Jesse Beckett

Jesse Beckett is one of the authors writing for WAR HISTORY ONLINE

Articles by Jesse Beckett:

The A-10 that landed without a canopy or landing gear is back flying after 3 years of repairs

A-10 Belly Landing

Remember the poor A-10 pilot whose canopy blew off after firing the aircraft’s 30 mm cannon? That was Major Brett DeVries from the Air National…

How the American Civil War helped shape the modern candy industry

The candy industry and the civil war

The American Civil War brought about the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people and was one of the first indicators of what modern advances…

Louis Curdes was One of the Only Pilots to Shoot Down German, Japanese and Italian Planes During WWII

Captain Curdes Flying Ace

An American pilot from Indiana, Louis Curdes was not only a fighter ace but one of the few pilots with the rare distinction of shooting…

Royal Marines Commandos Best US Marine Corps and Force Them to Surrender in Training Exercise

Royal Marines Joint Exercise

In a mock that occurred last week, the British Royal Marines commandos and its allies triumphed over the US Marine Corps. The engagement took place…

German Zeppelins Were Made with Cow Intestines And It Led To Sausage Restrictions During WWI

German Zeppelin and Cow Intestines

A rain of German bombs falling onto London may sound like a scene from the Blitz, but the city was also attacked by Germany during…

The P-38 Terrified Opponents And Dominated Aerial Reconnaissance During WWII

P-38 Lightning

During the war, if you needed a great fighter, fighter bomber, escort, reconnaissance aircraft, night fighter, and pathfinder, the P-38 Lightning was a go-to choice.…

The Soviets Launched an Assault on the German Army so an Orchestra could Perform

Leningrad Orchestra

During one of the Soviet Union’s worst points of WWII, the Siege of Leningrad, people were reduced to the lowest of lows to survive. The…

A Damaged US Navy Sub Struck An Underwater Mountain, Officials Say

USS Connecticut Damaged by Sea Mountain

A US Navy investigation has determined that the submarine collision in the South China Sea last month was with an uncharted undersea mountain. The nuclear…

Where Did The Term ‘G.I.’ Come From For US Troops?

Where did we get the GI name for American Soldiers

Depending on who you ask, the meaning of “G.I.” can vary. From government issue to general issue, no one can seem to agree on one…

The US Navy’s $13 billion Supercarrier will Finally Deploy after Years of Delays

Gerald R Ford Aircraft Carrier

The US’ newest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, is finally expected to deploy next year, after years of setbacks and delays. The enormous…

8 Times the US Was Attacked on Home Soil During World War II

Fu-Go floating over land

Many Americans assume that, prior to 9/11, the US hadn’t suffered an attack on its own soil since Pearl Harbor in World War II. However,…

Winston Churchill’s Doctor Wrote A Note So He Could Circumvent Prohibition in America

Winston Churchill

In America’s relatively short history it has gone through some turbulent, violent, and plain crazy times. One of the weirdest is Prohibition, a 13 year…