1.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
2.
Air Defense Artillery Branch (United States)
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The Air Defense Artillery branch of the US Army specializes in anti-aircraft weapons. The Air Defense Artillery branch descended from Anti-Aircraft Artillery into a branch on 20 June 1968. On 1 December 1968, the ADA branch was authorized to wear modified Artillery insignia, according to the Armys Field Manual 44-100, the mission of Air Defense Artillery is to protect the force and selected geopolitical assets from aerial attack, missile attack, and surveillance. On 10 October 1917 an Antiaircraft Service in the American Expeditionary Force was created at Arnouville-Les-Gonesse where a school was established. These units were organized by Col. James A. Shipton but were disbanded in May 1918, the National Defense Act of 1920 formally assigned the air defense mission to the Coast Artillery Corps, and 4 battalions were organized in 1921. In 1924 under a reorganization of the Coast Artillery the battalions were reorganized as regiments. 203rd Coast Artillery MO. 206th Coast Artillery AR. 207th Coast Artillery N. Y. 211th Coast Artillery MA. 212th Coast Artillery N. Y. 213th Coast Artillery PA. 214th Coast Artillery GA, 251st Coast Artillery CA. 369th Coast Artillery N. Y. In 1938 there were only 5 Regular Army and thirteen National Guard regiments, in November 1942,781 battalions were authorized. However, this number was pared down to 331 battalions by the end of the war, by late 1944 the regiments had been broken up into battalions and 144 Antiaircraft Artillery Groups had been activated, some of these existed only briefly. On 9 March 1942 Antiaircraft Command was established in Washington D. C. Army Anti-Aircraft Command was created on 29 June 1950. The Army formed it to command the Army units allocated to the air defense of the Continental United States, ARAACOM was also charged with becoming the Army component of a joint continental defense force, if and when the joint force was designated. Eastern and Western Army Antiaircraft Commands were established with HQ at Stewart AFB, New York, Anti-Aircraft Command moved to Mitchel Air Force Base, New York on 1 November 1950. On 10 April 1951, the Commanding General assumed command of all AAA units allocated to continental air defense—six AW, nine 90-mm. battalions plus four brigade and seven Gp HQ, eight AAA Ops Det and 15 Signal radar detachments. On 24 April Central Army Anti-Aircraft Command was established with HQ at Kansas City and it was organized 1 May 1951. By 31 December controlling formations had grown to six brigades and 13 group headquarters, on 31 May 1955 EARAACOM was disestablished and personnel assigned to the 1st AAA Region. In 1955, numbering started to replace geographic locations to designate regions, the 1st, 2nd and 5th Regions now covered the area once called Eastern ARAACOM. In 1956, Western ARAACOM became 6th Region, and the following year, areas of responsibility between regions and brigades continued to shift throughout the life of the command. On March 21,1957, ARAACOM was renamed to US Army Air Defense Command, on 26 July 1960, ARADCOM activated a sixth region
3.
Battle of Bataan
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The Battle of Bataan was a battle that represented the most intense phase of Imperial Japans invasion of the Philippines during World War II. In January 1942, forces of the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy invaded Luzon along with several islands in the Philippine Archipelago after the bombing of the American naval base at Pearl Harbor, by this time, the Japanese controlled nearly all of Southeast Asia. The Bataan peninsula and the island of Corregidor were the only remaining Allied strongholds in the region, despite a lack of supplies, Filipino and American forces managed to fight the Japanese for three months, engaging them initially in a fighting retreat southward. As the combined Filipino and American forces made a last stand, soon afterwards, Filipino and American prisoners of war were forced into the Bataan Death March. The capture of the Philippine Islands was crucial to Japans effort to control the Southwest Pacific, seize the resource-rich Dutch East Indies, many American planes were caught on the ground and summarily destroyed. In one day, the Japanese had gained air superiority over the Philippine Islands and this forced the U. S. Asiatic Fleet to withdraw its surface ships from its naval base in Cavite and retreat southwards, leaving only the submarine force to resist the Japanese. Army air force B-17s, often with a minimal or no fighter escort, attacked Japanese ships offloading at Gonzaga, submarines of the Asiatic Fleet were also assigned to the effort. In one last coordinated action by the Far East Air Force and these air attacks and naval actions, however, did not significantly delay the Japanese assault. Each plan covered a different situation, with War Plan Orange covering an emergency involving only the United States and this made the plan politically unrealistic and completely outdated by 1941. Tactically, however, the plan was an excellent one and its provisions for defense were applicable under any local situation, under WPO-3, the mission of the Philippine garrison was to hold the entrance to Manila Bay and deny its use to Japanese naval forces. The primary task of U. S. Army forces were to prevent enemy landings and it was to be defended to the last extremity. In addition to the regular U. S. Army troops, the defenders could rely on the Philippine Army, WPO-3 made no provision for what should be done if the defenses on Bataan crumbled, because the planners presumed that within six months, the U. S. The defenders, thus reinforced, could mount a counteroffensive and drive the enemy into the sea, however, no one in a position of authority in April 1941 believed that anything like this would happen. Informed naval opinion estimated that it would require at least two years for the Pacific Fleet to fight its way across the Pacific, Army planners in early 1941 believed supplies would be exhausted within six months, if not sooner, and the garrison would fall to the enemy. General MacArthur assumed command of the Allied army in July 1941 and rejected WPO-3 as defeatist and he recommended—among other things—a coastal defense strategy that would include the entire archipelago. His recommendations were followed in the plan that was eventually approved, when the Japanese made their first landings on 10 and 12 December at the northern and southern extremities of Luzon, General MacArthur made no disposition to contest them. He correctly surmised that these landings were designed to advance air bases. He did not regard the situation as serious enough to warrant a change in his plan to oppose the main attack, the MacArthur Plan, then, remained in effect
4.
Battle of Corregidor
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The Battle of Corregidor, fought May 5–6,1942, was the culmination of the Japanese campaign for the conquest of the Commonwealth of the Philippines during World War II. The fall of Bataan on April 9,1942 ended all organized opposition by the U. S. Army Forces Far East to the invading Japanese forces on Luzon in the northern Philippines. The Japanese had to take Corregidor, as long as the island remained in American hands, they would be denied the use of Manila Bay, the US army recaptured the island in 1945. At 3.5 mi long and 1.5 mi across at its head and its widest but elevated area, known as Topside, contained most of its 56 coastal artillery pieces and installations. Middleside was a plateau containing more battery positions as well as barracks. Bottomside was the low ground where an area and the civilian town of San Jose was located. The tunnel system under Malinta Hill was the most extensive construction on Corregidor. It consisted of a main east-west passage 826 ft long with a 24 ft diameter and had 25 lateral passages, a separate system of tunnels north of this main tunnel housed the underground hospital, it had its own 12 laterals and space for 1,000 beds. The facility could be reached either through the tunnel or by a separate outside entrance on the north side of Malinta Hill. East of this was Malinta Tunnel, the location of General Douglas MacArthurs headquarters, reinforced with concrete walls, floors, and overhead arches, it also had blowers to furnish fresh air, and a double-track electric tramway line along the east-west passage. The Malinta Tunnel furnished bombproof shelters for the hospital, headquarters, the two 12 in guns of Batteries Smith and Hearn, with a horizontal range of 29,000 yd and all-around traverse were the longest range of all the islands artillery. Caballo Island, with Fort Hughes—just south of Corregidor—was the next largest in size, at about 160 acres, the island rose abruptly from the bay to a height of 380 ft on its western side. Commander Francis J. Bridget was in charge of its defenses with a total of 800 men, of whom 93 were Marines and 443 belonged to the Navy. Coastal artillery numbered some 13 assorted pieces, with its anti-aircraft defenses tied in with those of Corregidor, Fort Drum—which lay about 4 mi south of Fort Hughes—was the most unusual of the harbor defenses. The top deck of this concrete battleship was 40 ft above the mark and had 20 ft thick walls. The last—Carabao island—lay only 500 yd from the shores of Cavite Province, except at one point along its eastern shore, the island rises precipitously from the sea in cliffs more than 100 ft high. The Americans had placed Fort Frank on this island, which late in 1941, had a garrison of about 400 men. Its armament consisted of two 14 in guns, eight 12 in mortars, four 155 mm GPFs, as well as anti-aircraft, both were under Major General George F. Moore who also commanded the Corregidor garrison
5.
United States Army Coast Artillery Corps
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The U. S. Army Coast Artillery Corps was a corps level organization responsible for coastal, harbor, and anti-aircraft defense of the United States between 1901 and 1950. The CAC also operated heavy and railway artillery during World War I, as early as 1882 the need for heavy fixed artillery for seacoast defense was noted in Chester A. In 1885 the Endicott Board was convened under the subsequent Grover Cleveland administration and this board recommended a large-scale program of harbor defenses at 29 ports, including guns, mortars, and mine fields. Most of their recommendations were implemented and new defenses were constructed by the United States Army Corps of Engineers 1895-1905, as the defenses were constructed, each harbor or rivers installations were controlled by Artillery Districts, renamed Coast Defense Commands in 1913 and Harbor Defense Commands in 1925. An extensive fire control system was developed and provided for the forts of each Coast Artillery District, Army leaders realized that heavy fixed artillery required different training programs and tactics than mobile field artillery. Prior to 1901 each of the seven artillery regiments contained both heavy and light artillery batteries, in February 1901 the Artillery Corps was divided into two types, field artillery and coast artillery. The previous seven artillery regiments were dissolved, and 30 numbered companies of artillery and 126 numbered companies of coast artillery were authorized. 82 existing heavy artillery batteries were designated as coast artillery companies, the company-based organization was for flexibility, as each harbor defense command was differently equipped and a task-based organization was needed. The Coast Artillery would alternate between small unit and regimental organization several times over its history, the head of the Artillery Corps became the Chief of Artillery in the rank of brigadier general with jurisdiction over both types of artillery. The Coast Artillery became responsible for the installation and operation of the mine fields that were planted to be under observation, fired electrically. The mine component was considered to be among the armament of coastal defense works. In 1905, after the experiences of the Spanish–American War, President Theodore Roosevelt appointed a new board on fortifications and they updated some standards and reviewed the progress of the Endicott boards program. Most of the changes recommended by this board were technical, such as adding more searchlights, electrification, the board also recommended fortifications in territories acquired from Spain, Cuba and the Philippines, as well as Hawaii and a few other sites. Defenses in Panama were authorized by the Spooner Act of 1902, due to rapid development of the dreadnought battleship type, a new 14-inch gun was introduced in a few locations, primarily Los Angeles, the Philippines, and Panama. The Taft program fortifications differed slightly in construction and had fewer numbers of guns at a given location than those of the Endicott program. By the beginning of World War I, the United States had a defense system that was equal to any other nation. The rapidity of technological advances and changing techniques increasingly separated coastal defenses from field artillery, officers were rarely qualified to command both, requiring specialization. National Guard coast artillery units were formed by the states to attempt to bring the CAC up to strength in wartime
6.
Fort Monroe
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Fort Monroe is a decommissioned military installation in Hampton, Virginia—at Old Point Comfort, the southern tip of the Virginia Peninsula. Surrounded by a moat, the star fort is the largest stone fort ever built in the United States. During the initial exploration by the mission headed by Captain Christopher Newport in the earliest days of the Colony of Virginia, beginning by 1609, defensive fortifications were built at Old Point Comfort during Virginias first two centuries. The first was a wooden stockade named Fort Algernourne, however, the much more substantial facility of stone to become known as Fort Monroe were completed in 1834. The principal facility was named in honor of U. S. President James Monroe, throughout the American Civil War, although most of Virginia became part of the Confederate States of America, Fort Monroe remained in Union hands. It became notable as a historic and symbolic site of early freedom for former slaves under the provisions of contraband policies, for two years thereafter, the former Confederate President, Jefferson Davis, was imprisoned at the fort. His first months of confinement were spent in a cell of the fort walls that is now part of its Casemate Museum. In the 20th century, it housed the Coast Artillery School and later the United States Army Training, Fort Monroe was decommissioned on September 15,2011, and many of its functions were transferred to nearby Fort Eustis. Several re-use plans for Fort Monroe are under development in the Hampton community, on November 1,2011, President Barack Obama signed a proclamation to designate portions of Fort Monroe as a National Monument. This was the first time that President Obama exercised his authority under the Antiquities Act and it has a 332-slip marina and shallow water inlet access to Mill Creek, suitable for small watercraft. The land area where Fort Monroe is became part of Elizabeth Cittie in 1619, Elizabeth River Shire in 1634, on their initial exploration, they recognized the strategic importance of the site at Old Point Comfort for purposes of coastal defense. They initially built Fort Algernourne at the location of the present Fort Monroe and it is assumed to have been a triangular stockade, based on the fort at Jamestown. Other small forts known as Fort Henry and Fort Charles were built nearby in 1610, in the latter part of August 1619, a Dutch ship, the White Lion, appeared off the coast of Old Point Comfort. Its cargo included more than 30 Africans captured from the slave ship Sao Joao Bautista, traded for work and supplies from the English, they were the first Africans to come ashore on British-occupied land in what would become the United States. Although the Bantu Africans from Angola were considered indentured servants, their arrival is considered to mark the beginning of slavery in America, another fort, known only as the fort at Old Point Comfort was constructed in 1632. In 1728, Fort George was built on the site and its masonry walls were destroyed by a hurricane in 1749, but the wood buildings in the fort were used by a reduced force until at least 1775. In 1781, during the Siege of Yorktown, the French West Indian fleet established a battery on the ruins of Fort George, throughout the Colonial period, fortifications were manned at the location from time to time. Following the War of 1812, the United States realized the need to protect Hampton Roads, in March 1819, President James Monroe came up with a plan of building a network of coastal defenses
7.
