View allAll Photos Tagged Strafe
Completing low level GAU-8 30mm Gatling gun live-fire strafing pass: Fairchild A-10C Thunderbolt II, USAF 80-0146, 357th FS "Dragons", Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ @ Barry M. Goldwater USAF Gunnery Range, Gila Bend, AZ
Clearwater is a city located in Pinellas County, Florida, United States, northwest of Tampa and St. Petersburg. To the west of Clearwater lies the Gulf of Mexico and to the southeast lies Tampa Bay. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 107,685. Clearwater is the county seat of Pinellas County and is the smallest of the three principal cities in the Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater metropolitan area, most commonly referred to as the Tampa Bay Area.
Cleveland Street is one of the city's historic avenues, and the city includes BayCare Ballpark and Coachman Park. The city is separated by the Intracoastal Waterway from Clearwater Beach.
Clearwater is the home of Clearwater Marine Aquarium, where bottlenose dolphins Winter and Hope live.
The global headquarters of the Church of Scientology is located in Clearwater; the organization had tried to take over the city in what was called Project Normandy.
By the early 1900s, Clearwater's population had grown to around 400, ballooning to nearly 1,000 in the winter. Clearwater's oldest existing newspaper, the Clearwater Sun, was first published on March 14, 1914. Clearwater was reincorporated, this time as a city, on May 27, 1915, and was designated the county seat for Pinellas County, which broke from Hillsborough County in 1912. In 1915, a bridge was built across Clearwater Harbor, joining the city with Clearwater Beach to the west. Clearwater Beach, although located on a separate barrier island, belongs to the city of Clearwater and fronts the Gulf of Mexico. A new, much higher bridge now arcs over the bay, replacing the former drawbridge; the connecting road is part of State Road 60 and is called Clearwater Memorial Causeway.
During World War II, Clearwater became a major training base for US troops destined for Europe and the Pacific. Virtually every hotel in the area, including the Belleview Biltmore and the Fort Harrison Hotel, was used as a barracks for new recruits. Vehicle traffic was regularly stopped for companies of soldiers marching through downtown, and nighttime blackouts to confuse potential enemy bombers were common practice. The remote and isolated Dan's Island, now the highrise-dominated Sand Key, was used as a target by U.S. Army Air Corps fighter-bombers for strafing and bombing practice.
Credit for the data above is given to the following website:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clearwater,_Florida
© All Rights Reserved - you may not use this image in any form without my prior permission.
Clearwater is a city located in Pinellas County, Florida, United States, northwest of Tampa and St. Petersburg. To the west of Clearwater lies the Gulf of Mexico and to the southeast lies Tampa Bay. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 107,685. Clearwater is the county seat of Pinellas County and is the smallest of the three principal cities in the Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater metropolitan area, most commonly referred to as the Tampa Bay Area.
Cleveland Street is one of the city's historic avenues, and the city includes BayCare Ballpark and Coachman Park. The city is separated by the Intracoastal Waterway from Clearwater Beach.
Clearwater is the home of Clearwater Marine Aquarium, where bottlenose dolphins Winter and Hope live.
The global headquarters of the Church of Scientology is located in Clearwater; the organization had tried to take over the city in what was called Project Normandy.
By the early 1900s, Clearwater's population had grown to around 400, ballooning to nearly 1,000 in the winter. Clearwater's oldest existing newspaper, the Clearwater Sun, was first published on March 14, 1914. Clearwater was reincorporated, this time as a city, on May 27, 1915, and was designated the county seat for Pinellas County, which broke from Hillsborough County in 1912. In 1915, a bridge was built across Clearwater Harbor, joining the city with Clearwater Beach to the west. Clearwater Beach, although located on a separate barrier island, belongs to the city of Clearwater and fronts the Gulf of Mexico. A new, much higher bridge now arcs over the bay, replacing the former drawbridge; the connecting road is part of State Road 60 and is called Clearwater Memorial Causeway.
During World War II, Clearwater became a major training base for US troops destined for Europe and the Pacific. Virtually every hotel in the area, including the Belleview Biltmore and the Fort Harrison Hotel, was used as a barracks for new recruits. Vehicle traffic was regularly stopped for companies of soldiers marching through downtown, and nighttime blackouts to confuse potential enemy bombers were common practice. The remote and isolated Dan's Island, now the highrise-dominated Sand Key, was used as a target by U.S. Army Air Corps fighter-bombers for strafing and bombing practice.
Credit for the data above is given to the following website:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clearwater,_Florida
© All Rights Reserved - you may not use this image in any form without my prior permission.
The Scheuch-Schlepper was used extensively in Komet operations to lift and move the german rocket interceptor.
It could lift the Me 163's airframe completely clear of the ground. It was required as the Komet was unpowered after exhausting its rocket propellants, and lacked main wheels after landing, from the jettisoning of its "dolly" main gear at takeoff.
Allied fighters were also attacking the fields the Komets operated from and strafe them after the Me 163s landed so it wasn't not very safe for the ground crew too.
