User Panel
Mt. Vesuvius (of Pompei infamy) erupted in March 1944, destroying half a dozen villages and about 80 USAF B-25 bombers based in the shadow of the volcano
Attached File Attached File Attached File Attached File Attached File |
|
|
I'm not sure I remember ever seeing pics of B25's with hard points on the wings, too. What a shit ton of firepower it could carry.
|
|
RIP Ed Avila
|
|
Fletcher class destroyer USS Abner Read, entire stern and aft most 5" turret blown off by Japanese mine while patrolling Kiska Island in the Aleutians shortly after Japanese troops withdrew. 70 men killed.
Attached File Attached File Abner Read was towed to Washington where a prefabricated stern was grafted on. Off Samar, during the battle of Leyte Gulf Abner Read and destroyer USS Claxton were defending a landing when they came under one of the first organized and sustained kamikaze attacks of the war, by Val dive bombers. Claxton was near missed by a kamikaze Val whose bomb killed 5 of her crew and punched a 15' x 5' hole below the waterline, causing the flooding of all aft spaces due to improper damage control procedures. Claxton's damage control officer describes it vividly here. Hours later Abner Read was assisting Claxton when she blew a wing off of another kamikaze Val, too late to prevent the bomb from dropping down her aft stack into the engine room while the remains of the plane crashed into and set fire to half of her deck. "The gasoline fire enveloped the forward torpedo tube mount and its operator. The torpedoman, realizing the danger that the torpedo warheads might explode, trained the mount outboard, away from Claxton, and fired all five torpedoes by hand with a mallet, firing them over the side. He did this while totally engulfed in flames." 10 minutes later internal explosions caused her to sink, taking with her 22 men. Claxton and another destroyer rescued the rest of Abner Read's crew. Claxton is the ship at left, Abner Read burns at right. The white column of smoke between them is another kamikaze that had just been shot down by Claxton. Attached File Attached File |
|
|
Originally Posted By Mal_means_bad: Fletcher class destroyer USS Abner Read, entire stern and aft most 5" turret blown off by Japanese mine while patrolling Kiska Island in the Aleutians shortly after Japanese troops withdrew. 70 men killed. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/172926/abner_read_damage_jpg-1875911.JPG https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/172926/abner_read_sketch_jpg-1875913.JPG Abner Read was towed to Washington where a prefabricated stern was grafted on. Off Samar, during the battle of Leyte Gulf Abner Read and destroyer USS Claxton were defending a landing when they came under one of the first organized and sustained kamikaze attacks of the war, by Val dive bombers. Claxton was near missed by a kamikaze Val whose bomb killed 5 of her crew and punched a 15' x 5' hole below the waterline, causing the flooding of all aft spaces due to improper damage control procedures. Claxton's damage control officer describes it vividly here. Hours later Abner Read was assisting Claxton when she blew a wing off of another kamikaze Val, too late to prevent the bomb from dropping down her aft stack into the engine room while the remains of the plane crashed into and set fire to half of her deck. "The gasoline fire enveloped the forward torpedo tube mount and its operator. The torpedoman, realizing the danger that the torpedo warheads might explode, trained the mount outboard, away from Claxton, and fired all five torpedoes by hand with a mallet, firing them over the side. He did this while totally engulfed in flames." 10 minutes later internal explosions caused her to sink, taking with her 22 men. Claxton and another destroyer rescued the rest of Abner Read's crew. Claxton is the ship at left, Abner Read burns at right. The white column of smoke between them is another kamikaze that had just been shot down by Claxton. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/172926/abner_read_kamikaze_jpg-1875919.JPG https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/172926/abner_read_kamikaze_sketch_jpg-1875969.JPG View Quote Incredible...both the story and how the Wartime American Industry put the Abner Read back in service. |
|
Hansan: "This is a .30 caliber, gas operated, clip fed, semi-automatic rifle....."
