1.
World War II
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World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan
2.
Mediterranean Sea
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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
3.
Torpedo boat
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A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs rammed enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes, and they were created to counter battleships and other slow and heavily armed ships by using speed, agility, and the power of their torpedo weapons. A number of torpedo boats attacking en masse could overwhelm a larger ships ability to fight them off using its large. The introduction of fast torpedo boats in the late 19th century was a concern to the eras naval strategists. In response, navies operating large ships introduced smaller ships to torpedo boats. The destroyer eventually became the predominant type of warship in the guided missile age. In the modern era, the old concept of a small, fast. The American Civil War saw a number of innovations in warfare, including an early type of torpedo boat. In 1861 President Lincoln instituted a blockade of Southern ports. The South also lacked the means to construct a fleet capable of taking on the Union Navy on even terms. One strategy to counter the blockade saw the development of torpedo boats, the David class of torpedo boats were steam powered with a partially enclosed hull. They were not true submarines but were semi-submersible, when ballasted, only the smokestack, the CSS Midge and CSS St. Patrick were David-class torpedo boats. The CSS Squib and CSS Scorpion represented another class of boats that were also low built but had open decks. The Confederate torpedo boats were armed with spar torpedoes and this was a charge of powder in a waterproof case, mounted to the bow of the torpedo boat below the water line on a long spar. The torpedo boat attacked by ramming her intended target, which stuck the torpedo to the ship by means of a barb on the front of the torpedo. The torpedo boat would back away to a distance and detonate the torpedo. In general, the Confederate torpedo boats were not very successful and their low sides made them susceptible to swamping in high seas, and even to having their boiler fires extinguished by spray from their own torpedo explosions. Torpedo misfires and duds were common, in 1864 Union Naval Lieutenant Cushing fitted a steam launch with a spar torpedo to attack the Confederate ironclad Albemarle
4.
Regia Marina
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The Royal Navy was the navy of the Kingdom of Italy from 1861 to 1946. In 1946, with the birth of the Italian Republic, the Royal Navy changed its name to Military Navy, the Regia Marina was established on 17 March 1861 following the proclamation of the formation of the Kingdom of Italy. These problems were compounded by the continuation of separate officer schools at Genoa and Naples and these innovations quickly made older warships obsolete. The new navys baptism of fire came on 20 July 1866 at the Battle of Lissa during the Third Italian War of Independence, the battle was fought against the Austrian Empire and occurred near the island of Vis in the Adriatic sea. The Italian fleet, commanded by Admiral Persano, mustered 12 ironclad and 17 wooden-hulled ships, though only one, in 1896 the corvette Magenta completed a circumnavigation of the world. The following year the Regia Marina conducted experiments with Guglielmo Marconi in the use of radio communications,1909 saw the first use of aircraft with the fleet. An Italian naval officer, Vittorio Cuniberti, was the first in 1903 to envision in an article the all-big gun battleship design. In 1911 and 1912, the Regia Marina was involved in the Italo-Turkish War against forces of the Ottoman Empire, in the Red Sea the Italian forces were vastly superior to those of the Ottomans who only possessed a squadron of gunboats there. These were destroyed while attempting to withdraw into the Mediterranean at the Battle of Kunfuda Bay, during the war, the Regia Marina spent its major efforts in the Adriatic Sea, fighting the Austro-Hungarian Navy. Considered a relatively minor part of the warfare of World War I. For most of the war the Italian and Austro-Hungarian navies each kept a relatively passive watch over their adversaries, the Italian fleet lost the pre-dreadnought battleship Benedetto Brin at Brindisi and the dreadnought Leonardo da Vinci at Taranto due to a magazine explosion. The battleship SMS Tegetthoff was handed over to Italy as a war prize in 1919, during the interwar years the Italian government set about modernizing the Regia Marina in a way that could enable it to reach dominance over the Mediterranean Sea. Italian naval construction was limited by the Washington Naval Conference, the 1922 treaty required a parity in naval forces between the Italian and French navies, with equality in total displacement in battleships and carriers. The treaty influenced the development of the Italian fleet over the years between the two world wars, much of these new naval units were responses to French naval constructions, as the Marine nationale was seen until the mid 1930s as the most likely enemy in a hypothetical conflict. In theory this would allow them to engage or break off at their own choosing, New guns were developed with longer ranges than their British counterparts of similar caliber. Speed was emphasized in their new construction, subsequently, newer Italian cruisers such as the Giovanni dalle Bande Nere were built with a newly designed and relatively thin armour. The armor of these vessels was 24 mm, as compared to 102 mm on their contemporaries and this would have a decisive role in a number of naval battles, including the Battle of Cape Spada. The modernization work on the four Great War era battleships turned into a significant reconstruction project, the ships guns were upgraded in main armament, going from 13 guns of 305mm diameter, to 10 guns of 320mm diameter
5.
World War I
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World War I, also known as the First World War, the Great War, or the War to End All Wars, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history and it was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, and paved the way for major political changes, including revolutions in many of the nations involved. The war drew in all the worlds great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances, the Allies versus the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. These alliances were reorganised and expanded as more nations entered the war, Italy, Japan, the trigger for the war was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, by Yugoslav nationalist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. This set off a crisis when Austria-Hungary delivered an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia. Within weeks, the powers were at war and the conflict soon spread around the world. On 25 July Russia began mobilisation and on 28 July, the Austro-Hungarians declared war on Serbia, Germany presented an ultimatum to Russia to demobilise, and when this was refused, declared war on Russia on 1 August. Germany then invaded neutral Belgium and Luxembourg before moving towards France, after the German march on Paris was halted, what became known as the Western Front settled into a battle of attrition, with a trench line that changed little until 1917. On the Eastern Front, the Russian army was successful against the Austro-Hungarians, in November 1914, the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers, opening fronts in the Caucasus, Mesopotamia and the Sinai. In 1915, Italy joined the Allies and Bulgaria joined the Central Powers, Romania joined the Allies in 1916, after a stunning German offensive along the Western Front in the spring of 1918, the Allies rallied and drove back the Germans in a series of successful offensives. By the end of the war or soon after, the German Empire, Russian Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, national borders were redrawn, with several independent nations restored or created, and Germanys colonies were parceled out among the victors. During the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, the Big Four imposed their terms in a series of treaties, the League of Nations was formed with the aim of preventing any repetition of such a conflict. This effort failed, and economic depression, renewed nationalism, weakened successor states, and feelings of humiliation eventually contributed to World War II. From the time of its start until the approach of World War II, at the time, it was also sometimes called the war to end war or the war to end all wars due to its then-unparalleled scale and devastation. In Canada, Macleans magazine in October 1914 wrote, Some wars name themselves, during the interwar period, the war was most often called the World War and the Great War in English-speaking countries. Will become the first world war in the sense of the word. These began in 1815, with the Holy Alliance between Prussia, Russia, and Austria, when Germany was united in 1871, Prussia became part of the new German nation. Soon after, in October 1873, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck negotiated the League of the Three Emperors between the monarchs of Austria-Hungary, Russia and Germany
6.
Venice
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Venice is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is situated across a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and these are located in the shallow Venetian Lagoon, an enclosed bay that lies between the mouths of the Po and the Piave Rivers. Parts of Venice are renowned for the beauty of their settings, their architecture, the lagoon and a part of the city are listed as a World Heritage Site. In 2014,264,579 people resided in Comune di Venezia, together with Padua and Treviso, the city is included in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, with a total population of 2.6 million. PATREVE is a metropolitan area without any degree of autonomy. The name is derived from the ancient Veneti people who inhabited the region by the 10th century BC, the city was historically the capital of the Republic of Venice. Venice has been known as the La Dominante, Serenissima, Queen of the Adriatic, City of Water, City of Masks, City of Bridges, The Floating City, and City of Canals. The City State of Venice is considered to have been the first real international financial center which gradually emerged from the 9th century to its peak in the 14th century and this made Venice a wealthy city throughout most of its history. It is also known for its several important artistic movements, especially the Renaissance period, Venice has played an important role in the history of symphonic and operatic music, and it is the birthplace of Antonio Vivaldi. Venice has been ranked the most beautiful city in the world as of 2016, the name Venetia, however, derives from the Roman name for the people known as the Veneti, and called by the Greeks Eneti. The meaning of the word is uncertain, although there are other Indo-European tribes with similar-sounding names, such as the Celtic Veneti, Baltic Veneti, and the Slavic Wends. Linguists suggest that the name is based on an Indo-European root *wen, so that *wenetoi would mean beloved, lovable, a connection with the Latin word venetus, meaning the color sea-blue, is also possible. The alternative obsolete form is Vinegia, some late Roman sources reveal the existence of fishermen on the islands in the original marshy lagoons. They were referred to as incolae lacunae, the traditional founding is identified with the dedication of the first church, that of San Giacomo on the islet of Rialto — said to have taken place at the stroke of noon on 25 March 421. Beginning as early as AD166 to 168, the Quadi and Marcomanni destroyed the center in the area. The Roman defences were again overthrown in the early 5th century by the Visigoths and, some 50 years later, New ports were built, including those at Malamocco and Torcello in the Venetian lagoon. The tribuni maiores, the earliest central standing governing committee of the islands in the Lagoon, the traditional first doge of Venice, Paolo Lucio Anafesto, was actually Exarch Paul, and his successor, Marcello Tegalliano, was Pauls magister militum. In 726 the soldiers and citizens of the Exarchate rose in a rebellion over the controversy at the urging of Pope Gregory II
7.
Torpedo
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Historically, it was called an automotive, automobile, locomotive or fish torpedo, colloquially called a fish. The term torpedo was originally employed for a variety of devices, from about 1900, torpedo has been used strictly to designate an underwater self-propelled weapon. Todays torpedoes can be divided into lightweight and heavyweight classes, and into straight-running, autonomous homers and they can be launched from a variety of platforms. The word torpedo comes from the name of a genus of rays in the order Torpediniformes. In naval usage, the American Robert Fulton introduced the name to refer to a gunpowder charge used by his French submarine Nautilus to demonstrate that it could sink warships. The concept of a torpedo existed many centuries before it was successfully developed. In 1275, Hasan al-Rammah described. an egg which moves itself, in modern language, a torpedo is an underwater self-propelled explosive, —but historically, the term also applied to primitive naval mines. These were used on an ad hoc basis during the modern period up to the late 19th century. An early submarine, the Turtle, attempted to lay a bomb with a fuse on the hull of HMS Eagle during the American Revolutionary War. In the early 1800s, the American inventor Robert Fulton, while in France and he coined the term torpedo in reference to the explosive charges he outfitted his submarine Nautilus. However, both the French and the Dutch governments were uninterested in the submarine, Fulton then concentrated on developing the torpedo independent of a submarine deployment. However, the British government refused to purchase the invention, stating they did not wish to introduce into naval warfare a system that would give advantage to weaker maritime nations. Fulton carried out a demonstration for the US government on 20 July 1807. Further development languished as Fulton focused on his steam-boat matters, during the War of 1812, torpedoes were employed in attempts to destroy British vessels and protect American harbors. In fact a submarine deployed torpedo was used in an attempt to destroy HMS Ramillies while in New Londons harbor. Hardy to warn the Americans to cease efforts with the use of any boat in this cruel and unheard-of warfare. Torpedoes were used by the Russian Empire during the Crimean War in 1855 against British warships in the Gulf of Finland and they used an early form of chemical detonator. During the American Civil War, the torpedo was used for what is today called a contact mine
8.
Flotilla
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A flotilla, or naval flotilla, is a formation of small warships that may be part of a larger fleet. A flotilla is usually composed of a group of the same class of warship, such as frigates, destroyers, torpedo boats, submarines, gunboats. Groups of larger warships are usually called squadrons, but similar units of non-capital ships may be called squadrons in some instances, a flotilla is usually commanded by a rear admiral, a commodore or a captain, depending on the importance of the command. A flotilla is often divided into two or more divisions, each of which might be commanded by the most senior commander, a flotilla is often, but not necessarily, a permanent formation. In modern navies, flotillas have tended to become administrative units containing several squadrons, as warships have grown larger, the term squadron has gradually replaced the term flotilla for formations of destroyers, frigates and submarines in many navies. A naval flotilla has no equivalent on land, but is, perhaps. In the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary, a Flotilla is the organizational unit. A Flotilla is led by an elected Flotilla Commander assisted by an elected Vice Flotilla Commander, a Coast Guard Auxiliary Division consists of multiple Flotillas and a District consists of multiple Divisions. Auxiliary Districts are organized along Coast Guard District lines and are administered by a Coast Guard officer who is called the Director of the Auxiliary. In the Russian Navy, the flotilla has tended to be used for brown-water naval units - those operating not on the oceans and real seas. In the 18th century, the term applied to the comparatively small fleets operating on those seas where Russia did not have much naval presence yet. The word flotilla has also used at times to refer to a small fleet of vessels. There is also such thing as a holiday, in which is a group of chartered yachts that set sail together on the same route. United States Coast Guard Auxiliary Tactical formation Chesapeake Bay Flotilla of U. S. Navy Chief Director of Auxiliary, USCG G-PCX Web Site - Flotilla Organizational Structure. USCG Auxiliary Office of the Chief Director, Coast Guard Auxiliary Los Angeles Flotilla Coast Guard Auxiliary Lake Clarke Flotilla
9.
