I like Star Trek Fan films along with Star Wars. I ran across this movie on "YouTube". I tend to like "Fan Films" they follow the spirit of their "Parent" films much better than the late offerings.
Film Length is 54 minutes
This film explains why the Klingons from "Original Series" look different than the Later Klingons.
I ran across this article and hung on to it. Some of this I knew about, some was new to me. It was interesting that the Armor development people were trying to do.
The Tortoise at The Tank Museum
During World War I, tank warfare was still very much in
its infancy. The priority at the time was about getting this new
technology to work more reliably and to develop tactics that would allow
them to be used to their full advantage.
Through the inter-war years, with tighter peacetime budgets and a
major economic slow down, the desire to build “big” tanks became
subdued, but not forgotten.
Mechanized warfare slowly developed throughout the 1920s and 30s with
increasingly better armor, weapons and suspension. But there was an
urge to build an unrealistic fighting machine, and the Soviet Union took
the tank concept to a whole new level with their 50 ton T-35. First production T-35A tank on parade in Red Square.It
was an attempt to build something resembling a mechanized fort,
bristling with a ridiculous amount of guns. It had 5 turrets with a 76
mm main gun, two 45 mm cannons, and six medium machine guns. Each one
carried a crew of 11 men.
Around 60 were built and when World War II broke out, they were used
against the invading Germans in 1941. However, these tanks quickly broke
down or were destroyed. Though this particular monster tank proved a
failure in combat, it did have a certain shock value and was a useful
propaganda tool. T-35 with semi-conical turrets
With the advent of World War II, there were many category of tanks that changed and evolved as the war progressed.
Two distinct categories of heavy tanks started to emerge. The first
was the alpha male of heavy tanks (50 to 80 ton range). We will define
this as any common mechanized vehicle, with a large caliber main
gun, that saw proper service in reasonable numbers during WWII. This
narrows the heavy tank category to a very exclusive club of just three
tanks: the German Tiger I and II and the Soviet KV-2. KV 2 Moscow – The
other category we will consider will be the super heavy tanks,
again just confined to three tanks in total: one each from America,
Great Britain and Germany. None of these saw active service, but went
far beyond the drawing board stage.
It should be noted that for super heavy tanks, this article excludes
tanks like the mighty non-turreted Elephant (68 ton) and JagdTiger (72
ton) tank destroyer because they were only built in small numbers.
Likewise the multi-turreted 50 ton T-35M has been excluded as only 60
were built and most were destroyed or put out of service shortly after
the Soviet Union entered the war. German troops posing on a captured T-35, unknown date
Type: Tiger I (Panzer VI)
Nationality: Germany
Introduced: 1942
Weight: 55 tons
Crew: 5
Speed Across Country: 12 mph
Weaponry:
1 x 88 mm Gun
2 x Machine Guns
Maximum Armor: 110 mm
Height: 10 ft
Length: 21 ft
When the Tiger I started to enter service with the German army
in late 1942, it was not just its size and weight that made it
impressive. It sported the legendary 88 mm gun that could defeat any
Allied armor at a reasonable range. It was capable of destroying a
T34/76 from nearly a mile away. German
Tiger I tank in front of the Altare della Patria in Rome in 1944.
Photo: Bundesarchiv, Though
the Tiger I’s armor was not sloped, it was incredibly thick. Soviet
tanks had to advance to close range to have a chance of penetrating its
frontal armor. British and American tanks had to outflank a Tiger and
then get in close to have any chance of defeating its armor.
So when a Tiger was spotted on the Western Front, it was so feared
that a whole advance could be held up until enough tanks could be
brought up to attack it in mass. Tiger I in northern France, March 1944 Photo by Bundesarchiv Bild But
the Tiger did have its drawbacks. It was mechanically unreliable due to
its weight and rushed development. Also, there was never enough of them
to go around, with only 1,350 ever produced.
