October 15, 1997: Breaking the Sound Barrier On Land

October 15, 1997: The 1st supersonic (faster than the speed of sound) land speed record is set. Wing Commander Andy Green of Britain's Royal Air Force, then 33 years old, had already set a record of 714 miles per hour on September 25, in the jet-powered Thrust SSC (SuperSonic Car), at Black Rock Desert in Utah. He tries again, in the same vehicle, at the same location, and does it: 763 miles per hour. This happens 1 day after the 50th Anniversary of Chuck Yeager becoming the 1st pilot to fly faster than sound.

Thrust SSC

Thrust SSC was designed by Green and Richard Noble, who held the previous record, set in 1983, at age 37. The record of 763 still stands, but it might not for much longer: Green, now 57, and Noble, 73, have designed a new car, Bloodhound SSC, and they think they could break the 1,000 MPH barrier. 

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October 15, 1997 was a Wednesday. Game 6 of the American League Championship Series is played at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore. The Cleveland Indians win it, 1-0, beating the Baltimore Orioles on Tony Fernández's home run in the top of the 12th. I have a separate entry for this event.

The National League Championship Series ended the day before, with the Florida Marlins beating the Atlanta Braves for the Pennant.

Football was in midweek. The NBA season didn't start for another 16 days. There were 9 games played in the NHL:

* The New York Rangers lost to the Ottawa Seantors, 5-1 at the Corel Center in the Ottawa suburb of Kanata, Ontario. (It's now the Canadian Tire Centre. The town was absorbed into Ottawa proper in 2001.)

* The Montreal Canadiens and the Pittsburgh Penguins played to a tie, 1-1 at the Molson Centre (now the Bell Centre) in Montreal.

* The Buffalo Sabres and the Carolina Hurricanes played to a tie, 3-3 at the Greensboro Coliseum.

* The Florida Panthers beat their arch-rivals, the Tampa Bay Lightning, 2-1 at the Miami Arena.

* In an "Original Six" matchup, the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Detroit Red Wings, 4-3 at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.

* The Washington Capitals beat the Chicago Blackhawks, 2-0 at the United Center in Chicago.

* The Colorado Avalanche beat the Edmonton Oilers, 6-2 at the Edmonton Coliseum (as the Northlands Coliseum was named at the time).

* The Philadelphia Flyers and the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim played to a tie, 2-2 at the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim (now named the Honda Center).

* And the Boston Bruins beat the Los Angeles Kings, 5-3 at The Forum outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California. 

September 7, 1940: The London Blitz Begins

September 7, 1940: The London Blitz begins, as Nazi Luftwaffe bombers begin attacking the seat of the British Empire.

London was systematically bombed by the Luftwaffe for 56 of the following 57 days and nights. Notable attacks included a large daylight attack against London on September 15, a large raid on December 29 that resulted in a firestorm known as the Second Great Fire of London, and a large raid on the night of May 10 and 11, 1941.

The Luftwaffe gradually decreased daylight operations in favor of night attacks to evade attacks by the Royal Air Force (RAF), and the Blitz became a night bombing campaign after October 1940. The Luftwaffe attacked the main Atlantic seaport of Liverpool, in what became known as the Liverpool Blitz. The North Sea port of Hull, a convenient and easily found target or secondary target for bombers unable to locate their primary targets, suffered the Hull Blitz.

The Nazis bombed port cities of Bristol, Portsmouth, Plymouth, Southampton and Sunderland in England; Cardiff and Swansea in Wales; Glasgow in Scotland; and Belfast in Northern Ireland. They also went after the English industrial centers of Birmingham, Coventry, Manchester and Sheffield.

More than 40,000 civilians were killed by Luftwaffe bombing during the war, almost half of them in the capital, where more than a million houses were destroyed or damaged.

The bombing was significantly reduced, although not entirely ended, after the Nazis invaded the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941. Afterward, the RAF, and eventually the U.S. Army Air Force, treated the Germans the way the British had been treated.

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September 7, 1940 was a Saturday. These baseball games were played that day: 

* The New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox, 4-3 at Fenway Park in Boston. Marius Russo went the distance for the win. Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams each hit home runs.

* The New York Giants beat their arch-rivals, the Brooklyn Dodgers, 4-1 at the Polo Grounds. Harry Gumbert outpitched Lee Grissom. Mel Ott went 0-for-3 with a walk. Babe Young hit a home run for the Giants, and Jimmy Wasdell hit one for the Dodgers.

* The Boston Bees swept a doubleheader from the Philadelphia Phillies, 3-2 and 3-1 at Shibe Park (later Connie Mack Stadium) in Philadelphia. Al Glossop singled Gene Moore home in the top of the 10th inning to win the opener. This was the last of 5 seasons that Boston's National League team used the Bees name, going back to using "Braves" in 1941.

