Browsing: Military

A Brief History On January 22, 1879, the British Army got a taste of colonial medicine when it suffered its worst defeat in its history against a native force armed mostly with archaic weapons.  The British numbered about 1800 soldiers counting colonial and native troops, and were accompanied by about 400 civilians.  A Zulu force of perhaps 20,000 warriors, armed mostly with indigenous weapons (spears, etc) and some obsolete firearms (muskets) attacked the British column that was invading Zululand, resulting in a resounding defeat of the British in the area of Isandlwana. (Note: There are various spellings of Isandlwana.) Digging…

A Brief History On January 20, 1972, Pakistan started a nuclear weapons development program in a bid to become the first Islamic country to possess a nuclear bomb.  Coming on the heels of embarrassing losses in the Liberation War for Bangladesh (aka East Pakistan), and then failure in the 1971 war with India, Pakistan vowed to have a nuclear weapon by 1976. Digging Deeper Although Pakistan missed their timeline goals, by 1998 Pakistan became the first Islamic majority country to possess a viable nuclear weapon, and the 7th country to officially possess nuclear weapons (after the US, UK, USSR, France,…

A Brief History On January 17, 1961, outgoing President Dwight David Eisenhower (better known as “Ike”) made his farewell address to the nation, a tradition of outgoing Presidents since George Washington left office. Digging Deeper Ike’s speech was unique in that he warned the public of the “Military Industrial Complex,” the big business of war. During the Eisenhower years, defense spending made up an enormous part of the US budget (roughly 75 to 55% of government spending!) compared to today (20-25% of government spending).  Ike also warned of deficit spending and massive government subsidy of science and technology industries, lest…

A Brief History On January 14, 1950, the MiG-17 Soviet jet fighter made its first flight, a plane that would go on to become the 3rd most produced jet fighter in aviation history.  (With 11,060 built, only the MiG-15 and MiG-21 outnumbered it.) Digging Deeper A single engine high subsonic fighter, the MiG-17 was known by its NATO designation Fresco.  It was basically an upgraded MiG-15, simple, rugged, reliable, and packing a punch of 2 X 23 mm cannons and 1 X 37 mm cannon, heavier armament than the 6 X .50 caliber machine guns typically found on early US…

A Brief History On December 29, 1939, the Consolidated B-24 Liberator heavy bomber made its first flight.  Although largely eclipsed by its fellow US heavy bomber, the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, in myth, literature, and cultural references, the fact is that the B-24 was more numerous (most produced heavy bomber in history, most produced US military airplane in history) and could fly farther and faster than the more famous B-17.  The B-24 also could carry more bombs than a B-17, and each plane had a normal crew of 10 men. Digging Deeper Powered by 4 Pratt and Whitney turbo-supercharged radial…