Kludges, jury-rigs, makeshifts ...

I'd like to know where and how the word "jury rigged" came aboot. I always thought the term was "Gerry rigged" meaning in WW1+2 the Germans were industrious with anything at hand to temporarily fix whatever was broken. How does "jury rigged" mean the same? How does a Jury fix anything? Or is it a vote on the best idea? A jury would vote on the best way to proceed? How long has that term been in use?

 

Along the same lines: Gerry can is universal for the useful fuel cans Germany produced while England was stuck with small, flimsy cans?... Gerry Can, Gerry Rigged?..Also never heard of a kludge.

 

Nice. Words and their origins, very interesting. Not a fan of new words. Like wussie. Surely there is a descriptive word rather than wussie that has been around longer. I'll go with spazz.

 

My first choice was similar, but would have sent me to the cooler! I am with Clint I think it would be a blast, as to if it could get off the ground without JATO is another matter

 

Injury mast. lol. Sounds right for some of the jury rigs I've made....Also 2 thumbs up to Johnny Sideburns for those pics. Well done man.

 

Flying IN a P-38 would be a blast. Flying UNDER a P-38 in a metal tube - not so much.

 

This one is a bit off the topic of Kludges, jury-rigs, makeshifts but it shows out of the box thinking by someone.

 

Actually that's an interesting, though smelly, point. Consider the men who spent hours or even days buttoned down in tanks, or fighter pilots who flew from London to Berlin and back in single-seaters. They must have needed "cludgies" of their own, and many of these were probably "kludges" as well!

It's a topic that doesn't get a lot of coverage in books about wartime technology - not that I really want to know the details anyway. But it must have been a very real concern for the tankers and pilots of the war, and indeed for today's ones as well.

 

Or lousy driving!

 

Nice Johnny. Where are you finding these great pics? That last one is pretty amazing. I'd guess it was a ramming attack during heat of battle.

 

I pick them up all over the place if they are royalty free. Fortunately most WWII photos are old enough that its not a concern.

I couldnt help but wonder when a saw the last pic: Who was the winner? The defender for stopping the T34 or the attacker for knocking out the PAK 40.

 

While it was made in the factory and therefore is not technically a jury-rig, the bent barrel attachment for the MP44 is a kludge in spirit.

 

I'm led to believe- and have no doubts that someone's going to correct me- that tank crews used an empty shell case, while bomber crews had chemical toilets on board.
In the words of Frankie Howerd...rather them than me....

 

Defecate in empty shell casings?... I'd have to be in a 75 mm armed vehicle. Some days a 105. Pity the fool armed with a 20mm.

 

I think P-51 pilots on long escort missions would have had some of the worst problems. They couldn't just let the co-pilot take over while they walked to the facilities.

I hope I'm not dragging this thread into the dirt, so to speak. But it's a subject that would have been a very real concern to soldiers on duty in all kinds of situations, yet one that is rarely covered in the histories.