Warzone

Heckler & Koch HK416

noreply@blogger.com (Flanker D) — Thu, 08 May 2008 14:17:00 +0000

The HK416 is an assault rifle designed and manufactured by Heckler & Koch to be an improved version of the M4 Carbine pattern firearm. It is available as a complete firearm, or as an upper receiver kit that fits on any AR-15 type lower receiver. The US Army’s Delta Force collaborated with the German arms maker to develop the new carbine. It replaced its M4s with the H&K 416 in 2004 after tests revealed that the piston operating system significantly reduces malfunctions while increasing the life of parts.

The HK416 uses a proprietary gas system derived from the HK G36, replacing the direct impingement gas system used by the standard M16/M4. The HK system uses a short-stroke piston driving an operating rod to force the bolt carrier to retract. This design prevents propellant gases from entering the weapon’s interior, a traditional short-coming with direct gas impingement systems. The reduction in heat and fouling of the bolt carrier group increases the reliability of the weapon and extends the interval between stoppages. It also reduces operator cleaning time, and stress on critical components.

The HK416 is equipped with a proprietary accessory rail forearm with MIL-STD-1913 rails on all four sides. This allows all current accessories, sights, lights, and aimers used on M4/M16-type weapons to be fitted to the HK416. The HK416 rail forearm can be installed and removed without tools, using a bolt locking lug as the screwdriver. The rail forearm is of the 'free-float' variety; it does not contact the barrel. This allows for improved accuracy potential.

The HK416's barrel is cold hammer-forged. This allows the barrel to maintain its accuracy for over 20,000 rounds, with minimal degradation of muzzle velocity. The cold hammer-forging process also allows for improved operator safety during obstructed bore occurrences or after extended firing sessions. This includes "OTB" (Over-the-beach) capability; the HK416 can be safely fired after being submerged in water and not completely drained.

Infantry Fighting Vehicle : FV510 Warrior

noreply@blogger.com (Flanker D) — Sat, 03 May 2008 12:32:00 +0000

The Warrior family of tracked armoured vehicles, developed by Alvis Vickers Ltd (now BAE Systems Land Systems). A series of British armoured vehicles originally developed to replace the older FV430 series of armoured vehicles. The Warrior has the speed and performance to keep up with a Challenger 2 Main Battle Tank over the most difficult terrain, and the firepower and armour to support infantry in the assault.

Warrior delivers road speeds of 75km/h, and crosses rough terrain faster than most main battle tanks

Passenger access is through a single electric ram powered door at the rear of the hull, rather than a drop-down ramp as in the American M113 and M2 Bradley APCs. There are no firing ports in the hull, in line with British thinking that the role of the APC/IFV is to carry troops under protection to the objective and then give firepower support when they have disembarked. Another reason is that it is not possible to fire accurately out of the ports of a moving IFV and access to firing ports would require internal stowage to be moved from behind the seated soldiers in the rear of the vehicle.

The British Army using Warrior in operations in the Middle East

Warrior Section Vehicles are able to carry and support 7 fully-equipped soldiers together with supplies and weapons including a number of anti-tank weapons for a 48-hour battlefield day in nuclear/biological/chemical conditions. The protection against small arms, missiles, RPGs and anti-tank mines was proven during the UN operations in Bosnia. Additional (applique) armour, such as "cage armour" can be fitted.

A British Army Warrior with 30mm RARDEN cannon and image intensification sights

The Warrior is driven by a Perkins-Rolls-Royce V8 Condor engine through a 4 speed automatic gearbox. It is capable of a road speed of 46 mph (75 km/h) as well as incredible braking power. The fully rotating turret carries a 7.62 mm calibre coaxial chain gun machinegun alongside the conventionally powered RARDEN 30 mm cannon. Thales Optronics BGTI battle group thermal imaging sights have added to upgrade the night fighting capability. All Warrior vehicles are now equipped with BOWMAN radios for enhanced communications command and control.

Military Attack Helicopter : AH-64 Apache

noreply@blogger.com (Flanker D) — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 13:14:00 +0000

The AH-64 Apache is an all-weather day-night military attack helicopter and is the United States Army's principal attack helicopter, and is the successor to the AH-1 Cobra. The AH-64 is a twin-engined helicopter with four-bladed main and tail rotors. It has a crew of two which sit in tandem. The main fixed armament is a 30 mm M230 Chain Gun, it is also able to carry a mixture of AGM-114 Hellfire and Hydra 70 rockets on four hard points mounted on its stub-wing pylons.

An Apache Longbow armed with 16 Hellfire missiles, eight under each wing

The AH-64 is powered by two General Electric T700 turboshaft engines with high-mounted exhausts on either side of the rotor shaft. The Apache has a four-blade main rotor and four-blade tail rotor. The crew sits in tandem, with the pilot sitting behind and above the copilot-gunner in an armored crew compartment. The crew compartment and fuel tanks are armored against 23 mm gunfire. The main rotor blade is designed to remain intact after sustaining hits by 23 mm rounds.

The Apache has been designed for high survivability in combat

The Apache was first used in combat during the 1989 invasion of Panama, Operation Just Cause. The AH-64A Apache and the AH-64D Apache Longbow have played important roles in several Middle Eastern wars, including the Gulf War, Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, and Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq. The Apaches were proven to be excellent tank hunters and also destroyed hundreds of armored vehicles (mainly of the Iraqi army).

Hydra 70 and AGM-114 Hellfire

The advanced model, the AH-64D Apache Longbow, is equipped with an improved sensor suite and weapon systems. The key improvement over the A-variant is the AN/APG-78 Longbow dome installed over the main rotor which houses a millimeter-wave Fire Control Radar (FCR) target acquisition system as well as the Radar Frequency Interferometer (RFI). The elevated position of the radome allows detection and (arcing) missile engagement of targets even when the helicopter itself is concealed by an obstacle (e.g. terrain, trees or buildings). Further, a radio modem integrated with the sensor suite allows a D-variant Apache to share targeting data with other AH-64Ds that do not have a line-of-sight to the target. In this manner a group of Apaches can engage multiple targets but only reveal the radome of one D-variant Apache. Apaches that include all of the improvements of the Longbow Apache, with the exception of the Fire Control Radar are still designated as "AH-64D Apache Longbows", as the radome is removable and interchangeable between aircraft.

An AH-64 provides air support

The aircraft was updated with more powerful T700-GE-701C engines, and a fully-integrated cockpit. The forward fuselage of the aircraft was expanded to accommodate new systems. In addition, the aircraft receives improved survivability, communications, and navigation capabilities. Block III improvements, slated for 2008 onwards, include increasing digitization, the joint tactical radio system, enhanced engines and drive systems, capability to control UAVs, new composite rotor blade and landing gear upgrades. The new blades, which successfully completed flight testing in May 2004, increase the Apache's cruise speed, climb rate and payload capability. The Block III System Development and Demonstration (SDD) contract was awarded to Boeing in July 2006.

