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534th (Orkney) Coast Regiment, Royal Artillery
The Orkney Heavy Regiment was a Territorial Army unit of Britain's Royal Artillery raised in the Orkney Islands just before World War II. During the war it was greatly expanded to defend the vital naval base of Scapa Flow. It was reformed postwar and later became an air defence battery. Precursor units There had been previous volunteer artillery units in the Orkney Islands: the Kirkwall Gunners during the Napoleonic Wars, and the 1st Orkney Artillery Volunteers (OAV) formed in 1860. By 1914 the OAV had become the Orkney Royal Garrison Artillery tasked with defending the new naval base at Scapa Flow, but during the war this role was taken over by the Royal Marine Artillery, and although the Orkney RGA was reformed postwar it was shortlived and disbanded in 1922.Frederick, p. 615. Origin In 1926 it had been decided that the responsibility for coast defences in the UK would rest solely with the part-time Territorial Army (TA). After the Munich Crisis in 1938 there was a rapid ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flag Of The British Army
A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design employed, and flags have evolved into a general tool for rudimentary signalling and identification, especially in environments where communication is challenging (such as the maritime environment, where semaphore is used). Many flags fall into groups of similar designs called flag families. The study of flags is known as "vexillology" from the Latin , meaning "flag" or "banner". National flags are patriotic symbols with widely varied interpretations that often include strong military associations because of their original and ongoing use for that purpose. Flags are also used in messaging, advertising, or for decorative purposes. Some military units are called "flags" after their use of flags. A ''flag'' (Arabic: ) is equivalent to a brigade ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flotta
Flotta () is a small island in Orkney, Scotland, lying in Scapa Flow. The island is known for its large oil terminal and is linked by Orkney Ferries to Houton on the Orkney Mainland, Lyness on Hoy and Longhope on South Walls. The island has a population of 80. History At the turn of the 20th century, the island was a quiet rural community like many other small islands of Orkney, but its sheltered location led to three major upheavals in the island in the century. Until 1914, Flotta was a quiet farming community. In 1910, a population of 431 included two blacksmiths, four carpenters and three dressmakers. World Wars Everything changed with the arrival of the Royal Navy in Scapa Flow at the start of the First World War. There is a photograph held by the Imperial War Museum in London that shows a boxing match taking place on Flotta in front of a wartime audience of 10,000 people. During the First World War, the island was home to a naval base. The dreadnought HMS ''Vanguar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
QF 12-pounder 12 Cwt Naval Gun
The QF 12-pounder 12-cwt gun (abbreviated as Q.F. 12-pdr. (12-cwt.)Gun drill for Q.F. 12-pdr. (12-cwt.) gun (Land service) 1925 the War Office, 1925) was a common, versatile naval gun introduced in 1894 and used until the middle of the 20th century. It was produced by , Elswick and used on w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anti-Aircraft Command
Anti-Aircraft Command (AA Command, or "Ack-Ack Command") was a British Army command of the Second World War that controlled the Territorial Army anti-aircraft artillery and searchlight formations and units defending the United Kingdom. Origin The formation of a Command-level body of anti-aircraft defences had been announced in 1938, but Anti-Aircraft Command was not formed until 1 April 1939 under General Sir Alan Brooke, who had been commander of Anti-Aircraft Corps. He then passed control to Sir Frederick Pile, who would remain in command until the end of the war.Routledge, Chapter 26. AA Command was under the operational direction of RAF Fighter Command as part of Air Defence of Great Britain, and occupied a headquarters known as ''Glenthorn'' in the grounds of Bentley Priory, home of Fighter Command. The majority of AA Command's guns and searchlights were operated by Territorial Army units. Some Regular Army units joined after they returned from the Dunkirk evacuation. L ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dunkirk Evacuation
The Dunkirk evacuation, codenamed Operation Dynamo and also known as the Miracle of Dunkirk, or just Dunkirk, was the evacuation of more than 338,000 Allied soldiers during the Second World War from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, in the north of France, between 26 May and 4 June 1940. The operation commenced after large numbers of Belgian, British, and French troops were cut off and surrounded by German troops during the six-week Battle of France. In a speech to the House of Commons, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill called this "a colossal military disaster", saying "the whole root and core and brain of the British Army" had been stranded at Dunkirk and seemed about to perish or be captured. In his "We shall fight on the beaches" speech on 4 June, he hailed their rescue as a "miracle of deliverance". After Germany invaded Poland in September 1939, France and the British Empire declared war on Germany and imposed an economic blockade. The British Expeditionary ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Churchill Barriers
