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Battle Of Someri
The Battle of Someri was a battle in the Gulf of Finland during World War II on 8–9 July 1942, between the Soviet Union and Finland. Starting as a modest operation to clear a Finnish observation post from a small island, it became one of the largest surface ship engagements in the Baltic theater. Background During the Russo-Finnish Winter War (1939–40), Soviet forces captured several Finnish islands in the eastern Gulf of Finland. In March 1940 these were ceded to the Soviet Union in accordance with the Moscow Peace Treaty. The Soviets occupied some of them with small garrisons. When the Continuation War began in June 1941 the islands were generally ignored; in autumn 1941, however, the Finnish Navy attempted to occupy the small, rocky island of Someri (now Sommers, Russia), mistakenly thinking it had been abandoned by the Soviets. Coming under fire from the defenders, the small Finnish landing force hastily withdrew. Over the next few weeks the Finns shelled and bombed the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Continuation War
The Continuation War, also known as the Second Soviet-Finnish War, was a conflict fought by Finland and Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union from 1941 to 1944, as part of World War II.; sv, fortsättningskriget; german: Fortsetzungskrieg. According to Finnish historian Olli Vehviläinen, the term 'Continuation War' was created at the start of the conflict by the Finnish government, to justify the invasion to the population as a continuation of the defensive Winter War and separate from the German war effort. He titled the chapter addressing the issue in his book as "Finland's War of Retaliation". Vehviläinen asserted that the reality of that claim changed when the Finnish forces crossed the 1939 frontier and started annexation operations. The US Library of Congress catalogue also lists the variants War of Retribution and War of Continuation (see authority control)., group="Note" In Soviet historiography, the war was called the Finnish Front of the Great Patriotic War.. Alter ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Finnish Minelayer Ruotsinsalmi
''Ruotsinsalmi'' was a minelayer of the Finnish Navy and the namesake of her class. ''Ruotsinsalmi'' was commissioned in 1940 and remained in service until 1975. The vessel was named after the battle of Ruotsinsalmi, which was fought between Sweden and Russia in 1790. New minelayers for the navy Funding for two new minelayers had been secured as early as in 1937, but instead the money was used to refurbish the garrison at Mäkiluoto. ''Ruotsinsalmi'' and her sister vessel, , were intended as escort minesweepers for the Finnish navy's coastal defence ships and , and they were therefore designed with a draught of only . ''Ruotsinsalmi'' was armed with one gun, one Bofors 40 mm guns and two Madsen 20 mm anti-aircraft cannons. The vessel had three mine dropping rails, and could carry about 100 mines. The ship could also hunt submarines, and was equipped with sonar, depth charge throwers and rails. The vessel was also strong enough to be able to tow mine sweeping equipment. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polikarpov I-153
The Polikarpov I-153 ''Chaika'' (Russian ''Чайка'', "Seagull") was a late 1930s Soviet biplane fighter. Developed as an advanced version of the I-15 with a retractable undercarriage, the I-153 fought in the Soviet-Japanese combats in Mongolia and was one of the Soviets' major fighter types in the early years of the Second World War. Three I-153s are still flying. Design and development In 1937, the Polikarpov design bureau carried out studies to improve on the performance of its I-15 and I-15bis biplane fighters without sacrificing manoeuvrability, as Soviet tactical doctrine was based on a mix of high performance monoplane fighters (met by the Polikarpov I-16) and agile biplanes.Gordon and Dexter 1999, p. 124. Early combat experience from the Spanish Civil War had shown that the I-16 had problems dealing with the Fiat CR.32 biplanes used by the Italian forces supporting the Nationalists, which suggested a need to continue the use of biplane fighters, and as a result, Po ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ilyushin Il-2
