Quotulatiousness

March 7, 2021

The Japanese Raid Australia and the British Raid France – WW2 – 132 – March 6, 1942

World War Two
Published 6 Mar 2021

The Japanese advance in Burma continues, threatening Rangoon, and also make landings on Java and New Guinea. They even go so far as an air raid on Broome, Australia. The British are making raids of their own this week, Operation Biting against Bruneval in German-occupied France. As for the Germans themselves, 100,000 of them are still surrounded by the Red Army at Demyansk, and Hitler is told that the Soviets might have enough reserves to defend against a renewed summer offensive.

Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TimeGhostHistory
Or join The TimeGhost Army directly at: https://timeghost.tv

Follow WW2 day by day on Instagram @ww2_day_by_day – https://www.instagram.com/ww2_day_by_day
Between 2 Wars: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list…
Source list: http://bit.ly/WW2sources

Written and Hosted by: Indy Neidell
Director: Astrid Deinhard
Producers: Astrid Deinhard and Spartacus Olsson
Executive Producers: Astrid Deinhard, Indy Neidell, Spartacus Olsson, Bodo Rittenauer
Creative Producer: Maria Kyhle
Post-Production Director: Wieke Kapteijns
Research by: Indy Neidell
Edited by: Iryna Dulka
Sound design: Marek Kamiński
Map animations: Eastory (https://www.youtube.com/c/eastory​)

Colorizations by:
– Mikołaj Uchman
– Olga Shirnina, a.k.a. Klimbim – https://klimbim2014.wordpress.com/
– Cassowary Colorizations – https://www.cassowarycolor.com/
– Norman Stewart – https://oldtimesincolor.blogspot.com/​

Sources:
– IWM: O1962, CH 16518, IWM A 9580, IWM A 9584
– Arrow by 4B Icons from the Noun Project

Soundtracks from the Epidemic Sound:
– Rannar Sillard – “Easy Target”
– Jo Wandrini – “Dragon King”
– Howard Harper-Barnes – “Underlying Truth”
– Fabien Tell – “Last Point of Safe Return”
– Phoenix Tail – “At the Front”
– Howard Harper-Barnes – “London”
– Flouw – “A Far Cry”
– Johan Hynynen – “Dark Beginning”
– Wendel Scherer – “Out the Window”

Archive by Screenocean/Reuters https://www.screenocean.com​.

A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.

From the comments:

World War Two
3 days ago (edited)
CORRECTION: In this episode, Indy says that Franz Halder estimates German losses in the USSR to be up 1.5 million by March 1st. In actuality, Halder estimated them to be 1 million. A simple brain freeze when Indy was writing the script meant that he read out the incorrect statistics on the teleprompter. The vast majority of the time, our fact-checkers ensure this doesn’t happen — unfortunately, this one slipped through the cracks.

MAIN COMMENT: The Japanese are still advancing seemingly everywhere, even raiding Australia. In Europe, the German death camp system sees new facilities open this month and kicks into a higher gear.

February 17, 2021

Communist Amazons – Women of the Red Army – WW2 Special

Filed under: History, Military, Russia, WW2 — Tags: , , , , — Nicholas @ 04:00

World War Two
Published 16 Feb 2021

Hundreds of thousands of Soviet Women were deployed in the Red Army and Red Navy during World War Two. They served in a multitude of functions, from traditional roles like nurses to roles previously associated with men. They were pilots, snipers, tank-crews, and fought on the very front of the lines.

Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TimeGhostHistory
Or join The TimeGhost Army directly at: https://timeghost.tv

Follow WW2 day by day on Instagram @ww2_day_by_day – https://www.instagram.com/ww2_day_by_day
Between 2 Wars: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list…
Source list: http://bit.ly/WW2sources

Hosted by: Indy Neidell
Written by: Joram Appel
Director: Astrid Deinhard
Producers: Astrid Deinhard and Spartacus Olsson
Executive Producers: Astrid Deinhard, Indy Neidell, Spartacus Olsson, Bodo Rittenauer
Creative Producer: Maria Kyhle
Post-Production Director: Wieke Kapteijns
Research by: Joram Appel
Edited by: Karolina Dołęga
Sound design: Marek Kamiński

Colorizations by:
– Klimbim
– Daniel Weiss

Sources:
– National Archives NARA
– Woman and Man in 1930s Soviet Propaganda Poster courtesy of Adam Jones from Flickr
– Yad Vashem: 953
– Library of Congress
– RIA Novosti archive
– Bundesarchiv

Soundtracks from Epidemic Sound:
– “The Inspector 4” – Johannes Bornlöf
– “London” – Howard Harper-Barnes
– “Dark Beginning” – Johan Hynynen
– “Other Sides of Glory” – Fabien Tell
– “Break Free” – Fabien Tell
– “Deviation In Time” – Johannes Bornlof
– “Ominous” – Philip Ayers
– “Moving to Disturbia” – Experia

Archive by Screenocean/Reuters https://www.screenocean.com​.

A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.

From the comments:

World War Two
5 hours ago (edited)
Because of the pandemic, we have not been able to publish episodes of On the Homefront for a while. But don’t worry, we’re working on a new episode, which should arrive in your subscription box this spring. Now, we have made an On the Homefront episode which offers some great context to this episode on Women in the Soviet Armies. It is about (the myth of) Soviet Gender Equality, and you can watch it right here: https://youtu.be/zLcHbUrnl6Q

February 12, 2021

Britain Chooses War Crimes – RAF Strategic Bombing – WAH 028 – February 1942, Pt. 1

World War Two
Published 11 Feb 2021

As the winter of 1942 continues, many Soviet civilians suffer under the German Siege of Leningrad. Meanwhile, the British are shifting their bombing strategy from targeting factories to targeting homes.

Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TimeGhostHistory
Or join The TimeGhost Army directly at: https://timeghost.tv

Follow WW2 day by day on Instagram @ww2_day_by_day – https://www.instagram.com/ww2_day_by_day
Between 2 Wars: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list…
Source list: http://bit.ly/WW2sources

Hosted by: Spartacus Olsson
Written by: Joram Appel and Spartacus Olsson
Director: Astrid Deinhard
Producers: Astrid Deinhard and Spartacus Olsson
Executive Producers: Astrid Deinhard, Indy Neidell, Spartacus Olsson, Bodo Rittenauer
Creative Producer: Maria Kyhle
Post-Production Director: Wieke Kapteijns
Research by: Joram Appel
Edited by: Miki Cackowski
Sound design: Marek Kamiński
Map animations: Eastory (https://www.youtube.com/c/eastory​)

Colorizations by:
Norman Stewart – https://oldtimesincolor.blogspot.com/​
Daniel Weiss

Sources:
USHMM
Bundesarchiv
Yad Vashem 2695/7, 5761/12
IWM MH 24747
RIA Novosti archive, image #762, #244
from the Noun Project:
Skull by Muhamad Ulum

Soundtracks from the Epidemic Sound:
Reynard Seidel – “Deflection”
Fabien Tell – “Last Point of Safe Return”
Farrell Wooten – “Blunt Object”
Jo Wandrini – “Dawn Of Civilization”
Wendel Scherer – “Defeated”
Jon Bjork – “Icicles”
Gunnar Johnsen – “Not Safe Yet”
Peter Sandberg – “Document This 1”

Archive by Screenocean/Reuters https://www.screenocean.com​.

A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.

From the comments:

World War Two
4 hours ago
We are covering the RAF’s bombing campaigns in the War Against Humanity series because it concerns warfare against the civilian population. On previous occasions, we have been accused of relativizing Nazi’s war-crimes by covering Allied atrocities in the same space, but we argue that for a fact-based reporting on how WW2 impacted the civilian population we need to be complete and unbiased.

The facts speak for themselves, and we document those facts that by providing an exhaustive record with equal coverage of all events and parties. Covering one event doesn’t relativize or justify the other and vice versa. We will not tolerate any whataboutism in the comments.

