Steam-powered submarines are regarded today as something of a design curiosity, although the motives for their creation were entirely rational. The French set the fashion here. Despite the concept’s rapid failure, these boats took a very active part in the First World War. And one of the most successful steam submarines of the Third Republic’s Read more…
Many famous French automobiles were created by aviators. The cars of the Voisin brothers and Farman are well known, for example. A worthy place in automotive history is also held by the light off-roader Citroen Mehari. It was designed by a pilot as well — Hero of the Soviet Union, Count Roland de la Poype. Read more…
By August 1914 the British Empire was bound by alliance treaties to France and Russia, yet after those countries entered the war against Germany it remained neutral for several more days. His Majesty’s Government needed a “worthy” pretext for declaring war, and it did not take long to find one. The Germans violated the neutrality Read more…
The British Valentine infantry tank was one of several tank types supplied to the USSR under Lend-Lease during the Great Patriotic War. In terms of the number of foreign combat vehicles, as well as its popularity with Soviet tank crews, it ranks second only to the American Sherman. By the end of the war, the Read more…
Work on jet engines was already under way in Japan before the start of World War II, although at first it was mainly exploratory in nature. Active interest in jet technology arose when Captain N. T. Tanegashima became head of the engine department at the Naval Aviation Arsenal in Yokosuka (an organization similar in status Read more…
1980. An unassuming little car, the Fiat Panda, takes to the roads of Europe. At the time, no one could have guessed that it would become a bestseller, remain in production until 2003, and that its successors would still be rolling off the assembly line today. The car appeared at a difficult time. Because of Read more…
The nuclear arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union in the second half of the 20th century is regarded as one of the defining chapters of modern history. A central episode of that era was the emergence of strategic bombers. To cross the Atlantic or Arctic Ocean carrying a 5,000 kg bomb Read more…
As a result of defeats in two world wars, Germany suffered not only human losses but also enormous economic damage. The German merchant fleet was not spared either. But if after World War I only its best part was divided among the victorious countries, then after World War II almost everything was taken from the Read more…
The Peugeot 403 has a lot in common with the GAZ-21 “Volga”. They are roughly the same class and appeared at about the same time. For both Peugeot and the Gorky Automobile Plant, this was the second passenger-car model launched after the war. But unlike the “Volga”, the Peugeot 403 had a convertible body style Read more…
Almost a hundred years ago, when automobile manufacturing was taking its first steps, curious phenomena were observed in this field from the perspective of our contemporary. Today it goes without saying that an automobile is a vehicle with a gasoline or diesel internal combustion engine (ICE). But in those days, firstly, the automobile was considered Read more…
