Sir Humphrey

Cold War History Blogger -

[Sir Humphrey @pinstripedline]

I've created an archive of all 615 Pinstriped Line articles & hundreds of 'X' threads since 2012.

Twitter Cold War History Threads https://t.co/qFkGyjYuy9

Blog Articles (Cold War & General Military Thoughts)
https://t.co/NQeBxzFAzh

[Sir Humphrey @pinstripedline]

Is this the greatest Whitehall committee ever?

The 'Committee of Imperial Defence Subcommittee on Carrier Pigeons'...

[Navy Lookout @NavyLookout]

Latest analysis article:

Should the Royal Navy establish a coastal drone flotilla to monitor Russian warships?

https://t.co/vh6yRSBhwP

(Image: mock-up only)

[Sir Humphrey @pinstripedline]

Is this the greatest Whitehall committee ever?

The 'Committee of Imperial Defence Subcommittee on Carrier Pigeons'...

[Tim Dunn @MrTimDunn]

Fun Jodrell Bank fact! The original Mk1 radio telescope was mounted on bogies which used the wheels from former GWR "Castle" Class locomotives... designed in 1923. The telescope's motor system used gun turrets recycled from two navy battleships: HMS Revenge & HMS Royal Sovereign.

[Sir Humphrey @pinstripedline]

The site has a long Cold War history and links to RN battleships. Sir Bernard Lovell also played a small part in Cold War spying intrigues, as a future PSL thread will reveal...

[BBC Breaking News @BBCBreaking]

Jodrell Bank, home of UK's largest telescope, facing closure after losing government funding, BBC understands https://t.co/JtcG56lao8

[Sir Humphrey @pinstripedline]

@MEIRIONYDDPHOTO @duncan_2qq @swilliamism @DarknessBelowUK @coldwarhist @JulieAMcDowall @364690 A good if odd book!

[Navy Lookout @NavyLookout]

Sunday Times report from @BAES_Maritime shipyards in Glasgow building Type 26 frigates and wider UK warshipbuilding issues.

A positive story of industrial expansion and upskilling, but happening far too late.

https://t.co/hcU5g9wn0l

[Sir Humphrey @pinstripedline]

A great archives 'TOP SECRET' find. A 1980s British map showing the flight path taken by US Air Force SR71 aircraft on their missions into the Barents Sea, flown from RAF Mildenhall.

Closest point of approach was just 25nm!

[OSINTtechnical @Osinttechnical]

Remarkable onboard footage from a Ukrainian Yak-52 backseat gunner shooting down Russian Shahed attack drones from an open cockpit with his rifle.

[Sir Humphrey @pinstripedline]

@MikeyDiMercurio Strangely as a Brit, catering to a mostly Brit mil/HMG audience, I don't feel the need to define definitions my followers know.

[Sir Humphrey @pinstripedline]

MOD also had resident clerks (I was one for a while) - a phenomenal and at times very moving role.

My favourite FCO story was about when a Gulf ruler died unexpectedly, Post wanted urgent advice - the Clerk responded "hesitate to sound pragmatic, but suggest burial"?

[Peter Ricketts @LordRickettsP]

The Resident Clerks were a Foreign Office institution. Four young bachelors lived in a flat in the FO, and did a roster of nights and weekends, fielding urgent calls and telegrams and waking people up when action was needed. I’ve just come across a fun story about Ernie Bevin 1/2

[Sir Humphrey @pinstripedline]

@hoosiernavy Great photo!

[Sir Humphrey @pinstripedline]

This is the Soviet Navy 'ALFA' class submarine, taken by the US Navy in the Barents Sea.

Feared by the West, briefed to Presidents and in the eyes of the CIA, an intelligence failure by the Intelligence Community.

A short thread on a Cold War legend...

[Sir Humphrey @pinstripedline]

This is the Soviet Navy 'ALFA' class submarine, taken by the US Navy in the Barents Sea.

Feared by the West, briefed to Presidents and in the eyes of the CIA, an intelligence failure by the Intelligence Community.

A short thread on a Cold War legend...

[Sir Humphrey @pinstripedline]

A great archives 'TOP SECRET' find. A 1980s British map showing the flight path taken by US Air Force SR71 aircraft on their missions into the Barents Sea, flown from RAF Mildenhall.

Closest point of approach was just 25nm!

[Sir Humphrey @pinstripedline]

@TheSubHunter1 Agreed - but at the time, it was seen as having much greater dive depth - hence perception it was fast and invulnerable.

[Sir Humphrey @pinstripedline]

@aniemyer Thank you!

[Sir Humphrey @pinstripedline]

This is a great thread by @AlexLuck9 in response to my ALFA thread - its a brilliant read and well worth your time!

[Alex Luck @AlexLuck9]

While coverage of historical documentation is interesting as usual, its worth pointing out some of these assessments also turned out to be false or exaggerated.

Pr 705 was designed neither as "interceptor" nor as "deep diving" boat. These were deductions by Western observers. 🧵

[Sir Humphrey @pinstripedline]

@AlexLuck9 Thanks so much for taking the time to comment! Fascinating stuff and really useful to see such useful material - I really appreciate your doing this!

[Naval Analyses @D__Mitch]

Four Russian naval giants in one frame: the modernized Kirov-class battlecruiser Admiral Nakhimov, two retired Typhoon-class ballistic missile submarines, and, in the background, the Slava-class cruiser Varyag.

[Sir Humphrey @pinstripedline]

@parallel235 Thankyou