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| The fifth prototype He 177, the V5, with Stammkennzeichen* code "PM+OD" and early cockpit design used on the first eight prototypes. (Read me) |
There are days I get the feeling that with a lot of folks staying home, there's a lot more interaction on the Internet than I'm used to, especially over on koobecaF. Kinda feels like this...
Shakespeare it ain't...
Anyhoo, I am tired of the Internet, I'm all Internetted out, so to speak. So you get a video today. It's like the gym coach is substituting for your regular teacher. (We always got a film when that happened.)
Though I have more time to do the research for the historical posts, well, ya know, there are days I just want to kick back, take off my shoes, and have a beer. What with the events on Guam and the discussion attending all that, not to mention that virus-thingee, I want to have multiple beers. Who knew there were so many experts on the Uniform Code of Military Justice and epidemiologists on koobecaF? I had no ideer...
Sigh...
Anyhoo, here's a fairly good (yes, yes, I know, fairly long as well, 21 minutes give or take, but really, what else do you have to do) video on how the Luftwaffe dropped the ball in World War II. Not a day goes by that I am not thankful that the head of the Luftwaffe, der Dicke, Hermann Göring was a drug-addled nitwit. (Though truth be told, once the Allies weaned him off the drugs so he could stand trial, he wasn't really that stupid. Just evil and drug-addled during the war.)
Enjoy, there is some really good historical footage in this.
Juvat will take care of you Monday, I'll be back Tuesday.
Gotta go keep the Internet safe for...
Well, not democracy, that's for sure. It's a constitutional republic for me!
* Stammkennzeichen = factory radio code.
"Not a day goes by that I am not thankful that the head of the Luftwaffe, der Dicke, Hermann Göring was a drug-addled nitwit"
ReplyDeleteDitto, and I'm also thankful that his boss thought himself to be a better General than his Generals. Several critical decisions that were opposed by his military commanders went in the Allies' favor when results were tallied.
Early in the war (and just before) when the generals expressed quite valid concerns about Hitler's plans, he didn't listen. Allied failures reinforced Hitler's opinion of himself as a "great general." So later on, he wasn't inclined to listen to his generals.
DeleteThe Allied failures early in the war may have made victory in the long run a certainty. They made Hitler feel infallible, and he was anything but!
Reminds me of the way TWPE and his administration sewed chaos and stupidity throughout our military ranks, or the way Billy Jeff and his toadies did the same, or LBJ (I can hear juvat hork a lugie from here) and his toadies also screwed us (Bobby Strange being the chief toadie.)
DeleteWe haven't been exactly a bright shining example of forthright military thinking either. We just generally have the money and the population to excel past the stupidity. Until the 90's, that is.
I won't mention the Ground Fighting Vehicle, the Intruder replacement program, the scrapping of the super-Tomcat, or the LCS, or the GFV's replacement, or the AAV replacement, or the DDX or the Ford or, well, yeah, I did mention them. All programs or scrapping of programs in the case of the super-Tomcat, that also suffered or are suffering from meddling incompetents that act like drug-addled nitwits.
Grrr.
As to Hitler feeling superior, that, and the carefully hidden fact that the Polish and Norwegian campaigns were far more expensive and far more destructive to the Germans than they let on. Resulting in, after the French campaign, a nation that was seriously out of cash and now in the midst of integrating (or not) a whole heck of a lot of real estate, all which, not surprisingly, cost the average German citizen to run.
DeleteYes, the Germans got their hands on whole or mostly whole factories, or mines, or supplies, or even stashes of hard currency and other sellable items. But in the long run having foreign workers in foreign factories making your war-stuff, many under outright slavery, really wasn't a sensible thing to do when running a war...
Beans #1 - I most wholeheartedly disagree. All those projects you mention just cost money. Yes, many of them were stupid, some were not, just poorly executed. Politicians in DC and perfumed princes in the Pentagon can screw things up, but our ability to fight and rain down destruction on an enemy is unparalleled in human history. We have a LOT of capable officers with innovative ideas and who can inspire their troops to unbelievable accomplishments. The last administration did not "sow chaos and stupidity throughout our military ranks" though they did waste a LOT of money and promote a number of toadies and incompetents. But those sumbitches never get near combat. Comparing our current military to the WWII Luftwaffe is absolute nonsense.
DeleteBeans #2 - Yup, Poland and Norway revealed a number of things which needed to be fixed. What they fixed made them successful against the French and the BEF, but screwed them in the BoB and later in Russia. Nazi Germany is a prime example of over-extension and wishful thinking.
DeleteOAFS #1 - I disagree. Sure, it was 'just money,' but it was money that was taken away from things like repairs and refurbishments, and so equipment, planes, ships, bases were all run to the edge and beyond because no budget was available. During TWPE times, my nephew, an Air Force combat engineer, and his unit sat in their state-side base and weren't allowed to do basic maintenance on their equipment, weren't allowed to fix issues on the base itself (like water, electricity, holes in the buildings they were living in,) because no money was available for maintenance and repair. He gets out, joins the FLNATGUARD as an engineer, and he's sent everywhere in the state to fix stuff for charities, he's deployed, sent to Iraq, back to Iraq, to various natdisasters in the US and it's territories.
DeleteAs to the last administration, while reading blogs I noticed a lot of ex-service members complaining about TWPE's cabinet firing a lot of admirals and generals who were more fight than politically correct or politically connected.
Our sea-lift capability is the worst it's ever been. Our naval air can't range as far as it could 30 years ago.
Lots of issues, lots of things.
Maybe I generalized too much, and went too far, in comparing a lot of our issues with the Nazis.
Perhaps I should have said the Nazis are a cautionary tale as to how not to do procurement. But I see the same inattention to focus on the big picture in a lot of our current weapon programs.
