Military: A lesson in Navy Logistics

[marty]

http://strategypage.com/humor/articles/military_jokes_2004629.asp

Huh.

[CT]

There was alot of water left over :)

[Mystrick]

Well, the got so much rum and wine from raiding, they didn't need to bring that much water, which in turn would have enabled more room for shots.

I think that's it.

[gYmBaG]

lol thats hilarious, only if they knew what that does to your health :p good ol ancestors lol

[GoatChomper]

Oh, they knew alright.....they knew that while alcoholism might kill you slowly, they also knew that disease from fouled water would kill a crew quickly.

I once read some anecdotes about typical British Navy rations during the late Eighteenth Century.....the usual allotment was a gallon of beer and a pint of rum per day. No wonder shipboard injuries were so common, they were three-quarters loaded the whole time.

[gYmBaG]

oh yeah...i didnt think about the bad water, when was it that they came up with filters for water and whatnot? late 1800's?

[GoatChomper]

The first filter was probably invented about the same time weaving cloth was invented.

Travelers at least as far back as Roman republic times knew to lace their water with vinegar to keep it from spoiling a little longer.

[gYmBaG]

oh...yeah im not that smart lol

[Mystrick]

Well, since it's military humor, I think it's just saying that the Navy drank more liquor than water. Not as funny since GC pointed out (<3) :o )

[Mr.P]

More to the point, the entire thing is either BS or full of errors......

The Constitution wasn't even built by 1779......

688,300 gallons of rum would nearly 3000 tons, or 5-600 tons more then the entire Constiution itself displaced. Not to mention just the sheer volume it would require, along with the barrels. You would literally have room for NOTHING else on the boat, that is, even if it would float with double the weight. The constitution and other boats of its class were already heavy for their size, so I can't see this being the case.

My buuuulshit alarm is going off big time.


and.....
As to filters, they've been around awhile, at least 2-300 years. Old filters didn't really do much other then remove large particles of dirt and such. Bacteria, chemicals and just about anything else could go right on through. Activated charcoal filters were the first thing to remove chemicals, but not bacteria. About the only filter technology that doesn't rely on chemical treatment to remove creepy crawlers is reverse osmosis, and only then very purposely designed reverse osmosis systems. Being on a long voyage was like visiting Mexico City. Crowded, smelly, noisy, and a lot safer to drink the booze then the water......

[meifunk]

Being on a long voyage was like visiting Mexico City. Crowded, smelly, noisy, and a lot safer to drink the booze then the water......



... It still is.

[gYmBaG]

The Constitution wasn't even built by 1779......

1796 congress actually authorized enough money to build it. it was launched in sea in 1798 actually
Launched on October 21, 1797, she doesn't put to sea until 1798. But, having remained part of the U.S. Navy since her launching day, the CONSTITUTION is today the oldest commissioned warship afloat in the world.
http://www.ussconstitution.navy.mil/historyupdat.htm

[Mr.P]

I want to get congress to authorize a Constitution modernization program like they did for the Iowa class battleships. I'm thinking some vertical launch tubes and maybe a couple of Phalanx systems on the bow and stern. Perhaps a AEGIS system in the masts.

[Mystrick]

Hey, maybe they could tack on some plywood to the side and could launch dirigibles. :D