LSAT light machine gun

The LSAT light machine gun is a component of the Lightweight Small Arms Technologies (LSAT) program. The purpose of the program was to develop a lighter, yet highly reliable light machine gun (LMG). The program was initiated in 2004, when the Joint Service Small Arms Program (JSSAP) challenged the American defence industry to develop a lighter small arms and also design lighter ammunition.
The LMG provides a major reduction in weight over legacy weapons, as well as improvements in other areas, such as controllability and reliability. As of 2008, it had two configurations, one that fires cased telescoped ammunition, and one that fires caseless ammunition. After further research and development into both technologies and the guns that fire them, one of the two variants was to be chosen for production. By May 2015, 85,000 cased-telescoped rounds had been fired through 10 test weapons, with testers claiming the weapon had gone as far as it can go until the Army decides if it wants to make it a program of record.
History.
Development began with the two types of weight-reducing ammunition, and a light machine gun to serve as a testbed and technology demonstrator. Use of an LMG for this purpose is notable, considering its greater technical complexity than infantry rifles. The use of advanced computer simulations to accelerate development may have mitigated this. For development, the use of extensive computer simulation and modelling reduces both time and expenditure for prototyping and testing. The program also uses a 'spiral development' approach, whereby the weapon and ammunition is rolled out in stages or 'spirals', each stage producing a new version that is an improvement on those from previous spirals. A competition down-selected the design concepts of various companies to leave an AAI Corporation-led team of companies as the developers of the weapon system. The cohesive team of companies is combined with government support to ensure success. The parallel development of the two ammunition types meant that, if the caseless ammunition effort succeeded, much of the development work gained with the composite cased weapon could be applied to it, and, if it failed, the composite-cased version was likely to succeed on its own.
Design.
The LMGs built made a 44% and 43% reduction of weight (for the cased telescoped and the caseless weapons, respectively). Secondary goals have also been met: the LMG has the potential to improve battlefield effectiveness (due to its simpler and more consistent weapon action, its light weight and low recoil, and its stiffer barrel); its use of recoil compensation (with a long-stroke gas-system, for example) has produced positive feedback regarding controllability; the simpler mechanism of the LMG is both more reliable and easier to maintain; a rounds counter has been integrated to improve maintainability, and the weapon is capable of accepting other electronic devices; improved materials used in the chamber and barrel have reduced heat load on the weapon; and the weapon cost is equivalent to the existing M249. The standard LSAT machine gun weighs 9.4 lb empty, compared to 17.6 lb for a standard SAW. Cased telescoped ammunition weighs 40% less than brass-cased ammo, so a 100-round ammunition belt weighs about 2 lb for the LSAT, compared to 3.3 lb for a brass-cased belt.
The LMG design is a traditionally laid-out machine-gun. It has several features conducive to its use as a light machine gun, such as a quick-change barrel, a vented handguard, a belt feeding mechanism, provisions for the use of an ammunition pouch, and a rate of fire of approximately 600 RPM. Other features include its light weight, an ammunition counter, and a highly stiff and heat resistant barrel achieved with the use of fluting and specialized alloys. When firing, the weapon's chamber swings around a longitudinal pivot; it swings from horizontally parallel with the pivot (the firing position) to vertically parallel (the feed position), and back again. A long-stroke gas-piston is used to operate this action. A round is fed into the chamber at the feed position using a rammer, and the new round also serves to push a spent or dud round out of the far end of the chamber. Such rounds are pushed forward, parallel to the barrel, and they slide into a separate mechanism that ejects them out of one side of the gun. The advantages of this whole action include its simplicity, its isolation of the chamber from barrel heat, and its positive control of round movement from extraction to ejection. In the caseless firing version of the weapon, another mechanism is introduced to seal the chamber during firing, accounting for the slightly increased weight of the caseless version.
Testing.
In September 2011, 19 soldiers participated in a two-week assessment of the LSAT light machine gun at Fort Benning, Georgia to demonstrate its capabilities against the M249 SAW. In one test the soldiers, half armed with SAWs and half with LSATs, marched six miles in full combat gear then fired at targets to measure stress and muscle fatigue. Another test had the soldiers sprint 200 yards wearing body armor and a basic load of ammunition, then rapidly engage close-range targets. A third week involved soldiers of the 75th Ranger Regiment performing a squad maneuver live-fire exercise in an urban setting. Feedback from participants favored the LSAT for its lighter weight and decreased recoil. Soldiers remarked the LSAT had better accuracy than the M249. The semi-automatic option made it more viable for room clearing. One Ranger even said the LSAT performed better than the Mk 46 machine gun used by special operations forces. 15 out of 19 soldiers that participated in the assessment said they would prefer using the LSAT in combat rather than the SAW. The LSAT LMG is 41 percent lighter than the SAW and its ammunition volume is 12 percent less, enabling all the soldiers that maneuvered the woodland obstacle course to complete it faster when carrying it. Participants also took less time to zero their machine guns when using the LSAT; one soldier failed repeatedly to accurately zero the SAW but successfully zeroed the LSAT on the first try. The LMG users completed the course, on average, one minute and 11 seconds faster than SAW users due to increased mobility given by its shorter length, adjustable stock, and lighter ammo. When firing, gunners felt virtually no recoil from the LSAT LMG. The eight prototype weapons fired a combined 25,000 rounds, moving its cased telescoped ammunition to technology readiness level 7.
The LSAT light machine gun was assessed in the Army's Dismounted Non-Networked Experiment (DNNE) in August 2013 at Fort Benning. It was among several items showcased at an event at Fort Benning through 24 September 2013 featuring the Army's latest individual and squad kit developments. Seven LSAT LMGs and 9,700 rounds were provided to three rifle squads and one weapon squad at a series of range events. They increased lethality at all ranges with faster speed of engagement and better shot placement, increased the gunner's mobility due to its reduced size and weight, and led to more precision fires in standing and kneeling positions.
Future improvements.
The designers project further improvements. These include improved projectile technologies such as environmentally friendly bullets and a change in bullet size in order to increase combat effectiveness, as well as the integration of electronics such as ammunition count readouts, lasers, optical sights, rangefinders, and bullet drop compensation. The Army is pursuing cased telescoped ammunition. This development is far along, and they say a new LMG could be fielded by 2014 with unequivocal support. The Marine Corps is pursuing caseless ammunition, which is less developed and will take several more years to refine. A compact version is also being developed with a 4-inch shorter barrel and folding, telescoping buttstock. The 5.56 mm LSAT machine gun has been renamed the Cased Telescoped Light Machine Gun (CT LMG).
On 14 May 2014, Textron Systems was awarded a two-year $5.7 million contract for work that included development of 7.62 NATO cased-telescoped ammunition and an operating mechanism to incorporate into the LSAT machine gun to create a lightweight 7.62 mm version. Textron unveiled their 7.62 mm cased-telescoped machine gun design at the 2015 Special Operations Forces Industry Conference. It weighs , almost lighter than the M240L and much lighter than the M240B. A firing prototype is expected to be ready by fall 2016.
2016 developments.
During 2016 the LSAT program advanced the 7.62mm LMG to TRL 7, with range testing. It also finished development on the 6.5mm derivative of the 7.62mm CT cartridge and tested that as well.
The program had by the end of 2016 demonstrated the target weight savings and moved on to more capable longer range 6.5mm ammunition.
2018 developments.
In July 2018, the US Army announced a new, different program to develop a replacement for the M249 light machine gun, with six companies, including Textron, competing to develop the Next Generation Squad Weapon-Automatic Rifle (NGSW-AR or NGSAR), replacing the SAW, as well as develop ammunition for it that is at least 20% lighter.
Physical requirements state a target of 12 lbs and 35 inches of length using an Army-desired 6.8mm bullet. The NGSW-AR contracts awarded July 2018 include prototypes and ammunition which should be delivered for Army evaluation in June 2019. Both NGSW-R and NGSW-AR prototypes will eventually be tested. The NGSW program effectively replaces the LSAT program.


Italian cruiser Armando Diaz

Armando Diaz was a light cruiser of the and the sister-ship of the . She served in the Regia Marina during World War II. She was built by OTO, La Spezia, and named after Armando Diaz, an Italian Field Marshal of World War I.
She was launched on 29 April 1933 and served in the Mediterranean after her completion. From 1 September 1934 until February 1935 she made a cruise to Australia and New Zealand.
During the Spanish Civil War she served in the western Mediterranean and was based at Palma de Mallorca and Melilla.
In July 1940, she was present at the Battle of Calabria, also called the battle of Punta Stilo. In October she took part in a mission to Albania, and in December she came under direct orders of Supermarina (Naval Headquarters) for special duties in connection with the protection of traffic to Albania from January 1941. However, the following month an important supply convoy to Tripoli required her use for cover, in company with the light cruiser and some destroyers.
In the course of this operation the ship was torpedoed and sunk by the British submarine off the island of Kerkennah in the early hours of 25 February. It took the Italian cruiser only six minutes to sink after her magazine detonated, with the loss of 484 men.
Wreck.
The wreck of "Armando Diaz" was located around 2009-2010. The ship lies on her port side in less than 50 meters of water, with her bow blown off. Her aft turrets are still in place, their guns buried in the bottom.


