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Quiz about Military Miscellany
Quiz about Military Miscellany

Military Miscellany Trivia Quiz


My interest in all things military is wide-ranging, not to mention erratic. These are a few of my discoveries which I hope you will find interesting or amusing.

A multiple-choice quiz by TCEB. Estimated time: 5 mins.
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Author
TCEB
Time
5 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
314,651
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Tough
Avg Score
5 / 10
Plays
829
Awards
Top 35% Quiz
Last 3 plays: Guest 1 (6/10), Guest 96 (6/10), 173Kraut (7/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. In 1915 the British, needing control of Lake Tanganyika, despatched two motor launches from England. The journey by sea, rail and over dubious roads was something of an epic. What were the names of the boats?
Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. King John of Bohemia (1296-1346) was killed at the battle of Crecy, fighting alongside the French in the forefront of the battle.
There were many thousands of French casualties, so what was so special about King John?
Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. To aid in the Normandy invasion of 1944, fuel was pumped direct from England to France by means of undersea pipes, laid in the same manner as telegraph cables. What was the name of this project?
Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. In 1954 the USAF issued a requirement for a bomber designated WS-125, scheduled to be named as the B-72. The project was based on what was then seen as an advantage, but what we would now see as a problem. What was that advantage?
Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. The 10th Earl of Dundonald (1775-1860) was one the great naval officers.
He became a British admiral and also commanded the rebel navies of Chile, Brazil and Greece. By what name is he better known?
Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. Explosive landmines were supposedly first used in 1277 AD by the Song Dynasty Chinese against the Mongols. But in which country were the first modern mechanically fused high explosive anti-personnel land mines invented and used?
Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. "We always have been, we are, and I hope that we always shall be detested in France." Who made this Francophobe statement?
Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. In 1913 a well known author published what is arguably the first book on modern table top war games. The book was titled "Little Wars". But who was the author?
Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. I am Captain Patrick Dove. My tanker - the "Africa Shell" - was captured and sunk by a German warship in 1939, and I was taken prisoner.

I wrote a book about it, which inspired a film called "The Battle of the River Plate". Whose prisoner was I?
Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. In both the First and Second World War, my aerial combat skills as well as my leadership and intuitive powers were much appreciated by my superiors, as well as my pals Algy, Ginger and Bertie. So who am I?
Hint



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Most Recent Scores
Mar 15 2024 : Guest 1: 6/10
Mar 04 2024 : Guest 96: 6/10
Feb 28 2024 : 173Kraut: 7/10

Score Distribution

quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. In 1915 the British, needing control of Lake Tanganyika, despatched two motor launches from England. The journey by sea, rail and over dubious roads was something of an epic. What were the names of the boats?

Answer: Mimi and Toutou

Their commander - Lt Commander Spicer Simpson - originally called them "Cat" and "Dog", but the Admiralty objected.
The journey started in July and ended in October, though the vessels were not launched until December 1915. They sank one of the German vessels and captured another, though Spicer Simpson appears to have carefully avoided the third and major warship.
Spicer Simpson appears to have been a very odd fellow. His insistence on wearing a skirt was only part of it!
2. King John of Bohemia (1296-1346) was killed at the battle of Crecy, fighting alongside the French in the forefront of the battle. There were many thousands of French casualties, so what was so special about King John?

Answer: He was blind

John the Blind lost his sight from opthalmia in 1336. To guide him his men tied the reins of their horses together and "they were there all slain, and the next day they were found in the place about the king, and all their horses tied each to other." Legend states that his badge and motto "Ich dien" were adopted as a mark of respect by the Black Prince. They are now part of the badge of the Prince of Wales.
3. To aid in the Normandy invasion of 1944, fuel was pumped direct from England to France by means of undersea pipes, laid in the same manner as telegraph cables. What was the name of this project?

