Hauksbee

If the Somme doesn't stand out like Verdun (to the French) it may be due to the fact that the two should be considered one battle. The Germans attacked Verdun in February and the battle dragged on until December. The Somme, in July, was England's contribution. It was hoped that a British success (and the British were very optimistic) would cause the Germans to fall back from Verdun.In the end, the French defense and the British attack simply defined the concept of bloodbath.

Well done, indeed.

Thanks Jim. That clears that up. And I get the gyroscopic issues involved, but being off-center, why didn't the rotary simply shake itself apart? After WWI, the advances in in-line engines pushed the rotary aside. We talked about this once-upon a day at Sim HQ. Neiuport seems to have hung on longest to the rotary. WOFF REPLY FROM SirMike1983: One of the single biggest developments that people often overlook is the incredible growth of power in liquid-cooled engines between 1914 and 1919. The comparative advantage of the rotary is relatively large at 80 hp actually turns to disadvantage at 180 or 200 hp because of the incredible gyroscopic effects the large rotaries could develop. Some builders answered with "counter rotating" rotaries, but with the improvement of the V8 liquid cooled engine by 1919, the rotary's days were numbered. However, you do see some of the principles used in rotraries re-applied to radial engines, which continued on for quite some time alongside the V-type engines.

Because if you had an even number (say, 12) you'd have six cylinders on the up-stroke and six on the down, in perfect opposition and the engine would stall. edit: Wait! That can't be right. 6 up/6 down is the definition of an in-line engine.

Very cool. Interesting to see that the crankshaft was off center to the crankcase.

But what about the choice of engines?

Was it rotary powered because, like the Dr.1 and the D.VIII, the much preferred Mercedes engine was not available?

That "Phase..." was created by the introduction of the Sopwith Triplane. The Germans were so shocked by its ability to go toe-to-toe with the new Albatros fighters that, in the next six months, every aircraft manufacturer in Germany tendered a triplane design. Most were simple additions of a third wing on existing designs. Most never saw production. The Fokker V8 was a case of "Tony Fokker running amok". The Dr.1 had worked out so well that Fokker got this wild notion that you could just keep adding more wings and performance would get better and better. He ran into solid resistance in the person of Reinhold Platz (his lead designer) Platz argued vehemently against it, but, in the end, Fokker was the boss; Platz caved in and built the monster. Fokker was no engineer. He was a race driver-cum-pilot/salesman. But a very good pilot. When the V8 was ready, he took it up for its maiden flight. When he landed, he curtly ordered the V8 to be pushed into an unused hangar and it was never mentioned again.

LUSAC made automobiles?

An assortment found on-line this morning...

It certainly did. Prior to the American Civil war, a unit suffering 5%-10% casualties was considered to have undergone a bloodbath. During the Civil War 30%-50% was considered normal and people were fascinated by photos of the battlefield. Photographers, (Brady foremost among them) grew rich fulfilling the public's demand. Then the war ended and the demand collapsed. Thousands and thousands of glass plate negatives suddenly had no market.and were sold off as scrap...for the glass value alone. The people who bought the glass were mostly building greenhouses and the images were scraped off and discarded. An enormous piece of the historical record was lost.

Well...for one, the war was over.

Berlin was pounded so heavily that it's amazing that you could recognize anything.

Look at the bright side, Dutch. At least they cut out the commercials that (ostensibly) made the repeating necessary.

Agreed! This is one of my favorite "Dogfights" chapters. This is the one that taught me what "superior rate of climb" meant. I always took it to mean that Zero would simply climb up and away from the fight, when, in fact, the Zero was watching over his shoulder, waiting for the Wildcat to stall out. I imagine the Hellcat was a very big shock to a lot of Japanese pilots who were used to having things their way.

Automatic rifles produced automatically. (Was there supposed to be sound with that?)

Two excellent choices.

This is my only Frisiander joke: (told to me by a Polish girl) A car mechanic was repairing the turn signals. When he thought he had it right, he tells his Frisian helper to stand behind the car and call out if the signals are working. "Ready?" he says and pushes the lever. "They're working!" says the helper. "Whoops! Not working! Working! Not working! Working! Not working! Working..."

Glad you liked "Crunchy Frog". I especially loved the "...garnished with Lark's vomit." "RAF Banter". That's the one. ("You can't banter slowly.") I love the stunned silence and "Nope. Didn't catch a word of that." Would I be correct if I assumed The Pythons were wildly popular in Germany?

Thank you, Olham. That's the one. Absolutely ridiculous, nonsensical theatre-of-the-absurd. And every time I see it, I chuckle happily. . I'd also recommend "RAF Banter", but that one has been taken down too. Try this: "Crunchy Frog". . http://www.ebaumsworld.com/videos/crunchy-frog/82599899/

Hard to say. I think the Pythons were just completely different from anything that came before them. They certainly enjoyed "absurdity for its own sake". This is one of my all-time favorites. . . Well...that didn't go as planned. 'Seems the original got pulled for copyright reasons. When I saw "Kittens Re-Enact the Battle of Pearl Harbor" I thought it had been re-posted under a different name. Not so. In the original,the 'ladies' split into two groups, a whistle is blown and they charge at each other in a huge mud pit, wrestling, pummeling each other with purses. 'About as "absurd" as it can get.

When the Pythons first arrived on American TV, I didn't get them at all, tho' later I did. They proved to be an acquired taste.

And I learned that the Isetta was made by BMW. I remember them and somehow I always thought they were made in Italy. Surprise!