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Welfreighter
The Welfreighter was a Second World War British midget submarine developed by the Special Operations Executive (SOE) for the purpose of landing and supplying agents behind enemy lines. It only saw action once and was not particularly successful. Design After the success of the X class midget submarines, an attempt was made by SOE's technical division, Inter Services Research Bureau (ISRB) under the command of Lt. Colonel John Dolphin to design a submersible craft for covert missions. These would include the landing and supplying agents behind enemy lines, intelligence gathering work off hostile coastlines, and delivering explosive depth charges to enemy shipping routes. This design became the Welfreighter. It was intended that the Welfreighter could travel surfaced by night towards an enemy-held coastline, submerging as and when necessary to avoid detection. The special agents would then be disembarked and go ashore along with their equipment, stored in the special container ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Dolphin
John Robert Vernon Dolphin (1 October 19052 May 1973) was a British engineer and inventor, who joined the Secret Intelligence Service and then became the Commanding Officer of the top-secret Second World War Special Operations Executive (SOE) "Station IX", where specialist military equipment was developed. During his time there his inventions included the Welman submarine and the Welbike. On leaving the British Army, Dolphin founded a number of companies, including the Corgi Motorcycle Co Ltd. in 1946 and also set up Dolphin Industrial Developments Ltd and Hydraulic Developments Ltd, which he ran until 1950, when he became Chief Engineer at the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment. Dolphin then went on to become Engineer-in-Chief at the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority Research Group until 1959, became joint Managing Director of Lansing Bagnall Ltd and J. E. Shay Ltd until 1964, and a Director of TI (Group Services) Ltd, where he successfully secured patents for a number ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Special Operations Executive
The Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a secret British World War II organisation. It was officially formed on 22 July 1940 under Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton, from the amalgamation of three existing secret organisations. Its purpose was to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in occupied Europe (and later, also in occupied Southeast Asia) against the Axis powers, and to aid local resistance movements. Few people were aware of SOE's existence. Those who were part of it or liaised with it were sometimes referred to as the "Baker Street Irregulars", after the location of its London headquarters. It was also known as "Churchill's Secret Army" or the "Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare". Its various branches, and sometimes the organisation as a whole, were concealed for security purposes behind names such as the "Joint Technical Board" or the "Inter-Service Research Bureau", or fictitious branches of the Air Ministry, Admiralty or War Office. SOE operated ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shelvoke And Drewry
Shelvoke and Drewry was a Letchworth, Hertfordshire manufacturer of special purpose commercial vehicles. It was best known for its innovative waste collection vehicles that were the preferred choice of municipal authorities in the UK together with their gully emptiers, cesspool cleaning vehicles and street watering and washing vehicles.Shelvoke And Drewry Limited. ''The Times'', Monday, 26 April 1937; pg. 23; Issue 47668 Cable drum carriers were supplied to the General Post Office and vehicles and ground equipment built for the Royal Air Force. Shelvoke and Drewry also manufactured fire engines, buses and fork-lift trucks. The Shelvoke and Drewry Freighter The business began in 1921 as a partnership of Harry Shelvoke and James Drewry, both of whom had successful careers in commercial vehicle design and manufacture. At that time, municipal refuse vehicles were almost all horse-drawn, uneconomical and inconvenient and required the use of ladders. In their "S D Freighter", Shel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Station IX
Station IX (formerly known as the Inter-Services Research Bureau) was a secret British Special Operations Executive factory making special weapons and equipment during World War II. The small Welbike paratrooper's motorcycle and the Welrod assassination weapon were both products of the station. Overview Station IX was responsible for the development and production of weapons for the SOE, which supported agents and cells of resistance throughout occupied Europe. It was one of several similar workshops and laboratories throughout England. Under its commanding officer Lt. Colonel John Dolphin, and Chief of Scientific Research, Professor D.M. Newitt, secret research included military vehicles and equipment, explosives and technical sabotage, camouflage, biological and chemical warfare. It was situated at a mansion called "The Frythe" about an hour's drive north from London near the town of Welwyn. This had been an exclusive hotel but was commandeered in August 1939 by the British ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Midget Submarine
A midget submarine (also called a mini submarine) is any submarine under 150 tons, typically operated by a crew of one or two but sometimes up to six or nine, with little or no on-board living accommodation. They normally work with mother ships, from which they are launched and recovered and which provide living accommodation for the crew and support staff. Both military and civilian midget submarines have been built. Military types work with surface ships and other submarines as mother ships. Civilian and non-combatant military types are generally called submersibles and normally work with surface ships. Most early submarines would now be considered midget submarines, such as the United States Navy's and the British Royal Navy's (both named for the same John Philip Holland, designer). Military submarines Uses Midget submarines are best known for harbor penetration, although only two World War II boats, the British X-class submarine, X-craft and the unsuccessful Welman subm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Welman Submarine
