Picture of the day

Nice pictures diopter, also;

French Battleships, 1922-1956
Jordan, John
Book – 2009
The battleships of the Dunkerque and Richelieu classes were the most radical and influential designs of the interwar period. Using a wealth of primary-source material, John Jordan and Robert Dumas present a completely new study of these important and technically interesting ships.

The Littorio ClassItaly's Last and Largest Battleships 1937-1948
By Bagnasco, Erminio

Battleship Musashi
The Making and Sinking of the World's Biggest Battleship
By Yoshimura, Akira


And if you’re a “World of Tanks” player;

The Encyclopedia of French Tanks and Armoured Vehicles, 1914-1940
By Vauvillier, François
Book - 2014 (Lots of pictures)
 
frigpig said:
Sea-Shadow-sub-SF-Bay-California.jpeg
Click to expand...

Almost no wake. Cool.
 
For an example of weird and counter-productive service politics, the Westland Whirlwind is a prime case: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westland_Whirlwind_(fighter)

The basic feature of the Whirlwind was its concentration of firepower: its four closely-grouped 20mm cannon in the nose had a rate of fire of 600 rounds a minute – which, until the introduction of the Beaufighter, placed it ahead of any fighter in the world. Hand in hand with this dense firepower went a first-rate speed and climb performance, excellent manoeuvrability, and a fighting view hitherto unsurpassed. The Whirlwind was, in its day, faster than the Spitfire down low and, with lighter lateral control, was considered to be one of the nicest "twins" ever built… From the flying viewpoint, the Whirlwind was considered magnificent
Click to expand...

WestlandWhirlwind263thSquadron.jpg


whirlwind-3.jpg


They were left in Scotland during the Battle of Britain. Somebody didn't like twin engine fighters, especially if they might show up Supermarine's copy of the He70 "Blitz"?
 
Last edited:
The Dunkerque-class battleship was a type of warship constructed for the French Navy in the 1930s.

The Dunkerques were designed to counter the German Deutschland-class pocket battleships. Their main armament was two quadruple 330 mm turrets forward, with a 225 mm (8.9 in) thick armored belt. They were smaller, with a 26,500- to 27,300-ton standard displacement and a smaller main artillery caliber, than the battleships authorized by the Washington Naval Treaty, but their speed was 7 knots higher than any of the battleships built from 1920 to 1937. When they were commissioned, only the last existing battlecruisers of the British Royal Navy and the Imperial Japanese Navy were their equals.[citation needed]

Given their characteristics, they were alternatively classified as fast battleships, small battleships,[1] battlecruisers,[2] and even as "ships of the line" (Fr. navires de ligne).[1]

Two ships, Dunkerque and Strasbourg, were completed. Together they formed the 1ère Division de Ligne ("1st Division of the Line"), and saw service during the early years of the Second World War. While they never encountered the German pocket battleships they were designed to counter, they suffered the British attack of Mers-el-Kebir, and stayed under the Vichy authorities control until they were scuttled at Toulon in November 1942.

0m76DGv.jpg
 
The French cruiser Colbert transported Charles de Gaulle to and from his infamous visit to Expo 67 in Montreal. It was moored at the Expo site and I had a chance to go aboard. It was quite an impressive all gun ship. It departed rather abruptly after De Gaulle made his infamous "Vive le Quebec Libre" speech in Montreal.

I saw "Le grand Charles" in the pink as he did a walkabout near the ship. He was without doubt the biggest Frenchman I've ever seen, all beak and a$$ and about 7 ft tall.

The Colbert was subsequently converted to a missile cruiser and was preserved as a floating museum after it was decommissioned. It is now a rusting hulk awaiting the scrapyard.
 
Dark Alley Dan said:
I'm liking the French material, Diopter. Thety had some very interesting ideas back when.

To continue the naval theme, here's the Latecouere 298 torpedo bomber:

Late298-Df.jpg


12.png


Dig this crazy sharkmouth:

latecoere_298_torpedo_bomber.jpg


Quite a pretty bird, I think. Good lines.

image006.jpg
Click to expand...

image017.jpg


The French did a lot of interesting things before the war, but I recently read an interesting take on their problem. They started re-arming just a bit earlier than the British, and so when 1939 came around, they were caught between rearmament cycles. Their earlier designs were now outdated, especially in light of the German learning curve in the Spanish Civil War, and their next generation wasn't only just coming into production and weren't available in quantity. A good example is the Dewoitine D.520, which was probably equivalent to the Spitfire.

"By 10 May 1940, when Germany invaded France and the Low Countries, 228 D.520s had been manufactured, but the French Air Force had accepted only 75, as most others had been sent back to the factory to be retrofitted to the new standard. As a result, only GC I/3 was fully equipped, having 36 aircraft. They met the Luftwaffe on 13 May, shooting down three Henschel Hs 126s and one Heinkel He 111 without loss. Four more Groupes de Chasse and three naval Escadrilles rearmed with the type before France's surrender.[26] GC II/3, GC III/3, GC III/6 and GC II/7 later completed conversion on the D.520. A naval unit, the 1er Flotille de Chasse, was also equipped with the Dewoitine. But only GC I/3, II/7, II/6 and the naval AC 1 saw any action in the Battle of France.[23] GC III/7 converted to the D.520 too late to be involved in any action." (Wikipedia)
 
tumblr_o41fldm0jU1ul2fs4o1_1280.jpg


C-47 Skytrains of the 439th Troop Carrier Group preparing to transport the 82nd Airborne to Nijmegen for Operation Market Garden, Juvincourt, France, Sept 8-17 1944.
 
When I was stationed at CFB Churchill, there was a SAC Air Base there whose function was refueling B-52's. I believe that they were KC-135's.

They had a SAC Air Police Jeep driving around the parked aircraft 24/7. Inside their HQ, you were issued a colour coded pass to wear around your neck, and youi followed the appropriate colour stripe on the floor to get from 'A' to 'B'. If you were noticed in an off limits zone, you were stooped. If you did not, that was grounds to shoot you - and they meant it!
This was all made clear to you as you signed in and were issued a pass.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom