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Details, quoting from Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum | Boeing B-29 Superfortress "Enola Gay":
Boeing's B-29 Superfortress was the most sophisticated propeller-driven bomber of World War II and the first bomber to house its crew in pressurized compartments. Although designed to fight in the European theater, the B-29 found its niche on the other side of the globe. In the Pacific, B-29s delivered a variety of aerial weapons: conventional bombs, incendiary bombs, mines, and two nuclear weapons.
On August 6, 1945, this Martin-built B-29-45-MO dropped the first atomic weapon used in combat on Hiroshima, Japan. Three days later, Bockscar (on display at the U.S. Air Force Museum near Dayton, Ohio) dropped a second atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan. Enola Gay flew as the advance weather reconnaissance aircraft that day. A third B-29, The Great Artiste, flew as an observation aircraft on both missions.
Transferred from the United States Air Force.
Manufacturer:
Date:
1945
Country of Origin:
United States of America
Dimensions:
Overall: 900 x 3020cm, 32580kg, 4300cm (29ft 6 5/16in. x 99ft 1in., 71825.9lb., 141ft 15/16in.)
Materials:
Polished overall aluminum finish
Physical Description:
Four-engine heavy bomber with semi-monoqoque fuselage and high-aspect ratio wings. Polished aluminum finish overall, standard late-World War II Army Air Forces insignia on wings and aft fuselage and serial number on vertical fin; 509th Composite Group markings painted in black; "Enola Gay" in black, block letters on lower left nose.
Long Description:
Boeing's B-29 Superfortress was the most sophisticated, propeller-driven, bomber to fly during World War II, and the first bomber to house its crew in pressurized compartments. Boeing installed very advanced armament, propulsion, and avionics systems into the Superfortress. During the war in the Pacific Theater, the B-29 delivered the first nuclear weapons used in combat. On August 6, 1945, Colonel Paul W. Tibbets, Jr., in command of the Superfortress Enola Gay, dropped a highly enriched uranium, explosion-type, "gun-fired," atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. Three days later, Major Charles W. Sweeney piloted the B-29 Bockscar and dropped a highly enriched plutonium, implosion-type atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan. Enola Gay flew as the advance weather reconnaissance aircraft that day. On August 14, 1945, the Japanese accepted Allied terms for unconditional surrender.
In the late 1930s, U. S. Army Air Corps leaders recognized the need for very long-range bombers that exceeded the performance of the B-17 Flying Fortress. Several years of preliminary studies paralleled a continuous fight against those who saw limited utility in developing such an expensive and unproven aircraft but the Air Corps issued a requirement for the new bomber in February 1940. It described an airplane that could carry a maximum bomb load of 909 kg (2,000 lb) at a speed of 644 kph (400 mph) a distance of at least 8,050 km (5,000 miles). Boeing, Consolidated, Douglas, and Lockheed responded with design proposals. The Army was impressed with the Boeing design and issued a contract for two flyable prototypes in September 1940. In April 1941, the Army issued another contract for 250 aircraft plus spare parts equivalent to another 25 bombers, eight months before Pearl Harbor and nearly a year-and-a-half before the first Superfortress would fly.
Among the design's innovations was a long, narrow, high-aspect ratio wing equipped with large Fowler-type flaps. This wing design allowed the B-29 to fly very fast at high altitudes but maintained comfortable handling characteristics during takeoff and landing. More revolutionary was the size and sophistication of the pressurized sections of the fuselage: the flight deck forward of the wing, the gunner's compartment aft of the wing, and the tail gunner's station. For the crew, flying at extreme altitudes became much more comfortable as pressure and temperature could be regulated. To protect the Superfortress, Boeing designed a remote-controlled, defensive weapons system. Engineers placed five gun turrets on the fuselage: a turret above and behind the cockpit that housed two .50 caliber machine guns (four guns in later versions), and another turret aft near the vertical tail equipped with two machine guns; plus two more turrets beneath the fuselage, each equipped with two .50 caliber guns. One of these turrets fired from behind the nose gear and the other hung further back near the tail. Another two .50 caliber machine guns and a 20-mm cannon (in early versions of the B-29) were fitted in the tail beneath the rudder. Gunners operated these turrets by remote control--a true innovation. They aimed the guns using computerized sights, and each gunner could take control of two or more turrets to concentrate firepower on a single target.
Boeing also equipped the B-29 with advanced radar equipment and avionics. Depending on the type of mission, a B-29 carried the AN/APQ-13 or AN/APQ-7 Eagle radar system to aid bombing and navigation. These systems were accurate enough to permit bombing through cloud layers that completely obscured the target. The B-29B was equipped with the AN/APG-15B airborne radar gun sighting system mounted in the tail, insuring accurate defense against enemy fighters attacking at night. B-29s also routinely carried as many as twenty different types of radios and navigation devices.
The first XB-29 took off at Boeing Field in Seattle on September 21, 1942. By the end of the year the second aircraft was ready for flight. Fourteen service-test YB-29s followed as production began to accelerate. Building this advanced bomber required massive logistics. Boeing built new B-29 plants at Renton, Washington, and Wichita, Kansas, while Bell built a new plant at Marietta, Georgia, and Martin built one in Omaha, Nebraska. Both Curtiss-Wright and the Dodge automobile company vastly expanded their manufacturing capacity to build the bomber's powerful and complex Curtiss-Wright R-3350 turbo supercharged engines. The program required thousands of sub-contractors but with extraordinary effort, it all came together, despite major teething problems. By April 1944, the first operational B-29s of the newly formed 20th Air Force began to touch down on dusty airfields in India. By May, 130 B-29s were operational. In June, 1944, less than two years after the initial flight of the XB-29, the U. S. Army Air Forces (AAF) flew its first B-29 combat mission against targets in Bangkok, Thailand. This mission (longest of the war to date) called for 100 B-29s but only 80 reached the target area. The AAF lost no aircraft to enemy action but bombing results were mediocre. The first bombing mission against the Japanese main islands since Lt. Col. "Jimmy" Doolittle's raid against Tokyo in April 1942, occurred on June 15, again with poor results. This was also the first mission launched from airbases in China.
With the fall of Saipan, Tinian, and Guam in the Mariana Islands chain in August 1944, the AAF acquired airbases that lay several hundred miles closer to mainland Japan. Late in 1944, the AAF moved the XXI Bomber Command, flying B-29s, to the Marianas and the unit began bombing Japan in December. However, they employed high-altitude, precision, bombing tactics that yielded poor results. The high altitude winds were so strong that bombing computers could not compensate and the weather was so poor that rarely was visual target acquisition possible at high altitudes. In March 1945, Major General Curtis E. LeMay ordered the group to abandon these tactics and strike instead at night, from low altitude, using incendiary bombs. These firebombing raids, carried out by hundreds of B-29s, devastated much of Japan's industrial and economic infrastructure. Yet Japan fought on. Late in 1944, AAF leaders selected the Martin assembly line to produce a squadron of B-29s codenamed SILVERPLATE. Martin modified these Superfortresses by removing all gun turrets except for the tail position, removing armor plate, installing Curtiss electric propellers, and modifying the bomb bay to accommodate either the "Fat Man" or "Little Boy" versions of the atomic bomb. The AAF assigned 15 Silverplate ships to the 509th Composite Group commanded by Colonel Paul Tibbets. As the Group Commander, Tibbets had no specific aircraft assigned to him as did the mission pilots. He was entitled to fly any aircraft at any time. He named the B-29 that he flew on 6 August Enola Gay after his mother. In the early morning hours, just prior to the August 6th mission, Tibbets had a young Army Air Forces maintenance man, Private Nelson Miller, paint the name just under the pilot's window.
Enola Gay is a model B-29-45-MO, serial number 44-86292. The AAF accepted this aircraft on June 14, 1945, from the Martin plant at Omaha (Located at what is today Offut AFB near Bellevue), Nebraska. After the war, Army Air Forces crews flew the airplane during the Operation Crossroads atomic test program in the Pacific, although it dropped no nuclear devices during these tests, and then delivered it to Davis-Monthan Army Airfield, Arizona, for storage. Later, the U. S. Air Force flew the bomber to Park Ridge, Illinois, then transferred it to the Smithsonian Institution on July 4, 1949. Although in Smithsonian custody, the aircraft remained stored at Pyote Air Force Base, Texas, between January 1952 and December 1953. The airplane's last flight ended on December 2 when the Enola Gay touched down at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland. The bomber remained at Andrews in outdoor storage until August 1960. By then, concerned about the bomber deteriorating outdoors, the Smithsonian sent collections staff to disassemble the Superfortress and move it indoors to the Paul E. Garber Facility in Suitland, Maryland.
The staff at Garber began working to preserve and restore Enola Gay in December 1984. This was the largest restoration project ever undertaken at the National Air and Space Museum and the specialists anticipated the work would require from seven to nine years to complete. The project actually lasted nearly two decades and, when completed, had taken approximately 300,000 work-hours to complete. The B-29 is now displayed at the National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.
Codenamed Operation Iceberg. Largest amphibious assault in the Pacific. Diorama complete, Thanks to al for following the progress !!
One of my favorite figures all biases aside (I'm sucker for '85 in general). Alpine had some of the most unique accessories in the entire line, and a terrific sculpt.
c/n 0513547
NATO codename:- Fresco-A
On display at the Central Armed Forces Museum,
Moscow, Russia.
26th August 2017
c/n unknown.
NATO codename āMidgetā.
No history has ever been reported for this airworthy UTI, although it is believed to be ex-Soviet Air Force.
The āŠŠŠā badge on the nose represents the Moscow Aviation Institute (a possible operator for this historic machine?).
It also wears the same ābird with flowersā 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
The Kargil War of 1999, codenamed Operation Vijay by the Indian Army, saw infiltration by Pakistani troops into parts of Western Ladakh, namely Dras, Kargil and Batalik sectors, overlooking key locations on the Srinagar-Leh highway. Extensive operations were launched in high altitudes by the Indian Army on May 20, 1999. Pakistani troops were evicted from the Indian side of the Line of Control which the Indian government ordered was to be respected and which was not crossed by Indian troops.
The recapture of Tololing was one of the most crucial tasks undertaken by the Indian Army during 'Operation Vijay'. Due to its height of over 15,000 ft and its proximity to NH 1D, Tololing is considered one of the most important features of the Kargil-Dras sector. From this height, the intruders, entrenched at safe heights, could observe movement on the Indian side and also disrupt traffic on NH 1D, thereby dominating the entire area. The Indian soldiers were at a disadvantage who had no cover from the onslaught of intruder's bullets and artillery. The initial task of recapturing the height was handed over to 18 Grenadiers who commenced operations on the 21st May 1999. On the night of the final assault (12th June 1999), 2 RAJ RIF was brought in to take advantage of the inroads made by the Grenadiers. They launched a multi directional attack on the Tololing height. After fierce hand to hand encounters, on the early morning of 13th June 1999, Indian soldiers recaptured Tololing.
With initial disaster of one MiG-27 and a MiG-21 on May 26, Mi-17 gunship helicopter units of the Indian Air Force (152 HU - The Mighty Armour and 129 HU - The Nubra Warriors) successfully assaulted the Pakistani intruders on mountainous heights at Tiger Hill complex and Tololing Ridge on subsequent days (26th, 27th and 28th May). On May 28, when Nubra-3, one of the four gunships of Nubra Warriors, was shot down, Indian Air Force withdrew gunships and stopped all air operations. Without air support and as the intruders safely lodged in crevices and bunkers, it was a difficult battle to win.
In contemporary terms this was an expensive war. The Indian forces suffered numerable losses through militarily suicidal missions which left, officially, 413 Indian soldiers killed and 584 injured. Between the Pakistani Army and Mujaheddin 696 fell though there was no official record. The Indian government was criticized by the Indian public because India respected geographical co-ordinates more than India's opponents by not crossing the actual Line of Control. In introspection, intelligence failure and the impatience at the decision-making level in the government occasioned by the political need to conclude operations quickly, led to the army losing many of its men in near-impossible missions. Read: Kargil Post Mortem
Rockets Away - IAF Mi17 Attack on Tololing Hill (youtube video)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Battle of Peleliu
Part of the Mariana and Palau Islands campaign of the Pacific Theater (World War II)
Date15 September ā 27 November 1944
(2 months, 1 week and 5 days)
Location
Peleliu, Palau Islands
7Ā°00ā²N 134Ā°15ā²ECoordinates: 7Ā°00ā²N 134Ā°15ā²E
ResultAmerican victory
Belligerents
United States Japan
Commanders and leaders
United States William H. Rupertus
United States Paul J. Mueller
United States Roy S. Geiger
United States Herman H. Hanneken
United States Harold D. Harris
United States Lewis B. PullerEmpire of Japan Kunio Nakagawa ā
Empire of Japan Sadae Inoue
Units involved
United States III Amphibious Corps
1st Marine Division
81st Infantry Division
Additional support units
Empire of Japan Peleliu garrison
14th Infantry Division
49th Mixed Brigade
45th Guard Force
46th Base Force
Additional support units
Strength
47,561[1]:3610,900[1]:37
17 tanks[2]
Casualties and losses
10,786
2,336 killed
8,450 wounded[3]10,897
10,695 killed
202 captured (183 foreign laborers, 19 Japanese soldiers)[1]:89[3]
17 tanks lost
Battle of Peleliu is located in Palau
Battle of Peleliu
Mariana and Palau Islands campaign
The Battle of Peleliu, codenamed Operation Stalemate II by the United States military, was fought between the U.S. and Japan during the Mariana and Palau Campaign of World War II, from September to November 1944, on the island of Peleliu.