Decima Flottiglia MAS
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The Decima Flottiglia MAS was an Italian commando frogman unit of the Regia Marina created during the Fascist regime. The acronym MAS also refers to various light torpedo used by the Regia Marina during World War I. Decima MAS was active during the Battle of the Mediterranean and took part in a number of daring raids on Allied shipping and these operations involved surface speedboats, manned torpedoes and Gamma Frogmen. During the campaign Decima MAS took part in more than a dozen operations which sank or damaged five warships and 20 merchant ships, in 1943, after the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini was ousted, Italy left the Tripartite Pact and joined the Allies. Other Xª MAS men in southern Italy or other Allied-occupied areas joined the Italian Co-Belligerent Navy as part of the Mariassalto unit and they had no underwater breathing sets, and thus had to keep their heads above water to breathe. They were discovered and taken prisoner as they attempted to leave the harbour, in the 1920s, sport spearfishing without breathing apparatus became popular on the Mediterranean coast of France and Italy. This spurred the development of modern swimfins, diving masks and snorkels, in the 1930s Italian sport spearfishermen began using industrial or submarine-escape oxygen rebreathers, starting scuba diving in Italy. This new type of diving came to the attention of the Regia Marina which founded the first special forces underwater frogman unit, later copied by the Royal Navy, the two resurrected Paoluccis and Rossettis concept of manned torpedoes. Moccagatta also created the frogman training school at the San Leopoldo base of the Italian Naval Academy in Livorno, the Decima MAS saw action starting on June 10,1940, when Fascist Italy entered World War II. In more than three years of war, the unit destroyed some 72,190 tons of Allied warships and 130,572 tons of Allied merchant ships, June 10,1940, Benito Mussolini declared war on Britain. Teseo Tesei survived the attack, but casualties among the crew were heavy. September 21,1940, The Italian submarine Gondar departed La Spezia for Alexandria, the Gondar reached Alexandria on the evening of September 30, but was spotted by British and Australian destroyers, which attacked. Severely damaged, it was forced to the surface and scuttled by the crew and they were captured, along with the Decima MAS crewmen. The operation was cancelled when the British fleet left harbour before the submarine arrived, october 21,1940, Sciré departed La Spezia and sailed again to Gibraltar carrying three manned torpedoes and four crews. The Decima MAS frogmen entered the harbour, but were unable to attack any ships due to problems with the torpedoes. Only one human torpedo managed to get close to a target, the charge exploded but did not cause significant damage. The two crewmen, Gino Birindelli and Damos Paccagnini, were captured by the British, the other four manage to reach Spain and returned to Italy. Valuable experience was gained in this operation by the Decima, Gino Birindelli received the Medaglia dOro al Valor Militare, his second, Damos Paccagnini received the Medaglia dArgento al Valore Militare
10.
Quick-firing gun
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A quick-firing gun is an artillery piece, typically a gun or howitzer, which has several characteristics which taken together mean the weapon can fire at a fast rate. Quick-firing was introduced worldwide in the 1880s and early 1890s and had a impact on war both on land and at sea. The Royal Navy advertised for a quick firing gun in 1881 and this rate of fire became increasingly important with the development of the first practical torpedoes and torpedo boats, which posed an extreme threat to the Royal Navys maritime predominance. The first quick-firing light gun was the 1-inch Nordenfelt gun, built in Britain from 1880, the gun fired a solid steel bullet with hardened tip and brass jacket. The gun was used in one, two and four-barrel versions, the ammunition was fed by gravity from a hopper above the breech subdivided into separate columns for each barrel. The gunner loaded and fired the multiple barrels by moving a lever on the side of the gun forward. The French firm Hotchkiss produced the QF3 pounder as a light 47-mm naval gun from 1886, the gun was ideal for defending against small fast vessels such as torpedo boats and was immediately adopted by the RN as the Ordnance QF3 pounder Hotchkiss. It was built under licence by Elswick Ordnance Company, the Royal Navy introduced the QF4. 7-inch in HMS Sharpshooter in 1889, and the QF 6-inch MK1 in HMS Royal Sovereign, launched 1891. Other navies followed suit, the French navy installed quick-firing weapons on its ships completed in 1894-5, quick-firing guns were a key characteristic of the pre-dreadnought battleship, the dominant design of the 1890s. The quick-firing guns, while unable to penetrate armour, were intended to destroy the superstructure of an opposing battleship, start fires. An early quick-firing field gun was created by Vladimir Baranovsky in 1872-5 which was adopted by the Russian military in 1882. On land, quick-firing field guns were first adopted by the French Army, other nations were quick to copy the quick-firing technology. The QF4. 7-inch Gun Mk I–IV was initially manufactured for naval use, British forces in the Second Boer War were initially outgunned by the long range Boer artillery. Scott then improvised a travelling carriage for 4.7 inch guns removed from their usual static coastal or ship mountings to provide the army with a field gun. These improvised carriages lacked recoil buffers and hence in action drag shoes and they were manned by Royal Navy crews and required up to 32 oxen to move. The first war in which quick-firing artillery was widespread was the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-5, the quick-firing howitzer offered the potential for practical indirect fire. Traditional howitzers had been employed to engage targets outside their line of fire, quick-firing weapons were capable of a heavy indirect bombardment, and this was the main mode of their employment during the 20th century. The characteristics of an artillery piece are, Buffers to limit recoil
11.
Hotchkiss et Cie
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Société Anonyme des Anciens Etablissements Hotchkiss et Cie was a French arms and, in the 20th century, automobile manufacturer first established by United States gunsmith Benjamin B. He moved to France and set up a factory, first at Viviez near Rodez in 1867, an example of the companys output was the Hotchkiss revolving cannon. The cannon had five barrels each able to fire 43 shells a minute a distance of one mile, it was made in four sizes from 37 mm to 57 mm, the first Hotchkiss car, a 17 CV four-cylinder model, appeared in 1903. The badge for the marque consisted of a pair of crossed cannons — a salute to the companys first products, a factory fire nearly killed all projects. Despite this, a model followed in 1906. During World War I, they mass-produced the Hotchkiss M1914 machine gun, tank parts, in 1933, they developed the Hotchkiss H35 tank. Post war came a luxury model called Type AK but only one was built, in 1920, there was an unsuccessful attempt to build Hotchkiss cars by a British arm of Hotchkiss in the United Kingdom — only a prototype was made. A refined model named Type AM was in production between 1923 and 1928, a new six-cylinder model, named AM80 came in 1928. The company made several successful racing cars, Hotchkiss racers won the Rallye Automobile Monte Carlo in 1932,1933,1934,1939,1949 and 1950. The Hotchkiss 680 was an important model between the wars—it had a 6-cylinder, 3-litre engine, in 1937, the company merged with Amilcar. J. A. Grégoire joined the company as a designer, after World War II, the 680 continued. The first new car post war was a 13 CV four-cylinder model, from 1947, 2-litre flat-four models are frequently called Hotchkiss-Grégoire. After 1954, Hotchkiss manufactured Jeeps under licence from Willys, in 1956, Hotchkiss merged with French car manufacturer Brandt, producing jeeps at their factory near Paris for the French military until 1966. The firm was merged into Thomson-Houston in 1966 and in 1970 stopped producing vehicles of any sort, in the early 1970s, the Hotchkiss marque disappeared, as the French conglomerate came to be known as Thomson-Brandt. This, in turn, was nationalized in 1982 to form Thomson SA
12.
Austro-Hungarian Navy
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The Austro-Hungarian Navy was the naval force of Austria-Hungary. Its official name in German was kaiserliche und königliche Kriegsmarine, abbreviated as k. u. k, Kriegsmarine, and in Hungarian Császári és Királyi Haditengerészet, abbreviated as Cs. This navy existed under this name after the formation of the Dual Monarchy in 1867, prior to 1867, the empires naval forces were those of the Austrian Empire. By 1915 a total of 33,735 naval personnel were serving in the k. u. k, after the First World War, both Austria and Hungary were deprived of their coasts, and their navy was confiscated by the victorious Allied powers. Their former ports on the Adriatic Sea, such as Trieste, Pola, Fiume, Kriegsmarine were designated SMS, for Seiner Majestät Schiff. Until the end of the 18th century there were only limited attempts to establish an Austrian navy, after the Seven Years War Austrian vulnerability to privateers in the Mediterranean Sea led Count Kaunitz to push for the creation of a small force of frigates. A specific Naval Ensign based on the colours was introduced only in the reign of Emperor Joseph II. This situation changed considerably in 1797 with the Treaty of Campo Formio between France and Austria, Austria ceded to France the Austrian Netherlands and certain islands in the Mediterranean, including Corfu and some Venetian islands in the Adriatic. Venice and its territories were divided between the two states, and the Austrian emperor received the city of Venice along with Istria and Dalmatia, the substantial Venetian naval forces and facilities were also handed over to Austria and became the basis of the formation of the future Austrian Navy. The navy gained its first influential supporter when Archduke Charles third son Archduke Friedrich entered the service in 1837, the young archduke introduced many modernizing reforms, aiming to make his countrys naval force less Venetian and more Austrian. In 1844 Archduke Friedrich was promoted vice-admiral and Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, Austrian warships had their first military encounters during the Oriental Crisis of 1840 as a part of a British-led fleet which ousted the Viceroy of Egypt, Muhammad Ali, from Ottoman Syria. Archduke Friedrich took part in the campaign personally and was awarded the Military Order of Maria Theresa for his exceptional leadership, in 1849 the Dane Hans von Dahlerup was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Austrian Navy. He introduced many personal and other reforms and imposed in the Navy the replacement of the Italian language by the German language, in the following years the strength of the Navy reached 4 frigates,6 corvettes,7 brigs, and smaller ships. In 1854 the younger brother of the reigning Emperor Franz Joseph took office as Commander-in-Chief of the Austrian Navy, Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian was twenty-two at that time. Archduke Friedrichs distant relative was trained for the navy, and threw himself into new career with much zeal. In Venice the naval shipyard was retained, here the Austrian screw-driven gunboat Kerka was launched in 1860. The journey lasted 2 years and 3 months and was accomplished under the command of Kommodore Bernhard von Wüllerstorf-Urbair, with 345 officers and crew, and 7 scientists aboard. The expedition was planned by the Imperial Academy of Sciences in Vienna and aimed to gain new knowledge in the disciplines of astronomy, botany, zoology, geology, oceanography and hydrography
13.
SMS Wien
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SMS Wien was one of three Monarch-class coastal defense ships built for the Austro-Hungarian Navy in the 1890s. After her commissioning, the participated in an international blockade of Crete during the Greco-Turkish War of 1897. Wien and the two other Monarch-class ships made training cruises in the Mediterranean Sea in the early 1900s. They formed the 1st Capital Ship Division of the Austro-Hungarian Navy until they were replaced by the newly commissioned Habsburg-class predreadnought battleships at the turn of the century, in 1906 the three Monarchs were placed in reserve and only recommissioned for annual summer training exercises. After the start of World War I, Wien was recommissioned and assigned to 5th Division together with her sisters, the division was sent to Cattaro in August 1914 to attack Montenegrin and French artillery that was bombarding the port and they remained there until mid-1917. Wien and her sister Budapest were sent to Trieste in August 1917, Budapest was not hit, but Wien was struck by two torpedoes and sank in less than five minutes with the loss of 46 of her crew. The wreck was salvaged sometime during the 1920s by the Italians, at only 5,785 tonnes maximum displacement, the Monarch class was less than half the size of the battleships of other major navies at the time and were officially designated as coast defense ships. The Austro-Hungarian government believed that the role of its navy was solely to defend her coast, Wien had an overall length of 99.22 meters, a beam of 17 meters and a draft of 6.4 meters. Her two 4-cylinder vertical triple-expansion steam engines produced a total of 8,500 indicated horsepower using steam from five cylindrical boilers and these gave the ship a maximum speed of 17.5 knots. Wiens maximum load of 500 metric tons of coal gave her a range of 3,500 nautical miles at a speed of 9 knots and she was manned by 26 officers and 397 enlisted men, a total of 423 personnel. The armament of the Monarch class consisted of four 240-millimeter Krupp K/94 guns mounted in two turrets, one each fore and aft of the superstructure. The ships carried 80 rounds for each gun and their secondary armament was six 150-millimeter Škoda guns located in casemates in the superstructure. Defense against torpedo boats was provided by ten quick-firing 47-millimeter Škoda guns, the ships also mounted two 450-millimeter torpedo tubes, one on each broadside. Each torpedo tube was provided with two torpedoes, after 1917 refits one Škoda 7 cm K16 anti-aircraft gun was installed. The ships nickel-steel waterline armor belt was 120–270 millimeters thick and the gun turrets were protected by 250 millimeters of armor, the casemates had 80 millimeters thick sides while the conning tower had 220 millimeters of armor. Wiens deck armor was 40 millimeters thick, the Monarch-class ships were ordered in May 1892 with Budapest and Wien to be built at the Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino shipyard in Trieste. Both ships were laid down on 16 February 1893, the first ships in the class to be laid down, Wien was launched on 7 July 1895 by Countess Kielmannsegg, wife of the Governor of Lower Austria, and commissioned on 13 May 1897. She was back at Pola on 16 April 1898, in early 1902 they made another training cruise to the Western Mediterranean with port visits in Algeria, Spain, France, Italy, Corfu, and Albania
14.