Soldier: "Look, you ain't sellin it to me, you're only showing me how it works." |
|
Found another collection; here is the link (Pintrest won’t allow me to link actual photos)
https://www.pinterest.com/edwindavis99999/world-war-2-axis-troops/ |
|
|
Mud, it's not just in Europe: "U.S. Marines haul ammunition to the front lines at Bougainville"
Attached File |
|
|
|
Originally Posted By Mal_means_bad: https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/172926/018e61fc6f108ba0916b550a1219cbfd_jpg-1887114.JPG View Quote \ 3 and 5 meter Olympic Parachute diving? |
|
Do kids still play Cops and Robbers, or are they just taught both are equally bad and given a participation ribbon after a rousing game of scoreless Everyone's a Winner Ball? - BehindBlueI's
|
Lame propaganda - German soldier driving captured French UE armored utility track pulls plow for a French farmer; gee, thanks?
Attached File |
|
|
|
"Have a smile for breakfast, you'll be shitting joy by lunch.” - Joe Abercrombie
|
Sherman destroyed by landmine, Okinawa
Attached File Marines attempt to rescue the crew: 1945 Death in a Tank at Okinawa |
|
|
The Germans are pouring an artificial sandbar in a Norwegian fjord around the cornered battleship Tirpitz to stop torpedoes and hopefully allow it to settle upright if damaged by the RAF:
Attached File But the RAF was done with subtle and would send multiple large raids carrying 6 ton "Tallboy" bombs: Attached File The first couple Tallboy raids inflicted some damage from near misses (Tirpitz' bow visible at right): Attached File In the final raid at least two direct hits and a near miss blasted away the sandbar and gutted her, causing internal explosions and making her capsize: Attached File Attached File About 1,000 sailors killed, including a group swimming to shore who were crushed by one of the main battery turrets blown off by a magazine explosion. 87 survivors were cut out of the wreck through the upturned hull. |
|
|
Potentate plenipotentiary sans portfolio
USA
|
The high alloy steel recovered from Tirpitz is valuable due them being one of the few sources of Low-background steel, ie steel produced prior to the detonation of the first atomic bombs in the 1940s and 1950s and ideally having being under water before the Trinity. See Low-background steel Present day divers still try to recover material from the Tirpitz for commercial purposes. it lies around 14-18m under water. View Quote Boker has also made knives from Tirpitz steel. |
" If govt parsimony is economic madness, and debt-fuelled govt spending a recipe for riches, why aren't the Greeks bailing out the Germans?"
|
M1 155 howitzer blown up by a bad fuse killing the five man crew and injuring others. marshal islands 2-4-1944
Attached File |
|
Politicians Prefer Unarmed Peasants
Caddyshack Some men are morally opposed to violence. They are protected by those who are not. |
B-25 attack on Japanese destroyer Akishimo as she escorts a convoy of reinforcements to Ormoc Bay, Philippines
Attached File Direct hit Attached File Struggled back to Manila, where she was sunk by a bombing raid 2 days later Attached File Attack on Manila Bay in progress Attached File |
|
|
Now THAT'S cool right there.
|
|
|
|
|
Originally Posted By 4xGM300m: https://i.imgur.com/Icors4r.jpg Sd.Kfz. 8 tows war booty: a Soviet 130 mm destroyer turret, likely from one of the many ashore batteries in Crimea View Quote IJN cruiser Nachi was deployed to the Philippines in October 1944 for the Battle of Leyte Gulf with a crew of about 800, where she was damaged October 25 by collision with cruiser Mogami during the Battle of Surigao Strait. She put in at Manila Bay for repairs where she was bombed and strafed October 29 by carrier aircraft, with the loss of 53 crew: Attached File Attached File November 5th she was attacked by another carrier raid: Attached File "Nachi's flag commander, Vice Admiral Kiyohide Shima, was ashore for a conference at the time of the attack, but arrived at dockside in time to see his flagship blown apart." Attached File The original wartime caption of a picture taken of the sinking Nachi by Lexington aircraft reads: "Note by target coordinator: We circled down to 20 feet to make sure there were absolutely no survivors. Fifteen or twenty oily figures were served with .50-caliber just to make sure." |
|
|
That's got a bum a guy out when he stands on the dock and watches his ride sink
|
|
Hansan: "This is a .30 caliber, gas operated, clip fed, semi-automatic rifle....."
