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Å iauliai Air Base
Šiauliai Air Base is a major military facility of the Lithuanian Air Force and one of the air bases of the NATO Baltic Air Policing mission. Šiauliai International Airport operates within the base as a civilian airport. The joint-use airport is also known by its historic name of Zokniai aerodrome () and is located southeast of the city of Šiauliai in northern Lithuania. History Zokniai area was first used as an aerial warfare facility in 1916–1917, when the German forces built hangars for their Zeppelin airships. The Lithuanian Air Force began expanding during the Interwar period, as Lithuania was acquiring foreign aircraft as well as domestically produced ANBO-series aircraft, making the Kaunas aerodrome insufficient. In 1931, Zokniai aerodrome was built as a second airbase for the Lithuanian Air Force. It was a base of the 3rd, 4th and 5th squadrons. At that time, it was able to host 35 aircraft, including Ansaldo A.120, Letov Š-20, Gloster Gladiator, de Havil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lithuanian Armed Forces
The Lithuanian Armed Forces () are the military of Lithuania. The Lithuanian Armed Forces consist of the Lithuanian Land Forces, the Lithuanian Navy, the Lithuanian Air Force and the Lithuanian Special Operations Force. In wartime, the Lithuanian State Border Guard Service (which is under the supervision of the Ministry of the Interior in peacetime) becomes part of the Lithuanian Armed Forces. The purpose of the Lithuanian Armed Forces are to be the principal deterrent against any security threat to the nation. Lithuania's defence system is based on the concept of "total and unconditional defence" mandated by Lithuania's ''National Security Strategy''. The goal of Lithuania's defence policy is to prepare their society for general defence and to integrate Lithuania into Western security and defence structures. The Ministry of National Defence is responsible for combat forces, search and rescue, and intelligence operations. Male conscription is in place since 2015, when it ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aerodrome
An aerodrome, airfield, or airstrip is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for public or private use. Aerodromes include small general aviation airfields, large Commercial aviation, commercial airports, and military air bases. The term ''airport'' may imply a certain stature (having satisfied certain certification criteria or regulatory requirements) that not all aerodromes may have achieved. That means that all airports are aerodromes, but not all aerodromes are airports. Usage of the term "aerodrome" (or "airfield") remains more common in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English, and is conversely almost unknown in American English, where the term "airport" is applied almost exclusively. A water aerodrome is an area of open water used regularly by seaplanes, floatplanes or amphibious aircraft for landing and taking off. In formal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Act Of The Re-Establishment Of The State Of Lithuania
The Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania or Act of 11 March () was an Declaration of independence, independence declaration by Lithuania adopted on 11 March 1990, signed by all members of the Supreme Council – Reconstituent Seimas, Supreme Council of the Republic of Lithuania led by Sąjūdis. The act emphasized restoration and State continuity of the Baltic states, legal continuity of the Interwar period, interwar-period Lithuania, which Soviet occupation of Lithuania (1940), was occupied by the Soviet Union and annexed in June 1940. In March 1990, it was the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic, first of the 15 Republics of the Soviet Union, Soviet republics to declare independence, with the rest following to continue for 21 months, concluding with Kazakhstan's independence in 1991. These events (part of the broader process dubbed the "parade of sovereignties") led to the dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991. Background Loss of independence After ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Myasishchev M-4
The Myasishchev M-4 ''Molot'' (), USAF/DoD reporting name "Type 37", Air Standardization Coordinating Committee, ASCC reporting name Bison) was a four-engined strategic bomber designed by Myasishchev, Vladimir Mikhailovich Myasishchev and manufactured by the Soviet Union in the 1950s to provide a Soviet Long Range Aviation, Long Range Aviation bomber capable of attacking targets in North America. The aircraft fell well short of its intended range and was not fully capable of attacking the most valuable targets in the United States. As this became clear, production was shut down. In spite of the failure to produce a capable strategic design and the resulting small numbers, the M-4 nevertheless sparked fears of a "bomber gap" when 18 of the aircraft were flown in a public demonstration on May Day in 1954. The US responded by building thousands of Boeing B-47s and Boeing B-52, B-52s to counter this perceived threat. The design was updated with more efficient engines, inflight refue ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Strategic Bomber
A strategic bomber is a medium- to long-range Penetrator (aircraft), penetration bomber aircraft designed to drop large amounts of air-to-ground weaponry onto a distant target for the purposes of debilitating the enemy's capacity to wage war. Unlike tactical bombing, tactical bombers, Penetrator (aircraft), penetrators, fighter-bombers, and attack aircraft, which are used in air interdiction operations to attack enemy combatants and military equipment, strategic bombers are designed to fly into enemy territory to destroy strategic targets (e.g., infrastructure, logistics, Military base, military installations, factories, etc.). In addition to strategic bombing, strategic bombers can be used for tactical bombing, tactical missions. There are currently only three countries that operate strategic bombers: the United States, Russia and China. The modern strategic bomber role appeared after Strategic bombing during World War II, strategic bombing was widely employed, and Atomic bombing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ilyushin Il-28
The Ilyushin Il-28 (; NATO reporting name: Beagle) is a jet bomber of the immediate postwar period that was originally manufactured for the Soviet Air Forces. It was the Soviet Union's first such aircraft to enter large-scale production. It was also licence-built in China as the Harbin H-5. Total production in the USSR was 6,316 aircraft, and over 319 H-5s were built. Only 187 examples of the HJ-5 training variant were manufactured. The only H-5s in service currently are approximately 80 aircraft which operate with the Korean People's Air Force. The Il-28 has the USAF/DoD reporting name "Type 27"Parsch, Andreas and Aleksey V. Martynov"Designations of Soviet and Russian Military Aircraft and Missiles." ''designation-systems.net,'' 2008. Retrieved: 22 August 2011. and NATO reporting name "Beagle", while the Il-28U trainer variant has the USAF/DoD reporting name "Type 30" and NATO reporting name Mascot.Gunston 1995, pp. XXX–XXXI. Design and development After a number of attemp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Occupation Of The Baltic States
