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PictionID:44808603 - Title:Atlas Payload Component - Catalog:14_014197 - Filename:14_014197.TIF - - - Image from the Convair/General Dynamics Astronautics Atlas Negative Collection. The processing, cataloging and digitization of these images has been made possible by a generous National Historical Publications and Records grant from the National Archives and Records Administration---Please Tag these images so that the information can be permanently stored with the digital file.---Repository: San Diego Air and Space Museum
Travelled down to Chico, California to tour the Paul Components headquarters and document the fabulous work they do.
not so grainy on larger size [all sizes]
constructive components made of paper tubes, rolls of aluminum (offset) rubber and some wire, exceeds of the press of a newspaper
sort of shigeru ban
“Cuatro Torres Business Area” (CTBA). Antigua Ciudad Deportiva del Real Madrid. Paseo de la Castellana. Los componentes más recientes de la Skyline de Madrid
El parque empresarial “Cuatro Torres Business Area” (CTBA) se edifica sobre los terrenos de la antigua Ciudad Deportiva del Real Madrid al extremo norte del paseo de la Castellana, conformado por cuatro rascacielos, los edificios más altos de España. El conjunto comprende un anillo de circulación subterráneo que da servicio a aparcamientos y plantas bajo rasante de cada uno de los edificios. Proyectado en 2002-2003, la construcción se inició en 2004 y la urbanización se culmina en 2009 con la inclusión de algunas interesantes esculturas como la Menina de Manolo Valdés entre las torres CajaMadrid y Sacyr Vallehermoso.
En este recinto se situará además el Centro Internacional de Convenciones de Madrid con un auditorio principal con capacidad para 3.500 personas, según proyecto del equipo formado por Emilio Tuñón y Luis Moreno Mansilla ganadores del concurso convocado en 2007. El edificio propuesto se conforma mediante un círculo erigido verticalmente que se presenta como un disco solar delante de las dos torres centrales.
El Conjunto es fruto de la operación urbanística llevada a cabo por el Real Madrid Club de Fútbol, siendo presidente el empresario Florentino Pérez, por lo que algunos han dado a las torres el nombre de cada uno de los jugadores “galácticos” que fichó el citado presidente como consecuencia de la operación: Figo, Ronaldo, Zidane y Beckham.
Torre CajaMadrid (inicialmente Torre Repsol)
Arquitecto: Norman Foster & Partners
Estructura: Halvorson & Partners - Gilsanz Murray Steficek LLP. Instalaciones: Aguilera Ingenieros. Responsables del proyecto de construcción José Ramón Burgos Morcillo y Pedro González Lejarriaga
Es el edificio más alto de España, con 45 plantas y 250 metros de altura. Proyecto: 2003. Edificado entre 2004 y 2009. La estructura está compuesta por un entramado de acero, que permite una planta rectangular de oficinas, soportado por dos grandes núcleos de hormigón, que encierran los elementos de comunicación vertical y de servicio, que se unen en el remate superior mediante un elemento tipo puente. La fachada se cubre de vidrio en la zona de oficinas y de placas de acero inoxidable en los núcleos de hormigón. Las plantas de oficinas se agrupan en tres cuerpos prismáticos intercalados entre los dos núcleos verticales que los sustentan, conformando una geometría que da su característica imagen al edificio.
Una vez iniciada la construcción, Repsol decidió cambiar la ubicación de su futura sede por lo que el edificio en obras fue adquirido por Caja Madrid con el fin de convertirlo en su sede principal en 2009
Torre Sacyr Vallehermoso (Hotel Eurostars Madrid Tower)
Arquitectos: Carlos Rubio Carvajal y Enrique Álvarez-Sala Walter (R&AS).
Estructura: MC2, Julio Martínez Calzón y Miguel Gómez Navarro. Instalaciones: UTE Aguilera-Úrculo.
Proyectada en 2003, promovida por el Grupo SYV, se construye entre 2004 y 2008, con una altura de 236 metros y 52 plantas
Los autores conciben el edificio a partir del análisis de geometrías rigurosas, capaces de albergar diferentes usos aportando la flexibilidad necesaria. Se configura mediante la superposición de un centro de congresos, un hotel de gran lujo, que ocupa los dos tercios inferiores, y unas oficinas en alquiler, sobre las 17 plantas superiores.
Su planta se genera mediante un triángulo equilátero cuyos lados son curvos, tres arcos que envuelven a tres cilindros situados en posición triangular, optimizando la longitud de la fachada en relación con la superficie construida. Tres pliegues verticales dividen el edificio en gajos, haciéndolo más esbelto e introduciendo luz y ventilación en el núcleo central. Las fachadas, compuestas de una doble piel formada por escamas de vidrio y aluminio que ofrecen una resistencia mínima al viento, presentan una imagen singular dentro del Conjunto, con su tonalidad oscura.
Torre de Cristal
Arquitecto: César Pelli.
Colaboradores: Íñigo Ortiz y Enrique León.
Promovido por la compañía aseguradora Mutua Madrileña, es el edificio más alto de España, junto a la Torre Caja Madrid, con una altura de 250 metros distribuidos en 52 plantas. Proyectada por el arquitecto de origen argentino afincado en New York Cesar Pelli en 2003, se edifica entre 2004 y 2009. Las plantas varían a lo largo de la altura, generando cuatro planos con biseles oblicuos, que confieren a las fachadas del edificio, formadas por muros cortina de vidrio, la apariencia de un cristal tallado, rematado por un plano inclinado bajo el que se conforma un jardín cubierto de invierno. Un gran bloque de cristal transparente, cuyas caras captan la luz “como si fuera un diamante tallado”. La variedad de los ángulos que delimitan cada uno de las caras da vida y movimiento a la torre a través de la diferente intensidad de luz que éstas reflejen durante el día. Su destino es el de oficinas de alquiler. Uno de los atractivos del edificio, que finalmente no autorizó el Ayuntamiento, era una especie de faro situado en su parte más alta, destinado a iluminar el invernadero, que haría visible el rascacielos desde varios puntos de la ciudad.
Torre Espacio
Arquitecto Henry N. Cobb de la firma Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, fundada por Ieoh Ming Pei. Colaborador: José Bruguera.
Colaborador en la dirección de las obras: Reid Fenwick Asociados, de Madrid. Estructura: MC2. Instalaciones: R. Úrculo Ingenieros Consultores.
Proyectada en 2003, promovida por la Inmobiliaria Espacio S.L, se construye entre 2004 y 2008, con una altura de 236 metros y 57 plantas sobre el nivel del suelo. La fachada está formada por un muro cortina de vidrio. Las plantas, varían de forma y dimensiones a lo largo de su altura, pasando del cuadrado en la base, hasta alcanzar la forma de un ojo abierto, es decir dos arcos de circunferencia secantes, en su culminación; dando al edificio una fisonomía exterior muy variable, desde un prisma a una botella, dependiendo del punto de vista. Las aristas son curvas y las fachadas no son planas, por lo que hubo que dotar de un especial diseño a los soportes de hormigón. Alberga, entre otras, oficinas de empresas pertenecientes al grupo promotor como la Inmobiliaria Espacio o la constructora OHL, y algunas embajadas. Cuenta con dos áreas de descanso de ocho metros de altura situadas en las plantas 18 y 33. Su sistema de climatización está compuesto por el "Techo Frío" emisor y la “fachada activa” de doble capa con movimiento de aire interior.
Durante su construcción, en septiembre de 2006 se declaró un incendio entre la planta 40 y 42, la última en construcción en ese momento, pero no afectó a su estructura.
Article from the Chicago Tribune
September 18, 1994 | By Richard A. Wright. Special to the Tribune.
The GTO - where The Muscle Car Began
GTO n. (Gran Turismo Omologato, derived from American, Grand Touring Homologated) a car built of components all from the same maker.
`I bought my first GTO in '65 brand new," said Larry Wyzukovicz of Buffalo Grove, a founder and treasurer of the Cruisin' Tigers GTO Club, Chicago's chapter of a 70,000-member national Pontiac GTO association.
"I've also got a '67 GTO," said Wyzukovicz, a consultant to Steel Service Centers. "I guess I never quite grew up. I just keep my toys in the garage now."
Roger Zeivel is president of the Cruisin' Tigers and shares Wyzukovicz's enthusiasm for this General Motors Corp. car, a legend for 30 years that was born against the wishes of GM's top management.
