Picture of the day

Airplane at 300mph travels 440fps
At 400mph its up to 587fps.
That's 146.75fps for every 100mph speed.
Doesn't leave much time to identify, decide friend or foe, and aim and fire at a foe.
 
Like I said - "SPRAY & PRAY" school of aerial gunnery. Too many calculations at 20,000' in sub-zero temps while the Luftwaffe is strafing you with cannon and MG fire.

Beurling was piloting a single seat fighter and spent considering time on his deflection calculations while his buddies were swilling beer in the Mess.
 
The pic is of an RAF Shackleton on display somewhere. Love the psychotic anthropomorphic "grin." It seemed to be quite a fire breathing beast of burden type of warplane such as the Argus; that is used and worn out & then some. Reminiscent of old legends of chained demons hexed to do good deeds for theirmasters. : - )

The Shackleton was not a turbo prop aircraft. They used contra-rotating props due to the great torque the Rolls Royce Griffon engine was known for. Surely that engine must have been one of the most complicated piston warplane engines ever made. Aero engine mechanics must have had their work cut out for them.
 
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They weren't a bad looking thing.

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You can sure see the Lancaster in her genetics...
 
I just read "Rogue Heroes" about the formation of the original SAS. Lots of info from original squadron diaries and such. May be my favorite book so far this year. Especially enjoyed the stories of Roy Faran who used to hang around my parents house every once in a while.
 
Donny Fenn1 said:
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always liked this pic
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Me too!! That picture is hanging at Bisley in the Artist's Rifles Clubhouse. It is also in Le Musee Royale de l'Armee in Brussels. David Stirling standing. The guy driving the first vehicle .. next to Stirling is 'Mac' Macdonald. I knew him when he lived in Toronto. He visited our unit frequently and had some very interesting stories as can be imagined. I believe at the time of the photo they were part of the LRDG which morphed into the SAS - at least some of the members ended up as members of the SAS when they started operations in Italy; Mac did anyway and had a very interesting story of his escape after being 'turned in' by a so-called 'Italian Partisan'. Others will probably know more of the story regarding the connection between LRDG and SAS
 
The LRDG and SAS people were very much of the old English school of creative ungentlemanly warfare. Looked like pirates, fought like partisans, took their lumps like gentlemen, and killed a lot of people who apparently needed it.

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I'm surprised Chevrolet has never brought up the extensive use of their truck in the work of the LRDG fellows. I'd think that'd make good advertising copy when selling a product to manly types. :)

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Many of you will be familiar with the one at the IWM in London.

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This vehicle was discovered in the Egyptian desert in 1980 and recovered by the LRDG Association (now defunct). Its markings identify it as Truck No. 8 of W Patrol, one of the Long Range Desert Group's original New Zealand patrols. W Patrol was disbanded in December 1940, before any major missions were undertaken, and the patrol's vehicles were redistributed to the newly created G Patrol. The vehicle could therefore have been lost in the latter half of 1940, or more likely in early to mid 1941 when operated by G Patrol (but before they had chance to update the vehicle's markings). The trucks were all given Maori nicknames. This one was named by Trooper Clarkie Waetford of W Patrol as Waikaha, where his grandparents grew up in New Zealand.
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Poor old thing sat out there 40 years before someone came along again.
 
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