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And why do I bring this up today? SMS Seydlitz looks far better than I feel right now.Her baptism of fire took place at the Battle of Dogger Bank in 1914, against the HMS Lion, conceding three hits that caused a dramatic fire. Repaired, she went back into service only to hit a mine in 1916 and again repaired.At the Battle of Jutland, she was hit by two torpedoes from the destroyers HMS Petard and Turbulent, and above 22 hits including 16 from the British latest fast dreadnoughts (381 mm). Managing to survive miraculously, she barely made it to the German coast, beaching with more than 5330 tons of seawater its bulkheads.Again repaired, he reached Scapa Flow like the rest of the Hochseeflotte after the armistice, scuttled it in 1919, and was bailed to be demolished in 1928. (Source)
Head clogged, hacking cough, with a bonus sore throat in the wee hours of Thursday morn.
Staying alive via NyQuil and DayQuil but still feel like death warmed over.
Rode hard and put away wet for you equestrian types.
Looking forward to the weekend and just staying in bed.
Sigh, life in the fast lane.
* Seiner Majestäts Schiff = His Majesty's Ship, SMS is the German version of HMS.
I think the cavalry had a saying, "The saddle, the horse, the man" as the order of operations after a patrol. It was a good idea to wash the sweat off the horse and rub them down. I didn't like that too much after a long ride, but if you didn't want to walk while chasing cows, you better take care of the saddle and horse!!
ReplyDeleteI knew an older lady, born the year the Titanic died. She swore that irrigating the keister was a good way to avoid a cold, or shorten it's duration. YMMV.
I usually tank up on aloe vera juice. It tastes like yuk, but it's pretty good at calming roughed up parts of the digestive system...
Rest up and feel better. That's permission, not an order.
I've read in a couple of places that Napoleon's cavalry weren't very good at taking care of their horses.
DeleteHorse, saddle, man. Always take care of your horse first.
DeleteAn hour on, an hour off (1 hour of riding, 1 of walking and leading) is the way to travel long distances without wearing the horse down (unless you have more than one mount, then switchout.)
These are the US Cavalry way of horse care (actual, real, USC horsecare rules.)
That and don't collect the coffee water from downstream of the horses. John Wayne movies are very instructional.
As to irrigation, friend's mother was a nurse, she swore cold water irrigation was the only way to break a fever.
Pre-Revolution French Cavalry, more towards the middle ages than Revolutionary times, had a love affair with their horses. A French gent practically couldn't walk 10 feet without wanting to get on horseback. And it shows in the armor. French medieval armor is very broad-shouldered, while more narrow at the hips, with graceful upper and lower legs. It was actually harder to unseat a French knight than most other knights, as they sat their saddle better than most (which they learned from the Normans kicking their French arse from 970-11latesomething as the continental Norman empire collapsed.) German armor, on the other hand, tended to be larger in the lower chest and belly, with thicker legs (due to either beer or their better ability at fighting on foot.) English armor tended to be a mix of German and French, pretty much stodgy all throughout. V from shoulder to hips - French. Inverted V from shoulder to hips - German. Straight up/down - English.
This is your armor lesson for today....
Cool!
DeleteHey Old AFSarge;
ReplyDeleteThe Seyditz took a pasting, unlike the British Battlecruisers....Something to keep in mind :D. That which don't kill you makes you stronger...Or I could come up with a few more...but I won't. I know how you feel, Came back with the crud after staying overnight at a work event and apparently someone was sick and distributed the joy to the other inhabitants. Thereflu and nyquil pulled me through.
The wee hours of the morning are the worst. But I'm sleeping better than I have a right to expect!
DeleteThe Prinz Eugen was much like the Seyditz, just couldn't catch a break during WWII. Nothing spectacular, like losing steering, more like, well, just... something not quite right...
DeleteI wonder if the Seyditz's reputation was why the NAZIs didn't name one of their ships (bmmm, checking interwebs, um...) Oh, so the Nazis did lay down a Hipper class cruiser under that name but never completed it. So the curse lived on... Interesting.
The shell magnet.
DeleteMore and more I think that the proper attire for air travel is Tyvek coveralls and a biohazard respirator.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, any one at the wedding could have handed you the virus.
Take care of yourself.
Related note. Until this cycle, I didn't even know there was a special flu shot for, ah, mumble, seniors.
Judging by the smoke coming from the forward stack, the Seydlitz has at least one boiler lit off forward.
Probably to keep the ship afloat, power to run pumps and the like. She took on a lot of water.
DeleteLevel IV containment suit with a good Racal filter. It's the only way to fly...
DeleteSpecial flu shot for Seniors, and if you have lung problems or are a senior, there's also a Pneumonia shot that works surprisingly well for warding off, well, Pneumonia... That and Shingles vaccine for anyone who had Chicken Pox, which I highly recommend all three because you really don't want shingles....
Leery of some things, I am.
DeleteBeans. Flu shot done, pneumonia shot done, first shingles done, waiting for the pharmacy to resupply for the second shot.
DeleteLet us know how that goes.
DeleteMethinks you'll get plenty of advice today soooooo........ do what's worked for you in the past and rest, drink liquids(the non-alcoholic kinds) plenty of 'em. Got my flu shot early last month and NOT shaking hands with anyone this fall. Prior to retiring from my public contact job I got the flu every year even with flu shots, not so now. Go figure huh? Man! That gun turret lost BOTH barrels......incoming barrage was hell on water.
ReplyDeleteIf you look closely you shoud notice that the turret roof is missing as well.
DeleteI initially agreed, then I zoomed on the photo. The turret roof is missing, but the top of the turret looks perfectly cut.
DeleteI think the roof was taken off post Jutland to remove the guns.
I wanted to find a photo of the ship immediately after Jutland and I found this series of photos.
She has a single turret forward and two superposed turrets aft.
I found this series of close up photos of the damage.
https://imgur.com/a/87CXK
If the first photo in the series was taken after Jutland, the forward turret has its guns.
This is from the her Wiki, and also shows the forward turret with the guns intact.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/60/Seydlitz_badly_damaged.jpg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMS_Seydlitz
She is turbine driven, and that's modern for her day.
The USS Texas was built at almost the same time, and the Texas has reciprocating engines.
The simple fact that she survived the damage is an amazing testament to her design and to her crew. and I agree, it was quite the accomplishment.
D'oh! Didn't think of that.
DeleteThirteen years working in a Naval Shipyard does give me great experience on how ships that are being repaired look.
DeleteMy mind kept insisting that the single turret must be the aft turret, it took a while for me to shift gears.
Same here as to the location of that turret.
DeleteGermans did build amazingly tough warships... Bismarck took horrible beating and it took either torps or scuttling (some crewmen claimned that) to sink her. Tirpitz took multiple aerial raids and 2-ton mines by X-craft in stride, before 5,5 ton Tall boy bombs sank her. They used exceedingly complex watertight compartamentalization, and multiple-layered, internally-angled armor around citadel areas.
DeleteGerman engineering, often overly complex but when they get it right, it's pretty solid stuff.
DeleteThere's a chunk of hull armor for the Bismark/Tirpitz that wasn't used, and to this day our metallurgists can't figure out what the heck the NAZIs did to it to make it both tough and flexible, resistant to practically anything, almost impervium, and probably costing the same. Good stuff.
DeleteThe Germans used to be able to build and maintain well. Now? Well, all the Leopards that Poland get go into depot right away to be Polandized and made better, faster, stronger... Sad to see a once super industrial country go to heck. While another super industrial country takes over (that would be Poland. Hey, besides PLQ we haven't heard from our Polish correspondent lately, have we? Hope both are okay...)
Uh, Paweł commented above, so he's alive and well.
DeleteSo he did. And yes he is. Cool. Now we just need to find out about PLQ.
DeleteHe's alive and well, commenting over at Shaun's place (Prairie Adventurer). Not sure why he's boycotting us.
DeleteWhew. That's a relief. I was actually scanning for death notices...
DeleteWe do tend to worry about our own.
Deleteif I was seeming MIA only because few last posts were concerning 2nd amendment and I dis try to not antagonize good friends with my hopelessly anti-gun stance you all know from FB discussions
Deleteanyway I am all well and kicking, enjoying some newly released italian cruisers in WOWS and awaitng new Star Wars movie as well as Midway and 1917
Glad to have you here Paweł. Your opinion may differ from others but is nevertheless valued.
