Archive for July, 2010
Genesis Of The Union Gunboats
Posted by: | CommentsDuring the American Civil War, the need for a shallow draft vessel that could navigate the waterways and bring the fight to the doorstep of the Confederacy became apparent to the Lincoln administration.
Union General-in-Chief Winfield Scott, pressed Congress for $1 million to support his ambition to conduct naval operations on the Mississippi River. This was a large weapons procurement for the day and proposals for competitive bids to build ironclads went out to several boat builders in the Midwest. James Buchanan Eads, an industrious and well-connected boat builder, successfully networked with friends in the Lincoln Administration, landed the lucrative contract. (Note 1)
Eads’s was an acclaimed engineer-inventor. He won the contract because he boldly proposed that he could build the state-of-the-art gunboats in only sixty-three days, for $89,000 per boat. He incentivized the Federal Government by proposing to forfeit $250 for each day he missed the deadline. (Note 2)
Eads ignored a chorus of naysayers who said he couldn’t build gunboats and forged ahead with ingenious and creative solutions to get the boats built on time. The keels of the gunboats were laid in Carondelet, Missouri, outside St. Louis, and Mound City, Illinois, by Cairo. Eads, a master organizer, subcontracted out separate piece work to numerous contractors located in a variety of cities such as Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and St.Louis. Being ahead of his time, Eads networked and coordinated these efforts using telegraph communications.
A taskmaster and a ‘stickler for details,’ Eads pushed his 800 construction workers at a relentless pace day and night. The largest foundries and machine shops in St. Louis were pushed to create a nearly constant stream of parts for his gunboats.
The Union’s new flotilla of gunboats received their ‘baptism of fire,’ in the battles of Fort Henry and Fort Donelson, Tennessee and played prominent roles in the Union’s victories and subsequent control of the crucial waterways in the Tennessee River Valley and the Mississippi River. (Note 3)
All totaled, 14 ironclad gunboats and 11 other boats that were converted to be armed for military service were the result of Ead’s Herculean efforts. His gunboats were characterized as indispensable in the defeat of the Confederacy. (Note 4)
The genesis of the Union gunboats, and a significant factor in the outcome of the Civil War, stemmed from the creative genius and iron-willed determination of James Buchanan Eads.
1. Benjamin Franklin Cooling, Forts Henry and Donelson, The Key To the Confederate Heartland (The University of Tennessee Press Knoxville, 1987), 23.
2. Benjamin Franklin Cooling, Forts Henry and Donelson, The Key To the Confederate Heartland (The University of Tennessee Press Knoxville, 1987), 24.
3. Timothy John Myers, Caged Confederates, Capturing The Heart of the Confederacy (Thornton Publishing, Inc., 2010), 45.
4. James Buchanan Eads: Biography from Answers.com, 7/26/2010.
Applications Of Lasers In The Military – Military Lasers
Posted by: | Commentscommercial construction Lasers, at times, seem like weapons only seen science fiction movies. Many actually do not realize lasers are a part of our daily lives being used in DVD players, printers, scanners, laser pointers and more. In addition to its common uses, lasers are actively being used in the military and are an integral part of many military activities and missions.
juegos The story behind them being called challenge coins is that every military person who has received one should carry it on them at all times. If another person pulls their military unit coin out and taps it on the table then it can be challenged by another person who has one as well. If a person of lower rank loses the challenge then they must buy the higher ranking officer a drink.
commercial property Another major use of lasers is in target designation. Target designation is the use of lasers to pin point a specific location or target. The military often times us a low power infrared or IR lasers. Infrared lasers are invisible to the human eyes. In order to see IR radiation, a special type of IR goggles must first be worn. Therefore, by using infrared light, a specific target can be secretly targeted. Fighter jets often make use of this technology to secretly and precisely aim missiles and other destructive weaponry.
Because coins, no matter what their significance, are always sought after by collectors. Many feel that this cheapens the military unit coin because anybody can obtain one who wants to do so. Those who usually collect such coins have no desire to use them as a challenge coin so most collections are sealed and hidden away.
As many as 4.5 million Iron Crosses were awarded in the Second World War, including 300,000 First Class and 7,313 Knight’s Crosses. Notable recipients included Rommel, Model, Manteuffel and Sepp Dietrich.
Lastly, lasers can be used as laser sights and laser pointers. A laser sight is a device that is attached to a firearm. The laser beam is aligned to offer the accurate and precision aim for the firearm. Laser sights can be infrared, red, blue or green in color. Military personnel and police agents often times carry a laser pointer with them to accurately point to far away objects. Due to the intensity of light, long distance of visibility, and portability, laser pointers are often carried around for pointing at objects, search and rescue, lighting dark areas far away, and much more. You can be published without charge. You can to republish this article in your website or blog. Please provide links Active.
