Post by miletus12 on Sept 21, 2022 17:03:16 GMT
Naval Darwin Awards...
1. Won Gyun was Cerveraed. The Japanese corked him and wiped his fleet and him out.
2. Plumridge. He raided Finland and conducted himself as a pure pirate in the Baltic Sea during the Crimean War. The Finns were supplying the BRITISH navy during the war. So: guess who he pillaged, murdered and looted?
3. Operation Viking? The Luftwaffe was weak on ship recognition, and they were quite good at bombing their own ships. Neither were the KM good at plane recognition. In the Keystone Kops Fallout: the Germans lost two destroyers; one to bombs from the bumbling He-111 and one to a wild leftover WWI mine from the Great Barrage. And one was mission-killed by its own depth charges during a fake submarine scare.
4. George Anson. In another sterling display of English seamanship, this idiot got most of his fleet wrecked and most of his crews killed or missing in action in a round the world circumnavigation mission. The War of Jenkin's Ear was the Excuse and the mission was to harass Spain in the Pacific. Incredibly this nitwit, after losing most of his squadron due to his incompetent navigation, weather effects, mutinies, scurvy, and just plain desertions lucked out and captured a fat Filipino treasure galleon off Samar, so he would not be court martialed and shot when he got home. He could bribe his way out of trouble .He put into China, (Macao), where after more mutinies and desertions, and some shrewd trading where he parlayed Filipino plate into Chinese luxury goods, he increased his fortune. He finally blundered his way back to England. He missed being taken by the French as he entered the Channel by a navigation error (His) a fog bank and plain dumb luck. He landed in England with about 10,000,000 dollars (1800 USD rate) worth of plunder which set him up in politics and allowed him to enter Parliament as a member of a pocket borough. Further bribery and politics gave him influence, and a senior admiral's rank of the Blue. Nobody would remember this clown as anything but a dumb-luck political admiral except... this lucky pirate conducted a singular convoy raid during the War of the Austrian Succession misnamed the First Battle of Cape Finisterre. Outnumbering the French convoy escort 3 to 1, even this tactical bozo was able to complete this mission and add about 20,500,000 USD (2022 rate) to his personal fortune after prize money from the raid was parceled out. It was enough money for him to buy his way into a First Sea Lord political office and to mismanage the Royal Navy during the Seven Years War. The British would build and name a WWII battleship after him.
4. Las Aves; 1678. The Comte d'Estrelle drives his fleet onto the rocks in a navigation error. The reef supplied the Dutch a "geographic victory". The French salvage operation to recover cannon and shot was somewhat notable as the first recorded use of diving helmets and air pumps in the Caribbean Sea at this date.
5. Oskar Wehr. He is the Harold Stark of the German navy when it comes to their torpedo crisis. The Type G7 wet-heater series was originally mechanically based off the Italian Silafurico-made torpedoes as opposed to the Fiume series of fish. Nothing wrong with this German choice. Both lines of Italian torpedo were fine mechanical runners, arguably the BEST war torpedoes in Europe during WWII. But Oskar was of the opinion that the Italian contact exploders were "primitive". Germany could do better. You see where this is going? German magnetic exploders and contact pistols were no better than American ones. The Germans solved their crisis in 12 months, while it took the Americans 18 months. Wehr skated his just deserts as did his American counterpart, Stark.
(^^^) Keelhauling was invented for characters like him.
6. Publius Claudius Pulcher. Modern Tripani on the northwest coast of Sicily is the site, but what did this yahoo do for Rome in the First Punic War? See George Anson and THIS for the results.
Battle of Drepana (249 BC)
It is perhaps a little ironic that for a state most famous for its mighty legions, the first of its greatest defeats was, in fact, a naval battle. In 249 BC, the Roman Republic was fifteen years into the First Punic War, the first of three such conflicts against Rome’s great Mediterranean rival, Carthage. The war was fought over the island of Sicily, which had great strategic value due to its proximity to the major East-West sea trade routes. Carthage was one of the great maritime powers of the ancient world and its navy was almost unmatched in size and experience at the time. In contrast, the Roman Republic was a traditionally land based power, with its citizen armies forming the overwhelming bulk of its military forces. In order to defeat the Carthaginians, the Romans were forced to construct a fleet capable of matching it with the most powerful navy in the Mediterranean from scratch.
In 249 BC, and after a string of naval victories, Roman Consul Publius Claudius Pulcher decided to launch a surprise night attack, with a fleet of around 120 warships, on the port of Drepana (modern Trapani), on the western tip of the island. However, while approaching the harbour, low visibility (it was a moonless night) caused the fleet to become scattered and battle-of-drepanadisorganised in a long line along the coast. When the Punic (Carthaginian) scouts spotted the Roman fleet, the Carthaginian commander, Adherbal, sailed his own fleet, which was of a similar size, out of the harbour and around two small islands off the coast into the open sea. The Punic fleet, which had maintained its superiority in open sea manoeuvring, then turned on the Romans, trapping them against the Sicilian coast. The Romans, who had struggled to form into battle formations once the element of surprise was lost, were utterly defeated, with 93 ships either captured or sunk. The Carthaginians did not lose a single vessel.
According to the ancient historian Polybius, the defeat so demoralised the Romans that they did not construct another fleet for seven years. Ultimately, however, the Romans had the last laugh, with the First Punic War coming to an end in 241 BC after the decisive Roman victory at the naval Battle of the Aegates Islands.
He was fined for his defeat to the tune of 1,000 asses (coin, not donkey) for every ship Rome lost. Who made him eat a gladius in the guts is still historically disputed.
1. Won Gyun was Cerveraed. The Japanese corked him and wiped his fleet and him out.
2. Plumridge. He raided Finland and conducted himself as a pure pirate in the Baltic Sea during the Crimean War. The Finns were supplying the BRITISH navy during the war. So: guess who he pillaged, murdered and looted?
3. Operation Viking? The Luftwaffe was weak on ship recognition, and they were quite good at bombing their own ships. Neither were the KM good at plane recognition. In the Keystone Kops Fallout: the Germans lost two destroyers; one to bombs from the bumbling He-111 and one to a wild leftover WWI mine from the Great Barrage. And one was mission-killed by its own depth charges during a fake submarine scare.
4. George Anson. In another sterling display of English seamanship, this idiot got most of his fleet wrecked and most of his crews killed or missing in action in a round the world circumnavigation mission. The War of Jenkin's Ear was the Excuse and the mission was to harass Spain in the Pacific. Incredibly this nitwit, after losing most of his squadron due to his incompetent navigation, weather effects, mutinies, scurvy, and just plain desertions lucked out and captured a fat Filipino treasure galleon off Samar, so he would not be court martialed and shot when he got home. He could bribe his way out of trouble .He put into China, (Macao), where after more mutinies and desertions, and some shrewd trading where he parlayed Filipino plate into Chinese luxury goods, he increased his fortune. He finally blundered his way back to England. He missed being taken by the French as he entered the Channel by a navigation error (His) a fog bank and plain dumb luck. He landed in England with about 10,000,000 dollars (1800 USD rate) worth of plunder which set him up in politics and allowed him to enter Parliament as a member of a pocket borough. Further bribery and politics gave him influence, and a senior admiral's rank of the Blue. Nobody would remember this clown as anything but a dumb-luck political admiral except... this lucky pirate conducted a singular convoy raid during the War of the Austrian Succession misnamed the First Battle of Cape Finisterre. Outnumbering the French convoy escort 3 to 1, even this tactical bozo was able to complete this mission and add about 20,500,000 USD (2022 rate) to his personal fortune after prize money from the raid was parceled out. It was enough money for him to buy his way into a First Sea Lord political office and to mismanage the Royal Navy during the Seven Years War. The British would build and name a WWII battleship after him.
4. Las Aves; 1678. The Comte d'Estrelle drives his fleet onto the rocks in a navigation error. The reef supplied the Dutch a "geographic victory". The French salvage operation to recover cannon and shot was somewhat notable as the first recorded use of diving helmets and air pumps in the Caribbean Sea at this date.
5. Oskar Wehr. He is the Harold Stark of the German navy when it comes to their torpedo crisis. The Type G7 wet-heater series was originally mechanically based off the Italian Silafurico-made torpedoes as opposed to the Fiume series of fish. Nothing wrong with this German choice. Both lines of Italian torpedo were fine mechanical runners, arguably the BEST war torpedoes in Europe during WWII. But Oskar was of the opinion that the Italian contact exploders were "primitive". Germany could do better. You see where this is going? German magnetic exploders and contact pistols were no better than American ones. The Germans solved their crisis in 12 months, while it took the Americans 18 months. Wehr skated his just deserts as did his American counterpart, Stark.
Oskar Wehr (Admiral)
Oskar Wehr (20 January 1886[1] † 1968) was a German Rear Admiral of the Kriegsmarine.
Life
Oskar Wehr joined the Imperial Navy in 1904. On 12 July 1909 he became a first lieutenant at sea and in 1914 was on the great cruiser Von der Tann. [3] Until April 1917 he was then as I torpedo officer on the Von der Tann and took part in the Battle of Skagerrak. Subsequently, he was a teacher for submarine officers at the torpedo school until the end of the war.
Taken over into the Reichsmarine, he became a corvette captain on 1 October 1924 and was in 1929 as a frigate captain (promotion on 1 April 1929)[2] Chief of Staff of the Inspection of Torpedo and Mines (Kiel).
From September 1935 to mid-November 1939, he succeeded Rear Admiral Walther Faber as commander of the Torpedo Research Institute (TVA) Eckernförde. In the course of the torpedo crisis, he was subsequently replaced by Captain Kurt Utke as commander of the TVA. After torpedo failures were repeatedly reported with the beginning of the U-boat war in 1939, investigations were carried out by the Reichskriegsgericht from July 1940, but no guilt could be established. In 1941, however, the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, Grand Admiral Erich Raeder, again ordered an investigation before the Reich Court Martial. The indictment was carried out, inter alia, by Wehr as a defendant, so that he had to attend the ten-week trial in October 1941. Oskar Wehr was sentenced to two years and six months for breach of duty and incorrect evaluation.
