1.
Greenock
–
Greenock is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council area in Scotland and a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It forms part of an urban area with Gourock to the west. The 2011 census showed that Greenock had a population of 44,248 and it lies on the south bank of the Clyde at the Tail of the Bank where the River Clyde expands into the Firth of Clyde. The name of the town has had various spellings over time and it was printed in early Acts of Parliament as Grinok, Greenhok, Grinock, Greenhoke, Greinnock, and later as Greinok. Old Presbyterial records used Grenok, a common spelling until it was changed to Greenock around 1700 and it has also been suggested that Grian cnoc or sunny hill could refer to the hill on which the castle and mansion house stood, but this has not found much support. The towns modern indoor shopping centre is called The Oak Mall, the name is also recalled in a local song. Significantly, no green oak appears on the coat of arms which features the three chalices of the Shaw Stewarts, a sailing ship in full sail and two herring above the motto God Speed Greenock. Hugh de Grenock was created a Scottish Baron in 1296, around 1540 the adjoining barony of Finnart was passed to the Schaw family, extending their holdings westward to the boundary of Gourock, and in 1542 Sir John Schaw founded Wester Greenock castle. The coast of Greenock formed a bay with three smaller indentations, the Bay of Quick was known as a safe anchorage as far back as 1164. To its east, a sandy bay ran eastwards from the Old Kirk, the fishing village of Greenock developed along this bay, and around 1635 Sir John Schaw had a jetty built into the bay which became known as Sir Johns Bay. In that year he obtained a Charter raising Greenock to a Burgh of Barony with rights to a weekly market, further east, Saint Laurence Bay curved round past the Crawfurd Barony of Easter Greenock to Garvel Point. When a pier was built making the bay an important harbour, in 1642 it was made into the Burgh of Barony of Crawfurdsdyke, and part of the ill-fated Darien Scheme set out from this pier in 1697. This town was later renamed Cartsdyke, the fishing trade grew prosperous, with barrels of salted herring exported widely, and shipping trade developed. As seagoing ships could not go further up the River Clyde, a separate Barony of Cartsburn was created, the first baron being Thomas Craufurd. The work was completed in 1710, with quays extended out into Sir Johns Bay to enclose the harbour, in 1711 the shipbuilding industry was founded when Scotts leased ground between the harbour and the West Burn to build fishing boats. A whaling business operated for about 40 years, in 1714 Greenock became a custom house port as a branch of Port Glasgow, and for a period this operated from rooms leased in Greenock. Receipts rose rapidly from the 1770s, and in 1778 the custom house moved to new premises at the West Quay of the harbour. By 1791 a new pier was constructed at the East Quay, in 1812 Europes first steamboat service was introduced by PS Comet with frequent sailings between Glasgow, Greenock and Helensburgh, and as trade built up the pier became known as Steamboat Quay
2.
Dido-class cruiser
–
The Dido class was a class of sixteen light cruisers built for the Royal Navy. The design was influenced by the Arethusa-class light cruisers, the first group of three ships was commissioned in 1940, the second group and third group were commissioned in 1941–1942. The Bellona subclass ships were commissioned between 1943 and 1944, most members of the class were given names drawn from classical history and legend. The 5.25 was primarily a weapon, but it was intended to fire the heaviest shell suitable for AA and probably accounted for 23 aircraft. The Improved Didos and 4 rebuilt of the originals were mainly intended as picket ships for AW and direction of the RN and USN carrier aircraft in the Pacific. The class were intended to be armed with ten 5.25 inch guns in five twin turrets, a shortage of the guns, due to difficulties in manufacturing them, led to the first group being armed with only eight 5.25 inch guns in four twin turrets. The fifth twin turret was added later to Dido only, the first group was also armed with a 4-inch gun for firing star shell and two quadruple QF2 pounder pom-poms. The second group had the five twin 5.25 inch guns, the third groups armament was changed due to the shortage of 5.25 in guns, being armed with eight 4.5 inch guns in four twin turrets instead. The 4.5 inch gun was better suited to the primary role of the Dido class. The 4.0 inch gun was fitted and the 2 pounder armament was increased from eight to ten. The Bellona subclass differed in appearance somewhat from their predecessors and they had eight 5.25 inch RP10MkII guns in four twin turrets and had greatly improved anti-aircraft armament, with twelve 2 pounder guns and twelve Oerlikon 20 mm cannons. These ships used the HACS high angle control system. The two funnels were more upright than the ones of the original Dido class. The class lost five ships during the war, in addition Scylla was badly damaged by a mine, the post-war survivors continued in service, all were decommissioned by the 1960s. Bellona, Black Prince and Royalist were lent to the Royal New Zealand Navy post-World War II, in 1956, Diadem was sold to Pakistan and renamed Babur. Bonaventure completed with four twin 5.25 in turrets because of shortages. She had received a set before October 1940 but was otherwise unaltered. She received five single 20 mm in September 1941 and had radar Type 279 by this time, Phoebe completed with four turrets and was fitted with a 4 inch in Q position forward of the bridge
3.
Light cruiser
–
A light cruiser is a type of small- or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the light armored cruiser, describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser. Prior to this smaller cruisers had been of the protected cruiser model, the first small steam-powered cruisers were built for the British Royal Navy with HMS Mercury launched in 1878. Such second and third class protected cruisers evolved, gradually becoming faster, better armed, germany took a lead in small cruiser design in the 1890s, building a class of fast cruisers—the Gazelle class—copied by other nations. Such vessels were powered by coal-fired boilers and reciprocating steam engines, the adoption of oil-fired water-tube boilers and steam turbine engines meant that older small cruisers rapidly became obsolete. Furthermore, new construction could not rely on the protection of coal bunkers, the British Bristol group of Town-class cruisers were a departure from previous designs, with turbine propulsion, mixed coal and oil firing and a 2-inch protective armoured belt as well as deck. Thus, by definition, they were armoured cruisers, despite displacing only 4,800 tons, the first true modern light cruisers were the Arethusa class which had all oil-firing and used lightweight destroyer-type machinery to make 29 knots. 1-inch to 5. 9-inch guns. Cruiser construction in Britain continued uninterrupted until Admiral Jacky Fishers appointment as First Sea Lord in 1904, the group of 21 Town-class cruisers begun in 1910 proved excellent in scouting in all types of weather and could carry enough fuel and ammunition to guard the shipping lanes. The Arethusa class, launched three years later, was also successful, British designers continued enlarging and refining subsequent cruiser designs throughout the war. The Germans built a number of cruisers in the belief that they were good multi-purpose vessels. However, the Germans were very late in adapting 5. 9-inch guns, with the Pillau and Wiesbaden-class cruisers the Germans followed the British example of heavier guns. Earlier German light cruisers were in competition with a series of British scout cruisers which had a speed of 25 knots. The Germans completed the last two of their Bremen-class cruisers in 1906 and 1907 and followed them up with four Königsberg-class and these last two classes, larger and faster than the Bremens, were armed the same and carried less deck armor. Other major powers concentrated on construction and built few cruisers. The United States, Italy, and Austria-Hungary each built only a handful of scout cruisers while Japan and Spain added a few based on British designs. The United States resumed building light cruisers in 1918, largely because the ships it then had in service had become obsolete, the first of these, the ten Omaha-class ships, displaced 7,050 tons and were armed with twelve 6-inch guns. Eight of these guns were mounted in casemates at the bow and stern. Fast and maneuverable, they were well-liked as seaboats despite being very wet in rough weather, the term light cruiser was given a definition by the London Naval Treaty of 1930
4.
Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company
–
Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company Limited, often referred to simply as Scotts, was a Scottish shipbuilding company based in Greenock on the River Clyde. In its time in Greenock, Scotts built over 1,250 ships, John Scott founded the company, beginning shipbuilding at Greenock in 1711. The Scott family took over the Greenock Foundry in 1790 and C G Scott started building at Cartsdyke Dockyard in 1850 as Scott & Company. John Scott and Robert Scott bought the adjacent yard of R Steele & Company in 1883 to create the Cartsburn Dockyard, by 1900 John Swire & Company were major shareholders and Henry Scott was a director of Swire Scotts. In 1900–1901 he specified and oversaw construction of Swires Taikoo Dockyard in Hong Kong, Swires was 25% owned by the Scott Family. In 1925 Scotts took over Ross & Marshalls Cartsdyke Mid Yard, in 1934 they exchanged their Cartsdyke East yard for Cartsdyke Mid yard with Greenock Dockyard Ltd. In June 1965 the Company took over Scotts & Sons Ltd and in December 1965 Scotts merged with the Greenock Dockyard Company and the Cartsburn and Cartsdyke Dockyards were fully integrated in 1966. In 1967 the Company merged with Lithgows to form Scott Lithgow Ltd, Cartsdyke Shipyard was closed in 1979 and Cartsburn in 1984. In 1983 the Scott Lithgow company and yards were sold to Trafalgar House, No further shipbuilding was undertaken and the 270-year-old Scott shipbuilding company finally ceased trading in 1993. Between 1988 and 1997 the Cartsburn and Cartsdyke shipyards were gradually demolished and redeveloped as offices, computer warehouses. Principal customers of Scotts were Alfred Holt & Co, The China Navigation Company / John Swire Ltd, Scotts Assistant Manager James Richardson devised an early Snorkel for submarines, for which they were granted British Patent No.106330 of 1917. It was not taken up by the Admiralty for use by the Royal Navy, there is extant the builders certificate of SS Thetis. Captain William Kennedy of Greenock took Thetis for her trials on the Clyde, pictures of some Scotts-built vessels were painted by the Greenock marine artist William Clark. A painting of the launch in 1818 from Scotts yard of the wood ship Christian was painted by the Anglo-US marine artist Robert Salmon. Before the Cartsdyke yard closed in the late 1970s it was used to part of a BBC Television Play for Today called Just a Boys Game. In 2011, Greenocks McLean Museum and Art Gallery celebrated the tercentenary of Scotts foundation, RMS Ajax RMS Andania Johnston, Ian, Buxton, Ian. The Battleship Builders - Constructing and Arming British Capital Ships, Clyde built ships data base - lists all ships built on the Clyde WikiSwire website
5.
Scotland
–
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and covers the northern third of the island of Great Britain. It shares a border with England to the south, and is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the North Sea to the east. In addition to the mainland, the country is made up of more than 790 islands, including the Northern Isles, the Kingdom of Scotland emerged as an independent sovereign state in the Early Middle Ages and continued to exist until 1707. By inheritance in 1603, James VI, King of Scots, became King of England and King of Ireland, Scotland subsequently entered into a political union with the Kingdom of England on 1 May 1707 to create the new Kingdom of Great Britain. The union also created a new Parliament of Great Britain, which succeeded both the Parliament of Scotland and the Parliament of England. Within Scotland, the monarchy of the United Kingdom has continued to use a variety of styles, titles, the legal system within Scotland has also remained separate from those of England and Wales and Northern Ireland, Scotland constitutes a distinct jurisdiction in both public and private law. Glasgow, Scotlands largest city, was one of the worlds leading industrial cities. Other major urban areas are Aberdeen and Dundee, Scottish waters consist of a large sector of the North Atlantic and the North Sea, containing the largest oil reserves in the European Union. This has given Aberdeen, the third-largest city in Scotland, the title of Europes oil capital, following a referendum in 1997, a Scottish Parliament was re-established, in the form of a devolved unicameral legislature comprising 129 members, having authority over many areas of domestic policy. Scotland is represented in the UK Parliament by 59 MPs and in the European Parliament by 6 MEPs, Scotland is also a member nation of the British–Irish Council, and the British–Irish Parliamentary Assembly. Scotland comes from Scoti, the Latin name for the Gaels, the Late Latin word Scotia was initially used to refer to Ireland. By the 11th century at the latest, Scotia was being used to refer to Scotland north of the River Forth, alongside Albania or Albany, the use of the words Scots and Scotland to encompass all of what is now Scotland became common in the Late Middle Ages. Repeated glaciations, which covered the land mass of modern Scotland. It is believed the first post-glacial groups of hunter-gatherers arrived in Scotland around 12,800 years ago, the groups of settlers began building the first known permanent houses on Scottish soil around 9,500 years ago, and the first villages around 6,000 years ago. The well-preserved village of Skara Brae on the mainland of Orkney dates from this period and it contains the remains of an early Bronze Age ruler laid out on white quartz pebbles and birch bark. It was also discovered for the first time that early Bronze Age people placed flowers in their graves, in the winter of 1850, a severe storm hit Scotland, causing widespread damage and over 200 deaths. In the Bay of Skaill, the storm stripped the earth from a large irregular knoll, when the storm cleared, local villagers found the outline of a village, consisting of a number of small houses without roofs. William Watt of Skaill, the laird, began an amateur excavation of the site, but after uncovering four houses
6.