We will also not tolerate a justification of these crimes based on pragmatism, or equal proportionality — on an absolute moral level the goal never justifies the means. In this case we look at our comment section from a 21st century perspective and hold ourselves and anyone using our forums to the modern standards laid down in the laws of war. Explaining, analyzing and discussing war crimes and crimes against humanity is fine, even desired — celebrating, hailing, or justifying them is not.

February 6, 2021

From an improbable 1930s “death ray” to the radar network that helped defeat the Blitz

Filed under: Britain, History, Military, Science, Technology, WW2 — Tags: , , , — Nicholas @ 03:00

In a story from a few years back, Tim Harford outlines how a British Air Ministry prize for developing a “death ray” to use against enemy aircraft eventually helped kick off the discovery of radar:

The Chain Home radar tower in Great Baddow Chelmsford.
Photo by Stuart166axe via Wikimedia Commons.

… sometimes inventions need other inventions to unlock their full potential.

For the aviation industry, that story starts with the invention of the death ray, or at least an attempt to design a death ray, back in 1935.

Officials in the British Air Ministry were worried about falling behind Nazi Germany in the technological arms race.

The death ray idea intrigued them: they had been offering a £1,000 prize for anyone who could zap a sheep at a hundred paces. So far, nobody had claimed it.

But should they fund more active research? Was a death ray even possible?

Unofficially, they sounded out Robert Watson Watt, of the Radio Research Station.

And he posed an abstract maths question to his colleague Skip Wilkins.

“Suppose, just suppose,” said Watson Watt to Wilkins, “that you had eight pints of water, 1km [3,000ft] above the ground.

“And suppose that water was at 98F [37C], and you wanted to heat it to 105F.

“How much radio frequency power would you require, from a distance of 5km?”

Skip Wilkins was no fool.

He knew that eight pints was the amount of blood in an adult human, 98F was normal body temperature and 105F was warm enough to kill you, or at least make you pass out, which — if you’re behind the controls of an aeroplane — amounts to much the same thing.

So Wilkins and Watson Watt understood each other, and they quickly agreed the death ray was hopeless: it would take too much power.

But they also saw an opportunity.

Clearly, the ministry had some cash to spend on research. Perhaps Watson Watt and Wilkins could propose some alternative way for them to spend it?

Wilkins pondered. It might be possible, he suggested, to transmit radio waves and detect — from the echoes — the location of oncoming aircraft long before they could be seen.

Watson Watt dashed off a memo to the Air Ministry’s newly formed Committee for the Scientific Survey of Air Defence. Would they be interested in pursuing such an idea? They would indeed.

What Skip Wilkins was describing became known as radar.

December 18, 2020

“Firestorm” – Strategic or Terror Bombing? – Sabaton History 098 [Official]

Filed under: Britain, Germany, History, Japan, Media, Military, USA, WW2 — Tags: , , , , — Nicholas @ 04:00

Sabaton History
Published 17 Dec 2020

At the end of July 1943, Hamburg burned. A fleet of British heavy bombers had dropped thousands of incendiaries over the city, turning it into a hearth of unprecedented dimensions. Numerous major fires merged together into a single storm of fire. Structures combusted under the immense heat, as strong winds drove the inferno through the streets at rapid speed. Craving for more oxygen, the firestorm sucked human bodies into the flames and immediately incinerated or mummified them. Thousands of others died slowly of carbon monoxide poisoning in their shelters. By the end of the raid, 60% of Hamburg had been burned out and more than 35,000 of its inhabitants were dead. But while the Germans were shocked to disbelief, for the British the firestorm has worked as intended. And this was just the beginning.