Austria-Hungary
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The union was a result of the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 and came into existence on 30 March 1867. Austria-Hungary consisted of two monarchies, and one region, the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia under the Hungarian crown. It was ruled by the House of Habsburg, and constituted the last phase in the evolution of the Habsburg Monarchy. Following the 1867 reforms, the Austrian and the Hungarian states were co-equal, Foreign affairs and the military came under joint oversight, but all other governmental faculties were divided between respective states. Austria-Hungary was a state and one of the worlds great powers at the time. Austria-Hungary was geographically the second-largest country in Europe after the Russian Empire, at 621,538 km2, the Empire built up the fourth-largest machine building industry of the world, after the United States, Germany, and the United Kingdom. After 1878, Bosnia and Herzegovina was under Austro-Hungarian military and civilian rule until it was annexed in 1908. The annexation of Bosnia also led to Islam being recognized as a state religion due to Bosnias Muslim population. Austria-Hungary was one of the Central Powers in World War I and it was already effectively dissolved by the time the military authorities signed the armistice of Villa Giusti on 3 November 1918. The realms full, official name was The Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council, each enjoyed considerable sovereignty with only a few joint affairs. Certain regions, such as Polish Galicia within Cisleithania and Croatia within Transleithania, enjoyed autonomous status, the division between Austria and Hungary was so marked that there was no common citizenship, one was either an Austrian citizen or a Hungarian citizen, never both. This also meant that there were always separate Austrian and Hungarian passports, however, neither Austrian nor Hungarian passports were used in the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia-Dalmatia. Instead, the Kingdom issued its own passports which were written in Croatian and French and it is not known what kind of passports were used in Bosnia-Herzegovina, which was under the control of both Austria and Hungary. The Kingdom of Hungary had always maintained a separate parliament, the Diet of Hungary, the administration and government of the Kingdom of Hungary remained largely untouched by the government structure of the overarching Austrian Empire. Hungarys central government structures remained well separated from the Austrian imperial government, the country was governed by the Council of Lieutenancy of Hungary – located in Pressburg and later in Pest – and by the Hungarian Royal Court Chancellery in Vienna. The Hungarian government and Hungarian parliament were suspended after the Hungarian revolution of 1848, despite Austria and Hungary sharing a common currency, they were fiscally sovereign and independent entities. Since the beginnings of the union, the government of the Kingdom of Hungary could preserve its separated. After the revolution of 1848–1849, the Hungarian budget was amalgamated with the Austrian, from 1527 to 1851, the Kingdom of Hungary maintained its own customs controls, which separated her from the other parts of the Habsburg-ruled territories
15.
Pula
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Pula or Pola is the largest city in Istria County, Croatia and the eighth largest city in the country, situated at the southern tip of the Istria peninsula, with a population of 57,460 in 2011. Like the rest of the region, it is known for its climate, smooth sea. The city has a tradition of winemaking, fishing, shipbuilding. It has also been Istrias administrative centre since ancient Roman times, evidence of the presence of Homo erectus 1 million years ago has been found in the cave of Šandalja near Pula/Pola. Pottery from the Neolithic period, indicating human settlement, has found around Pula – Pola. In the Bronze Age, a new type of settlement appeared in Istria, called gradine, many late Bronze Age bone objects, such as tools for smoothing and drilling, sewing needles, as well as spiral bronze pendants, have been found in the area around Pula/Pola. The type of materials found in Bronze Age sites in Istria connects these with sites along the Danube, the inhabitants of Istria in the Bronze Age are known as Proto Illyrians. Greek pottery and a part of a statue of Apollo have been found, Greek tradition attributed the foundation of Polai to the Colchians, mentioned in the context of the story of Jason and Medea, who had stolen the golden fleece. The Colchians, who had chased Jason into the northern Adriatic, were unable to catch him and ended up settling in a place they called Polai, the town was elevated to colonial rank between 46–45 BC as the tenth region of the late Roman Republic, under Julius Caesar. During that time the town grew and had at its zenith a population of about 30,000 and it became a significant Roman port with a large surrounding area under its jurisdiction. After Octavians victory, the town was demolished and it was soon rebuilt at the request of Octavians daughter Iulia and was then called Colonia Pietas Iulia Pola Pollentia Herculanea. The colony was part of Venetia et Histria, a region of Roman Italy, great classical constructions were built of which a few remain. A great amphitheatre, Pula Arena, was constructed between 27 BC –68 AD, much of it still standing to this day, the Romans also supplied the city with a water supply and sewage systems. They fortified the city with a wall with ten gates, a few of these gates still remain, the triumphal Arch of the Sergii, the Gate of Hercules and the Twin Gates. During the reign of emperor Septimius Severus the name of the town was changed into Res Publica Polensis, the town was the site of Crispus Caesars execution in 326 AD and Gallus Caesars execution in 354 AD. In 425 AD the town became the centre of a bishopric, when their rule ended, Pola came under the rule of the Exarchate of Ravenna. During this period Pola prospered and became the port of the Byzantine fleet. The Basilica of Saint Mary Formosa was built in the 6th century, from 788 on Pola was ruled by the Frankish Empire under Charlemagne, with the introduction of the feudal system
16.
Luigi Rizzo
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Luigi Rizzo, 1st Count of Grado and Premuda, nicknamed the Sinker was an italian admiral. He is mostly known for his service during World War I. After receiving his training at the Naval Academy in Livorno, he was appointed ship-of-the-line sub-lieutenant within the Italian Navy in 1912 and he saw action in the First World War, when he conducted several spectacular raids as commander of torpedo boats against ships of the Austro-Hungarian Navy. In December 1917 he sank the Austro-Hungarian Pre-dreadnought battleship SMS Wien, on February 10,1918 three MAS boats, attack Austrian shipping inside the harbour of Bakar a port in an enclosed bay near Fiume, at the head of the Kvarner Gulf. As it lay 80 km into a waterway, it was thought to be beyond attack, so the raid was intended as a psychological, as well as a physical. The operation become famous as Bakar Mockery, on June 10,1918 Rizzo sank the large battleship SMS Szent István off Premuda. The sinking of the 21, 700-ton SMS Szent István was the greatest success of any MAS torpedo boat and is celebrated in the Italian Navy on June 10 every year. It forms an important anniversary in the Italian naval history, in 1919 he took part in the seizure of the city of Fiume led by Gabriele dAnnunzio, and retired from active service in 1920 with the rank of commander. He finally rose to the rank of Admiral and was ennobled by King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy and he also received the Gold Medal of Military Valor, the Silver Medal, the Cross of War and was a knight of the Order of the Crown of Italy. France awarded him the Croix de guerre and made Rizzo a knight of the Légion dhonneur, the President of the United States awarded him the Navy Distinguished Service Medal. In later life Rizzo worked in shipping businesses as well as in shipyards and he also volunteered during the Second Italo-Abyssinian War. In September 1943 he was charged with sabotage by the Nazis and he was later reached there by his daughter. They returned to Italy when the war ended, Rizzo died in 1951 after a long illness, Admiral Count Rizzo was second cousin to Captain Victor P. Rizzo of Lawrenceville, New Jersey, a World War II reconnaissance pilot and author. Another second cousin was Rose Rizzo-Goff, and both were the children of Leonardo Rizzo and Camilina DellUtri-Rizzo of Brooklyn, New York, the Sinking of the Szent Istvan, in The History of the First World War, BPC Publishing Ltd. Bristol, England,1971, vol.7, no.14, History of Italy World War I SMS Szent István Giuseppe Aonzo
17.
Battle of Durazzo (1918)
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The Second Battle of Durazzo, or the Bombardment of Durazzo was a naval battle fought in the Adriatic Sea during the First World War. A large allied fleet led by the Regia Marina attacked the enemy held port at Durazzo, the fleet destroyed the Austro-Hungarian shore defenses and skirmished with a small naval force. Allied forces involved primarily were Italian though British, American and Australian warships also participated and it was the largest naval battle the United States participated in during the war. Most of the city was destroyed in the bombardment, from 15–29 September 1918, French General Louis Franchet dEspèrey in command of a large allied army, campaigned in Macedonia. The offensive was a victory and ended with Bulgarias surrender, Franchet dEspèreys request was approved and the Italian Regia Marina accepted the responsibility of leading the attack. Rear Admiral Osvaldo Paladini aboard the cruiser San Marco was to command the operation, Allied objectives were to bombard Durazzo and attack any Austrian ships in the harbour. The Allies divided their fleet into two forces, one for bombardment and the other for screening the ships from enemy submarines. Allied aircraft was also involved along with several Italian MAS boats, the two Australian destroyers were HMAS Swan and Warrego. Before the battle began, the Austro-Hungarian government decided to withdraw most of their warships from Durazzo, only two destroyers, one torpedo boat and two U-boats opposed the allied fleet though the Austrian troops on shore manned at least three different shore batteries which dueled with the allied ships. Also in port was a hospital ship, Austrian forces were commanded by Lieutenant Commander Heinrich Pauer. Afterwards, several of the Italian and British cruisers formed a line to begin their bombardment from about 8,000 yards off the coast. Meanwhile, the MAS boats and some American and British vessels attacked the three Austro-Hungarian naval ships, SMS Dinara, Scharfschütze and No.87, the three warships sailed back and forth around Durazzo harbour firing their guns and dodging torpedoes and shell fire. Torpedo boat No.87 and the two destroyers were chased by the Allied destroyer force as they fled north along the coast, Scharfschütze took some minor hits and suffered three dead and five wounded while torpedo boat No.87 was struck by a torpedo that failed to explode. The shelling of the port was carried out by the Italian armoured cruisers San Giorgio, San Marco, three merchantmen, Graz, Herzegovina and Stambul, were hit. Stambul sank but the two others escaped complete destruction, the Austro-Hungarian hospital ship Baron Call was stopped and searched by British destroyers before being allowed to proceed. Most of the American forces were assigned to the covering force, a few of the submarine chasers took fire from shore batteries at this time, but none were damaged. They were then assigned to screen the other allied ships from submarine attacks, patrolling to the north and to the south of the battle area, the Americans engaged the two Austro-Hungarian U-boats U-29 and U-31. At 11,05, a sailor on the submarine chaser No.129 spotted U-29, which was then depth-charged for 15 minutes and damaged heavily, U-31 was also depth charged and survived as well
18.
Croatia
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Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a sovereign state between Central Europe, Southeast Europe, and the Mediterranean. Its capital city is Zagreb, which one of the countrys primary subdivisions. Croatia covers 56,594 square kilometres and has diverse, mostly continental, Croatias Adriatic Sea coast contains more than a thousand islands. The countrys population is 4.28 million, most of whom are Croats, the Croats arrived in the area of present-day Croatia during the early part of the 7th century AD. They organised the state into two duchies by the 9th century, tomislav became the first king by 925, elevating Croatia to the status of a kingdom. The Kingdom of Croatia retained its sovereignty for nearly two centuries, reaching its peak during the rule of Kings Petar Krešimir IV and Dmitar Zvonimir, Croatia entered a personal union with Hungary in 1102. In 1527, faced with Ottoman conquest, the Croatian Parliament elected Ferdinand I of the House of Habsburg to the Croatian throne. In 1918, after World War I, Croatia was included in the unrecognized State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs which seceded from Austria-Hungary, a fascist Croatian puppet state backed by Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany existed during World War II. After the war, Croatia became a member and a federal constituent of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. On 25 June 1991 Croatia declared independence, which came wholly into effect on 8 October of the same year, the Croatian War of Independence was fought successfully during the four years following the declaration. A unitary state, Croatia is a republic governed under a parliamentary system, the International Monetary Fund classified Croatia as an emerging and developing economy, and the World Bank identified it as a high-income economy. Croatia is a member of the European Union, United Nations, the Council of Europe, NATO, the World Trade Organization, the service sector dominates Croatias economy, followed by the industrial sector and agriculture. Tourism is a significant source of revenue during the summer, with Croatia ranked the 18th most popular tourist destination in the world, the state controls a part of the economy, with substantial government expenditure. The European Union is Croatias most important trading partner, since 2000, the Croatian government constantly invests in infrastructure, especially transport routes and facilities along the Pan-European corridors. Internal sources produce a significant portion of energy in Croatia, the rest is imported, the origin of the name is uncertain, but is thought to be a Gothic or Indo-Aryan term assigned to a Slavic tribe. The oldest preserved record of the Croatian ethnonym *xъrvatъ is of variable stem, the first attestation of the Latin term is attributed to a charter of Duke Trpimir from the year 852. The original is lost, and just a 1568 copy is preserved—leading to doubts over the authenticity of the claim, the oldest preserved stone inscription is the 9th-century Branimir Inscription, where Duke Branimir is styled as Dux Cruatorvm. The inscription is not believed to be dated accurately, but is likely to be from during the period of 879–892, the area known as Croatia today was inhabited throughout the prehistoric period
19.
