DOWSETT’S WAR It is a story common to many Australian families – a history of military service that spans generations and decades. It is the story of the soldiers of the Dowsett family of the Bexley-Hurstville area of Sydney, New South Wales and their time serving with the First Australian Imperial Force (1st AIF) in…
Tag: Military History
Military Weapons From the Past: Japanese Type 100 Paratrooper
The Type 100 (sometimes called the Type 0) was one of the initial Japanese experiments in paratroop rifles. Manufactured from standard Nagoya Arsenal Type 99 rifles, the Type 100 used a set of interrupted lugs at the chamber to allow the rifle to be broken into two short sections. Only a few hundred of these…
Brush-Up On Your History: Eight Classic American Propaganda Campaigns
Many groups have historically used propaganda to generate support for various campaigns — America is no exception. Even as far back as the Revolutionary War, the U.S. government, military, and private groups have used varying forms of propaganda to drum up support for certain political causes. Some of these methods — including posters, comics, and…
Profiles in Courage: USMC Wildcat Ace Downs 7 Japanese Bombers on his First Combat Patrol During WWII
During WWII, Marine 1st Lt. James E. Swett attacked 15 enemy bombers, destroying 7, on his first combat patrol. On April 7, 1943, Medal of Honor recipient and Marine fighter ace James E. Swett shot down 7 Japanese bombers, taking out four all on his own after he became separated from his wingmen. He was…
Military History: From Private to Four-Star, Famous Generals That Rose From the Ranks
“Awarding of battlefield commissions to NCOs for leadership under fire is common in wartime, rare is the commanding general, admiral or field marshal who began his military career among the rank-and-file.” THE U.S. MILITARY CALLS THEM “mustangs” – ordinary soldiers who’ve risen from the ranks of the enlisted to join the officer corps. Seen as something…
Military History: Hitting the Silk – 15 Airborne Ops Carried Out Since WW2
“The advent of the helicopter made large-scale airborne operations largely obsolete. Yet, a number of armies still conducted parachute landings in the Post War era.” AIRBORNE WARFARE REACHED its zenith in 1945 with Operation Varsity — the largest one-day combat parachute drop in military history. The massive March 24 airlift saw 16,000 British and American paratroopers along…
Military Weapons From The Past: How NOT to Design a Machine Gun
In May 1915, Canadian designers Alphonse Huot and Joseph Prefontaine applied for a patent for their new machine gun design. The aim of the Huot-Prefontaine Machine Gun, the designers claimed, was to “provide a compact, durable and efficient machine gun which can be operated either mechanically or manually and can be quickly produced in large numbers…
Military History: Spain’s Siren Song
17th Century Spain and The Allure of Idealized History in Grand Strategy Many readers may be familiar with Paul Kennedy’s classic The Rise and Fall of Great Powers. It is often recommended to those who have an interest in grand strategy. However, readers might be less familiar with a collection of essays edited by Kennedy, Grand…
Military History: Meet The A-10 Warthog of WW2, The German Hs-129
Bad engines and poor management doomed the German ground-attacker At first glance, you might think the Henschel Hs 129 was the perfect ground-attack airplane. Twin engines. A heavily-armored cockpit that protected the pilot from small-arms fire. The aircraft even eventually had the heaviest and most powerful forward-firing cannon ever fitted to a production military aircraft…
Military History: The Russo-Japanese War Brought Rapid Fire Weapons to the World
The 1904 conflict foreshadowed bloodier events The Russo-Japanese War commenced 112 years ago this February, lasting 18 months before a U.S.-brokered truce mercifully put it to rest. The war killed upwards of 125,000 people, and sharply limited Russian influence in Northeast Asia. Japan gained control of Korea and a long-term foothold for influencing events in Manchuria and…