Blue Sky

Captain USMC HBT Fatigues Here we see the Captain in his everyday utility uniform, also known as fatigues. He wears his cotton khaki HBT utility jacket open at the collar, with sleeves rolled up in the steamy Pacific climate. His matching "cover," as Marines refer to all headwear, is the P-44 utility cap, which was a variation on the Army's P-41 cap. The Marines' version rotated the crown a few degrees to provide a place front and center for the "bird on a ball" Marine Corps insignia to be stenciled in black.

Civilian War, the armored trains of the Red army: Armored train number 98 "Soviet Russia" Armored train number 10 Armored train number 27 "Storm" Armored train number 6 "Putilovtsy"

Circa 1950. US Ranger & US paratrooper

Hauptmann in the DAK (Afrika Korps) M43 cap Hauptmann in the DAK (Afrika Korps) M40 helmet The desert campaigns of the Second World War have captured the popular imagination like few others in modern history. This is due in large part to the almost-mythic fame of its commander, the "Desert Fox", Irwin Rommel. But few understand the reasons for his success. The Afrika Corps is a textbook example of why the German Army was able to achieve the success it did, despite its handicaps. Often outnumbered, usually undersupplied, the Deutsches Afrikakorps succeeded because of the technical superiority of its weaponry, the skill of its leadership, and the élan of its men. And its achievements are truly remarkable: with only three German divisions (the 5th Light – later christened the 15th – the 20th, and 90th Light Divisions), plus six Italian divisions of varying degrees of quality, the Afrika Corps was able to push back a superior Commonwealth force from Tripoli to within a few hundred miles of the Suez Canal, almost ejecting the British from North Africa and its rich oil reserves in the process . And, despite its defeat, the Afrika Corps tied down the equivalent of more than twenty Commonwealth divisions for a period of two years – nearly half of Britain's operational strength. Service Dress The tropical uniform worn by the Afrika Corps varied widely in colour, depending on length of use, different manufacturers' batches, etc.; and the latitude tolerated in the desert armies of other nations was also observed in the German forces. Colours described below are regulation shades. Upon arrival in North Africa, members of the Afrika Corps seem to have been dressed in the following: an olive green M1940 Tropical tunic; flared olive green breeches that laced at the calf and resem led British jodhpurs; high-laced tropical boots with brown leather feet and reinforcement strips, and olive canvas insteps and legs; and cork helmet. (The colour resembled British "khaki" or American "olive drab".Early versions ranged in colour from greenish-brown to dark brown. Later versions were more standardized.) Unlike forces on the continent during this period, both officers and other ranks wore virtually identical uniforms.

Infatti Intruder è una foto Diversa in quanto parliamo di due aerei differenti! L'Aereo in questione è il Dornier Do-29 Most of the early data collected on Short and Vertical Take-Off and Landing characteristics and systems were collected during Dornier’s Do-29 STOL and VTOL Research Program. The Do-29 program was commenced by West Germany’s Air Force with the intention of applying the collected data to the design and development of their next generation of military transport aircraft and help in the developmentsof Germany’s first true fighter project since the end of World War II. In order to keep cost down, engineers at Dornier decided to utilize a tested airframe for the new programme. They selected the proven Do-27 fuselage. The idea, beside the cost savings, was to utilize a strong enough airframe that could handle the expected weight of the heavy wing structure needed to house the engine vectoring system. The first example of the 29 was rolled out of the production line in the summer of 1958. Its airframe, although it was a Do 27’s fuselage, was modified with an extra fin structure below the tail to improve the aircraft’s low speed control characteristics. A larger fin and rudder structure were also incorporated on the fuselage for control purposes. The aircraft’s cockpit was built to house one crew with a Martin-Baker Ejection System seat. The cockpit sat in the fuselage’s forward area and gave the pilot an excellent view of the rotating engines mechanism. Another modification to the original 27 fuselage was the installation of two external stiffeners on each side of the frame, plus three on the bottom of the airframe. The stiffeners were implemented to provide the airframe with an added shock-absorbing system to compensate for the expected frame shock caused by the oscillatory forces emanating from the propellers. The 29 had the same high set undercarriage of the 27 aircraft, which gave the Do-29 adequate clearance for the propellers and was sturdy enough to absorb the expected heavy landing forces associated with STOL and VTOL operations. A fixed single tail wheel; located at the bottom-rear of the airframe was installed. After altering the airframe and incorporating its new wing structure, the next phase of the project was the selection of the power plant. Dornier engineers selected the United States Avco Lycoming engines. Two of these new engines were installed on each wing structure near the main fuselage. The propellers were designed to rotate in opposing directions in order to cancel out the generating torque. The first prototype of the Do-29 took to the air for the first time in December 1958 and performed as expected. Dornier’s test pilots found quickly that they could adapt to the aircraft’s unique flying characteristics. Two addition prototypes were eventually built. The overall programme objective, the acquisition of data related to STOL and VTOL operations was achieved. The Do 29 programme was never intended to be a full production project but its goal of being a stepping-stone design for Germany’s new military transport plane was achieved when Dornier unveiled its Do-31 STOL-VTOL transport aircraft, although this aircraft, as the Do 29 before, never made it to the production line, it did gather enough information to enable other countries such as Great Britain, to incorporate the collected data on their own STOL-VTOL programmes. Today, one of the three Do-29 prototypes sits at the prestigious Helicopter Museum located at Buckeburg, Germany. In the end, the Do 29 was indeed a groundbreaking aircraft. Do-29 SPECIFICATIONS Frame Dimensions Length: 31’-2” Wing Area: 235 sq ft Wing Span: 43’-4” Maximum Take-Off Weigh 5,500lb Performance Engine System: Two 270hp Avco Lycoming GO480-B1a6 piston engines Propellers: Two opposite-rotating three bladed Hartzell propellers Maximum Attainable Speed: 180mph Stalling Speed: 47mph Take-Off Distance: 50’-0”