Kobe

Kobe ( ; ; officially , ) is the seventh-largest city in Japan and the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture. It is located on the southern side of the main island of Honshū, on the north shore of Osaka Bay and about west of Osaka. With a population around 1.5 million, the city is part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kyoto.
The earliest written records regarding the region come from the "Nihon Shoki", which describes the founding of the Ikuta Shrine by Empress Jingū in AD 201. For most of its history, the area was never a single political entity, even during the Tokugawa period, when the port was controlled directly by the Tokugawa shogunate. Kobe did not exist in its current form until its founding in 1889. Its name comes from . Kobe became one of Japan's designated cities in 1956.
Kobe was one of the cities to open for trade with the West following the 1853 end of the policy of seclusion and has since been known as a cosmopolitan and nuclear-free zone port city. While the 1995 Great Hanshin earthquake diminished much of Kobe's prominence as a port city, it remains Japan's fourth-busiest container port. Companies headquartered in Kobe include ASICS, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, and Kobe Steel, as well as over 100 international corporations with Asian or Japanese headquarters in the city, such as Eli Lilly and Company, Procter & Gamble, Boehringer Ingelheim, and Nestlé. The city is the point of origin and namesake of Kobe beef, as well as the site of one of Japan's most famous hot spring resorts, Arima Onsen.
History.
Origins.
Tools found in western Kobe demonstrate the area was populated at least from the Jōmon period.
The natural geography of the area, particularly of Wada Cape in Hyōgo-ku, led to the development of a port, which would remain the economic center of the city. Some of the earliest written documents mentioning the region include the "Nihon Shoki", which describes the founding of the Ikuta Shrine by Empress Jingū in AD 201.
Nara & Heian.
During the Nara and Heian periods, the port was known by the name and was one of the ports from which imperial embassies to China were dispatched.
The city was briefly the capital of Japan in 1180, when Taira no Kiyomori moved his grandson Emperor Antoku to Fukuhara-kyō in present-day Hyōgo-ku. The Emperor returned to Kyoto after about five months.
Shortly thereafter in 1184, the Taira fortress in Hyōgo-ku and the nearby Ikuta Shrine became the sites of the Genpei War battle of Ichi-no-Tani between the Taira and Minamoto clans. The Minamoto prevailed, pushing the Taira further.
Kamakura.
As the port grew during the Kamakura period, it became an important hub for trade with China and other countries. In the 13th century, the city came to be known by the name . During this time, Hyōgo Port, along with northern Osaka, composed the province of Settsu (most of today's Kobe belonged to Settsu except Nishi Ward and Tarumi Ward, which belonged to Harima).
Edo period.
Later, during the Edo period, the eastern parts of present-day Kobe came under the jurisdiction of the Amagasaki Domain and the western parts under that of the Akashi Domain, while the center was controlled directly by the Tokugawa shogunate.
It was not until the abolition of the han system in 1871 and the establishment of the current prefecture system that the area became politically distinct.
Meiji period.
Hyōgo Port was opened to foreign trade by the Shogunal government at the same time as Osaka on January 1, 1868, just before the advent of the Boshin War and the Meiji Restoration. The region has since been identified with the West and many foreign residences from the period remain in Kobe's Kitano area.
Modern era.
Kobe, as it is known today, was founded on April 1, 1889, and was designated on September 1, 1956 by government ordinance. The history of the city is closely tied to that of the Ikuta Shrine, and the name "Kobe" derives from , an archaic name for those who supported the shrine.
During World War II, Kobe was bombed in the Doolittle Raid on April 18, 1942, along with Tokyo and a few other cities. Eventually, it was bombed again with incendiary bombs by B-29 bombers on March 17, 1945, causing the death of 8,841 residents and destroying 21% of Kobe's urban area. This incident inspired the well-known Studio Ghibli film "Grave of the Fireflies" and the book by Akiyuki Nosaka on which the film was based. It also features in the motion picture A Boy Called H.
Following continuous pressure from citizens, on March 18, 1975, the Kobe City Council passed an ordinance banning vessels carrying nuclear weapons from Kobe Port. This effectively prevented any U.S. warships from entering the port, policy being not to disclose whether any warship is carrying nuclear weapons. This nonproliferation policy has been termed the "Kobe formula".
On January 17, 1995, a magnitude 6.9 earthquake occurred at 5:46 am JST near the city. About 6,434 people in the city were killed, 212,443 were made homeless, and large parts of the port facilities and other parts of the city were destroyed. The earthquake destroyed portions of the Hanshin Expressway, an elevated freeway that dramatically toppled over. In Japan, the earthquake is known as the Great Hanshin earthquake (or the Hanshin-Awaji earthquake). To commemorate Kobe's recovery from the 1995 quake, the city holds an event every December called the Luminarie, where the city center is decorated with illuminated metal archways.
The Port of Kobe was Japan's busiest port and one of Asia's top ports until the Great Hanshin earthquake. Kobe has since dropped to fourth in Japan and 49th-busiest container port worldwide ().
Geography.
Wedged between the coast and the mountains, the city of Kobe is long and narrow. To the east is the city of Ashiya, while the city of Akashi lies to its west. Other adjacent cities include Takarazuka and Nishinomiya to the east and Sanda and Miki to the north.
The landmark of the port area is the red steel Port Tower. A Ferris wheel sits in nearby Harborland, a notable tourist promenade. Two artificial islands, Port Island and Rokkō Island, have been constructed to give the city room to expand.
Away from the seaside at the heart of Kobe lie the Motomachi and Sannomiya districts, as well as Kobe's Chinatown, Nankinmachi, all well-known retail areas. A multitude of train lines cross the city from east to west. The main transport hub is Sannomiya Station, with the eponymous Kobe Station located to the west and the Shinkansen Shin-Kobe Station to the north.
Mount Rokkō overlooks Kobe at an elevation of . During the autumn season, it is famous for the rich change in colors of its forests.
Wards.
Kobe has nine wards ("ku"):
Climate.
Kobe has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification "Cfa") with hot summers and cool to cold winters. Precipitation is significantly higher in summer than in winter, though on the whole lower than most parts of Honshū, and there is no significant snowfall.
Demographics.
As of September 2007, Kobe had an estimated population of 1,530,295 making up 658,876 households. This was an increase of 1,347 persons or approximately 0.1% over the previous year. The population density was approximately 2,768 persons per square kilometre, while there are about 90.2 males to every 100 females. About thirteen percent of the population are between the ages of 0 and 14, sixty-seven percent are between 15 and 64, and twenty percent are over the age of 65.
Approximately 44,000 registered foreign nationals live in Kobe. The four most common nationalities are Korean (22,237), Chinese (12,516), Vietnamese (1,301), and American (1,280).
Economy.
The Port of Kobe is both an important port and manufacturing center within the Hanshin Industrial Region. Kobe is the busiest container port in the region, surpassing even Osaka, and the fourth-busiest in Japan.
, the city's total real GDP was ¥6.3 trillion, which amounts to thirty-four percent of the GDP for Hyōgo Prefecture and approximately eight percent for the whole Kansai region. Per capita income for the year was approximately ¥2.7 million. Broken down by sector, about one percent of those employed work in the primary sector (agriculture, fishing and mining), twenty-one percent work in the secondary sector (manufacturing and industry), and seventy-eight percent work in the service sector.
The value of manufactured goods produced and exported from Kobe for 2004 was ¥2.5 trillion. The four largest sectors in terms of value of goods produced are small appliances, food products, transportation equipment, and communication equipment making up over fifty percent of Kobe's manufactured goods. In terms of numbers of employees, food products, small appliances, and transportation equipment make up the three largest sectors.
The GDP in Kobe Metropolitan Employment Area (2.4 million people) is US$96.0 billion in 2010.
Major companies and institutes.
Japanese companies which have their headquarters in Kobe include ASICS, a shoe manufacturer; Daiei, a department store chain; Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Kawasaki Shipbuilding Co., Mitsubishi Motors, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (ship manufacturer), Mitsubishi Electric, Kobe Steel, Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Sysmex Corporation (medical devices manufacturer) and TOA Corporation. Other companies include the confectionery manufacturers Konigs-Krone and Morozoff Ltd., Sun Television Japan and UCC Ueshima Coffee Co.
There are over 100 international corporations that have their East Asian or Japanese headquarters in Kobe. Of these, twenty-four are from China, eighteen from the United States, and nine from Switzerland. Some prominent corporations include Eli Lilly and Company, Nestlé, Procter & Gamble, Tempur-Pedic, Boehringer-Ingelheim, and Toys "R" Us. In 2018, April, Swift Engineering USA, an American aerospace engineering firm established their joint venture in Kobe called Swift Xi Inc.
Kobe is the site of a number of research institutes, such as the RIKEN Kobe Institute Center for developmental biology and medical imaging techniques, and Advanced Institute for Computational Science (AICS, home of the K supercomputer), the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) Advanced ICT Research Institute, the National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Prevention, and the Asian Disaster Reduction Center.
International organizations include the WHO Centre for Health Development, an intergovernmental agency forming part of the World Health Organization. The Consulate-General of Panama in Kobe is located on the eighth floor of the Moriyama Building in Chūō-ku, Kobe.
Transportation.
Airways.
Airport.
Itami Airport, in nearby Itami, serves mainly domestic flights throughout Japan, Kobe Airport, built on a reclaimed island south of Port Island, also offers mainly domestic flights, while Kansai International Airport in Osaka mainly serves international flights in the area.
Railways.
Rapid Railway.
Sannomiya Station is the main commuter hub in Kobe, serving as the transfer point for the three major intercity rail lines (see external map).
The JR Kobe Line connects Kobe to Osaka and Himeji while both the Hankyū Kobe Line and the Hanshin Main Line run from Kobe to Umeda Station in Osaka.
Sanyō Electric Railway trains from Himeji reach Sannomiya via the Kobe Rapid Railway.
Subway.
In addition, Kobe Municipal Subway provides access to the Sanyō Shinkansen at Shin-Kobe Station.
Other rail lines.
Other rail lines in Kobe include Kōbe Electric Railway which runs north to Sanda and Arima Onsen. Hokushin Kyūkō Railway connects Shin-Kobe Station to Tanigami Station on the Kobe Electric Railway. Kobe New Transit runs two lines, the Port Island Line from Sannomiya to Kobe Airport and the Rokko Island Line from JR Sumiyoshi Station to Rokko Island.
Ropeway.
Over Mount Rokkō, the city has two funicular lines and three aerial lifts as well, namely Maya Cablecar, Rokkō Cable Line, Rokkō Arima Ropeway, Maya Ropeway, and Shin-Kobe Ropeway.
Road.
Kobe is a transportation hub for a number of expressways, including the Meishin Expressway (Nagoya – Kobe) and the Hanshin Expressway (Osaka – Kobe). Other expressways include the Sanyō Expressway (Kobe – Yamaguchi) and the Chūgoku Expressway (Osaka – Yamaguchi).
The Kobe-Awaji-Naruto Expressway runs from Kobe to Naruto via Awaji Island and includes the Akashi Kaikyō Bridge, the longest suspension bridge in the world.
port.
Sub Area Activity Hanshin is one of the Japan Maritime-Self Defense Force facility which provide monitoring across Osaka Bay and Harima-nada Sea.
Education.
The city of Kobe directly administers 169 elementary and 81 middle schools, with enrollments of approximately 80,200 and 36,000 students, respectively. If the city's four private elementary schools and fourteen private middle schools are included, these figures jump to a total 82,000 elementary school students and 42,300 junior high students enrolled for the 2006 school year.
Kobe also directly controls six of the city's twenty-five full-time public high schools including Fukiai High School and Rokkō Island High School. The remainder are administered by the Hyogo Prefectural Board of Education. In addition, twenty-five high schools are run privately within the city. The total enrollment for high schools in 2006 was 43,400.
Kobe is home to eighteen public and private universities, including Kobe University, Kobe Institute of Computing and Konan University, and eight junior colleges. Students enrolled for 2006 reached 67,000 and 4,100, respectively. Kobe is also home to 17 Japanese language schools for international students, including the international training group Lexis Japan.
International schools serve both long-term foreign residents and expatriates living in Kobe and the Kansai region. The schools offer instruction in English, German, Chinese, and Korean. There are three English-language international schools: Canadian Academy, Marist Brothers International School, and St. Michael's International School.
Culture.
Kobe is most famous for its Kobe beef (which is raised in the surrounding Hyōgo Prefecture) and Arima Onsen (hot springs). Notable buildings include the Ikuta Shrine as well as the Kobe Port Tower. Nearby mountains such as Mount Rokkō and Mount Maya overlook city.
The city is widely associated with cosmopolitanism and fashion, encapsulated in the Japanese phrase, "If you can't go to Paris, go to Kobe." The biannual fashion event Kobe Fashion Week, featuring the Kobe Collection, is held in Kobe. The jazz festival "Kobe Jazz Street" has been held every October at jazz clubs and hotels since 1981. It also hosts both a Festival, as well as a statue of Elvis Presley, the unveiling of which was heralded by the presence of former Prime Minister of Japan Junichiro Koizumi.
Kobe is the site of Japan's first golf course, Kobe Golf Club, established by Arthur Hesketh Groom in 1903, and Japan's first mosque, Kobe Mosque, built in 1935. The city hosts the Kobe Regatta & Athletic Club, founded in 1870 by Alexander Cameron Sim, and a prominent foreign cemetery. A number of Western-style residences – – from the 19th century still stand in Kitano and elsewhere in Kobe. Museums include the Kobe City Museum and Museum of Literature.
The dialect spoken in Kobe is called "Kobe-ben", a sub-dialect of Kansai dialect.
Sports.
Kobe hosted the 1985 Summer Universiade,the 1991 Men's Asian Basketball Championship, which was the qualifier for the 1992 Summer Olympics Basketball Tournament.
Kobe was one of the host cities of the 2002 FIFA World Cup, hosting matches at Noevir Stadium Kobe (then known as Wing Stadium Kobe), which was renovated to increase its capacity to 40,000 for the event.
Kobe was one of the host cities for the official 2006 Women's Volleyball World Championship.
Kobe also hosted the World Darts Federation World Cup in October 2017. The event was held in the Exhibition Hall in Port Island with over 50 countries competing.
International relations.
Twin towns and sister cities.
Kobe has a total of ten sister cities, friendship cities, and friendship and cooperation cities. They are:
Partner citys.
Other city affiliations:
Sister ports.
Kobe's sister ports are:


German auxiliary cruiser Pinguin

Pinguin was a German auxiliary cruiser ("Hilfskreuzer") which served as a commerce raider in World War II. "Pinguin" was known to the "Kriegsmarine" as Schiff 33, and designated HSK 5. The most successful commerce raider of the war, she was known to the British Royal Navy as Raider F.
Early history.
Formerly a freighter named "Kandelfels", she was built by Deschimag A.G. Weser in 1936, and was owned and operated by the Hansa Line, Bremen. She was the sister-ship of "Kybfels", and a half-sister of "Goldenfels" (built by Bremer Vulkan), which was converted into the raider .
In the winter of 1939–40, she was requisitioned by the "Kriegsmarine" (KM) and converted to a warship by Deschimag A.G. Weser, Bremen. Her main armament, six 150 mm L/45 C/13 guns was taken from the obsolete battleship and she was also fitted with one captured French 75 mm L/36 cannon, one twin 37 mm anti-aircraft mounting, four 20 mm anti-aircraft guns, and two single 53.3 cm torpedo tubes for 16 torpedoes. She was supplied with two Heinkel He 114A-2 seaplanes and 300 sea mines. She also carried 25 G7a torpedoes and 80 U-Boat mines for replenishing U-boats.
"Pinguin" voyage.
"Pinguin" was one of the first wave of raiders sent out by the "Kriegsmarine", sailing on 15 June 1940 under the command of "Fregattenkapitän" (later "Kapitän zur See") Ernst-Felix Krüder and disguised as an anonymous naval transport ship with an escort from the minesweeper "Nautilus". The escort duties were taken over by "Sperrbrecher IV" on 18 June and later by the Type 23 torpedo boat "Falke" and the Type 24 torpedo boat "Jaguar". The convoy then sailed through the Great Belt into the Kattegat.
The three-ship convoy passed through the Skagerrak on 19 June with Luftwaffe air cover from a Dornier Do 18 flying boat and two fighters and entered the North Sea. Her escort was reinforced with the minesweepers "M17" and "M18", and they headed up the coast of Norway, passing Bergen on 20 June where the torpedo boats departed. "Schiff 33" and the minesweepers carried on northwards to Sörgulenfjord. In the fjord the grey German auxiliary "Schiff 33" was disguised as the black-hulled Soviet cargo ship "Petschura" with hammer and sickle markings. They emerged from the fjord on 22 June en route to the Denmark Strait. "Schiff 33"s mission was to rendezvous with and replenish the submarine "UA" off the Cape Verde and then to disrupt traffic in the Indian Ocean and lay mines off Australian and Indian ports. She was then to head south to seek out the British and Norwegian whaling fleets in the Antarctic.
The convoy headed into heavy weather and high winds and the two minesweepers turned back. Sailing westwards at 15 knots a surfacing submarine was spotted and on sighting "′Petschura′" disappeared. Assuming it was British "′Petschura′" headed northwards to give the impression of a Soviet ship headed for Murmansk. Surfacing again the submarine increased speed and gave chase signalling first "What ship?" and on being ignored "Heave to, or we open fire!" "′Petschura′" continued at full speed and left the submarine behind. "′Petschura′" continued northeasterly up the coast of Norway.
On 28 June "Pinguin" headed south surrounded by icebergs. She inched southwards until 29 June she sailed through the Denmark Strait into the Atlantic on 1 July to rendezvous with "UA" on 18 July. On 10 July she was re-camouflaged as the Greek "Kassos".
On 18 July "UA" had serious engine troubles and because of bad weather it was not safe to transfer the torpedoes, water and stores. They decided to seek calmer waters to the south transferring 70 tons of diesel fuel to the submarine en route. On 20 July in calmer waters 700 miles south-west of the Cape Verde they started the replenishment. It was first time a submarine was ever re-supplied at sea by a raider. Unable to come alongside because of the risk of damaging her hydroplanes the first day was spent improvising methods to close the gap. The 11 torpedoes had to be ferried across on flotation bags and it was not completed until 25 July. "Pinguin" then continued south towing "UA" to save fuel until the shipping lanes off Freetown where the U-Boat unsuccessfully pursued a tanker. "Pinguin" then towed her again until 28 July.
"Domingo de Larrinaga".
On 31 July north-west of Ascension Island, a ship was sighted. It also spotted the raider and turned away, sending a QQQ signal. Trying to jam the distress signals, "Pinguin" gave chase. She ran up her battle flag and dropped its camouflage, signalling to the vessel to stop and not to use her wireless or she would be fired upon. When the commands were ignored, warning shots were fired across her bows from "Pinguin"s 75 mm gun. Four more warning shots were fired, but she did not stop; the distress signals continued and her crew were seen to be manning their stern-mounted gun. "Pinguin" opened fire with her main armament on the freighter's bridge with several hits. The freighter, on fire, slowed to a halt and her crew were seen to be abandoning ship. The British freighter "Domingo de Larrinaga" was on her way from Bahía Blanca to Newcastle with 7,000 tons of grain and a crew of 36. A heavily armed boarding party found eight crewmen dead on the ship. The party included "Pinguin"s surgeon, and two sick bay attendants were sent to care for the wounded. Scuttling charges were placed in the freighter's engine room. The charges failed to explode and she had to be sunk by a torpedo. The survivors were taken aboard "Pinguin".
"Filefjell" captured.
On 20 August "Pinguin" rounded the Cape of Good Hope. On 26 August south of Madagascar one of "Pinguin"s seaplanes with RAF markings was launched. It found a tanker and the pilot dropped a message onto its deck ordering her to "Alter course to 180° distance 140 miles on account of vicinity of enemy raider" "From that point take up course direct to 31°N 37°E" "thence you get further informations" "Do not use wireless". This was to try to lead her straight to "Pinguin". The tanker appeared to obey this command, but later was found trying to escape at top speed. The plane was relaunched. When it found her again it ripped away her radio aerials and strafed her bridge with cannon and machine gun fire. The plane set down and ordered her to "Remain stopping here" "cruiser "Cumberland" will go with you" and to show her navigation lights. The tanker, loaded with 10,000 tons of high-octane aviation fuel and 500 tons of oil, surrendered and switched on its lights. Guided by the lights, "Pinguin" arrived and her boarding party identified the ship as the Norwegian "Filefjell" chartered by the British Admiralty on her way from the Persian Gulf to Cape Town. A prize crew was placed aboard the tanker. It was decided to take "Filefjell" to a quiet area to transfer the 500 tons of oil to "Pinguin".
"British Commander".
On 27 August a ship was spotted sailing blacked-out and with no lights. "Filefjell" was ordered to drop back. "Pinguin" shadowed the ship for an hour then signalled for her to stop, and had a warning shot fired across her bows. The ship obeyed and identifying itself as the tanker "British Commander". She then radioed QQQ distress signals giving her position and reported that she was being attacked by a merchant raider. "Pinguin"s searchlight spotted that the enemy's 4-inch gun mounted on her stern had been manned and ordered its gunners to open fire. The tanker was hit several times and set on fire. The tanker captain stopped the ship and instructed his crew to abandon ship. A torpedo failed to sink her, and 40 150 mm shells were then fired to sink her. "Pinguin" then picked up the tanker's 45-man crew and headed out into the Indian Ocean at full speed.
"Morviken".
Another freighter was then spotted. "Pinguin" came alongside. It signalled to her that she would sink her if she did not stop. A 75 mm warning shot was fired across her bows. The ship then halted with no resistance and no signal sent. It was identified by the boarding party as the Norwegian ship "Morviken". It was heading for Calcutta from Cape Town. The crew of 35 was taken aboard along with her motor-cutter then the ship was scuttled.
"Filefjell" sunk.
"Pinguin" and "Filefjell" sailed south-east away from the shipping routes to transfer the 500 tons of fuel oil and then scuttling charges were set on "Filefjell". The charges detonated but the ship did not explode. 75 mm gunfire was then used to try and sink her, but two 150 mm shells were needed to ignite the petrol in the tanks, sending a massive fireball into the sky.
"Trafalgar".
It was decided that "Pinguin" should adopt the identity of the Wilhelmsen cargo-liner "Trafalgar". On 31 August the transformation took place at a remote spot. "Pinguin" drifted for five days until 5 September. "Pinguin" then launched its seaplane to survey the area but it crashed on take off. The plane burst into flames and sank. The crew were in the water. The ship's only radio telephone was on the plane. It operated on a wavelength undetectable to Allied shipping. "Pinguin"s technicians needed calm weather to assemble the second aircraft that was stowed below in a crate. "Pinguin" had lost the ability to silence enemy radios by tearing away their aerials, meaning that future enemy ships that sent signals would have to be fired on, increasing the chance of crews being killed. By 10 September work was completed on "Pinguin" and it had a black hull with a white band all the way around, white upperworks and a black funnel with two light-blue bands.
"Benavon".
It was decided to make one more sortie off Madagascar before heading for Australian waters to lay mines. Early on 12 September, a freighter was spotted 330 miles east of the island. "Pinguin" closed quickly on a deliberate ‘collision course’; the freighter maintained hers in accordance with the International Collision Regulations until the two ships were just over a mile apart. At this point the freighter sounded a long warning blast of its whistle. The freighter turned away from the raider. "Pinguin" ran up its battle ensign and de-camouflaged. The freighter crew manned her 4-inch gun and increased her speed to escape. The freighter was signalled to stop and a 75 mm warning shot was fired. The freighter fired back, hitting "Pinguin" with a shell that ricocheted off the surface of the sea and pierced her port side ending up in the crew's quarters close to the storage compartment containing 300 high-explosive mines. The shells fired by "Benavon" had no fuse caps fitted and it did not explode. One of "Pinguin"s crew picked up the shell with his cap and threw it through the hole it had made in the ship's hull into the sea. "Pinguin" fired back, putting the freighter's gun and wireless out of action. It destroyed most of her lifeboats and set her on fire. The freighter's captain gave the order to abandon ship, but the bridge was hit and he was killed along with his deck officers and radio operator. A boarding party found five men aboard, three of them wounded. They and the 24 others that had already abandoned ship were taken aboard "Pinguin". The total number of survivors was 28. The ship was identified as the British freighter "Benavon" on her way to London from Manila and Singapore with a cargo of hemp, jute and rubber. It had a crew of 49 and was armed with one 4-inch and one 3-inch anti-aircraft gun. Three of the wounded died of their injuries after boarding "Pinguin", and they were buried with full military honours.
"Nordvard".
The "Seekriegsleitung" ordered "Pinguin" to set course eastward along the busy sea route between Australia and South Africa. Four days later, on 16 September, a ship was sighted and stopped without any signals being sent and no gunfire. The ship was identified by the boarding party as the Norwegian ship "Nordvard" en route from Fremantle to Port Elizabeth with a cargo of 7,500 tons of Australian grain and a crew of 30. A prize crew was put aboard the ship along with over 100 prisoners and was sent to Bordeaux and arrived there on 22 November.
"Storstad".
