View allAll Photos Tagged Destroy!
Searching, seek and destroy
Searching, seek and destroy
Searching, seek and destroy
Searching, seek and destroy
There is no escape and that's for sure
This is the end, we won't take anymore
Say goodbye to the world you live in
The inspired hill of Vézelay
The Burgundy hill of Vézelay, which French writer Paul Claudel named “eternal”, has been drawing hundreds of thousands of pilgrims (nowadays more likely tourists) since time immemorial. It has also drawn strife, battles and pillage: the big monastery was no less than six times destroyed by fire, and always rebuilt. Here, the Second Crusade was preached on Easter Day of 1146 by Bernard, abbot of Clairvaux, whom King Louis VII of France had summoned to be lectured on the sort of penance his royal person should submit to to atone for his many sins: Bernard chose the Crusade. Crusaders congregated here as well for the Third one, in 1190.
The history of Vézelay began around 850, when Count Girard de Roussillon founded a nunnery at the foot of the hill, in the locale now occupied by the village of Saint-Père-sous-Vézelay. Fifteen years later, the nuns had been replaced by monks for reasons that never reached us. What we know is that further to a Viking raid on Burgundy in 887, the monks took refuge at the top of the hill, in the remnants of a Roman oppidum, and never went down again.
Originally dedicated to the Virgin Mary, the monastery they built on the hilltop was placed in 1050 under the patronage of Mary Magdalene, further to the claimed transport of her bones from the Holy Land by a monk named Badillon. This so-called “transposition” was validated by the Pope, but the people of Provence rebelled fiercely against that ruling: it had indeed always been well known that the saint, who had been the very first, even before the apostles, to see Christ resuscitated, had left the Holy Land and come to France where she finished her life in the mountains of the Sainte- Baume, which were named after her. Her bones had been kept in the basilica of Saint-Maximin, the largest church in the whole of Provence.
Thus sanctioned by the Pope, and confirmed yet again by Pascal II in 1103, the claim of the Vézelay monks drew immense crowds (and brought enormous riches). The fact that they also claimed to have the bones of Martha and Lazarus were not for nothing in the considerable attraction the abbey had on a pilgrimage-hungry Christendom. However, the Provençal people were victorious in the end, when they revealed that the bones of the Magdalene, which had been hidden during the 900s as the Saracens drew nearer, were opportunely re-discovered in 1279. This time, Pope Boniface VIII found in their favor and that ruling was never overturned: the pilgrimage to Vézelay was dead, even though the big church kept its dedication.
The rest of the history of Vézelay is a long downhill walk. In 1537, the Benedictine monks are replaced by canons. In 1568, the Protestants seize the church and burn it again. Finally, in 1819, lightning strikes and sets the church aflame for the last time. When architect Viollet-le-Duc, mandated by Minister Prosper Mérimée, arrives on-site in 1840, the abbey church of Vézelay is but a gutted carcass, ready to collapse. That same year, the church was put on the first list of French Historic Landmarks (“Monuments historiques”) and restoration works were undertaken urgently; they were to last until 1861, and many other such works have been undertaken since.
The church was granted basilica status in 1920, and in 1979 it was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site, as it is the starting point of one of the major Paths to Compostela, the Via Lemovicensis, so-named because it runs through the large city of Limoges.
On that day of June 2024 I went to Vézelay as a side trip during a photographic expedition for the Fondation pour la Sauvegarde de l’Art Français, one of the non-profit heritage organizations I work for as a pro bono photographer, it was raining. Therefore, I took no photo of the outside, but instead concentrated on the inside. Furthermore, a lot of what can be seen on the outside, including the façade and the tympanum, are re-creations of the 19th century by Viollet-le-Duc, and thus much less interesting for our purpose.
Another of the beautifully sculpted capitals in the narthex. I can’t show them all as it would take months of uploads, but I found this one particularly interesting, lively, humorous and to-the-point: on the right, we see a woman emptying a basin of what looks obviously like used, dirty water. And on the left is a flow of similarly unsavory liquid pouring out of someone’s mouth. This is an allegory, often repeated during the Middle Ages, urging people not to spread rumors or bad-mouth their neighbor.
Don’t hesitate to zoom in to view the details!
On October 14th, 1937, a tram was hit by a Japanese bomb at Markham road. All passengers were killed.
It derives from an album which was sold including captions in German language to the German-speaking community in Shanghai. I assume a local German photographer gathered the photos and combined into a memory of the Japanese War. The photos must have been taken by one or more accredited local photographer(s). Private residents did not have the access to the war sites.
Next to my album, in identical sequence, handwriting and identical captions, there exist at least two more albums.
One of them is the album of Mr. Kengelbacher which you can find in the internet.
The German family to whom the album belonged was living in Shanghai during WW2 (until 1946).
Photograph estate Cortum.
Southsea kite festival
Leica 111F, 15mm Voigtländer super-wide lens expired colour film destroyed in salt, household cleaner, silica gel, and boiling water then processed in ORWO color C5168 chemistry.
Some really complicated stuff goes on here... you haz been warned.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kaine was in shock. Peter, the man that had trusted him to make things right, was now the Goblin? Something wasn't adding up. The Other responded for his emotion.
"That's... not possible."
"It may not seem like it, but it's true. Right now, you've destroyed something I needed to live."
He looked to Otto, who was on the ground, motionless.
"I was brought back by this man."
He put his helmet back on.
"And if you really want to know what happened, I'll meet you at 55, 47, and 32."
"Peter" sprinted off, leaving Kaine and the Other confused and outraged.
Kaine spoke first.
"Where's Gwen?"
"She's probably with him."
"I can't risk her life." Kaine added.
"You're actually thinking about going? After all the traps and demise we have been in? We know this is going to be a trap."
"What would you do?"
The Other stood there for a moment.
"I.... don't know."
Kaine turned away. He could bear the sight of anyone he knew. He then turned back to the Other.
"I know what we have to do. But, you're not going to like it."
"What is this? Movie clishays?"
------------------------
Kaine got back to SHIELD with the Other. Kaine had already explained his plan to the Other. He was right, the Other did not like the plan, but something had to be done. This was the only way. They walked right up to Fury's office, and barged right in.
"What the hell do you think you're doing, barging right in on me?"
"Sorry Fury," said Kaine. "But it's time you lost you're best man."
Kaine looked at Iron Spider. Fury looked also.
"You have no idea how big of a risk this is for all of us." said Iron Spider.
"I have no IDEA what the two of you are talking about. Get inside."
They entered the room. Iron Spider turned off the comms, and cameras.
"What we are about to do is break the international law, and SHIELD might go down." Kaine said.
"WHAT? All this for...."
Fury looked at Iron Spider.
"For the girl sir."
"For Gwen?"
"We have much bigger problems on our hands. Your best 'super' has come back from the dead."
Fury looked down.
"Parker...."
"... and we need to break the international law, before he breaks our system."
"What system? Why?" Fury added.
Iron Spider looked up.
"He wants revenge. Not only on the American people, but on SHIELD, Kaine, and all the other organisms in the galaxy. He told us to be prepared, as he's come back stronger than ever. He has all of SHIELD's intel, and the government's."
"All of our intel?"
"Every last piece." said Kaine. "But what was he talking about when he said about the program, GOBLIN?"
Fury looked at them both.
"The camera's off?"
They nodded.
"Alright. 'Supers', made tons of money. Merchandise, shows, access to the media, everything. Then, when they locked up every criminal, everything they could, they had nothing to make a profit off of. The government did not like that, one bit. They told us to create a program that would make villains. It was soon shut down."
"Obviously not." said Iron Spider.
"Oh no, it was. Someone stole the program. Can you guess who?"
"Osborn."
"Correct. Parker wasn't even a 'super'. Parker was the first Goblin. When we saw that the program was shut down soon after he was made, there was nothing we could do. We kept him as an agent, but soon as the media found out, he became Spider-Man."
"You're telling me you made Parker?"
"No. We made him Spider-Man." said Kaine.
"So why does he want revenge?" Iron Spider asked.
"Osborn was a super soldier, created in the war. One day, he went to ballistic, and one of our agents tried to control him with a serum. That serum created the monster he was. It was enough time for Osborn to kill Spider-Man on his rampage. Once the serum ran out, he turned into Osborn again. Then you came in."
He looked at Kaine, but Kaine was already pacing back and forth.
"So that's why he wants revenge on SHIELD. But what about the public?"
"Probably the Goblin serum."
Kaine looked at Fury.
"Every word you just said, gives us the right to do what we want."
"And what's that?"
Iron Spider got up from his chair.
"Sir... we're putting myself and Kaine back in the old body."
-----------------------
"It's impossible! That body is dead, probably decaying." Fury said.
"No sir it's not. It been frozen." Iron Spider said.
"Who gave the orders for that?"
"You did."
Fury looked at him like he was crazy.
"You know both of you are going to die right?"
He looked at both of them.
"Right?"
"Not with you controlling the procedure."
"And Harry?"
"I've talked with him. He's prepared to see his body again."
Fury glanced around.
"You guys are fucking crazy."
He went into the room.
"Ross!" he yelled.
A young woman came out and talked with Fury. She was to get the body. When she returned with the body, h told Kaine and the Other to get on the table. When they did, he started the procedure.
---------------------
Kaine saw the light again.
Three times a charm. he thought.
Then, everything went black. He saw a man, fighting off a huge, green monster, with horns. The man was a hero in everyone's eyes. Then Kaine realized he was standing there, watching the battle. Nick walked up to him.
"You're next. Once we kill him, you're next..."
Then the scene changed. He was in a lab, looking down on the man in the battle. Blood was covering his face, and body. A doctor walked in.
"Subject?"
"Parker."
"Ah. Parker."
He examined the body. Metal arms came out from under his white coat. The name of the man started with an O, he could see it on the name tag.
Then the scene changed once more. He saw Gwen. Gwen aroun ashes. She was buried in them, with a building crumbling around her. He was standing on the same street the battle with the green monster and the man. This time, he rushed for Gwen. The building was crumbling, about to crush them, but it didn't matter. The little human in her hands was what mattered. He was going to save his family. He ran to them and wrapped his arms around them. He then told Gwen, "Four times a charm." as the building fell on him.
-----------------------
He woke up, breathing heavy. He looked at his hands. They were different then what he was used to. Then he looked to see the other body next to him. It had red arms, and brown hair. Harry. That means he was in his body again. He got up, and put on the suit that he made before coming to SHIELD.
Awww, what the hell? We should have made it blue. Like that guy with the shield!"
"That's my boy." Kaine had never heard a voice so sweet as the one he just heard in his head.