Type: Tiger II (Panzer VIB)
Nationality: Germany
Introduced: 1944
Weight: 70 tons
Crew: 5
Speed Across Country: 10 mph
Weaponry:
1 x 88 mm Gun
2 x Machine Guns
Maximum Armor: 185 mm
Height: 10 ft
Length: 24 ft
The next logical progression for the Germans was the much
improved Tiger II, often referred to as the King Tiger. It had an
improved 88 mm gun and even thicker armor, but this time it was sloped.
Even the latest Soviet tanks had to treat it with respect. Tiger II. On display at Saumur Général Estienne museum.
But its gigantic weight (70 tons) put a tremendous strain on its
engine, which only produced 10 horse power to the ton. Compare this to
the sprightly American M36 tank destroyers that had a ratio of 18 horse
power to the ton while being armed with a 90 mm cannon.
Ultimately the Tiger II suffered from the same drawbacks as its predecessor: unreliability and scarcity. Only 485 were built. Tiger IIs Photo by Bundesarchiv, BildType: KV-2
Nationality: USSR
Introduced: 1941
Weight: 52 tons
Crew: 6
Speed Across Country: 9 mph
Weaponry:
1 x 152 mm Howitzer
3 x Machine Guns
Maximum Armor: 110 mm
Height: 12 ft
Length: 23 ft
The last tank in our exclusive 50-plus ton category is the
Soviet KV-2, a slow moving, well armored tank with a gigantic tall
turret that housed a 152 mm howitzer. Originally it was designed to
overcome and defeat enemy fortifications, but it was rapidly pressed
into service as a battle tank when Germany invaded the Soviet Union in
1941. The
KV-2 heavy artillery tank’s 152 mm howitzer was housed in an enormous
turret. This prototype differs from the production version in several
ways. It was called the Dreadnought by its crews
Though
the gun had poor penetrative capabilities, the mighty kinetic force of
the round could blow off turrets or literally shake apart a tank. But it
was clumsy in combat, had a slow rate of fire, and its high silhouette
made it a very easy target.
Most were destroyed shortly after the German invasion. When the
Germans captured the sole factory where it was built, the Soviets made
no attempt to resume production elsewhere due to the inherent
shortcomings of the design.
Super Heavy Tanks
Type: Tortoise (A-39)
Nationality: UK
Introduced: Prototype 1945
Weight: 79 tons
Crew: 6
Speed Across Country: 4 mph
Weaponry:
1 x 94 mm Gun
3 x Machine Guns
Maximum Armor: 228 mm
Height: 10 ft
Length: 33 ft
The Tortoise was the lightest (78 tons) and had the smallest
main gun (94 mm) of the three super heavy tanks in this article. But it
came the closest of them all to actually being produced, with 6
pre-production tanks being made. The Assault Tank A39 TortoiseIt was
designed in 1945 for the same purpose as the American T-28: to help
clear German fortifications, such as the Siegfried Line, that the Allies
would encounter as they advanced into Germany itself. Therefore the
priority was on firepower and armor, with mobility being the least of
its designers’ worries.
Its 14.5 kg projectile could have quite a devastating effect on
bunkers and emplacements. It could even knock out a German Panther tank
from 3,500 feet away. Panther tanks are loaded for transport to frontline units, 1943 Bundesarchiv, Bild The Tortoise was underpowered, but again, speed was not its priority.
It used a Merlin engine which produced 600 horsepower, resulting in
only 7 horsepower per ton. This was appalling when you consider a
Panther had a power to rate ratio of 15 horsepower per ton. Also, the
Tortoise’s range was just 87 miles, and it consumed nearly 1.5 gallons
of fuel per mile.
Twenty-five Tortoises were ordered, but only six had been delivered
by 1946 before the project was cancelled, as there was no longer was a
need for it.
