ANY HISTORICAL PICTURES ? (Aviation subject preferred but not essential )

[willedoo]

What's wrong with those yanks who have to put an s on aircraft?

 

It sounds like an Italian thing. Italian flight gear collectors I know all refer to it as flight gears if it's more than one item.

 

 

[onetrack]

During the early part of WW2, the almost-new, International Harvester factory at Geelong, VIC, cut back on agricultural machines and parts production, so they could assemble a sizeable number of Fairey Battles.

 

The FB's were shipped in, largely disassembled in crates, and the IH factory workers re-assembled them, despite having no aircraft assembly experience. No doubt, experienced aircraft construction supervisors oversaw the work.

 

After all the FB's were assembled and flown out, the Americans moved in, and the factory workers were then used to assemble Kittyhawks.

 

The IH factory in Geelong also produced sizeable numbers of armaments, munitions, and a host of components for many of the machines of war, during WW2.

 

The workforce at IH trebled during 1940-1945 to around 1200 employees, and a sizeable percentage of those newer employees were women, as there was a dire shortage of able-bodied men available for factory work, during the War.

 

https://cv.vic.gov.au/stories/a-diverse-state/north-shore-geelongs-boom-town-1920s-1950s/world-war-ii/

 

 

[willedoo]

This photo is not overly historic or old, but I've kept it for some time due to an interest in the odd looking vest the pilot is wearing. It was taken at Tatsinskaya training base in 1973 and the trainee pilot is Boris Bubeev. Tatsinskaya is in Russia not far from the Ukraine border and is the airfield used by the Germans in WW2 to supply their troops when they were cut off at Stalingrad. In the photo you can still see the WW2 Marston Mat used on the ramp. Training aircraft in the background is an Aero L-29.

 

But back to the vest that's perplexed me for the last couple of years. I've never seen one like it and in 1973 there were only certain known models of life vests in use. So I've just found out that Boris made the vest himself out of a couple of sets of anti gravity suits (speed jeans), but why. The only reason I can think of is that it was done as a joke.

 

He graduated the following year and had a long career as a flight instructor and electrical engineer

 

.

 

 

[pmccarthy1]

It looks like it contains a liquid. Might it be warm water, for warmth? Or was he carrying vodka? ? 

 

 

[willedoo]

Just filled with air. Although plenty of capacity for vodka and easy to administer if the hose is still on it.

 

 

[willedoo]

These photos are slightly aviation related. The Russian MOD has released some previously unseen photos of Churchill and Roosevelt arriving and sight seeing in Sevastopol, Crimea, ahead of the 1945 Yalta summit. They are part of a bunch of declassified documents and photos released before the 75th. anniversary of the summit.

 

Some sample photos; first photo shows what would be Roosevelt's DC-4 in the background, which would be the Presidential C-54C variant.

 

   

 

 

 

[willedoo]

Some photos from the early 70's. USAF F-4 Phantom barrel rolling over a Soviet Tu-95 Bear. They've been previously posted somewhere else on the site. This is the article they came from:

 

“We Did Barrel Rolls Around Tu-95s At The Request Of The Soviets”: F-4 WSO Explains The Story Of The Phantom Upside Down Near Bear