View allAll Photos Tagged mobilization
They just want to live in their country without war and other obscurantism.
The full report is here:
novaya.media/articles/2022/09/21/razgon-nesoglasovannoi-a...
Ukrainians!
All our defenders!
Today I want to say special words of gratitude. Gratitude to all our people who defend our state, defend independence.
Ukraine held out after a full-scale attack by Russia. Ukraine managed to unite the world around the struggle for freedom. Ukraine managed to liberate a significant part of the territory the Russian troops invaded. Ukraine liberates people from Russian captivity.
And Ukraine managed to change the course of the war so that every occupier, even the most inadequate one, felt that we can win and are moving towards victory.
I am thankful to everyone who fights and works for this! For the sake of our victory.
It is precisely to the fact of Ukrainian strength that the leadership of Russia reacts, changing tactics and trying to draw even more Russian citizens and resources into the war.
Russia's decision on mobilization is a frank admission that their regular army, which has been prepared for decades to take over a foreign country, did not withstand and crumbled. And now, due to mobilization, Russia's war against Ukraine for the majority of Russian citizens is not something on TV or on the Internet, but something that has entered every Russian home.
I’ve held a meeting of the Staff of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief today. The questions are clear. Frontline. Provision of our military. And new threats created by Russia.
I will note right away: any decisions of the Russian leadership do not change anything for Ukraine. We should care only about our tasks. This is the liberation of our country, the protection of our people and the mobilization of global support for the implementation of our tasks.
Diplomatic mobilization of the entire international community is now taking place.
The circle of those who support us now is not limited to our traditional partners and those who openly supported our state after February 24. Now almost everyone supports us - this is the reaction to new Russian escalation steps.
In particular, the farce with the preparation of sham referenda in the occupied territory demonstrates what happened in 2014 in Crimea and Donbas.
And I am grateful to everyone in the world who supported us. Who clearly condemned another Russian lie.
Grateful to President Biden and all American friends. To President Macron, Chancellor Scholz, the President of Finland and all our Polish brothers, the Baltic states, Mr. Borrell, Mrs. Ursula von der Leyen, Charles Michel, the OSCE and all Europeans from Iceland to Romania, who will never be deceived by Russia again.
I am thankful to Britain for the support! Türkiye! Thank you Canada! Thanks also to all those who now privately express their support for Ukraine.
When Russia declares that it supposedly wants negotiations, but announces mobilization... When Russia knows Ukraine's clear position about the impossibility of a diplomatic process after Russia holds any sham referenda...
Everything is clear to everyone. Russia itself buries the prospect of negotiations with its own hands.
I will explain to the Russians what is happening in Russian.
Protests against mobilization took place in the cities of Russia - albeit not massive, but they took place. And they take place. And this is an indicator. Not only in Moscow and St. Petersburg. We know the real mood in the regions of Russia.
We see that people in Dagestan, in Buryatia, in other national republics and regions of Russia understand that they were simply thrown. Thrown to death.
Why, for example, Dagestanis or anyone else should die in the Kharkiv region or near Donetsk? Because one person in Russia decided so - for all the citizens of Russia. There is no other reason. That’s what he wants.
You are already accomplices in all these crimes, murders and torture of Ukrainians.
Because you were silent. Because you are silent.
And now it's time for you to choose. For men in Russia, this is a choice to die or live, to become a cripple or to preserve health. For women in Russia, the choice is to lose their husbands, sons, grandchildren forever, or still try to protect them from death, from war, from one person.
Just think about the number of people they want to take away!
We know for sure that the conscription letters for 300,000 people were printed and signed in advance, even before this decision on mobilization appeared. Our intelligence has proven it. But the Russian leadership is preparing to take up to a million men into the army - this is the key thing they are now silent about.
We know that they will take everyone indiscriminately. Not only the military in the reserve, but any men. Anyone who will be so intimidated that he will be more afraid of avoiding war than of dying in war.
55 thousand Russian soldiers died in this war in six months. Tens of thousands are wounded and maimed. Want more? No? Then protest. Fight back. Run away. Or surrender to Ukrainian captivity. These are options for you to survive.
Russian mothers! Have no doubt that the children of the top officials of your state will not be sent to the war against Ukraine. Those who make decisions in your country take care of their children. And they do not even bury your children.
And we return ours.
A very important briefing was held today. Head of the Office Yermak, Head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Budanov, Head of the Security Service Maliuk, Minister of Internal Affairs Monastyrskyi. They told the details of our operation to release 215 warriors, the details of the exchange. We do everything so that society and the world can see how Ukraine protects people and basic human values.
Once again, I congratulate 215 families and our entire country on the return of the heroes.
I am thankful to everyone who helps Ukraine!
Eternal glory to all who fight for Ukraine!
Glory to our indomitable and brave people!
Glory to Ukraine!
Soldiers from the 53rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team of the Florida National Guard move a litter during pre-mobilization training at Camp Blanding Joint Training Center. The team recently used the Exportable Combat Training Capability or XCTC, which gave them a more realistic feel to their training. (Photo by 1st Lt. Paul O'Leary, Florida National Guard)
This shot was captured on the way back from a litter bearing exercise where we practiced running towards a helicopter with a "casualty."
As EFU prepares its units, supplies from across the union are transported to the war zones with speed and efficiency
People were herded into a ring like cattle and taken out two by two into a paddy wagon.
The full report is here:
novaya.media/articles/2022/09/21/razgon-nesoglasovannoi-a...
Before the rallies, the authorities threatened punishment for participating in the protest with prison terms of up to 15 years. This did not stop many.
The full report is here:
novaya.media/articles/2022/09/21/razgon-nesoglasovannoi-a...
This military machine does not separate bones from meat, grinds everything.
The full report is here:
novaya.media/articles/2022/09/21/razgon-nesoglasovannoi-a...
Spaarnestad Photo, SFA022801431
The Great War. Eerste Wereldoorlog : Mobilisatie, oorlogsverklaring : Kring soldaten houdt doek vast en werpt soldaat omhoog tijdens voorbereidingen op de strijd aan het front. Engeland, 1915.
First World War, mobilization, declaration of war: a group of soldiers with a cloth to throw one of them into the air during preparations for the battle at the front. England, 1915
More than 1,000 protesters have been detained across Russia today. 376 people were detained in St. Petersburg.
The full report is here:
novaya.media/articles/2022/09/21/razgon-nesoglasovannoi-a...
Of course I realize that photography is not the technical facility as much as it is the eye, and this decision that one makes for the moment at which you are going to snap, you know. - Ben Shahn
Mobilization in support of victims of rape and sexual violence in Brussels in support of Gisèle Pélicot by Virgile_Loiseau --
freesound.org/s/754455/ -- License: Attribution NonCommercial 4.0
[ WoO ] Medusa Gorgon Hair (BLUE CORAL) by Anne Cloud
copyright: © FSUBF. All rights reserved. Please do not use this image, or any images from my photostream, without my permission.
Chinese tanks from Taiwan roll through Hanoi, on their way to Burma. This is a shot taken by a local newspaper, reading: "The dragons roll." Getting a positive reaction from the crowd, the troops are confident of the upcoming battle.
--------------------------------------------
For private LMG
FORT JACKSON, South Carolina (26 May 2012) Active and Reserve Sailors prepare for mobilization as Individual Augmentees at Camp McCrady. Between 150 and 300 Sailors conduct weapon marksmanship, convoy operations, land navigation, first aid, and other army skills each month at the Expeditionary Combat Readiness Command (ECRC) in preparation to deploy overseas. (Photo by Chief Petty Officer James Clark)
FORT JACKSON, South Carolina (26 May 2012) Active and Reserve Sailors prepare for mobilization as Individual Augmentees at Camp McCrady. Between 150 and 300 Sailors conduct weapon marksmanship, convoy operations, land navigation, first aid, and other army skills each month at the Expeditionary Combat Readiness Command (ECRC) in preparation to deploy overseas. (Photo by Chief Petty Officer James Clark)
Translation: For a country we can be proud of again.
Friedrich Merz, probably the next Chancellor of Germany. There is just one small irritation: he was not invited to the inauguration.
Frankfurt, Borsigallee
This is my 1st part of my entry to the Global Challenge 3 at LCC.
Paul von Brickenstein is preparing his fleet to beat the wizards. The Magic Islands are far away so they probably need a lot of food and rum. And some weapons would be also helpful. But what will happen at the Magic Islands ? Are weapons out of steel and wood powerful enough to beat these mighty wizards ?
The queen and the Emir gathered as many troops they could for the rushed ride to defend the outlaws from the religious zealot and the Queens former husband...
- Ok, Madam, I have gathered all Magreb and Levant people here in town to ride, there are even some of the Branch of David tree that is voluntary combatants, we share similar roots even though we have different religions after all we are kind of the same kin after all...
- Yes my dear Emir, you have done well, and that despite you had no rest riding here, I have collected what troops we have here in town, that is a few Lion-knights, Klöber Ritter, Falcon crest followers, even one or two Forestmen temporary here in town and also some civilians who look for adventure or burn for the outlaws political cause... how many men did you say this Henricus had obeying him?
- Madam I guess he have 200-300 trained men, then he uses the villagers he has trained them to storm with what ever arms they have, he even promised some a place in heaven if they would be used as suicide attackers, I have seen him train them, really horrific, he lit them afire and made them run towards dummy-soldiers...
- Who could have thought that my husband could fall so low, is it his head-maze that has gone pickled in all that wine through the years that made him like this? still my husband drinks a lor and he isn´t as sadistic and war-hungry as that old fool, what is it he calls him these days? Papa smurf? papa drunk?
- Oh I think his latest title is: the most severe honorable godhead of the holy order of the crusading unicorns and papa lord of the righteous faith and defender of permanent truth... But I could be mistaken, I might have missed out on some titles, I mean since they are ever changing? But dear Queen why doesn´t your husband ride with us?
- Well to be honest he would count as a minus when it comes to calculating our forces strength it would require 10 men to get him on to his horse, 2 men to make him stay on and then 10 men, well you guess the rest...
...anyhow I am gonna be frank with you, I made a small check by our secret advanced signaling system, so you wouldn´t lead us in to a trap, but all my eyes and ears could confirm what you said, nothing personal but, I have to be careful!
- Oh Madam, you are really a magnificent specimen of a woman, you know if you ever want to divorce this Albert I wouldn´t hesitate to be your next one... i mean I can have quite many wives!
- Oh You majesty I am honored, But I like my Little Bertie, he may be a Kraut and a drunkard, but his heart is golden... but then again if you can have many wives I could probably have a few husbands, just kidding dear Emir, I think we should keep our relationship purely professional and anyhow I though you were "one of those" (the queen makes a limp wrist gesture)
- Oh Nooo! Noo! Madam no, I mean No, I like the company of women, many, many women at once! yes, I am all "one of these" (the Emir makes a stiff hand gesture) I might like the physique of a well trained soldier that is male, but I would never act on it... anyhow let us not bicker!
- Yes, lets ride instead together and stop this lunatic, I do respect you very much for following your conscious and heart rather than your dream of reconcur your former Emirate... anyhow doesn´t your riding trousers make you a tad bit shorter? Luckily your Turban makes you a bit taller in height!
- Yes Madam! I might be a vain and sometimes blunt man but I have a heart, to see the suffering to ordinary people in wars make my heart bleed!
Yes I might seem smaller without my gown still it is not the size that makes a warrior great, as a green toad in a swamp once told me when I had to much Hookah spiked by a youth friend of mine!
The queen mount her horse and makes he final orders then put on her hemet and the emir mounts his horse and their men follow suit, some on horseback. some in troop carry-wagons and some by foot...
+++ 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:
Due to the restrictions of the Versailles treaties, the Reichswehr was already dealing with the increasing mobilization and motorization of the army after the end of the First World War. The realization that the speed of the troop units required appropriate equipment was available early on. However, the Reichswehr suffered from financial constraints and during the Weimar Republic the industry only had limited capacity for series production of larger, armored vehicles.
Nevertheless, at that time the Sd.Kfz. 3 (unarmored half-track transport vehicle/1927), the ARW (eight-wheel car/1928) and the ZRW (ten-wheel car/1928) provided fundamental experience. The findings of these tests and the troop testing with the Sd.Kfz. 3 enabled a more precise specification of the new vehicles to be developed. The "heavy" armored cars were primarily intended for the reconnaissance units of the new armored forces.
The incipient rearmament could only start with a "cheap" solution, though. A three-part armored structure for the chassis of commercially available off-road trucks was developed by the Army Weapons Office, Dept. WaTest 6, in cooperation with the company Deutsche Eisenwerke AG. The typical truck chassis featured front-wheel steering and a driven bogie at the rear (4x6 layout). In June 1929, the companies Magirus, Daimler-Benz and Büssing-NAG were commissioned to develop the desired armored car from it. If you consider that this truck class was developed for a payload of 1.5t, you can already conclude from this that the vehicles, which are now equipped with a significantly heavy armored structure, had little off-road mobility. Even if the appearance of the vehicles supplied by the different manufacturers was similar, there were external distinguishing features by which the manufacturer could be identified. The vehicles were tested in the Reichswehr from 1932 and introduced later.
One of the four crew members (driver, commander, gunner, radio-operator) was used as a reverse driver: with the narrow streets of the time and a turning circle of between 13 and 16m, this function was essential for a truck-sized heavy reconnaissance vehicle. The chassis had the excellent ladder-type configuration, able to withstand the stress of rough rides at high speed. The scout car was 5570 mm long, 1820 mm wide, 2250 mm high and weighed 5.35, 5.7 or 6 tons, depending on the manufacturer. The hull was made of welded steel armor, 5 to 14.5 mm (0.2-0.57 in) thick depending on the angle (bottom to front) with well-sloped plates. The armament consisted of a 2 cm KwK 30 with 200 rounds and a MG 13 with 1300 rounds in a manually operated turret. The fuel supply was 90, 105 or 110 liters, but with a consumption of about 35 or 40 liters per 100 km, this resulted in a completely inadequate range for a scout car.
Having no true alternatives at hand, the armored 4x6 car was accepted and became known as the Sd.Kfz. 231 (6-wheel), and it was subsequently developed into two more vehicles. Up until 1937, 123 vehicles were built as Sd.Kfz. 231 reconnaissance cars and Sd.Kfz. 232 radio trucks. A further 28 were manufactured as Sd.Kfz. 263 (Panzerfunkwagen) command vehicles.
As early as 1932, after testing the pilot series, it was clear that the interim solution of "cheap" 6-wheel vehicles would not meet the future requirements of the armored divisions now planned. It was planned that from 1935/36 at least 18 vehicles of a new type that would meet the requirements for off-road mobility and high road speeds should be produced annually. Büssing-NAG had obviously made a good impression with the ARW and was now commissioned to make the revised vehicle ready for series production, which would become the SdKfz. 231 (8-Rad). The overall concept was completed between 1934 and 1935 and already showed all the features of the future type: all 8 wheels driven and steered, the same speed forwards and backwards, ability to change direction in less than 10 seconds, and a turning circle of "only" 10.5m. The vehicle layout was changed, too: the engine bay was relocated to the rear, the crew compartment was placed at the front end. This improved weight distribution, handling, and the field of view for the main forward driver.
The purpose of the new vehicles was identical to that of the earlier heavy 6-wheel vehicles, they were used on the same sites and so the same ordnance inventory designation was adopted, despite the vehicle’s many modifications. The so-called Sd.Kfz. 231 (8-Rad) was armed, corresponding to its 6-Rad counterpart, with a 2cm KwK 30 and the MG 13 (later MG 34) in a rotating turret. Likewise, the Sd.Kfz. 232 (8-Rad) carried a large, curved bow antenna, and there was a Sd.Kfz. 263 (8-Rad) command vehicle, too.
Nevertheless, the Army Weapons Office demanded a short-term solution for a vehicle based on the 4x6 chassis that offered better off-road performance and armament, namely a 37 mm anti-tank gun, with at least comparable range and armor protection. This interim vehicle was supposed to be ready for service in early 1934. Magirus accepted the challenge and proposed the Sd.Kfz. 241, a 4x8 vehicle. It retained the old overall 6-Rad layout with the front engine under a long bonnet, but it had a fourth steered axle added to lower ground pressure and improve the vehicle’s trench bridging capabilities. The powered two rear axles retained the 6-Rad’s twin wheels, so that the vehicle stood on a total of twelve tires with a relatively large footprint. The armored hull was very similar to the Sd.Kfz. 231 6-Rad, but carried a new, bigger turret with a 3.7 cm KwK 30 L/45 gun and an axis-parallel 7.92 mm MG 34 light machine gun.
The box-shaped turret exploited the hull’s width to the maximum and had a maximum armor of 15 mm, no base and the seat of the commander was attached to the tower wall. The commander sat elevated under a raised cupola in the rear section of the turret, just behind the main gun. He had five viewing slits protected by glass blocks and steel slides for all-round visibility. The gunner/loader, standing to the left of the main gun, had to constantly follow the movement of the turret, which was done by hand. In order to support the gunner when slewing the turret, the commander had an additional handle on the right side. The two crew members also had a turret position indicator.
