Browsing: August 23

A Brief History On August 23, 2007, the bodies of the remaining Romanov family members were found near Yekaterinburg, Russia, the remains being mere skeletons. Still, the discovery of the remains of Czarevich Alexei Nikolaevich Romanov and his sister, Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanov put an end to any realistic claims that either of these 2 children of the last Czar of Russia, Nicholas (Nikolai) II of the Romanov dynasty would be alive or have had children, thus producing possible heirs to the throne of Imperial Russia. For nearly a century people have claimed to be Alexei or Anastasia, or…

A Brief History On August 23, 1904, Harry Weed of Canastota, New York patented the automobile tire chain.  In those days before snow tires and before Four Wheel and All Wheel Drive, tire chains undoubtedly saved many a would be stranded motorist.  Here we list 10 Nifty Automotive Inventions, some of those great things that might not be of great necessity, but that make our motoring lives easier and even more fun. Digging Deeper 1. Tire Chains, 1904. As stated above, this invention is not only helpful, but in some circumstances an absolute necessity, especially in the mountains.  Tire chains are…

A Brief History We previously told you about the AC-130 Spectre, the highest evolution of the cargo plane converted to gunship, in use from Viet Nam through today.  Here we look at ground attack aircraft throughout history and list what may be 10 of the greatest examples of that type of airplane.  The order listed is roughly our idea of “best,” although that is quite subjective and open for debate.  Please feel free to make the case for your favorite ground attack plane and the order you would list these fearsome aircraft. (Honorable mention to the Hawker Siddley, later McDonnel-Douglas, AV-8…

A Brief History On August 23, 1954, a harmless looking cargo aircraft made its first flight when the C-130 had become airborne.  It would go on to become perhaps the greatest cargo plane in history, still in production over 50 years later!  Despite its fantastic versatility as a troop and cargo transport, airborne laboratory, electronic warfare, weather reconnaissance plane, aerial tanker, fire fighter, search and rescue, paradrops, sensor drops, Special Forces support, and bomber that drops the largest bomb in the US Air Force (the MOAB, Massive Ordnance Air Blast, or colloquially, “Mother of  All Bombs” due to its giant…

A Brief History On August 23, 1942, the Battle of Stalingrad commenced during World War II.  The German 6th Army was destroyed, and the decisive Soviet victory marked the beginning of the decline of the Axis forces on the Eastern Front.  Many historians therefore consider the Battle of Stalingrad to have been the turning point of the European theater of World War II. Digging Deeper There were many important battles during World War II; some only had a few thousand casualties, whereas others had over one million casualties. With a total of 22 to 25 million military deaths, including deaths in captivity of about 5 million prisoners of war, World War…