A Brief History On August 18, 1612, the trials of the “Pendle Witches” began in England. 22 years later to the day, across the Channel in France, Urbain Grandier was convicted of sorcery and burned alive. Apparently the 18th of August is not a good day to be a witch in Europe, at least not back in the 17th century. Digging Deeper The 12 accused witches of Pendle Hill in Lancashire, England were suspected of having used witchcraft to murder 10 people. One of the accused died in prison, and of the 11 who went to trial (two men and nine…
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 August 17, 1943, the U.S. 8th Air Force, the main American unit of heavy bombers stationed in England, launched 376 B-17 bombers against Schweinfurt and Regensburg in Germany, a raid that came to symbolize the dangers of unescorted bombing. Digging Deeper The ambitious plan was to attack Regensburg with 146 and Schweinfurt with 230 B-17s. The bombers were only escorted part of the way because the British Spitfires and American P-47 Thunderbolt fighters lacked the ability to cover the range. The escorting Spitfires could only accompany the bombers as far Antwerp, and the Thunderbolts could barely reach the far…
A Brief History On August 16, 1944, the Nazis flew the prototype of the Ju-287 for the first time. Manufactured by the German aircraft company Junkers, it was a 4-engine, jet-powered bomber whose forward-swept wings made it radically different from any other airplane in existence at the time. Digging Deeper With a turbojet engine on each side of its nose, and another under each wing, the Ju-287 flew to speeds of almost 350 mph, which was fast but still not fast enough. Originally it was supposed to have been equipped with even more powerful jet engines, but developmental difficulties meant that Junkers had to go with what was available, the Jumo…
A Brief History On August 16, 1812, General William Hull of the U.S. Army surrendered Fort Detroit to an inferior English force. American forces numbered about 2,100, while the combined English and Native American forces only numbered just over 1,300. Hull was court-martialed, convicted and sentenced to death. Luckily President Madison gave him a reprieve. History is full of military blunders and dunderheads, and here we list 10 (in no particular order) of those unfortunate men who found themselves in a position to prove just what lousy tacticians they were. Digging Deeper 10. William Hull, U.S. Army. As described above, Hull…
A Brief History On August 14, 1880, work on the Cathedral of Cologne was finally finished after it had been started 600 years earlier! One of the most iconic landmarks in Germany, the cathedral survived World War II despite having been hit by at least 14 bombs in the many bombing raids on the city. Allied bomber crews even used it as a navigation point. Nonetheless, the product most often associated with Cologne is, of course, Eau de Cologne, a perfume. Many products are associated with the names of cities. Here 10 of them are listed, in no particular order. Digging…