The bartender at the Communist-themed pub in former East Berlin scrunches up his face and readjusts his glasses. Lenin looms on the wall beside him. “This is from Berlin?” I ask him. “No, it’s from a little town, you’ve probably never heard of it,” he says of the bottle of doppelkorn liquor he has…
Category: World War II History
World War II History: Bomber Plane Missing for 72 Years Found in the Pacific
TBM-1 Project Recover discovered its sixth WWII bomber plane since 2012. World War II American bomber plane the US Navy TBM-1C Avenger, missing since July 1944, was found in waters surrounding the Pacific Island nation of Palau, according to multiple news reports. It was discovered 85 feet under water within a lagoon. The plane was…
A “What If” Memorial Day
As a Veteran and Historian, I appreciate Post like this, I hope you do too. Happy Memorial Day Weekend to all my readers and subscribers. -SF The news could not have been worse. Starvation, malnutrition, diseases such as typhoid, smallpox, dysentery, and pneumonia, along with freezing temperatures that assaulted thousands of shoeless feet bloodying…
World War II History: The French Foreign Legion and Nazi’s
Sounds like a plot out of a W.E.B. Griffin Novel I know, but no, this really happened.-SF The French Foreign Legion is one of France’s elite fighting forces, filled with men who are ready and willing to do extreme violence on France’s behalf. When 1930s Germany started looking at its neighbors with greedy eyes, it…
Military Weapons From The Past: The Suppressed M1 Carbine
Much of the history behind the suppressed M1 carbine remains unclear. Great Britain’s Royal Small Arms Factory apparently developed this quiet version of the iconic M1 for the U.S. Office of Strategic Service and the British Special Operations Executive, probably between 1943 and 1945. Based on standard receivers built by General Motors’ Inland Division, the…
Military Weapons From The Past: The P-08 Luger
If there is one handgun that everyone knows on sight, it is the Luger P-08 (aka “Pistole Parabellum“). It definitely has the ergonomics and angled grip everyone wants in a true target pistol, and was the basis for Bill Ruger’s first .22 Auto. Originally designed in 7.65mm or .30 Luger, a bottlenecked cartridge that feeds…
Military Weapons From The Past: STG-44’s in Africa?
This is a neat follow-up to an event I had strong doubts about being authentic in the first place.-SF A while back, a video made the rounds of a cache of StG-44 rifles being found in (allegedly) Syria – I commented on it here, in fact. It was pretty much without any context, though. Where…
Military History: The Amazing Legacy of Military Aviation Legend Chuck Meyers
Chuck Myers Was a ‘Fighter Mafia’ Legend He helped pioneer nimble air-superiority fighters, the A-10 Warthog and played a pivotol role in bringing back the battleship Charles E. “Chuck” Myers, a valued and colorful member of the military reform movement and “Fighter Mafia” co-conspirator, died on May 9 at the age of 91. He devoted…
World War Two Movies Worth A Damn: Cross of Iron (1977)
Sam Peckinpah is without a doubt, one of my favorite movie directors (and screenwriters) of all time. If you have not seen it already, I highly urge you to watch the 2004 Documentary “Sam Peckinpah’s West: The Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade.” It is a fitting tribute to a true artist.-SF ‘Cross of Iron’…
World War II History: The Battle of Metz 1944
For those, like this writer, who esteem the arts of modern fortification, Metz is the Florence of military architecture. I greet the spring each year in Metz. This imposing city combines the dazzling, art modern architecture of the France’s Maginot Line with the pre-World War I older forts of the great builder, Serré de Rivières….