Browsing: May 29

A Brief History On May 29, 1945, the Consolidated B-32 Dominator, an American heavy bomber, made its first combat flight.  First flown in 1942 and on active duty in January of 1945, the B-32 was an alternative to the Boeing B-29 Superfortress in case the B-29 did not work. Digging Deeper A development based on the B-24 Liberator, the B-32 used the same engines as the B-29 and had retractable gun turrets bristling with 10 .50 caliber machine guns for defense.  Also proposed were rear facing 20 mm cannons in the engine nacelles.  The pressurized cabin never worked, a major…

A Brief History This article presents a chronological list of notable events that happened on May 29th.  For each date below, please click on the date to be taken to an article covering that date’s event. Digging Deeper On May 29, 1733, the colonial government of New France located in Quebec City reaffirmed the right of Canadians (meaning European Canadians, citizens of New France) to own and keep slaves. On May 29, 1935, the brainchild of Willy Messerschmitt, the Bf-109, made its first flight. On May 29, 1940, the F-4U Corsair made its first flight. On May 29, 1940, the…

A Brief History On May 29, 2023, Americans celebrate National Paperclip Day, possibly the single most useful implement ever devised.  (Just ask MacGyver!) Digging Deeper Patented by Samuel B. Fay in 1867, his intention for the bent metal clip was to attach paper tags to clothing or other fabric, although his patent does mention attaching paper to paper.  Many other inventors have patented variations on the bent wire paperclip theme. Almost incredibly useful for other applications, paper clips make dandy ammo fired by rubber bands, tools for unclogging small openings, emergency zipper pulls, latches for broken watch bands and necklaces,…

A Brief History On May 29, 1935, the brainchild of Willy Messerschmitt, the Bf-109, made its first flight. The most produced fighter of all time, the Germans built 33,984 of them, while Czechoslovakia and Spain also built a few hundred more until 1958. The main German fighter of the pre-war period and early in the war, it was to be superseded by the more modern and more heavily armed FW-190, but the ease of manufacture and maintenance kept the Bf-109 in production during the entire war. Constantly updated and refined, the aging airframe remained competitive with allied fighters throughout the…

A Brief History On May 29, 1733, the colonial government of New France located in Quebec City reaffirmed the right of Canadians (meaning European Canadians, citizens of New France) to own and keep slaves. Digging Deeper Slavery in Canada is a subject often ignored, especially when the topic of escaped slaves from the United States fleeing to Canada is discussed. (No mention of Canadian slavery ever came up when I went to school.) In fact, New France allowed the practice of slavery for 2 centuries, from 1632 to 1834. This area includes New France in what is now the independent…