Clearwater is a city located in Pinellas County, Florida, United States, northwest of Tampa and St. Petersburg. To the west of Clearwater lies the Gulf of Mexico and to the southeast lies Tampa Bay. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 107,685. Clearwater is the county seat of Pinellas County and is the smallest of the three principal cities in the Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater metropolitan area, most commonly referred to as the Tampa Bay Area.
Cleveland Street is one of the city's historic avenues, and the city includes BayCare Ballpark and Coachman Park. The city is separated by the Intracoastal Waterway from Clearwater Beach.
Clearwater is the home of Clearwater Marine Aquarium, where bottlenose dolphins Winter and Hope live.
The global headquarters of the Church of Scientology is located in Clearwater; the organization had tried to take over the city in what was called Project Normandy.
By the early 1900s, Clearwater's population had grown to around 400, ballooning to nearly 1,000 in the winter. Clearwater's oldest existing newspaper, the Clearwater Sun, was first published on March 14, 1914. Clearwater was reincorporated, this time as a city, on May 27, 1915, and was designated the county seat for Pinellas County, which broke from Hillsborough County in 1912. In 1915, a bridge was built across Clearwater Harbor, joining the city with Clearwater Beach to the west. Clearwater Beach, although located on a separate barrier island, belongs to the city of Clearwater and fronts the Gulf of Mexico. A new, much higher bridge now arcs over the bay, replacing the former drawbridge; the connecting road is part of State Road 60 and is called Clearwater Memorial Causeway.
During World War II, Clearwater became a major training base for US troops destined for Europe and the Pacific. Virtually every hotel in the area, including the Belleview Biltmore and the Fort Harrison Hotel, was used as a barracks for new recruits. Vehicle traffic was regularly stopped for companies of soldiers marching through downtown, and nighttime blackouts to confuse potential enemy bombers were common practice. The remote and isolated Dan's Island, now the highrise-dominated Sand Key, was used as a target by U.S. Army Air Corps fighter-bombers for strafing and bombing practice.
Credit for the data above is given to the following website:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clearwater,_Florida
© All Rights Reserved - you may not use this image in any form without my prior permission.
Clearwater is a city located in Pinellas County, Florida, United States, northwest of Tampa and St. Petersburg. To the west of Clearwater lies the Gulf of Mexico and to the southeast lies Tampa Bay. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 107,685. Clearwater is the county seat of Pinellas County and is the smallest of the three principal cities in the Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater metropolitan area, most commonly referred to as the Tampa Bay Area.
Cleveland Street is one of the city's historic avenues, and the city includes BayCare Ballpark and Coachman Park. The city is separated by the Intracoastal Waterway from Clearwater Beach.
Clearwater is the home of Clearwater Marine Aquarium, where bottlenose dolphins Winter and Hope live.
The global headquarters of the Church of Scientology is located in Clearwater; the organization had tried to take over the city in what was called Project Normandy.
By the early 1900s, Clearwater's population had grown to around 400, ballooning to nearly 1,000 in the winter. Clearwater's oldest existing newspaper, the Clearwater Sun, was first published on March 14, 1914. Clearwater was reincorporated, this time as a city, on May 27, 1915, and was designated the county seat for Pinellas County, which broke from Hillsborough County in 1912. In 1915, a bridge was built across Clearwater Harbor, joining the city with Clearwater Beach to the west. Clearwater Beach, although located on a separate barrier island, belongs to the city of Clearwater and fronts the Gulf of Mexico. A new, much higher bridge now arcs over the bay, replacing the former drawbridge; the connecting road is part of State Road 60 and is called Clearwater Memorial Causeway.
During World War II, Clearwater became a major training base for US troops destined for Europe and the Pacific. Virtually every hotel in the area, including the Belleview Biltmore and the Fort Harrison Hotel, was used as a barracks for new recruits. Vehicle traffic was regularly stopped for companies of soldiers marching through downtown, and nighttime blackouts to confuse potential enemy bombers were common practice. The remote and isolated Dan's Island, now the highrise-dominated Sand Key, was used as a target by U.S. Army Air Corps fighter-bombers for strafing and bombing practice.
Credit for the data above is given to the following website:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clearwater,_Florida
© All Rights Reserved - you may not use this image in any form without my prior permission.
The little detail at the neck :-)
Das kleine Detail am Hals :-)
Many thanks for this great uniform from Daniel SC. www.flickr.com/photos/192260769@N08/
Herzlichen Dank für diesen wunderschönen Uniformkittel von Daniel SC.
Clearwater is a city located in Pinellas County, Florida, United States, northwest of Tampa and St. Petersburg. To the west of Clearwater lies the Gulf of Mexico and to the southeast lies Tampa Bay. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 107,685. Clearwater is the county seat of Pinellas County and is the smallest of the three principal cities in the Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater metropolitan area, most commonly referred to as the Tampa Bay Area.
Cleveland Street is one of the city's historic avenues, and the city includes BayCare Ballpark and Coachman Park. The city is separated by the Intracoastal Waterway from Clearwater Beach.
