Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar.

A glider concept Engined.

World War-II (1939-45) produced many concepts in military transportation, one being gliders by both the British and Nazi-Germany to move troops and equipment! But despite being clever and useful they were easy targets for the artillery on each side!

After the war the Fairchild company produced a concept that may have been copied from Nazi-German ideas, and this proved to be on of the first effective designs from 1947 to at least 1970. Speed was not fast compared to later machines, but sixty-two troops and vehicles could be moved over at least 3.400 miles with a crew of four.

The French Nord N2501 Noratlas developed from 1960, but much smaller was based on the same tail configuration design! it carried forty-five passengers and five crew at a range of 1550miles and was exported to Chad, Greece and Nigeria.

The aircraft was exported to Ethiopia, India, Italy, Morocco and Thailand, apart from early U.S. service. The C-119G was converted to the AC-119 gunship version, this was later superseded by the Fairchild C-123 Provider of a more conventional design from 1949.

Many nations who received these initial aircraft, went on the buy the long serving Lockheed C-130 Hercules.

Romanian-Yugoslavian Aviation. Part-Two.

SOKO Jastreb J1/RJ-1.

This is another joint aviation project that this time made money through exports to Zambia in Africa! This aircraft was derived from the G2-A Galeb, and again based on the Rolls-Royce Viper turbojet.

Top speed was 820 kph and height achieved 12,000 metres, armaments were three Colt-Browning 12.7mm machine guns and a huge variety of rocket, bomb and missiles.

The J-1 was for the Yugoslavian air force, the J-1E export version, with improved electronics.

The RJ-1 was a reconnaissance version and the RJ-1-E was again the export version.

The Alvis Family. Part-One.

A British Success Story.

The basis of many British military tracked vehicles from 1969 to the present have been based on the chassis and engine of the Alvis. Two of the most popular have been the Scorpion light tank, now known as a ARV (armoured reconnaissance vehicle) and the Scimitarr with its 30mm Cannon.

The Scorpion has tow choices of gun, the standard 76mm or the option for the 90mm Cockerel which has proven superior for the role of this vehicle with the Irish Army on UN duties in South-Lebanon.

There are many other versions, numbering about thirty-three in all from engineering, recovery and command. Alvis was also very successful in their wheeled vehicles such as the Saladin prior to tracked. All of its vehicles have a good story in the exportation of and use world wide.

The BTR-60 APC.

'Were rocking all over the world.'

Soviet Russia spread its socialist philosphy with trade and military hardware, just as much as the united States and many other countries do so today. One of the biggest exports outside military jets, was the assortment of ground vehicles and the APC's on offer.

Many countries that could not buy aircraft or ships, went for vehicles instead, apart from Tanks. Today we see the situations of conflicts around the world, from the Middle-East to Afghanistan, to the Uraine to Libya in North-Africa and we see that familiar eight wheel APC, the BTR-60 still active in successfully moving troops about.

The BTR-60 started life in 1961 and was an advanced development and replacement for the BTR-152 APC. It was fully amphibious, carried a crew of two and 14 troops. Today there are so many versions available, that it would be immpossible to account for all of them here. 

Speed is around 48 mph and range around 350 miles, but with improved engines this has probably improved since the fall of the Soviet Union. The vehicle has been built under licence in Romania as the TAB-70, also in India and China. While several adapted vehicles were re-built from it in the middle-east and in Israel.