"Pinguin" headed north-eastwards towards the Sunda Strait to the shipping lanes between India and Australia. On 27 September the sea was calm enough to allow the spare seaplane to be assembled. Captain Krüder and his navigation officer "Leutnant" Wilhelm Michaelsen conceived and developed a plan to lay mines in six Australian and Tasmanian sea lanes, but it would require two ships. On 7 October off Christmas Island a vessel crossing the raider's path was flagged down and ordered to stop with a 75 mm warning shot. The vessel stopped and surrendered. The vessel was identified as the Norwegian motor-tanker "Storstad" carrying a cargo of 12,000 tons of diesel oil and 500 tons of heavy fuel oil. She was on her way from British North Borneo to Melbourne. "Storstad" was suitable for use as an auxiliary minelayer. Under a prize crew "Storstad" was taken to a remote spot between Java and the north-west tip of Australia to be converted into an auxiliary minelayer. "Storstad" was stripped and her after accommodation space was transformed into a mine deck with launching rails. 110 mines were transferred from "Pinguin" in the motorboat that was taken from "Morviken". 1,200 tons of the diesel oil was transferred from "Storstad" to "Pinguin".
"Passat" and mine laying.
"Storstad" was commissioned into the German navy as the auxiliary minelayer "Passat". "Passat" was placed under the command of Lieutenant Erich Warning and had a crew of three officers, eight petty officers and 19 ratings plus five members of her original Norwegian crew who volunteered to work in the engine room. On 12 October "Passat" headed for the Banks Strait off Tasmania and for the east and west ends of the Bass Strait on the approaches to Melbourne. "Pinguin" headed for the ports of Sydney, Newcastle, Hobart and laid mines also in waters west-south-west of the Neptune Islands off the coast of South Australia. Between 28 October and 7 November the two ships laid their mines and arranged to meet again 700 miles west of Perth on 15 November. On 7 November refrigerated cargo liner hit one of "Passat"s mines and sank at the eastern approach to the Bass Strait with the loss of one man. On 9 November at the western end of the strait American freighter hit another of its mines sinking with the loss of only one man. On 5 December mines laid by "Pinguin" sank the Australian coaster with the loss of seven men. On 7 December another "Pinguin" laid mine exploded badly damaging the refrigerated cargo ship . On 26 March 1941 the fishing trawler "Millimumul" sank with the loss of one man. On 15 November the two ships rendezvoused at a point 700 miles west of Perth. The two ships maintained strict radio silence in the month-long operation.
"Nowshera".
On 16 November "Passat" was de-commissioned and resumed her original name of "Storstad". Her German crew was reduced to 18 and 20 Norwegian volunteers supplementing the five already aboard. "Storstad" was instructed to act as a scout ship for "Pinguin". The two ships headed northwards before swinging westwards and on 17 November smoke was sighted on the horizon ahead of a large freighter. "Pinguin" pinned the freighter in the beam of her searchlight and a warning shot was put across her bows. The freighter was signalled to stop and maintain radio silence or she would be fired upon. The freighter halted, and a boarding party identified the ship as the British motor ship "Nowshera" on her way from Adelaide to Durban and the UK. Her cargo was zinc ore, wheat, wool and other assorted piece goods. The freighter had a crew of 113, and was armed with a Japanese-made 4-inch gun on her stern and an even older Lewis machine gun on the bridge. Whatever goods and provisions "Pinguin" needed were taken from "Nowshera" and she was then scuttled.
"Maimoa".
"Pinguin" then departed southwards. On 20 November smoke was spotted on the horizon. "Pinguin" established that it was from a large westbound cargo ship. "Pinguin" launched its newly assembled seaplane in order to snatch the ship's wireless aerials or if necessary to bomb her. The seaplane failed to snatch the aerials on its first attempt. The aircrew then dropped a weighted bag onto the ship's bridge with a message commanding her captain to stop his engines and to maintain radio silence or be attacked. The commands were not obeyed, and the ship's radio operator sent signals reporting that they were being attacked from the air. The seaplane then dropped two small bombs in front of the ship. A second attempt was made to snatch the aerials which succeeded. The seaplane came under machine-gun and rifle fire hitting it several times. The seaplane fired back. The seaplane was forced to land on the water with a perforated petrol tank and one of its floats damaged. The aircrew crouched down in the cockpit, expecting the freighter's gunners to finish them off, which they could easily have done. "Pinguin" slowed down to half speed and in a risky manoeuvre ‘dropped’ a boat with a three-man crew beside the seaplane then pursued the cargo ship. "Pinguin"s battle flag was hoisted and at the maximum effective range of for the 150 mm guns she opened fire. Two salvos were fired, one long and the other falling short, forcing the cargo ship to a halt. A boarding party identified the ship as the coal-burning refrigeration ship "Maimoa". The ship was en route to the UK from Fremantle via Durban. Its cargo was 5,000 tons of frozen meat, 1,500 tons of butter, 1,500 tons of grain, 16 million eggs packed and 100 tons of piece goods. The ship was scuttled and her crew of 87 was taken aboard "Pinguin". The next morning the seaplane was hoisted back aboard "Pinguin".
"Port Brisbane".
"Storstad" reported an enemy freighter was nearby. "Pinguin" closed in on the freighter. When it was pitch dark "Pinguin" fixed her searchlight beam on the freighter. A warning shot was fired and she was signalled to stop and maintain radio silence. The searchlight beam revealed two manned 6-inch guns on the freighter's after deck so "Pinguin" opened fire on the freighter. All eight shots of the first salvo registering hits. The freighter's radio room was destroyed killing the radio operator and the bridge was set on fire. The funnel was smashed and the steering gear was jammed sending her around in circles. The crew then abandoned ship. The ship was identified as the refrigerated freighter "Port Brisbane". The freighter was on her way from Adelaide to Britain via Durban. She had a cargo of 5,000 tons of frozen meat, butter and cheese and 3,000 tons of wool, lead and piece goods. "Port Brisbane" had a crew of 87 but only 60 men and one woman passenger were picked up by "Pinguin". The other 27 slipped away in a lifeboat in the darkness. Scuttling charges failed to sink "Port Brisbane" quickly enough so a torpedo was fired to finish her off. After unsuccessfully looking for the missing lifeboat "Pinguin" headed south-westwards.
"Port Wellington".
"Pinguin" headed south and then west followed by "Storstad". By 28 November "Pinguin"s appearance had been altered by being painted black. Two days later "Storstad" reported a ship on the horizon. "Storstad" was sent to a rendezvous point. "Pinguin" closed to within a mile of other ship and opened fire without warning. The first salvo destroying the control centre and the radio room killing the radio operator and mortally wounding the ship's captain. The ship's steering gear was out of action and she was on fire. The ship was identified as the British refrigerated freighter "Port Wellington" sister ship of "Port Brisbane". "Port Wellington" was bound for England from Adelaide via Durban. She was armed with two 6-inch and one 3-inch gun. "Port Wellington" was carrying 4,400 tons of frozen meat, butter, eggs, and cheese and 1,750 tons of steel, 1,200 tons of wheat. She had a crew of 82 and seven passengers. 81 of the crewmen including the wounded captain (who would later die from his injuries aboard "Pinguin") and the seven passengers, all of whom were women, were picked up by "Pinguin". "Port Wellington" was then scuttled.
Atlantis rendezvous.
From 11 ships sunk by "Pinguin" she had 405 prisoners aboard. Ernst-Felix Krüder notified the "Seekriegsleitung" that he was sending them to Europe aboard "Storstad". "Storstad" still had 10,800 tons of diesel oil aboard and 3,000 tons of diesel oil was transferred to "Pinguin" before she left. It was arranged for the , and the to be re-fueled by "Storstad". On 8 December "Pinguin" and "Atlantis" met in the western Indian Ocean. The next day "Storstad" arrived and the re-fuelling commenced. "Pinguin" then set course southwards for her rendezvous with the whaling fleets in the Antarctic Ocean south of Bouvet Island.
Norwegian whaling fleet captured.
On 17 December the "Seekriegsleitung" signalled that the whaling fleet was to be found in the area around South Georgia and that the names of the Norwegian factory ships involved were "Harpon", "Pelagos", "Thorshammer", "Vestfjord" and "Ole Wegger". All of the factory ships were under British charter. On Christmas Eve "Pinguin" intercepted the open-frequency chatter between two of the factory ships "Ole Wegger" and "Pelagos". They learned that the whalers were awaiting a supply ship which was overdue, that "Pelagos" was short of fuel and that "Ole Wegger"s whale oil tanks were full to capacity. "Ole Wegger" offered to transfer some of her surplus fuel to "Pelagos". Ernst-Felix Krüder decided that they would wait until the two ships were transferring the oil before making any move on them as they would be unmanoeuverable. Another intercepted signal established that the approaching supply ship was the Norwegian whale-oil tanker "Solglimt". "Solglimt" first attended to "Thorshammer" which was operating 400 miles to the south-west. Ernst-Felix Krüder then decided to wait for "Solglimt" to arrive. On 13 January 1941 "Solglimt" arrived and tied up alongside "Ole Wegger".
On 14 January as the two ships lay side by side "Pinguin" approached from the west. "Pinguin" slipped alongside "Solglimt" and the two ships were ordered to maintain radio silence. "Pinguin" launched two prize crews. "Solglimt" had 4,000 tons of whale oil and 4,000 tons of fuel. She had a crew of 60. "Ole Wegger" had 7,000 tons of whale oil and 5,500 tons of fuel. She had a crew of 190. Both ships were captured within 45 minutes. The Norwegian captains were told to continue with their whaling and that the Reich would pay them for their work. "Pinguin" dispatched a motor boat to round up the whalers, three of which managed to escape. The remaining four, "Torlyn", "Pol VIII", "Pol IX" and "Pol X", were captured without incident.
In order to confuse the Norwegians "Pinguin" sailed in the opposite direction to where the third factory ship was. Once out of sight, she turned and approached the brightly lit vessel in dense fog. Coming in at full speed to within 200 metres, "Pinguin" signalled warnings and dispatched prize crews. The factory ship "Pelagos" was captured within minutes. Its several catchers were nearby engaged in their work. "Pelagos" had 9,500 tons of whale oil and 800 tons of fuel. It had a crew of 210. The captain of "Pelagos" was instructed to recall his catchers - "Star XIV", "Star XIX", "Star XX", "Star XXI", "Star XXII", "Star XXIII" and "Star XXIV".
"Pinguin"s operation against the Norwegian whaling fleet was the single most successful performance by a German auxiliary cruiser in World War II. More than 36,000 tons of shipping, a supply-ship, two factory ships, 11 whalers, 20,000 tons of whale oil with a value of over four million US dollars, and 10,000 tons of fuel oil were captured. This was all done without a single shot being fired and without any casualties. The Norwegians continued to work as if nothing had happened and made no effort to resist. "Pinguin" then made a five-day dash at top speed to the north-west past Bouvet Island and over half-way to the South Sandwich Islands. Her wireless operators sent a long coded message home knowing that every wireless station in the region would pick it up and discover their position. "Pinguin" then sailed back to the captured Norwegian fleet, after intercepting various British signals confirming the success of the ploy.
