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HMS Janus (F53)
HMS ''Janus'', named after the Roman god, was a ''Javelin'' or J-class destroyer of the Royal Navy. She was ordered from the Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson Limited at Wallsend-on-Tyne as part of the 1936 Build Programme and laid down on 29 September 1937, launched on 10 November 1938 and commissioned on 5 August 1939. Service history North Sea and Mediterranean duties Off Namsos, Norway, on 30 April 1940 the sloop was mistaken for a cruiser and was badly damaged by German Junkers Ju 87 dive bombers and had to be sunk by ''Janus''. ''Janus'' served in the North Sea until May 1940 and had participated in over 20 convoy duties in that time. From May 1940 ''Janus'' began Mediterranean duties with the 14th Destroyer Flotilla in Alexandria. She participated in the Battle of Calabria in July 1940 and the Battle of Cape Matapan in March 1941, and in the action off Sfax in April 1941. Fate On 23 January 1944 ''Janus'' was struck by one Fritz X guided bomb dropped by a German He 11 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Janus (mythology)
In ancient Roman religion and myth, Janus ( ; la, Ianvs ) is the god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, frames, and endings. He is usually depicted as having two faces. The month of January is named for Janus (''Ianuarius''). According to ancient Roman farmers' almanacs, Juno was mistaken as the tutelary deity of the month of January; but, Juno is the tutelary deity of the month of June. Janus presided over the beginning and ending of conflict, and hence war and peace. The gates of a building in Rome named after him (not a temple, as it is often called, but an open enclosure with gates at each end) were opened in time of war, and closed to mark the arrival of peace. As a god of transitions, he had functions pertaining to birth and to journeys and exchange, and in his association with Portunus, a similar harbor and gateway god, he was concerned with travelling, trading and shipping. Janus had no flamen or specialised priest ''( sacerdos)'' a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British 21-inch Torpedo
There have been several British 21-inch (533 mm) torpedoes used by the Royal Navy since their first development just before the First World War. Torpedoes of 21 inch calibre were the largest torpedoes in common use in the RN. They were used by surface ships and submarines rather than aircraft, which used smaller British 18-inch torpedo, 18-inch torpedoes. Mark I The first British 21-inch torpedo came in two lengths, "Short" at , and "Long" at . The explosive charge was of gun cotton increased later to . Mark II The Mark II, chiefly used by destroyers, entered service in 1914. Apart from some older British ships, it was used with the old US (destroyers-for-bases deal) Town-class destroyers provided to the UK during the early part of the Second World War. The running speed was reduced from (over 3,000 yards) for better reliability. The Mark II*, an improved Mark II, was used by battleships and battlecruisers. A wet heater design, it could run for at . Mark IV F ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Cape Matapan
The Battle of Cape Matapan ( el, Ναυμαχία του Ταινάρου) was a naval battle during the Second World War between the Allies, represented by the navies of the United Kingdom and Australia, and the Royal Italian navy, from 27 to 29 March 1941. Cape Matapan is on the south-western coast of the Peloponnesian Peninsula of Greece. After the interception and decryption of Italian signals by the Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS) at Bletchley Park (the decrypted intelligence codenamed Ultra), ships of the Royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy, under the command of Royal Navy Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham, intercepted and sank or severely damaged several ships of the Italian ''Regia Marina'' under Squadron-Vice-Admiral Angelo Iachino. The opening actions of the battle are also known in Italy as the Battle of Gaudo. Background In late March 1941, as British ships of the Mediterranean Fleet covered troop movements to Greece, Mavis Batey, a cryptanalyst at Ble ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Calabria
The Battle of Calabria, known to the Italian Navy as the Battle of Punta Stilo, was a naval battle during the Battle of the Mediterranean in the World War II, Second World War. Ships of the Kingdom of Italy, Italian ''Regia Marina'' were opposed by vessels of the British Royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy. The battle occurred 30 miles to the east of Punta Stilo, Calabria, on 9 July 1940. It was one of the few pitched battles of the Mediterranean campaign during the Second World War involving large numbers of ships on both sides. Both sides claimed victory, but in fact the battle was a draw and everyone returned to their bases safely. Background When Italy entered the Second World War, its forces in Italian Libya, Libya were ill-equipped for offensive operations, and the Italian fleet was forced to start large supply convoys in order to bring them up to fighting condition. On 6 July a convoy of four merchant ships left Naples on their way to Benghazi, while attempting to fool ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