Boom (navigational barrier)
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A boom or a chain is an obstacle strung across a navigable stretch of water to control or block navigation. Booms could be military in nature, with the goal of denying access to an enemys ships, booms could also be used, especially along rivers, to force passing vessels to pay a toll. A boom generally floats on the surface, while a chain can be on the surface or below the water, a chain could be made to float with rafts, logs, ships or other wood, making the chain a boom as well. Especially in medieval times, the end of a chain could be attached to a tower or boom tower. This allowed safe raising or lowering of the chain, as they were heavily fortified. By raising or lowering a chain or boom, access could be selectively granted rather than rendering the stretch of water completely inaccessible. The raising and lowering could be accomplished by a mechanism or a capstan. The boom at the siege of Londonderry, for example, was cut by sailors in a longboat, as a key portion of defences, booms were usually heavily defended. This involved shore-based chain towers, batteries or forts, in the Age of Sail, a boom protecting a harbour could have several ships defending it with their broadsides, discouraging assaults on the boom. On some occasions, multiple booms spanned a single stretch of water. ^ Some sources have the chain being dismantled instead of broken by a ship in the Siege of Damietta and in the Raid on the Medway
20.
Continuous track
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Continuous track, also called tank tread or caterpillar track, is a system of vehicle propulsion in which a continuous band of treads or track plates is driven by two or more wheels. The prominent treads of the plates are both hard-wearing and damage resistant, especially in comparison to rubber tyres. The aggressive treads of the tracks provide good traction in soft surfaces but can damage paved surfaces, in modern times, continuous track propulsion systems can be traced back to a crude continuous track system designed in the 1770s by Richard Lovell Edgeworth. Polish mathematician and inventor Józef Maria Hoene-Wroński conceived of the idea in the 1830s, the British polymath Sir George Cayley patented a continuous track, which he called a universal railway. Although not a track in the form encountered today, a dreadnaught wheel or endless railway wheel was patented by the British Engineer James Boydell in 1846. In Boydells design, a series of feet are attached to the periphery of the wheel. A letter of recommendation was signed by Sir William Codrington, the General commanding the troops at Sebastapol, a number of manufacturers including Richard Bach, Richard Garrett & Sons, Charles Burrell & Sons and Clayton & Shuttleworth applied the Boydell patent under licence. The British military were interested in Boydells invention from an early date, one of the objectives was to transport Mallets Mortar, a giant 36 weapon which was under development but, by the end of the Crimean war, the mortar was not ready for service. In those tests, a Garrett engine was put through its paces on Plumstead Common, the Garrett engine featured in the Lord Mayors show in London, and in the following month that engine was shipped to Australia. Nicholas works in 1856, again, after the close of the Crimean war, between late 1856 and 1862 Burrell manufactured not less than a score of engines fitted with dreadnaught wheels. Steam tractors fitted with wheels had a number of shortcomings and. In August 1858, more than two years after the end of the Crimean War, John Fowler filed British Patent No.1948 on another form of Endless Railway, comprising only eight sections, the track sections are essentially longitudinal, as in Boydells initial design. Further to Fowlers patent of 1858, in 1877, a Russian, Fyodor Blinov and it lacked self-propulsion and was pulled by horses. Blinov received a patent for his wagon in 1878, from 1881 to 1888 he developed a steam-powered caterpillar-tractor. This self-propelled crawler was successfully tested and featured at an exhibition in 1896. Steam traction engines were used at the end of the 19th Century in the Boer Wars, but neither dreadnaught wheels nor continuous tracks were used, rather roll-out wooden plank roads were thrown under the wheels as required. A little-known American inventor, Henery T. Stith, developed a continuous track prototype which was, in forms, patented in 1873,1880. The last was for the application of the track to a prototype off-road bicycle built for his son, the 1900 prototype is retained by his surviving family
21.
Royal Albanian Army
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The Royal Albanian Army was the army of Albanian Kingdom and King Zogu from 1928 until 1939. Its commander-in-chief was King Zog, its commander General Xhemal Aranitasi, the army was mainly financed by Italy during period 1936–39. There were two systems, the first was replaced in 1936. The new ranks were used until 1939, shqipnja & Skanderbeg 4 Italian MAS boats Built & bought in 1926 in Venice 46 t,17 kn
22.
Italian invasion of Albania
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The Italian invasion of Albania was a brief military campaign by the Kingdom of Italy against the Albanian Kingdom. The conflict was a result of the imperialist policies of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, Albania was rapidly overrun, its ruler, King Zog I, forced into exile, and the country made part of the Italian Empire as a separate kingdom in personal union with the Italian crown. Albania had long been of strategic importance to the Kingdom of Italy. Italian naval strategists coveted the port of Vlorë and the island of Sazan at the entrance to the Bay of Vlorë, in addition, Albania could provide Italy with a beachhead in the Balkans. Before World War I Italy and Austria-Hungary had been supportive to the creation of an independent Albanian state, at the outbreak of the war, Italy had seized the chance to occupy the southern half of Albania, to avoid it being captured by the Austro-Hungarians. That success did not last long, as Albanian resistance during the subsequent Vlora War and post-war domestic problems forced Italy to pull out in 1920, the desire to compensate for this failure would be one of Mussolinis major motives in invading Albania. Later, during the High Middle Ages, some areas had been influenced and owned by Italian powers, chiefly the Kingdom of Naples. The Italian Fascist regime legitimized its claim to Albania through studies proclaiming the racial affinity of Albanians and Italians, when Mussolini took power in Italy he turned with renewed interest to Albania. Italy began penetration of Albanias economy in 1925, when Albania agreed to allow Italy to exploit its mineral resources and that was followed by the First Treaty of Tirana in 1926 and the Second Treaty of Tirana in 1927, whereby Italy and Albania entered into a defensive alliance. Among other things the Albanian government and economy were subsidised by Italian loans, despite strong Italian influence, King Zog I refused to give in completely to Italian pressure. In 1931 he stood up openly to the Italians, refusing to renew the 1926 Treaty of Tirana, after Albania signed trade agreements with Yugoslavia and Greece in 1934, Mussolini made a failed attempt to intimidate the Albanians by sending a fleet of warships to Albania. As Nazi Germany annexed Austria and moved against Czechoslovakia, Italy saw itself becoming the member of the Pact of Steel. The imminent birth of an Albanian royal child meanwhile threatened to give Zog a lasting dynasty, after Hitler invaded Czechoslovakia without notifying Mussolini in advance, the Italian dictator decided to proceed with his own annexation of Albania. Italys King Victor Emmanuel III criticized the plan to take Albania as an unnecessary risk, Rome, however, delivered Tirana an ultimatum on March 25,1939, demanding that it consent to Italys occupation of Albania. Zog refused to accept money in exchange for allowing a full Italian takeover, the Albanian government tried to keep secret the news of the Italian ultimatum. While Radio Tirana persistently broadcast that nothing was happening, people became suspicious, on April 5 the kings son was born and the news was announced by cannons. People poured out into the streets alarmed, but the news of the newborn prince calmed them, people were suspicious that something else was going on, which led to an anti-Italian demonstration in Tirana the same day. On 6 April there were demonstrations in Albanias main cities
23.
Spanish Civil War
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Ultimately, the Nationalists won, and Franco then ruled Spain for the next 36 years, from April 1939 until his death in November 1975. Sanjurjo was killed in an accident while attempting to return from exile in Portugal. The coup was supported by units in the Spanish protectorate in Morocco, Pamplona, Burgos, Zaragoza, Valladolid, Cádiz, Córdoba. However, rebelling units in some important cities—such as Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Bilbao, and Málaga—did not gain control, Spain was thus left militarily and politically divided. The Nationalists and the Republican government fought for control of the country, the Nationalist forces received munitions and soldiers from Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, while the Republican side received support from the Communist Soviet Union and leftist populist Mexico. Other countries, such as the United Kingdom and France, operated a policy of non-intervention. The Nationalists advanced from their strongholds in the south and west and they also besieged Madrid and the area to its south and west for much of the war. Those associated with the losing Republicans were persecuted by the victorious Nationalists, with the establishment of a dictatorship led by General Franco in the aftermath of the war, all right-wing parties were fused into the structure of the Franco regime. The war became notable for the passion and political division it inspired, organized purges occurred in territory captured by Francos forces to consolidate the future regime. A significant number of killings took place in areas controlled by the Republicans, the extent to which Republican authorities took part in killings in Republican territory varied. The 19th century was a turbulent time for Spain and those in favour of reforming Spains government vied for political power with conservatives, who tried to prevent reforms from taking place. Some liberals, in a tradition that had started with the Spanish Constitution of 1812, sought to limit the power of the monarchy of Spain, the reforms of 1812 did not last after King Ferdinand VII dissolved the Constitution and ended the Trienio Liberal government. Twelve successful coups were carried out between 1814 and 1874, until the 1850s, the economy of Spain was primarily based on agriculture. There was little development of an industrial or commercial class. The land-based oligarchy remained powerful, a number of people held large estates called latifundia as well as all the important government positions. In 1868 popular uprisings led to the overthrow of Queen Isabella II of the House of Bourbon, two distinct factors led to the uprisings, a series of urban riots and a liberal movement within the middle classes and the military concerned with the ultra-conservatism of the monarchy. In 1873 Isabellas replacement, King Amadeo I of the House of Savoy, abdicated owing to increasing pressure. After the restoration of the Bourbons in December 1874, Carlists and Anarchists emerged in opposition to the monarchy, alejandro Lerroux, Spanish politician and leader of the Radical Republican Party, helped bring republicanism to the fore in Catalonia, where poverty was particularly acute
24.
Isotta Fraschini
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Isotta Fraschini is an Italian motors brand historically known for the production of cars as well as trucks, and engines for marine and aviation use. The company went bankrupt in 1999, in 2000, a new company was founded, under the name of Isotta Fraschini Milano. Isotta Fraschini currently has offices in Milan and Bari, the firm was named for its founders, Cesare Isotta and Vincenzo Fraschini, as Società Milanese Automobili Isotta, Fraschini & C. on 27 January 1900. The motto was Import, sell, repair cars, prior to establishing their own company in 1904, Isotta and Fraschini assembled Renaults. The first automobile bearing this marque featured an engine with an output of 24 horsepower. The car, driven by Vincenzo Fraschini, appeared in several races, in 1905, Isotta Fraschini gained notoriety in the Coppa Florio, where they entered a Tipo D with a 17. 2-litre 100 horsepower engine. For a short time in 1907, Isotta Fraschini merged with French automobile company Lorraine-Dietrich, the firm started making race cars using this same 100 horsepower engine, establishing the companys reputation and giving its name considerable cachet. It was also one of the first cars with four-wheel brakes and they were also among the early pioneers of overhead cam, with an engine designed by Giustino Cattaneo. Isotta Fraschini introduced their Tipo 8, the first production automobile to be powered by an engine, at the Paris Salon in 1919. With the growth of the middle class in North America in the 1920s. Early film stars Clara Bow and Rudolph Valentino drove Isotta Fraschinis, a 1929 Tipo 8A Castagna Transformable is featured in the 1950 film Sunset Boulevard and another appears in the 1934 film Death Takes a Holiday with Fredric March. An Isotta also makes a appearance in the 1946 film Without Reservations with John Wayne. Also, an Isotta Fraschini was gigolo Lindsay Marriotts car in Raymond Chandlers classic Farewell, My Lovely that was made into a motion picture starring Dick Powell and Claire Trevor. The grille of the Isotta with the lightning bolt insignia is seen parked in a ravine, an oversized Isotta is also the vehicle of choice for Dick and Nicole Diver in F. Scott Fitzgeralds 1933 novel Tender is the Night. Seriously affected by the crisis of the 1930s and by the disruptions of World War II. Only five of the last model, the Monterosa, were produced, the plants were converted to produce marine engines. The company was left on the register and in 1955 it was merged with engine manufacturer Breda Motori. The company started to produce buses again and in 1960s built a new diesel engine factory in Bari
25.
Italian East Africa
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Italian East Africa was an Italian colony in the Horn of Africa. It was formed in 1936 through the merger of Italian Somaliland, Italian Eritrea, during the Second World War, Italian East Africa was occupied by a British-led force including colonial and Ethiopian units. After the war, Italian Somaliland and Eritrea came under British administration, in 1949, Italian Somaliland was reconstituted as the Trust Territory of Somaliland, which was administered by Italy from 1950 until its independence in 1960. When established in 1936, Italian East Africa consisted of the old Italian possessions in the Horn of Africa, Italian Eritrea and Italian Somaliland, and the recently annexed Empire of Ethiopia. Victor Emmanuel III of Italy consequently adopted the title of Emperor of Ethiopia, although having not been recognized by any other than Nazi Germany. Italian East Africa was briefly enlarged in 1940, as Italian forces conquered British Somaliland, however, the enlarged colony was dismembered only a year later, when in the course of the East African Campaign the colony was occupied by British forces. Italian East Africa, in Italian Africa Orientale Italiana, was acronymed in official documents as AOI, historians are still divided about the reasons for the Italian attack on Ethiopia in 1935. Other historians such as Pietro Pastorelli have argued that the invasion was launched as part of an expansionist program to make Italy the main power in the Red Sea area, Italys forces were far superior to the Abyssinian forces, especially in air power, and they were soon victorious. Emperor Haile Selassie was forced to flee the country, with Italian forces entering the city, Addis Ababa, to proclaim an empire by May 1936. Italian belligerence also closed the Mediterranean to Allied merchant ships and endangered British supply routes along the coast of East Africa, the Gulf of Aden, Red Sea and the Suez Canal. Egypt, the Suez Canal, French Somaliland and British Somaliland were also vulnerable to invasion, in the summer of 1940, Italy was far from ready for a long war or for the occupation of large areas of Africa. Hostilities began on 13 June 1940, with an Italian air raid on the base of 1 Squadron Southern Rhodesian Air Force at Wajir in the East Africa Protectorate, in August 1940, the protectorate of British Somaliland was occupied by Italian forces and absorbed into Italian East Africa. This occupation lasted around six months, by early 1941, Italian forces had been largely pushed back from Kenya and Sudan. On 6 April 1941, Addis Ababa was occupied by the 11th Division, makonnen Endelkachew was named as Prime Minister and on 19 December 1944, the final Anglo-Ethiopian Agreement was signed. Eritrea was placed under British military administration for the duration, and in 1950, after 1945, Britain controlled both Somalilands, as protectorates. British Somaliland became independent on 26 June 1960 as the State of Somaliland, the Trust Territory of Somalia became independent on 1 July 1960, the colony was administered by a Viceroy of Ethiopia and Governor General of Italian East Africa, appointed by the Italian monarch. The dominion was divided for administrative purposes into six Governorates. Fascist colonial policy in Italian East Africa had a divide and conquer characteristic, Italys Fascist regime encouraged Italian peasants to colonize Ethiopia by setting up farms and small manufacturing businesses
26.
