1.
Higgins Industries
–
Higgins Industries was the company owned by Andrew Higgins based in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Higgins also manufactured PT boats, and produced the first American airborne lifeboat, Andrew Higgins also owned the New Orleans-based Higgins Lumber and Export Co. and Higgins Aircraft, which contracted to provide aircraft for the US military during World War II. Before World War Two, Higgins got its big start with the design and these small but fast boats were called Eureka Boats or Spoonbills, and they could impact partially submerged logs without suffering damage. The propeller was partially enclosed in a tunnel to protect it against submerged objects, the Spoonbill was the first design used for a personnel landing craft used by the US Navy, the LCPL, before the famous and much improved Higgins LCVP, the Higgins Boat was offered. These were the landing craft that were main type used on the invasion of Guadalcanal, unfortunately, these first primitive landing craft required the landing party to go over the sides to exit the craft exposing them to enemy fire. In 1964, Dwight D. Eisenhower said to historian Stephen Ambrose, is the man who won the war for us, if Higgins had not designed and built those landing craft, we never would have landed over an open beach. The whole strategy of the war would have been different, Higgins Industries produced over sixty different items for the US government during the war. Higgins ranked 70th among United States corporations in the value of World War II military production contracts, the resulting business success allowed Andrew Higgins to expand into several other ventures, including Higgins Aircraft, Higgins Engine Co. and Higgins Plastics Corp. After the war he tried to transition this capability into consumer products such as appliances, personal watercraft, in late 1945 Frank P. Higgins, brother of Andrew, became director of marketing, operating the Higgins Marine Sales Corp. However, labor strife complicated the picture, and on 9 November 1945 Andrew Higgins liquidated the business, in January of the following year he formed another company to resume building pleasure watercraft. The other industrial properties of the previous Higgins Industries were transferred to ownership of the new company, by 1948 all the other plants were closed, and watercraft production was concentrated in the Industrial Canal plant. Andrew Higgins died of a stomach ailment at age sixty-five on August 1,1952 and his sons continued the business through the 1950s, but mounting debts resulted in the sale of Higgins, Inc. to New York Ship in 1959. New York Ship was subsequently sold to what would eventually become Equitable Equipment Company, Higgins Marine Sales Corporation continued at the old City Park Plant until 1970, when it moved to Thalia Street, where it operated for five more years before closing. One of the Higgins factories in New Orleans was converted into NASAs Michoud Assembly Facility in 1961
Higgins Industries
–
A Higgins Industries torpedo boat plant in New Orleans, 1942
2.
New Orleans
–
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The population of the city was 343,829 as of the 2010 U. S. Census, the New Orleans metropolitan area had a population of 1,167,764 in 2010 and was the 46th largest in the United States. The New Orleans–Metairie–Bogalusa Combined Statistical Area, a trading area, had a 2010 population of 1,452,502. The city is named after the Duke of Orleans, who reigned as Regent for Louis XV from 1715 to 1723, as it was established by French colonists and it is well known for its distinct French and Spanish Creole architecture, as well as its cross-cultural and multilingual heritage. New Orleans is also famous for its cuisine, music, and its celebrations and festivals, most notably Mardi Gras. The city is referred to as the most unique in the United States. New Orleans is located in southeastern Louisiana, straddling the Mississippi River, the city and Orleans Parish are coterminous. The city and parish are bounded by the parishes of St. Tammany to the north, St. Bernard to the east, Plaquemines to the south, and Jefferson to the south and west. Lake Pontchartrain, part of which is included in the city limits, lies to the north, before Hurricane Katrina, Orleans Parish was the most populous parish in Louisiana. As of 2015, it ranks third in population, trailing neighboring Jefferson Parish, La Nouvelle-Orléans was founded May 7,1718, by the French Mississippi Company, under the direction of Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, on land inhabited by the Chitimacha. It was named for Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, who was Regent of the Kingdom of France at the time and his title came from the French city of Orléans. The French colony was ceded to the Spanish Empire in the Treaty of Paris, during the American Revolutionary War, New Orleans was an important port for smuggling aid to the rebels, transporting military equipment and supplies up the Mississippi River. Bernardo de Gálvez y Madrid, Count of Gálvez successfully launched a campaign against the British from the city in 1779. New Orleans remained under Spanish control until 1803, when it reverted briefly to French oversight, nearly all of the surviving 18th-century architecture of the Vieux Carré dates from the Spanish period, the most notable exception being the Old Ursuline Convent. Napoleon sold Louisiana to the United States in the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, thereafter, the city grew rapidly with influxes of Americans, French, Creoles, and Africans. Later immigrants were Irish, Germans, and Italians, Major commodity crops of sugar and cotton were cultivated with slave labor on large plantations outside the city. The Haitian Revolution ended in 1804 and established the republic in the Western Hemisphere. It had occurred several years in what was then the French colony of Saint-Domingue
New Orleans
–
From top left: A typical New Orleans mansion off
St. Charles Avenue, a streetcar passing by
Loyola University and
Tulane University, the skyline of the
Central Business District,
Jackson Square, and a view of Royal Street in the
French Quarter
New Orleans
–
The
Battle of New Orleans (1815)
New Orleans
–
Mississippi River
steamboats at New Orleans, 1853.
New Orleans
–
The starving people of New Orleans under Union occupation during the Civil War, 1862
3.
Museum ship
–
A museum ship, also called a memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public for educational or memorial purposes. Some are also used for training and recruitment purposes, mostly for the number of museum ships that are still operational. Many, if not most, museum ships are also associated with a maritime museum, only a few survive, sometimes because of historical significance, but more often due to luck and circumstance. The restoration and maintenance of museum ships presents problems for historians who are asked for advice, for instance, the rigging of sailing ships has almost never survived, and so the rigging plan must be reconstructed from various sources. Studying the ships also allows historians to analyze how life on and operation of the ships took place, numerous scientific papers have been written on ship restoration and maintenance, and international conferences are held discussing the latest developments. Another consideration is the distinction between a museum ship, and a ship replica. As repairs accumulate over time, less and less of the ship is of the materials. Visitors without historical background are often unable to distinguish between a historical museum ship and a ship replica, which may serve solely as a tourist attraction. Typically the visitor enters via gangplank, wanders around on the deck, then goes below, usually using the original stairways, giving a sense of how the crew got around. The interior features restored but inactivated equipment, enhanced with mementos including old photographs, explanatory displays, pages from the logs, menus. Some add recorded sound effects, audio tours or video displays to enhance the experience, in some cases, the ships radio room has been brought back into use, with volunteers operating amateur radio equipment. Often, the callsign assigned is a variation on the identification of the ship. For example, the submarine USS Cobia, which had the call NBQV, is now on the air as NB9QV. The World War II submarine USS Pampanito, berthed at the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, had the wartime call NJVT and is now on the air as NJ6VT, in other cases, such as the USS Missouri, a distinctive call is used. This radio work not only helps restore part of the vessel, a number of the larger museum ships have begun to offer hosting for weddings, meetings, other events, and sleepovers, and on a few ships still seaworthy, cruises. In the United States, this includes the USS Constitutions annual turnaround, a place on the deck is by invitation or lottery only, and highly prized. Many consider the appeal of an interesting old vessel on the city waterfront strong enough that any port city should showcase one or more museum ships. This may even include building a ship at great expense
Museum ship
–
The
Polish destroyer
ORP Błyskawica is currently preserved as a museum ship in
Gdynia.
Museum ship
–
Former crew members of
USS Missouri pose for photos after the Anniversary of the End of World War II ceremony.
Museum ship
–
The 17th-century warship
Vasa on display in the
Vasa Museum
4.
PT boat
–
A PT boat was a torpedo-armed fast attack craft used by the United States Navy in World War II. The PT boat was very different from the first generation of torpedo boat and these first generation torpedo boats rode low in the water, displaced up to 300 tons, and had a top speed of 25 to 27 kn. During World War I the US and UK developed the first high-performance motor torpedo boats and corresponding torpedo tactics, but these projects were all quickly disbanded with the Armistice. World War II PT boats continued to some of the advances in planing hull design borrowed from offshore powerboat racing and were able to grow in size due to advancements in engine technology. During World War II, PT boats engaged enemy warships, transports, tankers, barges, as gunboats they could be effective against enemy small craft, especially armored barges used by the Japanese for inter-island transport. Several saw service with the Philippine Navy, where they were named Q-boats most probably after President Manuel L. Quezon Primary anti-ship armament was four 2,600 pound Mark 8 torpedoes. Launched by 21-inch Mark 18 torpedo tubes, each bore a 466-pound TNT warhead and had a range of 16,000 yards at 36 knots, Two twin M2.50 cal machine guns were mounted for anti-aircraft defense and general fire support. Some boats shipped a 20 mm Oerlikon cannon, propulsion was via a trio of Packard 4M-2500 and later 5M-2500 supercharged gasoline-fueled, liquid-cooled marine engines. In September 1914, Hickman completed plans for a 50-foot Sea Sled torpedo boat and his plan was promptly rejected by the Admiralty, so Hickman built and launched his own privately financed 41-foot Sea Sled capable of carrying a single 18 Whitehead Mark 5 torpedo. In February 1915, this Hickman sea sled demonstrated 35 kn speeds in rough seas off Boston to both US and foreign representatives but again, he received no contracts. The Admiralty representative for this sea sled demonstration was Lieutenant G. C. E, in the summer of 1915, Lieutenants Hampden, Bremner, and Anson approached John I. Thornycroft & Company about developing a high speed torpedo boat. Meanwhile, in August 1915, the General Board of the United States Navy approved the purchase of an experimental small torpedo boat that could be transportable. This contract for C-250 ended up going to Greenport Basin and Construction Company, of Greenport, NY. When it eventually was delivered and tested in the Summer of 1917, it was not deemed a success, so a second boat of the sea sled design was ordered from Hickman in either late 1917 or early 1918. Using his previous design from September 1914 and the unsuccessful bid for C-250. The Sea Sled would not surface again as a torpedo boat topic until 1939, in 1922, the US Navy reconsidered using small internal combustion engine powered torpedo boats. As a result, two types of British Royal Navy Coastal Motor Boats were obtained for testing, the larger boat was used for experiments until 1930
PT boat
–
PT-105 underway
PT boat
–
PT-9 in June 1940
PT boat
–
Elco and Higgins PT boats, as published in a 1945 training manual
PT boat
–
PT-259 underway near
Midway circa 1944
5.
