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HMS Royal Oak (08)
HMS ''Royal Oak'' was one of five s built for the Royal Navy during the First World War. Completed in 1916, the ship first saw combat at the Battle of Jutland as part of the Grand Fleet. In peacetime, she served in the Atlantic Fleet (United Kingdom), Atlantic, Home Fleet, Home and Mediterranean Fleet (United Kingdom), Mediterranean fleets, more than once coming under accidental attack. ''Royal Oak'' drew worldwide attention in 1928 when her senior officers were controversially court-martialled, an event that brought considerable embarrassment to what was then the world's largest navy. Attempts to modernise ''Royal Oak'' throughout her 25-year career could not fix her fundamental lack of speed and, by the start of the Second World War, she was no longer suitable for front-line duty. On 14 October 1939, ''Royal Oak'' was anchored at Scapa Flow in Orkney, Scotland, when she was torpedoed by the German submarine . Of ''Royal Oak''s complement of 1,234 men and boys, 835 were killed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Oak
The Royal Oak was the English oak tree within which the future King Charles II of England hid to escape the Roundheads following the Battle of Worcester in 1651. The tree was in Boscobel Wood, which was part of the park of Boscobel House. Charles told Samuel Pepys in 1680 that while he was hiding in the tree, a Parliamentarian soldier passed directly below it. The story was popular after the Restoration, and is remembered every year in the English traditions of Royal Oak Day. History After the defeat of Charles' Royalist army at the hands of Oliver Cromwell's New Model Army in the Battle of Worcester, the King fled with Lord Derby, Lord Wilmot and other royalists, seeking shelter at the safe houses of White Ladies Priory and Boscobel House. Initially, Charles was led to White Ladies Priory by Charles Giffard, a cousin of the owner, and his servant Francis Yates, the only man later executed for his part in the escape. There, the Penderel (Pendrell or Pendrill) f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bulkhead (partition)
A bulkhead is an upright wall within the hull (watercraft), hull of a ship, within the fuselage of an airplane, or a car. Other kinds of partition elements within a ship are deck (ship), decks and deckheads. Etymology The word ''bulki'' meant "cargo" in Old Norse. During the 15th century sailors and builders in Europe realized that walls within a vessel would prevent cargo from shifting during passage. In shipbuilding, any vertical panel was called a head. So walls installed abeam (side-to-side) in a vessel's hull were called "bulkheads". Now, the term bulkhead applies to every vertical panel aboard a ship, except for the hull itself. History Bulkheads were known to the ancient Greeks, who employed bulkheads in triremes to support the back of rams. By the Athenian trireme era (500 BC), the hull was strengthened by enclosing the bow behind the ram, forming a bulkhead compartment. Instead of using bulkheads to protect ships against rams, Greeks preferred to reinforce the hull ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Allies Of World War II
The Allies, formally referred to as the United Nations from 1942, were an international Coalition#Military, military coalition formed during World War II (1939–1945) to oppose the Axis powers. Its principal members were the "Four Policemen, Big Four" – the United Kingdom, United States, Soviet Union, and Republic of China (1912–1949), China. Membership in the Allies varied during the course of the war. When the conflict broke out on 1 September 1939, the Allied coalition consisted of the United Kingdom, French Third Republic, France, and Second Polish Republic, Poland, as well as their respective Dependent territory, dependencies, such as British Raj, British India. They were joined by the independent dominions of the British Commonwealth: Canada, Australia, Dominion of New Zealand, New Zealand and Union of South Africa, South Africa. Consequently, the initial alliance resembled Allies of World War I, that of the First World War. As Axis forces began German invasion of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battlecruiser
The battlecruiser (also written as battle cruiser or battle-cruiser) was a type of capital ship of the first half of the 20th century. These were similar in displacement, armament and cost to battleships, but differed in form and balance of attributes. Battlecruisers typically had thinner armour (to a varying degree) and a somewhat lighter main gun battery than contemporary battleships, installed on a longer hull with much higher engine power in order to attain greater speeds. The first battlecruisers were designed in the United Kingdom as a successor to the armoured cruiser, at the same time as that the dreadnought succeeded the pre-dreadnought battleship. The goal of the battlecruiser concept was to outrun any ship with similar armament, and chase down any ship with lesser armament; they were intended to hunt down slower, older armoured cruisers and destroy them with heavy gunfire while avoiding combat with the more powerful but slower battleships. However, as more and more ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Submarine
A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or informally to refer to remotely operated vehicles and Autonomous underwater vehicle, robots, or to medium-sized or smaller vessels (such as the midget submarine and the wet sub). Submarines are referred to as ''boats'' rather than ''ships'' regardless of their size. Although experimental submarines had been built earlier, submarine design took off during the 19th century, and submarines were adopted by several navies. They were first used widely during World War I (1914–1918), and are now used in many navy, navies, large and small. Their military uses include: attacking enemy surface ships (merchant and military) or other submarines; aircraft carrier protection; Blockade runner, blockade running; Ballistic missile submarine, nuclear deterrenc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Orkney