In tests it proved reliable and had good gunnery characteristics. But its weight and size caused great logistical problems. The A39 Tortoise being towed on an 80-ton trailer by two Diamond T’s during trials in BAOR*, 1948 *British Army On the RhineType: T28
Nationality: USA
Introduced: Prototype 1945
Weight: 86 tons
Crew: 6
Speed Across Country: 4 mph (Estimated)
Weaponry:
1 x 105 mm
1 x Machine Gun
Maximum Armor: 305 mm
Height: 9 ft
Length: 36 ft
As for the American T28, it was slightly heavier and had a
bigger gun. But it had significantly thicker armor, up to 80 mm thicker
at the front. It was later to be reclassified as the Super Heavy Tank
T28. Like the Tortoise, it had no turret and had to aim its gun by
moving the whole body of the tank. T28 Tank
The
T28 had a protracted design phase which ran from March 1944 to March
1945. Work did not start on producing the actual tank until August 1945.
As the war in Europe had ended and the war in the Pacific would very
soon end, the original order for twenty-five tanks was reduced to five,
and then again to just two tanks.
The T28 was put through tests and trials until October 1947 when the
project was deemed obsolete and cancelled. Apart from having the same
logistical problems as the Tortoise, the T28 proved very expensive to
maintain. This
old experimental Tank is parked outside of the Patton Museum Fort Knox
Kentucky. Only 2 were made.
Type: Maus (Panzer VIII)
Nationality: Germany
Introduced: Prototype 1944
Weight: 188 tons
Crew: 6
Speed Across Country: 3 mph (Estimated)
Weaponry:
1 x 128 mm Gun
1 x 75 mm Gun
1 x Machine Gun
Maximum Armor: 240 mm
Height: 12 ft
Length: 33 ft
The German Panzer VIII “Maus” was by far the heaviest (188 tons)
and best armed (128 mm main gun with a coaxial 75 mm gun) of the three
super heavy tanks. It is by far the heaviest tank ever built. Despite
its enormous size it had an extremely cramped interior. Panzer VIII Maus
Only two were ever built, one of which was incomplete. It was
designed as a “breakthrough” tank at a time when Germany was fighting a
defensive war.
On the plus side the armor was incredibly thick, ranging from 240 mm
on the front to 180 mm on the sides and rear. An unusual characteristic
compared to other tanks was that its roof armor was also amazingly
thick—an incredible 220 mm—in response to the devastating attacks on
tanks by Allied ground attack aircraft such as the British Hawker
Typhoon and the Soviet II-2 Sturmovik. Front view of thePanzerkampfwagen VIII Maus at Kubinka Museum.
The Maus’s main armament was the 128 mm KwK 44 L/55 which fired a
massive 28 kg projectile that could penetrate 148 mm of sloped armor at
6,600 feet (1.25 miles). This meant it could easily defeat the frontal
armor of a Soviet JS-2, American M-26 Pershing, British A-34 Comet, or
even the Germans’ own Tiger I.
A “King Tiger” (Tiger II) with its maximum armor of 185 mm could
withstand a hit down to 3,000 feet. But that still meant it could be
destroyed by a Maus from half a mile away. SHAEF
commander Gen. Eisenhower walks by an overturned Tiger II. The
overlapping, non-interleaved steel-rim roadwheel arrangement is visible.But all this came at a cost. The Maus had a slow rate of fire. Its
prohibitive size and enormous weight restricted its off-road ability. On
roads it often churned up the surface as it went along, making the road
unserviceable for other vehicles.
Most railways, tunnels and bridges in the country could not take its
weight. On those few that could take the weight, the tank’s giant bulk
restricted it. Rear view of the Panzerkampfwagen VIII Maus at Kubinka Museum.
Its monster weight pushed engine and suspension technology and
innovation to its limit. In fact it was a step too far. The tank was
notoriously unreliable and it was unlikely that any of its problems
could have been fully resolved, even given more development time.
After the war it was realized that the super heavy tank concept was
simply unrealistic because of all the drawbacks related to its size and
weight. As for the heavy tanks, they were deemed unable to keep up with
the fast pace of modern warfare.
In 1957 the Fourth Tripartite Conference on Armour recommended that
all medium and heavy tanks be replaced with a single new class, the Main
Battle Tank (MBT). This led to the German Leopard II, American M1
Abrams, British Challenger II, and Russian T-80 MBTs of today.
I got a link from this video from my mom of all people, I watched it and it was hilarious.
Story about the young mans adventures in trying to meet his girl at her parents house...It is safe for work, LOL It is an advertisement for "Tool Station."
