#rear-mount platform aerial

[larryshapiro]

Pierce fire trucks in Denver

[thetruearchmagos]

Airplanes VS Aeroships: A Comparison, Part II

Damn, this is actually turning into a bit of a miniseries for me! Thank you kindly once again @pixelazer for your questions, they've given me an opportunity to air some thoughts I've long kept bottled up!

Today, I'll be exploring some of the finer points of how aeroships and aircraft compare in the battlefield.

Tagging @athenswrites @theprissythumbelina @hessdalen-globe @nerdexer @caxycreations @thatndginger for the Worldbuilding. Careful, there's a lot of it!

A Brief History Of Early Aerial Warfare

It's important to note in assessing the prevalence of aeroships in combat roles that for most of such craft's existence they were entirely unchallenged. If I had to put a number on it, I'd say the earliest aeroships to sail the skies of the 12 Worlds would have come shortly after the invention of the steam engine. These early craft truly resembled their waterborne compatriots in structure paralleled many of the developments that would appear on ships at sea. Aeroships of this era would have essentially fought like thinly armoured, lightly armed, but terribly swift steam frigates, blazing away at each other with short ranged cannon. Most minor states would never even be able to afford more than a handful aeroships in this period, leading to relatively few actual actions between such vessels. Often, aeroships would disembark their guns and crews, instead serving as high speed couriers for only the most vital cargo and personnel.

This status quo would persist for almost a century, changing occasionally in response to developments across the 12 Worlds. Ever thicker armour and larger guns would be installed as aerium lift technologies matured and many interested great powers industrialised, while the invention of steam turbines would allow aeroships to keep their speeds despite the added weight.

The Chainbreaker War

Fixed wing aviation, like aeroships, would enter various parts of the 12 Worlds at various points in time in various guises, sometimes without one inventing group being aware of another's efforts. Speaking for the United Commonwealth, while testing and trials involving airplanes would occur sporadically, the lion's share of the UC's focus remained on its modest but modern aeroship fleet. Aircraft would see occasional combat use in the UC Army Air Service as reconnaissance platforms, but would remain more of a novelty than a revolutionary new technology throughout the Commonwealth's first seven decades.

The Chainbreaker War would upend that long held belief. While neither airplanes nor aeroships were present in the Upepwani Theatre at the war's outbreak in the fall of 75 A.S., units of both types would be assigned within the United Commonwealth Army of Upepwani's 15th Combined Air Wing at the personal request of UCAU's commander, Lt. Gen. Al-Saqr. The noted moderniser was among the few in the Army's upper ranks notably supportive of airplane development, and his air forces were put to good work while UCAU gradually gathered strength and licked its wounds.

A convenient arrangement between airplanes and aeroships would be formed. The former, even of the early models employed by 15th CAW, were faster than any aeroships present. These flew regular patrols above and behind Fuhrati lines, and the speed with which they could get on station meant multiple such flights could usually be made per aircraft each day. However, in exchange for added speed and flight range, these aircraft were stripped of what little armament they might have had, which at most would have consisted of a single machine gun mounted in a rear swivel. When targets were identified, heavier aeroships laden with rudimentary bombs converted from artillery shells could be dispatched to persecute a strike.

The main challenge facing these aviators would come in the form of the Empire's own impressive air fleet, based to an even greater degree on its own aeroships. Fighting on the home turf and able to bring its full force to bear, Fuhrati aeroships would enter the field of battle at around the same time as those of the UC, prioritising the striking of ports and harbours where Commonwealth troops were being unloaded. In the absence of air defence artillery, it would fall to 15th CAW to defend Upepwani from these raids.

In these days, combat between aeroships and airplanes was a hopeless cause for the latter. By now even the oldest Fuhrati aeroships carried armour thick enough to stop small arms, and had about as many quick-firing small 'picket' guns to swat slow flying, canvas winged biplanes from the sky. A single squadron, the 21st, consisting of eight Eyrie-class heavy aeroships was the only thing standing in their way for the War's first three months, and the fighting in the air would resemble that at sea, with lines of armoured vessels pounding each other with broadsides of guns. With superior quality in crew, craft, and equipment the 21st would stem the tide by the thinnest of margins, though failures in operational planning and inter-unit cooperation on the Imperial side would play a part in this outcome.

Aeroships would remain the unquestioned kings of the sky throughout the first year of the war, with UCAU's airborne battle line growing ever stronger while the Empire's struggled to modernise and keep pace with attrition at the same time. Changing technologies, tactics, and the broader context of the war would, however, challenge the aeroships' dominance.

Contest

Two developments in UC military aviation would play a key role in the rise of the airplane in the 'counter-air' role, alongside the more general improvements in their speed, weight capacity, and range. The first would be the invention in 76 A.S. of a powerful and reliable air launched rocket, the Mk. 1 "Candelabra". Simply referred to as the Candle by those who used it, it carried a heavy incendiary warhead on top of a large rocket, making for a weapon about as large as a light naval torpedo. Indeed, many were constructed using the bodies and frames from such weapons, and would prove similarly effective against ships of the air. The key to their employment was the technique of 'lobbing', where pilots would turn sharply upwards just before releasing their payloads. This extended their range by a good margin and allowed attacking aircraft to strike from 'below' their targets, where fewer picket guns were usually present. A logical next step from existing, far lighter rockets, both were useless against Fuhrati airplanes but could do a number on lumbering aeroships caught unawares.

The second major development was the formation of the Air War Control Centre, and the various tactics and methods developed by the AWCC. Created in 76 A.S., it was the brainchild of then Brigadier Padraig Dinneen, formerly CO of 15th CAW and appointed by al-Saqr as General Officer Commanding, Air Forces UCAU. The AWCC's primary function was the coordination of the Commonwealth's air power in battle across the theatre. Acting through a network of observers, plotters, and directors, it allowed AF-UCAU's aircraft to respond quickly, effectively, and efficiently to inbound Fuhrati threats, managing the complex task of air interception for hundreds of aircraft across thousands of kilometres.

A Battlefield Reborn

These developments, as well as the proliferation of ground based air defence artillery, would reshape the aerial battlefield for both sides as the war progressed. The sky would become an increasingly unfriendly place for aeroships on the prowl, unless they could fly high or far enough to avoid their own predators. While airplanes with skilled crews could rip apart squadrons of aeroships in the open, breeds of the latter which shed their guns and armour for payloads of bombs could still strike many targets with some safety, and a far larger load than even the heaviest aircraft.

With this danger present and growing, both sides would be pushed to find new uses for their heaviest, cannon armed aeroships. Some would live on as flying air defence batteries positioned over important targets, where their blindspots could be more easily covered by ground fire and gunnery against agile airplanes was an easier task. To make use of their primary guns, many would be employed as mobile artillery batteries in direct support of ground troops. High calibre guns, armour, ease of repositioning, and built-in fire control systems made for a lethal artillery platform, and many aeroships would serve out the rest of the conflict in such roles.

Another change which would aeroships a new lease on life was the increasing preference for 'smaller' craft, with smaller crews and running costs compared to the flying frigates of yore. Small aeroships acting as couriers or ferries of important personnel and cargo had seen limited employment before, but the UC in particular would greatly expand its fleet of these light aeroships with its novel doctrine of 'Aero-Mobile Rifles', which envisioned entire regiments and divisions being carried into battle via aeroship, with equipment. The craft that would eventually be developed to fill this role were smaller than their armoured predecessors, but had grown from the lightest couriers of before to be able to carry an entire platoon of infantry, various wheeled vehicles, or even full sized howitzers with their crews.

As the Chainbreaker War drew to a close in 80 A.S., the aviation forces that the United Commonwealth would leave that conflict with bore very little resemblance to that with which it had entered it, even without me mentioning the revolutions in aviation in the maritime domain*. Beyond these competing methods of flight, the very nature of air power's role in modern war was finally made obvious to all concerned, and would be recognised eventually across the 12 Worlds.

Contemporary Applications Of Military Aeroships

To skip about a century of technological development and competition, I'll take the time to cover some of the modern-ish uses of aeroships in warfare in the 12 Worlds, at least by the United Commonwealth. If you're a military nerd, you might see a familiar pattern emerge...

Tactical Mobility

If you want to move something from one point to another quicker than anything else, courier aeroships are your best bet. Craft in this role come in a wide variety of forms and weight classes, and see most prolific use in the UC Army's Air-Mobile Divisions. The UC Navy employ plenty themselves, facilitating ship-to-ship and ship-to-shore movement and playing a key role in amphibious deployments.

Reconnaissance - Strike

The birds of prey of any army which has them. Moving with terrible speed and agility, craft of the former type can provide invaluable real time intelligence on enemy formations on the battlefield, allowing the latter to hit them from an arm's length with missiles. While fast jets can come and go just as quickly, gunships provide boots on the ground with constant comfort under their rocket pods and autocannon.

Anti-Submarine

Two of the Chainbreaker War's finest innovations face off once again on the open seas. While fixed wing patrol birds can cover vast expanses of water, aeroships and the escort frigates they operate from keep close the Commonwealth's crucial convoys, playing their games of cat and mouse with the wolves under the waves.

Heavy Lift

The courier's larger sibling, Heavy Lift Aeroships can be as large as frigates of old and haul their weight in cargo. The largest airplanes may have an edge at intercontinental scales, but if you're planning on moving hundreds of armoured vehicles from one end of a theatre to another, fleets of HLA's are what you need.

Air Combat Control

As the range at which modern aircraft can reach out and kill each other increased with every new model of missile, the work of those whose job it is to orchestrate this made ballet hasn't gotten any easier. These flying control centres come packed with the most powerful Wave Emission Sensor suites in existence, soaring high and slow on their patrol routes while teams of directors and controllers vector their aircraft across the sky.

Air Defence

The relative imbalance between fast jets and aeroships in head to head combat was somewhat alleviated with the invention of the ground launched missile. While no aeroship can best the kinematics of a fast jet, when the latter stray too low and too near to exact their wrath on the ground pounders, aeroships play a key role in the Army's broader air defence network. While costly and complex, aeroships can be rapidly redeployed to keep up with ever changing frontlines in a way that cumbersome ground launchers can't.

Bonus Stuff #2

Ever since I mentioned those miniaturised aerium crystals in the last one of these articles, I've been having some thoughts on the broader worldbuilding surrounding them, which I'd like to share here. I'll keep it brief, hopefully.

Basically, the long time trend within the broader 'Aerium Industry' has pointed towards increasingly massive and 'complex' lifting crystals, and neglected the smaller one's previously mentioned. This is because the 'energy to lift' efficiency of a single aerium crystal increases exponentially as its mass and 'internal complexity' increases, so that two crystals of a given weight produce significantly less lift for a given amount of energy than a single crystal as heavy as both of them. This property was what allowed for, and even encouraged, those heavy aeroships mentioned above, and as aerium crystal forging techniques developed over time they kept to this general trend of increasing size.

Thus, when the United Commonwealth - ore more accurately, the Defence Consolidated Technical Establishment - began investigating the use of highly miniaturised aerium crystals in high performance aircracft, the industry to produce the needed crystals simply didn't exist. There was one field, however, that had seen significant developments in recent years when it came to producing small, low mass charged crystals; the electronics industry.

While aerium crystals were getting ever larger, the encoded computating crystals employed in electronic equipment and appliances the 12 Worlds over were only getting smaller. While there are obvious differences between aerium crystals and the ones used in this industry, DCTE would tap on this rapidly growing sector to apply its methods to aerium, with some success.

With the history of these mini-crystals production briefly explained, I'd like to return to the question of why smaller crystals were needed in the first place.

One of the key measured properties of aerium crystals is 'residuality', which refers to how easily a charged, lift generating crystal can shed its lifting capacity upon the removal of its source of energy. Smaller crystals shed their residual lift significantly faster than larger crystals, a characteristic once seen as a critical safety concern; while large craft would descend relatively slowly even from a great height in the event of a power failure, smaller aeroships could lose all lift and smash into the ground like a brick in a matter of seconds.

When it comes to designing manoeuvrable military aircraft, this presents a challenge not faced when installing aerium on, say, long range bombers and transports. The residual lift of aerium crystals leads to sluggish handling and difficulties with rapid changes in altitude, two characteristics that couldn't be tolerated in the age of high speed, agile air combat.

The engineers at DCTE believed that, using their miniaturised aerium crystals and high performing flight control systems, these issues could be overcome, and that the inherent inefficiencies of such small crystals would not be a major obstacle. Dozens of crystals, each about the size of a fist, would be installed in points across the aircraft's fuselage and wings. Each crystal's lift generation could be individually calibrated in real time by onboard flight control, meaning that not only would test pilot's not notice any hinderance to their movements, with sufficient practice they could pull off seemingly impossible stunts in the air.

---

*I'd like to touch on this particular point for just a moment, then I'll let you go. In short, pre-Chainbreaker aviation, aeroship or airplane, was seen as a fairly niche capability by both services, but the Navy especially. Even the largest aeroships didn't have the weapons, endurance, or speed of most of the UCN's own vessels, and none could operate in the Warp, so only small numbers of patrol focused aeroships were operated to cover major sea lanes. The UCAAS's aeroship fleet was larger and better designed to fight air battles as they were understood at the time, but when it came to providing their crews most Army aviators would attend Navy installations for their training. This was because the vast majority of the equipment on a 'combat aeroship' - it's guns, fire control, and powerplant, for example - were of Navy design and in use on Navy vessels at sea, and so it was deemed an inefficient waste of resources for the Army to stand up its own effectively parallel training establishments.

