Diesel Tugboat

Here are some images of Lindberg Models 1/87 scale Diesel Tugboat.

From Wikipedia"
 A tugboat (tug) is a boat that maneuvers vessels by pushing or towing them. Tugs move vessels that either should not move themselves, such as ships in a crowded harbor or a narrow canal, or those that cannot move by themselves, such as barges, disabled ships, or oil platforms. Tugboats are powerful for their size and strongly built, and some are ocean-going. Some tugboats serve as icebreakers or salvage boats. Early tugboats had steam engines, but today have diesel engines. Many tugboats have firefighting monitors, allowing them to assist in firefighting, especially in harbors.

Tugboat engines typically produce 500 to 2,500 kW (~ 680 to 3,400 hp), but larger boats (used in deep waters) can have power ratings up to 20,000 kW (~ 27,200 hp) and usually have an extreme power:tonnage-ratio (normal cargo and passenger ships have a P:T-ratio (in kW:GRT) of 0.35 to 1.20, whereas large tugs typically are 2.20 to 4.50 and small harbour-tugs 4.0 to 9.5). The engines are often the same as those used in railroad locomotives, but typically drive the propeller mechanically instead of converting the engine output to power electric motors, as is common for diesel-electric locomotives. For safety, tugboats' engines often feature two of each critical part for redundancy.
A tugboat's power is typically stated by its engine's horsepower and its overall bollard pull.
Tugboats are highly maneuverable, and various propulsion systems have been developed to increase maneuverability and increase safety. The earliest tugs were fitted with paddle wheels, but these were soon replaced by propeller-driven tugs. Kort nozzles have been added to increase thrust per kW/hp. This was followed by the nozzle-rudder, which omitted the need for a conventional rudder. The cycloidal propeller was developed prior to World War II and was occasionally used in tugs because of its maneuverability. After WWII it was also linked to safety due to the development of the Voith Water Tractor, a tugboat configuration which could not be pulled over by its tow. In the late 1950s, the Z-drive or (azimuth thruster) was developed. Although sometimes referred to as the Schottel system, many brands exist: Schottel, Z-Peller, Duckpeller, Thrustmaster, Ulstein, Wärtsilä, Berg Propulsion, etc. These propulsion systems are used on tugboats designed for tasks such as ship docking and marine construction. Conventional propeller/rudder configurations are more efficient for port-to-port towing.
The Kort nozzle is a sturdy cylindrical structure around a special propeller having minimum clearance between the propeller blades and the inner wall of the Kort nozzle. The thrust:power ratio is enhanced because the water approaches the propeller in a linear configuration and exits the nozzle the same way. The Kort nozzle is named after its inventor, but many brands exist.
A recent Dutch innovation is the Carousel Tug, winner of the Maritime Innovation Award at the Dutch Maritime Innovation Awards Gala in 2006. The Carousel Tug adds a pair of interlocking rings to the body of the tug, the inner ring attached to the boat, with the outer ring attached to the towed ship by winch or towing hook. Since the towing point rotates freely, the tug is very difficult to capsize.
The Voith Schneider propeller (VSP), also known as a cycloidal drive is a specialized marine propulsion system. It is highly maneuverable, being able to change the direction of its thrust almost instantaneously. It is widely used on tugs and ferries.
From a circular plate, rotating around a vertical axis, a circular array of vertical blades (in the shape of hydrofoils) protrude out of the bottom of the ship. Each blade can rotate itself around a vertical axis. The internal gear changes the angle of attack of the blades in sync with the rotation of the plate, so that each blade can provide thrust in any direction, very similar to the collective pitch control and cyclic in a helicopter.

XP-34 Landspeeder

Here are some more images of Revell's 1/25 scale XP-34 Landspeeder from Star Wars.
I don't know about you but doesn't the Luke Skywalker figure look suspiciously like Chuck Norris? But I digress.
As has been stated before what one does to any snaptite pre painted kit worth its salt is to of course glue it and add more paint to it which is what has been done here.
Things added to this model is of course more dirt, scratches and dents. I also added a couple of instrument panels to the interior plus more detailing on whatever that thing is on the hood.

From Wikipedia"

Landspeeders are fictional antigravity craft used through the Star Wars movies and Star Wars Expanded Universe. They are depicted both in civilian and military capacities, and several versions have been merchandised as toys and models.

