The mid-1930s marked the year Great Britain upped its re-armament game. Hermann Goering’s Luftwaffe no longer remained a secret with sleek bombers and fighters. The “bomber always gets through” concept dominated all theories that fleets of bombers could wreak destruction at long distances. The Wellington Bomber’s existence resulted from that. Designed by Barnes Wallis, Vickers built two prototypes, the second with modifications learned from the first.   A Unique Construction Geodetic construction Source: Wikimedia Commons   The Wellington had a secret that only a few in Britain’s Air Ministry or Vickers knew: geodetic construction. Designed by Sir Barnes Wallis, the parts of this basket-weave structure each carried part of the weight. If one part got damaged, the remaining pieces spread the weight around, retaining the frame’s integrity. Most aircraft were built of different pieces, so much damage is not good. The Wellington’s aluminum and steel frame’s ability to absorb damage yet keep flying became legendary.    One of Three Handley Page HP-52 Hampden TB Mk.   Not one to put their eggs in one basket, the Air Ministry ordered three “heavy” bombers into production in the late 1930s. The other two are Handley Page Hamden and Armstrong Whitworth Whitley. Each’s role differed slightly – the Hampden being the fast bomber, the Whitely the heavyweight with a 4-ton bomb load, and the Wellington’s 2,800-mile range in the middle. The fabric-covered Wellington carried a 2 ½ ton bombload, six machine guns, and a crew of six.    Only the Wellington would remain in service past 1945. The others long obsolescent were gone by 1943. Vickers manufactured 11,400 Wellingtons, more than any British bomber. Their RAF service ended in 1953, seventeen years after its first test flight.    A Theory Disproven Wellington designer Sir Barnes Wallis Source: San Diego Air and Space Museum   1940 debunked the 1930s theory that “the bomber will always get through” when flying in formation. The RAF, or Royal Air Force, had several costly lessons that proved different. On December 18, 1939, three Wellington squadrons attacked German shipping off Wilhelmshaven, twenty-four planes in total. About forty Luftwaffe fighters intercepted the British bombers, shooting down twelve. Three more crashed on the return home for a fifty percent loss.    The RAF turned to night raids after several such raids in 1940. German interceptors overwhelmed unescorted bombers despite any plane defenses or formations. The Luftwaffe’s education would come later in 1940 during another epic battle. The Wellington was nicknamed Wimpy because it resembled the Popeye cartoon character J. Wellington Wimpy was kept on through 1941 and 1942 as the RAF’s primary bomber. The first 1,000-plane raid against Cologne in 1942 flew with 700 Wellingtons. Not bad for a plane from the mid-1930s that soon would be phased out. The more famous Avro Lancaster took on this big role.   Versatility Was the Key Wellington Versions Source: Emoscopes   The Wellington’s hard-won bomber reputation cannot be denied, but in war, nothing stays constant. By late 1942, hitting back against Nazi Germany required bigger bombers like the four-engine Lancaster, Stirlings and Halifaxes. The Wellington’s last night raid in Europe occurred in 1943.   But, the Wimpy’s versatility could not be denied. Continual armament and engine upgrades made the Wellington more reliable. Replaced as a bomber, the Wellington slid easily into other roles. Britain’s RAF Coastal Command used Wellingtons to hunt German U-boats with depth charges, searchlights, and flares. The stiff radar masts atop the Wellington’s back easily distinguished the anti-submarine models.   Other unsung roles the Wellington took were transport and mine detection. In the latter role, the Wimpy carried a car engine powering an aluminum magnetic ring around the plane. The magnetic waves would detonate the mines at a safe distance from Wellington. Vickers specifically built trainer version Wellingtons besides bombers. These planes trained Lancaster and Halifax crews.   The most unusual and groundbreaking Wellington role came in early warning detection. Late in 1944, the Luftwaffe used HE-111s to launch V1 flying bombs at Britain. Luftwaffe bombers would climb from sea level to launch. Detected by the airborne radar carrying Wellingtons, operators would vector in fighters to shoot down the bombers and buzz bombs. Like many classic war planes, the Wimpy came in no less than sixteen versions, including two trainer-specific ones post-war.   Long Live the Wimpy Vickers Wellingtons of 9 Squadron in flight during 1938   Whether at the cold high altitude in Europe, Malta, or tropical India, the Wellington served. The Wellington, considered high-tech in 1938, displayed its vulnerability quickly. As a night bomber, it did well until more capable planes arrived. But, it served. Perhaps the Wellington’s strength lay in doing many jobs with little fanfare.

This might have just cemented Post Malone's position in Nashville. Continue reading…

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Islamic State-linked rebels in east DRC kill dozens, authorities say

The chairman of the Committee on House Administration has subpoenaed the heads of 14 executive departments as well as the director of the Office of Management and Budget — all members of President Joe Biden’s Cabinet — to obtain information about how each has implemented or plans to implement one of Biden’s executive orders. In […] The post Actual Good News! 15 Cabinet Secretaries Subpoenaed appeared first on www.independentsentinel.com.