[innovation008]

TOP 6 SPECIAL Drones 2023. Dipper (Zurich) parrot , leica blk2fly, tando...

TIMESTAMP 00:00 ▶ Intro 00:15 ▶ 1. Dipper - ETH Zurich 02:10 ▶ 2. Parrot - ANAFI Ai 03:57 ▶ 3. Autonomous Flying  Drone - LEICA BLK2FLY 06:05 ▶ 4. Tando Drone - Indoor Robotics 07:35 ▶ 5. Prometheus - Folding Drone 09:24 ▶ 6. Flapping Wing Drone - ▶1. Dipper: A Dynamically Transitioning Aerial-Aquatic Unmanned Vehicle Meet the Dipper: a dynamic aerial-aquatic drone that can fly and swim. It has a max cruising speed of 70 km/h and a range of 5km. Dipper can also dive from 150m at 130 km/h. It can swim for 10 minutes at a speed of 9km/h. As the researchers explain: This incredible innovation in drone technology is the brainchild of a group of 8 engineering students from ETH Zurich – a fixed wing drone that can be launched into the skies and seamlessly transition from air to water. Taking it’s inspiration from the natural world and looking to mimic the action of diving seabirds, this potentially groundbreaking project gives us a glimpse into the future. The drone can be launched into the air where it can then dive underwater and move freely in any direction. On reaching the surface again, it can expand it’s wings and take off from the water’s surface to become airborne once more. The vehicle has only one main propulsion motor, and uses a novel clutch system to engage either the front tractor propeller for flight in air, or the rear ship’s screw propeller for underwater propulsion. 👉• https://dipper.ethz.ch/ http://www.roboticsproceedings.org/rs... ▶ 2.  Parrot introduces ANAFI Ai: the first 4G robotic UAV Providing professionals features that really matter: • 4G as the new communications standard • 48 MP imaging accuracy • Intelligent obstacle avoidance for autonomous photogrammetry missions • A unique robotic platform with the first open-source piloting application • A Secure Element that protects both the integrity of the software and the privacy of data transferred 👉• https://www.parrot.com/en/drones/anaf... ▶ 3. LEICA BLK2FLY - Autonomous Flying Laser Scanner Advanced obstacle avoidance for easy reality capture from the sky. It captures building exteriors, structures, and environments to create 3D point clouds while flying. The BLK2FLY is designed to be easy-to-use: with a few simple taps on a tablet, users can set the BLK2FLY aloft to autonomously scan building exteriors and features, such as hard-to-access areas like rooftops and facades. Deploying the device itself is as easy as unfolding it, switching it on with the press of a button and placing it on the ground, ready for takeoff. 👉• https://blk2021.com/blk2fly/ ▶ 4. Tando Drone is Designed to Serve as a Flying Security Guard Tando, a drone that is mounted on a dock attached to the ceiling like a fan to automatically monitor a room at a set time or remote control from the outside. Indoor surveillance drone that is equipped with a flight system using artificial intelligence to avoid obstacles in a narrow space or to fly automatically if necessary. 👉• https://www.indoor-robotics.com/ ▶ 5. Folding Drone Can Drop Into Inaccessible Mines - Prometheus Inspecting old mines is a dangerous business. For humans, mines can be lethal: prone to rockfalls and filled with noxious gases. Robots can go where humans might suffocate, but even robots can only do so much when mines are inaccessible from the surface. Now, researchers in the UK, led by Headlight AI, have developed a drone that could cast a light in the darkness. Named Prometheus, this drone can enter a mine through a borehole not much larger than a football, before unfurling its arms and flying around the void. Once down there, it can use its payload of scanning equipment to map mines where neither humans nor robots can presently go. This, the researchers hope, could make mine inspection quicker and easier. The team behind Prometheus published its design in November in the journal Robotics. 👉• https://www.headlight.ai/ ▶ 6. Is It a Bird, a Plane ? Not Superman, But a Flapping Wing Drone A drone prototype that mimics the aerobatic manoeuvres of one of the world's fastest birds, the swift, is being developed by an international team of engineers in the latest example of biologically inspired flight. A research team from Singapore, Australia, China and Taiwan has designed a 26 gram ornithopter (flapping wing aircraft) which can hover, dart, glide, brake and dive just like a swift, making them more versatile, safer and quieter than the existing quadcopter drones. 👉• https://www.eng.nus.edu.sg/ #drone #UAV  #flyingrobot ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 彡 Thanks for watching 😊 Make sure to Subscribe 👈, Like 👍, Comment  and click the bell to never miss a release ! 🔔

[greatworldwar2]

• IJN Aircraft Carrier Hiryū

Hiryū (飛龍, "Flying Dragon") was an aircraft carrier built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during the 1930s. Generally regarded as the only ship of her class, she was built to a modified Sōryū design.

Hiryū was one of two large carriers approved for construction under the 1931–32 Supplementary Program. Originally designed as the sister ship of Sōryū, her design was enlarged and modified in light of the Tomozuru and Fourth Fleet Incidents in 1934–1935 that revealed many IJN ships were top-heavy, unstable and structurally weak. Her forecastle was raised and her hull strengthened. Other changes involved increasing her beam, displacement, and armor protection. The ship had a length of 227.4 meters (746 ft 1 in) overall, a beam of 22.3 meters (73 ft 2 in) and a draft of 7.8 meters (25 ft 7 in). She displaced 17,600 metric tons (17,300 long tons) at standard load and 20,570 metric tons (20,250 long tons) at normal load. Her crew consisted of 1,100 officers and enlisted men. Hiryū was fitted with four geared steam turbine sets with a total of 153,000 shaft horsepower (114,000 kW). Hiryū carried 4,500 metric tons (4,400 long tons) of fuel oil which gave her a range of 10,330 nautical miles (19,130 km; 11,890 mi) at 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph). The boiler uptakes were trunked to the ship's starboard side amidships and exhausted just below flight deck level through two funnels curved downward.

The carrier's 216.9-meter (711 ft 7 in) flight deck was 27 meters (88 ft 6 in) wide and overhung her superstructure at both ends, supported by pairs of pillars. Hiryū was one of only two carriers ever built whose island was on the port side of the ship (Akagi was the other). It was also positioned further to the rear and encroached on the width of the flight deck, unlike Sōryū. The flight deck was only 12.8 meters (42 ft) above the waterline and the ship's designers kept this figure low by reducing the height of the hangars. The upper hangar was 171.3 by 18.3 meters (562 by 60 ft) and had an approximate height of 4.6 meters (15 ft); the lower was 142.3 by 18.3 meters (467 by 60 ft) and had an approximate height of 4.3 meters (14 ft). Together they had an approximate total area of 5,736 square meters (61,740 sq ft). This caused problems in handling aircraft because the wings of a Nakajima B5N "Kate" torpedo bomber could neither be spread nor folded in the upper hangar. Aircraft were transported between the hangars and the flight deck by three elevators, the forward one abreast the island on the centerline and the other two offset to starboard.

Hiryū's primary anti-aircraft (AA) armament consisted of six twin-gun mounts equipped with 12.7-centimeter Type 89 dual-purpose guns mounted on projecting sponsons, three on either side of the carrier's hull. When firing at surface targets, the guns had a range of 14,700 meters (16,100 yd); they had a maximum ceiling of 9,440 meters (30,970 ft) at their maximum elevation of +90 degrees. Their maximum rate of fire was 14 rounds a minute, but their sustained rate of fire was approximately eight rounds per minute. The ship was equipped with two Type 94 fire-control directors to control the 12.7-centimeter (5.0 in) guns, one for each side of the ship; the starboard-side director was on top of the island and the other director was positioned below flight deck level on the port side. The ship's light AA armament consisted of seven triple and five twin-gun mounts for license-built Hotchkiss 25 mm Type 96 AA guns. Two of the triple mounts were sited on a platform just below the forward end of the flight deck. Hiryū had a waterline belt with a maximum thickness of 150 millimeters (5.9 in) over the magazines that reduced to 90 millimeters (3.5 in) over the machinery spaces and the gas storage tanks. It was backed by an internal anti-splinter bulkhead. The ship's deck was 25 millimeters (0.98 in) thick over the machinery spaces and 55 millimeters (2.2 in) thick over the magazines and gas storage tanks.

Following the Japanese ship-naming conventions for aircraft carriers, Hiryū was named "Flying Dragon". The ship was laid down at the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal on July 8th, 1936, launched on November 16th, 1937 and commissioned on July 5th, 1939. She was assigned to the Second Carrier Division on November 15th. In September 1940, the ship's air group was transferred to Hainan Island to support the Japanese invasion of French Indochina. In February 1941, Hiryū supported the blockade of Southern China. Two months later, the 2nd Carrier Division, commanded by Rear Admiral Tamon Yamaguchi, was assigned to the First Air Fleet, or Kido Butai, on April 10th. Hiryū returned to Japan on August 7th and began a short refit that was completed on September 15th. She became flagship of the Second Division from September 22nd to October 26th while Sōryū was refitting. In November 1941, the IJN's Combined Fleet, commanded by Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, prepared to participate in Japan's initiation of a formal war with the United States by conducting a preemptive strike against the United States Navy's Pacific Fleet base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. On November 22nd, Hiryū, commanded by Captain Tomeo Kaku, and the rest of the Kido Butai, under Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo and including six fleet carriers from the First, Second, and Fifth Carrier Divisions, assembled in Hitokappu Bay at Etorofu Island. The fleet departed Etorofu, and followed a course across the north-central Pacific to avoid commercial shipping lanes. Now the flagship of the Second Carrier Division, the ship embarked 21 Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighters, 18 Aichi D3A "Val" dive bombers, and 18 Nakajima B5N "Kate" torpedo bombers. From a position 230 nmi (430 km; 260 mi) north of Oahu, Hiryū and the other five carriers launched two waves of aircraft on the morning of December 7th, 1941 Hawaiian time. In the first wave, 8 B5N torpedo bombers were supposed to attack the aircraft carriers that normally berthed on the northwest side of Ford Island, but none were in Pearl Harbor that day; 4 of the B5N pilots diverted to their secondary target, ships berthed alongside "1010 Pier" where the fleet flagship was usually moored. That ship, the battleship Pennsylvania, was in drydock and its position was occupied by the light cruiser Helena and the minelayer Oglala; all four torpedoes missed. The other four pilots attacked the battleships West Virginia and Oklahoma. The remaining 10 B5Ns were tasked to drop 800-kilogram (1,800 lb) armor-piercing bombs on the battleships berthed on the southeast side of Ford Island ("Battleship Row") and may have scored one or two hits on them, in addition to causing a magazine explosion aboard the battleship Arizona that sank her with heavy loss of life. The second wave consisted of 9 Zeros and 18 D3As, They strafed the airfield, and shot down two Curtiss P-40 fighters attempting to take off when the Zeros arrived and a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber that had earlier diverted from Hickam Army Airfield, and also destroyed a Stinson O-49 observation aircraft on the ground for the loss of one of their own. The D3As attacked various ships in Pearl Harbor, but it is not possible to identify which aircraft attacked which ship.

While returning to Japan after the attack, Vice Admiral Chūichi Nagumo, commander of the First Air Fleet, ordered that Sōryū and Hiryū be detached on December 16th to attack the defenders of Wake Island who had already defeated the first Japanese attack on the island. The two carriers reached the vicinity of the island on December 21st and launched 29 D3As and 2 B5Ns, escorted by 18 Zeros, to attack ground targets. They encountered no aerial opposition and launched 35 B5Ns and 6 A6M Zeros the following day. The carriers arrived at Kure on 29 December. They were assigned to the Southern Force on January 8th, 1942 and departed four days later for the Dutch East Indies. The ships supported the invasion of the Palau Islands and the Battle of Ambon, attacking Allied positions on the island on January 23rd with 54 aircraft. Four days later the carriers detached 18 Zeros and 9 D3As to operate from land bases in support of Japanese operations in the Battle of Borneo. Hiryū and Sōryū arrived at Palau on January 28th and waited for the arrival of the carriers Kaga and Akagi. All four carriers departed Palau on February 15th and launched air strikes against Darwin, Australia, four days later. Hiryū contributed 18 B5Ns, 18 D3As, and 9 Zeros to the attack. Her aircraft attacked the ships in port and its facilities, sinking or setting on fire three ships and damaging two others. Hiryū and the other carriers arrived at Staring Bay on Celebes Island on February 21st to resupply and rest before departing four days later to support the invasion of Java. On March 1st, 1942, the ship's D3As damaged the destroyer USS Edsall badly enough for her to be caught and sunk by Japanese cruisers. Later that day the dive bombers sank the oil tanker USS Pecos. Two days later, they attacked Christmas Island and Hiryū's aircraft sank the Dutch freighter Poelau Bras before returning to Staring Bay on March 11th to resupply and train for the impending Indian Ocean raid.

