The Lifecyle Of A Bullet

A deadly weapon and an economic cornerstone, the impact of a bullet spreads far and wide. In this documentary BBC Defence Correspondent Caroline Wyatt takes an extraordinary journey through the defence industry as she tracks the fate of a bullet. From manufacture to gun barrel, Caroline tracks her bullet from the docks where the explosive propellant are imported, through the Cheshire factory where it is machined, to testing and out to its final destination - war. With its deep historical roots, its reliance of raw materials from all over the world and its central role in the economy this most basic of military equipment involves a huge cross-section of British society, all working for a war effort that sees millions of rounds produced every week of the year. By the time she sees the shot fired, Caroline will have met the huge variety of people employed in its creation. As she tracks the bullet's journey, Caroline will ask what would happen to our economy if peace bloomed in Iraq and Afghanistan, and how people feel about making products that are designed to kill.  Link to the BBC Radio 4 programme.
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Low Fast Pass In Battlefield 2

An oldish game now, but still a good one, Battlefield 2 has still plenty of life in it by way of entertainment here in the Vulture household. Yesterday my son was seeing just how low and fast he could get to me in the F35 Lighting II that the USMC forces are equipped with. Here's a screen shot from my character stood on the turret of an M1 Tank, a fraction of a second before the jet hit him ! The jet was okay btw ! LOL.
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GMC CCKW Photo Blog

I've started a Photo Blog to record the GMC CCKWs I've photographed over the year. Link.
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Baxter Photography

Thought I'd provide a link and some publicity for a web site of an school friend of mine.  The aim of Baxter Photography is to provide vivid, high-impact photographs in our unique style, which primarily capture the intensity and beauty of Yorkshire.
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France's Ancient Alesia Dispute Rumbles On

Every French schoolchild has learned about Alesia. It was the battle in which Julius Caesar beat the Gauls under Vercingetorix, thus bringing France into the Roman world. Link
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Picture Of The Week - No 10 - V-22 Osprey

In July 2006 I attended the Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) at RAF Fairford and got to see one of my favourite aircraft the V-22 Osprey.  The rotor blades are massive !
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Play By E-Mail Game - Dark Age II

Hey guys
I've had a few games of a Play By E-Mail game called Dark Age II over the last couple of years. (Link to a previous post about it).  Here's the web site. http://www.darkage2.co.uk/

I've signed up for the next game (which is free), and there are lots of free places still.  Wondered if anyone else fancies joining in it with me.  Depending on where you are on the map we could be allies, or the deadliest of enemies !  LOL    You submit your orders in once a week through a web portal. It's all pretty straight forward.
Happy to field any questions you might have.
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MoD reveals design of Royal Navy future warships

The design of the Royal Navy's latest warship has been revealed by the UK Ministry of Defence. The announcement on the Type 26 Global Combat Ship has been described by officials as a "significant milestone" in a programme which will support "thousands of UK shipbuilding jobs". Basic specification images show sleek stealth features, familiar to modern warships, making them harder to detect. The ship will be 148 metres long with a displacement of 5,400 tonnes. Link
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Comment:  Nice ship, very futuristic looking.
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Ramsey 1940 Show

This last weekend saw the family and I go to a local 1940 show at Ramsey. I've been before (Link and Link) but this year was different as we took our GMC CCKW along on both days. Boy was it hot ! After a very mixed summer here in the UK thus far, the gods blessed this weekend with the hottest weather of the year for this area. Don't get me wrong I'm all for the sun shining, but this was just too hot for comfort. I had big plans of things I wanted to on the vehicle whilst there: setting the tappets up (which needs the engine running), shaving some excess wood off the cargo body bows (the things the canvas goes over at the back) and giving it an oil change. Well none of this came to pass as it was just sooooo damn hot !! That said the public loved it and came in large huge numbers to what was a well organised and enjoyable event. I took some photos which are one the slide-show below.
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2012 - Ramsey 1940 Weekend
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Stand out vehicle for me was a Humber 'Pig' parked in the post 1940 vehicle collection.

I find myself lusting after one owning one I must confess, as I think they look just great. The reality of owning and driving could be something else though as I believe they are a 'challenging' vehicle in both areas. Looking at how little room there is around the pedals you can quite clearly see how it was awarded the nickname 'Pig' by the drivers !

