Browsing: May 15

A Brief History On May 15, 1970, President Richard Nixon appointed Anna Mae Hays a brigadier general in the US Army, the first female general in American military history. Anna earned a nursing degree and then joined the Army as a nurse in 1942. Digging Deeper A veteran of World War II (stationed in India) and the Korean War, Hays stayed in the Army and earned her masters degree. Chief of the Army Nurse Corps since 1967, after her promotion she stayed in that same position the remainder of her career. Obviously an exceptional officer, Hays was twice awarded the…

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A Brief History On May 15, 1718, Englishman James Puckle patented his machine gun, the world’s first! You may have thought the Gatling gun or the Maxim machine gun was the first machine gun, but depending on how you define “machine gun” James Puckle, Esq. (yes, he was a lawyer) got there first. Digging Deeper Puckle’s invention was a flintlock, the form of firearm ignition at the top of technology of the time. It consisted of a single barrel and a cylinder pre-loaded with 11 separate firing chambers of a musket ball and powder charge in each.  Puckle intended regular…

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A Brief History On May 15, 1718, James Puckle of England patented the first machine gun.  This English lawyer reflected his times by designating that the ammunition for his flintlock fired 11 shot machine gun to be loaded with normal musket balls for use against Christians and with fiendish cubical bullets for use against Muslims! Digging Deeper Here we list 10 of the greatest machine guns throughout history, with consideration of innovation, historical impact, effectiveness, longevity, reliability and perhaps even “coolness” as criteria.  With so many different makes and models to choose from, many of which are worthy competitors, you…

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