Soldier: "Look, you ain't sellin it to me, you're only showing me how it works." |
http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com
Vote "YES" on 'NO'! For Captain Erick Foster, Wexford, PA KIA 29 Aug, 07. Rangers lead the way. Inspected by #26 I was checking out this midget porn website.... |
Originally Posted By piccolo: Or elate him because he was not on it. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Originally Posted By piccolo: Originally Posted By Dog1: That's got a bum a guy out when he stands on the dock and watches his ride sink Or elate him because he was not on it. |
|
FreeKyle!
https://www.ar15.com/forums/General/The-offical-Kyle-Rittenhouse-thread-fund-raiser-link-in-OP-/5-2362752/ |
Originally Posted By piccolo: Or elate him because he was not on it. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Originally Posted By piccolo: Originally Posted By Dog1: That's got a bum a guy out when he stands on the dock and watches his ride sink Or elate him because he was not on it. |
|
Hansan: "This is a .30 caliber, gas operated, clip fed, semi-automatic rifle....."
Soldier: "Look, you ain't sellin it to me, you're only showing me how it works." |
The original wartime caption of a picture taken of the sinking Nachi by Lexington aircraft reads: "Note by target coordinator: We circled down to 20 feet to make sure there were absolutely no survivors. Fifteen or twenty oily figures were served with .50-caliber just to make sure."
I recall watching a film of a WWII 'Dog Fight'. One German pilot circled American Bomber crews who had bailed and shot them, until he ran out of ammo. An enraged American Fighter Pilot witnessed this. He came up behind the German plane and carefully aimed and shot off a wing. Pilot waited until the the German bailed out and circled around him, taking short bursts to torment him. Then, as the chute got closer to the ground he nailed him. I think it may have been on the History channel. Pilot gave him some time to think about his murderous actions...... |
|
"If It Has Tits, Wheels, or a CPU, it's gonna cause you Problems".
NRA LIFE MEMBER FOR OVER 35 YEARS. "Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value --- zero." |
Feb 1942, USS Trout slipped out of besieged Corregidor with 2 tons of gold and 18 tons of silver pesos from the overrun Filipino Treasury as ballast, subsequently delivered to Pearl Harbor
Attached File Attached File Attached File ASR-6 Pigeon, run aground on the Chinese coast by a typhoon in 1939: Attached File 390 tons of silver pesos could not be evacuated, and were secretly dumped in 120' of water off Corregidor when it became apparent that the island must be surrendered. Article ASR-6 Pigeon was a submarine rescue ship equipped with divers and underwater repair and recovery equipment trapped in Manila Bay by Japanese naval blockade which fought an energetic guerrilla war until sunk by a bomber on 4 May 1942. The Japanese Army learned of the silver hoard and, when the Japanese Navy declined to assist them, began a salvage operation with a faulty deep diving suit that killed three local shallow water divers. Pigeon diver POW's who were given a castoff shallow water diving helmet and hand pump scrounged from somewhere. Surviving diver with duplicate helmet: Attached File The Japanese Army officer in charge doesn't appear to have been in a hurry to finish the job and the Pigeon divers spent most of their time underwater busting up the pile of easily recovered crates and sacks to scatter the coins and slowly brought up handfuls instead, managing to steal a fair bit in the process. The Japanese eventually abandoned the operation after recovering only a fraction of the silver. |
|
|
March 1945, divers from net laying ship AN-35 USS Teak salvage 6 million silver pesos. Privately contracted divers recovered another 2.8 million pesos for the Philippine government in 1947, so that along with what the Japanese recorded as recovered about 3.5 million remain unaccounted for:
Attached File Attached File Attached File Attached File Attached File "Trenchwork" handmade silver ring. Gee, I wonder where he got the material. Attached File |
|
|
|
|
Politicians Prefer Unarmed Peasants
Caddyshack Some men are morally opposed to violence. They are protected by those who are not. |
Originally Posted By Gopher: I don't know if this is from a YB-40 or a field expedient mod on a B-17G model. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/1670/six_gun_B-17g_jpg-1914064.JPG View Quote Photo says B-17G |
|
Soft words soften hearts that are harder than rock, harsh words harden hearts that are softer than silk.