Packard
–
Packard was an American luxury automobile marque built by the Packard Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan, United States, and later by the Studebaker-Packard Corporation of South Bend, Indiana. The first Packard automobiles were produced in 1899, and the last in 1958, with one of the last concept cars built in 1956, henry Bourne Joy, a member of one of Detroits oldest and wealthiest families, bought a Packard. Impressed by its reliability, he visited the Packards and soon enlisted a group of investors—including Truman Handy Newberry, on October 2,1902, this group refinanced and renamed the New York and Ohio Automobile Company as the Packard Motor Car Company, with James Packard as president. Alger later served as vice president, Packard moved operations to Detroit soon after, and Joy became general manager. An original Packard, reputedly the first manufactured, was donated by a grateful James Packard to his alma mater, Lehigh University, another is on display at the Packard Museum in Warren, Ohio. In the beginning, all Packards had a single-cylinder engine until 1903, Packard produced its Twin Six model series of 12-cylinder cars from 1915 to 1923. The marque developed a following among wealthy purchasers both in the United States and abroad, competing with European marques like Rolls-Royce and Mercedes Benz, the 3,500, 000-square-foot Packard plant on East Grand Boulevard in Detroit was located on over 40 acres of land. Its skilled craftsmen practiced over 80 trades, the dilapidated plant still stands, despite repeated fires. The factory is in proximity to the current General Motors Detroit/Hamtramck Assembly. Architect Kahn also designed the Packard Proving Grounds at Utica, Michigan, from this beginning, through and beyond the 1930s, Packard-built vehicles were perceived as highly competitive among high-priced luxury American automobiles. The company was referred to as being one of the Three Ps of American motordom royalty, along with Pierce-Arrow of Buffalo, New York and Peerless of Cleveland. For most of its history, Packard was guided by its President and General Manager James Alvan Macauley, inducted into the Automobile Hall of Fame, Macauley made Packard the number one designer and producer of luxury automobiles in the United States. The marque was also highly competitive abroad, with markets in 61 countries, gross income for the company was $21,889,000 in 1928. Macauley was also responsible for the iconic Packard slogan, Ask the Man Who Owns One, in the 1920s, Packard exported more cars than any other in its price class, and in 1930, sold almost twice as many abroad as any other marque priced over $2000. In 1931,10 Packards were owned by Japans royal family, between 1924 and 1930, Packard was also the top-selling luxury brand. In addition to excellent luxury cars, Packard built trucks, a Packard truck carrying a three-ton load drove from New York City to San Francisco between 8 July and 24 August 1912. The same year, Packard had service depots in 104 cities, the Packard Motor Corporation Building at Philadelphia, also designed by Albert Kahn, was built in 1910-1911. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980, by 1931, Packards were also being produced in Canada
Packard
–
Packard First Series Twin-Six Touring 1-35, 1916
Packard
–
"Ask the man who owns one."
Packard
–
Russian imperial state limousine (a 1916 Packard Twin-6 touring car) equipped with
Kegresse track (1917)
Packard
–
Packard Fourth Series Six Model 426 Runabout (Roadster), 1927
6.
V12 engine
–
By using split crankpins or ignoring minor vibrations, any V angle is possible. The 180° configuration is referred to as a flat-twelve engine or a boxer although it is in reality a 180° V since the pistons can. This is not important in a car if all-out performance is the only goal. Since cost and fuel economy are usually important even in luxury and racing cars and it is often used in marine engines where great power is required, and the hull width is limited, but a longer vessel allows faster hull speed. In twin-propeller boats, two V12 engines can be enough to sit side-by-side, while three V12 engines are sometimes used in high-speed three-propeller configurations. Large, fast cruise ships can have six or more V12 engines, after World War II, the compact, more powerful, and vibration-free turboprop and turbojet engines replaced the V12 in aircraft applications. The first V-type engine was built in 1889 by Daimler, to a design by Wilhelm Maybach, by 1903 V8 engines were being produced for motor boat racing by the Société Antoinette to designs by Léon Levavasseur, building on experience gained with in-line four-cylinder engines. In 1904, the Putney Motor Works completed a new V12 marine racing engine—the first V12 engine produced for any purpose, a single camshaft mounted in the central V operated the valves directly. As in many engines, the camshaft could be slid longitudinally to engage a second set of cams. Starting is by pumping a charge into each cylinder and switching on the trembler coils, a sliding camshaft gave direct reversing. The camshaft has fluted webs and main bearings in graduated thickness from the largest at the flywheel end, displacing 1,120 cu in, the engine weighed 950 pounds and developed 150 bhp. Little is known of the achievements in the 40-foot hull for which it was intended. One V12 Dörwald marine engine was still running in a Hong Kong junk in the late-1960s. Two more V12s appeared in the 1909-1910 motor boat racing season, the Lamb Boat & Engine Company of Clinton, Iowa built a 1,559 cu in engine for the companys 32-foot Lamb IV. It weighed in at 2,114 pounds, no weight is known for the massive 3,464 cu in F-head engine built by the Orleans Motor Company. Output is quoted as nearly 400 bhp, by 1914, when Panhard built two 2,356 cu in engines with four-valve cylinder heads the V12 was well established in motor boat racing. In October 1913, Louis Coatalen, chief engineer of the Sunbeam Motor Car Company entered a V12 powered car in the Brooklands short, the engine displaced 9 L, with bore and stroke of 80 x 150 mm. An aluminum crankcase carried two blocks of three cylinders each along each side, with a 60 degree included angle, the cylinders were of iron, with integral cylinder heads with L-shaped combustion chambers
V12 engine
–
1926
BMW VI, water-cooled V12 aircraft engine
V12 engine
–
The 150 bhp V12 Dörwald marine motor, 1904
V12 engine
–
A 1917
Liberty L-12 (V12) aero-engine
V12 engine
–
Renault V12 aeroengine
7.
Knot (unit)
–
The knot is a unit of speed equal to one nautical mile per hour, approximately 1.151 mph. The ISO Standard symbol for the knot is kn, the same symbol is preferred by the IEEE, kt is also common. The knot is a unit that is accepted for use with the SI. Etymologically, the term derives from counting the number of knots in the line that unspooled from the reel of a log in a specific time. 1 international knot =1 nautical mile per hour,1.852 kilometres per hour,0.514 metres per second,1.151 miles per hour,20.254 inches per second,1852 m is the length of the internationally agreed nautical mile. The US adopted the definition in 1954, having previously used the US nautical mile. The UK adopted the international nautical mile definition in 1970, having used the UK Admiralty nautical mile. The speeds of vessels relative to the fluids in which they travel are measured in knots, for consistency, the speeds of navigational fluids are also measured in knots. Thus, speed over the ground and rate of progress towards a distant point are given in knots. Until the mid-19th century, vessel speed at sea was measured using a chip log, the chip log was cast over the stern of the moving vessel and the line allowed to pay out. Knots placed at a distance of 8 fathoms -47 feet 3 inches from each other, passed through a sailors fingers, the knot count would be reported and used in the sailing masters dead reckoning and navigation. This method gives a value for the knot of 20.25 in/s, the difference from the modern definition is less than 0. 02%. On a chart of the North Atlantic, the scale varies by a factor of two from Florida to Greenland, a single graphic scale, of the sort on many maps, would therefore be useless on such a chart. Recent British Admiralty charts have a latitude scale down the middle to make this even easier, speed is sometimes incorrectly expressed as knots per hour, which is in fact a measure of acceleration. Prior to 1969, airworthiness standards for aircraft in the United States Federal Aviation Regulations specified that distances were to be in statute miles. In 1969, these standards were amended to specify that distances were to be in nautical miles. At 11000 m, an airspeed of 300 kn may correspond to a true airspeed of 500 kn in standard conditions. Beaufort scale Hull speed, which deals with theoretical estimates of maximum speed of displacement hulls Knot count Knotted cord Metre per second Orders of magnitude Rope Kemp
Knot (unit)
–
Graphic scale from a Mercator projection world map, showing the change with latitude
8.
