Seven unbelievable military weapons most people have never heard of

a reply to: Brother Stormhammer
What I was hoping to get was an explanation on how this could happen if 'ground effect' would make them glide across a relatively flat surface rather hitting their target.

I think you nailed it with results of a Nipponese attack on the Panama Canal.

Isn't the U.S. Navy experimenting with putting helo's on Attack Sub's.

originally posted by: 8654drp
a reply to: Brother Stormhammer
What I was hoping to get was an explanation on how this could happen if 'ground effect' would make them glide across a relatively flat surface rather hitting their target.

Ground-effect lift is certainly real, and it's not an insignificant force. It's also not terribly hard to overcome, particularly if the aircraft in question is already descending. If it took very much effort to overcome ground-effect lift, we wouldn't see so many aircraft crashing on final approach.

The Ekranoplan made really good use of ground effect, but it was designed specifically to take advantage of it...it doesn't tell you much about the behavior of a conventional aircraft in ground effect. I'm very skeptical of any claim that ground-effect lift would keep a conventional aircraft from hitting the ground...or the Pentagon.

Isn't the U.S. Navy experimenting with putting helo's on Attack Sub's.

To the best of my knowledge, no.
I think there was a program to develop RPV that could be launched from underwater, but they were being designed to deploy through the torpedo tubes.

There's no room on an attack boat for a piloted helicopter, and adding external hangars and the like would generate enough underwater noise to deafen a sonar operator. Even if there was room, or if room could be made, why bother carrying a helicopter? It doesn't enhance the mission capability of the SSN in any appreciable way.

originally posted by: 8654drp
a reply to: zatara

So why does my glider land and crash into things?

So how did German(WWII) guided missiles hit their targets?

I read the Wiki article and am still not understanding this.

the V-1 had a very crude guidance systems that were only for a general area target type weapon.
it was called the buzz bomb because of the sound, and in England it was soon learned that as long as you heard the sound flying over head it was still moving and you had time to run and take cover, but when the sound stopped it was falling to earth and you didn't have much time to take cover.

here is a pretty good article on the V-1

The V-1 Flying Bomb

the V-2 was more sophisticated and had a better guide system and was the start of space and missile technology.
it had control surface and better and one of the fins was aligned to the target. later V-2's had a radio control.

here is a wiki on the V-2

The V-2 was guided by four external rudders on the tail fins, and four internal graphite vanes at the exit of the motor. The LEV-3 guidance system consisted of two free gyroscopes (a horizontal and a vertical) for lateral stabilization, and a PIGA accelerometer to control engine cutoff at a specified velocity. The V-2 was launched from a pre-surveyed location, so the distance and azimuth to the target were known. Fin 1 of the missile was aligned to the target azimuth.[23] Some later V-2s used "guide beams", radio signals transmitted from the ground, to keep the missile on course, but the first models used a simple analog computer that adjusted the azimuth for the rocket, and the flying distance was controlled by the timing of the engine cut-off, "Brennschluss", ground controlled by a Doppler system or by different types of on-board integrating accelerometers. The rocket stopped accelerating and soon reached the top of the approximately parabolic flight curve.
V-2

a reply to: Brother Stormhammer
Ground effect is indeed real and it does happen to airplanes to a height of half of it's wing span. I'm sure you've seen an airplane appear to float down the runway when landing...that's ground effect. When the airspeed decreases the airplane will touch down. Seaplanes in WW2 would fly low in ground effect which would allow them to fly farther on less power and gas. There has been many craft around over the years that used the "wing in ground effect" for lift.

The Ekranoplan was big heavy and required many thirsty engines to drive through the air. It could only get to speed while it was in the open ocean but couldn't climb high enough to avoid large waves which restricted it's use. When at speed, it could impact waves causing damage to the craft and occupants. It's mission was to transport troops and equipment quickly which it could only do in reduced sea states.

The Germans experimented with wing in ground effect (WIG) craft very successfully. They were much smaller and lower horse power but operated well in the open ocean.

a reply to: buddah6

Been there, landed that.

I'm still not convinced that ground-effect would keep an airplane from hitting a building.

On the original topic, would Project Pluto qualify?

a reply to: Brother Stormhammer

I agree that ground effect would not stop a 175,000 lb airplane at speed from hitting a building.

The best secret weapon is cost and on that front the USA cannot compete with China who will win them every time even if the quality is not quite so good.

You don't want to pick a fight with China because they have you beat before you even enter the ring

a reply to: Kratos40

3.) They have "Mind Implants". It can insert sections like FALSE thoughts into your brain. - See more at: www.abovetopsecret.com...

Much better than that they can blank part of your mind, rub a section out and that was 40 years ago but i cannot be 100% sure because even I dare not go digging and asking too many questions and cannot be sure that my own mind is not playing tricks on me.

Surly implanting memory is harder than using a delete button

Here's a new unbelievable project from WW2. It's Louie Mountbatten's iceberg aircraft carrier made of ice and saw dust. I guess it would only be used in the northern latitudes.

a reply to: zatara

Bullocks! Any aircraft can overcome the force of ground effect, especially a loaded commercial passenger jet. All it takes is for the pilot to push on the yoke a bit, the nose would impact the building before ground effect has any chance of keeping it up.

Ever hear of a TR3-B?