Cool pics

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by Schroeder

Impressive. I wonder what the British WWI tank did there. My best guess is that it was taken from a museum as a last ditch effort to stop the Soviets but it's pretty strange nonetheless.

That was one of my initial thoughts also

[Oberon]

Originally Posted by Schroeder

Impressive. I wonder what the British WWI tank did there. My best guess is that it was taken from a museum as a last ditch effort to stop the Soviets but it's pretty strange nonetheless.

Originally Posted by Jimbuna

That was one of my initial thoughts also

You're both in good company, when I sent this to Raptor he said the same thing and did a little research. Apparently it was taken from a Soviet monument at Smolensk during Barbarossa (It was captured by the Soviets during the civil war) then put on display at the Lustgarden along with other militaria. Whether it was actually used during the Battle for Berlin is not so sure, it could have been used as an MG nest (it's a Female Mark V) or an artillery tractor or both. Also unknown is its fate, whether it was cut up for scrap or disappeared off into the Soviet Union.

[Tango589]

Any idea what's being written on the shells in pics 3/4?

[Oberon]

Originally Posted by Tango589

Any idea what's being written on the shells in pics 3/4?

"For Hitler"
"For Berlin"
"For Reichstag"

[Aktungbby]

http://beutepanzer.ru/Beutepanzer/uk/MK_V/Mk_V.htm [QUOTE] The last known use of the Mk V in battle was by units of the Red Army during the defence of Tallinn against German forces in August 1941. The four Mk Vs previously operated by Estonia were used as dug-in fortifications. It is believed that they were subsequently scrapped.
In 1945, Allied troops came across two badly damaged Mk V tanks in Berlin. Photographic evidence indicates that these were survivors of the Russian Civil War and had previously been displayed as a monument in Smolensk, Russia, before being brought to Berlin after the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941. Accounts of their active involvement in the Battle of Berlin have not been verified. (not quite so from another source.

Sometimes I wonder if it was a dream” he muses recalling that fateful flight. The last time he and Navigator George Compton saw each other prior to this meeting they were bailing out of a burning B-17 over Berlin. Compton was suffering extensive injuries that included the loss of an eye. Schrimsher came away almost unscratched. Bombardier James Conway also escaped unhurt. Shells were literally exploding within feet of him and bullets were whizzing every which way and yet he was not touched. He parachuted and was captured by what looked to him like a group of Hitler Youth. They stripped him of his outer flight suit but left him wearing his (no longer) electrically heated flight suit. He was then loaded on a turretless World War One tank for a trip thru Berlin's streets."
"There I am standing in this old tank in this bright blue suit going through the Berlin suburbs.” He had become a war trophy

So one at least was utilized and mobile enough for POW transport!??
My gueß is they ( the 2 stolen In Barbarossa from Smolensk were in Berlin at war's end) were not repatriated back to Russia. Pic on one shows a lot of battle damage. They stole everything from musums much less their own monuments; A female Mark V is on display at Severodvinsk, Arkhangelsk since 1938: http://tank-photographs.s3-website-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/ww1-red-army-mark-V-female-tank.html

[Jimbuna]

This flak tower also caught my attention

https://warisboring.com/hitlers-flak...725#.9jztxzphr

[Mr Quatro]

[Oberon]

That must be one cold pilot to have the cockpit open at that altitude!

[Oberon]

A collection of pictures of Operation Citadel, some NSFW:

http://imgur.com/a/GZbvp#SI5H88u

[Jimbuna]

Thanks for sharing Jamie

[Aktungbby]

The guy on the left has 'second thoughts'...
The Elefant (German for "elephant") was a heavy tank destroyer used by German WehrmachtPanzerjäger during World War II. It was built in small numbers in 1943 under the name Ferdinand after its designer Ferdinand Porsche, using tank hulls that had been produced for the Tiger I tank requirement which was rejected in favour of a Henschel design.
In 1944, after modification of the existing vehicles, they were renamed Elefant. The official German designation was Panzerjäger Tiger (P) and the ordnance inventory designation was Sd. Kfz. 184. First used (89)at Kursk in Citadel only two survived WWII-an easy target for swarming infantry and mines and too heavy for combat recovery vehicles to salvage : It was announced in 2016 that the Fort Lee Elefant would be loaned to the Bovington Tank Museum in Dorset, UK. The vehicle will be displayed as part of the museum's "Tiger Collection" display from April 2017. This display aims to bring all the members of the Tiger family together in one place for the first time.

[Oberon]

Originally Posted by Aktungbby

The guy on the left has 'second thoughts'...

I believe that's General Hoth, and I would not be at all surprised if he did have second thoughts by the time of Kursk considering the kicking that the 3rd Panzer Group got in the retreat of '41.

[Schroeder]

@Aktungbby

It's Porsche not Porsch. The "e" at the name's end isn't silent.

[Oberon]

One for Jim, what a Banana looks like from a sub periscope:

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by Oberon

One for Jim, what a Banana looks like from a sub periscope:

Never seen that one before so I'll post it over on the crazy gangs site, TA!!