Rock photoex

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How about two great shots of NATO Standing Naval Force Atlantic (STANAVFORLANT) ships steaming in formation off the Rock of Gibraltar, February 1979.

The flagship destroyer HMCS Iroquois (280) is in the center, carrying a Canadian commodore, Capt.(later RADM) Gordon Lewis “Gordie” Edwards.

Just to the right (her port side) is the British Type 42 class destroyer HMS Sheffield (D 80), which would be lost just three years later in the Falklands War.

On the outside starboard is a Knox-class frigate USS Paul (FF-1080), while outside right is the West German Bundesmarine’s Köln-class frigate Lübeck (F224) with the Leander class frigate HMS Ariadne (F72), and the Dutch Van Speijk-class class (“Dutch Leander“) frigate Zr.Ms. Evertsen (F815) on either side of the Iroquois and Sheffield

Iroquois, a regular in STANAVFORLANT and later SNMG1 service, was kept steaming with a Maple Leaf from her stem until paid off in 2015, capping a 43-year career.

While Lubeck would be retired after 25 years of service, as the Germans tend to like newer ships, she would ironically be joined by Paul as a parts hulk in the Turkish fleet, while Ariadne would go on to a second career in Chile, with the latter sunk as a target in 2004.

Of interest, Evertsen, transferred to Indonesia as KRI Abdul Halim Perdanakusuma (355) in 1989, is still in operation at some 60 years young.

KRI Abdul Halim Perdanakusuma (355) ex Dutch Leander Zr.Ms. Evertsen (F815), photographed in 2024

As for SNMG1, it still sails after STANAVFORLANT’s founding some 58 years ago, and was recently in the high north operating within the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group as part of exercise Neptune Strike 25-3.

Among the participating forces are the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Mahan (DDG 72) and Bainbridge (DDG 96), the Royal Danish Navy Iver Huitfeldt-class frigate Niels Jeul (F363), and the Swedish Navy Visby-class corvette HSwMS Helsingborg (K32).

That’s some expensive Grease

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Milestone’s Premier Firearms Auction in suburban Cleveland recently chalked up $1.4 million smackers across its 1,206 lots. That’s not really unusual.

What caught my eye was the highest-selling piece.

A transferable and intact U.S. M3 “Grease Gun” submachine gun made sometime between 1943 and 1945 by General Motors’ Guide Lamp Division in Anderson, Indiana, the exclusive WWII manufacturer of the M3 and M3A1.

While Guide Lamp cranked out a whopping 606,694 of the plain Jane M3 variant, they only produced 15,469 of the improved M3A1s during the war.

The gun retained 95 percent of its metal finish, had a bright bore, and, as noted, was fully operational.

It came with an impressive selection of like-new support items in their original packaging: 12 mil-spec magazines, a complete parts kit, 29 rubber magazine covers, an oiler and sling kit, a 3-cell mag pouch, a canvas weapon cover, and two technical manuals.

It surpassed its estimate of $30K in selling for $40,950.

To keep that in perspective, during the war, the M3A1 was produced for a final adjusted cost of approximately $20.94 per unit.

Talk about inflation!

Newest U.S. Icebreaker Completes First Patrol

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The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Storis (WAGB 21) uses dynamic positioning to maintain its position near the Johns Hopkins Glacier in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Alaska, Aug. 5, 2025. The Storis is equipped with Dynamic Positioning Class 2 capabilities, which provide redundancy and ensure station-keeping even with the failure of a critical component, such as a generator or thruster. (U.S. Coast Guard photo 250805-G-GX036-1007 by Petty Officer 3rd Class Ashly Murphy)

The Seattle-based USCGC Storis (WAGB 21), the third-hand 360-foot former oilfield support vessel M/V Aiviq, is officially a U.S. government-flagged medium polar icebreaker. She just wrapped her 112-day inaugural patrol, which included keeping tabs on a series of five Chinese research ships bopping along over the extended U.S. shelf.

She also visited Juneau, where she was commissioned on 10 August, which will eventually be her home, the first time a government-owned icebreaker was forward based in Alaska since her namesake, the original WWII-era USCGC Storis (WMEC-38), was retired in 2007.

As detailed by USCG PAO: 

Storis departed Pascagoula, Mississippi, on June 1, transited the Panama Canal, and the Pacific Ocean enroute to conduct its first Arctic patrol operating north of the Bering Strait to control, secure, and defend the northern U.S. border and maritime approaches.

Storis operated under the Coast Guard Arctic District, supporting Operation Frontier Sentinel to counter foreign malign influences in or near Alaskan and U.S. Arctic waters.

In early September, Storis entered the ice for the first time as a Coast Guard cutter to relieve Coast Guard Cutter Healy (WAGB 20) and monitor the Chinese-flagged research vessels Jidi and Xue Long 2.

Upon returning to Seattle, Storis will enter a six-week training period where the ship and the crew will undergo major training evolutions, system and program recapitalization, and a two-week underway phase with scheduled engagements in Victoria, Canada.

Japanese Light Machine Gun Surfaces in California Traffic Stop

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A traffic stop in part of California known more for golf, wine, and scenic drives than full-auto World War II relics turned up something a bit unusual.

A sheriff’s deputy in Monterey County– home to the picturesque and affluent Carmel, Big Sur, and the Salinas Valley region– performed a stop last month on a female driver and a male passenger. An MCSO deputy, accompanied by his K9 Partner “Rocket,” arrived, and the dog alerted on “controlled substances and drug paraphernalia.” Going beyond that, deputies recovered a loaded M1911 pistol, a “loaded AR pistol carbine,” and a Japanese Type 11 light machine gun.

A press release from the agency stated that two of the three firearms did not have serial numbers, but did not elaborate on which two.

(Photo: MCSD)
(Photo: MCSD)
(Photo: MCSD)

Designed by “Japan’s John Browning,” Kijiro Nambu, the 22-pound Type 11 was the first light machine gun to be manufactured in the country when it went into production in 1922. A modification of the French Hotchkiss of WWI fame, Nambu’s design deleted that gun’s awkward 30-round feed strip for a hopper that could be stoked with 6.5mm Arisaka via five-round stripper clips designed for the inventor’s previous Type 38 rifle.

A Japanese Type 11 light machine gun in use with a canvas bag to catch brass, December 1924. (Photo: Library of Congress)

While some Type 11s were brought back to the U.S. by returning veterans and often made their way to display in VFW halls and museums– in deactivated conditions– functional and transferable Type 11s are scarce on the NFRTR and command a price typically over $10,000. I can only find three coming to the auction block in the past few years, and two of the three specify that the gun is in DEWAT condition.

Going beyond that, 6.5x50mm ammo is niche and runs around $2.50 a round for factory-new soft-point hunting loads, about all that is in production these days, for folks with sporterized Type 38s. However, and here is a significant caveat, the Type 11 had to use underpowered ammunition to function properly, rather than full-strength loads. So, if you had one that worked, good luck finding the right ammo for it to actually get cyclic.

Monterey County is strongly Democratic, and the Sheriff, progressive Tina Nieto, is a noted “champion for restorative justice. While long facing criticism for flouting local traffic laws herself, Nieto was outspoken on the traffic stop that netted the Type 11.

“This is a WWII era type of machine gun capable of firing over 500 rounds per minute,” said Nieto in a statement, although it is not clear if the Type 11 is serviceable, or if the gun was stolen from a collector or museum. “It’s a weapon of war. It’s a weapon of mass destruction.”

Knabb was booked into the Monterey County Jail and charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm, possession of a machine gun, possession of a controlled substance while armed, possession of an unserialized firearm, and other charges. His bail was set at $50,000.

Despite being found with a “weapon of mass destruction,” Knabb was not listed as “in custody” on Oct. 5.

Korean Privateers

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How about this great circa 1952 Kodachrome of an airstrip “somewhere in Korea” (likely Taegu Air Base, K-9) showing a USAF RF-51D photo Mustang (s/n 44-84775; c/n 44631, formerly F-6D) of the 45th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron with a second RF-51D to its left while in the distance to the right you see two huge dark blue Navy Convair PB4Y-2 Privateers of VP-871 and a USAF Douglas R-4D1 Skytrain.

342-FH-4A39909-K90259, National Archives Identifier 176889420

The legendary Privateers weren’t a fluke, as no less than 22 Navy VP squadrons made 38 deployments to support the Korean War between 16 July 1950 and December 1953.

While most of these were with the new P2V-3/3W/5/6 Neptune (7 squadrons, 14 deployments) or PBM-5/5S/5S2 Mariner flying boats (8 squadrons, 14 deployments), at least seven squadrons of WWII-era PB4Y-2S Privateers (VP-9, VP-17, VP-22, VP-28, VP-42, VP-772, and VP-871) made 10 deployments. The last two Privateer squadrons mentioned (VP-772 and VP-871) were USNR units that were activated and rushed to the theatre, with planes often taken out of long-term storage.

