Heavy Metal

Mitsubishi Ki-21 "Sally" (Japan)

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source: Mitsubishi Ki-21 - Wikipedia

General characteristics
  • Crew: 5-7
  • Length: 16 m (52 ft 6 in)
  • Wingspan: 22.5 m (73 ft 10 in)
  • Height: 4.85 m (15 ft 11 in)
  • Wing area: 69.9 m2 (752 sq ft)
  • Empty weight: 6,070 kg (13,382 lb)
  • Gross weight: 10,600 kg (23,369 lb)
  • Powerplant: 2 × Mitsubishi Ha101 14-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine, 1,100 kW (1,500 hp) each (long designation Army Type 100 1,450hp Air Cooled Radial)
  • Propellers: 3-bladed variable-pitch propellers
Performance
  • Maximum speed: 485 km/h (301 mph, 262 kn)
  • Cruise speed: 380 km/h (240 mph, 210 kn)
  • Range: 2,700 km (1,700 mi, 1,500 nmi)
  • Service ceiling: 10,000 m (33,000 ft)
  • Time to altitude: 6,000 m (19,685 ft) in 13 minutes 13 seconds
Armament
  • Guns:
  • Bombs:
    • 1,000 kg (2,200 lb) of bombs
 
Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 Sparviero (Italian for sparrowhawk). Medium duty bomber and WWII workhorse for Italy.

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source: Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 Sparviero - Wikipedia

General characteristics
  • Crew: 6 (pilot, co-pilot, flight engineer/gunner, radio operator, bombardier, rear gunner)
  • Length: 16.2 m (53 ft 2 in)
  • Wingspan: 20.2 m (66 ft 3 in)
  • Height: 4.1 m (13 ft 5 in)
  • Wing area: 61.7 m2 (664 sq ft)
  • Empty weight: 7,700 kg (16,976 lb)
  • Gross weight: 10,050 kg (22,156 lb)
  • Powerplant: 3 × Alfa 128 R.C.18 9-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engines, 642 kW (861 hp) each
  • Propellers: 3-bladed variable-pitch propellers
Performance
  • Maximum speed: 460 km/h (290 mph, 250 kn) at 3,790 m (12,430 ft)
  • Range: 2,600 km (1,600 mi, 1,400 nmi)
  • Service ceiling: 7,500 m (24,600 ft)
  • Rate of climb: 5.3 m/s (1,040 ft/min)
  • Wing loading: 165 kg/m2 (34 lb/sq ft)
  • Power/mass: 0.173 kW/kg (0.105 hp/lb)
Armament
  • Guns:
    • 1 × 12.7 mm (0.5 in) forward Breda-SAFAT machine gun
    • 2 × 12.7 mm (0.5 in) dorsal Breda-SAFAT machine gun 1 at the top, 1 in the belly (optional).
    • 2 × 7.7 mm (0.303 in) machine guns in lateral "waist-gun" ports (optional)
  • Bombs: 1,200 kg (2,645 lb) internal bomb load or two external 450 millimetres (17.72 in) torpedoes
 
Petlyakov Pe-8 (Russia)

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source: Petlyakov Pe-8 - Wikipedia

"The Petlyakov Pe-8 (Russian: Петляков Пе-8) was a Soviet heavy bomber designed before World War II, and the only four-engine bomber the USSR built during the war.

Produced in limited numbers, it was used to bomb Berlin in August 1941. It was also used for so-called "morale raids" designed to raise the spirit of the Soviet people by exposing Axis vulnerabilities.

Its primary mission, however, was to attack German airfields, rail yards and other rear-area facilities at night, although one was used to fly the People's Commissar of Foreign Affairs (Foreign Minister) Vyacheslav Molotov from Moscow to the United States in 1942.

Originally designated the TB-7, the aircraft was renamed the Pe-8 after its primary designer, Vladimir Petlyakov, died in a plane crash in 1942. Supply problems complicated the aircraft's production and the Pe-8s also had engine problems.

As Soviet morale boosters, they were also high-value targets for the Luftwaffe's fighter pilots. The loss rate of these aircraft, whether from mechanical failure, friendly fire, or combat, doubled between 1942 and 1944.

By the end of the war, most of the surviving aircraft had been withdrawn from combat units. After the war, some were modified as transports for important officials, and a few others were used in various Soviet testing programs."

General characteristics
  • Crew: 11
  • Length: 23.2 m (76 ft 1 in)
  • Wingspan: 39.13 m (128 ft 5 in)
  • Height: 6.2 m (20 ft 4 in)
  • Wing area: 188.66 m2 (2,030.7 sq ft)
  • Airfoil: root: TsAGI-40 (19%) ; tip: TsAGI-40 (15.5%)[32]
  • Empty weight: 18,571 kg (40,942 lb)
  • Gross weight: 27,000 kg (59,525 lb)
  • Max takeoff weight: 35,000 kg (77,162 lb)
  • Powerplant: 4 × Mikulin AM-35A V-12 liquid-cooled piston engines, 999 kW (1,340 hp) each
  • Propellers: 3-bladed constant-speed propellers
Performance
  • Maximum speed: 443 km/h (275 mph, 239 kn)
  • Range: 3,700 km (2,300 mi, 2,000 nmi)
  • Service ceiling: 9,300 m (30,500 ft)
  • Rate of climb: 5.9 m/s (1,160 ft/min)
  • Wing loading: 143 kg/m2 (29 lb/sq ft)
  • Power/mass: 0.140 kW/kg (0.085 hp/lb)
Armament
 
The AR234 was used, along with Stukas and Me262 F/Bs, in the attempt to destroy the Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen. Probably the AR's most historical action.
 