C-class cruiser
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They were built for the rough conditions of the North Sea, and proved to be rugged and capable vessels, despite their being somewhat small and cramped. The Caroline class were all ordered in July and August 1913, the ships were launched in 1914 or 1915 and commissioned in 1915. They had an armament of two single 6 in aft, eight 4 in and two 6-pounder guns and their anti-aircraft weaponry consisted of four 3 pounders. Their aft 6 in guns were superfiring, the class had three funnels, Caroline was built by Cammell Laird and Company, Birkenhead. She was laid down on 28 January 1914, launched on 29 September 1914 and she became a drill ship for the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve in April 1924 and fulfilled that role in Alexandra Dock, Belfast until 31 March 2011, when she was decommissioned. In May 2013 the Heritage Lottery Fund announced an £845,600 grant to support her conversion to a museum, carysfort was built by Pembroke Dockyard. Laid down on 25 February 1914, she was launched on 14 November 1914 and she was sold for breaking up in August 1931. Cleopatra was built by Devonport Dockyard, laid down on 26 February 1914, she was launched on 14 January 1915, and completed in June. She was sold for breaking up in June 1931, comus was built by Swan Hunter and Wigham Richardson, Wallsend on Tyne. Laid down on 3 November 1913, she was launched on 16 December 1914 and she was sold for breaking up on 28 July 1934. Conquest was built by Chatham Dockyard and she was laid down on 3 March 1914, launched on 20 January 1915, and completed in June. She was sold for breaking up on 29 August 1930, cordelia was built by Pembroke Dockyard. She was laid down on 21 July 1913, launched on 23 February 1914 and she was sold for breaking up 31 July 1923. The two ships of the Calliope sub-class - HMS Calliope and Champion - were the last pair of the eight armoured cruisers to be ordered in July. They both had geared turbines, the first Royal Navy cruisers to be so fitted and they also had increased belt armour, Champion had just two screws. They were commissioned in mid to late 1915, as modifications to the Caroline subclass with higher speeds, a more efficient boiler layout, the two ships had different machinery types for comparative purposes. Calliope and Champion underwent similar gun armament modifications to the Caroline subclass, Calliope, Built by Chatham Dockyard, she was laid down on 1 January 1914, and launched on 17 December, she was completed in June 1915. She was sold for breaking up on 28 August 1931, Champion, Built by R. & W. Hawthorn Leslie and Company, Hebburn on Tyne, she was laid on down 9 March 1914, launched on 29 May 1915, and completed in December 1915
27.
HMS Capetown (D88)
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HMS Capetown was a C-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy, named after the South African city of Cape Town. So far she has been the ship of the Royal Navy to bear the name. She was part of the Carlisle group of the C-class of cruisers and she was laid down by Cammell Laird on 23 February 1918, and launched on 28 June 1918. She was sailed to Pembroke Dock for outfitting, a process completed in February 1922. Capetown was commissioned too late to see action in the First World War, like most of her sisters, she was originally assigned to the Mediterranean and later to the Red Sea. She spent a part of her career with the Eastern Fleet. She rejoined the Mediterranean Fleet in August 1940, while deployed in the Red Sea, she was torpedoed and severely damaged by the Italian motor torpedo boat MAS213 off Massawa, on 6 April 1941. Seven members of her crew lost their lives, after a year of repairs at Bombay, she served with the Eastern Fleet until 1943. She then returned to the UK and joined the Home Fleet, during the Normandy landings in June 1944 Capetown was deployed as a Shuttle Control/Depot ship at Mulberry A placed to seaward in order to direct incoming convoys to berths or anchorages. Ceres was anchored inshore to control returning convoys of unloaded vessels with Shuttle Control Command for both ships being embarked in Capetown, Shuttle Control Command was responsible for keeping the Army informed of expected arrivals and directing them to the proper unloading sectors. She survived the war and was sold on 5 April 1946 and she arrived at the yards of Ward of Preston for breaking up on 2 June 1946. Ships of the Royal Navy, The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy, Janes Fighting Ships of World War One, Janes Publishing Company
28.
Red Sea Flotilla
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The Red Sea Flotilla was a unit of the Italian Royal Navy based in Massawa, Eritrea, when Massawa was part of Italian East Africa. In World War II, the Red Sea Flotilla was active against the British Royal Navy East Indies Station from Italys declaration of war on 10 June 1940 until the fall of Massawa on 8 April 1941. The location of the squadron meant it was isolated from the main Italian bases in the Mediterranean by distance, the British capture of Massawa and other Italian ports in the region ended the Italian naval presence in the region in April 1941. This was a route for British forces operating from Egypt. The main base was at Massawa, with bases at Assab and Kismayu. Several attempts were made to stage offensive actions against the British Royal Navy, some of the earliest failed when submarine air conditioning systems, intended to reduce temperatures in the warm water of the Red Sea. Proved dangerous under wartime operating conditions, leakage of chloromethane refrigerants caused central nervous system poisoning in the recirculating air during submerged operations and about twelve sailors died aboard Archimede. Perla and Macallè ran aground while their crews were intoxicated and the latter could not be salvaged, galileo Galilei, Torricelli and Galvani struck early, Galilei sank the Norwegian freighter James Stove off Djibouti, before British counter measures forced the submarines to depart the area. Torricelli was spotted on 23 June, while approaching Massawa and an intensive search ensued involving four warships, after a fierce resistance on surface, during which the sloop HMS Shoreham was damaged by return fire, Torricelli was sunk. After the engagement, the destroyer HMS Khartoum was destroyed by an internal explosion, as a mark of respect for Torricelli crews gallantry, the Italian captain was guest of honour at a dinner at the British naval base. Galilei had also found on 18 June, captured and taken to Aden on the same day. Galvani sunk HMIS Pathan at the time that her sisters were fighting and was herself sunk on the following day. The destroyers based at Massawa conducted the Attack on convoy BN7 a 32-ship convoy, the convoys escort beat off the attack and Nullo was driven ashore and sunk by air attack the following day. As Italian fuel supplies in Massawa dwindled, so did the offensive capability of the Red Sea Flotilla, ultimately, the vessels of the flotilla became what is known as a fleet in being, offering a threat without action, and rarely left port. In late March 1941, the three destroyers, Leone, Pantera and Tigre, were to attempt a night attack on Suez. The delay caused the operation to be cancelled, instead the two remaining ships joined three smaller destroyers - Battisti, Manin and Sauro, on a final raid on Port Sudan in early April. Engine problems kept Battisti in port, where she was scuttled to prevent her capture by the British. The Italian ships were spotted by aircraft while en route and came under attack from land, Pantera and Tigre were scuttled on the Arabian coast and Manin and Sauro were sunk by Fairey Swordfish aircraft
29.
Massawa
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Massawa, also known as Mitsiwa, Miṣṣiwa), Batsiʿ, is a city on the Red Sea coast of Eritrea located at the northern end of the Gulf of Zula beside the Dahlak Archipelago. Massawa was the capital of the Italian Colony of Eritrea until this was moved to Asmara in 1897. Massawa was originally a seaside village, lying in lands coextensive with the Kingdom of Axum in antiquity. Following the fall of Axum in the 8th century, the area around Massawa, the Beja people would also come to rule within Massawa during the Beja Kingdom of Eritrea from AD740 to the 14th century. Massawa was sited between the sultanates of Qata, Baqulin, and Dahlak, midri-Bahri, an Eritrean kingdom, gained leverage at various times and ruled over Massawa. The port city would come under the supreme control of the Balaw people. At this time, the Sheikh Hanafi Mosque, Eritreas oldest mosque, was built on Massawa Island, the port was a major site for the Arab slave trade and Venetian merchants were said to have lived in Massawa and nearby Suakin in the 15th century. Massawa became prominent when it was captured by the Ottoman Empire in 1557, the Ottomans made it the capital of Habesh Eyalet. Under Özdemir Pasha, Ottoman troops then attempted to conquer the rest of Eritrea and these buildings and the old town of Massawa remain to this day, having withstood both earthquakes and wars with aerial bombardment. In 1846, Massawa, and later much of the Northeast African coast of the Red Sea, following Egypts defeat at the Battle of Gura, Egyptian control of the port withered. With the help of the British, the city came under Italian control. Italian colonists started to settle in the area in the early 1890s. At the end of the 19th century, the Kingdom of Italy created a port in Massawa for their newly acquired colony of Eritrea. From 1885–1897, Massawa served as the capital of the region, the Italian colony suffered repeated earthquakes. Most of the city was destroyed by the 1921 earthquake, it took until 1928 to fully restore the port. Massawa became the largest and safest port on the east coast of Africa, between 1887 and 1932, they expanded the Eritrean Railway, connecting Massawa with Asmara and then Bishia near the Sudan border, and completed the Asmara-Massawa Cableway. At 75 km long, it was the longest ropeway conveyor in the world at the time. In 1938, Massawa had 15,000 inhabitants, of which almost 2,000 were Italians, during World War II Massawa was the homeport for the Red Sea Flotilla of the Italian Royal Navy
30.
Eritrea
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Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. With its capital at Asmara, it is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, the northeastern and eastern parts of Eritrea have an extensive coastline along the Red Sea. The nation has an area of approximately 117,600 km2. Its toponym Eritrea is based on the Greek name for the Red Sea, Eritrea is a multi-ethnic country, with nine recognized ethnic groups in its population of around six million. Most residents speak languages from the Afroasiatic family, either of the Ethiopian Semitic languages or Cushitic branches, among these communities, the Tigrinya make up about 55% of the population, with the Tigre people constituting around 30% of inhabitants. In addition, there are a number of Nilo-Saharan-speaking Nilotic ethnic minorities, most people in the territory adhere to Christianity or Islam. In medieval times much of Eritrea fell under the Medri Bahri kingdom, the creation of modern-day Eritrea is a result of the incorporation of independent, distinct kingdoms and sultanates eventually resulting in the formation of Italian Eritrea. In 1947 Eritrea became part of a federation with Ethiopia, the Federation of Ethiopia, subsequent annexation into Ethiopia led to the Eritrean War of Independence, ending with Eritrean independence following a referendum in April 1993. Hostilities between Eritrea and Ethiopia persisted, leading to the Eritrean–Ethiopian War of 1998–2000 and further skirmishes with both Djibouti and Ethiopia, Eritrea is a one-party state in which national legislative elections have been repeatedly postponed. According to Human Rights Watch, the Eritrean governments human rights record is considered among the worst in the world, the Eritrean government has dismissed these allegations as politically motivated. The compulsory military service requires lengthy, indefinite conscription periods, which some Eritreans leave the country in order to avoid, since all local media is state-owned, Eritrea was also ranked as having the least press freedom in the global Press Freedom Index. Eritrea is a member of the African Union, the United Nations, and IGAD, during the Middle Ages, the Eritrea region was known as Medri Bahri. The name Eritrea is derived from the ancient Greek name for the Red Sea and it was first formally adopted in 1890, with the formation of Italian Eritrea. The territory became the Eritrea Governorate within Italian East Africa in 1936, Eritrea was annexed by Ethiopia in 1953 and an Eritrean Liberation Front formed in 1960. Eritrea gained independence following the 1993 referendum, and the name of the new state was defined as State of Eritrea in the 1997 constitution. At Buya in Eritrea, one of the oldest hominids representing a link between Homo erectus and an archaic Homo sapiens was found by Italian scientists. Dated to over 1 million years old, it is the oldest skeletal find of its kind, during the last interglacial period, the Red Sea coast of Eritrea was occupied by early anatomically modern humans. It is believed that the area was on the out of Africa that some scholars suggest was used by early humans to colonize the rest of the Old World
31.