Here is the information on the company according to "Wiki"
Toolstation Ltd is a large United Kingdom and European Union direct sale and online supplier of trade tools, accessories and hardware products.
The company's head office and main distribution centre is in Bridgwater, Somerset
where it is a major employer for the area. This is supplemented by 300+
branches across the United Kingdom, and large stock warehouses in Redditch, Daventry,Manchester and Bridgwater. There is also an operation in the Netherlands with direct mail facilities and 20+ branches.
In the Netherlands, Toolstation was founded in 2006. In 2014, Toolstation expanded with a website in France, and in 2016 in Germany. Belgium followed in 2017. In the third quarter of 2017, Toolstation opened a few stores in the region of Lyon in France.
I remembered when this video showed up on MTV, I don't know what I liked more, the car or the girls...Remember I was 16. Now I would take the car :). The video was really neat and ZZ Top was a bit different than a lot of the music that was playing on MTV. This was the 2nd British Invasion, but ZZ Top was distinctly American.
"Gimme All Your Lovin'" is a song by ZZ Top from their 1983 album Eliminator. It was released as the album's first single in 1983.
Initially unsuccessful in the UK upon its August 1983 release, in
the wake of the band's American success (the single reached No. 37 on
the US Billboard Hot 100 chart), it was promptly re-released, and reached No. 10 on the UK Singles Chart. It ties with the band's 1992 cover of Elvis Presley's "Viva Las Vegas" as their highest-charting single in the UK. The song was produced by band manager Bill Ham, and recorded and mixed by Terry Manning.
Directed by Tim Newman, the video features ZZ Top playing at a gas
station, along with actor/model Peter Tramm playing a young gas station
mechanic, and introduces classic ZZ elements such as the red "ZZ
Eliminator Car," the "ZZ Keychain" and the "Three ZZ Girls" as heroines.
It is the first of a ZZ Top music video series. Tramm returned in their
later music video for "Sharp Dressed Man".
Happy Fathers Day to all the Dads that go the extra mile for their kids and do what is necessary to raise the future generations with the timeless values that have been proven for generations.
Here is a pic of my Dad; He was trying to feed my phone to his bird "Indy"
Through him I learned stubbornness, drive, ambition, Love of Country, Duty and Honor.
He has done well, both of his kids have done well and succeeded in life, stable family, good jobs and careers. Not all people can say that.
My Dad gave me a "Trump" mug for Fathers Day, I was really touched by the thought behind it. I put it next to the mug I bought last week that I talked about in Yesterdays post.
I tried to post this yesterday morning, but my internet was down, Old NFO understands my pain...
I was taking a break from studying and decided to do a post that I wanted to do earlier in the week....but work and sleep and doing stuff with the kid were more important than blogging....I know..
.Well anyway we were coming back from the cruise and we were going through Savannah and I saw the billboard for this place...
I tried to "google" for the billboard using both "Black Rifle Coffee" and "9-line" and somehow google slid in antigun stuff into my search....go figure...well anyway the kid was driving and I said, "I want to go there". and we did. I got a coffee....of course while I was walking around looking at the stuff, the smell of strong coffee permeated the atmosphere...and I was thinking.."Wow a starbucks for people like me". I was walking around and my son commented "I bet that Mack would love this place", and I replied "yeah he would...".
I picked up some SWAG for my toolbox and GunSafe, I picked up a mug
This was on the back of it...:)
It was a good trip and when I got home, there was a package for me that I ordered...
It was the first hat that I saw that was "Desert Storm" related that I actually liked. It was a bit pricey at $35 and the proceeds go toward the Gulf War museum that is being planned. I took it to work, and I will wear it when I do my "Honor Guard" stuff at work.
And Yes the 9 line sticker looked good on the truck.
Sorry about the lack of postings, we came back from vacation and I immediately ran into my heavy work schedule and was unable to post.
I ran across this story on my Facebook feed. I remembered the picture after I returned from Desert Storm. I thought it was an iconic pic from that time and this is the backstory on it.
