Samantha Franco

Samantha Franco is a content writer with a BA and MA in history, focusing on Victorian, medical, and epidemiological history. She has written content for multiple sites covering an array of historical topics.

Articles by Samantha Franco:

Goodyear Once Developed An Inflatable Aircraft Known As The ‘Inflatoplane’

Goodyear 446/XAO-2 Inflatoplane in flight

During the 1950s, Goodyear became more involved with the US military, trying its hand at creating an aircraft that was compact enough to be delivered…

Emotional Drone Footage of Margraten American Cemetery

Line of trees leading to the tower at Margraten American Cemetery

Drone footage has captured the true magnitude of the Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial in Margraten. Built to serve as a final resting place for…

Walt Disney Served As An Ambulance Driver for the Red Cross During World War I

Walt Disney holding a Donald Duck plushie and a copy of the book, 'Alice In Wonderland'

Growing up, Walt Disney had a passion for drawing. He pursued this as he matured, turning sketching into not just a career, but the biggest…

Albert Hickman: The F3H Demon Pilot Who Refused to Eject and Saved the Lives of 700 Americans

McDonnell F3H Demon in flight

Disaster doesn’t just strike in the heat of battle; there are times when things go wrong during training, which put servicemen’s lives in danger. That’s…

The TV Adaptation of ‘Das Boot’ Continues Where the Original Film Left Off

Still from 'Das Boot'

If you loved the 1981 film, Das Boot, then you’re going to love that there’s a recent TV series. Produced by Bavaria Fiction for Sky…

Portraying Frank Perconte In ‘Band of Brothers’ Forever Changed James Madio’s Life

Still from 'Band of Brothers' + James Madio dressed in a suit jacket and collared shirt

Band of Brothers (2001), the acclaimed television miniseries that chronicles the harrowing experiences of Easy Company during World War II, had a dramatic impact not…

Gerda Weissmann Klein: The Holocaust Survivor Who Fell In Love With Her American Liberator

Gerda Weissmann Klein standing at a podium

While two people destined to fall for one another may seem like a thing of fiction, the story of Gerda Weissmann and Kurt Klein might…

USS Recruit (1917): The Wooden Dreadnought In Manhattan’s Union Square

USS Recruit (1917) in Manhattan's Union Square

Amid the bustling streets of Manhattan’s Union Square in World War I, an extraordinary sight met passersby. The USS Recruit (1917), a wooden landship constructed…

Philip Toosey Served As the Inspiration for Lt. Col. Nicholson In ‘The Bridge on the River Kwai’

Alec Guinness and Sessue Hayakawa as Lt. Col. Nicholson and Col. Saito in 'The Bridge on the River Kwai' + Military portrait of Philip Toosey

The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) was a sensational film so well-received that it earned several Academy Awards. What most people don’t realize is…

‘The Battle of Algiers’ Is So Realistic That Guerrilla Groups Took Training Notes From It

French paratroopers marching along a street + Close-up of a man's face

The Battle of Algiers (1966) is a powerful and provocative film directed by Gillo Pontecorvo. It covers the Algerian struggle for independence from French colonial…

The ‘M*A*S*H’ Death That Stunned America

Cast of 'M*A*S*H'

In an episode titled “Abyssinia, Henry,” the producers of M*A*S*H (1972-83) decided that McLean Stevenson’s character, Henry Blake, was to depart from the show. It…

KAI T-50 Golden Eagle: The Supersonic Trainer That Took Out Rebels In the Philippines

KAI T-50 Golden Eagle in flight

The KAI T-50 Golden Eagle is one of few supersonic trainers in the world and the first developed for the Republic of Korea Air Force…