‘Star Wars’ Almost Started a Real-Life War… Over a Sandcrawler Model
In 1976, when George Lucas shot Star Wars, filming almost started a real-life war between Tunisia and Libya. Tatooine, Luke Skywalker‘s home planet, was filmed…
BMPT Terminator: Russia’s Supposedly ‘Invincible’ Armored Fighting Vehicle
The BMPT Terminator is a Russian armored fighting vehicle (AFV) produced by UralVagonZavod. Its mission is to support main battle tanks (MBTs) and other AFVs…
US Navy Pilots Were Afraid to Fly the Vought F7U Cutlass
The Vought F7U Cutlass was a carrier-based aircraft that served with the US Navy between 1951-59. Developed with the use of German research taken by…
How An F/A-18 Hornet Pilot and His Wingman Returned to Base After a Mid-Air Collision
On April 22, 1996, two US Navy McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornets got into a mid-air collision during an exercise off the coast of Virginia. Both…
Leichtgeschütz 40: Germany’s Powerful World War II-Era Recoilless Gun
The Leichtgeschütz 40 (LG 40) was a German recoilless gun that saw service during the Second World War. The Wehrmacht first used the weapon during…
Operation Red Wings and Its Depiction in ‘Lone Survivor’
The American biographical war film, Lone Survivor, was released in 2013. Starring Mark Wahlberg and directed by Peter Berg, it depicts the events of Operation…
The Kursk Submarine Disaster Claimed the Lives of 118 Russian Sailors
K-141 Kursk was an Oscar II-class nuclear-powered cruise missile submarine operated by the Russian Navy. Commissioned in December 1994, she represented the peak of the…
M20 Recoilless Rifle: While Not Effective Against Tanks, It Obliterated Enemy Pillboxes
The M20 recoilless rifle saw limited service at the end of World War II and was used extensively in Korea. It was only capable of…
The True Story Behind the Clint Eastwood and Bradley Cooper Film, ‘American Sniper’
American Sniper (2014) is a biographical war film, directed and produced by Clint Eastwood. It focuses on the life of Chris Kyle, who claimed 255…
The Soviet ‘Hiroshima’ Submarine That Inspired Harrison Ford’s ‘K-19: The Widowmaker’
K-19 was the first submarine of the Soviet Union’s Project 658, the first generation of Soviet nuclear submersibles that carried an armament of nuclear ballistic…
The Real-Life History Behind the British Television Series, ‘Sharpe’
The television series Sharpe (1993-2008) captivated audiences with its portrayal of the Napoleonic Wars. The show skillfully weaves a fictional narrative into historical events with…
Panzerbüchse 39: The German ‘Tank Hunting Rifle’ That Saw Action In Poland and the USSR
The Panzerbüchse 39 (PzB 39) was an anti-tank rifle operated by Wehrmacht during the Second World War. The PzB 39 saw use during the invasion…