... entrance to 'Command Capsule"

... looking through the 'blast-door' of a Minuteman underground launch complex into the manned area where control and launch procedures are performed. Notice the sign "no lone zone" which is a reminder, that for security reasons, no solitary wandering nut-jobs will be tolerated. 

all images- Right click- open in New Window or Tab = super colossal size!

1957 ... remove BB's before detonation!

... in the late 1950's Great Britain was struggling to develop it's own H-bomb. The US had been rather ticked off at the amount of atomic secrets that British double agents had stolen from the WWII 'Manhattan Project' and subsequently had shared very little with out English allies in terms of information or resources. 'Blue Violet' (they had a strange code-name system) was an interim design. An interesting feature was that the hollow core was rendered 'safe' by filling it with ball-bearings which would prevent it from imploding to create a critical mass. Presumably ground-crews would have performed the needed arming operation (as described above) before the V-bombers took to the air. After which everyone would have been slipping, falling and swearing all over the tarmac!

1955 ... those pesky Russians again!

... Why Not?!?

... if you have a long simmering resentment that you grew-up and have no Flying Car or Personal Rocket Pack you can blame Frank Tinsley! He was one of many artists having great fun in the 1950's dreaming up whatever new technologies there overly-creative minds could summon forth. (notice that he is both the author and illustrator the above article). We all loved this sort of stuff- which sold magazines - which helped to fuel the super consumer economy and optimism of the mid-twentieth century.

all images- Right click- open in New Window or Tab = super colossal size!

... my illustrations are now available as Fine Art Prints and Posters!

... for all you official and non-official members of the Dr. Stranglove club; much of my photography and illustration work is now available at 'mass-market' prices!

There are two web addresses:

for Northrop-Grumman aircraft and spacecraft; including the Flying Wing, Stealth bomber. Tomcat, Apollo Lunar Lander etc... (t-shirts also!)

https://customartproducts.com/store/c5/Posters.html

for all other Aircraft and Spacecraft, as well as hot babes, sci-fi, fashion etc... 

https://www.jamesvaughanstore.com/index.html

1954 ... the modern aircraft carrier!

... the newest class of US Navy aircraft carrier; the 'Gerald Ford' which came along 59 years after the Forrestal is about twice as big: weighing in at 110,000t tons and costing 12 billion smackers!

all images- Right click- open in New Window or Tab = super colossal size!

... that's interesting!?!

... the tallies of visits to this blog show that our good friends in Russia are tuning in about three times more often than previously. Perhaps my special agents; Boris and Natasha have been doing some PR work around the Kremlin.

Лучше быть хорошими друзьями и весело провести время вместе!

 

 

... do you say RATO ot JATO?

... close-up view of the JATO internal installment on a B-47 jet bomber. With a complete fuel load and heavy H-bombs onboard a B-47 'Stratojet' needed an extra kick from these small solid-fuel rackets to get it off the runway. Didn't take long before some bright designer moved them out of the fuselage (away from the fuel tanks) and mounted them in a jettisionable 'saddle' under the aircraft. Always made sense in not having to haul eighteen empty rocket tanks to Moscow and back. (think of how much the empty tank for your outdoor grill weighs!). 

... love and death- H-bomb style!

... remember kiddies - there's nothing romantic about atomic annihilation! This lucky couple is part of the very small percentage of casualties close to the epicenter of the blast. Most folks would have to settle for the run of the mill horrors of death by burns, blast, flying debris and lingering radiation poisoning.


all images- Right click- open in New Window or Tab = super colossal size!

1960 ... flying saucer attack!

... some of the nifty opening scenes from the US Army's "Big Picture" documentary series 'Sharper Sword and Stronger Shield' episode.  Like everyone else in the Space-Age the Army had 'future-fever' and upped the gee-whiz ante by forecasting saucers as the next step in combat mobility. (Take that you hordes of Red tanks and waves of Yellow Peril!)

... this (military) flying saucer craze was a direct result of out of control optimism for the Canadian 'Avrocar' project. A dismal failure that instead of growing-up to be a super-duper Cold War interceptor; just seemed to cruise a few feet off the ground dusting off a parking lot !