Arsenal: Weapons of War

Arsenal: Gato and Balao-class Submarines in the Pacific Undersea Campaign, World War II follows United States fleet boats from early desperate patrols off Luzon and in the South China Sea through a grinding tonnage war that strangled Japan’s lifelines. The episode traces how these long-legged submarines were built to solve the problem of vast Pacific distances, how their design and crew routines s...

Arsenal: AH-64 Apache in Desert Storm, 1991 follows the United States Army’s main attack helicopter from its low-level night raid on Iraqi radar sites to deep strikes against armored columns in the Gulf War and beyond. This episode traces how the Apache was built to solve the problem of massed Warsaw Pact armor, walks through its development and crew experience, and then follows it into combat ove...

Arsenal: F-4 Phantom II in the Air War over Vietnam, 1965–1973 follows the big twin-engine fighter from Rolling Thunder to the Linebacker campaigns, tracing how Phantom crews fought over Hanoi, the Red River delta, and the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Listeners hear the jet in action under surface-to-air missile fire, the fleet-defense problem it was built to solve, how designers turned that concept into a...

Arsenal: B-1B Lancer in Long-Range Strike, the War on Terror follows the United States B one B swing wing bomber from Cold War nuclear alert pads to long nights orbiting over Afghanistan and Iraq. Listeners hear how a jet designed to knife through Soviet air defenses at low level became a precision strike workhorse, hauling deep magazines of guided bombs in support of patrols, convoys, and special...

Arsenal: Los Angeles–class Attack Submarines in the Hunter-Killer Role, the Cold War follows the United States fast attack boats into the deep North Atlantic, the Norwegian Sea, and other Cold War patrol zones where quiet tracking runs, carrier escort missions, and Tomahawk strikes defined their combat record. Listeners hear how these submarines were designed to solve the problem of faster, quiete...

Arsenal: M18 Hellcat Tank Destroyer in the Ardennes, 1944–45 follows the United States tank destroyer from icy roads around Bastogne through the last campaigns of the Second World War, showing how speed and a seventy six millimeter gun tried to compensate for thin armor and an open turret. Listeners ride with Hellcat crews as they race to plug gaps in the Battle of the Bulge, hear why the vehicle...

Arsenal: OV-10 Bronco over Vietnam, 1960s–1970s follows the twin-boom turboprop into low, circling orbits above jungle firefights, pinned patrols, and tense convoy ambushes during the Vietnam War. The story traces how the Bronco was created to solve the problem of seeing and controlling complex small-unit battles that jets and fragile liaison aircraft could not manage, then walks through its unusu...

The Mark IV tank was slow, harsh, uncomfortable, and mechanically uncertain, but it helped make Cambrai one of the defining armored battles of the First World War. In this episode of Arsenal, we look inside the machine that carried early armored warfare from experiment toward battlefield reality, exploring its design, weapons, crew conditions, strengths, weaknesses, and role in Britain’s massed ta...

Arsenal: Minuteman III ICBM in the Land-Based Nuclear Deterrent, Cold War to Today follows underground launch crews on alert in the Great Plains during the long nuclear standoff between the United States and the Soviet Union. The story traces how Minuteman III answered the problem of surviving a first strike, then walks through its solid-fuel design, hardened silos, and the daily realities of miss...

Arsenal: SR-71 Blackbird in Strategic Reconnaissance, the Cold War follows the sleek black reconnaissance aircraft from tense high-speed runs over Vietnam and other contested theaters to its quiet retirement in museums. Listeners hear how the Blackbird’s crews used speed and altitude to outrun missiles, why it was built after earlier spy planes proved vulnerable, and how engineers shaped its titan...

Arsenal: C-130 Hercules in Tactical Airlift, Cold War to Today follows the rugged “Herk” from siege runs into Khe Sanh during the Vietnam War through desert campaigns and disaster relief flights around the world, tracing how a go-anywhere tactical airlifter reshaped how armies move, supply, and evacuate people under pressure. Listeners hear the Hercules in action on rough strips, learn why planner...

Arsenal: M65 Atomic Cannon in Atomic Testing at the Nevada Test Site, Early Cold War tells the story of the United States’ only nuclear artillery gun, from the Shot Grable detonation over the Nevada desert to its role as a deterrent presence on Cold War European battlefields. Listeners hear the cannon in action under atomic test conditions, the problem it was meant to solve for Army commanders, ho...

