A Brief History On February 25, 1933, the USS Ranger was launched at Newport News, Virginia, as the first American aircraft carrier built for the purpose of carrying aircraft. Smaller than later aircraft carrier types, Ranger nonetheless operated effectively throughout World War II, providing important naval air power, mostly in the Atlantic. Digging Deeper The fourth US ship designated as an aircraft carrier, Ranger followed ships converted from a collier and the unfinished hulls of two battlecruisers. Lexington and Saratoga were more than 100 feet longer than Ranger, and Langley much smaller. Ranger was impressive for its day, 769 feet…
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A Brief History On February 24, 2022, Russia declared the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk to be “independent states” and commenced an invasion of Ukraine with the aim of taking over the country in a matter of days. The invasion did not go as planned, and two years later the war continues, a major catastrophe for Russia’s military and economy. Digging Deeper Russia, in its various incarnations, has been no stranger to botched and ill-considered military adventures, and today we look at a two of those. The Russo-Japanese War of 1904 to 1905 was an effort by Russia to…
A Brief History On February 23, 1945, with World War II in Europe rapidly approaching its end, the RAF targeted the German town of Pforzheim in a massive bombing raid that killed almost a third of the residents and destroyed 83% of its buildings, including virtually its entire city center. The reason for leveling this German city? The jewelry and watch making industry located there! Digging Deeper The RAF sent 367 Avro Lancaster heavy bombers and 13 Mosquito medium bombers to lead the way, dropping the usual mix of high explosive and incendiary bombs to blow up and burn the…
A Brief History On February 19, 1978, Egyptian commandos raided Larnaca International Airport in Cyprus in an attempt to rescue hostages taken in the hijacking of a Cyprus Airways Douglas DC-8. The Egyptians were not authorized by Cyprus to engage the hijackers, and a firefight broke out between Cypriot forces against the Egyptians, resulting in at least 18 Egyptians killed and another 18 wounded, while eight Cypriots were wounded. Digging Deeper A pair of terrorists had assassinated two Egyptians at a conference in Cyprus, and then took hostages to the airport and boarded a jetliner. Not allowed to land anywhere…
A Brief History On February 6, 1862, Brigadier General Ulysses S. Grant led American Union forces to victory in the Battle of Fort Henry in Tennessee, in what was arguably the first battle of significance won by the Union Army in the US Civil War. Grant became known as a Union general that could win battles and rode that success to leadership of the US Army and later to the White House as President of the US. Digging Deeper Union forces got off to a bad start in the Civil War, losing at Fort Sumter and then at the First…