This is coolbert:
Dog eat dog!
From Business Insider and according to the investment guru Jeremy Grantham those perceived threats to world stability. Ruination of the existing world order with calamitous results for everyone.
"GRANTHAM: I can't stop thinking about these 10 threats that could potentially ruin the world"
"In his latest quarterly letter to clients, GMO's Jeremy Grantham has a concise list of 10 things that, he writes, 'can all be viewed as problems: potential threats to our well-being.'"
Those 10 topics of doom:
1. "Pressure on GDP growth in the US and the balance of the developed world."
2. "The age of plentiful, cheap resources is gone forever."
3. "Oil."
4. "Climate problems."
5. "Global food shortages."
6. "Income inequality."
7. "Trying to understand deficiencies in democracy and capitalism."
8. "Deficiencies in the Fed." [American Federal Reserve System]
9. "Investment bubbles in a world that is, this time, interestingly different."
10. "Limitations of homo sapiens."
NOT an obliteration of the world order but an obliteration of the world order as we know it. From economic factors that will spiral out of control in an uncontrollable and unanticipated manner.
NO mention of a cataclysmic natural event such as a comet or asteroid impact on the planet Earth or the eruption of a super-volcano. OR a global pandemic of extraordinary and overwhelming proportions [the Black Death for instance]. Global thermonuclear war also not mentioned!
Mr. Grantham an economist [?] so his priorities and protocols always from the economic perspective.
Read additional regarding those factors of doom as outline by Mr. Grantham.
coolbert.
Friday, July 31, 2015
Thursday, July 30, 2015
Navy Day.
Russian Navy Day.
And near disaster!
From MARCO POLO through Harry:
"The Russians celebrate the last Sunday of July [26 July this year] as their Navy Day. This had started in the Soviet Union in 1839. The date memorializes the Russian fleet's first victory over a foreign navy -- 1714 (July -- August) 'Battle of 'Gangut'"
"On Navy Day each year, President Putin visits home of the Russian fleet -- in 2013 Sevastopol and in 2014 Severomorsk, respectively. This year he was in Baltiisk (Kaliningrad Province) -- home of Russian Baltic Fleet."
"There was a near disaster in Sevastopol [Navy Day in Sevastopol]. In front of a large number of spectators, the frigate 'Ladny' demonstrated the firing of an ASW missile -- 'URPK-3' (NATO's SS-N-14 'Silex'). Seconds after the launch, the missile exploded in the air, and fell back onto the sea. It nearly hit the ship. Fortunately, there were no casualties."
Think of the USS Princeton disaster from a much more previous era:
"The USS Princeton Disaster of 1844 occurred on February 28 aboard the newly built USS Princeton when one of the ship's long guns, the 'Peacemaker', then the world's longest naval gun, exploded during a display of the ship."
The President of the United States John Tyler with a goodly number of his cabinet as in attendance the lot of them nearly killed!!
"President Tyler survived the disaster because he was below decks."
Such things can and do happen.
coolbert.
Frogfoot UTG.
This is coolbert:
From that prior blog entry:
"That is a Frogfoot on take-off? Su-25 not normally associated with naval aviation. Until now?
Su-25 indeed associated with Russian naval aviation. Frogfoot [NATO code name] used strictly as a training aircraft for pilots to practice carrier take-off and landings. NOT a warplane having an organic combat capability anymore?
"A twin-seat carrier-based combat trainer powered by two R-95Sh turbojet engines each producing 4,100-kgf thrust. The Su-25UTG is a derivative of the Su-25UB combat trainer version of the baseline Su-25 attack aircraft. It differs from the Su-25UB in having the arrestor hook for practising flying off and on the deck of the aircraft carrier as well as a somewhat lighter airframe due to the fact that its weaponry and armour plates were dismounted . . . The Su-25UTG is operated by the composite air division deployed on the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier. In 1999, one of the aircraft was fitted with a folding wing."
Su-25 Frogfoot then an inventoried Russian naval aviation warplane but only in a training capacity.
coolbert.
From that prior blog entry:
"That is a Frogfoot on take-off? Su-25 not normally associated with naval aviation. Until now?
Su-25 indeed associated with Russian naval aviation. Frogfoot [NATO code name] used strictly as a training aircraft for pilots to practice carrier take-off and landings. NOT a warplane having an organic combat capability anymore?
"A twin-seat carrier-based combat trainer powered by two R-95Sh turbojet engines each producing 4,100-kgf thrust. The Su-25UTG is a derivative of the Su-25UB combat trainer version of the baseline Su-25 attack aircraft. It differs from the Su-25UB in having the arrestor hook for practising flying off and on the deck of the aircraft carrier as well as a somewhat lighter airframe due to the fact that its weaponry and armour plates were dismounted . . . The Su-25UTG is operated by the composite air division deployed on the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier. In 1999, one of the aircraft was fitted with a folding wing."
Another image of a Russian Su-25UTB practicing a ski-jump take-off.
Frogfoot UTG on the deck of an aircraft carrier. Presumably the Admiral Kuznetsov.
Yet one more image of Su-25UTG ready for carrier flight ops.
Su-25 Frogfoot then an inventoried Russian naval aviation warplane but only in a training capacity.
coolbert.
Last Resort.
From Business Insider an article as describing the Doomsday Scenario.
That British national command authority for whatever reason [usually expected to be an atomic attack of cataclysmic proportions] becoming totally incapacitated or destroy, chaos the result. Those commanders of nuclear deterrent [Trident and before that Polaris] submarines responding to instructions as deemed appropriate by the British Prime Minister.
"The first task of any new prime minister is to write this letter to nuclear submarines in case the government is destroyed"
"Somewhere out in the North Atlantic, every hour of the day, every day of the year, a lone submarine glides through the ocean with no real destination. Since 1969, one of the four boats of the UK’s Continuous At-Sea Submarine Deterrent has always been on patrol."
"Options do allow a great deal of latitude"
Options to include as alleged:
1. "Retaliate with nuclear weapons without prejudice."
2. "Do not retaliate at all."
3. "Allow the commander to act within his own discretion."
4. "Place the boat under the control of an allied navy, specifically the Royal Australian Navy [RAN] or US Navy [USN]."
The devoted reader to the blog if in command of a Trident missile firing submarine and if instructed to "act within his own discretion" would do what exactly? Think about it for a while!
coolbert.
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
Mullah Omar.
From Jungle Trader and the story as reported by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty as is hot off the presses:
Mullah Omar the patron and leader of the Taliban is now deceased. And HAS BEEN SO FOR TWO YEARS NOW??
"The Afghan government has announced that it is investigating reports that Mullah Mohammad Omar, the spiritual leader of the Afghan Taliban and a key early Al-Qaeda ally, is dead."
"The July 29 development came hours after an official from Afghanistan's National Security Council told RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan that the government had confirmed Mullah Omar had been dead since 2013."
"The reclusive leader, who had not been seen in public since the U.S.-led invasion in 2001, was said to have died from an unspecified illness."NOT much known about Omar. Other than:
* He was a personal confidant of Osama bin Laden.
* He has only one eye. Only grainy images of the man exist.
* The man was in possession of the Cloak of the Prophet [Mohammad]. A sacred Islamic object and worn by Omar from time to time.
Beyond that the man is the proverbial enigma and always has been. NOW gone and forever too apparently. And what does this mean for Afghan? That too remains to be seen.
coolbert.
Ski-jump.
This is coolbert:
To war with RUSSIAN CARRIER PIGEONS.
Thanks to MARCO POLO through Harry:
"The Russians say that they have begun training their carrier pilots at the old simulated carrier ski jump facility in Crimea. The Russians call it 'NITKA'. It is in the Crimean village of Novofedrovka, and was in disuse after Crimea had seceded from Russia with the independence of Ukraine in 1992. A Su-27 had flown from there for the first time in 1982."
"The Northern Fleet moved three Su-25UTGs and three Su-33 carrier-borne fighters to the training facility. Also, 70 flight instructors and technicians moved there."
"After the completion of training at NITKA, carrier pilots will return to northern Russia for the training on board the aircraft carrier 'Admiral Kuznetsov'."
This land-based facility for training naval aviators the techniques of aircraft carrier take-off and landings [?]. See from this Russian web site an article about NITKA.
Was LEASED to Russia by Ukraine but is now part of Russian territory and deemed as an integral part of naval aviation training solely under Russian control.
NITKA today, Admiral Kuznetsov tomorrow so goes the adage! I would think.
coolbert.
To war with RUSSIAN CARRIER PIGEONS.
Thanks to MARCO POLO through Harry:
"The Russians say that they have begun training their carrier pilots at the old simulated carrier ski jump facility in Crimea. The Russians call it 'NITKA'. It is in the Crimean village of Novofedrovka, and was in disuse after Crimea had seceded from Russia with the independence of Ukraine in 1992. A Su-27 had flown from there for the first time in 1982."
"The Northern Fleet moved three Su-25UTGs and three Su-33 carrier-borne fighters to the training facility. Also, 70 flight instructors and technicians moved there."
That is a Frogfoot on take-off? Su-25 not normally associated with naval aviation. Until now?
"After the completion of training at NITKA, carrier pilots will return to northern Russia for the training on board the aircraft carrier 'Admiral Kuznetsov'."
This land-based facility for training naval aviators the techniques of aircraft carrier take-off and landings [?]. See from this Russian web site an article about NITKA.
Was LEASED to Russia by Ukraine but is now part of Russian territory and deemed as an integral part of naval aviation training solely under Russian control.
NITKA today, Admiral Kuznetsov tomorrow so goes the adage! I would think.
coolbert.
Sveaborg/Suomenlinna.
Before there was Helsinki there was Helsingfors. And before Helsingfors there was Sveaborg.
NOW called Suomenlinna. Second largest fortress in all of Europe, only surpassed by Gibralter.
NOW a popular tourist destination and as seen at the Rick Steves "American Public Television series Rick Steves' Europe".
This I believe is an eleven inch [280 mm] Russian 1867 coastal artillery gun. The fortress having quite an assemblage of these weapons. The man astride the gun gives you some sense of scale.
"Suomenlinna, until 1918 Viapori (Finnish), or Sveaborg (Swedish), is an inhabited sea fortress built on six islands . . . and which now forms part of the city of Helsinki, the capital of Finland. Suomenlinna is a UNESCO World Heritage site and popular with tourists and locals, who enjoy it as a picturesque picnic site . . . The Swedish crown commenced the construction of the fortress in 1748 as protection against Russian expansionism . . . The original plan of the bastion fortress was strongly influenced by the ideas of Vauban, the foremost military engineer of the time, and the principles of Star Fort style of fortification"
The fortress as seen from the air. Formidable but not impervious to attack and capture! Helsinki as seen in the background.
Let me clarify that village which became the city we now know as Helsinki established prior to the construction of Sveaborg/Suomenlinna but ONLY EXPANDING AND BURGEONING IN SIZE IN THE AFTERMATH OF SVEABORG/SUOMENLINNA BECOMING A GOING CONCERN!
coolbert.
Concrete Aircraft Carrier.
This is coolbert:
To war with concrete aircraft carrier.
Well, not exactly.
The Chinese have built a concrete aircraft carrier with ski-jump take-off ramp as a means of training their naval aviation pilots. This impressive edifice far from the ocean, CONSTRUCTED OVER AN EXISTING BUILDING, AT LEAST FROM THE DECK PORTION UPWARD FULL-SIZE!!
"Concrete Aircraft Carrier Building Discovered In Wuhan"
From the original article as of 2009.
That Chinese demand for concrete enormous and apparently insatiable. Those interested might want to refer to this Forbes article, alleging that: "between 2011 and 2013, China consumed 6.6 gigatons of concrete – that’s more than the U.S. used in the entire 20th century". Roads, dams, and CONCRETE AIRCRAFT CARRIERS.
coolbert.
To war with concrete aircraft carrier.
Well, not exactly.
The Chinese have built a concrete aircraft carrier with ski-jump take-off ramp as a means of training their naval aviation pilots. This impressive edifice far from the ocean, CONSTRUCTED OVER AN EXISTING BUILDING, AT LEAST FROM THE DECK PORTION UPWARD FULL-SIZE!!
"Concrete Aircraft Carrier Building Discovered In Wuhan"
From the original article as of 2009.
Chinese concrete aircraft carrier constructed on top of a building. The ski-jump take off for the warplanes seen on the extreme right of the image.
An enlarged image of the ski-jump take off.
That Chinese demand for concrete enormous and apparently insatiable. Those interested might want to refer to this Forbes article, alleging that: "between 2011 and 2013, China consumed 6.6 gigatons of concrete – that’s more than the U.S. used in the entire 20th century". Roads, dams, and CONCRETE AIRCRAFT CARRIERS.
coolbert.
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Catfish.
This is coolbert:
From the Swedish Expressen Internet web site we have the details of the newly located foreign midget submarine in Swedish waters. NOT WHAT I HAD THOUGHT IT WAS!
From the original Swedish article and translation thanks to Bing.
"Främmande ubåt hittad i svenskt vatten"
"Foreign submarine found in Swedish waters"
"Ubåten som hittats på svenskt vatten har sannolikt legat under havsytan i 99 år. Per Andersson, tidigare medlem i ubåtsanalysgruppen, tror sig vara säker på att det är en rysk Catfish-ubåt som sjönk i Östersjön 1916. – Jag känner mig väldigt säker på att det är en Catfish. Det stämmer bra överens med detaljerna på ubåten, säger han."
"The submarine found in Swedish waters has likely been below sea level in 99 years. Per Andersson, former member of submarine analysis group, believes himself to be sure it is a Catfish-submarine that sank in the Baltic in 1916. 'I feel very confident that there is a Catfish. It is true with the details of the submarine,' he said"
Swedish submarine hysteria even existing from the time of the Great War then we can surmise?
coolbert.
From the Swedish Expressen Internet web site we have the details of the newly located foreign midget submarine in Swedish waters. NOT WHAT I HAD THOUGHT IT WAS!
From the original Swedish article and translation thanks to Bing.
"Främmande ubåt hittad i svenskt vatten"
"Foreign submarine found in Swedish waters"
This is Russian World War One Catfish class submarine. Evidently what has been found by the Swedes.
"Ubåten som hittats på svenskt vatten har sannolikt legat under havsytan i 99 år. Per Andersson, tidigare medlem i ubåtsanalysgruppen, tror sig vara säker på att det är en rysk Catfish-ubåt som sjönk i Östersjön 1916. – Jag känner mig väldigt säker på att det är en Catfish. Det stämmer bra överens med detaljerna på ubåten, säger han."
One more image of the Catfish. Sweden during the Great War a neutral. That Russian sub in Swedish waters for what reason then?
"The submarine found in Swedish waters has likely been below sea level in 99 years. Per Andersson, former member of submarine analysis group, believes himself to be sure it is a Catfish-submarine that sank in the Baltic in 1916. 'I feel very confident that there is a Catfish. It is true with the details of the submarine,' he said"
Swedish submarine hysteria even existing from the time of the Great War then we can surmise?
coolbert.
Midget!
This is coolbert:
The headline says it all!
"Russian Submarine Wreck Found in Sweden’s Territorial Waters"
This has the potentiality to be very big! As reported only today the discovery from last week.
AN APPARENT SUNKEN RUSSIAN MIDGET SUBMARINE LOCATED IN SWEDISH TERRITORIAL WATERS. PERHAPS WITH DROWNED AND PERISHED CREW STILL INSIDE!!
I am at this very instant engrossed in a search of the World Wide Web to identify this vessel. Anyone have an idea of what class of Russian midget sub this might be let me know soonest. Size reported as sixty feet [20 meters] long and ten feet [three meters] wide.
"A wrecked mini-submarine was found last week in waters off of Sweden’s eastern coast, media in Sweden reported on July 27. Authorities believe it is a Russian model, primarily because of Cyrillic letters on the hull. They have not disclosed the exact location of the wreckage, but say it is around 1.5 nautical miles from the Swedish coast."
. . . .
"Reports say the sub is some 60 feet long and 10 feet wide, and holds a crew of three to six men. Since the hatches are unopened, experts believe the crew perished inside the vessel sometime after it crashed. 'The submarine is completely intact, has no visible damage to the hull and the hatches are closed. Therefore do we fear that the crew members were not able to save themselves when the sub went down,'"
SWEDISH SUBMARINE HYSTERIA NOT WITHOUT FOUNDATION IT SEEMS!!
coolbert.
The headline says it all!
"Russian Submarine Wreck Found in Sweden’s Territorial Waters"
This has the potentiality to be very big! As reported only today the discovery from last week.
AN APPARENT SUNKEN RUSSIAN MIDGET SUBMARINE LOCATED IN SWEDISH TERRITORIAL WATERS. PERHAPS WITH DROWNED AND PERISHED CREW STILL INSIDE!!
I am at this very instant engrossed in a search of the World Wide Web to identify this vessel. Anyone have an idea of what class of Russian midget sub this might be let me know soonest. Size reported as sixty feet [20 meters] long and ten feet [three meters] wide.
"A wrecked mini-submarine was found last week in waters off of Sweden’s eastern coast, media in Sweden reported on July 27. Authorities believe it is a Russian model, primarily because of Cyrillic letters on the hull. They have not disclosed the exact location of the wreckage, but say it is around 1.5 nautical miles from the Swedish coast."
. . . .
"Reports say the sub is some 60 feet long and 10 feet wide, and holds a crew of three to six men. Since the hatches are unopened, experts believe the crew perished inside the vessel sometime after it crashed. 'The submarine is completely intact, has no visible damage to the hull and the hatches are closed. Therefore do we fear that the crew members were not able to save themselves when the sub went down,'"
SWEDISH SUBMARINE HYSTERIA NOT WITHOUT FOUNDATION IT SEEMS!!
coolbert.
Monday, July 27, 2015
Air Tanker.
This is coolbert:
Yet more and even worse alarmist headlines courtesy of DEBKAfile:
"Iran buys 100 Russian refueling aircraft for its air force to reach any point in the Mid East"
. . . .
"Secretary of State John Kerry can expect some really hard questions during his trip on exactly how the Vienna accord makes the region safer, when Iran’s first act after signing is to arm itself with a huge fleet of Russian in-flight fuel tankers to expand and strengthen its range and power for aerial aggression."
I think the initial, intuitive and instantaneous response to that DEBKAfile headline is that the number of one hundred [100] air refueling tankers is much too great. Allegedly this is the Il-78 MIDAS Russian aircraft. Iran suddenly their coffers swollen with cash and the first thing they do is buy advanced military hardware FROM ONE OF THE PARTIES A SIGNATORY TO THE RECENTLY ARRIVED AT NUCLEAR ACCORD?
Secretary Kerry WILL have a lot of explaining to do.
coolbert.
Yet more and even worse alarmist headlines courtesy of DEBKAfile:
"Iran buys 100 Russian refueling aircraft for its air force to reach any point in the Mid East"
. . . .
"Secretary of State John Kerry can expect some really hard questions during his trip on exactly how the Vienna accord makes the region safer, when Iran’s first act after signing is to arm itself with a huge fleet of Russian in-flight fuel tankers to expand and strengthen its range and power for aerial aggression."
Il-78 able to re-fuel multiple numbers of warplanes simultaneously.
Secretary Kerry WILL have a lot of explaining to do.
coolbert.
SA-3 Vietnam.
This is coolbert:
As was previously reported:
"Thanks to Freeper, The Times of Israel and the wiki we have this item my initial response to which has been proven to be nearly 100 % wrong."
From the Strategy Page Internet web site and as copied more or less in entirety another example of where Bert has been shown to be wrong.
"Air Defense: SA-3 Makes A Comeback"
"July 17, 2015: For over a decade now Belarus has been trying to develop legitimate defense companies and they have had some success. One such company, TETRAEDR, specializes in upgrading Cold War era Russian air defense systems. There is a market for such services because many countries still rely on these older missile systems and upgrades of existing equipment is a lot cheaper than buying new stuff. One recent satisfied customer is Vietnam, which is having its S-125 (SA-3 Goa) anti-aircraft missile systems upgraded to the S-125-2TM standard. This upgrade makes the missiles more capable in that they are better able to handle jamming and more effective against low-flying targets (especially cruise missiles). The 2TM upgrades enables S-125 batteries to operate independent of a centralized air defense system and be ready for action (or ready to move) more quickly. The upgrades, Vietnam was assured, makes the S-125 more effective against Chinese air attack."
Many nations from the period of the Cold War having firing batteries of old and previously having been thought of as antiquated surface-to-air missiles such as the SA-3 Goa now receiving upgrades. Including Vietnam!!
VIETNAM TAKING INTO ACCOUNT THE CHINESE THREAT THOSE MISSILES THE PRIMARY TARGET NO LONGER THE INCOMING AMERICAN INTRUDER AIR PIRATE BANDIT WARPLANE!!
coolbert.
As was previously reported:
"Thanks to Freeper, The Times of Israel and the wiki we have this item my initial response to which has been proven to be nearly 100 % wrong."
From the Strategy Page Internet web site and as copied more or less in entirety another example of where Bert has been shown to be wrong.
