VC: Despite Being Shot And With His Plane On Fire, This Pilot Refused To Bail Out Without Taking Down A German Fighter
On a bright sunny morning in August 1940, No. 249 Squadron, Royal Air Force, was patrolling near Southampton, in southern England. There was hardly any…
A Selection Of Armor Related Books To Consider – Review by Mark Barnes
Every so often I am presented with books I can enthuse about but not to any great length and my masters in the WHO version…
Leonardo’s War Machines – The Italian Genius May Have Deliberately Sabotaged His Own Designs
Born in the Tuscan town of Vinci on the 15th of April, 1452, Leonardo Da Vinci is perhaps best known as the painter of the…
The Man Who Helped Create The US Navy, And Brought About A New Class Of Warship
Looking back through history it is rare to find a single person who was responsible for a major shift in thought. It is rarer to…
The Supermarine Spitfire: From WWII’s Greatest Battles All the Way to the Silver Screen
All of the greatest man-made inventions have stood the test of time. They remain living testaments to the evolutionary process and creative innovation of some…
Two Amazing Stories From USCGC Escanaba – Heroism And Heartbreak In The North Atlantic, 1943
The Rescue of the Dorchester USCGC Escanaba was steaming along calmly on February 2, 1943. She was part of a six-ship convoy; three escorts, and…
Surviving A Kamikaze Attack: A Story From USS Callaway During The War In The Pacific
January 7, 1945. USS Callaway (APA-35) was steaming towards Lingayen Gulf, in the Philippines, as one ship in a massive invasion fleet. Onboard she had…
The Ambitious Scotsman Who Used A Tiny, War-Scarred Brig To Capture A Huge 32-Gun Frigate
On March 28th, 1800, a Scottish aristocrat took command of the small Brig-Sloop HMS Speedy, based at Port Mahon. The Scotsman, Thomas Cochrane, was an…
The Fateful Last Mission Of Jack Rittichier, Coast Guard Rescue Pilot In Vietnam
The United States Coast Guard is world-renowned for its excellence in helicopter rescue operations. Few people realize how effective this was used during the Vietnam…
The Dawn of the Submarine: U-21 sinks HMS Pathfinder
In 1914 submarines were still a novel idea. Many nations had not utilized them until 1900, Germany not until 1906. Soon their worth would be…
WWII Jeep in a Crate for $50 – fact or a tall story
A young man reading one of the magazines like Boy’s Life or Popular Science in the 40s or 50s might have come across an exciting…
Fascinating Facts About One of America’s Most Successful WWI Fighter Ace, Edward Rickenbacker
The United States Air Force and Army have seen many skilled, brave, and incredible pilots – men and women willing to fly straight into battle,…