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Hi, I am Sig (junge1),
I was born in Dominikus- Krankenhaus in Berlin-Hermsdorf, Bezirk Reinickendorf in December 1939. Bezirk Reinickendorf was one of 20 Bezirke that made up Gross-Berlin before World War II and one of 12 Bezirke that made up former West-Berlin, the other 8 Bezirke were Russian occupied and became East-Berlin after the war. Moved from Berlin to Neurohlau (Nova Role) Sudetenland (now Czech Republic), in August 1943 (our entire block of apartment buildings was bombed out in November 1943) and returned back to Berlin in November 1945. Saw my dad the first time in my life in August/September 1946 after he returned from POW camp. Attended elementary school in Berlin-Waidmannslust, high school in Berlin-Hermsdorf, and trade school in Berlin-Kreuzberg. Was an apprentice for the trade of Klischeeaetzer (photo engraver) at Burrath & Schmidt on Friedrichstrasse between U-Bahnhof Kochstrasse (near to what later became Checkpoint Charlie) and Hallisches Tor.
While watching Allied planes supplying West-Berlin by air during the Berliner Luftbruecke in 1948-49 I developed my love for aircraft. I guess I could be considered a 'Berliner Grosschnauze", or at least I used to be.
'Wanderlust' led me to leave Berlin in summer 1960 to emigrate to Toronto, Canada and in February 1962 to move from Canada to New York City, NY, USA. In January 1963 I joined the United States Air Force, one step ahead of Uncle Sam drafting me. Became a United States citizen within 7 weeks after it became a security issue because of my military career. One day after I was sworn in as a citizen in Seattle, my entire unit left for Southeast Asia in June 1966. After nearly 5 years of active duty (extended 11 months to make it an 18 months overseas deployment) I got discharged and moved to New York City. In 1973 I moved to Phoenix, Arizona and two years later joined the Arizona Air National Guard.
Received my higher education at Arizona State University and the University of Georgia and worked for 22 years for the Arizona Department of Water Resources in various capacities. Upon military retirement in 1999 and State retirement in 2005 I looked at a number of things to keep me occupied. Traveling and joining 'renderosity' in September 2007 were a couple of them,
Sig..
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Comments (35)
shadownet
Big gun! I suspect 30 of them might have made weight anchor in the harbor uninvited a bit nervous.
Faemike55
Nice shot! (if you pardon the pun) You might want to check out any diaries from that era! Excellent photo!
bimm3d
wonderful photo!!!
MagikUnicorn
I IKE THIS WONDERFUL SHOT
blinkings
I bet that would have packed a punch.
Buffalo1
No why would anyone throw away 30 perfectly good pieces of artillery? OK, they were out of date and dumped like a lot of old equipment. Glad they saved this one and delighted you got a picture of it!
jeroni
Excellent work and perfect realisation
tpx1
nice shot
flora-crassella
DAS ist ein wunderbarer Kontrast!!!!! Schönes Foto!!!!!
renecyberdoc
a big mother for his times,considering the structures it was maybe shooting at. great one.
bazza
Superb capture that is one big gun, superb work!!
lyron
Very cool image!!
flavia49
Great capture!! it looks lost in modernity!
frankie96
Bet that thing is a heavy puppy to haul around...
kgb224
Wonderful capture my friend.
NoobasaurUS
Fascinating information and image!!!! Excellent research work finding out about its origins!!! Super clear photo!!!! Outstanding job!!!!!!!
junge1
I would still like to know how the guns got there in the first place? How did they end up where they did? In the early 1800s the British missionaries were there and they were busy converting the locals to Protestant Christians, but France had an interest to convert the locals to Catholocism. In 1836 a French naval vessel under Admiral du Petit-Thours arrived in Papeete and demanded indemnity for a previous expulsion of Catholic missionaries from Tahiti. Queen Pomare, the ruler, paid money under threat of naval bombardment and later was forced to sign an agreement that would allow French missionaries to spread Catholicism. Admiral du Petit-Thours returned to Polynesia in 1842 and annexed The Marquesas Islands and Tahiti as well. This act almost led to a war between Britain and France and marked the beginning of colonialism in the South Pacific. Are these guns from one of the French naval vessels? They seemed to have been forgotten until they were dicovered during the upgrading of the Papeete Port Facilities in the early 1990s.
frieder
I like your POV and the way you take this shot.
annie5
Interesting capture Sig..thanks for the information! Great job :)
emmecielle
Excellent capture! :)
GBCalls
Nice find! No trunnion bands to hold her down and no elevator either. I guess it is serving the intended purpose for now.
Umbetro38
reminds me a little bit to my work Anno 1871 - i like it
Alex_Antonov
Amazing!
carlx
Excellent big gun and capture!!!
Hendesse
Impressive gun. Excellent shot, fantastic details.
tennesseecowgirl
wouldn't that be a cannon? Nice to see it recovered.
sandra46
wonderful shot!
jocko500
wow a very good shot of it too
orig_buggy
it's gorgeous!!!! Ever visited St. Augustine in Fla.? ...you would love it!!
farmerC
Shining.