U.S. Marines of the 1st Marine Division, and later soldiers of the U.S. Army's 81st Infantry Division, fought to capture an airstrip on the small coral island of Peleliu. This battle was part of a larger offensive campaign known as Operation Forager, which ran from June to November 1944, in the Pacific Theater.
Major General William Rupertus, Commander of the 1st Marine Division, predicted the island would be secured within four days.[4] However, after repeated Imperial Army defeats in previous island campaigns, Japan had developed new island-defense tactics and well-crafted fortifications that allowed stiff resistance,[5] extending the battle through more than two months. The heavily outnumbered Japanese defenders put up such stiff resistance, often fighting to the death in the Emperor's name, that the island became known in Japanese as the "Emperor's Island."[6]
In the United States, this was a controversial battle because of the island's negligible strategic value and the high casualty rate, which exceeded that of all other amphibious operations during the Pacific War.[7] The National Museum of the Marine Corps called it "the bitterest battle of the war for the Marines".[8]
Background
By 1944, American victories in the Southwest and Central Pacific had brought the war closer to Japan, with American bombers able to strike at the Japanese main islands from air bases secured during the Mariana Islands campaign (JuneāAugust 1944). There was disagreement among the U.S. Joint Chiefs over two proposed strategies to defeat the Japanese Empire. The strategy proposed by General Douglas MacArthur called for the recapture of the Philippines, followed by the capture of Okinawa, then an attack on the Japanese mainland. Admiral Chester Nimitz favored a more direct strategy of bypassing the Philippines, but seizing Okinawa and Taiwan as staging areas to an attack on the Japanese mainland, followed by the future invasion of Japan's southernmost islands. Both strategies included the invasion of Peleliu, but for different reasons.[9]
The 1st Marine Division had already been chosen to make the assault. President Franklin D. Roosevelt traveled to Pearl Harbor to personally meet both commanders and hear their arguments. MacArthur's strategy was chosen. However, before MacArthur could retake the Philippines, the Palau Islands, specifically Peleliu and Angaur, were to be neutralized and an airfield built to protect MacArthur's right flank.
Preparations
Japanese
By 1944, Peleliu Island was occupied by about 11,000 Japanese of the 14th Infantry Division with Korean and Okinawan labourers. Colonel Kunio Nakagawa, commander of the division's 2nd Regiment, led the preparations for the island's defense.
After their losses in the Solomons, Gilberts, Marshalls, and Marianas, the Imperial Army assembled a research team to develop new island-defense tactics. They chose to abandon the old strategy of stopping the enemy at the beach, where they were exposed to naval gunfire. The new tactics would only disrupt the landings at the water's edge and depend on an in-depth defense farther inland. Colonel Nakagawa used the rough terrain to his advantage, by constructing a system of heavily fortified bunkers, caves, and underground positions all interlocked into a "honeycomb" system. The traditional "banzai charge" attack was also discontinued as being both wasteful of men and ineffective. These changes would force the Americans into a war of attrition, requiring increasingly more resources.
Japanese fortifications
Nakagawa's defenses were centred on Peleliu's highest point, Umurbrogol Mountain, a collection of hills and steep ridges located at the center of Peleliu overlooking a large portion of the island, including the crucial airfield. The Umurbrogol contained some 500 limestone caves, interconnected by tunnels. Many of these were former mine shafts that were turned into defensive positions. Engineers added sliding armored steel doors with multiple openings to serve both artillery and machine guns. Cave entrances were opened or altered to be slanted as a defense against grenade and flamethrower attacks. The caves and bunkers were connected to a vast tunnel and trench system throughout central Peleliu, which allowed the Japanese to evacuate or reoccupy positions as needed, and to take advantage of shrinking interior lines.
The Japanese were well armed with 81 mm (3.19 in) and 150 mm (5.9 in) mortars and 20 mm (0.79 in) anti-aircraft cannons, backed by a light tank unit and an anti-aircraft detachment.
The Japanese also used the beach terrain to their advantage. The northern end of the landing beaches faced a 30-foot (9.1 m) coral promontory that overlooked the beaches from a small peninsula, a spot later known to the Marines who assaulted it simply as "The Point". Holes were blasted into the ridge to accommodate a 47 mm (1.85 in) gun, and six 20 mm cannons. The positions were then sealed shut, leaving just a small slit to fire on the beaches. Similar positions were crafted along the 2-mile (3.2 km) stretch of landing beaches.
The beaches were also filled with thousands of obstacles for the landing craft, principally mines and a large number of heavy artillery shells buried with the fuses exposed to explode when they were run over. A battalion was placed along the beach to defend against the landing, but they were meant to merely delay the inevitable American advance inland.
American
Unlike the Japanese, who drastically altered their tactics for the upcoming battle, the American invasion plan was unchanged from that of previous amphibious landings, even after suffering 3,000 casualties and two months of delaying tactics against the entrenched Japanese defenders at the Battle of Biak.[10] On Peleliu, American planners chose to land on the southwest beaches because of their proximity to the airfield on South Peleliu. The 1st Marine Regiment, commanded by Colonel Lewis B. (Chesty) Puller, was to land on the northern end of the beaches. The 5th Marine Regiment, under Colonel Harold D. Harris, would land in the center, and the 7th Marine Regiment, under Col. Herman H. Hanneken, would land at the southern end.
The division's artillery regiment, the 11th Marines under Col. William H. Harrison, would land after the infantry regiments. The plan was for the 1st and 7th Marines to push inland, guarding the 5th Marines left and right flank, and allowing them to capture the airfield located directly to the center of the landing beaches. The 5th Marines were to push to the eastern shore, cutting the island in half. The 1st Marines would push north into the Umurbrogol, while the 7th Marines would clear the southern end of the island. Only one battalion was left behind in reserve, with the U.S. Army's 81st Infantry Division available for support from Angaur, just south of Peleliu.
On September 4, the Marines shipped off from their station on Pavuvu, just north of Guadalcanal, a 2,100-mile (3,400 km) trip across the Pacific to Peleliu. A U.S. Navy's Underwater Demolition Team went in first to clear the beaches of obstacles, while Navy warships began their pre-invasion bombardment of Peleliu on September 12.
The battleships Pennsylvania, Maryland, Mississippi, Tennessee and Idaho, heavy cruisers Indianapolis, Louisville, Minneapolis and Portland, and light cruisers Cleveland, Denver and Honolulu,[1]:29 led by the command ship Mount McKinley, subjected the tiny island, only 6 sq mi (16 km2) in size, to a massive three-day bombardment, pausing only to permit air strikes from the three aircraft carriers, five light aircraft carriers, and eleven escort carriers with the attack force.[11] A total of 519 rounds of 16 in (410 mm) shells, 1,845 rounds of 14 in (360 mm) shells and 1,793 500 lb (230 kg) bombs were dropped on the islands during this period.
The Americans believed the bombardment to be successful, as Rear Admiral Jesse Oldendorf claimed that the Navy had run out of targets.[11] In reality, the majority of the Japanese positions were completely unharmed. Even the battalion left to defend the beaches was virtually unscathed. During the assault, the island's defenders exercised unusual firing discipline to avoid giving away their positions. The bombardment managed only to destroy Japan's aircraft on the island, as well as the buildings surrounding the airfield. The Japanese remained in their fortified positions, ready to attack the American landing troops.
Opposing forces
Naval command structure for Operation Stalemate II
Admiral Chester W. Nimitz
Admiral William F. Halsey, Jr.
Vice Adm. Theo. S. Wilkinson
Expeditionary Troops and III Amphibious Corps commanders
Maj. Gen. Julian C. Smith
Maj. Gen. Roy S. Geiger
Marine ground commanders on Peleliu
Maj. Gen. William H. Rupertus
Oliver P. Smith as a major general
Lewis B. Puller as a major general
American order of battle
United States Pacific Fleet[12]
Admiral Chester W. Nimitz
US Third Fleet
Admiral William F. Halsey, Jr.
Joint Expeditionary Force (Task Force 31)
Vice Admiral Theodore S. Wilkinson
Expeditionary Troops (Task Force 36)
III Amphibious Corps[a]
Major General Julian C. Smith,[b] USMC
Western Landing Force (TG 36.1)
Major General Roy S. Geiger, USMC
1st Marine Division
Division Commander: Maj. Gen. William H. Rupertus,[c] USMC
Asst. Division Commander: Brig. Gen. Oliver P. Smith,[d] USMC
Chief of Staff: Col. John T. Selden, USMC
Beach assignments
Left (White 1 & 2)
1st Marine Regiment (Col. Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller,[e] USMC)
Co. A of the following: 1st Engineer Battalion, 1st Pioneer Battalion, 1st Medical Battalion, 1st Tank Battalion
Center (Orange 1 & 2)
5th Marine Regiment (Col. Harold D. "Bucky" Harris, USMC)
Co. B of the following: 1st Engineer Battalion, 1st Pioneer Battalion, 1st Medical Battalion, 1st Tank Battalion (reduced)
Right (Orange 3)
7th Marine Regiment (Col. Herman H. "Hard-Headed" Hanneken, USMC)
Co. C of the following: 1st Engineer Battalion, 1st Pioneer Battalion, 1st Medical Battalion, 1st Tank Battalion (reduced)
Other units
11th Marine Regiment, Artillery (Col. William H. Harrison, USMC)
12th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion
1st Amphibian Tractor Battalion
3rd Armored Amphibian Tractor Battalion
4th, 5th, 6th Marine War Dog Platoons
UDT 6 and UDT 7
Japanese order of battle
Lt. Col. Kunio Nakagawa
Marine with captured Japanese 141mm mortar
Palau District Group[15]
Lieutenant General Inoue Sadao[f] (HQ on Koror Island)
Vice Admiral Yoshioka Ito
Maj. Gen. Kenjiro Murai[g]
14th Division (Lt. Gen. Sadao)
Peleliu Sector Unit (Lt. Col. Kunio Nakagawa[h])
2nd Infantry Regiment, Reinforced
2nd Bttn. / 2nd Infantry Regiment
3rd Bttn. / 2nd Infantry Regiment
3rd Bttn. / 15th Infantry Regiment
346th Bttn. / 53rd Independent Mixed Brigade
Battle
Landing
Routes of Allied landings on Peleliu, 15 September 1944
U.S. Marines landed on Peleliu at 08:32, on September 15, the 1st Marines to the north on White Beach 1 and 2 and the 5th and 7th Marines to the center and south on Orange Beach 1, 2, and 3.[1]:42ā45 As the other landing craft approached the beaches, the Marines were caught in a crossfire when the Japanese opened the steel doors guarding their positions and fired artillery. The positions on the coral promontories guarding each flank fired on the Marines with 47 mm guns and 20 mm cannons. By 09:30, the Japanese had destroyed 60 LVTs and DUKWs.
