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More Krengel diaries, please!!!
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Jan 26, 2017 03:32
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I did a quick run-through for mentions of illness etc, so this is only rough, but you can see colds were obviously an issue in winter, otherwise there's a decent interval between medical events: Mar 41 cold Sept 41 jaundice Oct 41 apparently jaundice again, could be malaria Feb 42 cold, malaria? Mar 42 cold but something else undiagnosed July 42 tropical boils Aug 42 blood poisoning Sept 42 a lip boil Oct 42 another cold, malaria? Jan 43 wounded Mar 43 possibly this is when malaria is diagnosed although he doesn't say so but the doctors eagerness to get him out of Africa is noteworthy. By the time he's in Germany he's referring to his illness as "my malaria".
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Jan 26, 2017 03:36
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spectralent posted:"We want a pusher prop" Curtiss really managed its projects poorly and did a terrible job of overcommitting so even promising stuff took too long to be good by the time it came out.
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Jan 26, 2017 03:55
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How much of a soldier's life on campaign is spent with diarrhea, would you estimate? Are modern rations designed to help keep things running smoothly down there, or is it still just misery all the time always? I dunno if that's the gooniest question to ever get asked in this thread, but I bet it's close
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Jan 26, 2017 03:56
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According to the accounts I've heard, modern rations are designed to give you constipation so you don't poo poo yourself while fighting.
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Jan 26, 2017 04:23
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And there's saltpeter in them too to keep down the urges.
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Jan 26, 2017 04:24
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Ainsley McTree posted:How much of a soldier's life on campaign is spent with diarrhea, would you estimate? Are modern rations designed to help keep things running smoothly down there, or is it still just misery all the time always? Sanitation has more to do with that than any ration ever will.
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Jan 26, 2017 04:33
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ChaseSP posted:According to the accounts I've heard, modern rations are designed to give you constipation so you don't poo poo yourself while fighting. It isn't a matter of deliberate design, but one of "this is how things work". MREs are designed to have a high energy density, because the smaller the package that delivers the desired energy (and combat soldiers need more calories than the average civilian or peacetime soldier) the easier your logistics are. If you eat a lot of high-density food without getting enough extra water, you get constipated. Phanatic posted:And there's saltpeter in them too to keep down the urges. Old myth with no truth to it whatsoever. There's no evidence of saltpetre ever being used as an antiaphrodisiac food additive, and it wouldn't work anyway.
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Jan 26, 2017 04:37
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i have accidentally eaten my share of black powder and i'm still as dumb and horny as ever
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Jan 26, 2017 04:43
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Gnoman posted:Old myth with no truth to it whatsoever. There's no evidence of saltpetre ever being used as an antiaphrodisiac food additive, and it wouldn't work anyway. 
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Jan 26, 2017 04:45
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ChaseSP posted:According to the accounts I've heard, modern rations are designed to give you constipation so you don't poo poo yourself while fighting. Officially they don't cause constipation, but last time I ate nothing but MREs for a week I had the worst case of constipation ever. A lot of that was also due to not getting nearly enough water and running around in Texas heat in MOPP gear but still, not something I would willingly want to go through again. And while I know the plural of anecdote isn't data but basically everyone I knew also ended up wicked constipated that week. I can only imagine how bad it is if you are stuck in Kandahar, or somewhere else even hotter than where I was.
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Jan 26, 2017 04:50
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Don Gato posted:Officially they don't cause constipation, but last time I ate nothing but MREs for a week I had the worst case of constipation ever. A lot of that was also due to not getting nearly enough water and running around in Texas heat in MOPP gear but still, not something I would willingly want to go through again. Same, I ate nothing but MREs post hurricane Katrina and had similar heat and dehydration, and I was pretty constipated. Which was nice since we were making GBS threads outside and not taking showers.
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Jan 26, 2017 05:12
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Pharmaskittle posted:Same, I ate nothing but MREs post hurricane Katrina and had similar heat and dehydration, and I was pretty constipated. Which was nice since we were making GBS threads outside and not taking showers. You didn't have the Red Cross truck roll through your hood with lovely cafeteria foodfor a little variety? Anyway 
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Jan 26, 2017 06:15
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MREs will absolutely stop you up, but it isn't an intentional thing. They're just super calorie dense and have a very low moisture content, so in order to make everything go smoothly you have to drink a lot more water than what you're used to. this of course can be hard out in the field, especially when it is hot out in a similar vein, private rumor net is very fond of spreading the rumor that the gum is a laxative. The gum isnt a laxative. A more substantive rumor is that the vegetable crackers were developed specifically to be loaded up with fiber, so you can give those to someone who is badly stopped up if needed. They're way worse than the regular crackers though.
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Jan 26, 2017 06:53
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bewbies posted:MREs will absolutely stop you up, but it isn't an intentional thing. They're just super calorie dense and have a very low moisture content, so in order to make everything go smoothly you have to drink a lot more water than what you're used to. this of course can be hard out in the field, especially when it is hot out the gum has xylitol, a mild laxative, in it. but, im pretty sure the gum is in mres for dental health purposes not for anything else. making GBS threads after eating mres isnt really an issue if you drink a lot of water and dip constantly.
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Jan 26, 2017 07:08
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HEY GAIL posted:i have accidentally eaten my share of black powder and i'm still as dumb and horny as ever What's a pikewoman doing chewing on some musketeer's cartridge? are your guys actually using paper cartridges yet? If memory serves its just when they're starting to become popular?
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Jan 26, 2017 07:17
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Yes, it's like a lava lamp.
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MassivelyBuckNegro posted:the gum has xylitol, a mild laxative Xylitol is in the same family as those haribo gummy bears of amazon review fame. Depending on how you respond to sugar alcohols that could be a bit more than mild.
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Jan 26, 2017 07:19
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PittTheElder posted:What's a pikewoman doing chewing on some musketeer's cartridge?
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Jan 26, 2017 07:26
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The Krengel Diary Part 24 Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17 Part 18 Part 19 Part 20 Part 21 Part 22 Part 23 1943 13 May: Still on leave in Nuremberg; met Karl's future in-laws, Mr. & Mrs. Schmiedel. I go by train to Munich on the 14th and arrive in the evening. On the 15th I meet a girl named Elisabeth, visit Frau Mair, see a show with Elisabeth, and have dinner at Mrs. Mair's. 15 May: I stay in Nurember until 26 May. I must get back to Berlin nw and report to the Company at Klein-Machnow. The next morning, in Berlin, I report for examination to a doctor who orders more convalescence leave for me. I stay in Berlin until 3 June, then travel by train back to Nuremberg. 18 June: Four weeks at home have come to an end; sorting out my library, visiting relatives and friends. Today I return to Berlin to report for duty. I have evenings off and go into the city. Some of the shrapnel left in my leg starts to hurt so I visit the Berlin Schoneberg Military Hospital and one piece of shrapnel is removed on the 23rd. I visited two girls, Grete and Erike, while I was out. I got new bandages on my leg but the wound has gone septic so I've been taken to the Tempelhof Hospital. 2 August: All hospitals in Berlin have been closed for an unspecified time??? I'm still in the Convalescents Company but I am allowed to go out at night. I met a girl named Monika. She is a hospital nurse and is schedule to leave Berlin on 5 August. 11 August: Last night there was a heavy air raid on Nuremberg and I have not heard from my parents. I tried to phone on the 12th but there are no open lines to Nuremberg. Finally on the 16th a letter arrived. Three fire bombs hit our house. The top floor is burned out. The house next door is a total loss. I'm allowed to go home on the 18th to evaluate the damage to our house. 20 August: I'm home until the 23rd. In the evening I took Monika out and during the night we had a very heavy air raid on Berlin; 60 bombers were shot down. 1 September: Again there are heavy air raids on Berlin. It is Elisabeth's birthday. I go to see Herr Meissner on the 3rd. On the 6th I report to barracks, as Panzerfuhrer of 1st Company, with 1st Lt. Schwalbe. 16 September: Today is my birthday; I'm 25, and celebrate with Karl-Heinz and Frau Meissner. 18 September: In the morning we load our vehicles and 7.5 PaK's onto a train at Berlin Grunewald to depart for Wandern proving ground. After arriving in camp, I visit the village of Tweezing and return to camp at midnight. 