#tf strafe

[robot-reference]

surviving Lost Light crew

ok this counts as reference right? here is a list of the crew who were on board when they hopped universes, the TF wiki is fantastic but it doesn't actually have this list

(some characters will have "presumably" when the last time they had been seen may have resulted in their death but it's not outright confirmed so they COULD be alive or their alive status may have been a continuity error and other such dubious circumstances)

feel free to correct or add to this !

full list under read more

Ammo

Anode

Aquabat

Aquafend

Aquastar

Backstreet

Blades (presumably)

Blaster

Bluestreak

Borer

Boss

Brainstorm

Brawn (presumably)

Broadside

Chromedome

Clicker

Crankcase

Crossblades

Crosscut

Crosshairs

Cyclonus

Dipstick

Dogfight

Doublecross

Doubletap

Drift

Fervor (presumably ?)

First Aid

Fortress Maximus

Flex

Fulcrum

Gears

Grapple

Grimlock

Groove (presumably)

Grotusque

Highbrow

Hoist

Hosehead

Hot Spot (presumably)

Hound

Huffer

Inferno

Joyride

Kindle

Krok

Landmine

Lockstock

Lug

Megatron

Misfire

Nautica

Nickel

Perceptor

Pincher

Pointblank

Powerflash

Rad

Railspike

Ratchet

Red Alert

Repugnus

Rewind

Riptide

Rodimus

Roller

Rollout

Schema

Siren

Skater

Sky High

Slamdance

Smokescreen

Spinister

Spoke

Sprocket

Steeljaw

Strafe

Streetwise (presumably)

Sureshot

Swerve

Tailgate

Thunderclash

Tiretread

Toaster

Toxin (could be argued not to be a real character)

Turbine (presumably)

Ultra Magnus/Minimus Ambus

Velocity

Waverider

Whirl

Xaaron

[usafphantom2]

A Flight of Four Mustangs Celebrates WWII Fighter Pilot’s 100th Birthday

March 20, 2024 Vintage Aviation News Warbirds News 0

The formation of four Mustangs flying over Lake Lanier, north of Atlanta.

United Fuel Cells

Mission accomplished! On Tuesday, March 19, World War II pilot Paul Crawford fulfilled his dream of flying in a P-51 Mustang like the one he commanded 79 years ago in China, where he flew 29 missions until he was shot down in 1945. Now 100, Buckhead resident Crawford was delighted when the Liberty Foundation and Inspire Aviation Foundation took him up in a TF-51D on a perfect blue-sky day for flying.

TF-51 “E Pluribus Unum” piloted by owner Bob Bull with Paul Crawford in the back leads the formation over Lake Lanier. The camera ship was a Bonanza piloted by long time Liberty Foundation’s pilot Cullen Underwood.

For the occasion, four P-51 Mustangs landed at the Dekalb-Peachtree Airport and parked at Atlantic Aviation, the FBO that supported this unique event. Mr. Crawford lovingly touched the nose and wing of one of the Mustangs when he first walked up to it, reuniting after a 79-year separation. LtCol Ray Fowler, Liberty Foundation Chief Pilot, and pilot Bob Bull helped Crawford into the back seat of the TF-51 and gave him an exhilarating 30-minute ride.

The organizers envisioned the participation of only one P-51, but a quick round of calls sparked the interest of other owners who enthusiastically decided to participate in the event. Bob Bull, Steve Maher, and Rodney Allison flew their Mustangs to Atlanta bringing the total number to four:

P-51D “Old Crow” (N451MG) – Pilot Ray Fowler – Liberty Foundation P-51D “Rebel” (N3BB) – Pilot Rodney Allison P-51 “E Pluribus Unum” (N351B) – Pilot Bob Bull – P-51 “Ain’t Missbehavin” (N51K) – Pilot Steve Maher

The Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and Paul graduated six months later, during which time Congress passed the law to draft 18-year-olds. “I knew that I was going to be drafted so I went to Atlanta to talk with the Army Air Corps [sic] and the Navy about flying,” shared Mr. Crawford. ”The Navy said they would accept me for flight training but wanted me to go right then to their Great Lakes training center. The Air Corps told me they would accept me, but to go on back to college and they would notify me when to report.” said Crawford. Paul went back to Americus, entered Georgia Southwestern College, and shortly thereafter he received his draft notice to report to Fort McPherson in Atlanta on January 2, 1942.

