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.
United States Army Air Forces
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Each of these forces had a commanding general who reported directly to the Army Chief of Staff. S. Army to control its own installations and support personnel, the peak size of the AAF during the Second World War was over 2.4 million men and women in service and nearly 80,000 aircraft by 1944, and 783 domestic bases in December 1943. By V-E Day, the Army Air Forces had 1.25 million men stationed overseas, in its expansion and conduct of the war, the AAF became more than just an arm of the greater organization. By the end of World War II, the Army Air Forces had become virtually an independent service and this contrast between theory and fact is. fundamental to an understanding of the AAF. Gen. Billy Mitchell that led to his later court-martial, a strategy stressing precision bombing of industrial targets by heavily armed, long-range bombers emerged, formulated by the men who would become its leaders. Since 1920, control of units had resided with commanders of the corps areas. Both were created in 1933 when a conflict with Cuba seemed possible following a coup détat. Activation of GHQ Air Force represented a compromise between strategic airpower advocates and ground force commanders who demanded that the Air Corps mission remain tied to that of the land forces. GHQ Air Force organized combat groups administratively into a force of three wings deployed to the Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf coasts but was small in comparison to European air forces. Corps area commanders continued to control over airfields and administration of personnel. The expected activation of Army General Headquarters prompted Army Chief of Staff George C. Marshall to request a study from Chief of the Air Corps Maj. Gen. Henry H. Arnold resulting on 5 October 1940 in a proposal for creation of an air staff, unification of the air arm under one commander, and equality with the ground and supply forces. Marshall implemented a compromise that the Air Corps found entirely inadequate, naming Arnold as acting Deputy Chief of Staff for Air but rejecting all organizational points of his proposal. GHQ Air Force instead was assigned to the control of Army General Headquarters, although the latter was a training and not an operational component, when it was activated in November 1940. A division of the GHQ Air Force into four air defense districts on 19 October 1940 was concurrent with the creation of air forces to defend Hawaii. The air districts were converted in March 1941 into numbered air forces with an organization of 54 groups. Marshall had come to the view that the air forces needed a simpler system, Arnold and Marshall agreed that the AAF would enjoy a general autonomy within the War Department until the end of the war, while its commanders would cease lobbying for independence. Marshall, a proponent of airpower, left understood that the Air Force would likely achieve its independence following the war
3.
United States Air Force
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The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a branch of the military on 18 September 1947 under the National Security Act of 1947. It is the most recent branch of the U. S. military to be formed, the U. S. Air Force is a military service organized within the Department of the Air Force, one of the three military departments of the Department of Defense. The Air Force is headed by the civilian Secretary of the Air Force, who reports to the Secretary of Defense, the U. S. Air Force provides air support for surface forces and aids in the recovery of troops in the field. As of 2015, the service more than 5,137 military aircraft,406 ICBMs and 63 military satellites. It has a $161 billion budget with 313,242 active duty personnel,141,197 civilian employees,69,200 Air Force Reserve personnel, and 105,500 Air National Guard personnel. According to the National Security Act of 1947, which created the USAF and it shall be organized, trained, and equipped primarily for prompt and sustained offensive and defensive air operations. The stated mission of the USAF today is to fly, fight, and win in air, space and we will provide compelling air, space, and cyber capabilities for use by the combatant commanders. We will excel as stewards of all Air Force resources in service to the American people, while providing precise and reliable Global Vigilance, Reach and it should be emphasized that the core functions, by themselves, are not doctrinal constructs. The purpose of Nuclear Deterrence Operations is to operate, maintain, in the event deterrence fails, the US should be able to appropriately respond with nuclear options. Dissuading others from acquiring or proliferating WMD, and the means to deliver them, moreover, different deterrence strategies are required to deter various adversaries, whether they are a nation state, or non-state/transnational actor. Nuclear strike is the ability of forces to rapidly and accurately strike targets which the enemy holds dear in a devastating manner. Should deterrence fail, the President may authorize a precise, tailored response to terminate the conflict at the lowest possible level, post-conflict, regeneration of a credible nuclear deterrent capability will deter further aggression. Finally, the Air Force regularly exercises and evaluates all aspects of operations to ensure high levels of performance. Nuclear surety ensures the safety, security and effectiveness of nuclear operations, the Air Force, in conjunction with other entities within the Departments of Defense or Energy, achieves a high standard of protection through a stringent nuclear surety program. The Air Force continues to pursue safe, secure and effective nuclear weapons consistent with operational requirements, adversaries, allies, and the American people must be highly confident of the Air Forces ability to secure nuclear weapons from accidents, theft, loss, and accidental or unauthorized use. This day-to-day commitment to precise and reliable nuclear operations is the cornerstone of the credibility of the NDO mission, positive nuclear command, control, communications, effective nuclear weapons security, and robust combat support are essential to the overall NDO function. OCA is the method of countering air and missile threats, since it attempts to defeat the enemy closer to its source
4.
Brigadier general (United States)
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In the United States Armed Forces, brigadier general is a one-star general officer with the pay grade of O-7 in the U. S. Army, U. S. Marine Corps, and U. S. Air Force. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general, the rank of brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed services. The rank of brigadier general has existed in the U. S. military since the inception of the Continental Army in June 1775, later, on June 18,1780, it was prescribed that brigadier generals would instead wear a single silver star on each epaulette. At first, brigadier generals were infantry officers who commanded a brigade, however, over the course of the 19th and 20th centuries, the responsibilities of the rank expanded significantly. During the period from March 16,1802, to January 11,1812, foreseeing the need for an expanded general staff in case of war, which seemed imminent, Congress restored the rank of major general in January 1812. The first brigadier general in the U. S. Marine Corps was Commandant Archibald Henderson, the insignia for a brigadier general is one silver star worn on the shoulder or collar, and has not changed since the creation of the rank two centuries ago. Since the Mexican-American War, however, the rank of colonel has been the normal rank appointed to command a brigade that is organic to a division. In an infantry brigade not organic to a division, a brigadier general serves as the units commander, an Air Force brigadier general typically commands a large wing. Additionally, one-star officers of all services may serve as staff officers in large military organizations. U. S. Code of law explicitly limits the number of general officers who may be on active duty. The total of active duty general officers is capped at 230 for the Army,60 for the Marine Corps, the President or Secretary of Defense may increase the number of general slots in one branch, so long as they subtract an equal number from another. Some of these slots are reserved by statute, for promotion to the permanent grade of brigadier general, eligible officers are screened by a promotion board consisting of general officers from their branch of service. This promotion board then generates a list of officers it recommends for promotion to general rank and this list is then sent to the service secretary and the joint chiefs for review before it can be sent to the President, through the defense secretary, for consideration. The President nominates officers to be promoted from this list with the advice of the Secretary of Defense, the secretary, and if applicable. The President may nominate any eligible officer who is not on the recommended list if it serves in the interest of the nation, the Senate must then confirm the nominee by a majority vote before the officer can be promoted. Once the nominee is confirmed, they are promoted to that once they assume or hold an office that requires or allows an officer of that rank. For positions of office reserved by statute, the President nominates an officer for appointment to fill that position, for all three uniformed services, because the grade of brigadier general is a permanent rank, the nominee may still be screened by an in-service promotion board. The rank does not expire when the officer vacates a one-star position, tour length varies depending on the position, by statute, or when the officer receives a new assignment
5.
World War II
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World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan
6.
Cold War
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The Cold War was a state of geopolitical tension after World War II between powers in the Eastern Bloc and powers in the Western Bloc. Historians do not fully agree on the dates, but a common timeframe is the period between 1947, the year the Truman Doctrine was announced, and 1991, the year the Soviet Union collapsed. The term cold is used there was no large-scale fighting directly between the two sides, although there were major regional wars, known as proxy wars, supported by the two sides. The Cold War split the temporary alliance against Nazi Germany, leaving the Soviet Union. The USSR was a Marxist–Leninist state ruled by its Communist Party and secret police, the Party controlled the press, the military, the economy and all organizations. In opposition stood the West, dominantly democratic and capitalist with a free press, a small neutral bloc arose with the Non-Aligned Movement, it sought good relations with both sides. The two superpowers never engaged directly in full-scale armed combat, but they were armed in preparation for a possible all-out nuclear world war. The first phase of the Cold War began in the first two years after the end of the Second World War in 1945, the Berlin Blockade was the first major crisis of the Cold War. With the victory of the communist side in the Chinese Civil War and the outbreak of the Korean War, the USSR and USA competed for influence in Latin America, and the decolonizing states of Africa and Asia. Meanwhile, the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 was stopped by the Soviets, the expansion and escalation sparked more crises, such as the Suez Crisis, the Berlin Crisis of 1961, and the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. The USSR crushed the 1968 Prague Spring liberalization program in Czechoslovakia, détente collapsed at the end of the decade with the beginning of the Soviet–Afghan War in 1979. The early 1980s were another period of elevated tension, with the Soviet downing of Korean Air Lines Flight 007, the United States increased diplomatic, military, and economic pressures on the Soviet Union, at a time when the communist state was already suffering from economic stagnation. In the mid-1980s, the new Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev introduced the reforms of perestroika and glasnost. Pressures for national independence grew stronger in Eastern Europe, especially Poland, Gorbachev meanwhile refused to use Soviet troops to bolster the faltering Warsaw Pact regimes as had occurred in the past. The result in 1989 was a wave of revolutions that peacefully overthrew all of the communist regimes of Central, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union itself lost control and was banned following an abortive coup attempt in August 1991. This in turn led to the dissolution of the USSR in December 1991. The United States remained as the only superpower. The Cold War and its events have left a significant legacy and it is often referred to in popular culture, especially in media featuring themes of espionage and the threat of nuclear warfare
7.
Vietnam War
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It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam and the government of South Vietnam. The war is considered a Cold War-era proxy war. As the war continued, the actions of the Viet Cong decreased as the role. U. S. and South Vietnamese forces relied on air superiority and overwhelming firepower to conduct search and destroy operations, involving ground forces, artillery, in the course of the war, the U. S. conducted a large-scale strategic bombing campaign against North Vietnam. The North Vietnamese government and the Viet Cong were fighting to reunify Vietnam and they viewed the conflict as a colonial war and a continuation of the First Indochina War against forces from France and later on the United States. The U. S. government viewed its involvement in the war as a way to prevent a communist takeover of South Vietnam and this was part the domino theory of a wider containment policy, with the stated aim of stopping the spread of communism. Beginning in 1950, American military advisors arrived in what was then French Indochina, U. S. involvement escalated in the early 1960s, with troop levels tripling in 1961 and again in 1962. Regular U. S. combat units were deployed beginning in 1965, despite the Paris Peace Accord, which was signed by all parties in January 1973, the fighting continued. In the U. S. and the Western world, a large anti-Vietnam War movement developed as part of a larger counterculture, the war changed the dynamics between the Eastern and Western Blocs, and altered North–South relations. Direct U. S. military involvement ended on 15 August 1973, the capture of Saigon by the North Vietnamese Army in April 1975 marked the end of the war, and North and South Vietnam were reunified the following year. The war exacted a huge human cost in terms of fatalities, estimates of the number of Vietnamese soldiers and civilians killed vary from 966,000 to 3.8 million. Some 240, 000–300,000 Cambodians,20, 000–62,000 Laotians, and 58,220 U. S. service members died in the conflict. Various names have applied to the conflict. Vietnam War is the most commonly used name in English and it has also been called the Second Indochina War and the Vietnam Conflict. As there have been several conflicts in Indochina, this conflict is known by the names of its primary protagonists to distinguish it from others. In Vietnamese, the war is known as Kháng chiến chống Mỹ. It is also called Chiến tranh Việt Nam, France began its conquest of Indochina in the late 1850s, and completed pacification by 1893. The 1884 Treaty of Huế formed the basis for French colonial rule in Vietnam for the seven decades
8.
Air Force Distinguished Service Medal
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The Air Force Distinguished Service Medal was created by an act of the United States Congress on July 6,1960. The medal was intended as a new decoration of the United States Air Force to replace the policy of awarding the Army Distinguished Service Medal to Air Force personnel. The interpretation of the great responsibility means that this medal is generally awarded only to officers who hold at least the rank of Major General. However, as is customary for most military decorations, the requirements for the Distinguished Service Medal are interpreted more liberally when awarded upon retirement. As a result, it is the decoration for a retiring Brigadier General. Cases of the award of this decoration to an individual who was not a general officer, the medal is typically awarded to senior Air Force generals. Two notable exceptions are astronauts Buzz Aldrin who was awarded this decoration even though he retired as a colonel and Colonel David Scott who was awarded the medal twice. Another early recipient of the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal was Major General Osmond J. Ritland, USAF, additional awards are denoted with oak leaf clusters. This award is comparable to the Department of the Air Force Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service given to employees of the Department of the Air Force. General David C. Jones - Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Major General Susan Pamerleau - Sheriff of Bexar County, Texas General H
9.