----------------------
He walked out of the room, but Fury stopped him.
"You just took away my best agent."
"No, you just got him back." Kaine said walking out.
He left the building and headed for the coordinates that Peter gave him. It was time to end this.
Wait, you're leaving now? Let's grab a bight I'm fucking starving.
"Could you shut up for just one second?"
No way! Fury put me in that goody too shoes suit. I a'int ever going back in that shit head of tin.
Once he got to the building he recognized it immediately. Then a voice could be hard from a speaker.
"Hello Kaine. I'm sure you came for Gwen. But she's not her inside. She's in the back. And I'm in the other building to the right."
He looked to the right to see the speaker.
"It's time to show me why I chose you Kaine."
He heard a detonation, and saw the building crumbling. Then, in the yard, there was Gwen, holding his child.
Oh no.
Kaine rushed for the two, going as fast as he could. He wouldn't let them die like in his dream. He couldn't, He did just what he did in his dream, wrapped his arms around them, while saying to the child, "Hi Peter." and braced for impact.
Don't worry, I got this.
As soon as the Other said it, Kaine felt something hit his arm. The Iron Spider.
The armor wrapped around his body, and helped with the impact. He felt the building on his back, and pushed it off.
He looked to see Gwen, with a swollen stomach, and no child.
Hallucination.
This meant the baby wasn't alive yet. An even bigger risk.
Kaine turned to the speaker.
"Let. Me. IN."
Then, a door opened. Kaine told Gwen to stay put, and went in.
------------------------
Kaine looked around at the room he was in. It was dark, and not very well lit. Then, a single light came on, and a suit could be seen. It was the original Spider-Man suit.
"You've already been in three suits Kaine. I've been in one, and you changed that."
Kaine walked in front of the case holding the suit. Peter had worn this in the battle. He could tell because of the stitches all over the suit.
"I guess Fury told you."
"Yeah... the Goblin program."
"Ha...ha.... He... ho... ha..."
He saw Peter come out of the shadow. Peter then turned on the light, holding the mask he always wore.
"I tried to hide my powers until someone caught me on video. Hm. The funny thing is, I never figured I would turn into.... a hero. The antonym of what they wanted me to be. They said I would be a 'god.' A god. Can you believe that?"
"No. I would have two years ago, but this changes everything."
A vile appeared near the center of the room.
"You know, I don't know why Otto brought me back, but he did it with this vile. Then, I came back. I wanted to die a hero. Not the villain I am now. I wanted to prove to them that I was better than they thought me to be." Fire then appeared in his hands.
"Who?"
"The other heroes. Everyone mocked me for being the outcast, the villain of the group. It made me feel different. But then when I proved to them I was a hero, they would accept me."
"You were a hero. What do you think you are now?"
"I'm neither. I'm here to save the Earth from these wretched people you call citizens. You all don't deserve to live, killing your brothers and sisters. It's all hell."
"That's just society."
"Wrong. This is life, and I must destroy it. If you want to kill your brethren, then I'll let you. But first, I have to take down SHIELD."
With that, he pulled out a button.
"Uh no, I don't think so."
Peter opened up the case.
"You want to fight me? The guy who gave you these powers in the first place? I'm the original."
"Sometimes, the sequels are better than the original."
With that, Peter put on his suit, and Kaine called for the Iron Spider.
"This won't end well for you Kaine. I should have picked Ben."
That's when the Iron Spider suit came onto Kaine.
I'll let you see why you chose me.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yeah this was a long one, but it is important so that's why it's long. Commentz r appreciate?
She's a sad girl
But it hasn't always been that way
She used to run around and laugh girl
But the world only taught her but pain
And now she wants to be a bad girl
And every boy wants her all the same
She wants to feel and she just can't girl
She had no choice so she had to change
She's so scarred, breaks hearts
Plays cards with the devil that hurt you
She's alone, no home to go
But you can always come back girl
- Sad Girl, Bryce Savage
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
F-84 Thunderjet
RoleFighter-bomber
ManufacturerRepublic Aviation
First flight28 February 1946
IntroductionNovember 1947
Retired1964 (USAF)
1974 (Yugoslavia)
Primary userUnited States Air Force
Number built7,524
Unit cost
US$237,247 (F-84G)[1]
US$769,330 (F-84F)
VariantsRepublic F-84F Thunderstreak
Republic XF-84H Thunderscreech
Republic XF-91 Thunderceptor
The Republic F-84 Thunderjet was an American turbojet fighter-bomber aircraft. Originating as a 1944 United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) proposal for a "day fighter", the F-84 first flew in 1946. Although it entered service in 1947, the Thunderjet was plagued by so many structural and engine problems that a 1948 U.S. Air Force review declared it unable to execute any aspect of its intended mission and considered canceling the program. The aircraft was not considered fully operational until the 1949 F-84D model and the design matured only with the definitive F-84G introduced in 1951. In 1954, the straight-wing Thunderjet was joined by the swept-wing F-84F Thunderstreak fighter and RF-84F Thunderflash photo reconnaissance aircraft.
The Thunderjet became the USAF's primary strike aircraft during the Korean War, flying 86,408 sorties and destroying 60% of all ground targets in the war as well as eight Soviet-built MiG fighters. Over half of the 7,524 F-84s produced served with NATO nations, and it was the first aircraft to fly with the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds demonstration team. The USAF Strategic Air Command had F-84 Thunderjets in service from 1948 through 1957.
The F-84 was the first production fighter aircraft to utilize inflight refueling and the first fighter capable of carrying a nuclear weapon, the Mark 7 nuclear bomb. Modified F-84s were used in several unusual projects, including the FICON and Tom-Tom dockings to the B-29 Superfortress and B-36 bomber motherships, and the experimental XF-84H Thunderscreech turboprop.
The F-84 nomenclature can be somewhat confusing. The straight-wing F-84A to F-84E and F-84G models were called the Thunderjet. The F-84F Thunderstreak and RF-84F Thunderflash were different airplanes with swept wings. The XF-84H Thunderscreech (not its official name) was an experimental turboprop version of the F-84F. The F-84F swept wing version was intended to be a small variation of the normal Thunderjet with only a few different parts, so it kept the basic F-84 number. Production delays on the F-84F resulted in another order of the straight-wing version; this was the F-84G.
Design and development
An F-84G at Chaumont-Semoutiers Air Base, France, in 1953
In 1944, Republic Aviation's chief designer, Alexander Kartveli, began working on a turbojet-powered replacement for the P-47 Thunderbolt piston-engined fighter. The initial attempts to redesign the P-47 to accommodate a jet engine proved futile due to the large cross-section of the early centrifugal compressor turbojets. Instead, Kartveli and his team designed a new aircraft with a streamlined fuselage largely occupied by an axial compressor turbojet engine and fuel stored in rather thick unswept wings.[1]
On 11 September 1944, the USAAF released General Operational Requirements for a day fighter with a top speed of 600 mph (521 kn, 966 km/h), combat radius of 705 miles (612 nmi, 1,135 km), and armament of either six 0.50 in (12.7 mm) or four 0.60 in (15.2 mm) machine guns. In addition, the new aircraft had to use the General Electric TG-180 axial turbojet which entered production as the Allison J35.
On 11 November 1944, Republic received an order for three prototypes of the new XP-84—Model AP-23.[1] Since the design promised superior performance to the Lockheed-built P-80 Shooting Star and Republic had extensive experience in building single-seat fighters, no competition was held for the contract. The name Thunderjet was chosen to continue the Republic Aviation tradition started with the P-47 Thunderbolt while emphasizing the new method of propulsion. On 4 January 1945, even before the aircraft took to the air, the USAAF expanded its order to 25 service test YP-84As and 75 production P-84Bs (later modified to 15 YP-84A and 85 P-84B).
Meanwhile, wind tunnel testing by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics revealed longitudinal instability and stabilizer skin buckling at high speeds.[1] The weight of the aircraft, a great concern given the low thrust of early turbojets, was growing so quickly that the USAAF had to set a gross weight limit of 13,400 lb (6,080 kg). The results of this preliminary testing were incorporated into the third prototype, designated XP-84A, which was also fitted with a more powerful J35-GE-15 engine with 4,000 lbf (17.79 kN) of thrust.[1]
The first prototype XP-84 was transferred to Muroc Army Air Field (present-day Edwards Air Force Base) where it flew for the first time on 28 February 1946 with Major Wallace A. "Wally" Lien at the controls. It was joined by the second prototype in August, both aircraft flying with J35-GE-7 engines producing 3,745 lbf (16.66 kN). The 15 YP-84As delivered to Patterson Field (present-day Wright-Patterson Air Force Base) for service tests differed from XP-84s by having an upgraded J35-A-15 engine, carrying six 0.50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns (four in the nose and one in each wing root), and having the provision for wingtip fuel tanks holding 226 U.S. gal (856 L) each.
Due to delays with delivery of jet engines and production of the XP-84A, the Thunderjet had undergone only limited flight testing by the time production P-84Bs began to roll out of the factory in 1947. In particular, the impact of wingtip tanks on aircraft handling was not thoroughly studied. This proved problematic later.[1]
After the creation of the United States Air Force by the National Security Act of 1947, the Pursuit designation was replaced with Fighter, and the P-84 became the F-84.
F-84s were assigned to the 27th Fighter Wing, 27th Fighter Escort Wing, 27th Strategic Fighter Wing, 31st Fighter Escort Wing, 127th Fighter Day Wing, 127th Fighter Escort Wing, 127th Strategic Fighter Wing, 407th Strategic Fighter Wing and the 506th Strategic Fighter Wing of the Strategic Air Command from 1947 through 1958.[2]
Operational history
The F-84B, which differed from YP-84A only in having faster-firing M3 machine guns, became operational with 14th Fighter Group at Dow Field, Bangor, Maine in December 1947. Flight restrictions followed immediately, limiting maximum speed to Mach 0.8 due to control reversal, and limiting maximum acceleration to 5.5 g (54 m/s²) due to wrinkling of the fuselage skin. To compound the problem, parts shortages and maintenance difficulties earned the aircraft the nickname, "Mechanic's Nightmare".[1] On 24 May 1948, the entire F-84B fleet was grounded due to structural failures.
P-84Bs of the 48th Fighter Squadron, 14th Fighter Group, 1948.
