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U.S. Air Force Academy --Basic cadets participate in field day at the Academy's athletic fields, July 13. Field day gives basic cadets an opportunity to compete against each other, as well as cadre, in multiple athletic events. (U.S.Air Force photo/Bill Evans)
Aira Force is a waterfall in the English Lake District, in the county of Cumbria.
The stream which flows over the waterfall is Aira Beck, which rises on the upper slopes of Stybarrow Dodd at a height of 720 metres (2,362 ft) and flows north-easterly before turning south, blocked by the high heather-covered slopes of Gowbarrow Fell. It turns south on its eight-kilometre journey to join Ullswater, at a height of 150 metres (492 ft). One kilometre before entering the lake, the beck makes the 20 metres (66 ft) leap down a rocky ravine at the falls known as Aira Force.
The river name Aira is derived from Old Norse eyrr, a gravel bank, and Old Norse á, a river, hence The river at the gravel bank, a reference to Aira Point, a gravelly spit where the river enters Ullswater. The Old Norse word fors, waterfall, has been adopted into several northern English dialects and is widely used for waterfalls, with the English spelling 'Force'. Thus, The waterfall on gravel-bank river.
Aira Force lies on land owned by the National Trust. The Trust purchased the 750 acre Gowbarrow Park (on which the force lies) in 1906 and has provided facilities, such as car parking, disabled access, graded paths, and viewing platforms to make Aira Force one of the most famous and most visited waterfalls in the Lake District.
A small arched bridge spans the stream just as the beck goes over the falls giving a spectacular view from the top as the water makes its leap. There is also a second bridge at the foot of the falls. Both bridges were constructed in honour of two members of the Spring family early in the 20th Century. Cecil Spring-Rice was the ambassador to the USA during World War I, while Stephen Spring Rice was a senior civil servant. The bridges are of particular interest: the lower is made of vertical stones, not traditional in these parts, while the higher has horizontal stones, more in keeping with the dale customs.
Prints can be purcahsed from my website here: nickatkinphotography.artistwebsites.com/featured/aira-for...
Constituted as 96th. Bombardment Group (Heavy) on 28th. January 1942, the group activated on 15th. July 1942 equipped with the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress.
The group moved to England for duty with Eighth Air Force, flying from USAAF Station 106 Grafton Underwood from 16th. April 1943 to 27th. May 1943. They moved to USAAF Station 485 Andrews Field on 13th. May 1943 until 11th. June 1943 and then became operational on 12th. June 1943 at USAAF Station 138 Snetterton Heath in Norfolk.
The Group had the motto ' E Sempre Lora' (Always the Hour) and consisted of four squadrons,
337th. Bomb Squadron
338th. Bomb Squadron
339th. Bomb Squadron
413th. Bomb Squadron
The group was awarded two Distinguished Unit Citations for particularly testing missions.
The first was awarded for the bombing of an aircraft factory at Regensburg on 17th. August 1943 under intense pressure from enemy fighters.
The second was for leading the 45th. Bomb Wing a great distance through heavy clouds and intense anti-aircraft fire to drop their payload on important aircraft components factories at Poznan in Poland on 9th. April 1944.
Other significant targets included airfields in Bordeaux and Augsburg, marshalling yards in Kiel, Hamm, Brunswick, and Gdynia, aircraft factories in Chemnitz, Hannover, and Diosgyor, oil refineries in Merseburg and Brux, and chemical works in Weisbaden, Ludwigshafen, and Neunkirchen.
In addition to strategic operations, missions included bombing coastal defences, railway bridges, gun emplacements, and field batteries in the battle area prior to and during the invasion of Normandy in June 1944, attacking enemy positions in support of the breakthrough at St. Lo in July 1944, aiding the campaign in France in August 1944 by striking roads and road junctions, and by dropping supplies to the Maquis, rural guerrilla bands of French and Belgian Resistance fighters.
During the early months of 1945, the group attacked the supply lines to the German armies on the western front.
After V-E Day, the group flew food to Holland and transported redeployed personnel to French Morocco, Ireland, France, and Germany.
The group left Snetterton Heath on 11th. December 1945 to return to the US and were inactivated on 21st. December 1945.
Herbert Clifton Allen Jr. graduated from the University of Richmond in 1937 with a Bachelor of Science degree. He received his medical degree in 1941 from the Medical College of Virginia and served his rotating internship at Philadelphia General Hospital 1941-1942. He entered military service in 1942 as a Flight Surgeon, rising to the rank of Major in the 338th. Bomb Squadron, 96th. BG.
n 1994 he was honoured in Quidenham, Norfolk for his instrumental role in the acquisition of this memorial stained glass window in St. Andrew's church, Quidenham, close to the site of Snetterton Heath. The window honours the men of 96th. BG who lost their lives during WWII.
The 96th BG also honoured Dr. Allen for his contributions for the installation of a replica of the memorial window in the Mighty Eight Air Force Heritage Museum in Savannah, Georgia.
After WWII, Herbert Allen became a distinguished physician and pioneer in nuclear medicine. He died on 5th. August 2008, aged 91, and is buried in the Memorial Oaks Cemetery, Houston, Texas.
United States Air Force Memorial
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
U.S. Air Force Memorial
United States Air Force
USAF Memorial in Arlington.jpg
Memorial in daylight
For the service and sacrifices of the men and women of the United States Air Force and its predecessor organizations, including the Aeronautical Division, U.S. Signal Corps; the Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps; the Division of Military Aeronautics, Secretary of War; the Army Air Service; the U.S. Army Air Corps; and the U.S. Army Air Forces[1]
Unveiled14 October 2006
Location38.868649°N 77.066259°W
near Arlington, Virginia
Designed byJames Ingo Freed (Pei Cobb Freed & Partners)
The United States Air Force Memorial honors the service of the personnel of the United States Air Force and its heritage organizations. The Memorial is located in Arlington, Virginia, on the grounds of Fort Myer near The Pentagon, and adjacent to Arlington National Cemetery, towards intersection of Columbia Pike and South Joyce Street. It was the last project of American architect James Ingo Freed (known for the design of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum) with the firm Pei Cobb Freed & Partners for the United States Air Force Memorial Foundation.
Contents [hide]
1History
2Design
3Events
4See also
5References
6External links
History[edit]
In January 1992, the Air Force Memorial Foundation was incorporated to pursue the development of a memorial that would honor the people in the United States Air Force. In December 1993, President William Clinton signed Pub.L. 103–163 authorizing the Air Force Memorial. In 1994, the National Capital Memorial Advisory Commission approved a site adjacent to Marshall Drive and State Route 110, down the hill from the Netherlands Carillon, known as Arlington Ridge. Fundraising and detailed designs began.
Because the site was near the Marine Corps War Memorial, which is just north of the Carillon, various Marine groups were briefed on the plans without voicing objections. However, on 30 July 1997, Congressman Gerald B.H. Solomon (R-NY), a Marine veteran, introduced a bill to prohibit the construction of any monument, memorial or other structure "within view" of the Marine Corps War Memorial. The Air Force Association organized support for the memorial on behalf of its membership and Air Force veterans, and the issue became a polarizing one between the services.
On 16 September 1997, the Friends of Iwo Jima and Solomon filed for a Temporary Restraining Order against the construction of the Air Force Memorial, which was dismissed on 15 June 1998. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit then dismissed the appeal of that decision on 7 May 1999. Faced with the cost of litigation and the opposition of prominent Marine veterans in Congress, the Foundation agreed to move the Memorial to its present site, at the east end of Columbia Pike, on the grounds of Fort Myer just south of Arlington National Cemetery.[2]
On 28 December 2001, President George W. Bush signed the Defense Authorization Bill, which included a rider directing the Department of Defense to make available to the Air Force Memorial Foundation up to 3 acres (12,000 m2) of the Naval Annex property for use as the location for the memorial. Formal groundbreaking of the site was held in September 2004. Construction of the spires began in February 2006 and was completed in seven months.
The memorial was dedicated on 14 October 2006, with approximately 30,000 people attending. The keynote address was delivered by President Bush, a former F-102 Delta Dagger pilot with the Texas Air National Guard. The first official ceremony at the memorial was held the next day when Secretary of the Air Force Michael Wynne laid a memorial wreath beneath the spires for fallen airmen.[3]
"To all who have climbed sunward and chased the shouting wind, America stops to say: your service and your sacrifice will be remembered forever, and honored in this place by the citizens of a free and grateful nation." —President George W. Bush at acceptance ceremony.[4]
The Air Force Memorial Foundation, the organization created to plan for and build the Memorial, continues today as an affiliate of the Air Force Association.
Design[edit]
Thunderbirds performing their signature "bomb burst" maneuver
The three memorial spires range from 201 feet (61 m) to 270 feet (82 m) high and appear to be soaring; its array of stainless steel arcs against the sky evoke the image of "contrails of the Air Force Thunderbirds as they peel back in a precision 'bomb burst' maneuver." Only three of the four contrails are depicted, at 120 degrees from each other, as the absent fourth suggests the missing man formation traditionally used at Air Force funeral fly-overs.[5]
The spire structure consists of stainless steel plates with high-strength concrete filling the lower 2/3 of each spire. The upper third is hollow stainless steel.[6] At the transition between concrete and hollow steel portions, dampers provide aerodynamic stability and dissipate wind sway energy. Each damper consists of a lead ball weighing about a ton that is allowed to roll inside a steel box. The structural design of the spires was completed by the Arup engineering consultancy.
The pedestrian approach to the spires is from the west. South of the approach, before the inscription wall, stand four 8-foot-tall (2.4 m) bronze statues of representing the United States Air Force Honor Guard, sculpted by Zenos Frudakis. To the north, a stone plaza leads you to the glass contemplation wall, a free-standing glass panel with the images of four F-16s flying in a Missing man formation engraved on both sides of the 5-ply panel. Except for the information kiosks outside the administration building, it is the only part of the memorial that depicts aircraft. The north inscription wall is visible through it.[7]
The two inscription walls are located at each end of the central lawn. The walls are 56 feet (17 m) in length, 10 feet (3.0 m) in height and one foot thick. Both walls are made of polished, highly-reflective monolithic Jet Mist granite and both include a two and a half inch outer inscription panel made from Absolute Black granite. The north wall bears the names of Air Force recipients of the Medal of Honor, and the south wall bears inspirational quotations regarding core values, particularly the Air Force's three core values: "integrity first, service before self, and excellence in all we do".[8]
One name has been removed from the Medal of Honor Recipients, under the header of "Peacetime". This name listed was that of Colonell William "Billy" Mitchell, and it was removed due to a clerical error in actual Medal of Honor recipients in a Congressional Report published in 1979. His name was included on the wall at the memorial in error and has since been removed. The removal is quite visible, with the name being cut out of the stone, and a new stone filler in its place above the name of Charles Lindbergh. ″There is some debate as to whether William Mitchell was in fact awarded the Medal of Honor or the Congressional Gold Medal. The act cited directs that "a gold medal" be struck and presented in recognition of Mitchell's pioneer service and foresight. It does not, however, specify which medal was to be awarded. In July 1945 the War Department had recommended to Congress that special gold medals be voted by Congress in cases of outstanding leadership and that the Medal of Honor be reserved for awarding only gallantry in action. Major General William "Billy" Mitchell was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, which was announced using the identical citation and approved date as listed for the award above. It seems apparent that the intention was to award the Gold Medal rather than the Medal of Honor. However, for some unknown reason, when the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs published its report, Medal of Honor Recipients: 1863-1978 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1979) compiling all Medal of Honor Recipient citations, William Mitchell and his citation were included. This website takes its Medal of Honor citations from that report, and that is why Mitchell's citation is included here - though it should be noted, the "gold medal" authorized above is most likely the Congressional Gold Medal, rather than the Medal of Honor." [9]
YAVORIV, Ukraine – A Ukrainian Military Cadet acting as opposing forces fires his rifle during a simulated high value target lane during day three of the field training exercise at Rapid Trident 2014 here, Sept. 24. Rapid Trident is an annual U.S. Army Europe conducted, Ukrainian led multinational exercise designed to enhance interoperability with allied and partner nations while promoting regional stability and security. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Joshua Leonard)
Family Force 5 at the 2008 Vans Warped Tour stop in Detroit, MI
more at defoephoto.smugmug.com/concerts/
Aira Force is a waterfall in the Lake District, near the village of Watermillock, Cumbria.
The stream which flows over the waterfall is Aira Beck, which rises on the upper slopes of Stybarrow Dodd at a height of 720 metres (2,362 ft)
The river name Aira is derived from Old Norse eyrr, a gravel bank, and Old Norse á, a river, hence "The river at the gravel bank", a reference to Aira Point, a gravelly spit where the river enters Ullswater.
The Old Norse word fors, waterfall, has been adopted into several northern English dialects and is widely used for waterfalls, with the English spelling 'Force'. Thus, The waterfall on gravel-bank river.
That great Lakeland poet William Wordsworth, wrote of the Force -
Wild stream of Aira, hold thy course,
Nor fear memorial lays,
Where clouds that spread in solemn shade,
Are edged with golden rays!
Dear art thou to the light of heaven,
Though minister of sorrow;
Sweet is thy voice at pensive even.
And thou, in lovers' hearts forgiven,
Shalt take thy place with Yarrow!
The site of the waterfall is owned by the National Trust.
The Lockheed C-130 Hercules was designed as a troop and freight carrying aircraft capable of operating from unprepared surfaces. Because it was designed from the outset as a military cargo aircraft, the C-130 featured a rear ramp for ease of loading. At the time this was an innovation. The rear ramp also allows air-dropping of supplies.
