The FDR and other errata

[JOHN THURSTON]

Although not much is said about the Franklin D. Roosevelt in my post or one jane's further research indicates that she had 60+ successful cruises and, as I am tired, I will look into the history of this one in three of a kind that made up the Midway Class.

Jane's seems to have skipped a beat on the subject. Likewise, in my last post I referred to the replacement for the P-3 Orion as the "P-5" .The correct name and number is the P-8 "Poseidon". It rather resembles a 737.

Typically we think of these "patrol" aircraft as carrying little in the was of "bite". Well, perhaps that might be true of an air to air situation, but, if one was to judge by the range and weaponry of a P-3 (fka Lockheed electra version two) which had a harmonics based crash in Boston harbor when serving in its rather short civilian service, the P-3 is capable of 4000 mile flights and long loiter time, and is capable of carrying harpoon anti shipping missiles, many 'sonobouys" and a tail stinger appearing MAD (magnetic anolmaly detector). I am sure that both aircraft can carry considerable loads of the Mk48 antisubmarine torpedo, or its successor.

Sorry for the Mistakes.

A brief resort to my own library, ie: to the Book "Dreadnought" by Richard Hough, the French Battleship "Bouvet" sunk by a newly laid mine in an area proclaimed clear and subject to the nighttime 'nick of time" visitations of a sole Turkish minelayer, is conspicuous by its absence. it was not a "Dreadnought" "all big gun" ship such as the ship which started the Dreadnought race between France, Germany and Great Britain. the US got involved and produced some of the best "Dreadnoughts" of the early 20th Century. The Arizona, for example, was completed at war's end. The Multi calibered main gun arrangements such as existed on the turn of the century US pre-dreadnought "Oregon" carrying 2X2 12" , four X 2 8" guns and multiple "quick firers" in a central 'citadel. Pre-dreadnoughts suffered from a mixed bag of main battery weapons, producing poor "spotting of shot" but yet Oregonwas successful in it around the Horn Dash to Fight at the battle off Cuba's coast.

These ships are referred to in Britain as "king Edward" type battleships. This I believe was the type of vessel that Bouvet was. Obsolete immediately at the time of the launch of Dreadnought in 1902. Despite this, both Oregon and Mikasa (togo's flagship) were successful at Havana and Tshushima Straits and thus served their respective purpose well, despite the Dreadnought frenzy. One US congressman asked that our first Dreadnought be dubbed the "Skeered of nuthin". (????? things haven't changed much)

Also left unmentioned is the dire straits in which the Kurds on the Turkish border find themselves. They are fighting hard, and it is possible that the only reason that turkey has not intervened is that it bears what it considers it has its own "Kurdish Problem" .At least 20,000 Kurds have gotten across the Border. I cannot see Turkey as allowing ISIL to have a commanding presence on its border. It would be a bad time for Turkey to stand idle if it values its own form of government.

It is the oldest secularly run regime in the Islamic World, stemming from the time of the successful repulse of the Anglo, French/Anzac landings brilliantly and fiercely in part directed by one Mustafa Kemal, known now as Kemal Ataturk at Gallipoli, part of that little bit of Turkey in Europe.

Ataturk was the founder and firm believer in a secularly run political and legal system for Turkey. Hence cometh the phrase "the young Turks". Such a state could not be less than unsettled by islamics/sharia law fundamentalists on its border.