…objekter over Los Angeles, udløser militærets luftværnsartilleri, og øger alarmberedskabet. Et pressemøde afholdtes kort tid efter hvor der blev meddelt, at der var tale om “falsk alarm”. Udover at beskadige bygninger, blev 4-5 mennesker dræbt af kuglerne der regnede ned over byen, og tre andre der døde af hjerteanfald som følge af det timelange skyderi. Episoden blev forsidenyheder og bliver i dag kaldt “Battle of Los Angeles“. Billedet, der er…
…cities spared from conventional bombing so that the effects of the atomic bombs could be better assessed. Tokyo wasn’t on that list (the other cities were Kokura and Niigata). Perhaps the thinking was that two ‘test’ drops were enough, and that if no surrender followed, it was time for a higher-value morale target? It could be questioned how much of Tokyo was left to destroy after the 65 conventional (or fire) raids which had already taken place….
…nationalism. Needs a sequel! Fernando Esposito. Fascism, Aviation and Mythical Modernity. Basingstoke and New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015. A much-needed analysis of the relationship between fascism and aviation, in both Italy and Germany (perhaps with an emphasis on the former, which is about right). Add in ‘mythical modernity’ and I’m sold. David Hall. Worktown: The Astonishing Story of the 1930s Project that Launched Mass-Observation. London:…
…ng over the city’1 of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire. His friends were sceptical, but his story was corroborated, to an extent, by Mr Banyard and Mrs Day, both of nearby March, who separately saw something similar two nights later. In fact, these incidents were only the prelude to a series of several dozen such sightings throughout April and especially May, mostly from East Anglia and South Wales. As the London Standard noted in May, there seemed to…
…he idea that science was above nationalism and ideology, somewhat optimistically as it turned out. Christine Keeler I know, but it’s a compelling idea. Like a secret cabal of stout, do-gooding chaps in lab coats who look like any other member of the community. Sadly, though, the ninja masks are a dead giveaway. Nabakov Just in case you missed this response to your latest comment at LP., here it is again. “I was meaning to email you Brett. During m…
…what the public learned about science was important in an age of technological warfare, and this has a decent number of entries in the index under ‘military applications of science’. Tom Buchanan. The Impact of the Spanish Civil War on Britain: War, Loss and Memory. Brighton and Portland: Sussex Academic Press, 2007. A collection of essays by Buchanan, including a couple on George Steer (of Guernica fame) and John Langdon-Davies (of Barcelona less…
…l sides the instruments of destruction, the piling up of arms are becoming larger and larger, the powers of concentration are becoming greater, the instruments of death more active and more numerous and are improved with every year, and each nation is bound for its own safety’s sake to take part in this competition. These are the things which are done, so to speak, on the side of war. The one hope that we have to prevent this competition from endi…
…r war and other international news, as well as reporting on national and local issues. (In fact, it almost seems more interested in what’s happening overseas than it is in London or even Edinburgh.) Its highmindedness is also evident in its lack of interest in trivialities (no sports section today!) and in its rather staid appearance, with the outside pages taken up with classified ads, and the news and editorials at the centre of its twelve page….
…m. The balloon disappeared in the direction of Lake Wellington.((Ibid.)) Locals were still dubious, as they (quite reasonably) ‘felt that if any resident of the lakes district had become possessed of a balloon the fact would have come to light before now’.((Ibid.)) The only references I can find in the local press report comments from Fred Newnham, who claimed to have seen the ‘balloon’ himself near Clydebank but realised that it ‘was nothing more…
…Air Police which turned out to be – well, I won’t spoil it. It’s a fantastical, but actually possible story, with some neat aviating of an unlikely kind – the best sort. Jewels, plans, information, criminals, a plastic-surgeon, and even old masters were some of the items (from memory!) being smuggled. I’m not aware if any of these equated to real-life events (beyond the example Brett’s quoted) but probably not. Brett Holman Alex: Interesting. Do m…
