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Memorial Bridge (Bangkok)
The Memorial Bridge ( th, สะพานปฐมบรมราชานุสรณ์) is a bascule bridge over the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok, Thailand, connecting the districts of Phra Nakhon and Thonburi. History The bridge opened on 6 April 1932, by King Prajadhipok (Rama VII) in commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Chakri dynasty and the foundation of Bangkok, shortly before the Siamese coup d'état of 24 June 1932. In English the bridge is commonly known as Memorial Bridge, however in Thai, it is most commonly known as Phra Phuttayotfa Bridge (สะพานพระพุทธยอดฟ้า), after King Phutthayotfa Chulalok (Rama I), the first king of the Chakri dynasty. The name is more commonly shortened as Saphan Phut (สะพานพุทธ) or Phut Bridge or Buddha Bridge (meaning: Bridge of Buddha). Construction of the bridge was started on 3 December 1929 by Dorman Long, Middlesbrough, England, under the supervision of Italian technician ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chao Phraya River
The Chao Phraya ( or ; th, แม่น้ำเจ้าพระยา, , or ) is the major river in Thailand, with its low alluvial plain forming the centre of the country. It flows through Bangkok and then into the Gulf of Thailand. Etymology On many old European maps, the river is named the ''Mae Nam'' (Thai: แม่น้ำ), the Thai word for "river" (literally, "motherly water"). James McCarthy, F.R.G.S., who served as Director-General of the Siamese Government Surveys prior to establishment of the Royal Survey Department, wrote in his account, "''Mae Nam'' is a generic term, ''mae'' signifying "mother" and ''Nam'' "water," and the epithet Chao P'ia signifies that it is the chief river in the kingdom of Siam." H. Warington Smyth, who served as Director of the Department of Mines in Siam from 1891 to 1896, refers to it in his book first published in 1898 as "the Mae Nam Chao Phraya". In the English-language media in Thailand, the name Chao Phraya River is oft ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bombing Of Bangkok In World War II
The city of Bangkok, Thailand was bombed by the Allies on numerous occasions during World War II. It was also the target for the first combat mission by Boeing B-29 Superfortresses in June 1944. Initial British and American air raids Allied bombing raids on the Thai capital city of Bangkok began even before Thailand had declared war, since the Empire of Japan was using the country as a staging area for its invasions of both Malaya and Burma, with the reluctant agreement of the Thai government after Japan's successful invasion of the southeast Asian country on 8 December 1941. The first raid came on 7 January 1942, when Royal Air Force (RAF) aircraft flying from Rangoon, attacked military targets in the city. The American Volunteer Group, together with seven No. 113 Squadron RAF and three No. 45 Squadron RAF Bristol Blenheim bombers, were involved in the first raid. No. 113 Squadron's planes were piloted by No. 60 Squadron's air crew. The second night raid was carried out by ei ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bascule Bridges
A bascule bridge (also referred to as a drawbridge or a lifting bridge) is a moveable bridge with a counterweight that continuously balances a span, or leaf, throughout its upward swing to provide clearance for boat traffic. It may be single- or double-leafed. The name comes from the French term for balance scale, which employs the same principle. Bascule bridges are the most common type of movable span because they open quickly and require relatively little energy to operate, while providing the possibility for unlimited vertical clearance for marine traffic. History Bascule bridges have been in use since ancient times, but until the adoption of steam power in the 1850s, very long, heavy spans could not be moved quickly enough for practical application. Types There are three types of bascule bridge and the counterweights to the span may be located above or below the bridge deck. The fixed-trunnion (sometimes a "Chicago" bascule) rotates around a large axle that raises the sp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crossings Of The Chao Phraya River
The Chao Phraya River flows through Central Thailand from the confluence of the Ping and Nan Rivers in Nakhon Sawan Province southward to its mouth in Samut Prakan Province, where it drains into the Gulf of Thailand. The river has long served as an important channel of water transport, although it was only after the opening of Rama VI Bridge Rama VI Bridge ( th, สะพานพระราม 6, , ) is a railway bridge over the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok, in Thailand, connecting the districts Bang Sue and Bang Phlat. It is the first bridge to cross the Chao Phraya River and w ... in 1927 that a permanent land transport structure existed over the river. This page lists permanent crossings of the Chao Phraya, starting from the river mouth and continuing upstream to its source. List See also * List of crossings of the Ping River * List of crossings of the Wang River * List of crossings of the Yom River * List of crossings of the Nan River References Exter ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bridges Completed In 1932
A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually something that is otherwise difficult or impossible to cross. There are many different designs of bridges, each serving a particular purpose and applicable to different situations. Designs of bridges vary depending on factors such as the function of the bridge, the nature of the terrain where the bridge is constructed and anchored, and the material used to make it, and the funds available to build it. The earliest bridges were likely made with fallen trees and stepping stones. The Neolithic people built boardwalk bridges across marshland. The Arkadiko Bridge (dating from the 13th century BC, in the Peloponnese) is one of the oldest arch bridges still in existence and use. Etymology The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' traces the origin of the wo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Road Bridges In Bangkok
