FIRE Reviews

SAR Spotlight On, SARSO Issue Four

Review Editor — Sat, 18 May 2013 10:36:50 +0000

The fourth issue of this new serial publication reviewed Combat SAR, MASH and CSH field hospitals, combat SAR helicopters and tilt rotor aircraft. The issue looked at the Race2Recovery and Walking With The Wounded teams of military battle casualties who were recovered, treated and rehabilitated to take part in demanding challenges on equal terms with uninjured comptetitors.

Reviews

Search And Rescue News

NAME: SAR Spotlight On, SARSO Issue Four
CLASSIFICATION: Serials Reviews
FILE: S0004
DATE: May 2012
PUBLISHER: Nighthawk Publishing, FIRE Project
FORMAT: PDF electronic file
PAGES: 57
PRICE: Free to download
GENRE: Non Fiction
SUBJECT: Combat SAR, MASH, CSH, AW101, R-4, S-51, Bell 47, Supermarine Walrus, Consolidated Catalina, PBY5, M113, Mastif, Lynx, AW Wildcat, Land Rover Wildcat, T4, T5, R2R, WWTW, Reaper, X47B, C90, Lockhead Hudson, C-130J, AW609, V-22, CH-149, Apache, KC-130, AC-130, Chinook, MH-53J
ISSN: 2051-4794
IMAGE: SARSO4v1.jpg
DOWNLOADNOW: http://tinyurl.com/d36lg5v
DESCRIPTION: The series is dedicated to Search And Rescue internationally, across the range of SAR services and including the treatment and rehabilitation of rescued casualties. The fourth issue of this new serial publication reviewed Combat SAR, MASH and CSH field hospitals, combat SAR helicopters and tilt rotor aircraft. The issue looked at the Race2Recovery and Walking With The Wounded teams of military battle casualties who were recovered, treated and rehabilitated to take part in demanding challenges on equal terms with uninjured comptetitors.
The eMagazine achieved a high level of illustration with colour photographs and maps. Text included official citations and military action reports.

SAR Spotlight On, SARSO Issue Three

Review Editor — Sat, 18 May 2013 10:29:28 +0000

The third issue of this new serial publication reviewed the Royal National Lifeboat Institute beach-launched all-weather lifeboats and the introduction of the new Shannon Class ALB. This review includes the RNLI Headquarters and the new ALB factor that is being built on the Headquarters site. In addition a review of the Shannon Class and its launching system, the Mersey Class, which is being replaced by the Shannon, is reviewed together with its launching system. The first two Lifeboat stations to received the Shannon during 2013 are covered together with the Aldeburgh station that has yet to be listed to have its Mersey Class replaced by the Shannon.

Reviews

Search And Rescue News

NAME: SAR Spotlight On, SARSO Issue Three
CLASSIFICATION: Serials Reviews
FILE: S0003
DATE: April 2012
PUBLISHER: Nighthawk Publishing, FIRE Project
FORMAT: PDF electronic file
PAGES: 66
PRICE: Free to download
GENRE: Non Fiction
SUBJECT: RNLI, beach-launched all-weather lifeboats, Shannon Class ALB, Mersey Class ALB, Exmouth Lifeboat Station, Aldeburgh Lifeboat Station, Ifracombe Lifeboat Station, RNLI Headquarters, RNLI ALB factory
ISSN: 2051-4794
IMAGE: SARSO3v1.jpg
DOWNLOADNOW: http://tinyurl.com/d8rxlms
DESCRIPTION: The series is dedicated to Search And Rescue internationally, across the range of SAR services and including the treatment and rehabilitation of rescued casualties. The third issue of this new serial publication reviewed the Royal National Lifeboat Institute beach-launched all-weather lifeboats and the introduction of the new Shannon Class ALB. This review includes the RNLI Headquarters and the new ALB factor that is being built on the Headquarters site. In addition a review of the Shannon Class and its launching system, the Mersey Class, which is being replaced by the Shannon, is reviewed together with its launching system. The first two Lifeboat stations to received the Shannon during 2013 are covered together with the Aldeburgh station that has yet to be listed to have its Mersey Class replaced by the Shannon.
The eMagazine achieved a high level of illustration with colour photographs and maps.

SAR Spotlight On, SARSO Issue Two

Review Editor — Sat, 18 May 2013 10:20:07 +0000

The second issue of this new serial publication led with the story of the IMO 2012 Exceptional Bravery At Sea Award, made to three RCAF SAR techs (one posthumous), the issue also reviewed the actions of the Cormorant helicopter crew who were not included in the IMO Award but received the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators Guild Award for Gallantry. Canadian SAR service and the Canadian Coast Guard are reviewed, together with the NSR Mountain Rescue and the volunteer Canadian Lifeboat Institute.

