Christian Zulus

Christian - does Ranko have a website? Other contact details you could provide?

Thanks

Yes:

http://www.singidunum-online.com/

Best regards

Christian

Need one more hint ?

Would be great .

He couldn't be one of the test pilots, because they got their HSU ...

Best regards

Christian

Dear Ed,

as usual, you are right .

But there are some more interesting - and cheaper to research - items in my collection, which should have priority, I guess.

Best regards

Christian

Yes, these things were awarded 60+ years ago, can we not wait 3+ years for research to come back (OK, we hope not, but ...) and to spend 70% of the money for the HISTORY that we spent for the disembodied THING? Any RB "3", long service or not, must have been awarded to someone with a STORY that wants/needs telling. Please, Christian, we have the simple collective DUTY to see that story told, if at all possible. Start the wheels moving while the wheels can still move, please. The day may come when . . .

God, in Her Infinite Wisdom, gave us rice and beans to eat while we were paying and waiting for phaleristic research . . . ? (And families MUST understand this much, right?)

Dear Ed,

great news .

A comprehensive guide and what's the price, Paul is asking ?

Best regards

Christian

So, again no try ? No one inspired ?.... It's an easy one...

Ch.

Dear Christophe,

there are more than 20.000 HSL .

Please, some small hints .

Best regards

Christian

Herr Zulus - looking at your awards from your "my collection" thread. I'm stunned you haven't gone out to get research for all of these yet!

The stories behind them must be very interesting!

Dear Bob,

you are right ...

At least the Gnitienko-Glory-group is fully researched and brought some knowledge to our collectors community .

At least, the RB#3 above is for 99% a mere long-service-award . But getting a RB#3 just for years of duty, you must have got - at least - one RB as a true battle-award . So, a full research of the recipient IS very interesting, but costs also some bucks ...

Best regards

Christian

Dear Christophe,

our comrade in question seems to be one of Soviet's top-designers or scientists, who started their career during the GPW, as the order shows.

Most prestigious titles: HSL + Stalin-Prize + Lenin-Prize

It seems, that the top-years of his career might have been the 1950s & 1960s .

Best regards

Christian

OK guys,

Lets be pragmatic...

I put aside this question (but, it will certainly come back when all of us will be again "competing" and challenging ourselves) .

Let's try something easier... maybe...

Here is a new Question #198 :

1. Who am I ?

2. What am I famous for ?

3. I have been awarded 3 Orders of Lenin. But, what are the 3 most prestigious Soviet Titles that I have ? Name + dates of awarding ?

4. I am a member of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, as my badge shows it. But for which convocations ?

The first Member to fully correctly answer the 4 questions is the winner.

Good hunt and good luck...

Cheers.

Ch.

Very very disturbing. Yes, another dealer crossed off the list, I fear . . . .

Dear Ed,

that might be point, but which dealers we still have: Igor, Alex and ....

Best regards

Christian

Gentlemen,

I think, that these two Kutuzov-groups are o.k. .

Also the asked prices are rather moderate - o.k., nobody of us can afford to buy them , but if you would buy the items of these two groups seperatly, you would have to pay a higher price, I guess.

Order of Kutuzov & altered serial numbers:

I myself have a Kutuzov 2cl with an altered serial number in my collection, which is genuine. Igor's 1cl has almost identical traces around the s/n., as my 2cl. "Victory Parade" ....

I guess, that Igor can't afford, to put any not-100-%-stuff at his dealers website. Igor had been always 100 % - and that's his reputation .

Best regards

Christian

Respectfully, I disagree with the previous statement. On the Kutuzov 1st class group, the serial number is very weird and seem to have been altered. On the other group, there are also very weird serial numbers engraving and ugly conversions to say the least... This is not what I call problem-free groups. Even if I could afford, I wouldn't buy groups like these.

But I guess these days, all the nice problem-free groups are in collectors hands and they keep them dearly... thus the reason why they don't show on the market.

Dear Christophe,

congratulations to your victory .

I have been to slow - as usual .

As far, as I have read, the Iranian Navy copied that old Soviet concept of "Stealth-Boats" somehow, but in much smaller scale.

Best regards

Christian

Hi Frank,

You are talking about Rostislav Evgenievich Alexeev (December 18, 1916, Novozybkov ? February 9, 1980, Nizhny Novgorod, USSR). He was a designer of highspeed shipbuilding. He invented and designed the world's first Ekranoplans.

