27th September 1942. The American Liberty Ship SS Stephen Hopkins, bound for Surinam to load ore, came across the Kreigsmarine ‘Hilfskreuzer’ (merchant raider) Stier and her supply ship MS Tannenfells. In thick fog, the vessels were only 2 miles apart when they sighted each other. 🧵1/9

BATTLE OF BRITAIN 85: 27th Sept 1940. This day saw the most intense combat for nearly a fortnight as several Luftwaffe raids attempted to fight their way to London. The first attack came at 9am, with almost 200 Bf 109s and Bf 110 fighter-bombers crossing the coast near Dover. 📷 IWM HU 36181 🧵1/15

On 23 May 1939, the USS Squalus (SS-192), a new Sargo-class submarine, was conducting sea trials off New England when an engine air induction valve failed. usni.org/magazines/p...

26 Sept 1805 // 54-gun 4th-rate HMS Calcutta was captured by a squadron of French warships while protecting the homebound convoy she had brought from St Helena. The convoy had reached the Western Approaches to the Channel when several ships, suspected to be French, were seen approaching. [1/4]

26 Sept 1904 // Destroyer HMS Chamois was sunk in the Gulf of Patras by her own propeller shaft. The shaft was thrown out of balance by the loss of a blade at speed and came adrift, holing her hull. There were no casualties from her crew of 60. (Imperial War Museum Q 38460) #RoyalNavy #NavalHistory

26th September, 1942: The Morlaix disaster. 133 (Eagle) Squadron, an American-manned RAF unit newly equipped with Mark IX Spitfires, had been detailed to provide escort for USAAF B-17s attacking rail yards at Morlaix, near Brest. 🧵1/13

26th September 1939. The first British aerial victory of the Second World War was scored by a Blackburn Skua of 803 Naval Air Squadron from HMS Ark Royal. Though the type was primarily a dive bomber, it was armed with four wing guns and also served as an interim FAA fighter. #NavalHistory 🧵1/6

Our next 4 (!) episodes are now available for our fab Patreon supporters. We visited the Tangmere Military Aviation Museum and recorded a tour, a look in the restoration hangar and Joe Wilding and I had a chat about the British Jet Fighters of the 1950s. Join today! www.patreon.com/theaviationshow

BATTLE OF BRITAIN 85: 26th Sept 1940. The focus was the Supermarine factory at Woolston in Southampton, which Luftwaffe reconnaissance had shown was largely undamaged. This was then the primary manufacturing facility for Spitfires, though dispersal efforts were well advanced 📷 IWM LBY LUFT 1904 🧵1/8

One of the things that first piqued my interest in the FWW was visiting CWGC cemeteries, and specifically, reading the personal inscriptions on the headstones. I haven’t been out to the WF in well over a year now and as I feel the ache of missing it, I wanted to share some old posts on the topic.

Our fab Patreon supporters can see a series of images of the Philippine Mars making it's way to public display at the Pima Air and Space Museum! Our Patreon people will have access to all our October episodes filmed at the Tangmere Military Aviation Museum too. www.patreon.com/posts/139741...

Here's the German part of the discussion on four-engine bombers. I smile, nod, ask an occasional question, and then absolutely rock the outro while @milavhis.bsky.social lays the info down. youtu.be/dpNsIDn6KhE?...

Good to see IWM digitalising more of these @curatorian.bsky.social film.iwmcollections.org.uk/record/1849

BATTLE OF BRITAIN: 25th Sept 1940. A large raid was spotted on RDF at 11am, approaching the south west. Small formations peeled off, but the main force continued, apparently bound for the Westland factory at Yeovil. The actual target was the Bristol aircraft works at Filton. 📷 IWM LBY LUFT 1364 🧵1/7

This week’s free read is on the Japanese Bf 109, the “Tony” which - before the snarky replies come in - was not a copy of the Messerschmitt design and surpassed the Emil model in testing. jerijerod14.substack.com/p/the-japane...

Today in 1940, Prime Minister Winston Churchill travels along the Thames in London - doffing his hat and giving thumbs-up to a passing boat - to inspect recent bomb damage, in footage by Harry Rignold of the War Office Film Unit. A thread...🧵 Full film: IWM AYY 39 / www.iwm.org.uk/collections/...

