Soviet
MiG-15 and Sea Fury
HMS Ocean and her escorts departed Kure on the evening of 8 August resuming operations off the Korean coast the following day. Unlike the previous patrol the weather was exceptionally fine which increased the sortie rate. This would be the day that the Sea Furies of No.802 NAS would tangle with MiG jet fighters. Having launched at 0600 hours in…
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Stalin at Potsdam
The Russian demand for reparations had been accepted in principle at Yalta. The special commission set up to examine the subject failed to reach agreement. At Potsdam, Stalin pressed constantly for acceptance of a figure for reparations. The Allies refused to be committed. They were incensed by reports that the…
Sukhoi T-4 Sokta
As with most significant military developments during the Cold War, the XB-70A was Matched by a Soviet counterpart. In this case it was the Sukhoi T-4 (also called Project 100). This titanium and stainless steel aircraft was powered by four 35,274-lbf Kolesov RD36-41 turbojet engines and was designed to reach…
‘Destroy At All Costs’, December 1918
HMS Vendetta, June 1919 (IWM Q73903). Thirty-five-year-old Johan Laidoner had been appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Estonian Armed Forces on 23 December 1918. From the time of his arrival two weeks beforehand, he had set to work with a will, using the breathing space that Alexander-Sinclair’s attack had brought him to…
Alternative Kursk I
Using hindsight, it is obvious that Operation Citadel should never have been launched, but even in mid-1943 after several delays many of the generals were against the operation. Von Manstein, Guderian, von Mellenthin, Kempf, Jodl and Heinrici are just a few. The aerial photos showed the massive defensive measures that…
Alternative Kursk II
Proposed alternate offensive, Southern Salient, July 12th 1943. Several other alternative attack plans that Vatutin could have tried, that probably would have worked better, resulting in fewer casualties for him and greater destruction of 4th PzA, seem feasible. Here is one crazy idea that might have worked: While the terrain…
Mikoyan MIG-23
MiG-23 MF/BN FLOGGER The Soviet-designed fighters were agile. In an engagement, the enemy’s first turn would be eye-watering—unless, that is, the model in question was a MiG-23. Then, there typically was no turn at all. The MiG-23 would simply tear away so fast that it seemed like a Ferrari leaving…