Air, Land and Sea

The end of the period of the sailing men-of-war

2011-12-31T18:38:00.003+08:00

CSS Alabama The end of the period of the sailing men-of-war was not suddenly apparent,” noted the maritime historian Howard I. Chapelle, “nor was it marked by a dramatic flourish.” During the three decades after the wars of the French Revolution and Empire, the refinement of the sailing warship continued, reaching its apogee in the late 1840s. Except for their rounded sterns, the new

Tupolev 'Aircraft 81'/Tu-14

2011-12-31T18:37:00.003+08:00

Aircraft illustrations by Basil Zolotov After the decision made by Stalin on 14th May 1949 Tupolev turned 'Aircraft 73' into the 'Aircraft 81' medium bomber with wing-mounted VK-1s. In fact the development of this aircraft had been approved by a Council of Ministers Decree on 23rd December 1948 and work on the preliminary design and a mock-up began in January 1949; the latter was

The Ar 234 Jet Bomber Series Variants

2011-12-31T18:33:00.001+08:00

The improved bomber version, Ar 234B, that flew in March 1944, had its fuselage slightly wider to hold a retractable landing gear fitted with two main wheels and nosewheel. It made use of RATO (rocket assisted take-off ) and had an added bomb load. Twenty Arado Ar 234 Bs were produced and delivered by the end of June 1944. The only notable use of the plane in the bomber

Nanchang Q 5

2011-12-10T18:47:00.003+08:00

The Q 5 is built and marketed as a relatively simple and low-cost alternative to high-priced Western strike aircraft. Although based on outdated technology, it is capable and available in large numbers. The history of the Nanchang Q 5 dates back to 1958, when the People’s Republic of China began mass-producing copies of the Russian MiG 19 fighter. At that time, the People’s

SNCASE SE.100

2011-12-10T18:47:00.001+08:00

The SNCASE SE 100 was a French two-seat, twin-engined fighter which first flew in 1939. Mass production was planned to begin late in 1940 but the Fall of France prevented this. The origins of the SE.100 predate the creation of the SNCASE (Sud-Est) company in the nationalisations of 1937. It was designed by Pierre Mercier and Jacques Lecarme at Lioré et Olivier, initially

LVT 4

2011-11-20T01:22:00.001+08:00

LVT-4 Water Buffalo, British designation Buffalo IV (1943) LVT 4: A disadvantage of the original LVT 1 and 2 designs had been the rear mounted engine and central cargo space which meant that troops and stores were loaded over the side of the vehicle and that there were thus limitations on the sort of item which could be loaded. The LVT 4 was basically the LVT(A) 2 modified by having its

Soviet Union – WWII Machine Guns

2011-11-20T01:21:00.003+08:00

The SG43 was designed by P.M. Goryunovin 1942 to provide a wartime replacement for the elderly Maxim Model 1910, and even used the old Maxim’s wheeled carriage. The Degtyerev DP Model 1928 was a major Soviet light machine-gun during World War II. Simple and robust, the DP could stand rough treatment and extremes of weather. It can still be found in the hands of guerrilla groups all

Soviet MTBs

2011-11-20T01:21:00.001+08:00

The Soviets used G-5, D-3 MTBs along with MO-4 gunboats against the Finns. Aside from the SM-3 and one D-3, all the MTBs in the Black Sea were G-5s. Soviet torpedo boats [MTBs] were developed from 'experience with their own Type Sch4 (an earlier Russian design--itself based on British First World War CMBs), Italian plans, and new Soviet design ideas. The majority of all Soviet

Yakolev Yak 24

2011-11-20T01:20:00.001+08:00

In the late 1940s and early 1950s an experienced Soviet aircraft designer endeavoring to compete with Mil met with scant helicopter success. A. S. Yakolev had produced several successful fixed-wing aircraft during World War II, and he placed his Yak 100 helicopter into competition with the Mi-1. Yakolev’s helicopter greatly resembled Sikorsky’s S-51, but it apparently lacked the S-51’

Nikitin PSN

2011-11-20T01:19:00.001+08:00

Purpose: A series of air-launched experimental gliders intended to lead to air-to-surface missiles. Design Bureau: Initially OKB-21, later OKB- 30, chief designer N. G. Mikhel'son, later V.V. Nikitin. In 1933 S. F. Valk proposed the development of a pilotless air-launched glider with an autopilot, infra-red homing guidance and large warhead for use as a weapon against ships, or other

Chieftain Mark V MBT Part I

2011-11-20T01:18:00.001+08:00

While the British Army was still equipping itself with Centurions armed with the 83.8mm gun, work started on a successor to them, the FV 4201. Design of it began in earnest in 1958 and the first prototype was built in 1959. Six other prototypes and a pre-production series of 40 followed between 1961 and 1963, when the FV 4201 or Chieftain, battle tank was accepted for service.

