Picture of the day
- Thread starter jwhc
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Amsterdam. A over VOC. The Amsterdam Chamber of the East India Company. Effectively, proofed by the Amsterdam Chamber of Commerce. One of the people we're staying with commented "Typically Dutch. If you want it done right, let a businessman do it."
Moored outside the Maritime Museum, which was originally the arsenal/magazine for the city, built in the 1600's using private funds (from the East India Company and other chamber members). The Dutch used to have a highly mercenary approach to... Well, pretty much everything. The monarchy was not particularly strong, and business ran the show. If you look up "The Nigh####ch" by Rembrandt, it is very much a reflection of this. Rather than trust the policing of the streets to the city and government, local businessmen formed their own patrols to guard the streets.
They became one of the wealthiest and most powerful trading nations on earth with this approach. Now that they've become a fully European central government social welfare state...
The Graf Spee was a very trim ship. Shame she went out the way she did.
This picture is post war (1954) but documents the only time in history that the USS Missouri, USS Wisconsin, USS Iowa, and USS New Jersey sailed together.
Personally as an ex member of the Royal New Zealand Navy and with relatives that fought on the Achilles at the Battle of the River Plate I am very glad that she went the way she did. If she had came back out the only thing that would have happened is more people dying. My hat goes of to Langsdorff for recognizing this.
Having said that they were quite pretty ships and so were the New Jersey class.
This picture is post war (1954) but documents the only time in history that the USS Missouri, USS Wisconsin, USS Iowa, and USS New Jersey sailed together.
7 June 1954, in the Virginia Capes operating area, appearing in order (near to far): USS Iowa (BB-61), USS Wisconsin (BB-64), USS Missouri (BB-63) and USS New Jersey (BB-62).
Courtesy of King George the V who was head of the Royal Navy and had a beard. Long may it continue. Only time beards are prohibited is if you are on a fire fighting crew in which case gas masks don't seal properly with a beard.
First I was a Naval Officer so please don't interpret what I am saying as bias. I think my biggest problem with Medals and Awards was the institutional bias against ranks. Officers were often awarded medals for things a private or sergeant would never get one for. George Beurling was promoted to officer because it wasn't appropriate for a member of the ranks to have his level of decoration and they simply had no choice about awarding the decoration he received. I can quote dozens of cases of inequity in awards. The worst of all is probably the DSO. If you were a senior officer it was routine to be awarded the DSO for doing a half decent job. Whereas ranks could not be awarded it at all and for a Junior officer to win it required very high levels of bravery in combat. Hardly apples to apples. In addition it was standard for a much higher standard of bravery to be applied to commonwealth troops than was applied to British military personnel. Many many times awards were missed because there was not enough evidence. If you were recommended for the VC and declined then you could not be awarded any other decoration simply a Mentioned in Dispatches. Many people who deserved a VC were only recommended for the MC or MM simply because their CO wanted to make sure they got something. About the only thing you can really be sure of was that a VC required a beyond extraordinary level of bravery to win and a rank with a MM or any other decoration did something truly incredible to earn it.
April 15, 1952. First flight of the B-52.
Man look at the tail on that sucker. I didn't realize they were so big.
Never got in Sea state 9 but I was in 30' waves on a 107ft patrol boat once. I was driving and it was a whole hell of a lot of fun. I remember coming up a wave and only being able to see the sky then down into the next wave and having the whole boat dive into the wave. Every hatch closed. Had to clear the forward mess as everyone was being tossed from their bunks. Ripped a panel of the side of the funnel that day. Almost everyone was out with seasickness. Glad I was driving or I would have been too. The CO was new to the boat and was incapacitated. We were only in it for a few hours till we could duck in behind an island for shelter but it was wild and woolly. Only way we could turn was on top of a smaller wave. Most fun I ever had in a boat. Yee Haw.
The JU-87G was quite the misshapen beast. The grandpappy of the A10. Those cannons were capable enough:
Just the thing for winning the Knight's Cross mit swords, oak leaves, and diamonds...
Yah unt he vas a big contributor to the design of the A10 as well. Rudel. I suggest you read his biography. Nazi as they came but one serious bad a--e dude. When they have to invent a new decoration for you because there just isn't anything good enough. 2500 combat missions more or less and early on they said he would never make it as a pilot.
A bit simplistic. The huge drain the bomber offensive put on the German military made a lot of the ground work a lot easier than it otherwise would have been. The bombing crippled fuel supply along with the huge effort required to repair damage. Was bombing Dresden really necessary, maybe not but it was a huge communications hub so it was justified militarily. Very easy to review in hindsight but try looking through the eyes of late WW2.
The recoil of an M2 is internal. The casing the optic is mounted to does not move under recoil. There will obviously some movement but nothing like a conventional rifle.
Ok, trivia question.
How does a pilot earn the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Golden Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds. with only 9 air to air victories? (And yes, he really, really earned it the hard way, not through politics, but by a staggering level of skill).
By sinking a battleship, destroying over 500 tanks, flying more or less 2500 combat missions, flying again only a few days after being shot, swimming semi frozen river behind enemy lines, rescuing downed airmen behind enemy lines etc etc etc.