In February 1942, the prison sentence was commuted to an honorary sentence with imprisonment in a fortress and six months later the prisoner was released. Wehr was made available to the Luftwaffe for torpedo issues, with the penalty being lifted altogether in 1944.
From March 1940 to July 1940 he was the first chief of the Kriegsmarinedienst Danzig.
On 14 September 1918 he married Marie Petersen (1893–1919) in Flensburg. After the death of his first wife, Wehr married his first wife's twin sister, Doro Petersen, on March 16, 1921.
Oskar Wehr (20 January 1886[1] † 1968) was a German Rear Admiral of the Kriegsmarine.
Life
Oskar Wehr joined the Imperial Navy in 1904. On 12 July 1909 he became a first lieutenant at sea and in 1914 was on the great cruiser Von der Tann. [3] Until April 1917 he was then as I torpedo officer on the Von der Tann and took part in the Battle of Skagerrak. Subsequently, he was a teacher for submarine officers at the torpedo school until the end of the war.
Taken over into the Reichsmarine, he became a corvette captain on 1 October 1924 and was in 1929 as a frigate captain (promotion on 1 April 1929)[2] Chief of Staff of the Inspection of Torpedo and Mines (Kiel).
From September 1935 to mid-November 1939, he succeeded Rear Admiral Walther Faber as commander of the Torpedo Research Institute (TVA) Eckernförde. In the course of the torpedo crisis, he was subsequently replaced by Captain Kurt Utke as commander of the TVA. After torpedo failures were repeatedly reported with the beginning of the U-boat war in 1939, investigations were carried out by the Reichskriegsgericht from July 1940, but no guilt could be established. In 1941, however, the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, Grand Admiral Erich Raeder, again ordered an investigation before the Reich Court Martial. The indictment was carried out, inter alia, by Wehr as a defendant, so that he had to attend the ten-week trial in October 1941. Oskar Wehr was sentenced to two years and six months for breach of duty and incorrect evaluation.
In February 1942, the prison sentence was commuted to an honorary sentence with imprisonment in a fortress and six months later the prisoner was released. Wehr was made available to the Luftwaffe for torpedo issues, with the penalty being lifted altogether in 1944.
From March 1940 to July 1940 he was the first chief of the Kriegsmarinedienst Danzig.
On 14 September 1918 he married Marie Petersen (1893–1919) in Flensburg. After the death of his first wife, Wehr married his first wife's twin sister, Doro Petersen, on March 16, 1921.
(^^^) Keelhauling was invented for characters like him.
6. Publius Claudius Pulcher. Modern Tripani on the northwest coast of Sicily is the site, but what did this yahoo do for Rome in the First Punic War? See George Anson and THIS for the results.
Battle of Drepana (249 BC)
It is perhaps a little ironic that for a state most famous for its mighty legions, the first of its greatest defeats was, in fact, a naval battle. In 249 BC, the Roman Republic was fifteen years into the First Punic War, the first of three such conflicts against Rome’s great Mediterranean rival, Carthage. The war was fought over the island of Sicily, which had great strategic value due to its proximity to the major East-West sea trade routes. Carthage was one of the great maritime powers of the ancient world and its navy was almost unmatched in size and experience at the time. In contrast, the Roman Republic was a traditionally land based power, with its citizen armies forming the overwhelming bulk of its military forces. In order to defeat the Carthaginians, the Romans were forced to construct a fleet capable of matching it with the most powerful navy in the Mediterranean from scratch.
In 249 BC, and after a string of naval victories, Roman Consul Publius Claudius Pulcher decided to launch a surprise night attack, with a fleet of around 120 warships, on the port of Drepana (modern Trapani), on the western tip of the island. However, while approaching the harbour, low visibility (it was a moonless night) caused the fleet to become scattered and battle-of-drepanadisorganised in a long line along the coast. When the Punic (Carthaginian) scouts spotted the Roman fleet, the Carthaginian commander, Adherbal, sailed his own fleet, which was of a similar size, out of the harbour and around two small islands off the coast into the open sea. The Punic fleet, which had maintained its superiority in open sea manoeuvring, then turned on the Romans, trapping them against the Sicilian coast. The Romans, who had struggled to form into battle formations once the element of surprise was lost, were utterly defeated, with 93 ships either captured or sunk. The Carthaginians did not lose a single vessel.
According to the ancient historian Polybius, the defeat so demoralised the Romans that they did not construct another fleet for seven years. Ultimately, however, the Romans had the last laugh, with the First Punic War coming to an end in 241 BC after the decisive Roman victory at the naval Battle of the Aegates Islands.
He was fined for his defeat to the tune of 1,000 asses (coin, not donkey) for every ship Rome lost. Who made him eat a gladius in the guts is still historically disputed.
