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Subject: Salticidae (ID REQUIRED)
Location: Pune, India.
Camera: Canon 700D.
Lens: Canon 18-55mm.
Attachment: Reverse Ring.
Serious headphone listening requires a headphone amp because just like speakers (but on a much smaller scale), headphones require power to move air and create sound. A good headphone amp isn't about making your music louder (though it does that too), rather, it is about providing enough juice to drive your headphones well.
Requires no heat! First Aid the old fashioned way.
A lovely old tin with a clean, crisp, 'medical' look has been sawn, filed and set into a custom made copper frame to make this unique brooch. The copper frame has been textured by my own handmade punches...I like to reference the marks and patina that the tin has acquired with age and use. The tin is held in place by teeny tube rivets silver-soldered into the frame. A large faux ruby in a pedestal-claw setting echoes the size and colour of the red-cross symbol and composition of circles, which is complemented nicely by the duck-egg blue and dark blue colour scheme. On the back, a copper pin will affix this declaration of 1st Aid technology to your person. One-of-a-kind.
53mm diameter across (2 inches).
A new generation of cheap lightweight plastic electronic technology that does not require silicon, but which is optically transparent and can be coated onto everyday objects would transform our world.
"Working collaboratively with industry is not only satisfying in that I see aspects of my work translate into real engineered products, but it provides inspiration for new avenues of research too. Roadmapping then allows me to critically assess how I should be developing my research portfolio and engaging with industry to maximise the likelihood of productive collaboration."
—Dr Andrew Flewitt
Imagine electronically updated food labels, computers embedded in our armchairs, even contact lenses linking us directly to the Internet to bring us into the age of plastic electronics. In this video podcast Dr Andrew Flewitt and Dr Robert Phaal both from the Department of Engineering and Scott White serial entrepreneur and CEO of Pragmatic Printing talk about the creative partnership forged between different parts of the Department of Engineering and outside companies that enable the technology and research in this area to be exploited successfully.
The NSPCC Childline White Hat Ball held at the Lancaster Hotel, London. With special appearances by Esther Rantzen, Fiona Phillips and Clive Room. Entertainment by Session One, 27th January 2017
Photography by Fergus Burnett
Accreditation required with all use.
Bids are required to participate in Golf Biddy auctions. Easily buy cheap golf bids & bids on Golf green fees auctions at Golf Biddy in Calgary, YYC, Toronto, London, Waterloo, Hamilton & Ontario. You can purchase Bids in advance; these are called “Bid Packs”. For more info visit at www.golfbiddy.com/buybids.php
LA County residents take Covid-19 test at a kiosk located in front of the USS Iowa in San Pedro, March 13, 2021.
Covid-19 Testing plays an important role in reducing the spread of Covid-19. Free testing is available to all Los Angeles County residents at drive-up and walk-up sites. Appointments are currently not required but recommended to reduce wait times. (Photo Credit: Los Angeles County)
When all comes together, the rewards are worth every ounce of effort required to get the shot.
Getting to Glacier National Park is a modest challenge for much of the world - it is at best two flights away from most of the us - and three for many of us. For me, it started with an early bedtime and a 2:30 AM alarm setting. Actually, I set two of alarms for insurance. One was on my phone which was on the nightstand beside the other.
The phone went off first. I shut it off and tried to wake my wife (the family was joining me on this trip). After several attempts over a few minutes, she rolled over and in a somewhat unfriendly tone, said "WHAT?". That should have been my first clue.
I said "How much time do you want to get ready?" (I thought I was giving her the amount of time she requested the evening before). My next clue - She said "It's 12:30 AM!?" That's when I realized that I had an actual call - the alarm had not gone off. And that's when I learned that my trip to Glacier National Park had just become much more complicated.
A voice mail informed me that our first flight of three had been cancelled. I then spent an hour on the phone with someone from half way around the world trying to figure out how I was going to make one of the few daily flights into Kalispell. And one that returned to the same originating airport (don't ask).
A 3.5 hour drive put us on an afternoon flight that put me at the St. Mary Lodge at 1:00 AM PDT (3:00 AM in my EDT time). This of course resulted in a missed evening shoot - and required a sleep-in the next morning, so I missed an AM opportunity also.
