torsun_bryan t1_j9tg17q wrote on February 24, 2023 at 1:06 PM

Reply to comment by Gabagool1987 in TIL about the 1938 Gettysburg Reunion, where veterans of The American Civil War met, they were on average 94 years old. by VengefulMight

I don’t know about veterans of Gettysburg, but the last remaining Civil War veteran, Albert Woolson, died in 1956. He was a drummer boy in a Union regiment that never saw action.

The last surviving civil war combat veteran was James Hard, who died in 1953.

He fought for the Union from First Bull Run to Chancellorsville, but was mustered out before Gettysburg

torsun_bryan t1_j9gplpj wrote on February 21, 2023 at 9:21 PM

Reply to TIL The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird used an Astro-inertial Navigation System to track Stars and determine its position and altitude. At Mach 3, the navigation system was accurate enough to limit drift to 1,000 feet (300 meters) off course. by shamelessterminator

If you’re interested in reading a fantastic history of the SR-71, Area 51 and the Skunk Works, check out the book “Skunk Works” by the late Ben Rich, who took over for Kelly Johnson as head of Lockheed’s advanced development division.

In the book, he said the system was so sensitive it would lock onto bolts on the hangar roof, thinking they were stars.

torsun_bryan t1_j6p5x02 wrote on January 31, 2023 at 10:24 PM

Reply to ELI5: Why are people so obsessed with uncovering whats in area 51? by NdavG100

Anybody who’s interested in the history of Area 51 should read Skunk Works by former (and sadly deceased) Lockheed exec and Skunk Works head Ben Rich.

Area 51 is never referred to as ‘Area 51’ in the book — just as ‘Paradise Ranch,’ ‘The Ranch,’ ‘Groom Lake’ or just ‘the secret base’