Picture of the day

What two years of hard, front line combat in Italy does to a man -

1943 -


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1945 -


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Brookwood
 
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Wild Weasel is a code name given by the United States Armed Forces, specifically the US Air Force, to an aircraft, of any type, equipped with radar-seeking missiles and tasked with destroying the radars and SAM installations of enemy air defense systems.

YGBSM: “You Gotta Be ####tin’ Me”. This appears prominently on the logo patch of some squadrons. As the story goes, this was the response of Jack Donovan, a former B-52 EWO

“This was the natural response of an educated man, a veteran EWO on B-52s and the like, upon learning that he was to fly back seat to a self-absorbed fighter pilot while acting as flypaper for enemy SAMs.”
 
Seversky - the Georgian engineers seemed to have known wtf they were doing! Supposedly the Soviets never used lend lease P47's in combat, and they had a # of them available ymmv.

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The sign says: USAF exhibit

Cruciform wing ROC

Bomb - 1000 lbs

Radio controlled

has television in the nose

Basis for VB-9.10+12

experimental only

^This was built by Douglas. A lot of the late WWII US guided missiles met with little to no success, including the one in the pic.

http://kentonlibrary.org/genphotos/viewimage.php?i=di43991

Lockheed RM-81 Agena:

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The majority of Agenas were of the final Agena D variant. This was essentially a "standardized" Agena B, which could accept a variety of payloads (in a conical payload section in the nose) and be fitted to Atlas, Thor or Titan launchers without changes to the basic Agena. The earlier Agena A/B vehicles were tailor-made for their respective payloads and launcher types. The Agena D launched a large number of military and scientific payloads, including e.g. the Gemini-Agena target vehicles used by NASA for space capsule docking experiments in 1966.
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http://www.designation-systems.net/dusrm/app1/rm-81.html
 
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"Aphrodite and Anvil were the World War II code names of United States Army Air Forces and United States Navy operations to use B-17 and PB4Y bombers as precision-guided munitions against bunkers and other hardened/reinforced enemy facilities, such as those targeted during Operation Crossbow.[2]

The plan called for B-17 aircraft that had been taken out of operational service: various nicknames existed such as "robot", "baby", "drone" or "weary Willy"[3] – to be loaded to capacity with explosives, and flown by radio control into bomb-resistant fortifications such as German U-boat pens and V-weapon sites.

It was hoped that it would match the British success with Tallboy and Grand Slam ground penetration bombs but the project was dangerous, expensive and unsuccessful. Of 14 missions flown, none resulted in the successful destruction of a target. Many aircraft lost control and crashed or were shot down by flak, and many pilots were killed. However, a handful of aircraft scored near misses. One notable pilot death was that of Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., the elder brother of future US President John F. Kennedy.

The program effectively ceased on January 27, 1945 when General Spaatz sent an urgent message to Doolittle: "Aphrodite babies must not be launched against the enemy until further orders".[4]"
 
grinder08 said:
Looks like he has aged about 20 years. The Glory of War.
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Knowing German military practise at the time, he looks like he might have been a regular Pervitin user. Wehrmacht front line troops and Luftwaffe pilots would take it to stay alert, much like WW2 US pilots took Benzedrine (AKA Speed).

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The effects of meth addition was not yet known in the 1940's and it also made people look haggard and prematurely aged.
 
My grandfather never spoke directly about Pervitin (only Sho-Ka-Kola - the caffeinated chocolate) but in my research, yes the fallschirmjager were issued it and encouraged to use it regularly in combat. But it was not only the armed forces, the home front was given Pervitin as well. There was an article in Der Speigel back in 2013 that caused quite a stir in Germany when it revealed that Pervitin was indeed Crystal Meth and the extent among society that is was issued as a Government endorsed program. I know it raised an eyebrow or two in my family.

From the article -

" Doctors didn't hesitate to prescribe it to patients as an appetite suppressant or to improve the mood of those struggling with depression. Students, especially medical students, turned to the stimulant to help them cram through the night and finish their studies faster. Numerous athletes found Pervitin decreased their sensitivity to pain, while simultaneously increasing performance and endurance. "

http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/crystal-meth-origins-link-back-to-nazi-germany-and-world-war-ii-a-901755.html


As grinder08 succinctly said, The Glory of War.


Brookwood
 
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Canadian army escape and evasion kits issued during WWll also contained benzedrine tablets....along with a small quantity morphine etc
 
Speaking of military speed enthusiasts:

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Hermann Goering wasn't always a big ol' tub o' lard. Looks pretty sleek here.

The wound badge - would that have been for the injury that led to his pill addiction?
 
Dark Alley Dan said:
Speaking of military speed enthusiasts:

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Hermann Goering wasn't always a big ol' tub o' lard. Looks pretty sleek here.

The wound badge - would that have been for the injury that led to his pill addiction?
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No, supposedly his addiction came from a wound he suffered during the beer hall putsch, where he took a shot near the groin.
 
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