20 September: On the first day of shooting at paper targets, I hit the target 3 times with 7 shots - very good, same score the next day. Several days pass with target practice. We do patrols with a 7.5 halftrack and finish up our training on the 24th with a nice get together in the evening. On the 25th we are transferred to HQ Company. We load up on the 26th and finish by 1 PM. After that I have a good-bye visit to the village. We return to Berlin on the 27th and unload our equipment from the train. Dad's birthday is today; he is 60. On the 28th I get promoted to Panzer Leader and we have an inspection by Commander Schwalbe. I get some bad news; Erika is in the hospital for an operation. 1 October: I get promoted to Chief of the training group for the 75mm PaK. I report to the commander and find out that 20 of us are to be transferred to the "Hermann Goering" Division. On the 2nd I get instructions on how to train recruits on the 75mm. 15 October: I am still in instructor training but it is supposed to end tomorrow. I have been assigned to Lt. Steindorff who has another group of new recruits. Monika arrives in Berlin on the 20th and on the 27th I get a short leave to Nuremberg. I visit Dad's workplace and in the afternoon work in my Library. I also visit the town hall to hear the damage report on my parent's house from fire bombs. I was told that the top floor will be repaired and Mr. & Mrs. Luthard will live there. I return to Berlin on the 29th and visit Karl-Heinz.
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Jan 26, 2017 07:28
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Does ensign expendable have a PayPal or something? I've had hours of reading over his tank histories and I feel like I owe him a couple beers
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Jan 26, 2017 07:42
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Does Krangler get around or what?  And I guess it's fun to be a Panzer leader sans a Panzer
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Jan 26, 2017 08:00
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Yeah, really not wasting any time even with a hosed up leg
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Jan 26, 2017 10:20
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Jobbo_Fett posted:
What was the treatment for a case like that? Let him fever until the body seems to sort it out, and if not, saw saw saw?
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Jan 26, 2017 10:23
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JaucheCharly posted:What was the treatment for a case like that? Let him fever until the body seems to sort it out, and if not, saw saw saw? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulfonamide_(medicine)
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Jan 26, 2017 10:25
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NLJP posted:Yeah, really not wasting any time even with a hosed up leg Chicks dig scars 
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Jan 26, 2017 10:35
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I'm betting that there was already a pretty severe shortage of dudes compared to ladies in Germany by 1943 Krengel probably wishes he could have been in Paraguay circa 1870
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Jan 26, 2017 10:56
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What, so he could be sick with tropical jungle diseases and some flesh-borer beetle infestations 100% of the time? In relation to that: was taking out tanks with anti tank guns really that dangerous that you could get an iron cross for taking out a single tank?
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Jan 26, 2017 11:29
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JcDent posted:In relation to that: was taking out tanks with anti tank guns really that dangerous that you could get an iron cross for taking out a single tank? The Iron Cross, Second Class was very hard for an enlisted man to get in WWI and tough in the early days of WWII, but by this time it had become an extremely common award. The only official criteria was "bravery in the face of the enemy".
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Jan 26, 2017 11:41
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JcDent posted:In relation to that: was taking out tanks with anti tank guns really that dangerous that you could get an iron cross for taking out a single tank? Shooting at an enemy is safe, what is dangerous is that the enemy is also shooting at you. In this case he destroyed the lead tank (with some difficulty), was wounded and led his men to orderly withdraw while under attack, instead of panicking and letting the enemy overrun the guns.
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Jan 26, 2017 11:47
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bewbies posted:MREs will absolutely stop you up, but it isn't an intentional thing. They're just super calorie dense and have a very low moisture content, so in order to make everything go smoothly you have to drink a lot more water than what you're used to. this of course can be hard out in the field, especially when it is hot out I'd be more scared for my digestive system with Russian, Ukrainian, and Kazakhstani rations than MREs. Just tons of fatty meat waiting to clog your arteries. They especially love poo poo like tushonka and tourist's breakfast where the meat is packed in massive amounts of fat. I get that potted meat uses fat to help preserve it, but these are modern cans. There's no reasonable explanation for why the food is still packed in it beyond Eastern Europe being a very sad place.