It didn't take me long to get over the travel exhaustion. This national park is worth every ounce of effort and cost it takes to get there.
Camera and Lens Settings:
24mm f/11.0 30s ISO 100 3744 x 5616px
Gear Used:
Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens
Gitzo GT3541LS 6x Carbon Fiber Tripod
Arca-Swiss Monoball Z1 Ball Head
I was using new film that day, 690. It required a lot of light in order for any type of picture to develop. The love the subtle message in this.
Anaglyph red-cyan glasses required. You do have such glasses, don't you? I didn't, until yesterday. But hey, such glasses are cheap as dirt on Ebay, and there are TONS of amazing anaglyph pictures on the Web (and videos too!), so please do yourself a favour and get a pair if you don't have at least one already. And if you do have one, please dig it out, take a look at this image and leave a comment. Thanks!
This is my first ever test, shot handheld and processed manually with my new £1.15 plastic glasses. I've struggled a bit to mask a couple of nasty ghosts, and I wonder if those occured because of my cheap glasses or my poor technique [edited a couple of days later: huh, silly me, there's quite a lot I need to learn on this. At first it seems simple and obvious, but hell it's not! There's plenty of road ahead, and I'll also have to re-learn a few bits. There's nothing wrong with the glasses]. Being colour-blind doesn't help me a lot either, I suppose.
I broke a few rules with this image, I know. I used quite a wide-angle lens, and a wide stereo base. Since I'm new to this, I'm of course tempted to overdo it a bit, so I prefer hyper-stereoscopy to the plain old ortho-stereoscopy. You can't do this kind of stuff with an expensive consumer stereo camera or beam splitter attachment :)
Lots of people (including myself) can view cross-eyed stereo pairs, but that requires some practice and some effort. Lots of people (excluding myself) can also view wall-eyed (or parallel) stereo pairs, and such images put much less strain on their eyes - but the method requires even more training and is limited to relatively small images. Using anaglyph glasses is much easier I think, thus allowing for a wider audience - but it does severely limit the usable colour range in the images. I can't wait for accessible autostereoscopic displays or at least for cheaper polarizing stereo displays - for easy, full colour stereoscopy. Those are just beyond the corner, so it shouldn't take long.
The NSPCC Childline White Hat Ball held at the Lancaster Hotel, London. With special appearances by Esther Rantzen, Fiona Phillips and Clive Room. Entertainment by Session One, 27th January 2017
Photography by Fergus Burnett
Accreditation required with all use.
Metal....rust....old......character. Be a groovy place for a wedding reception. Maybe not. Downtown Springfield, Mo
A good friend of mind once said "there's no such thing as bad weather, just inappropriate attire". I'm not sure where he heard it from, but I quote him often. We've had a very cold week here in Toronto and a nasty snow storm today. My tweet the other day had said "Report from the dog walk: definitely a fur hat & ski mitt kinda morning; thinking of my wife & daughter as they head to colder Manitoba". Well it's still colder in Manitoba, but with the extra snow on the ground, I pulled out the Sorels tonight. I also added an important element for the dog walk - music. Thanks to my wife's Christmas gift last year, these Klipsch buds have beautiful sound and fit comfortably under the fur hat. So tonight's tweet is "report from the dog walk: pretty cosy actually; appropriate attire required".
17::365 Jan. 17, 2011
I picked my kids up from skiing wearing exactly what I'd wear to walk the dog in San Francisco -- no jacket, no hat, nothing. Gorgeous!
Customer just slips on the nylon parts that finish the handle, and cover the tube ends for protection.
The NSPCC Childline White Hat Ball held at the Lancaster Hotel, London. With special appearances by Esther Rantzen, Fiona Phillips and Clive Room. Entertainment by Session One, 27th January 2017
Photography by Fergus Burnett
Accreditation required with all use.
Wedding at Pocahontas State Park: www.dcr.virginia.gov/state-parks/pocahontas#general_infor...
Parks wedding info: www.dcr.virginia.gov/state-parks/weddings#wedpo
Please call the park, (804) 796-4255, for details or to reserve. Reservations may be made up to 11 months in advance
Photo credit REQUIRED: Caiti Garter Photography caitigarterphotography.pixieset.com/
U.S. Air Force Fact Sheet THUNDERBIRDS
Mission
Officially, the Thunderbirds are known as the U.S. Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron.
