masters of war

The other day I was watching Futurama, the episode “Roswell That Ends Well” where our heroes go back in time to 1947 Roswell, New Mexico, and Fry accidentally becomes his own grandfather. Many people who read this blog know I have a fascination with World War 2 stuff. It started when I was a kid and watched To Hell and Back for the first time. My interest has evolved from 1950’s Hollywood patriotism to the gritty, repulsive, ugly truth. Show what happens and show it honestly. The audience deserves to know. But I digress. I am fascinated with everything about World War 2, everything from the human involvement and the mind-boggling number of casualties to the weapons and armaments. World War 2 just had the coolest weapons. What’s a Stealth Bomber compared to a B-25? Forget being able to strike anywhere in the world from bases well within American borders. When we bombed Tokyo in 1942 we crammed an entire squadron of B-25 bombers onto an aircraft carrier and sailed them close enough that they could crash land in China when they ran out of gas. That’s dedication. You really have to want to bomb the hell out of someone to do something like that. As for tanks, we wouldn’t have something like the M1 Abrams if it weren’t for the German Tiger. The Germans essentially invented power-steering because they wanted to fit an 88 millimeter canon on a tank. The machine had to be hefty enough to carry a gun that big, and it had to be maneuverable enough that it didn’t become a liability to its crew. The Tiger’s armor was revolutionary, as well, if only a carbon copy of the Russian T-42’s armor. Instead of focusing on absorbing the explosive impact of a shell, they focused more on deflecting the burst. Tank armor became sloped, thick enough to prevent penetration but angled so the round deflected away. Watch Saving Private Ryan, towards the end, where Tom Sizemore fires the bazooka at the Tiger. It might as well be a cherry bomb, and you can even see the trail of the round deflecting up and to the left. The Tiger rolls on like nothing happened. A gun more powerful than anything the Allies could put on the field and almost perfect armor – the reason we beat the Tiger and its Panther cousin wasn’t because of superior technology but because we had more stuff. Only a few hundred of both tanks were ever produced compared to thousands of American Shermans and Russian T-42’s. But the effects are still apparent. The modern M1 basically has the Tiger’s canon, and armor has evolved even further from simple sloping. But all of that requires another blog. Back to Futurama. So what does all of this have to do with “Roswell That Ends Well?” At the end of the episode they raid the Army base and steal the microwave radar dish. In mid-chase, mid-fiasco, two P-51 Mustangs launch to pursue and shoot down the Planet Express ship. The animation is brilliant and the design on the fighters exceptional, but when I watched the episode the other day I noticed a flaw, more an anachronism. The P-51’s had canopies that were extensions of the fuselage. By that time, even later in World War 2 when the Mustang proved itself the best fighter of the period, P-51’s had bubble canopies. A bubble canopy gives the pilot better visibility in front and behind. By 1947 all active P-51’s would have had bubble canopies. While the design of the fighters is beautiful, this chronological flaw stood out and will always stand out in an otherwise perfect episode of Futurama. Yeah. I’m that guy. I am a nerd in more ways than one, people. Currently in love with: Dear Science, by TV on the Radio. I have to force myself not to overlisten this thing and wear it out. Every song is a highlight.