Random photo montage of enjoyment......

The real reason our friends wanted to go to the museum was to attend a battle reenactment held on that museum property separate from the main buildings. It started with a few history lessons and background information on US and Japanese ground forces.






Plus weapon demonstrations.

Then they ran through a demonstration of the Battle of Tarawa.

The LVT wasn't a runner. The tank and halftrack are, though.

There were a few WWII veterans in the audience, including a retired Marine Sergeant Major who was at Tarawa.




Back during the 50th anniversary of V-J Day, 17 years ago, much of the museum's rolling stock was taken to the local airport, where the Confederate Air Force had a bunch of their warbirds. I stood on the glacis of this M3A1 and interviewed a Marine tanker who had served on one during the war.




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Just for fun, I played around with some of these images in Photoshop.

Awesome. You should take pictures for a living!

When it's got enough light, my wife's little Nikon can make a pretty nice image. It's not very sensitive in low light at all, though.

Krieg: The mast (and a quintuple torpedo launcher that I didn't photograph) are from USS Foote. The plaque for the 5-inch doesn't say where it came from.

Paladin:


There are a few color photographs from Tarawa, but most color images you see from the battle are still frames from the color footage shot by Marine combat cameramen.

I called the curator just now and he tells me that they don't know which ship it came from.

The curator? You've got a lot of pull! That particular open 5in mount was seen more often than not mounted on modernized Essex class carriers or certain auxiliaries. I found 2 similar ones while I was touring the Liberty Ship Jeremiah O'Brian in San Francisco.

The museum's phone number is on their website.

Sidenote - the first time I heard the phrase "rolling stock" was on my own NCOER (NCO efficiency report). The report said I was in charge of X amount of rolling stock and I though.....WTF does that mean? That sounds like some
cowboy shit. Stock means cattle to me!

On the former Kelly AFB, now Kelly USA, an industrial park and inland port.

Putting this here not to make political hay, but because the fuckup is kinda funny.

Dumbasses.

I recognized the Flagship of the Black Sea Fleet right off the bat, the Kara class cruiser Kerch. What a hilarious mistake, I almost wish I'd watched that convention.....almost.

Hm. Used for training, is suppose, but not a "trainer."

I'm going to do a couple of different things in one this time.....

The Reserve Fleets are finally being emptied out. Most of the warships have been either sunk or scrapped, so now it's the auxilliaries turn. They're towed to a shipyard first, where they're inspected for watertight integrity and have their hulls and superstructures cleaned.




Then, they're towed to Brownsville, Texas for breaking up.







In conclusion, I found an article the other day that informed me the Project 641 "Foxtrot" class submarine Zaporizhzhia of the Ukrainian Navy has completed her decade plus refit, and is back in commission! She wasd first commissioned in 1970, and was removed from service in 1997 when her batteries finally failed. New batteries were procured recently, and she completed her repairs. Behold!



A fucking classic!

Please take pictures?

http://blogs.denverpost.com/capture...-the-pacific-and-adjacent-theaters/#more-1547

I disagree. The landing gear are clearly wing-mounted, not sticking out of the fuselage like on a Wildcat.

I don't think it's an F6F, either because it lacks the dorsal "hump" and appears to have a ventral gun position.

This image of the same moment is a little sharper than the picture above.

I was talking about the Life photo(the link doesn't go to the pic itself). The pic in the above post, that is definitely a TBM Avenger torpedo bomber.

Agreed.

Fuck you Whataburger, fuck you.

I've decided to pick up a hobby I once enjoyed when I was younger, model making! My first attempts in many years(unpainted, for the moment)....


From front to back, The Japanese Heavy Cruiser Myoko, the British Helicopter Cruiser HMS Tiger, and the Battleship HMS Nelson. I prefer the 1/700 scale waterline models, the level of detail is fantastic(with the Japanese companies, anyway).





Not bad, I apologize for the crappy cell phone pictures, my 35mm Minolta was stolen by an ex-girlfriend.

Check these out!






1972/73, Philadelphia Naval Shipyard's reserve basin. Lot's of WWII Destroyer Escorts, Minesweepers, at least 4 different GUPPY I, II, III and Fleet Snorkel conversion subs(and a Gato class SSK) and 2 unmodified Mitscher class Destroyers.






Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, mid 1990's. You can see many Knox class frigates, an Iowa class battleship(either New Jersey or Missouri), the USS Sailfish SS-572(a Salmon class diesel sub) and the USS Hornet CVS-12.




USS Darter expended as a target, 1992.


USS Gunason, expended as a target, 1973.


USS George A. Johnson aground off the coast of California, 1966.


Georgetown Victory, aground off the coast of Ireland, 1946.

FIN!

What are the Rubik's Cube-looking structures on the frigates?

They're designed to protect the ASROC anti-submarine rocket propelled torpedo launcher ,the fire control system atop the bridge and the Sea Sparrow SAM system on the stern from the elements while its laid up in reserve. Many of these frigates were sold to friendly navies, I watched them disappear one by one!

I figgered it must be something like that.

The seven original Mercury astronauts participate in U.S. Air Force survival school at Stead Air Force Base in Nevada. Picture from left to right are L. Gordon Cooper, Jr., M. Scott Carpenter, John H. Glenn, Jr., Alan Shepard, Virgil I. Grissom, Walter M. Schirra, Jr., and Donald K. Slayton. Portions of their clothing have been fashioned from parachute material, and all have grown beards from their time in the wilderness. The purpose of this training was to prepare astronauts in the event of an emergency or faulty landing in a remote area.


Some more great photos at this link.

Ringo Starr was an astronaut?!

In terms of military equipment, it got boring for me around the late 1960's.