Whiskey tango foxtrot
Sometimes I worry about the British.
After 1950, Cold War, Nuclear, biological, chemical
Nuclear, biological, chemical
After 1950, Blogging, tweeting and podcasting, Cold War, Nuclear, biological, chemical
So close and yet (thankfully) so far (so far)
Gary Smailes has put together Military History Carnival 8, and it’s a good one. The item which, inevitably, appealed to me most was Damned Interesting’s account of incidents where the world nearly stumbled into an accidental nuclear holocaust. (But wait, there were more!) Obviously, a scenario where the survival of a significant proportion of humanity,
1920s, Nuclear, biological, chemical, Periodicals
A not very possible fact
Or, at least, not very likely. In June 1922, the Daily Mail printed a two-column article under the headline “Our lost air power” (a title it used for just about all of its air-scare stuff that year).1 The author’s name is not given, but is described as ‘An Armament Expert’, who until recently was on
1930s, Books, Civil defence, Nuclear, biological, chemical, Pictures
Seventy-two gas masks
The above photograph, and all of the following, are from Poison Gas (London: Union of Democratic Control, 1935).
1930s, 1940s, After 1950, Books, Cold War, Collective security, International air force, Nuclear, biological, chemical, Periodicals, Space, Videos
Companions
[Cross-posted at Revise and Dissent.] It’s 50 years since Sputnik I lifted off. Although I was airminded as a kid, I was much more spaceminded. So 1957 was always a crucial year in my understanding of history back then: it was where the modern age began. (In fact the very first historical work I ever
1930s, After 1950, Australia, Books, Cold War, Nuclear, biological, chemical, Periodicals
What happened to Nevil Shute
It’s not often that I happen across a discussion of knock-out blow novels outside specialist literature, so I was interested to see that Gideon Haigh (probably best known as a cricket writer, but also a fine essayist) talks about Nevil Shute’s What Happened to the Corbetts (1939) in the current issue of The Monthly. The
After 1950, Aircraft, Cold War, Nuclear, biological, chemical, Pictures
Airship vs. A-bomb
The A-bomb won: I wouldn’t have thought it was necessary to detonate a 19 kiloton nuclear weapon to see what it would do to an airship, but that’s just what the US Department of Energy did on 7 August 1957. Well, to be fair, the primary purpose was probably to test a prototype of the
After 1950, Blogging, tweeting and podcasting, Cold War, Music, Nuclear, biological, chemical, Other, Videos
Unthinking the thinkable
WE ARE ALWAYS pleased to learn of a new post on Professor Palmer’s most interesting blog, the Avia-Corner. It is the first place one would turn in order to learn about the often murky world of Soviet aviation. However, his latest rant — there is unfortunately no other word for it — caught us by
1940s, Nuclear, biological, chemical, Periodicals
The next next war
It’s never too early to start thinking about the shape of the next war, even if the current one is still being fought. At the end of May 1945 — only three weeks after V-E day and over two months before V-J day — some discussion on the subject was held in the House of
1930s, Contemporary, Nuclear, biological, chemical, Periodicals, Television
The Wickham Steed affair in popular culture
Here in Australia, we’re just catching up on the last two series of Foyle’s War, a British detective drama which differs from the estimated 734 other British detective dramas in existence by being set in Sussex during the Second World War. This is a very large part of its charm (though due regard must be