A conservative organization is reportedly launching a multi-million dollar advertising campaign that slams 10 Democrats over their record on immigration. A new report from Axios reveals that the American Action Network (AAN) will spend $9.5 million focusing on the unnamed politicians who could be vulnerable in the upcoming election. AAN is a 501(c)(4) organization that can receive unlimited donations and is said to have ties to the Congressional Leadership Fund (CLF), the House GOP leadership’s main super PAC. While the CLF can engage in direct political advocacy, the AAN maintains its status as a tax-exempt organization by engaging in issue advocacy. Unlike the CLF, however, AAN is not required to disclose its donor list. The news was reported shortly after it was revealed that One Nation, a conservative organization aligned with Senate GOP leadership, is spending $15 million on ads hitting Democratic Senator John Tester of Montana over his immigration record. The emphasis on immigration comes as a flurry of polls have found that President Joe Biden is in trouble with voters on critical election-year issues. One March poll found that just 36% of voters approved of Biden’s handling of immigration, while another poll indicated that immigration was the top issue on the minds of voters from February through April. Meanwhile, in an April poll, only 20% of voters said they believe the United States has control over its own borders. While Biden’s border policies have been met with disapproval from the public, voters appear to be warming up to some of former President Donald Trump’s immigration rules. One poll found that more than 60 percent of independents believe that we should deport most or all illegal immigrants. Trump has pledged to carry out the mass deportation of illegal immigrants if he is re-elected to the presidency in November. CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP Biden has faced mixed messages from his fellow Democrats, with some calling for increased border security measures while others demand amnesty for illegal immigrants. Biden’s poor polling on immigration comes as the United States has witnessed a record-breaking increase in illegal immigration at both the northern and southern borders during the Democrat’s term. Immigration officials have recorded more than 9.5 million nationwide encounters and 1.7 million estimated illegal immigrant gotaways under Biden’s watch. The foreign-born population residing in the United States has also hit an all-time high of 51.6 million since Biden was inaugurated, marking an increase of 5.1 million since March 2022. The rise was driven primarily by illegal immigration into the United States.

Remember when that razor company named Harry’s got its panties in a wad because The Daily Wire allows its hosts and their guests to criticize radical gender theory for the evil that it is?  Just recently, Harry’s bragged about its support for radical gender theory, announcing on June 1 that it’s doubling down on its partnership with The Trevor Project, an activist organization that runs a chat room where minors can talk to peers and adults about their sexuality.  The Trevor Project is also fully on board with gender surgeries for children, saying that among transgender and “nonbinary” people, “gender-affirming care has been shown to improve mental health.”  Harry’s wrote in an Instagram post on the first day of “Pride Month” that it was donating $400,000 to the Trevor Project, bringing its total contribution to the organization to more than $2 million. So, if you buy Harry’s, are you indirectly funding the Trevor Project and its dangerous trans ideology?  “This fuels our year-round partnership, which helps The Trevor Project continue to expand and improve crisis services, as well as grow awareness among marginalized communities. Together over the last 5 years, we’ve been able to connect nearly 1 million LBGTQ+ youth to life saving care,” Harry’s wrote. What does Harry’s mean by connecting children to “life saving care”? Well, it claims it wants to help “LGBTQ youth” find mental health care, which sounds nice, but if you dig a little deeper, you’ll find that the mental health care Harry’s and the Trevor Project are talking about is mostly affirmation — telling children struggling with gender dysphoria that it’s okay to butcher their own bodies in the name of transgenderism. That doesn’t sound caring or healthy at all, and it’s not. Harry’s said it pulled its advertising from The Daily Wire two years ago because of some comments made on a show, but that only explains part of the decision. If you don’t recall, here’s the quick rundown: after a Twitter account with two followers complained to Harry’s Razors about the opinions expressed about gender identity on “The Michael Knowles Show” in 2022, the razor company said it was pulling its advertising with The Daily Wire.  But Harry’s had no idea that its move would result in the launch of Jeremy’s Razors, which would go on to make some of the best razors available along with producing the two greatest commercials of all time. After two years of success in making great razors while calling out wokeness and crazy gender ideology, we wanted to find out what Harry’s was up to.  And we weren’t surprised to find Harry’s exactly where we left it — face-first in the rainbow Kool-Aid.  Woke corporations like Harry’s have recently become bolder in expressing their disdain for a large percentage of their customers, and they think they can get away with alienating the people who give them money. But as the god-king Jeremy Boreing says, “Stop giving your money to people who hate you. Give it to me instead.” At Jeremy’s Razors, we welcome you and your views, and we’re committed to making quality products, such as the all new 2nd Gen Precision 5 Razor, which is now Amazon’s Choice.  “Woke corporations spend all of your money on DEI. We spent it on a better razor (and a blacker Jeremy). Introducing the Second Generation Jeremy’s Razor – radically redesigned so you can shave like a man, not a manifesto,” Boreing said. So if you don’t want your money going to companies that fund and celebrate providing resources for 13-year-olds to talk about sex with LGBT adults, you should try great products from a company that doesn’t hate you or your values.