Join the TimeGhost Army: bit.ly/SPECIAL_088_PI Amphetamines are still being used by armed forces in the present day. In fact, it's a 'normal' part of war - from paramilitaries and rebels to the armed forces of superpowers. Is there something to be said about the fact that so many militaries feel the need to put their soldiers on drugs to do their job? Read our community guidelines before commenting: community.timeghost.tv/t/rules-of-conduct/4518
It's a fascinating aspect of that war given what we now know of the issues around drug abuse, but at least back then there was a great deal of naivete and a much greater social and (yes) medical acceptance of this practice. What's the excuse now? I know, or I mean I've heard, that things can get a bit ropey when one is tweaking for prolonged periods ...
Cracked a few ribs a week ago, i can say that morphine is a really good painkiller. Has its downsides too, youll break yourself Even More because you won't feel pain.
Flying that Lanc', pumped up on crank...high as a kite, driving a tank! Trouble ahead, trouble behind...making War is better when you're outta your mind...
My father was shot down over Holland, and "on the run" for six days in December '44. In those six days he walked a huge circle before being captured, thinking by then he was following the railway line to his home town in Oxfordshire. He put it down to the compass being packed next to the razor blade in his escape kit. After watching this, I wonder whether amphetamine use also played a part? He passed on a couple of years ago, much regretted by everyone who knew him. [Edit to clarify what I wonder about]
What do you wonder? Do you seriously believe father walked around for six days doped up on amphetamines..? I think I'd bet my own life on the fact he probably wasn't. The use of narcotic stimulants during the war has become greatly overexaggerated in recent years.
@@_ArsNova they're actually understated. My grandfather and his twin brother were in the Navy in WWII. Amphetamine Sulfate was handed out for EVERY mission, if available. My great uncle was on Bataan, so the benzedrene was long gone by the time they were captured. He didn't talk very much about WWII. My grandfather had a much easier time in the war, assigned to POW duty because he had children when he joined up, and I guess they didn't want to send men with children to the front, they preferred they came home to their families. Anyways he was given Benzedrene tabs when he was on night watch. By this point, they knew that sleep had to be balanced with uppers. Now the Germans were using methamphetamine hcl (Pervetin), and they didn't seem to care about balancing it with sleep. I wonder if the soldiers used their morphine to come down from a week on meth? I know I would have.
I am surprised that you did not mention that many American pilots continued to enjoy the thrill of danger, becoming motorcyclists after the war. They continued to use amphetamines, eventually dealing in them illegally. Allegedly, this led to the formation of motorcycle gangs, including the infamous Hell's Angels, named by a former member of the Flying Tigers.
Adam & Eve (A green-rimmed white circle with silhouettes of a man chasing a woman), The Pandas (A black-rimmed white circle with the face of a Panda in the middle) and Hells Angels (a white circle with the silhouette of the famous Betty Grable pose with devel's horns on her head) were the three "pursuit groups" of the "Flying Tigers".
My parents vacationed in Austria some years after the war. There were still Airforce pilots etc. stationed there and bored out of their minds. They would do things positively forbidden today, like hurtling down ski jumps while hardly knowing even the rudiments of skiing!
I used to know a truck driver whose nickname was "Benny." He popped bennies on long-haul assignments. It was pretty common for long-haul drivers in the 1970s.
In the 60s, I met a rear gunner of Lancasters who told me how the crews were issued with benzedrine. They were so terrified, falling asleep wasn't a problem and would save them up for nights not on "Ops", when they would take the lot.
My father-in-law piloted long-distance transport runs during WW2. He had to pop amphetamines to stay awake, sharp and on the lookout. Fast forward 50 years later, he popped amphetamines to drive straight through from his retirement home in West Palm Beach, Florida, to have dinner with his daughters and grandchildren in NYC, and then drove straight back home the next day, making 2 five minute rest stops each way,
Holy cow! Germany as seen the drawbacks dumped their Pervitins To Finland! My Grandmother told about boys on leave from front made pulver and snorting it!
A former co-worker of mine was on staff at a field hospital when the Battle of the Bulge started, and the field hospitals on either side of them were overrun. So very quickly not only were they in a major action, they had to handle the work of three field hospitals instead of just their own. They were allowed, as memory serves me, three or four hours in a cot, then kicked out to make room for the next guy, took a meth tablet under an officer's supervision, had it recorded on a board, and were sent back to work for 20-21 hours. That kept up for several days. There was no other way to get the work done.
"And you can bet that it's not just Benzedrine that men and women are using to get themselves through the horror of this war." For some reason, that sentence really did it's job of reminding me what was at stake during the early part of the war. That had to be such a terrifying time to live through. From the bleak, early days to the jubilation of final victory. It's hard to imagine the swaying tide of emotions people had to feel! Great video as always!
I remember one of my high school teacher's husband who flew an F-15 in the '91 Gulf War. He and his squadron mates were given stims to help them cope with the long flying sorties. At some point either during or after the war the media caught attention to it and were starting to talk about it. My teacher's husband had a squadron mate who wrote an OP-ed explaining and describing how closely watched they were when taking them. I don't know which paper he wrote the op-ed for. It could have been the Stars-n-Stripes for all I know.
There are interviews on YT of American pilots that flew in the Pacific during WWII. Several interviewees recalled the loss of pilots that fell asleep and crashed during the long boring flights to or from the targets. If true, it seems reasonable to prescribe stimulants to the pilots, especially if flying over the desert or ocean. Once I was driving on a long straight road in the summer, just feeling content. The sky was blue, a few clouds, and very warm. And I was so pleased to be piloting a B-17 in good weather... Thank God that the residual consciousness that had not yet started dreaming questioned... why was I flying a B-17!? The waking dream was only a fortunate brief moment on the highway. For pilots on long missions the pills could be life saving.
@@kirbyculp3449 A couple of books that I have on the B-29 and one in particular details how the crew came upon another B-29 just flying along with everyone on board asleep, and they couldn't manage to wake anyone up and just had to watch the aircraft drift down into the Pacific. Another pilot told how he woke up and turned to discover everyone else on the flight deck was asleep, so he made sure to never fail asleep when on a mission. You have to remember that crews were being regularly asked to fly distances that only a couple of years earlier would have been a history making record flight.
In the Finnish Army Pervitin was mostly (?) used by the "Far Patrols", the patrols behind the lines. Those patrols took maybe some days to complete: Going in, doing their stuff (destruction of equipment, sabotage, killing any russians that they met etc.), the guys still alive returned to their home base. They had to stay alert every minute of it. So they used everything they got, including Pervitin.
To add to this: A friend of mine told his father who was one of those who went to "Far Patrols" told me his father used to wake up during many nights crying in terror for all of the things they did there during the war. That's all I have to say about war heroes.
@@OldieBugger Kinda unrelated but I just want to write: I cant imagine what he went thru, but If he "did something wrong" I suppose he didn't frequently "lost" or died in his bad dreams (by "something wrong" I think maybe only killing enemies!?? - who knows...), im not diminishing his bad experiences, it must have been hell and worse than I ever got thru. Im no military vet, but I have more bad dreams than I would like and in those I almost never really win: the knive dont pierce, my gun jam, Im alone and surrounded by more than one enemy and stuff like that...a bad dream is not real of course but its obviously NOT an adventure, its confrontantion on your mind, its no peace. There was a rural "guerrilla fighter" from the 30s in Brasil that gave an interview when he was almost 100yo, (he killed 21 guys - he said), his group was well documented (Cangaço group of Lampeão - they used winchesters 44 sometimes but mostly Mausers and Lugers in the forests), one thing I remember is that he said: "dreaming is a disgrace", and said in his bad dreams he was under fire and having no way out of the thick bush. Man, I hate to have bad dreams/nightmares either. But I know there are many cases who are more severe than mine, like the guy who waked up screaming and the other who after more than 70 yrs still experience that shi when he sleeps. This cause anxiety.
Sadly not much has stayed on record about the Finnish reconnaissance patrols since they destroyed their official archives after the war fearing a communist takeover and persecution. Current knowledge is based on 1st hand accounts but little can be verified from actual logs or documents as those are destroyed.
My father was a US Marine. He never mentioned Benzedrine. He did have PTSD from the killing, filth and seeing mountains of bodies daily. Men in those days were told they were slackers if they showed fatigue, or fear.
Benzedrine was part of the official ‘escape kit’ issued to every member of the RAF on ops over Europe. Amongst other things, this kit contained a magnetic compass disguised as a button, as well as disguised maps sewn into the uniform. The main function of this Benzedrine, however, was as an appetite suppressant and not so much a performance enhancer
It was probably both an appetite suppressant and performance enhancer. After all stimulants don't work well without fuel (food) unless taken in exorbitant amounts.
It's high time this subject was covered. I was so amped up about the video that I watched it at faster than normal speed and had the volume cranked up. Indy showed his usual pep and his presentation was crystal clear as usual. Time Ghost's method of delivering information is so good some of us are practically addicted to this channel.
I've never been to war, but I have been on army exercises where we'd get maybe an average of an hour of sleep a day over the course of a week. I've seen people fall asleep in mid stride on the march and commanders fall asleep in mid sentence while giving orders. With enough sleep deprivation people become zombies. Something like this would be really useful.
I was an infantry officer with the Third Infantry Division “Rock of the Marne” when we invaded Iraq. We kept getting ordered to “advance, push forward, keep the initiative.” Because of this we went from the border, to An Nasiryha, As Samwah, Karbala…and we were up for nearly 5 days. Maybe the Soldiers, and the dismounts in the back of the Bradleys slept, but the crews were up and alert. I have never been so tired in my life. It was hard to remember the names of people I knew. I saw the BC stop mid OPORDER because he couldn’t remember the word “attack” and things like that. Operating the equipment and weapons systems was reflexive due to the training and muscle memory, but man, it messes with your head staying awake that long.
"useful" my ass, if you're working so hard you have to shoot dope to keep the pace up you're working too hard. even during the world wars, the most effective militaries let units take time to rest and reorganize. it's 2023 - any conflict the united states enters directly will end in a nuclear holocaust. or a storm of automated drones. we do not need to be worried about treating young men this way any more
Well this is going to be an interesting one after watching the previous Special video on German stimulants like Pervitin. I did read before a little beforehand about how Allied aircrews were told to use amphetamines to keep themselves awake during long flights and missions. Man, war is one hell of a drug...
It is kinda one of the most overlooked aspects of the history of this period - people were tweaking out in those days. A lot. Given what we know about amphetamines now it has some interesting implications to say the least ... As mentioned, the RAF investigations into the potential utility of amphetamines was prompted by widespread drug abuse. It certainly was a different time.
I really wonder one many vets came back as addicts. Elvis apparently started his drug addiction while station in Germany after another soldier gave him speed to help him stay awake on night guard.
My father was a Vietnam veteran, and my eldest brother was involved in some rather touchy stuff in the Gulf War. I've heard stories of attempts at "better soldiering through chemistry" from both of them. The concept is in no way done and gone in the modern military. If anything, it's become much more advanced, and equally frightening.
In Afghanistan we had Provigil. Went 3 days fighting without sleep. On watch I saw McCully Culcan sneaking up on our position. I opened fire. It was a stump. Or at least that’s what the incident report filed by the CO said.
We now know Monty was so brilliant and intuitive of a Commander because he was getting all those Ultra intercepts. Now you tell us he motivated his Troop's not with great personality but with pills. How many more WWII illusions will Indy pop before it's over?
@@charlesfaure1189 Sir I respectfully disagree. ive never seen any evidence that General Patton supported apartheid. on the contrary, he was very popular with Black soldiers. in fact, during a 'pep talk' to the Black 761st tank battalion, he said, "men, you're the first Negro tankers to ever fight in the American army. I would never have asked for you if you weren't good. I have nothing but the best in the army. I don't care what color you are, as long as you go up there & kill those kraut sons of bitches".
3:50 Also at this stage and later in the war German night fighters were following allied bomber streams home and attacking bombers in their landing circuits. This followed on from similar tactics in 1941 where German night fighters would attack training aircraft (often antiquated biplanes) carrying out their first night flights from training airfields in the north of england. Guy Gibson (of later dambusters fame) was involved in countering the latter during his stint flying Beaufighters. Allied night fighters - especially Mosquitos - carried out similar attacks in 1944/45, attacking German night fighters as they landed and took off on missions to intercept RAF bomber streams.
The US military has a long history of getting troops addicted to substances and then when they are not needed anymore discard the troops with no support with dealing with their addiction. The amount of opioid abuse I witnessed in the USMC while in Iraq was astonishing and have lost a handful of comrades to that demon. Yet we never learn because its easier to ignore than to address
The VA and our mental health services are both in the shitter. They won't let me serve with depression cause it's too much giving folks with mental illnesses the help they need. Always loved the sea but no chance at being a seaman
Captain Miller (Tom Hanks) said something to the effect of not being sure his wife will know him when he gets home because the war had changed him so much. The war horrors of people being killed around you, having to kill people, and drugs to cement the training & memories into nightmares, PTSD, and psychosis. War is so brutal, it is hard to imagine that so many people are willing to advocate it. Great video Indy!
The only ones who advocate for war are those, who've never been there, and those who will never be there. Politicians that promote war should be burned to death at the stake.
I am so glad to see a video on this. I had the privilege of getting to know my grandfather who was a WW2 vet and listening to his stories. He was US Army Air Corps and was training for deployment in north Africa when the Japanese invaded the Aleutian Islands, they sent him there instead and his whole career was tales of being haphazardly pulled into operations that needed more men, even if it was outside what he was trained for. He always told us that the army had put PCP in his coffee before the battle of Attu, and that he was suspicious that they were lacing his drinks with something anytime he was about to see combat. Thanks for telling the story.
Just trust me on this one. Speed does not induce intense concentration. It might increase wakefulness but the concentration aspect is difficult at best. You become focused on something but not in a sane and normal way.
As a young teenager in early’70’s My best friend opened my mother’s cabinet. He yelled “we hit the jackpot”. About three nights later I pray to God if he just let me go to sleep ! I’d never touch them again. It was my mother’s diet pills. Prelude (spelling?) as it was named here the Nazi amphetamine. Given out in the US for up to 75 different reasons/problems .
I take them all day everyday and if I forget I've just taken one and take an extra by mistake, I get so sleepy I have to take a nap. They calm my constant 400 thoughts at once and allow me to focus on just one at a time. ADHD is horrible.
There was a TV program about post-war addiction suffered by a pilot. I remember watching this and asking my father who was a WW2 pilot about it. He said he knew that t a lot of pilots took them on long flights, but he never did. He said that many pilots were worried about addiction even that far back. The biggest users he knew about were in the Pacific since the distances covered were much longer.
"...skilled pilot taking a calculated risk? Sure, but there's a little more to it than that -- drugs." I continue to be amazed by how every intro these guys do is so well done.
I have a huge backlog of things to watch, so I'm watching at 1.5x speed, and that goes with the content of this video far better than I could have hoped.
I have never used these drugs but when I was about 12, about 1956, one of my older cousins was married to an over the road trucker. I remember him talking about "benny driving the truck" meaning the driver on benzadrene. I think it was illegal in pills at that time, he told us they broke the inhalers and chewed them. He commented, When benny is driving the truck you will see men in green coats on the road. If you blink they go away. I do not know if this caused it, but some years later he took a truck off the road and down a bank on a straight section of the PA turnpike, killing him and an unauthorized female passenger. I never heard if benny was driving but it makes sense.
