The Last Hill is a new book by Robert Drury and Tom Clavin about a little-known fierce battle fought in December 1944 to capture a strategic hill in the Hürtgen Forest on Germany’s border. The 400 metre (1,315ft) steep-sided ‘Hill 400‘ lies 5 kilometres inside the German...
The famous toy brand, Matchbox®, now owned by Mattel, is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year. It’s not obviously ‘cornerstone content’ for Mechtraveller, but it does have a military history and engineering aspect to it… and seriously, who doesn’t love Matchbox vehicles?! It started with engineer Jack...
The Automobili Lamborghini Museum, just outside Bologna, officially reopened on the weekend following a redesign and new layout. The reopening marks the start, of Lamborghini’s 60th anniversary celebrations. The museum has changed its name and been entirely remodelled, both in its layout and design, and in its...
Saint-Nazaire is an industrial port city and its history is inextricably bound up with its ship building industry. So it is no wonder that visitors are keen to see what goes on at the massive Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard, not least because its giant ‘products’ dominate the...
Parham Airfield Museum is actually two museums rolled into one. For the most part it is a memorial museum for the USAAF 390th Bomb Group who were based here during WW2, but it also houses the Museum of the British Resistance Organisation – one of Britain’s best...
IWM Duxford opened a new temporary exhibition last week (27 Dec) highlighting the role Hawker Hurricanes played during WW2. Hurricane: Unsung Hero features seven aircraft – quite a significant gathering considering there are now only 14 airworthy Hawker Hurricanes in the world. They include four Hurricane Mk...
The Norfolk & Suffolk Aviation Museum is a treasure trove of aviation history, all crammed into a small site, and definitely worth a long visit, or two, to do it justice. The museum started life in 1972 as the Norfolk & Suffolk Aviation Society, a small group...
The Royal Air Force Museum has been awarded investment funds from The National Lottery Heritage Lottery Fund for its Inspiring Everyone: RAF Museum Midlands Development Programme. The programme is designed to enhance visitor engagement at its RAF Cosford site in the Midlands*, with an immersive exhibition area...
Love this! It reminds me of a ‘Bee Hotel’! The Pingtan Book House in China’s Hunan province* is designed to provide space for children to read and play. The design, by Hong Kong based Condition_Lab, has just been awarded ‘highly commended’ in the Cultural Building of the...
A piece of wreckage, thought to be from HMS Campbeltown was discovered in 2020 on the seabed and is now awaiting a new home. Other Saint-Nazaire Posts Operation Chariot Battlefield Trail in Saint-Nazaire Saint-Nazaire Mystery Wreckage Submarine Espadon – Museum Ship EOL Centre éolien – Learning Centre...
On 28 March 1942, the Royal Navy and British Commandos attacked the docks at Saint-Nazaire in what became known as ‘The Greatest Raid of All’. The targets of the amphibious assault, Operation Chariot, and the key locations of the onshore skirmishes are still there, and Saint-Nazaire Tourisme...
The National Motor Museum, Beaulieu, has announced four lectures set to take place over the coming months. On Saturday 17th December 2022, join Colin Hales for Have plane, will travel, as he recounts his story of flying around the world in a homemade aircraft, exploring the globe...
The Freedom Museum in Groesbeek, the Netherlands, has been awarded the Architecture MasterPrize for 2022 in the ‘Cultural Architecture’ category. The museum covers a wide range of WW2 experiences and stories, such as the famine endured by Dutch civilians in 1944/5, but the focus is on the...
Escal’Atlantic is a visitor experience, recalling the heyday of the great French liners or “paquebots” (mailships)* that carried mail and passengers across the Atlantic, and around the world, at speed and in style. The experience recreates a classic passenger liner using sets and artefacts based on some...
This is a niche blog about technically-minded travel. It reflects my own interests in the mechanical, technical, historical, engineering, transport and military world.
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