Today on the blog we have an exclusive interview with Richard Ballard. Richard’s new book England, France and Aquitaine is out now.
Military History
Author Video: Bernard Wilkin – Was Napoleon short?
It is often said that Napoleon was a short man. This might even have explained his desire for conquest. In this video, Dr. Bernard Wilkin, historian at the State Archives of Belgium, answers the question and explains where the debate about the emperor’s size comes from. Read more
Author Guest Post: Reiner Decher
Airplanes are beautiful. That is why there are so many museums dedicated to the art of flight. Visitors to such celebrations of mankind’s ability to fly generally find it difficult to appreciate the necessity of engines. They just make noise and use fuel. Yet, they are very necessary and dictate what the airplane can do in terms of flying fast, high, or far.
Author Guest Post: John Fairley
Men fighting each other in the sky- to all intents hand to hand like knights of old – was an almost unimaginable experience to all except the few who had actually done it.
And it was to last barely a century from the early days of the Great War.
Guest Post: Dilip Sarkar MBE – Letters From The Few: Unique Memories of the Battle of Britain
Fascinated by the Battle of Britain from an early age, as a young man I realised that recording and sharing the Few’s memories was of paramount importance. At the time, back in the mid-1980s, membership of the Battle of Britain Fighter Association was well populated and the then Honorary Secretary, the now late Wing Commander Pat Hancock, supported my research by forwarding letters to individual pilots of interest. These included a wide-range of personalities, from famous airmen like Group Captain Peter Townsend and Air Marshal Sir Denis Crowley-Milling to the ‘also rans’, as Battle of Britain Hurricane pilot Peter Fox famously described himself and peers. Indeed, it was Peter’s ‘also rans’ that were of greatest interest to me, having recognised that whilst many famous and distinguished pilots had either published personal memoirs or had biographies written about them, lesser-lights had no platform to record and share their experiences. This I became dedicated to resolving.
Author Guest Post: Michael Pearson
Burma – The Air War
It is difficult to compare military hardware between different nations at the beginning of a conflict as they will have been designed and constructed to differing requirements for differing purposes.
Author Video: Bernard Wilkin – How did one become a Marshal of Napoleon?
Author Video: Roger Annett
Roger Annett has now had 5 titles published with Pen and Sword Books. His latest book RAF College, Cranwell was released earlier this year. As with all his previous offerings, the author has gathered together an impressive number of willing eye-witnesses (himself included) to give the already worthy story of ten decades the necessary flesh and bones.
In this video Roger talks us through his books! Enjoy!
Guest Post: Peter C Smith – US Navy Biplanes
The United States was propelled into World War II by the surprise Japanese attack on the Naval base at Pearl Harbor in the Hawaii Islands on 7th December 1941. The very last United States operational biplane combat fighter plane of any military service had been the Grumman F3F-3, of which the Dash-3 version had been assigned to the aircraft carrier Yorktown (CV-3), but from which the last one had been retired from front-line service in November 1941.1 Thus, in terms of aerial battles, the American Air Forces of the Navy, Army and Marine Corps did not strictly qualify for inclusion in my book Combat Biplanes of World War II.
However, one military biplane did see considerable service throughout that conflict, albeit as a scouting, anti-submarine and target spotting aircraft, mainly in the Pacific Theatre of War.
Guest Post: Mandeep Singh
The Fishoil Story
How the Amritsar Radar Ended Pakistan’s RB-57 Programme
The aircraft came in low, bearing straight towards the radar. The silhouette was familiar, that of a Canberra with large wings. As this was a prohibited zone, barred to own aircraft, there was no reason to doubt that the aircraft flying so close to the radar was anything but an enemy aircraft. The Ack Ack commander had no information, no prior warning of any friendlies in the area. The orders were clear – to shoot down any intruders. The aircraft was marked with the green and white roundals of Pakistan Air Force which are quite distinct from that of Indian Air Force. Maybe they were not noticed by the AA gunners. Maybe the repeated runs of the aircraft towards the radar made the AA gunners classify it as an enemy. Whatever the reasons were, it may never be known. The AA guns opened up as the Detachment Commander ordered them to engage the intruder. The guns spit out fire and soon enough the aircraft was hit. Trailing smoke, it lost control and crashed. Both the pilot and the navigator were killed.