JimZ

And this is the Belknap in 1975. This is what happens when you crash into a Cv!!!! Which is also why the USS JFK she was nicknamed "Can opener"! ergo my reference......

Why the shock? If what Kevin's article states is correct then I see no issue whatsoever “Everything is logical. Civilians can’t wear the seven types of camouflage, which are approved by the government, but they can wear any other type: American, French, etc. Our policemen are well instructed, they won’t fine those who wear legal camouflage,” assured Grytsak." Put simply you cannot go around in uniforms presently worn by the Ukraninan military. If you want to go hunting, play paintball or simply want to go to high school in cammo pants, you are free to do so as long as its not official military wear. Well done Ukraine. I bet there will be less opportunities for criminals to pose as members of the Ukranian military!

The points now stand as follows !! 15 points - JimZ 14 points - Harvey 10 points - Hauptmann 3 points - Valter 3 points - Christophe 3 points - Gunner 1 2 points - kapten_windu Oh and this next question is the 50th of this year's quiz!! :jumping: The honour of asking it goes to Harvey......but who will have the greater honour of replying to it?? Jim

Yeah!!! Was it sooo difficuilt ?? Harvey, I had no doubts that you'd find the text...but putting a pic with the inscription showing clearly would have given the game away. I do hope the hints that I gave were useful - well you got there so they must have been. I thought that the easiest way was through the ships. The Russian Slava...now Moskva but nevertheless a Slava Class missile cruiser and the USS Belknap which collided with the USS John F Kennedy in the seventies (Yes 14 and not 24 - am I allowed a typo pls ) .... President Bush was actually staying on board the Belknap at the time of the Summit. Yes, this was the first meeting between the American and USSR heads in yonks and it heralded the end of the cold war. These days the monument is just a forgotton mass of marble and bronze in bad need for restoration with neither the Americans, the Russians nor the Maltese authorithies giving a hoot about its restoration. So the answers are correct and Harvey gets a well deserved point!!!

And a bit more info about the ship on the right.....it was involved in a collision at sea some 24 years before with a world famous carrier, where it opened our ship up like a can killing a number of its crew. If you can find the ships you should be able to work your way to our event......and of course only one of these two ships is Russian. More hints soon if you don't get it..... JIm :cheers:

Ok...so the ship on the left was the first of her class.....the ship on the right is named after a rear admiral. There was yet another ship involved....a cruise ship were actual events took place. The ships are both anchored on neutral territory...and can very well be considered as the beginning of the end....You may think that this is some insignificant event, but at the time, the eyes of the world were on it...at least for a few days. Jim :cheers:

Ha ha....close enough!!!

OK....so the yacht is just a distraction... But that means that these ships are not trading shots with eachother. The vessel on the left has some instantly recognisable features....Perhaps the one on the right may have some too..... Either way, these vessels are in close proximity with eachother...and of sufficient interest to have some folks in boats doing some sightseeing too!! So if they're not planning on shooting at eachother, what else are they doing so close. Remember that we're not yet out of the cold war!!!!!!

Part of the once proud Russian Navy at Murmansk Google earth pic from Source: When the mighty don't fall, they sometimes simply rust away... Jim :cheers:

......Two ships which can be seen in this newspaper cutting.... And what???!!! Is that a yacht between them!!! Now.... it should be much easier..... But if you still do not get to it, I'll be sure to drop some more hints. Jim :cheers:

Well if you could read the inscription that would probably make it too easy.....but I've got you dialed in at least So some hints...... The monument is right by the sea..... and it represents the bow of two ships....

Question 49 There is a lot at stake here....the honour of asking question 50!!! And the winner gets to do just that! So I am not going to make this easy and am going to challenge you guys. Of course if someone answers this straight away, I'll take my hat of them..... Harvey...Dan...Christophe my best are on either of you but perhaps, someone else might get this too.... Above is a memorial. Its got no architectural value and is forgotten and even ignored by many who pass by it. However, it represents an event of some historical significance. The questions are simple: 1) Which event does this memorial commemorate? 2) What does the memorial symbolise? 3) In which country is it located? 4) Why is this event so significant? I'll start to drop hints if there is no feedback but I'd like to see you rack your brains a bit. Jim :cheers:

The points stand as follows !! 15 points - JimZ 13 points - Harvey 10 points - Hauptmann 3 points - Valter 3 points - Christophe 3 points - Gunner 1 2 points - kapten_windu I'll come up with something for the next question shortly! Jim

Heard it was bought for those reasons. Though I do not think its been converted yet....... The Ukraine seems to be happily selling off some if its "assets" and will one day figure out that its lost all its muscle.....not that it should ever need it! But one never knows!! Jim :cheers:

Sounds like the Varyag....a Kuznetsov class carrier sold to Chinese investors for development as a casino..... Jim :cheers:

Well done Hauptmann. You get another point and remain close to challenging for the top two places!! 14 points - JimZ 13 points - Harvey 10 points - Hauptmann 3 points - Valter 3 points - Christophe 3 points - Gunner 1 2 points - kapten_windu Hauptmann gets to ask question 48. However he is offering this to Windu in view of his one year anniversary on GMIC. The informal rule here is that if you pass a question, you will have to sit it out and not reply to it....so basically if Windu takes up the offer you'll have to skip the next one. Please inform Windu that we are waiting for him Jim

As opposed to you Dan, I have a severe dislike for copies and "filler" pieces particularly when they are made to fool people. The reason why I never got into them was that they seemd to be less abundant and available then ODMs, and there was no "red bible" equivalent for them either. Yes..the "red bible" has done more to help Soviet ODM collectors than any other publication, way back when the prices were cheaper. I missed the boat on these....even though as you say, its probably a good thing that I did. One other thing Dan...Otlichnik badges are pretty much in demand so if they're selling dirt cheap, it might already be an indicator that something is wrong with them!!

Yikes Dan!!! One would have hoped that it would be third time lucky. Never collected these. Never studied them. Wish I did, but these days, the less common ones seem to cost too much! Jim :cheers:

Well done Gunner 1. You get the latest point!! 14 points - JimZ 13 points - Harvey 9 points - Hauptmann 3 points - Valter 3 points - Christophe 3 points - Gunner 1 2 points - kapten_windu Question 47 belongs to Gunner 1!!! Harvey, thanks for the last question. Story was new to me too. Jim

At last!! I guess that;s the communist party's guard camped near the statue?? Harvey....are you ready for the next question please? Jim :cheers:

As a general rule always report these issues in the Forum Software Error and troubleshooting section so that Nick will be able to look into the issue and see if he can help out. Christophe - I did not get any mails from you on neither of the two mails I sent you...perhaps your box just wants to be called "computer" instead of "ordinateur" Regards, Jim :cheers:

Well done Harvey and the last point goes to you - You're almost on top of the chart 14 points - JimZ 13 points - Harvey 9 points - Hauptmann 3 points - Valter 3 points - Christophe 2 points - kapten_windu 2 points - Gunner 1 Question 46 is all yours!!! Jim

Hey Harvey...welcome back. Christophe sent me a mail with the pic but it did not get here.....sorry......! Jim :cheers:

There is of course the statue of Lenin near Finlandskaya Station in St Pete that had a hole blown right through it. However, I am unsure of other acts of vandalism against this statue and I am sure that in St Pete, there are several other effigies of Lenin for this statue to be considered the only one...which is why I went for the Kaliningrad, twice documented as being vandalised. A pic would however help be more definitive (PM on its way). Jim :cheers: