Random photo montage of enjoyment......

Some stuff.

Stuff out of a magazine thing celebrating the coming of a B-1B to McConnell AFB.

I recently discovered another maritime treasure that's in big trouble, the Indian Aircraft Carrier INS Vikrant, formerly the British Majestic class Carrier HMS Hercules. She is the last British emergency war program Light Fleet Carriers built at the end of WWII. She was purchased by the INdian navy incomplete, and refitted to become the Indian Navy flagship. She participated in a number of conflicts with Pakistan in the 60's and 70's, and was finally withdrawn from service in 1997. Since then, she's been moored in Mumbai/Bombay, as a memorial. Although the government has sold her for scrap, the Indian Supreme Court has delayed that decision, and I'm hoping for a last minute reprieve.




Meanwhile, Vikrant's replacement, INS Viraat(ex HMS Hermes), is struggling to keep going after numerous delays in commissioning the INS Vikramaditya, the former Soviet Admiral Gorshkov. Her expected withdrawl date is 2017, making her 58 years old at that time. She's currently the oldest active Carrier in the world.



Earlier, the Indian Navy actually managed to recieve the Vikramaditya from the Russians, 10 years and over 2 billion dollars overbudget. She currently has an air group consisting of 30 MiG-29K Fulcrum fighters, and 6 Kamov Ka-28 and Ka-31 helicopters. Not only this, but India is also building 2 indigenous carriers, the Vikrant class, the first of which has already been launched and has a delivery date of 2018. Not a moment too soon, as I forsee difficulties with that Russian carrier. Nothing they make, bigger than a tank, works right.

Oops. @shootER I'm a man, and thus have no Cav knowledge, but I'm pretty sure it's not supposed to look like that.

"No tread on me" (said the tank).

Why does Anc equate all 19Ks as cavalry?

Then again, he is a crunchie and they have extremely limited brain power.

Lightning strikes!

On whichever of the Iowas was at Charleston in 1988, Dad decided to man the 20s.

The size differences between a WWI era Dreadnought and a WWII era Dreadnought are significant.

Yeah, that's why I posted it.

Same ship, different day.

Forbin, if you can complete this kit, it will be the masterpiece of your collection. Your legacy.

I've seen that. Amazing, ain't it?

Tanks!

A couple of Norwegian Leopard 1's playing in the snow.

An A34 Comet tank. I fucking love these things.

An M26 Pershing in Korea.

T-64's and T-72's in storage in the Ukraine. I really hope they've reactivated some of these to defend themselves against the Russian barbarians.

A real Pz III. With the long barrel 50mm main gun. LOVE.

1960-ish. Dad and his Danish partner Paul Neilson, and Dad's 1939 Piper J-3 Cub, at Lincoln Park (NJ) airport. They were Sylvania Air Photo Service, supplying aerial photography of buildings, lots, work sites, etc. The Cub was wrecked on the ground by a windstorm in 1962. Paul went back to Denmark, where he was killed in a lightplane crash in the 1970s. That big camera you see right there was driven into his rib cage. That's when Mom made Dad stop flying.

Vintage postcards from home! They look to have been taken in the early to mid 60's.

A Colossus class Carrier, with a deckload of Sea Furies and Fairey Fireflies.

Close. Majestic class, a sub class of the Colossuses (Colossi?).

Love them Colossus Class Carriers!

The Argentine ARA Vienticinco de Mayo, ex Dutch Karel Doorman, ex HMS Venerable. Broken up in 1999.

The Brazilian Minas Gerais, ex HMS Vengeance. Scrapped in 2003.

HMAS Melbourne, ex HMS Majestic. Scrapped in 1985, after extensive inspection by the Chinese Navy(she was scrapped in China.)

HMS Glory. She was broken up in 1961, having never been modernized or sold to a foreign power.

HMS Ocean. She was also not sold or modernized, being broken up in 1962. This class of carrier was constructed to be a disposable stopgap until larger, more capable carriers could be built. They served continuously from 1944, until Minas Gerais was decommissioned in 2001. Quite impressive.

I know their weaknesses, but from a straight aesthetics point of view, nothing can beat the Yorktown Class.

I can dig it. That chunky funnel though...... I prefer the modernized SCB-125A Essex class. Fucking gorgeous!

Just for you, Elwood.

That almost looks like my hometown AFB. Love them F16's!

More tanks!

A Ukrainian railyard with some T-64's on their way to the front to fight terrorism. Since the T-64 was made locally by Morozov, the Ukrainian army is almost exclusively equipped with this tank. They have over 1300 T-72's and over a hundred T-80's in storage, since spare parts are not forthcoming from Russia.

A Marine Corps M-46 Patton in Korea. These were fine looking tanks.

A very interesting M51 Super Sherman of the IDF, on display at the Latrun Tank Museum. This tank was upgraded with a French 105mm main gun, the Israelis really got their moneys worth with these Shermans.

The Ukrainian tank maker Kharkiv Morozov(the makers of the T54 and the T64) offer this upgrade of the T55, complete with laser rangefinder, ballistic computer, night vision, full axis stabilization, new powerpack and improved ammunition to increase the effectiveness of the 100mm D-10 main gun. Other upgrades packages include installing a 125mm smoothbore main gun, and ERA(explosive reactive armor).

One of the Pz IV's sold by Germany to Finland during WWII, eventually used by the Finn's against both the German and the Russians. This J model has the improved 75mm main gun, but lacks the common side skirt armor designed to thwart hollow charged rocket weapons, like the bazooka and the panzerfaust.

A couple of Afghan Army T-62 tanks.

Fascinating series of images of the USS Arizona during her life as well as photos of her sisters on Battleship Row during theirs. Some of the photos weren't declassified until 1983.

http://www.warbirdinformationexchange.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=54661