Clearwater is the home of Clearwater Marine Aquarium, where bottlenose dolphins Winter and Hope live.
The global headquarters of the Church of Scientology is located in Clearwater; the organization had tried to take over the city in what was called Project Normandy.
By the early 1900s, Clearwater's population had grown to around 400, ballooning to nearly 1,000 in the winter. Clearwater's oldest existing newspaper, the Clearwater Sun, was first published on March 14, 1914. Clearwater was reincorporated, this time as a city, on May 27, 1915, and was designated the county seat for Pinellas County, which broke from Hillsborough County in 1912. In 1915, a bridge was built across Clearwater Harbor, joining the city with Clearwater Beach to the west. Clearwater Beach, although located on a separate barrier island, belongs to the city of Clearwater and fronts the Gulf of Mexico. A new, much higher bridge now arcs over the bay, replacing the former drawbridge; the connecting road is part of State Road 60 and is called Clearwater Memorial Causeway.
During World War II, Clearwater became a major training base for US troops destined for Europe and the Pacific. Virtually every hotel in the area, including the Belleview Biltmore and the Fort Harrison Hotel, was used as a barracks for new recruits. Vehicle traffic was regularly stopped for companies of soldiers marching through downtown, and nighttime blackouts to confuse potential enemy bombers were common practice. The remote and isolated Dan's Island, now the highrise-dominated Sand Key, was used as a target by U.S. Army Air Corps fighter-bombers for strafing and bombing practice.
Credit for the data above is given to the following website:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clearwater,_Florida
© All Rights Reserved - you may not use this image in any form without my prior permission.
Clearwater is a city located in Pinellas County, Florida, United States, northwest of Tampa and St. Petersburg. To the west of Clearwater lies the Gulf of Mexico and to the southeast lies Tampa Bay. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 107,685. Clearwater is the county seat of Pinellas County and is the smallest of the three principal cities in the Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater metropolitan area, most commonly referred to as the Tampa Bay Area.
Cleveland Street is one of the city's historic avenues, and the city includes BayCare Ballpark and Coachman Park. The city is separated by the Intracoastal Waterway from Clearwater Beach.
Clearwater is the home of Clearwater Marine Aquarium, where bottlenose dolphins Winter and Hope live.
The global headquarters of the Church of Scientology is located in Clearwater; the organization had tried to take over the city in what was called Project Normandy.
By the early 1900s, Clearwater's population had grown to around 400, ballooning to nearly 1,000 in the winter. Clearwater's oldest existing newspaper, the Clearwater Sun, was first published on March 14, 1914. Clearwater was reincorporated, this time as a city, on May 27, 1915, and was designated the county seat for Pinellas County, which broke from Hillsborough County in 1912. In 1915, a bridge was built across Clearwater Harbor, joining the city with Clearwater Beach to the west. Clearwater Beach, although located on a separate barrier island, belongs to the city of Clearwater and fronts the Gulf of Mexico. A new, much higher bridge now arcs over the bay, replacing the former drawbridge; the connecting road is part of State Road 60 and is called Clearwater Memorial Causeway.
During World War II, Clearwater became a major training base for US troops destined for Europe and the Pacific. Virtually every hotel in the area, including the Belleview Biltmore and the Fort Harrison Hotel, was used as a barracks for new recruits. Vehicle traffic was regularly stopped for companies of soldiers marching through downtown, and nighttime blackouts to confuse potential enemy bombers were common practice. The remote and isolated Dan's Island, now the highrise-dominated Sand Key, was used as a target by U.S. Army Air Corps fighter-bombers for strafing and bombing practice.
Credit for the data above is given to the following website:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clearwater,_Florida
© All Rights Reserved - you may not use this image in any form without my prior permission.
"The belly-mounted turret sports a pair of 20mm cannon - not gatlings, but hooked up to the same universal ammunition drum as the nose cannons. They can be used for circle strafing and even in dogfighting, against any aerial targets underneath the aircraft.
If any enemy approaches from behind and above, the Razorback can even flip on its back and surprise its attacker with a burst from the belly guns."
During World War 2, a country’s airforces played a massive role in the way it’s military could wage war against its enemy. Having aircraft available or having air superiority over an opponent could make a substantial difference in how it’s own ground forces could traverse, and more importantly, how much it could hamper one’s enemy’s abilities. At the beginning of the war, we saw this in the very first demonstration of Blitzkrieg, or lighting war, used by the German forces against Poland, where German fighters and ground-attack aircraft disabled a large percentage of Polish airfields in a matter of hours. The Luftwaffe (German Airforce) was ultimately able to achieve air superiority within days, giving them control of whatever movement their enemy made. This showed the world what a large impact the concept of ground attack aircraft could have on a conflict, as the Allies were soon to follow with their own planes. As the war shifted in favour of the Allies, they began to put into effect they’re own aircraft, as German production could not nearly keep up with the massive economic statuses that were Russia, America, and England. And this would show in all of the campaigns post 1943. So, with that said, this scene shows a Panzer III being strafed by Allied ground attack aircraft, with German Panzergrenadiers quickly getting out of the path of the .50 cal MG’s from the Allied plane. An American Para anti-tank team who have met up with some British infantry are hiding in the brush, also waiting to ambush the German tank.
From The Dam Busters to stormtrooper assaults, the World War era has always been a considerable inspiration to the galaxy far, far away. Honor this legacy with a fun WWII-Star Wars remix with the Imperial Axis Contest, sponsored by BrickArms! Each entry to this contest should represent a fun combination of World War era weapons, troops, and vehicles and those of the Star Wars universe. From a new custom French Resistance fighter with a custom blaster eager to strike back against the Teutonic First Order, a Rogue squadron P-40 with a proton torpedo launcher on a strafing run, or a German AT-AT ready to march across No Man’s Land, anything goes!
For more information about this contest, including where to post any questions and your entries, please see this thread in the BrickArms Flickr group: www.flickr.com/groups/brickarms/discuss/72157696983322561/
Second pass: Low level 20mm cannon live-fire strafing pass @ 450 knots: General Dynamics F-16D Fighting Falcon, 96-6035 (Block 52 Dorsal Spine), Singapore Air Force 425th FS "Black Widows". Luke AFB, AZ @ Barry M. Gpldwater USAF Gunnery Range, Gila Bend, AZ
Das kleine AT-AT meines vierjährigen Sohnes zog, wild um sich schießend durchs ganze Haus. Also habe ich ihm diese kleine Hütte gebaut. Kaum fünf Minuten nachdem ich dieses Foto schoss, konnte ich beobachten, wie er das kleine Ding von seiner Leine befreite und weg war es...
My four year old son´s Mini-AT-AT was strafing restlessly through the whole House. So I decided to build a small House for it. Five minutes after I took the picture of this little quadruped I watched my son releasing it from its rope and off it went!
Juggernaut strafing run.
A little photoshopping that I couldn't resist with this one - albeit quite a tight crop; Pete Kinsey brings Richard Grace's P-47 "M" in for a run at Old Warden.
This group has built replica fighters from WWII and recreates the attack on Pearl Harbor complete with lots of explosions and smoke to really make the experience stick. Here we have a "Zero" (none of which survive to date) on a simulated strafing pass.
PACIFIC OCEAN (May 17, 2023) Lt. John Dunigan observes a a close air support (CAS) exercise from inside an MH-60S Sea Hawk assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 21, currently embarked with amphibious assault ship USS Makin Island (LHD 8) in the Pacific Ocean. CAS exercises provide an opportunity for pilots to qualify in aerial warfare actions such as strafes or airstrikes. The Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group, comprised of Makin Island and amphibious transport docks USS Anchorage (LPD 23) and USS John P. Murtha (LPD 26), is operating in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations with the embarked 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit to enhance interoperability with Allies and partners and serve as a ready-response force to defend peace and maintain stability in the Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Minh-Thy Chu)
↣ GREEN TECH ↢
▶ TRANSPORT DRONE: GreenTech Drone Voltix-8
FEATURES:
📍 Flight & Control
• Arrow keys to fly; PageUp/PageDown for climb/descend; Shift + ←/→ for strafe.
• Autopilot: locks current speed & altitude; any ↑ ↓ PageUp PageDown = instant cancel.
• Region-crossing smartness: auto camera/menu recalibration.
📍 Cameras (CamMenu)
• ActionView — crisp chase cam for everyday flying.
• EpicView — wide, cinematic framing.
• DroneView — top-down precision for tight landings.
• Selfie — front-facing for flex and photos.
📍 Safety
• Flight Safety Start-Gate: doors must be closed to START.
• Auto-Landing on stand/fall/crash; prints location to local chat on ejects.
• Menu recovery (/99 menu) and locate (/99 sos or /99 locate) within 96 m.
📍 Ban-Line Scanner
• OFF / WARN / AUTO-EVADE. Live radar with angle, approx. distance, parcel & owner.
• Auto-Evade: hands-free short dodge, then returns control.
• Ignores land you/group own; re-scans intelligently.
• Threat icons: ACCESS DENIED | ⚠ GROUP ONLY.
📍 Voyage™ (Badges + Stats)
StartVoyage / StopVoyage with on-screen REC.
• Logs Trips, Distance, Duration, Top Speed, Avg Moving, Regions.
• Earn badges (e.g., Nomad 10/50/100/500, Long Haul 30m, Endurance 60m/120m).
• Sync&Stats after redelivery/relog to refresh stars & print summary.
• Progress tied to your avatar across copies.
📍 SKINS — Live Texture Presets (Legacy + PBR)
Available in:
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SEE MORE IN:
📌 MY BLOG
📌 X POST
Toni Duarte Freelance Photographer
Please don't use this image on websites, blogs or other media
without my explicit permission.
© All rights reserved
Contac: toniduarte[a]cmail.cat
Wikipedia:
La Batalla de Belchite fue un conjunto de operaciones militares desarrolladas durante la Guerra Civil Española entre el 24 de agosto de 1937 y el 6 de septiembre del mismo año en los alrededores e interior de esta población zaragozana.