This
March 29, 1991, file photo shows Matt Miller cutting a solitary figure
on the South Jetties, waving Old Glory as the USS Saratoga enters the
St. Johns River before swinging into Mayport Naval Station. (Dennis
Hamilton Jr./The Florida Times-Union via AP, File)
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — As Matt Miller settled under a walkover to the beach at Mayport Naval Station,
he apologized to the folded American flag he had carried with him to
get to this resting place. It was a cold, misty March night, and he
would need to use it as a blanket. Just until first light, just until he
could carry out his mission.
He was awakened at 6 a.m. by the rumbling and rattling of a white
pickup truck on the road nearby. Military police? No, just someone going
by with fishing poles.
Miller refolded the flag, picked up the two pieces of his flagpole and
resumed his mission, walking north up the beach. He was nervous: He
didn't have permission for what he was about to do, and he feared
someone would see him and stop him.
But no one did, so when he reached the big rocks that form the St. Johns River
south jetty, he climbed up and started making his way east, into the
Atlantic. About 200 yards (182 meters) out, he found the right spot to
fulfill his mission: A huge boulder with a natural wide ledge on it. He
settled down on the ledge and waited for the USS Saratoga to finally
come home from war.
So he was ready several hours later when the aircraft carrier loomed
into view, growing impossibly gigantic, a floating city whose thousands
of residents manned the rails, with hands folded behind their backs.
Miller, on his ledge out in the ocean, stood as tall as he could. He
thrust his right hand into the air as if in greeting, or triumph. In his
left hand he held aloft his flagpole, and an east wind unfurled the
American flag on it, stretching it out to its full length and width.
Snap.
In a helicopter flying just to the south, Florida Times-Union
photographer Dennis Hamilton Jr. captured the moment with his camera. It
was an iconic tableau: the Saratoga and its sailors at parade rest, two
Coast Guard escorts, a seabird just in the frame, a wave peeling off the jetty toward the beach.
And there on the rocks, a single figure, waving the American flag.
The photo was taken March 20, 1991, and the Saratoga was coming back to
its home port after almost eight months in the Persian Gulf during the
first Iraq war.
In a Navy town, the Saratoga's homecoming was a big deal. At Mayport,
30,000 people waited to greet the crew and the newspaper had rented a
helicopter so that Hamilton, a staff photographer, could get aerial
shots of the carrier as it neared the jetties. As the helicopter
followed the ship in, Hamilton saw the man with the flag on the rocks.
Can you go lower, he asked the pilot.
He could, and Hamilton got his shot. In those pre-digital days he
couldn't immediately see what he had, but he figured this was going to
be good.
"You see it through the lens and you think this looks like a good A1
photo, but you never know until you get back and run the print," said
Hamilton, who left the paper in 2001. Indeed, the photo was worthy of
A1, and ran across the entire front page. It was also turned into a
popular poster.
The image has long outlasted that day's news cycle: When Miller meets
someone with a connection to the Saratoga, they usually remember that
photo. There are many in Jacksonville, still, who have that connection.
After all, the aircraft carrier spent 37 years at Mayport, the only home
port it knew, and thousands served aboard it at any one time, and many
of them had families with them.
"They know the picture," Miller says. "They just don't know me."
Matt
Miller poses with the nameplate of the USS Saratoga on May 29, 2019,
while holding the flag he waved when the ship returned from the Persian
Gulf in 1991. Times-Union photographer Dennis Hamilton took the iconic
photo from a helicopter of Miller on the jetties waving the flag as the
ship came into Mayport Naval Station. (Will Dickey/The Florida
Times-Union via AP)
Miller is 60 now, and on a recent hot morning he drove to Mayport Naval
Station, carrying that same flag with him. He wore a teal Jaguars Nick
Foles number 7 jersey and a Saratoga cap given him by a Saratoga veteran
after Miller told him he was that guy in the photo.
This time he didn't have to sneak onto the base: The Navy had readily
agreed to allow him to visit the Saratoga's nameplate. At 16 feet (4.8
meters) long and 3 feet (0.91 meters) high, it is just about all of what
remains of the carrier, which was decommissioned in 1994 and then
scrapped.
Miller took the folded flag and touched it to each of the black letters
that spelled out the ship's name. He paused in prayer, then broke into
big smile.