The first prototype flew in 1954 and deliveries of the aircraft to the United States Air Force began in 1956.
The RAF ordered sixty-six Hercules, and the first of these was delivered in 1966.
This example is one of thirty of the original order that were lengthened, because some regular loads were filling the cargo bay while weighing much less than the aircraft could lift ("bulking out"). Extra length was achieved by inserting additional fuselage sections fore and aft of the wings.
More than 2300 Hercules have been built and there are more than forty variants of the type. The Hercules is used by more than 60 countries and has been in service with its original operator the United States Air Force for more than 50 years.
Type : Medium range tactical transport.
In Service : 1967 - 2011 (new C130Js introduced 1999)
Engines : Four 4,900hp Allison T-56 Turboprops.
Maximum Speed : 600kph (375mph)
Max. Altitude : 10,000m (33,000ft)
Airframe : All metal stressed-skin.
Wingspan : 40.5m (133ft)
Length : 34.6m (113ft 6ins)
Max Loaded Weight : 45,000kg (99,000Ib)
Empty Weight : 34,300kg (75,600Ib)
Capacity : 128 passengers /96 stretchers
64 paratroops
8 pallets
3 Land Rovers or an armoured personnel carrier.
Hercules C.3 XV202 history.
Manufacturers number 382-4226.
Built at Lockheed Marietta, Georgia as a C-130H-130-LM Hercules.
Given USAF serial number 66-8552 this aircraft was one of 66 C-130K Hercules aquired for the RAF between December 1966 and May 1968.
August 1967 : Delivered to the RAF as Hercules C.Mk.1 following painting and fitting out by Marshalls of Cambridge.
1981 : Converted to C.Mk.3, with fuselage lengthened by 15ft/4.57m by Marshalls as one of 30 conversions carried out between 1980 and 1985 using additional Lockheed-supplied fuselage sections fore and aft of the wing.
Used mainly on longer routes and for paratrooping.
To RAF Lyneham Transport Wing, Wiltshire (comprising Nos. 24, 30, 47 and 70 Squadrons and 242 O.C.U, all part of No. 38 Group.
1986 : Retrofitted with in-flight refuelling probe above cockpit, designated C.3P.
1994 : Displayed at international Air Tattoo, RAF Fairford, Gloustershire, as part of the Hercules' 40th anniversary and was serving as part of the Lyneham Transport wing.
1st January 2009 : To Marshalls, Cambridge for storage.
March 2011 : Took part in Operation ELLAMY from Malta in support of the Libyan conflict. Subsequently with No.47 Squadron, RAF Brize Norton (the last four Hercules left Lyneham on 1st July 2011, prior to that station's planned closure in late 2012).
12th August 2011 : Flown from RAF Brize Norton to RAFM Cosford. This is thought to be the final landing of the last RAF C.3.
Image copyright D.J.Ralley 2016.
Not to be used without prior permission.
Remise du Prix de la Créatrice 2015 pour "Force Femmes" au Théâtre de la Michodière, Paris, le 18 janvier 2016.
Félicitations à Laurence Thiébart, Mathilde Chapelle & Anne Mira, les trois lauréates !
© BENOIT BILLARD 2016 - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
IDF's Mostly Female Combat Unit Attend Training Day in Azuz
Israeli Soldiers from the Karakal Batallion on the Shooting range on July 6, 2016 in Nitzana, Israel.
The first mixed-sex Karakal combat battalion was formed in 2004 and is based in the Negev desert on the border with Egypt and Jordan.
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the model, the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
On 27th November 1940, Moldova followed closely behind its neighbor and protector, Romania, and joined the Axis Powers. Now eligible for German military equipment, the Royal Moldovan Air Force sought to update its inventory with German types and gain access to German training. In January 1941 an agreement was reached that enabled both; by then, German troops had already entered Moldova to “secure the border [with the Socialist Union] from Red aggression.”
Moldovan air and ground crews were soon sent for training with the Luftwaffe and the first (second-hand) Messerschmitt Bf 109E-3s to enter Moldovan service arrived in May 1941. This first batch of 14 planes was allocated to the 1st Fighter Squadron, where they replaced Romanian-built PZL P.11fs. They were in combat from the first day of Operation Barbarossa, crossing the border into the Transnistrian and Ukrainian republics of the Socialist Union to conduct escort, strafing and fighter sweep missions on 22 June 1941.
