Picture of the day

I have worked around and under many big American and Russian helicopters. While I wouldn't call it "whisper mode" even the Mi-26 sounds relatively quiet when its working close to the ground at a distance. They seem to have an odd low pitched whistling sound that is hard to locate until they come over the ridge line and then it's a different story. The Chinooks and Skycranes are all noise all the time.
 
On the topic of helicopters, pilots tell me that, besides a fuchsia colored panel marker, the two most conspicuous things to the eye are the shine of an upturned human face.....or a naked a$$.:eek:

A pilot buddy told me about a few experiences where they would home in on the shine of a bare a$$ and then go into a low hover over a passionate couple in the weeds. No complaints were phoned in either.:rey2
 
johnny rotten said:
The end story of Dien Bien Phu is quite brutal as I recall
Only a very small number of severly wounded French Union troops were permitted to be medevaced out of Dien Bien Phu after it fell
The remaining French Union forces even if wounded were sent on death marches to POW camps in various locations
Lots died on the marches and others died in the camps of wounds, disease, brutal treatment, dehydration, malnutrition, you name it
French and Vietnamese families expected a somewhat civilized end with their loved ones being repatriated after a brief imprisonment but that wasn't the case at all
On the other hand, Vietminh communist troops who were taken prisoner by French Union forces were well cared for medically and well fed
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Some that survived the fall of the French regime in Indo China went on to serve in Algeria and French Morocco. When Degaulle ceded Algeria to the Algerians, they were among those who mutinied, feeling betrayed after such a long history of sacrifice in North Africa. The Legion was particularly bitter about losing it's home at Sidi Bel Abbes, taking all it's memorabilia to include the masonry front gate.

I recall reading that at one point following WWII, 60% of the Foreign Legion was composed of ex-Wehrmacht/SS soldaten. This was the Legion that fought in Indo China.
 
bdft said:
I have worked around and under many big American and Russian helicopters. While I wouldn't call it "whisper mode" even the Mi-26 sounds relatively quiet when its working close to the ground at a distance. They seem to have an odd low pitched whistling sound that is hard to locate until they come over the ridge line and then it's a different story. The Chinooks and Skycranes are all noise all the time.
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A function of the eight main rotor blades on the Mi-26.
 
diopter said:
c41ebd91b73bdd8189db1702a4f24937.jpg
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You would think that the projectile would be deformed more . I thought that the frountail armor was sloped so may be it was a very long shot and the ark of distance matched the slope of the armor ?
 
buzzmagoo said:
You would think that the projectile would be deformed more . I thought that the frountail armor was sloped so may be it was a very long shot and the ark of distance matched the slope of the armor ?
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May have been a Tiger I which had 100mm vertical frontal hull armour above the glacis plate
 
buzzmagoo said:
You would think that the projectile would be deformed more . I thought that the frountail armor was sloped so may be it was a very long shot and the ark of distance matched the slope of the armor ?
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That is because it isn't from a Tiger tank at all, but rather a test armour plate on display at Bovington tank museum. The shell is simply placed in the hole for comparison.
 
buzzmagoo said:
You would think that the projectile would be deformed more . I thought that the frountail armor was sloped so may be it was a very long shot and the ark of distance matched the slope of the armor ?
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Its from a display at Bovington, and IIRC it was a test shot against flat plate after the war.
 
CV32 said:
The forward fuselage and engines have hardened steel armour, not titanium. (There was a titanium rotor head). There is no Chain gun. And the heaviest gun carried aboard any Hind model is the 30mm GSh-30K carried aboard the Hind F. There is no 'whisper' mode.
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It appears that the Hind is still in production, yet I haven't heard or seen any in the news for some time now.
 
zupermann said:
It appears that the Hind is still in production, yet I haven't heard or seen any in the news for some time now.
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The most recent version being delivered to Russian forces was the Mi-24VM (NATO Hind E), from around 2010. Export Mi-35M versions were still being delivered quite recently to places like Kazakhstan.
 
33408413204_f17c5afb48_c.jpg


North American VB-25N Mitchell ‘232511’ (PH-XXV) by Alan Wilson
Via Flickr:
c/n 108-32782. Full US military serial 44-29507. Operated by the Royal Netherlands Air Force Historic Flight, based at Gilze-Rijen Air Base. Seen taxiing in after arriving at the 2016 Belgian Air Force Day, Florennes, Belgium. 25th June 2016
 
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An American Consolidated B-24 Liberator bomber lies vertically after overturning during take-off on the Allied 15th Air Division base in Italy in April 1945.
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Just dinged it a bit on takeoff, that'll buff right out.
 
CV32 said:
The forward fuselage and engines have hardened steel armour, not titanium. (There was a titanium rotor head). There is no Chain gun. And the heaviest gun carried aboard any Hind model is the 30mm GSh-30K carried aboard the Hind F. There is no 'whisper' mode.
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You've got more info on them than I do. I assumed they were chain guns. Whatever, being on the receiving end of them was devastating in many ways. Even if you got away.

I saw one that had gone down and the belly was appx 5cm thick and laminated with very thin sheets. I also saw one take an RPG to the belly and it exploded but didn't knock down the helicopter.
 
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