United States Air Force Plant 4

Air Force Plant 4 is a government-owned, contractor-operated aerospace facility in Fort Worth, Texas, currently owned by the U.S. Air Force and operated by Lockheed Martin Aeronautics. It is home of the F-16 and F-35 fighter aircraft. Military aircraft have been manufactured here since 1942. Plant 4 is adjacent to Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, formerly Carswell Air Force Base.
Overview.
Air Force Plant 4 is one of the largest employers in the area with a staff of approximately 17,000 people. Air Force Plant 4 is located within the Fort Worth-Arlington Metropolitan Statistical Area which includes Johnson, Parker and Tarrant Counties. The area is characterized as a highly urbanized area with a diverse economic base concentrated in the manufacturing, service and retail industries. With a large number of defense industries and their associated supply and service businesses, the community has been greatly affected by the recent reduction in defense expenditures.
History.
Plant 4's origins begin in May 1940 when the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce was trying to convince aircraft manufacturers to build an aircraft assembly plant in the Fort Worth area to support the massive expansion of the Army Air Corps.
Fleet and Consolidated Aircraft, wanting to build in the area, suggested to the Air Corps that they jointly build an airfield adjacent to the heavy bomber plant they wanted to build in Fort Worth. It was suggested that the Air Corps would benefit by having a joint facility. Local officials promised to spend money to build an airport on the land next to the plant and lease it to the Air Corps. After some objections to this, another suggestion to deed the Air Corps the land was made was accepted, and on 16 June 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt approved $1.75 million to construct a military airfield (Fort Worth Army Airfield) next to the Consolidated manufacturing plant.
World War II.
The B-24 Liberator was first proposed to the Air Corps in 1938, and with the start of World War II in Europe, the French Government placed an order for 60 aircraft, sight unseen. In 1940, Britain ordered 164. These large foreign orders were placed well before the US military placed similar-sized orders, and played a large role in getting the B-24 project going.
In order to meet the projected demand for the B-24, in early 1941 the government established the Liberator Production Pool Program. Under this program, Consolidated would produce Liberators at the new plant in Fort Worth to supplement the B-24 production in its main San Diego plant. Sub-assemblies and components of B-24Ds would first be sent to Fort Worth and assembled from smaller plants until Fort Worth could produce the complete aircraft. Three designations of the Liberator, B-24D, B-24E, and B-24G would be flown to Fort Worth from Consolidated production lines in San Diego, Willow Run, Michigan and North American Aircraft in Dallas. At Fort Worth, the aircraft would be processed through what was called a "modification center" where the aircraft would be updated with the latest modifications before being turned over to the Air Force and flown out from the Fort Worth Army Airfield, which it shared a common airfield with. Over 3,000 B-24 aircraft were manufactured, assembled and modified during the war.
In February 1943, the Army directed Consolidated to shift its production of the B-32 Dominator very heavy bomber from San Diego to Fort Worth, to streamline PBY Catalina production in San Diego for the Navy. The B-32 program, however, was beset with technical problems and by the end of December 1944, only five aircraft had been delivered. In comparison, the B-29 Superfortress had been in combat for nearly six months. Before the program's termination in September 1945, only 124 B-32s were produced in Fort Worth.
Cold War.
In 1942, Consolidated decided to manufacture its very long range bomber, the XB-36 Peacemaker, in Fort Worth. Although the USAAF approved this plan, it caused a delay of several months in the XB-36 project; since all the drawings, the mockup, the engineers, and the tooling had to be moved from San Diego to Texas. Unfortunately, progress on the XB-36 was still slow, and by the middle of 1944, B-29s were attacking Japan regularly from bases in the Mariana Islands. Although the B-36 project would still continue, it would now do so with a lower priority. Following the surrender of Germany and the end of the war in Europe, aircraft production contracts were drastically cut back. However, the contract for the B-36 was untouched. The enormous losses suffered in seizing island bases in the Pacific convinced the USAAF that there was still a definite need for a very long-range bomber.
The first XB-36 (42-13570) was rolled out of the Fort Worth factory on 8 September 1945, and took off from Fort Worth on its maiden flight on 8 August 1946. The B-36 was in production at Fort Worth until the last B-36J was rolled out on 14 August 1954; 385 of these were ultimately built.
Consolidated Aircraft became Convair, following a merger in 1943. Convair was itself acquired by General Dynamics in 1953.
Beginning in the late 1940s, Air Materiel Command, requested that work begin on a new jet- powered medium bomber that would be ready for service by the late 1950s. After years of development, a medium jet bomber Convair's XB-58, was accepted by the Air Force in December 1955 for thirteen aircraft, which would be built at Plant 4 in Fort Worth. Technical problems and testing by Air Force Systems Command meant that the first production aircraft were not delivered until 1959. The aircraft remained in production until 1964 when the Air Force decided to phase the aircraft out of the inventory.
The company's proposal for the Tactical Fighter Experimental project (TFX) was accepted in 1962, with the fighter seeing production as the General Dynamics F-111. By 1966, the plant had expanded to 4.7 million square feet, and by 1968 it had expanded further to 6.5 million square feet, to accommodate production of the F-111. Plant 4 built 562 of the aircraft by the time production ended, in 1976.
In the early 1970s, the YF-16 was designed and built at Fort Worth, and the USAF accepted its first F-16 on August 17, 1978. The Fighting Falcon is one of the most successful military aircraft ever produced, with major production continuing until the early 2000s and support components of the aircraft still being produced.
Current use.
When General Dynamics sold its aircraft manufacturing interests to Lockheed Martin it included the operation of Plant 4, which eventually would house Lockheed Martin Aeronautics' divisional headquarters. As of the end of the Cold War, the plant was fabricating, assembling, and testing the F-16 for the USAF and many allied nations. The last of 3,620 F-16s was built there in late 2017 after more than 39 years and then production moved to another factory on the east coast. In March 1992 Lockheed began to produce F-22 Raptor aircraft components at the facility. Additionally, the plant produces spare aircraft parts, radar units, and missile components.
Today the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter is being produced on the assembly line at the plant.
Pollution.
Air Force Plant 4 has been listed as a Superfund site since 1990. It was discovered a significant trichloroethylene plume had contaminated local soil and groundwater. Remediation efforts are still underway.


Eternal Flame Falls

The Eternal Flame Falls is a small waterfall located in the Shale Creek Preserve, a section of Chestnut Ridge Park in Western New York. A small grotto at the waterfall's base emits natural gas, which can be lit to produce a small flame. This flame is visible nearly year round, although it can be extinguished and must occasionally be re-lit.
The Eternal Flame Falls were featured in the book "Secret Places" by Bruce Kershner and in the book "What's Weird on Earth".
Recent developments.
Once considered an "obscure" attraction in the region, media attention and improvements to the access trail have led to an increased number of visitors. The increased popularity of the falls has led to some negative impacts, such as an increase in litter, vandalism, pollution, and impacts on the surrounding terrain by tourists, but also fueled a successful public protest against a plan to clear a nearby forested area to install a disc golf course in 2012. However, the disc golf course was installed just through the forest area.
Composition and source of gas.
Geologists from Indiana University Bloomington and Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology studied Eternal Flame Falls in 2013 in an effort to better understand how natural gas emitted from naturally occurring hydrocarbon seeps contribute to greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. They found that the 'macro seep' at Eternal Flame Falls had higher concentrations of ethane and propane (about 35%) than other known natural gas seeps, which typically contain a greater proportion of methane. They estimated that the seep at the falls emits approximately of methane per day.
The researchers also noted the presence of numerous other 'micro seeps' in the area of the falls. By comparing the gas emitted by these seeps with gas from wells in the area, they determined that the gasses originate from Rhinestreet Shale approximately below the surface. Tectonic activity likely opened faults in the shale, allowing the gas to reach the surface.
According to one geologist involved in the 2013 study, the seep's apparent source could provide evidence for a previously unknown geologic mechanism by which natural gas is produced within shale. Typically, shale must be hot (around ) for its carbon structures to break down and form smaller natural gas molecules. However, the shale from which Eternal Flame Falls draws its gas is much cooler, in addition to being younger and shallower than typical gas-bearing shale. This may indicate that additional, as yet undemostrated, processes can contribute to the creation of natural gas in shale; one possibility is that a catalyst capable of breaking down shale in cooler conditions is present.


Burnside carbine

The Burnside carbine was a breech-loading carbine that saw widespread use during the American Civil War.
Design.
The carbine was designed and patented by Ambrose Burnside, who resigned his commission in the U.S. Army to devote himself full-time to working on the weapon. The carbine used a special brass cartridge which was also invented by Burnside. This cartridge contained a bullet and powder, but no primer. Pressing the weapon's two trigger guards opened the breech block and allowed the user to insert a cartridge.
When the trigger was pulled, the hammer struck a separate percussion cap and caused a spark; a hole in the base of the cartridge exposed the black powder to this spark. The unique, conical cartridge sealed the joint between the barrel and the breech. Most other breech-loading weapons of the day tended to leak hot gas when fired, but Burnside's design eliminated this problem.
Service history.
In 1857, the Ryon Burnside carbine won a competition at West Point against 17 other carbine designs. In spite of this, few of the carbines were immediately ordered by the government, but this changed with the outbreak of the Civil War, when over 55,000 were ordered for use by Union cavalrymen. This made it the third most popular carbine of the Civil War; only the Sharps carbine and the Spencer carbine were more widely used. They saw action in all theatres of the war. There were so many in service that many were captured and used by Confederates. A common complaint by users was that the unusually shaped cartridge sometimes became stuck in the breech after firing.
On the basis of ordnance returns and ammunition requisitions, it has been estimated that 43 Union cavalry regiments were using the Burnside carbine during the 1863-1864 period. Additionally, 7 Confederate cavalry units were at least partially armed with the weapon during this same period.
Five different models were produced. Production was discontinued towards the end of the Civil War, when the Burnside Rifle Company was given a contract to make Spencer carbines instead.
Effect of the carbine on Burnside's career.
Though he was a poor military officer (and not too proud to admit it), Ambrose Burnside rose through the ranks partly because his carbine was so well known. He was pressured by President Lincoln several times to take command of the Union Army of the Potomac. He repeatedly declined, saying, "I was not competent to command such a large army as this." When he eventually did accept command, he led the Army of the Potomac to defeat at the Battle of Fredericksburg. The battle and the subsequent abortive offensive left Burnside's "officers complaining loudly to the White House and the War Department about his incompetence." He also performed poorly at the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, and a court of inquiry blamed him for the Union failure at the Battle of the Crater, though the blame was later lifted from him.


