Picture of the Day (Other eras)

[Torenico]

[Dukat]

Military situation in northern Aleppo governorate, Syria, February 4th, 2017.

Now this gets interesting. The Islamic State is defending Al-Bab for over 2 month now. They're holding Qabasin for several weeks now and just threw the turkish supported Free Syrian Army out of Bzaa again. What is not shown on this map are the 2 strategic heights located in the center of the triangle between the 3 cities, which obviously marks the secret strongpoint of the the whole IS defense. Makes me wonder how many kilometers of covered trenches connect the 3 cities. With the Syrian Arab Army & Allies now having taken Arran, the IS supply line is threatened to be cut, forcing the Islamic State to withdraw from their positions or to fight the Syrian Arab Army & Allies with much more effort.

Extra:
Footage: Turkish supported Free Syrian Army brigade Suqour al-Shamal gives a display of their poor military capabilities when attacking Bzaa, which they lost anyway today again, probably due to not knowing how to aim and shoot a gun properly, Aleppo governorate, Syria, February 3rd, 2017, 1080p

[Torenico]

Peruvian Navy BAP Almirante Grau (CLM-81), formerly known as HNLMS De Ruyter, she is the last gun cruiser in active service, dating from 1941. She is a De Zeven Provinciën class cruiser, in the image, she can be seen firing with her main armament, a pair of Bofors 152 mm guns.

[Dukat]

Free syrian Army claims full control of Bzaa, Syria, February 4th, 2017.


Islamic State claims full control of Bzaa, Syria, February 5th, 2017.

[FHMax3]

[pizzzaman]

SDF have launched their third phase of the offensive. They're pushing northeast of Raqqa now.

[VonMudra]

They've got a lot of countryside to cover still- I'd probably see this operation wrapping up in March with similar gains as the western Raqqah one, followed by another to buckle the center in up to the city.  After that, the smart thing would be to cross the Euphrates to cut off supply, because as we saw in Manbij, and as we've seen in Al Bab and Mosul, ISIL is VERY capable of city combat.  Raqqah will be an extremely tough battle.

[Born2Kill 007]

Peruvian Navy BAP Almirante Grau (CLM-81), formerly known as HNLMS De Ruyter

I just love that ship, every year it makes me happy that she still sails the seas, even though I'm fairly sure it would be a better idea to replace her, from a military point of view. I mostly hope she'll end up as a museum, instead of being scrapped like her sister ship.
Totally off-topic: also hope to see her soon in World of Warships

Anyway, as picture of the day:


Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) fighter pilots who, on 22 February 1932, scored the first aerial victory in the IJN's history. The shoot-down occurred over Shanghai during the Shanghai incident and the pilots were flying the A1N2 Type 3 fighter aircraft. From left to right the pilots are: Nokiji Ikuta, Toshio Kuroiwa, and Kazuo Takeo.

[Dukat]

Forget the Ninja Turtles and the Hateful Eight. When these guys appear in a cinema near you, shit will hit the fan. This time for sure. Free Syrian Army Brigade 51, Bzaa, Aleppo Governorate, Syria, February 6th, 2017.

Extra:

Israeli F-16 aircraft attacked targets in northern Gaza, Palestine, February 6th, 2017.

[pizzzaman]

SDF making fast progress. Almost looks like they're in a hurry...

[Dukat]

Islamic State forces are being trapped in a pocket at Al-Bab, Syria, February 7th, 2017.

Extra:

Reports of Jund al-Aqsa violently taking over Free Syrian Army positions not belonging to Hayyat Tahrir al-Sham in southern Idlib and northern Hama, Syria, February 7th, 2017.

[Torenico]

Peruvian Navy BAP Almirante Grau (CLM-81), formerly known as HNLMS De Ruyter

I just love that ship, every year it makes me happy that she still sails the seas, even though I'm fairly sure it would be a better idea to replace her, from a military point of view. I mostly hope she'll end up as a museum, instead of being scrapped like her sister ship.
Totally off-topic: also hope to see her soon in World of Warships

Hi, a Peruvian friend told me that currently the ship continues to serve as the Peruvian Navy Flagship despite not being able to sail now due to problems with the boilers. On the second hand, there are no modernizations being planned for the ship, scrapping will not be an option as the Peruvian Navy wants to make it an Museum ship, something the Dutch want to do as well (he told me that the Dutch offered two ships in exchange for their De Ruyter back).

It is unclear for how long she'll remain on service, she's a true beauty.

[Born2Kill 007]

Hi, a Peruvian friend told me that currently the ship continues to serve as the Peruvian Navy Flagship despite not being able to sail now due to problems with the boilers. On the second hand, there are no modernizations being planned for the ship, scrapping will not be an option as the Peruvian Navy wants to make it an Museum ship, something the Dutch want to do as well (he told me that the Dutch offered two ships in exchange for their De Ruyter back).

It is unclear for how long she'll remain on service, she's a true beauty.

Nice to hear she'll turn into a museum some day. It saddens me though to see how both countries now want it as museum while her sister ship was just scrapped. Both could have gotten one.


according to the caption: Russian Air Force officers some time around 1910

[Dukat]

Military situation in northern Syria and northwest Iraq, December 8th, 2014; February 8th, 2017.

[Dukat]

Ahrar al-Sham entered the battlefield and took the Al-Bab grain silos right away, Aleppo governorate, Syria, February 11th, 2017.

Extra: Warning: Graphic content: Viewer Discretion Advised: Footage: Syrian Democratic Forces face heavy resistance by the Islamic State, being 10 kilometers northeast of Raqqah, Syria, February 10th, 2017, 720p