Royal New Zealand Navy
–
The Royal New Zealand Navy is the maritime arm of the New Zealand Defence Force. The fleet currently consists of ships and eight naval helicopters. The first recorded maritime combat activity in New Zealand occurred when Dutch explorer Abel Tasman was attacked by Māori in war waka off the tip of the South Island in December 1642. The New Zealand Navy did not exist as a military force until 1941. The association of the Royal Navy with New Zealand began with the arrival of Lieutenant James Cook in 1769, occasional visits by Royal Navy ships were made from the late 18th century until the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840. William Hobson, a player in the drafting of the treaty, was in New Zealand as a captain in the Royal Navy. The signing of the Treaty of Waitangi made New Zealand a colony in the British Empire, in 1909, the New Zealand government decided to fund the purchase of the battlecruiser HMS New Zealand for the Royal Navy, which saw action throughout World War I in Europe. The passing of the Naval Defence Act 1913 created the New Zealand Naval Forces, the first purchase by the New Zealand government for the New Zealand Naval Forces was the cruiser HMS Philomel, which escorted New Zealand land forces to occupy the German colony of Samoa in 1914. Philomel saw further action under the command of the Royal Navy in the Mediterranean, the Red Sea, by 1917, she was worn out and dispatched back to New Zealand where she served as a depot ship in Wellington Harbour for minesweepers. In 1921 she was transferred to Auckland for use as a training ship, from 1921 to 1941 the force was known as the New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy. The cruiser Chatham along with the sloop Veronica arrived in 1920, Philomel was transferred to the Division in 1921, as was the sloop Torch, HMS Laburnum arrived in 1922, HMS Diomede and the minesweeper HMS Wakakura arrived in 1926. Between World War I and World War II, the New Zealand Division operated a total of 14 ships, including the cruisers HMS Achilles and HMS Leander, which replaced Diomede and Dunedin. From 1919–21 to October 1940, the Royal Navy formation around New Zealand was the New Zealand Station, when Britain went to war against Germany in 1939, New Zealand promptly declared war also. HMS Achilles participated in the first major battle of World War II. Achilles moved to the Pacific, and was working with the United States Navy when damaged by a Japanese bomb off New Georgia, following repair, she served alongside the British Pacific Fleet until the wars end. HMNZS Leander escorted the New Zealand Expeditionary Force to the Middle East in 1940, and was deployed in the Mediterranean, the Red Sea. Leander was subjected to air and naval attack from Axis forces, conducted bombardments, in February 1941, Leander sank the Italian auxiliary cruiser Ramb I in the Indian Ocean. In 1943, after serving time in the Mediterranean, Leander returned to the Pacific Ocean
7.
New Zealand
–
New Zealand /njuːˈziːlənd/ is an island nation in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The country geographically comprises two main landmasses—the North Island, or Te Ika-a-Māui, and the South Island, or Te Waipounamu—and around 600 smaller islands. New Zealand is situated some 1,500 kilometres east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and roughly 1,000 kilometres south of the Pacific island areas of New Caledonia, Fiji, because of its remoteness, it was one of the last lands to be settled by humans. During its long period of isolation, New Zealand developed a distinct biodiversity of animal, fungal, the countrys varied topography and its sharp mountain peaks, such as the Southern Alps, owe much to the tectonic uplift of land and volcanic eruptions. New Zealands capital city is Wellington, while its most populous city is Auckland, sometime between 1250 and 1300 CE, Polynesians settled in the islands that later were named New Zealand and developed a distinctive Māori culture. In 1642, Dutch explorer Abel Tasman became the first European to sight New Zealand, in 1840, representatives of Britain and Māori chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi, which declared British sovereignty over the islands. In 1841, New Zealand became a colony within the British Empire, today, the majority of New Zealands population of 4.7 million is of European descent, the indigenous Māori are the largest minority, followed by Asians and Pacific Islanders. Reflecting this, New Zealands culture is derived from Māori and early British settlers. The official languages are English, Māori and New Zealand Sign Language, New Zealand is a developed country and ranks highly in international comparisons of national performance, such as health, education, economic freedom and quality of life. Since the 1980s, New Zealand has transformed from an agrarian, Queen Elizabeth II is the countrys head of state and is represented by a governor-general. In addition, New Zealand is organised into 11 regional councils and 67 territorial authorities for local government purposes, the Realm of New Zealand also includes Tokelau, the Cook Islands and Niue, and the Ross Dependency, which is New Zealands territorial claim in Antarctica. New Zealand is a member of the United Nations, Commonwealth of Nations, ANZUS, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Pacific Islands Forum, and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. Dutch explorer Abel Tasman sighted New Zealand in 1642 and called it Staten Landt, in 1645, Dutch cartographers renamed the land Nova Zeelandia after the Dutch province of Zeeland. British explorer James Cook subsequently anglicised the name to New Zealand, Aotearoa is the current Māori name for New Zealand. It is unknown whether Māori had a name for the country before the arrival of Europeans. Māori had several names for the two main islands, including Te Ika-a-Māui for the North Island and Te Waipounamu or Te Waka o Aoraki for the South Island. Early European maps labelled the islands North, Middle and South, in 1830, maps began to use North and South to distinguish the two largest islands and by 1907, this was the accepted norm. The New Zealand Geographic Board discovered in 2009 that the names of the North Island and South Island had never been formalised and this set the names as North Island or Te Ika-a-Māui, and South Island or Te Waipounamu
8.
Royal Navy
–
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
9.
Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company
–
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
10.
QF 5.25 inch gun
–
The QF5.25 inch Mark I gun was the heaviest dual-purpose gun used by the Royal Navy during the Second World War. Although considered less than successful, it saw extensive service. Unlike its French and Italian contemporaries of similar size the QF5.25 was designed as dual-purpose gun capable of engaging both aircraft and surface targets. The gun fired an 80 lb shell, which was considered the largest that a gun crew could easily handle while still having the rate of fire needed for anti-aircraft use, in 1944, VT-fuzed shells became available, making the gun significantly more effective against aircraft. The 5.5 in Mk. III guns due to shortages of the 5.25 inch gun, the number of turrets on the Bellona-class were reduced from five to four, and the number of light AA guns were increased. The RP10 Mk II mountings were later used to replace the Mk I mountings on the HMS Anson. A slightly more powerful Mk II variant was deployed by the British Army as an anti-aircraft. The RN Gunnery Pocket Book published in 1945 states, These guns are combined High Angle, the Mark II Mounting is found in all Dido class cruisers. The Mark I Mounting is found in King George V class battleships, long Range Armament and Secondary Armament against surface craft. The main differences between the two lie in the arrangements of the shellrooms and magazines, and the supply of ammunition to the guns. In this chapter, only the Mark II Mounting, as found in Dido class cruisers, is discussed, the maximum rate of fire should be 10-12 rounds per minute. Fire was opened with the 105.25 guns in the form of a low angle barrage accompanied by fire from smaller guns. The ballistic performance of the QF5.25 was very good, in comparison the French 138 mm Mle 1934 guns as used on the Mogador-class destroyers had a maximum range of 21,872 yards at 30 degrees with a 88lb SAP shell. While the Italian 135/45 mm gun as used on the Capitani Romani-class cruisers had a range of 21,435 yards at 45 degrees with a 72.1 lb AP shell. The QF5. No Dido-class cruisers were lost from air attack, however HMS Spartan, a Bellona-class cruiser, was sunk at anchor in 1944 by a Luftwaffe guided missile. However, these factors do not appear to have reduced HMS Euryaluss rate of fire, over a one-minute period, the dual-mount turrets 10 deg/s traversal speed was considered too slow to engage higher-speed aircraft at close range. However these elevation and traverse rates were higher than some contemporary weapons, such as the 10.5 cm SK C/33 twin mounts carried on the Bismarck. However, later that year Anti-Aircraft Command in UK acquired three twin-gun turrets from the Admiralty, which were installed around London in permanent positions, the gun was designated Mk 2
11.
Oerlikon 20 mm cannon
–
The Oerlikon 20 mm cannon is a series of autocannons, based on an original German 20 mm Becker design that appeared very early in World War I. It was widely produced by Oerlikon Contraves and others, with various models employed by both Allied and Axis forces during World War II, and many still in use today. During World War I, the German Reinhold Becker developed a 20 mm caliber cannon and this used a 20x70 RB cartridge and had a cyclic rate of fire of 300 rpm. It was used on a scale as an aircraft gun on Luftstreitkräfte warplanes. Because the Treaty of Versailles banned further production of weapons in Germany. SEMAG continued development of the weapon, and in 1924 had produced the SEMAG L, the Oerlikon firm, named after the Zürich suburb where it was based, then acquired all rights to the weapon, plus the manufacturing equipment and the employees of SEMAG. In 1927 the Oerlikon S was added to the product line. This fired a larger cartridge to achieve a muzzle velocity of 830 m/s, at the cost of increased weight. The purpose of development was to improve the performance of the gun as an anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapon. An improved version known as the 1S followed in 1930, three sizes of gun with their different ammunition and barrel length, but very similar mechanisms, continued to be developed in parallel. In 1930 Oerlikon reconsidered the application of its gun in aircraft and introduced the AF and AL, designed to be used in flexible mounts, the 15-round box magazine used by earlier versions of the gun was replaced by drum magazine holding 15 or 30 rounds. In 1935 it made an important step by introducing a series of guns designed to be mounted in or on the wings of fighter aircraft, designated with FF for Flügelfest meaning wing-mounted, these weapons were again available in the three sizes, with designations FF, FFL and FFS. The FF fired a larger cartridge than the AF, 20x72RB. The FF weighed 24 kg and achieved a velocity of 550 to 600 m/s with a rate of fire of 520 rpm. The FFL of 30 kg fired a projectile at a velocity of 675 m/s with a rate of fire of 500 rpm. And the FFS, which weighed 39 kg, delivered a high velocity of 830 m/s at a rate of fire of 470 rpm. Apart from changes to the design of the guns for wing-mounting and remote control, for the FF series drum sizes of 45,60,75 and 100 rounds were available, but most users chose the 60-round drum. The 1930s were a period of global re-armament, and a number of foreign firms took licenses for the Oerlikon family of aircraft cannon
12.
QF 2-pounder naval gun
–
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
13.
British 21 inch torpedo
–
There have been several British 21-inch diameter torpedoes used by the Royal Navy since their first development just before the First World War. The 21-inch was the largest size of torpedo in use in the RN. They were used by ships and submarines rather than aircraft which used smaller 18 inch torpedoes. The first British 21 inch torpedo came in two lengths Short at 17 ft 10.5 in, and Long at 23 ft 1.25 in, the explosive charge was 200 lb of gun cotton increased later to 225 lb. The Mark II, chiefly used by destroyers, entered service in 1914, apart from some older British ships, it was used with the old US Town-class destroyers provided to the UK during the early part of the Second World War. The running speed was reduced from 45 knots for better reliability, the Mark II*, an improved Mark II was used by battleships and battlecruisers. A wet heater design, it could run for 4.1 km at 45 knots From 1912, used by destroyers, in the Second World War they were carried on HMS Hood. The Mark V was used by the A and B-class destroyers and, with modification, the Mark VII was issued for use on the British heavy cruisers, i. e. cruisers with 8-inch guns. Designed in the mid-1920s the County-class cruisers were built at the time in the post Washington Naval Treaty period. The power came from the use of enriched air, though torpedo stocks were converted to run on normal air at the start of the Second World War. It was used from 1927 on submarines of the O class onwards, the principal World War II version was the improved Mark VIII**,3,732 being fired by September 1944. The torpedo was still in service with the Royal Navy as late as 1983, the Mark VIII** was used in two particularly notable incidents, - On 9 February 1945 the Royal Navy submarine HMS Venturer sank the German submarine U-864 with four Mark VIII** torpedoes. This is the only intentional sinking of one submarine by another while both were submerged. On 2 May 1982 the Royal Navy submarine HMS Conqueror sank the Argentine cruiser ARA General Belgrano with three Mark VIII** torpedoes during the Falklands War and this is the only sinking of a surface ship by a nuclear-powered submarine in wartime. First appeared in 1930 and was improved by 1939. Used on Leander and later cruisers, A and later destroyer classes, also replaced the old Mark VII in some 8 cruisers during the war. From 1939, used by submarines, motor boats and destroyers. Electric battery powered torpedo with a 322 kg TNT warhead, entering service during the Second World War it was used by destroyers
14.
Belt armor
–
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
15.
Deck (ship)
–
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
16.
Magazine (artillery)
–
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
17.
Bulkhead (partition)
–
A bulkhead is an upright wall within the hull of a ship or within the fuselage of an aeroplane. Other kinds of elements within a ship are decks and deckheads. The word bulki meant cargo in Old Norse, sometime in the 15th century sailors and builders in Europe realized that walls within a vessel would prevent cargo from shifting during passage. In shipbuilding, any vertical panel was called a head, so walls installed abeam in a vessels hull were called bulkheads. Now, the term applies to every vertical panel aboard a ship. Bulkhead partitions are considered to have been a feature of Chinese junks, song Dynasty author Zhu Yu wrote in his book of 1119 that the hulls of Chinese ships had a bulkhead build. The 5th-century book Garden of Strange Things by Liu Jingshu mentioned that a ship could allow water to enter the bottom without sinking, texts written by Western writers such as Marco Polo, Niccolò Da Conti, and Benjamin Franklin describe the bulkhead partitions of East Asian shipbuilding. Bulkhead partitions became widespread in Western shipbuilding during the early 19th century, a 19th century book on shipbuilding attributes the introduction of watertight bulkheads to Charles Wye Williams, known for his steamships. Some bulkheads and decks are fire-resistance rated to achieve compartmentalisation, a fire protection measure. On an aircraft, bulkheads divide the cabin into multiple areas, openings in fire-resistance rated bulkheads and decks must be firestopped to restore the fire-resistance ratings that would otherwise be compromised, if the openings were left unsealed. The authority having jurisdiction for such measures varies depending upon the flag of the ship, merchant vessels are typically subject to the regulations and inspections of the Coast Guards of the flag country. Combat ships are subject to the set out by the navy of the country that owns the ship. The term was applied to other vehicles, such as railroad cars, hopper cars, trams, automobiles, aircraft or spacecraft, as well as to containers, intermediate bulk containers. In some of these cases bulkheads are airtight to prevent air leakage or the spread of a fire, the term may also be used for the end walls of bulkhead flatcars. Mechanically, a partition or panel through which pass, or a connector designed to pass through a partition. In architecture the term is used to denote any boxed in beam or other downstand from a ceiling. Head strikes on these elements are commonplace hence in architecture any overhead downstand element comes to be referred to as a bulkhead
18.
Gun turret
–
A gun turret is a location from which weapons can be fired that affords protection, visibility, and some cone of fire. Rotating gun turrets have the protection, the weapon, and its crew rotate, when this meaning of the word turret started being used at the beginning of the 1860s, turrets were normally cylindrical. Barbettes were an alternative to turrets, with a barbette the protection was fixed, in the 1890s, armoured hoods were added to barbettes, these rotated with the platform. By the early 20th Century, these hoods were known as turrets, modern warships have gun-mountings described as turrets, though the protection on them is limited to protection from the weather. They may be manned or remotely controlled and are most often protected to some degree, the protection provided by the turret may be against battle damage, the weather conditions, general environment in which the weapon or its crew will be operating. A small turret, or sub-turret set on top of a one, is called a cupola. The term cupola is used for a rotating turret that carries a sighting device rather than weaponry. Before the development of large-calibre, long-range guns in the mid-19th century, firepower was provided by a large number of guns, each of which could traverse only in a limited arc. Additionally casemate mounts had to be recessed into the side of a vessel to afford a wide arc of fire, designs for a rotating gun turret date back to the late 18th century. The Lady Nancy proved a success and Coles patenting his rotating turret design after the war. Coless aim was to create a ship with the greatest possible all round arc of fire, the Admiralty accepted the principle of the turret gun as a useful innovation, and incorporated it into other new designs. Coles submitted a design for a ship having ten domed turrets each housing two large guns, the design was rejected as impractical, although the Admiralty remained interested in turret ships and instructed its own designers to create better designs. Coles enlisted the support of Prince Albert, who wrote to the first Lord of the Admiralty, in January 1862, the Admiralty agreed to construct a ship, the HMS Prince Albert which had four turrets and a low freeboard, intended only for coastal defence. While Coles designed the turrets the ship was the responsibility of the chief Constructor Isaac Watts, another ship using Coles turret designs, HMS Royal Sovereign, was completed in August 1864. Its existing broadside guns were replaced with four turrets on a flat deck, early ships like the Royal Sovereign had little sea-keeping qualities being limited to coastal waters. Sir Edward James Reed, went on to design and build HMS Monarch, laid down in 1866 and completed in June 1869, it carried two turrets, although the inclusion of a forecastle and poop prevented the turret guns firing fore and aft. The gun turret was independently invented by the Swedish inventor John Ericsson in America, Ericsson designed the USS Monitor in 1861, its most prominent feature being a large cylindrical gun turret mounted amidships above the low-freeboard upper hull, also called the raft. This extended well past the sides of the lower, more traditionally shaped hull, a small armoured pilot house was fitted on the upper deck towards the bow, however, its position prevented Monitor from firing her guns straight forward
19.
Normandy landings
–
The Normandy landings were the landing operations on Tuesday,6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. The largest seaborne invasion in history, the operation began the liberation of German-occupied northwestern Europe from Nazi control, planning for the operation began in 1943. Adolf Hitler placed German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel in command of German forces, the amphibious landings were preceded by extensive aerial and naval bombardment and an airborne assault—the landing of 24,000 American, British, and Canadian airborne troops shortly after midnight. Allied infantry and armoured divisions began landing on the coast of France at 06,30, the target 50-mile stretch of the Normandy coast was divided into five sectors, Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword. Strong winds blew the landing craft east of their positions, particularly at Utah. Casualties were heaviest at Omaha, with its high cliffs, at Gold, Juno, and Sword, several fortified towns were cleared in house-to-house fighting, and two major gun emplacements at Gold were disabled, using specialised tanks. The Allies failed to any of their goals on the first day. Carentan, St. Lô, and Bayeux remained in German hands, and Caen, German casualties on D-Day have been estimated at 4,000 to 9,000 men. Allied casualties were at least 10,000, with 4,414 confirmed dead, museums, memorials, and war cemeteries in the area now host many visitors each year. Between 27 May and 4 June 1940, over 338,000 troops of the British Expeditionary Force, after the German Army invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941, the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin began pressing his allies for the creation of a second front in western Europe. In late May 1942 the Soviet Union and the United States made a joint announcement that a. full understanding was reached with regard to the urgent tasks of creating a front in Europe in 1942. Instead of a return to France, the Western Allies staged offensives in the Mediterranean Theatre of Operations. By mid-1943 the campaign in North Africa had been won, the Allies then launched the invasion of Sicily in July 1943, and subsequently invaded Italy in September the same year. By then, Soviet forces were on the offensive and had won a victory at the Battle of Stalingrad. The decision to undertake a cross-channel invasion within the year was taken at the Trident Conference in Washington in May 1943. Initial planning was constrained by the number of landing craft, most of which were already committed in the Mediterranean. At the Tehran Conference in November 1943, Roosevelt and Churchill promised Stalin that they would open the second front in May 1944. Four sites were considered for the landings, Brittany, the Cotentin Peninsula, Normandy, as Brittany and Cotentin are peninsulas, it would have been possible for the Germans to cut off the Allied advance at a relatively narrow isthmus, so these sites were rejected
20.
Operation Dragoon
–
Operation Dragoon was the code name for the Allied invasion of Southern France on 15 August 1944. By July 1944 the landing was reconsidered, as the ports in Normandy did not have the capacity to adequately supply the Allied forces. Concurrently, the French High Command pushed for a revival of the operation that would include large numbers of French troops, as a result, the operation was finally approved in July to be executed in August. The goal of the operation was to secure the ports on the French Mediterranean coast. After some preliminary commando operations, the US VI Corps landed on the beaches of the Côte dAzur under the shield of a naval task force. Hindered by total Allied air superiority and an uprising by the French Resistance. The Germans decided to withdraw towards the north through the Rhône valley, Allied mobile units were able to overtake the Germans and partially block their route at the town of Montélimar. The ensuing battle led to a stalemate, with neither able to achieve a decisive breakthrough, until the Germans were finally able to complete their withdrawal. While the Germans were retreating, the French managed to capture the important ports of Marseille and Toulon, the Germans were not able to hold Dijon and ordered a complete withdrawal from Southern France. Army Group G retreated further north, pursued by Allied forces, the fighting ultimately came to a stop at the Vosges mountains, where Army Group G was finally able to establish a stable defense line. After meeting with the Allied units from Operation Overlord, the Allied forces were in need of reorganizing and, facing stiffened German resistance, Operation Dragoon was considered a success by the Allies. The captured French ports were put into operation, allowing the Allies to solve their supply problems soon after, during planning stages, the 1942 operation was known as Anvil, to complement Operation Sledgehammer, at that time the code name for the invasion of Normandy. Subsequently, both plans were renamed, Sledgehammer becoming Operation Overlord, and Anvil becoming Operation Dragoon, the original idea of an invasion of Southern France had come from General George Marshall, the U. S. Army Chief of Staff already in 1942. Operation Dragoon was controversial from the time it was first proposed, the American military leadership and its British counterparts disagreed on the operation. When first planned, the landings were to take place simultaneously – Overlord in Normandy and it soon became clear that a dual landing was impossible to conduct with the available forces. The expansion of Overlord from a three- to a five-division front required many additional LSTs, at the same time, another Allied amphibious landing in Italy at Anzio had gone badly. All of these resulted in the postponing of Anvil by the Allies, after the landing at Normandy, a revival of Anvil became increasingly attractive to the Allied planners. These factors led to a reconsideration of the plan, despite Churchills objections, the operation was authorized by the Allied Combined Chiefs of Staff on 14 July and then renamed Dragoon on 1 August
21.
United States Navy
–
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U. S. Navy is the largest, most capable navy in the world, the U. S. Navy has the worlds largest aircraft carrier fleet, with ten in service, two in the reserve fleet, and three new carriers under construction. The service has 323,792 personnel on duty and 108,515 in the Navy Reserve. It has 274 deployable combat vessels and more than 3,700 operational aircraft as of October 2016, the U. S. Navy traces its origins to the Continental Navy, which was established during the American Revolutionary War and was effectively disbanded as a separate entity shortly thereafter. It played a role in the American Civil War by blockading the Confederacy. It played the role in the World War II defeat of Imperial Japan. The 21st century U. S. Navy maintains a global presence, deploying in strength in such areas as the Western Pacific, the Mediterranean. The Navy is administratively managed by the Department of the Navy, the Department of the Navy is itself a division of the Department of Defense, which is headed by the Secretary of Defense. The Chief of Naval Operations is an admiral and the senior naval officer of the Department of the Navy. The CNO may not be the highest ranking officer in the armed forces if the Chairman or the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The mission of the Navy is to maintain, train and equip combat-ready Naval forces capable of winning wars, deterring aggression, the United States Navy is a seaborne branch of the military of the United States. The Navys three primary areas of responsibility, The preparation of naval forces necessary for the prosecution of war. The development of aircraft, weapons, tactics, technique, organization, U. S. Navy training manuals state that the mission of the U. S. Armed Forces is to prepare and conduct prompt and sustained combat operations in support of the national interest, as part of that establishment, the U. S. Navys functions comprise sea control, power projection and nuclear deterrence, in addition to sealift duties. It follows then as certain as that night succeeds the day, that without a decisive naval force we can do nothing definitive, the Navy was rooted in the colonial seafaring tradition, which produced a large community of sailors, captains, and shipbuilders. In the early stages of the American Revolutionary War, Massachusetts had its own Massachusetts Naval Militia, the establishment of a national navy was an issue of debate among the members of the Second Continental Congress. Supporters argued that a navy would protect shipping, defend the coast, detractors countered that challenging the British Royal Navy, then the worlds preeminent naval power, was a foolish undertaking. Commander in Chief George Washington resolved the debate when he commissioned the ocean-going schooner USS Hannah to interdict British merchant ships, and reported the captures to the Congress
22.
