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c/n unknown.
NATO codename ‘Midget’.
No history has ever been reported for this airworthy UTI, although it is believed to be ex-Soviet Air Force.
The “МАИ” badge on the nose represents the Moscow Aviation Institute (a possible operator for this historic machine?).
It also wears the same ‘bird with flowers’ badge as the replica Farman IV, so it is possible they are both operated by the same organisation.
Seen on static display at the Aviation cluster of the ARMY 2017 event.
Kubinka Airbase, Moscow Oblast, Russia.
23rd August 2017
Omaha Beach - Panorama overlooking Easy Red and Fox Green sectors from the German Widerstandsnest 62, Normandy, France
Omaha Beach
Omaha was divided into ten sectors, codenamed (from west to east): Able, Baker, Charlie, Dog Green, Dog White, Dog Red, Easy Green, Easy Red, Fox Green and Fox Red. On june 6, 1944 -D-Day - the initial assault on Omaha was to be made by two Regimental Combat Teams (RCT), supported by two tank battalions, with two battalions of Rangers also attached. The RCT's were part of the veteran 1st Infantry division ("The Big Red One") and the untested 29th ("Blue and Grey") , a National Guard unit.
The plan was to make frontal assaults at the "draws" (valleys) in the bluffs which dominate the coast in Normandy , codenamed west to east they were called D-1, D-3, E-1, E-3 and F-1 . These draws could then be used to move inland with reserves and vehicles.
The Germans were not stupid; they knew the draws were vital and concentrated their limited resources in defending them. To this end they built "Widerstandsneste" with AT guns, mortars, MG's in Tobrul's, trenches and bunkers, manned by soldiers of the German 716th and - more recently - 352nd Infantry Division, a large portion of whom were teenagers, though they were supplemented by veterans who had fought on the Eastern Front. All in all some 1100 German soldiers defended the entire Omaha beach sector of over 5 miles.
Preliminary bombardments were almost totally ineffective and when the initial waves - on this sector units of the 1st American division "The Big Red One" and combat engineers of the 299th - landed on low tide they met with fiece opposition of an enemy well dug in and prepared.
Casualties were heaviest amongst the troops landing at either end of Omaha. At Fox Green and Easy Red, scattered elements of three companies were reduced to half strength by the time they gained the relative safety of the shingle, many of them having crawled the 300 yards (270 m) of beach just ahead of the incoming tide. Casualties on this spot were especially heavy amongst the first waves of soldiers and the demolition teams - at Omaha these were tasked with blasting 16 channels through the beach obstacles, each 70 meters wide. German gunfire from the bluffs above the beach took a heavy toll on these men. The demolition teams managed to blast only six complete gaps and three partial ones; more than half their engineers were killed in the process.
Situation here on Easy Red and at Dog Green on the other end of Omaha by mid morning was so bad with nearly all the troops essentially pinned down on the beach gen. Eisenhower seriously considered to abandon the operation.
As the US first waves assault forces and combat engineers landing directly opposite the "draws" were pinned down it was up to forces landing on the flanks of the strongpoints to penetrate the weaker German defences by climbing the bluffs. Doing this they had to overcome the minefields and barbed wire as well as machinegun fire from German positions but they did and they were able to attack some key strongpoints from the side and the rear, taking them out by early afternoon.
This happened on several spots at Omaha and essentially saved the day: individual acts of initiative by lower ranked officers and courage like that of First Lieutenant Jimmy Monteith, who led a group of men to take one of the key German widerstandsneste and was killed in action, succeeded where a flawed plan failed.
Robert Capa and the battle for Easy Red
Amongst the second wave of infantry and Combat Engineers at Easy Red was the famous war photographer Robert Capa. He arrived around 07.30, and waded ashore towards the beach overlooked by bluffs.
Judging from the photo's Capa made with his Zeiss Ikon Contax II he disembarked on the western end of Easy Red just missing the killzone and in a relatively lighter defended area between two German positions. It's the very same place from where Lt. Spalding and his men are the first to climb the bluff and take out a German position.
Capa is the last man to leave the "Higgins Boat" which probably carries the support team of a Company. His first few shots show him following these men towards the beach. Capa takes some more shots and then embarks on an LCI which takes wounded men towards the bigger ships. He hands over the film which is shipped back to England the very same morning. What we see are blurred, surreal shots, which succinctly conveyed the chaos and confusion of the day.
Example; See: www.flickr.com/photos/herbnl/7002443857/in/photostream (one of the first shots; note the men of Easy Company wading towards the DD tanks which arrived minutes before the infantry to support them. Most of them were either sunk before reaching the beach or consequently destroyed by the German AT fire.
the Defenses - WN62
Widerstandsnest 62 or WN-62 is overlooking the Easy Red and Fox Green sectors of Omaha beach. It was of strategic importance because it is overlooking the "Colleville draw", also know as "Easy-3 exit", one of the places where armoured vehicles and troops would be able to penetrate the inland through the bluffs which form a natural barrier in this area. It consists of several casemates, Tobruks and trenches. Much of it can still be seen nowadays.
the Photo
I positioned myself on top of one of the casemates of WN62 to shoot this panorama. Looking down from here one has te same perfect view the German gunners had on the landing forces here at Easy Red and Fox Green (to the west/right), border between Easy Re and Fox Green is in the middle of the panorama). Note the natural curve of the beach here at Omaha (albeit enhanced by the Wide Angle shots) and the great view over the entire sector which was "Bloody Omaha". Note the rainshowers approaching the land, Normandy has rapid weather changes as I found out. Bring a jacket and protection for your gear when visiting the sites! By the way, june 6, 1944 also was a stormy day with bad weather.
Click here for the original large sized version
For a map of the eastern part of Omaha click here. The German WN's are marked as well as the Draws and beach sections.
Shot with a Nikon D7000. 15 handheld shots were used for this panorama which was tonemapped using three differently exposed shots for each of five segments, augustus 2012.
See my other Omaha beach photo's for more viewpoints, panorama shots and notes on the fighting
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An asset belonging to an intelligence officer from Victoria (codename Grayhawk) indicated that he was aware of the location of a Russian nuclear scientist (codename Pale Horse). The asset revealed that a Russian was seen being held captive in a market near Jannatabad, an insurgency stronghold.
Grayhawk hand-picked six men from the combined task force, to conduct a covert “snatch” mission. The team changed in local apparels and drove into the market in two vehicles. The 6-man team scattered around the market to conduct covert reconnaissance and located a building guarded by insurgents. The team positioned themselves opposite of the target building and setup an observation post. After several hours of surveillance, the team positively identified Pale Horse in the building.
To be continued…
Note: The story, all names, characters, and incidents are fictitious.
An asset belonging to an intelligence officer from Victoria (codename Grayhawk) indicated that he was aware of the location of a Russian nuclear scientist (codename Pale Horse). The asset revealed that a Russian was seen being held captive in a market near Jannatabad, an insurgency stronghold.
Grayhawk hand selected six men from the combined task force, to conduct a covert “snatch” mission. The team changed in local apparels and drove into the market in two vehicles. The 6-man team scattered around the market to conduct covert reconnaissance and located a building guarded by insurgents. The team positioned themselves opposite of the target building and setup an observation post. After several hours of surveillance, the team positively identified Pale Horse in the building.