BATTLE OF BRITAIN 85: 24th Sept 1940. A rare ‘kill’ for anti-aircraft units was a Heinkel 111 of KG 26, coned by searchlights at 1:30am. Its tail was shot off by a direct hit, the crew of 4 somehow managing to bale out before the wreckage crashed to earth at Chobham, Surrey. 📷 getsurrey.co.uk 🧵1/6

24 Sept 1813 // 8-gun schooner HMS Highflyer, cruising off Nantucket, was captured by American 44-gun frigate USS President. Confidently believing she was the British 38-gun HMS Tenedos, the commander of Highflyer, Lt George Hutchinson, let the American frigate approach with no suspicions. [1/3]

24 Sept 1943 // Motor minesweeper MMS 70, sailing from Taranto to Brindisi in convoy with minesweepers Swona and Sahra, led by a landing craft with an Italian pilot embarked, struck a mine at 2:15am and sank off Gallipoli, on the west side of the Salento Peninsula. 10 men lost their lives. [1/4]

Hello! Ep 56 is out now. We discuss the investigation into the murder of a downed Allied airman, with German historian Thomas Rost. Such murders were not uncommon, as Thomas reveals. www.buzzsprout.com/2327200/epis...

23 Sept 1779 // The Battle of Flamborough Head, off the Yorkshire coast: two #RoyalNavy ships, HMS Serapis (44 guns) and HMS Countess of Scarborough (22 guns) were captured when a squadron of four American warships under John Paul Jones attacked the convoy they were escorting from the Baltic. [1/7]

BATTLE OF BRITAIN 85: 23rd September 1940. The main daylight raid was conducted by some 200 aircraft, almost all fighters, which crossed the coast in several waves, at multiple locations. The force made for London, but was cut off by 10 RAF squadrons. 📷 key.aero 🧵1/6

Today in 1940, War Office Film Unit cameraman Harry Rignold visits the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch miniature railway in Kent, and films troops of the Somerset Light Infantry manning an improvised armoured train. Full film: IWM AYY 38 www.iwm.org.uk/collections/...

February 1943 episode is out. Catch the podcast on your favourite podcast app or here. www.buzzsprout.com/2314718/epis...

Check out the current episode of the Holocaust History Podcast on writing about Holocaust perpetrators.

22 Sept 1914 // Three cruisers were torpedoed and sunk off the Dutch coast by German submarine U.9, with 1459 lives lost: HMS Aboukir was hit first, HMS Cressy and HMS Hogue were sunk when they stopped to assist. (IWM images: Q 75321, Q 38576, Q 21354, Art.IWM MED 80) #RoyalNavy #WW1 #NavalHistory

This week is a rare week for me to be nowhere near the Ocelot at work so here's my article on Medway's Submarines (and U-boats) from the two World Wars jerijerod14.substack.com/p/medways-u-...

Reminded by @coppsurvey.uk of today's 1943 anniversary of Operation Source, a British miniature submarine attack on the German battleship Tirpitz in Kå Fjord, in occupied Norway. An X Class sub is demo'ed on a Scottish loch. Short thread... 🧵 Full film: IWM ADM 544 / www.iwm.org.uk/collections/...

22 Sept 1943 // Three midget submarines, X.6, X.7 and X.5, were lost in the attack on the Tirpitz in Altenfjord, Norway. X.6 and X.7 sank after dropping their charges, which duly exploded and seriously damaged the Tirpitz. Their surviving crews were captured (two men were lost from X.7). [1/2]

The Blohm und Voss Bv 141 was an unorthodox asymmetrical aircraft, designed for tactical reconnaissance. The aircraft flew well, but was deemed underpowered and the Focke-Wulf Fw 189 was chosen instead. An improved ‘B’ variant (pictured) was developed but never entered service. 📷 Bundesarchiv

The Hawker Tornado, fitted with a Rolls-Royce Vulture engine, was developed alongside the Typhoon. A large order was placed and development was well advanced. Performance was promising, but the Tornado programme was cancelled when Rolls-Royce halted Vulture production. 📷 hawkertempest.se

Aircraft carrier HMS Hermes arriving in Shanghai, c1929-32

Sunday afternoon push for what's becoming one of our most popular episodes: Aliens. How did a young director hated by the film crews turn a sci-fi horror into a billion-dollar franchise? Is it really all about Vietnam? And what is the most quotable line? Wherever you get your podcasts.

