laststandonzombieisland

BOOM!

Posted on August 9, 2016 by laststandonzombieisland Leave a comment

Gotta love a 5-incher and high-speed photography. If you look closely, you will just see that loaf-of-bread sized 127mm shell pass over the bow.

160726-N-YS140-125 SOUTH CHINA SEA (July 26, 2016) The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Stethem (DDG 63) conducts a firing exercise of the Mark 45 5/54 in (127/54 mm) lightweight gun at a surface target during Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) Singapore 2016, July 26. CARAT is a series of annual maritime exercises between the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps and the armed forces of nine partner nations to include Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Timor-Leste. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class John Pearl/Released)

Ensign John H. Wesson’s family hookup

Posted on August 9, 2016 by laststandonzombieisland Leave a comment

This immaculate Smith & Wesson Corp. Model 1917 Revolver was once used to shoot flying fish off the fantail of a destroyer during WWII by its owner, then LCDR Joseph Hawes Wesson II (NSN: 0-74971), grandson of S&W founder, Daniel B. Wesson.

The wheelgun was presented to Wesson on his graduation from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1935, where he served on the Annapolis lacrosse team.

With this revolver at his side, he picked up the Silver Star in the Pacific.

Citation:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity as Commanding Officer of the U.S.S. HICKOX (DD-673), in action against enemy Japanese forces during the capture and occupation of Saipan, the First Battle of the Philippine Sea, the capture and occupation of Guam, raids on Palau-Yap-Ulithi, Mindanao, Visayas, Luzon, Nansei Shoto and Formosa, and support raids against enemy installations in the Philippine Islands, from 9 June to 27 November 1944. Fighting his ship with skill and determined aggressiveness, Commander Wesson rendered valiant service during a protracted period of intensive warfare, maintaining his command in superb combat readiness and hurling her full strength against frequent hostile air attacks and enemy installations. Under his courageous direction, the HICKOX achieved an outstanding record for providing gunfire protection for our heavy units against enemy air attacks and succeeded in destroying one enemy aircraft and in rescuing the crews of eighteen planes downed in hostile waters. His inspiring leadership and zealous devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.

Wesson continued his career through WWII and into the Cold War, attending the 1952 Strategy and Tactics class at the Naval War College as a full Commander. He retired as a Captain and died June 11, 2001.

He is buried in the Wesson family plot in Massachusetts and donated his M1917 to the National Firearms Museum.

One side of this revolver’s frame bears the seal of the Naval Academy.

LOC does the Great War

Posted on August 9, 2016 by laststandonzombieisland Leave a comment

Joseph Pennell (1857–1926). Submarines in Dry Dock, 1917. Transfer lithographic drawing. Bequest of the Estate of Joseph Pennell. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress (005.00.00) LC-DIG-ppmsca-40029

The Library of Congress—which holds the largest multi-format collection of materials on the American experience in World War I—will present a major exhibition in 2017 to commemorate the centennial of The Great War.

The United States’ involvement in the “war to end all wars” began on April 6, 1917, when the U.S. Congress formally declared war on the German Empire, and concluded Nov. 11, 1918, with the armistice agreement. The exhibition will examine the upheaval of world war, as Americans experienced it—domestically and overseas. In the Library’s Thomas Jefferson Building, the exhibition will open in early April 2017 and close in January 2019. Initially, it will feature 200 items, but during its 18-month run, numerous other artifacts will be rotated into the display.

Now through April 2017, the Library of Congress is featuring twice-monthly blogs about World War I, written by Library curators who highlight stories and collection materials they think are most revealing about the war. The blogs can be viewed at http://www.loc.gov/blogs/.

An exhibition showing how American artists galvanized public interest in World War I is currently on display at the Library of Congress. “World War I: American Artists View the Great War” is on view through May 6, 2017 in the Graphic Arts Galleries on the ground floor of the Library’s Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First St. S.E., Washington, D.C. The exhibition is free and open to the public Monday through Saturday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. An online version can be viewed here.

