Consolidated Liberator B Mk.VI "V-Victor": Accident Over Monfalcone

     British bomber crews, like their American counterparts, faced a multitude of dangers. Enemy fighters and fighter-bombers, anti-aircraft fire, and even mechanical issues all posed hazards. But another danger was “friendly fire” accidents and this photograph is evidence of that. On March 16, 1945, the Consolidated Liberator B Mk.VI (the British designation for the B-24H) “V-Victor” (code KK320) of No. 37 Squadron RAF (Royal Air Force) was part of a bombing raid on the ship and marshaling yards in Monfalcone, Italy. “V-Victor” was piloted by Squadron Leader Lionel C. Saxby while other members of the eleven man crew included Pilot Officer (P/O) G.T. Barker (navigator), K.H. Westrope (tail gunner), Wally Lewis (top turret gunner), and Cliff Hurst (radio operator). Included in the raid were bombers from No.70 Squadron RAF of which one of the aircraft was another Liberator B Mk.VI, “R-Roger”. Both squadrons were part of No.231 Wing RAF which itself was part of No. 205 Group RAF, flying out of Tortorella Airfield in Italy. As the bombers reached their targets over Monfalcone, at 12,000ft., they began to release their payloads that consisted of 1,000lb GP (General Purpose) bombs. It isn't exactly known if “R-Roger” or “V-Victor” drifted from formation but the pilot of “R-Roger” was not aware “V-Victor” was now almost directly underneath them.

     Two bombs from “R-Roger” struck “V-Victor”. The first bomb hit directly on the top turret, shattering it while crumpling the upper fuselage, and then passed through the fuselage, creating a significant tear in the aluminum skinning. Fortunately for Wally Lewis, he had not been manning the turret at the time but was actually struck by the bomb as it passed through the fuselage, the glancing blow enough to render him unconscious. Cliff Hurst, whose radio station was located near the turret, suffered numerous small injuries from the shards of metal that whipped through his compartment, helped by the buffeting winds howling through the shredded fuselage. The second bomb struck the port, inner engine, buckling the cowling to the point the winds ripped away several pieces. The bomb also skidded off the cowling and knocked the propeller off in addition to causing the engine to trail smoke. Immediately after the hits, “V-Victor” quickly lost altitude and entered into a dive. Some of the crew made ready to abandon the stricken plane but Squadron Leader Saxby was able to recover from the dive and piloted “V-Victor” back the 300 miles to Tortorella Airfield, landing the bomber without incident. The photograph shows “V-Victor” after landing, the crew and maintenance men examining the damage. Baxby can be seen in the fuselage gash while the navigator, P/O Barker, is looking over the wrecked turret from a hatch while a mechanic assesses the extent of the engine damage.

     Although the damage was significant, it wasn't too severe that it could not be repaired. However, “V-Victor” was written off on April 26, 1945. In part, the decision to not repair the Liberator could have been due to the fact that the squadron was relocating to Aqir, Palestine beginning on October 2, 1945 and not long after, in December 1945, moved to Shallufa, Egypt where No.37 Squadron was eventually stood down on March 31, 1946.

The British FV4401 Contentious: An Ambitious Airmobile Tank

     One of the more interesting post-World War Two tank designs was the British FV4401 Contentious. The intent of the FV4401 was to provide a light (up to 20-tons), easily transportable armored fighting vehicle (AFV) that could be air dropped and provide armored support for airborne and rapid deployment forces. There were two designs put forward under the FV4401 designation. The first was a one man, thinly armored vehicle fitted with two 120mm L6 WOMBAT recoilless rifles, the latter being used due to their light weight. Each L6 was equipped with a autoloader fed from a seven-round rotary magazine. This first design was more of a tank destroyer, akin to the Japanese Type 60 tank destroyer developed from 1956 to 1960. The second design is the focus here. 

     Work commenced on the two-man FV4401 (sometimes called the Contentious II) in the mid-1950s and the design had a number of novel features. For armament, the Ordnance QF 20-pounder (84mm) gun was initially selected as, at the time, it was a excellent gun and was also used in the British Centurion main battle tank (MBT). Rather than put the gun in a true turret from the outset, the gun was fitted into the hull of the prototype in a very limited traverse mounting. This kept the height of the FV4401 low and also saved weight. The gun was provided with an autoloader which could effectively fire twelve rounds per minute. To elevate and depress the gun, the FV4401 was fitted with suspension that could be raised and lowered and to provide additional traverse, the tank was turned in place. To speed aiming, the gun had an optical light pulse sight which was tied into a servo that allowed for automatic adjustment of the gun and monitored the alignment of the gun as a whole. This was akin to an early implementation of a Movement Reporting System (MRS). Both the commander and the gunner had complete driving and gunnery controls. For armor protection, the front glacis was to feature horizontal rows of metal ridges. The purpose was to break up incoming projectiles before they struck the armor proper. Behind this was a four foot empty space that was filled with diesel fuel. When full, the fuel provided the equivalent of twenty-four inches of armor and behind that was a 40mm thick back plate which separated the fuel compartment from the crew compartment. Components for the initial prototype, namely the lower chassis, were taken from a British FV4101 Charioteer medium tank, the road wheels from the FV300 series (a project for lightweight armored fighting vehicles), and for an engine, a Rolls-Royce B Range diesel engine was used. This engine series, topping out at 187 horsepower for the B81 model (as used in the FV430 AFV series), wasn't to be the final engine fit as the Contentious II was to use an engine developing between 300 to 500 horsepower. The FV4401 was envisioned that at the sacrifice of added weight, a turret could be fitted as well as be fully Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical (NBC) sealed. The proposed turret was to be low in profile so as not to add significant height to the Contentious II.