Military – USAF Fly, Fight And Win
Posted by: | Commentscondominiums Everyone has heard about the great people of our nation. Not the founding fathers or any of the others of history, but the current heroes of today. There is the Army, the Navy and the Marines, but also among them is the United States Air Force, which is the aerial and space warfare branch of the United States armed forces. Before September 18, 1947, they were a part of the Army, but branched out separately after the National Security Act of 1947.
juegos Other elements within 22 SAS include a Operations Research Cell which develops new techniques and equipment and a Training Wing which handles selection and training for the regiment.
Roles of the Special Air Service
22 SAS is perhaps best known for its counter-terrorism (CT) role. The British public first heard of the Regiment when, live on television, B Squadron brought a siege of the Iranian Embassy in London to a dramatic end in 1980. Each squadron within 22 SAS six-months on CT duty, on permanent standby to respond to terror incidents at home or abroad.
FSBO The leaders of the Force generally enforce and maintain three core values meant to inspire Airmen to do only their best and to improve upon their best. The Airmen are to learn these values, which tie them to history’s greatest warriors and public servants, to live by these standards and to cherish them.
First and foremost, Airmen are taught “Integrity First.” This means doing what is right when nobody is around to see it, maintaining the ability to compose oneself and acting on conviction. It means practicing honesty, responsibility, accountability, justice, openness, self-respect and humility. To summarize, an Airmen with integrity can grasp the concept of defending the Constitution and is sobered by the act.
Afghanistan
22 SAS was deployed to Afghanistan in the early stages of the war. The Regiment carried out a number of initial reconnaissance operations which included carrying out battle damage assessments following US air strikes. In November 2001, 2 SAS Squadrons attacked and neutralized a Taliban / Al Qaeda opium factory in Southern Afghanistan.
Drug use is another major problem among soldiers. This is not because they typically hang around with people who have drugs, but they have enough money to purchase drugs. Most soldiers have extra income and people who sell drugs will be able to capitalize on that. Some drugs can cause soldiers to further hallucinate when they are having a PTSD episode. This could lead them to further think that the situation is real and cause real harm to themselves or the community.
Luckily there is hope for these soldiers. PTSD can be treated through therapy, counseling and contact with a doctor. If a soldier is experiencing an addiction they can talk with a addiction counselor who can put them into a treatment program that will assist them in becoming clean You can be published without charge. You can to republish this article in your website or blog. Please provide links Active.
The Martini Henry Rifle That Rescued The British At Rorkes Drift
Posted by: | CommentsThe Battle of Rorkes Drift is without doubt one of the most renowned actions during the records in the British Army. On 22 January 1879, merely hours immediately following the Zulu success at Isandlwana, approximately 4,000 Zulu warriors assault the mission station at Rorkes Drift just close to the Buffalo River in Natal.
With around 140 men defending Rorkes Drift, you’d be forgiven for guessing the men had little prospect of survival, especially thinking about what happened with their fellow soldiers at Isandlwana. Nonetheless, as well as in addition to being astonishingly brave soldiers, the defenders of Rorkes Drift had a gun what would give them an advantage over the Zulus. That weapon was the Martini Henry rifle.
This .45 calibre rifle was able to inflicting awful wounds and when discharged at a range of less than 200 yards, a round may perhaps very easily go through a body and strike the man behind too. The Martini Henry was a single shot, breech loading rifle and afforded the British a major advantage over the Zulu warriors who were simply carrying their short stabbing spears (iklaws).
Although the Martini Henry was held responsible partly for the defeat at Isandlwana, when correctly taken care of, it absolutely was an excellent weapon. To single the rifle out for the defeat at Isandlwana is extreme as there were a good number of additional factors which contributed to the defeat.
At Rorkes Drift, the rifle was paramount for the British. As a store, there was clearly plenty of ammunition and also extra rifles and the defensive area was a great deal smaller and so was less of a challenge to defend than the position at Isandlwana. Brought to the British Army in 1871, the Martini Henry may fire up to 10 rounds a minute in the hands of a trained soldier. The rifle gave a highly effective range of in excess of 500m which meant that providing the British could identify the Zulus, they could quite possibly begin eliminating them some time before they were near enough for hand to hand fighting.
Despite the tremendous odds at Rorkes Drift, the British only lost approximately 10% of their number while at the same time, the British laid to rest close to 400 Zulus and it was believed a similar number would have later died of their wounds. The British had beaten off the Zulu attack and were grateful to the Martini Henry rifle.