Paul Crawford in his P-51 ‘Little Rebel’ ( photo by Paul Crawford Collection)

Paul had an older brother, Tim, who had gone into the Air Corps before Pearl Harbor and was flying B-26s, a medium bomber. He ended up flying combat in the B-17 Flying Fortress out of North Africa. The older brother influenced Paul’s choice, convincing him that the Air Corps had better aircraft, “I thought the water was, as they say, too deep and too wide to swim!” said Mr. Crawford.

With about 100 hours on the P-51 and 250-275 hours total, Mr. Crawford was sent off to Chengtu, China assigned to the 311th Fighter Group, 529th Fighter Squadron protecting the B-29 bases. As these B-29s transferred to the Pacific Theater, his squadron was transferred to Hsian headed for combat. At the time, Mr. Crawford was estimated to have only accumulated another 60 hours of flying time.

On his 29th mission, Mr. Crawford was shot down by ground fire while strafing a small railroad facility. After getting hit, he bailed out and was picked up by Chinese Communist guerillas. A few days earlier one of his housemates had been shot down and captured by the Japanese who cut his head off and put it up on a gate post. After a 200-mile-long walk, chased by the Japanese a couple of times, yet still evading capture, Mr. Crawford ended up at a compound owned by a wealthy family. A few miles from the compound was an airstrip where the OSS (U.S. Office of Strategic Services) brought downed airmen out. After the flight, Mr. Crawford talked about his experience: “When I recall my time in World War II, I always start by saying, I was not a hero! I was just there! That is not false modesty because it is the way I have always felt. I flew the P-51 Mustang.”

Mr. Crawford who has time in P-40, P-47, A-24, and P-51C, believes that the P-51 was the best fighter plane of its day. “There’s nothing in the world like that airplane,” Crawford said. “I loved doing the maneuvers again.” Paul Crawford was surrounded by several friends, his son-in-law, Tommy, and dozens of Liberty Foundation and Inspire Aviation Foundation members eager to have their pictures taken with him, shake his hand, and thank him for his service.

Ezoic

After serving in WWII, Paul Crawford finished college at Georgia Tech with a degree in Industrial Management. That’s also where he met his wife, Jean. They had a daughter and were married for sixty-one years when Jean passed away. Paul worked in the paper industry and for the U.S. Envelope Company until he retired in 1988. Paul currently lives in Atlanta and participates in aviation and historical WWII events.

This special event was made possible thanks to the support of Bob Bull, Ray Fowler Chief Pilot of The Liberty Foundation, Steve Maher, Atlantic Aviation FBO, Cullen Underwood with Vintage Flights, and Inspire Aviation Foundation.

Paul Crawford after the successful flight with (L to R), Cullen Underwood (Camera ship pilot), Bob Bull, Ray Fowler, and Rodney Allison.

[racmune]

number one fan of this render on the tf wiki article for strafing

[nowandthane]

just remembered when i was streaming mass effect andromeda to a friend and i was struggling so hard with controlling the nomad and they were like 'why arent you going left or right??? use your A and D buttons' and i was like that has always been too complicated for me unless im playing a game like stardew valley. i go forwards and let the camera guide me. if im feeling spicy ill go backwards.

anyway i need you all to know that i did the trilogy in insanity without ever strafing. im happy to report its much easier now that im using my A and D. im actually not sure how tf i ever did it without.

