1940: 82 Squadron RAF dispatched 12 Blenheim light bombers to bomb a German armoured column which had broken through the Allied lines at Gembloux. The squadron faced intense light anti-aircraft fire, and was then bounced by Messerschmitt fighters. Eleven were shot down, and the twelfth, badly damaged, crashed in England.

1962: A US Naval amphibious force landed marines to guard Thailand's borders from Communist probes

1982: HMS Invincible and Broadsword detached from the Task Force with a Sea King and an SAS team on board to take part in an attack on the Rio Grande airfield in Argentina.

The plan was for the Sea King to drop the team as close as possible to Rio Grande where they would proceed to put aircraft on the ground beyond use. However, bad weather came in and the helicopter came down on the Chilean coast 10 miles from Punta Arenas and 50 miles from where it was supposed to be and the mission was aborted.

The discovery of the burnt out Sea King some 10 miles south of Punta Arenas attracted considerable public attention. All the crew were eventually found safe and well on 25 May and were flown to Santiago for questioning

1987: An Iraqi warplane attacked the US Navy frigate Stark in the Persian Gulf, killing 37 American sailors. Subsequently, both Iraq and the United States called the attack a mistake

1999: Makah Indians from Washington state ‘harpooned’ a grey whale for the first time in 70 years … only they used .50 calibre rifles