John Kettler

Just finished the 2018 "T-34" film, which overall I thoroughly enjoyed. Thought it was vastly superior to "Fury" and was hugely relieved it was mostly movie and not head-breaking for me digital FX blazing into my brain. Looks to me as if a big chunk of change went into sets, soft-skins, AFVs (lots of OT-810s as 251s, I believe, and maybe a real Panther or two); PaK 40 was real. Production values were tremendous, strong story, well acted and great camera work. Director clearly knew his stuff. His film got great reviews on Amazon and truly deserved them. "White Tiger" is a farce by comparison. Crazy as the fight in that Russian village looked, I've seen dug in T-34s less than 10 meters from the road they were ambushing in the same sort of village. A Sherman rammed a King Tiger in Normandy, and there are a number of cases where Russian tankers rammed German ones. Panther traverse was pretty ponderous (to some degree true, especially with engine at idle), but Panzer III should've been faster. Love the demonstration of the impact even one well-fought tank can have on the enemy, especially starting with ambush fire. Last fight was stupid, but the visuals were great. From what I can tell, the Germans were done right, and it was delightful to hear Germans speak German (not British speaking English with a German accent) and Russians speak Russian. Was thrilled to see a T-34/76, too. The interior of a 76 mm Sherman is cavernous compared to a T-34/76. Has English subtitles for dialogue but unfortunately not for credits, so missed out on lots of things, but did learn it was filmed in Czechoslovakia, which I suspect should actually be the Czech Republic. Regards, John Kettler

Visions of War (Free on Prime or by free trial) has an episode on Tiger 131. In it, I learned why the crew bailed out after having the turret jammed. There was more two it than that, for that strike apparently also wounded the driver and the bow MG gunner/radio man as well, rendering the tank completely undriveable. Judging from a brief pic of a crude grave marker, both died. Things I'd read said a 6 pounder did the deed, but the Bovington guy said it was a75 mm AP (presumably US AP turned into shot) from a Churchill troop in which the Tiger had already brewed up one and wounded the crew in the other. Doc has a few glitches here and there, but has some great pics and footage, including 131 post capture, an official British Tiger recognition film, interview with Panzerwaffe expert Bob Carruthers, who did an unseen by me translation and annotation of of the Tigerfibel, the extended video of the Jagdtiger Kompanie (looks a bit bizarre, too, perhaps because of lens used). There's even a modeling segment. https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B01DEFZL2O/ref=pd_cbs_318_5 Regards, John Kettler

Am slogging through The Soviet Air Force in World War II:The Official Translation. Slogging because the information density is enormous, there are no maps, scarcely a table, let a lone a pie chart, histogram or anything else. On top of that is the whole Communist Party side of things and how it affects information presentation. There is so much information presented on what's done to the enemy and effects therefrom and hardly any comparative data on casualties inflicted by the Luftwaffe in the air or on the ground. Some of the claims are nothing short of astounding--air strikes hitting some part of the Tractor Works in Stalingrad every two to three minutes all night long. Luftwaffe losses, in air and on the ground, seem astronomic, to the point where I wonder how any air force could sustain them and have any ability to fight at all. Further, knowing what I know of the effectiveness of IX TAF in Europe vs armor, I view with great suspicion Russian claims, though admittedly generally against lighter armor than was the case in the run up to D-Day and beyond. Am in the period of the the Stalingrad counterattack. This is a most interesting book, but for me, it's exhausting to read it and makes the submarine and sub retrieval books I recently finished light reading by comparison. What I'd love to see, and likely never will, is a comprehensive analysis of this book, using the best information now available to separate facts from confusion, ignorance, willful thinking, embellishment or outright propaganda lies. https://www.amazon.com/Soviet-Air-Force-World-War/dp/0385047681 Regards, John Kettler

NYC subway weirdness. So much to see! Regards, John Kettler

Though normal expectation would be for the bottle to shatter on impact, in this instant of klutziness, it didn't, and the outcome was a fine physics demonstration on many fronts. Regards, John Kettler