Identification friend or foe
–
Identification, friend or foe is an identification system designed for command and control. It enables military and national interrogation systems to identify aircraft, vehicles or forces as friendly and to determine their bearing, IFF may be used by both military and civilian aircraft. IFF was first developed during the Second World War, with the arrival of radar, despite the name, IFF can only positively identify friendly targets, not hostile ones. If an IFF interrogation receives no reply or a reply, the object cannot be identified as friendly. There are in addition many reasons that friendly aircraft may not properly reply to IFF, the broadest characterization is that of friend, enemy, neutral, or unknown. CID not only can reduce friendly fire incidents, but also contributes to overall tactical decision-making and this led to incidents such as the battle of Barking Creek, over Britain, and the air attack on the fortress of Koepenick, over Germany. Already before the deployment of their Chain Home radar system, the RAF had considered the problem of IFF, robert Watson-Watt had filed patents on such systems in 1935 and 1936 respectively. By 1938, researchers at Bawdsey Manor began experiments with reflectors consisting of a dipole antennas tuned to resonate at the frequency of the CH radars. When a pulse from the CH transmitter hit the aircraft, the antennas would resonate for a short time, the antenna was connected to a motorized switch that periodically shorted it out, preventing it from producing a signal. This caused the return on the CH set to periodically lengthen and shorten as the antenna was turned on and off. It was suspected this system would be of use in practice. This consisted of a set of tracking stations using HF/DF radio direction finders and their aircraft radios were modified to send out a 1 kHz tone for 14 seconds every minute, allowing the tracking stations ample time to measure the aircrafts bearing. Known as pip-squeak, the system worked but was labour-intensive and did not display its information directly to the radar operators, a system that worked directly with the radar was clearly desirable. The first active IFF transponder was the IFF Mark I and was put into operation in 1939, on receipt of a signal from the CH radar, an oscillator in the system began to ring with the same frequency. This signal was amplified and sent out an omnidirectional monopole antenna, the oscillator circuit rang only for a short time, causing the signal to quickly disappear again. Since the signal was received at the time as the original reflection of the CH signal. Mark I was technically complete as the war began, but a lack of sets meant it was not available in quantity, pip-squeak was kept in operation during this period, but as the Battle ended, IFF Mark I was quickly put into operation. Pip-squeak was still used for areas over land where CH did not cover, the primary problem with the Mark I was that it operated at a single set frequency
Identification friend or foe
–
An IFF test set used for testing
transponders on
aircraft
Identification friend or foe
–
Model XAE IFF kit, the first radio recognition IFF system in the U.S.
Identification friend or foe
–
Radar coverage of the
Chain Home system by 1939.
Identification friend or foe
–
Code generator from German WW II IFF-Radio
FuG 25a Erstling
9.
Mark 13 torpedo
–
The Mark 13 torpedo was the U. S. Navys most common aerial torpedo of World War II. It was the first American torpedo to be designed for launching from aircraft only. They were also used on PT boats, originating in a 1925 design study, the Mark 13 was subject to changing USN requirements through its early years with resulting on-and-off development. Early models—even when dropped low to the water at slow speeds—were prone to running on the surface, by late 1944, the design had been modified to allow reliable drops from as high as 2,400 ft, at speeds up to 410 knots. The final Mark 13 weighed 2,216 lb,600 lb of this was the high explosive Torpex, the Mark 13 was designed with unusually squat dimensions for its type, diameter was 22.5 inches and length 13 feet 5 inches. In the water, the Mark 13 could reach a speed of 33.5 knots for up to 6,300 yards, the Mark 13 ran 12.8 knots slower than the Mark 14 torpedo. 17,000 were produced during the war, the improvements and modifications of 1942 and 1943 still left the weapon unpopular, however, and production problems were as great as those stemming from incomplete development. Better performance at reduced aircraft speeds was small comfort since aviators could not be held down by paper restrictions that imposed serious and dangerous handicaps in combat, and even when they accepted the limitations, the water entry behavior of the torpedo produced frequent hooking and broaching. Time promised to complicate the problem still further, unsatisfactory for existing planes, the torpedo would certainly fail to utilize the potentialities of aircraft then under development. To attempt both might spread effort too thin to assure success in either venture, the first alternative involved predictable delay, since the Bureau estimated that 2 years would be required to move a weapon from conception to production. On the other hand,12 known defects seemed to preclude immediate success in converting the Mark 13 into an aircraft torpedo. Neither alternative was considered alone, so the Bureau decided to increase its resources, the National Defense Research Committee was appealed to for aid, and in late 1942 it accepted a double-barreled order from the Bureau. The Committee assigned the California Institute of Technology to undertake the first systematic study of the dynamics of aerial launched torpedoes, fragile or vulnerable components were improved, tested, refined, and tested again. Improved components were shipped to Newport Rhode Island for air drop testing -4,300 drops in all and this enabled the US Navy to develop a series of attack profiles that varied the combination of speed and altitude to produce the ideal 22-32 degree water entry angle. For the Grumman TBF Avenger torpedo bomber this meant drop altitudes as high as 800 feet, finally, there was the added benefit of increased range, as the torpedo traveled a significant distance in the air before entering the water. Combined with radar that delivered the exact range to the target, the proved to be remarkable, New planes outdated Torpedo Mark 13. Throughout 1943 torpedo performance remained poor, but the following year witnessed a revolution in the behavior of the Mark 13. Minor changes to the blades and a reduction in gyro damage helped
Mark 13 torpedo
–
A Mark 13B torpedo being loaded onto a
TBF Avenger aboard the
Wasp in 1944; the torpedo is fitted with wooden breakaway nose and tail protection which is shed upon hitting the water
Mark 13 torpedo
–
Mark 13 torpedo's general arrangement, as published in a service manual
Mark 13 torpedo
–
Douglas TBD Devastator making a practice drop with a Mark 13 torpedo, October 20, 1941
10.
Bofors 40 mm
–
The Bofors 40 mm gun, often referred to simply as the Bofors gun, is an anti-aircraft/multi-purpose autocannon designed in the 1930s by the Swedish arms manufacturer AB Bofors. It was one of the most popular medium-weight anti-aircraft systems during World War II, a small number of these weapons remain in service to this day, and saw action as late as the Gulf War. In the post-war era the original design was not suitable for action against jet powered aircraft, so Bofors introduced a new model of more power. In spite of sharing almost nothing with the design other than the calibre and the distinctive conical flash hider. Although not as popular as the original L/60 model, the L/70 remains in service to this day, especially as a weapon for light armored vehicles. Bofors itself has been part of BAE Systems AB since March 2005, the Swedish Navy purchased a number of 2 pounder Pom-Poms from Vickers as anti-aircraft guns in 1922. The Navy approached Bofors about the development of a capable replacement. Bofors signed a contract in late 1928, Bofors produced a gun that was a smaller version of a 57 mm semi-automatic gun developed as an anti-torpedo boat weapon in the late 19th century by Finspong. Their first test gun was a re-barreled Nordenfelt version of the Finspong gun, testing of this gun in 1929 demonstrated that a problem existed feeding the weapon in order to maintain a reasonable rate of fire. A mechanism that was enough to handle the stresses of moving the large round was too heavy to move quickly enough to fire rapidly. One attempt to solve this problem used zinc shell cases that burned up when fired and this proved to leave heavy zinc deposits in the barrel, and had to be abandoned. This seemed to be the solution they needed, improving firing rates to a level. During this period Krupp purchased a share of Bofors. Krupp engineers started the process of updating the Bofors factories to use equipment and metallurgy. The prototype was completed and fired in November 1931, and by the middle of the month it was firing strings of two and three rounds. Changes to the mechanism were all that remained, and by the end of the year it was operating at 130 rounds per minute. Continued development was needed to turn it into a suitable for production. Since acceptance trials had been passed the year before, this known as the 40 mm akan M/32
Bofors 40 mm
–
Bofors 40 mm/L60. This example includes the British-designed Stiffkey Sight, being operated by the aimer standing to the right of the loader (turned sideways). It operates the trapeze seen above the sights, moving the sights to adjust for lead.
Bofors 40 mm
–
Finnish Bofors 40 mm. This gun mounts the original reflector sights, and lacks the armor found on British examples.
Bofors 40 mm
–
Polish-made Bofors gun after the
Battle of the Bzura. This gun also mounts the reflector sight that equipped the original Bofors versions.
Bofors 40 mm
–
Q.F. 40 mm Mk. 1 displayed at
CFB Borden. This example mounts a Stiffkey Sight, and displays the additional armor protecting the gunners.
11.
Autocannon
–
An autocannon or automatic cannon is a large, fully automatic, rapid-fire projectile weapon that fires armour-piercing or explosive shells, as opposed to the bullet fired by a machine gun. Autocannons often have a larger calibre than a gun, but are usually smaller than a field gun or other artillery. When used on its own, the word autocannon indicates a single-barrel weapon, when multiple rotating barrels are involved, the word rotary is added, and such a weapon is referred to as a rotary autocannon. As such, ammunition is fed from a belt to reduce reloading or for a faster rate of fire. They can use a variety of ammunition, common shells include high-explosive dual-purpose types, any variety of armour-piercing types, both the US25 mm Bushmaster and the British 30 mm Rarden have relatively slow rates of fire so as not to use ammunition too quickly. The rate of fire of a modern autocannon ranges from 90 rounds per minute, systems with multiple barrels can have rates of fire of over 10,000 rounds per minute. The first modern autocannon was the British QF1 pounder, also known as the pom-pom, during the First World War, autocannons were mostly used in the trenches as an anti-aircraft gun. Attempts to use them in aircraft failed as the severely limited both speed and altitude, thus making successful interception impossible. The more effective QF2 pounder naval gun would be developed during the war to serve as an anti-aircraft, autocannons would serve in a much greater capacity during the Second World War. During the inter-war years, aircraft underwent an evolution and the monoplane, pioneered as far back as the end of 1915, almost replaced wood. The subsequent increase in speed and durability greatly reduced the window of opportunity for defence and this was only reversed with the introduction of computer-controlled systems. The German Panzer II light tank, which was one of the most numerous in German service during the invasion of Poland and the campaign in France, used a 20 mm autocannon as its main armament. Although ineffective against tank armour even during the years of the war. Larger examples, such as the 40 mm Vickers S, were mounted in ground attack aircraft to serve as an anti-tank weapon, Polish 20 mm 38 Fk auto cannon was expensive to produce, but an exception. Unlike the Oerlikon, it was effective against all the tanks fielded in 1939, largely because it was built as an upgrade to the Oerlikon, Hispano—Suiza and it, with great difficulty, proved capable of knocking out even early Panzer IIIs and IVs. Only 55 were produced by the time of the Polish Defensive War, in aircraft, several factors brought about the replacement of rifle-calibre machine guns by autocannons. Early autocannons were heavy and had a rate of fire. Along with the speed, the size of aircraft grew substantially, particularly in the 1930s, so that the weight was less of an issue while the rate of fire, and reliability were greatly improved
Autocannon
Autocannon
–
QF 1 pounder Mk II "pom-pom" of 1903
Autocannon
–
Not called an autocannon at the time, but an autocannon all the same:
Bofors 40 mm anti-aircraft gun in US service,
Algeria, 1943
Autocannon
–
The
RCWS-30 automatic cannon turret on a Czech
Pandur II CZ, 2011
12.
