A Brief History On April 25, 1960, the nuclear powered US Navy submarine, Triton, completed the first circumnavigation of the Earth while underwater. With about 71% of the Earth’s surface covered by water, people have been finding ways to travel above and below the water’s surface forever, and today we look at a few of the subsurface accomplishments. Digging Deeper In 1864, the Confederate submarine, H.L Hunley, became the first sub to sink a surface ship, although the Hunley was also lost in the attack. In 1958, USS Nautilus became the first submarine to sail under the North Pole. Nautilus…
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A Brief History On April 24, 2013, the Rana Plaza, an eight story multi-use commercial building in Bangladesh, collapsed and killed over 1,100 of the people inside, as well as injuring another 2,500. Apparently, the top four floors were added without proper support, leading to heavy garment equipment causing the collapse. Digging Deeper Sadly, many times buildings have collapsed with tragic consequences, and here we list two of the worst tragedies. In 27, AD a wooden amphitheater in Fidenae on the outskirts of Rome collapsed during a gladiatorial contest, killing a reported 20,000 spectators, although that number may be a…
A Brief History On April 23, 2018, Canada suffered its worst vehicular attack when a frustrated 25 year old man rammed a rented van into a group of pedestrians, killing 11 people, of which 9 were women. The attack occurred in the North York City Centre area of Toronto and injured an additional 15 people. Digging Deeper The perpetrator was arrested despite his efforts to have the police kill him, and an investigation concluded that he was sexually frustrated by being socially rejected by women, what is colloquially referred to as being an “incel,” or involuntary celibate. The unrepentant misogynist…
A Brief History On April 22, 1944, an Allied “sledge patrol” attacked a German Bassgeiger weather station in Greenland, as part of the ongoing and important, although often overlooked, North Atlantic Weather War during World War II. Digging Deeper The battles and weapons of World War II get most of the popular attention, but another highly important part of waging war is accurate weather prediction. Many operations are dependent on compliant weather, such as air operations including bombing and paratroop drops, naval movements, and even land battles. Amphibious operations such as the D-Day landings at Normandy in 1944 were dependent…
A Brief History On April 21, 2021, the Indonesian Navy suffered a tragic “Oops moment” when their German built submarine, KRI Nanggala, sank with all 53 people aboard during a torpedo firing test in the Bali Sea. Digging Deeper About 195 feet long and 20 feet wide, the Nanggala was a diesel/electric type of sub, capable of 11 knots on the surface and 25 knots submerged. Commissioned in 1981, the sub carried a punch of eight torpedo tubes in the bow with 14 torpedoes aboard. Submarines are of course designed to intentionally sink, although they are supposed to then resurface…