Chieftain Mark V MBT Part II

2011-11-20T01:17:00.001+08:00

British Army Chieftains, except the Mark I, also were retrofitted for the Improved Fire-Control System, which utilized a digital computer to automatically calculate the ballistic solution and proper laying offset for each target and automatically laid the gun in readiness to fire. The gunner and commander each had a firing switch for the main gun, with the commander having

Yakovlev Yak 3 Fighter

2011-09-29T07:37:00.000+08:00

Design began at the end of 1941 of an all new single seat fighter using the new VK-107 engine, requiring the least possible drag, smallest dimensions and weight consistent with a manoeuvrable and tough machine. Due to delays with the VK-107 engine and pressure to build the maximum number of aircraft already on the production lines, this new Yak-3 programme was shelved. A new

Multiple Launch Rocket System (227-MM MLRS) – The Gridsmasher

2011-09-29T07:28:00.000+08:00

About 90 MLRS launchers were committed to Operations Desert Shield/Desert Storm, with more than 10,000 rockets fired during battle. The military report Desert Score summarizes of this system, “The MLRS is also identified as the M270 Armored Vehicle Mounted Rocket Launcher (AVMRL). It consists of an M269 Launcher Loader Module (LLM) with two 6-cell rocket Launch Pods/Containers (LP/c

T-55 Series

2011-09-29T07:27:00.000+08:00

The first postwar Soviet MBT, introduced in 1948, was the formidable T-54, itself a refinement of the T-44, the short-lived redesign of the T- 34/85 at the end of World War II. The T-54 had improved mechanical ability, especially in its torsion-bar suspension and transmission. It had five road wheels per side, with a noticeable gap between the first and second road wheels.

Vosper 70-ft type

2011-09-09T21:31:00.003+08:00

The successful Vosper 70-ft type originated in the single 20.7-m (68-ft) boat built by Vosper as a private venture in 1935-6 and eventually commissioned by the navy as MTB 102. Built completely in wood, she was driven by three Isotta-Fraschini petrol engines with a maximum output of 2573 kW (3,450 bhp). These drove the boat at a maximum speed of nearly 44 kts in calm water, and were

IS-2

2011-09-09T21:28:00.000+08:00

Redesign of the IS-1 in order to work out problems but also to reduce the weight, improve the armor, provide an improved shape, and simplify production. Well-armed and well-armored, its chief shortcoming was the slow rate of fire of the main gun, the consequence of separate projectiles and cartridges. Early in the autumn of 1943, the Soviets were completing the first of three

Kuznetsov class

2011-09-09T21:27:00.000+08:00

Early in the 1970s the Soviet Navy formulated a requirement for a conventional carrier, and a design bureau was assigned to the project in 1973. The initial sketch suggested a nuclear powered vessel of 75,000 to 80,000 tons equipped with four steam catapults and embarking an air group of seventy or more aircraft: fighters, attack aircraft, and aircraft for antisubmarine warfare and

The M1 Abrams Tank

2011-08-31T23:43:00.002+08:00

The Abrams is the most powerful U.S. tank and is utilized by the U.S. Army and Marine Corps. The M1A1 mounts the 120mm main gun, and the next modification was the introduction of almost impenetrable steel-encased, depleted-uranium armor, designated HA (heavy armor). Prior to the 1991 Gulf War upgrades were carried out in Saudi Arabia on all in-theater M1A1 tanks to upgrade

KV (Klimenti Voroshilov)

2011-08-31T23:42:00.003+08:00

KV designation was for Klimenti Voroshilov, the Soviet defense commissar. Intended as the replacement for the T-35 heavy; design work began on the KV-1 in 1938. It incorporated many of the features of the T-34. Subsequent models of the KV-1 incorporated extra armor, new cast turret, and upgraded engine. The KV-85 version, produced beginning in 1943, mounted the 85mm gun. The KV-1 was

Lavochkin La-5FN

2011-08-31T23:41:00.003+08:00

A delay in the testing of the La-5 Type 39 did not stop Semyon Lavochkin's work. During March 1943 the bureau completed the second prototype Type 39, a duplicate powered by the already tested M-82FN engine. Unlike other La-5s it had metal main spars, like those of the Yak-9. Like the series aircraft, however, it was armed with two synchronised ShVAK cannon, and its finish and

RADIO NAVIGATION AND LANDING

2011-08-17T14:11:00.003+08:00

When the war started the aeroplane was relatively new as an instrument of war. How to wield it effectively meant a steep learning curve and some of the greatest inventions that affect how we fly around the world today. Much emphasis was placed on Bomber Command, particularly because in the early part of the war it was the only part of the British armed forces capable of striking back at

Club K "It's a carrier-killer of aircraft carriers"

2011-08-17T14:09:00.002+08:00

Deadly new Russian weapon hides in shipping container More Reuters Results for: * Russia » By Michael Stott MOSCOW | Mon Apr 26, 2010 2:11pm EDT MOSCOW (Reuters) - A Russian company is marketing a devastating new cruise missile system which can be hidden inside a shipping container, giving any merchant vessel the capability to wipe out an aircraft carrier. Potential customers for the

RADAR

2011-08-17T14:07:00.002+08:00

In 1886 Heinrich Hertz showed that radio waves could be reflected by solid objects, setting in motion the technological advancements that would become Radar and even leading to microwave ovens. This work was to be heavily developed and improved upon during the war, particularly by the British who had need of the technology to detect incoming bombers during the Battle of Britain and scramble

Grumman F4F Wildcat

2011-08-17T14:06:00.002+08:00

The US Navy's requirement of 1936 for a new carrier-based fighter resulted in the Brewster Aeronautical Corporation receiving an order for a prototype of its Model 39 under the designation XF2A-1. This became the US Navy's first monoplane fighter in squadron service, but so tentative was the US Navy in its decision to order this aircraft that it ordered also a prototype of Grumman's

Schwerer Panzerspahwagen (Sd Kfz 231) 8-Rad / Schwerer Panzerspahwagen (Fu) (Sd Kfz 232) 8-Rad

2011-07-26T18:26:00.001+08:00