A 1948 review of the entire F-84 program discovered that none of the F-84B or F-84C aircraft could be considered operational or capable of executing any aspect of their intended mission. The program was saved from cancellation because the F-84D, whose production was well underway, had satisfactorily addressed the major faults. A fly-off against the F-80 revealed that while the Shooting Star had a shorter takeoff roll, better low altitude climb rate and superior maneuverability, the F-84 could carry a greater bomb load, was faster, had better high altitude performance and greater range.[1] As a temporizing measure, the USAF in 1949 committed US$8 million to implement over 100 upgrades to all F-84Bs, most notably reinforcing the wings. Despite the resultant improvements, the F-84B was withdrawn from active duty by 1952.[1]
The F-84C featured a somewhat more reliable J35-A-13 engine and had some engineering refinements. Being virtually identical to the F-84B, the C model suffered from all of the same defects and underwent a similar structural upgrade program in 1949. All F-84Cs were withdrawn from active service by 1952.[1]
The structural improvements were factory-implemented in the F-84D, which entered service in 1949. Wings were covered with thicker aluminum skin, the fuel system was winterized and capable of using JP-4 fuel, and a more powerful J35-A-17D engine with 5,000 lbf (22.24 kN) was fitted. It was discovered that the untested wingtip fuel tanks contributed to wing structural failures by inducing excessive twisting during high-"g" maneuvers.[1] To correct this, small triangular fins were added to the outside of the tanks. The F-84D was phased out of USAF service in 1952 and left Air National Guard (ANG) service in 1957.[1]
The first effective and fully capable Thunderjet was the F-84E model which entered service in 1949. The aircraft featured the J35-A-17 engine, further wing reinforcement, a 12 in (305 mm) fuselage extension in front of the wings and 3 in (76 mm) extension aft of the wings to enlarge the cockpit and the avionics bay, an A-1C gunsight with APG-30 radar, and provision for an additional pair of 230 gal (870 L) fuel tanks to be carried on underwing pylons.[1] The latter increased the combat radius from 850 to 1,000 miles (740 to 870 nmi; 1,370 to 1,610 km).
One improvement to the original F-84 design was rocket racks that folded flush with the wing after the 5-inch HVAR rockets were fired, which reduced drag over the older fixed mounting racks. This innovation was adopted by other U.S. jet fighter-bombers.[3]
A Portuguese F-84 being loaded with ordnance in the 1960s, at Luanda Air Base, during the Portuguese Colonial War.
Despite the improvements, the in-service rates for the F-84E remained poor with less than half of the aircraft operational at any given time.[1] This was primarily due to a severe shortage of spares for the Allison engines. The expectation was that F-84Es would fly 25 hours per month, accumulating 100 hours between engine overhauls. The actual flight hours for Korean War and NATO deployments rapidly outpaced the supply and Allison's ability to manufacture new engines.[1] The F-84E was withdrawn from USAF service in 1956, lingering with ANG units until 1959.
The definitive straight-wing F-84 was the F-84G which entered service in 1951. The aircraft introduced a refueling boom receptacle in the left wing,[4] autopilot, Instrument Landing System, J35-A-29 engine with 5,560 lbf (24.73 kN) of thrust, a distinctive framed canopy (also retrofitted to earlier types), and the ability to carry a single Mark 7 nuclear bomb.[1] The F-84G was retired from USAF in the mid-1960s.
Starting in the early 1960s, the aircraft was deployed by the Força Aérea Portuguesa (FAP) during the Portuguese Colonial War in Africa. By 1972, all four operating F-84 aircraft were supplementing the FAP in Angola.[5]
Flying the Thunderjet
Typical of most early jets, the Thunderjet's takeoff performance left much to be desired. In hot Korean summers with a full combat load, the aircraft routinely required 10,000 ft (3,000 m) of runway for takeoff even with the help of RATO bottles (two or four of these were carried, each producing 1,000 lbf (4.4 kN) of thrust for 14 seconds).[1] All but the lead aircraft had their visibility obscured by the thick smoke from the rockets. Early F-84s had to be pulled off the ground at 160 mph (140 kn, 260 km/h) with the control stick held all the way back. Landings were made at a similar speed, for comparison the North American P-51 Mustang landed at approximately 120 mph (100 kn, 190 km/h). Despite the "hot" landing speeds, the Thunderjet was easy to fly on instruments and crosswinds did not present much of a problem.[6]
An F-84E launching rockets.
Thanks to the thick straight wing the Thunderjet rapidly reached its Mach 0.82 limitation at full throttle and low altitude. The aircraft had sufficient power to fly faster, but exceeding the Mach limit at low altitudes resulted in a violent pitch-up and structural failure causing the wings to break off.[6] Above 15,000 ft (4,600 m), the F-84 could be flown faster but at the expense of severe buffeting. However, the airspeed was sufficiently easy to control to make safe dive bombing from 10,000 ft (3,000 m) possible.[6] The top speed limitation proved troublesome against Soviet Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15s in Korea. Slower than the MiG, the F-84 was also unable to turn tightly with a maximum instantaneous-turn load of only 3 Gs followed by rapid loss of airspeed. One F-84E pilot credited with two MiG kills achieved his second victory by intentionally flying his aircraft into pitch-up.[6] The MiGs chasing him were unable to follow the violent maneuver and one crashed into the ground. Luckily for the F-84E pilot, the aircraft did not disintegrate but the airframe did suffer heavy warping. The F-84 was a stable gun platform and the computing gunsight aided in accurate gunnery and bombing. Pilots praised the aircraft for Republic's legendary ruggedness.[6]
Pilots nicknamed the Thunderjet "The Lead Sled".[2] It was also called "The Iron Crowbar", "a hole sucking air", "The Hog" ("The Groundhog"), and "The World's Fastest Tricycle", "Ground Loving Whore" as a testament to its long takeoff rolls.[2] F-84 lore stated that all aircraft were equipped with a "sniffer" device that, upon passing V2, would look for the dirt at the end of the runway. As soon as the device could smell the dirt, the controls would turn on and let the pilot fly off the ground. In the same vein, it was suggested a bag of dirt should be carried in the front landing gear well. Upon reaching V2, the pilot would dump the dirt under the wheels, fooling the sniffer device.[2]
Korean War
The Thunderjet had a distinguished record during the Korean War. Although the F-84B and F-84C could not be deployed because their J35 engines had a service life of only 40 hours, the F-84D and F-84E entered combat with 27th Fighter Escort Group on 7 December 1950.[1] The aircraft were initially tasked with escorting the B-29 Superfortress bombers. The first Thunderjet air-to-air victory was scored on 21 January 1951 at the cost of two F-84s.[2] The F-84 was a generation behind the swept-wing Soviet Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 and outmatched, especially when the MiGs were flown by more-experienced pilots, and the MiG counter-air mission was soon given to the F-86 Sabre. Like its famous predecessor, the P-47, the F-84 switched to the low-level interdiction role at which it excelled.
A KB-29M tanker refueling an F-84E over Korea. F-84Es could only refuel the wingtip tanks separately.
F-84G-26-RE Thunderjet 51-16719 while assigned to the 3600th Air Demonstration Team (USAF Thunderbirds), 1954.
The F-84 flew a total of 86,408 missions, dropping 55,586 tons (50,427 metric tons) of bombs and 6,129 tons (5,560 metric tons) of napalm.[2] The USAF claimed F-84s were responsible for 60% of all ground targets destroyed in the war. Notable F-84 operations included the 1952 attack on the Sui-ho Dam. During the war, the F-84 became the first USAF fighter to utilize aerial refueling. In aerial combat, F-84 pilots were credited with eight MiG-15 kills against a Soviet-claimed loss of 64 aircraft. The total losses were 335 F-84D, E and G models.[2]
Portuguese Overseas War
In 1961, the Portuguese Air Force sent 25 of their remaining F-84G to Angola. There they formed the Esquadra 91 (91st Squadron), based at Luanda Air Base. From then on, the F-84s were engaged in the Angolan Theater of the Portuguese Overseas War, being mainly employed in air strike missions against the separatist guerrillas.
The last F-84 were kept operational in Angola until 1974.
Notable achievements
The F-84 was the first aircraft flown by the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, which operated F-84G Thunderjets from 1953 to 1955 and F-84F Thunderstreaks from 1955 to 1956. The F-84E was also flown by the Skyblazers team of United States Air Forces Europe (USAFE) from 1950 to 1955.[1]
On 7 September 1946, the second XP-84 prototype set a national speed record of 607.2 mph (527.6 kn, 977.2 km/h), slightly slower than the world record 612.2 mph (532.0 kn, 985.2 km/h) held by the British Gloster Meteor.[1]
On 22 September 1950, two EF-84Es, flown by David C. Schilling and Col. William Ritchie, flew across the North Atlantic from Great Britain to the United States. Ritchie's aircraft ran out of fuel over Newfoundland but the other successfully made the crossing which took ten hours two minutes and three aerial refuelings. The flight demonstrated that large numbers of fighters could be rapidly moved across the Atlantic.[1]
F-84G was the first fighter with built-in aerial refueling capability and the first single-seat aircraft capable of carrying a nuclear bomb.[1]
On 20 August 1953, 17 F-84Gs using aerial refueling flew from the United States to the United Kingdom. The 4,485-mile (3,900 nmi, 7,220 km) journey was the longest-ever nonstop flight by jet fighters.[1]
In 1955, an F-84G became the first aircraft to be zero-length launched from a trailer.[7]
By the mid-1960s, the F-84/F-84F was replaced by the F-100 Super Sabre and the RF-84F by the RF-101 Voodoo in USAF units, being relegated to duty in the Air National Guard. The last F-84F Thunderflash retired from the ANG in 1971. Three Hellenic Air Force RF-84Fs that were retired in 1991 were the last operational F-84s.
Costs
F-84BF-84CF-84DF-84EF-84GF-84FRF-84F
Airframe139,863139,863150,846562,715482,821
Engine41,65441,65441,488146,02795,320
Electronics7,1657,1654,7619,62321,576
Armament23,55923,55937,43341,71363,632
Ordnance2,7199,2524,529
Flyaway cost286,407 for the first 100
163,994 for the next 141147,699212,241212,241237,247769,300667,608
Cost per flying hour390
Maintenance cost per flying hour185185
Notes: The costs are in approximately 1950 United States dollars and have not been adjusted for inflation.[1]
Variants
Straight-wing variants
The XP-84A (foreground) and YP-84As
XP-84
The first two prototypes.
XP-84A
The third prototype with a more powerful J35-GE-15 engine. This airframe was subsequently modified with a pointed fairing over the intake and lateral NACA intakes were installed into the intake trunks.
YP-84A
Service test aircraft; 15 built.
P-84B (F-84B)
First production version, J35-A-15 engine; 226 built.
F-84C
Reverted to the more reliable J35-A-13 engine, improved fuel, hydraulic and electrical systems; 191 built.
F-84D
J35-A-17 engine, various structural improvements. The pitot tube was moved from the tail fin to the splitter in the air intake with fins added to the wingtip fuel tanks; 154 built.
