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Curated archives and primary sources
4WorldWarII is a focused search engine created for anyone researching World War II. It combines multiple search indexes, museum and archive feeds, scholarly sources, and specialized shopping listings to surface accurate information, primary documents, images, and items. Use the home page to start broad, then refine results by source type, date, theater, or document provenance. Our tools are built by search engineers, historians, and experienced users to make WWII research faster and more reliable. Part of the 4SEARCH network of topic specific search engines.
Latest News & Web Pages
This Day in History - February 5: Midair Collision of P-47 “Thunderbolt” Fighter Planes in Sandhills
1+ hour, 6+ min ago (112+ words) February 5, 1944 - Shortly before 11:00 a.m. on February 5, 1944, 1st Lt. John B. Beatty and 2d Lt. Earnest W. Fanslau took off for a training flight from the Ainsworth Army Air Field in two P-47 ... February 5, 1944 - Shortly before 11:00 a.m. on February 5, 1944, 1st Lt. John B. Beatty and 2d Lt. Earnest W. Fanslau took off…...
After 74 years, Escondido Korean War ace Royce Williams gets Medal of Honor
2+ hour, 17+ min ago (283+ words) Korean War fighter pilot and Escondido resident Royce Williams will be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, it was announced Wednesday. Williams, now 100 years old, will be recognized for facing off against seven Soviet MiG fighter jets on Nov. 18, 1952, shooting…...
Dry Dock 4 Seismic Retrofit Achieves Major Milestones, Bolsters Naval Readiness
2+ hour, 35+ min ago (236+ words) Seismic retrofit work continues on Dry Dock 4 at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PSNS & IMF), with a targeted completion date now ahead of schedule. The critical restoration and modernization project, spearheaded by Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command…...
Medgar Evers was killed by a 'self-described racist'—the National Park Service reportedly plans to remove that detail
2+ hour, 44+ min ago (308+ words) Critics say new edits to National Park Service materials strip away the violent, racist reality of Medgar Evers" murder. The pamphlets have reportedly been temporarily removed to remove the word "racist" as a descriptor for Beckwith, an unnamed Park Service…...
Should Nazi Sympathizers Be Honored on City Sidewalks?
3+ hour, 27+ min ago (1372+ words) Good morning. It's Thursday. Today we'll find out why some of the markers commemorating ticker tape parades have been removed. We'll also get details on fallout from the release of the Epstein files. More than a dozen of the 200 markers…...
Susie King Taylor: The Nurse Who Documented Her Experiences in the Civil War
3+ hour, 41+ min ago (30+ words) This Civil War nurse supported the Union army and taught fellow African Americans to read and write. Susie King Taylor: The Nurse Who Documented Her Experiences in the Civil War...
Navy pilot to receive Medal of Honor nearly 75 years after shooting down 4 MiGs
3+ hour, 46+ min ago (581+ words) Published Feb 5, 2026 12:10 PM EST Legendary Navy pilot Royce Williams, who downed four Soviet MiG fighters during the Korean War, will finally receive the Medal of Honor, a White House official confirmed to Task & Purpose. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) first announced…...
The Silent Revolution: How One Wartime Machine Changed the World
3+ hour, 49+ min ago (1073+ words) On February 5, 1944, 82 years ago, a large electronic machine at Bletchley Park in Britain became operational and completed its first real codebreaking task. It was called the Mark 1 Colossus. At the time, it was built for one urgent purpose: to help…...
Jim Long celebrates 100th birthday
3+ hour, 56+ min ago (232+ words) QUINCY - Valentine's Day 2026 marks a truly special milestone for our community as lifelong Quincyan Jim Long celebrates his 100th birthday. QUINCY - Valentine's Day 2026 marks a truly special milestone for our community as lifelong Quincyan Jim Long celebrates his 100th birthday.Jim is…...
70,000 Tons: The Montana-Class Was the Biggest U.S. Battleship Ever Planned
4+ hour, 9+ min ago (927+ words) Summary and Key Points: The Montana-class was designed as the final and most powerful expression of U.S. battleship thinking: heavier armor, greater survivability, and twelve 16-inch guns meant to outfight any rival in a surface duel. -Conceived as treaty limits collapsed,…...