Picture of the day

[Dark Alley Dan]

Trooper Len Hall of Australia and Corporal Adil Sahin of Turkey meet again at Gallipoli, 1990.

"Those heroes who shed their blood and lost their lives! You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours. You, the mothers, who sent their sons from far away countries wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well."
Atatürk, 1934

 

[Falcorn]

I like this option - warm and cozy, like cabin on the lake.

 

[diopter]

^^ Are the chairs just glued to the deck?

 

[Falcorn]

Why glued? They are held firmly in place by weight of the occupant.

 

[diopter]

I guess you never saw me fly

 

[HuskyDude]

And now if we look to the rear...we can see...

 

[diopter]

^^ More on it. Kept it in the family now.
https://foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com/1729544402

 

[Falcorn]

I guess you never saw me fly

It is true, I haven't seen everything. But some times you don't have glue handy, so you just brace against partition and goodbye Dorothy

Good times good times

 

[Sharps '74]

Trooper Len Hall of Australia and Corporal Adil Sahin of Turkey meet again at Gallipoli, 1990.

There's a movie with Russel Crowe where he plays an Aussie father who goes to Turkey to find the graves of his sons. He meets a Turkish Officer who helps him and has an opportunity to help some people prevent a massacre.

Worth watching.

 

[Winchester-1897]

The Water Diviner.

 

[Grizzly Adams]

Trooper Len Hall of Australia and Corporal Adil Sahin of Turkey meet again at Gallipoli, 1990.

It's a Feel Good thing that just underlines the stupidity of what happened in those times.

Grizz

 

[CV32]

Big Week, February 20-25, 1944

 

[tiriaq]

The three soldiers working with the MG08s...
Jackboots, the one on the right appears to be wearing a German cap. Any chance they are POWs?

 

[shredder]

The three soldiers working with the MG08s...
Jackboots, the one on the right appears to be wearing a German cap. Any chance they are POWs?

Given who's in the background (British Empire troops) I'd bet on it.

They could be repairing the Maxims for British Empire troops to use......(that bandolier suggests ANZAC forces to me)

 

[XRCD011]

The three soldiers working with the MG08s...
Jackboots, the one on the right appears to be wearing a German cap. Any chance they are POWs?

And I just thought it was the usual government contract make work scenario.

 

[BAAC]

It's a Feel Good thing that just underlines the stupidity of what happened in those times.

Grizz

Reading more history of WWI lately... Still unbelievable to me that there wasn't a revolution in the UK and a few other places. What a remarkable waste.

 

[purple]

Reading more history of WWI lately... Still unbelievable to me that there wasn't a revolution in the UK and a few other places. What a remarkable waste.

People in England were conditioned to the concepts of service, deference to authority in a rigid class system, loyalty to the monarch and patriotism. The most notable "refusals" during WW1 were the mutinies in the French Army where troops declined to get out of the trenches to attack but would hold in place to defend. This was precipitated by high casualties, poor leadership and negligence for the welfare of the troops.

The Russian revolution was a thing apart, but it did remove the Russians from the battlefield in 1918.

 

[green]

There were mass mutinies in the British Army post WW1 among soldiers angered by delays in discharge.

 

[Grizzly Adams]

There were mass mutinies in the British Army post WW1 among soldiers angered by delays in discharge.

Nobody beat the French for rebellions, it got nasty and ended up by the punishment of Decimation, 10 % of random soldiers shot in the affected regiments. This at a time when everyone was experiencing severe man power shortages due to attrition.

Grizz

 

[Dark Alley Dan]

The Skoda PA-II Zelva - the zoomiest-looking armoured car you'll see this week:

Development of the OA vz. 23:

The PA-II (“Armored Car II”) was developed by Škoda, which capitalized on the experience gained on the previous semi-experimental PA-I, in 1922-23. But, this time, the Chief Engineer’s choice was to provide the hull with an all-around streamlined armor bodywork.
This quickly earned the new vehicle the nickname of “Želva” (Tortoise), never officiated. Instead, the Army designation was Obrněný Automobil model 1923 (OA vz.23). By the fall of 1923, the blueprints were ready and submitted to the the Army. 12 vehicles were ordered, to be delivered from December 1924 and until mid-1925.

Design of the “turtle”

Although the chassis was roughly identical to the experimental PA-I, the armored body was entirely new. It had unusually curved shapes, which seemed like an Art Deco essay, but were dictated by cold considerations of maximal protection effectiveness. Instead of casting the armor, only possible for large thicknesses, the plates were hammer-shaped, 5.5 mm (0.22 in) at the thickest. This was the same process by which the bodywork artists tailored cars for the rich and famous, these skills being present at Škoda as well, descended from a long tradition going back to the master craftsmen shaping knight armor by hand. All the parts were then riveted on a steel frame built above the chassis. The latter was perfectly symmetrical, with the double drive pioneered by the PA-I. The two drivers sat in centrally at either end, and had a twin-fold armored shutter and lateral armored shutters. Access was granted by central doors in the fighting compartment. There was also a provision for four machine guns. These were of the heavy liquid-cooled Schwarzlose MG.08 type, having 6250 rounds. They were mounted in ball-mounts, having some limited elevation/depression and traverse. They were served by the two gunners. A small cupola could be opened for the commander to direct fire from the roof.

The engine was a Škoda, 4 cylinder, 9730 cc, 70 hp, placed in the center, right below the fighting compartment. It gave a maximum top speed, on road, of 70 km/h (44 mph), which was acceptable given the weight of the vehicle. Field performance showed it could ford 1.50 m deep of water, a 30 cm vertical obstacle or cross a trench 45 cm wide. The suspensions and tires were not ideal for cross-country rides, but at least it had four wheel drive. The chassis had the serial numbers from NIX58 to NIX69.

Dieter liked the Skoda. Something about it seemed familiar...

Twelve total were made.

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