The team hastily devised a plan to capture Pale Horse. Just after nightfall, the team quickly advanced to the house, silently neutralized the guards, and captured Pale Horse. Without alerting the insurgents in the area, the team drove out of Jannatabad back to Coalition control area. The team was then extracted by helicopter and returned back to the main base.
Upon interrogation, Pale Horse revealed to the TF that he was held captive by a radical sect of Al-Asad. The new sect, named Al-Qatala, has broken off from Al-Asad and is aiming to pursue attacks against both Coalition and Russian force with violent and extreme means including the use of WMD. However, Pale Horse confirmed with the TF that the new sect does not have the technical knowhow in manufacturing WMD devices even if they were able to obtain those material. Intelligence agencies among allied nations assessed that this new sect is emerging as a new threat against both Coalition and Russian force in the region.
To be continued…
Note: The story, all names, characters, and incidents are fictitious.
Voronezh is a city and the administrative centre of Voronezh Oblast in southwestern Russia straddling the Voronezh River, located 12 kilometers (7.5 mi) from where it flows into the Don River. The city sits on the Southeastern Railway, which connects western Russia with the Urals and Siberia, the Caucasus and Ukraine, and the M4 highway (Moscow–Voronezh–Rostov-on-Don–Novorossiysk). In recent years the city has experienced rapid population growth, rising in 2021 to 1,057,681, up from 889,680 recorded in the 2010 Census, making it the 14th-most populous city in the country.
The first chronicle references to the word "Voronezh" are dated 1177, when the Ryazan prince Yaropolk, having lost the battle, fled "to Voronozh" and there was moving "from town to town". Modern data of archeology and history interpret Voronezh as a geographical region, which included the Voronezh river (tributary of the Don) and a number of settlements. In the lower reaches of the river, a unique Slavic town-planning complex of the 8th – early 11th century was discovered, which covered the territory of the present city of Voronezh and its environs (about 42 km long, about 13 forts and many unfortified villages). By the 12th – 13th centuries, most of the old towns were desolate, but new settlements appeared upstream, closer to Ryazan.
For many years, the hypothesis of the Soviet historian Vladimir Zagorovsky dominated: he produced the toponym "Voronezh" from the hypothetical Slavic personal name Voroneg. This man allegedly gave the name of a small town in the Chernigov Principality (now the village of Voronizh in Ukraine). Later, in the 11th or 12th century, the settlers were able to "transfer" this name to the Don region, where they named the second city Voronezh, and the river got its name from the city. However, now many researchers criticize the hypothesis, since in reality neither the name of Voroneg nor the second city was revealed, and usually the names of Russian cities repeated the names of the rivers, but not vice versa.
The linguistic comparative analysis of the name "Voronezh" was carried out by the Khovansky Foundation in 2009. There is an indication of the place names of many countries in Eurasia, which may partly be not only similar in sound, but also united by common Indo-European languages: Varanasi, Varna, Verona, Brno, etc.
A comprehensive scientific analysis was conducted in 2015–2016 by the historian Pavel Popov. His conclusion: "Voronezh" is a probable Slavic macrotoponym associated with outstanding signs of nature, has a root voron- (from the proto-Slavic vorn) in the meaning of "black, dark" and the suffix -ezh (-azh, -ozh). It was not “transferred” and in the 8th - 9th centuries it marked a vast territory covered with black forests (oak forests) - from the mouth of the Voronezh river to the Voronozhsky annalistic forests in the middle and upper reaches of the river, and in the west to the Don (many forests were cut down). The historian believes that the main "city" of the early town-planning complex could repeat the name of the region – Voronezh. Now the hillfort is located in the administrative part of the modern city, in the Voronezh upland oak forest. This is one of Europe's largest ancient Slavic hillforts, the area of which – more than 9 hectares – 13 times the area of the main settlement in Kyiv before the baptism of Rus.
In it is assumed that the word "Voronezh" means bluing - a technique to increase the corrosion resistance of iron products. This explanation fits well with the proximity to the ancient city of Voronezh of a large iron deposit and the city of Stary Oskol. As well as the name of Voroneț Monastery known for its blue shade.
Folk etymology claims the name comes from combining the Russian words for raven (ворон) and hedgehog (еж) into Воронеж. According to this explanation two Slavic tribes named after the animals used this combination to name the river which later in turn provided the name for a settlement. There is not believed to be any scientific support for this explanation.
In the 16th century, the Middle Don basin, including the Voronezh river, was gradually conquered by Muscovy from the Nogai Horde (a successor state of the Golden Horde), and the current city of Voronezh was established in 1585 by Feodor I as a fort protecting the Muravsky Trail trade route against the slave raids of the Nogai and Crimean Tatars. The city was named after the river.
17th to 19th centuries
In the 17th century, Voronezh gradually evolved into a sizable town. Weronecz is shown on the Worona river in Resania in Joan Blaeu's map of 1645. Peter the Great built a dockyard in Voronezh where the Azov Flotilla was constructed for the Azov campaigns in 1695 and 1696. This fleet, the first ever built in Russia, included the first Russian ship of the line, Goto Predestinatsia. The Orthodox diocese of Voronezh was instituted in 1682 and its first bishop, Mitrofan of Voronezh, was later proclaimed the town's patron saint.
Owing to the Voronezh Admiralty Wharf, for a short time, Voronezh became the largest city of South Russia and the economic center of a large and fertile region. In 1711, it was made the seat of the Azov Governorate, which eventually morphed into the Voronezh Governorate.
In the 19th century, Voronezh was a center of the Central Black Earth Region. Manufacturing industry (mills, tallow-melting, butter-making, soap, leather, and other works) as well as bread, cattle, suet, and the hair trade developed in the town. A railway connected Voronezh with Moscow in 1868 and Rostov-on-Don in 1871.
20th century
During World War II, Voronezh was the scene of fierce fighting between Soviet and combined Axis troops. The Germans used it as a staging area for their attack on Stalingrad, and made it a key crossing point on the Don River. In June 1941, two BM-13 (Fighting machine #13 Katyusha) artillery installations were built at the Voronezh excavator factory. In July, the construction of Katyushas was rationalized so that their manufacture became easier and the time of volley repetition was shortened from five minutes to fifteen seconds. More than 300 BM-13 units manufactured in Voronezh were used in a counterattack near Moscow in December 1941. In October 22, 1941, the advance of the German troops prompted the establishment of a defense committee in the city. On November 7, 1941, there was a troop parade, devoted to the anniversary of the October Revolution. Only three such parades were organized that year: in Moscow, Kuybyshev, and Voronezh. In late June 1942, the city was attacked by German and Hungarian forces. In response, Soviet forces formed the Voronezh Front. By July 6, the German army occupied the western river-bank suburbs before being subjected to a fierce Soviet counter-attack. By July 24 the frontline had stabilised along the Voronezh River as the German forces continued southeast into the Great Bend of the Don. The attack on Voronezh represented the first phase of the German Army's 1942 campaign in the Soviet Union, codenamed Case Blue.
