History

Show First

Hamer’s Hammer: The Remington Model 8

Hamer’s Hammer: The Remington Model 8

{ 15 comments }

Scientists would have us believe that the dinosaurs died out some 65 million years ago. However, I would assert that all that is wrong. The last surviving dinosaur actually passed away in 1955. His name was Frank Hamer.

LTC Charles "Bazooka Charlie" Carpenter: Rosie the Rocketer

LTC Charles “Bazooka Charlie” Carpenter: Rosie the Rocketer

{ 9 comments }

Charlie Carpenter took out a pair of these Mk VI Tiger 1 heavy tanks by punching Bazooka rockets through their relatively thin roof armor. George Patton saw in Charlie Carpenter the attributes he desired in his soldiers.

Mills’ Marauders & The Fantastic FAL

Mills’ Marauders & The Fantastic FAL

{ 22 comments }

In April of 1982 twenty-three-year-old Lieutenant Keith Paul Mills commanded a 22-man detachment of Royal Marines deployed to South Georgia Island in the Falklands. His performance along with that of his fellow Marines was the stuff of legend.

Hitler’s Walther: The Monster Killer

Hitler’s Walther: The Monster Killer

{ 10 comments }

This nutjob caused the world no end of trouble. The gun that finally killed him was lost in the chaos of the end of the war.

Operation Isotope

Operation Isotope

{ 9 comments }

The 1970s represented the Golden Age of aerial piracy. The first recorded aircraft hijacking took place in Mexico in 1929. By the 1970s terrorists had raised it to an art form.

Petty Officer Hajime Toyoshima and His Ghastly Type 26 Revolver

Petty Officer Hajime Toyoshima and His Ghastly Type 26 Revolver

{ 7 comments }

The time Hajime Toyoshima spent in Australia during World War 2 was characterized by violence and chaos.

Don't Go Into the Swamp: Crocodiles and the Japanese Type 99 Rifle

Don’t Go Into the Swamp: Crocodiles and the Japanese Type 99 Rifle

{ 16 comments }

The Guinness Book lists the carnage in Ramree Island’s mangrove swamps as the worst example of crocodile predation on humans in history. There were 500 or so troops who remained unaccounted for that night. Theirs was an undeniably ghastly end.

Break Glass in Case of War: Smadge and the M16 Rifle

Break Glass in Case of War: Smadge and the M16 Rifle

{ 44 comments }

The Smadge kept me in shape, taught me discipline, showed me how to run a rifle, and started me down the path toward becoming a real soldier myself. A deeply flawed man, he was nonetheless undeniably hardcore.

The Siege of Vicksburg, Slavery, and a Freshly-Dug Rose Bed

The Siege of Vicksburg, Slavery, and a Freshly-Dug Rose Bed

{ 33 comments }

One small tragic drama played out on the front porch of a plantation house during a hot summer afternoon outside Vicksburg, Mississippi.

Wheelgun Perfection: S&W Model 640

Wheelgun Perfection: S&W Model 640

{ 37 comments }

The stainless construction, combined with the longer barrel, made the 640 significantly easier to shoot when compared with the alloy guns. My friends have told me that I’ve never met a J-frame that I didn’t like. That is not quite the case but certainly, the new 640 has a lot to offer.