Saga of the Tirpitz
European Theater,
WWII
April 1, 1939, was a red-letter day in the history of the reborn German Kriegsmarine for two key reasons. Read more
Search Results for: Tirpitz
By Blaine Taylor
Taking Out the Tirpitz
WWII
By mid-1942, the towering German battleship Tirpitz stood alone as the largest, most powerful warship in the world. Read more
The Rise and Fall of Dazzle Camouflage
WWII
What do Pablo Picasso, the U.S. Navy, the British Royal Navy, and the U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF) have in common? Read more
The Murmansk Run: Running the Gauntlet of WWII’s Arctic Convoys
WWII
It was unbelievably dull and uncomfortable duty, often interspersed with moments of sheer terror and the possibility of sudden and violent death. Read more
German U-Boats: Scapa Flow Shock
WWII
World War II had been in progress for six weeks when on the evening of October 12, 1939, the German submarine U-47 surfaced off the Orkney Islands at the northern tip of Scotland. Read more
Why Kaiser Wilhelm II Almost Attacked America’s East Coast
Military History
In the latter part of the 19th century, Germany’s young Kaiser, Wilhelm II, was anxious to play Weltpolitik (global politics) and expand his country’s influence beyond the borders of Europe, where Germany was already an acknowledged power player. Read more
The Workhorse Lancaster
WWII
Powerful, brisling with firepower and able to carry an amazingly large bombload, the majestic Avro Lancaster, along with the iconic Supermarine Spitfire, has come to symbolize the might of the Royal Air Force in World War II. Read more
Lend-Lease on the High Seas
WWII
At high tide on the night of March 28, 1942, an American-built British destroyer disguised as a German torpedo boat steamed boldly up the estuary of the Loire River in occupied France. Read more
Italy’s Daredevil Torpedo Riders
European Theater,
WWII
On a dark night in September 1941, moving at periscope depth, an Italian submarine edged into Gibraltar Bay near the British harbor. Read more
Incredible Wartime Odyssey
WWII
By the spring of 1943 the situation for Nazi Germany was becoming grave as military reverses in Russia and Africa sent the formerly unstoppable Wehrmacht reeling. Read more
Three Minutes of Fury
WWII
by Mark Carlson
The era of the battleship reached its apogee at Tsushima Strait in May 1905, when Admiral Heihachiro Togo’s powerful Japanese battleships annihilated the Russian fleet in the Russo-Japanese War. Read more
Race to Victory
European Theater,
WWII
Commodore Reginald Tyrwhitt of the Royal Navy was in a grave predicament on August 28, 1914. His force was near the German base at Heligoland Bight. Read more
Trapping the Bismarck
WWII
Baron Burkhard von Mullenheim-Rechberg’s life was in danger. An officer aboard the German battleship Bismarck, Mullenheim-Rechberg was at his station as his ship was trading salvos with several British warships. Read more
Carrier Strike in Norway
WWII
The morning sun arose late in the North Atlantic Ocean on October 4, 1943. In the far northern latitudes 100 miles off the coast of Norway, the aircraft carrier USS Ranger (CV-4) slid smoothly through the icy waters, turning into the wind to launch its aircraft. Read more
Germany’s Gotha Heavy Bombers
Military History
It was the early-morning hours of June 13, 1917, when a group of German aircraft began its final preparations for a very special mission, which amounted to the first fixed-wing bombing of London. Read more
Chariot of Fire
WWII
The year 1942 started disastrously for Britain, just as 1941 had ended badly for the United States. Japan’s entry into the war not only devastated the U.S. Read more
With Third Army Across Europe
Book Reviews
Corporal Frank Sisson spent eight freezing hours in a truck, riding through France toward Belgium. A day earlier, Frank and his fellow GIs of the 667th Field Artillery Battalion, 10th Armored Division lay comfortably billeted in a French town, warm and relatively safe. Read more
German Admiral Raeder’s Navy Raiders
Latest Posts,
WWII
On the nights of August 21 and 24, 1939, two dark ships slipped out of the German naval base at Wilhelmshaven and turned west toward the English Channel. Read more
The RAF’s Dambusting Lancaster Bomber
Latest Posts,
WWII
In the summer of 2018 a British father and son who were catching crabs along Reculver Beach in Kent stumbled upon a historical item of intense value. Read more
The German Channel Dash
Latest Posts,
WWII
“To cap it all, down came the fog, the sort you sometimes get at sea—one minute clear, the next in a fog bank—so we relied on our radar a lot. Read more