Picture of the day
- Thread starter jwhc
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I'm currently reading "CRETE 1941 - The Battle & The Resistance" by Antony Beevor. Haven't yet got to the part about Upham.
The Battle of Crete was the graveyard of the German Fallschirmjaegers, a military f_ck up of the first order. The poor bastards lives were squandered wholesale as a result of poor planning, poor recce and the typical military FUBAR things that happen with poor communications and the loss of a cohesive command structure. On the Brits side, the incompetence at the higher level was staggering, compounded by poor communications as was the German effort.
It's a pity that the airborne invasions of both the Allies and the Germans were so disastrous. Such highly motivated soldiers deserved better.
Yes, thanks! I've gotten into the book on the Spanish Civil War a little and I'm already more confused than I was before. The number of factions within factions was staggering. When it comes to war planning, the Spanish couldn't organize an orgy in a brothel. If Hemingway and Orwell hadn't written about it, most of us wouldn't know or give a damn about it, just a prelude to an even bigger and more terrible war.
Like all civil wars, the brutality was terrible, no humanity on any side. Something like the ongoing wars around the world today. All we have to put up with is Trudashian in Ottawa and his political police.
Like all civil wars, the brutality was terrible, no humanity on any side. Something like the ongoing wars around the world today. All we have to put up with is Trudashian in Ottawa and his political police.
One positive thing about the cold war is some of the Blofeld-quality cool sh!t that was developed. Take the Bartini-Beriev VVA-14M1P:
It swims! It flies, if only very low! It waddles along the ground like a duck!
It slowly returns to the earth at the Central Air Force Museum, just east of Moscow.
I noticed on an investment video last week that there is a European company producing similar concept craft right now. Of course they are much smaller and totally civilian in purpose and design. They are being built to carry up to 18 passengers between islands at 200kph. They have 4 elevated propellers and use two V8 engines for power.
the Bartini-Beriev VVA-14M1P used what is called the Ground Effect;
http://www.boldmethod.com/learn-to-fly/aerodynamics/what-really-happens-in-ground-effect/
https://www.quora.com/What-is-ground-effect-in-aviation:
http://www.boldmethod.com/learn-to-fly/aerodynamics/what-really-happens-in-ground-effect/
https://www.quora.com/What-is-ground-effect-in-aviation:
Dark Alley Dan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Darkest Edmonton
The Spanish Civil War in a nutshell:
That kid with the Astra has clearly never done this before. Everyone looks a little drunk. Dude on the end is stoked he got a helmet.
It reminds me of playing "army" as a kid. Lots of enthusiasm, zero skill or training.
That kid with the Astra has clearly never done this before. Everyone looks a little drunk. Dude on the end is stoked he got a helmet.
It reminds me of playing "army" as a kid. Lots of enthusiasm, zero skill or training.
The General Electric J87 was a nuclear-powered turbojet engine designed to power the proposed WS-125 long-range bomber. The program was started in 1955 in conjunction with Convair for a joint engine/airframe proposal for the WS-125. It was one of two nuclear-powered gas turbine projects undertaken by GE, the other one being the X39 project.[1]
Design and development
The J87 was a large turbojet, designed to operate as a paired unit, with a nuclear reactor power section. The complete power-plant was given the project designation X211.[1]
The X211 was a relatively large multiple turbojet engine of conventional layout, save for the combustion chambers being replaced by a nuclear reactor where half of the total air-flow through the turbojet sections was used for direct-cycle cooling of the reactor. The J87 components featured variable-stator compressors and chemically-fuelled afterburners and a single nuclear reactor to supply heat to both J87 engines.[1][2]
Several arrangements for the X211 were studied but eventually the paired J87 was chosen and development was started at General Electrics Evandale factory. The air by-passed around the XMA-1A nuclear reactor passed through can style combustion chambers arranged around the core, used for starting burning normal jet fuel to ensure cooling air flow for the reactor as soon as it was started-up. The reactor core sat in the middle of the combustion section, fed with cooling air from a large plenum chamber. Heated exhaust air was collected by another plenum chamber to be fed to the turbine sections. Testing of the X211 was confined to the XJ87 turbojet sections.[1]
In 1956, the United States Air Force (USAF) decided that the proposed WS-125 bomber was unfeasible as an operational strategic aircraft. In spite of this, the X211 program was continued for another 3 years, albeit with no target application. It was finally terminated in mid-1959 and by 1961 all funding for nuclear propulsion was removed.[1]
The competing Pratt & Whitney indirect-cycle engines used J91 turbojet sections in the X287 and X291 projects, which were also cancelled with the demise of the nuclear-powered bomber program.[1]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft_Nuclear_Propulsion
The Spanish Civil War in a nutshell:
That kid with the Astra has clearly never done this before. Everyone looks a little drunk. Dude on the end is stoked he got a helmet.
It reminds me of playing "army" as a kid. Lots of enthusiasm, zero skill or training.
Probably true of most civil wars until they get some combat experience. In the book I'm reading on the Battle of Crete, the irregulars fought well with ferocious intensity. But they were Greeks and Cretans, not Spaniards. They and the Italians are in a separate class as theatrical warriors.
The New Zealand Division in North Africa where certainly not known as pussy's. The long range desert group had a lot of Kiwi's and NZ Division were often used to break tough holdups especially after the Australian Government pulled their detachment back to Australia. The Maori Battalion was part of the NZ Division and they were held in very high regard by the Germans. The NZ Division was also well lead first by Freyberg VC etc and later by Kippenberger, DSO etc. Their casualty rates were pretty high but they seemed to remain effective. Their history makes interesting reading.
He was in the US when the war started and returned voluntarily to England to enlist. Despite later attempts to return to film work in the US, these requests were not granted. It is important to note that he also voluntarily transferred into the commandos and partook in the Normandy campaign despite having the option to remain in a less dangerous part of the military. There is nothing shameful about this chapter in his life as he did what many would not.
Dark Alley Dan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Darkest Edmonton
Very true on all counts. Cretans are not to be messed with. Fearsome island-dwelling hillbillies with long memories and a strong distaste for uninvited guests. Zero appetite for being abused by foreigners.
Broadly speaking, Spaniards and Italians look fantastic in proper kit, fight with a certain casual appreciation for utility and effectiveness, and are seldom able to win the wars they're in. If they do, it's via monstrous loss of life.
But then, there are always exceptions, like Ms. Prosperina Vallet, seen here up a mountain between Italy and France sometime in 1944.
These lads look serious enough. Modena, 1945:
And this lot look pretty well organized for Anarchists. Shouldn't they be running around, shooting randomly at things? Some anarchists they are.
Easy to pose and look tough when the hard fighting is over, fought by regulars. Guerillla bands vs standing army - an apples and oranges comparison. Local partisan groups fight on their terms, usually 'hit & run', then melt back into the boonies. They are also highly motivated. They don't stand and take punishment under fire when common sense says to cut & run.
The main reason for that is they don't have the resources to to take a long term stand. Their real value is that they can get by on very little, often utilizing scrounged enemy equipment/food. Two completely different principles involved. Both or which are very effective if utilized properly. A very few partizans can keep a lot of regulars very busy and on pins and needles without a lot of effort. Of course survival rates are low.
Some boys of the UPA (Ukranian Partisan Army), apparently quite fond of the SVT-40:
View attachment 169670
Not a particularly friendly bunch. Didn't like Poles, and "cleansed" them from Western Ukraine early in the war. Didn't like Nazis, and tallied somewhere around 3,000 Wehrmacht soldiers during the war. Liked the Stalinists even less, and tallied about 35,000 Soviet soldiers before they were eventually wiped out in the early 50's.
View attachment 169670
Not a particularly friendly bunch. Didn't like Poles, and "cleansed" them from Western Ukraine early in the war. Didn't like Nazis, and tallied somewhere around 3,000 Wehrmacht soldiers during the war. Liked the Stalinists even less, and tallied about 35,000 Soviet soldiers before they were eventually wiped out in the early 50's.
UPA was not completely wiped-out in the early 1950s. They received clandestine aid from the CIA, had a headquarters in Munich for many years and, when I was at University of Manitoba in 1971/2, they actually had people collecting donations for them, up on North Main Street in Winnipeg.