Pacific Ocean
–
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of the Earths oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south and is bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, the Mariana Trench in the western North Pacific is the deepest point in the world, reaching a depth of 10,911 metres. Both the center of the Water Hemisphere and the Western Hemisphere are in the Pacific Ocean, the oceans current name was coined by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan during the Spanish circumnavigation of the world in 1521, as he encountered favourable winds on reaching the ocean. He called it Mar Pacífico, which in both Portuguese and Spanish means peaceful sea, important human migrations occurred in the Pacific in prehistoric times. Long-distance trade developed all along the coast from Mozambique to Japan, trade, and therefore knowledge, extended to the Indonesian islands but apparently not Australia. By at least 878 when there was a significant Islamic settlement in Canton much of trade was controlled by Arabs or Muslims. In 219 BC Xu Fu sailed out into the Pacific searching for the elixir of immortality, from 1404 to 1433 Zheng He led expeditions into the Indian Ocean. The east side of the ocean was discovered by Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa in 1513 after his expedition crossed the Isthmus of Panama and he named it Mar del Sur because the ocean was to the south of the coast of the isthmus where he first observed the Pacific. Later, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan sailed the Pacific East to West on a Castilian expedition of world circumnavigation starting in 1519, Magellan called the ocean Pacífico because, after sailing through the stormy seas off Cape Horn, the expedition found calm waters. The ocean was often called the Sea of Magellan in his honor until the eighteenth century, sailing around and east of the Moluccas, between 1525 and 1527, Portuguese expeditions discovered the Caroline Islands, the Aru Islands, and Papua New Guinea. In 1542–43 the Portuguese also reached Japan, in 1564, five Spanish ships consisting of 379 explorers crossed the ocean from Mexico led by Miguel López de Legazpi and sailed to the Philippines and Mariana Islands. The Manila galleons operated for two and a half centuries linking Manila and Acapulco, in one of the longest trade routes in history, Spanish expeditions also discovered Tuvalu, the Marquesas, the Cook Islands, the Solomon Islands, and the Admiralty Islands in the South Pacific. In the 16th and 17th century Spain considered the Pacific Ocean a Mare clausum—a sea closed to other naval powers, as the only known entrance from the Atlantic the Strait of Magellan was at times patrolled by fleets sent to prevent entrance of non-Spanish ships. On the western end of the Pacific Ocean the Dutch threatened the Spanish Philippines, Spain also sent expeditions to the Pacific Northwest reaching Vancouver Island in southern Canada, and Alaska. The French explored and settled Polynesia, and the British made three voyages with James Cook to the South Pacific and Australia, Hawaii, and the North American Pacific Northwest, one of the earliest voyages of scientific exploration was organized by Spain in the Malaspina Expedition of 1789–1794. It sailed vast areas of the Pacific, from Cape Horn to Alaska, Guam and the Philippines, New Zealand, Australia, and the South Pacific. Growing imperialism during the 19th century resulted in the occupation of much of Oceania by other European powers, and later, Japan, in Oceania, France got a leading position as imperial power after making Tahiti and New Caledonia protectorates in 1842 and 1853 respectively. After navy visits to Easter Island in 1875 and 1887, Chilean navy officer Policarpo Toro managed to negotiate an incorporation of the island into Chile with native Rapanui in 1888, by occupying Easter Island, Chile joined the imperial nations
23.
Fleet Air Arm
–
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
24.
German battleship Tirpitz
–
Tirpitz was the second of two Bismarck-class battleships built for Nazi Germanys Kriegsmarine during World War II. Work was completed in February 1941, when she was commissioned into the German fleet, like her sister ship Bismarck, Tirpitz was armed with a main battery of eight 38-centimetre guns in four twin turrets. After a series of wartime modifications she was 2,000 tonnes heavier than Bismarck, after completing sea trials in early 1941, Tirpitz briefly served as the centrepiece of the Baltic Fleet, which was intended to prevent a possible break-out attempt by the Soviet Baltic Fleet. In early 1942, the sailed to Norway to act as a deterrent against an Allied invasion. While stationed in Norway, Tirpitz was also intended to be used to intercept Allied convoys to the Soviet Union and this was the only feasible role for her, since the St Nazaire Raid had made operations against the Atlantic convoy lanes too risky. Tirpitz acted as a fleet in being, forcing the British Royal Navy to retain significant naval forces in the area to contain the battleship. In September 1943, Tirpitz, along with the battleship Scharnhorst, bombarded Allied positions on Spitzbergen, shortly thereafter, the ship was damaged in an attack by British mini-submarines and subsequently subjected to a series of large-scale air raids. On 12 November 1944, British Lancaster bombers equipped with 12, a deck fire spread to the ammunition magazine for one of the main battery turrets, which caused a large explosion. Figures for the number of men killed in the range from 950 to 1,204. Between 1948 and 1957 the wreck was broken up by a joint Norwegian and German salvage operation, Tirpitz was ordered as Ersatz Schleswig-Holstein as a replacement for the old pre-dreadnought Schleswig-Holstein, under the contract name G. The Kriegsmarinewerft shipyard in Wilhelmshaven was awarded the contract, where the keel was laid on 20 October 1936, the hull was launched on 1 April 1939, during the elaborate ceremonies, the ship was christened by the daughter of Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz, the ships namesake. Adolf von Trotha, an admiral in the Imperial German Navy, spoke at the ships launching. Fitting-out work followed her launch, and was completed by February 1941, British bombers repeatedly attacked the harbour in which the ship was being built, no bombs struck Tirpitz, but the attacks did slow construction work. Tirpitz was commissioned into the fleet on 25 February for sea trials, Tirpitz displaced 42,900 t as built and 52,600 tonnes fully loaded, with a length of 251 m, a beam of 36 m and a maximum draft of 10.60 m. Her standard crew numbered 103 officers and 1,962 enlisted men, as built, Tirpitz was equipped with Model 23 search radars mounted on the forward, foretop, and rear rangefinders. These were later replaced with Model 27 and then Model 26 radars, a Model 30 radar, known as the Hohentwiel, was mounted in 1944 in her topmast, and a Model 213 Würzburg fire-control radar was added on her stern 10.5 cm Flak rangefinders. She was armed with eight 38 cm SK C/34 L/52 guns arranged in four gun turrets. Her secondary armament consisted of twelve 15 cm L/55 guns, sixteen 10.5 cm L/65 and sixteen 3.7 cm L/83, the number of 2 cm guns was eventually increased to 58
25.
German battleship Scharnhorst
–
Scharnhorst was a German capital ship, alternatively described as a battleship and battlecruiser, of Nazi Germanys Kriegsmarine. She was the ship of her class, which included one other ship. The ship was built at the Kriegsmarinewerft dockyard in Wilhelmshaven, she was laid down on 15 June 1935 and launched a year, completed in January 1939, the ship was armed with a main battery of nine 28 cm C/34 guns in three triple turrets. Plans to replace weapons with six 38 cm SK C/34 guns in twin turrets were never carried out. Scharnhorst and Gneisenau operated together for much of the portion of World War II. During her first operation, Scharnhorst sank the auxiliary cruiser HMS Rawalpindi in a short engagement, Scharnhorst and Gneisenau participated in Operation Weserübung, the German invasion of Norway. During operations off Norway, the two ships engaged the battlecruiser HMS Renown and sank the aircraft carrier HMS Glorious as well as her escort destroyers Acasta, in that engagement Scharnhorst achieved one of the longest-range naval gunfire hits in history. In early 1942, after repeated British bombing raids, the two made a daylight dash up the English Channel from occupied France to Germany. In early 1943, Scharnhorst joined the Bismarck-class battleship Tirpitz in Norway to interdict Allied convoys to the Soviet Union, Scharnhorst and several destroyers sortied from Norway to attack a convoy, but British naval patrols intercepted the German force. During the Battle of the North Cape, the Royal Navy battleship HMS Duke of York, only 36 men were pulled from the icy seas, out of a crew of 1,968. Scharnhorst was ordered as Ersatz Elsass as a replacement for the old pre-dreadnought Elsass, the Kriegsmarinewerft in Wilhelmshaven was awarded the contract, where the keel was laid on 16 July 1935. Fitting-out work followed her launch, and was completed by January 1939, Scharnhorst was commissioned into the fleet on 9 January for sea trials, which revealed a dangerous tendency to ship considerable amounts of water in heavy seas. This caused flooding in the bow and damaged electrical systems in the gun turret. As a result, she went back to the dockyard for extensive modification of the bow, the original straight stem was replaced with a raised Atlantic bow. A raked funnel cap was installed during the reconstruction, along with an enlarged aircraft hangar. The modifications were completed by November 1939, by time the ship was finally fully operational. Scharnhorst displaced 32,100 long tons as built and 38,100 long tons fully loaded, with a length of 234.9 m, a beam of 30 m and a maximum draft of 9.9 m. She was powered by three Brown, Boveri & Cie geared steam turbines, which developed a total of 159,551 shp,118,977 kW and yielded a maximum speed of 31.5 knots on speed trials
26.
HMS Scylla (98)
–
HMS Scylla was a Dido-class cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was built by Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, with the keel being laid down on 19 April 1939 and she was launched on 24 July 1940, and commissioned 12 June 1942. One of two sisters, Scylla was completed with four twin QF4.5 in Mk. III in UD MK III mountings because of a shortage of the intended QF5.25 inch gun mountings. The forward superstructure was modified to accommodate these and also to increase crew spaces. Known as the toothless terrors, they proved to be very good anti-aircraft ships, Scylla served with the Home Fleet on Arctic convoy duties. She carried a signals intelligence team headed by F/O RE Gunn and she sailed for Gibraltar on 28 October 1942. On 31 December 1942 she was directed to the German blockade runner Rhakotis by a RAF Coastal Command Whitley from 502 Squadron based at RAF St Eval, the aircraft piloted By F/O Arthur Hodgson had located Rhakotis in appalling weather after several attack runs they had run out of ammunition. F/O Hodgson was awarded the DFC for his part in the operation, in February she returned to the Home Fleet for Arctic convoys, but was back in the Bay of Biscay by June 1943 to cover anti-submarine operations. In July 1943 she stopped the Arklow schooner Mary B Mitchell in the Bay of Biscay, captain Dowds, formerly principal of the Irish Nautical College, was captain of the schooner. The officer in charge of the party was a pupil of Dowds. There was a pleasant reunion, then Mary B Mitchell resumed her voyage to Lisbon, and Scylla continued her search for blockade runners. In September 1943 Scylla was part of the Support Carrier Force at the Salerno landings, but came home to refit for duty as an Escort Carrier Flagship in October and she was present at the Normandy landings as flagship of the Eastern Task Force. On 23 June 1944 Scylla was badly damaged by a mine, although towed to Portsmouth, she was not disposed of until 1950, after use as a target between 1948 and 1950. She arrived at Thos W Ward, on 4 May 1950 for breaking up, Ships of the Royal Navy, The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy. WWII cruisers HMS Scylla at Uboat. net Newsreel video of HMS Scylla fighting the Luftwaffe while protecting convoy PQ18
27.
HMS Charybdis (88)
–
HMS Charybdis was a Dido-class cruiser of the Royal Navy. She served during the Second World War and was sunk with loss of life by German torpedo boats in an action in the English Channel in October 1943. Charybdis was intended to fulfill a primarily anti-aircraft role and was designed with an armament of ten QF5.25 inch guns. This gun had also selected as the secondary armament for the King George V-class battleships also under construction at this time. Delays in the delivery of the turrets, prioritised for the battleships after the outbreak of the Second World War, resulted in several of the Dido class being fitted with different primary armament. Charybdis and another Dido-class cruiser, HMS Scylla, were armed with four twin QF4.5 in Mk. III guns instead of the 5.25 inch guns. These 4.5 inch guns had originally intended for the Danae-class cruisers as part of an upgrade programme. Scylla and Charybdiss armament put them on a par with the Tribal-class destroyers for surface action, Charybdis differed from Scylla in having a single QF4 inch Mk V gun mounted. Her armament changed during her time in service, with the 4 inch Mk V gun removed in an early 1943 refit and ten 20 mm guns added. As originally fitted, Charybdis also had eight QF2 pounder guns arranged in two mountings, and six 21 inch torpedo tubes arranged above water in two triple banks. Like the other ships of the class, Charybdis was named after a character in Greek mythology, Charybdis is the name of a sea monster, usually mentioned alongside Scylla, the name given to another Dido-class ship, in the idiom between Scylla and Charybdis. She was laid down at the yards of Cammell Laird at Birkenhead on 9 November 1939, after fitting out and undergoing trials, she was completed for service on 3 December 1941. After trials Charybdis joined the Home Fleet and in December 1941 escorted the 1st Minelaying Squadron during Operation SN81, the laying of mines in the Northern Barrage. She remained with the Home Fleet into 1942, and in March was adopted by the community of Birkenhead, Cheshire. On 30 March Charybdis sailed as an escort for another minelaying operation, in April 1942 she was assigned to join Force H at Gibraltar, and sailed for there as an escort for the aircraft carrier USS Wasp and battlecruiser HMS Renown. Charybdis joined Force W at Gibraltar and escorted Wasp into the Mediterranean to deliver aircraft to Malta as part of Operation Calendar, after the aircraft had been successfully flown off, Charybdis returned to Gibraltar with Wasp, and escorted her part of the way into the Atlantic. As one of the ships, Charybdis screened Wasp and the British carrier HMS Eagle for Operation Bowery in early May. Aircraft carrier operations continued into June 1942, with Charybdis supporting Operation Style, the convoy in Operation Harpoon was run in conjunction with a convoy from Egypt, Operation Vigorous, both of which tried to supply food and matériel by splitting enemy forces
28.
