Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!att!cbnews!military
From: milano!fugate@buckaroo.sw.mcc.com (Bryan Fugate)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Cold Weather Problems (was Re: German had the best ...)
Message-ID: <1990Jun4.165344.22645@cbnews.att.com>
Date: 4 Jun 90 16:53:44 GMT
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From: milano!fugate@buckaroo.sw.mcc.com (Bryan Fugate)

In article <16082@cbnews.ATT.COM>, ap542@ztivax.siemens.com (Helmut Peisl) writes:
> 
> This brings a question to my mind.
> diesel fuel tends to sort of "clog up" below temperatures of around
> -20C. How was this avoided, especially during the russian winter?
> 
> Today you have additives, were they already known then?

They did use some cold weather fuel additives but I am not familiar
with what they were.  During times of crisis when it was very cold,
the standard procedure was to start the engine frequently (depending
on the temp) and let it idle for a while, though this was wasteful of
fuel.

There were documented cases, believe it or not, where fires were built
under the oil pans to warm them up!

This reminds me of a story which some of you may have heard.  Sometime
after the Dec. 6 Russian counteroffensive around Moscow in 1941, many
German units were virtually depleted of ammo and, of course, there was
a severe shortage of adequate winter clothing.  Also, by that time,
partisans had caused many problems with the the rail lines and supplies
were snarled up behind the front.

At any rate, one train made it close to the front and it was mobbed by
hungry, freezing troopers who were out of ammo and threatened by an
attack.  Knowing that the train was full of needed supplies imagine what
they felt like when they broke open the boxcars and found them filled
with French wines...a gift to the men at the front!  The ultimate
disappointment was that the cold had burst the bottles and all they
had was glass-filled wine sickles...a true story.