M4 cannon
–
The 37 mm Automatic Gun, M4, known as the T9 during development, was a 37 mm recoil-operated autocannon designed by Browning Arms Company. The weapon, which was built by Colt, entered service in 1942 and it was used in the Bell P-39 Airacobra and P-63 Kingcobra. Designed primarily as a weapon, the gun had a muzzle velocity of 2,000 ft/s. It was normally loaded with shells, but could also be loaded with the M80 armor-piercing shell. It was magazine-fed and could be fired manually or by remote control through a solenoid mounted on the rear of the gun. The recoiling mechanism of the gun included the tube and tube extension, recuperator piston and piston rod, lock frame assembly, driving spring assemblies, and the breechblock assembly. The nonrecoiling parts included the block group, the feed box and feeding mechanism, the recuperator cylinder and bushing, the back plate group. As the gun was designed, ammunition could be fed by a 5-round clip. The 30-round endless belt version was used exclusively in production, the M4 gun fed only from the left. The 30-round endless belt magazine was given the designation M6, it had an oval-shaped framework providing a track for the endless belt, initial loading and cocking of the gun were accomplished manually. A safety feature incorporated in the design of the trigger mechanism prevented firing the round until the assembly was in the battery position. The breech was locked and unlocked by recoil action which brings the operating level guide pins against cams to raise, the function of the breechblock was to assist in the final chambering of the round, close the breech, and actuate the trigger trip. It also provided a mounting for the firing pin, the lock frame was retracted by recoil action during automatic firing and is forced forward by the driving springs. The back plate assembly, by absorbing the energy of the lock frame, the driving spring assemblies held the lock frame against the carrier dog until the carrier was released by carrier catch which was pivoted by the incoming round. The springs then drove the frame assembly forward to operate the ejector, chamber the round. Extraction, ejection, feeding and loading were accomplished during counter-recoil, if the trigger was held in the firing position, the gun would continue to fire automatically until the magazine was empty. The 37 mm cannon was disliked by pilots for its drooping trajectory, the only standard aircraft armed with the M4 to see service were the Bell P-39 Airacobra and the derivative P-63 Kingcobra. It was used as a standard aircraft in North Africa
M4 cannon
–
37 mm Automatic Gun, M4
M4 cannon
–
In Finnish museum
M4 cannon
–
M4 at Wright Patterson
13.
Oerlikon 20 mm cannon
–
The Oerlikon 20 mm cannon is a series of autocannons, based on an original German 20 mm Becker design that appeared very early in World War I. It was widely produced by Oerlikon Contraves and others, with various models employed by both Allied and Axis forces during World War II, and many still in use today. During World War I, the German Reinhold Becker developed a 20 mm caliber cannon and this used a 20x70 RB cartridge and had a cyclic rate of fire of 300 rpm. It was used on a scale as an aircraft gun on Luftstreitkräfte warplanes. Because the Treaty of Versailles banned further production of weapons in Germany. SEMAG continued development of the weapon, and in 1924 had produced the SEMAG L, the Oerlikon firm, named after the Zürich suburb where it was based, then acquired all rights to the weapon, plus the manufacturing equipment and the employees of SEMAG. In 1927 the Oerlikon S was added to the product line. This fired a larger cartridge to achieve a muzzle velocity of 830 m/s, at the cost of increased weight. The purpose of development was to improve the performance of the gun as an anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapon. An improved version known as the 1S followed in 1930, three sizes of gun with their different ammunition and barrel length, but very similar mechanisms, continued to be developed in parallel. In 1930 Oerlikon reconsidered the application of its gun in aircraft and introduced the AF and AL, designed to be used in flexible mounts, the 15-round box magazine used by earlier versions of the gun was replaced by drum magazine holding 15 or 30 rounds. In 1935 it made an important step by introducing a series of guns designed to be mounted in or on the wings of fighter aircraft, designated with FF for Flügelfest meaning wing-mounted, these weapons were again available in the three sizes, with designations FF, FFL and FFS. The FF fired a larger cartridge than the AF, 20x72RB. The FF weighed 24 kg and achieved a velocity of 550 to 600 m/s with a rate of fire of 520 rpm. The FFL of 30 kg fired a projectile at a velocity of 675 m/s with a rate of fire of 500 rpm. And the FFS, which weighed 39 kg, delivered a high velocity of 830 m/s at a rate of fire of 470 rpm. Apart from changes to the design of the guns for wing-mounting and remote control, for the FF series drum sizes of 45,60,75 and 100 rounds were available, but most users chose the 60-round drum. The 1930s were a period of global re-armament, and a number of foreign firms took licenses for the Oerlikon family of aircraft cannon
Oerlikon 20 mm cannon
–
A modern Oerlikon cannon (Oerlikon 20mm/85 KAA) on a Royal Navy warship
Oerlikon 20 mm cannon
–
1942, a
Royal Navy Oerlikon gunner at his gun mount aboard the
Dido-class cruiser HMS Dido
Oerlikon 20 mm cannon
–
Diagrams showing basic design and colour-coding of British HE/Incendiary, Tracer and HE/Incendiary/Tracer shells for the 20 mm Oerlikon gun
Oerlikon 20 mm cannon
–
1945, a row of 20 mm Oerlikon guns aboard the
Essex-class aircraft carrier USS Hornet
14.
M2 Browning
–
The M2 Machine Gun or Browning.50 Caliber Machine Gun is a heavy machine gun designed toward the end of World War I by John Browning. Its design is similar to Brownings earlier M1919 Browning machine gun, the M2 uses the much larger and much more powerful.50 BMG cartridge, which was developed alongside and takes its name from the gun itself. It has been referred to as Ma Deuce, in reference to its M2 nomenclature, the design has had many specific designations, the official designation for the current infantry type is Browning Machine Gun, Cal.50, M2, HB, Flexible. It is effective against infantry, unarmored or lightly armored vehicles and boats, light fortifications, the M2 has been produced longer than any other machine gun. The Browning.50 caliber machine gun has been used extensively as a vehicle weapon and it was heavily used during World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Falklands War, the Iraq War and the War in Afghanistan in the 2000s and 2010s. It is the heavy machine gun of NATO countries, and has been used by many other countries as well. The M2 has been in use longer than any firearm in U. S. inventory except the.45 ACP M1911 pistol. The current M2HB is manufactured in the U. S. by General Dynamics, Ordnance for use by the U. S. government, and for allies via Foreign Military Sales, as well as foreign manufacturers such as FN Herstal. Machine guns were used in World War I, and weapons of larger than rifle caliber were appearing. Both the British and French had large caliber machine guns, the larger rounds were needed to defeat the armor that was being introduced to the battlefield. Armor was also appearing in the skies, during World War I, the Germans introduced a heavily armored airplane, the Junkers J. I. The armor made aircraft machine guns using conventional rifle ammunition ineffective, consequently, the American Expeditionary Forces commander General John J. Pershing asked for a larger caliber machine gun. Pershing asked the Army Ordnance Department to develop a gun with a caliber of at least 0.50 inches. U. S. Col. John Henry Parker, commanding a machine gun school in France, the Army Ordnance Department ordered eight experimental Colt machine guns rechambered for the French 11 mm cartridge. The French had developed a machine gun for an even larger caliber. The French 11 mm round was found to be unsuitable because its velocity was too low, Pershing wanted a bullet of at least 670 gr and a muzzle velocity of 2,700 ft/s. Development with the French round was dropped, around July 1917, John M. Browning started redesigning his.30 caliber machine gun for a larger caliber. Winchester worked on the cartridge, which was a version of the. 30-06
M2 Browning
–
M2HB heavy machine gun
M2 Browning
–
A U.S. Marine mans a.50 caliber machine gun as part of a security force during a training exercise with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit in November 2002.
M2 Browning
–
Twin M2HB.50 caliber machine gun during a Pre-aimed Calibration Fire (PACFIRE) exercise in May 2005
M2 Browning
–
An M2 fired from a
rigid-hulled inflatable boat.
15.
Machine gun
–
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm designed to fire bullets in quick succession from an ammunition belt or magazine, typically at a rate of 300 to 1800 rounds per minute. Note that not all fully automatic firearms are machine guns, submachine guns, rifles, assault rifles, shotguns, pistols or cannons may be capable of fully automatic fire, but are not designed for sustained fire. Many machine guns also use belt feeding and open bolt operation, unlike semi-automatic firearms, which require one trigger pull per round fired, a machine gun is designed to fire for as long as the trigger is held down. Nowadays the term is restricted to heavy weapons, able to provide continuous or frequent bursts of automatic fire for as long as ammunition lasts. Machine guns are used against personnel, aircraft and light vehicles, or to provide suppressive fire. Some machine guns have in practice sustained fire almost continuously for hours, because they become very hot, practically all machine guns fire from an open bolt, to permit air cooling from the breech between bursts. They also usually have either a barrel cooling system, slow-heating heavyweight barrel, although subdivided into light, medium, heavy or general-purpose, even the lightest machine guns tend to be substantially larger and heavier than standard infantry arms. Medium and heavy guns are either mounted on a tripod or on a vehicle, when carried on foot. Medium machine guns use full-sized rifle rounds and are designed to be used from fixed positions mounted on a tripod. 50in, the M249 automatic rifle is operated by an automatic rifleman, but its ammunition may be carried by other Soldiers within the squad or unit. The M249 machine gun is a crew-served weapon, Machine guns usually have simple iron sights, though the use of optics is becoming more common. Many heavy machine guns, such as the Browning M2.50 caliber machine gun, are enough to engage targets at great distances. During the Vietnam War, Carlos Hathcock set the record for a shot at 7382 ft with a.50 caliber heavy machine gun he had equipped with a telescopic sight. This led to the introduction of.50 caliber anti-materiel sniper rifles, selective fire rifles firing a full-power rifle cartridge from a closed bolt are called automatic rifles or battle rifles, while rifles that fire an intermediate cartridge are called assault rifles. Unlocking and removing the spent case from the chamber and ejecting it out of the weapon as bolt is moving rearward Loading the next round into the firing chamber. Usually the recoil spring tension pushes bolt back into battery and a cam strips the new round from a feeding device, cycle is repeated as long as the trigger is activated by operator. Releasing the trigger resets the trigger mechanism by engaging a sear so the weapon stops firing with bolt carrier fully at the rear, the operation is basically the same for all autoloading firearms, regardless of the means of activating these mechanisms. Most modern machine guns use gas-operated reloading, a recoil actuated machine gun uses the recoil to first unlock and then operate the action. Machine guns such as the M2 Browning and MG42, are of this type, a cam, lever or actuator demultiplicates the energy of the recoil to operate the bolt
Machine gun
–
A
.50 caliber M2 machine gun:
John Browning 's design has been one of the longest serving and most successful machine gun designs
Machine gun
–
Top:
IMI Negev (light machine gun). Bottom:
FN MAG (general purpose machine gun).
