Browsing: Military

A Brief History On August 18, 1940, an air battle was fought between the British RAF and the German Luftwaffe, the largest air battle in history to that point as part of the Battle of Britain, July 10 through October 31, 1940. Digging Deeper German planners knew they had to defeat British air defenses in order to defeat Britain, and the best way to make that happen was to destroy the RAF Fighter Command.  Despite September 15, 1940, being known as “Battle of Britain Day,” the purported climax of the Battle of Britain, it was “The Hardest Day” that saw…

A Brief History On August 12, 2000, during the first major Russian naval exercise since the break-up of the USSR, the Russian Oscar II class cruise missile sub, the Kursk, blew up and sank in the Barents Sea, taking all 118 men aboard to their deaths. Digging Deeper Another of the incidents we call “Naval Oops Moments” in which naval vessels are accidentally damaged or destroyed, the investigation into the sinking found that a torpedo defect caused the initial explosion and subsequent fire that caused a second, much larger explosion that sank the sub.  The second explosion seems to have…

A Brief History On August 10, 1961, the US began Operation Ranch Hand, a ten year program of using chemical herbicides against the flora of Vietnam and surrounding countries to both deprive the Viet Cong of food crops and of foliage for cover. Digging Deeper Chemical weapons are banned by international treaty, including the 1925 Geneva Protocol and The Chemical Weapons Convention of 1993. Not only are deadly chemicals prohibited, but irritants such as “tear gas” are also banned for use in war. Herbicides escaped mention in previous prohibitions against deadly chemicals used in war, but in 1978 the Environmental…

A Brief History On August 1, 1977, former USAF and CIA pilot, Francis Gary Powers, died when his news helicopter crashed in Encino, California.  Powers became famous worldwide when his U-2 spy plane was shot down over the Soviet Union in 1960, causing a scandal and sensation during the Cold War.  Other pilots have achieved high levels of fame, and today we ask, “Which pilot is the most famous?” Digging Deeper Some nominees include: Orville Wright, the first powered flight in 1903. Manfred von Richthofen, aka, The Red Baron, leading World War I (WWI) fighter Ace, serving in the Luftstreitkräfte…

A Brief History On July 28, 1854, the USS Constellation was commissioned, a sloop-of-war, the last sail-only warship for the US Navy.  The second US Navy ship of the name, the first was built in 1797 and was scrapped in 1853. Digging Deeper While seeking to strengthen the US Navy, economics mattered and the Navy sought to save money by using available stocks of Oak and to eschew the use of an expensive steam engine.  Constellation would be economical to build and to operate. With a length of 191 feet and a beam of 43 feet, Constellation displaced 1400 tons,…