Tag Archives: World War I

Science Sunday 08-13-2017

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

A Brief History of Flight, Part 1 The Wright Brothers I am in the process of developing a new physics course for students interesting in the field of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), commonly known as drones.  It occurred to me to put together a brief history of human flight. Most of us are familiar with the immense and courageous achievements of Orville and Wilbur Wright, brothers who owned a bicycle shop in Dayton, Ohio, and who shared an inextinguishable passion for manned flight. While there were many pioneers in manned flight, no one now doubts that the Wright brothers achieved … Continue reading →

Why are there so few brown and black faces in ‘Dunkirk’?

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

135,000 Senegalese troops fought in Europe during World War I and over 30,000 died. De Gaulle’s Free French Army in World War II was largely composed of troops from the French colonial empire, including conscripts and volunteersfrom among the colonized populations. The Nazis executed several thousand French colonial POWs from Africa, based on their racial animus towards black peoples. Over a million Indian troops served overseas during World War I. Undivided India (most of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal) was part of the British Empire at the time. During World War II, the Indian Army expanded to include 2.5 million troops in uniform. … Continue reading →