Over and over, he said how amazed he was that this was happening, how humbled he was to be there.
And he told his story of that day 28 years ago: How he parked at an
Atlantic Beach condominium at 3 a.m., how he left a palm frond on the
beach to show him the way back, how he took the long walk by the ocean,
fearing that he would be stopped, how he rested near the jetty, wrapped
in the flag for warmth.
"I did ask the flag for forgiveness," he said.
He had not thought everything out: He'd brought a sandwich with him,
but ate it too soon, and he forgot to carry water, so his thirst grew.
And he stumbled over a few times on the slimy rocks of the jetty — quick
violent falls.
He had not counted on his mission making the front page, had not
figured that anyone other than the sailors on the carrier would see what
he had done. But that photo clearly means a lot to Miller, who carries
prints of it with him most places he goes. He gives them to Desert Storm
veterans he encounters or to those who served on the Saratoga.
He knew thousands would be at the base on that March day to greet the
Saratoga, but he wanted his flag to be the one the sailors saw first.
Several times he said he felt as if God was calling him to do it, to
take the flag through the night to the jetty. "All glory goes to God,"
he said.
As for himself? Miller says he was just someone who was at the right time and the right place, doing the right thing.
I am out of the country on a cruise, I don't post stuff like this on Facebook, call me paranoid. Only a few people know who I actually am in "Meatspace". I m using my "Baby Laptop" for this post.
First off a musing, Granted I am at sea, I have blogged many times about the Battle of Midway, One of two significant events during WWII
To me it was a strategic battle of huge significance. I even debated the great Tom Kratman on this subject, He had posted a question, "Did the U.S. Navy have a strategic battle on par with the "Spanish Armada". Many used the Battle of the Philippine sea because of the number of ships involved. I used the "Battle of Midway" as my argument, Sure the Battle of the Philippine Sea was much bigger, but strategically like the Spanish Armada the Battle of Midway determined the destiny of the battle of the Pacific. My Argument was that after the loss of their 4 first line carriers and more so, the loss of their experienced aircrews, the Japanese never recovered. We had some close calls and the War in the Pacific still swung in the balance especially during the fighting around Guadalcanal, but the Japanese were on the defensive from that point on. They had to respond to us, we had the initiative. Tom disagreed with my assertion that the U.S. Navy ever had a significant battle on par with the "Armada". The War of 1812 was mentioned not by me and I disagreed with that one, sure the U.S Navy had some victories in the War of 1812, the U.S. Navy was too small to challenge the British Fleet. Considering his chops as they were, that I was even able to debate Tom and not be called an "Idiot" to me was a victory. :)
Also in 1944 Operation "Overlord" commenced to free Europe from the Germans,
General
Dwight D. Eisenhower's Order of the Day encouraged Allied soldiers,
sailors, and airmen taking part in the D-day invasion. It was handed to
Allied troops stepping onto their transports in early June 1944. As
Commander of the Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Force,
Eisenhower provided hope for those about to liberate the European
continent from Nazi tyranny.
Almost immediately after France fell
to the Nazis in 1940, the Allies planned a cross-Channel assault on the
German occupying forces. At the Quebec Conference in August 1943,
Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt reaffirmed the plan, which was
code-named Overlord. Although Churchill acceded begrudgingly to the
operation, historians note that the British still harbored persistent
doubts about whether Overlord would succeed.
The decision to
mount the invasion was cemented at the Teheran Conference held in
November and December 1943. Joseph Stalin, on his first trip outside the
Soviet Union since 1912, pressed Roosevelt and Churchill for details
about the plan, particularly the identity of the supreme commander of
Overlord. Churchill and Roosevelt told Stalin that the invasion "would
be possible" by August 1, 1944, but that no decision had yet been made
to name a supreme commander. Stalin commented: "Then nothing will come
of these operations. Who carries the moral and technical responsibility
for this operation?" Churchill and Roosevelt acknowledged the need to
name the commander without further delay. Shortly after the conference
ended, Roosevelt appointed Gen. Dwight David Eisenhower to that
position.
