Andrew Knighton

Andrew Knighton is one of the authors writing for WAR HISTORY ONLINE

Articles by Andrew Knighton:

French And British Tanks Changed The Face Of Warfare In WWI, But Germany Did Not Realise Their Value Until The End Of The War

During WWI, military designers created the first tanks which changed the face of warfare. Not every nation, however, embraced them with the same level of…

Big Guns – The Devastating Field Artillery Of WW1

Artillery was one of the most significant elements in WWI. The shattering bombardments that preceded infantry assaults led men to dig deeper and deeper into…

Hitler’s Fortified Siegfried Line Was Massive And Included 22,000 Bunkers And Pillboxes

During the build-up to WWII, the German government commissioned a line of defenses all along its border with France. The enormous undertaking seemed a waste…

An Unprecedented And Terrifying Weapon – Gas Arrives On The Battlefields Of World War One

Few weapons create as deep a sense of horror as poison gas. Its arrival on the battlefields of WWI brought horrendous injuries and appalling deaths…

Like a Scene From the Great Escape: If PoWs Escaped They Had To Learn Fast To Blend In With The Locals

During WWII, many British servicemen became prisoners of the Germans. Some were captured during the fall of France and the retreat to Dunkirk. Others were…

MI9: The Secret British Organization Set Up in WWII to Help Prisoners Of War Escape

During WWII, thousands of combatants were taken prisoner by their opponents. To help Allied troops who had been captured and to get the best possible…

The Malayan Emergency: Winning Hearts And Minds In The Conflict With Communism

Between 1948 and 1960, a guerrilla insurgency tore Malaya apart. Communist rebels fought against British and Commonwealth troops as well as local military forces and…

Started out as a Biplane: The Grumman F4F Wildcat One Of The Most Valuable American Fighter Planes Of WW2

Despite its slightly odd origins, the Grumman F4F Wildcat was one of the most valuable fighter planes in the US arsenal of WWII. The Biplane…

The Cutting Edge Heinkel He162 Salamander – Another fascinating German Jet Fighter Concept

During WWII Nazi Germany led the world in jet technology. Late in the war, the Germans tried to use their advantage to turn the tide…

The Ground-Breaking Gloster Meteor – The Only Allied Jet Which Took Part Combat in World War Two

The British Gloster Meteor jet fighter entered service late in WWII. It was a ground-breaking aircraft in an era when aerial combat was changing. The…

The Vultee Vengeance – The Allied WWII Dive Bomber Developed To Rival The German Stuka

When people talk about aircraft used in WWII, most remember the German Stuka dive-bomber used to great effect very early in the war, but both…

US 33rd Fighter Group – The Exhausting Fight for the Air Over Tunisia

In November 1942, the American 33rd Fighter Group went to North Africa. They were among the first US flyers to join the African campaign. Over…