Charles N. Daly was not a man to be trifled with

Posted on August 8, 2016 by laststandonzombieisland One comment

The man pictured from these scans of Firearms Curiosa (Lewis Winant, Bonanza Books, New York, 1955) is antiquarian Capt. Charles Noe Daly.

The book ( pg. 12) states that the armor was “found in Bordeaux in 1917” and found its way into the collection of aforementioned Mr. Daly. The cuirass weighs 30 pounds and holds nineteen cartridge pistols. Here is a further description from Firearms Curiosa:

“cuirass of steel . . . when brought into a right angle position may be fired in batteries of four and five by pressing the studs and levers, which release the hammers which are cocked by a hook carried on a chain.” The armor also came with a pair of stirrups that contained two pistols, which would fire by pulling on a strap in case one is pursued or attacked from behind. (ibid)

[ Hattip, Eldon Litchfield on the above ]

A 1922 article by Sumner Healy in Outers details the armor to more extent and includes photos of it with a set of pistol-loaded stirrups and two pistol loaded sabretechs which all told gave the horseman a total of 39 shots before having to reload.

As for Noe, he married one Mary Ecclesine in a New York society event, and died at age 65 on Thursday, October 5, 1933 in York, Ontario, where he had long been U.S. Consul.

His 1,000 item personal collection that included the strange armor above, a saddle gun used by William of Orange, Adm. Nelson’s pistol, and others, were sold in 1935 at public auction in Ottawa.

Some of the lots:

Who knows where it is at now.

Every Marine a Rifleman (and some even more so)

Posted on August 8, 2016 by laststandonzombieisland Leave a comment

The Civilian Marksmanship Program’s National Trophy Rifle Team Match at Camp Perry goes back to 1903 and was commissioned by Congress and President Teddy Roosevelt back when the CMP was part of the Army’s Department of Civilian Marksmanship. Shooters fire at 200, 300 and 600 yards in standing, kneeling and prone positions with a service rifle.

It’s 50 shots in four stages:

Stage One: Competitors have 10 minutes to shoot 10 shots from 200 yards away in the standing position.
Stage Two: Competitors have 60 seconds to shoot 10 shots from 200 yards away in the sitting or kneeling from standing position.
Stage Three: Competitors have 70 seconds to shoot 10 shots from 300 yards away in the prone from standing position.
Stage Four: Competitors have 20 minutes to shoot 20 shots from 600 yards away in the prone position.

Here is the target.

The maximum (perfect score) for an individual taking part in the match is 500-50x, meaning you hit the “10” mark 50 times, and all 50 were in the “X”.

Last month Marine Sgt. Antonio DiConza, 25, broke the longstanding (set in 1985) nearly-perfect record of 499-28x, chalking up an amazing 500-15x.

Marine.smashes.31.year_.old_.National.Trophy.Rifle_.Team_.Match_.record-1

DiConza, left, with his Pershing Trophy

Now keep in mind that the 1985 record was set with an M14 (M1A) while the new one was with an M16 (AR-15).

No pizza box for this guy.

“I told myself, ‘You know, I just shot 19 10’s and a few x’s – just shoot another 10. It’s not that hard. Relax,’” he said.

TSA finds 3D printed mini-revolver

Posted on August 8, 2016 by laststandonzombieisland Leave a comment

This plastic printed mockup of a NAA Mini-Revolver, complete with live .22WMR rounds, was found in a carry on by Transportation Security Administration screeners in carry-on luggage last week.

I’m not sure it’s functional, as it would require at least some steel/metal springs and a hammer, and you can’t see any of that in the image, plus the fact that WMR is kinda spicy even for rimfire and its chamber pressure would likley make this wheelgun a single-shot since it has a plastic barrel and cylinder, but still is kind of interesting.

And of course there will be a push to ban 3D printing or regulate it even more because of this, but the fact is that the marginally trained screeners found it, even without the mandated block of metal as required by the Undetectable Firearms Act which already covers items such as this one…but hey…

As noted by TSA: One of the 68 firearms discovered in carry-on bags this week was a printed firearm. It was assembled with parts made from a 3D printer. While it was a realistic replica, it was loaded with live ammunition. This was a good catch from the TSA team at Reno (RNO)! While firearms are permitted in checked baggage, we strongly suggest making yourself familiar with local laws prior to flying with a printed firearm.

