wwii
Vehicles
World War 2 Japanese Super-Submarine Found In Hawaii
7:54AM Jesus Diaz | According to Dr Hans Van Tillburg, “[the I-201 submarine] was nothing like anybody had in the Second World War”. It had a streamlined body and conning tower, retractable guns and three catapult-launched bombers. They just found it in Hawaii. More »
Random Stuff
It’s About Time: Britain’s Prime Minister Apologises to Alan Turing
11:09AM Joanna Stern | Remember how we told you that there was a petition to ask the British government to apologise for chemically castrating computer science legend Alan Turing during WWII because he was gay? Yeah well, Prime Minister Gordon Brown did today! More »
Random Stuff
Thousands Calling For Apology To Founder Of Computer Science
9:00AM Joanna Stern | Alan Turing, who is said to be the father of modern computer science, was a WWII code-breaker until he was prosecuted by the British government for having homosexual relations. Thousands have now signed a petition calling for a government apology. More »
Robots
Unmanned Warbots of WWI and WWII
3:00AM Wilson Rothman | Long before Predator drones and PackBots patrolled Iraq and Afghanistan, unmanned systems were used in combat—as far back as WWI and WWII, in fact. Here’s a quick look at the coolest of the old-timey warbots: More »
Home
Calling All Wannabe Dr. Evil’s: Super Secret London Tunnel Lair For Sale
3:00AM Jack Loftus | Last Sunday we were writing about amazing underground diving rigs in the heart of New York City. It seems only fair that we jump across the pond this Sunday and write about a mile-long super secret tunnel lair below London that’s currently for sale, don’t you think? Asking price: A cool $US7.4 million. It sounds a bit much for an empty stretch of nothingness deep below the British streets, but wait until you hear about the history. Oh, the history! More »
Gadgets
Bulova Watch Lost at Sea During WW2 Reunited with Owner After 67 Years, Still Ticking
8:45PM Gizmodo US Edition | A Royal Navy veteran has been reunited with his watch, 67 years after he lost it during World War II—and, it worked perfectly. In 1941, Teddy Bacon, a lieutenant aboard HMS Repulse, was throwing a line from ship to shore when the gold Bulova watch, bought in the Azores for US$55, slipped off his wrist and into Gibraltar Harbor. The timepiece was never found, until the harbor was dredged, seven decades later. More »
Gadgets
Now the Gear Will Start: The Gadgetry of World War II
1:59AM Brendan I. Koerner | Granted, there isn’t much in the way of recognisable gadgetry in my new book, Now the Hell Will Start: One Soldier’s Flight from the Greatest Manhunt of World War II. Most of the action takes place in the Indo-Burmese jungle, circa World War II—long before the advent of the integrated circuit. But that doesn’t mean American GIs were entirely without nifty gear, much of which helped spur the development of our beloved modern toys. Read on for a rundown of three vital gadgets that took shape during the epic Allies vs. Axis throwdown, when geeks saved the world and my yarn’s (anti-)hero went on the lam.
Design
Star Wars Makes World War II Even More Scary
9:56PM Gizmodo US Edition | Looking at these images, if Star Wars was real, we would probably be in a lot of trouble. Fortunately, this is just a site dedicated to transforming real vintage photos into unreal scenes using Photoshop magic tricks. Some of them are better than others, but all of them strike me as completely believable, as you can see in the full gallery after the jump. More »
Weapons
WWII Mine Blown Up Spectacularly in Front of English Beach
10:30AM Addy Dugdale | This is what you get down on the beach on a Saturday afternoon—if you’re in the West of England. Experts detonated a German mine from the Second World War after they discovered it in Bridgwater Bay. The 300 x 75cm mine was dropped during the war by a German bomber, and was discovered sitting in mud by a fisherman. [Daily Mail] More »
Toys
