Arquinsiel posted:

I'm not sure if they're still in service at all, but the Israelis converted some Shermans to armoured ambulances. That totally counts, right? Apparently Uruguay is still using the M24 Chaffee too.

SlothfulCobra posted:

When did prosecuting people for war crimes become a thing, anyways?

cafel posted:

But really, how would the war have changed if the Americans had upgunned the Sherman with laser cannons?

sullat posted:

Jackson's was kind of funny. If you're going to scout out beyond your lines, it might be best to mention that. Because soldiers get jumpy when there's some guy claiming to be the general lurking around the lines at night.

HEY GAL posted:

I'm really glad nobody tries to sexualize my line of work, since it would be basically rape or snuff porn.

Although, I found a sculpture once, from the time, about tabletop size and carved in white stone, of a trooper leading a naked woman away with her hands behind her back. He's got a good grip on her too, although she's trying to get away. Nobody knows what it was for, but someone commissioned it, on purpose. If I weren't so far away from my books I'd scan the picture for you guys.

HEY GAL posted:

The relationship between you and your "quarter-giver" wasn't always bad, though. Peter Hagendorf seemed to like one of his hosts and even got him a gift when he moved out, which if it were fiction would have been humor so black that I could see it showing up in Pictures for Sad Children or something. I mean Christ, imagine the conversation.

HEY GAL posted:

One of the most powerful empires in the world is facing a bunch of religious extremists who belong to a fanatical and iconoclastic faith which the members of the empire hate but do not understand. Some of the people who promulgate the war are talented, but some antagonize the natives more than they should. Planned armistices fizzle out. Although the empire is staggeringly wealthy, the impact of such a long and costly war plus bad economic policy causes massive economic disruption, which leads in turn to political unrest at home. Meanwhile, the best infantry in the world is betrayed by an important government official who subordinates his country's war-making capacity to his own political opinions, including contempt for the established bureaucracy of the army. This causes some high-profile defeats. Eventually the empire has to make peace with the rebellious religious extremists and withdraw, but their economy never recovers.

Filippo Corridoni posted:

Anyone here familiar with William F. Owen's old man rant against the very idea of an Infantry Fighting Vehicle?


You have to register to see the full article, but its free and easy to do so. Personally, I think he's right. This particular old man makes a pretty convincing argument.

Raskolnikov38 posted:

Those seriously need to be adopted by someone's navy, they owned.

ALL-PRO SEXMAN posted:

Well according to Mel Gibson...

Ensign Expendable posted:

Oh, Mekhlis. Yes, let's put a QA guy in charge of army morale, why not.

Shimrra Jamaane posted:

PittTheElder posted:

Reposting this from the WWI thread just in case anyone is interested:


An amusing quote from the first episode as I'm listening to it:

PittTheElder posted:

From a thought that randomly popped into my head, how good were these guys at latrine discipline, or camp hygiene in general?

my dad posted:

Are there many military acronyms that had their meaning modified in a particularly fun way by the troops?

Raenir Salazar posted:

What was awful about him again, all I know is he gets quote mined a lot by Moon Landing Hoax people.

MrYenko posted:

IIRC, This is from a mid-late eighties FEMA brochure.

HEY GAL posted:

Not plug, chock. An honest to God wooden wedge. You hammer a few in there and theoretically it holds the chamber in place.

I cannot stress enough how rad this period is.

Cyrano4747 posted:

If you really want the of napoleonic era small arms it's all about large-bore air rifles. The Austrians in particular used them although it wasn't a really widespread thing.

Still, for the era they were like a goddamned stealth bomber. Everyone else is loving around at 2-3 shots a minute with muzzleloaders that create clouds of smoke obscuring everything but the men standing next to you. The air rifles? 20 shot magazines firing .46 cal ball and reservoirs that could do 30 rounds with enough pressure to kill a man. The reloading mechanism was kind of unique but essentially as fast as any other manually-repeating firearm (so bolt or lever actions). Each soldier carried 2 spare reservoirs that could be changed in battle, and since they were drat near silent (especially on a battlefield) and there was no smoke to give you away they were basically a skirmisher's dream gun.

Obviously expensive as gently caress all, and the soldiers using them needed a ton of training compared to the average infantryman, so not general issue in any sense of the term. Still, a neat footnote in firearms development.

Oh yeah, and Lewis and Clark carried one on their little adventure, although they basically just used it to impress Indians they met. Frankly I'm pretty sure they brought it with them just because they could.

Cyrano4747 posted:

Helmets of ww1/2 vintage do piss all to stop all but the lowest velocity shrapnel. They were issued to protect against dirt and debris kicked up by HE, largely as a result of increased casualties caused by concussions. Same principle and construction as early 20th c safety helms.