The B-25 Comes Home

The National WWII Museum shuts down traffic in New Orleans to receive its latest addition: a historic B-25 most recently housed in the Mojave Desert and before that an amusement park. The plane's progress is viewable on Flickr.

"Deadly Queen of the Skies"

We had such a good time with the "To B or not to Be" poll we're posting this poster from the War of a B-17 Flying Fortress. Did you know: Boeing lost the initial contract for the B-17 when the prototype crashed. Despite the initial failure, the Army eventually ponied up and ordered 12,731 of the four-engine heavy bombers.

To B or Not to B? Take the Poll.

Boeing Aircraft manufactured plenty of different planes in WWII. The ones they were most famous for included the B-17 AKA the "Flying Fortress"; the B-24, which had the biggest production run but traded quality for quantity; and the B-29 (pictured), the "Superfortress" which incorporated many advances from the previous planes. Which Boeing would you have preferred to fly? Take the poll at left and tell us.

Iwo Jima Heats Up

Caution. There's some raw footage of dead Japanese soldiers in this rare color footage showing flame-throwing tanks and soldiers on Iwo Jima.

The Mighty Corsairs

These stubby, yet beautiful carrier-based planes were deadly. Some Japanese pilots considered them the best planes the USA produced. Like Germany's Stuka dive bombers they sported an inverted gull wing and their aerodynamics were more advanced than other planes. The Corsair enjoyed such success, they served through the Korean War - making their run, the longest for piston-engined fighter in US military history. The clip is from a documentary on the Blue Devils, a Corsair pilot squadron.

Bazooka Joe

Bazookas, man-made portable rocket launchers, used first by the US Army, were one of the major innovations of the War. The Germans captured several in North Africa and soon had versions of their own. The name "bazooka" comes from a musical instrument. The Germans called their version a panzerschreck.

The Beautiful B-25

It's closing in on April 18th, the anniversary of the famed Doolittle Raid on Tokyo. Those pilots flew the B-25. Named for flight pioneer General Billy Mitchell, the B-25 Mitchell is the only American military plane named for a person. There's more about the plane here, but we thought you'd enjoy watching the engines come to life in a recent clip.

Setting the Standard: The Colt M1911

The Colt MI911 was the standard-issue pistol during WWII. For American forces it was ubiquitous. Here, a video clip of a MI911A1 being fired.

The Shermans' March

They weren't the most powerful tanks in WWII, the Germans had those. But what the US-made Shermans lacked in force they made up for in numbers. Mass-produced, they became a key tool in the Allies advance. Sold to armies 'round the world they were still being used as late as 1973. Here they are in action:

Belle of the Ball

Rare color footage of the War's most famous B-17 bomber the Memphis Belle.

Wild Horses: A Mustang Lives

Could anything be sweeter than the revving of an airplane engine coming to life? The P-51 Mustang, shown here in a modern video still sounds as good as it did when it was serving as a fighter escort to bombing runs over Germany.