     Sometime in the late 1950s, the FV4401 Contentious II prototype was completed. It was far more of a test vehicle for the adjustable suspension, gun mounting, and fire controls as the prototype was unarmored and the fuel tanks were situated outside the tank, secured to the track guards. The armor concept had been tested and showed that ignition of the diesel fuel following penetration did not occur. If a fire was started, the crew compartment offered some protection and it was planned to house the fuel within the space in armored tanks which would be able to contain any explosion. The explosion risk came more from the tank being penetrated when the fuel level was low and fumes were more in abundance within. To minimize fuel loss, the fuel in the front part of the hull were to be inside compartmentalized tanks. This novel armor, however, was not fitted to the prototype but would have had the Contentious II program continued and more refined prototypes produced. The 20-pounder gun was sighted to 2,000 yards and at that range, the Armor-Piercing Discarding Sabot (APDS) ammunition could penetrate 290mm of rolled homogeneous armor and at 1,000 yards, it could punch through 330mm of armor. This was more than enough to deal with two of the most common Soviet tanks, the T-54 and T-55. Ranging was accomplished by a pulse radar (seen here on the bracket above the gun). Despite the good performance of the 20-pounder gun, work was done on up-gunning the Contentious II with either a 120mm gun, a 155mm gun, or even a larger caliber gun.

     As for being air dropped, tests were done using steel constructed replicas in the general shape of the turreted Contentious II design starting in November 1956. They were deployed from a Blackburn Beverley heavy transport, the replicas fitted directly with skids and air bags as a form of impact cushioning. However, these tests were not overly successful, the steel showing significant damage from the landing forces despite the parachute braking and air bags. At least one of the damaged replicas ended up as a range target after impacting the ground, the test personnel seeing no worthwhile reason to recover it.

     The FV4401 Contentious II prototype was also tested at Lulworth Range in Dorset, England, against a 6X6 vehicle, the TV1000 Rhino, which was envisioned in a similar role as the FV4401 but using wheels. The TV1000 had stability problems, the rubber on the wheels wore out at an alarming rate, and the TV1000 used skid steering, much like a tank does, and thus offered little over the FV4401 which was deemed superior. 

     Despite the novel features and relative success during testing, the FV4401 was not put into production nor were further prototypes completed (some sources say at least two more were built) in the FV4401's final form. Had the FV4401 entered service, it would have given British airborne forces a significantly more advanced weapon in comparison to the U.S. M56 Scorpion which entered service in 1957 and would have also been superior to the Soviet ASU-57 airborne assault gun that began service in 1951.

     Today, the prototype shown in the photograph at Kirkcudbright Training Area survives to this day, able to be seen at the Tank Museum at Bovington in Dorset, England. Unlike the photograph, the FV4401 at Bovington is armed with a Royal Ordnance L7 105mm gun which was added for display purposes.

Northrop P-61B-1 "The Spook": 548th. Night Fighter Squadron

(U.S. Army Signal Corps)

     On April 20, 1945, the Northrop P-61B-1 Black Widow (serial number 42-39405) named “The Spook” was returning to Central Field located on Iwo Jima following a night patrol. Aboard was pilot Lieutenant Melvin Bode, radar operator Lieutenant Avery J. Miller, and gunner Staff Sergeant John Hope. “The Spook” was part of the 548th. Night Fighter Squadron (NFS), 7th. Air Force and tasked with performing combat air patrols and nocturnal escort operations for the Boeing B-29 Superfortresses of the 20th. Air Force flying out of both Saipan and Iwo Jima. Heavy fog obscured the landing field and so Lt. Bode decided to make a blind landing with the assistance of the airfield's AN/MPN-1 unit. The AN/MPN-1 (Mobile, Pulsed, Navigation aid) consisted of a 2 ½-ton 6x6 truck that mounted two PE-127 power units, an air conditioning unit, and spare parts for the radar trailer it towed. The trailer contained a radar set that provided range and azimuth data out to 30 miles and up to 4,000 feet in ceiling. In addition to the radar, the trailer housed HF (High Frequency) and VHF (Very High Frequency) communication to aircraft via a SCR-274 transmitter and BC-342 receiver. The operator, who had a booth inside the trailer, provided guidance to the pilot based on the radar readings. Unfortunately, “The Spook” was caught by a strong cross wind during the landing, causing the plane to drift. It clipped a parked P-61B (“Anonymous III”) before belly landing off the main runway. No injuries were sustained but it was the last flight for “The Spook” as the damage was too extensive to repair and so the aircraft was written off. The last entry known for “The Spook” was on June 6, 1949 where the aircraft was checked into Clark Field in the Philippines for reclamation (ergo, scrapping).