* The Philadelphia Athletics beat the Washington Senators, 8-5 at Griffith Stadium in Washington.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Cleveland Indians, 5-4 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the St. Louis Browns, 5-4 at Briggs Stadium (later Tiger Stadium) in Detroit. Hank Greenberg hit a home run.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Chicago Cubs, 7-6 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* And the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 14-9 at Sportsman's Park (later the 1st Busch Stadium) in St. Louis.

June 26, 1948: The Berlin Airlift Begins

June 26, 1948: The Berlin Airlift begins, one of the greatest humanitarian efforts in history.

Two days earlier, Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin blocked the railway, road and canal access to the sectors of post-World War II Berlin under Western control: American, British and French. He offered to drop the blockade if the Western Allies withdrew the newly-introduced Deutsche Mark from West Berlin. This was the 1st true confrontation of the Cold War.

President Harry S Truman ordered the new U.S. Air Force to deliver food, fuel and other supplies to the 2.5 million people then living in West Berlin, with another 800,000 living in Soviet-controlled East Berlin.

The Soviets initially believed that the Airlift wouldn't work. But it did: Under the command of General Lucius D. Clay, an average of 3,475 tons of supplies was delivered every day. At the Airlift's peak, over 12,000 tons were delivered some days, by flights arriving every 30 seconds. Most of the flights were by the USAF, but about 23 percent of the deliveries were by Britain's Royal Air Force and British Commonwealth forces, including Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

Not all flights landed safely: There were 17 American and 8 British planes that crashed. Mostly as a result of non-flying accidents, 40 British and 31 Americans were killed during the airlift.

Truman's response to the crisis blunted Republican criticisms of his handling of the Cold War, helping the Democrat win a full term in office the following November. With the Airlift working so well for so long, the Soviets became increasingly embarrassed. On May 12, 1949, the blockade was lifted. The U.S. kept the Airlift going until September 30, anyway, just in case the blockade was restored.

In 1961, the Soviet-controlled East German government built the Berlin Wall, surrounding West Berlin. But they did not stop flights into the city from West Germany, because they didn't want a World War III. In 1989, the Wall was torn down.

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June 26, 1948 was a Saturday. These baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees beat the Detroit Tigers, 8-5 at Briggs Stadium (later Tiger Stadium) in Detroit. Despite being backed by a home run from Johnny Lindell, Allie Reynolds did not get out of the 6th inning. Joe Page pitched the rest of the way, and was backed by a home run from Yogi Berra. Joe DiMaggio went 0-for-5, but had RBIs on a groundout and a sacrifice fly.

* The New York Giants lost to the Cincinnati Reds, 4-0 at the Polo Grounds. Ten years earlier to the month, across town at Ebbets Field, Johnny Vander Meer pitched his 2nd straight no-hitter against the Dodgers. This time, he allowed 7 hits, but still shut out the Giants. Speaking of the Dodgers...

* The Brooklyn Dodgers lost to the St. Louis Cardinals, 6-3 at Ebbets Field. Stan Musial went 4-for-5 with a home run and 2 RBIs. Jackie Robinson went 1-for-3 with a walk, and Gil Hodges hit a home run.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Boston Braves, 7-1 at Braves Field in Boston.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Chicago Cubs, 3-2 at Shibe Park in Philadelphia.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Washington Senators, 5-0 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Bob Muncrief pitched a 3-hit shutout.

* The Philadelphia Athletics beat the Chicago White Sox, 4-2 at Comiskey Park in Chicago.

* And the Boston Red Sox and the St. Louis Browns were rained out at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader the next day. The Red Sox swept, 2-0 and 6-3. Joe Dobson pitched a 2-hit shutout in the opener. Ted Williams went 3-for-6 with a home run, 2 walks and 3 RBIs in the 2 games.

May 16, 1943: The Dambusters Raid

May 16, 1943: Britain's Royal Air Force carries out Operation Chastise, an attempt to bomb dams, factories and mines in the Ruhr and Eder valleys of western Nazi Germany. It became known as the Dambusters Raid.

No. 617 Squadron used a purpose-built "bouncing bomb," to attack the various facilities. They lost 53 men, but killed about 600 Germans and 1,000 forced laborers, most of them captured Soviets. It took the Nazis 4 months to get everything back up to its pre-bombing capacity, and that time cost them badly in the war effort.

In 1955, the raid was commemorated by the film The Dam Busters, whose march became a popular tune, and whose climactic sequence was copied in 1977, for the trench run of the Death Star in Star Wars.

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May 16, 1943 was a Sunday. Dan Coats, a Republican Senator from Indiana, was born on this day.

These games were played in what would later be called Major League Baseball:

* The New York Yankees split a doubleheader with the St. Louis Browns at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. The Yankees won the opener, 7-3. Charlie Keller and Rollie Hemsley hit home runs in support of Spurgeon "Spud" Chandler. The Browns won the nightcap, 4-3. Floyd Baker singled home the winning run off Johnny Murphy in the bottom of the 10th inning.

