Cathedral.

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I must admit this does fail to impress. Architecture with a military significance profound.

Courtesy once more to the Internet web site Russia Beyond the article by Igor Palkin.

"A giant BLACK cathedral from remelted weapons appears in Russia (PHOTOS)"

HOUSE OF WORSHIP AS DEDICATED TO THE RUSSIAN/SOVIET DEAD OF WORLD WAR TWO.

"With its dark-green exterior and stairs forged out of melted German tanks - and containing some of Hitler’s belongings, including his military cap - the Main Cathedral of the Russian Armed Forces now stands tall just outside Moscow. And it’s already the most discussed Orthodox place of worship in the country."

Great symbolism embedded into the design!!

"The cathedral is bursting with symbolism. For instance, the pedestal of the main dome is another - measuring 19.45 meters in diameter. The pedestal itself features eight windows. Meanwhile, the dome measures 22.43 meters in height. These measurements symbolize the signing of the German Instrument of Surrender on May 8, 1945, at precisely 10:43 PM. "

Forgive me for not converting those dimensions into inch/foot/yard but the symbolism of the metrics must not be obscured or confused.

"Another detail can be gleaned in the 14.18 meter smaller domes, signifying the 1,418 days the war lasted for."

ALL THIS WOULD HAVE SURPRISED JOE STALIN? 

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Polisario.

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Courtesy the Internet web site Small Wars Journal and the article by Joseph Hammond.

"Polisario Front Renews War in Western Sahara"

"The United States should pay careful attention to the brewing conflict in the Sahara which if left unchecked could contribute to destabilizing forces across North Africa and the Sahel."

HEY, I THOUGHT THESE INSURGENTS [POLISARIO] WERE DEFEATED A LONG TIME AGO! IF NOT AN OUTRIGHT DEFEAT A STEADY TRUCE EVEN IF SHAKY SOMETIMES.

Polisario an African insurgency: "a Sahrawi rebel national liberation movement aiming to end Moroccan presence in the Western Sahara."

Two aspects of the Polisario COIN [counter-insurgency] odd. 1. The building of an enormous sand berm [wall] greatly restricting the cross-border movement of mobile Polisario units. 2. Autopsy of slain insurgents revealing uncircumcised men as combatants. For a part of the world where nearly 100 %  of the population Muslim the presence of such individuals found as most strange. 

Who are these guys?

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Retribution.

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Some people [and nations too] have long memories. Within the context of the cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris France being devastated by fire there is an indirect military dimension? Strange but true?

"Everything has consequences, heavenly cycles, retribution. This applies to both people and country! I only feel awe for karma, and it has nothing to do with morality."

"Karma - -  means action, work or deed; it also refers to the spiritual principle of cause and effect where intent and actions of an individual (cause) influence the future of that individual (effect)."

"Some Chinese nationalists see justice for Summer Palace razing in Notre Dame fire"

DURING THE SECOND OPIUM WAR OF 1860 FRENCH TROOPS HAVING BURNED THE SUMMER PALACE OF THE CHINESE EMPEROR.

"(CNN) As the world watched in horror at pictures of the Notre Dame burning, some in China saw another story in the flames: that of retribution."

CHINESE SOME OF THEM THEIR PERSPECTIVE THE BURNING OF THE NOTRE DAME CATHEDRAL SOME SORT OF HEAVENLY PAY-BACK FOR THE EVENTS OF 1860?

"French and British troops burned the Summer Palace to the ground during the Second Opium War in 1860 and it has since become a key element in the 'Century of Humiliation' narrative taught in Chinese schools."

READ THE WHOLE EPISODE OF INVADING BRITISH AND FRENCH TROOPS DURING THE SECOND OPIUM WAR SACKING AND DESTROYING THE SUMMER PALACE OF THE CHINESE EMPEROR. LOOT AND TREASURE AS SEIZED IMMENSE.

Again, some persons and nations for that matter have long memories. It is often suggested that the Battle of Tannenberg [1914] during World War One retaliation for the defeat of the Teutonic Knights FIVE HUNDRED YEARS EARLIER at the Battle of Grunewald!!

