Somewhere over Southeast Kassel, Germany, 73 years ago today
Combat encounter report with German Me 109 completed and signed by pilot Charles E. “Chuck” Yeager dated 4 March 1944:
Click to big up
Category Archives: military history
CIA shares its map cache
Tracing its roots to October 1941, CIA’s Cartography Center has a long, proud history of service to the Intelligence Community (IC) and continues to respond to a variety of finished intelligence map requirements. The mission of the Cartography Center is to provide a full range of maps, geographic analysis, and research in support of the Agency, the White House, senior policymakers, and the IC at large. Its chief objectives are to analyze geospatial information, extract intelligence-related geodata, and present the information visually in creative and effective ways for maximum understanding by intelligence consumers.
Since 1941, the Cartography Center maps have told the stories of post-WWII reconstruction, the Suez crisis, the Cuban Missile crisis, the Falklands War, and many other important events in history.
Now, celebrating over 75 years of operation, the CIA has uploaded several dozen historical maps online.
For more, check out the CIA’s Flickr albums, they have several just on maps
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder
(Photo via Friends of the Tank Museum)
“U.S. M60 and the Soviet-built T62, showing the much lower profile of the Warsaw Pact vehicle. Although armament was roughly equivalent, the lower profile of the T-62 made it a much harder target.”
The T-62, at about 40-tons, was eight feet high– three feet less than the M-60, giving it the tactical advantage. However, due to the low depression of the T-62’s gun when compared to the 105mm hull cracker of the M-60, was seen in the West as a handicap.
The T-62 carried 40 rounds of ammunition, with most of the rounds stored in the hull and the gun suffered from a very long ejection period. The M60 carried 60 rounds, with more ready in the turret, and could fire about twice as fast with a well-trained crew.
Plus, the T-62 was seen as being cramped and hard to drive.
The M60 Patton was introduced in 1961, augmenting and then replacing the M48 in U.S. service (though it should be noted that upgraded M48A5’s, up-gunned with the 105 mm M68 gun to make them basically M60s, remained in some National Guard armored units until as late as 1990). The M60 was in turn replaced after 1980 by the M1 Abrams, though Marine M60A1s fought in Desert Storm, reportedly accounting for as many as 200 Iraqi tanks including some rather modern T-72s. Though the U.S. phased out the last M60s, used as training vehicles, by 2005, they remain in service with over 20 foreign allies. Some 15,000 were built.
As for the T-62, armed with the 115 mm U-5TS “Molot” (2A20) Rapira smoothbore tank gun, it was the go-to tank of the Soviet Union, its Warsaw Pact partners, and overseas commie friends. The Soviets alone produced 20,000 variants through 1975 when they moved on to the T-72, though the simplified “monkey model” as former Soviet military intelligence officer Viktor Suvorov called them, are still produced in North Korea as the Ch’ŏnma-ho I with upgraded 125mm 2A46 guns complete with autoloaders.
T-62s and M-60s met at least three times in combat: In the 1973 Yom Kippur war, the Syrian and Egyptian T-62 was an effective adversary for Israeli Pattons, though better training and more ammo carried the day for the IDF; Iraqi T-62s under Saddam clashed with Iranian M-60s in the 1980s, and of course the story of the Marines from Desert Storm.
Though both of these MBTs were a product of late 1950s tech, they will both continue to be encountered worldwide for the next several generations.
And for a great throwback, here is a 1977 Army film on how to best kill the T-62, likely shot with the use of some captured Syrian vehicles as well as intelligence footage.
The background may change, but the stare remains the same
Found this haunting image of a Marine with the “2,000-yard stare” currently in storage at the National Museum of the Marine Corps awaiting display. (If anyone recognizes the artist, please let me know).
It is, of course, an homage to war artist Thomas Lea’s The 2000 Yard Stare of WWII fame:
“2000 YARD STARE”
“Down from Bloody Ridge Too Late. He’s Finished – Washed Up – Gone”
“As we passed sick bay, still in the shell hole, it was crowded with wounded, and somehow hushed in the evening light. I noticed a tattered Marine standing quietly by a corpsman, staring stiffly at nothing. His mind had crumbled in battle, his jaw hung, and his eyes were like two black empty holes in his head. Down by the beach again, we walked silently as we passed the long line of dead Marines under the tarpaulins. He left the States 31 months ago. He was wounded in his first campaign. He has had tropical diseases. He half-sleeps at night and gouges Japs out of holes all day. Two-thirds of his company has been killed or wounded. He will return to attack this morning. How much can a human being endure?” Life Collection of Art WWII, U.S. Army Center of Military History, Fort Belvoir, Virginia.
