World War II brought the craziest of the inventions that perhaps humanity could ever come up with, with all manner of odd aircraft, tanks, guns, and bombs. When it comes to creative, borderline weird, and downright ridiculous inventions, the British could be considered leaders. One of their leading scientist, engineer, and inventor was Sir Barnes […]
WWII
The Brutal Reality of the Flamethrower and the Men Who Carried It
Fire as a weapon has a very long tradition. Notably, in the 7th century AD, Greeks created Greek fire. The flamethrower truly rose to prominence during World War I, and the Germans were the first reported widespread users of flame weapons. By the time World War II came around, everyone was shooting fire at each […]
Jumping on a Grenade? Make Sure It’s a German One
We’ve all seen it in the movies and read about in its Medal of Honor citations. A Soldier or Marine throws himself on a grenade to save his battle buddies. It is seen as the ultimate act of self-sacrifice. In the Pacific theater, no less than 27 Marines were decorated for throwing themselves on top […]
The MG34 and MG42 – How The General Purpose Machine Gun Was Born
World War II changed the world of small arms. The great display of infantry and armored power reformed warfighting doctrine and still affects modern warfighting. I’m not a tactics expert, but I appreciate machine guns, and World War II changed how machine guns would be used. During World War II, the Germans built their infantry […]
Book Review: Perception Wars by Alex Hollings
“Actions are dictated by decisions, decisions are based on perceptions, and perceptions are subject to manipulation. That is the basis of the Perception Wars.” Alex Hollings’ Perception Wars describes how foreign governments are trying to shape American public opinion by manipulating their perceptions. Hollings singles out Russia and China and their ongoing information operations (IO) […]
Watch: 97-year-old D-Day veteran recreates jump into France 75 years later
For Tom Rice, jumping out of an airplane is nothing new. Seventy-five years ago, a 22-year-old Rice fell through the skies over Normandy to the rocking beat of anti-aircraft fire, as one of thousands to participate in the Allied invasion of occupied France. Today, a 97-year-old Rice returned to France to recreate that fateful jump, […]
Testing WWII exploding rifle rounds
World War Two was a monumental turning point for the history of our world. The number of countries (and troops) involved, the geopolitical ramifications concerning the outcome and the massive surge in warfare technologies earned the war its nickname “The Big One”. In the clash between the Axis powers and the Allies, there are no […]
NFW Watch Company: Valors For Veterans
The Valor is our most comfortable watch yet and is extremely versatile – wearable in just about any situation. With top-shelf specs, and semi-customizable in terms of what bands you’d like to get: steel bracelet and/or black or brown leather straps, or a black silicon rubber strap, the Valor has a classic style that’ll always […]
Resco Instruments Manus: Named after Resistance Fighter, Max Manus
The plan was to attack a large, heavy transport ship, ‘The Donau’. Max Manus met with his dock contacts and synchronized watches. The attack had to go off exactly on time in order to cause the maximum amount of damage to the German war machine while offering the shore-based saboteurs the best chance of escape. […]
Dress it up or beat it down: HELM Vanuatu dive watch
The HELM Vanuatu is a named after an island in the South Pacific famous for its coral reefs and a WWII shipwreck. HELM does not hold back from describing this piece as a beater watch. Other sites have referred to it as chunky. Turns out they are all correct. One thing is for sure, this […]