From the beginning, when an unconventional crowd at Pontiac aimed this car at the sons and daughters of the post-World War II hot-rod generation, the bad boy aura has been part of the GTO charm.
The Woodward GTO Tigers, Detroit's chapter of GTO fans, recently held a 30th birthday party at Domino Farms in Ann Arbor, Mich., with the theme: "30 Years of Slammin' Gears."
The Chicago Cruisin' Tigers were well represented, as they should be, because Chicago was the No. 1 sales market for the GTO in every year of its existence, said Jim Wangers, one of the car's creators.
"Everyone thinks of California as GTO country," he said, "but in every year from 1964 to 1974. Chicago was the No. 1 sales market and Detroit was No. 2."
The Goat, as it was affectionately called, and other cars of the 10-year muscle era, which the GTO kicked off in 1964, have graduated from junk on used-car lots to the darlings of the collector market.
"The GTO represented everything we tried to say about Pontiac after the decision was made by Semon `Bunkie' Knudsen in 1957 to change the division's stodgy image," said Wangers, part of the team that created the GTO concept of putting a big engine in a small car for high-performance fun at a low price.
Unlike the other participants in the GTO's birth-Pete Estes, John Z. DeLorean, Bill Collins and Jack Humbert-Wangers did not work directly for GM, but was on the Pontiac advertising account at MacManus, John & Adams.
The GTO concept was born in 1956, when GM President Harlow Curtice surprised the industry by naming Knudsen, an ambitious 40-year-old engineer (and son of the legendary William Knudsen, who helped run Ford Motor Co. and General Motors), to head the ailing Pontiac Division.
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Pontiac had become a stodgy car for conservative old men and old ladies. Knudsen decided the car needed a more exciting image and the best way to do that was to make the car more exciting.
To help him do this, he brought in Elliot "Pete" Estes from Oldsmobile and an even younger engineer with plenty of ideas and ambition to match Knudsen's-John Z. DeLorean. "Bringing in Estes and DeLorean turned out to be a stroke of genius on Knudsen's part," said Wangers.
DeLorean, not even 30, was an engineering boy wonder, first at Chrysler Corp. then at Packard, where he headed research and development. Knudsen offered him a similar post at Pontiac. "Without DeLorean, there would not have been a GTO," Wangers said.
Knudsen, Estes and DeLorean secretly launched a stock-car racing activity-secretly because GM had agreed in 1955 along with the rest of the industry not to engage in factory racing efforts. As part of this secret effort, a buyer or a dealer who knew what to look for in the Pontiac catalog of optional equipment in the early '60s could put together a GTO, a racing car made with components from the same maker, as opposed to hot-rods or racers made up of components from various manufacturers. In other words, a factory hot-rod.
In 1963, Ace Wilson, of Royal Pontiac, Royal Oak, Mich., began marketing-with Wangers' help-a high-performance vehicle based on any Pontiac model made of stock Pontiac options. He called it the Royal Bobcat.
The Bobcat was a sales and aesthetic success and in its Tempest/LeMans form it was the prototype of the GTO, which debuted as a '64 option on the LeMans. "It had to be an option package because it did not qualify to be built as a separate model," Wangers said.
"General Motors had a rule that no model could have more than one cubic inch of engine for 10 pounds of car weight," he said. "It didn't take a genius to figure out that a 389-cubic-inch engine in a 3,400-pound car did not meet that qualification."
So Estes, then general manager, allowed the car to be offered as a LeMans option, Wangers said, and the GTO package included hood scoops, appliques and exterior trim-and the 389-cubic-inch V-8.
"They snuck it out," Wangers said.
Dealers ordered 5,000 before Pontiac went to the corporate level to get approval to build and market the GTO. "This kind of demand forced GM to allow production of the car," said Wangers.
Pontiac sold 31,000 '64 LeMans GTOs and could have sold twice that, Wangers said.
For 1965, GTO was still a LeMans option, but in 1966 Pontiac began to market the GTO as a separate model. It became the car by which all muscle cars would be judged.
Ford and Chrysler rushed to market with their own muscle cars, the most successful of which, Wangers said, was the Plymouth Road Runner, introduced in 1968. "The Road Runner threw a scare into Pontiac, and it brought out the Judge option (a high-performance engine and rear axle) for GTO the following year."
Muscle cars drew heavy fire from the safety establishment, the insurance industry and the newly emerging environmental movement, who said muscle cars were polluters because they burned so much fuel.
The 1974 oil crisis doomed the muscle car. An inexpensive, high-performance car with a small, light body and a big V-8, was politically incorrect. By 1974, the GTO and the Road Runner were history, as were the American Motors Corp. AMX, Chevy Super Sports and big-block Ford Torinos.
Asked what GTOs are the most sought-after by collectors, Wangers said "a few GTO buyers also went for the Royal Bobcat package, and those are the most valuable, followed by the GTO Judges."
A 1964 GTO convertible in excellent condition is worth about $20,000, but a '70 or '71 GTO Judge will fetch $30,000 and up, according to Old Cars Price Guide put out by Krause Publications in Iola, Wis. The first LeMans GTO sold for $2,300 to $3,000, depending on how it was equipped.
According to a spokesman at Kruse International, the Auburn, Ind., auction house, a 1964 GTO fetched $41,160 at the Labor Day auction this year.
"Estes sold GM on backing the GTO with funding for marketing and product development," Wangers said, "but DeLorean was the catalyst who made it all happen. Key roles were also played by Bill Collins, assistant chief engineer in charge of chassis and engine development, and Jack Humbert, head of Pontiac's styling studio."
Wangers said he was the unofficial "GTO sales manager," a role he played because of his close relationship with DeLorean. "We really hit it off," he said.
Wangers worked hard to promote the Goat. He said the division used a "Tiger" theme in aggressive ads from '64 through '66. "We used radio commercials filled with roaring engines and screeching tires," he said, "and television spots filled with flying dust and gravel. These ads made GM management nervous, and we had to quit them."
The problem of trying to sell a car that top management is not sure it wants was solved by tie-in promotions, one with Melville Shoes, maker of Thom McAn shoes, the other with Kellogg's.
"We jointly promoted the GTO with a new Thom McAn shoe called the GTO, portrayed as a `high-performance' shoe," Wangers said. "The shoe had a GTO emblem and a tire tread pattern on the sole. We had a GTO car in front of 1,600 Thom McAn stores, and we gave away 50 black and gold coupes."
The promotion with Kellogg's was based on a fact that a Kellogg's executive told Wangers that every box of Rice Krispies is taken out of the cupboard six times during its life in the home.
"Kellogg was sponsoring the TV show `The Monkees.' We offered to provide a car for the show and had a custom four-door convertible built on a '67 GTO. Then we put on a sweepstakes contest promoted on the back of 42 million boxes of Rice Krispies.
"We gave away 15 GTO convertibles and the top prize winner got to go to Hollywood, meet the Monkees and ride in the Monkee Mobile."
Photo by e-chan © 2007 All rights reserved - Downloading and using without permission is illegal.
Singaslaves :
From 248 000 in the early 90's to more than 750 000 nowadays, the foreign low-skilled (and very low-paid) workers are now a a vital element of the booming singaporean economy and a huge component of the population (18% of the 4.6 millions people living there) - although a lot of Singaporeans pretending not to be racist tend to say that the real singaporean population is 3.7 million (as if the foreign workers were not part of the population)...
Not so fun to be a foreign worker in the construction sites.
Of course, if you come from Sri Lanka, India or Bangladesh (or Myanmar, or Indonesia, etc), the pitiful 600 singapore dollars ( around 310 US dollars or 290 euros) salary you earn for the work is far more than the average wages you could earn in your native countries. Of course, you can buy a nice handphone or mp3, and maybe send a bit for the relatives you've left. So i guess i can understand when some of them i've talked to told me they were quite happy here.
But... They work like dogs, they are carried in lorries like cattle.
They are lonely. They are too poor to rent flats and in the miserable dormitories where they live, there is usually no comfort and very strict rules : no gathering, no drinking, no smoking, no guests, no talks after 10pm...
So some of them gather in the evening around HDB (public housing residences) void decks and eat, drink and talk, as they used to do in India or in their native countries. Of course, there are sometimes loud noises and other little troubles for the neighborhood, and i guess sometimes worse things.
Some residents seem to be very bothered by that - obviously more than when it's a rowdy ah bengs gang (local chinese singaporean bad boys) gathering or noisy mahjong players. In the newspapers, some residents say they created "vigilant groups" so as to catch foreign workers urinating or drinking around the HDBs. Some "not racist" madams say they are too afraid to go out when there are foreign workers around their residences because their smell is unbearable (!) an they feel "mentally violated" (!) by these poor guys. Some threw bags full of urine at foreign workers gathered under their windows... Classy.
The Prime Minister himself had to remind that foreign workers are human too and they are a necessary part of the economy, hence they deserve more tolerance and respect from the singaporean citizens - who by the way are very often descendents from migrant workers...
This picture has been used with permission by some, without permission by the cool blog misterbrwonshow.com (but i don' t mind), without permission by some other websites and blogs, misused by others, stolen and usurped by some. Which letter you don't understand in the word "COPYRIGHT" , huh ?
PictionID:44811700 - Title:Atlas Payload Component - Catalog:14_014451 - Filename:14_014451.TIF - - - - Image from the Convair/General Dynamics Astronautics Atlas Negative Collection. The processing, cataloging and digitization of these images has been made possible by a generous National Historical Publications and Records grant from the National Archives and Records Administration---Please Tag these images so that the information can be permanently stored with the digital file.---Repository: San Diego Air and Space Museum
I think I have a new addiction. These crusty, grungy Rustic Components are my latest creation. I'm having fun dreaming up new color combinations to try. I blogged about it here.
Copyright © 2013 by Ginger Davis Allman The Blue Bottle Tree, all rights reserved.
Tech. Sgt. Suzanne Nelson, 355th Healthcare Operations Squadron, immunizations non-commisioned officer in charge, fills a syringe with the COVID-19 vaccination to be administered by members of the Arizona National Guard to service members and their dependents at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Tucson, Ariz. May 6, 2021. The Arizona National Guard is partnering with active duty components to surge capacity and capability in providing vaccinations to service members and their dependents. (U.S. Air National Guard video by Tech. Sgt. Michael Matkin)
AIRBUS A400M "ATLAS" (C/N: 116) BELGIAN AIR COMPONENT (CT-05) / AEROPUERTO DE SEVILLA (LEZL) ESPAÑA-SPAIN / VUELO DE ENTREGA
PictionID:44808994 - Title:Atlas Payload Component - Catalog:14_014229 - Filename:14_014229.TIF - - - Image from the Convair/General Dynamics Astronautics Atlas Negative Collection. The processing, cataloging and digitization of these images has been made possible by a generous National Historical Publications and Records grant from the National Archives and Records Administration---Please Tag these images so that the information can be permanently stored with the digital file.---Repository: San Diego Air and Space Museum
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
The Panther tank, officially Panzerkampfwagen V Panther (abbreviated PzKpfw V) with ordnance inventory designation Sd.Kfz. 171, was a German medium tank of World War II. It was used on the Eastern and Western Fronts from mid-1943 to the end of the war. The Panther was intended to counter the Soviet T-34 medium tank and to replace the Panzer III and Panzer IV. Nevertheless, it served alongside the Panzer IV and the heavier Tiger I until the end of the war. It is considered one of the best tanks of World War II for its excellent firepower, protection, and mobility although its reliability in early times were less impressive.
The Panther was a compromise. While having essentially the same Maybach V12 petrol (700 hp) engine as the Tiger I, it had better gun penetration, was lighter and faster, and could traverse rough terrain better than the Tiger I. The trade-off was weaker side armor, which made it vulnerable to flanking fire. The Panther proved to be effective in open country and long-range engagements.
The Panther was far cheaper to produce than the heavy Tiger I. Key elements of the Panther design, such as its armor, transmission, and final drive, were simplifications made to improve production rates and address raw material shortages. Despite this the overall design remain described by some as "overengineered". The Panther was rushed into combat at the Battle of Kursk in the summer of 1943 despite numerous unresolved technical problems, leading to high losses due to mechanical failure. Most design flaws were rectified by late 1943 and early 1944, though the bombing of production plants, increasing shortages of high-quality alloys for critical components, shortage of fuel and training space, and the declining quality of crews all impacted the tank's effectiveness.
Though officially classified as a medium tank, at 44.8 metric tons the Panther was closer to a heavy tank weight and the same category as the American M26 Pershing (41.7 tons), British Churchill (40.7 tons) and the Soviet IS-2 (46 tons) heavy tanks. The Panther's weight caused logistical problems, such as an inability to cross certain bridges, otherwise the tank had a very high power-to-weight ratio which made it highly mobile.
The Panther was only used marginally outside of Germany, mostly captured or recovered vehicles, some even after the war. Japan already received in 1943 a specimen for evaluation. During March–April 1945, Bulgaria received 15 Panthers of various makes (D, A, and G variants) from captured and overhauled Soviet stocks; they only saw limited (training) service use. In May 1946, Romania received 13 Panther tanks from the USSR, too.
After the war, France was able to recover enough operable vehicles and components to equip its army and offer vehicles for sale. The French Army's 503e Régiment de Chars de Combat was equipped with a force of 50 Panthers from 1944 to 1947, in the 501st and 503rd Tank Regiments. These remained in service until they were replaced by French-built ARL 44 heavy tanks.
In 1946, Sweden sent a delegation to France to examine surviving specimens of German military vehicles. During their visit, the delegates found a few surviving Panthers and had one shipped to Sweden for further testing and evaluation, which continued until 1961.
However, this was not the Panther’s end of service. The last appearance by WWII German tanks on the world’s battlefields came in 1967, when Syria’s panzer force faced off against modern Israeli armor. Quite improbably, Syria had assembled a surprisingly wide collection of ex-Wehrmacht vehicles from a half-dozen sources over a decade and a half timeframe. This fleet consisted primarily of late production Panzer V, StuGIII and Jagdpanzer IVs, plus some Hummel SPAAGs and a handful Panthers. The tanks were procured from France, Spain, and Czechoslovakia, partly revamped before delivery.
All of the Panthers Syria came from Czechoslovakia. Immediately after Germany’s collapse in May 1945, the Soviet army established a staging area for surrendered German tanks at a former Wehrmacht barracks at Milovice, about 24 miles north of Prague, Czechoslovakia. By January 1946, a total of roughly 200 operational Panzer IVs and Panthers of varying versions were at this facility. Joining them was a huge cache of spare parts found at a former German tank repair depot in Teplice, along with ammunition collected from all over Czechoslovakia and the southern extremity of the Soviet occupation zone in Germany. Throughout 1946, the Czechoslovak government’s clean-up of WWII battlefields recovered more than one hundred further tank wrecks, of which 80 were pieced back together to operational status and handed over to the Czechoslovakian Army,
In early 1948, the now-nationalized CKD Works began a limited upkeep of the tanks, many of which had not had depot-level overhauls since the war. A few were rebuilt with a Czechoslovak-designed steering system, but this effort was halted due to cost. These tanks remained operational in the Czechoslovak army until the end of 1954, when sufficient T-34s were available to phase them out.
A Syrian military delegation visited Prague from 8 April – 22 April 1955. An agreement was struck for the sale, amongst other items, of 45 Panzer IVs and 15 Panthers. Despite their obsolescence the Czechoslovaks were not about to just give the tanks away and demanded payment in a ‘hard’ western currency, namely British pounds. The cost was £4,500 each (£86,000 or $112,850 in 2016 money), far above what they were probably worth militarily, especially considering the limited amount of foreign currency reserves available to the Damascus government. The deal included refurbishment, a full ammunition loadout for each, and a limited number of spare parts. Nonetheless, the deal was closed, and the tanks’ delivery started in early November 1955.
The Syrians were by that time already having dire problems keeping their French-sourced panzers operational, and in 1958, a second contract was signed with CKD Works for 15 additional Panzer IVs and 10 more Panthers, these being in lesser condition or non-operational, for use as spare parts hulks. An additional 16 refurbished Maybach engines for both types were also included in this contract, as well as more ammunition.
The refurbished Panthers for Syria had their original 7.5 cm KwK 42 L70 replaced with the less powerful Rheinmetall 7.5 cm KwK 40 L48 gun – dictated by the fact that this gun was already installed in almost all other Syrian tanks of German origin and rounds for the KwK 42 L70 were not available anymore. and the Panther’s full ammo load was 87 rounds. The KwK 40 L48 fired a standard APCBC shell at 750 m/s and could penetrate 109 mm (4.3 in) hardened steel at 1.000 m range. This was enough to take out an M4 Sherman at this range from any angle under ideal circumstances. With an APCR shell the gun was even able to penetrate 130 mm (5.1 in) of hardened steel at the same distance.
