Browsing: Military

A Brief History On March 16, 1945, less than a month before Allied armies captured the city, British Lancaster bombers dropped 1207 tons of high explosive and incendiary bombs on the German city of Würzburg, killing 5000 people and destroying about 90% of the buildings, including many historic Medieval structures. Digging Deeper Despite the city being home to 40 hospitals and lacking war industries or military targets, the British bombing commanders decided to bomb the city for its strategic importance as a road and rail hub, and to destroy the morale of the German people. Despite its name, the German…

A Brief History On March 14, 1945, a British Lancaster heavy bomber dropped a bomb known as the “Grand Slam,” a 22,000 lb behemoth that was the largest and most powerful bomb ever used up to that time. For years, only a nuclear bomb would be more powerful. Digging Deeper British weapons designer extraordinaire, Barnes Wallis, designed numerous ingenious weapons, including the “Tall Boy” bomb, a 12,000 pound monster “earthquake” bomb that was used to attack hardened targets such a submarine pens and the German battleship Tirpitz (which was finally sunk with Tall Boys). Wallis also designed the “bouncing bomb”…

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…

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 9, 1831, King Louis Phillipe of France established the French Foreign Legion, a fighting force for France that has gone on to win fame and admiration for their fierceness, esprit d’ corps, bravery and honor. Digging Deeper Formed from the remains of foreign regiments fighting for France (German and Swiss), the Legion was formed in response to the need for reinforcements in the French battles to pacify the colony of Algeria.  Expressly formed for fighting outside of continental France only, the Foreign Legion is officered exclusively by French officers and though most of the recruits…