Reviews

Search And Rescue News

NAME: SAR Spotlight On, SARSO Issue Two
CLASSIFICATION: Serials Reviews
FILE: S0002
DATE: December 2012
PUBLISHER: Nighthawk Publishing, FIRE Project
FORMAT: PDF electronic file
PAGES: 59
PRICE: Free to download
GENRE: Non Fiction
SUBJECT: IMO 2012 Exceptional Bravery At Sea Award, Royal Canadian Air Force, RCAF, SAR technicians, parachutists, Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules, Agusta Westland AW101, Arctic Rescue, Inuit walrus hunters, CH149, Guild Award For Galantry, Canadian SAR services, Canadian Coast Guard, NSR Mountain Rescue, The Canadian Lifeboat Institute
ISSN: 2051-4794
IMAGE: SARSO2v1.jpg
DOWNLOADNOW: http://tinyurl.com/c35dhxb
DESCRIPTION: The series is dedicated to Search And Rescue internationally, across the range of SAR services and including the treatment and rehabilitation of rescued casualties. The second issue of this new serial publication led with the story of the IMO 2012 Exceptional Bravery At Sea Award, made to three RCAF SAR techs (one posthumous), the issue also reviewed the actions of the Cormorant helicopter crew who were not included in the IMO Award but received the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators Guild Award for Gallantry. Canadian SAR service and the Canadian Coast Guard are reviewed, together with the NSR Mountain Rescue and the volunteer Canadian Lifeboat Institute.
The eMagazine achieved a high level of illustration with colour photographs and maps. Text included official citations and military action reports.

SAR Spotlight On, SARSO Issue One

Review Editor — Sat, 18 May 2013 10:11:23 +0000

The series is dedicated to Search And Rescue internationally, across the range of SAR services and including the treatment and rehabilitation of rescued casualties. The first issue of this new serial publication led with the story of the IMO 2012 Exceptional Bravery At Sea Award, made to a rescue swimmer of the Chilean Navy. The issue then reviewed the rescue and the SAR services maintained by the Chilean Government and the CVBS volunteer lifeboat service.

Reviews

Search And Rescue News

NAME: SAR Spotlight On, SARSO Issue One
CLASSIFICATION: Serials Reviews
FILE: S0001
DATE: December 2012
PUBLISHER: Nighthawk Publishing, FIRE Project
FORMAT: PDF electronic file
PAGES: 51
PRICE: Free to download
GENRE: Non Fiction
SUBJECT: IMO 2012 Exceptional Bravery At Sea Award, Armada de Chile, Chilean Navy, IMO Briefing, The aircraft commander, AdC Statement, Rosita V, The aircraft, rescue location, SAR Management, SAR Organization, SAR Training, CVBS, the Chilean Coastline
ISSN: 2051-4794
IMAGE: SARSO1v1.jpg
BUYNOW: http://tinyurl.com/bohe6un
DESCRIPTION: The series is dedicated to Search And Rescue internationally, across the range of SAR services and including the treatment and rehabilitation of rescued casualties. The first issue of this new serial publication led with the story of the IMO 2012 Exceptional Bravery At Sea Award, made to a rescue swimmer of the Chilean Navy. The issue then reviewed the rescue and the SAR services maintained by the Chilean Government and the CVBS volunteer lifeboat service.
The eMagazine achieved a high level of illustration with colour photographs and maps. Text included official citations and military action reports.

Great War Tank, Mark IV, Owners’Workshop Manual

Review Editor — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 09:50:40 +0000

This addition to the Haynes Owners’ Workshop Manual series follows the well-tested and popular format of concise text and lavish illustration, with some outstanding technical drawings and sketches, blended with an excellent selection of photographs, some from history and others shot in full colour of display and working examples of the subject to illustrate restoration and maintenance. First British tank marks the start of a century where the tank has been king of the battlefield and is still a potent element in warfare and in controlling civil disturbance.

NAME: Great War Tank, Mark IV, Owners’Workshop Manual
CLASSIFICATION: Book Reviews
FILE: R1826
DATE: 280413
AUTHOR: David Fletcher
PUBLISHER: Pen & Sword
BINDING: hard back
PAGES: 160
PRICE: £21.99
GENRE: Non Fiction
SUBJECT: The Great War, WWI, First World War, World War One, 1914-1918, armour, armoured fighting vehicles, AFVs, male tank, female tank, tank, tracked vehicle, technology, trench warfare, Cambrai
ISBN: 978-0-85733-242-4
IMAGE: B1826.jpg
BUYNOW: http://tinyurl.com/chehzwy
LINKS:
DESCRIPTION: This addition to the Haynes Owners’ Workshop Manual series follows the well-tested and popular format of concise text and lavish illustration, with some outstanding technical drawings and sketches, blended with an excellent selection of photographs, some from history and others shot in full colour of display and working examples of the subject to illustrate restoration and maintenance. First British tank marks the start of a century where the tank has been king of the battlefield and is still a potent element in warfare and in controlling civil disturbance.

There are many popular fictions relating to the ‘tank’ of the Great War. Several are credited with its invention and there are several versions of how ‘tank’ came to describe an armoured fighting vehicle.

