Browsing: Society

A Brief History On August 10, 1628, the brand new Swedish warship, the Vasa, set sail for the first and last time, sinking all by herself with no help from any enemy after traveling less than a mile!  She was not the largest ship in the world at the time, nor did she carry the most guns, but because she had the most shot, she was the most powerful. Digging Deeper History and Headlines has featured stories about military disasters and “Naval Oops Moments,” and the sinking of the Vasa ranks right up near the top of those blunders.  Built at a time when naval…

A Brief History On August 6, 1945, US Army Air Force B-29 Superfortress bomber, Enola Gay, dropped the first atomic bomb ever to be used against a real target. Digging Deeper The major Japanese city of Hiroshima had been left largely undamaged by bombing for the specific reason of preserving the city for just such an attack, to better demonstrate the terrible power of the atomic bomb (or nuclear bomb as it is called today), and also to better analyze what damage such a bomb does to a real life city. The bomb was dropped with pinpoint accuracy and killed…

A Brief History On July 26, 1861, Major General George McClellan was appointed the commander of the Army of the Potomac, a move President Lincoln hoped would instill professionalism and competence to that Army.  McClellan was outranked only by Winfield Scott, the 75 year old relic who was increasingly under fire from a public that demanded a quick and thorough victory. Digging Deeper Scott advocated a plan of siege and blockade called “The Anaconda Plan” by which the Confederate States would be squeezed and starved into submission.  As the Union Army and Navy at that time did not have the…

A Brief History On July 25, 1915, the somewhat appropriately named Lanoe Hawker became the first British aviator to shoot down 3 enemy planes in 1 day, earning himself the Victoria Cross.  Hawker went on to become the first “Ace” in British history, as a pilot that shoots down at least 5 enemy aircraft.  His total of 7 victories seems modest, but his career was shortened by being himself shot down and killed by the dreaded Red Baron, Manfred von Richthofen in 1916. Digging Deeper Not just an “ace” fighter pilot, Hawker was also an innovator that experimented with various…

A Brief History On July 24, 1943, “Operation Gomorrah” began, the eradication of the City of Hamburg with “brimstone and fire from the heavens.”  Like its Biblical namesake, this operation was the purposeful destruction of a city and its inhabitants without regard for the virtues of any individuals or structures.  The entire place was a target to be razed to the ground, people included. Digging Deeper World War II had certainly already had tremendous acts of cruelty and depravity on a large scale by the time the decision to bomb Hamburg was made, but this attack marked a new Allied…