U.S. Army Distinguished Service Medal
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The performance must be such as to merit recognition for service that is clearly exceptional. Exceptional performance of duty will not alone justify an award of this decoration. Separate Distinguished Service Medals exist for the different branches of the military as well as a version of the medal which is a senior award of the United States Department of Defense. The Army version of the Distinguished Service Medal is typically referred to simply as the Distinguished Service Medal while the branches of service use the service name as a prefix. However, justification of the award may accrue by virtue of exceptionally meritorious service in a succession of positions of great importance. The Coat of Arms of the United States in Gold surrounded by a circle of Dark Blue enamel,1 ½ inches in diameter, on the reverse is a scroll for the name of the recipient upon a trophy of flags and weapons. The medal is suspended by a bar attached to the ribbon, the ribbon is 1 3/8 inches wide and consists of the following stripes, 5/16 inch Scarlet 67111, 1/16 inch Ultramarine Blue 67118, 5/8 inch White 67101, 1/16 inch Ultramarine Blue, 5/16 inch Scarlet. Additional awards of the Distinguished Service Medal are denoted by oak leaf clusters, the performance must be such as to merit recognition for service which is clearly exceptional. Exceptional performance of duty will not alone justify an award of this decoration. However, justification of the award may accrue by virtue of exceptionally meritorious service in a succession of positions of great importance. The following are authorized components of the Distinguished Service Medal and applicable specifications, Decoration, NSN for replacement medal is 8455-00-246-3830. The Distinguished Service Medal was authorized by Presidential Order dated 01-02-1918 and it was announced by War Department General Order No. The Act of Congress on 07-09-1918, recognized the need for different types and degrees of heroism and meritorious service, the current statutory authorization for the Distinguished Service Medal is Title 10, United States Code, Section 3743. From July 1,1941 to June 6,1969, when the Army stopped publishing awards of the DSM in Department of the Army General Orders, General Martin Dempsey has the record for the greatest number of awards received of the Army Distinguished Service Medal at six. He also received a Navy Distinguished Service Medal, Air Force Distinguished Service Medal, generals of the Army Douglas MacArthur and Dwight Eisenhower are tied with five awards received of the Army Distinguished Service Medal. They also each received one award of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal, davison, who led the Angels of Bataan and Corregidor during their imprisonment by the Japanese, and Colonel William S. Taylor, Program Manager Multiple Launch Rocket System. Among notable civilian recipients are Harry L. Hopkins, Robert S. McNamara, bliss - US Army Chief of Staff General Peyton C. Ridgeway - US Army Chief of Staff General Maxwell D, Colonel Herbert H. Lehman - Governor of New York and United States Senator
10.
Silver Star
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The Silver Star, officially the Silver Star Medal, is the United States militarys third-highest decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against an enemy of the United States. The Silver Star is the award to the Citation Star which was established by an Act of Congress on July 9,1918 during World War I. On July 19,1932, the Secretary of War approved the conversion of the Citation Star to the Silver Star Medal with the original Citation Star incorporated into the center of the medal. Authorization for the Silver Star Medal was placed into law by an Act of Congress for the U. S. Navy on August 7,1942, the U. S. Army and Air Force award the medal as the Silver Star. The U. S. Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard continue to award the medal as the Silver Star Medal, however, during the Vietnam War, the last conflict to produce U. S. The pendant is suspended from a shaped metal loop with rounded corners. The reverse has the inscription FOR GALLANTRY IN ACTION, the Department of Defense does not keep extensive records the Silver Star. Independent groups estimate that between 100,000 and 150,000 Silver Stars have been awarded since the decoration was established. Colonel David Hackworth who was awarded ten Silver Stars while serving in the Army during the Korean War, three Army nurses who served in World War I were cited with Citation Stars for their service in July 1918. In 2007, it was discovered that they had never been awarded their Citation Stars, an unknown number of servicewomen received the award in World War II. Later that same year, Corporal Magdalena Leones, a Filipino American, notable recipients include, List of Australian Silver Star recipients Silver Star database at MilitaryTimes. com Awards and Decorations Air Force Personnel Center
11.
Legion of Merit
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The Legion of Merit is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the seven uniformed services of the United States as well as to military and political figures of foreign governments. The Legion of Merit is one of only two United States military decorations to be issued as an order and the only United States military decoration which may be issued in award degrees. The Legion of Merit is sixth in the order of precedence of U. S. military awards and is worn after the Defense Superior Service Medal, in contemporary use in the U. S. S. However, this degree was awarded by President Roosevelt to some Allied World War II theater commanders, Commander, Equivalent of a U. S. military chief of staff or higher position, but not to a head of state. Legionnaire, All recipients not included above, when the Legion of Merit is awarded to members of the Uniformed Services of the United States, it is awarded without reference to degree. The performance must have such as to merit recognition of key individuals for service rendered in a clearly exceptional manner. Performance of duties normal to the grade, branch, specialty, or assignment, for service not related to actual war, the term key individual applies to a narrower range of positions than in time of war and requires evidence of significant achievement. In peacetime, service should be in the nature of a requirement or of an extremely difficult duty performed in an unprecedented. However, justification of the award may accrue by virtue of exceptionally meritorious service in a succession of important positions, the degrees and the design of the decoration were influenced by the French Legion of Honour. Although recommendations for creation of a Meritorious Service Medal were initiated as early as September 1937, no formal action was taken toward approval. Proposed designs prepared by Bailey, Banks and Biddle and the Office of the Quartermaster General were provided to Assistant Chief of Staff for Personnel Colonel Heard) by the QMG on January 5,1942. The Assistant Chief of Staff, in a response to the QMG on April 3,1942, the design of the Legion of Merit would be ready for issue immediately after legislation authorizing it was enacted into law. The medal was announced in War Department Bulletin No, executive Order 9260, dated October 29,1942, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, established the rules for the Legion of Merit and required the Presidents approval for the award. The Legion of Merit is similar to the French Legion of Honor in both its design, a five armed cross, and in that it is awarded in multiple degrees, unlike the Legion of Honor, however, the Legion of Merit is only awarded to military personnel. Additionally, it is the award in the world with multiple degrees of which the higher degrees cannot be awarded to citizens of the country of the awards origin. She received the award for her service during the defense of the Philippines, LTJG Bernatitus was also the first recipient of the Legion of Merit authorized to wear a Combat V with the medal. General Eisenhower was presented the Legion of Merit by President Roosevelt, while he was en route to the Tehran Conference, in Cairo, in 1943, at the request of Army Chief of Staff General George C
12.
Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)
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Two of the airmen died in a mid-air collision trying to land at Buenos Aires on February 26,1927, and received their awards posthumously. Since the award had only authorized by Congress the previous year, no medals had yet been struck. Among the ten airmen were Major Herbert A. Dargue, Captains Ira C, eaker and Muir S. Fairchild, and 1st Lt. Ennis C. The medal had hurriedly been struck and readied just for that occasion, numerous military recipients of the medal would later earn greater fame in other occupations—a number of astronauts, actors, and politicians have been Distinguished Flying Cross recipients. DFC awards could be retroactive to cover notable achievements back until the beginning of World War I, on February 23,1929, Congress passed special legislation to allow the award of the DFC to the Wright brothers for their December 17,1903 flight. Other civilians who have received the award include Wiley Post, Jacqueline Cochran, Roscoe Turner, Amelia Earhart, Glenn H. Curtiss, eventually, it was limited to military personnel by an Executive Order. Amelia Earhart became the first woman to receive the DFC on July 29,1932 when it was presented to her by Vice President Charles Curtis in Los Angeles, Earhart received the decoration for her solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean earlier that year. During World War II the medals award criteria varied widely depending on the theater of operations, aerial combat, in the Pacific oftentimes commissioned officers were awarded the DFC, while enlisted men were given the Air Medal. In Europe some crews, often received it for performances throughout a tour of duty, during wartime, members of the Armed Forces of friendly foreign nations serving with the United States are eligible for the Distinguished Flying Cross. It is also given to those who display heroism while working as instructors or students at flying schools, Colonel Francis S. Gabby Gabreski, USAF, received 13 Distinguished Flying Crosses—the most earned by any individual. He is followed by Admiral Stan Arthur, USN, with 11 DFCs, during the Vietnam War high ranking Army officers often received the DFC for directing combat operations from aircraft. The Distinguished Flying Cross was authorized by Section 12 of the Air Corps Act enacted by the United States Congress on July 2,1926, as amended by Executive Order 7786 on January 8,1938. ”The Distinguished Flying Cross was designed by Elizabeth Will and Arthur E. DuBois. The medal is a cross pattee, on whose obverse is superimposed a four-bladed propeller,1 11/16 inches in width. Five rays extend from the reentrant angles, forming a one-inch square, the reverse is blank, it is suitable for engraving the recipients name and rank. The cross is suspended from a rectangular bar, the Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps may authorize the V device for wear on the DFC to denote valor in combat, Navy and Marine Corps, Combat V. The Army does not authorize the V Device to be worn on the DFC, in July 2014, the United States Senate passed the Distinguished Flying Cross National Memorial Act. The act was signed into law by President Barack Obama on July 25,2014, in the movie Night at the Museum, Battle of the Smithsonian the character of Amelia Earhart mentions that she received the Flying Cross. The real life Amelia Earhart did, in fact, receive the Distinguished Flying Cross and was the first woman and civilian to do so
13.
Bronze Star Medal
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Civilians serving with U. S. military forces in combat are also eligible for the award. For example, UPI reporter Joe Galloway was awarded the Bronze Star with V Device during the Vietnam War for rescuing a wounded soldier under fire in the Battle of la Drang. The Bronze Star Medal was established by Executive Order 9419,4 February 1944, the acts of heroism are of a lesser degree than required for the award of the Silver Star. The acts of merit or acts of valor must be less than required for the Legion of Merit but must nevertheless have been meritorious. The Bronze Star Medal is awarded only to members in combat zones who are receiving imminent danger pay. For this purpose, the US Armys Combat Infantryman Badge or Combat Medical Badge award is considered as a citation in orders, effective 11 September 2001, the Meritorious Service Medal may also be bestowed in lieu of the Bronze Star Medal for meritorious achievement in a designated combat theater. The Bronze Star Medal was designed by Rudolf Freund of the jewelry firm Bailey, the medal is a bronze star 1 1⁄2 inches in circumscribing diameter. In the center is a 3⁄16 inch diameter superimposed bronze star, the reverse bears the inscription HEROIC OR MERITORIOUS ACHIEVEMENT with a space for the name of the recipient to be engraved. The star hangs from its ribbon by a metal loop with rounded corners. The Bronze Star Medal with the V device to denote heroism is the fourth highest military decoration for valor, 5/16 Inch Star – In the Navy and Marine Corps and Coast Guard, the 5/16 inch star is worn to denote additional awards. V Device – In the Army, the V is worn solely to denote participation in acts of heroism involving conflict with an armed enemy, in the Air Force, the V is worn to denote heroism in combat. Red Reeder conceived the idea of the Bronze Star Medal in 1943, Reeder felt another medal was needed as a ground equivalent of the Air Medal, and suggested calling the proposed new award the Ground Medal. The idea eventually rose through the bureaucracy and gained supporters. Marshall, in a memorandum to President Franklin D, the Air Medal had been adopted two years earlier to raise airmens morale. President Roosevelt authorized the Bronze Star Medal by Executive Order 9419 dated 4 February 1944 and this authorization was announced in War Department Bulletin No. President John F. Kennedy amended Executive Order 9419 per Executive Order 11046 dated 24 August 1962 to expand the authorization to include serving with friendly forces. This allowed for awards where US service members become involved in a conflict where the United States was not a belligerent. At the time of the Executive Order, for example, the US was not a belligerent in Vietnam, since the award criteria state that the Bronze Star Medal may be awarded to any person
14.