Snotty said:
The AR234 was used, along with Stukas and Me262 F/Bs, in the attempt to destroy the Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen. Probably the AR's most historical action.
Click to expand...

One of the pivotal engagements of the war. source of photos and excerpt: Battle of Remagen - Wikipedia

"The Battle of Remagen was a battle of the Allied invasion of Germany in World War II. The 18-day battle from 7 to 25 March 1945 is significant because the Allies unexpectedly captured the Ludendorff Bridge over the Rhine intact.

The presence of a bridgehead across the Rhine advanced by three weeks the Western Allies' planned crossing of the Rhine into the German interior.

The battle for control of the Ludendorff Bridge caused both the American and German forces to employ new weapons and tactics in combat for the first time.

Over the next 10 days, after its capture on 7 March 1945 and until its failure on 17 March, the Germans used virtually every weapon at their disposal to try to destroy the bridge.

This included infantry and armor, howitzers, mortars, floating mines, mined boats, a railroad gun, and the giant 600 mm Karl-Gerät super-heavy mortar.

They also attacked the bridge using the newly developed Arado Ar 234B-2 turbojet bombers. "

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Last edited:
The Karl-Gerät.

Excerpt and photos:

"Karl-Gerät" (040/041) (German literally "Karl-device"), also known as Mörser Karl, was a World War II German self-propelled siege mortar (Mörser) designed and built by Rheinmetall.

Its heaviest munition was a 60 cm (24 in) diameter, 2,170 kg (4,780 lb) shell, and the range for its lightest shell of 1,250 kg (2,760 lb) was just over 10 km (6.2 mi).

Each gun had to be accompanied by a crane, a two-piece heavy transport set of railcars, and several modified tanks to carry shells.

Seven guns were built, six of which saw combat between 1941 and 1945.

It was used in attacking the Soviet fortresses of Brest-Litovsk and Sevastopol, bombarded Polish resistance fighters in Warsaw, participated in the Battle of the Bulge, and was used to try to destroy the Ludendorff Bridge during the Battle of Remagen.

One Karl-Gerät has survived and the remainder were scrapped after the war.

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Last edited:
amazinblue82 said:
The Karl-Gerät.

Excerpt and photos:

"Karl-Gerät" (040/041) (German literally "Karl-device"), also known as Mörser Karl, was a World War II German self-propelled siege mortar (Mörser) designed and built by Rheinmetall.

Its heaviest munition was a 60 cm (24 in) diameter, 2,170 kg (4,780 lb) shell, and the range for its lightest shell of 1,250 kg (2,760 lb) was just over 10 km (6.2 mi).

Each gun had to be accompanied by a crane, a two-piece heavy transport set of railcars, and several modified tanks to carry shells.

Seven guns were built, six of which saw combat between 1941 and 1945.

It was used in attacking the Soviet fortresses of Brest-Litovsk and Sevastopol, bombarded Polish resistance fighters in Warsaw, participated in the Battle of the Bulge, and was used to try to destroy the Ludendorff Bridge during the Battle of Remagen.

One Karl-Gerät has survived and the remainder were scrapped after the war.

View attachment 554372View attachment 554373

View attachment 554375
Click to expand...
The giant weapons the Germans developed during WWII are impressive, mainly for their size and scale. They proved to be very damaging, but not very efficient, or effective. To big for real life combat equipment. They even built a giant tank, The Landkreuzer.

Landkreuzer P. 1000 Ratte - Wikipedia

They definitely thought big!
 
Old Iron moving the New Iron.

The "crawler" back in action, driving the latest heavy metal space machine into place for 8/29 launch. Getting Artemis ready to go to the Moon and then to Mars.

Recall the crawler is hauling the "mobile_launcher platform" -- the launch vehicle is on top of that -- on its back. The MLP stays behind at the fixed launch pad area holding the launch vehicle until takeoff.

source: Watch NASA's mega moon rocket roll out to the launchpad ahead of liftoff

"The massive 322-foot-tall (98-meter-tall) stack embarked on a slow 4-mile (6.4 kilometer) ride aboard one of the Apollo-era giant NASA crawlers from the assembly building to the launchpad -- just like the shuttle missions and Apollo Saturn V rockets once did.

Crawler-transporter 2 was used to move the mega rocket stack to the launchpad.

