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SAS Somerset
SAS ''Somerset'' was a Bar-class boom defence vessel of the South African Navy, now preserved as a museum ship in Cape Town. Formerly HMS ''Barcross'', it operated in Saldanha Bay, transferred to South Africa Naval Forces during World War II and was purchased by South Africa in 1947. History ''Somerset'' was originally built in Blyth, Northumberland, United Kingdom, by Blyth Shipbuilding Company and commissioned as HMS ''Barcross'' in 1941. HMS ''Barcross'' and her sister ship HMS ''Barbrake'' arrived at the Cape Station at Simon's Town, South Africa, in 1942 and was transferred to Saldanha Bay for boom defence operations directly thereafter. In 1943 she was re-designated as HMSAS ''Barcross'' when she was transferred to the South African Naval Forces for the remainder of World War II. In 1946, the Government of South Africa purchased ''Barcross'' and used for the dumping of ammunition off Cape Town and Port Elizabeth. On completion of these services, she was transferred to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blyth Shipbuilding Company
The Blyth Shipbuilding & Dry Docks Company Ltd. was a British shipyard located in Blyth, Northumberland, England. Company history Early history Shipbuilding began on the site on the south bank of the River Blyth in 1811. In the 1840s the yard was purchased by Beaumont and Drummond. In 1863 the yard was taken over by Hodgson and Soulsby who repaired and built small wooden sailing ships. In 1880 the first two iron ships were built at Blyth for the Russian Government. Foundation On 2 March 1883 the Blyth Shipbuilding & Dry Docks Company Ltd. was registered as a limited liability company. It built cargo liners, tramp steamers and colliers. The fifth ship built at the yard was for the shipping company Stephens and Mawson of Newcastle. Daniel Stephens eventually became a Director, and then the Chairman of the company. World War I In 1914 a cargo ship under construction was purchased by the Admiralty and converted into the Navy's first seaplane carrier . During the war the com ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
South African Naval Forces
The South African Navy (SA Navy) is the naval warfare branch of the South African National Defence Force. The Navy is primarily engaged in maintaining a conventional military deterrent, participating in counter-piracy operations, fishery protection, search and rescue, and upholding maritime law enforcement for the benefit of South Africa and its international partners. Today the South African Navy is one of the most capable naval forces in the African region, operating a mixed force of sophisticated warships, submarines, patrol craft, and auxiliary vessels, with over 7,000 personnel; including a marine force. With formerly deep historical and political connections to the United Kingdom, the first emergence of a naval organisation was the creation of the South African Division of the British Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve in 1913, before becoming an nominally independent naval service for the Union of South Africa in 1922. In its history, South African naval vessels and personn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trainer Aircraft
A trainer is a class of aircraft designed specifically to facilitate flight training of pilots and aircrews. The use of a dedicated trainer aircraft with additional safety features—such as tandem flight controls, forgiving flight characteristics and a simplified cockpit arrangement—allows pilots-in-training to safely advance their skills in a more forgiving aircraft. Civilian pilots are normally trained in a light aircraft, with two or more seats to allow for a student and instructor. Tandem and side by side The two seating configurations for trainer aircraft are: pilot and instructor side by side, or in tandem, usually with the pilot in front and the instructor behind. The side-by-side seating configuration has the advantage that pilot and instructor can see each other's actions, allowing the pilot to learn from the instructor and the instructor to correct the student pilot. The tandem configuration has the advantage of being closer to the normal working environment that ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
North American T-6 Texan
The North American Aviation T-6 Texan is an American single-engined advanced trainer aircraft used to train pilots of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), United States Navy, Royal Air Force, Royal Canadian Air Force and other air forces of the British Commonwealth during World War II and into the 1970s. Designed by North American Aviation, the T-6 is known by a variety of designations depending on the model and operating air force. The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) and USAAF designated it as the AT-6, the United States Navy the SNJ, and British Commonwealth air forces the Harvard, the name by which it is best known outside the US. Starting in 1948, the new United States Air Force (USAF) designated it the T-6, with the USN following in 1962. It remains a popular warbird used for airshow demonstrations and static displays. It has also been used many times to simulate various historical aircraft, including the Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zero. A total of 15,495 T-6s of a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marine Salvage
Marine salvage is the process of recovering a ship and its cargo after a shipwreck or other maritime casualty. Salvage may encompass towing, re-floating a vessel, or effecting repairs to a ship. Today, protecting the coastal environment from spillage of oil or other contaminants is a high priority. Before the invention of radio, salvage services would be given to a stricken vessel by any ship that happened to be passing by. Nowadays, most salvage is carried out by specialist salvage firms with dedicated crew and equipment. The legal significance of salvage is that a successful salvor is entitled to a reward, which is a proportion of the total value of the ship and its cargo. The amount of the award is determined subsequently at a "hearing on the merits" by a maritime court in accordance with Articles 13 and 14 of the International Salvage Convention of 1989. The common law concept of salvage was established by the English Admiralty Court, and is defined as "a voluntary succe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
