27 October 1948. Four months earlier, the Soviets began their blockade of Berlin in earnest. All surface transportation into the part of the city occupied by the Western Allies (US, UK and France) was cut off and all supplies, food, fuel and the like was prevented from entering the city. But the air approaches into…
OK, so it’s back onto the (Air)bus with the rest of the sardines and head back to Occupied Territory after a week of TDY near the Rockies’ Front Range. Presently researching a (near) future post that includes the events surrounding an engagement between 22 P-38J’s of the 474th Fighter Group temporarily based at St Marceau, France…
As we’ve previously noted, the new Naval Operating Concept, derived from the Maritime Strategy released over a year ago, was slated to be released sometime this month (October). Now it seems that release is delayed – no surprise given the coordination still being carried on within the Navy, much less that required between the Navy,…
An interesting item in this AM’s news clips: (ASSOCIATED PRESS 20 OCT 08) Russia’s Deputy PM: Russia May Leave Sevastopol LONDON – Russia will leave the strategic Black Sea port of Sevastopol if its lease is not renewed by the Ukrainian government, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov said in an interview due to be…
Fun with another WP plugin (WP-Cumulus) – just roll your cursor over the cloud: [WP-CUMULUS]
20 October 1941: USS Hornet {CV 8} is put in commission at Norfolk, CAPT Marc Mitscher, USN commanding. Laid down 25 Sept 1939 and launched in 14 Dec 1940, the USS Hornet, seventh ship in the Navy to bear that name, was built by Newport News Shipbuilding at a cost of $32M. At her launching,…
First, the official release: Pilot Missing in Action From The Vietnam War is Identified The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing in action from the Vietnam War, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors. He…
Let’s see: – Political leaders supporting rapid growth of new lending institutions issuing mortgages for municipal and residential construction? Check – Mortgages easier than ever to obtain with comensurate building boom? Check – Skyrocketing land values with exponential speculation? Check – Borrowers assuming more credit with deceasing ability to pay it off? Check – Appearance…
(h/t Russian Navy Blog) Cold iron – that time in a shipyard when the ship is completely dependant on shore-based services; electricity, water, steam, etc. as the plant (conventional or nuclear) is shut down. Of course, as is wont to be the case, that which is brought on from shore typically falls short of demand on…
“Stability 2008” the exercise that (if you believe Russian sources) signals Russia’s return to preeminence as a global military power, continues. Over the past weekend we witnessed a number of Russian ICBM and SLBM tests in conjunction with “Stability 2008.” Some of the video reporting for these launches is provided below (h/t Russian Navy Blog):…