The 1963 hit song *Six Days on the Road* contains the following lyrics: I got me ten forward gears and a Georgia Overdrive I'm taking little white pills and my eyes are opened wide
The Rolling Stones song, "Mothers Little Helper" was released in the mid-1960s, I believe, and illustrates the impact of stimulants and depressants on the lives of everyday people.
"Whaaat a draaag it iiiis getting oooold.."!! Love that song!! I'm from the late 80s and my dad doesn''t listen to the Stones, so I'm so happy that this song was in Mafia 3!😍
As I recall, Mother's little helper was Valium (and Librium). These were widely prescribed for the stress of being an upper-middle class or middle class housewife who had to run the house, raise the kids, and meet the social "norms" of having a perfect family.
I was just watching World At War: France Falls and Gamelin thought it would take the panzers 9 days to go through the Ardennes. Took them 2. How? PERVITIN!
I love to site the most brilliant military genius of all time. General Hindsight. In Gamelins case, he should have listened to him. On 2 previous occasions, the Germans attacked through the ' impassable' Ardennes. LOL, the Battle of The Bulge made it 3 times. Fortunately, Patton not only knew history, he and probably Eisenhower as well, knew how to use it. The Bulge turned out to be a huge trap for the Germans. Patton and Ike saw opportunity in crisis.
By the time of the Battle of the Bulge no one thought the Ardennes was impassable. A major reason for the Allies being caught flatfooted initially was because an offensive though the Ardennes in 1945 was stupid to a suicidal degree. It was doomed to eventually fail, and with it annihilate armor that would have been better used in the East, shortening the war. There was nothing logical about the Battle of the Bulge. Of course by that point Hilter had long been at the helm, and had plenty of prior examples of irrational decision making, so Germany going full Leroy Jenkins should have been anticipated. Patton had also had little to do with U.S. victory in the Battle of Bulge. Like his equally egomaniacal counterpart in the British armed forces, Montgomery, Patton claimed more than his fair share of glory. The German offensive had fully unraveled earlier when the best formations assigned to the offensive, and also the main effort, were stopped cold and thoroughly mauled by the heavily outnumbered troops defending Elsenborn Ridge.
I had the opportunity of trying crystal meth once at Carnival, but I didn't, I'd should tho, this shit is rare asf here, at least no chance of getting addicted this way. Ive seen only once. A friend of a friend offered me. Its interesting how some drugs "dont exist" in some countries. I've never seen heroin nor ever heard of anyone who used here in Brazil, but I know it sucks and must be avoided.
Benzedrine abuse became so common in the US that the slang term for using stimulants became "hopping bennies," at least according to a show I watched as a kid
@ellispiper6313 it's not the exact same thing and it's disingenuous to claim so. not all amphetamines have the same psych effect, there's a reason that ritalin fell out of use and there's a reason that benzedrine did too
I have looked into the use of Benzedrine by pilots to increase their alertness on mission, because my father was a B 25 pilot with the 10th Air Force in Burma. He unfortunately experienced the side affects after one of his mission. At the young age of only 21 he suffered from constipation and had a mild stroke as a result. He was taken off flying status and returned to the US to serve out the War as a flying instructor. He became a Benzedrine user after the war and he experienced other continuing side affects of teeth grinding , mood swings, and alcoholism . He was difficult to be around because of his unpredictable moods. Later I understood it was his continuing addiction to the stimulus meds.
In 1975,during intense rioting in Londonderry, we were given a Benzedrine tablet as the situation really was desperate and the army needed to keep us on our feet, combatting the rioting. This was the only time in my army service that I was given Benzedrine and the army were well aware of the downside of Benzedrine and arrangements had been made for the U.D.R to take over our duties for, I seem to remember, two days following the end of the intensive rioting while we literally slept the sleep of the dead. Exhaustion was the soldier's constant companion in Northern Ireland in the 1970s anyway, along with car bombs, petrol bombs, death and injury, riots, small arms fire of all kinds throughout Londonderry and Belfast during my early service, not necessarily directed at us, but the sounds of small arms carries a long way and, as soldiers we could tell if it was rifle fire, pistol shots or shots fired from an S.M.G, or it's equivalent as they all sound different. Vigilance and being on the ball, no matter how tired you were could make the difference between a patrol being attacked or not as army patrols were constantly watched, something we were aware off, and the terrorists often chose easier targets.
if this was your experience as a professional salaried soldier imagine the experience of the poor irish sods fighting for their freedom without an ounce of meth to their name against the empire that dystopia authors take inspiration from
Bennies, ah yes. My dad worked with a Royal Navy “Rating” that ran him ragged while Dad relied on USN coffee. He referred to the “Rating” as a lunatic. Wonder why?😑 Dad tossed a Bennie at an albatross who promptly spit it out. He told the “Rating” to be “like that Goonie!”
There's a scene in 'The Cruel Sea' (1953) where the captain (Jack Hawkins) asks the ship's doctor to give him something that will keep him awake while hunting a submarine. He's warned that 'these things aren't to be played with' and told that he'll feel like a spring lamb for 24 hours, then pass out for 12, then wake up with 'the most almighty hangover you've ever had'. He's just about to take it when the sub is found. Naval officers kept using them post-war - as instant hangover cures!
Fantastic video! Though Cologne isn't in the Ruhr Area, but rather the Rhineland ;) And while it can of course be mentioned separately, Essen is part of the Ruhr Area
Nothing like a handful of Ripped Fuel chased down by some boiling hot MRE coffee to help stay awake and keep warm on blistering cold nights of rooftop guard duty while deployed downrange in Iraq!!
I still have my Vietnam era issued “personal survival kit”. Full of all sorts of goodies. A knife, fishing gear, trip wire and of course a small bottle of “speed” as we called it. Not to be confused with “red dragon” which was issued by the medics. And for those reluctant to partake the scrambled eggs were so laced before known engagements. We fought our cold/hot war on communism, while at home they fought the “war on drugs”. Oxymoronic, that. Fox out.
My two favourite topics in one show: World war 2 and drugs, lets go! Now that i came to think about it, what drug did the USSR use? -- oh they used DNP, maybe you can make a video about that too?
It is terrifying to think of if soldiers thoughts might get messed up about who and where the enemy is. Albeit seems like it wasn't for everyone and they knew this, so just like any other good I am sure they traded and dealt if they had something else they preferred. I treat my ADHD with derivatives and can say it generally is most intense at first, but for me with major attention problems, it is a huge help, so glad that they had access to it. It improves focus but really the only advantage comes from when fatigued, the euphoria I think might be more about that it isn't so hard to concentrate. It feels good to be normal if you are anything but, so in states of war like that, it had to really been beneficial. What is scary though is those idiot axis that no doubt didn't rotate out their soldiers and to whom the burdens must have been tremendous.
As a collector of militaria, including survival kits, it was not a surprise to find a foil packed strip of 10 military issued methamphetamine tablets in a Viet Nam. era issued survival kit I bought at a militaria show. While it might have some collectible value, I had no interest in being accused of having illegal drugs, so I destroed them.
4:50 A Stuka in a 85 degree dive pulling out at 100m altitude looks “reckless” & something amazing to happen day after day, but the Stuka has a sophisticated automatic dive recovery system that pulls the plane out of the dive at a set altitude. Stuka in a CAS role were used like artillery and their bomb runs could be only a 60 min round trip. Exhaustion in a Stuka pilot would more likely come from running 4 missions a day so while its possible they might take pervitin, the known hang-over wipe out from this drug makes it less likely as a daily drug.
you couldn't pay me to be stuka pilot. they were getting 'chewed up' in the 'Battle of Britain' & 'Barbarossa'. slow, unmanuverable, they were 'juicy targets' for allied fighters, even the soviet i-16 rata. although they did have some success in the 'Battle of Kursk' under hans erich rudel.
