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Azon
AZON (or Azon), from "azimuth only", was one of the world's first guided weapons, deployed by the Allies and contemporary with the German Fritz X. Officially designated VB-1 ("Vertical Bomb 1"), it was invented by Major Henry J. Rand and Thomas J. O'Donnell during the latter stages of World War II as the answer to the difficult problem of destroying the narrow wooden bridges that supported much of the Burma Railway. AZON was essentially a general-purpose AN-M65 bomb with a quadrilateral 4-fin style radio controlled tail fin design as part of a "tail package" to give the desired guidance capability, allowing adjustment of the vertical trajectory in the yaw axis, giving the Azon unit a lateral steering capability (meaning it could only steer left and right, and could not alter its pitch or rate of fall). This lack of any pitch control meant that the bombardier still had to accurately release it with a bombsight to ensure it could not fall short of or beyond the target. The "ta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
93d Air Refueling Squadron
The 93rd Air Refueling Squadron is an active United States Air Force unit, stationed at Fairchild Air Force Base, Washington, where it is assigned to the 92nd Operations Group and operates the Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft conducting air refueling missions. The earliest predecessor of the squadron is the 493rd Bombardment Squadron, which was activated in India in October 1942 and was equipped with Consolidated B-24 Liberators in January 1943. It participated in combat in the China Burma India Theater with the Liberator until V-J Day, earning a Distinguished Unit Citation in March 1945. Dring the period in which Boeing B-29 Superfortress bombers operated from India, it also transported gasoline to forward bases in China. After the end of hostilities, it returned to the United States for inactivation in January 1946. The 93rd Air Refueling Squadron was activated in March 1949 and equipped with Boeing KB-29 Superfortress tankers. It upgraded to the Boeing KC-97 Stratofreig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fritz X
Fritz X was the most common name for a German guided anti-ship glide bomb used during World War II. ''Fritz X'' was the world's first precision guided weapon deployed in combat and the first to sink a ship in combat. ''Fritz X'' was a nickname used both by Allied and ''Luftwaffe'' personnel. Alternative names include Ruhrstahl SD 1400 X, Kramer X-1, PC 1400X or FX 1400 (the latter, along with the unguided PC 1400 ''Fritz'' nickname, is the origin for the name "Fritz X"). History ''Fritz X'' was a further development of the PC 1400 (''Panzersprengbombe, Cylindrisch'' 1,400 kg) German Wikipedia's WW II PC-series bomb specifications, German for "armor-piercing bomb, cylindrical". armour-piercing high-explosive bomb, itself bearing the nickname ''Fritz''. It was a penetration weapon intended to be used against armored targets such as heavy cruisers and battleships. It was given a more aerodynamic nose, four stub wings, and a box-shaped tail unit consisting of a roughly 12-sid ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Consolidated B-24 Liberator
The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models designated as various LB-30s, in the Land Bomber design category. At its inception, the B-24 was a modern design featuring a highly efficient shoulder-mounted, high aspect ratio Davis wing. The wing gave the Liberator a high cruise speed, long range and the ability to carry a heavy bomb load. Early RAF Liberators were the first aircraft to cross the Atlantic Ocean as a matter of routine. In comparison with its contemporaries, the B-24 was relatively difficult to fly and had poor low-speed performance; it also had a lower ceiling and was less robust than the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress. While aircrews tended to prefer the B-17, General Staff favored the B-24 and procured it in huge numbers for a wide variety of roles. At approximately 18,5 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Radio Control
Radio control (often abbreviated to RC) is the use of control signals transmitted by radio to remotely control a device. Examples of simple radio control systems are garage door openers and keyless entry systems for vehicles, in which a small handheld radio transmitter unlocks or opens doors. Radio control is also used for control of model vehicles from a hand-held radio transmitter. Industrial, military, and scientific research organizations make use of radio-controlled vehicles as well. A rapidly growing application is control of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs or drones) for both civilian and military uses, although these have more sophisticated control systems than traditional applications. History The idea of controlling unmanned vehicles (for the most part in an attempt to improve the accuracy of torpedoes for military purposes) predates the invention of radio. The latter half of the 1800s saw development of many such devices, connected to an operator by wires, inclu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Burma Railway
The Burma Railway, also known as the Siam–Burma Railway, Thai–Burma Railway and similar names, or as the Death Railway, is a railway between Ban Pong, Thailand and Thanbyuzayat, Burma (now called Myanmar). It was built from 1940 to 1943 by civilian labourers impressed or recruited by the Japanese and prisoners of war taken by the Japanese, to supply troops and weapons in the Burma campaign of World War II. It completed the rail link between Bangkok, Thailand, and Rangoon, Burma. The name used by the Japanese Government is ''Tai–Men Rensetsu Tetsudō'' (), which means Thailand-Burma-Link-Railway. Between 180,000 and 250,000 Southeast Asian civilians and over 60,000 Allied prisoners of war were subjected to forced labour during its construction. Around 90,000 of the civilians died, as did more than 12,000 Allied prisoners. Most of the railway was dismantled shortly after the war. Only the first of the line in Thailand remained, with trains still running as far north as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guided Bomb
A guided bomb (also known as a smart bomb, guided bomb unit, or GBU) is a precision-guided munition designed to achieve a smaller circular error probable (CEP). The creation of precision-guided munitions resulted in the retroactive renaming of older bombs as unguided bombs or "dumb bombs". Guidance Guided bombs carry a guidance system which is usually monitored and controlled from an external device. A guided bomb of a given weight must carry fewer explosives to accommodate the guidance mechanisms. Radio The Germans were first to introduce Precision Guided Munitions (PGMs) in combat, using the 1,400-kg (3,100 lb) MCLOS-guidance Fritz X to successfully attack the Italian battleship Italian battleship Roma (1940), ''Roma'' in September 1943. The closest Allies of World War II, Allied equivalents were the 1,000-lb (454 kg) AZON (AZimuth ONly), used in both Europe and the China Burma India Theater, CBI Theater, and the United States Navy, US Navy's Bat (guided bom ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
MCLOS
Manual command to line of sight (MCLOS) is a method for guiding guided missiles. With an MCLOS missile, the operator must track the missile and the target simultaneously and guide the missile to the target. Typically the missile is steered with a joystick, and its path is observed through a periscope-type telescopic sight. The missiles are usually equipped with a magnesium flare in the base that automatically ignites on launch and allows the gunner to visually track the fast-moving missile in a manner similar in concept to tracer ammunition. MCLOS requires considerable training and practice to master, since even a minor disruption in the gunner's concentration would likely cause a miss. These guidance systems have marginal accuracy on tank-sized targets, even with perfect line-of-sight by the gunner, due to erratic flight paths requiring timely manual corrections. As demonstrated by the Israeli Army under fire from Soviet-armed Arab states, responding to the distinctive smoke puff ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eighth Air Force
The Eighth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) is a numbered air force (NAF) of the United States Air Force's Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The command serves as Air Forces Strategic – Global Strike, one of the air components of United States Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM). The Eighth Air Force includes the heart of America's heavy bomber force: the Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit stealth bomber, the Rockwell B-1 Lancer supersonic bomber, and the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress heavy bomber aircraft. Established on 22 February 1944 by the redesignation of VIII Bomber Command at RAF Daws Hill in High Wycombe, England, the Eighth Army Air Force (8 AAF) was a United States Army Air Forces combat air force in the European Theater of World War II (1939/41–1945), engaging in operations primarily in the Northern Europe area of responsibility; carrying out strategic bombing of enemy targets in France, the Low Countrie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flare
A flare, also sometimes called a fusée, fusee, or bengala in some Latin-speaking countries, is a type of pyrotechnic that produces a bright light or intense heat without an explosion. Flares are used for distress signaling, illumination, or defensive countermeasures in civilian and military applications. Flares may be ground pyrotechnics, projectile pyrotechnics, or parachute-suspended to provide maximum illumination time over a large area. Projectile pyrotechnics may be dropped from aircraft, fired from rocket or artillery, or deployed by flare guns or handheld percussive tubes. History The earliest recorded use of gunpowder for signaling purposes was the 'signal bomb' used by the Chinese Song Dynasty (960–1279) as the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368) besieged Yangzhou in 1276. These soft-shelled bombs, timed to explode in midair, were used to send messages to a detachment of troops far in the distance. Another mention of the signal bomb appears in a text dating ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pandaveswar Airfield
Pandaveswar Airfield is a former wartime United States Army Air Forces airfield in India used during the Burma Campaign 1944-1945. It is now abandoned. History Pandaveswar was a major Tenth Air Force combat airfield, hosting numerous groups between 1942 and 1945. Known units assigned were: * 7th Bombardment Group, 12 December 1942 – 17 January 1944 B-24 Liberator * 12th Bombardment Group, 13 June-16 July 1944 B-25 Mitchell * 4th Combat Cargo Group, November 1945-15 January 1946 C-46 Commando * 8th Photographic Reconnaissance Group, 3 January-29 October 1943 * 427th Night Fighter Squadron, 31 October -23 December 1944 P-61 Black Widow The Northrop P-61 Black Widow is a twin-engine United States Army Air Forces fighter aircraft of World War II. It was the first operational U.S. warplane designed as a night fighter, and the first aircraft designed specifically as a night fight ... After the combat cargo unit moved out in January 1946, it appears the airfield was closed. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Melun
Melun () is a Communes of France, commune in the Seine-et-Marne Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region, north-central France. It is located on the southeastern outskirts of Paris, about from the kilometre zero, centre of the capital. Melun is the prefecture of the Seine-et-Marne, and the seat of one of its ''arrondissements''. Its inhabitants are called ''Melunais''. History Meledunum began as a Gauls, Gaulish town; Julius Caesar, Caesar noted Melun as "a town of the Senones, situated on an island in the Seine"; at the island there was a wooden bridge, which his men repaired. Roman Meledunum was a ''mutatio'' where fresh horses were kept available for official couriers on the Roman road south-southeast of Paris, where it forded the Seine. Around 500 A.D, Clovis I granted Melun to a Gallo-Roman magnate, Aurelianus (Gallo-Roman), Aurelianus, who had fought for Clovis several times and apparently influenced his conversion to Christianity. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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