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Back to the drawing board: The K-class submarine
DAVID PORTER ON MILITARY HISTORY’S DOOMED INVENTIONS
Back to the drawing board: the Avro Manchester
David Porter on Military History’s doomed inventions.
War of words – ‘revolver’
‘There are probably in Texas about as many revolvers as male adults,’ wrote one correspondent for The New York Times in 1854.
Brigit: Irish goddess turned Christian saint?
She is a goddess of poetry, medicine, and blacksmithing, but there is no mention of the fire that becomes associated with her sainted counterpart.
Austria-Hungary’s Viribus Unitis-class battleships
Although the Austrian navy had won a remarkable victory against the Italians at the Battle of Lissa in the Adriatic on 20 July 1866, economic problems following the creation of the Dual
War of words – ‘Panzer’
Panzer is a German word meaning ‘mail’ or ‘coat of mail’, with mail being body armour composed of interlocking metal rings. In the early 20th century, the word was applied to the
Minerva: cultivating wisdom
A deity of wisdom and war, born fully grown, and armed, from the head of her father Zeus/Jupiter, Minerva – and her Greek counterpart Athena – played an important part in Greek and Roman religion.
War of Words – ‘samurai’
‘Samurai’, meaning ‘one who serves’, derives from the Japanese verb samurau, ‘to wait on’. These warriors were the elite military class of feudal Japan, akin to the knights of medieval Europe. A
Back to the Drawing Board: the M11/39 Medium Tank
DAVID PORTER ON MILITARY HISTORY’S DOOMED INVENTIONS
Janus: two-faced god of beginnings
As we enter a new year, many of us find ourselves both reflecting on the past and making plans for the future. This dual outlook is embodied by the two-faced god Janus, who governed the first month of the year in ancient Rome
The Brewster F2A Buffalo
The Buffalo originated with a 1935 requirement for a carrier-based fighter to replace the US Navy’s Grumman F3F biplanes. Brewster’s XF2A-1 prototype was selected in June 1938 and the first production aircraft
War of Words – ‘Britannia’
Ancient Britain was known to the Mediterranean world. The Greeks called the island Pretannia, but the Romans named it Britannia, and made it part of their empire. The term ‘Britannia’ therefore figures
Odin: wisdom, war, and poetry
Odin is a war god, fomenting conflict to see who is worthy of entering his hall, Valhalla, and ultimately fighting at Ragnarök (the events, including a battle, at the end of the world). But he is also a god of magic and wisdom, something he is always seeking
War of words – ‘Privateer’
As far back as the Middle Ages, private ship captains were authorised by governments to harry enemy merchant shipping. Their ships, and their operators, came to be called ‘privateers’. The letters of
Pangu and divine intervention
Pangu was born in the midst of an egg-like chaos. After 18,000 years, the two muddled parts separated, and the Yin (which represents the negative, feminine, cool, dark, and wet) became the earth and the Yang (representing the positive, masculine, hot, bright, and dry) the sky.
Exploring a Roman house in VR
In order to explore how this lavish home was experienced by Roman viewers, researchers first used 3D-modelling software to create a reconstruction of the house. This 3D model was based on information from an earlier Lund University project that digitally mapped a neighbourhood in Pompeii, in combination with records from the excavation of the house and other information about Roman architecture.
The Casco-class Monitors
Following the success of USS Monitor – the ground-breaking ironclad warship, designed by Swedish-born engineer John Ericsson, that played a central role in the US Civil War Battle of Hampton Roads on
War of words – ‘Bazooka’
A signature piece of kit for American GIs in World War II, the bazooka was a tubular, shoulder-fired, 2.36-inch rocket launcher. It fired a projectile bearing a shaped-charge warhead, which contained a
Amaterasu – imperial goddess of the sun
Summer is in full swing, bringing with it the promise of long, bright days under the shining sun. This all-powerful celestial body has long been linked with kingship: Louis XIV of France,