1930 Cadillac V-16

 

The V-16 Cadillac is best known for its engine, but the car had other innovations as well: synchromesh transmission and optional head lights that turned with the front wheels. The V-16 was sold in various models including two-door coupe or convertible, for-door hard top or convertible, town car and limonene.

 The story of the engine development is interesting from both a historical and engineering perspective: V-16 Design.

 This model is based on the 1930 Cadillac Model 452 All-weather Phaeton.

 #Cadillac #V-16 #1930 #antique_car #Blender #Cycles

1916 American LaFrance Speedster

 The American LaFrance Fire Engine Company (ALF) was founded in 1873 (with roots dating from 1832) by Truxton S. LaFrance in Elmira, New York. While the company specialized in fire appliances, the management took an interest in motor cars in the early 20^th century. These cars were vanity projects based on fire engine chassis and powered by large, powerful engines.

 This model is a depiction of a reproduction of the 1916 Speedster car that was built on a real ALF fire engine chassis. The car was sold at auction last year. As I was not able to find any blueprints or detailed drawings of the car, the model was built entirely from photographs. The speedster weighed 2,300 kg, was 5.4 m long and 2 m wide. It was powered by a 9.4 liter, 6-cylinder, T-head, gasoline engine driving the rear wheels through two, parallel sprockets and chains.

DFS 230A Glider

 Ten Luftwaffe DFS 230A gliders were used in the famous Gran Sasso raid on 12 September 1943 to rescue Mussolini from the hilltop hotel where he was imprisoned after the fall of his government. The force of paratroopers and SS commandos led by Hauptsturmführer Otto Skorzeny was able to grab il Duce with two Italians killed and 10 Germans wounded.

 The glider was 11.24m long with a wingspan of 22m. The width of the body was less than one meter so that the passengers sat in a single file. It had a crew of a pilot and nine troopers. The glider was developed by Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Segelflug (DFS - "German Research Institute for Sailplane Flight") This model is shown in the livery of the Schleppgruppe 2.

 #DFS_230A #glider #German # Luftwaffe #Blender #Cycles

Antonov A-7 Glider

The Antonov A-7 was one of two Soviet military gliders (see Gribovsky G-11) employed in WWII. It was 11.5m long with a wingspan of 19m. The wooden glider carried a crew of two and eight equipped troops. About 400 were built from 1941 to 1945.

 #Antonov_A-7 #glider #Soviet #Blender #Cycles

Horsa AS.51

 The Horsa, Airspeed AS.51, was the British WWII troop and equipment carrying glider. As well as the British Army Air Corps, it was used by the USAAF, RCAF and the Indian Air Force. 3,799 Horsas were built by Airspeed Ltd between 1941 and 1945. The glider was 20.4 m long with a wingspan of 26.8 m. It could carry up to 30 equipped paratroopers. This model is shown in the D-Day livery.

#Horsa #glider #Airspeed_Ltd #WWII #Blender #Cycles

Waco CG-4A Glider

 

In the ‘70s, when visiting New York, I often got my hair cut by a barber in mid-town Manhattan named Tony. He was about my parents’ age and had been an airborne trooper in WWII. Tony told me about his glider landing east of the beaches in Normandy, France, in the early hours of 6 June 1944, D-day. His glider hit the ground hard and disintegrated. Tony, battered and bruised, thankfully, survived the crash and the rest of the war.

 Under contract with the U.S. Army Air Forces from 1942 to 1948, the Waco Aircraft Company of Troy, Ohio, designed and built, along with 16 contactors, 13,909 of the CG-4A multi-purpose gliders. The aircraft had the capacity to carry 13 fully equipped airborne troops, a Jeep, a 75mm howitzer, six medical evacuation litters or several specialized packages, e.g. a field weather station, of up to 4,197 pounds (1,904 kg). The CG-4a was 48 ft 8 in (14.8 m) long, with a wingspan of 83 ft 8 in (25.5 m) and a gross weight of 7,500 lb (3,402 kg). It was most often towed by a Douglass C47 Skytrain. The glider was used by the U.S. Army Air Forces, the U.S. Navy, the Royal Air Force and the Royal Canadian Air Force.

 Designed to be light, the CG-4A was built with a frame of wood and some aluminum tubing wrapped in painted canvas. The main wheels, under the wings, were only used for take-off. During flight, the whole wheel assembly would be disconnected, and the glider would land on the skids on the bottom of the body. When the aircraft was used to carry cargo, like a Jeep, the entire cockpit would be hinged upward allowing access to interior. Unfortunately, if the plane stopped abruptly on landing the cargo tended to jump forward killing the pilots. The CG-4A was nicknamed “The Silent Death Trap”.

 #Waco #CG-4A #glider #D-Day #WWII #Normandy #Blender #Cycles

 

 

Douglas C-47 Skytrain

Douglas Aircraft Company built over 10,000 of the C-47 Skytrain, a military version of the Douglas DC-3. They were employed extensively in North Africa, Europe, Asia and the Pacific. The plane played a crucial role in the D-Day invasion of Normandy during World War II. Specifically, on June 6, 1944, over 1,000 C-47s were used to transport and drop about 13,000 paratroopers of the 82^nd and 101^st Airborne Divisions behind enemy lines. These aircraft were vital for delivering troops and supplies, and they also towed gliders carrying more soldiers and equipment to protect the American troops landing on the Normandy beaches from German reinforcements.

 #Douglas #plane #C-47 #Skytrain #Normandy #D-Day #Blender #Cycles