In reality, the armoured fighting vehicle dates back into ancient history. When the chariot appeared, it provided mobility on the battlefield, provided some protection for its crew, and achieved firepower on the move by allowing a driver and archer or spear thrower to attack targets, particularly infantry targets. At several points in ancient history attempts were made to build a protective shell on wheels that was moved by manpower or horsepower. These vehicles were clumsy and often failed to provide adequate protection for their crews. Most commonly, they were used to protect engineers undermining fortified walls and towers, or attempting to force a protected gate. Armoured siege towers were also widely employed to bring attackers up to a fortified wall and avoid the need for scaling ladders. The difficult task was moving the towers close enough for their bridges to reach the top of the fortified wall and that led to the towers also providing an armoured position from which archers and spear throwers could lay down suppressing fire to protect those who were moving the tower towards the wall. They were therefore mostly special task vehicles that protected a crew from attackers above them who would throw down heavy objects, spears or arrows. Where they were most vulnerable was against attack from hot or flaming fluid poured down on them. This fluid could flow under the armour with disastrous effect. The problem that defeated armoured vehicles before 1914 was the lack of all-round protection, a rugged wheel system and a suitable power source.

Before 1914, tracked vehicles had been built for agriculture and as tractor vehicles for more general use in areas that lacked hard roads. Several builders claim to have devised the track as a metal road way laid beneath the vehicle’s wheels. As a continuous loop of track, the vehicle automatically laid and recovered this roadway as it moved. Before that time, the only way of laying temporary track across rough terrain was to lay rail track and recover it after the train had passed over it. This labour intensive system did permit railway rolling stock and locomotives to move across virgin territory in Africa and other areas under exploration, but it was obviously cumbersome and inferior to permanently laid track. It was unsuitable for battlefield use because the people laying and recovering track would be very vulnerable. There had already been some use of armoured trains running on permanent rail track to weakness of this system was that the enemy could either destroy the track, or avoid it, making the armoured train unsuitable for offensive use and of relatively limited use as a defensive weapon system. Where permanent rail track could not be justified, the primitive temporary track was replaced by tracked vehicles, vehicles equipped with floatation tyres, and hovercraft, as these new vehicles became available. Fixed wing aircraft and helicopters provided a further alternative by avoiding the need to travel across hostile terrain, while the use of air-dropping supplies catered for those situations where materials were needed in inaccessible locations that an aircraft could not land in.

The basic challenge facing the designers of early tracked vehicles was in achieving directional control. Several early designs employed trailed wheels to turn the vehicle, but the most effective method was soon seen to be the skid-steer method of slowing or stopping one track so that the vehicle skidded on that track with the other track forcing the vehicle into a turn. Eventually, designers learned how to provide the driver with a conventional steering wheel to ease driving effort and to provide automatic gearboxes to further simplify driving. However, the half track did continue in use, with conventional wheels at the front providing steering, and the rear wheels being replaced by a short track. Many of these vehicles were armoured and were used in some numbers during WWII and in the Middle East conflicts after 1945.

The author has concentrated on the Tank Mark IV, but has also traced British military history from the Hornsby Train Track Tractor trials in 1903 and envisaged as a system of moving guns and supplies across difficult terrain. The development of the tank is covered well and followed by chapters studying the anatomy of the tank, its early armament, its camouflage, paint and marking, its operation, its use in war, and the survivors. As there are only a handful of survivors, those that still exist have to be maintained in their original form and that limits any potential for extensive preservation by operation. It does not prevent examples being displayed at tank fests, but the original equipment has to be handled with great care and display is usually restricted to a slow drive past. There is some potential for building replicas, for which this manual will prove a useful aid, but a replica is likely to be an external replica that uses a modern engine and power train system.

The first British tank, Little Willie, comprised two metal tracks on either side at the bottom of a very simple armoured box. It proved the basic concepts, but was soon followed by the rhomboid shape that became the classic tank shape of WWI. By placing the body of the tank between the tracks, obstacle clearance dramatically improved and the centre of gravity was lowered. This shape was carried through from the Mark I to the Mark VIII. Initially, a pair of wheels, behind the tank, assisted the directional control, but were soon deleted to rely only on the skid-steer system of varying the speed of each track. These early tanks were uncomfortable and claustrophobic, noisy, dirty and not entirely bullet proof, the crew being equipped with helmets that included chain mail to reduce injury from bullet fragments that found their way into the interior. During the Great War, various efforts were made to improve trench-crossing ability. Adding track extensions was not entirely successful because the extensions reduced track stability. The more effective system was to add rails to the top of the tank and mount heavy timbers or fascines that could be dropped into a trench to enable the tank to roll over the material to reach the other bank of the trench.

The Mark IV was to prove the most numerous and successful model with more than 1200 examples being completed, and with a handful surviving to the present day, making it the obvious subject for this manual to concentrate on. The Mark VIII was the final development of the classic rhomboid tank, intended as an ‘international’, design that would have been used by Britain, the US and France, had the war continued longer.

After initial introduction to service, the Germans responded by building wider trenches and the design was modified to counter this, as observed above. The main variation though was in armament. The use of a box shaped sponson on each side within the track was initially used to house 6-pounder guns and machine guns. In this form it was described as a male tank. Female tanks replaced the 6-pounders with machine guns and a flexible machine gun mount was added in front of the commander and driver. As a tank might be alone, without supporting infantry, it always faced the risk of enemy infantry close to the tank or even on top of it. This was addressed crudely by tank crews firing revolvers through small vision/firing ports.

The author has reviewed anti-tank gunnery. This was based on standard guns with armour piercing bullets and the Germans rarely had an adequate supply of armour piercing rounds. The lack of similar numbers of tanks on the German side meant that the British and French had much less need for anti-tank guns and when the Germans did employ tanks, it was usually with captured British tanks rather than with their own clumsy armoured vehicles. One British response was the Boyes anti-tank rifle of .50 calibre that was rarely used, not much-loved by the infantry, but still around in 1939 when it came to be issued to LDVF volunteers for home defence.