Supermarine Seafire
–
The Supermarine Seafire was a naval version of the Supermarine Spitfire adapted for operation from aircraft carriers. The name Seafire was arrived at by abbreviating the longer name Sea Spitfire, the idea met with a negative response and the matter was dropped. As the Hawker Hurricane had quickly proven to be adaptable to carrier-based operations, the matter of a seaborne Spitfire was raised again in November 1939 when the Air Ministry allowed a Commander Ermen to fly a Spitfire I. After further discussions Supermarine submitted a drawing of a Spitfire with folding wings, in this case the wings were designed with a fold just outboard of the undercarriage bays, the outer wings would swivel and fold backwards, parallel with the fuselage. On 29 February 1940 the Admiralty asked the Air Ministry to sanction the production of 50 folding-wing Spitfires, at a time of need for land Spitfires, the diversion of resources to the construction of a naval variant would reduce Spitfire production. To partially cover the gap until the Fulmars replacement was able to enter service and these would enter service towards the end of 1940 as the Martlet. In late 1941 and early 1942, the Admiralty assessed the Spitfire for possible conversion, in late 1941, a total of 48 Spitfire Mk Vb were converted by Air Training Service Ltd. at Hamble to become hooked Spitfires. This was the Seafire Mk Ib and would be the first of several Seafire variants to reach the Royal Navys Fleet Air Arm and this version of the Seafire was mainly used to allow the Royal Navy to gain experience in operating the Spitfire on aircraft carriers. The main structural change was made to the rear fuselage which incorporated an A-frame style arrestor hook. It was soon discovered that the fuselage, especially around hatches, was too weak for carrier operations, in an attempt to alleviate this condition, reinforcing strips were riveted around hatch openings and along the main fuselage longerons. A further 118 Seafire Mk Ibs incorporating the fuselage reinforcements were modified from Spitfire Vbs by Cunliffe-Owen at Eastleigh and these aircraft were equipped with Naval HF radio equipment and IFF equipment as well as a Type 72 homing beacon. In these and all subsequent Seafires the instruments were re-calibrated to read kn and nmi rather than mph and mi. The fixed armament was the same as that of the Spitfire Vb, provision was also made to carry a 30 gal slipper fuel tank under the fuselage. In June 1942, the first deliveries of the Seafire took place to 807 Squadron, another front line unit,801 Squadron operated this version on board HMS Furious from October 1942 through to September 1944. The second semi-naval variant of the Seafire and the first to be built as such, was the Seafire F Mk IIc which was based on the Spitfire Vc, the Vc had several refinements over the Spitfire Vb. Three subtypes were produced, the F Mk IIc and FR Mk IIc, powered by a Merlin 46, and the L Mk IIc powered by a low altitude Merlin 32 specifically manufactured for naval use. This version of the Merlin used a cropped supercharger impellor to provide power at low altitudes than the standard engines. Both engine models drove a four bladed 10 ft 9 in diameter Rotol propeller
29.
807 Naval Air Squadron
–
807 Naval Air Squadron was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy. 807 Squadron was formed at RNAS Worthy Down in September 1940, three were embarked on HMS Pegasus, where they remained until February 1941, when the entire squadron embarked on HMS Furious for convoy duties. Re-equipped with Fulmar IIs in April 1941,807 Squadron joined HMS Ark Royal, many of the squadrons aircraft were lost in the sinking of Ark Royal in November 1941. Four surviving machines were flown off to North Front, Gibraltar, the squadron was gradually re-equipped with replacement Fulmars, which were joined by Sea Hurricanes, after which the squadron joined HMS Argus. In June 1942 the squadron flew off the carriers HMS Argus,807 Squadron received Supermarine Seafires in June 1942, and rejoined HMS Furious in August. They took part in Operation Torch, the North African landings, by May 1943 the squadron had been assigned to HMS Indomitable and provided cover for the Allied invasion of Sicily. Indomitable was damaged by a torpedo in July, causing 807 Squadron to transfer to HMS Battler, the squadron returned to Britain aboard HMS Hunter, subsequently joining the 4th Naval Fighter Wing. In March 1945 the squadron joined the Eastern Fleet aboard HMS Hunter and provided cover during the re-occupation of Rangoon, the squadron was recommissioned on 1 October 1958 at RNAS Lossiemouth under the command of Lieutenant Commander Keith Leppard. 807 NAS immediately began a work up period and participated in a major exercise 15 days after commissioning. 807 remained at Lossiemouth throughout 1959, working up and taking part in exercises, in September 1959 the squadron performed in front of thousands of spectators at Farnborough Airshow with a display of formation aerobatics. The naval aviators began their display with a six stream takeoff to form a four aircraft aerobatic team, one of the singletons performed a target banner pick up using an extension fitted to its deck arrestor hook. Meanwhile, the four aircraft returned for a transonic pass at 700 mph followed by a short aerobatic display devised by Keith Leppard. The two singletons touched down from the left and immediately folded their wings whilst one aircraft from the four detached and approached from the right. On 10 November 1959 Lieutenant N. Grier-Rees RN carried out an ejection from a Scimitar when his flying controls locked. The squadron finally embarked on HMS Ark Royal on 3 March 1960 where it remained for the year, taking part in major exercises. In March 1961,807 transferred from Ark Royal to HMS Centaur, Scimitar operations from this ship proved difficult due to her small size and slower speed than Ark Royal, resulting in restrictions on launch and recovery weights. This prevented them from being used to their limits, problems that became more acute in tropical climates with little or no natural wind, before leaving for the Far East in October 1961 the aircraft were modified to carry AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles and AGM-12 Bullpup air-to-ground missiles. The latter were command guided by a joystick in the cockpit of the launching aircraft, flight refuelling capability was also added at this time
30.
Egypt
–
Egypt, officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia by a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. Egypt is a Mediterranean country bordered by the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Gulf of Aqaba to the east, the Red Sea to the east and south, Sudan to the south, and Libya to the west. Across the Gulf of Aqaba lies Jordan, and across from the Sinai Peninsula lies Saudi Arabia, although Jordan and it is the worlds only contiguous Afrasian nation. Egypt has among the longest histories of any country, emerging as one of the worlds first nation states in the tenth millennium BC. Considered a cradle of civilisation, Ancient Egypt experienced some of the earliest developments of writing, agriculture, urbanisation, organised religion and central government. One of the earliest centres of Christianity, Egypt was Islamised in the century and remains a predominantly Muslim country. With over 92 million inhabitants, Egypt is the most populous country in North Africa and the Arab world, the third-most populous in Africa, and the fifteenth-most populous in the world. The great majority of its people live near the banks of the Nile River, an area of about 40,000 square kilometres, the large regions of the Sahara desert, which constitute most of Egypts territory, are sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypts residents live in areas, with most spread across the densely populated centres of greater Cairo, Alexandria. Modern Egypt is considered to be a regional and middle power, with significant cultural, political, and military influence in North Africa, the Middle East and the Muslim world. Egypts economy is one of the largest and most diversified in the Middle East, Egypt is a member of the United Nations, Non-Aligned Movement, Arab League, African Union, and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. Miṣr is the Classical Quranic Arabic and modern name of Egypt. The name is of Semitic origin, directly cognate with other Semitic words for Egypt such as the Hebrew מִצְרַיִם, the oldest attestation of this name for Egypt is the Akkadian
31.
Home Fleet
–
The Home Fleet was a fleet of the Royal Navy that operated in the United Kingdoms territorial waters from 1902 with intervals until 1967. Rear-Admiral George Atkinson-Willes was Second-in-Command of the Home Fleet, with his flag in the battleship HMS Empress of India, in May 1903 Noel was succeeded as Commander-in-Chief by Vice-Admiral Sir Arthur Wilson. On 14 December 1904, the Channel Fleet was re-styled the Atlantic Fleet, in 1907, the Home Fleet was reformed with Vice-Admiral Francis Bridgeman in command, succeeded by Admiral Sir William May in 1909. Bridgeman took command again in 1911, and in the year was succeeded by Admiral Sir George Callaghan. On 4 August 1914, as the First World War was breaking out, John Jellicoe was ordered to command of the Fleet. The name Home Fleet was resurrected in March 1932, as the new name for the Atlantic Fleet, the Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleet in 1933 was Admiral Sir John Kelly. Its chief responsibility was to keep Nazi Germanys Kriegsmarine from breaking out of the North Sea, for this purpose, the First World War base at Scapa Flow was reactivated as it was well placed for interceptions of ships trying to run the blockade. The operational areas of the Home Fleet were not circumscribed, only with the destruction of the German battleship Tirpitz in 1944 did the Home Fleet assume a lower priority, and most of its heavy units were withdrawn to be sent to the Far East. With the Cold War, greater emphasis was placed on protecting the North Atlantic from the Soviet Union in concert with other countries as part of NATO, Admiral Sir Rhoderick McGrigor supervised combined Western Union exercises involving ships from the British, French, and Dutch navies in June–July 1949. Admiral McGrigor flew his flag from the aircraft carrier Implacable, also taking part in the exercises were Victorious and Anson, along with cruisers and destroyers. During the exercise, the combined force paid a visit to Mounts Bay in Cornwall from 30 June-4 July 1949, Admiral Sir Philip Vian, who was Commander-in-Chief from 1950-1952, flew his flag in Vanguard. In late 1951, Theseus joined the fleet as flagship of the 2nd Aircraft Carrier Squadron, the Commander-in-Chief Home Fleet still flew his flag however in Tyne at Portsmouth. During Exercise Mainbrace in 1952, NATO naval forces came together for the first time to practice the defence of northern Europe, Denmark, navys Atlantic Fleet, in his NATO position as SACLANT, by the end of 1952. The submarine tender Maidstone was the flagship in 1956. In 1960, C-in-C Home Fleet moved to Northwood, and in 1966 the NATO Channel Command moved to Northwood from Portsmouth, in April 1963, the naval unit at the Northwood Headquarters was commissioned as HMS Warrior under the command of the then Captain of the Fleet. The Home Fleet was amalgamated with the Mediterranean Fleet in 1967, the British Admirals of the Fleet 1734 –1995
32.