Antecedentes:
Después del fracasado intento de tomar Brunete, el gobierno republicano, presidido por Negrín y con Prieto como ministro de Defensa, decide llevar a cabo una ofensiva en Aragón, en principio con el mismo objetivo que la anterior, esto es ralentizar el avance de las fuerzas nacionales en el frente del norte, donde ya habían tomado Santander.
No obstante, la decisión no sólo tenía razones de orden militar, sino también político. Los nacionalistas y anarquistas catalanes se quejaban de que el gobierno central no prestaba atención al frente de Aragón, lo que provocaba falta de moral entre sus fuerzas debido a la inactividad. Por su parte, el gobierno central estaba preocupado por la influencia de los anarquistas y del POUM en la zona, donde el Consejo Regional de Defensa de Aragón, presidido por Joaquín Ascaso, funcionaba en la práctica como un gobierno independiente. Así se pensó que con la introducción de fuerzas comunistas y la incorporación de tres divisiones anarquistas al recién creado Ejército del Este, al mando del general Pozas, se podría poner fin más fácilmente a esa influencia anarquista, como así fue. El objetivo militar era la toma de Zaragoza, situada a pocos kilómetros tras las líneas enemigas, acción que supondría un triunfo más que simbólico, ya que ésta era el centro de comunicaciones de todo el frente de Aragón y además, tras un año de guerra, se había reforzado la creencia de que la posesión de ciudades clave era mucho más importante que el control de grandes áreas de territorio despoblado.
Con estas premisas, el general Pozas y su Jefe de Estado Mayor, el coronel Antonio Cordón, establecen su cuartel general en Bujaraloz. Su plan era atacar por siete puntos diferentes en una franja central de 100 km entre Zuera y Belchite. El dividir las fuerzas atacantes entre siete puntos distintos tenía por objeto dificultar el contraataque de los nacionales, así como ofrecer el menor blanco posible a los ataques aéreos.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Battle of Belchite
Part of the Spanish Civil War
Map of the surroundings where the Battle of Belchite was developed with indication of initial and final situation
Date August 24, 1937 – September 7, 1937
Location Belchite, near Zaragoza, Spain
Result Republican tactical victory
Belligerents
Spain Spanish Republic Spain Nationalist Spain
Commanders
Enrique Líster Alfonso Trallero †
Strength
80,000 infantry
105 tanks
90 aircraft 50,000-100,000 infantry
Casualties and losses
v • d • e
Spanish Civil War
Alcázar – Gijón – Oviedo – Guipúzcoa – Mérida – Badajoz – Mallorca – Sierra Guadalupe – Irún – Monte Pelato – Talavera – Cape Espartel – Madrid – Corunna Road – Málaga – Jarama – War in the North – Guadalajara – Guernica – Bilbao – Brunete – Santander – Belchite – El Mazuco – Cape Cherchell – Teruel – Cape Palos – Aragon Offensive – XYZ Line – Ebro – Cantabria – Catalonia – Olite
Chronology: 1936 1937 1938–39
Battle of Belchite was a group of military operations that took place in the Spanish Civil War between August 24 and September 7, 1937 nearby the town of Belchite, in Aragon.
Prelude
Belchite: ruins of the old village
After failed attempts to capture Brunete, the Republican military leadership decided to try a new series of offensives to slow down the Nationalist advance in the north. A new campaign was therefore planned for Aragon. The decision wasn't based on political as well as military considerations, as the government saw it as a way to decrease anarchist and POUM influence in the region by bringing in communist troops and incorporating three anarchist divisions into the newly designated Army of the East under command of general Sebastian Pozas. Another objective of the planned offensive was to take Zaragoza, the capital of Aragon, which was only a few kilometers behind enemy lines. Capturing the regional capital offered more than symbolic significance because it was also the communication center of whole Aragon front. The first year of the war in this part of Spain had emphasized that the possession of key town was of far greater importance than the control of wide areas of open countryside. The Nationalists had only three divisions, the 51st, 52nd and 105th, spread across the 300 kilometers of front, with the majority of their troops concentrated in towns. General Pozas and his chief-of-staff Antonio Cordon set up their headquarters in Bujaraloz. Their plan was to break through at seven different points on the central 100-kilometre stretch between Zuera and Belchite. The object of splitting their attacking forces was to divide any Nationalist counter-attack and to offer fewer targets for bombing and strafing than at Brunete.
The VASP (Vtol Assault and Support Platform) is a small twin engined Gunship, widely utilized by the western pre-collapse military. Most still intact units are in service of various post-collapse governments and can sometimes be seen patrolling still inhabited cities. Outfitted with a 30mm chain gun, these armored VTOLs perform well in strafe runs, escorts or direct infantry support. Additional armament, including anti tank missiles for the VASP have proven ineffective in post collapse days and have been abandoned. Designed to have a significantly low heat signature and a compact design, the VASP proves a difficult target for handheld anti aircraft systems.