Al-Ghazali |
Originally Posted By Gopher: I don't know if this is from a YB-40 or a field expedient mod on a B-17G model. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/1670/six_gun_B-17g_jpg-1914064.JPG View Quote Found the answer. https://photos.384thbombgroup.com/index.php?/category/G42-31435 |
|
Politicians Prefer Unarmed Peasants
Caddyshack Some men are morally opposed to violence. They are protected by those who are not. |
Boarding operations sweep Japanese snipers out of wrecked ships in Manila Harbor
Attached File Attached File Attached File Attached File Attached File |
|
|
P-39 Aircobra gun adapted to shipboard gun! Flamethrowers and Grenada’s! Nicely done!
|
|
|
|
Super yacht HI-ESMARO, built in 1929 for an asbestos magnate, with gilded bow:
Attached File Purchased into the US Navy in 1940 as USS Niagara, as were many other yachts. Painted gray, lightly armed, and refit in short order as minelayer, patrol gunboat, and finally the first US PT boat tender. Was escorting a convoy from Pearl Harbor to Fiji on Dec 7th while equipped as a patrol gunboat: Attached File Niagara was stationed off Tulagi to refuel and rearm PT boats for the Guadalcanal campaign. After victory on Guadalcanal, Niagara and her PT boats moved west supporting the Solomons campaign. Japanese bombers holed her below the waterline and set her afire off the San Cristobal Islands in May 1943 and she was scuttled there by a PT boat torpedo. PT boats take off her crew, which suffered no fatalities or serious injuries: Attached File Hey I found another Airacobra cannon, "At first, they were cannibalized from crashed P-39s at Henderson Field, and due to their success as an anti-barge weapon were used for the rest of the war", "Bow of LTJG Theodore Berlin's PT-167, holed clean through by an enemy torpedo which did not explode": Attached File |
|
|
From my mother's father's collection.
"USS Iowa in the ABSD 4" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_ABSD-4 ABSD 4 was a floating dry dock 972 feet long with a "crew" of 690 men. |
|
|
|
Originally Posted By AR45fan: From my mother's father's collection. "USS Iowa in the ABSD 4" https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51140240147_4988117872_c.jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_ABSD-4 ABSD 4 was a floating dry dock 972 feet long with a "crew" of 690 men. View Quote Those are really neat. USS Pennsylvania in ABSD-3 USS South Dakota in ABSD-6 ABSD-3 at Guam USS Iowa in ABSD- 2 |
|
Hansan: "This is a .30 caliber, gas operated, clip fed, semi-automatic rifle....."
Soldier: "Look, you ain't sellin it to me, you're only showing me how it works." |
Originally Posted By Dog1: Those are really neat. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/9749/ABSD3GuamMarianasIslandsUSSPennsylvaniaB-1921966.jpg USS Pennsylvania in ABSD-3 https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/9749/1280px-ABSD6withUSSSouthDakotaBB57-1921967.jpg USS South Dakota in ABSD-6 https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/9749/220px-ABSD-3atGuam-1921968.jpg ABSD-3 at Guam https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/9749/1280px-USS_Iowa__BB-61__in_floating_dry_-1921970.jpg USS Iowa in ABSD- 2 View Quote The WWII floating drydocks were used for decades after the war. Up until the early 90s, the USS Oakridge was used in King's Bay for the older boomers and an occasional fast attack boat. You can kinda see her cranes and starboard side behind AS-34 (USS Canopus) on the far side of the pier. I never realized how big fast attack boats were until I saw one in the Oakridge. Attached File |
|
|
Originally Posted By birdbarian: The WWII floating drydocks were used for decades after the war. Up until the early 90s, the USS Oakridge was used in King's Bay for the older boomers and an occasional fast attack boat. You can kinda see her cranes and starboard side behind AS-34 (USS Canopus) on the far side of the pier. I never realized how big fast attack boats were until I saw one in the Oakridge. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/60078/19e6757ddecc9dfb2487502043a7beca_jpg-1922013.JPG View Quote Mrs Rabinowitz's father was the Capt of the Canopus in the early 1970s when she was stationed at Holy Loch, Scotland. Mrs R attended high school in Dunoon until her senior year, 1974-75, when they were transferred Stateside. Her last year of HS was at Annandale HS in Annandale, VA. Go Atoms! |
|
"Nothing in life is so exhilarating as to be shot at without result." - Winston Churchill
|
The day my father made E7 as a shipfitter on ORION in 1965, he came down on orders to Holy Loch for duty aboard LOS ALAMOS. Used to tell us kids the the scariest time of his life was his first time lowering her to onboard one of the 40 for Freedom boats. Said he learned quite a bit, but was sure glad when his unaccompanied year was up and he got back for his final year aboard ORION before retiring.
