A Brief History On February 25, 1933, the USS Ranger was launched at Newport News, Virginia, as the first American aircraft carrier built for the purpose of carrying aircraft. Smaller than later aircraft carrier types, Ranger nonetheless operated effectively throughout World War II, providing important naval air power, mostly in the Atlantic. Digging Deeper The fourth US ship designated as an aircraft carrier, Ranger followed ships converted from a collier and the unfinished hulls of two battlecruisers. Lexington and Saratoga were more than 100 feet longer than Ranger, and Langley much smaller. Ranger was impressive for its day, 769 feet…
Browsing: February
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A Brief History On February 24, 2022, Russia declared the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk to be “independent states” and commenced an invasion of Ukraine with the aim of taking over the country in a matter of days. The invasion did not go as planned, and two years later the war continues, a major catastrophe for Russia’s military and economy. Digging Deeper Russia, in its various incarnations, has been no stranger to botched and ill-considered military adventures, and today we look at a two of those. The Russo-Japanese War of 1904 to 1905 was an effort by Russia to…
A Brief History On February 23, 1945, with World War II in Europe rapidly approaching its end, the RAF targeted the German town of Pforzheim in a massive bombing raid that killed almost a third of the residents and destroyed 83% of its buildings, including virtually its entire city center. The reason for leveling this German city? The jewelry and watch making industry located there! Digging Deeper The RAF sent 367 Avro Lancaster heavy bombers and 13 Mosquito medium bombers to lead the way, dropping the usual mix of high explosive and incendiary bombs to blow up and burn the…
A Brief History On February 22, 1974, US Army veteran Samuel Byck failed miserably in his attempt to assassinate President Richard Nixon, when he was unable to successfully hijack a DC-9 jetliner in order to crash it into the White House. Digging Deeper Byck first stole a .22 caliber pistol and used it to hijack a jet at the BWI airport, shooting a police officer and both pilots in the process. Eventually, Byck was wounded by a police officer shooting through a window in the jet, and Byck then shot himself. Another notable bungled presidential assassination was the first ever…
A Brief History On February 21, 1848, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels published The Communist Manifesto, a book that has become the antithesis of capitalists everywhere and to many, synonymous with all that is wrong with the communist sympathizers of the world. Digging Deeper Another book that has achieved a distinct level of distaste among a large part of humanity is Mein Kampf, the fascist manifesto by Adolf Hitler that inspired the catastrophe of World War II and the Holocaust, and continues to inspire haters even today. Obviously, people of certain religions detest the holy books of competing religions, such…
