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Operation Gauntlet
Operation Gauntlet was an Allied Combined Operation from 25 August until 3 September 1941, during the Second World War. Canadian, British and the Norwegian armed forces in exile (, Outside Front) landed on the Norwegian island of Spitzbergen in the Svalbard Archipelago, south of the North Pole. Coal mines on the islands were owned and operated by Norway at Longyearbyen and by the Soviet Union at Barentsburg; both governments agreed to their destruction and the evacuation of their nationals. The objective of Gauntlet was to deny Germany the coal, mining and shipping infrastructure, equipment and stores on Spitzbergen and suppress the wireless stations on the archipelago, to prevent the Germans receiving weather reports. Gauntlet was a success; the Germans had not known of or had been able to challenge the expedition, the raiders suffered no casualties, the civilians were repatriated, several ships were taken as prizes and a German warship was sunk on the return journey. Back ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arctic Naval Operations Of World War II
The Arctic Circle defining the "midnight sun" encompasses the Atlantic Ocean from the northern edge of Iceland to the Bering Strait in the Pacific Ocean. Military activity in this area between 1939 and 1945 is often consideredRear Admiral Samuel Eliot Morison's definitive ''History of United States Naval Operations in World War II'' includes operations from the north pole southward in the first volume entitled ''The Battle of the Atlantic''. Eligibility for the United States European–African–Middle Eastern Campaign Medal was defined by Executive Order 9265 to include military service aboard a ship operating in the north polar region eastward from the 75th meridian west longitude to the 60th meridian east longitude. part of the Battle of the Atlantic or of the European Theatre of World War II. Pre-war navigation focused on fishing and the international ore-trade from Narvik and Petsamo. Soviet settlements along the coast and rivers of the Barents Sea and Kara Sea relied upo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Isfjorden (Svalbard)
Isfjorden is the second longest fjord in the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard. It lies on the west side of Spitsbergen, an island in the Arctic Ocean about midway between Norway and the North Pole, and the largest in the archipelago. The mountain of Alkhornet stands on the northern side of the entrance to the fjord, as does the coastal plain of Daudmannsøyra. A portion of Isfjorden is included in the national parks of Norway as Nordre Isfjorden Land National Park. Around the fjord lie many of the largest settlements in Svalbard: Barentsburg, Longyearbyen (on the Adventfjorden) and Pyramiden. History A Basque whaling ship from San Sebastian, under the command of Juan de Erauso and piloted by the Englishman Nicholas Woodcock, was the first to establish a temporary whaling station here in 1612. In 1613 French, Basque, and Dutch whaling ships resorted to Safehaven (Trygghamna) on the north side of Isford or in Green Harbour on the south side of the fjord. All were either dr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Admiralty
The Admiralty was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for the command of the Royal Navy until 1964, historically under its titular head, the Lord High Admiral – one of the Great Officers of State. For much of its history, from the early 18th century until its abolition, the role of the Lord High Admiral was almost invariably put "in commission" and exercised by the Lords Commissioner of the Admiralty, who sat on the governing Board of Admiralty, rather than by a single person. The Admiralty was replaced by the Admiralty Board in 1964, as part of the reforms that created the Ministry of Defence and its Navy Department (later Navy Command). Before the Acts of Union 1707, the Office of the Admiralty and Marine Affairs administered the Royal Navy of the Kingdom of England, which merged with the Royal Scots Navy and the absorbed the responsibilities of the Lord High Admiral of the Kingdom of Scotland with the unification of the Kingdom of Great ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
War Cabinet
A war cabinet is a committee formed by a government in a time of war to efficiently and effectively conduct that war. It is usually a subset of the full executive cabinet of ministers, although it is quite common for a war cabinet to have senior military officers and opposition politicians as members. United Kingdom First World War The British War Cabinet Prior to the First World War, the British had the Committee of Imperial Defence. During World War I, it became a war committee. During the First World War, lengthy cabinet discussions came to be seen as a source of vacillation in Britain's war effort. The number of cabinet ministries grew throughout the nineteenth century. Following dissatisfaction at the conduct of the Crimean War, Disraeli proposed that the number of cabinet members never exceed 10 (he had 12 at the time). However, this didn't happen, and the number of ministries continued to grow: 15 in 1859, 21 in 1914, and 23 in 1916. Despite talk of "inner circle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Petsamo, Finland
Pechenga (russian: Пече́нга; Finnish and sv, Petsamo; no, Petsjenga; se, Beahcán; sms, Peäccam) is an urban locality (an urban-type settlement) in Pechengsky District, Murmansk Oblast, Russia. Municipally, it is incorporated as Pechenga Urban Settlement of Pechengsky Municipal District. Population: History The Pechenga area has been indigenously inhabited by the Finnic KvensJulku, Kyösti: ''Kvenland - Kainuunmaa''. With English summary: ''The Ancient territory of Kainuu''. Oulu, 1986. and the Sami. The settlement was founded by Russians as the Pechenga Monastery in 1533 at the influx of the Pechenga River into the Barents Sea, 135 km west of modern Murmansk. St. Tryphon of Pechenga, a monk from Novgorod is considered to be the founder of Pechenga Monastery. In 1533, the area became part of Russia. Inspired by the model of the Solovki, Tryphon wished to convert the local Sami population to Christianity and to demonstrate how faith could flourish i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bear Island (Norway)
