Question of the Hour

[Jantor]

My Google-fu is strong today  ;D

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_ace

Adolphe Pegoud

How about this one?

What type of aircraft was William Barker flying when he fought the battle that would see him presented with the VC?

 

[Gunner]

What was known as the Cavalry of St George? 

 

[vonGarvin]

The St George Cavalry?

;D

 

[Danjanou]

Barker was in a Sopwith Snipe the day he engaged some 50 odd enemy aircraft for which he was award his VC . Most of his victories were in a Sopwith Camel, but he was delivering a Snipe to an aircraft depot enroute to leave IIRC.

AS to St George I have to go with Knights most likely those during the Crusades

“He was adopted as the Patron Saint of soldiers after he was said to have appeared to the crusading armies during the Battle of Antioch in 1098. Many such similar stories were transmitted to the West by Crusaders who heard them from Byzantine troops. The tales were circulated even further by the troubadours. When Richard I (also known as "The Lionheart") was campaigning in Palestine during 1191 and 1192, he put his army under the direct protection of Saint George.”

 

[COBRA-6]

What was known as the Cavalry of St George? 

Templars?

 

[AJFitzpatrick]

What was known as the Cavalry of St George? 

British Gold Sovereigns, more specifically when they were paid out for information especially during the Napoleonic wars

 

[Gunner]

British Gold Sovereigns,

Correct.  Read Sharpe's Regiment and the author discusses it in the introduction.

 

[Danjanou]

Damn I missed that one, and I'm a big Sharpe fan too. :-[

 

[Gunner]

I'm re-reading the series after many years.  If you have been overseas and think you may have trouble adjusting back in Canada, read Sharpe's Regiment.  It discusses Sharpe's thoughts and feelings while visting Great Britan after spending so many years in Spain fighting.  I thought it the author's comments were very revealing on how soldiers view their home country after being in an operational theatre.  As always, a good read.

 

[redleafjumper]

Hmm back to the Napoleonic period, I see.  Incidentally Adolphe Pegoud is  the correct answer as 'the foolhardy one'.  One of the first French Aces, his comrades referred to him as the patron saint of fighter pilots.  He was one of the first aviators to be referred to as an acrobatic pilot.

What is the origin, bore size and usual shot weight of a grasshopper gun?

 

[Fishbone Jones]

It was a small, light, 3 pounder that weighed about 500 lbs. It was designed in the late 1700's to keep up with fast moving Units of the British Light Infantry. Normally it was pulled by one horse, but could be dismantled and moved by about eight men. The gun was cast solid and then bored and lathe turned, making them strong, accurate and light.

 

[redleafjumper]

Good answer recceguy. They were also called grasshopper guns because they had a carriage too light for the gun and thus recoil would cause the whole thing to jump back and even flip.

 

[nowhere_man]

They were also called grasshopper guns because they had a carriage too light for the gun and thus recoil would cause the whole thing to jump back and even flip.

Sounds pretty safe, who'd they trick into firing that? 

 

[redleafjumper]

Sometimes infantry - they were capable of being hauled by about eight men or one horse, and thus were sometimes used as a battalion gun.

 

[Trooper Hale]

Haha,

Sometimes infantry - they were capable of being hauled by about

Before i'd finished reading that i could have sworn you meant the infantry could be hauled around. Poor buggers. "What do you do?", "I'm artillery", "What gun do you use?", "No, no, I am Artillery"

This is a great thread by the way, learn something everyday here.

 

[nowhere_man]

OK Ill try one, (hope it hasn't been asked)
How long did the Siege of Leningrad (the longest in modern military history) last?
And as a bonus how many Soviets died as a result of it?

 

[vonGarvin]

OK Ill try one, (hope it hasn't been asked)
How long did the Siege of Leningrad (the longest in modern military history) last?
And as a bonus how many Soviets died as a result of it?

I'm just going from memory, so...
Siege begins in August or September 1941.  I wasn't broken until sometime in early 1943. 
That's over 20 months.

I would also guess that 1 million citizens of Leningrad perished.  Many more soldiers perished in combat in the area around Leningrad.


Which German General (Later Field Marshall) was Commanding General of the 56th Panzer Corps, heavily involved in the initial seige?  Hint: he led the relief attempt into Stalingrad in late 1942, won the "third battle of Kharkov" through the use of his famous "backhand blow".

 

[NavComm]

The siege lasted from September 8, 1941, until it was lifted on January 18, 1944...casualties 300,000 military, 16,470 civilians from bombings and estimated 1 million civilians from starvation. I got these figures from Wikipedia. I believe the General/Field Marshall was Erich von Manstein?

 

[vonGarvin]

The siege lasted from September 8, 1941, until it was lifted on January 18, 1944...casualties 300,000 military, 16,470 civilians from bombings and estimated 1 million civilians from starvation. I got these figures from Wikipedia. I believe the General/Field Marshall was Erich von Manstein?

Of course I typed "early 1943" instead of "early 1944" D'oh!


And yes, it was Erich von Manstein

 

[NavComm]

OK, so I guess it's my turn to ask a question, I hope it hasn't been asked before.

How many ships were owned by the Canadian Navy when Britain declared war on Germany? What class were they and what were they named?