Outwardly, the gun switch was only recognizable through the shorter barrel with a muzzle brake, the German WWII-era TZF.5f gunsight was retained by the Syrians. Additionally, there were two secondary machine guns, either MG-34s or MG-42s, one coaxial with the main gun and a flexible one in a ball mount in the tank’s front glacis plate.
A few incomplete Panther hulls without turret were also outfitted with surplus Panzer IV turrets that carried the same weapon, but the exact share of them among the Syrian tanks is unknown – most probably less than five, and they were among the batch delivered in the course of the second contract from 1958.
As they had been lumped all together in Czechoslovak army service, the Syrians received a mixed bag of Panzer IV and Panther versions, many of them “half-breeds” or “Frankensteins”. Many had the bow machine gun removed, either already upon delivery or as a later field modification, and in some cases the machine gun in the turret was omitted as well.
An obvious modification of the refurbished Czech export Panthers for Syria was the installation of new, lighter road wheels. These were in fact adapted T-54 wheels from Czechoslovakian license production that had just started in 1957 - instead of revamping the Panthers’ original solid steel wheels, especially their rubberized tread surfaces, it was easier to replace them altogether, what also made spare parts logistics easier. The new wheels had almost the same diameter as the original German road wheels from WWII, and they were simply adapted to the Panther’s attachment points of the torsion bar suspension’s swing arms. Together with the lighter main gun and some other simplifications, the Syrian Panthers’ empty weight was reduced by more than 3 tonnes.
The Czechoslovaks furthermore delivered an adapter kit to mount a Soviet-made AA DShK 12.7mm machine gun to the commander cupola. This AA mount had originally been developed after WWII for the T-34 tank, and these kits were fitted to all initial tanks of the 1955 order. Enough were delivered that some could be installed on a few of the Spanish- / French-sourced tanks, too.
It doesn’t appear that the Czechoslovaks updated the radio fit on any of the ex-German tanks, and it’s unclear if the Syrians installed modern Soviet radios. The WWII German Fu 5 radio required a dedicated operator (who also manned the bow machine gun); if a more modern system was installed not requiring a dedicated operator, this crew position could be eliminated altogether, what favored the deletion of the bow machine gun on many ex-German Syrian tanks. However, due to their more spacious hull and turret, many Panthers were apparently outfitted with a second radio set and used as command tanks – visible through a second whip antenna on the hull.
A frequent domestic Panther upgrade were side skirts to suppress dust clouds while moving and to prevent dust ingestion into the engines and clogged dust filters. There was no standardized solution, though, and solutions ranged from simple makeshift rubber skirts bolted to the tanks’ flanks to wholesale transplants from other vehicles, primarily Soviet tanks. Some Panthers also had external auxiliary fuel tanks added to their rear, in the form of two 200 l barrels on metal racks of Soviet origin. These barrels were not directly connected with the Panther’s fuel system, though, but a pump-and-hose kit was available to re-fuel the internal tanks from this on-board source in the field. When empty or in an emergency - the barrels were placed on top of the engine bay and leaking fuel quite hazardous - the barrels/tanks could be jettisoned by the crew from the inside.
Inclusive of the cannibalization hulks, Syria received a total of roughly 80 former German tanks from Czechoslovakia. However, at no time were all simultaneously operational and by 1960, usually only two or three dozen were combat-ready.
Before the Six Day War, the Syrian army was surprisingly unorganized, considering the amount of money being pumped into it. There was no unit larger than a brigade, and the whole Syrian army had a sort of “hub & spokes” system originating in Damascus, with every individual formation answering directly to the GHQ rather than a chain of command. The Panthers, Panzer IVs and StuG IIIs were in three independent tank battalions, grossly understrength, supporting the normal tank battalions of three infantry brigades (the 8th, 11th, and 19th) in the Golan Heights. The Jagdpanzer IVs were in a separate independent platoon attached to a tank battalion operating T-34s and SU-100s. How the Hummel SPGs were assigned is unknown.
The first active participation of ex-German tanks in Syrian service was the so-called “Water War”. This was not really a war but rather a series of skirmishes between Israel and Syria during the mid-1960s. With increasing frequency starting in 1964, Syria emplaced tanks on the western slope of the Golan Heights, almost directly on the border, to fire down on Israeli irrigation workers and farmers in the Galilee region. Surprisingly (considering the small number available) Syria chose the Panzer IV for this task. It had no feature making it better or worse than any other tank; most likely the Syrians felt they were the most expendable tanks in their inventory as Israeli counterfire was expected. The panzers were in defilade (dug in) and not easy to shoot back at; due to their altitude advantage.
In 1964, Syria announced plans to divert 35% of the Jordan River’s flow away from Israel, to deprive the country of drinking water. The Israelis responded that they would consider this an act of war and, true to their word, engaged the project’s workers with artillery and sniper fire. Things escalated quickly; in 1965, Israeli M4 Shermans on Israeli soil exchanged fire with the Syrian Panzer IVs above inconclusively. A United Nations peacekeeping team ordered both sides to disengage from the border for a set period of time to “cool off”, but the UN “Blue Berets” were detested and considered useless by both the Israelis and Syrians, and both sides used the lull to prepare their next move. When the cooling-off period ended, the Syrians moved Panzer IVs and now some Panthers, too, back into position. However, the IDF had now Centurion tanks waiting for them, with their fire arcs pre-planned out. The Cold War-era Centurion had heavy armor, a high-velocity 105mm gun, and modern British-made optics. It outclassed the WWII panzers in any imaginable way and almost immediately, two Syrian Panzer IVs and a Panther were destroyed. Others were abandoned by their crews and that was the end of the situation.
Syria’s participation in the Six Say War that soon followed in 1967 war was sloppy and ultimately disastrous. Israel initially intended the conflict to be limited to a preemptive strike against Egypt to forestall an imminent attack by that country, with the possibility of having to fight Syria and Jordan defensively if they responded to the operations against Egypt. The war against Egypt started on 5 June 1967. Because of the poor organization of the Syrian army, news passed down from Damascus on the fighting in the Sinai was scarce and usually outdated by the time it reached the brigade level. Many Syrian units (including the GHQ) were using civilian shortwave radios to monitor Radio Cairo which was spouting off outlandish claims of imaginary Egyptian victories, even as Israeli divisions were steamrolling towards the Suez Canal.
Syrian vehicles of German origin during the Six Day War were either painted overall in beige or in a dark olive drab green. Almost all had, instead of tactical number codes, the name of a Syrian soldier killed in a previous war painted on the turret in white. During the Six Day War, no national roundel was typically carried, even though the Syrian flag was sometimes painted to the turret flanks. However just as the conflict was starting, white circles were often painted onto the top sides of tanks as quick ID markings for aircraft, and some tanks had red recognition triangles added to the side areas: Syrian soldiers were notoriously trigger-happy, and the decreased camouflage effect was likely cancelled out by the reduced odds of being blasted by a comrade!
During the evening of 5 June, Syrian generals in Damascus urged the government to take advantage of the situation and mount an immediate invasion of Israel. Planning and preparation were literally limited to a few hours after midnight, and shortly after daybreak on 6 June, Syrian commanders woke up with orders to invade Israel. The three infantry brigades in the Golan, backed up by several independent battalions, were to spearhead the attack as the rest of the Syrian army mobilized.
There was no cohesion at all: Separate battalions began their advance whenever they happened to be ready to go, and brigades went forward, missing subunits that lagged behind. A platoon attempting a southern outflank maneuver tried to ford the Jordan River in the wrong spot and was washed away. According to a KGB report, at least one Syrian unit “exhibited cowardice” and ignored its orders altogether.
On 7 June, 24 hours into their attack, Syrian forces had only advanced 2 miles into Israel. On 8 June, the IDF pushed the Syrians back to the prewar border and that afternoon, Israeli units eliminated the last Egyptian forces in the Sinai and began a fast redeployment of units back into Israel. Now the Syrians were facing serious problems.
