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Showing posts from July, 2015

Op Jiu Jitsu

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Op Jiu Jitsu To successfully bomb targets in the Soviet Union, USAF SAC aircraft would have had to fly at high altitude and possibly in bad weather or at night, making it virtually impossible to identify targets visually. Navigation beacons could not go far into the USSR, so in order to correctly identify their targets, the navigators had to be able to recognise them from the radar images they created. Radar portrayed large towns and geographical features quite clearly, but it was difficult to predict how a radar picture of features like factories and missiles sites would actually appear. For guaranteed accuracy it was important that bombardiers should be provided with photographs of the radar images of their targets. The head of SAC, Gen Curtis LeMay, wanted to send SAC reconnaissance aircraft over the Soviet Union to obtain radar photographs, but was prevented by President Truman. Without this crucial target information, air planners could not accurately determine the enemy's v

Deal signed for armed forces new boots

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Deal signed for armed forces new boots The MOD  ann0unced yesterday  that it had just signed a new contract for the supply of new boots for servicemen in the  Royal Navy , the Army and the  Royal Air Force . The contract, worth £80m, will provide servicemen with a new range of brown combat boots. The name of the succesful contractor has not been divulged, but according to the pictures from the MOD it seems to be  HAIX , a german company.Troops will have the choice of five different types of footwear: Desert Combat , to be worn by on-foot troops, undergoing high levels of operations in heat of up to 40 degrees (such as Afghanistan) Desert Patrol, as above but designed for mounted troops, such as drivers and  armoured troops Temperate Combat, for wear by dismounted troops in temperate climates (such as North West Europe) Patrol, as above but to be worn by mounted troops Cold Wet Weather, for dismounted troops in temperatures down to minus twenty degrees (for example the Falkl

The boots that built an empire

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The boots that built an empire: The unlikely success story behind fashion must-have worn by Sex And The City stars By  MARK PALMER FOR THE MAIL ON SUNDAY UPDATED:  07:53, 1 July 2011         5 View comments Celebrity fan: Pop star Florence Welsh wears Clarks Yara desert boots with wedge heels at Glastonbury Nathan Clark was serving as an officer in the Royal Army Service Corps in 1941 when he chanced upon an idea that would revolutionise British footwear. Having been posted to Burma, he made a note of what the soldiers there were wearing on their feet — quite natural, given he was a member of the family behind Clarks, one of the world’s most iconic shoe companies. He duly reported back to base in Street, Somerset, where his brother, Bancroft, was chairman of the firm. Bancroft had asked Nathan to gather any information that might be of use to the company while on his Army travels. And so the Desert Boot was born. Nathan worked on the design for a brown s

Military Boots

Military Boots For the majority of the world's population throughout history the only time footwear was worn was as armour in battle. Barefoot warriors were commonplace in antiquity but the upper foot was covered was protected. The Romans militarised their sandals and made them robust with copper tacks to secure the union between the sole and upper. In the Great War it was estimated some 2,500,000 pairs of shoes were made for the Allied troops. Laid end to end this would cover the complete coastline of Western Australia. 380,000 cattle required to be slaughtered to provide the equivalent of 17.5 million square feet of leather or 400 acres. The soul leather alone would weigh 4,000 tons; metal for nails would be 1,150 tons; with 55 tons of thread; and 78,000,000 eyelets. War has always meant big business to the shoe and textile industries. Sadly this has not always brought the best from friendly suppliers and it is estimated human greed can account for almost as many casualtie

Military kit through the ages: from the Battle of Hastings to Helmand

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Military kit through the ages: from the Battle of Hastings to Helmand From the crude weaponry and armour of the Battle of Hastings, to the high-tech kit of modern conflict, a new photographic survey explores the personal equipment carried by the common British soldier through the past 1,000 years 5K 383 291 26 5K Email   Unlock the secrets of the perfect gin and tonic Watch Phillip Schofield's tour of the London gin industry and learn the secrets of making the perfect gin and tonic   Sponsored by Waitrose 10:26AM GMT 11 Nov 2014 1916 private soldier, Battle of the Somme (above) ADVERTISING   1 Hob nail boots 2 Puttees (for binding trousers around lower legs) 3 Socks 4 Shirt and vest Related Articles A light on remembrance   05 Aug 2014 Learn, develop and excel with core business skills from industry prof