This recent addition to my collection of Gunships has strongly been influenced by Chewk´s Hornet variant. Recently I felt like I need a smaller sort of aircraft, since Gunships of the Serpent´s size are difficult to use within other creations, because they seem to be out of proportion. Chewk´s Hornet pretty much proved that also a smaller design approach can fit a figure, so I felt like trying my luck at it, too. This is part of another project which won't be revealed just yet.
BT-33 Cobra
Blacktron II gunship with three plasma cannon banks that strafes around larger targets in space. The jetpack minifig takes on a covering position to provide extra fire support.
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click to activate the icon of slideshow: the small triangle inscribed in the small rectangle, at the top right, in the photostream;
or…. Press the “L” button to zoom in the image;
clicca sulla piccola icona per attivare lo slideshow: sulla facciata principale del photostream, in alto a destra c'è un piccolo rettangolo (rappresenta il monitor) con dentro un piccolo triangolo nero;
oppure…. premi il tasto “L” per ingrandire l'immagine;
www.worldphoto.org/sony-world-photography-awards/winners-...
www.fotografidigitali.it/gallery/2726/opere-italiane-segn...
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A story of Taormina: this story of mine tries to evoke a sad, dark period in the history of Taormina (and Sicily-Italy), which starts from the date of 09 July 1943, the day in which there was Operation Husky, the name in code of the Allied landing in Sicily. This landing (it was expected, but no one knew where) was preceded: by a meticulous work of misdirection (managing to make the Nazi-Fascist enemy believe that it would take place in Sardinia), by an alliance between the USA State and the mafia (which should have facilitated the penetration of the Allies in the island), from the occupation of the Sicilian islands of Pantelleria and Lampedusa, from a systematic and incessant aerial bombardment on cities and strategic points of Sicily. The landing (preceded by a launch of paratroopers, which the strong wind dispersed on a 100 km front), took place in the night between 09 and 10 July on the southern and south-eastern coast of Sicily, with the 7th US Army of General Patton (who then headed for Palermo), and the British 8th Army of General Montgomery (who went to Messina), the Canadian army also participated in the mission, the aim was to close the present on the island Nazi-fascist militias with an encirclement . The morning, again on 09 July 1943, was a date destined to be sadly remembered for Taormina, it was in turmoil, the citizens were preparing to celebrate its patron saint San Pancrazio, at 12.30 a first modest bombing took place by two RAF Spitfires coming from the sea, which, after strafing the railway station below, threw some bombs over the Hotel San Domenico, and some incendiary bombs (phosphorus bombs?) in the valley below the hotel, probably for signal the target with a fire, in fact a second terrible bombing took place at 16.30 / 17.00 by the American four-engines airplanes, which, hitting the southern part of Taormina (near Porta Catania, Piazza Duomo) caused numerous victims among civilians (it was then said about 90-100 victims), while the German military did not suffer many losses, because the bombs (perhaps due to the strong wind) only partially hit their targets , they hit the train station, the San Domenico hotel (home to a garrison of German soldiers) was only minimally hit, Casa Cuseni (where important German military commanders stayed there) was not hit; it was also said that another sensitive target destined to be hit was the German radio repeater present on the castle of Castelmola. After the bombing it was said that ... in Taormina there was a "secret collaborator" of the Allies (it was known who he was, he was married to a wealthy American heiress woman), who would communicate the sensitive points to be hit; it was said that ... among the aviators who bombed Taormina there was a grandson of Lady Florence Trevelyan Trevelyan (see my story about the Lady) who was on holiday in Taormina before the war, intentionally "wrong aim" by dropping part of the bombs in the valley without doing damage, so as not to hit the population; it was said that ... San Pancrazio had not defended his fellow citizens, the martyrdom took place on the day of his feast! (for many years San Pancrazio was punished, the devotees of Taormina did not celebrate him), but the opposite was also said ... it was he who raised the wind by directing the bombs towards the valley, greatly reducing the number of victims: during his party , on July 9, with the statue of San Pancrazio, the procession stops in the two places where there were many victims, in silence, in their memory, the sad notes of a trumpet are heard: a very painful story for all, after the first bombing at 12.30, mother Giuseppina decided to send a telegram to her husband Giovannino, engaged on the front in Greece (or in Albania) to reassure him that she and their two children were well, so she decided to go to the post office (taking behind Bernardino and Adelaide, he would never have left them alone), while they were walking along Corso Umberto towards the post office, several people on the run shouted at her to run away from the town, to get to safety, but mother Giuseppina was thinking of her husband and that telegram for him, they arrived in the vicinity of Porta Catania (near the post office, a short distance from the Hotel San Domenico) when the second deadly bombardment arrived, they found all three of them in the lifeless rubble hugging each other (my father when he told me this story his words choked in his throat, and his eyes became red swollen with tears).