Apache Longbow at the International Aerospace Exhibition 2006

Largest, Heaviest Battleships Ever Constructed : Yamato Class Battleships

noreply@blogger.com (Flanker D) — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 15:51:00 +0000

The Yamato class battleships of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) were the largest naval vessels of World War II and were the largest, heaviest battleships ever constructed to this day, displacing 72,800 metric tons (at full load). The class carried the largest naval artillery ever fitted to any warship - 460 mm (18.1 in) guns which fired 1.36 tonne shells.

30 October 1941: Yamato on sea trials

The Yamato class was built after the Japanese withdrew from the Washington Naval Treaty at the Second London Conference of 1936. The treaty, as extended by the London Naval Treaty of 1930, forbade signatories to build battleships before 1937. Design work on the class began in 1934 and after modifications the design for a 68,000 ton vessel was accepted in March 1937. Yamato was built in intense secrecy at a specially prepared dock to hide her construction at Kure Naval Dockyards beginning on 4 November 1937. She was launched on 8 August 1940 and commissioned on 16 December 1941. Originally, five ships of this class were planned. Yamato and Musashi were completed as designed. The third, Shinano, was converted to an aircraft carrier during construction after the defeat at the Battle of Midway. The un-named "Hull Number 111" was scrapped in 1943 when roughly 30% complete, and "Hull Number 797", proposed in the 1942 5th Supplementary Program, was never ordered. At the Kure Navy Yard, the construction dock was deepened, the gantry crane capacity was increased to 100 tonnes, and part of the dock was roofed over to prevent observation of the work. Many low-level designers and even senior officers were not informed of the true dimensions of the battleship until after the war. When the ship was launched, there was no commissioning ceremony or fanfare.

20 September 1941: Yamato fitting out at Kure Naval Yard

Yamato and Musashi made little direct impact during the war. The Musashi did not engage any Allied battleships during the war, yet the Yamato did have limited success when in October 1944 she opened fire on US escort carriers and destroyers. It was the first and last of her battles with enemy ships. She fired a total 104 rounds of 46cm projectiles as a result of which one escort carrier and one destroyer were sunk.

Yamato on sea trials in late 1941

Musashi and her crew on forward deck Jun 1942

Japanese battleship Musashi departing Brunei 1944

Both Yamato and Musashi were sunk by the bane of capital warships: overwhelming air power. Musashi was sunk by repeated aerial attack during the Battle of Leyte Gulf on October 24, 1944. After being hit by an estimated 17 torpedoes and 20 bombs, she went down with 1,700 of her 2,400 man crew.

Musashi under attack by US aircraft in the Sibuyan Sea 24 October 1944

The end of Yamato was even less glorious. Having seen little action during the previous four years (she served as Yamamoto's flagship during the Midway operation, as well as Kurita's during the action off Samar on 25 October 1944) she was sent on a planned suicide mission against the U.S. Navy forces massing for the attack on Okinawa. On April 7, 1945 she was hit by successive waves of U.S. carrier based aircraft and sank after absorbing 8 bombs and at least 13 torpedo hits. Fewer than 300 out of 3,332 crew onboard survived.

Yamato under aerial attack in the East China Sea, 7 Apr 1945

Yamato moments after exploding

Malaysia First MBT - PT-91M

noreply@blogger.com (Flanker D) — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 15:02:00 +0000

It is an extensive modernization of the T-72M1. With SAGEM Savan-15 fire control system, 1,000-hp S-1000R engine (variant with new, hydropneumatic transmission) bringing its top speed to 70 km/h, and a new communications system. Weapons have been changed to a Konstrukta 2A46MS 125mm gun, a 7.62mm FN MAG coaxial machine gun and a 12.7mm FN Browning M2 HB AA machine gun. This variant is also equipped with Sagem VIGY 15 gyro-stabilised panoramic sight optronics, a Sigma 30 laser gyro navigation system, a PCO SSP-1 Obra-3 laser-warning system, Wegmann 76mm grenade launchers and Type 570P Diehl Remscheid GmbH tracks

Definition Of Surface To Air Missile (SAM)

noreply@blogger.com (Flanker D) — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 17:21:00 +0000

A surface to air missile (SAM) or ground-to-air missile (GTAM) is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft. It is a type of anti-aircraft system.

An SA-7 in use

Stinger system

Land-based SAMs can be deployed from fixed installations or mobile launchers. The smallest SAMs are capable of being carried and launched by a single person. These types of SAM are also referred to as Man-Portable Air Defence Systems (MANPADS). Soviet MANPADS have been exported around the world and can still be found in many of their former client states. Other nations have developed their own MANPADS.

Wiesel AWC of the German Army

ADATS test firing

Land-based SAMs are deployed on mobile launchers, either wheeled or tracked. The tracked vehicles are usually armoured vehicles specifically designed to carry SAMs. Larger SAMs may be deployed in fixed launchers, but can be towed/re-deployed at will.

SM-3 launch from the USS Shiloh

Crotale launchers aboard the Tourville frigate

Ship-based SAMs are in widespread use. Virtually all surface warships can be armed with SAMs (see list below). In fact, naval SAMs are a necessity for all front-line surface warships. Some warship types specialise in anti-air warfare e.g. Ticonderoga-class cruisers equipped with the Aegis combat system or Kirov class cruisers with the S-300PMU Favorite missile system.

Patriot system

S-300PMU surface-to-air missiles during exercise

Targets for non-ManPAD SAMs will usually be acquired by air-search radar, then tracked before/while a SAM is "locked-on" and then fired. Potential targets, if they are military aircraft, will be identified as friend or foe systems before "lock-on".

The Battle of Hattin

noreply@blogger.com (Flanker D) — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 08:23:00 +0000

The battle took place in the Galilee near Tiberias in present day Israel. The battlefield, near the town of Hittin, had as its chief geographic feature a double hill (the "Horns of Hattin") beside a pass through the northern mountains between Tiberias and the road from Acre to the west. The Darb al-Hawarnah road, built by the Romans, served as the main east-west passage between the Jordan fords, the Sea of Galilee and the Mediterranean coast.

Saladin's final invasion was triggered by the actions of Reynald of Chatillon. Reynald had first arrived in the Holy Land with the Second Crusade, and had decided to stay and make his fortune in the east. His behaviour demonstrated one of the main problems facing the crusader states. The established crusader barons had realised that to survive they needed to live on peaceful terms with their Muslim neighbours for as long as possible. However, to maintain their numbers they needed to attract new crusaders from the west, and these new crusaders were much less willing to live peacefully with the infidels that they had come to fight. Reynald had had an eventful career in the east, and by 1187 he had been lord of Oultrejourdain, on the south eastern edge of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, for over a decade. From his base at Kerak he had repeated broken treaties with Saladin, attacking trade caravans, and once mounting a naval raid into the red sea, attacking the ports of Medina and Mecca. This outrage enraged Saladin, and triggered an unsuccessful invasion of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

Horns of Hattin, as viewed from the east

Now, at the end of 1186, and with the Kingdom in desperate need of a few years of peace to restore order, Reynald committed another outrage. As a huge caravan travelling north from Cairo passed through Frankish lands, under the protection of treaty, Reynald launched an attack on it, killing the guards, stealing the trade goods, and taking the merchants hostage. Saladin first attempted to act within the terms of the treaty, and sent envoys demanding the return of the merchants and their goods, first to Reynald, who ignored them, and then on to King Guy, who listened to them and agreed that they were in the right. However, he was far too dependant of Reynald for his power, and could not take the risk of an attack on his main ally. The envoys returned unsatisfied, and war was now inevitable.

Once it was clear that war was looming, the weakness and dissention of the crusader states became apparent. Bohemond of Antioch renewed an already existing truce, while Raymond of Tripoli rushed to make a new one. Significantly, this truce was extended to cover this wife's principality of Galilee, actually part of the kingdom of Jerusalem. The true impact of this division came in April. King Guy summoned his allies and marched into Galilee, hoping to crush all resistance before Saladin could launch his invasion. However, at the same time Saladin's son decided to launch an armed reconnaissance into Palestine. Obeying the terms of their truce, he sent envoys to Raymond to ask for free passage, and with great embarrassment, Raymond had to agree. On 1 May, a force of 7000 mamluk cavalry marched into Galilee, where they encountered the a force of Knights Templers, who despite being hugely outnumbered charged to the attack, and were almost entirely wiped out, with only three escaping. News of this disaster finally healed the split between Raymond and Guy. Raymond renounced his treaty with Saladin, and submitted to Guy, who accepted him with good grace. In contrast to this chaos, Saladin had been carefully gathering together his army, eventually gathering a force of some 20,000 men, forming the largest army he had ever commanded. Despite their arguments, the crusaders were able to raise a force of almost the same size. At this point there was nothing to suggest that a disaster was about to occur. The crusaders had defeated similar invasions by refusing to risk battle and occupying well supplied positions, while their enemies armies wilted away in the sun. This had happened four years before, and Saladin had been forced to withdraw without battle.

Artistic representation of Saladin

On 1 July Saladin crossed the Jordan. He attacked Tiberias, capturing the town and besieging the castle. Despite strong advice to remain at Acre, Guy was persuaded to march inland towards Tiberias. Even then, not all was lost. On 2 July the crusaders camped at Sephoria, where they had a good water supply and the best of the terrain. Although most of the knights spoke for moving on, Raymond of Tripoli himself, whose wife was defending Tiberias was strongly against such a move, arguing that Saladin would not be able to attack their position, while reinforcements from Antioch were expected, and when the council ended it appeared that he had won the day. Sadly for the crusader cause, Guy was easy to persuade, and after the council broke up the Grand Master of the Temple managed to change his mind. The next day the crusaders marched east along a barren, waterless road, under constant harassment by Saladin's skirmishers, and the crusaders soon suffered from thirst. By mid afternoon the crusaders reached the horns of Hattin, a barren hill top overlooking the village. Despite urgent calls to fight to the lake that afternoon, Guy decided to halt the march. This move has been criticised, but it is likely that the army was too drained to risk a fight. Moreover, the eventual campsite did have a well, and was probably picked for this. Unfortunately, the well was dry. While Saladin and his army spend the night in the well watered valley, the crusaders spent the night in misery on the dry hill top.

The battle itself was now something of a foregone conclusion. At dawn on 4 July, the crusader army found itself surround on the hill top. In normal circumstances this move would have been a mistake for Saladin, as the crusader army was quite close to his in numbers, and would have been able to punch a hole in the weakened Muslim cordon, but after a day and a night without water the crusader army had lost much of it's cohesion. The infantry broke from the army and made a desperate attempt to reach water, but failed, and were soon destroyed. The crusader cause was now doomed. The trapped knights fought with great determination, but were steadily forced back towards the summit. An attempt to force a breakthrough led by Raymond of Tripoli was foiled when Saladin's army simply opened a gap to let them through. Stuck on the outside of the battle there was nothing they could do, and so they escaped back to Tripoli. Those left on the hill fought to exhaustion, but eventually were forced to surrender. Saladin's triumph appeared to be complete. He had captured King Guy, along with Reynald of Chatillon and most of the great barons of the Kingdom, as well as capturing the Holy Cross. The prisoners were all well treated, apart from Reynald of Chatillon, whose foolish raids had led to the defeat, and for whole Saladin felt such hatred that he personally beheaded him.

The Battle of Hattin, from a medieval manuscript

Defeat at Hattin saw the effective destruction of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. With the King in his hands, and the army destroyed, Saladin was able to capture city after city. Tiberias surrendered quickly, Acre on 10 June and finally on 2 October, Jerusalem itself surrendered.

La Fayette Class Frigate

noreply@blogger.com (Flanker D) — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 16:13:00 +0000

F712 Courbet (French Navy)

The La Fayette class units are light multi-mission frigates built by DCN and operated by France (Marine Nationale). Derivative of the type are in service in Saudi Arabia, Singapore (Republic of Singapore Navy) and Republic of China (Taiwan) (Republic of China Navy).

F710 La Fayette (French Navy)

These frigates were referred to as "stealth" frigates. Their reduced radar cross section is achieved by a very clean superstructure compared to conventional designs, angled sides and radar absorbent material, a composite material of wood and glass fiber as hard as steel, light, and resistant to fire. Most modern fighting ships built around the world since the introduction of the La Fayette have followed the same principles of stealth.

F711 Surcouf (French Navy)

The shape of the hull and the superstructures is devised for the optimal reduction of the radar signature, which has been reduced by 60%: a 3000-tonne La Fayette unit has the typical radar signature of a 1200 tonne ship. Stealth is achieved with inclined flanks, as few vertical lines as possible, and very clean lines and superstructures: stairs and mooring equipment are internal, and prominent structures are covered by planes. The superstructures are built using radar-absorbent synthetic materials.

F714 Guépratte (French Navy)

All information gathered by the onboard sensors is managed by the Information Processing System, the electronic brain of the operation centre of the ship. It is completed by an electronic command aid system.

F713 Aconit (French Navy)

The La Fayette has space available for the future installation of the Aster 15 missile, the state-of-the-art anti-air European weapon, and currently carries the Crotale short-range defence system, and Exocet missile, mounted in two quad launchers.

RSS Formidable (Singapore Navy)

The ships are designed to accommodate a 10 tonne helicopter in the Panther or NH90 range (though they are also capable of operating the Super Frelon and similar heavy helicopters). These helicopters can carry anti-ship AM39 or AS15 missiles, and can be launched during sea state 5 or 6 due to the Samahé helicopter handling system.

The helicopter pad; the Crotale missile launcher is well visible on the top of the helicopter hangar

Definition Of Cavalry

noreply@blogger.com (Flanker D) — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 07:54:00 +0000

Cavalry were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback in combat. The designation was not usually extended to any military force that used other animals, such as camels or mules. Infantry who moved on horseback but dismounted to fight on foot were in the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries known as dragoons, a class of mounted troops which later evolved into cavalry proper while retaining their historic title.

Reenactor showing Roman military cavalry

From earliest times cavalry had the advantage of improved mobility, an "instrument which multiplied the fighting value of even the smallest forces, allowing them to outflank and avoid, to surprise and overpower, to retreat and escape according to the requirements of the moment." A man fighting from horseback also had the advantages of greater height, speed, and inertial mass over an opponent on foot.