Great article on military working dogs has a real curve ball in it. The dogs carry rank and are always one rank higher than the handler. To me, this is weird, since the handler has to be the alpha as head of the pack, for that is the normal way dogs operate with owners or handlers. Else the dog runs the latter, to all effects. When it's not that way; when the dog wasn't properly trained as to who was on top, you get situations in which the owner can be ignored by the dog, but where someone is willing to assert authority, the dog responds to commands otherwise ignored. For extra fun, try dealing with a 70 pound pit bull like this that has de facto PTSD from saving the owner from two other pit bulls, in a fearsome fight which nearly killed the heroic dog. As the mail marking goes "Special Handling Required." Have direct experience as the one the dog does listen to. https://www.businessinsider.com/why-dogs-in-the-military-always-outrank-their-handlers-2019-10?utm_content=bufferf3a6c&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer-politics&fbclid=IwAR2iUfLC0YWX6u9hw7wVyOXXiBvdfUIy7XF6_yyZJe7AD1ASro9UZPH9oE4 Regards, John Kettler

Get a load of this. It's an incredible handheld printer which can print on almost anything. Crowdfunding goal was USD 10,000, but with twelve days left, they've raised almost 2.5 million dollars! Regards, John Kettler

Here's a tour de force demonstration of balance, coordination and who knows what all else. He would best take these skills to SOF, circus or? Regards, John Kettler

This is a first for me in terms of a category classified information. The military K9 prominently featured and wounded in a high profile afterwards SOF raid has a classified name. Presume this is to prevent hostiles from targeting the dog, but still. Guess it should be viewed as an extension of PERSEC. This isn't quite as crazy as it sounds, when you consider that killing a police K9 in some states bears exactly the same legal penalty as killing a cop. Regards, John Kettler

Since on occasion I've been rightly accused of being prolix and overly thorough, I thought this incisive cartoon would be apt. It's so funny people just kept building on it in the FB thread. Regards, John Kettler

Where Barbie got hitched. Perfect, right? Regards, John Kettler

General Jack Ripper, Ref the locomotive, at least a) the drop was short and b) it somehow stayed right side up. Would imagine fixing all that impact damage to the locomotive is going to cost some fairly serious money. Shall have to go look at the link you gave. Regards, John Kettler

Has to be seen to be believed! Naturally, the meme wouldn't post properly. https://66.media.tumblr.com/618fda5aa0f69db1d5fb887faa85a026/tumblr_pyrvc6bSiu1vrc2qto1_500.jpg Not the usual animal rescue! https://ve.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_pxuaraGi7g1vmobp0_480.mp4 Regards, John Kettler

The brief was to depict the Sword of Damocles, but there were no swords to be had. Needs must improvise! Rigging this must've been quite the experience. Scenes with knives terrify me from a safety aspect. One sneeze or a cough on either end and disaster ensues. That's a real knife in the image. Regards, John Kettler

You have to be tough to be on the latex team, especially in summer. Just look at the cheerleader outfit! Nothing quite like a vigorous treadmill workout--barefoot and with Lego™ added! Long ago I stepped on a single 8 block barefoot. Ow!!! Can't begin to imagine how bad this insanity hurts. Nor do I know how that person is even standing, still less running, after even the first few. This is a kink shoot, but I prefer to think of it as being a test launch from a mobile rocket system of a very poor terrorist group. Don't try this at home! Regards, John Kettler

The Japanese are notorious for coming up with twisted games, but what if your sales force wasn't producing? "Okay, people, the two worst producers every month will be playing this! And , yes, that's a Madagascar hissing cockroach. Loser eats it." People have had to do exactly that on "Fear Factor." https://66.media.tumblr.com/363bb8347949431f72bbb0725e503e99/tumblr_pgq4cf0TmL1so15avo2_1280.gif Have long been fascinated by automatic industrial machinery. Believe these days there's also spot welding employed once the link has been formed. "You look amazing!" has been so overused it's become positively trite, but get a load of this hairdo. It's truly wearable art and every bit as ephemeral as a Tibetan mandala. Ingenious idea superbly realized. This is fetish attire, but I can't help think she's the wife of an important commander of those Sith Trooper units in one of the later Star Wars films. What do you think? Regards, John Kettler

