Lone Sentry Blog

Trumpeter’s April Announcements

Posted on March 7, 2015 by Lone_Sentry_Admin

Trumpeter has announced two new WWII-era kits in their April 2015 product updates: Item No. 05770: 1/700th USS Maryland BB-46, 1945 and Item No. 03218: 1/32nd Junkers Ju-87G-2 Stuka.

Posted in scale models | Tagged battleship, Ju87, junkers, stuka, trumpeter, USS Maryland | Comments Off

Replacing M4 Tank Final-Drive Assembly

Posted on March 6, 2015 by Lone_Sentry_Admin

Instructions for replacing the final-drive assembly on the M4 Sherman tank, from Army Motors, Vol. 6, No. 2, Maintenance Division, Office, Chief of Ordnance, May 1945.

Replacing M4 Tank Final-Drive Assemblies

Time was when M4 medium tanks with damaged power trains had to run home to mother for mending–like little apple-filchers with buckshot in their final drive assemblies. Now, when your M4-series job (or related gun or howitzer motor carriage) has something more like dribble where the drive should be, you don’t have to pack it off to some 4th-echelon tank hospital for a slow cure. Instead, you can put in a whole new controlled differential and transmission final-drive assembly right there in the field, according to TB ORD 275.

Four of these assemblies, complete with everything but whistles, have at last been made authorized items of issue for lower echelon installation. They are:

—  1-piece differential housing, single-anchor-brake type, Ord. Part No. A5700061, Official Stock No. G104-5700061.

—  1-piece differential housing, double-anchor-brake type, Ord. Part No. A5700062, Official Stock No. G104-5700062 (Fig. 1).

—  3-piece differential housing, single-anchor-brake type, Ord. Part A5700060, Official Stock No. G104-5700060 (Fig. 2).

—  3-piece differential housing, double-anchor-brake type, Ord. Part No. A57000196, Official Stock No. G104-57000196.

They’ll be assembled at your favorite base shop or Ordnance supply depot from parts and housings already in stock or made available through cannibalization. No important difference between any of them, and they’re all yours for the asking.

All you have to do is install ’em and send back the has-beens. But remember that the whole system will break down if you don’t send back complete assemblies. Only the final-reduction sub-assemblies (A294625) should be removed from a damaged unit before its sent to the rear for reconditioning.

Continue reading →

Posted in armor, miscellaneous, publications, research, training | Tagged assembly, drive, final, m4, maintenance, mechanics, tank | Comments Off

Helldiver Debut at Rabaul

Posted on March 5, 2015 by Lone_Sentry_Admin

Details of the combat debut of the U.S. Navy’s Curtiss SB2C Helldiver dive bomber at the Battle of Rabaul from Bureau of Naval Personnel Information Bulletin, February 1944.

HELLDIVER
The Navy’s New Dive Bomber Makes Debut In Smash at Rabaul

The Navy’s newest air weapon, the Curtiss Helldiver (SB2C), is in action. With the Vought Corsair (F4U) and Grumman Hellcat (F6F) fighters and the Grumman Avenger (TBF) torpedo bomber, it completes, to date, the Navy’s war-born aerial attack team. All four planes incorporate the lessons of modern warfare taught by battle experience since Pearl Harbor.

A fifth Navy combat plane placed in service since America entered the war is the Ventura (PV) patrol bomber.

Helldivers on a carrier roll forward to take off. Official U.S. Navy photographs.

In its first combat action, the 11 November raid on Rabaul, the Helldiver–bigger and heavier than any dive bomber previously used by our armed forces–accounted for the bulk of the extensive toll taken of Jap shipping.

Continue reading →

Posted in aircraft, navy, weapons | Tagged aircraft, curtiss, dive bomber, helldiver, navy, rabaul | Comments Off

AAA Ground Recognition Signals

Posted on March 1, 2015 by Lone_Sentry_Admin

The following comments from the commander of the U.S. 5th Armored Division on the proper use of ground recognition signals were published in “Antiaircraft Artillery Notes,” No. 5, November 22, 1944.