On March 26th, the five carriers of the First Air Fleet departed from Staring Bay; they were spotted by a Catalina about 350 nautical miles (650 km; 400 mi) southeast of Ceylon on the morning of April 4th. Six of Hiryū's Zeros were on Combat Air Patrol (CAP) and helped to shoot it down. Hiryū contributed 18 B5Ns and 9 Zeros to the force; the latter encountered a flight of 6 Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers from 788 Naval Air Squadron en route and shot them all down without loss. The Japanese aircraft encountered defending Hawker Hurricane fighters from Nos. 30 and 258 Squadrons RAF over Ratmalana airfield and Hiryū's fighters claimed to have shot down 11 with 3 Zeros damaged, although the fighters from the other carriers also made claims. On the morning of April 9th, Hiryū's CAP shot down another Catalina attempting to locate the fleet and, later that morning, contributed 18 B5Ns, escorted by 6 Zeros, to the attack on Trincomalee. The fighters engaged 261 Squadron RAF, claiming to have shot down two with two more shared with fighters from the other carriers. On April 19th, while transiting the Bashi Straits between Taiwan and Luzon en route to Japan, Hiryū, Sōryū, and Akagi were sent in pursuit of the American carriers Hornet and Enterprise, which had launched the Doolittle Raid against Tokyo. They found only empty ocean, as the American carriers had immediately departed the area to return to Hawaii. The carriers quickly abandoned the chase and dropped anchor at Hashirajima anchorage on April 22nd. Having been engaged in constant operations for four and a half months, the ship, along with the other three carriers of the First and Second Carrier Divisions, was hurriedly refitted and replenished in preparation for the Combined Fleet's next major operation, scheduled to begin one month hence. While at Hashirajima, Hiryū's air group was based ashore at Tomitaka Airfield, near Saiki, Ōita, and conducted flight and weapons training with the other First Air Fleet carrier units.

Concerned by the US carrier strikes in the Marshall Islands, Lae-Salamaua, and the Doolittle raids, Yamamoto was determined to force the US Navy into a showdown to eliminate the American carrier threat. He decided to invade and occupy Midway Atoll, which he was sure would draw out the American carriers to defend it. The Japanese codenamed the Midway invasion Operation MI. Unknown to the Japanese, the US Navy had divined the Japanese plan by breaking its JN-25 code and had prepared an ambush using its three available carriers, positioned northeast of Midway. On May 25th, 1942, Hiryū set out with the Combined Fleet's carrier striking force in the company of Kaga, Akagi, and Sōryū, which constituted the First and Second Carrier Divisions, for the attack on Midway. Her aircraft complement consisted of 18 Zeros, 18 D3As, and 18 B5Ns. on June 4th, 1942, Hiryū's portion of the 108-plane airstrike was an attack on the facilities on Sand Island with 18 torpedo bombers, one of which aborted with mechanical problems, escorted by nine Zeros. The air group suffered heavily during the attack: two B5Ns were shot down by fighters, with a third falling victim to AA fire. The carrier also contributed 3 Zeros to the total of 11 assigned to the initial CAP over the four carriers. By 07:05, the carrier had 6 fighters with the CAP which helped to defend the Kido Butai from the first US attackers from Midway Island at 07:10. Hiryū reinforced the CAP with launches of 3 more Zeros at 08:25. These fresh Zeros helped defeat the next American air strike from Midway. Although all the American air strikes had thus far caused negligible damage, they kept the Japanese carrier forces off-balance as Nagumo endeavored to prepare a response to news, received at 08:20, of the sighting of American carrier forces to his northeast.

Hiryū began recovering her Midway strike force at around 09:00 and finished shortly by 09:10. The landed aircraft were quickly struck below, while the carriers' crews began preparations to spot aircraft for the strike against the American carrier forces. The preparations were interrupted at 09:18, when the first attacking American carrier aircraft were sighted. Hiryū launched another trio of CAP Zeros at 10:13 after Torpedo Squadron 3 (VT-3) from Yorktown was spotted. Two of her Zeros were shot down by Wildcats escorting VT-3 and another was forced to ditch. While VT-3 was still attacking Hiryū, American dive bombers arrived over the Japanese carriers almost undetected and began their dives. It was at this time, around 10:20, that in the words of Jonathan Parshall and Anthony Tully, the "Japanese air defenses would finally and catastrophically fail." Three American dive bomber squadrons now attacked the three other carriers and set each of them on fire. Hiryū was untouched and proceeded to launch 18 D3As, escorted by six Zeros, at 10:54. Yamaguchi radioed his intention to Nagumo at 16:30 to launch a third strike against the American carriers at dusk (approximately 18:00), but Nagumo ordered the fleet to withdraw to the west. At this point in the battle, Hiryū had only 4 air-worthy dive-bombers and 5 torpedo-planes left. She also retained 19 of her own fighters on board as well as a further 13 Zeros on CAP (a composite force of survivors from the other carriers). At 16:45, Enterprise's dive bombers spotted the Japanese carrier and began to maneuver for good attacking position while reducing altitude. Hiryū was struck by four 1,000-pound (450 kg) bombs, three on the forward flight deck and one on the forward elevator. The explosions started fires among the aircraft on the hangar deck. The forward half of the flight deck collapsed into the hangar while part of the elevator was hurled against the ship's bridge. The fires were severe enough that the remaining American aircraft attacked the other ships escorting Hiryū, albeit without effect, deeming further attacks on the carrier as a waste of time because she was aflame from stem to stern. Beginning at 17:42, two groups of B-17s attempted to attack the Japanese ships without success, although one bomber strafed Hiryū's flight deck, killing several anti-aircraft gunners. Although Hiryū's propulsion was not affected, the fires could not be brought under control. At 21:23, her engines stopped, and at 23:58 a major explosion rocked the ship. The order to abandon ship was given at 03:15, and the survivors were taken off by the destroyers Kazagumo and Makigumo. Yamaguchi and Kaku decided to remain on board as Hiryū was torpedoed at 05:10 by Makigumo as the ship could not be salvaged. Around 07:00, one of Hōshō's Yokosuka B4Y aircraft discovered Hiryū still afloat and not in any visible danger of sinking. The aviators could also see crewmen aboard the carrier, men who had not received word to abandon ship. They finally launched some of the carrier's boats and abandoned ship themselves around 09:00. Thirty-nine men made it into the ship's cutter only moments before Hiryū sank around 09:12, taking the bodies of 389 men with her. The loss of Hiryū and the three other IJN carriers at Midway, comprising two thirds of Japan's total number of fleet carriers and the experienced core of the First Air Fleet, was a strategic defeat for Japan and contributed significantly to Japan's ultimate defeat in the war. In an effort to conceal the defeat, the ship was not immediately removed from the Navy's registry of ships, instead being listed as "unmanned" before finally being struck from the registry on 25 September 1942. The IJN selected a modified version of the Hiryū design for mass production to replace the carriers lost at Midway. Of a planned program of 16 ships of the Unryū class, only 6 were laid down and 3 were commissioned before the end of the war.

[razieltwelve]

Atlas Air Missile Frigate (Final Rose)

The Atlas Air Missile Frigate is one of the world’s premier platforms for dealing with aerial Grimm. It combines high speed and long operational range with a variety of weapons designed to eliminate Grimm before they can attack settlements and other ground-bound targets.

Length: 150 metres

Weight: ~4500 tons

Cruising speed: 1000 km/h

Combat speed: 2000 km/h

Propulsion: 

30 anti-gravity units spread evenly throughout the ship

4 large rear-mounted energy-to-momentum conversion thrusters

16 smaller energy-to-momentum conversion thrusters mounted around the rest of the ship

Power source:

2 fusion reactors

Armament:

16 missile pods (4 missile cells per pod), mounted 8 on each side with 8 on the top of the ship and 8 on the bottom

8 close-range point defence flak cannons, mounted 4 on each side with 4 on the top of the ship and 4 on the bottom

8 medium-range cannons, mounted 4 on each side with 4 on the top of the ship and 4 on the bottom

Defences:

2 forcefield generators capable of covering the entire ship

Alloy armour across the entire ship with a minimum thickness of 5.0 cm

[blogtruck75]

Terex Hi Ranger Xt 55 Manual

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[phgq]

PH Navy upgrades make waves amid pandemic

#PHnews: PH Navy upgrades make waves amid pandemic

MANILA – Despite the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic bringing almost everything to a standstill this year, efforts to modernize the Philippine Navy (PN) remain on track as exemplified by the delivery and commissioning of its first-ever guided-missile frigate BRP Jose Rizal (FF-150) early this year.

"Despite the Covid-19 pandemic greatly affecting the implementation of the AFP’s Modernization Program this year, the PN has remained in high spirits in terms of developing its capabilities. For one, the Navy has seen the arrival of its first modern frigate, BRP Jose Rizal in May of this year," Navy chief Vice Adm. Giovanni Carlo Bacordo told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) in a recent interview.

The ship arrived in Subic Bay, Zambales last May 23 after leaving Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) shipyard in Ulsan, South Korea last May 18.

The BRP Jose Rizal is capable of conducting anti-air warfare, anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, and electronic warfare operations and was officially commissioned last July 10.

A few weeks after its commissioning, the ship and its crew were deployed to the biennial "Rim of the Pacific" (RIMPAC) exercises off Hawaii which took place from Aug. 17 to 31.

The ship left Subic Bay on July 29 and arrived in Hawaii on Aug. 15.

Bacordo said this deployment is considered the "maiden deployment" of the brand-new missile frigate and called the participation of the ship and its contingent to the RIMPAC as a "sterling one".

Also, no defects were reported aboard BRP Jose Rizal during the two-week maneuvers.

"No reported safety and security incidents. No weapons, communications, electronic(s) and information (system) hull, machinery, and electrical sys(tem) derangements (were) reported," Bacordo earlier said.

He added that BRP Jose Rizal’s participation in RIMPAC 2020 highlights the competence and capability of the ship and its crew to undertake various maritime operational scenarios, may it be multinational operations with other partner nations, maritime security of commercial shipping, or operating on its own or with its onboard helicopter against surface and sub-surface adversaries.

"FF-150 took advantage of RIMPAC 2020 to train as a team, put the ship at pace with possible real-world scenarios, and the crew to gel during this time," he said.

Bacordo said the ship's participation was also recognized by its US counterparts, specifically US Navy Third Fleet commander Vice Admiral Scott D. Conn, who earlier said they are happy to have the Philippines participating in RIMPAC with BRP Jose Rizal.

PN public affairs office chief Lt. Commander Maria Christina Roxas said the ship's crew would use the two-week RIMPAC maneuvers as a "shakedown cruise" to test the performance and seaworthiness of the brand-new missile frigate.

A "shakedown cruise" allows the crew to familiarize themselves with a new vessel and ensure that all of the ship's systems are functional.

"Other than that, it is a chance for the officers and crew to work as a team since most of the time they are conducting individual training. Through this exercise, they will be able to conduct and function as a whole team of FF-150," she said.

The RIMPAC, being a multi-dimensional training exercise, gave a chance for the BRP Jose Rizal "to level up its engagement in this four-dimension warfare," Roxas added.

BRP Jose Rizal was launched at the Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) shipyard in Ulsan, South Korea on May 23, 2019. Its sister ship, the BRP Antonio Luna (FF-151), was launched in the same facility on November 8 last year.

The contract for the two ships was PHP16 billion and an additional PHP2 billion for weapon systems and munitions.

Aside from the arrival and commissioning of the PN's first guided-missile frigate, another highlight for the Navy this year is the partial delivery of the 10 high-speed and fast boats contracted for the Naval Special Operations Command (Navsocom).

"In addition, in August of this year, the Navsocom also saw the partial delivery of seven out of 10 high-speed and fast boats acquired under the modernization program and meant to boost special operations capability. These are currently undergoing sea trial and technical inspection procedures," Bacordo said.

ScanEagle drones

Also of great importance for the PN was the acquisition of the ScanEagle unmanned aerial system with the assistance of the United States,

"Further, the PN has received through (Foreign Military Sales) FMS the donation of ScanEagle unmanned aerial system (UAS), composing of eight air vehicles, four ground-control stations, and other components that can greatly contribute to the ISR (intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance) operations and RDANA (rapid damage assessment), (support to humanitarian assistance disaster relief (HADR)," Bacordo said.

Also included in this package are training for the operators and maintainers (10 pilot and six maintainers, four image and video data processors) to ensure optimized utilization," he added.

During the formal turnover of the ScanEagle UAS last Nov. 25 at Naval Base Heracleo Alano, Sangley Point, Cavite, Bacordo said the arrival of this platform will allow the PN to greatly expand the coverage of its internal security, territorial defense, HADR, and maritime law enforcement missions.

This is the first fixed UAS to be operated by the PN. The ScanEagle and its associated equipment, worth USD14.79 million, were acquired through the Maritime Security Initiative Program of the United States.

It was requested by the PN in 2017 and was formalized in February 2019 after a series of dialogues with the Philippines’ Joint US Military Assistance Group (JUSMAG-Phil).

"Another milestone was achieved just recently which includes the successful negotiations for the Lot 1 (Platforms) & Lot 2 (Combat Systems and Missiles) of the Fast Attack Interdiction Craft-Missile (FAIC-M) Acquisition Project. This resulted in the provisions for an additional one unit with one set of remote combat weapon systems (on top of the programmed eight units FAIC-M) for the PN and an upgrade of the Naval Ship Yard -- without additional cost to the government. Hence, the PN expects to obtain a total of nine missile-equipped FAICs in the coming years," Bacordo said.

