Editorial Articles & Interviews / Film, Book, and Website Reviews

“Chassepot to FAMAS; French Military Rifles 1866-2016” (2019) by Ian McCollum (Video Review)

March 28, 2020

I was so excited to review this book!

Beautifully made, this book gives a comprehensive rundown of French military service rifles from 1866 to effectively the modern day.

Reinventing the Wing; The Aircraft of Alexander Graham Bell

Reinventing the Wing; The Aircraft of Alexander Graham Bell

Mar 24, 2023

When the Wright brothers made the first heavier-than-air manned flight in 1903, the world was amazed. Well, mainly. Because there were quite a few people out there who had been working on the problem for some time, and some of those saw that first flight at Kitty Hawk...

Russia Sending T-55s to Ukraine?

Russia Sending T-55s to Ukraine?

Mar 23, 2023

Back in December 2020 I wrote about how Saudi-led forces in Yemen were using ancient T-34 tanks in combat. In that I pointed out that tanks, even ones as old as the World War Two T-34, could be useful in combat still…if they could be made to operate and didn’t...

Rockwell XFV-12; The VTOL Fighter That Couldn’t

Rockwell XFV-12; The VTOL Fighter That Couldn’t

Mar 17, 2023

The 1970s were a time of great introspection for the US military services. In the light of the draw down of the Vietnam conflict and the final abandoning of the country, the services had to contend with severe issues in funding and personnel quality. And they had to...

USAF Drone Bought Down by Russian Air Force

USAF Drone Bought Down by Russian Air Force

Mar 15, 2023

Well, after the “Great Balloon Turkey Shot” of last month it seems the Russians have decided to get in on the action. At around 8AM local time on 14 March, a United States Air Force MQ-9 Reaper drone had to crash land in the Black Sea after being bodily struck on the...

The MiG 1.44/1.42; Mikoyan’s DIY “What-If?”

The MiG 1.44/1.42; Mikoyan’s DIY “What-If?”

Mar 13, 2023

The Cold War saw a whole host of technological advances take place, particularly (and not really surprisingly) in military fields. And fighter aircraft were one of the key places that the respective competitors poured huge amounts of resources and capital, leading to...