John Rhodes

Scars on the Face of History

Konzentrationslager April 1945 Warning —this blog contains graphic images and disturbing information.Roll over blurred images to view. In April 1945, 80 years ago this month, Hitler’s Third Reich was finally collapsing. The Russians, approaching from the east,...

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Operation Carthage

Mosquito — Escape Artist ExtraordinaireThis is the story of three remarkable prison breaks in the later years of World War II, one of them exactly 80 years ago. What makes them unique, I think, is that De Havilland Mosquitos unlocked the doors. Carthage Operation...

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Dog Boats, PT Boats, and E Boats

Dog Boats at SpeedWorld War II was fought on many different scales. At sea it was fought all the way from massive aircraft carriers and battleships displacing 30,000 tons with crews of over 2,000 men, all the way down to motor torpedo boats (MTBs) displacing 50 tons...

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Compass: An Unexpected Victory

HMS TerrorOperation Compass is now buried in dusty history books and military archives, slipping into ‘ancient history’ along with the fall of the Roman Empire, Henry VIII’s six wives, the French Revolution, and all that other stuff that happened long ago. Histories...

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The Savage Sea

An E Class DestroyerOn January 21, 1940, 85 years ago this month, the Royal Navy E-Class destroyer HMS Exmouth was sunk in the Moray Firth off the east coast of Scotland by the Kriegsmarine Type II-B submarine U-22. All 175 members of Exmouth’s crew were lost. On...

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