Machine gun
–
Czechoslovak 7.62 mm
Universal Machine gun Model 1959.
Machine gun
–
A
Mitsubishi Type 73 Light Truck Shīn with a
Sumitomo M2 heavy machine gun mounted at the rear with foliage used to camouflage the vehicle from sight. This was on public display at Camp Narashino.
16.
Depth charge
–
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful. Most depth charges use high explosive charges and a set to detonate the charge. Depth charges can be dropped by ships, patrol aircraft, Depth charges were developed during World War I, and were one of the first effective methods of attacking a submarine underwater. They were widely used in World War I and World War II and they remained part of the anti-submarine arsenals of many navies during the Cold War. Depth charges have now largely replaced by anti-submarine homing torpedoes. A depth charge fitted with a warhead is known as a nuclear depth bomb. These were designed to be dropped from a plane or deployed by an anti-submarine missile from a surface ship, or another submarine. All nuclear anti-submarine weapons were withdrawn from service by the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia and they were replaced by conventional weapons whose accuracy and range had improved greatly as ASW technology improved. The first attempt to fire charges against submerged targets was with aircraft bombs attached to lanyards which triggered them, a similar idea was a 16 lb guncotton charge in a lanyarded can. Two of these together became known as the depth charge Type A. Problems with the lanyards tangling and failing to function led to the development of a chemical pellet trigger as the Type B and these were effective at a distance of around 20 ft. A1913 Royal Navy Torpedo School report described a device intended for countermining, at Admiral John Jellicoes request, the standard Mark II mine was fitted with a hydrostatic pistol preset for 45 ft firing, to be launched from a stern platform. Weighing 1,150 lb, and effective at 100 ft, the design work was carried out by Herbert Taylor at the RN Torpedo and Mine School, HMS Vernon. The first effective depth charge, the Type D, became available in January 1916 and it was a barrel-like casing containing a high explosive. There were initially two sizes—Type D, with a 300 lb charge for fast ships, and Type D* with a 120 lb charge for ships too slow to leave the area before the more powerful charge detonated. A hydrostatic pistol actuated by water pressure at a pre-selected depth detonated the charge, initial depth settings were 40 or 80 ft. Because production could not keep up with demand, anti-submarine vessels initially carried two depth charges, to be released from a chute at the stern of the ship
Depth charge
–
Mark IX depth charge used by the
U.S. Navy late in World War II. Unlike the cylindrical, barrel-shaped depth charge used earlier, the Mark IX is streamlined and equipped with canted fins to impart rotation, allowing it to fall in a straight
trajectory with less chance of drifting off target. This type of depth charge contained 200 pounds (90 kg) of
Torpex.
Depth charge
–
USS Cassin Young (DD-793)]]
Depth charge
–
Loading a drum-type Mark VII depth charge onto the K-gun of the
Flower-class corvette HMS Dianthus
Depth charge
–
A depth charge explodes after being dropped from
HMS Ceylon
17.
M2 Mortar
–
The M2 Mortar is a 60 milimeter smoothbore, muzzle-loading, high-angle-of-fire weapon used by U. S. forces in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War for light infantry support. The U. S. M260 mm mortar was developed from the heavier 81 mm M1 Mortar to provide an alternative to company-level fire support. The M2 attempted to bridge the gap between the 81 mm mortar and the hand grenade, normally employed by the weapons platoon of a U. S. infantry company, the M2 is of the usual mortar pattern of the day. It consists of a metal tube on a rectangular baseplate, supported by a simple bipod with the elevation. The firing pin was fixed in the cap of the tube. During the late 1920s, the US Army began examining mortars to act as an infantry support weapon. The War Department eventually settled on a 60 mm design from Edgar Brandt, a French ordnance engineer, the model was standardized as the Mortar,60 mm M2. Testing took place in the late 1930s, and the first order for 1,500 M2 mortars was placed in January 1940, the weapon was used throughout World War II by the U. S. Army and U. S. Marine Corps. It saw service again in the Korean War, and by French forces in campaigns in Indochina. During the Vietnam War, the M2 was again used by the U. S. Army and Marines, ultimately, the M2 was replaced by the M224 in 1978. China also locally produced the M2 mortar, which was designated as the Type 31, each mortar shell had a screw-on cap in its base. Inside the hollow in the tail, it contained a 20-gauge M5A1 Ignition Cartridge and this was a paper shotgun shell filled with ballistite powder. The mortar had a pin in the bottom of the tube. When the shell was dropped down the tube, the firing pin struck the Ignition Cartridge in the shells tail, when the cartridge detonated, the explosive gases exited the base of the shell through two bleed holes. This propelled the shell out of the tube in an arc, unassisted, the mortar shell had a range of about 200 to 325 yards. To increase the range, bags of booster charges were fastened to the tailfins with clips. Up to four bags could be fitted to the shells tail, the M2 Mortar could fire several types of ammunition. M49A2 High explosive with Point Detonating fuze M52B1, An explosive shell used against infantry and it has a minimum range of 200 yards when fired without a boosting charge at a 70° angle and a maximum range of 2017 yards when fired with four boosting charges at a 45° angle
M2 Mortar
–
World War II era 60 mm U.S. M2 Mortar, G.I. helmet shown for scale
M2 Mortar
–
M4
Collimator sight, used for both indirect fire and direct lay missions.
M2 Mortar
–
60mm mortar shells for the U.S. M2 Mortar. Left-to-Right: M69 Training/Practice, M49A2
High Explosive, M302
White Phosphorus /Smoke, M83 Illuminating (parachute flare)
18.
Browning Automatic Rifle
–
The Browning Automatic Rifle is a family of United States automatic rifles and light machine guns used by the United States and numerous other countries during the 20th century. The BAR was designed to be carried by infantrymen during an assault or advance while supported by the sling over the shoulder or fired from the hip and this is a concept called walking fire — thought to be necessary for the individual soldier during trench warfare. The BAR never entirely lived up to the hopes of the War Department. The US Army, in practice, used the BAR as a machine gun. Although the weapon did see action in World War I, the BAR did not become standard issue in the U. S. Army until 1938. The BAR saw extensive service in both World War II and the Korean War and saw limited service in the Vietnam War. After much debate, it was agreed that a rapid rearmament with domestic weapons would be required. In 1917, prior to Americas entry to the war, John Browning personally brought to Washington, Browning had arranged for a public demonstration of both weapons at a location in southern Washington, D. C. known as Congress Heights. Additional tests were conducted for U. S. Army Ordnance officials at Springfield Armory in May 1917 and both weapons were unanimously recommended for immediate adoption. In order to avoid confusion with the belt-fed M1917 machine gun, on 16 July 1917,12,000 BARs were ordered from Colts Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company who had secured an exclusive concession to manufacture the BAR under Brownings patents. However Colt was already producing at peak capacity and requested a delay in production while they expanded their output with a new facility in Meriden. Due to the urgent need for the weapon, the request was denied, Winchester gave valuable assistance in refining the BARs final design, correcting the drawings in preparation for mass production. Among the changes made, the pattern was modified. The initial contract with Winchester called for 25,000 BARs and they were in full production by June 1918, delivering 4,000 guns—and starting in July—were turning out 9,000 units per month. Colt and Marlin-Rockwell Corp. also began shortly after Winchester got into full production. Marlin-Rockwell, burdened by a contract to make rifles for the Belgian government, acquired the Mayo Radiator Co. s factory, the first unit from this source was delivered on 11 June 1918 and the companys peak output reached 200 automatic rifles per day. Colt had produced only 9,000 BARs by the time of the due to the heavy demands of previous orders. These three companies produced a daily output of 706 rifles and a total of approximately 52,000 BARs were delivered by all sources by the end of the war
Browning Automatic Rifle
–
The M1918A2 BAR
Browning Automatic Rifle
–
John M. Browning, the inventor of the rifle, and Mr. Burton, the
Winchester expert on rifles, discussing the finer points of the BAR at the Winchester plant
Browning Automatic Rifle
–
A live fire demonstration of the BAR in front of military and government officials
Browning Automatic Rifle
–
2nd Lt.
Val Browning with the Browning Automatic Rifle in France
19.
