Milsurp After Hours

"Trophies"... according to a Harrisburg PA newspaper a hundred years ago. Hard to tell what the newspaper is calling trophies but the muzzles look a lot like Enfields to me. Maybe the returning to their trench soldiers are just recovering the rifles of their casualties.

http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/ ... d-1/seq-1/

Reminds me of facebook, take a photo and someone that knows nothing about what's in
the photo makes up a caption............

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Yes, all SMLE's and if that was near the front line I doubt they would be standing around like that!!

FIRST USE OF TANK'S IN BATTLE.
The Mark I entered service in August 1916, and was first used in action on the morning of 15 September 1916 during the Battle of Flers-Courcelette, part of the Somme Offensive

The first tanks were known as the Mark I after the subsequent designs were introduced. Mark Is armed with two 6 pounder guns and three 8 mm Hotchkiss machine guns were called "Male" tanks; those with four Vickers machine guns and one Hotchkiss, were called "Female". Swinton is credited with inventing the terms.[17]

To aid steering, a pair of large wheels were added behind the tank. These were not as effective as hoped and were subsequently dropped.

The subsequent Mark II, III, IV, and V, and later tanks, all bear a strong resemblance to their "Mother".

Mark I

Crew: 8
Combat Weight
Male: 28 tons (28.4 tonnes)
Female: 27 tons (27.4 tonnes)
Armour: 0.23–0.47 in (6–12 mm)
Armament
Male: two 6-pounder QF, three 8 mm Hotchkiss Machine Guns
Female: four 0.303 in Vickers Machine Guns, one 8 mm Hotchkiss Machine Gun
The Gun Carrier Mark I was a separate design, intended to carry a field gun or howitzer that could be fired from the vehicle. In service, it was mostly used for carrying supplies and ammunition. Forty-eight were built.

Initial production of the Mark I was to be by Fosters and Metropolitan: 25 from Fosters and 75 from Metropolitan, which had greater capacity in Wednesbury at the Old Park site of the Patent Shaft Company, a subsidiary of the Metropolitan. Metropolitan also received an order for a further 50 so that the Army would be able to raise 6 tank companies of 25 tanks each and set up further production under their Oldbury Wagon and Carriage Company. As there were not enough 6-pounder guns available for all 150 tanks, it was decided to equip half of them with just machine guns. A new sponson design with two Vickers machine guns in rotating shields was produced.

Anybody could play at machines of war. Here is one that has been modified by the British that to start with was a US built farm tractor. Actually what struck me about this is that a friend of mine retired from Caterpillar tractor company in Peoria Illinois.

And... I bet it was a terrible engine of war..but not like the newspaper means. However, the track looks a lot more like it ought to than the previous post of a fledgling design.

http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/ ... d-1/seq-1/

Wow, I had no idea those could do a wheelie............


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How about this. Same photo in a different newspaper a day later. Different story.

http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/ ... d-1/seq-1/

Daylight Saving Time started 100 years ago......

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/0/when- ... ime-tunnel

England...at least Lloyd George... was feeling sure of now having the upper hand in the bloodbath of the "great war". The allies .. according to George.. were now on top of the learning curve and he was determined to kill some Germans. He wasn't listening to any peace talk pressure from Wilson or the Pope or any other "neutral". He wanted to put a hurt on the Germans in a way that would put them out of the war business forever. He didn't want the end to come without the knockout punch.

http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/ ... d-1/seq-1/

The problem with that is because we look at it from a historical point of view we can't see it the way he did at the time plus the big mistake was to apply the sanctions that we did after 1918. As for the Pope, well