On 9 June, Israeli forces crossed into the Golan Heights. They came by the route the Syrians least expected, an arc hugging the Lebanese border. Now for the first time, Syria’s panzers (considered too slow and fragile for the attack) were encountered. The next day, 10 June 1967, was an absolute rout as the Syrians were being attacked from behind by IDF units arcing southwards from the initial advance, plus Israel’s second wave coming from the west. It was later estimated that Syria lost between 20-25% of its total military vehicle inventory in a 15-hour span on 10 June, including eight Panthers. A ceasefire was announced at midnight, ending Syria’s misadventure. Syria permanently lost the Golan Heights to Israel.
By best estimate, Syria had just five Panthers and twenty-five Panzer IVs fully operational on 6 June 1967, with maybe another ten or so tanks partially operational or at least functional enough to take into combat. Most – if not all – of the ex-French tanks were probably already out of service by 1967, conversely the entire ex-Spanish lot was in use, along with some of the ex-Czechoslovak vehicles. The conflict’s last kill was on 10 June 1967 when a Panzer IV was destroyed by an Israeli M50 Super Sherman (an M4 Sherman hull fitted with a new American engine, and a modified turret housing Israeli electronics and a high-velocity French-made 75mm gun firing HEAT rounds). Like the Centurion, the Super Sherman outclassed the Panzer IV, and the Panther only fared marginally better.
Between 1964-1973 the USSR rebuilt the entire Syrian military from the ground up, reorganizing it along Warsaw Pact lines and equipping it with gear strictly of Soviet origin. There was no place for ex-Wehrmacht tanks and in any case, Czechoslovakia had ended spares & ammo support for the Panzer IV and the Panthers, so the types had no future. The surviving tanks were scrapped in Syria, except for a single Panzer IV survivor sold to a collector in Jordan.
Specifications:
Crew: Five (commander, gunner, loader, driver, radio operator)
Weight: 50 tonnes (55.1 long tons; 45.5 short tons)
Length: 6.87 m (22 ft 6 in) hull only
7.52 m (24 ft 7¾ in) overall with gun facing forward
Width: 3.42 m (11 ft 3 in) hull only
3,70 m (12 ft 1¾ in) with retrofitted side skirts
Height: 2.99 m (9 ft 10 in)’
Ground clearance: 56 cm (22 in)
Suspension: Double torsion bar, interleaved road wheels
Fuel capacity: 720 liters (160 imp gal; 190 US gal),
some Syrian Panthers carried two additional external 200 l fuel drums
Armor:
15–80 mm (0.6 – 3.93 in)
Performance:
Maximum road speed: 56 km/h (35 mph)
Operational range: 250 km (160 mi) on roads; 450 km (280 mi)with auxiliary fuel tanks
100 km (62 mi) cross-country
Power/weight: 14 PS (10.1 kW)/tonne (12.7 hp/ton)
Engine & transmission:
Maybach HL230 V-12 gasoline engine with 700 PS (690 hp, 515 kW)
ZF AK 7-200 gearbox with 7 forward 1 reverse gear
Armament:
1× 7,5 cm KwK 40 (L/48) with 87 rounds
2× 7.92 mm MG 34 or 42, or similar machine guns;
one co-axial with the main gun, another in the front glacis plate
with a total of 5.100 rounds (not always mounted)
Provision for a 12.7 mm DShK or Breda anti-aircraft machine gun on the commander cupola
The kit and its assembly:
A rather exotic what-if model, even though it’s almost built OOB. Inspiration came when I stumbled upon the weird Syrian Panzer IVs that were operated against Israel during the Six Day War – vehicles you would not expect there, and after more than 20 years after WWII. But when I did some more research, I was surprised about the numbers and the variety of former German tanks that Syria had gathered from various European countries, and it made me wonder if the Panther could not have been among this shaggy fleet, too?
I had a surplus Dragon Panther Spähpanzer in The Stash™, to be correct a “PzBeobWg V Ausf. G”, an observation and artillery fire guidance conversion that actually existed in small numbers, and I decided to use it as basis for this odd project. The Dragon kit has some peculiarities, though: its hull is made from primed white metal and consists of an upper and lower half that are held together by small screws! An ambiguous design, because the parts do not fit as good as IP parts, so that the model has a slightly die-cast-ish aura. PSR is necessary at the seams, but due to the metal it’s not easy to do. Furthermore, you have to use superglue everywhere, just as on a resin kit. On the other side, surface details are finely molded and crisp, even though many bits have to be added manually. However, the molded metal pins that hold the wheels are very robust and relatively thin – a feature I exploited for a modified running gear (see below).
For the modified Panther in my mind I had to retrograde the turret back to a late standard turret with mantlet parts left over from a Hasegawa kit – they fitted perfectly! The PzBeobWg V only comes with a stubby gun barrel dummy. But I changed the armament, anyway, and implanted an aftermarket white metal and brass KwK 40 L48, the weapon carried by all Syrian Panzer IVs, the Jagdpanzer IVs as well as the StuG IIIs. This standardization would IMHO make sense, even if it meant a performance downgrade from the original, longer KwK 42 L70.
For a Syrian touch, inspired by installations on the Panzer IVs, I added a mount for a heavy DShK machine gun on the commander’s cupola, which is a resin aftermarket kit from Armory Models Group (a kit that consists of no less than five fiddly parts for just a tiny machine gun!).
To change and modernize the Panther’s look further, I gave it side skirts, leftover from a ModelCollect T-72 kit, which had to be modified only slightly to fit onto the molded side skirt consoles on the Panther’s metal hull. A further late addition were the fuel barrels from a Trumpeter T-54 kit that I stumbled upon when I looked for the skirts among my pile of tank donor parts. Even though they look like foreign matter on the Panther’s tail, their high position is plausible and similar to the original arrangement on many Soviet post-WWII tanks. The whip antennae on turret and hull were created with heated black sprue material.
As a modern feature and to change the Panther’s overall look even more, I replaced its original solid “dish” road wheels with T-54/55 “starfish” wheels, which were frequently retrofitted to T-34-85s during the Fifties. These very fine aftermarket resin parts (all real-world openings are actually open, and there’s only little flash!) came from OKB Grigorovich from Bulgaria. The selling point behind this idea is/was that the Panther and T-54/55 wheels have almost the same diameter: in real life it’s 860 vs. 830 mm, so that the difference in 1:72 is negligible. Beneficially, the aftermarket wheels came in two halves, and these were thin enough to replace the Panther’s interleaved wheels without major depth problems.
Adapting the parts to the totally different wheel arrangement was tricky, though, especially due to the Dragon kit’s one-piece white metal chassis that makes any mods difficult. My solution: I retained the inner solid wheels from the Panther (since they are hardly visible in the “3rd row”), plus four pairs of T-54/55 wheels for the outer, more rows of interleaved wheels. The “inner” T-54/55 wheel halves were turned around, received holes to fit onto the metal suspension pins and scratched hub covers. The “outside” halves were taken as is but received 2 mm spacer sleeves on their back sides (styrene tube) for proper depth and simply to improve their hold on the small and rounded metal pin tips. This stunt worked better than expected and looks really good, too!
Painting and markings:
Basically very simple, and I used pictures of real Syrian Panzer IVs as benchmark. I settled for the common green livery variant, and though simple and uniform, I tried to add some “excitement” to it and attempted to make old paint shine through. The hull’s lower surface areas were first primed with RAL 7008 (Khakigrau, a rather brownish tone), then the upper surfaces were sprayed with a lighter sand brown tone, both applied from rattle cans.
On top of that, a streaky mix of Revell 45 and 46 – a guesstimate for the typical Syrian greyish, rather pale olive drab tone - was thinly applied with a soft, flat brush, so that the brownish tones underneath would shine through occasionally. Once dry, the layered/weathered effect was further emphasized through careful vertical wet-sanding and rubbing on all surfaces with a soft cotton cloth.
The rubber side skirts were painted with an anthracite base and the dry-brushed with light grey and beige.
The model then received an overall washing with a highly thinned mix of grey and dark brown acrylic artist paint. The vinyl tracks (as well as the IP spare track links on the hull) were painted, too, with a mix of grey, red brown and iron, all acrylic paints, too, that do not interact chemically with the soft vinyl.
