In the almost 6,000 miles of streets, roads and highways in the five boroughs of New York City, only about 15 miles are still paved with cobblestones. As noted by the New York Times: Starting in the 17th century, cobblestones … Continue reading
Tag Archives: world war II
An interesting Kickstarter fundraiser to complete the documentary “Twice Forgotten: Heroes of the R12 Submarine,” about the WWII submarine USS R-12, which sank off the coast of Key West, Florida on June 12, 1943 with the loss of 40 American sailors and 2 Brazilian officers. … Continue reading
Recent winter storms have washed ashore four large, barrel-shaped pieces of lard onto the beach at St.Cyrus nature reserve in Scotland. They are believed to be from the wreck of a merchant vessel that was bombed in WW II. Therese Alampo, St … Continue reading
We have previously posted about unexploded bombs from World War II being exposed by drought along the Rhine and Mosel Rivers in Germany, about similar bombs being found in the port of Marseille and about World War II phosphorus munitions burning two … Continue reading
Last September we posted that Odyssey Marine Exploration had located the wreck of the S.S. Gairsoppa, which was torpedoed in February of 1941 by a German U-boat. When she sank, the ship was loaded with 240 tonnes of silver believed … Continue reading
Bowsprite was kind enough to pass along this forgotten moment in history, which fits in well with recent posts. Like the case of the Liberty ship SS Richard Montgomery, it involves a ship loaded with high explosives and like the apparent “Blind Date” hoax, … Continue reading
The Liberty ship SS Richard Montgomery, with a cargo of high explosives, was wrecked off the Nore in the Thames Estuary in 1944. Shortly after the wreck, an attempt was made to remove her cargo but the ship broke apart with … Continue reading
Seventy yeas ago, the Japanese and navies of the United States and Australia fought the Battle of the Coral Sea in the waters southwest of the Solomon Islands and eastward from New Guinea in a series of naval battles from May … Continue reading
Hammacher Schlemmer’s catalog is subtitled: “Offering the Best, the Only and the Unexpected for 164 years.” One item for sale certainly qualifies as “unique.” They currently list for sale the World War II PT-728, the only PT boat in existence licensed … Continue reading
Earlier this month, 90 year old Winnie Breegle spoke at the 2012 Women’s History Month celebration at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Panama City, FL. She had quite a story to tell. Not only was she a WAVE (Woman Accepted for Volunteer Emergency … Continue reading
In November, we posted about how a drought on the Rhine River was exposing unexploded World War II munitions, and then in December about the evacuation of half of the German city of Koblenz, when several large bombs were found buried in … Continue reading
Recently we posted about how the near record drought in Europe has lowered the levels in the Rhine River, not only limiting vessel traffic, but also exposing World War II munitions. We wrote that “ bomb disposal experts … are evaluating how to dispose of a … Continue reading
A near record drought has lowered the water levels on the Rhine River, Europe’s most important inland maritime waterway, by five feet below average, stopping many ships and barges from trading. In several locations, river levels have fallen to one hundred year lows. To … Continue reading
Last Friday we posted about the USS Arthur W Radford as an artificial reef. Thanks to Alaric Bond for passing on this video of the wreck of HMS Hermes, which is a popular dive site off near Batticaloa, Sri Lanka. … Continue reading
The evacuation of British troops and civilians from France in 1940 did not end with Dunkirk. Several weeks later, on June 17, 1940, the British Cunard liner Lancastria was loaded to capacity with troops and civilians off the French port of St. Nazaire, when she … Continue reading
Today is the birthday of Rear Admiral Eugene Bennett Fluckey, known as “Lucky Fluckey,” who died in 2007 at the age of 94. In addition to having one of the truly great nicknames, he was one of the greatest submarine skippers of … Continue reading
For those in the UK, the Yesterday Channel is beginning a new documentary series, The Channel Islands at War, next week on Monday 28th, Tuesday 29th and Wednesday 30th of June. The Channel Islands at War … Continue reading
John Finn, Medal of Honor Winner, Dies at 100 John W. Finn, the last survivor of the 15 Navy men who received the Medal of Honor for heroism during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, died Thursday at a nursing … Continue reading
A few days ago we posted about the “Little Ships of Dunkirk” returning to Ramsgate to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the evacuation. This Friday there is what looks to be a very interesting documentary, Dunkirk: The Forgotten Heros, focusing on escape … Continue reading
This Wednesday the surviving “Little Ships” of the Dunkirk evacuation will rendezvous in Ramsgate to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the famous World War II evacuation, codenamed Operation Dynamo. Little Ships gather in Ramsgate for 70th anniversary of Dunkirk evacuations … Continue reading