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Classic Military Vehicle Magazine - Opening Shot

The Classic Military Vehicle (CMV) magazine is a long running monthly UK publication dedicated to the coverage of all historic military vehicles. At this years Duxford Military Vehicle Show on 17 Jun (Posting Link) the editor John Blackman took a shine to my GMC CCKW in its US Navy colours, and took a number of photos, one of which he used as the 'Opening Shot' (which is a two page spread) in the September edition which is out now.
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M1 Tank

Visited the Ramsey 1940 weekend (more about that on a subsequent posting) but whilst there Alex and I almost purchased a M1A1HA in 20mm scale. On getting home we went on the net to discover more about what the HA stands for (in this instance Heavy Armour), and I came across this excellent site on the M1, which is worth checking out if you are interested in tanks. Link
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Irony

Friday Humour - Perceptions of most sports reporters!!!

Here are the top nine comments made by NBC sports commentators during the 2012 Summer Olympics that they would like to take back:

1. Weightlifting commentator: "This is Gregoriava from Bulgaria. I saw her snatch this morning during her warm up and it was amazing."

2. Dressage commentator: "This is really a lovely horse and I speak from personal experience since I once mounted her mother."

3. Paul Hamm, Gymnast: "I owe a lot to my parents, especially my mother and father."

4. Boxing Analyst: "Sure there have been injuries, and even some deaths in boxing, but none of them really that serious."

5. Softball announcer: "If history repeats itself, I should think we can expect the same thing again."

6. Basketball analyst: "He dribbles a lot and the opposition doesn't like it. In fact you can see it all over their faces."

7. At the rowing medal ceremony: "Ah, isn't that nice, the wife of the IOC president is hugging the cox of the British crew."

8. Soccer commentator: "Julian Dicks is everywhere. It's like they've got eleven Dicks on the field."

9. Tennis commentator: "One of the reasons Andy is playing so well is that, before the final round, his wife takes out his balls and kisses them... Oh my God, what have I just said?"
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Outpost Swarm

This is quite an entertaining little game I stumbled across tonight, slightly Aliens'ish....  Certainly worth a look :)   Link  (P.S. The music is a bit annoying)
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VJ Film from 1945: Cars, Jeeps and Youth

67 years ago this month, Richard Sullivan’s father shot this great video along Kalakaua Avenue in Waikiki, Honolulu, capturing spontaneous celebrations that broke out upon first hearing news of the Japanese surrender. Click here to view the video: Link.
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State of War: Syria’s Crusader Castles and Medieval Fortresses

TIME looks at a number of Syria's most famous medieval fortresses, some of which are nearly a millennium old. Read more: Link
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Diary clues to grandfather's last days

There were 130,000 lives lost on the World War I battlefields of Gallipoli. Among them was Harry Biles, a writer and grandfather, who recorded the events of his final journey. Link to BBC.
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Mass grave in London reveals how volcano caused global catastrophe

Scientists search for the explosive source of a disaster that wiped out almost a third of Londoners in 1258. Link
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Spartacus: War of the Damned Teaser Trailer

This looks good :) The previous three seasons have been epic, this looks like it will continue in the same vein.
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Exploring the Secret Nuclear Complexes of the Manhattan Project

“It is an enduring paradox and essential human tragedy that so much selfless devotion to a cause, so much creative intellectual energy, and so many good intentions gave birth to such a monstrous reality.” These are the words of photographer Martin Miller uses to describe the Manhattan Project, the United States government program that ran from 1942 to 1945 and resulted in the world’s first nuclear weapons. Link
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Brief History of Aleppo: A Great World City Now in the Grip of War

As Syrian government forces and rebels clash in Aleppo, TIME takes a look at the history of this ancient, cosmopolitan city now locked in a state of war. Read more: Link.
Comment:  Quite interesting this, and worth a read.
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Mars Curiosity rover's 'crazy' landing system

Fingers crossed this works... Link
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Which is subsequently seems to have ! :)  Link
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Combat Service Support - What A Rubbish Company

I am getting so hacked off with this Army Surplus Store company called Combat Service Support. I ordered some gear from them back on 6 Jun. They took a good 6 weeks to deliver the order, and then half of it was incorrect ! No one answers the phone when you call, and thus far they are ignoring my E-Mails. Most unimpressed. If I don't get a response to my latest E-Mail by Wed I'm going contact my Credit Card Company and get my monies refunded. Quite simply avoid this company at all costs !
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Flat Tyre On The CCKW Truck !

