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  1. 25 MT Hydrogen Bomb Accident

    Actually much less than minute. Much less than astronomical. The requirement is for complete implosion, not mere compression. If we were discussing a Uranium "gun-type" bomb (like Little Boy) a accidental compression detonation would be a vanishingly small, but finite possibility; that is why...
  2. 25 MT Hydrogen Bomb Accident

    Impossible. Utterly impossible. A scenario that requires a weapon that was never built, detonating in an area that it wouldn't have been, under circumstances that make such detonation impossible. The incident showed five of six SAFETY interlocks had been defeated, not five of six steps from...
  3. Pacific War Redux

    Thanks for the information & the recommendation.
  4. Pacific War Redux

    They are still in good shape, at least for now. The IJN still controls the sealanes in the region if they move via the Palaus. The USN is pretty much out of business in the Philippine Sea, with the exception of the odd sub and occasional patrol flights out of Guam or Del Monte Field in the...
  5. Pacific War Redux

    The war is still so new, that both sides are playing from their pre-war notes. The Japanese actually expected to take some losses in the early part of the war, not quite as bad as has happened in the ALT, but close. The biggest difference is the attrittion of their land based airpower, but...
  6. Pacific War Redux

    Truk is still the main Japanese base in Micronesia. Aircraft numbers, ships, etc are pretty close to historical levels (which weren't really all that overwhelming on 12/7/41). The events SINCE Pearl Harbor have conspired to put Truk into a somewhat weaker position than IOTL. It is still a very...
  7. Pacific War Redux

    Yes, Wainwright is in command. Part of my personal "ruin Dugout Doug's carreer" operational plan. :D While there are plenty of very good officers that could be put in charge of the Philippines, Wainwright was actually there, making it one fewer change from OTL. While the results are going very...
  8. Pacific War Redux

    Here is January 31 - February 3, 1942 Comments very welcome. Hope you enjoy the update January 31, 1942 (PI) General Wainwright orders remaining safe passages through minefields defending Manila Bay be mined to prevent rush by Japanese warships. Mines in one passage under direct fire...
  9. Pacific War Redux

    The key for ANY American (or British, for that matter) fighter against the Zero was speed. If you bled off too much speed at too low of an altitude, you were in trouble. Stay over 300 MPH and you were golden, get below 200 and you were in serious trouble.
  10. Operation Downfall - The Invasion of Japan

    Because nobody knew if the Japanese would surrender unconditionally without being defeated on home soil (as was the case with Germany). January of 1946 is, from everything I've seen, way on the optomistic side for Japan's surrender. Just look at OTL. Two nuclear weapons AND the Far Eastern...
  11. Pacific War Redux

    Probably tomorrow. :) Blame the Olympics, too much sports to watch!:D
  12. Operation Downfall - The Invasion of Japan

    All due respect, but if you are not familiar with one of the classic episodes from OTL related to the Operation Downfall storyline, you may want to do some more research before resuming the T/L. There are several regular posters in this forum who are serious devotees of Pacific War history (many...
  13. Operation Downfall - The Invasion of Japan

    Very unlikely that the two weapons, detonated TWO MONTHS before, had any such long lasting after effect. No such effect has ever been claimed for other, far more powerful, airbursts. It was simply a huge storm doing what huge storms do, namely whatever the hell it wanted.
  14. the 1st Jet vs Jet combat, not what you might think.

    Given the small number of Swallows available, and the overwhelming number of Allied fighters, I sincerely doubt that the Allies would even notice, except in after action reports by the fighter pilots who blew the -262s out of the sky as they gave up their biggest advantage; the hit and run moves...
  15. Operation Downfall - The Invasion of Japan

    True. (Although, truth be told, the Japanese were also short of rifles.) The ease of mounting a defense, especially one where you really do not expect anyone to survive, from well prepared positions, is one of the reasons the entire Olympic landing operation was under review. As the Intel...
  16. Operation Downfall - The Invasion of Japan

    True and true. Not quite as sure about this point (at least the occupation), mostly because I see the Japanese folding once Hokkaido is being overrun. Even MacArthur, the eternal optomist when it came to losses, was leaning toward going straight for Honshu. While not the 2,000,000+...
  17. Largely Naval WW3

    There is also a version of this regarding the "air war". In both cases they are wrong to a point that is almost stunning in its stupidity. The Sovs needed to temporarily control the sea lanes AND the air in order for their ground offensive to work. Unlike the idiot political cartoonist(s)...
  18. Stalin's Last Gamble: Third World War in 1950

    ALL out of range.
  19. Operation Downfall - The Invasion of Japan

    Don't forget the Typhoon that struck the amphibious ships marshalling area this week of 1945. An Honest-to-God kamakazi!
  20. Operation Downfall - The Invasion of Japan

    How, one wonders, did Truman come to the conclusion that the Olympic & Coronet would be less costly than the use of the atom bomb? Surely not for Allied troops, and almost as surely for the Japanese. A few (of MANY) samples JCS Joint Strategic Survey Committee Secretary of War Stimson...
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