Landspeeders first appear in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. Two of them—Luke Skywalker's (Mark Hamill) XP-34 and a V-35—were designed by Special Effects genius John Stears and were fitted around cars; Skywalker's landspeeder was built around a small sports car manufactured by Ogle Design. One of the major challenges the production crew faced was disguising the wheels to create the illusion that the craft was hovering.^[2][3] For certain shots, they shot from camera angles that masked the wheels; for long-distance shots, they used reflective material, gelatin on the camera lens, and shadow effects. A small blur could be seen under the speeder, which George Lucas called "The Force Spot" (stated in Special Edition Tape). Production designer Roger Christian used an angled mirror and a broom attached to the vehicle's underside to create, at certain angles, the illusion that the craft was hovering and kicking up dust. Star Wars creator George Lucas used digital technology to enhance the landspeeder effects in the Special Edition of A New Hope. Industrial Light and Magic's (ILM) Doug Chiang design the Naboo Flash speeder with a "race car look" while the Gian speeder's appearance is ILM's response to Lucas' request that the Naboo troops have "a pick-up truck with guns."

Expanded Universe material describes speeders as using a "repulsorlift" that allows them to travel above a world's surface; a key differentiating point between landspeeders and airspeeders is the altitude the repulsorlift allows the craft to reach. In A New Hope, Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) sells his landspeeder in order to pay Han Solo (Harrison Ford) to take him, Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness), C-3PO (Anthony Daniels), and R2-D2 (Kenny Baker) to Alderaan. Naboo security forces use landspeeders in their attempt to retake the capital city of Theed in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, and various speeders appear in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. Speeders are playable-controllable craft in a variety of LucasArts titles.

Fokker E.II Eindecker

Here are some more images of Eduard's 1/48 scale Fokker E.II Eindecker.
From Wikipedia "
The Fokker E.II was the second variant of the German Fokker Eindecker single-seat monoplane fighter aircraft of World War I. The E.II was essentially a Fokker E.I with the 75 kW (100 hp) Oberursel U.I 9-cylinder rotary engine, a close copy of the French Gnôme Monosoupape rotary of the same power output, in place of the E.I's 60 kW (80 hp) Oberursel U.0, but whereas the E.I was simply a M.5K with a 7.92 mm (.312 in) machine gun bolted to it, the E.II was designed with the weapon system integrated with its airframe.

On 13 June 1915, Anthony Fokker demonstrated the first E.II to an audience of German commanders, including Crown Prince Wilhelm of Germany, at a German Fifth Army airfield. On 23 and 24 June he demonstrated the aircraft at Douai to the German Sixth Army. It was during these demonstrations, only one week before any kills would be achieved in the Eindecker type, that Fokker himself attempted to engage an enemy aircraft but he was unable to find a target.

The major difference between the types was a reduced wingspan on the E.II, intended to increase speed, but handling and climbing performance suffered. The type was therefore quickly superseded by the E.III. The E.II also had a larger fuel capacity, 66 kg (145 lb) to the E.I's 50 kg (110 lb). As with the M.5K/MG quintet of prototype Eindeckers, the pilot was provided with a head support to help him resist the airstream when he had to raise his head to use the gun sights.

The heavier weight of the 75 kW (100 hp) Oberursel U.I rotary engine used to power the E.II necessitated both a somewhat lengthened rear fuselage structure, in comparison to the E.I version to achieve proper balance, with the U.I engine's larger diameter requiring a larger radius "horseshoe" pattern cowl to enclose it, and the aluminum upper deck of the nose was raised along with it - resulting in metal soffits having to be fitted where the upper deck met the upper longerons, with additional structural metal tubing additions to the forward ends of the upper longerons immediately behind the firewall to support the "soffits" and sides of the raised upper nose panel. This format was continued with the E.III.

The E.II was built in parallel with the E.I and the choice of whether an airframe became an E.I or E.II depended on the availability of engines. In total, Fokker production figures state that 49 E.IIs were built and 45 of these had been delivered to the Western Front Fliegertruppe by December 1915 (Luftstreitkräfte from October 1916 onwards) at which time production switched to the main Eindecker variant, the Fokker E.III, which used the same 75 kW (100 hp) Oberursel U.I engine. Some E.IIs under production were completed as E.IIIs and numerous E.IIs returned to Fokker's factory for repair were upgraded to E.III specification.