A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of roads, including parkways, avenues, controlled-access highways (freeways, motorways, and expressways), tollways, interstates, highways, thoroughfares, and local roads. The primary features of roads include lanes, sidewalks (pavement), roadways (carriageways), medians, shoulders, verges, bike paths (cycle paths), and shared-use paths. Definitions Historically many roads were simply recognizable routes without any formal construction or some maintenance. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) defines a road as "a line of communication (travelled way) using a stabilized base other than rails or air strips open to public traffic, primarily for the use of road motor vehicles running on their own wheels", which ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Japanese Secret Police
The , also known as Kempeitai, was the military police arm of the Imperial Japanese Army from 1881 to 1945 that also served as a secret police force. In addition, in Japanese-occupied territories, the Kenpeitai arrested or killed those suspected of being anti-Japanese. While institutionally part of the army, the Kenpeitai also discharged military police functions for the Imperial Japanese Navy under the direction of the Admiralty Minister (although the IJN had its own much smaller Tokkeitai), those of the executive police under the direction of the Home Minister and those of the judicial police under the direction of the Justice Minister. A member of the Kenpeitai corps was called a ''kenpei'' (憲兵). History The Kenpeitai was established in 1881 by a decree called the , figuratively "articles concerning gendarmes". Its model was the National Gendarmerie of France. Details of the Kenpeitai's military, executive, and judicial police functions were defined by the '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tram
A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are called tramways or simply trams/streetcars. Many recently built tramways use the contemporary term light rail. The vehicles are called streetcars or trolleys (not to be confused with trolleybus) in North America and trams or tramcars elsewhere. The first two terms are often used interchangeably in the United States, with ''trolley'' being the preferred term in the eastern US and ''streetcar'' in the western US. ''Streetcar'' or ''tramway'' are preferred in Canada. In parts of the United States, internally powered buses made to resemble a streetcar are often referred to as "trolleys". To avoid further confusion with trolley buses, the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) refers to them as "trolley-replica buses". In the Unit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Japanese Home Islands
The Japanese archipelago (Japanese: 日本列島, ''Nihon rettō'') is a group of 6,852 islands that form the country of Japan, as well as the Russian island of Sakhalin. It extends over from the Sea of Okhotsk in the northeast to the East China and Philippine Seas in the southwest along the Pacific Ocean coast of the Eurasian continent, and consists of three island arcs from north to south: the Northeastern and Southwestern Japan Arcs, and the Ryukyu Island Arc. The Kuril Island Arc, the Daitō Islands, and the Nanpō Islands are not parts of the archipelago. Japan is the largest island country in East Asia and the fourth-largest island country in the world with . It has an exclusive economic zone of . Terminology The term "mainland Japan" is used to distinguish the large islands of the Japanese archipelago from the remote, smaller islands; it refers to the main islands of Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu and Shikoku. From 1943 until the end of the Pacific War, Karafuto Pref ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
B-29 Superfortress
The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is an American four-engined propeller-driven heavy bomber, designed by Boeing and flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. Named in allusion to its predecessor, the B-17 Flying Fortress, the Superfortress was designed for high-altitude strategic bombing, but also excelled in low-altitude night incendiary bombing, and in dropping naval mines to blockade Japan. B-29s dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the only aircraft ever to drop nuclear weapons in combat. One of the largest aircraft of World War II, the B-29 was designed with state-of-the-art technology, which included a pressurized cabin, dual-wheeled tricycle landing gear, and an analog computer-controlled fire-control system that allowed one gunner and a fire-control officer to direct four remote machine gun turrets. The $3 billion cost of design and production (equivalent to $ billion today), far exceeding the $1.9 b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bascule Bridge
A bascule bridge (also referred to as a drawbridge or a lifting bridge) is a moveable bridge with a counterweight that continuously balances a span, or leaf, throughout its upward swing to provide clearance for boat traffic. It may be single- or double-leafed. The name comes from the French term for balance scale, which employs the same principle. Bascule bridges are the most common type of movable span because they open quickly and require relatively little energy to operate, while providing the possibility for unlimited vertical clearance for marine traffic. History Bascule bridges have been in use since ancient times, but until the adoption of steam power in the 1850s, very long, heavy spans could not be moved quickly enough for practical application. Types There are three types of bascule bridge and the counterweights to the span may be located above or below the bridge deck. The fixed-trunnion (sometimes a "Chicago" bascule) rotates around a large axle that raises the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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