WW2 photos of Margaret Bourke-White, John Florea, J R Eyerman, and George Silk for Life magazine

Thanks to T Wilson 66 for telling me about this video of the tank battle of Cologne, it's incredible, and that Panzer in the photo is the one in the video

https://www.thevintagenews.com/2016/01/18/45959/

https://www.facebook.com/Radio.WW2/

Coolest thing you'll read today.

KC-135 'Flying Gas Station' on a routine trans-Atlantic flight shepparding F-4 Phantoms.

Midway across the Atlantic, and just prior to the fourth refuel, one of the F-4s started to develop some engine problems. After a quick visual from one of the other Phantoms, it was discovered Ghost’s F-4 was bleeding oil.

Shortly after barely burning turbines started to wind down. The Phantom, which is known for its dependence on power to keep flying, started to bleed airspeed and altitude simultaneously.

At this point, with the number two engine barely hanging on, the number one began to struggle with the higher temperatures and load of keeping the Phantom airborne. Watching the airspeed decay, Ghost decided to jettison his external tanks to reduce drag and weight in hopes of saving his dying jet.

Struggling with a dying number one, and an overheating number two, all the while maintaining a 45-degree nose-up attitude to keep altitude over the frigid Atlantic beneath. But sadly, moments after dropping his tanks, his jet’s hydraulic system failed, crippling the stricken jet even further. The list of available options was reduced to one.

Eject.

Still 520 miles out to sea, and facing a certain death in the waters below, “North Star” KC-135, pulled high and in front of Ghost’s Phantom, dropping flaps and slats to slow to the speed of the crippled jet.

As the altitude dropped to 4000 feet over the water, North Star hooked up with Ghost’s Phantom, and started to transfer fuel to his starving J-79 engines. Considering the lack of hydraulics, and asymmetric thrust produced by the F-4, as well as the high angle of attack flown by both aircraft at low airspeed and altitude, this was no easy feat.

The F-4E could not hold on, and broke away from the tanker, nose down in a final decent towards the waters below. The crew of North Star pushed their nose over and chased the Phantom lower and slower, this time indicating as little as 190 knots at 1,400 feet above the waves.

Amazingly, holding the connection, North Star began to actually tow Ghost’s Phantom for the final 160 miles to Gander Newfoundland, using nothing but the fueling boom.

As the coast of Newfoundland appeared on the horizon, and at an altitude of 6,000 feet, Ghost was able to coax a little power out of his now cooled number two engine, disengaged from the boom, and was now left with the simple proposition of landing a Phantom that was only capable of banking left.

Ghost’s WSO quickly formulated an approach that would allow the jet to align with Gander’s main runway while taking into account the jets limited performance abilities.

Moments later, Ghost and his WSO touched down safe and dry on the runway complex at Gander, and rolled to a stop.

The crew of North Star all received the Mackay Trophy for their efforts above and beyond the call of duty in saving the F-4E crew from certain death in the waters below.

http://www.breedofspeed.org/1/post/2015/09/the-time-a-tanker-saved-a-fighter-that-was-falling-apart-over-the-atlantic.html

American "doughboys" soldiers posing beside a captured German portable electric searchlight on the battlefields of Europe during World War I

http://www.periodpaper.com/collections/military/products/1934-print-wwi-us-army-german-portable-searchlight-military-trench-warfare-wagon-218492-xeqa6-084

WW1 German fake tanks

Photo by the very famous Margaret Bourke White

http://www.periodpaper.com/collections/military?page=34

Storm damaged B-36s

Found on https://www.facebook.com/breedofspeed/?fref=nf

the WW2 War Department film on how to waterproof a Jeep

this goop is Asbestos Waterproofing Compound, AWC

I wouldn't have thought about the battery vents... good idea!

Found on https://www.facebook.com/groups/1631935880418477/?fref=nf

A lot of spare tread... doubles as armor I guess

https://www.facebook.com/WW2-Colourised-Photos-393166910813107/?ref=stream

Some days I end with something cool for you to see first thing in your day, but I love to hit a home run and show you something you've never seen before. Like an elephant pulling a WW2 amphib airplane

It's a Supermarine Walrus. Yeah, I've never heard of that, and couldn't come up with a good joke about elephants and walrus.

Found on https://www.facebook.com/groups/103715686627022/

look at the monster rims on this funeral cart

I've seen tanks with less stout rims!

Burial of a Portuguese officer from the Green Legion which is attached to the Spanish Blue division.

Found on https://www.facebook.com/groups/103715686627022/?fref=nf

B-29's and motorbike cops... this is one unique photo.

