Plastic explosive is a soft and hand-moldable solid form of explosive material. Within the field of explosives engineering, plastic explosives are known as putty explosives. Plastic explosives are suited for explosive demolition. Common plastic explosives include Semtex and C-4; the first discovered. Plastic explosives are suited for explosive demolition of obstacles and fortifications by engineers, combat engineers and criminals as they can be formed into the best shapes for cutting structural members and have a high enough velocity of detonation and density for metal cutting work. An early use of plastic explosives was in the warhead of the Petard demolition mortar of the British Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineers; the original use of Nobel 808 supplied by the SOE was for sabotage of German installations and railways in Occupied Europe. They are not used for ordinary blasting as they tend to be more expensive than other materials that perform just as well in this application. A common commercial use of plastic explosives is for shock hardening high manganese percentage steel, a material used for train rail components and earth digging implements.
Reactive armor in tanks uses plastic explosives sandwiched between two plates of steel. Incoming high explosive anti-tank rounds pierce the outer steel plate detonate the plastic explosive; this absorbs shields the tank. The first plastic explosive was gelignite, invented by Alfred Nobel in 1875. Prior to World War I, the British explosives chemist Oswald Silberrad obtained British and U. S. patents for a series of plastic explosives called "Nitrols", composed of nitrated aromatics and oxidising inorganic salts. The language of the patents indicate that at this time, Silberrad saw no need to explain to "those versed in the art" either what he meant by plasticity nor why it may be advantageous, as he only explains why his plastic explosive is superior to others of that type. One of the simplest plastic explosives was Nobel's Explosive No. 808 known as Nobel 808, developed by the British company Nobel Chemicals Ltd well before World War II. It had the appearance of green plasticine with a distinctive smell of almonds.
During World War II it was extensively used by the British Special Operations Executive at Aston House for sabotage missions. It is the explosive used in HESH anti-tank shells and was an essential factor in the devising of the Gammon grenade. Captured SOE-supplied Nobel 808 was the explosive used in the failed 20 July plot assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler in 1944. During and after World War II a number of new RDX-based explosives were developed, including Compositions C, C2, C3. Together with RDX these incorporate various plasticisers to decrease sensitivity and make the composition plastic; the origin of the obsolete term "plastique" dates back to the Nobel 808 explosive introduced to the U. S. by the British in 1940. The samples of explosive brought to the U. S. by the Tizard Mission had been packaged by the SOE ready for dropping via parachute container to the French Resistance and were therefore labelled in French, as Explosif Plastique. It is still referred to by this name in France and by some Americans.
The British used a plastic explosive during World War II as a demolition charge. The specific explosive, Composition C, was 11.7 % non-oily, non-explosive plasticizer. The material was plastic between 0 and 40 degrees C, but was brittle at colder temperatures and gummy at higher temperatures. Composition C was superseded by Composition C2, which used a mixture of 20 % plasticizer. Composition C2 had a wider temperature range at which it remained plastic, from −30 to 52 degrees C. Composition C2 was replaced by Composition C3, a mixture of 77% RDX and 23% explosive plasticizer. C3 was effective but proved to be too brittle in cold weather and was replaced with C4. There are three classes of C4, with varying amounts of polyisobutylene. Austria: KNAUERIT SPEZIAL Czech Republic: Semtex-1H, Semtex 1A, Semtex 10, Pl Hx 30 Finland: PENO France: Hexomax, PLASTRITE Germany: Sprengkörper DM12, P8301, Seismoplast 1 Netherlands: Knaverit S1 Greece: C3, C4 Israel: Semtex Italy: T-4 Plastico Norway: NM91, C4, DPX10 Poland: PMW, NITROLIT Russia: PVV-5A Plastic Explosive Slovakia: CHEMEX, TVAREX 4A, Pl Hx 30 Sweden: Sprängdeg m/46, NSP711, NSH711 Switzerland: PLASTEX produced by SSE USA: C-4 United Kingdom: PE4, PE7, PE8, DEMEX Yugoslavia/Serbia: PP–01 Convention on the Marking of Plastic Explosives
Chao Hick Tin is a former appellate judge in the Supreme Court of Singapore and former Attorney-General of Singapore. Chao was studied at Catholic High School, he received his legal education at University College London, where he obtained his Bachelor and Masters of Law degrees in 1965 and 1966 respectively. Chao was called to the Bar as a barrister of the Middle Temple in 1965. In 1967, he joined the Attorney-General's Chambers, Singapore where he rose to become a Senior State Counsel in 1979. Chao was appointed the Head of the Civil Division in the Attorney-General's Chambers in 1982 and held that post until his elevation to the Supreme Court bench on 1 October 1987 as Judicial Commissioner, his elevation to the position of a Judge of the Supreme Court followed on 15 November 1990. On 2 August 1999, he was appointed as a Judge of Appeal of the Supreme Court. On 11 April 2006 he stepped down from the court to become Attorney-General of Singapore, he ceased to be Attorney-General and was reappointed a Judge of Appeal every two years since 11 April 2008, shortly thereafter was appointed Vice-President of the Court of Appeal, until he retired the day before his 75th birthday on 27 September 2017.
