Sixteen planes and 80 airmen executed the Doolittle Raid, 18 April 1942. With one exception - the plane piloted by CAPT Edward J. York - none of the planes made a proper landing: all either were ditched, or crashed after their crews bailed out. Nonetheless, all but three men survived the …
Sixteen planes and 80 airmen executed the Doolittle Raid, 18 April 1942. With one exception - the plane piloted by CAPT Edward J. York - none of the planes made a proper landing: all either were ditched, or crashed after their crews bailed out. None…
Albert Speer (Hitler’s architect and eventually somewhat of a friend) often wondered this himself and came to the conclusion that Hitler’s mind and personality seemed to work more like that of an artist and therefore embraced the night as a sort of …
He returned to communist East Germany where I imagine he was treated well enough. After all, the country was a Soviet satellite and Paulus did collaborate with the Soviets after surrendering the wretched remnants of his 6th Army in the ruins of Stal…
Firstly, this question points out the reality and that is the fact that the Wehrmacht appeared to be a modern and a highly developed fighting force. But that is not 100% correct. The German army in WW2 war more like a mixed bag. First off, to cut ou…
They were, quite frankly, done. In fact, there was a game that children in Berlin would “play” right after the war, called “Raid.” If they happened to see a soldier, they would make a big show of screaming and running away. However, a lot changed af…
Yeah—someone did. And no, it wasn’t Churchill or some outsider waving a warning flag. Inside Germany, there was one last person with enough clout to slow Hitler down: Paul von Hindenburg, the aging war hero turned President. And for a while, he actu…
I always thought the ending is a little too convenient. The P-51s appearing out of nowhere to blow up the Tiger. There are a few issues with it: I doubt the P-51 has any weapon that can blow up a Tiger tank in one hit, especially one that will spare…
Many U-boats were at sea or in port when the “Regenbogen” order was given to surrender on May 3, 1945. This was not as easy as it might sound since a submarine suddenly appearing out of the water was a target, even if it meant to surrender. Many Ger…
I’d have to give ‘last German holdouts’ prize to the 11 men in the weather forecast unit under the command of lieutenant Wilhelm Dege stranded at a weather station on the Norwegian island of Nordausandet (near Spitsbergen), in the arctic. They had b…
Picture this: a young German soldier arrives in North Africa, uniform stiff and new. He quickly learns that the desert doesn't care much for regulations. It's scorching hot, sand gets everywhere, and those heavy boots are a nightmare. He see…
To protect & support the calves & ankles & prevent rocks, debris, etc., from entering the boot.They also provided a measure of warmth in cold weather. Initially, German soldiers in both World Wars initially wore high leather boots, “Mars…
Called the Washington B-1 by the RAF it was never well-liked by the RAF. These bombers we not made for the RAF but rather were in-service USAF B-29s that were handed over to the RAF which received 87 of them. To the RAF their B-29s were merely a sto…
Gabby Gabreski, one of the top American fighter aces in Europe during World War II, had a unique way of flying. He was known for flying incredibly low to the ground, sometimes so low that he could look out of his cockpit and see himself eye-to-eye w…
June 6, 1944, was a triumph for General Dwight D. Eisenhower (left). Field Marshal Erwin Rommel (right) knew it meant inevitable defeat. In April of 1943 Eisenhower called Rommel 'Great General,' but 'Not a Superman' . When we think…
There’s a story—maybe true—that says a lot. During the bombing of Germany, American bombers were getting hit hard. The problem? Their fighter planes couldn’t fly far enough to protect them deep into enemy territory. The Germans knew this. They waite…
