Today in WW II: 16 May 1940 US Pres. Roosevelt asks Congress for funding to build 50,000 airplanes per year, a startling undertaking at the time. More ↓

16 May 1943 Royal Air Force No. 617 Squadron [The Dambusters] destroyed the MÃ¶hne and Eder dams on the Ruhr, causing catastrophic flooding [Operation Chastise, 16â€“17 May].
16 May 1943 Warsaw Ghetto Uprising ends with liquidation of the poorly equipped Jewish resistance by German Troop.
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German Schwimmwagen Amphibious Vehicle

Schwimmwagen was mainly used by the Waffen SS in the roadless wastelands of Russia.

Volkswagen Type 166 Waffen SS Schwimmwagen. Pictured unit built in 1944 as marked on Volkswagen factory data plate (last year of production). Photo: Courtesy Leon DeSpain.

Hawaii-American soldiers of the 100th Infantry Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team, 34th Division, move up in the battle for Leghorn, Castellina Sector, Italy using a captured German Schwimmwagen, 12 July 1944.