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purplefood wrote:

LordofHats wrote:Ships of Star Fleet also use the U.S.S designation... For some reason. Canon later adopted this as meaning United Space Ship

The U.S.S. Constitution is the oldest commissioned naval vessel in the world, at 215 years of age. It is also the only wooden sail power ship still in service to an armed force.

HMS Victory says what?

He of course meant the oldest warship still capable of sailing under its own power.

AustonT wrote:

purplefood wrote:

LordofHats wrote:Ships of Star Fleet also use the U.S.S designation... For some reason. Canon later adopted this as meaning United Space Ship

The U.S.S. Constitution is the oldest commissioned naval vessel in the world, at 215 years of age. It is also the only wooden sail power ship still in service to an armed force.

HMS Victory says what?

He of course meant the oldest warship still capable of sailing under its own power.

Fair play...
Though when they're finished repairing it it might be able to manage it...
That said it'd probably fall apart under the stresses of it.

Or blow that crappy USS wasisname to match sticks.

All we need is 3-400 volunteers and some tea.....

I recall there being a South Park episode about that.

Um...facts...shooting anything at .50 caliber is copious amounts of fun.

And snipers creep the hell out of me.

purplefood wrote:

LordofHats wrote:Ships of Star Fleet also use the U.S.S designation... For some reason. Canon later adopted this as meaning United Space Ship

The U.S.S. Constitution is the oldest commissioned naval vessel in the world, at 215 years of age. It is also the only wooden sail power ship still in service to an armed force.

HMS Victory says what?

It says "Diaper wearing Junior" next to grandpappy Constitution.

Frazzled wrote:

purplefood wrote:

LordofHats wrote:Ships of Star Fleet also use the U.S.S designation... For some reason. Canon later adopted this as meaning United Space Ship

The U.S.S. Constitution is the oldest commissioned naval vessel in the world, at 215 years of age. It is also the only wooden sail power ship still in service to an armed force.

HMS Victory says what?

It says "Diaper wearing Junior" next to grandpappy Constitution.

The Victory is 30 years older than the Constitution

Per Wikipedia, HMS Victory is indeed the older vessel, having been launched in 1765, against the USS Constitution's 1797.

Edit: Ninja'd.

I stand corrected. I'll reprise my quote. The Constitution would say:
"It says "Diaper wearing Junior" "






Automatically Appended Next Post:

English Assassin wrote:Per Wikipedia, HMS Victory is indeed the older vessel, having been launched in 1765, against the USS Constitution's 1797.

Constitution still sails though.

How does that change the quote?
It's still wrong no matter how you slice it...
I'm confused...

Frazzled wrote:Constitution still sails though.

Indeed. I note with amusement that there exists an exchange programme between the crews of the two vessels, which, I fear must turn out rather disappointing for those on the US side.

Interesting, the Victory was restored to seaworthiness in the 1920s, and is unfit to sail now thanks to decades of neglect after the second world war. Which is indeed a shame.

Being fond of sailing ships, I'll add the Amerigo Vespucci (only a replica, but who's counting) to this short but very cool list of sailing vessels still nominally on active service.

purplefood wrote:How does that change the quote?
It's still wrong no matter how you slice it...
I'm confused...

It means our is a working ship. Your's is a museum.

-Birth of the USMC was in Tun Tavern in Philly PA and started off with two Battalions...same birthday as mine

Frazzled wrote:

purplefood wrote:How does that change the quote?
It's still wrong no matter how you slice it...
I'm confused...

It means our is a working ship. Your's is a museum.

It is for now.
They're working to raise the funds to make it seaworthy for the next 240 years...
As long as we hold onto it we still have the oldest ship in the world...

-Majority of the forest in SOuth Korea were destroyed during the Korean War

- You can still find WWII equipment/weapons/vehicles in the Black Forest

purplefood wrote:

Frazzled wrote:

purplefood wrote:How does that change the quote?
It's still wrong no matter how you slice it...
I'm confused...

It means our is a working ship. Your's is a museum.

It is for now.
They're working to raise the funds to make it seaworthy for the next 240 years...
As long as we hold onto it we still have the oldest ship in the world...

Excellent. Old sailing ships are epic cool.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

English Assassin wrote:

Frazzled wrote:Constitution still sails though.

Indeed. I note with amusement that there exists an exchange programme between the crews of the two vessels, which, I fear must turn out rather disappointing for those on the US side.

Interesting, the Victory was restored to seaworthiness in the 1920s, and is unfit to sail now thanks to decades of neglect after the second world war. Which is indeed a shame.

Being fond of sailing ships, I'll add the Amerigo Vespucci (only a replica, but who's counting) to this short but very cool list of sailing vessels still nominally on active service.