The Ilyushin Il-2 (Russian: Илью́шин Ил-2) is a ground-attack plane that was produced by the Soviet Union in large numbers during the Second World War. The word ''shturmovík'' (Cyrillic: штурмовик), the generic Russian term for a ground-attack aircraft, became a synecdoche for the Il-2 in English sources, where it is commonly rendered Shturmovik, StormovikStapfer, 1995 and Sturmovik.Rastrenin, 2008 To Il-2 pilots, the aircraft was known by the diminutive "Ilyusha". To the soldiers on the ground, it was called the "Hunchback", the "Flying Tank" or the "Flying Infantryman". Its postwar NATO reporting name was Bark.Gunston 1995, p. 106. During the war, 36,183 units of the Il-2 were produced, and in combination with its successor, the Ilyushin Il-10, a total of 42,330Jane's 1989, p. 529. were built, making it the single most produced military aircraft design in aviation history, as well as one of the most produced piloted aircraft in history along with the A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Petlyakov Pe-2
The Petlyakov Pe-2 (russian: Петляков Пе-2) was a Soviet twin-engine dive bomber used during World War II. One of the outstanding tactical attack aircraft of the war,Ethell 1996, p. 152. it also proved successful as a heavy fighter, as a night fighter ( Pe-3 variant) and as a reconnaissance aircraft.Angelucci and Matricardi 1978, p. 234. The Pe-2 was, numerically, the most important Soviet bomber of World War II, at their peak comprising 75% of the Soviet twin-engine bomber force.Smith 2003, pp. 155. The Soviets manufactured Pe-2s in greater numbers (11,430 built) during the war than any other twin-engine combat aircraft except for the German Junkers Ju 88 and the British Vickers Wellington.Guston 1980, p. 173. Several communist air forces flew the type after the war, when it became known by the NATO reporting name ''Buck''. Development In 1937, Vladimir Petlyakov was the leader of the Heavy Aircraft Brigade at the Tupolev OKB responsible for the development of the ANT-4 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ilyushin Il-4
The Ilyushin Il-4 (DB-3F) (russian: Ильюшин Ил-4 (ДБ-3Ф)) was a Soviet twin-engined long-range bomber and torpedo bomber, widely used by the Soviet Air Force and Soviet Naval Aviation during World War II. Design and development In 1938, the Ilyushin design bureau redesigned the Ilyushin DB-3 to ease production and improve its performance, the revised version receiving the designation DB-3F (''Forsirovanniye'' or "boosted"). The aircraft's internal structure, particularly the wings, was extensively changed, eliminating the need for hand finishing of the structure, and with duralumin replacing the large scale use of steel in the earlier version.''Air International'' May 1986, p. 133.Gunston 1995, pp. 100–101. The aircraft's fuel system was redesigned, increasing its internal capacity while reducing the number of fuel tanks. The fuselage nose was lengthened to give more room for the navigator/bombardier while reducing drag. The prototype DB-3F, powered by the same Tuma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Soviet Air Force
The Soviet Air Forces ( rus, Военно-воздушные силы, r=Voyenno-vozdushnyye sily, VVS; literally "Military Air Forces") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces. The Air Forces were formed from components of the Imperial Russian Air Service in 1917, and faced their greatest test during World War II. The groups were also involved in the Korean War, and dissolved along with the Soviet Union itself in 1991–92. Former Soviet Air Forces' assets were subsequently divided into several air forces of former Soviet republics, including the new Russian Air Force. "March of the Pilots" was its song. Origins The ''All-Russia Collegium for Direction of the Air Forces of the Old Army'' (translation is uncertain) was formed on 20 December 1917. This was a Bolshevik aerial headquarters initially led by Konstantin Akashev. Along with a general postwar military reorganisation, the collegium was reconstituted as the "Workers' an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Uragan Class Guard Ship
The ''Uragan''-class guard ships were built for the Soviet Navy as small patrol and escort ships. Eighteen were built in the 1930s and served during World War II in all four of the Soviet Fleets: Baltic, Black Sea, Northern and Pacific. Four were lost during the war and the rest remained in service until the late 1950s in various secondary roles. The official Soviet designation was Project 2, Project 4 and Project 39, but they were nicknamed the "Bad Weather Flotilla" by Soviet sailors by virtue of their meteorological names. Design By the mid-1920s the Soviet Navy wanted to replace the few old Tsarist torpedo boats that it had left acting as guard ships. The initial requirement was for a ship not to exceed , armed with two old guns, three torpedo tubes and could carry mines as necessary. It was to be powered by four Beardmore diesel engines imported from the United Kingdom, but this plan was thwarted by Soviet financial support for the miners during the 1926 United Kingdo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