F84 E&G Thunderjet French Air Force 1951–1955
EF-84D
Two F-84Ds, EF-84D 48-641 and EF-84D 48-661 were modified with coupling devices; 641 starboard wing, 661 port wing for "Tip-Tow Project MX106 Wing Coupling Experiments." An EB-29A 44-62093 was modified with coupling devices on both wings. Because of the difference in landing gear lengths, the three aircraft took off separately and couple/uncoupled in flight. The pilot of 641 was Major John M. Davis and the pilot of 661 was Major C.E. "Bud" Anderson.
"One of the more interesting experiments undertaken to extend the range of the early jets in order to give fighter protection to the piston-engine bombers, was the provision for inflight attachment/detachment of fighter to bomber via wingtip connections. One of the several programs during these experiments was done with a B-29 mother ship and two F-84D 'children', and was code named 'Tip Tow'. A number of flights were undertaken, with several successful cycles of attachment and detachment, using, first one, and then two F-84s. The pilots of the F-84s maintained manual control when attached, with roll axis maintained by elevator movement rather than aileron movement. Engines on the F-84s were shut down in order to save fuel during the 'tow' by the mother ship, and inflight engine restarts were successfully accomplished. The experiment ended in disaster during the first attempt to provide automatic flight control of the F-84s, when the electronics apparently malfunctioned. The left hand F-84 rolled onto the wing of the B-29, and the connected aircraft both crashed with loss of all on board personnel (Anderson had uncoupled so did not crash with the other two aircraft)."[8]
F-84E
J35-A-17D engine, Sperry AN/APG-30 radar-ranging gunsight, retractable attachments for RATO bottles, inboard wing hardpoints made "wet" to permit carrying an additional pair of 230 U.S. gal (870 L) fuel tanks. Most aircraft were retrofitted with F-84G-style reinforced canopies. The fuselage was stretched 15"; the canopy was lengthened 8", the canopy frame was lengthened 12" (accounting for another 4"), and a 3" splice panel was added aft of the canopy. The stretch was not done to enlarge the cockpit but rather to enable a larger fuel tank, provide additional space for equipment under the canopy behind the pilot's seat, and to improve aerodynamics. This can be distinguished from earlier models by the presence of two fuel vents on ventral rear fuselage, the added radar in the nose splitter, and the pitot tube was moved downward from mid-height in the splitter (as on the F-84D) to clear the radar installation. 843 built. F-84E 49-2031 was a test aircraft for air-to-air missiles. F-84E 50-1115 was a test aircraft for the FICON project.
EF-84E
Two F-84Es were converted into test prototypes, to test various methods of air-to-air refueling. EF-84E 49-2091 was used as a probe-and-drogue test aircraft. The probe was mid-span on the port wing. Production aircraft with probes (removable) had the probe fitted to the auxiliary wing tanks. EF-84E 49-2115 was used as a FICON test aircraft with a B-36 host. EF-84E 49-1225 and EF-84E 51-634 were test aircraft for the ZELMAL (Zero-length launch, Mat landing) experiments version for point defense, used the booster rocket from MGM-1 Matador cruise missile.
F-84G
Single-seat fighter-bomber capable of delivering the Mark 7 nuclear bomb using the LABS, J35-A-29 engine, autopilot, capable of inflight refueling using both the boom (receptacle in left wing leading edge) and drogue (probe fitted to wingtip fuel tanks), introduced the multi-framed canopy which was later retrofitted to earlier straight-winged F-84s. A total of 3,025 were built (1,936 for NATO under MDAP). The larger engine had a higher airflow at its take-off thrust than the intake had been designed for. This caused higher flow velocities, increased pressure losses and thrust loss. Commencing with block 20, auxiliary "suck-in" doors were added ahead of the wing leading edge to regain some of the thrust loss. At high engine rpm and low aircraft speeds, such as take-off, the spring-loaded doors were sucked open by the partial vacuum created in the duct. When the aircraft reached sufficient airspeed the ram pressure rise in the duct closed the auxiliary doors.[9] F-84G 51-1343 was modified with a periscope system to test the periscope installation proposed for the Republic XF-103.
F-84KX
Eighty ex-USAF F-84Bs converted into target drones for the United States Navy.
RF-84G
F-84G Thunderjets converted by France and Yugoslavia for recon duty with cameras in the ventral fuselage and modified auxiliary wing tanks.
YF-96A aka YF-84F aka YRF-84K
F-84E 49-2430 converted to swept wing configuration. The "first prototype" for the F-84F Thunderstreak. Canopy and ventral speed brake carried over from Thunderjet. Originally with a V-windscreen, later reverted to the standard Thunderjet flat windscreen. Modified by adding a fixed hook at the weapons bay and anhedral horizontal tailplane to enable FICON tests (trapeze capture) with GRB-36D mother ship. The airframe was capable of higher speeds than the Thunderjet engine could deliver. The YF-84F was a follow on with a larger engine and deepened fuselage.
YF-84F
F-84G 51-1344 converted to swept wing configuration. The "second prototype" for the F-84F Thunderstreak. Fuselage deepened by 7 inches (180 mm) to accommodate larger engine. Canopy and ventral speed brake carried over from Thunderjet, tail configuration same as YF-96A.
YF-84F aka YRF-84F
F-84G 51-1345 converted to swept wing configuration with a pointed nose and lateral intakes. This was a test airframe to evaluate the effects of moving the intakes to the wing roots. Like 1344, the fuselage was deepened by 7 inches (180 mm) to accommodate larger engine. Canopy and ventral speed brake carried over from Thunderjet, tail configuration same as YF-96A. For the swept wing versions of the F-84 series, see Republic F-84F Thunderstreak
Tip-Tow
See EF-84D above, did not become operational. See FICON project
Tom-Tom
Two RF-84K and B-36 wingtip coupling experiment, did not become operational. See FICON project
FICON
F-84E and GRB-36D trapeze system, became operational. See FICON project
Swept-wing variants
Main articles: Republic F-84F Thunderstreak and Republic XF-84H
YF-84F
Two swept-wing prototypes of the F-84F, initially designated YF-96A.
F-84F Thunderstreak
Swept wing version with Wright J65 engine.
RF-84F Thunderflash
Reconnaissance version of the F-84F, 715 built.
RF-84K FICON project
Reconnaissance version of the F model, 25 built to hang from the Consolidated B-36 Peacemaker.
XF-84H Thunderscreech
Experimental supersonic-turboprop version.
YF-84J
Two conversions with the General Electric J73 engine.
Operators
Republic F-84 Thunderjet in the Royal Military Museum at the Jubelpark, Brussels.
Imperial Iranian Air Force F-84G of the Golden Crown aerobatic team.
Republic F-84 Thunderjet at the en:Italian Air Force Museum, Vigna di Valle in 2012.
Royal Norwegian Air Force Republic F-84G Thunderjet.
Portuguese Air Force F-84 Thunderjet.
Belgium
Belgian Air Force operated 213 Republic F-84G from March 1952 until September 1957 and 21 Republic RF-84E
Denmark
Danish Air Force operated 240 Republic F-84G fromApril 1952 until January 1962 and 6 Republic F-84E[10]
France
French Air Force operated 335 F-84G from April 1952 until November 1956 and 46 Republic F-84E
Greece
Hellenic Air Force operated 234 Republic F-84G from March 1952 until June 1960. They equipped the 335, 336, 337, 338, 339 and 340 Squadrons (Μοίρα Δίωξης)
Iran Iran
Imperial Iranian Air Force operated 69 Republic F-84G from May 1957 until September 1961
Italy
Italian Air Force operated 256 Republic F-84G from March 1952 until May 1957[11][12]
Netherlands
Netherlands Air Force operated 166 Republic F-84G from April 1952 until December 1957 and 21 Republic RF-84E
Norway
Norwegian Air Force operated 208 Republic F-84G from June 1952 until Jun 1960 and 6 Republic F-84E from 1951 until 1956 and 35 Republic RF-84F from 1956 until 1970
Portugal
Portuguese Air Force operated 125 Republic F-84G from January 1953 until July 1974
Taiwan (Republic of China)
Republic of China Air Force operated 246 Republic F-84G from June 1953 until April 1964
Thailand
Royal Thai Air Force operated 31 Republic F-84G from November 1956 until 1963
Turkey
Turkish Air Force operated 489 Republic F-84G from March 1952 until June 1966
United States
United States Air Force operated 226 Republic F-84B, 191 Republic F-84C, 154 Republic F-84D, 743 Republic F-84E, 789 Republic F-84G
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavian Air Force operated 231 Republic (R)F-84G from June 1953 until July 1974
Major USAF operational F-84 units
Republic F-84E-15-RE Thunderjet Serial 49-2338 of the 136th Fighter-Bomber Wing, Korea
10th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing: RF-84F (1955–1958)
12th Fighter Escort Wing/Group: F-84E/G/F (1950–1957;1962–1964)
14th Fighter Wing/Group: P/F-84B (1947–1949)
15th Tactical Fighter Wing: F-84F (1962–1964)
20th Fighter Bomber Wing/Group: F-84B/C/D/E/F/G (1958–1959)
27th Fighter Escort Wing/Group: F-84E/G/F (1950–1958)
31st Fighter Escort Wing/Group: F-84C/E/F (1948–1950; 1951–1957)
49th Fighter Bomber Wing/Group: F-84E/G (1951–1953)
58th Fighter Bomber Group: F-84E/G (1952–1954)
66th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing: RF-84F (1955–1959)
67th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing: (15th & 45th TRS5) RF-84F/K (1955–1958)
71st Strategic Reconnaissance Wing: RF-84F/K (1955–1956)
81st Fighter Bomber Wing/Group: F-84F (1954–1959)
136th Fighter Bomber Wing/Group F-84E (1951–1952) @ K2, also J-13
312th Fighter Bomber Group: F-84E/G (1954–1955)
363rd Tactical Reconnaissance Wing: RF-84F (1954–1958)
366th Fighter Bomber Wing/Tactical Fighter Wing: F-84E,F (1954–1958;1962–1965)
401st Fighter Bomber Wing/Tactical Fighter Wing: F-84F (1957)
405th Fighter Bomber Wing/Tactical Fighter Wing: F-84F (1953–1956)
407th Strategic Fighter Wing: F-84F (1954–1957)
474th Fighter Bomber Wing: F-84D/E/G (1952–1953)
506th Strategic Fighter Wing: F-84F (1953–1957)
508th Strategic Fighter Wing: F-84F (1952–1956)
3540th Combat Crew Training Wing: F-84E (1952–1953)
3600th Combat Crew Training Wing: F-84D/E/G/F (1952–1957)
Redesignated 4510th CCTW with F-84D/F (1958)
3645th Combat Crew Training Wing: F-84E/G (1953–1957)
4925th Test Group (Atomic): F-84E/F/G (1950–1963)
Royal Netherlands Air Force operational F-84 units
JVS-2 (Jacht Vlieger School): RF-84E (1953)
306 Squadron: F-84G (1953–1954) / RF-84E (1954-1957)
311 Squadron: RF-84E (1951-1952) / F-84G (1952-1956)
312 Squadron: RF-84E (1951-1954) / F-84G (1952-1956)
313 Squadron: RF-84E (1953-1954) / F-84G (1953-1956)
314 Squadron: F-84G (1952-1956)
315 Squadron: F-84G (1952-1956)
Aircraft on display
A F-84 during Zero-length launch testing
Croatia
F-84G
10676 Ex-USAF – Rijeka Airport, Omišalj.[13]
Denmark
F-84G
51-9966/KR-A – Aalborg Defence and Garrison Museum, Aalborg[14]
51-10622/KU-U – Aalborg Defence and Garrison Museum[14]
A-777/SY-H – Danmarks Tekniske Museum, Helsingør[15]
KP-X – Danish Collection of Vintage Aircraft, Skjern[16]
RF-84F
C-581 – Flyvestation Karup Historiske Forening Museet, Karup[17]
C-264 – Danish Collection of Vintage Aircraft, Skjern[16]
Netherlands
F-84G
K-171 – Nationaal Militair Museum, Soesterberg.[18]
Norway
F-84G
51-10161 – Flyhistorisk Museum, Sola, Stavanger Airport, Sola, near Stavanger.[19]
51-11209 – Forsvarets flysamling Gardermoen, Oslo Airport, Gardermoen near Oslo.[20]
52-2912 - Ørland Main Air Station
52-8465 – Royal Norwegian Air Force Museum, Bodø[21]
Portugal
F-84G
5131 – Museu do Ar, Sintra Air Base, Sintra.[22]
5201 - Military and Technical Training Center of the Air Force, Ota (Alenquer).[23]
Serbia
F-84G
10501 – Ex-USAF 52-2936, c/n 3050-1855B Museum of Aviation, Nikola Tesla Airport, Belgrade.[24][verification needed]
10525 – Ex-USAF 52-2939, c/n 3050-1858B Museum of Aviation, Nikola Tesla Airport, Belgrade.[25][verification needed]
10530 – Ex-USAF 52-8435, c/n 3250-2260B Museum of Aviation, Nikola Tesla Airport, Belgrade.[26][verification needed]
Slovenia
F-84G
10642 Ex-USAF 52-2910, c/n 3050-1829B – Pivka Military History Park, Pivka.[27]
Thailand
F-84G at the Royal Thai Air Force Museum
F-84G
51-10582 Ex-USAF and retired Royal Thai Air Force fighter in Royal Thai Air Force Museum