Ringelmann smoke chart


Harris Gun Works M-96

The Harris Gunworks M-96 is a semi automatic sniper rifle. Manufactured by Harris Gunworks at Phoenix, Arizona, this is chambered for .50 BMG currently used heavily by the United States and Malaysian armed forces.


Lazer Tag Academy

Lazer Tag Academy is an animated television series inspired by Worlds of Wonder's Lazer Tag (their branded version of the pursuit game referred to generically as "laser tag") that was created by Ruby-Spears Productions. Original episodes aired on NBC from September 13 to December 6, 1986, with reruns lasting until August 22, 1987.
It was later shown in reruns under the new title "Lazer Patrol" on the Sci Fi Channel as part of Sci Fi Cartoon Quest.
Another laser tag related series, DIC Entertainment's live-action "Photon" series aired the same year in syndication.
Synopsis.
Jamie Jaren, the Lazer Tag Champion of 3010, travels back in time to the year 1987 to help her ancestors, teenagers Tom and Beth and toddler Nicky. Jamie protects the kids from Draxon Drear, a master criminal from the year 2061 who was unwittingly revived from suspended animation by Jamie's teacher Professor Olanga after he ended up in that state following a spaceship hijacking accident. Draxon's spaceship crashed into the Atlantic Ocean and was kept in suspended animation until he was revived.
Draxon has traveled back in time to destroy Beth because she would eventually create the Starlyte gun and Starsensor (two real-life Lazer Tag products) worn by Jamie. These machines enabled Jamie to compete in the Lazer Tag tournaments of her time period, but in the hands of certain individuals, a Starlyte is capable of producing effects that enable the wielder to manipulate matter and energy on a molecular scale and with the aid of the Starsensor, travel through time.
Draxon leads a group of genetically-enhanced humans called Skuggs, who were originally created to serve humanity before they ended up in Draxon's thrall. One of the Skuggs accidentally sets off the suspended animation gas on Draxon's spaceship, which reawakens Draxon several centuries in the past.
Beth and Tom's parents, Andrew and Genna Jaren, were mostly ignorant to the battles with Draxon Drear and the Skuggs and believed Jamie was a foreign exchange student. In addition, Tom and Beth's schoolmate Charles Ferguson is suspicious of Jamie, and repeatedly tries to learn her secret.
Home video and syndication.
Three VHS tapes were released by Celebrity Home Entertainment:
"Lazer Tag Academy" was later rerun in syndication under the name "Laser Patrol". This version was also shown briefly on the Sci-Fi Channel.


Vera Kistiakowsky

Vera Kistiakowsky (born 1928) is an American research physicist, teacher, and arms control activist. She is professor emerita at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the physics department and Laboratory for Nuclear Science, and is an activist for women's participation in the sciences. Dr. Kistiakowsky is an expert in experimental particle physics and observational astrophysics. She was the first woman appointed MIT professor of physics.
Education and family.
Kistiakowsky was born in Princeton, New Jersey in 1928. She is the daughter of physical chemist George Kistiakowsky, who taught at Harvard and served as President Dwight D. Eisenhower's science adviser. Her mother, Hildegard Moebius, was the daughter of a Lutheran pastor and she went to school in Berlin to get her M.D. However, she never got her M.D, and instead worked as a technician and supported medical units on the front lines of World War I. Kistiakowsky's early education in the sciences was greatly influenced by her father. He made special arrangements so that she could spend summers in Los Alamos with him where he was working on the Manhattan Project. During this time she was also attending Mount Holyoke College where "she excelled in chemistry and math, just like her father. 'I thought very highly of my father,' says Vera. 'He told me very seriously that I should find something to do that would support me and not rely on getting married and finding someone who would support me.'"
She earned her A.B. in chemistry from Mount Holyoke College in 1948 and a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of California at Berkeley in 1952. She married Gerhard Fischer, a fellow student at the University of California in Berkeley, in 1951, and has two children.
Career.
Kistiakowsky's professional career began in the nuclear chemistry field, later moving to nuclear physics, and then particle physics, and finally astrophysics. She held a postdoctoral fellowship working in experimental nuclear physics with Luis Walter Alvarez. She worked at Columbia University from 1954–1959, first as a research fellow in chemistry, assisting a nuclear chemist; she then found support to become a research associate in the physics department assisting Chien-Shiung Wu. Kistiakowsky and her family moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts when her husband got a job at Cambridge Electronic Accelerator. She then worked at Brandeis University for a short time as an assistant professor before starting work at MIT in 1963. At MIT she began her career as a staff member of the MIT Laboratory for Nuclear Science where she worked from 1963 to 1969. She was Senior Research Scientist in the MIT Department of Physics from 1969 to 1971.
In 1972 she was the first woman appointed MIT professor of physics.
Committee and organization work.
In 1969 she co-founded the Boston area group Women in Science and Engineering (WISE), a precursor to the Boston chapter of the Association for Women in Science (AWIS). Kistiakowsky served as chair or member on numerous MIT committees and groups relating to women at MIT and affirmative action at MIT, including the Women's Forum, and the Ad Hoc Committee on the Role of Women at MIT. In 1971 she founded the American Physical Society (APS) Committee on the Status of Women in Physics, securing a US$10,000 Sloan Foundation grant to produce a questionnaire on women's conditions of employment. The committee also created a roster of female physicists, "to counter claims that there were no qualified ones to hire". The committee's two and a half inch report convinced the APS to establish the Committee on the Status of Women in Physics in 1972, a committee still working today.
Other committees that she has been involved in include the National Research Council Conference on Women in Science and Engineering, and the Association for Women in Science, Women in Science and Engineering.


Khadija Saye

Khadija Mohammadou Saye (30 July 1992 – 14 June 2017), also known as Ya-Haddy Sisi Saye, was a Gambian-British photographer. Her photography explored her Gambian-British identity and was exhibited in the Diaspora Pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 2017. Saye died in the Grenfell Tower fire.
Life and work.
Saye was born in London and initially attended the Sion Manning Roman Catholic Girls' School in North Kensington. At age 16 she won a scholarship to Rugby School in Rugby, England. Later she attended the University for the Creative Arts at Farnham and obtained a photography degree. She lived with her mother, Mary Ajaoi Augustus Mendy, on the 20th floor of Grenfell Tower in North Kensington. She was mentored by artist Nicola Green and became friends with Green's husband, Tottenham MP David Lammy.
Saye's photography explored her Gambian-British identity. In 2017 her series of photographs entitled "Dwellings: in this Space we Breathe", based on Gambian spiritual practices, was exhibited in the Diaspora Pavilion at the 57th Venice Biennale. The BBC had been planning to broadcast on 17 June a documentary TV programme, "Venice Biennale: Sink or Swim", that included Saye. The programme "follows a team of diverse emerging artists as they install and prepare to launch the first ever Diaspora Pavilion in a Venetian palazzo during the Venice Biennale". The programme was postponed after the fire and transmitted in September 2017.
Saye was a passionate activist and educator, she volunteered at Jawaab to educate and empower young Muslims.
Her work was part of the reopening show of Kettle's Yard in Cambridge on 10 February 2018.
In 2018 Saye's works were auctioned at Christie's as part of the Post-War and Contemporary Day Auction. "Nak Bejjen", one of the tintypes from the series "Dwelling: in this space we breath" was sold for £43,750.
Between 2 October - 2 November 2019 a portfolio of nine silkscreen prints, titled "In this space we breathe" were exhibited at Victoria Miro Gallery. This was part of "Rock My Soul", an exhibition of black female artists curated by the artist Isaac Julien.
In 2019, the London Transport Museum launched a photography fellowship program in Saye's name.
A paid internship at PEER has been set up in Saye's name for young BAME artists. Saye worked at PEER as a Creative Access intern from 2015 -16.
In July 2020 "Khadija Saye Arts" was launched at IntoUniversity.  The programme addresses the issue of BAME inclusivity in the creative industries by focusing directly on the barriers that exist to young people from disadvantaged communities. It provides support and mentoring to help young people to explore the Arts. The launch of the "Khadija Saye Arts" coincided with the unveiling of "Breath is Invisible", Nine large-scale prints of Saye's series "in this space we breath" were displayed across the outside façade of 236 Westbourne Grove in West London. This was the first of three exhibitions to run at the space, all of which aim to explore social inequality and injustice.
Between 23 October 2020 - 1 August 2021 Saye's tin-type "Peitaw" was exhibited at the British Library as part of the exhibition "Unfinished Business: The Fight for Women's Rights" . Concurrently, Saye's portfolio of nine silkscreen prints "In this space we breathe" was also exhibited in the Entrance Hall Gallery of the British Library from 3 December 2020 - 7 October 2021.
Death.
Both Saye and her mother died in the Grenfell Tower fire on 14 June 2017. Following her death, Tate Britain announced that it would exhibit a silkscreen of one of the pieces from the "Dwellings" series, "Sothiou" (2017), in the memorials section.


