Normandy Landings, June 6th, 1944. The Allied invasion of France.

by harveyblackauthor on 06/06/201310/02/2015

Normandy Landings, June 6th, 1944. The Allied invasion France.

In remembrance of the brave soldiers who gave their lives during this historic day, I shall be looking at some of the Allied tanks on display at the Bovington Tank Museum.

The Royal Tank Regiment Memorial Statue, Bovington Tank Museum.

The above exhibit is the fibreglass model used to create the bronze statue that stands in Whitehall Place, London.

The Normandy landings, codenamed Operation Neptune, commenced on the 6th June, 1944 (D-Day).

The first phase, just after midnight, consisted of 24,000 British, American, Canadian and free French airborne troops landing behind enemy lines. There were also two decoy operations, Operation Glimmer and Operation Taxable, used to distract the German forces from the real Normandy landings.

Armour played a key role in helping secure the beaches, particularly Hobart’s Funnies. Below are pictures of some of the tanks displayed at the Bovington tank Museum and a few of the specialist tanks used on the day.

The Mark II’s were used as training tanks at Bovington camp. Due to a shortage of armour, they were sent to the front.This is the last surviving Mark II.

The Medium Mark A, the fastest tank of its time. A top speed of 8mph.

Crew of 3, 12mm armour.

14 tons. three -303in machine guns.

Medium tank Mark II. New sprung suspension

3 pounder gun. Serving in Egypt when WW2 broke out. Too slow at 15mph, so were buried with only their turrets showing and used as static defence.

Light Mark VIB. 35mph carrying a .50in machine gun.

Crew of 3, Reconnaissance tank weighing 5.2 tons.

The Cromwell Cruiser Tank. Powered by a Rolls-Royce V12, fighter engine.

76mm main gun.

56mm of armour and a top speed of 35mph.

Churchill Crocodile. Modified by fitting of a flame-thrower. The flame-thrower had a range of 120 yards.

Churchill Crocodile with trailer, which held 400 gallons of fuel for the flame-thrower.

Sherman Firefly. The first tank to match the Tiger.

76.2mm gun, 22mph, 75mm of armour.

The Bobbin. A reel of 10-foot wide canvas cloth reinforced with shell poles. Unrolled onto the ground to allow tanks to move across the soft sand.

Sherman Crab mine-clearing tank.

A real Mark IV tank?

Well?

No. It is in fact a prop that was made for the Steven Spielberg film ‘War Horse’.

My intention is not to portray a particular message, but just share some of my photographs and information with you and help set the scene for some of my novels.

Photographs and Blog are copyrighted to Harvey Black

The Red Effect. Nuclear Defence.

by harveyblackauthor on 20/05/201315/07/2018

The Red Effect. Nuclear Defence. The first novel in my ‘Cold War’ trilogy, The Red Effect, published by SilverWood Books, is now available. Thoroughly enjoyed writing it, as i do with all my novels. There will be three books in total, covering the hypothetical invasion of West Germany, the Federal Republic of Germany, by the Warsaw Pact in the mid 1980’s. Book 1, ‘The Red Effect’, encompasses part of the intelligence build up leading to the initial Warsaw Pact strike against the NATO forces lined up against them. The purpose of the next few posts is to give the reader some additional background information to enhance their reading experience.

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‘The Red Effect’ by Harvey Black – Available now. The Cold War that became a Hot War.

Even as early as the late 40s, early 50s, there was a real fear of a nuclear attack from the Soviet Union.

B-28 Nuclear Bomb, carried by the B-52 bomber in the 60s.

With a 1 megaton yield, it would devastate a city and the surrounding area.

The perception of a potential Third World War, was generally one of a nuclear war. It may have come to that. In reality we will never know. But, one scenario is that of a conventional war. The massed forces of the Warsaw Pact against the supposedly technically superior, but weaker, NATO armies, that may well have escalated into a nuclear exchange. But we still prepared for the worst.

Advice was provided by the local authorities, giving guidance on how best to defend yourself from the threat.

Information was basic, but the authorities themselves knew very little about how the population could defend themselves against an all-out nuclear exchange. It was expected that over 300 megatons would be dropped on Great Britain alone, enough to blast it back into the dark ages.

To assist local Government, in the event of a nuclear exchange, or other major catastrophe, Regional Control Centres would assume full powers over a specific area. They were provided with tools to help cope with the nuclear threat.

This Radiological Survey Meter was built in 1962, by the Victoreen Instrument Company in Cleveland Ohio. It is brand new, fortunately unused.

It records the rate at which at which your body is being exposed to radiation. It is used to find the best shelter and evaluate shielding arrangements. Even stacks of books were seen as an aid to blocking out radiation.

Very basic circuitry, powered by a 1.5 volt, D-Cell battery

Made in 1962, the latest test date for the Ion Chamber is 1991, and it still works.

Measures up to 500 roentgens per hour. Only a few hours at that level would usually be lethal for a human being.

Basic Instruction Book

CD V-175

Dosimeters. Design to be carried on the person to measure the body’s accumulated exposure to radiation.

Dosimeter charger, used to ‘Zero’ the dosimeters.

Total Exposure

0-50R – No visible effects

50-200R – Brief periods of nausea. 50% experience radiation sickness

200-450R – 50% deaths within two to four weeks.

450-600R – Serious radiation sickness. Death to 50% within one to three weeks.

Over 600R – Severe radiation sickness. 100% deaths within two weeks.

The thought of it ever happening is frightening.

i hope this has given you a further insight into what was happening during the Cold War Period, 1946-1989. Going forward I will add more information in support of my Cold War trilogy.

The Blog is copyrighted to Harvey Black.

‘The Red Effect’ by Harvey Black – Kindle and Paperback version out now! The Cold War that became a Hot War.

