The official AHF Allied & Neutral Armies quiz thread

Discussions on the Allies and the Neutral States in general and the countries that does not have sections of their own.
Post Reply
Bill Murray
Member
Posts: 6341
Joined: 09 Jan 2004, 00:22
Location: Georgia USA

Re: The official AHF Allied & Neutral Armies quiz thread

#886

Post by Bill Murray » 13 Nov 2010, 13:22

Correct, iffig:

I have attached his obituary here that tells quite a bit of his career.

If I may, I will add a little of my own. His career and that of my Father, MajGen Raymond L. Murray USMC (Ret) were very much connected together.

They served in different commands in WWII but knew each other well from earlier postings together.
In 1950, then Col Krulak was the CO of the 5th Marine Regiment and my father, then a LtCol was his executive officer.
Col Krulak was posted to Marine Headquarters in April or May of 1950 and as the Marine Corps was quite small at the time, it would take a while to find a replacement Col to take over the Regiment. Thus, my father was the temporary CO.
In June, 1950, the North Koreans invaded South Korea and the Ist Marine Division based in California was the only combat ready military force the US had to send there. So.......my father was made the official CO but as he was still not on the normal promotion list for Col, he kept his rank as LtCol.

He took the Regiment to Korea and fought in the Pusan Perimeter, Inchon Landing and Chosin Reservoir campaigns.
He returned to the US in 1951 and was finally promoted to Col.

As you can read in the obituary, Gen Krulak was not made the Commandant of the Marine Corps in 1968 due to his strong objections to the way Gen Westmoreland was conducting the war in Viet Nam and he retired. I should say here that everyone in the Marine Corps expected he would be made the Commandant due to his outstanding record and the choice of another General was not well accepted.

Shortly after Gen Krulak retired, my Father was given the position of Deputy Commander of all Marine Corps forces in Viet Nam.
He too was very critical of the way the war was being fought and had several very serious run ins with Gen Westmoreland. The loss of "His Marines" in what he considered to be senseless operations weighted very heavily on him and although he was scheduled to take over the job of Commander of all Marine Corps forces in Viet Nam, he let it be known that he did not think he could do the job under the conditions imposed by Gen Westmoreland.

This was a depressing time for him and it was decided to send him back to the US for "medical consultations".
This resulted in the end in his forced retirement in 1969.

The point of the story is that if Gen Krulak had been made Commandant of the Marine Corps, this would not have happened to my Father as they both felt the same way about how the war should be conducted. In the end, it resulted in the early termination of both of their careers. Needless to say, I am no big fan of Pres. Johnson nor Defense Secretary MacNamara as they were the ones who were always looking for "Yes Men" to conduct that fruitless war.

Sorry for the long story.
Bill

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/05/obitu ... .html?_r=1

User avatar
iffig
Member
Posts: 1963
Joined: 26 Jan 2007, 23:40
Location: France

Re: The official AHF Allied & Neutral Armies quiz thread

#887

Post by iffig » 13 Nov 2010, 13:45

A long but an interesting story, Bill. Looks as if every US citizen had a Marine among his/her kin.
Thats the same thing in Italy with the "Alpini" and in France with the" Parachutistes".
Now, who can identify this?


Image


User avatar
peeved
Member
Posts: 9109
Joined: 01 Jul 2007, 08:15
Location: Finland

Re: The official AHF Allied & Neutral Armies quiz thread

#888

Post by peeved » 13 Nov 2010, 14:25

Incomplete FCM 2Cs?
Markus

User avatar
iffig
Member
Posts: 1963
Joined: 26 Jan 2007, 23:40
Location: France

Re: The official AHF Allied & Neutral Armies quiz thread

#889

Post by iffig » 13 Nov 2010, 14:58

5 FCM 2Cs on their production lline in the eaarly 20's. But they were still in use in 1940 althought their operational efficiency was nul. Over to you.

User avatar
peeved
Member
Posts: 9109
Joined: 01 Jul 2007, 08:15
Location: Finland

Re: The official AHF Allied & Neutral Armies quiz thread

#890

Post by peeved » 13 Nov 2010, 17:14

Thanks Iffig,
To continue the line of questioning: Two German AT weapons went ballistic on this FCM 2C in the summer of 1940 as evidenced by the multiple penetrations. What were their official calibres? (Picture source eBay.de)
Markus
Attachments
AHF22.jpg
AHF22.jpg (47.51 KiB) Viewed 775 times

User avatar
peeved
Member
Posts: 9109
Joined: 01 Jul 2007, 08:15
Location: Finland

Re: The official AHF Allied & Neutral Armies quiz thread

#891

Post by peeved » 13 Nov 2010, 22:22

Hint: The penetrator of the larger gun's HVAP shot was of significantly smaller diametre than the nominal calibre unlike the gun's AP shell; The smaller weapon's projectiles always were noticeably smaller out of the barrel than the nominal calibre.

Bill Murray
Member
Posts: 6341
Joined: 09 Jan 2004, 00:22
Location: Georgia USA

Re: The official AHF Allied & Neutral Armies quiz thread

#892

Post by Bill Murray » 14 Nov 2010, 03:04

Hi Markus:

As the saying goes, I know "Dink" about artillery, but I do remember things sometimes from earlier research.

I can only guess at one weapon, the Pzb41 anti tank weapon which was 28mm pushed down to 20mm at the end of the barrel.

I think there was another weapon that was around 40mm pushed down to 28mm at the end of the barrel but I cannot find any evidence of that just yet and I have to go out for the moment.

Bill

User avatar
peeved
Member
Posts: 9109
Joined: 01 Jul 2007, 08:15
Location: Finland

Re: The official AHF Allied & Neutral Armies quiz thread

#893

Post by peeved » 14 Nov 2010, 09:57

Hi Bill,
The gun that was eventually standardized as 2,8 cm s.Pz.B. 41 was indeed the smaller weapon used. Any takes on the other one?
Markus

Bill Murray
Member
Posts: 6341
Joined: 09 Jan 2004, 00:22
Location: Georgia USA

Re: The official AHF Allied & Neutral Armies quiz thread

#894

Post by Bill Murray » 14 Nov 2010, 18:04

Well, Markus, I am always game if nothing else.

How about the 4.2cm LePak 41.
Projectile started at 40.3mm and left the barell at 28.4mm.

I gather there was a third such weapon at 75mm or so but it seems to have been abandoned due to the lack of tungsten for the shot.
Bill

User avatar
peeved
Member
Posts: 9109
Joined: 01 Jul 2007, 08:15
Location: Finland

Re: The official AHF Allied & Neutral Armies quiz thread

#895

Post by peeved » 14 Nov 2010, 18:46

Hi Bill,
The second weapon used on the 2C tank on 11 July 1940 at railway tracks in Meüssi was not a taper bore gun but fired full calibre projectiles smaller than 75 mm but bigger than 42 mm nominal calibre. It was part of a shoot-em-up tour armament from the test centres of Kummersdorf and Hillersleben. The other weapons used during the tour were 2 cm Flak, 2,8 cm Pz.B., 3,7 cm Pak and 8,8 cm Flak according to Heeresversuchstelle Kummersdorf, Band 2 by Wolfgang Fleischer.
Markus

User avatar
John Hilly
Member
Posts: 2618
Joined: 26 Jan 2010, 10:33
Location: Tampere, Finland, EU

Re: The official AHF Allied & Neutral Armies quiz thread

#896

Post by John Hilly » 15 Nov 2010, 14:08

My guess is the only one gun left: the 5 cm Pak!?
Greets
Juha-Pekka :milsmile:
"Die Blechtrommel trommelt noch!"

User avatar
peeved
Member
Posts: 9109
Joined: 01 Jul 2007, 08:15
Location: Finland

Re: The official AHF Allied & Neutral Armies quiz thread

#897

Post by peeved » 15 Nov 2010, 15:15

Hi Juha-Pekka,
Yes, the 5 cm Pak 38 was the gun the 2C penetration tests were started with followed by an early 2,8 cm s.Pz.B..
Over to you,
Markus

User avatar
John Hilly
Member
Posts: 2618
Joined: 26 Jan 2010, 10:33
Location: Tampere, Finland, EU

Re: The official AHF Allied & Neutral Armies quiz thread

#898

Post by John Hilly » 16 Nov 2010, 21:35

Question:
This allied pilot got his civil aviation licence in Brazil, so who?

Greets
Juha-Pekka :milwink:
"Die Blechtrommel trommelt noch!"

User avatar
iffig
Member
Posts: 1963
Joined: 26 Jan 2007, 23:40
Location: France

Re: The official AHF Allied & Neutral Armies quiz thread

#899

Post by iffig » 16 Nov 2010, 21:46

Could be Pierre Clostermann. But maybe there are many pilots falling under such a large description.

User avatar
John Hilly
Member
Posts: 2618
Joined: 26 Jan 2010, 10:33
Location: Tampere, Finland, EU

Re: The official AHF Allied & Neutral Armies quiz thread

#900

Post by John Hilly » 17 Nov 2010, 13:22

iffig wrote:Could be Pierre Clostermann
Well, you hit the big-time, Pierre Clostermann it is! :D
I made an easy question, cause I couldn't figure out better.
Still, you knew, so congratulations. The buck stops at you! :milsmile:

Greets
Juha-Pekka :milwink:
"Die Blechtrommel trommelt noch!"

Post Reply

Return to “The Allies and the Neutral States in general”