81-mm Mortar Emplacement

Posted on April 28, 2012 by Lone_Sentry_Admin

Diagram of a typical 81-mm Mortar Emplacement from the field manual FM 5-15: Field Fortifications, Corps of Engineers, U.S. War Department, February 1944.

81 mm Mortar Emplacement

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60mm Mortar Practice Shell

Posted on April 18, 2012 by Lone_Sentry_Admin

Illustration of 60-mm mortar practice shell from the U.S. WW2 technical manual: TM 9-1901: Artillery Ammunition, War Department Technical Manual, June 1944:

60mm Mortar Blue Practice Shell WW2 U.S.
 

81. SHELL, PRACTICE, M50A2, W /FUZE, P.D., M52, 60-MM MORTARS, M1 and M2, COMPLETE ROUND (fig. 59), is a practice round provided for the 60-mm mortars by adapting service items for this purpose. Components of the M50A2 Practice Round are the same as are used in the M49A2 Service Round except for the high-explosive shell filler. The M50A2 Projectile has a filler of inert material (plaster of paris and stearic acid) and a black powder pellet (0.05 lb) loaded adjacent to the booster of the M52 Fuze. The M52 Fuze is a superquick fuze and shell is functioned before penetration occurs. The black powder pellet and booster charge provide a spotting charge for observation purposes. The shell is loaded to the same weight as the service round, thereby providing for the same ballistic values.

DATA

     With M52
or M52B2 Fuze		    With M52B1
(Plastic) Fuze
Weight of complete round         2.96 lb      2.80 lb
Length of complete round       9.54 in.    9.54 in.
Muzzle velocity       518 ft per sec*    535 ft per sec*
Maximum range (at 45 deg)       1.984 yd*    2,017 yd*
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Nothing’ll Stop the Army Air Corps

Posted on April 7, 2012 by Lone_Sentry_Admin

Nothing will Stop the Army Air Corps

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Battery of the Battleship USS California

Posted on April 2, 2012 by Lone_Sentry_Admin

The shining 14-inch 50-caliber main guns, “sentinels of security,” form the forward main battery of the USS California (BB-44). The USS California was sunk on Battleship Row in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, but the ship was salvaged and reconstructed to serve in the Pacific for the remainder of WWII.

Main Battery of the Battleship USS California

Source: Bureau of Naval Personnel Information Bulletin, November 1942.
 

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Keep Your Military Service Records

Posted on March 18, 2012 by Lone_Sentry_Admin
Keep Your Military Service Records after Discharge

All Hands, April 1946.

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Me 262 Jet on the Autobahn

Posted on March 15, 2012 by Lone_Sentry_Admin
Color Photo Me 262 Jet Fighter of WW2

A U.S. soldier looks over a captured Luftwaffe Me 262 jet camouflaged in the forest along the edge of the autobahn near the end of WW2. (US Air Force Photo)

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Frozen Sauerkraut

Posted on March 12, 2012 by Lone_Sentry_Admin

A strange WWII sauerkraut photograph from U.S. Military Intelligence publication German Mountain Troops, December 1944.

Frozen Sauerkraut

Original caption: “Mountain troops in a Finnish forest have unloaded from a standard container a cylindrical chunk of frozen sauerkraut which they are cutting up. In an emergency shortage, sawdust may be mingled with sauerkraut as food filler.”
 

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Japanese Model 88 75-mm AA Gun

Posted on March 11, 2012 by Lone_Sentry_Admin

Description of the WWII Japanese Model 88 (1928) 75-mm Antiaircraft Gun from Japanese Field Artillery, Special Series No. 25, Military Intelligence Division, U.S. War Department, Washington, D.C., October 15, 1944.

Model 88 (1928) 75-mm AA Gun.

Model 88 (1928) 75-mm AA gun is the standard Japanese mobile antiaircraft artillery weapon. It has been encountered more generally in U.S. campaigns against the Japanese than any other artillery weapon. It has a high velocity which makes it suitable for use against ground targets, especially armor. It has been used both in defense of airfields against ground attack and in a dual-purpose role as an antiaircraft and coast-defense gun. For antitank purposes it has the advantage of all-round traverse and the disadvantage of limited mobility. It thus can be quite effective when fired from ambush against tanks, but it cannot shoot and run.

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New WWI and WWII Books from Tankograd

Posted on March 10, 2012 by Lone_Sentry_Admin

New March 2012 releases from Tankograd Publishing covering WWI and WWII have been announced. Tankograd specializes in publications on military vehicles and military history.

Sturmgeschutz III im Kampfeinsatz Kubelwagen on all Frontlines by Tankograd Grabenkrieg World War I Trench Warfare Grabenkrieg German Trench Warfare Vol. 2 by Tankograd
 

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Wings of Freedom Tour Visits New Orleans

Posted on March 9, 2012 by Lone_Sentry_Admin

Wings of Freedom Tour Collings FoundationThe Wings of Freedom Tour visits New Orleans with vintage aircraft including P-51 Mustang, Consolidated B-24 Liberator “Witchcraft”, and Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress “Nine O Nine”. The Collings Foundation’s Wings of Freedom Tour will be at Lakefront Airport from March 9th to March 11th.

Details from NOLA.com: “Hours of ground tours and display are: 2:00 PM through 5:00 PM on Friday, March 9; 9:00 AM through 5. Also on display will be a P-51 Mustang. Visitors are invited to explore the aircraft inside and out – $12 for adults and $6 for children under 12 is requested for access to up-close viewing and tours through the inside of the aircraft. WWII Veterans can tour through the aircraft at no cost. Discounted rates for school groups. Visitors may also experience the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to actually take a 30-minute flight aboard these rare aircraft. Flights on either the B-17 or B-24 are $425 per person. Get some ‘stick time’ in the world’s greatest fighter! P-51 flights are $2,200 for a half hour and $3,200 for a full hour.”

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