Picture of the day

[Dark Alley Dan]

well that's one way of describing hydraulic leaks.... "tons of character", 38 and 40 year old survivors... of a single purchase

Khan't-Eh-Duh continues flying aircraft on the front line that are older than the Soviet survivors that Ukraine had retired, cannibalized and reactivated in the dispirit days of 2022 and now is in the process of replacing...

Sh!t costs money, brother, and we already run a sizable deficit every year. How deep a hole you wanna dig? Run 'em until they're museum ready and then bite the bullet and buy newer. That seems to be the plan at the mo.

And hey - could be worse...

 

[Lee Enfield]

Sh!t costs money, brother, and we already run a sizable deficit every year. How deep a hole you wanna dig? Run 'em until they're museum ready and then bite the bullet and buy newer. That seems to be the plan at the mo.

And hey - could be worse...

those Starfighters were 25 years old when they were RETIRED to Greece and Turkey...
the first 2 CF-18s were delivered in 1982 and the final batch in '88, making the oldest CF-18s 44years old, and the newest a spritely 38...
wiki claims that (in 2011) each year of maintenance was costing $250 million per year.[30]

 

[Dark Alley Dan]

those Starfighters were 25 years old when they were RETIRED to Greece and Turkey...
the first 2 CF-18s were delivered in 1982 and the final batch in '88, making the oldest CF-18s 44years old, and the newest a spritely 38...
wiki claims that (in 2011) each year of maintenance was costing $250 million per year.[30]

Yeah, there comes a time when keeping them is more about nostalgia than economy or utility, and at that point you start cutting the spars and trucking them out to museums. I reckon we're still a couple years out from that quite yet, but there's a rumour afoot that we're shopping for something newer.

And hey, it could be worse. The Greeks and the Iranians are still making productive use of these...

 

[Lee Enfield]

Yeah, there comes a time when keeping them is more about nostalgia than economy or utility, and at that point you start cutting the spars and trucking them out to museums. I reckon we're still a couple years out from that quite yet, but there's a rumour afoot that we're shopping for something newer.

And hey, it could be worse. The Greeks and the Iranians are still making productive use of these...

Buying the Gripen would be moronic, so yes I can see the Lieberals doing that....

If anyone were serious the KF21 block 2 / block 3 would be a realistic choice - developed to replace the retiring F4s in Korean service...

 

[Dark Alley Dan]

Nothing unusual here. Just the lanching of a V1 clone (the Republic-Ford JB-2 Loon) from the deck of the USS Cusk, 1951. Cusk was the first submarine to launch a guided missile from its deck, the precursor to the Polaris and its ilk.

 

[257Wby]

 

[*lawrence]

 

[fat tony]

 

[Dark Alley Dan]

109 production at Weiner Neustadt:

...and a brief hiccup in production efficiency, c/o the USAAF:

The great grandchildren of these people will someday charge $450/hr at the service department of your local BMW dealership.

 

[Dark Alley Dan]

A nice photo of a couple of gents in front of their office.



"So this here is Gertie's house. Told you about Gertie, didn't I? Something of a 'sure thing' is ol' Dirty Gertie. Out the front gate, second right, straight on for three an a half miles, then a left into her driveway. Number 12, can't miss it, say hello for me..."

 

[HuskyDude]

Looks like a DH.98 Mosquito FB Mk VI.
4 -303 Browning in the nose.
4- 20mm Hispano Mk.II cannons underneath.
They're in the shadows just above the pilots left shoulder.



Can you provide a link?

 

[Dark Alley Dan]

Can you provide a link?

Regrettably, no. Stole that off Bookface.

 

[ArmedGinger]

A nice photo of a couple of gents in front of their office.

View attachment 1188255

"So this here is Gertie's house. Told you about Gertie, didn't I? Something of a 'sure thing' is ol' Dirty Gertie. Out the front gate, second right, straight on for three an a half miles, then a left into her driveway. Number 12, can't miss it, say hello for me..."

"31st January 1944: Flight Sergeant Wicks and Flight Lieutenant Bodington checking their route before flying to France in the Mosquito behind them which is the world's fastest aircraft and is fully armed."

 

[*lawrence]

 

[*lawrence]

 

[tigrr]

Anyone know If JWHC who started this thread is OK?

 

[Donny Fenn1]

I believe he passed away a number of years ago. 2019 based on the memorial forum.

 

[HuskyDude]

A Ploesti raid in the spring of 1944. A clear view of the density of the Flak as the aircraft stay in formation.

 

[recce]

I believe he passed away a number of years ago. 2019 based on the memorial forum.

He was last on in March 2025.

 

[maynard]

He was last on in March 2025.

https://www.tributearchive.com/obituaries/26286410/joe-colby