Historical images - Images that made history

[NerdShamer]

This is what happens when a battleship misfires a gun.

So, on April 19, 1989, the crew of the USS Iowa was running some battery exercises 300 miles northeast of Puerto Rico. The problem was that the battleship had quite a few issues that needed to be fixed (in this case, the gun rammer is kind of finicky), the gun crews were inexperienced, and they were using a type of gunpowder that burned quickly and wasn't graded for the 2,700 lb shells that they were using. The exercise had started at 8:31 A.M. and not even 2 minutes had passed before things had started to go wrong, for Turret One had a misfire with one of it's guns and the crew couldn't resolve this. The ships captain, Capt. Fred Moosally, ignored regulations and continued the exercise, despite the fact these people are handling gunpowder. Everything was going fine in Turret Two, until they had issues loading the third gun. It didn't take long to discover that the crew loaded the cannon the wrong way andone of the bags of gunpowder was ignited while the breech was open. If anyone knows how these guns works, they load a shell in with an hydraulic plunger, then the bags of gunpowder (which can ignite under compression), the primer before they close the breach. Despite the efforts of the nearby supervisors, the crew didn't close the gun in time, an explosion happened and cooked off the rest of the gunpowder that was near the 16-inch cannon. The explosion killed 47 of the turret's crewmen (burns, toxic gases, being thrown about, take your pick), basically ruined the turret, and the mishandled gun was reportedly glowing red.

What happened next was essentially the start of a cover-up, despite an ordnance specialist noting that Turret One was loaded the wrong way and Turret Two was compressed too much. The investigative authorities were initially waved away from the scene, someone was accused of being an homosexual (which went nowhere),the Iowa never used it's central turret again, and Moosley and a few other officers got an slap on the wrist and generally retired without any real issues. But what the investigation did reveal is that the bags of gunpowder that they were using does combust when it's compressed with enough force, as in the kind you get from using a gun rammer.

Press F to lose respect for America.

 

[Dolphin Lundgren]

The graves of a Catholic woman and her Protestant husband, Holland, 1888,

Residents of West Berlin show children to their grandparents who reside on the Eastern side, 1961.

 

[Rancid Flid]

Wing Commander Guy Gibson, of Dambusters fame, with his dog "Nigger."

Unfortunately, poor Nigger was hit by a car & killed on the same day as the Dambusters raid took place.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigger_(dog)

Nigger was known to enjoy drinking beer from his bowl in the officers mess & his name was also the code word used to confirm the dams had been destroyed.

A Lancaster on a training run with the bouncing bomb, as used in the Dambusters raid, where bombs were dropped from an altitude of just 60 feet, at night, while travelling at 240mph.

 

[Dolphin Lundgren]

Six-year-old Austrian boy, Werfel, was photographed when he got a new pair of shoes at the Am Himmel orphanage, donated to him by the Junior Red Cross in the United States of America. The photograph was first published in LIFE magazine on December 30, 1946 (on page 22) and later, again, on September 24, 1951 (on page 180). The photograph was shot by Gerald Waller, in 1946, and was titled “New Shoes”. The little boy, Werfel, was among the children who were brought to the USA after being deported from Israel / Palestine, where they arrived after liberation from the concentration camps.

 

[Ягода]

Pacification in Moscow this weekend. Independent candidates were flat out refused to be registered for Moscow's city elections.

Fucking "soy" in a nutshell, standing with hands down while women being trampled on.

The reason is how Moscow's residents take selfies from police prisoner vans (I believe this is from earlier this year):

And this is how selfies SHOULD be taken (Ukraine, 2014):

Velvet revolutions are thing of the past. Men who are not willing to fight, will be forced to serve.

 

[Dolphin Lundgren]

An emotional farewell at New York's Penn Station, April 1943.

Photos of couples sharing a kiss before the men leave for war.

A monk prays for an elderly man who had died suddenly while waiting for a train in Shanxi Taiyuan, China.

Robert Peraza pauses at his son's name on the 9/11 Memorial during the tenth anniversary ceremonies at the site of the World Trade Center.

A dog is reunited with his owner following the tsunami in Japan in 2011.

 

[Scotsman]

Simo Häyhä, the "White Death"

This image was taken during the Winter War of 1940.

Simo is believed to be the deadliest Sniper in military history, with 259 confirmed kills (although Simo strongly believed he had killed double that number). Standing at only 5ft 3 inches, he was a successful skier and huntsman before joining the army. He had no prior training with scoped rifles, and preferred to use iron sights.

Used as a propaganda tool by the Finnish military, the Red Army attempted to kill him several times during the course of the war. In one instance his face was "blown in half" by an explosive round fired by a Soviet sniper. He survived (though was badly disfigured) and went on to receive the 1st Class Medal of Liberty. After the war, Simo had a successful career as a moose hunter and dog breeder. He died in a veteran's nursing home on the 1st of April 2002, aged 96.

