Monthly Archives: April 2011

Found, One bomber, last of a kind, good shape

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Buried in the Goodwin Sands off of the Kent Coast of England, which they plan to recover, it is known to be Do 17Z-2 WrkNr 1160 was operated by 7 Staffel, III Gruppe, Kampfgeschwader 3. It was part of a KG 2 and 3 raid to bomb RAF Debden and RAF Hornchurch on 26 August 1940. It crash-landed during the raid and sank in fifty feet of water.

The Dornier Do 17, sometimes referred to as the Fliegender Bleistift (German: “flying pencil”), was a World War II German light bomber produced by Claudius Dornier’s company, Dornier Flugzeugwerke. It was designed as a Schnellbomber (“fast bomber”), a light bomber which, in theory, would be so fast that it could outrun defending fighter aircraft.

A dozen early Dorniers were sent to Spain to fly in the Confor Leagion of fasict volunters flying for Franco in the Spainish Civil War. The Spanish referred to the planes as the Bacalaos (“Codfish”). The unit was named VB/88 (Versuchsbomben Staffel, meaning Experimental Bomber Squadron).[60] VB/88s Dorniers were involved in a strike around Guernica, but that particular unit’s objective was a bridge, rather than civilian areas. VB/88 dropped 8 tonnes (9 tons) of bombs, while K/88 added 37 tonnes (41 tons) over the city itself causing the deaths of about 1,500 people, and the subject of Picasso’s famous painting.

(<—- Guernica, by Picasso, showing the terror of aerial bombardment)

It was on 12 March 1938, Do 17Es of KG 155 dropped pro-Nazi leaflets on Vienna, as a prelude to the city’s occupation during the German Anschluss operation.

In the Second World War they were very active in the early Blitzkreig in the West, Norway, Greece and the Battle of Britian where the Dornier Do 17s losses in the Battle of Britain are given as between 132 and 171, the lowest losses as a ratio of the three German bomber types in the campaign. Service on the Eastern front and finally as a night fighter against Allied bomber formations in 1944-45 closed its war campaign.

The example off of Kent, if salvaged, will be the only known example of the craft on display, the last flying version being scrapped in Finalnd in the 1950s.

Bring out the lasers

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The US Navy, on the last of the old Ingalls Shipyard built Spruance-class destroyers from the disco era, the USS Paul Foster, has a new toy. This disco ball is the solid state laser made by Northrop Grumman  known as the Maritime Laser Demonstrator.

The weapon, which makes you feel all Death Star-like, performed excellently in tests. Danger Room has footage and more information but it looks like the old destroyer fired the 15-kilowatt weapon at a Ridgid-hull inflatable set up as a remote controled target ship a mile away. The important fact is that both the destroyer and the target were moving and at sea. Previous tests have been on land of a much larger system that was firing at a fixed target with known parameters etc.

This new technology will be important moving forward as a way of defeating smart anti ship missiles like the Sizzler, small boats etc

I say move the Paul Foster to the coast of Somalia as soon as possible!

Pocket Wheelguns

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When reading James Rummels excellent blog Hell in a Hand basket I was struck by his recent piece on snubbys for carry.

In it he related the next best thing to carry, tracking the evolution from the snubs to the wonder nines of the 80s to today. Looking for the Next Big thing…Problem is, I never outgrew my Smith, in fact the old warhorse often tags along with me

Below is my everyday carry  or in todays hip lingo, “my EDC”

Smith and Wesson Chiefs Special in 38 Special, circa 1947. Pachy grips added about ten years ago. Stoked with five Winchester silver-tips. If i need more than five rounds i probably shouldn’t have been there in the first place. Good a go?

A Bianchi inside the waistband holster, rough on the outside, smooth on the inside.

Horn Spyderco

Seiko Coturna World Timer

Wallet, keys, etc…

I never feel under armed.

 

 

I love African Wars

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If nothing else for the far out pictures of modern weapons combined with voodoo, mixed with juju, and the good old fashioned machismo of a kind that the west has long since forgot

April 2011 is a happy time for me so far….

