Perhaps in the arena of geo-political intrigue but it was WWII when the theories of mechanized warfare, combined-arms ops, and aerial supremacy were refined. The First World War was still, for the most part, fought as the conflicts of the 19th century had been -- largely set-piece battles among massed-and-static forces, with only the relatively minor contributions of cavalry and artillery as historical footnotes. What was but a novelty in WWI became de riguere in WWII (eg: the development of tanks, submarines, strategic bombers, and reliable-and-instantaneous communications gear). Likewise, infantry weapons improved by leaps and bounds as self-loading rifles replaced the Mauser-based bolt-actions and man-portable 60-mm mortars gave even squads and platoons organic "pocket arty" indirect fire support capability. Between the wars the works of Marconi and Tesla were adapted and applied to electronic equipment and the first early warning radar systems were developed (by both the Allies and the Axis Powers) and proved to be serious force multipliers and deterrents. Metallurgical discoveries during this era made aircraft powerplants lighter in weight and more powerful while technology was refined in lighter-and-stronger airframe construction as well. Higher octane aviation fuels were also developed to capitalize on the new engines, to which compound turbo-supercharging had been applied to permit higher top speeds and service ceilings. At sea, naval forces found a new force-projection asset in the aircraft carrier while naval infantry (ie: the USMC) refined their forced-entry tactics via amphibious assault. All of these deployed technologies revolutionized the way war was conducted in the 20th century just as the high-tech gadgets of today have further refined the art of armed conflict.

JMOOC

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

Oh yes, absolutely. From a mechanical point of view? The laws of physics and so forth? Of course. 100%. Even strategy. For me? I don't usually study war machinery and equipment all that much but the motivation behind it interests me so ....

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Just think of how awesome a guitar player you could have been by now if you had only spent the last 10 years practicing instead of obsessing over pickups and roasted maple necks.

my grandpa served in the vietnam war and he has a few guns from that era (60s to 80s) i even got to fire one! I have a BB gun laying around (not in parts but whole gun and cartridge)

I like to read well written history, where it's not just names & dates & places, but I like to try & get into the mindset of the story--not to agree or disagree, but to see things as the people involved might have.

I'm certainly no expert in history, but I like history of things I'm interested in--such as music, religion, hockey, humour, language, etc.

And I also like seeing how history connects to the world around it.

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It wasn't Willy-Nilly, it was at crows.

How to kill a thread in one easy lesson.
This goes against everything I believe in but ... OK ... I'll bite,

Excuse me ...... ?

Cartridge?

You did say BB gun, right?

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Just think of how awesome a guitar player you could have been by now if you had only spent the last 10 years practicing instead of obsessing over pickups and roasted maple necks.

Oh, shoot, (no pun intended) but how could I miss that? Vietnam era? 80's?

Duhhh....

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Just think of how awesome a guitar player you could have been by now if you had only spent the last 10 years practicing instead of obsessing over pickups and roasted maple necks.

he did,

My Grandfather (left) kept those planes running. He was a RAF mechanic.



(SoT, your claim is as ridiculous as usual, but strangely relevant to the topic.)

Hi j_rockr91: yes. Thirty years ago (30 years! ) I was studying Russian and American economic history from their respective revolutions. We spent time in Russia as part of the course, which was highly interesting in many ways, back in those latter days of the Communist era. However, perhaps to the surprise of some of us, it was the American history half of the course that was by far the more nuanced and fascinating, and it fuelled an interest in the country that has been running in me ever since.

So that was good.



Hi SBLS: the Imperial War Museum is two minutes walk from my wife's office. You're right, it is a fine one! And they've done a lot with it in the last few years that has made it even more interesting. Well worth a visit if you're ever passing through again.

Cheers - C

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I have a B.A. in History from St. John's University. My fields of concentration were in part on the eras/periods you've mentioned.

For some reason or other, it appears that a declaration of firearms possession is quasi-required here. For the record: I have not nor ever owned firearms. (And I'm originally from NYC, mind you!)

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You dig?

Yep,I've been interested in the American Civil War,or War Between the States as we often call it here in Dixie,since before I learned to read....I have hundreds of books on the subject and along with several other friends,I'm considered an expert...it's just a word to me,there's more history to be learned from that time period than I could ever get through in my lifetime.
My special interest in the subject is the common soldier,and his life during the war.
Also,I'm heavily into WWII history.
The two biggest fields of study and interest in my life,history and music.....women are a form of entertainment,a drama in the theatre of life,mixed with comedy and mystery.

May I suggest a book many of you would be interested in. It's titled "The Gun" by C. J. Chivers. It is a winner of the Pulitzer Prize, and is about the history of machine gun warfare. It is mainly the history of the AK-47 and it's place in history since it's creation, and all the rapid fire weapons before it. I heard about it on PBS awhile back and just bought it the other day. Good read!

Never a big reader of books myself, could sit and watch History channel from morning to night though, WW2, Egypt, American revolution etc always facinating, a recent trip to Berlin doing the tours and visiting the Museums and Memorials of the WW and the time of the Berlin Wall, having only seen the City at the end of the war in pictures and through mostly B&W TV programmes, actually visiting gives a whole different look to the way things were in those dark times

I've been a history nut for years. Currently I'm getting involved with Middle Eastern history. In particular Ancient peoples, The Anunnaki & Sumerions. I am studying a controversial book "The Lost Book Of ENKI" By (Zecharia Sitchin) Its loaded with the translations from ancient Sumerion clay tablets. and it claims to be an accurate account of how things came to be. It may bee so much baloney but it makes for an exciting Read and it makes damn good sense. So who knows. This kind of stuff brings history and fiction so close to each other that you must do your best to apply your own logic into the mix and form your own opinion.
----Danny,

My dad joined the army in 1937(depression times). He was in the cavalry. He had riding pants and boots, etc. It was still a very primitive army. He got out in 1940 and went back in 1942 and became an officer. The differences were amazing. A whole lot happened in the short time after the attack on Hawaii.

My great grandfathers fought in the civil war. One for the north, a couple on the south. That war was a slaughter for both sides.

Vietnam used helicopters for the first time as war machines. Previously, they were mainly used for medical and transportation needs. Our friend RJ was an air warrior.

Just some random thoughts. Wars fought for no good reason are a terrible sin.