There are also working (sort of) replicas of Columbus''s three ships in the original discovery voyage. Caravels rock in the waves like a top. Scary to think anyone actually sailed in them.

English Assassin wrote:

Frazzled wrote:Constitution still sails though.

Indeed. I note with amusement that there exists an exchange programme between the crews of the two vessels, which, I fear must turn out rather disappointing for those on the US side.

Interesting, the Victory was restored to seaworthiness in the 1920s, and is unfit to sail now thanks to decades of neglect after the second world war. Which is indeed a shame.

Well...as a point of fact. Victory was taken out of the water in 1922 and has not returned since. She was not in sailing condition in the 20's and most of the repairs in the 20's were above the waterline. The cost of making her seaworthy was deemed too high by the end of WW2. There was a survey post war and repairs completed in the 60's. It's possible at that point she was seaworthy. 90 years out of the water is too long even 50 is assuming she was seaworthy in 65. It's a shame really, Constiution being afloat is really more of a fluke.

The German heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, which was awarded to the US as war prize after WWII, survived two nuclear blasts without taking structural damage only to sink in port at the Kwajalein Atoll a few years lated due to a lack of maintenance.

In 2004, the Swedish submarine HMS Gotland snapped point-blank pictures of USS Ronald Reagan during an excercise intended to evaluate the US Navy's capability to combat conventional diesel-electric sumbarines.

During the Cold War, the US fielded nuclear torpedoes with a blast area bigger than their operational range.

The German rail cannons (not to be confused with railguns!) Schwerer Gustav and Dora, created during WWII, remain the biggest cannons ever used in combat, with a caliber of 800 millimetres (31").

And finally, for an amusing story that might not be true: During WWII, Swedish AA emplacements would open fire on Allied aircraft violating Swedish airspace, due to us being neutral. When the Allied airmen radioed the message "you aim is rubbish" to the Swedish, they allegedly recieved the response "that's the point".

Jihadin wrote:-Birth of the USMC was in Tun Tavern in Philly PA and started off with two Battalions...same birthday as mine

Whats the difference between a Sailor and a Marine? a few beers.

LordofHats wrote:Ships of Star Fleet also use the U.S.S designation... For some reason. Canon later adopted this as meaning United Space Ship

The U.S.S. Constitution is the oldest commissioned naval vessel in the world, at 215 years of age. It is also the only wooden sail power ship still in service to an armed force.

More Tank Trivia!

Between the years of 1919 and 1937, the United States slowly dismantled its military force and radically cut back on the militaries budget. During this time, the United States only operated 13 out of date tanks. The lack of money for development lead to a unique solution: Rather than building tanks, the Army built tank parts. When the war in Europe began the United States took the parts it had designed and rapidly put them together, developing a series of tanks that ultimately became the M4 Sherman in 1940.

The US Cavalry however had its own solution in the interwar years: Build tanks and call them 'combat cars' to avoid violating budgetary limits on the construction of tanks.

IIRC Patton payed out of pocket for the gas of the units under his command, during a training exercise in the US.


http://www.military.com/join-armed-forces/military-trivia-facts.html
1. 30 of the 43 Presidents served in the Army, 24 during time of war, two earned the rank of 5-star General (Washington and Eisenhower) and one earned the Medal of Honor (T. Roosevelt)
2. Less than 28 percent of Americans between the ages of 17-23 are qualified for military service, that’s only about 1-in-4.
3. The U.S. Air Force was part of the Army until 1946. It was called the Army Air Corp.
4. Only one President (James Buchanan) served as an enlisted man in the military and did not go on to become an officer.
5. The Department of Defense employs about 1.8 million people on active duty. It is the largest employer in the United States, with more employees than Exxon, Mobil, Ford, General Motors, and GE combined!
6. The Department of Defense owns worldwide owns 29,819,492 acres of land worldwide.
7. The United States has 737 military installations overseas alone.
8. The Navy’s bell-bottom trousers , are commonly believed to be introduced in 1817 to permit men to roll them above the knee when washing down the decks and to make it easier to remove them in a hurry when forced to abandon ship or when washed overboard. In addition the trousers may be used as a life preserver by knotting the legs and swinging them over your head to fill the legs with air.
9. The Coast Guard seizes 169 pounds of marijuana and 306 pounds of cocaine worth $9,589,000.00 everyday.
10. The Coast Guard is smaller than the New York City Police Department.
11. The Marine Corps motto, "Semper Fidelis,” was adopted in 1883 as the official motto. It is Latin for Always Faithful.
12. The nickname “Leatherneck” originates from the stiff leather stock that early Marines wore around their necks, probably to protect their jugular vein against saber blows.
13. The English Bulldog, also known as "Teufel-hunden,” or "Devil Dogs,” is the unofficial mascot that symbolize the ethos of the Warrior Culture of the U.S. Marines. The U.S. Marine Corps earned this unofficial mascot during World War I, when many German reports called the attacking Marines "teufel-hunden," meaning Devil-Dogs. “Teufel-hunden” were the vicious, wild and ferocious mountain dogs of German Bavarian folklore.
14. The U.S. Army was in charge of exploring and mapping America. The Lewis and Clark Expedition was an all Army affair. Army officers were the first Americans to see such landmarks as Pike's Peak and the Grand Canyon.
15. The Air Force's F-117 fighter uses aerodynamics discovered during research into how bumblebees fly.


