Machinery & Gear | War History

US Army Signs Deal with General Dynamics Land Systems to Send M1A2 Abrams to Poland

M1A2 SEPv3 Abrams firing its main gun

The US Army has approved a deal with General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) to produce 250 M1A2 SEPv3 Abrams for use by the Polish Armed…

The MP 40 Was Widely Used By German Soldiers During World War II

Todd Neikirk
MP 40 being held up in front of another firearm

The early 20th century saw two major wars fought within only a few decades, and since most of the world’s powers were taking part, the…

The Douglas A-1 Skyraider: The Best Attack Plane Ever Made

Douglas A-1H Skyraider of the 602nd Special Operations Squadron over Vietnam, June 1970.

The Douglas A-1 Skyraider was not only an integral aircraft used following WWII, but it was also a deadly weapon capable of eviscerating the enemy…

Only 10 Crewmen Survived the Sinking of the Japanese Battleship Fusō – Out of 1,600

Fusō at sea

Prior to the First World War, Japan designed two dreadnought-style battleships. They were developed at a time when international players were engaged in a naval…

Scuttled Kriegsmarine Warships Have Risen from the Danube River Amid Severe Drought

View of the Danube + Scuttled ship sticking out of the water of the Danube

Amid a severe drought that’s plaguing Europe, a fleet of scuttled German warships dating back to the Second World War has risen from the declining…

The Still-Unsolved Mystery of the US Navy’s ‘Ghost Blimp’

L-8 hovering above a building

Today, blimps are a common sight at college football games. Goodyear has been advertising during big games for decades. However, back in the 1940s, blimps…

The Char B1 Tank’s Superiority Couldn’t Stop France’s Fall to Germany

Soldiers standing beside a wrecked Char B1

When the Second World War began, German leadership ordered the use of blitzkrieg tactics to quickly overwhelm their enemies. One of the key aspects of…

The Iron Maiden Device Has a Questionable (and Possibly Fake) History

Samantha Franco
Woman standing in an iron maiden device

The iron maiden device is an invention that fuels nightmares. Forced inside its coffin-like shape, victims were greeted with sharpened spikes that, once the doors…

Panamax: How the Panama Canal Has Impacted Naval Ship Design

Elisabeth Edwards
Ship passing through the Panama Canal + Aerial view of the Panama Canal

Roughly 14,000 ships pass through the Panama Canal annually, but more than half can barely squeeze through the over 100-year-old locks, which are only 110…

The M134 Minigun Was Designed for Helicopter Crews in the Vietnam War

Rosemary Giles
Door gunner manning an M134 Minigun from a Chinook helicopter

With an impressive legacy of roughly 60 years of service, the M134 Minigun was created in 1960 for use by the US military in Vietnam.…

Northrop F-89 Scorpions Once Carried Nuclear Weapons to Combat Soviet Bombers

Three Northrop F-89D Scorpions in flight

During the Cold War, the US Air Force was in need of a new interceptor aircraft to combat Soviet bombers. The Northrop F-89 Scorpion was…

Glock 19: One of America’s Most Popular Firearms

Todd Neikirk
US Air Force pararescueman aiming a Glock 19

While the “Glock” name has become iconic in the world of firearms, the brand only released its first pistol, the Glock 17, in 1982. The…