Picture of the day

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Royal Air Force men examine a Messerschmitt 109 which crash-landed in Windsor Great Park, October 1940 piloted by Oberleutnant Karl Fischer of 7/JG27. Fischer survived and was captured. He made the forced landing after being attacked by Hurricanes whilst defending his bombers attacking London.
 
Yes. HMS Broadsword.

Argentine A-4 Skyhawks flew ultra low level to attack the Royal Navy warships during the Falklands War in 1982.
May 25 is Argentina’s National Day.

On that day in 1982 the Fuerza Aérea Argentina (Argentine Air Force) carried out an attack with A-4B Skyhawks belonging to the Grupo 5 de Caza that had been given the task to target HMS Coventry and Broadsword, two British ships on duty to the northwest of the Falkland Islands (Malvinas).

The A-4 Skyhawks flew just a few feet above the water to avoid radar detection as the historical photograph, depicting Captain Pablo Carballo (on the left plane) and Lieutenant Carlos Rinke (right, barely visible below the horizon) attacking HMS Broadsword, shows.

Both Capt. Carballo and Lt. Rinke (flying as “Vulcano flight”) survived the attack (as well as the HMS Broadsword from where the picture was taken), reportedly because the Sea Wolf missile system was unable to choose between their A-4s when they became visible on radar after hiding behind West Falkland and Pebble Island to the South.

The two aircraft released one bomb each one of those missed the target whereas the other one managed to hit the Broadsword in spite of the intense anti-aircraft fire. But the Mk.17 failed to explode.

“Zeus flight”, two A-4s piloted by Lt. Mariano A. Velasco and Alférez Leonardo Barrionuevo, armed with three lighter bombs, soon followed on. Velasco fired his cannons and then released his three bombs that hit and heavily damaged HMS Coventry, that sunk within 20 minutes.

Side note. My boss at my first student summer job was ex-Argentine Air Force pilot. He loved to talk about flying. Back in early 1970s.
 
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Maybe removing a camera?

I think making the wing gun unloaded and safe, the camera is mounted forward of where these airmen are working (more like the back end of a MG) and accessed from beneath the wing. I have no idea if the Luftwaffe 109 had cameras as a rule during the BOB. I think the wing port initially was for the MG then later used for camera when the guns where rearranged
 

The Argentine's had a problem with bombs failing to detonate on these low-altitude A4 attacks on ships - the bombs weren't duds - they were equipped with safeties designed to prevent them from detonating too soon after being released. After they figured out what was happening they started to disable the safeties.
 
On April 6, 2007, Navy SEAL CPO Mike Day was the lead man of a raid against an al Qaeda cell that had been attacking US troops in Iraq’s Anbar province.

As Day breached the door, a barrage of gunfire hit his rifle, knocking it out of his hands. He immediately transitioned to his pistol and killed one insurgent as he fell to the ground next to the dead terrorist.

As a second insurgent pulled the pin on a grenade and ran toward him. Day shot him. The insurgent dropped dead. The grenade exploded not far from Day, rendering him unconscious and peppering him with shrapnel.

He regained consciousness and killed 2 more insurgents with his pistol.

More terrorists returned fire from approximately 10 feet away with AK-47 rifles. One of the rounds hit the bottom of Day’s magazine well, blowing the grips off the pistol and causing a malfunction. He cleared the malfunction and reengaged the insurgents, killing them both.

Day rounded up three Iraqi scouts who had been unable to get out of the target building. He directed one to cover the front door, a second to guard the women and children they had located another room.

Day’s team cleared the target building and when they got to him, he had been shot 27 times.

Day had taken 16 gunshot wounds to his body — both legs, arms, abdomen, buttocks, and scrotum. He was shot 11 times in his body armor. He had also taken a lot of shrapnel from the grenade the terrorist set off in the room. His team called in a MEDEVAC helicopter right away.

Day walked to the helicopter without any assistance. “I wasn’t being macho, but I was afraid if they picked me up, it would just hurt more,” he said.

He was then flown out to Baghdad where medical teams stabilized him overnight.

Despite the severe injuries, he would survive and would receive the Silver Star for his actions.

A7XlgDr.png
 
Reminds me of the joke about Vietnam vet medical discharge benefits when an Admin type ask a vet what he wants and the vet says $200.00 for every inch of distance from the tip of his pecker to the bottom of his scrotum. Admin person figures it can't be all that much, agrees, and asks the vet to lower his pants and underwear so he can measure. Much to the Admin consternation and surprise, no scrotum. Admin ask the vet where is his scotum and vet replies, "back in Vietnam".

Think I heard it from the Commissioner at the Canadian Grenadier Guards. He actually lost his in France when his Sherman was hit.
 
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On April 6, 2007, Navy SEAL CPO Mike Day was the lead man of a raid against an al Qaeda cell that had been attacking US troops in Iraq’s Anbar province.

As Day breached the door, a barrage of gunfire hit his rifle, knocking it out of his hands. He immediately transitioned to his pistol and killed one insurgent as he fell to the ground next to the dead terrorist.

As a second insurgent pulled the pin on a grenade and ran toward him. Day shot him. The insurgent dropped dead. The grenade exploded not far from Day, rendering him unconscious and peppering him with shrapnel.

He regained consciousness and killed 2 more insurgents with his pistol.

More terrorists returned fire from approximately 10 feet away with AK-47 rifles. One of the rounds hit the bottom of Day’s magazine well, blowing the grips off the pistol and causing a malfunction. He cleared the malfunction and reengaged the insurgents, killing them both.

Day rounded up three Iraqi scouts who had been unable to get out of the target building. He directed one to cover the front door, a second to guard the women and children they had located another room.

Day’s team cleared the target building and when they got to him, he had been shot 27 times.

Day had taken 16 gunshot wounds to his body — both legs, arms, abdomen, buttocks, and scrotum. He was shot 11 times in his body armor. He had also taken a lot of shrapnel from the grenade the terrorist set off in the room. His team called in a MEDEVAC helicopter right away.

Day walked to the helicopter without any assistance. “I wasn’t being macho, but I was afraid if they picked me up, it would just hurt more,” he said.

He was then flown out to Baghdad where medical teams stabilized him overnight.

Despite the severe injuries, he would survive and would receive the Silver Star for his actions.

A7XlgDr.png

Check out Jocko Podcast. I can’t remember which episode but he tells the story. Can’t make that $hit up. Incredible.
 
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Translation from Portuguese: "It would be another forty kilometers of dusty sting before I got home."


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"During the rainy season"


From the Book of Ensign Luís Gouveia CD - Archangels and Good Demons
Kindness of the Author
 
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