Picture of the day

Dark Alley Dan said:
The EDO XOSE-1.

Still, reasonably trim lookin' little thing.
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Quite a nice looking aeroplane, although rearward visibility wouldn't have been great; and low wing seaplanes are always going to be a bit of a bugger - especially if you're going to dock it...

Surprisingly low powered though, only 550HP out of a V12! Can well imagine it'd still deafen you, with the two blade prop.
 
The Hurricane IID was the British equivalent of the Stuka "G" with the 37mm Kanone.

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It used the Vickers 40mm gun.

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Note the loading process. That first one up the tube is loaded by hand. "Please be sure to remove Erk hand/arm assembly from breech area before releasing catch..."

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Slow (200 mph) and vulnerable to ground fire, it was not a great success. But it gave people ideas about what the Tiffie might do in Europe...
 
Lest we forget, what war is really about.
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Preparation for the traditional burial at sea for those killed on the USS Saratoga by Japanese kamikazes during the Battle of Iwo Jima, Feb 1945
 
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Caption: Translated from Portuguese forum

Guinea 73 / 74 Jemberem Cantanhez At the perimeter consisting of the ditches, there were scatters that guarded mortars 80. Strategically placed, we had these weapons, fixed to a rotating axis and based on a beeper. These guns, in a wire attack, worked hard.

Rui Jorge: Image is of a hk21 on a tripod of a Madsen or Mg 34/42. Anyway, an excellent photo, thank you.
 
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An exhausted Rommel in a photo thought to have been taken near El Alamein, possibly end of June/early July 1942. The now Generalfeldmarschall was at the gates of Egypt, but like him, his forces were also hanging by a thread. Egypt was, and would remain beyond his grasp. Despite the best efforts of his devoted orderly, Günther, during the North African campaign Rommel often showed a complete disregard for his own health, repeatedly driving himself into a state of near exhaustion. Due to a poor diet, he suffered from several ailments, especially of persistent stomach problems due to the long periods he went without food or drink, and naturally, due to stress. According to Günther, Rommel would leave for an entire day in the desert with just a sandwich or a can of sardines and a piece of bread. He wouldn’t drink much either, taking with him only a small canteen filled with cold tea with lemon, a canteen which was often almost full by day’s end. At dinner he would often eat the same as his soldiers did. The Afrika Korps diet was generally poor. Deemed too heavy for the desert and lacking fruits and vegetables, it was responsible for a large number of cases of jaundice among the troops. For comparison, Rommel 2 years before in France:


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I'm currently reading "Gun Button To Fire" by Tom Neil, one of the "Few" who flew Hurricanes during the 'Battle of Britain". Initially trained on the Spitfire Mk I (which he loved) he was transferred to a unit flying Hurricane Mk Is which he liked even more. He rated it higher in a dogfight than the Spit at 15,000' - 20,000', but higher was a dead loss due to a lack of cockpit heating and the carburetor problem.

He admired the Me109e's for their high altitude performance and ability to out dive the Hurricane. He was surprised that the Ju 87 could out turn a Hurricane.

As a kid I knew an RCAF pilot who had started out as a Spitfire pilot. He got bored with high altitude patrols during which he always froze to the point of immobility so when Bomber Command was looking for pilots, he converted.

At the point where I'm at now, they are longing to be equipped with the Mk II Hurricanes.




Dark Alley Dan said:
The Hurricane IID was the British equivalent of the Stuka "G" with the 37mm Kanone.

Tankbuster-hurri-960_640.jpg
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bogusiii said:
Yes, draft intake 'car-bur-ett-or' and momentum doing its thing.
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I have read that the drill for the early carburettor fitted Spitfire to go into a sharp dive was to roll it inverted at start of dive. Giving a few seconds edge to the pursing ME109. Fuel injection saved pilots lives when that came along.
 
Sharps '74 said:
I'm currently reading "Gun Button To Fire" by Tom Neil, one of the "Few" who flew Hurricanes during the 'Battle of Britain". Initially trained on the Spitfire Mk I (which he loved) he was transferred to a unit flying Hurricane Mk Is which he liked even more. He rated it higher in a dogfight than the Spit at 15,000' - 20,000', but higher was a dead loss due to a lack of cockpit heating and the carburetor problem.

He admired the Me109e's for their high altitude performance and ability to out dive the Hurricane. He was surprised that the Ju 87 could out turn a Hurricane.

As a kid I knew an RCAF pilot who had started out as a Spitfire pilot. He got bored with high altitude patrols during which he always froze to the point of immobility so when Bomber Command was looking for pilots, he converted.

At the point where I'm at now, they are longing to be equipped with the Mk II Hurricanes.
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Sounds like a interesting book ,I always admired the Hurricane , it was available in large numbers , easy to manufacture and easier to repair battle damage as compared to a Spitfire, the wide track landing gear was a asset over the narrow track landing gear of the Spitfire
 
As to the negative-G stalling problem with the Spits, the trouble was cured with a carburetor restriction plate invented by famed motorcycle competitor Beatrice Shilling. The plate was initially known as "Miss Shilling's Orifice" although it was given an "official" name by someone who thought that was just a tad too suggestive.

Beatrice Shilling is still famed among motorcycle historians. Amongst other feats (when she wasn't curing fighter planes or designing the things) she made heads turn by lapping the old Brooklands track above an honest 100 mph.
 
Dark Alley Dan said:
The Hurricane IID was the British equivalent of the Stuka "G" with the 37mm Kanone.

Tankbuster-hurri-960_640.jpg




A friend's father was a Hurricane pilot. Unfortunately, he was shot down. Fortunately, he survived. He spent most of WWII in an Italian prison camp (which he described as a very unhygenic place, at least compared to his knowledge of the German camps.) After the war, he never flew again.
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smellie said:
As to the negative-G stalling problem with the Spits, the trouble was cured with a carburetor restriction plate invented by famed motorcycle competitor Beatrice Shilling. The plate was initially known as "Miss Shilling's Orifice" although it was given an "official" name by someone who thought that was just a tad too suggestive.

Beatrice Shilling is still famed among motorcycle historians. Amongst other feats (when she wasn't curing fighter planes or designing the things) she made heads turn by lapping the old Brooklands track above an honest 100 mph.
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Hi smellie, you mentioning Brooklands brings back some fond memories. In the late 90’s I was working around the Gatwick area and had a lot of time off and a company rental car so I was always on the prowl for old aviation related things to see. I made a few visits to Brooklands and the story about this place was very interesting and the museum was really good as well. The Wellington bomber that had been picked out of Loch Ness was quite outstanding. Being a Hurricane fan, it was nice visiting the birthplace of my favourite WWII fighter.

Thanks for telling us about “Miss Shilling’s Orifice”, that might have been omitted in history books. :cool:
 
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