Picture of the day

How would you like to be in a Stuart and turn the corner to face a Tiger?
Not a likely encounter. The units were well aware of the limitations of their light tanks and relied on tactics with other arms, the light tanks were exploited due to their high mobility and small size to out flank German armour in Italy in combat in close quarters. The gun with M51APC shot could go through maybe 60mm of enemy armour at card table ranges. By 1944 Uncle Sam had replaced the M5 light tanks in the field units with the next generation.
 
Unarmed recon Spitfire. Painted pink and set up for low level, high speed photo-recon runs at dusk, when the pink would make it disappear against the setting sun on the horizon.

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Certainly distinctive. An adaptation for a very specific circumstance.

Here's some East German military issue cheesecake.

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More here (Heer?) if you're interested.
 
while you're at it (or anyone) can you find a video of a cast hull or turret being poured?
There is footage of the Russians manufacturing T34's in caves during the second war, i think it is part of a World at War episode that i've seen it in. The part I remember most is a turret coming out of a mold and a big mill peels the rotating ring face in one turn on a rotary and then put directly on a chassis...very impressive!!!
 
Two Austro-Hungarian soldiers armed with two rare Italian weapons.1917-1918.jpeg

One of the soldiers holds a Pistola Mitragliatrice Fiat Mod. 1915 (Villar Perosa). A 'light machine gun' chambered in 9mm Glisenti, able to fire at a rate of 1200-1500 rpm per barrel. The mortar that is on the parapet is a Bettica Torpedo Launcher, on the 'Torpedo' one can see that the fuse was covered externally with a protective bandage before firing. The men are also armed with Mannlicher Carbines and Short rifles, with one of them using the RepetierStutzen M1895.The uniforms worn seem to be M1915 Fieldjackets and German M16 helmets.
 
Arras, 1940

https://www.ww2today.com/p/40-05-21-arras-counter-attack-1940

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On the 21st May, the British Expeditionary Force mounted its only significant armoured operation of the 1940 campaign in France. The British, from Churchill down, had been trying to encourage the French to mount a counter-attack. The 21st May operation was first planned as a two-pronged pincer movement to cut off the German spearhead advancing to the French coast. The British would attack south-west, while a separate French force would attack in the opposite direction. For a variety of reasons, the French participation never materialised. So the British attack went ahead any way.
^You won't regret reading this article

There you go at that point in history, the Matilda I was the most important tank of WWII. It was designed to severe constraints (foolishly to a price), did a job, and passed quickly into history.

Also it set the tone for armoured combat for the war. Any armoured formations were doomed to suffer heavy losses in the meatgrinder which awaited.
 
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