     The 548th. NFS was a fairly short lived unit. Activated on April 10, 1944, the unit deployed to Central Field, Iwo Jima in late January 1945 following months of training, patrol missions around Hawaii, and having to wait for their P-61 aircraft to be modified for operations in the Pacific Theater. Arriving at Central Field by the close of February 1945, the unit commenced long range patrols over the ocean. On several occasions, aircraft of the 548th. NFS encountered Imperial Japanese Air Force (IJA) Mitsubishi G4M bombers that more often than not, upon seeing the P-61s, jettisoned their payload and retreated. While this did not make for many kill scores for the unit, they were a deterrent which protected the airfields from attack. On June 13, 1945, the unit relocated to Ie Shima island near Okinawa and conducted nocturnal patrols over the Okinawa area and towards the end of the war, shifted to nocturnal intruder raids and conducting weather observations for B-29 bombers raiding the Japanese home islands. When the war ended, the ground personnel were reassigned to the Army of Occupation in September 1945 while the unit's aircraft were put into storage in Okinawa and Clark Field in the Philippines. All told, the 548th. NFS downed five enemy aircraft: three Mitsubishi G4M bombers, one Nakajima Ki-44 fighter, and one Nakajima A6M2-N floatplane. On December 19, 1945, the unit was inactivated. The unit was revived again as the 548th. Special Operations Training Squadron from October 15, 1969 to July 31, 1973 where the unit training pilots and crews of the Republic of Vietnam Air Force in how to fly and operate the Douglas C-47 Skytrooper, AC-47 Spooky gunship, and to a lesser extent, the EC-47 Phyllis Ann electronic warfare aircraft. For a third time, the unit was revived, this time as the 548th. Combat Training Squadron on July 1, 1994 and it remains active to this day out of Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana with a detachment based at Fort Polk, Louisiana.

     As for the P-61, it was the only “built from the ground up” night fighter deployed by the Allies during World War Two. It was powered by two Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp 18-cylinder, air-cooled, radial piston engines that drove 4-bladed Curtiss Electric constant-speed propellers. These engines gave the P-61 a top speed of 366mph at 20,000 feet. Armament consisted of four 20mm AN/M2 Hispano cannons in a ventral tray with 200 rounds per gun and four .50 caliber M2 Browning machine-guns in a remotely operated, 360 degree traverse upper turret with each gun provided with 560 rounds of ammunition. For ground attack, the P-61 could carry up to four bombs up to 1,600 pounds each or six 5” HVAR (High Velocity Aircraft Rocket) unguided rockets. Avionics included the SCR-720 search radar and the SCR-695 tail warning radar. A total of 706 examples of the P-61 were built and the type was retired from service in 1954. Only four aircraft are known to exist today and includes a P-61C-1 (serial number 43-8353) on display at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. It is painted in the livery of “Moonlight Serenade”, a P-61B-1 that was operated by the 550th. NFS.

     Finally, as a side, the coloration of “The Spook” was all black with red propeller spinners and cowl flaps with the propeller tips in yellow. The underside of the nose had a smiling pair of lips in red with white teeth, a white eye with a black dot and green iris with a gray bottom eyelid on either side of the nose and on the front, a white outline of a stylized human nose. The name of the aircraft consisted of “The” in white cursive with “Spook” in white with both of the “o” in the name being angry eyes with gray irises inside each “o”.

 

Northrop P-61A-1 "Nightie Mission": 6th. Night Fighter Squadron

(U.S. Army Signal Corps)

     The Northrop P-61 Black Widow was the first dedicated night fighter to be built and deployed by the U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF). It was also the first fighter to be designed with internally mounted radar equipment. Heavily armed with four forward firing Hispano M2 20mm cannons in the fuselage and a dorsal turret equipped with four Browning M2 .50cal. machine-guns, the P-61 saw service in all theaters in World War Two. 

     This photograph depicts “Nightie Mission”, a P-61A-1-NO belonging to the 6th. Night Fighter Squadron (NFS), being serviced in preparation for a mission. Sent to the Pacific Theater, the 6th. NFS operated from Saipan with the first sortie being flown on June 25, 1944. The primary mission of the 6th. NFS was to defend the Saipan airfields from Japanese attack given that Boeing B-29 Superfortresses were using Saipan as a launch point for attacks against the Japanese main islands. The 6th. NFS had a long history, being activated in 1917 then stood down in 1947. However, in 2017, the unit was reactivated as the 6th. Weapons Squadron and will be equipped with the Lockheed-Martin F-35A Lightening II for the purposes of generating weapons instruction material for pilot training. 

     Returning to “Nightie Mission”, pilot 1LT Francis “Lil Ab” Eaton, Radar Operator 2LT James “Chief” Ketchum, and gunner S/Sgt. William Anderson, III claimed a kill of a Mitsubishi G4M “Betty” bomber on July 7, 1944. This would be the only kill “Nightie Mission” was to achieve. The aircraft was written off on August 5, 1945 due to extensive damage caused on the ground by a typhoon.
 

Leutnant der Reserve Paul-Georg Kleffel: 4./Panzer-Aufklärungs-Abteilung 3

     Born on September 7, 1920 in Billerbeck, Germany, Paul-Georg Kleffel's early life isn't much known and in fact, much of what we do know concerns his military career. In 1939, Kleffel joined the German Heer (Army), his qualifications permitting him to apply from the outset as a reserve officer (Reserveoffiziere). He was sent to one of the five Kriegsschulen (War Schools) within Germany to attend the standard eight week training course which Kleffel successfully passed, graduating with the rank of Leutnant der Reserve (2nd. Lieutenant) sometime in 1941. 

     Kleffel was posted to the 4./Panzer-Aufklärungs-Abteilung 3 (4th. Company, 3rd. Reconnaissance Detachment) which was part of the 3. Panzerdivision. The division was the third of the original three panzer divisions created by the German Army, being formed on October 15, 1935. The 3. Panzerdivision saw action during the invasion of Poland, combat in Belgium, and saw action during the Battle of France. Kleffel, however, did not go into battle with the division until Unternehmen Barbarossa (Operation Barbarossa), the invasion of Russia, that kicked off on June 22, 1941. 3. Panzerdivision was under the XXIV. Armeekorps as part of the 2. Panzerarmee which itself was under Heeresgruppe Mitte (Army Group Center).

