Military Tech in Action

[Gerald]

Our picks of the best images of the military in action, highlighting the technology that the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines deal with every day.

http://www.foxnews.com/slideshow/sci...=faces#slide=1

[Platapus]

Mid air refueling for a helo must be stressful

[Gerald]

Originally Posted by Platapus

Mid air refueling for a helo must be stressful

[Oberon]

I'd say so!

[Gerald]

Originally Posted by Oberon

I'd say so!

[krashkart]

Originally Posted by Oberon

I'd say so!

Oh...! Those are some sturdy rotor blades.

[Sailor Steve]

Did somebody say refueling?

[TLAM Strike]

Steve that's not how you do it...

This is how you do it!

[Sailor Steve]

Which one's giving and which one's recieving?

I always knew there was something odd about those Soviets.

[TLAM Strike]

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

Which one's giving and which one's recieving?

I think its more of a mutually satisfying operation...

I always knew there was something odd about those Soviets.

"Odd" doesn't begin to cover it...

Yes those are what you think and yes they actually did use them in combat...

[Sledgehammer427]

question is, did it work?

can you imagine what kind of carnage would have been caused if one of those planes failed to release? or if one of the wings didn't release but the rest of the plane did?

[Oberon]

Awesome pic Steve...and TLAM...that first Russkie pic has me confused...but then again, so does a lot of stuff the Russkies did Particularly it confuses me how they managed to connect the hose in mid air...

[Lionclaw]

Originally Posted by Oberon

Awesome pic Steve...and TLAM...that first Russkie pic has me confused...but then again, so does a lot of stuff the Russkies did Particularly it confuses me how they managed to connect the hose in mid air...

Perhaps one of the planes flew really fast and pulled the airbrake making the hose snap forward and attach to the other plane?

[TLAM Strike]

Originally Posted by Sledgehammer427

question is, did it work?

Indeed they did:

After the Nazi invasion of the USSR on 22 June 1941, the Z-SPBs actually saw significant combat use, being sent to the Black Sea region for operations. The first Z-SPB raid was conducted on an oil depot in Constanta, Rumania on 26 July 1941. Two I-16SPBs were released on the raid, which was highly successful, the Rumanian defenders having no warning. In fact, the I-16SPBs conducted a casual circle over the town before diving in, with no one on the ground paying them real attention until the bombs went off. Further Z-SPB attacks were conducted, with a particular focus on bridges, which the I-16SPBs proved effective in bringing down; the average ratio of bomb hits to misses in Z-SPB missions easily exceeded 50%. Vakhmistrov provided engineering assistance to further Z-SPB operations, developing an external fuel tank to help stretch the range of the I-16SPB and beefing up the armor and defensive weapons of the vulnerable TB-3s.
Records of what the Rumanians and Germans thought of the Z-SPB attacks are sketchy, but it appears they were baffled as to where the little Polikarpov fighters were coming from. German advances in the south finally forced the withdrawal of the Z-SPBs, the last combat operation taking place on 22 October 1941. They did not see action again, since both the I-16 and the TB-3 were effectively obsolete. A total of 29 sorties of the Z-SPB took place, expending a total of 116 bombs, with losses of three I-16SPBs but no TB-3s.

from: http://www.vectorsite.net/avparsit.html

Originally Posted by Oberon

Awesome pic Steve...and TLAM...that first Russkie pic has me confused...but then again, so does a lot of stuff the Russkies did Particularly it confuses me how they managed to connect the hose in mid air...

Not that complicated really the plane in front trails a hose much like in the Probe and Drogue system. The bomber behind it catches the hose with a special hookup on its wingtip.

[Weiss Pinguin]

Originally Posted by Sledgehammer427

question is, did it work?

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zveno_project