The squadron’s mission is to plan and present precision aerial maneuvers to exhibit the capabilities of modern, high-performance aircraft and the high degree of professional skill required to operate those aircraft.
Within this broad mission, the team has five primary objectives: − Support Air Force recruiting and retention programs − Reinforce public confidence in the Air Force and to demonstrate to the public the professional competence of Air Force members − Strengthen morale and esprit de corps among Air Force members − Support Air Force community relations and people-to-people programs − Represent the United States and its armed forces to foreign nations and project international goodwill
The Team
The Thunderbirds squadron is an Air Combat Command unit composed of eight pilots (including six demonstration pilots), four support officers, four civilians and more than 100 enlisted personnel performing in almost 30 job specialties.
A Thunderbirds air demonstration is a mix of formation flying and solo routines. The four-jet diamond formation demonstrates the training and precision of Air Force pilots, while the lead and opposing solo aircraft highlight some of the maximum capabilities of the F-16 Fighting Falcon.
The pilots perform approximately 40 maneuvers in a demonstration. The entire show, including the ground show and air demonstration, lasts about 75 minutes. The season typically starts in March and ends in November, with the winter months used to train new members.
Officers serve a two-year assignment with the squadron, while enlisted personnel serve three to four.
The squadron performs no more than 80 air demonstrations each year and has never canceled a demonstration due to maintenance difficulty. More than 280 million people in all 50 states and 57 foreign countries have seen the red, white and blue Thunderbirds jets in more than 3,500 aerial demonstrations.
In addition to their responsibilities as the Air Force’s premier jet demonstration team, the Thunderbirds are part of our combat force. If required, the team's personnel and aircraft can be rapidly integrated into a fighter unit at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. Since the aircraft are only slightly modified, they can be made combat-ready in less than 72 hours.
F-16 Fighting Falcon
The Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon represents the full range of capabilities possessed by the Air Force's tactical fighters. This highly-maneuverable multi-role fighter has proved to be one of the world's best precision tactical bombers and air-to-air combat aircraft. The only modifications needed to prepare aircraft for air demonstrations are a smoke-generating system and painting in Thunderbird colors. Additional information about the F-16 can be found at www.af.mil/AboutUs/FactSheets/Display/tabid/224/Article/1....
History
The Thunderbirds were officially activated June 1, 1953, as the 3600th Air Demonstration Unit at Luke AFB, Ariz. The unit was nicknamed the “Stardusters.” Their first aircraft was the straight-winged F-84G Thunderjet, a combat fighter-bomber that had seen action in Korea. Early in 1955, the team transitioned to the swept-winged F-84F Thunderstreak.
In June 1956, the team moved to its current home at Nellis. At the same time the Thunderbirds traded the veteran F-84 for the world's first supersonic fighter, the F-100 Super Sabre -- an aerial platform that would serve the Thunderbirds for 13 years. More than 1,000 demonstrations were flown in the Super Sabre, thrilling spectators around the world. In 1964, the team changed briefly to the F-105B Thunderchief, but an in-flight mishap revealed a problem with that airframe’s design. So, after only six shows, the Thunderbirds returned to the F-100.
From 1969 to 1973, the Thunderbirds flew the Air Force's front-line fighter, the F-4E Phantom II. In 1974, the Thunderbirds converted to the T-38 Talon, the world's first supersonic trainer. The T-38 was more fuel-efficient and less costly to maintain, which made it an ideal choice during the oil crisis of the 1970s.
Early in 1983, the Thunderbirds reinstituted their traditional role of demonstrating the Air Force's front-line fighter capabilities. Transition to the F-16A allowed the team to retain manpower and fuel efficiency while demonstrating to spectators the latest in fighter technology.
For additional information on our team, visit www.afthunderbirds.com.
Point of Contact
USAF Thunderbirds, Public Affairs Office; 4445 Tyndall Ave.; Nellis AFB, NV 89191-6079; DSN 682-6776 or (702) 652-6776; e-mail: USAF.Thunderbirds@nellis.af.mil
Whilst visiting the Coach Show in Kortrijk, we stayed in Ostend and outside the main Casino that was having a wedding fair, this was trying to attract customers to used as a wedding car,
Anybody know what it is??
