Military Affairs & History

[DigitalGypsy66]

Hmm, the pictures aren't showing up for me. Just a minus sign.

[eddy]

did that work?

[dodint]

Yeah, works now.

[DigitalGypsy66]

The dudes in the middle are Wehrmacht. It looks like a P-47 Thunderbolt.

Maybe he "liberated" a camera from a POW?

My great uncle brought home a bunch of German loot - medals, cufflinks, Soldbuchs, canteen, gas mask and case. Sadly, most of it went to an antique shop when he passed away.

[eddy]

The dudes in the middle are Wehrmacht. It looks like a P-47 Thunderbolt.

Maybe he "liberated" a camera from a POW?

My great uncle brought home a bunch of German loot - medals, cufflinks, Soldbuchs, canteen, gas mask and case. Sadly, most of it went to an antique shop when he passed away.

very possible. He has nazi medals, luger, armbands, etc. Me mom just found another box full of pictures, so I'm going to go through that next time I'm there.

[eddy]

My grandma has this pistol below from a german soldier. I'll have to get a pic of the actual gun. I believe it had swasticas on the grip, but this was the model if this makes any sense

[DigitalGypsy66]

Very cool. It's a Czech made pistol, used by the Wehrmacht.

Here's one from the Rock Island Auction Company that sold for $2500: https://www.rockislandauction.com/detai ... 65-mm-auto

[eddy]

found some more stuff...

[shafnutz05]

I had the honor of touring the USS Alabama on Sunday. Let me say, this was one of the coolest things I've ever gotten to do. They have done a wonderful job allowing access to virtually all parts of the ship, and it is entirely self-guided.

One of the neatest parts was the relatively hidden entrance to where the 16 inch mains were loaded. You had to really duck in under there, but you could get back to the chamber where the shells were loaded. I was struck at how incredible a feat of engineering those warships were in the 1940s. The radio room/CIC was awe-inspiring, and I could imagine a bunch of radiomen frantically running around. The battle bridge was cool too--basically a solid 16 inches of armor plating where the captain would be during battle, and the only way he could see out were very narrow slits in the armor and a couple of periscopes. I can't imagine what it was like to be on one of those destroyers

If any of yinz ever make it to that part of the Gulf Coast, I highly recommend making the stop. As a bonus, there is a nice little aircraft museum, which features one of only two prototype YF-17s that were ever built. You can also tour the USS Drum, the oldest Gato-class sub still in existence.

The Alabama cruising during the War:

[shafnutz05]

found some more stuff...

Eddy that's awesome! What a great find.

[tifosi77]

As a bonus, there is a nice little aircraft museum, which features one of only two prototype YF-17s that were ever built.

The other is at the Western Museum Of Flight in Torrance. (They also have one of the two YF-23 prototypes.)

[tifosi77]

Civilian Passenger Ejected From A French Two-Seat Rafale B Jet During Take Off

[Freddy Rumsen]

Lol

[tifosi77]

Put yourself in that situation....... you're a retirement-age VIP rolling down the runway in the back seat of one of the best muti-role fighters in the world, life is good, you're probably sporting a sht-eating grin under your O2 mask, and the next thing you know you've got 200 Gs directly through your spine and you're 500' above the aircraft. Yikes lol

[tifosi77]

BTW I know of a story of a flag officer accidentally commanding his own higher altitude blow out from the pit of an F-14 in the 80s or 90s. Whoopsie.

[DigitalGypsy66]

With a twin seat jet, don't both ejection seats have to fire? Meaning the jet is a complete loss?

[dodint]

The pilot landed it. So...unlikely.

[tifosi77]

Nope. You can set it up so that one position can command both seats to fire (rear seat first, of course), or set them to fire individually.

[Shyster]

Put yourself in that situation....... you're a retirement-age VIP rolling down the runway in the back seat of one of the best muti-role fighters in the world, life is good, you're probably sporting a sht-eating grin under your O2 mask, and the next thing you know you've got 200 Gs directly through your spine and you're 500' above the aircraft. Yikes lol

Indeed. That poor SOB is probably something like a half inch shorter—permanently.

[tifosi77]

I've heard of some pilots who lost more weight than that even. It's no joke.

I'm not sure of the protocol in the case of whoopsies. Does the pilot have to call the guy every Election Day? Does it really count since he did not also blow out? I just don't know.

[shafnutz05]

Cool.

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/2 ... of-area-51

The Russians are operating their Tu-154M aircraft configured for surveillance flights sanctioned under the Open Skies Treaty that allows member countries to conduct surveillance flights over each other's territory relatively unimpeded. The aircraft are equipped with imaging equipment with specific limitations and monitors from the country being surveilled are onboard the flights to make certain the party complies with the parameters of the treaty. This latest series of Russian Open Skies flights are being conducted out of Great Falls, Montana and are covering a slew of strategic points in the western part of the United States, including the highly secure Nellis Test and Training Range (NTTR) in southern Nevada, home of Area 51.

[DigitalGypsy66]

Japanese Self Defense Force F-35 missing offshore northern Japan: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japa ... SKCN1RL1FJ

[Shyster]

Random trivia: the state of Montana was the only existing US state to not have a namesake battleship during the battleship era. (Alaska and Hawaii did not become states until the era of battleship construction was already over.) Both times Montana was slated to get a ship, the battleship class in question was canceled by the Navy.

[shafnutz05]

Yesterday marked 77 years since the start of the Battle of the Coral Sea in WWII. While Midway is the better-known naval battle of the Pacific campaign, Coral Sea was pivotal in that it stopped the Japanese advance towards Port Moresby (and eventually Australia/New Zealand) in its tracks. Yorktown, which the Japanese thought they had put of commission, was repaired in drydock over 48 hours at Pearl and played a crucial role in the Battle of Midway only a month later, when it was ultimately sunk. This was also the first battle in which the deciphering of Japanese ciphers allowed the American carrier group to be exactly in the right place at the right time, a precursor to the trap they set at Midway.

[tifosi77]

I have asserted in the past that Coral Sea is the more important of the two early Pacific theater battles, and I stand by that.