Postscript: I took the photographs of the feast of San Pancrazio in Taormina on 9 July of this year 2022; the photographs of the German casemates were taken between Licata and Gela, where the Americans landed (the British moved further east); the last photo was taken on a Licata beach which was certainly affected by the landing, since on the seabed at about 10 meters deep and about 500 meters from the shore, lies a large American landing craft lying on the sand (opposite, on the beach, there was a German casemate, now it is gone); the photo of the tomb of mother Giuseppina (she was 34 years old), and her two children, Adelaide (5 years old) and Bernardino (11 years old), was taken in the cemetery of Taormina, in the section where lies the people of Taormina who died under the bombing of the day of San Pancrazio of '43.
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Una storia di Taormina: questo mio racconto tenta di rievocare un triste, buio periodo della storia di Taormina (e della Sicilia-Italia), che parte dalla data del 09 luglio del 1943, giorno nel quale ci fu l’Operazione Husky, il nome in codice dello sbarco degli Alleati in Sicilia. Questo sbarco (lo si attendeva, ma non si sapeva dove) fu preceduto da parte degli Alleati: da un minuzioso lavoro di depistaggio (riuscendo a far credere al nemico nazi-fascista che esso sarebbe avvenuto in Sardegna), da un’alleanza tra gli USA e la mafia (che avrebbero dovuto facilitare la penetrazione degli Alleati nell’isola), dall’occupazione delle isole siciliane di Pantelleria e Lampedusa, da un sistematico ed incessante bombardamento aereo su città e punti strategici della Sicilia. Lo sbarco (preceduto da un lancio di paracadutisti, che il forte vento disperse su di un fronte di 100 km), avvenne nella notte tra il 09 ed il 10 di luglio sulla costa meridionale e sud-orientale della Sicilia, con la 7a armata USA del generale Patton (che poi si diresse verso Palermo), e l’8a armata britannica del generale Montgomery (che andò verso Messina), partecipava alla missione anche l’esercito Canadese, lo scopo era di chiudere con un accerchiamento le milizie nazi-fasciste presenti sull’isola. La mattina, sempre del 09 di Luglio del 1943, fu per Taormina una data destinata ad essere tristemente ricordata, Taormina era in fermento, la cittadinanza si preparava a festeggiare il suo santo patrono San Pancrazio, alle ore 12,30 avvenne un primo modesto bombardamento da parte di due Spitfire della RAF provenienti dal mare, che, dopo aver mitragliato la stazione ferroviaria sottostante, lanciarono qualche bomba sopra l’Hotel San Domenico, e qualche bomba incendiaria (bombe al fosforo?) nel vallone sotto l’albergo, probabilmente per segnalare l’obiettivo con un incendio, infatti un secondo terribile bombardamento avvenne alle ore 16,30/17,00 da parte dei quadrimotori americani, che, colpendo la parte sud di Taormina (nei pressi di Porta Catania, piazza Duomo) causarono numerosissime vittime tra i civili (si disse allora circa 90-100 vittime), mentre i militari tedeschi non ebbero molte perdite, perché le bombe (forse a causa del forte vento) centrarono solo in parte i loro obiettivi, colpirono la stazione ferroviaria, l’albergo San Domenico (sede di una guarnigione di militari tedeschi) fu colpito solo in minima parte, Casa Cuseni (qui vi alloggiavano importanti comandanti militari tedeschi) non fu colpita; si disse anche che un altro obiettivo sensibile destinato ad essere colpito era il ripetitore radio tedesco presente sul castello di Castelmola. Dopo il bombardamento si disse che…a Taormina c’era un “collaboratore segreto” degli Alleati (si seppe chi era, era sposato con una ricca donna ereditiera americana), che avrebbe comunicato i punti sensibili da colpire; si disse che …tra gli aviatori che bombardarono Taormina c’era un nipote di Lady Florence Trevelyan Trevelyan (vedi il mio racconto sulla Lady) il quale prima della guerra veniva in vacanza a Taormina, volutamente avrebbe “sbagliato mira” sganciando parte delle bombe nella vallata senza fare danni, per non colpire la popolazione; si disse che …San Pancrazio non aveva difeso i suoi concittadini, il martirio avvenne proprio il giorno della sua festa ! (per tanti anni San Pancrazio fu messo in castigo, i Taorminesi non lo festeggiarono), ma si disse pure il contrario…fu lui ad alzare il vento dirigendo le bombe verso la vallata, riducendo di molto il numero delle vittime: ogni anno, durante la sua festa del 9 luglio, la processione con la statua di San Pancrazio, si ferma nei due luoghi ove vi furono molte vittime, in silenzio, in loro memoria, si ascoltano le tristi note di una tromba: una storia dolorosissima per tutte, dopo il primo bombardamento delle 12,30, mamma Giuseppina decise di inviare un telegramma a suo marito Giovannino, impegnato sul fronte in Grecia (od in Albania) per rassicurarlo che lei ed i loro due figli stavano bene, decise così di andare all’ufficio postale (portandosi dietro Bernardino ed Adelaide, mai li avrebbe lasciati soli), mentre percorrevano il Corso Umberto verso la posta, diverse persone in fuga le gridavano di scappare via dall’abitato, di mettersi in salvo, però mamma Giuseppina pensava a suo marito ed a quel telegramma, arrivarono così nelle vicinanze di Porta Catania (vicino l’ufficio postale, a poca distanza dall’Hotel San Domenico) quando arrivò il secondo micidiale bombardamento, li ritrovarono sotto le macerie senza vita tutti e tre abbracciati tra loro (mio padre quando mi raccontava questa storia le sue parole gli si strozzavano in gola, e gli occhi diventavano rossi gonfi di lacrime).