Steve Nash Fitness World, Salvation Army and the cast of "Some Assembly Required" join forces with Toys 'R Us for the annual toy drive for kids.
Anti-trafficking efforts require community level partnerships to tackle child exploitation and County Lines. A collaborative project with children at risk of exploitation engaged them directly in prevention work. Drawing on their lived experiences, children created a large mural using street art, to show pull factors and the reality of the dangers when trapped in exploitation.
This innovative research centres on empowering vulnerable young people, to take direct action at community and wider levels. The young people’s Action Group are presenting their work in schools to support other children at risk, partnering with a charity Escapeline. Participative Action Research enables young people to gain confidence, public engagement skills and inspiration for change, “I want to raise awareness because no one should go through what I did” (Mae). The Action Group have secured a space with senior stakeholders at the Anti-Slavery Partnership Board to promote young people’s voice in anti-trafficking work.
Dr Alinka Gearon
Department of Social & Policy Sciences
Partnerships - Research that is working in collaboration with people outside academia including industry, policy-makers and civil society and community-based organisations.
The Cramps
The I Beam
San Francisco, California
7-14 & 7-15 1986
The Cramps; The I Beam; San Francisco; California; 7-14/15-86; Any further use requires permission from the photographer; Michael Conen.
***
These photos were taken on print film, and then digitally scanned at 2000 dpi.
All images viewed here are "proofs" of the negatives.
Serious inquiries regarding further publication will be entertained.
Please contact me with comments, questions, etc. at michaelconen@tutanota.com
While the spirit is being made, a parallel process occurs with the casks.
Another requirement for being labeled Scotch whisky requires the new make spirit to age for a minimum of seven years in a used Bourbon or Sherry cask.
Bourbon casks are made from American Oak and are used to make American bourbon, which is aged in new casks. These are then sent to Scotland where they are sold to whisky makers across the country.
In addition to Bourbon casks, The Macallan also uses casks that have previously aged Spanish Sherry. Many consider Sherry casks to be the best vehicles for aging Scotch whisky, and The Macallan starts this process by selecting the American Oak trees in the U.S. and the Spanish Oak trees in Spain that are then used to make the casks in Spain.
After the wood is cut and cured, The Macallan has a Spanish barrel maker make new casks in 250 and 500 liter sizes. Each is labeled with its wood source and date of manufacture, and is sent to one of Spain's sherry makers who fill the casks with wine and age it for a minimum of 18 months (usually 36 months). The aged wine—now officially sherry—is then removed from the casks, bottled and sold by its makers.
The empty casks are sent to a cooperage in Scotland, where they are reconditioned and then sent to the distilleries.
The Macallan's casks all arrive at The Clyde Cooperage outside of Edinburgh.
I guess I should have offered to help but I would have had to set my camera down and he seemed to have it under control.
Permission from Lykes Ranch required prior to publication.
Carlton Ward Jr in Rainey Slough.
The 338,000 acre Lykes Ranch is the largest cattle ranch in Florida and one of the top 4 cattle producing ranches in the United States.
The FWC Expedition team crossed the Lykes Ranch accompanied by Lykes family members and company representatives on Feb 13-14, 2012 featuring conservation areas such as Rainey Slough, a primary tributary to Fisheating Creek, which is partially owned by Lykes and protected in conservation easement in partnership with the Wetlands Reserve Program administered through the US Department of Agriculture.
Florida Wildlife Corridor Expedition. From January 17 through April 25, 2012, a team of explorers including photographer Carlton Ward Jr, cinematographer Elam Stoltzfus, bear biologist Joe Guthrie and conservationist Mallory Lykes Dimmitt, set out to trek 1000 miles in 100 days to showcase the opportunity to protect a connected corridror of natural lands and waters throughout peninsular Florida for the benefit of wildlife and people. Learn more at FloridaWildlifeCorridor.org. Photograph by Carlton Ward Jr / Carlton Ward Photography / CarltonWard.com.