Turkey
110572 F-84G at Atatürk Airport.
F-84G
10572 – Istanbul Aviation Museum.
19953 – Atatürk Airport, İstanbul.
RF-84F
1901 – Istanbul Aviation Museum.
1917 – Istanbul Aviation Museum.
United States
YP-84A
45-59494 – Discovery Park of America, Union City, Tennessee. Formerly at Octave Chanute Aerospace Museum at the former Chanute Air Force Base in Rantoul, Illinois.[28][29]
F-84B
45-59504 – Cradle of Aviation Museum in Garden City, New York.[30]
45-59556 – Planes of Fame Museum in Chino, California.[31]
46-0666 – Mid-Atlantic Air Museum in Reading, Pennsylvania.[32]
F-84C
47-1433 – Pima Air and Space Museum, adjacent to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona.[33]
47-1486 – Goldwater Air National Guard Base, Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix, Arizona.[34]
47-1498 – EAA Airventure Museum in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.[35]
47-1513 – Kansas Aviation Museum at McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita, Kansas.[36]
47-1530 – Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico.[37]
47-1562 – Pueblo Weisbrod Aircraft Museum in Pueblo, Colorado.[38]
47-1595 – March Field Air Museum at March Air Reserve Base (former March Air Force Base) in Riverside, California.[39]
F-84E
F-84E at the USAF Museum
49-2155 – Yanks Air Museum in Chino, California.[40]
49-2285 – Texas Military Forces Museum in Austin, Texas.[41]
49-2348 – American Airpower Museum in East Farmingdale, New York.[42]
50-1143 – National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. It was obtained from Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, in October 1963.[43]
51-0604 – Museum of Aviation at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia.[44]
F-84G
51-0791 – Springfield Air National Guard Base, Springfield, Ohio.[45]
51-11126 - under restoration to airworthiness by a Vulcan Warbirds Inc. for the Flying Heritage Collection in Seattle, Washington.[46][47]
52-3242 – Hill Aerospace Museum, Hill Air Force Base, Utah.[48]
52-8365 - under restoration to airworthiness by a private owner in Edmonds, Washington.[49][50]
Specifications (F-84G Thunderjet)
Line drawing of F-84C
Data from Encyclopedia of US Air Force Aircraft and Missile Systems[1]
General characteristics
Crew: one
Length: 38 ft 1 in (11.60 m)
Wingspan: 36 ft 5 in (11.10 m)
Height: 12 ft 7 in (3.84 m)
Wing area: 260 ft² (24 m²)
Empty weight: 11,470 lb (5,200 kg)
Loaded weight: 18,080 lb (8,200 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 23,340 lb (10,590 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Allison J35-A-29 turbojet, 5,560 lbf (24.7 kN)
Performance
Maximum speed: 622 mph (540 kn, 1,000 km/h,Mach .81)
Cruise speed: 475 mph (413 kn, 770 km/h)
Range: 1,000 mi (870 nmi, 1,600 km) combat
Ferry range: 2,000 mi (1,700 nmi, 3,200 km) with external tanks
Service ceiling: 40,500 ft (12,350 m)
Rate of climb: 3,765 ft/min (19.1 m/s)
Wing loading: 70 lb/ft² (342 kg/m²)
Thrust/weight: 0.31 lbf/lb
Armament
6 × .50 in (12.7 mm) M3 Browning machine guns, 300 rpg
Up to 4,450 lb (2,020 kg) of rockets and bombs, including 1 × Mark 7 nuclear bomb
Avionics
A-1CM or A-4 gunsight with APG-30 or MK-18 ranging radar
F-84F Thunderstreak
Republic XF-91 Thunderceptor
XF-84H Thunderscreech
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era
Dassault Ouragan
de Havilland Venom
Gloster Meteor
Grumman F9F Cougar
Grumman F9F Panther
McDonnell XF-85 Goblin
Some time after the city of O'Rai was destroyed, it civilians, now nomadic, encountered a clan of centaurs. Both groups had come into conflict with the various gangs of robbers and mercenaries that patrolled the plains and woodland of southwest Avalonia. A heavily armed, coordinated and agile cavalry was needed. The two groups chose to band together, and came up with the idea of combining a centaur and rider, with both of them often training together at a young age. This strategy would prove quite effective, with horde after horde of robbers falling to hoof, blade, and arrow. Riders now had a "cavalry" they could coordinate attacks with, and centaurs had their flanks (their one weak point) protected.
-------------------------------------
A few months ago, back when I was researching weapons I wanted my centaur character (Ayra) to carry, I stumbled upon video by a YouTuber named Shadiversity, who mentioned that one of a centaur's best weapons would be a friendly human/elf/drawrf/etc. riding on its back. This gave me some ideas, and I got to building. For simplicity's sake, I chose to use Ayra as a template. On top of the addition of a "tailgunner", I also added clothing/barding to the character's lower/"horse half". This mitigated the open studs that existed on the original version, and in my opinion makes things look much cleaner overall.
Shadiversity Video Link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNRf9VVAHIk
Eurobricks Post: www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?/forums/topic/173041-c...
Crosskirk Broch was a fortification near the present day hamlet of Crosskirk near Thurso, Caithness, Scotland. After thorough archaeological exploration it was destroyed in 1972 since the site had become unsafe due to sea erosion. The site was unusual in having a broch, a large circular fortification, built within an older promontory fortification with a ring wall and blockhouse.
Crosskirk was occupied at the end of the Bronze Age. From the early Iron Age that followed there is carinated pottery that appears to be locally made but is similar to pottery of the same period in southern and eastern England. A few samples are black-burnished. Uncorrected radiocarbon dates for this pottery are in the 6th and 5th centuries BC. There seems to be a discontinuity in the middle Iron Age when the buildings were reconstructed and new types of pottery and artifacts were introduced, although variants of some of the older styles continued. This may be interpreted as being due to the influx of some influential new population.
Further use of local pottery continued into the period of Roman occupation of the south of Scotland in 80-180 AD. There were also remains of Roman pottery and glassware that may have been Roman in origin. A body was buried in a sitting position in the middle of an approximately circular building around the time that the site was abandoned. No grave goods were found.
There are traces of two long cist burials in the debris of the broch from some time around 600 AD. There used to be a stone with a runic inscription at Crosskirk, now lost, dating from the period of the Norse raiders in the 9th, 10th and 11th centuries. St Mary's Chapel (Crosskirk), built around the 13th century and now ruined, is about 30 yards (27 m) south of the site. Some of the land south of the broch was levelled when St Mary's was built. In recent times, some of the stones from the broch mound were removed, perhaps for building field dykes.
The promontory fort predated the broch, which was built inside the older structure. The earlier structure was an outwork that began at the edge of the promontory in the east, a 15 feet (4.6 m) thick wall or rampart of rock with an earth core. A gateway that widened towards the outside provided access through the wall. To the west of the gateway the rampart included a structure like a cell, and then there was a recess in the inner face of the wall. The outwork continued west, ending in a fence made of flagstones that reached to the cliff edge at Chapel Geo.
Based on radiocarbon dates, the broch was built around 200 BC, and was still in use in the second century AD. The broch would have given an impression of great strength, rising above the existing defensive wall. It included a guard cell, an intramural chamber and a stair entrance at ground level. Although the wall of the broch was relatively thick, it was poorly built, with a core of earth, rubble and boulders. This may be interpreted as being an early, experimental broch design. The roundhouse was not built strongly enough to support a tower more than 4.5 metres (15 ft), half the height of later towers.
