This weekend, I visited Lincoln. This city was the "birthplace of the tank", so I did some exploration. South of the centre is where Foster's of Lincoln stood. Its Wellington Foundry in Firth Road was the centre of tank development in 1915-16. Little Willie & Mother were designed & built here. 1/

Embracing the new normal I'm now shamelessly using my all-terrain wheelchair to plug my titles from Pen and Sword Books. The first of these is the Land Rover, available, along with other great titles, from the Pen and Sword Books website;(www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Land-Craft-7...)

Buy ICM models

🎙️ Provisional Itinerary: Michaelmas Talks & Guests open.substack.com/pub/philipwb...

Anyone out in Bath today. If you spot this bike and tell me where it is I will pay you fuckin handsomely. Pop a lock on it I’ll literally give you £500.

Today in 1940, the German air force launched Operation Loge, a heavy bombing raid against London, starting a months-long air campaign known as the #Blitz. Hundreds of British and German aircraft tangle in the skies over southern England. But one pilot sits out the battle. A thread... 1/20🧵

Here it is. I’m not going to use the word ‘pride’ of my collection. But it’s a great talking point about relative qualities of personal equipment during WW2. The Breda Modello 30. Now I know what you’re thinking ‘it’s garbage’ well, yes. But let’s take a look at it a bit closer. 1/

USA! Tariff things are happening very soon & it's very uncertain, so to encourage you to order now, if you use the code USA at the coupon section (and are in the USA) you get 10% off. We've got some plans in the pipeline but shh look it's an excuse to buy things at 10% off. www.badsquiddogames.com

Final call to sign up to watch this tomorrow night. #RoyalEngineers supporting the armoured & infantry formations throughout the lesser known Operations in the Western Deserts, Syria, Burma & Assam during WWII. Maps, bridging, fieldworks and more. #REspect #VEDay80 www.instre.org/events/my-gr...

US recruitment poster from 1943 at the Wright museum, NH. Feels a long way from the Ukraine meeting with Putin on Friday.

11th August 1943: Victoria Cross action of F/O Lloyd Trigg, RNZAF. Flying a Liberator of 200 Squadron RAF from Rusfisque in West Africa, he and his crew discovered U-468 on the surface south-west of Dakar. As Trigg flew in to attack, the submarine opened fire with its two 20mm flak guns. 🧵1/8

Couple more #ThenAndNow photos from yesterday. Germans trying to retreat running into trouble in the form of 2nd Armd Div. In particular S/Sgt Cermak's 57mm A/T gun, visible in the first photo. Le Pont Brocard. #WW2 #Normandy44

Always nice when people take the time to review your books. Here's a new one from The Modelling News: www.themodellingnews.com/2025/07/read...

The PNG Courier on the crime against humanity currently being permitted to take place in Gaza. Substack - mrhenrymorris.substack.com/p/the-png-co...

Fantastic reproduction of #WW1 Field #Medical Cards by Somme Poppies Reproductions, going straight into my #FWW display for schools! Get yours here www.etsy.com/uk/listing/4... Plenty of WW2 paperwork, packaging etc available too.

I guess the academic online bully blocked everyone, instead of owning his petty and vindictive bullsh*t

🧵This weekend’s post is something different. From Biggles to Bovington, from Hassel’s pulp to SS comics at the Tank Museum—here’s a summer journey through the war stories we read before we learned how to read war. open.substack.com/pub/killingg...

Thread, 1/7 With the 81st anniversary of D-Day coming up, here's a reminder that talks about my research can be found at @ww2tv.bsky.social brilliant Youtube channel. My most popular show is my talk about German armour in Normandy: www.youtube.com/watch?v=mofF... It's long but well worth it 😉

(Time again to promote my two books, something I tend to forget to do regularly. 😟) If you like to collect all available facts and form your own opinion about Market Garden please visit my website pre-jump.nl. (I have no marketing department so a repost is really appreciated.)

Five years ago today it seemed that the golden age of naval idiocy had disappeared forever. That was before the Venezuelan patrol vessel Naiguatá managed to recapture some of this spirit by fighting - at least at that point - the dumbest action of the 21st century.

