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Structure
Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 30 general entries.
Special Topics
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 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 War History
| Top WWII British ace Johnnie Johnson commanded a unit composed of fliers from what country? | Air Aces Quiz
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| Who was the only US Air Force ace from the Vietnam War? | Air Aces Quiz
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| WWI Medal of Honor winner Frank Luke was infamous for favoring what kind of targets? | Air Aces Quiz
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| What are the number of kills required to be called an 'ace'? | Air Aces Quiz
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| Top American WWI flier Eddie Rickenbacker scored all his kills in what type of aircraft? | Air Aces Quiz
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| America's number one 'ace' Richard Bong (40 kills) had a portrait of his wife painted on the nose of his P-38. What was her first name? | Air Aces Quiz
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| Which war was fought between Germany, Italy and Japan on the one side and the U.S., Britain and the Soviet Union on the other? The leaders involved included many household names such as Hitler, Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin. | Miscellaneous Wars
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World War II. World War II had most of the world participating (except for many of the Latin American countries). It ended with a resounding victory for the Allies over the the Axis powers. In Europe, the war was characterized by Hitler's desire for boundless expansion. In Asia and the Pacific, too, the ambitions of Japan also knew no limits. In the course of the war in Europe the Nazis committed what is now known as the Holocaust, involving the murder of about 6 million Jews and millions of other people. The war ended in 1945 in Europe, Asia and the Pacific, having ended in Africa earlier.
| Which war was fought between the American South and American North during the time of president Abraham Lincoln? | Miscellaneous Wars
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Civil War. The Civil War was the bloodiest war on American soil. The war was caused mainly over the issue of states' rights and slavery. The North was led by Abraham Lincoln and the south by Jefferson Davis. The war ended in 1865, and shortly afterwards President Lincoln was assassinated.
| What war was fought during the Middle Ages between the Christians and Muslims in the Holy Land? | Miscellaneous Wars
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The Crusades. The crusades were the biggest 'holy war' in history. It was a prolonged struggle between the Christians and Muslims over the Muslim-held Jerusalem and the area around it. Ultimately, the Muslims won and threw out the crusaders.
| What was the ancient war fought between Greece and Persia that had a 2007 movie based on one its main battles? | Miscellaneous Wars
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Greco-Persian War. The Greco-Persian War was fought in the ancient times. The Greeks had banded together to go against the mighty Persians. The Greeks won against overwhelming odds. The movie I was referring to is "300" about the last stand of the Spartans.
| Which series of wars was named after the man who brought France glory and land from these wars? | Miscellaneous Wars
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Napoleonic Wars. These wars were campaigns to take over all of Europe by Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. He led his French army (supplemented by many armies of other nationalities) against most of Europe and took over many lands until his final battle at Waterloo against Duke of Wellington and Blücher. Napoleon was initially defeated in 1814 and was sent into exile on Elba. He escaped and tried to regain his former position. After his defeat at Waterloo he was sent to St. Helena in the South Atlantic. He was a man known for his big ego.
| Which wars was fought by China and Britain over the trade of a certain drug in China? | Miscellaneous Wars
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Opium Wars. Britain was selling opium on a huge scale in China, while the Qing dynasty did not want the opium trade because of the increasing addiction of the Chinese people. The dispute led to war, and China lost. Britain gained part of Hong Kong and extensive trading privileges in China.
England against France. In 1337 Edward III of England disputed the claim of the House of Valois to the throne of France. For much of the war the French were divided and were easy targets. (At various times many other states were involved, including Navarre and Genoa, for example). The war lasted for 116 years with some breaks of peace. France won, driving the English out of France, except for Calais.
India and Pakistan. India and Pakistan have had many conflicts over the divided northern area of Kashmir. It started when India was separated into a Muslim country and a Hindu country on gaining independence in 1947. The leader of Kashmir was a Hindu so he wanted to join India, but the majority of people in Kashmir were Muslims, so they wanted to join Pakistan. The people were supposed to get a vote (plebiscite) on the issue, but it never happened.
Egypt, Syria, and Jordan against Israel. This war was a struggle for control of the Sinai peninsula, the West Bank, the Golan Heights, and Jerusalem. Egypt, Jordan, and Syria were aided from many other Middle Eastern countries. Egypt, Syria, and Jordan and their allies had a much bigger army, but they still lost. The war lasted for a mere six days in June of 1967.
South Vietnam and the U.S. against the Vietcong and North Vietnam. The Vietminh began as a guerrilla resistance movement against the Japanese. When the prewar colonial power, France, returned to rule Vietnam in 1946, the Vietminh (later Vietcong) fought on and beat the French. Vietnam was partioned in 1954 into a Communist North and a pro-Western South. The struggle continued. President Kennedy, fearing a Communist domino effect, committed the U.S. to supporting the South. In the end, North Vietnam and the Vietcong won the war and took over.
| In 1915 the British, needing control of Lake Tanganyika, despatched two motor launches from England. The journey by sea, rail and over dubious roads was something of an epic. What were the names of the boats?
| Military Miscellany
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Mimi and Toutou. Their commander - Lt Commander Spicer Simpson - originally called them "Cat" and "Dog", but the Admiralty objected.
