Tom Vod

[hw97karbine @hw97karbine]

USAAF B-24 Liberator bomber under the guns of Feldwebel Kurt Gren in a IV.(Sturm)/JG 3 Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-8/R8 "Sturmbock" over Hungary on August 22nd 1944

[Aviation Archive - Tim Farmer @aviationarchive]

Invented by the British in 1944, allied fighters used paper drop tanks of glue-soaked kraft paper to extend range. The lightweight tanks leaked after hours so crews filled them right before takeoff then dropped them after use saving metal and denying scrap to the enemy.🫡

[Fahad Naim @Fahadnaimb]

King Air lead plane dropping white smoke to mark the DZ for the DC-10 tanker's red retardant run. Perfect coordination on this wildfire drop. These birds work together like pros

[hw97karbine @hw97karbine]

Maintenance and resupply for 14. Panzer-Division Panzer IV Ausf. F infantry support tanks before going into action during the Second Battle of Kharkov in 1942

[Aviation Archive - Tim Farmer @aviationarchive]

Some great footage of P-47D “Peggy Short/Pee-Wee”(and friends) from 1945 at Fritzlar, Germany assigned to the 386th Fighter Squadron, 365th Fighter Group (Hell Hawks) and flown by 1st Lt. Cecil R. Ettinger, who completed 65 missions and scored his only kill on April 18th, 1945.🫡

[hw97karbine @hw97karbine]

Kriegsmarine personnel laying torpedo nets to protect Bismarck-class battleship Tirpitz and Admiral Hipper-class heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen at anchor in a Norwegian fjord circa early 1942

[Voices of WW2 @VoicesofWW2]

Luftwaffe Guncamera footage Messerschmitt Bf-109G6 | Battle for Germany June 1944

[Aviation Archive - Tim Farmer @aviationarchive]

Demo at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Maryland of a 37mm gun, possibly a Baldwin (Model 1918 Type M1), mounted to a Liberty engine through the hub of the propeller shaft that is offset from the crankshaft. I can't find solid evidence this was produced but interesting nonetheless.👀

[Aviation Archive - Tim Farmer @aviationarchive]

The Italian Savoia-Marchetti S.66, designed and built in 1931 by Savoia-Marchetti as an enlarged S.55 with three Fiat engines. It served Ala Littoria on Mediterranean routes before military use with the Regia Aeronautica until 1943. 👀

[Rusty @LieutenantRusty]

Star Wars.

Not Episode 4. Not A New Hope.

And yes: Han shoots first.

Here's the 50th Anniversary Re-release Trailer.

THIS is the Star Wars product I've been waiting to spend my money on.

[Best of Star Wars @bestofstarwar]

For ESB, director Irvin Kershner decided that Rebel Alliance members would speak with American accents, while Imperial officers would speak with British accents, to apparently* make the story analogous to the American Revolution.

However, most supporting actors who appeared as Rebel personnel on Hoth were British. Consequently, Kershner had to redub several scenes at the Hoth rebel base with American voices in post-production.

[Best of Star Wars @bestofstarwar]

For the ESB, George Lucas decided that a battle on an ice planet was necessary because he felt it was easy to "cheat" in space, as the black background allowed hiding errors easily. With a white background, the effects crews would have to work much harder, and the effects would be much more impressive.

[Puddle Jumper 🦨 @Mach3Plus]

This is an oldie but goodie of the SR-71 doing a flyby at Edwards AFB. I was lucky enough to witness this in person before we headed out on another mission to Howard AFB to pick up some equipment. Ironically, Edwards had also sent some of their crew chiefs down to Howard to work on A-37s from the 24th Tactical Air Support Squadron “Golden Jaguars,” which flew critical close air support and forward air control missions.

This video was filmed at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center on Feb 15, 1990, this footage shows a Lockheed SR-71A (NASA tail number 844) making a flyby over building 4800 after being delivered from the USAF to NASA. This video was shot on Thursday morning from the ramp with a VHS video camera rented from the Dryden equipment trailer. Two flybys were performed that morning, the first being a smooth low speed pass, the second an awesome skeleton rattling pass.

This is footage of the second pass. The USAF SR-71 pilot is Lt. Col. Terry Pappas. The sound pressure waves were so intense they actually distorted the VHS tape during recording, something noticeable even on the first playback. Most of the personnel on the ramp were NASA Dryden employees and contractors, including legendary test pilot Bill Dana. In the background you can also spot a F-104, T-38, and the famous NB-52B we called Balls 8.

[Marc Heighway @NewForestRamble]

Czechoslovak airmen and their Liberators at RAF Beaulieu, New Forest, during WW2. The 311 Squadron had the highest fatality rate of any Czechoslovak RAF squadron during the war. 32 of those deaths occurred whilst at Beaulieu.

[The Military Watch @MarcinRogowsk14]

Mowing the grass.

[hw97karbine @hw97karbine]

Due to the higher wing loading, B-24 formations could not be flown as tight as the B-17 and this rendered the mutually supporting fire from the bomber turrets less effective

[hw97karbine @hw97karbine]

The "Sturmböcke" Focke-Wulf Fw 190 bomber destroyers were fitted with relatively heavy armor that gave Luftwaffe pilots the confidence to make such attacks in the face of the bombers' defensive guns, however the extra weight also made them vulnerable to escorting fighters

[hw97karbine @hw97karbine]

Luftwaffe fighter ignores the combined firepower of a USAAF B-24 Liberator combat box to single out a bomber from dead astern

Significant amounts of debris can be seen coming off the B-24 that starts taking hits at long range while a fellow bomber jettisons its payload

[Aviation Archive - Tim Farmer @aviationarchive]

On September 1, 1974, Maj. James Sullivan and Maj. Noel F. Widdifield flew their SR-71 Blackbird from New York to London in 1 hr 54 min at an average 1,807 mph over 3,461 miles, cruising at 80,000 feet and refueled once.👀

[hw97karbine @hw97karbine]

The crew of USAAF 340th Bomb Squadron Boeing B-17F Flying Fortress 41-9020 happy to be back at their RAF Bovingdon base after a mid-air collision with fellow bomber 41-9051 on October 9th 1942

The latter aircraft landed safely at RAF Detling also without casualties