The FAIC-Ms, Bacordo said, are expected to replace the force of patrol killer medium (PKM) or medium-sized patrol craft, with deliveries expected to start in 2022.

The project, approved for inclusion in the Horizon 2 project list of the Revised Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization Program, has a budget of PHP10 billion and is for multi-year contracting.

Four of the FAIC-Ms will be armed with non-line-of-sight (NLOS) missiles with pinpoint accuracy and a range of 25 kilometers while the other four will be armed with machine guns and light automatic cannons.

With the FAIC-Ms, the PN shall have the capability to defend the key sea lines of communications (SLOCs), such as Mindoro, Balabac, Sibutu, and Basilan Straits against conventional threats.

While operating in restricted waters, the FAIC-Ms can interdict surface threats and launch NLOS missiles safely using the surrounding littoral areas as maneuver space and cover.

2nd missile frigate soon

Another important event for the PN in 2020 is the successful conclusion of the five-day sea acceptance trials (SAT) of BRP Antonio Luna, the second missile frigate ordered by the Navy from HHI.

The SAT started on Dec. 14 and ended on Dec. 18.

"As the second installment of the Frigate Acquisition Project, the FF-151 or BRP Antonio Luna concluded its five-day Sea Acceptance Trials recently on 18 December 2020 in South Korea. As a result, the PN is expecting to welcome this modern vessel in February 2021 and project delivery remains to be right on schedule," Bacordo said.

In a media statement on Dec. 18, Rear Admiral Alberto Carlos, head of the PN's Technical Inspection and Acceptance Committee (TIAC), declared that FF-151 is compliant with the agreed technical specifications after personally witnessing the warship's performance during the sea trials.

"FF-151 is 95 percent complete at this time. All machinery and combat systems were subjected to test procedures as stipulated in the contract and were observed to be working properly. More importantly, I'm happy to announce that FF-151 passed the prescribed standards and procedures," he said.

Carlos said upon completion of the SAT, BRP Antonio Luna's completion rating is almost 100 percent. This, he added, will pave way for the frigate re-docking and final outfitting before delivery early next year.

Also, Bacordo said parallel with equipment acquisition is the command’s effort on base support and sustainment development that would address the facility requirements for the upcoming deliverables of the PN modernization program like the missile storage facilities and repair of piers and other major infrastructure, among others.

"Moreover, the non-material aspects that are crucial to the overall effort of the PN modernization are considered through the Capability Synchronization Matrix. As a crucial management tool, the matrix is seen to identify, program, integrate, implement, and monitor the overall capability development of the PN," he added.

This also includes alignment of materiel and non-materiel capabilities covering training activities that would enhance personnel competency for our personnel, doctrines development, force restructuring and organizational development, and human resource development.

Also, the PN chief is pleased to announce that the Navy is continuing its efforts in supporting the local defense industry research and development under the Self-Reliant Defense Posture program.

"In 2020, in collaboration with the Department of Science and Technology, we have seen the active implementation and near completion of 'Project Buhawi' or (building a universal mount for heavy-barrel automated weapon integration for naval vessels)," Bacordo said. (PNA)

***

References:

* Philippine News Agency. "PH Navy upgrades make waves amid pandemic." Philippine News Agency. https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1125433 (accessed December 28, 2020 at 08:00PM UTC+14).

* Philippine News Agency. "PH Navy upgrades make waves amid pandemic." Archive Today. https://archive.ph/?run=1&url=https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1125433 (archived).

[larryshapiro]

Rosemont Public Safety Department - Guns & Hoses

[graflexcamera]

Big Bertha

by Thomas Evans, May 25, 2020.

           Graflex single-lens-reflex cameras with a fast, long-range or telephoto lens attached, have come to be known as Big Bertha cameras. The most common camera adapted to this use has been the 5x7 inch Home Portrait Graflex, with revolving back for both horizontal and vertical images. The most common lens used appears to have been a 70cm, (28-inch) f5.0, Carl Zeiss Jena Triplet, originally made for aerial photography from ‘aeroplanes’ and balloons by the German military during World War One. Zeiss also made f5.0 50cm and 70cm Tessars, an f4.8 50cm Triplet, and an f7.0 120cm Triplet for aerial photography. According to the Lens Collector’s Vade Mecum, these aerial surveillance lenses have been associated with Zeiss lens designer August Sonnefeld, who worked on ‘deformed’ (aspheric) Triplet designs, as seen in US Patents 1,616,765 and 1,825,828. He thinned the outer edges of the rear elements to improve sharpness.

 Lenses

           Other lenses used include the 40-inch, f5.6 Dallmeyer telephoto, and at least one instance of a 60-inch f/5.6 Dallmeyer lens fitted to a Big Bertha for the Associated Press. The latter lens was specially made by Dallmeyer, and was said to have taken a year to make, requiring multiple re-casting of the large, up to 8 ½ inch diameter lens elements to get them right. Because of the weight of the lens, focusing on this camera is made by moving the camera body back and forth. Interestingly, the 40-inch telephoto requires less extension than the 28-inch Triplet, resulting in an over-all shorter camera. The Zeiss Triplet, however, was valued for being relatively light-weight. Even though the Triplet has just three lens elements, it had very good definition.

 Joseph A. Sprague

           The single-lens-reflex Graflex cameras lend themselves to use with telephoto lenses, and the 4x5” Naturalist Graflex was sometimes fitted with long lenses of 24 to 32 inches. William Kuenzel, the first staff photographer for the Detroit News, used a 5x7” Press Graflex with a long-range lens to photograph sports events. The Press Graflex was modified with the addition of a wooden extension in front to accommodate the long lens, much like the Naturalist Graflex has. However, Joseph A. Sprague, then an engineer at the Ackley Machine Shop in New York City, is credited with assembling the first ‘Big Bertha’. In 1937, he had the idea of adding a long-range lens to a standard 5x7-inch Home Portrait Graflex, connecting them with a Duraluminum tube, and mounting all on a solid platform to maintain alignment. He is also credited, along with the New York Daily News engineer George Schmidt, with the idea of adding a ‘gear shift’ focusing lever, with adjustable, pre-focus stops. With this lever, locations, such as the bases on a baseball field, can be pre-focused, facilitating rapid shift of focus during the action. The Home Portrait Graflex and f:5.0, 28-inch Zeiss Triplet proved to be very popular. By 1940, Joseph Sprague was working for the Folmer Graflex Corporation as Chief Engineer, making Big Bertha cameras on order for major newspapers.

 Shutter speed plate on 1/1000th model of the Home Portrait Graflex.

Home Portrait Graflex

           The standard Home Portrait Graflex focal plane shutter is capable of shutter speeds up to 1/500th second. Graflex also made a ‘professional’ version with shutter speeds up to 1/1000th second. The latter was usually the version used for Big Berthas. Another unique feature of the HPG was that it could be set to expose through two or more curtain apertures, combining the set speeds for slower instantaneous speeds. The 1/1000th shutter can be set to provide six speeds between 1/8th to 1 second, and then by combining the ‘Open’ and ‘2’ (inch) apertures, these speeds are each made 25% longer.

 Photojournalism

           “Well equipped newspapers” used these cameras on a daily basis during the 1940s and 1950s to make detailed shots of football and baseball players in action, suitable for three or four column spreads in their sports sections. The cameraman had assistants to handle the camera, and could have messengers who could take the first exposed films and rush it by motorcycle back to the newspaper, to be processed and printed wet to make a quick deadline for the next edition. The newspapers were set up for quick processing of large format films, and it took a while for this to change to accommodate smaller format films.

Big Bertha cameras set up in a Press Box, c. 1956.

           The battery of Big Bertha cameras to cover sporting events were usually set up in a press box, centered some 50 feet above the playing field and 100 to 400 feet from the action. The 28-inch lens could produce an image of the players at 100 feet that was large enough, about six times as large as a comparable, smaller format camera, to be clear and detailed when printed in the paper.

           Other uses included close-up views of otherwise hard to get close to events, such as flag-pole sitters and people threatening to jump from window ledges (which could be taken from adjacent buildings), speeches given to large crowds, launching of naval ships, horse races, and plays and operas taken from back balconies.

William C. Eckenberg

           William C. Eckenberg, staff photographer for the New York Times, and William Freese, Manager of the New York Times Studio, photographed 25 operas at the Metropolitan Opera House by 1941. During a performance any distracting sound was considered to be a disaster, and so Mr. Eckenberg developed techniques to keep his Graflex from making noise during operation, such as avoiding the loud click as the mirror is snapped into place by pressing down the mirror release lever until it was fully in position. The actors were cooperative and would hold position at pre-determined moments to facilitate a planned exposure, and one Stage Manager was an ‘ardent camera enthusiast’, and would have the lighting adjusted to aid in the photography.

 James Frezzolini

           James Frezzolini, as an electrician at the New York Daily Mirror, built several Big Bertha Cameras for the paper, with an emphasis on streamlining the cameras and reducing the weight. Early on, by substituting Duraluminum for steel and brass parts, he was able to reduce a 120 pound Big Bertha with a 48 inch lens down to 65 pounds. His design uses a large tube within which the lens moves for focusing, and a dial on top of the tube near the camera body which will adjust the aperture setting, as well as the gear-shift focusing with adjustable pre-focus stops. The front half of the camera body is essentially armor plated, to strengthen the connection with the large tube, thus eliminating the need for a large and heavy platform under all. His version of the Big Bertha with a 28-inch Zeiss Triplet lens, weighs about 35 pounds. He later became the head of the General Research Laboratories in New York City, which made Big Bertha cameras well into the 1950s. Customers could bring in their own Home Portrait Graflex to be fitted with the lens and tube assembly.

 Making Photographs

  Home Portrait Graflex converted to a Big Bertha by James Frezzolini in the 1950s.

             The Big Bertha pictured here is based on a Home portrait Graflex that was made in 1916, and is fitted with a 70cm, f:5.0 Carl Zeiss Jena Triplet made in 1914. It does not have the James Frezzolini identification plate, but it is his design, and so it was probably assembled as a Big Bertha in the 1950s. The camera and lens together weigh about 35 pounds, and this relatively light weight is due to the light, three-element Zeiss Triplet, and the use of aluminum parts. The ‘gear-shift’ can be used to focus on pre-focused locations, set by the four adjustable stops. The camera originally had a sportsfinder frame on the front of the lens tube, so with pre-focus locations set, the lid could be closed and the camera sighted with the sportsfinder. The gear-shift can also be released (small knob at its base), and the camera focused with the large aluminum knob, which provides a greater range of focus. The closest focus distance is about 20 feet, but the over-all design seems to favor 100 to 400 feet.

Frezzolini design aperture adjustment dial. The pegs seen in the background are for pre-setting focus locations.

           The dial on top of the lens tube is used to adjust the lens aperture, with a range of f5.0 to f12.5. The home Portrait Graflex has a revolving back, so that vertical as well as horizontal images can be made. Due to the long distance from the lens to the film, when the back is in the vertical position, about one half inch is vignetted from the top of the image. This is due to the cross bar inside the camera to which the mirror latches. The 700mm lens produces an image size about 3 ½ times that of the ‘normal’ No. 34 Kodak Anastigmat, 8 ½” (216mm) lens usually found on the 5x7” Graflex.

  View made with the Big Bertha with 70cm lens.         

Same view with 5x7” Graflex B with KA 34, 8 ½” lens.

           This World War One vintage Zeiss Triplet has very good definition. The 700mm (28 inch) lens is listed by Zeiss as covering a 9x7 inch format, less than might be expected, and this may be due to only the center of the field of view being well-corrected. The un-coated lens is prone to flare. The front of the lens tube serves as a lens shade, but pointing the lens anywhere near the direction of the sun will produce enough flare to obscure the image. Due to the narrow angle of view, it would be possible to extend the lens shade a foot or more, which should reduce flare.

  Zeiss Triplet flare when pointed near the direction of the sun.

 Conclusion.

           In 1940, when 4x5 inch and 5x7 inch format cameras were the norm for newspapers, Joseph Sprague described the advantages of using a large format camera with a long-range lens from the grand stand: “Better and more negatives can be made by a photographer located in a choice position with a perfect view of the entire field of action than can be made by a man working on the field, trying to guess where the next play will take place. Shooting from a distance avoids possible interference with the game and annoyance to spectators, as well as the actual danger of personal injury involved.” He also addressed the question of using a more portable, smaller format camera rather than using the 5x7-inch Big Bertha: “When it is considered that newsmen have deadlines to meet, and rapid development and wet printing is the rule; and when one remembers that the picture editor frequently calls for a sharp “blow-up” to run about four columns or more, with characters 4 ½ inches or more in height; then it will be appreciated by those who have tried both that a large negative image in the first place is desirable if not essential.” While a camera with a 5 inch (127mm) lens, used at a distance of 200 feet, would produce a 1/8th-inch high image of a six-foot man on the negative, the Big Bertha with a 28-inch (700mm) lens would produce an image of the same man as ¾-inch high on the negative. He noted, too, that the fact that the larger cameras used individual film holders, rather than roll film, was an important advantage, as the first shots made at the beginning of a game could be rushed by messenger to the newspaper and used in the next edition.

