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360 or 20?
Here's another file from the archives. As you can see, from the introduction page, its a comparison between the differences of putting a turret on a tank, and having a casemate mounted weapon.There's...
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Operation Cygnet
Last few weeks have been a bit unpleasant for me, due to repeated bouts of illness, the last one, putting my back out, has prevented me from sitting at my desk, and so I was unable to write. Hence why...
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The Inevitable Mistake
 A few weeks ago I held the presentation on the Bombard in support of my new book. During the Q&A afterwards I got talking to Chris Gibson about a weapon he'd found in the National Archives, tucked...
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International Relations
 Slowly, HMS Hood’s turrets swung to the broadside of the ship. The huge gun barrels elevated, and shortly afterwards massive belches of fire and smoke erupted from the guns. Its target, many miles...
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Liberating a U-boat
 On the 7th of July, 1943, U-468 slipped out of the U-boat pens at La Pallice, and departed on her third patrol. Morale amongst the crew was particularly low. Over recent weeks the crew had heard of...
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Historical Duxford
Waaay back in 2014 I visited Duxford and took some pictures, I figured that those would make a nice quick article. Note: This was back before IWM Lambeth got trashed in its 'reimagining', and a lot of...
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Intelegence Files
 We're going to have a quick one today, straight from the archives. A few years ago I got hold of an intelligence assessment on captured Soviet and Chinese equipment from the National Archives. This...
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Now That's Riot Control
 Recently I've been volunteering with a local Police museum. This has gotten me interested in some of the early policing stuff, so today I'm going to have a look at something that is always a...
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Concrete Cows
The last couple of months have seen a handful of videos posted on YouTube about the Bison mobile pillbox. In these videos assorted commentators have laid into the Bison explaining how bad an Armoured...
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The Boys Is Back
 Earlier in the week I found a document from Mid 1941 listing weapon and Ammunition production for British anti-tank weapons. As it included some oddities (such as the 18-pounder AP, or the 75mm SAP) I...
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Outrageous Behaviour
 At 1030 on Saturday the 23rd of January 1909, a 17 year old office worker got out of a chauffeured car, carrying a heavy bag of money. Inside the bag was some £80, these were the wages for the factory...
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Getting Clear Away
Just before 1730 on Sunday the 17th of March 1918 Lt Edwin Arnold Clear banked his SE.5a through the skies above Crevecoeur. The patrol he was part of, from 84 Squadron, had suddenly become engaged...
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Discovery Jet
 It's not often I get to update you with good news about making a find, but today is one such time.Earlier this week I was at MoD Kineton, where the army has their explosive ordnance disposal training...
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Gleaming Sea
On the 24th of April 1916 the drifter Gleaner of the Seas was at anchor off Walcheren. She was a tiny ex-fishing vessel, only 91 tonnes, powered by a steam engine. Built in 1912 she had been taken into...
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They Don't like it Up 'em
Hello Historians, Sorry to have been so absent in content these last few weeks, but a lot has been going on. Due to that reason I've not got anything prepared, so today I'm going to have a quick chat...
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Firestarter
 What I find interesting, and I’m not sure if I’ve said it before, is how Britain studied the effects of German bombing conducted during the Blitz on contemporary life and structures. They quickly...
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Fortress Koepenick
 On 13th February 1849 a lowly shoemaker living in Tilsit, in Prussia, met his brand-new son. The son’s name was Friedrich Wilhelm Voigt, and he would have one the speediest rises through the ranks of...
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Fly Bite
Early in the day, on the 25th of March 1944, Flying Officer Douglas Jackson Turner and his co-pilot Flight Lieutenant Des Curtis were sitting in the cockpit of their Mosquito Tsetse, on the runway of...
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Intelegence Files 2: everything you wanted to know about the M1967
 Hello Historians, and happy new year! I realise I've been very lacking in content of late, and once again I can only apologise. As I am acutely aware of not posting anything for a while, I've grabbed...
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First and Last
On the 24th of February, 1815, two days before Napoleon escaped from Elba, and four months before the Battle of Waterloo, a huge ship of the line rumbled down the slipway at Bombay. She was named HMS...
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The Bridge
Over the years (soon to be decades!) I have been writing these articles I have focused on a great many items to bridge elements of the story, be it a tank, warship, location or even weapon system. But...
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With a Bit of Guts Behind them!
Hello Historians, I am still alive and doing history stuff. As you may have gathered, it has not left me much time to do full articles. I do still provide history related content on my social media,...
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The Tank is Dead
Events in the Nagorno-Karabakh war back in September 2020 hinted at the new reality of warfare. These truths were thrown into sharp relief during the Ukrainian war, where light forces equipped with...
View ArticleA Tanks Future [competition]
Last week I asked if the tank is dead, which it is not. However, I suggested the shape of the tank may well change. But change to what?Well we can all take our guesses as to what a tank will look like,...
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Tank: The Next Generation
Some weeks ago I ran the design a tank competition. The number of entries was rather low, as in, only two designs. One design came in, on the last day, and is part of the reason for the results delay,...
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