Picture of the day

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During the last few months of WWII in Europe, my grandpa said that the biggest threat to them wasn't German armor, but the solo infantryman with a Panzerfaust or Panzershreck. Sandbags and extra track welded on the hull did boost morale and provide some extra protection against enemy anti-tank weapons.

Funny, my granddad said the only time he saw Canadian tanks (twice iirc) they were attacked by US aircraft. Some things never change I guess.
 
The P.R. Spits (of all marks) were very pretty planes. Didn't need guns where they were going. :)

But for real poetry, one should look at the P.R. Mosquitoes.

Minor damage, take of accident, RAF Watton / USAAF Station 376, 29/8/44. Clayton P. Hackman Jr (pilot) USAAF.
This aircraft was involved in a landing accident, 14/1/45, again at Watton, this time Cat 4, requiring repairs at depot-level. The pilot was George M. Vanderleest USAAF.
Sometime after June 45, MM364 passed to the Fleet Air Arm, serving with No.s 770 and 771 NAS's. Location unknown. Sold for scrap from Lossiemouth on 25/11/53.

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Hatfield built de Havilland DH98 Mosquito PR Mk XVI NS508. Parked as visitor to Mount Farm, Oxfordshire. 1944.

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Mosquito PR Mark IX, MM230, at Boscombe Down, Wiltshire. MM230 served with the Fighter Interception Unit as a target aircraft before rejoining the makers for trials and display work.


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Not quite so clean as a Whirlwind or a Hornet, but my God the lines... An aesthetic masterpiece.
 
Came across this snippet doing a bit of link surfing. A more complete bit of film from German propaganda, part of it we've all seen - specifically the first shot against the brick tenement.

Generally, I've seen this attributed to the invasion of Poland, specifically Warsaw. But if you're quick (or hit pause right at the beginning), you'll note the name of the village is "Hangest" - which would be "Hangest-sur-Somme." That puts the action during the Battle of Abbeville in late May, early June, when things were going terribly wrong, terribly quickly, for the French and the British Expeditionary Forces.

Picture if you will being a small British unit (most likely British in this case, given the time and locale), and you've managed to cozy up in a nice brick tenement, laying down fire and keeping some German infantry pinned down.

Then zipping around a corner comes an SPG (15 cm sIG 33 Sf auf Panzerkampfwagen I Ausf B) and infantry re-enforcements. The SPG ungratefully removes the building you're holed up in, and the German infantry proceeds at quick step.


Very symbolic of what was happening at the time. The British and French forces simply weren't prepared, in terms of equipment or tactics, for this kind of hyper-aggressive combined arms display.
 
That's pretty decisive, alright. Interesting to see arty used in streetfighting. Hell on real estate values, but you can't argue with success.

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With a profile like that, you'd want to keep them well clear of any enemy armour. That's a face that says "shoot me".
 
Yeah, if you've ever either fired or observed arty, that's typical. The shells are big enough to observe when fired.

To funny, you can also watch mortar rounds sailing lazily through the air, up, up, up a little hang time, then down, down, down, Boom
 
That's pretty decisive, alright. Interesting to see arty used in streetfighting. Hell on real estate values, but you can't argue with success.


With a profile like that, you'd want to keep them well clear of any enemy armour. That's a face that says "shoot me".

Probably why the Bison had such a short service life. Effective in 1940 (when the video was taken), at a time when the Allies didn't even remotely have their act together, but much less so later on the in the war. Only 38 were made, and they were out of service by the end of 1943.

Still an improvement over the original propulsion system for the sIG 33 cannon:

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The sIG 33 was the German infantry's workhorse cannon (no pun intended). They slapped it on anything that could carry it and survive the recoil. Here's the Grille M, a Czech Pz 38 sporting a nice sIG 33 Chapeau:

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They made about 400 of these.
 
The sIG 33 was the German infantry's workhorse cannon (no pun intended). They slapped it on anything that could carry it and survive the recoil. Here's the Grille M, a Czech Pz 38 sporting a nice sIG 33 Chapeau:

If it ain't broke...

They did much the same with the 7.5 cm KwK 40. They adapted it from the 7.5cm Pak 40, then they put it on the Panzer IV (F2 models onwards), Sturmgeschütz III, Sturmgeschütz IV assault guns.
 
Between the Skoda works, and Brno, there was a very good, strategic, reason why the Germans were anxious to grab Czechoslovakia early on. The German High Command considered it essential for the war effort to capture those factories intact. Brno's Vz 24 rifles were easily a match of the Obendorf rifles, in terms of quality. And Skoda was a world leader in making reliable military vehicles. The Pz. 38 chassis was rugged and reliable, and eminently adaptable.

After travelling through Europe last year, the Czech Republic was a definite standout. Most of Western Europe... Everyone seemed worried about rights and privileges and equitable pay for everyone - regardless of how low skill the job might be. The Czechs? They just seemed to want to get to work and build things.

If I was forced to leave Canada and settle in Europe, it would be the Czech Republic. They have a compatible understanding of life.
 
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The racing version:

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The Germans sure got the mileage out of that chassis - light tank, tank destroyer, recce vehicle, mobile arty...





The "Swiss army knife" of German armour, if it looks small from the outside climb in and its even smaller.

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^ And the international gold standard on how not to do a vehicle restoration.
 
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