Random Cool Photo Thread

[Shanghai-Mayne]

"At the launching of the naval training ship Horst Wessel on June 13, 1936, everyone raised their right arm in the “Hitler salute” at the climax of the big event when the ship was launched and the national anthem was played - except for one man. It is not clear who this man is. Irene Eckler from Hamburg thought she recognized her father August Landmesser, who was not allowed to marry his Jewish fiancée Irma Eckler because of the Nuremberg Race Laws of 1935. Their daughters Ingrid and Irene were born out of wedlock. August Landmesser was denounced in 1938, sentenced to two years in prison for “racial defilement” and then sent to the front as a soldier, where he was considered missing since 1944. Irma Eckler was sent to the Ravensbrück women's concentration camp in 1938 and murdered in 1942.

But Wolfgang Wegert, also from Hamburg, also believes that he can identify his father Gustav Wegert in the man with the folded arms, who demonstrably worked as a locksmith at Blohm+Voss and, as a devout Christian, refused to give the “Hitler salute” out of religious conviction that “you should obey God rather than man”.

1936 - Just one refused the Nazi salute

August Landmesser - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Thank you, Tie

 

[Flightengineer]

View attachment 163979
July 20, 1941 , an unknown soldier, engraved those words on the wall, I am going to die, I won’t surrender, farewell mother Russia.

I'll add a little. This is an inscription in the area of the Belostok Gate on the wall of the Brest Fortress, more precisely in English it would be "I am dying, but I am not surrendering! Farewell, Motherland". The author of the inscription is considered by some researchers to be a soldier of the 132nd separate battalion of escort troops of the NKVD of the USSR, Fyodor Ryabov. This battalion was among the troops defending the fortress. The inscription was made with a bayonet from a Mosin rifle.

 

[Micawber]

That reminds me [not sure if I posted this here before but no matter]...

The Eagle pub in Cambridge [formerly known as The Eagle And Child] which opened in 1667 is known in certain circles for " the place where Francis Crick interrupted patrons' lunchtime on 28 February 1953 to announce that he and James Watson had "discovered the secret of life" after they had come up with their proposal for the structure of DNA"

The place is also famous in other circles as having a ceiling where, during WW2, RAF, USAAF and other service, and some civilian personnel, signed their names, unit info on it using candle smoke, lighters, lipstick and such. Over years the build up of nicotine from smokers he names became hard to read so was the subject of sympathetic cleaning by pub regular James Chainey who also mapped the various names [below]

The Eagle, Cambridge - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

pdf about the ceiling written by Malcolm Osborn here:

https://www.398th.org/PDF/Friends/Osborn/Osborn_A%20Famous%20Ceiling.pdf

 

[flyincowboy]

Changing the nose cone on B17

 

[flyincowboy]

Nose art

 

[flyincowboy]

Ridgewell 533 b sq ready for mission

 

[flyincowboy]

A Women's Royal Army Corps member shows her brand new tatoo to her fellow enlistées

 

[flyincowboy]

HALLOWEEN

 

[B-Man2]

A Women's Royal Army Corps member shows her brand new tatoo to her fellow enlistées
View attachment 164095

That was pretty “risqué” for those days …

 

[Pa12]

That was pretty “risqué” for those days …

I’ll say. I’m not into women with tattoos but that old picture is strangely arousing.

 

[Enigma1938]

That was pretty “risqué” for those days …

Thought the same thing, call it naughty at least

 

[flyincowboy]

That was pretty “risqué” for those days ...

That was pretty “risqué” for those days …

You should not know that war was not over and we could die overnight.

 

[Micawber]

Changing the nose cone on B17

View attachment 164083

That aircraft was from the 91st BG and it actually ran out of fuel on the way back from a mission and had to make an emergency landing in a field in Suffolk. The plane was repaired on site [including replacing the nose cone], a temporary runway was laid using PSP matting and successfully flown back to base.

That photo is one of a series of original colour photos that appeared in a period magazine. I have a copy somewhere. I knew one or two members of the crew.