The Churchill Barriers are four causeways in the Orkney islands with a total length of . They link the Orkney Mainland in the north to the island of South Ronaldsay via Burray and the two smaller islands of Lamb Holm and Glimps Holm. The barriers were built between May 1940 and September 1944, primarily as naval defences to protect the anchorage at Scapa Flow, but since 12 May 1945, serve as road links between the islands. The two southern barriers, Glimps Holm to Burray and Burray to South Ronaldsay, are Category A listed. History On 14 October 1939, the Royal Navy battleship HMS ''Royal Oak'' was sunk at her moorings within the natural harbour of Scapa Flow, by the under the command of Günther Prien. ''U-47'' had entered Scapa Flow through Holm Sound, one of several eastern entrances to Scapa Flow. The eastern passages were protected by measures including sunken block ships, booms and anti-submarine nets, but ''U-47'' entered at night at high tide by navigating be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
HMS Royal Oak (08)
HMS ''Royal Oak'' was one of five s built for the Royal Navy during the First World War. Completed in 1916, the ship first saw combat at the Battle of Jutland as part of the Grand Fleet. In peacetime, she served in the Atlantic, Home and Mediterranean fleets, more than once coming under accidental attack. ''Royal Oak'' drew worldwide attention in 1928 when her senior officers were controversially court-martialled, an event that brought considerable embarrassment to what was then the world's largest navy. Attempts to modernise ''Royal Oak'' throughout her 25-year career could not fix her fundamental lack of speed and, by the start of the Second World War, she was no longer suitable for front-line duty. On 14 October 1939, ''Royal Oak'' was anchored at Scapa Flow in Orkney, Scotland, when she was torpedoed by the German submarine . Of ''Royal Oak''s complement of 1,234 men and boys, 835 were killed that night or died later of their wounds. The loss of the outdated ship—the firs ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Günther Prien
Günther Prien (16 January 1908 – presumed 8 March 1941) was a German U-boat commander during World War II. He was the first U-boat commander to receive the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and the first member of the ''Kriegsmarine'' to receive the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves of Nazi Germany. It was Germany's highest military decoration at the time of its presentation to Prien. Under Prien's command, the submarine was credited with sinking over 30 Allied ships totalling about , along with the British battleship at anchor in the Home Fleet's anchorage in Scapa Flow. Early life and career Prien was one of three children of a judge and completed his basic education. At the age of five, Prien had been living with relatives, the notary Carl Hahn and his wife, in Lübeck. There he attended the Katharineum, a humanistic secondary school. After his parents separated, Prien moved with his mother and siblings to Leipzig where she eked out a living selling pea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
German Submarine U-47 (1938)
German submarine ''U-47'' was a Type VIIB U-boat of Nazi Germany's ''Kriegsmarine'' during World War II. She was laid down on 25 February 1937 at Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft in Kiel as yard number 582 and went into service on 17 December 1938 under the command of Günther Prien. During ''U-47''s career, she sank a total of 31 enemy vessels, including the British battleship , and damaged nine more. ''U-47'' ranks as one of the most successful German U-boats of World War II. In 2016, one of the faulty torpedoes shot at HMS ''Royal Oak'' was found and identified. Design German Type VIIB submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIA submarines. ''U-47'' had a displacement of when at the surface and while submerged. She had a total length of , a pressure hull length of , a beam of , a height of , and a draught of . The submarine was powered by two Germaniawerft F46 four-stroke, six-cylinder supercharged diesel engines producing a total of for use while surfaced, t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
QF 4
QF may stand for: * Qantas, an airline of Australia (IATA code QF) * Qatar Foundation, a private, chartered, non-profit organization in the state of Qatar * Quality factor, in physics and engineering, a measure of the "quality" of a resonant system * Quick-firing gun, a sort of artillery piece * Quiverfull, a movement of Christians who eschew all forms of birth control * A gun breech that uses metallic cartridges (see British ordnance terms#QF) * Quds Force The Quds Force ( fa, نیروی قدس, niru-ye qods, Jerusalem Force) is one of five branches of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) specializing in unconventional warfare and military intelligence operations. U.S. Army's Iraq War ... an expeditionary warfare unit of IRGC {{disambig fr:QF ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
BL 6-inch Mk VII Naval Gun
The BL 6-inch gun Mark VII (and the related Mk VIII) was a British naval gun dating from 1899, which was mounted on a heavy travelling carriage in 1915 for British Army service to become one of the main heavy field guns in the First World War, and also served as one of the main coast defence guns throughout the British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ... until the 1950s. Background The gun superseded the QF 6 inch /40 naval gun, QF six-inch gun of the 1890s, a period during which the Royal Navy had evaluated British ordnance terms#QF, QF technology (i.e. loading propellant charges in brass cartridge cases) for all classes of guns up to to increase rates of fire. British ordnance terms#BL, BL Mk VII returned to loading charges in silk bags after it was det ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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