PB4Y Privateer patrol planes of VP-23, in formation over Miami, Florida, July 1949. PB4Y-2 in foreground is Bu. no. 60006. Note that by this time, their dorsal gun mounts had been removed. 80-G-440193

The Privateers served in sea patrol, SAR, and night interdiction missions as well as supporting combat ashore. Of note, the reservists of VP-871, which is now VUP-19, earned its “Big Red” nickname during Korea for its role in night missions, dropping hundreds of red illumination flares to support allied air and ground units.

These “Lamp Lighter” or “Firefly” missions typically saw a P4Y rendezvous with four attack aircraft, search for truck convoys, and illuminate the targets for the attack aircraft, with each long-legged patrol bomber carrying as many as 250 flares.

During Korea, 5 PBMs and 6 P2Vs were lost in the conflict (including 16 KIA and 2 POW in combat-related crewmember losses), while only two Privateers were seriously attacked. Both of these were PB4Y-2Ss of VP-28, jumped off the coast of Red China by PRC MiG-15s on 20 September and 23 November 1952, respectively. Neither were lost, although one had to make an emergency landing in Okinawa.

All Navy PB4Y-2s were retired by 1954, though unarmed PB4Y-2G Privateers served until 1958 with the Coast Guard before being auctioned off for salvage, with many of those going on to work in the Western States as firebombers well into the 2000s.

USCG Coast Guard PB4Y-2G Privateers over San Francisco, 026-g-024-031-001

By the numbers, Port-au-Prince edition

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For eight weeks this summer, 15 women and 128 men– the first element of 700 of the new Haitian Armed Forces (FAD’H) — were subjected to basic military training at Mexico’s Regional Center for Individual Combat Training (CRCTI) in San Miguel de Los Jagüeyes, north of Mexico City, where they practiced personal defense and shooting and “learned about human rights.”

They arrived back home in late September.

Dressed in woodland BDUs with Haitian flag shoulder patches, they seem to have been “trained by the numbers” with donated Mexican HK G3s.

The training is part of an expanding defense collaboration under a 2018 agreement between Mexico and Haiti, with Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and France also conducting similar but in smaller 20-50 member courses.

The program is part of Haiti’s effort to rebuild its army, disbanded in 1995 by Aristide in an effort to consolidate control after deposing (with massive U.S. help) the military council of School of the Americas-trained Gen. Raoul Cedras that previously ran the country.

Revived in 2017 by now-slain President Moise, the FAd’H only numbers about 1,300 soldiers alongside 9,000~ thoroughly demoralized national police officers tasked with protecting nearly 12 million people. They are facing open street violence against an estimated 200 organized criminal gangs, with the country running 1,500 violent deaths per quarter.

In 1994, the lightly armed FAd’H numbered 41 companies (6,200 men) while the paramilitary Haitian Gendarme had 11 companies (1,000 men).

A 900-strong (of 2,500 pledged) Kenya-led Multinational Security Support Mission (MSSM) was deployed last year to help fight the gangs, but it has stalled and is to be replaced, with the U.S. shopping around its allies for a follow-on, theorized 5,500-strong force to pick up the pieces.

Volunteer countries have been scarce.

Army deploying new ‘terrain-shaping munition’ to Europe

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The 2nd Cavalry Regiment, based at Rose Barracks in Vilseck, Germany, will be the first unit to field the recently IOC’d XM204 Top Attack Terrain Shaping Munition.

The regiment is the longest continuously serving cavalry unit in the Army and plays a key role in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s Enhanced Forward Presence initiative.

“For units on the frontlines of deterrence in Europe, having access to advanced terrain-shaping capabilities like the XM204 strengthens our ability to influence key terrain, slow adversary movement, and protect our forces,” said Maj. Gen. John T. Reim, Joint Program Executive Officer for Armaments and Ammunition and Commanding General of Picatinny Arsenal. “This system gives our warfighters a decisive edge as we train and operate alongside NATO allies.”

What is the XM204?

Built by Textron, the XM204 has been in development since 2022 and is a low-profile hand-emplaced anti-tank “smart” mine of a sort.

At 84 pounds, it includes four bouncing top attack munitions with Tantalum explosively formed penetrators that can be fired independently and reach out to 50 meters from the device.

It holds four of these little guys

Rather than old anti-tank mines that require a vehicle weighing over 4 tons to be driven over, the XM204 utilizes seismic sensors with a classified range and, according to reports, programmable target profiles to distinguish between, for example, a bulldozer and a T-72.

