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On this day 44 years ago, at Tenerife-North Airport (formerly Los Rodeos), two Boeing 747’s – one KLM, the other Pan Am – crashed on a foggy runway. 583 people were killed in what remains the biggest air disaster in history. Neither of the planed were supposed to be there, they had both been diverted…
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World War II saw rapid technological innovation in response to the needs of the various combatants. Many different weapons systems evolved as a result, but also data processing equipment. Machines such as this US Navy ‘Bombe’ (picture above)were used to assist cryptologists in deciphering German Enigma-machine encrypted secret messages during World War II. 1945. Following are…
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The Dutch are known for their love of bicycles. For most Dutch people it is the first choice of means of transport. Needless to say, the bicycle played an important role in World War II. There is a long-running joke about the Germans giving back Dutch bikes. The origin came from the German occupiers demanding…
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At the moment there is a lot of talk how social media is used to distribute propaganda, but the widespread of propaganda is nothing new. The ‘social media’ during WWII was the radio. About 18 months after the Germans invaded the Netherlands they started broadcasting German language course programs. During World War II radio listening…
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When I heard the title of the movie “Changeling” I thought Clint Eastwood deviated from his usual genres of Westerns and gritty dramas, and thought he was going to direct a Sci-fi movie but I could not have been further from the truth. Although the story sounded so incredible it was true. It is like…
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+++++ Contains Graphic Images++++++ Officially World War II started on September 3 1939,but in all earnestly it had really already started in 1937 with Japan attacking China. We often hear about the atrocities committed by the Nazi regime, however the Japanese were as brutal if not more brutal and evil. The Nanking Massacre was an…
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“I heard the news today, old boy”. That must be the best start to any song. The song ‘a day in the life’ by the Beatles is not just a random set of words strung together, it actually has a back story which in a way links to another band, the Chieftains. According to Lennon,…
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Dachau is a small picturesque town in in Upper Bavaria not too far away from Munich, but despite its pretty and even fairy tale like appearance, it will be forever associated with death and destruction. The Dachau concentration camp was opened on March 22 1933. It was the first regular concentration camp established by the Nazi…
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I think it is safe to say that Dallas was one if not ‘the’ biggest TV show ever to be aired, probably even bigger than “Game of Thrones” and in a way the shows have similarities even though they are set in completely different settings. I know they tried to revive ‘Dallas’ a few years…
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I have to confess that the title is actually deceiving, because this blog is not about James Bond as such but more about 007’s creator, Ian Fleming, and some of his WWII efforts. Looking at some of the operations it appears that his inspiration for James Bond may have partially come from himself. In May…
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