During World War II a Dutch minesweeper evaded the Japanese for eight days disguised as an island. The crew covered the decks in cut trees and painted exposed surfaces to look like rocks. They moved only at night and anchored closed to shore by day, eventually escaping to Australia. […]
Read More… from Abraham Crijnssen – The Ship That Disguised Itself As An Island
Major Claude Hensinger jumped out of a B-29 bomber during World War II when the engine caught fire. He was saved by his parachute. Later, he requested that his fiancée Ruth make him a gown out of the same parachute. The dress is now on display at the Smithsonian Institute. […]
William Rankin was a fighter pilot who survived an ejection into a thunderstorm. He suffered frostbite, violent wind and lightning, severe decompression, and nearly drowned from breathing in rain water. He was in the cloud for over 40 minutes in total. […]
Read More… from The Man Who Survived Falling Through a Thunderstorm, William Rankin
During WWII, a German captain and an engineer flushed the submarine’s high-tech toilet incorrectly, causing the vessel to rapidly fill with water. British planes patrolling the sea attacked them as the submarine was brought to the surface. While many members of the crew were killed in the attack, the captain escaped! […]
Read More… from The Amazing Truth About The German U-Boat That Was Sunk By A Toilet
During World War 1, a carrier Pigeon name Cher Ami was shot, blinded and had her leg blown off. She is still able to deliver the message and saved lives 194 soldiers. […]
Read More… from Chen Ami, The Bravery pigeon that saved 194 Soldier
Irene Sendler was the Zegota resistance group’s head of the children’s department. She risked her life to smuggle children out of the Warsaw ghetto, place them with Polish families or orphanages, give each child a new identity, and keep records so that they could be returned to their families. In 1943, the Gestapo arrested and sentenced her to death, but she was rescued by Zegota. […]
Read More… from Irena Sendler: woman who rescued Jews during holocaust
Thomas Baker instructed his team to leave him with a pistol and eight bullets propped up against a tree after he was injured. Later, American troops discovered the now-deceased Baker in the same location, lying next to eight dead Japanese soldiers and carrying an empty pistol. […]
Polish troops raised an orphaned bear cub during WWII. He enjoyed drinking beer, and was trained to salute. He became officially enlisted as a member of the forces, and helped carry artillery during battle. […]
Read More… from The 440-pound bear named Wojtek and his World War II battle against the Nazis
During WW2, there was a special unit of men dubbed the ‘Ghost Army’. The unit was made of artists, creative and engineers and their job was to create deception about the enemy. From inflatable tanks to phony convoys to scripted conversations in bars intended to spread disinformation, they used all possible tricks to fool the enemy. […]
Read More… from What exactly was the US’s ‘Ghost Army’ during WWII?
During WWII, a German pilot spotted an American pilot’s crippled plane in the sky. Tailing it, he noticed that gunner was dead, crew injured, and they posed no threat. Instead of destroying the plane, he led it to safety. 40 years later, the two pilots reunited. […]
Read More… from Charlie Brown and Franz Stigler incident: Enemy became friends
