Japanese submarines were given identification numbers in a series following an initial Kata character that was used to indicate what size or class of submarine was being numbered. The Kata characters “I” (), “RO” (),and “HA” () indicated large medium and small submarines. “HA”, by the way, is pronounced “WA”. There were also some Japanese … More Japanese WWII Submarine Models
This is the time of the year when the Palestinians usually make another attempt to have the British Government rescind the Balfour Declaration. It’s just another way to try to keep world media focused on their problems. But it doesn’t hurt to examine the facts, Lord Arthur Balfour was the British foreign secretary during World … More Lord Balfour? Who? What?
It all started when Hamas in Gaza had a demonstration exercise for some of their VIPs. A couple of them fired in the direction of an Israeli infantry unit near the separation fence. A nearby Israeli tank took out the snipers. At that point it was 9:2 in Israels favor. Hamas couldn’t let that go … More We’re Having a Small War (Again)
The news media keeps reporting about the Syrian Army, with Russian support, is recapturing the area near the borders with Israel and Jordan. The pictures show a lot of urban destruction. Well, we just spent the last weekend in some little cottages in the Israeli side of the Southern Golan Heights. I want to tell … More Surprise – 50
I actually did get to practice my skill as an air intercept controller twice after graduating from the school We were with the Seventh Fleet and participating in a SEATO naval exercise. The first simulated raid got to take on was inbound. I was given an English De Hhaviland Sea Vixen to control. I ordered … More Real intercept control
This morning we woke up to the aftermath of the latest spasm of violence in Gaza. T probably won’t be the last. To be fair, conditions for the “average” resident of the Gaza enclave are about 20% worse than appalling. But that doesn’t seem to make much difference to the Hamas rulers. Their lives are … More Spasm of Violence
Disruptive Camouflage at Gallipoli in 1915 Disruptive pattern, or Dazzle, camouflage was used in 1917 to save merchant ships from :U-boat attacks. But the idea of disruptive camouflage had been in actual use earlier, A British professor of zoology, John Kerr, had proposed the idea as a means of confusing range-finders. Then First Lord of … More Disruptive camouflage at Gallipoli in 1915
Frederick Alexander Pawla One of the highly important, and largely forgotten, figures in the camouflage of US ships in the First World War was Frederick Alexander Pawla. Pawla was born in Scotland in 1876. He immigrated to the US and joined the US Navy when he was just 14 years old and not yet 5 … More Frederick Alexander Paula
When I was serving in USS Valley Forge I had my first encounter with navy specific hazing. The Navy, like many other semi-closed societies, has a vocabulary all its own and has ‘entry rituals’ that are performed to bring in new members. One of the most common is to assign new sailors who have never … More Navy Hazing
Wetherhorn 