1.What was the Project?

The project was the KM or "korabl-maket", the largest ekranoplan ever built It was one of the first very successful vehicles designed by Alexeev and built by his Central Hydrofoil Design Bureau. The KM was intended as a test platform to examine the possibilities of the "Wing In Ground" (WIG) effect.

2.What was the length of the Item we have built in 1972 and were is it now?

Dubbed A-90 "Orlyonok" ("Eaglet"), this 140 tonne, 58 metre long aircraft had its maiden flight in 1972.

The only three operational A-90 Orlyonok ekranoplans built (with renewed hull design) and one Lun-class ekranoplan remains at a naval base near Kaspiysk

3. Why was it not possible to detect the item by radar?

She flied only a few meters above water, saving energy and staying below enemy radar.

Below is a pic of the Ekranoplan KM 'Caspian Sea Monster'.

Ch.

I think the best that the God has created-it girl.Thith interesting theme silently dies. Therefore one figure of the real girl.

Dear Sergey,

great painting - many thanks for sharing .

Are there some more from this series ?

Question: Why is there a white dot at the Red Star on the cap ?

Best regards

Christian

Dear Alex,

congratulations to your victory #1

I couldn't find any complete list of the "Shevchenko-Prize-Winners" in the internet .

The sub-question of the Soviet-order-creation is interesting . According to his age, it might be one of the GPW-orders, or one of the later Brezhnev-orders .

Best regards

Christian

Yay! Victory #1!

I was born on October 9th, 1904. I was a master of my profession, earning the Shevchenko Prize for my work. I almost received an even higher award, but I was forced to decline candidature for political reasons. I was a member of Academy of Sciences in my native country, and also served in a number of political positions there, including deputy chairman of the council of ministers, the central committee, and supreme soviet. Additionally, I edited a number of different magazines, and was the head of the editing board of my country's encyclopedia.

1. Who am I?

2. What was my native country?

3. What prize did I almost win?

4. What soviet order did I help create?

I hope this isn't too hard or vague (or easy ). Good luck

-Alex

Dear Alex,

I am sure, that you have got the correct answer - congratulations .

I would have never found the solution of Marc's tricky puzzle .

Best regards

Christian

Eureka ! I think I've got it (and if I do, what a great 100th post it will be)!

The HMS L55 was a British submarine which was sunk off the cost of Tallinn after engaging soviet ships. It is unclear whether the sub was sunk by a mine or hostile fire (in which case, it would be the only British vessel ever sunk by a soviet ship). The remains of the crew members were returned to the HMS Champion by the merchant ship Truro. In 1928, the soviets raised the ship and repaired it. It entered service in the Red Navy as the Bezbozhnik (Atheist), and was used as a training ship until it was damaged. The sub also served as a model for the soviet L class submarine. It was scrapped in the 50's.

The ship's original captain was Lieutenant C.M.S. Chapman.

<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_L55" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_L55</a>

http://www.memorials.inportsmouth.co.uk/ch...dral/baltic.htm

-Alex

Christian, what is leading you to think it is not a submarine ? Maybe I am wrong, but I don't see any indication of this...

Dear Christophe,

you are right - my mistake and I brought back the submarines in post #350 .

First I guessed, that a vessel HAS to be a surface-ship, because a sub had been never called a "vessel" - either a boat or a cruiser (the really large ones).

I guess, that Alex (RedMaestro) might be on the right track .

There had been a fruitile collaboration between the German Reichswehr and the RKKA till 1933 in some (rather) high-tech fields: Aircrafts, tanks and subs.

Best regards

Christian

Rohwer/Monakov-book

Gentlemen,

the above mentioned book by Rohwer/Monakov shows at the appendices from page 229 to page 256 the tables A2 & A3 listing all "Warships of the RKKF/VMF, laid down or odererd, 1926 - 1945".

So, the asked vessel HAS to be in that list and the length (in meters!) suits to destroyers, patrol boats, etc. and also to submarines ...

Best regards

Christian

Not the L?TZOW

Gentlemen,

it's not the "L?tzow" or "Petropavlovsk" or "Tallin" - too late and far too long: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%BCtzow_(1939)

Best regards

Christian

Gentlemen,

I myself - as a member of the armed forces of a land locked country - am not THE expert of naval history. But let's try to sum up Marc's hints and his basic question:

In the 1930's, the Soviet Union launched a vessel with a major "peculiarity".

