gunnergoz

Here's my perspective: Anyone want to buy a barely used XBox system with exras? Oh, yes, I'm serious...

Speaking for myself, as I read the question I had a sudden flash of being there in the tank myself, and it went something like this: (while mumbling prayer for self-salvation...) "...Holy Mary MOTHER OF GOD whatinhellwasthat?" (The latter would likely be accompanied by squishing sound from suddenly wet tank crew seat.) That was a very unexpected and powerful moment of fantasy, I tell you...time to go git the Scotch and settle self down. Thanks for the question, lad, it made my day!

Apart from some individual uses of boxes, backpacks, sandbags and chicken wire that I've seen in period photos, almost nothing was done to the US WW2 halftrack to upgrade it during the war (after the main M3A2 version came out, at least). What the army did, was experiment during and just after the war with covered halftracks, utility tracks (M-39), three-quarter tracks and finally settled upon the idea of the fully-tracked, fully-covered battle taxi that evolved from the behemoth M-44 (think of an entire platoon conveniently carried in a gasoline cooker) M-75 to M-59 to M-113 (don't even begin to ask about the army's eccentric and illogical M-series numbering system... :confused: ). Hope this answers your question, or at least starts you in the right direction. [ February 05, 2003, 11:58 PM: Message edited by: gunnergoz ]

Nothing hard except my (admittely imperfect) memory of seeing lots of photos of il duce. I'm originally Italian-born and have had access to a lot of Italian language books and sources over the years. But then, as the previous exchange may bear out, I'm not always right. But he still doesn't look like Mussolini to me...

OK, I looked up my primary reference tool (Stanton, Shelby; World War II Order of Battle...an encyclopedic reference book for all US Army WW2 ground force organizatins, battalion through division): 546th Field Artillery Battalion (155mm Gun, Truck-Drawn); Organized 18 Apr 44, Cp. Shelby Miss.; Demobilized 5 Jan 46, Cp. Patrick Henry, Va. Left US via NY port of entry/exit 3 Jan 45; Battle credits = France-ETO 16 Jan 45. August, 1945 location was Baumholder, Germany. BTW, there was also a 546th AAAW Battalion active during the same period, hence the confusion entirely on my part. Hope this helps, sorry for the red herring about AAAW...that's what happens when you use Google instead of a known reliable source! :eek:

Good research, MasterGoodale. My guess (I'm not near my primary sources at the moment) is that the 546th, like a lot of AAAW battalions at the end of the war, was converted to field artillery to support the final drive on the German homeland. By then, there were darn few German aircraft to defend against. A lot of other AA units were broken up and their troops were fed into the infantry as replacements...gulp! I know that the 546th went on in later years to be re-assigned to AA work. Other battalions in that number series were also AAAW.

MasterGoodale...The WW2 546th Artillery was an automatic weapons anti-aircraft battalion...they had 40mm and 50-cal quad weapons. No long toms there. Could we be speaking of a number mixup? Here's their veteran's association address: 546th Anti Aircraft Artillery Battalion, Btry B Mr. Roger A. Pahl 623 9th Avenue SW Cedar Rapids, IA 52404-1950 (319) 365-9355

Not Mussolini, nope. Don't know who it is, but it's not il duce.

The team who create the BFC games are a very small, focused group with extremely finite resources and time to do their job. Speaking for myself only, I would not care to see the team take a single moment of time away from the massive task of an engine re-write, to take on some new side-path that will appeal to only a minority of CM fans. Anyway, if your idea appeals to The Team, wild horses couldn't keep the idea from being implemented, no matter what the fan base thinks. My guess is that the concept, interesting to some as it may well be, will not make the cut because there are far too many other important upgrades to be worked on for the new engine. Just my two bits...

Of course, what would be really killer would be the ability to wander in 3D over the entire battle movie, just as we can now in the individual moment segments. That would rock! (I'm an old fart...is "rock" the appropriate word to use here?

I thought this same fellow just said that the lack of blood and guts was the most unrealistic part of the game... Wish folks would make up their minds! Combat Mission IV: No Gun Ri to My Lai; see it here next year, too

Combat Mission III: Flensing and Sucking Chest Wounds See it here next year...

