Succeeded by it’s younger Blackbird counterpart, the A-12 Oxcart was Lockheed’s response to the U.S. Air Force’s (USAF) need for a high-altitude supersonic strategic reconnaissance aircraft. Smaller, faster, more stealthy, and agile than it’s younger counterpart, the A-12 conducted a field of operations over Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and the Soviet bloc. SoContinue Reading
The M3 was the standard anti-tank gun used the U.S. Army at the beginning of World War II. When it was first used in combat in North Africa in late 1942, soldiers learned that it was too light of a caliber for use against German tanks. By the end ofContinue Reading
The T145 175 mm Gun has the distinction of being part of two different families. The first of these is the Annie Family, which saw it’s birth formally during World War II with the German’s Anzio Annie. The second family was known as the Triple Threat family – or TripleContinue Reading
Born out of the need of a high-altitude, high-speed, strategic reconnaissance aircraft, the SR-71 Blackbird is one of the world’s most iconic aircraft ever produced. The youngest in the Blackbird Family, the SR-71 was the third aircraft to use the design of it’s type. The first was the A-12 Oxcart, which preceded the SR-71Continue Reading
In 1955, Rock Island Arsenal’s Research and Development Division began designing a towed, helicopter-transportable launcher for the 318MM Little John rocket. The project went through several phases. The Little John rocket system had three component parts: The rocket, the launcher, and the trailer. Developed to complement the larger Honest John,Continue Reading
Developed in the early 1950s, the Honest John was the U.S. Army’s primary field artillery rocket until the mid-1970s. A mobile tactical system, the free-flight, fin-stabilized, surface-to-surface rocket carried a nuclear or high-explosive warhead. A handling beam was temporarily attached to the rocket to load it on the truck-mounted, rail-typeContinue Reading
This experimental model was designed to improve the mobility of towed artillery weapons. The Terra-Star major/minor wheel running gear was fitted to a standard M2A2 105MM howitzer. When moving on hard surfaces, the two small wheels would rotate as on any normal wheeled vehicle. When moving on soft surfaces, theContinue Reading
The family of 105MM light howitzers (M1, M2, M2A1, M101, M102, and M119) traces its history from 1928. The M2A1 was first produced in 1940 and was renamed the M101 after World War II. Due to its firing versatility, it was the primary field artillery weapon used by the U.S.Continue Reading
Known as the Bofors, this light antiaircraft gun was originally developed in Sweden and was adopted by many other countries. The U.S. Army used the M1 during World War II. It was designed to be fired with the wheels raised, the carriage lowered to the ground, and the outriggers spreadContinue Reading
The M1 is an almost exact copy of the British six-pounder anti-tank gun. The British design was first modified to American manufacturing practices and standards in order to produce the weapon for Great Britain under Lend-Lease. Production of the U.S. M1 anti-tank gun began in May 1941, and approximately 16,000Continue Reading
