The Basket
Senior Master Sergeant
- 3,712
- Jun 27, 2007
Ad: This forum contains affiliate links to products on Amazon and eBay. More information in Terms and rules
Check out the magnesium Formula one racing car from the 1960s.
You do not want to fight a metal fire.
In the right circumstances almost all (I'm not sure about gold or platinum)metals burn, not just magnesium. It's just that some are harder to get started. I know, from personal experience, that titanium is one of them....
When I was at AVCO-Stratford, the method used for magnesium fires was covering them with cast iron shavings. Of course, since some of these were magnesium-thorium alloys (used for their good high-temperature creep resistance), more excitement would ensue.As a "cheap common parlor trick" around this point in the discussion someone would bet that that could set steel on fire; The bet loser would be shown a steel wool pad a match, after which the bet would be collected. While in the USAF reserves, 63-65, we were given fire training movies which included the magnesium wheels. When called, the base firefighters would spray something to enclose the entire wheel assembly from the atmosphere and let it burn out.
British torpedoes had a practice warhead that automatically filled with compressed air after running for a set time. They would float with the tip of the torpedo above the water. Still not easy to spot at sea but better than rolling up your bell bottoms and paddling.Also torpedoes have to be recovered after testing so you cannot do that in deep water.
German torps had many problems as their primary torpedo development and test center was on the shallow Baltic Sea. Most testing was done there and the torps seemd to work OK . Then there was the deeper and colder North Sea and the far deeper/colder Alantic.
Their magnetic detonator did not work there due to differences in the natural magnetic fields. Other problems may have been caused by much lower water temps causing torps to run too deep.
So if the engineers are too dumb to look over the horizon (into the other big water area germany bordered on) those torps were prone to be problematic. Especially if France and Britain were supposed to be their (old) future enemy I can't understand the lack of proper testing in deep water.
British torpedoes had a practice warhead that automatically filled with compressed air after running for a set time. They would float with the tip of the torpedo above the water. Still not easy to spot at sea but better than rolling up your bell bottoms and paddling.
British torpedoes had a practice warhead that automatically filled with compressed air after running for a set time. They would float with the tip of the torpedo above the water. Still not easy to spot at sea but better than rolling up your bell bottoms and paddling.