HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: Jim Davies <jimd@sfu.ca>
Subject: Re: Rivet popping
Organization: Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, B.C., Canada
Date: Mon, 9 Nov 1992 19:29:19 GMT


From Jim Davies <jimd@sfu.ca>

Dan Sorenson <viking@iastate.edu> writes:


>From Dan Sorenson <viking@iastate.edu>

>William Logan Lee <bill@extro.ucc.su.oz.au> writes:

>>The British tended to use bolted-on armour much later than the German or
>>US.  Examples include the Crusader, Centaur, and Cromwell; the latter two
>>having especially noticable bolt heads on the turret. A non-penetrating
>>hit on a bolt or rivet could still shear the fastener off and create a
>>lethal secondary missile.

>	Now this got me to wondering, and while trying to imagine a hit
>on a bolt head sending the bolt flying about inside the tank, my mind
>went back to the movie Das Boot, where the rivets in the bulkheads were
>being sheared and flying about the ship.

>	Question: does it happen?  I can't imagine how a rivet, unless
>it's just incredibly brittle, would shear like that.  If it was just
>sort of cut apart by flexing bulkheads, the bulkheads should have
>caved in once their structural integrity gave way enough to allow this
>much flexing.  Has anybody seen references to this?  Obviously, sailors
Yes, I have, and Im trying to recall the book. I remember that the 
British had only one technical inspector whose job it was to evaluate
enemy material, it being thought that no valuable information coulb be 
gained this way. This is why the Germans were able to use face-hardened armor
for several years before the brits caught on. Believing themselves to have
the best tanks, the british made no efforts to change from their 
preferred construction methods, which consisted of angle iron framework
with flat steel plates rivetted on. A hit with the appropriate size
shell caused very serious damage to this type of construction, with
many plates being loosened, and rivets flying in every direction!
Oddly enough, Rolls-Royce did much to modernize tanks, as a result
of the use of the merlin *derated* as a tank engine. The fight RR
had to get the merlin accepted over HM governments preferred engine
*the WW1 Liberty , made under licence!!* was long. They wound up having to
engineer a complete driveline. Will try and find some refs. to post

Jim Davies











Newsgroups: sci.military
From: Peter Shyvers <pshyvers@pyrnova.mis.pyramid.com>
Subject: Re:  Re: Bofors 40mm AA in WW2
Organization: Pyramid Technology Corp., Mountain View, CA
Date: Thu, 12 Nov 1992 17:32:51 GMT


From Peter Shyvers <pshyvers@pyrnova.mis.pyramid.com>


In article <BxICp9.KuE@law7.DaytonOH.NCR.COM> ecrjbruce@economics.adelaide.edu.au writes:
>
>From ecrjbruce@economics.adelaide.edu.au
>
>In article <Bx5CsC.IpH@law7.DaytonOH.NCR.COM>,     "Edward J. Rudnicki" (FSAC-SID) <erudnick@pica.army.mil> writes:
>> 
>> The Sherman Firefly mounted a variation of the British 17 pounder AT
>> gun, nominally of 77mm. There was also a US upgunned Sherman mounting
>> a 76mm gun, a rough equivalent of the 17 pounder. Both apparently
>> worked well.
>
>Are you sure of this??  The Firefly had an actual 17pdr from memory, as the
>turret ring was large enough to accomodate it and the turret could be modified
>"out the back" as it were to account for the longer length.  The 17pdr was
>actually a 76.2mm gun, the British measuring their  guns in terms of weight of
>shot fired (a throwback to Napoleonic times?) rather than an actual calibre.
>
Yes, the weapon was in fact a 17pdr; some histories list it as 77mm to
approximate the bore diameter for comparisons. Also, I think it was the
practice to round *up* to 77mm rather than *down* to 76mm to avoid the
obvious confusion. The 17pdr, I believe, had some "hot" ammunition that
the Sherman M4A1 76mm crews would have liked to have had, and it would
be a shame to jam a lot of bores for .2 mm...

As I recall, the 17pdr had to be mounted with the breech 90 degrees out-of-
whack for a normal AFV weapon; were the trunnions also so mis-positioned?

>The US 76mm gun was used on the HVSS "easy eight" Sherman from memory but I'll
>have to check this one out as well.
>

Yes, on the M4A3E8, but also on the M4A1 76mm.  The M4A3 retained the 75mm
gun, as did the M4, M4A2, M4A4, and M4A5.

I'm not sure about the M4A3E2 "Jumbo", but I *think* it was an un-muzzle-
braked 76mm. Grousers, 6" front armour - that really must have chewed up
the pavement. And it *moved* as compared to the German heavies.

