Anti-Aircraft Defenses of German U-Boats

In the early years of World War II, Germany’s U-Bootwaffes roamed, almost with impunity, the sea trade routes of the Western Allies, engaging and sinking their extremely vital ships at an alarming rate. It wasn’t until the Allies began to implement a sophisticated system of long rage, air patrols over the Atlantic that the tide of the submarine war finally began to turn in their favor. Because... 

The Heart Of The Patriot Missile: The MPQ-53 Radar

Anyone who saw the First Gulf War in 1991 was glued to the television set looking at the majestic sight of the United States Army’s newest Theater Anti-Missile System, the now famous MIM-104 Patriot. Night after night, the vaunted weapon was launched in an attempt to intercept Iraq’s unsophisticated and terribly inaccurate Scud mid range missile. The image of America’s missile intercepting... 

United States Deterrence Systems and Strategies at the Beginning of the Cold War

When World War II ended in September 1945, the United States of America was the most powerful economic and military country in the world. Sole possessor of the mighty atom bomb, in possession of the most advance conventional weapon systems in the world and the world power that was the least affected by the destruction of four dramatic years of fighting. The US, confident that peace would reign in the... 

A Brief Look at the United States Defensive Missile Systems from 1945 to 2004 - Part 1

During the years that followed the end of World War II, the Western Democracies, lead by the United States, and the Soviet-lead Eastern Bloc were locked in a political, economical, ideological and sometimes military battle known as the Cold War. In the military arena, both main superpowers, were developing more advanced offensive weapon systems like the long-range bomber and the new intercontinental... 

Flying Home Made Machines

Is flying home made machines safe? Just ask Wilbur and Orville Wright. They tried and failed. Then they tried again and again, finally succeeding in getting man in the air (if only briefly) in 1903. Maybe the most famous aviation explorers in American history this team of brothers didn’t let fear stand in their way of success. Still, their journey towards building the very first airplane didn’t... 

Air Attack on the German Oil Industry

The swift focus of the Allied bomber campaign against the German’s oil industry had immediate and far-reaching effects, compared with the 175,000 tons of aviation fuel it produced in April 1944. In June of that same year, German oil production fell to just over 55,000 tons, less than a third of the previous years output. Unless something was done, and done very soon, the Luftwaffe could find... 

Revolution in the Air: Gallaudet’s D-5, DM-5 and D-7 Models

In the winter of 1917, the Gallaudet Engineering Company finally completed their much anticipated land monoplane that used their patented Gallaudet-Drive Mechanism, a revolutionary engine driving a remote, mid-fuselage mounted propeller. The newly produced aircraft, call signed D-5, were to be the Company’s first true landplane platform after years of experimenting with the famous D-2 biplane. In... 

The Magnificant DH-4B

The extraordinary DH-4B and M model has, among many titles and distinction, being the first American developed fighter to achieve full squadron certification. In essence, the backbone of the nascence United States Army Air Service at a time when America lacked a true dedicated ‘pursuit’ plane. From late 1917 to 1918, this venerable biplane was the best observation-bombing platform in the... 

A French Pioneer ‘South of the Border’ Part I

Without a doubt, the Bleriot XI monoplane was one of the most revolutionizing aircraft of the Twentieth Century. Designed and built by the famous French pioneer, Louis Bleriot, it became a staple in the early days of aviation when, with his inventor at the controls, it managed to cross the English Channel on the morning of July 25th 1909. The amazing feat placed Bleriot and France atop of the nascent... 

The Dreadnaught No. 1

Aviation was in its infancy when the Great War began in August 1914. Still, many historians point towards the ‘War to End All Wars’ as the single, most important event in the transformation of the aircraft from a novelty to a much sough out commodity. No one will look at aviation the same way after 1914. That’s because the antagonist on this cataclysmic period utilized the airplane... 

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