OT picture thread.

Is that an American Bald Eagle as a British mascot?

 

Matches the cap badge.


Seems to have been hatched in the UK, so presumably squawks with a British accent.



I like this shot from a recent demonstration, but then I suppose I would... AFVs & burning things.

 

the brits have the beautiful Golden Eagle...



Australian Cavalry like the Eagle mascot...WO2 Courage

 

Her FB page.
Zephyr Army Air Corps Mascot

The Apache is built under licence over here so a British hatched North American eagle seems apt.

 

Not sure it fully fits the off-topic brief, but this is still a damned fine recent 'Defence' shot.
HMS Victory also centre right, Monitor M33 just below her. Sadly Warrior is slightly off-shot top right:

Mildly annoyed I didn't get to see them both pulled up while I was near Pompey last week.

 

And pics of very large ships passing The Still & West are a bit of a local tradition.


Though sometimes it doesn't quite go so well.
HMS Vanguard nearly demolishing the Still & West, 1960.

 

Cyclone Tracey in Darwin...the Airport

 

I've written before about the Darwin airport before...Darwin is built around it, as remote as Darwin is the airport was/is critical to the existence of Darwin...Its also the first major airport upon reaching Australian soil...and its one of the least busy capital city airports in the world due to our small population and location. But this port has one of the most illustrious careers of any airport anytime in history...So I'm going to do something ive wanted to do for a while and make a picture history of Darwin Airport.

I think i'll start with Ross Smith (we have a Ross Smith avenue named after him) war hero arrives in Darwin 1919 in a Vickers Vimy to claim the £10,000 prize from the Australian Government for the first flight from England in what was dubbed “The Great Race”.


Smith brothers.

Now Bert Hinkler - In 1928 Hinkler, an Australian aviator, flew from London to Darwin in just over 15 days. The previous record for the flight was 28 days and he was the first person to make the trip solo.


Amy Johnson - who left Timor at dawn on Saturday on the last hazardous oversea hop of 500 miles to Port Darwin, Northern Australia, reached her goal after over eight hours flying.

She thus completed her flight of 9,500 miles from Croydon in a Gipsy Moth ‘plane in 19½ days. She is the first woman to make the flight, and though she failed, owing to difficulties in the latter half of the adventure, to beat Mr, Hinkler’s achievement of 18 days, her time from Croydon to India set up a new record. We have an Amy Johnson Avenue (major road) named after her.



More to come...

 

Amelia Earhart - who landed in Darwin on Sunday July 6 1937, is attempting to become the youngest woman to fly a single engine plane around the globe...



Charles Kingsford Smith...
This 1930 silent film features legendary aviator, Charles Kingsford Smith (1897-1935), arriving at the Darwin Aerodrome in his British-made Avro Avian biplane, ...
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Darwin WW2...

After Japanese Bombing

Some of the aircraft (types) flying into and out of Darwin...





Black cats (Clandestine missions - Z force)


Spitfires over Darwin:

 

Petrov Affiar...
The Petrov Affair was a Cold War spy incident in Australia in April 1954, concerning Vladimir Petrov, Third Secretary of the Soviet embassy in Canberra.

They were arrested almost boarding a plane at Darwin airport.


Cyclone Tracey...
Ive posted the devastation...here, people are evacuated en masse from Darwin...headed for Brisbane or Adelaide depending on where people wanted to go.


The Beatles...a rare picture of the Beatles at Darwin airport...


John Travolta's Qantas B707 in Darwin...


The Concorde...


The Pope(s)...
"Pope Benedict XVI has arrived safely in Australia, with his plane touching down at Darwin airport this morning for a brief refueling stop en route to Sydney."

Airforce 1 arrives in Darwin airport...

 

B-52s...
B-52 arrives in Darwin
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And of course...

 

Exercise Pitch Black...


Can you name all these aircraft?


Open day...