The Great, Constantly Changing Picture Gallery, Troisième partie: la vengeance!

[Griz882]

Here is the same aircraft (and same image) but not messed up…


It is a Marine bird, VMSB-131 that was assigned to Quantico (where the photo above was taken) and then moved to San Diego after Pearl Harbor and then to MCAS Ewa. While there they transitioned to the Avenger and later served with the Cactus AF. Here is their WWII insignia;

After WWII the squadron moved to the reserves as VMA-131 (Willow Grove) where they flew A-4’s.

Now to the interesting image first posted. I looked a bit closer, and I think we might be seeing some weird censor work to that particular copy of the photograph. Maybe for early war security purposes?

 

[Llarry]

The first COD -- a TBM-3R of VR-23 at Atsugi circa Korean War era. Max 7 pax (or 6 pax plus crewman) and the cargo was loaded in baskets in the weapons bay.

 

[Flash]

Every ship can be a minesweeper, once!



A U.S. Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft provides close air support to Independence-variant littoral combat ship USS Santa Barbara (LCS 32) during a training exercise in the Arabian Gulf, Feb. 2, 2026. Santa Barbara is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations to support maritime security and stability in the Middle East. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Iain Page)

 

[ea6bflyr]

Every ship can be a minesweeper, once!

View attachment 44550

A U.S. Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft provides close air support to Independence-variant littoral combat ship USS Santa Barbara (LCS 32) during a training exercise in the Arabian Gulf, Feb. 2, 2026. Santa Barbara is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations to support maritime security and stability in the Middle East. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Iain Page)

I think this was the photo you meant to post:

The 65,000-ton Norwegian-flagged merchant heavy-lift vessel Seaway Hawk was escorted by USS Canberra (LCS 30), one of the three-pack of newly MCM-optimized Independence-class ships– the others being USS Santa Barbara (LCS 32) and Tulsa (LCS 16)-– that are currently forward-deployed to Bahrain, replacing the legacy Avenger-class ships that have served in Task Force 55 for over 30 years.

But I guess it's better ending than running aground (USS Guardian (MCM-5))