Entertaining article that explains why the core of any military force will always be made up of men and horses.
“Machines of war can only be adjuncts to their superior flexibility.”
Do we still have any mounted cavalry? I’ve seen pictures of those Special Forces guys in Afghanistan, but that’s about it.
Why Modern Armies Still Cling to the Cavalry
by M. W. MEIER
The tank is a powerful weapon, but the faithful horse can still outfight it in many situations encountered on modern battlefields.
Here is told the cavalry’s side of the story.
YOU may not know it but Uncle Sam has the finest cavalry on earth—pitifully small though it is.
It may lack the swank, color and picturesqueness of that of other nations but what it may lack in fancy-drilling ability it more than makes up for in equipment, firing-power and maneuverability—the things that really count in war.
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The caption is funny too: “Z. Wiggs out for a spin in his pooch-mobile. “
The guy’s name is Z. Wiggs, but when I read it I thought the dog’s name was Z and he was wigging out for a ride. I like my interpretation better.
Walking the Dog Drives Poochmobile
DOG power drives an odd vehicle constructed by Z. Wiggs, eighty-year-old dog trainer and former railroad worker of Denton, Tex. Operating on the squirrel-cage principle, the dogmobile has a giant central wheel which is revolved as a dog walks or
runs on its inside surface. The four-legged canine engine is anchored to a central shaft by a special collar. Power is transmitted to rear drive wheels by means of a belt-and-pulley mechanism which the driver controls by a “gearshift” lever.
Remember, if it’s in Modern Mechanix magazine, then it must be true!
“Home James!”—Chimpanzee Acts as Owner’s Chauffeur
STEP on it, I’m late for
dinner.” That’s what the owner of this car at left tells his pet chimpanzee, who can really drive the automobile in a capable style and understands directions perfectly. James, who was renamed to conform with the discovery of his driving ability, sits proudly in the seat and guides the car through traffic. He learned by watching his owner. One day he climbed
in the car and drove it off. Everyone expected to find it parked on a telephone post or in a ditch. However, the new driver pulled up in front of the home and stopped the car.
How Frank Buck Filmed His Tiger-Python Battle
Everyone who has seen Frank Buck’s “Bring ‘Em Back Alive,” that amazing movie of jungle life, is asking the question: “How did they ever film that spectacular battle between a Bengal tiger and a 30-foot python? Was it faked? How did the cameramen happen to be on the scene—and how did they escape with their own lives?” Read the answer in this article.
WHO won — the python or the tiger? This is the question which is bothering thousands of folks who have seen Frank Buck’s startling movie of jungle life, “Bring ‘Em Back Alive,” and who have been vividly impressed by the incomparably spectacular scenes shown therein where a Bengal tiger, dreaded king of the jungle, battles the flashing coils of a deadly rock python thirty feet in length.
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Odd article explaining all of the tricks and techniques used by trainers to get their animals to perform in movies without using vocal commands.
Mechanical Cues DIRECT Animals in the “BARKIES”
by WALTER A. RASCHICK
When the talkies came in, directors of animal pictures faced a new problem. Before the super-sensitive mike, vocal commands were impossible, so other means of giving “stars” their cues had to be devised. In this unusual article you are taken behind the scenes and shown how directors utilize ingenious mechanical gadgets to make animals perform with keen intelligence before the camera.
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