     Kleffel remained with the 4./Panzer-Aufklärungs-Abteilung 3 for the entirety of the war but curiously, much of his early combat career on the Eastern Front isn't well documented. In fact, the two volume series “Armored Bears: The German 3rd. Panzer Division in World War II”, written by veterans of the 3rd. Panzer Division, makes no mention of Kleffel until his actions in 1943-1944. What we do know is that his first position in the 4th. Kompanie was as a Zugführer (platoon leader). It was during this time that Kleffel was decorated with the Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse (Iron Cross 2nd. Class), Eisernes Kreuz 1. Klasse (Iron Cross 1st. Class), Nahkampfspange in Bronze (Close Combat Clasp in Bronze), and the Medaille Winterschlacht im Osten 1941/42 (Winter Battle in the East 1941–42 Medal) which is more often referred to as the Ostmedaille (Eastern Medal). The latter, a campaign medal, was received for service in Russia between November 15, 1941 and April 15, 1942. On November 16, 1943, Kleffel (now a Oberleutnant der Reserve;1st. Lieutenant) was awarded with the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold (German Cross). This decoration was received for either repeated acts of bravery under fire or for examples of exceptional military leadership. A part of the prerequisite to being awarded this medal was to already have earned the Eisernes Kreuz 1. Klasse which Kleffel had.

     On April l13, 1944, now Kompaniechef (Company Commander) of the 4th. Kompanie, Kleffel and his unit was situated in a wooded area to the east of Orhei (today in the Republic of Moldova). There, they spotted Soviet infantrymen advancing through the woods and Kleffel understood that if the Soviets were allowed to establish themselves there, it would pose a very real threat to the German defensive lines to the south of Orhei. Without orders, Kleffel moved to attack, committing eight Schützenpanzerwagen (SPW), the term German officers used for the Sonderkraftfahrzeug 251 (Sd.Kfz 251) half-track. As the half-tracks crested a hill, Soviet anti-tank guns greeted them but skillful use of the terrain and mobility of the half-tracks allowed Kleffel to maneuver to the flank of the Soviet infantry where the machine-guns tore into the Soviet troops, sending them into a panic. Not one to pause, Kleffel pushed the attack against the routed infantry, chasing them despite driving into the effective range of the Soviet guns. The Soviet troops, part of a regiment, were decimated but before the Soviets could mobilize a counter-attack, Kleffel pulled his half-tracks back to his line. For this action, Kleffel was presented with the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes (Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross) on May 14, 1944. Kleffel, during his combat career, was wounded seven times though interestingly, his known decorations do not include the Verwundetenabzeichen (Wound Badge). Even if the injuries were relatively minor, it would have certainly been enough to warrant the Verwundetenabzeichen 3. Klass. In addition, sometime in the latter half of 1944, Kleffel was promoted to Hauptmann (Captain).

     Kleffel survived the war but whether he served any time as a POW is not known. He finished an apprenticeship and starting in 1949, he worked in the film industry until 1956 when he joined the Bundeswehr. Entering into service as a Hauptmann, in keeping with his rank from World War Two, Kleffel completed his general staff training and became the G3 (operations) staff officer for Panzergrenadierbrigade 13 from 1959 to 1963. He then spent a year at the Führungsakademie der Bundeswehr (Bundeswehr Leadership Academy) until 1964 when he transferred to, interestingly, the 3. Panzerdivision as their Chief of Staff. Promoted to Oberst (Colonel), Kleffel became a planner in 1968 at the Bundesministerium der Verteidigung (Federal Ministry of Defense) until taking over as the commander of Panzergrenadierbrigade 16 whose command he held until April 30, 1972. Following that command, Kleffel moved to lead the III. Korps until September 1973 when he then assumed command of the 12. Panzerdivision until September 30, 1976. Kleffel would hold several other positions until he retired from the Bundeswehr on September 30, 1980. Bundeswehr decorations he received included the Verdienstkreuz 1. Klasse (Cross of Merit 1st. Class) in 1973 and the Großes Verdienstkreuz (Commander's Great Cross of Merit) in 1979.

     After retiring, Kleffel became the manager for Johanniter-Unfall-Hilfe (Johanniter Accident Aid), a Christian charity organization. He remained as manager until 1987. Paul-Georg Kleffel died in Bonn, Germany on February 19, 2020 at the age of 99.

     The photograph here is likely a postwar autograph card. It shows Kleffel as a fresh Leutant der Reserve as denoted by his schulterstücke (shoulder boards) and he is wearing the Dienstanzug für Offiziere (Service Uniform for Officers) in the Modell 1936 style, evidenced by the dark, blue-green collar. That is could be postwar is that the photograph is cropped in such a way as to not show the swastika of the adler (eagle) above the right breast pocket. The display of the swastika in Germany was banned following the approval of Strafgesetzbuch (Criminal Code), Section § 86a in the 1950s.

Hitlerjugendführer: Leader in the Hitler Youth

     In 1933, the Hitlerjugend (HJ; Hitler Youth) became the official youth organization of the NSDAP (Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei; National Socialist German Workers’ Party). Starting at age 10, boys were expected to participate in the HJ and once in, received indoctrination on NSDAP ideology and as time went on, the HJ became a para-military organization with military training taking more and more precedence over more mundane activities such as camping. As German armed forces suffered more and more losses, it was only a matter of time before the HJ became a manpower pool to be tapped. At first, HJ boys took the places of adult firefighters, postal workers, railroad personnel, etc. who were called to arms. By 1943, plans were in place to begin using the HJ in combat, the most notable being the 12th. SS-Panzer-Division Hitlerjugend. When the Volkssturm (the German militia) was organized in October 1944 and any man aged 16-60 was conscripted into it, HJ youth were among them. It was said that HJ combat squads fighting in the last gasp for Germany amongst the rubble during the Battle of Berlin in 1945 were the fiercest of fighters, in part to their entrenched ideological beliefs in German superiority.