I give you, Rebels in Libya (which is of course North Africa). Note the World War II Allied medals, Combloc surplus East German gear, and $9.99 cheapo sex-cuffs

 

He only narrowly outclasses (due to the mustahce) the rebels of the Ivory Coast .

Note how he has SIX (thats 6) mags ready to go…about 210 rounds of 7.62x39mm AK fuel in his Kalishnikov. Im sure that the extra 15lbs pullinng down on his magazine well should cause no feed problems whatsoever- i mean its an AK right?!…The French camo looks tres chic too…

And the opposition forces in Ivory Coast get an honorable mention….Because Even though you have a top of the line FN assault rifle, the best masks are made with 99-cent watch caps and a pair of scissors….

 

Is it just me or does this guy remind you of Dumb Donald from the Fat Albert gang? Just saying

 

Testing the Sizzler

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No i don’t mean the old strip steak place, i am talking about the Sizzler anti-ship missile that has NATO navies crapping in their hands and smearing it on the wall, and rouge countries smiling.

Well it looks like the Coyote is out chasing the road runner, and the US Navy is moving to use the GQM-163 Coyote to prepare for the Sizzler. The 18-foot long Coyote is fast, agile and a dead ringer for the sizzler in most aspects.

The Coyote is initially boosted by a Hercules MK-70 booster, of similar design to those used by the now obsolete RIM-67 Standard ER missiles. After the booster stage is expended the missile switches to an Aerojet MARC-R-282 solid-fueled ducted rocket/ramjet engine for sustaining its flight.

Here is a pic of the Wiley Coyote whizzing past a navy trainer….Good luck hitting that

The Czech Army Wants a Uboat

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Recently Czech Republic Minister of Defence Vlasta Parkanová asked the Albanian Minister of Defence Fatmir Mediu to look into its stock of retired submarines for possible sell to the land locked mountain country in central Europe for use as a museum ship. The Czech Republic has no navy but does share the history of the old Austro-Hungarian Navy. It will be the first Czech submarine. The submarine would go on display in the Military Historical Institute but the Czech Army would ‘own’ it

 

The last Albanian submarine, a Russian built Project 613 (NATO code name “Whiskey”) class submarine, was retired in 1995. The Whiskey type submarine was produced 1951-1958. The design was to be revised to incorporate the lessons that the Soviets had learned in studying the German Type-VII submarines that they captured at the end of world war two. The Russian Navy retired its last Whiskey in 1992. In 1960-61 Albania obtained 4 Whiskey class submarines from the Soviet Union. When the two countries had a falling out a few years later the Albanians had a hard time keeping the boats running. By 1980 the fleet was largely inoperative. Therefore it appears that the abandoned submarine in question is pushing fifty years old and is in well used condition.

The Czech Republic is a recent NATO candidate and has made an effort to be seen as a friend in the international military world. In March it was announced that it would donate a number of retired Soviet made helicopters including huge Mi-24 gunships to the new Afghan government as well as some 25,000 assault rifles and other sundry items from its massive cold war storage

Dr Robert Ballard and the Lost Sub

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Dr Robert Ballard is a world renowned oceanographer and underwater archeologist. You may have heard his name if you are interested in the wrecks of the Bismarck, PT-109, the USS Yorktown, and others. Most famously he is the guy who found the RMS Titanic in 1985. Basically, between Clive Cussler and Bob Ballard, if it’s been lost at sea they can find it.

Something you may not know about Bob is that he got his start and financing for finding the Titanic from the US Navy. Contrary to Clive Cussler’s famous book Raise the Titanic, the US government had no interest in the Titanic but it did have an interest in two other ships: the USS Thresher and the USS Scorpion. They were US Navy nuclear attack submarines that went missing in the 1960s. The subs location was known as both were found by a team led by Naval Research Laboratory scientist named Chester “Buck” Buchanan shortly after they were sunk, however the Navy wanted more information. With the help of the US Navy-owned but Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute-crewed research ship Knorr and her crew the Navy contracted Ballard to take more intensive pictures in a second look on the lost submarines. It was with the ‘change’ left over on the contract that Ballard took the Knorr to the last location if the Titanic and fished around successfully for her.