By May 1944, 2,876,000 Allied troops were amassed in
southern England. While awaiting deployment orders, they prepared for
the assault by practicing with live ammunition. The largest armada in
history, made up of more than 4,000 American, British, and Canadian
ships, lay in wait. More that 1,200 planes stood ready to deliver
seasoned airborne troops behind enemy lines, to silence German ground
resistance as best they could, and to dominate the skies of the
impending battle theater.
Against a tense backdrop of uncertain weather forecasts,
disagreements in strategy, and related timing dilemmas predicated on the
need for optimal tidal conditions, Eisenhower decided before dawn on
June 5 to proceed with Overlord. Later that same afternoon, he scribbled a note
intended for release, accepting responsibility for the decision to
launch the invasion and full blame should the effort to create a
beachhead on the Normandy coast fail.
Much more polished is this printed Order of the Day for June 6, 1944, which Eisenhower began drafting in February. The order was distributed to the 175,000-member expeditionary force on the eve of the invasion.
We Students of History and us who served or still serve, honor those from back then for the courage displayed to step off into the unknown.
Well to my cruise...we left the city of JAX
As we sailed, I saw a container ship being unloaded, I knew how they did it, but it still was fascinating to watch..
Then we approached a bridge...
It got closer....
and closer............
And really Close.........
is it gonna "scratch"...?
Looks like we cleared......lol
As we neared the mouth of the Harbor, we had a seahawk buzz us...probably looking for "Free Range Boobies". Hey I was a G.I. at one time, I know.....
Followed by the View of some of the big gray canoe's that the U.S. Navy is known for...
And a LHD-7 U.S.S Iwo Jima, the silhouette doesn't exactly match what I saw in "Wiki", the Big white then is covering the aft Antenna mount on the island. I don't know if the ship is being in for maintenance, storage or overhaul. Still it is a cool pic...
And some humor.....with truth attached to it for us that work the aviation field.
I heard about this strange airplane that the Soviets had, I wonder if this airplane would have been used in the fictional book by Tom Clancy called "Red Storm Rising" to chase the American submarines in "Operation Doolittle" from the book.
Bartini-Beriev was part of the Cold War arms race, the opposing
states supported the implementation of incredible and ambitious design
ideas. Combating threats from the depths of the sea to prevent nuclear
missile strikes became one of the priorities facing the Soviet Navy.
In the 1970s, a unique amphibian aircraft Bartini-Beriev VVA-14 was
created for the defense of the borders of the Soviet Union. It was
created for vertical takeoff and landing, but had the ability to take
off and land both on water and like an ordinary aircraft.
Its main task was to detect American submarines in case of their approach to the borders of the USSR. Bartini
Beriev VVA-14 is named in honor of its creator Robert Bartini, the
famous Italian-born designer in the Soviet Union, nicknamed the Red
Baron.
He served in the Austro-Hungarian Army during the First World War,
until he was captured by the Russians and sent to a prisoner of war camp
in June 1916. Bartini was passionately fond of aviation all his life.
Following his release in 1920, Bartini relocated to Italy, where he
studied aerospace engineering at the Milan Polytechnic Institute,
graduating in 1922. He also trained as a pilot. Bartini-Beriev in it’s hey day.
After Benito Mussolini came to power, Bartini emigrated from
now-Fascist Italy to the USSR and was appointed as an aviation engineer
for the Soviet military. After the move, he managed to unleash his
potential by developing a number of interesting and innovative designs
that became known throughout the world.
Bartini was forced to know all the “joys” of Stalin’s time. He was
charged with spying for Mussolini, and subsequently declared the “enemy
of the people”. The Cold War was alive and well.
Bartini was placed a Gulag and continued to develop aviation
equipment there for the Soviet Union in the Experimental Design Bureau
program. While in prison, he and Andrey Tupolev designed the Tupolev
Tu-2 bomber aircraft. Bartini-Beriev and really needs to be undercover
After eight years of imprisonment, Bartini was released and continued
his aviation activities in the USSR. The aircraft designer developed
the “Theory of intercontinental transport on Earth,” according to which
the optimal vehicle is an amphibious vehicle, combining the advantages
of ships, helicopters and airplanes.
