The Mess

[Smitty-48]

Hey Smits, is this the thread where we can post cool, likely-to-be-Smitty-approved-images, given the impressive media capabilities of this site?

Anyway, I'm going to assume that it is. Cool, reproduced, content is probably not going to hurt this place much anyhoo, given the quality of original content it's been producing. :goteam: :drunk:

Something to consider as we approach Christmas:

Battle of the bulge - American M-36 Jackson tank destroyers move forward during heavy fog to stem German spearhead near Werbomont, Belgium, 20 Dec 44. Werbomont, 703rd TD, 82nd Airborne Div.

Yeah, 90mm gun is nice, but I'd still rather have manouvre and overhead protection, and meet you halfways with a 17 pounder long barreled Firefly instead, nothing outperformed the 17 pounder when it came to Allied guns.

[ssu]

If you have to have a Sherman, then go with the M51 with a 105mm F1 gun. Better motor also.

[TheReal_ND]

lol I heard Israel is buying F-35's with aid money. Wouldn't it make more sense to just give them to them?

[Smitty-48]

If you have to have a Sherman, then go with the M51 with a 105mm F1 gun. Better motor also.

Those weren't around until 1964, if it's 1964, I'm going with a Leopard 1.

[ssu]

I love Leopard tanks. You have them too, right? Really in the same caste as the Panther and the Tiger.

And if we are talking about upgunning tanks, I think my favorite is an Leopard 2 with a 140mm gun. Now that is a upgunned version.





Anyway, happy that the Dutch scrapped the Leopard 2A6's and we have them now. The Dutch ambassador, in the below photo on top of a now Finnish MBT, admitted that they now in the Netherlands have second thoughts on the sell.

[Smitty-48]

I love Leopard tanks. You have them too, right?

We got both, Leopard 1A5, Leopard 2A4/A6.

[StCapps]

lol I heard Israel is buying F-35's with aid money. Wouldn't it make more sense to just give them to them?

That would diminish the political cover, foreign aid is viewed positively, openly arming an ally less so. This way the Americans can give them money to arm themselves while claiming they intended it to go to humanitarian purposes but they had no control over how Israel spent the money. That's the power of humanitarian pixie dust at work, fantastic PR tool it is.

[SuburbanFarmer]

You guys would really enjoy World of Tanks...

http://worldoftanks.com/

[ssu]

lol I heard Israel is buying F-35's with aid money. Wouldn't it make more sense to just give them to them?

Well, Israel is the No.1 country that the US has given aid.



The Israelis by the way wanted F-22 Raptors. The US said no.

[Smitty-48]

F-35 to the IDF is a good investment, they're likley to be the ones to use it in combat first, demonstrating that is in fact unstoppable, at which point everybody else will fall into line to buy them.

Was the IDF who made the F-16 brand, ar Osirak in 81', after that, the US couldn't crank out F-16's fast enough.