|
Sinking Of HMAS Sydney
On 19 November 1941, the Australian light cruiser and the German auxiliary cruiser engaged each other in a battle off the coast of Western Australia. ''Sydney'', with Captain Joseph Burnett commanding, and ''Kormoran'', under Theodor Detmers, encountered each other approximately off Dirk Hartog Island. The single-ship action lasted half an hour, and both ships were destroyed. From 24 November, after ''Sydney'' failed to return to port, air and sea searches were conducted. Boats and rafts carrying survivors from ''Kormoran'' were recovered at sea, while others made landfall at Quobba Station, 60km (37mi) north of Carnarvon. 318 of the 399 personnel on ''Kormoran'' survived. While debris from ''Sydney'' was found, there were no survivors from the 645-strong complement. It was the largest loss of life in the history of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), the largest Allied warship lost with all hands during World War II, and a major blow to Australian wartime morale.Jeans, '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Indian Ocean Theatre
Prior to World War II, the Indian Ocean was an important maritime trade route between European nations and their colonial territories in East Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, British India, Indochina, the East Indies (Indonesia), and Australia for a long time. Naval presence was dominated by the Royal Navy Eastern Fleet and the Royal Australian Navy as World War II began, with a major portion of the Royal Netherlands Navy operating in the Dutch East Indies and the Red Sea Flotilla of the Italian ''Regia Marina'' operating from Massawa. Axis naval forces gave a high priority to disrupting Allied trade in the Indian Ocean. Initial anti-shipping measures of unrestricted submarine warfare and covert raiding ships expanded to include airstrikes by aircraft carriers and raids by cruisers of the Imperial Japanese Navy. A ''Kriegsmarine'' ''Monsun Gruppe'' of U-boats operated from the eastern Indian Ocean after the Persian Corridor became an important milit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Laws Of War
The law of war is the component of international law that regulates the conditions for initiating war (''jus ad bellum'') and the conduct of warring parties (''jus in bello''). Laws of war define sovereignty and nationhood, states and territories, occupation, and other critical terms of law. Among other issues, modern laws of war address the declarations of war, acceptance of surrender and the treatment of prisoners of war; military necessity, along with ''distinction'' and ''proportionality''; and the prohibition of certain weapons that may cause unnecessary suffering. The ''law of war'' is considered distinct from other bodies of law—such as the domestic law of a particular belligerent to a conflict—which may provide additional legal limits to the conduct or justification of war. Early sources and history The first traces of a law of war come from the Babylonians. It is the Code of Hammurabi, king of Babylon, which, 2000 B.C., explains its laws imposing a code of con ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of The Mediterranean
The Battle of the Mediterranean was the name given to the naval campaign fought in the Mediterranean Sea during World War II, from 10 June 1940 to 2 May 1945. For the most part, the campaign was fought between the Italian Royal Navy (''Regia Marina''), supported by other Axis naval and air forces, and the British Royal Navy, supported by other Allied naval forces, such as Australia, the Netherlands, Poland and Greece. American naval and air units joined the Allied side in 1942. Each side had three overall objectives in this battle. The first was to attack the supply lines of the other side. The second was to keep open the supply lines to their own armies in North Africa. The third was to destroy the ability of the opposing navy to wage war at sea. Outside of the Pacific theatre, the Mediterranean saw the largest conventional naval warfare actions during the conflict. In particular, Allied forces struggled to supply and retain the key naval and air base of Malta. By the time o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
HMAS Sydney (AWM 301473)
Five ships of the Royal Australian Navy have been named HMAS ''Sydney'', after Sydney, the capital city of New South Wales. *, a Town-class light cruiser launched in 1912, decommissioned in 1928, and broken up for scrap *, a ''Leander''-class light cruiser launched in 1934, and sunk following a battle with the German auxiliary cruiser ''Kormoran'' on 19 November 1941 *, a ''Majestic''-class light aircraft carrier launched in 1944, decommissioned in 1973, and broken up for scrap *, an ''Adelaide''-class guided missile frigate launched in 1980, and decommissioned in 2015 *, a ''Hobart''-class air warfare destroyer in service since 2020 Battle honours Between them, vessels named HMAS ''Sydney'' have been awarded fourteen battle honours by the Royal Australian Navy. These include two of the only three battle honours awarded in the 20th century for an action involving a single opposing ship:The two action honours were awarded for the sinking of the German vessels ''Emden'' and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Supermarine Walrus
The Supermarine Walrus (originally designated the Supermarine Seagull V) was a British single-engine amphibious biplane reconnaissance aircraft designed by R. J. Mitchell and manufactured by Supermarine at Woolston, Southampton. The Walrus first flew in 1933, the design effort having commenced as a private venture four years earlier. It shared its general configuration with that of the earlier Supermarine Seagull. Having been designed to serve as a fleet spotter for catapult launching from cruisers or battleships, the aircraft was largely employed in other roles, notably as a maritime patrol aircraft and as a rescue aircraft for ditched aircrew. The Walrus featured numerous innovations for the period, being the first British squadron-service aircraft to incorporate in one airframe a fully retractable main undercarriage, completely enclosed crew accommodation and an all-metal fuselage. Early-build aircraft featured the original metal hull design for its greater longevity in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Torpedo Tube