The British tank certainly made a huge impact on the stagnation of trench warfare and was a potentially effective counter to the machine gun that had resulted in the construction of trenches along the full length of the Western front. Tactics had to be developed and were restricted by a lack of sufficient numbers of serviceable tanks to take part in mass attacks on the lines of Cambrai. The British also used tanks in the Middle East, but more commonly used armoured cars, which were well-suited to conditions where cavalry moved across long distances in a fluid warfare.

The author has done a very effective job and the Owners’ Manual manages to pack in a considerable amount of detail and first class illustration in support of the text. WWI military enthusiasts and those interested in army technology will find this a book not to be missed. It also provides a story of technology that many others, who may not have a strong army or war interest, will find of great interest.

Command Decisions, Lansdorff and the Battle of the River Plate

Review Editor — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 09:39:47 +0000

The author has provided a fascinating insight into the command decisions made by Landsdorff and the fatal result for him and for his command. The author has benefited from the broad spread of topics on which he has previously written. This includes some insightful titles covering from the Medieval period to modern times. These books have been released by a number of publishers. Many naval historians not only concentrate on naval warfare, but on one brief period of naval history. The author’s breadth of experience has combined with thorough research and been supported by a selection of well-chosen images in a black and white plate section. The story starts with WWI commerce raiding to set out the perspective that influenced decisions on both sides. The Graf Spee is described and both shortcomings and advantages are identified. The Montevideo period is covered, and there is a description of the status of the vessel from the German damage review. This is a moving story of success and failure, of good decisions and poor decisions. A very valuable addition to our pool of knowledge of an important naval action.

NAME: Command Decisions, Lansdorff and the Battle of the River Plate
CLASSIFICATION: Book Reviews
FILE: R1825
DATE: 150413
AUTHOR: David Miller
PUBLISHER: Pen & Sword
BINDING: hard back
PAGES: 189
PRICE: £19.99
GENRE: Non Fiction
SUBJECT: Battle of the River Plate, Uruguay, Argentina, Plate Estuary, South Atlantic, Falkland Islands, RN, RNAS, 1939-1945 War, World War Two, WWII, Second World War, commerce raider, armoured cruiser, pocket battleship, German Navy, Fairy Seafox, Arado Ar196, radar, Leander Class Cruisers, Admiral Graf Spee, Altmark, HMS Exeter, HMS Ajax, HMS ACHILLES
ISBN: 1-84884-490-5
IMAGE: B1825.jpg
BUYNOW: http://tinyurl.com/bolnyjc
LINKS:
DESCRIPTION: A very interesting book that looks specifically at the command decisions during one of the most famous naval actions of World War Two. The Battle of the River Plate is one of those iconic naval actions that is familiar to people around the world, but which is also largely unknown in the detail. For many it is a classic David vs Goliath combat where three plucky small British cruisers brought a massive battleship to bay and saw it run off, tail between the legs, only to then commit suicide. That perception is not fair to either side in the battle and this book sets out the command decisions that resulted in the final result, viewed from the perspective of the German captain.

The German and British navies were effectively on war station before the declaration of war. The Royal Navy had initiated what was described as a mobilization exercise that saw the recall of Reserves and the rapid mobilization of warships, including the early completion of refits and repairs. At the same time, fuel and other supplies were rushed to dispersed locations around the world to provide for the fuelling and storing of warships as they arrived on station. Having achieved what was effectively war status, the Admiralty maintained the Fleet at that level through into the shooting war. The Germans had begun moving freighters and surface warships to war positions, but on a much more modest scale with far fewer vessels to mobilize and without the network of friendly fuelling stations and supply bases available to the British. That meant that German commerce raiders had to carry maximum supplies and sail in conjunction with a re-supply vessel.

Preparations for war on land and in the air in Britain were much less advanced, almost leisurely. Even after the formal declaration of war, most RAF missions were leaflet drops rather than bombing missions. The relatively short range of fighters meant that there were few opportunities for aerial combat and the first German aircraft to be shot down was victim of a Fleet Air Arm Skua that was officially a dive bomber but was also the most effective fighter then available to the FAA. The British Army achieved even lower levels of activity, although an important percentage of available troops was moved to France as the British Expeditionary Force and took most of the available artillery and armour with it. During this “Phoney War”, only the Royal Navy was immediately exposed to a shooting war, with the Merchant Navy most exposed on the long Empire sea routes.

Even the recent experience in the 1914-1918 War of a handful of German commerce raiders creating problems beyond their numbers, the Royal Navy had made plans to deal with the new generation, but they were seriously hampered by the run-down of resources after 1918 and the long years of appeasement. The result was that many merchant vessels under the British flag were sailing independently and those in the South Atlantic and Indian Ocean were potentially vulnerable even to the smallest German commerce raiders.

