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Kåfjord, Alta
Kåfjord is a village in Alta Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The village is located along the Kåfjorden, about west of the town of Alta along the European route E6 highway. The village of Kvenvik lies about to the east, also along the E6 highway. At the summit of Mount Haldde, about by a track from Kåfjord, is a restored Northern Lights Observatory, established by Kristian Birkeland in 1899 and operational until 1926, when it was transferred to Tromsø. History Copper ore was mined at Kåfjord between 1826 and 1909. A mining company, Alten Copper Mines, was founded by two Englishmen in 1826. By the 1840s, the village had grown to become the largest settlement in Finnmark county, with over 1,000 inhabitants, including Englishmen from Cornwall. The copper works are now closed and derelict. In 1837, the British built Kåfjord Church, which was restored in 1969. During the Second World War, the German battleship ''Tirpitz'' used Kåfjord as a har ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Finnmark
Finnmark (; se, Finnmárku ; fkv, Finmarku; fi, Ruija ; russian: Финнмарк) was a county in the northern part of Norway, and it is scheduled to become a county again in 2024. On 1 January 2020, Finnmark was merged with the neighbouring county of Troms to form the new Troms og Finnmark county. On 1 January 2024, the county will be demerged back to the counties Finnmark and Troms, after a decision made by parliament on 15 June 2022. By land, it bordered Troms county to the west, Finland ( Lapland region) to the south, and Russia (Murmansk Oblast) to the east, and by water, the Norwegian Sea (Atlantic Ocean) to the northwest, and the Barents Sea (Arctic Ocean) to the north and northeast. The county was formerly known as ''Finmarkens amt'' or ''Vardøhus amt''. Starting in 2002, it had two official names: Finnmark (Norwegian) and Finnmárku (Northern Sami). It was part of the Sápmi region, which spans four countries, as well as the Barents Region, and is the largest and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aurora Borealis
An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of brilliant lights that appear as curtains, rays, spirals, or dynamic flickers covering the entire sky. Auroras are the result of disturbances in the magnetosphere caused by the solar wind. Major disturbances result from enhancements in the speed of the solar wind from coronal holes and coronal mass ejections. These disturbances alter the trajectories of charged particles in the magnetospheric plasma. These particles, mainly electrons and protons, precipitate into the upper atmosphere (thermosphere/ exosphere). The resulting ionization and excitation of atmospheric constituents emit light of varying colour and complexity. The form of the aurora, occurring within bands around both polar regions, is also dependent on the amount of accelerati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Godfrey Place
Rear Admiral Basil Charles Godfrey Place, (19 July 1921 – 27 December 1994), known as Godfrey Place, was an officer in the Royal Navy and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Naval career Place was 22 years old, and a lieutenant in the Royal Navy during the Second World War, when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC. On 22 September 1943 at Kåfjord, North Norway, Lieutenant Place, commanding Midget Submarine ''X7'', and another lieutenant (Donald Cameron) commanding Midget Submarine X.6, carried out a most daring and successful attack on the German Battleship '' Tirpitz''. The two submarines had to travel at least 1,000 miles from base, negotiate a mine-field, dodge nets, gun defenses and enemy listening posts. Having eluded all these hazards they finally placed the charges underneath the ship where they went off an hour later, doing so mu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Donald Cameron (VC)
Commander Donald Cameron, VC (18 March 1916 – 10 April 1961) was a Scottish sailor and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. He is one of three VC recipients from the small town of Carluke in South Lanarkshire (population 14,000). The Rotary Club of Carluke have erected a millennium stone in the town market place to commemorate this. Naval career Cameron served in the Merchant Navy from the age of 17. He was 27 years old, and a lieutenant in the Royal Naval Reserve during the Second World War, when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC. On 22 September 1943 at Kåfjord on the Altafjord, North Norway, Lieutenant Cameron, commanding Midget Submarine X.6, and another lieutenant ( Basil Charles Godfrey Place) commanding Midget Submarine X.7, carried out a most daring and successful attack on the German Battleship '' Tirpitz''. The small sub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Operation Source
Operation Source was a series of attacks to neutralise the heavy German warships – ''Tirpitz'', ''Scharnhorst'' and ''Lützow'' – based in northern Norway, using X-class midget submarines. The attacks took place in September 1943 at Kaafjord and succeeded in keeping ''Tirpitz'' out of action for at least six months. The concept for the attack was developed by Commander Cromwell-Varley, with support of Max Horton, Flag Officer Submarines, and Prime Minister Winston Churchill. The operation was directed from HMS ''Varbel'', located in Port Bannatyne on the Isle of Bute. ''Varbel'' (named after Commanders Varley and Bell, designers of the X-Craft prototype) was the on-shore headquarters for the 12th Submarine Flotilla (midget submarines). It had been a luxury 88-bedroom hotel (the Kyles Hydropathic Hotel) requisitioned by the Admiralty to serve as the flotilla’s headquarters. All X-craft training and preparation for X-craft attacks (including that on ''Tirpitz'') was c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against France. The modern Royal Navy traces its origins to the early 16th century; the oldest of the UK's armed services, it is consequently known as the Senior Service. From the middle decades of the 17th century, and through the 18th century, the Royal Navy vied with the Dutch Navy and later with the French Navy for maritime supremacy. From the mid 18th century, it was the world's most powerful navy until the Second World War. The Royal Navy played a key part in establishing and defending the British Empire, and four Imperial fortress colonies and a string of imperial bases and coaling stations secured the Royal Navy's ability to assert naval superiority globally. Owing to this historical prominence, it is common, even among non-Britons, to ref ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland, and many smaller islands within the British Isles. Northern Ireland shares a land border with the Republic of Ireland; otherwise, the United Kingdom is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel, the Celtic Sea and the Irish Sea. The total area of the United Kingdom is , with an estimated 2020 population of more than 67 million people. The United Kingdom has evolved from a series of annexations, unions and separations of constituent countries over several hundred years. The Treaty of Union between the Kingdom of England (which included Wales, annexed in 1542) and the Kingdom of Scotland in 170 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
German Battleship Tirpitz
''Tirpitz'' was the second of two s built for Nazi Germany's ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) prior to and during the Second World War. Named after Grand Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz, the architect of the ''Kaiserliche Marine'' (Imperial Navy), the ship was laid down at the Kriegsmarinewerft Wilhelmshaven in November 1936 and her hull was launched two and a half years later. Work was completed in February 1941, when she was commissioned into the German fleet. Like her sister ship, , ''Tirpitz'' was armed with a main battery of eight guns in four twin turrets. After a series of wartime modifications she was 2000 tonnes heavier than ''Bismarck'', making her the heaviest battleship ever built by a European navy. After completing sea trials in early 1941, ''Tirpitz'' briefly served as the centrepiece of the Baltic Fleet, which was intended to prevent a possible break-out attempt by the Soviet Baltic Fleet. In early 1942, the ship sailed to Norway to act as a deterrent against an Allied inv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis powers. World War II was a total war that directly involved more than 100 million personnel from more than 30 countries. The major participants in the war threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. Aircraft played a major role in the conflict, enabling the strategic bombing of population centres and deploying the only two nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II was by far the deadliest conflict in human history; it resulted in 70 to 85 million fatalities, mostly among civilians. Tens of millions died due to genocides (including the Holocaust), starvation, ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kåfjord Church (Finnmark)
Kåfjord Church ( no, Kåfjord kirke) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Alta Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. It is located in the village of Kåfjord. It is an annex church for the Alta parish which is part of the Alta prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Nord-Hålogaland. The white, wooden church was built in a long church style in 1837 using plans drawn up by an unknown architect, making it the oldest surviving church building in Alta. The church seats about 300 people. History left, View of the church from a distance The local Kåfjord copperworks, which was established in Kåfjord in 1826, grew to become the largest industrial company at the time north of the Arctic Circle. The church was built in 1837 to serve the growing community. The architect is unknown, but the church has many similarities to the standardized church drawings by the national architect Hans Linstow, so it could have been based on those. Other sources say that it may have been ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cornwall
Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, with the River Tamar forming the border between them. Cornwall forms the westernmost part of the South West Peninsula of the island of Great Britain. The southwesternmost point is Land's End and the southernmost Lizard Point. Cornwall has a population of and an area of . The county has been administered since 2009 by the unitary authority, Cornwall Council. The ceremonial county of Cornwall also includes the Isles of Scilly, which are administered separately. The administrative centre of Cornwall is Truro, its only city. Cornwall was formerly a Brythonic kingdom and subsequently a royal duchy. It is the cultural and ethnic origin of the Cornish dias ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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