     While not a great photograph, it shows an HJ leader (the HJ armband can just be seen on his left arm) with a full complement of para-military awards. On his right breast pocket is the HJ Proficiency Badge. This was considered a very prestigious award, showing both the physical and ideological proficiency of the wearer. On his left breast pocket is the round Ehrenzeichen der NSDAP (NSDAP party badge) which displayed his membership in the NSDAP and beside it is the HJ membership pin. Below the party badge is the political SA-Wehrabzeichen (SA Sports Badge) which was awarded for excellence in physical fitness and athletic competition. The final award is the Deutsches Reichs-Sportabzeichen (German National Sports Badge) which was the military equivalent to the SA Sports Badge.

     Interestingly, the German Sports Badge (first appearing in 1913) is still able to be earned today and is the oldest German decoration still being issued. Today, it is a civilian issued award, given through the Deutsches Sportabzeichen (German Olympic Sports Confederation). The award is open to German military personnel and military men and women from allied nations (including the United States) as well as civilians. To earn it in one of three grades (Bronze, Silver, Gold), points must be earned in five events which test swimming, jumping, endurance, speed, and physical strength. To earn the badge in Bronze, at least 4 points must be earned, Silver is a minimum of 8 points, and Gold a minimum of 10 points. The badge, as it was during the war, is still held in high esteem and its awarding is a requirement for admission into some German police services.

The Libyan Civil War: Rebel BMP-1 Turret Technicals

     Two Libyan rebel NSTVs (Non-Standard Tactical Vehicles) or “technicals” as such vehicles are known in professional military circles. During the Libyan Civil War, rebels made heavy use of technicals as did pro-Gaddafi forces. The rebels utilized technicals as a means to create high mobility vehicles to rapidly deploy troops as well as conduct hit-and-run engagements. Such vehicles were a necessity given the rebels had very little in the way of vehicles capable of mounting heavy weapons and genuine armored vehicles and tanks were a rarity in rebel forces. 

     These two technicals are fitted with turrets removed from BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicles (likely taken from captured but non-functional BMP-1s). The turret houses a 73mm 2A28 "Grom" low-pressure, smoothbore semi-automatic gun along with a coaxial 7.62 mm PKT machine gun. From other images of similar “tank trucks”, a square metal support frame is locally fabricated upon which the turret is placed, the entire support frame secured to the bed of the pick-up truck. It is unlikely the electric turret traverse is kept (no doubt to save weight) and so the turret has to be turned manually. One such truck, involved in the Battle of Galaa in June 2011, showed that when firing, the weapon operator manually loaded the gun (as the automatic loader was either not present or discarded) and dismounted the truck although a simple computer chair was situated beneath the turret for the gunner. The operator reached his arm up into the turret and used his hand to trigger the gun. Upon firing, recoil was experienced on the truck though not to a significant degree though how many shots the support frame could take before failing is not known. 

     It is doubtful that these “tank trucks” fire the gun while on the move and are more likely used as mobile, direct fire artillery as the gun can fire a high-explosive round in addition to a HEAT (High Explosive Anti-Tank) round. In most cases, the 1PN22M1 6x/6.7x magnification image intensifying monocular periscope sight used by the BMP-1’s gunner is kept (seen to the left of the gun on the turret top). The flat rail on top of the gun mantlet is for the fitting of a 9M14 Malyutka (NATO codename AT-3 Sagger) ATGM (Anti-Tank Guided Missile) though no rebel “tank trucks” have been seen with a Sagger mounted.

The Russian OSV-96: The 12.7mm "Burglar"

(Mustafa Karali, Associated Press)

     Taken in 2012, a rebel fighter in Syria took the time to pose for Associated Press war photographer Mustafa Karali. He is holding a captured Russian OSV-96 sniper/anti-material rifle which had been seized from Syrian army forces during combat actions in the city of Maraat al-Numan. The OSV-96 is the refined and improved result of the initial rifle designated the V-94 “Volga” which was designed in the early 1990s by the Instrument Design Bureau (KBP in Russian abbreviation). 

     The OSV-96 fires a special 12.7X108mm cartridge (with the nomenclature of 7N34) to ensure accuracy at long range. If need be, the OSV-96 can fire more standard 12.7X108mm ammunition but typically at the cost of accuracy at range. The weapon uses a free-floating barrel and a sizable muzzle brake to reduce recoil. The weapon has a nickname, “Взломщик”, which means “Burglar” in English. 

     Entering service with Russian forces in 1996, users today also include India’s elite Marine Commandos (MARCOS), Belarus, Vietnam (who makes the rifle under license), and as illustrated by this photograph, Syria (rebels and government).

Panzergrenadier Division Großdeutschland: War Games in Mailly-le-Camp

     It was not an uncommon occurrence that Waffen-SS units operated alongside and with regular German Heer (Army) forces, especially on the Eastern Front. This was often by necessity given the fluidity of the battlefield and what units were available to fill gaps in orders of battle. The photograph shown here illustrates just such an occurrence of close cooperation.

