Captions of photographs in a book can only give so much information. Many times, the photographs simply exist to compliment the text and so a large caption isn't needed. Here, the idea of a caption is much expanded to provide a concise yet expansive history of a particular military photograph, be it of weapons, vehicles, personnel, or battles.
Tuesday, April 1, 2025
Russo-Ukrainian War: The Tokarev TT-33 Pistol
Monday, March 31, 2025
Russo-Ukrainian War: The GAZ-69
Tuesday, March 25, 2025
Russo-Ukrainian War: Supacat HMT 600 w/ ASRAAM
In February 2024, a video appeared online showing this vehicle, a British Supacat manufactured 6x6 HMT 600 (High Mobility Transporter) which is fitted with a launch system for the British ASRAAM (Advanced Short Range Air-to-Air Missile; AIM-132 in U.S. service) short range missile. It was originally believed this was the British Gravehawk SAM system but more recent reports state the pictured “FrankenSAM” is not Gravehawk. The final Gravehawk system is fitted within a standard shipping container which is transported by a Leyland DAF 8x8 DROPS (Demountable Rack Offload and Pickup System) truck. It uses Soviet-era Vympel R-73 missiles that are utilized by Ukrainian Air Force fighters as short range AAMs (Air-to-Air Missiles). As there is a surplus of R-73 missiles (NATO reporting name AA-11 Archer) due to the fact air-to-air combat between Ukrainian and Russian jets is rare, the R-73 is seeing use as a SAM.
However, the launcher on the Supacat HMT 600 is very similar to the one used on the Gravehawk, down to the shiny bolts that hold it together. In addition, the mast mounted sight is nearly identical to the one used on the Gravehawk. So, it is very possible that some of the equipment and apparatus seen here on the Supacat HMT 600 was incorporated into the final Gravehawk system.
Returning to the ASRAAM, it entered service in 1998 and it uses a dual-burn, high-impulse solid fuel rocket motor that can accelerate the ASRAAM to speeds exceeding Mach 3 (2,300 miles per hour). The maximum range around 30 miles. For a warhead, the ASRAAM has a 22 pound HE-FRAG (High-Explosive Fragmentation) payload and it can be triggered by one of two means: proximity fuze or impact. The ASRAAM uses LOAL (Lock-On After Launch) which means it can be launched and the onboard inertial guidance system will guide the missile towards the target, making adjustments as necessary to ensure a hit. There looks to be a Chess Dynamics Hawkeye optical suite which provides targeting, tracking, and target identification for the operator. The suite can be used with the ASRAAM to bring it to bear on a target. Speaking of targets, the ASRAAM is primarily deployed against Russian drones, loitering munitions, and cruise missiles.
As for the HMT 600, it is powered by a Cummins 6-cylinder diesel engine developing 180 horsepower and this provides for a top road speed of 75 miles per hour. The engine is paired to a Allison 5-speed automatic transmission. 53 gallons of fuel provide for a maximum cruise range of 435 miles. The cab is armored though to what level isn't stated in Supacat literature. It is also mine-resistant, in part due to the high wheelbase. Other features include ABS (Anti-lock Brake System), power steering, adjustable ride height, and four-wheel drive. As optional items, the HMT 600 can be fitted with runflat tires, self recovery winch, smoke grenade launchers, a RWS (Remote Weapons Station) mount, and IR lights.
Sunday, March 23, 2025
Russo-Ukrainian War: The Panzerhaubitze 2000 155mm SPH
Friday, March 21, 2025
Russo-Ukrainian War: The Yazicilar Duello PXD Shotgun
Monday, March 17, 2025
Russo-Ukrainian War: The KS-19 100mm Anti-Aircraft Gun
Saturday, March 15, 2025
Russo-Ukrainian War: The 57mm AZP S-60
The Russo-Ukrainian War is, for anyone that follows the weapons deployed by both Ukraine and Russia, a war of old and new arms technology. Both sides utilize weapons that saw manufacture in World War Two and built in the following decade past 1945. One example is shown here, the AZP S-60 57mm anti-aircraft gun. Standing for Avtomaticheskaya Zenitnaya Pushka (Automatic Anti-Aircraft Gun), the AZP S-60 first appeared in prototype form in 1946 and was accepted for service in 1950. Originally designed as a short- and medium range anti-aircraft gun, it is woefully obsolete in that role today without modern upgrades such as fully powered gun controls, improved ammunition,k and guidance systems. Instead, both the Ukrainians and the Russians are primarily using the AZP S-60 on ad-hoc self-propelled mountings as a rapid fire, short range artillery gun.