14th Destroyer Flotilla
The14th Destroyer Flotilla, or Fourteenth Destroyer Flotilla, was a naval formation of the British Royal Navy from April 1916 to 11 February 1919 and again from 1 June 1940 to January 1944. History World War One The flotilla was first established in April 1916 and operated with the Grand Fleet until November 1918. It was disbanded on 11 February 1919. Second World War The flotilla was reformed 1 January 1940 allocated to the Mediterranean Fleet until 28 January 1943. It was part of Force C at the Battle of Cape Matapan, 27 to 29 March 1941. The Flotilla was engaged at Battle of the Tarigo Convoy on 16 April 1941. It took part in the Second Battle of Sirte The Second Battle of Sirte (on 22 March 1942) was a naval engagement in the Mediterranean Sea, north of the Gulf of Sidra and southeast of Malta, during the Second World War. The escorting warships of a British convoy to Malta held off a much ..., (22 March 1942). It was next transferred to the Levant Command then at ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Junkers Ju 87
The Junkers Ju 87 or Stuka (from ''Sturzkampfflugzeug'', "dive bomber") was a German dive bomber and ground-attack aircraft. Designed by Hermann Pohlmann, it first flew in 1935. The Ju 87 made its combat debut in 1937 with the Luftwaffe's Condor Legion during the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939 and served the Axis in World War II from beginning to end (1939–1945). The aircraft is easily recognisable by its inverted gull wings and fixed spatted undercarriage. Upon the leading edges of its faired main gear legs were mounted ram-air sirens known as ', which became a propaganda symbol of German air power and of the so-called ''Blitzkrieg'' victories of 1939–1942, as well as providing Stuka pilots with audible feedback as to speed. The Stuka's design included several innovations, including automatic pull-up dive brakes under both wings to ensure that the aircraft recovered from its attack dive even if the pilot blacked out from the high g-forces. The Ju 87 operated with c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sloop-of-war
In the 18th century and most of the 19th, a sloop-of-war in the Royal Navy was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. The rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above; thus, the term ''sloop-of-war'' encompassed all the unrated combat vessels, including the very small gun-brigs and cutters. In technical terms, even the more specialised bomb vessels and fireships were classed as sloops-of-war, and in practice these were employed in the sloop role when not carrying out their specialised functions. In World War I and World War II, the Royal Navy reused the term "sloop" for specialised convoy-defence vessels, including the of World War I and the highly successful of World War II, with anti-aircraft and anti-submarine capability. They performed similar duties to the American destroyer escort class ships, and also performed similar duties to the smaller corvettes of the Royal Navy. Rigging A sloop-of-war was quite different from a civilian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Namsos (town)
Namsos is a town and the administrative center of Namsos municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located on the north side of the mouth of the river Namsen, where it flows into Namsenfjorden. The village of Spillum lies across the river on the south side. The Norwegian County Road 17 runs through the town and just east of the town is Namsos Airport, Høknesøra. The town was the terminus of the Namsos Line from 1933 until its closure in 2002. The town is the site of the Namsos Hospital which serves the whole region. Namsos Church is located in the town centre. The town has a population (2018) of 8,413 and a population density of . History The village of Namsos was declared to be a ladested in 1845. At that time, it was separated from the municipality of Vemundvik of which it was a part prior to that time. The new town (''Ladested Namsos'') had 591 inhabitants and the rest of Vemundvik was then called ''Namsos herred'' or ''Namsos landdistrikt'' and it had 908 r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wallsend-on-Tyne
Wallsend is a town in North Tyneside, England, at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 43,842 and lies east of Newcastle upon Tyne. History Roman Wallsend In Roman times, this was the site of the fort of Segedunum. This fort protected the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall, which did not terminate at the western wall of the fort, but continued from its south-eastern corner down to the shore of the River Tyne. As David Breeze writes, "In the early nineteenth century, as recorded by Bruce, John Buddle the Younger had often seen the Wall foundations extending far into the river when swimming there as a boy." Pre-Conquest The withdrawal of the Romans from the Wall immediately brought the Picts from the north and shortly afterwards the Angles, sailing from near the mouth of the River Elbe with frequent raids both from sea and from land. Ida the Saxon laid waste to the whole of the north in 547 and Wallsend doubtless suffered in the general devastation. It was not unt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
