Re: dressing up a problem

[brian whatcott <inet@intellisys.net>]

At 09:13 11/3/97 -0500, Mike Moloney wrote:

> In 'Tale of a Guinea Pig', [p. 174, ff. Bantam, 1981] Geoffrey Page  
> tells of having his spitfire pursued in 1944 by a Me-109 near  
> Lisieux, over France. Page's left leg had become useless due to a  
> cannon shell fragment...
> muzzle velocity of 550 m/s
>
> Mike Moloney                                            

I suppose that because of its deceptive proximity to a cannon ball
thread, I ought to clarify that when modern stories talk
of "cannons" they are NOT referring to smooth bore large caliber 
weapons but rather rifled machine guns of large caliber that NEVER 
fire round shot, because of its undesirable aerodynamic qualities,
especially near the speed of sound.
( Very many projectiles vary their coefficient of drag with speed, 
as it happens)
Sincerely

brian whatcott <inet@intellisys.net>
Altus OK