Wartime Bomb Shelters – Saving Lives From Bombing Raids
Bomb shelters were unnecessary until the 20th century when warfare evolved to aircraft, and falling bombs became a threat. A bomb shelter is not intended…
Things Nearly Went Nuclear When the Chinese Stole a Soviet Tank
In 1900, Russia signed the Treaty of Beijing which gave them Outer Manchuria and other Chinese lands. When both countries became communist, their nagging border…
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…
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 Vultee Vengeance – The Allied WWII Dive Bomber Developed To Rival The German Stuka
When people talk about aircraft used in WWII, most remember the German Stuka dive-bomber used to great effect very early in the war, but both…
Battlecruisers: A Flawed Naval Experiment of WWI
WWI was a time of change in naval warfare. Heavy dreadnoughts were replacing older, more vulnerable ships. Submarines made their first serious appearance in combat.…
When The Germans Desperately Needed To Counter The T-34, This Was Their Design
The Panther was not as thickly armoured, nor as heavily armed, as tanks such as the Tiger but was probably a much more balanced design.…
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…
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…
The Many Types Of Ships Used In The Napoleonic Wars
It is a common misconception that the Navies of the Napoleonic Wars used only massive ships, crewed by hundreds of men, which would slowly close and…
The Early Days Of Drones – Unmanned Aircraft From WWI & WWII
Unmanned aerial vehicles, popularly known as drones, are most often associated with airstrikes in modern warfare, but their history goes much further back than that.…
Reinhard Heydrich’s Mercedes – Found In A Garage, Carefully Restored, Then Sold at Auction
On June 26th, the Danish Auction Company, Campen Auctioneer, auctioned off what may very well be the car that Reinhard Heydrich owned and suffered fatal wounds…