The cannon was fired electrically via a trigger, the machine gun was operated mechanically with a pedal. To aim and view the outside, the gunner had a gun sight to the left of the gun with an opening in the gun mantlet. Standard access to the vehicle was through low double-doors in the vehicle’ flank, but side exit openings in the turret with two flaps each were also frequently used to board it. Another entry was through the commander cupola’s lid.
With all this extra hardware, the Sd.Kfz. 241’s overall weight rose considerably from the late Sd.Kfz. 231 (6-Rad) nearly 6 tons to 7.5 tons. As a consequence, the chassis had to be reinforced and a more powerful engine was used, a 6-cylinder Maybach HL 42 TRKM w carburetor gasoline engine with 4170 cc capacity and 100 hp (74 kW) output at 3000 rpm.
As expected, the Sd.Kfz. 241 was not a success. Even though the first vehicles were delivered in time in mid-1934, its operational value was rather limited. Off-road capability was, due to the extra weight, the raised center of gravity and the lack of all-wheel drive, just as bad as the 6-Rad vehicles, and the more powerful engine’s higher fuel consumption allowed neither higher range, despite bigger fuel tanks, nor a better street performance. The only real progress was the new 3.7 cm KwK 30’s firepower, which was appreciated by the crews, even though the weapon was only effective against armored targets at close range. At 100 m, 64 mm of vertical armor could be penetrated, but at 500 m this already dropped to 31 mm, any angle in the armor weakened its hitting power even further. The weapon’s maximum range was 5.000m, though, and with HE rounds the Sd.Kfz. 241 could provide indirect fire support. Another factor that limited the vehicle’s effectiveness was that the gun had to be operated by a single crew member who had to load and aim at the same time – there was simply not enough space for a separate loader who would also have increased the gun’s rate of fire from six to maybe twelve rounds per minute. The vehicle’s armor was also inadequate and only gave protection against light firearms, but not against machine guns or heavier weapons. On the other side, the cupola on top of the turret offered the commander in his elevated position a very good all-round field of view, even when under full protection – but this progressive detail was not adopted for the following armored reconnaissance vehicles and remained exclusive to German battle tanks.
Only a total of fifty-five Sd.Kfz. 241s were completed by Magirus in Cologne until 1936, when production of the Sd.Kfz. 231 (8-Rad) vehicle family started and soon replaced the Sd.Kfz. 241, which was primarily operated at the Eastern Front in Poland and Czechoslovakia. By 1940, no Sd.Kfz. 241 was left in any frontline army unit, but a few survivors were grouped together and handed over to police units. Their main gun was either completely deleted or sometimes replaced with a second machine gun, and they were used for urban patrols and riot control duties. However, by 1942, no Sd.Kfz. 241 was left over.
Specifications:
Crew: Four (commander, gunner, driver, radio operator/rear driver)
Weight: 7.5 tons (11.450 lb)
Length: 5,85 metres (19 ft 2 in)
Width: 2,20 metres (7 ft 2 ½ in)
Height: 2,78 metres (9 ft 1 in)
Ground clearance: 28.5 cm (10 in)
Suspension: Torsion bar and leaf springs
Fuel capacity: 150 litres (33 imp gal; 40 US gal)
Armor:
8–15 mm (0.31 – 0.6 in)
Performance:
Maximum road speed: 70 km/h (43.5 mph)
52 km/h (32.3 mph) backwards
Operational range: 250 km (155 miles)
Power/weight: 13 PS/ton
Engine:
Maybach HL42 TRKM water-cooled straight 6-cylinder petrol engine with 100 hp (74 kW),
driving the rear pair of axles
Transmission:
Maybach gearbox with 5-speed forward and 4-speed reverse
Armament:
1× 37 mm KwK 30 L/45 cannon with 70 rounds
1× 7.92 mm MG 34 machine gun mounted co-axially with 1.300 rounds
The kit and its assembly:
This fictional armored car was inspired by a leftover rear axles from an Italeri Sd.Kfz. 231 (6-Rad) model that I converted into a fictional half-track variant some time ago. I wondered if the set could be transplanted under an 8-Rad chassis, to create a kind of missing link to the 8x8 successors of the Sd.Kfz. 231 (6-Rad) with a total of twelve tires on four axles.
The basis became a First to Fight 1:72 Sd.Kfz. 231 (8-Rad) kit – a rather simple and robust affair, apparently primarily intended for tabletop purposes. But the overall impression is good, and it would be modified, anyway, even though the plastic turned out to be rather soft/waxy and the parts’ sprue attachment points a bit wacky.
The hull was “turned around” to drive backwards, so that its rear engine ended up in the front. I eventually only used the rear twin wheels from the Sd.Kfz. 231 (6-Rad), but not its single axles and laminated springs. Instead, I first cut the OOB mudguards in two halves, removed their side skirts and glued them onto the lower hull in reversed order, so that the exhausts and their muffler boxes would end up at the rear of the front fenders. With these in place I checked the axles’ position from the OOB ladder chassis, which is a single, integral part, and found that the rear axles’ position had to be moved by 2mm backwards. Cutting the original piece and re-arranging it was easier to scratch a new rear suspension, and the rocker bars had to be shortened to accept the wider twin wheels.
The original small turret with the 20 mm autocannon was deleted and replaced with core elements from a Panzer III turret, left over from previous conversion projects. Wider than any original turret of the Sd.Kfz. 231/232 family, it had to be narrowed by roughly 5mm – I had to cut a respective plug from the turret’s and the mantlet’s middle section, the deformed hatch was covered under a Panzer III commander cupola. To mate the re-arranged turret with the OOB adapter plate to mount it onto the hull, and to add overall stability to the construction, I filled the interior with 2C putty.
The typical storage bin at the turret’s rear was omitted, though, it would have made it too large for the compact truck chassis. The shape was a perfect stylistic match, even though, with the longer gun barrel, the vehicle reminds a lot of the Soviet BA-10 heavy armored car?
Most small details like the bumpers and the headlights were taken OOB, I added a whip antenna base at the rear and mounted two spare wheels at the back, one of them covered with a tarpaulin (made from paper tissue drenched with white glue, this was also used to create the gun mantlet seals).
Painting and markings:
Typical for German vehicles from the early WWII stages the Sd.Kfz. 241 was painted Panzergrau (RAL 7021; I used Humbrol 67, which is authentic, but mixed it with some 125 to create a slightly lighter shade of grey) overall - quite dull, but realistic. To make the vehicle look more interesting, though, I added authentic contemporary camouflage in the form of low-contrast blotches with RAL 8017, a very dark reddish brown, mixed from Humbrol 160 and some 98. Better, but IMHO still not enough.
After the model received a washing with highly thinned red-brown acrylic artist paint I applied the few decals and gave the parts an overall dry-brushing treatment with grey and dark earth. Everything was sealed with matt acrylic varnish. For even more “excitement”, I decided to add a coat of snow.
For the simulated “frosting” I used white tile grout – which has the benefits of being water-soluble, quite sturdy to touch and the material does not yellow over time like gypsum.
First, the wheels, the chassis and the inside of the wheel arches received a separate treatment with relatively dryly mixed tile grout, simulating snow and dirt clusters. Once thoroughly dried, the wheels were mounted. Then the model was sprayed with low surface tension water and loose tile grout was drizzled over hull and turret, creating a flaky coat of fake snow. Once dry again, everything received another coat of matt acrylic varnish to protect and fixate everything further.
A relatively quick build, done in a few days. The First to Fight kit is very simple and went together well, but I’d use something else the next time due to the odd material it was molded with. The outcome of an 4x8 scout car looks quite plausible, though, like the missing link between the Sd.Kfz. 231 and 232 – the unintended similarity with the Soviet BA-10 heavy armored car was a bit surprising, though. And the snow on the model eventually makes it look a bit more interesting, the stunt was worth the effort.
Due to the increasing hostilities between the countries of Geo and Volsci, the government has decided to begin a general mobilization of some of its troops.
•
This is the 21st Mechanized Infantry Division on their way to being deployed to border city of New Brick City, as deterrent to a possible armed conflict.
•
Instead of showing you a simple picture of my current Modern Army, I wanted to make it a big more elaborate. So my Army consists of 1 Cheiftain MBT, 1 FV432, 2 Land Rover Snatch, 1 Land Rover Wolf, 1 MWMIK Jackal, 1 FV102 Striker, 2 General Utility Trucks, 1 Rapier Missile Launcher, and 1 V-150 Commando. Most vehicles are form Brickmania.
•
I plan to increase it substantially to include a couple more Chieftains and to expand on the CVRT collection by a lot! And I also might changed the trucks in the future. (Which are based on the Armorbrick GAZ-66 truck!
Let me know what you guys think!
As part of the Western Area Surge Operation in Sierra Leone to curb the Ebola virus disease outbreak in the country, social mobilization teams are deployed to promote health and to facilitate community acceptance of new surveillance, clinical care and burial procedures in Freetown.
Community members attend a briefing by a social mobilization team in Lester Road, Freetown.
UN Photo/Martine Perret
22 December 2014
Freetown, Sierra Leone
Photo # 617535
This is my 1st part of my entry to the Global Challenge 3 at LCC.
Paul von Brickenstein is preparing his fleet to beat the wizards. The Magic Islands are far away so they probably need a lot of food and rum. And some weapons would be also helpful. But what will happen at the Magic Islands ? Are weapons out of steel and wood powerful enough to beat these mighty wizards ?
+++ 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:
Due to the restrictions of the Versailles treaties, the Reichswehr was already dealing with the increasing mobilization and motorization of the army after the end of the First World War. The realization that the speed of the troop units required appropriate equipment was available early on. However, the Reichswehr suffered from financial constraints and during the Weimar Republic the industry only had limited capacity for series production of larger, armored vehicles.
Nevertheless, at that time the Sd.Kfz. 3 (unarmored half-track transport vehicle/1927), the ARW (eight-wheel car/1928) and the ZRW (ten-wheel car/1928) provided fundamental experience. The findings of these tests and the troop testing with the Sd.Kfz. 3 enabled a more precise specification of the new vehicles to be developed. The "heavy" armored cars were primarily intended for the reconnaissance units of the new armored forces.
The incipient rearmament could only start with a "cheap" solution, though. A three-part armored structure for the chassis of commercially available off-road trucks was developed by the Army Weapons Office, Dept. WaTest 6, in cooperation with the company Deutsche Eisenwerke AG. The typical truck chassis featured front-wheel steering and a driven bogie at the rear (4x6 layout). In June 1929, the companies Magirus, Daimler-Benz and Büssing-NAG were commissioned to develop the desired armored car from it. If you consider that this truck class was developed for a payload of 1.5t, you can already conclude from this that the vehicles, which are now equipped with a significantly heavy armored structure, had little off-road mobility. Even if the appearance of the vehicles supplied by the different manufacturers was similar, there were external distinguishing features by which the manufacturer could be identified. The vehicles were tested in the Reichswehr from 1932 and introduced later.
One of the four crew members (driver, commander, gunner, radio-operator) was used as a reverse driver: with the narrow streets of the time and a turning circle of between 13 and 16m, this function was essential for a truck-sized heavy reconnaissance vehicle. The chassis had the excellent ladder-type configuration, able to withstand the stress of rough rides at high speed. The scout car was 5570 mm long, 1820 mm wide, 2250 mm high and weighed 5.35, 5.7 or 6 tons, depending on the manufacturer. The hull was made of welded steel armor, 5 to 14.5 mm (0.2-0.57 in) thick depending on the angle (bottom to front) with well-sloped plates. The armament consisted of a 2 cm KwK 30 with 200 rounds and a MG 13 with 1300 rounds in a manually operated turret. The fuel supply was 90, 105 or 110 liters, but with a consumption of about 35 or 40 liters per 100 km, this resulted in a completely inadequate range for a scout car.
Having no true alternatives at hand, the armored 4x6 car was accepted and became known as the Sd.Kfz. 231 (6-wheel), and it was subsequently developed into two more vehicles. Up until 1937, 123 vehicles were built as Sd.Kfz. 231 reconnaissance cars and Sd.Kfz. 232 radio trucks. A further 28 were manufactured as Sd.Kfz. 263 (Panzerfunkwagen) command vehicles.
As early as 1932, after testing the pilot series, it was clear that the interim solution of "cheap" 6-wheel vehicles would not meet the future requirements of the armored divisions now planned. It was planned that from 1935/36 at least 18 vehicles of a new type that would meet the requirements for off-road mobility and high road speeds should be produced annually. Büssing-NAG had obviously made a good impression with the ARW and was now commissioned to make the revised vehicle ready for series production, which would become the SdKfz. 231 (8-Rad). The overall concept was completed between 1934 and 1935 and already showed all the features of the future type: all 8 wheels driven and steered, the same speed forwards and backwards, ability to change direction in less than 10 seconds, and a turning circle of "only" 10.5m. The vehicle layout was changed, too: the engine bay was relocated to the rear, the crew compartment was placed at the front end. This improved weight distribution, handling, and the field of view for the main forward driver.
The purpose of the new vehicles was identical to that of the earlier heavy 6-wheel vehicles, they were used on the same sites and so the same ordnance inventory designation was adopted, despite the vehicle’s many modifications. The so-called Sd.Kfz. 231 (8-Rad) was armed, corresponding to its 6-Rad counterpart, with a 2cm KwK 30 and the MG 13 (later MG 34) in a rotating turret. Likewise, the Sd.Kfz. 232 (8-Rad) carried a large, curved bow antenna, and there was a Sd.Kfz. 263 (8-Rad) command vehicle, too.
Nevertheless, the Army Weapons Office demanded a short-term solution for a vehicle based on the 4x6 chassis that offered better off-road performance and armament, namely a 37 mm anti-tank gun, with at least comparable range and armor protection. This interim vehicle was supposed to be ready for service in early 1934. Magirus accepted the challenge and proposed the Sd.Kfz. 241, a 4x8 vehicle. It retained the old overall 6-Rad layout with the front engine under a long bonnet, but it had a fourth steered axle added to lower ground pressure and improve the vehicle’s trench bridging capabilities. The powered two rear axles retained the 6-Rad’s twin wheels, so that the vehicle stood on a total of twelve tires with a relatively large footprint. The armored hull was very similar to the Sd.Kfz. 231 6-Rad, but carried a new, bigger turret with a 3.7 cm KwK 30 L/45 gun and an axis-parallel 7.92 mm MG 34 light machine gun.
The box-shaped turret exploited the hull’s width to the maximum and had a maximum armor of 15 mm, no base and the seat of the commander was attached to the tower wall. The commander sat elevated under a raised cupola in the rear section of the turret, just behind the main gun. He had five viewing slits protected by glass blocks and steel slides for all-round visibility. The gunner/loader, standing to the left of the main gun, had to constantly follow the movement of the turret, which was done by hand. In order to support the gunner when slewing the turret, the commander had an additional handle on the right side. The two crew members also had a turret position indicator.
The cannon was fired electrically via a trigger, the machine gun was operated mechanically with a pedal. To aim and view the outside, the gunner had a gun sight to the left of the gun with an opening in the gun mantlet. Standard access to the vehicle was through low double-doors in the vehicle’ flank, but side exit openings in the turret with two flaps each were also frequently used to board it. Another entry was through the commander cupola’s lid.
With all this extra hardware, the Sd.Kfz. 241’s overall weight rose considerably from the late Sd.Kfz. 231 (6-Rad) nearly 6 tons to 7.5 tons. As a consequence, the chassis had to be reinforced and a more powerful engine was used, a 6-cylinder Maybach HL 42 TRKM w carburetor gasoline engine with 4170 cc capacity and 100 hp (74 kW) output at 3000 rpm.
As expected, the Sd.Kfz. 241 was not a success. Even though the first vehicles were delivered in time in mid-1934, its operational value was rather limited. Off-road capability was, due to the extra weight, the raised center of gravity and the lack of all-wheel drive, just as bad as the 6-Rad vehicles, and the more powerful engine’s higher fuel consumption allowed neither higher range, despite bigger fuel tanks, nor a better street performance. The only real progress was the new 3.7 cm KwK 30’s firepower, which was appreciated by the crews, even though the weapon was only effective against armored targets at close range. At 100 m, 64 mm of vertical armor could be penetrated, but at 500 m this already dropped to 31 mm, any angle in the armor weakened its hitting power even further. The weapon’s maximum range was 5.000m, though, and with HE rounds the Sd.Kfz. 241 could provide indirect fire support. Another factor that limited the vehicle’s effectiveness was that the gun had to be operated by a single crew member who had to load and aim at the same time – there was simply not enough space for a separate loader who would also have increased the gun’s rate of fire from six to maybe twelve rounds per minute. The vehicle’s armor was also inadequate and only gave protection against light firearms, but not against machine guns or heavier weapons. On the other side, the cupola on top of the turret offered the commander in his elevated position a very good all-round field of view, even when under full protection – but this progressive detail was not adopted for the following armored reconnaissance vehicles and remained exclusive to German battle tanks.
Only a total of fifty-five Sd.Kfz. 241s were completed by Magirus in Cologne until 1936, when production of the Sd.Kfz. 231 (8-Rad) vehicle family started and soon replaced the Sd.Kfz. 241, which was primarily operated at the Eastern Front in Poland and Czechoslovakia. By 1940, no Sd.Kfz. 241 was left in any frontline army unit, but a few survivors were grouped together and handed over to police units. Their main gun was either completely deleted or sometimes replaced with a second machine gun, and they were used for urban patrols and riot control duties. However, by 1942, no Sd.Kfz. 241 was left over.
Specifications:
Crew: Four (commander, gunner, driver, radio operator/rear driver)
Weight: 7.5 tons (11.450 lb)
Length: 5,85 metres (19 ft 2 in)
Width: 2,20 metres (7 ft 2 ½ in)
Height: 2,78 metres (9 ft 1 in)
Ground clearance: 28.5 cm (10 in)
Suspension: Torsion bar and leaf springs
Fuel capacity: 150 litres (33 imp gal; 40 US gal)
Armor:
8–15 mm (0.31 – 0.6 in)
Performance:
Maximum road speed: 70 km/h (43.5 mph)
52 km/h (32.3 mph) backwards
Operational range: 250 km (155 miles)
Power/weight: 13 PS/ton
Engine:
Maybach HL42 TRKM water-cooled straight 6-cylinder petrol engine with 100 hp (74 kW),
driving the rear pair of axles
Transmission:
Maybach gearbox with 5-speed forward and 4-speed reverse
Armament:
1× 37 mm KwK 30 L/45 cannon with 70 rounds
1× 7.92 mm MG 34 machine gun mounted co-axially with 1.300 rounds
The kit and its assembly:
This fictional armored car was inspired by a leftover rear axles from an Italeri Sd.Kfz. 231 (6-Rad) model that I converted into a fictional half-track variant some time ago. I wondered if the set could be transplanted under an 8-Rad chassis, to create a kind of missing link to the 8x8 successors of the Sd.Kfz. 231 (6-Rad) with a total of twelve tires on four axles.
The basis became a First to Fight 1:72 Sd.Kfz. 231 (8-Rad) kit – a rather simple and robust affair, apparently primarily intended for tabletop purposes. But the overall impression is good, and it would be modified, anyway, even though the plastic turned out to be rather soft/waxy and the parts’ sprue attachment points a bit wacky.
The hull was “turned around” to drive backwards, so that its rear engine ended up in the front. I eventually only used the rear twin wheels from the Sd.Kfz. 231 (6-Rad), but not its single axles and laminated springs. Instead, I first cut the OOB mudguards in two halves, removed their side skirts and glued them onto the lower hull in reversed order, so that the exhausts and their muffler boxes would end up at the rear of the front fenders. With these in place I checked the axles’ position from the OOB ladder chassis, which is a single, integral part, and found that the rear axles’ position had to be moved by 2mm backwards. Cutting the original piece and re-arranging it was easier to scratch a new rear suspension, and the rocker bars had to be shortened to accept the wider twin wheels.
The original small turret with the 20 mm autocannon was deleted and replaced with core elements from a Panzer III turret, left over from previous conversion projects. Wider than any original turret of the Sd.Kfz. 231/232 family, it had to be narrowed by roughly 5mm – I had to cut a respective plug from the turret’s and the mantlet’s middle section, the deformed hatch was covered under a Panzer III commander cupola. To mate the re-arranged turret with the OOB adapter plate to mount it onto the hull, and to add overall stability to the construction, I filled the interior with 2C putty.
The typical storage bin at the turret’s rear was omitted, though, it would have made it too large for the compact truck chassis. The shape was a perfect stylistic match, even though, with the longer gun barrel, the vehicle reminds a lot of the Soviet BA-10 heavy armored car?
Most small details like the bumpers and the headlights were taken OOB, I added a whip antenna base at the rear and mounted two spare wheels at the back, one of them covered with a tarpaulin (made from paper tissue drenched with white glue, this was also used to create the gun mantlet seals).
Painting and markings:
Typical for German vehicles from the early WWII stages the Sd.Kfz. 241 was painted Panzergrau (RAL 7021; I used Humbrol 67, which is authentic, but mixed it with some 125 to create a slightly lighter shade of grey) overall - quite dull, but realistic. To make the vehicle look more interesting, though, I added authentic contemporary camouflage in the form of low-contrast blotches with RAL 8017, a very dark reddish brown, mixed from Humbrol 160 and some 98. Better, but IMHO still not enough.
After the model received a washing with highly thinned red-brown acrylic artist paint I applied the few decals and gave the parts an overall dry-brushing treatment with grey and dark earth. Everything was sealed with matt acrylic varnish. For even more “excitement”, I decided to add a coat of snow.
For the simulated “frosting” I used white tile grout – which has the benefits of being water-soluble, quite sturdy to touch and the material does not yellow over time like gypsum.
First, the wheels, the chassis and the inside of the wheel arches received a separate treatment with relatively dryly mixed tile grout, simulating snow and dirt clusters. Once thoroughly dried, the wheels were mounted. Then the model was sprayed with low surface tension water and loose tile grout was drizzled over hull and turret, creating a flaky coat of fake snow. Once dry again, everything received another coat of matt acrylic varnish to protect and fixate everything further.
A relatively quick build, done in a few days. The First to Fight kit is very simple and went together well, but I’d use something else the next time due to the odd material it was molded with. The outcome of an 4x8 scout car looks quite plausible, though, like the missing link between the Sd.Kfz. 231 and 232 – the unintended similarity with the Soviet BA-10 heavy armored car was a bit surprising, though. And the snow on the model eventually makes it look a bit more interesting, the stunt was worth the effort.
Mobilization tent of the National Guard of Ukraine.
Chernivtsi City Day.
Chernivtsi, Ukraine.
Chernivtsi City Day is celebrated in the first Saturday of October. In 2017 Chernivtsi City Day falls on October 7.
SLR Camera: Nikon F5
Lens: AF Zoom-Nikkor 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5D
Film: Kodak Ektar 100
Filter: Promaster Spectrum 7 UV
----------------------------------------------------------------
-- focal length - 35 mm
-- aperture - 8
Film was processed and scanned by "Mark" Studio Lab. in Chernivtsi. I am happy with the results.
To see the pictures taken with this camera click here.
Thank you for your comments and Fav's.
+++ 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:
Immediately after the 1989 Velvet Revolution, the Czech president Václav Havel declared a de-mobilization of the Czech defense industry. Nevertheless, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Czech company Aero Vodochody continued developing the basic L-39 Albatros design with a view toward greater export. The resulting L-39MS, later re-designed as L-59 Super Albatros, featured a more powerful turbofan engine, advanced avionics, and has been bought in quantity by Egypt and Tunisia. In 1993, a group of Czech military experts launched a project of production of a modern domestic fighter to replace the obsolete Soviet aircraft. Since the proposed Aero L-X supersonic fighter development proved to be financially demanding (up to US$2 billion), the less costly L-159 subsonic attack aircraft was approved for procurement instead.
Conducted between the years 1994 and 1997, the technical development of L-159 ALCA (Advanced Light Combat Aircraft) in Aero Vodochody consisted primarily of building one L-159 two-seat prototype based on the L-59 airframe, utilizing western engine, avionics and weapon systems, with Rockwell Collins (eventually Boeing) as the avionics integrator.
The L-159 ALCA was designed for the principal role of light combat aircraft (single-seat L-159A variant) or light attack jet and advanced/lead-in fighter trainer (two-seat L-159B and T variants). The design of the L-159 was derived from the L-39/59 in terms of aerodynamic configuration, but a number of changes were made to improve its combat capabilities. These included strengthening of the airframe, reinforcing of the cockpit with composite and ceramic ballistic armor and enlargement of the aircraft's nose to accommodate a radar. Compared to the L-59, number of underwing pylons was increased from four to six, and a new hardpoint under the fuselage was added instead of a fixed GSh-23L cannon in an external fairing. The aircraft was capable of carrying external loads up to 2,340 kg, ranging from unguided bombs and rocket pods to air-to-ground and air-to-air guided missiles or special devices to conduct aerial reconnaissance or electronic warfare. Guided precision ordnance like laser-guided glide bombs could be carried, too, thanks to the aircraft’s ability to carry respective targeting equipment, for example the AN/AAQ-28(V) LITENING pod.
The L-159 was powered by the non-afterburning Honeywell/ITEC F124-GA-100 turbofan engine with a maximum thrust of 28 kN. Almost 2,000 litres of fuel was stored in eight internal tanks (six in the fuselage, two at the wingtips) with up to four external drop tanks (two 500 L and two 350 L tanks) carried under the inner wings.
The lightly armored cockpit was equipped with a VS-2B ejection seat, capable of catapulting the pilot at a zero flight level and at zero speed. The aircraft's avionics based on the MIL-STD-1553 databus include a Selex Navigation and Attack Suite, Ring Laser Gyro based Inertial Navigation System (INS) and Global Positioning System (GPS). Flight data was displayed both at the FV-3000 head-up display (HUD) and on two multi-function displays (MFD). Communications were provided by a pair of Collins ARC-182 transceivers. Self-protection of the L-159 was ensured by a Sky Guardian 200 radar warning receiver (RWR) and Vinten Vicon 78 Series 455 chaff and flare dispensers. L-159A and T2 variants were equipped with the lightweight Italian FIAR Grifo L multi-mode Doppler radar for all-weather, day and night operations.
The maiden flight of the first L-159 prototype occurred on 2 August 1997 with a two-seat version. On 18 August 1998, the single-seat L-159A prototype first flew; it was completed to Czech customer specifications. 10 April 2000 marked the first delivery of L-159A to the Czech Air Force and the type was marketed for export.
One of the type’s foreign operators became the young Republic of Catalonia, which had declared independence from Spain in 2017. The Catalan independence movement already began in 1922, when Francesc Macià founded the political party Estat Català (Catalan State), but the modern independence movement began and gained serious momentum in 2010, when the Constitutional Court of Spain ruled that some of the articles of the 2006 Statute of Autonomy - which had been agreed with the Spanish government and passed by a referendum in Catalonia - were unconstitutional, and others were to be interpreted restrictively. Popular protest against this decision quickly turned into demands for independence. Starting with the town of Arenys de Munt, over 550 municipalities in Catalonia held symbolic referendums on independence between 2009 and 2011. All of the towns returned a high "yes" vote, with a turnout of around 30% of those eligible to vote. A 2010 protest demonstration against the court's decision, organized by the cultural organization Òmnium Cultural, was attended by over a million people. The popular movement fed upwards to the politicians; a second mass protest on 11 September 2012 (the National Day of Catalonia) explicitly called on the Catalan government to begin the process towards independence. Catalan president Artur Mas called a snap general election, which resulted in a pro-independence majority for the first time in the region's history. The new parliament adopted the Catalan Sovereignty Declaration in early 2013, asserting that the Catalan people had the right to decide their own political future.
After three more troublesome years and constant strife for independence from Spain, the Catalonian president Carles Puigdemont eventually announced a binding referendum on the topic. Although deemed illegal by the Spanish government and the Constitutional Court, the referendum was held on 1 October 2017. In a vote where the anti-independence parties called for non-participation, results showed a 90% vote in favor of independence, with a turnout of 43%. Based on this result, on 27 October 2017 the Parliament of Catalonia approved a resolution unilaterally creating an independent Republic.
This event was also the rather sudden birth of the Catalonian armed forces. Esp. the nascent air force, called Guàrdies Aèries de la República Catalana (GARC, Republic of Catalonia Air Guard), faced serious trouble, since Spain refused any assistance. Furthermore, there were no former Spanish military air bases in the region that could be taken, and any equipment and infrastructure had to be procured from scratch and on short notice.
In the wake of this hasted start, the L-159s became part of the GARC’s initial mixed bag of flying low-budget equipment. They were 2nd hand machines, bought from EADS-CASA of Spain and mothballed since 2012 after a barter deal with the Czech Republic: In 2009, EADS had exchanged with the CzAF four CASA C-295 transporters for three L-159As, two L-159T1s and 130 million Euros. These aircraft were still in EADS inventory in late 2017, even though grounded and taken out of service since 2012, because the operations of this small fleet as chasing aircraft were expensive and no buyer could be found in the meantime.
However, in 2018 the company sold them, under indirect pressure from NATO, to the Catalonian government at a “symbolic”, yet unspecified, price. This small fleet was soon augmented by five more L-159As and ten L-159T1s which were directly procured from the Czech Republic in 2019. These aircraft formed the initial, small backbone of the young country’s air defense, armed with AIM-9 Sidewinders (AIM-120 AMRAAM was possible, to, but not procured due to severe budget restraints) and Mauser BK-27 cannon in conformal pods. Since no military airfields with a suitable infrastructure for jet aircraft were available for the GARC at the time of their purchase and introduction, the L-159s were initially based at two public regional airports: at Reus, in the proximity of Tarragona at the Mediterranean coast, and at Girona in the country’s north, where airfield sections were separated of the military operations.
General characteristics:
Crew: one
Length: 12.72 m (41 ft 8¾ in)
Wingspan: 9.54 m (31 ft 3½ in)
Height: 4.87 m (16 ft)
Wing area: 18.80 m² (202.4 ft²)
Airfoil: NACA 64A-012
Aspect ratio: 4.8:1
Empty weight: 4,350 kg (9,590 lb)
Max. takeoff weight: 8,000 kg (17,637 lb)
Powerplant:
1× Honeywell F124-GA-100 turbofan, delivering 28.2 kN (6,330 lbf) thrust
Performance:
Never exceed speed: 960 km/h (518 knots, 596 mph)
Maximum speed: 936 km/h (505 knots, 581 mph) at sea level, clean
Stall speed: 185 km/h (100 knots, 115 mph)
Range: 1,570 km (848 nmi, 975 mi) max internal fuel
Combat radius: 565 km (305 nmi, 351 mi) lo-lo-lo, with a gun pod, 2× Mark 82 bombs, 2× AIM-9
Sidewinder and 2× 500 L drop tanks
Service ceiling: 13,200 m (43,300 ft)
Rate of climb: 62 m/s (12,220 ft/min)
Armament:
7Í hardpoints in total, 3 under each wing (outer pylons only for AAMs) and 1 under the fuselage,
holding up to 2,340 kg (5,159 lb) of ordnance
The kit and its assembly:
This model was spawned by a grain of truth: as mentioned in the background, EADS Spain had actually bought a few L-159s in 2009 from the CzAF in exchange for transporters, and together with the ongoing plans of an independent Catalonia I merged both into this ALCA single seater for the fictional Republic of Catalonia Air Guard.
The kit is the relatively new KP L-159. This is basically a nice model, but the kit has some severe flaws (see below). The model was basically built OOB, I just added AIM-9L Sidewinders and their respective launch rails as external ordnance on the outermost underwing hardpoints. Since I did not find the standard gun pod (a ZVI PL-20 Plamen pod with 2×20 mm guns) suitable, I decided to give the GARC aircraft a heavier, Western weapon in the form of a Mauser BK-27 (the same weapon used onboard of the Panavia Tornado or the Saab Gripen) in a conformal cannon pod under the fuselage. This piece was taken and adapted from a Heller Alpha Jet. Its shape perfectly fitted between the two ventral air brakes.
Concerning the kit itself, the build turned out to be a medium nightmare. The kit looked promising in the box, with fine engravings, but nothing fits well. There are no locator pins, you have (massive) ejection marks almost everywhere, and the parts’ attachment points to the sprues protrude into the parts themselves, so there’s a lot to clean up. At least there are no sinkholes.
Upon assembly, the cockpit tub – nicely detailed – would not fit into the fuselage at all and ended up in an oblique position (hidden through a pilot figure from the scrap box and a re-mounted avionics fairing in the rear cockpit). The air intakes left me guessing, too: while the edges are crisp and thin, the overall fit with the fuselage and the orientation of the parts had to be guesstimated, plus a mediocre fit, too. The instructions are not very helpful, either. I am quite disappointed and tried to make the best of the situation.
Painting and markings:
Much more thought was put into the model’s looks. What camouflage should such an aircraft carry? And I had to invent roundels/markings for a Catalonian air force aircraft, too.
Since the Catalonian L-159s were multi-purpose aircraft, yet primarily tasked with air space defense, I opted for an subdued air superiority scheme instead of a tactical low-level camouflage. Furthermore, the camouflage was supposed to be suited for a mountainous landscape (Pyrenees), relatively flat and dry land and also to open sea. This was a good opportunity to give a model the Greek “Ghost” scheme: a three-tone wraparound scheme consisting of FS 36307 (Light Sea Grey), 36251 (Aggressor Grey) and 35237 (Medium Grey, but actually a rather greyish blue). The pattern was adapted from Hellenic F-16s. I think it’s a good compromise, and it suits the ALCA well.
The national markings caused more headaches. I was looking for something that would not look like the Spanish roundel, but still reflect the Catalonian indpendence flag and – most important – I wanted to be able to create it from stock material (not printing them at home), with the option to replicate it on potential future builds.
In the end and after long safaris through my spare decal repository, I came up with a round marking. It consists of an Ukrainian roundel with a relatively thin outer yellow ring (from a Begemot MiG-29 sheet), placed on top of a Hinomaru, so that a thin, red outer ring was added. Onto the central, blue disc a white star (from a TL Modellbau sheet with US Army markings) was added. I think that this looks original enough?
