Picture of the day.

[SaparotRob]

Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, 21 August 1945. A critical assembly was being created by hand stacking 4.4 kg tungsten carbide bricks around the plutonium core. Figure shows a reenactment of the configuration with about half of the tungsten blocks in place. The lone experimenter, Harry Daghlian, was moving the final brick over the assembly for a total reflector of 236 kg when he noticed from the nearby neutron counters that the addition of this brick would make the assembly supercritical. As he withdrew his hand, the brick slipped and fell onto the center of the assembly, adding sufficient reflection to make the system superprompt critical. A power excursion occurred. He quickly pushed off the final brick and proceeded to unstack the assembly. His dose was estimated as 510 rem from a yield of 10*16 fissions. He died 28 days later. An Army guard assigned to the building, but not helping with the experiment, received a radiation dose of approximately 50 rem. The nickel canning on the plutonium core did not rupture.

View attachment 592363

I've heard about this. I had always thought it was an urban legend.

 

[Gnomey]

Nice shots!

 

[Glider]

An Avenger flies over wires and skips barriers, crashing into the island during carrier qualifications aboard USS Guadalcanal (CVE-60), 21 August 1945.

View attachment 592362

I take it he failed the test

 

[nuuumannn]

Paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne Division drop into the Newkoelln section of Berlin, August 21, 1945. Ninety-nine men of the division jumped to fulfill a pledge that one day they would parachute into the German capital.

The all-female pop group The Weather Girls rehearsing their top ten smash hit "Its Raining Men"

 

[michaelmaltby]

Histomil.com
bundesarchiv_bild_146-1981-070-15-_frankreich-_panzer_iv-jpg.592405

 

[syscom3]

I've heard about this. I had always thought it was an urban legend.

I had heard about it but not the details. I was going to post a picture of his arm after a couple of days and what the radiation had done to it. I decided that the mods wouldnt allow a gore picture. But it did look like it had been burned from a flame. That radiation stuff is dangerous! (Like no kidding right?)

 

[syscom3]

Superfortresses on their way to bomb Japan

 

[syscom3]

Formation of Grumman F6F's flying wing on a TAG lead plane during a ferry convoy hop to Guam. August 22, 1945.

 

[syscom3]

Soviet Naval Infantry raising their flag on the famous 203 Meter Hill in Port Arthur (now known as Lüshun in Liaoning province), 22 August 1945

 

[syscom3]

Surrender signing at Mili Atoll, Marshall Islands, aboard USS Levy, 22 Aug 1945; L to R- LtCdr Hiroshi Tokuna, Mili commander Capt Masanori Shiga, Lt ER Harris, Lt Col GV Burnett, and Majuro Area Commander Capt HB Grow

 

[syscom3]

Six TBM Avengers flying in formation, August 22, 1945. Part of VT-88 from USS Yorktown (CV-10).

 

[syscom3]

Australian troops of 37/52nd infantry battalion loading gear onto a New Zealand Navy PB2B-1 Catalina aircraft at Nantambu, New Britain, Solomon Islands, 22 August 1945.

 

[Wurger]

 

[michaelmaltby]

"... Soviet Naval Infantry raising their flag on the famous 203 Meter Hill in Port Arthur (now known as Lüshun in Liaoning province), 22 August 1945"
Old scores to settle

 

[davparlr]

Curtiss SB2C-5 Helldivers of VB-89 and F4U Corsairs lined up for launch on the flight deck of the U.S. Navy Essex-class fleet carrier USS Antietam (CV-36) on 14 August 1945.

View attachment 591864

The Antietam was the first carrier I remember docked at Pensacola to support carrier quals.

 

[michaelmaltby]

Histomil.com
bundesarchiv_bild_146-1981-084-30-_rotterdam-_deutsche_und_holla-ndische_offiziere-jpg.592474

 

[syscom3]

The remains of B-29 s/n 42-24582, 40th Bomb Group, which exploded on the runway, January 14 1945

 

[syscom3]

A German housewife uses one of the finished helmet saucepans in her kitchen, 23 August 1945.

 

[Snautzer01]

RARE Soviet Aviation Cadet Hiding In The Turbine Of A "MiG-15" Fighter Jet Photo | eBay

Bet his name is Oblomki Postoronnikh Predmetov.

 

[Wurger]