JAP Tanks by authenticast

The most effective Japanese armored vehicle thus far met by U.S. forces is the Type 97 (1937) medium tank (improved), a 15-ton tank mounting a high-velocity47-mm gun as its chief armament. 

This vehicle, which first appeared in the Philippines in 1942, has since been encountered in Burma and the Pacific theaters. A number of Type 97 mediums (improved) constituted a sizable part of the Japanese armored division which operated on Luzon in January and February 1945.

Although this tank is considered a superior fighting vehicle, Japanese armor on Luzon never mounted an attack with more than 16 tanks at any one time, and never employed the principle of mass. Instead of making use of the mobility of its tanks, the Japanese division chose, instead, to fight from fixed defenses and emplacements and to make piecemeal counterattacks. As a result, the Japanese armored effort resulted in little more than delay.

new from foundry

this is for pauls bods

54mm wargaming.Lombard volunteers in the Italian wars of 1840's

two of these are bmc and one is hing fat, I started making these conversions of the volunteers who joined the flag of Charles Albert .Many werer students and very few were peasants who saw little reward in the war and guess what they were right, nothing much changed for them after the war.As the Who song says "New Boss same as the old boss" . A little reminder to never get mixed up in other people's wars especially when they call it a war of liberation.The wars in Italy against the Austrians were akin to the first civil war in American and its finale at Yorktown. Both were about getting the riches of the land from another. The ordinary people were secondary.

new from corgi

Operation Grapple was the code name given to the British Hydrogen bomb tests carried out over the Pacific Ocean during 1957.  Christmas Island was chosen as the operational base with the island of Malden, 400 miles south-east, designated as the target area.  No. 49 Sqn, RAF Wittering was selected for the tests and a specially modified Vickers Valiant, XD818, arrived in November 1956.
The aircraft had strengthened control surfaces, additional cameras and sensors and metal anti-flash window screens. Piloted by Wg Cdr Kenneth Hubbard, at 09:00 hours on May 15th 1957, Valiant XD818 took off carrying Britain’s first thermo-nuclear ‘H’ bomb, code named ‘Grapple 1’.  Released at 10:36 hours from an altitude of 45000ft and detonated at 8000ft, the shock wave from the 0.3 megaton device was felt by the crew some 2.5 minutes after the blast.  Wg Cdr Hubbard observed the mushroom cloud before landing back on Christmas Island at 11:20 hours.

In recognition of their skill and professionalism, the crew of Valiant XD818 each received the Air Force Cross.

wilderness by atlantic

More than two months after Robert E. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia on April 9, 1865, the New York Times reported a most surprising piece of news. On May 12-13, the last battle of the Civil War had been fought at the southernmost tip of Texas—resulting in a Confederate victory.
Although Palmetto Ranch did nothing to change the war's outcome, it added the final irony to a conflict replete with ironie
s, unexpected successes, and lost opportunities. For these reasons, it has become both one of the most forgotten and most mythologized battles of the Civil War.
In this book, Jeffrey Hunt draws on previously unstudied letters and court martial records to offer a full and accurate account of the battle of Palmetto Ranch. As he recreates the events of the fighting that pitted the United States' 62nd Colored Troops and the 34th Indiana Veteran Volunteer Infantry against Texas cavalry and artillery battalions commanded by Colonel John S. "Rip" Ford, Hunt lays to rest many misconceptions about the battle. In particular, he reveals that the Texans were fully aware of events in the East—and still willing to fight for Southern independence. He also demonstrates that, far from fleeing the battle in a panic as some have asserted, the African American troops played a vital role in preventing the Union defeat from becoming a rout.

 

still on the square from revell in ho oo

new in 1-48 from revell