How a female can find her dom--or at least a potential one. Or should a dom looking for a sub wear these? Either way, it's clever and a real conversation starter. Or apoplexy inducer! Great and loud were the lamentations of its former denizens. Regards, John Kettler

IMHO, As our ally and with the fix in directly from traitor and agent of influence extraordinaire Harry Hopkins, the Russians were effectively untouchable. Major Jordan tried to stop the blatant espionage he saw, but was so outgunned he could barely have been said to be armed. Would be willing to bet the patrols were there to protect the base from intruders, not stop Russian strangers from leaving the base immediately after arrival. Indeed, the sentries might well have been told to leave such people alone, maybe even forget they ever saw them. Regards, John Kettler

Aragorn2002, Emphatically concur. That was really a sight to behold, not to mention my despair to try to model on my wargame table! Thanks for posting this great find. Regards, John Kettler

Close, but no cigar. The small "K" is for "klein" or "little", rather than "kurz" or "short". Regards, John Kettler

For someone who used to religiously watch "The Lone Ranger" as a little boy, this is a wonderful and surprising read. Bass Reeves made his fictional and wrong race counterpart look like a wimp by comparison. His collar count is astounding and his feats amazing. https://allthatsinteresting.com/bass-reeves?fbclid=IwAR3UlD_NruWC2nuElHvgVpwoKyTHPWZhNb1muuoKStVkBj52faRFglZPXgY Regards, John Kettler

Hawthorne, Have you seen these? The history of the Israeli Carry given here credits Fairbairn (and Sykes) with having institutionalized carrying empty chamber in the early 1910s in the Shanghai Police. Not only is the article most informative, but the comments have lots of fascinating things to say with how Israeli carry does and doesn't apply in Israel today. https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/truth-israeli-carry/ This is a thoughtful analysis of the history, the pros and cons of the Israeli carry. Again, recommend you peruse the comments. https://thinkinggunfighter.blogspot.com/2010/09/myths-of-israeli-method-of-carry-or-why.html Regards, John Kettler

Found this informative and well-illustrated article(also has embedded vid) on female samurai (whom I'd not heard of before tonight) posted on FB. The Comments offer rich pickings on the OT and other matters, too. https://nextshark.com/samurai-women-history-forgot/?fbclid=IwAR382BpSj07_1dz-EG6wG1HvOFQW0ice5n-OlqWo6A2Gbmv7onS8i0H-KAA Regards, John Kettler

rocketman, You're most welcome. CARL is like having an entire network of gold mines, so great are the treasures it holds. Michael Emrys, If you happen to think of the title of the book or the author, please post. Also, have this nagging faint memory that I read a CGSC Staff Study on Jedburgh ops and recall the results weren't that much. On a separate note, I expect to be in your neck of the woods over a TBD time in November and possibly extending into early December. We're supposed to have tea and scones per your invitation, I believe. No word on Lemon Curd or Double Devon Clotted Cream! Regards, John Kettler

The US military has and uses specialist EOD robots, but what it hasn't had is an integrated multi-mission robot that's man-portable, too. The Army has been conducting highly realistic testing of what it calls the CRS-1 (Combat Robot System), and its array of capabilities far exceeds that of robots so big and heavy they require motor transport. It can perform many roles, has a hand/s instead of the usual gripper claw and responds to natural voice commands. Though CRS-1 is in test, would say the safe money is that US SOF, starting with Navy SEALS, almost certainly has something similar, if not more capable. Let's face it. Tier One SOF gets the toys before the line doggies. https://www.sofmag.com/army-researchers-test-human-like-robots-individual-portable-robots/ Regards, John Kettler