Aces High Bulletin Board

General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: Rob52240 on July 31, 2011, 10:38:27 PM

Title: We were gonig to drop bats on japan?
Post by: Rob52240 on July 31, 2011, 10:38:27 PM
This was from the history channel's weird weapons (WW2) series and I found it very interesting.  We were going to give bats miniature time fuzed napalm grenades and then drop huge numbers of them over japanese cities in broad daylight so they would look for attics, eaves and overhangs to hide in.  We know it would have worked because some of the test bats escaped before they did a full test and burned a bunch of buildings down at the military base where they were doing the development.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDX9rRuHcn8

I'd also suggest looking up the Habakuk aircraft carrier.  Some genius figured out that if you mix sawdust and water, then freeze it you get bulletproof ice that doesn't melt quickly.  They were going to make an island sized aircraft carrier with an on board refer plant to tow out into the north atlantic and bomb Germany from. 
When they were demonstrating the strength of this new wonder material they shot a block of it with a revolver and the bullet ricocheted back and hit one of the admirals who was present in the leg.
Title: Re: We were gonig to drop bats on japan?
Post by: B-17 on July 31, 2011, 10:46:34 PM
I've heard of the one about the aircraft carrier before, but not the bats.
Title: Re: We were gonig to drop bats on japan?
Post by: MaSonZ on July 31, 2011, 11:08:44 PM
I've heard of the one about the aircraft carrier before, but not the bats.
other way around for me  :lol
Title: Re: We were gonig to drop bats on japan?
Post by: Rob52240 on July 31, 2011, 11:22:58 PM
I just realized that this wasn't much different than the russian dog bombs.  The way I understand it is that they were trained to find food under tanks.  The only problem was that they trained the dogs with russian tanks, not german tanks.
Title: Re: We were gonig to drop bats on japan?
Post by: MaSonZ on July 31, 2011, 11:24:39 PM
I just realized that this wasn't much different than the russian dog bombs.  The way I understand it is that they were trained to find food under tanks.  The only problem was that they trained the dogs with russian tanks, not german tanks.
sucks to be a rusian tanker, dont it?  :O
Title: Re: We were gonig to drop bats on japan?
Post by: Rob52240 on July 31, 2011, 11:26:48 PM
I think that back then it would have sucked to be a Russian.  Period.
Title: Re: We were gonig to drop bats on japan?
Post by: MaSonZ on July 31, 2011, 11:30:03 PM
I think that back then it would have sucked to be a Russian.  Period.
or anything other then an Aryan in Europe.
Title: Re: We were gonig to drop bats on japan?
Post by: LThunderpocket on July 31, 2011, 11:45:06 PM
yeah,and some bats got loose and burned a military base
Title: Re: We were gonig to drop bats on japan?
Post by: palef on August 01, 2011, 12:55:25 AM
or anything other then an Aryan in Europe.
Actually, Stalin killed more Russians during the great patriotic war than Hitler did.
Title: Re: We were gonig to drop bats on japan?
Post by: AWwrgwy on August 01, 2011, 01:23:47 AM
yeah,and some bats got loose and burned a military base

A hanger. They did their job.

Read a book.

(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/518HTPG1PPL._SS500_.jpg)

http://www.amazon.com/Bat-Bomb-World-Secret-Weapon/dp/0292707908 (http://www.amazon.com/Bat-Bomb-World-Secret-Weapon/dp/0292707908)

They developed some "atomic" thing instead.

or don't


(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_v0fV15P7uQo/S54rBvpUK7I/AAAAAAAAHV8/SFuVTxIqwKY/s400/bat+bomb.jpg)



wrongway
Title: Re: We were gonig to drop bats on japan?
Post by: LThunderpocket on August 01, 2011, 01:25:00 AM
A hanger. They did their job.

Read a book.

(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/518HTPG1PPL._SS500_.jpg)

http://www.amazon.com/Bat-Bomb-World-Secret-Weapon/dp/0292707908 (http://www.amazon.com/Bat-Bomb-World-Secret-Weapon/dp/0292707908)

They developed some "atomic" thing instead.

or don't


(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_v0fV15P7uQo/S54rBvpUK7I/AAAAAAAAHV8/SFuVTxIqwKY/s400/bat+bomb.jpg)



wrongway

sorry,the memory is vague since the last time i saw that show i was 16
Title: Re: We were gonig to drop bats on japan?
Post by: MaSonZ on August 01, 2011, 10:21:19 AM
Actually, Stalin killed more Russians during the great patriotic war than Hitler did.
didnt know that. something the wschools fail to teach us
Title: Re: We were gonig to drop bats on japan?
Post by: Digr1 on August 01, 2011, 10:46:58 AM
might have worked if the bats could take the alltitude and not black out and died
Title: Re: We were gonig to drop bats on japan?
Post by: caldera on August 01, 2011, 10:55:33 AM
IIRC, a mock up "Japanese" village was built to test the viability of the weapon.  The bats survived the freeze and took up residence under the eaves of the wooden buildings.  The whole thing burned to the ground.   :O
Title: Re: We were gonig to drop bats on japan?
Post by: Greebo on August 01, 2011, 11:02:44 AM
Did you hear the story of the WW2 pigeon guided bomb? I kid you not.