There was a problem, though… In my first attempt to apply this construction, the roundels turned out to be VERY large overall. While the design itself looked O.K. (despite reminding of Captain America somehow), this looked ridiculous, esp. on an aircraft with a wraparound low-viz paint scheme. I was not satisfied, so I heavy-heartedly ripped the decals off again (using adhesive tape, works like a charm) and tried it again, in a smaller version.
Hinomaru became the basis once more, even though smaller, and then die-punched discs in yellow and blue (from generic decal sheet) were added, and finally small white stars again, one size smaller than during the first attempt. While this is still colorful and stands out from the grey background, the second attempt looked much more balanced now, and I stuck with it.
In order to add more flavor, I added Catalonian fin flashes and squadron emblems on the nose, depicting the “burro”, the Catalonian donkey which has become a kind of unofficial regional symbol as a kind of anti-mascot to the Spanish bull. These markings/decals were printed at home on white sheet.
The tactical codes were based on the Spanish system. The Spanish Air Force has its own alphanumeric system for identifying aircraft: This forms a prefix to the airframe serial number, usually marked on the tail. C means cazabombardero (fighter bomber); A, ataque (attack); P, patrulla (patrol); T, transporte (transport); E, enseñanza (training); D, search and rescue; H, helicopter; K, tanker; V, Vertical Take Off and Landing (VTOL); and U, utility. An example would be that the F-18 with "C.15-08" on the tail is the fifteenth type of fighter that arrived in the Spanish Air Force (the Eurofighter is the C.16) and is the eighth example of this type to enter the SAF. On the nose or fuselage, the aircraft has a numeral specific to the unit in which it is based.
Variants of planes in service, for example two-seater versions or tanker versions of transports planes, add another letter to differentiate their function, and have their own sequence of serial numbers separate from the primary versions. Example: "CE.15-02" will be the second F-18 two-seater (Fighter Trainer) delivered to the SAF. In addition, the aircraft used by the Spanish Air Force usually carry a code consisting of one or two digits followed by a dash and two numbers, painted on the nose or fuselage. The first number corresponds to the unit to which they belong, and the second the order in which they entered service. Example: the fourth F-18 arriving at Ala 12 will have on the nose the code "12-04". Those codes do change when the aircraft is re-allocated to a different unit. Quite complicated…
This led to the tactical code “2-03”, for the 3rd aircraft allocated to the 2nd fighter squadron, and “C.1-03” as individual registration as the 3rd aircraft of the 1st fighter type in Catalonian service. All codes were puzzled together with single black letters and numbers from TL Modellbau in 3 and 5mm size.
Finally, the kit was sealed with matt acrylic varnish.
+++ 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:
Due to the restrictions of the Versailles treaties, the Reichswehr was already dealing with the increasing mobilization and motorization of the army after the end of the First World War. The realization that the speed of the troop units required appropriate equipment was available early on. However, the Reichswehr suffered from financial constraints and during the Weimar Republic the industry only had limited capacity for series production of larger, armored vehicles.
Nevertheless, at that time the Sd.Kfz. 3 (unarmored half-track transport vehicle/1927), the ARW (eight-wheel car/1928) and the ZRW (ten-wheel car/1928) provided fundamental experience. The findings of these tests and the troop testing with the Sd.Kfz. 3 enabled a more precise specification of the new vehicles to be developed. The "heavy" armored cars were primarily intended for the reconnaissance units of the new armored forces.
The incipient rearmament could only start with a "cheap" solution, though. A three-part armored structure for the chassis of commercially available off-road trucks was developed by the Army Weapons Office, Dept. WaTest 6, in cooperation with the company Deutsche Eisenwerke AG. The typical truck chassis featured front-wheel steering and a driven bogie at the rear (4x6 layout). In June 1929, the companies Magirus, Daimler-Benz and Büssing-NAG were commissioned to develop the desired armored car from it. If you consider that this truck class was developed for a payload of 1.5t, you can already conclude from this that the vehicles, which are now equipped with a significantly heavy armored structure, had little off-road mobility. Even if the appearance of the vehicles supplied by the different manufacturers was similar, there were external distinguishing features by which the manufacturer could be identified. The vehicles were tested in the Reichswehr from 1932 and introduced later.
One of the four crew members (driver, commander, gunner, radio-operator) was used as a reverse driver: with the narrow streets of the time and a turning circle of between 13 and 16m, this function was essential for a truck-sized heavy reconnaissance vehicle. The chassis had the excellent ladder-type configuration, able to withstand the stress of rough rides at high speed. The scout car was 5570 mm long, 1820 mm wide, 2250 mm high and weighed 5.35, 5.7 or 6 tons, depending on the manufacturer. The hull was made of welded steel armor, 5 to 14.5 mm (0.2-0.57 in) thick depending on the angle (bottom to front) with well-sloped plates. The armament consisted of a 2 cm KwK 30 with 200 rounds and a MG 13 with 1300 rounds in a manually operated turret. The fuel supply was 90, 105 or 110 liters, but with a consumption of about 35 or 40 liters per 100 km, this resulted in a completely inadequate range for a scout car.
Having no true alternatives at hand, the armored 4x6 car was accepted and became known as the Sd.Kfz. 231 (6-wheel), and it was subsequently developed into two more vehicles. Up until 1937, 123 vehicles were built as Sd.Kfz. 231 reconnaissance cars and Sd.Kfz. 232 radio trucks. A further 28 were manufactured as Sd.Kfz. 263 (Panzerfunkwagen) command vehicles.
As early as 1932, after testing the pilot series, it was clear that the interim solution of "cheap" 6-wheel vehicles would not meet the future requirements of the armored divisions now planned. It was planned that from 1935/36 at least 18 vehicles of a new type that would meet the requirements for off-road mobility and high road speeds should be produced annually. Büssing-NAG had obviously made a good impression with the ARW and was now commissioned to make the revised vehicle ready for series production, which would become the SdKfz. 231 (8-Rad). The overall concept was completed between 1934 and 1935 and already showed all the features of the future type: all 8 wheels driven and steered, the same speed forwards and backwards, ability to change direction in less than 10 seconds, and a turning circle of "only" 10.5m. The vehicle layout was changed, too: the engine bay was relocated to the rear, the crew compartment was placed at the front end. This improved weight distribution, handling, and the field of view for the main forward driver.
The purpose of the new vehicles was identical to that of the earlier heavy 6-wheel vehicles, they were used on the same sites and so the same ordnance inventory designation was adopted, despite the vehicle’s many modifications. The so-called Sd.Kfz. 231 (8-Rad) was armed, corresponding to its 6-Rad counterpart, with a 2cm KwK 30 and the MG 13 (later MG 34) in a rotating turret. Likewise, the Sd.Kfz. 232 (8-Rad) carried a large, curved bow antenna, and there was a Sd.Kfz. 263 (8-Rad) command vehicle, too.
Nevertheless, the Army Weapons Office demanded a short-term solution for a vehicle based on the 4x6 chassis that offered better off-road performance and armament, namely a 37 mm anti-tank gun, with at least comparable range and armor protection. This interim vehicle was supposed to be ready for service in early 1934. Magirus accepted the challenge and proposed the Sd.Kfz. 241, a 4x8 vehicle. It retained the old overall 6-Rad layout with the front engine under a long bonnet, but it had a fourth steered axle added to lower ground pressure and improve the vehicle’s trench bridging capabilities. The powered two rear axles retained the 6-Rad’s twin wheels, so that the vehicle stood on a total of twelve tires with a relatively large footprint. The armored hull was very similar to the Sd.Kfz. 231 6-Rad, but carried a new, bigger turret with a 3.7 cm KwK 30 L/45 gun and an axis-parallel 7.92 mm MG 34 light machine gun.
The box-shaped turret exploited the hull’s width to the maximum and had a maximum armor of 15 mm, no base and the seat of the commander was attached to the tower wall. The commander sat elevated under a raised cupola in the rear section of the turret, just behind the main gun. He had five viewing slits protected by glass blocks and steel slides for all-round visibility. The gunner/loader, standing to the left of the main gun, had to constantly follow the movement of the turret, which was done by hand. In order to support the gunner when slewing the turret, the commander had an additional handle on the right side. The two crew members also had a turret position indicator.
The cannon was fired electrically via a trigger, the machine gun was operated mechanically with a pedal. To aim and view the outside, the gunner had a gun sight to the left of the gun with an opening in the gun mantlet. Standard access to the vehicle was through low double-doors in the vehicle’ flank, but side exit openings in the turret with two flaps each were also frequently used to board it. Another entry was through the commander cupola’s lid.
With all this extra hardware, the Sd.Kfz. 241’s overall weight rose considerably from the late Sd.Kfz. 231 (6-Rad) nearly 6 tons to 7.5 tons. As a consequence, the chassis had to be reinforced and a more powerful engine was used, a 6-cylinder Maybach HL 42 TRKM w carburetor gasoline engine with 4170 cc capacity and 100 hp (74 kW) output at 3000 rpm.
As expected, the Sd.Kfz. 241 was not a success. Even though the first vehicles were delivered in time in mid-1934, its operational value was rather limited. Off-road capability was, due to the extra weight, the raised center of gravity and the lack of all-wheel drive, just as bad as the 6-Rad vehicles, and the more powerful engine’s higher fuel consumption allowed neither higher range, despite bigger fuel tanks, nor a better street performance. The only real progress was the new 3.7 cm KwK 30’s firepower, which was appreciated by the crews, even though the weapon was only effective against armored targets at close range. At 100 m, 64 mm of vertical armor could be penetrated, but at 500 m this already dropped to 31 mm, any angle in the armor weakened its hitting power even further. The weapon’s maximum range was 5.000m, though, and with HE rounds the Sd.Kfz. 241 could provide indirect fire support. Another factor that limited the vehicle’s effectiveness was that the gun had to be operated by a single crew member who had to load and aim at the same time – there was simply not enough space for a separate loader who would also have increased the gun’s rate of fire from six to maybe twelve rounds per minute. The vehicle’s armor was also inadequate and only gave protection against light firearms, but not against machine guns or heavier weapons. On the other side, the cupola on top of the turret offered the commander in his elevated position a very good all-round field of view, even when under full protection – but this progressive detail was not adopted for the following armored reconnaissance vehicles and remained exclusive to German battle tanks.
Only a total of fifty-five Sd.Kfz. 241s were completed by Magirus in Cologne until 1936, when production of the Sd.Kfz. 231 (8-Rad) vehicle family started and soon replaced the Sd.Kfz. 241, which was primarily operated at the Eastern Front in Poland and Czechoslovakia. By 1940, no Sd.Kfz. 241 was left in any frontline army unit, but a few survivors were grouped together and handed over to police units. Their main gun was either completely deleted or sometimes replaced with a second machine gun, and they were used for urban patrols and riot control duties. However, by 1942, no Sd.Kfz. 241 was left over.
Specifications:
Crew: Four (commander, gunner, driver, radio operator/rear driver)
Weight: 7.5 tons (11.450 lb)
Length: 5,85 metres (19 ft 2 in)
Width: 2,20 metres (7 ft 2 ½ in)
Height: 2,78 metres (9 ft 1 in)
Ground clearance: 28.5 cm (10 in)
Suspension: Torsion bar and leaf springs
Fuel capacity: 150 litres (33 imp gal; 40 US gal)
Armor:
8–15 mm (0.31 – 0.6 in)
Performance:
Maximum road speed: 70 km/h (43.5 mph)
52 km/h (32.3 mph) backwards
Operational range: 250 km (155 miles)
Power/weight: 13 PS/ton
Engine:
Maybach HL42 TRKM water-cooled straight 6-cylinder petrol engine with 100 hp (74 kW),
driving the rear pair of axles
Transmission:
Maybach gearbox with 5-speed forward and 4-speed reverse
Armament:
1× 37 mm KwK 30 L/45 cannon with 70 rounds
1× 7.92 mm MG 34 machine gun mounted co-axially with 1.300 rounds
The kit and its assembly:
This fictional armored car was inspired by a leftover rear axles from an Italeri Sd.Kfz. 231 (6-Rad) model that I converted into a fictional half-track variant some time ago. I wondered if the set could be transplanted under an 8-Rad chassis, to create a kind of missing link to the 8x8 successors of the Sd.Kfz. 231 (6-Rad) with a total of twelve tires on four axles.
The basis became a First to Fight 1:72 Sd.Kfz. 231 (8-Rad) kit – a rather simple and robust affair, apparently primarily intended for tabletop purposes. But the overall impression is good, and it would be modified, anyway, even though the plastic turned out to be rather soft/waxy and the parts’ sprue attachment points a bit wacky.
The hull was “turned around” to drive backwards, so that its rear engine ended up in the front. I eventually only used the rear twin wheels from the Sd.Kfz. 231 (6-Rad), but not its single axles and laminated springs. Instead, I first cut the OOB mudguards in two halves, removed their side skirts and glued them onto the lower hull in reversed order, so that the exhausts and their muffler boxes would end up at the rear of the front fenders. With these in place I checked the axles’ position from the OOB ladder chassis, which is a single, integral part, and found that the rear axles’ position had to be moved by 2mm backwards. Cutting the original piece and re-arranging it was easier to scratch a new rear suspension, and the rocker bars had to be shortened to accept the wider twin wheels.
The original small turret with the 20 mm autocannon was deleted and replaced with core elements from a Panzer III turret, left over from previous conversion projects. Wider than any original turret of the Sd.Kfz. 231/232 family, it had to be narrowed by roughly 5mm – I had to cut a respective plug from the turret’s and the mantlet’s middle section, the deformed hatch was covered under a Panzer III commander cupola. To mate the re-arranged turret with the OOB adapter plate to mount it onto the hull, and to add overall stability to the construction, I filled the interior with 2C putty.
The typical storage bin at the turret’s rear was omitted, though, it would have made it too large for the compact truck chassis. The shape was a perfect stylistic match, even though, with the longer gun barrel, the vehicle reminds a lot of the Soviet BA-10 heavy armored car?
Most small details like the bumpers and the headlights were taken OOB, I added a whip antenna base at the rear and mounted two spare wheels at the back, one of them covered with a tarpaulin (made from paper tissue drenched with white glue, this was also used to create the gun mantlet seals).
Painting and markings:
Typical for German vehicles from the early WWII stages the Sd.Kfz. 241 was painted Panzergrau (RAL 7021; I used Humbrol 67, which is authentic, but mixed it with some 125 to create a slightly lighter shade of grey) overall - quite dull, but realistic. To make the vehicle look more interesting, though, I added authentic contemporary camouflage in the form of low-contrast blotches with RAL 8017, a very dark reddish brown, mixed from Humbrol 160 and some 98. Better, but IMHO still not enough.
After the model received a washing with highly thinned red-brown acrylic artist paint I applied the few decals and gave the parts an overall dry-brushing treatment with grey and dark earth. Everything was sealed with matt acrylic varnish. For even more “excitement”, I decided to add a coat of snow.
For the simulated “frosting” I used white tile grout – which has the benefits of being water-soluble, quite sturdy to touch and the material does not yellow over time like gypsum.
First, the wheels, the chassis and the inside of the wheel arches received a separate treatment with relatively dryly mixed tile grout, simulating snow and dirt clusters. Once thoroughly dried, the wheels were mounted. Then the model was sprayed with low surface tension water and loose tile grout was drizzled over hull and turret, creating a flaky coat of fake snow. Once dry again, everything received another coat of matt acrylic varnish to protect and fixate everything further.
A relatively quick build, done in a few days. The First to Fight kit is very simple and went together well, but I’d use something else the next time due to the odd material it was molded with. The outcome of an 4x8 scout car looks quite plausible, though, like the missing link between the Sd.Kfz. 231 and 232 – the unintended similarity with the Soviet BA-10 heavy armored car was a bit surprising, though. And the snow on the model eventually makes it look a bit more interesting, the stunt was worth the effort.
UGSF soldiers move through the dark mist towards the border of France preparing to invade after the recent arming of the French border post, fort Makay, by the resistance
+++ 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:
Due to the restrictions of the Versailles treaties, the Reichswehr was already dealing with the increasing mobilization and motorization of the army after the end of the First World War. The realization that the speed of the troop units required appropriate equipment was available early on. However, the Reichswehr suffered from financial constraints and during the Weimar Republic the industry only had limited capacity for series production of larger, armored vehicles.
Nevertheless, at that time the Sd.Kfz. 3 (unarmored half-track transport vehicle/1927), the ARW (eight-wheel car/1928) and the ZRW (ten-wheel car/1928) provided fundamental experience. The findings of these tests and the troop testing with the Sd.Kfz. 3 enabled a more precise specification of the new vehicles to be developed. The "heavy" armored cars were primarily intended for the reconnaissance units of the new armored forces.
The incipient rearmament could only start with a "cheap" solution, though. A three-part armored structure for the chassis of commercially available off-road trucks was developed by the Army Weapons Office, Dept. WaTest 6, in cooperation with the company Deutsche Eisenwerke AG. The typical truck chassis featured front-wheel steering and a driven bogie at the rear (4x6 layout). In June 1929, the companies Magirus, Daimler-Benz and Büssing-NAG were commissioned to develop the desired armored car from it. If you consider that this truck class was developed for a payload of 1.5t, you can already conclude from this that the vehicles, which are now equipped with a significantly heavy armored structure, had little off-road mobility. Even if the appearance of the vehicles supplied by the different manufacturers was similar, there were external distinguishing features by which the manufacturer could be identified. The vehicles were tested in the Reichswehr from 1932 and introduced later.
