On November 1, 1945, the crew of a Douglas C-47A on a flight from RAF Bovington in England to Schleissheim Airfield north of Munich apparently lost its bearings in bad weather. Thirty people were aboard—four crewmembers and 26 soldiers returning to their base at the airfield. At around 5:00 that morning the airplane should have … Lire la suite

The cap badge is a special part of British Army headdress that took shape in the late 1800s and continues to be worn today. Each regiment of the British Army has a rich historical lineage filled with accomplishments and traditions reflected by these unique badges. Recommended for you Cap badges have a long and complex … Lire la suite

On the afternoon of June 12, 1940, Frederick Lindemann, whom British prime minister Winston Churchill had just appointed as his scientific adviser, convened a meeting at the Air Ministry. Lindemann, known to everyone as “the Prof,” extended a last-minute invitation to 28-year-old Reginald V. Jones, the relatively obscure deputy director of intelligence research. The sole … Lire la suite

I AM AN AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER 4TechnoBrain Co., Ltd., $59.99. Air traffic controllers are like linemen in American football. They are the unsung players on the field without whom no one would go anywhere. I Am an Air Traffic Controller 4 (requires a 64-bit version of Windows 10, 8GB RAM, 3GB hard drive space) offers … Lire la suite

My father, Sherman Oxendine, was a B-29 tail gunner flying missions over Japan in the last months of the war. He kept a collection of bomb-arming pins, all labeled with the target, date, and bomb load—but there’s one I’m especially curious about. One of his tags indicates a supply drop for prisoners. Why would there … Lire la suite

In March 1974, NBC conducted a major campaign to promote “the television event of the year!”—a made-for-TV film about World War II soldier Eddie Slovik, the only American shot for desertion since the Civil War. A large advertisement, widely placed in newspapers, showed a uniform-clad man standing, head bowed, as two soldiers tie him to … Lire la suite

However much combat troops dominated the news during the Vietnam War, the grunts knew they owed much to the vast armada of support troops who backed them up. The battlefield heroism performed in the rainforests and the highlands would have been impossible without the weapons and ammunition to fight, or the food to sustain those … Lire la suite

Recreational divers aren’t allowed to explore the Japanese submarine I-124, resting on the seafloor 150 feet below the Indian Ocean’s surface in waters northwest of Darwin, Australia. Designated a war grave, the wreck is off-limits. Recommended for you Now maritime enthusiasts, history buffs, and the just plain curious can get a good look anyway — … Lire la suite

The Il-2 Sturmovik was designed to support Soviet ground forces and packed a solid punch. A big, broad wing gave the airplane the lift it needed to carry enough rockets and bombs to hunt German panzers across the broad plains around Kursk in July and August 1943. The ground-attack plane’s heavy armor and solid construction helped … Lire la suite

If it hadn’t been for guns and ammunition purchased through clandestine channels in Europe and the West Indies, the American Revolution would have failed. As early as October 1774, in reaction to the Boston Tea Party, Britain banned the importation of weapons to the American colonies. A brisk contraband trade immediately sprang up, centered on … Lire la suite