:D

[jessicajagg]

Transformers has had a pretty inconsistent history with video games, from the legendarily awful "Convoy no Nazo" to the excellent Cybertron duology from High Moon studios and plenty of middling games inbetween. One game I've always had a passing interest in is the 2004 PS2 title simply named "Transformers"

Despite the title, this game is actually based on the 2003 animated series "Transformers Armada". If I had to guess I'd say they wanted to try and appeal to nostalgic G1 fans as the game features quotes from the original Transformers movie in it's dialouge and unlockable PSAs from the original series.

The game is a 3rd person shooter with sandbox levels that put an emphasis on exploration. You have a specific path you need to follow to progress but the game won't stop you from exploring. The levels are surprisingly vast and can look really pretty at times. Although there isn't much variety, mostly jungles and arctic climates but this can be forgiven given the games short development cycle.

Your main collectibles are the minicons an ancient race of Transformers that act as weapons and upgrades. Each one has a power level with a maximum level you can't exceed meaning you have to be smart about which ones you use instead of just equipping the best ones. Although some minicons like the glider are necessary for level progression and I wish they could've just been additions to your core moveset instead of taking a slot.

There are also datacons which serve as unlockable extras. If you're a transformers fan there's actually some cool stuff in there like reference sheets and toy prototypes.

Your 3 playable autobots are Optimus Prime, Hot Shot and Red Alert. Each have different stats although I personally didn't notice much of a difference between them. Combat will see you strafing around shooting at enemies. You can transform but unfortunately it has no real function outside of traveling across the map slightly faster.

Your main enemies will be the decepticlones, basically a bunch of different types of faceless mooks for you to shoot at. They aren't to be taken lightly though, they can turn your autobot into swiss cheese if you aren't careful even on the easiest difficulty.

The boss fights against the main Decepticons are easily the highlight of the game. The most memorable being against the giant carrier transformer Tidal Wave. The ambition and scale that went into this fight really impressed me. The game managed to pull off a fight with a giant enemy so well that it baffles me how the final battle with Unicron ended up so dull.

Yeah the game definitely has its fair share of quirks. The game could definitely use a map and a way of tracking your collectibles in a stage. There are some weird control decisions like how jump is mapped to L1 because X is mapped to accelerate....in vehicle mode....and does nothing in robot mode. The most hilarious quirk is the ragdoll physics, you'll often see your autobot flaiing about when thrown and it's never not funny.

But these quirks are more than likely again, the result of the games short one year dev cycle and despite them all I actually came out really appreciating this game and everything it tried to do.

If you're a TF Fan and have a PS2 definitely check this one out.

[sjvllsblog]

Aircewmen slip into their flight gear in the ready-room aboard the aircraft carrier USS Ticonderoga (CV-14) for an air strike on Manila. November 5 1944.

The carrier sortied from Ulithi with TF 38 on 2 November 1944. She joined the other carriers as they resumed their extended air cover for the ground forces supporting the Battle of Leyte. She launched her first air strike on the morning of 5 November.

The aircraft of her air group spent the next two days pummeling enemy shipping near Luzon and air installations on that island. Her aircraft bombed and strafed the airfields at Zablan, Mandaluyong, and Pasig. They also joined those of other carriers in sinking the heavy cruiser Nachi. In addition, Ticonderoga pilots claimed six Japanese aircraft shot down and one destroyed on the ground, as well as 23 others damaged.

Around 16:00 on 5 November, the enemy attacked with a group of kamikaze aircraft. Two of the suicide aircraft penetrated the American combat air patrol and antiaircraft fire to crash into the aircraft carrier Lexington. Ticonderoga emerged from that attack unscathed and claimed a tally of two splashes. On 6 November, the warship launched two fighter sweeps and two bombing strikes against the Luzon airfields and enemy shipping in the vicinity.

Her airmen returned later that day claiming the destruction of 35 Japanese aircraft and attacks on six enemy ships in Manila Bay. After recovering her aircraft, the carrier retired to the east to resupply.

(Wiki)

(Photo source -  U.S. National Archives and Records Administration)

Taken by military photojournalist - Wayne Miller

(Colourised by Lamont Cranston from Ireland)

[madlittleshit]

I don’t know how to draw him.