Arsenal: Bradley Fighting Vehicle in Desert Storm, 1991 follows United States mechanized infantry and cavalry crews as they drive their armored fighting vehicles through the flat, dark expanses of the Gulf War, from tense night contacts on the Saudi and Iraqi borders to hard hitting engagements along famous eastings. Listeners hear how the Bradley was built to solve the problem of outgunned infant...

Arsenal: F-111 Aardvark in Deep Strike, The Cold War follows a side-by-side crew from low-level night runs over Vietnam through long-range strikes against Libya and precision bombing in the skies over Iraq. Listeners hear how the Aardvark was born from the need to penetrate dense air defenses, how its swing wings, terrain-following radar, and escape capsule shaped the design, and what it felt like...

Arsenal: New Mexico-class Battleships in the Pacific, World War II follows three standard-type American battleships from cold Aleutian bombardments to kamikaze firestorms at Lingayen Gulf, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa, tracing how pre–World War I designs were pushed to their limits in the last great island campaigns. Listeners hear these ships in action on the gun line, the strategic problem they were bu...

Arsenal: M26 Pershing in Europe and Korea, 1945–1951 follows the late-war American heavy tank from the ruined streets of Cologne to the rugged hills and frozen valleys of the Korean peninsula, tracing how its 90 mm gun and thicker armor changed the balance in duels against German Panthers, Tigers, and Soviet-built T-34-85s. Listeners hear how the Pershing grew from experimental designs into a rush...

Arsenal: AH-1 Cobra in Vietnam, 1967–1973 follows the first dedicated United States attack helicopter from hot landing zones in the Central Highlands to hunter killer missions along the Laotian border in the Vietnam War, showing how this slim gunship reshaped air assault and close support. Listeners hear the Cobra in action over contested valleys, the tactical and strategic problems it was built t...

Arsenal: UH-1 Huey and Its Variants in Air Assault over Vietnam, Vietnam War follows the iconic turbine helicopter from the dust and fire of Ia Drang landing zones to its long service as a medevac, gunship, and troop carrier across the wider Vietnam theater. Listeners hear how the Huey solved the problem of moving infantry and casualties in brutal terrain, how its design and crew layout shaped lif...

Arsenal: HIMARS in Ukraine, 2022–Present follows a single wheeled rocket launcher from midnight fields in the Donbas to the broader campaigns that turned rear areas into nowhere safe. Listeners hear how this precision rocket system grew from the need to give light and airborne units long range firepower, how engineers put heavy rockets onto a medium truck, and how three person crews live inside th...

Arsenal: EA-6B Prowler and EA-18G Growler in Carrier-Based Electronic Warfare, Vietnam to the 21st Century follows the Navy and Marine Corps electronic attack lineage from the skies over North Vietnam to Desert Storm, Libya, and today’s contested airspace. Listeners hear how these aircraft fought enemy radars and missiles in action, the problem they were built to solve, how designers turned an att...

Arsenal: Oliver Hazard Perry–Class Frigates in NATO Sea Lanes, the Late Cold War follows the lean guided missile escorts that guarded convoys in the North Atlantic, faced missiles and mines in the Persian Gulf, and rode into Operation Desert Storm beside carriers and battleships. Listeners hear how Cold War arithmetic drove the need for an affordable general purpose frigate, how gas turbines, a si...

Arsenal: B-2 Spirit in Stealth Global Strike, Post-Cold War Era follows the flying wing from dark Atlantic crossings to precision strikes over Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq, showing how a bomber built for nuclear deterrence became a global conventional scalpel. Listeners hear the Spirit in action over heavily defended airspace, the problem it was designed to solve against dense radar and missile n...

Arsenal: F-15 Eagle in the Air Superiority Role, Cold War to Desert Storm follows the Eagle from early battles over Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley to sweeping Iraqi fighters from the sky in Operation Desert Storm, showing how a purpose built air dominance fighter reshaped modern air combat. Listeners hear the Eagle in action at night over the desert, the painful Vietnam era lessons that drove its design,...

Arsenal: M41 Walker Bulldog in Armored Reconnaissance, the Cold War follows this fast, hard-hitting light tank from the Bay of Pigs beaches to South Vietnamese ridgelines during Lam Son 719 and the Easter Offensive. Listeners hear the Walker Bulldog in action under fire, the postwar problem it was built to solve, how designers chased speed and firepower on a light chassis, and what life felt like...

Arsenal: F-117 Nighthawk over Baghdad, Operation Desert Storm follows the world’s first operational stealth attack aircraft from secret Nevada test flights into the heart of Iraq’s air defense network in nineteen ninety one, as lone pilots slip through radar belts to cut command centers, bunkers, and communications hubs out from under a heavily defended capital. Listeners hear how fear of modern s...