A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboard surface vessels. Deck-mounted torpedo launchers are usually designed for a specific type of torpedo, while submarine torpedo tubes are general-purpose launchers, and are often also capable of deploying naval mine, mines and cruise missiles. Most modern launchers are standardized on a diameter for light torpedoes (deck mounted aboard ship) or a diameter for heavy torpedoes (underwater tubes), although other sizes of torpedo tube have been used: see Torpedo#Classes and diameters, Torpedo classes and diameters. Submarine torpedo tube A submarine torpedo tube is a more complex mechanism than a torpedo tube on a surface ship, because the tube has to accomplish the function of moving the torpedo from the normal atmospheric pressure within t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Machine Gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) are typically designed more for firing short bursts rather than continuous firepower, and are not considered true machine guns. As a class of military kinetic projectile weapon, machine guns are designed to be mainly used as infantry support weapons and generally used when attached to a bipod or tripod, a fixed mount or a heavy weapons platform for stability against recoils. Many machine guns also use belt feeding and open bolt operation, features not normally found on other infantry firearms. Machine guns can be further categorized as light machine guns, medium machine guns, heavy machine guns, general purpose machine guns and squad automatic weapons. Similar automatic firearms of caliber or more are classified as autocannons, rat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
303 British
The .303 British (designated as the 303 British by the C.I.P. and SAAMI) or 7.7×56mmR, is a calibre rimmed rifle cartridge. The .303 inch bore diameter is measured between rifling lands as is the common practice in Europe which follows the traditional black powder convention. It was first manufactured in Britain as a stop-gap black powder round put into service in December 1888 for the Lee–Metford rifle. From 1891 the cartridge used smokeless powder which had been the intention from the outset, but the decision on which smokeless powder to adopt had been delayed. It was the standard British and Commonwealth military cartridge for rifles and machine guns from 1889 until the 1950s when it was replaced by the 7.62×51mm NATO. Cartridge specifications The .303 British has 3.64 ml (56 grains H2O) cartridge case capacity. The pronounced tapering exterior shape of the case was designed to promote reliable case feeding and extraction in bolt-action rifles and machine guns a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anti-aircraft Warfare
Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes Surface-to-air missile, surface based, subsurface (Submarine#Armament, submarine launched), and air-based weapon systems, associated sensor systems, command and control arrangements, and passive measures (e.g. barrage balloons). It may be used to protect naval, ground, and air forces in any location. However, for most countries, the main effort has tended to be homeland defence. NATO refers to airborne air defence as counter-air and naval air defence as anti-aircraft warfare. Missile defense, Missile defence is an extension of air defence, as are initiatives to adapt air defence to the task of intercepting any projectile in flight. In some countries, such as Britain and Germany during the World War II, Second World War, the Soviet Union, and modern NATO a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
QF 4 Inch Mk V Naval Gun
The QF 4 inch Mk V gunMk V = Mark 5. Britain used Roman numerals to denote Marks (models) of ordnance until after World War II. Mark V indicates this was the fifth model of QF 4-inch gun. was a Royal Navy gun of World War I which was adapted on British ordnance terms#HA, HA (i.e. high-angle) mountings to the heavy anti-aircraft role both at sea and on land, and was also used as a coast defence gun. Service Naval service This QF gun was introduced to provide a higher rate of fire than the BL 4 inch naval gun Mk VII, BL 4 inch Mk VII. It first appeared in 1914 as secondary armament on s, was soon adapted to a high-angle anti-aircraft role. It was typically used on cruisers and heavier ships, although s of 1917 also mounted the gun. Mk V was superseded by the QF 4 inch Mk XVI naval gun, QF 4 inch Mk XVI as the HA (i.e. anti-aircraft) gun on new warships in the 1930s, but it continued to serve on many ships such as destroyers, light and heavy cruisers in World War II. Army ant ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
BL 6 Inch Mk XXIII Naval Gun
The 50 calibre BL 6 inch gun Mark XXIIIMark XXIII = Mark 23. Britain used Roman numerals to denote Marks (models) of ordnance until after World War II. Mark XXIII indicates this was the twenty-third model of BL 6-inch gun. was the main battery gun used on the Royal Navy and British Commonwealth's conventional (non-anti-aircraft) light cruisers built from 1930 through the Second World War, and passed into service with several other navies when ships were disposed of after the end of the War. Description The gun replaced the BL 8 inch Mk VIII naval gun used on earlier Washington Naval Treaty cruisers. These built-up guns consisted of a tube and 4.5-metre jacket with a hand-operated Welin breech block. Cloth bags contained 14 kg (30 pound) charges of cordite or flashless (NQFP) powder for a 51 kg (112-pound) projectile. Useful life of a barrel was 1,100 effective full charges (EFC) with standard cordite and 2,200 EFC with NQFP. The typical maximum rate of fire wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Displacement (ship)
The displacement or displacement tonnage of a ship is its weight. As the term indicates, it is measured indirectly, using Archimedes' principle, by first calculating the volume of water displaced by the ship, then converting that value into weight. Traditionally, various measurement rules have been in use, giving various measures in long tons. Today, tonnes are more commonly used. Ship displacement varies by a vessel's degree of load, from its empty weight as designed (known as "lightweight tonnage") to its maximum load. Numerous specific terms are used to describe varying levels of load and trim, detailed below. Ship displacement should not be confused with measurements of volume or capacity typically used for commercial vessels and measured by tonnage: net tonnage and gross tonnage. Calculation The process of determining a vessel's displacement begins with measuring its draft.George, 2005. p.5. This is accomplished by means of its "draft marks" (or "load lines"). A mer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
.jpg "Click for more on -> Sinking Of HMAS Sydney")
_starboard_bow_view.jpg "Click for more on -> Battle Of The Mediterranean")
.jpg "Click for more on -> Displacement (ship)")