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#1 |
Elf Lord
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Mirkwood, well actually I live in North-west Scania, Sweden
Posts: 9,481
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Pondering the beginnings of WWI
If the technology of the Chinese powder-propelled rocketry had been rediscovered in the early 20th Century, and furthermore the British had developed these weapons with nitroglycerin-filled bomblets in the warhead, and if these rockets had been massproduced, for the use of Allied troops during the very start of the First World War would they, in fact, have worked to stem the tide of the attacking German forces.
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#2 |
Elf Lady
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: In the lands where mountains are but a fairytale
Posts: 8,588
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Lots of ifs in there, GW.
IF that had been re-discovered, then both sides are bound to have had that technology in no time and made it deadlier, resulting MAYBE in an even more horrible war. Too many ifs for me to make up something plausible though, sorry.
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#3 |
The Chocoholic Sea Elf Administrator
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: N?n in Eilph (Belgium)
Posts: 14,363
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There are a number of issues I can think of. Firstly, Chinese powder (if I got my English terms right) was rather outdated by the beginning of the First World War. There had been all sorts of gun powder, cordite and other, better, more efficient propellants developed and mass-produced by then.
Secondly, nitroglycerine is a very dangerous substance! Highly sensitive and difficult to handle because of that. I do believe it was used in production of explosives at the time, but I highly doubt nitroglycerine, as a pure product, was ever used on a World War battlefield. It needs specific temperatures for storage and use too, if I recall correctly. So its uses on the battlefield would have automatically have been limited. Thirdly, I believe much, if not all of the rockets used in the First and Second World War detonated on impact. I don't know for sure, but I doubt bombs could be triggered to explode in the air by remote control or a timer. In that light I highly doubt the technology even existed to load several charges of explosives as today's cluster bombs carry. So regardless of how many nitroglycerine bomblets you loaded in a warhead, they'd only go off once, together.
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#4 |
Elf Lord
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Mirkwood, well actually I live in North-west Scania, Sweden
Posts: 9,481
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Thanks for ur responses.
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#5 |
The Chocoholic Sea Elf Administrator
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: N?n in Eilph (Belgium)
Posts: 14,363
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What, that's it? No possible refutation, no defense of your original scenario, no correction or adaptation of some technique might have worked instead?
I feel cheated. ![]()
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#6 |
Elf Lady
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: In the lands where mountains are but a fairytale
Posts: 8,588
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Hehe, true.
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Love always, deeply and true ★ Friends are those rare people who ask how we are and then wait to hear the answer. ★ Friendship is sharing openly, laughing often, trusting always, caring deeply.
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#7 |
Elf Lord
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Mirkwood, well actually I live in North-west Scania, Sweden
Posts: 9,481
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Im sorry, didnt mean to thus cut it short.
Well, as for adaption perhaps missiles with simple explosives in the warheads would be better suited for the purpose - as for the timing - they did have timing devices in those days - so that would not have been so difficult to produce. Last edited by Grey_Wolf : 12-16-2008 at 03:31 PM. |
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#8 | |
Entmoot Minister of Foreign Affairs
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Copenhagen
Posts: 2,145
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Quote:
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#9 | |
The Chocoholic Sea Elf Administrator
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: N?n in Eilph (Belgium)
Posts: 14,363
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Quote:
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#10 |
Saviour of Entmoot Admiral
Join Date: Nov 1999
Location: NC/NJ (no longer Same place as bmilder.)
Posts: 61,986
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There was Chinese technology that the western world didn't know about in 1914? News to me.
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#11 |
Elf Lord
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Mirkwood, well actually I live in North-west Scania, Sweden
Posts: 9,481
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I didnt mean that the West didnt know about it in the early 20th century - I meant using and adapting the rocket technology to their special needs at the start of the conflict.
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