The 15 ships set off eastwards with "Pinguin" in the lead and the three factory and supply ships at the rear. "Pinguin" could not provide prize crews for all the ships. "Ole Wegger" transferred 7,000 tons of whale oil to "Solglimt"s storage tanks. "Solglimt" and "Pelagos" then departed on 25 January with their 10,000 tons of whale oil to France, "Pelagos" reaching Bordeaux on 11 March and "Solglimt" on 16 March. The "Seekriegsleitung" ordered "Pinguin" to bring "Ole Wegger" and all 11 of the catchers to a mid-Atlantic rendezvous at Point Andalusia north of the island of Tristan da Cunha. There "Pinguin" was to meet the tanker "Nordmark", which had aboard prize crews for the remaining whalers. This meeting took place on 15 February. "Nordmark" was towing the refrigerator ship "Herzogin", formerly the British ship "Duquesa". On 18 February the supply-ship arrived as well. It had a fresh supply of torpedoes, mines, a crated Arado Ar-196 seaplane and mail for "Pinguin"s crew. They then proceeded with the whaling ships to the Kerguelen Islands, where the replenishing could take place in safety.
"Herzogin" which supplied half the German Navy with meat and eggs had run out of everything that could be burned to keep her refrigeration plant working. Her entire bridge structure, lifeboat derricks, masts and all teak decking had been burned and she was going to have to be sunk. "Pinguin" was restocked with 360,000 eggs, 47 sides of beef, 410 sheep and 17 sacks of oxtails from "Herzogin" before the scuttling charges were set. "Ole Wegger" and ten of the catchers arrived at the rendezvous and they were manned with skeleton crews of armed Germans before departing for Europe. The newest catcher "Pol IX", was retained as an auxiliary minelayer and renamed "Adjutant". Two of the catchers "Star XIX" and "Star XXIV" were stopped by the British sloop off Cape Finisterre on 13 March. The German crews scuttled them and were then picked up by the British. "Ole Wegger" and the other eight catchers arrived at Bordeaux on 20 March.
Replenishment.
"Pinguin" received orders to rendezvous with the to the south of Saint Helena on 25 February in order to deliver 210 kilos of the white metal WM80. "Pinguin" headed south past the Prince Edward Islands and Crozet Island. "Pinguin" rendezvoused with the 120 miles east of the Kerguelen Islands on 12 March. "Adjutant" was sent ahead to take soundings at the entrances to the various bays and inlets of the Islands so that "Pinguin" could steer clear of rocks. "Pinguin" followed "Adjutant" into Gazelle Bay the sheltered natural harbour at Port Couvreux and tied up alongside her on 13 March. "Komet" departed on 14 March. The replenishment of "Pinguin" began and one of the first items to be hoisted out of "Alstertor"s holds was the Arado Ar-196 seaplane. "Adjutant" was converted into an auxiliary minelayer for her role in mining the approaches to the port of Karachi. "Pinguin"s hull was scraped and cleaned of marine growth and barnacles by careening the ship from one side to the other to expose the hull. The new seaplane was assembled and "Pinguin"s appearance was changed to take on the identity of the Norwegian liner "Tamerlane". "Pinguin" replenished her water supply from a waterfall using a gravity-feed system. By 22 March the replenishing of supplies from "Alstertor" was complete. "Pinguin" and "Adjutant" departed the islands on 25 March.
"Empire Light".
"Pinguin" and "Adjutant" headed north-eastwards for a rendezvous with a former Norwegian tanker and a supply-ship at Point Siberia, unaware that they had both been sunk. They spent a short time cruising the area around the Saya de Malha Bank before heading northwards, then spent the next three weeks searching to the north and south of the Seychelles. "Pinguin"s seaplane made 35 flights looking for a tanker that would be a suitable auxiliary minelayer, but without success. On 24 April "Adjutant" searching further to the north off the island of Mahé came across a large freighter. The vessel's course and speed was reported to "Pinguin". On the following day "Pinguin" steamed past "Adjutant" at full speed and opened fire shooting the freighter's wireless aerials away and crippling her steering gear with the first salvo, bringing her to a halt. "Pinguin" dispatched a boarding party which identified the vessel as the British freighter "Empire Light", on her way from Madras to Durban with a cargo of ore, hides and piece goods and a crew of 70. Her steering had been so badly disabled that it could not be repaired and the ship had to be scuttled.
"Clan Buchanan".
On 27 April "Pinguin"s seaplane spotted a ship, which "Pinguin" chased for five hours until another freighter was spotted. The first vessel was let go and "Pinguin" turned after the second one. "Pinguin" opened fire on the freighter from the next morning. The freighter's radio room and steering gear were destroyed. The second salvo blew her 4.7-inch gun into the engine room and she was abandoned by her 110-man crew. Signals had been transmitted from an auxiliary wireless but they were weak. The freighter was identified as the British "Clan Buchanan", "en route" from the United States to Madras with a cargo of military equipment. Her steering gear had been destroyed so she was scuttled.
"British Emperor".
"Pinguin" altered course towards the shipping routes between the Persian Gulf and Mozambique. "Adjutant" was given instructions to proceed to Point Violet in the event of enemy activity. "Clan Buchanan"s signals had been picked up by two stations. This resulted in the mobilisation of powerful naval forces on both sides of the Indian Ocean. "Pinguin" was searching for a tanker to the north-west of the Indian Ocean near to the entrance of the Persian Gulf. On 7 May a small tanker was spotted. "Pinguin" signaled to the tanker to heave to, but she refused to obey. Her radio operator transmitted distress signals describing their attacker and identifying herself as the British tanker "British Emperor". "Pinguin"s gunners fired a salvo of deliberate near misses to encourage "British Emperor" to stop. "British Emperor" held her course and continued sending SOS messages. "Pinguin" then fired a salvo that destroyed the tanker's bridge and wheelhouse. "British Emperor" veered off course and went round in circles trailing dense black smoke as her cargo ignited. "British Emperor" came to a halt and the crew were seen jumping overboard. "Pinguin" sent boats to pick them up. While "Pinguin"s rescue party was alongside "British Emperor" more distress signals were detected coming from the tanker. When "Pinguin"s rescue boats hauled off the blazing tanker the raider's guns opened fire again tearing away the bridge structure and silencing the signals. In order to sink "British Emperor" as quickly as possible a torpedo was fired. The torpedo began to circle requiring "Pinguin" to turn sharply to her starboard. The torpedo passed 20 metres in front of "Pinguin"s bows. A second torpedo missed the tanker but the third hit "British Emperor" square amidships sinking her. "Pinguin" departed south-eastwards.
Sinking.
"British Emperor"s SOS signals were picked up as far away as Germany. They were also picked up aboard the British cruiser to the south of "Pinguin". "Cornwall" altered course to the north on the assumption that "Pinguin" would head south, which it did. On 8 May "Pinguin" spotted the silhouette of a British warship on the horizon. "Pinguin" immediately altered course away from it at maximum speed in a south-westerly direction. "Cornwall"s Supermarine Walrus aircraft searching the surrounding seas spotted the disguised "Pinguin" but was anxious not to attack an innocent ship. The Walrus returned four hours later and circled "Pinguin". The aircrew saw what appeared to be a typical Norwegian freighter. "Pinguin" was flying the Norwegian ensign and displayed the name "Tamerlane" on both sides of her bridge. "Cornwall" was just away from "Pinguin". "Pinguin"s crew were wearing typical merchant marine clothing. The Walrus returned again an hour and a half later requesting the ship's identity, cargo and port of destination. The silhouette outline of "Tamerlane" shown in Talbot-Booth's "Merchant Ships" matched what the Walrus's observer had seen. "Tamerlane" was not among the names on the list of merchant ships known to be in the area at that time. The Walrus aircrew had suspicions. "Cornwall" at full speed headed south-west and launched seaplanes on the way. "Pinguin"s lookouts sighted "Cornwall" rapidly approaching. "Pinguin"s crew were called to action stations. "Pinguin"s guns remained concealed as she was still depending on her disguise as long as she could. "Pinguin" sent raider reports identifying herself as the Norwegian "Tamerlane" and claiming that she was being attacked by a German warship. "Cornwall"s wireless operator reported that the signals were being sent on a British Merchant Navy transmitter. "Cornwall" radioed to the circling Walrus to inform the 'Norwegians' that the ship bearing down on them was British and to order them to heave to. "Pinguin" adopted the classic defensive response of presenting her stern. "Cornwall" closed to within of "Pinguin" and signalled to her three times by lamp ordering her to "Heave to, or I fire!". A warning shot was fired from one of "Cornwall"s 8-inch guns high and to the left of "Pinguin". The warning signals were repeated and another warning shot was fired. "Cornwall"s second Walrus was prepared for launching armed with two 250-pound bombs. It was ordered to drop the first bomb in front of the fleeing "Pinguin" and if that failed to halt her the second bomb was to be dropped on her forecastle. "Cornwall" closed to of "Pinguin".
At 17:14 hrs on 8 May 1941 as the range of "Pinguin" dropped her disguise, ran up her battle flag, turned sharply to port to bring her full broadside to bear and opened up with five guns simultaneously, straddling "Cornwall". "Cornwall" suffered a failure in the electrical circuit that controlled the training of her main gun turrets. "Cornwall" broke off and retired out of range of "Pinguin"s guns to carry out repairs. "Cornwall" suffered a complete breakdown in the telephone link between the bridge and the guns and the line to the aircraft catapult. An officer was dispatched aft to order the waiting Walrus to bomb "Pinguin". However, it had suffered splinter damage and was unable to take off. "Pinguin" registered her first direct hit putting "Cornwall"s engine-room telegraph out of action and severing crucial wiring in her steering system. "Cornwall" was put out of control. Another hit on "Cornwall" started a small fire. Out of range of "Pinguin"s guns the damage to her turret circuits on "Cornwall" had been repaired. The first Walrus was spotting for the "Cornwall"s gunners who soon began to straddle "Pinguin". "Cornwall" registered her first hit bringing down the foremast. Ernst-Felix Krüder gave the orders to release the prisoners and to set the scuttling charges and abandon ship. At that very moment a four-gun salvo from the "Cornwall"s 8-inch forward turrets destroyed "Pinguin". The first shell struck the foredeck wiping out the two 150 mm guns on the forecastle head and their crews. The second shell hit the meteorological office and shattered the bridge killing Krüder and all but one other instantly. The third shell devastated the engine room. The fourth shell exploded in Hold Number 5 detonating the 130 high-explosive mines stored there, ripping the after part of "Pinguin" to pieces. Flames were sent thousands of feet into the air. Fragments of "Pinguin" were scattered across the surface of the sea. "Pinguin" was gone within five seconds.
From beginning to end the action had lasted just 27 minutes. "Pinguin" had fired over 200 shells at "Cornwall". "Cornwall" fired 136. "Cornwall"s boats picked up 60 members of "Pinguin"s crew and 24 of her former prisoners. Of the 401 Germans aboard "Pinguin" only three officers, one prize officer and 57 petty officers and men survived. Of the 238 prisoners on "Pinguin" only nine officers and 15 seamen survived. 214 prisoners and 341 of "Pinguin"s crew were killed.
Raiding career.
"Schiff 33", the "Pinguin" had sailed over 59,000 miles (more than twice the circumference of the Earth) in 357 days at sea. She sank or captured 28 ships, a total of 136,642 gross register tons. 52,000 tons was sent back to Germany under prize crews. A further four ships were sunk by mines, a total of 18,068 tons. "Pinguin's" grand total amounts to 154,710 gross register tons. "Pinguin" was the first of the Kriegsmarine's Auxiliary Cruisers to be sunk.