5th Marines on Orange Beach
The 1st Marines were quickly bogged down by heavy fire from the extreme left flank and a 30-foot-high coral ridge, "The Point".[1]:49 Colonel Chesty Puller narrowly escaped death when a dud high velocity artillery round struck his LVT. His communications section was destroyed on its way to the beach by a hit from a 47 mm round. The 7th Marines faced a cluttered Orange Beach 3, with natural and man-made obstacles, forcing the Amtracs to approach in column.[1]:52
The 5th Marines made the most progress on the first day, aided by cover provided by coconut groves.[1]:51 They pushed toward the airfield, but were met with Nakagawa's first counterattack. His armored tank company raced across the airfield to push the Marines back, but was soon engaged by tanks, howitzers, naval guns, and dive bombers. Nakagawa's tanks and escorting infantrymen were quickly destroyed.[1]:57
At the end of the first day, the Americans held their 2-mile (3.2 km) stretch of landing beaches, but little else. Their biggest push in the south moved 1 mile (1.6 km) inland, but the 1st Marines to the north made very little progress because of the extremely thick resistance.[1]:42 The Marines had suffered 200 dead and 900 wounded. Rupertus, still unaware of his enemy's change of tactics, believed the Japanese would quickly crumble since their perimeter had been broken.[18]
Airfield/South Peleliu
On the second day, the 5th Marines moved to capture the airfield and push toward the eastern shore.[1]:61 They ran across the airfield, enduring heavy artillery fire from the highlands to the north, suffering heavy casualties in the process. After capturing the airfield, they rapidly advanced to the eastern end of Peleliu, leaving the island's southern defenders to be destroyed by the 7th Marines.[1]:58
This area was hotly contested by the Japanese, who still occupied numerous pillboxes. Heat indices[19] were around[20] 115 Ā°F (46 Ā°C), and the Marines soon suffered high casualties from heat exhaustion. Further complicating the situation, the Marines' water was distributed in empty oil drums, contaminating the water with the oil residue.[21] Still, by the eighth day the 5th and 7th Marines had accomplished their objectives, holding the airfield and the southern portion of the island, although the airfield remained under threat of sustained Japanese fire from the heights of Umurbrogol Mountain until the end of the battle.[11]
American forces put the airfield to use on the third day. L-2 Grasshoppers from VMO-3 began aerial spotting missions for Marine artillery and naval gunfire support. On September 26 (D+11), Marine F4U Corsairs from VMF-114 landed on the airstrip. The Corsairs began dive-bombing missions across Peleliu, firing rockets into open cave entrances for the infantrymen, and dropping napalm; it was only the second time the latter weapon had been used in the Pacific.[citation needed] Napalm proved useful, burning away the vegetation hiding spider holes and usually killing their occupants.
The time from liftoff to the target area for the Corsairs based on Peleliu Airfield was very short, sometimes only 10 to 15 seconds. Consequently, there was almost no time for pilots to raise their aircraft undercarriage; most pilots did not bother and left them down during the air strike. After the air strike was completed and the payload dropped, the Corsair simply turned back into the landing pattern again.
The Point
The fortress at the end of the southern landing beaches (a.k.a. āThe Pointā) continued to cause heavy Marine casualties due to enfilading fire from Japanese heavy machine guns and anti-tank artillery across the landing beaches. Puller ordered Captain George P. Hunt, commander of K Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines, to capture the position. Hunt's company approached The Point short on supplies, having lost most of its machine guns while approaching the beaches. Hunt's second platoon was pinned down for nearly a day in an anti-tank trench between fortifications. The rest of his company was endangered when the Japanese cut a hole in their line, surrounding his company and leaving his right flank cut off.[1]:49
However, a rifle platoon began knocking out the Japanese gun positions one by one. Using smoke grenades for concealment, the platoon swept through each hole, destroying the positions with rifle grenades and close-quarters combat. After knocking out the six machine gun positions, the Marines faced the 47 mm gun cave. A lieutenant blinded the 47 mm gunner's visibility with a smoke grenade, allowing Corporal Henry W. Hahn to launch a grenade through the cave's aperture. The grenade detonated the 47 mm's shells, forcing the cave's occupants out with their bodies alight and their ammunition belts exploding around their waists. A Marine fire team was positioned on the flank of the cave where the emerging occupants were shot down.
K Company had captured The Point, but Nakagawa counterattacked. The next 30 hours saw four major counterattacks against a sole company, critically low on supplies, out of water, and surrounded. The Marines soon had to resort to hand-to-hand combat to fend off the Japanese attackers. By the time reinforcements arrived, the company had successfully repulsed all of the Japanese attacks, but had been reduced to 18 men, suffering 157 casualties during the battle for The Point.[1]:50ā51 Hunt and Hahn were both awarded the Navy Cross for their actions.
Ngesebus Island
The 5th Marinesāafter having secured the airfieldāwere sent to capture Ngesebus Island, just north of Peleliu. Ngesebus was occupied by many Japanese artillery positions, and was the site of an airfield still under construction. The tiny island was connected to Peleliu by a small causeway, but 5th Marines commander Harris opted instead to make a shore-to-shore amphibious landing, predicting the causeway to be an obvious target for the island's defenders.[1]:77
Harris coordinated a pre-landing bombardment of the island on September 28, carried out by Army 155 mm (6.1 in) guns, naval guns, howitzers from the 11th Marines, strafing runs from VMF-114's Corsairs, and 75 mm (2.95 in) fire from the approaching LVTs.[1]:77 Unlike the Navy's bombardment of Peleliu, Harris' assault on Ngesebus successfully killed most of the Japanese defenders. The Marines still faced opposition in the ridges and caves, but the island fell quickly, with relatively light casualties for the 5th Marines. They had suffered 15 killed and 33 wounded, and inflicted 470 casualties on the Japanese.
Bloody Nose Ridge
After capturing The Point, the 1st Marines moved north into the Umurbrogol pocket,[1]:81 named "Bloody Nose Ridge" by the Marines. Puller led his men in numerous assaults, but each resulted in severe casualties from Japanese fire. The 1st Marines were trapped in the narrow paths between the ridges, with each ridge fortification supporting the other with deadly crossfire.
The Marines took increasingly high casualties as they slowly advanced through the ridges. The Japanese again showed unusual fire discipline, striking only when they could inflict maximum casualties. As casualties mounted, Japanese snipers began to take aim at stretcher bearers, knowing that if stretcher bearers were injured or killed, more would have to return to replace them, and the snipers could steadily pick off more and more Marines. The Japanese also infiltrated the American lines at night to attack the Marines in their fighting holes. The Marines built two-man fighting holes, so one Marine could sleep while the other kept watch for infiltrators.
One particularly bloody battle on Bloody Nose came when the 1st Battalion, 1st Marinesāunder the command of Major Raymond Davisāattacked Hill 100. Over six days of fighting, the battalion suffered 71% casualties. Captain Everett Pope and his company penetrated deep into the ridges, leading his remaining 90 men to seize what he thought was Hill 100. It took a day's fighting to reach what he thought was the crest of the hill, which was in fact another ridge occupied by more Japanese defenders.
Marine Pfc. Douglas Lightheart (right) cradles his .30 caliber (7.62Ć63mm) M1919 Browning machine gun in his lap, while he and Pfc. Gerald Thursby Sr. take a cigarette break, during mopping up operations on Peleliu on 15 September 1944.
Trapped at the base of the ridge, Captain Pope set up a small defense perimeter, which was attacked relentlessly by the Japanese throughout the night. The Marines soon ran out of ammunition, and had to fight the attackers with knives and fists, even resorting to throwing coral rock and empty ammunition boxes at the Japanese. Pope and his men managed to hold out until dawn came, which brought on more deadly fire. When they evacuated the position, only nine men remained. Pope later received the Medal of Honor for the action. (Picture of the Peleliu Memorial dedicated on the 50th anniversary of the landing on Peleliu with Captain Pope's name)
The Japanese eventually inflicted 70% casualties on Puller's 1st Marines, or 1,749 men.[1]:66 After six days of fighting in the ridges of Umurbrogol, General Roy Geiger, commander of the III Amphibious Corps, sent elements of U.S. Army's 81st Infantry Division to Peleliu to relieve the regiment.[1]:66 The 321st Regiment Combat Team landed on the western beaches of Peleliuāat the northern end of Umurbrogol mountaināon 23 September. The 321st and the 7th Marines encircled The Pocket by 24 Sept., D+9.[1]:75,81
By 15 October, the 7th Marines had suffered 46% casualties and General Geiger relieved them with the 5th Marines.[1]:83 Col. Harris adopted siege tactics, using bulldozers and flame-thrower tanks, pushing from the north.[1]:83ā84 On October 30, the 81st Infantry Division took over command of Peleliu, taking another six weeks, with the same tactics, to reduce The Pocket.[1]:85
On 24 November, Nakagawa proclaimed "Our sword is broken and we have run out of spears". He then burnt his regimental colors and performed ritual suicide.[1]:86 He was posthumously promoted to lieutenant general for his valor displayed on Peleliu. On 27 November, the island was declared secure, ending the 73-day-long battle.[18]
A Japanese lieutenant with twenty-six 2nd Infantry soldiers and eight 45th Guard Force sailors held out in the caves in Peleliu until April 22, 1947, and surrendered after a Japanese admiral convinced them the war was over.[1]:81
Aftermath
The reduction of the Japanese pocket around Umurbrogol mountain has been called the most difficult fight that the U.S. military encountered in the entire war.[21] The 1st Marine Division was severely mauled and it remained out of action until the invasion of Okinawa began on April 1, 1945. In total, the 1st Marine Division suffered over 6,500 casualties during their month on Peleliu, over one third of their entire division. The 81st Infantry Division also suffered heavy losses with 3,300 casualties during their tenure on the island.
Postwar statisticians calculated that it took U.S. forces over 1500 rounds of ammunition to kill each Japanese defender and that, during the course of the battle, the Americans expended 13.32 million rounds of .30-calibre, 1.52 million rounds of .45-calibre, 693,657 rounds of .50-calibre bullets, 118,262 hand grenades, and approximately 150,000 mortar rounds.[11]
The battle was controversial in the United States due to the island's lack of strategic value and the high casualty rate. The defenders lacked the means to interfere with potential US operations in the Philippines[11] and the airfield captured on Peleliu did not play a key role in subsequent operations. Instead, the Ulithi Atoll in the Caroline Islands was used as a staging base for the invasion of Okinawa. The high casualty rate exceeded all other amphibious operations during the Pacific War.[7]
In addition, few news reports were published about the battle because Rupertus' prediction of a "three days" victory motivated only six reporters to report from shore. The battle was also overshadowed by MacArthur's return to the Philippines and the Allies' push towards Germany in Europe.
The battles for Angaur and Peleliu showed Americans the pattern of future Japanese island defense but they made few adjustments for the battles for Iwo Jima and Okinawa.[22] Naval bombardment prior to amphibious assault at Iwo Jima was only slightly more effective than at Peleliu, but at Okinawa the preliminary shelling was much improved.[23] Frogmen performing underwater demolition at Iwo Jima confused the enemy by sweeping both coasts, but later alerted Japanese defenders to the exact assault beaches at Okinawa.[23] American ground forces at Peleliu gained experience in assaulting heavily fortified positions such as they would find again at Okinawa.[24]
On the recommendation of Admiral William F. Halsey, Jr., the planned occupation of Yap Island in the Caroline Islands was canceled. Halsey actually recommended that the landings on Peleliu and Angaur be canceled, too, and their Marines and soldiers be thrown into Leyte Island instead, but was overruled by Nimitz.[25]
In popular culture
In the March of Time's 1951 documentary TV series, Crusade in the Pacific, Episode 17 is "The Fight for Bloody Nose Ridge."
In NBC-TV's 1952-53 documentary TV series Victory at Sea, Episode 18, "Two if by Sea" covers the assaults at Peleliu and Angaur.
The Battle of Peleliu is featured in many World War II themed video games, including Call of Duty: World at War. The player takes the role of a US Marine tasked with taking Peleliu Airfield, repelling counter-attacks, destroying machine-gun and mortar positions and eventually securing Japanese artillery emplacements at the point. In flight-simulation game War Thunder, two teams of players clash to hold the southern and northern airfields. In multi-player shooter Red Orchestra 2: Rising Storm, a team of American troops attack the defensive Japanese team's control points.
The battle including footage and stills are featured in the fifth episode of Ken Burns' The War.
The battle features in episodes 5, 6 and 7 of the TV mini-series The Pacific.
In his book, With the Old Breed, Eugene Bondurant Sledge described his experiences in the battle for Peleliu.
In 2015, the Japanese magazine Young Animal commenced serialization of Peleliu: Rakuen no Guernica by Masao Hiratsuka and artist Kazuyoshi Takeda, telling the story of the battle in manga form.
One of the final scenes in Parer's War, a 2014 Australian television film, shows the Battle of Peleliu recorded by Damien Parer with his camera at the time of his death.
The Peleliu Campaign features as one of the campaigns in the 2019 solitaire tactical wargame āFields of Fireā Volume 2, designed by Ben Hull, published by GMT Games LLC.