[cries in pain]

[beeteal]

it’s july here technically which means im late by a day but also have a redraw of my pride dinobots post from last year + some prideacons 

[zxid]

@dynobots was another winner of my art giveaway, so here big monster lesbians Strafe and Serket

plus practice sketches:

[naaaaaaaaaash]

strafe design !

[thenamesblurrito]

At long last!! Some Dinobots!!!

Grimlock is the boss. Among his siblings in the Dinobot Den, what he says goes. The only one who can supersede him is Dinobot himself, the founder and patron of the group home. His strength, size, and intimidating body language are more than enough to get people to move out of his way, but beneath his stubborn, gruff exterior is a sterling spark with a lot of love for his friends and family. It’s a surprise to be roomed with three of his siblings, since roommates are randomly assigned, but he isn’t complaining. Their other roommate Strafe is equally awesome, and he declared her an honorary Dinobot within a month of meeting her. Other people may look at him and see a savage beast, but he’s fond of history and philosophy, art and science, and a whole host of things that most people would not guess. Occasionally he tags along with the Scavengers, mostly to watch Misfire being dumb and Krok being exasperated.

Strafe has a very unusual frame for a Camien. Beastformers only occur on Cybertron and Eukaris, so her sort-of vehicle, sort-of beast alt mode is an anomaly on Caminus. With a four-armed amalgoid frame, her dual beast heads form two of her arms, which she uses to snip at anyone she finds unpleasant. The first, and last, time her next-door neighbor Mirage tried commenting on her appearance, he received a very impressive set of scratches in his paint. She fits in quite well with her roommates, happily accepting the title of Dinobot. Despite the stereotypes of her frametype, she excels in politics, history, and anthropology classes, with a keen mind for how people interact on a large scale.

Slag doesn’t like it here, but really, he doesn’t like it anywhere. He’s very grumpy. His name is not actually the same word as the expletive, it has a different declension and meaning that denotes it as a name, but he readily goes by the expletive instead. Authority figures other than Grimlock and his patron Dinobot of the Dinobot Den are unlikely to get much of a response from him, other than perhaps a growl. His grades aren’t bad, but he’s had more than his fair share of detentions. Once he even slugged a mech right in the faceplates. No one has ever provoked him while in beast mode, which is a good thing, because his horns are just as sharp as they look.

Snarl cannot believe that he’s stuck with his siblings for roommates. Nevermind the fact that he’d hate having four strangers for roommates even more. He just wants to be left alone! He misses his own private room back at the Dinobot Den. When he bothers to show up to his classes, he does alright, but his in-class participation is abysmal. The only time he really enjoys himself is during sports, when he can turn all the squat brute strength of his beastformer frame into a powerful juggernaut against the opposing team. In fact, he may take a little too much joy in it. The best matches are against his siblings, who know his strength and how to combat it, leading to a fun family thrashing for everyone involved.

Swoop is delighted by all the high ceilings, balconies, and hidey holes of the campus architecture. The Dinobot Den is great, but it never had this much room. The entire school is a maze for him to explore and he’s set about to do just that! It’s not uncommon to see him twirling and diving through the air around the Academy, even flying with some seekers sometimes, though he can never match their speed. An interesting environment like this is perfect for him. He can pursue whatever happens to catch his fancy today, learning anything and everything in his classes, and then coming back to chatter to his siblings and Strafe. Some have tried to insult him for being a tiny, flighty beastformer, but he isn’t one to pay any attention to them, too busy having fun instead.

[zoskas]

sometimes i forget how weak joints are on this one tf i have and i. cry every time i try to pose him and he collapses.

[kimmylia]

[lonestarbattleship]

Operation Goalpost, part of Operation Torch

Part of the History of USS TEXAS (BB-35)

"When France surrendered to Germany, in June 1940, an unoccupied area of southern France was allowed to have a collaborationist French government, in Vichy, France. The French authority in Algeria and Morocco at the time of the June surrender chose to follow the Vichy government."

