A Brief History On July 30, 2003, in Puebla, Mexico of all places, the last of the “old style” (what we like to call “real”) Volkswagen Beetles came off the assembly line, ending the longest and most prolific manufacturing streak of any car platform ever made. Digging Deeper (Note: The Toyota Corolla has sold 40 million units under that name, but the car has definitely not been the same basic car for its lifespan, from 1966 to Present. It is the same in name only.) The Volkswagen Beetle was the brainchild of Ferdinand Porsche (yes, as in that Porsche) who…
Author: Major Dan
Major Dan
Major Daniel Zar is a retired veteran of the United States Marine Corps. He served during the Cold War and has traveled to many countries around the world. Prior to his military service, he graduated from Cleveland State University, having majored in sociology. Following his military service, he worked as a police officer eventually earning the rank of captain prior to his retirement.
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A Brief History On July 29, 1973, British race car driver Roger Williamson met his death when his Formula 1race car crashed at the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort Circuit in the Netherlands. The 25 year old 2 time British Formula 3 champion was trapped under his flipped car, not seriously hurt from the crash, but was burned to death as the car was engulfed in flames. We wrote about that crash in our July 29 article, “10 Famous Car Wrecks”. Today we look at another 5 famous/infamous car crashes that you may find interesting. Digging Deeper 1. Tiger Woods, November…
A Brief History On July 28, 1935, the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress made its initial flight. Called the Flying Fortress because of its unprecedented heavy armament of 12 (later13) .50 caliber machine guns, this mighty bomber would be eclipsed by other planes in future years. Here we list 10 of the Most Heavily Armed Warplanes, meaning armed with machine guns and cannons. (No significance to the order listed.) Obviously, World War II was the golden age of gun armament, with modern fighters using missiles as primary armament. Still, some modern planes have impressive guns nonetheless. Digging Deeper 1. Convair B-36 Peacemaker…
A Brief History On July 27, 1816, US gunboat #154 fired a cannon shot regarded as the deadliest single cannonball ever fired by the US Navy. The so-called Battle of Negro Fort touched off what became General Andrew Jackson’s conquest of Florida, and was the first big battle of the First Seminole War. Digging Deeper During the War of 1812, the British had garrisoned a fort at Prospect Bluffs on the Apalachicola River of what was then Spanish Florida. With British Marines (1000 total British fighters) and several hundred Africans (free men and runaway slaves) the British had recruited as…
A Brief History On July 26, 1861, President Abraham Lincoln appointed Major General George McClellan as Commanding General of the Army of the Potomac, answering to the elderly General Winfield Scott. (See out article about The 4 Commanding Generals of the Union Army in the Civil War on July 23.) Today, we again address the bloodiest war in US history, and tell you about 10 things you may not know about this horrible period in American History. Digging Deeper 1. Was Abraham Lincoln a racist? Not only did Lincoln publicly state that he had no intention of trying to eliminate…