"All of Vlad's forces and all of Vlad's men, are out to put Humpty together again." (2 Viewers)

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So basically, Russia with it's infinite wisdom, screwed itself by wrecking the dam.

As far as interfering with Ukraine's planned offensive, I have doubts that it will, since I suspect Ukraine weren't going to risk exposing their resources with a water crossing in an area that is well defended.
There are 2 prescidents:
1. The Germans flooding the Schelde, Holland, 1944
2. The Chinese breaking the Yellow River levee, 1937, to deny the Japanese access. 800,000 casualties is conservative death toll. Levee not restored till 1947.
The strategy was recommended by Chang Kai shek's GERMAN military advisor.
 
It must have been even worse for land based aircraft moved to carriers, like the Seafire. Or there was a lot of changes to make it work beforehand. While I realize it's not a direct comparison because the naval variant came first, how did a USN Phantom II compare to the USAF Phantom II?

I don't have any insight into the Phantom. Sorry.

I can say that an engine is an engine, and if not preserved, corrosion will destroy it.
 
Russian Way of War - Intended Friendly Fire, Friendly Torturing and Friendly Looting:



 
As long as nobody uses nukes or persistent chemicals, the earth will heal itself. When Krakatoa blew up, as the new island emerged, it was only a few years before plant and animal life returned. Humans were a bit more reluctant. Rebuilding civil infrastructure will take time, hard work, and much investment.
 
It's only a matter of time before the whole thing is blamed for "Global Warming"...oops- sorry- "Climate Change". :rolleyes:
 
Just a thought mostly for BiffF15 BiffF15 How long to convert Ukraine pilots to be better than just sufficient on the F-16? This is cheating but use yourself as an example. I bring this up because I had a thought (yes it was lonely), went to this site.... F-16.net - The ultimate F-16, F-35 and F-22 reference and saw a huge resource, no training required. Keep in mind its a bit dated. What if the U.S. government went to these pilots and said.....

Total secrecy of course
The question could be "how long to be better than proficient", or it could be "how long to be better than the Russians"?

Im not a pristine example, but think it would take me about 4-5 months to be decent, and about 6-12 months to get good or better. The air to ground stuff would happen a little slower as I was much more removed from that mission but you are attacking fixed targets most of the time so think it would come along in short order.

The Viper is easier to employ than the Eagle as the switchology is newer, and the equipment is easier to use.

It would be different for me, but a huge step up for a SU-27 or MiG-29 guy. The good thing is the UKAF guys understand the missions, just need to learn it in a new jet.

I think the UKAF guys would lag me by a little (not because I'm better, but because I'm used to the US interface and mission execution). The Viper has all the same capabilities, so I would have to learn how to activate or access them. A UKAF guy would need to learn what they do, and then how to use them. He would have a couple of extra learning steps beyond me.

Now, as to how long to get better than their Russian counterparts, not long. The Russians are showing what poor training leads to, poor execution.

Cheers,
Biff

PS The ChiComs are watching and learning…
 
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Heavy fighting and rapid advances by Ukraine northwest and southwest of Bakhmut over the last 72 hours.

In the north, Russian units appear to be abandoning forward positions from their salient which they had developed in the last four to five weeks, expanding out from the highway. Reports are that Russian units are withdrawing as much as 15km, back to better established positions located forward of the main north-south rail line.

In the south, Ukrainian forces have breached a Russian defensive line set up along a canal and have engaged Russian forces in the villages along the same north-south rail line. Advances beyond 5km being reported. there are a substantial number of Ukrainian units identified as operating in the area, including at least one of the new 'assault' brigades.

Immediately in front of Bakhmut, Ukrainian forces look to have advanced right back up to the outskirts of the city and taken anchoring/blocking positions.
 

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