[GreenKeys] Enola Gay images available...

[George B. Hutchison]

Herr Hachtmann - - -

I agree that there are subjects of conversation that are perhaps 
somewhat afield of the subject of teleprinters, but, inasmuch as you 
are obviously somewhat uninformed about the clientele here on 
GreenKeys, maybe you just better consider a few things...

Firstly, you sit there and blabber a bit about how much "better" the 
German stuff is as opposed to American Machines.

If you will look closely at some of the photos of some of the prized 
German cryptographic equipment, let your beady little eyes feast 
uponst the rangefinders - they are obviously identical to those found 
in the American model 14, 15, etc. equipment. Ever consider why the 
Nazis went so far, (and we Americans were so stupid as to do so) 
license the Lorenz outfit to build the LO15, a German Knockoff of the 
model 15? Perhaps the most simple answer is that it was BETTER than 
what the great minds of Krups, Messerschmidt, and what have you could 
come up with.

Your Nazi forefathers knew a good thing, eh?

The people here on GreenKeys are largely American Veterans, having 
served in one or more of our Armed Services during one or more of the 
various conflicts that seem to keep on occurring. You indicate that 
you are young. How unfortunate. You have no life experiences that can 
compare to what some of us GreenKeyers endured during our tenure in 
our Armed Services. Your countrymen, however, benefited greatly from 
a little episode known as The Berlin Airlift, when virtually 
everything was being flown in on AMERICAN Planes so that the people 
entrapped by the Soviets could have enough on which to survive.

Not a bad thing, eh?

As for my enamoration with the Enola Gay, the story is quite close to 
home.

My first real job in this world was in 1957 with a company known as 
Applied Radiation Corporation, Walnut Creek, California. They built 
Industrial and research linear accelerators used for irradiating 
plastics, such as the Hewlett-Packard Probe Tip on their model 400 
VTVM, experimental food preservation projects, and a host of other 
applications.

Applied Radiation was founded by a fellow known as Dick Jeppson.

Who the hell is Dick Jeppson??

If you will open your obviously dusty history of WWII and look up the 
509th Bomb Group, you will find among other things that during the 
historic flight of the Enola Gay the bomb dropped on Hiroshima was 
armed by two men. One name I forget, but the other was a Lt. Morris 
R. Jeppson.

So what??

Well, Lt. Morris R. Jeppson and Dick Jeppson were the same man, and I 
was proud to work for him.

Again I reflect on your seemingly arrogant air that German stuff is 
so much better, for the following reason - - -

Applied Radiation is still in existence, but it is owned by a foreign 
entity known as Siemens Medical Products.

"WHAT? HOW CAN DOT BE?" you scream... Well, just maybe the American 
Product was so good the industrial giants of your country had to not 
only own one, they had to have the factory.

You state that you are not interested in war. Well, that is a real 
sorry state of affairs, if you ask me. But, from a real standpoint, 
you don't have to be, because whenever one of the European Countries 
gets their ass in a sling, quite often it is the American Military 
that comes along to lend a hand and make things all nice again.

I really think you should close your mailbox, weld the damned thing 
shut, and hope that one of those middle-easterners that have infested 
your area of the world doesn't turn it into an IED.

OH - - - while I was with RCA Service Company I DID work on German 
Teleprinters... The Siemens PT-80, and the T-1000..

The German arrogance prevailed there, as well, as we could get no 
technical information on how anything worked. All we were allowed to 
do was swap boards, modules, power supplies (really sorry-assed 
design, if you will) and so forth. Our inability to provide reliable 
service was an embarrassment, because the Siemens service policies 
were so restrictive.

I wish you well, Herr Hachtmann.

Geo. Hutchison