1.
820 Naval Air Squadron
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820 Naval Air Squadron is a Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm carrier based squadron formed in April 1933 with the transferral of the Fairey III aircraft from 405 Flight Royal Air Force to the Fleet Air Arm. It has operated, with a number of gaps, up to the present day and continues in service. The squadrons first assignment on its formation was to carry out duties for the aircraft carrier HMS Courageous. They were later re-equipped with Fairey Seals and Blackburn Sharks, eventually receiving Fairey Swordfish in autumn 1937, the squadron was reassigned in November the following year to the new aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal. The squadron operated from Ark Royal for the three years, initially on anti-submarine duties, but later as surface search and torpedo-attack aircraft. The squadron went with Ark Royal to the Atlantic, and by April 1940 they were supporting Allied operations during the Norwegian campaign, after the withdrawal from Norway, Ark Royal and the squadron moved to the Mediterranean in June. Aircraft from 820 squadron were involved in attacking the French fleet at Mers-el-Kébir and they were also active during the Battle of Cape Spartivento, as well as covering convoys to Malta. 820 Squadrons next major engagement was the hunt for the German battleship Bismarck, aircraft from the Squadron were able to disable Bismarck’s steering gear with a torpedo hit, allowing Bismarck to be engaged and sunk. In June 1941 the squadron left Ark Royal, and in November that year returned to Iceland aboard HMS Victorious, the Swordfish were then replaced with Fairey Albacores. 820 Squadron then embarked aboard HMS Formidable in February 1942, the squadron was then active in the Battle of Madagascar, followed by Operation Torch, the Allied landings in North Africa. During these operations, aircraft from the squadron sank U-331, which had sunk the battleship HMS Barham. Formidable and the squadron remained in the Mediterranean to provide support for the Allied landings at Sicily, the squadron then returned to the UK in November 1943 and disbanded at RNAS Donibristle. The squadron was quickly reformed however, and equipped with 12 Fairey Barracudas was initially based at RNAS Lee-on-Solent as a torpedo bomber/reconnaissance squadron, the operations failed to cause significant damage to Tirpitz. The squadron was re-equipped with 21 Grumman Avengers in September 1944 and they sailed to Ceylon where 820 squadron joined No 2 Strike Wing, which also consisted of 849 Squadron. The Wing attacked the oil refineries at Palembang, Sumatra in January 1945 as part of Operation Meridian, following this up with later strikes on the Sakashima Gunto islands. As the war in the Pacific moved closer to Japan 820 Squadron was assigned to the 7th Carrier Air Group, after the end of the war, Indefatigable remained in the Pacific for some time, finally returning to the UK in March 1946. 820 Squadron was then disbanded again, the squadron was re-formed five years later in July 1951, this time flying the Fairey Firefly. The squadron was embarked aboard the carriers HMS Indomitable and HMS Theseus during 1952 and 1953
2.
Courageous-class aircraft carrier
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The Courageous class, sometimes called the Glorious class, was the first multi-ship class of aircraft carriers to serve with the Royal Navy. The three ships—Furious, Courageous and Glorious—were originally laid down as light cruisers to be used in the Baltic Project during the First World War. While very fast, their armour and few guns limited their long-term utility in the post-war Royal Navy. They were considered capital ships by the terms of the 1922 Washington Naval Treaty and were included in the amount of tonnage allowed to the Royal Navy. Rather than scrap them, the Navy decided to convert them to aircraft carriers as permitted under the Treaty, Furious, already partially converted during the war, began her reconstruction in 1921, before the Treaty came into effect. In an attempt to air turbulence, she was given no superstructure or island. This was not entirely satisfactory, and an island was added in 1939. The long ducts reduced her capacity, and the exhaust gases were as much of a problem for landing aircraft as the turbulence would have been. Her half-sisters, Courageous and Glorious, began their conversions to aircraft carriers as Furious neared completion, Courageous became the first warship lost by the Royal Navy in the Second World War when she was torpedoed in September 1939 by a German submarine. Glorious unsuccessfully hunted the German cruiser Admiral Graf Spee in the Indian Ocean in 1939 and she participated in the Norwegian Campaign in 1940, but was sunk by two German battleships in June when she was unwisely allowed to sail home with minimal escort. Furious spent the first months of the war hunting for German raiders and she ferried aircraft to Malta as part of the Malta Convoys during 1942 and provided air support to British forces during Operation Torch. Furious spent most of 1943 training with the Home Fleet, and made air strikes against the German battleship Tirpitz. The old ship was out by late 1944, so she was reduced to reserve status in September before being paid off in 1945. The first two ships of the class, Courageous and Glorious, spent the First World War on North Sea patrols and she made some patrols in the North Sea before her rear turret was removed and another flight deck added. Her aircraft attacked Zeppelin sheds during the Tondern raid in July 1918, all three ships were reduced to reserve after the war. The Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 limited the signatory nations to a set amount of capital ship tonnage, up to 66,000 long tons of existing ships could be converted into aircraft carriers, and the Royal Navy decided to use the Courageous-class ships due to their high speed. Each ship was reconstructed with a deck during the 1920s. She was laid up after the war, but was converted to an aircraft carrier between June 1921 and September 1925, Furiouss superstructure, masts, funnel and landing deck were removed and she was given a 576-by-92-foot flight deck that extended over three-quarters of her length
3.
Illustrious-class aircraft carrier
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The Illustrious class was a class of aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy that included some of the most important British warships in World War II. They were laid down in the late 1930s as part of the rearmament of British forces in response to the threats of Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy. The Illustrious class comprised four vessels, HM Ships Illustrious, Formidable, Victorious, the last of these was built to a modified design with a second, half-length, hangar deck below the main hangar deck. Each of these played a prominent part in the battles of World War II. The later two ships of the Implacable class were built to modified designs in order that they could carry larger air wings. Implacable and Indefatigable both had two levels, albeit with a limited 14-foot head room. The Illustrious class was designed within the restrictions of the Second London Naval Treaty, the Illustrious class followed the Yorktown but preceded the Essex. Other carriers had armour carried on lower decks, the flight deck and the hangar below it formed part of the superstructure. Illustriouss hangar was 82% as large as USS Enterprises but Enterprise typically carried 30% of her capacity in her deck park. Indomitables two hangars were actually larger than Enterprises but she carried fewer aircraft because she did not have a permanent deck park. In the Illustrious class, armour was carried at the flight deck level—which became the strength deck—and formed an armoured box-like hangar that was a part of the ships structure. However, to make this possible without increasing the displacement it was necessary to reduce the size. The later three vessels, Indomitable, Indefatigable and Implacable, had re-designed two-level hangars which enabled them to carry larger air groups than the original design, the size of the air wings was also increased by using outriggers and deck parks. The original design was for 36 aircraft, but eventually the vessels operated with a complement of up to 72 aircraft. However, the smaller height of the hangars compared unfavourably to the 17 feet 3 inches of the Essex class,17 ft 6 inches in Enterprise and 20 ft in Saratoga. This restricted operations with larger designs, particularly post-war. The flight deck had a thickness of 3 inches, closed by 4. 5-inch sides. There were 3-inch strakes on either side extending from the box sides to the top edge of the side belt
4.
Cammell Laird
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Cammell Laird is a British shipbuilding company. One of the names in British shipbuilding during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The company came about following the merger of Laird, Son & Co. of Birkenhead and they also built railway rolling stock until 1929, when that side of the business was separated and became part of the Metropolitan-Cammell Carriage and Wagon Company. The Laird company was founded by William Laird, who had established the Birkenhead Iron Works in 1824, when he was joined by his son, John Laird in 1828, their first ship was an iron barge. John realised that the techniques of making boilers could be applied to making ships, the company soon became pre-eminent in the manufacture of iron ships and made major advances in propulsion. In 1860 John Laird was joined in the business by his three sons, renaming it John Laird, Sons & Co, the sons continued it after their fathers death in 1874 as Laird Brothers. Johnson Cammell & Co. was founded by Charles Cammell and Henry and Thomas Johnson, it made, amongst many other metal products, in 1903 the businesses of Messrs. Cammell and Laird merged to create a company at the forefront of shipbuilding, the company also built a number of vehicles for the London Underground. An order was placed for 20 trailer cars and 20 control trailer cars in 1919, which were known as 1920 Stock and they ran with converted French motor cars, originally built in 1906. The doors were fitted with a edge, designed to re-open the door if someone became trapped in it, but the mechanism was too sensitive. The cars continued in operation until 1938, eight years after the cars were withdrawn. Cammell Laird also built a number of Standard Stock vehicles for the Underground and they were one of five builders approached to build a sample car to a general specification, which were put into service in February 1923, and three of the builders subsequently built production runs. The company supplied 41 motor cars and 40 trailer cars in 1923,25 control trailers in 1924, in 1927, they built 160 passenger coaches for use in India. To transport them, Cammell Laird asked Watsons of Gainsborough to build five dumb barges. The coaches were loaded onto the barges at Clifton, near Nottingham on the River Trent and they were taken to Hull for export. In 1929, the rolling stock business of Cammell Laird was spun off and merged to become Metropolitan-Cammell Carriage. Between 1829 and 1947, over 1,100 vessels of all kinds were launched from the Cammell Laird slipways into the River Mersey, among the many famous ships made by the companies were the worlds first steel ship, the Ma Roberts, built in 1858 for Dr. In 1898, Cammell provided the half-inch armour plate used to fabricate the four Fowler Armoured Road Trains built during the Second Anglo-Boer War
5.
Norwegian Campaign
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The Norwegian Campaign was fought in Norway between Norway, the Allies and Germany in World War II after the latters invasion of the country. In April, the United Kingdom and France came to Norways aid with an expeditionary force, despite moderate success in the northern parts of Norway, Germanys invasion of France in May eventually compelled the Allies to withdraw and the Norwegian government to seek exile in London. The campaign ended with the occupation of Norway by Germany, the 62 days of fighting made Norway the nation that withstood a German invasion for the second longest period of time, after the Soviet Union. Britain and France had signed military assistance treaties with Poland and two days after the German invasion, both declared war on Nazi Germany. However, neither country mounted significant offensive operations and for several months no major engagements occurred in what known as the Phoney War or Twilight War. Winston Churchill in particular wished to move the war into an active phase. During this time both sides wished to open secondary fronts, for the Allies, in particular the French, this was based on a desire to avoid repeating the trench warfare of the First World War, which had occurred along the Franco-German border. Following the outbreak of the Second World War, the Norwegian government had mobilized parts of the Norwegian Army and all, the Norwegian Army Air Service and the Royal Norwegian Navy Air Service were also called up to protect Norwegian neutrality from violations by the warring countries. The first such violations were the sinkings in Norwegian territorial waters of several British ships by German U-boats, in the following months aircraft from all the belligerents violated Norwegian neutrality. Following protracted negotiations between 25 September and 20 November 1939, the Norwegians agreed to charter 150 tankers, as well as other ships with a tonnage of 450,000 gross tons. The Norwegian governments concern for the supply lines played an important role in persuading them to accept the agreement. Norway, although neutral, was considered important for both sides of the war for two main reasons. Narvik became of greater significance to the British when it became apparent that Operation Catherine, the Norwegian ports could have also served as holes in the blockade of Germany, allowing the latter access to the Atlantic Ocean. The principal reason for Germanys invasion of Norway was its dependence on Swedish iron ore, by securing access to Norwegian ports, the Germans could more easily obtain the supply of iron ore they needed for their war effort. Control of Norway was considered to be important to Germanys ability to use its sea power effectively against the Allies. While Norway was strictly neutral, and unoccupied by either of the fighting powers, but the weakness of the Norwegian coastal defences, and the inability of her field army to resist effectively a determined invasion by a stronger power were clear. A successful invasion of Norway by either side had the potential to strike a blow against the other without getting bogged down in the trench warfare of the previous conflict. Norway had particular importance to the Germans during the Battle of the Atlantic
6.