One of the four crew members (driver, commander, gunner, radio-operator) was used as a reverse driver: with the narrow streets of the time and a turning circle of between 13 and 16m, this function was essential for a truck-sized heavy reconnaissance vehicle. The chassis had the excellent ladder-type configuration, able to withstand the stress of rough rides at high speed. The scout car was 5570 mm long, 1820 mm wide, 2250 mm high and weighed 5.35, 5.7 or 6 tons, depending on the manufacturer. The hull was made of welded steel armor, 5 to 14.5 mm (0.2-0.57 in) thick depending on the angle (bottom to front) with well-sloped plates. The armament consisted of a 2 cm KwK 30 with 200 rounds and a MG 13 with 1300 rounds in a manually operated turret. The fuel supply was 90, 105 or 110 liters, but with a consumption of about 35 or 40 liters per 100 km, this resulted in a completely inadequate range for a scout car.
Having no true alternatives at hand, the armored 4x6 car was accepted and became known as the Sd.Kfz. 231 (6-wheel), and it was subsequently developed into two more vehicles. Up until 1937, 123 vehicles were built as Sd.Kfz. 231 reconnaissance cars and Sd.Kfz. 232 radio trucks. A further 28 were manufactured as Sd.Kfz. 263 (Panzerfunkwagen) command vehicles.
As early as 1932, after testing the pilot series, it was clear that the interim solution of "cheap" 6-wheel vehicles would not meet the future requirements of the armored divisions now planned. It was planned that from 1935/36 at least 18 vehicles of a new type that would meet the requirements for off-road mobility and high road speeds should be produced annually. Büssing-NAG had obviously made a good impression with the ARW and was now commissioned to make the revised vehicle ready for series production, which would become the SdKfz. 231 (8-Rad). The overall concept was completed between 1934 and 1935 and already showed all the features of the future type: all 8 wheels driven and steered, the same speed forwards and backwards, ability to change direction in less than 10 seconds, and a turning circle of "only" 10.5m. The vehicle layout was changed, too: the engine bay was relocated to the rear, the crew compartment was placed at the front end. This improved weight distribution, handling, and the field of view for the main forward driver.
The purpose of the new vehicles was identical to that of the earlier heavy 6-wheel vehicles, they were used on the same sites and so the same ordnance inventory designation was adopted, despite the vehicle’s many modifications. The so-called Sd.Kfz. 231 (8-Rad) was armed, corresponding to its 6-Rad counterpart, with a 2cm KwK 30 and the MG 13 (later MG 34) in a rotating turret. Likewise, the Sd.Kfz. 232 (8-Rad) carried a large, curved bow antenna, and there was a Sd.Kfz. 263 (8-Rad) command vehicle, too.
Nevertheless, the Army Weapons Office demanded a short-term solution for a vehicle based on the 4x6 chassis that offered better off-road performance and armament, namely a 37 mm anti-tank gun, with at least comparable range and armor protection. This interim vehicle was supposed to be ready for service in early 1934. Magirus accepted the challenge and proposed the Sd.Kfz. 241, a 4x8 vehicle. It retained the old overall 6-Rad layout with the front engine under a long bonnet, but it had a fourth steered axle added to lower ground pressure and improve the vehicle’s trench bridging capabilities. The powered two rear axles retained the 6-Rad’s twin wheels, so that the vehicle stood on a total of twelve tires with a relatively large footprint. The armored hull was very similar to the Sd.Kfz. 231 6-Rad, but carried a new, bigger turret with a 3.7 cm KwK 30 L/45 gun and an axis-parallel 7.92 mm MG 34 light machine gun.
The box-shaped turret exploited the hull’s width to the maximum and had a maximum armor of 15 mm, no base and the seat of the commander was attached to the tower wall. The commander sat elevated under a raised cupola in the rear section of the turret, just behind the main gun. He had five viewing slits protected by glass blocks and steel slides for all-round visibility. The gunner/loader, standing to the left of the main gun, had to constantly follow the movement of the turret, which was done by hand. In order to support the gunner when slewing the turret, the commander had an additional handle on the right side. The two crew members also had a turret position indicator.
The cannon was fired electrically via a trigger, the machine gun was operated mechanically with a pedal. To aim and view the outside, the gunner had a gun sight to the left of the gun with an opening in the gun mantlet. Standard access to the vehicle was through low double-doors in the vehicle’ flank, but side exit openings in the turret with two flaps each were also frequently used to board it. Another entry was through the commander cupola’s lid.
With all this extra hardware, the Sd.Kfz. 241’s overall weight rose considerably from the late Sd.Kfz. 231 (6-Rad) nearly 6 tons to 7.5 tons. As a consequence, the chassis had to be reinforced and a more powerful engine was used, a 6-cylinder Maybach HL 42 TRKM w carburetor gasoline engine with 4170 cc capacity and 100 hp (74 kW) output at 3000 rpm.
As expected, the Sd.Kfz. 241 was not a success. Even though the first vehicles were delivered in time in mid-1934, its operational value was rather limited. Off-road capability was, due to the extra weight, the raised center of gravity and the lack of all-wheel drive, just as bad as the 6-Rad vehicles, and the more powerful engine’s higher fuel consumption allowed neither higher range, despite bigger fuel tanks, nor a better street performance. The only real progress was the new 3.7 cm KwK 30’s firepower, which was appreciated by the crews, even though the weapon was only effective against armored targets at close range. At 100 m, 64 mm of vertical armor could be penetrated, but at 500 m this already dropped to 31 mm, any angle in the armor weakened its hitting power even further. The weapon’s maximum range was 5.000m, though, and with HE rounds the Sd.Kfz. 241 could provide indirect fire support. Another factor that limited the vehicle’s effectiveness was that the gun had to be operated by a single crew member who had to load and aim at the same time – there was simply not enough space for a separate loader who would also have increased the gun’s rate of fire from six to maybe twelve rounds per minute. The vehicle’s armor was also inadequate and only gave protection against light firearms, but not against machine guns or heavier weapons. On the other side, the cupola on top of the turret offered the commander in his elevated position a very good all-round field of view, even when under full protection – but this progressive detail was not adopted for the following armored reconnaissance vehicles and remained exclusive to German battle tanks.
Only a total of fifty-five Sd.Kfz. 241s were completed by Magirus in Cologne until 1936, when production of the Sd.Kfz. 231 (8-Rad) vehicle family started and soon replaced the Sd.Kfz. 241, which was primarily operated at the Eastern Front in Poland and Czechoslovakia. By 1940, no Sd.Kfz. 241 was left in any frontline army unit, but a few survivors were grouped together and handed over to police units. Their main gun was either completely deleted or sometimes replaced with a second machine gun, and they were used for urban patrols and riot control duties. However, by 1942, no Sd.Kfz. 241 was left over.
Specifications:
Crew: Four (commander, gunner, driver, radio operator/rear driver)
Weight: 7.5 tons (11.450 lb)
Length: 5,85 metres (19 ft 2 in)
Width: 2,20 metres (7 ft 2 ½ in)
Height: 2,78 metres (9 ft 1 in)
Ground clearance: 28.5 cm (10 in)
Suspension: Torsion bar and leaf springs
Fuel capacity: 150 litres (33 imp gal; 40 US gal)
Armor:
8–15 mm (0.31 – 0.6 in)
Performance:
Maximum road speed: 70 km/h (43.5 mph)
52 km/h (32.3 mph) backwards
Operational range: 250 km (155 miles)
Power/weight: 13 PS/ton
Engine:
Maybach HL42 TRKM water-cooled straight 6-cylinder petrol engine with 100 hp (74 kW),
driving the rear pair of axles
Transmission:
Maybach gearbox with 5-speed forward and 4-speed reverse
Armament:
1× 37 mm KwK 30 L/45 cannon with 70 rounds
1× 7.92 mm MG 34 machine gun mounted co-axially with 1.300 rounds
The kit and its assembly:
This fictional armored car was inspired by a leftover rear axles from an Italeri Sd.Kfz. 231 (6-Rad) model that I converted into a fictional half-track variant some time ago. I wondered if the set could be transplanted under an 8-Rad chassis, to create a kind of missing link to the 8x8 successors of the Sd.Kfz. 231 (6-Rad) with a total of twelve tires on four axles.
The basis became a First to Fight 1:72 Sd.Kfz. 231 (8-Rad) kit – a rather simple and robust affair, apparently primarily intended for tabletop purposes. But the overall impression is good, and it would be modified, anyway, even though the plastic turned out to be rather soft/waxy and the parts’ sprue attachment points a bit wacky.
The hull was “turned around” to drive backwards, so that its rear engine ended up in the front. I eventually only used the rear twin wheels from the Sd.Kfz. 231 (6-Rad), but not its single axles and laminated springs. Instead, I first cut the OOB mudguards in two halves, removed their side skirts and glued them onto the lower hull in reversed order, so that the exhausts and their muffler boxes would end up at the rear of the front fenders. With these in place I checked the axles’ position from the OOB ladder chassis, which is a single, integral part, and found that the rear axles’ position had to be moved by 2mm backwards. Cutting the original piece and re-arranging it was easier to scratch a new rear suspension, and the rocker bars had to be shortened to accept the wider twin wheels.
The original small turret with the 20 mm autocannon was deleted and replaced with core elements from a Panzer III turret, left over from previous conversion projects. Wider than any original turret of the Sd.Kfz. 231/232 family, it had to be narrowed by roughly 5mm – I had to cut a respective plug from the turret’s and the mantlet’s middle section, the deformed hatch was covered under a Panzer III commander cupola. To mate the re-arranged turret with the OOB adapter plate to mount it onto the hull, and to add overall stability to the construction, I filled the interior with 2C putty.
The typical storage bin at the turret’s rear was omitted, though, it would have made it too large for the compact truck chassis. The shape was a perfect stylistic match, even though, with the longer gun barrel, the vehicle reminds a lot of the Soviet BA-10 heavy armored car?
Most small details like the bumpers and the headlights were taken OOB, I added a whip antenna base at the rear and mounted two spare wheels at the back, one of them covered with a tarpaulin (made from paper tissue drenched with white glue, this was also used to create the gun mantlet seals).
Painting and markings:
Typical for German vehicles from the early WWII stages the Sd.Kfz. 241 was painted Panzergrau (RAL 7021; I used Humbrol 67, which is authentic, but mixed it with some 125 to create a slightly lighter shade of grey) overall - quite dull, but realistic. To make the vehicle look more interesting, though, I added authentic contemporary camouflage in the form of low-contrast blotches with RAL 8017, a very dark reddish brown, mixed from Humbrol 160 and some 98. Better, but IMHO still not enough.
After the model received a washing with highly thinned red-brown acrylic artist paint I applied the few decals and gave the parts an overall dry-brushing treatment with grey and dark earth. Everything was sealed with matt acrylic varnish. For even more “excitement”, I decided to add a coat of snow.
For the simulated “frosting” I used white tile grout – which has the benefits of being water-soluble, quite sturdy to touch and the material does not yellow over time like gypsum.
First, the wheels, the chassis and the inside of the wheel arches received a separate treatment with relatively dryly mixed tile grout, simulating snow and dirt clusters. Once thoroughly dried, the wheels were mounted. Then the model was sprayed with low surface tension water and loose tile grout was drizzled over hull and turret, creating a flaky coat of fake snow. Once dry again, everything received another coat of matt acrylic varnish to protect and fixate everything further.
A relatively quick build, done in a few days. The First to Fight kit is very simple and went together well, but I’d use something else the next time due to the odd material it was molded with. The outcome of an 4x8 scout car looks quite plausible, though, like the missing link between the Sd.Kfz. 231 and 232 – the unintended similarity with the Soviet BA-10 heavy armored car was a bit surprising, though. And the snow on the model eventually makes it look a bit more interesting, the stunt was worth the effort.
+++ 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:
Due to the restrictions of the Versailles treaties, the Reichswehr was already dealing with the increasing mobilization and motorization of the army after the end of the First World War. The realization that the speed of the troop units required appropriate equipment was available early on. However, the Reichswehr suffered from financial constraints and during the Weimar Republic the industry only had limited capacity for series production of larger, armored vehicles.
Nevertheless, at that time the Sd.Kfz. 3 (unarmored half-track transport vehicle/1927), the ARW (eight-wheel car/1928) and the ZRW (ten-wheel car/1928) provided fundamental experience. The findings of these tests and the troop testing with the Sd.Kfz. 3 enabled a more precise specification of the new vehicles to be developed. The "heavy" armored cars were primarily intended for the reconnaissance units of the new armored forces.
The incipient rearmament could only start with a "cheap" solution, though. A three-part armored structure for the chassis of commercially available off-road trucks was developed by the Army Weapons Office, Dept. WaTest 6, in cooperation with the company Deutsche Eisenwerke AG. The typical truck chassis featured front-wheel steering and a driven bogie at the rear (4x6 layout). In June 1929, the companies Magirus, Daimler-Benz and Büssing-NAG were commissioned to develop the desired armored car from it. If you consider that this truck class was developed for a payload of 1.5t, you can already conclude from this that the vehicles, which are now equipped with a significantly heavy armored structure, had little off-road mobility. Even if the appearance of the vehicles supplied by the different manufacturers was similar, there were external distinguishing features by which the manufacturer could be identified. The vehicles were tested in the Reichswehr from 1932 and introduced later.
One of the four crew members (driver, commander, gunner, radio-operator) was used as a reverse driver: with the narrow streets of the time and a turning circle of between 13 and 16m, this function was essential for a truck-sized heavy reconnaissance vehicle. The chassis had the excellent ladder-type configuration, able to withstand the stress of rough rides at high speed. The scout car was 5570 mm long, 1820 mm wide, 2250 mm high and weighed 5.35, 5.7 or 6 tons, depending on the manufacturer. The hull was made of welded steel armor, 5 to 14.5 mm (0.2-0.57 in) thick depending on the angle (bottom to front) with well-sloped plates. The armament consisted of a 2 cm KwK 30 with 200 rounds and a MG 13 with 1300 rounds in a manually operated turret. The fuel supply was 90, 105 or 110 liters, but with a consumption of about 35 or 40 liters per 100 km, this resulted in a completely inadequate range for a scout car.
Having no true alternatives at hand, the armored 4x6 car was accepted and became known as the Sd.Kfz. 231 (6-wheel), and it was subsequently developed into two more vehicles. Up until 1937, 123 vehicles were built as Sd.Kfz. 231 reconnaissance cars and Sd.Kfz. 232 radio trucks. A further 28 were manufactured as Sd.Kfz. 263 (Panzerfunkwagen) command vehicles.
As early as 1932, after testing the pilot series, it was clear that the interim solution of "cheap" 6-wheel vehicles would not meet the future requirements of the armored divisions now planned. It was planned that from 1935/36 at least 18 vehicles of a new type that would meet the requirements for off-road mobility and high road speeds should be produced annually. Büssing-NAG had obviously made a good impression with the ARW and was now commissioned to make the revised vehicle ready for series production, which would become the SdKfz. 231 (8-Rad). The overall concept was completed between 1934 and 1935 and already showed all the features of the future type: all 8 wheels driven and steered, the same speed forwards and backwards, ability to change direction in less than 10 seconds, and a turning circle of "only" 10.5m. The vehicle layout was changed, too: the engine bay was relocated to the rear, the crew compartment was placed at the front end. This improved weight distribution, handling, and the field of view for the main forward driver.
The purpose of the new vehicles was identical to that of the earlier heavy 6-wheel vehicles, they were used on the same sites and so the same ordnance inventory designation was adopted, despite the vehicle’s many modifications. The so-called Sd.Kfz. 231 (8-Rad) was armed, corresponding to its 6-Rad counterpart, with a 2cm KwK 30 and the MG 13 (later MG 34) in a rotating turret. Likewise, the Sd.Kfz. 232 (8-Rad) carried a large, curved bow antenna, and there was a Sd.Kfz. 263 (8-Rad) command vehicle, too.
Nevertheless, the Army Weapons Office demanded a short-term solution for a vehicle based on the 4x6 chassis that offered better off-road performance and armament, namely a 37 mm anti-tank gun, with at least comparable range and armor protection. This interim vehicle was supposed to be ready for service in early 1934. Magirus accepted the challenge and proposed the Sd.Kfz. 241, a 4x8 vehicle. It retained the old overall 6-Rad layout with the front engine under a long bonnet, but it had a fourth steered axle added to lower ground pressure and improve the vehicle’s trench bridging capabilities. The powered two rear axles retained the 6-Rad’s twin wheels, so that the vehicle stood on a total of twelve tires with a relatively large footprint. The armored hull was very similar to the Sd.Kfz. 231 6-Rad, but carried a new, bigger turret with a 3.7 cm KwK 30 L/45 gun and an axis-parallel 7.92 mm MG 34 light machine gun.
The box-shaped turret exploited the hull’s width to the maximum and had a maximum armor of 15 mm, no base and the seat of the commander was attached to the tower wall. The commander sat elevated under a raised cupola in the rear section of the turret, just behind the main gun. He had five viewing slits protected by glass blocks and steel slides for all-round visibility. The gunner/loader, standing to the left of the main gun, had to constantly follow the movement of the turret, which was done by hand. In order to support the gunner when slewing the turret, the commander had an additional handle on the right side. The two crew members also had a turret position indicator.