"Air Defense: SA-3 Makes A Comeback"
"July 17, 2015: For over a decade now Belarus has been trying to develop legitimate defense companies and they have had some success. One such company, TETRAEDR, specializes in upgrading Cold War era Russian air defense systems. There is a market for such services because many countries still rely on these older missile systems and upgrades of existing equipment is a lot cheaper than buying new stuff. One recent satisfied customer is Vietnam, which is having its S-125 (SA-3 Goa) anti-aircraft missile systems upgraded to the S-125-2TM standard. This upgrade makes the missiles more capable in that they are better able to handle jamming and more effective against low-flying targets (especially cruise missiles). The 2TM upgrades enables S-125 batteries to operate independent of a centralized air defense system and be ready for action (or ready to move) more quickly. The upgrades, Vietnam was assured, makes the S-125 more effective against Chinese air attack."
Many nations from the period of the Cold War having firing batteries of old and previously having been thought of as antiquated surface-to-air missiles such as the SA-3 Goa now receiving upgrades. Including Vietnam!!
VIETNAM TAKING INTO ACCOUNT THE CHINESE THREAT THOSE MISSILES THE PRIMARY TARGET NO LONGER THE INCOMING AMERICAN INTRUDER AIR PIRATE BANDIT WARPLANE!!
coolbert.
IS & MNF.
This is coolbert:
From DEBKAfile the usual alarmist headlines.
Multi-national-force [MNF] Sinai under attack by affiliates beholden to the Islamic State [IS].
"ISIS infiltrates Egyptian special forces, joins with Hamas to occupy N. Sinai, liquidate Sisi"
"The Islamic State's success in infiltrating elite military units and banding together with the Palestinian Hamas poses mounting danger to the life and rule of Egyptian President Abdel-Fatteh El-Sisi . . . Tuesday, July 21, the Multinational Force and Observers in northern Sinai came under attack for the first time by a joint ISIS-Hamas force. The attack is ongoing."
MNF to include of course American contingents. This not now and hardly to be the last time the MNF under threat. They make for vulnerable targets and will create a lot of press copy worldwide if things go from bad to worse. MNF has made plans for a fast and rapid FIGHTING evacuation if necessary. I hope so.
coolbert.
From DEBKAfile the usual alarmist headlines.
Multi-national-force [MNF] Sinai under attack by affiliates beholden to the Islamic State [IS].
"ISIS infiltrates Egyptian special forces, joins with Hamas to occupy N. Sinai, liquidate Sisi"
"The Islamic State's success in infiltrating elite military units and banding together with the Palestinian Hamas poses mounting danger to the life and rule of Egyptian President Abdel-Fatteh El-Sisi . . . Tuesday, July 21, the Multinational Force and Observers in northern Sinai came under attack for the first time by a joint ISIS-Hamas force. The attack is ongoing."
MNF to include of course American contingents. This not now and hardly to be the last time the MNF under threat. They make for vulnerable targets and will create a lot of press copy worldwide if things go from bad to worse. MNF has made plans for a fast and rapid FIGHTING evacuation if necessary. I hope so.
coolbert.
127 mm.
This is coolbert:
New wine in the old bottle?
The thought only occurred to me in the aftermath of that prior post PGM Artillery.
Item # 4 the 127 mm Vulcano round can be fired from a naval deck gun circa 1945?
Merchantman equipped and armed with naval deck of the five inch [127 mm] size are able to fire a modern round such as the Vulcano? Vulcano 127 mm is backwards compatible with ancient and venerable naval guns? If so, that allows those armed merchantmen to have a more formidable even an envious degree of firepower unexpected. LONG RANGE WITH ALMOST PINPOINT ACCURACY. Survivors of Jutland would have been envious.
"VULCANO 127mm".
"Guided Long Range (GLR) ammunition with IMU+GPS autonomous guidance for precise NFS actions (a Semi Active Laser sensor can be fitted as option)." NFS = Naval fire support. IMU = Inertial measurement unit.
"The Italians have very good brains, the brains of great inventors".
Indeed they do and in ways perhaps they themselves might not have imagined possible.
coolbert.
New wine in the old bottle?
The thought only occurred to me in the aftermath of that prior post PGM Artillery.
Item # 4 the 127 mm Vulcano round can be fired from a naval deck gun circa 1945?
Merchantman equipped and armed with naval deck of the five inch [127 mm] size are able to fire a modern round such as the Vulcano? Vulcano 127 mm is backwards compatible with ancient and venerable naval guns? If so, that allows those armed merchantmen to have a more formidable even an envious degree of firepower unexpected. LONG RANGE WITH ALMOST PINPOINT ACCURACY. Survivors of Jutland would have been envious.
"VULCANO 127mm".
"Guided Long Range (GLR) ammunition with IMU+GPS autonomous guidance for precise NFS actions (a Semi Active Laser sensor can be fitted as option)." NFS = Naval fire support. IMU = Inertial measurement unit.
That precision guided [IMU+GPS] 127 mm long-range [LR] round as fired by a naval gun courtesy of OTO Melara. The wonders of micro-electronics! An Infra-red [IR] guidance version of this round is also available.
American five-inch [127 mm] naval deck gun as mounted on a World War Two submarine.The Vulcano round is backwards compatible and could be fired from this gun?
"The Italians have very good brains, the brains of great inventors".
Indeed they do and in ways perhaps they themselves might not have imagined possible.
coolbert.
Sunday, July 26, 2015
PGM Artillery.
This is coolbert:
From that prior blog entry:
"It [2S35] uses high-explosive extra-long-range precision-guided munitions with a maximum range of seventy kilometers [forty-four miles] and extreme high level of accuracy."
"this gun [2S35] was to be still improved and adapted to the role of coastal defense artillery. For the purpose of coastal defense, artillery is known to be much more economical than ground-based anti-ship missiles."
Here with a listing of those precision-guided artillery rounds currently in use. #'s 2 and 4 intended for naval gunfire but listed as with artillery for the purpose of this blog entry. The American Copperhead laser guided round having previously been in the inventory but to the best of my knowledge now removed.
1. M982 Excalibur.
"The M982 Excalibur (previously XM982) is a 155mm extended range guided artillery shell developed by Raytheon Missile Systems and BAE Systems AB. It is a GPS-guided munition capable of being used in close support situations within 150 metres (490 ft) of friendly troops."
2. Long Range Land Attack Projectile.
"The Long Range Land Attack Projectile (LRLAP) is a developmental program to produce a precision guided 155 mm naval artillery shell for the U.S. Navy."
3. Krasnopol.
"The 30F39 Krasnopol is a Russian 152/155 mm cannon-launched, fin-stabilized, base bleed-assisted, semi-automatic laser-guided, explosive projectile. It automatically 'homes' on a point illuminated by a laser designator, typically operated by a ground-based artillery observer."
4. Vulcano.
"'VULCANO' is a family of unguided (BER) and guided (GLR) ammunition for the 76mm, 127mm naval guns and 155mm land artillery systems."
Item # 1, 2, and 4 all guided to the target by GPS.
If and when GPS denied, then what?
coolbert.
From that prior blog entry:
"It [2S35] uses high-explosive extra-long-range precision-guided munitions with a maximum range of seventy kilometers [forty-four miles] and extreme high level of accuracy."
"this gun [2S35] was to be still improved and adapted to the role of coastal defense artillery. For the purpose of coastal defense, artillery is known to be much more economical than ground-based anti-ship missiles."
Here with a listing of those precision-guided artillery rounds currently in use. #'s 2 and 4 intended for naval gunfire but listed as with artillery for the purpose of this blog entry. The American Copperhead laser guided round having previously been in the inventory but to the best of my knowledge now removed.
1. M982 Excalibur.
"The M982 Excalibur (previously XM982) is a 155mm extended range guided artillery shell developed by Raytheon Missile Systems and BAE Systems AB. It is a GPS-guided munition capable of being used in close support situations within 150 metres (490 ft) of friendly troops."
American Excalibur.
2. Long Range Land Attack Projectile.
"The Long Range Land Attack Projectile (LRLAP) is a developmental program to produce a precision guided 155 mm naval artillery shell for the U.S. Navy."
Long Range Land Attack Projectile
3. Krasnopol.
"The 30F39 Krasnopol is a Russian 152/155 mm cannon-launched, fin-stabilized, base bleed-assisted, semi-automatic laser-guided, explosive projectile. It automatically 'homes' on a point illuminated by a laser designator, typically operated by a ground-based artillery observer."
The Krasnopol total package. The ammunition (1), the firing unit (2), the guided projectile (3) in flight, the target (4) and the laser emitter (5) and designator.
4. Vulcano.
"'VULCANO' is a family of unguided (BER) and guided (GLR) ammunition for the 76mm, 127mm naval guns and 155mm land artillery systems."
Vulcano. "The Italians have very good brains, the brains of great inventors" - - Suvorov.
Item # 1, 2, and 4 all guided to the target by GPS.
If and when GPS denied, then what?
coolbert.
Saturday, July 25, 2015
Marine Raiders.
To war with submarine. Colonel Carlson in charge!!
Yet more from the Isegoria.net Internet web site:
"Put the Marines Back in Submarines"
"David C. Fuquea argues that we should put the Marines back in submarines, where they haven’t trained since before Afghanistan and Iraq"
AT LEAST TO MY KNOWLEDGE U.S. MARINE CORPS LIGHT INFANTRY NOT HAVING DEPLOYED TO THE SCENE OF THE ACTION IN SUBMARINES SINCE WORLD WAR TWO!
CARLSON'S RAIDERS!!
"Carlson's 2d Raider Battalion boarded the submarines Nautilus. . . and Argonaut . . . and raided Makin Island on August 17–18 [1942]"
Marine light infantry raiders, envisioned as special operations/ranger/commando/guerrilla fighters, organized and committed to combat in that manner.
The "Marine Raiders were elite units established by the United States Marine Corps during World War II to conduct special amphibious light infantry warfare, particularly in landing in rubber boats and operating behind the lines. [two battalions consisting of] 'Edson's' Raiders of 1st Marine Raiders Battalion and 'Carlson's' Raiders of 2nd Marine Raiders Battalion"
Evans Carlson an American military officer during that period prior and during the Second World War [WW2] possessing some considerable gravitas. Had contacts at the highest level of government and was much in the esteem of President Roosevelt! EVANS CARLSON EVEN TO AN EXTENT FROM HIS CHINA SOJOURN AND OBSERVATION OF THE CHINESE COMMUNIST EIGHTH ROUTE ARMY ABSORBED COMMUNIST IDEALS AND PRACTICALITY OF WARFARE!!
