The Hartford Connecticut Police Department recently received quite a surprise when during a gun buy back program a woman walked into the station with a World War II era Sturmgewehr 44; widely recognized as the world's first assault rifle. Heavy and awkward by today's standards, nevertheless when introduced the Sturmgewehr quickly became a prized possession capable of laying down tremendous firepower at standard combat ranges.
Manufactured in Nazi Germany during World War II only around 400,000 of these assault rifles were produced, and far fewer survive today.
Sonny Eliot, a long time Metro Detroit weatherman and TV personality famous for his quirky personality died at his Farmington Hills home at the age of 91. An icon in the Metro Detroit region, with a broadcasting and radio career dating back to the late 1940's what many may not know is that Eliot, born Marvin Schlossberg, also spent 18 months as a POW (prisoner of war) during WWII.
Eliot enlisted after Pearl Harbor and because of some pre-war flying lessons quickly found himself in the USAAF (United States Army Air Force). As a B-24 bomber pilot assigned to the 8th Air Force, 577th Squadron,
Last week the keel laying ceremony for the USS Detroit took place in Marinette Wisconsin. The USS Detroit is the fourth Littoral Combat Ship built by Marinette Marine. The U.S. Navy expects to take delivery of the ship in 2015.
As a native of the Metro Detroit region I am proud to have the name of the city attached to a brand new warship. That said, I am a bit apprehensive about the Detroit. The LCS class of warships have come under a healthy dose of criticism; particularly in regards to their questionable survivability and hitting power versus their steep costs.
In August and September of 1939 Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union invaded Poland and divided up the country between themselves. The Germans quickly went to work murdering tens of thousands of people. Meanwhile, Josef Stalin's Soviet Union more quietly, but still brutally, subjugated its part of the former Polish state. To this day the German atrocities garner the bulk of the attention, and rightly so in many respects.
At the storied Powazki Cemetery in Warsaw, Poland (where many of Poland's greatest citizens are buried) a hunt is on for Witold Pilecki; and for others like him believed to have been murdered by Stalin's post Second World War Polish police state and then unceremoniously dumped in unmarked graves.
Though a veteran of the early 1920's war fought between Poland and the Soviet Union, Witold Pilecki remains today best known for his heroism during WWII; when during the 1939-1945 German occupation he served in the Polish underground army.
On May 12, 2012 the iconic first step in the Olympics began in Greece at the Temple of Hera in Olympia; with the first leg of the famous torch relay. On Friday, July 27th the world will watch as the final torch bearer completes their run through London, enters the Olympic Stadium, and lights the Olympic flame. However, what many don't know is that this well-regarded tradition actually began in 1936 at the direction of Adolf Hitler's Third Reich on behalf of the Berlin Olympics.
Now there is no question that the ancient Greeks ran relay races using flames, but this was not done as an integral
On May 27, 1942 a joint British, Czech, Slovak commando operation attacked Reinhard Heydrich, one of history's truly vile human beings he is best known as being the founder of the Sicherheitsdienst (SD) and chair of the January 1942 Wannsee Conference laying out the scope of the Final Solution, as he travelled near Prague in Czechoslovakia. He would die from his wounds shortly thereafter.
Then on June 9, 1942 Adolf Hitler, infuriated by Heydrich's assassination, set in train orders meant to make up for Heydrich's death by exacting horrific retribution on villages in the area that were
As we celebrate yet another anniversary of the tremendous Allied victory of June 6, 1944, or D-Day, let us take a closer look at the role played by German command decisions as one element in enabling the Allied establishment of a lodgment in France. From the beginning, Germany's approach to defending against an Allied liberation of Western Europe was overshadowed by the war waged in Eastern Europe. In particular an early focus of the Wehrmacht's defensive efforts revolved around preventing special operations conducted primarily by the British.
Heads up everybody. The Association of Royal Air Force Fighter Control Officers is looking to get in touch with all operators, male or female, of the Royal Air Force's World War II era (1939-1945) warning system known as the "Dowding System" as follows:
“Working under the closest secrecy since 1939, over 4,000 Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) personnel have played an important part in the air victories achieved by radiolocation (Radar). They tracked hostile and friendly aircraft, flying bombs and rockets, German E Boats and Allied Merchant vessels, and have guided British and Allied
It is my hope that everybody in the United States is spending at least some time today thinking of the sacrifices made by our veterans over the two plus centuries of our nation's existence. In particular, and given this website's focus, I hope people take a moment to think of those who gave their lives during the Second World War - the last time this nation's independence and way of life has truly been threatened during an actual shooting war.
As such, and in special remembrance of our Second World War veterans, please find here a series of pictures of one of World War II's iconic ships; the