Individual honors
Japan
Posthumous promotions
For heroism:
Colonel Kunio Nakagawa ā lieutenant general
Kenjiro Murai ā lieutenant general
United States
Pfc. Richard Kraus, USMC (age 18), killed in action
Medal of Honor recipients
Captain Everett P. Pope ā 1st Battalion, 1st Marines
First Lieutenant Carlton R. Rouh ā 1st Battalion, 5th Marines
Private First Class Arthur J. Jackson ā 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines
Corporal Lewis K. Bausell ā1st Battalion, 5th Marines (Posthumous)
Private First Class Richard E. Kraus ā 8th Amphibian Tractor Battalion, 1st Marine Division (Reinforced) (Posthumous)
Private First Class John D. New ā 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines (Posthumous)
Private First Class Wesley Phelps ā 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines (Posthumous)
Private First Class Charles H. Roan ā 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines (Posthumous)
Unit citations
D-day Peleliu, African Americans of one of the two segregated units that supported the 7th Marines - the 16th Marine Field Depot or the 17th Naval Construction Battalion Special take a break in the 115 degree heat, 09-15-1944 - NARA - 532535
Presidential Unit Citation:
1st Marine Division, September 15 to 29, 1944[26]
1st Amphibian Tractor Battalion, FMF[27]
U. S. Navy Flame Thrower Unit Attached[27]
6th Amphibian Tractor Battalion (Provisional), FMF[27]
3d Armored Amphibian Battalion (Provisional), FMF[27]
Detachment Eighth Amphibian Tractor Battalion, FMF[27]
454th Amphibian Truck Company, U. S. Army[27]
456th Amphibian Truck Company, U. S. Army[27]
4th Joint Assault Signal Company, FMF[27]
5th Separate Wire Platoon, FMF[27]
6th Separate Wire Platoon, FMF[27]
Detachment 33rd Naval Construction Battalion (202 Personnel)[27]
Detachment 73rd Naval Construction Battalion's Shore Party (241 Personnel)[27]
USMC Commendatory Letter:[i]
11th Marine Depot Company (segregated)
7th Marine Ammunition Company (segregated)
17th Special Naval Construction Battalion (segregated)
c/n 49083503001.
NATO codename āFlanker-Eā
Operated by the 4th Centre for Combat Application and Crew Training (GTsPAPIPVI), part of the 968th Instructior-Research Aviation Regiment (IISAP) based at Lipetsk. The unit uses four of the type to perform as the āFalcons of Russiaā combat demonstration team.
Seen taking off to display at the Aviation cluster of the ARMY 2017 event.
Kubinka Airbase, Moscow Oblast, Russia.
23rd August 2017
As she 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
The SEAT Ronda (codenamed 022A) is a small family car produced by the Spanish automaker SEAT from 1982 to 1986, and styled by Rayton Fissore in collaboration with the Technical Centre in Martorell. 177,869 Rondas were built in total. The Ronda was the first SEAT model named after a Spanish city.
The SEAT Ronda was a restyled SEAT Ritmo which in its turn derived from the Fiat Ritmo. However, in 1983 the Arbitration Chamber of Paris (subsequent to the acrimonious split between FIAT and SEAT) judged that the differences between those cars were important enough so as not to consider the Ronda to be a rebadged Ritmo. The most visible external design differences between a Ritmo and a Ronda are rectangular headlights on the Ronda in place of the round ones featured on the Ritmo, different tail lights and panels, and changed door handles.
It was introduced with locally built engines from the 124 series or a larger twin cam 1.6, as well as a 1.7-litre diesel unit. Later, a version of Fiat's two-litre engine with a Porsche-developed head (System Porsche) was also installed in the rare Ronda Crono 2000 2.0 model. Only 800 of these were built. After an Autumn-1984 facelift, the Ronda received the "System Porsche" petrol engines which were developed for the Ibiza. The car was now called the Ronda P and carried a stylized "P" on the rear side.
Photograph above:
PONT AVEN, Brittany Ferries seen at Portsmouth.
Photograph Copyright: Digital Expression UK (2021)
OVERVIEW:
MV Pont-Aven is a cruiseferry operated by Brittany Ferries. She was built at Meyer Werft shipyard in Germany and has been sailing for Brittany Ferries since March 2004. She is the current Brittany Ferries flagship. Prior to being named the Pont-Aven was referred to as Bretagne 2, this was then the codename for the new Brittany Ferries vessel for PlymouthāRoscoff, the M/V Armorique.
Pont-Aven's layout is similar in many respects to that of another Brittany Ferries vessel, M/V Bretagne.
MV Pont-Aven was ordered by Brittany Ferries from the Meyer Werft shipyard on the river Ems, at Papenburg, Germany on 22 February 2002. She was laid down on 9 April 2003, launched 13 September the same year and completed on 7 February 2004, ahead of schedule. She completed sea trials and was handed over on 27 February, making her maiden voyage on 24 March, from Roscoff to Santander.
Pont-Aven experienced a number of technical problems in her first year of service. Most serious was the flooding of an auxiliary engine room in August 2004 caused by a faulty sea valve leaving the ferry unable to move from the Plymouth terminal for two days. Many services were disrupted at the height of the holiday season, many passengers having to be transferred to services from Poole and Portsmouth. The problem occurred at the same time as a major breakdown on the Irish Ferries vessel M/V Normandy, which serves on the Rosslare - Cherbourg route. This situation left no passenger ferry link between Ireland and France and as a result many holidaymakers were forced to use the so-called Land-Bridge route, travelling from Ireland to Wales by ferry and driving to Plymouth or Portsmouth to board a ferry for France, or vice versa. Other problems included the bow door jamming shut and the unusual roll when travelling at high speed even in calm weather. However most faults have now been corrected and the vessel has become a popular member of the Brittany Ferries fleet.
On 22 May 2006 Pont-Aven sustained damage en route to Santander from Plymouth. Several forward windows were smashed by a 9-metre wave which resulted in a number of cabins flooding. She was forced to divert to Roscoff where passengers disembarked. On 26 May 2006 Pont-Aven returned to service, while refurbishment was carried out on board throughout the voyage. The windows were covered by metal. These windows were later replaced with smaller, round porthole windows in late 2007 - early 2008.
On 18 August 2008 the ship experienced problems opening the bow door in Santander for cars to be off-loaded. As a result of this the ship had to re-dock, aft into the port first, and the vehicles had to reverse off. This led to further delays and the problem was not fixed before the next crossing to Plymouth later that day; meaning that vehicles had to reverse or make a U-turn to disembark.
At around 04:00 on 29 April 2019, a fire in the engine room caused the ship to divert to Brest whilst en route from Plymouth to Santander.
MV Pont-Aven was named for the town of Pont-Aven in Brittany. The town is famous as the home of a group of artists known as the Pont-Aven School, and the interior dƩcor of the ship commemorates this link.
16 Men and 1 Woman have been arrested in raids as part of an operation to crackdown on drug dealing in Oldham.
They were arrested when officers from Greater Manchester Police raided 14 addresses just after 6am today, Wednesday 30 April 2014.
Officers from Oldham's Operation Caminada Organised Crime Unit launched the operation, codenamed Operation Alamos, as their response to community concerns that street drug dealing was a problem in the area.
This operation forms part of Operation Challenger, which is the Force's strategy for tackling organised crime groups across Greater Manchester.
These arrests came after months of investigations by officers from the Oldham Organised Crime Unit into the distribution of heroin.
In the raids this morning, 16 men and 1 Woman were arrested on suspicion of drugs offences, after officers executed warrants across Oldham and Burnley.
More than 80 officers were involved in the raids and included officers from the Oldham Division and force tactical aid unit supported by Lancashire Police.
Extra officers from Oldham's Neighbourhood Policing Teams will be patrolling the area from today and the next few days to provide a visible presence and reassurance to the community.
A multi-agency plan is now in place for the area to ensure support for drug users and to prevent any further offending in the area.
Superintendant Denise Worth of the Oldham Division, said: "Today shows that the desire to rid our communities of the blight of drugs is continuous and that we shall keep tackling the issue as many times as is necessary until the problem is dealt with.
"This operation has taken months of intricate planning and dedication by officers from Operation Caminada.
"The people of Oldham have told us that they want drugs and drug dealing tackled across the borough and I hope that today's action highlights how seriously we take these crimes.
"It also sends a message out that we will not let people profit from spreading their misery in our neighbourhoods and we will continue to use all the powers and resources available to put people before the courts."
If you have information on anyone who may be committing crime in your area, please call police on 101 or for more information visit gmp.police.uk.
People with any concerns can contact your Neighbourhood Policing Team directly about any issues related to crime or anti-social behaviour on: Oldham Neighbourhood Policing Team Central on 0161 8568927.
To find out more about Greater Manchester Police please visit our website.
You should call 101, the new national non-emergency number, to report crime and other concerns that do not require an emergency response.
Always call 999 in an emergency, such as when a crime is in progress, violence is being used or threatened or where there is danger to life.
You can also call anonymously with information about crime to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Crimestoppers is an independent charity who will not want your name, just your information. Your call will not be traced or recorded and you do not have to go to court or give a statement.
ce's strategy for tackling organised crime groups across Greater Manchester.
These arrests came after months of investigations by officers from the Oldham Organised Crime Unit into the distribution of heroin.
In the raids this morning, 16 men and 1 Woman were arrested on suspicion of drugs offences, after officers executed warrants across Oldham and Burnley.
More than 80 officers were involved in the raids and included officers from the Oldham Division and force tactical aid unit supported by Lancashire Police.
Extra officers from Oldham's Neighbourhood Policing Teams will be patrolling the area from today and the next few days to provide a visible presence and reassurance to the community.
A multi-agency plan is now in place for the area to ensure support for drug users and to prevent any further offending in the area.
Superintendant Denise Worth of the Oldham Division, said: "Today shows that the desire to rid our communities of the blight of drugs is continuous and that we shall keep tackling the issue as many times as is necessary until the problem is dealt with.
"This operation has taken months of intricate planning and dedication by officers from Operation Caminada.
"The people of Oldham have told us that they want drugs and drug dealing tackled across the borough and I hope that today's action highlights how seriously we take these crimes.
"It also sends a message out that we will not let people profit from spreading their misery in our neighbourhoods and we will continue to use all the powers and resources available to put people before the courts."
If you have information on anyone who may be committing crime in your area, please call police on 101 or for more information visit gmp.police.uk.
People with any concerns can contact your Neighbourhood Policing Team directly about any issues related to crime or anti-social behaviour on: Oldham Neighbourhood Policing Team Central on 0161 8568927.
To find out more about Greater Manchester Police please visit our website.
You should call 101, the new national non-emergency number, to report crime and other concerns that do not require an emergency response.
Always call 999 in an emergency, such as when a crime is in progress, violence is being used or threatened or where there is danger to life.
You can also call anonymously with information about crime to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Crimestoppers is an independent charity who will not want your name, just your information. Your call will not be traced or recorded and you do not have to go to court or give a statement.
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the model, the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
In the aftermath of the Second World War, Sweden required a strong air defense, utilizing the newly developed jet propulsion technology. This led to a pair of proposals being issued by the Saab design team, led by Lars Brising. The first of these, codenamed R101, was a cigar-shaped aircraft, which bore a resemblance to the American Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star. The second design, which would later be picked as the winner, was a barrel-shaped design, codenamed R 1001, which proved to be both faster and more agile upon closer study.
The original R 1001 concept had been designed around a mostly straight wing, but after Swedish engineers had obtained German research data on swept-wing designs, the prototype was altered to incorporate a 25Ā° sweep. In order to make the wing as thin as possible, Saab elected to locate the retractable undercarriage in the aircraft's fuselage rather than into the wings.
Extensive wind tunnel testing performed at the Swedish Royal University of Technology and by the National Aeronautical Research Institute had also influenced aspects of the aircraft's aerodynamics, such as stability and trim across the aircraft's speed range. In order to test the design of the swept wing further and avoid any surprises, it was decided to modify a single Saab Safir. It received the designation Saab 201 and a full-scale R 1001 wing for a series of flight tests. The first 'final' sketches of the aircraft, incorporating the new information, was drawn in January 1946.
The originally envisioned powerplant for the new fighter type was the de Havilland Goblin turbojet engine. However, in December 1945, information on the newer and more powerful de Havilland Ghost engine became available. The new engine was deemed to be ideal for Saab's in-development aircraft, as not only did the Ghost engine had provisions for the use of a central circular air intake, the overall diameter of the engine was favorable for the planned fuselage dimensions, too. Thus, following negotiations between de Havilland and Saab, the Ghost engine was selected to power the type instead and built in license as the RM 2.
By February 1946 the main outline of the proposed aircraft had been clearly defined. In Autumn 1946, following the resolution of all major questions of principal and the completion of the project specification, the Swedish Air Force formally ordered the completion of the design and that three prototype aircraft be produced, giving the proposed type the designation J 29.
On 1 September 1948, the first of the Saab 29 prototypes conducted its maiden flight, which lasted for half an hour. Because of the shape of its fuselage, the Saab J 29 quickly received the nickname "Flygande Tunnan" ("The Flying Barrel"), or "Tunnan" ("The Barrel") for short. While the demeaning nickname was not appreciated by Saab, its short form was eventually officially adopted.
A total of four prototypes were built for the aircraft's test program. The first two lacked armament, carrying heavy test equipment instead, while the third prototype was armed with four 20mm automatic guns. Various different aerodynamic arrangements were tested, such as air brakes being installed either upon the fuselage or on the wings aft of the rear spar, along with both combined and conventional aileron/flap arrangements.
The flight test program revealed that the J 29 prototypes were capable of reaching and exceeding the maximum permissible Mach number for which they had been designed, and the flight performance figures gathered were found to be typically in excess of the predicted values.