In 1962, Bartini presented the first such project. The MVA-62 was an
amphibian aircraft with the possibility of vertical take-off and landing
on almost any surface. The MVA-62 could fly like a plane and could move
like an ekranoplan (wingship).
The single-copy project MVA-62 showed itself well on trial and served
as the basis for the creation of the VVA-14 amphibian. It was assumed
that the new aircraft would perform the tasks of detecting enemy
multipurpose and missile submarines, as well as perform search and
rescue operations. Bartini-Beriev rotting away. In
1972, the first test copy was developed under the name VVA-14M1. Soon,
on September 4, 1972, the amphibian made its first flight. Watching from
the ground for an unusual aircraft, which impressed with its
dimensions, the designers gave it the unofficial name “Zmey Gorynych” (A
Slavic dragon).
During the first flight, a number of shortcomings were revealed,
which Bartini began to correct. In 1974, changes were made to the
design, along with the installation of inflatable pontoons, which were
later replaced by rigid pontoons. In addition, there was a problem with
the installation of a lifting engine for vertical takeoff.
The crew of the VVA-14 consisted of three people. The power plant
included two cruising and 12 lift turbofan engines due to which the
aircraft developed a maximum speed of 472 miles per hour (760 km/h).
The flight range reached 1,522 miles (2,450 km), and the service
ceiling was 26,250–32,800 feet (8,000–10,000 m). The armament consisted
of two aircraft torpedoes, eight aircraft mines, or 16 aircraft bombs.
The aircraft designer was waiting for the engines for vertical
take-off, but the work on the creation of a lifting engine was never
completed.
For this reason, it was decided to supplement the VVA-14 with the
function of an ekranoplan, that is, using on-screen flight mode, but
having the ability to fly at high altitudes like an airplane.
On December 6, 1974 Bartini Beriev died in Moscow, at the age of 77. He is buried in Moscow at Vvedenskoye Cemetery.
The inscription on his monument the inscription “In the land of the
Soviets, he kept his oath to devote all life that the red planes flew
faster than the black (ones)”.
After Bartini’s death, his project, already much slower, continued to
evolve for two years. In the waters of the Taganrog Bay, tests of the
airplane were performed in the mode of an ekranoplan.
A total of 107 flights were made by VVA-14, spending a total of 103
hours in the air. In 1976, the further development of the project was
stopped.
Everything superfluous was removed from the aircraft, and in 1987,
the prototype was sent to the Soviet Central Air Force Museum, where it
remains to this day. Currently, the grandiose project of the genius
Italian aircraft designer is a sad spectacle.
In 2013, a group of enthusiasts emerged with the goal of restoring the VVA-14, but to no avail.
.Well anyway we were coming back from the cruise and we were going through Savannah and I saw the billboard for this place...
I tried to "google" for the billboard using both "Black Rifle Coffee" and "9-line" and somehow google slid in antigun stuff into my search....go figure...well anyway the kid was driving and I said, "I want to go there". and we did. I got a coffee....of course while I was walking around looking at the stuff, the smell of strong coffee permeated the atmosphere...and I was thinking.."Wow a starbucks for people like me". I was walking around and my son commented "I bet that Mack would love this place", and I replied "yeah he would...". 
I picked up some SWAG for my toolbox and GunSafe, I picked up a mug
As we sailed, I saw a container ship being unloaded, I knew how they did it, but it still was fascinating to watch..
Then we approached a bridge...
It got closer....
and closer............
And really Close.........
is it gonna "scratch"...?
Looks like we cleared......lol
As we neared the mouth of the Harbor, we had a seahawk buzz us...probably looking for "Free Range Boobies". Hey I was a G.I. at one time, I know.....
Followed by the View of some of the big gray canoe's that the U.S. Navy is known for...
And a LHD-7 U.S.S Iwo Jima, the silhouette doesn't exactly match what I saw in "Wiki", the Big white then is covering the aft Antenna mount on the island. I don't know if the ship is being in for maintenance, storage or overhaul. Still it is a cool pic...