Operation Tungsten
–
Operation Tungsten was a Second World War Royal Navy air raid that targeted the German battleship Tirpitz. The operation sought to damage or destroy Tirpitz at her base in Kaafjord in the far north of Norway before she could become operational again following a period of repairs. The British decision to strike Kaafjord was motivated by fears that the battleship, upon re-entering service, removing the threat posed by Tirpitz would also allow the Allies to redeploy the capital ships which had to be held in the North Sea to counter her. After four months of training and preparations, the British Home Fleet sailed on 30 March 1944, the raid achieved surprise, and the British aircraft met little opposition. Fifteen bombs hit the battleship, and strafing by fighter aircraft inflicted heavy casualties on her gun crews, four British aircraft and nine airmen were lost during the operation. The German Kriegsmarine decided to repair the battleship, and works were completed by mid-July, the British conducted further carrier raids against Tirpitz between April and August 1944 in the hope of prolonging the period she was out of service, but none was successful. Tirpitz was eventually disabled and then sunk by Royal Air Force heavy bombers in late 1944, the threat Tirpitz had an important influence on British naval strategy during the Second World War. She was commissioned in February 1941 and completed her crew training late that year and these convoys carried large quantities of war material from ports in the UK and Iceland, and were frequently attacked by the German air and naval units stationed in Norway. Tirpitz arrived in Norway in January 1942 and operated from anchorages located in fjords, the British attacked Tirpitz several times during 1942 and 1943. When the battleship sortied to intercept Convoy PQ12 on 6 March 1942 HMS Victorious and these aircraft launched twenty torpedoes at the battleship but all missed. On several occasions during 1942 and 1943 bombers from the Royal Air Force and this attack caused extensive damage to Tirpitz, putting her out of service for six months. Repairs to Tirpitz were carried out using improvised facilities at Kaafjord as it was considered too risky to attempt to move the damaged warship to Germany, instead, equipment and work crews were shipped to the fjord from German ports. On the night of 10/11 February 1944,15 Soviet aircraft attacked the battleship, by 17 March, the repairs to Tirpitzs armament, machinery and hull were complete, but several minor repair tasks were outstanding. During the period the ship was under repair, Scharnhorst, the remaining operational German battleship, was sunk on 26 December during the Battle of the North Cape. Following this engagement the Royal Navy stopped deploying battleships to cover convoys travelling to, by this stage of the war the Allies also had large numbers of anti-submarine and anti-aircraft escort ships available, and were able to assign strong forces to protect all of the Arctic convoys. German submarines operating in the Norwegian Sea were rarely able to evade the convoy escorts, the British Government and Royal Navy were concerned about the threat Tirpitz posed once she re-entered service. Allied intelligence tracked the progress of work on the battleship using decrypted German radio signals, photo reconnaissance flights and it was feared the battleship could sortie and attack convoys in the Norwegian Sea or Atlantic Ocean after the repairs were completed. The need to guard against this possibility would also occupy warships needed to support the invasion of France
33.
Norway
–
The Antarctic Peter I Island and the sub-Antarctic Bouvet Island are dependent territories and thus not considered part of the Kingdom. Norway also lays claim to a section of Antarctica known as Queen Maud Land, until 1814, the kingdom included the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Iceland. It also included Isle of Man until 1266, Shetland and Orkney until 1468, Norway has a total area of 385,252 square kilometres and a population of 5,258,317. The country shares a long border with Sweden. Norway is bordered by Finland and Russia to the north-east, Norway has an extensive coastline, facing the North Atlantic Ocean and the Barents Sea. King Harald V of the Dano-German House of Glücksburg is the current King of Norway, erna Solberg became Prime Minister in 2013, replacing Jens Stoltenberg. A constitutional monarchy, Norway divides state power between the Parliament, the Cabinet and the Supreme Court, as determined by the 1814 Constitution, the kingdom is established as a merger of several petty kingdoms. By the traditional count from the year 872, the kingdom has existed continuously for 1,144 years, Norway has both administrative and political subdivisions on two levels, counties and municipalities. The Sámi people have an amount of self-determination and influence over traditional territories through the Sámi Parliament. Norway maintains close ties with the European Union and the United States, the country maintains a combination of market economy and a Nordic welfare model with universal health care and a comprehensive social security system. Norway has extensive reserves of petroleum, natural gas, minerals, lumber, seafood, the petroleum industry accounts for around a quarter of the countrys gross domestic product. On a per-capita basis, Norway is the worlds largest producer of oil, the country has the fourth-highest per capita income in the world on the World Bank and IMF lists. On the CIAs GDP per capita list which includes territories and some regions, from 2001 to 2006, and then again from 2009 to 2017, Norway had the highest Human Development Index ranking in the world. It also has the highest inequality-adjusted ranking, Norway ranks first on the World Happiness Report, the OECD Better Life Index, the Index of Public Integrity and the Democracy Index. Norway has two names, Noreg in Nynorsk and Norge in Bokmål. The name Norway comes from the Old English word Norðrveg mentioned in 880, meaning way or way leading to the north. In contrasting with suðrvegar southern way for Germany, and austrvegr eastern way for the Baltic, the Anglo-Saxon of Britain also referred to the kingdom of Norway in 880 as Norðmanna land. This was the area of Harald Fairhair, the first king of Norway, and because of him
34.
Mediterranean Sea
–
The sea is sometimes considered a part of the Atlantic Ocean, although it is usually identified as a separate body of water. The name Mediterranean is derived from the Latin mediterraneus, meaning inland or in the middle of land and it covers an approximate area of 2.5 million km2, but its connection to the Atlantic is only 14 km wide. The Strait of Gibraltar is a strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Gibraltar. In oceanography, it is called the Eurafrican Mediterranean Sea or the European Mediterranean Sea to distinguish it from mediterranean seas elsewhere. The Mediterranean Sea has a depth of 1,500 m. The sea is bordered on the north by Europe, the east by Asia and it is located between latitudes 30° and 46° N and longitudes 6° W and 36° E. Its west-east length, from the Strait of Gibraltar to the Gulf of Iskenderun, the seas average north-south length, from Croatia’s southern shore to Libya, is approximately 800 km. The Mediterranean Sea, including the Sea of Marmara, has an area of approximately 2,510,000 square km. The sea was an important route for merchants and travelers of ancient times that allowed for trade, the history of the Mediterranean region is crucial to understanding the origins and development of many modern societies. In addition, the Gaza Strip and the British Overseas Territories of Gibraltar and Akrotiri, the term Mediterranean derives from the Latin word mediterraneus, meaning amid the earth or between land, as it is between the continents of Africa, Asia and Europe. The Ancient Greek name Mesogeios, is similarly from μέσο, between + γη, land, earth) and it can be compared with the Ancient Greek name Mesopotamia, meaning between rivers. The Mediterranean Sea has historically had several names, for example, the Carthaginians called it the Syrian Sea and latter Romans commonly called it Mare Nostrum, and occasionally Mare Internum. Another name was the Sea of the Philistines, from the people inhabiting a large portion of its shores near the Israelites, the sea is also called the Great Sea in the General Prologue by Geoffrey Chaucer. In Ottoman Turkish, it has also been called Bahr-i Sefid, in Modern Hebrew, it has been called HaYam HaTikhon, the Middle Sea, reflecting the Seas name in ancient Greek, Latin, and modern languages in both Europe and the Middle East. Similarly, in Modern Arabic, it is known as al-Baḥr al-Mutawassiṭ, in Turkish, it is known as Akdeniz, the White Sea since among Turks the white colour represents the west. Several ancient civilisations were located around the Mediterranean shores, and were influenced by their proximity to the sea. It provided routes for trade, colonisation, and war, as well as food for numerous communities throughout the ages, due to the shared climate, geology, and access to the sea, cultures centered on the Mediterranean tended to have some extent of intertwined culture and history. Two of the most notable Mediterranean civilisations in classical antiquity were the Greek city states, later, when Augustus founded the Roman Empire, the Romans referred to the Mediterranean as Mare Nostrum
35.
HMS Teazer (R23)
–
HMS Teazer was a T-class destroyer of the British Royal Navy that saw service during the Second World War. She was later converted to a Type 16 fast anti-submarine frigate, during September 1943, Teazer underwent builders trials before being commissioned. Upon commissioning, she was accepted into the 24th Destroyer Flotilla, in July 1944, she was placed under U. S Navy command and was one of the ships scheduled to support the landing in the South of France as part of Operation Dragoon. During the Allied withdrawal form the Aegean Sea in 1944, Teazer was responsible for the sinking of the transport ship KT Erpel, with the surrender of the Japanese, she was present at the surrender ceremony on 27 August 1945 in Tokyo Bay. Between 1946 and 1953, Teazer was held in reserve at Devonport, following decommissioning, Teazer was placed on the disposal list in September 1961. She was subsequently sold to Arnott Young, Dalmuir, for scrapping, arriving there on 7 August 1965, in 1957, Teazer was used during the making of the film Yangtse Incident. She depicted both HMS Consort and HMS Concord, doctor Who companion, Ben Jackson, was assigned to Teazer, as shown on his uniform cap. Within the Whoniverse, Teazer was still in service in 1966, in July that year, she had recently left England, bound for the West Indies, leaving Jackson seconded to a shore posting and very disappointed. Ships of the Royal Navy, The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy, British Warships Since 1945, Part 3, Destroyers. War Built Destroyers O to Z Classes, whitley, M. J. Destroyers of World War 2
36.
Aegean Sea
–
The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the Greek and Anatolian peninsulas, i. e. between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey. In the north, it is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea by the Dardanelles, the Aegean Islands are within the sea and some bound it on its southern periphery, including Crete and Rhodes. The sea was known as Archipelago, but in English this words meaning has changed to refer to the Aegean Islands and, generally. In ancient times, there were various explanations for the name Aegean, a possible etymology is a derivation from the Greek word αἶγες – aiges = waves, hence wavy sea, cf. also αἰγιαλός, hence meaning sea-shore. The Venetians, who ruled many Greek islands in the High and Late Middle Ages, popularized the name Archipelago, in some South Slavic languages the Aegean is often called White Sea. The Aegean Sea covers about 214,000 square kilometres in area, the seas maximum depth is 3,543 metres, east of Crete. The Aegean Islands are found within its waters, with the following islands delimiting the sea on the south, Kythera, Antikythera, Crete, Kasos, Karpathos, many of the Aegean Islands, or chains of islands, are actually extensions of the mountains on the mainland. One chain extends across the sea to Chios, another extends across Euboea to Samos, the International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Aegean Sea as follows, On the South. In the Dardanelles. A line joining Kum Kale and Cape Helles, the dense Mediterranean water sinks below the Black Sea inflow to a depth of 23–30 metres, then flows through the Dardanelles Strait and into the Sea of Marmara at velocities of 5–15 cm/s. The Black Sea outflow moves westward along the northern Aegean Sea, Aegean Sea Intermediate Water – Aegean Sea Intermediate Water extends from 40–50 m to 200–300 metres with temperatures ranging from 11–18 °C. Aegean Sea Bottom Water – occurring at depths below 500–1000 m with a uniform temperature. The current coastline dates back to about 4000 BC, before that time, at the peak of the last ice age sea levels everywhere were 130 metres lower, and there were large well-watered coastal plains instead of much of the northern Aegean. When they were first occupied, the islands including Milos with its important obsidian production were probably still connected to the mainland. The present coastal arrangement appeared c.7000 BC, with post-ice age sea levels continuing to rise for another 3,000 years after that, the subsequent Bronze Age civilizations of Greece and the Aegean Sea have given rise to the general term Aegean civilization. In ancient times, the sea was the birthplace of two ancient civilizations – the Minoans of Crete and the Mycenean Civilization of the Peloponnese, later arose the city-states of Athens and Sparta among many others that constituted the Athenian Empire and Hellenic Civilization. Plato described the Greeks living round the Aegean like frogs around a pond, the Aegean Sea was later invaded by the Persians and the Romans, and inhabited by the Byzantine Empire, the Bulgarians, the Venetians, the Genoese, the Seljuq Turks, and the Ottoman Empire. The Aegean was the site of the democracies, and its seaways were the means of contact among several diverse civilizations of the Eastern Mediterranean. Many of the islands in the Aegean have safe harbours and bays, in ancient times, navigation through the sea was easier than travelling across the rough terrain of the Greek mainland
37.
East Indies
–
The East Indies or Indies are the lands of South and Southeast Asia. In a more restricted sense, the Indies can be used to refer to the islands of Southeast Asia, the name Indies is derived from the river Indus and is used to connote parts of Asia that came under Indian cultural influence. The East Indies may also include the former French-held Indochina, former British territories Brunei and Singapore and it does not, however, include the former Dutch New Guinea western New Guinea, which is geographically considered to be part of Melanesia. In colonial times they were just natives, however, the peoples of the East Indies comprise a wide variety of cultural diversity, and the inhabitants do not consider themselves as belonging to a single ethnic group. The major languages in this area draw from a variety of language families, and should not be confused with the term Indic. The extensive East Indies are subdivided into two sections, archaically called Hither India and Further India, the first is the former British India, the second is Southeast Asia. Historically, the king of Abyssinia was identified with Prester John of the Indies, exploration of these regions by European powers first began in the late 15th century and early 16th century led by the Portuguese explorers. The Portuguese described the region they discovered as the Indies. Eventually, the region would be broken up into a series of Indies, the East Indies, which was also called Old Indies or Great Indies, consisting of India, and the West Indies, also called New Indies or Little Indies, consisting of the Americas. The New World was initially thought to be the easternmost part of the Indies by explorer Christopher Columbus, later, to avoid confusion, the New World came to be called the West Indies, while the original Indies came to be called the East Indies. Greater India History of the Americas Indian Spanish West Indies
38.
Operation Dracula
–
During World War II, Operation Dracula was the name given to an airborne and amphibious attack on Rangoon by British, American and Indian forces, part of the Burma Campaign. The plan was first proposed in mid-1944 when the Allied South East Asia Command was preparing to reoccupy Burma, but was dropped as the necessary landing craft and other resources were not available. In March 1945 however, it was resurrected, as it was vital to capture Rangoon before the start of the monsoon to secure the lines of communication of the Allied troops in Burma. During April 1945, units of the British Fourteenth Army advanced to within 40 miles of Rangoon, on the same day, as part of Operation Dracula, a composite Gurkha parachute battalion landed on Elephant Point at the mouth of the Rangoon River. Once they had secured the coastal batteries, minesweepers cleared the river of mines, on 2 May, the Indian 26th Division began landing on both banks of the river. The monsoon also broke on this day, earlier than had been expected, however, the Imperial Japanese Army had abandoned Rangoon several days earlier, and the units of the Indian 26th Division occupied the city and its vital docks without opposition. They linked up with Fourteenth Army four days later, Rangoon was the capital and major port of Burma. In December 1941, Japan entered World War II by attacking United States territory and the Far Eastern colonial possessions of Britain, after occupying Thailand, the Japanese attacked southern Burma in March 1942. The British, Indian and Burmese forces were outmatched and were forced to evacuate Rangoon and this made the long-term British defence of Burma impossible, as there were then no proper alternate supply routes overland from India. The British and Chinese forces were compelled to evacuate Burma and withdraw into India, there was stalemate for a year. By 1944, the Allied forces in India had been reinforced and had expanded their logistic infrastructure, the Japanese attempted to forestall them by an invasion of India, which led to a heavy Japanese defeat at the Battle of Imphal, and other setbacks in Northern Burma. Their losses were to handicap their defence of Burma in the following year, in July,1944, the Allied South East Asia Command began making definite plans for the reconquest of Burma. The Battle of Imphal was still being fought but it was clear that the Japanese would be forced to retreat with heavy casualties, one of the strategic options examined by South East Asia Command was an amphibious assault on Rangoon. This originally had the name, Plan Z. Plan Z, which was to be developed into Operation Dracula, had several advantages, the loss of Rangoon would be even more disastrous for the Japanese in 1945 than it had been for the British in 1942. Not only was it the principal seaport by which the Japanese in Burma received supplies and reinforcements, if Rangoon fell, the Japanese would therefore be compelled to withdraw from almost all of Burma, abandoning much of their equipment. However, the Allied planners considered that to mount an assault on the scale required would need resources which would not be available until the campaign in Europe was concluded. Operation Dracula was therefore postponed, and Plan Y was adopted instead, when sufficient numbers of landing craft and other amphibious resources became available late in 1944, they were first used in operations in the Burmese coastal province of Arakan
39.
Battle of the Malacca Strait
–
Haguro had been operating as a supply ship for Japanese garrisons in the Dutch East Indies and the Bay of Bengal since 1 May 1945. On 9 May, Haguro left Singapore, escorted by the destroyer Kamikaze, to re-supply the Port Blair garrison on the Andaman Islands, the Royal Navy was alerted to this by a decrypted Japanese naval signal, subsequently confirmed by a sighting by the submarines HMS Statesman and Subtle. Force 61 of the Eastern Fleet set sail on 10 May from Trincomalee, the Japanese were unwilling to risk any battle and, on receipt of an air reconnaissance warning, they returned to Singapore. On 14 May, Haguro and Kamikaze tried again and left Singapore, the next day, they were spotted by aircraft from Force 61. The subsequent bombing attack by Grumman Avenger IIs of 851 Naval Air Squadron caused only minor damage to Haguro, information was relayed to the Japanese that two British destroyer squadrons had been sighted heading towards them. Again, they reversed course to return to the Malacca Strait and this change had been anticipated, however, and the 26th Destroyer Flotilla, commanded by Captain Manley Laurence Power steamed to intercept. In heavy rain squalls with lightning, Venus made radar contact at 34 nmi, the British destroyers arranged themselves in a crescent cordon and allowed the Japanese ships to sail into the trap. At 01,05, Venus, parallel to Haguro as she raced past the north-westernmost ship in Powers force, Haguro, thinking Venus had launched torpedoes, altered course away to comb the tracks. In so doing, she turned south and deeper into the trap, Saumarez and Verulam were now well positioned to make their attacks. Haguro appeared fine off Saumarezs port bow at a range of 6,000 yards, at the same time, the Japanese destroyer Kamikaze appeared off the starboard bow, crossing from starboard to port, only 3,000 yards away and on a collision course. Haguro now fired her first broadside of ten 8in and four 5in guns at Saumarez, tremendous waterspouts thrown up alongside swamped the British flotilla leaders upper decks as Haguro was seen clearly three miles away in the light of both sides star-shells. At 01,11, just as she was about to fire torpedoes, the top of her funnel disappeared over the side and a 5in shell penetrated No.1 Boiler Room, severed a steam main and lodged inside the boiler. Five men were scalded, two of whom died, but as with the 8in shell hits, this failed to explode at such close range and was later thrown overboard. At 01,15, Haguro was hit by three torpedoes from Saumarez and Verulam, as Saumarez limped northward from the immediate battle area, a violent explosion created confusion. Power thought it was Kamikaze blowing up and men on Virago and Vigilant thought it was Saumarez, Venus hit Haguro with one torpedo at 01,25, and Virago stopped Haguro with two more torpedo hits two minutes later. The Japanese cruiser finally sank at 02,06 after receiving another torpedo from Vigilant, Kamikaze was also damaged, but escaped, returning the next day to rescue survivors. About 320 survived, but over 900 died, including the Japanese commanders, Vice-Admiral Hashimoto, Saumarezs main aerial and a funnel top had been shot away and an 8 in shell nicked the forecastle. Two men were killed and three burned in the room when a 5 in shell severed the main steam pipe
40.
Japanese cruiser Haguro
–
Haguro was a Myōkō-class heavy cruiser of the Imperial Japanese Navy, named after Mount Haguro in Yamagata Prefecture. Commissioned in 1929, Haguro saw significant service during World War II and she was sunk in 1945 during a fight with Royal Navy destroyers, one of the last major Japanese warships to be sunk during World War II. Haguro was the third of the four-member Myōkō class of cruiser, the other ships were Myōkō, Nachi. The ships of this class displaced 13,300 tons, were 201 metres long and they carried two aircraft and their main armament was ten 203 mm guns in five twin turrets. At the time they were built, this was the heaviest armament of any class in the world. Haguro was laid down at the Mitsubishi shipyard in Nagasaki on 16 March 1925, launched and named on 24 March 1928 and her service in World War II started in the Dutch East Indies, where she engaged the enemy off Makassar on 8 February 1942. Haguro took light damage in the Battle of Empress Augusta Bay on 2 November 1943, on 19 June 1944, she survived the Battle of the Philippine Sea, and from 23–25 October 1944 she took light damage in the Battle of Leyte Gulf. In May 1945, Haguro was the target of the British Operation Dukedom and was ambushed, the 26th Destroyer Flotilla found her with the destroyer Kamikaze just after midnight on 16 May 1945, and began the attack. During the battle, Kamikaze was lightly damaged, but Haguro was hit by gunfire and she soon began to slow down and took a 30-degrees list to port. Rear Admiral Sugiura was posthumously promoted to Vice Admiral on 16 May, Haguro was the last major Japanese warship to be sunk in battle during the war. Haguro was stricken from the navy list on 20 June 1945, the wreck was discovered in 2003, showing significant superstructure damage from her last and earlier battles. The Battle Off Samar, Taffy III at Leyte Gulf, death of a Navy, Japanese Naval Action in World War II. A Battle History of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1941-1945, Japanese Cruisers of the Pacific War. Parshall, Jon, Bob Hackett, Sander Kingsepp, Allyn Nevitt
41.
Japanese destroyer Kamikaze (1922)
–
The Japanese destroyer Kamikaze was the lead ship of nine Kamikaze-class destroyers built for the Imperial Japanese Navy during the 1920s. At the beginning of the Pacific War in December 1941, the ship was assigned to the Ōminato Guard District and she remained in northern Japanese waters until mid-1942 when she participated in the Aleutian Islands Campaign. Kamikaze continued to patrol northern Japanese waters until early 1945 when she was transferred to the Singapore area, the Kamikaze class was an improved version of the Minekaze-class destroyers. The ships had a length of 102.5 meters and were 97.5 meters between perpendiculars. They had a beam of 9.1 meters, and a draft of 2.9 meters. The Kamikaze-class ships displaced 1,422 metric tons at load and 1,747 metric tons at deep load. They were powered by two Parsons geared steam turbines, each driving one shaft, using steam provided by four Kampon water-tube boilers. The turbines were designed to produce 38,500 shaft horsepower, during sea trials, the ships comfortably exceeded their designed speeds, reaching 38.7 to 39.2 knots. The ships carried 420 metric tons of oil which gave them a range of 3,600 nautical miles at 14 knots. Their crew consisted of 148 officers and crewmen, the guns were numbered 1 to 4 from front to rear. Early in the war, the No.4 gun and the aft torpedo tubes were removed in exchange for four depth charge throwers and 18 depth charges, in addition 10 license-built 25 mm Type 96 light AA guns were installed. These changes increased their displacement to 1,499 long tons, survivors had their light AA armament augmented to be between thirteen and twenty 25 mm guns and four 13.2 mm Type 93 anti-aircraft machineguns by June 1944. These changes reduced their speed to 35 knots, Kamikaze, built by Mitsubishi at their shipyard in Nagasaki, was laid down on 15 December 1921, launched on 25 September 1922 and completed on 19 December. Originally commissioned simply as Destroyer No,1, she was assigned the name Kamikaze on 1 August 1928. On completion, Kamikaze was assigned to Destroyer Division 1, based out of the Ōminato Guard District and charged with the defense of Japan’s northern waters. At the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Kamikaze was still based out of Ōminato, in June 1942, Kamikaze helped provide cover for the Japanese forces during Operation AL, the diversionary invasion of the Aleutian Islands during the Battle of Midway. Following the Aleutian Islands Campaign, Kamikaze patrolled from Hokkaidō through the Aleutians through the end of the year, throughout 1943 and 1944, she was assigned to patrols of Soya Strait and Tsugaru Strait and to escort ship convoys to remote outposts in the Kurile islands. However, from January 1945, Kamikaze was reassigned to the Combined Fleet, on 26 January 1945, she departed with a convoy from Moji bound for Singapore, but was assigned detached duty at the Mako in the Pescadores
42.
Port Blair
–
Port Blair is the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a union territory of India situated in the Bay of Bengal. It is also the local administrative sub-division of the islands, the headquarters for the district of South Andaman and it houses the headquarters of the Andaman and Nicobar Police and the Andaman and Nicobar Command, the first integrated tri-command of the armed forces of India. It also serves as the point for visiting the Andaman. Port Blair is connected with mainland India by both air and sea, though it is a 2-hour flight from mainland India to Port Blair, but it takes 3–4 days by sea to reach Chennai, Kolkata or Vishakhapatnam. Air connectivity to Port Blair is available from Chennai, Kolkata, New Delhi, Bhubaneshwar, all flights bound to Andaman and Nicobar Islands land at the Veer Savarkar International Airport. Sea connectivity is available from Chennai, Kolkata and Vishakhapatnam are embarked in Haddo Wharf and it is home to several museums and a major naval base INS Jarawa of the Indian Navy, along with sea and air bases of the Indian Coast Guard and the Indian Air Force. Port Blair is also famous for the historic Cellular Jail and other islands like Ross. All major departments of the Local and Central Government function from there, Port Blair has been selected as one of the cities to be developed as a smart city under the Smart Cities Mission. In 1789 the Government of Bengal established a colony on Chatham Island in the southeast bay of Great Andaman. After two years, the moved to the northeast part of Great Andaman and was named Port Cornwallis after Admiral William Cornwallis. However, there was disease and death in the penal colony. In 1824 Port Cornwallis was the rendezvous of the carrying the army to the First Anglo-Burmese War. In the 1830s and 1840s, shipwrecked crews who landed on the Andamans were often attacked and killed by the natives, in 1855, the government proposed another settlement on the islands, including a convict establishment, but the Indian Rebellion forced a delay in its construction. However, since the rebellion provided the British with a lot of new prisoners, it made the new Andaman settlement and prison an urgent necessity. Construction began in November 1857 at the renovated Port Blair, avoiding the vicinity of a swamp which seemed to have been the source of many of the old colonys problems. The penal colony was originally on Viper Island, the convicts, mostly political prisoners, suffered life imprisonment at hard labor under cruel and degrading conditions. Many were hanged, while others died of disease and starvation, between 1864 and 1867 a penal establishment was also built with convict labor on the northern side of Ross Island. These structures are now lay in ruins, the Cellular Jail is also known as Kala Pani, a name given to it due to the torture and general ill-treatment towards its Indian convicts
43.
