Free Republic

Monkeypox cases continue to rise in Minnesota and across the country. There are now 5,189 infections nationwide across all but three states. “I feel like I heard the word monkeypox and I got it and that’s how quickly it happened,” said Kyle Benter. “It’s spreading even faster now.” Benter has been battling the virus for about two weeks, after having contact with a friend who also later tested positive. “I actually got it from contact with literally one person,” said Benter. “A lot of people think its people out there having a ton of sex, touching a ton of people,...

Two Australian athletes reportedly were hospitalized in recent days after receiving COVID-19 vaccines. On Friday, former NBL Australia basketball player Ben Madgen said in a tweet he had been hospitalized with pericarditis after receiving his second dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. "Ended up in the emergency room on Wednesday night after taking the 2nd Pfizer shot," he wrote. "Diagnosed with Pericarditis. The Dr. said this is now common after the Pfizer shot, especially with teenage boys and young males."

Of course, nothing comes close to the cost of a single shell used for the cannon originally designed for the U.S. Navy’s USS Zumwalt, which came in at an estimated $800,000 each and made the gun too expensive to operate. However, there still some are calibers that are so expensive that shooters may want to think twice before ever squeezing the trigger. When shooting these rounds you can expect that it will be a costly day at the range. (Note: many of the prices below could be much higher due to what seem like regional price increases due to the...

The B-2 Spirit is the United States Air Force’s only stealth bomber in service today. It has remained in service because it can do things other aircraft simply can’t do. Since its introduction in 1997, the Northrop Grumman B-2 has often been the first to fight. It is also the only acknowledged aircraft that can carry large air-to-surface standoff weapons in a stealth configuration. The B-2 can carry up to sixteen B-61 or megaton-yield B-83 nuclear gravity bombs on the rotary launchers inside its two bomb bays. The aircraft’s avionics are even hardened versus the electromagnetic pulses generated by nuclear...

The Glock 19 is known for its boxy polymer and metal frame, mystical reliability, and concealability. In fact, it’s one of the best-concealed carry pistols and has become the go-to for the masses. But is this firearm for you? Glock 19 Review: What Makes This Gun Stand Out? The Glock 19 features an iconic square shape, with the bottom frame being made from a durable polymer and a metal slide. With the exception of the Glock 44, I have never seen so much as a crack on a Glock frame and that’s a relief for me because I have become...

With President Joe Biden in the White House and Democrat control of the House of Representatives and the United States Senate, owners of AR-15 and similar firearms have a valid reason for concern. Such guns have been targeted for legislation including registration, increased background checks, and even outright bans. Many who want to see such firearms banned try to use terms that, while sound scary, don’t really apply to the AR-15.

Two of the warships actually began construction – with Schlachtschiff H laid down by Blohm & Voss in Hamburg on June 15, 1939; while the Schlachtschiff J was laid down by AG Weser in Bremen on August 15, 1939, just two weeks before Germany invaded Poland. Construction was halted in October as the war effort focused on the construction of U-boats rather than battleships. By 1940, the material used in the early construction of the two super battleships was scrapped and then directed to other uses.

The aircraft is actually an example of trying to focus too much on proven designs and common parts. While it incorporated the most powerful inline engine available at the time – an Allison V-3420, which provided 2,885 horsepower – and featured a design that utilized many components from other aircraft to help expedite production, flight tests revealed unsatisfactory performance.

Developed in the early 1960s, the M79 grenade launcher saw use in the Vietnam War – and for those who carried the weapon, it was either instant love or lasting hatred. The weapon was simple to use. Much like a shotgun, it was a break-open, shoulder-fire weapon that could fire a 40mm grenade. It utilized a “high-low propulsion” launching system that reduced the recoil, yet allowed shooters to launch a grenade upwards of 400 yards, which was far further than a hand grenade could be thrown. The rifled barrel gave the round a right-hand spin, which also ensured accuracy.

A single Israeli armored brigade with less than 100 tanks held out for four days against a Syrian infantry division equipped with more than 1,400 tanks including some 400 T-62s, the most modern Soviet tank in the field at that time. Unable to call in effective air support, the Israelis dug in and fought like the future of their country depended on it. Nearly the entire Israeli tank force was destroyed and the defenders were on the verge of collapse but as reinforcements finally arrived, the Syrians withdrew – not knowing how close they came to victory. Instead, they suffered...