Soon thereafter, more and more modern (but still mostly second hand) equipment of German origin was provided. Beyond the Bf 109 E, several Bf 109F and early G fighters were delivered, some Fw 190A and F, a handful of Ju 87 and Hs 123 dive bombers as well as some Ju 52 transporters and Junkers Ju 88 bombers.
Most of these aircraft had formerly taken part in the North Africa campaign or the Mediterranean TO. As a consequence, many Moldovan aircraft were outfitted with special equipment like dust filters, and a high number of machines still carried desert camouflage upon their arrival at the Russian Front. The latter was quickly modified in the field workshops, with whatever alternative paints at hand, but due to the aircrafts’ immediate use in combat, only hasty and minimal adaptations were made.
During its peak in June 1943, the Royal Moldovan Air Force had grown to a total of 150 aircraft. However, its contribution to the Axis forces was not significant, even though some individual Moldovan fighter pilots scored considerable air victory counts.
With the advance of Soviet Forces by late 1944 and the liberation of the Crimean peninsula, most Moldovan aircraft had been severely damaged or destroyed. Through the withdrawal of the Axis forces the Moldovan machines became unserviceable, so that the small air arm effectively ceased to exist. The few remaining, airworthy machines were retired to the west and absorbed in Romanian units.
It would take until 1991 that the Moldovan Air Force would be re-formed, after the country’s newly gained independence from the dissolved Soviet Union as Republic of Moldova.
(Background and model inspired by fellow modeler comrade harps at whatifmodelers.com)
General characteristics:
Crew: 1
Length: 9.00 m (29 ft 5 in)
Wingspan: 10.51 m (34 ft 5 in)
Height: 3.95 m (12 ft 12 in)
Wing area: 18.30 m² (196.99 ft²)
Empty weight: 3,200 kg (7,060 lb)
Loaded weight: 4,417 kg (9,735 lb)
Max. takeoff weight: 4,900 kg (10,800 lb)
Powerplant:
1× BMW 801 D-2 radial engine, 1,250 kW (1,700 PS, 1,677 hp)
Performance:
Maximum speed: 656 km/h (408 mph) at 19,420 ft (5,920 m)
Range: 800 km (500 mi)
Service ceiling: 11,410 m (37,430 ft)
Rate of climb: 15 m/s (2,953 ft/min)
Wing loading: 241 kg/m² (49.4 lb/ft²)
Power/mass: 0.29–0.33 kW/kg (0.18–0.21 hp/lb)
Armament:
2× 7.92 mm (.312 in) synchronized MG 17 machine guns with 900 RPG
4× 20 mm MG 151/20 E cannon, two of them with 250 RPG, synchronized in the wing roots,
and two more with 125 RPG outboard in mid-wing mounts
A retrofitted centre-line ETC 501 rack, typically holding a 250 kg (550 lb) bomb or a 300 L drop tank
Some machines also carried Luftwaffe Rüstsätze, e .g. R1 with a pair of WB 151 weapon
containers, each holding 2× 20-mm-MG 151/20 with 125 RPG under the wings
The kit and its assembly:
A remake of an inspiration. This build is a follow-up, and a further interpretation of another modeler’s idea, comrade harps from whatifmodelers.com, who came up with a Moldovan Bf 109E and a respective background story some time ago. After all, the Russian Liberation Army (ROA) also operated German aircraft like the Bf 109G, so the idea was not as weird as it might seem at first. I liked the idea of an overlooked Moldovan operator very much, and my first build within this fictional framework was a Heller Bf 109 F trop (a horrible kit, BTW).
This time I wanted to tackle an early Fw 190 A fighter, and also finish it in winter camouflage. The kit I used is the Academy Fw 190 A-6/8 model. It is certainly not the most detailed and up-to-date model of the aircraft, but it is a solid model, goes together well and is IMHO a priceworthy offering.
Building-wise, I did not change much about the kit, it was built OOB with some minor mods. The pitot, OOB mounted close to the wing tip for an A-8 version, had to be relocated towards a mid-wing position for an earlier A-6 variant. As an extra I lowered the flaps and cut away the lower sections from the wheel covers; this was a common practice on Fw 190s operated at the Eastern front during wintertime, because snow would clog up between the wheels and the covers, freeze and eventually make the aircraft inoperable.
As another extra I used the WB 151 gun packs which come with the kit – resulting in the massive firepower of eight(!) 20mm cannon, plus a pair of machine guns that would operationally fire tracer bullets, so that the pilot knew when he could unleash the cannons! The optional tropical sand filters came with the kit, too.
