Ping S'mee- OT Army stuff:
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From: S'mee on 2 Aug 2010 14:22 On Aug 2, 11:33 am, sean_q <no.s...(a)no.spam> wrote: > > If the _Yamato_ had showed up... > > I just looked up the cruising range of the _Yamato_ in my most > reliable source (the _Junior Woodchucks Field Guide_). > > Over 7000 nautical miles (13,000 km). However without > a military background I'm not sure if that's one way > or return. (What an embarrassing thing to get wrong > in a combat situation -- stranded out of gas in enemy waters, > thumbing through the operator's manual to see what went wrong.) > > Anyway it's 3400 nm from Yokohama to Honolulu, and another > 2000 to California. So the chances of seeing the Imperial > Japanese Fleet suddenly appearing from around Seal Rocks > on Santa Catalina were remote... but what a terrifying sight > if they had. > > SQ > > with its nine 18" guns it could have > > > > > stood 25 miles offshore (out of range of this piece?) and done > > some serious harm. > > > In fact I can't imagine a scenario in which this shore-mounted > > piece would have been useful. We still have the remains of > > similar installations guarding Vancouver harbor and the entrance > > to the Fraser River. They were never used, except one case > > of friendly fire in which the gun crew tried to put a round > > across the bows of a ship that didn't stop and identify itself... > > the shell skipped across the water and punched two neat round holes > > through the ship's hull, one on each side. > Actually it could have easily with resupply which the japanese had....though never ever as effieciently as the americans. The Navy called it FLTTRNS iirc or Fleet Transport Resupply. It's the ONE thing nobody else on teh planet did as well as the americans and that is rapid (maybe not accurate) resupply in quantity. Nobody did or does it as well as the americans, not the germans not the english or japanese or russians. I wont even mention the italians or french except to say at least they could get the booze to the boys in a timely manner and a pat on the head for trying with the rest of the gear. Was a fine American general that picked the losing side of the the civil war (cofederates) who observed "Who ev'ah gets there with the mostest and the firstest is gonna win" he lost. BUT he was correct. p.s. bonus question what was THE best tank of WWII? free clue it wasn't japanese or italian.
From: J. Clarke on 2 Aug 2010 14:27 On 8/2/2010 1:33 PM, sean_q wrote: >> If the _Yamato_ had showed up... > > I just looked up the cruising range of the _Yamato_ in my most > reliable source (the _Junior Woodchucks Field Guide_). > > Over 7000 nautical miles (13,000 km). However without > a military background I'm not sure if that's one way > or return. (What an embarrassing thing to get wrong > in a combat situation -- stranded out of gas in enemy waters, > thumbing through the operator's manual to see what went wrong.) > > Anyway it's 3400 nm from Yokohama to Honolulu, and another > 2000 to California. So the chances of seeing the Imperial > Japanese Fleet suddenly appearing from around Seal Rocks > on Santa Catalina were remote... but what a terrifying sight > if they had. While the Japanese had not mastered underway replenishment the way the US Navy did, they could nonetheless refuel at sea. In fact that was a necessary step in the Pearl Harbor attack and they were worried that the US Navy would spot their lightly escorted resupply fleet and sink the tankers, which would leave their main force a long way from home and out of gas and in a perfect position to be pounded to scrap by Halsey's carriers. They were quite capable of putting a fleet off the Pacific coast if Pearl Harbor was neutralized, but they didn't manage to do that. > > SQ > > > > > > > > with its nine 18" guns it could have >> stood 25 miles offshore (out of range of this piece?) and done >> some serious harm. >> >> In fact I can't imagine a scenario in which this shore-mounted >> piece would have been useful. We still have the remains of >> similar installations guarding Vancouver harbor and the entrance >> to the Fraser River. They were never used, except one case >> of friendly fire in which the gun crew tried to put a round >> across the bows of a ship that didn't stop and identify itself... >> the shell skipped across the water and punched two neat round holes >> through the ship's hull, one on each side. >> >> SQ
From: sean_q on 2 Aug 2010 14:39 S'mee wrote: > p.s. bonus question what was THE best tank of WWII? What do you mean by "best"? The Germans had some formidable machines like the Tigers and Panthers... but they had trouble handling Russian winter conditions. OTOH the Soviet T34 was rugged, but its 75 mm canon was outclassed by the German 88 mm. I believe the Germans had the best tanks for the combat conditions at Kursk (Tigers) but were overwhelmed by Soviet force of numbers. What were you saying about Stonewall Jackson? Looks like the Russkies were there fustest with the mostest. SQ
From: Vito on 2 Aug 2010 16:13 Datesfat Chicks wrote: >> "Vito" <vito(a)cfl.rr.com> wrote >>> Twibil wrote: >>>>> Went back down to Long Beach today and took a couple of pics that >>>>> should warm the cockles of an old cannon-cocker's heart. ..... >>> >>> Tnx. If you ever come east visit the warfare station at Dahlgren, >>> Va. They >>> have a 16" rifle from the N.J. (IIRC) that they used to test range >>> tables by >>> firing it down the Potomac. Bullets are quite impressive. >> >> My recollection is that 16-inch projectiles were in the 1500 - 2500 >> lb. range. >> >> When you can heave a subcompact car 20 - 30 miles ... yep, that seems >> impressive. >> >> Of course it ain't a car. It goes boom at the end and spits out all >> sorts of fragmentation. But the weight is about the same ... >> >> DF Yup, 650# of propellant turns pictures sideways on office walls too ...
From: The Older Gentleman on 2 Aug 2010 17:55
sean_q <no.spam(a)no.spam> wrote: > I believe the Germans had the best tanks for the combat > conditions at Kursk (Tigers) but were overwhelmed by Soviet > force of numbers. Um, more like *very good* Soviet intel. They knew *exactly* what the Huns were going to do. -- BMW K1100LT Ducati 750SS Triumph Street Triple Honda CB400F Suzuki TS250 Suzuki GN250 chateaudotmurrayatidnetdotcom Nothing damages a machine more than an ignoramus with a manual, a can-do attitude and a set of cheap tools |