Thompson submachine gun
–
The Thompson submachine gun is an American submachine gun, invented by John T. Thompson in 1918, that became infamous during the Prohibition era. It was a sight in the media of the time. The Thompson was favored by soldiers, criminals, police, and civilians alike for its large.45 ACP cartridge, accuracy and it has since gained popularity among civilian collectors for its historical significance. Although the original fully automatic Thompsons are no longer produced, numerous semi-automatic civilian versions are still being manufactured by Auto Ordnance and these retain a similar appearance to the original models, but they have various modifications in order to comply with US firearm laws. The Thompson Submachine Gun was developed by General John T. Thompson who originally envisioned an auto rifle to replace the bolt action service rifles then in use. Thompson found a backer, Thomas F. Ryan. It was primarily developed in Cleveland, Ohio, the principal designers were Theodore H. Eickhoff, Oscar V. Payne, and George E. Goll. By late 1917, the limits of the Blish Principle were discovered, rather than working as a locked breech and it was found that the only cartridge currently in U. S. service suitable for use with the lock was the.45 ACP round. Thompson then envisioned a one-man, hand-held machine gun in.45 ACP as a broom for use in the ongoing trench warfare of World War I. Payne designed the gun itself and its stick and drum magazines, the project was then titled Annihilator I and by 1918, most of the design issues had been resolved. However, the war ended two days before prototypes could be shipped to Europe, at an Auto-Ordnance board meeting in 1919 to discuss the marketing of the Annihilator, with the war now over, the weapon was officially renamed the Thompson Submachine Gun. While other weapons had developed shortly prior with similar objectives in mind. Thompson intended the weapon as an automatic trench-broom to sweep enemy troops from the trenches and this concept had already been developed by German troops using their own Bergmann MP18, the worlds first submachine gun, in concert with Sturmtruppen tactics. The Thompson first entered production as the M1921 and it was available to civilians, although poor sales resulted from the expense of the weapon, the Thompson gun, with one Type XX20 shot stick magazine, was priced at $200.00 in 1921. M1921 Thompsons were sold in quantities to the United States Postal Inspection Service. Federal sales were followed by sales to several departments in the US and minor international sales to various armies and constabulary forces, chiefly in Central. The Marines used their Thompsons in the Banana Wars and in China, the major complaints against the Thompson were its weight, inaccuracy at ranges over 50 yards, and the lack of penetrating power of the.45 ACP pistol cartridge. Some of the first batches of Thompsons were bought in America by agents of the Irish Republic, the first test of a Thompson in Ireland was performed by West Cork Brigade commander Tom Barry in presence of IRA leader Michael Collins
Thompson submachine gun
–
M1928A1 wartime production variant.
Thompson submachine gun
–
General John T. Thompson holding an M1921.
Thompson submachine gun
–
Thompson Model 1921 with Type C 100-round drum magazine.
Thompson submachine gun
–
Archetypal gangster image of a Thompson in a violin case.
20.
M1 carbine
–
The M1 carbine is a lightweight, easy to use.30 caliber semi-automatic carbine that was a standard firearm for the U. S. military during World War II, the Korean War and well into the Vietnam War. The M1 carbine was produced in variants and was widely used by not only the U. S. military. It has also been a civilian firearm. The M2 carbine is the version of the M1 carbine capable of firing in both semi-automatic and full-automatic. The M3 carbine was an M2 carbine with an infrared scope system. Despite its name and similar appearance, the M1 carbine is not a version of the M1 Garand rifle. It is a different firearm and it fires a different type of ammunition. It was simply called a carbine because it is smaller and lighter than the Garand. On July 1,1925, the U. S. Army began using the current naming system where the M is the designation for Model, therefore, the M1 rifle was the first rifle developed under this system. The M1 carbine was the first carbine developed under this system, the M2 carbine was the second carbine developed under the system, etc. Prior to World War II, U. S. Army Ordnance received reports that the full-size M1 rifle was too heavy and cumbersome for most support troops to carry. During prewar and early war field exercises, it was found that the M1 Garand impeded these soldiers mobility, as a rifle would frequently catch on brush, bang the helmet. Many soldiers found the rifle slid off the shoulder unless slung diagonally across the back, additionally, Germanys use of glider-borne and paratroop forces to launch surprise attacks behind the front lines, generated a request for a new compact infantry weapon to equip support troops. This request called for a compact, lightweight defensive weapon with greater range, accuracy and firepower than handguns, while weighing half as much as the Thompson submachine gun or the M1 rifle. The U. S. Army decided that a carbine would adequately fulfill all of these requirements, Paratroopers were also added to the list of intended users and a folding-stock version would also be developed. In 1938, the Chief of Infantry requested that the Ordnance Department develop a rifle or carbine. This led to a competition in 1941 by major U. S. firearm companies, Winchester at first did not submit a carbine design, as it was occupied in developing the. 30-06 Winchester M2 Military Rifle. The rifle originated as a design by Jonathan Ed Browning, brother of the famous firearm designer John Browning. 30-06 M2 rifle, Williams incorporated his short-stroke piston in the existing design
M1 carbine
–
M1 Carbine
M1 carbine
–
The
M1 Rifle and M1 Carbine share only a buttplate screw and use different sized.30 caliber ammunition
M1 carbine
–
.30 Carbine cartridge
M1 carbine
–
81 mm
mortar crew in action at
Camp Carson,
Colorado, April 24, 1943. The soldier on the left has a slung M1 Carbine.
21.
National Register of Historic Places
–
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States federal governments official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation. The passage of the National Historic Preservation Act in 1966 established the National Register, of the more than one million properties on the National Register,80,000 are listed individually. The remainder are contributing resources within historic districts, each year approximately 30,000 properties are added to the National Register as part of districts or by individual listings. For most of its history the National Register has been administered by the National Park Service and its goals are to help property owners and interest groups, such as the National Trust for Historic Preservation, coordinate, identify, and protect historic sites in the United States. While National Register listings are mostly symbolic, their recognition of significance provides some financial incentive to owners of listed properties, protection of the property is not guaranteed. During the nomination process, the property is evaluated in terms of the four criteria for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places, the application of those criteria has been the subject of criticism by academics of history and preservation, as well as the public and politicians. Occasionally, historic sites outside the proper, but associated with the United States are also listed. Properties can be nominated in a variety of forms, including individual properties, historic districts, the Register categorizes general listings into one of five types of properties, district, site, structure, building, or object. National Register Historic Districts are defined geographical areas consisting of contributing and non-contributing properties, some properties are added automatically to the National Register when they become administered by the National Park Service. These include National Historic Landmarks, National Historic Sites, National Historical Parks, National Military Parks/Battlefields, National Memorials, on October 15,1966, the Historic Preservation Act created the National Register of Historic Places and the corresponding State Historic Preservation Offices. Initially, the National Register consisted of the National Historic Landmarks designated before the Registers creation, approval of the act, which was amended in 1980 and 1992, represented the first time the United States had a broad-based historic preservation policy. To administer the newly created National Register of Historic Places, the National Park Service of the U. S. Department of the Interior, hartzog, Jr. established an administrative division named the Office of Archeology and Historic Preservation. Hartzog charged OAHP with creating the National Register program mandated by the 1966 law, ernest Connally was the Offices first director. Within OAHP new divisions were created to deal with the National Register, the first official Keeper of the Register was William J. Murtagh, an architectural historian. During the Registers earliest years in the late 1960s and early 1970s, organization was lax and SHPOs were small, understaffed, and underfunded. A few years later in 1979, the NPS history programs affiliated with both the U. S. National Parks system and the National Register were categorized formally into two Assistant Directorates. Established were the Assistant Directorate for Archeology and Historic Preservation and the Assistant Directorate for Park Historic Preservation, from 1978 until 1981, the main agency for the National Register was the Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service of the United States Department of the Interior. In February 1983, the two assistant directorates were merged to promote efficiency and recognize the interdependency of their programs, jerry L. Rogers was selected to direct this newly merged associate directorate
National Register of Historic Places
–
Logo used for the NRHP.
National Register of Historic Places
–
Old Slater Mill, a historic district in
Pawtucket, Rhode Island, was the first property listed in the National Register on November 13, 1966.
National Register of Historic Places
–
The
Loren Andrus Octagon House in
Washington, Michigan has been on the NRHP since September 3, 1971.
National Register of Historic Places
–
Built in 1800 by
Samuel McIntire in
Salem, the
Stephen Phillips House is operated as a
historic house museum by
Historic New England and open for public tours.
22.
Portland, Oregon
–
Portland is a port and the largest city in the U. S. state of Oregon and the seat of Multnomah County. It is in the Willamette Valley region of the Pacific Northwest, at the confluence of the Willamette, the city covers 145 square miles and had an estimated population of 632,309 in 2015, making it the 26th most populous city in the United States. Approximately 2,389,228 people live in the Portland metropolitan statistical area and its Combined Statistical Area ranks 17th with a population of 3,022,178. Roughly 60% of Oregons population resides within the Portland metropolitan area, named after Portland, Maine, the Oregon settlement began to be populated in the 1830s near the end of the Oregon Trail. Its water access provided convenient transportation of goods, and the industry was a major force in the citys early economy. At the turn of the 20th century, the city had a reputation as one of the most dangerous cities in the world. After the citys economy experienced a boom during World War II. Beginning in the 1960s, Portland became noted for its liberal political values, and the city has earned a reputation as a bastion of counterculture. According to a 2009 Pew Research Center study, Portland ranks as the eighth most popular American city, the city operates with a commission-based government guided by a mayor and four commissioners as well as Metro, the only directly elected metropolitan planning organization in the United States. The city government is notable for its planning and investment in public transportation. Its climate is marked by warm, dry summers and cool and this climate is ideal for growing roses, and Portland has been called the City of Roses for over a century. Keep Portland Weird is a slogan for the city. During the prehistoric period, the land that would become Portland was flooded after the collapse of glacial dams from Lake Missoula and these massive floods occurred during the last ice age and filled the Willamette Valley with 300 to 400 feet of water. The Chinook people occupying the land which would become Portland were first documented by Meriwether Lewis, before its European settlement, the Portland Basin of the lower Columbia River and Willamette River valleys had been one of the most densely populated regions on the Pacific Coast. Large numbers of settlers began arriving in the Willamette Valley in the 1830s via the Oregon Trail. In the early 1840s a new settlement began emerging ten miles from the mouth of the Willamette River and this community was initially referred to as Stumptown and The Clearing because of the many trees cut down to allow for its growth. In 1843 William Overton saw potential in the new settlement but lacked the funds to file a land claim. For 25 cents Overton agreed to half of the 640-acre site with Asa Lovejoy of Boston
Portland, Oregon
–
Clockwise: View of Portland with
Mount St. Helens in background; downtown cityscape;
Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall;
Pioneer Courthouse;
Mt. Tabor Reservoir; Skyline Memorial Gardens
Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
–
Pioneer Courthouse, 1886
Portland, Oregon
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Portland waterfront in 1898
23.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
Geographic coordinate system
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Longitude lines are perpendicular and latitude lines are parallel to the equator.