Treaty Tonnage was a major challenge to Britain because of the number of obsolescent warships in commission, occupying a large share of permitted Treaty Tonnage, but the Germans had also been exercised by tonnage limitations and decided to build three large armoured cruisers, each equipped with two triple turrets housing 11 inch guns, radar, a heavy secondary armament, and diesel engines rather than steam turbines. The layout and equipment of these vessels made them most suitable as heavy commerce raiders, able to outgun the destroyers and cruisers that they were likely to meet and with the longer range of the economical diesels. Their sailings were planned to leave Germany via Icelandic waters, together with supply ships, positioning them to interdict the British merchant shipping routes. It was considered that they were unlikely to meet British battleships, being the only vessels considered more powerfully gunned, and that the use of single warships on the vast areas of the southern oceans significantly reduced the probability of a major British capital ship finding them.

The early stages of the war cruise of the Graf Spee supported these assumptions. Her captain took her across shipping lanes in the South Atlantic and the Indian Ocean, varying the activities and making changes to the ship’s appearance to confuse the enemy and encourage them to think that all three armoured cruisers were roaming the areas. The weakness of the plan was that a highly successful cruise would encourage the British to set up one or more Task Groups to locate the raider(s) and bring them to battle, probably sending battleships and aircraft carriers with the Task Force(s). That would then open the Graf Spee to its vulnerabilities, facing larger, more heavily armed ships and the attentions of torpedo planes and dive bombers, all faster than the economical diesel engines of the German warship.

When the inevitable happened and the Graf Spee found itself facing three British warships, Captain Langsdorff had no less hesitation than the British commander in heading directly for the enemy. The Battle that followed was broken off only when the Graf Spee ran for cover in the neutral harbour of Montivideo, Uruguay. Once in a neutral port, the Graf Spee was subjected to intensive diplomatic activity and instruction from Hitler than the ship was not to fall into British hands. The British worked a brilliant propaganda campaign that convinced the Germans of an overwhelming RN force approaching the Uruguayan territorial waters. Believing that the British had trapped the Graf Spee, the Germans had only the two choices of internment or self-destruction. Surrender to the British was not an option, destruction at sea was little better, and even internment would be a propaganda disaster at a stage in the war where Hitler still hoped to bully France and Britain into an armistice. In the event, the scuttling of the Graf Spee gave Britain a much-needed early naval success.

Over the years there have been books and films looking into many aspects of the Battle of the River Plate but detailed examination of command decisions has been strangely muted. Technically, the Graf Spee should have sunk or disabled all three cruisers facing her. She was equipped both with radar and two catapult-launched seaplanes. That should have allowed her to out manoeuvre the RN vessels and disappear into the ocean. If escape was considered not to be an option, the Graf Spee should have been able to outgun the three much smaller and less powerful enemy ships. The two smallest vessels carried an armament little stronger than that of a large destroyer. The largest vessel, HMS Exeter, was a heavy cruiser with 8 inch guns, but these were much less potent than the radar and 11 inch guns of the pocket battleship. Given the relative strengths and weaknesses, the Graf Spee was only going to be defeated by a lucky few shots, or a number of flawed decisions by her Captain and officers.

When battle was joined, the British had few options open. They had to close the range rapidly to reduce the Spee’s range advantage, and they had to try to divide the enemy fire, a pack of dogs attacking an elephant. The British commander decided to launch a Seafox spotter plane to give the best assistance to the gunnery control on the three British cruisers. With the Exeter heavily damaged, the Graf Spee turned away at a critical point and then ran for cover. Once in port, repairs could be carried out, but all surprise had been lost, the British knew exactly where the Spee was and could position intelligence officers in a vantage point ashore to monitor all German activity. In concert with Allies, the British could delay the Spee’s sailing by invoking the Neutrality rules and Uruguayan sympathy to ensure that merchant ships were sailing in relays to keep the Spee in harbour to honour the 8 hour rule.

The Seafox continued to be flown, providing a visible reminder of nearby British warships. Some have claimed that this influenced German decisions because they believed that several Seafoxes were being flown from several large British warships just over the horizon. Given the unreliable Ar196 seaplanes that equipped the Spee, there was a reluctance to believe the British Seafox biplane achieved far higher reliability. As a number of documents failed to survive the war, we may never know all of the details relating to what became the Intelligence Battle of Montevideo, a battle fought clandestinely but as dangerous as a clash of warships at sea.

Certainly, the Exeter had withdrawn to the Falkland Islands for emergency repairs, to be replaced by the cruiser Cumberland, but the Admiralty was already sending heavy units with air support to the Uruguayan coast. That left a narrow window for the Spee to attempt a break out and this opportunity was missed. We can only speculate on the possible success of an early breakout, but the Spee’s supply ship did manage to escape all British attempts to stop her, until she reached Norwegian waters where a daring British destroyer attack resulted in the release of all prisoners being held on the Altmark. The Spee would have faced higher odds because of her value and size, probably seeing her captured or sunk in South American waters. Unlike the Altmark, the Spee had to put back to sea under the observation of the enemy. That would almost certainly have enabled the RN to intercept her with heavy units and naval aviation.

Revealed: Inner workings of tank that changed the face of warfare

Review Editor — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 12:14:27 +0000

The invention of the tank was one of the great dramas of the First World War. It was a new concept using old ideas, created in a time of urgent need as a response to the stalemate that trench warfare had created.

