Quotulatiousness

February 23, 2024

The Gun Science Says Can’t Work – Madsen LMG Mechanics

Filed under: Europe, History, Military, Weapons — Tags: , , , , , — Nicholas @ 02:00

Forgotten Weapons
Published 21 Nov 2023

The Madsen LMG is generally considered an extremely complex and confusing system — but is it really? Today we are taking one apart to see just how it actually works. Because in fact, it’s a very unusual system, but not really any more complicated than any other easy self-loading action.
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February 20, 2024

Belt-fed Madsen LMG: When the Weird Get Weirder

Forgotten Weapons
Published Nov 15, 2023

First produced in 1902, the Madsen was one of the first practical light machine guns, and it remained in production for nearly 5 decades. The Madsen system is a rather unusual recoil-operated mechanism with a tilting bolt and a remarkably short receiver. The most unusual variation on the system was the belt-fed, high rate-of-fire pattern developed for aircraft use. This program was initiated by the Danish Air Force in the mid 1920s, and several different patterns were built by the time World War Two erupted.

The model here was actually a pattern that was under production for Hungary when German forces occupied Denmark. Taking over the factory, they continued the production and the guns went to the Luftwaffe for airfield defensive use.

In order to use disintegrating links instead of box magazines, some very odd modifications had to be made to the Madsen. One set of feed packs are actually built into the belt box itself, and the gun cannot function without the box attached. The only feasible path for empty link ejection is directly upwards, and so a horseshoe-shaped link chute was attached to the top cover, guiding links up over the gun and dropping them out the right side of the receiver. Very weird!

While several thousand of these were made under German occupation, very few survive today and they are extremely rare on the US registry.
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September 7, 2023

History Summarized: Iceland’s Hallgrimskirkja

Overly Sarcastic Productions
Published 26 May 2023

The name is more visually complicated than the church itself.
I tried my best to pronounce all the Icelandic correctly but that LL sound is TRICKY.

SOURCES & Further Reading:
Great Courses lectures “Iceland’s Independence” and “The Capital and Beyond in Southwest Iceland” from The Great Tours Iceland by Jennifer Verdolin, “Iceland’s Hallgrimskirkja” from World’s Greatest Churches by William R. Cook. Plus, two visits to Iceland and a lot of time spent staring at the thing.
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September 1, 2023

Will the Resistance Smash Nazism or Build Communism? – War Against Humanity 112

Filed under: Europe, France, Germany, History, Italy, Military, WW2 — Tags: , , , , , , — Nicholas @ 04:00

World War Two
Published 31 Aug 2023

The hour of resistance is here. Across Western Europe, armies of resistance fighters rise up to meet the Allied armies and sabotage the Axis war machine. In Slovakia, a secret army fights to restore Czechoslovak independence. But against this hopeful backdrop, the Axis forces strike back hard. And, all around, the spectre of communism strikes fear in the Western Powers.
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October 13, 2022

The Nazis’ Justification for the Genocide – October 9, 1943 – WAH 081

World War Two
Published 12 Oct 2022

This week the Nazis go on the record about their genocide of the Jews. Meanwhile the Jews in Denmark are coming closer to safety, and the Roman Jews are again at peril.
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October 4, 2022

Sweden: The Jews’ Salvation? – WAH 080 – October 2, 1943

World War Two
Published 2 Oct 2022

As the Allies advance in southern Italy, the people of Naples join them in fighting the Wehrmacht. In Denmark, the biggest rescue operation of Jews thus far begins.
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October 3, 2022

Nazis Go Fascist Hunting – WAH 079 – September 25, 1943

World War Two
Published 2 Oct 2022

The Wehrmacht continues Operation Axis and its slaughter of Italian soldiers. In Western Europe, the situation of the Jews becomes increasingly precarious, especially so in Denmark.
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September 15, 2022

Italy Switches Sides in World War Two – WAH 077 – September 11, 1943

World War Two
Published 14 Sep 2022

When Italy leaves WW2, The Nazi German Reich immediately begins occupying the country, and the occupied nations it has held until now.
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September 13, 2022

The Greatest Escapes of World War Two – WW2 Special

Filed under: Europe, France, Germany, History, Military, WW2 — Tags: , , , , , — Nicholas @ 04:00

World War Two
Published 12 Sep 2022

This is an intimate story inspired by real events (notably inspired by the story of a member of the Danish resistance and grandmother of Hans von Knut Skovfoged, Head of Development at PortaPlay. A story told not on the front line, but in the intimate setting of a small Danish village.
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September 5, 2022

Amon Göth: The Super Nazi – WAH 076 – September 4, 1943

Filed under: Britain, Europe, Germany, History, India, Military, WW2 — Tags: , , , , , — Nicholas @ 04:00

World War Two
Published 4 Sep 2022

While the Allies give up on the first Battle of Berlin, Amon Göth goes on a murderous rampage in the Tarnow Ghetto.
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September 4, 2022

The War is Four Years Old this week – WW2 – 210 – September 2, 1943

World War Two
Published 3 Sep 2022

Four years of war and no real end in sight, but as the week ends the Allies land their first troops on Italy, actively committing themselves to a front in Western Europe. In the USSR the Soviets are taking heavy casualties but still pushing back the enemy with big partisan help and in Pacific plans are made for offensive against yet more Japanese held islands.
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August 27, 2022

Prussia’s Rise & Denmark’s Decline: The Schleswig Wars 1848-1864

Filed under: Europe, History, Military — Tags: , , , , , — Nicholas @ 04:00

Real Time History
Publisheed 26 Aug 2022

The two Schleswig Wars of 1848-51 and 1864 mark an important period in European History. Intertwined with the 1848 revolutions, the First Schleswig War’s settlement tries to uphold the European status quo. But the unhappy belligerents soon find themselves at war again in 1864 when Prussian Prime Minister Otto von Bismarck uses the Second Schleswig War as a first step towards German unification.
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August 25, 2022

QotD: Scandinavian women

Filed under: Europe, Quotations — Tags: , , , — Nicholas @ 01:00

On my trips to this part of the world, I’ve noticed that women here are what we in America would call high maintenance. The men seem to put a lot of effort into doting on their women, while the women act like they deserve it plus more. In Copenhagen, I saw men pushing a cart in which their date would ride. Contrary to the Viking image, men in this part of the world seem almost henpecked. Given what we see with their politics, it’s clear that the culture veered into matriarchy at some point and politics followed.

Even if this is just a superficial affectation, it is interesting because of what we think caused the variety of eye colors, hair textures and hair colors in Northern European people. The most common explanation is that there was an imbalance between the sexes, as the males needed to engage in high risk activity like hunting large animals and fishing cold waters. The result was more girls than boys, which gave an edge to women with unusual eye and hair color, as far as the sexual marketplace.

A trait that offers an edge in terms of attracting a mate, especially for women in a world short of eligible men, is going to spread quickly. It would follow that women would be the pursuers, while the men could be indifferent. If things are the reverse today, then it suggests something important changed over the last many generations. Perhaps enough cads were killed off in wars to turn the tables, giving the doting males an edge. That would have changed the dynamic among women, making them high maintenance …

The Z Man, “Travelogue: Talinn”, The Z Blog, 2019-04-03.

April 9, 2022

Tank Chats #142 | Humber Scout Car | The Tank Museum

Filed under: Britain, Europe, France, History, Military, Weapons, WW2 — Tags: , , , , — Nicholas @ 02:00

The Tank Museum
Published 17 Dec 2021

Our Patreons have already enjoyed Early Access and AD free viewing of our weekly YouTube video! Consider becoming a Patreon Supporter today: https://www.patreon.com/tankmuseum

Join David Fletcher this week for a Tank Chat on Humber Scout Car which is a relative of the Daimler Dingo.

Timestamp:
00:00 – Intro
00:26 – What is the Humber Scout Car
4:23 – The Humber post war

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February 7, 2022

History Summarized: Vikings

Overly Sarcastic Productions
Published 14 Jul 2017

Huge thanks to our friend Shad at Shadiversity! Check out his channel for historical weaponry and much more: https://www.youtube.com/user/shadmbrooks

Grab your swords and hop in your longboats, because it’s time to learn a thing or two about the Vikings!

This video was produced with assistance from the Boston University Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program.

Thanks to patron Karl Erik L Hoftaniska for suggesting this topic!

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From the comments:

Finn Chitwood
4 years ago
In the words of a brilliant Icelandic magazine: “Viking was a seasonal, temporary occupation, not an ethnicity.”

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