Browsing: December 21

A Brief History This article presents a chronological list of notable events that happened on December 21st.  For each date below, please click on the date to be taken to an article covering that date’s event. Digging Deeper On December 21, 1898, the chemical element radium (Ra) was discovered by Pierre and Marie Curie who had isolated it from uranium. On December 21, 1936,  the Nazi German concept of a “schnellbomber” (fast bomber) that could outrun most fighter planes took to the air when the prototype Junkers Ju-88 made its first flight, achieving a remarkable (for the time) speed of 360…

A Brief History On December 21, 1988, the giant Soviet cargo jet, the Antonov An-225 Mriya, made its maiden flight.  Heavier than any airplane before or since, and with a wingspan longer than any production aircraft, the An-225 was intended to carry mass quantities of military cargo, outsized items, and to transport the Buran-class orbiter space vehicles. Digging Deeper Built as an enlargement of the already large An-124, only a single flying copy of the An-225 was ever completed.  A second airframe was started, but not finished. The dimensions of the An-225 were 84 meters long, an 88.4 meter wingspan,…

A Brief History On December 21, 1936, the German concept of a “schnellbomber” that could outrun most fighter planes took to the air when the prototype Junkers Ju-88 made its first flight, achieving a speed of 360 mph.  Today, we look at the major belligerents of WWII and their most produced 2 engine bomber, leaving you to tell us which one was best. Digging Deeper Germany, Junkers Ju-88: 15,183 were built with a 290 mph, top speed and  3100 lbs of bomb capacity internal, plus 3000 lbs of bombs external. Defense was provided by  5 x 7.92mm machine guns Britain,…

A Brief History On December 21, 1970, one of the great naval fighter jets made its debut flight when an F-14 Tomcat first took to the air.  The US Navy had been considering a long range fleet defense fighter since the 1950’s, and had considered the Air Force General Dynamics F-111 swing wing fighter/bomber as a candidate, but problems trying to adapt that airplane for aircraft carrier use mandated a different plan.  The results gave us one of the greatest fighter planes, land or sea, ever made. Digging Deeper Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation had a great history with the US…

A Brief History On December 21, 2018, at 5:23 pm (EST), the Northern half of the world will experience its annual Winter Solstice, so Happy Solstice Everybody!!!  This astronomical event marks the time each year when the Sun is at its lowest “excursion,” meaning the tilt of the Earth in relation to the Sun puts the direct rays of sunlight at the Tropic of Cancer, a line of latitude a little more than 23 degrees South of the Equator.  In the Southern Hemisphere, this event is their Summer Solstice. Digging Deeper The Winter Solstice marks the first day of Winter…