Weapons Walkaround vol.7: Rheinmetal Borsig Rheintochter R-1

Subject: Rheinmetal Borsig Rheintochter R-1

Location: Deutches museum, Munich, Germany 2012.

Comments: Rheintochter was a German surface-to-air missile developed by Rheinmetall-Börsig during World War II. Its name comes from the mythical Rheintöchter (Rhinemaidens) of Richard Wagner's opera series Der Ring des Nibelungen.The missile was a multi-stage solid fuelled rocket. It had four small control surfaces, resembling paddles, in the nose, six fins at the after end of the top stage, and four at the end of the main stage. It stood 6.3 m (20 ft 8 in) tall, with a diameter of 54 cm (1 ft 9 in). The sustainer motor, located ahead of the 136 kg (300 lb) warhead (rather than the more usual behind), exhausted through six venturis between the first stage fins.The initial R1 variant was powered by a two-stage solid-fuel rocket.The proposed R2 did not offer any improvement over the R1, and was dropped in December 1944.The R3 model was developed, which had a liquid fuel engine with solid-fuel boosters ("strap-ons"). Only six trial missiles were fired.

Engine Walkaround vol.17: General Eletric J47

Suject: General Eletric J47 Jet Engine

Location: USAF Museum, Dayton Ohio, USA.

Comments:The General Electric J47 turbojet (GE company designation TG-190) was developed by General Electric from the earlier J35 engine, and first flew in May 1948. The J47 was the first axial-flow turbojet approved for commercial use in the United States. It was used in many types of aircraft and more than 30,000 were manufactured before production ceased in 1956. It saw continued service in the US military until 1978. Overhaul life for the J47 ranged from 15 hours (in 1948) to a theoretical 1,200 hours (625 achievable in practice) in 1956. For example, the J47-GE-23 was rated to run 225 hours between overhauls. As installed on the F-86F, it experienced one in-flight shutdown every 33,000 hours in 1955 and 1956.

Description:

• Type: turbojet
• Length: 145 inches (3.7 m) (with tailcone)
• Diameter: 36.75 inches (0.933 m) maximum
• Dry weight: 2,554 pounds (1,158 kg) dry, equipped

• Compressor: 12-stage axial compressor
• Turbine: Single-stage axial
• Fuel type: JP-1, JP-2, JP-3, JP-4 or MIL-F-5572 gasoline
• Oil system: Pressure feed spray with scavenge

• Maximum thrust:
• 5,970 lbf (26.56 kN) at 7950 rpm
• 6,970 lbf (31.00 kN) with water injection
• Overall pressure ratio: 5.35
• Air mass flow: 92 lb (42 kg) / sec
• Specific fuel consumption: 1.014 lb/lbf/hr (103.36 kg/kN/hr)
• Thrust-to-weight ratio: 2.34 lbf/lb at take-off dry power

Ref: Wikipedia

Walkaround vol.18: M109

Subejct: M109

Location: Soldier´s day, Brazilian Army, 2012

Comments: The M109 is an American 155mm self-propelled howitzer, first introduced in the early 1960s. It was upgraded a number of times to today's M109A6 Paladin. The M109 family is the most common Western indirect-fire support weapon of maneuver brigades of armored and mechanized infantry divisions. The M109 has a crew of six: the section chief, the driver, the gunner, the assistant gunner and two ammunition handlers. The gunner aims the cannon left or right (deflection), the assistant gunner aims the cannon up and down (quadrant). The M109A6 Paladin needs only a crew of four: the commander, driver, gunner and ammunition loader. The British Army replaced its M109s with the AS-90. Several European armed forces have or are currently replacing older M109s with the German PzH 2000. Upgrades to the M109 were introduced by the U.S. and by Switzerland (KAWEST). With the cancellation of the U.S. Crusader and Non-Line-of-Sight Cannon, the Paladin will remain the principal self-propelled howitzer for the U.S. for the foreseeable future. The brazilian Army has around 40 ex-Belgian M109 A3. This version was made of former M109A1s and M109A1Bs rebuilt to M109A2 standard respectively. Some A3s feature three contact arm assemblies while all A2s have five. The M109 A2 incorporated 27 Reliability, Availability, and Maintainability (RAM) mid-life improvements. Most notably, the long barreled 155 mm M185 cannon in the M178 gun mount, ballistic protection for the panoramic telescope, counterbalanced travel lock, and the ability to mount the M140 alignment device. Stowage increased from 28 rounds of 155 mm, to 36 rounds, .50cal ammunition amount remain 500 rounds.

Soldier busts vol.2: U.S. infantryman in Vietnam

Subject:	U.S. Infantryman in Vietnam
Scale:	1/9
Manufacturer:	Verlinden
Price	US$ 25,00 + shipping
Description	Resin casted
Comments	This is the 200mm U.S infantryman wearing Vietnam uniform bust by Verlinden. The quality of the casting is superb and the level of detail is great, but my sample came with an odd shaped helmet. This are easy kits to put together. The real challenge is the paint work. I airbrushed the uniform  using tamiya acrylics and added highlights mixing white to the base color. I used Vallejo acrylics for the details and sealed with future and  matt coat by Humbrol.

Soldier busts vol.1: SS Grenadier WWII

Subject:	SS Grenadier WWII
Scale:	1/9
Manufacturer:	Verlinden
Price	US$ 25,00 + shipping
Description	Resin casted
Comments	This is the first of a new series at my blog. This is the fantastic 200mm SS Grenadier bust by Verlinden. The quality of the casting is superb and the level of detail is great. This are easy kits to put together. The real challenge is the paint work. I used Vallejo acrylics, sealed with future and added a matt coat by Humbrol. I enjoyed the experience and many more of these kits are on their way!