€15. DVDs require American or a Multisystem DVD player. DVD set consists of:1) Baby Noah Animal Expedition DVD 2) Baby da Vinci From Head to Toe DVD 3) Baby Bach Musical Adventure DVD 4) Baby Beethoven Symphony of Fun DVD 5) Baby Mozart Music Festival DVD 6) Baby Galileo Discovering the Sky DVD 7) Baby Neptune Discovering Water DVD 8) Baby Newton Discovering Shapes DVD 9) Baby Santa's Music Box DVD 10) Baby Shakespeare World of Poetry DVD 11) Baby Van Gogh World of Colors DVD12) Language Nursery DVD 13) Neighborhood Animals DVD 14) Numbers Nursery DVD 15) World Animals DVD 16) Baby Monet Discovering the Seasons 17) Baby Wordsworth First Words Around the House 18) Baby Einstein On The Go - riding, sailing and soaring19) Baby Einstein Meet the Orchestra - First Instruments 20) Baby's Favorite Places 21) Baby's First Moves 22) My First Signs 23) Discovering Shapes 24) Lullaby Time (Soothing Sounds for Babies) 25) Baby's First Sounds (Discoveries for Little Ears)
Greater sage grouse live on sagebrush leaves , 99 percent of their diet, during winter months. Sage grouse lack muscular gizzards and cannot digest hard foods that require a gizzard to grind, like most other game birds. During the growing season, the birds will eat insects and forbs, but after the first frost hits, those food items disappear. Providing for greater sage grouse year round, seasonal habitats are needed in different stages of life – from chick to adult. There’s also seasonal variety and specific foods that hens must eat prior to laying eggs. Sagebrush is an essential component of their diet – but it’s not the only requirement. Throughout the year, the birds nip the leaves off of plants, and will also feed on buds, flowers, fruits and insects.
The range of greater sage grouse today covers 186 million acres in 11 western states and two Canadian provinces. However, three-quarters of the birds inhabit just 27 percent of the range. Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge is located in one of the core areas remaining for this species.
Throughout the year, sage grouse are social birds that are found in flocks. When not nipping off leaves for food, sage grouse spend time preening, dust-bathing, and avoiding predators. Sage grouse, not surprisingly, are tasty targets for predators in every season. From the air, the greatest threats are golden eagles. Other raptors also may prey on sage grouse, including red-tailed and ferruginous hawks. That’s why grouse avoid trees that offer raptor perches. From the ground, the birds have to watch for coyotes, foxes, and even bobcats occasionally. Nests attract a greater array of predators – like badgers, weasels, ravens, magpies and even snakes.
Sage grouse try to escape predation by crouching low to the ground, blending in with their surroundings, or hiding under shrubs. Their coloration provides excellent camouflage against the background of rocks, soil, and plants in which they live. They may fly away as well. A hen on a nest will attack ground squirrels to defend her eggs and chicks. She may also perform a distraction display—dragging her wings on the ground to look injured to draw a predator away from the nest, similar to a killdeer’s behavior.
Summer and fall are the best times to spot greater sage grouse on Seedskadee NWR. They are attracted to the Green River and wet meadows that provide insects, green vegetation, and water when the surrounding sage steppe landscape has dried up.
www.sagegrouseinitiative.com/sagebrush-community/the-bird/
Photo: Tom Koerner/USFWS
Public Domain Book: Practical instructions in enamel painting on glass, china, tiles, etc
to which is added full instructions for the manufacture of the vitreous pigments required, with twelve pages of instructions
by Henry James Snell
Published 1874 by Brodie & Middleton, Simpkin, Marshall in London .
Written in English.
openlibrary.org/books/OL25070189M/Practical_instructions_...
Curated by: www.elusivemu.se
King Josiah reading the Law. “ He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good and what doth the Lord require of thee but to do justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with thy God. [Micah 6:8]. Window in memory of Arnold Edwin Davey, erected by his wife & family.
