Military History

Lest we forget ... https://www.vac-acc.gc.ca/remembers/sub.cfm...m/beaumonthamel

"Amateurs study tactics, professionals study logistics". - General Omar Nelson Bradley, US Army

From Air Force Magazine, July 2012 issue [excerpt]

Only if some of you has missed it, an imaginative and terrible weapon: http://www.saairforce.co.za/the-airforce/w...s/33/alpha-bomb

~11min history of USS Macon and now current day airship company" infomercial" all based out of the old Moffitt Field.

From HMAS Sydney Commission of Inquiry 12 January 2009 HMAS SYDNEY Commission of Inquiry On 19 November 1941, the Royal Australian Navy Modified Leander Class light cruiser HMAS SYDNEY II, en route to Fremantle, intercepted the disguised German raider the HSK KORMORAN about 100 nautical miles west of Steep Point off the coast of Western Australia. In the ensuing battle, HMAS SYDNEY was sunk with the loss of her entire crew of 645 men. The HSK KORMORAN was subsequently scuttled with the loss of 81 lives. Following the discovery of the wrecks of HMAS SYDNEY and HSK KORMORAN by The Finding Sydney Foundation in March 2008, the Chief of the Defence Force, Air Chie…

Before the darker "Aggressor Gray", there appears to have been a two tone pattern for US naval aircraft, a white bottom side and a lighter than aggressor gray "gray" on top. Can anyone give me examples of Testor Model Master paint to replicate that USN gray of the guessing mid 70's to late eighties?

May we never forget.

Into the Rising Sun: The Doolittle Raid By Barrett Tillman Long before jointness became doctrine and purple entered the military vocabulary, U.S. naval and air forces were operating hand in glove in a manner that is not possible today. The best example remains the Doolittle Raid against Japan 65 years ago. Officially it was the First Special Aviation Project, a bold concept devised by a naval officer—a submariner, no less—and executed by Sailors and Airmen. The timing could not have been better, as it occurred only four-and-a-half months after the debacle at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. Only two weeks later, President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered a stu…

From Air Force Magazine, April 2011 issue Link to article (PDF)

Intrigued on if the Improved Los Angeles-class (from USS San Juan) has a ducted screw and it qualifies them for the "Does not cavitate" flag. I don't remember any photo of any Los Angeles with a ducted screw, but ... Analysing navysource.org photos (I saw all the boats photos today!), some curious results here: USS Jacksonville (SSN-699, Flight I) launching ceremony, unshrouded screw probably covered with tarpaulin: http://navsource.org/archives/08/700/0869914.jpg USS Buffalo (SSN-715,Flight I), clearly unshrouded screw (this was a very difficult one to detect in the thumbnails!): http://www.navsource.org/archives/08/0871520.jpg USS Oklahoma City (…

Researching about old Soviet stuff, I've finded this extraordinary web site about the 16VA in East Germany. It's narrated about the personal viewpoint of a ex-Belgium Army soldier, detached in a Hawk SAM battery. The webmaster has do a lot of personal research, but I see he has not many connections with other people with the some interest, and also the site is something chaotic (some internal links are not working or nonexistent, and the size of the pages don't adjust very well the screen), but full of very interesting data and links, researches and personal opinions, as to evaluate the feasability of the Soviets destroying the Hawk SAM sites with tactical nukes launched…

My favourite WWII era fighter, the Supermarine Spitfire, entered service 70 years ago today. Link to a collection of articles at Flight International.

Academic article on the "window of vulnerability"- aka the perceived ICBM gap in the early 1980s. Thoughts?

From Veteran Affairs Canada The Opening Day, Battle of the Somme, 1 July 1916 Beaumont-Hamel is situated near the northern end of the forty five kilometre front to be assaulted by the French and British. The attack, originally scheduled for June 29, 1916, following a hitherto unprecedented five-day artillery bombardment, was postponed by two days to July 1, 1916, partly on account of inclement weather, partly to allow more time for the artillery preparation. At Beaumont-Hamel, the 29th British Division , with its three Infantry Brigades, the 86th, the 87th and the 88th, faced particularly formidable defences, resolutely manned by the experienced troops of the …

The Silent Hunter (please check out my other stuff)

An very impressive and detailed 339 pages document about U-2, her flights, and her sucessor A-12/Oxcart, with some comments of Chris Pockock: http://www2.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB434/

Impressive, really.

Just finished reading Steve Davies' Red Eagles: America's Secret MiGs (Osprey Publishing, 2008); an account of the CONSTANT PEG programme that used MiG-17s, 21s and 23s as Aggressor adversaries to help in the training of US aircrew. A highly interesting read, which illuminates an interesting aspect of the Cold War. Anyone else here read it?

Remember the Soviet Fractional Orbital Bombardment System (FOBS)? Classic Cold War era 'hide under your school desk and kiss your butt goodbye' stuff. Detailed article at Air Power Australia.