           The films used in the 1940s and 1950s were gaining in sensitivity, and this faster film speed allowed the use of action-stopping shutter speeds with lenses with the relatively fast aperture of f5.0. Such films as Super Panchro-Press and Super XX then in use had the “fast” speeds of 125 and 100 ASA, and Tri-X had the “super-fast” speed of 200 ASA.

           As film and cameras and lenses improved, the images produced by them became more acceptable to news editors, and more common. By the 1960s, very good results could be achieved by using smaller and more portable cameras fitted with telephoto lenses, and the era of the Big Berthas came to an end. For some twenty years they benefitted from considerable improvement, and served their purpose better than any other camera. They continue to be examples of photographic inventiveness and ingenuity.

70cm, 1:5, Carl Zeiss Jena Triplet

References:

Adams, John. 2017. Graflex Journal, Issue 3, 2017, John Adams Letter to Tim Holden. [about the Big Bertha and Joe Sprague]

Berliner, Geoffrey. 2016. Graflex Journal, Issue 2 2016, Shooting the Big Bertha.

Chasse, Jim, 1996. Graflex Historic Quarterly, Volume 1, Issue 3. Big Berthas. Graflex Historic Quarterly.

Eckenberg, William C., Willard D. Morgan, General Editor. 1941. The Complete Photographer, A Complete Guide To Amateur And Professional Photography, Issue 7, Volume 2, News Photography. National Educational Alliance, Chicago, New York. Page 415.

Eckenberg, William C., Willard D. Morgan General Editor. 1942, 1943, 1949. The Encyclopedia of Photography, A Complete Guide To Amateur And Professional Photography, Volume II, Big Bertha Cameras. National Educational Alliance, INC. New York. Page 415.

Hanemann, Mike. 1998. Graflex Historic Quarterly, Volume 3, Issue 4. Graflex’s Original Big Bertha. Graflex Historic Quarterly.

Metcalf, Ken. 2016. Graflex Journal, Issue 2 2016. The Big Bertha Camera.

Michigan History, William Kuenzel of The Detroit News, accessed May 9, 2020. http://blogs.detroitnews.com/history/1996/02/04/william-a-kuenzel-detroit-news-photographer/

Morgan, Willard D. & Henry M. Lester J. 1950 Graphic Graflex Photography, Eighth Edition, fourth printing. Morgan & Lester Publishers, New York New York. Page 413.

Price, Jack. 1937. News Pictures. Round Table Press, New York. Pages 98, 108, 148.

Ross, Kip A.R.P.S. 1941. Press Photography for the Freelance, Little Technical Library Volume 27. Special Sports Cameras. Ziff Davis Publishing Company, Chicago, New York. Pages 43 - 50.

Sprague, Joseph A., Editors Willard D. Morgan & Henry M. Lester J. 1940 Graphic Graflex Photography, First Edition, first printing. Morgan & Lester Publishers, New York New York. Page 279.

Tuttle, Ron, William C. Eckenberg. 2012. Graflex Historic Quarterly, Volume 17, Issue 2. Big Bertha Cameras. Graflex Historic Quarterly.

Wilkinson, Matthew, Editor: Dr. Alex Neill Wright. 1998, 1999. A Lens Collector’s Vade Mecum, 2nd Edition. David Matthews Associates, Old Mill Cottage, Penhalvean, Redruth, Cornwall, England. Pages 349, 351.

Thomas Evans, May 25, 2020.

[courtneytincher]

Can Russia's Su-35 Really Beat American F-15s, F-22s, and Even the F-35s in Combat?

The Su-35 may be the best jet-age dogfighter ever made and a capable missile delivery platform—but whether that will suffice for an air-superiority fighter in the era of stealth technology remains to be seen.The Sukhoi Su-35 Flanker-E is the top Russian air-superiority fighter in service today, and represents the pinnacle of fourth-generation jet fighter design. It will remain so until Russia succeeds in bringing its fifth-generation PAK-FA stealth fighter into production.Distinguished by its unrivaled maneuverability, most of the Su-35’s electronics and weapons capabilities have caught up with those of Western equivalents, like the F-15 Eagle. But while it may be a deadly adversary to F-15s, Eurofighters and Rafales, the big question mark remains how effectively it can contend with fifth-generation stealth fighters such as the F-22 and F-35.(This first appeared several years ago.)HistoryThe Su-35 is an evolution of the Su-27 Flanker, a late Cold War design intended to match the F-15 in concept: a heavy twin-engine multirole fighter combining excellent speed and weapons loadout with dogfighting agility.An Su-27 stunned the audience of the Paris Air Show in 1989 when it demonstrated Pugachev’s Cobra, a maneuver in which the fighter rears its nose up to 120-degree vertical—but continues to soar forward along the plane’s original attitude.Widely exported, the Flanker has yet to clash with Western fighters, but did see air-to-air combat in Ethiopian service during a border war with Eritrea, scoring four kills against MiG-29s for no loss. It has also been employed on ground attack missions.Recommended: We Went Aboard the Most Powerful Aircraft Carrier Ever BuiltRecommended: This Is How China Would Invade Taiwan (And How to Stop It)Recommended: North Korea’s Most Lethal Weapon Isn’t NukesThe development history of the Su-35 is a bit complicated. An upgraded Flanker with canards (additional small wings on the forward fuselage) called the Su-35 first appeared way back in 1989, but is not the same plane as the current model; only fifteen were produced. Another upgraded Flanker, the two-seat Su-30, has been produced in significant quantities, and its variants exported to nearly a dozen countries.The current model in question, without canards, is properly called the Su-35S and is the most advanced type of the Flanker family. It began development in 2003 under the Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Production Association (KnAAPO), a subcontractor of Sukhoi. The first prototypes rolled out in 2007 and production began in 2009.Airframe and EnginesThe Flanker family of aircraft is supermaneuverable—meaning it is engineered to perform controlled maneuvers that are impossible through regular aerodynamic mechanisms. In the Su-35, this is in part achieved through use of thrust-vectoring engines: the nozzles of its Saturn AL-41F1S turbofans can independently point in different directions in flight to assist the aircraft in rolling and yawing. Only one operational Western fighter, the F-22 Raptor, has similar technology.This also allows the Su-35 to achieve very high angles-of-attack—in other words, the plane can be moving in one direction while its nose is pointed in another. A high angle of attack allows an aircraft to more easily train its weapons on an evading target and execute tight maneuvers.Such maneuvers may be useful for evading missiles or dogfighting at close ranges—though they leave any aircraft in a low-energy state.The Flanker-E can achieve a maximum speed of Mach 2.25 at high altitude (equal to the F-22 and faster than the F-35 or F-16) and has excellent acceleration. However, contrary to initial reports, it appears it may not be able to supercruise—perform sustained supersonic flight without using afterburners—while loaded for combat. Its service ceiling is sixty thousand feet, on par with F-15s and F-22s, and ten thousand feet higher than Super Hornets, Rafales and F-35s.The Su-35 has expanded fuel capacity, giving it a range of 2,200 miles on internal fuel, or 2,800 miles with two external fuel tanks. Both the lighter titanium airframe and the engines have significantly longer life expectancies than their predecessors, at six thousand and 4,500 flight hours, respectively. (For comparison, the F-22 and F-35 are rated at eight thousand hours).The Flanker airframe is not particularly stealthy. However, adjustments to the engine inlets and canopy, and the use of radar-absorbent material, supposedly halve the Su-35’s radar cross-section; one article claims it may be down to between one and three meters. This could reduce the range it can be detected and targeted, but the Su-35 is still not a “stealth fighter.”WeaponryThe Su-35 has twelve to fourteen weapons hardpoints, giving it an excellent loadout compared to the eight hardpoints on the F-15C and F-22, or the four internally stowed missiles on the F-35.At long range, the Su-35 can use K-77M radar-guided missiles (known by NATO as the AA-12 Adder), which are claimed to have range of over 120 miles.For shorter-range engagements, the R-74 (NATO designation: AA-11 Archer) infrared-guided missile is capable of targeting “off boresight”—simply by looking through a helmet-mounted optical sight, the pilot can target an enemy plane up sixty degrees away from where his plane is pointed. The R-74 has a range of over twenty-five miles, and also uses thrust-vectoring technology.The medium-range R-27 missile and the extra long-range R-37 (aka the AA-13 Arrow, for use against AWACs, EW and tanker aircraft) complete the Su-35’s air-to-air missile selection.Additionally, the Su-35 is armed with a thirty-millimeter cannon with 150 rounds for strafing or dogfighting.The Flanker-E can also carry up to seventeen thousand pounds of air-to-ground munitions. Historically, Russia has made only limited use of precision-guided munitions (PGMs) compared to Western air forces. However, the capability for large-scale use of such weapons is there, if doctrine and munition stocks accommodate it.Sensors and AvionicsThe Su-35’s most critical improvements over its predecessors may be in hardware. It is equipped with a powerful L175M Khibiny electronic countermeasure system intended to distort radar waves and misdirect hostile missiles. This could significantly degrade attempts to target and hit the Flanker-E.The Su-35’s IRBIS-E passive electronically scanned array (PESA) radar is hoped to provide better performance against stealth aircraft. It is claimed to able to track up to thirty airborne targets with a Radar-cross section of three meters up to 250 miles away—and targets with cross-sections as small 0.1 meters over fifty miles away. However, PESA radars are easier to detect and to jam than the Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radars now used by Western fighters. The IRBIS also has an air-to ground mode that can designate up to four surface targets at time for PGMs.Supplementing the radar is an OLS-35 targeting system that includes an Infra-Red Search and Track (IRST) system said to have a fifty-mile range—potentially a significant threat to stealth fighters.More mundane but vital systems—such as pilot multi-function displays and fly-by-wire avionics—have also been significantly updated.Operational Units and Future CustomersCurrently, the Russian Air Force operates only forty-eight Su-35s. Another fifty were ordered in January 2016, and will be produced at a rate of ten per year. Four Su-35s were deployed to Syria this January after a Russian Su-24 was shot down by a Turkish F-16. Prominently armed with air-to-air missiles, the Su-35s were intended to send a message that the Russians could pose an aerial threat if attacked.China has ordered twenty-four Su-35s at a cost of $2 billion, but is thought unlikely to purchase more. Beijing’s interest is believed to lie mostly in copying the Su-35’s thrust-vector engines for use in its own designs. The Chinese PLAAF already operates the Shenyang J-11, a copy of the Su-27.Attempts to market the Su-35 abroad, especially to India and Brazil, have mostly foundered. Recently, however, Indonesia has indicated it wishes to purchase eight this year, though the contract signing has been repeatedly delayed. Algeria is reportedly considering acquiring ten for $900 million. Egypt, Venezuela and Vietnam are also potential customers.Cost estimates for the Su-35 have run between $40 million and $65 million; however, the exports contracts have been at prices above $80 million per unit.Against the Fifth GenerationThe Su-35 is at least equal—if not superior—to the very best Western fourth-generation fighters. The big question, is how well can it perform against a fifth-generation stealth plane such as the F-22 or F-35?The maneuverability of the Su-35 makes it an unsurpassed dogfighter. However, future aerial clashes using the latest missiles (R-77s, Meteors, AIM-120s) could potentially take place over enormous ranges, while even short-range combat may involve all-aspect missiles like the AIM-9X and R-74 that don’t require pointing the aircraft at the target. Nonetheless, the Su-35’s speed (which contributes to a missile’s velocity) and large load-carrying abilities mean it can hold its own in beyond-visual-range combat. Meanwhile, the Flanker-E’s agility and electronic countermeasures may help it evade opposing missiles.The more serious issue, though, is that we don’t know how effective stealth technology will be against a high-tech opponent. An F-35 stealth fighter that gets in a short-range duel with a Flanker-E will be in big trouble—but how good a chance does the faster, more-maneuverable Russian fighter have of detecting that F-35 and getting close to it in the first place?As the U.S. Air Force would have it, stealth fighters will be able to unleash a hail of missiles up to one hundred miles away without the enemy having any way to return fire until they close to a (short) distance, where visual and IR scanning come into play. Proponents of the Russian fighter argue that it will be able to rely upon ground-based low-bandwidth radars, and on-board IRST sensors and PESA radar, to detect stealth planes. Keep in mind, however, that the former two technologies are imprecise and can’t be used to target weapons in most cases.Both parties obviously have huge economic and political incentives to advance their claims. While it is worthwhile examining the technical merits of these schools of thought in detail, the question will likely only be resolved by testing under combat conditions. Furthermore, other factors such as supporting assets, mission profile, pilot training and numbers play a large a role in determining the outcomes of aerial engagements.The Su-35 may be the best jet-age dogfighter ever made and a capable missile delivery platform—but whether that will suffice for an air-superiority fighter in the era of stealth technology remains to be seen.Sébastien Roblin holds a Master’s Degree in Conflict Resolution from Georgetown University and served as a university instructor for the Peace Corps in China. He has also worked in education, editing, and refugee resettlement in France and the United States. He currently writes on security and military history for War Is Boring.Image: Reuters.(This article first appeared several years ago and is being republished due to reader interest.)