A large portion of the French Navy, the Marine Nationale, and the French Army, the Armée de Terre, had been moved to the French colonies in North Africa. To neutralize the threat of these forces possibly being used against the Allies, the US and Britain sent out their militaries to capture or destroy any French assets and occupy the colonies. There were several ports invaded at the same time. Including the famous battle between the incomplete French Battleship Jean Bart and USS MASSACHUSETTS (BB-59) at Casablanca, French Morocco.

TEXAS was the flagship of Task Force 34.8, which consisted of USS SAVANNAH (CL-42), USS CHENANGO (CVE-28), USS DALLAS (DD-199), USS ROE (DD-418), and several other transport ships. Their main objective was to support the US Army 9th Infantry Division, 60th Infantry Regiment's capture of Port Lyautey, as part of Operation Goalpost.

The objectives of Operation Goalpost were:

Capture the village of Mehdia.

Capture Kashah Mahdiyya, a fortress at the mouth of the Sebou River

Secure an airfield.

The TF arrived in Port Lyautey in the early morning of November 8, and TEXAS quickly maneuvered into position to bombard targets. However, the US Army was running under the pre-war tactics and prioritizing the element of surprise, rather than softening up targets beforehand. This tactic was discarded shortly after. The element of surprise had already been lost since the other landings were already ongoing.

All three of her Vought OS2U Kingfishers were launched to provide spotting and support the troops. Some of TEXAS' AA crews fired at friendly aircraft but luckily none were hit. The officer who wrote the action report, chalked this up to nervousness.

Action reports of November 8. TEXAS was assigned to the northern most landing.

After the troops landed, the Army radioed for TEXAS to bombard a munitions dump near Port Lyautey. Only turrets no. 2 and 4 were needed to destroy it, firing only 59 rounds. The pilot reported about 20% landed on target. When the Kingfishers returned that evening, one of the planes capsized due to a wing float ripped off when it landed. The pilot and radio operator were rescued unarmed. The pilot reported he had taken AA fire from French forces, likely causing the accident. This plane was not recovered and was instead deliberately sunk with gun fire.

Action report of November 10.

On November 10, the Army called for fire support to disrupt enemy troop movements. TEXAS fired from the same two turrets as before, expending 214 rounds from 0843 to 1130, and making a road and the area impassable. The pilot reported the road was littered with wreckage and stalled vehicles. This road was later repaired after hostilities had ended.

During the fire support, one of the Kingfishers noticed a motorcycle with a sidecar leaving at a high speed. Thinking it was a high ranking official, the pilot broke away and strafed the vehicle with it's M1919 Browning machine guns. This caused it to crash in a ditch. The pilot then strafed other vehicles in the area, scattering troops.

At 1435, the Army radioed requesting aerial support as French tanks and other troops were advancing on their position. The two Kingfishers from TEXAS were quickly dispatched, along with aircraft from SAVANNAH. One of TEXAS's Kingfishers was armed with a depth charge, AN-MK41, with instantaneous fuses. By the time they got there, the enemy forces were under attack by Savannah's planes and DALLAS.

These pilots joined the affray and dropped a depth charge on a tank, making a direct hit. The pilot reported the explosion flipped two other tanks over and left a giant crater in the ground.

On November 11, the Army again called for fire support and TEXAS quickly made her way to the position. However, by the time she arrived, the French forces had surrendered. In the two days of battle, she fired 272 14" shells and 6 5" shells.

"When the fighting ceased, a party from TEXAS went ashore to Port Lyautey to clear the harbor of ships the French had sunk to blockade its use. Though French resistance in the area had ceased, German submarines were still active and had sunk several ships. On November 12, submarine activity was reported in the area around TEXAS and the escort destroyers dropped depth charges. TEXAS relocated to another area and encountered submarine activity again. She sailed figure eight inside a submarine screen while more depth charges were dropped. On November 15, TEXAS and the rest of TF 34.8 departed the area and arrived back in Norfolk on the 26th."

Note: there are no surviving photos of TEXAS during the battle, if there were any. In 1942, the US Navy actively discouraged sailors from taking any kind of photographs.

