Russian aircraft impounded in Nigeria, French weapons on board
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Russian aircraft impounded in Nigeria, French weapons on board
Nigeria detains Russian cargo plane with military shipment to Chad | Africa | Worldbulletin News
Two Gazelle helicopters on board, an armored vehicle, spare parts, various stuff.
Russian crew, Russian aircraft Antonov 224, Russian company 224 Flight Unit operating for Russian MOD. Two French liaison officers on board.
As a very embarrassed French ambassador in Nigeria said "no weapons on board" Technically, yes.
Huge blanket of silence thrown on that by western european medias - how embarrassing ... but here is pprune for that.
Aircraft eventually released, because of no offence anywhere. It was part of regular airbride, moving French military hardware all over Africa, and also to and from France mainland.
Who was supposed to have cut all military ties recently ? now they can as well deliver to Sevastopol the assault carriers from St Nazaire ...
Two Gazelle helicopters on board, an armored vehicle, spare parts, various stuff.
Russian crew, Russian aircraft Antonov 224, Russian company 224 Flight Unit operating for Russian MOD. Two French liaison officers on board.
As a very embarrassed French ambassador in Nigeria said "no weapons on board" Technically, yes.
Huge blanket of silence thrown on that by western european medias - how embarrassing ... but here is pprune for that.
Aircraft eventually released, because of no offence anywhere. It was part of regular airbride, moving French military hardware all over Africa, and also to and from France mainland.
Who was supposed to have cut all military ties recently ? now they can as well deliver to Sevastopol the assault carriers from St Nazaire ...
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The French will sell anything to anyone, without scruples. They are only interested in themselves and their market share, one only has to look at the preponderance of French cars and companies all over the world.
Whilst it may show a lack of morals, it is in some ways quite admirable since they make no pretence about it.
Whilst it may show a lack of morals, it is in some ways quite admirable since they make no pretence about it.
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and for the one making the super-fun comment about the reverse gear, of course the Brits and Aussies did never surrender at Singapore in 1942, it was just an administrative trick to confuse the enemy...
Same for the Royal Marines in the Falklands in 1982, all kneeling down and raising hands without firing a single shot
How easy to look smart and courageous from a distant country over the ocean, which nobody would invade, not because they would be afraid, but simply because it's too far away...
Same for the Royal Marines in the Falklands in 1982, all kneeling down and raising hands without firing a single shot
How easy to look smart and courageous from a distant country over the ocean, which nobody would invade, not because they would be afraid, but simply because it's too far away...
RM Actions Before Surrender - Falklands 1982
recceguy
Actually, during the battle defending Government House in the Falklands in 1982, despite being heavily outnumbered and facing overwhelming firepower, the Royal Marines fired over 6,000 rounds and destroyed a number of APCs with 84mm and 66mm anti-armour weapons before surrendering.
Did you ever serve in the Falklands during the immediate aftermath and go on any battlefield tours - no, I thought not.
Easy to make assumptions from a few photos when typing on a computer from a position of safety over 32 years after the event !
1982 invasion of the Falkland Islands - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Actually, during the battle defending Government House in the Falklands in 1982, despite being heavily outnumbered and facing overwhelming firepower, the Royal Marines fired over 6,000 rounds and destroyed a number of APCs with 84mm and 66mm anti-armour weapons before surrendering.
Did you ever serve in the Falklands during the immediate aftermath and go on any battlefield tours - no, I thought not.
Easy to make assumptions from a few photos when typing on a computer from a position of safety over 32 years after the event !
1982 invasion of the Falkland Islands - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(a bear of little brain)
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RAFEng, you'll probably know but I also recall reading the marines made a bit of a mess on a warship (frigate?) that ventured a bit too close to shore, using sn anti-tank rocket.
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May we please get back to the topic of slagging off the French? It's a far more rewarding line of conversation 
It also avoids side discussions about our big Ally/Master, which might get unpleasant.
It also avoids side discussions about our big Ally/Master, which might get unpleasant.
There were several Argentine dead, at least one Puma destroyed and it was a Corvette which got an 84mm Carl Gustav round through the bow.
I suspect that Colour Sgt Muir would modify but slightly his famed quote were recceguy to repeat his allegation of not putting up a fight to his face...
I suspect that Colour Sgt Muir would modify but slightly his famed quote were recceguy to repeat his allegation of not putting up a fight to his face...
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It seems some people enjoy making jokes about others, but don't like so much being targeted, especially if rightly.