My dad was a pilot at the end of the Korean War, he flew the Vietnam War from beginning to end and was very much apart of the cold War and many wars that nobody had even heard of. I do remember dad and all the other pilots being issued a case of scotch a week. I guess that where the term liquid courage came from. My dad was a functioning drunk because they all flew those planes drunk. It was part of their culture up to the 80s. Once my dad retired, he still had to drink scotch to function. He is 88 today and is down to two glasses of wine a day. My dad says he didn't even like scotch but it was military issue.
The most surprising thing to me was the last part about militaries all around the world issueing that stuff further after WW2. The only pil we got during my conscript time >20 years ago was a vitamin c pill one time. And my platoon commander couldn't even answer my question, if the tablet was to be swallowed with water or chewed. (tasted quite citrus fruity that thing, and did not help in any way in staying awake.)
Really interesting to see that both the western allies and the Germans were using amphetamines. I wonder is there any information on Soviet use of similar stimulants during the war?
Today the big thing in the military is energy drinks, I think "bang" is the popular brand, but I stick to coffee so I'm not sure. There were a few years where they were making a product called "first strike ration," it was like a giant MRE and almost everything in it had caffeine. There was caffeinated chewing gum with a big label saying "this product has been tested and found safe," but with no further information.
If I recall correctly from history class, in Finland there was a huge problem with morphine post war. And for good meassures, some regular over the counter painkillers contained drugs. "Hotapulveri" is a classic example. During the 50's it contained a small dose of amphetamin
@@vksasdgaming9472 edited the comment. Clearly wasn't constructed correctly. Heroin was actually used though in some over the counter stuff since the 30's all the way trough the 40's
@@kante1e Didn't know Hota-pulveri had minute doses of amphetamine in it during it's era of existence. Heroin was children's cough syrup from Bayer AG originally.
As a neuropsychologist, I oppose the use of the word "abuse" to talk about drug behavior; it's stigmatizing and has no clear meaning. Use under the same circumstances (often subclinical depression or anxiety) may be called use or abuse depending on your wealth status/race.
By the way, then, when that person needs help, whether they are labeled as a "user" or an "abuser" of drugs will influence whether they get the prescriptions they need to continue living a normal life while slowly tapering off the drugs--and even get *more* prescriptions for controlled drugs such as Zanax (alprazolam) and Rivotril (clonazepam) to help with the abstinence syndrome, or whether they lose their job(s) or drop out of school while trying to quit "cold turkey", maybe getting those controlled drugs (not a prescription, through IV) if the symptoms are so unbearable that they go to the hospital.
Absolute rubbish, there is a clear division between use and abuse. Your inability to wrap your mind around an academic definition of drug abuse, has no bearing on the practical reality of abuse.
Awesome content as always. Will you be doing any episodes in the future about other drug use during the war? In particular I'm curious about barbituates and alcohol
Soviets used Voroshilovs ration every soldier drank 100 grams of vodka each day when on the front. This alcohol intake ended by drinking anti freeze in tanks and some soldiers ended up blind with liver failure.
Worth noting too students still use study drugs to this day in high schools and colleges to keep up with the demands of education today particularly the over emphasis on standardized testing. As a veteran of the US Army I can confirm various substances are still used today in the military. When a soldier is experiencing chronic problems like i did with my back, their first instinct is throw some pain killers at it and send them immediately back to duty. Not to mention the disturbing numbers of energy drinks I saw soldiers consume on a daily basis.
Ian Fleming's James Bond took Bennies and alcohol several times. Amused at the implication this was a WW2 thing only. It still goes on in many armies. The drugs may have changed, but the intent and effect stays the same.
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Amphetamines are still being used by armed forces in the present day. In fact, it's a 'normal' part of war - from paramilitaries and rebels to the armed forces of superpowers. Is there something to be said about the fact that so many militaries feel the need to put their soldiers on drugs to do their job?
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It's a fascinating aspect of that war given what we now know of the issues around drug abuse, but at least back then there was a great deal of naivete and a much greater social and (yes) medical acceptance of this practice. What's the excuse now? I know, or I mean I've heard, that things can get a bit ropey when one is tweaking for prolonged periods ...
Cracked a few ribs a week ago, i can say that morphine is a really good painkiller. Has its downsides too, youll break yourself Even More because you won't feel pain.
When you have to climb down a rope from a helicopter and set up a perimeter under enemy fire, I won't blame you if you need to be high.
Flying that Lanc', pumped up on crank...high as a kite, driving a tank! Trouble ahead, trouble behind...making War is better when you're outta your mind...
What shall we do with a drunken sailor what shall we do with a drunken sailor what shall we do with a drunken sailor early in the morning?
My father was shot down over Holland, and "on the run" for six days in December '44. In those six days he walked a huge circle before being captured, thinking by then he was following the railway line to his home town in Oxfordshire. He put it down to the compass being packed next to the razor blade in his escape kit. After watching this, I wonder whether amphetamine use also played a part? He passed on a couple of years ago, much regretted by everyone who knew him. [Edit to clarify what I wonder about]
What do you wonder? Do you seriously believe father walked around for six days doped up on amphetamines..? I think I'd bet my own life on the fact he probably wasn't. The use of narcotic stimulants during the war has become greatly overexaggerated in recent years.
@@_ArsNova tbf they did pack these drugs into aircrew survival packs.
how exactly did he think he was gonna walk from Holland to England??? following rail lines no less???
@@_ArsNova they're actually understated. My grandfather and his twin brother were in the Navy in WWII. Amphetamine Sulfate was handed out for EVERY mission, if available. My great uncle was on Bataan, so the benzedrene was long gone by the time they were captured. He didn't talk very much about WWII. My grandfather had a much easier time in the war, assigned to POW duty because he had children when he joined up, and I guess they didn't want to send men with children to the front, they preferred they came home to their families. Anyways he was given Benzedrene tabs when he was on night watch. By this point, they knew that sleep had to be balanced with uppers.
Now the Germans were using methamphetamine hcl (Pervetin), and they didn't seem to care about balancing it with sleep. I wonder if the soldiers used their morphine to come down from a week on meth? I know I would have.
@@_ArsNova Angry response deleted
"High above Cologne" Hahaha, good one, Indy.
I am surprised that you did not mention that many American pilots continued to enjoy the thrill of danger, becoming motorcyclists after the war. They continued to use amphetamines, eventually dealing in them illegally. Allegedly, this led to the formation of motorcycle gangs, including the infamous Hell's Angels, named by a former member of the Flying Tigers.
Adam & Eve (A green-rimmed white circle with silhouettes of a man chasing a woman), The Pandas (A black-rimmed white circle with the face of a Panda in the middle) and Hells Angels (a white circle with the silhouette of the famous Betty Grable pose with devel's horns on her head) were the three "pursuit groups" of the "Flying Tigers".
My parents vacationed in Austria some years after the war. There were still Airforce pilots etc. stationed there and bored out of their minds. They would do things positively forbidden today, like hurtling down ski jumps while hardly knowing even the rudiments of skiing!
As a 74 year old who has been riding motorcycles for almost 60 years, may I say that the only stimulant I use is caffeine.
Yeah right!
And dealing crank!
I used to know a truck driver whose nickname was "Benny." He popped bennies on long-haul assignments. It was pretty common for long-haul drivers in the 1970s.
In the 60s, I met a rear gunner of Lancasters who told me how the crews were issued with benzedrine. They were so terrified, falling asleep wasn't a problem and would save them up for nights not on "Ops", when they would take the lot.
This whole compendium of programmes just keeps getting better and better, with a really interesting scope of topics. As ever, we’ll done all.
Thank you Cris!
