A Brief History On March 13, 1997, the skies over Arizona from the Nevada state line through Phoenix and on to Tuscon, a 300 mile stretch, were lit by a series of lights that fascinated and baffled thousands of witnesses that observed them, including Governor Fife Symington of Arizona. Digging Deeper Believed by many to be some sort of UFO or alien related event, the phenomena consisted of 2 major manifestations, the first being a triangular series of lights moving across the night sky, and the second being stationary lights over Phoenix. The first group of moving lights, arrayed in…
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A Brief History On March 11, 1916, the United States Navy commissioned its first “Super-Dreadnaught” modern battleship, the USS Nevada BB-36. Named after the State of Nevada, the USS Nevada was the first of a 2 ship class, the other ship being the USS Oklahoma BB-37. Digging Deeper By 1911, the navies of the world had progressed past the “Dreadnaught” state of battleship construction (1906) to the “Super-Dreadnaught” evolutionary stage with the advent of the British Orion class battleships. The US immediately countered with the New York class battleship, with 14 inch main guns to match those of Japan and…
A Brief History On March 10, 1978, the Dassault Mirage 2000 fighter bomber made its first flight. This lightweight, multi-role, single engine jet fighter would go on to serve as the backbone of the French Air Force fighters and also with 8 other countries. Digging Deeper Produced from 1978 to 2007, just over 600 of these jets were built at a cost of about $23 million each. The Mirage 2000 is an evolutionary heir to the Mirage III, and the basis for development of the larger, heavier, twin engine Mirage 4000. The Mirage 2000 is more or less the French…
A Brief History On March 5, 1936, the fighter airplane that has been called the most beautiful plane of all time made its first flight. The Supermarine Spitfire British single engine single seat fighter would go on to be refined in time for World War II where constant updates allowed it to reign supreme, as quite possibly the finest fighter plane of World War II. Digging Deeper Introduced into active service in 1938, Spitfires served until 1961 with the Irish Air Corps, after having served not only the British RAF, but also 35 other air forces, including the United States…
A Brief History On February 23, 2008, a US Air Force B-2 “Spirit” bomber crashed while attempting a take-off on the runway at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam. The stealth jet bomber was totally destroyed, but the 2 man crew safely ejected. The B-2 bomber is far and away the most expensive airplane ever built, costing somewhere between $1 billion and $2.1 billion apiece, depending on how you account for the price per aircraft. Digging Deeper The most modern bomber in the world, and the only large “stealth” aircraft, the Northrup Grumman B-2 is not all that new, having…