The Welman submarine was a Second World War one-man British midget submarine developed by the Special Operations Executive. It only saw action once and was not particularly successful. Design Designed by the Commanding Officer of SOE's Inter Services Research Bureau (ISRB), John Dolphin, Lt Col. John Dolphin, as a method of delivering a large explosive charge below an enemy ship, the Welman was a submersible craft in length (including explosive charge), weighing about . Unlike the "Chariot" human torpedo, the operator was enclosed within the craft, and did not need to wear scuba set, diving gear. The Welman could transport a time-fused explosive charge of Torpex, which was intended to be magnetically attached to a target's hull.Akermann, p. 462 Vision was through armoured glass segments in the small conning tower, and no periscope was fitted. Production Following trials in the Queen Mary Reservoir near Staines towards the end of 1942, the Welman was put into production, the p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Armed-forces Artificer
An Artificer is an appointment held by a member of an armed forces service who is skilled at working on electronic, electrical, electro-mechanical and/or mechanical devices. The specific term "artificer" for this function is typical of the armed forces of countries that are or have been in the British Commonwealth and refers to a Senior Non-Commissioned Officer. Artificer is a job title and not a rank. Qualification to hold the position and title of Artificer requires years of training and service in order to gain the experience and rank required. In the British Forces, soldiers in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) or Royal Marines with the rank of Sergeant who have also qualified as Class 1 tradesmen are eligible for consideration for the Artificers course. Upon completion of the 18-month Artificers course, soldiers are promoted to Staff Sergeant (one rank above Sergeant in the British Army) and presented with the Artificers badge. They are also awarded a HND/Deg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Smack (ship)
A smack was a traditional fishing boat used off the coast of Britain and the Atlantic coast of America for most of the 19th century and, in small numbers, up to the Second World War. Many larger smacks were originally cutter-rigged sailing boats until about 1865, when smacks had become so large that cutter main booms were unhandy. The smaller smacks retain the gaff cutter rig. The larger smacks were lengthened and re-rigged and new ketch-rigged smacks were built, but boats varied from port to port. Some boats had a topsail on the mizzen mast, while others had a bowsprit carrying a jib. Large numbers of smacks operated in fleets from ports in the UK such as Brixham, Grimsby and Lowestoft as well as at locations along the Thames Estuary. In England the sails were white cotton until a proofing coat was applied, usually after the sail was a few years old. This gave the sails its distinctive red ochre colour, which made them a picturesque sight in large numbers. Smacks were often ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RNVR
The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original Royal Naval Reserve, created in 1859, and the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR), created in 1903. The Royal Naval Reserve has seen action in World War I, World War II, the Iraq War, and War in Afghanistan. History Establishment The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) has its origins in the Register of Seamen, established in 1835 to identify men for naval service in the event of war, although just 400 volunteered for duty in the Crimean War in 1854 out of 250,000 on the Register. This led to a Royal Commission on Manning the Navy in 1858, which in turn led to the Naval Reserve Act of 1859. This established the RNR as a reserve of professional seamen from the British Merchant Navy and fishing fleets, who could be called upon during times of war ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Maritime Museum
The National Maritime Museum (NMM) is a maritime museum in Greenwich, London. It is part of Royal Museums Greenwich, a network of museums in the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site. Like other publicly funded national museums in the United Kingdom, it has no general admission charge; there are admission charges for most side-gallery temporary exhibitions, usually supplemented by many loaned works from other museums. Creation and official opening The museum was created by the National Maritime Museum Act 1934 under a Board of Trustees, appointed by HM Treasury. It is based on the generous donations of Sir James Caird (1864–1954). King George VI formally opened the museum on 27 April 1937 when his daughter Princess Elizabeth accompanied him for the journey along the Thames from London. The first director was Sir Geoffrey Callender. Collection Since the earliest times Greenwich has had associations with the sea and navigation. It was a landing place for the Romans, Henry ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
REME
The Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME ) is a corps of the British Army that maintains the equipment that the Army uses. The corps is described as the "British Army's Professional Engineers". History Prior to REME's formation, maintenance was the responsibility of several different corps: * Royal Army Ordnance Corps—weapons and armoured vehicles * Royal Engineers—engineering plant and machinery, and RE motor transport * Royal Corps of Signals—communications equipment * Royal Army Service Corps—other motor transport * Royal Artillery—heavy weapons artificers During World War II, the increase in quantity and complexity of equipment exposed the flaws in this system. Pursuant to the recommendation of a Committee on Skilled Men in the Services chaired by William Beveridge, the Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers was formed on 1 October 1942. Phase I Such a major re-organisation was too complex to be carried out quickly and completely ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Periscope
A periscope is an instrument for observation over, around or through an object, obstacle or condition that prevents direct line-of-sight observation from an observer's current position. In its simplest form, it consists of an outer case with mirrors at each end set parallel to each other at a 45° angle. This form of periscope, with the addition of two simple lenses, served for observation purposes in the trenches during World War I. Military personnel also use periscopes in some gun turrets and in armoured vehicles. More complex periscopes using prisms or advanced fiber optics instead of mirrors and providing magnification operate on submarines and in various fields of science. The overall design of the classical submarine periscope is very simple: two telescopes pointed into each other. If the two telescopes have different individual magnification, the difference between them causes an overall magnification or reduction. Early examples Johannes Hevelius described an early ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