There were external buildings around the tower that are thought to have been a village, an arrangement found only in northern Scotland.[8] These houses were occupied from about the same time as the broch was completed. During the next two centuries there were a series of changes and repairs to the broch, but they could not overcome its underlying weakness of design, and by the end of that period it would have been in poor shape. During the same period, house enclosures of the settlement outside the broch but within the rampart were steadily added and improved. A final phase of occupation and construction took place in the 2nd century AD, when the broch was rehabilitated before being finally abandoned. During this last period it seems that there was no defensive concern
The main crop was barley. Samples found at Crosskirk and Bu also include the seeds of other plants such as fat hen, sorrel and chick weed. This mix was probably deliberate, since the other seeds have medical and nutritional value. Cattle and some sheep were raised, and were supported through the winters. The people ate shellfish, particularly limpets, winkles and whelks, and ate seabirds. At nearby locations there is evidence of deep sea fishing for plaice and cod, and of consumption of venison. The evidence shows that the community had an ample and varied diet, and was largely self-sufficient.
An 1871 description of the broch said it
has an internal diameter of approximately 30 to 32ft and a wall 14 to 15ft thick. It has been broken into from the S, where there appears to have been an entrance to the left of which the sides of a chamber are visible in the wall. At the edge of the cliff, some 20ft of wall about 4 to 5ft high is exposed. On the landward side about 10ft from the broch are the remains of an outer bank or wall, now some 8ft wide at the base.
A report in 1964 said the broch was visible as a circular enclosure, covered in grass, with the wall no more than 1.1 metres (3 ft 7 in) high on the inside, and no more than 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 in) high on the exterior. The cliff edge had eroded, partly exposing traces of the north of the wall. There was a shallow depression around the broch and a low bank on the southwest side that may have been the remains of the outer defense wall. Coastal erosion was undercutting the cliff, making the site unsafe. Between 1966 and 1972 Fairhurst and Taylor excavated the ruin. The remains of the broch were then pushed over the cliff by a bulldozer, the site grassed over, and a memorial cairn erected.
The Highlands is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots language replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands. The term is also used for the area north and west of the Highland Boundary Fault, although the exact boundaries are not clearly defined, particularly to the east. The Great Glen divides the Grampian Mountains to the southeast from the Northwest Highlands. The Scottish Gaelic name of A' Ghàidhealtachd literally means "the place of the Gaels" and traditionally, from a Gaelic-speaking point of view, includes both the Western Isles and the Highlands.
The area is very sparsely populated, with many mountain ranges dominating the region, and includes the highest mountain in the British Isles, Ben Nevis. During the 18th and early 19th centuries the population of the Highlands rose to around 300,000, but from c. 1841 and for the next 160 years, the natural increase in population was exceeded by emigration (mostly to Canada, the United States, Australia and New Zealand, and migration to the industrial cities of Scotland and England.) and passim The area is now one of the most sparsely populated in Europe. At 9.1/km2 (24/sq mi) in 2012, the population density in the Highlands and Islands is less than one seventh of Scotland's as a whole.
The Highland Council is the administrative body for much of the Highlands, with its administrative centre at Inverness. However, the Highlands also includes parts of the council areas of Aberdeenshire, Angus, Argyll and Bute, Moray, North Ayrshire, Perth and Kinross, Stirling and West Dunbartonshire.
The Scottish Highlands is the only area in the British Isles to have the taiga biome as it features concentrated populations of Scots pine forest: see Caledonian Forest. It is the most mountainous part of the United Kingdom.
Between the 15th century and the mid-20th century, the area differed from most of the Lowlands in terms of language. In Scottish Gaelic, the region is known as the Gàidhealtachd, because it was traditionally the Gaelic-speaking part of Scotland, although the language is now largely confined to The Hebrides. The terms are sometimes used interchangeably but have different meanings in their respective languages. Scottish English (in its Highland form) is the predominant language of the area today, though Highland English has been influenced by Gaelic speech to a significant extent. Historically, the "Highland line" distinguished the two Scottish cultures. While the Highland line broadly followed the geography of the Grampians in the south, it continued in the north, cutting off the north-eastern areas, that is Eastern Caithness, Orkney and Shetland, from the more Gaelic Highlands and Hebrides.
Historically, the major social unit of the Highlands was the clan. Scottish kings, particularly James VI, saw clans as a challenge to their authority; the Highlands was seen by many as a lawless region. The Scots of the Lowlands viewed the Highlanders as backward and more "Irish". The Highlands were seen as the overspill of Gaelic Ireland. They made this distinction by separating Germanic "Scots" English and the Gaelic by renaming it "Erse" a play on Eire. Following the Union of the Crowns, James VI had the military strength to back up any attempts to impose some control. The result was, in 1609, the Statutes of Iona which started the process of integrating clan leaders into Scottish society. The gradual changes continued into the 19th century, as clan chiefs thought of themselves less as patriarchal leaders of their people and more as commercial landlords. The first effect on the clansmen who were their tenants was the change to rents being payable in money rather than in kind. Later, rents were increased as Highland landowners sought to increase their income. This was followed, mostly in the period 1760–1850, by agricultural improvement that often (particularly in the Western Highlands) involved clearance of the population to make way for large scale sheep farms. Displaced tenants were set up in crofting communities in the process. The crofts were intended not to provide all the needs of their occupiers; they were expected to work in other industries such as kelping and fishing. Crofters came to rely substantially on seasonal migrant work, particularly in the Lowlands. This gave impetus to the learning of English, which was seen by many rural Gaelic speakers to be the essential "language of work".
Older historiography attributes the collapse of the clan system to the aftermath of the Jacobite risings. This is now thought less influential by historians. Following the Jacobite rising of 1745 the British government enacted a series of laws to try to suppress the clan system, including bans on the bearing of arms and the wearing of tartan, and limitations on the activities of the Scottish Episcopal Church. Most of this legislation was repealed by the end of the 18th century as the Jacobite threat subsided. There was soon a rehabilitation of Highland culture. Tartan was adopted for Highland regiments in the British Army, which poor Highlanders joined in large numbers in the era of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars (1790–1815). Tartan had largely been abandoned by the ordinary people of the region, but in the 1820s, tartan and the kilt were adopted by members of the social elite, not just in Scotland, but across Europe. The international craze for tartan, and for idealising a romanticised Highlands, was set off by the Ossian cycle, and further popularised by the works of Walter Scott. His "staging" of the visit of King George IV to Scotland in 1822 and the king's wearing of tartan resulted in a massive upsurge in demand for kilts and tartans that could not be met by the Scottish woollen industry. Individual clan tartans were largely designated in this period and they became a major symbol of Scottish identity. This "Highlandism", by which all of Scotland was identified with the culture of the Highlands, was cemented by Queen Victoria's interest in the country, her adoption of Balmoral as a major royal retreat, and her interest in "tartenry".
Recurrent famine affected the Highlands for much of its history, with significant instances as late as 1817 in the Eastern Highlands and the early 1850s in the West. Over the 18th century, the region had developed a trade of black cattle into Lowland markets, and this was balanced by imports of meal into the area. There was a critical reliance on this trade to provide sufficient food, and it is seen as an essential prerequisite for the population growth that started in the 18th century. Most of the Highlands, particularly in the North and West was short of the arable land that was essential for the mixed, run rig based, communal farming that existed before agricultural improvement was introduced into the region.[a] Between the 1760s and the 1830s there was a substantial trade in unlicensed whisky that had been distilled in the Highlands. Lowland distillers (who were not able to avoid the heavy taxation of this product) complained that Highland whisky made up more than half the market. The development of the cattle trade is taken as evidence that the pre-improvement Highlands was not an immutable system, but did exploit the economic opportunities that came its way. The illicit whisky trade demonstrates the entrepreneurial ability of the peasant classes.
Agricultural improvement reached the Highlands mostly over the period 1760 to 1850. Agricultural advisors, factors, land surveyors and others educated in the thinking of Adam Smith were keen to put into practice the new ideas taught in Scottish universities. Highland landowners, many of whom were burdened with chronic debts, were generally receptive to the advice they offered and keen to increase the income from their land. In the East and South the resulting change was similar to that in the Lowlands, with the creation of larger farms with single tenants, enclosure of the old run rig fields, introduction of new crops (such as turnips), land drainage and, as a consequence of all this, eviction, as part of the Highland clearances, of many tenants and cottars. Some of those cleared found employment on the new, larger farms, others moved to the accessible towns of the Lowlands.
In the West and North, evicted tenants were usually given tenancies in newly created crofting communities, while their former holdings were converted into large sheep farms. Sheep farmers could pay substantially higher rents than the run rig farmers and were much less prone to falling into arrears. Each croft was limited in size so that the tenants would have to find work elsewhere. The major alternatives were fishing and the kelp industry. Landlords took control of the kelp shores, deducting the wages earned by their tenants from the rent due and retaining the large profits that could be earned at the high prices paid for the processed product during the Napoleonic wars.
When the Napoleonic wars finished in 1815, the Highland industries were affected by the return to a peacetime economy. The price of black cattle fell, nearly halving between 1810 and the 1830s. Kelp prices had peaked in 1810, but reduced from £9 a ton in 1823 to £3 13s 4d a ton in 1828. Wool prices were also badly affected. This worsened the financial problems of debt-encumbered landlords. Then, in 1846, potato blight arrived in the Highlands, wiping out the essential subsistence crop for the overcrowded crofting communities. As the famine struck, the government made clear to landlords that it was their responsibility to provide famine relief for their tenants. The result of the economic downturn had been that a large proportion of Highland estates were sold in the first half of the 19th century. T M Devine points out that in the region most affected by the potato famine, by 1846, 70 per cent of the landowners were new purchasers who had not owned Highland property before 1800. More landlords were obliged to sell due to the cost of famine relief. Those who were protected from the worst of the crisis were those with extensive rental income from sheep farms. Government loans were made available for drainage works, road building and other improvements and many crofters became temporary migrants – taking work in the Lowlands. When the potato famine ceased in 1856, this established a pattern of more extensive working away from the Highlands.
The unequal concentration of land ownership remained an emotional and controversial subject, of enormous importance to the Highland economy, and eventually became a cornerstone of liberal radicalism. The poor crofters were politically powerless, and many of them turned to religion. They embraced the popularly oriented, fervently evangelical Presbyterian revival after 1800. Most joined the breakaway "Free Church" after 1843. This evangelical movement was led by lay preachers who themselves came from the lower strata, and whose preaching was implicitly critical of the established order. The religious change energised the crofters and separated them from the landlords; it helped prepare them for their successful and violent challenge to the landlords in the 1880s through the Highland Land League. Violence erupted, starting on the Isle of Skye, when Highland landlords cleared their lands for sheep and deer parks. It was quietened when the government stepped in, passing the Crofters' Holdings (Scotland) Act, 1886 to reduce rents, guarantee fixity of tenure, and break up large estates to provide crofts for the homeless. This contrasted with the Irish Land War underway at the same time, where the Irish were intensely politicised through roots in Irish nationalism, while political dimensions were limited. In 1885 three Independent Crofter candidates were elected to Parliament, which listened to their pleas. The results included explicit security for the Scottish smallholders in the "crofting counties"; the legal right to bequeath tenancies to descendants; and the creation of a Crofting Commission. The Crofters as a political movement faded away by 1892, and the Liberal Party gained their votes.
