General Discussions
This is the place to discuss general issues related to the U-boat war or the war at sea in WWII.
RE: Modern tonnage war part 2
Posted by:
kurt
()
Date: August 19, 2001 08:02PM
<HTML>Well, everyone needs pride in their service, but the Air Force guys you talked to are either exagerating or ignorant.
Every airlifter in the US arsenal would be hard pressed to move and supply one or two armoured divisions, let alone a large army. The huge forces of Desert Storm were supplied, and their equipment sent, mostly by ship or pre-positioned there. That is why it tooks months to build up.
Even the biggest airlifters can carry only one heavy piece of equipment (tank, mobile artillery, helicopter at a time. Add support equipment and munitions, and supplies, and it is clearly impossible for a few hundred airlifters (all the US has) to support more than a division or two. And this is assuming that fuel is readily available at the destination a la the Arab states. If not, planes would be hardpressed to carry just there return fuel, let alone the fuel demands of an air wing or armoured corps.
One mega-sized modern cargo ship can carry the equivelant of several thousand cargo plane loads (~200,000 tons on a ship vs ~100,000lb (50 tons) on a C-17/C-5 -> 4000 plane loads /ship). There just is no comparison.
</HTML>
Every airlifter in the US arsenal would be hard pressed to move and supply one or two armoured divisions, let alone a large army. The huge forces of Desert Storm were supplied, and their equipment sent, mostly by ship or pre-positioned there. That is why it tooks months to build up.
Even the biggest airlifters can carry only one heavy piece of equipment (tank, mobile artillery, helicopter at a time. Add support equipment and munitions, and supplies, and it is clearly impossible for a few hundred airlifters (all the US has) to support more than a division or two. And this is assuming that fuel is readily available at the destination a la the Arab states. If not, planes would be hardpressed to carry just there return fuel, let alone the fuel demands of an air wing or armoured corps.
One mega-sized modern cargo ship can carry the equivelant of several thousand cargo plane loads (~200,000 tons on a ship vs ~100,000lb (50 tons) on a C-17/C-5 -> 4000 plane loads /ship). There just is no comparison.
</HTML>
| Subject | Written By | Posted |
|---|---|---|
Modern tonnage war part 2
|
David W | 08/19/2001 12:06AM |
|
RE: Modern tonnage war part 2
|
kurt | 08/19/2001 08:02PM |
|
RE: Modern tonnage war part 2
|
Yuri IL\'IN | 08/19/2001 09:17PM |