Random Interesting Bits of History

[amlove21]

Part 2... wild.

 

[Jaknight]

 

[pardus]

Fascinating stuff

 

[Jaknight]

Fascinating stuff

I was surprised on how deep Hitler actually sounded compared to the high pitch yelling of his speeches. Also Stalin man it seems Russian leaders are cut from the same scummy cloth

 

[JedisonsDad]

I was surprised on how deep Hitler actually sounded compared to the high pitch yelling of his speeches. Also Stalin man it seems Russian leaders are cut from the same scummy cloth

Part of Hitlers iconic voice was from WW1 mustard gas attack, where he received an award.

 

[Jaknight]

Part of Hitlers iconic voice was from WW1 mustard gas attack, where he received an award.

Interesting I had no idea

 

[CQB]

Probably Australia’s harshest fight…except that business in Afghanistan

Emu War - Wikipedia

Then there's this guy.

John Francis Peggotty: The Birdman of Coorong

 

[Blizzard]

This guy has the last recorded kill in combat with a bow and arrow, among other things:
'Mad Jack' celebrated in book of adventurers

 

[TLDR20]

The most expensive weapons program of WWII wasn't the Manhattan Project, but the B-29 Superfortress (the -29's entire story is fascinating).

In an effort to save weight, bombers like the B-29 and B-36 were made with magnesium. Problem is, those bombers' engines would overheat and catch fire due to the workload. Guess what the engine mounts and some components were made of? Magnesium. Guess what is HIGHLY flammable and led to wings literally burning off of the planes?

The US had 4 four-engine bomber types fly combat missions during WWII: B-17, B-24, B-29, and the B-32.

The soldiers with the most combat jumps in history don't even belong to an airborne unit.

I didn’t know about the B-32 and I am quite the aviation buff.

 

[AWP]

I didn’t know about the B-32 and I am quite the aviation buff.

Same. I happened across it on Youtube. "Isn't B-32 a Bingo callout?" It was a legit bomber.

 

[Gunz]

I didn’t know about the B-32 and I am quite the aviation buff.

Same. I happened across it on Youtube. "Isn't B-32 a Bingo callout?" It was a legit bomber.

They got to the war too late to make much of a name for themselves.

My dad worked for United Aircraft Corporation; first at Pratt & Whitney, then Hamilton Standard, Sikorsky, and finally he retired from Norden...all divisions of UAC. One of the cool things about being a kid in the 50's living near those facilities was watching WW2 and early post-war and cold war aircraft fly over our backyard a few times a week.

 

[Devildoc]

They got to the war too late to make much of a name for themselves.

My dad worked for United Aircraft Corporation; first at Pratt & Whitney, then Hamilton Standard, Sikorsky, and finally he retired from Norden...all divisions of UAC. One of the cool things about being a kid in the 50's living near those facilities was watching WW2 and early post-war and cold war aircraft fly over our backyard a few times a week.

I have a friend who is a NYC cop, his dad worked at Grumman on Long Island, same thing. He grew up watching F-14s, A-6s, a lot of classics.

 

[DA SWO]

The world entered the nuclear age on this day in 1945.

 

[Blizzard]

John Sedgwick

Union General, John Sedgwick, was at the battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse directing artillery placements when Confederate snipers, located about 1,000 yards away, started taking shots at some of his staff and infrantryman, sending them ducking for cover.

It was then he uttered his, now famous, last words, “They couldn't hit an elephant at this distance."

At that moment, he was struck and killed by a Confederate bullet.

 

[Blizzard]

This is kind of crazy. I hadn't heard this story...
Accident Revealed After 29 Years : H-Bomb Fell Near Albuquerque in 1957

In 1957, a 42,000 lb hydrogen bomb was accidentally dropped by a bomber near Albuquerque, NM. Luckily, it landed in an uninhabited area, so no one was injured or killed.

Non-nuclear explosives, which are used to trigger armed nuclear devices, detonated in the unarmed Mark 17 bomb when it hit the ground 4 1/2 miles south of Kirtland Air Force Base’s control tower.

 

[Box]

This is kind of crazy. I hadn't heard this story...

Then you should enjoy reading about Operation Chrome Dome.
Goldsboro NC
Yuba City CA
Bedford PA
and Lord only knows what other places that we STILL havent heard about

The USAF has been inadvertently dropping bombs on the USA for damn near as long as we've had bombs to drop on it.

For all we know, "Dr Strangelove" could have actually been a documentary that was marketed to the public as a way of hiding the shenanigans in plain sight.

 

[racing_kitty]

Then you should enjoy reading about Operation Chrome Dome.
Goldsboro NC
Yuba City CA
Bedford PA
and Lord only knows what other places that we STILL havent heard about

The USAF has been inadvertently dropping bombs on the USA for damn near as long as we've had bombs to drop on it.

For all we know, "Dr Strangelove" could have actually been a documentary that was marketed to the public as a way of hiding the shenanigans in plain sight.

There’s also one that was dumped in the sea just off the coast of Savannah. It still hasn’t been found.

 

[Blizzard]

Then you should enjoy reading about Operation Chrome Dome.
Goldsboro NC
Yuba City CA
Bedford PA
and Lord only knows what other places that we STILL havent heard about

The USAF has been inadvertently dropping bombs on the USA for damn near as long as we've had bombs to drop on it.

For all we know, "Dr Strangelove" could have actually been a documentary that was marketed to the public as a way of hiding the shenanigans in plain sight.

I know a little bit about Chome Dome and that there were some accidents/crashes, but hadn't ever heard about this accident in NM or the one near Savannah.

Some of those Chome Dome accidents were pretty dicey too. I think the Yuba City one had like 3 of 4 triggers armed or something if I remember the story correctly. Better to be lucky than good, I guess.

 

[AWP]

Palomares Spain. The recovery and cleanup operations were nuts.

United States military nuclear incident terminology - Wikipedia

 

[Devildoc]

Then you should enjoy reading about Operation Chrome Dome.
Goldsboro NC
Yuba City CA
Bedford PA
and Lord only knows what other places that we STILL havent heard about

The USAF has been inadvertently dropping bombs on the USA for damn near as long as we've had bombs to drop on it.

For all we know, "Dr Strangelove" could have actually been a documentary that was marketed to the public as a way of hiding the shenanigans in plain sight.

My mom's family is from Goldsboro/Wayne County (NC). I remember when Seymour Johnson AFB had B-52s. My family 'down there' still tells the story of that incident; it happened about 2 miles where some of them lived.