Cologne Cathedral stands tall at war’s end, surrounded by devastation wrought by the Allied bombing campaign. (Wikimedia)

The U.S., Britain and the WW II bombing campaign in Europe

STORY BY STEPHEN J. THORNE

The finale of a Second World War television trilogy has arrived on Apple TV+ and early episodes of the graphic and visually stunning of Masters of the Air have already made some questionable claims about the U.S. bombing campaign over Nazi-occupied Europe.

Produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, the nine-part series comes 26 years after Saving Private Ryan (1998) hit theatres and set the standard for HBO TV’s subsequent series, Band of Brothers (2001) and The Pacific (2010).

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The Golden Hawks during a performance. (NEW BRUNSWICK AVIATION MUSEUM)

Remembering Canada’s first national aerobatics team—and its legendary aircraft

STORY BY PAIGE JASMINE GILMAR

From 1951 to 1963, the CL-13 Sabre was the Royal Canadian Air Force’s front-line “dog-fighter.” But the Canadian-built aircraft is best remembered for its five years of service in domestic airspace, where its flashy gilt became symbolic of the RCAF’s first official national aerobatics team. Sixty years ago today, the Golden Hawks were disbanded.

Enchanting more than 15 million Canadians and Americans during 317 performances, the Golden Hawks set the bar for their successor, the Snowbirds, all while inspiring countless young people to enlist in the air force.

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Indigenous soldier to be commemorated with plaque in Flanders

STORY BY STEPHEN J. THORNE

A grassroots project to commemorate the life and death of a Cree soldier killed during the First World War is expected to come to fruition in November 2024 when a plaque is erected at the site where he died outside Passchendaele, Belgium.

Alexander Wuttunee DeCoteau, born on Red Pheasant Indian reserve south of Battleford, Sask., was a farmhand, blacksmith, police sergeant and soldier. He was also a star runner who competed at the 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm.

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• From Napoleonic-era ostentation to itchy fatigues: How uniforms evolved in WWI
• The Langemarck Myth: How WW I Germany turned loss into propaganda victory
• Passchendaele Museum locates sites where unknown WW I soldiers died

CBC/OPERATION MORNING LIGHT/IMPERATIVE PRODUCTIONS

Kosmic debris

STORY BY PAIGE JASMINE GILMAR

Fallout from the Cold War ranged from economic and social ramifications between geopolitical rivals to space debris left behind by space-race projects. It was 46 years ago that radioactive pieces of the Soviet Union’s satellite Kosmos 954 crashed in Canada’s North. Still, the impact remains little known despite having far-reaching impacts on rural communities and the environment.

In mid-September 1977, the Soviets launched the uranium-powered. Its most likely purpose was the long-term monitoring of naval activity of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and United States. Only two months later, though, Kosmos became unstable, its orbit unpredictable. Despite Cold-War tensions, the Soviets met with the Americans to discuss the satellite’s anticipated crash—expected to come down in North America. Some officials predicted its uranium would cause worse nuclear contamination than an atomic bomb.

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