Plinking

Plinking refers to informal target shooting done for pleasure, typically at non-standard targets such as road signs, tin cans, logs, bottles, or any other homemade or naturally occurring target.
Practice.
In contrast to shooting done at established target ranges, plinking is generally done at home, in an open field, or other private land for no fee. The term "plinking" is an onomatopoeia of the sharp, metallic sound (or "plink") that a projectile makes when hitting a metal target such as a tin can.
The most common caliber used for plinking is the .22 Long Rifle rimfire cartridge, since these rounds are relatively inexpensive and have a low recoil; however, any caliber can be used in plinking, and it is not unusual to see a person plinking with a full power rifle or pistol. Generally it is also very cheap. Air guns and airsoft guns are also used, often for cost or safety reasons or because they are subject to less stringent regulation - a similar practice with a bow and arrow is usually termed "stump shooting".
Appeal.
The primary attributes of plinking that make it appealing as a sport are as follows: easy availability and broad variety of locations, minimum cost, freedom in practice, outdoors environment, and more engaging shooting experience when compared to established target ranges. Since not all people have reasonable access to a target range, outdoor shooting done at home or other nearby piece of land is a natural alternative, and for many, homemade shooting ranges are the only way to keep up good marksmanship.
Since target ranges generally charge a fee for the use of their facilities, and shooters usually have to buy their own paper targets, going to a target range can incur significant costs, especially when added up over time. In addition, gun ranges by necessity have many strict rules about the use of their facilities, concerning shot rate, types of ammunition and firearms permitted, where the shooter is allowed to stand, and when they can go downrange to check their targets, which some shooters may find stifling. Many shooters also find the open air to be a much more pleasant shooting environment than the inside of a target range, which is usually made of concrete and steel.
By contrast, plinking can be done at home whenever the urge strikes, for merely the cost of ammunition, as the targets used are generally any item of suitable size that conveniently comes to hand, with beverage cans being one of the more popular choices. Plinking can be done alone at the individual pace of the shooter, who is free to move around at will, or in a group, which of course requires the use of some pre-determined safety measures.
The targets themselves that are used are one of the main reasons why plinking is popular among gun enthusiasts, especially hunters. A three dimensional target in an outdoors setting is much more akin to a real world hunting scenario, allowing a hunter the opportunity for practice. Since any reasonably sized object, from a soda can or a charcoal briquet to an arbitrary spot on a tree can be used as a target, a three dimensional plinking range can easily be set up that will simulate situations commonly found while hunting small game, such as when the animal is behind cover, or up in a tree. A plinking target will also often react much more positively to a hit than a paper target will, either with an audible impact, or visual confirmation by moving, splattering or falling over. Steel targets, which are used for formal action and long range shooting competitions, are also popular among plinksters due to their relative ease to set up, as well as their clear evidence of good hits.


Lahitolle 95 mm cannon

The Lahitolle 95 mm cannon (Mle 1875) was a French cannon of the 19th century, developed in 1875 by the artillery commander de Lahitolle. The Lahitolle 90 mm was the first French field cannon made of steel, and one of the first to be equipped with a screw breech (issued 16 years after the British and Prussians adopted a similar system). It was adopted by the French Army in 1875 and later superseded the Reffye and de Bange 90 mm cannons. An improved version, the Lahitolle 95 mm (Mle 1888), was developed in 1888.
Coastal Artillery.
A version called the "Canon de 95 sur affut de Cote mle 1904" was mounted on a Vavasseur mount with a gun shield for use in coastal defenses. The gun sat on a cradle that held the trunnioned barrel on top of a pedestal. When the gun fired a combination of inclined rails, and hydraulic buffers returned the gun to position.
Fortress Artillery.
In addition to its coastal defense role, Lahitolle 95 mm cannons were employed on pedestal mounts in France's Séré de Rivières system of fortifications. Approximately 475 cannons were used in coastal and land fortifications.
Railway Artillery.
Early in World War One, 16 coastal defense cannons were mounted on armored rail cars for use with France's armored trains. They are believed to have been retired by 1916.
World War I.
The Lahitolle 95 mm was still in use during World War I, together with the de Bange 90 mm cannon, as French industry could not keep with production requirements for the much newer Canon de 75.
World War II.
The Lahitolle 95 mm was still in use in the fortifications of the Maginot line during World War II. Mle 1904 guns captured by the Germans were given the designation "9.5cm Küstenkanone (f)" and used in Germany's Atlantic Wall fortifications.


D.C. Armory

The D.C. Armory is an armory and a 10,000-seat multi-purpose arena in the eastern United States, located in Washington, D.C., east of the U.S. Capitol building. Managed by the Washington Convention and Sports Authority, the Armory was constructed and opened in 1941, as the headquarters, armory, and training facility for the District of Columbia National Guard. In recent years it has also become a venue for a broad range of events. Adjacent to the northeast is RFK Stadium, which opened in 1961.
About.
Prior to its construction, the Convention Hall located on 5th Street NW, between K and L had been used as an armory. Construction on the new armory began on June 2, 1940, and it opened on July 13, 1941. The structure was designed by the city's Municipal Architect, Nathan C. Wyeth. The D.C. Armory replaced the National Armory, a 1910 structure which was designed by New York City architect Electus D. Litchfield.
OPLAN 1954, a 1954 war game preparing for an atomic bomb exploding over Washington, D.C., supposed that a vacant parking lot near the Armory could be turned into an emergency airstrip for delivering medical supplies. Initially, nonmilitary use of the Armory was facilitated by the D.C. Armory Board, which was formed in 1948. During its existence the board oversaw the use of both the Armory and RFK Stadium. In 1994 the board was dissolved and the city's use of the Armory came under the authority of the D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission (DCSEC), which later became the Washington Convention and Sports Authority.
The Armory is served by the Stadium–Armory station on the Blue and Orange Lines of the Washington Metro. The Armory shares a 10,000 car parking lot with the adjacent Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium.
Events.
The Armory's Drill Field is approximately and has hosted trade shows, concerts, warehouse sales, the Washington Auto Show, sporting events, and Presidential inauguration balls.
The Washington Diplomats played indoor soccer at the armory in 1978. The armory has hosted the WCW Capital Combat professional wrestling event in 1990, served as a preliminary tryout venue for "American Idol", been a concert venue for Marilyn Manson, and hosted the Longest Yard Football Classic, a charity game pitting Members of Congress (aided by former NFL stars) against the Capitol Police. In 2007, the first sanctioned pro mixed martial arts event in Washington, D.C. was held at the armory.
The Armory has been home to the DC Rollergirls, D.C.'s female flat track roller derby league, since February 2008. In 2009, the Armory became home to the D.C. Armor, an American Indoor Football Association team. Popular Dutch trance artist Armin van Buuren played a six-hour set at the Armory in 2011. In 2013, facility hosted the IBF Junior Welterweight title fight featuring Lamont Peterson and Kendall Holt.
During World War II, the Armory was used by the FBI Identification Division to house fingerprint records. Inauguration balls spanning from the presidencies of Harry S. Truman to Barack Obama have also been hosted at the Armory. Frank Sinatra and Peter Lawford produced President Kennedy's pre-inaugural gala at the Armory on January 19, 1961. The cast of performers included Harry Belafonte, Milton Berle, Leonard Bernstein, Joey Bishop, Nat King Cole, Tony Curtis, Jimmy Durante, Ella Fitzgerald, Gene Kelly, Alan King, Janet Leigh, Ethel Merman, Louis Prima, Keely Smith, Pat Suzuki, and Helen Traubel.