In 1948 production of the type commenced and in May 1951 the first deliveries of operational production aircraft were received by F 13 Norrkƶping. The J 29 proved to be very successful and several variants and updates of the Tunnan were produced, including a dedicated reconnaissance variant and an all-weather fighter with an on-board radar.
A trainer variant was deemed to be useful, too, since the transition of young pilots from relatively slow, piston-engine basic trainers to jet-powered aircraft was considered to be a major step in the education program. At that time, the only jet-powered two-seater in Swedish inventory was the DH 115 Vampire. 57 of these, designated J 28C by the Swedish Air Force, had been procured from Great Britain in the late Forties, but an indigenous alternative (and a more capable successor) was politically favored.
In 1952 initial wind tunnel tests with scaled-down models were conducted, since it was not clear which layout would be the best from an aerodynamic, structural and educational point of view. After a thorough inspection of wooden 1:1 mock-ups of alternative tandem and a side-by-side cockpit layouts, as well as much political debate between Saab, the Swedish Air Force and the Swedish government concerning the costs and budget for a dedicated Saab 29 trainer fleetās development and production, a compromise was settled upon in early 1953: No new trainer airframes would be produced. Instead, only existing airframes would be converted into two seaters, in an attempt to keep as much of the existing structure and internal fuel capacity as possible.
The side-by-side arrangement was adopted, not only because it was considered to be the more effective layout for a trainer aircraft. It also had the benefit that its integration would only mean a limited redesign of the aircraftās cockpit section above the air intake duct and the front landing gear well, allowing to retain the single-seaterās pressurized cabinās length and internal structure. A tandem cockpit would have been aerodynamically more efficient, but it would have either considerably reduced the J 29ās internal fuel capacity, or the whole aircraft had had to be lengthened with a fuselage plug, with uncertain outcome concerning airframe and flight stability. It would also have been the more costly option,
However, it would take until 1955 that the first trainer conversions were conducted by Saab, in the wake of the major wing and engine updates for the J 29 A/B fleet that lasted until 1956. The trainer, designated Sk 29 B, was exclusively based on the J 29 B variant and benefited from this versionās extra fuel tanks in the wings and fully wired underwing weapon hardpoints, which included two wet pylons for drop tanks and made the Sk 29 B suitable for weapon training with the J 29ās full ordnance range.
The trainer conversions only covered the new cockpit section, though. The Sk 29 B did not receive the new dogtooth wing which was only introduced to the converted J 29 D, E and F fighters. The upper pair of 20mm cannon in the lower front fuselage was deleted, too, in order to compensate for the two-seaterās additional cockpit equipment weight and drag. Performance suffered only marginally under the enlarged canopy, though, and the Sk 29 B turned out to be a very sound and useful design for the advanced jet trainer role.
However, budgetary restraints and the quick development of aircraft technology in the Fifties limited the number of fighter conversions to only 22 airframes. The aging Vampire two-seaters still turned out to be adequate for the advanced trainer role, and the Sk 29 B did not offer a significant advantage over the older, British aircraft. Another factor that spoke against more Sk 29 Bs was the simple fact that more trainer conversions would have reduced the number of airframes eligible for the running fighter aircraft updates.
All Sk 29 Bs were concentrated at the F 5 Ljungbyhed Kungliga Krigsflygskolan training wing in southern Sweden, where two flights were equipped with it. Unofficially dubbed āSkola Tunnanā (literally āSchool Barrelā), the Sk 29B performed a solid career, even though the machines were gradually retired from 1966 onwards. A dozen Sk 29 B remained active until 1972 in various supportive roles, including target tugging, air sampling and liaison duties, while the final Vampire trainer was already retired in 1968. But by the early Seventies, the trainer role had been taken over by the brand new Saab 105/Sk 60 trainer, the long-awaited domestic development, and Sk 35 Draken trainers.
General characteristics:
Crew: 2
Length: 10.23 m (33 ft 7 in)
Wingspan: 11.0 m (36 ft 1 in)
Height: 3.75 m (12 ft 4 in)
Wing area: 24.15 mĀ² (260.0 ftĀ²)
Empty weight: 5,120 kg (11,277 lb)
Max. takeoff weight: 8,375 kg (18,465 lb)
Powerplant:
1Ć Svenska Flygmotor RM2 turbojet, rated at 5,000 lbf (22.2 kN)
Performance:
Maximum speed: 1,010 km/h (627 mph)
Range: 1,060 km (658 mi)
Service ceiling: 15,500 m (50,850 ft)
Rate of climb: 30.5 m/s (6,000 ft/min)
Armament:
2x 20mm Hispano Mark V autocannon in the lower front fuselage
Underwing hardpoints for various unguided missiles and iron bombs, or a pair drop tanks
The kit and its assembly:
Another Saab 29 conversion of a variant that was thought about but never materialized, much like the radar-equipped all-weather fighter. The impulse to tackle this stunt was a leftover D. H. Vampire trainer fuselage pod in my stash (from the āMystery Jetā conversion a couple of months ago, from an Airfix kit). The canopyās shape and dimensions appeared like a sound match for the tubby J 29, and so I decided to try this stunt.
The basis is the Heller J 29 kit, which is, despite raised surface details, IMHO the better kit than the rather simple Matchbox offering. However, what makes things more hazardous, though, is the kitās option to build the S 29 C reconnaissance variant ā the lower front fuselage is a separate part, and any surgery around the cockpit weakens the kitās overall stability considerably. Unlike the J 29D all-weather fighter built recently, I had no visual reference material. The only valid information I was able to dig up was that a side-by-side cockpit had been the preferred layout for this paper project.
Implanting a new cockpit is always hazardous, and I have never tried to integrate a side-by-side arrangement into a single seater. The Vampire cockpit was finished first, and also mounted into the Vampireās original cockpit pod halves, because I was able to use its side walls and also had the original canopy parts left over ā and using the Vampireās cockpit opening would ensure a good fit and limit PSR work around the clear parts. Once the Vampire cockpit tub was complete, the āimplantā was trimmed down as far as possible.
Next step was to prepare the Tunnan to accept the donor cockpit. In order to avoid structural trouble I finished the two fuselage halves first, mounted the air intake with the duct to the front end, but left the fighter versionās gun tray away (while preparing it with a load of lead). The idea was to put the Vampire cockpit into position from below into the Tunnanās fuselage, until all outer surfaces would more or less match in order to minimize PSR work.
With the Vampire cockpit as benchmark, I carefully tried to draw its outlines onto the upper front fuselage. The following cutting and trimming sessions too several turns. To my surprise, the side-by-side cockpitās width was the least problem ā it fits very well inside of the J 29 fuselageās confines, even though the front end turned out to be troublesome. Space in length became an issue, too, because the Airfix Vampire cockpit is pretty complete: it comes with all pedals, a front and a rear bulkhead, and its bulged canopy extends pretty far backwards into an aerodynamic fairing. As a result, itās unfortunately very longā¦ Furthermore, air intake duct reaches deep into the Tunnanās nose, too, so that width was not the (expected) problem, but rather length!
Eventually, the cockpit lost the front bulkhead and had to trimmed and slimmed down further, because, despite its bulky fuselage, the Tunnanās nose is rather narrow. As a consequence the Vampire cockpit had to be moved back by about 3mm, relative to the single-seaterās canopy, and the area in front of the cockpit/above the air intake duct had to be completely re-sculpted, which took several PSR stages. Since the Vampireās canopy shape is very different and its windscreen less steep (and actually a flat glass panel), I think this change is not too obvious, tough, and looks like a natural part of the fictional real-life conversion. However, a fiddly operation, and it took some serious effort to blend the new parts into the Tunnan fuselage, especially the windscreen.
Once the cockpit was in place, the lower front fuselage with the guns (the upper pair had disappeared in the meantime) was mounted, and the wings followed suit. In this case, I modified the flaps into a lowered position, and, as a subtle detail, the Tunnan kit lost its retrofitted dogtooth wings, so that they resemble the initial, simple wing of the J 29 A and B variants. Thanks to the massive construction of the kitās wings (they consist of two halves, but these are very thin and almost massive), this was a relatively easy task.
The rest of the Tunnan was built mostly OOB; it is a typical Heller kit of the Seventies: simple, with raised surface detail, relatively good fit (despite the need to use putty) and anything you could ask for a J 29 in 1:72 scale. I just replaced the drop tanks with shorter, thicker alternatives ā early J 29 frequently carried Vampire drop tanks without fins, and the more stout replacements appeared very suitable for a trainer.
The pitots on the wing tips had to be scratched, since they got lost with the wing modifications - but OOB they are relatively thick and short, anyway. Further additions include a tail bumper and extra dorsal and ventral antennae, plus a fairing for a rotating warning light, inspired by a similar installation on the late J 29 target tugs.
Painting and markings:
As usual, I wanted a relatively plausible livery and kept things simple. Early J 29 fighters were almost exclusively left in bare metal finish, and the Swedish Vampire trainers were either operated in NMF with orange markings (very similar to the RAF trainers), or they carried the Swedish standard dark green/blue grey livery.
I stuck to the Tunnanās standard NMF livery, but added dark green on wing tips and fin, which were widely added in order to make formation flight and general identification easier. However, some dayglow markings were added on the fuselage and wings, too, so that ā together with the tactical markings ā a colorful and distinct look was created, yet in line with typical Swedish Air Force markings in the late Fifties/early Sixties.
The NMF livery was created with an overall coat of Revell 99 acrylic paint (Aluminum), on top of which various shades of Metallizer were dry-brushed, panel by panel. Around the exhaust, a darker base tone (Revell 91, Iron Metallic and Steel Metallizer) was used. Around the cockpit, in order to simulate the retrofitted parts, some panels received a lighter base with Humbrol 191.
The raised panel lines were emphasized through a light black in wash and careful rubbing with grinded graphite on a soft cotton cloth ā with the benefit that the graphite adds a further, metallic shine to the surface and destroys the uniform, clean NMF look. On the front fuselage, where many details got lost through the PSR work, panel lines were painted with a thin, soft pencil.
The cockpit interior became dark green-grey (Revell 67 comes pretty close to the original color), the landing gear wells medium grey (Revell 57). The dark green markings on fin and wing tips were painted with Humbrol 163 (RAF Dark Green), which comes IMHO close to the Swedish āMƶrkgrƶnā. The orange bands were painted, too, with a base of Humbrol 82 (Orange Lining) on top of which a thin coat of fluorescent orange (Humbrol 209) was later added. Even though the NMF Tunnan did not carry anti-dazzle paint in front of the windscreen, I added a black panel because of the relatively flat area there on the modified kit.
Decals come from different sources: roundels and stencils come from the Heller kitās sheet, the squadron code number from a Flying Colors sheet with Swedish ciphers in various colors and sizes for the late Fifties time frame, while the tactical code on the fin was taken from a Saab 32 sheet.
Finally the kit was sealed with a āĀ¾ mattā, acrylic varnish, mixed from glossy and matt varnishes.
An effective and subtle conversion, and a bigger stunt than one might think at first sight. The Tunnan two-seater does, hoewever, not look as disturbing as, for instance, the BAC Lightning or Hawker Hunter trainer variants? The rhinoplasty was massive and took some serious PSR, though, and the livery was also more demanding than it might seem. But: this is what IMHO a real Saab 29 trainer could have looked like, if it had left the drawing boards in the early Fifties. And it even looks good! :D
c/n 49083503001.
NATO codename āFlanker-Eā
Operated by the 4th Centre for Combat Application and Crew Training (GTsPAPIPVI), part of the 968th Instructior-Research Aviation Regiment (IISAP) based at Lipetsk. The unit uses four of the type to perform as the āFalcons of Russiaā combat demonstration team.
Seen landing after displaying at the Aviation cluster of the ARMY 2017 event.
Kubinka Airbase, Moscow Oblast, Russia.
23rd August 2017
Vesikko is a submarine (the single ship of her class), which was launched on 10 May 1933 at the Crichton-Vulcan dock in Turku, Finland.
Until 1936 it was named by its manufacturing codename CV 707. Vesikko was ordered by a Dutch engineering company Ingenieurskantoor voor Scheepsbouw (a German front company) in 1930 as a commercial submarine prototype.
Purchased by the Finnish before the war, she saw service in the Winter War and World War II, sinking the Soviet merchant ship Vyborg as her only victory. After the cease-fire with the Allies in 1944, Vesikko was retired. Finland was banned from operating submarines after the war and she was kept in storage until she was turned into a museum ship.
Vesikko was one of five submarines to serve in the Finnish Navy. The other four were the three larger Vetehinen-class boats Vetehinen, Vesihiisi, Iku-Turso and the small Saukko. The word "vesikko" is the Finnish name for the European mink.
Ingenieurskantoor voor Scheepsbouw (IvS), was a German front company in the Netherlands, established to secretly design a new German submarine fleet.
According to the terms of the Versailles Peace Treaty after World War I, Germany was banned from building and operating submarines among other "offensive" weaponry. This resulted in moving the armaments' research to foreign countries. For example, German tanks and aircraft were tested and developed in the Soviet Union.
