Browsing: Vehicles

A Brief History On July 21, 1904, Frenchman Louis Rigolly became the first person to speed past the 100 mph “barrier” when he accomplished the feat in his Gobron-Brillie race car at Ostende in Belgium. Digging Deeper Although the car would seem clunky and slow by our standards, the 13.5 liter beast of an engine (over-bored to 15 liters!) had 2 pistons per cylinder, each opposing each other from opposite directions.  The engine probably produced a mere 25-50 horsepower (hp) despite its size.  (I could not find the exact horsepower rating, but earlier engines had less than 25-50 hp and…

A Brief History On July 18, 1942, German aeronautical engineers reached a milestone in aviation history when the twin jet powered Messerschmitt Me 262 made its first flight under jet power.  Initial flights of the soon to be first successful jet warplane had been made with a regular propeller driving engine mounted on the nose of the prototype in order to test the airframe. Digging Deeper The Me 262 Swallow (“Schwalbe” in German) would become operational in April of 1944, much to the chagrin of Allied pilots.  The Me 262 boasted a top speed of 559 mph, more than 100…

A Brief History On June 30, 1953, the first Chevrolet Corvette rolled off the assembly line and ever since speed demons, preppies, spoiled rich kids, and every American male with insecurity has wanted one.  Last year on June 30 we ran a list of the 10 Most Iconic American Cars which covered our entire history of building the automobile, but this time we list those made today that we (okay, that I) think you would most like to have.  (Practicality may or may not have anything to do with it.) Digging Deeper 10. Jeep Wrangler.  Starting with the World War…

A Brief History On June 21, 1944, the US Navy was basking in the glow of an enormous victory over the Japanese Imperial Navy in the Battle of the Philippine Sea.  Yesterday we told you about this battle (The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot) in which we suggested the US aircraft were superior to the Japanese aircraft at this time.  US aircraft developed during the war much faster than did those of Japan, changing the qualitative edge from Japan to the US.  Meanwhile, the Royal Navy was also developing improved models of their own naval aviation planes, though they had used “string…

A Brief History On May 29, 1940, the F4U Corsair made its first flight, an event that spurred us to offer a list of the “10 Greatest Fighter Planes” on May 29, 2014.  This year we counter that with listing 10 of the most under-appreciated, under-rated fighter planes of all time, planes that served well but did not get much press or credit for their contribution, or are often mentioned with caveats about being obsolete or with some deficiency or another.  Here we attempt to list the best of that lot. Digging Deeper 10. Mikoyan and Gurevich MiG-17.  A follow…