Russo-Ukrainian War 2014-23 and Invasion

[Legbiter]

Germans saying they're going to pull 88 mothballed Leopard 1s out of storage and send them to Ukraine.

88 

I guess the Germans really don't have much of a sense of PR. 

14 Leo 2s
88 Leo 1s

[Zanza]

The Leopard 1 tanks are privately owned by Rheinmetall and their CEO said it would take up to a year to get all of them delivered as they will completely take them apart first and then rebuild them.

As at least Germany and Norway have ordered new Leopard 2 tanks now, I guess KMW, which makes them, will ramp up production too.

[HVC]

What's the reason for taking them apart first?

[Solmyr]

Germans saying they're going to pull 88 mothballed Leopard 1s out of storage and send them to Ukraine.

88 

I guess the Germans really don't have much of a sense of PR. 

14 Leo 2s
88 Leo 1s

If this is a coincidence, it's a pretty WTF one.

[Josquius]

14 is a nazi code?

[Legbiter]

I hope Ukrainian tankers paint iron crosses on their Leopards for extra vatnik asshurt.

[Syt]

14 is a nazi code?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourteen_Words

[Barrister]

14 is a nazi code?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourteen_Words

To be fait the 14 words are in English, coined by an American, and probably have no relevancy or meaning in Germany.

88 on the other hand...

[Zanza]

What's the reason for taking them apart first?

They were in storage for 10+ years and are rotten inside.

[Zanza]

A German panzer battalion has 44 main battle tanks, so 88 means two battalions worth of panzers.

[Syt]

14 is a nazi code?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourteen_Words

To be fait the 14 words are in English, coined by an American, and probably have no relevancy or meaning in Germany.

88 on the other hand...

From a few years ago at an AfD event. German text says, "If you understand what I mean."



It's not widely spread it seems, but not exactly unknown within neonazi circles (e.g. there's band names referencing either 14 or 14/88).

[DGuller]

It makes me wonder what the point of mothballing equipment even is if it takes a year to get it online.  If it takes a lot of time and resources to get online crap that you thought was outdated even decades ago, then is it even worth it?

[Zanza]

It will definitely be worth it for Rheinmetall now...

[Sheilbh]

It's not widely spread it seems, but not exactly unknown within neonazi circles (e.g. there's band names referencing either 14 or 14/88).

Yeah it's one of those things where I don't think normal people who aren't either on or particularly aware of the far-right know what it signifies. But people on the far-right, internationally, definitely do even if it originates in American white supremacist movements.

[crazy canuck]

I hesitate to ask, but what does it signify?