Tag: Ships

More maritime history on the way to the scrapyard

Readers are probably familiar with the famous Liberty Ships of World War II. 2.710 of these 10,000-ton merchant vessels were built from 1941-1945. By 1943, three ships were being completed every day, a feat of mass production previously unimaginable. They helped to replace the thousands of merchant ships sunk by German U-boats, and made possible… Continue reading More maritime history on the way to the scrapyard

Are criminals poisoning the Mediterranean Sea?

An article in the Scientific American suggests they are. Here’s an excerpt. Processing and safely storing waste from the chemical, pharmaceutical and other industries can cost hundreds, even thousands, of dollars per ton—which makes illegal disposal highly profitable. According to the Italian environmental organization Legambiente, some waste shippers that have operational bases in southern Italy… Continue reading Are criminals poisoning the Mediterranean Sea?

Weekend Warships #1: USS San Diego (CL-53)

As a companion series to my Weekend Wings articles (see links in the sidebar), I’m going to start a Weekend Warships series. This won’t replace Weekend Wings, but I’ll hopefully be able to do more of them, and more often. To do a good Weekend Wings article, with all the references and links, takes me… Continue reading Weekend Warships #1: USS San Diego (CL-53)

Beam weapons moving closer to operational reality

I’ve written several times before about the impending advent of directed-energy weapons (specifically laser beams), which promise to revolutionize anti-aircraft and anti-missile defenses. The beam moves at light speed, which essentially means that one doesn’t have to allow for the target’s motion; one can aim directly at it, and the beam will arrive so fast… Continue reading Beam weapons moving closer to operational reality

A brown-trouser moment if ever I saw one!

I imagine the pilot of this Russian Su-33 fighter, attempting to land on the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, was devoutly grateful that his aircraft has a better than one-to-one thrust-to-weight ratio (in other words, its engines produce more pounds of thrust than the weight of the aircraft, allowing it to accelerate straight up if necessary).… Continue reading A brown-trouser moment if ever I saw one!

Sewn boats, ancient and modern

I’ve known about Arab sewn boats (literally, boats and ships where the planks are sewn together with cord, rather than fastened with nails or dowels) for some time, ever since reading Tim Severin‘s fascinating book ‘The Sinbad Voyage‘. For those of you who haven’t read it, you’ll find an article about it here, which covers… Continue reading Sewn boats, ancient and modern

When did we first ‘go down to the sea in ships’?

Archaelogical discoveries on Crete have thrown into doubt long-held beliefs about when human beings first ventured out onto the sea to discover new lands. The New York Times reports: Early humans, possibly even prehuman ancestors, appear to have been going to sea much longer than anyone had ever suspected. That is the startling implication of… Continue reading When did we first ‘go down to the sea in ships’?

Has the last Japanese midget submarine from the Pearl Harbor attack been found?

The Los Angeles Times is reporting that it may have been. The remains of a Japanese mini-submarine that participated in the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor have been discovered, researchers are to report today, offering strong evidence that the sub fired its torpedoes at Battleship Row. That could settle a long-standing argument among… Continue reading Has the last Japanese midget submarine from the Pearl Harbor attack been found?

So much for automobile pollution!

The Daily Mail has published an article in which it points out that a mere 16 ships produce as much sulphur pollution as all the cars in the world. We’ve all noticed it. The filthy black smoke kicked out by funnels on cross-Channel ferries, cruise liners, container ships, oil tankers and even tugboats. It looks… Continue reading So much for automobile pollution!