John

R.A.O.C. Recruit Any Old C*nt wub.gif

Yes I've heard of this chap before. Foofighter is well versed on him. Quite an achievement, but its sad that after all he achieved, he learnt nothing.

Excellent post Mr Chairman.

I watched an incredible programme today , on National Geographic Channel. On Battle of Britain Day, Pilot Sergeant Ray Holmes was flying his Hurricane MK1 as part of 504 SQN operating out of Hendon Aerodrome, to meet a vastly superior German bombing force, on its way to London. He met the attacking force just outside London and chose his target, a Dornier Bomber. He made his attack from the rear, and immediately fell foul of a secret German weapon. He thought he had damaged the plane as 'smoke' was coming out of it. In fact it was oil, spread across his windscreen, from the secret weapon, that was in fact a tail mounted flame thrower(!!!) that had in fact failed to ignite. This oil covered his windscreen, totally obscuring his view. Pilot Sergeant Holmes broke away, and eventually the wind cleared the oil. He looked around and found himself alone, apart from a lone German bomber , damaged, heading directly for Buckingham Palace. He attacked from the front , only to find that his guns were jammed or out of ammunition. He swung round, and decided to ram the Enemy plane. He flew straight through the bomber, cutting off the tail plane. His Hurricane badly damaged, he bailed out , injuring himself so that his right arm was useless, and eventually, he managed to pull his ripcord with his LEFT arm, no mean feat. He was about to give up , when he saw he was about to land on the electric rail tracks of Victoria Station, when he was caught by a gust of wind and blown onto the roof of a block of flats. He slid down and was greeted by an ever growing crowd, who had seen his gallant deed. His plane crash into the juction on Buckingham Palace Road, SW1. The Dornier bomber faired not so well. It crashed on a part of Victoria Station, with no one on the ground hurt. The pilot , Oberlieutenant Robert Zehre, was the only man to bail out, and he landed , badly injured, into the already bombed area of Oval. He was caught on a telegraph pole, and a lynch mob formed. He was rescued, and sadly, died, two days later in hospital. Pilot Sergeant Ray Holmes became an over night celebrity,and due to a number of other ramming incidents , the Luftwaffe thought they were facing a suicidal fanatical force. Coupled with that , and the brave professionalism of our allied pilots, the enemy were driven off for the remainder of the war. Pilot Sergeant Ray Holmes was asked about his heroism, and he replied that, " He was only doing his duty." What a man. :food-smiley-004:

Do we get one for being on this forum?

Sounds interesting BJOW. Dig away! :animal-smiley-025:

I'm not sure. I thought the French invented it, but the US used it first in wartime.... ? Are people still bitter about the American civil War?

Is it true that this was the first time Balloons were used in a military capacity?

Did the US Army have their own designs in the War, or did they use Brit ones captured German ones?

What are they using Military Dogs for in Iraq, and why aren't the US using them?

This is a very odd design. How come we have not seen more of them ? I've never seen one of these before. What was its purpose?

Why were the original unite in France in WWI called the 'Old Contemptables' ?

Yes , what are we going to do? We are a Defence force , masquerading as a Military Force. We're finished as a superpower. We're much better off spending our taxes on diversity and illegal immigrants. ....

How many of the Jack the Ripper murders occured on the City of London Police area?

I can't get into this either. When I did what you did, as per instructions, I had the result. I then complained , and then received a nasty Email telling me that if I didn't like it, I should go to KEW GARDENS! Well we've no choice now , have we ? jumping

What is happening with the Eurofighter? Will it be called the Typhoon? What will it be armed with and when will it come into service?

Is there any sort of WWII ace for tank destruction by an infantryman on any side, ie by bazooka, mine, hand...etc

Interestingly, this pattern of sword was found with three different points. The first one was 'Hatchet' shaped ,as manufactured, which had a tip more like a Navy cutlass, as this was essentially a Cutting weapon. The second type was similar to the first, except that the tip was ground down to give it a more pointed effect for thrusting. The third type was also ground down to a spear point for a more effective thrusting technique. These modifications were carried out at Regimental level, to give more versatility in battle. The Brtish cavalry taught cutting and slashing as this is a more natural instinct when in the heat of battle. Thrusting was seen to be less effective as it took more energy, and was only really effective at the main parts of the body and head. It was also noted that although a cut/slash would not often kill a man, it would just as effectively remove him from the battlefield.

Is it "One flew over the cuckoo's nest"?

Interesting about what you were sajing abot the AK series. I personally don't rate it too highly in comparison to other assault rifles on an individual basis. If you could choose any assault rifle to defend you home with, would it really be the AK? However.....! Look at this Soviet export site , and look up the individual weapons and specialist.... You certainly can't fault them for adaptability.... http://www.rusarm.ru/main.htm

I wonder how it compares to the Bradley?

It looks a bit like "not" attended by his staff. Strange one, but maybe it was a group photo and he wasn't there for the event, so this was taken separately. I wish I had some staff to 'attend' to me. Hmmm Swedish air hostesses, maybe

Excellent post, Bigalni. Its very hard finding any straight facts on this topic. They hung 30 blokes one after the other? I wish they could do that here.... What did your Father end up doing after Kenyan Independence? He sounds fascinating. wub.gif

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Montgomery was far more experienced, than Patton.He served all of the WW1 , from 1914 in the trenches, till the end of 1918. During this time, he was wounded twice. Post war , he went on to serve in Palestine, Egypt, India, Ireland and 'guested' to Australia, in a Staff capacity. He returned to command the Forces in Palestine prior to the beginning of the WWII. He was also serving in WWII for a full two years , prior to Patton entering the War, including the disaster at Dunkirk. Patton by contrast, served in Mexico, and the latter end of WW1. He spent little or no time in the trenches, but served in the initial usage of tanks, where he was wouded and and saw out the end of the War in Hospital. He arrived late into WWII, through , no fault of his own. During this time , he made himself notorious for the slapping of Ptes Bennet & Kuhl, for shellshock. Anyone who was involved in sustained combat would have understood these men.He obviously didn't. By the end of WWII, Montgomery had more Operational experience , from that War alone, than Patton did in his entire career. :food-smiley-004: