On 28 June 1914, the 12th annual Tour de France began in Paris with the blast of a starter’s pistol. The same day, another gun killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo, setting in motion World War I.
WWI
WWI helmets provided as much protection as modern models, study finds
A new study has revealed that World War I helmets provided as much protection from shockwaves as their modern counterparts.
Back to the Drawing Board: The Supermarine Nighthawk
One of the oddest inventions was the Supermarine Nighthawk, a massive twin-engine quadruplane night fighter designed to fly patrols of anything up to 18 hours at a time, with a fully-enclosed heated cockpit and even a small sleeping berth.
Tank museum appeals for gun information
Guns are an everyday feature of most military museums, but one weapon in particular has attracted a lot of attention. A WWI German Luger was recently handed in to the police in Wiltshire. Now the nearby Tank Museum is appealing for information about the pistol’s history.
German armoured cruiser SMS Scharnhorst located off Falkland Islands
It was one of the most famous armoured cruisers of the First World War, but it had remained lost for a century. Now the wreck of SMS Scharnhorst has been located off the Falkland Islands.
REVIEW – The Dawn of the Drone
The shock of the early Zeppelin raids initiated a host of unconventional countermeasures, including Professor Archibald Low’s project for a small radio-controlled pilotless aircraft carrying a 40kg command-detonated explosive charge.
Back to the Drawing Board: Tsar Tank
One of the earliest attempts to design an AFV that could cope with First World War battlefields was the bizarre Tsar Tank.
REVIEW – The Fortress: the Great Siege of Przemysl
I had thought I knew a lot about the First World War. Until I read this book. Then I discovered a yawning gap in knowledge and understanding.
Allied war graves restored in Iraq after decades of disrepair
After decades of instability, nearly 200 World War Two graves in Iraq have been restored to their former character.
War Reporters: William Beach Thomas
Seema Syeda recalls the journalism of William Beach Thomas – who came to regret peddling WWI ‘fake news’.
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