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Uncertain future and limited prospects. Army jetpacks

Uncertain future and limited prospects. Army jetpacks

2025-01-24 09:01

Gravity Jet Suit on trials in the Netherlands, April 2021 Half a century ago, several leading countries were actively involved in the topic of the so-called. jetpacks and other individual aircraft. At that time, technologies did not allow creating such a product with a sufficient level of performance, and

Strange air war against a strange enemy

Strange air war against a strange enemy

2025-01-24 09:01

Much has been said about the battles of the RAF pilots with the Luftwaffe aces in the "Battle of Britain", and the battle was dismantled piece by piece. Now we will talk about one episode of the "Battle of Britain", which took place a little later, from June 13, 1944 to March 17, 1945

Use of captured German pistols in the USSR

Use of captured German pistols in the USSR

2025-01-24 09:01

It is no secret that for many Soviet officers it was very prestigious to own a captured pistol. Most often, German short-barreled weapons could be at the disposal of the infantry commanders of the platoon-battalion level and the military personnel of the reconnaissance units. That is, those who

Baltic non-Tsushima

Baltic non-Tsushima

2025-01-24 09:01

And it sounds in all - a terrible tragedy, miscalculations, unprofessionalism, stupidity, the wrong choice of the route … As for me, it was a tragedy when 83.6% of the servicemen involved in the operation died in the Smolensk battle, and that one with signs of optimism - during this time we prepared for the defense of Moscow. it

Serial PD-14 in flight: Russia's most important technical achievement in a decade

Serial PD-14 in flight: Russia's most important technical achievement in a decade

2025-01-24 09:01

PD-14. Photo: Vitaly Kuzmin, vitalykuzmin.net Long-awaited, Russian Not all developed countries can afford to create their own aircraft engines. At one time, the Soviet Union was in this honorary club, and Russia rested on its former laurels for many decades. Mass production

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Varangians and Rus "Tale of Bygone Years"

Varangians and Rus "Tale of Bygone Years"

X-XI centuries are a very interesting period in the history of our country. Familiar names are constantly found in Western European and Byzantine sources of that time, and some Russian princes are the heroes of the Scandinavian sagas. At that time, the contacts of Kievan Rus' and

Lost gold of Russia

Lost gold of Russia

By historical standards, the First World War and the subsequent fall of the three largest world empires occurred relatively recently. Researchers have at their disposal many official documents, memoirs of direct participants in the events and eyewitness accounts. Multi-tone

Iron Timur. Part 2

Iron Timur. Part 2

The grandiose campaigns of conquest of Genghis Khan and his descendants led to the appearance on the political map of the world of a huge empire stretching from the Pacific Ocean to the shores of the Black Sea and the Persian Gulf. The lands of Central Asia were given to the second son of Genghis Khan - Jagatay. However, sons and grandchildren

Field Marshal Kutuzov in 1812

Field Marshal Kutuzov in 1812

The year 1812 will forever remain a very special date in the eventful centuries-old history of Russia. The grandiose fiasco of the campaign to Russia organized by the seemingly invincible Napoleon, the death of the "Great Army" during the retreat and the victorious march of Russian troops across the astonished

Iron Timur. Part 1

Iron Timur. Part 1

The great eastern conqueror Timur (Tamerlane) is often compared and put on a par with Attila and Genghis Khan. However, it must be admitted that along with some common features, there are quite deep differences between these commanders and sovereigns. First of all, it should be pointed out that, in

David Stirling, Special Air Service and PMC Watchguard International

David Stirling, Special Air Service and PMC Watchguard International

David Stirling and his subordinates, 1942 In previous articles in the series, we mentioned the famous Soldier of Fortune, a recruiting firm founded by Bob Denard. But around the same time, another organization appeared that offered the services of professional mercenaries. This was the first

Bob Denard, Jean Schramm, Roger Folk and Mike Hoare: the fate of the condottieri

Bob Denard, Jean Schramm, Roger Folk and Mike Hoare: the fate of the condottieri

Michael Hoare on the set of Wild Geese, 1978. Roger Moore and Richard Burton are next to him Today we will complete the story of the famous “Condottieri "XX

"Soldiers of Fortune" and "Wild Geese"

"Soldiers of Fortune" and "Wild Geese"

Still from the movie "The Wild Geese", 1978 In the last article ("Great Condottiere of the 20th Century"), we began to meet people who were destined to go down in history as the most famous and successful commanders of mercenary units of the 20th century. Causes genuine surprise at how they succeeded