|
|
NRA Life
|
Originally Posted By bundeswehrvet: The day my father made E7 as a shipfitter on ORION in 1965, he came down on orders to Holy Loch for duty aboard LOS ALAMOS. Used to tell us kids the the scariest time of his life was his first time lowering her to onboard one of the 40 for Freedom boats. Said he learned quite a bit, but was sure glad when his unaccompanied year was up and he got back for his final year aboard ORION before retiring. View Quote If you're talking about loading/unloading the missiles, I just tried not to think about it. I figured we'd all be dust in the wind if something bad happened. There was a collision between the two weapons handling cranes when they were moving a ballast that weighed the same as a missile. Ballast dropped onto the missile deck. My shop was ~20-40 feet forward of the missile deck. When it hit, everyone in the shop froze for a couple seconds then nervous laughter. We'd have boy scouts and maybe cub scouts sleep in sub berthing on the ship. They ate with us in the chow hall. That didn't stop the movement of torpedoes thru the chow hall during meals. Funny seeing the faces on the kids and their parents when they saw a Mk48 go by. |
|
|
Originally Posted By birdbarian: If you're talking about loading/unloading the missiles, I just tried not to think about it. I figured we'd all be dust in the wind if something bad happened. There was a collision between the two weapons handling cranes when they were moving a ballast that weighed the same as a missile. Ballast dropped onto the missile deck. My shop was ~20-40 feet forward of the missile deck. When it hit, everyone in the shop froze for a couple seconds then nervous laughter. We'd have boy scouts and maybe cub scouts sleep in sub berthing on the ship. They ate with us in the chow hall. That didn't stop the movement of torpedoes thru the chow hall during meals. Funny seeing the faces on the kids and their parents when they saw a Mk48 go by. View Quote I was on the Pyro AE-24. We gave up worrying what would happen if we accidentally ignited part of the 14 MILLIONS pounds of high explosive we carried. We wouldn't know a thing, just a whole bunch of bewildered sailors in front of the Pearly Gates asking St Peter, "Hey, robed dude, do you know what happend?" |
|
|
Originally Posted By armoredman: I was on the Pyro AE-24. We gave up worrying what would happen if we accidentally ignited part of the 14 MILLIONS pounds of high explosive we carried. We wouldn't know a thing, just a whole bunch of bewildered sailors in front of the Pearly Gates asking St Peter, "Hey, robed dude, do you know what happend?" View Quote 2nd question would be, which way to the gut? ETA: I love the Navy's sense of humor when naming ammo ships after explosives and volcanoes. https://www.navysite.de/ae/ So I'm not a total freeloader WWII unreps. They are really freaking close. Attached File |
|
|
Originally Posted By birdbarian: 2nd question would be, which way to the gut? ETA: I love the Navy's sense of humor when naming ammo ships after explosives and volcanoes. https://www.navysite.de/ae/ So I'm not a total freeloader WWII unreps. They are really freaking close. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/60078/ship_iowa21_jpg-1923003.JPG https://i.imgur.com/nvMYvhI.jpg View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Originally Posted By birdbarian: Originally Posted By armoredman: I was on the Pyro AE-24. We gave up worrying what would happen if we accidentally ignited part of the 14 MILLIONS pounds of high explosive we carried. We wouldn't know a thing, just a whole bunch of bewildered sailors in front of the Pearly Gates asking St Peter, "Hey, robed dude, do you know what happend?" 2nd question would be, which way to the gut? ETA: I love the Navy's sense of humor when naming ammo ships after explosives and volcanoes. https://www.navysite.de/ae/ So I'm not a total freeloader WWII unreps. They are really freaking close. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/60078/ship_iowa21_jpg-1923003.JPG https://i.imgur.com/nvMYvhI.jpg Good muzzle control with the 5 inchers. |