The decals/markings are minimal; the Arabian scribble on the turret (must be a name?), using the picture of a Syrian Panzer IV as benchmark, was painted in white by hand, as well as the white circle on the turret roof. The orange ID triangles are a nice contrast, even though I was not able to come up with real-life visual evidence for them. I just found a color picture of a burned T-34-85 wreck with them, suggesting that the color was a dull orange red and not florescent orange, as claimed in some sources. I also found illustrations of the triangles as part of 1:35 decal sets for contemporary Syrian T-34-85s from FC Model Trend and Star Models, where they appear light red. For the model, they were eventually cut out from decal sheet material (TL-Modellbau, in a shade called “Rotorange”, what appears to be a good compromise).
Dry-brushing with light grey and beige to further emphasize edges and details followed. Finally, the model was sealed with matt acrylic vanish overall, and some additional very light extra dry-brushing with silver was done to simulate flaked paint. Dirt and rust residues were added here and there with watercolors. After final assembly, the lower areas of the model were furthermore powdered with mineral pigments to simulate dust.
The idea of a modernized WWII Panther: a simple idea that turned into a major conversion. With the resin DShK machine gun and T-54/55 wheel set the costs of this project escalated a little, but in hindsight I find that the different look and the mix of vintage German and modern Soviet elements provide this Panther with that odd touch that sets it apart from a simple paint/marking variation? I really like the outcome, and I think that the effort was worthwhile - this fictional Panther shoehorns well into its intended historical framework. :-D
[Full writeup here.]
Plungercam 2 keeps in the spirit of the original plungercam by using of cheap plumbing equipment and affixing it to precision optics. This iteration eliminates the need for glue altogether, so all the optical components can be easily taken out and re-used elsewhere.
The main component is a rubberized pipe coupling, which I got for $7 at the always awesome Center hardware. The two adjustable steel bands will be used to hold the mount and lens securely in place. This particular one is two inches on the narrow end, and three on the wider end.
To fix the problem with the body cap mount teeth fraying, I decided to replace it with a T-mount T-mount adapter. I picked up the one I'm using for $3 from one of the closing Ritz camera stores.
I'm re using the $12 (from ebay) Zenza bronica medium format lens that was in plungercam 1. Since this was only held in place using a metal clip, it was easy to take it out and re-use it.
Total cost: $22 :)
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The primary weapon of the HS-P is a 30mm quad rail autocannon that is uniquely designed to fit the size and shape of this ship. The entire cannon assembly is the heaviest component of the HS-P and takes up the entire frontal bottom of the ship. A specialised group of engineers from Harbinger Systems was assigned to work on this weapon in order to ensure that since this was the primary weapon of the HS-P, it better damn well be able to do whatever job needed to be done. The engineers were very much inspired by the long retired GAU-8 Avenger that was used by the A-10s of yore. However, a gatling setup would not have allowed the incorporation of electromagnetic components that were essential to the railgun design. In addition, rail tech allowed the 30mm rounds to be much lighter than even caseless ammunition since there was no longer the need for propellants. The quad rail autocannons are designed to be effective against ships and structures that are much larger than the HS-P.
The quad autocannons also have a secondary fire mode that is often used after all the 30mm rounds have been expended but there have been pilots that are known to switch to this mode as a matter of preference or strategy. The quad autocannons are also capable of firing devastating ion beams. This mode draws upon the main energy source of the HS-P and is theoretically unlimited as long as the power core of the ship is not completely depleted. The only drawback of this mode is that upon activation, the internal mechanism of the cannons needs 30 seconds to adjust and the rear thrusters will thereafter lose 80% of their maximum power. This is a result of the massive amounts of energy that need to be diverted to power the anti-matter generator housed within the cannon assembly. Another similar 30 seconds need to be given for the cannons to switch back to rail gun mode and even then, power to the rear thrusters is raised back up to 50% but require another full minute before they can be fully restored to maximum functionality and power.
A simple, quick, and very cheap circuit to turn on an LED when it gets dark. Read more about this project here.
Copyright © 2021 by Craig Paup. All rights reserved.
Any use, printed or digital, in whole or edited, requires my written permission.
Here are the main sections of the Banshee. When transporting this for shows, this is probably how I'll do it - otherwise it'll just get banged up and pieces will go everywhere.
Avaya Collaboration Pods are turnkey solutions that enable rapid deployment of Avaya real-time applications in private, hybrid and public clouds.
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the model, the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
The Panzerkampfwagen E-100, also known as Gerät 383 and TG-01, was a German super-heavy tank design developed towards the end of World War II. It was proposed to be the basis for a heavy artillery system, an anti-aircraft vehicle, and a heavy tank destroyer. The basic design had been ordered by the Waffenamt as a parallel development to Porsche's heavy tank design "Maus" in June 1943, but it was to become an integral part of the new, standardized Entwicklung (E) series of vehicles, consisting of the E-5, E-10, E-25, E-50, E-75 and finally the E-100. The latter was the heaviest and biggest chassis of the family, which was meant to standardize as many components and production processes as possible.
In March 1944 the Adlerwerke company from Frankfurt am Main submitted blueprint 021A38300 for a super-heavy battle tank called E-100, after the tank was proposed in April 1943 along with the other Entwicklung series vehicles. According to the blueprints, the tank would be armed with a both a 150 mm gun and a 75 mm gun in a huge turret. Two types of engines were proposed: one was a 700 hp Maybach HL230, with a transmission and turning mechanism borrowed from the Tiger II. The estimated top speed was 23 km/h, and it was clear that this powerplant was utterly undersized for the E-100, which would be almost twice as heavy as the already underpowered Tiger II. The second engine, which was favored for serial production, was a new, turbocharged 1200 hp Maybach HL 232 engine that allowed an estimated top speed of 40 km/h on roads and a decent off-road performance, should the underground allow such an adventure. Other engines in the 1.000+ hp range were considered, too, e. g. modified Daimler Benz aircraft engines, or even torpedo boat powerplants.
The Adler design had a simple hull shape and featured removable side armor skirts and narrow transport tracks to make rail transport more viable. The running gear was very similar to the original 'Tiger-Maus' proposal but had larger 900 mm diameter road wheels and a new coil spring-based suspension rather than the original torsion bars. This greatly simplified the hull’s construction, avoiding openings and therefore weak structural spots, because the coil springs and their mounts remained outside of the hull. This design also made manufacturing much easier, and the simpler coil springs saved high-quality steel. A new turret was designed, too, intended to be simpler and lighter than the massive Maus turret. In the end, the E-100 was 40 tons lighter than the 188 t Maus prototype, and a much simpler and streamlined design.
In July 1944, through the worsening war situation and declining national resources, the development of any super heavy tanks was officially halted. However, work on the E-100 continued at a low priority and with the outlook to produce a limited number of these massive vehicles for special purposes, using existing components. With increasing panic among the military staff and a desperate search for “Wunderwaffen” that could eventually turn the Allied invasion, permission was granted in early 1945 to proceed with the E-100 project as the SdKfz. 193, with the intention to build the E-100 as a supplement to the E-50 and E-75 Einheitspanzer battle tanks, primarily in the role of a long-range tank destroyer with either a 15 cm StuK L/63 or a 17 cm StuK L/53 gun as main armament, and as a heavily armored defensive vehicle.
The first prototype of the basic battle tank version was quickly completed in March 1945, but from the start several variants were slated for the limited serial production. Four battle tank variants were defined, differing basically through the turret designs and the armament. The chassis was furthermore earmarked for E-100 tank hunters and assault guns like the "Krokodil" (the Sd.Kfz. 197) with a low, casemate-style hull. Some of these SPGs also had their internal layout changed, moving the rear engine into the middle of the hull for a bigger combat compartment at the rear, so that the long gun barrel would not hang over at the front. These vehicles received the designation suffix “(m)”, for “Mittelmotor” (middle engine).
After the first E-100 battle tanks had reached frontline units in December 1945, the new chassis was greenlighted as basis for super-heavy self-propelled artillery and anti-aircraft guns. Since these vehicles were not expected to operate directly in frontline fire and to save material and production time, the hull had its armor thickness reduced considerably, and this chassis variant was called the Sd.Kfz. 199. This led to several super-heavy SPAAGs that primarily differed in their superstructures, which included open, semi-armored and fully armored/closed weapon mounts.
The latter included the Sd.Kfz. 199/4, also called the Flakpanzer E-100/88. It carried a large, box-shaped turret with a crew of five and a twin-mount for a pair of coupled 88 mm Flak 43 anti-aircraft guns, the “Gerät 288”. This heavy weapon had originally been on the Marine's drawing board for the anti-air defense of medium to large battleships since 1942, but the German fleet’s demise led to an adaptation of the coupled-weapon concept to the use on land. The huge and strong E-100 chassis eventually offered enough space to consider a self-propelled mount for a fully enclosed turret with this anti-aircraft weapon.