The cannon was fired electrically via a trigger, the machine gun was operated mechanically with a pedal. To aim and view the outside, the gunner had a gun sight to the left of the gun with an opening in the gun mantlet. Standard access to the vehicle was through low double-doors in the vehicle’ flank, but side exit openings in the turret with two flaps each were also frequently used to board it. Another entry was through the commander cupola’s lid.
With all this extra hardware, the Sd.Kfz. 241’s overall weight rose considerably from the late Sd.Kfz. 231 (6-Rad) nearly 6 tons to 7.5 tons. As a consequence, the chassis had to be reinforced and a more powerful engine was used, a 6-cylinder Maybach HL 42 TRKM w carburetor gasoline engine with 4170 cc capacity and 100 hp (74 kW) output at 3000 rpm.
As expected, the Sd.Kfz. 241 was not a success. Even though the first vehicles were delivered in time in mid-1934, its operational value was rather limited. Off-road capability was, due to the extra weight, the raised center of gravity and the lack of all-wheel drive, just as bad as the 6-Rad vehicles, and the more powerful engine’s higher fuel consumption allowed neither higher range, despite bigger fuel tanks, nor a better street performance. The only real progress was the new 3.7 cm KwK 30’s firepower, which was appreciated by the crews, even though the weapon was only effective against armored targets at close range. At 100 m, 64 mm of vertical armor could be penetrated, but at 500 m this already dropped to 31 mm, any angle in the armor weakened its hitting power even further. The weapon’s maximum range was 5.000m, though, and with HE rounds the Sd.Kfz. 241 could provide indirect fire support. Another factor that limited the vehicle’s effectiveness was that the gun had to be operated by a single crew member who had to load and aim at the same time – there was simply not enough space for a separate loader who would also have increased the gun’s rate of fire from six to maybe twelve rounds per minute. The vehicle’s armor was also inadequate and only gave protection against light firearms, but not against machine guns or heavier weapons. On the other side, the cupola on top of the turret offered the commander in his elevated position a very good all-round field of view, even when under full protection – but this progressive detail was not adopted for the following armored reconnaissance vehicles and remained exclusive to German battle tanks.
Only a total of fifty-five Sd.Kfz. 241s were completed by Magirus in Cologne until 1936, when production of the Sd.Kfz. 231 (8-Rad) vehicle family started and soon replaced the Sd.Kfz. 241, which was primarily operated at the Eastern Front in Poland and Czechoslovakia. By 1940, no Sd.Kfz. 241 was left in any frontline army unit, but a few survivors were grouped together and handed over to police units. Their main gun was either completely deleted or sometimes replaced with a second machine gun, and they were used for urban patrols and riot control duties. However, by 1942, no Sd.Kfz. 241 was left over.
Specifications:
Crew: Four (commander, gunner, driver, radio operator/rear driver)
Weight: 7.5 tons (11.450 lb)
Length: 5,85 metres (19 ft 2 in)
Width: 2,20 metres (7 ft 2 ½ in)
Height: 2,78 metres (9 ft 1 in)
Ground clearance: 28.5 cm (10 in)
Suspension: Torsion bar and leaf springs
Fuel capacity: 150 litres (33 imp gal; 40 US gal)
Armor:
8–15 mm (0.31 – 0.6 in)
Performance:
Maximum road speed: 70 km/h (43.5 mph)
52 km/h (32.3 mph) backwards
Operational range: 250 km (155 miles)
Power/weight: 13 PS/ton
Engine:
Maybach HL42 TRKM water-cooled straight 6-cylinder petrol engine with 100 hp (74 kW),
driving the rear pair of axles
Transmission:
Maybach gearbox with 5-speed forward and 4-speed reverse
Armament:
1× 37 mm KwK 30 L/45 cannon with 70 rounds
1× 7.92 mm MG 34 machine gun mounted co-axially with 1.300 rounds
The kit and its assembly:
This fictional armored car was inspired by a leftover rear axles from an Italeri Sd.Kfz. 231 (6-Rad) model that I converted into a fictional half-track variant some time ago. I wondered if the set could be transplanted under an 8-Rad chassis, to create a kind of missing link to the 8x8 successors of the Sd.Kfz. 231 (6-Rad) with a total of twelve tires on four axles.
The basis became a First to Fight 1:72 Sd.Kfz. 231 (8-Rad) kit – a rather simple and robust affair, apparently primarily intended for tabletop purposes. But the overall impression is good, and it would be modified, anyway, even though the plastic turned out to be rather soft/waxy and the parts’ sprue attachment points a bit wacky.
The hull was “turned around” to drive backwards, so that its rear engine ended up in the front. I eventually only used the rear twin wheels from the Sd.Kfz. 231 (6-Rad), but not its single axles and laminated springs. Instead, I first cut the OOB mudguards in two halves, removed their side skirts and glued them onto the lower hull in reversed order, so that the exhausts and their muffler boxes would end up at the rear of the front fenders. With these in place I checked the axles’ position from the OOB ladder chassis, which is a single, integral part, and found that the rear axles’ position had to be moved by 2mm backwards. Cutting the original piece and re-arranging it was easier to scratch a new rear suspension, and the rocker bars had to be shortened to accept the wider twin wheels.
The original small turret with the 20 mm autocannon was deleted and replaced with core elements from a Panzer III turret, left over from previous conversion projects. Wider than any original turret of the Sd.Kfz. 231/232 family, it had to be narrowed by roughly 5mm – I had to cut a respective plug from the turret’s and the mantlet’s middle section, the deformed hatch was covered under a Panzer III commander cupola. To mate the re-arranged turret with the OOB adapter plate to mount it onto the hull, and to add overall stability to the construction, I filled the interior with 2C putty.
The typical storage bin at the turret’s rear was omitted, though, it would have made it too large for the compact truck chassis. The shape was a perfect stylistic match, even though, with the longer gun barrel, the vehicle reminds a lot of the Soviet BA-10 heavy armored car?
Most small details like the bumpers and the headlights were taken OOB, I added a whip antenna base at the rear and mounted two spare wheels at the back, one of them covered with a tarpaulin (made from paper tissue drenched with white glue, this was also used to create the gun mantlet seals).
Painting and markings:
Typical for German vehicles from the early WWII stages the Sd.Kfz. 241 was painted Panzergrau (RAL 7021; I used Humbrol 67, which is authentic, but mixed it with some 125 to create a slightly lighter shade of grey) overall - quite dull, but realistic. To make the vehicle look more interesting, though, I added authentic contemporary camouflage in the form of low-contrast blotches with RAL 8017, a very dark reddish brown, mixed from Humbrol 160 and some 98. Better, but IMHO still not enough.
After the model received a washing with highly thinned red-brown acrylic artist paint I applied the few decals and gave the parts an overall dry-brushing treatment with grey and dark earth. Everything was sealed with matt acrylic varnish. For even more “excitement”, I decided to add a coat of snow.
For the simulated “frosting” I used white tile grout – which has the benefits of being water-soluble, quite sturdy to touch and the material does not yellow over time like gypsum.
First, the wheels, the chassis and the inside of the wheel arches received a separate treatment with relatively dryly mixed tile grout, simulating snow and dirt clusters. Once thoroughly dried, the wheels were mounted. Then the model was sprayed with low surface tension water and loose tile grout was drizzled over hull and turret, creating a flaky coat of fake snow. Once dry again, everything received another coat of matt acrylic varnish to protect and fixate everything further.
A relatively quick build, done in a few days. The First to Fight kit is very simple and went together well, but I’d use something else the next time due to the odd material it was molded with. The outcome of an 4x8 scout car looks quite plausible, though, like the missing link between the Sd.Kfz. 231 and 232 – the unintended similarity with the Soviet BA-10 heavy armored car was a bit surprising, though. And the snow on the model eventually makes it look a bit more interesting, the stunt was worth the effort.
Viewing a salt barge long exposure trail on the Monongahela River, from the Liberty Bridge pedestrian access walkway.
Built in 1929, this 17-story Art Deco-style former passenger railroad station was designed by Fellheimer & Wagner to replace the multiple previous train stations and termini in Buffalo, which were scattered throughout the city and belonged to different railroads. The structure stands on the site of the old Union Depot built in 1874, which closed in the early 1920s. The station began construction in 1925 when the New York Central Railroad settled on building their new union terminal in Buffalo at the site, with the station being built to accommodate the expected growth of Buffalo from a city of about 550,000 people to one with 1.5 million people, and to accommodate continued growth in passenger numbers. However, both of these projections never materialized, with the city’s population growth and the railroad’s passenger numbers growth, already slowing in the 1920s, slowing further due to the Great Depression during the 1930s, and then beginning a long, steady decline, only being briefly buoyed by World War II before falling out of favor as automobile travel proved more flexible and air travel more swift than train travel. Due to these circumstances, the terminal was overbuilt and never reached its full capacity during its operations, only coming close during World War II due to resource shortages and mass mobilization of the United States during wartime. The terminal was offered for sale by the New York Central Railroad for one million dollars in 1956, but found no buyers, with continuing declines in passenger numbers, coupled with the decline in the population of Buffalo itself, leading to several services being ended during the 1950s and 1960s. In 1966, the railroad, in an effort to save costs and downsize their facilities, demolished several outbuildings in the complex, and in 1968, the once powerful New York Central Railroad, a husk of its former self, merged with the Pennsylvania Railroad in an attempt to consolidate their expenses and save both companies, but this merger proved unsuccessful, leading to their bankruptcy in 1976, with both railroads absorbed into the public-private partnership known as Conrail.
In the meantime, Amtrak was formed in 1971 to provide passenger rail service in the United States, operating out of the terminal until 1979, with the agency facing budgetary limitations that did not allow them to renovate the aging structure, which, when coupled with the massive expenses of keeping the building comfortable, dry, and well-lit, led to the agency building two smaller stations in Buffalo during the 1970s to replace it. The terminal was subsequently purchased by Anthony T. Fedele, whom managed to maintain the building in decent condition, but was unable to find any interested developers to reuse the building, and eventually fell behind on taxes, leading to the building being seized at foreclosure so the taxes could be recouped by the government. During the time it was owned by Fedele, the building was vacated by Conrail’s offices between 1980 and 1984, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984, with the final operations at the terminal, the interlocking towers that once signaled trains arriving at the station, being shut down in 1985. In 1986, the building was purchased at auction by Thomas Telesco, whom did not maintain the building, selling off many artifacts and fixtures from its interior, and proposing grandiose and unrealistic schemes of what he would do with the building, including being a stop on a high-speed rail line between New York and Toronto. The building was then sold to Bernie Tuchman and Samuel Tuchman, with the building seeing further elements removed and sold, and the building continuing to decay.
In 1997, the terminal, then in poor condition, was purchased by Scott Field of the Preservation Coalition of Erie County, whom paid for the building’s back taxes, and shortly thereafter, formed the Central Terminal Restoration Corporation, transferring ownership of the building to the organization. The building was stabilized and secured under the stewardship of the Central Terminal Restoration Corporation, which opened the building for public tours in 2003, and holds many fundraising events at the station every year. The building has been preserved, but a restoration or adaptive reuse of the structure has so far remained elusive.
The building features a brown brick exterior with an octagonal corner tower, with a large barrel-roofed main concourse structure wrapping around the tower to the south and east. The facade of the tower features multiple setbacks, chamfered corners, corner clock faces at the roofline above the twelfth floor, a rotunda with large archways and buttresses atop the tower with a decorative trim crown at the parapet, vertical window bays that stretch from the building’s base to the roofline, large entrances with metal canopies, large transoms, and stone surrounds, pilasters, and stone trim and caps atop the parapets. The main concourse portion of the building features large arched curtain walls at the ends of its barrel vaulted roof, a cavernous barrel vaulted interior, large metal canopies over the entrances, and a tunnel underneath that once allowed traffic on Curtiss Street to run beneath the building, though this has been closed since the 1980s due to the building’s decay, with a light court between the waiting room and a low-rise office block in the front, which sits just east of the tower and presents a similar facade treatment to that of the tower, with vertically accentuated window bays and pilasters. The rear of the building is more spartan in appearance, with a scar from the former location of the entrance to the train concourse to the rear, with the connecting structure having been removed following the discontinuation of railroad services at the building in 1979. The train concourse features multiple platforms with Art Deco-style aluminum canopies with sleek columns, thin-profile roofs, and rounded ends, with the train concourse featuring arched clerestory windows and a gabled roof, and being in a rather advanced state of deterioration with vegetation having grown throughout the structure and the surrounding abandoned tracks between the platforms. Attached to the southwest corner of the main building is the baggage building, a simpler six-story Art Deco-style structure with a buff brick exterior, a penthouse above the main entrance to the building, pilasters, vertically accentuated window bays, steel windows, stone spandrel panels, stone trim, and stone parapet caps, with long canopies along the base of the front and rear of the building that protected incoming and outgoing mail and baggage from inclement weather. To the west of the baggage building is the one-story mail processing building, which features a similar facade treatment, with the main difference besides height being the rooftop monitor windows in the middle of the building’s roof. Southwest of the baggage and mail processing building, sitting close to Memorial Drive, is a structure that formerly housed the Railway Express Agency, which is more utilitarian than the rest of the surviving complex, and is in an advanced state of decay, with the demolition of the structure being planned to take place sometime this decade. The structure features large window bays with steel windows, stucco cladding on the brick structure, and the remnants of canopies on the north and south facades of the first floor, with a long and low one-story wing to the rear.
The complex is one of the largest designed by Fellheimer & Wagner, and has maintained a remarkable state of preservation in its original form with few changes since its construction, besides some damage from the years of decay and neglect in the 1980s and 1990s. Another notable structure by the firm, and one of the most well-known railroad stations in the world, is Grand Central Terminal in New York City, which was also built for the New York Central Railroad. In addition to Grand Central Terminal, the firm also designed terminals that are more similar in appearance to the Buffalo Central Terminal, including Union Station in South Bend, Indiana, and Cincinnati Union Terminal, with Grand Central Terminal, Buffalo Central Terminal, and Cincinnati Union Terminal being among the largest, most impressive, and most significant railroad stations ever built in the United States. The station, though unrestored, is still impressive, and hopefully will be eventually adaptively reused for an economically sustainable function.
+++ 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:
Due to the restrictions of the Versailles treaties, the Reichswehr was already dealing with the increasing mobilization and motorization of the army after the end of the First World War. The realization that the speed of the troop units required appropriate equipment was available early on. However, the Reichswehr suffered from financial constraints and during the Weimar Republic the industry only had limited capacity for series production of larger, armored vehicles.
Nevertheless, at that time the Sd.Kfz. 3 (unarmored half-track transport vehicle/1927), the ARW (eight-wheel car/1928) and the ZRW (ten-wheel car/1928) provided fundamental experience. The findings of these tests and the troop testing with the Sd.Kfz. 3 enabled a more precise specification of the new vehicles to be developed. The "heavy" armored cars were primarily intended for the reconnaissance units of the new armored forces.
The incipient rearmament could only start with a "cheap" solution, though. A three-part armored structure for the chassis of commercially available off-road trucks was developed by the Army Weapons Office, Dept. WaTest 6, in cooperation with the company Deutsche Eisenwerke AG. The typical truck chassis featured front-wheel steering and a driven bogie at the rear (4x6 layout). In June 1929, the companies Magirus, Daimler-Benz and Büssing-NAG were commissioned to develop the desired armored car from it. If you consider that this truck class was developed for a payload of 1.5t, you can already conclude from this that the vehicles, which are now equipped with a significantly heavy armored structure, had little off-road mobility. Even if the appearance of the vehicles supplied by the different manufacturers was similar, there were external distinguishing features by which the manufacturer could be identified. The vehicles were tested in the Reichswehr from 1932 and introduced later.
One of the four crew members (driver, commander, gunner, radio-operator) was used as a reverse driver: with the narrow streets of the time and a turning circle of between 13 and 16m, this function was essential for a truck-sized heavy reconnaissance vehicle. The chassis had the excellent ladder-type configuration, able to withstand the stress of rough rides at high speed. The scout car was 5570 mm long, 1820 mm wide, 2250 mm high and weighed 5.35, 5.7 or 6 tons, depending on the manufacturer. The hull was made of welded steel armor, 5 to 14.5 mm (0.2-0.57 in) thick depending on the angle (bottom to front) with well-sloped plates. The armament consisted of a 2 cm KwK 30 with 200 rounds and a MG 13 with 1300 rounds in a manually operated turret. The fuel supply was 90, 105 or 110 liters, but with a consumption of about 35 or 40 liters per 100 km, this resulted in a completely inadequate range for a scout car.
Having no true alternatives at hand, the armored 4x6 car was accepted and became known as the Sd.Kfz. 231 (6-wheel), and it was subsequently developed into two more vehicles. Up until 1937, 123 vehicles were built as Sd.Kfz. 231 reconnaissance cars and Sd.Kfz. 232 radio trucks. A further 28 were manufactured as Sd.Kfz. 263 (Panzerfunkwagen) command vehicles.