Purple Heart
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The Purple Heart is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after April 5,1917, with the U. S. military. The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor is located in New Windsor, the Badge of Military Merit was only awarded to three Revolutionary War soldiers by Gen. George Washington himself. General Washington authorized his subordinate officers to issue Badges of Merit as appropriate, from then on, as its legend grew, so did its appearance. Although never abolished, the award of the badge was not proposed again officially until after World War I, on October 10,1927, Army Chief of Staff General Charles Pelot Summerall directed that a draft bill be sent to Congress to revive the Badge of Military Merit. The bill was withdrawn and action on the case ceased January 3,1928, a number of private interests sought to have the medal re-instituted in the Army, this included the board of directors of the Fort Ticonderoga Museum in Ticonderoga, New York. On January 7,1931, Summerall’s successor, General Douglas MacArthur, confidentially reopened work on a new design, involving the Washington Commission of Fine Arts. Elizabeth Will, an Army heraldic specialist in the Office of the Quartermaster General, was named to redesign the newly revived medal, using general specifications provided to her, Will created the design sketch for the present medal of the Purple Heart. The new design, which exhibits a bust and profile of George Washington, was issued on the bicentennial of Washingtons birth, wills obituary, in the edition of February 8,1975 of The Washington Post newspaper, reflects her many contributions to military heraldry. The Commission of Fine Arts solicited plaster models from three leading sculptors for the medal, selecting that of John R. Sinnock of the Philadelphia Mint in May 1931, the first Purple Heart was awarded to MacArthur. During the early period of American involvement in World War II, with the establishment of the Legion of Merit, by an Act of Congress, the practice of awarding the Purple Heart for meritorious service was discontinued. By Executive Order 9277, dated December 3,1942, the decoration was applied to all services and this executive order also authorized the award only for wounds received. Subject to approval of the Secretary of Defense, Executive Order 10409, dated February 12,1952, dated April 25,1962, Executive Order 11016, included provisions for posthumous award of the Purple Heart. Dated February 23,1984, Executive Order 12464, authorized award of the Purple Heart as a result of terrorist attacks, or while serving as part of a peacekeeping force, public Law 99-145 authorized the award for wounds received as a result of friendly fire. Public Law 104-106 expanded the eligibility date, authorizing award of the Purple Heart to a prisoner of war who was wounded after April 25,1962. This change was effective May 18,1998, during World War II, nearly 500,000 Purple Heart medals were manufactured in anticipation of the estimated casualties resulting from the planned Allied invasion of Japan. To the present date, total combined American military casualties of the seventy years following the end of World War II—including the Korean, in 2003, there remained 120,000 Purple Heart medals in stock. The existing surplus allowed combat units in Iraq and Afghanistan to keep Purple Hearts on-hand for immediate award to soldiers wounded in the field, the History section of the November 2009 edition of National Geographic estimated the number of Purple Hearts given. Above the estimates, the reads, Any tally of Purple Hearts is an estimate
15.
Steve Yeager
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Stephen Wayne Steve Yeager is an American right-handed former professional baseball catcher. Yeager spent 14 of the 15 seasons of his Major League Baseball career, from 1972 through 1985 and his last year,1986, he played for the Seattle Mariners. As of 2012, Yeager was the Los Angeles Dodgers Major League catching coach, Yeager was born in Huntington, West Virginia. He attended Meadowdale High School in Dayton, Ohio and he is a cousin of the test pilot Chuck Yeager. Los Angeles mayor Tom Bradley was the best man at his wedding, Yeager is Jewish, having converted to Judaism when his career was over. Yeager hit two grand slams in a game while playing for Meadowdale High School in Dayton, Ohio. He was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 6,1967, after one game with the rookie level Ogden Spikers of the Pioneer League, Yeager was sent to the Dodgers Single-A affiliate, the Dubuque Packers of the Midwest League. The following season, in 1968, Yeager played 59 games for the Single-A Daytona Beach Dodgers of the Florida State League. In 1969, he played 22 games for the Bakersfield Dodgers, the Dodgers Single-A affiliate in the California League, Yeager was promoted to Double-A before the end of the 1969 season, playing in 1 game for the Albuquerque Dodgers of the Texas League. He spent the next two-and-2/3 seasons with the Double-A franchise, in 162 games played over the 1970 and 1971 seasons, he hit.276, with 77 RBIs in 490 at bats. He threw out 84 runners, second in the league that year, with the Dukes becoming the new Pacific Coast League Triple-A affiliate for the Dodgers in 1972, Yeager was promoted while remaining in Albuquerque for another season. With the Triple-A Dukes, he played 82 games, batting.280 with 45 RBIs in 257 at bats, Yeager made his Major League debut with the Dodgers on August 2,1972. He started 34 games that season, backed up Joe Ferguson in 1973, thereafter, Yeager was the starting catcher for the Dodgers and became an integral part of the Dodgers success in the 1970s and early 1980s. Yeager helped the Dodgers to the World Series in 1974,1977,1978, in the 81 Series against the New York Yankees, he shared the World Series Most Valuable Player award with teammates Pedro Guerrero and Ron Cey. Yeager, who was backing up Mike Scioscia by that time, did not have overwhelming stats for the Series, as he went 4-for-14, one of the homers, off Ron Guidry, turned out to be the game-winner in Game 5. Yeager injured his knee in 1982 and broke his wrist the next year and he was traded to the Seattle Mariners for Ed Vande Berg following the 1985 season and retired after hitting only.208 in 1986. While with the Dodgers, Yeager caught Jerry Reuss no-hitter on June 27,1980, lou Brock called Yeager the best-throwing catcher in the game. His specialty was defense and his command of the game on the field, in one nationally televised game, he made a putout to second base – and the radar gun in place to record pitches caught his throw to second at 98 mph
16.
Flying ace
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A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down several enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The actual number of aerial victories required to qualify as an ace has varied. The few aces among combat aviators have historically accounted for the majority of victories in military history. Aerial combat became a prominent feature with the Fokker Scourge, in the last half of 1915 and this was also the beginning of a long-standing trend in warfare, showing statistically that approximately five percent of combat pilots account for the majority of air-to-air victories. Use of the ace to describe these pilots began in World War I. The British initially used the term star-turns, while the Germans described their elite fighter pilots as Überkanonen, in the Luftstreitkräfte the Pour le Mérite was nicknamed Der blaue Max/The Blue Max, after Max Immelmann, who was the first fighter pilot to receive this award. Initially, German aviators had to destroy eight Allied aircraft to receive this medal, as the war progressed, the qualifications for Pour le Mérite were raised, but successful German fighter pilots continued to be hailed as national heroes for the remainder of the war. Victories were also counted for aircraft forced down within German lines and these victories were usually included in a pilots totals and in citations for decorations. Nonetheless some pilots did become famous through press coverage, making the British system for the recognition of successful fighter pilots much more informal and somewhat inconsistent. One pilot, Arthur Gould Lee, described his own score in a letter to his wife as Eleven, five by me solo — the rest shared, adding that he was miles from being an ace. This shows that his No.46 Squadron RAF counted shared kills, also evident is that Lee considered a higher figure than five kills to be necessary for ace status. Aviation historians credit him as an ace with two aircraft destroyed and five driven down out of control, for a total of seven victories. Other Allied countries, such as France and Italy, fell somewhere in between the very strict German approach and the relatively casual British one and they usually demanded independent witnessing of the destruction of an aircraft, making confirmation of victories scored in enemy territory very difficult. The Belgian crediting system sometimes included out of control to be counted as a victory, American newsmen, in their correspondence to their papers, decided that five victories were the minimum needed to become an ace. While ace status was generally won only by pilots, bomber. The most notable example of an ace in World War I is Charles George Gass with 39 accredited aerial victories. There were two theaters of war that produced flying aces between the two world wars and they were the Spanish Civil War and the Second Sino-Japanese War. The Spanish ace Joaquín García Morato scored 40 victories for the Nationalists during the Spanish Civil War, part of the outside intervention in the war was the supply of volunteer foreign pilots to both sides
17.
Speed of sound
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The speed of sound is the distance travelled per unit time by a sound wave as it propagates through an elastic medium. In dry air at 20 °C, the speed of sound is 343 metres per second, the speed of sound in an ideal gas depends only on its temperature and composition. The speed has a dependence on frequency and pressure in ordinary air. In common everyday speech, speed of sound refers to the speed of waves in air. However, the speed of sound varies from substance to substance, sound travels most slowly in gases, it travels faster in liquids, and faster still in solids. For example, sound travels at 343 m/s in air, it travels at 1,484 m/s in water, in an exceptionally stiff material such as diamond, sound travels at 12,000 m/s, which is around the maximum speed that sound will travel under normal conditions. Sound waves in solids are composed of waves, and a different type of sound wave called a shear wave. Shear waves in solids usually travel at different speeds, as exhibited in seismology, the speed of compression waves in solids is determined by the mediums compressibility, shear modulus and density. The speed of waves is determined only by the solid materials shear modulus. In fluid dynamics, the speed of sound in a medium is used as a relative measure for the speed of an object moving through the medium. The ratio of the speed of an object to the speed of sound in the fluid is called the objects Mach number, objects moving at speeds greater than Mach1 are said to be traveling at supersonic speeds. During the 17th century, there were attempts to measure the speed of sound accurately, including attempts by Marin Mersenne in 1630, Pierre Gassendi in 1635. In 1709, the Reverend William Derham, Rector of Upminster, published an accurate measure of the speed of sound. Measurements were made of gunshots from a number of local landmarks, the distance was known by triangulation, and thus the speed that the sound had travelled was calculated. The transmission of sound can be illustrated by using a model consisting of an array of balls interconnected by springs, for real material the balls represent molecules and the springs represent the bonds between them. Sound passes through the model by compressing and expanding the springs, transmitting energy to neighbouring balls, which transmit energy to their springs, the speed of sound through the model depends on the stiffness of the springs, and the mass of the balls. As long as the spacing of the balls remains constant, stiffer springs transmit energy more quickly, effects like dispersion and reflection can also be understood using this model. In a real material, the stiffness of the springs is called the modulus
18.
Private (rank)
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A private is a soldier of the lowest military rank. In modern military parlance, private is shortened to Pte in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries and to Pvt. in the United States. The term derives from the term private soldiers, denoting individuals who were either hired, conscripted. The usage of private dates from the 18th century, for information, you may refer to Israel Defense Forces ranks. In the Israel Defense Forces, טוראי Turai refers to the lowest enlisted rank, after 7–10 months of service soldiers are promoted from private to corporal, if they performed their duties appropriately during this time. Soldiers who take a course, are prisoner instructors or practical engineers become corporals earlier. An IDF private wears no insignia and is sometimes described as having a slick sleeve for this reason. The equivalent ranks to privates within the North and South Korean armies are il-byong and e-byong, the symbol for this rank is 1 line or 2 lines. Private second class is known by 1 line, while private first class is 2 lines, once recruits complete their Basic Military Training or Basic Rescue Training, they attain the rank of private. Privates do not wear ranks on their rank holder, pTEs who performed well are promoted to the rank of Private First Class. The PFC rank insignia is a chevron pointing downward. In Indonesia, this rank is referred to as Tamtama, which is the lowest rank in the Indonesian Armed Forces, in the Indonesian Army, Private has three levels, which are, Private, Private First Class, and Master Private. After this rank, it is promoted the rank, Corporal, in the Australian Army, a soldier of private rank wears no insignia. Like its British Army counterpart, the Australian Army rank of private has other titles, depending on the corps, there are three levels of private, private, private, and private. All persons holding the rank of private are referred to as such, a private is considered an apprentice in their trade, and there are no pay raises between the various levels of private except for time in rank raise. In the Royal Canadian Air Force, the rank is called Aviator and is broken into three levels, aviator, aviator and aviator. The rank is in most regards identical to the rank of Private. The insignia for aviator is a propeller, Private / Aviator – fresh recruit, untrained, holds this rank through recruit training
19.
Enlisted rank
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An enlisted rank is, in some armed services, any rank below that of a commissioned officer. In most cases, enlisted service personnel perform jobs specific to their own occupational specialty, the term enlistment refers solely to a military commitment whereas the terms taken of strength and struck off strength refer to a servicemember being carried on a given units roll. In the Canadian Forces, the term non-commissioned member is used, for the ranks used by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, non-commissioned ranks are coded OR1–OR9, OR being an abbreviation for Other Ranks. The five branches of the U. S, armed Forces all use the same E- designation for enlisted pay grades, with service-specific names applied to each. Each branch incorporates it as part of a service members job specialty designator
20.
Flight officer
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The title flight officer was a military rank used by the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. It was also an air force rank in several Commonwealth nations where it was used for officers and was equivalent to the rank of flight lieutenant. The term flight officer is used today to describe job title positions as aircrew members. A flight officer is a member of the aircrew of an aircraft who is responsible for specific functions, the flight officer may function as the navigator, responsible for planning the journey, advising the pilot while en route, and ensuring that hazards or obstacles are avoided. The flight officer may also be responsible for operating aircraft mission/weapon systems, including planning, mission timing, threat reactions, aircraft communications. The title of officer is also used for police officers who serve as pilots in law enforcement aviation units. The new rank insignia was nicknamed the blue pickle, the rank is equivalent to Warrant Officer Junior Grade which is todays Warrant Officer. At the end of World War II, the Army Air Forces discontinued the use of the rank of flight officer, all of the services flight officers had either been promoted to commissioned officer ranks during the course of the war or discharged. In the late 1940s, following the creation of the separate US Air Force in 1947, however, congressionally-imposed commissioned officer strength levels prevented pilot expansion. The Army requested authority to establish the Flight Officer/Warrant Officer program and this proposal was rejected because the Army already had three groups of personnel – -enlisted, warrant officer and commissioned officer. As a fall back position, the Department of the Army decided that the grade of flight officer was in reality a Warrant Officer grade with a restriction to the Warrant Officer Junior Grade rank. The Warrant Officer Flight Program was begun in 1949 and the first pilots graduated in 1951, most of the Warrant Officers were trained to fly helicopters, the Army had begun a helicopter pilot training course for officers in 1948. Army commissioned- and warrant officer pilots were under the Transportation Corps from 1947 to 1983 and they were only allowed artillery spotting, reconnaissance, and casualty evacuation roles, as the Air Force had a lock on everything else. CAP Officers between the ages of 18 and 20 are eligible for promotion to the ranks of officer, technical flight officer. Flight officer was established as an equivalent to flight lieutenant in the womens air services of several Commonwealth nations. The rank was used by the British Womens Auxiliary Air Force and its successor, the Womens Royal Air Force, until 1968 and it was also previously used in the Womens Royal Australian Air Force, which was absorbed into the Royal Australian Air Force in 1977
21.
Warrant officer (United States)
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This application differs from the Commonwealth of Nations and other militaries, where warrant officers are the most senior of the other ranks, equivalent to the US Armed Forces grades of E‑8 and E‑9. For appointment to warrant officer one, a warrant is approved by the secretary of the respective service, for chief warrant officer ranks, warrant officers are commissioned by the President of the United States and take the same oath as regular commissioned officers. Warrant officers can and do command detachments, units, activities, vessels, aircraft, and armored vehicles, as well as lead, coach, train, and counsel subordinates. However, the warrant officers primary task as a leader is to serve as an expert, providing valuable skills, guidance. The Army warrant officer traces lineage to 1896 with the War Departments creation of civilian Headquarters Clerks, in 1916, an Army Judge Advocate General review determined that field clerks should be members of the military. Legislation in 1916 authorized those positions as military rather than civilian and created the ranks of Army Field Clerk, in July,1917, all Field Clerks were considered enlisted and were assigned an enlisted uniform. Their branch insignia was two crossed quill pens, in December 19,1917, Special Regulation 41 stated that the Army Field Clerk and Quarter Master Corps Field Clerk ranks were authorized the same uniform as an officer. Their rank insignia was now a pin of crossed quill pens on either side of the freework U. S. pins worn on the standing collar of the M1909 tunic. They were not permitted the brown mohair cuff braid band of an Army officer, but were authorized a silver-and-black braid hatcord for wear with the M1911 Campaign Hat, eagle on the M1902 peaked cap. On 9 July 1918, Congress established the rank and grade of warrant officer concurrent with establishing the Army Mine Planter Service within the Coast Artillery Corps, since that time, the position of warrant officer in the Army has been refined. On August 21,1941, under Pub. L, 77–230, Congress authorized two grades, warrant officer and chief warrant officer. In 1942, temporary appointments in about 40 occupational areas were made, the insignia for warrant officer was a gold bar 3⁄8 inch wide and 1 inch long, rounded at the ends with brown enamel on top and a latitudinal center of gold 1/8 inch wide. The insignia for warrant officer was a gold bar 3⁄8 inch in width and 1 inch in length with rounded ends. The brown enamel backing of the warrant officer insignia was based on the color of the insignia of rank for ships officers of the AMPS. 77–658, the Flight Officer Act, was enacted, creating the rank of officer, equivalent to warrant officer. Insignia was the same as for a warrant officer, except the backing was in blue rather than brown. Most flight officers were graduates of various USAAF flight-training programs, including power and glider pilots, graduates were appointed to the rating of flight officer, but some of each graduating class were commissioned as second lieutenants. Once reaching operational units and after gaining flying experience, flight officers were later offered direct commissions as lieutenants, Flight sergeants, who were assigned as transport and glider pilots, were appointed as flight officers when the new rank was created
22.
North American P-51 Mustang
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The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II, the Korean War and other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in 1940 by North American Aviation in response to a requirement of the British Purchasing Commission, the Purchasing Commission approached North American Aviation to build Curtiss P-40 fighters under license for the Royal Air Force. Rather than build an old design from another company, North American Aviation proposed the design, the prototype NA-73X airframe was rolled out on 9 September 1940,102 days after the contract was signed, and first flew on 26 October. The Mustang was originally designed to use the Allison V-1710 engine and it was first flown operationally by the RAF as a tactical-reconnaissance aircraft and fighter-bomber. The addition of the Rolls-Royce Merlin to the P-51B/C model transformed the Mustangs performance at altitudes above 15,000 ft, the P-51 was also used by Allied air forces in the North African, Mediterranean, Italian and Pacific theaters. During World War II, Mustang pilots claimed to have destroyed 4,950 enemy aircraft, despite the advent of jet fighters, the Mustang remained in service with some air forces until the early 1980s. After the Korean War, Mustangs became popular civilian warbird and air racing aircraft, in April 1940 the British government established a purchasing commission in the United States, headed by Sir Henry Self. Self was given responsibility for Royal Air Force production and research and development, and also served with Sir Wilfrid Freeman. Self also sat on the British Air Council Sub-committee on Supply and one of his tasks was to organize the manufacturing and supply of American fighter aircraft for the RAF. At the time, the choice was limited, as no U. S. aircraft then in production or flying met European standards. The Curtiss-Wright plant was running at capacity, so P-40s were in short supply, North American Aviation was already supplying its Harvard trainer to the RAF, but was otherwise underutilized. NAA President Dutch Kindelberger approached Self to sell a new medium bomber, instead, Self asked if NAA could manufacture the Tomahawk under license from Curtiss. Kindelberger said NAA could have an aircraft with the same engine in the air sooner than establishing a production line for the P-40. In March 1940,320 aircraft were ordered by Sir Wilfred Freeman who had become the head of the Ministry of Aircraft Production. The NA-73X, which was designed by a led by lead engineer Edgar Schmued, followed the best conventional practice of the era. One was a wing designed using laminar flow airfoils which were developed co-operatively by North American Aviation and these airfoils generated very low drag at high speeds. The results of this test showed the superiority of the wing designed with the NAA/NACA 45–100 airfoils, the other feature was a new cooling arrangement that reduced the cooling drag. It was later discovered that, after lot of development, the assembly could take advantage of the Meredith Effect
23.
Fighter pilot
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A fighter pilot is a military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat while in the cockpit of a fighter aircraft. Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare and dogfighting, a fighter pilot with at least five air-to-air kills becomes known as an ace. Fighter pilots are one of the most highly regarded and desirable positions of any air force, selection processes only accept the elite out of all the potential candidates. An individual who possesses an academic record, physical fitness, healthy well-being. Candidates are also expected to exhibit strong leadership and teamwork abilities, as such, in nearly all air forces, fighter pilots, as are pilots of most other aircraft, are commissioned officers. Fighter pilots must be in health to handle the physical demands of modern aerial warfare. Excellent heart condition is required, as the increased Gs a pilot experiences in a turn can cause stress on the cardiovascular system, one G is equal to the force of gravity experienced under normal conditions, two Gs would be twice the force of normal gravity. Some fighter aircraft regularly accelerate to up to 9 Gs, Fighter pilots also require strong muscle tissue along the extremities and abdomen, for performing an anti-G straining maneuver when performing tight turns and other highly accelerated maneuvers. Better-than-average visual acuity is also a desirable and valuable trait. Modern medium and long range active radar homing and semi-active radar homing missiles can be fired at targets outside or beyond visual range, however, when a pilot is dogfighting at short-range, his position relative to the opponent is decidedly important. Outperformance of another pilot and that aircraft is critical to maintain the upper-hand. A common saying for dogfighting is lose sight, lose fight, if one pilot had a greater missile range than the other, he would choose to fire his missile first, before being in range of the enemys missile. Normally, the facts of an enemys weapon payload is unknown, attacks from missiles are usually countered with electronic countermeasures and chaff. Missiles like the AIM-120 AMRAAM, however, can home in on jamming signals. Dogfighting at 1 to 4 miles is considered close, Pilots perform stressful maneuvers to gain advantage in the dogfight. Pilots need to be in shape in order to handle the high G-forces caused by aerial combat. A pilot flexes his legs and torso to keep blood from draining out of the head and this is known as the AGSM or the M1 or, sometimes, as the grunt. Many early air-to-air and surface-to-air missiles had very simple infrared homing guidance systems with a field of view
24.
Bell X-1
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Conceived during 1944 and designed and built in 1945, it achieved a speed of nearly 1,000 miles per hour in 1948. A derivative of this design, the Bell X-1A, having greater fuel capacity and hence longer rocket burning time. In 1942, the United Kingdoms Ministry of Aviation began a top secret project with Miles Aircraft to develop the worlds first aircraft capable of breaking the sound barrier. The project resulted in the development of the prototype turbojet-powered Miles M.52, designed to reach 1,000 miles per hour in level flight, and to climb to an altitude of 36,000 ft in 1 min 30 sec. By 1944, design of the M.52 was 90% complete, later that year, the Air Ministry signed an agreement with the United States to exchange high-speed research and data. Unknown to Miles, Bell had already started construction of a supersonic design of their own. Bell was battling the problem of control due to blanking the elevators. A variable-incidence tail appeared to be the most promising solution, the Miles, meanwhile, on 16 March 1945, the U. S. The X-1 was, in principle, a bullet with wings, its shape resembling a Browning. 50-caliber machine gun bullet. The shape was followed to the extent of seating its pilot behind a sloped, framed window inside a confined cockpit in the nose, after the rocket plane experienced compressibility problems during 1947, it was modified with a variable-incidence tailplane following technology transfer with the United Kingdom. The rocket engine was a design built by Reaction Motors. This rocket burned ethyl alcohol diluted with water with a liquid oxygen oxidizer and its thrust could be changed in 1,500 lbf increments by using just additional chambers. The fuel and oxygen tanks for the first two X-1 engines were pressurized with nitrogen, but the rest used gas-driven turbopumps, the all-important fuel turbopumps were necessary to increase the chamber pressure and thrust while making the engine lighter. The color of the X-1 #46-062, the Glamorous Glennis, is International Orange, not all subsequent models were painted with the same shade. Bell Aircraft chief test pilot Jack Woolams became the first person to fly the XS-1 and he made a glide-flight over Pinecastle Army Airfield, in Florida, on 25 January 1946. These were performed at Muroc Army Air Field near Palmdale, California, after Woolams death on 30 August 1946, Chalmers Slick Goodlin was the primary Bell Aircraft test pilot for the X-1-1. He made 26 successful flights in both X-1s from September 1946 through June 1947, the Army Air Forces was unhappy with the cautious pace of flight envelope expansion and Bell Aircrafts flight test contract for airplane #46-062 was terminated. The test program was acquired by the Army Air Force Flight Test Division on 24 June after months of negotiation, Goodlin had demanded a US$150,000 bonus for exceeding the speed of sound
25.
Mach number
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In fluid dynamics, the Mach number is a dimensionless quantity representing the ratio of flow velocity past a boundary to the local speed of sound. M = u c, where, M is the Mach number, u is the flow velocity with respect to the boundaries. By definition, Mach 1 is equal to the speed of sound, Mach 0.65 is 65% of the speed of sound, and Mach 1.35 is 35% faster than the speed of sound. The local speed of sound, and thereby the Mach number, depends on the condition of the surrounding medium, the Mach number is primarily used to determine the approximation with which a flow can be treated as an incompressible flow. The medium can be a gas or a liquid, the boundary can be the boundary of an object immersed in the medium, or of a channel such as a nozzle, diffusers or wind tunnels channeling the medium. As the Mach number is defined as the ratio of two speeds, it is a dimensionless number, if M <0. 2–0.3 and the flow is quasi-steady and isothermal, compressibility effects will be small and simplified incompressible flow equations can be used. The Mach number is named after Austrian physicist and philosopher Ernst Mach, as the Mach number is a dimensionless quantity rather than a unit of measure, with Mach, the number comes after the unit, the second Mach number is Mach 2 instead of 2 Mach. This is somewhat reminiscent of the modern ocean sounding unit mark, which was also unit-first. In the decade preceding faster-than-sound human flight, aeronautical engineers referred to the speed of sound as Machs number, never Mach 1, Mach number is useful because the fluid behaves in a similar manner at a given Mach number, regardless of other variables. As modeled in the International Standard Atmosphere, dry air at sea level, standard temperature of 15 °C. For example, the atmosphere model lapses temperature to −56.5 °C at 11,000 meters altitude. In the following table, the regimes or ranges of Mach values are referred to, generally, NASA defines high hypersonic as any Mach number from 10 to 25, and re-entry speeds as anything greater than Mach 25. Aircraft operating in this include the Space Shuttle and various space planes in development. Flight can be classified in six categories, For comparison. At transonic speeds, the field around the object includes both sub- and supersonic parts. The transonic period begins when first zones of M >1 flow appear around the object, in case of an airfoil, this typically happens above the wing. Supersonic flow can decelerate back to only in a normal shock. As the speed increases, the zone of M >1 flow increases towards both leading and trailing edges
26.
