#21
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The Maginot Line would not have stopped the Germans in WW1. It only went to the Belgian border and then stopped. In 1914, the vast majority of the German Army came into France through Belgium, not directly from Germany. They were stopped only by the lucky happenstance of a British pilot noticing a gap between two German armies converging on Paris, and the quick decision to send troops out to exploit that gap and stop the West pincer of the german army. That allowed the French army to make a stand on the Marne and stop the main German force.
The Maginot Line was just an exercise in statist wishful thinking on par with renewable energy, the SLS, and government control of health care. All are/were a complete waste of money. |
#22
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Good points... I guess I should have clarified... The Maginot Line could have worked in 1914 IF it went all the way to the sea... as you said, the Germans were following the Schlieffen Plan to go through the low countries into France, completely bypassing the thing as it was built, whether it was there in either war... It could be said that the British and French war plans were both counting on the Germans respecting the neutrality of the low countries and not conquering them or using them as an avenue for invasion-- it was foolish in 1914, and it was even MORE foolish in 1940... they had the example from 1914, yet hadn't learned from it... Totally agree with your second observation... Later! OL JR
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#23
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Anyway, I'm pretty sure we coulda hurt them badly as they advanced westward. That is, by the time they backed us up to the English channel, we woulda had 'em thinned down pretty good by then, whereupon we would have launched a counter offensive. And if they chose to go nuke instead of conventional, well, we all know how that woulda turned out! (MAD) Doug .
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#24
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Quote:
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Black Shire--Draft horse in human form, model rocketeer, occasional mystic, and writer, see: http://www.lulu.com/content/paperba...an-form/8075185 http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6122050 http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6126511 All of my book proceeds go to the Northcote Heavy Horse Centre www.northcotehorses.com. NAR #54895 SR |
#25
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"When one human looks at another, more often than not he sees an *other* and not a brother."
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Black Shire--Draft horse in human form, model rocketeer, occasional mystic, and writer, see: http://www.lulu.com/content/paperba...an-form/8075185 http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6122050 http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6126511 All of my book proceeds go to the Northcote Heavy Horse Centre www.northcotehorses.com. NAR #54895 SR |
#26
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Regarding the ejection seats, what you might not be taking into account is the mindset of the pilots-astronauts. My pappie flew the SBC2C dive bomber at the end of the war and then the F4U-4 after the war in the Marines. When I told him I was going skydiving, he looked at me as if I was nuts. "Let me get this straight," he asked, "you're going to jump out of a perfectly good airplane? On purpose?" I offered the fact that he wore a parachute when he flew. His response was that he would have used it only if he wanted to die. Now his brother, my uncle, was in the 82nd Airborne during WWII, so I gather he knew that it was't certain death to jump, but his mindset was that his plane was his life and it would be far better to trust your luck on it than on a pair of silk pajamas. He would have rather ridden it down than jump.
I can only assume this mindset was prevalent throughout most pilots. You learn to trust your machine and put your life into its hands (wings?) every time you leave the ground. I Think that no matter what the rescue/escape system was, you used it only when your love of life overpowered your love of that craft. And that love of craft can be a very powerful thing ( for a fictional example see Star Trek "Elaan of Troyius").
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Bernard J. Herman Ohio RLS Starport Sagitta Rockets email bherman@sagittarockets.com NAR # 97971 SR What's your idea on the best way to change Washington D.C.? Let us know at the Cantina Sagitta Cantina We're looking for a few good Catos, please tell us about any you may have had. Survey of Anecdotal Malfunctioning Engines or S.A.M.E. |
#27
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I think it was more of a combat pilot's trust in his own skills (sometimes to the point of arrogance) to land a damaged plane than to put his life into the hands of an assembly line chute packer and the pure chance of where and how he might land under canopy. .
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I love sanding. |
#28
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Nope, he sees something competing for food, air, love, whatever. I am going to preface this post with the statement that I don't "love" war and that an idyllic Eden would be the first thing I would hope for civilization. However, as long as there are more than one person on Earth, it ain't gonna happen. War is the logical progression of the survival instinct. You can claim that animals don't do it, which is why I didn't say the natural progression, but you may be forgetting some. Ants for instance wage "war" with nearby other ants. I won't even begin to try and link the lifestyle of the ant (some may say communistic) with the warrior tendencies. There is conflict in everything we do, even in love. I well remember the "fight" I had to go through over twenty-five years ago to get my now wife to go out with me in the first place. I am also happy to forget the twenty five years of conflict since to keep our marriage together. Now at times something more important comes along than companionship, say food. If there is a lack, than most humans (especially males) will do all that they can to get what they need to survive. To do away with war, one would have to turn humans into an unfeeling, eternally powered robot. As for me though, I hold it true, whate'er befall; I feel it, when I sorrow most; 'Tis better to have loved and lost Than never to have loved at all. - Alfred Lord Tennyson
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Bernard J. Herman Ohio RLS Starport Sagitta Rockets email bherman@sagittarockets.com NAR # 97971 SR What's your idea on the best way to change Washington D.C.? Let us know at the Cantina Sagitta Cantina We're looking for a few good Catos, please tell us about any you may have had. Survey of Anecdotal Malfunctioning Engines or S.A.M.E. |
#29
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It's interesting that your father had that attitude. A few years ago, my club, CMASS, was at the Acton, Mass, Space Day event. Among the attractions there was a visit from former astronaut Dick Gordon (Gemini 11, Apollo 12). After his talk, he signed autographs and talked with a lot of us. While I was talking to him, a group of Army skydivers jumped from an aircraft overhead. We were watching them come in and I asked Gordon if he'd ever done that amongst his various adventures. He said "there's no way I'm crazy enough to jump out of a perfectly good airplane!" He then mentioned something about his son doing that and how nuts he thought he was.
I imagine from this conversation that it would have taken quite a lot for one of those Gemini guys to pull the ejection ring. Quote:
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Dan Castle NAR 77391 HPR Lev 1 CMASS Member SAM 0053 |
#30
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During World War I, one Christmas (1915, if memory serves) the German troops on the front were sent miniature Christmas trees as a morale boost. They sang Christmas hymns in the trenches, and the British forces overheard them and began singing with them. Before long, an unofficial truce--enacted by the soldiers themselves--occurred. The next day, they were actually playing soccer with each other, and the officers on both sides were upset that their respective troops were fraternizing with each other. While they did ultimately succeed in stopping that undesirable (to them) state of affairs, they almost lost control of the situation, with soldiers on both sides asking, "*Why* are we at war with each other? Can't our leaders settle this matter over a conference table instead?" Had a contemporary historical figure similar to Mohandas Gandhi (whose non-violent noncompliance could have served as an example) been active and known to them at the time, World War I could have ended right then.
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Black Shire--Draft horse in human form, model rocketeer, occasional mystic, and writer, see: http://www.lulu.com/content/paperba...an-form/8075185 http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6122050 http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6126511 All of my book proceeds go to the Northcote Heavy Horse Centre www.northcotehorses.com. NAR #54895 SR |
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