24.
United States Navy
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The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U. S. Navy is the largest, most capable navy in the world, the U. S. Navy has the worlds largest aircraft carrier fleet, with ten in service, two in the reserve fleet, and three new carriers under construction. The service has 323,792 personnel on duty and 108,515 in the Navy Reserve. It has 274 deployable combat vessels and more than 3,700 operational aircraft as of October 2016, the U. S. Navy traces its origins to the Continental Navy, which was established during the American Revolutionary War and was effectively disbanded as a separate entity shortly thereafter. It played a role in the American Civil War by blockading the Confederacy. It played the role in the World War II defeat of Imperial Japan. The 21st century U. S. Navy maintains a global presence, deploying in strength in such areas as the Western Pacific, the Mediterranean. The Navy is administratively managed by the Department of the Navy, the Department of the Navy is itself a division of the Department of Defense, which is headed by the Secretary of Defense. The Chief of Naval Operations is an admiral and the senior naval officer of the Department of the Navy. The CNO may not be the highest ranking officer in the armed forces if the Chairman or the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The mission of the Navy is to maintain, train and equip combat-ready Naval forces capable of winning wars, deterring aggression, the United States Navy is a seaborne branch of the military of the United States. The Navys three primary areas of responsibility, The preparation of naval forces necessary for the prosecution of war. The development of aircraft, weapons, tactics, technique, organization, U. S. Navy training manuals state that the mission of the U. S. Armed Forces is to prepare and conduct prompt and sustained combat operations in support of the national interest, as part of that establishment, the U. S. Navys functions comprise sea control, power projection and nuclear deterrence, in addition to sealift duties. It follows then as certain as that night succeeds the day, that without a decisive naval force we can do nothing definitive, the Navy was rooted in the colonial seafaring tradition, which produced a large community of sailors, captains, and shipbuilders. In the early stages of the American Revolutionary War, Massachusetts had its own Massachusetts Naval Militia, the establishment of a national navy was an issue of debate among the members of the Second Continental Congress. Supporters argued that a navy would protect shipping, defend the coast, detractors countered that challenging the British Royal Navy, then the worlds preeminent naval power, was a foolish undertaking. Commander in Chief George Washington resolved the debate when he commissioned the ocean-going schooner USS Hannah to interdict British merchant ships, and reported the captures to the Congress
United States Navy
United States Navy
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United States Navy portal
United States Navy
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USS Constellation vs L'Insurgente during the
Quasi-War
United States Navy
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USS Constitution vs HMS Guerriere during the
War of 1812
25.
USSR
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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
USSR
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Vladimir Lenin addressing a crowd with Trotsky, 1920
USSR
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Flag
USSR
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Stalin and
Nikolai Yezhov, head of the
NKVD. After Yezhov was executed, he was
edited out of the image.
USSR
26.
Lend-Lease
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This included warships and warplanes, along with other weaponry. It was signed into law on March 11,1941 and ended in September 1945, in general the aid was free, although some hardware were returned after the war. In return, the U. S. was given leases on army, Canada operated a similar smaller program under a different name. A total of $50.1 billion worth of supplies was shipped, or 17% of the total war expenditures of the U. S. In all, $31.4 billion went to Britain, $11.3 billion to the Soviet Union, $3.2 billion to France, $1.6 billion to China, and the remaining $2.6 billion to the other Allies. Reverse Lend-Lease policies comprised services such as rent on air bases that went to the U. S. and totaled $7.8 billion, of this, $6.8 billion came from the British and the Commonwealth. The terms of the agreement provided that the materiel was to be used until returned or destroyed, in practice very little equipment was returned. Supplies that arrived after the date were sold to Britain at a large discount for £1.075 billion. Canada operated a program called Mutual Aid that sent a loan of $1 billion and $3.4 billion in supplies and services to Britain. This program effectively ended the United States pretense of neutrality and was a step away from non-interventionist policy. Following the Fall of France in June 1940, the British Commonwealth and Empire were the forces engaged in war against Germany and Italy. During this same period, the U. S. government began to mobilize for war, instituting the first-ever peacetime draft. In the meantime, as the British began running short of money, arms, as one Roosevelt biographer has characterized it, If there was no practical alternative, there was certainly no moral one either. Britain and the Commonwealth were carrying the battle for all civilization, as the President himself put it, There can be no reasoning with incendiary bombs. In September 1940, during the Battle of Britain the British government sent the Tizard Mission to the United States, in December 1940, President Roosevelt proclaimed the U. S. would be the Arsenal of Democracy and proposed selling munitions to Britain and Canada. Isolationists were strongly opposed, warning it would lead to American involvement in what was seen by most Americans as an essentially European conflict. In time, opinion shifted as increasing numbers of Americans began to see the advantage of funding the British war against Germany, while staying out of the hostilities themselves. After a decade of neutrality, Roosevelt knew that the change to Allied support must be gradual, originally, the American position was to help the British but not enter the war
Lend-Lease
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President Roosevelt signs the Lend-Lease bill to give aid to Britain and China (1941)
Lend-Lease
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Food aid from America: Happy British pupils wave for the camera as they receive plates of bacon and eggs.
Lend-Lease
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Warsaw 1945:
Willys jeep used by
Polish First Army as part of US Lend-Lease program.
Lend-Lease
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The Lend-Lease Memorial in
Fairbanks,
Alaska commemorates the shipment of U.S. aircraft to the Soviet Union along the
Northwest Staging Route.
27.
Port Hueneme, California
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Port Hueneme is a small beach city in Ventura County, California surrounded by the city of Oxnard and the Santa Barbara Channel. The name derives from the Chumash Native language spelling of the Chumash wene me, juan Rodríguez Cabrillo explored this area and the adjacent Channel Islands in October 1542. The towns name was changed to Port Hueneme in 1939 and was incorporated March 24,1948. Thomas Bard learned of the canyon at Point Hueneme and took advantage of the canyon depth to construct the Hueneme Wharf in 1871 here. The existing street grid of the town was laid out in 1888. Hueneme was the second largest grain shipping port on the Pacific coast between 1871 and 1895, both the Port of Hueneme and Naval Base Ventura County lie within city limits. Port Hueneme has a sand beach, known for its surfing. The beach has a fishing pier and is about a mile long between Ormond Beach downcoast and Point Hueneme Light at the harbor entrance shared by the naval base. There are also picnic tables and barbecue grills, Port Hueneme was also used as a filming location for the movie Back To The Future, Part 3, as the rail road crossing scene depicting Marty arriving home was filmed on 270 S. Ventura Road. The 2010 United States Census reported that Port Hueneme had a population of 21,723, the population density was 4,651.2 people per square mile. The racial makeup of Port Hueneme was 12,357 White,1,111 African American,295 Native American,1,299 Asian,119 Pacific Islander,5,224 from other races, hispanic or Latino of any race were 11,360 persons. The Census reported that 20,854 people lived in households,869 lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, there were 458 unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 53 same-sex married couples or partnerships. 1,760 households were made up of individuals and 775 had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older, the average household size was 2.95. There were 4,828 families, the family size was 3.52. The median age was 31.3 years, for every 100 females there were 103.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.1 males. There were 8,131 housing units at a density of 1,741.0 per square mile, of which 3,422 were owner-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2. 7%, the vacancy rate was 6. 0%
Port Hueneme, California
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Point Hueneme Light
Port Hueneme, California
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Beach and pier, Port Hueneme
Port Hueneme, California
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Hueneme Beach Festival logo
Port Hueneme, California
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Counties
28.
