Browsing: Military

A Brief History On January 7, 1960, the United States first successfully test launched the Polaris Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile (SLBM) from their launching facility in Cape Canaveral, Florida.  The Polaris would be the first missile deployed in the world that could be launched from a submerged submarine and carry a nuclear warhead, changing the game of nuclear brinkmanship forever. Digging Deeper In July of 1960 the first successful launch of a Polaris missile from a submerged USS Washington missile submarine led to the arming of 41 US submarines with 16 Polaris missiles each, with each missile carrying a single…

A Brief History On December 29, 1860, the first British oceangoing ironclad warship, the HMS Warrior, was launched, but she was not the first such ship in World History. Digging Deeper Contrary to popular misconception that the US Navy USS Monitor and the Confederate States Navy CS Virginia (rebuilt from the Union wooden ship, USS Merrimac) were the first ironclad warships, iron armored floating batteries had already seen combat during the Crimean War, and the French ship, the Gloire, in service since 1859 was the world’s first ocean going warship.  In fact, the Monitor and Virginia were actually designed for…

A Brief History On December 27, 1922, the Imperial Japanese Navy commissioned the first aircraft carrier in the world that was designed and built as an aircraft carrier, the Hōshō. Digging Deeper Prior to the Hōshō, some ships such as the USS Langley CV-1 were converted (in 1920) to aircraft carriers from other warships or merchant ships.  The Royal Navy (British) Ark Royal is probably the first of what we would recognize as a more or less modern carrier, commissioned as a carrier in 1914 after being converted from a freighter that was in the process of being built in…

A Brief History On December 25, 1868, much maligned and embattled President of the United States Andrew Johnson issued a blanket pardon for all Confederate veterans of the US Civil War. Digging Deeper A Southerner himself, Johnson had been born in North Carolina and lived in Tennessee where he served as Governor and US Senator before becoming Abraham Lincoln’s vice-president in the 1864 election.  When Lincoln was killed and Johnson assumed the presidency in 1865, the Civil War was now over and Johnson was eager to get the South back into normal operation, allowing the former Confederate States to hold…

A Brief History On December 22, 69 AD, the reigning Emperor of Rome, Vitellius, was captured and murdered on the Gemonian Stairs in Rome, proving once again how dangerous it was to be a Roman Emperor. Digging Deeper The year 69 AD is also known as “The Year of the Four Emperors” which should give something of a clue as to how short one’s reign may be.  The guy that succeeded Vitellius, known as Vespasian, managed to stay on the throne for 10 years, die of natural causes and be succeeded by his son Titus, who also died of natural…