Was it Wrong to Drop the Atom Bomb on Japan?

Posted on August 6, 2016 by laststandonzombieisland 4 comments

Today, on the 71st anniversary of the first atomic attack, that of the bombing of the city of Hiroshima, Japan, some argue that Truman was wrong to order that the Army Air Force undertake to have Little Boy tumble out of the bomb bay of the Enola Gay.

Most of the nation’s five star admirals and generals later went on record against the use of the A-bomb. Here is what the two top admirals in the Pacific had to say on its use:

Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, Commander in Chief of the Pacific Fleet stated in a public address given at the Washington Monument on October 5, 1945:

The Japanese had, in fact, already sued for peace before the atomic age was announced to the world with the destruction of Hiroshima and before the Russian entry into the war. . . . [Nimitz also stated: “The atomic bomb played no decisive part, from a purely military standpoint, in the defeat of Japan. . . .”]

In a private 1946 letter to Walter Michels of the Association of Philadelphia Scientists, Nimitz observed that “the decision to employ the atomic bomb on Japanese cities was made on a level higher than that of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.”

Admiral William F. Halsey, Jr., Commander U.S. Third Fleet, stated publicly in 1946:

The first atomic bomb was an unnecessary experiment. . . . It was a mistake to ever drop it. . . . [the scientists] had this toy and they wanted to try it out, so they dropped it. . . . It killed a lot of Japs, but the Japs had put out a lot of peace feelers through Russia long before.

Professor of History at Notre Dame, Father Wilson Miscamble weighs in on the subject with the opinion that dropping the bomb shortened the war and saved countless lives — both American and Japanese.

Pirates at 21 year low (at least those that are reported)

Posted on August 5, 2016 by laststandonzombieisland Leave a comment

According to a new report from the International Chamber of Commerce’s International Maritime Bureau (IMB), piracy and armed robbery at sea has fallen to its lowest levels since 1995, despite a surge in kidnappings off West Africa:

IMB’s global piracy report shows 98 incidents in the first half of 2016, compared with 134 for the same period in 2015. When piracy was at its highest, in 2010 and 2003, IMB recorded 445 attacks a year.

In the first half of 2016, IMB recorded 72 vessels boarded, five hijackings, and a further 12 attempted attacks. Nine ships were fired upon. Sixty-four crew were taken hostage onboard, down from 250 in the same period last year.

“This drop in world piracy is encouraging news. Two main factors are recent improvements around Indonesia, and the continued deterrence of Somali pirates off East Africa,” said Pottengal Mukundan, Director of IMB, whose global Piracy Reporting Centre has supported the shipping industry, authorities and navies for 25 years.

“But ships need to stay vigilant, maintain security and report all attacks, as the threat of piracy remains, particularly off Somalia and in the Gulf of Guinea,” he said.

Gotta love a Flying Skull redhead

Posted on August 5, 2016 by laststandonzombieisland Leave a comment

Here we see a Consolidated B-24D Liberator heavy bomber, specifically #42-72843 “Strawberry Bitch” at the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio.

DAYTON, Ohio — Consolidated B-24D Liberator at the National Museum of the United States Air Force. (U.S. Air Force photo)

She was flown to the museum in May 1959 and they have an extensive gallery of photos of her here.

Strawberry Bitch is one of just eight surviving B-24Ds known to exist– and several of those are in wrecked condition overseas.

Established in the Middle East 31 October 1942, the 512th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), U.S. Army Air Force, was initially equipped with obsolete B-17C/D Flying Fortresses transferred from Tenth Air Force. These were replaced with Liberators in early 1943 and they became part of the Ninth Air Force.

Operating from bases in British Palestine, Egypt, Libya and Tunisia, the Flying Skulls attacked shipping in the Mediterranean and harbor installations in Libya, Tunisia, Sicily, and Italy to cut enemy supply lines to North Africa. Struck airdromes, marshalling yards, and other objectives in Sicily and Italy after the fall of Tunisia in May 1943.

