From here to...well...it SEEMS like an eternity

[Onime No Kyo]

ORIGINAL: Cap Mandrake

*********10th Air Force HQ, Dacca, November 1, 1942*************


Gen. Chennault: When is 307th Bomb Group due to arrive? It seems to me they completed their ferry hop to Vladivostock two weeks ago.

Deputy CO:Indeed they did, sir. It's the Russians, sir. They have held things up for a mandatory safety inspection. It seems they have been going over the B-24 with a fine tooth comb.

Gen. Chennault: Safety inspection my ass. Your typical Commie bastard has no initiative. It's been beat out of them. My guess is they are, as we speak, expropriating the hard work of the Consolidated Aircraft Corporation. I bet they remove everything that isn't riveted to the fuselage. In two years, they will introduce the Ilyushin 24.

Deputy CO: Do you really think so sir?

Gen. Chennault: I know it. Have you seen the crap they fly? <looks pensively out a window> We will have to fight the Commies some day and they will fight us with our own innovations. Still, it can't be helped. First things first. We need the 307th here and a trip across two oceans would take months. Is there anything else?

Deputy CO: Yes sir. It seems they have confiscated a number of items <looks at his clipboard>....what they termed "imperialist contraband"....

Cigarettes and pantyhose?

[Onime No Kyo]

ORIGINAL: Cap Mandrake

ORIGINAL: Alfred

Cap Mandrake,

Seeing we seem to be in a bit of a hiatus, I'm curious as to what is the current situation with that Dutch BF stranded at Charters Tower. You remember, the one that received, at a most inconvenient moment, a coastal gun ordered months before when the unit was in the DEI. Has the unit gone native? Is it working on some top secret project for M & M Enterprises?

Alfred

Dang! I forgot completely about that.
[font="Arial"]
*****From the Townsville Bulletin, August 16, 1942******

Today, citizens of Townsville witnessed a sight which will not soon be exceeded in its epic scope. Shortly after sunrise, two massive, 150 mm coastal defence gun complete with their heavy 1 inch steel casemates were rolled into town. They were suspended on a series of rolling balsa wood logs. Even more remarkable were the nearly 300 Polynesian men in loincloth pulling the great guns along with massive sisal ropes. Several dozen bare-breasted young Polynesian women greased the logs with pig fat. At the front, was a bare-chested European in Polynesian garb. Though the guns belonged to the Dutch 3rd Naval Defence Battalion, which is to stationed 7 miles South of Townsville, the young man with the blond beard directing the Polynesians spoke a European language unfamiliar to me. Later, the newspaper received a copy of a book with the picture of the blonde European on its cover....[/font]

The reference isnt familiar to me. Can someone fill me in?

[Cap Mandrake]

ORIGINAL: Onime No Kyo

ORIGINAL: Cap Mandrake

The reference isnt familiar to me. Can someone fill me in?

It's Thor Heyerdahl during his hippie days in the Marquesas. He had some down time for contract work in Australia in 1942. He was earlier on contract to the Peruvian government (with M & M acting as broker) to lay claim to French Polynesia on the basis of a claim they were populated by the Inca with balsa wood rafts. Milo called the project "Con Tiki". Heyerdahl wisely changed it to "Kon Tiki". In any event, the whole thing went into the crapper with the Jap offensive.

[Onime No Kyo]

Aaaaaahh! *lightbulb*

[Alfred]

Good to see the Dutch 3rd Naval Defence Battalion has rejoined the war.&nbsp; I hope the presence of Thor does not mean the Dutch commander, who was forced to take delivery of the coastal gun, was replaced because of that "misunderstanding".&nbsp; I rather liked his attitude.
&nbsp;
Alfred

[BrucePowers]

Things are picking up[:)]

[bobogoboom]

[;)]or slowing down

[rtrapasso]

Perhaps they are staying the same...

it's a cinch one of these three statements is true... [:'(]

[Moondawggie]

Things are picking up[:)]
&nbsp;
[;)]or slowing down&nbsp;
&nbsp;
Perhaps. they are staying the same...

it's a cinch one of these three statements is true... [:'(]
&nbsp;
&nbsp;
Oh-Oh.&nbsp; Looks like we're entering the realm of "quantum foam" here...[&o]
&nbsp;

[Cap Mandrake]

It is just after 11 AM on November 1, 1942. Sqdrn Leader Carey of No. 232 Sqdrn, RAF leads a flight of 3 Spifires westward at 20,000 ft. The have been directed from Myitkyina to protect the rearguard of the retreating Burma Corps. 4,000 feet below, a flight of 18 Sonia dive bombers heads, without escort, to bomb the retreating Burma Corps. The situation is perfect for an ambush. Their victims have almost no chance to see them on the first pass. Sdrn Ldr. Carey clicks his mic twice and begins a dive on the target. In less than 10 minutes, the 3 Spifires will destroy 15 of the 18 Jap bombers. Sdrn Leader Carey claims 8 on his own to become the leading Allied ace of the Pacific with 18 kills.

[histgamer]

Spitfires carry enough ammo to shoot down 8 planes[X(][X(][X(][X(]

[Cap Mandrake]

Egyptian Girl's Note: A number of readers have asked if the Spitfire Vb could carry enough ammunition to warrant Sqdrn Ldr Carrey's remarkable claim. It would certainly take quite a bit of fire discipline. On the other hand, as the Sonia were unarmored it is possible that some rounds could strike more than one aircraft. We also note the very curious spelling of "Spitfire" in the original correspondence from Myitkyina. It is possible the "Spifire" was a local modification of the aircraft that permitted extra ammunition to be carried. We are attempting to contact M & M Language Services Division to clarify this.

[rtrapasso]

ORIGINAL: Cap Mandrake

Egyptian Girl's Note: A number of readers have asked if the Spitfire Vb could carry enough ammunition to warrant Sqdrn Ldr Carrey's remarkable claim. It would certainly take quite a bit of fire discipline. On the other hand, as the Sonia were unarmored it is possible that some rounds could strike more than one aircraft. We also note the very curious spelling of "Spitfire" in the original correspondence from Myitkyina. It is possible the "Spifire" was a local modification of the aircraft that permitted extra ammunition to be carried. We are attempting to contact M & M Language Services Division to clarify this.

[:D] [:D]
By leaving out the extraneous "t", no doubt they can carry more ammo... but, on the other hand, the British pilots would probably be sleepy without their t... [:'(]

[Onime No Kyo]

I nominate that for the Joke of the Year award.

[BrucePowers]

Must have been a slow year[:D]

[rtrapasso]

ORIGINAL: BrucePowers

Must have been a slow year[:D]

[:'(]

[bobogoboom]

extremely slow

[HMS Resolution]

A Vb Spitfire has, I believe, 120 rounds per 20mm&nbsp;cannon and 300 rounds per .303 machinegun. That's 15 cannon shells and 37.5 bullets per gun per target, still a sizeable amount, even assuming misses.

[bobogoboom]

ORIGINAL: HMS Resolution

A Vb Spitfire has, I believe, 120 rounds per 20mm cannon and 300 rounds per .303 machinegun. That's 15 cannon shells and 37.5 bullets per gun per target, still a sizeable amount, even assuming misses.

what is that like 4 second burst per plane?

[DuckofTindalos]

Maybe 1.5 seconds.