My father-in-law piloted long-distance transport runs during WW2. He had to pop amphetamines to stay awake, sharp and on the lookout. Fast forward 50 years later, he popped amphetamines to drive straight through from his retirement home in West Palm Beach, Florida, to have dinner with his daughters and grandchildren in NYC, and then drove straight back home the next day, making 2 five minute rest stops each way,
Holy cow! Germany as seen the drawbacks dumped their Pervitins To Finland! My Grandmother told about boys on leave from front made pulver and snorting it!
A former co-worker of mine was on staff at a field hospital when the Battle of the Bulge started, and the field hospitals on either side of them were overrun. So very quickly not only were they in a major action, they had to handle the work of three field hospitals instead of just their own. They were allowed, as memory serves me, three or four hours in a cot, then kicked out to make room for the next guy, took a meth tablet under an officer's supervision, had it recorded on a board, and were sent back to work for 20-21 hours. That kept up for several days. There was no other way to get the work done.
There probably was, but the cost of finding out it wouldve been too great for war time.
"And you can bet that it's not just Benzedrine that men and women are using to get themselves through the horror of this war." For some reason, that sentence really did it's job of reminding me what was at stake during the early part of the war. That had to be such a terrifying time to live through. From the bleak, early days to the jubilation of final victory. It's hard to imagine the swaying tide of emotions people had to feel! Great video as always!
I remember one of my high school teacher's husband who flew an F-15 in the '91 Gulf War. He and his squadron mates were given stims to help them cope with the long flying sorties. At some point either during or after the war the media caught attention to it and were starting to talk about it. My teacher's husband had a squadron mate who wrote an OP-ed explaining and describing how closely watched they were when taking them. I don't know which paper he wrote the op-ed for. It could have been the Stars-n-Stripes for all I know.
There are interviews on YT of American pilots that flew in the Pacific during WWII. Several interviewees recalled the loss of pilots that fell asleep and crashed during the long boring flights to or from the targets. If true, it seems reasonable to prescribe stimulants to the pilots, especially if flying over the desert or ocean.
Once I was driving on a long straight road in the summer, just feeling content. The sky was blue, a few clouds, and very warm. And I was so pleased to be piloting a B-17 in good weather... Thank God that the residual consciousness that had not yet started dreaming questioned... why was I flying a B-17!? The waking dream was only a fortunate brief moment on the highway. For pilots on long missions the pills could be life saving.
@@kirbyculp3449 A couple of books that I have on the B-29 and one in particular details how the crew came upon another B-29 just flying along with everyone on board asleep, and they couldn't manage to wake anyone up and just had to watch the aircraft drift down into the Pacific. Another pilot told how he woke up and turned to discover everyone else on the flight deck was asleep, so he made sure to never fail asleep when on a mission. You have to remember that crews were being regularly asked to fly distances that only a couple of years earlier would have been a history making record flight.
@@markfryer9880 do you recall the book perhaps?
Every pilot has in his survival kit somekind of Meth.
In the Finnish Army Pervitin was mostly (?) used by the "Far Patrols", the patrols behind the lines. Those patrols took maybe some days to complete: Going in, doing their stuff (destruction of equipment, sabotage, killing any russians that they met etc.), the guys still alive returned to their home base. They had to stay alert every minute of it. So they used everything they got, including Pervitin.
To add to this: A friend of mine told his father who was one of those who went to "Far Patrols" told me his father used to wake up during many nights crying in terror for all of the things they did there during the war.
That's all I have to say about war heroes.
@@OldieBugger
Kinda unrelated but I just want to write:
I cant imagine what he went thru, but If he "did something wrong" I suppose he didn't frequently "lost" or died in his bad dreams (by "something wrong" I think maybe only killing enemies!?? - who knows...), im not diminishing his bad experiences, it must have been hell and worse than I ever got thru.
Im no military vet, but I have more bad dreams than I would like and in those I almost never really win: the knive dont pierce, my gun jam, Im alone and surrounded by more than one enemy and stuff like that...a bad dream is not real of course but its obviously NOT an adventure, its confrontantion on your mind, its no peace.
There was a rural "guerrilla fighter" from the 30s in Brasil that gave an interview when he was almost 100yo, (he killed 21 guys - he said), his group was well documented (Cangaço group of Lampeão - they used winchesters 44 sometimes but mostly Mausers and Lugers in the forests), one thing I remember is that he said: "dreaming is a disgrace", and said in his bad dreams he was under fire and having no way out of the thick bush.
Man, I hate to have bad dreams/nightmares either. But I know there are many cases who are more severe than mine, like the guy who waked up screaming and the other who after more than 70 yrs still experience that shi when he sleeps. This cause anxiety.
@@pagodebregaeforro2803 I don't have any way to know this, as his father has been dead for a time now. I was just repeating what my friend told me.
Thank you for sharing those stories.
Sadly not much has stayed on record about the Finnish reconnaissance patrols since they destroyed their official archives after the war fearing a communist takeover and persecution. Current knowledge is based on 1st hand accounts but little can be verified from actual logs or documents as those are destroyed.
My father was a US Marine. He never mentioned Benzedrine. He did have PTSD from the killing, filth and seeing mountains of bodies daily. Men in those days were told they were slackers if they showed fatigue, or fear.
My late husband told me about being given speed when he was in combat in Vietnam.
Pilots on Benzedrine means that rather than having bandits at twelve o’clock high, it’ll be bandits high at twelve o’clock
Good one!
You get a smiley sticker and a high five for that, Mr. Wong.
12 o'clock High...... that's a Gregory Peck film about B17 crews, makes sense now 😉
Or, "Hi bandits! Munchies at 12 o'clock?" :^D
Benzedrine was part of the official ‘escape kit’ issued to every member of the RAF on ops over Europe. Amongst other things, this kit contained a magnetic compass disguised as a button, as well as disguised maps sewn into the uniform. The main function of this Benzedrine, however, was as an appetite suppressant and not so much a performance enhancer
My daughter found one of these kits at an army surplus store.The tablets, believe it or not are still in it!The maps are pretty cool
It was probably both an appetite suppressant and performance enhancer. After all stimulants don't work well without fuel (food) unless taken in exorbitant amounts.
Dude... Amphetamines are highly potent stimulants, the appetite suppression is a side effect.. and not the other way around
I can't hold it any longer, your narrative skills are out of this world.
Thanks Ezeanya!
It's high time this subject was covered. I was so amped up about the video that I watched it at faster than normal speed and had the volume cranked up. Indy showed his usual pep and his presentation was crystal clear as usual. Time Ghost's method of delivering information is so good some of us are practically addicted to this channel.
jliller Thanks for watching! Not sure if it's good that you're addicted, but we're glad you're here nonetheless
I've never been to war, but I have been on army exercises where we'd get maybe an average of an hour of sleep a day over the course of a week. I've seen people fall asleep in mid stride on the march and commanders fall asleep in mid sentence while giving orders. With enough sleep deprivation people become zombies. Something like this would be really useful.
I was an infantry officer with the Third Infantry Division “Rock of the Marne” when we invaded Iraq. We kept getting ordered to “advance, push forward, keep the initiative.” Because of this we went from the border, to An Nasiryha, As Samwah, Karbala…and we were up for nearly 5 days. Maybe the Soldiers, and the dismounts in the back of the Bradleys slept, but the crews were up and alert. I have never been so tired in my life. It was hard to remember the names of people I knew. I saw the BC stop mid OPORDER because he couldn’t remember the word “attack” and things like that. Operating the equipment and weapons systems was reflexive due to the training and muscle memory, but man, it messes with your head staying awake that long.
