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Oslo Mosquito Raid
The Oslo Mosquito raid (25 September 1942) was a British air raid on Oslo, Norway, that was sanctioned by the Norwegian government in exile in London during the Second World War. The target of the raid was the Victoria Terrasse building, the headquarters of the Gestapo in Norway. It was intended to be a "morale booster" for the Norwegian people and was scheduled to coincide with a rally of Norwegian collaborators led by Vidkun Quisling. The raid is also known for it being the moment when the Royal Air Force revealed the existence of the Mosquito aircraft to the British public, when the BBC Home Service reported on the raid the following day. Background Barely twenty days after the Germans invaded Norway on 9 April 1940, an advance force of the Gestapo arrived at Fornebu in fourteen Junkers aircraft, after a short stay at the blindern Students Hostel and at a suburban hotel in Oslo, the gestapo moved into the foreign minster building, Victoria Terrasse, in the beginning of May ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World War II
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] |
Fife
Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the south, Perth and Kinross to the west and Clackmannanshire to the south-west. The largest settlement is the city of Dunfermline, and the administrative centre is Glenrothes. The area has an area of and had a resident population of in , making it Scotland's largest local authority area by population. The population is concentrated in the south, which contains Dunfermline, Kirkcaldy and Glenrothes. The north is less densely populated, and the largest town is St Andrews on the north-east coast. The area is governed by the unitary Fife Council. It covers the same area as the Counties of Scotland, historic county of the same name. Fife was one of the major Picts, Pictish monarchy, kingdoms, known as ''Fib'', and is still commonly known as the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amiens
Amiens (English: or ; ; , or ) is a city and Communes of France, commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme (department), Somme Departments of France, department in the region of Hauts-de-France and had a population of 135,429, as of 2021. A central landmark of the city is Amiens Cathedral, the largest Gothic cathedral in France. Amiens also has one of the largest university hospitals in France, with a capacity of 1,200 beds. The author Jules Verne lived in Amiens from 1871 until his death in 1905, and served on the city council for 15 years. Amiens is the birthplace of French president Emmanuel Macron. The town was fought over during both World Wars, suffering significant damage, and was repeatedly occupied by both sides. The 1918 Battle of Amiens (1918), Battle of Amiens was the opening phase of the Hundred Days Offensive which directly led to the Armistice with Germany. The Royal Air Force heavily bombed the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Operation Jericho
Operation Jericho (Ramrod 564) took place on 18 February 1944 during the Second World War. Allied aircraft bombed Amiens Prison in German-occupied France at very low altitude to blow holes in the prison walls, kill German guards and use shock waves to spring open cell doors. The French Resistance was waiting on the outside to rescue prisoners and spirit them away. Mosquito fighter-bombers breached the walls, prison buildings and destroyed the guards' barracks. Of the 832 prisoners, 102 were killed by the bombing, 74 were wounded and 258 escaped, including 79 Resistance members and political prisoners; two-thirds of the escapees were recaptured. Two Mosquitos and a Typhoon fighter escort were shot down and another Typhoon was lost at sea. The raid is notable for the precision and daring of the attack, which was filmed by a camera on one of the Mosquitos. There is debate as to who requested the attack and whether it was necessary. Background French resistance During 1943 A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Operation Carthage
Operation Carthage, on 1945 in Denmark, 21 March 1945, was a British air raid on Copenhagen, Denmark in World War II, Denmark during the Second World War which caused significant collateral damage. The target of the raid was the ''Shellhus'', used as Gestapo headquarters in the city centre. It was used for the storage of dossiers and the torture of Danish citizens during interrogations. The Danish Resistance had long asked the British to conduct a raid against the site. The building was destroyed, 18 prisoners were freed and Nazi anti-resistance activities were disrupted. Part of the raid was mistakenly directed against a nearby school; the raid caused 123 civilian deaths (including 87 schoolchildren and 18 adults at the school). The incident was dramatised in the 2021 Danish film ''The Shadow in My Eye''. A similar Aarhus Air Raid, raid against the Gestapo headquarters in Aarhus, on 31 October 1944, had succeeded. Background The raid was requested by members of the Danish ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aarhus Air Raid
The Aarhus Air Raid took place on 31 October 1944, when 25 Mosquitoes from 140 Wing Royal Air Force (RAF) of the 2nd Tactical Air Force, bombed the Gestapo headquarters at the University of Aarhus, Denmark. After the Second World War, the RAF called the mission the most successful of its kind during the war. Background During the Second World War, Aarhus was occupied by German forces, which established their headquarters in the Jutland area in the eastern parts of the University of Aarhus, placing their main offices and archives in the buildings usually reserved for student dormitories. In Aarhus, the Gestapo was headed by Eugen Schwitzgebel; the ''Sicherheitsdienst'', led by ''Obersturmbannführer'' Lonechun and the ''Abwehr'', commanded by ''Oberstleutnant'' Lutze, were also based there. The 577th Volksgrenadier Division was based in Aarhus during the raid. On 25 August 1944 the unit was established; by September its draftees were transferred to the 47th Infantry Division an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oslo Mosquito Raid (1944)
