Recent content by Bill Garvin

OK So, the USA develops the bomb as per history and uses it on Japan. Soviet intelligence steals it as per history. The French, determined to restore themselves to great power status then gets the development art and builds its own. The Korean War breaks out and MacArthur threatens to use...

I think you'll find it does; the point is that despite that massive concentration of artillery fire, the port kept working and materials kept flowing in. It doesn't prove the point on its own but as one point on the graph (down in the corner, tiny facility, massive bombardment) and taken into...

I'd rephrase the question differently; how much can port capacity be reduced in ways that cannot be compensated by making alternative arrangements. In this case, alternative arrangements would mean using other ports, repairing damage etc. My point is that I can't think of a single case where a...

Thank you for the additional data and I agree with the comments you make. To a large extent I also agree on the nature of the port but the point is that half a million artillery rounds (which were a lot more concentrated and accurate than bombing at night) didn't stop even a primitive port like...

No. The Communist artillery fire was not distributed over the whole island. You're putting far too much meaning into the casual phraseology of a generic document intended for use by tourists. I would suggest you read Air Operations: Taiwan by Jacob Van Staaveren which is a military account of...

My apologies to everybody I've just checked the original reference (Air Operations: Taiwan) and the Chinese Communists pumped 588,000 artillery rounds into Kinmen Island, not 445,000. During the six weeks of the bombardment, port capacity increased from 200 tons per day to 700 tons per day.

I think it's necessary to look into what is involved in preventing ports from operating in greater detail. None of the factors you mention above are of any real importance compared with two that are of overwhelming importance. Ports are huge areas that comprise structures that are very difficult...

With respect, you are grossly overstating the ability to close down ports by bombardment. They're huge, hard to hurt seriously and very easy to repair unless the damage is done up close and personal by skilled demolition teams. To give you some idea of the problems, between 25th August 1958...

Absolutely not. The British already anticipated losing the Army in France and were rebuilding a new Army in the U.K. Getting it back via Dunkirk was a bonus, not a necessity. In fact, Dunkirk itself went far better than its planners expected. It would if it was possible but it isn't so it...

We know that now, but it wasn't very clear back then and Japanese anti-aircraft fire was still bringing down B-29s - something like 50 - 60 B-29s were shot down by anti-aircraft guns. Another point is that the first atomic bombs weighed around 10,000 pounds and I'm not sure if parachutes...

I didn't know the B-32's engine problems were worse than those on the B-29. That's very interesting; thank you. According to the Characteristics Summary, the B-29 had a range of 3390 nautical miles with a 10,000 pound payload. The Standard Aircraft Characteristics give it a range with maximum...

The distance from Tinian to Hiroshima is listed as 1,567 miles to give a mission of 3,134 miles. That looks like knocking out the C-54 and C-69. The B-32 range is ferry configuration with maximum fuel and even then, its tight. With 20,000 pounds of bombs, the B-32 had a range of 800 miles...

The Constellation is probably the best choice there but was it strong enough to take the evasive maneuvers needed to get it clear of the blast? The B-29 was pushed to the maximum in order to do that and I have no idea how agile the Constellation was. If it couldn't make the turn and dive, we're...

That engine was the R-4360. The B-29 was eventually re-engined with it to become the B-50. That could have been done a lot earlier; IIRC the original R-4360/B-29 testbed was flown in mid-1944 as the B-29D. There was also a B-29 proposal that had its remote-controlled gun turrets replaced by...

Well Said!!