Plattsburgh Air Force Base

Plattsburgh Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force Strategic Air Command (SAC) base covering 3,447 acres (13.7 km²) in the extreme northeast corner of New York, located on the western shore of Lake Champlain opposite Burlington, Vermont, in the city of Plattsburgh, New York.
The base closed on 25 September 1995, pursuant to the Defense Base Realignment and Closure Act of 1990 (10 U.S.C. Sec. 2687 note) and the recommendations of the Defense Base Realignment and Closure Commission. It is now a civilian airport and industrial complex, operated by the Plattsburgh Air Base Development Authority. The airfield is now known as Plattsburgh International Airport.
Geography.
The former air base is bordered by the city of Plattsburgh and the Saranac River to the north and the Salmon River to the south. It lies on the western shore of Lake Champlain on the New York-Vermont border.
History.
Military Presence Before the Base.
Plattsburgh was the third oldest military post in the United States. The U.S. has maintained a military presence at the site of the now closed base since 30 December 1814.
In particular:
Plattsburgh Air Force Base (PAFB).
In 1953, the site returned to the Federal government and Plattsburgh Barracks were renamed Plattsburgh Air Force Base.
The Air Force held a ground breaking ceremony for the new strategic base on 29 January 1954, and construction began immediately. The runway was completed and the first aircraft landed on 7 November 1955. However, operational facilities were not completed until 1956 due to several work stoppages and severe winter weather.
Built during the Cold War, Plattsburgh AFB's runway is large enough to land the space shuttle. It was on a list of alternate landing sites for the space shuttle. Space shuttle Columbia astronaut Michael P. Anderson, born at Plattsburgh AFB, was an Air Force pilot at Plattsburgh AFB when he got selected by NASA in 1994.
Major commands to which the base was assigned:
Missile operations.
Plattsburgh Air Force Base was designated as one of four major Atlas launching systems in the US, the only ICBM missile system deployed east of the Mississippi River.
During the period 1961 and 1963, 12 "Atlas F" missile sites were constructed within a 50-mile radius of the base, thus giving the 380th the capability to launch 12 missiles. All sites were in New York state, except for two located on the other side of Lake Champlain in Vermont. The 556th Strategic Missile Squadron, formerly assigned to Dow AFB, Maine, was transferred to Plattsburgh AFB on 1 October 1961, and became completely operational on 20 December 1962. It was inactivated on 25 June 1965.
BRACC 1991 and closure.
During the 1991 Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRACC) deliberations, PAFB wound up being pitted against Loring AFB in Limestone, Maine. The people of Maine put up a brief fight but, at the end, PAFB was spared.
Two years later, when BRACC reconvened for another round of closures, PAFB, along with McGuire AFB in New Jersey and Griffiss AFB in Rome, New York, were considered for closing. The local sentiment was that, again, PAFB will be spared mainly because the United States Air Force had plans to transform the base to a major Strategic Air Command base for the Northeast, expanding to add more aircraft and personnel.
It was a hard battle. Rallies were held and a local leadership group, dubbed Team Plattsburgh, was put together to save the base. Testimonies were held, before several BRACC members, to keep PAFB open and give it the intended expansion. At the end, McGuire AFB won over PAFB.
Plattsburgh AFB was officially closed on 30 September 1995, as a result of the 1993 Defense Closure and Realignment actions. The closure ceremony took place on Sept.29, 1995.
Bombardier Transportation established a plant on the site. It has produced standard passenger cars, locomotives, hybrids, light rail cars and subway cars.
Current status.
Plattsburgh Airbase Redevelopment Corporation (PARC), led by the nationally known planner, David Holmes, was created to manage the property. Holmes had overseen the redevelopment plan which included a mixed-use solution to overcome the economic shortfall that occurred when the military moved out. Uses included Aviation, Biotechnology, Industrial and Recreation. Ultimately, PARC split up the base into 165 parcels for redevelopment.
While community leaders feared in 1995, at the time of the actual closure, that the North Country's economy would collapse, this did not turn out to be the case; the base actually only accounted for $42 million in economic impact (about 8 percent of the local economy) because it was so isolated. It was anticipated that it would take 20 years to replace the impact. But in 1996, Dave Werlin of Great Northeast productions and PARC's Director of Planning, Nate Sears, devised a way to make up $30 million in 3 days.
On 16 and 17 August 1996, PARC hosted a massive music concert on the runway of the old decommissioned airbase by the band Phish. The concert, known as The Clifford Ball, was attended by 70,000 people and added $30 million to the local economy. The concert was the largest Rock Concert in North America in 1996 and drew attention from The New York Times, MTV and numerous news media world-wide. The concert was possible due to a coalition of entities, including the New York State Police, County Sherriff, City of Plattsburgh, CVPH Medical Center, the Clinton County Health Department and numerous other private and public organizations. Although Phish wanted to return, PARC's Board of Directors decline in a 6-1 vote and subsequent Phish concerts were held at the former Loring Air Force Base in Limestone, Maine, where they generated $25 million and $40 million for the local community, respectively in 1997 and 1998.
As of 2016, PARC tenants on former airbase properties include:
The site also hosts a number of specialty services on site including acres of parks, trails and playing fields as well as an 18-hole golf course, a day care center and a gym.
On the original Military Reservation, on the shores of Lake Champlain, is the Old Base Museum Campus. There are five museums within 200 feet of each other - the Clinton County Historical Museum, the Air Force Base Museum, the Champlain Valley Transportation Museum, the Kids' Station Children's Museum and the War of 1812 Museum, all housed in former military buildings. Included on the Museum Campus are edifices built in the 1890s including Officers' Row, the old Headquarter's Building and the old firestation. The historic district around the Oval parade ground saw General Leonard Wood's founding of the Plattsburg Idea, a training program started to prepare officers for duty in WWI. There is also a Memorial Chapel, the Clyde A. Lewis Air Park, and the Old Post Cemetery, in which a Spanish American War Medal of Honor recipient is buried. Two of the original structures built just after the War of 1812 are still on Campus - the Old Stone Barracks and the original powder magazine.
The U.S. Air Force lists Plattsburgh among its BRAC "success stories."
The base's reuse and the circumstances surrounding it were chronicled in "Flying High Again: PARC's Redevelopment of Plattsburgh Air Force Base", written by Marian Calabro and published by CorporateHistory.net in 2008.
Environmental problems.
It is designated a military superfund site.
Historically, site contaminants originally included volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including trichloroethene (TCE), dichloroethene (DCE), and vinyl chloride, fuel-related compounds (mainly benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene), pesticides, various metals including chromium and cadmium, and lead and munitions waste from an old small arms range and an explosive ordnance demolition range. As stated in others sections of this site profile, most of the formerly contaminated areas have been cleaned up. In addition to groundwater contamination, other potential exposures included direct contact with and ingestion of contaminants found in soil. The only known remaining soil contamination at the former base is at the landfills, which have been capped and are fenced off.
Additional potential risk to human health exists due to soil vapor intrusion (SVI) into buildings by VOCs. However, this contaminant pathway has been extensively studied across the entire base, mainly in association with the FT-002 / Industrial Area Groundwater OU. Soil vapor extraction (SVE) systems were installed at 3 buildings in the industrial area of the base where concentrations of VOCs warranted mitigation and/or remediation. In addition, a large portion of the base is covered by a LUC/IC for SVI that requires either mitigation of risk or sampling and evaluation of risk prior to the construction of new buildings or modifications to or change in use of existing buildings. Any sampling and risk evaluations conducted would be reviewed by the Air Force and regulatory agencies, and continued monitoring or mitigation, as necessary, would be required. Affected property owners must also certify compliance annually with the Air Force, which also conducts annual LUC/IC inspections.


Mustafa Dirani

Mustafa Dirani (; born 1951) is a former member who held the position of "head of security" of the Amal Movement in Lebanon, associated with Syria. In 1987, he started contacts with pro-Iran sources, and eventually created contacts between them and the rest of the leadership of Amal. He was expelled from Amal and he established his own organization, the "Believing Resistance".
Biography.
Captured by Israeli commandos in 1994, Dirani was held in administrative detention and was offered in exchange for Israeli servicemen held by Hezbollah. At the time, Israeli forces were in control of the southern-Lebanon security buffer, in order to prevent the region from being used as a launching ground for attacks on Israel's Galilee region.
Israel believed that Dirani had exclusive knowledge on the whereabouts of Israel Air Force navigator Ron Arad, who was captured by Dirani's armed men in 1986, and has been unheard of since then. During his interrogation by military officers, Dirani reportedly disclosed that Arad had been turned over first to a Hezbollah militia unit and then to Iranian Revolutionary Guards, who were in Lebanon at the time aiding Hezbollah guerrillas. Neither Iran nor any guerrilla group has ever offered any useful information about Arad's fate. Allegedly, Dirani received $300,000 for transferring Ron Arad to the Iranians.
Dirani alleges that he was sodomized and tortured by his Israeli captors. He testified in an Israeli court to this abuse. The allegations were reported by the "Associated Press", "Al Jazeera", and the "The Jerusalem Post". Initially, the International Red Cross was denied permission to see Dirani, but a court order forced Israeli prison authorities to comply with legal rules.
In January 2004, in a German-mediated prisoner swap, Dirani along with 22 other Lebanese detainees, about 400 Palestinians, and 12 Israeli-Arab prisoners, was released in exchange for the bodies of three Israeli soldiers and Israeli businessman Elchanan Tannenbaum.


M4-WAC-47

The M4-WAC-47 is a Ukrainian-made assault rifle created by Ukroboronprom and American company Aeroscraft. It is currently being tested within different sections of the Ukrainian Ground Forces and Border Guard and testing was estimated to be done around the end of April, 2018.
As of October, 1st, 2019, no weapon of this type and model has been produced, confirming the inappropriate technical choices voiced by many experts.