“DAVEY.— On the 9th March, at Nevers, France, Arnold Edwin, beloved husband of Sarah Davey, of St. Peters.” [Register 15 Mar 1920]
“Mr. Davey was . . . born at Truro, in 1862. His father, Mr. Edwin Davey, was one of the foremost pioneers of the province, who engaged in farming in the Truro district, and subsequently founded the business of Edwin Davey and Sons, millers. Mr. Arnold Davey was the eldest son. He received his education at the school of the Rev. James Leonard at Angaston and Prince Alfred College. On leaving school he entered the office of his father's mills, at Penrice, near Angaston. About 37 years ago he became a partner with his father, and later his four brothers joined the firm. . . Mr. Arnold Davey retired from the firm a little more than five years ago. . . Mr. Arnold Davey had been prominently connected with the commercial and public life of the community for many years. . . Chamber of Commerce. . . Consul for Peru. . . Advisory Board of the Wheat Scheme. . . Millowners' Association. . . Young Men's Christian Association. . . Old Collegians of Prince Alfred College. . . Australian National League. . . Kent Town Methodist Church. . . State Repatriation Board. For many years he lived at St. Peters, and he entered the local town council as a councillor. . . Mr. Davey was married in 1883 to Sarah, daughter of the late Mr. David Shannon. . . two sons Dr. L. L. Davey, of Laura, and Mr. R S. Davey, solicitor, of Adelaide (late of the Royal Field Artillery). His third son, Lieutenant R. A. Davey, of the Royal Naval Air Squadron, lost his life at Scapa Flow in 1916.” [Advertiser 15 Mar 1920]
“The stained windows include memorials in honour of Mr. Arnold E. Davey, a trustee and Sunday school superintendent.” [Register 10 Nov 1923]
Church foundation stone 10 Oct 1864 by Rev Samuel Ironside, architects Edmund W Wright & Edward J Woods, Tapleys Hill bluestone with sandstone dressings, opened 6 Aug 1865 on land given by John Colton, transept foundation stone 7 Oct 1867 by Mrs Thomas Greaves Waterhouse, vestries & classroom 1869, Methodist after Union 1900, became Uniting 1977. Original roofing slates replaced with terracotta tiles 1965. Lecture hall foundation stone 31 Aug 1874 by W Rhodes, architect Daniel Garlick, Glen Osmond stone with cement dressings, opened 28 Feb 1875 adjacent to church.
Remember my egg experiment? Still thinking of how to visualize what's inside things. Balloons this time. Two things needed to improve:
1) A long needle so that my hand doesn't show, and
2) something less wet than water. I'm thinking smoke.
"In the past 5 years, there is no evidence of large-scale electoral fraud. Of the 1,386 cases of alleged electoral fraud reported to police between 2018 and 2022, 9 led to convictions and the police issued 6 cautions."
www.electoralcommission.org.uk/
It has been stated that voter id will cost the taxpayer £18 million a year.
running an organic farm requires a hands-on approach. Gene Holmes and others were on hands and knees squashing squash bugs and the eggs on each plant and spreading a bug killer made from corn meal and fossil rock dust.
Oak Ridge Valley Farm Organics, Grand Saline, Texas oakridgeorganics.com/index.php
The NSPCC Childline White Hat Ball held at the Lancaster Hotel, London. With special appearances by Esther Rantzen, Fiona Phillips and Clive Room. Entertainment by Session One, 27th January 2017
Photography by Fergus Burnett
Accreditation required with all use.
During PBS’ NO PASSPORT REQUIRED Season 2 and SOUTH BY SOMEWHERE session at the Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour in Beverly Hills, CA on Tuesday, July 30, 2019, host of SOUTH BY SOMEWHERE Vivian Howard, host of NO PASSPORT REQUIRED Marcus Samuelsson and senior director, PBS programming development Pamela A. Aguilar featured the upcoming seasons of NO PASSPORT REQUIRED and SOUTH BY SOMEWHERE.
(Premieres Winter/Spring 2020)
All photos in this set should be credited to Rahoul Ghose/PBS
Unarmed combat training - required. Photographer: Shane Wilkinson; Crown Copyright
Close Protection Unit pack punch during training
Part of the Royal Military Police, the CPU deliver provost support, such as bodyguarding, for the Ministry of Defence and other government departments. Their training is progressive and demanding, and they're armed with a variety of weapons not normally seen on the parade square. "Forget the glory hunting; bodyguarding is not like the movies. For me, it's doing a professional job."
