More animals used for military purposes....

[Mark Latimour]

....but this one I find hard to believe:

Originally Posted by news.com.au

Spy dogs parachuted into war zones

BRITAIN'S SAS has revealed plans to cut down casualty rates in Iraq and Afghanistan by parachuting in German shepherds to spy on rebels.

The Sun reports the dogs are being trained to leap from planes at 25,000ft wearing their own oxygen masks and strapped to special forces teams.

Once they land, the dogs will lead the way by finding enemy hideouts with cameras fixed to their heads.

The images will then be beamed back to the troops, warning of rebel locations and ambushes.

The bold plan comes after three SAS troopers were shot dead on raids in Iraq over two years, with eight seriously wounded.

An SAS source told The Sun: "The dogs will be exposed to very high levels of danger on these operations and you never know what’s going to be behind a door.

"Nobody wants to see the dogs get killed but if it’s their life or a man’s it is obvious which the commanding officer would prefer."

The dogs will be used in a precise manoeuvre technique called High Altitude High Opening, jumping as much as 35km from their targets and gliding towards them for up to 30 minutes.

Dogs were first trained to parachute in the Second World War by the British on rescue missions.

But they have never jumped from high altitude, the best way for small groups of men to get behind enemy lines undetected.

The dogs have big advantages over soldiers in that they arouse less suspicion approaching targets, can squeeze into tighter spaces and can sniff out booby-trap explosives.

Two have been issued to each of the regiment’s four squadrons with troopers specially selected to be their handlers.

Source: http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,24053437-2,00.html

COnsidering the original source is The Sun in the UK, I will put this in my "very skeptical" file for the moment, but its a funny story in any event!

[TheDarkReaver]

It could happen I suppose...although I'm curious as to why they told the media about it. Wouldn't this mean the dogs would become targets if it got back to the enemy?

Sounds suspicious to me.

[Relic]

This is funny, I don't know what to believe with this one.
C'mon now, the Sun is only 100% reliable if it's writing something negative about the US. sarcastic smiley face ->

In all seriousness, the Soviets used dogs in WW2 as primitive guided anti-tank weapons. Train a dog that tank=food, strap explosives to it and there you go, simple. They were cheap, easy to replace and very reliable in that they would excel in killing tanks. Trouble is that the Soviets trained them using Soviet tanks as opposed to German tanks with some obvious results that took some work to overcome.

[TheDarkReaver]

Originally Posted by Relic

In all seriousness, the Soviets used dogs in WW2 as primitive guided anti-tank weapons. Train a dog that tank=food, strap explosives to it and there you go, simple. They were cheap, easy to replace and very reliable in that they would excel in killing tanks. Trouble is that the Soviets trained them using Soviet tanks as opposed to German tanks with some obvious results that took some work to overcome.

Did you watch that episode of mythbusters too?

(mythbusters rule! )

[Mark Latimour]

I would not be surprised if this was someone in the SAS winding up the Sun. The SAS are not supposed to talk to the media without permission, so maybe its a wind up for something the Sun reported about the SAS in the past.

[TheDarkReaver]

Originally Posted by Mark Latimour

I would not be surprised if this was someone in the SAS winding up the Sun. The SAS are not supposed to talk to the media without permission, so maybe its a wind up for something the Sun reported about the SAS in the past.

haha, I'd love for that to be the truth.

[Relic]

Originally Posted by TheDarkReaver

Did you watch that episode of mythbusters too?

(mythbusters rule! )

No! They did this one??
Meh not that it matters anyway, I never pay attention to the science involved, I'm constantly distracted by:



Ok ok now back on topic, sorry for the distraction.

MMmM Kari

[Mark Latimour]

I wonder if anyone will chime in and claim this thread is anti-UK. What's good for the goose and all!

I feel that the Australian website where I got the story have really dropped the ball on reprinting this one. It seems so far fetched that without independent fact checking, you could really look foolish reprinting it!

[Relic]

Originally Posted by Mark Latimour

I wonder if anyone from the peanut gallery will chime in and claim this thread is anti-UK. What's good for the goose and all!

It doesn't involve knives yet. Just wait

[TheDarkReaver]

Originally Posted by Relic

No! They did this one??
Meh not that it matters anyway, I never pay attention to the science involved, I'm constantly distracted by:



Ok ok now back on topic, sorry for the distraction.

MMmM Kari

not exactly but I think they mentioned it when testing the myth about a dog fetching dynamite or something. Either that or I heard the russian tank thing elsewhere.

(and yes, Kari is a foxy lady )

[moomoocajoo]

Originally Posted by TheDarkReaver

haha, I'd love for that to be the truth.

Yeah the SAS are pretty secretive at the best of times I can imagine this being a bit of a wind up



Oh and I love kari <3

[Bruce Lindfield]

I'd put as much faith in it as the stories about WWII bombers on the moon! Much re-printed in papers like the Sun!

I like the way they show a photo of full SAS regiment with one dog as a sort of "proof" - so yeah, we never heard of the concept of a "regimental mascot" ...

No it must be a spy dog .....

[TheDarkReaver]

Originally Posted by Bruce Lindfield

I'd put as much faith in it as the stories about WWII bombers on the moon! Much re-printed in papers like the Sun!

I like the way they show a photo of full SAS regiment with one dog as a sort of "proof" - so yeah, we never heard of the concept of a "regimental mascot" ...

No it must be a spy dog .....

The fact they blacked out the dog's face is the real comic factor in that photo.

[Mark Latimour]

Originally Posted by TheDarkReaver

The fact they blacked out the dog's face is the real comic factor in that photo.

I didn't click through to the Sun's article. Those photos are hillarious!

[DigMe]

Wait, a minute...Is this another one of those stories from The Sunion?

bc

[Toasted]

Originally Posted by Relic

C'mon now, the Sun is only 100% reliable if it's writing something negative about the US.

That, or New Labour

[FL Knifemaker]

Originally Posted by Relic

It doesn't involve knives yet. Just wait

I'm working today, you guys will just have to go on........and on and on without me I gotta pay for next years stimulus checks

[mvw356]

Poor bambi

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...ring+minefield

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_animals

[Mark Latimour]

Originally Posted by Relic

It doesn't involve knives yet. Just wait

That's because no one has yet consulted me about my idea of attaching a WASP Injecting Knife to each paw of the dog and then parachuting it down so when it lands on the enemy you get 4 exploding enemies (or watermelons) on impact. Unless you drop them on a London school, in which case eveyone is safe in their stabproof hoodies!

[Relic]

Originally Posted by mvw356

Poor bambi

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...ring+minefield

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_animals

I had almost forgotten how much minefields really suck.