B-17 Flying Fortress bombers in 1944. U.S. Air Force photo A B-17 pilot wrote home about gutsy attacks from Italian fighters by ROBERT BECKHUSEN The Italian campaign was the bloodiest conflict — in terms of soldiers who lost their lives — in the West during World War II. More soldiers died there than in North... Read more
OG-43. All photos via the author The OG-43 was an innovative failure by MATTHEW MOSS In 1943, Giuseppe Oliani developed the OG-43, an innovative stamped submachine gun for the Repubblica Sociale Italiana — the German puppet state that controlled northern Italy after the Kingdom of Italy surrendered in September 1943. Oiliani’s design was... Read more
The Chauchat Wasn’t the Shittiest Machine Gun — But It Was Still Pretty Shitty
WIB history January 30, 2017
Blame the factories by MATTHEW MOSS Widely — and wrongly — vilified as one of the worst machine guns ever made, the Modele 1915 CSRG “Chauchat” entered French army service in 1915. It was the first mass-produced automatic rifle to see military service anywhere in the world. But the poor quality of the gun’s manufacture... Read more
The Big U.S. Military Projects That Never Made It
WIB history January 28, 2017
An A-12 Avenger concept. U.S. Navy illustration Some were pretty awesome— but others failed for good reason by ROBERT FARLEY Weapons die for all kinds of different reasons. Sometimes they happen at the wrong time, either in the midst of defense austerity, or with the wrong constellation of personnel. Sometimes they... Read more
The Colt Junior Was the Tiny Gun That Could
WIB history January 28, 2017
Colt Junior. Source This vest-pocket pistol overcame economic and legal obstacles by MATTHEW MOSS In the early 20th century, Colt peddled a line of vest-pocket pistols developed by John Browning. The Colt Model 1908 Vest Pocket Hammerless proved extremely popular, moving 400,000 units between 1908 and 1941. After World War II, Colt... Read more
Nazis, Secret Agent ‘666’ and the Birth of Brand Awareness
WIB history January 27, 2017
Aleister versus Adolf. Dark Horse capture Podcast — the only occult Nazi story you’ll ever need by MATTHEW GAULT Every weekend the History Channel runs hours of programming about the occult history of World War II. According to wild rumors and speculative historians, Adolf Hitler invaded Austria not to unite ethnic Germans into a... Read more
Saddam Hussein Seriously Feared a U.S. Nuclear Strike During the Gulf War
WIB history January 24, 2017
An F-117 refuels from a tanker. U.S. Air Force photo And the United States encouraged that thinking by PAUL IDDON Even before his regime invaded and annexed the oil-rich sheikdom of Kuwait on Aug. 2, 1990, Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein clearly feared the possibility of a retaliatory Anglo-American nuclear attack on Iraq. And... Read more
How Fighter Pilots Made Modern Syria
WIB airWIB history January 23, 2017
Pre-delivery photograph of three Meteor F.Mk 8s in Syrian markings. Photo via Tom Cooper Hafez Al Assad was an aviator before he was a regime leader by TOM COOPER It’s no secret that Hafez Al Assad, the military ruler of Syria from 1970 to 2000 and the father of current regime leader... Read more
Source But the weapon couldn’t beat the STEN by MATTHEW MOSS In April 1944, the British General Staff issued a set of specifications for all future machine carbines, a.k.a. submachine guns. In order to be considered for adoption, the weapon must weigh less than six pounds unloaded, fire 600 rounds per... Read more
The Sterling S11 Was a Submachine Gun With a Bayonet
WIB history January 16, 2017
The second-generation Sterling never got past the prototype stage by MATTHEW MOSS In 1965, the Sterling Armaments Company developed a new version of its successful submachine gun. The S11 represents the company’s effort to modernize the reliable Sterling submachine gun and compete with the new Heckler & Koch MP5. While George... Read more