Therefore, unlike the other submarines in the Finnish Navy, Vesikko was not part of the Naval Act. Instead, it was part of the secret rebuilding of the German Navy, the Reichsmarine.
The objective of Germans was to design a modern submarine type to be used during general mobilization; technology and standards were to be new and not based on World War I designs.
For this purpose two prototypes were built, E1 in Spain and CV 707 in Finland. The latter was later chosen as a first submarine type for the new fleet. Construction of both of these experimental submarines was funded by the Reichsmarine.
Commander Karl Bartenbach, who had retired from active service in the Reichsmarine, worked as secret liaison officer in Finland.
His official title was Naval Expert of the Finnish Defence Forces, and it was under his leadership that the 496-ton Vetehinen class and the 100-ton Saukko were built in Finland. Both submarine types were designed by IvS. For the German Navy, his mission was to oversee the developing and construction of a 200ā250 ton submarine, which would still equal the combat effectiveness of the Vetehinen class. The whole task was named The Lilliput Project.
The official decision allowing Vesikko to be constructed in Finland was made in 1930 after several meetings with the Finnish Government.
Since The Liliput Project broke the terms of the Versailles Peace Treaty, there was no mention of Germany in the agreement, and it was decided that the new submarine could only be sold to nations belonging to the League of Nations.
The would-be buyers also had to have the rights to own such a weapon. The Finnish Government gained primary rights to purchase the submarine.
The construction of CV 707 begun in 1931 at the Crichton-Vulcan dock in Turku. At the time of its construction, CV 707 was one of the most advanced submarine designs.
For example, the maximum depth was over twice that of earlier German submarines, and its hull could be built completely by electric welding. By eliminating rivets there was increased resistance to water pressure, decreased oil leakages, and the construction process was faster. Germans tested CV 707 in the Archipelago of Turku during 1933ā34.
Vesikko was a prototype for the German Type II submarines. Six Type IIA submarines (U-1 to U-6) which were almost identical to Vesikko were built in the Deutsche Werke dock in Kiel, and after these, 44 Type IIB, IIC, and IID submarines were built before and during World War II.
According to the agreement between the Finnish Ministry of Defence and the Crichton-Vulcan company, Finland had the primary purchase option until 1937, and the Finnish Government took over the submarine during August 1934. After the Finnish Parliament had approved the acquisition in 1936, the submarine joined the Finnish Navy under the name of Vesikko.
Vesikko was deployed with Vesihiisi to the Hanko region on 30 November 1939 as several Soviet surface combatants were headed towards the area. However the submarine failed to arrive in time to intercept the Kirov and its escorts. Vesikko was able to get close enough to see the cruiser but was unable to reach firing position as it had to evade shellfire.
When on 17 December and on two following days the Soviets sent the battleship Oktyabrskaya Revolyutsiya to bombard Finnish positions at Koivisto, the Finnish Navy decided to send out Vesikko to hunt for it.
However, by the time the submarine reached the area a day later the Soviet battleship Marat which bombarded on that day had already departed and temperature had dropped to ā15 Ā°C (5 Ā°F) which prevented the submarine from diving.
In summer 1941 all Finnish submarines were once again readied for combat operations and they sailed to the staging area in the Gulf of Finland.
Vesikko's base of operations was to be VahterpƤƤ island near the town of Loviisa.
When the Continuation War started on 25 June, all submarines were ordered to patrol the eastern part of the Gulf of Finland.
On 3 July 1941 Vesikko sank a Soviet merchant ship named Vyborg east of Gogland island.
The attack was made 700 metres (770 yd) from the target; first one torpedo was launched at 13:25 which hit the stern of the target. The target stopped but did not appear to be sinking so Vesikko fired another torpedo which failed to explode. Very soon after the strike, three Soviet patrol boats started to chase Vesikko and tried to destroy it with depth charges and salvage the damaged ship but failed to accomplish either task. Vyborg sank on 3 July at 14:15.
Soviet historiography later downplayed the sinking of Vyborg, insisting that several submarines and German naval bombers had assaulted the ship simultaneously, and that over twenty torpedoes had been launched against it.
During fall 1941 Vesikko operated from Helsinki and made three patrols to the coast of Estonia. In 1942, equipped with depth charge rack, she acted as an escort to convoys in the Sea of Ć land, and hunted suspected hostile submarines near Helsinki.
In the beginning of June 1944, Vesikko escorted the convoys which were evacuating people from the Karelian Isthmus. Due to the armistice between Finland and the Soviet Union, Vesikko was ordered to return to port on 19 September 1944. Vesikko sailed the last time as a combat vessel of the Finnish Navy in December 1944.
During wartime, several officers were commanders of the submarine: Ltn. Kauko Pekkanen (1939), Capt. Ltn. Olavi Aittola (1940 and 1941), Capt. Ltn. Antti Leino (1942), Capt. Ltn. Pentti Airaksinen (1942), Capt. Ltn. Eero Pakkala (1943), Capt. Ltn. Olavi SyrjƤnen (1943), and Capt. Ltn. Lauri Parma (1944).
In January 1945, the Allies' Commission responsible for monitoring the observance of the Peace treaty ordered the Finnish submarines to be disarmed, and in 1947 according to the terms of the Paris Peace Treaty, the Finnish Defence Forces were forbidden to have any submarines.
The Finnish submarines Vetehinen, Vesihiisi, Iku-Turso, and Saukko were sold to Belgium to be scrapped in 1953. Vesikko was spared because the Finnish Defence Forces hoped that Finland could in future gain permission to use submarines again, and Vesikko was then meant to be used for training purposes. Vesikko was stored at the Valmet Oy dock in Katajanokka district in Helsinki.
In 1959, the Finnish Navy decided to sell Vesikko because Finland had not managed to obtain the right to use submarines again, and because Valmet Oy complained that the old submarine hampered the work in the dock.
Thanks to the Institute of Military History and the former submarine officers, the sale was cancelled and Vesikko was conveyed to the Military Museum.
The Military Museum moved Vesikko to Susisaari island in Suomenlinna, on the shores of Artillery Bay, and restored the submarine. The restoration process lasted over a decade and was very difficult; most of the equipment had been removed after the war and put to other use. In addition, Vesikko had been subject to vandalism in the dock. However, with donations and voluntary work, the restoration was completed, and Vesikko opened as a museum on the anniversary of the Finnish Navy 9 July 1973.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finnish_submarine_Vesikko
Suomenlinna Sea Fortress, Helsinki, Finland.
Access Vesikko virtually here: www.thinglink.com/video/913675598549745665
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the model, the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
In the aftermath of the Second World War, Sweden required a strong air defense, utilizing the newly developed jet propulsion technology. This led to a pair of proposals being issued by the Saab design team, led by Lars Brising. The first of these, codenamed R101, was a cigar-shaped aircraft, which bore a resemblance to the American Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star. The second design, which would later be picked as the winner, was a barrel-shaped design, codenamed R 1001, which proved to be both faster and more agile upon closer study.
The original R 1001 concept had been designed around a mostly straight wing, but after Swedish engineers had obtained German research data on swept-wing designs, the prototype was altered to incorporate a 25Ā° sweep. In order to make the wing as thin as possible, Saab elected to locate the retractable undercarriage in the aircraft's fuselage rather than into the wings.
Extensive wind tunnel testing performed at the Swedish Royal University of Technology and by the National Aeronautical Research Institute had also influenced aspects of the aircraft's aerodynamics, such as stability and trim across the aircraft's speed range. In order to test the design of the swept wing further and avoid any surprises, it was decided to modify a single Saab Safir. It received the designation Saab 201 and a full-scale R 1001 wing for a series of flight tests. The first 'final' sketches of the aircraft, incorporating the new information, was drawn in January 1946.
The originally envisioned powerplant for the new fighter type was the de Havilland Goblin turbojet engine. However, in December 1945, information on the newer and more powerful de Havilland Ghost engine became available. The new engine was deemed to be ideal for Saab's in-development aircraft, as not only did the Ghost engine had provisions for the use of a central circular air intake, the overall diameter of the engine was favorable for the planned fuselage dimensions, too. Thus, following negotiations between de Havilland and Saab, the Ghost engine was selected to power the type instead and built in license as the RM 2.
By February 1946 the main outline of the proposed aircraft had been clearly defined. In Autumn 1946, following the resolution of all major questions of principal and the completion of the project specification, the Swedish Air Force formally ordered the completion of the design and that three prototype aircraft be produced, giving the proposed type the designation J 29.
On 1 September 1948, the first of the Saab 29 prototypes conducted its maiden flight, which lasted for half an hour. Because of the shape of its fuselage, the Saab J 29 quickly received the nickname "Flygande Tunnan" ("The Flying Barrel"), or "Tunnan" ("The Barrel") for short. While the demeaning nickname was not appreciated by Saab, its short form was eventually officially adopted.
A total of four prototypes were built for the aircraft's test program. The first two lacked armament, carrying heavy test equipment instead, while the third prototype was armed with four 20mm automatic guns. Various different aerodynamic arrangements were tested, such as air brakes being installed either upon the fuselage or on the wings aft of the rear spar, along with both combined and conventional aileron/flap arrangements.
The flight test program revealed that the J 29 prototypes were capable of reaching and exceeding the maximum permissible Mach number for which they had been designed, and the flight performance figures gathered were found to be typically in excess of the predicted values.
In 1948 production of the type commenced and in May 1951 the first deliveries of operational production aircraft were received by F 13 Norrkƶping. The J 29 proved to be very successful and several variants and updates of the Tunnan were produced, including a dedicated reconnaissance variant and a dedicated all-weather fighter with an on-board radar, the J 29D.
The J 29D variant originally started its career as a single prototype to test the Ghost RM 2A afterburner turbojet with 27.5 kN (2,800 kgp/6,175 lbf). The new engine dramatically improved the Tunnanās performance, esp. concerning the start phase, acceleration and climb, and was eventually adopted for the whole J 29 fighter fleet in an update program, leading to the J 29F variant.
However, at the time of the RM 2A trials, Sweden was more and more in need for a suitable all-weather aerial defense for its vast, neutral airspace in the vicinity of the Soviet Union. Only a single flight of the Swedish Air Force, F1 in HƤsslƶ, operated roundabout thirty radar-equipped fighters, and these were outdated De Havilland Mosquito night fighters (locally designated J 30).
The highly successful J 29 was soon considered as a potential air-intercept radar carrier, offering a much more up-tp-date performance and deterrent potential against would-be intruders. Consequently, Saab started the development of an indigenous all-weather fighter on the basis of the Tunnan (originally coded āJ 29Rā). The work started with aerodynamic trials of different radome designs and placements on a Tunnanās nose, e .g. inside of the circular air intake opening or above it. No major drawbacks were identified, and in 1955 the decision was made to convert thirty J 29B daylight fighters for the all weather/night fighter role. These machines officially inherited the designation J 29D.
The J 29Dās compact radar, called the PS-43/T, was designed by CSF (Compagnie Generale de Telegrahpi Sans Fil) in France after the Swedish specification. It had a wavelength of 3 cm with an effect of 100 kW, and it was to have a spiral scan pattern. Range was 15-20 km, only a slight improved against the Mosquitosā bulky SCR-720B radar set, which only had a range of 12-16km. But the systemās compact size and the ability to be operated by the pilot alone meant a serious step forward. 34 sets were delivered together with blueprints in 1956, and the PS-43 radar system was later modified and adapted to the Saab 32 Lansen, too.
The structural modifications for the radar-equipped Tunnan were carried out in the course of the ensuing J 29F update program, which had started in 1954. Beyond the afterburner engine and dogtooth wing updates for the day fighters, the J 29D also received a re-designed nose section which now featured a thimble radome for the PS-43/T, integrated into the upper air intake lip, reminiscent of the F-86Dās arrangement. The air intake itself kept the original circular diameter, but the opening was slightly wider, raked forward and featured a sharper lip, for an improved airflow under the radome. Overall performance of the J 29 did not suffer, and the conversion took place swiftly thanks to a simple replacement of the nose section in front of the windscreen and the installation of a shielded tracking monitor in the cockpit.
Experiments with a heavier cannon armament (consisting of four, long-barreled 30mm guns in the lower fuselage) for the J 29 in general were conducted in parallel, too. But, despite showing no negative effect on the J 29ās handling or performance, this upgrade was not introduced to any of the J 29 variants in service and so the J 29D kept its original four 20mm cannon as main armament, too. Additional ordnance consisted of optional racks with 75 mm/3 in air-to-air rockets under the inner wings against large aerial targets like bombers. A pair of drop tanks could be carried on the outer pylons, too, and they were frequently carried in order to extend range and loiter time. Other loads, including bombs or unguided air-to-ground missiles, were possible, but never carried except for in practice.