Battle of Cape Spartivento
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On the night of 11 November 1940, the British incapacitated or destroyed half of the Italian fleets battleships in a daring aerial assault as they lay at rest at Taranto. The British were warned of their approach and immediately turned about and returned to Gibraltar, one Skua and eight Hurricanes were lost at sea, as they ran out of fuel well before arriving at their destination, with the loss of seven airmen. The Italians success in disrupting the reinforcement of Malta cast serious doubt upon British plans to send a convoy to supply the island. However, the convoy was attempted, with increased support, including ships from Gibraltar-based Force H, the convoy was spotted by the Italian intelligence service, and once again the Italian fleet sailed out to intercept it. The first Italian naval unit to make contact with the convoy was the torpedo boat Sirio. After launching two torpedoes from long range, which missed their target, Sirio reported seven enemy warships heading to the east, the British, aware of the Italian fleets movements, sent their forces north to intercept them before they could come anywhere near the cargo ships. At 09,45 on 27 November, an IMAM Ro.43 reconnaissance floatplane from the heavy cruiser Bolzano discovered a British squadron steaming to the east,17 nmi north of Chetaïbi. Force D had not yet arrived from Alexandria and the British were outgunned, but 15 minutes later, Force D was spotted and the tables turned. However, the Italian admiral Inigo Campioni had been orders to avoid combat unless it was heavily in his favour. Meanwhile, and even further to the south, Ark Royal was preparing to launch its complement of Fairey Swordfish, however, by this point, the lead cruiser formation had already angled toward the British and was beginning to engage them in battle. At 12,22, the groups of both cruiser forces came into range and Fiume opened fire at 23,500 metres. Rapid fire between the two continued as the distance between them closed, but as the range shortened Italian firepower began to put pressure on the outgunned British. The arrival of the battleship HMS Ramillies on the British side helped to even the odds, four minutes later, Vice Admiral Angelo Iachino, commander of the Italian cruiser group, received orders to disengage, although the battle had swung slightly in their favour. Iachino ordered an increase in speed to 30 kn, laid smoke, at this time, the Italian destroyer Lanciere was hit by a broadside from HMS Manchester and seriously damaged, although she was towed to port after the battle. The heavy cruiser HMS Berwick was hit at 12,22 by a single 203 mm shell, a second hit at 12,35 destroyed the after breaker room and cut power to the ships aft section, including the remaining aft turret. For the next few minutes, the tables turned in favour of the British when the battlecruiser HMS Renown closed the distance on the Italian cruisers, the Italian cruiser was hit by splinters. This advantage was negated, however, when at 13,00. Vittorio Veneto fired 19 rounds in seven salvoes from long range and that was enough for the now outgunned British cruisers, in fact, as giant water-spouts erupted around Berwick and Manchester, Holland ordered smoke, and his ships fled southeast to close with Renown
7.
Battle of the Mediterranean
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The Battle of the Mediterranean was the name given to the naval campaign fought in the Mediterranean Sea during World War II, from 10 June 1940 to 2 May 1945. American naval and air units joined the Allied side in 1942, each side had three overall objectives in this battle. The first was to attack the supply lines of the other side, the second was to keep open the supply lines to their own armies in North Africa. The third was to destroy the ability of the navy to wage war at sea. Outside of the Pacific theatre, the Mediterranean saw the largest conventional naval actions during the conflict. In particular, Allied forces struggled to supply and retain the key naval, in total the Allies lost 76 warships and 46 submarines. In return the Allies sank 83 Italian warships totaling 195,100 tons and 83 submarines, German losses in the Med from the start of the campaign to the end were 68 submarines. The Mediterranean was a focus of British maritime power. Out-numbered by the forces of the Regia Marina, the British plan was to hold the three strategic points of Gibraltar, Malta, and the Suez Canal. By holding these points, the Mediterranean Fleet held open vital supply routes, Malta was the lynch-pin of the whole system. It provided a stop for Allied convoys and a base from which to attack the Axis supply routes. Italian dictator Benito Mussolini saw the control of the Mediterranean as a prerequisite for expanding his New Roman Empire into Nice, Corsica, Tunis. Italian naval building accelerated during his tenure, Mussolini described the Mediterranean Sea as Mare Nostrum. The warships of the Regia Marina had a reputation as well-designed. Italian small attack craft lived up to expectations and were responsible for many brave, only by the spring of 1943, barely five months before the armistice, twelve Italian warships were equipped with Italian-designed EC-3 ter Gufo radar devices. In addition, whereas Allied commanders at sea had discretion to act on their own initiative, the Regia Marina also lacked a proper fleet air arm. The aircraft carrier Aquila was never completed and most air support during the Battle of the Mediterranean was supplied by the land-based Regia Aeronautica, another major handicap for the Italians was the shortage of fuel. As early as March 1941, the scarcity of fuel oil was critical
8.
Malta convoys
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The Malta Convoys were Allied supply convoys of the Second World War. The convoys took place during the Siege of Malta in the Mediterranean Theatre, Malta required supplies for the civilian population and military reinforcements, food and fuel for the air and naval forces based on the island. The desert war was fought in Libya, Egypt, the Suez Canal, the strategic value of Malta was so great that the British risked many merchant vessels and warships to maintain the island and the Axis made determined efforts to starve out the population. The destruction of the Italian 10th Army in Egypt and Libya during Operation Compass, German bombers and submarines joined the blockade to neutralise and then invade Malta. The British assembled large flotillas to escort convoys and sent fast warships, to make runs to the island. After the Axis victory in the Battle of Gazala, the capture of Tobruk and pursuit into Egypt, Hercules was postponed, Malta, an island of 122 square miles, had a population of 275,000. In the 1940s, Maltese agriculture could feed only one-third of its population, Malta had been a British colony since 1814. Only two weeks after the Italian declaration of war, the Second Armistice at Compiègne ended British access to French Mediterranean Sea bases, the attack on Mers-el-Kébir hardened French antipathy towards Britain. Axis support of General Francisco Franco in the Spanish Civil War caused concern about security of British Gibraltar, Italy, Sicily, Sardinia and Libya dominated the central Mediterranean and Italian conquest of Egypt would link Abyssinia, Italian Somaliland and Eritrea. The September 1940 Italian invasion of Egypt was followed by Operation Compass, germany sent the Afrika Korps to Libya in Unternehmen Sonnenblume which, with Italian reinforcements, recaptured Cyrenaica. Fliegerkorps X of the Luftwaffe was sent to Sicily in Unternehmen Mittelmeer to protect the Axis supply routes past Malta, fliegerkorps X was transferred to Greece in April 1941 and the 23rd U-boat Flotilla was based at Salamis in September. Resources available to sustain Malta were reduced when Japan declared war in December, Malta ceased to be an effective anti-convoy base in early 1942. Several warships were sunk in harbour and others were withdrawn, supplies dwindled with the loss of convoys. An Axis invasion of Malta was planned as (Operation C3 and Unternehmen Herkules, in the Battle of Calabria, Regia Marina escorts of an Italian convoy engage battleships HMS Warspite, Malaya and Royal Sovereign and the aircraft carrier HMS Eagle. Cruisers and destroyers covered convoys MF1 with El Nil, Knight of Malta and Rodi and MS1 with Kirkland, Masirah, Novasli, Tweed and Zeeland, twelve Hurricanes were flown off the carrier HMS Argus to Malta in the first Club Run to reinforce the air defences. Club Runs would continue until it was possible to fly the aircraft directly from Gibraltar, the Mediterranean Fleet escorted fast convoy MF2 of three transports from Alexandria and collected another convoy from Gibraltar. En route, Italian airbases were raided, the Regia Marina had superior forces at sea but missed the opportunity to exploit their advantage. Four ships of convoy MF3 reached Malta safely from Alexandria and 3 ships returned to Alexandria as convoy MF4, the convoys were part of Operation MB6 and the escort included four battleships and two aircraft carriers
9.
German submarine U-81 (1941)
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German submarine U-81 was a Type VIIC U-boat of the navy of Nazi Germany during World War II, famous for sinking the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal. German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines, U-81 had a displacement of 769 tonnes when at the surface and 871 tonnes while submerged. She had a length of 67.10 m, a pressure hull length of 50.50 m, a beam of 6.20 m, a height of 9.60 m. She had two shafts and two 1.23 m propellers, the boat was capable of operating at depths of up to 230 metres. The submarine had a surface speed of 17.7 knots. When submerged, the boat could operate for 80 nautical miles at 4 knots, U-81 was fitted with five 53.3 cm torpedo tubes, fourteen torpedoes, one 8.8 cm SK C/35 naval gun,220 rounds, and an anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of between forty-four and sixty and she was ordered on 25 January 1939 and laid down on 11 May 1940 at Bremer Vulkan, Bremen-Vegesack, becoming yard number 9. She was launched on 22 February 1941 and commissioned under her first commander, Oberleutnant zur See Friedrich Guggenberger, Guggenberger commanded her for her work-ups with the 1st U-boat Flotilla between 26 April and 31 July 1941. She then became a front boat of the 1st U-boat Flotilla and her first successes came on her second patrol, which took her from Trondheim into the North Sea and the North Atlantic, before putting into the French port of Brest. During the patrol she attacked Convoy SC-42 and she sank the cargo ship Empire Springbuck on 9 September, followed by the motor ship Sally Maersk on 10 September, for a combined total of 8,843 tons. U-81 was one of the U-boats ordered into the Mediterranean, the Catalina was joined by a Lockheed Hudson, which dropped depth charges onto U-81. She was severely damaged and had to return to Brest, there she was repaired to return to the Mediterranean. On 4 November U-81 left Brest bound for La Spezia in Italy, on 13 November off Gibraltar, she encountered the inbound ships of Force H. She fired a torpedo into the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal. Despite efforts to salvage her, the Ark Royal had to be abandoned some 12 hours after the attack, only one life had been lost due to the torpedo explosion. U-81 reached La Spezia on 1 December, where she joined the 29th U-boat Flotilla and her next patrol was uneventful and resulted in no ships attacked. She sailed again on 4 April 1942 and headed into the eastern Mediterranean, on 16 April she sank the Egyptian sailing ships Bab el Farag and Fatouh el Kher, as well as the British Caspia and the Free French anti-submarine naval trawler Vikings. U-81 sank a further two Egyptian sailing ships, Hefz el Rahman on 19 April and the El Saadiah on 22 April, the U-boat put into port at Salamis in Greece on 25 April, having spent 22 days at sea and sunk 7,582 tons of shipping
10.
Aircraft carrier
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An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the ship of a fleet, as it allows a naval force to project air power worldwide without depending on local bases for staging aircraft operations. Aircraft carriers are expensive to build and are critical assets, there is no single definition of an aircraft carrier, and modern navies use several variants of the type. These variants are sometimes categorized as sub-types of aircraft carriers, Aircraft carriers may be classified according to the type of aircraft they carry and their operational assignments. Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope, former head of the Royal Navy, has said, To put it simply, as of April 2017, there are 37 active aircraft carriers in the world within twelve navies. The United States Navy has 10 large nuclear-powered fleet carriers, the largest carriers in the world, the Royal Navy of Great Britain is building two 280-m / 920-ft carriers, the Queen Elizabeth, and the Prince of Wales scheduled to go into service in 2020-2023. These are the largest carriers capable of fast speeds, by comparison, escort carriers were developed to provide defense for convoys of ships. They were smaller and slower with lower numbers of aircraft carried, most were built from mercantile hulls or, in the case of merchant aircraft carriers, were bulk cargo ships with a flight deck added on top. Light aircraft carriers were fast enough to operate with the main fleet, three nations currently operate carriers of this type, ten by the United States, and one each by France and Brazil for a total of twelve in service. Short take-off but arrested-recovery, these carriers are generally limited to carrying lighter fixed-wing aircraft with more limited payloads, currently, Russia, China, and India possess commissioned carriers of this type. Short take-off vertical-landing, limited to carrying STOVL aircraft and this type of aircraft carrier is currently in service with Italy. Some also count the nine US amphibious assault ships in their secondary light carrier role boosting the total to thirteen. Helicopter carrier, Helicopter carriers have an appearance to other aircraft carriers. Some are designed for addition of, or may include, a ski jump ramp allowing for STOVL operations or may have a ski jump installed before retirement of STOVL aircraft. In the past, some conventional carriers were converted and called commando carriers by the Royal Navy, some helicopter carriers with a resistant flight surface can operate STOVL jets. Currently the majority of carriers, but not all, are classified as amphibious assault ships. The US has nine of this type, France and Japan three, Australia two, the UK one, the Republic of Korea one and Spain one, the US and Spains amphibious assault ships operate STOVL jets in normal deployment. Supercarrier Fleet carrier Light aircraft carrier Escort carrier Several systems of identification symbol for aircraft carriers, two months later, on 18 January 1911, Ely landed his Curtiss pusher airplane on a platform on the armored cruiser USS Pennsylvania anchored in San Francisco Bay
11.
Length overall
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Length overall, often abbreviated as is the maximum length of a vessels hull measured parallel to the waterline. This length is important while docking the ship and it is the most commonly used way of expressing the size of a ship, and is also used for calculating the cost of a marina berth. LOA is usually measured on the hull alone, for sailing ships, this may exclude the bowsprit and other fittings added to the hull. This is how some racing boats and tall ships use the term LOA, however, other sources may include bowsprits in LOA. Sparred length, Total length including bowsprit, Mooring length and LOA including bowsprit are other expressions that might indicate the length of a sailing ship. Often used to distinguish between the length of a vessel including projections from the length of the hull itself, the Length on Deck or LOD is often reported and this is especially useful for smaller sailing vessels, as their LOA can be significantly different from their LOD. In ISO8666 for small boats, there is a definition of LOH and this may be shorter than a vessels LOA, because it excludes other parts attached to the hull, such as bowsprits. Another measure of length is LWL which is useful in assessing a vessels performance. In some cases LWL can be shorter than LOA. Overall length in cartridges The National Register of Historic Vessels Length between perpendiculars Hayler, William B, keever, John M. American Merchant Seamans Manual. Turpin, Edward A. McEwen, William A
12.
Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company
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Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company was a British engineering company based in Wallsend, North England, on the River Tyne. The company was founded by Charles Algernon Parsons in 1897 with £500,000 of capital, although both these vessels came to grief, the new engines were not to blame, and the Admiralty was convinced. His son became a director in the company and was replaced during the First World War by his daughter Rachel Parsons, USS Arizona used four direct-drive Parsons turbines. The turbines were designed to produce a total of 34,000 shaft horsepower, but only achieved 33,376 shp during Arizonas sea trials, the Royal Navy, along with the Royal Canadian Navy, and Royal Australian Navy, used Parsons turbines on their Tribal-class destroyers. The Invincible-class battlecruisers all used propulsion systems manufactured by the company, the last ship to use a Parsons propulsion system was HMS Glamorgan launched in 1964. The company was absorbed into C. A. Parsons and Company and survives in the Heaton area of Newcastle as part of Siemens, C. A. Parsons and Company Johnston, Ian, Buxton, Ian. The Battleship Builders - Constructing and Arming British Capital Ships
13.
Steam turbine
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A steam turbine is a device that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work on a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Sir Charles Parsons in 1884, in 1551, Taqi al-Din in Ottoman Egypt described a steam turbine with the practical application of rotating a spit. Steam turbines were described by the Italian Giovanni Branca and John Wilkins in England. The devices described by Taqi al-Din and Wilkins are today known as steam jacks, in 1672 an impulse steam turbine driven car was designed by Ferdinand Verbiest. A more modern version of car was produced some time in the late 18th century by an unknown German mechanic. The modern steam turbine was invented in 1884 by Sir Charles Parsons, the invention of Parsons steam turbine made cheap and plentiful electricity possible and revolutionized marine transport and naval warfare. Parsons design was a reaction type and his patent was licensed and the turbine scaled-up shortly after by an American, George Westinghouse. The Parsons turbine also turned out to be easy to scale up. Parsons had the satisfaction of seeing his invention adopted for all major world power stations, a number of other variations of turbines have been developed that work effectively with steam. The de Laval turbine accelerated the steam to full speed before running it against a turbine blade, De Lavals impulse turbine is simpler, less expensive and does not need to be pressure-proof. It can operate with any pressure of steam, but is less efficient. He taught at the École des mines de Saint-Étienne for a decade until 1897, one of the founders of the modern theory of steam and gas turbines was Aurel Stodola, a Slovak physicist and engineer and professor at the Swiss Polytechnical Institute in Zurich. His work Die Dampfturbinen und ihre Aussichten als Wärmekraftmaschinen was published in Berlin in 1903, a further book Dampf und Gas-Turbinen was published in 1922. It was used in John Brown-engined merchant ships and warships, including liners, the present-day manufacturing industry for steam turbines is dominated by Chinese power equipment makers. Other manufacturers with minor market share include Bhel, Siemens, Alstom, GE, Doosan Škoda Power, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, the consulting firm Frost & Sullivan projects that manufacturing of steam turbines will become more consolidated by 2020 as Chinese power manufacturers win increasing business outside of China. There are several classifications for modern steam turbines, Turbine blades are of two basic types, blades and nozzles. Blades move entirely due to the impact of steam on them and this results in a steam velocity drop and essentially no pressure drop as steam moves through the blades. A turbine composed of alternating with fixed nozzles is called an impulse turbine, Curtis turbine, Rateau turbine
14.
Three-drum boiler
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Three-drum boilers are a class of water-tube boiler used to generate steam, typically to power ships. They are compact and of high power, factors that encourage this use. Other boiler designs may be efficient, although bulkier. The fundamental characteristic of the design is the arrangement of a steam drum above two water drums, in a triangular layout. Water tubes fill in the two sides of this triangle between the drums, and the furnace is in the centre, the whole assembly is then enclosed in a casing, leading to the exhaust flue. Firing can be by either coal or oil, many coal-fired boilers used multiple firedoors and teams of stokers, often from both ends. Development of the boiler began in the late 19th century, with the demand from naval ships that required high power. The move to water-tube boilers had already begun, with such as the Babcock & Wilcox or the Belleville. The three-drum arrangement was lighter and more compact for the same power, the new generation of small-tube water-tube boilers used water-tubes of around 2 inches diameter, compared to older designs of 3 or 4 inches. This gave a ratio of tube surface heating area to the tube volume. These small-tube boilers also became known as express boilers, although not all of these were three-drum designs, most were some variation of this. As the tubes of the three-drum are close to vertical, this encourages strong circulation by the thermosyphon effect, the development of the three-drum pattern was generally one of simplification, rather than increasing complexity or sophistication. Even the first boilers packed a large heating area into a volume, their difficulty was in manufacturing. The convoluted tubes of early designs such as the du Temple, a multi-row bank of tubes could provide adequate heating area, without this complexity. Tubes also became straighter, mostly to ease their cleaning, Yarrow had demonstrated that straight tubes did not cause any problems with expansion, but circular drums and perpendicular tube entry were both valuable features for a long service life. Where tubes entered drums at an angle, heating and cooling tended to bend the back and forth. A perpendicular entry was easier to expand the tubes for a reliable seal and it was worth the compromise of the Admiralty boilers bent tube ends to keep these two features, and these tubes were still simple enough in shape to clean easily. Some of the first boiler tubes, particularly the du Temple with its sharp corners, tubes were later cleaned internally by attempting to pass a hinged rod through, with a brush at the end
15.
Knot (unit)
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The knot is a unit of speed equal to one nautical mile per hour, approximately 1.151 mph. The ISO Standard symbol for the knot is kn, the same symbol is preferred by the IEEE, kt is also common. The knot is a unit that is accepted for use with the SI. Etymologically, the term derives from counting the number of knots in the line that unspooled from the reel of a log in a specific time. 1 international knot =1 nautical mile per hour,1.852 kilometres per hour,0.514 metres per second,1.151 miles per hour,20.254 inches per second,1852 m is the length of the internationally agreed nautical mile. The US adopted the definition in 1954, having previously used the US nautical mile. The UK adopted the international nautical mile definition in 1970, having used the UK Admiralty nautical mile. The speeds of vessels relative to the fluids in which they travel are measured in knots, for consistency, the speeds of navigational fluids are also measured in knots. Thus, speed over the ground and rate of progress towards a distant point are given in knots. Until the mid-19th century, vessel speed at sea was measured using a chip log, the chip log was cast over the stern of the moving vessel and the line allowed to pay out. Knots placed at a distance of 8 fathoms -47 feet 3 inches from each other, passed through a sailors fingers, the knot count would be reported and used in the sailing masters dead reckoning and navigation. This method gives a value for the knot of 20.25 in/s, the difference from the modern definition is less than 0. 02%. On a chart of the North Atlantic, the scale varies by a factor of two from Florida to Greenland, a single graphic scale, of the sort on many maps, would therefore be useless on such a chart. Recent British Admiralty charts have a latitude scale down the middle to make this even easier, speed is sometimes incorrectly expressed as knots per hour, which is in fact a measure of acceleration. Prior to 1969, airworthiness standards for aircraft in the United States Federal Aviation Regulations specified that distances were to be in statute miles. In 1969, these standards were amended to specify that distances were to be in nautical miles. At 11000 m, an airspeed of 300 kn may correspond to a true airspeed of 500 kn in standard conditions. Beaufort scale Hull speed, which deals with theoretical estimates of maximum speed of displacement hulls Knot count Knotted cord Metre per second Orders of magnitude Rope Kemp
16.
Nautical mile
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A nautical mile is a unit of measurement defined as exactly 1852 meters. Historically, it was defined as one minute of latitude, which is equivalent to one sixtieth of a degree of latitude. Today it is an SI derived unit, being rounded to a number of meters. The derived unit of speed is the knot, defined as one mile per hour. The geographical mile is the length of one minute of longitude along the Equator, there is no internationally agreed symbol. M is used as the abbreviation for the mile by the International Hydrographic Organization and by the International Bureau of Weights. NM is used by the International Civil Aviation Organization, nm is used by the U. S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Nmi is used by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the word mile is from the Latin word for a thousand paces, mīlia. In 1617 the Dutch scientist Snell assessed the circumference of the Earth at 24,630 Roman miles, around that time British mathematician Edmund Gunter improved navigational tools including a new quadrant to determine latitude at sea. He reasoned that the lines of latitude could be used as the basis for a unit of measurement for distance, as one degree is 1/360 of a circle, one minute of arc is 1/21600 of a circle. These sexagesimal units originated in Babylonian astronomy, Gunter used Snells circumference to define a nautical mile as 6,080 feet, the length of one minute of arc at 48 degrees latitude.3 metres. Other countries measure the minute of arc at 45 degrees latitude, in 1929, the international nautical mile was defined by the First International Extraordinary Hydrographic Conference in Monaco as 1,852 meters. Imperial units and United States customary units used a definition of the nautical mile based on the Clarke Spheroid, the United States nautical mile was defined as 6,080.20 feet based in the Mendenhall Order foot of 1893. It was abandoned in favour of the nautical mile in 1954.181 meters. It was abandoned in 1970 and, legally, references to the unit are now converted to 1,853 meters. Conversion of units Orders of magnitude
17.
Dual-purpose gun
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A dual-purpose gun is a naval artillery mounting designed to engage both surface and air targets. The light A/A was dispersed throughout the ship and included both automatic cannons and heavy machine guns and they discarded the dedicated, anti-ship secondary batteries altogether, because a battle-line fleet would be screened against cruiser and destroyers most of the time. Rather, they replaced them with turret-mounted dual-purpose guns that could be used against both aircraft and ships and this arrangement was seen as more efficient, and was deemed adequate to meet anti-surface and anti-aircraft needs under most circumstances. Both navies were concerned of close-range torpedo attacks from enemy destroyers and torpedo boats, the French Navy used a mixed-calibre system, as well, but their secondary battery was dual-purpose. This tended to complicate ammunition supplies and render certain armament useless in some situations, dual-purpose guns are designed as a compromise between the heavy main armament of a surface combatant and dedicated anti-aircraft guns. Usually of a caliber, the gun is heavy enough to prove useful against surface targets including ships, surfaced submarines. For example, a Royal Navy battleship of the King George V class had sixteen QF Mark I5. 25-inch guns that could engage enemy ships or high level aircraft. Not all dual-purpose guns have high elevation, the determining factor was whether or not the mounting was provided with an anti-aircraft fire control system and a method for setting the time fuze in the A. A. warhead, fired by the gun. Starting with the Tribal class, the Royal Navy introduced a series of classes that had dual-purpose guns. XIX and later mountings limited to 40,50 or 55 degrees elevation, however, the guns were controlled by an A. A. fire control system, fire control and no on-mount fuze setters. Admiral Sir Philip Vian describes the use of 4, there was too little sea-room for full freedom of manoeuvre, and the aircrafts approach was screened by the rock walls. Junkers attacks persisted to the end, but the fire of the destroyers, not a ship received a direct hit, though some were damaged by the splinters from near misses. Dual-purpose guns, often abbreviated to DP guns, were designed as a secondary armament for large surface ships such as cruisers. Most DP mounted guns have calibers in the range from three to five inches, in British service the term HA/LA for High Angle/Low Angle was used
18.