     The photograph was taken by Kriegsberichter (war correspondent) Stöpfgeshoff sometime in 1944 during a war game held on the training grounds located in Mailly-le-Camp, France. Stöpfgeshoff was part of Luftwaffe Kriegsberichter Kompanie 3 (Lw KBK 3) which was assigned to Luftflotte 3 (Air Fleet 3) that supported Axis troops in occupied France (to include Vichy France), Belgium, and the Netherlands. While certainly war correspondents that served with the Luftwaffe had a priority to their own, they were by no means restricted to just documenting Luftwaffe forces. The training grounds had been used by the French military since 1902 and by the 1930s, it was exclusively used by French armored forces. Following the fall of France, the Germans occupied the grounds and used it to train their own armored troops.

     The central subject depicts a Waffen-SS soldier holding the rank of SS-Unterscharführer which is the equivalent to a U.S. Army sergeant. This determination is made solely by the silver tress on his uniform's schulterstücke (shoulder boards) and the absence of any rank pips on it. As for the uniform itself, he is wearing what is called a “panzerkombi” (literally, “tank suit”) and this is basically a pair of overalls. In this case, the uniform is cut from what collectors today call the “SS-Eich-Platanenmuster” camouflage pattern. It is a combination of two types of Waffen-SS camouflage, “Oak” (“Eich”) and “Plane Tree” (“Platanenmuster”). This camouflage pattern appeared early in 1943 and the “panzerkombi” he is wearing is one of the early makes as it does not have the thigh pocket. Of note is that the entire uniform is reversible from a “spring” side which uses green hues as the dominant colors and a “fall” side in which brown hues are the main colors. He is wearing the black M1938 feldmütze (field cap) on his head. Although difficult to see, he has a pair of binoculars in his hand and a pair of kopfhörer (headphones) over his ears. Although his unit's cuff title is not visible as it was not worn on the “panzerkombi”, he is from the 9. Panzer Regiment, 9. SS-Panzerdivision "Hohenstaufen".

     The other two men are part of the elite Panzergrenadier Division Großdeutschland (specifically, 1st. Kompanie, Großdeutschland Panzer Regiment) and this can be told by the “Großdeutschland” cuff title on their right sleeve (visible only on the crewman leaning out of the rear hatch) and the cipher on their schulterstücke. Both wear the typical black panzer uniform consisting of the black panzerjacke (tank jacket, more commonly referred to as the panzer wrap) and black trousers. They also wear the M1938 feldmütze. The pink piping, the waffenfarb (branch color) of panzer troops, does not appear present on the collar of the panzerjacke which suggests a mid- to late war manufacture when it was done away with to simplify construction. It is, however, present around the schulterstücke and the collar tabs. The soldier in the rear hatch looks to have been awarded the Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse (Iron Cross 2nd. Class) as evidenced by the ribbon on his lapel.

     The tank is a Panzerkampfwagen V Panther and we are looking towards the back of the turret. The tank's commander is in the upper hatch while the other man, likely the tank's loader, is in the turret's circular rear hatch. This is because the gunner sat below and to the front of the commander while the loader was on the opposite side and was nearest the hatch. For the war game, men from 9. Panzer Regiment served as referees and to identify them as such, they wore a white band around their arm. He is listening in to conversations on a Großdeutschland radio communications network, discussing an outcome of an engagement, or receiving instructions from higher command.

de Bange 155mm Long Canon Modèle 1877: Service in Two World Wars

     A photograph taken from a Keystone View Company stereoscope card depicts a French gun crew manning a camouflage painted de Bange 155mm Long Canon Modèle 1877. As the date suggests, the 155 L de Bange (the short name for the gun) was by no means a new gun by the time World War One began in 1914. Development of the gun started in February 1874 by a committee made up of French artillerymen. The intent of the committee was to learn lessons from the Franco-Prussian War which took place between July 19, 1870 and January 28, 1871 and from these lessons, conceive of a new heavy caliber gun for siege purposes as well as equipping fortresses. Towards the close of April 1874, the caliber of 155mm was selected and three manufacturers produced their designs which were put to test beginning in 1876. The winner of the competition was Charles de Bange with his 155 L gun and the French military put in an order for 300 guns in November 1877.

     The 155 L de Bange featured a hooped steel construction style and the barrel utilized gain-twist rifling. This method utilized rifling that had an initial slower twist rate at the breech end of the barrel which got progressively faster as the shell traveled down the barrel. This accelerated the angular momentum of the projectile. This wasn't so much as to propel the shell faster but to spread the torque of the spinning shell, which causes stress on the barrel, to be spread across as much of the length of the barrel as possible. This, then, allowed wear of the barrel to be more distributed rather than being concentrated at the breech end. As the photograph shows, the 155 L de Bange had no recoil mechanism and instead, it relied on friction to slow the backwards motion of the box trail carriage. To reduce the recoil further, wooden wedges were put behind the wheels. When the gun fired, the carriage rode up the wedges which bled off momentum and the gun would roll back down the wedges to more or less the same position it started from. This also helped eliminate the need to manhandle the gun back into position after every shot. The loader is likely checking the breech lock, a round already loaded given the gunner is ready with the lanyard to fire the cannon. Once all was set, the loader would retreat away from the gun before firing as the recoil of the gun had the possibility of the carriage jumping the wedges or coming off them. This concern also accounts for the long length of the lanyard so the gunner could be as far away from the gun as possible. The gun fired a 100lb. high-explosive round to a maximum range of 8 miles and a competent crew could fire one round every minute. The gun had a very limited traverse of 4 degrees with a maximum depression of 10 degrees and a maximum elevation of 28 degrees. The combat weight of the gun as shown in the photograph was 7 tons and so it was by no means easily moved.