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Jan 26, 2017 14:35
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MassivelyBuckNegro posted:the gum has xylitol, a mild laxative, in it. but, im pretty sure the gum is in mres for dental health purposes not for anything else. making GBS threads after eating mres isnt really an issue if you drink a lot of water and dip constantly. "Dip"?
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Jan 26, 2017 15:05
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Gnoman posted:Old myth with no truth to it whatsoever. There's no evidence of saltpetre ever being used as an antiaphrodisiac food additive, and it wouldn't work anyway. That was my point, yes. Modern rations aren't designed to constipate you.
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Jan 26, 2017 15:27
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spectralent posted:"Dip"? Skoal Kodiak Cope You know, dip
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Jan 26, 2017 15:32
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Gnoman posted:A bigger obstacle was that they weren't even working on a bomb - that had been shelved as an "after the war" project. Germany's wartime nuclear research was focused on getting atomic power plants (which would have been extremely useful), and failed at that. Given what I've heard about drug-fueled orgies conducted by the main nuclear researchers in Germany, I think German nuclear research in WWII failed in everything except getting people high. Fangz posted:Right but like I said, this flowed out of a single initial maths error. So they weren't close in the time sense, but they were very close in the 'what if' sense. If you count "what if"-scenarious, they were also close to developing laser guns, so let's stop being ridiculous, OK?
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Jan 26, 2017 15:58
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re: military making GBS threads, I've got a buddy who was in the cav for the 2003 invasion and stayed around for a little bit after that. He's got some fun stories about getting dysentery, making GBS threads until he passed out, having an enlisted guy follow around behind him with a saline drip while he went to find a toilet, and having diarrhea in a .50 cal ammo can at the side of the road while a convoy passed by. Sounds like something Hey Gail's guys would have understood and sympathized with.
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Jan 26, 2017 16:25
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celewign posted:Does ensign expendable have a PayPal or something? I've had hours of reading over his tank histories and I feel like I owe him a couple beers There's a link on my blog on the right toolbar, under the Twitter badge. JcDent posted:What, so he could be sick with tropical jungle diseases and some flesh-borer beetle infestations 100% of the time? If you're shooting from cover at a single tank that hasn't spotted you yet, then no. The problem arises when you don't knock out the tank on the first hit, or if the tank has buddies to avenge him. It's generally a good idea to prepare multiple AT guns positions, and the Pak 40 has noticeable muzzle flash, and the muzzle brake will kick up a lot of dust when fired, so your chances of being spotted are very high. The gun is heavy and the trails will dig into the ground when you shoot, so it's not exactly a trivial task to excel (or even survive) as an anti-tank gunner.
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Jan 26, 2017 16:25
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Non military but nautical question, I don't know where else to ask this. I was in a wiki hole that led me to Titanic yesterday, which then led me to RMS Carpathia. I noticed that Titanic's displacement was over 6 times that of Carpathia, which struck me as very odd: it is a much larger ship obviously, but....that much larger? If you do a draft times beam times length as a (very) rough estimate of internal volume, Titanic is only about 2.5 times the size of Carpathia. They also had roughly the same passenger capacity. So, how was Titanic so much heavier than Carpathia?
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Jan 26, 2017 17:15
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bewbies posted:Non military but nautical question, I don't know where else to ask this. At least some of it is engines, the Titanic had a rated to speed of 24 knots to the Carpathia's 17.5.
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Jan 26, 2017 17:36
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Jobbo_Fett posted:So, uh, EE, any documents you may have crossed (not from the CIA stuff) which might explain what the point of "Anti-Radar" ammunition was in aircraft guns? I assume you keep firing them like you would flares on a modern aircraft to deter accurate radar locks.
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Jan 26, 2017 17:49
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spectralent posted:"Dip"? Dipping tobacco that you put in your lip, it makes you salivate and spit lots so isn't good if you are already not getting enough water
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Jan 26, 2017 17:53
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