Support Sabaton History on Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/sabatonhistory

Listen to “Firestorm” on the album The Art of War: https://music.sabaton.net/TheArtOfWar

Listen to Sabaton on Spotify: http://smarturl.it/SabatonSpotify
Official Sabaton Merchandise Shop: http://bit.ly/SabatonOfficialShop

Hosted by: Indy Neidell
Written by: Markus Linke and Indy Neidell
Directed by: Astrid Deinhard and Wieke Kapteijns
Produced by: Pär Sundström, Astrid Deinhard and Spartacus Olsson
Creative Producer: Maria Kyhle
Executive Producers: Pär Sundström, Joakim Brodén, Tomas Sunmo, Indy Neidell, Astrid Deinhard, and Spartacus Olsson
Community Manager: Maria Kyhle
Post-Production Director: Wieke Kapteijns
Editor: Karolina Dołęga
Sound Editor: Marek Kamiński
Maps by: Eastory – https://www.youtube.com/c/eastory
Archive: Reuters/Screenocean – https://www.screenocean.com

Colorized by:
Norman Stewart – https://oldtimesincolor.blogspot.com/

Sources:
Imperial War Museums: C3677,HU 63075, HU 63089, MH 27517, CL3400, MH 24747,CL3395, MH 24764, CH 6386, CH 6386, CH 6275, CH 15879, C 3371, CH 18371, C 3918, C2367, HU44269, C 4748, PST 14359, C 4973,
Bundesarchiv
National Archives NARA
Icons from the Noun Project: Arrow by 4B Icons, Bomb by P Thanga Vignesh, fire building by dDara, Skull by Muhamad Ulum

All music by: Sabaton

An OnLion Entertainment GmbH and Raging Beaver Publishing AB co-Production.

© Raging Beaver Publishing AB, 2019 – all rights reserved.

December 4, 2020

“The Red Baron Pt. 2” – Kings of the Sky – Sabaton History 096 [Official]

Filed under: France, Germany, History, Media, Military, WW1 — Tags: , , , , , — Nicholas @ 04:00

Sabaton History
Published 3 Dec 2020

They were the Aces in the sky — proud knights who flew their planes into deadly combat. Loved by the public, feared by their enemies, the victorious pilots of the Great War rose to prominence as gallant heroes. But the personal stories of those celebrated pilots were also memories full of excruciating pain, of terrible loss, and inner struggle. Body and mind of those aces were broken by the constant danger of fighting in the air. Those who survived bore more than a few scars.

Support Sabaton History on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/sabatonhistory

Listen to “The Red Baron” on the album The Great War: https://music.sabaton.net/TheGreatWar

Watch the Official Lyrics Video of “The Red Baron” here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PXzg…

Listen to Sabaton on Spotify: http://smarturl.it/SabatonSpotify
Official Sabaton Merchandise Shop: http://bit.ly/SabatonOfficialShop

Hosted by: Indy Neidell
Written by: Markus Linke and Indy Neidell
Directed by: Astrid Deinhard and Wieke Kapteijns
Produced by: Pär Sundström, Astrid Deinhard and Spartacus Olsson
Creative Producer: Maria Kyhle
Executive Producers: Pär Sundström, Joakim Brodén, Tomas Sunmo, Indy Neidell, Astrid Deinhard, and Spartacus Olsson
Community Manager: Maria Kyhle
Post-Production Director: Wieke Kapteijns
Editor: Karolina Dołęga
Sound Editor: Marek Kamiński
Maps by: Eastory – https://www.youtube.com/c/eastory
Archive: Reuters/Screenocean – https://www.screenocean.com

Sources:
– National Archives NARA
– Imperial War Museums: EB1911, Q33851, Q33725, Q33875, Q23897, Q 105765, ART 1611, Q 63852, Q 63850, Q 93660, Q 55479, Q 60799, Q 10331, Q 67114, Q 66540,
– Library of Congress
– The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
– Wellcome Images
– Icons form The Nano Project: iron cross By Souvik Maity, IN ld Plane by LUTFI GANI AL ACHMAD,
– planes of World War 1 courtesy of 11Amanda on Wikimedia Commons

All music by: Sabaton

An OnLion Entertainment GmbH and Raging Beaver Publishing AB co-Production.