In the National Day Awards of 2008, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his special contributions to the Pedra Branca dispute case. Chao is one of the founding members of the ASEAN Law Association, he was the first Commander of the Vounteer Special Constabulary, holding the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police
Stanisław Stefanek was a Polish prelate of the Catholic Church. Born in the village of Majdan Sobieszczański, Stefanek was ordained to the priesthood on 28 June 1959, he became vicar general of the Society of Christ for Polish Immigrants. He was named an auxiliary bishop of Szczecin-Kamień and titular bishop of Forum Popilii in 1980. Pope John Paul II appointed him Bishop of Łomża on 26 October 1996. Pope Benedict XVI accepted his resignation and named Janusz Stepnowski to succeed him on 11 November 2011. Stefanek died on 17 January 2020 in Lublin at the age of 83, he will be buried in the Łomża cathedral on January 23
Les Ténèbres du Dehors is an album by neoclassical band Elend. It is the second in the Officium Tenebrarum trilogy; the album was remastered and re-released in April 2001 with a bonus track called Birds of Dawn with a red-tinted cover, instead of the original blue. "Nocturne" — "Ethereal Journeys" — "The Luciferian Revolution" — "Eden" — "The Silence of Light" — "Antienne" — "Dancing under the Closed Eyes of Paradise" — "Birds of Dawn" — * "Les Ténèbres du Dehors" — * Bonus track on 2001 re-release All instruments and vocals performed by Nathalie Barbary, Eve Gabrielle Siskind, Iskandar Hasnawi and Renaud Tschirner
Frobury is the western part of the modern parish of Kingsclere, Hampshire. Frobury was in the possession of Ranulf de Broch and chief marshal of the household to Henry II, his widow, Damietta de Gorron, the lady of Chetton and Berwick, their daughter Edelina de Broch was returned by the Testa de Nevill as'holding £6 worth of land in the vill of Frobury of the king in chief by the serjeanty of guarding the king's door'. Between 1217–1223, a grant of money was made by Edelina to the Canons of the Church of Saint John the Baptist, Sandleford of 40s, and 8d. From her inheritance in Frollebire for the maintenance of a Canon Chantry Priest, for the souls of herself, her parents Randulf de Broch and Damietta de Gorron, her husband, Stephen de Turneham; the widow Edelina left by her husband five daughters and co-heirs, Maud or Mabel the wife of Thomas de Bavelingham, Alice the wife of Adam de Bending, Eleanor who married Roger de Leyburn, Eleanor who married Ralph Fitz Bernard, Beatrice the wife of Ralph de Fay, Hugh de Neville and Hugh de Plessetis.
The grant to Sandleford was confirmed by Edelina's daughter Beatrice de Fay, widow of Ralph de Fay, to the Church of Saint John the Baptist and the Canons, of rents etc, in Frollebire, which Edelina de Broc, her mother gave them. Her third husband Hugh de Plessetis had Beatrice excommunicated circa 1241 because she would not divorce him. Frobury fell as her share to Beatrice the eldest daughter, passed from her to her daughter Philippa the wife of William de Nevill, who in the middle of the 13th century was stated to be holding'half a hide in Frobury of the old enfeoffment by the serjeanty of guarding the door of the queen's chamber'. In 1249 Philippa de Nevill granted Frobury in free marriage to William de Wintershull, who had married her daughter Beatrice, from this date Frobury continued in the Wintershull family for about two centuries. William de Wintershull obtained licence to impark his wood of Frobury, which covered an area of 10 acres, in 1260, died seised of the manor of Frobury in 1287.
In circa 1546 William and Joan Unwin sold the manor to William Paulet, Lord St. John.'On 21 October 1644 Charles I intending to relieve Basing House marched hither from Whitchurch, but finding the enemy so his superior in cavalry, after one night's halt he continued his march towards Newbury', so wrote the Victoria County History in 1911. According to Captain Richard Symonds, the author of Diary of the Marches of the Royal Army, the house at which the king spent the night was Frobury Manor House, about a mile northwest of the town, his host being Robert Tower. Appropriately, Basing House and Frobury manor both belonged at that time to John Paulet, 5th Marquess of Winchester
Robert Hancock was an English engraver. Hancock was born in Staffordshire, studied under Simon François Ravenet, was at first engaged as an engraver at the Battersea Enamel Works under Stephen Theodore Janssen. In 1756 or 1757 he became draughtsman and engraver to the Worcester Porcelain Works, engraved plates for the transfer-printed china for which the works became known, he was one of the proprietors of the works from 3 March 1772 till 31 October 1774, when he sold his share, after disputes with the other partners. He retained, till January 1804 his property in a house built by Richard Holdship on the works, which he had purchased from the mortgagees in 1769. On leaving the Worcester works in 1774, Hancock is next supposed to have gone to the Staffordshire Potteries, it is said. In the latter part of his life he was living in Bristol, he died in his eighty-seventh year. Valentine Green and James Ross the line-engraver were his pupils. Hancock on the transfer-printed Worcester porcelain uses the signature "R.
H", "R. H.fecit", "R. Hancock fecit Worcester", "R. Hancock" "fecit", other variations; the mark of Richard Holdship of the Worcester works was an anchor rebus, the two marks sometimes occur together on the same piece of porcelain. Hancock's work involved garden-scenes, milkmaid-scenes, figures and half-lengths. After switching to the medium of paper, Hancock engraved, after Sir Joshua Reynolds, portraits of General William Kingsley, Lady Chambers, Miss Day, Mark Noble. About 1796, in Bristol, he drew small crayon portraits engraved by Richard Woodman for Joseph Cottle's Reminiscences: of Charles Lamb, William Wordsworth, Robert Southey, Samuel Taylor Coleridge; these were purchased for the National Portrait Gallery in 1877. Hancock engraved plates in Valentine Green's History of Worcester, the plates in a folio bible published by Pearson & Rollason of Birmingham. Attribution This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Stephen, Leslie. "Hancock, Robert". Dictionary of National Biography.
24. London: Smith, Elder & Co