"Carlson used egalitarian and team-building methods learned from the Communists during his years in China: he treated officers and enlisted men with minimum regard to rank as leaders and fighters, gave his men 'ethical indoctrination,' describing for each man what he was fighting for and why, and used the Chinese phrase 'Gung-ho!' as a motivational slogan. He also eschewed standard Marine Corps organization. . . innovating 3-man 'fire teams' as its basic unit"
Colonel Carlson having expressed his opinion at the time that the Chinese Communist Eighth Route Army the best military unit in the world for performing it's assigned mission!!
Colonel Carlson having retired as a Brigadier General and having his life expectancy cut short evidently by exposure to and having contracted tropical diseases.
IN ADDITION, MARINE RAIDERS LIVE! Existing American Marine special operations units officially now designated Marine Raiders.
coolbert.
Lessons.
This is coolbert:
From the Internet web site of Professor Victor Davis Hanson a critique of the recent agreement between Iran and the various world powers. A treaty [?] regarding the Iranian alleged development of nuclear weaponry, restricting same for a limited period.
Professor Hanson very negative with the agreed upon accord, describing the treaty [?] within the historical context [the Professor versed in the classics] as an absolute instance of ignoring the "lessons of history".
"Appeasing Iran Ignores the Lessons of History"
According to Professor Hanson those lessons to include: [in the nutshell]
1. "First, appeasement always brings short-term jubilation at the expense of long-term security."
2. "Second, the appeasement of autocrats always pulls the rug out from under domestic reformers and idealists"
3. "Third, appeasers always wrongly insist that the only alternative to their foolish concessions is war"
4. "Fourth, beneficiaries grow to hate their appeasers"
5. "Fifth, allies are always the big losers in appeasement."
6. "Finally, outside observers of appeasement always make the necessary geo-strategic adjustments."
This assessment of Professor Hanson as gleaned from a careful reading of the historical record from the time of the Classics onward? And is correct? We shall see.
Within the context of appeasement note that almost immediately in the aftermath of the announced accord the Iranian having purchased one hundred [100] Russian MIDAS Il-78 tanker refueling aircraft!! Make your own conclusion.
coolbert.
From the Internet web site of Professor Victor Davis Hanson a critique of the recent agreement between Iran and the various world powers. A treaty [?] regarding the Iranian alleged development of nuclear weaponry, restricting same for a limited period.
Professor Hanson very negative with the agreed upon accord, describing the treaty [?] within the historical context [the Professor versed in the classics] as an absolute instance of ignoring the "lessons of history".
"Appeasing Iran Ignores the Lessons of History"
According to Professor Hanson those lessons to include: [in the nutshell]
1. "First, appeasement always brings short-term jubilation at the expense of long-term security."
2. "Second, the appeasement of autocrats always pulls the rug out from under domestic reformers and idealists"
3. "Third, appeasers always wrongly insist that the only alternative to their foolish concessions is war"
4. "Fourth, beneficiaries grow to hate their appeasers"
5. "Fifth, allies are always the big losers in appeasement."
6. "Finally, outside observers of appeasement always make the necessary geo-strategic adjustments."
This assessment of Professor Hanson as gleaned from a careful reading of the historical record from the time of the Classics onward? And is correct? We shall see.
Within the context of appeasement note that almost immediately in the aftermath of the announced accord the Iranian having purchased one hundred [100] Russian MIDAS Il-78 tanker refueling aircraft!! Make your own conclusion.
coolbert.
Friday, July 24, 2015
Baseball.
This is coolbert:
Finnish Baseball!! And the military dimension.
Thanks to the Internet web site Isegoria.net.
"What Finland Can Teach America About Baseball"
"Finland has its own, faster-paced version of baseball, called pesäpallo"
Faster-paced and MUCH MORE PHYSICALLY DEMANDING!
"Finnish baseball is the brainchild of a former Olympic track and field star named Lauri Pihkala. According to historians, Pihkala was studying in the U.S. in 1907 when he attended an American baseball game in Boston and made an observation that was ahead of its time: Fascinating game. A bit slow, though."
"He [Lauri] went on to develop the Finnish version in the 1920s, billing it as a military training exercise"
. . . .
Again, Finnish baseball more physically demanding, as played by military personnel an excellent way to develop stamina, teamwork and general physical fitness while having fun.
"A few years ago, one player wore a pedometer during a game and was found to have run 10.5 kilometers from start to finish. By comparison, soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo averaged 9.6 kilometers covered during Champions League matches this year."
NEVER heard of such a thing before. That American game of baseball [the national pastime] based on the original English game of rounders. Baseball having many versions as played. Conventional hard-ball, fast-pitch and slow-pitch softball, cork ball, whiffle ball, etc.
AND pesäpallo. Remarkable and who would ever have thought it.
coolbert.
Finnish Baseball!! And the military dimension.
Thanks to the Internet web site Isegoria.net.
"What Finland Can Teach America About Baseball"
"Finland has its own, faster-paced version of baseball, called pesäpallo"
Faster-paced and MUCH MORE PHYSICALLY DEMANDING!
"Finnish baseball is the brainchild of a former Olympic track and field star named Lauri Pihkala. According to historians, Pihkala was studying in the U.S. in 1907 when he attended an American baseball game in Boston and made an observation that was ahead of its time: Fascinating game. A bit slow, though."
"He [Lauri] went on to develop the Finnish version in the 1920s, billing it as a military training exercise"
. . . .
Again, Finnish baseball more physically demanding, as played by military personnel an excellent way to develop stamina, teamwork and general physical fitness while having fun.
"A few years ago, one player wore a pedometer during a game and was found to have run 10.5 kilometers from start to finish. By comparison, soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo averaged 9.6 kilometers covered during Champions League matches this year."
NEVER heard of such a thing before. That American game of baseball [the national pastime] based on the original English game of rounders. Baseball having many versions as played. Conventional hard-ball, fast-pitch and slow-pitch softball, cork ball, whiffle ball, etc.
AND pesäpallo. Remarkable and who would ever have thought it.
coolbert.
Library.
This is coolbert:
From that Strategy Page Professor Al Nofi CIC entry # 445 we have this item:
•"Among personal items that Napoleon abandoned in his flight from the field of Waterloo were his silver service, including his chamber pot, his 400 volume traveling library, and a bottle of rum"
With regard to the traveling library:
1. "Napoleon’s traveling library"
NO absolute and concise listing of the contents of the library other than:
"There should be forty works on religion, forty dramatic works, forty volumes of epic and sixty of other poetry, one hundred novels and sixty volumes of history, the remainder being historical memoirs of every period.”
2. "Bonaparte the Bookworm – Napoleon Was An Avid Reader; So What Were His Favourite Books?"
From this web site we have a slightly better understanding of what that traveling library consisted of:
"40 volumes on religion, 40 of epics, 40 of plays, 60 of poetry, 100 of novels, 60 of history, the remainder, to make up the 1,000, of historical memoirs."
"The religious works are to be the Old and New Testament, the Koran, a selection from the works of the Fathers of the Church, works respecting the Arians, Calvinists, a Mythology."
"The epics are to be Homer, Lucan, Tasso, Telemachus, the Henriade,"
"Among the novels were to be the masterpieces of Fielding, Richardson and Le Sage"
Napoleon an educated man with the military background, a graduate of the French Ecole Militaire. Able to read the classics in the original language, Latin and Greek? Of this I am not sure.
Napoleon thought to have had a relatively high IQ, around 145 or so [near genius] and it seems that intelligence coupled with a rather profound intellectual curiosity.
AND A PERSON DURING HIS LIFETIME HAVING NEVER STOPPED LEARNING!
coolbert.
From that Strategy Page Professor Al Nofi CIC entry # 445 we have this item:
•"Among personal items that Napoleon abandoned in his flight from the field of Waterloo were his silver service, including his chamber pot, his 400 volume traveling library, and a bottle of rum"
With regard to the traveling library:
1. "Napoleon’s traveling library"
NO absolute and concise listing of the contents of the library other than:
"There should be forty works on religion, forty dramatic works, forty volumes of epic and sixty of other poetry, one hundred novels and sixty volumes of history, the remainder being historical memoirs of every period.”
2. "Bonaparte the Bookworm – Napoleon Was An Avid Reader; So What Were His Favourite Books?"
From this web site we have a slightly better understanding of what that traveling library consisted of:
"40 volumes on religion, 40 of epics, 40 of plays, 60 of poetry, 100 of novels, 60 of history, the remainder, to make up the 1,000, of historical memoirs."
"The religious works are to be the Old and New Testament, the Koran, a selection from the works of the Fathers of the Church, works respecting the Arians, Calvinists, a Mythology."
"The epics are to be Homer, Lucan, Tasso, Telemachus, the Henriade,"
"Among the novels were to be the masterpieces of Fielding, Richardson and Le Sage"
Napoleon an educated man with the military background, a graduate of the French Ecole Militaire. Able to read the classics in the original language, Latin and Greek? Of this I am not sure.
Napoleon thought to have had a relatively high IQ, around 145 or so [near genius] and it seems that intelligence coupled with a rather profound intellectual curiosity.
AND A PERSON DURING HIS LIFETIME HAVING NEVER STOPPED LEARNING!
coolbert.
Thursday, July 23, 2015
Kurganets-25.
This is coolbert:
Thanks to the tip from Strategy Page we have yet one more brand new Russian combat vehicle.
First the Armata T-14 tank, then the 2S35 self-propelled gun, and now the Kurganets-25 infantry fighting vehicle [IFV].
Kurganets bearing as somewhat striking resemblance to the American Bradley M2?
"The Kurganets-25 . . . is a tracked, 25 ton [25 pertains to the weight of the vehicle?] modular platform being developed for the Russian Army. The Kurganets-25 will evolve into various models, gradually replacing BMP and BMD and MT-LB and other types of tracked armored platforms. The Kurganets-25 will have modular armor that can be upgraded for specific threats."
"The Kurganets-25 IFV and APC variants were first seen in public (initially with the turret and main armament shrouded) during rehearsals for the 2015 Moscow Victory Day Parade."
Kurganets to replace all existing BMP and BMD IFV as currently found in the Russian inventory.
Kurganets having as organic armament a 30 mm rapid fire cannon and two anti-tank guided missiles [ATGM]. Also able to carry a fire team of infantry, five to seven men. Not sure if that latter number includes the crew for the IFV.
How well I remember the criticism of the Bradley M2 when contrasted with and compared to the Soviet BMP.
Bradley it was said:
* Could not "swim" [not amphibious].
* Possessed only a 25 mm cannon.
* Too tall.
* Armor is aluminum.
* Crew must dismount to replace ATGM.
The BMP thought to have superior features to include:
* Able to "swim" [amphibious].
* Possessed a superior 73 mm cannon.
* Carried a full squad of ten infantry.
* Lower profile.
With hindsight for a period of three decades Bradley comporting itself well during two wars and a counter-insurgency.