     When World War One began, the French had pinned their hopes on the excellent Canon de 75 Modèle 1897. Some 1,392 155 L de Bange guns were on inventory, either in depots or in fixed positions. The French quickly learned that the Germans used heavier caliber guns that outranged the 75mm French gun and they had no counter to them in the field. In short order, the French started dragging the 155 L de Bange guns out of mothballs as a quick means to even the odds. The wheels on the gun's carriage were updated by fitting them with Rotaie a Cingolo (“Caterpillar Track Rails”), or simply cingoli. These hinged plates had two purposes. The first was to spread the ground pressure of the gun across more surface area which permitted easier movement over soft ground. The second purpose was the plates provided an immediate firing platform without extensive preparation as two plates per wheel would always be flat upon the ground. It took ten horses to pull the 155 L de Bange though gun tractors were used as well. By the end of November 1914, 112 guns were in service and by August 1, 1916, 738 guns were in action with French heavy artillery regiments. The 155 L de Bange served as a standard artillery piece but was also used in the counter-battery role, using its range to destroy German heavy guns when they were located. As the war went on, newer heavy guns began to enter service and usually after 10,000 shots, 155 L de Bange guns were taken out of service. But this did not last long as production of the newer cannons could not keep up with demand and so new barrels for the 155 L de Bange were produced starting in 1916. One way to tell an original barrel from the 1916 barrels is the position of the lifting handle. An original barrel, shown in the photograph, had a lifting handle in-line with the barrel while the new barrels had the lifting handle across the barrel. Even by November 1918, each French Army Corps had a single heavy artillery battalion equipped with the 155 L de Bange.

     Following World War One, a number of 155 L de Bange guns were sent to Romania and the Soviet Union who put them to use with the Red Army during the Russian Civil War. In 1937, the Russians sent a number of the guns to the Spanish Republicans during the Spanish Civil War. As for the French, 305 of the guns remained in service, most once more situated in fortresses or placed along the Maginot Line. France donated 48 guns to Finland in 1940 but none arrived in time to see action during the Winter War between Finland and the Soviet Union which occurred from November 30, 1939 to March 13, 1940. They did, however, see combat under the designation 155 K/77 during the Continuation War which pitted Finland and Germany against the Soviet Union from June 25, 1941 to September 19, 1944. By this time, only 19 guns were left in service. Although the Germans captured some operational 15 L de Bange guns following the fall of France, they did not put them into service.

Private: 1st. United States Army

     A studio portrait of a Private, enlisted grade E2, of the 1st. United States Army. The 1st. Army, established on August 10, 1918, was the first of three such armies created by the American Expeditionary Force (AEF). Following World War One, it was inactivated on April 20, 1919. However, an amendment made in 1920 to the National Defense Act of 1916 would see four field armies raised, geographically located throughout the United States. The intent of this was to provide a skeletal organizational structure to accommodate mass mobilizations of forces in the time of national need. Thus, the 1st. Army was reactivated on September 11, 1933, with its geographical area being the northeastern U.S., at Fort Jay, Governor's Island, in New York. Its main mission was training support. For much of its early existence following its reactivation, the 1st. Army was more on paper than actual troops and it consisted mainly of staff personnel. This changed as the U.S. moved towards a war footing and starting in 1939, under the command of General Hugh A. Drum, the 1st. Army began to fill out with actual personnel. The 1st. Army entered combat with the invasion of Normandy (D-Day) on June 6, 1944 and would see continued action in the Northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace, and Central Europe campaigns. It was the men of the 1st. Army who shook hands with Soviet forces at Torgau, Germany, along the Elbe River, on April 25, 1945. In May 1945, the 1st. Army's headquarters returned to New York to begin preparations for Operation Coronet. This was the second phase of Operation Downfall, the invasion of Japan. The 1st. Army was tasked to invade Honshū, the largest of the Japanese home islands, in the spring of 1946. Fortunately, the use of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki saw the Japanese surrender, removing the need for Operation Downfall.

     The private appears to have belonged to one of the field artillery battalions within the 1st. Army as evidenced by the branch insignia on the lapel of his jacket which consisted of two crossed cannons. That he served with the 1st. Army is denoted by the unit patch on his left shoulder. Although difficult to see, it consisted of a black letter A with an Army green border. The private is also no longer in the U.S. Army, having been discharged under honorable conditions. This can be told by the Honorable Discharge Emblem lozenge sewn onto the jacket above the right breast pocket. This emblem was nicknamed the “Ruptured Duck” as the poor design of the eagle was such that is more resembled a duck than an eagle. Because of this, we can assume this photograph was taken post-World War Two. Beneath the “Ruptured Duck” appears to be a Meritorious Unit Citation ribbon that is surrounded by a gold laurel frame. His ribbon bar, from top to bottom and left to right, seems to consist of the American Campaign ribbon, the Purple Heart ribbon with an oak leaf device (which meant he was awarded the decoration twice), the Good Conduct ribbon, an unknown ribbon (possibly a state National Guard ribbon), and the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with four Service Stars which represented campaigns he had participated in.

     Today, the 1st. Army is still very much active, being the oldest and longest established unit in the U.S. Army. Its main mission is to train Army Reserve and National Guard forces. It is divided into two commands, 1st. Army Division East and 1st. Army Division West. Under each are training brigades. 1st. Army Division East is based at Fort Knox, Kentucky and is responsible for all states east of the Mississippi River while 1st. Army Division West is based at Fort Hood, Texas and covers all states west of the Mississippi River. Notable early commanders of the 1st. Army included General John J. Pershing (1918), Lieutenant-General Hugh A. Drum (1938-1943), and Lieutenant-General Omar N. Bradley (1944). Interesting notes about the 1st. Army include their motto which is “First in Deed” and the A in the unit's patch represents the letter A in Army and also, being the first letter in the alphabet, harks to the unit being the first, as in, the 1st. Army. The patch was authorized on November 16, 1918 and approved by the War Department on May 5, 1922. Today, the A remains in black but now uses a white and red background.