The last converted J 29D was delivered back to the Swedish Air Force in late 1956, just in time to replace the last active J 30 Mosquitos in service, which had been gradually phased out since 1953. In parallel, the radar-equipped J 33 Venom was introduced into service, too, since the small number of J 29Ds had in the meantime turned out to be far from sufficient to effectively cover the Swedish air space against large numbers of ever faster jet bombers and reconnaissance aircraft. The J 29D fulfilled its role and duty well, though, and was just as popular as the daylight fighter versions.
Initially, all J 29D were delivered in bare metal finish, but they were soon adorned with additional markings on fin and wing tips for easier recognition and formation flights. A few all-weather fighters of F1 Flygflottil experimentally received the blue/green camouflage which had been adopted for the S 29C reconnaissance aircraft, but this was found to be ineffective at the typical altitudes the interceptors would operate. As a consequence, the scheme was quickly changed into the much lighter livery of the former J 30 and J 33 fighters, although the bare metal undersides and the formation markings under the wing tips were retained ā even though this practice was confined to F 1 and not consequently carried out among all of the fighter squadron's J 29Ds. Some J 29D furthermore carried various forms of black ID bands for quick identification in war games, but unlike the day fighters, these markings were limited to the undersides only.
From 1963 onwards all frontline J 29Fs were equipped with AIM-9 Sidewinder infrared-seeking air-to-air missiles, designated Rb 24 in Swedish service. This update was also carried out among the J 29D fleet, and the new, guided missiles considerably improved the aircraftās capabilities.
Anyway, the J 29Dās small number remained a fundamental problem that prevented bigger success or even export sales, and due to the quick technical advances, the J 29D remained only a stopgap solution. The much more capable Saab 32 Lansen had been under development and its dedicated all-weather fighter variant, the J 32B, had already entered service in 1958, replacing the mixed and outdated lot of radar-equipped fighters in Swedish service.
Nevertheless, the J 29D soldiered on, together with the rest of the J 29F and S 29C fleet, until 1970, even though not in front line duties anymore.
General characteristics:
Crew: 1
Length: 10.80 m (35 ft 4 1/2 in)
Wingspan: 11.0 m (36 ft 1 in)
Height: 3.75 m (12 ft 4 in)
Wing area: 24.15 mĀ² (260.0 ftĀ²)
Empty weight: 4,845 kg (10,680 lb)
Max. takeoff weight: 8,375 kg (18,465 lb)
Powerplant:
1Ć Svenska Flygmotor RM2B afterburner turbojet, rated at 6,070 lbf (27 kN)
Performance:
Maximum speed: 1,060 km/h (660 mph)
Range: 1,100 km (685 mi)
Service ceiling: 15,500 m (50,850 ft)
Rate of climb: 32.1 m/s (6,320 ft/min)
Armament:
4x 20mm Hispano Mark V autocannon in the lower front fuselage
Typically, a pair of 400-liter (106 US gallon) or 500-liter (132 US gallon) drop tanks was carried on the outer āwetā pylons
Further air-to-air ordnance initially consisted of 75 mm (3 in) air-to-air rockets, from 1963 onwards the J 29D could also carry up to 4x Rb 24 (AIM-9B Sidewinder) IR-guided air-to-air missiles.
Optionally (but never carried in service), the J 29D could also deploy a wide range of bombs and unguided missiles, including 145 mm (5.8 in) anti-armor rockets, 150 mm (6 in) HE (high-explosive) rockets or 180 mm (7.2 in) HE anti-ship rockets
The kit and its assembly:
Sweden is a prolific whiffing territory, and the Saab 29 offers some interesting options. The all-weather Tunnan was a real Saab project, and things actually got as far as the aforementioned radome shape test stage. But eventually the project was fully dropped, since Saab had been busy with standard J 29 production and conversions, so that this aircraft never materialized, just as the projected side-by-side trainer Sk 29 of the same era.
However, I recently came across a nice Saab 29 book which also covers some projects ā including drawings of the radar-equipped Tunnan that never was. My converted model with the thimble radome and the raked air intake is based on these drawings.
The basic kit is the Heller Saab 29, which I deem superior to the Matchbox Tunnan, with its mix of raised and engraved panel lines and overall rather soft detail (despite the surprisingly nice cockpit). Anyway,, the Heller kit has its flaws, too, e. g. a generally weak material thickness, lack of locator pins or other stabilizing aids and some sinkholes here and there.
The kit was built mostly OOB, with as much lead in the gun tray as possible - and it actually stands on its own three feet/wheels! The only major change is the modified nose section. It sounds simple to graft a radome onto the Tunnan's nose, but the rhinoplasty was challenging. The whole front end had to be renewed, based on the profile drawings and sketches at hand.
The thimble radome is actually a recycled drop tank front end from a Hasegawa F6F Hellcat. The raked, lower aitr intake lip comes from a Matchbox MystĆØre IVA - but it lost its splitter, was reshaped and had the OOB air intake duct glued into place from behind. Once the intake was glued into its place, a wedge opeing was cut into the area in front of the canopy and the drop tank radome adapted to the gap, a step-by-step approach, since I wanted to have the radome slightly protrude into the airtake, but also keep a staright line in front of the windscreen.
Additional details include new pitots on the wing tips and some additional antennae. The heat shield for the afterburner engine is OOB, as well as the streamlined drop tanks and their pylons. I just added an additional pair of pylons (from an Acedamy MiG-23) to the inner wing, holding a pair of AIM-9Bs.
Painting and markings:
Finding a suitable, yet ādifferentā scheme for the J 29 night fighter was not easy; most J 29 were left in bare metal, some carried dark green upper surfaces and some S 29C wore a paint scheme in olive green and dark blue. I eventually settled for the RAF style paint scheme that had been adopted with the J 30 Mosquito and J 33 Venom night fighters ā not spectacular, but different from the Swedish early Sixties norm, and it subtly underlines the J 29Dās role.
The scheme was lent from RAF Venom night fighters (which was used on the Swedish J 33, too), and of the upper surfaces I used RAF tones, too: Humbrol 163 (Dark Green) and 165 (Medium Sea Grey). However, I did not want to use the grey on the lower surfaces, since I found that scheme a bit too uniform and British, so I painted the lower surfaces in NMF, with a waterline at medium height - higher than the camouflaged S 29Cās and lower than the early, camouflaged J 29A fighters (with an experimental all-green upper surface).
The bare metal finish was created with acrylic Aluminum (Revell 99) and Polished and Matt Aluminum Metallizer (Humbrol) added on top, highlighting single panels. Around the engine bay and the exhaust, a base with Iron (Revell 91) was laid down, with Steel Metallizer (Modelmaster) on top.
Under the wing tips, green formation markings (again Humbrol 163) were added, as well as black ID stripes (cut from generic decal sheet material). Other, Swedish adornment, like the roundels, codes or squadron markings, was taken from the OOB sheet, a PrintScale sheet for the J 29 and leftover decals from a Heller J 21.
Interior details were painted according to Swedish standard, thankfully there are many good pictures available. The cockpit interior became grey-green (Revell 67 comes very close to the real thing) with light grey dashboard and side consoles. The landing gear wells medium (Revell 57) grey with some dry-brushed Aluminum, while the wheel discs became grey-green, too.
An interesting result, through relatively little effort: the dog nose changes the look of the tubby J 29 a lot, it looks much sleeker and somewhat German now ā but somehow also more retro than the original aircraft? The different paint scheme looks unusual, too, despite being relatively down-to-earth. This will certainly not be my last modified J 29, a two-seat trainer would certainly be another cool and reality based Tunnan whif?
New generation mecha supply for US army, codename:Rock Monster.It is full armoured with a 15mm heavy mechine gun and a magnetic field projecter.The magnetic field projecter is one of the high technology defense System
for mecha,it can product a shield for few seconds and protect the mecha from emeny attack include missile attack.The power source is on the back of the mecha. Therefor it can be eassier to recharge and get into battle again.
c/n unknown.
NATO codename:- Fencer-D
Previously part of the adjacent Zhukovski Engineering Academy, but now on display at the Central Air Force museum, Monino, Moscow Oblast, Russia.
27th August 2017
Hi guys! :3 I have been playing lots of Tom Clancys Rainbow Six Vegas 2, and this fig is inspired by it :) And please don't comment that it's a crappy game, 'cause I like it! This fig is showcasing my new, simple mod: Uzi with a mag! The mag is made of BF grease gun.
This fig is inspired by few guys :) (I will tag you, hope you don't mind!)
Anyways: Enjoy!
c/n 4140324, l/n 40-02.
NATO codename:- Classic
Built in October 1981 and originally operated by the Soviet government. Briefly leased to Guyana Airways in June 1984, but was back in full Aeroflot service a month later. It remained with Aeroflot for the rest of its active career, being reregisted as āRA-86462ā during 1992.
Retired at Sheremetyevo in 1998, it was donated to the Moscow Technical University of Civil Aviation as an instructional airframe. It moved in 2015 to its current location in front of the ATC centre on the North side of SVO and is now permanently preserved and wearing Aeroflot colours.
Sheremetyevo International Airport, Moscow, Russia.
27th August 2017
c/n 65010809.
NATO codename:- Beagle
Previously coded ā10 redā
Although over 6,600 were built, the IL-28 is now a very rare beast.
This example is on display at the Central Armed Forces Museum,
Moscow, Russia.
26th August 2017
Operation United Shield was the codename of the multinational military operation that was conducted 9 January 1995 to 3 March 1995. Commanded by the United States, the Combined Task Force (CTF) comprising the navies of Pakistan, Italy and the United States were tasked with to ensure the safe evacuation of all United Nations Peacekeeping troops, combining the armies of United Kingdom, Pakistan, France, Malaysia, and the United States including the U.S. Marines, from Somalia. The six USN combatant vessels assisted by the two Italian and two Pakistan Navy combatant vessels, successfully evacuated the UN forces from Somalia and successfully executed the operation after securing the tactical and strategic objectives of the course of mission.
Operation United Shield assisted the withdrawal of United Nations peacekeeping troops from Somalia. The decision came in response to a long-standing U.N. request for American protection of its peacekeeping forces serving in the war-torn African nation. On 03 March 1995, after two years and $2 billion, the United Nations concluded its withdrawal from Somalia. Under the protective cover of a seven-nation task force, 2,500 Pakistani and Bangladeshi peacekeepers completed their withdrawal and began their journey home. About 1,800 US Marines and 350 Italian Marines landed on 01 March to safeguard the movement. The 73-hour operation was successful. The Marines' return marked the second landing in Somalia in 27 months.
c/n 1707.
NATO codename:- Fitter-A
The āBā was the initial ground-attack variant of which 431 were built.
On display at the Central Air Force museum, Monino, Moscow Oblast, Russia.
27th August 2017
c/n unknown.
NATO codename āMayaā.
Although completely unmarked and therefore unidentified, this L-29 appears to be in airworthy condition.
It was seen on static display at the Aviation cluster of the ARMY 2017 event.
Kubinka Airbase, Moscow Oblast, Russia.
24th August 2017
c/n 0390320859.
NATO codename:- Flogger-K
Previously in store at Kubinka coded ā44 blueā. 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
Omaha Beach, view from WN60, 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 - WN60
"Widerstandsnest" 60 or WN60 is the easternmost of the 14 Widerstandsneste that guarded Omaha Beach in june 1944. It It guarded the small "Fox-1" exit and has a perfect view over Omaha beach. It was at this spot that the real Major Werner Pluskat first saw the invasion fleet approach, a scene made famous in the 1962 movie "The Longest Day" (though shot on a location several miles to the east , the Longueville Battery).
WN60 was manned by some forty soldiers of the German 716th Static Inf.Division. For armament it had a 7.5 cm Gun, several Mortar positions and some MG's as well as a 2cm Flak 38 gun.
D-Day
This area was designated to the 1st US infantry division (The Big Red One) and elements of the 3/16th RCT landed here from 06.30 (writer Ernest Hemingway was among them - check his book "Voyage to Victory"). Despite the heavy casualties inflicted on them by WN60 and WN61 around 08.00 US soldiers started to climb the bluffs. Among them was 1st Lt. Jimmy W. Monteith who directed the fire of destroyers and two Sherman tanks. He was to be awarded with the Medal of Honor for his role in the taking of WN60, posthumously. The men of L/116th managed to reach te top of the bluff some time before nine 'o clock and attack the WN60 from the rear. Throwing grenades and satchel charges they blasted the Germans out and were able to report the taking of WN60 around 09.00. This was the first of the German strongpoint to be taken and it opened up the small Fox-1 exit through the bluffs though it was not before evening that the first tanks were able to use it.
the Photo
The photo was taken from WN60 overlooking the beach to the west
Note the curve in the beach and the perfect view one has from this high point overlooking the whole of Omaha's 5 mile stretch of beach.
