Jamie McTrusty

Photo of the new 12-Day Muppets Christmas Carol advent calendar, with a different mini plush figure from the film for each window.

Despite having kids, I’m incredibly jaded about Christmas, having been in retail my entire working life. Also, it’s only October and normally I wouldn’t want to even hear the C-word, but…

Oddly enough, I’ve just started listening to it today on Audible, but unfortunately that’s of limited use to you…

Bomb crater on Lenthay Common, Sherborne.

There's still a massive bomb crater on Lenthay Common, just outside Sherborne. It fills with water every winter. I read that they attacked Sherborne because they became disoriented and thought it was Yeovil, as both towns had a railway taking a similar route to the south.

Hope the day gets better for you, sorry it’s been a rough one.

Harold Ackroyd wearing a sergeant’s uniform, presumably before being promoted. Pictured outside, he’s squinting slightly against the sun. He has a slight smile on his face and has neatly parted, slicked back hair.

P/O Harold Ackroyd of 152 Squadron was shot down in combat over Lyme Regis. He baled out of his Spitfire, but had sustained severe burns and died the following day in hospital.
📷©️bbm.org.uk
🧵10/10

Nat Barry pictured wearing civilian clothing, outside on what appears to be a farm, with cows in the background. Grinning, he’s leaning his left arm on an unidentifiable object.

South African Nathanial ‘Nat’ Barry of 501 Squadron successfully baled out of his badly damaged Hurricane over Wrotham, but was found dead near Dartford. It has never been established whether he was hit by gunfire before leaving his fighter or while under his parachute.
📷 ©️bbm.org.uk
🧵9/10

Basil Whall, fair haired and wearing RAF uniform, smiling for a portrait photograph.

Sgt Basil Whall of 602 Squadron was hit by return fire from a Junkers 88 off Beachy Head. Unable to nurse his damaged Spitfire back to base at Westhampnett, he crashed attempting a forced landing near Alfriston and died shortly afterwards in hospital.
📷©️bbm.org.uk
🧵8/10

Alan Feary, sporting a neat moustache and looking smart in his sergeant’s uniform and side cap, posing for a portrait photograph.

Sergeant Alan Feary of 609 Squadron was ‘bounced’ by Bf 109s over Weymouth at 4:30pm. He fought to regain control of his spinning Spitfire, but ultimately baled out too low for his parachute to deploy and was killed when he struck the ground.
📷©️bbm.org.uk
🧵7/10

That night, German bombers ranged across much of England. Manchester was badly hit, but London remained the primary target, with more than 60 people killed and over 200 injured. Luftwaffe losses for the day amounted to 19, but Fighter Command saw 17 aircraft destroyed, with 9 airmen killed.
🧵6/10

Front of a large residential house on a quiet street, behind a neatly trimmed hedge. The corner of the building has been neatly sheared off, revealing suspended floors and staircases above a heap of rubble and timbers.

16 civilians were killed, including 4 when an air raid shelter was hit, and 29 wounded. RAF fighters exacted a heavy toll on the attackers, however, bringing down a Junkers 88 and six Bf 110s.
📷 yeovilhistory.info
🧵5/10

Meanwhile, at 3:30pm, a force of 25 Junkers 88s escorted by 30 Bf 110s approached the south west coast. Their target was the Westland aircraft factory at Yeovil, which had been missed a few days previously, but once again the bombs fell on residential areas instead.
🧵4/10

The RAF countered in strength and inflicted significant casualties, but in turn suffered at the hands of the escorts. The fighting that day was as bitter as anything which had been seen during the summer.
🧵3/10

9am - 100+ aircraft towards Gravesend and East London
1pm - 130+ aircraft aimed for South London
3:30pm - 50+ aircraft against East London
4:30pm - 30+ aircraft towards Central London.
At least 11 people were killed and more than 70 injured on the ground.
🧵2/10

Bf 109 fighter of Maj Helmut Wick, Geschwader Kommodore of JG 2, pictured in late October 1940. There are 42 victory markings on the rudder of the aircraft, which is parked on a rather muddy-looking grass airfield, its engine cowling slightly open.

