Picture of the day
- Thread starter jwhc
- Start date
"A Higher Call". Great read. It would make into a good movie. The Luftwaffe pilot was severely criticized for failing to do his duty by the German people. He saw it from the point of view of another airman just trying to survive.
There can be a price for gallantry in a total war.
There can be a price for gallantry in a total war.
Yes, the Volks "Kraft durch Freude" wagen.
Later renamed Volkswagen KDF.
Later yet renamed (by a Kiwi war-vet priest of my acquaintance) "Hitler's Revenge".
25 HP, 65 mph, go all day.
You joined the KDF, put down 10 RM and got your serial number, paid 5 RM a week. Some folks actually got theirs before the war ate them all.
Later renamed Volkswagen KDF.
Later yet renamed (by a Kiwi war-vet priest of my acquaintance) "Hitler's Revenge".
25 HP, 65 mph, go all day.
You joined the KDF, put down 10 RM and got your serial number, paid 5 RM a week. Some folks actually got theirs before the war ate them all.
i didnt think anyone got them, after the war, volkswagen was forced to repay old KdF saving card holders
Dark Alley Dan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Darkest Edmonton
A KDF would be neat, but I'm holding out for a Kommandeurwagen:
4wd, and Panzergrau for the win.
4wd, and Panzergrau for the win.
When 4 CMBG was HQ'd at Soest, Nord Rhein-Westphalia, there was a 1949 VW Beetle that had been in the hands of successive Canadian owners since 1951.
It had a fully non-synchromeshed transmission that had to double clutched. Took most quite a while to master. My first VW experience was on a '59 and IIRC, it was non-synchro between 1st and 2nd.
I bought a '67 with the import package (safety glass, etc.) on it so I could bring it home. I picked it up at the factory. You ordered it through a sales person who speaks several languages, went on a tour of the plant, had a free lunch in their cafeteria and took delivery.
I asked how fast I should drive it for the first 500 kms. He said - "How fast will you drive it after that?" Response - "As fast as I can go, like everyone else in Germany." Answer - "Then fill it up, get on the Autobahn and floor it." I did just that. When I got to my unit, the engine was pinging with the heat.
That VW was the best car I've ever owned. I couldn't kill it and literally drove it into the ground, taking it where 4x4's were going. It finally died when I got T-boned at a "courtesy corner" in the Kitsilano area of Vancouver in 1974.
It had a fully non-synchromeshed transmission that had to double clutched. Took most quite a while to master. My first VW experience was on a '59 and IIRC, it was non-synchro between 1st and 2nd.
I bought a '67 with the import package (safety glass, etc.) on it so I could bring it home. I picked it up at the factory. You ordered it through a sales person who speaks several languages, went on a tour of the plant, had a free lunch in their cafeteria and took delivery.
I asked how fast I should drive it for the first 500 kms. He said - "How fast will you drive it after that?" Response - "As fast as I can go, like everyone else in Germany." Answer - "Then fill it up, get on the Autobahn and floor it." I did just that. When I got to my unit, the engine was pinging with the heat.
That VW was the best car I've ever owned. I couldn't kill it and literally drove it into the ground, taking it where 4x4's were going. It finally died when I got T-boned at a "courtesy corner" in the Kitsilano area of Vancouver in 1974.
Both correct. The previous discussion surrounding Semrau brought it to mind.
Two officers who, by one code, did the right thing, but paid a hefty price for it due to the inherent conflict with another code.
Wasn't this something the British introduced to the Middle East and parts of Asia? Something about it being a very public, and messy way to execute people as a deterrent. Also, in some of the regions cultures, only those portions of you that were interred, would ascend to the afterlife with you as a part of your immortal being. So by executing a person in this manner, the message being delivered is "Mess with us, and we'll not only execute you, but mess up your afterlife as well."
Cocked&Locked
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- S. Ontario
Brit's did it with mutineers during the uprisings in India as well. I think i read that the Americans did it with some moro's in the Philippines too, but i'm not positive about that one.
Sporting Lad
Regular
- Location
- Vancouver Island
They ought to quit fighting.
The problem with the heartwarming story of the Luftwaffe fighter pilot allowing that B-17 to escape was that the crew was then ordered to complete subsequent bombing missions over German cities. By not shooting them down he sealed the fate of his countrymen/women/children who were later bombed by that same crew.
The "code" ought to say that, if your enemy lets you live, you are not to engage in further hostilities for the rest of your life.
The problem with the heartwarming story of the Luftwaffe fighter pilot allowing that B-17 to escape was that the crew was then ordered to complete subsequent bombing missions over German cities. By not shooting them down he sealed the fate of his countrymen/women/children who were later bombed by that same crew.
The "code" ought to say that, if your enemy lets you live, you are not to engage in further hostilities for the rest of your life.
