Someone Has A Sketchy Past.

Objects as spaceships, by Eric Geusz

The Grasshopper Mouse Is a Killer Howling Rodent 

Don’t be deceived by the tiny grasshopper mouse’s stature because they are anything but your average house mouse. They’re natural born killers. 

via: Nat Geo WILD          

Artist: Christopher anry

hmmm

HMS SPEEDY

After the successful delivery of the GENEREUX into Port Mahon harbour Cochrane was appointed to the command of the SPEEDY on 28th March, 1800. She was a little 158 ton coastal brig and in his autobiography he describes her as 'little more than a burlesque of a vessel of war'.

SPEEDY had a complement of six officers and eighty four men and an armament of fourteen four-pounders. Legend has it that Cochrane walked the deck with a whole broadside crammed in his coat pockets!

In an attempt to increase the firepower of his new command he asked for and was given two 12-pounder long guns to use as bow and stern chasers, but the scantlings could not support them and they had to be removed. He then requested his 4-pounders be upgraded to 6-pounders, but the gunports were not big enough. He had better luck with his mast, taking a spar from the Genereux that was considered too large for Speedy, but which Cochrane felt improved her speed.

With all its shortcomings, however, it was his first command and soon the little SPEEDY became the terror of the French and Spanish. Within little more than a year Cochrane captured, sank, drove ashore or burned more than 50 enemy vessels, causing Napoleon to refer to him as 'Le Loup de Mer' - the Sea Wolf.

Picture: HMS SPEEDY attacking the much bigger Spanish EL GAMO

Being a tall fellow of six feet two inches his cabin was ridiculously small for a man of his stature. It was only five feet high! The easiest way of shaving was to remove the skylight of the cabin, stick his head through the opening and use the deck as a toilet-table.

Another picture of the SPEEDY attacking EL GAMO

Grinding the lower tiers once more

So as I started grinding another campaign in World of Warships, namely the  Five Epochs of the Navy campaign, I find myself playing more lower tier ships again. Actually that was the perfect excuse to get started in some lines I had shamefully neglected. 

The tier 4 British battleship Orion was a blast to play even though I only used a 3 point commander on her - so no seals were harmed this time I think. I will definitely continue grinding that line, considering that I still got several Azur Lane commander for RN ships as well who I haven’t put to use yet.

Shenyang the Pan-Asian Tier 4 destroyer was another fun ship I shamefully overlooked. She’s the former IJN Namikaze a Minekaze class destroyer  transferred to the Republic of China Navy after WWII but got American guns and torpedoes. Extremly fast and nimble and a very good gunboat for her tier too. Definitely a keeper - like Orion is.

Combat maids by @asterisk_kome via ImaginaryWeaponry

I always enjoyed the aesthetics of the Messer type of single edged swords

A beautiful Kriegsmesser decorated with silver and copper,

OaL: 39.8 in/101.1 cm

Width: 1.2 in/3 cm

Weight: 3.2 lbs/1450 g

Germany, ca. 1510-1520, housed at the Wallace Collection.

By now JS Kaga and her sister JS Izumo are getting fitted for the F-35B, so you can say there’s once more a Kaga serving as a Japanese aircraft carrier.

https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2019/08/usmc-to-first-fly-f-35b-from-japans-izumo-class-aircraft-carriers

Helicopter carrier JS Kaga during arrival at the port of Shiga to participate in the open day on Board the ship. 14 July 2019.

maximilian // sword fight