World War II

In August of 1939, Albert Einstein and other scientists sent a letter to then U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt warning of a Nazi program that could develop a nuclear bomb. In response to this threat, Roosevelt authorized the Manhattan Project to proceed under the guidance of General Leslie Groves, the development of America's first nuclear weapon. President Roosevelt died on April 12th of 1945, and Harry Truman assumed his presidency, during the first month of which [...]

When we think of U.S. Naval Aviation, most of us immediately picture the mighty aircraft carriers, decks bristling with a wide array of aviation assets that can take to the sky at a moment’s notice. But aircraft carriers, as impressive as they are, are not the only vessels to launch and recover aircraft while underway at sea. In fact, they were not the first to do so either. Navies worldwide began launching and recovering aircraft [...]

At one point in history, it was unheard of for women to go to war. The movie industry reinforced depictions of the stereotypical wife or sweetheart remaining home, crying into her hanky while her man went off to war, time and time again. The actual reality of those times is anything but that. It is estimated between 400 and 750 women disguised themselves as men and fought on the front lines during the American Civil [...]

Tragedy at MacDill AFB Situated strategically four miles south of Tampa, Florida, at the end of a peninsula that separates Old Tampa Bay from Hillsborough Bay is MacDill Air Force Base. Established on May 24th, 1939, for the Army Air Corps, it was initially called Southeast Air Base, Tampa. The base has overseen a variety of missions that continue today. However, this article focuses on only a short period at the outbreak of World War [...]