BATTLE OF BRITAIN 85: 7th October 1940. An improvement in the weather brought with it an inevitable increase in Luftwaffe activity. A succession of Bf 109 formations containing both Jabos and escorts made their way across Kent, with a number of aircraft making it through to London.
📷 key.aero
🧵1/10

Black and white photo of the Soviet carrier Minsk, photographed from the air off the port beam, with aircraft spotted around the angled flight deck and missile launchers visible on the foredeck

Soviet aircraft carrier Minsk, the second operational carrier commissioned by the USSR, photographed from a US Navy aircraft in March 1979. On deck are seven Yakovlev Yak-38 'Forger' VTOL strike fighters and two Kamov Ka-25 'Hormone' ASW helicopters #NavalAviation

Cheers Ian - I’ve not listened to the WHW series yet, suspect it’ll be heavily based on James Holland’s BoB book, which I read quite recently (not a bad thing, thought it was pretty good!)

Portrait photograph of a neatly moustachioed Frederick Vinyard in his RAF uniform. There’s a somewhat amused expression on his face.

Sgt Frederick Vinyard of 64 Squadron was on patrol with two other aircraft when they became separated in cloud. Vinyard wasn’t seen again, but the Observer Corps reported a Spitfire crashing into the sea at 2:30pm. Vinyard is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial.
📷©️bbm.org.uk
🧵4/4

That night, London enjoyed a respite thanks to the cloud cover, with only a handful of bombers dropping their loads over the city. The day had cost the Luftwaffe 7 aircraft, while two RAF fighters were lost with their pilots.
🧵3/4

There were also isolated attacks on airfields. At 12:10pm, a lone Junkers 88 dived out of the clouds over Northolt, strafing the buildings and dropping two bombs. An airman on lookout was killed, along with a 302 Sqn pilot, Sgt Antoni Siudak, who was taxiing a Hurricane which took a direct hit.
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The destroyed village school in Framlingham, where 63 year old Caroline Stannard, the headmistress, lost her life. The picture shows a small building surrounded by railings, its whitewashed interior walls exposed by the bomb blast which has left piles of broken brickwork and roof timbers.

BATTLE OF BRITAIN 85: 6th October 1940. With cloud and continuous rain, once again the Luftwaffe resorted to sorties by single aircraft or small formations. Among the large number of locations attacked was the small town of Framlingham in Suffolk, hit by eight bombs.
📷 East Anglian Daily Times
🧵1/4

I’m back on tour with my new book DOMINATION this week - travelling to Bradford, Sheffield, Newcastle, Hull & Northampton. Expect plenty of monasteries, basilicas, hypocausts as I explore the end of the western Roman Empire and why it’s still relevant today!

MQ-9 Reaper drone

Lockheed C130-J transport

Boeing B-17 bomber

Bell uh-1 Iroquois helicopter

Douglas DC-9 airliner

Sikorsky King Stallion heavy military helicopter

Northrop T-38 jet trainer

Canadair CL-41 tutor jet trainer

Pitts special aerobatic biplane

Lockheed orion maritime patrol aircraft

Bell v-22 Osprey tilt rotor transport

Grumman Albatross amphibian

Grumman Avenger bomber

Grumman Hawkeye AEW aircraft

North American Mustang fighter

Skycards Yak-52 trainer

Cessna 158 high wing passenger aircraft

Skycards PZL Iskra jet trainer

Skycards turbo firecat firebomber

Skycards T-33 Shooting Star jet

Skycards B-25 Mitchell bomber

Skycards B-29 bomber

Skycards Rutan Cozy canard pusher

Fair to say my ‘stay’ at Los Angeles airport in #Skycards has been pretty productive for the past few days!

Peter Monamy, 'Loss of HMS Victory, 4 October 1744' (c1744-5). National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, public domain via Wikimedia Commons. This is an imaginative re-creation of the last moments the Victory was seen, with lanterns in her rigging, her sails blowing loose, firing distress guns, and about to be overwhelmed by the storm.

5 Oct 1744 (O.S.) // 100-gun 1st-rate HMS Victory (launched 1737), flagship of Admiral Sir John Balchen, was with her squadron returning to England from Gibraltar when the ships were scattered by a violent storm off Ushant. The Victory vanished with all hands in the storm. [1/3]

5 Oct 1909 // Destroyer HMS Lee was wrecked in Blacksod Bay, County Mayo, during a Home Fleet exercise. A boat from the cruiser HMS Doris got into difficulties in the bay, and the CO of the Lee, Lt Duncan Hermann Carmichael, attempted to bring his ship inshore to render assistance. [1/4]

Blücher - NIRA

This one might be of interest to #NavalHistory Bluesky. The Norwegian Coastal Administration has released an underwater 3D photo scan of the wreck of the German heavy cruiser Blücher, sunk in the Oslofjord in April 1940. Super cool!
#ww2 #norway #blücher

dykkerteknikk.nira.app/a/Ip_mJ3EFQK...