Answer: PLUTO

The Pipeline Under The Ocean project was first planned in October 1941. Hugely optimistic when you consider that the Germans were advancing on Moscow at the time, and it was two months before Pearl Harbor and a year before El Alamein.
The first two pipes were in fact codenamed "Dumbo" and "Bambi".
Between August 1944 and the end of the war, the various pipelines delivered about 172,000,000 Imperial gallons of fuel.
4. In 1954 the USAF issued a requirement for a bomber designated WS-125, scheduled to be named as the B-72. The project was based on what was then seen as an advantage, but what we would now see as a problem. What was that advantage?

Answer: It was nuclear powered

Health and safety were not big issues at the time, but Eisenhower cancelled the project in 1961 after substantial expenditure. The Soviets also worked on such an aircraft, and cancelled it for similar reasons.
I gather that the two experimental GE engines together with their reactor systems are still intact in Idaho.
5. The 10th Earl of Dundonald (1775-1860) was one the great naval officers. He became a British admiral and also commanded the rebel navies of Chile, Brazil and Greece. By what name is he better known?

Answer: Cochrane

The remarkable exploits of Admiral Thomas Cochrane were a source for C. S. Forester, Patrick O'Brien and Captain Marryat (who sailed with him as a young man).
He was commissioned in 1793, but was expelled from the Navy in 1814 following conviction in the Great Stock Exchange Scandal of 1814. (Many believed his conviction was a miscarriage of justice, and he was granted a pardon by William IV in 1832). He was a Member of Parliament from 1806-1818.
Restored to the Royal Navy List in 1832 after commanding with impressive results in South America and to a lesser extent in Greece. He was still considered for command in the Crimean War, but it was felt that he might be too rash even in his eighties!
6. Explosive landmines were supposedly first used in 1277 AD by the Song Dynasty Chinese against the Mongols. But in which country were the first modern mechanically fused high explosive anti-personnel land mines invented and used?

Answer: America

Used by Confederate troops at the Battle of Yorktown in 1862 and known as "land torpedoes". By the first World War all major participants were using them. Most countries nowadays have signed the Ottawa Treaty banning such mines.
Unfortunately, China, Russia and the USA are not among them.
7. "We always have been, we are, and I hope that we always shall be detested in France." Who made this Francophobe statement?

Answer: Wellington

It was "Old Nosey" himself. Sadly, I believe that Churchill never actually said "The heaviest cross I have to bear is the Cross of Lorraine".
8. In 1913 a well known author published what is arguably the first book on modern table top war games. The book was titled "Little Wars". But who was the author?

Answer: H. G. Wells

The full title was "Little Wars: a game for boys from twelve years of age to one hundred and fifty and for that more intelligent sort of girl who likes boys' games and books."

It sounds surprising as Wells was a known pacifist, but it developed from a game played after dinner with his friend Jerome K. Jerome, who is well known for "Three Men in a Boat".
9. I am Captain Patrick Dove. My tanker - the "Africa Shell" - was captured and sunk by a German warship in 1939, and I was taken prisoner. I wrote a book about it, which inspired a film called "The Battle of the River Plate". Whose prisoner was I?

Answer: Graf Spee

"I was Graf Spee's Prisoner" was written in 1940, and the film appeared in 1956.
Dove was played by Bernard Lee, though he himself had an uncredited role as one of the prisoners. Of the ships, HMS Achilles was played by herself. Graf Spee was played by the USS Salem. (If you ever see the film, the American helmets are there because the US Navy forbade the wearing of German ones!)
10. In both the First and Second World War, my aerial combat skills as well as my leadership and intuitive powers were much appreciated by my superiors, as well as my pals Algy, Ginger and Bertie. So who am I?

Answer: Biggles

Bigglesworth, hero of nearly a hundred books as well as the 1986 film, was created by W. E. Johns (1893-1968).
Worrals was a female equivalent created to encourage more women to join the WAAF, whilst Gimlet was the army hero of another ten books.
W. E. Johns joined the RFC (later the RAF) in 1917, and retired in 1927.
His first 'Biggles' book appeared in 1932.
One other claim to fame is that as a recruiting officer, he rejected T.E. Lawrence (of Arabia) for obviously giving a false name!
Source: Author TCEB

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
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