"useful" my ass, if you're working so hard you have to shoot dope to keep the pace up you're working too hard. even during the world wars, the most effective militaries let units take time to rest and reorganize.
it's 2023 - any conflict the united states enters directly will end in a nuclear holocaust. or a storm of automated drones. we do not need to be worried about treating young men this way any more
Well this is going to be an interesting one after watching the previous Special video on German stimulants like Pervitin. I did read before a little beforehand about how Allied aircrews were told to use amphetamines to keep themselves awake during long flights and missions. Man, war is one hell of a drug...
It is kinda one of the most overlooked aspects of the history of this period - people were tweaking out in those days. A lot. Given what we know about amphetamines now it has some interesting implications to say the least ... As mentioned, the RAF investigations into the potential utility of amphetamines was prompted by widespread drug abuse. It certainly was a different time.
I really wonder one many vets came back as addicts. Elvis apparently started his drug addiction while station in Germany after another soldier gave him speed to help him stay awake on night guard.
It is pretty rampant in colleges and the corporate world. Not restricted just to warfare and soldiers.
With or without drugs, extended lack of sleep will bring on hallucinations.
@jewsrbadyeah and fuck you up even worse on a different way. Humans obviously need sleep for a reason
Indy:"what's going to happen when this is all over?"
Cartels:"we'll take it from here"
Now I know how Indy keeps cranking out these videos night after night week after week to a rigorous schedule!
My father was a Vietnam veteran, and my eldest brother was involved in some rather touchy stuff in the Gulf War. I've heard stories of attempts at "better soldiering through chemistry" from both of them. The concept is in no way done and gone in the modern military. If anything, it's become much more advanced, and equally frightening.
In Afghanistan we had Provigil. Went 3 days fighting without sleep. On watch I saw McCully Culcan sneaking up on our position. I opened fire. It was a stump. Or at least that’s what the incident report filed by the CO said.
We now know Monty was so brilliant and intuitive of a Commander because he was getting all those Ultra intercepts. Now you tell us he motivated his Troop's not with great personality but with pills. How many more WWII illusions will Indy pop before it's over?
I've lost all my respect for 'monty' once I learned that he supported 'apartheid' in s.africa.
Patton as well.
Without those drugs the allied cannot manouver fast enough against the axis.
@@stanbrekston Who did not back then?
@@charlesfaure1189 Sir I respectfully disagree. ive never seen any evidence that General Patton supported apartheid. on the contrary, he was very popular with Black soldiers. in fact, during a 'pep talk' to the Black 761st tank battalion, he said, "men, you're the first Negro tankers to ever fight in the American army. I would never have asked for you if you weren't good. I have nothing but the best in the army. I don't care what color you are, as long as you go up there & kill those kraut sons of bitches".
3:50 Also at this stage and later in the war German night fighters were following allied bomber streams home and attacking bombers in their landing circuits. This followed on from similar tactics in 1941 where German night fighters would attack training aircraft (often antiquated biplanes) carrying out their first night flights from training airfields in the north of england. Guy Gibson (of later dambusters fame) was involved in countering the latter during his stint flying Beaufighters.
Allied night fighters - especially Mosquitos - carried out similar attacks in 1944/45, attacking German night fighters as they landed and took off on missions to intercept RAF bomber streams.
Thanks Kit
The US military has a long history of getting troops addicted to substances and then when they are not needed anymore discard the troops with no support with dealing with their addiction. The amount of opioid abuse I witnessed in the USMC while in Iraq was astonishing and have lost a handful of comrades to that demon. Yet we never learn because its easier to ignore than to address
The VA and our mental health services are both in the shitter. They won't let me serve with depression cause it's too much giving folks with mental illnesses the help they need. Always loved the sea but no chance at being a seaman
Better to go fast and blow up than go slow and burn
Indy's misspent youth in Prague.. I would like a weekly series on this
Probably too much music, sex and drugs... not in that particular order
"I then slew the treacherous cook and took the empire for myself!" **raises glass of congac**
The green fairy 🧚♀️ - Absinth.
WOW I have studies WW2 all my life and never knew this. You can always learn something.
Thanks for watching, Robert!
Captain Miller (Tom Hanks) said something to the effect of not being sure his wife will know him when he gets home because the war had changed him so much. The war horrors of people being killed around you, having to kill people, and drugs to cement the training & memories into nightmares, PTSD, and psychosis. War is so brutal, it is hard to imagine that so many people are willing to advocate it. Great video Indy!
I doubt Speilberg had Bennies in mind
The only ones who advocate for war are those, who've never been there, and those who will never be there.
Politicians that promote war should be burned to death at the stake.
@@hanzzimmer1132 but i bet he was doing some coke
Thanks for watching, Mark
I am so glad to see a video on this. I had the privilege of getting to know my grandfather who was a WW2 vet and listening to his stories. He was US Army Air Corps and was training for deployment in north Africa when the Japanese invaded the Aleutian Islands, they sent him there instead and his whole career was tales of being haphazardly pulled into operations that needed more men, even if it was outside what he was trained for.
He always told us that the army had put PCP in his coffee before the battle of Attu, and that he was suspicious that they were lacing his drinks with something anytime he was about to see combat. Thanks for telling the story.
Thank you for watching
Nazis and Allies: *gulp pills*
Soviets: Have a shot of vodka for courage, comrade!
And if a shot vodka doesn't help, the commissar can have you shot.
Germany and Allies: Issue drugs
Soviets: BRING THE VODKA!
Just trust me on this one. Speed does not induce intense concentration. It might increase wakefulness but the concentration aspect is difficult at best. You become focused on something but not in a sane and normal way.
When I was a kid (60"s), one of my father's co-workers was a WW2 veteran. He ate "bennies" constantly.
As a young teenager in early’70’s My best friend opened my mother’s cabinet. He yelled “we hit the jackpot”. About three nights later I pray to God if he just let me go to sleep ! I’d never touch them again. It was my mother’s diet pills. Prelude (spelling?) as it was named here the Nazi amphetamine. Given out in the US for up to 75 different reasons/problems .
The real reason Heisenberg came to the US
Prof. Highsenberg was uncertain about the German supply chain concerning this drug.
I can see why you said that. They was on to something. Now think about the DEA and this whole drug loop in America
I was in the US military and we were given Amphetamines on several occasions. They made me sick so I handed them off to someone in my squad.
I hate the way they make me feel. Anxious and I can feel my hair growing......
Bro, Aussie vet here. Same thing. We used a branded med called No Doze. You could feel your eye balls move in your skull. Sucked balls.
@@aaron6178 no doze is just caffeine. It's worse than actual methamphetamine.....
@@russguffee6661 Exactly LOL...You been there!
I take them all day everyday and if I forget I've just taken one and take an extra by mistake, I get so sleepy I have to take a nap. They calm my constant 400 thoughts at once and allow me to focus on just one at a time. ADHD is horrible.
There was a TV program about post-war addiction suffered by a pilot. I remember watching this and asking my father who was a WW2 pilot about it.
He said he knew that t a lot of pilots took them on long flights, but he never did. He said that many pilots were worried about addiction even that far back. The biggest users he knew about were in the Pacific since the distances covered were much longer.
Indy, when you said in the opening, "drugs"!...the look on you face is priceless! Keep up the great work!
*Everybody condemning Nazi-Germany for drugs*
*Allied pilots* Hold my drug bottle!
"...skilled pilot taking a calculated risk? Sure, but there's a little more to it than that -- drugs."
I continue to be amazed by how every intro these guys do is so well done.
Thank you for watching!
@@WorldWarTwo Thanks for making these!
I have a huge backlog of things to watch, so I'm watching at 1.5x speed, and that goes with the content of this video far better than I could have hoped.
Fierce competition between drugdealers? Somethings never change.
