HOME





Air Raid On Bari
The air raid on Bari (, ) was an air attack by German bombers on Allied forces and shipping in Bari, Italy, on 2 December 1943, during World War II. 105 German Junkers Ju 88 bombers of ''Luftflotte'' 2 surprised the port's defenders and bombed shipping and personnel operating in support of the Allied Italian Campaign, sinking 27 cargo and transport ships, as well as a schooner, in Bari harbour. The attack lasted a little more than an hour and put the port out of action until February 1944. The release of mustard gas from one of the wrecked cargo ships added to the loss of life. The British and US governments covered up the presence of mustard gas and its effects on victims of the raid. Background In early September 1943, coinciding with the Allied invasion of Italy, Italy surrendered to the Allies in the Armistice of Cassibile and changed sides, but the breakaway Italian Social Republic in central and northern Italy continued the war on the Axis side. On 11 September 1943, th ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Schooner
A schooner ( ) is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel defined by its Rig (sailing), rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more Mast (sailing), masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schooner also has a square topsail on the foremast, to which may be added a Topgallant sail, topgallant. Differing definitions leave uncertain whether the addition of a Course (sail), fore course would make such a vessel a brigantine. Many schooners are Gaff rig, gaff-rigged, but other examples include Bermuda rig and the staysail schooner. Etymology The term "schooner" first appeared in eastern North America in the early 1700s. The term may be related to a Scots language, Scots word meaning to skip over water, or to skip stones. History The exact origins of schooner rigged vessels are obscure, but by early 17th century they appear in paintings by Dutch marine artists. The earliest known il ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Naples
Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of Naples, province-level municipality is the third most populous Metropolitan cities of Italy, metropolitan city in Italy with a population of 2,958,410 residents, and the List of urban areas in the European Union, eighth most populous in the European Union. Naples metropolitan area, Its metropolitan area stretches beyond the boundaries of the city wall for approximately . Naples also plays a key role in international diplomacy, since it is home to NATO's Allied Joint Force Command Naples and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean. Founded by Greeks in the 1st millennium BC, first millennium BC, Naples is one of the oldest continuously inhabited urban areas in the world. In the eighth century BC, a colony known as Parthenope () was e ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

KG 76
''Kampfgeschwader 76'' (KG 76) (Battle Wing) was a Luftwaffe bomber Group during World War II. It was one of the few bomber groups that operated throughout the war. In 1933 Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party came to power in Germany. To meet the expansionist aims of their ''Führer'', the German state began an enormous rearmament programme to build the ''Wehrmacht'' (German armed forces). 76 was created in May 1939 as the Luftwaffe sought to reorganise and increase its strength. The wing was permitted three ''Gruppen'' (Groups) in May 1939, but only two were operational by August. The Dornier Do 17 light bomber equipped the wing's units. In September 1939 German and Soviet forces invaded Poland, beginning World War II. 76 served in the campaign until the 17 September 1939 and then proceeded to spend the Phoney War resting and re-equipping. All three groups began the offensive in Western Europe ('' Fall Gelb'') on 10 May 1940. 76 supported the German Army (''Heer'') in the Battle ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Kampfgeschwader 54
''Kampfgeschwader'' 54 "Totenkopf" (, KG 54) was a Luftwaffe bomber wing during World War II. It served on nearly all the fronts in the European Theatre where the German Luftwaffe operated. KG 54 was formed in May 1939. The bomber wing was equipped with two of the major German medium bomber types; the Heinkel He 111 and the Junkers Ju 88. It was given the insignia of a human skull and crossbones, with the bones significantly crossed behind the skull. This insignia for the entire bomber wing was sometimes displayed on a shield-like device, but more often depicted over a normal camouflage pattern. It bore a strikingly close graphic resemblance to that of the 3rd SS Panzer Division, known as the "Death's Head Division". The ''Totenkopf'' motif was inspired by the Braunschweiger Black Hussars. KG 54 began its first campaign in September 1939 when German forces invaded Poland, which began World War II. It spent the Phoney War resting and refitting though it did carry out leaflet- ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Northwest African Tactical Air Force
The Northwest African Tactical Air Force (NATAF) was a component of the Northwest African Air Forces which itself reported to the Mediterranean Air Command (MAC). These new Allied air force organizations were created at the Casablanca Conference in January 1943 to promote cooperation between the British Royal Air Force (RAF), the American United States Army Air Force (USAAF), and their respective ground and naval forces in the North African and Mediterranean theater of World War II . Created on February 18, 1943, the NATAF and other MAC commands existed until December 10, 1943, when MAC was disbanded and the Mediterranean Allied Air Forces (MAAF) were established. Acting Air Marshal Sir Arthur Coningham, who had been air officer commanding Western Desert Air Force became the commander of NATAF. and the WDAF became part of the new NATAF Composition The components of NATAF at the time of the Allied invasion of Sicily (Operation Husky) on July 10, 1943, are illustrated below. ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Luftwaffe