Draw your own conclusions.

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FlaK 40 Zwilling.

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Until just the other day this German weapons system from the era of the Second World War [WW2] totally unknown to me.

Big-bore dual barrel anti-aircraft-artillery [AAA] with a formidable capability. As mounted on German flak towers, a danger to allied strategic bomber aircraft and THE FLAK TOWERS THEMSELVES.

FlaK 40 Zwilling!

"12.8 cm FlaK 40 Zwilling Twin mounted anti-aircraft, capable of firing 20 rounds per minute. Used mainly on flak towers. Production started in 1942 with 10 twin sets produced, another eight in 1943, and in February 1945 a total of 34 were available."

This FlaK 40 Zwilling mounted on a wheeled carriage I believe for display purposes only. In action would be bolted very securely to the concrete roof of a flak tower, stationary and not mobile.

"The gun fired a 27.9 kg (57.2-pound) shell at 880 m/s (2,890 ft/s) to a maximum ceiling of 14,800 m (48,556 ft). Compared with the 88mm FlaK 18 & 36, the 128 used a powder charge four times as great which resulted in a shell flight time only one-third as long. This made aim against fast-moving targets much easier."

It is reputed about 16,000 rounds of conventional German AAA required to bring down one allied bomber aircraft. Only about 3,000 rounds needed to be fired from a FlaK 40 Zwilling however to achieve the same result!

A round as fired from the FlaK 40 Zwilling producing an enormous recoil, the prodigious forces as generated DIRECTED PREDOMINANTLY DOWNWARD INTO THE INTERIOR AND OUTER WALLS OF THE FLAK TOWER!

Flak towers in danger of being SHAKEN APART FROM REPEATED DOWNWARD RECOIL OF THE FLAK 40 ZWILLING!

German engineers and architects having incorporated into some level of the flak tower layers of sand of some depth to absorb the force of the downward recoil. German military engineering and military architecture during WW2 very competent, novel and imaginative approaches to problems quite remarkable!

Also from the Gustave Roosen web site that problem of quality control of munitions and weapons systems as produced by impressed and forced labor during that WW2 period addressed:

"the 128mm caliber ammunition which we were firing came out of a munitions factory which employed 'forced labour', and probably also prisoners, who were busy carrying out sabotage. They sabotaged the shell by drilling into it so that the propellant and the explosive material of the actual shell were ignited when firing took place. The result in the most favourable case was a ruptured barrel, and in the most unfavourable case, an exploding barrel"

In the case of the former, damage to the gun and rendering same ineffective. In the case of the latter, death and injury to the gun crew.

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Forts?

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Even Bert can be wrong.

Originally I had thought that the flak tower from the era of World War Two [WW2] was an uniquely German contribution to military architecture. But I was wrong.

Here, thanks to der Spiegel and the tip from Jungle Trader, we have the story of the BRITISH flak tower. Called "forts" but much more correctly referred to as a flak tower?

Structures, towers built out over the water, protecting the approaches to English port facilities and estuaries. Topped with radar, searchlights, heavy and light AAA [anti-aircraft artillery]. Raised above the water on stilts, allowing for an unimpeded 360 degree field of fire!




"'Fort Madness:' Britain's Bizarre Sea Defense Against the Germans"

"Clusters of steel huts and manned triumphal arches: From bizarre fortresses off the coast, the British military fought German mine layers in World War II. The huge forts weren't just a thorn in the side of Hitler's air force, but also drove their British crews insane."




Duty on one of these flak towers driving some men insane!

"The isolation and close quarters were hard to bear . . . The men remained on board for six weeks at a time, spending 10 days on land in between deployments. Many required psychiatric treatment, and the soldiers soon came up with their own name for the man made platforms: 'Fort Madness.'"

Forts, flak towers, NOT bizarre. Effective and an answer, in part, to a problem for which there seemed to be no amelioration. Forts even occupied and in use during the early period of the Cold War! NOW rusting hulks in severe disrepair and a hazard to shipping!

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Detectives II.