Heavy cavalry

In modern armies, the term cavalry is often used for units that fill the traditional horse-borne light cavalry roles of scouting, screening, skirmishing and raiding. The shock role, traditionally filled by heavy cavalry, is generally filled by units with the "armored" designation.

Polish 66 Airforce Squadron of 25th Aeromobile Cavalry Brigade

World War 2 Heavy Tanks - Tiger I

noreply@blogger.com (Flanker D) — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 14:53:00 +0000

The Tiger I was in use from late 1942 until the German surrender in 1945. It was given its "Tiger" nickname by Ferdinand Porsche . The design served as the basis for other armoured vehicles, the Sturmtiger heavy self-propelled gun and the Bergetiger amoured recovery vehicle. The initial official German designation was Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausführung H but the tank was redesignated as Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausf. E in March 1943. The tank also had the ordnance inventory designation SdKfz 181.

Tiger 1 tank at Bovington Tank Museum

The Tiger I represented a new approach that emphasised firepower and armour at the expense of mobility. Design studies for a new heavy tank had been started in the late 1930s, without any production planning. The real impetus for the Tiger was provided by the quality of the Soviet T-34. Although the general design and layout were broadly similar to the previous medium tank the Panzer IV, the Tiger weighed more than twice as much. This was due to its substantially thicker armour, the larger main gun, and the consequently greater volume of fuel and ammunition storage, larger engine, and more solidly-built transmission and suspension.

A front view of Tiger 1 on the move

The Tiger I had frontal hull armour 100 mm thick and frontal turret armour of 110 mm, as opposed to the 80 mm frontal hull and 50 mm frontal turret armour of contemporary models of the Panzer IV. It also had 80 mm thick armour on the sides and rear. The top and bottom armour was 25 mm thick; later, the turret roof was thickened to 40 mm. Armour plates were mostly flat, with interlocking construction. The armour joints were of high quality, being stepped and welded rather than riveted.

An early model parked in front of a factory

The rear of the tank held an engine room flanked by two floodable rear compartments each containing a fuel tank, radiator, and fans. The petrol (gasoline) engine was a 21-litre 12-cylinder Maybach HL 210 P45 with 650 PS (641 hp, 478 kW). Although a good engine, it was inadequate for the vehicle. From the 250th Tiger it was replaced by the uprated HL 230 P45 (23 litres) of 700 PS (690 hp, 515 kW). The engine was in V-form, with two cylinder banks at 60 degrees. An inertial starter was mounted on its right side, driven via chain gears through a port in the rear wall. The engine could be lifted out through a hatch on the hull roof.

An early model with barbed wire strung on the hull sides to prevent infantry from mounting the vehicle.

The internal layout was typical of German tanks. Forward was an open crew compartment, with the driver and radio-operator seated at the front, either side of the gearbox. Behind them the turret floor was surrounded by panels forming a continuous level surface. This helped the loader to retrieve the ammunition, which was mostly stowed above the tracks. Two men were seated in the turret; the gunner to the left of the gun, and the commander behind him. There was also a folding seat for the loader. The turret had a full circular floor and 157 cm headroom.

Tiger 1 in front of a thatched-roof farmhouse

The gun breech and firing mechanism were derived from the famous German "88" dual purpose flak gun. The 88 mm Kwk 36 L/56 gun was the variant chosen for the Tiger and was, along with the Tiger II's 88 mm Kwk 43 L/71, one of the most effective and feared tank guns of WW2. The Tiger's gun had a very flat trajectory and extremely accurate Zeiss TZF 9b sights. Tigers were reported to have knocked out enemy tanks at ranges greater than a mile (1,600 m), although most WW2 engagements were fought at much closer range.

Captured Tiger I in Tunis in 1943

The Tiger was first used in action in September 1942 near Leningrad. Under pressure from Hitler the tank was put into action months earlier than planned and many early models proved to be mechanically fragile. In its first action on 23 September 1942, many of the first Tigers broke down. Others were knocked out by dug-in Soviet anti-tank guns. One tank was captured largely intact, which gave the Soviets a chance to study the tank and prepare a response. In the Tiger's first actions in North Africa, the tank was able to dominate Allied tanks in the wide-open terrain. However, mechanical failures meant that there were rarely more than a few in action. In a replay of the Leningrad experience, at least one Tiger was knocked out by towed British six-pounder antitank guns.

Whitewashed Tigers on the march

The Tiger's armour and firepower, however, were feared by all its opponents. In tactical defence, its poor mobility was less of an issue. Whereas Panthers were the more serious threat to Allied tanks, Tigers had a bigger psychological effect on opposing crews, causing a "Tiger phobia". Allied tankers would sometimes evade rather than confront a Tiger, even a tank that only looked like one, such as the Panzer IV with turret skirts applied. In the Normandy campaign, it could take four to five Shermans to knock out a single Tiger tank by maneuvering to its weaker flank or rear armour; the Soviet T-34s fared similarly against the German tanks, as had the German PzIII earlier against the Soviet heavy tanks.

The Das Reich Tiger of SS-Oberscharfuhrer Paul Egger passing panzer grenadiers near Bykowka, Russia in July 1943 during Operation Citadel.

An accepted Allied tactic was to engage the Tiger as a group, one attracting the attention of the Tiger crew while the others attacked the sides or rear of the vehicle. Since the ammunition and fuel were stored in the sponsons, a side penetration often resulted in a kill. This was, however, a risky tactic, and often resulted in the loss of several Allied vehicles. It took a great deal of tactical skill to eliminate a Tiger.

The Tiger from the drivers side

Multirole Fighter - Sukhoi Su-33 "Flanker D"

noreply@blogger.com (Flanker D) — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 13:16:00 +0000

The Sukhoi Su-33 (NATO reporting name 'Flanker-D') is carrier-based multi-role fighter aircraft produced by Russian firm Sukhoi beginning in 1982. It is a derivative of the Su-27 'Flanker' and was initially known as the Su-27K. The main difference from the Su-27 is that the Su-33 can operate from aircraft carriers. Unlike the Su-27, the Su-33 is capable of aerial refueling.

Su-33 on the deck of a Russian aircraft carrier

The Su-33 first flew in May 1985, and entered service in the Russian Navy in 1994. An air regiment comprising 24 fighters of the type was formed upon the Russian Navy's only operating aircraft carrier, Admiral Kuznetsov.

Forward view of an Su-33 with wings folded

The Su-33 is designed to use a ski-jump instead of catapult for carrier takeoff. The ski jump provides many advantages over a catapult launch. The most evident is that a ski jump does not put stress on the airframe and pilot, allowing lower weight because less structural reinforcement is required and prevents G-LOC (G-induced loss of consciousness.) Also, with a ski jump launch, the aircraft can engage full afterburner earlier than a catapult launch, because the aircraft is restrained by pop-up detents rather than a catapult shoe. Once in the air the aircraft has a positive AOA as well as pitch angular speed which increases during acceleration, and assists the climb. This method does require an aircraft that is more stable and maneuverable at low speeds.