BMP also with hindsight somewhat overrated. ONLY able to carry a squad of ten infantry if each man five foot [one and one-half meters] tall and weighing about one hundred pounds [forty-five kilograms]. That 73 mm cannon also woefully and almost totally inaccurate very quickly replaced with a rapid-fire cannon in the manner of a Bradley. That crew of the BMP also having to dismount to replace the organic ATGM of which the BMP carried ONLY one at any moment ready for firing.
Bradley M2 of course a heavily modified M113 armored personnel carrier. Kurganets a brand-new design those Russian military hardware designers having studied and been influenced and impressed by the relative combat effectiveness of the Bradley?
coolbert.
Thanks to the tip from Strategy Page we have yet one more brand new Russian combat vehicle.
First the Armata T-14 tank, then the 2S35 self-propelled gun, and now the Kurganets-25 infantry fighting vehicle [IFV].
Kurganets bearing as somewhat striking resemblance to the American Bradley M2?
"The Kurganets-25 . . . is a tracked, 25 ton [25 pertains to the weight of the vehicle?] modular platform being developed for the Russian Army. The Kurganets-25 will evolve into various models, gradually replacing BMP and BMD and MT-LB and other types of tracked armored platforms. The Kurganets-25 will have modular armor that can be upgraded for specific threats."
"The Kurganets-25 IFV and APC variants were first seen in public (initially with the turret and main armament shrouded) during rehearsals for the 2015 Moscow Victory Day Parade."
Kurganets to replace all existing BMP and BMD IFV as currently found in the Russian inventory.
Kurganets having as organic armament a 30 mm rapid fire cannon and two anti-tank guided missiles [ATGM]. Also able to carry a fire team of infantry, five to seven men. Not sure if that latter number includes the crew for the IFV.
How well I remember the criticism of the Bradley M2 when contrasted with and compared to the Soviet BMP.
Bradley it was said:
* Could not "swim" [not amphibious].
* Possessed only a 25 mm cannon.
* Too tall.
* Armor is aluminum.
* Crew must dismount to replace ATGM.
The BMP thought to have superior features to include:
* Able to "swim" [amphibious].
* Possessed a superior 73 mm cannon.
* Carried a full squad of ten infantry.
* Lower profile.
With hindsight for a period of three decades Bradley comporting itself well during two wars and a counter-insurgency.
BMP also with hindsight somewhat overrated. ONLY able to carry a squad of ten infantry if each man five foot [one and one-half meters] tall and weighing about one hundred pounds [forty-five kilograms]. That 73 mm cannon also woefully and almost totally inaccurate very quickly replaced with a rapid-fire cannon in the manner of a Bradley. That crew of the BMP also having to dismount to replace the organic ATGM of which the BMP carried ONLY one at any moment ready for firing.
Bradley M2 of course a heavily modified M113 armored personnel carrier. Kurganets a brand-new design those Russian military hardware designers having studied and been influenced and impressed by the relative combat effectiveness of the Bradley?
coolbert.
UUV REMUS.
This is coolbert:
UUV. Undermanned underwater vehicle. Autonomous in this case.
From Eduardo through Harry:
"A US Navy submarine [USS North Dakota] has become the first to launch and recover an underwater drone used in a military operation."
"The vessel's commanding officer . . . said the Mediterranean Sea mission proved submarine-launched drones are a viable option for the Navy"
"The underwater drone was launched from a shelter attached to the top of the submarine that can also be used to deploy divers and special forces."
North Dakota a Virginia class submarine having an embedded and organic capability to launch and use UUV. The future is now!
REMUS 600 the drone of choice in this case as was previously reported at the Military.com Internet web site.
Read further about REMUS:
"Autonomous underwater vehicle - REMUS 600"
Again, the future of naval undersea warfare is NOW!
coolbert.
UUV. Undermanned underwater vehicle. Autonomous in this case.
From Eduardo through Harry:
"A US Navy submarine [USS North Dakota] has become the first to launch and recover an underwater drone used in a military operation."
"The vessel's commanding officer . . . said the Mediterranean Sea mission proved submarine-launched drones are a viable option for the Navy"
"The underwater drone was launched from a shelter attached to the top of the submarine that can also be used to deploy divers and special forces."
North Dakota a Virginia class submarine having an embedded and organic capability to launch and use UUV. The future is now!
REMUS 600 the drone of choice in this case as was previously reported at the Military.com Internet web site.
Length of REMUS is 3.84 meters/12.6 feet
Read further about REMUS:
"Autonomous underwater vehicle - REMUS 600"
Again, the future of naval undersea warfare is NOW!
coolbert.
Wednesday, July 22, 2015
2S35.
This is coolbert:
More coastal artillery.
The Russian as seen during the latest Victory Day celebration day military day parade in Moscow having developed a new self-propelled [SP] howitzer.
From MARCO POLO through Harry:
"new 152mm self-propelled howitzer -- type '2S35'."
"It uses high-explosive extra-long-range precision-guided munitions with a maximum range of seventy kilometers [forty-four miles] and extreme high level of accuracy."
"Recently, c-in-c [commander-in-chief] of the Russian Navy, Admiral Viktor Chirkov, announced that this gun [2S35] was to be still improved and adapted to the role of coastal defense artillery. For the purpose of coastal defense, artillery is known to be much more economical than ground-based anti-ship missiles."
"The 2S35 Koalitsiya-SV . . . is a Russian self-propelled gun first seen in public . . . in 2015 during rehearsals for the Moscow Victory Day Parade"
2S35 if and when improved and firing that precision-guided munition envisioned as an alternative or addition to the already fielded Russian Bereg coastal artillery system.
This SP gun said to be [as is the T14 tank] HIGHLY AUTOMATED! This at great variance to the normal and historical Russian method of warfare which was to use an abundance of manpower in a prolific and prodigal manner and use it freely, almost heedlessly so.
Soviet and perhaps Russian submarines also experimenting [the Alfa class for instance] and to a degree automating their warships to the greatest extent possible.
The Russian seeing a bright future for coastal artillery. Again a blast from the past unexpected. That Sprut towed anti-tank gun also going against the grain of weapons development. High-velocity anti-tank rounds in some circumstances cheaper and just as effective as the modern anti-tank guided missile.
American R and D only at this stage experimenting with the electro-magnetic rail gun as an alternative to the anti-ship missile. The cost effectiveness of such a weapon [the rail gun] in contrast to missiles a major consideration.
coolbert.
More coastal artillery.
The Russian as seen during the latest Victory Day celebration day military day parade in Moscow having developed a new self-propelled [SP] howitzer.
From MARCO POLO through Harry:
"new 152mm self-propelled howitzer -- type '2S35'."
"It uses high-explosive extra-long-range precision-guided munitions with a maximum range of seventy kilometers [forty-four miles] and extreme high level of accuracy."
"Recently, c-in-c [commander-in-chief] of the Russian Navy, Admiral Viktor Chirkov, announced that this gun [2S35] was to be still improved and adapted to the role of coastal defense artillery. For the purpose of coastal defense, artillery is known to be much more economical than ground-based anti-ship missiles."
"The 2S35 Koalitsiya-SV . . . is a Russian self-propelled gun first seen in public . . . in 2015 during rehearsals for the Moscow Victory Day Parade"
2S35 if and when improved and firing that precision-guided munition envisioned as an alternative or addition to the already fielded Russian Bereg coastal artillery system.
This SP gun said to be [as is the T14 tank] HIGHLY AUTOMATED! This at great variance to the normal and historical Russian method of warfare which was to use an abundance of manpower in a prolific and prodigal manner and use it freely, almost heedlessly so.
Soviet and perhaps Russian submarines also experimenting [the Alfa class for instance] and to a degree automating their warships to the greatest extent possible.
The Russian seeing a bright future for coastal artillery. Again a blast from the past unexpected. That Sprut towed anti-tank gun also going against the grain of weapons development. High-velocity anti-tank rounds in some circumstances cheaper and just as effective as the modern anti-tank guided missile.
American R and D only at this stage experimenting with the electro-magnetic rail gun as an alternative to the anti-ship missile. The cost effectiveness of such a weapon [the rail gun] in contrast to missiles a major consideration.
coolbert.
Monday, July 20, 2015
Planet Japan.
This is coolbert:
My take on the comic "Planet of the Jap" by the Japanese illustrator Maruo Suehiro.
Those original illustrations seen starting here. All excerpts thanks to Maruo.
This alternative history is high speculative and for the most part without foundation?
The Japanese NEVER intended the war in the Pacific to last much longer than year.
One year of combat followed by a negotiated settlement favorable to the Japanese.
Japanese rule, domination and hegemony in the Pacific and Asia unquestioned and without rival!!
The allied powers of Great Britain, the United States and Holland acquiescing to Japanese military might, but hardly a march across North America and destruction of American cities with the atomic bomb.
But then it is alternative history comic book style, isn't it? And thank you Maruo.
coolbert.
My take on the comic "Planet of the Jap" by the Japanese illustrator Maruo Suehiro.
Those original illustrations seen starting here. All excerpts thanks to Maruo.
"Planet of the Jap by Maruo Suehiro"
"After their unprecedented declaration of war, Japanese troops continued to attack successfully."
"Nobody could beat the Japanese troops."
"Exhausted American soldiers, drained of all their fighting spirit."
"Chicago under attack." [this is a Chinese city under aerial saturation bombardment.]
"The evacuation of the masses." [these are Japanese-Americans being sent to an internment camp.]
"At long last England and America have fallen!!"
"On August 6, 1945, the Japanese military dropped an atomic bomb on Los Angeles." [this is an image of the actual atomic detonation at Nagasaki.]
"In the allied country of Germany, Hirohito's Youth are marching in Berlin."
"On August 15, 1945, the U.S. of A. unconditionally surrendered. Japan was victorious."
"The Statue of Liberty is now just an ugly woman attacked by the plague. Hurrah death and destruction" [dystopian or apocalyptic imagery often shows the Statue of Liberty as ruined or damaged an indication of a defeated and obliterated United States]
This alternative history is high speculative and for the most part without foundation?
The Japanese NEVER intended the war in the Pacific to last much longer than year.
One year of combat followed by a negotiated settlement favorable to the Japanese.
Japanese rule, domination and hegemony in the Pacific and Asia unquestioned and without rival!!
The allied powers of Great Britain, the United States and Holland acquiescing to Japanese military might, but hardly a march across North America and destruction of American cities with the atomic bomb.
But then it is alternative history comic book style, isn't it? And thank you Maruo.
coolbert.
Sunday, July 19, 2015
Igloo White.