Worse yet...it could have been another UberFinn... "The Russian tank battalion had been slugging it out with the wily Finns on the hill in front of their postions, with little success. One day, the battalion receives 30 new JS-2 tanks. Determined to show the Finns who will take that darn hill, the Russian CO dispatches a platoon of 10 of the new juggernauts up the hill. As they clank towards the enemy, a lone Finn stands on the hill and MOONS the tanks below him, then jumps back into hiding over the reverse slope. The Russian commander watches on as his 10 JS-2's grind over the top and disappear into a chaotic battle below. Cannons boom and shells explode out of sight of the Russians, who figure that the battle is sure to go their way. After a while, there is only silence. No Russian tanks make it back. The Russian commander is furious. He is in his tent plotting the next day's assault when the only survivor of the Russian tank platoon to make it back, is carried to the CO's tent on a stretcher. The Russian commander, seeing the tanker is about to expire, asks him if he has any last word of advice or intelligence about the enemy. The tanker, gasping his last, says "yes comrade...it was an AMBUSH; there were TWO of them!.)

Frenchy, IIRC, MasterGoodale said that his Grandfather was with a "long tom" battallion...that's the 155mm gun, as opposed to the 155 howizer that equipped the 189th. The 155mm guns were found exclusively in corps and army artillery groups. Mastergoodale--- memory being the faulty tool that it can be ---is it possible that your Grandfather arrived in the UK in '42-43 during the pre-Normandy buildup of US forces? That's when it is logical for him to show up in Europe. He would have been available for commitment to the continent after Normandy (6 June, '44); could have done the Bulge (16 Dec 44-25 Jan 45) and could have ended up with the troops occupying Munich at the end of the war (US forces were largely concentrated in Southern Germany by then.) Mind you, I'm not doubting his word, only his memory after all these years may be a bit fuzzy as to chronology...

MasterGoodale, I wish you all good luck and the best for your family, especially your grandfather, as I have the greatest respect for veterans of that era. I must say I'm quite curious to see how all of this turns out. Sixty years is a lot of memories to recall, and I suppose that some things can get a bit garbled over time. Hell, I'm only 54 and sometimes I get stuff a bit mixed up about the distant past! In any event, I trust that you and he are doing the best that you can to piece together this interesting peek back into history. In your position, I'd do my darnest to never let on to the old gentleman that there were any inconsistancies in his story...let him enjoy his memories and not have to deal with the "doubts" of others. He deserves respect. And you're lucky to have him. Good luck and, whatever else happens, spend quality time with your grandfather and show him how much he means to you, because that's what counts in the end.

C'mon Soddball, the guy asked a legit question, the least you can do is explain yourself to him...

These guys are not like any business. This is their hobby, their passion and their pride and joy. They do care about their customers. They do things their way, but you'll always get a fair shake. I just wish they'd run for office.

So, you get perfect service from all of your favorite retail vendors? Remember who you are dealing with. If BFC was like other firms in this business, they would sell crap and the shelves would have as much of it as you like, all nicely marked down because no one else bought it. It's called supply and demand, remember? I can understand your impatience, but testy words will not improve the situation.

OK, try this: Go out on a cold and snowy night with MAXIMUM visibility of 60 meters and see if, by looking down a 12-foot long shipping tube, you can find the ass end of a greyhound bus. Somehow, I doubt it. I think the results speak well of the simulation of a nighttime winter engagement. But then, I've been reading war memoirs and military history books for 40 some years...so can I help it if my imagination is a bit broader than most?

You guys really need to do a search. There have been several threads that exhaustively addressed this item and included photos of the real item and it's ammunition. If you don't search before posing questions like this, I fear that you're missing out on a lot of good material.

Your jeeps don't have reverse gear? Or self-preservation instinct? Can't a jeep outmanouver a tank? Face it, you just want to see jeep pesto.

I wish you guys would run for office!

IIRC, TV was invented and in use by the late 1930's. CRT's were used in a variety of radar sets and electronic indicators as well. They were clunky and chunky, but they did work.

Jagdtiger = rare IR sighting equip in WW2 = extremely rare Jagtiger+IR = Give Me A Break People! Is BFC expected to model every friggin' pseodogrog wet dream?

Simply superb, friend!