[kjellsbells]

Well, things were simpler back then, but for the ww2 manuals in particular, I wonder if it wasn't also that the manuals were written for rapid comprehension because it was quite likely that the reader was someone who just took things over in the field after the expert had been killed.

[somat]

You could make the argument that things were more complicated back then. They had a real need for well written comprehensive manuals. Nowadays I guess we don't because they don't appear to be made much any more.

See also schematics. I watch a lot, perhaps too much, of people repairing old electronic equipment. And they always seem able to whip out a set of schmatics to help them diagnose the problem. In some areas things get worse over time.