An Su-33 on board Admiral Kuznetsov (Russian aircraft carrier)

The Su-33 sports canards that shorten the take-off distance and improve maneuverability, but required reshaping of the leading edge extensions. The canards counter pitch-down force generated by leading and trailing edge flaps reducing approach speed by 1.5 times; They also act as destabilizers in supersonic flight, by reducing pitch trim drag.

Su-33 preparing for takeoff

The wing area was also increased, though the span remained unchanged. The wings were fitted with power-assisted folding, and the vertical tails were shortened to allow the fighter to fit in the typically crowded hangars of an aircraft carrier. The rear radome was shortened and reshaped to allow for the tail hook, as well as to save space inside the hangars. The IRST was moved to provide better downward visibility and an L-shaped retractable refuelling probe was fitted to increase range.

One Su-33 takes off while another prepares to launch

The Su-33 carries guided missiles such as the Kh-25MP, Kh-31 and H-41. The plane can be used in both night and day operations at sea. It can operate under assistance of the command center ship, or in conjunction with a Kamov Ka-31 (a variant of the Ka-27) early-warning helicopter. The R-27EM missiles provide it the capability to intercept antiship missiles.

Su-33 showing its planform in flight

Other than air defence, the duties of the Su-33 include destruction of enemy ASW, AWACS, and transport aircraft, anti-shipping strike, support of amphibious landing, escort, reconnaissance, and laying of minefields.

Su-33 maneuvering in flight

Su-33 in flight

Overhead view of an Su-33 and an Su-25

3 view schematic

The Attack On Pearl Harbor

noreply@blogger.com (Flanker D) — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 10:22:00 +0000

The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise attack against the United States' naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii by the Japanese navy, on the morning of Sunday, December 7, 1941, resulting in the United States becoming involved in World War II. It was intended as a preventive action to remove the US Pacific Fleet as a factor in the war Japan was about to wage against Britain, the Netherlands, and the United States.

Pearl Harbor on 30 October 1941

At 03:42, Hawaiian Time, hours before commanding Admiral Chuichi Nagumo began launching strike aircraft, the minesweeper USS Condor spotted a midget submarine outside the harbor entrance and alerted destroyer USS Ward. Ward was initially unsuccessful in locating the target. Hours later, Ward fired America's first shots in the Pacific theater of WWII when she attacked and sank a midget submarine, perhaps the same one, at 06:37. Five midget submarines had been assigned to torpedo U.S. ships after the bombing started. None of these returned, and only four have since been found. Of the ten sailors aboard, nine died; the only survivor, Kazuo Sakamaki, was captured, becoming the first Japanese prisoner of war.

Aboard a Japanese carrier before the attack on Pearl Harbor, crew members cheer departing pilots.

First Wave
The first attack wave launched north of Oʻahu, commanded by Captain Mitsuo Fuchida.

1st Group - targets: battleships and aircraft carriers, (50 Nakajima B5Ns armed with 800 kg armor piercing bombs, in four sections. 40 B5Ns armed with Type 91 torpedoes, also in four sections).
2nd Group - targets: Ford Island and Wheeler Field, (55 Aichi D3As armed with 249 kg general purpose bombs).
3rd Group - targets: aircraft at Ford Island, Hickam Field, Wheeler Field, Barber’s Point, Kaneohe, (45 A6Ms for air control and strafing. Each of the aerial waves started with the bombers and ended with the fighters to deter pursuit).

Zeroes preparing to take off from Shokaku for Pearl Harbor

Several U.S. aircraft were shot down as the first wave approached land; one at least radioed a somewhat incoherent warning. Other warnings from ships off the harbor entrance were still being processed, or awaiting confirmation, when the planes began bombing and strafing. Nevertheless, it is not clear any warnings would have had much effect even if they had been interpreted correctly and much more promptly. The air portion of the attack on Pearl Harbor began at 7:48 a.m. Hawaiian Time (3:18 a.m. December 8 Japanese Standard Time, as kept by ships of the Kido Butai), with the attack on Kaneohe. A total of 353 Japanese planes in two waves reached Oʻahu. Slow, vulnerable torpedo bombers led the first wave, exploiting the first moments of surprise to attack the most important ships present (the battleships), while dive bombers attacked U.S. air bases across Oʻahu, starting with Hickam Field, the largest, and Wheeler Field, the main U.S. Army Air Corps fighter base. The 171 planes in the second wave attacked the Air Corps' Bellows Field near Kaneohe on the windward side of the island, and Ford Island. The only air opposition came from a handful of P-36 Hawks and P-40 Warhawks.

Bombers preparing to take off

Men aboard U.S. ships awoke to the sounds of alarms, bombs exploding, and gunfire prompting bleary eyed men into dressing as they ran to General Quarters stations. (The famous message, "Air raid Pearl Harbor. This is not drill.", was sent from the headquarters of Patrol Wing Two, the first senior Hawaiian command to respond.) The defenders were very unprepared. Ammunition lockers were locked, aircraft parked wingtip to wingtip in the open to deter sabotage, guns unmanned (none of the Navy's 5"/38 AA and only a quarter of its machine guns, and only four of 31 Army batteries got in action). Despite this and low alert status, many American military personnel responded effectively during the battle.

B-17 after the attack on Hickam Field

Second Wave
The second wave consisted of 54 B5Ns, 81 D3As, and 36 A6Ms, commanded by Lieutenant-Commander Shigekazu Shimazaki.

1st Group - 54 B5Ns armed with 249 kg and 54 kg general purpose bombs, (27 B5Ns — aircraft and hangars on Kaneohe, Ford Island, and Barbers Point,27 B5N - hangars and aircraft on Hickam Field).
2nd Group - targets: aircraft carriers and cruisers, (81 D3As armed with 249 kg general purpose bombs, in four sections).
3rd Group - targets: aircraft at Ford Island, Hickham Field, Wheeler Field, Barber’s Point, Kaneohe, (36 A6Ms for defense and strafing).

USS West Virginia took two aerial bombs and seven torpedo hits; of the seven at least five were from aircraft and one from a midget submarine

The second wave was divided into three groups. One was tasked to attack Kāneʻohe, the rest Pearl Harbor proper. The separate sections arrived at the attack point almost simultaneously, from several directions. Ninety minutes after it began, the attack was over. 2,386 Americans died (55 were civilians, most killed by unexploded American anti-aircraft shells landing in civilian areas), a further 1,139 wounded. Eighteen ships were sunk, including five battleships.

A photo taken from a Japanese plane during the attack shows vulnerable American battleships

Of the American fatalities, nearly half of the total were due to the explosion of USS Arizona's forward magazine after it was hit by a modified 40 cm (16in) shell. Already damaged by a torpedo and on fire forward, Nevada attempted to exit the harbor. She was targeted by many Japanese bombers as she got under way, sustaining more hits from 113 kg bombs as she was deliberately beached to avoid blocking the harbor entrance. USS California was hit by two bombs and two torpedoes. The crew might have kept her afloat, but were ordered to abandon ship just as they were raising power for the pumps. Burning oil from Arizona and West Virginia drifted down on her, and probably made the situation look worse than it was. The disarmed target ship USS Utah was holed twice by torpedoes. USS West Virginia was hit by seven torpedoes, the seventh tearing away her rudder. USS Oklahoma was hit by four torpedoes, the last two above her belt armor, which caused her to capsize. USS Maryland was hit by two of the converted 40 cm shells, but neither caused serious damage.