Constructed at breakneck speed and rolled straight off the production line to be shipped into active service, the first tanks were soon patrolling the mud of the Western Front and the sands of the Middle East.

In the Haynes Great War Tank Manual, world authority David Fletcher MBE strips bare the most numerous model, the Mark IV tank to give a rare insight into the maintenance and restoration of these historic armoured fighting machines.

Using the renowned Haynes manual format that has successfully given insights into an array of military hardware, he also draws attention to how these menacing spectacles came of age and began to dominate battles as decisive instruments of war.

The manual draws upon the rich resources of the Tank Museum’s collections, rare contemporary eyewitness descriptions and surviving examples of the Mark IV worldwide.

A wealth of archive and specially commissioned photographs, together with many rare and never-before-published constructors’ drawings, combine with David’s authoritative text to tell the machine’s story from birth to becoming the first-ever successful mass-produced tank.

Author David Fletcher describes the tank’s anatomy, construction and armament, and demonstrates how the Mark IV was driven and operated in combat.

Included in the manual are the compelling stories of five surviving preserved Mark IVs – Flirt II, the Ashford Tank, Lodestar III, Excellent and Deborah and information on their maintenance and restoration.

The book is a joint publication with the Tank Museum in Bovington in Dorset where until recently David worked as a historian.

COMMAND DECISIONS – LANGSDORFF AND THE BATTLE OF THE RIVER PLATE

Review Editor — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 14:51:12 +0000

The Battle of the River Plate is one of the best remembered naval
engagements of the Second World War, with pictures of the
burning wreck and memories of its tragic commander’s suicide
seared into the public consciousness. The first major naval battle
of the Second World War, it was fought on 13 December 1939
between two apparently disparate forces: on the German side
Admiral Graf Spee, one of the much vaunted ‘pocket
battleships’; on the British side, three smaller and seemingly
much less powerful cruisers, Exeter, Ajax and Achilles.

This compelling new study concentrates on Kapitän zur See Hans
Langsdorff, commander of the Graf Spee, written from his point of
view. The story of his mission at the start of the Second World War,
to prey on merchant shipping, is graphically retold and the
command decisions Lansdorff made are the primary focus of this
gripping narrative.
Author David Miller examines in vivid detail the factors Langsdorff
had to consider as he assessed the situation of his ship and chose
his course of action. Operating alone, thousands of miles from
home and with no prospect of support, Langsdorff had to grapple
with the enormous burden of a lone command. The grave mistakes
he made are ruthlessly exposed, but this fascinating re-examination
of his actions and his leadership does nothing to diminish his
reputation as a brave and honourable officer.
David Miller has had seventy books published on subjects ranging
from Richard the Lionheart, to U-boats and the Battle of Waterloo.
He currently lives in Devon and is available for interview.

Northrop Flying Wings

Review Editor — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 11:59:35 +0000

This book tells the story of the flying wing and Jack Northrup. There have been many myths about all-wing aircraft and some confusion. The author has done a good job in providing a clear narrative, supported by some excellent photographs and drawings. There were all-wing aircraft flying before Northrop began what some considered a flying wing obsession, but he was dogged and determined, providing the basis on which the B-2 Spirit was eventually to be designed and built by Northrop Grumman.

NAME: Northrop Flying Wings
CLASSIFICATION: Book Reviews
FILE: R1824
DATE: 150413
AUTHOR: Graham M Simons
PUBLISHER: Pen & Sword
BINDING: hard back
PAGES: 256
PRICE: £19.99
GENRE: Non Fiction
SUBJECT: Flying wing, all wing aircraft, stealth, prop planes, jet planes, bombers, B-2, Spirit, USAF, German air force, rocket planes, Komet, tailless aircraft, blended wing body, low drag, technology, Pterodactyl, Tom Stadlman, Westland Hill Pterodactyl 1, Pterodactyl V, Jack Northrop, B-35, JB-10, Go-229, H IX V2, Reimar Horten, B-45, AW52G
ISBN: 1-78159-036-2
IMAGE: B1824.jpg
BUYNOW: http://tinyurl.com/cmr9l8c
LINKS:
DESCRIPTION: This book tells the story of the flying wing and Jack Northrup. There have been many myths about all-wing aircraft and some confusion. The author has done a good job in providing a clear narrative, supported by some excellent photographs and drawings. There were all-wing aircraft flying before Northrop began what some considered a flying wing obsession, but he was dogged and determined, providing the basis on which the B-2 Spirit was eventually to be designed and built by Northrop Grumman.

In less than 15 years the design of aircraft had made unbelievable advances from the simple powered box kite that the Wright Brothers built after several years of experimentation with box kite gliders. In those early years, aircraft design fired off in all directions with lighter-than-air vehicles being considered the most promising route for development. Every possible configuration was tried, many failed, and some worked but were abandoned for no obvious reason.

The biplane box kite was relatively simple to build, using the available wood and canvas materials. The major challenge facing all early heavier-the-air vehicle designers was in finding a suitable power plant. It was also a challenge for airship builders, but they did have the option of hanging several engines off the envelop or mounting an engine in each end of a control car under the envelop. They had the advantage that the very much larger airship could carry a larger crew, including engineers who could make their way to an engine and repair faults in flight. For the first heavier-than-air vehicles, technology was hard pressed to carry a two-man crew and most early aircraft carried just a pilot.

