A Brief History On April 21, 2021, the Indonesian Navy suffered a tragic “Oops moment” when their German built submarine, KRI Nanggala, sank with all 53 people aboard during a torpedo firing test in the Bali Sea. Digging Deeper About 195 feet long and 20 feet wide, the Nanggala was a diesel/electric type of sub, capable of 11 knots on the surface and 25 knots submerged.  Commissioned in 1981, the sub carried a punch of eight torpedo tubes in the bow with 14 torpedoes aboard. Submarines are of course designed to intentionally sink, although they are supposed to then resurface…

A Brief History On April 19, 2021, the aptly named Ingenuity became the first man-made aircraft to fly on any planet other than Earth. Digging Deeper A helicopter powered by a solar battery, Ingenuity is able to fly in the thin atmosphere of Mars, only about .6% as dense as on Earth.  Weighing in at about four pounds, Ingenuity has amassed over two hours of airtime in 71 flights by January 19, 2024.  Ingenuity has travelled over 10 miles of surface distance at a max height of 79 feet with a max speed of 22.4 mph. Transported to Mars with…

A Brief History On April 18, 1518, Bona Sforza d’Aragona, Duchess of Bari and Rossano, became Queen consort of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania when she became the second wife of Sigismund the Old, the reigning King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania. Digging Deeper In the way of convoluted European monarchies, history is replete with international marriages that put foreigners on the throne of any given country, and sometimes lack of a suitable heir to a throne caused a search for foreign candidates to rule. Not only do we see the English throne occupied by Danes, Normans,…

A Brief History On April 17, 1912, Russian Imperial soldiers fired on a crowd of protesting goldfield workers in Siberia that were upset about the arrest of their strike committee.  Perhaps 270 striking workers were killed and a similar number wounded.  Such brutal treatment ultimately led to the Russian Revolution and the formation of the USSR, a self-described “workers’ paradise.” Digging Deeper Soviet authorities, especially the Cheka secret police, killed protesting and striking workers on a grand scale, both by gunning down workers and by executing arrested workers.  Killings of disgruntled workers and soldiers included drowning as well as shooting!…

A Brief History On April 16, 1947, the SS Grandcamp, a French freighter carrying 2,300 tons of ammonium nitrate blew up at the dock in Texas City, Texas, one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history.  Obviously, such a huge blast was a disaster, killing close to 600 people and injuring 5,000 more. Digging Deeper The giant blast set off explosions and fires in the surrounding area, causing further destruction and mayhem.  A two ton anchor from the unlucky ship was hurled over a mile and a half from the scene!  The larger, five ton anchor, was launched a half…