‘World of Warships’ Does D-Day — Relive the Normandy Invasion Through New ‘Operation Neptune’ Historic Game-Mode (SPONSORED)

“Players command the vanguard of the Allied armada steaming for Utah Beach.” THE MAKERS of the online game World of Warships are marking the 80th anniversary of D-Day with THREE new operations related to the…

Continue Reading... ‘World of Warships’ Does D-Day — Relive the Normandy Invasion Through New ‘Operation Neptune’ Historic Game-Mode (SPONSORED)

“Happy New Year, Jerry!” — How a Clandestine Normandy Recon Mission Ended With a Laugh 

“We both had our pistols in our hands. I really thought I was going to have to shoot him.” By Chuck Lyons ON NEW YEAR’S Eve 1943, a full five months before D-Day, two British…

Continue Reading... “Happy New Year, Jerry!” — How a Clandestine Normandy Recon Mission Ended With a Laugh 

Shapur I — Meet the Third Century Persian King Who Crushed Three Roman Emperors

“The humiliation Shapur had inflicted on Rome must have conjured memories of Hannibal, and later emperors would seek to restore Roman dignity.” By Byron Waldron IN THE third century AD, monumental sculptures were erected across…

Continue Reading... Shapur I — Meet the Third Century Persian King Who Crushed Three Roman Emperors

Air Corps vs. Navy — How Decades of Inter-Service Rivalry Left the U.S. Ill-Prepared for the Battle of the Atlantic

“In January 1942, the U-boat war reached the U.S. East Coast and 20 years of American Army-Navy rivalry made the German attack much more deadly.” By Col. Joseph T. Molyson, Jr. USAFR (Ret) ON A…

Continue Reading... Air Corps vs. Navy — How Decades of Inter-Service Rivalry Left the U.S. Ill-Prepared for the Battle of the Atlantic

‘You’re in the Cockpit’ — Climb Aboard a B-26 for a Real 1943 Skip Bombing Mission

“Today’s target is a convoy of six merchant ships carrying ammunition, trucks, artillery pieces, spare parts, and food. Two of the vessels are tankers filled with diesel and aviation fuel. They are being escorted by…

Continue Reading... ‘You’re in the Cockpit’ — Climb Aboard a B-26 for a Real 1943 Skip Bombing Mission

YE-ZB ‘Hayrake’ — The Top-Secret Radio Navigation System That Helped America’s Carrier Pilots Defeat Japan

“Senior Japanese naval officers wondered how U.S. aircrews could always find their carriers.” By Marc Liebman HISTORIES OF THE Pacific War often focus on carrier-based aircraft flying strikes against enemy-held islands or ships many hundreds…

Continue Reading... YE-ZB ‘Hayrake’ — The Top-Secret Radio Navigation System That Helped America’s Carrier Pilots Defeat Japan