u/Corvid187

Hello hivemind,

I am currently writing a project about the UK's development of specialist desert patrol vehicles, and in particular understand what led to the shift away from modified in-service light utility vehicles in favour of separate, specialist designs; first under project TURTLE and later MINACITY.

The sources I have found all point to the experience of SAS A and D squadrons during operation Granby, which supposedly revealed insurmountable shortcomings with the 110 DPV concept. However, I haven't been able to track down exactly what specifically these identified issues were, how the army/SAS came to that conclusion, which aspects of their experience drove that decision or how the eventual requirements for TURTLE were formulated.

What primary accounts I have read from soldiers in the two squadrons seem to have been broadly satisfied with their vehicles, or has issues with them that do not appear to have been translated into the eventual TURTLE requirements. My best guess is the limited endurance and payload capacity that necessitated Chinook, and later convoy resupply in Iraq, but I have found no sources to definitively support this.

I realised this is verging on sneakie beakie stuff, and finding specific reliable information, never mind official, will be challenging. However, if anyone has any idea/information about this process directly, or has some thoughts as to where I could look further for them, I would be very grateful.

As a bonus, any information on the development of the Australian Special Air service's Land Rover 6x6 conversions would also be very much appreciated.

Your wisdom and help is, as always, very much appreciated :)

Hope you all have splendid weeks!

*PIERCE the casing, sorry :$

Hello hivemind,

I'm trying to make haggis for the first time, and ended up with a bunch of excess so I'm trying to find different ways of cooking it.

I thought smoking some might be a fun idea, but don't really know what I'm doing with that. I was wondering whether it would be better to pierce the casing to let more smoke in, or keep it sealed to avoid moisture/juices dripping out.

Anyone who has tried doing this or something similar, what do think would be best?

Many thanks in advance for your advice!

Hope you all have lovely weekends :)

EDIT: update!

Ended up deciding to leave the casing unpierced. This went swimmingly right up until it exploded just before I pulled it. That being said, I only lost a little bit of it, and the taste was absolutely exquisite. The smoke definitely penetrated the casing, and its flavour complements the spices perfectly. Definitely recommend people give it a try if they get the chance. Next time I might try either piecing one or two holes to let pressure escape, or keep it in a bath of some sort of liquid (dilute proto-whisky sauce?) to keep it cooler and help retain moisture.

Thank you again for all your lovely advice!

Hello hivemind,

I was wondering if any of you who worked on/used the Supacat Jackal or Coyote 1 and 2 in service could tell me whether they used the 5.9L or 6.7L Cummins engine? As a follow up, did both versions of both vehicles use the same engine? I tried to find this out online, but sources seem conflicted, even on Supacat's official website and brochures, so I thought I'd go to the horse's mouth.

Thanks!

Hope you all have splendid days :)

Hello hivemind!

This may not be exactly the right sub to ask, but it relates to the space shuttle's military purpose, so I thought someone might know.

One of the major constraints of the space shuttle's design was its extreme cross-range requirement, which demanded it be able to fly 1,200 nautical miles in atmosphere from reentry. This requirement was set by the Air Force to allow them to launch a once-around mission into a polar orbit from Vandenberg in California, deploy a satellite, and recover back to land, with the cross range accounting for the earth's eastward rotation in the time between takeoff and landing.

This requirement imposed significant constraints on the design of the shuttle, and arguably compromised its efficiency in many other areas to achieve this goal.

Given the US spans well in excess of the once-around rotation distance east-west, and it has launch complexes for the shuttle already built on the east coast, why couldn't the air force have launched its missions from there, and then recovered to runway built out in the US interior instead? This would have obviated the need for such extreme cross-range performance, and even placed a greater proportion of the flight firmly over US territory. The cost of building/retrofitting a secure integration facility in Florida and a shuttle-capable runway in, say, Texas or New Mexico would surely have been offset by the savings on the shuttles themselves and the greater performance they could dedicate to their primary mission.

I'm obviously missing something here, but don't know what it is. Delighted to be enlightened by you lot as usual :)

Hope you all have wonderful Sundays!

Hope you all have lovely days :)