Deutsches Afrika Korps (DAK) The Afrika Korps Armoured Units In North Africa, 1941-43, Panzer troops wore the same basic uniforms as all other German Army personnel. The only part of the black uniform sometimes retained in the desert was the side cap, seen in one or two photos of crews otherwise dressed in tropical uniform. Members of the Panzer units wore the wore the olive shoulder straps with pink piping. Officers wore the pink-backed silver shoulder straps from their European uniforms, and other ranks . All arms, Panzer included, wore the conventional Litzen of the German Army on the collar, in blue-grey on tan brown. Officers wore their European service dress collar Litzen – silver, with pink "lights", on a dark green backing. All ranks identified their arm of service by pinning the white metal death's-head from their black European collar patches directly to the cloth of the lower jacket lapel. These death's-heads, and the pink piping on their shoulder straps., were all that distinguished Panzer troopers' tunics from other branches. The chevron of pink was Waffenfarbe sometimes, but not invariably, worn on the front of the tropical field cap and sidecap. The insignia on these caps were conventional – eagles and cockades – but the former was in blue-grey. Officers had silver woven cap eagles on brown backing, silver crown piping, and the embroidered cockade. Ballantry and wound decorations were worn on the tropical jacket in the usual way. In fact, the jacket itself was very frequently discarded; in the desert the Panzer crewman's normal dress, except in the cold of night or deep winter, was a field cap, shorts and the short canvas-and-leather boot. Oliver green shirts were worn, sometimes with uniform shoulder straps attached but without other insignia. The jacket sometimes displayed the AFRIKA and AFRIKAKORPS titles. The khaki-brown greatcoat was also worn by Panzer crews. For all branches, the shade of "olive green" displayed by all items of headgear and uniform varied very widely, from a true green, through every shade of khaki, to a bleached sand yellow: Field caps were often deliberately bleached. As well, all branches made use of captured British tropical clothing: it is not uncommon to see Afrika Corps clothing mixed with British shirts, shorts, socks or boots.

Capolavori Francesi! (Purtroppo nonostante le proposte nel 1914 non vinse il premio per l'auto dell'anno!) :asd: 1918 Vinot-DeGuinguand Armored Car 1915 Renault Armored Car 1914 Renault Armored Car 1916 De Dion Bouton Armored Car 1914 De Dion Bouton Armored Car

World War 1 and Kaiser Wilhelm II is in power. A young Infantryman wearing an Ersatz felt Picklehaube. Circa 1915 A young Infantryman in the newer tunic with the newer steel helmet . Circa 1917.

The story of armoured train, Smialy" is a remarkable one. (,,Smialy", pronounced,,Shmee-ah-we" in English, means ,Brave"). Although armoured trains were little used in Western Europe, they were an important innovation in military technology in central and Eastern Europe at the time of the First World War, and an alternative to tanks. ,, Smialy" provides a fine example of the history of such systems as it fought under four flags - Austrian, Polish, Soviet and German, in several wars from 1914 to 1945. Its story traces the rise and fall of armoured trains in military history. The history of the Polish armoured train, Brave" can be traced back to World War 1. In August 1914, the tactical units of Austrian Railway Troops formed the first improvised armoured trains. In later months, standardised armoured trains designated PzZug I-VIll were built in the MAV plant in Budapest. They fought throughout the war and in the autumn of 1918 some of them were stationed on the territories of today's Czech Republic and Poland. Czechs seized one of them at the Praha-Vrsovice station on 29th October 1918; and the Poles seized another at the Prokocim station, in the Cracow district. At the time, the Polish Army was being formed to secure Polish independence, and battles were being waged against German and Austrian forces. A few days later, the captured armoured train was dispatched to Lvov where Ukrainian forces were attempting to capture the city. At Lvov the train was divided into two independent units: Armoured Train No.l named,,Pilsudczyk" (after the Polish military leader Jozef Piisudski) and Armoured Train No. 2 called ,Smialy" (,,Brave"). The latter was under the command of Lt. Stanislaw Malagowski, brother-in-law of the well Polish writer and war correspondent, Melchior Wankowicz.

