The Submarine.
This year marks the 100th Anniversary of World War-I (1914-18), when the advancement on the Irish inventor Holland was deployed by the British Royal navy against their Imperial German equivalents. Britain, America. Japan and Italy where some of the first to have this new 'warship of the deep.'
Compared to all that has been learnt with two World Wars and the 'Cold War,' they were really basic and very much death traps, but at the time very secret and state of the art.
These early submarines was very effective in taking out merchant shipping and if not detected naval ones also. It was believed for some time that Imperial Germany may have sunk the RMS Titanic, meaning that they were operational from 1910.
These first subs really operated just below the water line or sea surface and were not the real divers of the 'Cold war and present day.
Tuesday 27 January 2015
Tuesday 20 January 2015
Alstom Pendolino.
Class 390 West coast tilting line units.
This class of DMU (Diesel Multiple Unit) has become well known with Virgin trains on the English west coast runs from London, through Carlisle. Initially built between 2001-05, most have now gone upgrading and coach extensions. There are now eleven different types of rolling stock within the Pendolino system.
Initially the Pendolino units operated as eight cars, but since 2004-5 they run as nine cars. Between 2010-12 a further 62 vehicles were built creating 35 sets eleven car sets and 21 9-car sets.
Speeds are tops 125mph, bogie's are Italian Fiat-SIG and all are air conditioned. In the event of breakdown the Class 57/3 locomotives can take control. Most of the train coaches were built at Alstom, Birmingham, but two types by Alstom Savigliano.
There has been only one accident with the class since it was introduced and that was at Lambrigg in 2007.
This class of DMU (Diesel Multiple Unit) has become well known with Virgin trains on the English west coast runs from London, through Carlisle. Initially built between 2001-05, most have now gone upgrading and coach extensions. There are now eleven different types of rolling stock within the Pendolino system.
Initially the Pendolino units operated as eight cars, but since 2004-5 they run as nine cars. Between 2010-12 a further 62 vehicles were built creating 35 sets eleven car sets and 21 9-car sets.
Speeds are tops 125mph, bogie's are Italian Fiat-SIG and all are air conditioned. In the event of breakdown the Class 57/3 locomotives can take control. Most of the train coaches were built at Alstom, Birmingham, but two types by Alstom Savigliano.
There has been only one accident with the class since it was introduced and that was at Lambrigg in 2007.
Tuesday 13 January 2015
French Military. Part-One.
Long Influence.
France is one of those countries that has a long history of supplying military technology across the world. Controversy at the moment about selling a commissioned warship to Russia, while back in the Falklands war it was the Exocet missiles that did a lot of damage to the British.
France has built a generation of armoured cars in the Panhard series, which serve world wide from basic to powerful and they meet the needs of most small armies. Yet France has a Nuclear capability in its own ICBM's, aircraft carriers, warships and submarines, as well as its own advanced Mirage to Rafael combat aircraft.
It has also worked jointly with the United Kingdom on the development of the Gazelle, and Puma helicopters. Meanwhile following this weeks events in the Paris area we saw some of the paramilitary police vehicles being used.
France is one of those countries that has a long history of supplying military technology across the world. Controversy at the moment about selling a commissioned warship to Russia, while back in the Falklands war it was the Exocet missiles that did a lot of damage to the British.
France has built a generation of armoured cars in the Panhard series, which serve world wide from basic to powerful and they meet the needs of most small armies. Yet France has a Nuclear capability in its own ICBM's, aircraft carriers, warships and submarines, as well as its own advanced Mirage to Rafael combat aircraft.
It has also worked jointly with the United Kingdom on the development of the Gazelle, and Puma helicopters. Meanwhile following this weeks events in the Paris area we saw some of the paramilitary police vehicles being used.
Tuesday 6 January 2015
Blue Sky M.
Abandoned Ships.
This has now been under way for some time with various boats crossing the Mediterranean Sea to Italy or to the Island of Lampadusa. These migrants were generally from Libya, Somalia, Eritrea and various other north-African countries, were life is not really worth living.
Now it seems that the phenomena has moved to the Adriatic Sea and these are mostly Iraqis and Syrians. This form of purchasing cheap vessels is nothing new, enough money can be made from the extortion of desperate people to buy more and more ships, fishing boats and other rickety vessels for the one way trips.
The sad fact about the whole world of the shipping industry as we are starting to see, is that it can sometimes be very hard to find who actually owns a vessel. The flags of registration do not really tell us much about the origin of the vessel and who makes up the syndicates that share the profits. Meanwhile many of the crews of these ships are paid pittance or never paid at that.
This has now been under way for some time with various boats crossing the Mediterranean Sea to Italy or to the Island of Lampadusa. These migrants were generally from Libya, Somalia, Eritrea and various other north-African countries, were life is not really worth living.
Now it seems that the phenomena has moved to the Adriatic Sea and these are mostly Iraqis and Syrians. This form of purchasing cheap vessels is nothing new, enough money can be made from the extortion of desperate people to buy more and more ships, fishing boats and other rickety vessels for the one way trips.
The sad fact about the whole world of the shipping industry as we are starting to see, is that it can sometimes be very hard to find who actually owns a vessel. The flags of registration do not really tell us much about the origin of the vessel and who makes up the syndicates that share the profits. Meanwhile many of the crews of these ships are paid pittance or never paid at that.
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