Picture of the day
- Thread starter jwhc
- Start date
Poem titled "Martial Music" by Ken Tout who served as a crewman in the Sherman tank from Normandy through to VE Day:
I marched away
to the glorious trumpets of war,
the haunting horns of ambition,
the laughing trombones of youthfulness,
the pounding tubas of discipline.
I limped back home
to the shivering violins of fear,
the moaning violas of pain,
the sombre cellos of self-knowledge,
the stumbling basses of self-doubt.
Only later
did I discover
that I was my own composer
and my own conductor.
Sporting Lad
Regular
- Location
- Vancouver Island
The carryon from the Lee was the Grant:
Not sure, aside from the bigger turret, how much of a difference there was. They both look like a bad place to fight a war from.
They were both very tall tanks, making them easy targets in the desert. IIRC the Grant was the 'original' US version, whereas the Lee was the Brit variant. It had a lower turret w/ the 2 pounder, a marginally better gun than the US 37mm. One of the liabilities of riveted plates is that the tank would take a non-lethal hit that would pop those rivets and send them flying around inside the crew compartment.
Er, I guess that'd be considered a lethal hit....
Charlemagne70
Regular
- Location
- Monteregia,Kebekistan
Four original members of the First Special Service Force taken in Trafalgar Square 1945.
What kind of wings does the last sergeant on the right have on his chest?
They're US jump wings, the ones issued to them in Helena MT where they trained and made two jumps. One of the men in the photo has a US jump wing on his beret some of the men used them as a hat badge.
Bogart made a movie with an M3 once.
If you ever get a chance to see Sahara, it's a passbly decent product of its time. The Grant plays a significant role.
"Sahara" was on PBS recently. Maybe it's on their playlist rotation schedule.
Good flick. Interesting twists. Recommended.
Half sloshed, fully armed . . .
..and no-one with eyes and ears!
I'm sure that their jump training and subsequent jump wing award was at Fort Benning GA.
No jump facilities in Helena.
Actually they did their jump training at Fort William Henry Harrison in Helena , although a few of the Canadian Forcemen were trained at Fort Benning before they volunteered to join the FSSF.
any fool can jump out of a plane once, it really matters if you will do it again once you know what its like
You can see Ike in the background having a go and I think Omar Bradley is there as well, but he's either had his turn or didn't want one.
Funny thing is Churchill seems to be holding a pistol grip with his left hand, but the standard forend is there as well?
Funny thing is Churchill seems to be holding a pistol grip with his left hand, but the standard forend is there as well?
Dark Alley Dan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Darkest Edmonton
"OK, lessee.... Comrade Sgt. said we were here... But those trees didn't look familiar. Dammit, where the hell is Kursk on this thing?"
Almost correct ....
I spent four glorious German summers jumping out of a DeHavilland Rapide with the Rhine Army Parachute Association, logging 318 jumps. In the process I acquired a 'D' licence and became an instructor.
The critical point for drop outs was the 3rd or 4th jump, as they knew what to expect. Once the first student quit, there was a rush. We had a female Lt. of Military Police (a real looker!) who wanted to take the course in order to have something in common with her Lt. fiance in the Paras. She asked to quit after her 3rd or 4th jump and we asked her not to. Once the lady quit, it would have been like rats leaving a sinking ship!
She stuck it out, not getting into free fall or doing so much as a 'clear & pull', but she ended up with more jumps than her Para boyfriend.
Dark Alley Dan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Darkest Edmonton
I am seldom, if ever, envious, but what I wouldn't give for a ride in a Dragon Rapide:
One of the Very Beautiful Airplanes of history.
One of the Very Beautiful Airplanes of history.
The APA had two Rapides - one based at Netheravon in Britain, and ours "Rhinegold" (affectionately called 'Ringo') based at Detmold in Germany. They were sponsored by the Rothman's cigarette company and painted in the blue and white Rothman's livery. She had a real personality about her and she was pampered beyond any other aircraft hangered with her - Beavers, helicopters, Austers, etc.
There was a Hawker-Siddley aero engines tech stationed at Detmold on contract and he had the ticket to maintain her engines. He'd be at the drop zone week ends dressed in spotless white coveralls checking her over between lifts just for fun. The Germans loved the show. We refueled her by hand from those squareish Brit Jerry cans using a funnel with a fine mesh filter. On a hot day, the fumes were all around you, so you can bet we had people posted with fire extinquishers and watching out for smokers.
