Weapons
Fighting in the Bocage – the US Army Experience Part II
Fighting against the Red Army had taught German veterans of the eastern front almost every trick imaginable. If there were shell holes on the approach to one of their positions, they would place anti-personnel mines at the bottom. An attacker’s instinct would be to throw himself into it to take cover when under machine-gun or mortar fire. If the Germans…
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Hwasong-15 (KN-22) and Hwasong-16Â (KN-27)
Hwasong-15 Transporter erector vehicle Hwasong 16 at the 75th WPK anniversary parade 2020. The Hwasong-15 (KN-22) was launched for the first time on November 29, 2017, when this liquid-fueled ICBM flew on a lofted trajectory to an altitude of 4,500 km. If flown on a standard trajectory, it could have…
Macuahuitl
Aztec warriors wielding macanas (macahuitl), which are oak swords or clubs fitted with rows of obsidian blades. Aztec warriors used these weapons to slash, inflicting long bleeding wounds, or sever, as when they decapitated a mare CortĂ©s’s party brought. CortĂ©s did battle with thousands of Aztec warriors during his campaign…
Israeli Manufactured Drones
A Harop in its transportable launcher. Thanks to its folding wings, the weapon can be launched from a truck- or ship-mounted canister or configured for air-launch. Confirmed customers include India and Azerbaijan. Launch of a Harop and (inset) the terminal dive onto its target. Flying at speeds of up to…
Snorkel?! Part I
Histories of the Battle of the Atlantic universally fail to appreciate the impact that the introduction of the snorkel had on the evolutionary shift in U-boat operations at the end of the war. German U-boat histories of the Second World War are dominated by the period 1940–43 and written by,…
Star Wars and Tank Wars
On the evening of March 23, 1983, a long black limousine pulled up to the south gate of Ronald Reagan’s White House. In the back sat Edward Teller, now seventy-five years old. Teller was not exactly sure why he was here. He had just flown in from California, where he…
Nebelwerfer rocket launcher.
A diagram of the new Nebelwerfer 150mm ammunition These rockets were fired from a six-tube launcher mounted on a towed carriage adapted from the 3.7 cm PaK 36 carriage. This system had a maximum range of 6,900 metres (7,500 yd). I am uncertain whether these weapons were used in the…