5 ms·

The unsuccessful WWII plot to fight the Japanese with radioactive foxes (2020)

31 points by lermontov 5y ago

throwanem 5y ago
Dexedrine is a hell of a drug, as the contemporaneous Germans also learned.
Supermancho 5y ago
The plot to use incendiary bats[1] was covered on major news channels in the 80s, as it became declassified. > Eventually the Marine Corps took over the program and conducted tests beginning in December 1943. After 30 demonstrations and $2 million spent, the project was canceled. Most people believe it's because the U.S. realized that all resources should be concentrated on the development of a far more powerful weapon: the atomic bomb. According to airmen who were involved, they were loading up into bombers the hour it was cancelled. The first nuke was dropped a few days later. Unfortunately, it's probably impossible to retrieve that broadcast with the attestations. [1] https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/04/old-weird-tech-the-bat-bombs-of-world-war-ii/237267/ https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/04/old-w... https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna49610839 https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna49610839
- philipkglass 5y ago
  Chemistry professor Louis Fieser of Harvard oversaw the bat bomb as well as some more practical incendiary weapon developments (such as napalm) during World War II. He published a book in 1964 about his wartime research including the bat bomb. You can see the full thing here: The Scientific Method: A Personal Account of Unusual Projects in War and in Peace https://library.sciencemadness.org/library/books/the_scientific_method.pdf https://library.sciencemadness.org/library/books/the_scienti... See in particular chapter 13, "Bat Bombs." The Wikipedia article is also worth reading: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bat_bomb https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bat_bomb
qiskit 5y ago
> Operation Fantasia was the brainchild of OSS psychological warfare strategist Ed Salinger... The plan is so ludicrous and insane that without any attribution I would've guessed an unhinged lunatic or a child came up with it. > Lovell had established his reputation in the OSS by pursuing eccentric ideas himself, such as trying to make Adolf Hitler’s mustache fall out by slipping female sex hormones into his vegetables—Lovell’s nickname was “Professor Moriarty”—but Operation Fantasia went beyond his tolerance for absurdity. The guy who wanted to make hitler's mustache fall out with vegetables laced with female sex hormones was the sanest one of the bunch. The voice of reason. Isn't OSS the predecessor to the CIA?
- louky 5y ago
  Yeah, headed by "wild Bill" Donovan. They were like a knock-off version of the British SOE (Special Operations Executive) and the XX Committee. The British Intelligence apparatus in WWII was a thing of beauty. The Germans dropped a bunch of agents into the UK and established a large and vibrant spy network, several agents earning the Iron Cross. Every single one of them was faked by the UK, either turned or killed and emulated. The Germans never knew until they lost. The stories of the secret war during WWII are amazing.
  - thimkerbell 5y ago
    It does make you wonder.
firephonestival 5y ago
Let's also have a moment of silence for the questionably successful WWII plot to fight the Germans with explosive dogs. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-tank_dog https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-tank_dog It's a good thing that horses have been superseded. Animals should not be pulled into our wars.
- oneoff786 5y ago
  Speaking of which, Russia is currently deploying dolphins, supposedly
  - firephonestival 5y ago
    Sadly, dolphins are another common target for conscription. They are smart mammals. The ones in Sevastopol could be considered turncoats, having transitioned through Soviet->Ukrainian->Russian hands. They're basically swimming guard dogs. There is a joke about intelligent apes like orangutans and chimpanzees: they could probably learn to speak, but they refuse to do so out of fear that people would try to employ them.
  - jjtheblunt 5y ago
    citation?
  - jaclaz 5y ago
    Well I remember a US movie of the 1970's with George, C. Scott: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Day_of_the_Dolphin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Day_of_the_Dolphin though admittedly in the fiction the dolphins were trained to place the explosives and leave. About the supposed use of dolphins in Sevastopol: https://www.livescience.com/russians-using-military-dolphins-satellite https://www.livescience.com/russians-using-military-dolphins... they seem like a marine version of the good ol' Roman geese: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brennus_(leader_of_the_Senones) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brennus_(leader_of_the_Senones... a sort of intrusion alarm.
- PradeetPatel 5y ago
  As someone who's completely oblivious with the inner workings of the military sector, is there such thing as an ethics commission to ascertain what is deemed "ethically acceptable" and what is not?
pyuser583 5y ago
I like they released the radioactive foxes against Americans just to test it out. That’s the point where you must look inward.
thimkerbell 5y ago
Groupthink. "He couldn’t understand why nobody else questioned its logic, feasibility or rationality."
vanous 5y ago
Look also at the World's Greatest Con [1] [1] https://worldsgreatestcon.fireside.fm/ https://worldsgreatestcon.fireside.fm/

31 points by lermontov 5y ago

Dexedrine is a hell of a drug, as the contemporaneous Germans also learned.