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"Asking the Detectives" - - continued.

2. Married couple, want to determine if their refurbished home in Schenectady New York was originally a blockhouse built in the aftermath of the Schenectady Massacre, 1691!

This “massacre” - - something I had not ever heard of!! American Indians, led by French Canadians [Quebecois], attacking the British colonial town of Schenectady, massacring the inhabitants and burning the settlement - - and doing so during intense wintertime conditions - - sub-zero temperatures and SIX FEET OF DRIFTED SNOW!!!

The detective is able to determine, again, with a pretty good degree of certainty - - that the refurbished residence of this couple originally WAS A BLOCKHOUSE BUILT IN THE AFTERMATH OF THE MASSACRE!!

Authenticity of the blockhouse origins determined by:

* Careful measurements of the couple’s home [a squared off structure of exacting size], comparing dimensions to historical documents!

* Using tree-ring data [dendrochronology] from roof timber members. Roofing timbers are absolutely dated from the time of 1700!

* Comparison of maps of Schenectady from the period [1700] to the current location of the home! [it was found the home IS NOT standing on the original location. WAS MOVED at some time to where it sits now!]

The British, with suitable defensive fortifications in mind, rebuilt the town of Schenectady, this particularly sturdy structure being one of them!! In case of attack, military and civilian personnel could shelter in the blockhouse, being relatively safe, able to defend themselves, shooting DOWNWARD upon marauders from covered and protected second story firing positions.

[see my blog entry concerning German flak towers from the World War Two era and their role in ground combat.]

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Flak Tower

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Here is, from the World War Two [WW2] era, a uniquely German form of military architecture:

The flak tower.

Imposing vertical structures, blockhouses, very sturdily built, used primarily as emplacements for German anti-aircraft-artillery [AAA] units! Flak in German.

"a blockhouse is a small, isolated fort in the form of a single building. It is intended to serve as a defensive strong point"

"Flak towers (German: Flaktürme) were large anti-aircraft gun blockhouses used by the Luftwaffe to prevent overflights of key areas in certain cities in World War II. They also served as air-raid shelters for tens of thousands of people and to coordinate air defence"

Were used in a multiplicity of ways:

* Emplacements for anti-aircraft-artillery [AAA]! [ammunition storage as well!]
* Air-raid shelters. [multi-storied structures allowing for tens of thousands of civilians to be accommodated at one time?!]
* AAA command and control facilities.

AAA units mounted atop a flak tower had a completely unobstructed 360 degree coverage, from the horizon to the zenith, in all directions, unimpeded!!

Built in a variety of "flavors". A G-tower being one of the most common. One tower, fully equipped and manned, had an enormous firepower capability. The concentration of firepower from one tower alone just had to present an awesome spectacle.



"Generation 1":
"G-Towers were 70.5 × 70.5 × 39 m, usually armed with eight (four twin) 128 mm guns and numerous 37 mm and thirty-two (eight quad) 20 mm guns."

"Generation 2":
"G-Towers were 57 × 57 × 41.6 m, usually armed with eight (four twin) 128 mm guns and sixteen (four quad) 20 mm guns."

"Generation 3":
"G-Towers were 43 × 43 × 54 m, usually armed with eight (four twin) 128 mm guns and thirty-two (eight quad) 20 mm guns."

Were considered to be almost absolutely impervious to attack. Could be used in a ground defensive role as well as the AAA role. WERE USED AS SUCH DURING THE BATTLE OF BERLIN, 1945!!! AAA firing downward at approaching Soviet units!!

"With concrete walls up to 3.5 metres thick, these towers were considered to be invulnerable to attack"

"Soviets [ground forces], in assaulting Berlin, found it hard to make an impression on the Flak towers, even with some of the largest Soviet assault guns, the 203 mm howitzers. Soviet forces generally maneuvered around them, and eventually sent in envoys to seek their submission."

Some of these structures from the World War Two era still exist! Demolition is prohibitive from the cost standpoint, so sturdily were these towers built!!

"the demolition of the towers was in most cases unfeasible and many remain to this day."

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