Showing posts with label War. Show all posts
Showing posts with label War. Show all posts
Monday, 1 December 2008
Sunday, 13 April 2008
Wednesday, 19 March 2008
Japanese Messerchmitt Bf 109
No, not really.
It is in fact a Kawasaki Ki.61 "Hien" (Japanese for swallow), allied code name: "Tony"
Uniquely for Japanese WW2 fighter planes it used an inline engine instead of a radial, which gave it a distinct European look. The engines were actually German in origin, a license-built version of the Daimler-Benz DB-601A, which in fact, powered the real the Messerchmitt Bf 109. (below)
German secrets of World War Two ( 4 ) Horten Ho 229
Horten Ho 229
Designated the Horten Ho-IX, it was a revolutionary late-World War II prototype flying wing fighter/bomber, designed by Reimar and Walter Horten and built by Gothaer Waggonfabrik.
A personal favourite of German Luftwaffe chief Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring, it came too late, fortunately for the allies, and development ended at the loss of WW2
Designated the Horten Ho-IX, it was a revolutionary late-World War II prototype flying wing fighter/bomber, designed by Reimar and Walter Horten and built by Gothaer Waggonfabrik.
A personal favourite of German Luftwaffe chief Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring, it came too late, fortunately for the allies, and development ended at the loss of WW2
Sunday, 16 March 2008
Zeppelin-Staaken R.VI
A giant WW1 bomber,the Zeppelin-Staaken R.VI was a four-engined German biplane strategic bomber of 1917-18.
It had an eight man crew, and needed a ground staff of 42 just to get the plane out of the hangar!
The bomber was the largest wooden aircraft ever built until the advent of the Howard Hughes H-4 Hercules, the "Spruce Goose"in 1947.
The Zeppelin-Staaken R.VI's wingspan of 138 feet 5.5 inches (42.2 meters) nearly equaled that of the World War II B-29 Superfortress!
It operated 11 raids on Great Britain between September 28, 1917, and May 20, 1918, dropping 27,190 kg (30 tons) of bombs in 30 sorties. Aircraft flew to their targets on moonlit nights, using directional bearings by radio and using the river Thames as a navigational landmark. Missions on the 340-mile round trip lasted seven hours. None were lost in combat over Britain, but two crashed returning to base in the dark. A total of four R.VI's were shot down in combat, with six others destroyed in crashes.
Six of the 18 eventually built survived the war or were completed after the armistice.
It had an eight man crew, and needed a ground staff of 42 just to get the plane out of the hangar!
The bomber was the largest wooden aircraft ever built until the advent of the Howard Hughes H-4 Hercules, the "Spruce Goose"in 1947.
The Zeppelin-Staaken R.VI's wingspan of 138 feet 5.5 inches (42.2 meters) nearly equaled that of the World War II B-29 Superfortress!
It operated 11 raids on Great Britain between September 28, 1917, and May 20, 1918, dropping 27,190 kg (30 tons) of bombs in 30 sorties. Aircraft flew to their targets on moonlit nights, using directional bearings by radio and using the river Thames as a navigational landmark. Missions on the 340-mile round trip lasted seven hours. None were lost in combat over Britain, but two crashed returning to base in the dark. A total of four R.VI's were shot down in combat, with six others destroyed in crashes.
Six of the 18 eventually built survived the war or were completed after the armistice.
SHOT DOWN IN A BLAZE OF GLORY ( 8 ) B-26 Marauder
German flak bags another unfortunate B26
Flak shoots off B26 wing
B26 limped home aftr raid in Africa
Martin B-26 Marauder, Poperinge, Belgium
Flak shoots off B26 wing
B26 limped home aftr raid in Africa
Martin B-26 Marauder, Poperinge, Belgium
SHOT DOWN IN A BLAZE OF GLORY ( 8 ) B24
B24 approx 10 kms off Cable Beach, Australia, shot down during the infamous raid on Broome airfield March 3rd 1942
B24 shot down over Malm, Sweden 1944 by german fighter (all crew survived)
Flak over Germany claims another unlucky B24
Collision!
Tragic ground collision between a B-26 Marauder and B-24 Liberator at San Pancrazio, Italy, on 2 Nov 44.
Martin B-26 Marauder
5,288 built between 1941–1945
Consolidated Aircraft B-24 Liberator
Many B-24 Liberators were built by the Ford Motor Company at a purpose-built factory in Willow Run, Michigan, USA. (above). The largest assembly line in the world
(330,000 m² or 3,500,000 ft²) at the time of completion, mass production began in August 1943. At its peak the factory was completing 428 B-24s per month!
18,482 were built between 1940-1945
Martin B-26 Marauder
5,288 built between 1941–1945
Consolidated Aircraft B-24 Liberator
Many B-24 Liberators were built by the Ford Motor Company at a purpose-built factory in Willow Run, Michigan, USA. (above). The largest assembly line in the world
(330,000 m² or 3,500,000 ft²) at the time of completion, mass production began in August 1943. At its peak the factory was completing 428 B-24s per month!
18,482 were built between 1940-1945
Thursday, 13 March 2008
SPY PIGEON
Stop that Pigeon!
Seriously though, Pigeons have been used to carry orders and secret documments since the 1871 during the Franco-Prussian War when messages were sent by the surround French forces. WW1 & 2 saw the increased use of homing pigeons as special units were set up by all the forces involved as pigeons are hard to detect, very difficult to shoot down, and fast commuters.
In 1903, a German Engineer, Julius Neubronner attached a combined tiny analogue camera and mechanical timer to a pigeon's neck and Spy Pigeon was born!
See the wing tips in the corners of these classified "spy pigeon" recce pitures
Seriously though, Pigeons have been used to carry orders and secret documments since the 1871 during the Franco-Prussian War when messages were sent by the surround French forces. WW1 & 2 saw the increased use of homing pigeons as special units were set up by all the forces involved as pigeons are hard to detect, very difficult to shoot down, and fast commuters.
In 1903, a German Engineer, Julius Neubronner attached a combined tiny analogue camera and mechanical timer to a pigeon's neck and Spy Pigeon was born!
See the wing tips in the corners of these classified "spy pigeon" recce pitures
Grumman F6F Hellcat
USS Yorktown
The Grumman F6F Hellcat was the most successful fighter in naval history, destroying 5,171 enemy aircraft in WW2 with the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps.
12,275 were built between 1942-1945 and the U.S. Navy finally retired it's sharp claws in 1954
Bristol Beaufighter
Combat damaged by German bullets, but they got it home and it fought again.
The Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter was used as a long-range fighter, fighter-bomber, night fighter, and anti shipping torpedo bomber.
5,928 were built between 1940-46 and it saw combat sevice the world over, used by the RAF, USAF and RAAF-in fact the Aussies didn't retire the Beau, as it was affectinately known until 1960!
German secrets of World War Two ( 3 ) Das Spacen Schzuttle?
Unsure what the real story is here chaps.
Intel thinks it was either to increase the range of fighter cover (but how would the fighter piolt get back?) or that the bomber was packed with explosives and the contraption was, in fact a sort of early pilot guided bomb.
Anyone out there have more info?
Saturday, 8 March 2008
AIRCRAFT MOVIE POSTERS ( 5 ) DAMBUSTERS
Cinema lobby card set
Richard Todd as Squadron Leader Guy Gibson
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