The plot to use incendiary bats[1] was covered on major news channels in the 80s, as it became declassified. > Eventually the Marine Corps took over the program and conducted tests beginning in December 1943. After 30 demonstrations and $2 million spent, the project was canceled. Most people believe it's because the U.S. realized that all resources should be concentrated on the development of a far more powerful weapon: the atomic bomb. According to airmen who were involved, they were loading up into bombers the hour it was cancelled. The first nuke was dropped a few days later. Unfortunately, it's probably impossible to retrieve that broadcast with the attestations. [1] https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/04/old-weird-tech-the-bat-bombs-of-world-war-ii/237267/ https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/04/old-w... https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna49610839 https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna49610839

philipkglass 5y ago
Chemistry professor Louis Fieser of Harvard oversaw the bat bomb as well as some more practical incendiary weapon developments (such as napalm) during World War II. He published a book in 1964 about his wartime research including the bat bomb. You can see the full thing here: The Scientific Method: A Personal Account of Unusual Projects in War and in Peace https://library.sciencemadness.org/library/books/the_scientific_method.pdf https://library.sciencemadness.org/library/books/the_scienti... See in particular chapter 13, "Bat Bombs." The Wikipedia article is also worth reading: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bat_bomb https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bat_bomb

qiskit 5y ago

> Operation Fantasia was the brainchild of OSS psychological warfare strategist Ed Salinger... The plan is so ludicrous and insane that without any attribution I would've guessed an unhinged lunatic or a child came up with it. > Lovell had established his reputation in the OSS by pursuing eccentric ideas himself, such as trying to make Adolf Hitler’s mustache fall out by slipping female sex hormones into his vegetables—Lovell’s nickname was “Professor Moriarty”—but Operation Fantasia went beyond his tolerance for absurdity. The guy who wanted to make hitler's mustache fall out with vegetables laced with female sex hormones was the sanest one of the bunch. The voice of reason. Isn't OSS the predecessor to the CIA?

louky 5y ago
Yeah, headed by "wild Bill" Donovan. They were like a knock-off version of the British SOE (Special Operations Executive) and the XX Committee. The British Intelligence apparatus in WWII was a thing of beauty. The Germans dropped a bunch of agents into the UK and established a large and vibrant spy network, several agents earning the Iron Cross. Every single one of them was faked by the UK, either turned or killed and emulated. The Germans never knew until they lost. The stories of the secret war during WWII are amazing.
- thimkerbell 5y ago
  It does make you wonder.

firephonestival 5y ago

Let's also have a moment of silence for the questionably successful WWII plot to fight the Germans with explosive dogs. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-tank_dog https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-tank_dog It's a good thing that horses have been superseded. Animals should not be pulled into our wars.

oneoff786 5y ago
Speaking of which, Russia is currently deploying dolphins, supposedly
- firephonestival 5y ago
  Sadly, dolphins are another common target for conscription. They are smart mammals. The ones in Sevastopol could be considered turncoats, having transitioned through Soviet->Ukrainian->Russian hands. They're basically swimming guard dogs. There is a joke about intelligent apes like orangutans and chimpanzees: they could probably learn to speak, but they refuse to do so out of fear that people would try to employ them.
- jjtheblunt 5y ago
  citation?
- jaclaz 5y ago
  Well I remember a US movie of the 1970's with George, C. Scott: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Day_of_the_Dolphin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Day_of_the_Dolphin though admittedly in the fiction the dolphins were trained to place the explosives and leave. About the supposed use of dolphins in Sevastopol: https://www.livescience.com/russians-using-military-dolphins-satellite https://www.livescience.com/russians-using-military-dolphins... they seem like a marine version of the good ol' Roman geese: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brennus_(leader_of_the_Senones) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brennus_(leader_of_the_Senones... a sort of intrusion alarm.
PradeetPatel 5y ago
As someone who's completely oblivious with the inner workings of the military sector, is there such thing as an ethics commission to ascertain what is deemed "ethically acceptable" and what is not?

pyuser583 5y ago

I like they released the radioactive foxes against Americans just to test it out. That’s the point where you must look inward.

thimkerbell 5y ago

Groupthink. "He couldn’t understand why nobody else questioned its logic, feasibility or rationality."

vanous 5y ago

Look also at the World's Greatest Con [1] [1] https://worldsgreatestcon.fireside.fm/ https://worldsgreatestcon.fireside.fm/