The occupation of the Baltic states was a period of annexation of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania by the Soviet Union from 1940 until its Dissolution of the Soviet Union, dissolution in 1991. For a period of several years during World War II, Nazi Germany occupied the Baltic states after it invaded the Soviet Union in 1941. The initial Soviet occupation of the Baltic states (1940), Soviet invasion and occupation of the Baltic states began in June 1940 under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, made between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany in August 1939 before the outbreak of World War II. The three independent Baltic states, Baltic countries were annexed as constituent Republics of the Soviet Union in August 1940. Most Western countries did not recognise this annexation, and considered it illegal. In July 1941, the German occupation of the Baltic states during World War II, occupation of the Baltic states by Nazi Germany took place, just weeks after its Operation Barbarossa, invasion ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
German Occupation Of Lithuania During World War II
The military occupation of Lithuania by Nazi Germany lasted from the German invasion of the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, to the end of the Battle of Memel on January 28, 1945. At first the Germans were welcomed as liberators from the repressive Soviet regime which had occupied Lithuania. In hopes of re-establishing independence or regaining some autonomy, Lithuanians organized a Provisional Government that lasted six weeks. Background In August 1939, the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany signed the German–Soviet Nonaggression Pact and its Secret Additional Protocol, dividing Central and Eastern Europe into spheres of influence. Lithuania was initially assigned to the German sphere, likely due to its economic dependence on German trade. After the March 1939 ultimatum regarding the Klaipėda Region, Germany accounted for 75% of Lithuanian exports and 86% of its imports. To solidify its influence, Germany suggested a German–Lithuanian military alliance against Poland and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Feliksas Vaitkus
Feliksas Vaitkus (1907–1956), also known as Felix Waitkus, was an American-born Lithuanian pilot and the sixth pilot to fly solo across the Atlantic. Biography His parents came from Lithuania in 1904, settling in the old "Lithuanian Downtown" in Chicago's Bridgeport neighborhood where Vaitkus was born three years later. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1928, and after graduating from advanced pilot’s training school, was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Air Corps. In 1931, he was placed in the reserves with the rank of first lieutenant and returned to civilian life to work with his father-in-law who operated a flying school in Kohler, Wisconsin. Lituanica II A few months after the ''Lituanica'' tragedy, some prominent members of the Chicago Lithuanian community discussed the possibility of financing another transatlantic flight. This idea was greeted with much enthusiasm, and enough funds were raised during this difficult period, the Great Depression. A much fas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
ANBO IV
The ANBO IV was a reconnaissance aircraft used by the Lithuanian Air Force in World War II, designed by Lithuanian aircraft designer Antanas Gustaitis. The Lithuanian ANBO 41 was far ahead of the most modern foreign reconnaissance aircraft of that time in structural features, and most importantly in speed and in climb rate. All ANBO 41 aircraft were likely destroyed during World War II. Development The ANBO IV was developed from the ANBO III trainer. The design was supervised by Colonel Antanas Gustaitis. The first flight took place on 14 July 1932, the prototype being powered by a Wasp engine. After successful trials, series production began. Thirteen series-built aircraft were powered by British Bristol Pegasus engines and were manufactured by Lithuanian Aircraft State Factory. It could be armed with two pairs of light machine guns and could carry 200 kg of bombs. Operational history ANBO IVs were introduced into Lithuanian Air Force in 1934 and shortly before that a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
De Havilland Dragon Rapide
The de Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide is a 1930s short-haul biplane airliner developed and produced by British aircraft company de Havilland. Capable of accommodating 6–8 passengers, it proved an economical and durable craft, despite its outdated plywood construction. Developed during the early 1930s, the Dragon Rapide was essentially a smaller, twin-engined version of the four-engined DH.86 Express, and shared a number of common features, such as its tapered wings, streamlined fairings and Gipsy Six engines. First named the "Dragon Six", the type was marketed as "Dragon Rapide" and later simply known as the "Rapide". Upon its introduction in summer 1934, it proved to be a popular aircraft with airlines and private civil operators alike, attaining considerable foreign sales in addition to its domestic use. Upon the outbreak of the World War II, many of the civil Rapides were pressed into service with the Royal Air Force (RAF) and Royal Navy. Referred to in military service ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gloster Gladiator
The Gloster Gladiator is a British biplane fighter. It was used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) (as the Sea Gladiator variant) and was exported to a number of other air forces during the late 1930s. Developed privately as the Gloster SS.37, it was the RAF's last biplane fighter aircraft, and was rendered obsolescent by newer monoplane designs even as it was being introduced. Though often pitted against more advanced fighters during the early days of the Second World War, it acquitted itself reasonably well in combat. The Gladiator saw action in almost all theatres during the Second World War, with a large number of air forces, some of them on the Axis side. The RAF used it in France, Norway, Greece, the defence of Malta, the Middle East, and the brief Anglo-Iraqi War (during which the Royal Iraqi Air Force was similarly equipped). Other countries deploying the Gladiator included China against Japan, beginning in 1938; Finland (along with Swedis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