You had me at “misspent youth in Prague”
I have never used these drugs but when I was about 12, about 1956, one of my older cousins was married to an over the road trucker. I remember him talking about "benny driving the truck" meaning the driver on benzadrene. I think it was illegal in pills at that time, he told us they broke the inhalers and chewed them. He commented, When benny is driving the truck you will see men in green coats on the road. If you blink they go away. I do not know if this caused it, but some years later he took a truck off the road and down a bank on a straight section of the PA turnpike, killing him and an unauthorized female passenger. I never heard if benny was driving but it makes sense.
The 1963 hit song *Six Days on the Road* contains the following lyrics:
I got me ten forward gears and a Georgia Overdrive
I'm taking little white pills and my eyes are opened wide
Lot lizard
Dam dude
"unauthorized female passenger" :D
Thanks, that is quite interesting & scary. And your username fits that great story.
Idk why I love the intro so much. That gong noise to mellow out the intense fast paced crescendo
Glad you approve, Austin! Thanks for watching
The Canadian writer Farley Mowat admitting to using benzedrine while a platoon commander in Sicily
The Rolling Stones song, "Mothers Little Helper" was released in the mid-1960s, I believe, and illustrates the impact of stimulants and depressants on the lives of everyday people.
"Whaaat a draaag it iiiis getting oooold.."!! Love that song!! I'm from the late 80s and my dad doesn''t listen to the Stones, so I'm so happy that this song was in Mafia 3!😍
As I recall, Mother's little helper was Valium (and Librium). These were widely prescribed for the stress of being an upper-middle class or middle class housewife who had to run the house, raise the kids, and meet the social "norms" of having a perfect family.
Back when "diet drugs" actually worked. Sure, Mom was up at 3 AM. And vacuuming the roof. But she fit into her bathing suit by the end of the month.
I was just watching World At War: France Falls and Gamelin thought it would take the panzers 9 days to go through the Ardennes. Took them 2. How? PERVITIN!
Even the German drugs were innovative
I love to site the most brilliant military genius of all time. General Hindsight. In Gamelins case, he should have listened to him. On 2 previous occasions, the Germans attacked through the ' impassable' Ardennes. LOL, the Battle of The Bulge made it 3 times. Fortunately, Patton not only knew history, he and probably Eisenhower as well, knew how to use it. The Bulge turned out to be a huge trap for the Germans. Patton and Ike saw opportunity in crisis.
By the time of the Battle of the Bulge no one thought the Ardennes was impassable. A major reason for the Allies being caught flatfooted initially was because an offensive though the Ardennes in 1945 was stupid to a suicidal degree. It was doomed to eventually fail, and with it annihilate armor that would have been better used in the East, shortening the war.
There was nothing logical about the Battle of the Bulge. Of course by that point Hilter had long been at the helm, and had plenty of prior examples of irrational decision making, so Germany going full Leroy Jenkins should have been anticipated.
Patton had also had little to do with U.S. victory in the Battle of Bulge. Like his equally egomaniacal counterpart in the British armed forces, Montgomery, Patton claimed more than his fair share of glory. The German offensive had fully unraveled earlier when the best formations assigned to the offensive, and also the main effort, were stopped cold and thoroughly mauled by the heavily outnumbered troops defending Elsenborn Ridge.
I had the opportunity of trying crystal meth once at Carnival, but I didn't, I'd should tho, this shit is rare asf here, at least no chance of getting addicted this way.
Ive seen only once. A friend of a friend offered me.
Its interesting how some drugs "dont exist" in some countries. I've never seen heroin nor ever heard of anyone who used here in Brazil, but I know it sucks and must be avoided.
@@pagodebregaeforro2803 Need to put on a black panzer uniform when you take it.
Benzedrine abuse became so common in the US that the slang term for using stimulants became "hopping bennies," at least according to a show I watched as a kid
Today doctors and parents give their kids adderall. Hopping Kiddies
@@travisadams4470 because adderall is a proven effective treatment for ADHD
@@skramzgod over prescribed and abused.
@@skramzgod Benzedrine is the exact same thing. Literrarly. I take adderall for ADHD. I'm in college and the amount of speed use is insane
@ellispiper6313 it's not the exact same thing and it's disingenuous to claim so. not all amphetamines have the same psych effect, there's a reason that ritalin fell out of use and there's a reason that benzedrine did too
Hi Indy
Spectacular video..
These special videos are great to watch..
Thanks.
Thank you!
lol that sponsor time is so minimalistic and lovely. I wish I could give, thanks to everyone who make this serie possible !
truc We appreciate your support by watching, liking, & sharing too!
I hate to sound naive...but this came as a surprise to me. I genuinely didn't know this! Thanx for the education!!
Thanks for watching, Stephen
Yes! We will learn about the Allied version of PERVITIN!
Fun fact: that introduction also encapsulates the feeling of organizing my Outlook inbox every morning on the same medication.
I have looked into the use of Benzedrine by pilots to increase their alertness on mission, because my father was a B 25 pilot with the 10th Air Force in Burma. He unfortunately experienced the side affects after one of his mission. At the young age of only 21 he suffered from constipation and had a mild stroke as a result. He was taken off flying status and returned to the US to serve out the War as a flying instructor. He became a Benzedrine user after the war and he experienced other continuing side affects of teeth grinding , mood swings, and alcoholism . He was difficult to be around because of his unpredictable moods. Later I understood it was his continuing addiction to the stimulus meds.
@John Gergen That's awful to hear, I hope you and he were ok. Thanks for sharing that with us still, to better understand the subject
"high above cologne" - very poetic starting line there
What an episode Indy and team your writing is evolving at an incredible pace 🔥🔥🔥
Thank you!
In 1975,during intense rioting in Londonderry, we were given a Benzedrine tablet as the situation really was desperate and the army needed to keep us on our feet, combatting the rioting.
This was the only time in my army service that I was given Benzedrine and the army were well aware of the downside of Benzedrine and arrangements had been made for the U.D.R to take over our duties for, I seem to remember, two days following the end of the intensive rioting while we literally slept the sleep of the dead.
Exhaustion was the soldier's constant companion in Northern Ireland in the 1970s anyway, along with car bombs, petrol bombs, death and injury, riots, small arms fire of all kinds throughout Londonderry and Belfast during my early service, not necessarily directed at us, but the sounds of small arms carries a long way and, as soldiers we could tell if it was rifle fire, pistol shots or shots fired from an S.M.G, or it's equivalent as they all sound different.
Vigilance and being on the ball, no matter how tired you were could make the difference between a patrol being attacked or not as army patrols were constantly watched, something we were aware off, and the terrorists often chose easier targets.
if this was your experience as a professional salaried soldier imagine the experience of the poor irish sods fighting for their freedom without an ounce of meth to their name against the empire that dystopia authors take inspiration from
Bennies, ah yes. My dad worked with a Royal Navy “Rating” that ran him ragged while Dad relied on USN coffee. He referred to the “Rating” as a lunatic. Wonder why?😑 Dad tossed a Bennie at an albatross who promptly spit it out. He told the “Rating” to be “like that Goonie!”
There's a scene in 'The Cruel Sea' (1953) where the captain (Jack Hawkins) asks the ship's doctor to give him something that will keep him awake while hunting a submarine. He's warned that 'these things aren't to be played with' and told that he'll feel like a spring lamb for 24 hours, then pass out for 12, then wake up with 'the most almighty hangover you've ever had'. He's just about to take it when the sub is found.
Naval officers kept using them post-war - as instant hangover cures!
I'm amazed you could find an article in the Nottingham Evening Post amongst all the adverts.
I've never heard of the allies using drugs like this. Fascinating stuff
Joe Thanks for watching
Fantastic video!
Though Cologne isn't in the Ruhr Area, but rather the Rhineland ;)
And while it can of course be mentioned separately, Essen is part of the Ruhr Area
Super interesting topic. Indy’s presentational style is awesome.
Thanks for watching!
outstanding content......best wishes
Thank you Paul!