National Guard of the United States
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All members of the National Guard of the United States are also members of the militia of the United States as defined by 10 U. S. C. National Guard units are under the control of the state. The majority of National Guard soldiers and airmen hold a civilian job full-time while serving part-time as a National Guard member, local militias were formed from the earliest English colonization of the Americas in 1607. The first colony-wide militia was formed by Massachusetts in 1636 by merging small older local units, the various colonial militias became state militias when the United States became independent. The title National Guard was used from 1824 by some New York State militia units, National Guard became a standard nationwide militia title in 1903, and specifically indicated reserve forces under mixed state and federal control from 1933. The first muster of militia forces in what is today the United States took place on September 16,1565, appropriately enough, this muster occurred in the shadow of an oncoming hurricane. This Spanish militia tradition and the English tradition that would be established to the north would provide the nucleus for Colonial defense in the New World. The militia tradition continued with the first permanent English settlements in the New World, Jamestown Colony and Plymouth Colony both had militia forces, which initially consisted of every able bodied adult male. By the mid-1600s every town had at least one militia company, as a result of the Spanish–American War, Congress was called upon to reform and regulate the training and qualification of state militias. The first national laws regulating the militia were the Militia acts of 1792, in 1903, with passage of the Dick Act, the predecessor to the modern-day National Guard was formed. It required the states to divide their militias into two sections, the law recommended the title National Guard for the first section, known as the organized militia, and Reserve Militia for all others. During World War I, Congress passed the National Defense Act of 1916, Congress also authorized the states to maintain Home Guards, which were reserve forces outside the National Guards being deployed by the Federal Government. The National Guard of the states, territories, and the District of Columbia serves as part of the first-line of defense for the United States. C. Where the National Guard operates under the President of the United States or his designee, the governors exercise control through the state adjutants general. The National Guard may be called up for duty by the governors to help respond to domestic emergencies and disasters, such as hurricanes, floods. The National Guard is administered by the National Guard Bureau, which is a joint activity of the Army, the National Guard Bureau provides a communication channel for state National Guards to the DoD. S. C. The National Guard Bureau is headed by the Chief of the National Guard Bureau, prior to 2008, the functions of Agricultural Development Teams were within Provincial Reconstruction Teams of the US Government. Today, ADTs consist of soldiers and airmen from the Army National Guard, today, ADTs bring an effective platform for enhanced dialogue, building confidence, sharing interests, and increasing cooperation amongst the disparate peoples and tribes of Afghanistan
8.
American Expeditionary Forces
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The American Expeditionary Forces was the expeditionary force of the United States Army during World War I. It was established on July 5,1917, in France under the command of Gen. John J. Pershing, during the United States campaigns in World War I it fought, alongside French and British troops, against the German Empire. Some of the troops fought alongside Italian forces in that same year and it helped the French Army on the Western Front during the Aisne Offensive in June 1918, and fought its major actions in the Saint-Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne Offensives in late 1918. Pershing insisted that American soldiers be well-trained before going to Europe, as a result, few troops arrived before 1918. This attitude was not always received by the Allied leaders who distrusted the potential of an army lacking experience in large-scale warfare. In addition the British tried to bargain their spare shipping to make the US put its soldiers into British ranks. The French harbors of Bordeaux, La Pallice, Saint Nazaire and Brest became the points into the French railway system which brought the US forces. American engineers in France built 82 new ship berths, nearly 1,000 miles of additional tracks and 100,000 miles of telephone. The first American troops, who were often called Doughboys, landed in Europe in June 1917, a formation of regular soldiers and the first division to arrive in France, entered the trenches near Nancy. The AEF used French and British equipment, particularly appreciated were the French canon de 75 modèle 1897, the canon de 155 C modèle 1917 Schneider and the canon de 155mm GPF. American aviation units received the SPAD XIII and Nieuport 28 fighters, Pershing established facilities in France to train new arrivals with their new weapons. A fifth division, the 41st Division, had converted into a depot division near Tours. After the first offensive action and American-led AEF victory on 28 May 1918 at the Battle of Cantigny, the rest followed at an accelerating pace during the spring and summer of 1918. The training took a minimum of six due to the inexperience of the servicemen. The first offensive action by AEF units serving under command was 1,000 men. This battle took place under the command of the Australian Corps commander. The Allied force in this battle combined artillery, armor, infantry, and air support, U. S. Army and Marine Corps troops played a key role in helping stop the German thrust towards Paris, during the Second Battle of the Marne in June 1918. The first major and distinctly American offensive was the reduction of the Saint Mihiel salient in September 1918, during the Battle of Saint-Mihiel, beginning September 12,1918, Pershing commanded the U. S
9.
Battle of Saint-Mihiel
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The U. S. Army Air Service played a significant role in this action. This battle marked the first use of the terms D-Day and H-Hour by the Americans, the fighting was depicted in the 1927 film Wings. The attack at the St. Mihiel salient was part of a plan by Pershing in which he hoped that the Americans would break through the German lines and capture the fortified city of Metz. It was the first and only offensive launched solely by the United States Army in World War I, and this meant that their artillery was out of place and the American attack, coming up against disorganized German forces, proved more successful than expected. The St. Mihiel attack established the stature of the U. S, the U. S. attack faltered as artillery and food supplies were left behind on the muddy roads. The attack on Metz was not realized, as the Germans refortified their positions, Saint-Mihiel is a town in the Meuse department in northeastern France. Since the end of the 1870–71 Franco-Prussian War, the town was no longer considered important strategically and this changed early in World War I with the town inside the battlefront. In 1914, the German command wished to take the Verdun fortifications which formed a point in the French lines. A first attempt, at Bois-le-Pretre, failed despite violent fighting, during two more attempts, German troops took Saint-Mihiel and the fort at Camp des Romains, but they were ultimately stopped at the Fort de Troyon to the south of Verdun. During the course of the war the front did not change much in this area, Saint-Mihiel formed a salient inside the French lines, blocking communications between Nancy and Verdun. The area near St. Mihiel would know much fighting, The Crête des Éparges, the Bois dAilly and the Tranchée de la Soif, isolated behind German lines, Commander dAndrés men fight three days without food or water before surrender in May 1915. Bois Brûlé, many casualties when German conquer a redoubt on December 1914 and it is here that the sub-officer Jacques Péricard pronounced the famous words, Debout les morts. on 8 April 1915. The forêt dApremont, the Tête à vache trenches, Calonne trenches… But despite French attacks the German forces were able to retain this strategic location until the last months of the war. General John Pershing thought that a successful Allied attack in the region of St. Mihiel, Metz, for this, he placed his confidence in a young First Infantry Division Major, George Marshall, to move troops and supplies effectively throughout the battle. After these goals were accomplished, the Americans could launch offensives into Germany proper, the American First Army had been activated in August and taken over the sector of the Allied line. Pershing had to persuade Marshall Foch to permit an American attack on the salient, the weather corps of Corps I Operation Order stated, Visibility, Heavy driving wind and rain during parts of day and night. This would pose a challenge to the Americans when the order to advance was given, in some parts of the road, the men were almost knee-deep in mud and water. After five days of rain, the ground was impassable to both the American tanks and infantry
10.
Meuse-Argonne Offensive
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It was fought from 26 September 1918, until the Armistice of 11 November 1918, a total of 47 days. American losses were exacerbated by the inexperience of many of the troops, the Meuse-Argonne was the principal engagement of the AEF during World War I. The logistical prelude to the Meuse attack was planned by then-Colonel George Marshall who managed to move American units to the front after the Battle of Saint-Mihiel, on 26 September, the Americans began their strike towards Sedan in the south. The next day British and Belgian divisions drove towards Ghent, and then British, the Meuse-Argonne offensive, shared by the U. S. forces with the French Fourth Army on the left, was the biggest operation and victory of the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I. The bulk of the AEF had not gone into action until 1918, the Meuse-Argonne battle was the largest frontline commitment of troops by the U. S. Army in World War I, and also its deadliest. Command was coordinated, with some U. S. troops attached, the main U. S. effort of the Meuse-Argonne offensive took place in the Verdun Sector, immediately north and northwest of the town of Verdun, between 26 September and 11 November 1918. However, far to the north, U. S. Quentin Canal, the American forces initially consisted of fifteen divisions of the U. S. First Army commanded by then-General John J. Pershing until October 16, the logistics were planned and directed by then-Colonel George C. Marshall. The French forces next to them consisted of 31 divisions including the Fourth Army, the U. S. S. and French contributions in troops were considerable. Most of the equipment was provided by the European Allies. For the Meuse-Argonne front alone, this represented 2,780 artillery pieces,380 tanks and 840 planes, as the battle progressed, both the Americans and the French brought in reinforcements. Eventually,22 American divisions would participate in the battle at one time or another, other French forces involved included the 2nd Colonial Corps, under Henri Claudel, which had also fought alongside the AEF at the Battle of Saint-Mihiel earlier in September 1918. The opposing forces were wholly German, during this period of the war, German divisions procured only 50 percent or less of their initial strength. The 117th Division, which opposed the U. S. 79th Division during the offensives first phase, had only 3,300 men in its ranks. For example, divisions that served on the Eastern front would have high morale, while conversely divisions that had been on the Western front had poor morale. Resistance grew to approximately 200, 000–450,000 German troops from the Fifth Army of Group Gallwitz commanded by General Georg von der Marwitz, the Americans estimated that they opposed parts of 44 German divisions overall, though many fewer at any one time. The objective was the capture of the hub at Sedan which would break the railway network supporting the German Army in France. During the three hours preceding H hour, the Allies expended more ammunition than both sides managed to fire throughout the four years of the Civil War, the cost was later calculated to have been $180 million, or $1 million per minute
11.
Fort Washington Park
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Fort Washington, located near the community of Fort Washington, Maryland, was for many decades the only defensive fort protecting Washington D. C. The original fort, overlooking the Potomac River, was completed in 1809, and was begun as Fort Warburton, during the War of 1812, the fort was destroyed by its own garrison during a British advance. The current historic fort—maintained by the National Park Service—was initially constructed in 1824 and it is a stone structure with a good cannon shot down the Potomac River. The fort was extensively remodeled in the 1840s and 1890s, the Fort was turned over to the U. S. Department of the Interior in 1946 after its last military personnel departed. The expansive grounds of the present Fort Washington Park, with its extensive hiking/bicycle paths and river view, are a venue for picnicking, fishing. Historical re-enactments are held periodically at the Fort, and there is a small museum, in 2006, repairs were done to shore up the crumbling outer wall, in preparation for the 200th anniversary. The Fort Washington Light, located below the fort, was established in 1857, the current tower, standing 28 feet tall, was constructed in 1882. When Governor Leonard Calvert first explored the area in 1634, he found the surrounding heights covered with Indians, to the number of five hundred. After securing peace with the Piscataway, in 1645 an act for the defense of the established a garrison of 100 men at the same site at the mouth of Piscataway creek. In 1661, Edward Digges, former Colonial Governor of Virginia established The Manor of Warburton on 1200 acres bounded by Piscataway Creek and his heirs continued to live on the property throughout the Colonial period. When George Washington built Mount Vernon, it was almost directly across the river from Warburton Manor, Washington would often visit with the Digges family, or pass through Warburton after crossing the river on his way to Upper Marlboro or Annapolis, Maryland. Through these visits, and from his vantage point at Mount Vernon, Washington became familiar with the Warburton location, in 1794, as President, he directed Secretary of War Henry Knox to construct a fortification on the site, with a budget not to exceed $3,000. The money authorized was instead spent trying to construct a fort at Jones Point, in 1798 Washington again urged that a fort be built at Digges Point, but no work was done. Captain George Bomford was assigned to the work and the plans of Fort Madison at Annapolis were used for the Potomac fort and it was soon discovered that the four acres purchased from Thomas Digges was too small. Colonel Williams directed Captain Bomford to lay out the work again, the barracks was shifted to one side and one wing shortened to accommodate the new design. Work commenced on April 14,1808 and was completed on December 1,1809 and it was anticipated that 120 artillerymen would be assigned to the post as a wartime garrison and gunboats from the Navy Yard would support the fort. Captain Bomford described the fort as a work of masonry comprehending a semi elliptical face with a circular flank on the side next to the Potomac. There were also quarters for two companies and a total of 15 cannon, on the bluff above the fort, a masonry tower could house one company and six additional cannons
12.