Experienced my first flat tyre on the truck last week. After a trip out on the Monday it looked a bit ‘soggy’ later in the evening.
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My initial thought was that some kids must have messed with it as I had both a new tyre and inner tube fitted last November, and I’ve only done about 400 miles since then. The tyre should have had 50psi in it, but on checking there was only 20. There was no sign of a nail or any puncture marks. Rather than use a foot pump I opted to use a small 12v car compressor. Although supposedly it can pressure up to 80psi (so it says in the instructions) it was not man enough for this job, and started to smoke when it got it up to 35 psi !!! This was enough though for me to make a run to the local garage only 0.5 a mile away and fill it up properly. The following morning the tyre was down to 15 psi so something was definitely amiss and the wheel had to come off. My wheel brace is missing the (breaker) bar that should be with it (getting one made up at the moment) so a friend who also has a GMC CCKW kindly swung by and we used his to get the wheel off. Fortunately I have a 4 ton bottle jack which was able to handle lifting the front axle to get the wheel up off the ground without any problem, with a few bits of wood used to spread the load on the drive.-
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The weight of the tyre and wheel is huge and it took two of us to load it into the car to take it to a garage in Somersham who can deal with split rims.  On getting the tube out they found the puncture in the side of the tube. It wasn't clear how it had happened and it could be either:
a) a manufacturing defect with the tube, or
b) a small piece of rust off the rim
Anyway, we are now back on the road and looking forward to taking it along (weather permitting) to the Ramsey 1940 weekend on 18th & 19th Aug. Link

HMS Vanguard

An interesting web site about the life and times of the Royal Navy’s last battleship HMS Vanguard. She must have made an impressive sight when in-service. Link
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The Man Who Owned A Sherman Tank Corp

Check out this amazing article in June 1960 edition of Popular Mechanics about a guy who bought 536 Sherman Tanks ! Link
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DC SHOES: KEN BLOCK'S GYMKHANA FIVE: ULTIMATE URBAN PLAYGROUND; SAN FRANCISCO

Shot on the actual streets of San Francisco, California...
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Pluto - The Salvage Operation

This is a fascinating site talking about the salvage of the Pluto pipeline after WW2. Link.
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Cambridgeshire Steam Rally 2012

Went to the Cambridgeshire Steam Rally in Swavesey village last weekend on the Sunday. I have been before but it was many years ago, and it is now a much larger event and at a different venue. As the name suggests there is a strong Steam influence with a large number of traction engines and small stationary rotary steam engines (of astonishing variety). It had been very wet on the run up the event so it was quite interesting getting vehicles on to the site on the Friday.  Fortunately it was dry on the Saturday and Sunday and so the ground dried out enough to allow the event to proceed without it becoming a mud-bath.
Here's my son keeping the revs up on the truck prior to us setting off whilst I did some last minutes checks.
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Driving the over about 10 miles of windy back roads to the event I picked up a tailgater for a while ! LOL
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There was a large number of vintage cars in attendance along with commercial vehicles, tractors and and about half a dozen military vehicles including my own. Quite a relaxed affair with plenty to occupy the family for a few hours.
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Stand out military vehicle for me was this very tasteful Mack recovery truck
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Most interesting classic vehicle was this little BMW Bug which was in fantastic condition.
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Rare Dunkirk photos found after 70 years

Rare photos taken by a German soldier of the devastated beaches of Dunkirk after the evacuation have been found 70 years on by the family of a British war veteran. Link
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Dungeons & Dragons & Bitches

This is an interesting (and completely unPC) take on a D&D game :)
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Dungeons & Dragons & Bitches from Peter Atencio on Vimeo.
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HMS Triumph: Life on board a Royal Navy submarine

HMS Triumph is one of the Royal Navy's Trafalgar class submarines, using its stealth on counter-piracy, anti-terrorism and narcotics operations. BBC defence correspondent Jonathan Beale has had exclusive access to the confined space where 120 crew members serve.  Article on BBC web site:  Link
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Chinook Recovers Downed AH-64D

Some great flying here in rough conditions. Respect.
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2012 Olympic Ceremony - London

Watched the opening ceremony with the family on Friday night, and felt proud of our little country of 60 million and the fabulous show that was put on. Well done to all involved.
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Entrapment - Bill Kearns

This is very good :)
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10 Creepiest Abandoned Cold War Missile Silos

Dimply-lit tunnels snake into the distance, metal steps echo with the sound of footsteps, and huge vertical drops plummet into the darkness – cavernous chambers where missiles intended to carry nuclear warheads would have once been housed. Replete with the signs of creeping decay and generally left to rack and ruin, abandoned missile bases are grim yet fascinating places to explore. Link
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We Remember

Given a link today to this rather good video on U-Tube.