Normally, the AZP S-60 is mounted on a four-wheel carriage with outriggers to stabilize the platform when in action. The centrally mounted turntable permits 360 degrees of traverse while the gun mount allows for 85 degrees of maximum elevation and 4 degrees of depression. The combat weight of the AZP S-60 is five tons and a full crew consists of seven men. A 7mm thick gun shield offers a measure of protection to the gun crew from light small arms calibers and shell splinters. Typical gun crew in action is four men of which three are provided with seats (commander and two gunners to operate the power assisted, manual traverse and elevation/depression controls) and a loader. The remainder of the men are typically ammunition handlers, pushing clips to the loader. Speaking of clips, the AZP S-60 is fed from four-round clips which are pushed into a horizontal loading tray on the left side of the weapon. A well trained crew can maintain a sustained rate of fire of 70 rounds per minute though the AZP S-60 is capable of 120 rounds per minute.
The series of photographs here are screen captures from two different videos showing Ukrainian AZP S-60 crews in action, both posted on social media in February and March 2025. The first two show one of the self-propelled mountings, this particular one using a KamAZ-4310 6x6 truck. This is a typical mount, simply placing the gun and turntable onto a flat deck. The gun shield's upper half is folded down to lower the profile while to the left of the image (as one looks at it), the seat for the gunner can be seen along with the dual controls that raise and lower the gun. It is this gunner who fires the AZP S-60 via a foot trigger. Wooden crates of ammunition are lashed down to the bed. On the roof the KamAZ-4310's cab are at least two drone jammers. The next image shows the gun in action. The loader and commander are holding onto the traverse controls as the gun recoils and causes the truck to rock. The seat for the gunner who would have managed the traverse and the commander's seat (in the middle) have been removed though their mounts can be seen by the feet of the commander. As the gun is being used for indirect fire, to the right of the image is a panoramic periscope sight to enable the gunner to aim the weapon. Also of note, just behind the loader is a ready rack with a full clip for him to grab and load once the weapon is empty.
The second set show a AZP S-60 crew from the 112th. Territorial Defense Brigade preparing their gun for action while on a firing range. They are firing the UOR-281U HE-T (High-Explosive Tracer) ammunition. The sequence shows one of the ammunition handlers pushing the 4-round clip into the breech while the last image shows the loader cocking the charging handle. At this point, the weapon is ready to fire. Using such ammunition, the maximum range is around 3.8 miles.
Wednesday, March 12, 2025
Russo-Ukrainian War: The BTR-70DI Defender APC
Monday, March 10, 2025
Russo-Ukrainian War: The Lofting Attack Technique
Saturday, March 8, 2025
Russo-Ukrainian War: The RBU-6000 Smerch-2
Early in 2023, Russian Federation forces were seen fitting armored vehicles with weapon systems taken from Russian naval ships. This was taken as a sign that Russian tactics, which took (and still do) a toll on armored vehicles, saw the inability for the Russian military to replace such losses. Thus, units took it upon themselves to scavenge various naval weapons with the most common being the 2M-3 turret that mounts two 25mm 110-P autocannons. Another relatively “popular” naval weapon seeing use is the RBU-6000 Smerch-2 which is a 12-tube, 212mm anti-submarine rocket launcher and this is shown here, burned out along with the T-72 tank it is mounted upon. The vehicle was destroyed on August 1, 2024 by an FPV drone from the Drone Battalion, 3rd. Assault Brigade. The location is Ploshchanka, Luhansk Oblast.
The RBU-6000 has been in service since 1961 and can be found on a host of Russian warship classes. When fitted to ships, the RBU-6000 enjoys the benefits of the Burya FCS (Fire Control System) which itself is tied into the vessel's sonar system (for munition guidance), power aiming (traverse, elevation, and pitch/roll stabilization), and a below-deck automatic loading system from either a 72 or 96 round magazine. Of course, being mounted onto the hull of a T-80 tank means the RBU-6000 has to be manually aimed and loaded by the crew. The RBU-6000 can be traversed 180 degrees to the left or right of center, elevated to a maximum of 65 degrees, and depressed to a total of 15 degrees. Without power, the manual rate of traverse is 4 degrees per second.
