Category Archives: Single Ship

You’ve probably heard the saying, “Military intelligence is an oxymoron.” I don’t know who first said it, but my guess is that it wasn’t a civilian expressing the opinion that being clever, bright, brilliant and quick-witted is mutually exclusive with being in the military. I think the originator was in the military, making the point that many of the things we do in service to our country often seem less than smart. Like putting ourselves in harm’s way, which comes with the territory when we join up. Given that harsh reality, it should come as no surprise that the military … Continue reading →

We continue with the six-part series to showcase some of the finest paintings depicting significant events in the WWII air war: Bound for Tokyo, Lieutenant Colonel Jimmy Doolittle launches his B-25 Mitchell from the heaving deck of the carrier USS Hornet on the morning of 18 April, 1942. Leading a sixteen-bomber force on their long-distance one-way mission, the Doolittle Raiders completed the first strike at the heart of Imperial Japan since the infamous attack on Pearl Harbor four months earlier. Together, they completed one of the most audacious air raids in aviation history. The highest scoring fighter pilot in history, … Continue reading →

There’s a saying in aviation that the only time you have too much fuel is when you’re on fire. Fortunately, I’ve never had to deal with an inflight fire, but there have been times when the fuel gauges received the vast majority of my attention because of how little they showed remaining in the tanks. It’s a sinking feeling like no other. For most flights, commercial airliners have more fuel capacity than they need. It might seem that the best tactic would be to always fill up the tanks just in case. But leaving the extraordinarily remote possibility of an … Continue reading →

On December 17, 1903, the Wright Brothers changed the subsequent history of the world in a way analogous to the earlier impact of the wheel and the sail. Transportation would never be the same again. I believe that human beings have a genetically-based fascination with the world of flight. Michael Jordan being a notable exception, gravity binds most of us to within a few feet of the Earth. To “slip the surly bonds” is to enter into an uneasy truce with that reality, and advancements in aviation over the past 108 years represent a phenomenal testimony to the ingenuity of … Continue reading →

We all receive forwarded stuff from the Internet. Most of us probably trash the majority of it, but sometimes we feel the need to pass it on. What follows is a perfect case in point for me. 
It’s the personal account of a survivor of the devastating tornado in Alabama last month. The author prefaced it by asking readers to “please take this with a sense of humor and recognize God’s influence.” I’m not, however, posting it to comment in any way on his belief in the divine intervention of a supreme being. With or without that component, this is … Continue reading →

Some people believe that truly great art, regardless of the medium, finds its origins in some degree of mental illness. The theory (as I understand it) is that expanding the horizons of human existence through creativity has to break through the boundaries of the “normal” mind and go where no one else has gone before. I’m no expert on art of any kind, but I’ve never accepted that concept as having much validity. But now I’m not so sure, because the photographs below prove without a doubt that the field of architecture is populated by some really, really strange dudes. … Continue reading →

We continue the six-part series to showcase some of the finest paintings depicting key events in the WWII air war: J.G. Boon von Ochssee, a Dutchman serving aboard the HMS Speaker, ditches his Grumman Hellcat JW867 into the Indian Ocean. He was picked up safely by a destroyer escort soon after and would continue flying Hellcats until the end of the war. Adolf Galland and Heinz Bär lead a group of Me-262’s towards an encounter with Allied B-24’s high above the clouds. This Spitfire Mk.XIVe is shown as flown by Flying Officer Burgwal of 322 (Dutch) Squadron. Burgwal was a … Continue reading →

This post will address the topic of word origins, and I’ll offer two examples that are of special interest to me. In the early days of the British Navy, sailors were often “recruited” by “press gangs” who prowled the dark streets of London and other seaports looking for young men in their cups from a night of heavy drinking. These hapless souls would wake up the next morning with a massive hangover, a view of nothing but open water around them from the rail as they tossed their cookies overboard, and their immediate future now sealed as ordinary seaman. The … Continue reading →

A friend sent me the link at the end of this post. It takes you to an absolutely fascinating movie, made with a camera mounted on the front of a cable car 105 years ago (1906).  It is without question the oldest “home movie” you will ever see. Note the hats the ladies were wearing and the long dresses. Some of the cars had the steering wheels on the right side. I wonder when they standardized the location on the left? There were still a lot of horse-drawn vehicles in use, and mass transit looked like the way to get … Continue reading →

We’ve all had experiences in which our world seems to shrink around us. You’re a few thousand miles from home on vacation and suddenly encounter face-to face someone you haven’t seen in thirty years. Pure coincidence, right? Or maybe you believe in the principle of six degrees of separation (also referred to as the “Human Web”), referring to the idea that everyone is on average approximately six steps away from any other person on Earth, so that a chain of, “a friend of a friend” statements can be made, on average, to connect any two people in six steps or … Continue reading →