Machinery & Gear | War History

What Did WWII Combatants Think Of Each Other’s Aircraft?

Supermarine Spitfire Mark IIA, P7895 'RN-N', of No 72 Squadron, Royal Air Force based at Acklington, Northumberland, in flight over the coast, piloted by Flight Lieutenant R Deacon Elliot. April 1941

WWII saw the global pace of aircraft development rapidly increase, starting with simple lightweight piston engine airframes and culminating in jet-powered aircraft. Today, the debates…

Canadian Rangers Were the Last Western Military Unit to Equip the Lee-Enfield

The Canadian Armed Forces has a branch dedicated to the surveillance and protection of isolated areas of the north and along the coast. These specialized…

Ilyushin Il-2: The T-34 Of The Skies

By the end of WW2, the Soviet Union had mastered the art of mass-production, producing 80,000 T-34s, the second most produced tank ever, and 42,000…

Kugelpanzer: What Was the Purpose of This German Armored Vehicle?

Side view of a Kugelpanzer

The Germans developed an array of combat vehicles over the course of the Second World War. The majority have accompanying documentation that allow historians to…

US Navy Conducts Explosive Test On Newest Aircraft Carrier

USS Gerald R. Ford Shock trials

The U.S. Navy is preparing its newest and most expensive aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), for battle. It recently completed a…

1940s LVT Buffalo Dug Up In Remarkable Condition In The UK

Daniel Abbott poses by a 26-foot-long Buffalo tank which has been extracted from the earth in Crowland, Lincolnshire, where it has been buried for 74 years since it was brought into the village to help during heavy floods in March 1947

A WWII armored vehicle has been uncovered near Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, after spending 74 years buried underground. The vehicle is a WWII LVT-4 Buffalo, also known…

Project Habakkuk: The British Once Tried to Construct an Aircraft Carrier Out of Ice

AI rendering of an aircraft carrier made of ice

The Battle of the Atlantic was the longest-running campaign of World War II. The Kriegsmarine had seized control of the mid-Atlantic, using U-boats to sink…

Lewis and Clark Air Rifle: A Blast From the Past

Painting of the Lewis and Clark Expedition

When one thinks of guns and colonizing the West, violence is often the notion that comes to mind. However, the secret weapon of the Lewis…

British Army Green-Lights £800m Contract For Challenger 3 MBTs

A challenger tank in the field.

An £800 million contract has been signed that will see the delivery of 148 new Challenger 3 main battle tanks (MBTs). These new vehicles are…

Bell P-39 Airacobra: World War II’s Most Controversial Low-Altitude Fighter

Two Bell P-39 Airacobras in flight

A substantial portion of combat during World War II occurred in the skies as countries developed their aerospace technology. That included the United States, which…

Avro Arrow: The Groundbreaking Jet Interceptor Canada Will Never Forget

Illustration of two Avro Arrows in flight

The Avro Arrow is the subject of a frustrating and tragic story about a world-class aircraft that was simply too ambitious for the nation that…

These Large Military Aircraft Make Us Wonder How They Ever Got Off the Ground

MD-160 on a beach + Convair B-36 Peacemaker in flight

As with every list about extreme machinery, equipment designed for the military typically ranks high in comparison to its civilian counterparts, which often have far…