Painting and markings:
To a certain degree quite conservative, since this was supposed to be a former Luftwaffe aircraft, transferred to the Moldovan air force from the Mediterranean TO. As such I gave the aircraft a standard Luftwaffe camouflage with RLM 74/75/76 (using a mix of Modelmaster enamels). As a side note, this does not speak against the aircraft’s potential former use in North Africa – many Fw 190s operated there did not carry any desert camouflage at all.
However, I wanted to present the aircraft in a temporary/worn winter camouflage on the upper surfaces with washable white paint, overpainted former Luftwaffe insignia and additional new Moldovan markings. I also wanted to visualize the short period of time between the aircraft’s arrival at the Russian Front from Northern Africa and its immediate employment in Moldovan hands, including tactical markings of the Axis forces in the Eastern TO from around late 1941 onwards. Sounds complicated – but it’s the logical translation of the made-up background, and I think that such a concept, literally telling a story, makes a what-if model more convincing than just putting some obscure markings on an off-the-rack kit.
After the original German scheme had been painted, the next step was to paint over the former German and African TO markings. I used a light olive green and a light blue tone, as if the machine had been modified in a Moldovan field workshop with Romanian paints (or whatever else) at hand. The new yellow ID markings (lower wing tips, engine front (both painted with Humbrol 69) and fuselage band (decal) were added at this stage, too. Then came a black ink wash, emphasizing the model's engraved panel lines.
Once dry and cleaned-up, the new Moldovan markings were added. They come from a Begemot MiG-29 sheet. The flag on the rudder was improvised with a mix of paint (blue and red) and a ~2.5mm yellow decal stripe. The tactical code, the red "26", comes from a Soviet lend-lease P-40.
But the Fw 190 was till not finished - now the whitewash was added. This was simply created with Humbrol 34 (Matt White) and a soft, flat brush, in streaks which were made from the back to the front. This creates an IMHO quite plausible look of the worn, washable paint, and in some areas (around the cockpit, on the wings) I thinned the whitewash layer down even more, simulating wear.
Once dry, the decals received a light tratement with sandpaper, in order to match their look to the worn surroundings, and exhaust stains and gun soot were added with grinded graphite. Some dry-brushing with light grey was done on some areas, too. The wheels and the landing gear received a layer of "snow cake", created with white tile grout.
Finally, the model received a coat of matt acrylic varnish and finishing touches like a wire antenna (made with heated black sprue material).
Even though it's almost an OOB build, except for the markings, the result looks quite convincing. The result cannot be called “pretty”, but I think the extra work with the whitewash paid out. The fictional Moldovan Fw 190 looks really …different, especially in the BW beauty shots, the aircraft looks pretty convincing, and now it can join its Bf 109F stablemate in the collection.
U.S. Air Force Academy -- Basic cadets from the class of 2023 arrived here today to begin their journey of becoming an officer in the U.S. Air Force. Incoming personnel transitioned quickly into a military mindset after saying goodbye to family and friends. (U.S. Air Force photo/Trevor Cokley)
Former German Air Force training aircraft Piper L-18C Super Cup at Hangelar airfield, Sankt Augustin, Germany.
The now private owned D-EFTB was formerly registred as 96+31 and one of 40 L-18C used by the Luftwaffe. The L-18 C was the first kind of aircraft used by the German military after WW2 with the first three Super Cups being handed over from the U.S. Air Force in September 1956.
These counterfeit Timberland boots are among millions of items seized by Border Force.
Cheap counterfeits damage the economy by undercutting honest traders leaving shoppers with goods that are at best inferior and, at worst, harmful or unsafe.
Border Force officers operate at ports, airports and mail sorting centres to intercept counterfeit goods to protect British consumers and business.
Find out more: www.homeoffice.gov.uk/passports-and-immigration/counterfe...
A scanned slide from days past of John Force blasting from the starting line at Raceway Park. That's the late Buster Coach holding on to his hat on left.
May 1994.
32 foot Surf class Lifeboat, built in 1938 and based at Poole from 1938 to 1962, and was used in the Dunkirk Evacuation in 1940, ferrying British and French soldiers from the beaches. As it uses water jets instead of a screw propeller, it was able to get closer in to the shore to pick men up than most vessels, so of great use in getting men to larger boats and ships. It is now on display at the Poole Old Lifeboat Museum at Poole Quay, in its original boathouse, with lots of fantastic displays and original material including lifejackets
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Air Force One on final approach to Rinas/Tirana International Airport. The Honor Guard awaits the arrival of the aircraft
Polish Air Force Warrant Officer Cichecki Martin, crew chief, removes a ladder from an F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter aircraft in preparation for Exercise EAGLE TALON at Lask Air Base, Poland, June 10, 2014. NATO allies were either on a blue and red team to simulate friendly and enemy aircraft. During combined exercises such as these, pilots train in a simulated environment to enhance air-to-air and air-to-surface capabilities. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Kyle Gese/Released)
Cadet Captain William Goodwin assumes command of the Cadet Basic Training Regiment, 20 July. His first official act as Commander of Task Force Zilinski was New Cadet Visitation Day.
