Picture of the day
- Thread starter jwhc
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Nieuport 83E-2 (10)
This is the final trainer version of Nieuport 10. Probably built in 1918, used by Charles Nungesser, registered N680CP at Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome, NY, USA 2. October 2015
It alway amazes me how far we've come in a mere hundred years or so. These guys had some guts fighting other primitive airplanes and without parachutes.
No parachutes?
Excellent book of that name ("No Parachute") by Air Vice Marshal Sir Arthur Gould Lee. The book was assembled in Gould Lee's old age from diary entries and his own letters home to his first wife, all written during training and his tour at the Front with a Fighter squadron. Compelling reading, watching as he progresses from innocent, enthusiastic neophyte enthralled with the idea of being in the air, above the clouds..... to enthusiastic fighter pilot..... to a much more experienced, careful warrior....... right to shaking, nightmare-beset victim of what we now would call a serious case of PTSD..... all in a single year. The book concludes with a dispassionate historical and technical examination of WHY NO PARACHUTES. Entertaining.... and then COMPELLING reading.
It was published in hard-cover and in paperback about 40 years ago and is definite required reading if you wish to truly understand the stress and rigors of a Great War career as a dashing air-warrior, all the way from first flight to the end.
Despite being written-off for combat duties, Gould Lee stayed in the RAF after it was formed and continued in Service during peacetime, finally riding almost to the top slot, but always with the understanding of what the Air Force was asking of men and, perhaps, how to make it easier.
Excellent book, well worth seeking out.
Excellent book of that name ("No Parachute") by Air Vice Marshal Sir Arthur Gould Lee. The book was assembled in Gould Lee's old age from diary entries and his own letters home to his first wife, all written during training and his tour at the Front with a Fighter squadron. Compelling reading, watching as he progresses from innocent, enthusiastic neophyte enthralled with the idea of being in the air, above the clouds..... to enthusiastic fighter pilot..... to a much more experienced, careful warrior....... right to shaking, nightmare-beset victim of what we now would call a serious case of PTSD..... all in a single year. The book concludes with a dispassionate historical and technical examination of WHY NO PARACHUTES. Entertaining.... and then COMPELLING reading.
It was published in hard-cover and in paperback about 40 years ago and is definite required reading if you wish to truly understand the stress and rigors of a Great War career as a dashing air-warrior, all the way from first flight to the end.
Despite being written-off for combat duties, Gould Lee stayed in the RAF after it was formed and continued in Service during peacetime, finally riding almost to the top slot, but always with the understanding of what the Air Force was asking of men and, perhaps, how to make it easier.
Excellent book, well worth seeking out.
In WWI, the German Air Service issued parachutes to pilots. They realized the pilots were more valuable than the aircraft they flew. T Brits were reluctant to do so as they felt it would lead to pilots bailing out instead of fighting it out.
And the Japanese who padlocked the cockpit shut when a kamikaze pilot was ready for takeoff kinda ensured full concentration on the mission as well. Story has it that one of them has a mechanical problem just after takeoff and wouldn’t be able to complete the mission so he returned to home base to get repairs and was blackballed because of it.
Dark Alley Dan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
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Soviet snipers pretend to shoot at airplanes.
Unless the thing is hovering, I can't imagine having the field of view to properly lead any airplane, regardless of vintage, in a scope.
It's also possible it's a very lazy honour guard firing a 21 gun salute. "Sergei is dead. We must fire a volley over his grave, but we are all somewhat drunk. If we don't lay down, the recoil will make us fall over, which would be undignified."
Unless the thing is hovering, I can't imagine having the field of view to properly lead any airplane, regardless of vintage, in a scope.
It's also possible it's a very lazy honour guard firing a 21 gun salute. "Sergei is dead. We must fire a volley over his grave, but we are all somewhat drunk. If we don't lay down, the recoil will make us fall over, which would be undignified."
Soviet snipers pretend to shoot at airplanes.
Unless the thing is hovering, I can't imagine having the field of view to properly lead any airplane, regardless of vintage, in a scope.
It's also possible it's a very lazy honour guard firing a 21 gun salute. "Sergei is dead. We must fire a volley over his grave, but we are all somewhat drunk. If we don't lay down, the recoil will make us fall over, which would be undignified."
A Canadian Bren Gunner brought down a low flying FW 190 while on a route march, the first enemy aircraft brought down by the Canadian Army in WWII. A section of riflemen can put a lot of bullets in the air and it just takes one to be lucky.
An Aussie MG is thought to be by many what brought down the 'Red Baron'.
Soviet snipers pretend to shoot at airplanes.
Unless the thing is hovering, I can't imagine having the field of view to properly lead any airplane, regardless of vintage, in a scope.
It's also possible it's a very lazy honour guard firing a 21 gun salute. "Sergei is dead. We must fire a volley over his grave, but we are all somewhat drunk. If we don't lay down, the recoil will make us fall over, which would be undignified."
not sure what the eye relief is on those scopes but they are fairly low power and it appears they have both eyes open ... which suggest that they may be using the reticle as only one reference in their FOV .
Dark Alley Dan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Darkest Edmonton
I should think it builds morale more than anything else. Organic AA capability. Better to at least have the impression that you're doing something about being bombed rather than just laying there and taking it. Just can't imagine why a guy would use the scope for that. Probably because Comrade Sargent told them to.
This looks marginally more effective:
"Vat did you do during der Kreig, Papa?"
"Vell, veneffer ve ran out of zandbags, I vas der Gravityazziztedwaffenweight. I was considered very effective in zat role. Ze gun never floated off vile I vas on der job."
This looks marginally more effective:
"Vat did you do during der Kreig, Papa?"
"Vell, veneffer ve ran out of zandbags, I vas der Gravityazziztedwaffenweight. I was considered very effective in zat role. Ze gun never floated off vile I vas on der job."
I am aware of a German soldier who says he was the No.2 on an MG42 (he called it a 'Hitler saw') when he and his No. 1 were returning to their position from a quick weapons check of function (somewhere in NW Europe - I presumed Holland) there was a belt in the gun and when a low level Mosquito came over head rather quickly - the No.1 swung the gun from his hip and took most of the tail off. I saw the picture of the 'dent' it left in the ground where it hit and he mentioned the one engine they found mostly intact was quite a distance away. His only comment was that he had no idea they were made from wood.
(He was the father of a friend of mine - Hans - I believe this story as he never talked about his wartime experience - maybe because my father had also served in Holland which he was aware of -- at least not until I showed him a 2 1/4 Balda folding camera I had just purchased and he became quite enthusiastic about it -- he said he had one during the war and found this one picture to show me how good the contrast and resolution was ... when I asked him what the picture was about -- I got the story)
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Dark Alley Dan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Darkest Edmonton
More wishful thinking:
