trivia. The first known simulation was built in 1947 by Thomas Goldsmith Jr. and it was a missile simulation to track trajectory for the military.
Wouldn’t you know the military was behind it! Of course, from there we saw more military simulators until the 80’s when computers became smaller, stronger, and capable of playing online flight sim games.
At HiTech Creations we live and breathe World War 2. Maybe that explains why our online flight sim game, Aces High, has been wildly popular for over thirteen years. We study World War II as no other site studies it, and one of the things we have taken a look at in the past few weeks is the construction of airfields around the United States immediately following Pearl Harbor.
After that catastrophe, the nation kicked into high gear. The sleeping industrial giant began making weapons, planes, tanks, uniforms and airfields, and by the end of 1942 the war machine was the largest industry in the world.
Today we are going to take a look at the airfields built in the state of Mississippi during that time. These airfields were used primarily as training sites for pilots and flight crews; interestingly enough, most of the airfields built seventy years ago are still in use today. Now, let’s take a look at those airfields.
- Key Field; now Key Field Air National Guard Base
- Laurel Army Airfield; now Hesler-Noble Field
- Hattiesburg Army Airfield; now Hattiesburg Bobby L. Chain Municipal Airport
- Columbus Army Airfield; now Columbus Air Force Base
- River Auxiliary Field; now part of Columbus Air Force Base
- Vaughn Auxiliary Field; now part of Columbus Air Force Base
- Greenville Army Airfield; now Mid Delta Regional Airport
- Cleveland Army Airfield; now Cleveland Municipal Airport
- Fletcher Field; now Fletcher Field
- Grenada Army Airfield; now Grenada Municipal Airport
Ten airfields, each playing an integral part in the war effort, and all ten still functioning today as a military field or civilian field; that’s what we call a good investment.
So what’s the big deal you ask? Well, other than the obvious patriotic aspect of this, the point is that when we study history we are able to make our combat flight simulator that much more realistic. Players from around the world count on us to make Aces High the best rendition of actual combat that can be found in the gaming industry, and judging from our track record, we have fulfilled that mission.
However, new competition keeps coming our way, and that means we have to keep tweaking our World War 2 flight simulator as often as is necessary.
Try our free download and find out for yourself why Aces High is still the best flight sim game on the market.
Tour #150 has been completed on Aces High and we have a big winner in the Late War category. Fester walked away with every single award in every category. How cool is that?
He also won the overall pilot award for World War I. We salute you, Fester; great job of air domination.
Don’t know what we are talking about? Well then sign up to play some of our Special Events and find out why Aces High is the number one flight simulation game on the market.
The last week of August, 2012, and that means the Special Events are winding down for the month. It’s been a full schedule of events with some serious competition among the best flight sim players in the world, and they all have two more opportunities to test their skills.
On the 28th we will have our last Aces High XTreme Air Racing League; think a mad dash to the finish line, avoiding obstacles, against the best in the world. Hurry up and sign up!
On the 29th we will have the last Snapshot of the month. This is always a popular Special Event and tests the skills of the rookies as well as the best combat flight sim players.