OAS and Delta: against de Gaulle and FLN

OAS and Delta: against de Gaulle and FLN

Still from the film "Goal: 500 Million" Let's continue our story about the tragic events that followed de Gaulle's decision to leave Algeria. Organization de l'Armee Secrete On December 3, 1960, in the Spanish capital, General Raoul Salan, Colonel Charles Lasherua and the leaders of the Blackfeet students Pierre Lagayard and

Bob Denard: "the king of mercenaries" and "the nightmare of presidents"

Bob Denard: "the king of mercenaries" and "the nightmare of presidents"

Still from the movie "Mr. Bob" (2011), Clovis Cornillac as Denard From the article "Soldiers of Fortune" and "Wild Geese" we remember that, after returning to Paris from Congo, Robert Denard began to work on the creation of a firm for the recruitment of mercenaries, dubbed "Soldier of Fortune". But in his office

"Time for parachutists" and "Je ne regrette rien"

"Time for parachutists" and "Je ne regrette rien"

January 1960, Algeria, students protest against de Gaulle's policy. Student leader Pierre Lagayard in front of the barricade After defeating the National Liberation Front in the field and defeating terrorists in the battle for the capital (Algeria), the French seemed to be able to build on their success. By 1959

The most successful Russian "legionnaire". Rodion Malinovsky

The most successful Russian "legionnaire". Rodion Malinovsky

R. Ya. Malinovsky during the Battle of StalingradIn the article “The most famous Russian“graduates”of the French Foreign Legion. Zinovy Peshkov "we talked about the fate of the godson of AM Gorky, whose bright and eventful life Louis Aragon called" one of the strangest biographies of this

Exotic military units of France. Tyrallers

Exotic military units of France. Tyrallers

Tyrallers of the times of Napoleon III. A hand-colored photograph from the Album photographique des uniformes de l'armee francaise Paris, 1866 As we recall from the article “Zouaves. New and unusual military units of France ", after the conquest of Algeria (1830), and then Tunisia and Morocco, the French decided

Great Condottieri of the 20th century

Great Condottieri of the 20th century

In this article we will begin a story about the famous condottieri of the 20th century and the amazing African adventures of "wild geese" and "soldiers of fortune". Among them were the servicemen of the French Foreign Legion, who in the second half of the twentieth century found a new area of application for their talents

Battle of Algeria

Battle of Algeria

Collage of frames from the film "Battle for Algeria", made especially for this article Mass terrorist attacks by the FLN militants in November 1956 - September 1957. received the unofficial name "Battle for the capital" ("Battle for Algeria"). At the beginning of 1957, an average of 4 terrorist attacks took place in this city

Foreign Legion commanders in the Algerian War

Foreign Legion commanders in the Algerian War

Legionnaires in AlgeriaIn the articles "The Algerian War of the French Foreign Legion" and "The Battle of Algeria" it was told about the beginning of the war in this overseas department of France, its features and some of the heroes and antiheroes of those years. In this one we will continue the story of the Algerian war and talk about some

The tragedy of French Algeria

The tragedy of French Algeria

French soldiers leaving Algeria await loading on the ship. City of Bona In this article we will conclude the story of the many years and bloody Algerian war, tell about the flight from Algeria of the "blackfeet", evolves and harki and about some sad events that followed the acquisition of this country

Zouaves. New and unusual military units of France

Zouaves. New and unusual military units of France

A. Rachinsky. French Zouaves during the Crimean War. (detail of the painting, 1858) The conquest of Algeria in 1830, as well as the later annexation of Tunisia and Morocco, led to the emergence of new and unusual military formations in France. The most famous of these are undoubtedly the zouave

Russian volunteers of the French Foreign Legion

Russian volunteers of the French Foreign Legion

Russian soldiers in France. In a helmet - Rodion Malinovsky, the future Soviet Marshal and Minister of Defense of the USSR The first Russian soldiers in the Foreign Legion appeared at the end of the 19th century, but their number was small: on January 1, 1913, there were 116 people. However, immediately after the start of World War I

The most famous Russian "graduates" of the French Foreign Legion. Zinovy Peshkov

The most famous Russian "graduates" of the French Foreign Legion. Zinovy Peshkov

Now we will talk about the most famous natives of the Russian Empire from among those who went through the harsh school of the French Foreign Legion. And first, let's talk about Zinovia Peshkov, whose life Louis Aragon, who knew him well, called “one of the strangest biographies of this senseless