Unmanned Soviet Recon Probe

Here are some more images of my scratchbuilt Unmanned Soviet Recon Probe from the movie 2010 Odyssey Two "The Year We Make Contact". Scale 1" for every 1m.
I built this model based from the old L miller plan drawings from the late 80's
Researching this model was difficult. I could find no usable photos from the Interweb and it is barely visible when it makes its appearance in the film. More silhouette and shadow than anything.
So when it came to colours and markings I was relegated imagination and guess work. Though I realize not entirely accurate.
Still I think it turned out pretty well.
A technical error I noticed about this design is that there doesn't appear to be any side thrusters. Oh well it's only a movie.
The stencil work were taken from decals left over from the Testors Mig Ferret kit and a German tank model..

Specifications:
Weight: 6390 lbs
Speed: 35ft/sec2
Range: 500,000 MI
Engines: Chemical Rockets
Weapons: None
Defenses: None
Capable of Planet Fall.

From Wikipedia"
2010 (also known as 2010: The Year We Make Contact) is a 1984 American science fiction film written and directed by Peter Hyams. It is a sequel to Stanley Kubrick's 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey, and is based on Arthur C. Clarke's novel 2010: Odyssey Two, a literary sequel to the film.
Roy Scheider, Helen Mirren, Bob Balaban and John Lithgow star, along with Keir Dullea and Douglas Rain of the cast of the previous film.
When Clarke published his novel 2010: Odyssey Two in 1982, he telephoned Stanley Kubrick, and jokingly said, "Your job is to stop anybody [from] making it [into a movie] so I won't be bothered." Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) subsequently worked out a contract to make a film adaptation, but Kubrick had no interest in directing it. However, Peter Hyams was interested and contacted both Clarke and Kubrick for their blessings:

I had a long conversation with Stanley and told him what was going on. If it met with his approval, I would do the film; and if it didn't, I wouldn't. I certainly would not have thought of doing the film if I had not gotten the blessing of Kubrick. He's one of my idols; simply one of the greatest talents that's ever walked the Earth. He more or less said, 'Sure. Go do it. I don't care.' And another time he said, 'Don't be afraid. Just go do your own movie.

While he was writing the screenplay in 1983, Hyams (in Los Angeles) began communicating with Clarke (in Sri Lanka) via the then-pioneering medium of e-mail. The two would discuss the planning and production of the film on an almost daily basis using this method. Their correspondence was published in 1984 as The Odyssey File: The Making of 2010. The book illustrates Clarke's fascination with the new method of communication, and also includes Clarke's list of the top science fiction films ever made. In order to give the publishers enough lead-time to have it available for the release of the movie, the book terminates while the movie is still in pre-production. At the point of the last e-mail, Clarke had not yet read the script, and Roy Scheider was the only actor who had been cast.
Principal photography on the film began in February 1984 for a 71 day schedule. The majority of the film was shot on MGM's soundstages in Los Angeles, with the exception of a week of location work in Washington DC, Rancho Palos Verdes, California, and at the Very Large Array in New Mexico.