© Raging Beaver Publishing AB, 2019 – all rights reserved.

November 11, 2020

In memoriam

Filed under: Britain, History, Military, WW1, WW2 — Tags: , , — Nicholas @ 03:00

A simple recognition of some of our family members who served in the First and Second World Wars:

The Great War

  • A Poppy is to RememberPrivate William Penman, Scots Guards, died 16 May, 1915 at Le Touret, age 25
    (Elizabeth’s great uncle)
  • Private Archibald Turner Mulholland, Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders, mortally wounded 25 September, 1915 at Loos, age 27
    (Elizabeth’s great uncle)
  • Private David Buller, Highland Light Infantry, died 21 October, 1915 at Loos, age 35
    (Elizabeth’s great grandfather)
  • Private Harold Edgar Brand, East Yorkshire Regiment. died 4 June, 1917 at Tournai.
    (My first cousin, three times removed)
  • Private Walter Porteous, Durham Light Infantry, died 4 October, 1917 at Passchendaele, age 18
    (my great uncle)
  • Corporal John Mulholland, Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders, wounded 2 September, 1914 (shortly before the First Battle of the Aisne), wounded again 29 June, 1918, lived through the war.
    (Elizabeth’s great uncle)

The Second World War

  • Flying Officer Richard Porteous, RAF, survived the defeat in Malaya and lived through the war
    (my great uncle)
  • Able Seaman John Penman, RN, served in the Defensively Equipped Merchant fleet on the Murmansk Run (and other convoy routes), lived through the war
    (Elizabeth’s father)
  • Private Archie Black (commissioned after the war and retired as a Major), Gordon Highlanders, captured at Singapore (aged 15) and survived a Japanese POW camp
    (Elizabeth’s uncle)
  • Elizabeth Buller, “Lumberjill” in the Women’s Land Army in Scotland through the war.
    (Elizabeth’s mother)
  • Trooper Leslie Taplan Russon, 3rd Royal Tank Regiment, died at Tobruk, 19 December, 1942 (aged 23).
    Leslie was my father’s first cousin, once removed (and therefore my first cousin, twice removed).

For the curious, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission the Royal British Legion, and the Library and Archives Canada WW1 and WW2 records site provide search engines you can use to look up your family name. The RBL’s Every One Remembered site shows you everyone who died in the Great War in British or Empire service (Canadians, Australians, New Zealanders, South Africans and other Imperial countries). The CWGC site also includes those who died in the Second World War. Library and Archives Canada allows searches of the Canadian Expeditionary Force and the Royal Newfoundland Regiment for all who served during WW1, and including those who volunteered for the CEF but were not accepted.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD Canadian Army Medical Corps (1872-1918)

October 23, 2020

QotD: Every military organization

Filed under: Bureaucracy, Humour, Military, Quotations — Tags: , , , — Nicholas @ 01:00

Regardless of T.O., all military bureaucracies consist of a Surprise Party Department, a Practical Joke Department, and a Fairy Godmother Department. The first two process most matters as the third is very small; the Fairy Godmother Department is one elderly female GS-5 clerk usually out on sick leave.

Robert A. Heinlein, Glory Road, 1963.

October 6, 2020

⚜ | The Great Tank Destruction Myth ft. The Chieftain

Filed under: Britain, Germany, History, Military, Russia, USA, WW2 — Tags: , , , , — Nicholas @ 02:00

Military Aviation History
Published 24 May 2018

Planes kill tanks in the thousands, Sir! Why, do they really? Lets find out.

You can support my Channel with Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Bismarck

Get a tanker’s perspective from ‘The Chieftain’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AirRX…

⚜ Official Merchanidizing ⚜
[Teepublic] Click here – https://goo.gl/e2PMXu

⚜ Find Me On Social Media ⚜
– Twitch: http://www.twitch.tv/bis18marck70
– Twitter: https://twitter.com/Bis18marck70

⚜ Sources ⚜
Ian Gooderson, Air Power at the Battlefield
Amazon US (Affiliate): https://amzn.to/2GLsRkR
Amazon UK (Affiliate): https://amzn.to/2IJc08g

Tank Encyclopedia.org,

Zeller, “Estimates concerning the effectiveness of some contemporary American fighters in
defeating a defended and undefended IS-III tank”,

⚜ Music ⚜
Music and Sfx from Epidemic Sound

⚜ DISCLAIMER ⚜
Amazon Associates Program (US): “Bismarck is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.”

Amazon Associates Program (UK): “Bismarck is a participant in the Amazon EU Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.co.uk.”

#CAS #GroundAttack #Typhoon

September 17, 2020

Britain’s technological edge in the Battle of Britain

Filed under: Britain, Germany, History, Military, Technology, WW2 — Tags: , , , , — Nicholas @ 03:00

Over at The Register, Gareth Corfield lists some of the advanced technological kit the Royal Air Force had access to during the Battle of Britain in 1940:

Restored Battle of Britain operations room in an underground bunker at former RAF station Uxbridge.
Photo by Ian Mansfield via Wikimedia Commons.

Technology played its part, mostly behind the scenes – yes, we mean the backroom boffins – in equipping Britain to hold firm and defeat the Germans. As today’s commemorations focus on the pilots and ground crew who saw off the Luftwaffe, spare a thought for the technologists whose efforts also saved the western world.

The Chain Home Tower in Great Baddow Chelmsford.
Photo by Stuart166axe via Wikimedia Commons.

Radar and radio

Chief among the technological innovations that gave the RAF the edge was radar. In the 1930s Britain was one of the world leaders in radar (thanks in part to a bizarre and unsuccessful experiment to kill sheep with a death ray) leading to the building of radar stations all around the British coast.

Sir Robert Watson-Watt, today regarded as the father of radar, was instrumental in devising a method of bouncing radio waves off a flying aeroplane to figure out its location. He turned that 1935 concept into the fully operational Chain Home and Chain Home Low air defence networks inside four years.

Without radar, the RAF was totally reliant on humans with binoculars spotting incoming formations of German bombers; radar gave the air force an early warning capability as hostile aircraft formed up over France before crossing the Channel.

Before radar came radio direction-finding. The RAF’s Home Defence Units were first established in the 1920s and mastered the art of pinpointing an aeroplane’s location from radio transmissions made by its pilots. Though less high profile than radar, the HDUs’ activities allowed the RAF to “see” beyond the range of radar as Luftwaffe bomber formations, transmitting to each other over France, formed up ready for a raid over British soil.

Signals intelligence and compsci

Not far behind radar was the crucial role of what was then the Government Communications and Cipher School (GC&CS), based at Bletchley Park. Today the site is home to the National Museum of Computing but in the dark days of the 1940s it was where codebreakers deciphered German military communications.

Breaking Nazi Germany’s encryption was a vast task, and in the days before computers extremely labour intensive; between 9,000 and 12,000 personnel worked at Bletchley during the Second World War. The demands of RAF and other military commanders for speedy decryption of enemy messages directly contributed to the development of early computer science; Alan Turing worked at Bletchley Park, helping devise improvements to electromechanical crypto-breaking machines that resulted in the Bombe, a very early computer.

September 8, 2020

British Cabin Pressure Flare Pistols (Quite Unusual)

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

Forgotten Weapons
Published 8 Oct 2018

https://www.forgottenweapons.com/brit…

http://www.patreon.com/ForgottenWeapons

Cool Forgotten Weapons merch! http://shop.bbtv.com/collections/forg…

Signal flares were an important communications tool for aircraft during World War Two, and a multitude of flare pistol types exist with mounting brackets for aerial use. The introduction of pressurized fuselages made this a much more difficult proposition, however. These two flare pistols were designed by the British to maintain the pressurized seal of an aircraft body while still allowing firing and reloading through a pivoting mount and system of seals. I bet you haven’t seen something quite like these before!

