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priscilla 1World War 1 in Colour
December 4th 2009 07:43
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Hiroshima, The Aftermath
August 19th 2009 10:59
On Monday, August 6, 1945 at 8:15 AM, the nuclear weapon Little Boy was dropped on Hiroshima by the crew of the American B-29 bomber Enola Gay. Pictures from the aftermath of the atomic blast are seen below. These images and information were sourced from life.com. Read more here.
After the atomic bomb detonates 1,968 feet above the city of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, a mushroom cloud is visible from miles away.
An aerial view of Hiroshima in September 1945, a month after the atomic blast, shows a city in which 90 percent of the buildings have been damaged or destroyed. The explosion killed 70,000 people instantly, while burns and radiation would kill tens of thousands more.
The August 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima had killed 70,000. By December, as this mother and child sit in the ruins, another 70,000 would die from injuries and radiation.
Even more than a mile from the center of the Hiroshima blast, as evidenced in this 1946 photo, the intense heat of the bomb etches eerie shadows into objects, burning surfaces that are exposed to light but leaving the rest untouched.
Hiroshima: Aftermath
Mushroom Cloud Over Hiroshima
After the atomic bomb detonates 1,968 feet above the city of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, a mushroom cloud is visible from miles away.
Atomic Bomb Flattens Hiroshima
WWII: Hiroshima
Shadow Effect
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Expensive Military Planes
August 12th 2009 07:53
As each new generation of military aircraft is developed, it costs exponentially more than the last. It was getting so bad that if this trend continued by 2050 the US Air Force would only be able to afford one fighter plane! That explains the decision to build F-35s rather than purchase more F-22s. See below for the most expensive aircraft used today by the US military, from fighters to bombers to personnel carriers and spy planes.
Information and images sourced from Time Magazine here.
The B-2 bomber was so costly that Congress cut its initial 1987 purchase order from 132 to 21. (A 2008 crash leaves the current number at 20.) The B-2 is hard to detect via infrared, acoustic, electromagnetic, visual or radar signals. This stealth capability makes it able to attack enemy targets with less fear of retaliation. In use since 1993, the B-2 has been deployed to both Iraq and Afghanistan.
First conceived during the Cold War as an airframe to vie with Soviet aircraft that was never built, the F-22 is touted by manufacturer Lockheed Martin as the best overall combat plane in the world — not to mention the most expensive. It can shoot down enemy cruise missiles, fly long distances at supersonic speeds and avoid nearly all types of radar detection. But the Senate debate over whether to build seven more — at a taxpayer cost of $1.67 billion — eventually came down to the plane's job-creating abilities. The axed project would have employed 25,000 Americans.
The Air Force military-transport plane is used to move troops into war zones, perform medical evacuations and conduct airdrop missions. There are 190 C17As in service; the aircraft is propelled by four turbofan engines (of the same type used on the twin-engine Boeing 757) and can drop 102 paratroopers at once. In operation since 1993, it has been used to deliver troops and humanitarian aid to Afghanistan and Iraq.
This high-tech helicopter project, intended to replace the President's aging chopper fleet, was running more than 50% over budget by the time Barack Obama took office. Soon after his Inauguration, the President announced plans to scrap the helicopters because of cost overruns. On July 22, however, the House Appropriations Committee unanimously approved restoring $485 million to fund the Kestrels.
A major step forward for surveillance and reconnaissance, the Advanced Hawkeye's powerful new radar system will increase the range of territory an aircraft can monitor by 300%. "It can probably watch the pistachios pop in Iran," an analyst for the think tank Lexington Institute told National Defense in July. Though development of the plane is on track and two test versions have been delivered to the Navy, budget cuts may keep the planes grounded for at least a year longer than planned.
Lockheed Martin's 2001 deal to build these stealth, supersonic fighter jets was at the time the largest military contract ever. The F-35s, intended to replace an aging aircraft arsenal, were developed as part of a Joint Strike Fighter program between the U.S. and its allies and were criticized as underpowered and overweight — and therefore easy targets. Making matters worse, from 2007 to 2008, cyberspies infiltrated the 7.5 million lines of computer code that powered the Joint Strike Fighter, raising concerns that enemies could copy the F-35's design and exploit its weaknesses. In April 2009, Lockheed Martin said it did not believe the program had been compromised.
This tiltrotor aircraft, which takes off and lands like a helicopter but can fly faster and farther like a fixed-wing plane, was first used in combat in Iraq in 2007. The Osprey's production has been bedeviled by design and construction problems: the craft claimed the lives of at least 30 Marines and civilians during its development alone (former Vice President Dick Cheney tried repeatedly to ground the plane). Still, because of its range and versatility, the Marine Corps plans to deploy a squadron of V-22s to Afghanistan by the end of the year.
Information and images sourced from Time Magazine here.
B-2 Spirit: $2.4 billion
F-22 Raptor: $350 million
C17A Globemaster III: $328 million
VH-71 Kestrel: $241 million
E-2D Advanced Hawkeye: $232 million
F-35 Lightning II: $122 million
V-22 Osprey: $118 million
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Comments (2) World Record Skydive
November 5th 2008 11:27
Colonel Joseph Kittinger holds the world record for the highest ever parachute jump set back in 1960. He was involved in Project Excelsior, which researched high altitude bailout. Col Kittinger wore a pressurised suit, and on August 16th he jumped from a helium balloon at a height of 102,800 feet (31,300 m). He fell for 4 minutes and 36 seconds reaching a maximum speed of 988 km/h or 274 m/s before opening his parachute at 18,000 feet (5,500 m). He set and still holds world records for highest parachute jump, longest drogue-fall (4 min), and fastest speed by a human through the atmosphere. See a picture of Kittinger's famous jump below:
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Nazi Occupied Paris
July 16th 2008 02:54
Today's rare colour pictures of Paris during the Nazi occupation of World War 2 are provided thanks to livejournal. The quality of the photos is remarkable, the one criticism of them is that they paint too rosy a picture of what life was like under the Nazis. Nonetheless, their historical significance cannot be denied.
The German occupation of France in World War II occurred during the period between May 1940 to December 1944. As a result of the disastrous defeat of the Allied armies in the Battle of France, the French cabinet sought a cessation of hostilities. An armistice was signed 22 June 1940 at Compiègne. Under its terms the north and west of France were occupied by the German Army, the remaining one third of the country was ruled by a French government located at Vichy.
When the Allies invaded North Africa on 8 November 1942, the Germans and Italians immediately occupied the remaining free part of France, Case Anton. The liberation of France began on 6 June 1944 with the Allied forces landing on D-Day and the Battle of Normandy and ended in December. Paris itself was liberated 25 August 1944.
*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 German occupation of France during World War II.
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The Sad Truth About War
June 27th 2008 13:45
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Military Submarines
June 16th 2008 12:26
Virginia (SSN 774) submarine at Norfolk, Virginia Naval Station, where it was commissioned in October 2004.
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
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Read More Russian WWII Tank Found in Estonian Lake
May 21st 2008 12:07
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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!
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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.
[ Click here to read more ]
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Stealth Aircraft
March 21st 2008 12:06
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.
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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.
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 ]
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
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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!
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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 ]
Below are some rare colour photographs from the Second World War, you can see many more pictures from this amazing gallery here.
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