The special effects for 2010 were filmed on 65mm film (the live action scenes were filmed on 35mm) and, due to the differences in film size and ratio, there is a noticeable "cut off" area at the side of the picture during the space scenes when the film is viewed in widescreen. The effects were produced by the Entertainment Effects Group (EEG), the special effects house created by Douglas Trumbull. However, Trumbull himself did not work on the film, and the effects were supervised by Richard Edlund, who had just left Industrial Light & Magic. After completing 2010, EEG would become a part of Edlund's own effects company Boss Film Corporation.
Early in the production of 2010, Hyams had learned that all of the original large spacecraft models from "2001", including the original 50-foot model of the "Discovery One", had been destroyed following the filming, as ordered by Kubrick, as had all of the original model-makers' designs for building the "Discovery One". Consequently, the model-makers at EEG had to use frame-by-frame enlargements from a 70mm copy of "2001" to recreate the original large "Discovery One" model. The "Leonov" spacecraft, as well as several of its interior crew areas and other elements of the spacecraft's advanced technology, were designed by the noted conceptual artist Syd Mead.
Although computer-generated imagery (or CGI) was still in an early phase of development in 1984, the special effects team of 2010 used CGI to create the dynamic-looking cloudy atmosphere of the planet Jupiter, as well as the swarm of monoliths that engulf the planet and turn it into a Sun for the planet Europa. Digital Productions would use data supplied by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory to create the turbulent Jovian atmosphere. This was one of the first instances of what the studio would later refer to as "Digital Scene Simulation", a concept they would take to the next level with The Last Starfighter.
In order to maintain the realism of the lighting in outer space, in which light would usually come from a single light source (in this case, the Sun), Edlund and Hyams decided that blue-screen photography would not be used for shooting the space scenes. Instead, a process known as front-light/back-light filming was used. The models were filmed as they would appear in space, then a white background was placed behind the model and the first pass was repeated. This isolated the model's outlines so that proper traveling mattes could be made. All of this processing doubled the amount of time that it took to film these sequences, due to the additional motion-control pass that was needed to generate the matte. This process also eliminated the problem of "blue spill", which is the main disadvantage of blue-screen photography. In this, photographed models would often have blue outlines surrounding them because a crisp matte was not always possible to make.
Blue-screen photography was used in the scene in which Floyd demonstrates his plan to use the two spaceships to achieve the change in momentum needed to leave Jovian orbit before the opening of the launch window. In this scene, Floyd uses two pens to demonstrate his plans. Roy Scheider performed this scene without the pens actually being present, and the pens were filmed separately against a blue screen—using an "Oxberry" animation stand that was programmed to match Scheider's movements. (The initial sequence of Floyd's making the pens float was carried out by simply attaching them to a piece of movable glass that was placed between him and the camera.)

s.Sp.Artilleriewagen

Here are some more images of Dragon Models 1/35 scale s.Sp.Artilleriewagen. The s.Sp.Artilleriewagen was an armored rail car designed to protect cargo trains.

Krupp 28 cm K5 railway gun "Leopold"

Here are some more images of Dragon models 1/35 scale Krupp 28 cm K5 Railway Gun "Leopold". The K5 guns were probably the most successful of the large railway guns which could fire 565lb shells a distance of 40 miles. A total of 28 K5s were constructed between 1936 and 1945. This kit was a beautiful model to build although it is an expensive model to purchase. When I bought this kit in 2003 it was around $140 Cdn, today who knows. I have yet to see it re released. If you do manage to purchase one make some room because it does make an impressive display piece.

From Wikipedia'
The Krupp 28-cm-Kanone 5 (E), in short K5 with the (E) signifying Eisenbahnlafette (railway car gun-mount), was a heavy railway gun used by Germany throughout World War II.
Krupp's K5 series were consistent in mounting a 21.5 metres (71 ft) long gun barrel in a fixed mounting with only vertical elevation of the weapon. This gondola was then mounted on a pair of 12-wheel bogies designed to be operated on commercial and military rails built to German standards. This mounting permitted only two degrees of horizontal traverse. The carriage had to be aligned on the rails first, with only minimal fine leveling capable once halted. Hence the gun could only fire at targets tangential to an existing railway track.
To track targets needing greater traverse either a curved length of railway was used with the gun shunted backwards or forwards to aim; a cross-track was laid with the front bogie turned perpendicular to the rest of the gun and moved up and down the cross-track to train the weapon; or for 360 degree traverse, the so-called "Vögele Turntable" could be constructed, consisting of a raised rail section (the "firing bed") carrying the gun, running on a circular track with a central jack to raise the gun during traverse and to take some of the enormous weight.
The main barrel of the K5 is 283 mm (11.1 in) in calibre (caliber), and is rifled with twelve 7 mm (0.28 in) grooves. These were originally 10 mm (0.39 in) deep, but were shallowed to rectify cracking problems.
The K5 was the result of a crash program launched in the 1930s to develop a force of railway guns to support the Wehrmacht by 1939. K5 development began in 1934 with first testing following in 1936 at the Firing Test Range Rügenwalde-Bad (German: Schießplatz Rügenwalde-Bad) in Farther Pomerania at the South coast of the Baltic Sea. Initial tests were done with a 150 mm barrel under the designation K5M.
Production led to eight guns being in service for the Invasion of France, although problems were encountered with barrel splitting and rectified with changes to the rifling. The guns were then reliable until the end of the war, under the designation K5 Tiefzug 7 mm. Three of them were installed on the English Channel coast to target British shipping in the Channel, and proved successful at this task.
Towards the end of the war, development was done to allow the K5 to fire rocket-assisted projectiles to increase range. Successful implementation was done for firing these from the K5Vz.
A final experiment was to bore out two of the weapons to 310 mm (12.2 in) smoothbore to allow firing of the Peenemünder Pfeilgeschosse arrow shells. The two modified weapons were designated K5 Glatt.
Several other proposals were made to modify or create new models of the K5 which never saw production. In particular, there were plans for a model which could leave the railway by use of specially modified Tiger II tank chassis which would support the mounting box in much the same manner as the railway weapon's two bogies. This project was ended by the defeat of Germany.