USS California sinking

Although the Japanese concentrated on battleships (the largest vessels present), they did not ignore other targets. The light cruiser USS Helena was torpedoed, and the concussion from the blast capsized the neighboring minelayer USS Oglala. Two destroyers in dry dock were destroyed when bombs penetrated their fuel bunkers. The leaking fuel caught fire; flooding the dry dock in an effort to fight fire made the burning oil rise, and so the ships were burned out. The light cruiser USS Raleigh was holed by a torpedo. The light cruiser USS Honolulu was damaged but remained in service. The destroyer USS Cassin capsized, and destroyer USS Downes was heavily damaged. The repair vessel USS Vestal, moored alongside Arizona, was heavily damaged and beached. The seaplane tender USS Curtiss was also damaged. USS Shaw was badly damaged when two bombs penetrated her forward magazine.

The USS Shaw explodes during the Japanese air raid

Of the 402 American aircraft in Hawaii, 188 were destroyed and 159 damaged, 155 of them on the ground. Almost none were actually ready to take off to defend the base. Of 33 PBYs in Hawaii, 24 were destroyed, and six others damaged beyond repair. (The three on patrol returned undamaged.) Friendly fire brought down several U.S. planes on top of that, including some from an inbound flight from USS Enterprise. Japanese attacks on barracks killed additional personnel.

Hangar in Ford Island burns

Fifty-five Japanese airmen and nine submariners were killed in the action. Of Japan's 414 available planes, 29 were lost during the battle (nine in the first attack wave, 20 in the second), with another 74 damaged by antiaircraft fire from the ground.

USS Arizona sinking during the attack

Overall, nine ships of the U.S. fleet were sunk and twenty-one ships were severely damaged. Three of the twenty-one would be irreparable. The overall death toll reached 2,350, including 68 civilians, and 1,178 injured. Of the military personnel lost at Pearl Harbor, 1,177 were from the Arizona.

USS Pennsylvania, behind the wreckage of the USS Downes and USS Cassin.

USS Arizona Memorial

Bunker

noreply@blogger.com (Flanker D) — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 05:10:00 +0000

A bunker is a defensive military fortification. Bunkers are mostly below ground, compared to blockhouses which are mostly above ground. They were used extensively in World War I and World War II on a tactical level, while during the Cold War, massive bunker complexes were built to house both strategic (command & control) infrastructure as well as government personnel and stores for the event of a nuclear war.

Types

1. Trench
This type of bunker is a small concrete structure, partly dug into the ground, which is usually a part of a trench system. Such bunkers give the defending soldiers better protection than the open trench and also include top protection against aerial attack (grenades, mortar shells). They also provide shelter against the weather. The front bunker of a trench system usually includes machine guns or mortars and forms a dominant shooting post. The rear bunkers are usually used as command posts or Tactical Operations Center (TOC), for storage and as field hospitals to attend to wounded soldiers.

A trench near La Boisselle during the Battle of the Somme

2. Pillbox
Dug-in guard posts (with loopholes through which to fire guns) and made from concrete are also known as 'pillboxes'. The originally jocular name arose from their perceived similarity to the cylindrical boxes in which medical pills were once sold. They are in effect a trench firing step hardened to protect against small-arms fire and grenades and raised a little to improve the field of fire.

A WW2 pillbox on the East coast of England (the railings are a modern feature)

3. Artillery
Many artillery installations, especially for naval artillery have historically been protected by extensive bunker systems. These usually housed the crews serving the weapons, protected the ammunition against counter-battery fire, and in numerous examples also protected the guns themselves, though this was usually a trade-off reducing their fields of fire. Since artillery bunkers were often constructed for very large guns in a pre-defined location and as part of a larger system of defenses (such as for a port town or a seacoast), they are amongst the largest individual pre-Cold War bunker types found. The walls of installations like the 'Batterie Todt' in northern France were up to 3.5 m thick, with the gun inside capable of reaching over the English Channel to the opposite coast.

German bunkers at Longues-sur-Mer in France

4. Industrial
Typical industrial bunkers include mining sites, food storage areas, dumps for materials, data storage, and sometimes living quarters. They were built mainly by nations like Germany during World War II to protect important industries from aerial bombardment.

Inside the Chowder Bay Bunker

Bomber in History Of World War 2

noreply@blogger.com (Flanker D) — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 16:34:00 +0000

In the past, bombers were a separate type of aircraft, and often looked dramatically different from other aircraft. This was due largely to the lack of power in aircraft engines, meaning that to carry any reasonable payload, the aircraft had to have multiple engines. The result was a much larger aircraft, one with a reasonable useful load fraction for the role. With engine power as a major limitation combined with the desire for accuracy and other operational factors, bomber designs tended to be tailored to one particular role.

Dive Bomber
A dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy and limit the exposure to and effectiveness of anti-aircraft fire. This type of aircraft was most heavily used before and during World War II; its use fell into decline shortly afterwards.

Junkers Ju 87 Stuka

SBD Dauntless

Light Bomber
Light bomber is a relatively small and fast class of military bomber aircraft which was employed mainly before the 1950s. Such aircraft would probably not carry more than one ton of ordnance.

Light bombers of World War II were single-engine or, less commonly, twin-engine aircraft with a bomb load of about 500-1,000 kg. Designs that could be described as light bombers included the Fairey Battle. Some of them were dive bombers. Light bombers were also the only type of bombers operating from aircraft carriers. Some twin-engine light bomber designs were also successful when converted into heavy fighters or nightfighters. eg Bristol Blenheim. The light bomber was tasked with missions similar to that of modern attack aircraft and fighter-bombers.

PZL.23A Karaś

Mitsubishi Ki-30 "Ann"

Medium Bomber
A medium bomber is a bomber aircraft designed to operate with medium bombloads over medium distances; primarily to distinguish them from the much larger heavy bombers and smaller light bombers. The term was used primarily prior to and during World War II, when engine power was so scarce that designs had to be carefully tailored to their missions. The medium bomber was generally considered to be any design that delivered about 4,000 lb (1.8 t) over ranges of about 1,500 to 2,000 miles (2,400 to 3,200 km).

Heinkel He 111

Junkers Ju 88

B-25C Mitchell

B-26 Marauder

Handley Page HP.52 Hampden

PZL.37 Łoś

Vickers Wellington Mk.II

Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 Sparviero

Mitsubishi G4M "Betty"

Heavy Bomber

A heavy bomber is a bomber aircraft of the largest size, and typically longest ranges. The term was used primarily prior to and during World War II, when engine power was so scarce that designs had to be carefully tailored to their missions. The heavy bomber was generally considered to be any design that delivered 8,000 lb (4 t) of bombs or more on distant targets, with medium bombers having loads of 4,000 to 8,000 lb (2 to 4 t), and light bombers 2,000 to 4,000 lb (1 to 2 t). These distinctions were already disappearing by the middle of WWII, when the average fighter aircraft could now carry a 2,000 lb (1 t) load and the "light" designs had now largely taken over the missions formerly filled by "mediums". Heavy bombers furthermore usually had a very heavy defensive armament, with upwards of 10 machine guns and / or cannons in various positions to deliver the best curtain of fire. Positions for these guns included tail turrets, side gun ports (often a simple window with a .50 caliber machine gun sticking out of it), dorsal (top-of-aircraft) turrets, and ventral (under-aircraft) gun positions which on American bombers were often ball turrets. All of these machine guns enabled heavy bombers to defend themselves reasonably well after they had passed the maximum range of their fighter escorts. The manned lower-ball gun turret on the B-17 and B-24 bombers were a marked improvement over the previous remote belly turret; the ball gun turret rotated a full 360 degrees with an effective 90-degree elevation and a range of one thousand yards.

