The head of ‘GSI(d)’, one of the the British organisations responsible for deception activities in the Far East in World War II and which was merged in January 1944 with the Special Planning Section to create the ‘D’ Division, was Peter Fleming, a well known writer and brother of Ian Fleming, the creator of James …
Tag Archives: WW2
The Soviet IS Series (Part 2)
There were two different Soviet tanks with the IS-4 designation. One of these was the Object 245, which was an IS-2 revised with a long-barrel 100-mm (3.94-in) D-10T gun. The other was a new vehicle projected in parallel with the IS-3 (Object 703) by the same LKZ design and development bureau. For this second iteration …
The Soviet IS Series (Part 1)
The designation Iosif Stalin was used for a series of Soviet heavy tanks developed as a successor to the KV series in World War II, and was created under the leadership of Zh. Kotin and N. Dukhov to provide the Soviet forces with a very heavy tank able to survive the fire of the German …
The German Panzerjäger Tiger (Jagdtiger)
Though technically not a tank as it lacked a rotating turret to carry its main armament, the weapon generally known as the Jagdtiger (hunting tiger) was a super-heavy tank destroyer operated in small numbers by the Germans in World War II. The vehicle was more formally known as the Panzerjäger Tiger Ausführung B as it …
Right idea, wrong execution – the Focke-Wulf Ta 154
A history of the Focke-Wulf Ta 154, a German night-fighter prototype developed during WW2, and the problems which beset the development and production that class of fighters.
A 20th century innovation – The Revolver Cannon
A history of the revolver cannon, from WW2 to the modern day. Also mentioned are the pros and cons of the revolver cannon as compared to the rotary-barrel cannon.
19th century concept, 20th century perfection – The Rotary-Barrel Gun
A history of the development and evolution of the rotary-barrel gun, from the Gatling gun of WW2 to the modern day Vulcan M61.
The UK’s lost supersonic opportunity – The Miles M.52
A history of the development of the Miles M.52 prototype, a turbojet powered supersonic aircraft, and the lost opportunity for Britain’s first supersonic plane.
British tank guns
A brief history of British tank guns – from World World I to World War II, from the Ordnance QF 2 cwt Mk 1 to the Matilda.
Toward the main battle tank (II) – The early days of the Cold War
Continuation of the history of the development of the main battle tanks leading up to the early days of the Cold War, including the introduction of the T-54 and T-55 by the USSR, and the M47 Patton by the USA.