Anyone know if what I recall is true: I seem to remember that the Tiger (I)
didn't have direct-drive to the front sprockets. Instead, the engine drove
a generator, and the drive sprockets were powered by electric motors.

Opinions?


Newsgroups: sci.military
From: Robert E George <regeorge@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu>
Subject: Re: Japanese Strategy in WWII
Organization: The Ohio State University
Date: Thu, 5 Nov 1992 17:32:02 GMT


From Robert E George <regeorge@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu>


In article <Bx5Cy1.J0r@law7.DaytonOH.NCR.COM> jaskew@spam.maths.adelaide.edu.au
 (Joseph Askew) writes:
[deletions]
>
>He ['He' denotes FDR ]
>tried in 1938 to get Britian and the US to fight Japan. It sort of looks
>like it. Also a War against Japan was a War against Germany compare with
>Cold War and Vietnam
[deletions]

Can you please elaborate on the 1938 incident -- I am not familiar with it?

Also, you write "a War against Japan was a War against Germany" . But
a War against Germany was *not* a War against Japan: Soviet Russia
fought Germany without fighting Japan. Can you please clarify the
asymmetry there?

Robert George
(speaking only for myself)

"The very essence of individual freedom is equal justice under a rule of
law, a law to which every man shall be subject and which no executive
can modify."
    Senator Robert Taft , March 11, 1944

Newsgroups: sci.military
From: Tim McDaniel <amara!amara!heifetz!amara!amara!mcdaniel@heifetz.msen.com>
Subject: Re: Surprise attack on Pearl Harbor
Organization: Applied Dynamics International, Inc.; Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
Date: Wed, 4 Nov 1992 17:22:06 GMT


From Tim McDaniel <amara!amara!heifetz!amara!amara!mcdaniel@heifetz.msen.com>

In article <Bwzp2J.4KH@law7.DaytonOH.NCR.COM>
thornley@micro.cs.umn.edu writes:

   (two U.S. battleships were permanently lost at Pearl, by the way -
   you forgot Oklahoma)

So what was Utah -- sushi?  8-)

OK, it was a training ship of some sort, but as best I recall, there
was a substantial death toll there, and it's still slowly corroding
away in the water.

--
Tim McDaniel                 Applied Dynamics Int'l.; Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
Internet: mcdaniel@adi.com              UUCP: {sharkey,heifetz}!amara!mcdaniel
From: gak@n5abi.hou.tx.us (Gene A. Kennedy)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: The use of unguided rockets in WWII
Date: 11 Nov 92 17:20:14 GMT
Organization: Ham Radio Operator, Houston Tex.


From "Gene A. Kennedy" <gak@n5abi.hou.tx.us>

> From Anthony Lee <anthony@cs.uq.oz.au>
> 
> 
> Recently, in one of the threads, there is a mention of the 
> use of unguided rockets as air-to-surface weapons, in particular
> to attack tanks.  My question, is how do the pilots aim these
> weapons, since they are unguided ?

 The same way we aimed the 2.75 inch rockets fired by Cobras in 
Viet Nam, which were also "unguided". That term simply means that 
there was no means to "correct" the flight path once they were 
launched. In both cases, the rockets were "fin stabilized" and 
flew a ballistic trajectory. All you did was aim the whole 
aircraft at the target, compensate for wind and range (how much 
they would drop from a straight line path) and fire. In the case 
of the older Huey gunships in Nam (UH-1B/C), we didn't even bother
to use the sights provided, but prefered to use a simple "grease 
pencil" mark on the windshield for alignment. The sight was too 
bulky and blocked too much of your view :-)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
             Gene Kennedy - Ham Radio Operator, N5ABI -
                         gak@n5abi.hou.tx.us
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Newsgroups: sci.military
From: gawne@stsci.edu
Subject: Re: 106mm Recoiless Rifle - Rocket or Gun?
Organization: Space Telescope Science Institute
Date: Thu, 12 Nov 1992 17:29:25 GMT


From gawne@stsci.edu

In article <BxID61.LMH@law7.DaytonOH.NCR.COM>, 
ppugliese@pimacc.pima.edu writes:

> p.s. I *did* think the jeep with 4 106mm RR's on it looked neat though!
> What was it called? 'Ontos', maybe? Anyway, has anyone any experiences
> with those they'd care to relate?

The Ontos was a small armored tracked vehicle with 6 106's welded to
the hull.  Two on top and two down each side as I recall.  I'll have to
look closely at the one parked along Del Valle next time I'm at 29 Palms.