Malta
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Malta, officially known as the Republic of Malta, is a Southern European island country consisting of an archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. It lies 80 km south of Italy,284 km east of Tunisia, the country covers just over 316 km2, with a population of just under 450,000, making it one of the worlds smallest and most densely populated countries. The capital of Malta is Valletta, which at 0.8 km2, is the smallest national capital in the European Union, Malta has one national language, which is Maltese, and English as an official language. John, French and British, have ruled the islands, King George VI of the United Kingdom awarded the George Cross to Malta in 1942 for the countrys bravery in the Second World War. The George Cross continues to appear on Maltas national flag, the country became a republic in 1974, and although no longer a Commonwealth realm, remains a member state of the Commonwealth of Nations. Malta was admitted to the United Nations in 1964 and to the European Union in 2004, in 2008, Catholicism is the official religion in Malta. The origin of the term Malta is uncertain, and the modern-day variation derives from the Maltese language, the most common etymology is that the word Malta derives from the Greek word μέλι, meli, honey. The ancient Greeks called the island Μελίτη meaning honey-sweet, possibly due to Maltas unique production of honey, an endemic species of bee lives on the island. The Romans went on to call the island Melita, which can be considered either as a latinisation of the Greek Μελίτη or the adaptation of the Doric Greek pronunciation of the same word Μελίτα. Another conjecture suggests that the word Malta comes from the Phoenician word Maleth a haven or port in reference to Maltas many bays, few other etymological mentions appear in classical literature, with the term Malta appearing in its present form in the Antonine Itinerary. The extinction of the hippos and dwarf elephants has been linked to the earliest arrival of humans on Malta. Prehistoric farming settlements dating to the Early Neolithic period were discovered in areas and also in caves. The Sicani were the tribe known to have inhabited the island at this time and are generally regarded as being closely related to the Iberians. Pottery from the Għar Dalam phase is similar to found in Agrigento. A culture of megalithis temple builders then either supplanted or arose from this early period, the temples have distinctive architecture, typically a complex trefoil design, and were used from 4000 to 2500 BCE. Animal bones and a knife found behind an altar stone suggest that temple rituals included animal sacrifice. Tentative information suggests that the sacrifices were made to the goddess of fertility, the culture apparently disappeared from the Maltese Islands around 2500 BC. Archaeologists speculate that the builders fell victim to famine or disease
32.
Ship's tender
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Smaller boats may also have tenders, usually called dinghies. For a variety of reasons, it is not always advisable to try to tie a ship up at a dock, the weather or the sea might be rough, the time might be short, or the ship too large to fit. In such cases tenders provide the link from ship to shore, on cruise ships, lifeboat tenders do double duty, serving as tenders in day-to-day activities, but fully equipped to act as lifeboats in an emergency. They are generally carried on davits just above the deck, and may at first glance appear to be regular lifeboats. Current lifeboat tender designs favor catamaran models, since they are likely to roll in the calm to moderate conditions in which tenders are usually used. They typically carry up to 100 to 150 passengers and two to three crew members, before these ships were mass-produced, the main way to board a larger ship was to board a passenger tender. Passenger tenders remained based at their ports of registry, and when a ship came through the area and these vessels were larger, had a greater passenger capacity, and a broader sense of individuality in their respective companies than the more modern tenders seen today. Because of their size, lifeboats and life preservers were commonplace on board these ships. Their hull classification symbols in the US Navy were, respectively, AS and AD, Naval tenders fell out of use during the late 20th century, as the speed and range of warships increased. By the end of the 20th century, all of the tenders in the U. S. Navy had been inactivated except for two submarine tenders. As a result of the settlement of lawsuits over the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet, Emory S. Land-class submarine tenders USS Emory S. Land and USS Frank Cable are now manned and operated by a hybrid crew, the Captain and a couple hundred technicians are regular Navy, while the operation of the ship itself is performed by Merchant Marines. Prior to the turn-over, both ships had more than 1000 sailors, under the traditional Navy classification, both ships should be reclassified as AR, however since now operated by the MSC it is doubtful such a reassignment will occur. Land is forward deployed in the Indian Ocean at Diego Garcia while Frank Cable is forward-deployed in the Pacific at Polaris Point, Apra Harbor, such forward deployments are to provide service and support at the very great distances of the Western Pacific. Two tenders, SS Nomadic and SS Traffic, were built for the White Star Line by Harland and Wolff to serve the liners RMS Olympic, Nomadic survives as a museum ship, and is the last remaining vessel built for the White Star Line in existence. Armed tender, British supply or transport ships that were outfitted and commissioned for use in the Naval Service. Buoy tender, used to maintain navigational aids, destroyer tender, a large ship used to support a flotilla of destroyers or other small warships. Dive tender, a ship or boat used to support the actions of divers, also known as a diving support vessel
33.
Scuttling
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Scuttling is the deliberate sinking of a ship by allowing water to flow into the hull. This can be achieved in several ways—valves or hatches can be opened to the sea and their success would have halted his inland march and conquest of the Aztec Empire. HMS Sapphire was a 32-gun, fifth-rate sailing frigate of the Royal Navy in Newfoundland Colony to protect the English migratory fishery, the vessel was trapped in Bay Bulls harbour by four French naval vessels led by Jacques-François de Brouillan. To avoid capture, the English scuttled the vessel on 11 September 1696, the British sank one ship on October 10,1781 to prevent it from getting captured by the French fleet. During the Belgian war of independence, Dutch gunboat commander Jan van Speijk came under attack from a mob of Antwerp labourers. When they forced him and his crew to surrender, he ignited a barrel of gunpowder, thus sinking his ship and killing himself, according to tradition, in his last words he said hed rather be blown up than become a Belgian. Van Speijk went on to become a hero in The Netherlands. After the war, it became a challenge to recover the ships. In 1861, the Federal steam frigate Merrimack was set afire in Gosport Shipyard to keep her from falling into Confederate hands, the unsuccessful attempt at scuttling enabled the Confederate Navy to raise and rebuild her as Virginia. Virginia was later sunk by the Confederates after her famous battle with USS Monitor to keep her from being taken back. During the War of the Pacific, as Chilean troops entered Lima and El Callao, in August 1914, SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse was requisitioned by the Kaiserliche Marine and converted into an auxiliary cruiser, assigned to commerce raiding in the Atlantic. She was fitted with six 10.5 cm guns and two 37 mm guns, after sparing two passenger ships because they were carrying many women and children, she sank two freighters before she herself was sunk on 26 August 1914. She was caught refuelling off the shore of the then Spanish colony of Río de Oro in western Africa by the old British 6-inch gunned cruiser HMS Highflyer, badly outgunned, the ship eventually ran out of ammunition. The crew abandoned and scuttled her, British sources at the time insisted that Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse sank because of the damage inflicted by Highflyer. In December 1914, SMS Dresden was the only German warship to escape destruction in the Battle of the Falkland Islands and she eluded her British pursuers for several more months, until she put into Más a Tierra in March 1915. Her engines were out and she had almost no coal left for her boilers. There, she was trapped by British cruisers, which violated Chilean neutrality, dresdens Executive Officer - the future Admiral Wilhelm Canaris - negotiated with the British and bought time for his shipmates to scuttle Dresden. Thetis, Intrepid and Iphigenia were filled with concrete then sent to block a critical canal, heavy defensive fire caused the Thetis to scuttle prematurely, the other two cruisers sank themselves successfully in the narrowest part of the canal
34.
HMAS Nestor (G02)
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HMAS Nestor was an N-class destroyer of the Royal Australian Navy. Built in Scotland, Nestor was commissioned in February 1941, although manned by Australians and commissioned as an Australian warship, entering service in 1941, Nestor spent most of her career as a patrol and escort vessel in the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean, and the Far East. In December 1941, the destroyer located and sank the German submarine U-127, in June 1942, Nestor sailed as part of the Operation Vigorous escort force, protecting a supply convoy to Malta. On the evening of 15 June, the ship was damaged by air attack. Despite attempts to tow the ship to base, Nestor was abandoned and scuttled off Crete the next morning, Nestor is the only ship of the RAN that never operated in Australian waters. The N-class destroyer had a displacement of 1,773 tons at standard load, Nestor was 356 feet 6 inches long overall and 229 feet 6 inches long between perpendiculars, had a beam of 35 feet 8 inches, and a maximum draught of 16 feet 4 inches. Propulsion was provided by Admiralty 3-drum boilers connected to Parsons geared steam turbines, Nestor was capable of reaching 36 knots. The ships company consisted of 249 officers and sailors at the time she was sunk, the 4-inch gun was removed later in Nestors career. Nestor was laid down by the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Limited, at Govan and she was launched on 9 July 1940 by the daughter of one of the shipyard directors. Nestor was commissioned into the RAN on 3 February 1941, although manned and commissioned as an Australian warship, the destroyers name came from the mythological ruler. The ship cost 398,960 pounds to build, during sea trials, Nestor was called on to make several deployments north of the British Isles, in poor conditions. The ships doctor visited the admiral at Scapa Flow, the admiral sent marines to arrest the three officers, and appointed a new commander to Nestor, after completing sea trials, Nestor was assigned to escort and patrol duties in the North Atlantic. During May, she was involved in the pursuit of the German battleship Bismarck, Nestor was transferred to the Mediterranean in July, and was involved in the Malta Convoys, then performed escort duties in the South Atlantic before returning to England for refit in October. The destroyer returned to service as a Malta Convoy escort in December, on 15 December, Nestor encountered the German submarine U-127 off Cape St. Vincent, the destroyer successfully hunted down and destroyed the submarine with depth charges. In January 1942, Nestor was reassigned to the Far East, during the voyage, Nestor and several sister ships escorted the aircraft carrier HMS Indomitable during attempts to deliver aircraft to Malaya. After this, Nestor joined the British Eastern Fleet, and was based at Colombo, in March 1942, the town of Andover, Hampshire adopted Nestor after they raised £214,467 during a Warship Week. In May 1942, the destroyer was assigned back to the Mediterranean, air harassment of the convoy began almost immediately after leaving port. At around 18,00, while off Crete, an Italian bomber successfully attacked Nestor, killing four sailors and seriously damaging the destroyers engine rooms
35.
Cap Bon
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Cap Bon, also Watan el-kibli, is a peninsula in far northeastern Tunisia. It is located at around 36°45′N 10°45′E and it is surrounded by the Gulf of Tunis in the north. Towns located on the peninsula include Nabeul, Kelibia and Menzel Temime, the ruins of the Punic town Kerkouane are located here. Djebel Mlezza on Cape Bon had tombs from the time of Agathocles. that were excavated just before WW1, Battle of Cape Bon Battle of Cape Bon
36.
Operation Pedestal
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Operation Pedestal, known in Malta as the Santa Marija Convoy, was a British operation to carry supplies to the island of Malta in August 1942, during the Second World War. Malta was a base from which British ships, submarines and aircraft attacked Axis convoys to the Axis forces in Libya and Egypt, from 1940 to 1942, the Axis conducted the Siege of Malta, with air and naval forces. Despite many losses, enough supplies were delivered by the British for the population and military forces on Malta to resist, the most crucial supply item in Operation Pedestal was fuel, carried by SS Ohio, an American tanker with a British crew. The convoy sailed from Britain on 3 August 1942 and passed through the Strait of Gibraltar into the Mediterranean on the night of 9/10 August, while a costly tactical defeat for the Allies, it was also one of the greatest British strategic victories of the war. More than 500 Merchant and Royal Navy sailors and airmen were killed, the arrival of Ohio justified the decision to hazard so many warships, its cargo of aviation fuel revitalising the Maltese air offensive against Axis shipping. Submarines returned to Malta and Supermarine Spitfires flown from the aircraft-carrier HMS Furious enabled a maximum effort to be made against Axis ships, Italian convoys had to detour further away from the island, lengthening the journey and increasing the time during which air and naval attacks could be mounted. Up to the end of the year,21 ships with 160,000 long tons of cargo had reached Malta without loss, three convoy operations to Malta in 1941 lost only one merchant ship. Reinforcements for Malta, included 19 costly and dangerous aircraft carrier operations to deliver fighters. From August 1940 to the end of August 1942,670 Hawker Hurricane, many of these used Malta as a staging post and then continued to North Africa and the Desert Air Force. Loaded ships sailing to Africa accounted for 90 percent of the ships sunk, military operations from Malta and using the island as a staging post, led to Axis air campaigns against the island in 1941 and 1942. Operation Julius, a plan to supply Malta by simultaneous convoys from Gibraltar in Operation Harpoon, only two merchantmen from Harpoon reached the island, the Vigorous convoy was forced to turn back, several convoy escorts and many merchantmen, including the only tanker in Harpoon, were sunk. By August, the ration on Malta for one person was 14 ounces sugar,7 ounces fats,10.5 ounces bread and 14 ounces of corned beef. An adult male worker had an intake of 1,690 calories. The First Lord of the Admiralty A. V. Alexander and Admiral of the Fleet Dudley Pound, a disaster of first magnitude to the British Empire, and probably fatal in the long run to the defence of the Nile Valley. The Axis command structure in the Mediterranean was centralized at the top, Mussolini had monopolised authority over Italian armed forces in 1933, by taking the offices of Minister of War, Minister of the Navy and Minister of the Air Force. Fliegerkorps II and Fliegerkorps X were subordinate to the chain of command of the Luftwaffe. German service rivalries obstructed co-operation and there was little unity of effort between German and the Italian forces in the Mediterranean, the Italian Navy resisted all German attempts to integrate its operations, ships in different squadrons never trained together and Supermarina constantly overruled lower-level commanders. Admiralty planning for Operation Pedestal began in late July 1942, under the direction of Vice-Admiral Neville Syfret, Rear Admirals Lumley Lyster and Harold Burrough, Syfret transferred to HMS Nelson on 27 July when Nelson and HMS Rodney returned to Scapa Flow from Freetown, West Africa
37.
