The official AHF Equipment of Allies & Neutrals quiz

[fredleander]

The neutral nation could be Sweden and the place the Kiruna-Narvik railway line. On the other hand this wouldn't be particularly important for either of these parties.

[varjag]

The neutral nation could be Sweden and the place the Kiruna-Narvik railway line. On the other hand this wouldn't be particularly important for either of these parties.

The entire line - Luleå > Narvik - was electrified, but the locomotives didn't look like BIG-panzers.....besides,
after the iron-ore viaducts at Narvik were destroyed in 1940, they had litte importance in 1943.

[BIGpanzer]

Hi, Varjag!

BIGpanzer is really GOOD at confusing us!

Why confusing? Quiz thinking is the right term I am trying to ask interesting questions for my and forum members' pleasure Your questions are always interesting, too

Something to do with the Caucasus? The line from Baku to Astrakhan....?

Yes, that railroad (indeed from Baku but not to Astrakhan) was (and is) one of the most important in Caucasus (even the nature looked like of Black Sea/Caucasus warm region despite of cold Sweden - South Alpes or Caucasus, no more variants). The most hard mountain part of it was electrified since 1928 (electrification was finished in summer 1932 - the time when the photo was made) and was equipped with US (on the photo), Italian and Soviet electric locomotives. That pass (in Georgia) was quite famous and the most important, it is described well in Wikipedia and it gave the name to those electric locomotives - could you name this pass as the Caucasus is the very big region to be the correct answer? I gave all possible hints
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/e ... ethnic.jpg

The importance of that railroad and pass (transportation of oil and military cargos) increased very much in the beg1943 before and during Soviet offensive operation in Caucasus, which caused also liberation of Black Sea Novorossisk port; and Battle of Stalingrad.

P.S. Swedish electrified railroad to Narvik in 1930s - http://www.historiskt.nu/normalsp/state ... 4_1930.jpg

[Juha Tompuri]

Surami type locomotive at Surami pass?


http://www.transsib.ru/Eng/loc-electric.htm

Regards, Juha

[BIGpanzer]

Yes, exactly!!!

Some geographical and technical moments.

From Wikipedia about Surami pass:

Likhi Range or Surami Range is a mountain range in Georgia, a part of the Caucasus mountains. It connects the Greater Caucasus and Lesser Caucasus ranges.
The highest point is 1926 m. above sea level. The lowest and most important mountain pass is the Surami Pass at an elevation of 949 m which links eastern and western Georgia. A railroad (in the tunnel) runs through the pass, as well as the Zestafoni-Khashuri highway.

Surami pass is the part of Baku-Tbilisi-Batumi railway (Transcaucasian railway or Georgian railway).

That pass was very important for oil transportation from Baku to Black Sea ports and different cargos back. In August 1932 the first electric locomotives (8 were bought from US General Electric) opened the railway traffic along the electrified district Khashuri-Zestafoni (63 km, Surami tunnel - 4 km, a lot of turns, level difference - 500 m) instead of steam locomotives. Those US locomotives were named S10-01 - S10-08, where S means Surami; they were equipped with Soviet electric motors (licensed copies of US electric motors). Since 11.1932 till 1933 Soviet Kolomna locomotive factory together with Moscow electric machine engineering factory "Dinamo" produced improved copies of US locomotives under the name Ss11-01 - Ss11-21 (Soviet Surami) - 21 were built. 10.1933-10.1934 - 9 Italian ITBB electric locomotives were bought in addition (Si10-09 - Si10-15; Surami Italian).
Electric locomotives increased the speed along the most hard district from 12-15 km/h to 30-35 km/h, increased the weights of the trains, traffic carrying capacity (2 times), also they used effective regenerative braking which was very important along the dangerous mountain turns. 16 electric locomotives replaced 42 steam locomotives at first.

Specifications of Soviet-built Ss-type: 126 t weight, 16.48x3.05x4.825m; 6x340 kWt electric engines; 65 km/h.
Since 1952 all Surami electric locomotives (which were used also along the Perm railroad, Ural mountains) were reequipped and modernized, they were used till 1960-1979 depending on type.

http://www.train-photo.ru/data/media/149/Ccm14-1.jpg (modern photo of modernized Ss electric locomotive - only two survived at Perm depot, one of them in bad condition - see Juha's photo)
http://railroad.100megsfree5.com/L9/S-photo.html (old photos of Surami electric locomotives, including my photo above)

To you again, dear Juha!

[Juha Tompuri]

Thanks BP,

Before your generous hints I had no idea at all about the locomotive and location.
New one, name this:

Regards, Juha

[BIGpanzer]

Wings look similar to Ju87 and it should be Vultee A-31/A-35 Vengeance, US dive bomber (developed according to French order, after defeat of France were given to British).
http://www.303rdbg.com/ac-a35.jpg

Used by Australia (342 MkI/IV), Brazil (29 A-35B), UK, India (~30), USA - 1931 were produced.
USAF used them as training plains and target towers, RAF used them in Europe at first and later in India and Burma.

[Juha Tompuri]

That's the plane and pic source
Well done BP, correct and fast reply. Even that I used a drawing from the underside of the plane (to "hide" the crew number) did apparently not made it any more difficult.
Once again, over to you.

Regards, Juha

[BIGpanzer]

Thanks, Juha!
The wing shape was the big hint in this case, also cowling of US-type airplanes.

Well, quite simple question this time . What is this?


http://koi.legion.wplus.net/guide/army/

[Brian Ross]

Soviet JS-6 heavy tank.

[BIGpanzer]

Yes, of course. This is Soviet heavy tank IS-6 ("object 252"). One prototype was built 10.1944 (51.5 t; 4 men; 1x122mm + 1x12.7mm + 1x7.62mm; 20-150 mm armor; 700 hp diesel V-12; 35 km/h; 150 km range). Tank had more thick armor than serial IS-2 and more efficient armor slope.

To you, Brian!

[Brian Ross]

OK, who can identify this aircraft from the southern hemisphere?

[varjag]

I think we've had this one before Brian. It's a North American NA-50A (USAAF P-64) in the
uniform of the Royal Thai Air Force, Varjag

[Brian Ross]

Close but not quite. The aircraft is correct but the airforce isn't.

[BIGpanzer]

It is Peruvian fighter NA-50A (Peru ordered 7 copies, received them in 1939) - probably, the photo was made during the war with Ecuador in 1941 (two NA-50A were lost during that war).
The question was to identify the aircraft - I think Varjag is the winner!