Military History Mk. III: One that I know of is an archaic word for dick, another is

The Something Awful Forums > Archives > Comedy Goldmine > Military History Mk. III: One that I know of is an archaic word for dick, another is

AmishSpecialForces: Jul 1, 2008

I've been reading Ensign Expendable's blog and came across a common thing regarding Nazi vehicles. They seem to be addicted to renaming poo poo, especially captured gear, over and over and over. The article about the Marder that used captured Soviet guns said it was renamed 10 times. Did other contemporary militaries do this, or was it just another organizational Nazi clusterfuck?

# ¿ Aug 19, 2017 23:02

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# ¿ May 20, 2024 17:13

AmishSpecialForces: Jul 1, 2008

Tomn posted:

I just started reading Naples '44: An intelligence officer in the Italian labyrinth, and it is fantastic. Every entry is worth quoting for one reason or another - the author has a fine appreciation for the absurd, and is constantly placed in a position to make use of it.

One bit I found interesting here:
It appeared that Lattarullo had a secondary profession producing occasional windfalls of revenue. This had to be suspended in the present emergency. He admitted with a touch of pride to acting as a Zio di Roma - an 'uncle from Rome' - at funerals. Neapolitan funerals are obsessed with face. A man who may have been a near-pauper all his life is certain to be put away in a magnificent coffin, but apart from that no other little touch likely to honour the dead and increase the bereaved family's prestige is overlooked.

The uncle from Rome is a popular character in this little farce. Why should people insist on Rome? Why not Bari or Taranto? But no, Rome it has to be. The uncle lets it be known that he has just arrived on the Rome express, or he shows up at the slum tenement or lowly basso in an Alfa-Romeo with a Roman numberplate and an SPQR badge, out of which he steps in his well-cut morning suit, on the jacket lapel of which he sports the ribbon of a Commendatore of the Crown of Italy, to temper with his restrained and dignified condolences the theatrical display of Neapolitan grief.

Lattarullo said that he had frequently played this part. His qualifications were his patrician appearance, and a studied Roman accent and manner. He never uses the third person singular personal pronoun lui, as all the people who surround him do, but says egli, as they do in textbooks, and he addresses all and sundry with old-fashioned politeness as lei. Where the Neapolitans tend to familiarity and ingratiation, Lattarullo shows a proper Roman aloofness and taciturnity. When Lattarullo meets a man he says buon giorno and leaves it at that, and he goes off with a curt goodbye. This, say the Neapolitans, who are fulsome and cloying in their greetings, is how a real Roman gentleman speaks. If anybody at the wake happens to have noticed Lattarullo about the streets of Naples on other occasions, he takes care to keep it to himself.

Having just spent 3 years living in Naples and traveling Italy extensively those cultural norms and mores are still a thing. We learned Neapolitano, which is a super strong dialect that's almost another language. When we went to Rome and spoke Italian the Romans they would instantly know where we learned the language, then would look down their nose at us and tell us to watch our wallets when we got back home to Naples, since to them everyone in the south is a poor pickpocket (kinda true).

For mil-hist content, the whole country is chock full of cool stuff from all over the ages. Special mention goes to the tiny WWII museum in Anzio. They are still pulling weapons/artifacts out of the bay and have a bunch of first-hand accounts from GI's journals they left.

# ¿ Feb 2, 2018 20:26

AmishSpecialForces: Jul 1, 2008

Cessna posted:

Yeah, this tells you all you need to know about the M-551:

Didn't the Sheridan have some kind of flechette round that was liked for base perimeter defense? I vaguely remember reading about it being like a tank sized shotgun shell.

# ¿ Apr 17, 2018 20:28

AmishSpecialForces: Jul 1, 2008

Cessna posted:

Yes, the infamous M625 canister, AKA "Beehive" round.

Was it any good inn reality? I read about it in a novel, not historical fiction.

# ¿ Apr 17, 2018 20:37

AmishSpecialForces: Jul 1, 2008

Jobbo_Fett posted:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mk6wxBQ3f_0

Thanks! Thats a badass video. Would a smaller, higher angle version of that be any good for anti drone duties?

# ¿ Apr 17, 2018 22:43

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