The RBU-6000, as an anti-submarine weapon, fires two types of rockets. The first is the 250 pound RGB-60 and this is a unguided rocket with a impact or proximity fuzed 50 pound explosive warhead. The RGB-60 has a variable range depending on how far or close the enemy submarine is. The minimum range is .2 of a mile to a maximum of 3.4 miles. Maximum depth is .3 of a mile. It is presumed that the Russians are utilizing the RGB-60 in their land-launched RBU-6000 systems as it is the least sophisticated munition the RBU-6000 fires and probably more plentiful. Plus, the RGB-60 has a larger warhead and a longer range compared to the other rocket the RBU-6000 fires. That other rocket, the 90R, is a guided weapon and uses a 43 pound shaped charge that is meant to actually strike the submarine or torpedo rather than act as a depth charge. However, it can be fitted with a proximity fuze if needed. Minimum range of the 90R is .4 of a mile to a maximum range of 2.7 miles. Regardless of the rocket type, the RBU-6000 can be set to fire a single rocket at a time, all 12 rockets simultaneously, or ripple fire 2, 4, or 8 rockets at a time.
The tank, which appears to be a T-72B, likely had a non-operational turret which was removed and the RBU-6000 (replete with its naval vessel base) put in its place. The crew fitted anti-drone screens to the top of the launcher and what looks like the engine decking as well. Slat armor panels are on the sides and rear as well as flat upon the front glacis plate. What looks like a work platform can be seen on the front. The RBU-6000 was no doubt electrically fired using a length of cabling and aiming was likely done using the common PG-1 series panoramic telescope. However, the rather short range of the RBG-60 rocket means any vehicle mounting the RBU-6000 has to be close to the front line, making it vulnerable to attack. As a comparison, the BM-21 122mm MLRS (Multiple Launch Rocket System) can fire the basic 9M22U HE-FRAG (High Explosive Fragmentation) rocket out to 12 miles. This is a possible reason some of the RBU-6000 launchers are fitted to tanks such as the T-72 seen here but also T-80 tanks.
Wednesday, March 5, 2025
Russo-Ukrainian War: The DShK M1938 "Dushka"
A soldier of a territorial defense brigade posing for the camera with his “Dushka”, the venerable DShK M1938 12.7mm heavy machine-gun. First introduced in 1938, the DShK (standing for Degtyarov-Shpagin Krupnokaliberny; Degtyarov-Shpagin Large-Caliber) remains in service with dozens of military forces around the world and it has seen combat starting in World War Two and in just about every military conflict since then, to include the Russo-Ukrainian War. This particular make is the DShKM, evidenced by the muzzle brake, which appeared in 1946. When production ended in 1980, over 1 million DShK machine-guns had been built and to date, it has yet to be fully replaced in Russian Federation service despite newer weapons such as the NSV and Kord machine-guns. In addition to ground mounts, the DShK is also used on armored vehicles and tanks as a anti-aircraft machine-gun.
The DShKM seen here is utilized by a rapid reaction anti-drone unit, hence being mounted in the bed of a pick-up truck. The locally fabricated pedestal mount permits traverse and elevation and it even has minimal gun shield. Usually, the DShK uses a 60-round metal ammunition can and this constitutes a single belt (which is usually 50 rounds). However, when engaging drones such as the Shahed-136, volume of fire is a factor in scoring a successful hit. As such, a single belt can be expended very quickly and in some cases, the drone(s) can leave the kill zone quickly, meaning the DShK is out of action while a new belt is fed into the weapon. Here, the fabricator of the gun mount adapted a 20 liter (5 gallon) metal fuel canister to act as an extended ammunition can. From appearances, it can hold up to five ammunition belts for a ready ammunition count of 250 rounds.
Empty, the “Dushka” weighs 74 pounds and it uses a gas-operated flap-locking action. The 5.4 foot long DShK has a cyclic rate of fire of 600 rounds per minute but a practical rate of fire is between 100 to 200 rounds per minute. The most often used round is the B-32 steel-cored API (Armor-Piercing Incendiary) bullet which, despite being introduced in 1936, remains in production. The B-32 can penetrate 20mm of rolled homogeneous armor at 500 meters. As such, the DShK is a threat to lightly armored vehicles. A similar round is the BZT-44 APIT (Armor-Piercing Incendiary Tracer) and this is often mixed into ammunition belts of B-32 rounds. Another round used is the MDZ incendiary bullet and this might also be mixed with API ammunition. The maximum effective range is 1.2 miles with a maximum range of 1.6 miles.