Interactive Terror Map

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Wars are funny. Sometimes they last a very short time. For example – The most lightweight war in history, the Anglo-Zanzibar War in 1896 lasted only about 45 minutes. On the other side of the spectrum is the Arab-Israeli conflict which is in its 59th year and its two longer more historical older brothers the Hundred Years War between France and Britain and the very much odder Three Hundred and Thirty Five Years’ War between Scilly and the Netherlands. Today we are involved in the Global War on Terrorism which may be indefinite. One of the coolest sites I’ve found that covers this without bias is the Global Incident Map.

Skimming over the 30 Newest Events on the site you see the following listed:

“ILLINOIS – Package Marked ‘Bomb’ Turns Out To Be Nothing

SPAIN – Spanish police discover 15 Palestinians in ship container

SRI LANKA – Passenger bus caught in claymore attack in Sri Lanka – driver killed

ISRAEL – Police: Explosives belt ready for use by Palestinian bomber found in Tel Aviv

OHIO – Mentor Lowes evacuated for bomb scare

AFGHANISTAN – Canadian soldiers injured by roadside bomb”

The site links back to the stories and the interactive map shows flashing symbols literally erupting all over the world. You can also search the site by type of incident (including Assassination….Hoax bomb devices….Chemical Attacks…etc) or by country, or by date.

Check it out…be the most informed war nerd at the water cooler.

Most Deployed Brigade Comes Home

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The road warriors are coming home. The most deployed brigade in the US Army is now returning home from its latest 15 month tour in Iraq where it has been supporting the Global War on Terror.

10th Mountain Division’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team “Commandos” (2-14th Infantry, 4-31st Infantry, 1-89th Cavalry, 2-15th Field Artillery plus support troops) It is fitting that the brigade combat team contains the only remaining battalion of the 31st Infantry Regiment. The 31st (who carry a Polar Bear on their unit crest due to a deployment in Siberia in 1918 during the Russian Civil War) were known as the “American Foreign Legion” due to the fact that it was formed, and spent most of its life, outside of the United States.

The 3,600 man brigade has suffered more than 300 casualties in Iraq. Since September 11th the brigade has spent more than 40 months deployed. This includes two full tours in Iraq as a brigade, two partial tours in Afghanistan, and excursions to Ethiopia and Djibouti.

The brigade motto is Vigor et Dignitas (Strength and Honor) and they show it

New Anti Swimmer Grenade

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Ever since man has taken to the sea in boats, other men sought to sink those boats. The easiest and best place to sink or otherwise cripple a vessel in question is while it is in port. This accomplishes not only taking the ship out, but also may foul the harbor and further prevent its use to other ships. These harbor attacks occurred in the ancient world and have continued into the present. Combat swimmers, men who took to the open water at attack these ships with explosives have become a very real threat. The Italians sank the mighty Austrian Battleship Viribus Unitis at anchor in 1918.

This feat was repeated by British commandos in world war two on both the German Battleship Tirpitz and the Japanese heavy cruiser Takao. The United States Navy suffered one of these attacks in 1964 when Vietnamese swimmers sank the old aircraft carrier USS Card in the Saigon River in 1964 and four US Navy Seals repaid the favor to the Panama Defense Forces patrol boat Presedente Porres in 1989.

These swimmers are dangerous, and now the US Navy has finally developed an offensive weapon to counter them. The new AGS (Anti-Swimmer Grenade) is set to be tested in 2008. Replacing the elderly Mk3 concussion grenade the AGS will be more of a hand-held depth charge with variable explosive depth settings of 10-100 feet. It is also to have three times the explosive power of the old Mk3 not to mention several safety features previously not encountered.

When dropped on a cue from sensitive inshore underwater sensors, these could prove to be a very nasty surprise to future frogmen around the world.

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