MTSM motor torpedo boat
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The MTSM motor torpedo boat was a series of small motor torpedo boats developed by the Italian Royal Navy during World War II. The vessel was a version of its predecessor, the motor torpedo boat MTS. This was achieved through a larger sea-going hull with reinforced keel, the MTSM were designed to be towed by larger motorboats into the target area. Once there, the MTSM could carry out an attack on moored or stationary ships. The boat could also been transported by land on trailers, the Italian plans for an assault motor torpedo boat, the MTS model, began in December 1939. The Italian Naval Command goal was a small, high speed two-seat motor torpedo boat based on the MTM, in addition to speed, seaworthiness and range should have made the motorboat capable of carrying out operations against anchored targets successfully. The MTS was armed with two 450mm torpedoes, in the summer of 1940 Baglietto shipyards released the first four prototypes, MTS1, MTS2, MTS3 and MTS4. The motorboats were tested in an attack on Greek naval forces at Porto Edda, Albania. After that it was clear that the MTS had indeed met the criteria, the demand for a better and larger successor led to the development of the MTSM. With a displacement of three tons, the MTSM had a length of 8.4 m, a beam of 2.2 m and they were propelled by two 95 Hp Alfa Romeo AR 6c outboard motors and developed a maximum speed of 34 knots at full load. The boats were fitted with radio equipment, each MTSM was armed with a single 450mm torpedo amidships, behind the crew cockpit, and carried two 50 kg depth charges. The boat undergone its first test trials in the fall of 1941, more than 100 units were delivered by Baglietto between 1941 and 1943. The main combat operational use of the MTSM was against the Allied supply line between El Alamein and Alexandria and these boats belonged to a sub-unit of the Decima MAS, the motorized column Giobbe, which moved the boats along the coast by trailers. Little was achieved due to Allied air superiority, but the shelling by British destroyers gave an opportunity to the MTSMs. The crippled destroyer was towed to Alexandria by HMS Aldenham, where she was declared a total loss and was used as a base ship for the rest of the war. MTSM-228, which fired her single torpedo from a range of 150 meters, was bombed by a British aircraft and had to be abandoned by her crew. The next morning, the craft was still adrift and the Italians attempted to take her to the coast. At German request, another motorized column, the Moccagatta, was deployed to the Crimea in support of Operation Barbarossa from May 1942 to March 1943, the unit comprised five MTMs and five MTSMs
38.
HMS Eridge (L68)
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HMS Eridge was a Hunt-class destroyer of the Royal Navy. She was launched in 1940 and served during the Second World War, on 29 May 1942, Eridge assisted the destroyers Hero and Hurworth in sinking the German submarine U-568. At 04,15 on 29 August 1942, she began shelling Axis positions off El Daba, Egypt, at 31°7′N 28°26′E, together with the destroyers Croome, at 05,00, she was permanently disabled by a 450mm torpedo fired by the Italian motor torpedo boat MTSM-228. The attack caused five fatalities on board Eridge and she was towed to Alexandria by the destroyer Aldenham, where the destroyer was used as a base ship for the rest of the war and sold for scrapping in October 1946. Ships of the Royal Navy, The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy, the Hunts, a history of the design, development and careers of the 86 destroyers of this class built for the Royal and Allied Navies during World War II. Red Tobruk, Memoirs of a World War II Destroyer Commander, HMS Eridge at uboat. net HMS Eridge Captain Frank Gregory-Smith - Daily Telegraph obituary
39.
Egypt
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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
40.
Lake Ladoga
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Lake Ladoga is a freshwater lake located in the Republic of Karelia and Leningrad Oblast in northwestern Russia just outside the outskirts of Saint Petersburg. It is the largest lake in Europe, and the 15th largest freshwater lake by area in the world, Ladoga Lacus, a methane lake on Saturns moon Titan, is named after the lake. In one of Nestors chronicles from the 12th century he mentions a lake called the Great Nevo, ancient Norse sagas and Hanseatic treaties both mention a city made of lakes named Old Norse Aldeigja or Aldoga. Since the beginning of the 14th century this hydronym was commonly known as Ladoga, according to T. N. Jackson, it can be taken almost for granted, that the name of Ladoga first referred to the river, then the city, and only then the lake. Therefore, he considers the primary hydronym Ladoga to originate in the inflow to the lower reaches of the Volkhov River whose Finnic name was Alodejoki river of the lowlands. The Germanic toponym was soon borrowed by the Slavic population and transformed by means of the Old Russian metathesis ald- → lad- to Old East Slavic, Ладога. Other theories about the origin of the name derive it from Karelian, aalto wave and Karelian, aaltokas wavy, or from the Russian dialectal word алодь, meaning open lake, eugene Helimski by contrast, offers an etymology rooted in German. Through the intermediate form *Aldaugja, Old Norse, Aldeigja cam about, the lake has an average surface area of 17,891 km2. Its north-to-south length is 219 km and its width is 83 km. Basin area,276,000 km2, volume,837 km3, there are around 660 islands, with a total area of about 435 km2. Ladoga is, on average,5 m above sea level, most of the islands, including the famous Valaam archipelago, Kilpola and Konevets, are situated in the northwest of the lake. Separated from the Baltic Sea by the Karelian Isthmus, it drains into the Gulf of Finland via the Neva River, Lake Ladoga is navigable, being a part of the Volga-Baltic Waterway connecting the Baltic Sea with the Volga River. The Ladoga Canal bypasses the lake in the part, connecting the Neva to the Svir. The basin of Lake Ladoga includes about 50,000 lakes and 3,500 rivers longer than 10 km, about 85% of the water inflow is due to tributaries, 13% is due to precipitation, and 2% is due to underground waters. Geologically, the Lake Ladoga depression is a graben and syncline structure of Proterozoic age and this Ladoga–Pasha structure, as it known, hosts Jotnian sediments. During the Pleistocene glaciations the depression was partially stripped of its sedimentary rock fill by glacial overdeepening, deglaciation following the Weichsel glaciation took place in the Lake Ladoga basin between 12,500 and 11,500 radiocarbon years BP. Lake Ladoga was initially part of the Baltic Ice Lake, a historical stage of Baltic Sea. It is possible, though not certain, that Ladoga was isolated from it during regression of the subsequent Yoldia Sea brackish stage, at 9,500 BP, Lake Onega, previously draining into the White Sea, started emptying into Ladoga via the River Svir
41.
Siege of Leningrad
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The siege started on 8 September 1941, when the last road to the city was severed. Although the Soviets managed to open a land corridor to the city on 18 January 1943. It was one of the longest and most destructive sieges in history, Leningrads capture was one of three strategic goals in the German Operation Barbarossa and the main target of Army Group North. By 1939 the city was responsible for 11% of all Soviet industrial output and it has been reported Adolf Hitler was so confident of capturing Leningrad that he had invitations printed to the victory celebrations to be held in the citys Hotel Astoria. According to a sent to Army Group North on 29 September, After the defeat of Soviet Russia there can be no interest in the continued existence of this large urban center. Following the citys encirclement, requests for surrender negotiations shall be denied, since the problem of relocating and feeding the population cannot, in this war for our very existence, we can have no interest in maintaining even a part of this very large urban population. Hitlers ultimate plan was to raze Leningrad to the ground and give areas north of the River Neva to the Finns, Army Group North under Feldmarschall Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb advanced to Leningrad, its primary objective. Finnish military forces were north of Leningrad, while German forces occupied territories to the south, thus, it is argued that much of the Finns participation was merely defensive. The Germans planned on lack of food being their weapon against the citizens. On 27 June 1941, the Council of Deputies of the Leningrad administration organised First response groups of civilians, in the next days, Leningrads civilian population was informed of the danger and over a million citizens were mobilised for the construction of fortifications. Several lines of defences were built along the perimeter to repulse hostile forces approaching from north and south by means of civilian resistance. In the south, the line ran from the mouth of the Luga River to Chudovo, Gatchina, Uritsk, Pulkovo. Another line of defence passed through Peterhof to Gatchina, Pulkovo, Kolpino, in the north the defensive line against the Finns, the Karelian Fortified Region, had been maintained in Leningrads northern suburbs since the 1930s, and was now returned to service. Even the guns from the cruiser Aurora were moved inland to the Pulkovo Heights to the south of Leningrad, the 4th Panzer Group from East Prussia took Pskov following a swift advance and managed to reach Novgorod by 16 August. The Soviet defenders fought to the death, despite the German discovery of the Soviet defence plans on an officers corpse, after the capture of Novgorod, General Hoepners 4th Panzer Group continued its progress towards Leningrad. However, the 18th Army — despite some 350,000 men lagging behind — forced its way to Ostrov and Pskov after the Soviet troops of the Northwestern Front retreated towards Leningrad. On 10 July, both Ostrov and Pskov were captured and the 18th Army reached Narva and Kingisepp, from where advance toward Leningrad continued from the Luga River line. This had the effect of creating siege positions from the Gulf of Finland to Lake Ladoga, the Finnish Army was then expected to advance along the eastern shore of Lake Ladoga
42.
Black Sea
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The Black Sea is a body of water between Eastern Europe and Western Asia, bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine. It is supplied by a number of rivers, such as the Danube, Dnieper, Rioni, Southern Bug. The Black Sea has an area of 436,400 km2, a depth of 2,212 m. It is constrained by the Pontic Mountains to the south and by the Caucasus Mountains to the east, the longest east-west extent is about 1,175 km. The Black Sea has a water balance, that is, a net outflow of water 300 km3 per year through the Bosphorus. Mediterranean water flows into the Black Sea as part of a two-way hydrological exchange, the Black Sea drains into the Mediterranean Sea and then the Atlantic Ocean, via the Aegean Sea and various straits. The Bosphorus Strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and these waters separate Eastern Europe and Western Asia. The Black Sea is also connected to the Sea of Azov by the Strait of Kerch, the water level has varied significantly. Due to these variations in the level in the basin. At certain critical water levels it is possible for connections with surrounding water bodies to become established and it is through the most active of these connective routes, the Turkish Straits, that the Black Sea joins the world ocean. When this hydrological link is not present, the Black Sea is a basin, operating independently of the global ocean system. Currently the Black Sea water level is high, thus water is being exchanged with the Mediterranean. The Turkish Straits connect the Black Sea with the Aegean Sea, and comprise the Bosphorus, the Sea of Marmara, the International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Black Sea as follows, On the Southwest. The Northeastern limit of the Sea of Marmara, a line joining Cape Takil and Cape Panaghia. Strabos Geographica reports that in antiquity, the Black Sea was often just called the Sea, for the most part, Graeco-Roman tradition refers to the Black Sea as the Hospitable sea, Εὔξεινος Πόντος Eúxeinos Póntos. This is a euphemism replacing an earlier Inhospitable Sea, Πόντος Ἄξεινος Póntos Áxeinos, strabo thinks that the Black Sea was called inhospitable before Greek colonization because it was difficult to navigate, and because its shores were inhabited by savage tribes. The name was changed to hospitable after the Milesians had colonized the southern shoreline and it is also possible that the epithet Áxeinos arose by popular etymology from a Scythian word axšaina- unlit, dark, the designation Black Sea may thus date from antiquity. A map of Asia dating to 1570, entitled Asiae Nova Descriptio, from Abraham Orteliuss Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, english-language writers of the 18th century often used the name Euxine Sea to refer to the Black Sea
43.
Sevastopol
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Sevastopol or traditionally Sebastopol is a city located in the southwestern region of the Crimean Peninsula on the Black Sea. Sevastopol has a population of 393, 304 , concentrated mostly near the Bay of Sevastopol, the location and navigability of the citys harbours have made Sevastopol a strategically important port and naval base throughout history. The city has been a home to the Russian Black Sea Fleet, although relatively small at 864 square kilometres, Sevastopols unique naval and maritime features provide the basis for a robust economy. The city enjoys mild winters and moderate summers, characteristics that help make it a popular seaside resort and tourist destination. The city is also an important centre for marine biology, in particular, the name of Sevastopolis was originally chosen in the same etymological trend as other cities in the Crimean peninsula that was intended to reflect its ancient Greek origins. It is a compound of the Greek adjective, σεβαστός and the noun πόλις, Σεβαστός is the traditional Greek equivalent of the Roman honorific Augustus, originally given to the first emperor of the Roman Empire, Augustus and later awarded as a title to his successors. Despite its Greek origin, the name itself is not from Ancient Greek times, the city was probably named after the Empress Catherine II of Russia who founded Sevastopol in 1783. She visited the city in 1787 accompanied by Joseph II, the Emperor of Austria, in the west of the city, there are well-preserved ruins of the ancient Greek port city of Chersonesos, founded in the 5th century BC by settlers from Heraclea Pontica. This name means peninsula, reflecting its location, and is not related to the ancient Greek name for the Crimean Peninsula as a whole. In English the current spelling has the pronunciation /səˈvæstəˌpoʊl/ or /ˌsɛvəˈstoʊpəl/, whilst the spelling has the pronunciation /sᵻˈbæstəpəl, -pɒl/ or /səˈbæstəˌpoʊl. Ukrainian, Севастополь, Russian, Севастополь, pronounced in Ukrainian, in the 6th century BC a Greek colony was established in the area of the modern-day city. The Greek city of Chersonesus existed for almost two years, first as an independent democracy and later as part of the Bosporan Kingdom. In the 13th and 14th centuries it was sacked by the Golden Horde several times and was totally abandoned. The modern day city of Sevastopol has no connection to the ancient and medieval Greek city, five years earlier, Alexander Suvorov ordered that earthworks be erected along the harbour and Russian troops be placed there. In February 1784, Catherine the Great ordered Grigory Potemkin to build a fortress there, the realisation of the initial building plans fell to Captain Fyodor Ushakov who in 1788 was named commander of the port and of the Black Sea squadron. It became an important naval base and later a commercial seaport, in 1797, under an edict issued by Emperor Paul I, the military stronghold was again renamed to Akhtiar. Finally, on 29 April,1826, the Senate returned the name to Sevastopol. One of the most notable involving the city is the Siege of Sevastopol carried out by the British, French, Sardinian, and Turkish troops during the Crimean War
44.