Andaman Islands
–
The Andaman Islands form an archipelago in the Bay of Bengal between India, to the west, and Myanmar, to the north and east. Most are part of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Union Territory of India, while a number in the north of the archipelago, including the Coco Islands. The Andaman Islands are home to the Sentinelese, who have had no contact with any other people, the name of the Andaman Islands is ancient. A theory that became prevalent in the late 19th century is that it derives from Andoman, a form of Hanuman, another Italian traveller, Niccolò de Conti, mentioned the islands and said that the name means Island of Gold. The Andaman islands have been inhabited for several years, at the very least. The indigenous Andamanese people appear to have lived on the islands in substantial isolation from that time until the 18th century CE, from 800 to 1200 CE, the Tamil Chola dynasty created an empire that eventually extended from southeastern peninsular India to parts of Malaysia. Rajendra Chola I took over the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and maintained them as a naval base to launch a naval expedition against the Srivijaya empire. In 1789, Bengal Presidency established a base and penal colony on Chatham Island in the southeast bay of Great Andaman. The settlement is now known as Port Blair, after two years, the colony was moved to the northeast part of Great Andaman and was named Port Cornwallis after Admiral William Cornwallis. However, there was disease and death in the penal colony. In 1824, Port Cornwallis was the rendezvous of the carrying the army to the First Burmese War. In the 1830s and 1840s, shipwrecked crews who landed on the Andamans were often attacked and killed by the natives, in 1855, the government proposed another settlement on the islands, including a convict establishment, but the Indian Rebellion of 1857 forced a delay in its construction. However, because the rebellion gave the British so many prisoners, it made the new Andaman settlement and prison urgently necessary. Construction began in November 1857 at Port Blair using inmates labour,17 May 1859 was another major day for Andaman. The Battle of Aberdeen was fought between the Great Andamanese Tribe and the British, today, a memorial stands in Andaman Water sports complex as a tribute to the people who lost their life. Fearing foreign invasion and with help from a convict from Cellular Jail, the great Andamanese tribe stormed the British post. Later, it was identified that a convict named Doodnath had changed sides. Today, the tribe has been reduced to some 50 people, the government of Andaman Islands is making efforts to increase the headcount of this tribe
44.
Sumatra
–
Sumatra is a large island in western Indonesia that is part of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island that is entirely in Indonesia and the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2, Sumatra is an elongated landmass spanning a diagonal northwest-southeast axis. The Indian Ocean borders the west, northwest, and southwest sides of Sumatra with the chain of Simeulue, Nias. On the northeast side the narrow Strait of Malacca separates the island from the Malay Peninsula, on the southeast the narrow Sunda Strait separates Sumatra from Java. The northern tip of Sumatra borders the Andaman Islands, while on the eastern side are the islands of Bangka and Belitung, Karimata Strait. The Bukit Barisan mountains, which several active volcanoes, form the backbone of the island, while the northeast sides are outlying lowlands with swamps, mangrove. The equator crosses the island at its center on West Sumatra, the climate of the island is tropical, hot and humid with lush tropical rain forest once dominating the landscape. Sumatra was known in ancient times by the Sanskrit names of Swarnadwīpa and Swarnabhūmi, the first word mentioning the name of Sumatra was the name of Srivijayan Haji Sumatrabhumi, who sent an envoy to China in 1017. Arab geographers referred to the island as Lamri in the tenth through thirteenth centuries, late in the 14th century the name Sumatra became popular in reference to the kingdom of Samudra Pasai, which was a rising power until it was replaced by Sultanate of Aceh. Sultan Alauddin Shah of Aceh, on letters written in 1602 addressed to Queen Elizabeth I of England, referred to himself as king of Aceh, the word itself is from Sanskrit Samudra, meaning gathering together of waters, sea or ocean. European writers in the 19th century found that the inhabitants did not have a name for the island. The Melayu Kingdom was absorbed by Srivijaya, Srivijaya was a Buddhist monarchy centred in what is now Palembang. Dominating the region trade and conquest throughout the 7th to 9th centuries. The empire was a thalassocracy or maritime power that extended its influence from island to island, Palembang was a center for scholarly learning, and it was there the Chinese Buddhist pilgrim I Ching studied Sanskrit in 671 CE before departing for India. On his journey to China, he spent four years in Palembang translating Buddhist texts, Srivijayan influence waned in the 11th century after it was defeated by the Chola Empire of southern India. At the same time, Islam made its way to Sumatra through Arabs, by the late 13th century, the monarch of the Samudra kingdom had converted to Islam. Marco Polo visited the island in 1292, and Ibn Battuta visited twice during 1345–1346, Samudra was succeeded by the powerful Aceh Sultanate, which survived to the 20th century. With the coming of the Dutch, the many Sumatran princely states fell under their control
45.
Alistair MacLean
–
Alistair Stuart MacLean was a Scottish novelist who wrote popular thrillers and adventure stories. His works include The Guns of Navarone, Ice Station Zebra and he also wrote two novels under the pseudonym Ian Stuart. MacLean was the son of a Church of Scotland minister and learned English as a language after his mother tongue. He was born in Glasgow but spent much of his childhood and youth in Daviot and he was the third of four sons. He joined the Royal Navy in 1941, serving in World War II with the ranks of Ordinary Seaman, Able Seaman and he was first assigned to PS Bournemouth Queen, a converted excursion ship fitted for anti-aircraft guns, on duty off the coasts of England and Scotland. Beginning in 1943, he served on HMS Royalist, a Dido-class light cruiser, there he saw action in 1943 in the Atlantic theatre, on two Arctic convoys and escorting carrier groups in operations against Tirpitz and other targets off the Norwegian coast. In 1944 he and HMS Royalist served in the Mediterranean theatre, as part of the invasion of southern France, during this time MacLean may have been injured in a gunnery practice accident. In 1945, in the Far East theatre, MacLean and Royalist saw action escorting carrier groups in operations against Japanese targets in Burma, Malaya, after the Japanese surrender, Royalist helped evacuate liberated POWs from Changi Prison in Singapore. MacLean was released from the Royal Navy in 1946 and he then studied English at the University of Glasgow, graduating in 1953, and then worked as a school teacher in Rutherglen. While a university student, MacLean began writing stories for extra income. The publishing company Collins asked him for a novel and he responded with HMS Ulysses, based on his own war experiences, as well as credited insight from his brother Ian, a Master Mariner. The novel was a success and MacLean was soon able to devote himself entirely to writing war stories, spy stories. In the early 1960s, MacLean published two novels under the pseudonym Ian Stuart in order to prove that the popularity of his books was due to their content rather than his name on the cover. They sold well, but MacLean made no attempt to change his writing style, MacLeans books eventually sold so well that he moved to Switzerland as a tax exile. From 1963–1966, he took a hiatus from writing to run a business in England. MacLeans later books were not as well received as the publications and, in an attempt to keep his stories in keeping with the time. He also struggled constantly with alcoholism, which brought about his death in Munich on 2 February 1987. As reported in the newspaper he died of a stroke and he is buried a few yards from Richard Burton in Céligny, Switzerland
46.
HMS Ulysses (novel)
–
HMS Ulysses was the debut novel by Scottish author Alistair MacLean. Originally published in 1955, it was released by Fontana Books in 1960. Some editions carry a prefatory note disavowing any connection between the fictional HMS Ulysses and the U-class destroyer of the same name, the novel features HMS Ulysses, a light cruiser that is well armed and among the fastest ships in the world. Her crew is pushed well beyond the limits of endurance and the starts in the aftermath of a mutiny. Ulysses puts to sea again to escort FR-77, a convoy heading for Murmansk. They are beset by challenges, an unusually fierce Arctic storm, German ships and U-boats. All slowly reduce the convoy from 32 ships to only five, the Ulysses is sunk in a failed attempt to ram a German cruiser after all her other weapons had been destroyed. This echoes events in which British G-class destroyer HMS Glowworm and HMS Jervis Bay, the book uses a set of events to paint moving portrayals of the crew and the human aspects of the war. His heroes are not especially motivated by ideals, they excel at more than one task. It is their resilience that pushes these seamen to acts of heroism, HMS Ulysses is similar to the real Dido-class cruisers. MacLean had served in HMS Royalist of that class. )HMS Stirling an obsolete WW1 era C-class cruiser cruiser of the Ceres sub-group, Stirling is virtually untouched during most of the novel, until the final act where Stirling is repeatedly attacked by Dive Bombers. Aircraft carriers Defender, Invader, Wrestler, and Blue Ranger, are American built Escort carriers, accidents and enemy attacks conspire to remove all the aircraft carriers from service before the convoy is even halfway to Russia. The Defender in particular is rendered inoperable due to freak accident which results in the flight deck being partially torn off during a heavy storm. HMS Sirrus an S Class Destroyer, the most newly built warship in the escort group, HMS Vectra and HMS Viking, WW1 vintage V and W-class destroyers HMS Portpatrick, a Town-class destroyer, another obsolete WW1 design. HMS Baliol, a Type 1 Hunt-class destroyer described as diminutive, HMS Gannet, a Kingfisher-class sloop, nicknamed Huntley and Palmer due to her boxy superstructure resembling a biscuit tin. Alistair Maclean had written a story, which was published to acclaim. A literary agent asked him to write a novel and Maclean originally refused, however his boat business failed so he decided to write a novel. The book was based on real life convoys Maclean had participated in when a sailor aboard HMS Royalist, Maclean later described his writing process, I drew a cross square, lines down representing the characters, lines across representing chapters 1-15
47.
HMS Phoebe (43)
–
HMS Phoebe was a Dido-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was built by Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, her keel was laid down on 2 September 1937 and she was launched on 25 March 1939, and commissioned on 30 September 1940. Phoebes first six months were spent in the Home Fleet, escorting convoys on the first stage of their long voyage via the Cape to the Middle East. In April 1941 she was transferred to the 7th Cruiser Squadron in the Mediterranean, enemy-held territory here was to keep the British Fleet busy for the next two and half years, and Phoebe was to have her fair share of the action. The damage she sustained put her out of action for eight months, Phoebe returned to the Mediterranean in the summer of 1942 to escort the last heavily opposed convoy to Malta. On 23 October 1942, Phoebe was torpedoed by the German submarine U-161 off the Congo Estuary and her route was from Simonstown in South Africa to Freetown Sierra Leone, but the ship had to refuel at Pointe Noire. Two U-boats, were patrolling that area at the time, after the hit, a corvette coming up from the harbour prevented the U-boat from finishing off the cruiser. About 60 crew members were killed, after provisional repairs, Phoebe made for New York for complete repairs. It was a feat to sail 10,000 nautical miles with a gaping hole in her hull. The repairs were not completed until June 1943, in October 1943 she returned to the Mediterranean to take part in the Aegean operations. In May 1944, Phoebe was transferred to the Eastern Fleet and was involved in operations against the Andaman Islands, Sabang in Northern Sumatra. In January 1945, a month, she was switched to supporting amphibious operations in Burma and was engaged in actions against Akyab, Ramree Island off the Arakan Coast. In May 1945, Phoebe was involved in the assault on Rangoon. After VJ-Day, Phoebe returned home for refitting and spent five years in the peacetime Mediterranean Fleet, in early 1948 the cruiser took elements of Royal Marines 40 Commando to Haifa, to assist in the British withdrawal from Mandate Palestine. On 30 June Phoebe embarked the last G. O. C, Palestine and rearguard troops, as the evacuation was completed. After a period in reserve she was sold for scrap in 1956 and this brought to an end a relatively short but eventful career. Ships of the Royal Navy, The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy, WWII cruisers HMS Phoebe at Uboat. net
United Kingdom
Media related to HMS Royalist (ship, 1942) at Wikimedia Commons
Royal Navy
Royal New Zealand Navy
Pakistan Navy