P.S. le fotografie della festa di San Pancrazio di Taormina le ho realizzate il 9 luglio di quest’anno 2022; le fotografie delle casematte tedesche sono state realizzate tra Licata e Gela, ove avvenne lo sbarco degli americani (gli inglesi sbarcarono più ad est); l’ultima foto è stata realizzata su di una spiaggia di Licata che certamente fu interessata dallo sbarco, poiché sul fondo marino a circa 10 metri di profondità ed a circa 500 metri dal bagnasciuga, giace un grosso mezzo da sbarco americano adagiato sulla sabbia (di fronte, sulla spiaggia, c’era una casamatta tedesca, ora non c’è più); la foto della tomba di mamma Giuseppina (34 anni), e dei suoi due figli, Adelaide (5 anni) e Bernardino (11 anni), è stata realizzata nel cimitero di Taormina, nella sezione ove sono sepolti i Taorminesi morti sotto il bombardamento del giorno di San Pancrazio del ‘43.
The water treatment plant was located at the top of the island. These holes are the ones left by the air artillery after strafing the area where the mutineers escaped.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgG88p7F98c&t=9s
The Crunch
Second Coming. Vol. 5 No. 1 - 1977
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Too much
too little
or not enough
too fat
too thin
or nobody
laughter or
tears
or immaculate
non-concern
haters
lovers
armies running through streets of blood
waving winebottles
bayoneting and fucking virgins
or an old guy in a cheap room
with a photograph of Marilyn Monroe
many old guys in cheap rooms without
any photographs at all
many old women rubbing rosaries
when they'd prefer to be rubbing cocks
there is a loneliness in this world so great
that you can see it in the slow movements of
the hands of a clock
there is a loneliness in this world so great
that you can see it blinking in neon signs
in Vegas, in Baltimore, in Munich
there are people so tired
so strafed
so mutilated by love or no
love
that buying a bargain can of tuna
in a supermarket
is their greatest moment
their greatest victory
we don't need new governments
new revolutions
we don't need new men
new women
we don't need new ways
wife-swaps
waterbeds
good Columbian
coke
water pipes
dildoes
rubbers with corkscrew stems
watches that give you the date
people are not good to each other
one on one.
Marx be damned
the sin is not the totality of certain systems.
Christianity be damned
the sin is not the killing of a God.
people are just not good to each other.
we are afraid
we think that hatred means strength
we think that New York City is the greatest
city in America.
what we need is less brilliance
what we need is less instruction
what we need are less poets
what we need are less Bukowskies
what we need are less Billy Grahams
what we need is more
beer
a typist
more finches
more green-eyed whores who don't eat your heart
like a vitamin pill
we don't think about the terror of one person
aching in one place
alone
untouched
unspoken to
watering a plant
being without a telephone that will never
ring
because there isn't one.
more haters than lovers
slices of doom like taffeta
people are not good to each other
people are not good to each other
people are not good to each other
and the beads swing and the clouds cloud
and the dogs piss upon the roses
and the killer beheads the child like taking a bite
out of an ice cream cone
and the ocean comes in and out
in and out
under the direction of a senseless moon
and people are not good to each other.
Der Veranstalter des Feuerwerks am Samstagabend sieht einer hohen Strafe entgegen:
Anwohner verklagen ihn, da er die Zeit bis 22 Uhr überschritten hatte wegen Lärmbelästigung - schönes Deutschland...
the organizer of the firework last saturday will be punished, because he exceeded the time which normally limited to 10pm. People living close to the celebration denounced him - poor Germany
Theres this unfinished street next to my house and I just had to go out there and take a picture on it. You can also find this on my fb page: www.facebook.com/DominikMotzkePhotography
¤ On Black ¤
A bald eagle maneuvers into strafing position to [hopefully] pick up some dinner from the Mississippi River near Fountain City, WI, USA. While s/he did pick up an item from the river, it was not anything edible. There were at least half a dozen bald eagles congregating at the open water just south of Lock and Dam 5A, intermittently taking off from the ice to make food runs.
No great crisp images due to distance and heat haze but it was a fantastic show watching this juvenile Peregrine chase, strafe and hover over these poor terrified shorebirds in the marsh. I know, everyone has to eat.
The hovering technique went on for a very long time and it was interesting to watch. The raft of shovelers stayed close together and alert but never took off, I don't think they are exactly on the menu.
This is a different unbanded and darker colored juvenile than the one I saw two days later in the same marsh.