Occasions on which a USMC Amphibious Assault has failed:

1. NONE


Nine Notable places where the Marines have raised the "Old glory":

1. Fortress Derna, North Africa, 24 April 1805.
2. Customs House, Monterey, California, 7 July 1846
3. The Palacio Nacional, Mexico City, 13 September 1847
4. Customs House, Cavite, Luzon, Philippine Islands, 3 May 1989
5. Mt. Suribachi, Iwo Jima, 23 February 1945
6. Shuri Castle, Okinawa, 28 May 1945
7. U.S. Embasy, Soul, Korea, 27 September 1950
8. The Citadel, Hue City, Vietnam, 19 February 1968
9. U.S. Embassy, Kuwait city 28 February 1991


The five Occasions for which Lewis "Chesty" Puller was awarded the Navy Cross:
1. Nicaragua, for actions over several weeks in June and July 1930
2. Nicaragua, for a series of six actions that tok place 20-23 September 1932
3. Guadalcanal, for the night battle of 24-25 October 1942 *
4. Cape Cloucester, 2-3 January 1944.
5. Chosin, Korea, for actions during the breakout from the Chosin Reservoir, November-December 1950 **

* On this occasion MG Alexander M. Vandegrift nominated Puller for the Medal of Honor, which was "reduced" to a Navy Cross.
** On this occasion Puller was also awarded the DSC.

Almost half a million Purple Heart Medals were made near the end of WWII, in the anticipation of the invasion of Japan, which never came. There were enough Purple Hearts made during WWII that many units today in Afghanistan and Iraq have Purple Hearts on hand to give to wounded soldiers immediately.

The Huns never sacked Rome. Atilla the Hun did, however, bring his army very close to the city. He was convinced to turn back after Pope Leo I met with him personally.

CuddlySquig wrote:The Huns never sacked Rome. Atilla the Hun did, however, bring his army very close to the city. He was convinced to turn back after Pope Leo I met with him personally.

But the Vandals did.

The Fairey Swordfish was a metal framed and canvas aircraft that was the primary torpedo bomber of the British Navy during WW2. Despite being outdated during the war, it out lasted it's intended replacement and achieve several spectacular successes, including disabling the Bismark. The Bismark's AA guns could not hit them becasue the Swordfishes was moving so slow that the fire control predictors on the German guns where detonating the flak shells far ahead of the Swordfishes.

In 845 Ragnarr Loðbrók and his merry men captured Paris. They sold it back for 7000 pounds of silver.

The T-38 was originally meant to be a light attack aircraft, but was pushed into a pure training role when the F-16 was developed and took it's place.

The Mad Tanker wrote:
The Fairey Swordfish was a metal framed and canvas aircraft that was the primary torpedo bomber of the British Navy during WW2. Despite being outdated during the war, it out lasted it's intended replacement and achieve several spectacular successes, including disabling the Bismark. The Bismark's AA guns could not hit them becasue the Swordfishes was moving so slow that the fire control predictors on the German guns where detonating the flak shells far ahead of the Swordfishes.

Did they not hole half the Italian fleet at anchor at Taranto as well, encouraging the Japanese to approve Admiral Yamamoto's plan to attack Peal Harbour?

The first German serviceman killed in WWII was killed by the Japanese (China, 1937),
the first American serviceman killed was killed by the Russians (Finland 1940),
the highest ranking American killed was LtGen. Lesley McNair, killed by the US Army Air Corps.

So much for allies.

The second Sino-Japanese war began because during muster a single Japanese private was missing. Naturally, the Japanese assumed the Chinese kidnapped him and declared war.

He was using the bathroom.

I am not joking. This is true. Look up Fighting Ships of the Rising Sun for details... If you have $100 to get your hands on a copy or a local library that has one XD

Colonel in chief and mascot of the norwegian Royal Guard is Sir Nils Olav, not wierd at all....


...exept he's a king penguin and he lives at Edinburgh zoo.

FM Ninja 048 wrote:Colonel in chief and mascot of the norwegian Royal Guard is Sir Nils Olav, not wierd at all....


...exept he's a king penguin and he lives at Edinburgh zoo.

I thought it was odd that he was knighted...