Author: Major Dan

A Brief History On September 4, 1944, the British 11th Armoured Division, part of the larger armies on the European continent commanded by Field Marshall Bernard Law Montgomery, liberated the Belgian city of Antwerp, one more city liberated of the German oppressors by the victorious Allies, many of whom were ably led by the dashing Monty.  Meanwhile, in the Pacific Theater of Operations, the Allied effort against Japan was split between Fleet Admiral Nimitz and General of the Army Douglas MacArthur.  MacArthur had been humiliated by being ousted from the Philippines in early 1942, but was well on the way…

A Brief History On August 30, 2020, we finally got to see the Vin Diesel super hero action movie, Bloodshot, an eye candy extravaganza that came out on March 13, 2020, just in time to be destroyed by the coronavirus pandemic!  The movie is much better than its disappointing box office numbers ($37.3 million on a $45 million budget) would indicate, the disaster being attributable to the pandemic and its closing of movie theaters, not to mention the reluctance of movie goers (like us!) to be in crowded places at that time. Digging Deeper Directed by David Wilson and starring…

A Brief History On September 2, 1807, the British Royal Navy and Army bombarded the port city of Copenhagen, Denmark, using fire bombs and phosphorus incendiary rockets in order to prevent neutral Denmark from deciding to align with Napoleonic France and turn over the use of its war fleet to the French and their allies.  This preemptive attack against a neutral country not at war with Britain is not an isolated event, but a calculated preemptive attack Britain has demonstrated the willingness to engage in over the course of history. Digging Deeper Emperor of the French, Napoleon I, had taken…

A Brief History On August 31, 1965, fans of super-different airplanes could add another oddity to their list when the Aero Spacelines Super Guppy made its first flight.  A bulbous looking whale of an airplane, the Super Guppy was the successor to the Pregnant Guppy, an equally goofy looking giant cargo plane.  Today we take a look at some of these quite real and intended for practical use airplanes, not jokes or intentionally comical, but serious aircraft built with a serious purpose.  Some of these airplanes were experimental, others saw active service.  As always, give us your nominations of planes…

A Brief History On August 28, 1964, the City of Philadelphia erupted into a race riot when the predominantly African American neighborhoods of North Philadelphia in the Columbia Avenue area broke out into a full blown riot between the police and African American residents that had long complained of police brutality.  The riot, which resulted in 341 injuries and nearly 800 arrests, had been preceded by a concerted effort by the City of Philadelphia and its police department to repair and reinforce rapport between the police and Black residents.  Apparently, those efforts came up short! Digging Deeper As the United…