special ed
2nd Lieutenant
- 5,747
- May 13, 2018
Why can't we simply put people in the dryer for transport to Mars and save all the money for hardware, fuel, etc.
What happened to bullets that missed in Aerial Battles?
- Thread starter gruad
- Start date
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SaparotRob
Unter Gemeine Geschwader Murmeltier XIII
Brilliant! Why didn't I think of that?
buffnut453
Captain
Because even if the person is wearing socks on both feet, only one will be transported. That sounds painful to me!
MIflyer
1st Lieutenant
You'd need a giant sock to cover the whole body, two of them, and it probably would only work with twins and they'd have to wear spacesuits.
I have worn what was basically a Gemini-style space suit and wearing one of those with a giant sock over you and tumbling in a dryer would be about the worst experience I could imagine.
And I suspect you need a bunch of people similarly equipped in a dryer at least the size of a cement mixer truck.
I have worn what was basically a Gemini-style space suit and wearing one of those with a giant sock over you and tumbling in a dryer would be about the worst experience I could imagine.
And I suspect you need a bunch of people similarly equipped in a dryer at least the size of a cement mixer truck.
buffnut453
Captain
Agreed. Personally, I think the business case is lacking for this concept. Given the sock disappearance ratio, you'd need a bunch of people with no guarantee which lucky individual would disappear through the vortex. Then you'll have a bunch of dissatisfied customers, probably covered in vomit having been whirled around in a dryer for 30 minutes, who'll almost certainly demand refunds. I just don't see how it could possibly make money or generate repeat business.
SaparotRob
Unter Gemeine Geschwader Murmeltier XIII
Perhaps it could be advertised as an overly elaborate weight loss program for fetishists.
MIflyer
1st Lieutenant
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Most of the German ammunition had a self destruct at about 2.5 to 3 seconds seconds, i think even the 13.2mm of the MG131. The 20mm C38 certainly did.
One reason for taking cover during air raids and wearing helmets is the danger posed by falling ammunition, casings and shell fragments. AAA falling back to earth killed a lot of people.
The American penchant for Browning 50 and solid rounds would probably evaporate if they were fired over American cities.
GrauGeist
Generalfeldmarschall zur Luftschiff Abteilung
Conversely, the RAF's .303 used ball and AP ammunition - over English cities.
I have an anecdote somewhere of a single RAF 20-mm round (fired at a V-1) getting stuck in a piece of machinery and evacuating/shutting down a factory for quite some time. None of the British/US 20-mm Hispano or Oerlikon rounds had self-destroying fuzes -- so the potential for incidents were certainly there.
When you see the size of the pieces of shrapnel kids collected during the BoB and blitz bullets were a minor issue.
GrauGeist
Generalfeldmarschall zur Luftschiff Abteilung
True.
I've heard plenty of accounts, but my comment was in response to the comment about "American penchant for Browning 50 and solid rounds would probably evaporate if they were fired over American cities"
It is a spurious argument. In UK and Germany aircraft were brought down or crashed in cities, no one said "stop shooting planes down, it is dangerous", if you want less bombs falling you will have to put up with some bullets and shrapnel.
GregP
Major
To quote W. C. Fields, "Two women at 19 each are better than one at 38!"
Not too sure if he is right, but I think some research is indicated. I volunteer to help them find what they're looking for ... perhaps in in-depth study of damped, simple harmonic motion ...
Not too sure if he is right, but I think some research is indicated. I volunteer to help them find what they're looking for ... perhaps in in-depth study of damped, simple harmonic motion ...
I found an internet source that says the terminal velocity of the 50 caliber round was 500fps, given the 50 was 5 times the mass of the 303 it was likely lethal though a helmet should provide sufficient protection. A 20mm minengeschuss detonating on a helmet would be lethal so a self destruct would be essential
- Thread starter
- #36
My Dad told me about .303 rounds he found on a crashed Wellington. We climbed the hill a couple of times. And he gave me a weird bit of machinery he said he found.
When he died we spread his ashes in his home village and there were RAF graves there in the churchyard.
When he died we spread his ashes in his home village and there were RAF graves there in the churchyard.
MIflyer
1st Lieutenant
I recall reading what I think was a letter in a British aviation magazine. The author was a boy during the BoB and naturally there were airplanes coming down all over the place. He and friend decided to get in on the action. So they swiped a .303 Browning from a crashed RAF bomber; the crash site of a Hurricane yielded plenty of ammo for it.
One day they saw their chance when a BF-109 was flying up and down their little valley. They propped their purloined machine gun up on something and let fly at the German. At that moment, almost certainly by pure coincidence, the 109 made a sharp 180 degree turn and headed back their way. They abandoned the gun ran like hell. I don't know what they did with the Browning; one of them may still have it.
I wonder what they would have done if they had actually shot down the German? Probably still ran like hell.
One day they saw their chance when a BF-109 was flying up and down their little valley. They propped their purloined machine gun up on something and let fly at the German. At that moment, almost certainly by pure coincidence, the 109 made a sharp 180 degree turn and headed back their way. They abandoned the gun ran like hell. I don't know what they did with the Browning; one of them may still have it.
I wonder what they would have done if they had actually shot down the German? Probably still ran like hell.
I believe the British did consider stopping AAA during the Blitz because of its ineffectiveness. It was kept up for moral reasons even though shells falling back to earth caused some considerable casualties. Britain did have a AAA radar but it was long wave, needed a metal mesh around the antena ground plane just wasn't quite accurate enough to be effective. It was not till microwave radars, probably 1943 or 1944, that AAA became accurate. It wasn't a big area of UK investment hence the need for US SCR-584 to fight the V1 The Americans had thoughtfully developed synchro transmitters to British gun dials. The British ARMY GLAXO radars were good enough but just not prioritised.
Why do you believe that? What damage was caused? Since you have an almost encyclopedic knowledge of these things you must know that the technology the Brits had on proximity fuses and microwave radar was handed over to the USA who were far more able to develop them.
Socks are prone to cannibalism, I always suspected that.
