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The TDR unmanned assault drone aircraft was developed by Interstate Aircraft starting in Apr 1942 by request of the United States Navy. The prototype took its first flight in 1942. They were built using steel-tube framing from the bicycle manufacturer Schwinn and molded wood skin. They were powered by two 220-horsepower engines. They were equipped with fixed tricycle landing gears which were jettisoned following takeoff for an operational mission. They could be flown either from a control aircraft (which was usually a TBF Avenger torpedo bomber fitted with a television display, seeing a display transmitted from the camera at the TDR drone’s nose), or aboard the drone itself (for test flights). Originally the US Navy envisioned, under Operation Option, a force of 1,000 to 2,000 assault drones, organized into 18 squadrons with 162 control aircraft. Ultimately, however, the contract was reduced to 300 assault drones. In 1944, TDR-1 aircraft were deployed to the South Pacific. They conducted their first operational sortie on 27 Sep 1944, bombing Japanese ships. On 27 Oct 1944, 50 TDR-1 aircraft were launched against the Japanese stronghold of Rabaul, New Britain; 31 of them reached the target and damaged several buildings. The project was canceled on 28 Oct 1944, one day after the small success at Rabaul, the project was cancelled. By this date, a total of 189 production examples were built.
SPECIFICATIONS
TDR-1
MachineryTwo Lycoming O-435-2 opposed piston engines, rated at 220hp each
Armament1x2,000lb (910kg) bomb or 1x aerial torpedo
Span15.00 m
Weight, Maximum2,676 kg
Speed, Cruising225 km/h
Range, Maximum425 km
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Sunday, January 28, 2018
Blast from the past....TDR-1 assault drone in flight, 1942
pic and story via Vinegar Joe Tumblr Page.
Japanese Ground Self Defense Force Armor
Note. I monitor JGSDF Flickr Page and they've been posting pics of various pieces of hardware. Today they got around to armor. But if you're just curious about various bits that the Japanese Army uses for everyday work then I recommend you give them a look-see.
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| Type 74 MBT |
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| Type 90 MBT |
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| Type 10 MBT |
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| MCV 16 |
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| AAV (I believe this is a USMC pic that the Japanese used in their photo spread) |
Saturday, January 27, 2018
U.S. Coalition Forces ‘Well Prepared’ to Defend Against Turkish Offensive in Syria????????
via Free Beacon.
U.S. coalition forces stationed in the Syrian Kurdish town of Manbij are ready to guard against a threatened Turkish offensive that risks direct confrontation between the NATO allies, a coalition spokesman said Friday.Story here.
Turkey last week launched an air and ground assault on the northern Syrian enclave of Afrin in an attempt to oust the American-backed People's Protection Units, or YPG, which Ankara considers a terrorist group. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has threatened to extend the operation 60 miles east to Manbij, where, unlike in Afrin, the Pentagon maintains U.S. troops.
"Our forces there are well prepared to defend themselves," coalition spokesman Col. Ryan Dillon told the Washington Free Beacon. "We have air coverage over all of our troops so we're always prepared to defend ourselves, whether it's from ISIS or any other threat."
Just plain wow.
I'm of mixed mind here.
On one hand I don't like the idea of leaving the Kurds in the lurch.
On the other I don't like the idea of continued fighting in Syria when our SUPPOSED primary objective of killing ISIS has been achieved.
Let's face it. The only thing left of ISIS is a few remnants and that means mop up ops that can be accomplished without us.
This points to the nagging problem that Trump has yet to face. What we're doing in Syria has nothing to do with ISIS and everything to do with an unknown objective that the American people aren't being informed of.
But back on task.
This is ominous as hell.
The reality is that the Coalition Spokesman, a US Army Colonel just told the world that we're ready to cross swords if the Turks head our way.
The Turk people are awesome. The Turk leadership? They're batshit crazy. Expect our pilots to have fangs out at some point in the near future.
British A-400 visits Fightertown...pics by Cpl. Benjamin McDonald
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| A british A400 Atlas takes off from Marine Corps Air Station BeaufortJan. 25. The aircraft came to transport F-35 Lightning II parts back to England. This signifies the UK Squadron 617's transition back to the UK. |
UK & Germany are FUBAR...in steps France, Poland, Italy, Netherlands & Others...all is not lost!
Paralus linked to this Defense News article that talks about the PATHETIC state of the German Army. Check it out here.
For the largest economy in Europe, Germany’s military — the Bundeswehr — sure is small.My thoughts?
In fact, although smaller missions, like those in Afghanistan, remain possible, a larger conflict would likely catch the Bundeswehr off-guard, said Hans-Peter Bartels, parliamentary commissioner for the armed forces, in an interview with a German magazine.
Although the budget has increased slightly following criticism by U.S. President Donald Trump, the operational readiness of the German forces has further deteriorated this past year.
“The hard currency, in which the success of the [defense] minister is measured, is the readiness of the Bundeswehr,” Bartels said. “And that has not really improved in the last four years, but rather has become worse.”
“While foreign missions with small contingents went well, the Bundeswehr as a whole cannot currently be used in the collective defense,” he added.
We basically knew this. You have the German Army fans, true believers and Merkel sycophants that pushed a different meme but we've heard reports about the German military literally falling apart.
Subs that can't put to sea, Typhoons that can't fly and the Army using broom handles to simulate machine guns have circulated for more than a year.
Yep. We've seen the once Mighty British and German armed forces become FUBAR. Fucked Beyond Any Recognition.
So what is the point of this blog post.
To let my readers know that all is not lost.
The decline of the British and German military has been witnessed by all. But we've also seen "new players" and an old warhorse sustain their forces...or even increase their capabilities.
I point to those nations few ever really talk about in the context of European defense.
France is steady. Those bagel eaters are freaking solid. They don't do things the way I would like but they're keeping their forces capable and hard. Poland. Do I even have to say it? I don't buy the Russian threat thing, but I'll be damned if they're not putting together an impressive Army, their Air Force is coming along nicely and they have a 1st tier Special Ops outfit that I would trust to rescue me if I was held hostage by some head choppers.
Italy has a naval tradition that is hard to beat and their Marines (both from the Army side and the real deal Naval boys) are first rate and operate just like the USMC (but smaller....they're good...seen it with my own eyes). The Netherlands are rock hard. Good Navy, adequate Army (it is getting sliced to the point of me becoming a bit concerned though) and a real nice Air Force (the future of which rests on the F-35 actually delivering).
There are others too that I haven't named.
Like the people of Eastern Europe. They're hard. Some would call them brutish (mainly the cosmopolitan types in Berlin or London) but those small countries are taking steps to modernize their forces even a Germany and the UK leave the field.
I repeat the point I made at the beginning of this. European defense is going thru a transition to new power players and an old steady. Things are going to be different but the constant is there.
All is not lost. The EU is capable of defending itself. The major players are just changing.
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