(Photos by: John Pellino/ DPTMS VI)
Israeli Soldiers from the Caracal Battalion - Every week, every day, around the clock, our troops are on alert: secure the border, improve readiness, patrol and protect the citizens of Israel. A Special glimpse of the ongoing security operations by the Caracal Battalion on the southern border
Photo: Israel Defence Force
Airmen with the 432nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron from Creech Air Force Base, Nev. conduct post flight maintenance on an RQ-1 Predator at Aeropuerto Rafael Hernandez outside Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, on 27 Jan., 2010. The RQ-1 remotely piloted systems are operating out of Puerto Rico in support of Operation Unified Response in Haiti. Airmen from Creech AFB, are providing 24/7 full-motion video in real time to international relief workers on the ground in order to speed humanitarian aid to remote and cut-off areas of the country following the earthquake on Jan. 12, 2010. (U.S. Air Force photo)
The original pic that I cropped for my last post to 119 pictures in2019.
The keen eyed will see that the sun is reflecting off the Force Field that is in place to protect GCHQ
Description: Seabees add another 20 feet onto the Liberty Bridge as a Seabee detachment lowers stringers into place over new pilings. Seabees had driven more than 5 tons of nails, each more than 10 inches long, into the bridge when it was completed. The deck was 8 feet thick.
Date: 1967
Creator/Photographer: US Navy
Rights Info: No known restrictions on publication.
Repository: U.S. Navy Seabee Museum, Collections Department, Port Hueneme, CA 93043, www.history.navy.mil/museums/seabee_museum.htm
Estonian Defence Force Soldiers from the Scoutspataljon during a Vehicle and foot patrol in Gao, Mali.
Photos: maat Maria Tõkke
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
The Fokker D.XXI fighter was designed in 1935 for use by the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force (Militaire Luchtvaart van het Koninklijk Nederlands-Indisch Leger, ML-KNIL). As such, it was designed as an inexpensive and small, but rugged aircraft, which had respectable performance for its time.
Entering operational use in the early years of World War II, it provided yeoman service for both the Luchtvaartafdeling (Dutch Army Aviation Group) and the Finnish Air Force. Other operators were Denmark and Norway, and a few were built by the El Carmolí factory before it fell into rebel hands during the Spanish Civil War.
The Fokker D.XXI was a low-wing monoplane with a fixed spatted undercarriage. Following standard Fokker design practice of the period, it had a steel tube fuselage covered in large part by fabric, with wooden cantilever wings. Power was provided by a Bristol Mercury radial driving a three-blade two-pitch propeller. When it entered service in 1938 it was a significant leap forward for the Dutch Army Aviation Group, whose fighter force had until that time consisted of aging biplanes with open cockpits.
The new Fokker proved to be an extremely sturdy aircraft capable of attaining a speed of 700 km/h in a dive, making it one of the few aircraft that could follow a Stuka bomber into its dive. The Fokker D.XXI, although much slower and more lightly armed than the Bf 109, performed surprisingly well in dogfights, due to its maneuverability.
With its rugged design, a simple, radial engine and fixed undercarriage the Fokker D.XXI was also very suitable for nordic conditions. The fixed undercarriage lent itself to both unimproved runways and conversion to skis for winter use, both of which were advantages in this demanding theater of operations. That did not help much when Norway was invaded in April 1940, though: At that time only five Fokker D.XXI-5 were operational with the Norwegian Army Air Service, while eight more were still on order and never reached their destination.
The Fokker D.XXI-5s differed from the Dutch standard machines mainly through an upgraded engine: the Bristol Mercury with 830 hp (680 kW) was replaced by a Bristol Pegasus XX, rated at 920 hp (686 kW). The most obvious difference from the Mercury-powered machines was a shorter but more angular cowling, coupled with a three blade propeller, an aerodynamic spinner and an engine fairing. The armament still comprised four 7.7mm Vickers machine guns in the wings.
The Norwegian Campaign in early 1940 saw both Norwegian and British fighters battling the Luftwaffe, with the Norwegian Jagevingen fighting in the defence of Oslo on the first day of Operation Weserübung, the German invasion. Later British fighters fought to provide cover for the allied reinforcements sent to the assistance of the Norwegian government.