Reassigned to Fifteenth Air Force in late 1943, and moved to southern Italy to bomb factories, oil refineries, oil storage facilities, airdromes, bridges, harbors, and other objectives.

Between Sept 1943 and June 1944, Strawberry Bitch flew 56 combat missions that are detailed here.

As for the “Flying Skulls,” they hung up their bomb sights in 1965 with the retirement of the B-47 Stratojet (after switching to them from B-29s) and were inactivated for three decades then came out of retirement in 1994 as the 512th Special Operations Squadron then the 512th Rescue Squadron (512 RQS). Now part of the 58th Special Operations Wing based at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, they operate HH-60G Pave Hawks on CSAR missions for bug eaters.

So long, Blueberries! Goodbye, Aquaflage!

Posted on August 5, 2016 by laststandonzombieisland Leave a comment

NWU III, It's not just for Bees anymore...(U.S. Navy photo illustration by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Julia A. Casper/Released)

NWU III, It’s not just for Bees and Brownwater anymore…(U.S. Navy photo illustration by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Julia A. Casper/Released)

I personally think Ray Mabus (who used to be my governor before Clinton tapped him for ambassador to Saudi Arabia and Obama for SECNAV) hates the Navy.

I’m not getting into the whole “Naming convention? What naming convention?” argument, or the sillier parts of the Great Green Fleet, or the cultural evisceration of longstanding naval traditions– which are all low hanging fruit, but there are many other reasons to compare him to the Great Josephus “cup of joe” Daniels that are beyond the scope of this post.

However, the decision to eliminate Navy Working Uniform (NWU) Type I and replace it with NWU III (effective Oct. 1, 2019), is just great. The best thing about the aquaflauge is the NWU Type I black fleece liner (buffalo skins) which will be kept moving forward (I have one and love it).

I often wondered why it was a good idea to be camouflaged to look like water?

Also announced in NAVADMIN 174/16:
* The Navy will transition to the black Cold Weather Parka (CWP) starting Oct. 1, 2018, as outerwear with the Service and Service Dress Uniform. Navy All Weather Coat, Pea Coat and Reefer coat will become optional items. Mandatory wear date for the parka is Oct. 1, 2020.
* Women, E7 and above, are now authorized to wear men’s uniform khaki pants without the belt and buckle with the khaki over blouse. Gig-line issues prevent wear of the male slacks with the tuck-in shirt.
* The rollout date of the male Service Dress Blue uniform at Recruit Training Command has been moved to Oct. 1, 2017, due to manufacturing delays. This change also aligns the uniform release with the introduction of the new E1-E6 Service Dress Whites.
* Navy sweat shirt and pants logo has been replaced with silver reflective lettering “NAVY,” which is similar to the logo on the Navy Physical Training Uniform shirt and shorts. The sweatshirt and pants are now available for purchase at Navy Exchange uniform centers.
* Commands may now authorize the wear of a “Don’t Tread on Me” and Reverse U.S. Flag patches on NWU Type II and Type III.
* Approval for the replacement of the Special Warfare Combatant-craft Crewman (SWCC) insignia. Going forward, there will be three separate insignias to denote a Sailor’s specific qualification level, which are SWCC basic, SWCC senior and SWCC master. The implementation date is Aug. 19, 2016, with a mandatory wear date of Oct. 1, 2016.

In other news, there is a petition to rename the United States Navy Ship Harvey Milk to USS Harambe. Just saying.

« Older Entries Recent Entries »

laststandonzombieisland

Weapons, Wars, Preparation and Security from a recovering gun nut turned bad writer

BOOM!

Like this:

Ensign John H. Wesson’s family hookup

Like this:

LOC does the Great War

Like this:

Charles N. Daly was not a man to be trifled with

Like this:

Every Marine a Rifleman (and some even more so)

Like this:

TSA finds 3D printed mini-revolver

Like this:

Was it Wrong to Drop the Atom Bomb on Japan?

Like this:

Pirates at 21 year low (at least those that are reported)

Like this:

Gotta love a Flying Skull redhead

Like this:

So long, Blueberries! Goodbye, Aquaflage!

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this: