Machinery & Gear | War History

Amazing Pilot Saved His Wingman, Pushed His Damaged Phantom By Its Tail Hook Out Of Vietnam

Of the 132 missions Bob Pardo flew in Vietnam with the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing, the most significant is that of March 10, 1967, when…

Hiding Ships In Plain Sight: How Dazzle Camouflage Is Used To Confuse The Enemy

Dazzle camouflage was the brainchild of British artist Norman Wilkinson. It was put forward as a solution to the problem that ships could not be…

“Mad Major” Carpenter Attached 6 Bazookas To His Artillery Spotter Plane And Went Tank Hunting

Even the German infantry troops would fire at Carpenter with rifles and pistols trying to down “The Mad Major”. Charles Carpenter enlisted in the US…

When The Nuclear Submarine USS San Francisco Crashed Into An Undersea Mountain

Launched in 1979, the USS San Francisco is the third American ship, boat or submarine to carry a title featuring San Francisco in the name.  In…

How One Sailor With A Burning Flare Nearly Cost The USA an Aircraft Carrier

On the morning of the 26th of October, 1966 the USS Oriskany was stationed 50 miles off the north coast of Vietnam. A group of Skyhawk…

Handheld Firearms – Hundreds of Years of Transformation and Improvement

Handguns have gone through many changes over the centuries. From simple gunpowder weapons to sophisticated modern firepower, they have repeatedly been transformed and improved. Early…

“The God of War” – Soviet Artillery of the Cold War

The Russian army referred to artillery as “the god of war.” Its destructive power not only shattered enemy formations but also transformed the shape of…

The Argentinian Side of the Falklands War

The Falklands War is often perceived, from the British perspective, as a victory that confirmed the British imperial status in the post-WWII world. It won…

Totally Outgunned, This Revenue Cutter Took Down one of the Largest French privateers in the Carribean

There are few moments in Naval History which better demonstrate how tenacity and skill can outweigh size and strength than the story of the Pickering…

A Brief History of Rifle Optics in the United States

War History online proudly presents this Guest Piece from Sam Bocetta Modern rifle sights represent the culmination of almost 300 years of development in optical…

The Sherman Tank: An American Workhorse

Strength in numbers. This is exactly what the M-4 Sherman tank was good at in its heyday. World War II saw the rise of the…

Bizarre Weaponized Vehicles From Military History

You might think that you know about all the unique military weapons that have been made to date, but human beings have a penchant for…