Oerlikon GDF

The Oerlikon GDF or Oerlikon 35 mm twin cannon is a towed anti-aircraft gun made by Oerlikon Contraves (renamed as "Rheinmetall Air Defence AG" following the merger with Rheinmetall in 2009). The system was originally designated as 2 ZLA/353 ML but this was later changed to GDF-001. It was developed in the late 1950s and is used by around 30 countries.
Design and development.
The system uses twin autocannons, firing 35×228mm NATO-standard ammunition. It was originally designated 353 MK and is now designated as the KD series. The same KD series 35mm cannons are used in the Leopard 1 based Gepard and Type 74 tank based Type 87 SPAAG and Marksman self-propelled anti-aircraft guns (SPAAG). The system could be paired with the off-gun (remote) "Super Fledermaus" fire control radar, which in the late 1970s was upgraded to the "Skyguard" system. The weapons was aimed either directly, by way of an advanced sighting system, or automatically, by locking onto the target with radar. Early models carried 112 rounds ready to fire, and an additional 126 stored on the chassis as reloads. Later versions with automated reloading carry 280 rounds total. A typical engagement burst is 28 rounds.
In 1980 an upgraded model, the GDF-002 was produced, which featured an improved sight, and the ability to be directed by an off-gun digital control system. A few years later a third version of the system was being produced, the GDF-003, which was broadly similar to the GDF-002, but included some enhancements like self-lubricating weapons and integrated protective covers.
In 1985 a further upgraded model was produced, the GDF-005, which was introduced, featuring the "Gunking" 3D computer-controlled sight with an integrated laser range-finder and digital control system. The GDF-005 also introduced an automated ammunition-handling system, which eliminated the need for the two reloaders, reducing the crew from 3 to 1.
The guns are usually transported by a 5-tonne 6×6 truck.
KD series cannons.
Development of the KD series cannon began around 1952 soon after Oerlikon calculated that 35 mm was the optimum calibre for an anti-aircraft gun. The KD series cannons were a design adapted from the post-war 20 mm KAA 204 Gk cannon. Several designs were developed, including a water-cooled design, designated Mk 352, which was tested by the U.S. Navy.
The final design was the Mk 323, which was developed in two variants, a belt-fed version the KDA, and a linkless version the KDC, fed by seven-round clips. Both designs are gas-operated, with a propped-lock locking system.
Super Fledermaus.
The Super Fledermaus fire control system was designed and built by the then separate Contraves company. It consists of a four-wheeled towed trailer with an E/F band pulse doppler search radar with a range of around 15 km and a pulse doppler tracking radar operating in the J band, also with a range of 15 km. It was also used as the fire control system on the Gepard SPAAG.
Skyguard.
The Skyguard system is contained within a towed trailer, mounted on the roof of which is a pulse doppler search radar, a pulse doppler tracking radar and a co-axial television camera. The trailer also houses the crew of two and a small petrol generator. Skyguard is an all-weather air defense system for the control of aircraft at low altitude and at low and medium altitude range up to 3,000 m. The maximum effective distance is given as 4,000 m. The system takes the air surveillance, target acquisition, calculation of the derivative-action values and the control of two Oerlikon 35 mm anti-aircraft guns. Skyguard is served by four people.
It was created by Oerlikon-Buehrle. The weapon was introduced in the 1960s in the Swiss Army and got updates in 1975, 1995 and 2010. They are still in use. It had replaced the system Contraves Super Fledermaus in the Swiss Air Force. The Skyguard radar system was used in the German Air Force for surveillance of low-altitude flight zones. The radar unit is readied quickly through the use of hydraulic systems for antenna erection and leveling after deployment. A typical fire unit using the Skyguard consists of two twin 35 mm gun platforms with a single Skyguard fire control radar.
Skyguard systems can also incorporate an optional SAM module based on the GDF's mount and radar system but with the guns replaced by four missile canisters. It can be armed with either Aspide or RIM-7 Sea Sparrow missiles. In Greek service the Skyguard system with RIM-7M is known as the VELOS.


Large-calibre artillery

The formal definition of large-calibre artillery used by the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms (UNROCA) is "guns, howitzers, artillery pieces, combining the characteristics of a gun, howitzer, mortar, or multiple-launch rocket system, capable of engaging surface targets by delivering primarily indirect fire, with a calibre of 75 millimetres and above".
This definition, shared by the Arms Trade Treaty and the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, is derived from a definition in United Nations General Assembly Resolution 46/36L, which set a threshold of 100mm.
Several grammatical changes were made to that latter in 1992 and the threshold was lowered in 2003 to yield the current definition, as endorsed by UN General Assembly Resolution 58/54.
Historically, large-calibre weapons have included bombards and siege guns.
Late Middle Ages.
In the context of late medieval siege warfare the term superguns applies to stone-firing bombards with a ball diameter of more than 50 cm. These superguns were either manufactured by forging together longitudinal iron bars, held in place by iron rings, or cast in bronze with techniques generally similar to bell-founding. Known examples include the Pumhart von Steyr, Dulle Griet and Mons Meg (all iron) as well as the cast-bronze Faule Mette, Faule Grete and Dardanelles Gun.
At the beginning of the development of superguns was the desire to increase the effect of the projectiles. To this end, master gunners first simply used larger powder loads. These, however, exerted larger pressure on the existing cannon and could make it burst, causing the death of the irreplaceable gunner with his crew (and even kings). In addition, it was observed that, due to their higher velocity, stone balls were shattered by the impact on the walls rather than smashing them. Thus, the mass of the cannon balls and, consequently, of the ordnance too continually increased, finally culminating in giant cannon like the Pumhart von Steyr which fired a 690 kg ball. Apart from the anticipated improvement in penetrating power, other factors such as prestige and a potential deterrent effect also played an important role.
For all their manufacturing quality the superguns were only moderately successful. Their military effectiveness turned out to be out of all proportion to their overwhelming logistical demands and financial costs. For the cost of a single supergun, two or three large bombards with a reasonably smaller caliber (in German "Hauptbüchse") could be produced whose firepower was enough to shatter any medieval wall, in particular when it was concentrated in a battery. Due to their less bulky dimensions and higher rate of fire, these artillery pieces could be more flexibly deployed and caused more destruction in any given length of time. Furthermore, the transition from stone to smaller, but much more devastating iron balls meant that super-sized bores became unnecessary. The caliber of a 50 pound ball, for example, could be reduced from 28 to 18 cm when using an iron projectile instead.
Thus, as early as the second half of the 15th century, further development in siege technology concentrated on the "Hauptbüchse", and bombards largely disappeared from the leading artillery arsenal of the dukes of Burgundy.
At about the same time super-sized bombards were phased out in Western Europe, the technology was transmitted to the Ottoman army by one Orban, a Hungarian gunfounder, on the occasion of the Siege of Constantinople in 1453. The extant Dardanelles Gun, cast by the Ottoman gunfounder Ali several years later, is assumed to have followed closely the outline of Orban's guns. A similar super-sized bombard was employed by the Ottoman navy aboard a carrack of possibly Venetian design at the Battle of Zonchio in 1499.
In India, a large forge-welded iron cannon was built during the reign of Raghunatha Nayak (1600–1645), and was then one of the largest cannons in the world. Artillery was used by Indian armies predominantly for defending against besieging armies.
Modern weapons.
With the new metallurgical methods and precision engineering of the Industrial Revolution, a revolution in armaments, including artillery took place. In the 1860s, the industrialist Sir William Armstrong, who had already built one of the first breech-loading rifled artillery pieces, constructed a 600-pounder 'monster gun' of then extraordinary size at the Elswick Ordnance Company in Newcastle. The gun was a rifled muzzle-loader of 22 tons that fired shells of up to 600 pounds (270 kg) and could pierce 4.5 inches (11.4 cm) of iron armour. Armstrong identified them as "shunt" guns, but they were soon popularly known as "monster" guns.
By the 1880s he had built guns of over 40 feet (12 m) in length that could fire 1,800 pound (810 kg) shells and punch through an incredible 30 inches (76 cm) of iron at a range of 8 miles. The gun was exhibited at the Royal Mining, Engineering and Industrial Exhibition held at Newcastle in 1887 for Queen Victoria's golden jubilee.
Prior to World War I, the German military was especially interested in the development of superweapons due to the need for the Schlieffen plan to march past a line of Belgian fortifications constructed specifically to stop such an invasion route. During the opening phases of the war, the Germans employed a 420 mm Krupp howitzer (the Big Bertha) and two 305 mm Skoda Mörser M. 11 mortars to reduce the famous fortresses of Liège and Namur. Their low overland mobility made them arrive later than the infantry at Liège, so several infantry assaults were made with heavy loss of life and generally little success. The guns arrived a few days later and reduced the forts at Liège one-by-one over a short period of a few days.
Larger artillery after this opening period was generally limited to railway guns, which had much greater mobility, or naval monitors (two of the British Lord Clive class monitors were fitted with an 18-inch (457 mm) gun, and HMS General Wolfe fired at a railway bridge in Belgium). All of the major powers involved employed such weapons in limited numbers, typically between 280 and 305 mm (11 to 12 inches) although some larger weapons were also used.
The longest-ranged and longest-barreled of the heavy guns deployed in World War I was the Paris Gun, which was used to bombard Paris from a distance of over . The gun had a bore diameter of and a barrel length of . It was fired from concealed fixed positions in the forest of Coucy.
The British attempted to develop weapons to counter the Paris Gun, but none was ready for testing until after the Armistice. A 16-inch gun under development by Vickers for a class of never-built Russian battleships was converted and lined down to , with the designation "8-inch sub-calibre Mark I". The barrel was 120 calibres long. Testing commenced in February 1919, but after only six rounds were fired a crack was discovered, and the gun was scrapped in 1928. A weapon of similar concept, the "8-inch sub-calibre Mark II", was converted from a 12-inch gun (either Mark XI, XI*, or XII), producing a /75 calibre weapon. However, with the war ending before the gun was ready, this weapon was soon scrapped.
Development continued during the inter-war era, although at a more limited pace as aircraft were expected to take over in the long-range bombardment role. Nevertheless, the Germans built a handful of powerful Krupp K5s and the great 800 mm (31.5 in.) Schwerer Gustav and Dora. The latter had been designed specifically to defeat the Maginot Line, firing a 7-ton shell to a range of . Although their original role proved unnecessary, Gustav was used successfully to demolish several heavy fortifications, most notably those at Sevastopol. Dora was readied for combat at Stalingrad, but was withdrawn before it could be used. Gustav and Dora were the largest artillery pieces (by caliber) ever used in combat. Development may have ended there but for the ever-increasing Allied air power, which limited Hitler's options in terms of re-opening bombing attacks on London. This led to the development of the V-3 "London Gun" or "Hochdruckpumpe", fired from Mimoyecques in the Pas de Calais, about away. Two attempts to build underground bunkers for the huge weapons were thwarted by massive Royal Air Force bombing raids, which made further attempts futile. Two smaller prototype versions of the gun were used during the Battle of the Bulge.
During World War II, the British developed an experimental 13.5/8 inch hypervelocity gun named Bruce, which was deployed near St Margaret's in Kent among their cross-Channel guns. It was intended only for stratospheric experiments, primarily with smoke shells. These experiments were important in the development of the Grand Slam bomb. It was used from March 1943 through February 1945.
The "Supergun Affair".
Canadian engineer Gerald Bull became interested in the possibility of using 'superguns' in place of rockets to insert payloads into orbit. He lobbied for the start of Project HARP to investigate this concept in the 1960s, using paired ex-US Navy 16"/50 caliber Mark 7 gun barrels welded end-to-end. Three of these 16"/50 (406 mm) guns were emplaced, one in Quebec, Canada, another in Barbados, and the third near Yuma, Arizona. HARP was later cancelled, and Bull turned to military designs, eventually developing the GC-45 howitzer. Some years later, Bull interested Saddam Hussein in funding Project Babylon. The objective of this project is not certain, but one possibility is that it was intended to develop a gun capable of firing an object into orbit, whence it could then drop onto any place on the Earth. Gerald Bull was assassinated in March 1990, terminating development, and the parts were confiscated by British customs after the Gulf War.
It has been suggested that the US Navy had developed a supergun (actually a prototype railgun, known as the Electro-Magnetic Laboratory Rail Gun), capable of shooting shells at 5600 MPH (7 times the speed of sound).


