3 ms·

Something tells me they want to use the risk of a failing dam as a weapon to pursue Mosul population to rise against ISIS. Or that they just don't care if 1M+ d

by mavdi 11y ago

Something tells me they want to use the risk of a failing dam as a weapon to pursue Mosul population to rise against ISIS. Or that they just don't care if 1M+ died in an ISIS stronghold.

deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
venomsnake 11y ago
I think chances of ISIS themselves blowing it up when pushed away are greater. Those guys are crazy. Not very competent, but crazy.
- tomjen3 11y ago
  How difficult is it to blow up the dam such that the water rushes out? I mean bombing a place to kill people is easy, but I have no idea if you have to hit specific spots on the dam or whether it is enough to just hit any area.
  - morty16 11y ago
    The allies (the RAF) had fairly specialized bombs in WWII to blow dams. They would fly in from upstream and drop a bomb shaped like a barrel (picture a barrel of oil) from very low altitude. The bomb would skip along the surface as it lost momentum and then sink close to the dam wall. At a certain pressure it would blow and take advantage of the hydrostatic shock to break up the wall. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Chastise https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Chastise
    - JoeAltmaier 11y ago
      "Bouncing Bettys"
      - arprocter 11y ago
        That's slang for a jumping anti-personnel mine
        JoeAltmaier 11y ago
        Yes, they are also called that. I think the dam-buster bombs had the nickname first.
    - tomjen3 11y ago
      They were trying to do something completely different, with different limitations than Islamic State has. They can get a few operatives up to the dam and place the explosives, but they probably don't have access to planes or the ability to build such specialized bombs.
    - arprocter 11y ago
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dam_Busters_%28film%29 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dam_Busters_%28film%29 One of the most interesting things IMO was how they used angled lights under the planes - shone onto the surface of the reservoir to make sure they were at the correct altitude to drop the bomb (incorrect height and it wouldn't skip)

by mavdi 11y ago

Something tells me they want to use the risk of a failing dam as a weapon to pursue Mosul population to rise against ISIS. Or that they just don't care if 1M+ died in an ISIS stronghold.

deleted 11y ago

[deleted]

venomsnake 11y ago

I think chances of ISIS themselves blowing it up when pushed away are greater. Those guys are crazy. Not very competent, but crazy.

tomjen3 11y ago
How difficult is it to blow up the dam such that the water rushes out? I mean bombing a place to kill people is easy, but I have no idea if you have to hit specific spots on the dam or whether it is enough to just hit any area.
- morty16 11y ago
  The allies (the RAF) had fairly specialized bombs in WWII to blow dams. They would fly in from upstream and drop a bomb shaped like a barrel (picture a barrel of oil) from very low altitude. The bomb would skip along the surface as it lost momentum and then sink close to the dam wall. At a certain pressure it would blow and take advantage of the hydrostatic shock to break up the wall. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Chastise https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Chastise
  - JoeAltmaier 11y ago
    "Bouncing Bettys"
    - arprocter 11y ago
      That's slang for a jumping anti-personnel mine
      - JoeAltmaier 11y ago
        Yes, they are also called that. I think the dam-buster bombs had the nickname first.
  - tomjen3 11y ago
    They were trying to do something completely different, with different limitations than Islamic State has. They can get a few operatives up to the dam and place the explosives, but they probably don't have access to planes or the ability to build such specialized bombs.
  - arprocter 11y ago
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dam_Busters_%28film%29 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dam_Busters_%28film%29 One of the most interesting things IMO was how they used angled lights under the planes - shone onto the surface of the reservoir to make sure they were at the correct altitude to drop the bomb (incorrect height and it wouldn't skip)