Freiwilliger: 1. Kosaken-Kavallerie-Division

     The 1. Kosaken-Kavallerie-Division (1st. Cossack Cavalry Division) came into being during the months of April and May in 1943. Of all the various Eastern volunteers, the many tribes of Cossacks made up the majority of them. The first Cossack volunteers commenced fighting for the Germans almost from the very outset of the German invasion of Russia. Over time, more and more Cossack units were raised but were scattered among the many German forces spanning the Eastern Front. The creation of the 1. Kosaken-Kavallerie-Division brought these various units into one fold and with additional recruitment, some 12,000 men were assembled representing Don, Kuban, Terek, and Ural Cossacks. The division was made up of two brigades, each with three cavalry regiments and one artillery regiment. Division assets included a reconnaissance battalion, two engineer battalions, one signal battalion, and a divisional artillery battalion. The division was first deployed into action on October 12, 1943 against Yugoslav partisans and in 1944, was shifted to Croatia to battle Chetniks and Croat partisans. The unit gained a reputation for ruthlessness to the point special courts-martial were set up in the division to dispense justice on those Cossacks who exhibited more extreme barbarism. The division first saw battle against the Red Army near Pitomača, Croatia. There, the Cossacks showed their prowess in combat, forcing the Soviets to retreat from the field. By February 1945, the 1. Kosaken-Kavallerie-Division was absorbed into the XV SS Cossack Cavalry Corps.

     The soldier pictured is from one of the units within the 1. Kosaken-Kavallerie-Division. This can be told by the plain shield seen beneath the Russian Liberation Army (Russkaya Osvoboditel'naya Armiya, abbreviated ROA) shield. The divisional shield was red with a white border. The ROA shield (POA in Cyrillic) was introduced early in 1943 and issued out to the various Osttruppen (Eastern Troops) but it would not be until the formation of the Komitet Osvobozhdeniya Narodov Rossii (Committee for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia) in November 1944 would the ideal of a singular Osttruppen army come into being. So, many of the various Osttruppen and Cossack soldiers would simply add the ROA shield to their uniform rather than replace their indigenous unit insignia with it. The ROA shield featured a blue St. Andrews cross on a white field surrounded by a red border. The POA lettering was yellow with the shield's background being a dark green. The photograph can be dated to sometime after May 1943 given that he wears the regulation crossed lances collar patches which were first authorized for Cossack troops on May 29, 1943. The lances were silver on a red background. For enlisted men, like this man who holds the rank of Freiwilliger, the patch had a olive green border. As typical for many of the ROA units, he has a mixture of rank accouterments. His shoulder boards are from the previous rank regulations for Cossacks that were issued on November 11, 1942. These consisted of shoulder boards which were of the same pattern as the German military except that the material was green with red piping around the edges. The 1943 regulations called for Czarist-style shoulder boards. He is lightly equipped, the only notable piece of equipment being the metal gasmaskenbüchse (gas mask case). 

     For weapons, he holds a Soviet Shpagin 7.62X25mm PPSh-41 submachine gun. The weapon could use a 35-round box magazine but it was most often seen, and used, with its 71-round drum magazine. The weapon was popular with Soviet troops but also was highly valued by the Germans who would use captured examples whenever possible. In German service, it had its own designation which was the MP717(r). Enough examples were captured that many were rechambered to fire the 9mm Parabellum round and such conversions were known as the MP41(r). Soviet soldiers nicknamed the weapon "Papasha“ which meant "Daddy“. The soundness of the design is validated by the fact that the PPSh-41 still sees combat to this day in the hands of various militias and irregular forces around the world.

Zugführer: Festungs Grenadier Regiment 360

      A Zugführer (platoon leader) of Festungs Grenadier Regiment 360. The unit, formally the 6th. Cossack Regiment, was commanded by Oberst der Reserve (Reserve Major) Evert von Renteln. Identification of this unit is made rather simple by two specific pieces of insignia. The first is the sleeve shield which is red with a white border. But the more prominent of the two is the tank badge. When Cossack units were first formed, the wearing of German combat decorations was forbidden. This changed but until then, commanders of foreign auxiliary units would come up with their own decorations to award bravery. In the case of von Renteln, he created the tank badge with a golden “F” as a means to award those soldiers who showed bravery in battle against Soviet tanks. 

     This Zugführer wears the authorized collar tabs and shoulderboards as given in a German Wehrmacht order issued on November 11, 1942. He is also wearing the authorized cap badge which consisted of two crossed lances over a red bar on a green oval background. For decorations, he wears three Tapferkeitsauszeichnung für Angehörige der Ostvölker (Valor Award for the Eastern Peoples; shorted to Ostvolkmedaille [Eastern Peoples’ Medal). The medal with the green and red striped ribbon is the Ostvolkmedaille 2nd. Class in Silver while the other two are likely the Ostvolkmedaille 2nd. Class in Bronze. The award had 1st. and 2nd. Classes and was awarded in gold, silver, or bronze. The German awards are the Panzerkampfabzeichen (Tank Battle Badge) to recognize soldiers who took part in armored assaults. The other decoration is the Verwundetenabzeichen (Wound Badge) in Black which signifies he had been wounded up to 2 times in combat.