Naval Air Station Point Mugu
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Naval Air Station Point Mugu is a former United States Navy air station that operated from 1942 to 2000 in California. In 2000, it merged with nearby Naval Construction Battalion Center Port Hueneme to form Naval Base Ventura County, at Point Mugu, NBVC operates two runways and encompasses a 36,000 square mile sea test range, anchored by San Nicolas Island. The range allows the military to test and track weapons systems in restricted air-, the range can be expanded through interagency coordination between the U. S. Navy and the Federal Aviation Administration. Telemetry data can be tracked and recorded using technology housed at San Nicolas Island, Point Mugu and Laguna Peak, pt. Mugu has dominated the area since the 1940s, and is one of the few places in the area that is not agricultural. The base has been home to many ordnance testing programs, in 1963 the U. S. Navy Marine Mammal Program was established on a sand spit between Mugu Lagoon and the ocean. The facility was relocated in 1967 to Point Loma in San Diego, Point Mugu was the airfield used by former President Ronald Reagan during his presidency on visits to his Santa Barbara ranch. The airfield was used during the funeral in 2004, as the place where the former Presidents body was flown to Washington. The body was flown to Point Mugu aboard presidential aircraft SAM28000 two days later, until the late 1990s, the base hosted Antarctic Development Squadron SIX, the squadron of LC-130s equipped to land on ice in Antarctica, to supply the science stations there. Now, the New York Air National Guards 109th Airlift Wing has assumed that responsibility, on 16 August 1956, a F6F-5K drone was launched from NAS Point Mugu and quickly went out of control heading toward Los Angeles. US Air Force interceptors failed to shoot it down leading to The Battle of Palmdale incident, on 4 August 1972, Douglas DC-3 N31538 of Mercer Airlines suffered an in-flight engine fire shortly after take-off on a cargo flight to Hollywood-Burbank Airport. The aircraft departed the runway in the landing and was destroyed by the subsequent fire. All three people on board survived, on 20 April 2002, McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II BuNo 155749 of US Navy crashed at the Point Mugu airshow. The cause of the accident was cited as pilot error, on 18 May 2011, a Boeing 707 belonging to Omega Aerial Refueling Services and chartered to the U. S. Navy skidded off the runway and burst into flames shortly after landing. A reported amount of approximately 150,000 pounds of jet fuel was on board when the plane crashed, all three personnel aboard the aircraft survived with non life-threatening injuries. On 7th Nov 2015, a rocket launched from Point Mugu caused a momentary Frenzy of confusion amongst south Californian locals, another other source says the Trident II test missile was launched from a submarine NAS Point Mugu was the setting for the 1950 film, The Flying Missile. The film tells the story of the first firing of a missile from the deck of a submarine. Naval Base Ventura County, official site Point Mugu Air Station, GlobalSecurity. org FAA Airport Master Record for NTD Resources for this U. S
Naval Air Station Point Mugu
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Army
Naval Air Station Point Mugu
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Naval Air Station Point Mugu Naval Base Ventura County (NBVC)
29.
Santa Rosa Island, California
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Santa Rosa Island is the second largest of the Channel Islands of California at 53,195 acres. Santa Rosa is located about 26 miles off the coast of Santa Barbara, the terrain consists of rolling hills, deep canyons, and a coastal lagoon. Highest peak is Vail Peak, at 1,589 feet, the Chumash, a Native American people lived on the Channel Islands at the time of European contact. They called the driftwood wima that washed up on the beaches from the channel currents. The logs were used to build tomols, recreational activities on Santa Rosa Island include kayaking, camping and hiking. A private boat charter company offers a number of trips to the year round. A year-round charter flight service is available from Camarillo Airport for hikers and campers to Santa Rosa Island, defined by the United States Census Bureau as Block 3009, Block Group 3, Census Tract 29.10 of Santa Barbara County, California. During the last ice age, the four northern Channel Islands, including Santa Rosa Island, were conjoined into Santa Rosae, in 1960, archaeologists discovered the remains of 13, 000-year-old Arlington Springs Man, among the oldest human remains in the Americas, on the island. The remains of mammoths, which appear to have gone extinct about 13,000 years ago, have also been excavated there. The ancestors of the Chumash Indians lived on Santa Rosa for many thousands of years, establishing numerous village sites along the coast, recent research has documented the presence of maritime Paleocoastal peoples on the island at least 12,000 years ago. Governor Manuel Micheltorena made a Mexican land grant of the island of Santa Rosa to brothers José Antonio Carrillo and they gave the island to Carlos daughters, Manuela Carrillo de Jones and Francisca Carrillo de Thompson. Their husbands - John Coffin Jones and Alpheus Basil Thompson - entered into a partnership to manage the island, a claim was filed with the Public Land Commission in 1852, but the grant was not patented to Manuela Carrillo de Jones and Francisca Carrillo de Thompson until 1871. The acrimonious Thompson-Jones partnership ended in 1859, and by 1862 T. Wallace More owned the whole island, the island was used as a sheep ranch during the late 19th century by the More family. The More family sold the island to Walter L. Vail and J. W. Vickers in 1902, the partnership used the island for cattle ranching and a private hunting reserve. The United States Air Force maintained a base on the island during the Cold War. In the late 1970s Mobil Oil Corporation was granted exploration rights on the island, both explosive and vibroseis exploration methods were used. Extensive surveys and geological maps were made at that time, Vail & Vickers sold the island in 1986 for the appraised value of nearly $30 million, which worked out to around $550 per acre. The sale agreement allowed continuation of the ranching and hunting operation for 3 months, subsequently, the National Park Service issued a series of five-year renewable special use permits
Santa Rosa Island, California
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Orcas near Santa Rosa Island
Santa Rosa Island, California
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Map of Channel Islands
Santa Rosa Island, California
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Munchkin
Dudleya, an
endemic plant species.
Santa Rosa Island, California
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Torrey Pine Grove on Santa Rosa island. View towards
Santa Cruz Island.
30.
Los Angeles
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Los Angeles, officially the City of Los Angeles and often known by its initials L. A. is the cultural, financial, and commercial center of Southern California. With a census-estimated 2015 population of 3,971,883, it is the second-most populous city in the United States, Los Angeles is also the seat of Los Angeles County, the most populated county in the United States. The citys inhabitants are referred to as Angelenos, historically home to the Chumash and Tongva, Los Angeles was claimed by Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo for Spain in 1542 along with the rest of what would become Alta California. The city was founded on September 4,1781, by Spanish governor Felipe de Neve. It became a part of Mexico in 1821 following the Mexican War of Independence, in 1848, at the end of the Mexican–American War, Los Angeles and the rest of California were purchased as part of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, thereby becoming part of the United States. Los Angeles was incorporated as a municipality on April 4,1850, the discovery of oil in the 1890s brought rapid growth to the city. The completion of the Los Angeles Aqueduct in 1913, delivering water from Eastern California, nicknamed the City of Angels, Los Angeles is known for its Mediterranean climate, ethnic diversity, and sprawling metropolis. Los Angeles also has an economy in culture, media, fashion, science, sports, technology, education, medicine. A global city, it has been ranked 6th in the Global Cities Index, the city is home to renowned institutions covering a broad range of professional and cultural fields, and is one of the most substantial economic engines within the United States. The Los Angeles combined statistical area has a gross metropolitan product of $831 billion, making it the third-largest in the world, after the Greater Tokyo and New York metropolitan areas. The city has hosted the Summer Olympic Games in 1932 and 1984 and is bidding to host the 2024 Summer Olympics and thus become the second city after London to have hosted the Games three times. The Los Angeles area also hosted the 1994 FIFA mens World Cup final match as well as the 1999 FIFA womens World Cup final match, the mens event was watched on television by over 700 million people worldwide. The Los Angeles coastal area was first settled by the Tongva, a Gabrielino settlement in the area was called iyáangẚ, meaning poison oak place. Gaspar de Portolà and Franciscan missionary Juan Crespí, reached the present site of Los Angeles on August 2,1769, in 1771, Franciscan friar Junípero Serra directed the building of the Mission San Gabriel Arcángel, the first mission in the area. The Queen of the Angels is an honorific of the Virgin Mary, two-thirds of the settlers were mestizo or mulatto with a mixture of African, indigenous and European ancestry. The settlement remained a small town for decades, but by 1820. Today, the pueblo is commemorated in the district of Los Angeles Pueblo Plaza and Olvera Street. New Spain achieved its independence from the Spanish Empire in 1821, during Mexican rule, Governor Pío Pico made Los Angeles Alta Californias regional capital
Los Angeles
Los Angeles
Los Angeles
Los Angeles
31.
M2 mortar
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The M2 Mortar is a 60 milimeter smoothbore, muzzle-loading, high-angle-of-fire weapon used by U. S. forces in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War for light infantry support. The U. S. M260 mm mortar was developed from the heavier 81 mm M1 Mortar to provide an alternative to company-level fire support. The M2 attempted to bridge the gap between the 81 mm mortar and the hand grenade, normally employed by the weapons platoon of a U. S. infantry company, the M2 is of the usual mortar pattern of the day. It consists of a metal tube on a rectangular baseplate, supported by a simple bipod with the elevation. The firing pin was fixed in the cap of the tube. During the late 1920s, the US Army began examining mortars to act as an infantry support weapon. The War Department eventually settled on a 60 mm design from Edgar Brandt, a French ordnance engineer, the model was standardized as the Mortar,60 mm M2. Testing took place in the late 1930s, and the first order for 1,500 M2 mortars was placed in January 1940, the weapon was used throughout World War II by the U. S. Army and U. S. Marine Corps. It saw service again in the Korean War, and by French forces in campaigns in Indochina. During the Vietnam War, the M2 was again used by the U. S. Army and Marines, ultimately, the M2 was replaced by the M224 in 1978. China also locally produced the M2 mortar, which was designated as the Type 31, each mortar shell had a screw-on cap in its base. Inside the hollow in the tail, it contained a 20-gauge M5A1 Ignition Cartridge and this was a paper shotgun shell filled with ballistite powder. The mortar had a pin in the bottom of the tube. When the shell was dropped down the tube, the firing pin struck the Ignition Cartridge in the shells tail, when the cartridge detonated, the explosive gases exited the base of the shell through two bleed holes. This propelled the shell out of the tube in an arc, unassisted, the mortar shell had a range of about 200 to 325 yards. To increase the range, bags of booster charges were fastened to the tailfins with clips. Up to four bags could be fitted to the shells tail, the M2 Mortar could fire several types of ammunition. M49A2 High explosive with Point Detonating fuze M52B1, An explosive shell used against infantry and it has a minimum range of 200 yards when fired without a boosting charge at a 70° angle and a maximum range of 2017 yards when fired with four boosting charges at a 45° angle
M2 mortar
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World War II era 60 mm U.S. M2 Mortar, G.I. helmet shown for scale
M2 mortar
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M4
Collimator sight, used for both indirect fire and direct lay missions.
M2 mortar
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60mm mortar shells for the U.S. M2 Mortar. Left-to-Right: M69 Training/Practice, M49A2
High Explosive, M302
White Phosphorus /Smoke, M83 Illuminating (parachute flare)
United States
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