Two types of high explosive projectile were used with the K5. The 28cm G35 weighed 255 kilograms (562 lb) and contained a charge of 30.5 kilograms (67 lb) of TNT. The 28cm Gr.39 m. Hbgr. Z. was slightly heavier, weighing 265 kilograms (584 lb) and containing around 44.5 kilograms (98 lb) of TNT.
The rocket-boosted shell was known as the 28cm R. GR.4351. This carried 14 kilograms (31 lb) of explosive and was boosted by around 20 kilograms (40 lb) of Double base powder rocket propellent. The total waeight was 248 kilograms (547 lb).

A K5(E) is preserved at the United States Army Ordnance Museum in Fort Lee (Petersburg, Virginia). It is composed of parts from two guns that shelled Anzio beachhead during World War II. They were named Robert and Leopold by the Germans, but are better known by their Allied nicknames - Anzio Annie and Anzio Express.
The guns were discovered on a railroad siding in the town of Civitavecchia, on 7 June 1944, shortly after the allies occupied Rome. Robert had been partially destroyed by the gun crew before they surrendered and Leopold was also damaged but not as badly. Both guns were shipped to the U.S. Aberdeen Proving Ground, (Aberdeen, Maryland) where they underwent tests. Leopold was restored using parts taken from Robert. In early 2011 it was moved to Fort Lee, Virginia (37.250338°N 77.340492°W) as a result of the 2005 Base Relocation and Closure (BRAC) Act.
A second surviving gun can be seen at the Batterie Todt museum, near Audinghen in northern France.

Kriegslokomotive BR52

Here are some images plus a composite of Trumpeter's 1/35 scale Kriegslokomotive BR52. From Wiki "Kriegslokomotiven were German 'war locomotives', produced in large numbers during the Second World War, whose construction were tailored to the economic circumstances of wartime Germany, such as shortages of materials, goods transportation (in support of military logistics), ease of maintenance under difficult conditions, resistance to extreme weather, limited life and rapid, cheap, mass production. In order to meet these requirements, economic drawbacks such as relatively high fuel consumption had to be reckoned with".

Gato Class

Here are some more images of Revells 1/72 scale Electric Boat Companies Gato Class Submarine. This design was the basis in which all other American World War Two submarine designs were based off of. Like all American submarines of that time the Gato (which is a kind of fish) class were named after fish. However these 311 foot long fish had a 50 caliber deck gun, 4 10x21 inch torpedo tubes with 24 torpedos, a Bofers 40mm cannon and a Oerlikon 20mm cannon. At 52 inches long this model is big and it has about the same level of quality as the two type VII U boat models.