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines

The Su-35 may be the best jet-age dogfighter ever made and a capable missile delivery platform—but whether that will suffice for an air-superiority fighter in the era of stealth technology remains to be seen.The Sukhoi Su-35 Flanker-E is the top Russian air-superiority fighter in service today, and represents the pinnacle of fourth-generation jet fighter design. It will remain so until Russia succeeds in bringing its fifth-generation PAK-FA stealth fighter into production.Distinguished by its unrivaled maneuverability, most of the Su-35’s electronics and weapons capabilities have caught up with those of Western equivalents, like the F-15 Eagle. But while it may be a deadly adversary to F-15s, Eurofighters and Rafales, the big question mark remains how effectively it can contend with fifth-generation stealth fighters such as the F-22 and F-35.(This first appeared several years ago.)HistoryThe Su-35 is an evolution of the Su-27 Flanker, a late Cold War design intended to match the F-15 in concept: a heavy twin-engine multirole fighter combining excellent speed and weapons loadout with dogfighting agility.An Su-27 stunned the audience of the Paris Air Show in 1989 when it demonstrated Pugachev’s Cobra, a maneuver in which the fighter rears its nose up to 120-degree vertical—but continues to soar forward along the plane’s original attitude.Widely exported, the Flanker has yet to clash with Western fighters, but did see air-to-air combat in Ethiopian service during a border war with Eritrea, scoring four kills against MiG-29s for no loss. It has also been employed on ground attack missions.Recommended: We Went Aboard the Most Powerful Aircraft Carrier Ever BuiltRecommended: This Is How China Would Invade Taiwan (And How to Stop It)Recommended: North Korea’s Most Lethal Weapon Isn’t NukesThe development history of the Su-35 is a bit complicated. An upgraded Flanker with canards (additional small wings on the forward fuselage) called the Su-35 first appeared way back in 1989, but is not the same plane as the current model; only fifteen were produced. Another upgraded Flanker, the two-seat Su-30, has been produced in significant quantities, and its variants exported to nearly a dozen countries.The current model in question, without canards, is properly called the Su-35S and is the most advanced type of the Flanker family. It began development in 2003 under the Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Production Association (KnAAPO), a subcontractor of Sukhoi. The first prototypes rolled out in 2007 and production began in 2009.Airframe and EnginesThe Flanker family of aircraft is supermaneuverable—meaning it is engineered to perform controlled maneuvers that are impossible through regular aerodynamic mechanisms. In the Su-35, this is in part achieved through use of thrust-vectoring engines: the nozzles of its Saturn AL-41F1S turbofans can independently point in different directions in flight to assist the aircraft in rolling and yawing. Only one operational Western fighter, the F-22 Raptor, has similar technology.This also allows the Su-35 to achieve very high angles-of-attack—in other words, the plane can be moving in one direction while its nose is pointed in another. A high angle of attack allows an aircraft to more easily train its weapons on an evading target and execute tight maneuvers.Such maneuvers may be useful for evading missiles or dogfighting at close ranges—though they leave any aircraft in a low-energy state.The Flanker-E can achieve a maximum speed of Mach 2.25 at high altitude (equal to the F-22 and faster than the F-35 or F-16) and has excellent acceleration. However, contrary to initial reports, it appears it may not be able to supercruise—perform sustained supersonic flight without using afterburners—while loaded for combat. Its service ceiling is sixty thousand feet, on par with F-15s and F-22s, and ten thousand feet higher than Super Hornets, Rafales and F-35s.The Su-35 has expanded fuel capacity, giving it a range of 2,200 miles on internal fuel, or 2,800 miles with two external fuel tanks. Both the lighter titanium airframe and the engines have significantly longer life expectancies than their predecessors, at six thousand and 4,500 flight hours, respectively. (For comparison, the F-22 and F-35 are rated at eight thousand hours).The Flanker airframe is not particularly stealthy. However, adjustments to the engine inlets and canopy, and the use of radar-absorbent material, supposedly halve the Su-35’s radar cross-section; one article claims it may be down to between one and three meters. This could reduce the range it can be detected and targeted, but the Su-35 is still not a “stealth fighter.”WeaponryThe Su-35 has twelve to fourteen weapons hardpoints, giving it an excellent loadout compared to the eight hardpoints on the F-15C and F-22, or the four internally stowed missiles on the F-35.At long range, the Su-35 can use K-77M radar-guided missiles (known by NATO as the AA-12 Adder), which are claimed to have range of over 120 miles.For shorter-range engagements, the R-74 (NATO designation: AA-11 Archer) infrared-guided missile is capable of targeting “off boresight”—simply by looking through a helmet-mounted optical sight, the pilot can target an enemy plane up sixty degrees away from where his plane is pointed. The R-74 has a range of over twenty-five miles, and also uses thrust-vectoring technology.The medium-range R-27 missile and the extra long-range R-37 (aka the AA-13 Arrow, for use against AWACs, EW and tanker aircraft) complete the Su-35’s air-to-air missile selection.Additionally, the Su-35 is armed with a thirty-millimeter cannon with 150 rounds for strafing or dogfighting.The Flanker-E can also carry up to seventeen thousand pounds of air-to-ground munitions. Historically, Russia has made only limited use of precision-guided munitions (PGMs) compared to Western air forces. However, the capability for large-scale use of such weapons is there, if doctrine and munition stocks accommodate it.Sensors and AvionicsThe Su-35’s most critical improvements over its predecessors may be in hardware. It is equipped with a powerful L175M Khibiny electronic countermeasure system intended to distort radar waves and misdirect hostile missiles. This could significantly degrade attempts to target and hit the Flanker-E.The Su-35’s IRBIS-E passive electronically scanned array (PESA) radar is hoped to provide better performance against stealth aircraft. It is claimed to able to track up to thirty airborne targets with a Radar-cross section of three meters up to 250 miles away—and targets with cross-sections as small 0.1 meters over fifty miles away. However, PESA radars are easier to detect and to jam than the Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radars now used by Western fighters. The IRBIS also has an air-to ground mode that can designate up to four surface targets at time for PGMs.Supplementing the radar is an OLS-35 targeting system that includes an Infra-Red Search and Track (IRST) system said to have a fifty-mile range—potentially a significant threat to stealth fighters.More mundane but vital systems—such as pilot multi-function displays and fly-by-wire avionics—have also been significantly updated.Operational Units and Future CustomersCurrently, the Russian Air Force operates only forty-eight Su-35s. Another fifty were ordered in January 2016, and will be produced at a rate of ten per year. Four Su-35s were deployed to Syria this January after a Russian Su-24 was shot down by a Turkish F-16. Prominently armed with air-to-air missiles, the Su-35s were intended to send a message that the Russians could pose an aerial threat if attacked.China has ordered twenty-four Su-35s at a cost of $2 billion, but is thought unlikely to purchase more. Beijing’s interest is believed to lie mostly in copying the Su-35’s thrust-vector engines for use in its own designs. The Chinese PLAAF already operates the Shenyang J-11, a copy of the Su-27.Attempts to market the Su-35 abroad, especially to India and Brazil, have mostly foundered. Recently, however, Indonesia has indicated it wishes to purchase eight this year, though the contract signing has been repeatedly delayed. Algeria is reportedly considering acquiring ten for $900 million. Egypt, Venezuela and Vietnam are also potential customers.Cost estimates for the Su-35 have run between $40 million and $65 million; however, the exports contracts have been at prices above $80 million per unit.Against the Fifth GenerationThe Su-35 is at least equal—if not superior—to the very best Western fourth-generation fighters. The big question, is how well can it perform against a fifth-generation stealth plane such as the F-22 or F-35?The maneuverability of the Su-35 makes it an unsurpassed dogfighter. However, future aerial clashes using the latest missiles (R-77s, Meteors, AIM-120s) could potentially take place over enormous ranges, while even short-range combat may involve all-aspect missiles like the AIM-9X and R-74 that don’t require pointing the aircraft at the target. Nonetheless, the Su-35’s speed (which contributes to a missile’s velocity) and large load-carrying abilities mean it can hold its own in beyond-visual-range combat. Meanwhile, the Flanker-E’s agility and electronic countermeasures may help it evade opposing missiles.The more serious issue, though, is that we don’t know how effective stealth technology will be against a high-tech opponent. An F-35 stealth fighter that gets in a short-range duel with a Flanker-E will be in big trouble—but how good a chance does the faster, more-maneuverable Russian fighter have of detecting that F-35 and getting close to it in the first place?As the U.S. Air Force would have it, stealth fighters will be able to unleash a hail of missiles up to one hundred miles away without the enemy having any way to return fire until they close to a (short) distance, where visual and IR scanning come into play. Proponents of the Russian fighter argue that it will be able to rely upon ground-based low-bandwidth radars, and on-board IRST sensors and PESA radar, to detect stealth planes. Keep in mind, however, that the former two technologies are imprecise and can’t be used to target weapons in most cases.Both parties obviously have huge economic and political incentives to advance their claims. While it is worthwhile examining the technical merits of these schools of thought in detail, the question will likely only be resolved by testing under combat conditions. Furthermore, other factors such as supporting assets, mission profile, pilot training and numbers play a large a role in determining the outcomes of aerial engagements.The Su-35 may be the best jet-age dogfighter ever made and a capable missile delivery platform—but whether that will suffice for an air-superiority fighter in the era of stealth technology remains to be seen.Sébastien Roblin holds a Master’s Degree in Conflict Resolution from Georgetown University and served as a university instructor for the Peace Corps in China. He has also worked in education, editing, and refugee resettlement in France and the United States. He currently writes on security and military history for War Is Boring.Image: Reuters.(This article first appeared several years ago and is being republished due to reader interest.)

September 02, 2019 at 03:00AM via IFTTT

[sportscarss]

Seven Awesome Things You Can Learn From Audi A28 28 | audi a28 28

HERNDON, VA–(Marketwire – Dec 5, 2012) –  The 2013 Audi A6/S6 and 2013 Audi A7/S7 cartage accept been called by Car and Driver, a arch automotive enthusiast publication, to the 31st anniversary “10Best” list. Car and Driver’s ’10Best’ recognizes the best new cars on the bazaar beneath $80,000. This, in the accession to including the new S6 and S7 action models to the agenda of winners, is the additional after year for the Audi A6 and A7 to be called as Car and Driver’s ’10Best’ winners.

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“The A6 and A7, forth with the S6 and S7 models which bear added performance, architecture and technology, are a few of Audi’s greatest success stories,” said Scott Keogh, President, Audi of America. “Audi is appreciative to be accustomed afresh by Car and Driver’s ’10Best’ for the A6/S6 and A7/S7. This proves that Audi continues to advance with a acceptable aggregate of avant-garde technology, accelerating architecture and incomparable performance.”

“The A6/A7 and S6/S7 aggregate a arresting ambit of cars; they’ve won every Car and Driver allegory analysis in which they’ve competed,” said Eddie Alterman, Editor-in-Chief, Car and Driver. “This is an amazing achievement, abnormally because the competition.”

2013 Audi A6 and A7The award-winning 2013 Audi A6 and A7 amalgamate blood-tingling performance, beauteous design, and able technology. Both avowal an all-aluminum 3.0 TFSI® supercharged V6 agent that generates 310 application and 325 lb-ft of torque. Aside from amazing performance, the Audi A6 and A7 are additionally two of Audi’s best avant-garde and technologically-advanced models to date. Able appearance accommodate head-up affectation and the MMI® blow that recognizes handwriting. Audi is the aboriginal aggregation common to affection factory-installed wireless internet (for up to 8 commuter devices), enabling appearance such as Audi connect for real-time weather, cartage account and alive ammunition prices, and MMI aeronautics with 3D Google Earth images.

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2013 Audi S6 and S7The all-new 2013 Audi S6 and S7 models accompany animating performance, able ability technologies and absolute “S” architecture cues. Building aloft the industry-leading addition of the Audi A6 and A7, the Audi S models set new standards for accomplishment and prestige. 

The new 2013 Audi S6 and S7 are both able with an all-new twin-turbo 4.0 TFSI agent that delivers 420 application and an absorbing 406 lb-ft of torque from 1,400 to 5,300 rpm and can advance from 0 to 60 mph in 4.5 seconds. The Audi 4.0 TFSI V8 agent brings accelerating accomplishment to the affluence auto articulation with the aggregate of abate displacement and college output. Compared to the antecedent S6 model, it offers greater accomplishment while abbreviation ammunition burning by as abundant as 25 percent.

Standard appearance that differentiate the S models from the A models include, Audi butt on demand with alive agent mounts and alive babble abandoning for bigger ammunition efficiency, a rear action differential, air suspension, and a 7-speed S tronic® transmission.

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Both A and S models affection Audi connect with factory-installed Wi-Fi and aeronautics with 3D Google Earth. From the groundbreaking MMI blow and its alluringly chip affectation screen, to the advanced arch up display, the Audi S6 and S7 are the absolute alliance of accelerating architecture and adult engineering.

Nominees for the 31st anniversary ’10Best’ account abide of all new cars, 2012 10Best winners, cars that were not accessible for the 2012 antagonism and those with cogent updates. All cars charge abatement beneath the base-price cap of $80,000 and be on auction by January 2013. Abounding advantage of the 2013 Car and Driver 10Best awards can be begin in the January issue, on newsstands aboriginal December, and online at www.caranddriver.com.