Pure, nonsensical cruelty from the DWP. For 6 years, without telling her, they let this mother unknowingly earn 83p-£1.92p per week too much as a dinner lady while juggling caring for her son with severe autism. Then they slammed her with a bill for £10k. Vile. www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

Does anyone know of a book which looks in depth at the fighting west of Venlo (east of the corridor to Arnhem) in the fall of 1944? #histbookchat

War Comes To Aachen has received 3 excellent endorsements from 3 leading scholars. #skyhistorians #Militärgeschichte

@m1ke-a.bsky.social Here's a cracking pic!

We have a double goal here at our Charity. Making a positive difference to peoples lives now, in Ukraine. Making a positive difference to peoples lives in the future, in Ukraine. We work tirelessly for both. #wewontstop 🙏🏻🇺🇦🇬🇧

“To capriciously eject people from the country without warning merely for publishing an unpopular political opinion in a student newspaper is, no matter what Trump’s defenders or special pleaders may beg, utterly abhorrent.” www.nationalreview.com/2025/03/wher...

aside from the logo etc, it takes an incredible effort to take things that people really love - books, stationery, magazines, music - and create such a dreary retail environment for them that nobody at all is excited to be in your tawdry, depressing shops

February and March have been some of the toughest months in a very long time, cheers Nottingham City Council! 👊 A reminder we ship worldwide, pretty fast, and are a one woman company that specialises in cool 28mm femme stuff for tabletop. And have a cracking reputation. www.badsquiddogames.com

And yet another excellent review of Defending Normandy Vol.1B 😎 armorama.com/news/defendi...

www.justgiving.com/fundraising/... £111 raised and 60 miles walked so far. Two weeks left, I’m still walking, please support me if you can. #62MilesInMarch for #DiabetesUK

I talk a fair bit about the expectation that archaeologists will work for free. Even when we do get paid for appearing at events the reality can be grim. In this thread, I'm going to outline financial issues at play in giving a public lecture using a real world example...

The myth of Blitzkrieg & the all-powerful German army overrunning Poland still persists today. But it was no walkover for the Germans; 30% of their tanks were knocked out in the invasion. #TankTuesday NB Alt text contains both a description of a photo plus extra information 1/

#WW2 Chasselay, France, June 20th, 1940. A Panzer IV is opening fire. The target: a group of POW. They are Tirailleurs Senegalais, African Colonial Infantry in the French Army. This is the most documented massacre made by the German Army during the Battle of France. A thread 🧵

Do you need help with medieval Latin? I offer language teaching *and* research assistance, so if you just want a quick answer – e.g. a transcription or translation, or a manuscript identification – I can do that too. Further details here: latin.brunellus.com #medievalLatin #medievalSky

4th March 1945: Operation GISELA. A large number of Ju 88G night fighters infiltrated British airspace, attacking returning RAF bombers and their airfields. Over 20 aircraft were lost on both sides, while 3 Ju88s which crashed during attacks were the last Luftwaffe casualties on British soil. 🧵1/4

It's #TankTuesday once again and this week's photo takes us to Java 1946 where we have the unusual sight of Dutch soldiers operating a Japanese Type 89B tank. 1/ NB Alt text contains both a description of a photo as well as extra detail that might not otherwise fit.

On Lammas Eve in 1940, the New Forest Coven met just north of Highcliffe to perform a cone of power ritual to defend the British Isles from Nazi invasion. Per some friends in similar practice, this is today's equivalent 😅

This is Marco Rubio explaining how the USA promised to defend Ukraine forever if they got rid of their nuclear arsenal left after the Soviet Union fell. This is why lil marco was sinking into the couch. He was hoping we wouldn’t find it…so don’t RT right now this very second.

Some sad news. The Model Box in Barton le Clay, Bedfordshire will be closing in a few months. The dreadful winter has taken its toll on the owners health and wellbeing so they are packing up when the lease runs out. If you are in the area pop in and help them clear their stock. 👍👍 #histscalemodels

Germany, USA, everywhere …

I missed this part

Слава Україні! #slavaukraini

It's #TankTuesday once more and today's tank is a pristine German PzKw 38(t) in a wood with its crew and others posing for the photo. Why is this interesting? Because it's not what it seems. Read on… NB Alt text for each photo has a description plus extra detail. 1/

@philipwblood.bsky.social #membership

Definitely not a propaganda shot! Whatever the real or perceived benefits of interleaved roadwheels on German tanks were, there was no escaping the fact that a problem with a torsion bar or an inner wheel meant up to 10 hours of work for the crew. #TankTuesday NB More detail in the Alt text