M Class Minesweeper (Germany)
The M class were the standard minesweeper (german: Minensuchboot) of Nazi Germany's ''Kriegsmarine'' during World War II. The vessels were the primary force in Germany's harbor defense command and were organized administratively into minesweeper flotillas. History M1915 and M1916 A total of 36 old units from World War I served in World War II. Some of these were converted to experimental ships, artillery school ships, fleet tenders or R-boat tenders, and 1 (ex-M109) was converted into a survey ship. In 1940, most of these converted vessels were re-designated as minesweepers again. M1935 The first series; the M1935 were ordered in the late 1930s to replace worn out World War I vintage boats. These ships proved versatile and seaworthy. The vessels could also undertake convoy escort, anti-submarine warfare and minelaying tasks as well as minesweeping. However, the ships were very expensive and complicated to build, and their oil-fired boilers meant they suffered from the fuel s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dornier Do 17
The Dornier Do 17 is a twin-engined light bomber produced by Dornier Flugzeugwerke for the German Luftwaffe during World War II. Designed in the early 1930s as a ''Schnellbomber'' ("fast bomber") intended to be fast enough to outrun opposing aircraft, the lightly built craft had a twin tail and "shoulder wing". Sometimes referred to as the ''Fliegender Bleistift'' ("flying pencil"), it was popular among its crews due to its handling, especially at low altitude, which made the Do 17 harder to hit than other German bombers. The Do 17 made its combat debut in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War, operating in the Condor Legion in various roles. Along with the Heinkel He 111 it was the main bomber type of the German air arm in 1939–1940. The Dornier was used throughout the early war, and saw action in significant numbers in every major campaign theatre as a front line aircraft until the end of 1941, when its effectiveness and usage was curtailed as its bomb load and range were limi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bristol Blenheim
The Bristol Blenheim is a British light bomber aircraft designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company (Bristol) which was used extensively in the first two years of the Second World War, with examples still being used as trainers until the end of the war. Development began with the ''Type 142'', a civil airliner, in response to a challenge from Lord Rothermere to produce the fastest commercial aircraft in Europe. The ''Type 142'' first flew in April 1935, and the Air Ministry, impressed by its performance, ordered a modified design as the ''Type 142M'' for the Royal Air Force (RAF) as a bomber. Deliveries of the newly named Blenheim to RAF squadrons commenced on 10 March 1937. In service the Type 142M became the Blenheim Mk.I which would be developed into the longer Type 149, designated the Blenheim Mk.IV, except in Canada where Fairchild Canada built the Type 149 under licence as the Bolingbroke. The Type 160 Bisley was also developed from the Blenheim, but was already o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fokker D
Fokker was a Dutch aircraft manufacturer named after its founder, Anthony Fokker. The company operated under several different names. It was founded in 1912 in Berlin, Germany, and became famous for its fighter aircraft in World War I. In 1919 the company moved its operations to the Netherlands. During its most successful period in the 1920s and 1930s, it dominated the civil aviation market. Fokker went into bankruptcy in 1996, and its operations were sold to competitors. History Fokker in Germany At age 20, while studying in Germany, Anthony Fokker built his initial aircraft, the ''Spin'' (Spider)—the first Dutch-built plane to fly in his home country. Taking advantage of better opportunities in Germany, he moved to Berlin, where in 1912, he founded his first company, Fokker Aeroplanbau, later moving to the Görries suburb just southwest of Schwerin (at ), where the current company was founded, as Fokker Aviatik GmbH, on 12 February 1912. World War I Fokker capitalized o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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