Until January 25, 1943, parts of the Second German Army and the Second Hungarian Army occupied the western part of Voronezh. During Operation Little Saturn, the Ostrogozhsk–Rossosh Offensive, and the Voronezhsko-Kastornenskoy Offensive, the Voronezh Front exacted heavy casualties on Axis forces. On January 25, 1943, Voronezh was liberated after ten days of combat. During the war the city was almost completely ruined, with 92% of all buildings destroyed.
Post-war
By 1950, Voronezh had been rebuilt. Most buildings and historical monuments were repaired. It was also the location of a prestigious Suvorov Military School, a boarding school for young boys who were considered to be prospective military officers, many of whom had been orphaned by war.
In 1950–1960, new factories were established: a tire factory, a machine-tool factory, a factory of heavy mechanical pressing, and others. In 1968, Serial production of the Tupolev Tu-144 supersonic plane was established at the Voronezh Aviation factory. In October 1977, the first Soviet domestic wide-body plane, Ilyushin Il-86, was built there.
In 1989, TASS published details of an alleged UFO landing in the city's park and purported encounters with extraterrestrial beings reported by a number of children. A Russian scientist that was cited in initial TASS reports later told the Associated Press that he was misquoted, cautioning, "Don't believe all you hear from TASS," and "We never gave them part of what they published", and a TASS correspondent admitted the possibility that some "make-believe" had been added to the TASS story, saying, "I think there is a certain portion of truth, but it is not excluded that there is also fantasizing".
21st century
From 10 to 17 September 2011, Voronezh celebrated its 425th anniversary. The anniversary of the city was given the status of a federal scale celebration that helped attract large investments from the federal and regional budgets for development.
On December 17, 2012, Voronezh became the fifteenth city in Russia with a population of over one million people.
Today Voronezh is the economic, industrial, cultural, and scientific center of the Central Black Earth Region. As part of the annual tradition in the Russian city of Voronezh, every winter the main city square is thematically drawn around a classic literature. In 2020, the city was decorated using the motifs from Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker. In the year of 2021, the architects drew inspiration from Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale The Snow Queen as well as the animation classic The Snow Queen from the Soviet Union. The fairy tale replica city will feature the houses of Kai and Gerda, the palace of the snow queen, an ice rink, and illumination.
Matauri Bay, Northland, New Zealand
The sinking of the Rainbow Warrior, codenamed Opération Satanique, was an operation by the French foreign intelligence services, carried out on 10 July 1985. During the operation, two French military divers attached two bombs to the boat and sank the flagship of the Greenpeace fleet, the Rainbow Warrior in the port of Auckland, New Zealand. The boat was on its way to a protest against a planned French nuclear test in Moruroa. Fernando Pereira, a photographer, drowned on the sinking ship.
The boat found its final resting place near Matauri Bay to form a living memorial as a dive wreck and fish sanctuary a short distance from this spot.
The sculpture was created by Chris Booth to represent a black rainbow of mourning.
c/n 2115368.
NATO codename:- Fagot-B
While the ‘bis’ had an improved engine and other minor changes, the bis(ISh) was a dedicated fighter-bomber variant with additional underwing hardpoints intended for free-fall bombs. A dozen or so were converted but it did not enter production.
On display in Hangar 8 (the original large hangar) at the Central Air Force museum, Monino, Moscow Oblast, Russia.
27th August 2017
c/n 8680604K
NATO codename:- Harke
The Mil-10 was developed from the Mil-6 to provide a flying crane capability. 55 were built including 17 Mi-10K variants with short undercarriage and no underslung payload capability.
This long-legged example, previously marked as ’44 white’ was built in 1968 and retired to Monino in 1974 after only 92 hours flying.
On display at the Central Air Force museum, Monino, Moscow Oblast, Russia.
27th August 2017
Omaha Beach, Easy Green sector, Normandy, France
Omaha Beach
Omaha was divided into ten sectors, codenamed (from west to east): Able, Baker, Charlie, Dog Green, Dog White, Dog Red, Easy Green, Easy Red, Fox Green and Fox Red. On june 6, 1944 -D-Day - the initial assault on Omaha was to be made by two Regimental Combat Teams (RCT), supported by two tank battalions, with two battalions of Rangers also attached. The RCT's were part of the veteran 1st Infantry division ("The Big Red One") and the untested 29th ("Blue and Grey") , a National Guard unit.
The plan was to make frontal assaults at the "draws" (valleys) in the bluffs which dominate the coast in Normandy , codenamed west to east they were called D-1, D-3, E-1, E-3 and F-1 . These draws could then be used to move inland with reserves and vehicles.
The Germans were not stupid; they knew the draws were vital and concentrated their limited resources in defending them. To this end they built "Widerstandsneste" with AT guns, mortars, MG's in Tobrul's, trenches and bunkers, manned by soldiers of the German 716th and - more recently - 352nd Infantry Division, a large portion of whom were teenagers, though they were supplemented by veterans who had fought on the Eastern Front. All in all some 1100 German soldiers defended the entire Omaha beach sector of over 5 miles.
Preliminary bombardments were almost totally ineffective and when the initial waves landed on low tide they met with fiece opposition of an enemy well dug in and prepared.
Casualties were heaviest amongst the troops landing at either end of Omaha. At Fox Green and Easy Red, scattered elements of three companies were reduced to half strength by the time they gained the relative safety of the shingle, many of them having crawled the 300 yards (270 m) of beach just ahead of the incoming tide. Casualties on this spot were especially heavy amongst the first waves of soldiers and the demolition teams - at Omaha these were tasked with blasting 16 channels through the beach obstacles, each 70 meters wide. German gunfire from the bluffs above the beach took a heavy toll on these men. The demolition teams managed to blast only six complete gaps and three partial ones; more than half their engineers were killed in the process.
Situation here on Dog Green and on Easy Red on the other end of Omaha by mid morning was so bad with nearly all the troops essentially pinned down on the beach gen. Eisenhower seriously considered to abandon the operation.
As the US first waves assault forces and combat engineers landing directly opposite the "draws" were pinned down it was up to forces landing on the flanks of the strongpoints to penetrate the weaker German defences by climbing the bluffs. Doing this they had to overcome the minefields and barbed wire as well as machinegun fire from German positions but they did and they were able to attack some key strongpoints from the side and the rear, taking them out by early afternoon.
This happened on several spots at Omaha and essentially saved the day: individual acts of initiative by lower ranked officers and courage like that of First Lieutenant Jimmy Monteith, who led a group of men to take one of the key German widerstandsneste and was killed in action, succeeded where a flawed plan failed.
On the photo:
The view is towards the west and Pointe et Raz de la Percée. At high water there is only a couple of yards of sand left. Both Easy Green and Easy Red saw heavy action on june 6, 1944. Elements of the 116th RCT and Combat Engineers landed here from 06.30 and this was one of the area's were the Combat Engineers succeeded in clearing paths through the German obstacle belt allowing reinforcements to land when the tide was rising and the Landing Craft were threatened by the mines and obstacles. It did take a terrible toll though, as their casualty rates were some 40%.
Tonemapped using three (Handheld) shots made with a Fuji X-T3 and a Fujinon XF-18-55mm, september 2019.
For a map of the eastern part of Omaha click here. The German WN's are marked as well as the Draws and beach sections.
