Picture of the day

[SMcGeown]

Is that the plane that was originally designed as a glider?

You're right Ganderite. It is the ME-323. Originally designed as a heavy glider for Operation Sea Lion and later converted to help the over stretched supply lines in the east.

 

[Dark Alley Dan]

[youtube]6D-NE8vX25I[/youtube]

Some seriously crazy design at work here.

Inspired by this?

 

[kjohn]

Great video. Thanks for posting!

 

[Dark Alley Dan]

Desert, tanks, etc:

Training, apparently. Very frugal method, I suppose.

 

[diopter]

Love the No1 MkIII main armament! Tough on the loader. He has to leave the turret to reload each shot.

 

[john@]

Here's an interesting one. Looks like you'd have to go out to load the hedgehog device at the back.

 

[Dark Alley Dan]

That IS interesting. A later mark of the Matilda, I assume?

Where is this taken?

 

[scott585]

converted from mk2s by the aussies, it looks odd because it hasnt had all the squishy bits torn off as it wasnt ever used operationally

 

[sail32]

A hedgehog bomb on the rear deck ??

 

[scott585]

A hedgehog bomb on the rear deck ??

protected by the tank, and the tank still faces frontal armour towards the target

 

[Dark Alley Dan]

Under new management:

 

[scott585]

the germans thought the matilda was unsportsman like, it along with the heavy french tanks of the pre dunkirk days were the most heavily armoured vehicles around

 

[Dark Alley Dan]

Beautiful resolution on that pic.

 

[Sporting Lad]

the germans thought the matilda was unsportsman like, it along with the heavy french tanks of the pre dunkirk days were the most heavily armoured vehicles around

And the Brits thought it was unsportsman-like when the Afrika Korps discovered they could depress their FLAK 88s to bear on those Matildas and started pegging them
off at long range. Suddenly all that heavy armour just made them into slow targets.

 

[Sporting Lad]

Panzer III crew at Kursk

Here’s a great snap taken during the Battle of Kursk in July, 1943. It’s is a Panzer Mk III, the original German MBT
(‘medium’) with the long-barrelled 5cm gun. By the time of Kursk this model was obsolete and no match for the Russian T-34.
Note the column of smoke rising in the background.
The markings and the tall radio antenna suggest this was a commo tank used for relaying radio messages between HQ and the front.

And what a picture of the crew, frozen in time! I’ve been studying this for a while, and here’s what I’ve deduced:
Left to right:
1) Driver—He’s the one with the greasy coveralls.
2) Radio operator—Typically the crew dogsbody/gofer when not operating radio or bow MG.
3) He’s the Commander—He’s the oldest and most experienced. He’s smiling, but he looks like he’s got the weight
of the world on his shoulders.
4) Gunner—He’s the one stuck way down inside the turret when the shooting starts, and he needs to be a good one if they
are to survive. He and the driver have been with the commander since ‘39 and have seen most of Europe through their
vision blocks.
5) Loader—Responsible for care and feeding of the main gun and the coax mg. Also the radioman’s assistant when the
crap jobs are handed out. These two guys are the youngest-- no doubt replacements for two erstwhile members who
became casualties. Every member of the crew will learn everyone else’s job; ‘promotions’ usually occurred when other
members were killed or wounded.
I located a German historian whose specialty is researching old pics and documents. He would be able to give me a lot more
information about what’s contained in this pic—the unit these men were in and maybe a bit about who they were and what
became of them, but it would cost me more money than I’m prepared to spend in order to find out.

 

[shredder]

Beautiful resolution on that pic.

It is so, and the girl with the .50 ammo is pretty good too!!!!!

Why does that plane scream B-24 Liberator and not B-17 Flying Fortress to me???

 

[shredder]

Here’s a great snap taken during the Battle of Kursk in July, 1943. It’s is a Panzer Mk III, the original German MBT
(‘medium’) with the long-barrelled 5cm gun. By the time of Kursk this model was obsolete and no match for the Russian T-34.
Note the column of smoke rising in the background.
The markings and the tall radio antenna suggest this was a commo tank used for relaying radio messages between HQ and the front.

And what a picture of the crew, frozen in time! I’ve been studying this for a while, and here’s what I’ve deduced:
Left to right:
1) Driver—He’s the one with the greasy coveralls.
2) Radio operator—Typically the crew dogsbody/gofer when not operating radio or bow MG.
3) He’s the Commander—He’s the oldest and most experienced. He’s smiling, but he looks like he’s got the weight
of the world on his shoulders.
4) Gunner—He’s the one stuck way down inside the turret when the shooting starts, and he needs to be a good one if they
are to survive. He and the driver have been with the commander since ‘39 and have seen most of Europe through their
vision blocks.
5) Loader—Responsible for care and feeding of the main gun and the coax mg. Also the radioman’s assistant when the
crap jobs are handed out. These two guys are the youngest-- no doubt replacements for two erstwhile members who
became casualties. Every member of the crew will learn everyone else’s job; ‘promotions’ usually occurred when other
members were killed or wounded.
I located a German historian whose specialty is researching old pics and documents. He would be able to give me a lot more
information about what’s contained in this pic—the unit these men were in and maybe a bit about who they were and what
became of them, but it would cost me more money than I’m prepared to spend in order to find out.

Yes, the PzIII with the 50mm gun was obsolete by 1943. It wasn't a bad tank, it was just wayyyyyyyy undergunned and couldn't be upgunned to deal with T-34's, KV-1's and II's, or even the Sherman!

I wonder how many of those men made it all the way through?

 

[XRCD011]

Because its a B25 Mitchell. The gal looks like Draculas girlfriend to me.

 

[Sporting Lad]

Ja, B-25, and the Vamp ~ :^=}
I had the same two thoughts when I saw the pic, but I was too
busy writing about Kursk to post.

 

[Ganderite]

It is so, and the girl with the .50 ammo is pretty good too!!!!!

Why does that plane scream B-24 Liberator and not B-17 Flying Fortress to me???

B24 had Fowler flaps. I think the plane is a B25.

probably a 4x5 Kodachrome.