Poor Equipment a Tradition

Started by MIGMaster, April 17, 2012, 06:16:20 AM

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Centurion40

I would argue that 2nd hand equipment is the tradition.
Any time is a good time for pie.

MIGMaster

You're right ! A much more accurate statement - with the exception of the Iltis  ;)

Centurion40

Which would bring us back, full-circle, to poor equipment!
Any time is a good time for pie.

Shelldrake

It is sobering to read just how ill equipped Canadian troops were for the Afghanistan mission. However, the "tradition" of poor equipment is even longer standing. RCN ships that were deployed to the Persian Gulf during Operation Friction in the Gulf War were hastily fitted with Harpoon and Phalanx weapons systems that were meant for the new Halifax class frigates, while the Canadian Brigade stationed in Europe during the later years of the Cold War made do with obsolete Centurion tanks and Carl Gustaf recoilless rifles, not to mention having CF-104 Starfighters that were designed as interceptors being tasked for close support!
"Just because something is beyond your comprehension doesn't mean it is scientific."

Dean Edell

Centurion40

Any time is a good time for pie.

MIGMaster

Quote from: Shelldrake on April 18, 2012, 01:20:45 PM
It is sobering to read just how ill equipped Canadian troops were for the Afghanistan mission. However, the "tradition" of poor equipment is even longer standing. RCN ships that were deployed to the Persian Gulf during Operation Friction in the Gulf War were hastily fitted with Harpoon and Phalanx weapons systems that were meant for the new Halifax class frigates, while the Canadian Brigade stationed in Europe during the later years of the Cold War made do with obsolete Centurion tanks and Carl Gustaf recoilless rifles, not to mention having CF-104 Starfighters that were designed as interceptors being tasked for close support!

How true - didn't they even get a gun from a  museum or somewhere to mount on one the ships we sent to the Gulf War (1) ?

The CF-104 was a real crazy choice for CAS or low-level interdiction. My uncle was one of the techs that maintained both the 104's in Germany and the 101's in Canada. He always told me all the horror stories about the CF-104 crashes during training flights - the good 'ole widowmaker.

Shelldrake

You are correct Migs. HMCS Protecteur was fitted with two WW2 vintage 40mm Bofors guns that were museum pieces originally mounted on HMCS Bonaventure 20 years earlier.

http://www.warmuseum.ca/cwm/exhibitions/navy/galery-e.aspx?section=2-H-1&id=4

These same Bofors guns are now the big gun on our Kingston class coastal defence vessels! Waste not want not should be the RCN motto.
"Just because something is beyond your comprehension doesn't mean it is scientific."

Dean Edell

Centurion40

On the upside, the CF-101 made one hell of a gut-sucking roar at airshows.  2nd only to visiting F-111s flying low.
Any time is a good time for pie.

LongBlade

Quote from: Shelldrake on April 18, 2012, 01:20:45 PM
It is sobering to read just how ill equipped Canadian troops were for the Afghanistan mission. However, the "tradition" of poor equipment is even longer standing. RCN ships that were deployed to the Persian Gulf during Operation Friction in the Gulf War were hastily fitted with Harpoon and Phalanx weapons systems that were meant for the new Halifax class frigates, while the Canadian Brigade stationed in Europe during the later years of the Cold War made do with obsolete Centurion tanks and Carl Gustaf recoilless rifles, not to mention having CF-104 Starfighters that were designed as interceptors being tasked for close support!

All I know is that one of your guys was well-equipped enough to have set the record for a sniper distance shot. :)
All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

MIGMaster

I think a US spec forces snlper has reclaimed the honor.


besilarius

Oh, Bofors guns are great.
When you fired them on manual they went "boompa-boompa".
At full auto, the went "Pom, Pom, Pom".
Real character, there.
"Most gods throw dice, but Fate plays chess, and you don't find out until too late that he's been playing with two queens all along".  Terry Pratchett.

During filming of Airplane, Leslie Nielsen used a whoopee cushion to keep the cast off-balance. Hays said that Nielsen "played that thing like a maestro"

Tallulah Bankhead: "I'll come and make love to you at five o'clock. If I'm late, start without me."

"When all other trusts fail, turn to Flashman." — Abraham Lincoln.

"I have enjoyed very warm relations with my two husbands."
"With your eyes closed?"
"That helped."  Lauren Bacall

Master Chiefs are sneaky, dastardly, and snarky miscreants who thrive on the tears of Ensigns and belly dancers.   Admiral Gerry Bogan.

Jack Nastyface

Quote from: MIGMaster on April 18, 2012, 05:08:36 PM
I think a US spec forces snlper has reclaimed the honor.
I think a brit now holds the record with a Lapua round.
Now, the problem is, how to divide five Afghans from three mules and have two Englishmen left over.