A Route 66 time capsule courtesy the Mohave Museum of History & Arts. The motel is the Arcadia Court, now Arcadia Lodge, Kingman, Arizona. The 1940 AAA Directory of Motor Courts & Cottages has an entry: “Arcadia Court, east on U.S. 66. 15 air conditioned cottages with bath. $3 to $3.50. A second story was added after the war. The current sign was the tallest in Kingman when it was added to the highway roadside in 1964. A really interesting part of the photo is the highway itself. You can see that curves around El Travatore Hill. This was also the course of the National Old Trails Road from 1921 to certification of Route 66 in 1926, when both roads shared the same road. In late 1947 the highway was cut through the hill. The curve, now Chadwick Drive, was bypassed. It remains an often overlooked segment of Route 66
The heavy cruiser USS New Orleans (CA-32) licking her wounds (to put it mildly) at Tulagi following the Battle of Tassafaronga.
New Orleans was struck by a Type 93 torpedo (The fabled "Long Lance" as it would later become known) fired by a Japanese destroyer. The torpedo struck within the vicinity of the forward turrets and immediately detonated the forward magazines (along with aviation gas tanks), leading to a massive explosion.
New Orleans lost her entire bow forward of the number 2 8" turret (Killing the entire crew that manned the forward turrets). The severed bow then crashed along the side of the cruiser as it steamed past, leading to additional damage.
New Orleans was able to retire to Tulagi, limping into port at a speed of 2 knots on December 1, 1942. Repairs were made that would allow New Orleans to at least handle the trip to repair facility. The crew shored up the forward hull and created a false bow from coconut logs.
Within two weeks, New Orleans was sturdy enough to make the trip to Australia. The cruiser sailed stern-first the entire trip to avoid straining the damaged bow, arriving at Sydney, Australia on December 24. Facilities in Australia were not up to the task of repairing the cruiser. Instead, a stronger fake bow was installed that would allow New Orleans to return to the United States for complete repairs. These temporary repairs were completed by March.
New Orleans was able to sail to the Puget Sound Shipyard, again sailing in reverse. Upon arrival, crews set to work rebuilding the shattered cruiser. A new bow was fitted and the entire ship was overhauled. Despite the tremendous damage, New Orleans was made combat-ready by August of that year. New Orleans would continue serving throughout the rest of the Second World War, taking part in several more important battles.
The largest non nuclear weapon of WW2 was placed on display in front of RAF Scampton’s main gate. 15 years after it had been proudly placed on display, it was discovered to be still fully packed with its 6.5 tons of explosives.
The Grand Slam was a 22,000 lb earthquake bomb used by RAF Bomber Command against strategic targets during the Second World War. It was the most powerful non-atomic bomb used in the war.
Although many articles have been written about this incident, most fail to mention that the bomb was in fact "live" but not armed. The bomb would have only been armed prior to loading on a Lancaster. Although less likely to detonate unexpectedly, it is not advisable to place 6.5 tons of explosives on public display...
Had the bomb guarding the gate at RAF Scampton, known as "10 ton Tess" gone off, the entire RAF base , as well as most of the northern part of the City of Lincoln, would have been destroyed.
For guys with really small um, parts.