The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial German Navy, Imperial Navy, had been disbanded in May 1920 in accordance with the terms of the 1919 Treaty of Versailles, which banned Germany from having any air force. During the interwar period, German pilots were trained secretly in violation of the treaty at Lipetsk (air base), Lipetsk Air Base in the Soviet Union. With the rise of the Nazi Party and the repudiation of the Versailles Treaty, the Luftwaffe's existence was publicly acknowledged and officially established on 26 February 1935, just over two weeks before open defiance of the Versailles Treaty through German rearmament and conscription would be announced on 16 March. The Condor Legion, a Luftwaffe detachment sent to aid Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist for ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Fighter Aircraft
Fighter aircraft (early on also ''pursuit aircraft'') are military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air supremacy, air superiority of the battlespace. Domination of the airspace above a battlefield permits bombers and attack aircraft to engage in tactical bombing, tactical and strategic bombing of enemy targets, and helps prevent the enemy from doing the same. The key performance features of a fighter include not only its firepower but also its high speed and maneuverability relative to the target aircraft. The success or failure of a combatant's efforts to gain air superiority hinges on several factors including the skill of its pilots, the tactical soundness of its doctrine for deploying its fighters, and the numbers and performance of those fighters. Many modern fighter aircraft also have secondary capabilities such as ground-attack aircraft, ground attack and some types, such as fighter-b ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS). Following the Allies of World War I, Allied victory over the Central Powers in 1918, the RAF emerged as the largest air force in the world at the time. Since its formation, the RAF has played History of the Royal Air Force, a significant role in Military history of the United Kingdom, British military history. In particular, during the Second World War, the RAF established Air supremacy, air superiority over Nazi Germany's Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain, and led the Allied strategic bombing effort. The RAF's mission is to support the objectives of the British Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom), Ministry of Defence (MOD), which are to "provide the capabilities nee ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Air Defence
Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface (Submarine#Armament, submarine-launched), and air-based weapon systems, in addition to associated sensor systems, command and control arrangements, and passive measures (e.g. barrage balloons). It may be used to protect naval, army, ground, and air forces in any location. However, for most countries, the main effort has tended to be homeland defense. Missile defense, Missile defense is an extension of air defence, as are initiatives to adapt air defence to the task of intercepting any projectile in flight. Most modern anti-aircraft (AA) weapons systems are optimized for short-, medium-, or long-range air defence, although some systems may incorporate multiple weapons (such as both autocannons and surface-to-air missiles). 'Layered air defence' usually refers to multiple 't ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom)
The 1st Airborne Division was an airborne infantry division of the British Army during the Second World War. The division was formed in late 1941 during the Second World War, after the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, demanded an airborne force, and was initially under command of Major General Frederick A. M. "Boy" Browning. The division was one of two airborne divisions raised by the British Army during the war, with the other being the 6th Airborne Division, created in May 1943, using former units of the 1st Airborne Division. The division's first two missions—Operation Biting, a parachute landing in France, and Operation Freshman, a glider mission in Norway—were both raids. Part of the division was sent to North Africa at the end of 1942, where it fought in an infantry role during the Tunisian campaign over the next few weeks, and when the Allies invaded Sicily in July 1943, the division undertook two brigade sized landings. The first, Operation Ladbr ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Port Of Bari
The Port of Bari () is a port serving Bari, southeastern Italy. The port of Bari is traditionally considered Europe's door to the Balkan Peninsula and the Middle East, and is a multipurpose port able to meet all operational requirements. Among the largest ports on the Adriatic, in 2012 the port of Bari handled about 2 million passengers, of which about 650,000 were cruise passengers. Cruise ship companies operating at the port include AIDA, Costa Crociere, MSC Crociere, Phoenix Reisen, Celebrity Cruises Celebrity Cruises is a cruise line headquartered in Miami, Florida, and a wholly owned subsidiary of Royal Caribbean Group. Celebrity Cruises was founded in 1988 by the Greece-based Chandris Group, and merged with Royal Caribbean Cruise Line in ... and Royal Caribbean International. After the fall of the Western Empire, the Greeks had control of Bari. References {{coord, 41, 7, 48, N, 16, 51, 0, E, display=title Ports and harbours of Italy Bari ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]