Military History

It is worth noting that 26 May is the 70th anniversary of the start of Operation Dynamo, the evacuation of Dunkirk. CBC News story

From the April 2010 issue of Air Force Magazine: When the U-2 Fell to Earth An account of Francis Gary Powers' fateful mission over the Soviet Union fifty years ago.

From the April 2010 issue of Air Force Magazine: MiG Alley American F-86 Sabres versus MiG-15s with Soviet pilots.

Reading a lot about the 50's and 60's warplanes, I've find this curious and hilarious incident previouly unknown to me, in http://www.vectorsite.net/avjavlin.html The incident as relation with the little known Beira Patrol: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beira_Patrol http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0JI...55/ai_87146676/ Not mentionated in the interesting site http://www.britains-smallwars.com/main/index1.html The incident remembers me also about sci-fi tales with syntetic bugs or microorganisms eating materials as plastics or metals, and getting out of control. I remember also the actual search of bacteries for eating chemical, oil, or radioactive waste…

Remember the Soviet Fractional Orbital Bombardment System (FOBS)? Classic Cold War era 'hide under your school desk and kiss your butt goodbye' stuff. Detailed article at Air Power Australia.

Just starting Chapter 8 of this book, Tanker War America's First Conflict With Iran, 1987-1988 by Lee Allen Zatarain. Very interesting read thus far of a significant yet under represented subject. Recommended to all Harpoon enthusiasts.

May we never forget those who gave the Nazis their first defeat.

An Interesting article article about the Israeli Air Forces campaign in Lebanon 1982, with particular attentio to SEAD/Anti SAM operations. Find this article here. In one spectacular engagement in the skies over Lebanon, modern airpower took a dramatic leap forward. The Bekaa Valley War By Rebecca Grant In June 1982, Israeli ground forces pushed into Lebanon in an effort to put an end to cross-border terror attacks. Operation Peace for Galilee, as Israel dubbed it, led to a prolonged conflict with Lebanon and produced mixed overall results. However, the initial phase of that operation included a spectacular moment when the Israeli Air Force destroyed 19 surf…

From Veteran Affairs Canada The Opening Day, Battle of the Somme, 1 July 1916 Beaumont-Hamel is situated near the northern end of the forty five kilometre front to be assaulted by the French and British. The attack, originally scheduled for June 29, 1916, following a hitherto unprecedented five-day artillery bombardment, was postponed by two days to July 1, 1916, partly on account of inclement weather, partly to allow more time for the artillery preparation. At Beaumont-Hamel, the 29th British Division , with its three Infantry Brigades, the 86th, the 87th and the 88th, faced particularly formidable defences, resolutely manned by the experienced troops of the …

From Flight Global DATE:15/05/09 SOURCE:Flight International Comment: Phantom menace fading away I'm gonna be a re-con ranger! I'm gonna live a life of danger! I'm gonna fly an F-4 jet! I'm gonna waste a So-vee-yet! Well, since the collapse of the Empire so memorably dubbed Evil by Ronald Reagan, we don't hear that old marching song much any more, and that is surely a very good thing. But it's hard not to feel a little nostalgia for the days of nuclear stand-off as the operational end draws nearer for what, alongside the Boeing B-52 bomber, is the iconic piece of Cold War machinery. In service since 1960, the McDonnell Douglas F-4 may sport the mo…

For Russia, WWII is still a very vivid memory ... From RIA Novosti WWII, a war which changed the world 20:34 | 07/ 05/ 2009 MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti military correspondent Ilya Kramnik) - World War II was the bloodiest war in human history. It ended in Europe on May 9, 1945, and continued for another four months, until Japan's surrender, although its outcome had already been predetermined. Participants in the war began to gradually sum up the results and consolidate its experience. Every big war, especially a war with the participation of great powers on each side, changes military art. WWII was special in this respect. Changes in the armed forces' structure, eq…

I have transcribed an except from Norman Polmars book "Cold War Submarines" that describes just how good SOSUS is. Might be handy for you scenario developers out there. SOSUS SOSUS was a network of hydrophones emplaced on the ocean floor to detect low frequency noise sources. During WWII, the US, British, and Soviet navies installed limited capacity acoustic arrays on the ocean floor in shallow waters, primarily at the entrance to harbors. After the war, the US Navy began the development of deep ocean arrays. The first developmental SOSUS type array was installed at Eleuthera in the Bahamas in 1951-52, followed by a small experimental array off Sandy Hook, sout…

Memorial to remember battleship Iowa explosion The Associated Press Posted : Sunday Apr 19, 2009 14:28:27 EDT NORFOLK, Va. — Hundreds are expected at Naval Station Norfolk to mark the 20th anniversary of the explosion onboard the battleship Iowa that killed 47 crewmen. Sunday, people whose lives were touched by that deadly day will remember the men who died more than 300 miles northeast of Puerto Rico. The names of the dead will be read aloud. At first, Navy investigators accused a crewman of causing the accident because he was depressed over a relationship with another crewman. He was later cleared and the cause was blamed on a combination of inexperienc…

From Defence Talk Sea King Helicopter Celebrates 50th Anniversary of First Flight US Navy | Mar 20, 2009 Share & Bookmark: NAVAL AIR SYSTEMS COMMAND, Patuxent River: The H-3 Sea King helicopter community celebrated the 50th anniversary of the aircraft’s historic first flight March 11. The Sea King is a twin-engine, all-weather, amphibious helicopter used for numerous roles that include anti-submarine warfare, anti-ship warfare, search and rescue, transport, communications, airborne early warning and executive transport. “The Sea King was the Jack of all trades and master of all,” said Capt. James “Walleye” Wallace, Support and Commercial Deriva…

From Defense Aerospace Harriers - 40 Years Old and Still Jumping (Source: UK Ministry of Defence; issued March 17, 2009) Few aircraft can be described as truly iconic, fewer still remain in service over long periods, but this year the British-designed Harrier celebrates its 40th birthday, having spent the past five years as a mainstay on operations in Afghanistan. And the Harrier really is unique - no other jet in service has its Vertical/Short Take-Off and Landing (V/STOL) capability where pilots can land on shortened runways, carrier decks or on landing pads in the middle of a forest. Developed during the Cold War, the Harrier has continually been devel…

From BBC News Danton wreck found in deep water By Jonathan Amos Science reporter, BBC News A French battleship sunk in 1917 by a German submarine has been discovered in remarkable condition on the floor of the Mediterranean Sea. The Danton, with many of its gun turrets still intact, is sitting upright in over 1,000m of water. It was found by the Fugro geosciences company during a survey for a gas pipeline between Algeria and Italy. The Danton, which sank with 296 sailors still onboard, lies 35km southwest of the island of Sardinia. Naval historians record that the Danton's Captain Delage stood on the bridge with his officers and made no attempt t…

Impressive, really.

I was reading erroneously the Google News of Philipinnes ..... http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/metro-ma...oved-us-embassy

From HMAS Sydney Commission of Inquiry 12 January 2009 HMAS SYDNEY Commission of Inquiry On 19 November 1941, the Royal Australian Navy Modified Leander Class light cruiser HMAS SYDNEY II, en route to Fremantle, intercepted the disguised German raider the HSK KORMORAN about 100 nautical miles west of Steep Point off the coast of Western Australia. In the ensuing battle, HMAS SYDNEY was sunk with the loss of her entire crew of 645 men. The HSK KORMORAN was subsequently scuttled with the loss of 81 lives. Following the discovery of the wrecks of HMAS SYDNEY and HSK KORMORAN by The Finding Sydney Foundation in March 2008, the Chief of the Defence Force, Air Chie…

From Code One, Third Quarter 2008 Nighthawk Memories Compiled By Jeff Rhodes Surprise, Surprise The US Air Force announced Thursday the existence of an operational stealth fighter aircraft, officially known as the F-117A. The single-seat, dual engine aircraft is built by Lockheed Corporation in California. The F-117A first flew in June 1981. The F-117A has been operational since October 1983, and is assigned to the 4450th Tactical Group at Nellis AFB, Nevada. The aircraft is based at the Tonopah Test Range Airfield in Nevada. A total of fifty-nine aircraft are being procured. Fifty-two have already been delivered to the Air Force, and seven more are in productio…