Although its ‘high-tech’ features, such as an auto-loader for the main armament and its ultra-compact multi-fuel engine, were superficially impressive, they proved to be complex to maintain and highly unreliable.
Back to the Drawing Board
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.
Back to the Drawing Board: the Davy Crockett ‘Tactical’ Nuke
In the 1950s, the Cold War was at its height. To many, it seemed to be a question of when, rather than if, Soviet forces would exploit their overwhelming numerical superiority with a ‘steamroller’ offensive against Western Europe.
The YB-40 Gunship
When the USAAF’s Eighth Air Force arrived in Britain in mid-1942, it was confident that unescorted formations of B-17 Flying Fortresses could make precision daylight bombing raids without suffering serious losses.
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.
The Bachem BA 349 ‘Natter’ (Viper)
David Porter takes a look at everything that went wrong with the Bachem BA 349 ‘Natter’ (Viper)
The Courageous Class ‘Large Light Cruisers’
David Porter takes a look at everything that went wrong with the Large Light Cruiser.
The Novgorod: ‘Circular Ironclad’
The Novgorod’s design originated in 1868, when the Scottish shipbuilder John Elder proposed widening the beam of a warship to reduce the area to be protected. This would allow it to carry thicker armour and heavier guns than a conventional ship, and to have a shallower draught.
Back to the Drawing Board: The Defiant
Daffy, the forgotten fighter Ask most people to name an RAF fighter from the Battle of Britain and they will answer ‘Spitfire’ or ‘Hurricane’. However, during the summer of 1940, two squadrons of Boulton Paul Defiants operated alongside them, achieving considerable success against German bombers. So why has the ‘Daffy’ – as it was known […]
BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD – Calamity with a ‘K’
It was a bold tactical concept. With war looming in 1913, the Royal Navy requested a submarine with sufficient surface speed to operate alongside the fleet in combined actions. Conventional submarines were powered by a diesel motor on the surface, which also charged the batteries for use while submerged. In order to achieve the required […]
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