Photographed by Frank Scherschel of Life Magazine.

source, source

Information from BattleshipTexas.info: link

LIFE Magazine Archives: 115883846

U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command: 19-N-33912

[usafphantom2]

U.S. Air Force receives its first LANCE laser weapon to be integrated into a fighter

Fernando Valduga By Fernando Valduga 07/11/2022 - 10:02 PM in Armaments, Military

Illustration of the LANCE directed energy weapons system in a U.S. poacher.

The U.S. Air Force received Lockheed Martin's first LANCE (Laser Advancements for Next-generation Compact Environments) targeted energy weapons system, a compact laser weapon for advanced fighters.

According to a report on the Breaking Defense website, the company revealed that it delivered the system to the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) in February.

LANCE is part of the U.S. Air Force's efforts to equip fighter jets with compact laser weapons capable of shooting down anti-aircraft missiles.

In 2017, the U.S. Air Force granted Lockheed Martin a $26.3 million contract for the design, development and production of a high-power laser.

This contract was part of AFRL's Self-protect High Energy Laser Demonstrator (SHiELD) program, which is divided into three efforts. The first includes the development of a beam control system to direct the laser to the target called SHiELD Turret Research in Aero Effects (STRAFE). The second encompasses the development of a pod mounted on tactical fighter, which will feed and cool the laser, while the third is the real LANCE weapon.

The signaling system must be delivered by Northrop Grumman, while Boeing has already delivered the pod to LANCE.

Announcing the delivery of the targeted energy weapon, Lockheed Martin's director of strategy and business development of advanced product solutions, Tyler Griffin, told reporters that this was "the smallest and lightest high-energy laser in its power class that the company has built to date".

"It is a critical reference in the development of laser weapons operating systems in the air field," Griffin added.

Although the U.S. Air Force is now in possession of the laser weapon, it is still unclear in which fighter the new system will be integrated or when flight tests can begin.

Tags: AFRLMilitary AviationLaserUSAF - United States Air Force / U.S. Air Force

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Fernando Valduga

Fernando Valduga

Aviation photographer and pilot since 1992, he has participated in several events and air operations, such as Cruzex, AirVenture, Dayton Airshow and FIDAE. He has works published in a specialized aviation magazine in Brazil and abroad. He uses Canon equipment during his photographic work in the world of aviation.

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[tyrantofthefirmament]

Ooc question! I’m trying to write a fan made transformers continuity! Is there anything Starscream related that you would like to see in a cartoon? I’m trying to do new things with what hasbro has given us! Sorry if this is too long!

((This got buried aahhhhh!

One thing I'd love to see in a cartoon is an exploration of his military prowess, specifically his prowess in the air. Aerial combat is COOL and it's ridiculous that we only ever get half-assed flying as a means of getting around, and never any complex scenes of actual battles in the air.

Also, strafing. Starscream should strafe. If he's supposed to be a jerk who has a superiority complex regarding his flying ability, and his enemies are all cars, he'd be strafing them all day long.

It would also be really cool to see him with Warp and TC, being a good team in fights but being at times close but at other times abrasive when not in combat. I just think it's a cool relationship that the cartoons have never done much with.

Also, two words: Air Superiority. There's a reason the Decepticons swept all of Cybertron early in the war, and that reason was the Seekers. They should be terrifying. For the parts of the story where Starscream is the villain, the Autobots should be thoroughly on the defensive and be the underdogs when he shows up with his forces.

Lol basically I'd love to see Starscream from the novels Exodus and Exiles.

That's kind of like the general style that I think would be cool in the action parts with him. In terms of overall development, I think some TF story should finally explore the fact that he and Megatron have actual different ideas about how the Decepticons should be run, and explore the possible merits of Starscream's ideas, which would make his flaws all the more interesting as well. And I'd like for him to get a redemption that doesn't make him Nice (maybe doesn't even make him an Autobot) and also doesn't get him killed. Redemption equals death is the worst trope and is just weak sauce writing.))