From Wikipedia"
The United States Navy Gato-class submarine formed the majority of the United States Navy's World War II submarine fleet. Named after the first vessel of this design, USS Gato, the Gato-class and its successors, the Balao and Tench classes, formed the core of the submarine service that was largely responsible for the destruction of the Japanese merchant marine and a large portion of the Imperial Japanese Navy in World War II. Gato's name comes from a species of small catshark. Like most other U.S. Navy submarines of the period, the Gato-class were given the names of marine creatures.
The Gato-class boats were considered to be "Fleet Submarines". The original rationale behind their design was that they were intended to operate as adjuncts to the main battle fleet. They were to scout out ahead of the fleet and report on the enemy fleet's composition, speed, and course, then they were to attack and whittle down the enemy in preparation for the main fleet action, a titanic gun battle between cruisers and battleships. This was an operational concept borne out of experience from World War I. In order to operate effectively in this role, a submarine had to have high surface speed, long range and endurance, and a heavy armament. State-of-the-art submarine design and construction in the 1920s and 1930s made this combination of qualities very difficult to achieve. The USN constantly experimented with this concept in the post-World War I years, producing a series of submarines with less than stellar qualities and reliability, the AA-1 class and the so-called V-boats.
By 1931, the experimental phase of fleet submarine development was over and the Navy began to make solid progress towards what would eventually be the Gato-class. By 1940, a much better developed industrial base and experience gained from the Porpoise-, Salmon-, & Sargo-class boats resulted in the Tambor- & Gar-classes. Finally, the USN had hit the right combination of factors and now had the long-desired fleet submarine.
Timing, however, conspired against the actual use of these boats in their assigned role. The attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941 destroyed the Pacific Fleet battle line and along with it the concept of the battleship-led gun battle. The successful Pearl Harbor attack overturned 20 years of submarine strategic concept development and left the fleet submarine without a mission. Fortunately, the very same capabilities that would have enabled these submarines to operate with the fleet made them superbly qualified for their new mission of commerce raiding against the Japanese Empire
The Gato-class design was a near duplicate of the preceding Tambor- & Gar-class boats. The only significant difference was five feet in length added to the engine room section to allow the addition of a watertight bulkhead, dividing the one large engine room in two, with two diesel generator sets in each room. The Gatos, along with nearly all of the USN fleet-type submarines of World War II were of partial double hull construction. The inner pressure-resisting hull was wrapped by an outer hydrodynamic hull. The voids between the two hulls provided space for fuel and ballast tanks. The outer hull merged with the pressure hull at both ends in the area of the torpedo room bulkheads, thus the "partial" double hull. Operational experience with earlier boats led the naval architects and engineers at the Navy's Bureau of Construction & Repair to believe that they had been overly conservative in their estimates of hull strength. Without changing the construction or thickness of the pressure hull steel, they decided that the Gato-class boats would be fully capable of routinely operating at 300 feet, a 50-foot increase in test depth over the preceding classes.
The Gatos were slow divers when compared to some German and British designs, but that was mostly because the Gatos were significantly larger boats. Sufficient fuel bunkerage to provide the range necessary for 75-day patrols from Hawaii to Japan and back could only be obtained with a large boat, which will take longer to submerge than a smaller one. Acknowledging this limitation, the Bureau designers incorporated a negative (sometimes called a "down express") tank into the design which provided a large amount of negative buoyancy at the start of the dive. Normally kept full or nearly full at the surface, the tank was emptied to a certain mark after the boat was submerged to restore neutral buoyancy. At the start of the war these boats could go from fully surfaced to periscope depth in approximately 45–50 seconds. The superstructure that sat atop the pressure hull provided the main walking deck when the boat was surfaced and was free flooding and full of water when the boat was submerged. When the dive began the boat would "hang" for a few extra seconds while this superstructure filled with water. In an attempt to speed this process, additional limber, or free flooding, holes were drilled and cut into the superstructure to allow it to flood faster. By mid war, these measures combined with improved crew training got dive times down to 30–35 seconds, very fast for such a large boat and acceptable to the boat's crew.
The large size of these boats did negatively affect both surfaced and underwater maneuverability when compared to smaller submarines. There was no practical fix for this due to the limitations of the installed hydraulic systems that were used to move the rudder. Although a point of concern, the turning radius was still good enough to be acceptable. After the war, a few fleet boats were fitted with an additional rudder topside at the very stern.
These boats all had air conditioning, refrigerated storage for food, fresh water distilling units, clothes washers, and bunks for nearly every crew member; luxuries virtually unheard of in other navies. The Bureau designers felt that if a crew of 60–80 men were to be expected to conduct 75-day patrols in the warm waters of the Pacific, these types of features were vital to the health and efficiency of the crew. They could be added without impact to the boat's war fighting abilities due to the extra room of the big fleet boat. However, one feature in particular had a very practical side to it. Submerge a submarine for any length of time and the heat generated by the recently shut down engines, electronic gear, and 70 warm bodies will quickly raise internal temperatures above 100 Fahrenheit. High humidity generated by tropical waters will quickly condense and begin dripping into equipment, eventually causing electrical shorts and fires. Air conditioning, acting mostly as a dehumidifier, virtually eliminates this problem and greatly increases mechanical and electrical reliability. It proved to be a key factor in the success of these boats during World War II.
Twelve submarines of this class built by Electric Boat received what would be the final installations of the Hooven-Owens-Rentschler (HOR) double-acting diesel engine. The Navy had been tinkering with this engine off and on since 1937 because its unique design promised nearly twice the horsepower in a package the same size as other diesel engine types. Unfortunately, the HOR company ran into severe design and manufacturing problems and these engines proved to be operational and maintenance nightmares. Frequent breakdowns and utter unreliability had destroyed these engines' reputation with the Navy and they were all removed at the first opportunity and replaced by GM-Winton 16-278A V-type diesels. The other Gato-class boats received either the Fairbanks-Morse 38D8 1/8 nine cylinder opposed piston engine or the GM-Winton 16-248 V-type as original installations. These engines were hardy, rugged and well liked by the crews and served the boats 

These boats were authorized in appropriations for Fiscal Year 1941, as part of President Franklin Roosevelt's proclamation of "limited emergency" in September 1939. The first boat laid down was actually the USS Drum at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on 11 September 1940. She was commissioned on 1 November 1941 and was the only Gato-class boat in commission when the war started. The Gato herself was laid down on 5 October 1940 by the Electric Boat Company at Groton, Connecticut and commissioned 31 December 1941. Due to their large construction capacity, more than half (41) of the class was built at Electric Boat facilities; three new slipways were added to the north yard and four slipways were added to the south yard to accommodate their production. In addition, the government purchased an old foundry downstream from the main yard, constructed ten slipways and turned the yard over to Electric Boat. Called the Victory Yard, it became an integral part of Electric Boat operations. A total of 77 Gatos were built at four different locations (Electric Boat, Manitowoc, Portsmouth, and Mare Island).
There is occasionally some confusion as to the number of Gato-class submarines built with some sources listing the total as 73. This is due to the transitional nature of the first four boats (SS-361 to SS-364) constructed under the second contract by the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company of Manitowoc, Wisconsin. These were originally intended to be Balao-class subs and were assigned numbers that fall in the middle of the range of numbers for the Balao-class (SS-285 to SS-416 & 425–426). Manitowoc was a designated follow-on yard to Electric Boat; they used construction blueprints and plans supplied by Electric Boat and used many of the same suppliers. The government-owned shipyards (Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and Mare Island Naval Shipyard) began to make the transition to the new Balao design in the summer of 1942. Electric Boat, due to the huge backlog of Gato-class construction, was not ready to make the transition to the new design until January 1943. Manitowoc had already completed their allotted production run of Gatos and could not switch over to the Balao design until Electric Boat supplied them with the plans. Faced with a work stoppage while they waited for Electric Boat to catch up, managers at Manitowoc got permission to complete four additional boats (SS-361 to SS-364) to Electric Boat's Gato-class plans. Manitowoc's first Balao-class boat was USS Hardhead.
All of the Gatos (with one exception, USS Dorado) would eventually fight in the Pacific Theater of Operations. However, in the summer of 1942, six brand new Gatos were assigned to Submarine Squadron 50 and sent to Rosneath, Scotland to patrol the Bay of Biscay and to assist in the Operation Torch landings in North Africa. All in all they conducted 27 war patrols but could not claim any verified sinkings. Considered a waste of valuable resources, in mid 1943 all six boats were recalled and transferred to the Pacific.
Once they began to arrive in theater in large numbers in mid-to-late 1942, the Gatos were in the thick of the fight against the Japanese. Many of these boats racked up impressive war records: Flasher, Rasher, and Barb were the top three boats based on tonnage sunk by US submarines. Silversides, Flasher, and Wahoo were 3rd, 4th, and 7th place on the list for the number of ships sunk. Gato-class boats sank four Japanese submarines: I-29, I-168 and I-351 and I-42; while only losing one in exchange, USS Corvina to I-176.
Their principal weapon was the steam powered Mark 14 torpedo in the early war years, with the electric Mark 18 torpedo supplementing the Mark 14 in late 1943. Due to a stunted research and development phase in the Depression-era 1930s, and in great part due to the arrogance and stubbornness of the Navy's Bureau of Ordnance, the "wonder weapon" Mark 14 proved to be full of bugs and very unreliable. They tended to run too deep, explode prematurely, run erratically, or fail to detonate. Bowing to pressure from the submariners in the Pacific, the Bureau eventually acknowledged the problems in the Mark 14 and largely corrected them by late 1943. The Mark 18 electric torpedo was a hastily copied version of captured German G7e weapons and was rushed into service in the fall of 1943. Unfortunately it too was full of faults, the most dangerous being a tendency to run in a circular pattern and come back at the sub that fired it. Once perfected, both types of torpedoes proved to be reliable and deadly weapons, allowing the Gatos and other submarines to sink an enormous amount of Japanese shipping by the end of the war.
The Gatos were subjected to numerous exterior configuration changes during their careers, with most of these changes centered on the conning tower fairwater. The large bulky original configuration proved to be too easy to spot when the boat was surfaced; it needed to be smaller. Secondly, the desire to incorporate new masts for surface and air search radars drove changes to the fairwater and periscope shears. Third, additional gun armament was needed and cutting down the fairwater provided excellent mounting locations for machine guns and anti-aircraft cannon. The modifications (or Mods) to the Gato-class conning tower fairwaters were fairly uniform in nature and they can be grouped together based on what was done when:

• Mod 1 – This is the original configuration with the covered navigation bridge, the high bulwark around the aft "cigarette" deck, and with the periscope shears plated over. All the early boats were built with this Mod and it lasted until about mid 1942.
• Mod 2 – Same as Mod 1 but with the bulwark around the cigarette deck cut down to reduce the silhouette. This also gave the .50 caliber machine gun mounted there a greatly improved arc of fire. Began to appear in about April 1942.
• Mod 3 – Same as Mod 2 but with the covered navigation bridge on the forward part of the fairwater cut away and the plating around the periscope shears removed. In this configuration the Gatos now had two excellent positions for the mounting of single 40 mm Bofors or twin 20 mm Oerlikon anti-aircraft cannon, an improvement over the .50 caliber machine gun. This mod started to appear in late '42 and early '43.
• Mod 4 – Same as the Mod 3 but with the height of the bridge itself lowered in a last attempt to lessen the silhouette. The lowering of the bridge exposed three I-beams on either side of the periscope shears. These exposed beams gave rise to the nickname "covered wagon boats". Began to appear in early 1944. The conning tower of USS Flasher (SS-249) is preserved in Groton, Connecticut in this configuration, with two single 40 mm Bofors mounts.

Variations on the above mods included the 1A (shortened navigation bridge), 2A (plating removed from periscope shears), and the 3A and 4A (which moved the SJ radar mast aft of the periscopes).
Deck guns varied during the war. Many targets in the Pacific War were sampans or otherwise not worth a torpedo, so the deck gun was an important weapon. Most boats began the war with a 4 inch (102 mm)/50 caliber gun, some with a 3 inch (76 mm)/50 caliber gun. The 3 inch was the gun originally specified for the Gato class, but war experience led to the removal of 4 inch guns from old S-class submarines to equip front-line boats. During 1944, almost all were refitted with a 5 inch (127 mm)/25 caliber gun, and some boats had two of these weapons. Additional anti-aircraft guns included single 40 mm Bofors and twin 20 mm Oerlikon mounts, usually one of each.
A Japanese boarding party from the destroyer Naganami inspected the grounded and abandoned USS Darter (SS-227). Documents disclosed weaknesses, later used to improve Japan's anti-submarine warfare.

Lothar Von Richthofen's Fokker Dr.1

Here are some images of Hobbycraft's 1/32 scale Fokker Dr. 1 Triplane. This is the aircraft that was flown by World War One fighter ace Lothar-Siegfried Freiherr Von Richthofen. Younger brother of Manfred Von Richthofen. Lothar Von Richthofen was credited with 40 victories during the war but died in a plane crash in 1922. Lothar Von Richthofen is credited for shooting down in 1917 top English ace at the time Albert Ball.