Southeast Asia
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Southeast Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies near the intersection of geological plates, with seismic and volcanic activity. Southeast Asia consists of two regions, Mainland Southeast Asia, also known historically as Indochina, comprising Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar. Maritime Southeast Asia, comprising Indonesia, East Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, East Timor, Brunei, Cocos Islands, definitions of Southeast Asia vary, but most definitions include the area represented by the countries listed below. All of the states are members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the area, together with part of South Asia, was widely known as the East Indies or simply the Indies until the 20th century. Sovereignty issues exist over some territories in the South China Sea, Papua New Guinea has stated that it might join ASEAN, and is currently an observer. Southeast Asia is geographically divided into two subregions, namely Mainland Southeast Asia and Maritime Southeast Asia, Mainland Southeast Asia includes, Maritime Southeast Asia includes, The Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India are geographically considered part of Southeast Asia. Eastern Bangladesh and the Seven Sister States of India are culturally part of Southeast Asia, the eastern half of Indonesia and East Timor are considered to be biogeographically part of Oceania. Homo sapiens reached the region by around 45,000 years ago, homo floresiensis also lived in the area up until 12,000 years ago, when they became extinct. Austronesian people, who form the majority of the population in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, East Timor. Solheim and others have shown evidence for a Nusantao maritime trading network ranging from Vietnam to the rest of the archipelago as early as 5000 BC to 1 AD. The peoples of Southeast Asia, especially those of Austronesian descent, have been seafarers for thousands of years and their vessels, such as the vinta, were ocean-worthy. Magellans voyage records how much more manoeuvrable their vessels were, as compared to the European ships, Passage through the Indian Ocean aided the colonisation of Madagascar by the Austronesian people, as well as commerce between West Asia and Southeast Asia. Gold from Sumatra is thought to have reached as far west as Rome and this was later replaced by Hinduism. Theravada Buddhism soon followed in 525, in the 15th century, Islamic influences began to enter. This forced the last Hindu court in Indonesia to retreat to Bali, in Mainland Southeast Asia, Burma, Cambodia and Thailand retained the Theravada form of Buddhism, brought to them from Sri Lanka. This type of Buddhism was fused with the Hindu-influenced Khmer culture, very little is known about Southeast Asian religious beliefs and practices before the advent of Indian merchants and religious influences from the 2nd century BCE onwards. Prior to the 13th century CE, Hinduism and Buddhism were the religions in Southeast Asia
27.
Brigadier general
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Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general, when appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000 troops. In some countries a brigadier general is designated as a one-star general. The rank can be traced back to the militaries of Europe where a general, or simply a brigadier. An alternative rank of general was first used in the French revolutionary armies. Some countries, such as Brazil, Taiwan, and Japan, some of these countries then use the rank of colonel general to make four general-officer ranks. The naval equivalent is usually commodore and this gallery displays Air Force brigadier general insignia if they are different from the Army brigadier general insignia. Note that in many Commonwealth countries, the equivalent air force rank is Air Commodore, the rank of brigadier general is used in the Argentine Air Force. Unlike other armed forces of the World, the rank of general is actually the highest rank in the Air Force. This is due to the use of the rank of brigadier and its derivatives to designate all general officers in the Air Force, brigadier, brigadier-major, and brigadier-general. The rank of general is reserved for the Chief General Staff of the Air Force. The Argentine Army does not use the rank of brigadier-general, instead using brigade general which in turn is the lowest general officer before Divisional General, see also Argentine Army officer rank insignia. When posted elsewhere, the rank would be relinquished and the former rank resumed and this policy prevented an accumulation of high-ranking general officers brought about by the relatively high turnover of brigade commanders. Brigadier general was used as an honorary rank on retirement. The rank insignia was like that of the current major general, as in the United Kingdom, the rank was later replaced by brigadier. Prior to 2001, the Bangladesh Army rank was known as brigadier, in 2001 the Bangladesh Army introduced the rank of brigadier general, however the grade stayed equivalent to brigadier. It is the lowest ranking general officer, between the ranks of Colonel and Major General, Brigadier General is equivalent to commodore of the Bangladesh Navy and air commodore of the Bangladesh Air Force. It is still popularly called brigadier
28.
Soviet Union
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The Soviet Union, officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a socialist state in Eurasia that existed from 1922 to 1991. It was nominally a union of national republics, but its government. The Soviet Union had its roots in the October Revolution of 1917 and this established the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and started the Russian Civil War between the revolutionary Reds and the counter-revolutionary Whites. In 1922, the communists were victorious, forming the Soviet Union with the unification of the Russian, Transcaucasian, Ukrainian, following Lenins death in 1924, a collective leadership and a brief power struggle, Joseph Stalin came to power in the mid-1920s. Stalin suppressed all opposition to his rule, committed the state ideology to Marxism–Leninism. As a result, the country underwent a period of rapid industrialization and collectivization which laid the foundation for its victory in World War II and postwar dominance of Eastern Europe. Shortly before World War II, Stalin signed the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact agreeing to non-aggression with Nazi Germany, in June 1941, the Germans invaded the Soviet Union, opening the largest and bloodiest theater of war in history. Soviet war casualties accounted for the highest proportion of the conflict in the effort of acquiring the upper hand over Axis forces at battles such as Stalingrad. Soviet forces eventually captured Berlin in 1945, the territory overtaken by the Red Army became satellite states of the Eastern Bloc. The Cold War emerged by 1947 as the Soviet bloc confronted the Western states that united in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1949. Following Stalins death in 1953, a period of political and economic liberalization, known as de-Stalinization and Khrushchevs Thaw, the country developed rapidly, as millions of peasants were moved into industrialized cities. The USSR took a lead in the Space Race with Sputnik 1, the first ever satellite, and Vostok 1. In the 1970s, there was a brief détente of relations with the United States, the war drained economic resources and was matched by an escalation of American military aid to Mujahideen fighters. In the mid-1980s, the last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, sought to reform and liberalize the economy through his policies of glasnost. The goal was to preserve the Communist Party while reversing the economic stagnation, the Cold War ended during his tenure, and in 1989 Soviet satellite countries in Eastern Europe overthrew their respective communist regimes. This led to the rise of strong nationalist and separatist movements inside the USSR as well, in August 1991, a coup détat was attempted by Communist Party hardliners. It failed, with Russian President Boris Yeltsin playing a role in facing down the coup. On 25 December 1991, Gorbachev resigned and the twelve constituent republics emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union as independent post-Soviet states
29.
Hamlin, West Virginia
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Hamlin, originally named Hamline, is a town in Lincoln County, West Virginia, United States, along the Mud River. The population was recorded as 1,142 at the 2010 census and it is the county seat of Lincoln County. Hamlin is a part of the Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH, Metropolitan Statistical Area, as of the 2010 census, the MSA had a population of 287,702. New definitions from February 28,2013 placed the population at 363,000, the town was established in 1853 by an act of the Virginia state legislature. Hamlin was named for Bishop Leonidas Lent Hamline of the Methodist Church, a former postmaster claimed that Bishop Hamline added the E to his last name. Hamlin is governed by five members and a mayor and recorder. The mayor is David Adkins, with Daniel Mckay as recorder and Roy Lambert, Olive Hager, Bob Stickler, Trina Barrett, the mayor, recorder and council members are elected to four-year terms. Hamlin is located at 38°16′44″N 82°6′25″W, according to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 0.60 square miles, all of it land. The climate in this area is characterized by high temperatures. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Hamlin has a Humid subtropical climate, as of the census of 2010, there were 1,142 people,467 households, and 311 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,903.3 inhabitants per square mile, there were 528 housing units at an average density of 880.0 per square mile. The racial makeup of the town was 99. 0% White,0. 1% Native American,0. 1% Asian, hispanic or Latino of any race were 0. 9% of the population. 30. 6% of all households were made up of individuals and 12. 8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older, the average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.82. The median age in the town was 43.2 years. 19. 7% of residents were under the age of 18,9. 3% were between the ages of 18 and 24, 23% were from 25 to 44,26. 1% were from 45 to 64, and 21. 9% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 46. 2% male and 53. 8% female, as of the census of 2000, there were 1,119 people,478 households, and 312 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,949.7 inhabitants per square mile, there were 527 housing units at an average density of 918.2 per square mile. The racial makeup of the town was 98. 84% White,0. 09% African American,0. 27% Native American, hispanic or Latino of any race were 0. 54% of the population
30.
Fort Benjamin Harrison
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Fort Benjamin Harrison was a U. S. Army post located in suburban Lawrence Township, Marion County, Indiana, northeast of Indianapolis. It is named for the 23rd United States President, Benjamin Harrison, land was purchased in 1903, with the post being officially named for President Harrison in honor of Indianapolis being his hometown. In 1901, former President Benjamin Harrisons son Russell through lobbying efforts sold a nearby U. S, arsenal where the U. S. Army used the money to buy land where the fort is located today. Fort Benjamin Harrison saw its highest level of activity during World War I, the Fort Benjamin Harrison Reception Center opened in 1941 and was the largest reception center in the United States by 1943. Camp Glenn was a Citizens Military Training Camp that was used to house Civilian Conservation Corps workers. When the United States reestablished the Military Police Corps in 1941, the area was also used to detain Italian and German prisoners of war in 1944 and 1945. In 1947, the Army declared Fort Harrison to be surplus property, from 1948 to 1950, the post functioned as Benjamin Harrison Air Force Base. The Tenth Air Force was moved from Omaha, Nebraska and headquartered at Schoen Field on Fort Harrison, overcrowding and inadequate facilities soon forced the 10th Air Force to move to Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Michigan, and the Army reacquired control of Fort Benjamin Harrison. The U. S. Army Finance School was located at Fort Benjamin Harrison during the 1960s and 70s, the Interservice Postal School was located at Fort Benjamin Harrison in the 1970s under the US Army Institute of Administration, and was staffed by instructors from all four services. It moved to Fort Jackson in South Carolina in 1995, beginning in 1965, it was also home of the Defense Information School. This was staffed by enlisted personnel and officers from all branches of the US military along with members of allied military personnel, in 1995, DINFOS moved to Fort Meade, Maryland. The Fort was the site of the Athletes Villages for the 1987 Pan American Games, new barracks were built to house the athletes during the games. After the games, these barracks were used to military students attending courses at Fort Harrison. The barracks were torn down a few years after the post was closed, Fort Benjamin Harrison was closed as part of the 1991 Base Realignment and Closure Commission. The site of the base has since been redeveloped, and includes residential neighborhoods, a golf course, although the base has officially been inactivated, there is still a very significant military presence in the area. Since 1999, the American Legion has had its John H. Geiger Operations Center located at Fort Harrison, the center houses the Membership Services staff to maintain the organizations membership database, and provide direct-marketing services for membership renewal and new-member acquisition. It also houses the Emblem Sales Division which provides Legion merchandise, on May 29,2009, the Indiana National Guard held a ground-breaking ceremony for a new facility to be erected at Fort Benjamin Harrison, the Lawrence Readiness Training Center, which opened in 2011. The facility will house four units, including the 76th Brigade Combat Team headquarters, the Veterans of Foreign Wars maintains its headquarters for the Department of Indiana on the site at 9555 E. 59th Street
31.
Indianapolis
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Indianapolis, is the capital and largest city of the U. S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. It is in the East North Central region of the Midwestern United States, with an estimated population of 853,173 in 2015, Indianapolis is the second most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and 14th largest in the U. S. The city is the economic and cultural center of the Indianapolis metropolitan area, home to 2 million people and its combined statistical area ranks 26th, with 2.4 million inhabitants. Indianapolis covers 372 square miles, making it the 16th largest city by area in the U. S. The city grew beyond the Mile Square, as completion of the National Road and advent of the railroad solidified the position as a manufacturing. Indianapolis is within a single-day drive of 70 percent of the nations population, Indianapolis has developed niche markets in amateur sports and auto racing. The city is perhaps best known for hosting the worlds largest single-day sporting event. The city is notable as headquarters for the American Legion and home to a significant collection of monuments dedicated to veterans and war dead, the most in the U. S. outside of Washington, D. C. Since the 1970 city-county consolidation, known as Unigov, local government administration has operated under the direction of an elected 25-member city-county council, Indianapolis is considered a high sufficiency global city. In 1816, the year Indiana gained statehood, the U. S. Congress donated four sections of land to establish a permanent seat of state government. Two years later, under the Treaty of St. Marys and this tract of land, which was called the New Purchase, included the site selected for the new state capital in 1820. The availability of new lands for purchase in central Indiana attracted settlers. Although many of these first European and American setters were Protestants, few African Americans lived in central Indiana before 1840. The first European Americans to permanently settle in the area that became Indianapolis were either the McCormick or Pogue families, on January 11,1820, the Indiana General Assembly authorized a committee to select a site in central Indiana for the new state capital. The state legislature approved the site, adopting the name Indianapolis on January 6,1821, in April, Alexander Ralston and Elias Pym Fordham were appointed to survey and design a town plan for the new settlement. Indianapolis became a seat of county government on December 31,1821, a combined county and town government continued until 1832, when Indianapolis incorporated as a town. Indianapolis became an incorporated city effective March 30,1847, Samuel Henderson, the citys first mayor, led the new city government, which included a seven-member city council. In 1853, voters approved a new city charter provided for an elected mayor
32.