B-17 Flying Fortress

B-29 Superfortress

Torpedo Bomber
A torpedo bomber is a bomber aircraft designed primarily to attack ships with torpedoes, but they could also carry out conventional bombings WWII, when they were an important player in many famous battles, notably the British attack at Taranto and the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The introduction of improved weapons that could be carried by conventional bombers, notably anti-shipping missiles, led to the type's disappearance almost immediately after the war.

Nakajima B5N2 "Kate"

Heinkel He 59

Bristol Type 152 Beaufort

Grumman TBF Avenger

Nuclear Submarine

noreply@blogger.com (Flanker D) — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 15:57:00 +0000

A nuclear submarine is a ship powered by atomic energy that travels primarily under-water, but also on the surface of the ocean. Previously, conventional submarines used diesel engines that required air for moving on the surface of the water, and battery-powered electric motors for moving beneath it. The limited lifetime of electric batteries meant that even the most advanced conventional submarine could only remained submerged for a few days at slow speed, and only a few hours at top speed. On the other hand, nuclear submarines consume a relatively small amount of energy and make very little noise. Because they carry their energy source with them, current generations of nuclear submarines will never need to be refuelled throughout their 25-year lifespans, meaning they can sail around the world 40 times without surfacing. This ability, combined with advanced weapons technology, makes nuclear submarines one of the most useful warships ever built.

USS Nautilus, the first nuclear submarine

Both US and USSR were pursuing the technologies to build a nuclear submarine to overcome the limitations of conventional submarines. Nuclear-powered submarines are one of the most potent symbols of the bygone U.S.-Soviet arms race. The US headed the way and launched the USS Nautilus, the first nuclear submarine. USS Nautilus could circle the world underwater for up to four months without refuelling. Construction of Nautilus was made possible by the successful development of a nuclear propulsion plant by a group of scientists and engineers at the Naval Reactors Branch of the Atomic Energy Commission. In July of 1951, the US Congress authorized construction of the world's first nuclear powered submarine. The submarine was 320 feet long, and cost about $55 million.

Hotel II class submarine.

The Soviet Union soon followed the United States in developing nuclear-powered submarines in the 1950s. Stimulated by the US development of the Nautilus nuclear submarine, Soviet work on nuclear propulsion reactors began in the early 1950s at the Institute of Physics and Power Engineering, in Obninsk, under Anatoliy P. Alexandrov, later to become head of the Kurchatov Institute. In 1956, the first Soviet propulsion reactor designed by his team began operational testing. Meanwhile, a design team under Vladimir N. Peregudov worked on the vessel that would house the reactor. After overcoming many obstacles, including steam generation problems, radiation leaks, and other difficulties, the Hotel class, first nuclear submarine based on these combined efforts entered service in the Soviet Navy in 1958.

A Delta-IV class Submarine

At the height of the Cold War, approximately five to ten nuclear submarines were being commissioned from each of the four Soviet submarine yards (Sevmash in Severodvinsk, Admiralteyskiye Verfi in St. Petersburg, Krasnoye Sormovo in Nizhniy Novgorod, and Amurskiy Zavod in Komsomolsk-na-Amure). From the late 1950s through the end of 1994, the Soviet Union, and later Russia, built a total of 245 nuclear submarines, more than all other nations combined.

USS George Washington

Today, six countries deploy some form of nuclear-powered strategic submarines: the United States, Russia, France, the United Kingdom,India[9], and China[10]. Several other countries, including Argentina and Brazil, have ongoing projects in different phases to build nuclear-powered submarines.

Redoutable class submarine

Resolution class submarine

Yankee II class submarine

Ohio class submarines

Type 094 class submarine

Vanguard class submarine

Le Triomphant class submarine

Typhoon class submarine (largest class of submarine)

The Battle of Stalingrad

noreply@blogger.com (Flanker D) — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 13:25:00 +0000

Stalingrad was known as Tsaritsyn until 1925 and as Volgograd since 1961. The results of these operations are often cited as one of the turning points of the war in the European Theater and was one of the the bloodiest battles in human history, with combined casualties estimated to be above 1.5 million. The battle was marked by brutality and disregard for military and civilian casualties by both sides. The battle of Stalingrad was fought between the invading forces of Nazi Germany and the forces of Soviet Union who were defending the city. The battle was fought from August 1942 to February of 1943.

Stalingrad city harbour in Summer 1942

In May of 1942, Hitler began operation BLUE whose objective was to capture southern oil fields. Later in May Stalin began to allow his troops to retreat which overrided his famous earlier order, “Not one step back!” Also by this point the Russian soldiers heard of the horrible POW camps and now preferred to die in battle than be captured. Both of these factors reduced the number of Russian soldiers that were captured during the war. In July the German 6th Army, led by Paulus, advanced toward Stalingrad. At the same time Russian General Chuikov also moved toward Stalingrad to help General Zhukov who was in charge of the defenses of Stalingrad. Despite the German army’s huge losses Hitler was determined to take Stalingrad. Stalin did not want to let it fall especially because it was named after himself. Hitler wanted the city not only because it dominated the Caucasus and its oil fields, but also for its symbolic and propaganda value. He also believed that if he took Stalingrad it would eventually lead to the destruction of the Soviet Union.

German soldier behind a disable Soviet tank

The battle of Stalingrad began on August 23, 1942 at 6:00 P.M. when one thousand German planes dropped incendiary bombs on the city. Air raids such as these were very destructive especially since many buildings were made out of wood. One raid of 600 planes killed an estimated 40,000 civilians. That same day the German army arrived in the suburbs of Stalingrad. The first attacks by the German panzers were taken by a single division of troops and some workers from a nearby factory. When the German soldiers entered the city they found the ruins from their bombings. They were surprised to find any life left in the city. Many small battles erupted soon afterwards. The German army encountered fierce resistance from not only the determined soldiers of the Red Army, but also from the patriotic civilians as well. Hitler had already claimed victory just as Napoleon had in 1812, but this battle was far from over.

A burning city from left bank of Volga

Fighting was harsh and neither side made many gains. Even with the great efforts of the Soviet forces they were losing ground. The fighting was still severe even though the Russians were out numbered. A hill known as Mamaev’s Mound changed sides at least eight times during the battle. Battles were even fought in the sewers. Many of the tense battles were fought near the Central Train Station were Soviet guardsmen barricaded the train cars against German attackers. The German Luftwaffe was making thousands of attacks a day and their artillery bombarded the city so to neutralize this, General Chuikov ordered his forces to remain very close to the German troops so that German airstrikes would endanger their own forces. The city was surrounded by German forces. For Russian reinforcements to arrive they would have to cross the Volga river while under German fire. Witnesses said that on some days the river would turn red with the blood of the dead soldiers. Fighting was continual and never stopped. Sometimes it might slow down, but minutes later it would start again with new energy.