Today, the Highlands are the largest of Scotland's whisky producing regions; the relevant area runs from Orkney to the Isle of Arran in the south and includes the northern isles and much of Inner and Outer Hebrides, Argyll, Stirlingshire, Arran, as well as sections of Perthshire and Aberdeenshire. (Other sources treat The Islands, except Islay, as a separate whisky producing region.) This massive area has over 30 distilleries, or 47 when the Islands sub-region is included in the count. According to one source, the top five are The Macallan, Glenfiddich, Aberlour, Glenfarclas and Balvenie. While Speyside is geographically within the Highlands, that region is specified as distinct in terms of whisky productions. Speyside single malt whiskies are produced by about 50 distilleries.
According to Visit Scotland, Highlands whisky is "fruity, sweet, spicy, malty". Another review states that Northern Highlands single malt is "sweet and full-bodied", the Eastern Highlands and Southern Highlands whiskies tend to be "lighter in texture" while the distilleries in the Western Highlands produce single malts with a "much peatier influence".
The Scottish Reformation achieved partial success in the Highlands. Roman Catholicism remained strong in some areas, owing to remote locations and the efforts of Franciscan missionaries from Ireland, who regularly came to celebrate Mass. There remain significant Catholic strongholds within the Highlands and Islands such as Moidart and Morar on the mainland and South Uist and Barra in the southern Outer Hebrides. The remoteness of the region and the lack of a Gaelic-speaking clergy undermined the missionary efforts of the established church. The later 18th century saw somewhat greater success, owing to the efforts of the SSPCK missionaries and to the disruption of traditional society after the Battle of Culloden in 1746. In the 19th century, the evangelical Free Churches, which were more accepting of Gaelic language and culture, grew rapidly, appealing much more strongly than did the established church.
For the most part, however, the Highlands are considered predominantly Protestant, belonging to the Church of Scotland. In contrast to the Catholic southern islands, the northern Outer Hebrides islands (Lewis, Harris and North Uist) have an exceptionally high proportion of their population belonging to the Protestant Free Church of Scotland or the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland. The Outer Hebrides have been described as the last bastion of Calvinism in Britain and the Sabbath remains widely observed. Inverness and the surrounding area has a majority Protestant population, with most locals belonging to either The Kirk or the Free Church of Scotland. The church maintains a noticeable presence within the area, with church attendance notably higher than in other parts of Scotland. Religion continues to play an important role in Highland culture, with Sabbath observance still widely practised, particularly in the Hebrides.
In traditional Scottish geography, the Highlands refers to that part of Scotland north-west of the Highland Boundary Fault, which crosses mainland Scotland in a near-straight line from Helensburgh to Stonehaven. However the flat coastal lands that occupy parts of the counties of Nairnshire, Morayshire, Banffshire and Aberdeenshire are often excluded as they do not share the distinctive geographical and cultural features of the rest of the Highlands. The north-east of Caithness, as well as Orkney and Shetland, are also often excluded from the Highlands, although the Hebrides are usually included. The Highland area, as so defined, differed from the Lowlands in language and tradition, having preserved Gaelic speech and customs centuries after the anglicisation of the latter; this led to a growing perception of a divide, with the cultural distinction between Highlander and Lowlander first noted towards the end of the 14th century. In Aberdeenshire, the boundary between the Highlands and the Lowlands is not well defined. There is a stone beside the A93 road near the village of Dinnet on Royal Deeside which states 'You are now in the Highlands', although there are areas of Highland character to the east of this point.
A much wider definition of the Highlands is that used by the Scotch whisky industry. Highland single malts are produced at distilleries north of an imaginary line between Dundee and Greenock, thus including all of Aberdeenshire and Angus.
Inverness is regarded as the Capital of the Highlands, although less so in the Highland parts of Aberdeenshire, Angus, Perthshire and Stirlingshire which look more to Aberdeen, Dundee, Perth, and Stirling as their commercial centres.
The Highland Council area, created as one of the local government regions of Scotland, has been a unitary council area since 1996. The council area excludes a large area of the southern and eastern Highlands, and the Western Isles, but includes Caithness. Highlands is sometimes used, however, as a name for the council area, as in the former Highlands and Islands Fire and Rescue Service. Northern is also used to refer to the area, as in the former Northern Constabulary. These former bodies both covered the Highland council area and the island council areas of Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles.
Much of the Highlands area overlaps the Highlands and Islands area. An electoral region called Highlands and Islands is used in elections to the Scottish Parliament: this area includes Orkney and Shetland, as well as the Highland Council local government area, the Western Isles and most of the Argyll and Bute and Moray local government areas. Highlands and Islands has, however, different meanings in different contexts. It means Highland (the local government area), Orkney, Shetland, and the Western Isles in Highlands and Islands Fire and Rescue Service. Northern, as in Northern Constabulary, refers to the same area as that covered by the fire and rescue service.
There have been trackways from the Lowlands to the Highlands since prehistoric times. Many traverse the Mounth, a spur of mountainous land that extends from the higher inland range to the North Sea slightly north of Stonehaven. The most well-known and historically important trackways are the Causey Mounth, Elsick Mounth, Cryne Corse Mounth and Cairnamounth.
Although most of the Highlands is geographically on the British mainland, it is somewhat less accessible than the rest of Britain; thus most UK couriers categorise it separately, alongside Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, and other offshore islands. They thus charge additional fees for delivery to the Highlands, or exclude the area entirely. While the physical remoteness from the largest population centres inevitably leads to higher transit cost, there is confusion and consternation over the scale of the fees charged and the effectiveness of their communication, and the use of the word Mainland in their justification. Since the charges are often based on postcode areas, many far less remote areas, including some which are traditionally considered part of the lowlands, are also subject to these charges. Royal Mail is the only delivery network bound by a Universal Service Obligation to charge a uniform tariff across the UK. This, however, applies only to mail items and not larger packages which are dealt with by its Parcelforce division.
The Highlands lie to the north and west of the Highland Boundary Fault, which runs from Arran to Stonehaven. This part of Scotland is largely composed of ancient rocks from the Cambrian and Precambrian periods which were uplifted during the later Caledonian Orogeny. Smaller formations of Lewisian gneiss in the northwest are up to 3 billion years old. The overlying rocks of the Torridon Sandstone form mountains in the Torridon Hills such as Liathach and Beinn Eighe in Wester Ross.
These foundations are interspersed with many igneous intrusions of a more recent age, the remnants of which have formed mountain massifs such as the Cairngorms and the Cuillin of Skye. A significant exception to the above are the fossil-bearing beds of Old Red Sandstone found principally along the Moray Firth coast and partially down the Highland Boundary Fault. The Jurassic beds found in isolated locations on Skye and Applecross reflect the complex underlying geology. They are the original source of much North Sea oil. The Great Glen is formed along a transform fault which divides the Grampian Mountains to the southeast from the Northwest Highlands.
The entire region was covered by ice sheets during the Pleistocene ice ages, save perhaps for a few nunataks. The complex geomorphology includes incised valleys and lochs carved by the action of mountain streams and ice, and a topography of irregularly distributed mountains whose summits have similar heights above sea-level, but whose bases depend upon the amount of denudation to which the plateau has been subjected in various places.
Climate
The region is much warmer than other areas at similar latitudes (such as Kamchatka in Russia, or Labrador in Canada) because of the Gulf Stream making it cool, damp and temperate. The Köppen climate classification is "Cfb" at low altitudes, then becoming "Cfc", "Dfc" and "ET" at higher altitudes.
Places of interest
An Teallach
Aonach Mòr (Nevis Range ski centre)
Arrochar Alps
Balmoral Castle
Balquhidder
Battlefield of Culloden
Beinn Alligin
Beinn Eighe
Ben Cruachan hydro-electric power station
Ben Lomond
Ben Macdui (second highest mountain in Scotland and UK)
Ben Nevis (highest mountain in Scotland and UK)
Cairngorms National Park
Cairngorm Ski centre near Aviemore
Cairngorm Mountains
Caledonian Canal
Cape Wrath
Carrick Castle
Castle Stalker
Castle Tioram
Chanonry Point
Conic Hill
Culloden Moor
Dunadd
Duart Castle
Durness
Eilean Donan
Fingal's Cave (Staffa)
Fort George
Glen Coe
Glen Etive
Glen Kinglas
Glen Lyon
Glen Orchy
Glenshee Ski Centre
Glen Shiel
Glen Spean
Glenfinnan (and its railway station and viaduct)
Grampian Mountains
Hebrides
Highland Folk Museum – The first open-air museum in the UK.
Highland Wildlife Park
Inveraray Castle
Inveraray Jail
Inverness Castle
Inverewe Garden
Iona Abbey
Isle of Staffa
Kilchurn Castle
Kilmartin Glen
Liathach
Lecht Ski Centre
Loch Alsh
Loch Ard
Loch Awe
Loch Assynt
Loch Earn
Loch Etive
Loch Fyne
Loch Goil
Loch Katrine
Loch Leven
Loch Linnhe
Loch Lochy
Loch Lomond
Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park
Loch Lubnaig
Loch Maree
Loch Morar
Loch Morlich
Loch Ness
Loch Nevis
Loch Rannoch
Loch Tay
Lochranza
Luss
Meall a' Bhuiridh (Glencoe Ski Centre)
Scottish Sea Life Sanctuary at Loch Creran
Rannoch Moor
Red Cuillin
Rest and Be Thankful stretch of A83
River Carron, Wester Ross
River Spey
River Tay
Ross and Cromarty
Smoo Cave
Stob Coire a' Chàirn
Stac Polly
Strathspey Railway
Sutherland
Tor Castle
Torridon Hills
Urquhart Castle
West Highland Line (scenic railway)
West Highland Way (Long-distance footpath)
Wester Ross
A shot of the Cathedral in Christchurch, New Zealand from my travels there in May 2010, feel very luck to have now captured this.
Today an earthquake ripped thru Christchurch causing much damage to the city and their beautiful cathedral. Thought I would post this to show the beauty of this building of which the upper part (spire) has been mostly destroyed.
