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The Sad Truth About War

June 27th 2008 13:45


war cemetary grave



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Military Submarines

June 16th 2008 12:26
Military Submarines
Virginia (SSN 774) submarine at Norfolk, Virginia Naval Station, where it was commissioned in October 2004.
Although experimental submarines had been built before, submarine design took off during the 19th century. Submarines were first widely used in World War I, and feature in many large navies. Military usage ranges from attacking enemy ships or submarines, aircraft carrier protection, blockade running, ballistic missile submarines as part of a nuclear strike force, reconnaissance and covert insertion of special forces.

Submarines from around the world
The British Navy's HMS Vanguard on exercise.

Civilian uses for submarines include marine science, salvage, exploration and facility inspection/maintenance. Submarines can also be specialised to a function such as search and rescue, or undersea cable repair. Submarines are also used in tourism and for academic research.
Submarine pictures - Dry Dock
Texas (SSN 775) being moved to the floating dry dock.

Submarines have one of the largest ranges in capabilities of any vessel, ranging from small autonomous or one- or two-man vessels operating for a few hours, to vessels which can remain submerged for 6 months such as the Russian Typhoon class. Submarines can work at greater depths than are survivable or practical for human divers.
Submarine missile
The Ohio Class submarine is equipped with the Trident strategic ballistic missile.

Today's pictures are thanks to Naval-Technology.com.
Navy Submarines
The French Navy's Triomphant Class SSBM carries 16 vertically launched ballistic missiles.





*These pictures used with permission from Damn Funny Pictures.

**This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation Licence. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Submarine.
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WWII Russian tank found with German markings after 62 years



It's not often you get to pull a WWII tank out of a lake, especially one that had been used by the Russians and the Germans. Even though it had been submerged for 62 years, with a little "tinkering" the diesel engine started right up.


A Komatsu D375A-2 pulled an abandoned tank from its archival tomb under the bottom of a lake near Johvi, Estonia. The Soviet-built T34/76A tank had been resting at the bottom of the lake for 56 years.
According to its specifications, it's a 27-tonne machine with a top speed of 53km/h.

From February to September 1944, heavy battles were fought in the narrow, 50 km-wide, Narva front in the north-eastern part of Estonia.
Over 100,000 men were killed and 300,000 men were wounded there.
During battles in the summer of 1944,the tank was captured from the Soviet army and used by the German army. (This is the reason that there are German markings painted on the tank's exterior.) On 19
September 1944, German troops began an organized retreat along the Narva front. It is suspected that the tank was then purposefully driven into the lake, abandoning it when its captors left the area.


At that time, a local boy walking by the lake Kurtna Matasjarv noticed tank tracks leading into the lake, but not coming out anywhere For two months he saw air bubbles emerging from the lake. This gave him reason to believe that there must be an armoured vehicle at the lake's bottom few years ago, he told the story to the leader of the local war history club 'Otsing'.
Together with other club members, Mr. Igor Shedunov initiated diving expeditions to the bottom of the lake about a year ago. At the depth of 7 metres they discovered the tank resting under a 3-metre layer of peat.

Enthusiasts from the club, under Mr Shedunov's leadership, decided to pull the tank out. In September 2000 they turned to Mr Aleksander Borovkovthe, manager of the Narva open pit of the stock company AS Eesti Polevkivi, to rent the com pany's Komatsu D375A-2 bulldozer.
Currently used at the pit, the Komatsu dozer was manufactured in 1995, and has 19,000 operating hours without major repairs.

The pulling operation began at 09:00 and was concluded at 15:00, with several technical breaks. The weight of the tank, combined with the travel incline, made a pulling operation that required significant muscle. The
D375A-2 handled the operation with power and style. The weight of the fully armed tank was around 30 tons, so the active force required to retrieve it was similar. A main requirement for the 68-ton dozer was to have enough weight to prevent shoe-slip while moving up the hill.

After the tank surfaced, it turned out to be a trophy tank, that had been captured by the German army in the course of the battle at Sinimaed (Blue Hills) about six weeks before it was sunk in the lake. Altogether, 116 shells were found on board. Remarkably, the tank was in Good Condition, with NO RUST, and ALL SYSTEMS (except the engine) in working condition. This is a very rare machine, especially considering that it fought both on the Russian and the German sides.
Plans are under way to fully restore the tank. It will be displayed at a war history museum, that will be founded at the Gorodenko village on the left bank of the River Narv.


Russian German Tank in Estonian Lake


Top of WW2 tank in Estonia


Russian WWII tank coming out of Estonian Lake


WWII tank with Nazi markings in Estonia


World War 2 Russian Tank pulled out of Lake in Estonia


World War II Russian tank with German markings pulled out of Estonian lake


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Huge Military Force

April 11th 2008 13:43
Here is an awe-inspiring naval and air force on display. Aircraft carriers, battleships, fighters and bombers all in the same shot!


Massive naval and air military fleet - aircraft carriers, battleships, cruisers, stealth bombers, jet fighters

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Perfect Timing

March 24th 2008 12:53
Sometimes timing can be everything with photography, here are a few examples of when the timing has been perfect.

perfectly timed pictures - tank firing


perfectly timed photos- tank firing


Ship hitting a wave


Time stands still. Water over a bridge


Still picture of water catch


Perfect timing of an artillery shell shot




*These pictures used with permission from Damn Funny Pictures.
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Stealth Aircraft

March 21st 2008 12:06
Stealth airplane - B2 Bomber

A stealth aircraft is an aircraft that uses stealth technology to make it harder to be detected by radar and other means than conventional aircraft by employing a combination of features to reduce visibility in the visual, audio, infrared and radio frequency (RF) spectrum. Well known examples include the United States' F-117 Nighthawk (1980s–) and the modern F-22 Raptor fighter.
F-22 Stealth Raptor Fighter

[ Click here to read more ]
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The V-22 Osprey

January 16th 2008 11:42
The V-22 Osprey is a joint service, multimission, military tiltrotor aircraft with both a vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) and short takeoff and landing (STOL) capability. It is designed to perform missions like a conventional helicopter with the long-range, high-speed cruise performance of a turboprop aircraft.
Osprey military aircraft

The V-22 was developed by Bell Helicopter Textron, which manufactures it in partnership with Boeing Helicopters. The initial operators are the U.S. Marine Corps and United States Air Force. The FAA classifies the Osprey as a model of powered lift aircraft


[ Click here to read more ]
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Fighter Jet Picture

November 26th 2007 04:44
Fighter Jets are spectacular and awesome machines, and the pilots are just as skilled!



[ Click here to read more ]
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World War 2 Colour Pictures

October 15th 2007 10:59
World War II was the most widespread war in history, and countries involved mobilized more than 100 million military personnel. Total war erased the distinction between civil and military resources and saw the complete activation of a nation's economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities for the purposes of the war effort; nearly two-thirds of those killed in the war were civilians.
Below are some rare colour photographs from the Second World War, you can see many more pictures from this amazing gallery here.

[ Click here to read more ]
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War Posters

September 21st 2007 13:34
Here are some various war posters from different times throughout the last 100 years, all trying to send a different message. If you find these interesting you can see more posters here.


[ Click here to read more ]
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Swiss Guards

May 21st 2007 10:59
Swiss Guards are Swiss mercenary soldiers who have served as bodyguards, ceremonial guards and palace guards at foreign European courts from the late 15th century until the present day (in the form of the Papal Swiss Guard). They have generally had a high reputation for discipline and loyalty to their employers.

Various "Swiss Guards" have existed. The earliest such detachment was the Guard of the Hundred Swiss at the French court (1497 – 1830). This small force was complemented in 1567 by a Swiss Guard regiment. The Papal Swiss Guard in the Vatican was founded in 1506 and is the only Swiss Guard that still exists. In the 18th century several other Swiss Guards existed for periods in various European courts


[ Click here to read more ]
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Gunshot in Slow Motion

March 28th 2007 11:13
The photos below capture the moment a bullet is fired and enters ballistics gel.
Note the gunpowder exiting the barrel of the pistol and the damage the shockwave from the bullet does to the ballistics gel.
Also note the shape of the bullet as it exits the gel, they deform like that deliberately to do more damage


[ Click here to read more ]
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Nuclear Test Explosions

October 17th 2006 05:19
A nuclear explosion occurs as a result of the rapid release of energy from an uncontrolled nuclear reaction. The driving reaction may be nuclear fission, nuclear fusion or a multistage cascading combination of the two.

Atmospheric nuclear explosions are associated with "mushroom clouds" although mushroom clouds can occur with large chemical explosions and it is possible to have an air burst nuclear explosion without these clouds. Nuclear explosions produce large amounts of radiation and radioactive debris


[ Click here to read more ]
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Armoured Hummers

August 23rd 2006 04:15
Up-armored High Mobility Multi-purpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWV).

Armored Humvee - Iraq
M1116 HMMWV Up-Armored Vehicle
Armoured Humvee - Iraq
M1116 HMMWV Up-Armored Vehicle

[ Click here to read more ]
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