My other Omaha beach photo's with several viewpoints, panorama shots and notes on the fighting
A set of photo's with notes of Utah Beach and the Cotentin peninsula with the Airborne sectors.">
Here's the complete set of photo's made on Pointe du Hoc over the past years
These are my photo's and notes of the British and Canadian sectors: Gold, Juno and Sword.
ID:05 codename "Lemon Lime" history log:
11.4.2451 - Discovered during underground exploration. Object has humanoid form, found unresponsive/dormant.
11.7.2451 - Excavated, transferred to secure facility for research.
11.8.2451 - Cleaning revealed yellow and green outer plating, vastly complex mechanical system on interior.
11.9.2451 - Object tagged as 05 and code-named "Lemon Lime."
11.11.2451 - Experts suggest object's structure is reminiscent of mech designs circa. 2200. However, object has no apparent control center for a pilot.
11.12.2451 - Experts detect several new interior components with unknown function.
11.16.2451 - Object activates spontaneously.
11.17.2451 - Object responds to human communication by waving with left hand.
12.20.2451 - Numerous tests conclude object is capable of high level problem solving. Object sentience is debated among experts.
12.25.2451 - Researcher waves back to object. Object speaks.
Final Analysis -
Object ID:05 is a modified mech capable of free thought, problem solving, and learning due to additional components with previously undiscovered technology. Object displays curiosity and communicates verbally at times. Object is not considered a threat but requires further observation.
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Entry to Brickset's Character Building Competition.
A Victorian special operations task force was assigned to ambush an exchange of radioactive material and capture a high value individual (HVI) codename Panther, a Russian arms dealer.
The tasks were assigned to the TF through drawing straws. The assault team consisted of Team 8, the Squadron Master Chief (Callsign Orca-minor), and two machine gunners from Team 7. The extraction team consisted of Team 55 with Squadron Commander (Callsign Orca-actual), and a fire support section from the Special Operations Regiment. The extraction team are mounted in two GMV, one LAV-FSV, one LAV-ICV, and one HMWV Cargo. The remaining operators from Team 7 in two HH-60 Pave Hawks would be the QRF and positioned at FOB Spade. Video links with the Task Force's TOC, Victoria’s National Command Centre (NCC), United States’ Situation Room and United Kingdom’s COBRA were also setup to monitor the mission on the day of the exchange.
After the AFO teams were inserted, the assault team followed. The assault team would enter the AO by high altitude high opening (HAHO) insertion and patrol in to the exchange site. Just prior to launch, operators from Team 7 assisted their sister team and triple check their parachute and equipment.
To be continued...
Note: The story, all names, characters, and incidents are fictitious.
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
The Heinkel He 162 Volksjäger ("People's Fighter"), the name of a project of the Emergency Fighter Program design competition, was a German single-engine, jet-powered fighter aircraft fielded by the Luftwaffe in World War II. It was designed and built quickly and made primarily of wood as metals were in very short supply and prioritised for other aircraft. Volksjäger was the Reich Air Ministry's official name for the government design program competition won by the He 162 design. Other names given to the plane include Salamander, which was the codename of its construction program, and Spatz ("Sparrow"), which was the official name given to the plane by Heinkel.
The official RLM Volksjäger design competition was issued 10 September 1944 and its parameters specified a single-seat fighter, powered by a single BMW 003, a slightly lower-thrust engine not in demand for either the Me 262 or the Ar 234, already in service. The main structure of the Volksjäger competing airframe designs would use cheap and unsophisticated parts made of wood and other non-strategic materials and, more importantly, could be assembled by semi- and non-skilled labor. Specifications included a weight of no more than 2,000 kg (4,400 lb), with maximum speed specified as 750 km/h (470 mph) at sea level, operational endurance at least a half hour, and the takeoff run no more than 500 m (1,640 ft). Armament was specified as either two 20 mm (0.79 in) MG 151/20 cannons with 100 rounds each, or two 30 mm (1.2 in) MK 108 cannons with 50 rounds each. The Volksjäger needed to be easy to fly. Some suggested even glider or student pilots should be able to fly the jet effectively in combat, and indeed had the Volksjäger gone into full production, and that is precisely what would have happened.
The basic designs had to be returned within 10 days (!!!) and large-scale production was to start by 1 January 1945. Because the winner of the new lightweight fighter design competition would be building huge numbers of the planes, nearly every German aircraft manufacturer expressed interest in the project, such as Blohm & Voss, and Focke-Wulf, whose Focke-Wulf Volksjäger 1 design contender, likewise meant for BMW 003 turbojet power bore a resemblance to their slightly later Ta 183 Huckebein jet fighter design. However, Heinkel had already been working on a series of projects for light single-engine fighters over the last year under the designation P.1073, with most design work being completed by Professor Benz, and had gone so far as to build and test several models and conduct some wind tunnel testing.
Although some of the competing designs were technically superior, with Heinkel's head start the outcome was largely a foregone conclusion. The results of the competition were announced in October 1944, only three weeks after being announced, and to no one's surprise, the Heinkel entry was selected for production. In order to confuse Allied intelligence, the RLM chose to reuse the 8-162 airframe designation (formerly that of a Messerschmitt fast bomber) rather than the other considered designation He 500.
Heinkel had designed a relatively small, 'sporty'-looking aircraft, with a sleek, streamlined fuselage. Overall, the look of the plane was extremely modernistic for its time, appearing quite contemporary in terms of layout and angular arrangement even to today's eyes. The BMW 003 axial-flow turbojet was mounted in a pod nacelle uniquely situated atop the fuselage, just aft of the cockpit and centered directly over the wing's center section. Twin roughly rectangular vertical tailfins were perpendicularly mounted at the ends of highly dihedralled horizontal tailplanes – possessing dihedral of some 14º apiece – to clear the jet exhaust, a high-mounted straight wing (attached to the fuselage with just four bolts) with a forward-swept trailing edge and a noticeably marked degree of dihedral, with an ejection seat provided for the.
The He 162 airframe design featured an uncomplicated tricycle landing gear, that retracted into the fuselage, performed simply with extension springs, mechanical locks, cables and counterweights, and a minimum of any hydraulics employed in its design. Partly due to the late-war period it was designed within, some of the He 162's landing gear components were "recycled" existing landing gear components from a contemporary German military aircraft to save development time: the main landing gear's oleo struts and wheel/brake units came from the Messerschmitt Bf 109K, as well as the double-acting hydraulic cylinders, one per side, used to raise and lower each maingear leg.
The He 162 V1 first prototype flew within an astoundingly short period of time: the design was chosen on 25 September 1944 and first flew on 6 December, less than 90 days later. This was despite the fact that the factory in Wuppertal making Tego film plywood glue — used in a substantial number of late-war German aviation designs whose airframes and/or major airframe components were meant to be constructed mostly from wood — had been bombed by the Royal Air Force and a replacement had to be quickly substituted, without realizing that the replacement adhesive was highly acidic and would disintegrate the wooden parts it was intended to be fastening.
The first flight of the He 162 was fairly successful, but during a high-speed run at 840 km/h (520 mph), the highly acidic replacement glue attaching the nose gear strut door failed and the pilot was forced to land. Other problems were noted as well, notably a pitch instability and problems with sideslip due to the rudder design. None were considered important enough to hold up the production schedule for even a day. On a second flight on 10 December, the glue again caused a structural failure. This allowed the aileron to separate from the wing, causing the plane to roll over and crash, killing the pilot.
An investigation into the failure revealed that the wing structure had to be strengthened and some redesign was needed, as the glue bonding required for the wood parts was in many cases defective. However, the schedule was so tight that testing was forced to continue with the current design. Speeds were limited to 500 km/h (310 mph) when the second prototype flew on 22 December. This time, the stability problems proved to be more serious, and were found to be related to Dutch roll, which could be solved by reducing the dihedral. However, with the plane supposed to enter production within weeks, there was no time to change the design. A number of small changes were made instead, including adding lead ballast to the nose to move the centre of gravity more to the front of the plane, and slightly increasing the size of the tail surfaces.
The third and fourth prototypes, which now used an "M" for "Muster" (model) number instead of "V" for "Versuchs" (experimental) number, as the He 162 M3 and M4, after being fitted with the strengthened wings, flew in mid-January 1945. These versions also included small, anhedraled aluminium "drooped" wingtips, reportedly designed by Alexander Lippisch, in an attempt to cure the stability problems via effectively "decreasing" the main wing panels' marked three degree dihedral angle. Both prototypes were equipped with two 30 mm (1.18 in) MK 108 cannons in the He 162 A-1 anti-bomber variant; in testing, the recoil from these guns proved to be too much for the lightweight fuselage to handle, and plans for production turned to the A-2 fighter with two 20 mm MG 151/20 cannons instead while a redesign for added strength started as the A-3. The shift to 20 mm guns was also undertaken because the smaller-calibre weapons would allow a much greater amount of ammunition to be carried.
Various changes had raised the weight over the original 2,000 kg (4,410 lb) limit, but even at 2,800 kg (6,170 lb), the aircraft was still among the fastest aircraft in the air with a maximum airspeed of 790 km/h (427 kn; 491 mph) at sea level and 839 km/h (453 kn; 521 mph) at 6,000 m (20,000 ft).
While still trying to optimize the basic He 162 A for production and frontline service, Heinkel was already working on improved variants, slated for production in 1946. Among these were the He 162 B, powered by Heinkel's own, more powerful 12 kN (2,700 lb) thrust Heinkel HeS 011A turbojet, with a stretched fuselage to provide more fuel and endurance as well as increased wingspan, with reduced dihedral which allowed the omission of the anhedral wingtip devices. Another, even more radical variant, was the He 162 C. It was based on the B-series longer fuselage and was to carry the stronger Heinkel HeS 011A engine, too, but it had totally different aerodynamic surfaces: swept-back, anhedraled outer wing panels with slats formed a gull wing and a new swept V-tail stabilizing surface assembly replaced the original twin-tail. The armament was also changed and was to consist of upward-aimed twin 30 mm (1.18 in) MK 108s as a Schräge Musik weapons fitment, located right behind the cockpit, with the option to add a 20 mm MG 151/20 cannon in an external fairing under the fuselage.
In order to test the new aerodynamic layout, a He 162 C prototype was converted from airframe 220023, the He 162 A prototype M35, which had been damaged through Allied bombings. The resulting He 162 C-0, how this interim type was called, received the new serial number 390635 and retained the short He 162 A airframe and its forward-firing armament, as well as the weaker BMW 003 engine (the HeS 011A turbojet was still on the horizon, after all).
To carry the new swept "C-wing", the fuselage was structurally altered and the wing attachment points were moved forward. The wings, which were still manufactured mostly from wood, were still held only by four bolts apiece. As a novelty, the new wings featured, thanks to a thicker profile, additional tanks inside of their inner portions which held some 325 litres (86 US gal), feeding by gravity into the main fuselage tank. Slats were also added for better staring and landing handling and to improve agility at lower speeds. The tail cone was also modified in order to carry the new butterfly tail, but the fuselage structure as well as the cockpit and the landing gear were taken over from the He 162 A.
The first He 162 C-0 (registered with the Stammkennzeichen VN+DA and designated "M48") made its successful maiden flight at Heinkel's production facility at Salzburg in Austria on 7th of May 1945. The initial flight tests, which only lasted two weeks, were positive. Esp. the handling and directional stability had improved in comparison with the rather trappy He 162 A, and despite the higher weight due to more fuel and the bigger wings, the He 162 C-0's performance was better than the He 162 A's. Beyond the better handling characteristics, top speed was slightly higher (plus 20 km/h or 15 mph) and the aircraft's endurance was almost doubled. Plans were made to replace the He 162 A soon on the production lines, but with the end of hostilities the He 162 C program was prematurely terminated. Two more prototypes (M49 and 50) were under construction at Salzburg when the Red Army arrived, and all airframes including the project's documentations were destroyed - probably by German engineers who tried to prevent them to fall into Allied hands.
General characteristics:
Crew: 1, pilot
Length (incl. pitot): 10, 73 m (35 ft 1 1/2 in)
Wingspan: 8,17 m (26 ft 9 in)
Height: 2.6 m (8 ft 6 in)
Wing area: 16.4 m2 (177 sq ft)
Empty weight: 1.980 kg (4.361 lb)
Max. takeoff weight: 3.500 kg (7.710 lb)
Fuel capacity of 1,020 litres (270 US gallons)
Powerplant:
1× BMW 003E-1 axial flow turbojet, rated at 7.85 kN (1,760 lbf)
Performance:
Maximum speed: 810 km/h (503 mph) at normal thrust at sea level;
865 km/h (537 mph) at 6000 m; using short burst of extra thrust
Range: 1.800 km (1.110 mi)
Service ceiling: 13.000 m (42.570 400 ft)
Rate of climb: 1.650 m/min (5.400 ft/min)
Armament (as flown):
2× 20 mm MG 151/20 autocannons with 120 RPG
The kit and its assemby:Painting and markings:
As a prototype aircraft I wanted something unusual, but nothing flashy or too exotic. I iamgined that the He 162 C prototype might have been converted from an existing airframe, so I gave some parts of the model (tail cone, upper fuselage, engine pod) standard He 162 A colors, RLM 81, 82 and 76.
However, for the modified cockpit section and the new ing attachment points, I decided to add section in natural metal finish, and as a special detail I added greenish filler that was used on panel seams. The nose cone became RLM 02, for more variety.
The makeshift look was further emphasized through wing panels that were left in bare laminated wood look, with metal tips and camouflaged rudders. The wooden texture was created with a basis of Humbrol 63 (Sand) and some poorly-stirred Humbrol 62 (Leather) added on top with a flat, rather hard brush. Very simple, but the effect - at least at fist glance - is very good, and the unusual color makes the model look much more interesting than camouflaged surfaces.
The markings were puzzled together from various sources, including German crosses from a Special Hobby Fw 189 sheet and from TL Modellbau. The Stammkennzeichen and the "M48" designation were created with single black decals letters, also from TL Modellbau.
Finally, after a black ink washing and some post-shading, the model was sealed with matt acrylic varnish.
A nice and simple what-if/Luft '46 project, done in less than a week. And for the attempt to create a model of a paper project (beyond pure fantasy), I am happy with the result, the model comes pretty close to the drawings, even though noone can tell what a real prototype might have looked like.
c/n 62575, l/n 54-04
NATO codename:- Crusty
Built 1979 and originally registered as RA-65688. It was fitted with a ‘Stinger’ tail sometime after 1986 and by 2011 it had been reregistered into the current Russian military ‘RF-‘ series, although it still carries ‘688’ on the nosewheel door.
