History Forum / War History / World War II / July 2007

I would like to ask you a question on propaganda about the railsplitters
(84th Div) as I am doing a little research on that division.
My question is simple. Does anybody know about any German propaganda that
proves this text quoted in the, more or less official, history of the

How did U-boats go about switching over from diesel to electric power and
back? Where were the intakes/exhausts located for the diesels? How were they
sealed when the U-boat had to submerge suddenly?

North Africa was to Germany a sideshow from the real war in Russia.
While going over the air supplies to Stalingrad, in the discussion
Subject: Re: Could more of German army in Stalingrad have been taken out
was Re: Stalingrad: Could Hitler have saved 6th Army by prompt

Did German railway guns (e.g. Big Bertha) ever contribute substantially
towards winning
any battles? Were they merely nuisance weapons (like V1's and V2's)?

Not exactly past history, but historical...
Finnish army sells obsolete equipment, including whopping THREE
Sturmgeshütz III ausführung G assault guns... Heck, even I never had
idea that the army still has some Stug stuff left in the hangars... Not

It's amazing how little support Britain seemed to want to give China in WW2.
Considering the Chinese casualties in the Pacific were more than twice as
great as all the other allies combined, you would think Britain would've
been more appreciative of the Chinese effort. What seems ...

A friend of mine was in the 102nd Division during the Battle of the
Bulge and was captured by the Germans. The US Army lists him as KIA  but
I was told by his platoon leader that he was killed  by "Friendly Fire"
- his POW train was bombed by the RAF.

Were the Japanese Long-Lance torpedos considered the best during WW2? Why
didn't anyone else copy their design during the war?
Why didn't Japan/Italy/Germany share technological advancements in torpedo
design?

I'm a bit over a third of the way thru this non-fiction  book by Bill
Warnock (ISBN 1-59609-085-5).  So far, it's an excellent & engrossing
read.
 It's the story of the belated recovery in the 1980's and '90's of

My father was WIA while in service with the 7th inf of the 3rd Inf
div , Cisterna , Italy , 24 May '44 .  I was wondering if anyone might
know of the objective of this unit at the time / place as indicated .
U.S.Army archives (Pennsylvania) was of some help with suppling a

Hi folks,
How come there was no war declared on the USSR in 1939? They did also
attack Poland as did the Germans.
Best,

Here are the stats I have for this tank:
Weight : 26.0 ton
Dimensions : 5.80 x 2.80 x 2.52 mt
Armor (max) : 60 mm

Did anyone other than the Canadians consider an APC based on the
Sherman?  What got me wondering were photos of the M40 gun motor
carriage.  I was struck by its resemblance to modern APCs like the
M-113.

Does anyone here know if the Continental AV-1790-3 was made of
aluminum?  I would also like to know if it could have been used before
war's end to power Pershing derivatives.
If it had been ready for use in Pershings, along with the CD-850-1

Anybody care to recommend a magazine for a 15-year-old boy interested
in WW2?  In particular, he's interested in the Holocaust.
Thank you for all answers.
Ted Shoemaker