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  1. Atomic Korea: my first timeline

    You are overlaying the 1950s West with 1990s Western thought. Nuclear weapons and power were not seen as anything close to the boogey man of later years. The world was a very simple place, you were either IN the Communist Bloc (and in most cases trying to come up with a way to get OUT), secretly...
  2. Atomic Korea: my first timeline

    Points that stands out: There is virtually no chance of a B-45 with nuclear capacity in 1950. The aircraft had serious teething issues, and in the post war USAF it had not been a priority until the Korean War began. The program to modify them was then a high priority project IOTL and it was...
  3. WI German invasion of Poland in late March/early April 1939

    Much too soon. The Heer had not yet been able to absorb the Czech munition works and intergrate the T-38 into the Panzer formations.
  4. WI America went to war in 1937

    The 1941 IJN did indeed make that change. The 1937 IJN had not yet made the change (even the IJN use of multi-carrier formations was at least in large part based on a publicity photo of the U.S. carriers in that sort of formation. Ironically, it was only a photo op, since the USN policy was to...
  5. British manned program in 60s?

    Not ASB, but where would the money come from?
  6. WI America went to war in 1937

    While I will agree that the UNITED STATES was unready for a major war in 1937, especially in the case of the U.S. Army's ground formations (always the neglected child of Congress come budget time) there are several things here that are just plain wrong. In 1937-38 the U.S. had, by far, the...
  7. Nuclear Battleships

    It is worth noting that the USN launched several classes of nuclear powered cruisers to provide escort for their nuclear carrier force. These ships were withdrawn from service early due to the inability to handle next generation SAM and lack of suitability for conversion to VLS (the same reason...
  8. Japan's "Never Say Die" attitude...

    Interestingly, so do I, and I live in a U.S. city of 1,000,000. :D
  9. Japan's "Never Say Die" attitude...

    And, as he generally is, Dower is flat wrong. American troops were frankly stunned when they ran in Japanese troops who wouldn't surrender despite being in utterly hopeless situations (the classic example being the IJN pilot who, while adrift on the wing of his destroyed aircraft, opened fire...
  10. Nuclear Battleships

    The arsenal ship wasn't a BB. It was a missile carrier designed to provide the functions that modern VLS ships provide the fleet, but on a somewhat grander scale. The biggest problem with the idea is that one ripple fire was a $528 million dollar investment (500 missiles @ $570k a bird). Cruise...
  11. Nuclear Battleships

    No reason beyond cost. If you have unlimited funds every surface combatant and carrier SHOULD be nuclear powered. It makes range a non-issue, tends to give a few more knots in speed and allows you to dedicate more space to weapons, have less trouble upgrading electronics, and even have a...
  12. WI:America takes a Japan first policy in WW2?

    Actually not all that much difference. The USN had to get a degree of parity on the high seas before anything could really happen in the Pacific. That happened at Midway. Two months later the Allies were in the Solomons. The Solomons were the place that the USN and USMC learned their trade for...
  13. Early Fire In the Cold War?

    There was a request from the French for what would have effectively tactical use of one or more weapons to destroy the supply and C&C of the Viet Minh. There is a book written in the '70s that detailed the request and the planning. As far as the OP question, in addition to the usual suspects...
  14. AH Challenge: Widespread chemical warfare in WWII

    True, all nerve agents realy are is human bug spray. The Germans did, IIRC, have a good deal of difficulty getting a reasonable stockpile manufactured and stored. Like anything else the early adopters tend to have the most trouble.:D
  15. AH Challenge: Widespread chemical warfare in WWII

    Chemical weapons are great at killing and maiming, but they are lousy as WEAPONS, at least in the sense that they help you win a battle or a war, assuming both sides can make them. You can gain a brief advantage or even a decisive one if your opponent really has not useful defense or ability...
  16. Bloodiest WWI and WWII Possible

    It isn't half as harmless as that implies. There are a several dead Postal Employees in Metro DC who would love to be able to argue the point. Is Anthrax death on a stick? No, not compared to Smallpox or Cholera, but it is a very effective weapon, especially in the pre-antibiotic era (BTW...
  17. Bloodiest WWI and WWII Possible

    Killing way more people is easy. Ironically, it won't change the outcome of the war in any significant way, except pile up way more bodies. One good scenario for WW II (pretty much ALL of which was seriously suggested at some point during the war): Massive use of chemical weapons on the...
  18. WI: Regia Marina attack on New York in 1942

    New York is a LONG way to go to try a minor raid by some frogmen. It might be symbolic, even if successful, but beyond that? The USN had also improved in the ASW and patrol game by 12-1-1942, and New York was not the nice soft target it had been in January.
  19. Tirpitz sunk in March 1942

    In the long run the reduction in effort spent on the Tirpitz would be beneficial to the ETO, if only in freeing up the recon assets used to monitor the KM ship. As far as having better units in the Indian Ocean, that needs to be AFTER the Kido Butai raid in early April. If its there before...
  20. Military Gear that should have seen service

    It was his assignment ON BOARD. He is a Marine assigned to a MAU, while afloat he has to do SOMETHING. The only thing worse than doing some grunt detail for weeks on end is to lay around in your rack during the same period of time. He has a job to do that is critical to the health and welfare of...
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