Picture Of The Week - No 9 - Orc Nob who was MIA found alive and well !

You what it’s like, you have a favoured figure that you like to use in some games. He should be safely tucked away ready use, but when you open the box he’s not there…
Years ago when I lived back in Harrogate and I used to play quite a bit of Space Crusade, White Dwarf No 134 came out and gave the stats for some ‘alternative’ teams. Suitably inspired I visited my local GW shop picked up some 40k orcs and generated an 12 strong Orc Mob to use in place of the standard Space Marine 5 man squad. Individually (apart from the Orc Nob) they don’t have the staying power of Space Marines as their armour is less, but they do have the advantage of numbers and if you use the Freebooter and Frag Stikkbombz equipment cards, they have some real firepower. Anyway, getting back to the story, I keep the mob in their own plastic box tucked away with the rest of the Space Crusade gear but a couple of years back the Orc Nob went MIA and for the life of me I haven’t been able to recall what I’d done with him. Chatting with Alex at the weekend I suggested to him that we I dig out of my loft the old classic GW game Blood Bowl and I’ll try and teach him it. Opening up the associated storage box to show him the selection of teams I’ve collected and low and behold who should turn up, but my missing Orc Nob who I now vaguely recall using in my Savage Orc team when they had a outing some years back. Anyway, so all’s well that ends well :)-
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Landslide uncovers 1,000 deadly WW2 bombs and rockets

The East Riding beach of Mappleton, near Hornsea, was used as a practice bombing range during the Second World War – but the bad weather has led to ground movement which exposed one of the biggest arsenals ever uncovered yesterday. Link
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Friday Humour

 

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It's good to stretch...  :)

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UK receives first F-35 stealth fighter jet from US

It has been a long and expensive wait, but Britain has now been handed its first Joint Strike Fighter jet, also known as the F-35 or Lightning II. Link to BBC.
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Comment: Lets hope it proves to be a good aircraft because they are certainly costing enough each.
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Wedding Anniversary

I can share with you that it is our Wedding anniversary today.  My good lady (Julie) and I have been married for 24 years today.

Humour - TO ALL STAFF REGARDING BAD LANGUAGE

It has been brought to the management’s attention that some individuals have been using foul and abusive language during the execution of their duties.  Due to complaints from some of the more sensitive staff, this type of language can no longer be tolerated. 

However, the management realizes the importance of staff being able to express their feelings when communicating with other employees.  To this end, our Human Resources department has compiled a list of code phrase replacements so that the proper exchange of ideas and information can continue in an effective manner without offence to our more easily offended employees.  The phrases are as follows:

OLD PHRASE                 NEW PHRASE

Absolutely no fucking chance                      I’m fairly sure that’s not feasible

You lying shit                                             Are you quite sure about that?

Tell someone who gives a fuck                     Have you informed the management about that?

It’s got fuck all to do with me                       I don’t think I was involved in that project

Shove a brush up my arse and I’ll

sweep the fucking floor as well                    Would you like me to do that for you as well?

Am I the only twat here                              Would someone else care to answer the telephone

You haven’t got a fucking clue                    Perhaps you need a little more training in this

This place has gone to rat shit                   The office is looking a little untidy

Eat shit and die mother fucker                   I think I told you this would happen

You over paid shit for brains                      You’re my boss and I respect that

Fuck off smart arse                                  Well-done

She’s a ball-busting bitch                         She’s a full time career woman

Get out of my face, dog breath                 I don’t think I require your assistance

Raving fucking arse bandit                       He’s very much in touch with his feminine side

Boy, are you in the shit                           Does the boss know about this?

Kiss my fucking arse                              I’d rather not if you don’t mind

Who the fuck are you?                            Are you new here?

No fucker told me                                   I wasn’t given that piece of information

What sort of clueless fuck wit are you?     You haven’t done this before, have you?

