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ORIGINAL: RangerJoe

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ORIGINAL: RhinoDad

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ORIGINAL: Ambassador

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ORIGINAL: Kull

Read up on USS Tinosa. Lay in wait (thank you intel) for the huge tanker Tonan Maru #3 and put four torpedoes into her. None exploded. Chased her, and the next day shot two off at a bad angle, but both exploded and left the tanker completely dead in the water. For the next few hours the Tinosa lined her up for shot after shot - 9 straight torpedoes and none exploded. Probably the biggest explosion came when Commander Daspit walked into COMSUBPACs office back in Pearl a few weeks later....[;)]

About the 7th : "... Hit. No apparent effect. This torpedo hit well aft on the port side, made splash at the side of the ship and was then observed to have taken a right turn and to jump clear of the water about 100 feet (30 m) from the stern of the tanker. I find it hard to convince myself that I saw this."

And to think that proper testing would probably have detected the malfunctions...[X(]

Oh the story gets better. The SS Tinosa tested each of the torpedoes they would use on a perfect shot at the tanker. Each tested as proper. They saved their last torpedo and brought it back for further examination. It also tested as proper but when fired, it repeatedly ran deep. Just as many submariners had been reporting.

Neither congress nor Bureau of Ordnance wished to look at results. Declared that tests were not scientific nor accurate. Their testing, if it even had been done, had not been either but that did not matter. There were politics and faces to be saved. It took quite a lot of fighting and pushing before congress or the USNBO would examine and then fix the myriad of problems with the M-14.

Probably why when testing the nukes in New Mexico my father said the running joke in the navy was "Why are we testing the bomb here when there is a Bureau of Ordnance nearby."

Who said that some of them were really joking?

I think that Maru was towed to Truk, never repaired but used for refueling other ships then sunk in an air raid.

The whales were probably happy that it was sunk since it was a whaler.

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ORIGINAL: RangerJoe

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ORIGINAL: Randy Stead

Right now I have some Kittyhawks over PM. I set them to flying CAP. I've got two units of Airacobras doing half CAP, half training. I'd like to get them into some action. So... naval attack, 100', no drop tanks [for obvious reasons].

I know the Red Army loved them for ground support work. What is that main gun, a 37mm my offhand memory says. Quite effective at shooting up Wehrmacht vehicles, even troop cover.

But the Soviets used them as fighters, escorting bombers. At low levels, they were equal to the Me-109. The "ground support" role was a misstranslation although they would attack ground targets.

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ORIGINAL: Randy Stead

There is some aviation terminology in that video which I hope somebody might be able to explain. At around the 4:45 mark the fellow talking about the plane mentions hearsay about the plane tumbling out of control in flight when the "CRG" wasn't set properly. At least I think he said CRG, can't say for certain due to the accent. I hope somebody knows what that is in reference to.

Edit: Perhaps he is referring to "COG" or center of gravity. Hard to tell with those Antipodean accents.

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ORIGINAL: RhinoDad

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ORIGINAL: Randy Stead

There is some aviation terminology in that video which I hope somebody might be able to explain. At around the 4:45 mark the fellow talking about the plane mentions hearsay about the plane tumbling out of control in flight when the "CRG" wasn't set properly. At least I think he said CRG, can't say for certain due to the accent. I hope somebody knows what that is in reference to.

Edit: Perhaps he is referring to "COG" or center of gravity. Hard to tell with those Antipodean accents.

Believe he is saying COG (Center of Gravity) if plane weight distribution is outside the COG envelope than plane can become unstable and/or uncontrollable. Can be affected by load and changes in load whilst flying.

Just like those flying models where one would put pins in the wings to find COG then add ballast as needed or model would crash and burn.