The 6.6 million-pound (3 million-kilogram) crawler will carry the towering rocket stack and its mobile launcher at a top speed of 1 mile per hour (1.6 kilometers per hour).

The iconic crawler is one of two that have operated for more than 50 years at Kennedy Space Center. The massive transporters were first put to use in 1965 and can each haul 18 million pounds (8.2 million kilograms), or the weight of more than 20 fully loaded 777 airplanes, according to NASA.

The crawlers are so wide that a professional baseball diamond could sit on top of each one."

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European Space Agency tour of the crawler (8 minutes) as refurbished for Artemis use


Time lapse of the trip from assembly building to launch 39B with Artemis:


Another video (12 minutes) with history (with vintage photos) and specifications of the crawlers (nicknamed "Hans" and "Franz" apparently)


Heavy Metal

Pictures below and you get the gist. Like locomotives, crawlers are diesel- (two ALCO V16 251C engines at 2.750 HP each) electric (four 1,300 HP generators), driving 16 traction motors. Made by Marion, who was later bought by Bucyrus, who then itself was acquired by Caterpillar.

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As the launch approaches, repeat post #1,715

Heavy Metal

Technology marches on. Move over Saturn V.

The new "King of the Hill" in rockets. First the moon, then Mars, then we'll see.

The NASA SLS (Space Launch System). Source: Artemis I: About the SLS if you wanna nerd out on the details

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Quick Facts​

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67newport said:
Click to expand...

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Nerd Alert! :)

From a past life (e.g., responsible for infrastructure investments), I have a rudimentary understanding of transformers (in this case Large Power Transformers - LPT's).

But why da heck does one of them weighs 750,000 lbs?

I had to read up on that. Sorry for the "Dick and Jane" stuff .. experts are gonna be bored, newbies like me might learn something new.

Basically, the transformer being transported is typical of the biggest ones manufactured today. The role LPT's have to do in the grid means they are big, complicated, specialized hunks of metal (steel, copper, other parts) filled with cooling/insulating/performance "oils".

THe very embodiment of "heavy metal".

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source of all below: https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/Large Power Transformer Study - June 2012_0.pdf

Basic Description of an LPT

LPTs are custom-designed equipment that entail significant capital expenditures and long lead times due to an intricate procurement and manufacturing process.

Although the costs and pricing vary by manufacturer and by size, an LPT can cost millions of dollars and weigh between approximately 100 and 400 tons (or between 200,000 and 800,000 pounds).

Procurement and manufacturing of LPTs is a complex process that requires prequalification of manufacturers, a competitive bidding process, the purchase of raw materials, and special modes of transportation due to its size and weight.

Two raw materials—copper and electrical steel—account for over 50 percent of the total cost of an LPT. Electrical steel is used for the core of a power transformer and is critical to the efficiency and performance of the equipment; copper is used for the windings.

What Does an LPT (red circles) Do?

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Figure 1 illustrates a simplified arrangement of the U.S. electric grid system.

The United States’ bulk grid consists of over 360,000 miles of transmission lines, including approximately 180,000 miles of high-voltage lines, connecting to over 6,000 power plants.

Power transformers are a critical component of the transmission system, because they adjust the electric voltage to a suitable level on each segment of the power transmission from generation to the end user.

In other words, a power transformer steps up the voltage at generation for efficient, long-haul transmission of electricity and steps it down for distribution to the level used by customers.

Power transformers are also needed at every point where there is a change in voltage in power transmission to step the voltage either up or down.


LPT Construction

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Although LPTs come in a wide variety of sizes and configurations, they consist of two main active parts: the core, which is made of high-permeability, grain-oriented, silicon electrical steel, layered in pieces; and windings, which are made of copper conductors wound around the core, providing electrical input and output.


LPT Varieties and Basic Specifications

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LocuMob said:
They even built a giant tank, The Landkreuzer.
Click to expand...
That thing never left the drawing board. The Germans did built two Maus tanks, the largest tanks ever designed. The Russians captured one, the other was destroyed. Even so, they never say training or combat.
 
Snotty said:
That thing never left the drawing board. The Germans did built two Maus tanks, the largest tanks ever designed. The Russians captured one, the other was destroyed. Even so, they never say training or combat.
Click to expand...
That's the one I was thinking of! Thanks for correcting me. Still stupid big, Porsche trying to impress the big man with the little mustache.
 
The Maus was huge! It's secondary gun was 75mm!! Secondary!! Main gun was 150mm. Sheesh! Here's a decent site:
Panzerkampfwagen VIII Maus

Although 30 tons lighter, at 70 tons, the Jagdtiger was built and saw action! They were used in the Battle of the Bulge, December 1944. Interesting picture of one being climbed on by American soldiers after is was abandoned by its crew in that battle, in the link below. This sucker's main gun was 128mm, and could shoot through anything opposing it on the Western Front:
Jagdtiger - The Tank Museum
 
OK, the Texas, someone help me here. It's the last surviving WWI dreadnought, excellent. But why spend thousands on a ship that serves no purpose other than a museum piece?
 
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