Or, I just may be glum.
I'll accept the Nazis as a cautionary tale as your premise, now that makes sense.
DeleteOur procurement system is probably worse than the Luftwaffe's right now. It is totally out of control and nonsensical.
As I have lamented to family and friends in the past, "I don't want to spend any more of my life staring at electrons today".
ReplyDeleteThere were several plans being cooked up to take out Hitler early on. Then they re-considered. And sent more sleeping pills (Ok, that one was just a rumor).
I know I spend far too much time in front of the computer these days.
DeleteSome German officers felt a higher calling to their nation, as opposed to their oath. Which in the German military was an oath sworn to Hitler personally, not to the nation, not to the government, not even to God. But to Hitler personally. A number of higher ranking officers (careerists for the most part) were very uneasy violating that oath, I mean they swore it. The time to have taken Hitler out was when he insisted upon the Wehrmacht swearing that oath. From that point on the German officer corps was culpable for all that the Nazis did.
Agreed. Re-reading, I should have noted in my comment above that I was referring to the Allies. And yeah I know, here I am in front of this infernal machine again. But it's cold and grey out, and today is Sunday. Supposed to be warmer weather tomorrow, so I will likely repair to the garage man-cave and continue with gun/reloading projects.
DeleteNot a very pleasant Palm Sunday, is it?
DeleteCold, wet, everyone grumpy as the Dems and their fellow travellers purposely tank the economy to score coup against the President. Makes me want to shoot something, but that requires traveling distances or shooting moving targets that look suspiciously like hooptie-mobiles with mope-music coming out of them (when you can feel a car's sound system from 4 blocks away.... grrr) and don't want to drive 30 minutes to a range and don't want to deal with the liberal politicians and the police on a rainy Palm Sunday afternoon.
What's a guy to do? Grrrr.
RHT447 - Ah, makes more sense that way, though true on both counts.
DeleteBeans - Not a nice day weather-wise here as well.
DeleteThis too shall pass.
Ease back in the chair, boss, you've earned some restful days. I dropped that vile, toilet called f-b-k years ago. I saw it start to suck time, then give me toys to play with that were fun and entertaining. Reminded me of a STNG subject. The one where the little toy got put on you face and you got a dopamine hit from playing a game. It SEDATED the crew.
ReplyDeleteSince coming to that conclusion, I am ruthless about my internet time. I'm learning about something when I'm on it. Like going to the library in elementary school. I had a reason to be there. Chatting with messmates, was done face to face. I still like that model. *koff*koff*
Facebook is great for keeping in touch with the kids who are spread out all over the Continental US and one overseas. For those who don't think upon it much, the Internet is a form of narcotic.
DeleteHey AFSarge;
ReplyDeleteI heard that Goering was pretty sharp once his mind was clear. The biggest problem with the German Luftwaffe was that its airforce was never considered a strategic weapon. Its planes were geared for support for the panzers and the HEER and the planes reflected that.
Spot on MrG.
DeleteAnd once Stalin had many factories forcibly hauled to the east of the Urals, Germany was hosed. No way to bomb them with tactical aircraft meant for the short ranges of continental western Europe.
DeleteOne of the more brilliant things about being the US was we had to look to how to get planes from one side of the continent to the other. Due to this, our tactical planes tended to have more range than many European strategic planes of the times. And then we got better and better.
Being able to air-ferry bombers and some fighters via air from the East Coast to England, or Africa, was a big surprise to everyone else who considered boxing and sea-ferrying for their long-range transport needs.
Some interesting history here--
Deletehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interception_of_the_Rex
Flight leader in the opening photo is this guy--
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Olds
Who's family name is well known hereabouts.
Beans - The Germans were strategically incompetent, tactically brilliant, and logistically naive. Good way to lose a war.
DeleteRHT447 - Robin Old's Dad!
DeleteThings that run through the mind, but sometimes take a short breather one might dwell upon:
ReplyDeleteAdd an L to Luftwaffe, at the end... luftwaffel
Would that be like a Frisbie?
Asking for a friend.
An air waffle! Kinda like a Frisbee, but doesn't fly as well...
Delete😂
Girls in bikinis playing catch with maple syrup soaked luftwaffels. I b'leve I might subscribe if that there was a flicksnet o-riginal series.
DeleteYou can take the sailor out of the navy but you can't take the sailor out of the sailor...
Now that right there got my attention. As long as it's gen-you-wine Vermont maple syrup.
DeleteWhen you think of the history of the lands and peoples who became Germany it's really not very surprising that things played out the way they did. It seems to me that it was and continues to be a society which puts more work into appearing to be civilized than into being civilized. It's nothing unique in human history, and I don't say that to demean Deutsch sprechende Affeneidechsen, for it looks very much like that's a thing in this here neck o' the woods too.
ReplyDeleteHindsight is 20/20 and in 2020 ;-) it's easy for me to point and laugh, until I remember that the Führer's Funhouse Friends very nearly acheived Brest-Litovsk parte deux in 1941 and did take over pretty much all of yurp.
And yes, I have been watching a lot of "It's a Southern Thang." Why d' ya'll ayask?
In his book The Arms of Krupp, William Manchester argues that the Germans are the way that they are, is because the civilizing influence of Rome never made it across the Rhine. Which is true. So there is that.
Delete(Don McCollor)...a derogatory title for Goering in Germany was "Herr Meyer" (like calling someone Mr. Smith or Mr. Jones. He also preferred hunting among his many other pastimes (rather than running the Luftwaffe ). The air raid sirens in Germany were called "Herr Meyer's Hunting Horns"...
ReplyDeleteHe famously stated that if the Allies ever bombed Berlin, "You can call me Meyer."
Delete