|
|
Originally Posted By birdbarian: 2nd question would be, which way to the gut? ETA: I love the Navy's sense of humor when naming ammo ships after explosives and volcanoes. https://www.navysite.de/ae/ So I'm not a total freeloader WWII unreps. They are really freaking close. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/60078/ship_iowa21_jpg-1923003.JPG https://i.imgur.com/nvMYvhI.jpg View Quote My dad's first ship was the USS Vesuvius. He had a picture of her under way flying a flag that said "You tow we go ready ammo". |
|
"Little shaken babies and drunkards seem to all agree, once the show gets started its bound to be a sight to see"
|
|
Originally Posted By birdbarian: The WWII floating drydocks were used for decades after the war. Up until the early 90s, the USS Oakridge was used in King's Bay for the older boomers and an occasional fast attack boat. You can kinda see her cranes and starboard side behind AS-34 (USS Canopus) on the far side of the pier. I never realized how big fast attack boats were until I saw one in the Oakridge. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/60078/19e6757ddecc9dfb2487502043a7beca_jpg-1922013.JPG View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Originally Posted By birdbarian: Originally Posted By Dog1: Those are really neat. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/9749/ABSD3GuamMarianasIslandsUSSPennsylvaniaB-1921966.jpg USS Pennsylvania in ABSD-3 https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/9749/1280px-ABSD6withUSSSouthDakotaBB57-1921967.jpg USS South Dakota in ABSD-6 https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/9749/220px-ABSD-3atGuam-1921968.jpg ABSD-3 at Guam https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/9749/1280px-USS_Iowa__BB-61__in_floating_dry_-1921970.jpg USS Iowa in ABSD- 2 The WWII floating drydocks were used for decades after the war. Up until the early 90s, the USS Oakridge was used in King's Bay for the older boomers and an occasional fast attack boat. You can kinda see her cranes and starboard side behind AS-34 (USS Canopus) on the far side of the pier. I never realized how big fast attack boats were until I saw one in the Oakridge. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/60078/19e6757ddecc9dfb2487502043a7beca_jpg-1922013.JPG I thought I recognized that ship and area . I have actually been there as a guest . Thanks for the photo . It's been a long time . gd |
|
|
Originally Posted By Mal_means_bad: https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/172926/dhah9lqex2e61_jpg-1923564.JPG View Quote The Tone was the cruiser at Midway that had a floatplane launch go wrong and did not get it in the air until 30 minutes after the rest of the meager search plane flotilla got up. |
|
Hansan: "This is a .30 caliber, gas operated, clip fed, semi-automatic rifle....."
Soldier: "Look, you ain't sellin it to me, you're only showing me how it works." |
Sign up for the ARFCOM weekly newsletter and be entered to win a free ARFCOM membership. One new winner* is announced every week!
You will receive an email every Friday morning featuring the latest chatter from the hottest topics, breaking news surrounding legislation, as well as exclusive deals only available to ARFCOM email subscribers.
AR15.COM is the world's largest firearm community and is a gathering place for firearm enthusiasts of all types.
From hunters and military members, to competition shooters and general firearm enthusiasts, we welcome anyone who values and respects the way of the firearm.
Subscribe to our monthly Newsletter to receive firearm news, product discounts from your favorite Industry Partners, and more.
Copyright © 1996-2024 AR15.COM LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Any use of this content without express written consent is prohibited.
AR15.Com reserves the right to overwrite or replace any affiliate, commercial, or monetizable links, posted by users, with our own.