It is seen while on approach to Chkalovskiy Air Base. This shot was taken from the grounds of the Central Air Force museum, Monino, Moscow Oblast, Russia.
27th August 2017
c/n 0703.
NATO codename:- Mangrove
The Yak-27 was a direct development of the Yak-25 long-range interceptor. The 'R' was a tactical reconnaissance version and was the most produced variant, with 180 being built. It was intended to replace reconnaissance versions of the Ilyushin Il-28, but although faster and with a higher operational ceiling, it had a shorter range and the Il-28 out-lived it.
I believe that this is one of only three remaining examples. It is on display at the Central Air Force museum, Monino, Moscow Oblast, Russia.
27th August 2017
c/n 3532431622374.
NATO codename:- Hind-F
Previously coded ’09 white’.
The ‘P’ was a gunship version with the nose mounted 12.7mm machine gun replaced with a side mounted 30mm cannon.
In a poor state, the aircraft is stored in a far corner of the site at Monino, Moscow Oblast, Russia.
27th August 2017
c/n 22018174.
NATO codename:- Foxbat-C
The ‘PU’ was a two-seat conversion trainer for the MiG-25P all weather interceptor. It had no combat capability.
This example was previously on display at the Savasleyka base museum.
It was refurbished by the 121st Aircraft Repair Plant at Kubinka in early 2016 and now on display in Area 1 of the Patriot Museum Complex.
Park Patriot, Kubinka, Moscow Oblast, Russia.
25th August 2017
A Victorian special operations task force was assigned to ambush an exchange of radioactive material and capture a high value individual (HVI) codename Panther, a Russian arms dealer.
Since the exchange would take place in an area within the Russian sphere of influence, no ISR or air asset would be available. The plan was to insert reconnaissance teams before the exchange to perform advanced force operations (AFO) and to provide overwatch during the exchange. An assault team would then enter the area of operations (AO) by high altitude high opening (HAHO) insertion and setup an ambush at the exchange.
A ground extraction team will infiltrate the AO by vehicles (including HMMWVs and Grizzly LAVs) under the guise of a routine patrol to extract the assault team once the radioactive material and the HVI have been secured.
The remaining of the task force would be the quick reaction force (QRF) loaded in helicopters waiting at a forward operating base (FOB) and called upon if needed.
3 AFO teams (callsigns Sparrowhawk 2,3 &12) in UTVs were inserted into the AO by Chinook helicopters and setup observation posts (OPs) to conduct reconnaissance and to provide overwatch.
To be continued...
Note: The story, all names, characters, and incidents are fictitious.
The Volkswagen Golf Mk5 (codenamed Typ 1K) is a compact car, the fifth generation of the Volkswagen Golf and the successor to the Volkswagen Golf Mk4. Built on the Volkswagen Group A5 (PQ35) platform, it was unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show in October 2003 and went on sale in Europe one month later.
Marzan Empire
Classification: Melee
Armaments:
(2) SW-MACHETE (Kurosawa recolor)
Pilot: Codename: GHOST
The latest version of the Kurosawa series, the Sword Kai is a stripped down version of the Hyper Kai that goes back to the roots of the design with a much increased mobility rating.
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After numerous successful campaigns against Marzan supply lines, a tired Empire decided to give in and parley with the mysterious pilot of the QU-KRSW, codename: "GHOST".
While many of the Marzan Aristocracy and upper military echelon questioned dealing with a war pirate, numerous deals and a heavy offering of food, money, war supplies, and of course, Quorus was supplied in exchange for GHOST un-officially working as an independent agent for the Marzan Empire, freely doing as he pleases as long as he does not interfere with Marzan business.
His previous reFrame, the QU-KRSW, has been retrofitted with a new design, machine improvements across the board, as well as a huge upgrade to its weapons loadout.
As a safeguard, Marzan engineers were tasked to install a remote detonator inside the Quorus core power chamber to prevent GHOST from crossing them although it's highly likely that's been long diffused by the pirate legend himself.
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More info, WIP details, and other LEGO mechs over at my blog: messymaru.com/
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reFrame Version 3.0 frame (instructions) now available
For those interested in LEGO mech building, I also have an eBook from 2015 called Mech Wars 2015 Instructional Primer. It contains some things I wrote about basic mech building, a bit about my Mech Warsuniverse, and all my early models from 2014-2015. If you’re looking for a resource that could help you start or even improve your mech building skills, you might find this eBook useful.
"Fat Man" was the codename for the type of atomic bomb that was detonated over Nagasaki, Japan, by the United States on 9 August 1945. It was the second of only two nuclear weapons ever used in warfare, the first being Little Boy, and its detonation caused the third man-made nuclear explosion. It was dropped from the Boeing B-29 Superfortress Bockscar, named after its pilot, Captain Frederick C. Bock. For the Fat Man mission, Bockscar was piloted by Major Charles W. Sweeney.
The name Fat Man refers generically to the early design of the bomb, which was also known as the Mark III. Fat Man was an implosion-type nuclear weapon with a plutonium core. The first to be detonated was the Gadget, in the Trinity nuclear test, less than a month earlier on 16 July at the Alamogordo Bombing and Gunnery Range in New Mexico. This bomb was identical in most respects to the Fat Man used at Nagasaki.
Two more Fat Man bombs were detonated during the Operation "Crossroads" nuclear tests at Bikini Atoll in 1946. Some 120 Fat Man units were produced between 1947 and 1949, when it was superseded by the Mark 4 nuclear bomb. The Fat Man was retired in 1950.
This ones all Chris' influence. Its hard to do a drone at this scale with good articulation without taking a page from his book. Goddamn this this is flipping sweet. Its like a fucking action figure. Def gonna keep this guy together.
Chassis n° ZFF67NHB000184232
The LaFerrari was codenamed “F150” in development : this first-phase test mule prototype was known as “M6”
Techno Classica 2022
Essen
Deutschland - Germany
March 2022
Leading up to the global reveal of the LaFerrari at the 2013 Geneva International Motor Show, the supercar titans of the automotive industry battled to develop their own production-ready hybrid powertrain technology. Within the space of five months, the Ferrari LaFerrari, McLaren P1, and Porsche 918 Spyder had all commenced production, cementing 2013 as a pivotal year for supercar evolution. After decades of competition between manufacturers to produce the fastest car by virtue of the most potent internal combustion engine, the embrace of the electric powertrain would change the game forever. This trio of hybrid supercar pioneers marked a new era of performance engineering.
Of course, Ferrari’s entrance onto the competitors’ stage was always going to be grand. The name alone of the Italian marque’s contribution to the hybrid supercar arms race caused a stir, with the boldly named LaFerrari translated as “The Ferrari”. It was described by company president Luca di Montezemolo as “the expression of what defines our company”. Following in the footsteps of the preceding 288 GTO, F40, F50, and Enzo, the LaFerrari took up the mantle as Ferrari’s flagship sports car. There would be 499 examples of the coupé version made for customers over three years, followed by the open-top Aperta, which spanned 210 cars manufactured over a two-year production run.