Margaret Thatcher. British Prime Minister 1979-1990 (Cold War era)

by harveyblackauthor on 08/04/201315/07/2018

Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, LG, OM, PC, FRS. October 1925 – 8 April 2013. The longest serving Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of the 20th Century and the only woman to have held the post.

She was a tough cookie and probably had more grit than most of her Cabinet colleagues.

Although not everybody’s favourite and hated by some, she always did her best to ensure the British Forces were given what was needed to complete their task, within the financial constraints that we all have to endure. I joined the same year she became PM and can remember receiving a substantial pay rise when it was discovered that soldiers getting killed and wounded in Northern Ireland, at the rate of two or more per week, were having to claim housing benefit in order to feed and house their families.

A 22 carat Gold plated Silver Medal Crown struck to celebrate her inauguration as Prime Minister in 1979.

Translation of the latin inscription on the reverse. ‘May the Lord protect my steps’.

Originally a research chemist before becoming a barrister, she was elected Member of Parliament for Finchley in 1959.

Margaret Thatcher’s victory over Europe. When in European Union meetings, she was in the habit of looking her opponents in the eye and stating ‘I want my money back’.

She quickly got the reputation as an Iron Lady. This cartoon sketched, and signed, by David Levine, an American artist and illustrator, and a political satirist, very much portrays that image. Included in The New York Review of Books 1982.

She also took a tough stance in respect to the Cold War and the threat that was ever present from the Soviets and the Warsaw Pact countries.

This first day cover, signed by Margaret Thatcher, takes pride of place on my writing desk where i pull together all the research for my novels.

The personally signed Parachute Regiment 50th Anniversary first day cover.

A close-up of some of the stamps on the cover.

The Parachute Regiment 1942-1992

This is not a Political Post. I just want to take the opportunity to pass on my condolences to her family and wish that she rests in peace.

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‘The Red Effect’ by Harvey Black – Available now. The Cold War that became a Hot War.

The Photographs and Blog are copyrighted to Harvey Black.

‘The Red Effect’ by Harvey Black – Kindle version out now! The Cold War that became a Hot War. Paperback edition imminent.

Bundeswehr – Fallschirmjäger.

by harveyblackauthor on 21/11/201215/07/2018

Bundeswehr – Fallschirmjäger.

The Fallschirmjager qualification badge, WW2.

I have just finished writing my third novel in the Devils with Wings series, Devils with Wings: Frozen Sun. The Fallschirmjager, after their successful battle taking Crete in only 10 days, are shipped to Poland to partake in Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union.

Leaving temperatures in excess of forty degrees to be used, not in an airborne operation, but as a fire brigade, plugging gaps in the line around Leningrad, particularly along the banks of the River Neva. They were Army Group North’s strategic reserve. They were quickly placed into the fray, fighting along the River Neva, where temperatures dropped to below -30 degrees, sometimes as low as -40. They were successful at plugging the gaps and preventing the Soviet Union from exploiting their bridgeheads over the River Neva, but at a price. Some units suffered up to 75% casualties. Many who had survived the assault on the Fortress Eben Emael, (Devils with Wings) and the fierce fighting on the Island of Crete (Devils with Wings: Silk Drop) met their fate in this bitter struggle with the atrocious weather and the never ending Soviet hordes.

The Fallschirmjager’s distinctive WW2 parachute helmet.

The Fallschirmjager were formed under the command of General Student before the start of the second world war.

Junkers Ju-52, one of their modes of transport. Known affectionately as Tante Ju – Auntie June.

The Fallschirmjager were reinstated after the end of the second world war, and during the Cold War Years were a key part of NATOs strategic assault force.

Paratroopers beret badge of the Bundeswehr Fallschirmjager. The present day German army paratroopers.

T.10. Round cap Parachute.

Close up of a Fallschirmjager gliding with a round parachute.

Paratroopers of the Division Spezielle Operationen – Special Operations Division, jumping off a CH-53.

The German Fallschirmjager using modern canopies.

Bundeswehr – Fallschirmjäger.

Fallschirmjager of the 26th Air Assault Battalion at the Bastille Day military parade, 2007.

Back to the original Fallschirmjager, who conducted the first ever glider landing assault, when they attacked the impregnable fortress of Eben Emael.

An aerial photograph which shows Fort Eben Emael alongside the Canal west of Maastricht.

A DFS-230, the type of assault glider used by the WW2 Fallschirmjager to land the 79 paratroopers on top of the fort.

The main entrance of Fort Eben Emael as it stands today. Well worth a visit.

One of the retractable turrets that were put out of action.

One of the Maastricht casemates, that housed three, 75mm Guns.

Re-enactors re-living the Fallschirmjager assault on the fort.

The first novel in my Devils with Wings Series.

The qualification phase to become a paratrooper consisted of 6 jumps. The first would be a t height of around 200 metres, the next two at 150 metres, but in a stick of six trainees. Their fourth jump would be from the same height, but at dusk or dawn and as part of a much larger stick, of perhaps 10 men. For the fifth jump they would be part of a Kette formation, a V-formation, a Chain of three Junkers JU-52. The final jump would be made under simulated combat conditions, up to nine aircraft flying at little over 125 metres in height.

Fallschirmschutzenabzeichen, parachutist badge.

Devils with Wings

The Parachutist’s “Ten Commandments”

The Fallschirmjager had ten commandments that they lived by as elite soldiers.

Number 5. The most precious thing in the presence of the foe is ammunition. He who shoots uselessly, merely to comfort himself, is a man of straw who merits not the title of Parachutist.

Devils with Wings- Clip by Nick Britten

My intention is not to portray a particular message, but just share some of my photographs and information with you and help set the scene for my series of novels.