Some say it can distinguish between an Abrams and a T-72 as well, which is interesting, but I wouldn’t want to be the Abrams platoon commander to try that for the first time.

It has a 30-minute delay in arming and a timed self-destruct (4 hours, 48 hours, or 15 days) to inert itself if not reclaimed and has “anti-tamper” features to keep the bad guys from using them. They can be collected by follow-on troops and redeployed if they haven’t been tripped.

The XM204 has been successfully used against T-72s at Yuma Proving Ground.

“XM204 anti-vehicle munition with standoff and top attack capabilities designed to support terrain shaping operations in action during a test run. (U.S. Army photo)”

A video of the XM204 in theoretical use:

It is interesting to imagine what Rommel and Montgomery would have done with 10 pallets of these in North Africa in 1942.

Breaking out the Blues

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Although some perma-hot stateside posts such as in Southern Florida as well as overseas warm water bases at in Bahrain, Cuba, Diego Garcia, Hawaii, Guam, et. al never shift uniforms (while UK-based Bluejackets are always authorized to wear winter uniforms), for much of the Navy, the first week of October sees the summer whites replaced by winter blues, which continue to be authorized until the following April/May.

Some regions, such as Georgia, Mississippi, and Texas, delay the change to blues until as late as November or December, but in general, the tradition, established in 1841, endures.

USS Augusta (CA-31), ship’s officers, circa 1937. Courtesy of Capt. Pat Henry., USN (RET), 1973. Catalog #: NH 78378

USS Augusta (CA-31), ship’s company, circa 1936. Courtesy of CRM W.R. Lucas, USN (RET), 1973. Catalog #: NH 78372

New Uniforms for the Pontifical Swiss Guard

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So the Swiss Guards introduced a new uniform this week.

Now calm down, the classic “Michelangelo” enlisted Gala uniform (which was introduced by commandant Jules Repond in 1914, to a design inspired by 16th-century frescoes of Raphael of the Swiss Guard) isn’t going away.

You know, this one, seen in full ceremonial (with white collar and armor) and standard, with Basque hat, formats:

This uniform is worn by the Swiss Guard’s 85 Hellebardiers and 41 NCOs when on normal ceremonial duties during the day.

Which is covered by a waterproofed Mantle in inclement weather.

Except for special occasions, the unit’s nine officers and chaplain wear business suits, and when more formality is needed, such as for Easter services and swearing-in ceremonies, they wear this rarely seen red velvet number.

Then there is the more common so-called “Night and Exercise uniform,” which is used, as its name would imply, by after-hours guards as well as those in less public-facing areas, such as along the roads and at the entrance to St. Anne’s.

The dark blue and more fatigue Swiss Guard Exercise uniform.

They even wear them in the 100-mile march in 4 days at Nijmegen every year, where they march with the regular Swiss Army’s contingent.

And of course, as all members are well vetted Swiss Catholics who have completed their Swiss military service, there is a training uniform as well.

Plus, for deployed service outside of the Vatican, every Swiss Guard, officer, and man has a well-cut issued dark suit.

All those will remain in service.

What is changing is the “Repräsentationsuniform,” which is only used by the Guard’s nine officers for things such as receptions and official dinners that need to be more dressy than the standard “duty” business suit, but where the red, velvet, and very delicate Gala-uniform is not appropriate. After all, food and velvet do not mix.

The old Repräsentationsuniform. It is based on the circa 1870s Swiss Army Ordnance uniform.

The new Repräsentationsuniform is a bit more, well, it’s a bit more.

If you ask me, it looks like the House Atreides undress uniforms of Dune, 1984.

David Lynch would be proud.

Going home

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How about this great period Kodachrome of the New Mexico class battleship USS Idaho (BB-42) steaming through the Panama Canal with her glad rags flying, en route to the U.S. east coast for epic Navy Day celebrations in October 1945.

National Archives 80-G-K-6572

Commissioned in March 1919, she came too late for the Great War. Idaho only managed to escape being at her traditional home on Pearl’s Battleship Row on December 7, 1941, by being transferred to the Neutrality Patrol in the Atlantic just six months before the Japanese attack.

Headed back to the Pacific, Idaho earned seven battle stars for her World War II service and was present in Tokyo Bay when Japan formally surrendered on 2 September and was ordered to the East Coast on 7 September, carrying 600 veterans stateside in addition to her crew.

Tough as a two-dollar steak, off Okinawa alone, Idaho fired 2,338 14-inch shells, 6,487 of 5-inch, and another 4,647 of 40mm in NGFS.

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