DeleteIf we all thought alike this would be a very boring world.
Looking at the Seydlitz, all I can think of is, it could’ve been worse.
ReplyDeleteThose suckers carried a lot of high explosives, which... you know!
The crew kept her afloat and got her home. Quite an accomplishment!
DeleteReminds me of USS San Francisco after first round of Barroom Brawl with Lights Shot Out in the Ironbottom Cantina
DeleteAlmost shot to pieces...
I've seen pictures of that!
DeleteAt least the crew of the Seydlitz didn't leave the doors open on the ammo elevators like the Brits did. Dumbasses...
DeleteBritish ships hadn't been "sailor proofed."
DeleteI've looked at that picture before. In fact I looked at that picture while standing that very pier in Wilhelmshaven, listening to a modern(ish) Deutsche Marine version of the Battle of Jutland from a fellow I took to be a German Navy Captain but who was actually a German Navy Hinge. It was an exceptionally cool experience and one that I took completely for granted at the time and saw mostly as a good way to make the boring time pass as I stood Beach Guard duty. Would have been 1985 or 1986.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, thanks for starting my day with a lovely memory Sarge. Hang tough with the cold; it's a good sign that you can sleep a bit despite the misery. I'm gonna go chant some crystal-grippy words over a road-killed porcupine in an effort to set up a planetary healing vibe for you.
I did see that squashed porky-pine. Poor critter had a bad day.
DeleteA bad cold beats a busted up gut any day of the week. So I'll take it.
Oof. Hope you feel better quickly.
ReplyDeleteThanks Aaron, I'm still in the fight, just fogged and slowed.
DeleteAce Reid was a well known cartoonist who created "Cowpokes". In one of them, the doc makes a house call the the ranch bunk house. Regarding the patient, one of the other cowpokes remarks "Well doc, he's been a fightin' the Asian flu with Mexican tequila. It would appear that one of 'em has got the better of him".
ReplyDeleteGet well soon.
Heh.
DeleteThanks RHT447.
Had the Brits gotten round to improving their lousy ammunition (they, at least Jellico, were well aware of the issues) Seydlitz and others would have been sunk. Attention to "Minor" details can be important!! Sure hope you're back in battery soonest!! Take it easy.
ReplyDeleteYes, and "minor" details can add up to create big problems.
DeleteThanks Cap'n.
Well, that and ranging with all the guns of the turret, rather than just one. Seriously, Brits shot one gun out of a battery to figure range. Germans shot the whole turret. One gives you a splash, the other a pattern. Easier to range and target with a pattern.
DeleteDidn't know that, pretty Teutonic.
DeleteNeedless to say, we used a modified version of German ranging, until we got accurate radar ranging. US naval artillery, #1 for over 100 years... and then for some reason in the late 90's to early 2000's we lost our marbles.
DeleteAlong with our naval gunfire capability.
DeleteWell, all good comments. Nothing to say today. Other than glad you're home, sad you're sick, you better not get TMH sick or you'll be sorry-er...
ReplyDeleteNothing to say?
DeleteSurely you jest.
And stop calling him Shirley. (With apologies to Leslie Nielsen).
DeleteSomeone is paying attention. (And gets my goofball references.)
DeleteWhat? You missed an opportunity to say "Surely you Joust."
DeleteWhich, no, I never, actually. Just ground fighting. Though if I recall a few St. George's Tourneys...
Heh.
DeleteDrink hot cocoa, and sleep as much as you can. Or hot apple cider, the real, unfiltered, pulpy brown stuff!
ReplyDeleteSleep is high on the agenda, very high.
DeleteHope you get over the "rode hard and put away wet" soon. No advice from here, as it looks like you have gotten plenty already.
ReplyDeleteSlept in today, it was glorious. Still feeling worn down but I think this shall pass.
DeleteThanks Brig!
Me thinks you're due after running yourself ragged before/during/after the wedding. Maybe you caught the bug that late night of the wedding, and that fire just wasn't enough. Hope it goes away quick. That reminds me, time for my flu shot.
ReplyDeleteI think you're right. New son-in-law wasn't feeling very well that whole weekend, so there was something going around.
Delete