21 Sept 1742 (O.S.) // A dispute over a bottle of rum aboard HMS Tilbury (60 guns) off Hispaniola led to the ship being destroyed by fire. A Marine, Robert Meads, went into the hold and asked Francisco Bianco, Purser's boy, for some rum from a bottle Bianco was carrying. The boy refused. [1/2]

21 Sept 1782 // 74-gun 3rd-rate HMS Ramillies was abandoned and burnt after being heavily damaged by a storm off Newfoundland while escorting a convoy. A merchant ship rescued the crew, the Ramillies blowing up shortly after they had left. (Image: National Maritime Museum) #RoyalNavy #NavalHistory

BATTLE OF BRITAIN 85: 21st-22nd Sept 1940. The Luftwaffe confined itself to ‘nuisance’ raids and recon sorties. Night attacks on London continued on both days - relatively light on 21st September, but causing 72 deaths and injuring 224 people on the 22nd. 📷 warbirdsresourcegroup.org 🧵1/6

20 Sept 1976 // Minesweeper HMS Fittleton sank after colliding with frigate HMS Mermaid during mail transfer in the North Sea, with the loss of 12 men, 2 RN and 10 RNR. (Memorial window at HMS President: War Memorials Online, photograph by Anthony Bradbury) #RoyalNavy #NavalHistory

This week’s feature is on the sinking of SS Arabic in 1915. It is often overlooked because of the Lusitania’s sinking but the Arabic brought the Germans and USA closer to war.. jerijerod14.substack.com/p/the-forgot... #fwwhistory #navalhistory

I’m sure you’ve already seen this, @kejamieson.bsky.social , but just in case…

One person who shares this will receive a free subscription to our outstanding aviation blog - what you waiting for? hushkit.substack.com

No Lancaster flypasts next year www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Local Train Maintenance Depot at Heaton in Newcastle were having an open day as part of the Railway 200 celebrations. I’m not hugely knowledgeable about trains, so can’t share much info, but I popped along with Child One and thought I’d share some pictures, starting with this LNER Azuma.

BATTLE OF BRITAIN 85: 20th September 1940. The only major Luftwaffe raid of the day was a large fighter sweep over Kent, resulting in a series of sharp combats which saw the loss of seven aircraft on both sides, five of the RAF pilots being killed. 📷 IWM CH 1430 🧵1/6

Some years later, in the Jet Age, Colonel Steve Canyon--having graduated from comic strips into a TV series--was launching F-100s without bothering with a runway. Exciting launch sequence around 10m35s here:

19 Sept 1941 // At 02:05 Royal Canadian Navy corvette HMCS Lévis was hit forward on the port side by a torpedo fired by U.74, while escorting Liverpool-bound convoy SC.44 east of Cape Farewell, Greenland. 18 men were killed in the explosion. (Image of the damaged ship: Wikimedia Commons) [1/3]

Pretty busy over southern England at the moment 😅 Plenty of vintage aircraft - Hurricane, Spitfires, Mustang, Tiger Moth, Chipmunk… #Skycards

This strange beast is the Hillson FH.40 ‘slip wing’ Hurricane. It emerged from an experimental monoplane designed to evaluate the use of a jettisonable upper wing. This could carry extra fuel, or the increased lift on takeoff might allow heavier payloads to be carried. 📷 vintagewings.ca 🧵1/2

In 1942, the Japanese Nakajima A6M2-N ‘Rufe’ floatplane fighter appeared over the Aleutians and Solomons. Impressed by its apparently good performance, the U.S. Navy decided to pursue development of a similar aircraft for the ‘island hopping’ campaign in the Pacific. 📷 naval-encyclopaedia.com 🧵1/2

Bonjour. The words 'love triangle' and 'prisoner of war' don't often appear in the same sentence. But they do in this week's episode of the #Newsofthewar ! It's the tale of the two Johns (honestly, we don't make these up). @andyaitch.bsky.social @merrynwalters.uk

A happy International Talk Like A Pirate Day to Lt. Cmd Max Horton, who might not have talked like a pirate but damn well flew a Jolly Roger like one.