As early as 1932, after testing the pilot series, it was clear that the interim solution of "cheap" 6-wheel vehicles would not meet the future requirements of the armored divisions now planned. It was planned that from 1935/36 at least 18 vehicles of a new type that would meet the requirements for off-road mobility and high road speeds should be produced annually. Büssing-NAG had obviously made a good impression with the ARW and was now commissioned to make the revised vehicle ready for series production, which would become the SdKfz. 231 (8-Rad). The overall concept was completed between 1934 and 1935 and already showed all the features of the future type: all 8 wheels driven and steered, the same speed forwards and backwards, ability to change direction in less than 10 seconds, and a turning circle of "only" 10.5m. The vehicle layout was changed, too: the engine bay was relocated to the rear, the crew compartment was placed at the front end. This improved weight distribution, handling, and the field of view for the main forward driver.
The purpose of the new vehicles was identical to that of the earlier heavy 6-wheel vehicles, they were used on the same sites and so the same ordnance inventory designation was adopted, despite the vehicle’s many modifications. The so-called Sd.Kfz. 231 (8-Rad) was armed, corresponding to its 6-Rad counterpart, with a 2cm KwK 30 and the MG 13 (later MG 34) in a rotating turret. Likewise, the Sd.Kfz. 232 (8-Rad) carried a large, curved bow antenna, and there was a Sd.Kfz. 263 (8-Rad) command vehicle, too.
Nevertheless, the Army Weapons Office demanded a short-term solution for a vehicle based on the 4x6 chassis that offered better off-road performance and armament, namely a 37 mm anti-tank gun, with at least comparable range and armor protection. This interim vehicle was supposed to be ready for service in early 1934. Magirus accepted the challenge and proposed the Sd.Kfz. 241, a 4x8 vehicle. It retained the old overall 6-Rad layout with the front engine under a long bonnet, but it had a fourth steered axle added to lower ground pressure and improve the vehicle’s trench bridging capabilities. The powered two rear axles retained the 6-Rad’s twin wheels, so that the vehicle stood on a total of twelve tires with a relatively large footprint. The armored hull was very similar to the Sd.Kfz. 231 6-Rad, but carried a new, bigger turret with a 3.7 cm KwK 30 L/45 gun and an axis-parallel 7.92 mm MG 34 light machine gun.
The box-shaped turret exploited the hull’s width to the maximum and had a maximum armor of 15 mm, no base and the seat of the commander was attached to the tower wall. The commander sat elevated under a raised cupola in the rear section of the turret, just behind the main gun. He had five viewing slits protected by glass blocks and steel slides for all-round visibility. The gunner/loader, standing to the left of the main gun, had to constantly follow the movement of the turret, which was done by hand. In order to support the gunner when slewing the turret, the commander had an additional handle on the right side. The two crew members also had a turret position indicator.
The cannon was fired electrically via a trigger, the machine gun was operated mechanically with a pedal. To aim and view the outside, the gunner had a gun sight to the left of the gun with an opening in the gun mantlet. Standard access to the vehicle was through low double-doors in the vehicle’ flank, but side exit openings in the turret with two flaps each were also frequently used to board it. Another entry was through the commander cupola’s lid.
With all this extra hardware, the Sd.Kfz. 241’s overall weight rose considerably from the late Sd.Kfz. 231 (6-Rad) nearly 6 tons to 7.5 tons. As a consequence, the chassis had to be reinforced and a more powerful engine was used, a 6-cylinder Maybach HL 42 TRKM w carburetor gasoline engine with 4170 cc capacity and 100 hp (74 kW) output at 3000 rpm.
As expected, the Sd.Kfz. 241 was not a success. Even though the first vehicles were delivered in time in mid-1934, its operational value was rather limited. Off-road capability was, due to the extra weight, the raised center of gravity and the lack of all-wheel drive, just as bad as the 6-Rad vehicles, and the more powerful engine’s higher fuel consumption allowed neither higher range, despite bigger fuel tanks, nor a better street performance. The only real progress was the new 3.7 cm KwK 30’s firepower, which was appreciated by the crews, even though the weapon was only effective against armored targets at close range. At 100 m, 64 mm of vertical armor could be penetrated, but at 500 m this already dropped to 31 mm, any angle in the armor weakened its hitting power even further. The weapon’s maximum range was 5.000m, though, and with HE rounds the Sd.Kfz. 241 could provide indirect fire support. Another factor that limited the vehicle’s effectiveness was that the gun had to be operated by a single crew member who had to load and aim at the same time – there was simply not enough space for a separate loader who would also have increased the gun’s rate of fire from six to maybe twelve rounds per minute. The vehicle’s armor was also inadequate and only gave protection against light firearms, but not against machine guns or heavier weapons. On the other side, the cupola on top of the turret offered the commander in his elevated position a very good all-round field of view, even when under full protection – but this progressive detail was not adopted for the following armored reconnaissance vehicles and remained exclusive to German battle tanks.
Only a total of fifty-five Sd.Kfz. 241s were completed by Magirus in Cologne until 1936, when production of the Sd.Kfz. 231 (8-Rad) vehicle family started and soon replaced the Sd.Kfz. 241, which was primarily operated at the Eastern Front in Poland and Czechoslovakia. By 1940, no Sd.Kfz. 241 was left in any frontline army unit, but a few survivors were grouped together and handed over to police units. Their main gun was either completely deleted or sometimes replaced with a second machine gun, and they were used for urban patrols and riot control duties. However, by 1942, no Sd.Kfz. 241 was left over.
Specifications:
Crew: Four (commander, gunner, driver, radio operator/rear driver)
Weight: 7.5 tons (11.450 lb)
Length: 5,85 metres (19 ft 2 in)
Width: 2,20 metres (7 ft 2 ½ in)
Height: 2,78 metres (9 ft 1 in)
Ground clearance: 28.5 cm (10 in)
Suspension: Torsion bar and leaf springs
Fuel capacity: 150 litres (33 imp gal; 40 US gal)
Armor:
8–15 mm (0.31 – 0.6 in)
Performance:
Maximum road speed: 70 km/h (43.5 mph)
52 km/h (32.3 mph) backwards
Operational range: 250 km (155 miles)
Power/weight: 13 PS/ton
Engine:
Maybach HL42 TRKM water-cooled straight 6-cylinder petrol engine with 100 hp (74 kW),
driving the rear pair of axles
Transmission:
Maybach gearbox with 5-speed forward and 4-speed reverse
Armament:
1× 37 mm KwK 30 L/45 cannon with 70 rounds
1× 7.92 mm MG 34 machine gun mounted co-axially with 1.300 rounds
The kit and its assembly:
This fictional armored car was inspired by a leftover rear axles from an Italeri Sd.Kfz. 231 (6-Rad) model that I converted into a fictional half-track variant some time ago. I wondered if the set could be transplanted under an 8-Rad chassis, to create a kind of missing link to the 8x8 successors of the Sd.Kfz. 231 (6-Rad) with a total of twelve tires on four axles.
The basis became a First to Fight 1:72 Sd.Kfz. 231 (8-Rad) kit – a rather simple and robust affair, apparently primarily intended for tabletop purposes. But the overall impression is good, and it would be modified, anyway, even though the plastic turned out to be rather soft/waxy and the parts’ sprue attachment points a bit wacky.
The hull was “turned around” to drive backwards, so that its rear engine ended up in the front. I eventually only used the rear twin wheels from the Sd.Kfz. 231 (6-Rad), but not its single axles and laminated springs. Instead, I first cut the OOB mudguards in two halves, removed their side skirts and glued them onto the lower hull in reversed order, so that the exhausts and their muffler boxes would end up at the rear of the front fenders. With these in place I checked the axles’ position from the OOB ladder chassis, which is a single, integral part, and found that the rear axles’ position had to be moved by 2mm backwards. Cutting the original piece and re-arranging it was easier to scratch a new rear suspension, and the rocker bars had to be shortened to accept the wider twin wheels.
The original small turret with the 20 mm autocannon was deleted and replaced with core elements from a Panzer III turret, left over from previous conversion projects. Wider than any original turret of the Sd.Kfz. 231/232 family, it had to be narrowed by roughly 5mm – I had to cut a respective plug from the turret’s and the mantlet’s middle section, the deformed hatch was covered under a Panzer III commander cupola. To mate the re-arranged turret with the OOB adapter plate to mount it onto the hull, and to add overall stability to the construction, I filled the interior with 2C putty.
The typical storage bin at the turret’s rear was omitted, though, it would have made it too large for the compact truck chassis. The shape was a perfect stylistic match, even though, with the longer gun barrel, the vehicle reminds a lot of the Soviet BA-10 heavy armored car?
Most small details like the bumpers and the headlights were taken OOB, I added a whip antenna base at the rear and mounted two spare wheels at the back, one of them covered with a tarpaulin (made from paper tissue drenched with white glue, this was also used to create the gun mantlet seals).
Painting and markings:
Typical for German vehicles from the early WWII stages the Sd.Kfz. 241 was painted Panzergrau (RAL 7021; I used Humbrol 67, which is authentic, but mixed it with some 125 to create a slightly lighter shade of grey) overall - quite dull, but realistic. To make the vehicle look more interesting, though, I added authentic contemporary camouflage in the form of low-contrast blotches with RAL 8017, a very dark reddish brown, mixed from Humbrol 160 and some 98. Better, but IMHO still not enough.
After the model received a washing with highly thinned red-brown acrylic artist paint I applied the few decals and gave the parts an overall dry-brushing treatment with grey and dark earth. Everything was sealed with matt acrylic varnish. For even more “excitement”, I decided to add a coat of snow.
For the simulated “frosting” I used white tile grout – which has the benefits of being water-soluble, quite sturdy to touch and the material does not yellow over time like gypsum.
First, the wheels, the chassis and the inside of the wheel arches received a separate treatment with relatively dryly mixed tile grout, simulating snow and dirt clusters. Once thoroughly dried, the wheels were mounted. Then the model was sprayed with low surface tension water and loose tile grout was drizzled over hull and turret, creating a flaky coat of fake snow. Once dry again, everything received another coat of matt acrylic varnish to protect and fixate everything further.
A relatively quick build, done in a few days. The First to Fight kit is very simple and went together well, but I’d use something else the next time due to the odd material it was molded with. The outcome of an 4x8 scout car looks quite plausible, though, like the missing link between the Sd.Kfz. 231 and 232 – the unintended similarity with the Soviet BA-10 heavy armored car was a bit surprising, though. And the snow on the model eventually makes it look a bit more interesting, the stunt was worth the effort.
These German reservists have been called up to their regiment in 1914. The blurred train sign references Munich and the older soldier on the platform appears to have a Bavarian crest on his helmet so these are Bavarians who have left their jobs and families to join the war effort. The photographer was located in Traunstein which is a town in southeastern Bavaria.
Format: Fotopositiv
Dato / Date: Fredag 2 Oktober 1964
Fotograf / Photographer: Schrøder / Ukjent
Sted / Place: Melhus, Trøndelag
Wikipedia: Verneplikt
Wikipedia: Mobilization
Eier / Owner Institution: Trondheim byarkiv, The Municipal Archives of Trondheim
Arkivreferanse / Archive reference: TOR.h49.b04.F28912
Billedtekst: Det var tilløp til kødannelse foran legekontorene.
Adresseavisen lørdag 3 oktober 1964 s. 5:
40 prosent av artilleristene søkte utsettelse av repetisjonsøvelsene
Skolegang og sen innhøsting de vanligste begrunnelser
Innrykking under full musikk og god stemning på Melhus i går
Nærmere 1000 mann rykket inn til repetisjonsøvelser i Trøndelag i går, infanterister på Leinstrand og artillerister på Melhus. Adresseavisen besøkte artillerileiren på Melhus i går hvor mannskapene ble legeundersøkt før de ble sendt til sine respektive oppsetningssteder for å få utlevert materiell, og det lot til at stemningen i leiren var meget god. Det skyldtes ikke minst Forsvarets Distriktsmusikkorps som i de årle morgentimer, fra ca. 7.30 og et par timer utover hilste soldatene med feiende marsjer ved leirporten. En psykisk oppstrammer som sikkert gjorde godt.
Det blir regimentsjefen selv, oberst Rolf Hauge som skal lede bataljonen under øvelsen. Denne nokså sjeldne foreteelse skyldes at man på grunn av stor militær aktivitet andre steder i landet hadde vanskelig for å skaffe reserve da bataljonssjefen ble syk under befalskurset og måtte legges inn på sykehus. Og obersten resonnerte vel som så at han kunne ha godt av en repetisjonsøvelse han også.
2 uker på Hjerkinn
Oberst Hauge forteller at avdelingen skal ligge i telt på Melhus frem til 7.-8. oktober da man i to omganger kjører i kolonne til Hjerkinn hvor man skal ligge til den 20. oktober. Dimisjon skjer på Melhus den 21. Avdelingen starter allerede i dag med skyting på Jonsvannet der man skal avvikle skyteprøvene med håndvåpen og mindre avdelingsvåpen. På Hjerkinn skal man så drive teknisk artilleriskyting for å få trimmet avdelingen. Man skal denne gang ikke ha noen øvelse i KR-forband, men vil avslutte repetisjonen med øvelser først i batteriforband og de siste dager i bataljonsforband, da man bl.a. skal skyte konsentrert med samtlige bataljonens kanoner.
Mange søker utsettelse
Repetisjonsøvelsene var lagt såpass sent på høsten slik at man normalt ikke skulle komme iveien for innhøstingen. Det dårlige været i høst har gjort at en lang rekke av de innkalte har hatt visse vanskeligheter, og ca. 40 pst. av de innkalte korporaler og menige hadde søkt utsettelse. Bestemmelsene sier imidlertid at man ikke kan sette opp en styrke mindre enn 90 pst. av mobiliseringsstyrken, så det har vært veldig vanskelig å innvilge ansøkningene. Vi har vurdert ansøkningene efter beste skjønn, men har måttet være meget strenge. De aller fleste har dokumentert ganske vektige grunner for å få utsettelse, og de har hatt anledning til å anke til Distriktskommandoen om vi har gitt avslag. Men det ser iallfall ut i dag til at oppmøtet er ganske fulltallig, sier obersten.
Det er kommet inn et nytt moment når det gjelder utsettelsesgrunner, nemlig alle de skoler vi har fått i dag, fra yrkes- og tekniske skoler til høyskoler og universiteter, og det later til at de fleste av disse skoler er lukkede studier. Og det er ille om man skal miste et år pga. 21 dagers øvelser, men vi må holde oss til bestemmelsene.
Vanskelig å skaffe halm
Den dårlige høsten har også på annen måte skapt visse vanskeligheter for regimentet. Det har nemlig vært nesten håpløst å skaffe halm. Dessuten er jorden så rå at det lett blir mugglukt i teltene. Man har for å avhjelpe dette kjøpt inn ruller med plast som legges i bunnen og så har man halm eller høy oppå, og det ser ut til at det skal holde fuktigheten ute, så den plasten skal man ta med seg på fjellet også. Mannskapene kommer forøvrig inn til en ferdig og velordnet leir, satt opp av arbeidskommandoen og av befal som har gjort en fin innsats efter avsluttede befalsøvelser.
-
På Klett rykket sanitetskompani, sambandskompani og stabskompani av KR 12 inn til øvelser. De kommer under øvelsen til stort sett å ligge i Lånke og på Frigård, og vil avslutte med en liten manøver i forbindelse med en stabøvelse lagt opp for Forsvarsdistrikt 12.
These plaques list just 16 of the 675 names of former pupils of Cheltenham College who died during the Great War. The names of all 675 are commemorated in the school's chapel.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
At 4pm on the 4th August 1914, the British Government gave orders for the mobilization of the Army.
The Foreign Office issued this statement at 12.15am on the 5th August:
Owing to the summary rejection by the German Government of the request made by His Majesty's Government for assurances that the neutrality of Belguim will be respected, His Majesty's Ambassador at Berlin has received his passports and His Majesty's Government have declared to the German Government that a state of war exists between Great Britain and Germany as from 11pm on the 4th August.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Battle of Mons: 23rd August 1914
The Retreat from Mons: 24th August to 5th September
Captain Robert Yardley Sidebottom
26.08.14 La Ferte-sous-Jouarre (killed at Ligny)
2nd Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers, 12th Brigade, 4th Division
An account of the action on August 26th (Regt QM Sgt Frank King / Paul Nettleton)
Colonel Frank Ridley Farrer Boileau
28.08.14 Wimille (wounded at Ham, on the River Somme, France on 27th Aug)
Royal Engineers (attached as GSO1, Chief Staff Officer, 3rd Division General Staff)
--------------------------
"Affair of Nery"
Lieut Claude Norman Champion de Crespigny
01.09.14 Hatfield, Hertfordshire (killed, probably at Néry, nr Compiègne, France)
2nd Dragoon Guards (Queen's Bays), 1st Cavalry Brigade, Cavalry Division
The Queen's Bays were fighting with 'L' Battery, RHA (see below) on the morning of September 1st. "They too had been caught by the German artillery and many of their horses had been killed under them but dismounted they played the part of gallant infantrymen"
"The brigade was hotly engaged and on the Bays fell the brunt of the fighting on Sept 1. Norman, with a few men, was holding an important tactical point and he held it until everyman was killed or wounded. No man could have done more, few would have done as much" Maj-Gen E. H. Allenby writing to Norman's mother (The Times 11th Sept 1914)
A blog by Mary Evans Picture Library
(Luci Gosling) explains how Lieut Champion de Crespigny came to be reburied in Hatfield.