Kwajalein calling
Rock Island Auction House has released some teaser information about their upcoming Premier Auction in May, and it has just about one of every full-auto or select-fire offering on your fave list.
While they do not have the full item descriptions listed yet, they have released some highlight images and what they show– besides the regular fare of 19th Century collectible lever guns and 18th Century dueling pistols– is a cornucopia of Title II/Class 3 items. Outside of the full Call of Duty collection, you aren’t going to find these guns in one place. There is even a Heckler & Koch HK21, a type I haven’t seen since I worked with NASA.
Among the neater pieces I saw was a Japanese Type 11 light machine gun– Kijirō Nambu’s take on the French 8mm Hotchkiss chambered in 6.5x50mm Arisaka. This particular piece was captured on Kwajalein Atoll in 1944 by the Recon troop of the 7th Cav.
More (including a lot more photos) in my column at Guns.com
The beauty that is an M2 60mm mortar with reusable ammo
The hard working heavy weapons guys at ordnance.com broke out their sweet M2 60mm mortar and give an impressive performance showing off their Training Re-Usable Mortar Projectile (TRUMP) round.
Designed by mortar tube genius Edgar Brandt, the M2 was adopted by the U.S. military in 1940 as the country edged closer to World War II. The 42-pound company-level artillery piece was portable by a three-man crew and could lob hero sandwich-sized mortar bombs out to nearly 2,000 yards with the reasonably accurate (for a mortar) M4 collimator sight.
The M2 was so groovy that the Army and Marines kept it in use not only through WWII, but Korea and Vietnam as well, only replacing it in 1978 with the now-standard M225 LWCMS (Lightweight Company Mortar System) which, ironically, is heavier.
The above video by ordnance.com runs through the unpacking and set up of the M2, which is super informative if you aren’t a mortar guy, then proceeds to break out their new TRUMP shell, which uses a 20-ga full blank to give some boom to the impact down range. The shell is projected by a 20-ga half blank.
As far as legality, they advise that, “The 60mm mortar is classified as a ‘Destructive Device’ by the BATFE, and you must have an NFA approved Form 1 or Form 4 for legal possession. The 60mm TRUMP ammunition is not classified as a Destructive Device by the ATF, but it is a restricted sale item, and is only available to individuals that possess a valid/approved Form 1 or Form 4 for their 60mm mortar.”
The noise the mortar shell makes as it whistles back to the ground is enough to give you IBS.
Fire in the hole!
Combat Gallery Sunday: The Martial Art of James Consor
Much as once a week I like to take time off to cover warships (Wednesdays), on Sundays (when I feel like working), I like to cover military art and the painters, illustrators, sculptors, photographers and the like that produced them.
Combat Gallery Sunday: The Martial Art of James Consor
James Consor graduated with a bachelor’s of fine arts in illustration from Syracuse University. Upon graduation, he moved to New York City and entered the advertising business. His spare time was spent drawing and painting with an eventual emphasis on maritime subjects. Since 1998, he has had many one-man shows of marine art and exhibited in several galleries including Mystic Seaport Museum in Connecticut.
The artist has been sent on two artist deployments by the Coast Guard.
In 2008, he was deployed aboard the Cutter Diligence from which he observed migrant and illegal drug interdictions off Florida’s West Coast.
In 2011, he was once again sent to Florida, this time to Jacksonville to observe Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron training exercises.
Ready, Aim, Fire by James Consor
During training exercises, the gunner’s mate aboard a helicopter sights his rifle on a boat suspected of carrying illegal drugs. He is a member of the Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron (HITRON) from Jacksonville, Fla. HITRON members undergo rigorous training to support counter-narcotics and homeland security missions. HITRON crews are often embarked on cutters patrolling the Drug Transit Zone, a six million square mile area, including the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico and Eastern Pacific.