The Gerät 288 integrated two, originally independent guns into a massive, mutual mount, working on the Gast Gun principle developed by German engineer Karl Gast of the Vorwerk company in 1916: the firing action of one barrel operated the mechanism of the other, creating a reciprocal twin gun. This system required no external power source to operate but was instead powered by the recoiling of the floating barrels. This provided a much faster rate of fire for lower mechanical wear than a single-barrel weapon, and another benefit of this arrangement was that the recoil from one barrel was largely compensated for by the movement of the other one.
To expand range and ceiling beyond the standard Flak 43 gun the Gerät 288 featured extended gun barrels (80 gauge instead of the field weapon’s 72), which were manufactured in two pieces for easier production and replacement. With these, the guns achieved a muzzle velocity of 1,050 m/s (3,440 ft/s), giving them an effective ceiling of 11,500 meters (37,100 ft) and a maximum of 16,000 meters (52,400 ft). The 88 mm guns could also be used against ground targets and were, using dedicated armor-piercing rounds, able to penetrate ~240 mm (9.4 inches) of vertical hardened steel armor at 1,000 m (3,280 feet). This was enough to defeat the armor of almost any contemporary Allied tank from a relatively safe distance.
In the Sd.Kfz. 199/4’s massive turret, the heavy-duty hydraulic gun mount had an elevation between +70° and -5°. The Gerät 288’s combined rate of fire was up to 150 RPM, even though 120 RPM were more practical to limit structural stress and avoid jamming. Thanks to two magazines with 58 rounds each in the turret’s sides, continuous auto-fire was possible, as well as short bursts of two to five rounds per gun and single shots. The guns could also be fed manually by the loaders (one per gun from the inside). The magazines were normally loaded externally through hatches in the turret roof, but they could be accessed from the inside, too, and re-filled under armor cover from a further stock of 86 rounds that were stored in the SPAAG’s lower hull.
To improve target acquisition and fire control, the Gerät 288 was combined with a visual coincidence range finder and an integrated analogue targeting computer, a variant of the Kommandogerät (KDO) 40. In the Sd.Kfz. 199/4, this device was operated by a dedicated crew member who assisted the gunner and the commander.
This so-called Telemeter had already been introduced in 1941 to the field troops as a mobile guidance tool for stationary anti-aircraft units equipped with the 88 mm and 105 mm Flak. But it had so far – due to its size and bulk – only been deployed on an unarmored trailer and in the recent unarmed Sd.Kfz. 282 command vehicle. In the Sd.Kfz. 199/4’s turret the rangefinder’s optical bar had a reduced span of 240 cm (95 in), but fixed target reading was possible on distances from 3,000 to 20,000 m and aerial courses could be recorded at all levels of flight at a slant range between 4,000 and 18,000 m - enough for visual identification beyond a typical anti-aircraft group's effective gun ranges and perfectly suitable for long range observation, too.
The Telemeter was mounted in the turret’s roof under armored fairings behind the Gerät 288 and its magazines. In combination with the Gerät 288, the KDO 40 replaced the traditional gun scope. Due to the weapon’s weight and bulk, all weapon orientation was carried out by means of hydraulic motors via a control column that were slaved to the gunner’s Kommandogerät, so that aiming and firing was semi-automatized. The gunner still had to use the Telemeter as an optical scope to find and pinpoint the target, but the device translated this, together with additional information like range, temperature or wind shear, into electrical input for the guns electro-hydraulic controls that automatically corrected the weapon’s orientation and triggered them with an appropriate lead at an ideal moment. This automatized process made especially the acquisition of new targets easier and sped the whole re-targeting process up.
In this form the Sd.Kfz. 199/4 was cleared for production in mid-1945, but initial field experience especially with the heavy and less mobile E-100 vehicles had shown that these were very vulnerable to foot soldier attacks with mines or carefully aimed RPGs. Originally, the whole Einheitspanzer family had been designed without light defensive weapons, but this turned out to be a lethal weakness. Therefore, many vehicles were retrofitted in the field and on the production lines with close-combat weapons like a 100 mm “Nahverteidigungswaffe” grenade launcher which fired SMi 35 leaping mines against approaching infantry. Other frequent upgrades were smoke mortars and remote-controlled machine gun mounts that could be manually directed and fired from the inside. There were even complete, motorized gun barbettes available like the “Schwere Waffenlafette 45” (Heavy weapon mount). The latter was a newly developed, modular weapon platform, originally designed as main armament for lightly armored infantry fighting vehicles like the Sd.Kfz. 251 where it was simply mounted onto the armored roof and replaced the former manually operated machine guns. However, since it was an autonomous, electrically driven system on a simple ring mount with a relatively small diameter, the Schwere Waffenlafette 45 could easily be installed anywhere else, e. g. on the turret of most heavy tanks or the roof of assault guns. It had three periscopes at its base that gave a hemispherical field of view, the central mirror was combined with a target scope for aiming the weapons. The barbette either replaced the commander’s cupola, or it was, if there was enough space, directly attached to the roof as an additional outlook. Due to ample space the latter was the typical configuration on board of the Sd.Kfz. 199/4. The barbette’s mount replaced an already existing ventilation opening and was added on the roof in the right rear quadrant, next to the commander’s cupola, and it was operated by one of the loaders.
This barbette could be rotated 360°, had an elevation between -10 and +80° and carried a magnifying periscope for observation and aiming. The weapons were installed in external, co-axial pods with light armor protection on both sides of the central carrier column. Typically, these were a 30 mm (1.18 in) MK 103 machine cannon with 60 rounds (typically explosive APCR rounds against soft targets, but armor-piercing rounds could be fired, too) and a rapid-firing MG 42 machine gun (with 1.200 rounds), but other weapons and combinations were possible. Like the weapons, all ammunition was carried externally, too, so that the crew had to leave the vehicle’s protection to re-arm the weapons or deal with mechanical problems.
With all this heavy and bulky equipment as well as a total stock of 202 88 mm rounds and a crew of seven the Sd.Kfz. 199/4 weighed – despite the chassis’ reduced armor thickness – more than 100 tons, so that its mobility and tactical value were sharply restricted, even though it was markedly better than the battle tanks with their all-up weight of 140 tons and more. Due to this limited usefulness and lack of resources, only a small number were built. Production numbers vary between 15 and 25 vehicles, some might have been created on the basis of refurbished Sd.Kfz. 193 battle tank hulls. Most of the time, the few Sd.Kfz. 199/4s were used as mobile command posts for anti-aircraft units that defended vital locations like headquarters or production sites around Berlin, so that the vehicle’s short legs did not matter much.
Specifications:
Crew: 7 (Commander, Gunner, Telemeter operator, 2x Loader, Driver, Radio Operator)
Weight: 108 tonnes (119 short tons)
Length: 8.86 m (29 ft), hull only
11.62 m (38 ft 1 in), overall with guns forward
Width: 3.96 m
4.48 m (14 ft 8 in) with armored side skirts mounted
Height: 3.29 m (10 ft 10 in)
3.92 m (12 ft 10 in) with Schwere Waffenlafette 45
Suspension: Belleville washer coil spring
Armor:
Hull front: 80 – 120 mm (3.2 – 4.7 in)
Hull sides and rear: 60 – 90 mm (2.4 – 3.5in)
Hull top: 40 mm (1.6 in)
Hull bottom: 40–80 mm (1.6–3.1 in)
Turret front: 140 mm (5.5 in)
Turret sides & rear: 60 – 90 mm (2.4 – 3.5in)
Turret top: 40 mm (1.6 in)
Engine:
1x turbocharged Maybach HL232 V12 gasoline engine with 1.200 hp
Performance:
Maximum road speed: 40 km/h (25 mph)
Sustained road speed: 36 km/h (22 mph)
Cross country speed: 14 to 20 km/h (8.7 to 12.4 mph)
Power/weight: 8,57 hp/ton
Range: 120 km (74 mi) on road
85 km (53 mi) cross country
Power/weight: 11.1 PS/tonne (10.1 hp/ton)
Armament:
2x 88mm (3.46 in) FlaK 43 L/80 in a Gerät 288 Zwilling mount, with a total of 202 rounds
1x Schwere Waffenlafette 45 with:
1x 30 mm (1.18 in) MK 103 machine cannon (60 RPG) and
1x 7.92 mm (0,312 in) MG 42 machine gun
6x 76 mm Wegmann smoke mortars
The kit and its assembly:
Another fictional German WWII/Heer ’46 SPAAG, and it’s a big one with a lot of SF appeal since it makes IMHO not much sense from a tactical point of view. However, this is whifworld, so it perfectly fits, and such paper project models seem to be very popular – even though I do not understand why many modelers build them in a style that I’d almost call “Steampunk”?
