r16
not deity
- Joined
- Nov 10, 2008
- Messages
- 12,148
when the British Navy shelled and occupied Alexanderia in 1880 sometime , Fisher , the future First Sea Lord , was there commanding one of the most heavily armed RN ships of the period . It was proper stuff for European colonialism , locals beaten to pulp , glory and minor casualties for the occupiers etc etc . Yet , for those who really looked at it , the event was not really inspiring ; the lack of accuracy for naval gunnery being heart rending . Even when many captains had their crews running on the deck back and forth to cause some rolling motion to the ship as gunners felt better that way .
for something ı wrote at great effort yet wasn't safe enough to be allowed around , ı examined , at a little length , Fisher's follies if one may call them so . Being long dead , his reputation has suffered a lot . One of the more striking examples is the belief in the 20 inch guns being prepared for the perfect ship he was after . Reputedly they could reach 50 kilometres or more , with a shell weighing more than 1800 kilograms , all in a battery of 6 guns .And the ship , HMS Incomparable would have enough fuel to circle the world without refuelling . Now it is quoted as
and then there were the experts who took it , spin doctored it , presented it as new , old , hoax or real as required and at times actually believed in it . Fisher being an excellent case , fondly believed “the enormous shells were built to make it impossible for the Germans to prevent the Russian millions from landing on the Pomeranian coast” the guns in question being 18in weapons for HMS Furious , and 20in gun planned to follow on would be powerful enough to make a crater “ like that of Vesuvius or Mount Etna' sending the German Army 'fleeing for its life from Pomerania to Berlin.”
the book where ı am taking gist of the quote , goes on to doubt that any sort of accuracy would have been impossible for the big gun and the Germans are of course are not some primitive tribe that will run away when they hear the thunder , see the flash and smell the smoke . So is Fisher on some sort of hallugenic drug or plant , simply boasting to the point of stupidity , or maybe he is old and tired enough to lose a lot of his mental acuity . It is a sad fact of old age that you , if unlucky , go dumb .
or is he expecting some breakthrough in science that will allow high power of explosion , large area of effect that negates lack of accuracy , some quite effective shell shock on the targeted people ? Though the package is heavy and needs large volume and it will be better if it doesn't go on a plane that can be easily shot down , in case , if ever succeeds getting off the ground with all that weight . It is a tradition of naval artillery to serve in land campaigns and the 20 incher could in all probability make it to France as a train load .
ever since somebody decided that ı was an idiot who didn't find North Koreans 100% faulty , ı have been getting blank stares and icy glances for my inquries . Before that ı was tolerated everywhere as an idiot and people would try to point out my mistaken assumptions . Don't get it nowadays , will soon grow into real contempt .
but what if that great western minds that discover everything years before everybody else , came up with something that wasn't supposed to be known until 30 years later ? There is this debate that says design chief of an aviation company talked of Nevada test sites being 50 years ahead ; actually he meant to say 15 and this seems to be a recurring theme . Laws of nature do not change over the years . Though business opportunities do . In this context the comic books start to talk about the power in about 1930 or so .
oldtimers would recognise this instantly but as ı said many of the elders ,even the admirals, fall below standarts and their hard won experience is disregarded , causing relearning at some cost . Pity , a part of the said experience is bitter .
returning to topic , this very high explosive of Fisher would need something of a Patriot to stop it . And even that is no guarantee ; ı have just read some newspaper articles detailing why we shouldn't spend billions on missile defence , if it is so important let Uncle Sam pay it .But as we know the age of freebies are over .
there are various sites that describe equivalent explosive powers through the diameter of the crater made on the ground . Taking Fisher's word at its face value ; does anyone have an idea of the yield just in case it was foreseen in 1915 , though the industrial effort was mistaken ?
for something ı wrote at great effort yet wasn't safe enough to be allowed around , ı examined , at a little length , Fisher's follies if one may call them so . Being long dead , his reputation has suffered a lot . One of the more striking examples is the belief in the 20 inch guns being prepared for the perfect ship he was after . Reputedly they could reach 50 kilometres or more , with a shell weighing more than 1800 kilograms , all in a battery of 6 guns .And the ship , HMS Incomparable would have enough fuel to circle the world without refuelling . Now it is quoted as
and then there were the experts who took it , spin doctored it , presented it as new , old , hoax or real as required and at times actually believed in it . Fisher being an excellent case , fondly believed “the enormous shells were built to make it impossible for the Germans to prevent the Russian millions from landing on the Pomeranian coast” the guns in question being 18in weapons for HMS Furious , and 20in gun planned to follow on would be powerful enough to make a crater “ like that of Vesuvius or Mount Etna' sending the German Army 'fleeing for its life from Pomerania to Berlin.”
the book where ı am taking gist of the quote , goes on to doubt that any sort of accuracy would have been impossible for the big gun and the Germans are of course are not some primitive tribe that will run away when they hear the thunder , see the flash and smell the smoke . So is Fisher on some sort of hallugenic drug or plant , simply boasting to the point of stupidity , or maybe he is old and tired enough to lose a lot of his mental acuity . It is a sad fact of old age that you , if unlucky , go dumb .
or is he expecting some breakthrough in science that will allow high power of explosion , large area of effect that negates lack of accuracy , some quite effective shell shock on the targeted people ? Though the package is heavy and needs large volume and it will be better if it doesn't go on a plane that can be easily shot down , in case , if ever succeeds getting off the ground with all that weight . It is a tradition of naval artillery to serve in land campaigns and the 20 incher could in all probability make it to France as a train load .
ever since somebody decided that ı was an idiot who didn't find North Koreans 100% faulty , ı have been getting blank stares and icy glances for my inquries . Before that ı was tolerated everywhere as an idiot and people would try to point out my mistaken assumptions . Don't get it nowadays , will soon grow into real contempt .
but what if that great western minds that discover everything years before everybody else , came up with something that wasn't supposed to be known until 30 years later ? There is this debate that says design chief of an aviation company talked of Nevada test sites being 50 years ahead ; actually he meant to say 15 and this seems to be a recurring theme . Laws of nature do not change over the years . Though business opportunities do . In this context the comic books start to talk about the power in about 1930 or so .
oldtimers would recognise this instantly but as ı said many of the elders ,even the admirals, fall below standarts and their hard won experience is disregarded , causing relearning at some cost . Pity , a part of the said experience is bitter .
returning to topic , this very high explosive of Fisher would need something of a Patriot to stop it . And even that is no guarantee ; ı have just read some newspaper articles detailing why we shouldn't spend billions on missile defence , if it is so important let Uncle Sam pay it .But as we know the age of freebies are over .
there are various sites that describe equivalent explosive powers through the diameter of the crater made on the ground . Taking Fisher's word at its face value ; does anyone have an idea of the yield just in case it was foreseen in 1915 , though the industrial effort was mistaken ?
