James Simpson
War Is Boring
Japan
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Past articles by James:
Britain’s New Spy Planes Are Practically Spacecraft
A version of this story originally appeared on Aug. 22, 2016. In July 2018, Airbus Defense & Space announced that its Zephyr S drone had flown for 25 days straight during testing over western Australia. The record flight came two years after the British military ordered three copies of the... → Read More
Eating Too Much Rice Almost Sank the Japanese Navy
This story originally appeared on May 31, 2014. In August 1882 in Incheon Bay near Seoul, four Japanese warships were locked in a tense stand-off with two Chinese warships that had brought troops to quell a revolt on the Korean peninsula. On paper, the Japanese flotilla outnumbered the Chinese, but... → Read More
Super Glue Built Planes, Nukes and Saved Soldiers’ Lives
This story originally appeared on Nov. 27, 2015. Super glue can stick almost anything together. Model-makers use it to assemble their miniatures, and DIY enthusiasts can rely on it as a quick-fix. But the discovery of cyanoacrylate — the chemical family of super glue — was a breakthrough for industrial adhesives... → Read More
A Remarkable Armored Train Fought Its Way Across Eurasia
This story originally appeared on July 17, 2015. The war train Zaamurets was the behemoth of the 1910s and 1920s. Heavily armored. Bristling with guns. Everywhere it went, Zaamurets was the biggest, baddest thing around. Not many foes could touch it. If you possessed this train, you ruled the rails... → Read More
Soviet Cosmonauts Carried a Shotgun Into Space
This story originally appeared on Feb 3, 2015. To this day, the Russian Federal Space Agency refuses to talk about the weapon—though it’s an open secret. Astronauts heading to the International Space Station have trained with it, and some have even talked about it. And in case there’s any doubt... → Read More
A Nazi War Train Hauled the Biggest Gun Ever Made
This story originally appeared on July 31, 2015. War trains dominated combat for more than 100 years. Massive railborne artillery shelled the enemy while trains unloaded troops and supplies. For a brief moment, the terrifying machines were the most powerful weapon on the battlefield. But technology advanced. Improvements to tanks,... → Read More
The Canine Heroes of the Imperial Japanese Army
This story originally appeared on Feb. 6, 2014. In the corner of the Enmei Buddhist Temple grounds in the coastal city of Zushi in Japan’s Kanagawa Prefecture, stands a stone cenotaph that reads “Monument to the Protection of Animals.” The inscription dates back to 1958, but before that time there... → Read More
The British Perfected the Art of Brewing Tea Inside an Armored Vehicle
This story originally appeared on April 27, 2014. There are few things more British than tea, even if it was originally a Portuguese tradition of brewing South Asian leaves. The culture of tea-drinking permeates British society—including the military. But tea-break culture posed a big problem for the generals in charge... → Read More
Kongo Versus the Earthquake
This story originally appeared on Feb. 27, 2014. This month marks the third anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake. Much of the country, myself included, felt the shaking that day—but it was the subsequent tsunami that did the most damage. On March 11, 2011, the sea swept across 217... → Read More