Shot with a Nikon D7000 and Tokina AT-X Pro SD 12-24mm F4 lens, august 2012. Tonemapped using three differently exposed (handheld) shots.
See my other Omaha beach photo's for more viewpoints, panorama shots and notes on the fighting
.
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c/n 53005771.
NATO codename:- Beagle
The IL-28 was the first successful Soviet jet bomber. It first flew in 1948 and at least 6,700 were built.
This is the basic three-seat bomber version.
On display at the Central Air Force museum, Monino, Moscow Oblast, Russia.
27th August 2017
Codenamed Revuelto, Automotive Rhythms witnessed Lamborghiniās plug-in hybrid HPEV in person during a private event at the Lamborghini Lounge in NY. The high-performance electrified bull (maximum rev range of 9500 rpm) combines a naturally-aspirated 6.5-liter V12 mid-engine with an 8-speed, double-clutch gearbox and three electric motors. Additionally, the artisan-crafted carbon fiber supercar offers three new drive modes: Recharge, Hybrid, and Performance, to be combined with the CittĆ (City), Strada, Sport, and Corsa modes, for a total of 13 dynamic settings including electric 4WD.
ā 2.5 seconds 0 to 62 mph
ā 217 mph top speed
The Ford EA Falcon is a car which was produced by Ford Australia from 1988 to 1991. The vehicle was developed under the codename EA26, representing a large 'E' segment car, developed in 'A' Australia. The 26 represented the nominal 26th engineering project. The program launched as the EA in 1988, with EB, ED, EF and EL major updates in 1991, 1993, 1994 and 1996 respectively.
The EA series was available in eight model variants. Comprising Base (GL), sporty (S), mid-spec (Fairmont) and luxury (Fairmont Ghia). These models were available in four-door sedan and 5-door wagon variants.
The Falcon nameplate was not used on Fairmont & Fairmont Ghia models.
No commercial vehicle variants of the EA were developed and the existing XF Falcon utility and panel van both continued in production alongside the EA passenger vehicles.
Long-wheelbase sedans (Fairlane and LTD) were further developed from the standard Falcon, sharing the longer wheelbase and doors of the wagon models.
Engines and transmissions:
Engine choice comprised three straight-six units: the 3.2 litre and 3.9 litre with āCFIā throttle body injection and a 3.9 litre with āMPIā multi-point fuel injection. The Falcon GL was equipped with the 3.2 L straight-six, although most were sold with the 3.9 CFI. The 3.9 L CFI engine was available in the Falcon S and in the Fairmont and the MPI version was standard in the top of the range Fairmont Ghia. The return of the V8 "Windsor" engine did not occur until the EB update.Engines for all Falcon models were manufactured and assembled at Ford's Geelong operations (also home to the Stamping Plant)
A five-speed T50D fully synchronised manual and Borg-Warner Model M51 three-speed automatic transmission were offered, however the latter was replaced by a four-speed BTR Model 85LE in the Series II range then updated to the BTR 95LE in the EB update in 1991. Taxi owners, however, would continue to fit reconditioned 3-speed M51 automatic transmissions (as these were less costly) to these cars, until the bellhousing design was finally changed in later models preventing this practice[citation needed].
Development:
The result of a A$700 million development program, the EA Falcon bore a passing resemblance to the European Ford Scorpio. However under the skin, it remained an entirely Australian design, and is credited as the first Falcon model to employ wind tunnel testing. It would retain the traditional Falcon hallmarks of width and rear-wheel drive. This proved to be the correct move as sales of the Falcon began to climb after the fuel crisis aftermath, while those of the rival Commodore slipped. It became clear that Australian buying patterns had not truly changed and what the public wanted was a full-size (albeit smaller) family car.
The story of what might have been, regarding Falcon is as interesting as what 'was'. The furl crises of the 1970s caused a significant down-sizing of vehicles in the US, whilst in all markets a larger number of smaller vehicles were introduced from manufacturers who previously had focused on larger cars. Also. at this time, the Ford Motor Company had taken a large shareholding in Toyo Kogyo (more commonly known as Mazda). Ford intended to use Mazda's expertise in designing small efficient vehicles to provide a range of platforms that Ford (through its joint venture studio in Hiroshima) and also Ford Australia's design and engineering operations, to make suitable alterations to these platforms such that the vehicles could be sold as Fords throughout Asia-Pacific, and even the US.
Project Capricorn was the codename for a vehicle derived from the front-wheel-drive Mazda 626, utilising a longer wheelbase, that was to replace the Falcon XF (the last update of the XD-XE-XF series launched in 1979). Work commenced shortly after the XD launch.
An image and small amount of text is shown at the following link:
www.fordforums.com.au/showthread.php?t=11301296
The EA, however retained much of the platform from preceding generations of Falcon model, dating back to the 1960s. This allowed the vehicle to retain its 'full-size' status, something that was considered an asset in the Australian market prior to the rise in popularity of 4WD wagons, crossovers, or comfortable 5-seat pickup trucks.
In addition, Ford's dominance of the taxi market in Australia meant that a car that could comfortably seat three along the back seatāand even the front, with a bench seat installedāwas necessary. It also ensured that Ford could retain, at least until Holden released the new Statesman/Caprice in 1990, the market for official cars for governmental use.
Success of the EA generation Ford Falcon allowed Ford to be the top selling car brand through much of the 1980s and into the 1990s, along with Falcon being the most popular car for much of this time.
[Some text taken from Wikipedia].
This Lego miniland-scale Ford Falcon S Sedan (EA26) has been created for Flickr LUGNuts' 85th Build Challenge, - "Like, Totally 80's", - for vehicles created during the decade of the 1980's.
Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4 (internally codenamed LB834 [coupe] and LB835 [roadster]),[2] is a two-door, two-seat sports car set to replace the MurciƩlago in the Italian automaker's lineup.[3] It was launched at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show on March 1. It features a brand new 6.5 litre V12 engine, producing 691 hp (515 kW). It was designed by Filippo Perini of Lamborghini Centro Stile under the direction of Lamborghini chief of design Manfred Fitzgerald.[2]
Performance is set to be: 0-62 mph (0ā100 km/h, 0-60 mph in 2.8 seconds) in just 2.9 seconds and a top speed of 217 mph (350 km/h). Lamborghini says that the Aventador is two generations ahead of anything else on sale, using Formula One-style suspension and a lightweight carbon fibre monocoque.[4]
The etymology of the name comes from Lamborghini's traditional fascination with the world of bullfighting. In this case, the Aventador was named for a Spanish fighting bull from the breeding stables of the sons of Don Celestino Cuadri Vides. Signed number 32 on his hide, Aventador gained fame in 1993 in the town of Zaragoza, Spain after a notably spirited, bloody and violent battle with a torero that earned it the āTrofeo de la PeƱa La MadroƱera" for its courage.[2][5]
Its transmission, a single-clutch 7-speed semi-automatic, is built by Graziano Trasmissioni.[6][7] Despite being single-clutch, gear-shifts are accomplished significantly faster than a dual clutch, in only 50 milliseconds.
Production will be limited to 4000 units (4099 MurciƩlagos have been built). The moulds used to make the carbon-fibre monocoque are expected to last 500 units each and only 8 have been made.[8]
Omaha Beach - Widerstandsnest 62 - Easy Red sector with the 5th US Engineer Special Brigade Monument
Omaha Beach
5th US Engineer Special Brigade Monument - Widerstandsnest 62 - Eay Red sector, Omaha Beach.
Omaha beach is a stretch of beach roughly 5 miles or 8 km. long between Vierville-sur-Mer and Ste Honorine des pertes on the coast of Normandy. It was one of the five designated landing areas for the biggest invasion ever during WWII in the summer of 1944.
Omaha was divided into ten sectors by the Allies; 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 div.("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 German defenders were not stupid; they knew the draws were vital and concentrated their limited resources in defending them. To this end and lead by the famous "Desert Fox" Field-Marshall Erwin Rommel they built "Widerstandsneste" with AT guns, mortars, MG's in Tobruk's, trenches and bunkers. These were manned by soldiers of the German 716th and 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.
Preliminary bombardments were almost totally ineffective and when the initial waves landed at low tide they met with fiece opposition of an enemy well dug in and prepared. Most of the floating tanks (Sherman DD type) never made it to the beach due to the rough seas or were taken out by AT guns. Their role to support the infantry following them was reduced to almost zero before the battle even begun.
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 app. 300 yards (270 m) of beach just ahead of the incoming tide. Casualties were especially heavy amongst the first waves of infantry and the "gap assault teams" made by Combat Engineers - at Omaha these were tasked with blasting channels through the beach obstacles.
Situation at Dog Green and Easy Red 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; in "First Wave at OMAHA Beach", S.L.A. Marshall, chief U.S. Army combat historian, called it "an epic human tragedy which in the early hours bordered on total disaster."
As the first waves of infantry, tanks and combat engineers landing directly opposite the "draws" were pinned down it was up to forces landing on the flanks of these strongpoints to penetrate the weaker German defences by climbing the bluffs. Doing this they had to overcome 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. By the end of the day most of the German strongpoints had been taken and the battle was won - albeit at a terrible cost.
On the photo
Bunker of Widerstandsnest 62 with the Engineer Special Brigade Memorial. It was in this sector of Omaha Beach that the Combat Egineers at great personal cost managed to clear several paths in the German obstacle Belts thus enabling landing craft to still land here and bring reinforcements when the tide was rising.
Three (handheld) shots were used for this tonemapped photo using a Nikon D7000 DSLR with a Tokina 12-24mm, August 2012.
See my other Omaha beach photo's for more viewpoints, panorama shots and notes on the fighting
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.
c/n 10MK51407.
NATO codename āFlanker-Cā
Operated by the 237th Centre for Display of Aviation Equipment (tSPAT) as part of the Russian Knights (Russkiye Vityazi) formation team.
Seen taxiing out to display at the Aviation cluster of the ARMY 2017 event.
Kubinka Airbase, Moscow Oblast, Russia.
23rd August 2017
c/n 5050051.
NATO codename:- Blinder-A
The futuristic looking Tu-22 actually first flew in 1959 and served with the Soviet Air Force until 1998! Despite being fast, it did not have the range of payload of the Tu-16 already in service. Only 311 were built and soon superceded by the much improved Tu-22M.
The Tu-22 saw combat as a bomber while in service with both Libyian and Iraqi air forces, while in Soviet use it flew as an electronic jammer during the 1988 withdrawal from Afghanistan.
This is one of the original āAā model standard bombers, of which only 15 were built. It is on display at the Central Air Force museum, Monino, Moscow Oblast, Russia.
27th August 2017
c/n 0515304.
NATO codename:- Fencer
Previously coded ā54 blueā, in fact the tail code is still blue!
On display at the Central Air Force museum, Monino, Moscow Oblast, Russia.
27th August 2017
Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4 (internally codenamed LB834 [coupe] and LB835 [roadster]),[2] is a two-door, two-seat sports car set to replace the MurciƩlago in the Italian automaker's lineup.[3] It was launched at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show on March 1. It features a brand new 6.5 litre V12 engine, producing 691 hp (515 kW). It was designed by Filippo Perini of Lamborghini Centro Stile under the direction of Lamborghini chief of design Manfred Fitzgerald.[2]
Performance is set to be: 0-62 mph (0ā100 km/h, 0-60 mph in 2.8 seconds) in just 2.9 seconds and a top speed of 217 mph (350 km/h). Lamborghini says that the Aventador is two generations ahead of anything else on sale, using Formula One-style suspension and a lightweight carbon fibre monocoque.[4]
The etymology of the name comes from Lamborghini's traditional fascination with the world of bullfighting. In this case, the Aventador was named for a Spanish fighting bull from the breeding stables of the sons of Don Celestino Cuadri Vides. Signed number 32 on his hide, Aventador gained fame in 1993 in the town of Zaragoza, Spain after a notably spirited, bloody and violent battle with a torero that earned it the āTrofeo de la PeƱa La MadroƱera" for its courage.[2][5]
Its transmission, a single-clutch 7-speed semi-automatic, is built by Graziano Trasmissioni.[6][7] Despite being single-clutch, gear-shifts are accomplished significantly faster than a dual clutch, in only 50 milliseconds.
Production will be limited to 4000 units (4099 MurciƩlagos have been built). The moulds used to make the carbon-fibre monocoque are expected to last 500 units each and only 8 have been made.[8]
c/n 2930105
NATO codename:- Maestro
The āUā was a dual control training variant with an additional cockpit in the forward nose. 183 were built.
This example is stored in a far corner of the site at Monino, Moscow Oblast, Russia.
27th August 2017
+++ 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 VolksjƤger ("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. VolksjƤger 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 VolksjƤger 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 VolksjƤger 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 VolksjƤger 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 VolksjƤger 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 VolksjƤger 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 ā possessing dihedral of some 14Āŗ apiece ā 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 ā 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 ā 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 SchrƤge 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:
1Ć 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):
2Ć 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.