QF 2-pounder naval gun
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The 2-pounder gun, officially designated the QF 2-pounder and universally known as the pom-pom, was a 40-millimetre British autocannon, used as an anti-aircraft gun by the Royal Navy. The name came from the sound that the original models make when firing. This QF 2-pounder was not the gun as the Ordnance QF2 pounder, used by the British Army as an anti-tank gun. The first gun to be called a pom-pom was the 37 mm Nordenfelt-Maxim or QF 1-pounder introduced during the Second Boer War and it fired a shell one pound in weight accurately over a distance of 3,000 yd. The barrel was water-cooled, and the shells were belt-fed from a 25-round fabric belt, the Boers used them against the British, who, seeing their utility, had the design copied by Vickers, who were already producing Maxim guns. During the First World War, it was used in the trenches of the Western Front against aircraft, the first naval pom-pom was the QF1. 5-pdr Mark I, a piece with a calibre of 37 mm and a barrel 43 calibres long. This was trialed in the Arethusa-class light cruisers HMS Arethusa and Undaunted, but did not enter service, being replaced instead by a larger weapon. The QF 2-pounder Mark II was essentially a version of the QF1 pounder Maxim gun produced by Vickers. It was a 40 mm calibre gun with a water-cooled barrel and it was ordered in 1915 by the Royal Navy as an anti-aircraft weapon for ships of cruiser size and below. The original models fired from hand-loaded fabric belts, although these were replaced by steel-link belts. This scaling-up process was not entirely successful, as it left the mechanism rather light, in 1918, one example of this weapon was experimentally mounted on the upper envelope of His Majestys Airship 23r. Surviving weapons were out of storage to see service in World War II, mainly on board ships such as naval trawlers, Motor Boats. It was used almost exclusively in the single-barrel, unpowered pedestal mountings P Mark II except for a number of weapons on the mounting Mark XV. These were too heavy to be of any use at sea, calibre,40 mm L/39 Total length,96 inches. Length of bore,62 inches Rifling, Polygroove, plain section,54.84 inches, Weight of gun & breech assembly,527 lb Shell Weight,2 lb. HE. Rate of Fire,200 rpm Effective Range,1,200 yd Muzzle Velocity,1920 ft/s Some 7,000 guns were made, the gun was also used by the Japanese as the 40 mm/62 HI Shiki. The Royal Navy had identified the need for a rapid-firing, multi-barrelled close-range anti-aircraft weapon at an early stage. Design work for such a weapon began in 1923 based on the earlier Mark II, lack of funding led to a convoluted and drawn-out design and trials history, and it was not until 1930 that these weapons began to enter service
19.
Anti-aircraft warfare
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Anti-aircraft warfare or counter-air defence is defined by NATO as all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action. They include ground-and air-based weapon systems, associated sensor systems, command and control arrangements and it may be used to protect naval, ground, and air forces in any location. However, for most countries the main effort has tended to be homeland defence, NATO refers to airborne air defence as counter-air and naval air defence as anti-aircraft warfare. Missile defence is an extension of air defence as are initiatives to adapt air defence to the task of intercepting any projectile in flight, a surface-based air defence capability can also be deployed offensively to deny the use of airspace to an opponent. Until the 1950s, guns firing ballistic munitions ranging from 20 mm to 150 mm were the weapons, guided missiles then became dominant. The term air defence was probably first used by Britain when Air Defence of Great Britain was created as a Royal Air Force command in 1925. However, arrangements in the UK were also called anti-aircraft, abbreviated as AA, after the First World War it was sometimes prefixed by Light or Heavy to classify a type of gun or unit. Nicknames for anti-aircraft guns include AA, AAA or triple-A, an abbreviation of anti-aircraft artillery, ack-ack, NATO defines anti-aircraft warfare as measures taken to defend a maritime force against attacks by airborne weapons launched from aircraft, ships, submarines and land-based sites. In some armies the term All-Arms Air Defence is used for air defence by nonspecialist troops, other terms from the late 20th century include GBAD with related terms SHORAD and MANPADS. Anti-aircraft missiles are variously called surface-to-air missile, abbreviated and pronounced SAM, non-English terms for air defence include the German FlaK, whence English flak, and the Russian term Protivovozdushnaya oborona, a literal translation of anti-air defence, abbreviated as PVO. In Russian the AA systems are called zenitnye systems, in French, air defence is called DCA. The maximum distance at which a gun or missile can engage an aircraft is an important figure, however, many different definitions are used but unless the same definition is used, performance of different guns or missiles cannot be compared. For AA guns only the part of the trajectory can be usefully used. By the late 1930s the British definition was that height at which an approaching target at 400 mph can be engaged for 20 seconds before the gun reaches 70 degrees elevation. However, effective ceiling for heavy AA guns was affected by nonballistic factors, The maximum running time of the fuse, the capability of fire control instruments to determine target height at long range. The essence of air defence is to detect aircraft and destroy them. The critical issue is to hit a target moving in three-dimensional space, Air defence evolution covered the areas of sensors and technical fire control, weapons, and command and control. At the start of the 20th century these were very primitive or non-existent
20.
Vickers .50 machine gun
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The Vickers.50 machine gun, also known as the Vickers.50 was basically similar to the.303 inches Vickers machine gun but scaled up to use a larger-calibre 0. 5-inch round. It saw some use in tanks and other fighting vehicles, but was more commonly used as a close-in anti-aircraft weapon on Royal Navy and allied ships. The Vickers fired UK12. 7×81mm 50-calibre ammunition, not the better known US12. 7×99mm, Mark I was the development model. Mark II entered service in 1933 and was mounted in some British tanks, marks IV and V were improved versions and were also used mounted on trucks in the North Africa Campaign. It was superseded for use in armoured fighting vehicles during World War II by the 15 mm Besa, Mark III was a naval version used as an anti-aircraft weapon, mostly by the Royal Navy and allied navies in World War II, typically in mountings of 4 guns. It proved insufficiently powerful in the short-range anti-aircraft role against modern aircraft and was superseded during World War II by the Oerlikon 20 mm cannon. The naval quad mount featured a 200-round magazine per barrel, which wrapped the ammunition belt around the magazine drum, the four-barrel mounting had its guns adjusted to provide a spread of fire, amounting to 60 feet wide and 50 feet high at 1,000 yards. Vickers claimed that it could fire all 800 rounds in 20 seconds, during the Second World War it was also mounted on power-operated turrets in smaller craft such as Motor Gun Boats and Motor Torpedo Boats. Browning M2 Pom-pom The Vickers Machine Gun Tony DiGiulian, British 0. 50/62 Mark III Anthony G Williams, THE.5 VICKERS GUNS AND AMMUNITION
21.
Belt armor
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Belt armor is a layer of heavy metal armor plated onto or within the outer hulls of warships, typically on battleships, battlecruisers and cruisers, and aircraft carriers. The belt armor is designed to prevent projectiles from penetrating to the heart of a warship, typically, the main armor belt covers the warship from its main deck down to some distance below the waterline. If, instead of forming the hull, the armor belt is built inside the hull, it is installed at a sloped angle for improved protection. Furthermore, the spaces around the main belt in some designs were filled with storage tanks that could contain fuel oil, seawater. The liquids in these tanks absorb or scatter much of the force of warheads. To deal with the leakage from the tanks and incoming seawater and this multilayer design is featured in the cross-sectional drawings of Tirpitz and King George V. In combat, a warship can be seriously damaged underwater not only by torpedoes, to improve protection against both shells and torpedoes, an air space can be added between the armor belt and the hull to increase the buoyancy of the warship. Some kinds of naval warships have belt armor thinner than actually necessary for protection against projectiles and this is common especially with battlecruisers, battleships, and aircraft carriers to reduce their weight, thus increasing their acceleration and speed. Another possible reason is to meet treaty restrictions on ship displacement, one such method is all-or-nothing armoring, where belt armor is stripped from areas deemed non-vital to the functioning of the ship in battle. Agility gained from such processes are an asset to offensive warships that seek to quickly bring their heavy striking power to the enemy. In carriers, the maneuverability is exploited when deploying and recovering aircraft, since planes take off and land most easily when flying into the wind, the aircraft carrier steams rapidly into the wind in both maneuvers, making take-off and landing safer and easier. S. Comparison of WW2 battleship armor schemes Torpedo belt Protected cruiser Armored cruiser
22.
Deck (ship)
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A deck is a permanent covering over a compartment or a hull of a ship. On a boat or ship, the primary or upper deck is the structure that forms the roof of the hull, strengthening it. Decks for some purposes have specific names, the main purpose of the upper or primary deck is structural, and only secondarily to provide weather-tightness and support people and equipment. The deck serves as the lid to the box girder which is the hull. It resists tension, compression, and racking forces, the decks scantling is usually the same as the topsides, or might be heavier if the deck is expected to carry heavier loads. The deck will be reinforced around deck fittings such as the capstan, cleats, on ships with more than one level, deck refers to the level itself. The actual floor surface is called the sole, the term refers to a structural member tying the ships frames or ribs together over the keel. In modern ships, the decks are usually numbered from the primary deck. So the first deck below the deck will be #2. Some merchant ships may alternatively designate decks below the deck, usually machinery spaces, by numbers. Ships may also call decks by common names, or may invent fanciful and romantic names for a deck or area of that specific ship. Equipment mounted on deck, such as the wheel, binnacle, fife rails. Eastern designs developed earlier, with efficient middle decks and minimalist fore, in vessels having more than one deck there are various naming conventions, numerically, alphabetically, etc. However, there are various common historical names and types of decks,01 level is the term used in naval services to refer to the deck above the main deck. The next higher decks are referred to as the 02 level, the 03 level, afterdeck an open deck area toward the stern-aft. Berth deck, A deck next below the gun deck, where the hammocks of the crew are slung, Boat deck, Especially on ships with sponsons, the deck area where lifeboats or the ships gig are stored. Boiler deck, The passenger deck above the vessels boilers, may also refer to the deck of a bridge. Flight deck, A deck from which aircraft take off or land, flush deck, Any continuous unbroken deck from stem to stern
23.
Fairey Swordfish
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The Fairey Swordfish was a biplane torpedo bomber designed by the Fairey Aviation Company. It was initially operated primarily as an attack aircraft, during its later years. The type was in service throughout the entirety of the Second World War. By the end of the war, the Swordfish held the distinction of having caused the destruction of a tonnage of Axis shipping than any other Allied aircraft. The Swordfish remained in service until V-E Day, having outlived multiple aircraft that had been intended to replace it in service. Receiving the internal designation of T. S. R, I, standing for Torpedo-Spotter-Reconnaissance I, the proposed design adopted a biplane configuration and a single 645 hp Bristol Pegasus IIM radial engine as its powerplant. The company chose to pursue development of the project as a self-financed private venture while both customers and applicable requirements for the type were sought. I was in parallel to Faireys activities upon Air Ministry Specification S, Fairey promptly informed the Air Ministry of their work on the Greek order, whose interest had eventually waned, and proposed its solution to the requirements for a spotter-reconnaissance plane. In 1934, the Air Ministry issued the more advanced Specification S. 15/33, on 21 March 1933, the prototype T. S. R. I, F1875, conducted its maiden flight from Great West Aerodrome, Heathrow, on 11 September 1933, F1875 was lost during a series of spinning tests in which it became unable to recover, the pilot survived the incident. On 17 April 1934, the prototype T. S. R II, K4190, performed its maiden flight, following successful water-handling trials, K4190 conducted a series of aircraft catapult and recovery tests aboard the battlecruiser HMS Repulse. K4190 was later restored to its wheeled undercarriage prior to an evaluation process by the Aeroplane. All three pre-production aircraft were powered by the Pegasus IIIM3 engine, but adopted a three-bladed Fairey-Reed propeller in place of the two-bladed counterpart used on the earlier prototype, on 31 December 1935, the first pre-production Swordfish, K5660, made its maiden flight. In early 1936, a production contract for 68 Swordfish aircraft was received, designated at the Swordfish I. Manufactured at Faireys factory in Hayes, West London, the first production aircraft was completed in early 1936, less than a year later, the first Blackburn-built Swordfish conducted its first flight. During 1941, Blackburns Sherburn factory assumed primary responsibility for the fuselage, along with final assembly, like many other wartime aircraft, efforts were made to disperse production and to employ the use of shadow factories to minimise the damage caused by Luftwaffe bombing raids. Major sub-assemblies for the Swordfish were produced by a total of four based in neighbouring Leeds. The Swordfish II carried ASV Mk. II radar and featured metal undersurfaces to the wings to allow the carriage of 3 rockets
24.
Blackburn Skua
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The Blackburn B-24 Skua was a carrier-based low-wing, two-seater, single-radial engine aircraft operated by the British Fleet Air Arm which combined the functions of a dive bomber and fighter. It was designed in the mid-1930s and saw service in the part of the Second World War. It took its name from the seabird, built to Air Ministry specification O. 27/34, it was a low-wing monoplane of all-metal construction, with a retractable undercarriage and enclosed cockpit. It was the Fleet Air Arms first service monoplane and was a departure for a force that was primarily equipped with open-cockpit biplanes such as the Fairey Swordfish. For the dive-bombing role, a 250 lb or 500 lb bomb was carried on a swinging trapeze crutch under the fuselage. Four 40 lb bombs or eight 20 lb Cooper bombs could also be carried in racks under each wing and it had large Zap-type air brakes/flaps, which helped in dive bombing and landing on aircraft carriers at sea. Two prototypes were ordered from Blackburn in 1935 and the first, serial number K5178, both prototypes were powered by the Bristol Mercury XII radial engine, but following trials when a production order for 190 aircraft was placed, they were to have Bristol Perseus XII engines. The first unit to receive the Skua was 800 Naval Air Squadron in late 1938 at Worth Down, by November the squadron had embarked on HMS Ark Royal and was followed in 1939 by 801 and 803 squadrons. With the start of the Second World War, Skuas were soon in action and on 14 September three were launched from Ark Royal, to go to the aid of the SS Fanad Head which had been attacked by a U-boat. When they arrived, the Fanad Head was being shelled by U-30, two of the Skuas were damaged by the blasts and had to ditch. U-30 returned to Germany with the crews of the two ditched Skuas, who became the first naval airmen to be prisoners of war in the conflict. This was the first major warship ever to be sunk by dive bombing, lucy later also became a fighter ace flying the Skua. Among the latter were both commanders, Captain R. T. Partridge and Lieutenant Commander John Casson. The aircraft was replaced by another two-seater, the Fairey Fulmar. A number of aircraft were converted to target tugs, following withdrawal from frontline service, others were completed as target tugs from the factory and used by the RAF and Fleet Air Arm in this role. They were also used as advanced trainers for the Fleet Air Arm, the last Skua in service was struck off charge in March 1945. The Roc was a similar aircraft developed as a turret fighter. The Roc was expected to serve alongside the Skua, Rocs were attached to Skua squadrons, to protect the fleet anchorage at Scapa Flow in early 1940 and briefly from HMS Glorious and Ark Royal during the Norwegian Campaign
25.