Anyhow, I've talked with people who operated Ontos in the SE Asian
wargames (US team, 2nd place), and the point they always make is that
you never wanted to fire ALL your shots until you were sure of a safe
area to reload.  Nothing like having to pop the hatch, get out of the
vehicle, and then reload six big guns in full sight of the WHOLE WORLD.

It is a fearsome looking beast with those six big gun tubes. 

-Bill Gawne,  Space Telescope Science Institute
From: Steven.Schultz@mixcom.mixcom.com (Steven.Schultz)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Re: Former Soviet Navy Posting Number 4: Delta IV class SSBN
Date: 11 Nov 92 17:20:06 GMT
Organization: Milwaukee Internet Xchange BBS, Milwaukee, WI U.S.A.


From Steven.Schultz <Steven.Schultz@mixcom.mixcom.com>

In <BxGrsD.74r@law7.DaytonOH.NCR.COM> Chad Barret Wemyss
<chadwemy@wpi.wpi.edu> writes:
 
>Number Built:  5 plus one building in 1990 for Soviet Navy
 
There are 7 Delta IV-class operational. There were further boats
building at Severodvinsk Shipyard No. 402, which is in the delta of
the Northern Dvina River, about 30 miles (48 km) across the delta from
the city of Arkhangel'sk, which is to the east. But, given the current
financial situation of the C.I.S., they probably have cancelled them,
as keeping all 59 SSBNs they have in service, as well as a missile
test ship, the single Hotel III, operational is as much as they can
handle.
-- 
Steve Schultz     Steven.Schultz@mixcom.com
Newsgroups: sci.military
From: pierson@gimp77.enet.dec.com (dave pierson)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Re: BLU-82/B What sort of bomb is it ?
Date: 3 Nov 92 15:35:24 GMT
Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation


From dave pierson <pierson@gimp77.enet.dec.com>

In article <Bx1GCs.IHF@law7.DaytonOH.NCR.COM>, chc30@DUTS.ccc.amdahl.com
writes...

>I saw a reference to the BLU-82/B bomb which said it was known by the
>nick name Big Blue and Daisycutter. The delivery system used was said to
>be pushing it out of the back of a Hercules C130. I don't know what type
>of weapon this and what it is intended for (apart from going boom), anyone
>know what it is ?

	Ammonium Nitrate, Binder and powdered Aluminum.  "Arsenal of Demovracy"
	lists it as a Fuel Air Explosive, which i believe to be incorrect.
	(Ammonium Nitrate is the oxidizer, Al is the Fuel, no "air" needed.)
	related to the commercial use of ANFO as blasting agent.  Knocks down
	lots of trees, to fomr drop zones.  Safe to handle (realtively).
	Cheap, i suspect.  Been around since Viet Nam.

thanks
dave pierson			|the facts, as accurately as i can manage,
Digital Equipment Corporation	|the opinions, my own.
146 Main St			|I am the NRA.
Maynard, Mass	
01754				pierson@majsty.enet.dec.com
"He has read everything, and, to his credit, written nothing."  A J Raffles
Newsgroups: sci.military
From: Kurt Gutzmann <gutzmann@acri.fr>
Subject: Nuclear Powered Aircraft -- would like your report
Organization: NCR Corporation -- Law Department
Date: Fri, 6 Nov 1992 19:48:49 GMT


From Kurt Gutzmann <gutzmann@acri.fr>

Dear Brian D Bikowicz,

I read your report on nuclear powered aircraft with great interest,
and even printed it out and sent it to my father, who was involved in
it in some fashion in the 1950's.  Unfortunately, I did not save the
netNews article to a file, and now kkissell@acri.fr would like to
read your report.  Could you send us another copy?

 Thanks,

 Kurt

_________________________________________________________________
       o
      /_~.        Kurt Martin Gutzmann   | Adv. Comp. Rsrch. Inst.
    ()\/ ()  /|\    gutzmann@acri.fr     |     Lyon, France
_________________________________________________________________
"This [signature file|snakeskin jacket] is an expression of 
 my belief in individual creativity and personal freedom..."
From: squish@hitl.washington.edu (Michael Almquist)
Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds
Subject: Re: SCI: Vr and Psychology
Date: 12 Nov 92 18:58:21 GMT
Organization: HITL vacationeer
Originator: hlab@stein.u.washington.edu


> Has anyone experienced the avoidance response (ducking,
>raising hands to protect the face) in VR?  It should be
>reasonably easy to evoke.

Not avoidance but response.

HITL has a world known as "Green Valley".  Birds, river, waterfall, mountains,
egg (when dropped becomes a bird), a tree, and a frog.  While "experiencing"
this world for the first time the frog was jumping around and it jumped at my 
face (simply cause I was in its path - no intelligence to the frog).  I big
time flinched - I felt as if I was there.  So yes, even with these crude
cartoony worlds it does work and it will only get better.

