Picture of the day
- Thread starter jwhc
- Start date
no, it rivets/screws/bolts to something, not a rifle. i think you are right about a cable cutter though, perhaps for a torpedo?
AP;11429210 Canadian dependents were also told what they should do in the event that the cold war got hot. My mother listened to the detailed briefing and with the experience of having lived through the blitz in England and having seen large troop movements in Surrey and surrounding counties - announced that she would be `staying put`
fat tony
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
^Interesting to hear about the old bug outs. Some time ago I read the Novel: Armageddon, a Novel of Berlin by Leon Uris. In this novel a reference was made to the Gatow air disaster, & an obscure reference was also made of an attempted Soviet putsch in West Berlin (possible artistic license?). Eleventh hour contingency plans worked out for wives & dependents was also referred to. Things which are really off the radar screen of the average Cdn voter. These immediate post war years were quite dark times overseas, and probably here with traumatized and impoverished vets front and center with missing limbs, crutches, disfiguring injuries, wartime rationing still going on, with bodies still festering underseas and on the ground overseas. Again, this type of narrative is not on the radar screen of the average voter today in Canada.
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Most interesting about the Czech Crisis, and largely unknown at the time, was the strange army units we saw massing in their jump off positions. They had the same weaponry, uniforms and armour as the Bundeswehr, but in Feld Gruen, not Feld Grau. The Bundesgrenschutzpolizei - Border Police.
At the time, the Bundeswehr was restricted to 500,000 men under arms, so to increase the number of boots on the ground, this loop hole was the way around the limitation.
Reminiscent of the same game played in pre-war Germany with the Reichswehr and the limitations imposed by the Treaty of Versaille. History does repeat itself.
At the time, the Bundeswehr was restricted to 500,000 men under arms, so to increase the number of boots on the ground, this loop hole was the way around the limitation.
Reminiscent of the same game played in pre-war Germany with the Reichswehr and the limitations imposed by the Treaty of Versaille. History does repeat itself.
maple_leaf_eh
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
There is a terrible book written by a retired RCR called "Cold War Soldier" published by Dundurn Press ( https://www.dundurn.com/books/cold_war_soldier ). Between his not so exciting war stories, he tells more drinking stories on leave in Holland, and the dustups with the local police, who carried swords of all things.
Fortunately NATO didn't ride to the rescue of the Czechs in 1968 or the Hungarians in 1957. Both interventions would have been a failure in the short term and no doubt would have precipitated a war with the Soviets leading to the inevitable nuclear exchange.
Now we have many of the former Warsaw Pact nations in NATO with all that it means for an allied response to any Russian aggression against them. A sobering thought; we could be going to war with Russia to preserve the integrity of Latvia or Estonia with populations of 2-3 millions and a 25% ethnic Russian component in their population. Putin's recent actions in the eastern Ukraine and Crimea shows that he is willing and able to intervene militarily to "protect" the rights of ethnic Russians in adjoining countries.
The once powerful Bundeswehr, which was a major element of NATO's conventional capability, has now been shrunken to a rump of 60,000 troops.
Now we have many of the former Warsaw Pact nations in NATO with all that it means for an allied response to any Russian aggression against them. A sobering thought; we could be going to war with Russia to preserve the integrity of Latvia or Estonia with populations of 2-3 millions and a 25% ethnic Russian component in their population. Putin's recent actions in the eastern Ukraine and Crimea shows that he is willing and able to intervene militarily to "protect" the rights of ethnic Russians in adjoining countries.
The once powerful Bundeswehr, which was a major element of NATO's conventional capability, has now been shrunken to a rump of 60,000 troops.
maple_leaf_eh
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Rotated 90-deg, and set the green part flush in a solid surface. My eye sees a moving sleeve with a short lever on the shiney part. The tapered end reminds me of the fuse set on a No.36 Mills bomb. So I'm thinking it is a part off an armoured vehicle, sort of like a grenade launcher?
Dark Alley Dan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Darkest Edmonton
Bomb release shackle?
Dependant evacuation from Europe as well as troop/equipment reinforcement from US and Canada during a period of pre-hostility alert was always a big concern. We hoped that there would be sufficient warning and lead time to get this done before the outbreak of active hostilities, but it would have been iffy at best. The idea was to evacuate dependants on the same aircraft that were bringing over reinforcements.
We expected some indicators of Soviet intentions and some time before an actual attack, but also expected that the Soviets would target our airfields and the European seaports with chemical and conventional airstrikes and missile strikes from the start in order to impede reinforcement flow and degrade a NATO air response to their ground and air assaults. Spetznaz insertions and sabotage by Soviet agents on NATO bases and lines of communications were also anticipated. To some extent the equipment movement problem was solved by pre-positioning in Europe, but troops still needed to be flown across the Atlantic in time to marry up with their kit and move to initial deployment areas. The French withdrawal from NATO command was a complicating factor as it denied us the strategic depth and additional airfields and seaports in France that were desirable. Chances are that the French would have made these available when the time came, but we could not assume that this would be the case, so had to make other plans. The books "The Third World War" and "The Untold Story of the Third World War" that came out in the 1980s provided some pretty realistic insights into how it might have all unfolded. Thankfully it never came to that.
We expected some indicators of Soviet intentions and some time before an actual attack, but also expected that the Soviets would target our airfields and the European seaports with chemical and conventional airstrikes and missile strikes from the start in order to impede reinforcement flow and degrade a NATO air response to their ground and air assaults. Spetznaz insertions and sabotage by Soviet agents on NATO bases and lines of communications were also anticipated. To some extent the equipment movement problem was solved by pre-positioning in Europe, but troops still needed to be flown across the Atlantic in time to marry up with their kit and move to initial deployment areas. The French withdrawal from NATO command was a complicating factor as it denied us the strategic depth and additional airfields and seaports in France that were desirable. Chances are that the French would have made these available when the time came, but we could not assume that this would be the case, so had to make other plans. The books "The Third World War" and "The Untold Story of the Third World War" that came out in the 1980s provided some pretty realistic insights into how it might have all unfolded. Thankfully it never came to that.
More than a few Canucks felt the flat edges of those swords on their posteriors for being drunk & disorderly. You had to totally sh!t faced to get thrown in the can.
Dark Alley Dan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Darkest Edmonton
Hit by a bomb dropped by a squadronmate:
Rifleman1911
CGN Regular
- Location
- Leduc county AB
A mine arming device. Of some sort ?
Hit by a bomb dropped by a squadronmate:
I always wondered if that happened and how often? Was this a regular occurrence?
