Friday, April 29, 2011

Siege of Naupactus (426 BC)

The siege of Naupactus (426 BC) was a short-lived Spartan attempt to capture a key Athenian naval base on the northern shores of the Gulf of Corinth.

Battle of Aegitium (426 BC)

The battle of Aegitium (426 BC) was an Athenian defeat that ended a short-lived invasion of Aetolia.

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Siege of Plataea (429-427 BC)

The siege of Plataea (429-427 BC) was a Theban victory that saw them capture Athen's only ally in Boiotia, although only after a two-year long siege.

Battle of Naupactus (429 BC)

The battle of Naupactus (429 BC) was a second Athenian naval victory won in a short period around the Gulf of Corinth, but was won by a very narrow margin and only after the narrow failure of a Peloponnesian plan to trap the entire Athenian fleet.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Battle of Chalcis (429 BC)

The battle of Chalcis (429 BC) was the first of two Athenian naval victories won in the same year in the Gulf of Corinth that helped demonstrate their naval superiority in the early part of the Great Peloponnesian War.

Battle of Stratus (429 BC)

The battle of Stratus (429 BC) was a Spartan defeat that ended a brief campaign designed to drive the Athenians out of Acarnania, the area to the north-west of the entrance to the Gulf of Corinth (Great Peloponnesian War)

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Battle of Spartolus of 429 BC

The battle of Spartolus of 429 BC was a costly Athenian defeat in a battle fought just outside the city of Spartolus in Chalcidice.

Siege of Potidaia (432-430/29 BC)

The siege of Potidaia (432-430/29 BC) saw the Athenians besiege a city that was part of their empire, and was one of a series of relatively minor military clashes that helped to trigger the Great Peloponnesian War.

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Polikarpov R-5

The Polikarpov R-5 was a biplane reconnaissance aircraft and light bomber that was produced in vast numbers in the Soviet Union in the pre-war years, but that had largely disappeared from front line units during 1941.

Polikarpov MR-1

The Polikarpov MR-1 was a maritime floatplane based on the R-1 reconnaissance aircraft, a modified version of the de Havilland D.H.9 designed by Polikarpov.

Polikarpov R-1

The Polikarpov R-1 was the first military aircraft to be produced in the Soviet Union and was a redesigned version of the de Havilland DH-9, mainly powered by the Soviet-built M-5 version of the American Liberty Engine.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Battle of Sybota (433 BC)

The battle of Sybota (433 BC) was an inconclusive naval battle between Corinth and Corcyraean that saved Corcyra from invasion, but that also played a part in the outbreak of the Great Peloponnesian War.

Battle of Leucimme (435 BC)

The battle of Leucimme (435 BC) was a naval victory won by Corcyra over the Corinthians that gave them control of the seas around the western coast of Greece and allowed them to launch raids on Corinth's allies for much of the next year

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Siege of Epidamnus (435 BC)

The siege of Epidamnus (435 BC) saw the Corcyraeans capture their own former colony, overcoming a garrison partly provided by their own mother city of Corinth

Corinth-Corcyra War of 435-431 BC

The Corinth-Corcyra War of 435-431 BC began as a dispute between Corinth and her colony Corcyra, but the Athenians were soon dragged into the conflict, and it contributed to the outbreak of the Great Peloponnesian War.

Monday, April 18, 2011

Polikarpov ITP

The Polikarpov ITP was a promising design for a cannon-armed fighter that was delayed by problems with the different engines used to power it and that never entered production.

Polikarpov Ivanov

The Polikarpov Ivanov was a design for a two-seat reconnaissance aircraft and lighter bomber, produced as an entry in a design competition intended to produce a replacement for Polikarpov's own R-5.

Friday, April 15, 2011

Polikarpov P-2

The Polikarpov P-2 was a unsuccessful transitional trainer largely based on the Moiseenko P-1 (2U-B3).

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Moiseenko P-1 (2U-B3)

The Moiseenko P-1 (2U-B3) was a two-seat training aircraft that was ordered into production before being cancelled in favour of the very similar Polikarpov P-2.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Polikarpov I-19

The Polikarpov I-19 was developed from the I-17, but would have been powered by a radial engine.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Polikarpov I-17

The Polikarpov I-17 was a rare example of a Polikarpov fighter powered by an inline engine, and was developed in an attempt to improve on the speed of radial engined fighters.

Friday, April 08, 2011

Polikarpov I-16

The Polikarpov I-16 was the last of Nikolai Polikarpov's fighter designs to enter production, and was the most important fighter aircraft in the Red Air Force by 1940. It was also the first monoplane fighter with an enclosed cockpit and retractable undercarriage to enter front line service anywhere in the world

Thursday, April 07, 2011

Polikarpov I-188

The Polikarpov I-188 was the last design to be based on the I-185, and was intended to use a smaller, lighter but less powerful engine than the original aircraft.

Polikarpov I-187

The Polikarpov I-187 was a design for a modified version of the I-185, to be powered by a 2,200hp M-71F engine.

Polikarpov TIS

The Polikarpov TIS was a long range heavy fighter of which two prototypes were built but that never entered production.

Wednesday, April 06, 2011

Polikarpov MPI-1

The Polikarpov MPI-1 was a heavy fighter based on the TsKB-44, a design for a multi-purpose ground attack aircraft.

Polikarpov SVB-1

The Polikarpov SVB-1 was a dive bomber that was one of three different prototypes based on the same TsKB-44 design.

Polikarpov VIT-1

The Polikarpov VIT-1 was a cannon-armed ground attack aircraft produced in response to a Red Air Force specification for an aircraft capable of attacking tanks or other small but high value battlefield targets.

Friday, April 01, 2011

Polikarpov I-185

The Polikarpov I-185 was a high performance fighter that almost entered production, before problems with its engine caused the project to be cancelled.

Polikarpov I-180

The Polikarpov I-180 was designed in an attempt to improve on the I-16, but all three prototypes were lost in crashes, and the type was abandoned after ten pre-production aircraft had been built.

"Fallschirmjager": Elite German Paratroops in World War II , Jon Sutherland and Diane Canwell.

"Fallschirmjager": Elite German Paratroops in World War II , Jon Sutherland and Diane Canwell.

This is a visually fascinating book consisting of the personal photo album of a German paratrooper sergeant in World War II. The photos roughly in chronological order follow the Elite German paratroopers through the Balkans and Greece and during the massive airborne assault on Crete. The book concludes with photos of the Russian front but these tend to be less interesting. A brief but interesting text places the photos in context and for most part explains what is shown in them. As the book is mostly photographs it makes for a quick read but the non professional and mostly non posed photographs give a poignant insight of the reality of war for these legendary elite infantry.

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General 'Boy' - The Life of Sir Frederick Browning, Richard Mead

General 'Boy' - The Life of Sir Frederick Browning, Richard Mead.

Best known for his role in Operation Market Garden, 'Boy' Browning was far from a typical Guards officer, growing up with theatrical connections in a family linked to the Savoy Hotel, and involved in the importing of Hennessy brandy into the UK, industry, while Boy married Daphne du Maurier and worked for Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh after the war.

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