xoxoxoBruce wrote:

The Pentagon says if they get the enemy to hit this $30,000 fake with a $75,000 missile, that's a win.

Cold war thinking.

Today its: if we use a $100,000 missile to shoot down a $1,000 drone, that's a loss.
 

The Ghost Army just got belated recognition:
Ghost Army members who deceived Nazis with battlefield ruses in WWII given Congressional Gold Medal | AP News

In the Harrisburg airport is an aerial picture of that airport before and after implementing camouflage.  Back then, the nation was preparing for war with a Nazi invasion on the N American continent.  Most all weapons and other features implemented in WWII existed or were already being developed before Pearl Harbor.  A lesson that many do not grasp.  They did not just invent fakes.  Techniques took years before to develop.

Runways and buildings in Harrisburg could not be seen due to superb camouflage.
 

Sneaky Saddam really got us with that one.

griff wrote:

Sneaky Saddam really got us with that one.

That was never his purpose.  His purpose was clearly delineated in the old Cellar.

Saddam feared a more powerful Iranian military. So he told his generals that other generals had WMDs.  So that rumors could spread into Iran.  So that Iran would not attack Iraq.  Then all iraqi generals said Iraq had WMDs.  All part of deceiving Iranians.

But then American extremists had a problem.  Their incompetence was why Saddam was still there.  They needed any excuse to remove Saddam.  Who stood as a trophy to their incompetence during Desert Storm.

Every claim that Saddam had WMDs was invented / promoted by American (anti-American) extremists.  ALL (every one) American intelligence agencies were befuddled by where Cheney, et al were coming up with facts. No American intelligence agencies could find those WMDs.  Not one.

Iraqi generals were promoting Saddam's WMD myths.  So it must be true.  American extremists never bother to learn facts.  Once they have a feeling, that alone is sufficient.  Also called 'adults thinking like a child'. Knows it must be true only because emotions say so.

The con works on people who know but forget to first learn facts.  Vietnam was another classic example.  "Americans don't do nation building" was another lie that created the American defeat there.  All justified only by emotions and contradicted facts.

Saddam only wanted to deceive Iranians.  American extremists needed any excuse to increase the national debt by 10%.  Everyone, at this point, should know what was accurately described that long ago in the old Cellar.
 

[true story/no shit/there I was] Tasked to do an aerial video of a ground Tactical Operations Center (TOC) for camouflage evaluation, I was up in a Huey helicopter. The obliques were easy, just sit in the aircraft with the side doors open and shoot the video while flying in a circle around the TOC. Vertical video looking straight down over the TOC; however, was made a little more complicated by the Huey's landing skids being in the way.

The usual procedure involved donning a body harness that was tethered to the inside of the aircraft, standing on the skid, and leaning out 10 to 15 degrees for an unobstructed view with the camera. The length of the tethering strap was pre-adjusted. There I was, standing on the right-side skid and leaning out while shooting video of the TOC when...

The proximity alarm sounded in the cockpit indicating the Huey was too close to another aircraft. The pilot instantly followed standard procedure for avoiding a collision and made a hard right bank rolling the Huey over towards its side. I felt the skid dropping out from under my boots and a sense of leaving the aircraft.  A moment later I was slamming the inside of the aircraft as the crew chief had grabbed my tethering strap and yanked me back in with all the strength he could muster. A second later and I probably would have ended up hanging against the fuselage.

The Huey was now way over towards its side and looking straight out the side door was to be looking almost straight down. I saw below us another Huey, with its side doors open, also making an emergency right bank and rolled way over towards its side. I could see through its open doors to the ground. I glanced back over my shoulder at the crew chief and through the open door on the other side (now facing up) I saw yet another Huey with its side doors open, making an emergency right bank and rolled over towards its side. I could see through its open doors to the sky.

The pilot was cursing the congested air corridor, my unit which requested the flying mission, me and he may have mentioned my parents in the rant. Three rotary wing aircraft, crossing paths one above the other, had set off each other's proximity alarms. Everyone had a little excitement that day. The camouflage evaluation videos came out pretty good too. [true story/no shit/I was there]

Nowadays, they'd just send up a drone.

 

Every once in a while you read short news articles of helicopter crashes during military training at some US base. This helps explain why.

https://www.abebooks.com/first-edition/Fields-Deception-Britains-Bombing-Decoys-World/12618529644/bd
It can be found on the internet but at a price.
 

I have triumphed over the forces of darkness and found the book.
That said, both subjects are covered in the one book not as I had recalled.
I have a number in the same series which confused the issue.



All it took was a mug of tea to nudge me in the right direction.

griff wrote:

Well done! Is the series all on the WW2 home front?

Yes, there are four books in the series 'Monuments of War' by Colin Dobson and published by English Heritage.

The subjects are covered in great depth and must have taken an age to research.

I had taken a photo of all four volumes but it won't upload for some reason, so details follow:

(i) Fields of Deception.  Britain's Bombing Decoys of the Second World War.

(ii) Building Radar.  Forging Britain's Early Warning Chain 1935-1945.

(iii) Operation Diver.  Guns, V1 Flying Bombs and Landscapes of Defence 1944-45.

(iv) AA Command.  Britain's Anti-Aircraft Defences of the Second World War.

Now, all I have to do is make sure I remember where I put them all!
 

griff wrote:

I'm reading Masters of the Air about the 8th Air Force right now. I knew we'd taken losses but this is horrific.

I can recommend 'Secret Squadrons of the Eighth' by Pat Carty.
It concentrates on the more clandestine operations of the US 8th Air Force including electronic intelligence missions and leaflet dropping over Europe.
There's also a local history element in it for me as Cheddington is one of the airfields covered in depth and is just a few miles to the east from here.
Aylesbury even gets a mention and a photo!

I've discovered a copy on your side of the Atlantic for $9.48.

Secret Squadrons of the Eighth.

 

Last edited by Carruthers (4/06/2024 8:36 am)