Fairey Fulmar
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The Fairey Fulmar was a British carrier-borne fighter aircraft that served with the Fleet Air Arm during the Second World War. A total of 600 were built by Fairey Aviation at its Stockport factory between January 1940 and December 1942, the Fulmars design was based on that of the earlier Fairey P. 4/34 that was in turn developed in 1936 as a replacement for the Fairey Battle light bomber. Although its performance was lacking, the Fulmar was a reliable, sturdy aircraft with long range and an effective armament of eight machine guns. The Fairey P. 4/34 was built to Specification P. 4/34 as a bomber capable of being used as a dive bomber, in competition with the Hawker Henley. Despite its high speed of 284 mph, it lost out to the 300 mph Henley, the Fulmar, a navalised version of the P. 4/34, was submitted to meet Specification O. 8/38 for a two-crew fleet defence fighter. As it was not expected to encounter fighter opposition, high performance or maneuverability was not considered important, the provision of a navigator/wireless operator was considered essential for the long, over-ocean flights that would be required. Looking much like its sister, the Battle, the Fulmar prototype was aerodynamically cleaner, the prototype P. 4/34 serial number K5099 first flew on 13 January 1937 at Fairey Aviations Great West Aerodrome, with Fairey test pilot Chris Staniland at the controls. After the first flight tests, the tail was revised, being raised 8 in, the first prototype Fulmar, acting as a flying mock-up, was powered by a 1,080 hp Rolls Royce Merlin III engine. With this engine, performance was poor, the prototype only reaching 230 mph, Fulmar Mk II production began in January 1941, with the first Mk II reaching an operational squadron in March 1941. Testing of the Fulmar II, at Boscombe Down, in June 1942 showed that the Fulmar could safely drop a 500 lb bomb during 60-degree dives at up to 310 knots. Boscombe Down testing in October 1941 showed that the 60-gallon drop tank extended range to 1,100 miles, n1854, the first production Fulmar, was later modified to Mk II standard and then civilianised as Faireys hack, G-AIBE. In June 1959, it reverted to service markings and was seen at Farnborough at the SBAC show on 8 September 1962 and it is now in the FAA Museum, Yeovilton. During testing, Fulmars were launched from catapults on merchant ships, the first squadron to be equipped with the Fulmar was No.806 Squadron FAA in July 1940, and this squadron began operating from HMS Illustrious shortly afterwards. The Fulmar was not well matched with land-based fighters, the Navy had specified a two-seat machine, feeling that a navigator was needed to cope with the challenges of navigating over the open ocean. As a result, the Fulmar was far too large and unwieldy when it came into contact with single-seat, land-based opposition, as it did in the Mediterranean Theatre. Yet its long range was useful at times, as evidenced in the 1941 chase of the German battleship Bismarck, First seeing action on Malta convoy protection patrols in September 1940, the sturdy Fulmar was able to achieve victories against its far more agile Italian and German adversaries. By the autumn, Fulmars had shot down ten Italian bombers and six enemy fighters, Fulmars played a prominent role in the ill-fated raid on Kirkenes and Petsamo in July 1941. By 1942, the Fulmar was being replaced by single-seat aircraft adapted from land fighters such as the Supermarine Seafire or by American single-seat fighters such as the Grumman Martlet
26.
Aircraft catapult
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An aircraft catapult is a device used to launch aircraft from ships, most commonly used on aircraft carriers, as a form of assisted take off. Different means have been used to propel the catapult, such as weight and derrick, gunpowder, flywheel, air pressure, hydraulic, and steam power. The U. S. Navy is developing the use of Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch Systems with the construction of the Gerald R. Ford class aircraft carrier, aviation pioneer and Smithsonian Secretary Samuel Langley used a spring-operated catapult to launch his successful flying models and his failed aerodrome of 1903. Likewise the Wright Brothers beginning in 1904 used a weight and derrick styled catapult to assist their early aircraft with a takeoff in a limited distance, on 31 July 1912, Theodore Gordon Ellyson became the first person to be launched from a U. S. Navy catapult system. The Navy had been perfecting a compressed-air catapult system and mounted it on the Santee Dock in Annapolis, the first attempt nearly killed Lt. Ellyson when the plane left the ramp with its nose pointing upward and it caught a crosswind, pushing the plane into the water. Ellyson was able to escape from the wreckage unhurt, on 12 November 1912, Lt. Ellyson made history as the Navys first successful catapult launch, from a stationary coal barge. On 5 November 1915, LCDR Henry C, mustin made the first catapult launch from a ship underway. The US Navy experimented with other sources and models, including catapults that utilized gunpowder. On 14 December 1924, a Martin MO-1 observation plane flown by Lt. L. C, hayden was launched from USS Langley using a catapult powered by gunpowder. Following this launch, this method was used aboard both cruisers and battleships, up to and during World War II, most catapults were hydraulic. They were mostly used for experimental purposes, and their use was discontinued during the latter half of the war. Many naval vessels apart from aircraft carriers carried float planes, seaplanes or amphibians for reconnaissance and they were catapult-launched and landed on the sea alongside for recovery by crane. There were submarine aircraft carriers, and some Japanese submarines used them for offensive operations also, the first launch off a Royal Navy battlecruiser was from HMAS Australia on 8 March 1918. The aircraft carried were the Fairey Seafox or Supermarine Walrus, some like HMS Nelson did not use a catapult, and the aircraft was lowered onto the sea for takeoff. Some had their aircraft and catapult removed during WWII e. g. HMS Duke of York and these were used for convoy escort duties to drive off enemy reconnaissance bombers. CAM ships carried a Hawker Sea Hurricane, dubbed a Hurricat or Catafighter, ground-launched V-1s were typically propelled up an inclined launch ramp by an apparatus known as a Dampferzeuger. Following World War II, the Royal Navy was developing a new system for their fleet of carriers. Mitchell, RNV, recommended a system as an effective
27.
Royal Navy
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The Royal Navy is the United Kingdoms naval warfare force. Although warships were used by the English kings from the medieval period. The modern Royal Navy traces its origins to the early 16th century, from the middle decades of the 17th century and through the 18th century, the Royal Navy vied with the Dutch Navy and later with the French Navy for maritime supremacy. From the mid 18th century it was the worlds most powerful navy until surpassed by the United States Navy during the Second World War. The Royal Navy played a key part in establishing the British Empire as the world power during the 19th. Due to this historical prominence, it is common, even among non-Britons, following World War I, the Royal Navy was significantly reduced in size, although at the onset of the Second World War it was still the worlds largest. By the end of the war, however, the United States Navy had emerged as the worlds largest, during the Cold War, the Royal Navy transformed into a primarily anti-submarine force, hunting for Soviet submarines, mostly active in the GIUK gap. The Royal Navy is part of Her Majestys Naval Service, which includes the Royal Marines. The professional head of the Naval Service is the First Sea Lord, the Defence Council delegates management of the Naval Service to the Admiralty Board, chaired by the Secretary of State for Defence. The strength of the fleet of the Kingdom of England was an important element in the power in the 10th century. English naval power declined as a result of the Norman conquest. Medieval fleets, in England as elsewhere, were almost entirely composed of merchant ships enlisted into service in time of war. Englands naval organisation was haphazard and the mobilisation of fleets when war broke out was slow, early in the war French plans for an invasion of England failed when Edward III of England destroyed the French fleet in the Battle of Sluys in 1340. Major fighting was confined to French soil and Englands naval capabilities sufficed to transport armies and supplies safely to their continental destinations. Such raids halted finally only with the occupation of northern France by Henry V. Henry VII deserves a large share of credit in the establishment of a standing navy and he embarked on a program of building ships larger than heretofore. He also invested in dockyards, and commissioned the oldest surviving dry dock in 1495 at Portsmouth, a standing Navy Royal, with its own secretariat, dockyards and a permanent core of purpose-built warships, emerged during the reign of Henry VIII. Under Elizabeth I England became involved in a war with Spain, the new regimes introduction of Navigation Acts, providing that all merchant shipping to and from England or her colonies should be carried out by English ships, led to war with the Dutch Republic. In the early stages of this First Anglo-Dutch War, the superiority of the large, heavily armed English ships was offset by superior Dutch tactical organisation and the fighting was inconclusive
28.
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
29.
Washington Naval Treaty
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It limited the construction of battleships, battlecruisers and aircraft carriers by the signatories. The numbers of categories of warships, including cruisers, destroyers and submarines, were not limited by the treaty. The naval treaty was concluded on February 6,1922, ratifications of that treaty were exchanged in Washington on August 17,1923, and it was registered in League of Nations Treaty Series on April 16,1924. Subsequent to the treaty, other arms limitation conferences sought to increase limitations of warship building. The terms of the Washington treaty were modified by the London Naval Treaty of 1930, by the mid-1930s, Japan and Italy renounced the treaties, making naval arms limitation an increasingly untenable position for the other signatories. Immediately after World War I, the United Kingdom had the worlds largest and most powerful navy, followed by the United States, the three nations had been allied for World War I, but a naval arms race seemed likely for the next few years. The arms race began in the United States, president Woodrow Wilsons administration announced successive plans for the expansion of the US Navy from 1916 to 1919 that would have resulted in a massive fleet of 50 modern battleships. At the time, it was engaged in building six battleships, the Japanese started work on four battleships and four battlecruisers, all much larger and more powerful than those of the classes preceding. The 1921 British Naval Estimates planned four battleships and four battlecruisers, the U. S. public was largely unwelcoming of the new arms race. Britain could also ill afford any resumption of construction, given the exorbitant price of naval construction. In late 1921, the US government became aware that Britain was planning a conference to discuss the situation in the Pacific. To forestall the conference and satisfy domestic pressure for a disarmament conference. At the first plenary session held November 21,1921, US Secretary of State Charles Evans Hughes presented his countrys proposals, Hughes provided a dramatic beginning for the conference by stating with resolve, The way to disarm is to disarm. The ambitious slogan received enthusiastic public endorsement and likely shortened the conference while helping ensure his proposals were largely adopted and he subsequently proposed the following, A ten-year pause or holiday in the construction of capital ships, including the immediate suspension of all capital ship building. The scrapping of existing or planned capital ships to give a 5,5,3,1.75,1.75 ratio of tonnage with Britain, ongoing limits of both capital ship tonnage and the tonnage of secondary vessels with the 5,5,3 ratio. The proposals regarding capital ships were largely accepted by the British delegation and it would no longer be possible for Britain to have adequate fleets in the North Sea, the Mediterranean, and the Far East simultaneously. The facts provoked outrage from parts of the Royal Navy, nevertheless, there was huge pressure on Britain to agree. The risk of war with the United States was increasingly regarded as merely theoretical, Naval spending was unpopular in both Britain and its dominions
30.
Birkenhead
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Birkenhead /ˌbɜːrkənˈhɛd/ is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. Historically in Cheshire, it is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, the Birkenhead Urban Area defined as the contiguous built-up area along the eastern side of the Wirral had a total population of 325,264 in the 2011 Census. In the 2011 census, the Parliamentary constituency of Birkenhead had a population of 88,818, the Birkenhead and Tranmere electoral ward, covering a much smaller area, had a population of 15,879. The recorded history of Birkenhead began with the establishment of Birkenhead Priory, during the 19th century Birkenhead expanded greatly, becoming a town as a consequence of the Industrial Revolution, with Birkenhead Park and Hamilton Square being examples of the era. Around the same time, Birkenhead gained the first street tramway in Britain, later, the Mersey Railway connected Birkenhead and Liverpool, with the worlds first tunnel beneath a tidal estuary. Birkenhead is perhaps best known for the shipbuilding of Cammell Laird, in the second half of the 20th century, the town suffered a significant period of decline, with containerisation causing a reduction in port activity. During the first half of the 21st century, the Wirral Waters development is planned to regenerate much of the dockland. The name Birkenhead probably means headland overgrown with birch, from the Old English bircen meaning birch tree, the name is not derived from the Birket, a stream which enters the Mersey between Birkenhead and Seacombe. The Birket is a name which was introduced by Ordnance Survey. The earliest records state that the Mersey ferry began operating from Birkenhead in 1150, the priory was visited in 1275 and 1277 by Edward I. In a royal charter of 13 April 1330, Edward III granted the priory further rights, distanced from the Industrial Revolution in Liverpool by the physical barrier of the River Mersey, Birkenhead retained its agricultural status until the advent of steam ferry services. In 1817 a steam ferry service started from Liverpool to Tranmere and in 1822 the paddle steamer, Royal Mail, an iron works was initially established by William Laird in 1824 and was joined by his son John Laird in 1828. The business eventually became Cammell Laird, merchant vessels were also built such as RMS Mauretania and RMS Windsor Castle. The Mersey Railway tunnel opened in 1886, providing direct access to Liverpool. In September 1932 thousands of unemployed people protested in a series of demonstrations organised by the branch of the National Unemployed Workers Movement. After three days of rioting, police were brought in from elsewhere to help quell the rioters, in addition to the ferries and the railway, the Queensway road tunnel opened in 1934 and gave rapid access to Liverpool. This opened up the Wirral Peninsula for development, and prompted further growth of Birkenhead as an industrial centre. Bolstered by migration from rural Cheshire, southern Ireland and Wales, formerly a township in Bidston Parish of the Wirral Hundred, Birkenhead was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1877, and became a county borough with the passing of the Local Government Act 1888
31.
Flight deck
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The flight deck of an aircraft carrier is the surface from which its aircraft take off and land, essentially a miniature airfield at sea. On smaller naval ships which do not have aviation as a primary mission, the official U. S. Navy term for these vessels is air-capable ships. The first flight decks were inclined wooden ramps built over the forecastle of warships, eugene Ely made the first fixed-wing aircraft take-off from a warship from USS Birmingham on 14 November 1910. Ely told a reporter, It was easy enough, I think the trick could be successfully turned nine times out of ten. On 9 May 1912, Commander Charles Samson became the first man to take off from a ship which was underway when he flew his Short S.27 off of HMS Hibernia, which was steaming at 10.5 kn. Because the take-off speed of aircraft was so low, it was possible for an aircraft to make a very short take off when the launching ship was steaming into the wind. The landing arrangements on Furious were highly unsatisfactory, in order to land, aircraft had to manoeuvre around the superstructure. Furious was therefore returned to dockyard hands to have a 300 ft deck added aft for landing, the central superstructure remained, however, and turbulence caused by it badly affected the landing deck. Because of her flight deck, Argus had no fixed conning tower. Rather, exhaust gases were trunked down the side of the ship, the lack of a command position and funnel was unsatisfactory, and Argus was used to experiment with various ideas to remedy the solution. A photograph in 1917 shows her with a canvas mock-up of an island superstructure. This became the aircraft carrier arrangement and was used in the next British carriers, Hermes. Being large and fast they were suited to this role. Because the military effectiveness of aircraft carriers was then unknown, early ships were equipped with cruiser-calibre guns to aid in their defense if surprised by enemy warships. In ships of this configuration, the deck was the strength deck and an integral part of the hull. Such ships were still being built into the late 1940s, classic examples being the U. S. Navys Essex, however, in 1936, the Royal Navy began construction of the Illustrious class. In these ships, the deck was the strength deck, an integral part of the hull. The flight deck as the deck was adopted for later construction
32.
Last battle of the battleship Bismarck
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The last battle of the German battleship Bismarck took place in the Atlantic Ocean approximately 300 nmi west of Brest, France, on 26–27 May 1941. Although it was an action between capital ships, it has no generally accepted name. On 24 May, before the action, Bismarcks fuel tanks were damaged and several machinery compartments. Her intention was to reach the port of Brest for repair, late in the day Bismarck briefly turned on her pursuers to cover the escape of her companion, the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen to continue further into the Atlantic. Early on 25 May the British forces lost contact with Bismarck and she was rediscovered in the late morning of 26 May by a Catalina flying boat from No.209 Squadron RAF and subsequently shadowed by aircraft from Force H steaming north from Gibraltar. The final action consisted of four main phases, the second phase was the shadowing and harassment of Bismarck during the night of 26/27 May by British destroyers, with no serious damage to any ship. The third phase on the morning of 27 May was an attack by the British battleships King George V, after about 100 minutes of fighting, Bismarck was sunk by the combined effects of shellfire, torpedo hits and deliberate scuttling. On the British side, Rodney was lightly damaged by near-misses, British warships rescued 111 survivors from Bismarck before being obliged to withdraw because of an apparent U-boat sighting, leaving several hundred men to their fate. Bismarcks second sea battle was made unavoidable by the decisions of the Fleet Commander, taken well before the encounter with Hood, the decrease in speed made Force H’s airborne torpedo attacks inevitable, and those attacks led directly to the final encounter with the Home Fleet. Determined to avenge the sinking of the Pride of the Navy HMS Hood in the Battle of the Denmark Strait, Prince of Wales and the cruisers Norfolk and Suffolk were still at sea in the area and tailing the German ships. A British force, the battleship King George V, the carrier Victorious, the battleship Rodney was detached from escort duties on 24 May. One hit was scored, but caused only superficial damage to Bismarcks armoured belt, for some time, Bismarck remained under long-distance observation by the British. Contact was lost for four hours, however, perhaps in awe of British radar capabilities, however, a plotting error made onboard King George V, now in pursuit of the Germans, incorrectly calculated Bismarcks position and caused the chase to veer too far to the north. Bismarck was therefore able to make good time on 25/26 May in her unhindered passage towards France, by now, however, fuel was becoming a major concern to both sides. The British had a stroke of luck on 26 May, Smith, USNR, spotted Bismarck and reported her position to the Admiralty. All British hopes were now pinned on Force H, whose units were the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal, the battlecruiser HMS Renown. This battle group, commanded by Admiral James Somerville, had been diverted north from Gibraltar, at dusk that evening, and in atrocious weather conditions, Swordfish from Ark Royal launched an attack. The first wave mistakenly targeted Sheffield which had detached from Force H under orders to close
33.
German battleship Bismarck
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Bismarck was the first of two Bismarck-class battleships built for Nazi Germanys Kriegsmarine. Work was completed in August 1940, when she was commissioned into the German fleet, Bismarck and her sister ship Tirpitz were the largest battleships ever built by Germany, and two of the largest built by any European power. In the course of the warships eight-month career under its commanding officer, Captain Ernst Lindemann, Bismarck conducted only one offensive operation, in May 1941. The ship, along with the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, was to break into the Atlantic Ocean, the two ships were detected several times off Scandinavia, and British naval units were deployed to block their route. At the Battle of the Denmark Strait, the iconic battlecruiser HMS Hood initially engaged Prinz Eugen, probably by mistake, in the ensuing battle Hood was destroyed by the combined fire of Bismarck and Prinz Eugen, who then damaged Prince of Wales and forced her retreat. Bismarck suffered sufficient damage from three hits to force an end to the raiding mission, the destruction of Hood spurred a relentless pursuit by the Royal Navy involving dozens of warships. Most experts agree that the damage would have caused her to sink eventually. The wreck was located in June 1989 by Robert Ballard, and has since been surveyed by several other expeditions. Bismarck was ordered under the name Ersatz Hannover, a replacement for the old pre-dreadnought SMS Hannover, under contract F, the contract was awarded to the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg, where the keel was laid on 1 July 1936 at Helgen IX. The ship was launched on 14 February 1939 and during the ceremonies was christened by Dorothee von Löwenfeld, granddaughter of Chancellor Otto von Bismarck. Adolf Hitler made the christening speech, fitting-out work followed the launch, during which time the original straight stem was replaced with a raked Atlantic bow similar to those of the Scharnhorst-class battleships. Bismarck was commissioned into the fleet on 24 August 1940 for sea trials, kapitän zur See Ernst Lindemann took command of the ship at the time of commissioning. Bismarck displaced 41,700 t as built and 50,300 t fully loaded, with a length of 251 m, a beam of 36 m. The battleship was Germanys largest warship, and displaced more than any other European battleship, with the exception of HMS Vanguard, the ship had a cruising range of 8,870 nautical miles at 19 knots. Bismarck was equipped with three FuMO23 search radar sets, mounted on the forward and stern rangefinders and foretop, the standard crew numbered 103 officers and 1,962 enlisted men. The crew was divided into divisions of between 180 and 220 men. The first six divisions were assigned to the armament, divisions one to four for the main and secondary batteries and five. The seventh division consisted of specialists, including cooks and carpenters, the radio operators, signalmen, and quartermasters were assigned to the ninth division
34.
Gibraltar
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Gibraltar is a British Overseas Territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula. It has an area of 6.7 km2 and shares its border with Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the landmark of the region. At its foot is a populated city area, home to over 30,000 Gibraltarians. An Anglo-Dutch force captured Gibraltar from Spain in 1704 during the War of the Spanish Succession on behalf of the Habsburg claim to the Spanish throne, the territory was subsequently ceded to Great Britain in perpetuity under the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. Today Gibraltars economy is based largely on tourism, online gambling, financial services, the sovereignty of Gibraltar is a major point of contention in Anglo-Spanish relations as Spain asserts a claim to the territory. Gibraltarians overwhelmingly rejected proposals for Spanish sovereignty in a 1967 referendum, under the Gibraltar constitution of 2006, Gibraltar governs its own affairs, though some powers, such as defence and foreign relations, remain the responsibility of the British government. The name Gibraltar is the Spanish derivation of the Arabic name Jabal Ṭāriq, earlier, it was known as Mons Calpe, a name of Phoenician origin and one of the Pillars of Hercules. The pronunciation of the name in modern Spanish is, evidence of Neanderthal habitation in Gibraltar between 28,000 and 24,000 BP has been discovered at Gorhams Cave, making Gibraltar possibly the last known holdout of the Neanderthals. Within recorded history, the first inhabitants were the Phoenicians, around 950 BC, subsequently, Gibraltar became known as one of the Pillars of Hercules, after the Greek legend of the creation of the Strait of Gibraltar by Heracles. The Carthaginians and Romans also established semi-permanent settlements, after the collapse of the Roman Empire, Gibraltar came briefly under the control of the Vandals. The area later formed part of the Visigothic Kingdom of Hispania from 414 AD until the Islamic conquest of Iberia in 711 AD, in 1160, the Almohad Sultan Abd al-Mumin ordered that a permanent settlement, including a castle, be built. It received the name of Medinat al-Fath, on completion of the works in the town, the Sultan crossed the Strait to look at the works and stayed in Gibraltar for two months. The Tower of Homage of the Moorish Castle remains standing today, from 1274 onwards, the town was fought over and captured by the Nasrids of Granada, the Marinids of Morocco and the kings of Castile. In 1462, Gibraltar was finally captured by Juan Alonso de Guzmán, after the conquest, King Henry IV of Castile assumed the additional title of King of Gibraltar, establishing it as part of the comarca of the Campo Llano de Gibraltar. In 1501, Gibraltar passed back to the Spanish Crown, the occupation of the town by Alliance forces caused the exodus of the population to the surrounding area of the Campo de Gibraltar. As the Alliances campaign faltered, the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht was negotiated and ceded control of Gibraltar to Britain to secure Britains withdrawal from the war. Unsuccessful attempts by Spanish monarchs to regain Gibraltar were made with the siege of 1727 and again with the Great Siege of Gibraltar, during the American War of Independence
35.
BBC
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The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. It is headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, the BBC is the worlds oldest national broadcasting organisation and the largest broadcaster in the world by number of employees. It employs over 20,950 staff in total,16,672 of whom are in public sector broadcasting, the total number of staff is 35,402 when part-time, flexible, and fixed contract staff are included. The BBC is established under a Royal Charter and operates under its Agreement with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. The fee is set by the British Government, agreed by Parliament, and used to fund the BBCs radio, TV, britains first live public broadcast from the Marconi factory in Chelmsford took place in June 1920. It was sponsored by the Daily Mails Lord Northcliffe and featured the famous Australian Soprano Dame Nellie Melba, the Melba broadcast caught the peoples imagination and marked a turning point in the British publics attitude to radio. However, this public enthusiasm was not shared in official circles where such broadcasts were held to interfere with important military and civil communications. By late 1920, pressure from these quarters and uneasiness among the staff of the licensing authority, the General Post Office, was sufficient to lead to a ban on further Chelmsford broadcasts. But by 1922, the GPO had received nearly 100 broadcast licence requests, John Reith, a Scottish Calvinist, was appointed its General Manager in December 1922 a few weeks after the company made its first official broadcast. The company was to be financed by a royalty on the sale of BBC wireless receiving sets from approved manufacturers, to this day, the BBC aims to follow the Reithian directive to inform, educate and entertain. The financial arrangements soon proved inadequate, set sales were disappointing as amateurs made their own receivers and listeners bought rival unlicensed sets. By mid-1923, discussions between the GPO and the BBC had become deadlocked and the Postmaster-General commissioned a review of broadcasting by the Sykes Committee and this was to be followed by a simple 10 shillings licence fee with no royalty once the wireless manufactures protection expired. The BBCs broadcasting monopoly was made explicit for the duration of its current broadcast licence, the BBC was also banned from presenting news bulletins before 19.00, and required to source all news from external wire services. Mid-1925 found the future of broadcasting under further consideration, this time by the Crawford committee, by now the BBC under Reiths leadership had forged a consensus favouring a continuation of the unified broadcasting service, but more money was still required to finance rapid expansion. Wireless manufacturers were anxious to exit the loss making consortium with Reith keen that the BBC be seen as a service rather than a commercial enterprise. The recommendations of the Crawford Committee were published in March the following year and were still under consideration by the GPO when the 1926 general strike broke out in May. The strike temporarily interrupted newspaper production and with restrictions on news bulletins waived the BBC suddenly became the source of news for the duration of the crisis. The crisis placed the BBC in a delicate position, the Government was divided on how to handle the BBC but ended up trusting Reith, whose opposition to the strike mirrored the PMs own
36.
Admiralty
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The new Admiralty Board meets only twice a year, and the day-to-day running of the Royal Navy is controlled by a Navy Board. It is common for the authorities now in charge of the Royal Navy to be referred to as simply The Admiralty. The title of Lord High Admiral of the United Kingdom was vested in the monarch from 1964 to 2011, the title was awarded to Philip, Duke of Edinburgh by Queen Elizabeth II on his 90th birthday. There also continues to be a Vice-Admiral of the United Kingdom, the office of Admiral of England was created around 1400 although there had already been Admirals of the Northern and Western Seas. In 1546, King Henry VIII established the Council of the Marine, later to become the Navy Board, operational control of the Royal Navy remained the responsibility of the Lord High Admiral, who was one of the nine Great Officers of State. In 1628, Charles I put the office of Lord High Admiral into commission, the office of Lord High Admiral passed a number of times in and out of commission until 1709 after which the office was almost permanently in commission. In 1831, the first Navy Board was abolished as a separate entity, in 1964, the Admiralty along with the War Office and the Air Ministry as separate departments of state were abolished, and re-emerged under one single new Ministry of Defence. Within the expanded Ministry of Defence are the new Admiralty Board which has a separate Navy Board responsible for the running of the Royal Navy. The Army Board and the Air Force Board, each headed by the Secretary of State for Defence, the Board of Admiralty consisted of a number of Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty. The Lords Commissioners were always a mixture of admirals, known as Naval Lords or Sea Lords and Civil Lords, the quorum of the Board was two commissioners and a secretary. The president of the Board was known as the First Lord of the Admiralty, after 1806, the First Lord of the Admiralty was always a civilian while the professional head of the navy came to be known as the First Sea Lord. The first real concerted effort to organise the Admiralty was started by Henry VIII. Between 1860 and 1908 there was no study of strategy and of staff work conducted within the naval service. All the navys talent flowed to the great technical universitys and it was perceived by officials within the Admiralty at this time that the running of war was quite a simple matter for any flag officer who required no formal training. The new War Staff had hardly found its feet and it struggled with the opposition to its existence by senior officers they were categorically opposed to a staff. The deficiencies of the system within this department of state could be seen in the conduct of the Dardanelles campaign, there was no mechanisms in place to answer the big strategic questions in 1914 a Trade Division was created. In 1916, Sir John Jellicoe came to the Admiralty, he organized the staff as following, Chief of War Staff, Operations, Intelligence, Signal Section, Mobilization, Trade. This for the first time gave the naval staff direct representation on the Board, the would direct all operations and movements of the fleet, while the would be responsible for mercantile movements and anti-submarine operations
37.
Fleet Air Arm
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The Fleet Air Arm is the branch of the British Royal Navy responsible for the operation of naval aircraft. The Fleet Air Arm currently operates the AgustaWestland Merlin, Westland Sea King, and AgustaWestland Wildcat helicopters, helicopters such as the Lynx and Westland Wasp have been deployed on smaller vessels since 1964, taking over the roles once performed by biplanes such as the Fairey Swordfish. During the Second World War, the Fleet Air Arm operated aircraft on ships as well as land-based aircraft that defended the Royal Navys shore establishments, British naval flying started in 1909, with the construction of an airship for naval duties. The Naval Wing of the RFC lasted until July 1914 when the Royal Navy reformed its air branch, under the Air Department of the Admiralty, naming it the Royal Naval Air Service. By the outbreak of the First World War, in August 1914, the RNAS had more aircraft under its control than the remaining RFC. In April 1918 the RNAS, which at this time had 67,000 officers and men,2,949 aircraft,103 airships and 126 coastal stations, merged with the RFC to form the Royal Air Force. On 1 April 1924, the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Air Force was formed, encompassing those RAF units that normally embarked on aircraft carriers, over the following months RAF Fleet Air Arm Fairey IIID reconnaissance biplanes operated off Hermes, conducting flying trials. On 24 May 1939 the Fleet Air Arm was returned to Admiralty control under the Inskip Award, at the onset of the Second World War, the Fleet Air Arm consisted of 20 squadrons with only 232 aircraft. By the end of the war the strength of the Fleet Air Arm was 59 aircraft carriers,3,700 aircraft,72,000 officers and men. During the war, the FAA operated fighters, torpedo bombers, following the Dunkirk evacuation and the commencement of the Battle of Britain, the Royal Air Force soon found itself critically short of fighter pilots. In the summer of 1940, the RAF had little more than 800 fighter pilots, with this desperate situation the RAF was forced to call upon the Admiralty for Fleet Air Arm assistance. The aircraft carrier had replaced the battleship as the Fleets capital ship, the top scoring fighter ace with 17 victories was Commander Stanley Orr, the Royal Marine ace was Ronald Cuthbert Hay with 13 victories. A number of Royal Marines served as FAA pilots during the war, after the war the FAA needed to fly jet aircraft from their carriers. The jet aircraft of the era were considerably less effective at low speeds than propeller aircraft, the FAA took on its first jet, the Sea Vampire, in the late 1940s. The Sea Vampire was the first jet credited with taking off, the Air Arm continued with high-powered prop aircraft alongside the new jets resulting in the FAA being woefully outpowered during the Korean War. Nevertheless, jets were not yet wholly superior to propeller aircraft, as jets became larger, more powerful and faster they required more space to take off and land. The US Navy simply built much larger carriers, the Royal Navy had a few large carriers built and completed after the end of the war but another solution was sought. An associated British invention, intended to more precise optical guidance to aircraft on final approaching the deck, was the Fresnel lens optical landing aid
38.
Arresting gear
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An Arresting gear, or arrestor gear, is a mechanical system used to rapidly decelerate an aircraft as it lands. Arresting gear on aircraft carriers is a component of naval aviation. Similar systems are found at land-based airfields for expeditionary or emergency use. Typical systems consist of steel wire ropes laid across the aircraft landing area. During a normal arrestment, the tailhook engages the wire and the kinetic energy is transferred to hydraulic damping systems attached below the carrier deck. There are other related systems which use nets to catch aircraft wings or landing gear and these barricade and barrier systems are only used for emergency arrestments for aircraft without operable tailhooks. Arresting cable systems were invented by Hugh Robinson and were utilized by Eugene Ely on his first landing on a ship - the armored cruiser USS Pennsylvania and these early systems had cables run through pulleys and attached to dead weights, such as sandbags. More modern arresting cables were tested on HMS Courageous in June 1931, the system is designed to absorb theoretical maximum energy of 47,500,000 foot-pounds at maximum cable run-out. If the aircraft failed to catch a wire, its landing gear would be caught by a 3–4 foot high net known as the barrier. If the aircraft caught a wire upon touchdown, the barrier could be lowered to allow aircraft to taxi over it. The final safety net was the barricade, a large,15 foot high net that prevented landing aircraft from crashing into aircraft parked on the bow. Barriers are no longer in use, although ground based arresting gear are sometimes called barriers, barricades are still in use aboard carriers, but they are only rigged and used in emergencies. A normal arrestment is accomplished when the hook of an incoming aircraft engages one of the deck pendants. The arresting engine brings about a smooth, controlled stop of the landing aircraft, at the completion of the arrestment, the aircraft arresting hook is disengaged from the deck pendant, which is then retracted to its normal position. Modern carriers typically have three or four arresting cables laid across the landing area. All U. S. carriers in the Nimitz-class, along with Enterprise, have four wires, with the exception of the USS Ronald Reagan and USS George H. W. Bush, the Gerald R. Ford-class carriers will also have three. Pilots aim for the second or third wire to reduce the risk of landing short, aircraft coming in to land on a carrier are at approximately 85% of full throttle. At touchdown, the advances the throttles to full power
39.
