Naval Warfaretards/Churchillians, to me!

[PDH]

Paratroops single handedly saved multi-part semi-historically based wartime dramas on HBO.  They kicked the Marine's ass, that is for sure.

[CountDeMoney]

You know, objectively I know Neil and grumbler are right on this one.

Now grumbler is well aware of my pro-navy leanings;  however, I will not allow a denigration or discounting of the need, use and impact of TEH STRATEGIC BOMBA, particularly one with nukes at its Fail Safe point, whether it's the glorious visage of a B-52, a sexy ass NOE B-1 or Batman flying around in his B-2.

And besides, the established reputation of firebombings of civilian/industrial assets with strategic bombers is gravy.

[Ideologue]

You know, objectively I know Neil and grumbler are right on this one.

You know no such thing.   Battleships have managed to do practically nothing since their advent--except get sunk by airplanes.

Well there was that one time they sunk each other then proceeded to never even leave port again till the war was over, and that one time Dreadnought ran over a submarine by accident, and OK there was Glorious and Taffy 3, but otherwise.

[Ideologue]

And, yes, it was more wasteful than the paratroop force!

Yeah, both were of pretty limited military utility, but the bombers were an order of magnitude more wasteful of resources.

Even the strike-back morale boost was negated by the horror of saturation bombing.  I've heard stories of Bomber Command vets getting treated like they'd come back from Vietnam, with the baby-killing and all.

They took on the task of transforming a country full of Nazis and Nazi accomplices into a country full of pacifist Euroweenies.  I don't see how that could be accomplished without firebombing.

[Baron von Schtinkenbutt]

And they're useful in the maritime strike/maritime reconnaissance role too.  But we both know that.

P-3 is a much better strike/recon platform.

[MadBurgerMaker]

Oh shit.  We have some P-3 love in the thread! 

[Baron von Schtinkenbutt]

They took on the task of transforming a country full of Nazis and Nazi accomplices into a country full of pacifist Euroweenies.  I don't see how that could be accomplished without firebombing.

[Ideologue]

And they're useful in the maritime strike/maritime reconnaissance role too.  But we both know that.

P-3 is a much better strike/recon platform.

My bombers kicked your ass too, Moltke.  Like grumbler, you permitted your prejudice to blind you to the power of the air.

While I saw clearly.

[CountDeMoney]

Oh shit.  We have some P-3 love in the thread! 

Hells yeah.

One of my directors flew P-3s in the Pacific for the Golden Eagles back in the day;  stalked Soviet subs out of Vladivostok.

Said the only time he was ever nervous flying was when they had to randomly patrol with nukes. 

[Ideologue]

They took on the task of transforming a country full of Nazis and Nazi accomplices into a country full of pacifist Euroweenies.  I don't see how that could be accomplished without firebombing.

And if they'd had more than 80 strategic bombers, and better bombers than the sort of crummy Pe-8, they'd have been in Berlin in 1944.

[CountDeMoney]

Of course they're drunk as shit in that pic.

[Neil]

They took on the task of transforming a country full of Nazis and Nazi accomplices into a country full of pacifist Euroweenies.  I don't see how that could be accomplished without firebombing.

The Red Army and the atomic bomb did that.

[MadBurgerMaker]

Hells yeah.

One of my directors flew P-3s in the Pacific for the Golden Eagles back in the day;  stalked Soviet subs out of Vladivostok.

Said the only time he was ever nervous flying was when they had to randomly patrol with nukes. 

VP-9?  Nice gig.

[Neil]

You know no such thing.   Battleships have managed to do practically nothing since their advent--except get sunk by airplanes.

Actually, it seems to me that aircraft were pretty ineffective against properly manned and screened battleships at sea, unless they attacked in gigantic numbers.  They got the Prince of Wales, although they had huge numbers attacking in every direction against a lone ship (as the unmodernized Repulse had the military utility of a stick of gum).  Hiei had already been crippled by gunfire.  Yamato and Musashi were attacked by wave after wave of aircraft.  Roma was manned by Italians.

Now, compare that to the havoc that Allied battleships wreaked on Axis aircraft throughout the war.

[Ed Anger]

Taffy 3