 

[AnOminous]

He had no prior training with scoped rifles, and preferred to use iron sights.

This was because you could lay lower and the reflection wouldn't be visible. He'd also keep his mouth full of snow so that the steam from his breath wasn't visible.

 

[Duncan Hills Coffee]

View attachment 866587

Simo Häyhä, the "White Death"

This image was taken during the Winter War of 1940.

Simo is believed to be the deadliest Sniper in military history, with 259 confirmed kills (although Simo strongly believed he had killed double that number). Standing at only 5ft 3 inches, he was a successful skier and huntsman before joining the army. He had no prior training with scoped rifles, and preferred to use iron sights.

Used as a propaganda tool by the Finnish military, the Red Army attempted to kill him several times during the course of the war. In one instance his face was "blown in half" by an explosive round fired by a Soviet sniper. He survived (though was badly disfigured) and went on to receive the 1st Class Medal of Liberty. After the war, Simo had a successful career as a moose hunter and dog breeder. He died in a veteran's nursing home on the 1st of April 2002, aged 96.

It really can't be understated how insanely skilled he was. The Russians would send death squads to eliminate this one man, who would proceed to kill them all. You couldn't even make this shit into a movie since it would be too unbelievable to have this one sniper with no sniper scope kill that many enemies by himself.

 

[Dolphin Lundgren]

Steve Martin and John Belushi photographed in 1982. John Belushi died a few weeks after this was taken.

Nikola Tesla in his laboratory testing his "Magnifying Transmitter", 1904.


Before they were famous:

Robert Bathurst, Hugh Laurie, Emma Thompson, Stephen Fry, Paul Shearer when they were members of The Cambridge Footlights comedy team in college, in 1982.

 

[Rancid Flid]

Don McCullin was & is a great photographer.

A US Marine in a state of shock after intense combat during Vietnam. I think he was actually mute for quite some time.

Spoiler: Emaciated African kids

British soldiers arrest a Catholic in Bogside, N.Ireland. 1971.

This looks to be 70's-80's Northern Ireland too. (Or even yesterday)

This is what I'd have called a tramp in my youth. The PC term is now homeless.

No Nig's in Bradford. 1970's.

Just a normal day in Africa. I think McCullin witnessed the execution of these men. Stanleyville 1964.

From memory, these are London gangsters in the 50's in the remains of a bombed out building from the WW2 Blitz. Edit : McCullin's first-ever published photograph, The Guv'nors, captures a gang from Finsbury Park, London, outside a dilapidated house. It was first published in the Observer in 1958 after a policeman was murdered by one of the gang members

A National Socialist rally somewhere in England, 1962.

Punks in 1980

Young Christians celebrating the death of a Palestinian girl by playing music & singing.

Sir Don McCullin in Vietnam, looking quite haunted here with a 1000 yard stare.

 

[AnOminous]

Don McCullin was & is a great photographer.

A US Marine in a state of shock after intense combat during Vietnam. I think he was actually mute for quite some time.
View attachment 869221

Nothing looks quite like Tri-X film.

 

[Y2K Baby]

April 21, 1995 - The Day America and the rest of the world saw the face behind the destruction of the Murrah Federal Building, and the deaths of 168 people, and injuries of over 600 people.

He heard the screams of the crowd as he made his way toward the waiting van, his shackled feet restricting his ability to move quickly. "Look over here, motherfucker," one man shouted. "Baby killer! Look me in the eye!" ( p. 257 ) Coulson, a hostage rescue expert, was the FBI agent coordinating McVeigh's move out of Perry. As they were about to board the chopper, Coulson put his hand on McVeigh's shoulder and told him that he expected him to act like a gentleman. "Yes sir," McVeigh said, determined not to give the federal agents any reason to rough him up during the trip. In his demented way, this guy is conducting himself like a soldier, Coulson though. ( p. 258 )

American Terrorist (2001)

View attachment 617057

Based.

 

[Dolphin Lundgren]

The Waco siege in 1993.

The Waco siege was the attack of a compound named Mount Carmel, home to the Branch Davidians cultist group between February 28 and April 19, 1993. The Branch Davidians, led by David Koresh, were suspected of weapons violations, child abuse, and methamphetamine production.


All the Branch Davidians’ weapons were registered and legal. They, as a religious group, believed in the impending apocalypse and stockpiled weapons in preparation.


The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) had been alerted in May, 1992 by a UPS postman, that a package to Mount Carmel had broken open revealing firearms, grenade casings, and black powder. The ATF officially opened their investigation on June 9, 1992. On February 25, 1993 the ATF received arrest warrants for Koresh and a few other followers.