Read More Here: www.army.mod.uk/news/24341.aspx
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
The Bachem Ba 349 Natter (English: Colubrid, grass-snake) was a World War II German point-defence rocket-powered interceptor, which was to be used in a very similar way to a manned surface-to-air missile. In 1943, Luftwaffe air superiority was being challenged by the Allies over the Reich and radical innovations were required to overcome the crisis. Surface-to-air missiles appeared to be a promising approach to counter the Allied strategic bombing offensive; a variety of projects were started, but invariably problems with the guidance and homing systems prevented any of these from attaining operational status. Providing the missile with a pilot, who could operate a weapon during the brief terminal approach phase, offered a solution.
After a rather fast and troublesome development phase the Natter was rushed into production. The SS ordered 150 Natters, and the Luftwaffe ordered 50, and the first serial production aircraft, now designated Ba 349 A-1, reached operational status in April 1945 with the Erprobungskommando (EK) 349. An operational launch site under the code name “Operation Kroku”s was being established in a small, wooded area called Hasenholz, south of the Stuttgart to Munich autobahn and to the east of Nabern unter Teck. Around the end of February and the beginning of March the Organisation Todt had been in action, constructing each set of the trios of concrete foundations (or "footings") for the stationary launch towers. These three launch pads and their towers were arranged at the corners of an equilateral triangle, 120 m per side.
By August 1945, 91 aircraft had been delivered to EK 349 and the first operational unit, the JG 400, into which the test unit was soon integrated. But a persistent lack of fuel, staff and maintenance resources kept most of them grounded. It was clear that the original plan for a huge network of Ba 349 bases that protected important locations would never be realized, and the idea of stationary bases made this network vulnerable to air raids, too. As a consequence mobile launch rigs for the Natter were developed, the so-called “Rampenwagen I”. This self-propelled vehicle was based on repurposed Königstiger battle tank hulls that had their engine moved into a mid-chassis position behind the driver’s compartment. This arrangement offered enough space at the heavy chassis’ rear section to carry an erectable ramp and two vacuum pumps that powered the launch sled for a single Natter that ran on rails on the ramp. The Natter interceptor was hooked with the ehlp of a crane into the erected ramp and started vertically. Beyond the Ba 349 this device could also be used to start the Messerschmitt E-4 “Enzian” anti-aircraft missile in a similar fashion, as well as the unmanned Fieseler Fi 103 “V1” cruise missile at a shallow launch angle
Adapting the existing Tiger II chassis turned out to be relatively easy, and unfinished hulls could be modified without major problems. A side benefit of the new mid-engine layout was that the driving shaft to the gearbox in the Jagdtiger’s front hull was shorter, saving material, weight, and internal space behind the engine bay. As a drawback the access to the engine compartment was limited through the low and long launch ramp – it had to be erected or even removed before the engine could be changed. Another characteristic feature of the modified hull was a different running gear. It used elements of Porsche’s original Tiger I running that was rejected for the heavy battle tank but adopted for the heavy Ferdinand/Elefant SPG that was based on Porsche’s Tiger I design. It consisted of four wheel-units per side made from pairs of 700 mm diameter steel road wheels and a longitudinal torsion bar suspension that remained outside of the hull. While its off-road performance was not as good as the original interleaved running gear with torsion bars inside of the hull, the Porsche system offered a production advantage over the Henschel running gear: it took a third less time to produce than Henschel’s system, reduced the hull construction time as well as machining time, required less maintenance, and could actually be completely replaced in the field without (theoretically) removing other parts and without the use of a jack. The Porsche system also saved about 1,200 kg in weight, 450 man-hours of work time, gained 100 mm more ground clearance, and saved RM 404,000 (Reichsmarks) in cost per vehicle. Much more importantly though, the use of this suspension freed up space inside the vehicle, an entire cubic meter extra! A few standard Jagdtiger SPGs were finished with this running gear, too, but it only became a standard on refurbished vehicles.