1. What was the name of that vessel?

2. What type of vessel was it?

3. What was its peculiarity?

4. Who was its first captain?

5. What happened to it afterwards?

First hint, let's concentrate on the first half of the 1930's.

Second, the name "Truro" has some connection to our mystery.

Here's a few more

. We are looking for a vessel whose length is over 50 but under 100 meters

. It was a kind of "prototype" from which a whole series was later developed

. Our ship has an international flavor

. It had "several lives"

Including the (wrong) answers, it seems, that the vessel:

- is NOT a torpedo-boat (too short!)

- is NOT a submarine

- the basic design might be of German origin

- the asked period are the early 1930s

- several sister-vessels had been produced.

The problem is, that the great book of Rohwer/Monakov http://www.amazon.com/Stalins-Ocean-going-...g/dp/0714648957 covers only the period of 1935 up to 1953 :

I have no books in my shelf (in English or German) about the Soviet Navy, which cover the period of BEFORE 1935 in detail ....

Best regards

Christian

Dear Luka,

congratulations to these "gems" .

Do you have a (military) biography of comrade Radelic ?

Had he been on service (after WW II) on the river Danube or on the Adriatic Sea ?

What had been his function during WW II (Partisan Star 3cl & Soviet Red Star) ?

Best regards

Christian

My impression is that these have been seriously "restruck", and not necessarily by the official producer...

Gentlemen,

despite the very moderate starting prices, Jani's two medals remained unsold at the Stuttgart-auction.

Best regards

Christian

Nikolai Konstantinovich Baibakov (6 March 1911, Baku, Azerbaijan ? 31 March 2008, Moscow)

Gentlemen,

comrade Baibakov, HSL, GPW-veteran and one of the master-minds of Soviet economy (3 decades chief of GOSPLAN http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gosplan - till 1985) died at the age 97 in Moscow:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolai_Baibakov

http://www.biograph-soldat.ru/NARKOMY/ARTI...03-baibakov.htm

Best regards

Christian

. We are looking for a vessel whose length is over 50 but under 100 meters

. It was a kind of "prototype" from which a whole series was later developed

Dear Marc,

I guess, that the vessel might have been of German design ?

I only found that http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truro_(ship) about "Truro" in internet .

Well, the ship is rather small - a destroyer or submarine ...

Best regards

Christian

There are two standards terms that can be used:

. МУЛЯЖ (copie)

. ФУФЛО (fake)

Marc

Dear Ed,

you are not a criminal, but a serious historian, who uses the "copies" for his private museum - and you don't want to fool anybody.

I would opt for "Muljash" ("МУЛЯЖ"), as all museums do so .

Best regards

Christian

These badges are part of a group of badges I bought. Would someone PLEASE tell me the name of each badge?

Regards,

Doc

Dear Doc,

nice items .

For the "Druzhinnik" (Volunteer Policeman)-Badge, have a look at that thread: http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=26362

Best regards

Christian

Dear Frank,

congratulations - it is him

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleksandr_Ivanovich_Pokryshkin

Pokryshkin had been the first triple HSU (1944!) in the history of the Soviet Union .

A close-up photograph, showing him with the banner at the "Victory Parade":

Question #193 is now your turn.

Best regards

Christian

Hello,

he looks like my neighbour. But he must be Alexandr ivanovich Pokryshkin.

Regards

Frank

New question #192 &

my GMIC-post #2500

Gentlemen,

with this post at GMIC several incidents are to celebrate:

- my post #2500 here at GMIC

- being the first to achieve 40 good answers at Christophe's quiz (= 2nd HSA)

- getting a ultra-perfect copy of the "Victory Flag" via an information by Dan "Hauptman"

Taking these incidents - and the recent history of Christophe's quiz - into account, let's stay with the the "Victory Parade" 1945 .

The question will be simple and you'll need to post only one name to be the winner .

Question #192:

Have a look at this pic from the "Victory Parade":

Who is that smart comrade in the background carrying the heavy banner of the "1st Ukrainian Front" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1st_Ukrainian_Front ?

Just the name and you are the winner .

Best regards

Christian