Originally Posted by
Danny42C
Intended only for crowd and riot control in places like Belfast, no armour, so unsuitable as a battle weapon in the Gulf War. The point here is the causal connection between the parsimony of peacetime Government and the resulting extra casualties in war.
Kipling drives the same message home in the final stanzas.....
.....In plain words: "it's probably your own (Government's) fault, that your son died".
I sense a debate coming on, Danny! There was inadequate planning for the aftermath of the Iraq invasion. Snatch landrovers were probably deployed in the expectation of an Internal Security role after the invasion was concluded. That is, a Northern Ireland type situation. It hadn't been fully appreciated that the vacuum left in Saddam's wake would result in extreme violence and anarchy. The Iraqis were, after all, now 'liberated' from tyranny with every prospect of democracy and economic prosperity to follow.
Point two: Do you recognise this aircraft?
It's a Vildebeest, with which 36 and 100 Squadrons were equipped in 1942. The aircraft were obsolescent, but were part of the Singapore defence force. The Japanese landed at Endau, on the coast of Malaya, opposite Singapore. Both squadrons were sent into action. They had no genuine chance to inflict damage on the Japanese invasion fleet, because they were shot out of the sky by Japanese fighters. Squadrons equipped with the Fairey 'Battle' had a similar fate over France in 1940 (you made the point earlier in this Thread).
My point is, military personnel have been thrown into battle when ill-equipped, for centuries. It's part of the deal when you've taken the Queen's Shilling... you have to get on with the job, no matter what. Did the relatives of the excellent young men who died during this action at Endau get airtime on British newsreels to complain about the '
terrorist' Winston Churchill who failed to provide adequate aircraft to give the airmen a fighting-chance? No. Because it was a different age... one where it was understood that sacrifices would be made and the only appropriate response was a stiff upper lip. I suggest that the British of this time were made of sterner stuff than some of the British of today. These particular Brits are an exception to the rule, of course. The majority of families who have recently had to bear the awful trauma of a military death seem to have done so with quiet pride and forbearance. In my opinion they are true Brits in the traditional mould. I would prefer it if the media gave these people airtime, in preference to those who want to yell abuse at politicans. (...Fat chance!)
Interesting comments from you on the Princely States. Maybe Mt Abu was British-built. I think the local ruler may have had a British administration, who decamped to Mt Abu during the hot season.