• Rapidcreek@lemmy.worldOP
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    7 months ago

    There were two separate incidents in the US and the UK in the last week - both ammunition manufacturing sites. Both suffered minor fires/explosions.

    • tal@lemmy.today
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      7 months ago

      Hmm. Yeah, both 155mm artillery production plants.

      Frankly, if I were Russia, I’m sure that I wouldn’t want 155mm shells going to Ukraine, but I’m not sure that I’d want that to the extent of being willing to initiate direct attacks against those states.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Tom_explosion

      The Black Tom explosion was an act of sabotage by agents of the German Empire, to destroy U.S.-made munitions that were to be supplied to the Allies in World War I. The explosions, which occurred on July 30, 1916, in New York Harbor, killed at least four people and destroyed some $20,000,000 ($560 million in 2024 dollars) worth of military goods. This incident, which happened prior to U.S. entry into World War I, also damaged the Statue of Liberty. It was one of the largest artificial non-nuclear explosions in history.

      Aftermath

      This attack was one of many during the German sabotage campaign against the neutral United States, and it is notable for its contribution to the shift of public opinion against Germany, which eventually resulted in American approval for participating with World War I.

      That being said, they did blow up those Czech munitions depots earlier, so…