SAS Skilpad
SAS Skilpad was a mine-layer vessel of the South African Navy during and after the Second World War. She was launched as the German trawler ''Polaris'' and after being captured by the Allies in 1940, she was commissioned into the Royal Navy as a war-prize and named HMS ''Spindrift''. During the course of the war she was transferred to the South African Naval Forces, being based in Saldanha Bay and later in Durban. After being kept in storage for several years after the end of the war, she sank at her moorings in Durban during a gale in 1953, leading to her being decommissioned and sold for scrap in 1957. History ‘’Polaris’’ was built in Germany in 1936 as a general purpose trawler and was requisitioned by the Kriegsmarine in 1939 and converted into a lookout trawler. She was then fitted with concealed torpedo tubes and the Kriegsmarine added super heaters to the boilers to improve speed for short "sprints" as may be needed. She was intended to put to sea with genera ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Minelayer
A minelayer is any warship, submarine or military aircraft deploying explosive mines. Since World War I the term "minelayer" refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines. "Mine planting" was the term for installing controlled mines at predetermined positions in connection with coastal fortifications or harbor approaches that would be detonated by shore control when a ship was fixed as being within the mine's effective range. Before World War I, mine ships were termed mine planters generally. For example, in an address to the United States Navy ships of Mine Squadron One at Portland, England, Admiral Sims used the term “mine layer” while the introduction speaks of the men assembled from the “mine planters”. During and after that war the term "mine planter" became particularly associated with defensive coastal fortifications. The term "minelayer" was applied to vessels deploying both defensive- and offensive mine barrages and large scale sea mining. " ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ship Decommissioning
Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to placing a warship in active duty with its country's military forces. The ceremonies involved are often rooted in centuries-old naval tradition. Ship naming and launching endow a ship hull with her identity, but many milestones remain before she is completed and considered ready to be designated a commissioned ship. The engineering plant, weapon and electronic systems, galley, and other equipment required to transform the new hull into an operating and habitable warship are installed and tested. The prospective commanding officer, ship's officers, the petty officers, and seamen who will form the crew report for training and familiarization with their new ship. Before commissioning, the new ship undergoes sea trials to identify any deficiencies needing correct ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reserve Fleet
A reserve fleet is a collection of naval vessels of all types that are fully equipped for service but are not currently needed; they are partially or fully decommissioned. A reserve fleet is informally said to be "in mothballs" or "mothballed"; an equivalent expression in unofficial modern US naval usage is "ghost fleet". In earlier times, especially in British usage, the ships were said to be "laid up in ordinary". Overview Such ships are held in reserve against a time when it may be necessary to call them back into service. They are usually tied up in backwater areas near naval bases or shipyards in order to speed the reactivation process. They may be modified for storage during such a period, for instance by having rust-prone areas sealed off or wrapped in plastic or, in the case of sailing warships, the masts removed. While being held in the reserve fleet, ships typically have a minimal crew (known informally as a skeleton crew) to ensure that they stay in somewhat usable co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Durban
Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from 25 October 2017. Retrieved 2021-03-05.The names and the naming of Durban Website ''natalia.org.za'' (pdf). Retrieved 2021-03-05. is the third most populous city in after and |
Salisbury Island, Durban
Salisbury Island is located inside the Port of Durban on the east coast of South Africa; it is a former island until the Second World War when construction of a naval base connected it to the mainland by a causeway. The island, then a mangrove-covered sandbank, was named after , the Royal Navy ship that surveyed the future harbour area for the newly established Port Natal Colony in the 1820s. Second World War and after Naval Base Durban was constructed for the Royal Navy during the Second World War in response to the threat of Japanese attacks on shipping along the east coast of Africa. It was during this construction that the island became a peninsula through the construction of a causeway. After the war the base was turned over to the South African Naval Service (SANS), which has since maintained a fluctuating and intermittent presence. With the signing of the Simonstown Agreement in 1957, the Royal Navy gave up its control of the SANS in exchange for the use of the base at Sim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Port Elizabeth
Gqeberha (), formerly Port Elizabeth and colloquially often referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, South Africa's second-largest metropolitan district by area size. It is the sixth-most populous city in South Africa and is the cultural, economic and financial centre of the Eastern Cape. The city was founded as Port Elizabeth in 1820 by Sir Rufane Donkin, who was the governor of the Cape at the time. He named it after his late wife, Elizabeth, who had died in India. The Donkin memorial in the CBD of the city bears testament to this. Port Elizabeth was established by the government of the Cape Colony when 4,000 British colonists settled in Algoa Bay to strengthen the border region between the Cape Colony and the Xhosa. It is nicknamed "The Friendly City" or "The Windy City". In 2019, the Eastern Cape Geographical Names Committee recommended ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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