I had the ModelCollect E-100 twin-88 mm gun Flakpanzer kit stashed away since it came out in 2017, but never had the nerve and mojo so far to build it, because it is simply a huge tank with twin gun barrels. This changed, in the wake of other SPAAG builds, and was a quick and straightforward build. ModelCollect‘s E-100 kit is finely molded, but it has IMHO some issues. The biggest problem I found is the hull: you have to take (a lot of) care to make sure that the hull elements are properly aligned due to their sheer size. The problem is: all outer walls are standing free with no alignment reference, and I have the impression that the rear wall is too small, so that the roof does later not properly fit into the opening. An internal engine bay bulkhead that could be used as an alignment reference is missing locator pins, so that you are left to guess where to place it.
On the positive side: the kit comes with brass gun barrels and two small boards with PE parts, e. g. for louvres on the engine cover which hides a complete engine with a detailed motor block, radiators, dust filters, etc. This way, you can easily integrate the E-100 into a workshop diorama or a similar scene. There’s also a delicate PE mount for an infrared sight.
However, building troubles easily outweigh the kit’s hardware highlights. Mounting the wheels was not easy. The sprocket wheels at the front as well as the idler wheels at the rear have complicated and flimsy constructions with very thin and short pins that hold them – any tension on the vinyl track easily bends them! To improve stability, I drilled holes through these wheels’ attachment points and put a continuous metal axis through the hull. The (nicely detailed) vinyl tracks themselves are unfortunately molded in a sandy beige, and they turned out to be too short, so that they had to be carefully stretched to match the running gear before they were painted and mounted. This should really one of the final assembly steps.
But this is not the only problem zone, you stumble upon small bugs and nuisances everywhere, like missing holes on the idler wheels, poor fit on the turret parts that call for PSR or instructions that do not match the parts. And it is not helpful that different kinds of wheel halves on the same sprue are just designated ”Part 1” and “Part 2”. All these hiccups are not fatal, but the whole kit leaves a giddy (if not lousy) impression. It’s nothing for tank kit beginners, and since this is the second time that I have built one of these with several déjà vus, I am quite disappointed by the kit.
The kit was basically built OOB, but for a more science fiction-esque twist I added a close-range defense in the form of a (fictional) remote-controlled weapon mount on the turret roof. This is an aftermarket set from ModelTrans/Silesian Models, a resin-cast gun barbette that reminds of the early German “Marder” IFV’s main weapon. However, it made IMHO perfect sense for this behemoth because it would be very vulnerable to infantry attacks, and the huge turret offered enough space on the roof and inside to mount it.
Since I did not want to depict a vehicle during overhaul, the whole engine bay interior was left away and the space under the bonnet filled with foamed plastic and later painted black. PE grates from the OOB plate were used to block views into the bay further.
Another personal modification is the omittance of the bulky side skirts that cover most of the running gear and the tracks. They make IMHO sense on the heavy battle tank and maybe assault gun versions, but on the SPAAG they just add weight and use up resources. I left them away and replaced them with scratched alternatives, created from 0.5 mm styrene sheet and profiles, slightly dented at the edges for a more natural and worn look.
Because the E-100 kit lacks any equipment on the hull (well, if this heavy vehicle broke it would certainly have been abandoned – who’s salvage it!? Another weak point of thew whole concept), I added some resin storage boxes.
Painting and markings:
It took some time to decide how to paint this huge thing. Inspiration eventually came from the idea that it would probably have only been used to defend very important targets, most probably around or in Berlin, so that an urban environment and a suitable camouflage would make IMHO most sense.
I took some inspiration from the British “Berlin Brigade” urban camouflage (consisting of square fields in bluish grey, dark brown and white) and the German late-war simplified splinter schemes. Since the E-100’s bulk would be hard to conceal, esp. with rather small mottles, I rather concentrated on disrupting its outlines and blending it with buildings in the background. Such an urban/artificial environment calls for angular and horizontal lines and edges, but I did not want to make the paint scheme look too modern, like a pixel scheme. The vehicle would furthermore be painted with only limited resources at hand, or maybe just in the field, so that typical red primer would certainly show through, with camouflage added on top.
This led to an initial overall basis in RAL 3009 Oxidrot. This was applied from a rattle can and shaded with clouds of different similar tones like Humbrol 70 and 160, for an uneven look. On top of that I added a vertically aligned splinter scheme with thinned Panzergrau (RAL 7021, Humbrol 67) and Dunkelgelb (RAL 7028, Humbrol 83), with the primer showing through and leaving the inside of the running gear uncamouflaged. The horizontal surfaces remained Dunkelgelb. The twin gun barrels were painted in a slightly different fashion: their undersides became RAL 7028, for a low contrast against the sky when raised, and onto the upper surfaces in Oxidrot I added (only) Panzergrau mottles. The remote-controlled barbette was, as an “aftermarket piece” and to reduce its contrast against the sky, too, painted uniformly in Dunkelgelb, but in a different shade (Tamiya XF-60).
I considered adding small clusters of Hellgrau (RAL 7035, Humbrol 196) and Olivgrün (RAL 6003, Humbrol 86) here and there to break up the vehicles outlines, but found that this would look too superficial and “forced”, so that the scheme remained rather a splinter scheme.
Once the basic camouflage had been applied, the kit was weathered with a highly thinned wash of dark brown, grey and black acrylic paint. Once dry the major surfaces were lightly wet-sanded, revealing more of the underlying red primer.
Tactical markings are minimal, just with Iron Crosses on the hull and a white tactical code on the turret flanks. As a unit code, the s.Pz.Abt. 505’s emblem, a charging knight on a horse, was added to the turret. The decals were protected with a thin coat of varnish before the next steps.
Details and edges were then highlighted through dry-brushing with Humbrol 70 (Brick Red) and 168 (RAF Hemp). Dust residues and some rust traces were painted with watercolors. These were also used to weather the (rather stiff) vinyl tracks, which were molded in a sand color and had to be totally painted – with an initial overall coat of acrylic black paint from the rattle can and later with grey and red brown acrylic artist paints, and some medium grey dry-brushing.
Matt acrylic varnish (Italeri) was used to seal the kit, and once the tracks had been mounted, the lower hull was dusted with grey/brown mineral pigments.
This one took some time to materialize. The E-100 kit fought my efforts to put it together constantly, and the conversions and add-ons – while not a major surgical intervention – took some time. Finding a credible camouflage concept for this hulk of a tank (a.k.a. rolling bunker with guns) was not easy either. But the idea of using the primer color as base with additional, somewhat digital camouflage on top looks credible and “works”. - e. A relatively quick build, realized in less than a week, and some (minor) challenges. What a huge vehicle the E-100 has been – but what a waste of effort, resources and tactical limitations due to the vehicle’s sheer size and weight. Looks impressive, though, esp. when you place this hulk next to a “normal” tank…
In the end I am not really convinced of my paint scheme idea, but I ran with it since I wanted something different from the obvious German late war standard scheme.
I am a very lucky boy, Santa brought me a Nikon D750 and my family bought me a new compact Samsung for my birthday as I damaged my last compact. This is just a trial shot but it has auto macro mode. Really good. Thanks everyone!!
It's getting closer!
On Friday the 24th we will have a launch event for the bike from 5pm to 8pm
at the Cascade Barrel House. More info here www.shift2bikes.org/cal/viewpp2011.php#24-2357
Starting June 27th, 2011 you can rent the Beer bike! - www.metrofiets.com/rentals/
PictionID:44808837 - Title:Atlas Payload Component - Catalog:14_014216 - Filename:14_014216.TIF - - - Image from the Convair/General Dynamics Astronautics Atlas Negative Collection. The processing, cataloging and digitization of these images has been made possible by a generous National Historical Publications and Records grant from the National Archives and Records Administration---Please Tag these images so that the information can be permanently stored with the digital file.---Repository: San Diego Air and Space Museum