WWII and school

[Medvedya]

I heard about that - Hanoi Jane style scum doing that to somebody shivering with shell-shock.

A person's entitled to their views but that's out of order, whatever your take on Vietnam was.

[marconi]

Stereotype of Ukrainians in Poland - poor nation.

Not only in Poland.We have this stereotype too.

[Medvedya]

There's also a stereotype here of Eastern European technology being very clunky and unsophisticated.

Try this quote - it kinda sums up people's perceptions of this.

When NASA first started sending astronauts into space they realised that the ball-point pen would not work at zero gravity. A million dollar investment and two years of tests resulted in a pen that could write in space, upside down, on almost any surface and at temperatures ranging from below freezing to over 300 degrees celcius. When confronted with the same problems the Russians used a pencil.

So what's the better option? - you decide!

[marconi]

As for former USSR, WWII was a kind of a kult. Half of movies made in USSR were devoted to WWII.
Besides did you know that Stalin wanted that Berlin was taken on May 1, because that was one of the great holidays in USSR?How typical for bolshevics!

Medvedya, I've heard this story.

[Medvedya]

He did this sort of thing for other cities as well - forcing Generals to rush their assaults and getting a lot of brave Frontoviks killed in the process.

[FLYBOYJ]

Originally Posted by Medvedya

I heard about that - Hanoi Jane style scum doing that to somebody shivering with shell-shock.

A person's entitled to their views but that's out of order, whatever your take on Vietnam was.

She's starting and anti-Iraq campaign right now. I hope she gets spat on again!

Originally Posted by Medvedya

There's also a stereotype here of Eastern European technology being very clunky and unsophisticated.

I find that when I talk to pilots and other mechanics about the Eastern European aircraft I've worked on here in the states (Mig-15, Mig-21, L-29 and L-39). I find some things unsophisticated but yet other things just brilliant

[marconi]

Here's a stereotype about western armies.They say that electronic systems in modern weaponry is so fragile that it constantly breaks that is why Soviet weaponry is superior: it has no complex systems.

[FLYBOYJ]

In some cases yes, in most cases no.

[marconi]

Modification: US weaponry is based on microelectronics, while most of Russian is based on electronic lamps.That is why during the nuclear strike all of American weaponry will shut down because of EM-impulse and Russian won't.Question: Does anybody know how it is supposed to fight with the influence of EM-impulce?

[FLYBOYJ]

Originally Posted by marconi

Modification: US weaponry is based on microelectronics, while most of Russian is based on electronic lamps.That is why during the nuclear strike all of American weaponry will shut down because of EM-impulse and Russian won't.Question: Does anybody know how it is supposed to fight with the influence of EM-impulce?

I could tell you that on aircraft "black boxes" (also known as LRUs - Line removable units) are shielded against EM.

That was an old folklore here that if the US was every attacked by the Soviet Union, all our electronics would die.

[marconi]

Yes, but still the problem exists.Such a great emition of electromagnetic energy can greatly influence on semiconductors.I suppose here must be some protection against it on all types of weaponry and technics.Some kind of shielding or something like that.

[FLYBOYJ]

Originally Posted by marconi

Yes, but still the problem exists.Such a great emition of electromagnetic energy can greatly influence on semiconductors.I suppose here must be some protection against it on all types of weaponry and technics.Some kind of shielding or something like that.

There is - within the LRUs. The structure of the box itself is the shield

[Medvedya]

I once heard that the first action the Soviets would take in a full nuclear strike would be to detonate a nuke high over the North Sea to fry all the electronic equipment before striking the bases.

[marconi]

Originally Posted by FLYBOYJ

There is - within the LRUs. The structure of the box itself is the shield

And what about other electronic components? Are they shielded as well as LRUs?

[FLYBOYJ]

Yes - it is a common practice to make much of the electronic equipment in combat aircraft LRUs. They could be easily removed and replaced, sometimes within minutes. I'm not an electronics guy but I seen some of the equipment and I know that they are designed to operate after nuclear, chemical or biological strikes.