In service the Rampenwagen I received the official designation of Sd.Kfz. 282, and only a handful of these complex and bulky vehicles were build oer deilevered to frontline units until late 1945. In practice the Rampenwagen I was operated in combination with other vehicles to from mobile launch units for the Natter - plans envisioned groups with Sd.Kfz. 282s, accompanied by trabsporters for the tiny fighters, two cranes to lift them onto the launch sled on the ramp, plus fuel bowsers, a command and radio unit, plus supprt vehicles for staff and pilots as well as other equipment, and ideally even a mobile radar system that could guide and coordinate the interceptions. This, however, never materialized, due to the lack of resources, and only the Luftwaffe's JG 400 became operational enough to make some Ba 349 starts in the defense of the Stuttgart area, with very limited success.
Specifications:
Crew: 2 (Driver, Radio operator/ramp engineer)
Weight: 59.5 tons (131.050 lb)
Length: 14,04 m (45 ft 11 ¾ in) overall
7,80 m (25 ft 6 ½ in) hull only
Width: 3.625 m (11 ft 10 ½ in)
Height: 4.97 m (16 ft 3 ½ in) with launch sled
14,54 m (47 ft 7 ¾ in) with erected ramp
Ground clearance: 56,5 cm (22¼ in)
Suspension: Longitudinal torsion bars
Fuel capacity: 860 Liter (190 imp gal, 230 US gal)
Armor:
20–180 mm (0.79 – 7 in)
Performance:
Maximum road speed: 34 km/h (21 mph)
Operational range: 120 km (75 mi) on road
80 km (50 mi) off road
Power/weight: 10,08 PS/ton
Engine:
V-12 Maybach HL230 P30 with 600 hp/441 kW
Transmission:
Maybach eight-speed OLVAR OG40-1216B gearbox
Armament:
None installed
The kit and its assembly:
Well, it's not really armour, but since this... thing is based on a Jagdtiger I put it here. It's actually cross-linked with the Ba 349 Natter that I am building in parallel - after all, how should that tiny rocket fight start? This thought had been on my mind for quite a time, and I had the Brengun Natter stashed away for some time. But creating a mobile launch platofrm - or better: coming up with a concept that could be turned into a model somehow, took really long. First ingredient was a Fujimi steam catapult kit from WWII, which works with an external sled, towed by a cable, quite different to the launch catapults that were for instance used for the Fi 103 VI, which operated like aircraft carrier steam catapults with a sled in a pressurized tube.
Finding a suitable chassis was more complicated. First bet was "Karl Gerät" mortar, which turned out to be much too big and also not really compatible with the Fujimi catapult, and the project went into hiatus again. Until inspiration struck and I remembered the Jagdtiger that I had built last year or so, with an oversized L/100 gun and the casemate moved to the rear of the hull (and the engine in a mid-positionj behind the drivers' compartment). That could work in size and arrangement!
Said and done, I procured an(other) Trumpeter Jagdtiger with the late Porsche running gear, with simplified and standardized elements that were intended for the E-Series of tanks, what would fit well into the model's intended time frame of mid 1945. And from that on things went straightforward, only that the catapult was shortened by 3" at the rear and modified to stand vertical - with the bonus that was able to construct a joint so that this is even functional. The launch sled, which was slightly tailored to hold the Natter, is movable, too. That area inside of the Jagdtiger hull had to be filled/improvised, but that worked well, too, thanks to some donor parts from a Modelcollect E-50 tank.
Painting and markings:
The paint scheme caused the next headaches. This is supposed to be a special vehicle, (re)constructed from a Jagdtiger hull, and somehow I did not find Dunkelgelb to be a proper solution. Late in WWII many tanks received an overall Olivgrün factory finish, but I also did not like that idea for this massive thing. Luftwaffe vehicles were, at least during early war stages, painted in their own color, RAL 7016, a dark and rather bluish tone slightly lighter than RAL 7021 Panzergrau, but that did not appear suitable, either. Red Oxidprimer was another option, but rejected, too.
Eventually I settled for a very simple overall RAL 7021 finish - a tone which was still available in considerable volume and applied to operational tanks - and in this case it would be a "2nd line vehicle". The dark tone would also work well to hide the launch platform's bulk in the shadows of trees or buildings, and it simply "looks German". Since the lattice girder catapult with the pressure piston inside was build before painting I used a rattle can - another argument for a uniform livery. After that the model was dry-brushed, decals and matt varnish were applied, and some dirt and dust was added with water colors and pigments.