This is coolbert:
From DEBKAfile:
"US sends mobile sensors, electronic fences to block further ISIS Mid East expansion"
10 July
"American experts are overseeing a lightning operation for providing Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan and Israel with either mobile sensor towers or electronic fences in a desperate bid to seal their borders off against the fast-moving ISIS impetus. Its reign of terror is spreading out from Iraq and Syria and creeping into southern Jordan, the Israeli Negev and Egyptian Sinai, then on to Libya and over to Tunisia and Algeria, covering a distance of 4,000 km."
This all reminds of Igloo White from the era of the Vietnam War over forty years ago now!!
"Operation Igloo White was a covert United States joint military electronic warfare operation conducted from late January 1968 until February 1973, during the Vietnam War. These missions were carried out by . . . a U.S. Air Force unit flying modified EC-121R Warning Star aircraft, and VO-67, a specialized U.S. Navy unit flying highly modified OP-2E Neptune aircraft. This state-of-the-art operation utilized electronic sensors, computers, and communications relay aircraft in an attempt to automate intelligence collection. The system would then assist in the direction of strike aircraft to their targets. The objective of those attacks was the logistical system of the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) that snaked through southeastern Laos and was known as the Ho Chi Minh Trai"
Igloo White deemed in the final [?] analysis as less effective than anticipated for a variety of reasons IT OBVIOUSLY BEING HOPED IN THE MODERN CONTEXT THAT IMPROVED MICRO-ELECTRONICS AND ADVANCED COMPUTER PROCESSING ABLE TO PROVIDE TARGETING DATA VALID AND WORTHWHILE!
coolbert.
From DEBKAfile:
"US sends mobile sensors, electronic fences to block further ISIS Mid East expansion"
10 July
"American experts are overseeing a lightning operation for providing Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan and Israel with either mobile sensor towers or electronic fences in a desperate bid to seal their borders off against the fast-moving ISIS impetus. Its reign of terror is spreading out from Iraq and Syria and creeping into southern Jordan, the Israeli Negev and Egyptian Sinai, then on to Libya and over to Tunisia and Algeria, covering a distance of 4,000 km."
This all reminds of Igloo White from the era of the Vietnam War over forty years ago now!!
Sensors of Igloo White dropped from an aircraft or hand-emplaced by special operations units. A transmitter, sensor and battery. That ground plane antenna alone protruding above ground level that only item the part of the total package visible. Sensors of the magnetic, seismic or audio variety.
"Operation Igloo White was a covert United States joint military electronic warfare operation conducted from late January 1968 until February 1973, during the Vietnam War. These missions were carried out by . . . a U.S. Air Force unit flying modified EC-121R Warning Star aircraft, and VO-67, a specialized U.S. Navy unit flying highly modified OP-2E Neptune aircraft. This state-of-the-art operation utilized electronic sensors, computers, and communications relay aircraft in an attempt to automate intelligence collection. The system would then assist in the direction of strike aircraft to their targets. The objective of those attacks was the logistical system of the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) that snaked through southeastern Laos and was known as the Ho Chi Minh Trai"
The Igloo White facility at the time the LARGEST BUILDING IN ALL OF SOUTHEAST ASIA!
Igloo White deemed in the final [?] analysis as less effective than anticipated for a variety of reasons IT OBVIOUSLY BEING HOPED IN THE MODERN CONTEXT THAT IMPROVED MICRO-ELECTRONICS AND ADVANCED COMPUTER PROCESSING ABLE TO PROVIDE TARGETING DATA VALID AND WORTHWHILE!
coolbert.
Saturday, July 18, 2015
G36.
This is coolbert:
G36 I am not familiar with. NOW the basic assault rifle as carried by the common German soldier.and UNRELIABLE SO IS THE REPUTATION.
"German Soldiers Don’t Trust Their Battle Rifle"
"G36 has a reputation for unreliability"
"In 2009, the Bundeswehr boosted its operations in Afghanistan. Soldiers talked about their G36s overheating in Afghanistan’s hot summers. But there was no hard evidence of that happening."
"This changed on Good Friday in 2010, during the most intensive skirmish involving German troops since World War II—a firefight that left three paratroopers dead. For 10 hours, the paratroopers fought off a Taliban ambush in the Char Darrah district, together firing 28,000 rounds."
. . . .
"Helmet-camera footage and eyewitness accounts of the fight prove that the G36s overheated. Soldiers had to let them cool down before they would operate properly again."
CAN'T ANYONE BUILD AN EFFECTIVE AND RELIABLE ASSAULT RIFLE? IF THE GERMAN CANNOT DO IT, WHO CAN?
Instantly I am thinking of the English SA80 and the problems as associated with that weapon. Jams in the dusty and sandy environment of Afghan. Then improvements were made and STILL IT JAMMED! Or the American M-16 in Vietnam and all the various problems as were encountered with the weapon during that conflict.
Let me think about this a second or two. Maybe just equip everyone with an AK and that is that?
Perhaps I speak facetiously and am out of line but not excessively so!
P.S.: For some reason a mere editing has caused this blog entry to re-posted as NEW! It is not!
coolbert.
G36 I am not familiar with. NOW the basic assault rifle as carried by the common German soldier.and UNRELIABLE SO IS THE REPUTATION.
"German Soldiers Don’t Trust Their Battle Rifle"
"G36 has a reputation for unreliability"
"In 2009, the Bundeswehr boosted its operations in Afghanistan. Soldiers talked about their G36s overheating in Afghanistan’s hot summers. But there was no hard evidence of that happening."
"This changed on Good Friday in 2010, during the most intensive skirmish involving German troops since World War II—a firefight that left three paratroopers dead. For 10 hours, the paratroopers fought off a Taliban ambush in the Char Darrah district, together firing 28,000 rounds."
. . . .
"Helmet-camera footage and eyewitness accounts of the fight prove that the G36s overheated. Soldiers had to let them cool down before they would operate properly again."
The G36 has that drum magazine as an option. Allows the weapon to be used in the selective fire mode as a squad level automatic weapon. But does it also have a bayonet lug?
CAN'T ANYONE BUILD AN EFFECTIVE AND RELIABLE ASSAULT RIFLE? IF THE GERMAN CANNOT DO IT, WHO CAN?
Instantly I am thinking of the English SA80 and the problems as associated with that weapon. Jams in the dusty and sandy environment of Afghan. Then improvements were made and STILL IT JAMMED! Or the American M-16 in Vietnam and all the various problems as were encountered with the weapon during that conflict.
Let me think about this a second or two. Maybe just equip everyone with an AK and that is that?
Perhaps I speak facetiously and am out of line but not excessively so!
P.S.: For some reason a mere editing has caused this blog entry to re-posted as NEW! It is not!
coolbert.
Horse & Tank.
This is coolbert:
From Freeper we have the headline that while factually correct is somewhat misleading:
"Leading The Charge: Twice As Many Horses As Tanks In British Army"
"Amid ongoing changes to the British Army under the banner of austerity, the bemusing statistic of four-legged firepower outweighing the heavy metal variety persists."
The inventory of horses assigned to the British army is greater than the number of main battle tanks!!
According to Conservative Defence Minister Lord Astor:
“'The Army currently has 485 horses, serving in the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment, the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery, the Household Division and at the Defence Animal Centre.'"
. . . .
“The total number of Challenger 2 Main Battle Tanks is 227.”
. . . .
"as well as the 227 main battle tanks, another 141 'Challenger variants are also in service'."
Those horses one and all for CEREMONIAL PURPOSES ONLY! NOT cavalry combat arms troops.
The former is for killing and the latter is for fun!
coolbert.
From Freeper we have the headline that while factually correct is somewhat misleading:
"Leading The Charge: Twice As Many Horses As Tanks In British Army"
"Amid ongoing changes to the British Army under the banner of austerity, the bemusing statistic of four-legged firepower outweighing the heavy metal variety persists."
The inventory of horses assigned to the British army is greater than the number of main battle tanks!!
According to Conservative Defence Minister Lord Astor:
“'The Army currently has 485 horses, serving in the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment, the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery, the Household Division and at the Defence Animal Centre.'"
. . . .
“The total number of Challenger 2 Main Battle Tanks is 227.”
. . . .
"as well as the 227 main battle tanks, another 141 'Challenger variants are also in service'."
Those horses one and all for CEREMONIAL PURPOSES ONLY! NOT cavalry combat arms troops.
This is Household Cavalry. Ceremonial personnel and mounts used for pageantry only! NOT combat troops. That is probably a dull edge on that sword.
This is a Challenger 2 tank. This is a combat arms vehicle and can kill you. Challenger NOT for ceremonial purposes and pageantry. The main round as fired is not DULL!
I hope all devoted readers to the blog understand the difference between the tank and the horse? The former is for killing and the latter is for fun!
coolbert.
Friday, July 17, 2015
Maunder Minimum.
This is coolbert:
Here with a follow-up to an original blog entry from almost seven years years now.
It seems that our sun MIGHT VERY WELL INDEED BE ENTERING A QUIESCENT PERIOD!
"quiescent - - adjective 1. being at rest; quiet; still; inactive or motionless"
A solar phenomenon as not seen in FOUR HUNDRED YEARS AND CALLED A MAUNDER MINIMUM. A quiescent period for sunspot activity to be followed by TWO HUNDRED YEARS OF INTENSE COLD WORLD-WIDE!! Those ramifications for military long-range communications quite severe. NO MORE high-frequency communications as that term understood.
As described in of all places the web site "Second City Cop"
"Mini Ice Age Coming"
"Remember that global warming from a few years ago? "The science is settled!" declared Al Gore as he rang up million of dollars in anti-global warming efforts while contributing a carbon footprint the size of Alaska to the world. Or all those scientists calling people who questioned the science "doubters" and troglodytes and all manner of low life rapers of Mother Earth? All of this in the complete absence of any sort of warming for seventeen years now."
"Looks like the "settled science" is still a bit.....unsettled":
"You might want to reconsider boxing up your winter clothes for too long. A new study says the Sun's 'heartbeat' could slow down within 15 years, plunging the Earth into another "mini ice age.'"
"Professor Valentina Zharkova of Northumbira University presented her new model of predicting solar activity of the Sun to the National Astronomy Meeting in Llandudno on July 9, which predicts activity will fall by 60 percent during the 2030s to resemble conditions last seen during the Maunder minimum ("mini ice age") that began in 1645."
"According to the published findings by the Royal Astronomical Society, the Sun's activity varies over a cycle lasting around 10 to 12 years, and is colloquially known as a 'heartbeat.' But every heartbeat is a little different, says the RAS, and none of the previous models that looked only at the Sun's deep convection zone have had fully explained fluctuations."
Devoted readers to the blog please understand YOU ARE FAR AHEAD OF ALMOST THE REST OF PLANET ON THE LEARNING CURVE. BE GLAD FOR IT AND SAY THANK YOU!
coolbert.
