1.
Belgium
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Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a sovereign state in Western Europe bordered by France, the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, and the North Sea. It is a small, densely populated country which covers an area of 30,528 square kilometres and has a population of about 11 million people. Additionally, there is a group of German-speakers who live in the East Cantons located around the High Fens area. Historically, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg were known as the Low Countries, the region was called Belgica in Latin, after the Roman province of Gallia Belgica. From the end of the Middle Ages until the 17th century, today, Belgium is a federal constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. It is divided into three regions and three communities, that exist next to each other and its two largest regions are the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders in the north and the French-speaking southern region of Wallonia. The Brussels-Capital Region is a bilingual enclave within the Flemish Region. A German-speaking Community exists in eastern Wallonia, Belgiums linguistic diversity and related political conflicts are reflected in its political history and complex system of governance, made up of six different governments. Upon its independence, declared in 1830, Belgium participated in the Industrial Revolution and, during the course of the 20th century, possessed a number of colonies in Africa. This continuing antagonism has led to several far-reaching reforms, resulting in a transition from a unitary to a federal arrangement during the period from 1970 to 1993. Belgium is also a member of the Eurozone, NATO, OECD and WTO. Its capital, Brussels, hosts several of the EUs official seats as well as the headquarters of major international organizations such as NATO. Belgium is also a part of the Schengen Area, Belgium is a developed country, with an advanced high-income economy and is categorized as very high in the Human Development Index. A gradual immigration by Germanic Frankish tribes during the 5th century brought the area under the rule of the Merovingian kings, a gradual shift of power during the 8th century led the kingdom of the Franks to evolve into the Carolingian Empire. Many of these fiefdoms were united in the Burgundian Netherlands of the 14th and 15th centuries, the Eighty Years War divided the Low Countries into the northern United Provinces and the Southern Netherlands. The latter were ruled successively by the Spanish and the Austrian Habsburgs and this was the theatre of most Franco-Spanish and Franco-Austrian wars during the 17th and 18th centuries. The reunification of the Low Countries as the United Kingdom of the Netherlands occurred at the dissolution of the First French Empire in 1815, although the franchise was initially restricted, universal suffrage for men was introduced after the general strike of 1893 and for women in 1949. The main political parties of the 19th century were the Catholic Party, French was originally the single official language adopted by the nobility and the bourgeoisie
2.
Belgian Air Component
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The Belgian Air Component is the air arm of the Belgian Armed Forces. The Belgian military aviation was founded in 1909 and is one of the worlds oldest air services, the commander is Major General aviator Frederik Vansina, appointed on 23 July 2009. The Belgian military aviation was founded in 1909 as a branch of the Belgian Army, King Alberts interest in the military use of aircraft was the main impetus for its formation. Coincidentally, in the aviation sector, Baron Pierre de Caters earned the first civil pilots brevet that same year. Caters would promptly establish an aviation school, at approximately the same time, the War Ministry followed the French militarys example and had pilots earn a civil pilots brevet before their military one. In 1910, three Belgian lieutenants earned their pilots brevets at the school, paying their own fees, two of the artillery lieutenants were Baudoin de Montens dOosterwyck, who earned Brevet No.19 on 30 September, and Alfred Sarteel, granted No.23 on 10 November. The third lieutenant, Georges Nelis, was the new forces first aviation candidate, an aircraft was personally purchased for him. In spring of 1911, the new air force established its aviation school with five pilots. It received its first aircraft via Baron Caters, who gave the aircraft to King Albert and they were disciplined for their efforts. Belgium entered World War I with aircraft tasked solely for reconnaissance missions, a truck was assigned to each squadron, along with a fifth truck serving as a mobile workshop. Each squadron had a commander, five pilots, and six observers, as a result, most of the new aviators were from the Engineers and Artillery components of the Belgian armed forces. As the war began, a squadron was created, staffed with civilian pilots called to the colors. Sous Lieutenant Henri Crombez flew one of the first war patrols, adjutant Behaeghe was the first to engage an enemy, a few days later. On 3 January 1915, two guns supplied by British were fitted to two Belgian aircraft, making a dual effort against the foe possible, these were Belgiums first dedicated fighter planes. In February, thirteen of the Belgian airmen flew 28 offensive patrols, on 26 March, Sous Lieutenant Boschmans sent a German two-seater into a steep dive when he seemed to hit the pilot, the German was not seen to either crash or land. This was the Belgian aviators first victory claim, in April, Lieutenant Fernand Jacquet mounted a machine gun on his pusher aircraft and sought out the enemy. On the 17th, he and his observer scored Belgiums first confirmed aerial victory, luckily for them, they missed, success would probably have blown them out of the sky. On 18 January 1916, the decision was made to form a fighter squadron
3.
Trainer (aircraft)
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A trainer is a class of aircraft designed specifically to facilitate flight training of pilots and aircrews. Civilian pilots are trained in a light aircraft, with two or more seats to allow for a student and instructor. The aircraft may be modified to withstand the conditions imposed by training flights. The two seating configurations for trainer aircraft are, pilot and instructor side by side, or in tandem, usually with the pilot in front, the tandem configuration has the advantage of being closer to the normal working environment that a fast jet pilot is likely to encounter. It is now the norm for pilots to begin their training in an aircraft with side by side seating. This, however, has not always been the case, given the expense of military pilot training, air forces typically conduct training in phases to eliminate unsuitable candidates. The cost to air forces that do not follow a graduated training regimen is not just monetary. There are two areas for instruction, flight training and operational training. In flight training a candidate seeks to develop their flying skills, in operational training the candidate learns to use his or her flying skills through simulated combat, attack and fighter techniques. Typically, contemporary military pilots learn initial flying skills in an aircraft not too dissimilar from civilian training aircraft. In this phase candidates are screened for mental and physical attributes. Aircraft used for this include the Slingsby Firefly, as at one time used by the United States Air Force Academy. The U. S. replaced the Firefly and the Enhanced Flight Screen Program with the Diamond DA20, at the end of this stage, pilot trainees are assessed as to where their attributes lie, as fast jet, multi-engine or rotary wing pilots. Those who are judged unsuitable for a commission, but show other attributes, may be offered the chance to qualify as navigators. Smaller and more financially restricted air forces may use ultra-light aircraft, gliders, after the ab-inito phase a candidate may progress to basic, or primary, trainers. These are usually turboprop trainers, like the Pilatus PC-9 and Embraer Tucano, prior to the availability of high performance turboprops, basic training was conducted with jet aircraft such as the BAC Jet Provost, T-37 Tweet, and Fouga Magister. Those candidates who are not suitable to continue training as fast jet pilots may be offered flying commissions, examples of such jet trainer aircraft include the supersonic T-38 Talon, the BAE Hawk, the Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet, the Aero L-39 and the Yakovlev Yak-130. Effective combat aircraft are a function now electronics as much as, if not more so than and it is at this stage that a pilot begins to learn to operate radar systems and electronics
4.
Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet
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The Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet is a light attack jet and advanced trainer aircraft co-manufactured by Dassault Aviation of France and Dornier Flugzeugwerke of Germany. It was developed specifically to perform the trainer and light attack missions, both the French Air Force and German Air Force procured the Alpha Jet in large numbers, the former principally as a trainer aircraft and the latter choosing to use it as a light attack platform. As a result of post-Cold War military cutbacks, Germany elected to retire its own fleet of Alpha Jets in the 1990s and has many of these aircraft to both military and civilian operators. The Alpha Jet has been adopted by a number of air forces across the world and has seen active combat use by some of these operators. In the early 1960s, European air forces began to consider their requirements for the coming decades, britain and France established a collaborative program to pursue development of what was initially intended to become a supersonic jet aircraft. This aircraft was to be produced in two variants for different roles, trainer and light attack aircraft. As such, the Jaguar was not well suited for the training mission. France also valued military cooperation with West Germany, wanting to break a perceived German ideological preference for American aircraft, in 1968, a joint specification was produced out of these talks. One substantial change to the requirements was that the trainer was now specified to be subsonic, supersonic trainer aircraft having proven to be superfluous to practical requirements. At one point, both the German government and the German Air Force had been keen to relocate pilot training activities from the United States to France as part of the project, each of these proposals were to be powered by twin SNECMA Turbomeca Larzac turbofan engines. On 23 July 1970, the Breguet-Dassault-Dornier TA501 was declared the winner of the competition, in February 1972, the approval to proceed with full development was issued. In May 1972, the first project meeting was held in Bordeaux, by November 1972, the project had passed its first mock-up review. Two prototypes were to be built by Dassault in France and a further two were to be built by Dornier in Germany, the remaining two prototypes were in the air before the end of 1974. Manufacture of Alpha Jet sub-assemblies was divided between France, Germany and Belgium, each country performing final assembly and checkout of the type in separate facilities. A total of 4,500 people were employed in the manufacturing of the Alpha Jet in Germany, both Belgium and Egypt, who were early export customers for the Alpha Jet, domestically performed the final assembly of their French-configuration Alpha Jet E aircraft. On 4 November 1977, the first production made its first flight. In September 1978, deliveries of production Alpha Jets formally commenced, prototype 01 was specifically used early on to support the development of the Larzac engine. Initial flight was on 9 April 1982, cameroon obtained seven and Egypt obtained 15
5.
9 Squadron (Belgium)
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9 Squadron is a training squadron of the Belgian Air Component, constituting the Basic Flying Training School together with 5 Squadron. The 9ème Escadrille de Chasse was originally the 1ère Escadrille de Chasse, on 1 March 1918, while stationed at Les Moëres aerodrome near Veurne, it would be reorganized into the 9ème Escadrille and become part of Belgiums first fighter wing, the Groupe de Chasse. The squadron continued to use the equipment and personnel of the 1ère Escadrille, 9ème Escadrille also inherited the Thistle symbol and motto “Nemo me impune lacessit” or “No-one can challenge me unpunished”. The squadrons fleet consisted largely of Hanriot-Dupont 1s, supplemented by a some Sopwith Camels, the 10ème Escadrille and 11ème Escadrille were the other squadrons of the Group, also known as the Groupe Jaquet, after its Commanding Officer, Capitaine Fernand Jacquet. Headed by Capitaine Walter Gallez,9 Squadron counted a number of fighter pilots amongst its ranks, Willy Coppens, Jan Olieslagers. During the initial years of World War I, the Aviation Militaire Belge was based in the remnant of a small country. Only in September 1918 did the Belgian Army advance, to support the offensive, 9ème Escadrille moved to Moerkerke near the Dutch border in October 1918. At the end of the war, 9ème Escadrille was credited with 51 verified aerial victories,41 of which were enemy observation balloons, in turn, it suffered three pilots wounded in action or captured. After the armistice,9 Squadron was stationed at Sint-Agatha-Berchem, in the outskirts of Brussels, in 1919, they moved again to Schaffen near Diest to be integrated in 2nd Group. The squadron equipment was augmented by Fokker D-VII aircraft, yielded by the Germans as compensation for damages during World War I, in March 1920,9 Squadron was equipped with SPAD XIII aircraft, and together with 10 Squadron, made up 4th Group. Still at Schaffen, the Squadron received their new Nieuport-Delage 29 aircraft in July 1922, in 1935, the Squadrons at Bierset were re-organised into 9 Squadron and 11 Squadron of the 5th Group of the 1st Aeronautical Regiment. Initially still equipped with Bréguet XIX, they received the Belgian Renard R31 monoplane. Their mission changed from Bombardment to Observation, as of 1938, the “Sioux” symbol appeared on the aircraft, designed by Roger Delannay. On 9 Squadron aircraft the Sioux was surrounded by a blue circle, just before the outbreak of World War II,11 Squadron was assigned to 6th Group. 9 Squadron remained the only flying unit in the 5th Group which was now under command of Commander Breulhez. To improve mobility and the possibility of deployed operations, each comprised an maintenance squadron, a field train of about 25 vehicles. Commanded by Captain Lekeuche,9 Squadron took a part in the 18 days campaign. On the morning of the 10 May,9 Squadron rejoined its diversion airfield at Duras,9 Squadron was one of three squadrons that continued to fight until the surrender on 28 May 1940
6.
Willy Coppens
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Willy Omer François Jean baron Coppens de Houthulst was Belgiums leading fighter ace and the champion balloon buster of World War I. He was credited with 37 confirmed victories and six probables, Coppens was born in Watermael-Boitsfort, son of Omer Coppens a Belgina impressionistic painter that studied in the Royal Academy of Ghent. He was conscripted into the army in 1912, to serve with the Premiere Regiment Grenadiers, in 1914, following the German invasion of Belgium, Coppens transferred to The Motor Machine Gun Corps. On 6 September 1915, he signed up for training in the Compagnie des Aviateurs. Ultimately, due to insufficiencies in Belgian training, he took eight weeks of leave to train to fly and he and 39 other Belgians learned to fly on their own expense in Britain. He received his pilots certificate on 9 December 1915, after this training in Britain he had further training at the Farman School in Étampes, France and joined the Sixieme Escradrille as a sergent 1st class on 8 April 1917 flying BE-2c two seaters. Later that month, he was assigned to Quatrieme Escadrille to fly a Farman pusher, on 1 May, he received a Sopwith 1½ Strutter two seater and promptly flew it into his first aerial combat. In mid July, he transferred to the single seater fighter unit 1ère Escadrille de Chasse and he received the last remaining Nieuport 16 in the squadron, everyone else had upgraded to Nieuport 17s. When Hanriot HD. 1s were offered to the squadron, he was the pilot to initially accept one. His enthusiasm for the aircraft type prompted other pilots to move over to Hanriots. On 19 August Coppens was promoted to Adjutant and he continued his nervy but unsuccessful combat career against enemy aircraft until 17 March 1918. On that day he carried out his first attack on German observation balloons, though handicapped by lack of incendiary ammunition he punctured two balloons, causing the observers to bail out and the balloons to collapse to the ground. Finally, on 25 April Coppens scored his first victory by downing a Rumpler two seater, on 8 May he finally found his metier, when he shot two balloons down in flames. A week later, using his usual tactics of close range fire and it bounced up beneath him and momentarily carried his Hanriot skyward. After his aircraft fell off the balloon, he restarted its engine, the balloon sagged into an explosion. Later when on another run, he got shot at from a balloon. He parked his plane on top of the balloon, shut down his engine in order to protect its propeller. From then on, Coppens record was spectacular, between April and October 1918 he was credited with destroying 34 German observation balloons and three airplanes, nearly as many victories as Belgiums other five aces combined
7.
Origami
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Origami is the art of paper folding, which is often associated with Japanese culture. In modern usage, the word origami is used as a term for all folding practices. The goal is to transform a flat square of paper into a finished sculpture through folding and sculpting techniques. Modern origami practitioners generally discourage the use of cuts, glue, Origami folders often use the Japanese word kirigami to refer to designs which use cuts, although cutting is more characteristic of Chinese papercrafts. The small number of basic origami folds can be combined in a variety of ways to make intricate designs, the best-known origami model is the Japanese paper crane. In general, these begin with a square sheet of paper whose sides may be of different colors, prints. Traditional Japanese origami, which has been practiced since the Edo period, has often been less strict about these conventions, the principles of origami are also used in stents, packaging and other engineering applications. Distinct paperfolding traditions arose in Europe, China, and Japan which have been well-documented by historians and these seem to have been mostly separate traditions, until the 20th century. In China, traditional funerals include the burning of folded paper. The practice of burning paper representations instead of wood or clay replicas dates from the Sung Dynasty. In Japan, the earliest unambiguous reference to a model is in a short poem by Ihara Saikaku in 1680 which mentions a traditional butterfly design used during Shinto weddings. Folding filled some ceremonial functions in Edo period Japanese culture, noshi were attached to gifts and this developed into a form of entertainment, the first two instructional books published in Japan are clearly recreational. In Europe, there was a genre of napkin-folding, which flourished during the 17th and 18th centuries. When Japan opened its borders in the 1860s, as part of a strategy, they imported Froebels Kindergarten system—and with it. This included the ban on cuts, and the shape of a bicolored square. These ideas, and some of the European folding repertoire, were integrated into the Japanese tradition, before this, traditional Japanese sources use a variety of starting shapes, often had cuts, and if they had color or markings, these were added after the model was folded. In the early 1900s, Akira Yoshizawa, Kosho Uchiyama, Akira Yoshizawa in particular was responsible for a number of innovations, such as wet-folding and the Yoshizawa–Randlett diagramming system, and his work inspired a renaissance of the art form. During the 1980s a number of folders started systematically studying the properties of folded forms
8.
Sopwith Camel
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The Sopwith Camel was a British First World War single-seat biplane fighter aircraft introduced on the Western Front in 1917. It had been developed by the Sopwith Aviation Company as a successor to the earlier Sopwith Pup, the Camel was powered by a single rotary engine and was armed with twin synchronized machine guns. Though proving difficult to handle, it provided for a level of manoeuvrability to an experienced pilot. In total, Camel pilots have been credited with the shooting down of 1,294 enemy aircraft, the Camel also saw use as a two-seat trainer aircraft. In January 1920, the last aircraft of the type were withdrawn from RAF service and it was recognised that the new fighter would need to be faster and have a heavier armament. The design effort to produce this successor, initially designated as the Sopwith F.1, was headed by Sopwiths chief designer, early in its development, the new aircraft was simply referred to as the Big Pup. A metal fairing over the gun breeches, intended to protect the guns from freezing at altitude, however, the Camel name never had any official status in regards to the aircraft. On 22 December 1916, the prototype Camel was first flown by Harry Hawker at Brooklands, Weybridge, Surrey, in May 1917, the first production contract for an initial batch of 250 Camels was issued by the British War Office. Throughout 1917, a total of 1,325 Camels were manufactured, by the time that production of the type came to an end, approximately 5,490 Camels of all types had been built. In early 1918, production of the navalised Ships Camel 2F.1 began, while possessing some clear similarities with the Pup, it was furnished with a noticeably bulkier fuselage. In addition to the guns, a total of four Cooper bombs could be carried for ground attack purposes. The upper wing featured a central section for the purpose of providing improved upwards visibility for the pilot. Production Camels were powered by various engines, most commonly either the Clerget 9B or the Bentley BR1. In order to evade a potential manufacturing bottleneck being imposed upon the aircraft in the event of an engine shortage. Unlike the preceding Pup and Triplane, the Camel was considered to be difficult to fly, the Camel soon gained an unfortunate reputation with pilots. Many inexperienced pilots would crash on take-off when the fuel load usually carried pushed the aircrafts centre of gravity beyond the rearmost safe limits. When in level flight, the Camel was markedly tail-heavy, the aircraft could be rigged so that at higher altitudes it could be flown hands off. A stall immediately resulted in a dangerous spin, at length, with the assistance of Lieut Morgan, who managed our workshops, I took the main tank out of several Camels and replaced with a smaller one, which enabled us to fit in dual control
9.
1st Squadron (Belgium)
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The 1st Squadron is a fighter squadron in the Air Component of the Belgian Armed Forces. It is part of the 2nd Tactical Wing and operates F-16 Fighting Falcons, the 1re Escadrille de Chasse was the first fighter squadron of the Belgian Air Component. The squadron was founded during World War I, reorganized into a fighter unit. The 1re Escadrille de Chasse was founded in February 1916 as the first dedicated squadron of the Aviation Militaire Belge and it drew upon the men and equipment of the previously existing provisional Escadrille I. He also selected the squadron motto “Nemo me impune lacessit” or “No-one can challenge me unpunished”, in March 1918, it would be reorganized into the 9ème Escadrille.16 Sopwith Camel At the start of World War I, Belgium was neutral. An overwhelming invasion by the German army left Belgium partially occupied by the end of 1914, as a result, the Aviation Militaire Belgium was based in the diminished remnant of a small country, and performed largely in a static defensive mode. Captain Fernand Jacquet and Lieutenant Louis Robin scored the squadrons first victory on 20 May 1916 and it would claim 52 aerial victories and be credited with 15, at a blood cost of five Belgian pilots killed in action and one accidental death. After World War II, the modern Belgian Air Force was founded in 1946, the Thistle was accorded to 351 Squadron of 161st Wing at Florennes Airbase. On January 10,1948, this unit became 1st Squadron of 2nd Wing, from that day to the present, the squadron shares the identity and the traditions of the 1ère Escadrille de Chasse of 1917. In July 1971,1 Squadron leaves Florennes for Bierset, to constitute 3rd Wing together with 8 Squadron, designated to transform to the F-16, the unit swaps bases with 42 Squadron of Florennes in 1989. Editions CARACTERE - Arlon Mangin, Jean A. & Champagne, Jacques P & Van Den Rul, G. Everling - Arlon Pieters, Walter M. Above Flanders Fields, A Complete Record of the Belgian Fighter Pilots and Their Units During the Great War, ISBN 1-898697-83-3, ISBN 978-1-898697-83-1 Air Action 19
10.
Hanriot HD.1
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The Hanriot HD.1 was a French World War I single-seat fighter aircraft. Rejected for service with French squadrons in favour of the SPAD S.7, the type was supplied to the Belgian, of a total of about 1,200 examples built,831 were in fact produced by Italian companies under licence. The Hanriot company produced a series of pioneering monoplanes pre-war, but had settled down as a manufacturer, notably of Sopwith 1½ strutters. The type was a fighter with the general characteristics of a typical Sopwith type, being strongly but lightly built. In particular, it used the same “1½” cabane strut arrangement as the Sopwith two-seater and it had a flat lower wing, though the top wing had quite sharp dihedral. On the power of its 110 hp Le Rhone rotary engine it was not outstandingly fast, Italian-built versions, however, mounted a single machine gun centrally. The type was produced by the Nieuport-Macchi company of Varese, Italy. The new type was ordered into production as a replacement for the Nieuport 17. Some were supplied to the French Navy, a few of which were passed to the U. S. Navy – some naval Hanriots were converted to, or built as. The bulk of production, however, was diverted to the Belgians. With the Belgian fighter squadrons the HD.1 proved surprisingly successful, willy Coppens, the top Belgian ace of the war was the most successful HD.1 pilot. At least one of his machines was experimentally fitted with an 11mm Vickers machine-gun for use in balloon busting, something at which Coppens excelled, most of his victories were balloons and many were claimed while flying various HD. 1s. These aircraft remained in use until the late 1920s, the type was also supplied in small numbers to the Italians who manufactured it in quantity, and used it to replace not only Nieuports but also SPADs in their service. Surplus Italian-built Hanriots were used by several countries postwar, including the Swiss, the U. S. Naval Aircraft Factory built 10 HD. 1s in the immediate postwar years. This airplane was flown by famed World War I French Ace Charles Nungesser in the 1930 movie The Dawn Patrol, kingdom of Italy Corpo Aeronautico Militare - Standard Italian fighter at the end of World War I Paraguay Paraguayan Air Force - Three aircraft only. Switzerland Swiss Air Force - Postwar United States United States Navy Data from Holmes,2005. General characteristics Crew, one, pilot Length,5.85 m Wingspan,8.70 m Height,2.94 m Wing area,18 m² Empty weight,407 kg Loaded weight,605 kg Max. An 11mm Vickers gun on one or two Belgian machines, related lists List of military aircraft of France List of fighter aircraft
11.
Armistice of 11 November 1918
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It went into effect at 11 a. m. Paris time on 11 November 1918, and marked a victory for the Allies, the Germans were responding to the policies proposed by U. S. President Woodrow Wilson in his Fourteen Points of January 1918. Although the armistice ended the fighting, it took six months of negotiations at the Paris Peace Conference to conclude the peace treaty. In addition, he recommended the acceptance of the demands of US president Woodrow Wilson including putting the Imperial Government on a democratic footing, hoping for more favorable peace terms. As he said to officers of his staff on 1 October, on 3 October, the liberal Prince Maximilian of Baden was appointed Chancellor of Germany, replacing Georg von Hertling in order to negotiate an armistice. In the subsequent two exchanges, Wilsons allusions failed to convey the idea that the Kaisers abdication was a condition for peace. The leading statesmen of the Reich were not yet ready to contemplate such a monstrous possibility, in late October, Ludendorff, in a sudden change of mind, declared the conditions of the Allies unacceptable. He now demanded to resume the war which he himself had declared lost only one month earlier, however the German soldiers were pressing to get home. It was scarcely possible to arouse their readiness for battle anew, the Imperial Government stayed on course and Ludendorff was replaced by Wilhelm Groener. On 5 November, the Allies agreed to take up negotiations for a truce, the latest note from Wilson was received in Berlin on 6 November. That same day, the led by Matthias Erzberger departed for France. For example, they assumed that the de-militarization suggested by Wilson would be limited to the Central Powers, there were also contradictions with their post-War plans that did not include a consistent implementation of the ideal of national self-determination. Also on 9 November, Max von Baden handed over the office of Chancellor to Friedrich Ebert, eberts SPD and Erzbergers Catholic Centre Party had enjoyed an uneasy relationship with the Imperial government since Bismarcks era in the 1870s and 1880s. They were well represented in the Imperial Reichstag, which had power over the government. Their prominence in the negotiations would cause the new Weimar Republic to lack legitimacy in right-wing. The Armistice was the result of a hurried and desperate process and they were then entrained and taken to the secret destination, aboard Ferdinand Fochs private train parked in a railway siding in the forest of Compiègne. Foch appeared only twice in the three days of negotiations, on the first day, to ask the German delegation what they wanted, the Germans were handed the list of Allied demands and given 72 hours to agree. The German delegation discussed the Allied terms not with Foch, but with other French, the Armistice amounted to complete German demilitarization, with few promises made by the Allies in return
12.
Bochum
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Bochum is a city in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and part of the Arnsberg region. It is located in the Ruhr area and is surrounded by the cities of Herne, Castrop-Rauxel, Dortmund, with a population of nearly 365,000, it is the 16th most populous city in Germany. The city lies on the low rolling hills of Bochum land ridge, the highest point of the city is at Kemnader Straße in Stiepel at 196 metres above sea level, the lowest point is 43 metres at the Blumenkamp in Hordel. The terrain of Bochum is characterised by rolling hills that rarely have more than three per cent graduation, the city extends north to south 13 km and 17.1 km east to west. The circumference of the city limits is 67.2 km, There is sedimentary rock of carbon and chalk. The geological strata can be visited in the quarry of the Zeche Klosterbusch. The urban area is divided into the river Ruhr catchment in the south, the Ruhr tributaries are the Oelbach, Gerther Mühlenbach, Harpener Bach, Langendreer Bach, Lottenbach, Hörsterholzer Bach and the Knöselbach. The Ruhr in combination with upstream reservoirs is used for drinking water abstraction. The Emscher tributaries are Hüller Bach with Dorneburger Mühlenbach, Hofsteder Bach, Marbach, Ahbach, Kabeisemannsbach, the ecological restoration of the Emscher tributaries initiated by the Emschergenossenschaft started with the Internationale Bauausstellung Emscher Park in 1989. The citys south has woods, the best known of which are the Weitmarer Holz and these are generally mixed forests of oak and beech. The occurrence of holly gives evidence of Bochums temperate climate, Bochum is divided into six administrative districts with a total of 362,213 inhabitants living in an urban area of 145.4 km2. Bochum-Mitte includes Innenstadt, Hamme, Hordel, Hofstede, Riemke, Grumme, Wattenscheid includes Wattenscheid-Mitte, Leithe, Günnigfeld, Westenfeld, Sevinghausen, Höntrop, Munscheid and Eppendorf. There are 74,602 inhabitants living in an area of 23.87 km², North includes Bergen, Gerthe, Harpen, Kornharpen, Hiltrop and Voede-Abzweig. There are 37,004 inhabitants living in an area of 18.86 km², East includes Laer, Werne, and Langendreer. There are 55,193 inhabitants living in an area of 23.46 km², south includes Wiemelhausen, Stiepel and Querenburg. There are 50,866 inhabitants living in an area of 27.11 km², southwest includes Weitmar, Sundern, Linden and Dahlhausen. There are 56,510 inhabitants living in an area of 19.50 km², Bochum dates from the 9th century, when Charlemagne set up a royal court at the junction of two important trade routes. It was first officially mentioned in 1041 as Cofbuokheim in a document of the archbishops of Cologne, the population of Bochum increased from about 4,500 in 1850 to 100,000 in 1904
13.
Sint-Agatha-Berchem
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Sint-Agatha-Berchem or Berchem-Sainte-Agathe is one of the nineteen municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region in Belgium. The municipality had a population of 20,078 on 1 January 2006. The total area is 2.95 km² which gives a density of 6,807 inhabitants per km². The municipality is known for its calm and peaceful character and it is said that Berchem is a village in the city. The Belgian actor Jean-Claude Van Damme was born and raised here, municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region Media related to Sint-Agatha-Berchem at Wikimedia Commons
14.
Fokker D.VII
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The Fokker D. VII was a German World War I fighter aircraft designed by Reinhold Platz of the Fokker-Flugzeugwerke. Germany produced around 3,300 D. VII aircraft in the half of 1918. In service with the Luftstreitkräfte, the D. VII quickly proved itself to be a formidable aircraft, the Armistice ending the war specifically required Germany to surrender all D. VIIs to the Allies. Surviving aircraft saw continued service with many other countries in the years after World War I. Fokkers chief designer, Reinhold Platz, had working on a series of experimental planes. These aircraft were characterized by the use of cantilever wings, Junkers had originated the idea in 1915 with the first all-metal aircraft, the Junkers J1, nicknamed Blechesel. The resulting wings were thick, with a leading edge. This gave greater lift and more docile stalling behavior than the thin wings commonly used at the time, late in 1917, Fokker built the experimental V11 biplane, fitted with the standard Mercedes D. IIIa engine. In January 1918, Idflieg held a competition at Adlershof. For the first time, frontline pilots would participate in the evaluation and selection of new fighters. Fokker submitted the V11 along with other prototypes. Manfred von Richthofen flew the V11 and found it tricky, unpleasant, in response to these complaints, Reinhold Platz lengthened the rear fuselage by one structural bay, and added a triangular vertical fin in front of the rudder. Upon flying the modified V11, Richthofen praised it as the best aircraft of the competition and it offered excellent performance from the outdated Mercedes engine, yet was safe and easy to fly. Richthofens recommendation virtually decided the competition, but he was not alone in recommending it, Fokker immediately received a provisional order for 400 production aircraft, which were designated D. VII by Idflieg. Fokkers factory was not up to the task of meeting all D. VII production orders, Idflieg therefore directed Albatros and AEG to build the D. VII under license, though AEG did not ultimately produce any aircraft. Because the Fokker factory did not use detailed plans as part of its production process, Albatros paid Fokker a five percent royalty for every D. VII built under license. Albatros Flugzeugwerke and its subsidiary, Ostdeutsche Albatros Werke, built the D. VII at factories in Johannisthal and Schneidemühl, aircraft markings included the type designation and factory suffix, immediately before the individual serial number. Some parts were not interchangeable between aircraft produced at different factories, even between Albatros and OAW, additionally each manufacturer tended to differ in nose paint styles
15.
Wilrijk
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Wilrijk is a district of the municipality and city of Antwerp in the Belgian province of Antwerp. Wilrijk had been a municipality before January 1,1983. This suburb is known as the Goat village, because of its Goat parade. Every five years this parade attracts a lot of tourists, the next one will be held in 2020. Although it is now part of the city of Antwerp, Wilrijk has kept its own distinct atmosphere, a mixture of modern and older neighbourhoods, this suburb has a good balance between residencial, commercial and industrial activities. Its facilities for sport and recreation in a green environment make it an area in which to live. This area was inhabited in 600 BC. This has been shown by the excavation of a Celtic burial site in Wilrijk, the total area of Wilrijk is 13.61 km² and it has 38.220 inhabitants. Probably the first time people lived in area was around 600 BC. In 1003 the first document appeared in which the name uuilrika was mentioned and this document tells about the existence in 743 AD of a community living around the central square in Wilrijk which is called Bist. The triangular shape of the Bist shows the Frankish past of Wilrijk, One of the current theories is that the name Wilrijk is actually derived from the Gallo-Roman word Villariacum. Evidence for the existence of a Roman villa was found in a nearby village Kontich, after the closing of the Zwyn and the decay of Bruges, the city of Antwerp became of more importance. At the end of the 15th century the foreign trading gilds moved from the city of Bruges to Antwerp and these foreigner were well received by the families in Antwerp. Some of the people from Antwerp escaped their busy lives in the center of the city and, attracted by the rural character of Wilrijk. These houses are called Hoven van plaisantie, some of these still exist even today, Klaverblad, Schoonselhof, Ieperman, Steytelinck, Middelheim, De Brandt, others didnt survive, Jezuietenhof, Ooievaarsnest, Hoonsnest, Groenenborgerhof, Elsdonkhof, Standonk, Korenbloem. But their names remain in the consciousness of the people living in Wilrijk through names of streets. On November 30,1589 the village was burnt by some Geuzen coming from Bergen op Zoom. It took Wilrijk 20 year to start reconstruction of the houses, in the middle of the 18th century an important road was constructed between Antwerp and Boom
16.
Airco DH.4
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The Airco DH.4 was a British two-seat biplane day bomber of World War I. It was designed by Geoffrey de Havilland for Airco, and was the first British two-seat light day-bomber to have a defensive armament. It first flew in August 1916 and entered service with the Royal Flying Corps in March 1917, the majority of DH. 4s were actually built as general purpose two-seaters in the United States, for service with the American forces in France. The DH.4 was tried with several engines, of which the best was the 375 hp Rolls-Royce Eagle engine. Armament and ordnance for the aircraft consisted of one 0.303 in Vickers machine gun for the pilot, two 230 lb bombs or four 112 lb bombs could be carried. The DH.4 entered service on 6 March 1917 with No.55 Squadron in France, the DH.4 was designed by Geoffrey de Havilland as a light two-seat day bomber powered by the new Beardmore Halford Pullinger engine. The prototype first flew in August 1916, powered by a prototype BHP engine rated at 230 hp, while the DH.4 trials were promising, the BHP engine required major redesign before entering production, and the Rolls-Royce Eagle engine was selected as the DH. 4s powerplant. The first order for 50 DH. 4s, powered by 250 hp Eagle III engines was placed at the end of 1916, the aircraft was a conventional tractor two bay biplane of all-wooden construction. The crew of two were accommodated in widely spaced cockpits, separated by the fuel tank and it was armed with a single forward-firing synchronised Vickers machine gun and one or two.303 in Lewis guns fitted on a Scarff ring fired by the observer. A bomb load of 460 lb could be fitted to external racks, as production continued, DH. 4s were fitted with Eagle engines of increasing power, settling on the 375 hp Eagle VIII, which powered the majority of frontline DH. 4s by the end of 1917. None of these engines could match the Rolls-Royce Eagle, however, in American production, the new Liberty engine proved suitable as a DH.4 powerplant. The Liberty was also to power the British DH. 9A. Production was by Airco, F. W. Berwick and Co, Glendower Aircraft Company, Palladium Autocars, Vulcan Motor and Engineering, a total of 1,449 aircraft were made in the UK for the RFC and RNAS. SABCA of Belgium made a further 15 in 1926, a total of 9,500 DH-4s were ordered from American manufacturers, of which 1,885 actually reached France during the war. After the war, a number of firms, most significantly Boeing, were contracted by the U. S. Army to remanufacture surplus DH-4s to DH-4B standard. Known by Boeing as the Model 16, deliveries of 111 aircraft from this manufacturer took place between March and July 1920, with 50 of them returned for further three years later. In 1923, the Army ordered a new DH-4 variant from Boeing and these three prototypes were designated DH-4M-1 and were ordered into production alongside the generally similar DH-4M-2 developed by Atlantic Aircraft. A total of 22 of the 163 DH-4M-1s were converted by the Army into dual-control trainers, the DH.4 entered service with the RFC in January 1917, first being used by No.55 Squadron
17.
Breguet 19
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The Breguet 19 was a light bomber and reconnaissance aircraft, also used for long-distance flights, designed by the French Breguet company and produced from 1924. The Breguet 19 was designed as a successor to a highly successful World War I light bomber, the 14. Initially, it was designed to be powered by a 340 kW Bugatti U-16 engine, driving a four-blade propeller, a new design was flown in March 1922, featuring a conventional layout with a single 340 kW Renault 12Kb inline engine. The aircraft was built in a platform, with lower wings substantially smaller than the upper ones. After trials, the Breguet 19 was ordered by the French Armys Aéronautique Militaire in September 1923, the first 11 Breguet 19 prototypes were powered by a number of different engines. A trademark of Breguet was the usage of duralumin as a construction material. At that time, the aircraft was faster than other bombers, therefore, it met with a huge interest in the world, strengthened by its sporting successes. Mass production, for the Aéronautique Militaire and export, started in France in 1924, the Breguet 19 was a biplane, conventional in layout, with braced wings. The fuselage, ellipsoid in cross-section, was a frame of duralumin pipes, the front part was covered with duralumin sheets, the tail with canvas. It had a fixed landing gear with rear skid. The crew of two, pilot and observer/bombardier, sat in tandem in open cockpits, with dual controls, there was also a fourth machine gun, which could be fired by the observer downwards through an opening in the floor. The Br. 19CN2 night fighter variant was fitted with two machine guns. The bomber variant could carry up to 472 kg of bombs under the fuselage, the reconnaissance variant could carry 12x 10 kg bombs. The reconnaissance variant had a camera mounting, which was optional on the bomber variant, the Breguet had its baptism of fire during the Greco-Italian War, in World War II. On 4 November 1940, a RHAF Breguet from 2 Mira was sent looking for the attacking 3rd Julia Alpine Division, three more Breguets sent to bomb the Italian division were in turn attacked by three Fiat CR.42 fighters. A Breguet was shot down, one crash-landed and the returned to base. Br.19.01 Br.19.01 was the first Breguet 19 prototype which first flew in March 1922 and it was later bought by the Spanish government. Br.19.02 to 011 Pre-production aircraft, whose fuselage was lengthened by 600 mm, the Br.19.02 was sent to Yugoslavia for evaluation in 1923
18.
Monoplane
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A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with a single main wing plane, in contrast to a biplane or other multiplane, each of which has multiple planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing configuration and is the simplest to build, however, during the early years of flight, these advantages were offset by its greater weight and lower manoeuvrability, making it relatively rare until the 1930s. Since then, the monoplane has been the most common form for a fixed-wing aircraft, although the first successful aircraft were biplanes, the first attempts at heavier-than-air flying machines were monoplanes, and many pioneers continued to develop monoplane designs. For example, the first aeroplane to be put into production was the 1907 Santos-Dumont Demoiselle, while the Blériot XI flew across the English Channel in 1909, throughout 1909–1910, Hubert Latham set multiple altitude records in his Antoinette IV monoplane, eventually reaching 1,384 m. The equivalent German language term is Eindecker, as in the mid-wing Fokker Eindecker fighter of 1915 which for a time dominated the skies in what known as the Fokker scourge. The German military Idflieg aircraft designation system prior to 1918 prefixed monoplane type designations with an E, however, the success of the Fokker was short-lived, and World War I was dominated by biplanes. Towards the end of the war, the parasol monoplane became popular, nonetheless, relatively few monoplane types were built between 1914 and the late 1920s, compared with the number of biplanes. The reasons for this were primarily practical, towards the end of the First World War, the inherent high drag of the biplane was beginning to restrict performance. Engines were not yet enough to make the heavy cantilever-wing monoplane viable. It remained popular throughout the 1920s, on flying boats with a shallow hull, a parasol wing allows the engines to be mounted above the spray from the water when taking off and landing. It was popular on flying boats during the 1930s, an example being the Consolidated PBY Catalina. It died out when taller hulls became the norm during World War II, most military aircraft of WW II were monoplanes, as have been virtually all aircraft since. Jet and rocket engines have more power, and all modern high-speed aircraft. The inherent efficiency of the monoplane can best be realised in the cantilever wing which carries all structural forces internally. By contrast, a wing has additional drag from the exposed bracing struts and/or wires. On the other hand, the wing has greater structural efficiency. This in turn means that for a wing of a size, bracing allows it to fly slower with a lower-powered engine, while a heavy cantilever wing needs a more powerful engine. A cantilever wing can be lighter by making it thicker
19.
Bofors 40 mm gun
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The Bofors 40 mm gun, often referred to simply as the Bofors gun, is an anti-aircraft/multi-purpose autocannon designed in the 1930s by the Swedish arms manufacturer AB Bofors. It was one of the most popular medium-weight anti-aircraft systems during World War II, a small number of these weapons remain in service to this day, and saw action as late as the Gulf War. In the post-war era the original design was not suitable for action against jet powered aircraft, so Bofors introduced a new model of more power. In spite of sharing almost nothing with the design other than the calibre and the distinctive conical flash hider. Although not as popular as the original L/60 model, the L/70 remains in service to this day, especially as a weapon for light armored vehicles. Bofors itself has been part of BAE Systems AB since March 2005, the Swedish Navy purchased a number of 2 pounder Pom-Poms from Vickers as anti-aircraft guns in 1922. The Navy approached Bofors about the development of a capable replacement. Bofors signed a contract in late 1928, Bofors produced a gun that was a smaller version of a 57 mm semi-automatic gun developed as an anti-torpedo boat weapon in the late 19th century by Finspong. Their first test gun was a re-barreled Nordenfelt version of the Finspong gun, testing of this gun in 1929 demonstrated that a problem existed feeding the weapon in order to maintain a reasonable rate of fire. A mechanism that was enough to handle the stresses of moving the large round was too heavy to move quickly enough to fire rapidly. One attempt to solve this problem used zinc shell cases that burned up when fired and this proved to leave heavy zinc deposits in the barrel, and had to be abandoned. This seemed to be the solution they needed, improving firing rates to a level. During this period Krupp purchased a share of Bofors. Krupp engineers started the process of updating the Bofors factories to use equipment and metallurgy. The prototype was completed and fired in November 1931, and by the middle of the month it was firing strings of two and three rounds. Changes to the mechanism were all that remained, and by the end of the year it was operating at 130 rounds per minute. Continued development was needed to turn it into a suitable for production. Since acceptance trials had been passed the year before, this known as the 40 mm akan M/32
20.
Battle of Belgium
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It took place over 18 days in May 1940 and ended with the German occupation of Belgium following the surrender of the Belgian Army. On 10 May 1940, Germany invaded Luxembourg, the Netherlands, the Allied armies attempted to halt the German Army in Belgium, believing it to be the main German thrust. The German Army reached the Channel after five days, encircling the Allied armies, the Germans gradually reduced the pocket of Allied forces, forcing them back to the sea. The Belgian Army surrendered on 28 May 1940, ending the battle, the Battle of Belgium included the first tank battle of the war, the Battle of Hannut. It was the largest tank battle in history at the time but was surpassed by the battles of the North African Campaign. The battle also included the Battle of Fort Eben-Emael, the first strategic airborne operation using paratroopers ever attempted, the German official history stated that in the 18 days of bitter fighting, the Belgian Army were tough opponents, and spoke of the extraordinary bravery of its soldiers. The Belgian collapse forced the Allied withdrawal from continental Europe, France reached its own armistice with Germany in June 1940. Belgium was occupied by the Germans until the autumn of 1944, the Belgian strategy for a defence against German aggression faced political as well as military problems. In terms of strategy, the Belgians were unwilling to stake everything on a linear defence of the Belgian–German border. Such a move would leave the Belgians vulnerable to a German assault in their rear, such a strategy would also rely on the French to move quickly into Belgium and support the garrison there. Politically, the Belgians did not trust the French, marshal Philippe Pétain had suggested a French strike at Germanys Ruhr area using Belgium as a spring-board in October 1930 and again in January 1933. Belgium feared it would be drawn into a war regardless, the Belgians also feared being drawn into a war as a result of the French–Soviet pact of May 1935. The Franco-Belgian agreement stipulated Belgium was to if the Germans did. The Belgians much preferred an alliance with the United Kingdom, the British had entered the First World War in response to the German violation of Belgian neutrality. But the British government paid little attention to the concerns of the Belgians, the lack of this commitment ensured the Belgian withdrawal from the Western Alliance, the day before the remilitarisation of the Rhineland. The lack of opposition to the served to convince the Belgians that France and Britain were unwilling to fight for their own strategic interests. The Belgian General Staff was determined to fight for its own interests, the French were infuriated at King Leopold IIIs open declaration of neutrality in October 1936. The French were dependent on how much cooperation they could extract from the Belgians, the French considered invading Belgium immediately in response to a German attack on the country
21.
Dornier Do 17
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The Dornier Do 17, sometimes referred to as the Fliegender Bleistift, was a World War II German light bomber produced by Claudius Dorniers company, Dornier Flugzeugwerke. It was designed as a Schnellbomber, a bomber which, in theory. The Dornier was designed two engines mounted on a shoulder wing structure and possessed a twin tail fin configuration. The type was popular among its crews due to its handling, especially at low altitude, designed in the early 1930s, it was one of the three main Luftwaffe bomber types used in the first three years of the war. The Do 17 made its debut in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War. Along with the Heinkel He 111 it was the bomber type of the German air arm in 1939–1940. Production of the Dornier ended in mid-1940, in favour of the newer, the successor of the Do 17 was the much more powerful Dornier Do 217, which started to appear in strength in 1942. Even so, the Do 17 continued service in the Luftwaffe in various roles until the end of the war, as a tug, research. A considerable number of surviving examples were sent to other Axis nations as well as countries like Finland, few Dornier Do 17s survived the war and the last was scrapped in Finland in 1952. On 3 September 2010, the Royal Air Force Museum London announced the discovery of a Henschel-built Dornier Do 17Z buried in the Goodwin Sands off the coast of Kent, on 10 June 2013, the salvage team raised the airframe from the seabed. In 1932, the Ordnance Department issued a specification for the construction of an aircraft for German State Railways. The factory at Friedrichshafen began work on the design on 1 August 1932, when the Nazis took power in 1933, Hermann Göring became National Commissar for aviation with former Deutsche Luft Hansa employee Erhard Milch as his deputy, soon forming the Ministry of Aviation. The Ministry of Aviation designated the new aircraft Do 17, and on 17 March 1933, just three months after taking office, Milch gave the go ahead for the building of prototypes. At the end of 1933, the Ministry of Aviation issued an order for a high speed aircraft with double tail, and for an aircraft with special equipment, in other words. The original design configuration in 1932 had sported a single vertical stabilizer, the Do 17 was first demonstrated in mock-up form in April 1933. The special equipment was to be fitted later, to disguise its offensive role, in April 1934, the Dornier works at Manzell began project definition. During this month, the armament was designed and the bomb release mechanism details ironed out. Production of these began on 20 May 1934 and, on 23 November 1934
22.
Luftwaffe
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The Luftwaffe was the aerial warfare branch of the combined German Wehrmacht military forces during World War II. During the interwar period, German pilots were trained secretly in violation of the treaty at Lipetsk Air Base, with the rise of the Nazi Party and the repudiation of the Versailles Treaty, the Luftwaffe was officially established on 26 February 1935. The Condor Legion, a Luftwaffe detachment sent to aid Nationalist forces in the Spanish Civil War, provided the force with a testing ground for new doctrines. By the summer of 1939, the Luftwaffe had twenty-eight Geschwaders, during World War II, German pilots claimed roughly 70,000 aerial victories, while over 75,000 Luftwaffe aircraft were destroyed or significantly damaged. Of these, nearly 40,000 were lost entirely, the Luftwaffe proved instrumental in the German victories across Poland and Western Europe in 1939 and 1940. From 1942, Allied bombing campaigns gradually destroyed the Luftwaffes fighter arm, in addition to its service in the West, the Luftwaffe operated over the Soviet Union, North Africa and Southern Europe. In January 1945, during the stages of the Battle of the Bulge, the Luftwaffe made a last-ditch effort to win air superiority. After the defeat of Germany, the Luftwaffe was disbanded in 1946, the Luftwaffe had only two commanders-in-chief throughout its history, Hermann Göring and later Generalfeldmarschall Robert Ritter von Greim. Throughout the war, the force was responsible for war crimes, one of the forerunners of the Luftwaffe, the Imperial German Army Air Service, was founded in 1910 with the name Die Fliegertruppen des deutschen Kaiserreiches, most often shortened to Fliegertruppe. It was renamed Luftstreitkräfte on 8 October 1916, after the defeat of Germany, the service was dissolved on 8 May 1920 under the conditions of the Treaty of Versailles, which also mandated the destruction of all German military aircraft. Since the Treaty of Versailles forbade Germany to have an air force, to train its pilots on the latest combat aircraft, Germany solicited the help of its future enemy, the Soviet Union, which was also isolated in Europe. This base was known as 4th squadron of the 40th wing of the Red Army. Hundreds of Luftwaffe pilots and technical personnel visited, studied and were trained at Soviet air force schools in locations in Central Russia. The first steps towards the Luftwaffes formation were undertaken just months after Adolf Hitler came to power, in April 1933 the Reichsluftfahrtministerium was established. Görings control over all aspects of aviation became absolute, on 25 March 1933 the Deutschen Luftsportverband absorbed all private and national organizations, while retaining its sports title. On 15 May 1933, all military organizations in the RLM were merged, forming the Luftwaffe. The |Nationalsozialistisches Fliegerkorps was formed in 1937 to give pre-military flying training to male youths, military-age members of the NSFK were drafted to the Luftwaffe. As all such prior NSFK members were also Nazi Party members, the absence of Göring in planning and production matters was fortunate
23.
De Havilland Mosquito
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The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito is a British multi-role combat aircraft with a two-man crew which served during and after the Second World War. It was one of few operational front-line aircraft of the era constructed almost entirely of wood and was nicknamed The Wooden Wonder, the Mosquito was also known affectionately as the Mossie to its crews. It was also used by the British Overseas Airways Corporation as a fast transport to carry small high-value cargoes to, a single passenger could be carried in the aircrafts bomb bay, which would be adapted for the purpose. When production of the Mosquito began in 1941, it was one of the fastest operational aircraft in the world, entering widespread service in 1942, the Mosquito was a high-speed, high-altitude photo-reconnaissance aircraft, continuing in this role throughout the war. From mid-1942 to mid-1943, Mosquito bombers flew high-speed, medium or low-altitude missions against factories, railways and other pinpoint targets in Germany, from late 1943, Mosquito bombers were formed into the Light Night Strike Force and used as pathfinders for RAF Bomber Commands heavy-bomber raids. They were also used as bombers, often dropping Blockbuster bombs –4,000 lb cookies – in high-altitude. As a night fighter from mid-1942, the Mosquito intercepted Luftwaffe raids on the United Kingdom, starting in July 1942, Mosquito night-fighter units raided Luftwaffe airfields. As part of 100 Group, it was a fighter and intruder supporting RAF Bomber Commands heavy bombers that reduced bomber losses during 1944 and 1945. Second Tactical Air Force Mosquitos supported the British Army during the 1944 Normandy Campaign, from 1943, Mosquitos with RAF Coastal Command strike squadrons attacked Kriegsmarine U-boats and intercepted transport ship concentrations. The Mosquito flew with the Royal Air Force and other air forces in the European, Mediterranean and Italian theatres. The Mosquito was also operated by the RAF in the South East Asian theatre, during the 1950s, the RAF replaced the Mosquito with the jet-powered English Electric Canberra. By the early-mid-1930s, de Havilland had a reputation for innovative high-speed aircraft with the DH.88 Comet racer, the later DH.91 Albatross airliner pioneered the composite wood construction that the Mosquito used. The 22-passenger Albatross could cruise at 210 miles per hour at 11,000 feet,100 miles per hour better than the Handley Page H. P.42, on 8 September 1936, the British Air Ministry issued Specification P. Aviation firms entered heavy designs with new high-powered engines and multiple turrets, leading to the production of the Avro Manchester. In May 1937, as a comparison to P. 13/36, George Volkert, in 20 pages, Volkert planned an aerodynamically clean medium bomber to carry 3,000 pounds of bombs at a cruising speed of 300 miles per hour. There was support in the RAF and Air Ministry, Captain R N Liptrot, Research Director Aircraft 3, appraised Volkerts design, there were, however, counter-arguments that, although such a design had merit, it would not necessarily be faster than enemy fighters for long. The idea of a small, fast bomber gained support at an earlier stage than sometimes acknowledged though it was likely that the Air Ministry envisaged it using light alloy components. Geoffrey de Havilland also believed a bomber with an aerodynamic design and he thought that adapting the Albatross to meet the RAFs requirements could save time
24.
Gloster Meteor
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The Gloster Meteor was the first British jet fighter and the Allies only operational jet aircraft during the Second World War. The Meteors development was heavily reliant on its ground-breaking turbojet engines, pioneered by Sir Frank Whittle and his company, development of the aircraft began in 1940, although work on the engines had been under way since 1936. The Meteor first flew in 1943 and commenced operations on 27 July 1944 with No.616 Squadron RAF, nicknamed the Meatbox, the Meteor was not a sophisticated aircraft in its aerodynamics, but proved to be a successful combat fighter. Glosters 1946 civil Meteor F.4 demonstrator G-AIDC was the first civilian-registered jet aircraft in the world, several major variants of the Meteor incorporated technological advances during the 1940s and 1950s. Thousands of Meteors were built to fly with the RAF and other air forces, the Meteor saw limited action in the Second World War. Meteors of the Royal Australian Air Force fought in the Korean War, several other operators such as Argentina, Egypt and Israel flew Meteors in later regional conflicts. Specialised variants of the Meteor were developed for use in aerial reconnaissance. The Meteor was also used for research and development purposes and to several aviation records. On 7 November 1945, the first official air speed record by a jet aircraft was set by a Meteor F.3 of 606 miles per hour, in 1946, this record was broken when a Meteor F.4 reached a speed of 616 mph. Other performance-related records were broken in categories including flight time endurance, rate of climb, on 20 September 1945, a heavily modified Meteor I, powered by two Rolls-Royce Trent turbine engines driving propellers, became the first turboprop aircraft to fly. On 10 February 1954, a specially adapted Meteor F.8, the Meteor Prone Pilot, as of 2013, two Meteors, WL419 and WA638, remain in active service with the Martin-Baker company as ejection seat testbeds. Two further aircraft in the UK remain airworthy, as another in Australia. Securing funding was a persistently worrying issue throughout the development of the engine. On 28 April 1939, Whittle made a visit to the premises of the Gloster Aircraft Company, Power Jets and Gloster quickly formed a mutual understanding around mid-1939. The success of the smaller E. 28/39 proved the viability of jet propulsion, due to the limited thrust available from early jet engines, it was decided that subsequent production aircraft would be powered by a pair of turbojet engines.2 and axial engine designs. In August 1940, Carter presented Glosters initial proposals for a jet fighter with a nosewheel undercarriage. On 7 February 1941, Gloster received an order for twelve prototypes under Specification F9/40, test locations and other key project information was similarly obscured. Gloster continued development work on the Meteor and the order was overturned in favour of the construction of six F9/40 prototypes alongside three E. 1/44 prototypes
25.
Avro Canada CF-100 Canuck
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The Avro Canada CF-100 Canuck was a Canadian jet interceptor/fighter serving during the Cold War both in NATO bases in Europe and as part of NORAD. The CF-100 was the only Canadian-designed fighter to enter production, serving primarily with the Royal Canadian Air Force and Canadian Armed Forces. For its day, the CF-100 featured a short run and high climb rate. In the early 1950s, Canada needed an interceptor able to patrol the vast areas of Canadas north. Design of the XC-100 to meet a Royal Canadian Air Force specification for a fighter was initiated at Avro Canada in October 1946. Chief Engineer Edgar Atkins work on the CF-100 was subsequently passed to John Frost who, along with Avros Chief Aerodynamacist Jim Chamberlin, the CF-100 Mark 1 prototype,18101, emerged from the factory, painted gloss black overall with white lightning bolts running down the fuselage and engines. The CF-100 prototype flew its maiden flight on 19 January 1950 with Gloster Aircraft Company Chief Test Pilot Squadron Leader Bill Waterton at the controls, the Mark 1 was powered by two Rolls-Royce Avon RA3 turbojets with 28.9 kN thrust each. The second prototype, serial number 18102, was powered by Rolls-Royce Avons. Five pre-production Mk 2 test aircraft were produced, all fitted with Orenda 2 engines, one was fitted with dual controls, the first production version, designated Mk 3, incorporated the APG-33 radar and was armed with eight.50 in Browning M3 machine guns. The Mk 3CT and Mk 3DT were again dual control versions supplied to operational training units, a CF-100 arrived at Eglin AFB, Florida, in mid-January 1955 for cold-weather tests in the climatic hangar. Tests were to begin in February, in March 1956, four CF-100 Canucks were sent to Eglin AFB for comparative armament trials, and flown by USAF crews. In September 1950, the RCAF ordered 124 Mk 3s, the first entering service in 1953 and these were armed with eight. 50-caliber machine guns. The definitive rocket-armed Mk 4A was based on the prototype Mk 4, the nose housed the much larger APG-40 radar with wingtip pods, each containing up to 29 Mk 4/Mk 40 Mighty Mouse Folding-Fin Aerial Rocket in addition to the guns. As the last 54 of an order for the Mk 3 were changed into the Mk 4 in 1954, the Mk 4B version had more powerful Orenda 11s. Five versions, or marks, were produced, ending, from 1955 onwards, with the high-altitude Mk 5 that featured a 1.06 m -longer wingtip and enlarged tailplane, along with removal of the machine guns. A projected transonic swept-wing CF-103 was built in form in 1951. The Canuck was affectionately known in the RCAF as the Clunk because of the noise the front landing gear made as it retracted into its well after takeoff. Its less-attractive nickname was the Lead Sled, a reference to its controls and general lack of maneuverability
26.
Sint-Truiden Air Base
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Sint-Truiden Air Base is a Belgian Air Component base, located south of Sint-Truiden, approximately 37 miles east of Brussels. The airfield was deactivated in 1996, however the Belgian military remains in control of the base with non-flying units, Sint-Truiden Air Base was a pre-World War II Belgian Air Force military airfield. It was captured during the Battle of Belgium by the invading German Wehrmacht in May 1940, during the occupation of Belgium by Nazi Germany, the facility was called St. Trond and became a major Luftwaffe air base during the Battle of France. All of these took part in the Blitzkrieg against French forces. All also moved forward to French bases by the end of June, with the combat on the Continent ended, St. Trond became a Luftwaffe bomber base, with Kampfgeschwader 3 flying Dornier Do 17 light bombers from the airfield. KG3 arrived at the end of June 1940 and took part in the Battle of Britain during the summer, then later, switching to night bombing of English targets, remaining until March 1941. Increasing numbers of night bombing raids on Germany by the Royal Air Force in 1941 caused the Luftwaffe to start transitioning from an offensive force. In August 1944, Jagdgeschwader 2 began flying Focke-Wulf Fw 190A day interceptors, Sint-Truiden Air Base was a frequent target of USAAF Ninth Air Force B-26 Marauder medium bombers. The medium bombers would attack in coordinated raids, usually in the mid-to-late afternoon, the attack was timed to have the maximum effect possible to keep the Luftwaffe interceptors pinned down on the ground and be unable to attack the heavy bombers. The airfield was seized from the Germans by Allied ground forces on 15 September 1944 and it was declared operationally ready for combat units on 18 September, only a few days after its capture from German forces, being designated as Advanced Landing Ground A-92 or Saint Trond Airfield. Although operationally usable, Saint Trond was a base from the numerous Allied air attacks since late 1942. The Americans made do with what could be repaired, with the 832nd Engineer Aviation Battalion moving in what equipment was necessary to combat operations. Under Allied control, the American Ninth Air Force used the base for units from 7 September 1944 until closing the base in July 1945. RAF units also operated from the base, known by the British as ALG B-62, the airfield was returned to Belgian control in September 1945. Sint-Truiden Air Base took many years to rebuild after the war, however in 1946, a new jet runway was laid down and the support area was completely rebuilt, although the wartime runways were resurfaced and remained in use for non-jet aircraft. From 1971 on, several training squadrons were based at Sint-Truiden, initially, 7th Squadron and 9th Squadron operated the CM170 Fouga Magister, while 11th Squadron operated the Lockheed T-33. With the arrival of the Dassault Alpha-Jet in 1980, 7th Squadron, 33rd Squadron was created to continue operating the CM170 Fouga Magister. In 1996, the base was closed as an operational airfield, nowadays private investors are rebranding the airfield into a regional airport, named Limburg Regional Airport
27.
Lockheed T-33
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The Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star is an American jet trainer aircraft. It was produced by Lockheed and made its first flight in 1948 piloted by Tony LeVier, the T-33 was developed from the Lockheed P-80/F-80 starting as TP-80C/TF-80C in development, then designated T-33A. It was used by the U. S. Navy initially as TO-2 then TV-2, as of 2015, Canadian-built examples remain in service with the Bolivian Air Force. The T-33 was developed from the Lockheed P-80/F-80 by lengthening the fuselage by slightly over three feet and adding a seat, instrumentation and flight controls. It was initially designated as a variant of the P-80/F-80, the TP-80C/TF-80C, design work for the Lockheed P-80 began in 1943 with the first flight on 8 January 1944. Following on the Bell P-59, the P-80 became the first jet fighter to enter squadron service in the United States Army Air Forces. As more advanced jets entered service, the F-80 took on another role—training jet pilots, the two-place T-33 jet was designed for training pilots already qualified to fly propeller-driven aircraft. Originally designated the TF-80C, the T-33 made its first flight on 22 March 1948 with U. S. production taking place from 1948 to 1959, the US Navy used the T-33 as a land-based trainer starting in 1949. It was designated the TV-2, but was redesignated the T-33B in 1962, the Navy operated some ex-USAF P-80Cs as the TO-1, changed to the TV-1 about a year later. A carrier-capable version of the P-80/T-33 family was developed by Lockheed. The two TF-80C prototypes were modified as prototypes for an all-weather two-seater fighter variant which became the F-94 Starfire, a total of 6,557 Shooting Stars were produced,5,691 by Lockheed,210 by Kawasaki and 656 by Canadair. The two-place T-33 proved suitable as a trainer, and it has been used for such tasks as drone director. The T-33 was used to train cadets from the Air Force Academy at Peterson Field, the T-37 replaced the T-33 for Academy training in 1975. The final T-33 used in advanced training was replaced 8 February 1967 at Craig AFB, similar replacement also occurred in the U. S. Navy with the TV-1 as more advanced aircraft such as the North American T-2 Buckeye and Douglas TA-4 Skyhawk II came on line. The RT-33A version, reconnaissance aircraft produced primarily for use by countries, had a camera installed in the nose. The T-33 has served with over 30 nations, and continues to operate as a trainer in smaller air forces, Canadair built 656 T-33s on licence for service in the RCAF—Canadian Forces as the CT-133 Silver Star while Kawasaki manufactured 210 in Japan. Other operators included Brazil, Turkey and Thailand which used the T-33 extensively, in the 1980s, an attempt was made to modify and modernize the T-33 as the Boeing Skyfox, but a lack of orders led to the projects cancellation. About 70% of the T-33s airframe was retained in the Skyfox, in the late 1990s,18 T-33 Mk-III and T-33 SF-SC from the Bolivian Air Force went to Canada to be modernized at Kelowna Flightcraft
28.
1st Wing (Belgium)
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The 1st Wing is a wing in the Air Component of the Belgian Armed Forces, located at Beauvechain Air Base. The 1st Fighter Wing was disbanded in 1996, with 349 Squadron,350 Squadron moved to Florennes Air Base. Later that year, all Belgian Air Force Training Squadrons moved to Beauvechain, the 7th Squadron used to operate the Fouga Magister as well. Instructors of the 9th Squadron, also known as Training and Evaluation Centre, in 2005, 11th Squadron and the Alpha Jets moved to Cazaux in France, to participate in the Advanced Jet Training School. The Fouga Magister was retired from service in September 2007, the 1st Wing then consisted of 5th Squadron and 9th Squadron, both operating the SF260. On September 9,2010, the A109 helicopters of the Wing Heli moved from Bierset to Beauvechain, the former Training Squadrons became the Basic Flying Training School, still located at Beauvechain. Wing Heli was disbanded, and 1st Wing became a wing, consisting of 15th, 17th and 18th Squadrons. 17th Squadron still operates the A109BA helicopter, while 18th Squadron started flying the NH90 as of October 2013, section of the website of the Belgian Ministry of Defence about the 1st Wing
29.
Inertial navigation system
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It is used on vehicles such as ships, aircraft, submarines, guided missiles, and spacecraft. Other terms used to refer to inertial navigation systems or closely related devices include inertial guidance system, inertial instrument, inertial measurement units, older INS systems generally used an inertial platform as their mounting point to the vehicle, and the terms are sometimes considered synonymous. Inertial measurement units typically contain three orthogonal rate-gyroscopes and three accelerometers, measuring angular velocity and linear acceleration respectively. By processing signals from these devices it is possible to track the position and orientation of a device, Inertial navigation is used in a wide range of applications including the navigation of aircraft, tactical and strategic missiles, spacecraft, submarines and ships. Recent advances in the construction of systems have made it possible to manufacture small. These advances have widened the range of applications to include areas such as human. An inertial navigation system includes at least a computer and a platform or module containing accelerometers, gyroscopes, the advantage of an INS is that it requires no external references in order to determine its position, orientation, or velocity once it has been initialized. An INS can detect a change in its position, a change in its velocity. It does this by measuring the acceleration and angular velocity applied to the system. Since it requires no external reference, it is immune to jamming, Inertial navigation systems are used in many different moving objects, including vehicles—such as aircraft, submarines, spacecraft—and guided missiles. However, their cost and complexity place constraints on the environments in which they are practical for use, Gyroscopes measure the angular velocity of the sensor frame with respect to the inertial reference frame. By using the orientation of the system in the inertial reference frame as the initial condition and integrating the angular velocity. This can be thought of as the ability of a passenger in a car to feel the car turn left and right or tilt up. Based on this alone, the passenger knows what direction the car is facing but not how fast or slow it is moving. Accelerometers measure the acceleration of the moving vehicle in the sensor or body frame. Performing integration on the inertial accelerations using the correct kinematic equations yields the inertial velocities of the system, therefore, the position must be periodically corrected by input from some other type of navigation system. The inaccuracy of a good-quality navigational system is less than 0.6 nautical miles per hour in position and on the order of tenths of a degree per hour in orientation. Accordingly, inertial navigation is used to supplement other navigation systems
30.
Global Positioning System
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The Global Positioning System is a space-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Air Force. The GPS system operates independently of any telephonic or internet reception, the GPS system provides critical positioning capabilities to military, civil, and commercial users around the world. The United States government created the system, maintains it, however, the US government can selectively deny access to the system, as happened to the Indian military in 1999 during the Kargil War. The U. S. Department of Defense developed the system and it became fully operational in 1995. Roger L. Easton of the Naval Research Laboratory, Ivan A, getting of The Aerospace Corporation, and Bradford Parkinson of the Applied Physics Laboratory are credited with inventing it. Announcements from Vice President Al Gore and the White House in 1998 initiated these changes, in 2000, the U. S. Congress authorized the modernization effort, GPS III. In addition to GPS, other systems are in use or under development, mainly because of a denial of access. The Russian Global Navigation Satellite System was developed contemporaneously with GPS, GLONASS can be added to GPS devices, making more satellites available and enabling positions to be fixed more quickly and accurately, to within two meters. There are also the European Union Galileo positioning system and Chinas BeiDou Navigation Satellite System, special and general relativity predict that the clocks on the GPS satellites would be seen by the Earths observers to run 38 microseconds faster per day than the clocks on the Earth. The GPS calculated positions would quickly drift into error, accumulating to 10 kilometers per day, the relativistic time effect of the GPS clocks running faster than the clocks on earth was corrected for in the design of GPS. The Soviet Union launched the first man-made satellite, Sputnik 1, two American physicists, William Guier and George Weiffenbach, at Johns Hopkinss Applied Physics Laboratory, decided to monitor Sputniks radio transmissions. Within hours they realized that, because of the Doppler effect, the Director of the APL gave them access to their UNIVAC to do the heavy calculations required. The next spring, Frank McClure, the deputy director of the APL, asked Guier and Weiffenbach to investigate the inverse problem — pinpointing the users location and this led them and APL to develop the TRANSIT system. In 1959, ARPA also played a role in TRANSIT, the first satellite navigation system, TRANSIT, used by the United States Navy, was first successfully tested in 1960. It used a constellation of five satellites and could provide a navigational fix approximately once per hour, in 1967, the U. S. Navy developed the Timation satellite, which proved the feasibility of placing accurate clocks in space, a technology required by GPS. In the 1970s, the ground-based OMEGA navigation system, based on comparison of signal transmission from pairs of stations. Limitations of these systems drove the need for a more universal navigation solution with greater accuracy, during the Cold War arms race, the nuclear threat to the existence of the United States was the one need that did justify this cost in the view of the United States Congress. This deterrent effect is why GPS was funded and it is also the reason for the ultra secrecy at that time
31.
Head-up display
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A head-up display or heads-up display, also known as a HUD, is any transparent display that presents data without requiring users to look away from their usual viewpoints. The origin of the stems from a pilot being able to view information with the head positioned up and looking forward. A HUD also has the advantage that the eyes do not need to refocus to view the outside after looking at the optically nearer instruments. Although they were developed for military aviation, HUDs are now used in commercial aircraft, automobiles and other. A typical HUD contains three components, a projector unit, a combiner, and a video generation computer. The projection unit in a typical HUD is an optical collimator setup and this setup produces an image where the light is collimated, i. e. the focal point is perceived to be at infinity. Combiners may have special coatings that reflect the light projected onto it from the projector unit while allowing all other wavelengths of light to pass through. In some optical layouts combiners may also have a surface to refocus the image from the projector. The computer provides the interface between the HUD and the systems/data to be displayed and generates the imagery and symbology to be displayed by the projection unit, other than fixed mounted HUD, there are also head-mounted displays. Including helmet mounted displays, forms of HUD that features an element that moves with the orientation of the users head. Many modern fighters use both a HUD and HMD concurrently, the F-35 Lightning II was designed without a HUD, relying solely on the HMD, making it the first modern military fighter not to have a fixed HUD. HUDs are split into four generations reflecting the technology used to generate the images, first Generation—Use a CRT to generate an image on a phosphor screen, having the disadvantage of the phosphor screen coating degrading over time. The majority of HUDs in operation today are of this type, second Generation—Use a solid state light source, for example LED, which is modulated by an LCD screen to display an image. These systems do not fade or require the high voltages of first generation systems and these systems are on commercial aircraft. Third Generation—Use optical waveguides to produce images directly in the rather than use a projection system. Fourth Generation—Use a scanning laser to display images and even video imagery on a transparent medium. Newer micro-display imaging technologies are being introduced, including liquid crystal display, liquid crystal on silicon, digital micro-mirrors, HUDs evolved from the reflector sight, a pre-World War II parallax-free optical sight technology for military fighter aircraft. The gyro gunsight added a reticle that moved based on the speed and they experimented with the addition of a second radar display for the pilot, but found they had trouble looking up from the lit screen into the dark sky in order to find the target
32.
General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon
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The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine supersonic multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force. Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful all-weather multirole aircraft, over 4,500 aircraft have been built since production was approved in 1976. Although no longer being purchased by the U. S. Air Force, in 1993, General Dynamics sold its aircraft manufacturing business to the Lockheed Corporation, which in turn became part of Lockheed Martin after a 1995 merger with Martin Marietta. The F-16 has an internal M61 Vulcan cannon and 11 locations for mounting weapons, the F-16 has also been procured to serve in the air forces of 25 other nations. As of 2015, it is the second most common operational military aircraft in the world. Experiences in the Vietnam War revealed the need for air superiority fighters, boyds work called for a small, lightweight aircraft that could maneuver with the minimum possible energy loss, and which also incorporated an increased thrust-to-weight ratio. Air Force F-X proponents remained hostile to the concept because they perceived it as a threat to the F-15 program, however, the Air Forces leadership understood that its budget would not allow it to purchase enough F-15 aircraft to satisfy all of its missions. The Advanced Day Fighter concept, renamed F-XX, gained political support under the reform-minded Deputy Secretary of Defense David Packard. As a result, in May 1971, the Air Force Prototype Study Group was established, with Boyd a key member and this was the region where USAF studies predicted most future air combat would occur. The anticipated average flyaway cost of a version was $3 million. This production plan, though, was only notional as the USAF had no plans to procure the winner. Five companies responded and in 1972, the Air Staff selected General Dynamics Model 401 and Northrops P-600 for the prototype development. GD and Northrop were awarded contracts worth $37.9 million and $39.8 million to produce the YF-16 and YF-17, respectively, with first flights of both prototypes planned for early 1974. To overcome resistance in the Air Force hierarchy, the Fighter Mafia, the high/low mix would allow the USAF to be able to afford sufficient fighters for its overall fighter force structure requirements. The mix gained broad acceptance by the time of the flyoff, defining the relationship of the LWF. The YF-16 was developed by a team of General Dynamics engineers led by Robert H. Widmer. The first YF-16 was rolled out on 13 December 1973, and its 90-minute maiden flight was made at the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards AFB, California and its actual first flight occurred accidentally during a high-speed taxi test on 20 January 1974. The test pilot, Phil Oestricher, decided to lift off to avoid a potential crash, the slight damage was quickly repaired and the official first flight occurred on time
33.
SIAI-Marchetti SF.260
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The SIAI-Marchetti SF.260 is an Italian light aircraft marketed as an aerobatics and military trainer. It was designed by Stelio Frati, originally for Aviamilano, which flew the first prototype of it on July 15,1964, actual production was undertaken when SIAI Marchetti purchased the design soon thereafter and continued with this firm until the company was bought by Aermacchi in 1997. The military versions are popular with air forces, which can also arm it for use in the close-support role. The design employs a low-mounted cantilever wing and retractable tricycle undercarriage, the pilot and up to two passengers are accommodated under a broad, extensively glazed canopy. The structure is approved for acrobatics, the SF.260 holds the airspeed records for aircraft in its class over the 100 km and 1,000 km closed circuits. The aircraft was marketed in the United States in the late 1960s as the Waco Meteor, thirty SF. 260EA – the most recent version – were delivered to the Italian Air Force in 2005 for a total price of €33 million. These aircraft were in service with Eskadrille de Chasse in Force Aérienne de Burkina Faso, Chad informed the United Nations that, during the conflict with Libya, it had destroyed eight Libyan Air Force SF. 260WLs and captured nine others, besides destroying and capturing other equipment. As many as six former Libyan SF. 260WLs may have pressed into service with Chads Air Force. By 1988 four SF. 260Ws were identified as being in service, in November 2006 Libya supplied Chad with four SF. 260W aircraft, including crew, due to tensions between Chad and Sudan over the Dafur area. One newly supplied SF. 260W was shot down on 28 November - its first mission in Chad - by rebel forces, killing the crew. Libya was a customer of the SIAI Marchetti SF.260 with an order of 240 Warriors. How many SF. 260Ws were actually delivered is unknown, deliveries started in 1977 or 1978, but problems arose from a US embargo on avionics. Reportedly, the US-made avionics were replaced by French-made, which caused delays in delivery, in the late 1970s large numbers of SF. 260s were parked on Vergiate awaiting delivery. The SF. 260WL was intended for use by the Air Force Academy for pilot training, little is known about the service life of the aircraft. The Libyan government supported friendly countries with arms, and several SF. 260Ws were handed over to air such as Burkina Faso, Burundi, Nicaragua, Uganda. Alenia Aermacchi refurbished twelve SF.260 primary trainers for the Libyan Air Force, the work included overhaul of the airframes and systems, including propellers and engines. Work began in late 2007 and ran through 2008, during the civil war, on May 7,2011, this aircraft was probably involved in a successful air raid over the rebel-held fuel depots at Misrata, setting them on fire. NATO failed to intercept the flight, despite the introduction of a no-fly zone over Libya in March, at the beginning of the uprising, one aircraft was crushed under a tank during a rebel attack on Misrata air base
34.
Tours
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Tours is a city located in the centre-west of France. It is the centre of the Indre-et-Loire department and the largest city in the Centre-Val de Loire region of France. In 2012, the city of Tours had 134,978 inhabitants, Tours stands on the lower reaches of the River Loire, between Orléans and the Atlantic coast. The surrounding district, the province of Touraine, is known for its wines, for the alleged perfection of its local spoken French. The city is also the end-point of the annual Paris–Tours cycle race, in Gallic times the city was important as a crossing point of the Loire. Becoming part of the Roman Empire during the 1st century AD, the name evolved in the 4th century when the original Gallic name, Turones, became first Civitas Turonum then Tours. It was at time that the amphitheatre of Tours, one of the five largest amphitheatres of the Empire, was built. Tours became the metropolis of the Roman province of Lugdunum towards 380–388, dominating the Loire Valley, Maine, one of the outstanding figures of the history of the city was Saint Martin, second bishop who shared his coat with a naked beggar in Amiens. This incident and the importance of Martin in the medieval Christian West made Tours, and its position on the route of pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, a major centre during the Middle Ages. In the 6th century Gregory of Tours, author of the Ten Books of History, in the 9th century, Tours was at the heart of the Carolingian Rebirth, in particular because of Alcuin abbot of Marmoutier. The outcome was defeat for the Muslims, preventing France from Islamic conquest, in 845, Tours repulsed the first attack of the Viking chief Hasting. In 850, the Vikings settled at the mouths of the Seine, still led by Hasting, they went up the Loire again in 852 and sacked Angers, Tours and the abbey of Marmoutier. During the Middle Ages, Tours consisted of two juxtaposed and competing centres, in the west, the new city structured around the Abbey of Saint Martin was freed from the control of the City during the 10th century and became Châteauneuf. This space, organized between Saint Martin and the Loire, became the centre of Tours. Between these two centres remained Varennes, vineyards and fields, little occupied except for the Abbaye Saint-Julien established on the banks of the Loire, the two centres were linked during the 14th century. Tours became the capital of the county of Tours or Touraine and it was the capital of France at the time of Louis XI, who had settled in the castle of Montils, Tours and Touraine remained until the 16th century a permanent residence of the kings and court. The rebirth gave Tours and Touraine many private mansions and castles and it is also at the time of Louis XI that the silk industry was introduced – despite difficulties, the industry still survives to this day. At this time, the Catholics returned to power in Angers, the Massacre of Saint-Barthelemy was not repeated at Tours
35.
International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
Belgium