Federal Laboratories

Federal Laboratories (often FedLabs or Federal Labs) was a company that manufactured tear gas and less-lethal riot guns, including the popular Federal Riot Gun, based in New Jersey and established in the early part of the 20th century.
History of use.
Civil order in the United States.
In the 1930s, custom gas guns by FedLabs were adopted by the New York Prison department, following a sales pitch made before the APA by the president of FedLabs in Baltimore in 1931. Also in the 1930s, Federal Laboratories actively worked to sell gas guns for the purpose of strikebreaking, with one FedLabs representative firing a tear gas grenade during the 1934 West Coast waterfront strike, resulting in the death of a striker due to skull fracture. Auerbach notes, however, that despite FedLabs stated opposition to "communist" strikers, the firm continued to sell tear gas to the Soviet Union even during 1933.
World War II.
During World War II, the company's factory near Saltsburg, PA along Tunnelton Road employed women to replace drafted male workers. There the women produced "incendiary magnesium powder bombs, grenades and other munitions", including FedLabs tear gas grenades.
Northern Ireland.
The single shot FRG became the standard riot gun used extensively by the British Army throughout The Troubles in Northern Ireland.
Israel.
FedLabs gas guns, and CS and CN grenades, were imported by Israel for use in the Palestinian Territories; in 1988 FedLabs discontinued sales of CS and CN to Israel following multiple reports of abusive use of the products.
Sale and fate.
In March 1994, TransTechnology sold FedLabs to Mace Security International, which subsequently sold the company in 1998 to Armor Holdings. Armor holdings was in turn acquired by BAE Systems in 2007.


.303 Savage

The .303 Savage is a rimmed, .30 caliber rifle cartridge developed by the Savage Arms Company in 1894 which was designed as a short action cartridge for their Savage Model 1895 later 1899 hammerless lever-action rifle. The cartridge was designed for smokeless powder at a time when black-powder cartridges were still popular. The .303 Savage round was ballistically superior to the .30-30 Winchester, but only marginally. The .303 Savage remained popular through the 1930s. Savage produced a half dozen loads for it. With its 190-grain loading, it was used on such animals as deer and moose.
History.
Savage Arms created the .303 Savage as part of an unsuccessful attempt at creating a cartridge for the military. Although the cartridge was never popular with the military, it did become a popular round for civilian hunters. Being a pointed-tip rimmed cartridge, it worked well in the Model 99 rifles that Savage produced because of their rotary magazine. It wasn't as successful in other lever-action rifles because of their tubular magazines. However, the pointed-tip bullets gave it a ballistic advantage over other traditional lever-action cartridges such as the .30-30 Winchester.
Reloading.
The .303 Savage has a small, but loyal fraternity of shooters who reload this cartridge. While major ammunition manufacturers have long since halted production of ammo, dedicated followers can procure loaded ammunition and brass cases through smaller enterprises. The brass cases can be formed from .30-30 Winchester, .32 Winchester Special, and .38-55 Winchester casings.
Non-compatibility with .303 British.
The .303 Savage and the .303 British cartridge are not interchangeable with each other. Neither the bullet diameter nor the cartridge dimensions are compatible.


Precision Rifle Series

The Precision Rifle Series (PRS) is a long range and precision rifle based shooting sport derived from practical shooting. The series have a championship style where competitors collect points from thirty matches spread across nearly twenty states, and thereby are ranked across the nation. Top ranked competitors get to compete in the last match of the season which is the "Precision Rifle Finale". The number of active competitors has increased from 164 in 2012 to over 15,000 by 2020.
The competition seeks to find a balance between speed and precision, and targets can both have known (KD) and unknown distances (UKD).
Shooting distances can vary from between 10 and 1,200 meters/ yards, and thus the competitor needs to have good knowledge of their firearms ballistics. The primary focus is on long range shooting, and a competition usually consists of several courses of fire. Each course usually has a set maximum time (par time), and the shooter is awarded points according to how many targets they manage to hit during that time. Targets presented are usually relatively small and made of steel. In the PRS-series for instance, usually between 0.3-0.9 MIL (3-9 cm at 100 m, approximately 1-3 MOA).
Rifles.
Long range sniper-style rifle matches at various ranges from unconventional shooting positions became popular in the 1990s. PRS rules established in 2012 stipulated rifles used by competing shooters must fire bullets with a diameter not greater than at muzzle velocities not greater than per second. These limits are intended to prolong the life of the steel targets used in matches. There are six competitive categories for rifles firing such bullets.
Most competitors use variable-magnification telescopic sights. Cartridges firing 6mm or 6.5mm (.24 to .26 caliber) bullets are popular because low recoil often enables shooters to observe whether they have hit or missed a target to assess whether another shot is required before moving on to the next target.
Many competitors also use shooting bags to create a stable platform to rest their rifles.
Divisions.
Bolt action rifles - Divisions, Categories and Classifications rifles:
The PRS has three bolt gun divisions and one gas gun division. All shooters must declare the division in which they will be competing when they register for the PRS. Shooters are permitted to shoot in multiple divisions in the same season. They however, must register for all divisions in which they choose to compete. It is imperative for shooters to ensure they are registered in the correct division for all matches if they plan on competing in multiple divisions. It is the shooter’s responsibility to ensure they are scored in the correct division. Failure to do so will result in a Match DQ.
All competitors shoot the same course of fire regardless of their registered division.
Competitors are given a 1% variance on speed for environmental factors and equipment discrepancies
Classifications.
In order for shooters to be able to compete with their peers, PRS Series competitors are divided into classifications based upon their skill level and performance. The reason for the classification system is to have the ability to rank competitors and allow shooters to have true peer-to-peer recognition. This allows for goal setting and realistic achievement of attainable goals within the sport.
The classification system is a yearly performance-based system in which shooters are classed for the current season based on their year prior season series score (not including their finale score). At the end of each season, shooters classes will be recalculated according to the classification bracket percentages based on their end of season pre-finale series score. The shooter will retain this classification for the entire next season and compete within this classification at the Pro Series Finale (if qualified).
PRS competitors can achieve a classification of either Pro, Semi-pro, Marksman, or Amateur. Each class consists of a percentage of the total number of affiliated shooters, based on the end of season standings not including the finale. Pro shooters, for example, will be classified as the top 20% of competitors according to the standings after the last Pro Series match of the season. Competitors within the top 55 -79.9% of shooters, based on these standings will be classified as Semi-pro and so on.
Affiliations.
PRS today has affiliate clubs in nine countries:


.25 caliber

.25 caliber may refer to the following firearms cartridges:


Manjil

Manjil (, also Romanized as Manjīl and Menjīl ; derived from Manzil) is a city in the Central District of Rudbar County, Gilan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 16,028, in 4,447 families.
Geography.
Manjil is known as the windy city of Iran, a reputation it owes to its geographical position in the Alborz mountain range at a small cleft in Alborz that funnels the wind through Manjil to the Qazvin plateau. The biggest wind farm of Iran, the Manjil and Rudbar Wind Farm, is located near Manjil.
Manjil is known for the river Sefīd-Rūd (or "Sepid Rood", "Sefid Rood", "white river"). It passes by the town and is formed in Manjil by two joining rivers. Since 1960 it has been the site of the Manjil Dam that significantly contributes to Gilan's agriculture, such as its olive groves, while generating electric power. The reservoir impounded by the Manjil Dam adds to the beauty of the area.
History.
Throughout the history Manjil has been a gate to the southern Caspian Sea region. There are numerous archaeological site excavations (mostly illegal) in the Manjil area because of its rich cultural history. Some of these sites are related to the Ismaili era, i.e., Hassan Sabbah movement based in Alamoot forte (one may find artifacts from the 3rd-2nd millennia BC in some households).
Modern history.
In the modern era, Manjil was the site of a historical battle between the nationalist revolutionary forces of Jangal (led by Mirza Koochak Khan) and the joint British and White Russian forces on June 12, 1918. The latter forces (led by General Dunsterville and Colonel Bicherakhov) willing to pass through Manjil as the only passage to the Caspian to reach Baku and overthrow the newly formed Baku Commune (led by Stepan Shahumian). General Dunsterville's private diaries and notes, including those kept during his command of the Dunsterforce Mission to North Persia and Baku, 1918 were transcribed from the original by General Dunsterville's great granddaughter, and are co-located on the Great War Primary Documents Archive.
Although devastated by a 1990 Manjil–Rudbar earthquake of magnitude 7.3, for the last few decades Manjil has enjoyed industrial and economic growth.
People.
Manjil had a mainly Azerbaijani Turkish population from the ʿAmmārlu tribe, together with Tats and Kurds.