The pilots of the Norwegian Jagevingen (fighter flight) were based at Fornebu Airport, equipped with a mix of Fokker D.XXI-5s and Gloster Gladiators. On 9 April, the first day of the invasion of Norway, the total of twelve serviceable aircraft managed to shoot down six German aircraft: two Messerschmitt Bf 110 fighters, two He 111 bombers and one Fallschirmjäger-laden Ju 52 transport, all downed by Gloster Gladiators, while the only air victory of a Fokker D.XXI-5 was a Bf 109 escort fighter.
One Gladiator and one Fokker were shot down during the air battle, while three more aircraft (one Fokker, two Gladiators) were strafed and destroyed while refuelling and rearming at Fornebu airport. The remaining operational fighters were ordered to land wherever they could away from the base, landing on frozen lakes around Oslo. They were abandoned by their pilots, then wrecked by souvenir-hunting civilians or destroyed through further air attacks strafing. None of the Norwegian Fokker D.XXI-5s survived.
General characteristics:
Crew: one
Length: 8.2 m (26 ft 11 in)
Wingspan: 11 m (36 ft 1 in)
Height: 2.92 m (9 ft 7 in)
Wing area: 16.2 m2 (174 sq ft)
Empty weight: 1,594 kg (3,514 lb)
Gross weight: 1,970 kg (4,343 lb)
Powerplant:
1 × Bristol Pegasus XX 9-cyl. air-cooled radial piston engine, rated at 920 hp (686 kW).
Performance:
Maximum speed: 460 km/h (286 mph; 248 kn)
Cruising speed: 429 km/h (267 mph; 232 kn)
Never exceed speed: 700 km/h (435 mph; 378 kn)
Range: 930 km (578 mi; 502 nmi)
Service ceiling: 11,350 m (37,238 ft) service ceiling
Time to altitude: 6,000 m (19,685 ft 0 in) in 7 min 30 sec
Power/mass: 0.309 kW/kg (0.188 hp/lb)
Armament:
4 × 7.7 mm (0.303 in) Vickers machine guns in the outer wings
The kit and its assembly:
The third contribution to the 'Battle of Britain' Group Build at whatifmodelers.com that ran in late 2015. This time, an exotic twist on history with a modern fighter in Norwegian service: the Fokker D.XXI. The kit is the PM Models incarnation of the 1990s Pioneer 2 kit from Turkey: a very basic affair with fine, raised panel lines, some flash and an optional ski landing gear.
In order to add a whiffy touch beyond fictional Norwegian colors I decided to change the engine – the real Fokker D.XXI-5 with its Pegasus engine was a fine inspiration – even though I am uncertain how the actual aircraft looked like. In my case, I transplanted a Polish engine from a KP PZL 37 “Los” bomber. The original cowling was shortened slightly and the Pegasus’ diameter reduced.
The propeller is a combination of an Academy Messerschmitt Bf 109E part with a spinner of uncertain origin. New exhaust stubs and a slightly bigger carburetor intake were added, too. Rather simple, but the modified nose changes the look of the D.XXI completely!
The rest was taken OOB. The only other changes are lowered flaps and a dashboard for the cockpit, as well as a fairing behind the pilot’s seat. I also cut the clear but very thick canopy into three pieces, in order to present the kit on the ground – even though this turned out not to be the smartest solution, since canopy fit and the immense thickness of the clear part(s) prevented a proper fit. If you want an open cockpit, better invest into a vacu canopy! :-/
Painting and markings:
Again a rather conservative approach, since most Norwegian aircraft at the time of the German invasion had rather simple liveries: overall aluminum dope was common, or the aircraft bore the camouflage of their countries of origin’s forces, e .g. from Italy.
Anyway, there was also something that appears like an improvised camouflage over alu dope, seen on some Gladiators and Caproni C.310s: a “net” of brown lines.
This is what I adopted for the Fokker and it was created with a basic coat of acrylic Aluminum (Revell), plus some panels in different shades of light alloys, on top of which a wavy net with Modelmaster FS 34087 (Olive Drab) was painted/dabbed with a brush. Once dry, this was slightly wet-sanded in order to reveal the raised panel lines and simulate chipped paint, and a light black ink wash was added, too.
After the decals were applied (leftover from an MPM Northrop A-33 bomber kit, plus the tactical code “440”, which actually comes from a Czech MiG 29), some more dry-painting with earth tones was done to the leading edges and upper surfaces, and finally everything was sealed under a coat of not-totally matt acrylic varnish.
A very quick build: the whole kit was realized in just two days, plus one more for the pics - thanks to its simple construction and paintjob.