And most controversially, successfully and famously, a DD Tank. This was a Sherman tank that the British modified to work in the water. It had a "skirt" which could be raised sort of like a canvas shower curtain to surround the tank.

Hundreds were dropped at D-day, miles from the beach. The problem was that with the rough waters, quite a few "drowned", taking their crew with them of course.

What you won't read in too many places is that they may have been the greatest generation, but humans are humans. When the fire from the beaches became intense, many of the sailors piloting the LCTs (Landing Craft - Tank) became primarily focused on getting their troops off their boat and into the water, so they could get the **** out of there. Some got their tanks off early -- too early -- which resulted in sunken tanks. I've read anecdotes that some soldiers, after seeing this, were not too keen on early drop offs, and that where the sailors were insisting that they get in the water, guns were pointed at sailors to help convince them to "get a little ****ing closer to the goddamn beach".

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http://worldwar2headquarters.com/ima.../ddSherman.jpg


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http://worldwar2headquarters.com/ima...man-screen.jpg

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for all the technological advances in aviation, my favorite airframe is STILL the A-10.

https://a2ua.com/a10/a10-007.jpg

the Spectre is badass too

https://www.funker530.com/wp-content...s/ac130pic.jpg

if you haven't read Red Eagles it's a great read

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrtttt

Depleted uranium, yummy.

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http://i.imgur.com/K755e2X.png?1

Armor of the Polish Winged Hussars. As the rest of Europe was going for less armor on cavalry due to the emergence of guns in armies, the Poles continued to field cavalry clad in heavy armor. The wings were actually worn into battle and there are many theories as to why.

First is that the Tartars and Cossacks of the Ukraine and Crimea used lassos in battle to lasso and pull down cavalry and the wings prevented that. Another is that the ostrich feathers in the wings made a whistling sound at full gallop which unnerved horses not used to it. A final theory is that is was simply for flamboyance and to strike fear into the opposing army as the Winged Hussars were the premier cavalry in their age.

The A-12:

It was supposed to be an all-weather, carrier-based stealth bomber.

There are quite a few old timers around here that were present when the news hit that the program was cancelled. They say it was like a death march as everyone marched out to their cars after being laid off en masse.

On a positive note, there was a full scale mockup at the north end of our property for quite a while. They finally moved it a couple of years ago - I'm not sure what they did with it. You used to be able to see it on google maps.

https://vmap.wikispaces.com/file/vie.../799x386/1.jpg

The dominance of the English longbow is generally known. Far less known is the bow that allowed the Mongols to become the greatest conquerors in history. The Mongolian recurved bow allowed for phenomenal power and accuracy while shooting from horseback. The concept of "Mongol hordes", sweeping across Europe by sheer weight of numbers, is a gigantic fallacy. In fact, it was Mongolian speed/maneuverability plus the recurved bow, that led to the largest empire in human history.

http://www.coldsiberia.org/monbow.ht...no_string1.jpg

http://www.coldsiberia.org/monbow.htg/bow_w_string.jpg

http://www.coldsiberia.org/monbow.htg/bow_shoot1.jpg

https://d3pl14o4ufnhvd.cloudfront.ne...c_original.jpg

They fired their bows differently too.

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I'm a big fan of the A-10 myself, Mikey... had the privelege of watching them do live fire training a number of times. One of the training areas we frequently used was in the mountains overlooking their firing range in the valley below, they are ungainly looking and LOUD. How the Air Force thinks the F-35 will EVER be able to do CAS as well as those things is extremely hard to fathom

Those Polish Hussars outfits are really quite something, Gloucester... I'm guessing they just liked the grand look of them, with the wind whistling through the feathers being a pleasing byproduct

Recurved bow, definitely ahead of its time, the conquered people and their standard bows didnt have a chance, they were outranged every single time

The A-2 Avenger is just WOW, never heard of it, what a beauty. I have some interesting ideas about how the delta/flying wing shape came to be so popular :hmmm:

Thanks for all of the posts, gents

"Spray can" sized anti-ballistic deployable barriers by DARPA

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