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Battle Of Alcatraz
The Battle of Alcatraz, which lasted from May 2 to 4, 1946, was the result of an escape attempt at Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary by armed convicts. Two Federal Bureau of Prisons officers—William A. Miller and Harold Stites—were killed (Miller by inmate Joseph Cretzer who attempted escape and Stites by friendly fire). Three inmates were also killed during the incident. Fourteen other officers and one uninvolved convict were also injured. Two prisoners were executed in 1948 for their roles. Alcatraz Alcatraz was a maximum high-security federal prison located on Alcatraz Island in the San Francisco bay. It operated from 1934 to 1963 and had a reputation for being impossible to escape from. As a result, it housed some of the most notorious and high-profile prisoners, in particular ones who had a history of escape attempts. Convicts The escape attempt was planned by Bernard Coy. Three other convicts were involved in the main plan, Marvin Hubbard, Joseph Cretzer and Clarence C ...
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Mortar (weapon)
A mortar today is usually a simple, lightweight, man-portable, Muzzleloader, muzzle-loaded cannon, consisting of a Smoothbore, smooth-bore (although some models use a Rifling, rifled barrel) metal tube fixed to a base plate (to spread out the recoil) with a lightweight bipod mount and a Sight (device), sight. Mortars are typically used as indirect fire weapons for close fire support with a variety of ammunition. Historically mortars were heavy Siege, siege artillery. Mortars launch explosive shell (projectile), shells (technically called Bomb, bombs) in high arching Projectile motion, ballistic trajectories. History Mortars have been used for hundreds of years. The earliest reported use of mortars was in Korea in a 1413 naval battle when Korean gunsmiths developed the ''wan'gu'' (gourd-shaped mortar) (완구, 碗口). The earliest version of the ''wan'gu'' dates back to 1407. Ch'oe Hae-san (1380–1443), the son of Ch'oe Mu-sŏn (1325–1395), is generally credited with inventi ...
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Joseph Paul Cretzer
Joseph Paul "Dutch" Cretzer (April 17, 1911 − May 4, 1946) was an American bank robber and prisoner at Alcatraz who participated in and was slain in the bloody "Battle of Alcatraz" which took place following a failed escape attempt between May 2 and May 4, 1946. Early life Joseph P. Cretzer was born on April 17, 1911, in Anaconda, Montana. He was the son of two deaf-mute parents. Cretzer's mother was Lottie Alice "Lillie" Thompson who was born in Missouri in 1874. His father was Elza Anton Cretzer who was born in Ohio in 1871. Elza Cretzer attended the Ohio School for the Deaf and later the California School for the Deaf. Elza Cretzer joined a deaf-mute gang of burglars which led to a one-year prison conviction. After Elza's release, he moved to Rock Creek, Wyoming. Elza worked in Rock Creek as a miner for three years before he lost his job. Elza continued prospecting for gold in the Rockies. In 1897 Elza was arrested for grand larceny in Utah. On September 22, 1897, Elza w ...
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Launch (boat)
Launch is a name given to several different types of boat. The wide range of usage of the name extends from utilitarian craft through to pleasure boats built to a very high standard. In naval use, the launch was introduced as a ship's boat towards the end of the 17th century. On each warship, the launch was usually the largest boat out of those carried aboard. It could be propelled by oar or sail, with this type remaining in service into the 20th century. Steam launches were introduced on a trial basis in 1867, but as steam-powered ship's boats became more common, the majority were steam pinnaces. Other military examples were the various motor launches used in the 20th century, employed for harbour defence, anti-submarine patrols, escorting coastal convoys, minesweeping and recovering aircrew from crashed aircraft. Generally these were decked boats, some of which were capable of fast speeds. A powered boat operated by a regulatory or official organisation may be termed a ...
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Gas Grenades
Gas is a state of matter that has neither a fixed volume nor a fixed shape and is a compressible fluid. A ''pure gas'' is made up of individual atoms (e.g. a noble gas like neon) or molecules of either a single type of atom ( elements such as oxygen) or from different atoms (compounds such as carbon dioxide). A ''gas mixture'', such as air, contains a variety of pure gases. What distinguishes gases from liquids and solids is the vast separation of the individual gas particles. This separation can make some gases invisible to the human observer. The gaseous state of matter occurs between the liquid and plasma states, the latter of which provides the upper-temperature boundary for gases. Bounding the lower end of the temperature scale lie degenerative quantum gases which are gaining increasing attention. High-density atomic gases super-cooled to very low temperatures are classified by their statistical behavior as either Bose gases or Fermi gases. For a comprehensive listing of th ...
