The Battle of Dan-no-ura was a major sea battle of the Genpei War, occurring at Dan-no-ura, in the Shimonoseki Strait off the southern tip of Honshū. On April 25, 1185, the fleet of the Minamoto clan, led by Minamoto no Yoshitsune, defeated the fleet of the Taira clan; the morning rip tide was an advantage to the Taira in the morning but turned to their disadvantage in the afternoon. The young Emperor Antoku was one of those; the Taira were outnumbered, but some sources say that they had the advantage over the Minamoto in understanding the tides of that particular area, as well as naval combat tactics in general. The Taira split their fleet into three squadrons, while their enemy arrived en masse, their ships abreast, archers ready; the beginning of the battle consisted of a long-range archery exchange, before the Taira took the initiative, using the tides to help them try to surround the enemy ships. They engaged the Minamoto, the archery from a distance gave way to hand-to-hand combat with swords and daggers after the crews of the ships boarded each other.
However, the tide changed, the advantage was given back to the Minamoto. One of the crucial factors that allowed the Minamoto to win the battle was that a Taira general, Taguchi Shigeyoshi and attacked the Taira from the rear, he revealed to the Minamoto which ship the six-year-old Emperor Antoku was on. Their archers turned their attention to the helmsmen and rowers of the Emperor's ship, as well as the rest of their enemy's fleet, sending their ships out of control. Many of the Taira committed suicide. Among those who perished this way were Antoku and his grandmother, Nun of the Second Rank, Taira no Tokiko the widow of Taira no Kiyomori. To this day, the heike crabs found in the Straits of Shimonoseki are considered by the Japanese to hold the spirits of the Taira warriors; the Taira attempted to toss the imperial regalia off the ship but only managed to get the sword and jewel into the water before the ship holding the regalia was captured. The jewel was recovered by divers; this decisive defeat of the Taira forces led to the end of the Taira bid for control of Japan.
Minamoto no Yoritomo, the elder half-brother of Minamoto Yoshitsune, became the first shōgun, establishing his military government in Kamakura. In this battle the Taira lost Taira Tomomori, Taira Noritsune, Taira Norimori, Taira Tsunemori, Taira Sukemori, Taira Arimori and Taira Yukimori, who were killed. Media related to Battle of Dan-no-ura at Wikimedia Commons ShimonosekiBooks: Stephen Turnbull: Fighting Ships of the Far East: Japan and Korea AD 612–1639. Osprey Publishing 2012, pp. 41–42 Other: According to Shimonoseki City Information:"In the Middle Age, the last battle between the Genji clan and the Heike clan broke out in Dannoura on 24 March 1185 and Yoshitsune won the battle by using the tides. On the other hand, Emperor Antoku died with three sacred treasures and the Heike clan was ruined."Opera: "The battle is the subject of an opera by the Thai-American composer S. P. Somtow. Called Dan no Ura, the opera premiered in Bangkok in 2014." Stephen Turnbull: Samurai - The World of the Warrior.
Osprey Publishing 2006, pp. 34–38 Excerpt from the City of Shimonoseki homepage http://www.city.shimonoseki.yamaguchi.jp/seisaku/kokusai/y_english/history/ Gaskin and Vince Hawkins.'The Ways Of The Samurai'. New York: Barnes & Noble Books
The Yakovlev Ya-21, was a single-seat high-speed sport aircraft / fighter-trainer designed and built in the Soviet Union in the late 1930s. The Ya-21 was derived from the Yakovlev UT-1, in similar fashion to the Yakovlev AIR-18, by replacing the Shvetsov M-11 radial with an imported 220 hp Renault 6Q-01 inverted 6-cylinder in-line engine; the rear cockpit was enclosed with an aft-sliding canopy, a fixed trousered and spatted undercarriage with spring steel tail-skid was fitted, as well as split flaps and a fixed, forward firing, synchronised 7.62mm ShKAS machine gun in the forward fuselage decking. Plans for re-engining the Ya-25 with a Kossov MG-31F 9-cylinder radial engine were cancelled, due to changing priorities of the customer; the sole Ya-21 was converted into the No.25 prototype by substituting the imported Renault with a 220 hp Voronezh MV-6. The cockpit differed in having opaque side panels and no sliding hood, with a deeper windshield to house the gunsight. Production of both the Ya-21 or No.25 was not implemented due to the Yakovlev OKB focusing on combat aircraft, such as the Yakovlev BB-22 and Yakovlev I-26.
Ya-21 The sole prototype fighter-trainer / high-speed sport aircraft powered by a 220 hp Renault 6Q-01 engine. No. 25 The Ya-21 powered by a 220 hp Voronezh MV-6 engine. Data from OKB Yakovlev, Yakovlev aircraft since 1924General characteristics Crew: 1 Length: 6.4 m Wingspan: 7.8 m Height: 2.05 m Wing area: 9.58 m2 Airfoil: Göttingen 387 Empty weight: 611 kg Max takeoff weight: 831 kg Fuel capacity: 120 kg / 170 l fuel.
John Charles Melliss was a notable British engineer and amateur naturalist. He was born on the island of St Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean, his father, Lieutenant G. W. Melliss, was an officer of the St Helena Artillery. After training as an engineer, serving as an officer in the Royal Engineers, he was appointed as government surveyor in St Helena from 1860 to 1871. In 1871, because of government cutbacks, he was made redundant and returned to London, where he subsequently formed the firm of J. C. Melliss and Co. In 1875, he published the book for which he is best known: St. Helena: A Physical and Topographical Description of the Island, Including the Geology, Fauna and Meteorology. Joseph Dalton Hooker named the genus Mellissia in his honour. To commemorate the book's centenary in 1975, the St. Helena Post Office published a series of stamps. Melliss's son, H. J. Melliss, joined his father's company, he worked for the company until 1955. Melliss LLP Consulting Civil and Structural Engineers at www.melliss.com and look under the Melliss LLP company history page St. Helena: A Physical and Topographical Description of the Island, Including the Geology, Fauna and Meteorology by Melliss, through the Biodiversity Heritage Library