Suzanne Weghorst and various other HITLites wish to measure this feeling
of presence and have been working on it for a while.

As all the definitions of VR come and go I think the one that I am finally
gravitating towards is one that roughly stated, "an attempt to provided the
user with a lasting experience -- whether it be via inclusion or not."
Someone has a great quote in their .sig -- "Humans are funny creatures".  We all
preceive slightly differently and we all have various imaginations - from none 
to the extreme.  An arcade game may be a virtual reality to one with a good
imagination - "I was there kicking the witches butt and saving the princess".
Then again, others may simply see this has a "video game".

BUT, then again, I am not doing VR.  Perhaps a better term for what I am doing
is virtual environments?  augmented environments?  exotic worlds?  The jury is 
still out.

- mike (aka squish)
-- 
                HEY, silly rabbit, Trix are for kids.
From: m0ali001@ulkyvx02.louisville.edu
Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds
Subject: INFO?: PGSI tech info wanted
Date: 11 Nov 92 23:08:51 GMT
Article-I.D.: u.1992Nov12.022243.23881
Organization: University of Louisville
Originator: hlab@stein.u.washington.edu


This message is directed mainly to Jim Brain, but anyones input would be
appreciated.  I was interested in some info on the interface box i have
heard that he is selling. I was curious about the price and how to get
it and how it connects to your computer (parralel, serial, or otherwise) .
Also does this interface work with REND386?

thanks
From: george@northwest.Berkeley.EDU
Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds
Subject: Re: INFO: Virtual Reality Group (VRG)
Date: 7 Nov 92 03:09:12 GMT
Article-I.D.: u.1992Nov7.070547.15382
Organization: Silicon Graphics Inc., Mountain View, CA
Originator: hlab@stein.u.washington.edu


In article <1992Nov6.034148.4196@u.washington.edu>,
m14494@mwvm.mitre.org (Mike White) writes:
|> 
|> Chirag N. Shah writes:
|> > I have heard about a company called Virtual Reality Group (VRG) which
|> > presumedly manufactures HMDs with resolutions upto 1280x1024.  Could
|> > anybody who is aware of this get me their address/ph# ?
|> 
|> The Virtual Reality Group
|> 800 Follin Lane, Suite 270
|> Vienna, VA 22180
|> (703)242-0030 (voice)
|> (703)242-5220 (fax)
|> 
|> Contact: Christopher Lewis
|> 
|> HMD specs:
|> Image source: 1" monophosphor CRTs
|> Sync: NTSC High res, VGA, 1290x1024 (per eye) workstation
|> Refresh rate: 60 Hz
|> HMD weight: 3 lbs
|> Power: 100 watts
|> Pupil res: 2 arc seconds per pixel
|> Pupil brightness: 25 foot-lamberts
|> Pupil diameter: 12mm
|> IPD adjustment: 62-74mm
|> Eye relief: 26mm
|> Monocular FOV: 50 degrees diagonal
|> Overlap positions: 35%, 67.5%, 100%
|> 
|> The above info is from a spec sheet I picked up at a demo.  I have no 
|> connection with VRG.  
|> 
|> ************************
|> * These are my opinions only.*
|> ************************


I have not had a chance to call VRG, but no HMDs currently have 1280X1024
resolution especially in a 1" CRT.  Correct me if I am wrong.

-george
From: sk4i+@andrew.cmu.edu (Samuel John Kass)
Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds
Subject: Re: TECH: U of I Call for Specification Discussion
Date: 7 Nov 92 23:58:42 GMT
Article-I.D.: u.1992Nov9.215900.10892
Organization: University of Washington
Originator: hlab@stein.u.washington.edu


What I'm curious about is setting up the equivelant of an "AT Command
Set" (with all due credit going to Hayes so they don't sue me, too) for
any Virtual Reality product.  Of course, it's going to be vastly
different from said command set, but there at least needs to be the
equivelent of a set of agreed upon "S" registers, polling, making a
'connection' (continuous polling), etc.  A better analogy might be
streams, where one can set up "connections" with any component, who's
bitstream would be seperate from another's.  But then we're talking
about an entire network protocol.
    So, on the simple end there is the equivelent of the command set and
S registers, and a couple modes, but that would only support the
hardware it was designed for.  On the other, we have an entire network
protocol which would have the flexability to support ANYTHING
(treadmills, speakers, and anything else you can think of) but would be
an order of magnitude harder to design and program.
    --Sam

