Posted on 02/15/2013 8:38:17 PM PST by DogByte6RER
The gun is John Moses Brownings M1895 Colt-Browning machine gun, aka ... Potato Digger.
The WWI era elephant is just a 20th century version of this earlier tactical use of elephants in warfare
More at ...
Throwback Thursday: Elephant Mounted Machine Gun
http://www.guns.com/2013/02/14/throwback-thursday-elephant-mounted-machine-gun/

Maybe this should be the new logo for the GOP!
They also have their uses in the penal system...

Possible armored field transportation to repel the Anti US Constitution Hordes as they try to Occupy the huge storage sites for Social Security Stockpiles of live Ammunition.
Pachyn heat.
Not an elephant you would like to hang around with if he developed a liking for popping people’s noggins.
It still only counts as one!

In Thai warfare, the elephant's greatest use was that of a war mount, for kings and commanders of armies. When employed in battle, the war elephant carried three persons on his back. The king or commander, who sat alone on the elephant's neck in order to fight the enemy commander in direct mortal combat. This was a little like the individual contests between warriors in the "Heroic Age" of Ancient Greece or the jousts between knights in armour in Medieval Europe.
The tactical commander sat in the middle of the seat, strapped to the animal's back, handling either two flags or peacocks tails to signal directions of movement to the soldiers below. A third soldier sat on the elephant's hind quarters, in order to drive the animal and take care of the weapons attached to the middle seat.
The war elephant was surrounded at all times by a bodyguard of up to eight foot soldiers, known as "Chaturonkbath". It was their duty to protect the elephant's legs from a surprise attack or other cowardly maneuver by a dishonorable enemy.
The sight of the king or commander of the armies, seated on the back of the elephant and overlooking the battlefield, must have been truly magnificent and a great inspiration to his soldiers. But he would also have been highly conspicuous and vulnerable to enemy projectile weapons.
This vulnerability and indeed the role of the elephant on the battlefield began to be questioned in the seventeenth century, when large numbers of Europeans began to arrive in South East Asia. The reason for this questioning was because these Europeans brought with them, new and terrifying weapons, efficient hand held firearms.
lol
I think this is a BS publicity shot, not something you would actually try to employ.
The 1895 was the result of a Navy inquiry. They asked Colt if they could develop a machine gun capable or raking an opposing ship’s decks or superstructure for 5 minutes solid.
Colt asked Browning if he could develop a machine gun which would do that. Browning came up with the model 1895.
The gun was tested in Colt’s basement with John doing the firing using belted ammo that was long enough to cover the entire 5 minutes.
At the end of 5 minutes the gun had performed perfectly but everyone there said they believed Browning had raised all the ghosts in the area from the noise.
Personally, I think Alexander had a trick to keep them alive when crossing the Alps. Possibly involving wine and small rodents. Just my theory.
/johnny
Browning was the eccentric guy with the ice skating rink in his living room?
Want!

I actually did not know that.
I don’t think he was considered too eccentric. I know the factory workers tended to be very fond of him and he was impressed with their ability to turn out such beautiful guns.
Alexander?
shhh..... he’s on a roll.
Mybe I got him confused with another big gun maker?
“The war elephant was surrounded at all times by a bodyguard of up to eight foot soldiers, known as “Chaturonkbath”. It was their duty to protect the elephant’s legs from a surprise attack or other cowardly maneuver by a dishonorable enemy.”
LOL. So the importance of infantry to armor was discovered a long time ago.
“The war elephant was surrounded at all times by a bodyguard of up to eight foot soldiers, known as “Chaturonkbath”. It was their duty to protect the elephant’s legs from a surprise attack or other cowardly maneuver by a dishonorable enemy.”
LOL. So the importance of infantry to armor was discovered a long time ago.
Winchester house?
was I thinking of Winchester??
Yeah, I’m just going to put this one in the “really bad ideas” column.
Heck, true cavalry was obsolete at this time, though dragoons perhaps were not. But elephants!? Please God, no!
Might be. Sarah Winchester built that maze to keep ghosts killed by their guns confused and away from her so Dad may have been eccentric as well.
No, it was an ice skating rink in their living room
Right, but I’m saying maybe that rink was in that house. I dunno.
Yep. Alexander didn't lose a single Elephant crossing the Alps. Hannibal would have done well to adopt his methods however, 'cause he lost a few.
The Browning House I saw doesn’t look big enough, maybe he also owned a bigger one later?
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2301662/posts
The Winchester house website doesn’t show anything about one I could find. I figured if any place gun dude related would, that would be it. But no dice...or ice ;)
Why is the photo TRUNKATED at the bottom?
I wouldn’t want to be on that critter when they set that thing off right next to those ears!
I know I saw/heard about this somewhere. Probably on the History/Military channel and maybe “Tales of the Gun”
“...we’re really liberals, The truth is now out!” ;)
lol!
good one
Guys like Tesla, Westinghouse, Edison, Ford and other big name types from that area were all kinda eccentric in one way or the other...and many of them interconnected. Wouldn’t surprise me if a couple of them did.
Yes, expect some of them would be. I had this dream of becoming super rich once. I built a fortress-like house one mile square with a huge courtyard in the middle of course. :p
The top floor was empty and we rode bikes all around it...
Yeah, I’d be eccentric like that
LOL! Clever.
I’d build a huge tower with a percentage sign on the side of it (Thus “1%”) and put a blowtorch broadcast tower atop it (TV and Radio) that played “Liberals suck!” 24/7...
The tower would be covered in LCD screens showing scenes of rich people oppressing OWS types in every form I could find. And I’d drive my Rolls with the fur interior and spotted owl feathered Landeau top through Brooklyn all day and night
Just cuz...cuz I have a dream too ;)
The Oliphaunts in the LOTR movie were in the book first. They didn’t get as much focus, but they were mentioned in the Battle for the Pelennor, as well as when Sam and Frodo saw them in Ithilien. They weren’t just added to the movie out of nowhere.

War Donkey - Circa 2012
GMTA
That was John Cantius Garand.
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