Tonfa in popular culture

The tonfa is a popular weapon in video games, anime and manga.


Fort Wainwright

Fort Wainwright, “Home of the Arctic Warriors”, is a United States Army installation in Fairbanks, Alaska. Fort Wainwright is part of the Fairbanks North Star Borough and the coterminous with the Fairbanks Metropolitan Statistical Area. The installation is managed by U.S. Army Garrison Alaska (USAG Alaska) and the senior command is U.S. Army Alaska (USARAK). Fort Wainwright was formerly known as Ladd Field (1939-1945) and Ladd Air Force Base (1947-1961). Ladd Field was designated as a National Historic Landmark (NHL) on 4 February 1985 and Ladd Air Force Base was designated as Ladd Air Force Base Cold War District and was added to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) on the same day.
Geography.
Location.
Fort Wainwright is located in the central interior region of Alaska. It lies between the Alaska Range in the South and the Brooks Range in the North. Fort Wainwright boundaries are located within the Fairbanks North Star Borough between two city borders. To the West is the City of Fairbanks, to the Southeast is the City of North Pole. Fort Wainwright resides on both sides of the Chena River, a 100-mile tributary of the Tanana River in the interior region of Alaska. At this latitude the Aurora Borealis can be visible during night hours.
Demographics.
The total population to include the workforce on Fort Wainwright is approximately 15,000 personnel. There are roughly 6,500 military members, 5,700 military dependents, 1250 Civilian employees including appropriated and non-appropriated fund employees and over 400 contractors.
Climate.
Fort Wainwright is located in a subarctic climate with seasonal temperature extremes. Temperature extremes have been recorded from −66 °F to +94 °F (−54 °C to +34 °C). The average low temperature is in January at −17 °F (−27 °C) with the average high temperature is during July at +73 °F (+22 °C). The annual precipitation averages 12 inches (305 mm) of rain and 37 inches (94 cm) of snow. Fort Wainwright is approximately 190 miles south of the Arctic Circle. The hours where the sun is above the horizon averages 22 hours in June with twilight during the night hours and less than 4 hours in December. The climate creates a short construction season for installation projects. It also potentially contributes to Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) among the workforce.
Geology.
Fairbanks falls in a region with discontinuous permafrost, a condition where permafrost is broken by pockets of unfrozen ground. This, coupled with the periglacial effect of seasonal freezing and thawing, can drastically modify the ground surface. Construction engineering in this environment requires additional planning to avoid the potential for hazards of ground movement or collapse.
Culture Resources.
Historic and Archeological Sites.
Fort Wainwright has a Cultural Resources Management Program that is responsible for over 1.6 million acres of Army-managed land with a diverse array of resources including historical buildings, a national historic landmark, archeological sites, and properties of traditional religious and cultural significance. There are over 650 prehistoric archeological sites on Fort Wainwright and its training lands that date from the last ice age (14,000 years ago) to the Alaskan homesteading era. USAG Alaska have several agreements in place in regards to historical findings and archaeological digs. Partnerships include the State of Alaska Historical Preservation office and the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Museum of the North who curates the archeological relics.
Native Liaison.
The U.S. Army Garrison Alaska (USAG Alaska) provides an Alaska Native Liaison that manages the Native Liaison/Government to Government program for Fort Wainwright. Fort Wainwright’s cantonment and training areas is made up of Army-withdrawn land that support resources that have been utilized by the Alaska Native community for thousands of years. U.S. Army Alaska (USARAK) and USAG Alaska support the policy of tribal self-determination through support for Army’s government-to-government relationship with tribes and implementing the "Army American Indian and Alaska Native Policy", Department of Defense (DoD) "American Indian and Alaska Native Policy, the policy’s Alaska Implementation Guidance," and DoD Instruction 4710.02: "Interactions with Federally-Recognized Tribes."
Major Tenants and Supported Units.
U.S. Army Alaska (USARAK) “America’s Arctic Warriors”
         HHC Reception Group
1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division “Arctic Wolves”
                   1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment “Bobcats”
                   1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment “Legion”
                   2nd Battalion, 8th Field Artillery Regiment “Automatic”
                             28th Military Police Detachment “Arctic Guardians” (De-Activated est 2015)
                   3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment “Gimlets”
                   5th Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment “Black Hawks”
 70th Brigade Engineer Battalion “Kodiaks” (Previous Names: 25th BDE Troops BN "Grey Wolves")
                   25th Support Brigade “Opahey”
 65th Explosive Ordinance Disposal Company “Dreadnought” (Higher HQ is in Hawaii)
1st Battalion, 52nd Aviation Regiment, 16th Aviation Brigade
Arctic Support Command (Provisional) (De-Activated)
Northern Warfare Training Center (NWTC) CMD HQ.
17th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion
U.S. Army Garrison Alaska - Installation Management Command
402nd Army Field Support Battalion –Logistic Readiness Center (LRC)
Medical Department Activity (MEDDAC) – Alaska (Bassett Army Hospital/Veterans Center)
Dental Activity (DENTAC) - Alaska
Veterinary Command (VETCOM)
Cold Region Test Center (CRTC) (Located at Ft. Greely).
412th Contracting Command
U.S. Army Reserve Center
History.
In the 1930s Alaska was a vast undefended region where Alaska’s territorial delegates to congress lobbied to obtain a better defense strategy. Then-Lt. Col. Henry ‘Hap” Arnold led a flight of B-10 bombers from Washington D.C. to Alaska in 1934 scouting for potential airfields. His report recommended the establishment of an air base at Fairbanks which could support cold weather testing and serve as a tactical supply depot.
In 1935, Congress passed the Wilcox National Air Defense Act which authorized the construction of new airbases including one in Alaska for cold weather testing and training. March 1937, President Franklin Roosevelt withdrew public land for the Army in Executive Order 7596 as the location for the airfield and the base. Congress approved appropriated funds in 1939 for the construction of Ladd Field, named after Maj Arthur Ladd, an Army Air Corps pilot who perished in an airplane crash in South Carolina while under sealed orders.
World War II.
Cold weather Test station.
The construction of Ladd Field began in earnest early in 1940, prompted by the declaration of war in Europe months before. During its first two years of operations, Ladd Field’s mission was as a cold weather test station. The station commander was Maj. Dale V. Gaffney. The cold weather station focused primarily on testing aircraft performance and maintenance. Its major goal was to develop standard procedures for servicing and operating aircraft in subzero temperatures and to test various airplane parts and fluids. The testing program looked at other aspects of arctic operations to include clothing, communication, equipment, survival gear, medical issues, and ground support.
During 1940-1942, Ladd Field was devoted to research and considered an “exempt station” from combat. In June 1942, Japan bombed Dutch Harbor, on the Aleutian Island of Unalaska, and occupied the islands of Attu and Kiska. The Cold Weather Test Station was deactivated and Ladd Field came temporarily under control of the 11th Air Force who fell under the Alaska Defense Command. By fall of 1942, the Cold Weather test Station was reactivated and became an exempted research station again.
Lend-Lease Program.
During 1940-1942, Ladd Field was devoted to research and considered an “exempt station” from combat. In June 1942, Japan bombed Dutch Harbor, on the Aleutian Island of Unalaska, and occupied the islands of Attu and Kiska. The Cold Weather Test Station was deactivated and Ladd Field came temporarily under control of the 11th Air Force who fell under the Alaska Defense Command. By fall of 1942, the Cold Weather test Station was reactivated and became an exempted research station again.
In 1942, under Lend-Lease agreements, the United States provided war planes and materials to the Soviet Union to use against Nazi Germany. Ladd Field was selected as the transfer point for Lend-Lease aircraft transiting the Alaska-Siberia (ALSIB) route. More than 7,900 aircraft were eventually delivered to Soviet pilots waiting at Ladd field who would then fly them to Nome and across Siberia to the eastern war front. To facilitate this mission, Ladd Field was transferred to the Air Transport Command (ATC) for the remainder of the war.
Under the ATC, Ladd field expanded with a new hanger and runway along with hundreds of temporary building to house the large workforce needed to support the mission. By June 1945 Ladd Field was capable of billeting 4,555 troops. Cold weather testing continued its mission as a tenant unit on Ladd. The conclusion of WWII marked the end of the Lend-Lease Program in September 1945. Military personnel left Alaska and Ladd Field was transferred from ATC back to 11th Air Force.
Women's Army Corps (WAC) at Ladd Field.
1st Lt. Woodall was the very first WAC to be stationed at Ladd Field, arriving in January 1945 to work as an aerial photographer with the Cold Weather Test Detachment. At Ladd Field, her duties included establishing the Extreme Temperature Operations Unit (ETOU) laboratory that tested photographic equipment on military aircraft. This required her to cross the Arctic Circle in a B-29 at high altitude making her the first armed forces female to fly to the arctic. The 1466th AAF Base Unit Squadron W arrived at Ladd Field in April.  Maj. Betty Etten Wiker, then a 1st Lieutenant (1st Lt.) served as the WAC commanding officer at Ladd Field. The WAC served in various positions, from office work to performing field duty as medics and airplane mechanics. One tenth of the Ladd Field WACs were assigned duties within Army Airways Communication System (AACS). The WAC departed from Ladd Field in December 1945 after the end of the Lend-Lease Program.
The Cold War.