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M1911 Pistol
The Colt M1911 (also known as 1911, Colt 1911, Colt .45, or Colt Government in the case of Colt-produced models) is a single-action, recoil-operated, semi-automatic pistol chambered primarily for the .45 ACP cartridge. History Early history and adaptations The M1911 pistol originated in the late 1890s as the result of a search for a suitable self-loading (or semi-automatic) pistol to replace the variety of revolvers in service at the time. The United States was adopting new firearms at a phenomenal rate; several new pistols and two all-new service rifles ( M1892/96/98 Krag and M1895 Navy Lee), as well as a series of revolvers by Colt and Smith & Wesson for the Army and Navy, were adopted just in that decade. The next decade would see a similar pace, including the adoption of several more revolvers and an intensive search for a self-loading pistol that would culminate in the official adoption of the M1911 after the turn of the decade. Hiram S. Maxim had designed a self-l ...
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M1903 Springfield
The M1903 Springfield, officially the U.S. Rifle, Caliber .30, M1903, is an American five-round magazine-fed, bolt-action service repeating rifle, used primarily during the first half of the 20th century. The M1903 was first used in combat during the Philippine-American War and was officially adopted by the United States as the standard infantry rifle on 19 June 1903. It saw service in World War I and was replaced by the faster-firing semi-automatic eight-round M1 Garand starting in 1936. However, the M1903 remained a standard-issue infantry rifle during World War II, since the U.S. entered the war without sufficient M1 rifles to arm all troops. It also was used as a sniper rifle during World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. It remains popular as a civilian firearm, collector's piece, a competitive shooting rifle and as a military drill rifle. History Background During the 1898 war with Spain, the Mauser M1893 used by the Spanish Army gained a deadly reputat ...
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Coy Hubbard Cretzer
Coy or COY may refer to: __NOTOC__ Places United States * Coy, Arkansas, a town * Coy, Alabama, an unincorporated community * Coy, Missouri, an unincorporated community * Coy Branch, Missouri, a stream Elsewhere * Coy Burn, Scotland, a stream * Coy, Spain, a village * Coolawanyah Station Airport, IATA airport code "COY" Other uses * Coy (name), a list of people and a fictional character with the surname or given name * Coy Cup, awarded to the Senior AA ice hockey champions of British Columbia * COY, the ICAO designator for Coyne Airways, a British airline * Abbreviation for company in the UK and some Commonwealth militaries See also * Coy Site, Arkansas, United States, an archaeological site * Coi (other) * Koi, a type of ornamental domesticated fish * Koi (other) * McCoy (other) McCoy, McCoys or McCoy's may refer to: Places United States * McCoy, Colorado, an unincorporated town * McCoy, Oregon, an unincorporated community * McCoy, Atascos ...
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List Of Alcatraz Escape Attempts
Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay was the site of Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary between 1934 and 1963. There were a total of 14 escape attempts from the prison made by 34 prisoners during this time. Two men tried twice, making for a total of 36 individual escape attempts; fifteen were caught, eight gave up, seven were shot and killed, two were confirmed to have drowned and five are listed as "missing and presumed drowned". Faced with high maintenance costs and a poor reputation, Alcatraz closed on March 21, 1963. Most notable were the violent attempt of May 1946 called the "Battle of Alcatraz" and the possibly successful June 1962 attempt by Frank Morris, John Anglin, and Clarence Anglin, which was marked by careful planning and execution. Physical obstacles It had seemed impossible to escape from Alcatraz by swimming. The seasonal water temperature in the San Francisco Bay is about 53 °F (12 °C) in December and the current can exceed 6 knots. Citing these fa ...
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West Coast Of The United States
The West Coast of the United States, also known as the Pacific Coast and the Western Seaboard, is the coastline along which the Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. The term typically refers to the Contiguous United States, contiguous U.S. states of California, Oregon, and Washington (state), Washington, but it occasionally includes Alaska and Hawaii in bureaucratic usage. For example, the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau considers both states to be part of a larger U.S. geographic division. Definition There are conflicting definitions of which states comprise the West Coast of the United States, but the West Coast always includes California, Oregon, and Washington (state), Washington as part of that definition. Under most circumstances, however, the term encompasses the three contiguous states and Alaska, as they are all located in North America. For census purposes, Hawaii is part of the West Coast, along with the other four states. ''Encyclopædia ...
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Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and business failures around the world. The economic contagion began in 1929 in the United States, the largest economy in the world, with the devastating Wall Street stock market crash of October 1929 often considered the beginning of the Depression. Among the countries with the most unemployed were the U.S., the United Kingdom, and Weimar Republic, Germany. The Depression was preceded by a period of industrial growth and social development known as the "Roaring Twenties". Much of the profit generated by the boom was invested in speculation, such as on the stock market, contributing to growing Wealth inequality in the United States, wealth inequality. Banks were subject to laissez-faire, minimal regulation, resulting in loose lending and wides ...
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