Vought OS2U-1 Kingfisher

Posted on November 23, 2015 by atcDave

Heavy warships of every nation carried float planes into battle.

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This week I’ll take a look at one such plane meant to ride with the American fleet. Continue reading →

Posted in Observation, USA | Tagged , , | 19 Comments

Winston’s War by Max Hastings

Posted on November 20, 2015 by atcDave

Not quite a biography and not quite a history.  Winston’s War by Max Hastings is a fascinating look at World War II from a completely Churchill-centric viewpoint.

Let’s take a brief look at this book after the jump. Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Messerschmitt Bf109D-1

Posted on November 16, 2015 by atcDave

The most common images of Germany’s famous Messerschmitt fighter are of the well refined “E” or “G” models during World War II.  But earlier versions of the fighter saw combat too, and the decision to use the type fighting for the Fascist Spanish Nationalist side in the Spanish Civil War provided experience that would serve the German Luftwaffe well at the outbreak of World War.

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Join me for a look at that earlier conflict. Continue reading →

Posted in Fighter, Germany, Spain | Tagged , , | 12 Comments

Curtiss P-36A

Posted on November 9, 2015 by atcDave

Phil Rasmussen

A small number of American pilots got into the air over Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

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After the jump, a brief look at one who got airborne on that extraordinary day. Continue reading →

Posted in Fighter, USA | Tagged , , | 16 Comments

Mitsubishi A6M3 Model 32 Hamp

Posted on November 2, 2015 by atcDave

The least successful variant of the Zero, the Hamp also may have had one of the most confusing designations!

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After the jump, a look at the first major upgrade of Mitsubishi’s legendary fighter. Continue reading →

Posted in Fighter, Japan | Tagged , , | 23 Comments

Marathon by Richard A. Billows

Posted on November 1, 2015 by atcDave

This will be different!

I do often read outside of a World War II theme.  Of course the subject of this site keeps me pretty tightly focused on that particular war.  But I really enjoyed this book on the key battle of the First Persian War, so I thought it would be fun to share a few thoughts here.

Continue reading →

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Republic P-47D Thunderbolt

Posted on October 26, 2015 by atcDave

Fighters all over England, even from the strategic Eighth Air Force were prepared to do close support work for the period just before, during and after D-Day.

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Join me for a look at one such escort fighter all dressed up for earth moving. Continue reading →

Posted in Fighter, USA | Tagged , , | 16 Comments

GAZ Ba-64b Armored Car

Posted on October 16, 2015 by atcDave

This light armored car saw service from 1942 to the end of WWII.

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After the jump, a brief look.
Continue reading →

Posted in Armor, Soviet Union | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Douglass SBD-3 Dauntless

Posted on October 12, 2015 by atcDave

In November of 1942 US and British forces invaded Vichy French held areas of North Africa to trap Italian and German forces.

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After the jump, a brief look at this early amphibious operation and one aircraft that provided support. Continue reading →

Posted in Bomber - Naval, USA | Tagged , , | 12 Comments

Escape From Davao by John D. Lukacs

Posted on October 9, 2015 by atcDave

This will be the second of my occasional book reviews.  This time I was inspired to write by this fascinating story from the Philippines.  There have certainly been a number of excellent books and movies based on the POW experience and escape.  Most recent would be the book and movie Unbroken, which also deals with an unwilling guest of the Japanese. But this story probably has even more in common with The Great Raid, which is about a late war mission to rescue POWs held in the Phillipines.  At least one of those men rescued appears in this earlier story, and that rescue mission came about in part due to information from the escapees detailed here. Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews | Tagged , | 5 Comments