The Montana-class was authorized under the “Two Ocean Navy” building program, and it was funded in Fiscal Year 1941 (FY41). Nearly a third larger than the preceding Iowa-class, the super-battleship was to be 920 feet in length with a beam of 121 feet. Displacing 60,500 tones – 71,000 tons with its war load – it would have been even larger than the Royal Navy’s HMS Vanguard, the last battleship ever built.

Armed with a main battery of 16-inch guns that could hit targets nearly 24 miles away with a variety of artillery shells, the Iowa-class were among the most heavily armed U.S. military ships ever put to see. The battleships’ main battery consisted of nine 16″/50 caliber Mark 7 guns in three-gun turrets, which could fire 2,700-pound (1,225 kg) armor-piercing shells some 23 miles (42.6 km). Secondary batteries consisted of twenty 5″/38 caliber guns mounted in twin-gun dual-purpose (DP) turrets, which could hit targets up to 9 miles (16.7 km) away.

The United States military is currently seeking to replace its M4 Carbine and M249 squad assault weapon (SAW), while the M240 could also soon be replaced by a more modern platform. And while the M240’s replacement could even fill the role employed by the M2 .50 caliber, it isn’t likely the “Ma Deuce” will be retired anytime soon. Despite its nearly 90 years of service, it just does the job. It is just one of a few weapons that remained in the American arsenal for decades. Here are what I would argue are just a sample of some of the...

Meet the ISU-152: Thanks to its enormous main gun and prodigious armor protection, the ISU-152 could take on virtually everything the Nazis threw at it. The History The ISU-152 was one of the Soviet Union’s heaviest self-propelled guns during World War II. The Russians designed and built the ISU-152 in 1943, partially in response to the increasingly heavy tanks and tank destroyers Nazi Germany fielded at the time.

The British Army first used the Magazine Lee-Enfield in combat soon after it was introduced in 1895 in its campaign in the Sudan the following year. The bolt-action, magazine-fed repeating rifle was actually a redesign of the Lee-Metford that had only been adopted in 1888. Chambered in the new.303 British cartridge, the Lee-Enfield became the first British rifle to fire a “smokeless” cartridge.

In terms of sheer numbers, it is easy to see why Leyte Gulf should have the distinction of being the largest naval battle in history. But some historians will argue it really was a combination of four major subsidiary battles that happened to take place at the same time. Moreover, Leyte Gulf didn’t have the largest number of participants or even ships that were engaged in one battle. There are several other notable battles that have also been called the largest or greatest naval battle in history.

In actuality, the shells were fired from 75 miles away from what has become known as the “Paris Gun” or “Emperor William Gun.” It had the longest range of any artillery weapon in history, but unlike the modern American platform that even on its first shot was within 300 feet of the intended target, the massive German weapon was only really useful against city-sized targets. As such it was more of a psychological weapon, but it did little to cause fear in Paris when it was employed.

Effective at ranges out to 2,000 meters, the SIG Sauer MG 338 machine gun has a greater range than the M240 platoon-level machine gun. It has a rate of fire of 600 pounds and is chambered in the hard-hitting .338 Norma Magnum (8.6x63mm) round, and yet it weighs in at just around 21 pounds. It is easy to see why a year ago the U.S. Special Operation Command (UUSOCOM) selected the MG 338 for evaluation to bridge the gap between the M240, chambered in 7.62×51 NATO, and the Browning M2 heavy .50 caliber machine gun. The MG 338 could help...

Benghazi hero Dave 'Boon' Benton unveils his 'Askari' at the Orlando International SWAT Round-Up - Benton is a unique man, a quiet man, very much a philosopher of life. He is a family man, a lover of his country and God. A man who will fight to the death if need be, but trust me, it would be no easy task to kill him, as it has been tried many times before. On weapons, tactics, combatives and overall survival skills, there are very few people I listen to more closely than Boon. TOGETHER with Alex Ferrer, the CEO and owner...

'Think artillery' when it comes to the 4-bore double rifles of Austrian gunmaker Peter Hofer. - The long, illustrious history of the 4-gauge rifle goes back to the days of the muzzleloaders first employed against the pachyderms of India and Africa. These guns reached perfection with the advent of the breech-loading cartridge guns. The standard load was 14 drams of black powder behind a 1,882-grain slug, which would give an approximate velocity of 1,200 to 1,400 feet per second. The immense unbridled power of a shoulder gun firing the maximum load for a ship's swivel cannon generated 300 pounds of...