In 1945, rivalry developed between the United States and the Soviet Union resulting in the Cold War. The proximity of the Soviet Union to Alaska in a post-war long-range bomber age spurred the development of the Arctic front. The Arctic would encompass many activities for the Department of Defense to include use as a forward deployment zone and as a first line of defense in the region. In 1947, due to the National Securities Act, the Air Force was designated as a separate branch from the Army. Ladd Field was renamed Ladd Air Force Base commanded by the 11th Air Force. During this time Eielson airfield was established to supplement Ladd AFB with a separate B-36 bomber mission.
In the early years of the Cold War, Ladd AFB’s missions included; assessing the Soviet presence in the Arctic by strategic reconnaissance; supplying a regional air defense asset; improvement of the practice of polar navigation; and continued cold weather testing of equipment, clothing and human performance. In 1948, the Army sent the 2nd Infantry Division to Ladd AFB with a mission of ground defense.
During the Korean War in 1950 and through to 1957 Ladd AFB saw an rise in tempo and an increase in their logistics operations. The base became the logistical support center for Alaska’s defense projects. Research expanded creating an ice station research center to analysis and track polar ice packs; perform geophysics projects and expand communication networks. The 4th Infantry Regiment provided the combat mission man power through 1956.
By 1957, intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and satellites reduced the role for Ladd AFB. In 1960, with two major airbases in close proximity, coupled with economic pressures, the Air Force stopped flying operations at Ladd and reassigned them to Eielson AFB and to Elmendorf AFB in Anchorage. The Air Force transferred Ladd to the Army on 1 January 1961, and the installation was renamed Fort Wainwright after WWII General, Jonathan Wainwright.
In 1963, the 171st Infantry Brigade (mechanized) was activated at Fort Wainwright to defend Eielson AFB.  Several elements of the 171st IN (Mech) deployed to Vietnam in 1966. In 1969, the 171st Infantry transitioned from mechanized to light infantry and were subsequently inactivated in 1972 from Fort Wainwright. Ladd Field was designated as a National Historic Landmark (NHL) on 4 February 1985. Ladd Air Force Base was designated as Ladd Air Force Base Cold War District and was added to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) on the same day. In 1986, Fort Wainwright expanded their mission beyond the Arctic to support world-wide deployments. USARAL was discontinued in 1974. This left the 172nd Infantry Brigade at Fort Richardson to assume control of the Army in Alaska, reporting directly to FORSCOM at Fort McPherson, Georgia. In 1986, the 6th Infantry Division (light) was assigned to Fort Richardson and assumed the role of overall Army Command in Alaska from the 172nd Infantry Brigade. The 6th ID provided a rapid-deployment worldwide strike force and participated in worldwide training events.
Post-cold War.
In 1994, U.S. army Alaska (USARAK) was activated and replaced the 6th Infantry Division, reestablishing the Alaskan Command. The 2004 Army Modernization Plan, created to facilitate deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq, created modular brigade combat teams. This configuration transformed the 172nd Infantry Brigade at Fort Richardson into the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team (SBCT), 25th Infantry Division (1/25 SBCT) stationed at Fort Wainwright becoming its dominant warfighting unit. The newly transformed 4/25 BCT (Airborne) remained at Fort Richardson. The current mission of the 1-25 SBCT (no "/" is used for this unit) is to deploy rapidly “to a designated contingency area of operation by air and [conduct] operations either as a separate Brigade Combat Team or under the control of a contingency force headquarters.”  Equipped with wheeled Stryker armored vehicles, the brigade filled the gap between light forces like the 4/25 BCT (Airborne) and heavy, armored units.
Training and Recreation Areas
Fort Wainwright manages over 1.6 million acres of training and recreation land. Training areas include Tanana Flats, Yukon, Donnelly, Black Rapids and Gerstle River. Seasonally, these areas can be used by the military and the public for recreation activities by obtaining a Recreation Access Permit. The U.S. Army Recreation Tracking Systems (USARTRAK) has been established to facilitate public access on Fort Wainwright training lands and allows recreational users to check in by phone or online. The USARTRAK website has updated training area map information depicting impact areas and off limit areas. It also shows when and where certain training areas will be temporarily restricted during training exercises.
Fort Wainwright manages specialized outdoor recreation areas in the cantonment area to include Chena Bend Clubhouse and Golf Course, Birch Hill Ski and snowboard Area, Fischer Skeet range and two RV and tent campgrounds. Fort Wainwright also manages the Seward Military Resort located on the Kenai Peninsula.
Controversy.
Quality of Life.
In 2019, a behavioral health epidemiological consultation, or EPICON, was requested after Alaskan Congressman Don Young sent a letter to the Surgeon General of the U.S. Army and Commanding General, U.S. Army Medical Command requesting a team of medical professionals to be sent to Fort Wainwright to examine the situation on the ground in relation to a number of reported suicides. Observed findings were consistent with suicide cases in previous EPICONs. Soldiers who died by suicide had indications of multiple risk factors, these included chronic pain, relationship issues, and trouble sleeping.
Concurrently, in 2019, the Army initiated a pilot program to target quality-of-life improvements at Fort Irwin, California; Fort Polk, Louisiana; and Fort Wainwright, Alaska. General Gus Perna, Commander for the Army Materiel Command (AMC), emphasized that increasing quality of life across the force remains a top priority for Army senior leaders.
General Perna stated that "Quite frankly, Fort Wainwright is in an austere environment, …Fort Irwin and Fort Polk are also austere, but it is where we do all of our [brigade combat team] training. We send our best leaders at all levels that go train our BCTs … to places that don't have a lot of quality of life."
On Fort Wainwright, USARAK and USAG Alaska implemented a number of Quality of Life initiatives that included blackout curtains barracks to boost the ability to sleep during the 24-hours of sunlight in the summer, planning the construction of winter maintenance facilities to improve workplace quality during extreme cold weather and generous leave policies for soldier’s allowing for more time with family in an attempt to reduce an isolation effect in an austere environment.
Environmental contamination.
Since 1978, Fort Wainwright has been participating in the Department of Defense Installation Restoration Program to investigate and clean up contamination. In 1985 and 1986, lead and chromium were detected in monitoring wells at the landfill; in 1987, chromium and tetrahydrofuran were detected in monitoring wells at the proposed housing area, and chromium was detected in soil. About 15,000 people live and work at the fort and obtain drinking water from wells in close proximity to contaminated source areas. The Chena River also runs through the contaminated area of Fort Wainwright.
National Priorities Listing.
In August 1990 Fort Wainwright was registered on the national priorities list as a Superfund. In most source areas, groundwater is contaminated with solvents and petroleum products, in a few source areas, with pesticides and/or fuel additives. Soil contains some solvents, waste oil, waste fuel/petroleum products, pesticides, paint residues, fuel tank sludge and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Sediments contain PAHs and low level pesticides. Contaminants on the site also include mercury.
Taku Gardens.
To meet the needs of new personnel and their families, construction of 128 homes on a 54-acre housing project known as Taku Gardens began in 2005 on the former communications site. In June, 2005 construction workers noticed "stained soil and unusual odors during excavation of a building foundation" and laboratory testing revealed the presence of PCB at concentrations of up to 115,000 mg/kg - Alaska's current clean-up standard is 1 mg/kg. Further testing of the site revealed the presence of volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds, chlorinated compounds including solvents, herbicides, pesticides, dioxins, and "munitions-related compounds" such as nitroaromatics and propellants. Construction was suspended August–September 2005 and continued until end of 2006. A January, 2007 Army audit questioned "the wisdom of building a family housing complex on top of a known 1950s-era military landfill" and concluded that "the situation with the Taku construction project is the direct result of multiple individuals failing to adhere to Army and federal regulations and guidance. From 2007 to 2010 drums and debris were excavated, PCB contaminated soil was removed and backfilled, but some fuel and volatile organic compound-contaminated soil and groundwater remains on site.
Construction of the housing project resumed during the summer of 2011. In the intervening years, many housing units between Taku Gardens and the main gate were reconstructed or renovated, with new housing built as well. Immediately northeast of Taku Gardens, Bear Paw was built on a part of the former site of Bassett Army Hospital, while construction of new homes began on the rest of the site in 2011. Immediately northeast of Bear Paw, Denali Village, a much larger development, was constructed between Glass Park and the former billeting. Taku Gardens area, the newer housing across from Bassett Hospital was renamed to Tanana Trails in 2015.
Hangar 6.
In June, 2006, civilian construction workers at Aircraft Maintenance Hangar No. 6 – known by the Corps of Engineers to be a designated Hazardous Waste Accumulation point – were overcome by fumes described as "pungent, chalky and metallic tasting" and suffered nausea, headaches and other symptoms. A state health report concluded that "an unknown, volatile chemical likely caused nerve damage to the disabled workers." More than 30 workers were hospitalized and at least 4 have suffered lasting disabilities. The workers initiated a civil suit against the Army which was dismissed because the workers were limited to state workers’ compensation as their only relief.
Underground storage fuel tanks.
EPA inspections found that from at least 2012 to 2013, Fort Wainwright failed to monitor underground storage tanks regularly, perform leak detection tests, and investigate suspected releases. The Army paid a penalty of nearly $158,700.