Soviet Union
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The Soviet Union, officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a socialist state in Eurasia that existed from 1922 to 1991. It was nominally a union of national republics, but its government. The Soviet Union had its roots in the October Revolution of 1917 and this established the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and started the Russian Civil War between the revolutionary Reds and the counter-revolutionary Whites. In 1922, the communists were victorious, forming the Soviet Union with the unification of the Russian, Transcaucasian, Ukrainian, following Lenins death in 1924, a collective leadership and a brief power struggle, Joseph Stalin came to power in the mid-1920s. Stalin suppressed all opposition to his rule, committed the state ideology to Marxism–Leninism. As a result, the country underwent a period of rapid industrialization and collectivization which laid the foundation for its victory in World War II and postwar dominance of Eastern Europe. Shortly before World War II, Stalin signed the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact agreeing to non-aggression with Nazi Germany, in June 1941, the Germans invaded the Soviet Union, opening the largest and bloodiest theater of war in history. Soviet war casualties accounted for the highest proportion of the conflict in the effort of acquiring the upper hand over Axis forces at battles such as Stalingrad. Soviet forces eventually captured Berlin in 1945, the territory overtaken by the Red Army became satellite states of the Eastern Bloc. The Cold War emerged by 1947 as the Soviet bloc confronted the Western states that united in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1949. Following Stalins death in 1953, a period of political and economic liberalization, known as de-Stalinization and Khrushchevs Thaw, the country developed rapidly, as millions of peasants were moved into industrialized cities. The USSR took a lead in the Space Race with Sputnik 1, the first ever satellite, and Vostok 1. In the 1970s, there was a brief détente of relations with the United States, the war drained economic resources and was matched by an escalation of American military aid to Mujahideen fighters. In the mid-1980s, the last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, sought to reform and liberalize the economy through his policies of glasnost. The goal was to preserve the Communist Party while reversing the economic stagnation, the Cold War ended during his tenure, and in 1989 Soviet satellite countries in Eastern Europe overthrew their respective communist regimes. This led to the rise of strong nationalist and separatist movements inside the USSR as well, in August 1991, a coup détat was attempted by Communist Party hardliners. It failed, with Russian President Boris Yeltsin playing a role in facing down the coup. On 25 December 1991, Gorbachev resigned and the twelve constituent republics emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union as independent post-Soviet states
45.
Fighter-bomber
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A fighter-bomber is a fighter aircraft that has been modified, or used primarily, as a light bomber or attack aircraft. Although still used, the term fighter-bomber has less significance since the introduction of rockets, modern aircraft with similar duties are now typically called multirole combat aircraft or strike fighters. Prior to World War II, general limitations in available engine, engine power grew dramatically during the early period of the war, roughly doubling between 1939 and 1943. It had two Bristol Mercury XV radial engines of 920 hp each, a crew of three, and its payload was just 1,200 lbs of bombs. The Blenheim suffered disastrous losses over France in 1939 when it encountered Messerschmitt Bf 109s, in contrast, the Vought F4U Corsair fighter — which entered service in December 1942 — had in common with its eventual U. S. With less airframe and crew to lift, the Corsairs ordnance load was either four High Velocity Aircraft Rockets or 2,000 lbs of bombs, increased engine power meant that many existing fighter designs could carry useful bomb loads, and adapt to the fighter-bomber role. Notable examples include the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, Hawker Typhoon and Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, larger twin-engined aircraft were also used in the fighter-bomber role, especially where longer ranges were needed for naval strikes. Examples include the Lockheed P-38 Lightning, the Bristol Beaufighter, the Beaufighter MkV had a Boulton-Paul turret with four 0.303 in machine guns mounted aft of the cockpit but only two were built. Bristols Blenheim was even pushed into service as a fighter during the Battle of Britain, equipped with an early Airborne Interception radar set, however, it proved to be an effective night fighter. The first single seat fighters to drop bombs were on the Western Front, when fighter patrols were issued with bombs and ordered to drop them at random if they met no German fighters. The Sopwith Camel, the most successful Allied aircraft of the First World War with 1,294 enemy aircraft downed, was losing its edge by 1918, the Royal Aircraft Factory S. E.5. was used in the same role. The Royal Flying Corps received the first purpose-built fighter-bomber just as the war was ending and it was not called a fighter bomber at the time, but a Trench Fighter as that was what it was designed to attack. The Sopwith Salamander was based on the Sopwith Snipe fighter but had armour plating in the nose to protect the pilot, originally it was intended to have two machine guns jutting through the cockpit floor so as to spray trenches with bullets as it passed low overhead. But this did not work and it was fitted with four Cooper bombs and it was ordered in very large numbers, but most were cancelled after the Armistice. In February and April 1918 the Royal Flying Corps conducted bombing tests at Orfordness, both WW1 fighter bombers were used with novice and experienced pilots. Best results were achieved with a dive into the wind using the Aldis Sight to align the aircraft. But they were not considered enough to justify the expected casualty rate. When war broke out in Europe, Western Allied Air Forces employed light twin-engined bombers in the role for low level attack
46.
Junkers Ju 87
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The Junkers Ju 87 or Stuka was a German dive bomber and ground-attack aircraft. Designed by Hermann Pohlmann, it first flew in 1935, the Ju 87 made its combat debut in 1937 with the Luftwaffes Condor Legion during the Spanish Civil War. It served the Axis forces in World War II, the aircraft was easily recognisable by its inverted gull wings and fixed spatted undercarriage. Upon the leading edges of its main gear legs were mounted the Jericho-Trompete wailing sirens, becoming the propaganda symbol of German air power. The Ju 87 operated with success in the close air support. It spearheaded the air assaults in the Invasion of Poland in September 1939, in May 1940, the Ju 87s were crucial in the rapid conquest of the Netherlands, Belgium and France against all targets. Although sturdy, accurate, and very effective against ground targets, during the Battle of Britain a lack of manoeuvrability, speed and defensive armament meant that the Stuka required a heavy fighter escort to operate effectively. Once the Luftwaffe lost air superiority, on all fronts, the Ju 87 again became a target for enemy fighter aircraft. Despite these developments, because there was no replacement, the type continued to be produced until 1944. By the end of the conflict, the Stuka had been replaced by ground-attack versions of the Focke-Wulf Fw 190. An estimated 6,500 Ju 87s of all versions were built between 1936 and August 1944, some notable airmen flew the Ju 87. Oberst Hans-Ulrich Rudel was the most successful Stuka ace and the most highly decorated German serviceman of the Second World War, the vast majority of German ground attack aces flew this aircraft at some point in their careers. The Ju 87s principal designer, Hermann Pohlmann, held the opinion that any dive-bomber design needed to be simple and this led to many technical innovations, such as the retractable undercarriage being discarded in favour of one of the Stukas distinctive features, its fixed and spatted undercarriage. Pohlmann continued to carry on developing and adding to his ideas and those of Dipl Ing Karl Plauth, the military version of the Ju A48 was designated the Ju K47. After the Nazis came to power, the design was given priority, despite initial competition from the Henschel Hs 123, the Reichsluftfahrtministerium turned to the designs of Herman Pohlmann of Junkers and co-designer of the K47, Karl Plauth. During the trials with the K47 in 1932, the vertical stabilizers were introduced to give the rear gunner a better field of fire. The main, and what was to be the most distinctive, after Plauths death, Pohlmann continued the development of the Junkers dive bomber. The Ju A48 registration D-ITOR, was fitted with a BMW132 engine
47.
Yalta
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Yalta is a resort city on the south coast of the Crimean Peninsula surrounded by the Black Sea. It serves as the center of Yalta Municipality, one of the regions within Crimea. The city is located on the site of an ancient Greek colony and it is situated on a deep bay facing south towards the Black Sea, surrounded by the mountain range Ai-Petri. It has a humid subtropical climate and surrounded by numerous vineyards and orchards. The existence of Yalta was first recorded in the 12th century by an Arab geographer and it became part of a network of Genoese trading colonies on the Crimean coast in the 14th century, when it was known as Etalita or Galita. Yalta was annexed by the Russian Empire in 1783, along with the rest of Crimea, sparking the Russo-Turkish War, prior to the annexation of the Crimea, the Crimean Greeks were moved to Mariupol in 1778, one of the villages they established nearby is also called Yalta. In the 19th century, the became a fashionable resort for the Russian aristocracy. The town was closely associated with royalty. In 1889 Tsar Alexander III finished construction of Massandra Palace a short distance to the north of Yalta, during the 20th century Yalta was the principal holiday resort of the Soviet Union. Numerous workers sanatoria were constructed in and around Yalta and the surrounding district, there were, in fact, few other places that Soviet citizens could come for a seaside holiday, as foreign travel was forbidden to all but a handful. The Soviet elite also came to Yalta, the Soviet premier Joseph Stalin used the Massandra Palace as his summer residence, Yalta was occupied by the German Army from 9 November 1941 to 16 April 1944. The town came to attention in 1945 when the Yalta Conference between the Big Three powers – the Soviet Union, the United States and the United Kingdom – was held at the Livadia Palace. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Yalta has struggled economically, the towns transport links have been significantly reduced with the end of almost all passenger traffic by sea. The longest trolleybus line in Europe goes from the station in Simferopol to Yalta. Yalta is crowded in the season and prices for accommodation are very high. Most of the tourists are from countries of the former Soviet Union, in 2013, Yalta has a beautiful embankment along the Black Sea. People can be seen strolling there all seasons of the year, there are several beaches to the east and west of the embankment. The town has several theaters, a drama theater, plenty of restaurants
48.
Soviet cruiser Molotov
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Molotov was a Project 26bis Kirov-class cruiser of the Soviet Navy that served during World War II and into the Cold War. She supported Soviet troops during the Siege of Sevastopol, the Kerch-Feodosiya Operation, the ship was extensively modernized between 1952 and 1955. She was renamed Slava in 1957 after Vyacheslav Molotov fell out of favour, Slava was reclassified as a training ship in 1961 before being sold for scrap in 1972. Molotov and her sister Maxim Gorky had heavier armor and were improved from the first two Kirov-class cruisers of Project 26, and were thus designated Project 26bis. She was 187 meters long at the waterline,191.4 meters long overall, with a beam of 17.66 meters and she displaced 8,177 metric tons at standard load and 9,728 metric tons at full load. Molotov normally carried 650 metric tons of oil,1,660 metric tons at full load and 1,750 metric tons at overload. This gave her a range of 4,220 nautical miles at 18 knots, Molotov carried nine 180-millimeter 57-calibre B-1-P guns in three electrically powered MK-3-180 triple turrets. Her secondary armament consisted of three single 100-millimeter 56-calibre B-34 anti-aircraft guns fitted on each side of the rear funnel and her light AA guns consisted of nine semi-automatic 45-millimeter 21-K AA guns and four DK12. 7-millimeter machine guns. Six 533-millimeter 39-Yu torpedo tubes were fitted in two triple mountings, Molotov was the first Soviet ship to carry radar, a Redut-K air warning system, which she used for the entire war. Soviet-designed Mars-1 gunnery radar systems were added by 1944, by 1943 three of Molotovs 45 mm semi-automatic guns were replaced with twelve fully automatic 37-millimeter 70-K AA guns with one thousand rounds per gun and two extra DK machine guns. Her aircraft catapult was removed in 1942 to make room for more light AA guns, in 1943 an improved ZK-1a catapult was fitted and successfully test-launched a Supermarine Spitfire fighter. However, in 1947 the concept was abandoned and the catapult was removed, Molotov was laid down at the Marti South, Nikolayev on 14 January 1937, launched on 4 December 1939 and was completed on 14 June 1941. As the only ship in the Soviet Navy with radar Molotov remained in Sevastopol for the period of Operation Barbarossa to provide air warning. The advance of German troops into the Crimea in late October 1941 forced her to transfer to Tuapse where she continued to provide air warning, however, the ship did bombard German troops near Feodosiya with nearly 200180 mm shells on 9 November before returning to Tuapse. Molotov helped to carry the 386th Rifle Division from Poti to Sevastopol between 24 and 28 December 1941, while off-loading troops on 29 December her stern was damaged by German artillery and she shelled Axis positions in retaliation, firing 205180 mm and 107100 mm shells. The ship evacuated 600 wounded upon her departure on 30 December, Molotov reprised her role as a transport during the first week of January. Her bow was damaged during a storm in Tuapse when she was thrown against the jetty on 21–22 January 1942. The ship spent most of the month under repair, although her bow could not be straightened
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