A Brief History On February 7, 1981, a Soviet airliner carrying 6 crewmen and 44 passengers crashed immediately after takeoff from Pushkin Airport near Leningrad, killing all 50 people aboard the jetliner. Among the passengers killed, were 16 senior Soviet officers, Admirals and Generals of the Soviet Pacific Fleet, effectively decapitating one of the most powerful military units in the world. As we have repeatedly in the past, we take another look at what we call a “Naval Oops Moment.” Digging Deeper Unlike other naval disasters we have reported on, this incident did not entail ships or even the ocean,…
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A Brief History On July 12, 1776, famous explorer English Captain James Cook set sail from Plymouth on what was to be his final voyage. The premier English explorer of the Pacific, Cook had taken voyages from 1768-1771 and 1772-1775, greatly expanding British knowledge of the Pacific, its islands, aits people. Cook’s third voyage would take the route around Africa to the Indian Ocean and on to the Pacific. Digging Deeper Captain Cook was given the task of returning a young man named Omai (Mai in his native language) to his homeland of the island of Raiatea, one of the…
A Brief History On June 14, 1900, the United States expanded by officially adding the territory of Hawaii to its growing empire. The Pacific region became an American area of interest during the Spanish-American War in 1898, with the US adding the islands of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines to its territory. Today we take a look at some places we would like to see become American someday, just as Hawaii (which I have visited and believe is truly paradise) was added over a century ago. What country or territory would you add to this list? (OK, Donald Trump,…
A Brief History On December 14, 1909, the last paving brick was laid at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indiana, giving the venue its iconic nickname, The Brickyard. Previously, the racing surface was a miserable concoction of limestone, gravel, tar and oil, a surface that ate the tires of cars and motorcycles for lunch! Road surfaces and the motor vehicles that drive on them have improved immeasurably in the years since 1909, and today we take a look at some of the automotive gadgets and features we believe best illustrates those advances. As always, feel free to nominate those automotive…
A Brief History On October 5, 1930, British Airship R101 crashed in France, killing 48 of the 54 people on board the giant airship. At the time, the R101 was the largest airship ever, and was not matched or exceeded until the ill-fated Hindenburg was launched 7 years later. Like the RMS Titanic before her, the R101 was not only the biggest of its kind, it also went down on its maiden flight! Filled with highly flammable Hydrogen gas, both the R101 and the Hindenburg were basically disasters waiting to happen. (See some of our other articles about aircraft and…
