This looks good! It’s a behind-the-scenes video about a new crowd-funded movie called ‘Litvyak’ about WW2 Soviet fighter pilot, Lidiya Litvyak, flight commander of the 3rd Aviation Squadron and a Hero of the Soviet Union. Before she was shot down and killed, aged just 22, on 1st...
The Tiger Tank parked by the side of the road down into Vimoutiers in the Orne dept of Normandy is a well known historic monument left over from WW2. “Wait! You dragged us 20 kilometres off our route to see THIS?” said my partner. “Yes, obvs!” She...
The Rotonde Ferroviaire (‘railway roundhouse’) at Montabon in La Vallée du Loir* is very much a ‘work in progress’ and it is going to be fabulous in a few years. The roundhouse and turntable were originally built in 1891 on the edge of the village of Montabon...
The Jacksonville Historic Naval Ship Association (JHNSA) has been trying to secure a warship to be the centrepiece of the city’s huge downtown waterfront regeneration programme, and the first warship museum in Florida, for almost 12 years. By 2018 they had settled on the former cold-war guided-missile...
This is an interesting and timely piece of engineering design. This modular hospital is the winner of the ‘Health’ category in this year’s World Architecture Festival. It is currently under construction in a park on Mincheng Road, Minhang District, Shanghai. The modular hospital is designed by Professor...
The Wildcat is an amazing aircraft that filled a much needed gap in the U.S. and Allied navies’ arsenal at the start of WWII. Descriptions of it, by pilots and historians often use words like “pugnacious”, “heroic” and “rugged”, which it certainly was, but they all recognise...
The Battle of Agincourt Museum, or le ‘Centre Azincourt 1415’ as it is officially named, was redesigned, expanded and improved, a couple of years ago. It is now a centre of discovery and learning for all age groups with a mission to explain the background and events...
Brooklands Museum will be telling the story of the first British Grand Prix and its place in history at a special event, Brooklands Relived, on 7th Aug. Britain was first awarded the opportunity to run a Grand Prix after Sir Henry Segrave won the French Grand Prix...
Istanbul Airport has put Turkey’s first official “Spotter Area” into service, for those who are interested in aviation photography. In recent years, plane spotting has been growing, and according to Airways Magazine, airports all over the world have recognised the growing demand from aviation enthusiasts, who want...
Brittany Ferries intend to use a Ground Effect Vehicle (GEV) – what the Russians called an “ekranoplan” when they developed the concept in the 1960s – on some cross channel routes. The ferry operator has announced that it is exploring the potential for a new sustainable version...
The Royal Mail has announced a trial of the first out-of-sight, autonomous scheduled drone flights between the UK mainland and an island. The trial will use Uncrewed Aerial Vehicle (UAV) flights initially to deliver Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), COVID testing kits and other mail to the Isles...
Italy’s Minister of Culture, Dario Franceschini, has announced the winner of a technical tender to design and build a new stage floor for the 2,000 year old Colosseum. The original wooden arena floor covered an underground network of rooms and corridors, which housed the waiting animals, gladiators...
London City Airport has just become the world’s first major international airport to be controlled remotely from an entirely digital control tower. Its new 50 metre (164 feet) Air Traffic Control (ATS) tower allows controllers 115 km (70 miles) away in Swanwick, Hampshire, to control all movements...
The twin-engine Bristol Blenheim was the RAF’s primary light bomber at the start of WW2. This one, a Blenheim IV, is on display at the RAF museum in Hendon. (When we can get to see it!) The Bristol Blenheim – or ‘Bolingbroke’ if you were flying the...
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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