Stukas vs. Spitfires

This summer is the 69th anniversary of the Battle of Britain. A clip from the 1969 movie of the same name has Stukas and Spitfires squaring off. Note that most of these are actual planes and not computer-generated models, and that RAF veterans of such battles served as special consultants to the film.

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.

T-34 - Takes a Lickin' and It's Still Tickin'

Just how sturdy was the classic Soviet WWII tank, the T-34? In Estonia, once the site of the ferocious Eastern Front, a team's pulled an entire tank from the bog where, they say, Nazi forces entombed the vehicle at the War's end some 65 years ago. The German markings indicate the hard-pressed Wehrmacht used the vehicle as their own. The T-34 still runs. No doubt with a lot of WD-40. Amazing.

WWII rifle and machine gun demonstrations

The National WWII Museum celebrated its birthday this week with huge D-Day ceremonies and a demonstration of small arms and machine guns. These two videos were taken on the grounds of the new Victory Theater, which will screen a major WWII documentary in 4D being produced by Tom Hanks. We can't wait to see it. Until then, we have the Living History Corps and their German rifle and machine gun demos.

Nazi UFOs

Third Reich flying saucers, or Reichsflugscheiben, have remained a myth despite this realistic illustration and all sorts of rumors about how Nazi scientists labored in secret to develop them a la V2 rockets. Wikipedia traces the tall tales.

Tanks for Cranks

Rumors of Nazi wonder weapons have existed for years following the end of WWII. Zack Parsons has taken that interest one step further with his illustrated alternative history of WWII weapons called My Tank is Fight! Here's a picture of the The Landkreuzer P-1000 Ratte, a make-believe German monstrosity.

"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.