Nothing like a handful of Ripped Fuel chased down by some boiling hot MRE coffee to help stay awake and keep warm on blistering cold nights of rooftop guard duty while deployed downrange in Iraq!!
I can fully relate.
I still have my Vietnam era issued “personal survival kit”. Full of all sorts of goodies. A knife, fishing gear, trip wire and of course a small bottle of “speed” as we called it. Not to be confused with “red dragon” which was issued by the medics. And for those reluctant to partake the scrambled eggs were so laced before known engagements. We fought our cold/hot war on communism, while at home they fought the “war on drugs”. Oxymoronic, that.
Fox out.
My two favourite topics in one show: World war 2 and drugs, lets go!
Now that i came to think about it, what drug did the USSR use? -- oh they used DNP, maybe you can make a video about that too?
Russians use Vodka! lol
Copious rations of vodka, probably...
And thus, the Beat Generation was born...
amazing fact, never heard that beforew on the allied isde. Thanks Indy and team!
Thanks for watching!
your presentation is amazing, thank you so much for providing us this amazing high quality content
Thanks @Skeetrix, glad to have you with us!
No wonder almost everyone that lived through the 1950s considered that the best decade.
Is Captain America’s super serum origin story really about benzedrine?
Blitzed is a great read
It is terrifying to think of if soldiers thoughts might get messed up about who and where the enemy is. Albeit seems like it wasn't for everyone and they knew this, so just like any other good I am sure they traded and dealt if they had something else they preferred.
I treat my ADHD with derivatives and can say it generally is most intense at first, but for me with major attention problems, it is a huge help, so glad that they had access to it.
It improves focus but really the only advantage comes from when fatigued, the euphoria I think might be more about that it isn't so hard to concentrate. It feels good to be normal if you are anything but, so in states of war like that, it had to really been beneficial.
What is scary though is those idiot axis that no doubt didn't rotate out their soldiers and to whom the burdens must have been tremendous.
As a collector of militaria, including survival kits, it was not a surprise to find a foil packed strip of 10 military issued methamphetamine tablets in a Viet Nam. era issued survival kit I bought at a militaria show. While it might have some collectible value, I had no interest in being accused of having illegal drugs, so I destroed them.
Elvis’s drug habit apparently started when he was in the US Army in Germany in the late 1950s and he took Amphetamines while on maneuvers.
4:50 A Stuka in a 85 degree dive pulling out at 100m altitude looks “reckless” & something amazing to happen day after day, but the Stuka has a sophisticated automatic dive recovery system that pulls the plane out of the dive at a set altitude. Stuka in a CAS role were used like artillery and their bomb runs could be only a 60 min round trip. Exhaustion in a Stuka pilot would more likely come from running 4 missions a day so while its possible they might take pervitin, the known hang-over wipe out from this drug makes it less likely as a daily drug.
you couldn't pay me to be stuka pilot. they were getting 'chewed up' in the 'Battle of Britain' & 'Barbarossa'. slow, unmanuverable, they were 'juicy targets' for allied fighters, even the soviet i-16 rata. although they did have some success in the 'Battle of Kursk' under hans erich rudel.
My dad was a pilot at the end of the Korean War, he flew the Vietnam War from beginning to end and was very much apart of the cold War and many wars that nobody had even heard of. I do remember dad and all the other pilots being issued a case of scotch a week. I guess that where the term liquid courage came from. My dad was a functioning drunk because they all flew those planes drunk. It was part of their culture up to the 80s.
Once my dad retired, he still had to drink scotch to function. He is 88 today and is down to two glasses of wine a day. My dad says he didn't even like scotch but it was military issue.
The most surprising thing to me was the last part about militaries all around the world issueing that stuff further after WW2.
The only pil we got during my conscript time >20 years ago was a vitamin c pill one time. And my platoon commander couldn't even answer my question, if the tablet was to be swallowed with water or chewed. (tasted quite citrus fruity that thing, and did not help in any way in staying awake.)
Great report, as always.
0:35 Some detain that tenth doctor and “encourage” him to come around to the cause.
The 10th is Joseph Mengele..
Interesting, my grandfather was a radio operator in the RAF in North africa, wonder if he had some to keep up on the campaign
Best episode in some time! Nice work, gents.
Thanks @Mark Pickens, glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you for another excellent and informative and fun video!
Thank you for watching, George!
Really interesting to see that both the western allies and the Germans were using amphetamines. I wonder is there any information on Soviet use of similar stimulants during the war?
DA KOMRADE! VOTKA!
sure. the soviets had stimulants. they were called 'commissars'.
Nazis on meth, and Soviets on vodka....now THAT'S a Party.
@@floydvaughn836
And the IJA has the sex slaves.
Today the big thing in the military is energy drinks, I think "bang" is the popular brand, but I stick to coffee so I'm not sure. There were a few years where they were making a product called "first strike ration," it was like a giant MRE and almost everything in it had caffeine. There was caffeinated chewing gum with a big label saying "this product has been tested and found safe," but with no further information.
A special Episode sounds like a special Military operation
If I recall correctly from history class, in Finland there was a huge problem with morphine post war. And for good meassures, some regular over the counter painkillers contained drugs. "Hotapulveri" is a classic example. During the 50's it contained a small dose of amphetamin
Hotapulveri was mix of salicylic acid, caffeine and colanut. Kolapähkinä in Finnish.
@@vksasdgaming9472 edited the comment. Clearly wasn't constructed correctly. Heroin was actually used though in some over the counter stuff since the 30's all the way trough the 40's
@@kante1e Didn't know Hota-pulveri had minute doses of amphetamine in it during it's era of existence. Heroin was children's cough syrup from Bayer AG originally.
As a neuropsychologist, I oppose the use of the word "abuse" to talk about drug behavior; it's stigmatizing and has no clear meaning. Use under the same circumstances (often subclinical depression or anxiety) may be called use or abuse depending on your wealth status/race.
By the way, then, when that person needs help, whether they are labeled as a "user" or an "abuser" of drugs will influence whether they get the prescriptions they need to continue living a normal life while slowly tapering off the drugs--and even get *more* prescriptions for controlled drugs such as Zanax (alprazolam) and Rivotril (clonazepam) to help with the abstinence syndrome, or whether they lose their job(s) or drop out of school while trying to quit "cold turkey", maybe getting those controlled drugs (not a prescription, through IV) if the symptoms are so unbearable that they go to the hospital.
Thanks for the input and your perspective!
Absolute rubbish, there is a clear division between use and abuse.
Your inability to wrap your mind around an academic definition of drug abuse, has no bearing on the practical reality of abuse.
Awesome content as always. Will you be doing any episodes in the future about other drug use during the war? In particular I'm curious about barbituates and alcohol
Soviets used Voroshilovs ration every soldier drank 100 grams of vodka each day when on the front. This alcohol intake ended by drinking anti freeze in tanks and some soldiers ended up blind with liver failure.
Worth noting too students still use study drugs to this day in high schools and colleges to keep up with the demands of education today particularly the over emphasis on standardized testing. As a veteran of the US Army I can confirm various substances are still used today in the military. When a soldier is experiencing chronic problems like i did with my back, their first instinct is throw some pain killers at it and send them immediately back to duty. Not to mention the disturbing numbers of energy drinks I saw soldiers consume on a daily basis.
Ian Fleming's James Bond took Bennies and alcohol several times. Amused at the implication this was a WW2 thing only. It still goes on in many armies. The drugs may have changed, but the intent and effect stays the same.
My Grandfather told me it took him 2 years to get off the Benzadrine he was regularly issued in Okinawa running supplies for the U.S. Navy.
In one of the James Bond novels written by Fleming, Bond takes some Benzedrine to stay up all night gambling.
Enjoyed your video and I gave it a Thumbs Up