At some point, you may have heard that swords are classified as a war crime. This is a myth that often gets floated around but is just that, a myth. Swords have been used in war for about 5,000 years, starting in the Bronze Age and persisting through the Second World War. The idea that swords are a war crime likely stems from the Imperial Japanese military who have a well-documented history of abusing prisoners and civilians, which is a war crime. Swords just so happened to be a tool used for...

We dedicate this Artifact Friday to the 2 nd  Battle of El Alamein, which took place on October 23, 1942. Every theatre of war has its turning point. In the pacific, it was the Battle of Midway. In Europe, the Invasion of Normandy. For the North Africa campaign, that turning point took place at the small Egyptian railroad town of El Alamein. It was here that the Panzerarmee Afrika, led by General Erwin “the Desert Fox” Rommel, was put on the backfoot by Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery’s...

For a short time only, we have acquired a very peculiar part of history. The Antonov AN-2 stands proudly as the largest single engine biplane ever produced with an upper wingspan of 59ft 9in and a length of 40ft 8in. Originally designed in 1947 by the Antonov Design Bureau, the AN-2 was meant for use as a utility aircraft for forestry and agriculture. The Antonov Design Bureau was tasked by the Soviet Union to manufacture a plane that with high load capacity and reliability. The single...