Orkney (), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago off the north coast of mainland Scotland. The plural name the Orkneys is also sometimes used, but locals now consider it outdated. Part of the Northern Isles along with Shetland, Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north of Caithness and has about 70 islands, of which 20 are inhabited.Haswell-Smith (2004) pp. 336–403. The largest island, the Mainland, Orkney, Mainland, has an area of , making it the List of islands of Scotland, sixth-largest Scottish island and the List of islands of the British Isles, tenth-largest island in the British Isles. Orkney's largest settlement, and also its administrative centre, is Kirkwall. Orkney is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland, council areas of Scotland, as well as a Orkney (Scottish Parliament constituency), constituency of the Scottish Parliament, a Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area, and an counties of Scotland, historic county. The local council is Orkney I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scapa Flow
Scapa Flow (; ) is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray,S. C. George, ''Jutland to Junkyard'', 1973. South Ronaldsay and Hoy. Its sheltered waters have played an important role in travel, trade and conflict throughout the centuries. Vikings anchored their longships in Scapa Flow more than a thousand years ago. It was the United Kingdom's chief naval base during the First and Second World wars, but the facility was closed in 1956. Since the scuttling of the German fleet after World War I, its wrecks and their marine habitats form an internationally acclaimed diving location. Scapa Flow hosts an oil port, the Flotta oil terminal. In good weather, its roadstead (water of moderate conditions) allows ship-to-ship transfers of crude oil product. The world's first ship-to-ship transfer of liquefied natural gas (LNG) took place in Scapa Flow in 2007 transferring 132,000m³ of LNG. This occurred in 2007 by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the world's countries participated, with many nations mobilising all resources in pursuit of total war. Tanks in World War II, Tanks and Air warfare of World War II, aircraft played major roles, enabling the strategic bombing of cities and delivery of the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, first and only nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II is the List of wars by death toll, deadliest conflict in history, causing World War II casualties, the death of 70 to 85 million people, more than half of whom were civilians. Millions died in genocides, including the Holocaust, and by massacres, starvation, and disease. After the Allied victory, Allied-occupied Germany, Germany, Allied-occupied Austria, Austria, Occupation of Japan, Japan, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Court-martial
A court-martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the armed forces subject to military law, and, if the defendant is found guilty, to decide upon punishment. In addition, courts-martial may be used to try prisoners of war for war crimes. The Geneva Conventions require that POWs who are on trial for war crimes be subject to the same procedures as would be the holding military's own forces. Finally, courts-martial can be convened for other purposes, such as dealing with violations of martial law, and can involve civilian defendants. Most navies have a standard court-martial which convenes whenever a ship is lost; this does not presume that the captain is suspected of wrongdoing, but merely that the circumstances surrounding the loss of the ship be made part of the official record. Most military ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mediterranean Fleet (United Kingdom)
The British Mediterranean Fleet, also known as the Mediterranean Station, was a formation of the Royal Navy. The Fleet was one of the most prestigious commands in the navy for the majority of its history, defending the vital sea link between the United Kingdom and the majority of the British Empire in the Eastern Hemisphere. The first Commander-in-Chief for the Mediterranean Fleet was the appointment of General at Sea Robert Blake in September 1654 (styled as Commander of the Mediterranean Fleet). The Fleet was in existence until 1967. Pre-Second World War The Royal Navy gained a foothold in the Mediterranean Sea when Gibraltar was captured by the British in 1704 during the War of Spanish Succession, and formally allocated to Britain in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht. Though the British had maintained a naval presence in the Mediterranean before, the capture of Gibraltar allowed the British to establish their first naval base there. The British also used Port Mahon, on the i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Home Fleet
The Home Fleet was a fleet of the Royal Navy that operated from the United Kingdom's territorial waters from 1902 with intervals until 1967. In 1967, it was merged with the Mediterranean Fleet creating the new Western Fleet. Before the First World War between 1902 and 1904 the Admiralty reorganised its ships in home waters into a permanent force called the Home Squadron. At the beginning of 1905, it was renamed the Channel Fleet. In 1907 a new Home Fleet was formed from ships in reserve and new ships, and in 1909 the Channel Fleet was merged into it, forming the principal fleet in British waters. In 1912 it was renamed the Home Fleets, formed of the First, Second and Third. On the outbreak of the First World War the First Fleet became the Grand Fleet. When the Grand Fleet was redistributed after the war, the reserve fleet was briefly named Home Fleet in 1919 before being renamed, and after the Invergordon Mutiny in 1931 the Atlantic Fleet was renamed Home Fleet in 1932. Du ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Atlantic Fleet (United Kingdom)
The Atlantic Fleet was a naval fleet of the Royal Navy. It existed for two periods; 1909 until 1914, and then 1919 until 1932. History On 14 December 1904 the Channel Fleet was re-styled the 'Atlantic Fleet'.National Archives records The Atlantic Fleet lasted until 1912 when rising tensions with Germany forced the Royal Navy to relook at fleet formations and the Atlantic Fleet became the 3rd Battle Squadron. The Atlantic Fleet was based at Gibraltar to reinforce either the Channel Fleet or the Mediterranean Fleet, from January 1905 to February 1907. It remained at Gibraltar until April 1912. The Atlantic Fleet was again formed after the end of World War I, when British naval forces were reorganised to reflect the changed economic and political situation in Europe. The fleet was created upon the disbandment of the Grand Fleet in April 1919, absorbing many, but not all of its elements. It was placed under a Commander-in-Chief, who for part of that year held the title of Command ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