Here with a follow-up to an original blog entry from almost seven years years now.
It seems that our sun MIGHT VERY WELL INDEED BE ENTERING A QUIESCENT PERIOD!
"quiescent - - adjective 1. being at rest; quiet; still; inactive or motionless"
A solar phenomenon as not seen in FOUR HUNDRED YEARS AND CALLED A MAUNDER MINIMUM. A quiescent period for sunspot activity to be followed by TWO HUNDRED YEARS OF INTENSE COLD WORLD-WIDE!! Those ramifications for military long-range communications quite severe. NO MORE high-frequency communications as that term understood.
As described in of all places the web site "Second City Cop"
"Mini Ice Age Coming"
"Remember that global warming from a few years ago? "The science is settled!" declared Al Gore as he rang up million of dollars in anti-global warming efforts while contributing a carbon footprint the size of Alaska to the world. Or all those scientists calling people who questioned the science "doubters" and troglodytes and all manner of low life rapers of Mother Earth? All of this in the complete absence of any sort of warming for seventeen years now."
"Looks like the "settled science" is still a bit.....unsettled":
"You might want to reconsider boxing up your winter clothes for too long. A new study says the Sun's 'heartbeat' could slow down within 15 years, plunging the Earth into another "mini ice age.'"
"Professor Valentina Zharkova of Northumbira University presented her new model of predicting solar activity of the Sun to the National Astronomy Meeting in Llandudno on July 9, which predicts activity will fall by 60 percent during the 2030s to resemble conditions last seen during the Maunder minimum ("mini ice age") that began in 1645."
"According to the published findings by the Royal Astronomical Society, the Sun's activity varies over a cycle lasting around 10 to 12 years, and is colloquially known as a 'heartbeat.' But every heartbeat is a little different, says the RAS, and none of the previous models that looked only at the Sun's deep convection zone have had fully explained fluctuations."
Devoted readers to the blog please understand YOU ARE FAR AHEAD OF ALMOST THE REST OF PLANET ON THE LEARNING CURVE. BE GLAD FOR IT AND SAY THANK YOU!
coolbert.
Antony Beevor.
This is coolbert:
From that latest edition of: "BBC HISTORY" magazine June 2015.
Some comments from the distinguished historian Antony Beevor.
1. With regard to what is termed the intelligence problem:
"[it is] one of the great failings of the intelligence world . . . when one tries to put oneself in an opponent's shoes, one is actually make a slight mistake. You're still trying to perceive things from opponent's view but with your mentality and your calculations on how you'd react in that particular situation."
2. With regard to "learning lessons" from history:
"The Second World War has become the dominant reference point for every single conflict and crisis today. But let's face it; the international relations in today's global world are more like a pinball machine with things bouncing off in different directions, it's almost impossible to predict."
"Even Churchill made the astonishing mistake of saying that we need to learn history so that we can understand the future. But that's rubbish; we're never going to learn about the future because we learn the wrong things from history, and to try to make superficial parallels with what we're to make facing today. For god's sake, don't think that things are going to be like the Second World War today. Warfare has changed and the world order has changed."
And that response to item # 2 from a person of some stature who has more than a passing interest and knowledge of the subject:
"I respectfully disagree. We do learn basic principles from history: 1. trust but verify; 2. don't make agreements without the ability to back up punishment for violations; 3. don't allow dictators to take the first small steps in aggression; 4. if at war, keep fighting while the talks are going on; and so on. 5. And never waste your time on small [idiocy] like the size and shape of the negotiating table, height of the flags on the table etc. If you are dealing with that stuff, forget the negotiations and get back to the war. The other side is not serious yet. Yes, we can learn from history"
coolbert.
From that latest edition of: "BBC HISTORY" magazine June 2015.
Some comments from the distinguished historian Antony Beevor.
1. With regard to what is termed the intelligence problem:
"[it is] one of the great failings of the intelligence world . . . when one tries to put oneself in an opponent's shoes, one is actually make a slight mistake. You're still trying to perceive things from opponent's view but with your mentality and your calculations on how you'd react in that particular situation."
2. With regard to "learning lessons" from history:
"The Second World War has become the dominant reference point for every single conflict and crisis today. But let's face it; the international relations in today's global world are more like a pinball machine with things bouncing off in different directions, it's almost impossible to predict."
"Even Churchill made the astonishing mistake of saying that we need to learn history so that we can understand the future. But that's rubbish; we're never going to learn about the future because we learn the wrong things from history, and to try to make superficial parallels with what we're to make facing today. For god's sake, don't think that things are going to be like the Second World War today. Warfare has changed and the world order has changed."
And that response to item # 2 from a person of some stature who has more than a passing interest and knowledge of the subject:
"I respectfully disagree. We do learn basic principles from history: 1. trust but verify; 2. don't make agreements without the ability to back up punishment for violations; 3. don't allow dictators to take the first small steps in aggression; 4. if at war, keep fighting while the talks are going on; and so on. 5. And never waste your time on small [idiocy] like the size and shape of the negotiating table, height of the flags on the table etc. If you are dealing with that stuff, forget the negotiations and get back to the war. The other side is not serious yet. Yes, we can learn from history"
coolbert.
Thursday, July 16, 2015
Forty-One.
This is coolbert:
Within the context of the previous blog entry also consider those American naval warships of the Cold War era as deemed "Forty-one for Freedom".
Those Polaris missile firing submarines the namesakes of "Eminent Americans".
Freedom more correctly described as national independence?
Eminent Americans EACH AND EVERYONE and recognized so during their lifetimes, advocates of liberty, freedom and independence but not necessarily so extending those concepts of "liberty, freedom and independence" to everyone.
"'Eminent Americans - Namesakes of the Polaris Submarine Fleet' – 1972 by H. G. Rickover. With the start of the Polaris submarine program in 1959, not only were these boats named after historical figures, but Rickover now began to include a brief biography of the man for whom the ship was named. He did this for all 41 submarines in the Polaris Fleet (A.K.A. - '41 for Freedom.')"
"The '41 for Freedom' nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) were armed with submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) to create a deterrent force against the threat of nuclear war with any foreign power threatening the United States during the Cold War."
Those Polaris missile firing submarines:
USS George Washington SSBN-598 Washington a slave owner
USS Patrick Henry SSBN-599 Henry a slave owner
USS Theodore Roosevelt SSBN-600
USS Robert E Lee SSBN-601 Lee a Confederate general, slave owner [3] [7]
USS Abraham Lincoln SSBN-602
USS Ethan Allen SSBN-608
USS Sam Houston SSBN-609 Houston a slave owner
USS Thomas A Edison SSBN-610
USS John Marshall SSBN-611 Marshall a slave owner
USS Thomas Jefferson SSBN-618 Jefferson a slave owner
USS Lafayette SSBN-616 Lafayette a slave owner [4]
USS Alexander Hamilton SSBN-617 Hamilton a slave owner [2]
USS Andrew Jackson SSBN-619 Jackson a slave owner
USS John Adams SSBN-620
USS James Monroe SSBN-622 Monroe a slave owner
USS Nathan Hale SSBN-623
USS Woodrow Wilson SSBN-624
USS Henry Clay SSBN-625 Clay a slave owner
USS Daniel Webster SSBN-626
USS James Madison SSBN-627 Madison a slave owner
USS Tecumseh SSBN-628 [4] [6]
USS Daniel Boone SSBN-629 Boone a slave owner
USS John C Calhoun SSBN-630 Calhoun a slave owner
USS Ulysses S Grant SSBN-631 Grant a slave owner [3]
USS Von Steuben SSBN-632 [4]
USS Casimir Pulaski SSBN-633 [4]
USS Stonewall Jackson SSBN-634 Jackson a Confederate general, slave owner [7]
USS Sam Rayburn SSBN-635
USS Nathaniel Greene SSBN-636 Greene a slave owner
USS Benjamin Franklin SSBN-640 Franklin a slave owner
USS Simon Bolivar SSBN-641 Bolivar a slave owner [4]
USS Kamehameha SSBN-642 The King a possible slave owner? [1] [4]
USS George Bancroft SSBN-643
USS Lewis and Clark SSBN-644 Lewis and Clark both slave owners [8]
USS James K Polk SSBN-645 Polk a slave owner
USS George C Marshall SSBN-654
USS Henry L Stimson SSBN-655
USS George Washington Carver SSBN-656 [5]
USS Francis Scott Key SSBN-657 Key a slave owner
USS Mariano G Vallejo SSBN-658 [4]
USS Will Rogers SSBN-659
1. King Kamehameha I [The Great]. King of Hawaii. Slavery abolished in Hawaii not until 1852. The King a great conqueror and it having been observed that slavery the normal result for the vanquished during a time of war in Hawaii. To what extent the King outright owned slaves I cannot find a reference.
2. Hamilton an owner of a single slave through inheritance BUT NEVER TAKING POSSESSION OF!!
3. Grant and Lee both in a strictly legalistic manner owning slaves but only through their wives according to the laws of inheritance as was according to the period.
4. From a strictly legal viewpoint almost all these men foreign nationals and not American citizens. Vallejo a citizen of Mexico prior to 1850. Von Steuben a citizen of Prussia but American from the time of American independence onward. Pulaski killed in action during the Revolutionary War.
5. G. W. Carver born a slave, emancipated as a child.
6. Tecumseh an American Indian war chief. American Indians also engaging in the practice of slavery but no reference can be found as to Tecumseh owning slaves.
7. Lee and Jackson both additionally general officers in the army of the Confederacy.
8. Lewis and Clark both owning slaves but counting as one person for this analysis.
From that list of the forty-one eminent Americans:
* Slightly greater than half [twenty-two] owned slaves.
* Two it could not be determined if they ever owned slaves.
* Ten not owning slaves living in the period before 1865.
* Seven living in that time after 1865, slave ownership not possible.
Recognizing that those many "eminent Americans" IN THEIR OWN TIME understanding the contradiction of speaking of freedom and liberty while denying that right to others a problem for which they did have a practical solution.
That response of Admiral Rickover to all this would be what exactly?
coolbert.
Within the context of the previous blog entry also consider those American naval warships of the Cold War era as deemed "Forty-one for Freedom".
Those Polaris missile firing submarines the namesakes of "Eminent Americans".
Freedom more correctly described as national independence?
Eminent Americans EACH AND EVERYONE and recognized so during their lifetimes, advocates of liberty, freedom and independence but not necessarily so extending those concepts of "liberty, freedom and independence" to everyone.
