Al and James discuss why Britain never used the Highball bouncing bomb, the impact of losing battleships, the PIAT versus the Bazooka and the perils of reading your own books.
Exclusive content available for Members
James Holland and Al Murray talk about the German attempt to destabilize the UK economy by printing British bank notes. Also discussed are the French industrial failure under Nazi rule and the quality of the Japanese airforce and its highly
With historian Frank McDonough and actor Paul McGann. Between 1940 and 1945 the Third Reich fell from the pinnacle of its power to devastating collapse. Historian Frank McDonough, author of The Hitler Years, joins James Holland and Al Murray, along
This week the lads look at a few examples of how the Nazi regime would pick and choose how they implemented some of their ideologies. Al also gives us an update on the filming for his new history show, which
A listener’s recent discovery that his uncle may have been one of the 258 British soldiers accused of mutiny in Malaya sends the podcast down an intriguing rabbit hole. James Holland gives Al Murray a final update on his research
One Response
Great episode. I wanted to learn more about the PIAT, particularly about the unusually strong spring required to cock the weapon. At first, I thought that the spring was part of the weapon’s propulsion, although you made clear that it had an explosive propellant. You also explained that the PIAT’s round cocked the weapon for subsequent firings. What I discovered (https://militaryhistorynow.com/2020/09/04/bring-up-the-piat-meet-britains-famous-anti-tank-weapon-of-ww2/) was that the spring was made that way to absorb the substantial recoil, a fascinating lesson in physics. Momentum is always conserved, but the spring served to spread it over time and enable the user to handle it better (at least from a prone position). Keep up the good work, and let us know if you’re ever in Wisconsin.