The first basic consideration was whether a new aircraft should be equipped to take off and land on water, or fly from aerodromes on land. As aerodromes were few and far between initially, a land plane had to be capable of using any suitable flat area without obstructions. Some designers hedged their bets and designed amphibians. Some of these were flying boats with wheeled undercarriage, but most were floatplanes that included a main wheel in each of the two floats.

Having decided what the aircraft would fly from, the designer had a very wide choice of wings and layout. Multi-planes could achieve relatively short take off runs, climb rapidly and were agile. Against that, the more wings, struts and bracing wires, the greater the built-in head wind in the form of high drag. Rapidly, the biplane emerged as the most popular wing form because it was a compromise that worked. It had reduced drag but was still able to make use of the early fragile materials. Between the two wings, there was a fuselage that contained a single engine, a pilot, perhaps the luxury of a passenger or observer, and either contained the fuel tank, or perhaps a working fuel tank fed from a larger tank in the upper wing. The tractor engine was most popular, although some aircraft employed a pusher behind the pilot. The latter configuration made design of the tail surfaces more difficult because of the pusher prop between pilot and tailplane.

There was also wide choice in providing control surfaces to change the aircraft’s attitude in flight. As aerodynamics was an evolving science, many early aircraft used control systems that were less than efficient. Some early aircraft even relied on the pilot warping the wings by winding in cable from the wing tips to a drum beside him. Many early aircraft responded slowly and poorly to controls and this accounted for most of those crashes that were not caused by engine failure. Of course a few designs broke up before they achieved flying speed and others broke up in flight on during landing.

Given all of these many options and a lack of real knowledge, aircraft in some bizarre configurations took to the air and some even stayed up there until the pilot wanted to return to the ground. There were a few monoplanes but they were rare until the 1930s, although that was still only three decades after the first hesitant flight. Steadily in the 1920s, designers began to move towards a popular configuration that accounted for most of the aircraft built and the huge numbers of aircraft built during World War Two. By now, wood was rapidly being replaced by metal and the aircraft was rapidly evolving from a skeleton clad in metal to a monocoque form where a complex metal structure achieved great strength at low weight. By this point, most aircraft had a fuselage, ending in a tailplane, and with the single wing attached and faired into the fuselage at the point of balance, either low on the fuselage, at the mid point, or on top of the fuselage. A single engine was mounted at the front of the fuselage with a tractor airscrew/propeller, and some aircraft then increased power by also mounting two engines in the wings, before a standard configuration saw multi-engine aircraft having the engines wing-mounted in two, four, six or eight units (and in a few cases mounting ten engines in back to back pairs above the wing), sometimes with pairs of engines driving a single propeller, or each engine driving a pair of contra-rotating propellers. The rudder was mounted on a tail fin as part of the tail plane, and elevators were mounted at right angles on either side. This tail plane controlled turn, dive and climb and the great advantage was that the size of these control surfaces could be increased from experience of test flying prototypes to produce the manoeuvrability desired. The wings then carried the ailerons to provide the ability to bank the aircraft. As the control surfaces increased in size and required greater force to operate them, trim tabs were developed on the control surfaces to assist the pilot. Landing speeds and weights increased and this led to leading edge slats and trailing edge flaps to improve landing and take-off characteristics.

In a small number of cases, canards were added near the nose in place of tail mounted elevators and planes. One reason for this was to improve the pilot’s forward and downward view, that could be obscured by the main planes.

With aircraft flying higher, faster, and in colder conditions, the open cockpits of early aircraft were replaced be cockpits covered by clear Perspex canopies. More clear domes and blisters were added for navigators, observers and gunners. When the jet engine arrived, the basic popular configuration continued with little modification. The noticeable changes were the introduction eventually of wing sweep and the jet engine was either attached to or under the wings, or set behind or below the crew, with an exhaust pipe emerging under the tailplane.

As this general trend developed, becoming the most common configuration, designers continued to periodically produce all-wing aircraft. In Britain and Germany a number of glider and powered aircraft were built in this form, but nowhere was any designer as persistent as Jack Northrop. There have been several claims as to why an all-wing aircraft is superior to any other configuration. One justification is “Stealth” which may have become valid after the introduction of radar but is not really a motive for early all-wing designs.

Early all-wing designs were more accurately described as tailless aircraft in the sense that the traditional long fuselage and full tailplane was missing, but there was usually at least one fin with a rudder, or large wing endplates, some of which included a rudder. In most cases, the wing(s) was/were either completely swept as on the Dunne D-8 of 1916 that served the US Army, or had a swept leading edge, as was common on Northrop’s designs. The German Komet rocket fighter is one example of a flying wing that had a large conventional fin and rudder for stability and for turning the aircraft. Other German WWII designs, such as those by the Horten brothers, were all-wing designs with the pilot accommodation faired into the wings. The common justification for early all-wing aircraft was that they would induce lower drag than any of the popular configurations, but there were limits. All-wing aircraft are generally larger than other contemporary configurations for a common application. That made the all-wing aircraft much more visible. It also faced challenges in providing adequate and reliable control systems. In Northrop designs, several included wing fences and stabilizing fins. The jet-powered B-45 had its clean surfaces marred by wing fences, eight large stabilizer fins, in pairs above and below the wing, two under-wing pods for additional turbojets, and a fuselage that projected aft of the wing trailing edge. As radar signatures were already becoming important considerations, this degraded claims of “stealth” ability and there were conventional configurations for bombers that achieved lower radar signatures and lower drag. They were also generally easier and cheaper to build than the Northrop design, with higher performance.