Bear Island ( no, Bjørnøya, ) is the southernmost island of the Norway, Norwegian Svalbard, Svalbard archipelago. The island is located in the western part of the Barents Sea, approximately halfway between Spitsbergen and the North Cape, Norway, North Cape. Bear Island was discovered by Dutch explorers Willem Barentsz and Jacob van Heemskerck on 10 June 1596. It was named after a polar bear that was seen swimming nearby. The island was considered terra nullius until the Spitsbergen Treaty of 1920 placed it under Norwegian sovereignty. Despite its remote location and barren nature, the island has seen commercial activities in past centuries, such as coal mining, fishing and whaling. However, no settlements have lasted more than a few years, and Bear Island is now uninhabited except for personnel working at the island's meteorological station ''Herwighamna''. Along with the adjacent waters, it was declared a nature reserve in 2002. History Seafarers of the Viking Age, Viking ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tromsø
Tromsø (, , ; se, Romsa ; fkv, Tromssa; sv, Tromsö) is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Tromsø (city), city of Tromsø. Tromsø lies in Northern Norway. The municipality is the 21st largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. With a population of 77,544, Tromsø is the 12th most populous municipality in Norway. The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 12.2% over the previous 10-year period. It is the largest urban area in Northern Norway and the third largest north of the Arctic Circle anywhere in the world (following Murmansk and Norilsk). The city center of Tromsø is located on the island of Tromsøya, but the urban area also encompasses part of the nearby mainland and part of the island Kvaløya. Tromsø is north of the Arctic Circle. Tromsøya is connected to the mainland by the Tromsø Bridge and the Tromsøysun ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tonne
The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton ( United States customary units), and the long ton ( British imperial units). It is equivalent to approximately 2204.6 pounds, 1.102 short tons, and 0.984 long tons. The official SI unit is the megagram (symbol: Mg), a less common way to express the same mass. Symbol and abbreviations The BIPM symbol for the tonne is t, adopted at the same time as the unit in 1879.Table 6 . BIPM. Retrieved on 2011-07-10. Its use is also official for the metric ton in the United States, having been adopted by the United States |
Pound (mass)
The pound or pound-mass is a unit of mass used in British imperial and United States customary systems of measurement. Various definitions have been used; the most common today is the international avoirdupois pound, which is legally defined as exactly , and which is divided into 16 avoirdupois ounces. The international standard symbol for the avoirdupois pound is lb; an alternative symbol is lbm (for most pound definitions), # ( chiefly in the U.S.), and or ″̶ (specifically for the apothecaries' pound). The unit is descended from the Roman (hence the abbreviation "lb"). The English word ''pound'' is cognate with, among others, German , Dutch , and Swedish . These units are historic and are no longer used (replaced by the metric system). Usage of the unqualified term ''pound'' reflects the historical conflation of mass and weight. This accounts for the modern distinguishing terms ''pound-mass'' and '' pound-force''. Etymology The word 'pound' and its cognates ultim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Drift Mining
Drift mining is either the mining of an ore deposit by underground methods, or the working of coal seams accessed by adits driven into the surface outcrop of the coal bed. A drift mine is an underground mine in which the entry or access is above water level and generally on the slope of a hill, driven horizontally into the ore seam. Random House dictionary says the origin of the term "drift mine" is an Americanism, circa 1885–1890. Drift is a more general mining term, meaning a near-horizontal passageway in a mine, following the bed (of coal, for instance) or vein of ore. A drift may or may not intersect the ground surface. A drift follows the vein, as distinguished from a crosscut that intersects it, or a level or gallery, which may do either. All horizontal or subhorizontal development openings made in a mine have the generic name of drift. These are simply tunnels made in the rock, with a size and shape depending on their use—for example, haulage, ventilation, or exp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Svalbard Treaty
The Svalbard Treaty (originally the Spitsbergen Treaty) recognises the sovereignty of Norway over the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, at the time called Spitsbergen. The exercise of sovereignty is, however, subject to certain stipulations, and not all Norwegian law applies. The treaty regulates the demilitarisation of the archipelago. The signatories were given equal rights to engage in commercial activities (mainly coal mining) on the islands. , Norway and Russia make use of this right. Uniquely, the archipelago is an entirely visa-free zone under the terms of the Svalbard Treaty. The treaty was signed on 9 February 1920 and submitted for registration in the ''League of Nations Treaty Series'' on 21 October 1920. There were 14 original High Contracting Parties: Denmark, France, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom (including the dominions of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, India), and the United States. Of the original signatorie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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