George Air Force Base
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George Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force base located within city limits,8 miles northwest of central Victorville, California, about 75 miles northeast of Los Angeles, California. The facility was closed by the Base Realignment and Closure 1992 commission at the end of the Cold War and it is now the site of Southern California Logistics Airport. Established by the United States Army Air Corps as an Advanced Flying School in June 1941 and it was again activated as a training base by the United States Air Force with the outbreak of the Korean War in November 1950. It remained a training base throughout the Cold War, primarily for Tactical Air Command training pilots in front-line USAF fighters until being closed in 1993. Since 2009, the California Air National Guards 196th Reconnaissance Squadron has operated an MQ-1 Predator Remotely Piloted Aircraft training facility at the Southern California Logistics Airport, George Air Force Base was named in honor of Brigadier General Harold Huston George. He was a World War I fighter ace, serving with the 185th and 139th Aero Squadrons, at the beginning of World War II he was assigned to the V Interceptor Command, Far East Air Force in the Philippines. There, he directed air operations in defense of the islands in Manila Bay. Withdrawn to Australia, he died on 29 April 1942 in an accident near Darwin. A Curtiss P-40 of the 49th Fighter Group, piloted by Lt. George, Time-Life war correspondent Melvin Jacoby, and base personnel 2nd Lt. Robert D. Jasper, a number of others received injuries, but the P-40 pilot survived. George Air Force Base was named for the general in June 1950. In April 1940, civic leaders from Victorville, California approached the United States Army with a proposal to develop an airfield in the High Mojave Desert. They promoted the areas 360-days per year of sunny weather, abundance of wide-open spaces, runway construction consisted of a four runway configuration along with seven hangars. To conserve critical materials, most facilities were constructed of wood, concrete, brick, gypsum board, the station was designed to be nearly self-sufficient, with not only hangars, but barracks, warehouses, hospitals, dental clinics, dining halls, and maintenance shops were needed. There were libraries, social clubs for officers, and enlisted men, over 250 buildings, together with complete water, sewer, electric and gas utilities, the airfield served over 4,000 military personnel. Training began in February 1942 on Curtiss AT-9s, T-6 Texans, and AT-17s for pilots, the Army operated an advanced twin-engine pilot training school at the field, its graduated generally flying C-47 Skytrain transports, B-25 Michell or B-26 Marauder medium bombers. The school also trained replacement crew members in the B-25 and B-26, the first class of flying cadets graduated on April 24,1942. In addition to the training, a USAAF Bombardier training school was operated. The 516th, 517th and 518th Twin-Engine Flying Training Squadrons being the flying squadrons, Bombardier training was conducted by the 519th, 520th, 521st and 522d Bombardier Training Squadrons
33.
Victorville, California
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Victorville is a city located in the Victor Valley of southwestern San Bernardino County, California. Its estimated population as of July 1,2013 was 121,096, in 1858, Aaron G. Lane came to what is now known as Victorville and founded a way station called Lanes Crossing. For many years it provided shelter and supplies for making the journey across the desert from the east to San Bernardino. Lanes Crossing was on the Mojave River on todays Turner Road, captain Lane was a veteran of the Mexican-American War who had suffered from malaria during that war. Originally he migrated west to join the California gold rush, and he settled in Ione near Sutters Mill in northern California during those years, but he migrated to San Bernardino in 1857. He settled on the Mojave River in 1858, where he established his way station and he later sold out to Texan John Fry Miller, who changed the name of Lanes Crossing to Pioneer Station. Miller was a rancher and became involved in Mojave Valley politics and that first year, ten citizens cast their votes at Lanes residence, rather than making the long trip to San Bernardino. Census records show that ten people lived in two residences on the river by 1860, listed in Dwelling No.703 were Aaron Lane, William R. Levick, and the Nicholson family, consisting of George and Frances, and their three children aged 9 to 13. Joseph and Mary Highmoor lived in Dwelling No,704, with a seven-year-old female named Anna. The Levick, Nicholson and Highmoor families were Mormon pioneers, Highmoor established a way station called Highmoors Crossing, which was near todays Oro Grande bridge of the National Trails Highway, over the Mojave River at what is called the Lower Narrows. The Nicholson family moved downriver a few miles and established a way station at Point of Rocks in todays Helendale area. In 1867, Lafayette Meacham, a Mormon who ran a way station near todays Barstow area and it crossed the Mojave River at todays Sixth Street. This new road, now called Stoddard Wells Road, was a short-cut across the desert, the river crossing was called Mormon Crossing and the surrounding area became known by that name. In the 1870s, Heber Pete Huntington established a stop, Huntington Station. Also a Mormon pioneer, Huntington was leader Brigham Youngs nephew, the village which sprang up around that railroad facility became known by the same name of Victor. In 1901, at the suggestion of local postmistress Abbey Turner, post Office Department changed that name to Victorville to stop the postal confusion with the town of Victor, Colorado. In 1926, U. S. Route 66 was begun, in Victorville, US66 is marked on D and Seventh streets, with a section of Interstate 15 going towards the Cajon Pass. It is the street through Old Town Victorville
34.
Visual acuity
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Visual acuity commonly refers to the clarity of vision. A common cause of low visual acuity is refractive error, or errors in how the light is refracted in the eyeball, causes of refractive errors include aberrations in the shape of the eyeball, the shape of the cornea, and reduced flexibility of the lens. Too high or too low refractive error is the cause of nearsightedness or farsightedness, other optical causes are astigmatism or more complex corneal irregularities. These anomalies can mostly be corrected by optical means, neural factors that limit acuity are located in the retina or the brain. Examples for the first are a detached retina and macular degeneration, another common impairment, amblyopia, is caused by the visual brain not having developed properly in early childhood. In some cases, low visual acuity is caused by brain damage, when optical factors are corrected for, acuity can be considered a measure of neural well-functioning. Visual acuity is measured while fixating, i. e. as a measure of central vision. However, acuity in vision can be of equal importance in everyday life. Acuity declines towards the periphery in an inverse-linear fashion, visual acuity is a measure of the spatial resolution of the visual processing system. Optotypes are represented as black symbols against a white background, the distance between the persons eyes and the testing chart is set so as to approximate optical infinity in the way the lens attempts to focus, or at a defined reading distance.75 mm apart. Vision of 6/12 corresponds to lower, vision of 6/3 to better performance, normal individuals have an acuity of 6/4 or better. Thus, 6/12 means that a person with 6/6 vision would discern the same optotype from 12 meters away and this is equivalent to saying that with 6/12 vision, the person possesses half the spatial resolution and needs twice the size to discern the optotype. A simple and efficient way to state acuity is by solving the fraction to a decimal number, 6/6 then corresponds to an acuity of 1.0. 6/3 corresponds to 2.0, which is attained by well-corrected healthy young subjects with binocular vision. Stating acuity as a number is the standard in European countries. The precise distance at which acuity is measured is not important as long as it is far away. That size is specified as an angle, which is the angle, at the eye. For 6/6 =1.0 acuity, the size of a letter on the Snellen chart or Landolt C chart is an angle of 5 arc minutes
35.
Luke Air Force Base
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Luke Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located seven miles west of the central business district of Glendale, in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. It is also about 15 miles west of Phoenix, Arizona, Luke AFB is a major training base of the Air Education and Training Command, training pilots in the F-16 Fighting Falcon. On 16 July 2013, the Air Force announced that Luke AFB will house a total of 144 F-35A Lightning IIs and it is a designated Superfund site due to a number of soil and groundwater contaminants. Luke Air Force Base is an active-duty F-16 Fighting Falcon training base with 170 F-16s assigned, the host command at Luke is the 56th Fighter Wing, under Air Education and Training Commands 19th Air Force. The 56th FW is composed of four groups,27 squadrons, there are several tenant units on base, including the 944th Fighter Wing, assigned to 10th Air Force and the Air Force Reserve. The 56th Fighter Wing also trains more than 700 maintenance technicians each year, the base population includes about 7500 military members and 15,000 family members. With about 80,000 retired military members living in greater Phoenix, an integral part of Lukes F-16 fighter pilot training mission is the Barry M. Goldwater Air Force Range. The range consists of 1,900,000 acres of relatively undisturbed Sonoran Desert southwest of Luke Air Force Base between Yuma and Tucson south of Interstate 8. Overhead are 57,000 cubic miles of airspace where pilots practice air-to-air maneuvers, roughly the size of Connecticut, the immense size of the complex allows for simultaneous training activities on nine air-to-ground and two air-to-air ranges. The Luke Air Force Base Range Management Office manages the eastern range activities, in addition to flying and maintaining the F-16, Luke airmen also deploy to support on-going operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and to combatant commanders in other locations around the world. In 2004, more than 900 Luke airmen deployed, with most supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom, since June 2012, Luke AFB has been the permanent home of Naval Operational Support Center Phoenix of the US Navy. A NOSC is a facility used to provide support for training. NOSC Phoenix supports over 750 Navy Reservists in sixteen Navy Reserve units, the new 32,055 square foot, one-story facility is located on a 1.85 acre site at Luke AFB with sufficient parking and a secured perimeter to meet current anti-terrorism and force protection standards. NOSC Phoenix serves a full-time command and administrative staff, a medical unit, the $11.2 million facility is the first LEED Platinum certified building of the US Navy Reserve Force. The host unit, the 56th Fighter Wing, is tasked to train F-35 and F-16 fighter pilots and maintainers, historically, the wing graduated more than 400 F-16 pilots and 470 crew chiefs annually. Groups, 56th Operations Group The 56th OG has operational control, 56th Mission Support Group The 56th MSG sustains the F-16 Fighting Falcon and F-35 Lightning II, provides for the community, and delivers responsive combat support. 56th Medical Group The 56th MDG is an outpatient only Medical Treatment Facility, tenant Units, 607th Air Control Squadron 944th Fighter Wing The 944th Fighter Wing is an adjunct Air Force Reserve wing to the 56th FW that trains Air Force F-16 pilots for reserve duty. This is due to a buffer of public land around it, also, the private sector in Glendale has been helping to maintain the buffer of public land, and with it the Arizona defense economy
36.
Arizona
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Arizona is a state in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the Western United States and the Mountain West states and it is the sixth largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix, Arizona is one of the Four Corners states. It has borders with New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, California, and Mexico, Arizonas border with Mexico is 389 miles long, on the northern border of the Mexican states of Sonora and Baja California. Arizona is the 48th state and last of the states to be admitted to the Union. Historically part of the territory of Alta California in New Spain, after being defeated in the Mexican–American War, Mexico ceded much of this territory to the United States in 1848. The southernmost portion of the state was acquired in 1853 through the Gadsden Purchase, Southern Arizona is known for its desert climate, with very hot summers and mild winters. There are ski resorts in the areas of Flagstaff, Alpine, in addition to the Grand Canyon National Park, there are several national forests, national parks, and national monuments. To the European settlers, their pronunciation sounded like Arissona, the area is still known as alĭ ṣonak in the Oodham language. Another possible origin is the Basque phrase haritz ona, as there were numerous Basque sheepherders in the area, There is a misconception that the states name originated from the Spanish term Árida Zona. See also lists of counties, islands, rivers, lakes, state parks, national parks, Arizona is in the Southwestern United States as one of the Four Corners states. Arizona is the sixth largest state by area, ranked after New Mexico, of the states 113,998 square miles, approximately 15% is privately owned. The remaining area is public forest and park land, state trust land, Arizona is well known for its desert Basin and Range region in the states southern portions, which is rich in a landscape of xerophyte plants such as the cactus. This regions topography was shaped by volcanism, followed by the cooling-off. Its climate has hot summers and mild winters. The state is well known for its pine-covered north-central portion of the high country of the Colorado Plateau. Like other states of the Southwest United States, Arizona has an abundance of mountains, despite the states aridity, 27% of Arizona is forest, a percentage comparable to modern-day France or Germany. The worlds largest stand of pine trees is in Arizona
37.