The Chase, by James Consor
Members of the Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron (HITRON) from Jacksonville, Fla., conduct training exercises aboard an HH-65 helicopter. Here, crew members simulate an interdiction of a motor boat suspected of carrying illegal drugs. HITRON forward deploys armed helicopters to high threat drug trafficking and high-risk security areas. HITRON crews are often embarked on cutters patrolling the Drug Transit Zone, a six million square mile area, including the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico and Eastern Pacific
In this work from the U.S. Coast Guard Art Program 2014 Collection, “Above the Seneca,” ID# 201404, the USCGC Seneca (WMEC 906) patrols in the Straits of Florida. Homeported in Boston, the Seneca’s missions range from protecting and enforcing laws for living marine resources to deploying in support of joint agency intercepts of drug smugglers in the Caribbean Sea. U.S. Coast Guard Art Program work by James Consor.
A member of the Society of Illustrators for over 40 years, he has also been active in the Air Force Art Program at the Society of Illustrators since the 1980’s and the US Coast Guard Art Program (COGAP) for about 10 years. The rest of his painting is devoted to the sailboats.
Weathermark by James Consor, via Mystic Seaport.org
You can see more of his work here.
Thank you for your work, sir.
Making the Doughboy
Infantry Soldier with full equipment (proposed) was adopted as the Model 1910.
Compare the leggings, web gear and campaign hat differences.
The Infantry Equipment Board convened at Rock Island Arsenal, on April 28, 1909. The purpose of this board was to decide on the number, kind, and weight of articles to be carried by the Infantry Soldier. The board examined samples of infantry and cavalry equipment in use by the U.S. Army and fifteen foreign countries, as well as experimental models submitted to the Chief of Ordnance for consideration. The board made its final report to the Adjutant-General of the US Army on April 5, 1910. Two months later, in June 1910, manufacture of the newly designed equipment began at Rock Island Arsenal.
These images and text are from a copy of the Report of the Infantry Equipment Board in the collection of the Rock Island Arsenal Museum– who still maintain the T&E equipment shown in their collection.
Remnants of the Brown Water Navy
click to big up
On display at the US Navy (USN) Vietnam Unit Memorial Monument are (left to right) a PBR (Patrol Boat River) Mark II (Mk-2) Patrol Boat, a PCF (Patrol Craft Fast) Swift Boat, and an armored gunboat representing some of vessels the USN and US Coast Guard (USCG) used to patrol the rivers and waterways in South Vietnam during the Vietnam War from 1968 to 1975.
This memorial honors the 2,564 USN and USCG river boat Sailors and Guardsmen who died during the Vietnam War and is located onboard Naval Amphibious Base (NAB) Coronado, California (CA)
Camera Operator: PH1 (Aw/Sw/Nac) Daniel Woods. Base: Naval Amphibious Base, Coronado, 11/11/2004.
https://catalog.archives.gov/id/6671078
217 years ago this week: The Battle of Paardeberg Feb. 18-27, 1900.
Photo via Veterans Canada, caption via British and Commonwealth Forces.
This photo shows a Canadian soldier firing his Lee-Metford rifle during the Battle of Paardeberg where 31 officers and 866 other ranks of the 2nd (Special Service) Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment of Infantry. The battle included “Bloody Sunday ” on Feb. 18 wherein 21 of the 39 RCR soldiers killed in South Africa fell along with 60 to the 123 who were wounded.
The losses came when the regiment launched a frontal assault against the Boer positions in conjunction with the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry–which was also mauled. A siege then followed that ended with the Boer surrender on Feb. 26 and the marching of 4,000 Boers into captivity. On that day Canadian losses were 13 killed and 21 wounded.
This was both the first major Canadian action of the South African War– providing a sense of nationality– and the first significant British victory of the conflict.
Today the RCR endures with the 1st Battalion a regular light infantry unit at Victoria Barracks assigned to the Canadian Division’s 2 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group alongside the 2nd Battalion at Gregg Barracks which is a mechanized infantry unit in the same brigade. The 3rd Battalion at Foulkes Barracks specializes in airborne, airmobile and amphibious operations, and the 4th is a training unit at Wolseley Barracks, London, ON.