War scythe

A war scythe or military scythe is a form of pole weapon with a curving single-edged blade with the cutting edge on the concave side of the blade. Its blade bears some superficial resemblance to that of an agricultural scythe from which it likely evolved, but the war scythe is otherwise unrelated to agricultural tools and is a purpose-built infantry melee weapon. The blade of a war scythe has regularly proportioned flats, a thickness comparable to that of a spear or sword blade, and slightly curves along its edge as it tapers to its point. This is very different from farming scythes, which have very thin and irregularly curved blades, specialised for mowing grass and wheat only, unsuitable as blades for improvised spears or polearms.
Compared to a fauchard (which is believed to have evolved from the war scythe), the blade of the war scythe has the cutting edge on the concave side like the agricultural tool whereas the fauchard has the edge along the convex side.
As an infantry weapon, the military scythe had practical applications both in offensive actions against enemy infantry and as a defensive measure against enemy cavalry.
History.
Farming tools such as the scythe and pitchfork have frequently been used as a weapon by those who could not afford or did not have access to more expensive weapons such as pikes, swords, or later, guns. Scythes and pitchforks were stereotypically carried by angry mobs or gangs of enraged peasants. The process usually involved reforging the blade of a scythe at a 90 degree angle, strengthening the joint between the blade and the shaft with an additional metal pipe or bolts and reinforcing the shaft to better protect it against cuts from enemy blades. At times, instead of a scythe blade, a blade from a hand-operated chaff cutter was used.
War scythes were a popular weapon of choice and opportunity of many peasant uprisings throughout history. The ancient Greek historian Xenophon describes in his work ("Anabasis") the chariots of Artaxerxes II, which had projecting scythes fitted. Later, Jan Žižka's Hussite warriors, recruited mostly from peasantry, used modified scythes. Called originally 'kůsa -scythe' and later "sudlice", it doubled as both a stabbing and cutting weapon, developing later into the "ušatá sudlice"—Bohemian earspoon, more suitable for combat—thanks to side spikes (ears), acting as end stops, it did not penetrate too deep, and so was easier to draw from fallen foes. War scythes were widely used by Polish and Lithuanian peasants during revolts in the 18th and 19th centuries. Polish peasants used war scythes during the 17th-century Swedish invasion (The Deluge). In the 1685 battle of Sedgemoor, James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, fielded a 5000 strong peasant unit armed with war scythes. They were used in the 1784 Transylvanian peasants' Revolt of Horea, Cloşca and Crişan, in the war in the Vendée by royalist peasant troops, in the 1st War of Schleswig in 1848 in Denmark, and again in various Polish uprisings: the Kościuszko Uprising in 1794 and the battle of Racławice, in which scythe wielders successfully charged and captured Russian artillery. In that year Chrystian Piotr Aigner published a field manual, "Short Treatise on Pikes and Scythes", detailing the training and operation of scythe-equipped forces, the first and probably only such book in the history of warfare. War scythes were later used in the November Uprising in 1831, January Uprising in 1863, and Silesian Uprising in 1921. The description of a fighting unit as "scythemen" was used in Poland as late as 1939; however, the Gdynia "kosynierzy" were armed with hunting guns rather than scythes.
Specifics.
As a pole weapon, the war scythe is characterised by long range and powerful force (due to leverage). They could be used, depending on construction and tactics, to make slashing or stabbing attacks, and with their uncommon appearance and considerable strength could have a psychological impact on an unprepared enemy. However, like most pole weapons, their disadvantages were weight (which could quickly exhaust the user) and slow speed. After the German Peasants' War during 1524–1525, a fencing book edited by Paulus Hector Mair described in 1542 techniques how to fence using a scythe.


Cypress Street Viaduct

The Cypress Street Viaduct, often referred to as the Cypress Structure or the Cypress Freeway, was a 1.6-mile-long (2.5 km), raised two-deck, multi-lane (four lanes per tier) freeway constructed of reinforced concrete that was originally part of the Nimitz Freeway (State Route 17, and later, Interstate 880) in Oakland, California.
It replaced an earlier single-deck viaduct constructed in the 1930s as one of the approaches to the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge. It was located along Cypress Street between 7th Street and Interstate 80 in the West Oakland neighborhood.
It officially opened to traffic on June 11, 1957, and was in use until the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, when much of the upper deck collapsed onto the lower deck, killing 42 people.
The is located in Oakland, at 14th Street and Mandela Parkway.
Construction.
The double-decked viaduct was initially designed in 1949 by the City of Oakland as a way to ease traffic on local streets leading to the Bay Bridge, such as Cypress Street (which was California State Route 17 at the time). The route was partially chosen to displace perceived slums in West Oakland.
The southernmost portion of the Cypress Street viaduct, which was designed as a central offramp structure exiting at Market Street between Fifth and Sixth Streets to the Eighth Street/Seventh Street on/off ramps, was the first phase of the overall project completed in October 1955, by contractors Frederickson and Watson at a cost of $1.7 million. Construction on the second phase of the project, the double-decked viaduct portion (which started from Adeline Street in the south to the MacArthur Maze in the north), began in February 1956 by contractors Grove, Wilson, Shepard and Kruge at a cost of $8.3 million, bringing the total cost of the viaduct project to $10 million. It was California's first double-decked freeway when it officially opened to traffic on June 11, 1957.
Loma Prieta earthquake.
On October 17, 1989, the portion of the structure from 16th Street north all the way to the MacArthur Maze collapsed during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, due to ground movement and structural flaws.
When in use, the upper deck was used by southbound traffic, and the lower deck was used by northbound traffic. Some sections of the Cypress Street Viaduct were largely supported by two columns on either side, but some sections were only supported beneath by a single supporting column. The design was unable to survive the earthquake because the upper portions of the exterior columns were not tied by reinforcing to the lower columns, and the columns were not sufficiently ringed to prevent bursting (Similar to Hanshin Expressway in Kobe, Japan). At the time of its design, such structures were not analyzed as a whole, and it appears that large structure motion contributed to the collapse. It was built on filled land on top of bay clay; filled land is highly susceptible to soil settlement during an earthquake, and bay clay exhibits larger ground motion. A little bit of earthquake reinforcement was added to the Cypress Street Viaduct in 1977.
After the earthquake stopped (with no aftershock), local residents and workers began crawling into and climbing upon the shattered structure with the goal of rescuing those left alive. Many were saved, some only by amputation of trapped limbs. The collapse of the upper tier onto the lower tier resulted in 42 fatalities—while this represented two-thirds of the total quake death toll of 63, it was a magnitude lower than initially feared; with San Francisco and Oakland in the World Series, many would-be commuters in both cities had left work early or stayed late to watch the upcoming Game 3, and as a result traffic on the viaduct was far lighter at the time of the quake than it normally would have been.
After the viaduct was torn down, Cypress Street was renamed Mandela Parkway, in honor of Nelson Mandela, and a landscaped median strip was planted where the viaduct once stood. Before reconstruction occurred, the viaduct ended at the 7th Street exit on the southern end, with the two roadways going over 7th Street, while the southbound exit off the MacArthur Maze onto Cypress Street at 32nd Street remained open to local traffic on the northern end.
Reconstruction around West Oakland.
In 1997, the Nimitz Freeway was rerouted to loop around the area using a largely ground-level design with more conventional single-level viaduct. The space was mainly taken from a railroad yard which was relocated. The exit at 8th Street was eliminated, a southbound exit near 7th and Union Street and a single northbound and southbound exit at 7th Street, near the Port of Oakland was constructed also providing access via Frontage Road to West Grand Avenue and the Oakland Army Base on Maritime Street, before a viaduct-type interchange splitting traffic to the Bay Bridge via Grand Avenue and also northbound to the Eastshore Freeway. This also realigned the ramp from I-80 west to I-580 east/I-880 south which fully completed the Cypress Freeway Realignment in 2001.
During construction of the new section of the Nimitz Freeway, a team of archaeologists made many interesting discoveries about the people who lived in West Oakland in the 19th century.
Due to cost overruns, the costs of the replacement freeway doubled from initial estimates of $650 million to $1.2 billion ($250 million per mile) making the five-mile freeway replacement the most expensive project in the state's history at the time. (It would be subsequently overshadowed by the northbound addition of the Benicia–Martinez Bridge and the Eastern span replacement of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge.) The cost overruns were mainly due to the opposition to replacing the highway on the site of the one partially destroyed in 1989, therefore requiring the purchase of land and property from Southern Pacific Railroad and Amtrak (moving part of the rail yard, which in turn caused the earthquake-damaged 16th Street Amtrak Station to be closed and replaced with two Amtrak stations in Jack London Square and Emeryville), the United States Postal Service (having to replace a parking lot with a parking garage), and the U.S. Army (the new route went through the Oakland Army Base), as well as replacing BART support beams.


Aviation and climate change


Fayetteville rifle

The Fayetteville Rifle was a 2 banded rifle produced at the Confederate States Arsenal in Fayetteville, North Carolina. The machinery which produced these weapons was primarily that captured at the United States Arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, which was previously used to produce the US Model 1855 Rifle.
The weapon was produced in .58 caliber from early in 1862 until the capture and destruction of the arsenal by Union forces under General W. T. Sherman on March 11, 1865.
In February, 1862, the Fayetteville Observer, in describing the beginning of arms’ manufacturing at the arsenal, reported:
The first examples were manufactured using assorted M1855 lock blanks and are mounted in iron with high and medium high lockplate humps. Later examples are mounted in brass with a graceful "S" shaped hammer. Only the very early examples are known to have a patch box.
The rifle was made both with and without a special bayonet lug which allowed the use of a sword bayonet.
The weapons are highly rare and collectible and pristine examples command prices in excess of $25,000.


Aldric Saucier

Aldric Saucier (April 29, 1936 – December 8, 2016) was an American scientist and whistleblower. Saucier lost his job and security clearance after he criticized the Strategic Defense Initiative in 1992.
Early life.
Aldric Saucier was born on April 29, 1926 in Maine.
Career.
Saucier started his career as a navigator with the United States Army Air Corps. In 1969, he worked on Apollo 11. He also worked on "the Ballistic Missile Defense Ground based free electron laser in 1983 and the Star Wars Program in 1991."
In October 1986, while working on the Strategic Defense Initiative (also known as Star Wars), Saucier sent a letter of complaint to James A. Abrahamson, alleging a pattern of "mismanagement and abuse," as well as "wasteful spending on research and development." By 1987, he was demoted. In February 1992, he was dismissed on the grounds of poor performance. His mental health was also "question[ed]" by his detractors, and he was surveilled by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. However, Democratic Congressman John Conyers believed it was done in retaliation, and he asked Army Secretary Michael P. W. Stone to overturn the dismissal, which he did. By March 1992, the allegations were reviewed by Defense Secretary Dick Cheney, and Saucier was given whistleblower protection. By April 1992, his security clearance was revoked after the Army found an error on a form he had filled out in 1969, where it was claimed he had graduated from UCLA instead of simply attending classes there.
Saucier was represented by the Government Accountability Project.
In 1996, Saucier ran for Congress in Maine's 2nd district as an independent. He came in third with 4.7% of the vote, in a race that was won by incumbent Democrat John Baldacci.
Personal life and death.
Saucier resided in Fort Fairfield, Maine until he moved to Fairfax, Virginia, where he died on December 8, 2016, at age 80.


Iowa Army Ammunition Plant

Address.
Iowa Army Ammunition Plant, ATTN: JMIA-CO, 17571 DMC Highway 79, Middletown, IA 52638-5000
Mission Statement.
The Iowa Army Ammunition Plant (IAAAP), located in Des Moines County in southeastern Iowa, near the city of Burlington, produces and delivers component assembly, and medium- and large-caliber ammunition items for the United States Department of Defense using modern production methods in support of worldwide operations.
History.
The IAAAP was established in November 1940, as the Iowa Ordnance Plant and started production in 1941. Production was stopped in 1945, when World War II ended. The plant resumed its ammunition manufacturing mission in 1949. In 1950, in response to the Korean conflict, production increased dramatically. In 1975, the Army assumed responsibility for IAAAP.
Installation Overview.
IAAAP is housed on 19,011 acres with 767 buildings, 271 igloos and storage capacity of 1,100,775 square feet. It also has 143 miles of roads and 102 miles of railroads. The installation has a government staff of 25 Department of the Army civilians and one Soldier to provide contract oversight. The government staff has a payroll budget of $2.5 million. Contractor statistics are considered proprietary and are therefore unavailable.