Picture of the day.

[nuuumannn]

My first GB was a Boulton Paul Defiant. The two crew lasted maybe 10 minutes on their first Mission.

141 Sqn day fighter, by any chance?

 

[nuuumannn]

Thanks for the like, Dave. Note also the 'Rhino Suit' that Barker is wearing in the Daffy pic. This was a wraparound outfit that contained the gunner's parachute, designed especially for Defiant gunners since there wasn't enough room for them to sit on the chute in the turret. The Rhino Suit sort of fell apart when the gunner got out of the turret and the parachute then deployed. You can see that the poor guy had little freedom of movement in the turret. Where he's sitting is where the gunner got in and out in an emergency, in practice. The aircraft manual stated that he should get out via the trap door at his feet; there was a bulkhead aft of the turret, which he was meant to crawl through, then open the trap door in the floor of the aircraft, but no human adult could actually successfully do this, unless they were a midget or had a huge tub of vaseline and were naked!

 

[vikingBerserker]

Whoa, that is the first I'd ever heard about the escape route they were to take!

 

[nuuumannn]

The problem was that the gun turret was mounted directly above the radiator under the Defiant's belly, so the 3 foot oval door aft of the radiator was the gunner's exit, apart from turning the turret 90 degress to the direction of flight and getting out via the turret's sliding rear doors, which was the method by which the gunners got in the turret. Gunners were advaised that on landing the turret should be facing aft in case a fighter snuck up on the aircraft on finals or such like, but gunners often turned the turret to enable themselves an easy exit, since the turret had to be facing either left or right to allow the rear doors to open. The GQ Parasuit, the Rhino Suit, was the cause of death of a few gunners due to it not functioning properly after the gunner bailed out. Aside from the gunner's 'chute, it also contained a dinghy and basic survival equipment. Not the most enviable place to be in the fight.

 

[yulzari]

Gloster Gladiators of a Latvian Army Aviation Regiment

View attachment 263560

Rare photo. The Gladiators were put into Soviet service. Then captured by the Germans and issued to the Luftwaffe who used them as trainers then glider tugs. The list of nations who used Gladiators seems endless:UK, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Latvia, Germany, Portugal, Greece, Belgium, China, Egypt, Iraq, Ireland, South Africa, Australia, Free French, Lithuania at least.

 

[N4521U]

141 Sqn day fighter, by any chance?

264 Sqn, PS*V
They just happened to be at an airfield, in transit, when the alarm was called for ALL aircraft on the 28th August, 1940.

 

[Lucky13]

 

[fastmongrel]

 

[vikingBerserker]

I love that shot of the Ju88

 

[nuuumannn]

I love that shot of the Ju88

Very evocative. Nice new siggy, Dave; that B-10 looks quite bland in its low visibility scheme!

264 Sqn, PS*V They just happened to be at an airfield, in transit, when the alarm was called for ALL aircraft on the 28th August, 1940.

The date of the Daffy's last day fighter operation. On that day in question, a number of 264's Defiants were stationed at Rochford, althought the squadron's home base at that time was Hornchurch. 12 Defiants of 264 Sqn were scrambled that morning, along with 79, 501 and 605 Sqns equipped with Hurricanes to meet large formations of Heinkel He 111s and Dornier Do 17s escorted by Bf 109s of JG 26, which crossed the coast near Deal, Kent. PS-V was L7026, piloted by P/O P.L. Kenner with gunner P/O C.E Johnson, both killed. Shot down by Bf 109s, Sillibourne Farm, Hinxhill, Kent. I have a photo somewhere of L7026 in formation with other 264 Sqn aircraft. Two other Defiants were shot down on that day, L7021 (Sqn Ldr Garvin's aircraft) and N1574, both shot down by Bf 109s. Three more were damaged, but repairable.

 

[fubar57]

Hitler and generals with the Gustav railroad gun

Geo

 

[Glider]

That has got to be one of the most impractical weapons ever built. What a monster

 

[Lucky13]

Wonder how many Pak 40 or 88mm's, you could make out of those?

 

[fubar57]

Don't forget, the barrel could only handle 50 or so rounds before being replaced.

Geo

 

[GrauGeist]

Have to say, as expensive and overkill that Schwerer Gustav was, it sure made short work of it's targets at Sevastopol...

 

[vikingBerserker]

Man, that would silence the neighbor's dog!

 

[nuuumannn]

"That's not a gun, THIS is a gun..."

I don't know if it's true for this gun, but I'd assume so; during the Great War when the Germans fired their big calibre guns, they could be heard in London.

 

[Lucky13]

 

[Njaco]

Italian Prisoners of War stand beside their beds in the large warehouse-like dormitory at the N.144 workers camp near London. According to the original caption "the camp is sub-divided into 5 large dormitories in which are found 2-tiered bunks. These dormitories have central heating. Every bunk is further provided with a mattress and 4 blankets in the winter (in the summer they have only 3)".

.

 

[nuuumannn]

A great photo and excellent information, Chris. To this day the legacy of Italian PoWs in Britian lives on, in Scotland particularly. Many Italian PoWs were sent to camps in Scotland, there was one to the east of Edinburgh and many of the inmates did not wish to leave on their release, staying in Scotland and making livelyhoods for themselves, where they met local girls and produced a generation of Italian/Scottish offspring. Around Edinburgh there are a number of fish and chip takeaway shops where the proprietor's names are the likes of Mario, Guiseppe etc. One of my local chippies near where I used to live in Edinburgh was run by an Italian family who were descendants of PoWs who stayed behind. When you went in for takeaways after going out on the randan, you thought you'd be met with a strong latin accent, but when the owners opened their mouths, it was all "Awright Jimmy... Salt 'n Sos?"