357th Fighter Group
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The 357th Fighter Group was an air combat unit of the United States Army Air Forces during the Second World War. The 357th operated P-51 Mustang aircraft as part of the U. S, Eighth Air Force and its members were known unofficially as The Yoxford Boys after a village near their base in the UK. Its victory totals in air-to-air combat are the most of any P-51 group in the Eighth Air Force, the 357th flew 313 combat missions between 11 February 1944 and 25 April 1945. It is officially credited by the U. S. Air Force with having destroyed 595.5 German airplanes in the air and 106.5 on the ground, the 357th existed as a USAAF unit only during World War II and its immediate aftermath. Its history, lineage and honors were bestowed on an Ohio Air National Guard group therefore the Ohio ANG considers itself a descendant of the 357th FG. See 121st Air Refueling Wing for additional lineage and history information Constituted as 357th Fighter Group on 1 December 1942, inactivated in Germany on 20 August 1946 Redesignated 121st Fighter Group. P-39 Airacobra, 1942–1943 P-51B/C/D/K Mustang, 1943–1945 Three fighter squadrons were constituted 16 December 1942, cadre for the new group were drawn from the 328th Fighter Group, already at Hamilton. On 3 March 1943, the group moved by rail to Tonopah, Nevada, at Tonopah the members lived in and worked under primitive conditions, described as tar-paper shacks, and without enclosed hangar maintenance facilities. While adequately powered at low altitudes and suited for close support operations, Three pilots and a flight surgeon died in training accidents while at Tonopah, including Captain White, who was replaced by Major Thomas Hayes, another veteran of the early Pacific campaign. In June the group entered its next training phase, changing stations to Santa Rosa Army Air Field, there the group continued training on P-39s, flying bomber escort and coastal patrol practice missions. On 7 July 1943, a collision occurred between two P-39s, killing both pilots including Captain Clay Davis, commander of the 363 FS. On the same date the group commander, Lt. Col, thirteen pilots and a flight surgeon died in P-39 training accidents in the United States, and numerous aircraft were lost or heavily damaged in non-fatal accidents. The 357th received an influx of 60 new pilots and moved again, to bases at Oroville and Marysville, on 24 October after a final tactical inspection, the group was declared ready for overseas deployment. Debarking at Greenock, Scotland, on 29 November, the group moved by train to its base in Suffolk. All mission dates, targets, and details from Roger Freeman, Mighty Eighth War Diary, German unit identifications are from Merle Olmsted. The 357th had been allocated to the Ninth Air Force as a P-51 tactical air support unit and it moved into its base at RAF Raydon on 30 November 1943. It had no aircraft until 19 December, when the it received a former Mustang III of RAF Fighter Command, by the end of the year the 357th received 15 Mustangs, severely restricting conversion training for the pilots, and some made the transition by ferrying in new aircraft. All but a handful gained flying experience in the new aircraft only by flying combat operations, assigned to the 66th Fighter Wing, the 357th was the first P-51 Mustang Group of the Eight Air Force
38.
Tonopah, Nevada
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Tonopah is an unincorporated town in and the county seat of Nye County, Nevada, United States. It is located at the junction of U. S, Routes 6 and 95, approximately midway between Las Vegas and Reno. In the 2010 census, the population was 2,478, the census-designated place of Tonopah has a total area of 16.2 square miles, all land. The European-American community began circa 1900 with the discovery of ore by prospector Jim Butler. The legendary tale of discovery says that he went looking for a burro that had wandered off during the night and sought shelter near a rock outcropping. When Butler discovered the animal the next morning, he picked up a rock to throw at it in frustration and he had stumbled upon the second-richest silver strike in Nevada history. Men of wealth and power entered the region to consolidate the mines, George Wingfield, a 24-year-old poker player when he arrived in Tonopah, played poker and dealt faro in the town saloons. Once he had a small bankroll, he talked Jack Carey, owner of the Tonopah Club, into taking him in as a partner, in 1903, miners rioted against Chinese workers in Tonopah. This resulted in China enforcing a boycott in China of U. S. imported goods, by 1904, after investing his winnings in the Boston-Tonopah Mining Company, Wingfield was worth $2 million. When old friend George S. Nixon, a banker, arrived in town and they grub-staked miners with friend Nick Abelman, and bought existing mines. By the time the partners moved to Goldfield, Nevada and made their Goldfield Consolidated Mining Company a public corporation in 1906, Nixon and Wingfield were worth more than $30 million. Wingfield believed that the end of the gold and silver mining production was coming and took his bankroll to Reno, real estate and gaming became big business throughout Central Nevada. By 1910, gold production was falling and by 1920, the town of Tonopah had less than half the population it had fifteen years earlier, small mining ventures continued to provide income for local miners and the small town struggled on. Located about halfway between Reno and Las Vegas, it has supported travelers as a stopover and rest spot on a lonely highway, today the Tonopah Station has slots and the Banc Club also offers some gaming. Also in Nye County is the Yomba Band of the Yomba Indian Reservation, the Western Shoshone dominated most of Nevada at the time of European-American settlement in the 1860s. Since the late 20th century, Tonopah has relied on the nearby military Tonopah Test Range as its source of employment. The military has used the range and surrounding areas as a bomb test site, a bombing range. The project incorporates SolarReserves advanced solar energy technology and will put Tonopah at the worldwide center of technology for this class of solar energy storage
39.
Bell P-39 Airacobra
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The Bell P-39 Airacobra was one of the principal American fighter aircraft in service when the United States entered World War II. The P-39 was used by the Soviet Air Force, which scored the highest number of individual kills attributed to any U. S. fighter type in the Eastern European theatre. Other major users of the type included the Free French, the Royal Air Force, the United States Army Air Forces, and the Italian Co-Belligerent Air Force. Designed by Bell Aircraft, it had a layout, with the engine installed in the center fuselage, behind the pilot. It was also the first fighter fitted with a tricycle undercarriage, although its mid-engine placement was innovative, the P-39 design was handicapped by the absence of an efficient turbo-supercharger, preventing it from performing high-altitude work. As such it was rejected by the RAF for use over western Europe but adopted by the USSR where most air combat took place at medium, together with the derivative P-63 Kingcobra, the P-39 was one of the most successful fixed-wing aircraft manufactured by Bell. It was a request for a single-engine high-altitude interceptor having the mission of interception. Despite being called an interceptor, the aircrafts role was simply an extension of the traditional pursuit role, using a heavier. This was the most demanding set of fighter specifications USAAC had presented to that date and this happened because H. M. Poyer, designer for project leader Robert Woods, was impressed by the power of this weapon and pressed for its incorporation. This was unusual, because fighter design had previously driven by the intended engine. Although devastating when it worked, the T9 had very limited ammunition, a low rate of fire, a secondary benefit of the mid-engine arrangement was that it created a smooth and streamlined nose profile. Much was made of the fact that this resulted in a configuration “with as trim, entry to the cockpit was through side doors rather than a sliding canopy. There were no problems with propeller shaft failure, the XP-39 made its maiden flight on 6 April 1938. At Wright Field, Ohio, achieving 390 mph at 20,000 ft, however, the XP-39 was found to be short on performance at altitude. Flight testing had found its top speed at 20,000 feet to be lower than the 400 mph claimed in the original proposal, as originally specified by Kelsey and Saville, the XP-39 had a turbo-supercharger to augment its high-altitude performance. Bell cooled the turbo with a scoop on the side of the fuselage. Kelsey wished to shepherd the XP-39 through its early engineering teething troubles, the XP-39 project was handed over to others, and in June 1939 the prototype was ordered by General Henry H. Arnold to be evaluated in NACA wind tunnels to find ways of increasing its speed, tests were carried out, and Bell engineers followed the recommendations of NACA and the Army to reduce drag such that the top speed was increased 16%
40.
RAF Leiston
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Royal Air Force Leiston or more simply RAF Leiston is a former Royal Air Force station located 1.5 km northwest of Leiston and 1 km south of Theberton, Suffolk, England. The airfield was constructed to Class A airfield standards between September 1942 and September 1943 by John Mowlem and Company Ltd. and first occupied by the USAAF in October 1943. Leistons proximity to the coast meant that the airfield was used on occasions by battle-damaged aircraft returning from operations over Europe. The first aircraft to land on the airfield - while it was still under construction - are believed to have been two Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses which were returning from operations on 30 July 1943. One aircraft nearly hit a vehicle when coming in to land as some of the runways were still partly obstructed by tree stumps. The three runways were concrete overlaid with asphalt, with 62 aircraft dispersals situated along its perimeter track, the USAAF added 17 PSP parking squares and a walled 6-plane revetment for additional aircraft parking. Support structures included two T-2 hangars and 12 corrugated steel 60 ft wide Over Blister hangars dispersed on all sides of the perimeter track, the ten living sites located west of the airfield had a capacity for 1,709 personnel. The 358th Fighter Group arrived at Leiston from RAF Goxhill on 29 November 1943 after completing training, the group was assigned to the 66th Fighter Wing of the VIII Fighter Command. Aircraft of the group were identified by yellow cowlings, the 357th Fighter Group, arrived at Leiston from RAF Raydon on 31 January 1944, replacing the P-47-equipped 358th Fighter Group in the 66th Fighter Wing, VIII Fighter Command. N29 June 1944 the group protected bombers that struck targets at Leipzig.5 German fighters, 357th FG aces Chuck Yeager and Bud Anderson were stationed in Leiston. James Browning, an ace assigned to the 363rd FS, was stationed here until his death over the Fulda Gap in 1945. After the Americans departed for duty, Leiston was returned to the RAF on 10 October 1945 and until 1953 it was known as No.18 Recruit Centre. With the closure of the recruit centre Leiston was placed into care and maintenance status, parts of the airfield were sold during the late 1950s and 60s, with the last pieces being returned to the public in 1965. Today Leiston airfield is virtually unrecognizable, the airfield area itself, has largely been returned to agriculture except for the Cakes & Ale Park, about 1/3 of the main runway and a short section of perimeter track further down Harrow Lane. The NW runway still exists in its length but has been reduced to a width of about 4 m. A few old buildings still exist on the airfield and also on a site but most are overgrown with vegetation. List of former Royal Air Force stations This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http, 357th Fighter Group Website Friends of Leiston Airfield
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363d Fighter Squadron
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The 164th Airlift Squadron is a unit of the Ohio Air National Guard 179th Airlift Wing located at Mansfield Lahm Air National Guard Base, Mansfield, Ohio. The 164th is equipped with the C-130 Hercules, the 363d Fighter Squadron was established at Hamilton Field, California in December 1942. Began training on the P-39 Airacobra at Tonopah Army Airfield, Nevada, became part of the United States Air Forces in Europe army of occupation in Germany during 1945. Inactivated in Germany during August 1946, the wartime 363d Fighter Squadron was re-designated as the 164th Fighter Squadron, and was allotted to the Ohio Air National Guard, on 24 May 1946. It was organized at Mansfield Lahm Regional Airport, Ohio, and was extended federal recognition on 20 June 1948 by the National Guard Bureau, the 164th Fighter Squadron was bestowed the lineage, history, honors, and colors of the 363d Fighter Squadron. The squadron was equipped with F-51D Mustangs and was assigned to the Ohio ANG 55th Fighter Wing, with the formation and federal recognition of the Ohio ANG 121st Fighter Group at Lockbourne Field, near Columbus, the squadron was reassigned. The mission of the 164th Fighter Squadron was the air defense of Ohio, parts were no problem and many of the maintenance personnel were World War II veterans so readiness was quite high and the planes were often much better maintained than their USAF counterparts. In some ways, the postwar Air National Guard was almost like a country club. With the surprise invasion of South Korea on 25 June 1950, the 164th Fighter Squadron was federalized on 10 February 1951. The 164th, however, was selected to remain in Ohio and continue the air defense mission, being gained by the Eastern Air Defense Force. In September 1953 after the Korean War, the 164th received its first jet aircraft, the squadron only operated the Shooting Star for a year when in October 1954 the equipment was changed to F-84E Thunderjets that had returned from wartime duty in Korea. This ADC alert lasted each and every day until 30 June 1956, in early 1957, the squadron sent their war-weary Thunderjets to storage at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona and received new F-84F Thunderstreak swept-wing interceptors. On 10 November 1958, the squadron was re-designated as the 164th Tactical Fighter Squadron, during the 1961 Berlin Crisis, the 164th was federalized as part of the 121st Tactical Fighter Wing and Group for a period of twelve months beginning on 1 October. However, due to funding shortages, only 26 F-84Fs of 166th TFS were deployed to Étain-Rouvres Air Base, France, although several ground support units from the 162d and 164th were also deployed. The squadron, however, remained under Federal USAF control until the crisis ended, after the Berlin Federalization ended, the 15 October 1962, the 164th was authorized to expand to a group level, and the 179th Tactical Fighter Group was established by the National Guard Bureau. The 164th TFS becoming the flying squadron. Other squadrons assigned into the group were the 179th Headquarters, 179th Material Squadron, 179th Combat Support Squadron, the squadron continued normal peacetime training throughout the 1960s. Individual squadron members volunteered for duty during the Vietnam War, however the 164th was not federalized in 1968 as the F-84Fs were not considered front line combat aircraft
42.
Maquis (World War II)
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The Maquis were rural guerrilla bands of French Resistance fighters, called maquisards, during the Occupation of France in World War II. Initially, they were composed of men who had escaped into the mountains to avoid conscription into Vichy Frances Service du travail obligatoire to provide forced labor for Germany, to avert capture and deportation to Germany, they became increasingly organized into active resistance groups. Originally the word came from the kind of terrain in which the resistance groups hid. Although strictly meaning thicket, maquis could be translated as the bush. The term established the image of a ‘maquisard’ as a “committed and voluntary fighter, members of those bands were called maquisards. The term became an honorific that meant armed resistance fighter, the Maquis have come to symbolize the French Resistance. Most maquisards operated in the remote or mountainous areas of Brittany and southern France, especially in the Alps and they relied on guerrilla tactics to harass the Milice and German occupation troops. The Maquis also aided the escape of downed Allied airmen, Jews and others pursued by the Vichy, Maquisards usually relied on some degree of sympathy or cooperation from the local populace. In March 1944, the German Army began a campaign throughout France. This included reprisals against civilians living in areas where the French Resistance was active, the Maquisards were later to take their revenge in the épuration sauvage that took place after the wars end. Most of the Maquis cells—like the Maquis du Limousin or the Maquis du Vercors—took names after the area they were operating in, the size of these cells varied from tens to thousands of men and women. They were supplied by airlifts of the British Force 136, politically, the Maquis were very diverse—including right-wing nationalists, socialists, communists, and anarchists. Some Maquis bands that operated in southwest France, were composed entirely of left-wing Spanish veterans of the Spanish Civil War, Spanish Civil War veteran Colonel Romero Giménez was a center-democratic liberal, operating from Bordeaux. When Germany began a forced draft in France at the beginning of 1943. The British Special Operations Executive helped the Maquis with supplies and agents, the American Office of Strategic Services also began to send its own agents to France in cooperation with the SOE and the French BCRA agents, as part of Operation Jedburgh. The British government provided supplies and support to assist Charles de Gaulle to unify the Free French resistance movement, prior to the inception of the maquis, small resistance groups were created in the occupied and unoccupied zones of France. Some of these also took the first steps at hiding weapons. The connection between the Vichy government and armed resistance paved the way for the formation of the Maquis
43.
Pyrenees
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The Pyrenees is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain. For the most part, the main crest forms a divide between France and Spain, with the microstate of Andorra sandwiched in between. The Crown of Aragon and the Kingdom of Navarre have historically extended on both sides of the range, with smaller northern portions now in France and larger southern parts now in Spain. The demonym for the noun Pyrenees in English is Pyrenean, in Greek mythology, Pyrene is a princess who gave her name to the Pyrenees. The Greek historian Herodotus says Pyrene is the name of a town in Celtic Europe, Hercules, characteristically drunk and lustful, violates the sacred code of hospitality and rapes his hosts daughter. Pyrene gives birth to a serpent and runs away to the woods, alone, she pours out her story to the trees, attracting the attention of wild beasts who tear her to pieces. After his victory over Geryon, Hercules passes through the kingdom of Bebryx again, and all the rock-cliffs and wild-beast haunts echo back Pyrene. … The mountains hold on to the name through the ages. Pliny the Elder connects the story of Hercules and Pyrene to Lusitania, the Spanish Pyrenees are part of the following provinces, from east to west, Girona, Barcelona, Lleida, Huesca, Navarra and Gipuzkoa. The French Pyrenees are part of the following départements, from east to west, Pyrénées-Orientales, Aude, Ariège, Haute-Garonne, Hautes-Pyrénées, the independent principality of Andorra is sandwiched in the eastern portion of the mountain range between the Spanish Pyrenees and French Pyrenees. Physiographically, the Pyrenees may be divided into three sections, the Atlantic, the Central, and the Eastern Pyrenees, together, they form a distinct physiographic province of the larger Alpine System division. In the Western Pyrenees, from the Basque mountains near the Bay of Biscay of the Atlantic Ocean, at the eastern end on the southern side lies a distinct area known as the Sub-Pyrenees. On the French side the slopes of the range descend abruptly. The Pyrenees are older than the Alps, their sediments were first deposited in coastal basins during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras, the intense pressure and uplifting of the Earths crust first affected the eastern part and moved progressively to the entire chain, culminating in the Eocene Epoch. The eastern part of the Pyrenees consists largely of granite and gneissose rocks, the massive and unworn character of the chain comes from its abundance of granite, which is particularly resistant to erosion, as well as weak glacial development. Low passes are lacking, and the roads and the railroads between France and Spain run only in the lowlands at the western and eastern ends of the Pyrenees. A notable visual feature of mountain range is La Brèche de Roland, a gap in the ridge line. Coal deposits capable of being profitably worked are situated chiefly on the Spanish slopes, the open pit of Trimoun close to the commune of Luzenac is one of the greatest sources of talc in Europe
44.
Supreme Allied Commander
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Supreme Allied Commander is the title held by the most senior commander within certain multinational military alliances. It originated as a used by the Western Allies during World War II. The current NATO Supreme Allied Commander is U. S, during World War II, the Allied leaders appointed Supreme Allied Commanders to manage the multi-nation, multi-discipline fighting forces for a particular theatre of war. These Supreme Allied Commanders were given control over all air, land. In other cases, senior commanders were given the title Commander-in-Chief and these Supreme Allied Commanders – were drawn from the most senior leaders in the British Armed Forces and United States Armed Forces. General of the Army Dwight D. Eisenhower served in successive Supreme Allied Commander roles, Eisenhower was the Commander-in-Chief, Allied Force for the Mediterranean theatre. In 1951, Eisenhower would again be a Supreme Allied Commander, Field Marshal Henry Maitland Wilson succeeded Eisenhower in the Mediterranean theatre, given the title Supreme Allied Commander Mediterranean. Wilson was succeeded by Field Marshal Harold Alexander, who continued in charge of those Allied forces until the end of the war, admiral of the Fleet Lord Louis Mountbatten was Supreme Allied Commander South East Asia throughout most of its existence. General of the Army Douglas MacArthur was appointed Supreme Allied Commander, however, he preferred to use the title Commander-in-Chief. During the Allied occupation of Japan following the war, MacArthur held the title of Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers, the term came into use again with the formation of NATO in 1949. In 1952, Allied Command Europe was established, led by Dwight D. Eisenhower and he became the Supreme Allied Commander Europe. Soon afterwards, Allied Command Atlantic was established, at Norfolk, Virginia and his title was Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic, and the entire command was usually known as SACLANT. Both Supreme Commander have, until 2009, been American, with a deputy commander from another NATO member, though only British, in June 2003, the commands were reshuffled. One command was given responsibility for operations, and one for transforming the military components of the alliance to meet new challenges, in Europe, Allied Command Operations was established from the former Allied Command Europe, and given responsibility for all NATO military operations worldwide. However, for reasons, SACEUR retained the traditional title including Europe. In the United States, SACLANT was decommissioned and Allied Command Transformation established, the headquarters of ACT is at the former SACLANT headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia, USA. Each has a Supreme Allied Commander as its commander, Allied Command Operations has its headquarters at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, at Mons, Belgium. It is headed by the Supreme Allied Commander, Europe, a U. S. four-star general or admiral with the role of heading U. S
45.
Dwight D. Eisenhower
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Dwight David Ike Eisenhower was an American politician and Army general who served as the 34th President of the United States from 1953 until 1961. He was a general in the United States Army during World War II. He was responsible for planning and supervising the invasion of North Africa in Operation Torch in 1942–43, in 1951, he became the first Supreme Commander of NATO. Eisenhower was of mostly Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry and was raised in a family in Kansas by parents with a strong religious background. He graduated from West Point in 1915 and later married Mamie Doud, after World War II, Eisenhower served as Army Chief of Staff under President Harry S. Truman and then accepted the post of President at Columbia University. Eisenhower entered the 1952 presidential race as a Republican to counter the non-interventionism of Senator Robert A. Taft, campaigning against communism, Korea and he won in a landslide, defeating Democratic candidate Adlai Stevenson and temporarily upending the New Deal Coalition. Eisenhower was the first U. S. president to be constitutionally term-limited under the 22nd Amendment, Eisenhowers main goals in office were to keep pressure on the Soviet Union and reduce federal deficits. He ordered coups in Iran and Guatemala, Eisenhower gave major aid to help the French in the First Indochina War, and after the French were defeated he gave strong financial support to the new state of South Vietnam. Congress agreed to his request in 1955 for the Formosa Resolution, after the Soviet Union launched Sputnik in 1957, Eisenhower authorized the establishment of NASA, which led to the space race. During the Suez Crisis of 1956, Eisenhower condemned the Israeli, British and French invasion of Egypt and he also condemned the Soviet invasion during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 but took no action. Eisenhower sent 15,000 U. S. troops to Lebanon to prevent the government from falling to a Nasser-inspired revolution during the 1958 Lebanon crisis. Near the end of his term, his efforts to set up a meeting with the Soviets collapsed because of the U-2 incident. On the domestic front, he covertly opposed Joseph McCarthy and contributed to the end of McCarthyism by openly invoking executive privilege and he otherwise left most political activity to his Vice President, Richard Nixon. Eisenhower was a conservative who continued New Deal agencies and expanded Social Security. Eisenhowers two terms saw considerable economic prosperity except for a decline in 1958. Voted Gallups most admired man twelve times, he achieved widespread popular esteem both in and out of office, since the late 20th century, consensus among Western scholars has consistently held Eisenhower as one of the greatest U. S. Presidents. The Eisenhauer family migrated from Karlsbrunn in the Saarland, to North America, first settling in York, Pennsylvania, in 1741, accounts vary as to how and when the German name Eisenhauer was anglicized to Eisenhower. Eisenhowers Pennsylvania Dutch ancestors, who were farmers, included Hans Nikolaus Eisenhauer of Karlsbrunn
46.
Ace in a day
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The term ace in a day is used to designate a pilot who has shot down five or more airplanes in a single day, based on usual definition of an ace as one with five or more aerial victories. The first aviators to achieve this were pilot Julius Arigi and observer/gunner Johann Lasi of the Austro-Hungarian air force, on 22 August 1916, when they downed five Italian planes. World War I flying ace Fritz Otto Bernert scored five victories within 20 minutes on April 24,1917, a Bristol F2B crew- Canadian pilot Captain Alfred Atkey and English observer Lieutenant Charles Gass- shot down five German planes in a single sortie over Arras on 7th May 1918. Two days later, they were credited with five enemy machines in the course of two sorties on 9th May. Atkey survived the Great War credited with a total of 38 victories, South African pilot Andrew Beauchamp-Proctor of the Royal Air Force flew SE5a fighters with No 84 Squadron and among his 54 victories were five German aircraft shot down on 19 May 1918. Raymond Collishaw of the British Royal Naval Air Service, piloting a Sopwith Triplane, John Lightfoot Trollope of the Royal Air Force shot down and destroyed seven German planes on 24 March 1918. Henry Woollett shot down and destroyed six German airplanes on 12 April 1918, John Inglis Gilmour of the Royal Air Force successfully brought down five German aircraft in a single day on 1 July 1918. He achieved this whilst piloting a Sopwith Camel fighter, rené Fonck scored six in a day on two occasions,9 May and 26 September 1918. Billy Bishop, piloting an S. E.5, scored four Pfalz D. III fighters, two days later Spurling shot down another D. VII over Mont Notre Dame. The two crewmen shared each others victories, each attaining ace status in a single mission, luke was killed in action 11 days afterwards. To achieve this a pilot must have destroyed 15 enemy aircraft in a single day and this has been achieved by only four pilots, all from the Luftwaffe, Emil Lang shot down 18 Soviet fighters on 3 November 1943. Hans-Joachim Marseille was credited with downing 17 Allied fighters in just three sorties over North Africa on 1 September 1942,10 of those claims have been connected to actual Allied losses that day. August Lambert shot down 17 Soviet aircraft on a day in 1944. Hubert Strassl shot down 15 Soviet aircraft on 5 July 1943 near Orel, to achieve this a pilot must have destroyed 10 enemy aircraft in a single day. Erich Rudorffer is credited with the destruction of the most aircraft ever in a mission when he shot down 13 Soviet aircraft on 11 October 1943. Erich Hartmann, the fighter ace in history, downed 11 planes on 24 August 1944. On 6 January 1940 the Finnish pilot, Lieutenant Jorma Sarvanto destroyed six Soviet DB-3 bombers in four minutes on one flight, Sarvanto was the top scoring pilot in the Winter War with 12.83 kills. The wrecks of the bombers were found near Kuopio, on 17 May 1940, Oberleutnant Max Buscholz of 1. /JG3 shot down four RAF Bristol Blenheims and 2 French Curtis Hawk 75A
United States of America
United States Army Air Forces
United States Air Force
Brigadier general
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