Got a Real-World Weapon or Armor Question? Mk. VII

[Karoht]

Another consideration regarding a Sword.

In the confines of a castle (during a siege) you can't really swing a mace or axe very well. A polearm will help you hold a position such as the top of the stairs or the end of a hallway, but really isn't great for advancing in such confines. The (one handed) sword on the other hand, can still thrust, can still cut, can still be used in pretty narrow confines to excellent degree. One can still use a sword very effectively in a space the width of one human body. The axe and mace I can't say the same about, and the polearm becomes cumbersome in such confines.

Just something to think about, though I'm sure someone could elaborate further on the matter. This was just what I was told regarding old school siege tactics and I do not have a source on it.

I have a collection of stories from my grandparents about WWII in Britain.

My grandmother met my grandfather during the war. He was a turbine engineer by trade, and so he wasn't allowed to go to the front, he was required to stay behind and supervise women that were assembling detonators in London. My grandmother apparantly deliberately let springs fly all over the place just to have him bend over to pick them up. I guess my grandfather had a nice ass. Things don't change much, do they?

The funny story was that she showed up the factory early one day, and in the breakroom (or change room, not sure), she found a german bomb had come through the roof and hadn't detonated. When the rest of the crew showed up, they took the bomb, mounted it on a plaque with a sign below saying 'Rene's Bomb' (Grandma's name was Irene.)

I hope they defused it. Though with the way they dealt with things then, they may not of.

Unfortunately, grandma's not in a fit state to tell me where the factory was precisely. I'd like to head over to England some day, and see if the place is still there, and wheter the bomb is still there.

My grandmother has all kinds of stories of the kids playing with undetonated ordinance. Eventually it did become quite common place to the point where it was ignored and left where it fell for days or even weeks, so it wouldn't surprise me if that bomb was never actually defused/disarmed properly prior to it being mounted on the wall.
Then again, my grandmother also took a short cut through a mine field once in a while to get to school. She lived near one of the landing strips. Struck me as a bit odd that they would use land mines on home turf, when the most likely attack on the airfield and landing strip would come from the air. But again, uber prepared was the name of the game I guess.