Comments by "Simon Nonymous" (@Simon_Nonymous) on "Drachinifel" channel.

  1. "We want the largest guns known to humanity. We want them here, and we want them now."
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  2. If you ever visit the German shore battery at Longues sur Mere, you will see direct hits from naval gunfire through the gunshield of one of the 152mm shore guns... I think the bombardment was assisted by radar ranging but it's still chilling to think of what happened when you see the entry hole and the holes made by shell splinters.
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  3. EDIT - Olympic medallist with a 'disability' that would nearly stop him serving in the USN. Do you think he and Nelson are up there in Heaven having a laugh right now? While King argues with God over the seating arrangements?
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  4.  @deanomarino31  Thunderbirds wasn't real? I am a broken man.
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  5. I am very dismayed by the so called comments section here. They are all informative, adult and also constructive when they are not totally complimentary. What sort of people are you?
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  6. Nice comment - my biggest regret was that I'd never heard of him till now.
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  7. Agincourt 25 October, 1415, and the battle of Balaclava 25 October 1854. Well spotted, but not sure what Taffy three might have been translated from!!
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  8. NB the image of the flipped tank at 24:31 is of a Tiger II, and the chap next to it is Dwight Eisenhower - it's in the Wikipedia entry on the Tiger II. The location given is Chambois, which is 57km from the ocean, therefore this is probably not due to a warship's shell, and is most likely to be due to bombing. PS - the Oerlikon on the LVT4 is not historical, it would have been the similar Polsten cannon. Just servicing my inner nerd folks!
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  9. A small plea for 'Dido' to be pronounced with the first syllable to rhyme with "my" - or is there a reason the RN mispronounced itfor the Dido class cruisers please?
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  10. Yes the chap at Historic Dockyards who guided me round the Armada section made the point that we don't really talk about our failed armada the year after this, and perhaps we should.
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  11. I wonder if the Germans had attempted Plan Z what the effect on the development of the RAF would have been as well... hopefully more orientated about flattening shipyards and antishipping capability? We can only speculate :-)
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  12. Well you're no smoothie are you? ;-) EDIT SonsOfLorgar beat me to it!
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  13. Well I'm sat with a beer making a 1:48 Airfix Blenheim and this one sails up - how nice to see your build and paint jobs. It's now over 40 years since I first went to war with a tape measure and a handful of lucky dice, so it's dead good to see people are still wargaming with models in this day and age. NB I've stumbled across a very good AFV channel and the best compliment that he gets paid is that he is the Drach of the AFV world - you sir are a yardstick of worthiness!
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  14. oh more more more please - what a thoroughly nice bloke Dr Hocker is.
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  15. "What were you doing outside with your friend dear?" "Oh just some science love." The respirator - protector of both lungs, and facial hair. Very wise.
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  16. We enjoyed your input, thank you for sharing it with us. Nb - I am not that great at science and chemistry, but you never lost me the once with your explanations and dialogue - you are very easy to listen to as well. All the best!
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  17.  @Morgan_Sandoval  I hate to say that you are right. I'm in the UK following a rebuild of a Lancaster Bomber.... it's pretty well funded but we are in year four out of a ten year project. It's the same for old buildings too - the skills are now forgotten, the tools are long gone, every part that is replaced is built by hand, no mass production lines or parts bins to raid. Even to get a Flower class corvette seaworthy would be a massive undertaking. Thank you for bringing me back to earth from the planet of dreams.
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  18. Yes there are equivalents in Scotland, eg Tarbert across Kintyre, it seems to be a fairly common procedure where the geography allows. Greetings to Norway!!
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  19. Seconded - just looking at the images used here, I am guessing there were thousands of people doing their stuff on a man made island in the middle of nowhere. I would love to know more.
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  20.  @johannderjager4146  or even just politics world wide I am afraid.
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  21. Brutal. But true.
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  22. ah what was I doing this lunchtime anyway...feet up, smile on!
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  23. This has been a most excellent video, despite me taking two days to enjoy its full goodness. Good to see Matt and his expertise, love the Trafalgar Gun lads too. Thank you Drach - it was worth the wait. One more day to Trafalgar Day - we always celebrated it at my school in Newcastle as one of its old boys was a certain Cuthbert Collingwood.
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  24. I looked at those USN after action analysis drawings, and the images of ships like CA-32 and breath a lot. Fix it or burn or swim seems to be a great motivator. Respect is indeed due.
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  25. Do you follow the Royal Armouries - Ian McCollum did a quick cameo appearance there too!
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  26. You sir, are a poet. If shewill not marry you now, I would!
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  27. @ Marcus WC Tipton - I have also read that in British counterinsurgency campaigns, they realised that a .303 or later 7.62 could go through tree trunks if the enemy used them as shelter. If the bullets didn't find their mark, the splinters could.
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  28. I wanted a quick vid while my bath runs.... I think I will watch it in the bath instead. Water, steam... all adds to the ambience!
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  29. I am sold already. I suppose I am a revisionist and iconoclast by inclination. Good to see our British/English national myths put into context under the microscope with the benefit of hindsight. Lovely to get to hear from Paul - someone I think I might just be following from now on.
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  30. Aha! As soon as i saw the title I was hoping Balasz would be here from Cap and Ball. He's a great fellow and I love his channel too, in bright Hunglish language!
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  31. Absolutely brilliant work chaps thank you. UBoat.net has long been a favourite of mine; it actually let me find out details of the U-boot that sank my great grandfather's troopship in 1917 when I was researching my ancestry. Also World War 1 submarine history deserves more attention - I hope this helps.
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  32. How very timely. Last week we were on our honeymoon, and in Pompey looking at the new Armada map display in the RN historic dockyards. Now I have three videos on this subject to enjoy.
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  33. I'm with you there. If George Cayley had access to a light and powerful internal combustion engine, or had used rocketry, maybe the Wright brothers would have stayed making bicycles. You are braver than I am though, I am not sure I'd be happy under water for so long! Enjoy your retirement.
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  34. Yes, Prime Minister.
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  35. I could listen to you all day Drach - oh it looks like I will have to!
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  36.  @kleinjahr  and weirdly, in UK English the word is still - portage! Although we pronounce it like port (the wine) + age as in "what is your age?"
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  37.  @Ragefps  you are right. Heavy bombers did a lot of bombing in support of tactical objectives in Normandy I think
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  38. Another very worthy comment - thank you
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  39. 1940 - "Not today short man with tache"
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  40. Well so far, so good. Some of the more unusual decisions emanating from the early 30s are explained well here, and are not as silly as some choose to make them out to be. Great vid - will resume after walking the dogs on the beach. TTFN! Yup - great video, very informative indeed. Thank you gentlemen.
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  41. I recall it being released in the UK and watching it every week. My uncle who was ex Royal Navy watched it with us, and thought the poor lads must have been bonkers to volunteer for submarines - he was after all on aircraft carriers! I watch it now on DVD in German, the full theatrical release.
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  42.  @victoroduarte  that made me laugh 😃
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  43. They are still there and as enormous as ever! The whole coast is worth a visit to remember this vital battle. NB - using similar technology, there were also cast concrete barges made for inland British waterways, so as to not use up steel, and three are still to be found partially submerged next to the Manchester Ship Canal at 53.39110160483134, -2.4954362884492767 - a good vid from a local lad about them can be found here: https://youtu.be/ExKPh9mszFE
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  44. Aha - I have a 45 min lunch break and here is a 37 min video. Lunch is cooked in 8 mins. Perfect!
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  45.  @mjxw  but GB did ally with the foremost European power in contradiction to your assertion, and were indeed the poor relation of the French when it came to the fighting.
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  46. When all we have is HMS Belfast, I hope the USA preserves this marvel of engineering
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  47. ​ @johnniewoodard648  and indeed your comment was about the horrors that men and women faced in the aftermath; not about how many were killed. Yes, what you wrote did make sense; we can see and respect great human achievement in the face of adversity, but doesn't it reflect badly on us as humans that this actually happened at all? That's why my heart dies when I visit war cemeteries, and observe Armstice Day here in the UK. Hats off to you, and thank you for your service.
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  48.  @johnmcmickle5685  wow, that's a great bit of knowledge, and no, I'd rather not be on one either!
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  49. Sounds like my ex wife.... she only owned one slave to be fair but that was me.
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  50. Nothing wrong with the sound Drach, you're always audible and comprehensible. The Devil's Chariots by John Glanfield is a good read for anyone who wants a more detailed look at the evolution of the tank in British/Empire service in the Great War
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