Picture of the day

25 pdr. Was she welded tight? Always breaks my heart to see that.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Speaking of "end of theline / swords into plowshares" etc....

1.jpg

2.jpg3.jpg4.jpg5.jpg

The waste of it all is astonishing. "5 Grand" was the 5000th B17 Boeing built. She was covered in the signatures of those who built her.

proxy-image


5grand_07_43-37716_fre5885.png


5grand_05_43-37716_fre5867.jpg


They built her, signed the sh!t out of her, flew her all the way to England, put her into combat where she flew 78 missions, ended the war, flew her home, and cut her up with a fvcking torch because she was just one more old, useless airplane.

And if that doesn't make you at least a little sad, I have bad news regarding your soul, or lack thereof.
 
Last edited:
Chas mentioned "5 Grand", a.k.a. 43-37716, the 5000th B17 to be manufactured by Boeing in their Renton, WA plant.

media-387755.jpg


Signed by every person who played a hand in her manufacture, some thirty-five thousand individual signatures. Those dang kids and their graffiti...

43-37716-B-17G-Fortress-8AF-96BG338BS-BXH-5-Grand-FRE5885.jpg


43-37716-B-17G-Fortress-8AF-96BG338BS-BXH-5-Grand-FRE3940.jpg


Cruise speed was 8 MPH slower than an unpainted B-17 due to the weight and drag of the paint. Fuel consumption was worse, too.

When the war ended, she became one more unwanted bird. She was offered to Seattle for free as a memorial. Seattle refused after considering the cost of housing such a thing. Imagine what she would have been like sitting in the Museum of Flight.

Sent to Kingman, cut up and fed to the smelter.

b17g-4337716-five-grand-kingman-aaf-post-wwii.jpg


OfWingsThings1-Surplus-Five-Grand-B-17-at-Kingman-Fred-Johnsen.jpg


So goes all flesh.
 
Zee Sneeken Da Sneeken Tirpitz.

Early 1940, while undergoing fitting out in Wilhelmshaven:

7zr3f7wk3kg51.jpg

Later in 1942 in Norway, Pining for the Fjords!

Tirpitz_camouflaged.jpg

While it never had much of an actual combat history (it only fired its main guns in anger on one occasion), the mere fact of its existence in the North Sea was an endless source of ulcers for the Royal Navy, causing them to adjust plans and reposition convoys and fleets for 4 years. Was it aa waste of men and material? Possibly, possibly not. The British expended enormous effort and material tracking, avoiding, attacking, and eventually sinking the Tirpitz. While not a game changing war winner, and its guns mostly silent, it definitely had a significant impact on the North Sea and Baltic campiagns.
 
Aft elevator?

Yes, its safety railing around the aft elevator. This Casablanca class carrier, Shamrock Bay (CVE-84), had two elevators, one forward and this transverse oriented elevator at the rear. Diagram of a sister ship's flight deck below:

CVE-90-diagram.png


Quarterdeck... a designated station area used as the official point. (official ceremonies)

The quarterdeck on a carrier is typically on the hangar level.
 
came here to say fake news, no way they let the buses get that far up the causeway, we had to walk pretty much the whole thing, plus if those guys are jumping into what looks the flats they are getting stuck up to their hips in mud, super cool place and stories though

Apparently the pic was taken on September 2015. Shortly after that, civilian/tourist vehicles were restricted in phases and the road was demolished and replaced by a bridge, The paratroopers land further inland on a grassy LZ, not on the flats.

6Gun
 
came here to say fake news, no way they let the buses get that far up the causeway, we had to walk pretty much the whole thing, plus if those guys are jumping into what looks the flats they are getting stuck up to their hips in mud, super cool place and stories though

It's St Michael's Day, September 29. French Paratroopers do a drop there every year.

That picture was taken back in 2010. The picture was first posted in 2011.

Screenshot 2026-08-26 at 16-29-53 Plieurs de parachutes la vie à un fil.png
 
Back
Top Bottom