The Myths of WWII

Do we already have a thread about the myths of WWII ,and,if not,it is possible to start such a thread ?

 

Well I suppose that we could start.

Singapore's guns that "could only fire out to sea" is one.
The Zero was so good that Allied aircraft couldn't take them on. (Wildcat, P-40 etc)
That Pearl Harbor was a sneak attack without warning is another.

 

Heh. I heard a new one awhile back, from a guy who's been generally rather intelligent, up until this point: his explanation for the reason why the F4U had gull-wings was not that it made for easier folding/storage on an aircraft carrier, but that the prop was so big that without the gull-wings, the prop would eat the deckplates. I honestly just had to sit there with my jaw on the floor when he said that.

 

Well that's esentially how Wiki describes it.

 

Ummm...thats actually correct. The Corsair was to have the biggest radial available 2000-2200 Vought/Goodyear - Coupled with a prop that could "use" that sort of horsepower. The prop would strike the deck when it pitched forward on landing/contact..The gulling pushed the aiframe up and yet allowed for short, thick and sturdy landing gear that every carrier based aircraft need. - No myth!

Oh and if it "was" about folding wing (thats the myth) most carrier aircraft would have gulled wings.

 

How about the MYTH that the Tuskegee Airmen never lost a bomber under their protection? Erich has pointed that fact out many times here.

 

Well that had me! (Thought it was a bit hard to beleive) How many DID they lose?

 

It shall be done

 

Well, I'm usually the first to admit when I'm wrong, but I'm also the first to not take Wiki as the absolute truth. LOL I knew it had a big prop, but if it was that big, the thing would never take off, since the plane levels itself for a short period as it builds up speed, just before lifting off. Or so I've always thought. The gull-wing was, I believed, something of a design experiment, since the planes following it had straight wings that folded up along the side of their fuselage, instead of up and over. Well, ya learn something new every day!

 

Hi C/ Unkn but Erich can give you some numbers at least ;-))

 

Hi Opana.
No I'm not talking about "PH was planned by Roosevelt as a Masonic plot" or something like that.
They didn't exactly know that Hawaii was to be attacked or the date of hostilities, what I'm saying is that by the fall of '41 it was becoming increasingly obvious that there was going to be conflict between the US and Japan

There has been a lot of hyperbole about the Japanese attack, described as "treachery" "underhanded" and such, but this seems to be mainly spin.
The leadership may only have expected some conflict in the PI or Far East, but there had been enough warning in the weeks leading up to PH so that a prudent commander might be prepared.

I don't think most people know all the details about the July '41 oil embargo, but after that Japan's options were limited, and unless they accepted humiliation and backed down, war was almost inevitable.

 

I once heard the Third Reich would last a thousand years.

 

WWIIGeneral WWII Myths(not to be confounded with the other ones)
First,2 popular ones (at least in circles where intelligence is not very welcome)
1) The briliant (of course) German generals could easily win WWII,but were hindered by the intervention of the stupid Austrian corporal (of course) (popular at Stormfront and Venezuela)
2) The brilliant Fuehrer could easily win WWII,but was hindered by the betrayal by the general staff (popular at Stormfront)
For those who are finding a contradiction between 1 and 2 :at Stormfront,contradiction replace intellect.
3)During the war millions of idle German women were willing to work for Fuhrer and Fatherland,but the stupid Adolf was preventing this.(popular with the Speer fans)
4)In 1942,the stupid Adolf did a good thing :appointing Speer as head of the war economy,it saved Germany a defeat in 1942 (popular with the Speer boys)
5)Germany lost the war,because the stupid Adolf did not listen to the advices of Speer (popular with the Speer boys)
6)Germany lost the war because of the extermination of the Jews
7)Germany lost the war because the nazi regime was inefficient
8)The SU would lose the war without Lend-Lease(popular in the US)
9)Lend-Lease was nothing (popular in Russia)
10)The US were giving the tools,the Russians were giving their lives (popular with nitwits)
The hiding idea for numbers 5,6,7, is to search for a black sheep

 

Gee, thanks for the heads-up...Stormfront sounds like a WW2 kiddie park.

 

No salutes yet so ya got the othar. Thansk for the info on them.