Marsh

Hi Wiedzmin,
 
Both the Merk 3 and Merk 4 have rolling programmes to upgrade armour packages. A process assisted by the modular nature of the armour. The Israelis have the technical and scientific capability  to frequently improve and match the armour to current threats. However, their financial and industrial capacity to introduce upgrades, on a large scale, is relatively limited.  In the case of the Merkava improvements are introduced regularly, but on small batches at a time. Thus even in a battalion of Merkavas, there can be tanks with upgraded modular armour of different generations.
Cheers
Marsh

Hi Wiedzmin,
 
Both the Merk 3 and Merk 4 have rolling programmes to upgrade armour packages. A process assisted by the modular nature of the armour. The Israelis have the technical and scientific capability  to frequently improve and match the armour to current threats. However, their financial and industrial capacity to introduce upgrades, on a large scale, is relatively limited.  In the case of the Merkava improvements are introduced regularly, but on small batches at a time. Thus even in a battalion of Merkavas, there can be tanks with upgraded modular armour of different generations.
Cheers
Marsh

As far as I know, no. I seem to remember this was used as part of the marketing campaign for Blazer ERA, relativity primitive as it was.

I am sure there are many very interesting stories to share about this topic. Let's start with couple of articles about the weird and sometimes downright crazy history of Czechoslovak assistance which helped Israel to survive its early days. It's true that Czechoslovakia asked a lot of money for bypassing the UN embargo but it doesn't change the fact that it helped in the critical time - before the change of course was ordered from Kremlin in 1949. It's also worth mentioning that the arms-smuggling to Israel brought up to 1/3 of all foreign currency income of Czechoslovakia at that time! It's all in Czech but well understandable with the google translate. 
 
Here in short the story of the secret Czechoslovak operation DI - the military asistance to Israel from the website of the Czech Institute of the military history. The article contains rare historical photos from the covert military training for army specialists (pilots, tankers, mechanics and even an infantry brigade made of volunteers from the former Czechoslovak Army Corps in USSR). 
https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=cs&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.vhu.cz%2Fprubeh-a-podrobnosti-cs-vojenske-pomoci-izraeli-na-konci-40-let%2F
 
If you really like the topic, you can learn many more details from these six chapters of this superlong article (sure worth studying for anyone interested in the topic).
https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=cs&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.valka.cz%2F14222-Ceskoslovensko-a-jeho-vojenska-pomoc-statu-Izrael-v-prvnim-obdobi-jeho-samostatne-existence-I%3Futm_source%3Dvalka_cz%26utm_medium%3Darticle%26utm_campaign%3Dserial
https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=cs&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.valka.cz%2F14223-Ceskoslovensko-a-jeho-vojenska-pomoc-statu-Izrael-v-prvnim-obdobi-jeho-samostatne-existence-II%3Futm_source%3Dvalka_cz%26utm_medium%3Darticle%26utm_campaign%3Dserial
https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=&sl=cs&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.valka.cz%2F14230-Ceskoslovensko-a-jeho-vojenska-pomoc-statu-Izrael-v-prvnim-obdobi-jeho-samostatne-existence-III
https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=&sl=cs&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.valka.cz%2F14236-Ceskoslovensko-a-jeho-vojenska-pomoc-statu-Izrael-v-prvnim-obdobi-jeho-samostatne-existence-IV%3Futm_source%3Dvalka_cz%26utm_medium%3Darticle%26utm_campaign%3Dserial
https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=&sl=cs&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.valka.cz%2F14242-Ceskoslovensko-a-jeho-vojenska-pomoc-statu-Izrael-v-prvnim-obdobi-jeho-samostatne-existence-V%3Futm_source%3Dvalka_cz%26utm_medium%3Darticle%26utm_campaign%3Dserial
https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=&sl=cs&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.valka.cz%2F14246-Ceskoslovensko-a-jeho-vojenska-pomoc-statu-Izrael-v-prvnim-obdobi-jeho-samostatne-existence-VI%3Futm_source%3Dvalka_cz%26utm_medium%3Darticle%26utm_campaign%3Dserial
 
After that we have the totally crazy story of the Cairo bombing raid actually performed from the communist Czechoslovakia in 1948. Why don't we have yet any movie about three B-17s smuggled from USA, crewed by American-Jewish airmen, armed with former German machineguns and bombs and operating from an airfield located in then communist Czechoslovakia? If that doesn't deserve to be filmed than what does? 
https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=cs&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.idnes.cz%2Fzpravy%2Fdomaci%2Fnalet-zatec-kahira-b-17-izrael.A130712_105045_domaci_jw
 
Most of you likely know that the first combat aircraft of the Israeli airforce were Czechoslovak Avia S-199 fighters. This stillborn stop-gap modification of the leftover Bf-109G airframe was rather useless in fact (Czechoslovakia had loads of Bf-109 airframes but no spare DB-605 engines whose reliability was absurdly low due to bad late-war steel, so the engines were replaced with Jumo-211 bomber units - completely unsuitable but available) but nevertheless it helped to stop the Egyptian attack on Tel Aviv and brought a very important psychological advantage on the Israeli side. More about these planes here. 
https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=cs&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.idnes.cz%2Ftechnet%2Fvojenstvi%2Fizrael-ceskoslovensko-vyroci-izraelske-letectvo.A180526_235424_vojenstvi_erp
https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=cs&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.idnes.cz%2Ftechnet%2Fvojenstvi%2Fceskoslovenske-letectvo-stihaci-letadlo-avia-s-199.A200116_174150_vojenstvi_erp 
 
To add to the absurdity of that time... the man behind the support for the Israel was Czechoslovak FM Vladimír Clementis who was executed just few years later as a result of an intra-communist power struggle.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

On You Tube there is a lengthy series of clips of Turkish airstrikes on Syrian AFVs, transporters the odd bridge etc. Mainly tanks being taken out. The video is of an exceptionally high standard high. I don't recollect anything as clear as this being released by other air forces.
 
See -
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3f0N-mJsbI&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR1bwjJLqL9AJOpo9dGiVbZDXK5iXeUXMSZZqoWbSKArDc8ROQzKzL7dNqQ
 
 
Cheers
Marsh

On You Tube there is a lengthy series of clips of Turkish airstrikes on Syrian AFVs, transporters the odd bridge etc. Mainly tanks being taken out. The video is of an exceptionally high standard high. I don't recollect anything as clear as this being released by other air forces.
 
See -
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3f0N-mJsbI&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR1bwjJLqL9AJOpo9dGiVbZDXK5iXeUXMSZZqoWbSKArDc8ROQzKzL7dNqQ
 
 
Cheers
Marsh

A kind of :

https://cloud.mail.ru/public/2JNa/5fj4MEd7M pages from various issues of Armor and Infantry magazines with articles written by Richard Ogorkiewicz

I have just heard from Richard Ogorkiewicz's wife that he died suddenly on Sunday. As all will know, he was a brilliant writer and analyst in the field of AFVs. He was still active physically and mentally, just completing his memoirs. 
I remember all his many kindnesses, keen intelligence and his wry sense of humour. I wil miss him.
Marsh

I have just heard from Richard Ogorkiewicz's wife that he died suddenly on Sunday. As all will know, he was a brilliant writer and analyst in the field of AFVs. He was still active physically and mentally, just completing his memoirs. 
I remember all his many kindnesses, keen intelligence and his wry sense of humour. I wil miss him.
Marsh

I have just heard from Richard Ogorkiewicz's wife that he died suddenly on Sunday. As all will know, he was a brilliant writer and analyst in the field of AFVs. He was still active physically and mentally, just completing his memoirs. 
I remember all his many kindnesses, keen intelligence and his wry sense of humour. I wil miss him.
Marsh

I have just heard from Richard Ogorkiewicz's wife that he died suddenly on Sunday. As all will know, he was a brilliant writer and analyst in the field of AFVs. He was still active physically and mentally, just completing his memoirs. 
I remember all his many kindnesses, keen intelligence and his wry sense of humour. I wil miss him.
Marsh

I have just heard from Richard Ogorkiewicz's wife that he died suddenly on Sunday. As all will know, he was a brilliant writer and analyst in the field of AFVs. He was still active physically and mentally, just completing his memoirs. 
I remember all his many kindnesses, keen intelligence and his wry sense of humour. I wil miss him.
Marsh

I have just heard from Richard Ogorkiewicz's wife that he died suddenly on Sunday. As all will know, he was a brilliant writer and analyst in the field of AFVs. He was still active physically and mentally, just completing his memoirs. 
I remember all his many kindnesses, keen intelligence and his wry sense of humour. I wil miss him.
Marsh

I have just heard from Richard Ogorkiewicz's wife that he died suddenly on Sunday. As all will know, he was a brilliant writer and analyst in the field of AFVs. He was still active physically and mentally, just completing his memoirs. 
I remember all his many kindnesses, keen intelligence and his wry sense of humour. I wil miss him.
Marsh

I have just heard from Richard Ogorkiewicz's wife that he died suddenly on Sunday. As all will know, he was a brilliant writer and analyst in the field of AFVs. He was still active physically and mentally, just completing his memoirs. 
I remember all his many kindnesses, keen intelligence and his wry sense of humour. I wil miss him.
Marsh

I have just heard from Richard Ogorkiewicz's wife that he died suddenly on Sunday. As all will know, he was a brilliant writer and analyst in the field of AFVs. He was still active physically and mentally, just completing his memoirs. 
I remember all his many kindnesses, keen intelligence and his wry sense of humour. I wil miss him.
Marsh

I have just heard from Richard Ogorkiewicz's wife that he died suddenly on Sunday. As all will know, he was a brilliant writer and analyst in the field of AFVs. He was still active physically and mentally, just completing his memoirs. 
I remember all his many kindnesses, keen intelligence and his wry sense of humour. I wil miss him.
Marsh

I have just heard from Richard Ogorkiewicz's wife that he died suddenly on Sunday. As all will know, he was a brilliant writer and analyst in the field of AFVs. He was still active physically and mentally, just completing his memoirs. 
I remember all his many kindnesses, keen intelligence and his wry sense of humour. I wil miss him.
Marsh

I have just heard from Richard Ogorkiewicz's wife that he died suddenly on Sunday. As all will know, he was a brilliant writer and analyst in the field of AFVs. He was still active physically and mentally, just completing his memoirs. 
I remember all his many kindnesses, keen intelligence and his wry sense of humour. I wil miss him.
Marsh

This is probably a lot closer to what a Panzer 46 vehicle would have looked like than most of the crap people imagine.
 

Tanks Encyclopedia ha a magazine now. It's still mind-bogglingly terrible.
 

Heh, it appears that Object 187 prototypes were moved to Patriot Park, probably for restoration and display. Stolen from otvaga.

 

My book has been submitted! Now to sit back and become a New York Times bestselling author.
 
Preorder it if you haven't already, and if you have then preorder a second one.
https://www.amazon.com/Designing-T-34-2019-Genesis-Revolutionary/dp/1911658301
 

Article from International Defense Review 1981-12 "T-34 to T-80 "The Evolution of Soviet Battle Tanks PLUS the IDR's T-62 test report"

OCR text w/ larger pics (and same pics of better quality from other sources) moved next to their captions: