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First Positive Results..

Guy I knew who was on Omaha Beach on D-Day always said they were outgunned by German weapons.

He always used the example of our .30 caliber water-cooled machine guns, which overheated constantly and took forever to reload, while the German machine guns could be reloaded in a much shorter time (sorry, I'm not an arms expert - I'm sure someone here knows more about it than I do).

The Japanese equipment may have been better, but the survivability of their planes and tanks were worse than ours.

British intelligence was excellent vs Germany and our intelligence service - and sheer guts of our Navy pilots - won the Battle of Midway, which turned the tide of the war to put us on offense.
Not sure how small arms and fixed encampment gun positions came into this but German artillery and infantry moved on oats for fuel-

“Horse-drawn transportation was most important for Germany, as it was relatively lacking in automotive industry[2] and oil resources. Infantry and horse-drawn artillery formed the bulk of the German Army throughout the war; only one fifth of the Army belonged to mobile panzer and mechanized divisions. Each German infantry division employed thousands of horses and thousands of men taking care of them. Despite losses of horses to enemy action, exposure and disease, Germany maintained a steady supply of work and saddle horses until 1945. Cavalry in the German Army and the Waffen-SS gradually increased in size, peaking at six cavalry divisions in February 1945.”




I don’t know much about Japanese tanks but for naval operations that started the war the Zero was a far better aircraft 12-1 kill ratio is stellar-


“The Zero is considered to have been the most capable carrier-based fighter in the world when it was introduced early in World War II, combining excellent maneuverability and very long range.[2] The Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service also frequently used it as a land-based fighter.

In early combat operations, the Zero gained a reputation as a dogfighter,[3] achieving an outstanding kill ratio of 12 to 1,”

Japanese torpedo-

The Type 93 (酸素魚雷, designated for Imperial Japanese calendar year 2593) was a 610 mm (24 in)-diameter torpedo of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN), launched from surface ships. It is commonly referred to as the Long Lance[1] by most modern English-language naval historians, a nickname given to it after the war by Samuel Eliot Morison,[2] the chief historian of the U.S. Navy, who spent much of the war in the Pacific Theater. In Japanese references, the term Sanso gyorai (酸素魚雷, lit. "oxygen torpedo") is also used, in reference to its propulsion system.[3] It was the most advanced naval torpedo in the world at the time.

American torpedo-

“The Mark 14 was central to the torpedo scandal of the U.S. Pacific Fleet Submarine Force during World War II. Inadequate production planning led to severe shortages of the weapon. The frugal, Depression-era, peacetime testing of both the torpedo and its exploder was woefully inadequate and had not uncovered many serious design problems. Torpedoes were so expensive that the Navy was unwilling to perform tests that would destroy a torpedo. Furthermore, the design defects tended to mask each other.[36] Much of the blame commonly attached to the Mark 14 correctly belongs to the Mark 6 exploder. These defects, in the course of fully twenty months of war, were exposed, as torpedo after torpedo either missed by running directly under the target, prematurely exploded, or struck targets with textbook right angle hits (sometimes with an audible clang) yet failed to explode.[37]

Not aware of any armor battles with US in the Pacific but I know the Japanese used in China. If Chiang Kai-shek hadn’t blown the levees on the Yellow River and killed a large number of his own citizens the Japanese would have overrun China. Their tanks were adequate for China.
 
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Forgot Stukas-

“Though sturdy, accurate, and very effective against ground targets, the Stuka was, like many other dive bombers of the period, vulnerable to fighter aircraft. During the Battle of Britain of 1940–1941, its lack of manoeuvrability, speed, or defensive armament meant that it required a heavy fighter escort to operate effectively.”

“Once the Luftwaffe lost air superiority, the Stuka became an easy target for enemy fighters, but it continued being produced until 1944 for lack of a better replacement”


Ernst Udet that sponsored the Stuka in the Luftwaffe supposedly wanted to tell Hitler that Soviet aircraft were good and that Germany could not win an airwar with the Soviets but Goering kept him weak with alcohol and drugs and he finally shot himself in the head.
 
Funny that the A10 (similar function as Stukas) has been a wildly successful close support aircraft that has been hated by the Air Force since before it was even constructed. It is relatively cheap and so doesn’t have the money opportunities nor the glitz of bombers and fighters. Multi role aircraft tend to be very expensive and not as proficient in individual roles as specialized aircraft. A10 is by far the most proficient close support aircraft ever constructed but the Air Force will be rid of it soon.

If you have time read this GAO report on the F35 maintenance nightmare

 
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The GAO reports on the new $14 billion aircraft carrier are shocking but two non GAO summaries here



It was delivered 8 years ago but radars still not working to spec, bad bunking conditions for sailors, toilets don’t work properly, can’t accommodate F35s, and can launch and recover aircraft only as well as the Midway could that was built in 1943. Not to mention it is a huge target with a Kick Me sign on the modern naval battlefield.
 
Zumwalt Class destroyers, anticipated ed to build 32 and three built before program cancellation and nothing worked. Summary below-

Mike Fredenburg analyzed the program for National Review after Zumwalt broke down in the Panama Canal in November 2016. He concluded that the ship's problems "are emblematic of a defense procurement system that is rapidly losing its ability to meet our national security needs."[58] Fredenburg went on to detail problems relating to the skyrocketing costs, lack of accountability, unrealistic goals, a flawed concept of operations, the perils of designing a warship around stealth, and the failure of the Advanced Gun System. He concludes:

The Zumwalt is an unmitigated disaster. Clearly it is not a good fit as a frontline warship. With its guns neutered, its role as a primary anti-submarine-warfare asset in question, its anti-air-warfare capabilities inferior to those of our current workhorse, the Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, and its stealth not nearly as advantageous as advertised, the Zumwalt seems to be a ship without a mission.[58]
 
The KC46 replacement for KC135 refueling tanker woes. The saga has gone on for years and still flying, as I understand it, with 6 category 1 safety issues that could result in loss of an aircraft. The air force has decided to accelerate the development of the next generation refueling tanker that will be stealth. Boeing is pretty much miserable everywhere. They used to have good engineering but something changed.

 
The KC46 replacement for KC135 refueling tanker woes. The saga has gone on for years and still flying, as I understand it, with 6 category 1 safety issues that could result in loss of an aircraft. The air force has decided to accelerate the development of the next generation refueling tanker that will be stealth. Boeing is pretty much miserable everywhere. They used to have good engineering but something changed.

It is kind of amazing, but the most reliable jets (not best), the US military has, are the newly modified F-15 and F-18. Can’t wait to see how much we have already spent on 6th gen fighters…..
 
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It is kind of amazing, but the most reliable jets (not best), the US military has, are the newly modified F-15 and F-18. Can’t wait to see how much we have already spent on 6th gen fighters…..

I would hate to see what breaks if stress tested in a conflict with China. As I noted earlier the stress test of simpler systems in Ukraine has not gone well.
 
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