-- Disclaimer:  Everything is true. - sk4i+@andrew.cmu.edu               --
-- FM/SVS Software, Inc. - "Just a bunch of geeks driven by the Neato."  --
-- A Math/CS major at Carnegie Mellon University --  Beward the fnords.  --
From: george@northwest.Berkeley.EDU
Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds
Subject: Re: INFO: Virtual Reality Group (VRG)
Date: 7 Nov 92 03:09:12 GMT
Article-I.D.: u.1992Nov7.070505.15324
Organization: Silicon Graphics Inc., Mountain View, CA
Originator: hlab@stein.u.washington.edu


In article <1992Nov6.034148.4196@u.washington.edu>,
m14494@mwvm.mitre.org (Mike White) writes:
|> 
|> Chirag N. Shah writes:
|> > I have heard about a company called Virtual Reality Group (VRG) which
|> > presumedly manufactures HMDs with resolutions upto 1280x1024.  Could
|> > anybody who is aware of this get me their address/ph# ?
|> 
|> The Virtual Reality Group
|> 800 Follin Lane, Suite 270
|> Vienna, VA 22180
|> (703)242-0030 (voice)
|> (703)242-5220 (fax)
|> 
|> Contact: Christopher Lewis
|> 
|> HMD specs:
|> Image source: 1" monophosphor CRTs
|> Sync: NTSC High res, VGA, 1290x1024 (per eye) workstation
|> Refresh rate: 60 Hz
|> HMD weight: 3 lbs
|> Power: 100 watts
|> Pupil res: 2 arc seconds per pixel
|> Pupil brightness: 25 foot-lamberts
|> Pupil diameter: 12mm
|> IPD adjustment: 62-74mm
|> Eye relief: 26mm
|> Monocular FOV: 50 degrees diagonal
|> Overlap positions: 35%, 67.5%, 100%
|> 
|> The above info is from a spec sheet I picked up at a demo.  I have no 
|> connection with VRG.  
|> 
|> ************************
|> * These are my opinions only.*
|> ************************


I have not had a chance to call VRG, but no HMDs currently have 1280X1024
resolution especially in a 1" CRT.  Correct me if I am wrong.

-george
From: buxduac@dct.ac.uk
Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds
Subject: VPL: Is there any body out there ?
Date: 6 Nov 92 10:18:54 GMT
Article-I.D.: dct.1992Nov6.101854.1087
Organization: Dundee Institute of Technology
Originator: hlab@stein.u.washington.edu


Is there any one out there from VPL ?
We have one of your data gloves (Dataglove 2) which currently
has a problem with one of its joint sensors, we are in the middle 
of experiments so don't have the time to send it back to you, can you suggest
any simple checks we could make ?

Andy C
University of DUndee ( dispite the from field)
Scotland

acobley@uk.ac.dundee.mic
From: langston@memstvx1.memst.edu (Mark C. Langston)
Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds
Subject: Re: SCI: Agents
Date: 5 Nov 92 04:18:31 GMT
Article-I.D.: memstvx1.1992Nov4.221831.3978
Organization: Memphis State University
Originator: hlab@stein.u.washington.edu


In article <1992Nov5.024447.15713@u.washington.edu>, thinman@netcom.com (Technic
ally Sweet) writes:
> 
>> I'm looking for info on agents
> 
> "Designing Autonomous Agents"
>         Theory and Practice from Biology and Engineering and Back
> Volume 6 Nos. 1 & 2 of "Robotics and Autonomous Systems",
> which is apparently a series of magazine/books from
> Elsevier North-Holland in Amsterdam.  It's available from MIT Press;
> $20 at the Stanford Tech bookstore (such a deal!).
> No ISBN number. magic numbers at bottom: 0921-8830/90/$03.50.
> It's the June 1990 issue of this journal.  
> 
> Interesting reading indeed.
Not to be picky, but it's a book compiled (Pattie Maes, ed.) from previously
published journal articles from a series on autonomous agents...and I would
highly recommend it.  Also, there are several conference proceedings, such
as _From_Animals_to_Animats_, proceedings of the second(?) intl conf. on 
artificial life, as well as proceedings from the 1st, 2nd, & 3rd ALife conf in
Santa Fe.



-- 
+--------8<------Cut Here------8<------Cut Here------8<------Cut Here---------+
  Mark C. Langston   |  "Secrecy is the beginning of tyranny."                 
  Psychology Dept.   |  "Always listen to experts.  They'll tell you what can't
  Memphis State U.   |     be done, and why.  Then do it."                      
      "Pftph!"       |           -From the notebooks of Lazarus Long