A Brief History On April 4, 1984, President Ronald Reagan made a public plea to the world to ban chemical weapons. Already outlawed by previous treaties, the widespread use of various chemical weapons in World War I was the peak of chemical warfare, but these terrible weapons have not totally disappeared. Today, we list 10 Fiendish, Horrible, Evil Weapons We’re Not Supposed to Use, either by International agreement or our own decision. At times even crossbows were banned for use against “Christians,” as were square projectiles. Digging Deeper 10. Poison Gas. Not to be confused with your baby nephew and…
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A Brief History On previous March 29ths we featured articles about the Colt 1911 pistol, the Pistol vs. Revolver debate, and the Top 10 Must Have Calibers for the “Apocalypse.” This time, we will discuss what gun we would like to have if we could only have 1 firearm, whether for general purpose use in peacetime or during a disaster or apocalyptic event. Price, utility, price and availability of ammo, and ease of use are all factors. The list reflects the order in which we think that gun is the most valuable general purpose firearm to have, with “1” being…
A Brief History On March 27, 1999, Lieutenant Colonel Dale Zelko of the US Air Force became the first pilot of a stealth fighter or bomber ever shot down, in fact, the only time a warplane with stealth capabilities has been shot down. Digging Deeper While flying a Lockheed F-117A Nighthawk on a bombing mission over Yugolslavia, Zelko had the misfortune of having his supposedly undetectable light bomber detected by supposedly obsolete radar systems and shot down when the Yugoslav air defense crews fired a battery of anti-aircraft missiles (probably about 5) at his plane, one of which exploded near…
A Brief History On March 19, 1965, a diver and soon to become underwater archaeologist discovered the wreck of the SS Georgiana, a Confederate States of America cruiser sunk in Charleston Harbor in 1863. Built in Scotland, the Georgiana was on her maiden voyage to Charleston when she encountered Union blockade vessels and was heavily damaged. The cruiser was scuttled to avoid capture, her cargo worth about $50 million, including 350 pounds of gold. Digging Deeper Perhaps the most powerful cruiser in the Confederate Navy, the actual purpose of the Georgiana is unknown. The 205 foot long, 25 foot wide…
A Brief History On March 17, 1970, the US Army charged 14 officers with suppressing information about the My Lai Massacre that took place in South Vietnam in 1968, a horrible atrocity in which between 347 and 504 Vietnamese civilians, including women, children and babies, were slaughtered by C Company, 1st Bn 20th Regt of the 11th Brigade of the 23rd Infantry Division of the US Army. Allegations included gang rape, shooting women with babies, bayoneting and clubbing people, using grenades and burning occupied dwellings. Digging Deeper Probably the best known and worst atrocity committed by US military troops during…