Comment by zoomablemind | Hacker News Reader

Comment by zoomablemind | Hacker News Reader

Captivating documentary. Thanks to the author. Also thanks for staying consistent with pronunciation too. Surprised it would bother the Russian speakers so much at all. Oh, well, the designers back in Ukrainian SSR would not dare to name it in Ukrainian manner either.

There seems to be some unintended irony in the naming. There was a popular sedan car Moskvitch [1] (masculine for Moscow resident), and Zaporozhets [2] (masc. for resident of Zaporizhia in Russian). Both of these cities had resp. car factories. However, Kharkiv, had none, instead it had a tractor and tank factory... The product is literally out of the league, so is the name Kharkovchanka (fem. for resident of Kharkiv in Russian)

I'd guess the choice of masculine for a car name is in line with masc. for 'automobile' in Russian. Meanwhile, the feminine in this case is, perhaps, for fem. 'machine' in Russian. Just a guess.

[1]: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moskvitch_402

[2]: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZAZ_Zaporozhets

If you like this stuff check https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9Mdi_Fh9_Ag they most informative and dryly hilarious historian I know is Drachinifel.

His stuff is beautifully researched and you can tell it's his passion.

I posted that one on HN a while back but it didn't go anywhere.

I've listened to it several times entirely because it reminds me of dysfunctional companies so much.

Hahahah, oh man, one of Drach's best. Highly recommend his episode on what to do if your ship is sinking/exploding/disagreeable too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbX8rJMI9GM

btw, did anyone else see Japanese torpedo boats???

Only in the North Sea.

Fun fact, the trawlers they fired on where from my home town and there is a statue to the ones killed not a mile from where I was born, it’s a small world in many ways.

The resulting war would have likely changed Europe as well, in 1904 the U.K. was still the pre-eminent global naval power but a dreadnought isn’t a lot of use on the steppes.

The Battle of Samar is my 2nd favourite.

> "After 17 bombs and 19 torpedoes, at least some of which were probably unnecessary..

> After firing all their armor penetration rounds, they switched to high explosive, then anti-aircraft, then starshells which was was surprisingly effective as it caused a massive number of fires to break out

That and the USS Johnston,

> "[Johnson] seeing the ship under attack by a Heavy Cruiser, it promptly shoots up this ship as well....because of course it does."

A light destroyer escort mistaken for a cruiser because literally no light destroyer captain would charge a fleet and trade fire with a cruiser (never mind damage it so badly it was out the fight then trade fire with another and then we’ll watch the video it’s surreal), it’s so unthinkable that to stay in a sane world where the rules made sense it had to be a cruiser.

That and the pilot landing his plane, helping defend the airfield then buggering off into the jungle coming back with a new wing to replace his damaged one.

If it was a movie you simply wouldn’t believe it.

And it should be a movie.

> ... it reminds me of dysfunctional companies so much.

Thanks for the link. Sad as is a bizarre display of hazards of imperial ambitions. Looking back, Kamchatka's annoyance must be symbolic in this context.

Reading this depiction of dysfunctions of navies of the country on the brink of historical changes, hard not to draw parallels with the recent sad adventures of Russian Federation's only aircraft carrier [1].

In this light, I really appreciated the In-Memoriam at the end of Drachinifel's video to remember the lives of officers and sailors lost in the imperial battles.

[1]: https://www.news.com.au/technology/innovation/military/hole-...

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