Northrop faced challenges in finding suitable power plants. His earlier designs required at least one pair of engines, driving pusher propellers. The early smaller machines also had a pronounced pod to accommodate the pilot. Consideration of reduced profile by having the pilot prone on a couch had be used by other designers in convention configurations, where lower profiles, and a belief that this pilot position was better in high G manoeuvres were considerations, failed to become popular. This is also part of the reason why those advocating all-wing designs faced difficulties. For such a dynamic industry, aviation has also been remarkably conservative. The biplane survived far longer than it deserved as the mainstream popular configuration. The propeller was one reason why early jet development achieved lower support than it deserved, and the radical appearance of the all-wing designs again offended conservative taste. Even when the increasing use of radar for surveillance and to control anti-aircraft weapons should have made “stealth” very attractive for military aircraft, air forces insisted on hanging weapons under wings, creating the maximum radar signature for a warplane that was then expected to operate in hostile war zones.

The Northrop all-wing configuration has only recently achieved a real adoption and variations of the configuration are now becoming commonplace. The B-2 Spirit has achieved full operational capability with the USAF as a strategic bomber, capable of carrying conventional and nuclear weapons long distances without refuelling and longer distances with aerial refuelling. It is a genuine all-wing design without any form of tail surfaces and it benefits from earlier experience of stealth aircraft, such as the F-117A, which has twin fins but is otherwise an all-wing aircraft. Although anti-insurgency UAVs tend to follow conventional configurations, most jet-powered UAVs are essentially flying wing designs with the accommodation for internal weapons bays being faired into the wing structure. However, the load capacity of all-wing designs is still a limitation. The B-2, for example, has yet to achieve more than half the bomb load achieved by the B-52 that it was intended to replace. This may not be a major issue, although for some aviation conservatives, it is measured against the very elderly B-52 and found wanting. What has yet to be experienced are the advantages and weaknesses of the B-2 in a hostile war environment. So far, it has been used in target rich environments where the USAF and its allies have complete air superiority and even WWII four engine propeller aircraft, such as the Avro Lancaster would have been effective bombers with the ability to carry a 10 ton earthquake bomb or a similar load of mixed iron bombs from 500lb and large numbers of incendiary bombs and anti-personnel bombs.

The author has provided a comprehensive review of Jack Northrop and his all-wing designs, placing them in perspective against attempts by other all-wing enthusiasts to produce viable aircraft in this configuration. This is an important study of a very interesting type of aircraft and the photographs and drawings are first class, making this an information, entertaining and enlightening book.

Action Alert: 48 hours until #DCintervention

Review Editor — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 09:01:07 +0000

***ACTION ALERT***

Less than 48 hours until a DC Intervention
#DCintervention

BSD

Firetrench Directory

WHAT: Go to your Senator’s local office with a sign or a flag (or both) and hold a sign waving protest outside the office, then deliver a letter inside. *Note* This is a protest at your Senator’s LOCAL office.
WHEN: Tuesday, April 16, 2013.
TIME: Noon, local time.

First, the Senate voted to proceed on a gun bill nobody read. While there may be some debate ahead, it is still unclear if Harry Reid will allow amendments or not. Even so, no Senator should vote to move forward with any legislation that has not been fully vetted.

Two Senators in particular are facing Tea Party pressure, as they should – Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Pat Toomey (R-PA). Both of these men were elected thanks to Tea Party support, yet Senator Rubio is the star spokesman for a secretive, small group working on a bill that purports to address illegal immigration and the entire US immigration system as a whole. This bill is already 1,500 pages and no one outside the small working group has read it, meaning legislation that will affect our security, spending, taxes, culture, education, welfare, jobs, etc. is being crafted without input from most of our Senators or the American people. Not only might the legislation be bad policy, it has already violated normal process.

Meanwhile, Senator Toomey is the man who gave opponents of the 2nd Amendment the best chance they’ve had in decades to trample the Constitution. It’s also been reported that the real negotiations took place on Sen. Joe Manchin’s (D-WV) yacht. So instead of negotiating in public, they made their deals on a booze cruise.

At the end of the day, both groups of Senators have tried to move their respective bills through the Senate without transparency, public approval, or even analysis.

The crux of the problem is simple: Constitutional process is key to a functioning representative democracy, i.e. a Republic. Transparency, open discussions, and other former mainstays of the political process have been largely abandoned in these debates. As a result, the future of our nation is further in turmoil.

Ever since the 17th Amendment was ratified, the Senate is supposed to represent the people. With these debates, it is increasingly apparent the Senate largely represents itself and its own interests – violating the principles, traditions, and constitutional values of the American experiment.

We cannot let this stand, so we again urge you to join Protests at your local Senator’s office at noon local time on Tuesday.

FOLLOW THIS LINK to get your DC Intervention toolkit!

Also, don’t forget your checklist!