So what about Singapore again ? Would some provide the same amount of details ? what about those Royal Marines who raised their hands pitifully in the Chott El Arab in 2004, and then sold their stories to tabloïds ?
And for some here, being from down South doen't prevent from enjoying French military harware, to change a little bit from US dominance as even some australians acknowledge : Tiger and NH90 helos, Navy tanker HMAS Success, Airbus 330 tanker, Mirage III in the past, NH 90, maybe submarines in the future ...
So what about Singapore again ? Would some provide the same amount of details ? what about those Royal Marines who raised their hands pitifully in the Chott El Arab in 2004, and then sold their stories to tabloïds ?
And for some here, being from down South doen't prevent from enjoying French military harware, to change a little bit from US dominance as even some australians acknowledge : Tiger and NH90 helos, Navy tanker HMAS Success, Airbus 330 tanker, Mirage III in the past, NH 90, maybe submarines in the future ...
Reinhardt,
Airbus A330 tanker is far more British than French.
The British surrender in Singapore cannot be defended from any rational point of view.
Nor can the behaviour of a very large number of the Australian contingent.
"Raised their hands pitifully?"
Oh really, you are beyond a joke.
Airbus A330 tanker is far more British than French.
The British surrender in Singapore cannot be defended from any rational point of view.
Nor can the behaviour of a very large number of the Australian contingent.
"Raised their hands pitifully?"
Oh really, you are beyond a joke.
Recceguy and Reinhartd both make good points; fine to make poor taste jokes about France's defeat in 1940, but people quickly board the outrage bus when the tables are turned. We all know that the small Marine detachment put up a brave fight in 1982, but some seem happy to forget the reality of France's effort forty-two years earlier.
For those who have conveniently forgotten or were too disinterested to find out, here are a few excerpts from history:
Remember that France had taken a beating in WW1 and had decided to fight a defensive war behind their line of fortifications, the Maginot Line instead of trenches. The line did not extend into Belgium or the Netherlands; they were expected to hold their part of the front.
The Germans seized the initiative, capturing the key Belgian fort of Eban Emael with a daring airborne operation. The speed of the German advance and the brutality of the air raids gave them a huge psychological advantage, and on 14 May the Dutch surrendered.
The British and French responded by putting into operation a plan to advance to the River Dyle, in Belgium... ...It soon became clear that by advancing into the Low Countries the Allies were dancing to Hitler's tune. On 13 May, the first German forces emerged from the Ardennes near Sedan. In a two-day battle, the Panzers crossed the River Meuse, despite some surprisingly stiff resistance from the second-class French defenders.
With the bulk of the Allied forces fighting in Belgium, there was little to stop the German forces as they sliced across the Allied supply-lines. The German spearheads reached the English Channel on 20 May.
Lacking a centrally placed strategic reserve, the Allies tried to pull their armies out of Belgium to respond to the new threat emerging in their rear. And the Germans did not have it all their own way, as French forces under Charles de Gaulle showed how vulnerable the flanks of the German forces were to bold counterattacks.
With German forces pushing through Belgium and the Panzers looping up from the south and west, the Allies were encircled. The Belgian army surrendered on 28 May, leaving a gaping hole on the British flank of the Allied forces... ...Allied high command seemed paralysed.
Then General Lord Gort, the commander of the British Expeditionary Force took the morally courageous decision to abandon his role in a projected Anglo-French counterattack, and fell back on the Channel ports... ...The French, not surprisingly, regarded this as a betrayal, but Gort's decision saved the BEF... ...hastily organised evacuation by sea, code-named Operation Dynamo, lifted 338,000 Allied troops from Dunkirk.
5 June... ...the Germans striking southwards from the River Somme. Despite the fact that the French in many areas fought well, the Germans destroyed the Allied forces in the field in short order. The 51st Highland Division was forced to surrender on 12 June.
Following the surrender of the Netherlands and Belgium and the retreat or surrender of British troops, France was isolated and out-gunned.
A fresh British force was sent to Normandy, only to be evacuated almost immediately. Meanwhile, the victorious Panzers raced in different directions across France, finishing off pockets of resistance, crossing the River Loire in the west on 17 June, and reaching the Swiss frontier a few days later. The end came with the surrender of France on 22 June.
France fought and lost.
For those who have conveniently forgotten or were too disinterested to find out, here are a few excerpts from history:
Remember that France had taken a beating in WW1 and had decided to fight a defensive war behind their line of fortifications, the Maginot Line instead of trenches. The line did not extend into Belgium or the Netherlands; they were expected to hold their part of the front.
