Author Archives: Gilles Messier

Who Invented the Submarine?

It is the ultimate naval weapon. Lurking unseen beneath the waves, it can travel the world’s oceans at will and appear without warning, unleashing a deadly salvo of ship-killing torpedoes or world-ending nuclear missiles before melting away back into the depths. It is, of course, the submarine. But the stealthy, ultra-sophisticated nuclear submarines of today did not suddenly appear fully-formed; […]

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That Time the British Military Tried to Replace Parachutes with Rockets

Of all major military conflicts of the Twentieth Century, the Second World War stands apart. Not only was it the deadliest conflict in modern history, claiming an estimated 85 million lives, or about 1 in every 25 people, but it was also arguably history’s first truly technological war. While many now-ubiquitous military technologies such as aircraft, tanks, and submarines saw […]

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Germany’s WWI Corpse Factories

On the 25th of April, 1917, the British satirical magazine Punch ran an evocative political cartoon. In it, a stern Kaiser Wilhelm II, dressed in full regalia, stands before a young German army recruit. Pointing out the window to a giant factory belching black smoke, he declares: “And don’t forget that your Kaiser will find a use for you—alive or […]

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Who Invented Lasers and How Do They Actually Work?

Ah, the laser! Whether spaceship-mounted for blowing up planets, handheld for close-quarters battle, or table-mounted for bisecting troublesome secret agents, a laser is a surefire way to add a bit of sci-fi pizzazz to any story. Meanwhile, in the real world, lasers perform all manner of useful jobs, from cutting and welding metal to performing surgery, scanning barcodes, transmitting data […]

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$2 Billion Each- A Deep Dive Into the Incredible Engineering That Culminated in the B-2 “Stealth Bomber”

It can reach altitudes of more than 15,000 metres or 50,000 ft, and fly nearly 10,000 kilometres or around 6K miles – nearly a quarter of the earth’s circumference – without refuelling. It can penetrate even the most heavily defended airspace, deliver up to 18,000 kilograms of bombs with pinpoint accuracy, and slip out again – all while remaining all […]

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Creating the Smart Bomb

On September 8, 1943, the Second World War took a dramatic turn as Italian Marshal Pietro Badoglio, who had just replaced a deposed Benito Mussolini as Prime Minister, announced an armistice between Fascist Italy and the Allied Powers. The following day, a large Italian naval fleet, on its way to counter the Allied amphibious landings at Salerno, was ordered to […]

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