Fort Crockett
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The area still contains several historical buildings and military fortifications. A military facility by the US Army Coastal Artillery on Galveston Island was established in the late 1890s, construction got underway just in time to be disrupted by the Great Galveston Hurricane of 1900. The United States Army Corps of Engineers spent several years rebuilding and expanding the reservation before it was re-garrisoned, in 1903, the facility was named Fort Crockett in honor of David Crockett, US Congressman from Tennessee and famous Texas hero of the Battle of the Alamo. Following extensive repairs and upgrades, the fort was garrisoned by the US Army, during the First World War, Fort Crockett served as a US Army artillery training center. Troops bound for France were trained in the use of types of artillery. During the 1920s and early 1930s, Fort Crockett housed the United States Army Air Corps 3rd Attack Group, at this time, the 3rd Attack Group was the only USAAC group devoted solely to attack aircraft. After 1934, the 3rd Attack group was relocated to Barksdale, during the Second World War, Fort Crockett was expanded with an additional large gun battery, and focus was placed on defense against German U-boats. Additionally, the served as a German POW camp. Following the war, Fort Crockett served for years as an army recreational center. In the 1950s, Fort Crockett became home for fisheries research for the US Fish, in 1958 Texas A&M Marine Lab came to occupy part of the former army barracks. In 1963, the largest of the buildings in the Fort Crockett complex was renovated to house the new Texas Maritime Academy of Texas A&M University. Due to the amount of concrete used in constructing the protective casemate for the guns and magazines. The abandoned casemates remained an unofficial tourist attraction for decades, in the early 1980s, a luxury resort was built on and behind the battery. This was originally named Fort Travis in honor of William Barret Travis, in the late 19th century, the entrance to Galveston Bay was secured by two new fortifications, one on each side of the mouth of the bay. The Fort Travis name was transferred across Bolivar Roads to a new fortification on Point Bolivar, the tip of the Bolivar Peninsula, at the end of the 19th century, Fort Crockett was established as headquarters for all three facilities. Located west of the city of Galveston, its guns could command the entire area. By the first half of the 20th century, Fort Crockett had the basic equipment believed needed to defend the Galveston area from attack from air or sea. In the mid-20th century, two Regiments of the US Army Coast Artillery were headquartered at Fort Crockett, and manned four major artillery batteries, though installed over several decades, the different guns were selected to provide both long-range and rapid-fire support
13.
Fort Bonifacio
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Fort Bonifacio, is the national headquarters of the Philippine Army and is located in southeastern Metro Manila in an area disputed between Taguig, Makati and Pateros. It is located near the headquarters of the Philippine Air Force. The camp is named after Andres Bonifacio, the leader of the Katipunan during the revolutionary period of the Philippines against Spain - Philippine Revolution. Fort William McKinley, now Fort Bonifacio, was established during the Philippine–American War in 1901 and this expropriation was later challenged by then President Ferdinand E. Marcos and the US agreed to compensate, through him, in trust deposits. In 1916, the 3rd Battalion of the 31st Infantry Regiment was formed here, until December 1920, this was the home of the 31st Infantry Regiment. During World War II, the USAFFE headquarters for the Philippine Department, the bulk of the Philippine Division was stationed there and this was where, under the National Defense Act of 1935, specialized artillery training was conducted. On May 14,1949, Fort McKinley was turned over to the Philippine government, the facility became the home of the Philippine Army and later the Philippine Navy and was renamed Fort Bonifacio. It lies in the cities of Pasay, Parañaque, Makati, the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial was established here. Later, it was turned into a real estate development area called Bonifacio Global City, Military History of the Philippines Military History of the United States
14.
Manila
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Manila, officially City of Manila, is the capital of the Philippines. Founded on June 24,1571, by Spanish conquistador Miguel López de Legazpi and it is situated on the eastern shore of Manila Bay and is home to many landmarks, some of which date back to the 16th century. In 2012, the Globalization and World Cities Research Network listed Manila as a global city, the city proper is home to 1,780,148 people in 2015, forming the historic core of Metro Manila, the capital region of the Philippines. The metropolitan area, which includes the much larger Quezon City, Manila is also the most densely populated city proper in the world, with 41,515 people per square kilometer. The term Manila is commonly used to refer to either the whole area or the city proper. Manila is located on the shore of the Manila Bay on one of the finest harbors in the country. The city has six districts for the lower house of the Philippine Congress. Manila was once ruled by the Kingdom of Tondo before it became a province of the Majapahit Empire. During the Bruneian invasion of the Philippines, Sultan Bolkiah of Brunei captured Seludong and renamed it Maynilà, Maynilà became a vassal state of the Sultanate of Brunei, established to overpower Tondo. In 1571, conquistadors arrived from Mexico, across the Pacific Ocean, Spanish missionaries soon Christianized the city, incorporated Tondo and built some of the oldest churches in the country, including San Agustin Church. The conquistadors renamed the area Nuevo Reino de Castilla, Manila became the center of Spanish activity in the Far East and one end of the Manila–Acapulco galleon trade route linking Spanish America with Asia, one of the earliest examples of globalization. Because of its location on Pacific trade routes, Manila received the moniker Pearl of the Orient. Spanish rule of the Philippine archipelago lasted for more than three centuries, until 1898, order was usually quickly restored and the city returned to the business of trade. In the 19th century, Manila was one of the most modern cities in Asia, before the Spanish–American War, it saw the rise of the Philippine Revolution. After the war, the United States took control, switched the official language from Spanish to English, near the end of World War II, during the Battle of Manila, most of the city was flattened by intensive aerial bombardment by the United States Air Force. As a result, relatively little remains of Manilas prewar and colonial architecture, although there are ongoing projects, especially within the old walled city. Maynilà, the Filipino name for the city, originated from the word nilà, referring to a mangrove tree that grew on the delta of the Pasig River. The flowers were made into garlands that, according to folklore, were offered to statues on religious altars or in churches
15.
Corregidor
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Corregidor Island /kəˈrɛɡᵻˌdɔːr/, locally called Isla ng Corregidor, is an island located at the entrance of Manila Bay in southwestern part of Luzon Island in the Philippines. The island was also the site of a military airfield. During World War II, Corregidor played an important role during the invasion and liberation of the Philippines from Japanese forces. Heavily bombarded in the part of the war, the ruins left on the island serve as a military memorial to American, Filipino. Corregidor is one of the important historic and tourist sites in the country, Corregidor and the other fortified islands of Manila Bay fall under the jurisdiction of the City of Cavite, Cavite province. The tadpole-shaped island, with its tail running eastward, is about 6.5 km long, the highest elevation is at 180 m on the Topside. The island is divided into four sections, The islands biggest area, beneath this was the fortified communications center of the island, as well as the location for the Army headquarters, barracks for enlisted men, a branch of the Philippine Trust Co. Bottomside is the part of the island and is the neck that connects the tail. South of Bottomside was Barangay or Barrio San José, on the north is what was Army Dock, the Malinta Hill separates Bottomside from the Tail End. The Tailside or Tail End is not a name, but it is the remaining portion of the island where different memorials, shrines. Kindley Field was constructed in the early 1920s and named in honor of a hero of the U. S. Army Air Corps. The airfield was operated then by the army, and the navy had a seaplane base, the short runway, cramped and hilly terrain had limited its use. Corregidor and Caballo islands are remnants of a crater, the Corregidor Caldera. However, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology still classifies Corregidor as an active volcano. The island came under Spanish sovereignty on May 19,1570, Legazpi was authorized by the Spanish Crown to establish the capital of the Philippines in Manila, and convert the Muslims in Luzon and Mindanao to Christianity. Corregidor was used as a site for the nine Spanish galleons used during the campaign. Corregidor comes from the Spanish word corregir, meaning to correct, another version claims that the island was used a penitentiary or correctional institution by the Spanish government, and thus came to be called El Corregidor. Corregidor is also a position of authority within the former Spanish administrative structure
16.
United States Army Forces in the Far East
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United States Army Forces in the Far East was a military formation of the United States Army active from 1941 to 1946. The new commands headquarters was created on July 26,1941,1, Calle Victoria, Manila, Luzon, the Philippines, with General Douglas MacArthur as commander. The Chief of Staff was Brigadier General Richard K. Sutherland, the core of this command was drawn from the Office of the Military Advisor to the Commonwealth Government. MacArthur explains, It became an administrative echelon and it was analogous to a corps area. MacArthur recommended that Philippine Department commander Major General Grunert be reassigned, on October 23, Grunert returned to the United States and MacArthur was temporarily appointed as the Philippine Departments commander. It does not appear this idea was considered until Douglas MacArthur suggested, to the Army Chief of Staff. On June 6, Acting Chief of the War Plans Division Brigadier General Leonard T. Gerow noted that he saw no need for such a command, as US Forces in the Far East were concentrated in the Philippines. As such, Gerow argued that should a crisis occur, then MacArthur should become the commander of, not some new command, but rather, of the Philippine Department itself. On June 20, Army Chief of Staff George C. Marshall informed MacArthur, Both the Secretary of War and your qualifications and experience make you the logical selection for the Army Commander in the Far East should the situation approach a crisis. The Secretary has delayed recommending your appointment as he does not feel the time has arrived for such action, at the proper time, he will recommend to the President that you be so appointed. S. Army reserve officers be sent to the Philippines to assist in mobilization, on July 25, Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson requested that President Roosevelt issue orders calling the military forces of the Commonwealth into active service for the United States. Stimson explains, All practical steps should be taken to increase the strength of the Philippine Islands. The following day, Roosevelt froze all Japanese assets within the United States and that same day, the War Department created the USAFFE command, with jurisdiction over the Philippine Department and the military forces of Commonwealth of the Philippines. At the same time, MacArthur was recalled to duty as the USAFFE commander, from his positions as military advisor to the Philippine government. The short-lived American-British-Dutch-Australian Command was formed on January 1,1942, to control all Allied forces in South East Asia, ABDACOM nominally controlled USAFFE forces, although the latter was effectively an independent force. In March, due to the worsening Allied position in Asia, macArthurs famous speech regarding the Philippines, in which he said, I came out of Bataan and I shall return was made at Terowie, South Australia on March 20. General Jonathan Wainwright officially assumed control of the forces in the Philippines. On April 18,1942, ABDACOM was replaced by General Headquarters, Southwest Pacific Area in Melbourne, Australia, MacArthur was appointed Supreme Commander, SWPA
17.
Harbor Defenses of Manila and Subic Bays
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The Harbor Defenses of Manila and Subic Bays were a Harbor Defense Command, part of the Philippine Department of the United States Army from circa 1910 through early World War II. The Board of Fortifications chaired by William H. Taft recommended that key harbors of territories acquired after the Spanish–American War be fortified, from 1922 parts of the defenses were garrisoned by units of the Philippine Scouts, units primarily composed of Filipino enlisted men and US officers. In July 1941 these units were commanded by Major General George F. Moore, whose Philippine Coast Artillery Command was headquartered at Fort Mills, on Corregidor. This command included Fort Hughes, Fort Drum, and Fort Frank at the entrance to Manila Bay, at this time there were 4,967 troops assigned to the Harbor Defenses. Harbor defense units were engaged against the Japanese invasion in 1941–42, particularly Battery Way and Battery Geary on Corregidor. However, the coast defense installations were vulnerable to air and high-angle artillery attack, and Corregidor, chief of Coast Artillery Major General Joseph A. Green had recommended reassigning elements of the Harbor Defenses to anti-aircraft duty, but this proposal was rejected. The War Department had been intending to send three additional AA regiments and two headquarters, however this was not accomplished before the Japanese invasion in December 1941. With the exception of areas covered by the 60th and 200th Coast Artillery Regiments. Manila and Subic Bays had Army-operated mine defenses and these minefields were designed to stop all vessels except submarines and shallow-draft surface craft. Military History of the Philippines Fort Drum, Concrete Battleship of the Philippines
18.
Manila Bay
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Manila Bay is a natural harbour which serves the Port of Manila, in the Philippines. Manila Bay drains approximately 17,000 km2 of watershed area, with an average depth of 17 m, it is estimated to have a total volume of 28.9 billion cubic metres. Entrance to the bay is 19 km wide and expands to a width of 48 km, however, width of the bay varies from 22 km at its mouth and expanding to 60 km at its widest point. The islands of Corregidor and Caballo divides the entrance into two channels, about 2 mi towards the North and 6.5 mi wide on the South side. Mariveles, in the province of Bataan, is an anchorage just inside the northern entrance, on either side of the bay are volcanic peaks topped with tropical foliage,40 km to the north is the Bataan Peninsula and to the south is the province of Cavite. In the south channel is El Fraile Island and outside the entrance, to the immediate north and south are additional harbors, upon which both local and international ports are situated. Large number of ships at the North and South harbors facilitate maritime activities in the bay, being smaller of the two harbors, the North Harbor is used for inter-island shipping while the South Harbor is used for large ocean-going vessels. Manila Bay was connected to Laguna de Bay approximately 3,000 years ago, recurring episodic uplifts along the West Marikina Valley Fault caused the two to break up. Interaction between Manila Bay and Laguna de Bay today occurs only through the Pasig River, the bay was the setting for the Battle of Manila Bay in 1898, in which American troops led by Commodore George Dewey seized the area. This battle showcased the United States naval strength, all major Spanish ships were destroyed and captured. With its proud historic past and abundant marine life, Manila Bay became the portal and Filipino epicenter for government, economy. During the Russo-Japanese War at the close of the Battle of Tsushima in 1905, three surviving Russian protected cruisers managed to make port in then-United States-controlled Manila for repairs. However, because the US was neutral in conflict, the trio of warships. In World War II, Corregidor Island was annexed by 1942 by Japanese forces based in Manila Bay, much earlier, various other battles were fought from this naval base, including the La Naval de Manila in 1646, which finally ended Dutch attempts to seize the Philippines. It also serves a focus for recreation for Metro Manila and is a destination for walks. Much of the land fronting the bay along Metro Manila is reclaimed land now includes important sites such as the Philippine Senate. On 27 September 2011, the sea walls of Manila Bay were destroyed by the surge caused by Typhoon Pedring. Even the United States Embassy, Museo Pambata and Sofitel Philippine Plaza were submerged by the flooding and it was estimated that the damage would cost P30 million to repair
19.
