Today it seems like all bombs are "smart." But when was the first guided missile actually used? The answer may surprise you.
Smart bomb development actually started in 1938 when a scientist named Dr. Max Kramer, working for a German company, successfully added a radio-controlled spoiler to the tail of a 550-pound bomb. Two years later the system had proven itself on the smaller bombs and was then added to a much larger bomb called the FX-1400. This bomb weighed 3,469 pounds and was ten and a half feet long. It was popularly dubbed the Fritz-X. The bomb boasted an armor-piercing warhead and could sink large battleships.
The new bomb required good visibility because after it was released, the bombardier visually guided it with radio signals by sighting on a bright flare mounted on the bomb’s tail. A total of 750 Fritz-Xs were eventually produced and kept at coastal airfields throughout Europe.
Perhaps the best-known action involving Fritz-X bombs occurred when the Italian Fleet defected and was intercepted by a flight of six German Do217's. The fleet consisted of three battleships, six cruisers, and many auxiliary ships. The ultra-modern Roma was among the battleships.
The Roma took a direct hit just forward of her front smokestack, starting a major fire which reached the forward magazine. The explosion ripped open her hull and the Roma sank, taking over 1,250 sailors with her. The Roma was the first capital ship sunk by a guided bomb. This bomb proved only partially effective, which is not surprising for such a radical new technology. Between August 1943 and February 1944, the Germans launched 28 separate attacks against ships, but sank only one and damaged four others with their "smart bomb." Still, when you consider that the technology was so new, and relatively primitive, the experiments were successful enough to continue research and further advances.
It is also worth knowing that in 1942 the Allies began developing its own guided bombs designed to attack bridges, railways, and other narrow targets. These bombs were the first of the Vertical Bomb-1 (VB1), forerunners of the azimuth-only family of weapons used in Burma, Europe, and in the Pacific Theater.
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
The World’s Oldest Primate Fossil
There has been some talk lately that humans originated in Asia rather than Africa. New evidence has just emerged in the form of a tiny fossil recognized as the oldest primate discovered so far. It was found in China’s Hubei province, and is 7 million years older than the previous oldest primate fossil.
The little primate, Archicebus achilles, is a primitive tarsier. This primate group is closely related to monkeys, apes and humans, although it lived before the evolutionary split that divided the three groups. It is a descendant of the ancestor of all primates, but it is not clear yet whether it is a direct ancestor of humans.
The tiny, primitive animal, barely 3 inches (7 centimeters) long and weighing only about 30 grams, lived some 55 million years ago. The world was very warm and its home was a lush rainforest. It probably climbed trees and dined on insects. Dinosaurs had been extinct for some 10 million years when this little fellow lived, and mammals, reptiles and birds were beginning to thrive in a world that had experienced drastic environmental changes 65 million years ago.
The tiny animal somewhat resembles a modern squirrel but with the feet of a monkey. Its arms, legs and teeth resemble those of a primitive primate, and its primitive skull contained surprisingly small eyes.
Scientists will now be kept busy trying to determine where this tiny newcomer fits into the primate family tree. They do not believe that Archicebus achilles is the first primate, but they are certain that it is a descendant of the first one. For now, however, the focus of the search for our possible first primate ancestor almost certainly must shift to the far East.
If you’d like more information about this little primate, visit here
The little primate, Archicebus achilles, is a primitive tarsier. This primate group is closely related to monkeys, apes and humans, although it lived before the evolutionary split that divided the three groups. It is a descendant of the ancestor of all primates, but it is not clear yet whether it is a direct ancestor of humans.
The tiny, primitive animal, barely 3 inches (7 centimeters) long and weighing only about 30 grams, lived some 55 million years ago. The world was very warm and its home was a lush rainforest. It probably climbed trees and dined on insects. Dinosaurs had been extinct for some 10 million years when this little fellow lived, and mammals, reptiles and birds were beginning to thrive in a world that had experienced drastic environmental changes 65 million years ago.
The tiny animal somewhat resembles a modern squirrel but with the feet of a monkey. Its arms, legs and teeth resemble those of a primitive primate, and its primitive skull contained surprisingly small eyes.
Scientists will now be kept busy trying to determine where this tiny newcomer fits into the primate family tree. They do not believe that Archicebus achilles is the first primate, but they are certain that it is a descendant of the first one. For now, however, the focus of the search for our possible first primate ancestor almost certainly must shift to the far East.
If you’d like more information about this little primate, visit here
Monday, June 10, 2013
Oldest Known Preserved Dissected Human
The Dark Ages weren’t really so dark after all. Historians have long thought that science stagnated in Europe during the time between the fall of the Roman Empire and some indistinct time before the beginning of the Renaissance. Those views are changing at last. Here’s one example of a "Dark Ages" scientific surprise.
Researchers studying a preserved human dissection originally believed that it dated from the 15th or 16th century, putting it firmly into the Renaissance period. In fact, radiocarbon dating revealed that it actually dates from 1200 to 1280 A.D.
The specimen consists of the head and shoulders of a man. The skullcap and brain had been so skillfully removed that it is obvious that the man who conducted the dissection was quite skilled, which means he had obviously done the procedure before and knew how to preserve his specimen by filling the arteries with a red compound composed of beeswax, lime, and cinnabar mercury.
Researchers and historians are beginning to see that the people of the "Dark Ages" weren’t as ignorant and backward as earlier believed.
The identity of the man whose body was dissected will never be known. Why was it preserved? It may have been saved as a training tool for physicians. Or perhaps the dissector wanted to preserve it for further study.
Even the great Greco-Roman physician Galen was not permitted to conduct human autopsies in the 2nd century AD. His research was limited to dissecting animals and studying the wounds of gladiators. For centuries, his texts were relied upon by European and Near Eastern doctors until the Renaissance despite the fact that there is evidence that both Catholic and secular dissections were being performed, leading to new information about the human body and how it worked. For example, records show that an Italian physician conducted autopsies in 1286 in an attempt to determine the origin of a deadly epidemic.
The artifact is now in private hands, but will soon be on display at the Parisian Museum of the History of Medicine.
There’s a photo of the macabre artifact, along with information about the myths about the Catholic Church’s supposed repression of scientific advancement here
Researchers studying a preserved human dissection originally believed that it dated from the 15th or 16th century, putting it firmly into the Renaissance period. In fact, radiocarbon dating revealed that it actually dates from 1200 to 1280 A.D.
The specimen consists of the head and shoulders of a man. The skullcap and brain had been so skillfully removed that it is obvious that the man who conducted the dissection was quite skilled, which means he had obviously done the procedure before and knew how to preserve his specimen by filling the arteries with a red compound composed of beeswax, lime, and cinnabar mercury.
Researchers and historians are beginning to see that the people of the "Dark Ages" weren’t as ignorant and backward as earlier believed.
The identity of the man whose body was dissected will never be known. Why was it preserved? It may have been saved as a training tool for physicians. Or perhaps the dissector wanted to preserve it for further study.
Even the great Greco-Roman physician Galen was not permitted to conduct human autopsies in the 2nd century AD. His research was limited to dissecting animals and studying the wounds of gladiators. For centuries, his texts were relied upon by European and Near Eastern doctors until the Renaissance despite the fact that there is evidence that both Catholic and secular dissections were being performed, leading to new information about the human body and how it worked. For example, records show that an Italian physician conducted autopsies in 1286 in an attempt to determine the origin of a deadly epidemic.
The artifact is now in private hands, but will soon be on display at the Parisian Museum of the History of Medicine.
There’s a photo of the macabre artifact, along with information about the myths about the Catholic Church’s supposed repression of scientific advancement here
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