Odd Military Facts....

[dragoon500ly]

During the Vietnam War, the Special Forces and CIA played a variety of "games" on the North Vietnamese...wish I had thought up this one!

The NVN was very effective in uncovering Allied agents, the dark side of this was that the NVN were suspicious of everyone. Soooo, captured North Vietnamese were recruited as apies, even when it was known that few would be very successful. These agents were put through a six-week course, that included a detailed briefing on the (nonextistent) network of agents that they would be joining. The most ambitious angle on this scam was to select some of the agents to parachute into NVN. The rookie agents would be given parachute training and would be taken to an airfield at night, where he would board a large aircraft. On board were the other members of his "team", which, for security reasons, he could not be intorduced to early. Also on board were numerous supply containers to be dropped as well.

Once in the air, the new agent was told that because he had done so well n the early training, he would be given the privilige of being the first man out of the door. When the new spy jumped, he would often make his way straight to the nearest NVN authorities to report his fellow agents who had jumped right behind him.

But no one had jumped after him. As soon as our "hero" had jumped, the other agents had opened some of the containers to reveal blocks of ice that had been attached to parachutes, these would then be thrown out into the night air. Hours later, the parachutes would be found, hung up in trees. Here was clear evidence that the Americans had dropped several agents into the NVN. The NVN would then call out the troops and spend several days searching the jungle for any trace of the spies.

But this wasn't the only part of this scam. The phoney agent would have a transmitter concealed in his gear and well overhead, would be an airplane, tracking the signal. When it was determined that the agent had remained in place for seventy-two hours, then a B-52 strike would be called in to blast the headquarters where the transponder was squawking.

"Dirty Little Secrets of the Vietnam War"

[Matt Wiser]

You hear in a lot of histories of the effect of Stalin's pre-war purges of the Soviet military, so just how bad were the purges.

Stalin purged some 67% of the generals in the Red Army: 3 of the 5 marshals, all 11 vice commissars of war; 75 of the 80 members of the Supreme War Council, 13 of the 15 army commanders, 51 of the 85 corps commanders and 110 of the 195 division and brigade commanders. The result of this was the dismal performance of the Red Army in the opening months of World War Two. Fortunately for Russia, Stalin did not actually kill all of the purged officers, but many had ben sent to the gulags in Siberia. As a result, after the debacle of the summer of 1941, many of the survivors were relased from the gulags and back to their former commands.

"Dirty Little Secrets of WWII"

And one famous officer was among them: Marshal K.K. Rokossovosky. Arrested in 1937, had his teeth knocked out-among other tortures-by Beria's thugs, condemmed to death, but released in 1940, promoted to Major-General and told "Take command of this mechanized corps, prisoner, and we'll see about your death sentence later." The suspended death sentence was not formally lifted until after Stalin's death in 1953.

[dragoon500ly]

The USS Kidd, DD-661 was a late model Fletcher-class destroyer commissioned on 23 April 1943. She is notable for several facts...

When she was launched, she was one of four Fletchers that were launched within 14 minutes...a still-standing record.

Her first damage was the result of a friendly fire incident on 12 Sept 1943, when she was hit by two 5-inch illuminating projectiles fired by the battleship USS North Carolina, there were no crew losses, although the captain's cabin was badly damaged.

On 11 April, 1945, she was struck by a kamizaze in her forward fireroom, killing 38 and wounding another 55.

Repaired and returned to service, the Kidd enjoyed a quiet post-war career...until 21 April, 1853, when she was rammed by the Swedish freighter Hainan, which left a V-shaped hole in the CPO's quarters, no one was killed or injured.

She was finally decommissioned into the Atlantic Reserve Fleet in 1964.

In 1982, the Kidd was transferred to the Louisiana Naval Memorial Commission and she was carefully restored to her 1945 configuration and is permanently moored in the city of Baton Rouge.

Since the Kidd is moored on the Mississippi River, she is subject to the extreme flood levels that Old Man River provides. During the summer months, she rests on a concrete cradle. Her port side is clamped to four steel collars that wrap around two 24-inch steel dolphins. THis allows the Kidd to rise and fall some 28 feet. This arrangement is unique and is featured in "Ripley's Believe It or Not."

As of 1994, the Kidd has earned the reputation of being the most authentically restored naval warship in the country.

"The Floating Drydock Warship Data, USS Kidd"

[dragoon500ly]

Of all of the United States' Strategic Bombers, only three have never dropped live ordnance on an enemy, they are the B-36, the B-47 and the B-58.

[dragoon500ly]

Perhaps the longest life of any tank has to be the US-built Mk VIII Heavy Tank which entered service in 1919 and served until 1932.

[Legbreaker]

Perhaps the longest life of any tank has to be the US-built Mk VIII Heavy Tank which entered service in 1919 and served until 1932.

Which says a lot for how tanks were perceived back in the early days. What's worse is what replaced it, or should I say, failed to replace it....

[Targan]

Of all of the United States' Strategic Bombers, only three have never dropped live ordnance on an enemy, they are the B-36, the B-47 and the B-58.

Is that last aircraft a typo I'm guessing it should read B-52

[mikeo80]

Is that last aircraft a typo I'm guessing it should read B-52

No, Targan, Dragoon is correct. He is referring to the B-58 Convair Hustler.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convair_B-58_Hustler

This was the first bomber that could fly at Mach 2. It was designed as a nuclear attack bomber. Once the U.S.S.R. proved it could shoot down high flying fast aircraft, the B-58 was obsolete.

My $0.02

Mike

[Targan]

Ah, I misread the initial post. I thought it said "dropped live ordnance" not "never dropped live ordnance". I love the way this forum encourages me to look things up on the net though. Until today I knew nothing about the B-58.

[Snake Eyes]

Is that last aircraft a typo I'm guessing it should read B-52

I think you missed the word "never." I did the same thing.

[Snake Eyes]

Once the U.S.S.R. proved it could shoot down high flying fast aircraft, the B-58 was obsolete.

Also why the XB-70 never took off. I thought that thing was awesome when I was a kid.

[raketenjagdpanzer]

Also why the XB-70 never took off. I thought that thing was awesome when I was a kid.

Yes, but the XB-70 netted us the F15, the preeminent fighter aircraft in the world today.

[HorseSoldier]

Perhaps the longest life of any tank has to be the US-built Mk VIII Heavy Tank which entered service in 1919 and served until 1932.

That's only 13 years. In the US alone, both the M60 and M1 series have that beat by big margins. Ditto the Chieftain and Challengers in the UK, Leo I and Leo II in Germany, etc. Even if they isolate for specific marks of those designs, the M60A1 and M1A1 have it beat.

[Legbreaker]

On the other hand, technology was moving pretty damn fast back then. A tank from the 1980s still has a chance against tanks today, 25 years younger. The Mk VIII was toast if it faced virtually anything younger than it.

[dragoon500ly]

Which says a lot for how tanks were perceived back in the early days. What's worse is what replaced it, or should I say, failed to replace it....

All too true...the replacement for the MkVIII was the M-2 and M-2A1...just think M-3 Stuart with a raised idler wheel and a well sloped front deck. The M-2A1 actually saw combat, with the Marines on the 'canal.

The M-3 Lee/Grant, was an interm design until the engineers could figure out how to mount a 75mm cannon inside a cast turret. It actually saw more service with the British/Commonwealth (the Aussies used them right up into 1945), it also held the record for the highest elevation combat action when tankers of the 3rd Carabiniers captured the 9,000 foot summit of Kennedy Peak during the operations around Tiddim, Burma (that record was broke by the M-48 during the Indio-Pakistan War when combat reached 12,000 feet).