Street fighting in Stalingrad.

The overpowered Soviets had been driven back and Germany occupied 80% of the city. Because often the two sides would be very close to each other, hand to hand fighting was very common. Many battles were fought with knives and bayonets. Bodies piled up in the streets and the city became a hellhole as one German lieutenant said, “Stalingrad is no longer a town. By day it is an enormous cloud of burning, blinding smoke; it is a vast furnace lit by the reflection of the flames...Animals flee this hell; the hardest stones cannot bear it for long; only men endure.”. The battles were dominated by infantry because tanks had a difficult time maneuvering through the ruins. The deployment of tanks in the city was a serious error as they were virtually useless and they would not be available as a reserve force in case of a Soviet counterattack.

Soviet soldiers heading to the front lines.

After a few months of fighting, several events put pressure on Germany in Africa. On November 5th 1942 the German General Rommel had been defeated at El Alamein in Egypt, and on the 8th the Allies had landed in Morocco and Algeria which threatened the Axis on a new front. These two events coincided with General Zhukov’s plan to unleash a reserve force. Secretly being built up was a force of a million men, 14,000 heavy guns, 1,000 tanks, and 1,350 aircraft. The flanks of the German force were guarded by inferior allied divisions. These forces were weaker and they didn’t have anti-tank defenses or armored units. The Russians planned to exploit this weakness in an offensive known as Operation Uranus. The Soviets did an excellent job of concealing their plans and the Axis forces were caught totally off guard. Only Romanian units suspected anything but the German command ignored them.

Soviet anti tank team.

On November 19th 1942 a massive Russian attack surprised and overran the Romanian Third army which exposed the left flank of the German Sixth Army. A day later another attack destroyed a mixed force composed of Germans and Romanians, that protected the right flank of the German Sixth Army. Four days later Russian assault groups joined up and now General Paulus and his army, the same one that had taken Paris in 1940, was cut off from supply lines. 280,000 German troops had been surrounded by the Russians in only a few days. The German Army High Command begged Hitler to allow Paulus to retreat while he still could. The Luftwaffe Chief Herman Goering claimed that he could fly in 500 tons of supplies a day to the surrounded Sixth Army, which would be enough to keep it going. Hitler agreed to this and on November 22nd 1942 he ordered Paulus to fortify his position and wait for reinforcements to arrive. General Manstein arrived with reinforcements and told Paulus to join up with him. Paulus refused because he didn’t have a direct order from Hitler to do so. Manstein’s force was driven off and now Paulus and his army were alone, surrounded, and at the mercy of the Russians and the cold winter.

Bloodly attack.

Since Hitler had believed that this offensive would not take too long, and since it was started in the summer the soldiers were not provided with winter clothes. They were running low on supplies thanks to the lack of supplies being delivered by the Luftwaffe. The Luftwaffe could only fly in about 100 tons a day while they needed over 500. Only one day did the airlift provide enough supplies. The planes brought wounded soldiers home and they also brought mail from the soldiers bidding farewell to the people they knew in Germany because they knew they would die. When General Paulus saw the miserable conditions his soldiers were in, he sent someone to plead with Hitler. In response Hitler told him to hold out and that reinforcements would arrive. Conditions were miserable. Temperatures dropped to negative 30 degrees Celsius. Because of the lack of supplies the daily ration for soldiers was dropped from an already low 100 grams of bread a day, to 50 grams a day. German soldiers had to slaughter their horses for food and then later they had to dig up the horses bones to eat.

German tank on fire

On January 8th 1943 the Russians demanded that the Germans surrender, but they refused and two days later the Russians attacked. Paulus radioed to Hitler that it was hopeless, but Hitler insisted that Paulus would not surrender. By the 25th of January 1943, the Russians took the last German airfield thus totally cutting off the flow of supplies. By this point the German army was almost out of food and ammunition. Thousands of soldiers were wounded but couldn’t be helped because there were no medical supplies.

Attack on a factory in Stalingrad.

On January 31st, 1943 Hitler promoted Paulus to field marshal and reminded Paulus that never in Germany’ s history had a field marshal surrendered. Hitler urged Paulus to commit suicide to
avoid the dishonor of having to surrender from happening, but instead Paulus finally surrendered on February 2nd, 1943. The Russians took over 110,000 prisoners including 24 generals. In the whole battle of Stalingrad over 400,000 German soldiers died. The defeat at Stalingrad went further than casualties and captured soldiers, but it also ended the German campaign in Russia. It also showed that the Germans could be beaten at their own game.

Soviet soldiers lead German POWs past the famous Stalingrad Grain Silo in February 1943

The aftermath of the Battle of Stalingrad

The 85-meter-tall statue of Mother Motherland crowns the Mamayev Kurgan

The Birth of Tank

noreply@blogger.com (Flanker D) — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 13:57:00 +0000

A tank is a heavily armored combat vehicle designed to carry a heavy calibre cannon and machine guns on the battlefield which moves on continuous tracks to provide cross-country mobility.

Tanks were first manufactured during World War I in an effort to break the deadlock of trench warfare. The tank was developed by the British in World War I as a solution to the stalemate trench warfare had brought to the western front. The first prototype of the Mark I tank was tested for the British Army on September 8, 1915.

The Mark I

The British Mark I was the world's first combat tank, entering service in the middle of World War I. The Mark I was a rhomboid vehicle with a low centre of gravity and long track length, able to grip muddy ground and cross trenches. Sponsons (also called "barbettes") on the hull sides carried two naval 6-pounder guns. There were two Hotchkiss machine guns in the sponsons and two removable guns for the front and back.

Mark IV

Mark V

The FT 17 was the first tank with an armament in a fully rotating turret, and its configuration with the turret on top, engine in the back and the driver in front became the conventional one, repeated in most tanks until today. The Renault FT 17 or Automitrailleuse à chenilles Renault FT modèle 1917 was a French light tank; it is among the most revolutionary and influential tank designs in history.

The FT 17

The A7V was a tank introduced by Germany in 1918, near the end of World War I. The A7V was over seven metres long and three metres wide. The height varied up to three metres. The crew normally consisted of up to sixteen soldiers and two officers: commander, driver, mechanic, mechanic/signaller, twelve infantrymen (six machine gunners, six loaders), and two artillerymen (main gunner and loader). The A7V was armed with six 7.9 mm MG08/15 machine guns and a 5.7 cm gun mounted at the front. The 'female' variant had two more machine guns in place of the main gun. Power came from two Daimler 4-cylinder engines delivering 100 hp (74 kW) each. The top speed was about 15 km/h on roads and 5 km/h across country. The A7V carried 500 liters of fuel (132 imperial gallons).

The A7V

A New Beginning in April 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Flanker D) — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 17:10:00 +0000

Welcome to this blog and enjoy.