A Brief History On November 15, 1969, the Cold War in the icy waters of the Barents Sea became very real when the US submarine USS Gato collided with the Soviet submarine K-19. Lucky for both crews, neither sub sank and no lives were lost. Throughout history, ships have found ways to run into each other or other objects, sometimes on purpose, but usually by accident. Today we list 5 of these unfortunate occurrences. Digging Deeper 1. USS Gato vs. USSR K-19, 1969. While both ships were patrolling the arctic waters of the Barents Sea North of Scandinavia and Murmansk, the…
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A Brief History On November 3, 1911, one of the most iconic American companies was founded when Louis Chevrolet teamed up with former General Motors William Durant to form the Chevrolet Motor Car Company. Chevrolet went on to become the bedrock division of General Motors (GM) and has rivaled or even supplanted the Ford Motor Company as the most identifiably American car company. Digging Deeper Louis Chevrolet, the man who’s name the company has borne for over 100 years, was a Swiss race car driver, mechanic, and engineer that emigrated to Montreal, Canada, in 1900 at the age of 22. …
A Brief History On October 31, 1941, the United States Navy destroyer, USS Reuben James was sunk by a German U-boat with torpedoes, the first US Navy ship sunk in the European Theater of Operations during World War II, and over a month before the US was even in the war. Today we will tell you a little about the namesake of the fateful ship, and about 10 ships well known for having songs about them. (Apologies to “The Ballad of Gilligan’s Island” and the SS Minnow!) Digging Deeper 1. USS Reuben James. The ship also known as DD-245 was assigned…
A Brief History On October 26, 1943, what could have been a fantastic advantage in the German air war against Allied bombers in World War II first took to the air, with the first flight of the Dornier Do 335 Pfeil (Arrow). A two engine heavy fighter, the Pfeil was powered by propeller driving engines in the front and the back of the fuselage, a push-pull arrangement unlike any other World War II fighter plane. Alas, for the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) delays in obtaining sufficient engine production and clumsy German bureaucracy meant only 37 of the sleek and fast…
A Brief History On October 24, 1957, the US Air Force combined the proposals of three companies to develop a rocket powered spaceplane that was to perform multiple military roles, including bombing, reconnaissance, and research. Plans included a timeline of planning until 1963, first flights conducted as glide tests with powered test flights to follow in 1964. The plan was for an unmanned glide missile to be fielded in 1968 and a fully operational manned system by 1974. Digging Deeper Intended to be sent into space atop a rocket and return to Earth on a glide and land like an…