* The Brooklyn Dodgers swept a doubleheader from the Chicago Cubs at Ebbets Field. Dem Bums won the 1st game, 4-0, as Ed Head pitched a 5-hit shutout. They also won the 2nd game, 3-2.

* A doubleheader was split at the Polo Grounds. The New York Giants won the 1st game, 3-1. The Pittsburgh Pirates won the 2nd game, 2-1.

* The Boston Braves swept a doubleheader from the Cincinnati Reds at Braves Field. The Braves won the 1st game, 3-1; and the 2nd game, 6-1.

* A doubleheader was split at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. The St. Louis Cardinals won the 1st game, 4-3 in 11 innings. The Philadelphia Phillies won the 2nd game, 2-1.

* A doubleheader was split at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. The Philadelphia Athletics won the 1st game, 5-3. The Cleveland Indians won the 2nd game, 3-2.

* The Washington Senators swept a doubleheader from the Detroit Tigers at Briggs Stadium in Detroit. (It was renamed Tiger Stadium in 1961.) The Senators won the 1st game. 7-1; and the 2nd game, 10-6.

* A doubleheader was split at Comiskey Park in Chicago. The Boston Red Sox won the opener, 4-2. The Chicago White Sox won the nightcap, 4-2. 

May 3, 1945: The Nazi Titanic

May 3, 1945: The Nazis had their own version of the Titanic. And guess what: It sank.

Unlike the original, it wasn't just due to incompetence. It had "help."

The SS Cap Arcona was launched in 1927. It was named after Cape Arkona on Rügen, Germany's largest island, on the Baltic Sea. It weighed 27,561 tons, compared to the 46,329 of the original RMS Titanic. It was 679 feet long, compared to the original's 889 feet. Cruising speed was close, 23 miles per hour to Titanic's 24. In other words, it was big, but not as big as the Titanic, the world's largest cruise liner when it first and last sailed in 1912.

Cap Arcona was the flagship of the Hamburg-South America line, and sailed between Hamburg, Germany's 2nd-largest city and largest port, and the east coast of South America. In 1940, the Kriegsmarine, the Nazi navy, took it over. In 1943, it was "cast" in the title role in Titanic, a Nazi propaganda film, designed to show that the British were incompetent because they built the "unsinkable," ill-fated Titanic. It had 3 smokestacks, instead of the 4 that Titanic had. But it was still big enough to be plausible.

In 1945, Cap Arcona became a prison ship, as the Nazis, aware that they were losing the war, and that the Allies had begun to liberate the concentration camps, began to evacuate their camps in occupied Norway and Denmark. On May 3, 3 days after Hitler killed himself, Cap Arcona was sunk off the coast of Neustadt -- fittingly, by Britain's Air Force -- and over 5,000 prisoners were killed.

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May 3, 1945 was a Thursday. This was also the day that American poet Ezra Pound was arrested for treason in Italy. I have a separate entry for that event.

The only sport in season at the time was baseball, and no major league games were scheduled. So there were no scores on this historic day.

February 13, 1945: The Firebombing of Dresden

February 13, 1945: The German city of Dresden is "firebombed." In a joint effort, the U.S. Army Air Force (forerunner of the U.S. Air Force) and Britain's Royal Air Force drop nearly 4,000 tons of high-explosive bombs and incendiary devices on the city, which was the capital of the State of Saxony.

The incendiary devices started fires that destroyed more than 1,600 acres of urban space, and it is believed that about 25,000 people were killed, most of them civilians. The Nazis, showing that chutzpah was one Yiddish word they understood, called it a "holocaust."

The necessity of the bombing has been debated ever since. At the time, the city was a major industrial center, thus making its incapacitation a reasonable goal. And it was not clear that the Third Reich was on the verge of collapse. The advance of the Soviet Union's Red Army was not yet fully taken in by the U.S. and Britain.

Kurt Vonnegut was a prisoner of war in Dresden at the time. He survived, and adapted his experiences for his 1969 novel Slaughterhouse-Five, or, The Children's Crusade: A Duty-Dance with Death. It was made into a movie in 1972. In the preface to a later edition of the book, Vonnegut wrote:

The Dresden atrocity, tremendously expensive and meticulously planned, was so meaningless, finally, that only one person on the entire planet got any benefit from it. I am that person. I wrote this book, which earned a lot of money for me and made my reputation, such as it is. One way or another, I got two or three dollars for every person killed. Some business I'm in.

Today, Dresden remains the capital of the State of Saxony, and is home to about 800,000 people, with about 1.3 million in its metropolitan area.

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February 13, 1945 was a Tuesday. British historian Simon Schama was born. This was also the day of the martyrdom of Maria Onosa. I have a separate entry for that event.

Baseball and football were out of season. The NBA hadn't been founded yet. There was 1 game played in the NHL: The Boston Bruins beat the Chicago Black Hawks, 3-2 at the Chicago Stadium.