ABOUT AUDI OF AMERICAAudi of America, Inc. and its U.S. dealers action a abounding band of German-engineered affluence vehicles. AUDI AG is amid the best acknowledged affluence automotive brands globally. During 2010 Audi was the top assuming affluence cast in Europe, and bankrupt best aggregation sales annal in the U.S. Over the abutting few years, AUDI AG will advance about $16 billion on new articles and technologies. Visit www.audiusa.com or www.audiusanews.com for added advice apropos Audi agent and business issues.

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Story Continues

ABOUT CAR AND DRIVERCar and Driver (https://ift.tt/u9lHC8) is accepted for its able beat aggregation that is awful admired by car enthusiasts and automotive manufacturers for their integrity, engineering backgrounds, and aerial standards. The annual is appear account by Hearst Magazines (www.hearst.com), boasting the better admirers of any account automotive magazine. The Car and Driver cast is a arch antecedent of advice for automotive enthusiasts and in-market car buyers. The cast additionally extends to abounding platforms, including websites, adaptable sites, radio, iPhone/iPad apps, events, custom business programs, and chip business databases.

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[jeromeblinder]

E-ONE ( 18V423000 )

Dated: JUN 21, 2018 E-One Incorporated (E-One) is recalling certain 2016-2017 E-One Cyclone II SP-10 emergency vehicles equipped with a 100 foot steel rear mount platform aerial device. Over time, movement of the bucket... E-ONE ( 18V423000 )

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DJI Osmo Mobile 2 review: get your smooth on

DJI remains one of the most recognizable names in tech, primarily for their drones, but their aerial devices make use of a very important aspect of photo and video – stabilization. For full size cameras, DJI has a slew of gimbal solutions, but last year they shrunk these products down to size for smartphones. The DJI Osmo Mobile has become the gimbal of choice for many smartphone-based content creators, but it definitely had a few annoying quirks and did not take into full consideration the next frontier of visual content: social media.

DJI's New Drone

DJI Mavic Air announced: the drone you were waiting for?

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With the newest version of the Osmo Mobile, DJI has not only made the gimbal more accessible in terms of handling and even price, it has also updated what could be considered a niche device into something anyone can benefit from. This is the DJI Osmo Mobile 2 review.

As a content creator, I got my hands on the original Osmo Mobile for smooth footage and further creativity after hitting the record button. With a little bit of work, DJI’s gimbal allowed for lovely timelapse footage and even hands-off video recording. That way, I would be able to get out in front of the camera rather than always being behind it. 

There were some issues in the design of the gimbal though. It was small enough to fit in a backpack and wasn’t difficult to maneuver in one hand for long periods of time, but mounting the Osmo to existing places like a tripod required a very specific part that screwed into the side of the handle. This was odd and cumbersome to do. In the Osmo Mobile 2, this is one of the first issues that is directly addressed – with a ¼ 20’ thread found in the bottom portion. This makes for much easier and more intuitive setups where users can just screw a plate on the bottom and securely stand the Osmo up.

This does change the way the Osmo is charged and handled, however – DJI has now eliminated the need for battery packs. For better or worse, spare batteries are a thing of the past as the entire unit is now charged by the micro-USB port to the side of the control area. While a USB Type-C port would have been preferred, eliminating this part of the gimbal’s power features also made everything even lighter than before.

DJI has eliminated the need for battery packs but the gimbal's built-in battery can now power your phone

Speaking of power features: there is a full USB port on the back that can power the mounted phone. That’s right, the 15-hour battery within the handle can be used as a power bank, which works in a pinch when your smartphone needs some juice to do stuff like livestreams.

The updated Osmo Mobile 2 is light as a feather – this further benefits the handling experience and takes away the little bit of strain felt after long periods of usage. Some users might have preferred hot swapping batteries but the Osmo Mobile 2 can go for a long 15 hours – plenty of time for a super long recording or livestream. Unless you’re looking to use the gimbal for hours daily, it should last for several days between charges.

But that mention of livestreaming brings us to the other big design change of the Osmo Mobile 2 – portrait mode. People might not generally be big fans of vertical video, but the fact remains that social media platforms like Instagram and Snapchat thrive on it. And DJI has outfitted this gimbal with a rotating clamp that can hold the phone upright for content that is meant for these platforms. Simply loosen the back portion of the clamp, rotate it accordingly, and portrait mode stabilization is achieved. This also answers the question of the Osmo Mobile 2’s usefulness when smartphone video stabilization is continuously improving. While true, OIS and EIS are features typically afforded to rear cameras, but not front-facing shooters.

A new rotating clamp enables portrait mode stabilization, but it too isn't perfect

There is one big peeve I have here, however – the rotation of the clamp should have been designed to be done with the phone inside. Going from portrait mode to landscape requires users to remove the phone, rotate the plate clockwise 90 degrees and then mount it again so that the rear camera is not obstructed. The ability to rotate the plate counter-clockwise 90 degrees would have solved this issue easily and allowed the phone to remain mounted, even if rebalancing would still be needed. It honestly astounds me that the engineers at DJI didn’t seem to think that one through.

Despite this extra step when moving between different orientations, changing the clamp to a spring loaded mechanism does help the balancing process. A fastener for the rear arm still needs to be used for horizon balancing, but smartphones can slide and adjust within the clamp if further adjustments have to be made. One just has to find the sweet spot for their own phone so that it remains steady when the gimbal is powered off. Once, found, power it up and the motor does the rest.

Buttons and controls on the new stabilizer have seen a few changes, with the main difference being the removal of the trigger button. This took a bit of getting used to, as the trigger on the original Osmo Mobile was used to keep the phone locked on its current plane when needed. What used to be easily accessed by the index finger for locking the plane and resetting the horizon is now done by one’s thumb on the main button panel. Changing modes and tracking functions, then, is a bit less comfortable than before.

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Otherwise, the rest of the buttons and controls will feel familiar to any previous Osmo users. The joystick smoothly moves the gimbal on any axis and there is a zoom slider on the side. These controls work with the DJI Go app, which has improved significantly since the original Osmo Mobile.

But unfortunately this is where DJI’s app makes or breaks the experience. I should mention that for this review, I have been using an unreleased beta version of the DJI GO app, though it is important to note that the Play Store updates show support for this new product already. So, although the promise of fully updated software is something to consider, DJI’s history of shoddy Android development still has to be mentioned. Back at CES, the app worked well enough for me to use it on the show floor and around Downtown Vegas, but during the filming of this review the app would either crash when opening up the camera or simply not connect at all to the gimbal.

DJI’s history of shoddy Android development still has to be mentioned

However, this is not an isolated incident – I own a Mavic Pro and have had the same issues on most Android phones aside from Samsung Galaxy devices. So, if you are not using the latest phones you might have a bit of a hard time getting the app to work consistently. Harsh as it might be, this is a reality that DJI/Android fans have wrestled with for some time now. It almost makes perfect sense why this gimbal is starting out as an Apple Store exclusive – there are a lot of kinks to work out with the Android side of things.

When the app does work, it is very nice to use the physical controls to their fullest extent. As mentioned before, the M mode button is used to change the gimbal’s behavior – one press changes the horizon lock, two presses resets the gimbal position, and three presses changes which camera is being used.

Snapchat

Snapchat will soon let you share Stories on Twitter, Facebook, and across the web

Snapchat is taking a step out of its walled garden with a new feature that will enable the sharing of Stories with other users outside of the main app. If this all sounds a little familiar, …

That last feature is one that only works with the DJI Go app, which is required for users to get the full experience. However, plenty of users will probably be happy to just use the gimbal as a stabilizer with some control via the joystick when using other apps like Snapchat or the built-in camera app.

The DJI Go camera app affords a lot more control over exposure and color, which is nice – but the modes are really what opens up the creativity. The motors can move the phone around automatically for effortless panoramas, for example. ActiveTrack allows the user to set a point that the camera app and gimbal will continuously follow.

This is on top of the Timelapse mode, which has the gimbal keep the phone steady as it stays put and records a scene’s movement over time. Or, you can put these two together for a Motionlapse or a Hyperlapse – whereby tracking keeps the camera trained on a subject while being moved around, marrying the aesthetic of a timelapse with dynamic movement.

It’s important to note that users will have to be aware of the gimbal’s limits. ActiveTrack in particular gave us a few headaches as the gimbal occasionally went nuts on even slow moving subjects. We’ve been told this is getting fixed and refined in firmware updates leading up to its full retail release and shortly after.

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We also noticed that the gimbal could get pushed over the edge, quite literally – in portrait mode especially, a top heavy phone like the Pixel 2 XL would just keel over under the lack of strength in the motors. Remember to counteract any movements with corrections via the joystick.

Despite some of its flaws and specific use case scenarios, plenty of people took to the original Osmo Mobile as a productive tool in one’s creative toolbox. If you’re a smartphone creative, you probably already have the original Osmo Mobile and if it works just fine, upgrading may not be necessary. The new edition builds upon the first by adding focus to today’s biggest video content platform – social media – despite maintaining its somewhat steep learning curve.

But DJI’s greatest change in the Mobile 2 is in the price – at $129 (on pre-order now), this gimbal shifts from being a tool that made sense for prosumer creators to one that could benefit just about anyone. As DJI states, this device is made to “share your story.” DJI squarely targets new, perhaps young users who really want to step their social game up with the Osmo Mobile 2. 

PRE-ORDER NOW FROM B&H

Are you a user of the original Osmo Mobile? Does DJI’s new gimbal add to your social media game? Let us know what you think of the new edition in the comments below!

DJI Osmo Mobile 2 review: get your smooth on published first on https://swentexpage.tumblr.com/

[phgq]

PH Navy upgrades arsenal to defend waters

#PHinfo: PH Navy upgrades arsenal to defend waters

The BRP Jose Rizal, the Philippines' first missile frigate is docked at Subic Bay, Zambales. Philippine Navy chief Vice Adm. Giovanni Carlo Bacordo said efforts to upgrade the Navy remain intact despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. (File photo courtesy of Naval Public Affairs Office)

PASIG CITY, Dec. 29 (PIA) -- The Philippine Navy has upgraded its arsenal to effectively defend the country's territorial waters as part of the government's efforts to modernize the military.

Early this year, the Navy commissioned its first-ever missile frigate, the BRP Jose Rizal (FF-150), this, despite the challenges brought by the ongoing COVID-19 health emergency pandemic.  

"Despite the COVID-19 pandemic greatly affecting the implementation of the AFP’s Modernization Program this year, the Philippine Navy has remained in high spirits in terms of developing its capabilities. For one, the Navy has seen the arrival of its first modern frigate, BRP Jose Rizal in May of this year," Navy chief Vice Adm. Giovanni Carlo Bacordo said.

The BRP Jose Rizal is capable of conducting anti-air warfare, anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, and electronic warfare operations and was officially commissioned last July 10.

A few weeks after its commissioning, the ship and its crew were deployed to the biennial "Rim of the Pacific" (RIMPAC) exercises off Hawaii, which took place from Aug. 17 to 31.

Bacordo said this deployment is considered the "maiden deployment" of the brand-new missile frigate and called the participation of the ship and its contingent to the RIMPAC as a "sterling one".

Also, no defects were reported aboard BRP Jose Rizal during the two-week maneuvers.

"No reported safety and security incidents. No weapons, communications, electronic(s) and information (system) hull, machinery, and electrical sys(tem) derangements (were) reported," Bacordo earlier said.

He added that BRP Jose Rizal’s participation in RIMPAC 2020 highlights the competence and capability of the ship and its crew to undertake various maritime operational scenarios, may it be multinational operations with other partner nations, maritime security of commercial shipping, or operating on its own or with its onboard helicopter against surface and sub-surface adversaries.

"[The] FF-150 took advantage of RIMPAC 2020 to train as a team, put the ship at pace with possible real-world scenarios, and the crew to gel during this time," he said.

Bacordo said the ship's participation was also recognized by its US counterparts, specifically US Navy Third Fleet commander Vice Admiral Scott D. Conn, who earlier said they are happy to have the Philippines participating in RIMPAC with BRP Jose Rizal.

To recall, the BRP Jose Rizal was launched at the Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) shipyard in Ulsan, South Korea on May 23, 2019. Its sister ship, the BRP Antonio Luna (FF-151), on the other hand, was launched in the same facility on November 8 last year.

The contract for the two ships amounted to P16 billion and an additional P2 billion for weapon systems and munitions.

Aside from the arrival and commissioning of the PN's first guided-missile frigate, another highlight for the Navy this year is the partial delivery of the 10 high-speed and fast boats contracted for the Naval Special Operations Command (Navsocom).

"In addition, in August of this year, the Navsocom also saw the partial delivery of seven out of 10 high-speed and fast boats acquired under the modernization program and meant to boost special operations capability. These are currently undergoing sea trial and technical inspection procedures," Bacordo said.

Also of great importance for the PN was the acquisition of the ScanEagle unmanned aerial system with the assistance of the United States,

"Further, the PN has received through (Foreign Military Sales) FMS the donation of ScanEagle unmanned aerial system (UAS), composing of eight air vehicles, four ground-control stations, and other components that can greatly contribute to the ISR [intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance] operations and RDANA [rapid damage and needs assessment], and support to humanitarian assistance and disaster response (HADR)," Bacordo said.

Also included in this package are training for the operators and maintainers (10 pilot and six maintainers, four image and video data processors) to ensure optimized utilization," he added.