Bataan
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Bataan is a province situated in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Its capital is the City of Balanga, occupying the entire Bataan Peninsula on Luzon, Bataan is bordered by the provinces of Zambales and Pampanga to the north. The peninsula faces the South China Sea to the west and Subic Bay to the north-west, the Battle of Bataan is famous in history as one of the last stands of American and Filipino soldiers before they were overwhelmed by the Japanese forces in World War II. The Bataan Death March was named after the province, where the march started. In 1647, Dutch naval forces landed in country in an attempt to seize the islands from Spain, the Dutch massacred the people of Abucay in Bataan. Bataan featured prominently during World War II, prior to the 1941 Japanese invasion, the US Army stored nearly 1,000,000 US gallons of gasoline there. Japanese forces started a siege of the peninsula on January 7,1942, and launched an assault on April 3. The majority of the American and Filipino forces surrendered on April 9 and were forced to more than a 100 kilometres from Bataan to Capas-Tarlac. The Administration of President Rodrigo Duterte is currently pushing for federalism in the country, scholars in the region have suggested naming the state the State of Luções, named after the historic collective name of the people of Luzon. During precolonial times, when the power of the kingdoms in present-day Metro Manila was declining, the people of Myanmar, Timor, Luções were known as skilled mercenaries, merchants, and even battle soldiers. They aided in the war campaigns of Myanmar, Malacca, when the Spanish came and stormed Luzon, the ties of the Luceos with their ally countries were cut and the Luções were turned into commoners and indios by the Spaniards. At the northern portion of the peninsula is Mount Natib and its mountains, separated from Mount Samat. A narrow coastline plain characterizes the eastern portion of the province, while the western coast features many ridges, cliffs, Bataan is politically subdivided into 11 municipalities and one component city. The population of Bataan in the 2015 census was 760,650 people, various religious groups are subscribed to by the people but Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion, comprising 85% of the Bataan population. Aglipayan as well as several Christian faiths are the minority, Nuestra Señora del Pilar Church — Morong Nuestra Señora del Pilar Church — Pilar Nuestra Señora, Virgen Milagrosa del Rosario Church — Orani, declared as a diocesan-shrine by the Diocese of Balanga. It is home to the image of the Our Lady of the Holy Rosary which was canonically crowned 18 April 1959. It plays a role in the Central Luzon “W” Growth Corridor. It is also a transport route and transshipment point linking SBMA area
20.
3-inch Gun M1918
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The 3-inch M1918 gun was a United States 3-inch anti-aircraft gun that entered service in 1918 and served until it was finally superseded by the 3 M3 gun in 1930. The M3 was subsequently replaced by the M1 90mm AA gun just prior to the opening of World War II, the M33 gun was later adapted for the anti-tank role, serving as the main armament of the M10 tank destroyer during World War II. The 3-inch M1917 was the United States Armys first dedicated anti-aircraft gun, only a few were built, as the similar 3-inch M1918 on a mobile mount was considered more useful and was produced in large numbers. Development of the M1917 started in 1915, and as the name implies, the gun was essentially an unmodified 3-inch M1903 coastal-defense gun barrel on a new fixed mount allowing it to be aimed to high elevations. A number were used during World War I on fixed mountings,116 were completed by April 1919, most of the weapons were deployed at United States Army Coast Artillery Corps installations after World War I. In the immediate post-war era it was developed as the 3-inch M2, in 1928 it was further improved in the 3-inch M4 by using a thicker removable liner that eased manufacturing. However, the M2 and M4 appear to have produced in small quantities. The M1917, M2, and M4 remained in service through World War II, for mobile use the original coastal gun was too heavy, so a smaller version was developed as the 3-inch M1918. This weapon was based on the 3-inch gun M1898, a predecessor of the M1903. This weapon had a barrel 50 calibers long instead of 55 calibers, the barrel of the M1918 was shortened to 40 calibers and a semi-automatic breech was added. Semi-automatic on this type of weapon meant that the breech would open automatically after firing, another upgrade was started in 1931 as the T8, and then T9, but these projects were cancelled in 1938 when the 90 mm gun was selected in their place. The gun was accepted for service as the 3-inch M5, a similar derivative of the T9 - the 3-inch M6 - was intended to be mounted on the M5 self-propelled gun, which was eventually abandoned. A final adaptation was the 3-inch M7, which included modifications for mounting on the M6 heavy tank. M7 saw wide use although it was supplanted to some extent by powerful weapons such as the 90mm M3. 3-inch Gun M1917 - Original fixed-place anti-aircraft gun introduced in 1917, M1918 - Mobile anti-aircraft gun using a cut-down version of the original M1917 gun and a new mount. M1 - Variant of the M1918 with a removable barrel liner, M2 - Variant of the M1917 with a removable barrel liner. M3 - Development of the M1917 with a removable barrel liner, M4 - Version of the M2 with a thicker liner for easier manufacturing. M5 - Version of the T9 adapted for anti-tank use, M6 - Version of the T9 as mounted in the 3in Gun Motor Carriage M5
21.
37 mm Gun M1
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The 37mm Gun M1 was an anti-aircraft autocannon developed in the United States. It was used by the US Army in World War II, in addition to the towed variant, the gun was mounted, with two M2 machine guns, on the M2/M3 half-track, resulting in the T28/T28E1/M15/M15A1 series of multiple gun motor carriages. In early World War II, each Army Anti-Aircraft Artillery Auto-Weapons battalion was authorized a total of thirty-two 37 mm guns in its four firing batteries, plus other weapons. During World War II the 37 mm gun M1 was deployed in coast defense Anti-Motor Torpedo Boat Batteries alongside 90 mm guns, usually four 90 mm, some AMTB batteries consisted of four 37 mm guns, but most sources have little information on these batteries. In the later part of the war the 37 mm gun was replaced by the 40 mm Bofors gun M1. Two gun units were coupled to the M5 gun director using the M1 remote control system, the system was powered by the M5 generating unit. If the remote system was inoperative the M5 sighting system was used, projectiles were fitted with a 37×223mmSR cartridge case. The 37 mm M9 autocannon was a derivative of the M1A2 anti-aircraft gun and it had a 74-inch barrel, weighed 405 pounds, had a muzzle velocity of 3,000 feet per second, and had a rate of fire of 150 rounds per minute. It was used on PT boats around 1944 in the Pacific theater during World War II, list of U. S. Army weapons by supply catalog designation Kerrison Predictor Hogg, Ian. New York, Barnes & Noble Books,2000, ISBN 0-7607-1994-2 Pg.106 Hogg, Ian V. Allied Artillery of World War Two, hunnicutt, R. P. Half-Track, A History of American Semi-Tracked Vehicles. McGovern, Terence, Smith, B. W. American Coastal Defenses 1885-1950, TM 9-2300 standard artillery and fire control material. org
22.
M2 Browning
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The M2 Machine Gun or Browning.50 Caliber Machine Gun is a heavy machine gun designed toward the end of World War I by John Browning. Its design is similar to Brownings earlier M1919 Browning machine gun, the M2 uses the much larger and much more powerful.50 BMG cartridge, which was developed alongside and takes its name from the gun itself. It has been referred to as Ma Deuce, in reference to its M2 nomenclature, the design has had many specific designations, the official designation for the current infantry type is Browning Machine Gun, Cal.50, M2, HB, Flexible. It is effective against infantry, unarmored or lightly armored vehicles and boats, light fortifications, the M2 has been produced longer than any other machine gun. The Browning.50 caliber machine gun has been used extensively as a vehicle weapon and it was heavily used during World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Falklands War, the Iraq War and the War in Afghanistan in the 2000s and 2010s. It is the heavy machine gun of NATO countries, and has been used by many other countries as well. The M2 has been in use longer than any firearm in U. S. inventory except the.45 ACP M1911 pistol. The current M2HB is manufactured in the U. S. by General Dynamics, Ordnance for use by the U. S. government, and for allies via Foreign Military Sales, as well as foreign manufacturers such as FN Herstal. Machine guns were used in World War I, and weapons of larger than rifle caliber were appearing. Both the British and French had large caliber machine guns, the larger rounds were needed to defeat the armor that was being introduced to the battlefield. Armor was also appearing in the skies, during World War I, the Germans introduced a heavily armored airplane, the Junkers J. I. The armor made aircraft machine guns using conventional rifle ammunition ineffective, consequently, the American Expeditionary Forces commander General John J. Pershing asked for a larger caliber machine gun. Pershing asked the Army Ordnance Department to develop a gun with a caliber of at least 0.50 inches. U. S. Col. John Henry Parker, commanding a machine gun school in France, the Army Ordnance Department ordered eight experimental Colt machine guns rechambered for the French 11 mm cartridge. The French had developed a machine gun for an even larger caliber. The French 11 mm round was found to be unsuitable because its velocity was too low, Pershing wanted a bullet of at least 670 gr and a muzzle velocity of 2,700 ft/s. Development with the French round was dropped, around July 1917, John M. Browning started redesigning his.30 caliber machine gun for a larger caliber. Winchester worked on the cartridge, which was a version of the. 30-06
23.
Searchlight
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The first use of searchlights using carbon arc technology occurred during the Siege of Paris during the Franco-Prussian War. The Royal Navy used searchlights in 1882 to prevent Egyptian forces from staffing artillery batteries at Alexandria, later that same year, the French and British forces landed troops under searchlights. By 1907 the value of searchlights had become widely recognized, one recent use was to assist attacks by torpedo boats by dazzling gun crews on the ships being attacked. Other uses included detecting enemy ships at distances, as signaling devices. Searchlights were also used by battleships and other vessels to locate attacking torpedo boats and were installed on many coastal artillery batteries for aiding night combat. They saw use in the Russo-Japanese War from 1904–05, the Imperial Japanese Navy especially was known for its intensive development of nighttime naval combat tactics and extensive training. The War in the Pacific saw a number of engagements fought by searchlight. Although searchlights remained in use throughout the war, the newly developed radar proved to be a far more effective locating device, and Japanese radar development lagged far behind that of the US. The term artificial moonlight was used to distinguish illumination provided by searchlights from that provided by normal moonlight, Searchlights were also heavily used in the defense of the UK against German nighttime bombing raids using Zeppelins. Searchlights were used extensively in defence against nighttime bomber raids during the Second World War, controlled by sound locators and radars, searchlights could track bombers, indicating targets to anti-aircraft guns and night fighters and dazzling crews. Searchlights were occasionally used tactically in ground battles, one notable occasion was the Red Army use of searchlights during the Battle of the Seelow Heights in April 1945. However, the morning fog diffused the light and silhouetted the attacking Soviet forces, the Soviets suffered heavy losses as a result and were forced to delay their invasion of the city. Second World War-era searchlights include models manufactured by General Electric and by the Sperry Company and these were mostly of 60 inch diameter with rhodium plated parabolic mirror, reflecting a carbon arc discharge. It was powered by a 15 kW generator and had an effective beam visibility of 28 to 35 miles in clear low humidity, the searchlight also found a niche for use by night fighters and anti-submarine warfare aircraft. The Turbinlite was a searchlight mounted under the wing of an RAF Douglas Boston light bomber. The Leigh light was more successful than the Turbinlite. Today, searchlights are used in advertising, fairs, festivals, the worlds most powerful searchlight today beams from the top of the pyramid-shaped Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas. The beam concentrates about 13,650,000 lumens from 397 kW xenon lamps into its beam of about 9,129,000,000 candela
24.
