Tag Archives: Operation Sealion

This week in the War, 3–9 February 1941: Give us the tools, and we will finish the job.

Posted on February 8, 2013 by secondbysecond

This week in the war, on 9 February 1941, Churchill made a major radio broadcast to the British people. He spoke of Britain’s strength at sea, and in the air—where the RAF had “beat off and beat down the Nazi … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 7–13 October 1940: Five reasons why Hitler did not invade Britain

Posted on October 8, 2012 by secondbysecond

This week in the war, on 12 October 1940, Hitler postponed his planned invasion of Britain, Operation Sealion, until the spring of 1941. (By then, of course, he would have a new enemy and a different country to invade). Despite … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 23–29 September: Failure at Dakar

Posted on September 28, 2012 by secondbysecond

This week in the war, on 23 September 1940, the Free French leader, Charles de Gaulle, arrived with a Royal Navy task force at Dakar on the coast of the Vichy-controlled colony of French West Africa. He sailed on board … Continue reading →

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In the news: Giant Messerschmitt found off the coast of Sardinia

Posted on September 18, 2012 by secondbysecond

According to the British newspaper The Telegraph (13 September 2012) a team of Italian researchers led by Cristina Freghieri recently discovered a Messerschmitt 323 Gigant (Giant) some 200 feet below the surface of the Mediterranean. The enormous aircraft had been shot … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 16–22 September 1940: ‘Hope & Glory’, and the City of Benares

Posted on September 16, 2012 by secondbysecond

As a boy, I loved Saturday matinees at the ‘pictures’—the ‘movie house’ as Americans would say. Give me a bag of sweets and I was all set for a couple of hours of Hopalong Cassidy. John Boorman’s movie Hope and … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 9–15 September 1940: Luftwaffe bombs Buckingham Palace

Posted on September 11, 2012 by secondbysecond

This week in the war saw the bombing of Buckingham Palace. Queen Elizabeth (mother of the current queen) famously remarked that she was glad it happened because she would be able to “look the East End in the face.” (The … Continue reading →

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In the news: Curiosity and the ingredients for life

Posted on August 6, 2012 by secondbysecond

In the early hours of this morning, NASA’s Martian rover Curiosity touched down on the Red Planet to tackle a question that has fired the imagination of the public at least as far back as H.G. Wells’s War of the … Continue reading →

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