You’ve made a right cock-up of that         It’s the sort of mistake anyone could make

I’m dying for a shit                                  I’m going to wash my hands

It’s fucked                                             It’s broken but I think I can fix it

It’s completely fucked                            It’s broken beyond repair

Fuck off                                                I'd like to be alone for a while if you don’t mind

Fuck off you twat                                  You are a very rude man

Borderlands 2 - Wimoweh Trailer

The original Borderlands computer game was good, Borderlands 2 looks like it could be even better !  Can't wait until September :)
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Mussolini's bunker: Il Duce's futile search for safety

The extensive air-raid shelter that Benito Mussolini had built under his home gives a flavour of the fears that must have haunted the Italian dictator's final days. Link to the BBC.
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Alexander the not so Great: History through Persian eyes

Alexander the Great is portrayed as a legendary conqueror and military leader in Greek-influenced Western history books but his legacy looks very different from a Persian perspective. Link on the BBC site.
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The Hobbit Trailer 2012 Movie Lord of the Rings - Official [HD]

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Trailer 2012 - Official movie trailer in HD - The Lord of the Rings prequel - starring Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Cate Blanchett - Bilbo Baggins, a Hobbit, journeys to the Lonely Mountain accompanied by a group of dwarves to reclaim a treasure taken from them by the dragon Smaug.
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Comment:  A must see for all Lord of the Rings Fans :)
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Hadrian's Wall Podcast

Whilst driving to the dentists yesterday I happened to tune into the BBC Radio 4 programme 'In Our Time' which is hosted by the well known radio presenter Melvyn Bragg. The format of this programme for those who haven't listened to it is a simple one. Melvyn Bragg and his three guests (experts in their field) discuss the history of ideas - including topics drawn from philosophy, science, history, religion and culture for approximately 40 minutes.
Must confess I found yesterdays programme about Hadrian's Wall totally fascinating. Here is a link to the BBC page concerned. Link   The broadcast is described as follows: 'Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss Hadrian's Wall, the largest Roman structure and one of the most important archaeological monuments in Britain. It was built across North England in about 122 AD by the Emperor Hadrian and, even after more than a century of excavations, many mysteries still surround it. Did it have a meaningful defensive role or was it mainly a powerful emperor's vanity project? Melvyn Bragg is joined by Greg Woolf, Professor of Ancient History at the University of St Andrews; David Breeze, Former Chief Inspector of Ancient Monuments for Scotland and Visiting Professor of Archaeology at the University of Durham and Lindsay Allason-Jones, Former Reader in Roman Material Culture at the University of Newcastle.'
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Highly recommended.
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Crumbling Soviet Military Bases: A 20th Century Empire in Decay

This is worth looking through.  Link

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Brake Pipes & Doddington Carnival

Along with most of the UK we have battered by unseasonably heavy rain of recent, but on Friday with a break in the weather late afternoon and early evening I managed to change the twisted brake pipe,

fit a new brake hose and bleed nipple and get the system bled.

With the truck now serviceable again, on Saturday morning I took it along to the Doddington Carnival.  Our MVT club had been invited along by the organisers, and myself and another member turned up to join in the festivities.

(part of the procession just prior to setting off)

Doddington village has been holding this carnival for 90 years and it is an engrained part of village life that sees the main road closed off and the carnival procession proceed from the middle of the village down to bottom, then up to the top, then back to the start position at a slow walk with 99% of the village turned out to watch.  I was thankful the truck has a crawler gear for first gear (under normal operations you start it in second) as it was a good match for the speed we were doing.

Unfortunately little Vulture was poorly and so didn't come along, so I offered a seat to the eight year daughter of one of the organisers.  Waving to her surprised school friends from the cab made her day, and with a huge smile on her face she turned to me and said "I know what the USA stands for, the United States of Awesomeness" :)   Amazingly the weather held up and was clear and warm and sunny all morning, however as I drove home at lunchtime I could see the weather fronts rolling in, so I pulled the truck over and put the canvas doors on.  No sooner had I done this and the heavens opened in a torrential downpour !  This was the first time I had driven it in really heavy rain, and its fair to say that cab is not that water-tight ! LOL  There was water dripping in from round the windscreen, round the top of the doors, round the side of the doors and also from the vent just in front of the windscreen.  A steady stream of drips from this vent landed with perfect precision on my foot on the accelerator, right on the laces, so that within a couple of minutes I could feel a pool of water gathering round my heel !  All in all an entertaining morning :)