Picture of the day

Recce21 said:
Yes, because firebombing Dresden and Tokyo was so humanitarian of them......
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Who set the precedent of bombing cities and when? Do you even know?

So what exactly are you complaining about? Was firebombing something the Luftwaffe didn't or wouldn't do?

Last time I saw the film, the shrieking crowds were all yelling "Ja" when ratface Goebbels asked them if they wanted "Totalen Krieg".

Ganderite said:
I often wonder if the surrender of japan is linked to the fact that the day before Russia declared war on Japan.
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It is to the extent that the Soviets wanted to get into the war before it ended so they could grab as much of Manchuria and Korea as they could. On the other hand, the Western Allies were operating on the assumption that the A bomb would not work or would not end the war and a land campaign in and around Japan would be necessary, which is why we pushed the Soviets to declare war.

The Japanese, like the Germans could have thrown in the towel much sooner if they wanted to avoid a visit from the Soviets.
 
RRCo. said:
Who set the precedent of bombing cities and when? Do you even know?

So what exactly are you complaining about? Was firebombing something the Luftwaffe didn't or wouldn't do?

Last time I saw the film, the shrieking crowds were all yelling "Ja" when ratface Goebbels asked them if they wanted "Totalen Krieg".



It is to the extent that the Soviets wanted to get into the war before it ended so they could grab as much of Manchuria and Korea as they could. On the other hand, the Western Allies were operating on the assumption that the A bomb would not work or would not end the war and a land campaign in and around Japan would be necessary, which is why we pushed the Soviets to declare war.

The Japanese, like the Germans could have thrown in the towel much sooner if they wanted to avoid a visit from the Soviets.
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Spoken like a man who was there!?
 
bearhunter said:
RRCo, What I was and am getting at is not your knowledge of history but what you've left out to make a point.

if you're talking about WWI, I will wholeheartedly agree with you. WWII came about because of a bizarre set of events intentionally perpetrated by ruthless vigilantes looking for revenge for the damages caused during WWI. Their Draconian measures put into legislation by the Versaille's Treaty, placed not only Germany but several other European nations into complete fiscal collapse, where starvation and excruciating living conditions were the rule of the day. This caused Germany to create an unholy alliance with Russia and we all know how that ended.

I agree that WWII was a totally pointless war and should never have happened.

All I was alluding to is that the dreaded rise of the little corporal that was totally mad would never have come about if the insanely stringent measures against the WWI axis allies had been far more temperate, the Great Depression of the 30s wouldn't have come to fruition and WWII would not have seemed to be necessary at the time.

Whatever, there is an awful lot more to this than either of us have said and it is a fact that one of the most destructive and brutal wars in history was forced onto the plebes of the world. There are no excuses for those that perpetrated such atrocities then or now. War is always ugly, even at its best.
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Bearhunter I didn't see your reply before, but the Versailles Myth is just that, a myth. We owe it to our ancestors and the dead to find out the truth. Germany received more in American loans than she ever paid in reparations and then defaulted on those loans. The French, after Bismarck manipulated them into war in 1870, were forced by the new German "Empire" to pay an indemnity of 5 billion gold francs. They paid in full; they also lost Alsace-Lorraine.

The key questions are: how much did Germany actually pay and how were these payments funded? Well, they paid around 20 billion Deutschmarks – about 2.5 percent of GDP – between 1920 and 1933. And this was all funded by foreign loans, none of which were ever repaid when they were scheduled to be. To say that German reparation payments crushed the German economy cannot be right. The gross payments were small and funded mainly by American loans – on which the Germans defaulted....Vice-Chancellor Franz von Papen...:“War is as natural a destiny for man as giving birth to children is for woman”.
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plinker 777 said:
Spoken like a man who was there!?
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Spoken like someone who wants to know what actually happened and why.

The men, and women, who were there will often talk to those who will listen with interest and who demonstrate some background knowledge. Not much time left though.

Others have written about their experiences, which those who want to learn can read, if they can be bothered.

Some people who lived through those times never "got it", so it's not surprising that some people who didn't never will either.

For anyone who's got ten minutes, start here on page 54: http://mises.org/journals/americanmercury/american_mercury_january_1943.pdf
 
plinker 777 said:
RRCo; you are aware that the propaganda machine was churning on all fronts right? Citing speculation and opinion as fact is not wise IMHO.
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Of course it is. That's why you have to read, check and sift. I'm not citing "speculation and opinion", I'm citing historical facts which have never been disproved.

Of course I'm always open to new information if someone would like to chip in...;)
 
A well armed Canadian.

Spitfire-Canad-pilot-Nafrica.jpg
 
True, but I think most flying over the desert was at lower altitudes. IIRC.

On a smiliar note. Has the British military been the only one to have shorts as part of the battle dress for warm climates?
 
Cdn303 said:
True, but I think most flying over the desert was at lower altitudes. IIRC.

On a smiliar note. Has the British military been the only one to have shorts as part of the battle dress for warm climates?
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no, rhodesians wore em, so did most commonwealth countries, the french foreign legion wore em, and i would guess the regular french did as well. others too i would think
 
Some Spits had cab heat and some didn't. Depended on whether or not they had pressurized cabs.

From what I've read, it didn't matter which model it was to have heat either. The ones that had heat, derived it from the engine coolant, the same as the planes did with heated guns.
 
Hey Gunnutz :) If any of you could throw a couple pics up for the next couple days that would be great :) I will be away from my computer for a week or so and don't know how many times I will be able to get on :( Thanks Gunnutz :)

Cheers
Joe
 
Gibbs505 said:
Not much protection for his legs when flying at 20,000 ft. It is cold up there!!
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Not much protection if the engine catches fire either. A lot of the "guinea pigs", the men the plastic surgeons learned on, were men who forgot or failed to wear their face masks and/or goggles and helmets. I had a chance to buy some grafting knives once; they were not a nice looking instrument!
 
RRCo. said:
Not much protection if the engine catches fire either. A lot of the "guinea pigs", the men the plastic surgeons learned on, were men who forgot or failed to wear their face masks and/or goggles and helmets. I had a chance to buy some grafting knives once; they were not a nice looking instrument!
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I met one of those Guinea pigs when I was a teenager. Battle of Britain pilot, he was at a function at the local air museum. They called the burned face and hands combo the "airman's burn". He was in his late 80's but looked about 55. His skin looked tight but not scarred from burns. It is said that modern doctors can't treat severe burns as well as that teamm of doctors from the 1940s.
 
RMXC51 said:
I met one of those Guinea pigs when I was a teenager. Battle of Britain pilot, he was at a function at the local air museum. They called the burned face and hands combo the "airman's burn". He was in his late 80's but looked about 55. His skin looked tight but not scarred from burns. It is said that modern doctors can't treat severe burns as well as that teamm of doctors from the 1940s.
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Whenever I think of surviving an air crash with burns, I think of Johannes Steinhoff... :eek:

432px-Bundesarchiv_Bild_146-1997-041-03%2C_Johannes_Steinhoff.jpg


...and that's the good side of his face...
 
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