During the formal turnover of the ScanEagle UAS last Nov. 25 at Naval Base Heracleo Alano, Sangley Point, Cavite, Bacordo said the arrival of this platform will allow the Navy to greatly expand the coverage of its internal security, territorial defense, HADR, and maritime law enforcement missions.

ScanEagle unmanned drones

This is the first fixed UAS to be operated by the Navy. The ScanEagle and its associated equipment, worth USD14.79 million, were acquired through the Maritime Security Initiative Program of the United States.

It was requested by the PN in 2017 and was formalized in February 2019 after a series of dialogues with the Philippines’ Joint US Military Assistance Group (JUSMAG-Phil).

"Another milestone was achieved just recently which includes the successful negotiations for the Lot 1 (Platforms) & Lot 2 (Combat Systems and Missiles) of the Fast Attack Interdiction Craft-Missile (FAIC-M) Acquisition Project. This resulted in the provisions for an additional one unit with one set of remote combat weapon systems (on top of the programmed eight units FAIC-M) for the PN and an upgrade of the Naval Ship Yard -- without additional cost to the government. Hence, the PN expects to obtain a total of nine missile-equipped FAICs in the coming years," Bacordo said.

The FAIC-Ms, Bacordo said, are expected to replace the force of patrol killer medium (PKM) or medium-sized patrol craft, with deliveries expected to start in 2022.

The project, approved for inclusion in the Horizon 2 project list of the Revised Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization Program, has a budget of P10 billion and is for multi-year contracting.

Four of the FAIC-Ms will be armed with non-line-of-sight (NLOS) missiles with pinpoint accuracy and a range of 25 kilometers while the other four will be armed with machine guns and light automatic cannons.

With the FAIC-Ms, the PN shall have the capability to defend the key sea lines of communications (SLOCs), such as Mindoro, Balabac, Sibutu, and Basilan Straits against conventional threats.

While operating in restricted waters, the FAIC-Ms can interdict surface threats and launch NLOS missiles safely using the surrounding littoral areas as maneuver space and cover.

Another important event for the PN in 2020 is the successful conclusion of the five-day sea acceptance trials (SAT) of BRP Antonio Luna, the second missile frigate ordered by the Navy from HHI.

The SAT started on Dec. 14 and ended on Dec. 18.

"As the second installment of the Frigate Acquisition Project, the FF-151 or BRP Antonio Luna concluded its five-day Sea Acceptance Trials recently on 18 December 2020 in South Korea. As a result, the PN is expecting to welcome this modern vessel in February 2021 and project delivery remains to be right on schedule," Bacordo said.

BRP Antonio Luna

In a media statement, Rear Admiral Alberto Carlos, head of the PN's Technical Inspection and Acceptance Committee (TIAC), declared that FF-151 is compliant with the agreed technical specifications after personally witnessing the warship's performance during the sea trials.

"[The] FF-151 is 95 percent complete at this time. All machinery and combat systems were subjected to test procedures as stipulated in the contract and were observed to be working properly. More importantly, I'm happy to announce that FF-151 passed the prescribed standards and procedures," he said.

Carlos said upon completion of the SAT, BRP Antonio Luna's completion rating is almost 100 percent. This, he added, will pave way for the frigate re-docking and final outfitting before delivery early next year.

Also, Bacordo said parallel with equipment acquisition is the command’s effort on base support and sustainment development that would address the facility requirements for the upcoming deliverables of the PN modernization program like the missile storage facilities and repair of piers and other major infrastructure, among others.

"Moreover, the non-material aspects that are crucial to the overall effort of the PN modernization are considered through the Capability Synchronization Matrix. As a crucial management tool, the matrix is seen to identify, program, integrate, implement, and monitor the overall capability development of the PN," he added.

This also includes alignment of materiel and non-materiel capabilities covering training activities that would enhance personnel competency for our personnel, doctrines development, force restructuring and organizational development, and human resource development.

Also, the PN chief is pleased to announce that the Navy is continuing its efforts in supporting the local defense industry research and development under the Self-Reliant Defense Posture program.

"In 2020, in collaboration with the Department of Science and Technology, we have seen the active implementation and near completion of 'Project Buhawi' or building a universal mount for heavy-barrel automated weapon integration for naval vessels," Bacordo said. (PIA NCR)

***

References:

* Philippine Information Agency. "PH Navy upgrades arsenal to defend waters." Philippine Information Agency. https://pia.gov.ph/news/articles/1062645 (accessed December 29, 2020 at 02:31PM UTC+08).

* Philippine Infornation Agency. "PH Navy upgrades arsenal to defend waters." Archive Today. https://archive.ph/?run=1&url=https://pia.gov.ph/news/articles/1062645 (archived).

[infotainmentplus-blog]

DJI Osmo Mobile 2 review: get your smooth on DJI remains one of the most recognizable names in tech, primarily for their drones, but their aerial devices make use of a very important aspect of photo and video – stabilization. For full size cameras, DJI has a slew of gimbal solutions, but last year they shrunk these products down to size for smartphones. The DJI Osmo Mobile has become the gimbal of choice for many smartphone-based content creators, but it definitely had a few annoying quirks and did not take into full consideration the next frontier of visual content: social media. DJI's New Drone DJI Mavic Air announced: the drone you were waiting for? Head over to our partner site Drone Rush for all the details on the new DJI Mavic Air. The top drone manufacturer in the world took the wraps off a new machine this morning— the all-new … With the newest version of the Osmo Mobile, DJI has not only made the gimbal more accessible in terms of handling and even price, it has also updated what could be considered a niche device into something anyone can benefit from. This is the DJI Osmo Mobile 2 review. As a content creator, I got my hands on the original Osmo Mobile for smooth footage and further creativity after hitting the record button. With a little bit of work, DJI’s gimbal allowed for lovely timelapse footage and even hands-off video recording. That way, I would be able to get out in front of the camera rather than always being behind it. There were some issues in the design of the gimbal though. It was small enough to fit in a backpack and wasn’t difficult to maneuver in one hand for long periods of time, but mounting the Osmo to existing places like a tripod required a very specific part that screwed into the side of the handle. This was odd and cumbersome to do. In the Osmo Mobile 2, this is one of the first issues that is directly addressed – with a ¼ 20’ thread found in the bottom portion. This makes for much easier and more intuitive setups where users can just screw a plate on the bottom and securely stand the Osmo up. This does change the way the Osmo is charged and handled, however – DJI has now eliminated the need for battery packs. For better or worse, spare batteries are a thing of the past as the entire unit is now charged by the micro-USB port to the side of the control area. While a USB Type-C port would have been preferred, eliminating this part of the gimbal’s power features also made everything even lighter than before. DJI has eliminated the need for battery packs but the gimbal's built-in battery can now power your phone Speaking of power features: there is a full USB port on the back that can power the mounted phone. That’s right, the 15-hour battery within the handle can be used as a power bank, which works in a pinch when your smartphone needs some juice to do stuff like livestreams. The updated Osmo Mobile 2 is light as a feather – this further benefits the handling experience and takes away the little bit of strain felt after long periods of usage. Some users might have preferred hot swapping batteries but the Osmo Mobile 2 can go for a long 15 hours – plenty of time for a super long recording or livestream. Unless you’re looking to use the gimbal for hours daily, it should last for several days between charges. But that mention of livestreaming brings us to the other big design change of the Osmo Mobile 2 – portrait mode. People might not generally be big fans of vertical video, but the fact remains that social media platforms like Instagram and Snapchat thrive on it. And DJI has outfitted this gimbal with a rotating clamp that can hold the phone upright for content that is meant for these platforms. Simply loosen the back portion of the clamp, rotate it accordingly, and portrait mode stabilization is achieved. This also answers the question of the Osmo Mobile 2’s usefulness when smartphone video stabilization is continuously improving. While true, OIS and EIS are features typically afforded to rear cameras, but not front-facing shooters. A new rotating clamp enables portrait mode stabilization, but it too isn't perfect There is one big peeve I have here, however – the rotation of the clamp should have been designed to be done with the phone inside. Going from portrait mode to landscape requires users to remove the phone, rotate the plate clockwise 90 degrees and then mount it again so that the rear camera is not obstructed. The ability to rotate the plate counter-clockwise 90 degrees would have solved this issue easily and allowed the phone to remain mounted, even if rebalancing would still be needed. It honestly astounds me that the engineers at DJI didn’t seem to think that one through. Despite this extra step when moving between different orientations, changing the clamp to a spring loaded mechanism does help the balancing process. A fastener for the rear arm still needs to be used for horizon balancing, but smartphones can slide and adjust within the clamp if further adjustments have to be made. One just has to find the sweet spot for their own phone so that it remains steady when the gimbal is powered off. Once, found, power it up and the motor does the rest. Buttons and controls on the new stabilizer have seen a few changes, with the main difference being the removal of the trigger button. This took a bit of getting used to, as the trigger on the original Osmo Mobile was used to keep the phone locked on its current plane when needed. What used to be easily accessed by the index finger for locking the plane and resetting the horizon is now done by one’s thumb on the main button panel. Changing modes and tracking functions, then, is a bit less comfortable than before. Editor's Pick A closer look at the LG V30 in Raspberry Rose (and the $2K Signature Edition) When LG released the V30 back in August 2017, it was available in four colors: Aurora Black, Cloud Silver, Moroccan Blue, and Lavender Violet. Just a few days before CES 2018, the company announced an … Otherwise, the rest of the buttons and controls will feel familiar to any previous Osmo users. The joystick smoothly moves the gimbal on any axis and there is a zoom slider on the side. These controls work with the DJI Go app, which has improved significantly since the original Osmo Mobile. But unfortunately this is where DJI’s app makes or breaks the experience. I should mention that for this review, I have been using an unreleased beta version of the DJI GO app, though it is important to note that the Play Store updates show support for this new product already. So, although the promise of fully updated software is something to consider, DJI’s history of shoddy Android development still has to be mentioned. Back at CES, the app worked well enough for me to use it on the show floor and around Downtown Vegas, but during the filming of this review the app would either crash when opening up the camera or simply not connect at all to the gimbal. DJI’s history of shoddy Android development still has to be mentioned However, this is not an isolated incident – I own a Mavic Pro and have had the same issues on most Android phones aside from Samsung Galaxy devices. So, if you are not using the latest phones you might have a bit of a hard time getting the app to work consistently. Harsh as it might be, this is a reality that DJI/Android fans have wrestled with for some time now. It almost makes perfect sense why this gimbal is starting out as an Apple Store exclusive – there are a lot of kinks to work out with the Android side of things. When the app does work, it is very nice to use the physical controls to their fullest extent. As mentioned before, the M mode button is used to change the gimbal’s behavior – one press changes the horizon lock, two presses resets the gimbal position, and three presses changes which camera is being used. Snapchat Snapchat will soon let you share Stories on Twitter, Facebook, and across the web Snapchat is taking a step out of its walled garden with a new feature that will enable the sharing of Stories with other users outside of the main app. If this all sounds a little familiar, … That last feature is one that only works with the DJI Go app, which is required for users to get the full experience. However, plenty of users will probably be happy to just use the gimbal as a stabilizer with some control via the joystick when using other apps like Snapchat or the built-in camera app. The DJI Go camera app affords a lot more control over exposure and color, which is nice – but the modes are really what opens up the creativity. The motors can move the phone around automatically for effortless panoramas, for example. ActiveTrack allows the user to set a point that the camera app and gimbal will continuously follow. This is on top of the Timelapse mode, which has the gimbal keep the phone steady as it stays put and records a scene’s movement over time. Or, you can put these two together for a Motionlapse or a Hyperlapse – whereby tracking keeps the camera trained on a subject while being moved around, marrying the aesthetic of a timelapse with dynamic movement. It’s important to note that users will have to be aware of the gimbal’s limits. ActiveTrack in particular gave us a few headaches as the gimbal occasionally went nuts on even slow moving subjects. We’ve been told this is getting fixed and refined in firmware updates leading up to its full retail release and shortly after. See Also Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL review (Updated: addressing some issues) This review is brought to you by MNML Case, an ultra-thin case that showcases the beauty of your new phone and fits like a glove! Get 15% OFF your Google Pixel 2 case or Google Pixel … We also noticed that the gimbal could get pushed over the edge, quite literally – in portrait mode especially, a top heavy phone like the Pixel 2 XL would just keel over under the lack of strength in the motors. Remember to counteract any movements with corrections via the joystick. Despite some of its flaws and specific use case scenarios, plenty of people took to the original Osmo Mobile as a productive tool in one’s creative toolbox. If you’re a smartphone creative, you probably already have the original Osmo Mobile and if it works just fine, upgrading may not be necessary. The new edition builds upon the first by adding focus to today’s biggest video content platform – social media – despite maintaining its somewhat steep learning curve. But DJI’s greatest change in the Mobile 2 is in the price – at $129 (on pre-order now), this gimbal shifts from being a tool that made sense for prosumer creators to one that could benefit just about anyone. As DJI states, this device is made to “share your story.” DJI squarely targets new, perhaps young users who really want to step their social game up with the Osmo Mobile 2. PRE-ORDER NOW FROM B&H Are you a user of the original Osmo Mobile? Does DJI’s new gimbal add to your social media game? Let us know what you think of the new edition in the comments below! , via Android Authority http://bit.ly/2FdliTJ

[larryshapiro]

St Louis Fire Department H&L 40 at St. Louis Lambert International Airport