The “Look! Two dogs fucking!” distraction -
I used to employ this ruse on my kids alla time. (Without the F-word…)
Origin story: my first submarine captain liked to sneak into the engineering spaces after midnight, reach into a panel called RCP – 5 and scram the reactor, which would cause all hell to break loose. Now the auxiliary machinery room 2 watchstander’s main job during the midwatch was to prevent the captain from getting his dick-skinners on any switch inside RCP-5.
So one night at about one in the morning, the captain sneaked through the reactor compartment tunnel to machinery 2 upper level and the AMR 2 watchstander ran up to him to prevent him from fucking around with RCP-5 panel and what did the captain do? He pointed to the after end of the compartment and screamed, “LOOK! 2 DOGS FUCKING!” and the machinery 2 watchstander’s head swiveled over to see the two dogs, and the captain reached into the panel and scrammed the reactor!
@6Voodoo@X_Infernos To put more context on the relative strength of the forces lost vs. what remained, almost all of Japan’s veteran, elite naval aviators and naval air mechanics were at Midway, those other carriers didn’t reflect deep reserves available.
@6Voodoo@X_Infernos The word “carrier” meant something different in WWII because there was a greater variety of ships that carried and launched planes. “Fleet carriers” were the important ones in Midway. Other carriers could be tiny, slow, or unarmored, ie useful but not at all in the same class.
@StijnOerde@Jeff21461 The warhead has an absolutely massive fragmentation zone, something like 24 meters or 80 feet, so I could see that working. I’m curious as well.
@StijnOerde@Jeff21461 I did more reading and now I’m completely unsure what fuze it’s using. I know that timed fuzes are often used on airburst projectiles, but the timing is often set as they leave the barrel so their exact velocity can be measured before programming.
@NotWoofers At least the rational for keeping it has changed to something sound. No longer because of its CAS role but because it can get standoff range weapons into the air and there’s a large shortage of other airframes that can do that.
@StijnOerde@Jeff21461 I was curious as well, it apparently relies on a proximity fuze and a massive cloud of steel pellets so it doesn’t need a direct hit.
@octopuscaveman At one point I was led to consider a Star Trek replicator making a cup of hot earwax and that awful image has been living rent free in my head since. I can’t help but laugh though.
@PatrickSchuess1@TomcatJunkie Kola Peninsula and North Fleet are good callouts. The naval facilities on the peninsula are so important for nuclear war I forgot their conventional utility. Protection in Atlantic is also a good callout. North Sea is also closer to Fulda Gap than I thought, that could matter.