Naval Submarine Base New London

Naval Submarine Base New London is the United States Navy's primary East Coast submarine base, also known as the "Home of the Submarine Force". It is located in Groton, Connecticut directly across the Thames River from its namesake city of New London.
History.
In 1868, the State of Connecticut gave the Navy of land along the Thames River in Groton to build a Naval Station. Due to a lack of federal funding, it was not until 1872 that two brick buildings and a T-shaped pier were constructed and officially declared a Navy Yard. In 1898, Congress approved a coaling station to be built at the Yard for refueling small naval ships traveling through the waters of New England. The Navy Yard was first used for laying up inactive ships. The Congressional appropriations were small and the Navy had little need for the yard, which was closed from 1898 to 1900 and its personnel reassigned. By 1912, oil replaced coal in warships and again the Yard was scheduled for closure and the land relinquished by the Navy.
Submarine base established.
The Navy Yard was spared permanent closure in 1912 by an impassioned plea from Congressman Edwin W. Higgins of Norwich, who was worried about the loss of Federal spending in the region. On 13 October 1915, the monitor , a submarine tender, and four submarines arrived in Groton. Additional submarines and support craft arrived the following year, and the facility was named as the Navy's first submarine base. The first commander of the Yard was retired Commodore Timothy A. Hunt, who was recalled to service. He was living in New Haven, and he used the Central Hotel on State Street, New London when in town to attend to Yard duties on an "as needed" basis. The submarine base is physically located in the Town of Groton, but New London became associated with it because the base had its main offices and housing in New London. Following World War I, the Navy established schools and training facilities at the base.
Wartime expansion.
The Base property expanded during the latter part of World War I. Congress approved over a million dollars for Base real estate and facilities expansion. By the end of the war, 81 buildings had been built to support 1,400 men and 20 submarines, although the land expansion was slowed through much of the 1920s. However, the Great Depression of the 1930s saw an expansion and enhancement of the physical plant of the Base. President Franklin D. Roosevelt created a series of Federal Government employment programs that contributed significantly to the Submarine Base. Over 26 high quality warehouses, barracks, and workshops were built at the base under these Federal job-spending programs. The second largest expansion of the Base occurred during World War II, when it grew from 112 acres to . The Submarine Force leaped in size, and the Base accommodated thousands of men to serve the growing combat fleet. Immediately after World War II, the Submarine Force was significantly reduced and many submarines were sent into storage. Most of the World War II fleet was sold for scrap metal during the early 1960s.
From 1930 to 1994, the most recognizable structure on the base was the Escape Training Tank. Generations of submariners learned to escape in up to of water using buoyant ascent, and were trained in the use of the Momsen lung or Steinke hood. In 2007, the Escape Training Tank was replaced by the Submarine Escape Trainer, which has two types of escape trunks in up to of water. The Steinke hood was replaced by the Submarine Escape Immersion Equipment in the 2000s.
Submarine School.
The New London Base is homeport to 16 attack submarines and full Navy base situated in Groton, Connecticut. The Base is also neighbor to the major submarine construction yard of General Dynamics' Electric Boat Division. All officer and enlisted submariners are stationed at Groton during their training, with the exception of nuclear trained Electronics Technicians (ETs), Electrician's Mates (EMs), and Machinist's Mates (MMs). Enlisted sailors attending sub school will first go through Basic Enlisted Sub School (BESS), an eight-week program that teaches the rigors of undersea life. BESS includes training in shoring, patching leaks and ruptured pipes, firefighting, and boat handling techniques. After BESS, sailors will either go to a boat or to follow-on schools.
The main base occupies more than plus over of family housing. It also supports more than 70 tenant commands, including Naval Submarine School (NAVSUBSCOL), Naval Submarine Support Facility (NSSF), three Submarine Squadron staffs, and the housing and support facilities for more than 21,000 civilian workers, active-duty service members, and their families.
Base Realignment and Proposed Closure, 2005.
On 13 May 2005, the Pentagon recommended that the base be closed. After review, the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission voted on 24 August 2005 to strike New London from the list of possible closures, thus allowing the base to remain open. This is commiserate with the plans of New London Monorail that broke ground in 2007. The project remains under construction.
Garrison.
Current units stationed at NSBNL include:


6mm PPC

The 6mm PPC (Palmisano & Pindel Cartridge), or 6 PPC as it is more often called, is a centerfire rifle cartridge used almost exclusively for benchrest shooting. At distances out to 300 meters, it is one of the most accurate cartridges available. This cartridge's accuracy is produced by a combination of its stout posture, being only long, and aggressive shoulder angle of 30 degrees compared to a 30-06's 17 degrees. Today it is commonly used for railgun shooting matches and has been since the 1980s.
Background.
The cartridge is a necked-up version of the .22 PPC which is in turn based on a .220 Russian (5.6×39mm). The standard bullet diameter for 6 mm caliber cartridges is , the same diameter used in the .243 Winchester and 6mm Remington cartridges. To obtain maximum accuracy, bullet weight and form are matched to the rifling twist rate of the barrel. Typically, bullets are used in barrels with twist rates of 1 in 13 inch (1 in 330 mm), while 1 in 15 inch (1 in 380 mm) barrel twists can accommodate lighter accurately. The cartridge developed enough acceptance that rifles chambered for it are available commercially.
Handloading.
The parent cartridge for the 6PPC is the .220 Russian (5.6×39mm), which in turn derives from the 7.62×39mm. Brass can either be purchased, or formed from .220 Russian brass (7.62×39mm can also be used, but .220 Russian brass is usually higher quality and thickness, since it is designed to operate at higher pressures).
During its early development, accuracy experts noted that perfectly concentric thicknesses of the cartridge neck were beneficial in lining up bullet to the bore - a feature mostly lacking in commercially available brass of the time. Most 6PPC chamber reamers are ground with a tight neck section that requires removing some case neck material ("turning the necks") to create a cartridge with a concentric fit and consistent neck-to-chamber clearances, which contribute to the 6PPC's accuracy. While the SAAMI specification for neck thickness in a 6mm cartridge is usually , 6PPCs with , , or custom neck sizes are commonly seen, hence modern factory ammunition is not commonly produced for the 6PPC as it would be dangerous to shoot in these custom chambers. To help clarify this, factory guns and ammunition are usually specified as the "6PPC-USA" cartridge which has a CIP/SAAMI specification. To the Note that a neck expanded, "unturned" (thickness of neck reduced) and loaded .220 Russian case neck will almost always be larger in diameter than the 6PPC rifle's chamber neck; if so, Method One mentioned below does not apply—see Method Two. It is important to understand the characteristics of one's chamber before starting, which can be checked with a tool such as a "chamber cast" (for example Brownell's CERROSAFE® CHAMBER CASTING ALLOY). Alternatively, one can use a manufacturer's print of the chamber (usually very hard to obtain, except for European rifle manufacturers) or a print of the reamer used to cut the rifle chamber.
As with other cartridges used in competition, precise handloading, a good rifle, and much practice make it possible to shoot very small consistent groups, with 5 or 10-shot groups with center-to-center measures of under at .
Other developments.
As with many competition rounds, variations develop and the PPC family of cartridges has served as the foundation for many. In the native 22 and 6mm calibers, there are numerous improved versions both with a shorter body to reduce powder capacity and longer body to increase powder capacity.
In 1985 Birgir Runar Saemundsson from Iceland designed the 30 PPC, by necking up the standard 6 PPC to shoot 308 caliber bullets. Bullets at that time were 125 grain Bergers, which proved to be too heavy. The lighter bullets of grains were needed. This caliber combination is very accurate for Bench Rest and Varmint for Score shooting.
In 1998 Arne Brennan conducted a theoretical study of calibers and cartridge cases and expanded the PPC family with the 6.5 PPC for the AR-15 rifle. As time evolved, the 6.5 PPC evolved into an improved case version like had been done for years with the 22 and 6 PPC. An improved 6.5 PPC variation branded the 6.5 Grendel was marketed by Alexander Arms LLC. Others are the 6.5 CSS marketed by CompetitionShooting.com, the 6.5 PPCX developed by Arne Brennan and optimized for 6.5mm bullets, and the 6.5 BPC developed by Jim Borden and Dr. Louis Palmisano and optimized for flat base bullets. Brass for these improved versions of the 6.5 PPC cartridge is made by Lapua and Hornady.
In 2007, Mark Walker created the .30 Walker - a .30 caliber version of the improved PPC optimized for use with flat base 30 caliber bullets. The .30 Walker was created for benchrest score shooting and has yielded impressive results with performance close to the .30 BR.
In January 2010, Les Baer Custom discontinued offering the Alexander Arms 6.5 Grendel which is a trademarked brand and required an insurance commitment until Alexander Arms released its trademark in 2011, and announced the release of the .264 LBC-AR as a wildcat without SAAMI specs as the Grendel has, but which takes nearly all of the same factory-loaded ammo that the Grendel can take. The LBC has a more shallow bolt-face than the standard-spec Grendel which removes of steel from (weakens) the LBC's extractor claw, but makes the LBC bolt compatible with 7.62x39 AR15/M4 bolts and barrels. The LBC's bolt and barrel are both incompatible with the SAAMI-spec Grendel's bolt and barrel, and retailers are often passing the 264 LBC as a "Type 1 Grendel" and calling the original, trademarked Grendel a "type 2 Grendel," which is the SAAMI spec but with more powder capacity, longer cartridge overall length, bolt compatible with the SAAMI-spec, and usually no compound-angled throat but a throat. The .264 LBC-AR chamber is designed with a neck like the 6.5 CSS, but not a compound-angled throat like the SAAMI-spec Grendel, and uses a 1 degree throat design like the 6.5 PPCX.