Contact:
Forgotten Weapons
PO Box 87647
Tucson, AZ 85754

If you enjoy Forgotten Weapons, check out its sister channel, InRangeTV! http://www.youtube.com/InRangeTVShow

August 19, 2020

The Luftwaffe and Barbarossa, Part II – No Longer Masters of the Sky – WW2 Special

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

World War Two
Published 18 Aug 2020

As Barbarossa unfolds and the Germans take ever more Soviet territory, they have ever fewer planes with which to fly over it. What does this mean for the forces on the ground? What does this mean for their other theaters of war?

Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TimeGhostHistory
Or join The TimeGhost Army directly at: https://timeghost.tv

Follow WW2 day by day on Instagram @World_war_two_realtime https://www.instagram.com/world_war_two_realtime
Between 2 Wars: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list…
Source list: http://bit.ly/WW2sources

Written and Hosted by: Indy Neidell
Director: Astrid Deinhard
Producers: Astrid Deinhard and Spartacus Olsson
Executive Producers: Astrid Deinhard, Indy Neidell, Spartacus Olsson, Bodo Rittenauer
Creative Producer: Joram Appel
Post-Production Director: Wieke Kapteijns
Research by: Indy Neidell
Edited by: Miki Cackowski
Sound design: Marek Kamiński
Map animations: Eastory (https://www.youtube.com/c/eastory)

Colorizations by:
Dememorabilia – https://www.instagram.com/dememorabilia/
Cassowary – https://www.flickr.com/photos/cassowa…
Norman Stewart – https://oldtimesincolor.blogspot.com/
Election1960 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Ca…

Sources:
Bundesarchiv
Stuka by Kaboldy https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi…
from the Noun Project: Bomb by A184, explosion by Nico Tzogalis, Deteriorated building by Tokka Elkholy, Skull by Muhamad Ulum, Air Crash by Lee Mette

Soundtracks from the Epidemic Sound:
Rannar Sillard – “March Of The Brave 4”
Max Anson – “Maze Heist”
Philip Ayers – “Trapped in a Maze”
Johan Hynynen – “Dark Beginning”
Fabien Tell – “Last Point of Safe Return”

Archive by Screenocean/Reuters https://www.screenocean.com.

A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.

July 8, 2020

The Luftwaffe and Barbarossa – WW2 Special

Filed under: Germany, History, Military, WW2 — Tags: , , , — Nicholas @ 06:00

World War Two
Published 7 Jul 2020

Unlike the German Army, which for the most part had many idle months over the past year, the German Air Force — the Luftwaffe — has seen constant action in the Battle of Britain and the Mediterranean Theater. How did this affect its preparations and plans for the invasion of the Soviet Union?

Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TimeGhostHistory
Or join The TimeGhost Army directly at: https://timeghost.tv

Follow WW2 day by day on Instagram @World_war_two_realtime https://www.instagram.com/world_war_two_realtime
Between 2 Wars: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list…
Source list: http://bit.ly/WW2sources

Written and Hosted by: Indy Neidell
Director: Astrid Deinhard
Producers: Astrid Deinhard and Spartacus Olsson
Executive Producers: Astrid Deinhard, Indy Neidell, Spartacus Olsson, Bodo Rittenauer
Creative Producer: Joram Appel
Post-Production Director: Wieke Kapteijns
Research by: Indy Neidell
Edited by: Mikołaj Cackowski
Sound design: Marek Kamiński
Map animations: Eastory (https://www.youtube.com/c/eastory)

Colorizations by:
Jaris Almazani (Artistic Man), https://instagram.com/artistic.man?ig…
Dememorabilia – https://www.instagram.com/dememorabilia/
Cassowary Colorizations https://www.flickr.com/photos/cassowa…

Sources:
Messerschmitt Bf 110, courtesy ElwoodB https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi…
Junkers_Ju_87B-2_Stuka by Kaboldy https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi…
Bundesarchiv
IWM E 3064E, E 3066E, A 4153

Soundtracks from the Epidemic Sound:
Phoenix Tail – “At the Front”
Johannes Bornlof – “The Inspector 4”
Reynard Seidel – “Deflection”
Philip Ayers – “Trapped In A Maze”
Rannar Sillard – “March Of The Brave 4”
Fabien Tell – “Last Point Of Safe Return”
Johan Hynynen – “Dark Beginning”

Archive by Screenocean/Reuters https://www.screenocean.com.