On February 27, the Waco Tribune-Herald began publishing an article series entitled “The Sinful Messiah,” alleging David Koresh physically abused children, committed statutory rape, and, being entitled to at least 140 wives, had declared himself married to several women on the compound. ATF scheduled their raid for February 28.
The ATF claim they heard shots fired from inside the compound. The Branch Davidians claim that ATF shot first. Three National Guard helicopters provided aerial distraction, took incoming fire, forcing them to land. The ATF uncovered a cache of weapons on Koresh’s bedroom.


At the end of the February 28 siege, four ATF agents and five Branch Davidians had been killed. The FBI took command of the siege and attempted negotiations over the next 51 days.


The negotiators were able to facilitate the release of 19 children between the ages of 5 months to 12 years old (Koresh’s 14 children remained in the compound). As time passed, increasingly aggressive techniques were implemented to force the Branch Davidians out, such as sleep deprivation (playing all night broadcast recordings of jet planes, pop music, chanting, and the screams of rabbits being slaughtered). Nine armored Bradley Fighting Vehicles destroyed the perimeter fencing and five M728 Combat Engineer Vehicles (CEV) patrolled the grounds. Eventually the FBI cut all power and water to the compound.


On April 19, 1993 the final assault began. The CEVs used explosives to create holes in the buildings for tear gas to be pumped into. When the Branch Davidians retaliated with gunfire, the amount of gas was increased. Three fires broke out in different parts of the compound but the US Government maintains that the fires was started by Branch Davidians.


Nine people escaped the flames. 76 Branch Davidians were killed in the fire.

David Koresh, one of his wives (Rachel) and their son, Cyrus.

The burning of the Waco compound in 1993.

Protesters showing their support for the Davidians.

ATF members stop a member of Branch Davidian at the compound.

Branch Davidians women and children escaping the compound.

 

[la mort]

The falling soldier, a photograph by Robert Capa (one of the founders of Magnum Photos). The soldier is shown collapsing backward after being fatally shot in the head. Is claimed to have taken on September 5, 1936, during the battle of Cerro Muriano in the Spanish Civil War. The photograph is considered an iconic image of the XX century.

 

[Francis E. Dec Esc.]

The Einstein-Szilard letter:

FDR's reply:

 

[AA 102]

The Einstein-Szilard letter:

View attachment 871775

Here's a fun bit of follow up history. It was believed that a very, very large amount of uranium would be required to build an atomic bomb, hence Einstein suggesting that you'd need a ship's worth of uranium to make one. About one year later, this memo was submitted (I couldn't find the first page without a watermark on it):


Basically two physicists, Otto Frisch and Rudolf Peierls, wrote a memo that showed you'd only need a few pounds of enriched uranium to make a bomb. Before this memo, the project to build nuclear weapons was about to be disbanded because of how impractical it seemed to be.

 

[Rancid Flid]

Execution by cannon, Iran, 19th century.

Ferdinand Porsche showing Hitler the new Beetle, 1934.

Spoiler: NSFW

Major General Horatio Gordon Robley with his collection of tattooed Maori heads, 1895.


Pre-revolution Iranian woman at the beach, Iran, 1960.

British SAS special forces in North Africa during WW2. The bloke nearest the camera looks hard as fuck.
These stripped down, lightweight jeeps were equipped with Vickers machine guns that had previously been fitted to aircraft.

Germany v England, 1938, Berlin . England giving the Nazi salute just 16 months prior to WW2 breaking out.
Germans in black shirts

Spoiler: Holodomor victim.

Jesse Owens, Berlin Olympics 1936. He beat the German to silver.

Nuke the Jap's

Piccadilly Circus, London, 60's

The Who in Piccadilly Circus 1965

 

[Exterminatus]

Allied soldiers in WW1 at the grave of Quentin Roosevelt, son of former American President Teddy Roosevelt.

He was shot down by a German aircraft pilot, possibly 3 German pilots in a dogfight above a small village in France in 1918, he was 20 years old and was the youngest son of Teddy. He decided to enter the war and serve in combat, at least partially from the urging of his father Teddy and served valiantly. After he was felled he was buried with full military honors by Germans living in the area and was treated with dignity and respect by his foes. When Allied forces reclaimed the village as the war turned in their favor they discovered the grave with a small wooden carving that said "Lieutenant Roosevelt. Buried by the Germans." and his grave was also decorated with the broken propeller-blades from his plane, this was the custom at the time for burying downed pilots killed during combat.

His death was used as propaganda by the German Empire and this left many Germans shocked because the public at large still had great respect for the former United States President and the thought of parading the image of his dead son around was seen as appalling by many Germans. It's said this death likely broke Teddy Roosevelt, he died 6 month after Quentin's death. To this day he was the only child of a President killed in active combat in a war.

Quentin's downed plane, this was the image used as propaganda by the Kaiser which was met with disdain by the people of Germany.

 

[Zaragoza]

Iranian motorcycle troops during the Iraq Iran War.