Episode 712 - Guncast
Nov 4, 2024
This week we're talking the development of weapons, tactics and armour over the millennia. This is a fun little overview of everything from ancient stone weapons, to bronze, to iron, steel, guns, tanks, and jet-fighters and all the interesting stuff in between. Comic stories often involve literal conflict whether set in the past, the present, future, or fantasy and Scifi, so overviews are always good.
Topics and Show Notes
There are a LOT of misconceptions when it comes to this stuff, we tried to address a few and correct them in the cast. Like people didn't go from bronze to iron because iron was a better material. People had to move to using iron because bronze is made of tin and copper and those two materials are not found in the same place, changes in empires and wars disrupted trade routes so badly that supplies of the raw materials were no longer viable. Iron was a substitute because it's common and doesn't need any other components, though it's inferior because it's more difficult to work, not as hard so it doesn't make as good blades or armour, and it rusts easily. It wasn't till people finally discovered steel that iron became better than bronze.
Some other misconceptions:
-The idea that major military development only happened in Europe is false, all societies had it all over the planet but in different ways according to their needs and the materials available to them.
-Full plate armour was available to the ancient Greeks, it's not just a mediaeval thing.
-Gunpowder did not spell the end of the fully armoured knight, no, fully plate armoured “knights” fought it out with hand guns on horseback and people still wore armour and fought with swords as well as guns even in WW1!
-The German army still mainly used horses for transport even in WW2.
-Aeroplanes did not spell the end of the battleship, rather it was the torpedo that eventually took the toll (anything can deliver one, boats, planes, subs, even other battleships).
-The nuclear weapons dropped on Japan were not horrifying because of the people they killed or the damage they did (far more death and destruction had been committed in many other bombing raids), they were so scary because the death and destruction they did cause was only with single bombs from single planes rather than fleets with tons of ordinance.
-Rotary “gatling” guns have extremely limited use and only have something like less than a minute of total fire time, they're only meant to be used in very quick bursts.
-Lasers are not a “unlimited amo” weapons and they don't make visible beams of light usually or make zapping noises, the shots are very limited by power output, chemical lasers might only have 3 or four shots, and electrical lasers need to wait on capacitor charges after each shot, a battery power weapon grade laser would be out of charge in about 5 to 10 shots…
-Drones and autonomous weapons systems don't spell the end for modern warships and tanks, newer weapons systems will evolve to counter and exceed them.
There has never ever been an “ultimate weapon”, rather it's always a balancing game. As one thing starts to help people dominate in a particular field other things develop to counter them and so on forever into the future. Do you know any misconceptions? How do you think weaponry will evolve to counter drones?
This week Gunwallace wasn't able to give us a them so we're doing another best of! So I picked Kitty Kitty Bang Bang - Multilayered Chinese video-game war anthem with a modern twist! That’s how I’d describe this complex little piece. It’s the final boss battle, you’ve got no spare lives, you’re down to your last powerup and time is running out!
Topics and shownotes
Links
Featured comic:
Alfie’s World - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/news/2024/oct/29/featured-comic-alfies-world/
Featured music:
Kitty Kitty Bang Bang - http://www.theduckwebcomics.com/Kitty_Kitty_Bang_Bang/ - by MoeAlmighty, rated T.
Special thanks to:
Gunwallace - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Gunwallace/
Tantz Aerine - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Tantz_Aerine/
Ozoneocean - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/ozoneocean
Kawaiidaigakusei - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/kawaiidaigakusei
Banes - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Banes/
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Futurecast - Post Apocalyptic stuff.
Next Week - Interview with Gunwallace!
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