 deadhead  | 21 Oct 2016 3:01 p.m. PST |
I have posted this in various sites, but none seemed quite right on TMP. It is just that, on the day we remember Trafalgar, a hostile fleet transits the Straits of Dover, for the first time in decades. Nelson is spinning in his grave. At least, the last time, we could put up the Dover Patrol, a few MTBs and poor Esmonde and his Swordfish. Imagine us trying to launch such a mission now……. But then we do have two little glorified fishery protection sloops, to "escort" them (OK, I do just exaggerate slightly, thinking about their modern capabilities to instantly destroy the Scharnhorst, Gneisenau and Prinz Eugen, without ever getting within sight of them…except they were far more heavily armoured than any modern ship) |
 Yellow Admiral | 21 Oct 2016 3:53 p.m. PST |
This isn't a Napoleonic discussion. :-) - Ix |
| Sergeant Ewart | 21 Oct 2016 4:24 p.m. PST |
Maybe you think we should have attacked them and sparked off another world war – try to get out more! |
| Marc the plastics fan | 22 Oct 2016 1:34 a.m. PST |
Well Liam, that started well and soon disintergrated into TMP vitriol I understood your Trafalgar reference Mind you. Perhaps the baying crowd don't realise you get out to help the NHS as your day job… Let's get back to our toy soldiers now |
| Ivan DBA | 22 Oct 2016 1:36 a.m. PST |
How many threads do you need to post? Trafalgar was a great victory. Congrats. Rusting Russian hulks limping past Dover has nothing to do with Trafalgar. Let it go. |
| 42flanker | 22 Oct 2016 3:04 a.m. PST |
Then there was the Russian fleet firing on British fishing vessels off the east coast in 1904, thinking they were under attack from Japanese torpedo boats. Not Napoleonic either… "England confides…." |
| daler240D | 22 Oct 2016 3:45 a.m. PST |
dude, have you heard of anti ship missiles?They can stop anyone from crossing that strait if they really wanted to. Relax. It's ok. Manned Ships and piloted airplanes are not as important as they used to be. You've also got this thing called NATO. It's a far, far different world from Nelson's day. |
| deadhead | 22 Oct 2016 5:14 a.m. PST |
Perfectly reasonable criticisms of my posting I admit. Everything says that the Russian ships are in a very poor state….but, like T34s, however crude they are at least operating. My lament was the British resources available to meet them…or lack of……. The Napoleonic thing? Well Trafalgar day is still second only to 18th June in my house……. |
| David Manley | 22 Oct 2016 5:33 a.m. PST |
" little glorified fishery protection sloops" Yeah, riiiiiight…. |
| deadhead | 22 Oct 2016 9:12 a.m. PST |
OK, I might just have been tongue in cheek, I admit…poetic licence……I did concede slight exaggeration above.But our poor navy. I recall when there were guarantees about minimum numbers of surface ships. Progressively those guarantees got smaller. There is a balance to strike between quality and quantity. A superb vehicle (let's say a King Tiger) is the vehicle to be in to survive. But when you want to win the war, 20 times more Shermans, with better mechanical reliability, are what you need. As long as you are not the crew. Apologies though. I should drop this as way off Trafalgar Day now, which was my only purpose in posting to a Napoleonic Forum. Nelson has stopped spinning I gather. |
 Legion 4  | 22 Oct 2016 4:19 p.m. PST |
I can't remember what I had for dinner last night … so …  |
| Rod I Robertson | 22 Oct 2016 4:24 p.m. PST |
Lord Nelson, Britain's greatest admiral and a human-incarnate foreshadowing of the Wankel engine. What a guy! Cheers.
Rod Robertson. |
| Reactionary | 22 Oct 2016 8:37 p.m. PST |
Russians have been doing this for decades, and the Andrew have been shadowing them for decades. Not all assets are on the water, some are above and some beneath… |
| Khusrau | 23 Oct 2016 12:23 p.m. PST |
"A hostile fleet" ? wait, we declared war on Russia and no-one mentioned it? |
| deadhead | 23 Oct 2016 12:45 p.m. PST |
OK I accept a threatening fleet maybe…and again sorry this is still ongoing well past Trafalgar Day. My message was only about the lamentable state of our current surface fleet compared with that of George III and the Prince Regent, less about the Russians' capacity to mount an action like this |
| Charlie 12 | 23 Oct 2016 3:43 p.m. PST |
I accept a threatening fleet maybe Threatening? Hardly. With maybe 30+ aircraft I'd hardly call that threatening. And besides, last I checked the channel is international waters (and not the private preserve of the UK). "A hostile fleet" ? wait, we declared war on Russia and no-one mentioned it? We both must have missed that email. Have to check my spam folder. |
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