Clearly, for such an important car to live up to the Ferrari badge and go wheel-to-wheel with its hybrid supercar rivals, its development phase would always be crucial. What would be known internally during development as project code “F150”, the research and testing phases of the supercar’s progression were divided into three cycles.
To begin, the first test mule, known as “M6”, was derived from Ferrari’s Type F142 platform—more commonly known as the Ferrari 458 Italia. Compared to the final production version of the LaFerrari, this early test mule’s likeness to the 458 Italia is clear. It features the 458 Italia’s smooth and uninterrupted side panels, doing without the side-mounted air scoops that draw in air to cool the finished LaFerrari’s mid-mounted hybrid powertrain, while also featuring many of the flowing Pininfarina-penned lines of the earlier car. Conversely, the completed LaFerrari was the first Prancing Horse since the Dino 308 GT4—styled by Bertone and made from 1973 to 1980—not to wear a Pininfarina design.
The aluminium chassis was modified to accommodate the prototype hybrid LaFerrari powertrain, once more differing from the final car’s carbon monocoque that was made alongside Ferrari’s Formula 1 team cars. In the case of the “M6” mule, it was propelled by a V-12 Type F140FB engine, while the final production car would be fitted with Ferrari’s Type F140FE, a progression of this. Engineers also adapted the shock tower around the prototype as part of their research into weight distribution of the car. This first phase of the LaFerrari prototype was used between May 2011 and December 2012 as a development model for the testing of mechanical components; primarily focused on the research of brakes, steering, suspension and tyre integration; also marking the first application of an ESP (Electronic Stability Programme) in the LaFerrari project; and most importantly carrying out extensive testing around the prototype hybrid system.
Later stages of the tri-phase LaFerrari prototype cycle were known internally as the “Second Family Mulotipo” and “Third Family Preserie”—or “pre-series”—with each newer instalment looking more like the finished product that Ferrari would begin to deliver to customers in 2013. Given the complexity of the new electric powertrain, engineers and researchers at Ferrari committed significant resource behind development of the LaFerrari. The supercar was spotted on multiple occasions in pre-production camouflage around Ferrari’s Maranello headquarters, while there were also sightings of development cars in testing on Germany’s famously unforgiving Nürburgring circuit, even after the final car had been revealed. This was testament to Ferrari’s commitment to perfecting its design, and surely one of the ultimate locations to test a car to its limits.
Always known as a company that rewards its most loyal customers, Ferrari began to offer its LaFerrari development mules for sale once it was clear that they were no longer required for testing. This example, sold privately in July 2016, was offered subject to a refresh and repaint by Ferrari, on the understanding that the car was not homologated therefore could not be registered for road use nor be used on public race circuits. However, this very collectable part of Ferrari history could be used on private land with its running powertrain.
Now it is offered for sale again, with the distinguishable matte test mule Nero exterior finished over a Pelle Beige interior. Selected parts of its bodywork are cut or are rough, the interior presents an assortment of colours and styles, and the engine bay does without the conventional Ferrari neatness for an assortment of exposed wires, heat shield wraps, and protruding hoses—yet these endearing features only add to the fascinating history of this unique Ferrari test mule. All around this intriguing example, there are remnants of its past, not limited to the hand-cut access panels on the outside, also including exposed metalwork around the cabin, hand-written marker annotations, printed tester’s notes stuck to the dashboard, and exposed mechanical works behind the seats. The prototype is offered for sale with the additional exterior panels that it wore during testing. The car is officially recognised by Ferrari, and is Ferrari Classiche-certified with an accompanying Yellow Book.
The LaFerrari would go onto carve a legendary reputation. Its blistering performance can be attributed to its 6.3-litre V-12 engine lifted from the developmental FXX model, yet its electric motor and KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) hybrid set-up sets it apart. With 3,322 km on its odometer at the time of cataloguing, it is remarkable to think about the extent of testing and hours of rigour this car was subject to while undergoing development with Ferrari. While the prototype cannot be registered for the road, it would easily slot into the collection of any Ferrari enthusiast as an incredible piece of the marque’s history and transition into the age of the hybrid supercar.
Note mission marks from Operation Ellamy, the codename for the UK's military intervention in Libya in 2011.
"Deckname Lenin"
Wladimir Iljitsch Uljanow
Ab Dezember 1900 verwendete er den Decknamen beziehungsweise das Pseudonym „Lenin“. Eine Erklärung besagt, dass er sich dabei auf den sibirischen Strom Lena bezog (Lenin bedeutet russisch: „Der vom Fluss Lena Stammende“) – nach Sibirien verbannt zu werden, bedeutete damals praktisch, dass man im zaristischen Russland als anerkannter Oppositioneller galt. Eine andere Erklärung besagt, dass er mehr an sein Kindermädchen Lena dachte, und dass er bereits als kleiner Junge auf die Frage, „wessen [Kind] er sei“ zu antworten pflegte: „Lenin!“ (russisch: „Lenas!“).
Lenin hatte mehrere Decknamen, beispielsweise lebte er im Münchner Stadtteil Schwabing als Iordan K. Iordanov und andernorts in München unter dem Namen Mayer. Vor diesem Hintergrund wirkt die Wahl des Pseudonyms eher zufällig.
c/n 4160464201042.
NATO codename:- Fencer-F
The ‘MP’ was an ELINT variant of which only ten were built.
It was refurbished by the 121st Aircraft Repair Plant at Kubinka in early 2016 and now on display in Area 1 of the Patriot Museum Complex.
Park Patriot, Kubinka, Moscow Oblast, Russia.
25th August 2017
c/n 94210425.
NATO codename:- Fishbed-D
The PFS was a 2nd generation Interceptor variant. This is an early example which still has the original chord fin and one-piece canopy.
Since my previous visit in 2012 this is one of many exhibits which have been moved from their previous location under a covered pavilion and are now on display in a new ‘Cold War’ area of ‘Victory Park’. Unfortunately, they are all now parked tail on to some trees and the first sun that we had seen all week was now working against us. Oh, well!
Museum of the Great Patriotic War, Poklonnaya Hill, Moscow, Russia.
26th August 2017
A deep cover agent codename Emerald has been compromised. Intelligence Officer Grayhawk was tasked to extract the agent from the Naran Darre Mountain region.
Four operators from the Special Operations Group were hastily assembled to support the extraction. Grayhawk briefed them on the mission at the intelligence headquarters before launch.
To be continued...
Note: The story, all names, characters, and incidents are fictitious.
c/n 10MK51403.
NATO codename ‘Flanker-C’
Operated by the 43rd Independent Naval Assault Aviation Regiment (OMShAP) Russian Navy, based at Saki.
Named ‘Irkutsk’, after the largest city in Siberia.
Seen displaying during the ARMY 2017 event held at Kubinka Airbase, Moscow Oblast, Russia.
23rd August 2017
The Triceratops is doing duty as a Surface-to-Air platform and mobile gun emplacement. His codename is Hedgehog.
The Pteradactyl is equipped for straffing and light bombing of ground targets. His codename is Groundfire.
Codenamed Operation Iceberg. Largest amphibious assault in the Pacific. Diorama complete, Thanks to al for following the progress !!
c/n 89A-817
NATO codename:- Careless
Built in October 1989 as CCCP-85663 and only flew with Aeroflot for its entire career. Reregistered as RA-85663 in mid/late 1992 and finally retired in 2009. It was donated to the Moscow Technical University of Civil Aviation as an instructional airframe and remains in use there on their ‘off-airport’ ramp.