Fort Wint
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Fort Wint was located on Grande Island at the entrance of Subic Bay, approximately 35 miles north of Manila Bay. The fort was named for Brigadier General Theodore J. Wint, as specified in the National Defense Act of 1935, this was one of the locations where coastal artillery training was conducted. A battery of the 60th Coast Artillery was stationed here, Fort Wint was armed with fourteen Taft-Endicott period coast artillery pieces mounted in five batteries. Battery Warwick contained the forts most powerful weaponry, two 10-inch gun M1895 disappearing guns on Buffington-Crozier carriages, Batteries Hall and Woodruff each mounted two 6-inch M1905 guns also on disappearing carriages. Batteries Flake and Jewell were armed with 3-inch gun M1903 on pedestal mounts, as with other forts of the same period, the weaponry of Fort Wint was obsolete at the outbreak of hostilities with Japan in 1941. Within weeks of the U. S. entry into World War II, Fort Wint was ordered abandoned, consequently, the fort played no part in the subsequent siege of the island forts. Fort Wint was recaptured by U. S. forces in March 1945, Fort suffered substantial damage during the campaign to retake the Philippines. Grande Island and the remains of Fort Wint were incorporated into the U. S. Naval Base Subic Bay, the two 10-inch disappearing guns of Battery Warwick were dismantled by the United States Navy in the 1960s and shipped to Fort Casey for renovation and display. The four 3-inch guns of Batteries Flake and Jewell were removed and divided between Forts Flagler and Casey in Washington state where they remain on display, the 6-inch guns of Battery Hall remain in place. Grand Island was developed into a following the closure of the Subic Naval Base in 1992. U. S. Naval Base Subic Bay Geography of the Philippines Military History of the Philippines Military History of the United States Lewis, seacoast Fortifications of the United States. Bogart, Charles, Subic Bay and Fort Wint - The Keys to Manila, mcGovern, Terrance C. and Mark A Berhow American Defenses of Corregidor and Manila Bay 1898-1945. CS1 maint, Multiple names, authors list Grande Island Resort, Philippines
25.
U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay
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Naval Base Subic Bay was a major ship-repair, supply, and rest and recreation facility of the Spanish Navy and subsequently the United States Navy located in Olongapo, Zambales, Philippines. The base was 262 square miles, about the size of Singapore, the Navy Exchange had the largest volume of sales of any exchange in the world, and the Naval Supply Depot handled the largest volume of fuel oil of any navy facility in the world. The naval base was the largest overseas military installation of the United States Armed Forces after Clark Air Base in Angeles City was closed in 1991, following its closure in 1992, it was transformed into the Subic Bay Freeport Zone by the Philippine government. Therefore, an expedition was sent to Subic Bay in 1868 with orders to survey the bay to find out if it would be a suitable site for a naval yard. The Spanish explored the bay and concluded that it had much promise. This report was not well-accepted in Manila, as the Spanish command was reluctant to move to the isolation of Subic. Finally, in 1884, a Royal Decree declared Subic Bay as a naval port, on March 8,1885, the Spanish Navy authorized construction of the Arsenal de Olongapo and by the following September, work started at Olongapo. Both the harbor and its basin were dredged and a drainage canal was built, as the Spanish military authorities were planning to make Olongapo. This canal also served as a line of defense and over which the bridge at the bases Main Gate passes, when the Arsenal was finished, the gunboats Caviteño, Santa Ana, and San Quintín were assigned for its defense. To complement these gunboats, coastal artilleries were planned for the east and west ends of the station, seawalls, causeways and a short railway were built across the swampy tidal flats. To finish these projects, thousands of tons of earth and rock from Kalalake in Olongapo had to be brought in to be used as fill. The magnitude of this quarrying was so huge that a hill eventually disappeared, the main entrance to the Arsenal was the West Gate, which still stands. This gate was equipped with gunports and also served as a jail and this gate was connected to the South Gate, which was near the water front, by a high wall of locally quarried stone. Inside the Arsenal, the Spanish constructed a foundry, as well as other shops, which were necessary for the construction and repair of ships. The buildings were laid out in two rows on Rivera Point, a patch of land jutting into the bay, and named after the incumbent Captain-General of the Philippines. The Arsenals showpiece was the station headquarters, which was a one-storey building of molave and narra woods. The Spanish navy yard was constructed in the area that was last occupied by the U. S. Naval Ship Repair Facility and his other units would then use Subic Bay as a sally port, with which he could attack the American fleets rear and cut off its supplies. On April 26, Montojo arrived at Subic Bay aboard Reina Cristina with seven other ships, on the morning of the April 27, Castilla was towed northeast of Grande Island to help control the western entrance to Subic Bay
26.
Attack on Pearl Harbor
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The attack, also known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor, led to the United States entry into World War II. The Japanese military leadership referred to the attack as the Hawaii Operation and Operation AI, Japan intended the attack as a preventive action to keep the U. S. Pacific Fleet from interfering with military actions they planned in Southeast Asia against overseas territories of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and the United States. Over the next seven hours there were coordinated Japanese attacks on the U. S. -held Philippines, Guam and Wake Island and on the British Empire in Malaya, Singapore, the attack commenced at 7,48 a. m. The base was attacked by 353 Imperial Japanese fighter planes, bombers, all eight U. S. Navy battleships were damaged, with four sunk. All but the USS Arizona were later raised, and six were returned to service, the Japanese also sank or damaged three cruisers, three destroyers, an anti-aircraft training ship, and one minelayer. 188 U. S. aircraft were destroyed,2,403 Americans were killed and 1,178 others were wounded. Important base installations such as the station, shipyard, maintenance. Japanese losses were light,29 aircraft and five midget submarines lost, one Japanese sailor, Kazuo Sakamaki, was captured. The surprise attack came as a shock to the American people. The following day, December 8, the United States declared war on Japan, the U. S. responded with a declaration of war against Germany and Italy. Domestic support for non-interventionism, which had been fading since the Fall of France in 1940, Roosevelt to proclaim December 7,1941, a date which will live in infamy. Because the attack happened without a declaration of war and without explicit warning, over the next decade, Japan continued to expand into China, leading to all-out war between those countries in 1937. Japan spent considerable effort trying to isolate China and achieve sufficient resource independence to attain victory on the mainland, from December 1937, events such as the Japanese attack on USS Panay, the Allison incident, and the Nanking Massacre swung public opinion in the West sharply against Japan. Fearing Japanese expansion, the United States, the United Kingdom, in 1940, Japan invaded French Indochina in an effort to control supplies reaching China. The United States halted shipments of airplanes, parts, machine tools, and aviation gasoline to Japan, an invasion of the Philippines was also considered necessary by Japanese war planners. War Plan Orange had envisioned defending the Philippines with a 40 and this was opposed by Douglas MacArthur, who felt that he would need a force ten times that size, and was never implemented. By 1941, U. S. planners anticipated abandonment of the Philippines at the outbreak of war and orders to that effect were given in late 1941 to Admiral Thomas Hart, commander of the Asiatic Fleet
27.
Fort Bliss
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Fort Bliss is a United States Army post in the U. S. states of New Mexico and Texas, with its headquarters located in El Paso, Texas. It is FORSCOMs largest installation, and has the Armys largest Maneuver Area ahead of the National Training Center, part of the post in El Paso County, Texas, is a census-designated place, it had a population of 8,591 at the 2010 census. Fort Bliss provides the largest contiguous tract of restricted airspace in the Continental United States, the airspace is used for missile and artillery training and testing. Fort Bliss is home to the 1st Armored Division, which returned to US soil in 2011, the division is supported by the 15th Sustainment Brigade. The installation is also home to the 32nd Army Air & Missile Defense Command, the 11th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, the 212th Fires Brigade, the headquarters for the El Paso Intelligence Center, a federal tactical operational intelligence center, is hosted at Fort Bliss. Its DoD counterpart, Joint Task Force North, is at Biggs Army Airfield, Biggs Field, a military airport located at Fort Bliss, is designated a military power projection platform. Fort Bliss National Cemetery is located on the post, in 1846, Colonel Alexander Doniphan led 1st Regiment of Missouri mounted volunteers through El Paso del Norte, with victories at the Battle of El Brazito and the Battle of the Sacramento. Then on 7 November 1848, War Department General Order no.58 ordered the establishment of a post across from El Paso del Norte. Van Horne also had command of the Post at San Elizario. With constant Indian raids, garrisons had to be moved frequently to meet the shifting threats, in September 1851, the Post Opposite El Paso and the Post at San Elizario were closed, the soldiers moved 40 miles north to Fort Fillmore. On 11 January 1854, Companies B, E, I and K of the 8th Infantry, Alexander, established Post of El Paso at Magoffinsville under orders from Secretary of War Jefferson Davis. The post became Fort Bliss on 8 March 1854, there it remained for the next 14 years, serving as a base for troops guarding the area against Apache attacks. Until 1861 most of troops were units of the 8th Infantry Brigade. Initially the Confederate Army had success in their attempts to control of New Mexico. The Confederate garrison abandoned Fort Bliss without a fight the next year when a Federal column of 2,350 men under the command of Colonel James H. Carleton advanced from California. After May 1867 Rio Grande flooding seriously damaged the Magoffinsville post, Camp Concordias location was immediately south of what is now Interstate 10, across from Concordia Cemetery in El Paso. The Rio Grande was about a mile south of the camp at that time, on 11 March 1869 the old name of Fort Bliss was resumed. The Concordia post was abandoned in January 1877, and after troops left in January, by that time, the town and its environs on the north side of the river had swelled to a population of almost 800
28.
Southampton
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Southampton, on the south coast of England, is the largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire. It is 75 miles south-west of London and 19 miles north-west of Portsmouth, Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest. It lies at the northernmost point of Southampton Water at the confluence of the Rivers Test and Itchen, the city, which is a unitary authority, has an estimated population of 253,651. The citys name is abbreviated in writing to Soton or Soton. Significant employers in the city include the University of Southampton, Southampton Solent University, Southampton Airport, Ordnance Survey, BBC South, Southampton has a large shopping centre and retail park, Westquay. In 2014, the city approved a follow-up from the Westquay park, WestQuay Watermark. This built-up area is part of the area known as South Hampshire. With a population of over 1.5 million this makes the one of the United Kingdoms most populous metropolitan areas. Archaeological finds suggest that the area has been inhabited since the stone age, following the Roman invasion of Britain in AD43 and the conquering of the local Britons in 70 AD the fortress settlement of Clausentum was established. It was an important trading port and defensive outpost of Winchester, Clausentum was defended by a wall and two ditches and is thought to have contained a bath house. Clausentum was not abandoned until around 410, the Anglo-Saxons formed a new, larger, settlement across the Itchen centred on what is now the St Marys area of the city. The settlement was known as Hamwic, which evolved into Hamtun, archaeological excavations of this site have uncovered one of the best collections of Saxon artefacts in Europe. It is from this town that the county of Hampshire gets its name, viking raids from 840 onwards contributed to the decline of Hamwic in the 9th century, and by the 10th century a fortified settlement, which became medieval Southampton, had been established. Following the Norman Conquest in 1066, Southampton became the port of transit between the then capital of England, Winchester, and Normandy. By the 13th century Southampton had become a port, particularly involved in the import of French wine in exchange for English cloth. The Franciscan friary in Southampton was founded circa 1233, the friars constructed a water supply system in 1290, which carried water from Conduit Head some 1.7 kilometres to the site of the friary inside the town walls. Further remains can be observed at Conduit House on Commercial Road, the friars granted use of the water to the town in 1310. The town was sacked in 1338 by French, Genoese and Monegasque ships, on visiting Southampton in 1339, Edward III ordered that walls be built to close the town
29.
U.S. Army Combat Arms Regimental System
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The Combat Arms Regimental System, was the method of assigning unit designations to units of some of the combat arms branches of the United States Army from 1957 to 1981. CARS was superseded by the U. S. Army Regimental System in 1981, before the adoption of CARS, there was no satisfactory means of maintaining the active life of the combat arms organizations. Whenever the nation entered periods of military retrenchment, units were broken up, reorganized, consolidated. During periods of mobilization, large numbers of new units were created, changes in weapons and techniques of warfare produced new types of units to replace the old ones. As a result, soldiers served in organizations with little or no history. In the late 1950s requirements for maneuverable and flexible major tactical organizations demanded highly mobile divisions with greatly increased firepower, for this purpose the regiment was deemed too large and unwieldy and had to be broken up into smaller organizations. There were 61 Regular Army infantry regiments and 18 Army Reserve infantry regiments, plus the 1st Special Forces, there were 30 Regular Army armor/cavalry regiments in the Combat Arms Regimental System. The only Regular Army combat units not organized under CARS were the 2d, 3d, 6th, 11th, there were 82 Regular Army artillery regiments in the Combat Arms Regimental System –58 field artillery regiments and 24 air defense artillery regiments. Except for the 18 Army Reserve infantry regiments, those regiments organized under CARS had elements in both the Regular Army and the Army Reserve, in the Army National Guard, each state has its own regiments. The number of CARS regiments varied as troop allotments change, the 1st Special Forces has elements in all three components – Regular Army, Army Reserve and Army National Guard. The criteria for the majority of the regiments selected were two factors, age and honors and those regiments with the most points were selected for inclusion in the system. The new battle group, battalion, or squadrons organic elements were constituted and activated as new units, each of the old companies, batteries, or troops of the former regiment also had the capability of becoming a separate company, battery, or troop in the new regiment. The regimental headquarters was transferred to Department of the Army control, the lowest numbered or lettered active element of the regiment normally has custody of the regimental properties. If, however, the lowest numbered or lettered active element is unable to care for the properties, if a numbered or lettered element of the regiment is activated lower than the one having custody of the regimental properties, the properties will not necessarily be transferred. In a regiment not organized under CARS, there is a number of organic elements organized into battalions or squadrons. For example, the regiment of World War II contained Companies A through M divided into three battalions, plus supporting elements such as the service company. A brigade, on the hand, is a flexible organization. The usual number of battalions was 3, however, this was a guideline not a rule
30.