Advanced Colt Carbine-Monolithic

The Colt's Manufacturing Company Advanced Colt Carbine-Monolithic is an improved version of the M4 carbine presented to the United States military at a conference as a possible replacement for the M16 rifle and M4 carbine within the military.
Design.
The Colt ACC-M (Advanced Colt Carbine-Monolithic) adds Colt's proprietary, monolithic Mil-Std-1913 rail system (quad rail) forward hand guard to the normal M4 carbine upper receiver.
Colt M4 Carbines and Colt M4A1 Carbines can be easily and relatively inexpensively modified/upgraded into ACC-Ms by replacing the upper receiver, which is more cost-effective than completely replacing the weapons with a whole new carbine with a different control layout and different overall ergonomics and handling characteristics that require new and different training and maintenance protocols.
New-made ACC-Ms carry the model numbers "R0922" (S-1-3) and "R0923" (S-1-F). There is also a version of the R0923 with an 11.5" (Colt Commando) barrel known as the "R0923CQB."


Gravity knife

A gravity knife is a knife with a blade contained in its handle, and that opens its blade by the force of gravity. As the gravity knife requires gravity or spinning motion to propel the blade out of the handle, it differs fundamentally from the switchblade, which opens its spring-propelled blade automatically upon the push of a button, switch, or fulcrum lever. The main purpose of this opening method is that it allows opening and closing to be done "one handed", in situations where the other hand is occupied. Hence, historically they have been issued to parachutists to cut off caught lines, such as lines tangled in trees, a major potential use of the gravity knife.
The gravity knife uses a button, trigger, or fulcrum lever to release the blade from both the open and the closed positions, and may use a side-folding or telescoping (out-the-front, or OTF) blade. While most military gravity knives utilize a locking blade design, other types may not mechanically lock open but rely instead upon friction to wedge the rear section of the blade against the interior of the handle. Factory-made gravity knives have various types of buttons, triggers, and fulcrum levers, which usually are used to release the blade from both the open and the closed positions.
Design and operation.
Flieger-Kappmesser / Luftwaffe Gravity Knife (LGK).
One of the most recognizable gravity knives is the World War II-era "Flieger-Kappmesser" (literally: "flyers-cutting knife"), which utilizes a four-inch (100 mm) telescoping (OTF), gravity-propelled locking blade. First produced in 1937, the often so called "Fallschirmjägermesser" was initially issued to German flight crews and paratroops, primarily for the purpose of cutting a trapped parachutist from his rigging in case he landed with a tangled parachute, or became entangled in trees or in the water with the shroud lines. The spike was used to untie knots while packing the parachutes. Luftwaffe air crew members used the knife to cut themselves out of their harnesses or cut through the aluminum hull of the aircraft after a crash landing. Though not intended for use as a fighting knife in the first place, the LGK was introduced to the 1st Skijäger Division and SS units on the Eastern Front to be used primarily as a close combat weapon from 1944 on.
The "Flieger-Kappmesser" uses a sliding blade inside a metal gripframe, which was originally fitted with smooth wood scales. The blade itself is a relatively blunt spear-point, and the profile is flat ground, tapering to a utility edge. To open the blade, the user points the knife downwards while flipping up the fulcrum-style operating lever, allowing gravity to draw out the blade to its fullest extent. Releasing the lever locks the blade into position. The LGK may also be opened by flipping the blade release lever while flicking the wrist holding the knife, causing the blade to extend. The LGK was also equipped with a folding marlinspike or awl. Primarily intended for untangling rope knots, it was also used as a prying tool or to fix jammed weapons. The spike does not lock when opened and was never intended to be used as a combat weapon.
There are two principal types of wartime-era "Flieger-Kappmesser" with altogether 10 known variations. The Type I LGK (three manufacturers, five WWII variations) has wood scales (handle), was made from 1937-1943, and unlike successive models, has no 'takedown' capability. The Type II LGK (two manufacturers, five WWII variations) is the same knife, but with takedown features, and was produced from 1943 until 1945 and then again from ca. 1950 until 1965.
After the end of World War II, the newly organized West German "Bundeswehr" placed new orders with German cutlery manufacturers for a postwar version of the "Kappmesser" for issue to the Army´s airborne forces and tank crews. The West German "Luftwaffe" abandoned the gravity knife concept completely and purchased completely different rescue knives including a shroud line cutter. The initial Type III "trap door" gravity knife, made from 1955-1961 did not prove to be very reliable and thus, the original WWII Type II design was reintroduced until it was finally replaced by the early Type IV knives in appr. 1968. The Type IV LGK, is very similar to the WWII-production Type II takedown knife, but features plastic polymer instead of wooden scales and was made by WMF, OFW and Eickhorn from 1972-1984. They were issued to the "Bundeswehr" soldiers until 2017. The third West German post-war model is the Type V LGK, initially named AES79 and still today produced under the designation "LL80" (1979–present) by Eickhorn. The LL80 is smaller, has fewer parts and is more cost-effective to produce than earlier "Flieger-Kappmesser". It was procured by the Swiss Air Force and issued to their Dassault Mirage pilots in 1983. These knives are marked AES83 and bear the number of the aircraft of the metal head.
On the other side of the Iron Curtain, in the German Democratic Republic, WWII Gravity Knives were refurbished and re-issued to the paratroopers and pilots until the existing stock was gone. In the early 1960s two companies then produced an East German Version of the Type I knives. They were then used until the early 1970s.
Ibberson gravity knife.
After British forces had captured numbers of Type I "Flieger-Kappmesser", the British government approached George Ibberson & Co. of Sheffield, England, a knife and cutlery manufacturer, and requested production of a British version of the German Luftwaffe Gravity Knife for the Special Operations Executive (SOE) and other clandestine warfare units. Under the initial wartime contract, George Ibberson & Co. made 500 gravity knives for issue to the SOE and other special forces. These Sheffield gravity knives had smooth wood or textured plastic scales, but were otherwise identical in features and operation to the Type I "Flieger-Kappmesser", with a locking gravity-deployed blade and a folding rigging spike or awl. In the hands of British SOE agents, the Sheffield gravity knife was considered to be a secondary combat weapon. In addition to the knife blade, SOE close combat instructors found that the folding rigging spike was useful for silent killing of sentries by opening the carotid artery on the neck.
'False gravity' and non-gravity knives.
Some folding or telescoping knives that can open their blades by force of inertia or gravity were not intended or advertised by the manufacturer to do so. Knives that will lock their blades open, but do not have any closed position lock device are referred to as "false" gravity blades.
The illustration shows the internal parts of a 1960s Japanese import 'false' gravity knife. Other knives may be considered to be 'false' gravity knives, including certain lock-back and linerlock folding knives that will not lock a blade in both open and closed positions.
After the passage of the Switchblade Knife Act in the U.S. in 1958, it was discovered that some U.S. businesses were importing folding stiletto knives without spring mechanisms that did not have a pronounced blade heel (internal surface) in the pivot area allowing the longer 11 and 13 inch-bladed models to easily flick open. Modern (post 1965) folding stilettos imported or distributed in the U.S. now have blade heels that are intentionally pointed and ratchet against the lockback mechanism, preventing inertia opening.
Other knives commonly mistaken for gravity knives include the automatic OTF knife, the switchblade and the butterfly knife (or balisong), the sliding knife, penny knife, and occasionally even common folding hunting knives such as the Buck 110 Folding Hunter.
Other.
The 'conversion' gravity knife consists of a standard folding knife fitted with after-market modifications. The knife pictured does not lock closed, and is thus classed as a 'false' gravity knife. It can still be opened manually without touching the toggle switch. The addition of the toggle, which is attached to an internal bellcrank-arm, will lift the lockback mechanism to allow the blade to swing more easily.
Legality.
In some countries, such as the United Kingdom, Canada, and in certain U.S. states, a gravity knife is defined under the law as a prohibited weapon, with attendant criminal penalties. Other laws may criminalize the ownership, sale, importation, or carrying of a gravity knife upon one's person, either concealed or unconcealed. In the United States, some state criminal codes prohibit either the ownership or the carrying of gravity knives, either by name or by including a functional description of their opening mechanisms. Other state criminal codes bar gravity knives by redefining them variously as switchblades or balisongs (butterfly knives). Local jurisdictions including cities and counties may also restrict the ownership or carrying of gravity knives.
In a few jurisdictions, such as Colorado and New York City, courts have periodically attempted to classify ordinary lock-blade folding knives with a blade that may be opened by centrifugal force (normally, using a flicking motion of the wrist) as a gravity knife, thus making the knife's owner subject to the same criminal penalties imposed for illegal possession of a gravity knife. The New York statute banning gravity knives has been declared "unconstitutionally vague" by a federal District Court in March 2019. New York State legalized the possession of gravity knives on May 30, 2019 but New York City retains its ban on public transport.


Habiba Msika

Habiba Msika, also spelled Messika (حبيبة مسيكة), (born 1903 Testour – February 21, 1930 Tunis), was a Tunisian singer, dancer and actress.
Born Marguerite Msika, she was the niece of singer Leila Sfez.
She quickly climbed the ladder of fame under the pseudonym Habiba ("beloved"). Prototype of the free, and master of her destiny, charismatic singer and daring actress, adored by the Tunisian population, Msika was a social phenomenon in her time. The film "The Fire Dance" by Salma Baccar talks about her career.
Life.
Youth.
She was born in the Jewish quarter of Tunis in a poor family. Her parents, Daida and Maïha, worked in the wire trade.
She learned to read and write in the school of the Israelite Alliance, which she left after seven years, through the help of her aunt, singing lessons, music theory and classical Arabic with the famous composer Khemaïs Tarnane and Egyptian tenor Hassan Bannan.
She married her cousin Victor Chetboun but their union lasted a short time.
Her first recital was held at the palace of La Marsa, where she met her Pygmalion and lover: the Minister de la Plume.
Career.
In 1920 her career took off; she became a sex symbol and initiated the phenomenon of "soldiers of the night", the nickname for her fans, mostly young dandies of Tunisia.
It was at this time that she went with her lover to Paris, where through him she met Pablo Picasso and Coco Chanel.
In March 1925, she interpreted Romeo in Romeo and Juliet at the Ben Kamla theatre.
Death.
On the morning of February 20, 1930, her former lover Eliyahu Mimouni entered her apartment in Alfred Durand-Claye street in Tunis, and set her on fire. Badly burned, she died the next day, followed soon after by Mimouni. Msika is buried in the cemetery of Borgel in Tunis.