The Germans seized the initiative, capturing the key Belgian fort of Eban Emael with a daring airborne operation. The speed of the German advance and the brutality of the air raids gave them a huge psychological advantage, and on 14 May the Dutch surrendered.
The British and French responded by putting into operation a plan to advance to the River Dyle, in Belgium... ...It soon became clear that by advancing into the Low Countries the Allies were dancing to Hitler's tune. On 13 May, the first German forces emerged from the Ardennes near Sedan. In a two-day battle, the Panzers crossed the River Meuse, despite some surprisingly stiff resistance from the second-class French defenders.
With the bulk of the Allied forces fighting in Belgium, there was little to stop the German forces as they sliced across the Allied supply-lines. The German spearheads reached the English Channel on 20 May.
Lacking a centrally placed strategic reserve, the Allies tried to pull their armies out of Belgium to respond to the new threat emerging in their rear. And the Germans did not have it all their own way, as French forces under Charles de Gaulle showed how vulnerable the flanks of the German forces were to bold counterattacks.
With German forces pushing through Belgium and the Panzers looping up from the south and west, the Allies were encircled. The Belgian army surrendered on 28 May, leaving a gaping hole on the British flank of the Allied forces... ...Allied high command seemed paralysed.
Then General Lord Gort, the commander of the British Expeditionary Force took the morally courageous decision to abandon his role in a projected Anglo-French counterattack, and fell back on the Channel ports... ...The French, not surprisingly, regarded this as a betrayal, but Gort's decision saved the BEF... ...hastily organised evacuation by sea, code-named Operation Dynamo, lifted 338,000 Allied troops from Dunkirk.
5 June... ...the Germans striking southwards from the River Somme. Despite the fact that the French in many areas fought well, the Germans destroyed the Allied forces in the field in short order. The 51st Highland Division was forced to surrender on 12 June.
Following the surrender of the Netherlands and Belgium and the retreat or surrender of British troops, France was isolated and out-gunned.
A fresh British force was sent to Normandy, only to be evacuated almost immediately. Meanwhile, the victorious Panzers raced in different directions across France, finishing off pockets of resistance, crossing the River Loire in the west on 17 June, and reaching the Swiss frontier a few days later. The end came with the surrender of France on 22 June.
France fought and lost.
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Thanks Courtney, nice recap - a lot of people are discussing whithout knowledge of events.
Then General Lord Gort, the commander of the British Expeditionary Force took the morally courageous decision to abandon his role in a projected Anglo-French counterattack, and fell back on the Channel ports... ...The French, not surprisingly, regarded this as a betrayal
In clear English, they ran away ( otherwise, they would have been surrendering like the others, like for exemple the Soviets one year later who had to drop their weapons, by hundred of thousands, after being surrounded in huge battles )
And the French Army had to protect the reimbarkment of British Forces at Dunkirk, without being able to take advantage of the escape route...
No wonder the Battle of Dunkirk is conveniently forgotten North of the Channel....
Then General Lord Gort, the commander of the British Expeditionary Force took the morally courageous decision to abandon his role in a projected Anglo-French counterattack, and fell back on the Channel ports... ...The French, not surprisingly, regarded this as a betrayal
In clear English, they ran away ( otherwise, they would have been surrendering like the others, like for exemple the Soviets one year later who had to drop their weapons, by hundred of thousands, after being surrounded in huge battles )
And the French Army had to protect the reimbarkment of British Forces at Dunkirk, without being able to take advantage of the escape route...
No wonder the Battle of Dunkirk is conveniently forgotten North of the Channel....
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Frog bashing is a time honored tradition that isn't supposed to shrouded in historical fact. Bit like Tasmanians and two heads, Kiwi's and sheep (okay maybe that one has some truth
) and what ever other bit of favorite country bashing we can come up with.
) and what ever other bit of favorite country bashing we can come up with.
I didn't know that, Wander. perhaps good thing that there was space for some instead of being abandoned to the Nazis. Still lots left behind and it doesn't change the (seemingly) illusive fact that France fought before defeat (alone) rather than the more convenient version.
Yes, of course national banter is always a good pastime, rh200. Certain subjects are just unusual choices for comedy routines. In this case one that still carries scars to this day. And as some have demonstrated here, can provoke strong reactions when the tables are turned.
Yes, of course national banter is always a good pastime, rh200. Certain subjects are just unusual choices for comedy routines. In this case one that still carries scars to this day. And as some have demonstrated here, can provoke strong reactions when the tables are turned.