Comments for A couple of interesting emails today

A couple of interesting emails today

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 09:01:29 -0600

This one in response to a conversation already extant, which OPSEC forbids reprinting. Regards the offspring of a long-time reader. RE: And none of the good stuff bloggable. Nope, but what I can pick off of the news wires is fair game, and you'll get anything we hear that can be published. The little sh*t-a$$ snookered his mother Monday evening when he talked to her. He was not headed for [OPSEC], but rather to DC. It took him two days of finagling, but he finally got a visa for........[Yet another OPSEC'd destination]. I don't even want to think about the reason for needing *that* visa......... Last night he was on the way to Dulles to turn in the rental car and try to get a flight to [OPSEC]. What an amazing adventure for a kid from [OPSEC - fill in the blank rural setting]. To which I responded, perhaps a touch unfairly - That's because the days of the Oh So Social, or OSS, are long past. Kids from the playing fields of Exeter Academy are buying bad mortgage paper, not double-tapping terrs in dark alleys, after using sophisticated network analysis tools they developed to find out which alley to double-tap them in. Update: The response to my response was: True.....but then the Academy kids were raised mostly by those of the 60's with draft deferments for their educational pursuits.....no matter how long it took. You know, the ones with a "different agenda" than the rest of us. If there is a Legacy to be left by Viet Nam Veterans, I hope we are remembered as the scrufty bunch that raised this amazing generation of Patriots........That's good enough for me. Well, that would be good enough for me, too, now that you mention it. But I'd have to say that some of the kids of the 60's Flower Children are fighting just as hard. Then there was this one, from a fella angling to be a Buddy of the Armorer! While at Miller Park in Bloomington, Illinois last week, I spotted an old tank like piece of armor. Took a picture and was wondering if you would like to take a look?? I am a regular reader who never has time for commenting but love the info and the great old iron pics. There were two more artillery pieces there also. Would you look at those also?? First up - the Armorer is *always* up for pictures of artillery. Or armor. Or small arms. Or ordnance. Or bunkers. Or armored cars. Or helmets. Or spears. Or swords. You get the idea. Here's one of the pics. I've already id'd it for Jim, but I'll let you guys have fun with it too. This one will be easy for the grognards.

Comment from Justthisguy on 2008-10-10

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 22:29:56 -0600

What Blake said.

Comment from Blake Kirk on 2008-10-10

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 10:06:39 -0600

What John said.

And what Napoleon said: "There are no bad regiments; only bad colonels."

Comment from John of Argghhh! on 2008-10-10

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 06:58:13 -0600

This post has demonstrated the need for another post, clearly.

One thing I'll always do, Grimmy - is defend the French soldier. He may have had crappy generals and worse politicians, but aside from some badly prepared units in May 1940, the courage of the individual French soldier had been amply demonstrated time and again.

Especially in WWI.

Like I said, you can bash the leadership all you want. But I'll stand up for the poilu.

Comment from Grimmy on 2008-10-10

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 05:25:18 -0600

Not meaning to be disrespectful to our great *friend and ally, France, or anything but...

The shape and placement of that gizmo on the rear end might be intended as a sort of "cattle guard" to shove folk out of the way as it's following it's path of least probable hostile contact.

*friend and ally - someone who has occasional use for us in the expending of blood and treasure way, but otherwise behaves as a passive aggressive pansy enemy wannabe.

Comment from Justthisguy on 2008-10-09

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 21:17:58 -0600

Dad, I think you're right. Just thinkin', I think that that's mostly what we had for tanks in the Phillipines in 1942. Imagine how hot it was in those things, there and then! Ow!

Comment from Argent on 2008-10-09

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 20:47:56 -0600

Look at that he even found a diagram. I must remind myself if it looks weird and has no function, it's probably French.

Comment from Rod Thorsen on 2008-10-09

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 20:38:02 -0600

Actually since this was taken in the US, that this may be a US M1917 tank. More here
http://www.landships.freeservers.com/FT17_M1917.htm

Painted up in them funny WWI French colours does make it look odd.

Comment from Cannoneer No. 4 on 2008-10-09

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 16:18:36 -0600

The doohickey is the tail which extends the length of the vehicle, thus extending the width of trench it can cross.

Comment from Dad on 2008-10-09

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 16:11:33 -0600

Actually this is probably not an FT 17. Probably a "six ton special tractor" which was a cover name for the American copy of the FT 17 modified to accept the Marlin MG. Note the odd shield on the face of the turret.

Comment from Old Fat Sailor on 2008-10-09

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 15:09:59 -0600

I think it was called an unditching plate or the like, needed one on that Renault they imported in the 70's

Comment from Kevin on 2008-10-09

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 14:44:22 -0600

Color shading of the tank? Poilu Blue perhaps? Mirrors the poor grognards uniform colors, post blue tunic and bright red shoot-me-with-a-machinegun trousers and kepi.

Comment from RetRsvMike on 2008-10-09

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 14:43:04 -0600

..it was actually only until they figured out how to get the grunts to waddle along behind us when going "over the top"...

rollover backwards and a bunch of crunchies make for a soft landing.

Comment from grimmy on 2008-10-09

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 12:35:32 -0600

I think the skid plate on the arse end is to keep it from fliping over backwards on an incline. They used to panic about stuff like that, until they figured out that tankers were replacable.

Comment from Casey on 2008-10-09

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 12:18:00 -0600

I can tell it's a Renault (after editing I look up and see John's already tagged it as the FT-17 {g}), and my first reaction was that doohickey was some sort of barbed wire cutter, but it's on the back end of the tank. Is it perhaps some sort of brake for when the tank goes up a steep incline? I know the early designers worried about crossing trenches and other obstacles.

Comment from RetRsvMike on 2008-10-09

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 11:32:19 -0600

argghhh! that color!!

Pershing weeps.

Comment from Beth Donovan on 2008-10-09

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 10:59:15 -0600

It must be an armored Zamboni.

Comment from Eric Wilner on 2008-10-09

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 10:34:57 -0600

An armored snow machine - the original Iron Dog!

Comment from Grimmy on 2008-10-09

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 10:08:35 -0600

My first guess would be a Renault FT-17/18

Comment from John of Argghhh! on 2008-10-09

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 10:02:07 -0600

Argent - I'm thinking of it as "Swimming Pool Blue"

Who knows, mebbe that's what it is - swimming pool paint they had left over. I'll say this for them - their tank and two cannon are in better shape than a lot of stuff like this left to rot in the open.

Comment from Argent on 2008-10-09

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 09:57:19 -0600

What an un-armourer colour. Camo for icebergs? Please tell me this isn't the secret Swiss skiing mini tank. Wooshing down slopes on that thing at the front (back?) to er crush the enemy.