Subject: Use of Ground Recognition Signals
Source: AA Section, Headquarters Twelfth Army Group

The following extract is taken from AAA Situation Report No. 98, First US Army:

* * * *

“a. The following is quoted from a letter received at this headquarters from the Commanding General, 5th Armored Division:

“‘1. At approximately 1630, 2 November 1944, nine to twelve P-38s approached the CP of the 47th Armored Field Artillery Battalion located in a group of buildings about fifty (50) yards south of paved highway one mile southeast of ROETGEN (K-919273). After circling the CP twice, the three lead planes broke out of the circle and flew off in the direction of ROETGEN. The next three planes made a diving attack of the CP, dropping six bombs. ******* The 440th AAA thereupon fired six recognition flares, at which the remaining planes pulled out of dive without dropping bombs and dipped their wings and left the area.*******

“‘3 ******* AA did not fire on planes, other than recognition flares.’

“b. The AAA complied strictly with standing instructions, by firing flares and withholding fire of their weapons. The friendly A/C, recognizing the signal and the lack of fire from the ground, immediately ceased the attack. This exemplifies the manner in which such incidents must be handled.”

Posted in aircraft, publications, research, weapons | Tagged AAA, antiaircraft, combat reports, flares, recognition, research, signals, training | Comments Off

Italeri 1/72nd Short Stirling Mk. I

Posted on February 18, 2015 by Lone_Sentry_Admin

Italeri has announced a new 1/72-nd scale kit depicting the British heavy bomber Short Stirling Mk. I.

Posted in aircraft, scale models | Tagged 1/72nd, italeri, raf, short brothers, short sterling | 1 Comment

Don’t Be A Dope VI

Posted on February 12, 2015 by Lone_Sentry_Admin

An illustration from the “Don’t be a Dope!” series was included in the M36 tank destroyer technical manual.

Posted in armor, training | Tagged crew, dope, equipment, humor, M36, ordnance, tank, training | 1 Comment

Ace W15 TCC Tank Hunter

Posted on February 10, 2015 by Lone_Sentry_Admin

A new 1/72nd scale announcement by ACE Models covering the WWII era: Kit #72537: French Tank Hunter (6×6) W15T-CC.

Posted in scale models | Tagged 47mm, ACE, Laffly, tank hunter, TCC, W15 | 1 Comment

New Figures from Corsar Rex

Posted on February 6, 2015 by Lone_Sentry_Admin

Corsar Rex has released new 1/35th-scale resin figures depicting WWII German troops in winter uniforms. The big set contains five figures — CR 35089: GERMAN SOLDIERS, Wehrmacht & Waffen SS, Big Sets — or each figure can be ordered individually — CR 35084: GERMAN SOLDIER, Wehrmacht; CR 35085: GERMAN SOLDIER, Wehrmacht; CR 35086: GERMAN SOLDIER, Wehrmacht; CR 35087: GERMAN SOLDIER, Waffen SS; and CR 35088: GERMAN SOLDIER, Waffen SS.

Posted in scale models | Tagged camouflage, Corsar Rex, figures, snow, waffen ss, wehrmacht, winter | Comments Off

M3 Medium Tank Armament

Posted on February 3, 2015 by Lone_Sentry_Admin

Diagram of the armament and ammunition storage of the M3 Medium Tank. (Source: TM 9-750: Ordnance Maintenance, Medium Tanks M3, M3A1, and M3A2, Technical Manual, U.S. War Department, May 1942.)

Posted in armor, research, training | Tagged armament, m3, medium, ordnance, tank | 1 Comment

Waffen SS in the Ardennes Figures

Posted on February 1, 2015 by Lone_Sentry_Admin

New 1/35th-scale resin German figure sets from D-Day Miniature Studio:
   • No. 35027 — Waffen SS Soldiers at Rest, Ardennes 1944
   • No. 35030 — Waffen SS Jeep Crew, Ardennes 1944
Figures are also available individually as:
   • No. 35025 — Waffen SS Soldier Eating, Ardennes 1944
   • No. 35026 — Waffen SS Tanker, Ardennes 1944
   • No. 35028 — Waffen SS Jeep Driver, Ardennes 1944
   • No. 35029 — Waffen SS Jeep Passenger, Ardennes 1944

All figures are resin and sculpted by Pawel Krasicki. List price is 23€ for the sets, and 12€ for the individual figures.

waffen-ss-soldiers-at-rest

waffen-ss-jeep-crew

Posted in scale models | Tagged ardennes, D-Day Miniature Studio, figures, german, jeep, waffen ss | Comments Off