History For WW2 buffs!

[sbrothy]

Don't really know if this belongs in this thread or @pines-demon 's as it is kind of an anecdote. Since it relates to WWII I'll put it here.

Abraham Wald and Armor Placement

I searched to see if someone already posted it but couldn't find it. Sorry if it's already here somewhere. Not improbable. I find it somewhat hard to believe that the US Air Force would be this dumb though. But you should never underestimate human stupidity. Every time something is idiot proofed nature invents an even better idiot!



EDIT: No, I finally found it here but it's an old one.

 

[Baluncore]

I find it somewhat hard to believe that the US Air Force would be this dumb though.

Operations researchers are not that silly.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operations_research
Many stories are later embellished and told to mock someone.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lighthouse_and_naval_vessel_urban_legend

 

[sbrothy]

Operations researchers are not that silly.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operations_research
Many stories are later embellished and told to mock someone.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lighthouse_and_naval_vessel_urban_legend

I suspected as much. I found it hard to believe a room full of highly educated and well disciplined people making such a glaring error. (Then again think about the mass hysteria of Nazi Germany itself and other confirmed stupidities up through history. One can never be completely sure.

Oh, and yeah, Wikipedia has that myth-buster page where a lot of stories are debunked. The one with "sharks not being able to stop swimming or they asphyxiate" and the one with "the Coriolis force forcing the water to rotate down the bathtub drain in a particular direction based on which hemisphere you're on". A whole bunch of them.

 

[Astronuc]

I had seen a short video on Youtube produced by the BBC in the SAS Rogue Heroes program.




I did not know about his story, but I did find a video biography. It covers the story of Paddy Mayne, who helped created was became the SAS. Mayne had a law degree.

The Most Terrifying Irish Man of WW2​

 

[Baluncore]

If you ever get the chance, read:
Eastern approaches. (1949). By Fitzroy Maclean.
He survived as a diplomat, exploring the USSR through pre-WWII Stalin purges and pogroms, then joined with David Stirling as the SAS was formed in Egypt, took part in several SAS LRDG operations, kidnapped General Zahidi from Persia, before going into Jugoslavia as an SOE agent on the Tito side of the resistance.

 

[difalcojr]

.............................................

I recently read this book about Mayne and the SAS LRDG first operations in North Africa. I think that is Mayne on the left in the photo. A good read, goes into his character a lot too. The author Lewis has written a trilogy about Mayne's exploits, the above book the first, "SAS: Forged in Hell" the second, and "SAS: Dagger Drawn" the last. Inexpensive on abebooks.com.

 

[Astronuc]

The World War Two bomber that cost more than the atomic bomb​

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20250829-the-bomber-that-became-ww2s-most-expensive-weapon

As the Cold War deepened in the 1950s, the US and its Allies discovered that some B-29s that crashed in the Soviet Union after their missions over Japan had been used to help the USSR develop their own atomic bomber – a reverse-engineered copy of the B-29 called the Tupolev Tu-4. It was a Tu-4 that dropped the bomb in the first Soviet nuclear test, and represented the biggest nuclear threat to the West in the 1950s.

Several B-29s were forced to land (intact) in Russia; some crashed. WWI ace Eddie Rickenbacker visited the Soviet Union during WWII, since they were allies. At the time, the B-29 was top secret, but Rickenbacker let it slip that the US was developing the high altitude bomber, which tipped the USSR about its existence. So, when B-29s crashed or landed in USSR, they confiscated the planes, disassembled them, and built their Tu-4,

Rickenbacker's mission was successful. A commander of Moscow's defense had stayed at Rickenbacker's home in 1937, and this personal connection aided his information-gathering. He learned about Soviet defense strategies and capabilities. When the Battle of Kursk started, he took advantage of the Soviets' distraction, viewing and memorizing a map that detailed the locations of Soviet military units at the front. He also persuaded his hosts to give him an unprecedented tour of the Shturmovik aircraft factory. However, Rickenbacker made comments during his trip that alerted the Soviets to the existence of the secret B-29 Superfortress program.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Rickenbacker#1943_mission_to_the_USSR

https://www.airandspaceforces.com/PDF/MagazineArchive/Documents/2009/June 2009/0609bomber.pdf

 

[Astronuc]

An interesting story - How One Cook's "INSANE" Idea Stopped U-Boats From Acoustically Detecting Convoys



The story apparently involves "historical fiction" by combining historical facts interwoven into a fictional narrative. WWII Rising Stories appear to be mostly fictional.

How this content was made
Altered or synthetic content
Sound or visuals were significantly edited or digitally generated.

The disclaimer/caveat indicates the video is generated by AI.

Some of the persons mentioned in the video are actual people.

Vice-Admiral Sir Peter William Gretton,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Gretton
Gretton wrote a memoir - Convoy Escort Commander: A Memoir of the Battle of the Atlantic (Submarine Warfare in World War Two)
https://www.amazon.com/Convoy-Escort-Commander-Memoir-Atlantic/dp/B09KN7YWM3?tag=pfamazon01-20
https://www.rmg.co.uk/collections/archive/rmgc-object-473085

Rear Admiral Leonard Warren Murray,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_W._Murray
https://www.junobeach.org/canada-in-wwii/articles/admiral-l-w-murray-2/
https://www.veterans.gc.ca/en/remembrance/memorials/canada/rear-admiral-leonard-warren-murray-bust

 

[Baluncore]

Now, bubble curtains are used to prevent high amplitude resonance.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prairie-Masker

 

[Borg]

An interesting story - How One Cook's "INSANE" Idea Stopped U-Boats From Acoustically Detecting Convoys

I wanted to find out more about this but I found nothing. After I had a conversation with ChatGPT where it scoured naval records, this appears to be a false narrative of something that never occurred during the war. The Prairie-Masker is a real thing of course but it was developed well after the war. If you have any sources other than the video, please share.

 

[Astronuc]

I wanted to find out more about this but I found nothing. After I had a conversation with ChatGPT where it scoured naval records, this appears to be a false narrative of something that never occurred during the war.

I will have to research the matter. I watched a couple of videos from the same series last night. One story was about the USS Iowa battleship sinking the IJN Kumano, which didn't happen. A second story was about an engine problem with the B29. The narrative went through the development of the Wright R-3350 Duplex-Cyclone, with the claim that 117 B29s were lost due to an engine fire. I could not find confirming sources.

The R-3350 Double Cycle did have some problems, but it does not appear that the engine fires resulted in the loss of so many aircraft.

https://www.nasa.gov/history/the-naca-cools-b-29-engines-during-world-war-ii-2/

There appears to be a disclaimer or caveat with the video:

How this content was made
Altered or synthetic content
Sound or visuals were significantly edited or digitally generated.