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Philip Vian
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Philip Louis Vian, & Two Bars (15 July 1894 – 27 May 1968) was a Royal Navy officer who served in both World Wars. Vian specialised in naval gunnery from the end of World War I, and subsequently received several appointments as gunnery officer. In the early 1930s, he was given command of a destroyer, , and, later, various destroyer flotillas. During this phase of his career, in early 1940, he commanded a force that forcibly released captured British merchant sailors from the German supply ship ''Altmark'' in Jøssingfjord Jøssingfjorden is a fjord in Sokndal municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The long fjord is narrow and deep and is surrounded by mountains. It sits about southeast of the municipal centre of Hauge. There is some settlement on the southe ... in then-neutral Norway and, later, his flotilla took an active role in the final action of the German battleship German battleship Bismarck, ''Bismarck''. Much of Vian's Wor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major settlement for two millennia. The City of London, its ancient core and financial centre, was founded by the Romans as '' Londinium'' and retains its medieval boundaries.See also: Independent city § National capitals The City of Westminster, to the west of the City of London, has for centuries hosted the national government and parliament. Since the 19th century, the name "London" has also referred to the metropolis around this core, historically split between the counties of Middlesex, Essex, Surrey, Kent, and Hertfordshire, which largely comprises Greater London, governed by the Greater London Authority.The Greater London Authority consists of the Mayor of London and the London Assembly. The London Mayor is distinguished fr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Legion Of Merit
The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight uniformed services of the United States Note: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps Amendments Act of 2012 amended the Legion of Merit to be awarded to any uniformed service. as well as to military and political figures of foreign governments. The Legion of Merit (Commander degree) is one of only two United States military decorations to be issued as a (the other being the |
Allied Invasion Of Italy
The Allied invasion of Italy was the Allied amphibious landing on mainland Italy that took place from 3 September 1943, during the Italian campaign (World War II), Italian campaign of World War II. The operation was undertaken by General (United Kingdom), General Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis, Sir Harold Alexander's 15th Army Group (comprising General (United States), General Mark W. Clark's Fifth United States Army, American Fifth Army and General Bernard Montgomery's Eighth Army (United Kingdom), British Eighth Army) and followed the successful Allied invasion of Sicily, Allied Invasion of Sicily. The main invasion force landed around Salerno on 9 September on the western coast in Operation Avalanche, while two supporting operations took place in Calabria (Operation Baytown) and Taranto (Operation Slapstick). Background Allied plan Following the defeat of the Axis powers, Axis Powers in Tunisian campaign, North Africa in May 1943, there was disagreement bet ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Allied Invasion Of Sicily
The Allied invasion of Sicily, also known as Operation Husky, was a major campaign of World War II in which the Allied forces invaded the island of Sicily in July 1943 and took it from the Axis powers ( Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany). It began with a large amphibious and airborne operation, followed by a six-week land campaign, and initiated the Italian campaign. To divert some of the Axis forces to other areas, the Allies engaged in several deception operations, the most famous and successful of which was Operation Mincemeat. Husky began on the night of 9–10 July 1943 and ended on 17 August. Strategically, Husky achieved the goals set out for it by Allied planners; the Allies drove Axis air, land and naval forces from the island and the Mediterranean sea lanes were opened for Allied merchant ships for the first time since 1941. These events led to the Italian leader, Benito Mussolini, being toppled from power in Italy on 25 July, and to the Allied invasion of Italy on 3 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mediterranean Theatre (World War II)
The Mediterranean and Middle East Theatre was a major theatre of operations during the Second World War. The vast size of the Mediterranean and Middle East theatre saw interconnected naval, land, and air campaigns fought for control of the Mediterranean, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, the Middle East and Southern Europe. The fighting in this theatre lasted from 10 June 1940, when Italy entered the war on the side of Germany, until 2 May 1945 when all Axis forces in Italy surrendered. However, fighting would continue in Greece – where British troops had been dispatched to aid the Greek government – during the early stages of the Greek Civil War. The British referred to this theatre as the Mediterranean and Middle East Theatre (so called due to the location of the fighting and the name of Middle East Command), the Americans called it the Mediterranean Theater of War and the German informal official history of the fighting is The Mediterranean, South-East Europe, and North Af ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
German Battleship Bismarck
''Bismarck'' was the first of two s built for Nazi Germany's . Named after Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, the ship was laid down at the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg in July 1936 and launched in February 1939. Work was completed in August 1940, when she was commissioned into the German fleet. ''Bismarck'' and her sister ship were the largest battleships ever built by Germany, and two of the largest built by any European power. In the course of the warship's eight-month career, ''Bismarck'' conducted only one offensive operation that lasted 8 days in May 1941, codenamed . The ship, along with the heavy cruiser , was to break into the Atlantic Ocean and raid Allied shipping from North America to Great Britain. The two ships were detected several times off Scandinavia, and British naval units were deployed to block their route. At the Battle of the Denmark Strait, the battlecruiser initially engaged ''Prinz Eugen'', probably by mistake, while engaged ''Bismarck''. In the en ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Last Battle Of The Battleship Bismarck
The last battle of the German battleship ''Bismarck'' took place in the Atlantic Ocean approximately west of Brest, France, on 26–27 May 1941 between the and naval and air elements of the British Royal Navy. Although it was a decisive action between capital ships, it has no generally accepted name. On 24 May, before the final action, ''Bismarck''s fuel tanks were damaged and several machinery compartments, including a boiler room, were flooded in the Battle of the Denmark Strait. Her captain's intention was to reach the port of Brest for repair. Late in the day ''Bismarck'' briefly turned on her pursuers ( and the heavy cruisers and ) to cover the escape of her companion, the heavy cruiser to continue further into the Atlantic. Early on 25 May the British forces lost contact with ''Bismarck'', which headed ESE towards France while the British searched northeast, presuming she was returning to Norway. Later on 25 May the commander of the German force, Admiral Günther Lü ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jøssingfjord
Jøssingfjorden is a fjord in Sokndal municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The long fjord is narrow and deep and is surrounded by mountains. It sits about southeast of the municipal centre of Hauge. There is some settlement on the southeastern side of the fjord: the villages of Li, Vinterstø, and Bu. There is a road that runs along the southeast coast of the fjord, with sharp hairpin turns leading down from the mountains to the shore of the fjord both heading north and south from the fjord. The Tellnes mine, one of Norway's largest titanium mines, is located in the mountains about northeast of the fjord. The mine is run by a company called ''Titania'', and the fjord is used as the shipping port for the company. The Nedre Helleren Power Plant is located at the head of the fjord. The electricity is generated by water from lakes located high in the mountains and the water is piped down to the sea level power plant the force of the falling water produces the electric ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
German Tanker Altmark
''Altmark'' was a German oil tanker and supply vessel, one of five of a class built between 1937 and 1939. She is best known for her support of the German commerce raider, the "pocket battleship" and her subsequent involvement in the "Altmark Incident". In 1940 she was renamed the ''Uckermark'' and used as supply tanker for the battleships and during Operation Berlin before sailing to Japan on September 1942 as a blockade breaker. Footage of the Altmark appears briefly in the 1942 British wartime propaganda movie ''The Day Will Dawn''. The Altmark Incident ''Altmark'' (Captain Heinrich Dau) was assigned to support ''Admiral Graf Spee'' during her raid in the South Atlantic between September and December 1939. Seamen rescued from the ships sunk by ''Admiral Graf Spee'' were transferred to ''Altmark''. After ''Admiral Graf Spee'' was heavily damaged by British cruisers in Battle of the River Plate and subsequently scuttled by her crew, in the Río de la Plata in December ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Altmark Incident
The ''Altmark'' incident (Norwegian: ''Altmark''-affæren; German: ''Altmark-Zwischenfall'') was a naval incident of World War II between British destroyers and the German tanker ''Altmark'', which happened on 16–17 February 1940. It took place in what were, at that time, neutral Norwegian waters. On board the ''Altmark'' were roughly 300 Allied prisoners (officially internees), whose ships had been sunk by the pocket battleship ''Graf Spee'' in the Southern Atlantic Ocean. British naval forces cornered the tanker and later the destroyer HMS ''Cossack'' boarded the ''Altmark'' near the Jøssingfjord and liberated all the prisoners; eight German sailors were killed and ten wounded during the hand-to-hand fighting which took place during the boarding. A British sailor was also wounded during the fighting. The German government claimed that the boarding was a violation of international law and Norwegian neutrality, and later used the incident in the propaganda broa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Naval Gunnery
Naval artillery is artillery mounted on a warship, originally used only for naval warfare and then subsequently used for shore bombardment and anti-aircraft roles. The term generally refers to tube-launched projectile-firing weapons and excludes self-propelled projectiles such as torpedoes, rockets, and missiles and those simply dropped overboard such as depth charges and naval mines. Origins The idea of ship-borne artillery dates back to the classical era. Julius Caesar indicates the use of ship-borne catapults against Britons ashore in his ''Commentarii de Bello Gallico''. The dromons of the Byzantine Empire carried catapults and fire-throwers. From the late Middle Ages onwards, warships began to carry cannons of various calibres. The Mongol invasion of Java introduced cannons to be used in naval warfare (e.g. Cetbang by the Majapahit). The Battle of Arnemuiden, fought between England and France in 1338 at the start of the Hundred Years' War, was the first recorded European ... [...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] |
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