French Cavalry Captain circa 1920

The V4 One of Nicholaus Straussler's earlier projects. It had a cross-articulated three-point suspension with leaf springs and rubber bogie rollers. The V4 was actually used experimentally to develop pontoon devices for ferrying purposes! This may see odd, but you have to remember that Straussler was the one who developed the Duplex-Drive for Allied tanks.

Interessante Alligator, ma se non erro il bombardamento a cui ti riferisci fu effettuato dal Parisgeschütz non dal Grande Bertha, in effetti c'è stata una confusione storica in passato, proprio dovuta alla fama della grande Bertha, alla quale vennero attrribuiti gli stessi bombardamenti che in realtà vennero effettuati dallo stesso Parisgeschütz. Per quanto riguarda le stazioni missilistiche moblili (I Treni che prima abbiamo osservato) ho trovato un video molto interessante del mezzo in azione! ICBM rs-22 Scalpel Ho trovato questo link molto interessante! TRENI ARMATI

Esatto Dom, Non sbagli! All know that missiles can be launched from underground shafts, from mobile trucks that carry missiles or from submarines. But in Russia missiles can be also launched from.. trains!

Vedendo il fermo immagine di questo video della CNN ne dubito! CNN BREAKING! - Fighter plane crashes in San Diego Suburb! LIVE FILM

Assolutamente d'accordo con Dominus, ma bisogna ricordare che servivano da scorta ai convogli carichi di merci, erano vulnerabili ma meglio di niente!

HtK46 1917 It wasn't the army, that got the first Danish armored car, but Akademisk Skyttekorps, a voluntary home guard unit. It was purchased in September 1917, and was named HtK46. It was built on a Hotchkiss M1909 chassis. Unfortunately it was very difficult to drive, and during a millitary exercise in 1920, the only way the crew could stop it was by running into a chicken coop. The vehicle was written off in 1923. However, the Danish army had become interested in armored vehicles, and, for a start, began using trucks with fake armor of plywood. The first was a Gideon truck in fall 1917.

Japanese infantry soldier's uniform of WW2

Armored train "Kozma Minin" before the departure at the front Note the label "Kozma Minin" at the Armored train Armored train. Note the tank turret and the tank helmets Maxim machine gun team on the armored train. Note the tank turret Armored train anti -aircraft machine gunner Taranov, who was ordered by the medal "For Moscow Defense"

German General Staff Officer The German General Staff Officer is wearing: * Iron Cross 1st class * Iron Cross 2nd class * War Merit Cross, * Russian Front Medal * West Wall Medal * General Assault Badge * 1939 Wound Badge * Knight's Cross

Mon ti preoccupare è brutto per entrambi le categorie! :asd: T-34 in panzerzuge structure Armoured train "Michael", Crimea, Winter 1943/1944 Streckenschutzzug "Blucher" in 1944 was renamed as armoured train Nr.52, Eastern Front, 1944. This armoured train has turrets from soviet T-34 and T-70 tanks. Turrets from soviet T-34 and T-70 tanks used on the armoured train Nr.52.

British Infantry, Korea 1950/53. This would be one of the first soldiers to wear the camouflage pattern in Korea. Note the woollen over mittens to go over woollen gloves, the woollen cap/comforter and the woollen jumper under the smock. Gaiters are still worn. Webbing is British 1944 pattern and the rifle is the Lee Enfield No.4, based on the famous SLME of WW1 vintage. It was .303 calibre.

Armored Train An improvised armored train as used in the Brazilian revolution in the 1930’s. The train was equipped with a Schneider 75mm model 1919 mountain gun. MBV F34 Soviet Armored train MBV F34, used on the Leningrad battlefront "Littorina" Littorina (Armored Train) 1942. Photo Courtesy Alberto Rosselli

Uniforms of the US Navy, US Army and the US Army Air Force, WW2 Captain, US Army Infantry Captain in the USMC Captain in the US Army Air Force Captain USAAF, A2 dress Lieutenant Pilot in the United States Navy

Il tuo intervento non fa altro che sottolineare le numerose imperfezioni che Oleg ha implementato nella splendida Saga di Il 2, non preoccuparti ci siamo passati tutti, solo un piccolo appunto il LA-5 è talmente over-model che potrebbe essere utilizzato anche in FALCON 4.0! :asd:

Fantastico, l'ho riletto e devo dire che a distanza di parecchi anni riesce sempre a trasmettere emozioni, stupende le parti in cui vengono descritti in maniera direi maniacale i vari resoconti operativi, da leggere assolutamente!