Found on https://www.facebook.com/groups/111664952275098/

this Spitfire was restored, and they had to figure out what it's history was before they could get it certified ready for flight

The Isreali Air Force had acquired it in 1948, belly landed it in Burma in 54, the Burmese repaired it and flew it until '57

A researcher was hired who went through the Israeli archives and he found “Ex 633” written on an aircraft servicing form. Learning this led to finding its whole history

RAF Spitfire SL633 was built in at the end of WWII in 1945 and with 53 others it would be part of a Czech fighter wing. There it was used in various roles until the communist takeover in 1948. The Czechs had promised to help the new Israeli state with military arms and the SL633 was part of that aid package.

https://www.warhistoryonline.com/military-vehicle-news/how-to-assemble-a-crated-spitfire-from-burma.html

the Jeep graveyard of Okinawa, 1949, photographed by a Life Magazine photographer

Found on http://jpfreek.com/2015/01/08/insane-wwii-jeep-graveyard-photos/

Stuck, or just a good place to get a break from ants?

Found on https://www.facebook.com/jpfreekadventuremagazine/

Tom Cotter found some Cobras in barns, but never a Panther in a basement!

Last seen 37 years ago, and never since, the Panther was suspected of being in the possession of a certain military relic collector, but they didn't know, nor did they suspect he had torpedos. Yes, he did.

https://www.warhistoryonline.com/war-articles/ww2-panther-tank-recovered-from-a-cellar.html

"When a Kiel prosecutor suspected the existence of war relics in a villa in the town of Heikendrof, the only way to find out was the police raid. Possession of war relics, or weaponry is banned in Germany and is a prosecutable offence. The raiding party and prosecutors were in awe to find a fully intact panther tank in the underground garage as well as a number of other weapons from the Nazi era." 

Marine's New Sea Beast: Amphibious Assault Vehicle

short and to the point above



found on https://www.facebook.com/groups/321577158048111/

Amazing time-lapse of the disassembly of an entire U-2 plane

and landings of the U2

Army was conned into thinking they could beat Navy if they took the tanks underwater... morons

Found on https://www.facebook.com/usawtfm/?fref=nf

and this video proves it... https://www.facebook.com/SpassBefohlen/videos/811051812339379/ 

Pharr, Texas had no fire department and no equipment until Pershing passed through looking for Pancho Villa and brought down hose reels with them. When WWI started up, they left those hose reels behind

https://www.facebook.com/TracesofTexas/?fref=nf

The Flugboot, the flying boat of the Nazis, there was only one, that's why we've never heard of it

German sources, based in part on the testimony of nearby inhabitants and Blohm & Voss employees, claim that the BV 238 V1 was discovered by the RAF between 23 April and 26 April 1945

The Allies were reportedly concerned that Adolf Hitler could use it to escape to South America, and so an attack followed shortly afterwards, and on May 4th they staffed it and sank it

Found on https://www.thevintagenews.com/2015/12/11/the-beuatiful-ugly-german-flugboot/

approximately 40 B-17s were repaired and put back into the air by the Luftwaffe, I did not know that... even the Japanese fixed and flew them

And Kim wrote in to let me know "The German use of B-17s effectively made her the 3rd largest operator of that type, after USA and Great Britain. They were mainly used for teaching fighter pilots which angles the bomber's gunners couldn't cover. During WW2 a good number of B-17s landed in neutral Switzerland and Sweden, where they too were put to use by the local air forces." 

Found on https://www.facebook.com/groups/103715686627022/?fref=nf

Macin sent me links to a couple webpages that fill in information about the German use of captured B 17s: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kampfgeschwader_200  about a secret wing of the Lufftwaffe, the 200. A book was written about the 200 Geoffrey Thomas: KG200: Luftwaffe’s Most Secret Squadron, Hikoki Publications, August 2004, ISBN 1902109333
and http://www.2worldwar2.com/kg200.htm

KG 200 was a unique unit, which operated a wide variety of aircraft–from the Blohm und Voss Bv-222 Wiking (the largest flying boat of the era) to the Junkers Ju-52, Ju-90, Ju-290 and Ju-188, the Heinkel He-111, and even captured British, Russian, and American aircraft such as the Consolidated B-24 Liberator and the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress. The majority of the captured allied aircraft were repaired, repaired, maintained and flown by the Zirkus Rosarius

https://www.facebook.com/groups/103715686627022/

Force-landed at a Luftwaffe airfield in France on Feb. 4,1944. Repaired and flown by KG200 as A3+KB. She was recaptured at Salsburg,Austria in May 1945.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/dougsheley/4235540555/