Malta
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Malta, officially known as the Republic of Malta, is a Southern European island country consisting of an archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. It lies 80 km south of Italy,284 km east of Tunisia, the country covers just over 316 km2, with a population of just under 450,000, making it one of the worlds smallest and most densely populated countries. The capital of Malta is Valletta, which at 0.8 km2, is the smallest national capital in the European Union, Malta has one national language, which is Maltese, and English as an official language. John, French and British, have ruled the islands, King George VI of the United Kingdom awarded the George Cross to Malta in 1942 for the countrys bravery in the Second World War. The George Cross continues to appear on Maltas national flag, the country became a republic in 1974, and although no longer a Commonwealth realm, remains a member state of the Commonwealth of Nations. Malta was admitted to the United Nations in 1964 and to the European Union in 2004, in 2008, Catholicism is the official religion in Malta. The origin of the term Malta is uncertain, and the modern-day variation derives from the Maltese language, the most common etymology is that the word Malta derives from the Greek word μέλι, meli, honey. The ancient Greeks called the island Μελίτη meaning honey-sweet, possibly due to Maltas unique production of honey, an endemic species of bee lives on the island. The Romans went on to call the island Melita, which can be considered either as a latinisation of the Greek Μελίτη or the adaptation of the Doric Greek pronunciation of the same word Μελίτα. Another conjecture suggests that the word Malta comes from the Phoenician word Maleth a haven or port in reference to Maltas many bays, few other etymological mentions appear in classical literature, with the term Malta appearing in its present form in the Antonine Itinerary. The extinction of the hippos and dwarf elephants has been linked to the earliest arrival of humans on Malta. Prehistoric farming settlements dating to the Early Neolithic period were discovered in areas and also in caves. The Sicani were the tribe known to have inhabited the island at this time and are generally regarded as being closely related to the Iberians. Pottery from the Għar Dalam phase is similar to found in Agrigento. A culture of megalithis temple builders then either supplanted or arose from this early period, the temples have distinctive architecture, typically a complex trefoil design, and were used from 4000 to 2500 BCE. Animal bones and a knife found behind an altar stone suggest that temple rituals included animal sacrifice. Tentative information suggests that the sacrifices were made to the goddess of fertility, the culture apparently disappeared from the Maltese Islands around 2500 BC. Archaeologists speculate that the builders fell victim to famine or disease
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London Naval Treaty
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Ratifications were exchanged in London on October 27,1930, and the treaty went into effect on the same day. It was registered in League of Nations Treaty Series on February 6,1931, the terms of the treaty were seen as an extension of the conditions agreed in the Washington Naval Treaty. That treaty had been an effort to prevent an arms race after World War I. The Conference was a revival of the efforts which had gone into the Geneva Naval Conference of 1927, at Geneva, the various negotiators had been unable to reach agreement because of bad feeling between the British Government and that of the United States. Submarine gun caliber was also restricted for the first time to 6.1 inches with one exception and this put an end to the big-gun submarine concept pioneered by the British M class and the French Surcouf. The Treaty also established a distinction between cruisers armed with no greater than 6.1 inches from those with guns up to 8 inches. The number of cruisers was limited – Britain was permitted 15 with a total tonnage of 147,000, the U. S.18 totalling 180,000. For light cruisers, no numbers were specified but tonnage limits were 143,500 tons for the U. S.192,200 tons for the British, and 100,450 tons for the Japanese. Destroyer tonnage was also limited, with destroyers being defined as ships of less than 1,850 tons and guns not exceeding 5.1 inches, the Americans and British were permitted up to 150,000 tons and Japan 105,500 tons. Article 22 relating to submarine warfare declared international law applied to them as to surface vessels, also merchant vessels which demonstrated persistent refusal to stop or active resistance could be sunk without the ships crew and passengers being first delivered to a place of safety. Active negotiations amongst the other treaty signatories continued during the following years and this was followed by the Second London Naval Treaty of 1936. Treaty for the Limitation of Naval Armament Second London Naval Treaty – List of treaties signed in London, Treaty of London – List of treaties signed in London. May 15 Incident - attempted coup in Japan Steiner, Zara S, the Lights that Failed, European International History 1919–1933. ISBN 978-0-19-822114-2, OCLC58853793 Text of the treaty
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Government of the United Kingdom
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Her Majestys Government, commonly referred to as the UK government or British government, is the central government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The government is led by the Prime Minister, who all the remaining ministers. The prime minister and the other most senior ministers belong to the supreme decision-making committee, the government ministers all sit in Parliament, and are accountable to it. After an election, the monarch selects as prime minister the leader of the party most likely to command a majority of MPs in the House of Commons. Under the uncodified British constitution, executive authority lies with the monarch, although this authority is exercised only by, or on the advice of, the prime minister, the Cabinet members advise the monarch as members of the Privy Council. They also exercise power directly as leaders of the Government Departments, the current prime minister is Theresa May, who took office on 13 July 2016. She is the leader of the Conservative Party, which won a majority of seats in the House of Commons in the election on 7 May 2015. Prior to this, Cameron and the Conservatives led a government from 2010 to 2015 with the Liberal Democrats. A key principle of the British Constitution is that the government is responsible to Parliament, Britain is a constitutional monarchy in which the reigning monarch does not make any open political decisions. All political decisions are taken by the government and Parliament and this constitutional state of affairs is the result of a long history of constraining and reducing the political power of the monarch, beginning with the Magna Carta in 1215. Parliament is split into two houses, the House of Lords and the House of Commons, the House of Commons is the lower house and is the more powerful. The House of Lords is the house and although it can vote to amend proposed laws. Parliamentary time is essential for bills to be passed into law, Ministers of the Crown are responsible to the House in which they sit, they make statements in that House and take questions from members of that House. For most senior ministers this is usually the elected House of Commons rather than the House of Lords, since the start of Edward VIIs reign, in 1901, the prime minister has always been an elected member of Parliament and therefore directly accountable to the House of Commons. Under the British system the government is required by convention and for reasons to maintain the confidence of the House of Commons. It requires the support of the House of Commons for the maintenance of supply, by convention if a government loses the confidence of the House of Commons it must either resign or a General Election is held. The support of the Lords, while useful to the government in getting its legislation passed without delay, is not vital, a government is not required to resign even if it loses the confidence of the Lords and is defeated in key votes in that House. The House of Commons is thus the Responsible house, the prime minister is held to account during Prime Ministers Question Time which provides an opportunity for MPs from all parties to question the PM on any subject
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Magazine (artillery)
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Magazine is the name for an item or place within which ammunition or other explosive material is stored. It is taken originally from the Arabic word makhāzin, meaning magazine or storeroom, via Italian, the term is also used for a place where large quantities of ammunition are stored for later distribution, or an ammunition dump. In the early history of tube artillery drawn by horses, ammunition was carried in separate unarmored wagons or vehicles and these soft-skinned vehicles were extremely vulnerable to enemy fire and to explosions caused by a weapons malfunction. Therefore, as part of setting up a battery, a designated place would be used to shelter the ready ammunition. In the case of batteries of towed artillery the temporary magazine would be placed, if possible, in a pit, or natural declivity, circumstances might require the establishment of multiple field magazines so that one lucky hit or accident would not disable the entire battery. The ammunition storage area aboard a warship is referred to as a magazine or the magazine by sailors. An open flame was never allowed inside the magazine, more modern warships use semi-automated or automated ammunition hoists. The separation of shell and charge gave the storage of the former the name shell room, surface warships that have carried torpedoes, and ones that still do, have had torpedo magazines for carrying these dangerous antiship and antisubmarine weapons in well-defended compartments. For ships with both forward and aft surface-to-air missile launchers, there are at least two missile magazines, nearly every detail of nuclear weapons storage is classified, although many of the same principles of an ammunition dump would apply. The one consistent factor is the increased security compared to that afforded to the storage of other weapons. In naval usage, most nuclear weapons are stored fitted to vehicles in the launch position. Their vertical launching system tubes and missile tubes could technically be described as magazines, the United States employs the Weapons Storage and Security System for storing its tactical nuclear weapons in Europe. Ammunition dump Armory Arsenal Gunpowder magazine Colonial Williamsburg Magazine
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Welding
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In addition to melting the base metal, a filler material is typically added to the joint to form a pool of molten material that cools to form a joint that is usually stronger than the base material. Pressure may also be used in conjunction with heat, or by itself, although less common, there are also solid state welding processes such as friction welding or shielded active gas welding in which metal does not melt. Some of the best known welding methods include, Oxy-fuel welding - also known as oxyacetylene welding or oxy welding, uses fuel gases and oxygen to weld and cut metals. Shielded metal arc welding – also known as stick welding or electric welding, the electrode holder holds the electrode as it slowly melts away. Slag protects the weld puddle from atmospheric contamination, gas tungsten arc welding – also known as TIG, uses a non-consumable tungsten electrode to produce the weld. The weld area is protected from contamination by an inert shielding gas such as argon or helium. Flux-cored arc welding – almost identical to MIG welding except it uses a special tubular wire filled with flux, it can be used with or without shielding gas, submerged arc welding – uses an automatically fed consumable electrode and a blanket of granular fusible flux. The molten weld and the arc zone are protected from contamination by being submerged under the flux blanket. Electroslag welding – a highly productive, single pass welding process for thicker materials between 1 inch and 12 inches in a vertical or close to vertical position. Electric resistance welding - a welding process that produces coalescence of laying surfaces where heat to form the weld is generated by the resistance of the material. In general, an efficient method, but limited to relatively thin material, many different energy sources can be used for welding, including a gas flame, an electric arc, a laser, an electron beam, friction, and ultrasound. While often a process, welding may be performed in many different environments, including in open air, under water. Welding is an undertaking and precautions are required to avoid burns, electric shock, vision damage, inhalation of poisonous gases and fumes. Until the end of the 19th century, the welding process was forge welding. Arc welding and oxyfuel welding were among the first processes to develop late in the century, Welding technology advanced quickly during the early 20th century as the world wars drove the demand for reliable and inexpensive joining methods. Developments continued with the invention of laser welding, electron beam welding, magnetic pulse welding. Today, the continues to advance. Robot welding is commonplace in industrial settings, and researchers continue to develop new welding methods, the history of joining metals goes back several millennia
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Rivet
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A rivet is a permanent mechanical fastener. Before being installed, a rivet consists of a cylindrical shaft with a head on one end. The end opposite to the head is called the tail. On installation the rivet is placed in a punched or drilled hole, in other words, pounding creates a new head on the other end by smashing the tail material flatter, resulting in a rivet that is roughly a dumbbell shape. To distinguish between the two ends of the rivet, the head is called the factory head and the deformed end is called the shop head or buck-tail. Because there is effectively a head on each end of a rivet, it can support tension loads, however. Bolts and screws are better suited for tension applications, solid rivets consist simply of a shaft and head that are deformed with a hammer or rivet gun. A rivet compression or crimping tool can also deform this type of rivet and this tool is mainly used on rivets close to the edge of the fastened material, since the tool is limited by the depth of its frame. A rivet compression tool does not require two people, and is generally the most foolproof way to solid rivets. Solid rivets are used in applications where reliability and safety count, a typical application for solid rivets can be found within the structural parts of aircraft. Hundreds of thousands of rivets are used to assemble the frame of a modern aircraft. Such rivets come with rounded or 100° countersunk heads, typical materials for aircraft rivets are aluminium alloys, titanium, and nickel-based alloys. Some aluminum alloy rivets are too hard to buck and must be softened by solution treating prior to being bucked, ice box aluminum alloy rivets harden with age, and must likewise be annealed and then kept at sub-freezing temperatures to slow the age-hardening process. Steel rivets can be found in structures such as bridges, cranes. The setting of these fasteners requires access to both sides of a structure, solid rivets are driven using a hydraulically, pneumatically, or electromagnetically driven squeezing tool or even a handheld hammer. Applications where only one side is accessible require blind rivets, high-strength bolts have largely replaced structural steel rivets. Indeed, the latest steel construction specifications published by AISC no longer covers their installation, the reason for the change is primarily due to the expense of skilled workers required to install high strength structural steel rivets. Whereas two relatively unskilled workers can install and tighten high strength bolts, it takes a minimum of four highly skilled riveters to install rivets, at a central location near the areas being riveted, a furnace was set up
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Armoured flight deck
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An armoured flight deck is an aircraft carrier flight deck that incorporates substantial armour in its design. Comparison is often made between the designs of the Royal Navy and the United States Navy. The two classes most easily compared are the RNs Illustrious class and Implacable class and their nearest USN contemporaries, the Illustrious class followed the Yorktown but preceded the Essex, while the Implacable-class design predated the Essex but these ships were completed after the lead ships of the Essex class. The remainder of the IJN carrier force during World War II had unarmoured flight decks just like the Yorktown, in choosing the best design for their carriers, the British had to consider the advantages and disadvantages of hangar design. There was a choice between open or closed hangar and the position of the armour, the placing of the strongest deck affected the strength of the hull. The further apart the deck and the keel, the stronger the design, if the flight deck was placed above the main deck then it had to be built to allow for movement with expansion sections. The different thickness of armour, and how they were distributed, are described in the table below, armour at the flight deck level would protect the hangar deck and the aircraft stored there from most bombs. The armour of the Illustrious class was intended to protect against 1,000 pound bombs, in the Illustrious class, the armoured flight deck extended for about two-thirds of the length of the ship, bounded by the two aircraft lifts. The deck was closed by 4. 5-inch armoured sides and bulkheads, the bulkheads had sliding armoured portals to allow access between the hangar and the aircraft lift. There were 3-inch lateral strakes of main deck armour that extended from the base of the hangar side-wall to the top of the side belt. The latter protected the machinery, magazines and aircraft fuel and weaponry stores, the RNs closed and armoured hangars were capable of being environmentally sealed for protection against chemical weapon attack. During the war, the British fitted immersion heaters to the oil tanks of its aircraft so minimal warm-up was required when they reach the flight deck. A bomb that struck the deck would likely penetrate and explode in the hangar deck. The flight deck could also possibly fuze light bombs prematurely, which would reduce the chance of going through the hangar deck. Such a design allowed for larger, open-sided hangar bays and the installation of deck-edge elevators, USN carriers with hangar deck armour only, usually had wooden decking over thin mild steel flight decks which were easy to repair. The USN moved the structural strength deck to the flight deck, aviation fuel delivery and stowage systems were extremely vulnerable. The Royal Navy stowed aviation fuel in tanks, that in turn were surrounded by seawater. RN aviation fuel lines were purged with carbon dioxide when not in use, the USN used a similar system, which was further improved after the two navies began exchanging information in 1940
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Torpedo belt
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The torpedo belt was part of the armouring scheme in some warships of between the 1920s and 1940s. It consisted of a series of lightly armoured compartments, extending laterally along a belt that intersected the ships waterline. In theory, this belt would absorb the explosions from torpedoes, Torpedo belts are also known as Side Protection Systems or SPS, or Torpedo Defense System or TDS. Armoured warships of the early 20th century carried their main protective armour above the waterline – the main belt – which was intended to stop flat-trajectory gunfire from piercing the hull, below the belt, the armour generally tapered away, to reduce overall weight. This, however, makes a ship vulnerable to hits below the waterline from torpedoes, extending the belt downwards is impractical, since this increases displacement and draft, reducing speed and seaworthiness. These were heavy metal mesh nets hung out on booms at some distance from the sides of ships to catch or detonate torpedoes short of the ship. These proved largely ineffective since they could only be deployed when ships were stationary, were useless against shell hits below the waterline, some ships were fitted with underwater armor in vulnerable areas below the waterline. The German Imperial High Seas Fleet introduced torpedo belts with the first modern armored cruiser SMS Blücher and it was the only fleet during the duration of the First World War to do so. The outbreak of World War I increased the urgency to devise an effective torpedo defense system, originally retrofitted to older ships, this was soon added to ships already under construction. In 1915, the British Renown-class battlecruisers and in 1917 American Tennessee-class battleships introduced anti-torpedo bulges, most later capital ships would have at least one torpedo bulkhead inboard of the external hull plating along the area of the ship protected by the armour belt. Most Battleships built after World War I had sophisticated and complex systems, as illustrated by the cross sectional drawing of Tirpitz. The two Nelsons used a belt, which was written off in the tonnage limits, as water was not part of the calculations for allowed displacement. Over the next 20 years many designs of TDS were tried by various nations. A detailed discussion of the evolution of Torpedo defense systems
United Kingdom
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