Otranto Barrage
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Otranto Barrage
The Otranto Barrage was an Allied naval blockade of the Otranto Straits between Brindisi in Italy and Corfu on the Greek side of the Adriatic Sea in the First World War. The blockade was intended to prevent the Austro-Hungarian Navy from escaping into the Mediterranean and threatening Allied operations there. The blockade was effective in preventing surface ships from escaping the Adriatic, but it had little or no effect on the submarines based at Cattaro. Blockade attempt The Adriatic is wide at the Otranto Straits. The blockade consisted mainly of a fleet of drifters, most of them British, and usually armed with a 6-pounder gun and depth charges.''First World War'' – Willmott, H. P., Dorling Kindersley, 2003, Page 186–187 In 1915 when the blockade was begun, two divisions of 20 would be on patrol at a time, equipped with steel indicator nets intended to trap submarines or at least alert the surface vessels to their presence. A third division would be at Brindisi. The ...
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British Drifters Otranto Barrage
British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, the English language as spoken and written in the United Kingdom or, more broadly, throughout the British Isles * Celtic Britons, an ancient ethno-linguistic group * Brittonic languages, a branch of the Insular Celtic language family (formerly called British) ** Common Brittonic, an ancient language Other uses *''Brit(ish)'', a 2018 memoir by Afua Hirsch *People or things associated with: ** Great Britain, an island ** United Kingdom, a sovereign state ** Kingdom of Great Britain (1707–1800) ** United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1801–1922) See also

* Terminology of the British Isles * Alternative names for the British * English (other) * Britannic (other) * British Isles * Brit (other) * Brito ...
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Depth Charge
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive Shock factor, hydraulic shock. Most depth charges use explosive, high explosive charges and a fuze set to detonate the charge, typically at a specific depth. Depth charges can be dropped by ships, patrol aircraft, and helicopters. Depth charges were developed during World War I, and were one of the first viable methods of attacking a submarine underwater. They were widely used in World War I and World War II, and remained part of the anti-submarine arsenals of many navies during the Cold War, during which they were supplemented, and later largely replaced, by anti-submarine homing torpedoes. A depth charge fitted with a nuclear warhead is also known as a "nuclear depth bomb". These were designed to be dropped from a patrol plane or deployed by an anti-submarine missile from a s ...
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Alfredo Acton
Alfredo Acton, 1st barone Acton (12 September 1867 – 26 March 1934) was an Italian admiral, politician and Chief of Staff of the ''Regia Marina'' (Italy's Royal Navy). He was born in Castellammare di Stabia, a descendant of the Acton family which had originated in England before moving to Tuscany. His great-grandfather was General Joseph Edward Acton (1737–1830), brother of Sir John Acton, 6th Baronet, commander of the naval forces of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany and prime minister of Naples. His father was Ferdinando Acton and his uncle Guglielmo Acton, Minister for the Navy. His aunt Laura Acton was married to Marco Minghetti, prime minister of Italy. Acton participated in the occupation of Massawa (1885), the intervention in the uprising on Crete by the International Squadron (1897–1898), the suppression of the Boxer Rebellion (1900), and the Italo-Turkish War (1912). During the First World War, he became a rear admiral and was the Allied commander of an Italian-Bri ...
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Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarded as a two-star rank with a NATO code of OF-7. The term originated in the days of naval sailing squadrons and can trace its origins to the Royal Navy. Each naval squadron was assigned an admiral as its head, who commanded from the centre vessel and directed the squadron's activities. The admiral would in turn be assisted by a vice admiral, who commanded the lead ships that bore the brunt of a battle. In the rear of the squadron, a third admiral commanded the remaining ships and, as this section was considered to be in the least danger, the admiral in command of it was typically the most junior. This has continued into the modern age, with rear admiral the most junior admiralty of many navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank i ...
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Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously awarded by countries of the Commonwealth of Nations, most of which have established their own honours systems and no longer recommend British honours. It may be awarded to a person of any military rank in any service and to civilians under military command. No civilian has received the award since 1879. Since the first awards were presented by Queen Victoria in 1857, two-thirds of all awards have been personally presented by the British monarch. The investitures are usually held at Buckingham Palace. The VC was introduced on 29 January 1856 by Queen Victoria to honour acts of valour during the Crimean War. Since then, the medal has been awarded 1,358 times to 1,355 individual recipients. Only 15 medals, of which 11 to members of the Britis ...
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Joseph Watt
Joseph Watt, VC (25 June 1887 – 13 February 1955) was a Scottish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. He achieved the award during service in the Strait of Otranto and as a result of his meritorious service also received the French Croix de Guerre and the Italian Silver Medal for Military Valour. Early life Joseph Watt was born in 1887 in the Scottish fishing village of Gardenstown on the Moray Firth, into the large family of Joseph Sr. and Helen Watt. His father was a fisherman of many years service and his mother was also employed in the fish industry. At age ten his father was lost at sea in an accident, and the family moved to Fraserburgh in Aberdeenshire where his mother remarried. He learned the fishing trade from an early age and served aboard the ''White Daisy'' before purchasing a stake in the drifter ''Annie''. The war changed life i ...
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Miklós Horthy
Miklós Horthy de Nagybánya ( hu, Vitéz nagybányai Horthy Miklós; ; English: Nicholas Horthy; german: Nikolaus Horthy Ritter von Nagybánya; 18 June 1868 – 9 February 1957), was a Hungarian admiral and dictator who served as the Regent of Hungary, regent of the Kingdom of Hungary (1920–1946), Kingdom of Hungary Hungary between the two world wars, between the two World Wars and throughout most of World War II – from 1 March 1920 to 15 October 1944. Horthy started his career as a Junior_lieutenant, sub-lieutenant in the Austro-Hungarian Navy in 1896 and attained the rank of rear admiral in 1918. He saw action in the Battle of the Strait of Otranto (1917), Battle of the Strait of Otranto and became Commander-in-chief, commander-in-chief of the Navy in the last year of World War I; he was promoted to vice admiral and commander of the Fleet when Charles I of Austria, Emperor-King Charles dismissed the previous admiral from his post following mutinies. During the revolution ...
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Otranto Raid
The Battle of the Strait of Otranto of 1917 was the result of an Austro-Hungarian raid on the Otranto Barrage, an Allied naval blockade of the Strait of Otranto. The battle took place on 14–15 May 1917, and was the largest surface action in the Adriatic Sea during World War I. The Otranto Barrage was a fixed barrier, composed of lightly armed drifters with anti-submarine nets coupled with minefields and supported by Allied naval patrols. The Austro-Hungarian navy planned to raid the Otranto Barrage with a force of three light cruisers and two destroyers under the command of Commander (later Admiral) Miklós Horthy, in an attempt to break the barrier to allow U-boats freer access to the Mediterranean, and Allied shipping. An Allied force composed of ships from three navies responded to the raid and in the ensuing battle, heavily damaged the Austro-Hungarian cruiser . However, the rapid approach of the Austro-Hungarian relief force persuaded Rear Admiral Acton, the Allied comma ...
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Algernon Walker-Heneage-Vivian
Admiral Algernon Walker-Heneage-Vivian, (4 February 1871 – 26 February 1952) was a senior Royal Navy officer of the early 20th century. His name was Algernon Walker Heneage during his service in the navy. He added his mother’s surname to his own in 1921. Early life Walker-Heneage was born the third son of Major Clement Walker Heneage of Compton Bassett, Wiltshire and Henrietta Letitia Victoria on 4 February 1871. He was educated in part at Stubbington House School in Hampshire, known as the "cradle of the Navy". He assumed the surname of Walker-Heneage-Vivian by Royal Licence in 1921. Naval career Walker-Heneage joined the Royal Navy in 1886, as a midshipman on the battleship commanded by Algernon Heneage, a distant relative. He afterwards served on in the Pacific and was promoted to commander in 1900. He thereafter served in many parts of the world, including Ladysmith, South Africa, when he was part of the contingent sent to defend the town during the Second Boer War. ...
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Commodore (Royal Navy)
Commodore (Cdre) is a rank of the Royal Navy above captain and below rear admiral. It has a NATO ranking code of OF-6. The rank is equivalent to brigadier in the British Army and Royal Marines and to air commodore in the Royal Air Force. Commodore has only been a substantive rank in the Royal Navy since 1997. Until then the term denoted a functional position rather than a formal rank, being the title bestowed on the senior officer of a fleet of at least two naval vessels comprising an independent (usually ad hoc and short-term) command. (In this case, for instance, a lieutenant in substantive rank could be a commodore for the term of the command.) History The rank of commodore was introduced during the 17th century in November 1674 (though not legally established until 1806). In 1684 the navy introduced two classes of commodore, the first known as a ''Commodore Distinction'' and the other a ''Commodore Ordinary''; these would later evolve into commodores first and second clas ...
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U-boat
U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role (commerce raiding) and enforcing a naval blockade against enemy shipping. The primary targets of the U-boat campaigns in both wars were the merchant convoys bringing supplies from Canada and other parts of the British Empire, and from the United States, to the United Kingdom and (during the Second World War) to the Soviet Union and the Allied territories in the Mediterranean. German submarines also destroyed Brazilian merchant ships during World War II, causing Brazil to declare war on both Germany and Italy on 22 August 1942. The term is an anglicised version of the German word ''U-Boot'' , a shortening of ''Unterseeboot'' ('under-sea-boat'), though the German term refers to any submarine. Austro-Hungarian Navy submarines were also kno ...
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