Distributism is an economic and social philosophy advocating that the means of production should be widely owned by individuals and families rather than centralized in the hands of the state (socialism) or mega-corporations (capitalism).
First articulated in the early 20th century by Catholic thinkers like G.K. Chesterton and Hilaire Belloc, it acts as a "third way" that champions widespread private property, decentralized communities, and family-owned enterprises.
Totally enjoyable. Jonesy takes apart an ancient machine tool and gives us a history lesson along the way. It's funny how there seems to be a sharp dividing line between people who are mechanically inclined and people who aren't.
I first ran into Whitworth when I bought a custom Triumph Bonneville when I lived in Houston. It had an Italian front brake, so there were some metric parts. The engine may have been older than the frame, or maybe it was vice versa. In any case some of the nuts and bolts were American and some were Whitworth. It came with a set of Whitworth wrenches, which I had never seen before, or since, for that matter.
Whitworth has pretty much gone away, but back in his day, he was a big deal.
The Heinkel He 111 is a German airliner and medium bomber designed by Siegfried and Walter Günter at Heinkel Flugzeugwerke in 1934. Through development, it was described as a wolf in sheep's clothing. Due to restrictions placed on Germany after the First World War prohibiting bombers, it was presented solely as a civil airliner, although from conception the design was intended to provide the nascent Luftwaffe with a heavy bomber.
The Mitsubishi G4M was a twin-engine, land-based medium bomber operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy from 1940 to 1945. It was commonly referred to by Japanese Navy pilots as Hamaki ('cigar', literally 'leaf roll') due to the cylindrical shape of its fuselage and its tendency to ignite after a hit. The Allied reporting name was Betty.
The G4M boasted good performance, excellent range and was considered the best land-based naval bomber of the time. This was achieved with flimsy structure and almost total lack of crew protection, with no armor plating or self-sealing fuel tanks. The G4M was introduced in 1941, but its problems resulted in heavy losses.
It was the most widely produced and most famous bomber flown by the Japanese during World War II, and it served in nearly all battles during the Pacific War. Attacks by G4M and G3M bombers resulted in the sinking of the Royal Navy battleship HMS Prince of Wales and battlecruiser HMS Repulse, the first time capital ships actively defending themselves were sunk solely by air power while in the open sea. G4Ms and G3Ms were also credited with sinking the heavy cruiser USS Chicago during the Battle of Rennell Island. The G4M later served as mother ships that carried the Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohka, the anti-ship suicide weapon. Of the 2,435 G4Ms produced, no fully intact aircraft have survived, though several airframes exist as unrestored wreckage or in partial states of restoration.
Probably the best-known incident involving a G4M in the war came during the top secret mission to intercept the aircraft carrying Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, resulting in Yamamoto's death. On 18 April 1943, sixteen P-38 Lightnings shot down a G4M1 carrying Admiral Yamamoto.
As part of the negotiations for the surrender of Japan, two demilitarized G4Ms, given the call-signs Bataan 1 and Bataan 2, flew to Ie Shima, carrying the first surrender delegations on the first leg of their flight to Manila. The G4Ms were painted white with green crosses and were escorted by American P-38 fighters.