The Oslo Mosquito Raid (1944) was a Second World War air raid carried out by the British Royal Air Force that targeted the Nazi Gestapo headquarters in Oslo, Norway. The raid was carried out using 12 twin-engined De Havilland Mosquito bomber aircraft on 31 December 1944. The RAF attacked the Gestapo headquarters, which were housed in buildings on Victoria Terrasse, with 500lb and 1000lb bombs. The RAF hit their target but 44 Norwegian civilians also died when a bomb hit a nearby tram. Raid Preparation In preparation for the raid, RAF Squadron No. 627 flew, on 30 December 1944, the day before the raid, from their own base at RAF Woodhall Spa to RAF Peterhead in order to reduce flight time to Oslo. Attack On 31 December 1944, 12 mosquito bombers departed RAF Peterhead at 9:30. The planes attacked in two waves. The first wave of six aircraft was led by Wing Commander G.W. Curry, and the second wave by Flight Lieutenant P.F. Mallender. Around noon, the bombers arrived at ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Times
''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (founded in 1821), are published by Times Media, since 1981 a subsidiary of News UK, in turn wholly owned by News Corp. ''The Times'' and ''The Sunday Times'' were founded independently and have had common ownership only since 1966. It is considered a newspaper of record in the UK. ''The Times'' was the first newspaper to bear that name, inspiring numerous other papers around the world. In countries where these other titles are popular, the newspaper is often referred to as or , although the newspaper is of national scope and distribution. ''The Times'' had an average daily circulation of 365,880 in March 2020; in the same period, ''The Sunday Times'' had an average weekly circulation of 647,622. The two ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vestre Gravlund
Vestre Gravlund is a cemetery in the Frogner borough of Oslo, Norway. It is located next to the Borgen (station), Borgen metro station. At , it is the largest cemetery in Norway. It was inaugurated in September 1902 and also contains a crematorium (''Vestre krematorium'') and chapel (''Gravkapellet''). The grave chapel was constructed in granite and clay stone and was designed by architect Alfred Christian Dahl (1857–1940). It was built in 1900 and consecrated in 1902. In the foundation wall, it has stained glass that was designed by artist Oddmund Kristiansen (1920–1997) in 1970. Notable interments * Sven Arntzen (1897–1976), barrister * Per Aabel (1902–1999), actor * Eyvind Alnæs (1872–1932), composer * Finn Alnaes (1932–1991), novelist * Lasse Aasland (1926–2001), politician * Gunnar Andersen (1890–1968), footballer and ski jumper * Karsten Andersen (1920–1997), composer * Johan Anker (1871–1940), sailor * Kristian Birkeland (1867–1917), physicist ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RAF Sumburgh
Royal Air Force Sumburgh or more simply RAF Sumburgh is a former Royal Air Force satellite station that was located on the southern tip of the mainland island of the Shetland Islands, and was home to half of No. 404 Squadron RCAF (Royal Canadian Air Force). At the outbreak of the Second World War the airstrip at the Sumburgh Links was taken over by the Air Ministry. By 1941 there were three operational runways at RAF Sumburgh from which a variety of RAF aircraft operated. History Sumburgh Links was surveyed and the grass strips laid out by Captain E. E. Fresson in 1936, and the airport was opened on 3 June of that year with the inaugural flight from Aberdeen (Kintore) by de Havilland Dragon Rapide G-ACPN piloted by Captain Fresson himself. It was also one of the first airfields to have RDF facilities, due to the frequency of low cloud and fog and the proximity of Sumburgh Head. The building of runways was at the instigation of Capt Fresson, who had proved to the Royal N ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Douglas A-20 Havoc
The Douglas A-20 Havoc (company designation DB-7) is an American light bomber, attack aircraft, Intruder (air combat), night intruder, night fighter, and reconnaissance aircraft of World War II. Designed to meet an Army Air Corps requirement for a bomber, it was ordered by France for their air force before the USAAC decided it would also meet their requirements. French DB-7s were the first to see combat; after the fall of France, the bomber served with the Royal Air Force under the British military aircraft designation systems#Names, service name Boston. From 1941, night fighter and Intruder (air combat), intruder versions were given the service name Havoc. In 1942 USAAF A-20s saw combat in North Africa. It served with several Allies of World War II, Allied air forces, principally the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), the Soviet Air Forces (''VVS''), Soviet Naval Aviation (''AVMF''), and the Royal Air Force (RAF) of the United Kingdom. A total of 7,478 aircraft were built, o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Skagerak
The Skagerrak (; , , ) is a strait running between the North Jutlandic Island of Denmark, the east coast of Norway and the west coast of Sweden, connecting the North Sea and the Kattegat sea. The Skagerrak contains some of the busiest shipping routes in the world, with vessels from every corner of the globe. It also supports an intensive fishing industry. The ecosystem is strained and negatively affected by direct human activities. Oslo and Gothenburg are the only large cities in the Skagerrak region. The strait is likely named after Skagen, a town near the northern cape of Denmark, with 'Rak' meaning 'straight waterway'. The Skagerrak is 240 km long and 80–140 km wide, deepening towards the Norwegian coast. It has an average salinity comparable to other coastal waters, housing a variety of habitats. Historically, the Skagerrak was the only access to the Baltic Sea until the construction of the Eider Canal in 1784. During both World Wars, the strait held strategic importance ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