Sheremetyevo International Airport, Moscow, Russia.
27th August 2017
Abandoned since May 1945:
Einsatzhafen Vörden was the last of 3 military airfields to be built in the Bamsche area in the late 1930s. The other two were Hesepe and Achmer, and the three were functionally connected.
Going by the codename "Villa" it had a logistics area (including a 'workmans camp', in reality a camp for forced labour, later a POW-camp) on the north and northeast side.
The airfield was equipped with three connecting concrete runways in the usual triangle form. To the north and south of the airfield the aircraft parkings were located.
On the northeast and southeast side air traffic control, hangars, workshops and barracks could be found.
In the surrounding woods were more aircraft parkings and wooden towers with light AAA.
The airfield had one major disadvantage: it did not have a connection to the railway system. This meant that all supplies, including fuel, had to be brought in by truck from a railroad connection 6 kilometers (ca. 4 miles) away. To store the aviation fuel 4 large 50 cubic meter tanks were dug in.
Shortly after World War II began the first units flew in.
Between 15 September 1939 and January 1940 the First Group of Fighter Wing (German: I. Gruppe des Jagdgeschwaders 1) "Oesau" was based here, flying Messerschmitt Bf 109E fighters.
When they left, Vörden became somewhat quiet: because of the logistics problem it was only used incidentally, and then mostly by smaller and therefore less fuel consuming aircraft.
To show the severity of the fuel problem: In the first half year of 1944 the First Group of Fighting Wing2 (German: I. Gruppedes Kampfgeschwaders 2) "Holzhammer" was based at Hesepe.
This unit was equipped with Dornier Do 217 bombers, which took up too much space at Hesepe, so several were dispersed to Vörden. When preparing for missions they would first fly the 7 kilometers (4 miles) to Hesepe to fill up their tanks and get their bomb loads.
From 1943 onwards the three bases grew in importance to counter Allied bombing raids, and of course this gave them their share of fighter activity. Between 21 November 1944 until January 1945 the Fourth Group/Fighter Wing 54 (German: IV./JG 54) "Grünherz" was based at Vörden, flying Focke-Wulf Fw 190A
Obviously the Allied forces were aware of the three fields, and they flew multiple missions against them, for instance on 21 February 1944. On 8 April however they got their share of luck: while the other two airfields were attacked, the unit that was to bomb Vörden bombed their secondary target Fliegerhorst Quakenbrück. But other attacks followed and combined they rendered Vörden unusable by early 1945.
The last air raid against Vörden took place on 3 April 1944.
The next morning the Luftwaffe blew up what little was left of the air base and left. On 9 April Scottish units took control of the base, ending the war for Vörden.
Today Vörden has only the old hardened runways left, of the former airbase remains very little. Its three runways are in reasonbly good shape, especially the south runway, given the times that have passed.
Source: www.forgottenairfields.com/germany/lower-saxony/oldenburg...
c/n 00340209.
NATO codename:- Cock
The An-22 was the first Soviet 'wide-body' aircraft, and remains the worlds largest ever turboprop powered aircraft. The type first flew in 1965 and a total of 68 were built.
They have been extremely rare visitors to the UK, including a spectacular arrival at the 1988 Farnborough Airshow (bringing in a spare engine for an An-124), and a sole aircraft operated by the Antonov Design Bureau has made occasional visits to Stansted, East Midlands and recently to Manchester.
The Stansted one came over my (then) home in Ipswich and the noise and vibration were unbelievable!
This An-22 first flew in 1970 and during it's career was one of the aircraft that flew MiG-25RBV fighters to Egypt.
It was retired after a heavy landing at Addis Ababa in 1987, although it was repaired enough to allow it to fly to Monino, where it joined the museum.
On display at the Central Air Force museum, Monino, Moscow Oblast, Russia.
27th August 2017
As he appears in the cartoon show Codename: Kids Next Door.
These photos along with the rest of my photos I will upload will also go onto my Ipernity account.
I am not switching fully to Ipernity yet, but if Flickr gets worse or a lot of people switch over I will definitely go over there too.
Ipernity: www.ipernity.com/home/497033
c/n 96310422069.
NATO codename:- Flanker-C
Previously flew as ’69 red’ until transfered to the Russian Knights formation team. It was then allocated the code ’26 blue’ but never flew as such.
Refurbished by the 121st Aircraft Repair Plant at Kubinka in early 2016 and given a false bort code, it is now on display in Area 1 of the Patriot Museum Complex.
Park Patriot, Kubinka, Moscow Oblast, Russia.
25th August 2017
c/n 0390206625.
NATO codename:- Flogger-G
Stored in a far corner of the site at Monino, Moscow Oblast, Russia.
27th August 2017
U-1105 a modified Type VII-C German submarine, was built at the Nordseewerke Shipyard, Emden, Germany, and commissioned into the Kriegsmarine on 3 June 1944. It was one of less than ten submarines that the Germans outfitted with an experimental synthetic rubber skin designed to counter Allied sonar devices. Codenamed "Alberich," this top-secret rubber coating process ultimately contributed to the ship's survival under extreme combat conditions and earned it the name "Black Panther." For this reason, a black panther sprawled across the top of the globe was painted on U-1105's conning tower.
In the spring of 1945, the submarine patrolled Allied convoy routes near Black Rock, Ireland. In April, U-1105 escaped detection by an Allied destroyer patrol. Days later, the U-boat detected three British destroyers that were part of the Second Division of the 21st Escort Group. The submarine fired two acoustic torpedoes and then dove to 100 meters to escape a counterattack. Fifty seconds passed before the first torpedo struck, with the second hitting just moments later. Thirty-two crewmen from U-1105's victim, HMSRedmill, were lost. The Allied search for U-1105 and the search for Redmill's survivors began immediately. The submarine, unable to maintain its 330-foot depth, sank to the bottom at 570 feet, remaining motionless. For the next 31 hours, the Allied squadron searched for the U-boat without success. U-1105 evaded detection for the remainder of the war.
On May 4, U-1105 received the last order from Grossadmiral Karl Donitz: the war is over. Ironically, the submarine surrendered to the 21st Escort Group, the same escort group it attacked just a few weeks earlier. Ordered to the surface, the submarine proceeded to the Allied base at Loch Eriboll, Scotland on 10 May 1945 to surrender. U-1105 sailed under armed frigate and air escort along with other surrendered U-boats, through the North Minch, northwest of Scotland, to the British naval base at Loch Alsh, in western Scotland, then across Inner Seas to Lishally, Northern Ireland. At Lishally, U-1105 was turned over to the United States as a war prize for study of its unique synthetic rubber skin.
In 1946, the U-boat arrived in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C., and Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Acoustic Laboratory in Cambridge, Massachusetts, conducted research on its unique rubber-tiled skin. After the research was completed, the boat was used for explosives testing. On 19 September 1949, U-1105 went down one last time in more than 91-feet of water landing upright, its pressure hull cracked open by the explosion all the way around to the keel. Little evidence was left to mark the wreck, so for the next 36 years the submarine was lost to history.