on this day
Oct. 13th, 2025 02:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
crimsoncurrentMystery of the Mary Celeste Unfolds
On December 4, 1872, the British brig Dei Gratia discovered the American ship Mary Celeste adrift in the Atlantic Ocean. The ship was found in good condition but completely abandoned, with no sign of its crew. This mysterious event has since become one of the most enduring maritime mysteries, sparking numerous theories and speculations about the fate of the crew.'
After the D-Day landings in June 1944, the British launched Operation PLUTO-laying secret fuel pipelines under the English Channel to power the Allied advance. Massive spools unrolled 17 pipelines from England to French ports like Cherbourg and Boulogne, all hidden from German detection.
By March 1945, these underwater lines pumped over a million gallons of fuel daily to tanks, trucks, and planes. The disguised pumping stations looked like cottages and ice cream shops, but they kept the invasion rolling without a single ship needing to dock for fuel.
When Did It Happen?The operation's planning and testing began in 1942, but its actual deployment and pipeline laying started on August 12, 1944, over two months after D-Day (June 6, 1944). The first pipeline (part of the Bambi system) became operational on September 22, 1944, with full functionality achieved later that summer.
On December 4, 1872, the British brig Dei Gratia discovered the American ship Mary Celeste adrift in the Atlantic Ocean. The ship was found in good condition but completely abandoned, with no sign of its crew. This mysterious event has since become one of the most enduring maritime mysteries, sparking numerous theories and speculations about the fate of the crew.'
After the D-Day landings in June 1944, the British launched Operation PLUTO-laying secret fuel pipelines under the English Channel to power the Allied advance. Massive spools unrolled 17 pipelines from England to French ports like Cherbourg and Boulogne, all hidden from German detection.
By March 1945, these underwater lines pumped over a million gallons of fuel daily to tanks, trucks, and planes. The disguised pumping stations looked like cottages and ice cream shops, but they kept the invasion rolling without a single ship needing to dock for fuel.
When Did It Happen?The operation's planning and testing began in 1942, but its actual deployment and pipeline laying started on August 12, 1944, over two months after D-Day (June 6, 1944). The first pipeline (part of the Bambi system) became operational on September 22, 1944, with full functionality achieved later that summer.