01.09.14 Néry, nr Compiègne
'L' Battery, Royal Horse Artillery, Cavalry Division
"... Lieut Campbell , who had been helping with the ammunition took (the gunner's) seat and kept the firing up without the loss of a second of time. But he had not fired more than a couple of rounds when a shell burst under the shield. The explosion was awful, and the brave young officer was hurled about six yards away from the seat ... He lived only a few minutes"
-------------------------
3.09.14 Senlis (died of wounds)
1st (King's) Dragoon Guards (attached to 2nd Dragoon Guards (The Queen's Bays)
The Memorial gives the date of death as 10th September. Norfolk County Council gives the date as 4th September. CWGC states 3rd September.
Joined the army in 1905.
Check WO 339/7112.
-------------------------
The Advance to the Aisne 6th September to 1st October
The Battle of the Marne: 6th to 10th September
2nd Lieut Edward James Vibart Collingwood-Thompson
10.09.14 Chateau of Perreuse, Signy Pereuse (died of wounds)
2nd Battalion, Royal Welsh Fusiliers, 19th Brigade
(Age 20 - only child)
Gazetted 12th September 1913 as 2nd Lieut (on probation)in 3rd Bn, RWF
Lieut Geoffrey Steward Augustus White
10.09.14 La Ferte-sous-Jouarre Memorial (killed at Le Cateau(?))
2nd Battalion, South Lancashire Regt, 7th Brigade, 3rd Division
-------------------------
The Beginning of the Period known as The Race to the Sea
The Battle of the Aisne: 12th to 15th September
2nd Lieut Eric Vickers Tindall
12.09.14 Vailly (Died as a result of shrapnel wounds received at Priez on 11th September, during the Battle of the Marne)
4th Battalion, but attached to 2nd Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps, 2nd Brigade, 1st Division
Age 21 - born 13th September 1892.
First saw service with the 3rd (Militia) Battalion, Leicestershire Regt., joining on Sept 1911, and was promoted to Lieutenant the following year.
Joined the KRRC as a 2nd Lieutenant in June 1914.
Lieut Archibald John Denroche-Smith
13.09.14 La Ferte-Sous-Jouarre Memorial killed near Vendresse
18th (Queen Mary's Own) Hussars, 2nd Cavalry Brigade, Cavalry Division
13.09.14 La Ferte-Sour-Jouarre Memorial
49th Battery, Royal Field Artillery (40th Brigade, 3rd Division)
(Age 20)
--------------
13.09.14 La Ferte-Sous-Jouarre Memorial
1st Battalion, Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regt), 13th Brigade, 5th Division
(See the entry for H. J. Vicat on kentfallen website)
Cheltenham College memorial gives his date as 18th Sept. Need to check Service Record at Kew
Joined Royal West Kents in 1905. Made Lieutenant in 1908.
Employed on West Africa Frontier Force 1910 - 1912.
--------------
15.09.14 Vendresse
1st Battalion, Bedfordshire Regt, 13th Brigade, 5th Division
Only son of Mr and Mrs G. D. Ker of Tavistock
Gazetted to Bedfordshire Regt in 1903. Made Captain in 1912.
16.09.14 Vendresse died of wounds received at the Battle of the Aisne
44th Battery, Royal Field Artillery
--------------
17.09.14 Paissy
1st Battalion, The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regt)
Mess photo taken in August 1914 (Regimental Museum website)
Joined Royal West Surrey Regt in 1885. Made Captain in 1895 and Major in 1903. Promoted to Lieut-Colonel in 1913.
--------------
17.09.14 Vailly died of wounds nr Craonee
1st Battalion, Northamptonshire Regt
(Age 20)
2nd Lieut Paul Chancourt Girardot
17.09.14 Soupir-sur-Aisne
2nd Battalion, Oxford and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry
(Age 18: Only son: joined army in February 1914)
18.09.14 Vailly-sur-Aisne (died of wounds, incurred at the Battle of the Aisne, at Mont de Soisson Hospital)
1st Battalion, Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry
(Age 22)
Gentleman Cadet, Royal Military College to 2nd Lieutenant in DCLI, effective 4th Sept 1912 (London Gazette)
Major William Stopford Sarsfield
20.09.14 Vailly-sur-Aisne (died of wounds)
2nd Battalion, Connaught Rangers
20.09.14 La Ferte-sous-Juarre Memorial
2nd Battalion, Connaught Rangers
Joined the army in 1909
20.09.14 Vendresse-Beaulne
2nd Battalion, Highland Light Infantry
(Age 22)
Gazetted to the HLI from the Special Reserve in 1913
2nd Lieut Charles Martin Stanuell
20.09.14 La Fert-sous-Jouarre Memorial
2nd Battalion, Durham Light Infantry
(Age 20)
Gazetted to the DLI at the start of 1914
Lieut John Cadwallader Coker (Mention in Despatches)
26.09.14 Vendresse-Beaulne (died of wounds)
1st Battalion, South Wales Borderers
Joined the SWB in 1908
26.9.14 Vendress (killed nearby)
Special Reserve, Royal Engineers
(Age 22)
04.10.14 Vieille-Chapelle, nr Bethune
2nd Battalion, attached to 1st Battalion, Gordon Highlanders
Only son. Joined army in 1901 and served in South Africa.
Promoted to Lieutenant in 1906, and Captain in 1911.
-------------------------
Battle of La Bassee: 10th October to 2nd November
2nd Lieut Gordon Thomas Harcourt Morse
12.10.14 Vieille-Chapelle (killed nr La Bassee)
4th Battalion, Middlesex Regt
(Age 20 years & 10 months: A notice in The Times gives the date of his death as being between 12th and 14th October)
--------------
Capt Cecil Glendower Percival Gilliat
14.10.14 Hazebrouck (died of wounds at Meteren)
1st Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regt
SEE ALSO: Captain Reginald H. C. Gilliat
06.04.15 Lavantie
5th Battalion, Leinster Regt, attached 1st (formerly 2nd) Battalion, Connaught Rangers
Twin brothers, and only sons of Mr and Mrs Cecil Gilliat of Cheltenham
--------------
18.10.14 Touret Memorial (killed nr Illies)
1st Battalion, Lincolnshire Regt
-------------------------
First Battle of Ypres:
Langemark: 21st to 24th October
Lieut Cyril Egremont Gaitskill
19.10.14 Armentieres (died of wounds)
2nd Battalion, Leinster Regt
(Age 21)
Lieut Richard Terrick Stainforth
19.10.14 Ypres (died of wounds nr Ypres)
2nd Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regt
(Age 20)
20.10.14 Ploegsteert Memorial (died of wounds nr Lille)
2nd Battalion, Durham Light Infantry
Lieut Archdale Maurice Stratford Tandy
20.10.14 Le Touret Memorial (killed nr Le Pilly)
2nd Battalion, Royal Irish Regt
21.10.14 Cuinchy (killed nr Lorgies)
1st Battalion, Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry
(Age 18)
WO 372/6/189611
Lieut Charles R. Ripley Mentioned in Despatches
22.10.14 Ploegsteert Memorial killed nr Lille
2nd Battalion, York and Lancaster Regt
Captain Edward Frederick Maltby Urquhart
23.10.14 Boezinge killed at Pilkem
1st Battalion, Black Watch (Highlanders)
23.10.14 Menin Gate Memorial killed nr Zonnebeke
1st Battalion, South Staffordshire Regt
Lieut Gerard Ferrers Nixon Mentioned in Despatches
24.10.14 Lavantie killed at Neuve Chapelle
129th Battery, Royal Field Artillery
24.10.14 Le Touret Memorial killed at La Plinche
3rd Battalion (attached to 2nd Battalion), Royal Scots Guards
Lieut William Gordon Tollemache Hope-Johnstone
25.10.14 Le Touret Memorial killed at Neuve Chapelle
4th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers
2nd Lieut George Baird Bayley Mentioned in Despatches
26.10.14 Menin Gate Memorial killed at Ypres
2nd Battalion, King's Own Scottish Borderers
(Age 20)
KOSB T2/1
2nd Lieut Jack Maynard Harding
26.10.14 Le Touret Memorial killed at Ypres
1st Battalion, Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regt)
(Age 20)
WO 339/11118
Capt (& Adjutant) George Bruce Legard (Twice Mentioned in Despatches)
27.10.14 Souchez (killed nr Neuve Chapelle)
1st Battalion, Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regt)
WO 339/5986
28.10.14 Le Touret Memorial (killed nr Neuve Chapelle)
attd. 21st Coy. 3rd Sappers and Miners, Royal Engineers
Gheluvelt
30.10.14 Menin Gate Memorial (killed nr Ypres)
35th Brigade, Royal Field Artillery
Lieut Graham Eardley Dunsterville
30.10.14 Le Touret Memorial (killed nr Festubert)
1st Battalion, Devonshire Regt
WO 339/5984
-------------------------
31.10.14 Langemark (killed nr Messines)
5th Dragoon Guards (Princess Charlotte of Wales's)
A webpage about the Crawshay family in the Great War states that he died on 14th November 1914, and was originally recorded as Missing in Action, and recorded as such on the Menin Gate Memorial.
-------------------------
01.11.14 Menin Gate Memorial (killed nr Messines)
1/14th (County of London) Battalion (London Scottish)
(Age 24, son of Mr and Mrs William W. McKay of Overbury, Watford)
The London Scottish at Messines (Blog)
It was a little surprised to find a Private soldier amongst all the Officers named on the College Memorial plaques, but I believe that, in August 1914, there were so many young men trying to enlist as officers that there were just not enough vacancies to meet the demand. I assume that Pte McKay was not a serving soldier on the day war was declared.
86 men of the London Scottish died on 1st November 1914. Browsing through their names on the CWGC Roll of Honour, it seems likely that the regiment had a higher than usual number of 'officer candidates' in the ranks.
-------------------------
02.11.14 Ploegsteert (killed nr Armentieres - )
1st Battalion, East Lancashire Regt
See Anglo Boer War website for more information
London Gazette 17th January 1902 (p374)
List of Officers brought to attention in connection with operations ...
Lieut G. Clayhills "For good leading in capture of laager on Dec 3rd 1901"
London Gazette 31st October 1902 (p 6902)
The King has been graciously pleased to give orders for the following appointments ...
To be made Companion of the Distinguished Service Order
Lieutenant George Clayhills
-------------------------
02.11.14 Menin Gate Memorial (killed nr Ypres)
2nd Battalion, Royal Sussex Regt
02.11.14 Lavantie
1st Battalion, Connaught Rangers
Capt George Millais James (Mentioned in Despatches)
03.11.14 Menin Gate Memorial
1st Battalion, The Buffs (East Kent Regt), attached as Brigade Major, 22nd Infantry Brigade, 7th Division.
-------------------------
03.11.14 Dranouter, nr Ypres (Died of Wounds incurred nr Messines )
4th Dragoon Guards (Royal Irish)
Memorial records his death as 3rd November. Another sources gives 4th November.
The CWGC Roll states 13th November. Since there's a short obituary in The Times on 11th November, I shall stick to the 3rd as the date he died.
Commissioned into the Royal Field Artillery in January 1900. Promoted to Lieutenant in April 1901. Mentioned in Despatches while serving in the Anglo Boer War. Resigned his commission in 1903 but rejoined from the Reserve of Officers in 1914, going to France on 18th October.
(Possible) Service Record: WO 339/39038 + Medal Card: WO 372/16/140800
-------------------------
04.11.14 Menin Gate Memorial
4th Dragoon Guards (Royal Irish)
Captain Kenneth Forbes-Robertson
07.11.14 Ploegsteert Memorial (killled at Ploegsteert Wood)
1st Battalion, attached to 2nd Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders
07.11.14 Ploegsteert Wood
2nd Battalion, Royal Iniskilling Fusiliers
Major William Griffith Baynes Phibbs
08.11.14 Llangefni. Died in London after serving in the trenches (CWGC has date of death as 5th Nov)
1st Battalion, Royal Irish Fusiliers
11.11.14 Le Havre (accidentaly killed at Le Havre)
Lancashire Fusiliers, attached No. 7 Gen. Base Depot
Age 57. Promoted to Brevet Colonel in 1906.
WO 372/15/90504
Nonne Boschen: 11th November
11.11.14 Menin Gate Memorial
(from 10th November, C. O. of) 5th Field Company, Royal Engineers
His nephew, Lieut Albert Tyler, R. E. died the following day in exactly the same location.
Capt Boyce Anthony Combe (Lieutenant on CWGC Roll of Honour)
11.11.14 Menin Gate Memorial
6th Battalion (attached to 4th Battalion), Royal Fusiliers
Promoted to acting captain a few days before his death.
One of 64 men from 4th Battalion who died that day. Most have no known grave.
13.11.14 Lavantie (died at Sailly-sur-Lys)
Royal Engineers
Captain Hugh Vincent Corbett Turnbull
13.11.14 Menin Gate Memorial
2nd Battalion, King's Own Scottish Borderers
Captain George Raleigh Kerr Evatt
14.11.14 Fleurbaix, nr Armentières (died at Le Boutillerie)
'A' Company, 1st Battalion, Middlesex Regt
2nd Lieut Harold Rolleston Stables
15.11.14 Menin Gate Memorial
5th Battalion, attached to 1st Battalion, Cheshire Regt
18.11.14 Menin Gate Memorial
46th Battery, 39th Brigade, Royal Field Artillery
Major Reginald William Sidney Elliott
23.11.14 Bethune
7th Gurkha Rifles, Indian Army
23.11.14 Bethune (died at La Bassee)
31st Punjabis, attached to 58th Vaughan's Rifles (Frontier Force), Indian Army
Captain Herbert Connell Whipple
24.11.14 Bailleul (Died of Wounds incurred at Messines)
1st Battalion, Devonshire Regt
Lieut Ralph Ivan Meynell Davidson
24.11.14 La Gorgue (Died of Wounds incurred at Festubert)
1st Battalion Manchester Regt
WO 339/7376
Lieut (possibly Acting Capt) Edward Durham
26.11.14 Le Touret Memorial (Died at Fauquissart)
2nd Battalion, Rifle Brigade
Major William Richard Norton Annesley D.S.O.
29.11.14 St. Andrews, Scotland (Died in London)
Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regiment) attached to General Staff
Capt Clive Guise Moores Mentioned in Despatches
30.11.14 Bailleul (Died of Wounds nr Kemmel)
Royal Engineers
08.12.14 London (Died in Bournemouth)
Reserve of Officers, Yorkshire Regt#
18.12.14 Beuvry (Died at Givenchy)
20th Duke of Cambridge's Own Infantry (Brownlow's Punjabis), Indian Army
attached to 129th Duke of Connaught's Own Baluchis
Lieut Hubert Raynsford Gordon Kerr
19.12.14 Le Touret Memorial (Died at Givenchy)
1st Battalion, Highland Light Infantry
Capt Harry Norman Lee Mentioned in Despatches
19.12.14 Neuve Chapelle Memorial (Died at La Bassee)
59th Scinde Rifles (Frontier Force), Indian Army
19.12.14 Merville (Died of Wounds at Armentieres)
1st Battalion, attached to 2nd Battalion, Royal Welsh Fusiliers
(Age 21 - Gazetted 2nd Lieut on 8th December 1914)
Capt Jestyn Llewelyn Mansel (also ppears on the Caerleon memorial)
20.12.14 Le Touret Memorial
7th Dragoon Guards (Princess Royal's)
21.12.14 Le Touret Memorial (Died at Festubert)
1st Battalion, attached to 2nd Battalion, Royal Munster Fusiliers
2nd Lieut Edward Charles Walters
22.12.14 Festubert
3rd Battalion, attached to 1st Battalion, Gloucestershire Regt
(Age 24)
23.12.14 Le Touret Memorial (Died at Givenchy)
1st Battalion, Manchester Regt
28.12.14 Wimereux (Died of Wounds)
55th Field Company, Royal Engineers
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There must have been a book produced by the college in the ealy 1920's listing all those who served, and including obituaries of all those who died. I'm sure it would make fascinating reading.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There's an interesting book by John Lewis-Stempel on the sacrifice of the young officers who left school or university to go to war ...
"As young lieutenants and captains in the front line of the 1914-18 war, they were the first to scramble over the top of their trenches into the rain of bullets from the well-defended German lines, setting an example to their men to follow.
The average life expectancy was just six weeks. In the first year one in seven of them were killed and one in five were wounded - by far the highest casualty rate in the war. About 33,000 officers were left disabled at the war’s end."
USAID hosted a Signature Event —Shared Progress: Modernizing Development Finance on September 22, 2016 in New York City, NY. Running concurrently to the United Nations General Asembly, the event highlighted the challenges and opportunities for financing current and future development goals.
During the event, UAID Administrator Gayle Smith and Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Christine Lagarde, discussed how to foster an enabling environment for private investment and increasing domestic resource mobilization. A panel of speakers also offered recommendations on how to make better use of the three streams of finance in order to improve development outcomes.
Photo by Ellie Van Houtte/USAID