Random Interesting Bits of History

[SpitfireV]

I thought I'd start this thread and people can contribute if they like. It's about those randoms little bits of military history where you think "oh that's interesting" but it might not need a whole new thread or anything.

Anyway, I thought of this when I was reading up about weather station Kurt. This was a WW2 German weather station that was secretly put up in Labrador and then lay undiscovered for nearly 40 years.

Weather Station Kurt

Weather Station Kurt Photographs | World War II Database

 

[ShamgarTheJudge]

Probably Australia’s harshest fight…except that business in Afghanistan

Emu War - Wikipedia

 

[TLDR20]

I thought I'd start this thread and people can contribute if they like. It's about those randoms little bits of military history where you think "oh that's interesting" but it might not need a whole new thread or anything.

Anyway, I thought of this when I was reading up about weather station Kurt. This was a WW2 German weather station that was secretly put up in Labrador and then lay undiscovered for nearly 40 years.

Weather Station Kurt

Weather Station Kurt Photographs | World War II Database

I just read Under the Banner of Heaven, and I had no idea about a lot of the history of the Mormon church. It is interesting to learn about.

 

[Ooh-Rah]

I recently returned from Savanna, Georgia. During one of the walking tours we learned about Robert Smalls, he was a slave who ended up stealing a Confederate ship and then turning it over to the Union; to include all of the flag and hand signals that the South used.

The are a few books about him and supposedly a Netflix movie forthcoming. Definitely someone I want to read more about.

The Thrilling Tale of How Robert Smalls Seized a Confederate Ship and Sailed it to Freedom

 

[Jaknight]

Here is a great account of the crusades based on an eyewitness account.

 

[AWP]

The most expensive weapons program of WWII wasn't the Manhattan Project, but the B-29 Superfortress (the -29's entire story is fascinating).

In an effort to save weight, bombers like the B-29 and B-36 were made with magnesium. Problem is, those bombers' engines would overheat and catch fire due to the workload. Guess what the engine mounts and some components were made of? Magnesium. Guess what is HIGHLY flammable and led to wings literally burning off of the planes?

The US had 4 four-engine bomber types fly combat missions during WWII: B-17, B-24, B-29, and the B-32.

The soldiers with the most combat jumps in history don't even belong to an airborne unit.

 

[Gunz]

I have three books that are pretty special. Two handed down from my Dad. One is Bill Mauldin's cartoon collection from the ETO, Up Front: and the other is a cartoon collection from World War 1 by British Captain Bruce Bairnsfather, Fragments from France.

 

[Viper1]

The Siege of Baler:

Saw this Spanish film (1898: Our last men in the Philippines) on Netflix and decided to watch. Quite a story. Disease caused most of the casualties, and the men fought for six months after Spain gave up all its territories.

Some themes explored in the film include incompetence, lack of trust, disease in combat, lack of training, misinformation, and what happens when empires fight insurgent populations. 1898: Our Last Men in the Philippines (2016) - IMDb
Siege of Baler - Wikipedia

 

[AWP]

I have three books that are pretty special. Two handed down from my Dad. One is Bill Mauldin's cartoon collection from the ETO, Up Front: and the other is a cartoon collection from World War 1 by British Captain Bruce Bairnsfather, Fragments from France. There was also a collection of cartoons from the Vietnam War by Corky Trinidad.

But I think war cartoon books are a lost art. The only cartoons coming out of recent wars are political cartoons. But these books were written and drawn not for the civilian public, but for the guys on the sharp edge, the infantry...the only people who could relate to them and appreciate them.



View attachment 39497

View attachment 39499



View attachment 39500

I think my copy of Ernie Pyle's Brave Men is at my parents somewhere, but it should be on every reading list for every service ever; no hyperbole and I'm serious. His writing and his story should be known by every servicemember. There's a reason he's one of the few journalists buried in a national memorial cemetery.

 

[SpitfireV]

In an effort to save weight, bombers like the B-29 and B-36 were made with magnesium. Problem is, those bombers' engines would overheat and catch fire due to the workload. Guess what the engine mounts and some components were made of? Magnesium. Guess what is HIGHLY flammable and led to wings literally burning off of the planes?



The soldiers with the most combat jumps in history don't even belong to an airbo

I didn't know that about the B29. Pretty dicey with a combat aircraft. What is the unit?

 

[AWP]

I didn't know that about the B29. Pretty dicey with a combat aircraft. What is the unit?

All of them. This was an airframe-specific frame for every a/c built.

 

[SpitfireV]

All of them. This was an airframe-specific frame for every a/c built.

Sorry I should have multiquoted. The non airborne unit?

 

[AWP]

Sorry I should have multiquoted. The non airborne unit?

1 Rhodesian Light Infantry. They are/ could be considered a commando unit, but they aren't a classic airborne unit. Every soldier wasn't required to be on airborne status and it isn't recognized as an airborne unit. The members of the line infantry units, those who made up the Fireforce, were trained as paratroopers when possible. Every trooper wasn't airborne.

 

[SpitfireV]

1 Rhodesian Light Infantry. They are/ could be considered a commando unit, but they aren't a classic airborne unit. Every soldier wasn't required to be on airborne status and it isn't recognized as an airborne unit. The members of the line infantry units, those who made up the Fireforce, were trained as paratroopers when possible. Every trooper wasn't airborne.

Interesting. I wouldn't have thought of them at all. The Rhodesians did some interesting stuff really. My interest has always been in aviation and them and the SADF really made use of the Alouettes as gunships. Basically sticking a .50 in the door.

 

[AWP]

Interesting. I wouldn't have thought of them at all. The Rhodesians did some interesting stuff really. My interest has always been in aviation and them and the SADF really made use of the Alouettes as gunships. Basically sticking a .50 in the door.

The Rhodesians pioneered that, necessity being everything for them.

The SADF were great at taking the good from Rhodesia..and they should because they paid for a lot of “stuff.”

 

[Gunz]

1 Rhodesian Light Infantry. They are/ could be considered a commando unit, but they aren't a classic airborne unit. Every soldier wasn't required to be on airborne status and it isn't recognized as an airborne unit. The members of the line infantry units, those who made up the Fireforce, were trained as paratroopers when possible. Every trooper wasn't airborne.

There was a semi-discrete (and questionably legal) off-base Camp Lejeune recruitment effort post-Vietnam run by a former FBI SA. This was 74-75 and at that time there was no airborne qualification required. IIRC that requirement did not become mandatory until a year or so later.

One of the interesting and surprising things about the Bush War is that in all the years of operations the RLI only lost a hundred or so men killed in combat. They were that good...and the guerrillas were often not.

 

[AWP]

Mark Felton's channel is great, btw.

 

[pardus]

Basically sticking a .50 in the door.

20mm

Mark Felton's channel is great, btw.

It really is

 

[SpitfireV]

Ah 20mm even better!

 

[Gunz]

Ah 20mm even better

.