Browsing: Military

A Brief History On August 17, 1943, the U.S. 8th Air Force, the main American unit of heavy bombers stationed in England, launched 376 B-17 bombers against Schweinfurt and Regensburg in Germany, a raid that came to symbolize the dangers of unescorted bombing. Digging Deeper The ambitious plan was to attack Regensburg with 146 and Schweinfurt with 230 B-17s.  The bombers were only escorted part of the way because the British Spitfires and American P-47 Thunderbolt fighters lacked the ability to cover the range.  The escorting Spitfires could only accompany the bombers as far Antwerp, and the Thunderbolts could barely reach the far…

A Brief History On August 16, 1944, the Nazis flew the prototype of the Ju-287 for the first time.  Manufactured by the German aircraft company Junkers, it was a 4-engine, jet-powered bomber whose forward-swept wings made it radically different from any other airplane in existence at the time. Digging Deeper With a turbojet engine on each side of its nose, and another under each wing, the Ju-287 flew to speeds of almost 350 mph, which was fast but still not fast enough. Originally it was supposed to have been equipped with even more powerful jet engines, but developmental difficulties meant that Junkers had to go with what was available, the Jumo…

A Brief History On August 16, 1812, General William Hull of the U.S. Army surrendered Fort Detroit to an inferior English force.  American forces numbered about 2,100, while the combined English and Native American forces only numbered just over 1,300.  Hull was court-martialed, convicted and sentenced to death.  Luckily President Madison gave him a reprieve.  History is full of military blunders and dunderheads, and here we list 10 (in no particular order) of those unfortunate men who found themselves in a position to prove just what lousy tacticians they were.   Digging Deeper 10.  William Hull, U.S. Army. As described above, Hull…

A Brief History On August 15, 1947, India became an independent country, thereby making George VI of the United Kingdom the last British emperor of India and signaling the end of one of history’s largest empires.  No leader has ever conquered the entire world. Some have conquered whole countries, while others have taken over the greater half of continents. Europe has been one of the most densely populated continents for centuries. The first humans arrived in Europe approximately 1.75 million years ago. Prehistoric Europe consisted of the Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations that collapsed around 1,200 BC. The majority of early…

A Brief History On August 13, 1918, Opha Mae Johnson became the first of 305 women to enlist in the United States Marine Corps Women’s Reserve, proving that women can do and be just about anything!  Taking over clerical duties in the U.S. while the men went overseas, these first female Marines were unofficially called “Marinettes.”  Although first formed during World War I, the Women’s Reserve was again mobilized during World War II and only became a permanent part of the Marine Corps in 1948.  The first female Lieutenant General (3-star rank) in the U.S. military was a Marine, Carol Mutter. …