There was a line up of pilots with the twin piston endorsement ticket wanting to fly her, including an RAF Hawker Hunter recce pilot. He asked us to RV with him near RAF Station Gutersloh at 10,000 to take some pics of Ringo withone his side mounted cameras. We were flat out at 130 knots as we had seven jumpers on board headed for a display. He went by us like we were standing still. On the next pass, he had his flaps down and was somewhat slower. On the third pass, he also had his gear down and passed us slowly. He told us later that his stall warning device was screaming at him and he was about to fall out of the sky until he upped his flaps, gear and opened the throttle.
I don't know if the posted picture is reversed, but Ringo had a door on the port side and the student stood between the wings holding on to the aft strut awaiting the tap to push off. She also had an astrodome port that was covered with fabric just aft of the wing. One of my students put his head through it and I had to get some fabric and dope from the RAF to fix it. They still had it on inventory to cover gun ports and hatch covers.
There was a Hawker-Siddley aero engines tech stationed at Detmold on contract and he had the ticket to maintain her engines. He'd be at the drop zone week ends dressed in spotless white coveralls checking her over between lifts just for fun. The Germans loved the show. We refueled her by hand from those squareish Brit Jerry cans using a funnel with a fine mesh filter. On a hot day, the fumes were all around you, so you can bet we had people posted with fire extinquishers and watching out for smokers.
There was a line up of pilots with the twin piston endorsement ticket wanting to fly her, including an RAF Hawker Hunter recce pilot. He asked us to RV with him near RAF Station Gutersloh at 10,000 to take some pics of Ringo withone his side mounted cameras. We were flat out at 130 knots as we had seven jumpers on board headed for a display. He went by us like we were standing still. On the next pass, he had his flaps down and was somewhat slower. On the third pass, he also had his gear down and passed us slowly. He told us later that his stall warning device was screaming at him and he was about to fall out of the sky until he upped his flaps, gear and opened the throttle.
I don't know if the posted picture is reversed, but Ringo had a door on the port side and the student stood between the wings holding on to the aft strut awaiting the tap to push off. She also had an astrodome port that was covered with fabric just aft of the wing. One of my students put his head through it and I had to get some fabric and dope from the RAF to fix it. They still had it on inventory to cover gun ports and hatch covers.
my dad went through training here, and after the various ground based stuff, the majority of guys who did quit did it before the second real jump in his group
"OK, lessee.... Comrade Sgt. said we were here... But those trees didn't look familiar. Dammit, where the hell is Kursk on this thing?"
Looks like a nice and shinny staff car in the background
The APA program was an intense package designed to take students from '0' to 45 second free fall delays in three weeks. They jumped on the morning of the fourth day of training with a parachute that they packed themselves - under supervision, of course. Reserves were packed by the instructors.
After their initial jump in the morning, there was a debrief, repacking and it was back in the plane for an afternoon jump. They didn't have time to think about it. Many had sleepless or fitful nights and the applications to withdraw began the next morning.
I learned that you can't judge a book by it's cover. As rookie instructors, we were asked to pick the top candidate out of a serial of up 36 candidates. Mostly we picked the regimental jocks that played all the sports. They were generally the first to quit. I had a 130 lb. admin clerk in my stick and after a slow start, he topped the course, the first to make a 45 second delay.
I had to give him a motivational kick in the butt, pointing out that if he quit and went back to his unit with his tail between his legs, he'd never live it down. Instead he went back with his head held high.
After their initial jump in the morning, there was a debrief, repacking and it was back in the plane for an afternoon jump. They didn't have time to think about it. Many had sleepless or fitful nights and the applications to withdraw began the next morning.
I learned that you can't judge a book by it's cover. As rookie instructors, we were asked to pick the top candidate out of a serial of up 36 candidates. Mostly we picked the regimental jocks that played all the sports. They were generally the first to quit. I had a 130 lb. admin clerk in my stick and after a slow start, he topped the course, the first to make a 45 second delay.
I had to give him a motivational kick in the butt, pointing out that if he quit and went back to his unit with his tail between his legs, he'd never live it down. Instead he went back with his head held high.