The journey started in July and ended in October, though the vessels were not launched until December 1915. They sank one of the German vessels and captured another, though Spicer Simpson appears to have carefully avoided the third and major warship.
Spicer Simpson appears to have been a very odd fellow. His insistence on wearing a skirt was only part of it!
| King John of Bohemia (1296-1346) was killed at the battle of Crecy, fighting alongside the French in the forefront of the battle.
There were many thousands of French casualties, so what was so special about King John?
| Military Miscellany
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He was blind. John the Blind lost his sight from opthalmia in 1336. To guide him his men tied the reins of their horses together and "they were there all slain, and the next day they were found in the place about the king, and all their horses tied each to other." Legend states that his badge and motto "Ich dien" were adopted as a mark of respect by the Black Prince. They are now part of the badge of the Prince of Wales.
| To aid in the Normandy invasion of 1944, fuel was pumped direct from England to France by means of undersea pipes, laid in the same manner as telegraph cables. What was the name of this project?
| Military Miscellany
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PLUTO. The Pipeline Under The Ocean project was first planned in October 1941. Hugely optimistic when you consider that the Germans were advancing on Moscow at the time, and it was two months before Pearl Harbor and a year before El Alamein.
The first two pipes were in fact codenamed "Dumbo" and "Bambi".
Between August 1944 and the end of the war, the various pipelines delivered about 172,000,000 Imperial gallons of fuel.
| In 1954 the USAF issued a requirement for a bomber designated WS-125, scheduled to be named as the B-72. The project was based on what was then seen as an advantage, but what we would now see as a problem. What was that advantage?
| Military Miscellany
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It was nuclear powered. Health and safety were not big issues at the time, but Eisenhower cancelled the project in 1961 after substantial expenditure. The Soviets also worked on such an aircraft, and cancelled it for similar reasons.
I gather that the two experimental GE engines together with their reactor systems are still intact in Idaho.
| The 10th Earl of Dundonald (1775-1860) was one the great naval officers.
He became a British admiral and also commanded the rebel navies of Chile, Brazil and Greece. By what name is he better known?
| Military Miscellany
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Cochrane. The remarkable exploits of Admiral Thomas Cochrane were a source for C. S. Forester, Patrick O'Brien and Captain Marryat (who sailed with him as a young man).
He was commissioned in 1793, but was expelled from the Navy in 1814 following conviction in the Great Stock Exchange Scandal of 1814. (Many believed his conviction was a miscarriage of justice, and he was granted a pardon by William IV in 1832). He was a Member of Parliament from 1806-1818.
Restored to the Royal Navy List in 1832 after commanding with impressive results in South America and to a lesser extent in Greece. He was still considered for command in the Crimean War, but it was felt that he might be too rash even in his eighties!
| Explosive landmines were supposedly first used in 1277 AD by the Song Dynasty Chinese against the Mongols. But in which country were the first modern mechanically fused high explosive anti-personnel land mines invented and used?
| Military Miscellany
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America. Used by Confederate troops at the Battle of Yorktown in 1862 and known as "land torpedoes". By the first World War all major participants were using them. Most countries nowadays have signed the Ottawa Treaty banning such mines.
Unfortunately, China, Russia and the USA are not among them.
| "We always have been, we are, and I hope that we always shall be detested in France." Who made this Francophobe statement?
| Military Miscellany
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Wellington. It was "Old Nosey" himself. Sadly, I believe that Churchill never actually said "The heaviest cross I have to bear is the Cross of Lorraine".
| In 1913 a well known author published what is arguably the first book on modern table top war games. The book was titled "Little Wars". But who was the author?
| Military Miscellany
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H. G. Wells. The full title was "Little Wars: a game for boys from twelve years of age to one hundred and fifty and for that more intelligent sort of girl who likes boys' games and books."
It sounds surprising as Wells was a known pacifist, but it developed from a game played after dinner with his friend Jerome K. Jerome, who is well known for "Three Men in a Boat".
| I am Captain Patrick Dove. My tanker - the "Africa Shell" - was captured and sunk by a German warship in 1939, and I was taken prisoner.
I wrote a book about it, which inspired a film called "The Battle of the River Plate". Whose prisoner was I?
| Military Miscellany
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Graf Spee. "I was Graf Spee's Prisoner" was written in 1940, and the film appeared in 1956.
Dove was played by Bernard Lee, though he himself had an uncredited role as one of the prisoners. Of the ships, HMS Achilles was played by herself. Graf Spee was played by the USS Salem. (If you ever see the film, the American helmets are there because the US Navy forbade the wearing of German ones!)
| In both the First and Second World War, my aerial combat skills as well as my leadership and intuitive powers were much appreciated by my superiors, as well as my pals Algy, Ginger and Bertie. So who am I?
| Military Miscellany
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Biggles. Bigglesworth, hero of nearly a hundred books as well as the 1986 film, was created by W. E. Johns (1893-1968).
Worrals was a female equivalent created to encourage more women to join the WAAF, whilst Gimlet was the army hero of another ten books.
W. E. Johns joined the RFC (later the RAF) in 1917, and retired in 1927.
His first 'Biggles' book appeared in 1932.
One other claim to fame is that as a recruiting officer, he rejected T.E. Lawrence (of Arabia) for obviously giving a false name!
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