7th Air Defense Artillery Regiment
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The 7th Air Defense Artillery Regiment is an air defense artillery regiment of the United States Army first formed in 1898 as the 7th Regiment of Artillery. The 7th Air Defense Artillery Regiment traces its antecedents to 8 March 1898 in the Regular Army as Battery A and it was organized on 29 March 1898 at Fort Slocum, New York. The Battery was reorganized and redesignated on 13 February 1901 as the 72nd Company and it was redesignated on 2 February 1907 as the 72nd Company, Coast Artillery Corps. The company was reorganized and redesignated in July 1916 as the 1st Company, Fort Screven, Georgia and on 31 August 1917 as the 1st Company, Coast Defenses of Savannah. The company was reorganized and redesignated on 1 June 1922 as the 72nd Company, Coast Artillery Corps and on 1 July 1924 as Battery A and it was inactivated on 7 April 1930 at Fort Hancock, New Jersey. The company was reactivated on 1 July 1939 at Fort Hancock, New Jersey, the regiments HHB was transferred to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri on 15 March 1944 and was inactivated there on 7 April 1944, before being disbanded entirely on 14 June 1944. The company was reconstituted on 28 June 1950 in the Regular Army and concurrently consolidated with the lineage and honors of Battery A, 126th Antiaircraft Artillery Gun Battalion. It was reorganized and redesignated on 28 June 1943 as Battery A, 126th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion and inactivated on 3 January 1946 at Camp Patrick Henry, the consolidated unit was redesignated as Battery A, 7th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion. The consolidated unit carried honors for participation in 6 campaigns during the Second World War, Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace, Central Europe, and England 1944. The unit was redesignated on 13 December 1951 as Battery A, 7th Antiaircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion and activated on 20 December 1951 at Camp Edwards, the unit was redesignated on 30 June 1955 as Battery A, 7th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion. It was inactivated on 1 September 1958 in Germany, the unit was concurrently consolidated with Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 1st Howitzer Battalion, 7th Artillery, which had been first organized in 1916. The consolidated unit designated as Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 1st Howitzer Battalion, 7th Artillery, the Battalions organic elements were constituted on 8 February 1957 and activated on 15 February 1957. 1st Battalion, 7th Air Defense Artillery was activated on 13 September 1972 at Fort Bliss, the Battalion was reactivated on 16 December 1988 in Germany. On 21 December 1998, Headquarters US Army Europe announced plans to realign its air defense units to comply with the Armys Patriot Standardization Plan. The 1-7th Air Defense Artillery, with its Headquarters and Headquarters Battery and B and C Batteries subsequently moved from Rhine Ordnance Barracks, Kaiserslautern, Germany, to Fort Bliss, there it joined the 108th Air Defense Artillery Brigade. In June 2006, the Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 108th Air Defense Artillery Brigade and 1-7th Air Defense Artillery moved to Fort Bragg, the insignia is worn in pairs. Symbolism The panther is taken from the coat of arms of the Coast Defenses of Sandy Hook where the Regiment was organized on 1 July 1924. The motto translates to “He Fears No Encounter. ”Background The distinctive unit insignia was approved for the 7th Coast Artillery Regiment on 31 July 1924
31.
Fort Slocum
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Fort Slocum, New York was a US military post which occupied Davids Island in the western end of Long Island Sound in the town of New Rochelle, New York from 1867 to 1965. The fort was named for Major General Henry W. Slocum, Military use of the island dates from 1861, when the 3rd Regiment of the Irish Brigade established Camp Carrigan. The next year,1862, Davids Island was leased by the U. S. Government and this marked the first use of Davids Island by the Regular Army. At that time, De Camp General Hospital was established to serve thousands of wounded individuals from the battlefields of the American Civil War, by late 1862, De Camp was the Army’s largest general hospital, housing more than 2,100 patients. Even though a prison camp had established on Hart Island in 1865 Davids Island soon held more than 2,500 Confederate prisoners of war. Most had recovered by October, and they were moved to camps elsewhere. A ferry connection was established during the war from Neptune Island, at the end of the war, Congress authorized the islands purchase for military purposes and it was conveyed to the United States as the Davids Island Military Reservation in 1867. From this date, the Federal government operated its own ferry to, in July 1878 Davids’ Island was made a principal depot of the U. S. Army General Recruiting Service, taking over this assignment from Governors Island. This marked the beginning of the installation’s longstanding mission as a recruitment and it was later converted to a coastal artillery defense post and was eventually given the name Fort Slocum after Major General Henry W. Slocum, U. S. Construction of fortifications on the island resulted from the recommendations of the Endicott Board of Fortifications, the study called for better protection of ports such as New York Harbor, and Davids Island became part of its system of defenses. Battery Practice had at least one 15-inch smoothbore Rodman gun and two 8-inch converted rifles, all muzzle-loading and typical of weapons emplaced in the 1870s and it was disestablished in 1899, although the 15-inch gun remains on the island. Battery Kinney had two 6-inch M1900 guns on pedestal mounts, and Battery Fraser had two 5-inch M1900 guns on pedestal mounts. Battery Haskin was named for Joseph A. Haskin, a general who served in the Mexican War and Civil War, whose son, Major William L. Haskin, Battery Overton was named for Captain Clough Overton, a cavalry officer in the Spanish-American War. Battery Kinney was named for Joseph Kinney, an officer killed in the War of 1812, and Battery Fraser was named for Upton S. Fraser, however, Fort Slocum retained all its guns until World War I. At the start of the 20th Century Davids Island became the East Coast assembly point for units assigned to America’s new overseas territories, between 1917 and 1919, over 140,000 recruits passed through the post. In fact, Recruit Week in December 1917 brought so many recruits to Fort Slocum that an overflow had to be housed in New Rochelle, Fort Slocums guns were dismounted and transferred to other uses beginning in 1917. Battery Kinneys 6-inch guns were moved to Fort Tilden, Battery Frasers 5-inch guns were dismounted, records do not indicate if these guns were sent to France. In 1919 Fort Slocum was totally disarmed, its 16 mortars were removed, in 1922 there was a general military drawdown, and closure of Fort Slocum was proposed
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Fort Barrancas
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The hill-top fort, connected to a sea level water battery, overlooks Pensacola Bay. From 1839–1844, the historic Spanish fort on the hill was reconstructed and this is now termed Fort Barrancas. The older, water battery downhill has been named as Fort San Carlos. It is a remnant from the Spanish fortification, the wooden Fort San Carlos de Barrancas of the late 18th century, due to changing requirements, the U. S. Army deactivated Fort Barrancas on April 15,1947 following World War II. Designated a National Historic Landmark in 1960, the fort was transferred to the control, after extensive restoration during 1971-1980, Fort Barrancas was opened to the public. Fort Barrancas was built on the site of numerous forts, including Fort San Carlos de Austria. It was besieged in 1707 by Indians under the leadership of some English traders. In 1719 French forces captured Pensacola and destroyed the Spanish fort, following Britains defeat of the French in the Seven Years War, in 1763 it exchanged some territory with Spain and took over West Florida. The British used this site as a fortification, building the Royal Navy Redoubt in 1763. More than a later, as enemies of the British. After the war, the Spanish retook control of West Florida and they completed the fort San Carlos de Barrancas in 1797. Barranca is a Spanish word for bluff, the natural feature that makes this location ideal for the fortress. During the War of 1812 between the United States and the United Kingdom, the fort was the scene of the American victory at the Battle of Pensacola. This was fought between American forces commanded by General Andrew Jackson as well as some Indian allies, and the forces of the British, Spanish. In 1818, the Spanish garrison of the fort exchanged cannon fire with an American battery for a few days, the U. S. force was led by General Jackson. Eventually the Spanish surrendered the fort, leaving Pensacola in American hands, when the United States purchased Florida from Spain in 1821, it selected Pensacola as the site for a major Navy Yard, which was developed around the Spanish Fort Barrancas. In addition, the US developed plans for construction of harbor fortifications to protect this deepwater bay. Fort Pickens was completed on Santa Rosa Island in 1834, Fort Barrancas was reconstructed and expanded with brick between 1839–1844 on its hilltop overlooking the bay
33.
Pensacola, Florida
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Pensacola is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle and the county seat of Escambia County, in the U. S. state of Florida. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 51,923. Pensacola is the city of the Pensacola metropolitan area, which had an estimated 461,227 residents in 2012. Pensacola is a sea port on Pensacola Bay, which is protected by the island of Santa Rosa. The main campus of the University of West Florida is situated north of the city center, the area was originally inhabited by Muskogean peoples. The Pensacola people lived there at the time of European contact, Spanish explorer Tristán de Luna founded a short-lived settlement in 1559. In 1698 the Spanish established a presidio in the area, from which the city gradually developed. The area changed several times as European powers competed in North America. During Floridas British rule, fortifications were strengthened, other nicknames include Worlds Whitest Beaches, Cradle of Naval Aviation, Western Gate to the Sunshine State, Americas First Settlement, Emerald Coast, Red Snapper Capital of the World, and P-Cola. The original inhabitants of the Pensacola Bay area were Native American peoples, at the time of European contact, a Muskogean-speaking tribe known to the Spanish as the Pensacola lived in the region. This name was not recorded until 1677, but the tribe appears to be the source of the name Pensacola for the bay and thence the city. Creek people, also Muskogean-speaking, came regularly from present-day southern Alabama to trade, so the peoples were part of a broader regional and even continental network of relations. The best-known Pensacola culture site in terms of archeology is the Bottle Creek site and this site has at least 18 large earthwork mounds, five of which are arranged around a central plaza. Its main occupation was from 1250 AD to 1550 and it was a ceremonial center for the Pensacola people and a gateway to their society. This site would have had access by a dugout canoe. The areas written recorded history begins in the 16th century, with documentation by Spanish explorers who were the first Europeans to reach the area. The expeditions of Pánfilo de Narváez in 1528 and Hernando de Soto in 1539 both visited Pensacola Bay, the latter of which documented the name Bay of Ochuse. In 1559, Tristán de Luna y Arellano landed with some 1,500 people on 11 ships from Veracruz, Mexico
34.
Key West, Florida
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Key West is an island city in Florida and the county seat of Monroe County. The city boundaries include the island of Key West and several islands, as well as the section of Stock Island north of U. S. Route 1. Sigsbee Park—originally known as Dredgers Key—and Fleming Key, both located to the north, and Sunset Key located to the west are all included in the city boundaries, both Fleming Key and Sigsbee Park are part of Naval Air Station Key West and are inaccessible to the general public. Key West is the southernmost city in the contiguous United States and the terminus of U. S. Route 1, State Road A1A, the East Coast Greenway and, before 1935. Key West is 129 miles southwest of Miami by air, about 160 miles by car, Cuba, at its closest point, is 94 miles south. Key West is a destination for many passenger cruise ships. The Key West International Airport provides airline service, the central business district is located along Duval Street and includes much of the northwestern corner of the island. The official city motto is One Human Family, in Pre-Colonial times Key West was inhabited by the Calusa people. The first European to visit was Juan Ponce de León in 1521, as Florida became a Spanish territory, a fishing and salvage village with a small garrison was established here. Cayo Hueso is the original Spanish name for the island of Key West, spanish-speaking people today also use the term when referring to Key West. It is said that the island was littered with the remains of native inhabitants. This island was the westernmost Key with a supply of water. In 1763, when Great Britain took control of Florida, the community of Spaniards, Florida returned to Spanish control 20 years later, but there was no official resettlement of the island. Informally the island was used by fishermen from Cuba and from the British, while claimed by Spain, no nation exercised de facto control over the community there for some time. In 1815, the Spanish governor of Cuba in Havana deeded the island of Key West to Juan Pablo Salas, businessman John W. Simonton, during a meeting in a Havana café on January 19,1822, for the equivalent of $2,000 in pesos in 1821. Geddes tried in vain to secure his rights to the property before Simonton who, Simonton had wide-ranging business interests in Mobile, Alabama. He bought the island because a friend, John Whitehead, had drawn his attention to the opportunities presented by the strategic location. John Whitehead had been stranded in Key West after a shipwreck in 1819, on March 25,1822, Lt. Commander, Matthew C
35.
Gary, Indiana
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Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States,25 miles from downtown Chicago, Illinois. The population of Gary was 80,294 at the 2010 census, from the middle of the twentieth century to the present, Gary has experienced drastic population loss, falling by 55 percent from its peak of 178,320 in 1960. Gary is adjacent to the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and borders Lake Michigan, the city is known for its large steel mills, and for being the birthplace of The Jackson 5 music group. Gary, Indiana, was founded in 1906 by the United States Steel Corporation as the home for its new plant, the city was named after lawyer Elbert Henry Gary, who was the founding chairman of the United States Steel Corporation. Gary was the site of civil unrest in the Steel Strike of 1919, on October 4,1919, a riot broke out on Broadway, the main north-south street through downtown Gary, between striking steel workers and strike breakers brought in from outside. Three days later, Indiana governor James P. Goodrich declared martial law, shortly thereafter, over 4,000 federal troops under the command of Major General Leonard Wood arrived to restore order. The jobs offered by the industry provided Gary with very rapid growth. At that time,19. 3% of the population was classified as foreign-born, Gary was also becoming increasingly racially diverse, with 17. 8% of the population classified as black, and 3. 5% as Mexican. Garys fortunes have risen and fallen with those of the steel industry, the growth of the steel industry brought prosperity to the community. Broadway was known as a center for the region. Department stores and architecturally significant movie houses were built in the downtown area, in the 1960s, like many other American urban centers reliant on one particular industry, Gary entered a spiral of decline. Garys decline was brought on by the growing overseas competitiveness in the steel industry, the U. S. Steel Gary Works employed over 30,000 in 1970, declined to just 6,000 by 1990, and further declined to 5,100 in August of 2015. As the city declined, crime increased, rapid racial change occurred in Gary during the late 20th century. Non-whites were primarily restricted to live in the Midtown section just south of downtown, Gary had one of the nations first African-American mayors, Richard G. Hatcher, and hosted the ground-breaking 1972 National Black Political Convention. Since the 1930s, Gary had developed a reputation as a city due to rampant political corruption, racial violence & segregation, labor unrest. In the 1960s through the 1980s, surrounding localities such as Merrillville and Crown Point experienced rapid growth, including new homes. Owing to white flight, economic distress, and a perception of skyrocketing crime, many middle-class, in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Gary had the highest percentage of African-Americans of U. S. cities with a population of 100,000 or more, 84%. This no longer applies to Gary since the population of the city has now fallen well below 100,000 residents, as of 2013, the Gary Department of Redevelopment has estimated that one-third of all homes in the city are unoccupied and/or abandoned
36.
Munster, Indiana
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Munster is a town located in North Township, Lake County, in Northwest Indiana, United States. The 2010 U. S. Census counted the population at 23,603. Munster is located at 41°56′45″N 87°51′25″W, at a point on an ancient shoreline of Lake Michigan which is today Ridge Road and this ridge runs east and west through the north part of town, hence the towns nickname Town on the Ridge. The towns boundaries contain three small lakes, one of which, located within Centennial Park, is marshy and undeveloped. Munster is bordered on the north by the Little Calumet River, a river surrounded by a thin strip of wooded area. According to the 2010 census, Munster has an area of 7.65 square miles. The Ibach House and Stallbohm Barn-Kaske House are listed in the National Register of Historic Places, the earliest known inhabitants of the area were the Potawatomi. Although a village did not exist in what was to become Munsters town boundaries, today, Munsters downtown area, the Town Hall, Police and Fire Department headquarters, the Centre for the Visual and Performing Arts, and the Munster Post Office are all situated on Ridge Road. In the late 17th and early 18th centuries, the area that is today Munster was part of land claimed by France as French territory, in the 1760s the British claimed the land where the Potawatomi lived as part of the British Empire. Twenty years later George Rogers Clark overran the British, claiming the land for the new, in 1828 the federal government relocated the Potawatomi Indians to the Oklahoma territory. As the numbers of Native Americans dwindled, pioneer settlers began to inhabit the area which would become Munster, the post office was named Munster, as it was located in Jacob Munsters general store. Before long more and more people moved to the Munster Area, Munster soon became a booming town that attracted many people. Munster saw difficult times through the years of the Great Depression. During the Cold War, Munster served as the site of the Nike-Zeus Missile defense base C-46, the site was closed in 1971, and is now under private ownership. In September 2008, Munsters northern portions suffered record flooding resulting from the impact of Hurricane Ike, a main break occurred in the levee located near the intersection of Calumet Avenue and River Drive in the northwest quadrant of the town. Munster has requested the Army Corps of Engineers to elevate the levee in low-lying areas, the levee improvements have been completed and the majority of homes destroyed have been rebuilt, in most cases, with larger, more amenity-filled homes. The 2010 Comprehensive Plan for Munsters next twenty years includes plans for a new town center with shopping and dining to be organized around a train station. As of 2011, the income for a household in the town was $75,349 while the mean income for a household in the town was $97,222
37.
Naval Air Station Key West
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Naval Air Station Key West, is a naval air station and military airport located on Boca Chica Key, four miles east of the central business district of Key West, Florida, United States. The U. S. Navys presence in Key West dates back to 1823 when a Naval Base was established to stop piracy in this area, the lower Keys were home to many wealthy shipping merchants whose fleets operated from these waters. This drew the interest of such as Blackbeard and Captain William Kidd. The base also figured prominently during the Spanish–American War, in 1898, the battleship Maine sailed from Key West to Havana, Cuba, where it later exploded while at anchor and sank. The sinking of the Maine resulted in the United States declaring war on Spain, atlantic Fleet moved to Key West for the duration of the war. During World War I the base was expanded again, and in 1917 and its mission during World War I was to supply oil to the U. S. fleet and to block German ships from reaching Mexican oil supplies. The nations southernmost Naval Base proved to be an ideal year-round training facility with rapid access to the sea lanes. The Navys forces were expanded to include seaplanes, submarines and blimps, Ground was broken for construction of a small coastal air patrol station on 13 July 1917 at what is now Trumbo Point on land leased from the Florida East Coast Railroad Company. The project involved dredging, erection of buildings, three seaplane ramps, a dirigible hangar, a hydrogenerator plant, and temporary barracks. On 22 September of that year, the log book recorded the first naval flight ever made from Key West – a Curtiss N-9 seaplane flown by U. S. Coast Guard Lieutenant Stanley Parker. About three months later, on 18 December, Naval Air Base Key West was commissioned and LT Parker became the first Commanding Officer, Naval Air Base Key West pilots flew in search of German submarines resting on the surface to recharge batteries. The aircraft was armed only with a machine gun. The slow Curtiss biplanes flew low over surfaced subs, and gunners dropped grenades into open conning towers, Naval aviation antisubmarine warfare was beginning to prove itself in combat. The base was used for antisubmarine patrol operations and as an elemental flight training station. After World War I, the base was decommissioned and its personnel were transferred or released, most of the buildings were destroyed or dismantled and moved to other locations. The remaining facilities were used only occasionally during 1920–1930 for seaplane training, the station remained inactive until 1939. This set the stage for Americas entry into World War II, Naval Base Key West was reopened just prior to the United States entry into World War II to support Navy destroyers, submarines, patrol craft and PBY flying boat and amphibious aircraft. By 1943, German submarines were operating so near Key West that they were sinking allied ships within sight of land, submarine raids peaked in May of that year, when 49 ships were torpedoed off the coast of Florida
38.
Orland Park, Illinois
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Orland Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, and a middle-class suburb of Chicago which in 2010 had a population of 56,767. 25 miles southwest of Chicago, Orland Park is close to interstate highways. The Metra commuter rail links it to the Chicago Loop and from there to OHare. The village was incorporated on May 31,1892, Orland Park is in southwest Cook County in Orland, Palos, and Bremen Townships. A small portion of the village extends into Frankfort Township in Will County and it is 25 miles southwest of downtown Chicago. According to the 2010 census, Orland Park has an area of 22.167 square miles. The main bodies of water in Orland are two lakes, Lake Sedgewick and McGinnis Slough, as of the 2000 census, there were 51,077 people,18,675 households, and 14,361 families residing in the village. The population density was 2,668.4 people per square mile, there were 19,045 housing units at an average density of 995.0 per square mile. The racial makeup of the village was 93. 53% White,0. 73% African American,0. 07% Native American,3. 47% Asian,0. 04% Pacific Islander,1. 04% from other races, and 1. 13% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3. 67% of the population, the top five ancestries reported in Orland Park as of the 2000 census were Irish, German, Polish, Italian and English. 20. 6% of all households were made up of individuals and 10. 0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older, the average household size was 2.71 and the average family size was 3.16. In the village, the population was out with 24. 4% under the age of 18,7. 1% from 18 to 24,24. 8% from 25 to 44,27. 3% from 45 to 64. The median age was 41 years, for every 100 females there were 91.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.7 males, the median income for a household in the village was $67,574, and the median income for a family was $77,507. Males had an income of $57,275 versus $34,763 for females. The per capita income for the village was $30,467, about 2. 1% of families and 3. 1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3. 9% of those under age 18 and 3. 0% of those age 65 or over. Since 2000, the household income in the Orland Park area has risen substantially to an estimated $90,917 in 2006. Businesses and jobs in the finance, retail, services and healthcare fields continue to grow in Orland Park, a recent study found that more than one million people a year come to Orland Park for health care services
39.
MIM-3 Nike Ajax
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The United States Armys Nike Ajax was the worlds first operational surface-to-air missile, entering service in 1954. Nike Ajax was designed to attack conventional bomber aircraft flying at high subsonic speeds, Nike was initially deployed in the US to provide defence against Soviet bomber attacks, and was later deployed overseas to protect US bases, as well as being sold to various allied forces. Some examples remained in use until the 1970s, technological development during the 1950s quickly rendered Nike obsolete. It was unable to defend against more capable bombers or multiple targets in formation, even while Nike was being deployed, these concerns led to the contracts for the greatly improved MIM-14 Nike Hercules, which began deployment in 1959. As Hercules developed, the threat moved from bombers to ICBMs, all of the Nike projects were led by Bell Labs, due to their early work in radar guidance systems during World War II. Originally known simply as Nike, it gained the Ajax as part of a 1956 renaming effort that resulted from the introduction of Hercules and it was initially given the identifier SAM-A-7 as part of an early tri-service identification system, but later changed to MIM-3 in 1962. Part of the Nike Ajax development program designed a new solid rocket motor used for the missiles booster. This had originally designed for the US Navys missiles, and was enlarged for the Nike efforts. The rocket was so useful that it found numerous applications outside the world as the Ajax missiles were decommissioned in the 1960s. Many sounding rockets used the booster as their first or second stage, the inherent inaccuracy of anti-aircraft artillery means that when shells reach their targets they are randomly distributed in space. This distribution is larger than the lethal radius of the shells. Successful anti-aircraft gunnery therefore requires as many rounds to be fired as possible, during The Blitz, UK gunners fired 49,044 shells in January 1941 for 12 kills, almost 4,100 shells per success. German gunners did better, as they had radar assistance and most aircraft were targeted during daylight, flying faster means that the aircraft passes through the range of a gun more rapidly, reducing the number of rounds a particular gun can fire at that aircraft. Flying at higher altitudes often has an effect, as it requires larger shells to reach those altitudes. Aircraft using jet engines roughly double the speed and altitude over piston-powered designs, as early as 1942, German flak commanders were keenly aware of the problem, and expecting to face jet bombers, they began a missile development program to supplant their guns. The western allies maintained air superiority for much of the war, nevertheless, by the mid-war period the US Army had reached the same conclusion as their German counterparts, flak was simply no longer useful. Accordingly, in February 1944 the Army Ground Forces sent the Army Service Forces a request for information on the possibility of building a major caliber anti-aircraft rocket torpedo. The ASF concluded that it was too early to tell if this was possible
40.
Homewood, Illinois
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Homewood is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, and a suburb of Chicago. The population was 19,323 at the 2010 census, Homewood is a sister city to Homewood, Alabama. In 2007, Forbes magazine rated Homewood as one of the three most livable suburbs in the Chicago Metropolitan Area. According to the 2010 census, Homewood has an area of 5.259 square miles. It lies on the Calumet Shoreline, the ancient shoreline can be seen clearly as the sand ridge along Ridge Road. A south suburban village, Homewood is 22 miles due south of The Loop/downtown Chicago at 800 west and 18300 south on the Chicago grid system. As of the census of 2000, there were 19,543 people,7,552 households, the population density was 3,755.5 people per square mile. There were 7,827 housing units at a density of 1,504.1 per square mile. The racial makeup of the village was 56. 50% White,33. 70% African American,0. 09% Native American,1. 40% Asian,0. 01% Pacific Islander,0. 3% from other races, and 2. 10% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5. 9% of the population,27. 6% of all households were made up of individuals and 13. 2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the family size was 3.14. In the village, the population was out with 27. 1% under the age of 18,5. 4% from 18 to 24,26. 8% from 25 to 44,24. 3% from 45 to 64. The median age was 40 years, for every 100 females there were 85.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.3 males, the median income for a household in the village was $57,213, and the median income for a family was $70,941. Males had an income of $50,689 versus $35,978 for females. The per capita income for the village was $26,074, about 3. 2% of families and 4. 3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4. 1% of those under age 18 and 6. 5% of those age 65 or over. Homewood is in Illinois 2nd congressional district, currently represented by Rep. Robin Kelly, Homewood sits on the edge of prehistoric Lake Chicago, which was formed by retreating glaciers long before Lake Michigan. One of the main east-west roads through the town, Ridge Road, the area is rich in limestone deposits, and neighbors Thornton Quarry
41.
Barrington, Illinois
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Barrington is an affluent suburban village in Cook and Lake counties, Illinois, United States. The population was 10,327 at the 2010 census, located approximately 32 miles northwest of Chicago, the area features wetlands, forest preserves, parks, and horse trails in a country-suburban setting. The Barrington area ZIP code,60010, is the seventh-wealthiest ZIP code in the United States among areas with a population of 20,000 or more, the villages motto is a great place to live, work, and play. Many local roads still in use today, including Algonquin Road, Rand Road, Higgins Road, for many years, Barrington was considered part of the Northwest Territory, then the Illinois Territory. Through this treaty, the Sacs, Fox, Winnebago, Chippewa, Ottawa, between 1833 and 1835, the U. S. government paid approximately $100,000 in annuities and grants to the Potawatomi, Ottawa, and Chippewa tribes, presumably as payment for the land. Following this treaty, pioneers traveling from Troy, New York, the first white pioneers known to have settled in Barrington township were Jesse F. Other settlers from Vermont and New York settled in what is now the northwest corner of Cook County. In addition, several settlers, including Miller, Van Orsdal, and John W. Seymour, emigrated from Steuben County, New York. However, it is unknown whether any settlers emigrated from Barrington, New York, itself or whether the New York settlement influenced the naming of Barrington. Much of the history of Barrington since its settlement parallels the development of lines from the port facilities in Chicago. In 1854, the Chicago, St. Paul & Fond du Lac Railroad, led by William Butler Ogden, extended the line to the northwest corner of Cook County. In 1854, Robert Campbell, an engineer who worked for the railroad, purchased a farm 2 miles northwest of the Deer Grove station. Deer Grove residents protested, and at Campbells request, the later moved the Deer Grove station near its current location. In 1855, the villages first lumber facility began operations on Franklin Street, by 1863, population growth during the Civil War era increased the number of Barrington residents to 300. In order to provide a tax mechanism to finance improvements, Barrington submitted its request for incorporation in 1863, delays due to the Civil War resulted in the appropriate incorporation deeds not returning to Barrington for nearly two years. The Illinois legislature granted Barringtons charter on February 16,1865, the Village held its first Board meeting on March 20,1865 and appointed resident Homer Wilmarth as Mayor for one year. In 1866, resident Milius B. McIntosh became the first elected Village President, in 1889, the Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway was built through Barrington, crossing what is now the Union Pacific/Northwest Line northwest of town. In the late 19th century, a series of fires damaged numerous downtown buildings, in 1890, fire swept along the north side of East Main Street east of what is now the Union Pacific/Northwest Line, destroying several buildings
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MIM-14 Nike Hercules
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The Nike Hercules was a surface-to-air missile used by U. S. and NATO armed forces for medium- and high-altitude long-range air defense. It was normally armed with the W31 nuclear warhead, but could also be fitted with a warhead for export use. Its warhead also allowed it to be used in a secondary role. It evolved into a larger missile with two solid fuel stages that provided three times the range of the Ajax. Deployment began in 1958, initially at new bases, but it took over many Ajax bases as well. At its peak it was deployed at over 130 bases in the US alone, Hercules was officially referred to as transportable, but moving a battery was a significant operation and required considerable construction at the firing sites. Over its lifetime, significant effort was put into development of solid state replacements for the vacuum tube-based electronics inherited from the early-1950s Ajax, none of these were adopted, in favor of much more mobile systems like the MIM-23 Hawk. Another potential development was a version of the Hercules for the anti-ballistic missile role. Hercules would prove to be the last operational missile from Bells Nike team, Zeus was never deployed, Hercules remained the US primary heavy SAM until it began to be replaced by the higher performance and considerably more mobile MIM-104 Patriot in the 1980s. Patriots much higher accuracy allowed it to dispense with the nuclear warhead, the last Hercules missiles were deactivated in Europe in 1988, without ever being fired in anger. Like the Germans and British before them, they concluded the only successful defence would be to use guided weapons, as early as 1944 the US Army started exploring anti-aircraft missiles, examining a variety of concepts. That is, whether the missile operated more like an aircraft or a rocket, GAPA moved to the US Air Force when that branch was formed in 1948. In 1946 the USAAF also started two early research projects into anti-missile systems in Project Thumper and Project Wizard, in 1953, Project Nike delivered the worlds first operational anti-aircraft missile system, known simply as Nike. Nike tracked both the target and the missile using separate radars, compared the locations in a computer, to increase range, the missile was normally boosted above the target into thinner air, and then descended on it in a gliding dive. Similar systems quickly emerged from other nations, including the S-75 Dvina from the USSR, even as the Nike was undergoing testing, planners grew concerned about the missiles ability to attack formations of aircraft. Given the low resolution of the tracking radars available at the time, launched against such a formation, the Nike would fly towards the center of the composite return. Given the Nike warheads relatively small radius, if the missile flew into the middle of the formation and exploded. Improving performance against such targets would require much higher resolution radars
43.
Lemont, Illinois
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Lemont is a village located in Cook, DuPage, and Will counties in the U. S. state of Illinois, and is a suburb of Chicago. The population was 16,000 as of the 2010 census, Lemont has a substantial immigrant population. Lemont is home to the CITGO Refinery, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont was originally known as Keepataw and a post office was established in 1840 as Keepatau. After that, it was named Athens and then Palmyra, the name Lemont was chosen in 1850 at the suggestion of Lemuel Brown, the postmaster and justice of the peace, or perhaps by his brother Nathaniel Brown. Even before white settlers came to Lemont, Native Americans traveled the Des Plaines River in birch bark canoes on trading trips between the Mississippi River and Lake Michigan. The native Potawatomi lived off the land in area, directly using natural resources for food, shelter, clothing. In the 18th century, French voyageurs traveled down the Des Plaines River, trading Native Americans metal, beads and cloth for animal furs, established in 1836, the village of Lemont stands as one of the oldest American communities in northeastern Illinois. Lemont is also unique in boasting an authentic historic district remains intact and has been continually used since the 19th century. Both Lemonts history and architectural uniqueness connect to the Illinois and Michigan Canal, construction of the I&M Canal began in 1837 and stands as one of the last major canal undertakings in the United States. When it was completed in 1848, it provided a continuous waterway stretching from New York to the Gulf of Mexico. Immigrant workers, mostly Irish, settled in Lemont to work on the canal and later moved along the corridor of the canal and they also were for the most part responsible for the many Lemont brothels during that time. In digging, workers discovered Lemont yellow dolomite, a harder and finer grained version of limestone and this delayed digging of the canal, but was the start of the areas second industry, quarrying. By the mid-19th century, limestone quarrying took over as the economic factor in Lemont. The towns important major buildings were faced with the Lemont limestone, today,38 of those buildings remain as the Lemont downtown district. Lemont limestone was used to build the Chicago Water Tower, a building that gained significance as one of the few buildings to survive the destructive path of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. In the early years, this stone was known as Athens Marble as a nod to its place of origin and this stone has a high reputation for color, durability and beauty, which renders it quite an article of commerce”. Cargo and passengers were transported on the I&M until the early 20th century, the Sanitary Canal is still used today as part of the Illinois Waterway system. Lemonts motto is Village of Faith, and its church spires reflect the ethnic groups who came here to quarry stone, dig the Sanitary and Ship Canal
44.
32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command
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The 32d or 32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command is a theater level Army air and missile defense multi-component organization with a worldwide, 72-hour deployment mission. The 32d AAMDC commands echelon above corps ADA brigades and other assigned forces, on order, 32d AAMDC rapidly deploys forces to conduct joint and combined/coalition air and missile defense operations for the regional combatant commander. The 32d AAMDC is based at Fort Bliss, Texas and falls within the authority, current Army authorization documents provide for four AAMDCs. Used for attack operations, standard Army processes are unwieldy and inefficient, a more streamlined method is needed that places Theater Missile Defense responsibility under a single executive agent. The center is split-based with Ninth Air Force in theater and 32d AAMDC in Ft. Bliss, during either an exercise or in wartime, 32d AAMDC collocates in the JAOC and integrates operations with the Ninth Air Force cell. In addition, it dispatches liaison teams to the separate ADA Brigades, joint attack operations is an ongoing venture, beginning with intelligence preparation of the battle space conducted jointly between AAMDC and the Ninth Air Force intelligence cell. Attack strategy is jointly drafted and approved, pre-planned and immediate attack mission requests are developed. AAMDC brings experience as well as considerable technical capabilities with its tools such as the generic area limitation environment. The in-country analysts bring enormous SWA-specific knowledge and access to quick-response Air Force collection systems, to date, the 32d AAMDC has proven itself as the premier example of the Total Force concept. S. /Russian TMD Exercise, and JTFEX/TMDI. In early February 98, and prior to its official activation, the 32nd AAMDC performs critical theater-level air and missile defense planning, integration, coordination and execution functions. The unit coordinates and integrates the operational elements of theater missile defense in support of the ground maneuver forces, the unit commanded the Echelon Above Corps ADA brigades, which in this case are TF 1-1 ADA and TF 3–43 ADA. Further, the 32d AAMDC played the role in developing procedures for combined U. S. With the addition of the 32d AAMDC to the joint coalition task force and this system, which is basically a redundant system relying on digital pagers, can alert soldiers to possible biological and chemical agents before they are released by incoming Scud missiles. Within seconds of a Scud launch, the 32d AAMDC TOC can predict its trajectory, in less than two minutes, this information will then be relayed to the unit commanders who are at the predicted impact site. These commanders will then pass the word to the troops, giving time to protect themselves. By monitoring the air picture, the 32d AAMDC TOC can also pinpoint where a Scud missile has been launched, in Nov 98, the 32d AAMDC deployed to Kuwait to conduct contingency planning and coordination in support of CTF-Kuwait during Operation Desert Thunder II/Southern Overwatch. During the period Dec 98 – Jan 99, the unit was deployed to SWA in support of Operation Desert Fox. Inactivated 30 May 1947 in the Philippine Islands, activated 6 February 1951 at RAF Mildenhall in England
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M167 VADS
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The M167 Vulcan Air Defense System was a towed short-range United States Army anti-aircraft gun designed to protect forward area combat elements and rear area critical assets. It was also used to protect U. S. Air Force warplane airfields, the heart of the M167 was a variant of the M61 Vulcan 20 mm rapid-fire Gatling gun that fired explosive 20 mm rounds. It was also effective against lightly armored ground targets, the M167 gun has now been withdrawn from service by American military units, but it might still be used by other countries. The M167A2 VADS was modified with an improved fire-control subsystem and it also had an extra wheel put on each side which prevented flipping by providing a longer lever. The Phalanx CIWS uses the same basic 20 mm rapid-fire Gatling gun as the M167, Sudan and Yemen used M167 guns seated upon the Soviet BTR-152 APC. Botswana Egypt Sudan Yemen Honduras Belgium Chile Japan Morocco Thailand United States Uruguay South Korea Please note that this list is not complete, m163 VADS M61 Vulcan Phalanx CIWS M167 VADS at GlobalSecurity. org
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MIM-72 Chaparral
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The MIM-72A/M48 Chaparral was an American self-propelled surface-to-air missile system based on the AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missile system. The launcher is based on the M113 family of vehicles and it entered service with the United States Army in 1969 and was phased out between 1990 and 1998. It was intended to be used along with the M163 VADS, the Vulcan ADS covering short-range short-time engagements, and the Chaparral for longer range use. Starting in 1959 the U. S. Army MICOM began development of an ambitious anti-aircraft missile system under their Forward Area Air Defense program, known as the MIM-46 Mauler. Mauler was based on a modified M113 chassis carrying a large rotating A-frame rack on top with nine missiles, operation was to be almost entirely automatic, with the operators simply selecting targets from the search radars display and then pressing fire. The entire engagement would be handled by the control computer. In testing the Mauler proved to have numerous problems, Army strategy from the mid-1950s PENTANA study was based on having embedded mobile anti-aircraft capability, and Maulers delays put this entire program in question. More worrying, a new generation of Soviet attack aircraft was coming into service, for both of these reasons the Mauler program was scaled back in 1963 and alternatives were studied. MICOM was directed to study whether or not the Navys AIM-9D Sidewinder missile could be adapted for the ground-to-air role, since the Sidewinder was guided by an infrared seeker, it would not be confused by ground clutter like the radar-guided Mauler. On the downside, the missile required some time to lock on, mICOMs report was cautiously optimistic, concluding that the Sidewinder could be adapted very quickly, although it would have limited capability. A new concept, the Interim Forward Area Air Defense evolved around the Sidewinder, both would be aimed manually, eliminating the delay needed for a fire control system to develop a solution. Neither vehicle concept had room for a radar, so a separate radar system using datalink was developed for this role. The studies were completed in 1965 and the Chaparral program was begun, the first XMIM-72A missiles were delivered to the US Army in 1967. Ford developed the M730 vehicle, adapted from the M548, itself one of the versions of the widely used M113. The first Chaparral battalion was deployed in May 1969, the MIM-72A missile was based on the AIM-9D Sidewinder. The main difference is that to reduce drag only two of the fins on the MIM-72A have rollerons, the two having been replaced by fixed thin fins. The MIM-72s MK50 solid-fuel rocket motor was essentially identical to the MK36 MOD5 used in the AIM-9D Sidewinder. The MIM-72 missile is launched from the M48 fire unit, consisting of a M730 tracked vehicle fitted with an M54 missile launcher capable of holding four missiles ready to fire, the M48 carries an additional eight missiles stowed
United States