"'Eminent Americans - Namesakes of the Polaris Submarine Fleet' – 1972 by H. G. Rickover. With the start of the Polaris submarine program in 1959, not only were these boats named after historical figures, but Rickover now began to include a brief biography of the man for whom the ship was named. He did this for all 41 submarines in the Polaris Fleet (A.K.A. - '41 for Freedom.')"
"The '41 for Freedom' nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) were armed with submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) to create a deterrent force against the threat of nuclear war with any foreign power threatening the United States during the Cold War."
Those Polaris missile firing submarines:
USS George Washington SSBN-598 Washington a slave owner
USS Patrick Henry SSBN-599 Henry a slave owner
USS Theodore Roosevelt SSBN-600
USS Robert E Lee SSBN-601 Lee a Confederate general, slave owner [3] [7]
USS Abraham Lincoln SSBN-602
USS Ethan Allen SSBN-608
USS Sam Houston SSBN-609 Houston a slave owner
USS Thomas A Edison SSBN-610
USS John Marshall SSBN-611 Marshall a slave owner
USS Thomas Jefferson SSBN-618 Jefferson a slave owner
USS Lafayette SSBN-616 Lafayette a slave owner [4]
USS Alexander Hamilton SSBN-617 Hamilton a slave owner [2]
USS Andrew Jackson SSBN-619 Jackson a slave owner
USS John Adams SSBN-620
USS James Monroe SSBN-622 Monroe a slave owner
USS Nathan Hale SSBN-623
USS Woodrow Wilson SSBN-624
USS Henry Clay SSBN-625 Clay a slave owner
USS Daniel Webster SSBN-626
USS James Madison SSBN-627 Madison a slave owner
USS Tecumseh SSBN-628 [4] [6]
USS Daniel Boone SSBN-629 Boone a slave owner
USS John C Calhoun SSBN-630 Calhoun a slave owner
USS Ulysses S Grant SSBN-631 Grant a slave owner [3]
USS Von Steuben SSBN-632 [4]
USS Casimir Pulaski SSBN-633 [4]
USS Stonewall Jackson SSBN-634 Jackson a Confederate general, slave owner [7]
USS Sam Rayburn SSBN-635
USS Nathaniel Greene SSBN-636 Greene a slave owner
USS Benjamin Franklin SSBN-640 Franklin a slave owner
USS Simon Bolivar SSBN-641 Bolivar a slave owner [4]
USS Kamehameha SSBN-642 The King a possible slave owner? [1] [4]
USS George Bancroft SSBN-643
USS Lewis and Clark SSBN-644 Lewis and Clark both slave owners [8]
USS James K Polk SSBN-645 Polk a slave owner
USS George C Marshall SSBN-654
USS Henry L Stimson SSBN-655
USS George Washington Carver SSBN-656 [5]
USS Francis Scott Key SSBN-657 Key a slave owner
USS Mariano G Vallejo SSBN-658 [4]
USS Will Rogers SSBN-659
1. King Kamehameha I [The Great]. King of Hawaii. Slavery abolished in Hawaii not until 1852. The King a great conqueror and it having been observed that slavery the normal result for the vanquished during a time of war in Hawaii. To what extent the King outright owned slaves I cannot find a reference.
2. Hamilton an owner of a single slave through inheritance BUT NEVER TAKING POSSESSION OF!!
3. Grant and Lee both in a strictly legalistic manner owning slaves but only through their wives according to the laws of inheritance as was according to the period.
4. From a strictly legal viewpoint almost all these men foreign nationals and not American citizens. Vallejo a citizen of Mexico prior to 1850. Von Steuben a citizen of Prussia but American from the time of American independence onward. Pulaski killed in action during the Revolutionary War.
5. G. W. Carver born a slave, emancipated as a child.
6. Tecumseh an American Indian war chief. American Indians also engaging in the practice of slavery but no reference can be found as to Tecumseh owning slaves.
7. Lee and Jackson both additionally general officers in the army of the Confederacy.
8. Lewis and Clark both owning slaves but counting as one person for this analysis.
From that list of the forty-one eminent Americans:
* Slightly greater than half [twenty-two] owned slaves.
* Two it could not be determined if they ever owned slaves.
* Ten not owning slaves living in the period before 1865.
* Seven living in that time after 1865, slave ownership not possible.
Recognizing that those many "eminent Americans" IN THEIR OWN TIME understanding the contradiction of speaking of freedom and liberty while denying that right to others a problem for which they did have a practical solution.
That response of Admiral Rickover to all this would be what exactly?
coolbert.
Tu-95 & B-52.
This is coolbert:
Regarding those long-range strategic bomber aircraft as designed in the years immediately subsequent to the end of the Second World War the comments of an acknowledged aviation expert:
"The Tu-95 [Soviet] has its flaws related to the time and era. The B-52 [American] had five major flaws (coming from the same time frame): 1. The controls were not hydraulically boosted. 2. Manual fuel systems. 3. No autopilot. 4. No fuel dump system. 5. No ergonomic cockpits/panel layouts."
A good plan [project] now is better than a perfect plan [project] tomorrow! AND WE NEED IT [LONG-RANGE MANNED BOMBER] NOW WAS THE ATTITUDE OF SAC AND SOVIET LONG RANGE AVIATION!
Tu-95 and B-52 NOT EASY WARPLANES TO FLY.
Also that Tu-95 having a civilian version with a most outstanding safety record. This was the Tu-114:
"In 14 years of civilian service, the Tu-114 was reported to have a high level of safety and reliability. The Tu-114 carried over six million passengers before being replaced . . . Some 32 aircraft were built . . . in the early 1960s."
"During its service life the Tu-114 gained an enviable safety record (probably unmatched for its era) with only one fatal (but non-airborne) accident."
coolbert.
Regarding those long-range strategic bomber aircraft as designed in the years immediately subsequent to the end of the Second World War the comments of an acknowledged aviation expert:
"The Tu-95 [Soviet] has its flaws related to the time and era. The B-52 [American] had five major flaws (coming from the same time frame): 1. The controls were not hydraulically boosted. 2. Manual fuel systems. 3. No autopilot. 4. No fuel dump system. 5. No ergonomic cockpits/panel layouts."
A good plan [project] now is better than a perfect plan [project] tomorrow! AND WE NEED IT [LONG-RANGE MANNED BOMBER] NOW WAS THE ATTITUDE OF SAC AND SOVIET LONG RANGE AVIATION!
Tu-95 and B-52 NOT EASY WARPLANES TO FLY.
Also that Tu-95 having a civilian version with a most outstanding safety record. This was the Tu-114:
"In 14 years of civilian service, the Tu-114 was reported to have a high level of safety and reliability. The Tu-114 carried over six million passengers before being replaced . . . Some 32 aircraft were built . . . in the early 1960s."
"During its service life the Tu-114 gained an enviable safety record (probably unmatched for its era) with only one fatal (but non-airborne) accident."
coolbert.
Wednesday, July 15, 2015
Vendée
"'Mes amis, si j'avance, suivez-moi! Si je recule, tuez-moi! Si je meurs, vengez-moi!' ('Friends, if I advance, follow me! If I retreat, kill me! If I die, avenge me!)." - - La Rochejaquelein.
Before there was the Confederacy there was the War in the Vendée!
From the article as seen at the Internet web site Free Republic events as described only very vaguely familiar to me:
"Solzhenitsyn Mourned Bastille Day. So Should All Christians."
As with the American Civil War the War in the Vendée seen as a conflict between the forces of traditionalism and liberalism.
"The War in the Vendée (1793 to 1796; French: Guerre de Vendée) was an uprising in the Vendée region of France during the French Revolution. The Vendée is a coastal region, located immediately south of the Loire River in western France. Initially, the war . . . acquired themes considered by the government in Paris to be counterrevolutionary, and Royalist. The uprising headed by the self-styled Catholic and Royal Army"
Those persons as deemed by the central government in Paris as COUNTER-REVOLUTIONARIES devout Catholics not necessarily strictly concerned with the restoration of the ancien regime but also and more importantly so the SALVATION OF SOULS for which those worshippers of the Goddess of Reason had no respect.
European Catholic perception of the American Civil War and a not so hidden admiration and sympathy for the Confederacy may seem surprising but not so when considering events as transpired in the Vendée!
coolbert.
Tuesday, July 14, 2015
Bear Tu-95.
This is coolbert:
As it was just recently, yet one more Russian Tu-95 Bear long-range strategic bomber has gone-a-ground, crashed.
Thanks to Freeper.
"Two pilots killed as Tu-95MS bomber crashes after all 4 engines fail"
"Five crew safely parachuted from stricken jet in latest of spate of accidents afflicting military aircraft."
"The accident was the sixth involving Russian military aircraft this summer, reported news agencies. The ministry said the crash was probably caused by a malfunction, although other causes were not ruled out, reported Sputnik News Agency."
ALL FOUR ENGINES FAILED AND ALL SIMULTANEOUSLY?
In conversation with an acknowledged aviation authority we have this comment:
"Are the engines of the Bear somehow interlinked [?] . . Usually, such interlinking means more safety (the remaining engine(s) pick up the slack to produce thrust on the dead engine's propellers), but there might be circumstances when that kind of mutual operation can work in reverse."
"The most likely alternative is some kind of main line from the primary fuel tanks was blocked, starving all engines of fuel at approximately the same time."
"Another alternative is that one or two engines failed, and the pilots shut down the wrong engines (that has happened more than once in known history) in their rush to take care of the emergency."
"The last alternative is that all failed at the same time, which is a virtual statistical impossibility."
Thank you aviation authority!
coolbert.
As it was just recently, yet one more Russian Tu-95 Bear long-range strategic bomber has gone-a-ground, crashed.
Thanks to Freeper.
"Two pilots killed as Tu-95MS bomber crashes after all 4 engines fail"
"Five crew safely parachuted from stricken jet in latest of spate of accidents afflicting military aircraft."
"The accident was the sixth involving Russian military aircraft this summer, reported news agencies. The ministry said the crash was probably caused by a malfunction, although other causes were not ruled out, reported Sputnik News Agency."
ALL FOUR ENGINES FAILED AND ALL SIMULTANEOUSLY?
In conversation with an acknowledged aviation authority we have this comment:
"Are the engines of the Bear somehow interlinked [?] . . Usually, such interlinking means more safety (the remaining engine(s) pick up the slack to produce thrust on the dead engine's propellers), but there might be circumstances when that kind of mutual operation can work in reverse."
"The most likely alternative is some kind of main line from the primary fuel tanks was blocked, starving all engines of fuel at approximately the same time."
"Another alternative is that one or two engines failed, and the pilots shut down the wrong engines (that has happened more than once in known history) in their rush to take care of the emergency."
"The last alternative is that all failed at the same time, which is a virtual statistical impossibility."
Thank you aviation authority!
coolbert.
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