A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.

July 4, 2020

Australian defence expansion – “We’re not talking about Canada”

Filed under: Australia, China, Government, Military — Tags: , , , — Nicholas @ 05:00

The Australian government has embarked on a ten-year military expansion program that is clearly directed against recent Chinese bullying in the region:

HMAS Adelaide (LHD 01) and HMAS Canberra (LHD 02), based on the Spanish navy’s Juan Carlos I landing helicopter dock built by Navantia, and commissioned in November 2014 (Canberra) and December 2015 (Adelaide).
Photo by Tony Hisgett via Wikimedia Commons.

[Australian PM] Scott Morrison has unveiled a more aggressive defence strategy aimed at countering the rise of China, while warning that Australia faces regional challenges on a scale not seen since World War II.

The strategy increases the focus on the Indo-Pacific region, with the Prime Minister warning that Australia needs to prepare for a post-COVID-19 world that is “poorer, more dangerous and more disorderly”.

Australia will build a larger military that is focused on its immediate backyard, including new long-range anti-ship missiles, signalling a major shift in the nation’s defence strategy.

“We have not seen the conflation of global economic and strategic uncertainty now being experienced here in Australia in our region since the existential threat we faced when the global and regional order collapsed in the 1930s and 1940s,” the Prime Minister warned.

Mr Morrison also announced a commitment to spend $270 billion over the next decade on defence capabilities, including more potent strike weapons, cyber capabilities and a high-tech underwater surveillance system.

Over the four years, the Australian Defence Force (ADF) is expected to grow by 800 people, comprising 650 extra personnel for the Navy, 100 for the Air Force, and 50 for the Army.

According to Defence’s 2019-20 Budget Statement, the ADF was estimated to grow to 60,090 by this year, with 16,272 full-time public service staff.

Its budget was expected to grow to 2 per cent of Australia’s gross domestic product by 2020-21, “equating to approximately $200 billion in Australia’s defence capability over 10 years”, making the new announcement an increase of $70 billion to the department.

In a speech at the Australian Defence Force Academy Mr Morrison argued the Indo-Pacific is the “epicentre” of rising strategic competition and “the risk of miscalculation — and even conflict — is heightening”.

June 27, 2020

QotD: The cost of military equipment

Major military hardware is produced in only limited quantities and involves a massive amount of research, development, and engineering before the first unit goes into service. Because of this, the companies that build it are rarely willing to take the risk of paying for the development themselves and recovering the cost from the units that they sell. What if the customer suddenly decides to cut their buy in half? To avoid this problem, development is paid for by the customer separately from procurement of each item. Well, more or less. The actual answer varies with each particular system, accounting method, and time of the month. But in general, costs break down that way.

So why does this cause so much confusion? Well, it all has to do with what gets reported. Someone who is trying to make the case that some program is outrageously expensive and should be cancelled is going to lump together development and procurement, divide by the number of systems involved, and then publish the resulting number. But, particularly when we’re discussing the cost of a system about to enter production, that’s very different from the actual numbers. To give a well-known example, the B-2 is generally reputed to have cost about $2 billion/plane in the 90s. However, this is the total program cost divided by the 21 airframes. If we’d decided to buy 22 B-2s instead of the 21 we did buy, the extra plane would have cost only $700 million or so. Admittedly, the B-2 is a rather extreme case, and usually the share of R&D cost is less than the procurement (flyaway) cost, but it’s illustrative of the power of this kind of framing.

“bean”, “Military Procurement – Pricing”, Naval Gazing, 2018-03-09.

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