A Brief History On December 21, 1936, the Nazi German concept of a “schnellbomber” (fast bomber) that could outrun most fighter planes took to the air when the prototype Junkers Ju-88 made its first flight, achieving a remarkable (for the time) speed of 360 mph. Digging Deeper Modifications to the requirement for the Ju-88 centered on the insistence of the Nazi regime that the plane be capable of dive bombing instead of merely acting as a level bomber, thereby necessitating greatly strengthening the wings and structure, adding weight to the plane. The crew was increased to 4, further increasing weight…
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A Brief History On December 19, 1941, in one of the most daring raids of World War II Italian Navy divers snuck into Alexandria harbor and heavily damaged two British battleships. Digging Deeper The Italian divers rode three torpedoes modified to serve as mini-submarines past the harbor’s defenses when the gates were opened to allow British destroyers to enter the harbor. The mini-subs, called “pigs” by the Italians, had been ferried to the harbor by the Regia Marina submarine, Scerie. Each of these manned torpedoes had a two man crew, equipped with magnetic limpet mines to be placed on the…
A Brief History On December 16, 1965, General William Westmoreland, the American commander in Viet Nam, requested an additional 243,000 US troops to go with the 184,300 US military men already in South Viet Nam. It was not enough, and it would never be enough. Digging Deeper Viet Nam was part of the French colony of French Indochina, and had fought for its independence with success in 1954, but splitting the country between the communist North Viet Nam and democratic South Viet Nam. The communist North was determined to reunite the country under the communist banner, and was supported by…
A Brief History On December 15, 2006, the first F-35 Lightning II multi-purpose, multi-service fighter bomber made its first flight. The F-35 program is the most expensive military system in history. Is it worth it? Digging Deeper The Lockheed Martin Lightning II is meant to serve the US Air Force, US Navy, and US Marine Corps as a multi-role 5th generation fighter plane with excellent stealth characteristics and superb performance. It is a single engine fighter with a crew of 1. Built in 3 main types, the F-35A is the conventional take off and landing version used by the Air…
A Brief History On December 14, 1836, a war between the States ended, but one you may not be familiar with. The so called Toledo War, also known as the Michigan-Ohio War ended when Michigan chose to give up its claim on the land called The Toledo Strip. Digging Deeper Ohio had already been a state since 1803, and Michigan was eager to join the union by achieving statehood. Unfortunately, due to sloppy mapping and a marginal understanding of geography, there was some confusion and dispute as to where the border of Ohio and Michigan was. On top of that,…