Picture of the day

Santoneski said:
his comrades probably tried to drag him to cover when they realized he was hit. Then realized he was KIA so they left him cause they only moved him a couple feet. Or he was there before cause where is his weapon?
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All good questions. I don't think it's brains actually. There's no damage to his helmet. I suspect he's been hit on the left side, someone clapped a handkerchief over the wound in hopes of bringing forward a medic, but fire was too intense. The chunks are likely torso flesh of some sort; skin, musculature, or the like. Brains, organs, or entrails would be far greater in mass than what we're seeing. He may be lying atop much worse. Again, poor, brave fellow.
 
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M1 Garand, trousers tucked into boots making them airborne, and the beret. Could these guys be from the 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment? A battalion of them were given honourary membership in the British Parachute Regiment and authorized to wear British-style maroon berets.

(Thank you Wikipedia!!) :)
 
bearhunter said:
I only had the opportunity to use one a couple of times. A friend in Montana had it. It was awkward to handle and sucked ergonomically.

I will state up front that most of my dislike for it comes from its looks and for me awkwardness to get into position. That mag coming out of the top, creates a completely different balance point than anything else I've tried. I also didn't like the hot casings ejecting onto my hand from the ejection port, just in front of the trigger guard. It's a good thing the front hand grip is strong, it most definitely plays a big roll in controlling the smg. If your hand slips up to the barrel while shooting, the barrel is very hot.

Now for the good points. I liked the selector switch. Very positive, with three positions. Full forward = full auto. 45 degree = semi auto and 90 degrees = safe. It is also a relatively heavy smg. Heavier than a Sten and the barrel brake really almost eliminates muzzle climb while firing bursts. Even with the rudimentary sights, which are way to small and flimsy for my taste and make acquisition in low light almost impossible, it is very accurate out to 50 yards or so. Even though the top feeding mag makes it awkward to control, the top position makes it extremely easy to change out a mag. I liked the stock but there was way to much drop for my body type. Maybe Aussies all have really long necks. Also, it isn't the least bit fussy about ammo. We tried some 380 acp in it without one failure to feed or fire. That is saying something for it. NO, it wasn't one of my brighter moments but the curiosity bug was biting.

IMHO, the Owen is very reliable, awkward and robust. For taller shooters with long necks, it would fit them much better than me. The top feeding mag can be distracting but with practice that wouldn't be a problem.

The model I used had Bakelite grips, I believe others had wood grips.

IMHO, the biggest problem with the Owen is that darn top feeding mag. It does make it nice to use from a prone position though. The mag sticking up like it does, also makes it a pain in the butt to carry. If you have to go prone really quickly, you stand a good chance of getting the mag butt jammed in your face or neck. A side fed mag/ejection system is far preferable. IMHO, the side feed is likely one of the best methods designed for feeding/ejecting ammunition in an SMG.
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The Owen was the ugliest smg I ever handled (did an exchange with the Aussies in the '80's), and the Swedish K was the sweetest (Cyprus, '80's).
 
Ganderite said:
Why do the 2 guys with Garands have no unit markings or rank?
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I never noticed that, but I keep going back to that photo because there's something very odd going on there...

The fella kneeling is obviously wiring a charge to blow the rail line. Very WWII vintage looking uniforms and gear... But the big moose standing up has a portable field radio with an earpiece, very high end, rare gear for the time. Bloused fatigues tucked into the boots paratrooper style...

So... My guess is they were "commando" types, very far the wrong side of the lines, looking to blow a rail line or maybe a specific train. No patches, papers or insignia, so whoever sent them gets nice plausible deniability and all that.

I'm going to vote they were after a very specific train, quite possibly with a very specific person on it. Which train and who is most likely lost to history.
 
grelmar said:
I never noticed that, but I keep going back to that photo because there's something very odd going on there...

The fella kneeling is obviously wiring a charge to blow the rail line. Very WWII vintage looking uniforms and gear... But the big moose standing up has a portable field radio with an earpiece, very high end, rare gear for the time. Bloused fatigues tucked into the boots paratrooper style...

So... My guess is they were "commando" types, very far the wrong side of the lines, looking to blow a rail line or maybe a specific train. No patches, papers or insignia, so whoever sent them gets nice plausible deniability and all that.

I'm going to vote they were after a very specific train, quite possibly with a very specific person on it. Which train and who is most likely lost to history.
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According to this site, they are British soldiers in Korea, wiring up a railway for demolition behind the North Korean lines. Photo is listed as copyright to Getty Images: http://www.theguardian.com/books/sh...orean-war-british-memories-forgotten-conflict

And according to this site, set up to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Korean War, the photo shows "amphibious raiders of the 41 Independent Commando, Royal Marines" blowing up railroad tracks to destroy enemy supply lines - presumably also behind North Korean/Chinese lines. http://www.koreanwar60.com/gallery/marines-allied

Korea would certainly explain why they are wearing British style uniforms but carrying American Garands.
 
screwtape said:
According to this site, they are British soldiers in Korea, wiring up a railway for demolition behind the North Korean lines. Photo is listed as copyright to Getty Images: http://www.theguardian.com/books/sh...orean-war-british-memories-forgotten-conflict

And according to this site, set up to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Korean War, the photo shows "amphibious raiders of the 41 Independent Commando, Royal Marines" blowing up railroad tracks to destroy enemy supply lines - presumably also behind North Korean/Chinese lines. http://www.koreanwar60.com/gallery/marines-allied

Korea would certainly explain why they are wearing British style uniforms but carrying American Garands.
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Ok, that makes sense then. British commandos don't tend to wear insignia, just to make it harder for the opposition to identify unit/branch and know who's opperating where.

The photo is a good find. Very few real world photos of this calibre of troop in action.
 
m1grand said:
Thanks for the info makes sense now , figured it was Korea
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all US webbing, uniforms and arms add berets circa 1947- 1955: could be brit comandos, us comandos, hell it could be french naval commandos.
Prove on right and I buy the next round:)
 
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commonman said:
The horse is dead. The rein on the right side is taut through the guide, likely wound up in another horses legs etc. You can see the bridle is twisted as the head is held in place.

Historically horses were the main implement of war until the 1900. Many were raised and died for mankinds battles, but now we have better ways to kill each other, so we just don't raise as many horses.
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Pretty much nailed it. Plus contrary to popular belief the mighty Wehrmacht was not as mechanized as it was horse drawn especially in the transport department.
 
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