Basically they trained pigeons by putting one in a box with a glass window with a picture of a ship on the other side. When it pecked on the window where the picture of a ship was, it got a reward of food. If it pecked in the wrong place it got nothing. They moved the picture of the ship around and the pigeon followed the motion.

The idea was to put the trained pigeon in the nose of a bomb and drop it over a ship. The pigeon would peck on the window at the position of the ship. If the ship was off to the left the left sided pecking would be picked up by sensors which would then adjust turning vanes to the left and so on. A few tests were carried out and the idea actually seemed to work to a degree. In the end the advent of radar overtook the idea.

However the idea was transferred to air sea rescue. Pigeons were trained to peck whenever they saw the colour orange. Then they were given a clear view of the ocean from an air sea rescue aircraft and if they saw a life jacket or raft their pecking activated an alarm.
Title: Re: We were gonig to drop bats on japan?
Post by: Dragon on August 01, 2011, 12:08:47 PM
  They were going to make an island sized aircraft carrier with an on board reefer plant



Would have needed more than one plant to keep all the men happy ya know.    :P
Title: Re: We were gonig to drop bats on japan?
Post by: Vudu15 on August 01, 2011, 05:24:50 PM
Thats pretty cool Greebo  :aok
Title: Re: We were gonig to drop bats on japan?
Post by: Skyguns MKII on August 01, 2011, 05:27:36 PM
It went terribly wrong when they escaped and caused a huge fire.
Title: Re: We were gonig to drop bats on japan?
Post by: F22RaptorDude on August 01, 2011, 05:29:21 PM
I remember this, it was thought that the bats would find dark places during the day and since alot of the japanese houses was made of wood it would burn better.
Title: Re: We were gonig to drop bats on japan?
Post by: Rob52240 on August 01, 2011, 09:49:31 PM
I saw that.  Too bad people back then thought that pigeons were too stupid to be trusted with guided bombs.
Title: Re: We were gonig to drop bats on japan?
Post by: Angus on August 02, 2011, 08:01:15 AM
The bat plan was scrapped because it worked too good. But in my memory, the burning incident happened in the UK. Anyone?
Title: Re: We were gonig to drop bats on japan?
Post by: Muzzy on August 02, 2011, 10:34:06 AM
About the Ice Carrier: the ricocchet bullet actually grazed Admiral Ernest King in the leg.  Churchill and Roosevelt were also in attendance.  I expect the scene resembled the ending of this clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nTmIL_gb4s (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nTmIL_gb4s)

The plan was scrapped when someone realized that it would take about as much steel to build the Ice Carrier as it would to build a regular one.
Title: Re: We were gonig to drop bats on japan?
Post by: Shuffler on August 02, 2011, 03:55:33 PM
The bat story is not much different than japan sending those dang ballons. Except the japs actually did try it. Due to the media hush in th US the japs thought it was not working.
Title: Re: We were gonig to drop bats on japan?
Post by: AWwrgwy on August 02, 2011, 06:05:27 PM
The bat plan was scrapped because it worked too good. But in my memory, the burning incident happened in the UK. Anyone?

The bat plan was scrapped because the atom bomb.

The hanger fire was in New Mexico, I believe.

Mexican Freetail bats. The same bats that live under the Congress Avenue Bridge in downtown Austin.



wrongway



wrongway
Title: Re: We were gonig to drop bats on japan?
Post by: KgB on August 02, 2011, 06:42:19 PM
Actually, Stalin killed more Russians during the great patriotic war than Hitler did.
He killed more than 30 million?
Title: Re: We were gonig to drop bats on japan?
Post by: mbailey on August 02, 2011, 06:45:57 PM
Probably the most innovative concept for incinerating Japan was the Bat Bomb.Lytle Adams, a Pennsylvania Dentist, had been impressed with bats he saw in New Mexico caverns and wrote to President Roosevelt in January 1942. Since bats can carry more than their own weight, Dr.Adams opined that small incendiary devices could be attached to hoards of the flying rodents, which, when released in cluster bombs over Japanese cities, would roost in rafters until the weapons ignited. Though promising, the project was cancelled when some armed bats escaped at an Army airfield in New Mexico and burned the test facility to the ground.

 *exerpt from Whirlwind: The Air War Against Japan, 1942-1945 By Barrett Tillman

Title: Re: We were gonig to drop bats on japan?
Post by: dedalos on August 03, 2011, 02:27:26 PM
Probably the most innovative concept for incinerating Japan was the Bat Bomb.Lytle Adams, a Pennsylvania Dentist, had been impressed with bats he saw in New Mexico caverns and wrote to President Roosevelt in January 1942. Since bats can carry more than their own weight, Dr.Adams opined that small incendiary devices could be attached to hoards of the flying rodents, which, when released in cluster bombs over Japanese cities, would roost in rafters until the weapons ignited. Though promising, the project was cancelled when some armed bats escaped at an Army airfield in New Mexico and burned the test facility to the ground.

 *exerpt from Whirlwind: The Air War Against Japan, 1942-1945 By Barrett Tillman



 :headscratch: so they scrapped the plan because they realized it actually worked?  :confused:
Title: Re: We were gonig to drop bats on japan?
Post by: mbailey on August 03, 2011, 02:44:48 PM
:headscratch: so they scrapped the plan because they realized it actually worked?  :confused:

Appears so  :lol