My thoughts are with the people (Kiwi's) of this great and beautiful country in this time of devastation.
LOTD - Because I felt like it! (Only WL and cropping. No other editing was used.)
Top and Panties: EPOCH - theme set. Witch pack @ Suicide Dollz
Boots: CandyDoll - Aimin Boots @ C88
Hair: Foxy - Her Hair @ C88
Earrings: AsteroidBox.
Skin: Pumec - May Rare
Head: Catwa - Uma
Pose: Joplino - Tender Girl @ Suicide Dollz
Backdrop: Foxcity Group Gift
An air-filled balloon, hit by an air pistol bullet. Captured at the moment when it's "opening"
Lighted with 2 flashes at about approx. 1/30000s. Used old Porst/Regula flashes which are said to reach 1/50000, but I think this is not true. Unfortunately I could not find a flash which could be faster than 1/50000 or even 1/100000. And if so, they are toooo expensive.
Had also the problem of synchronizing the 2 flashes, because the internal delay is different, not to say unpredictable...
Entitled The Great Wall Of China [1907] H Ponting. [RESTORED] I repaired spots and small defects, adjusted contrast, tonality, and adding a sepia tone.
Ponting's placement of a person (or in this case, persons) somewhere in the foreground was a de rigueur photographic technique of the day. It was done primarily to add a human element and to provide a sense of scale to the scene.
The Great Wall of China 萬里長城 is a misnomer (at least in its English translation, the Chinese meaning is more along the lines of "ten thousand Li long city"). It would be more accurate to describe it as the Great Walls of China, as they are the remnants from a historic series of stone and earthen barriers. Erected throughout northern China, they were mostly built and revised over two thousand years between the 5th century BC and the 16th century. Origins of each wall section from various times were contingent upon their political and military needs in accordance to their dynastic periods.
The oldest, original walls were constructed for the purposes of protecting against Xiongnu nomadic incursions into the areas occupied by the various disparate states that were to later form China. After the Qin consolidation, these separate structures were then integrated into an almost continuous whole, mostly using rammed earth structures. Unfortunately, little of that wall actually exists today. The majority of the wall that still remains (ie the one that we have generally come to know) was built during the Ming dynasty, which relied more heavily on integration of brick and masonry work. History, legends and myths about the Great Wall abound. In the last hundred year or so, industrialization and modernization of the areas which the wall passes through has endangered it as entire sections were destroyed to reclaim construction materials. Other sections were refurbished, in some cases rebuilt using modern engineering, and have seen heavy use as tourist attractions; still others have been entirely overgrown or reclaimed by nature. Reportedly, less than 30 percent of the wall remains intact. Nevertheless, it is considered to be one of the most important historic constructions of man and specific parts of it was listed since 1987 as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
The present wall starts from Shanhaiguan, dipping into the Bohai Sea in the east, and ends at Xinjiang's Lop Nur in the west, following along the southern border of the Chinese province of Inner Mongolia. The most comprehensive survey to date has determined that the wall as currently recognized covers a distance of 8,851.8 km (or 5,500.3 miles), consisting of 6,259.6 km (3,889.5 miles) actual wall, combined with various other structures like trenches and natural defensive barriers of impassable hills and rivers. Contrary to popular myth, you cannot see the wall from outer space or the moon.
The Great Wall varies from tourist trap (like the section at Badaling, near Beijing) to extreme, off the beaten path wilderness. Certain sections are so dangerous that it would be suicidal to attempt ascending unless one has special climbing equipment with a technical and advanced mountaineering support team. Try as I might, I was not able to gather any real statistics on Great Wall related accidents or deaths, which is unusual as every tourist location has accidents. In any case, I suspect that the PRC government doesn't really want to keep such statistics to begin with.
In another forum dedicated to just information about the Great Wall, one writer told of how one tourist was killed, and offered some safety tips:
www.greatwallforum.com/forum/great-wall-china-general-inf...
The earthquake destroyed the ChristChurch Cathedral's spire and part of its tower, and severely damaged the structure of the remaining building. The remainder of the tower was demolished in March 2012. The west wall suffered collapses in the June 2011 earthquake and the December 2011 quake due to a steel structure – intended to stabilise the rose window – pushing it in.
The Anglican Church has decided to demolish the building and replace it with a new structure – a decision which has become controversial in post-quake Christchurch.
Various groups have opposed the Church's intentions, with actions including taking a case to court. As of January 2015 the judgements have mostly been in favour of the Church, with one more judgement pending. No demolition has occurred since the removal of the tower in early 2012.
Since 15 August 2013 the cathedral congregation has worshipped at the Cardboard Cathedral.
Taken @Christchurch, NZ
Shot for Waste Clothing....
Full shoot and exclusive shots coming to the official website soon....
More Shots up now @ www.flickr.com/photos/wasteclothing/
and the website is here - wasteclothing.co.uk/
Russian postcard, no. 134.
Vera Kholodnaya (1893-1919) was the first star of the Russian silent cinema. Only 26, the ‘Queen of Screen’ died of the Spanish flu during the pandemic of 1919. Although she worked only three years for the cinema, she must have made between fifty and a hundred short films. The Soviet authorities ordered to destroy many of the Kholodnaya features in 1924, and only five of her films still exist.
Vera Kholodnaya (Russian: Вера Холодная, and also romanized as Vera Kholodnaia and Vira Kholodna) was originally named Vera Vasilyevna Levchenko. She was born into a respectable well-to-do family in Poltava, Russian Empire (now Ukraine) in 1893. Her whole family enjoyed acting in plays. At the age of ten, she was sent to Moscow to live with her widowed grandmother. There she attended the elite Perepelkina Grammar school. The girl dreamed of a career in classical ballet and even enrolled at the Bolshoi Theatre ballet school. That changed in 1908, when Vera attended a performance of the film Francesca da Rimini, with ballerina Vera Komissarzhevskaya in the title role. She was deeply impressed with Komissarzhevskaya's artistry and now was set on becoming an actress. In 1910, the 17-years old married student Vladimir Kholodny, one of the first Russian car racers. Later he became the editor of the magazine AVTO. 1915. Vera would often accompany him in races which resulted in road accidents. She also adopted his surname, which translates as ‘the cold one’ Their daughter, Eugenia Kholodnaya, was born in 1912, and they adopted another daughter, Nonna Kholodnaya, a year later. After her husband was drafted to fight in World War I, she decided to venture into film acting. She first approached Vladimir Gardin, a leading Russian film director, who cast her in a minor role in his grand production of Anna Karenina (Vladimir Gardin, 1914) with Mariya Germanova in the title role. Then director Yevgeni Bauer was looking for a woman of outstanding beauty for a new film. When Kholodnaya was introduced to him, Bauer reportedly was spellbound of the small, intense woman with her commanding grey eyes and mop of black hair. Bauer at once approved her for the part, the lead role in the Ivan Turgenev adaptation Pesn torzhestvuyushchey lyubvi/The Song of the Triumphant Love (Yevgeni Bauer, 1915). This mystical love drama was a major box-office hit, and she signed a three-year contract with the Khanzhonkov studio. The impatient Bauer immediately made another film with his new discovery, Plamya Neba/Flame of the Sky (Yevgeni Bauer, 1915). It was a typical melodrama about the guilty love of a young woman married off to an old widower and his son. In the end, the lovers perish from a thunderbolt. Her next picture was Deti veka/The Children of the Age (Yevgeni Bauer, 1915), a drama with pretensions to reveal social problems. Bauer’s death in 1917 robbed the Russian cinema of one of its great talents, and Kholodnaya of her discoverer. Soon followed more films for her made by other directors. At first, Kholodnaya imitated the acting of Asta Nielsen, but gradually she developed her own style. Another tremendous success was the tragic melodrama Mirazhi/The Mirages (Pyotr Chardynin, 1915). Her extravagant costumes and large grey eyes made her an enigmatic screen presence which fascinated audiences all over Russia.
The melodrama Zhizn za zhizn/A Life for a Life (Yevgeni Bauer, 1916) became one of the most popular films in Vera Kholodnaya’s career. After this film, she was called ‘the Queen of Screen’. The author of this title was the famous singer Alexander Vertinsky who venerated the actress and frequented her house. In 1916 Khanzhonkov’s company started making the film Pierrot with Vertinsky and Kholodnaya playing the leads. Unfortunately, the film was never completed. By the time of the Russian Revolution, a new Kholodnaya film was released every third week. U kamina/By the Fireplace (1917), based on a popular romance, was another resounding commercial success. The film ran in cinemas until 1924 when the Soviet authorities ordered to destroy many of the Kholodnaya features. During the Russian Civil War, the Bolshevik authorities requested film companies to produce less melodrama and more adaptations of classics. Accordingly, Kholodnaya was cast in a screen version of Tolstoy's Zhivoy trup/The Living Corpse (Cheslav Sabinsky, 1917). Her acting abilities in this film were applauded by Stanislavsky, who welcomed Vera to join the troupe of the Moscow Art Theatre. Her last box-office sensation was Molchi, grust... molchi/Be Silent, My Sorrow, Be Silent (Pyotr Chardynin, Cheslav Sabinsky, 1918). Like many of her films, it was based on a Russian traditional love song. By that time, Kholodnaya turned from just a popular and admired actress into a legend of the Russian cinema. She decided to move with her film company to Odessa. There she died at the age of 25 in the 1918 flu pandemic. A director with whom she had worked for several years filmed her grand funeral. Ironically, this seems to be her best known film today. The other five extant films with Vera Kholodnaya are: Deti veka/The Children of the Age (1915), Mirazhi/The Mirages (1915), Zhizn za zhizn/A Life for a Life (1916), Zhivoy trup/The Living Corpse (1918), and Molchi, grust... molchi/Be Silent, My Sorrow, Be Silent (1918). Official Russian records state that Vera Kholodnaya died of the Spanish flu. While that seems quite likely, there is much speculation around her death. Оther stories claim she was poisoned by the French ambassador with whom she reportedly had an affair and who believed that she was a spy for the Bolsheviks. Her husband, Vladimir Kholodny, died 2 months after her. Her mother, Yekaterina Sleptsova, also died shortly after her. Her life was dramatized in Nikita Mikhalkov's film Raba lyubvi/A Slave of Love (1975), and in director, Oleg Kovalov made a documentary on her life, Ostrov Myortvykh/Island of the Dead (1992). A year later, her image was depicted on a postage stamp and in 2003 a life-size bronze statue of her was erected in Odessa, Ukraine; created by the artist Alexander P. Tokarev.
Sources: Jessica Keaton (Silence is platinum), KinoTV.com (German), Russia-IC, Wikipedia and IMDb.
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