USS Donner (LSD-20)
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USS Donner (LSD-20)
USS ''Donner'' (LSD-20) was a ''Casa Grande''-class dock landing ship of the United States Navy, named for the Sierra Nevada Donner Pass, where the Donner Party became snowbound in the winter of 1846–47. ''Donner'' was launched on 6 April 1945 by the Boston Navy Yard, sponsored by Mrs. W. V. Alexander, Jr.; and commissioned on 31 July 1945. 1945 – 1960 ''Donner'' transported landing craft from Norfolk to New York, then operated boat pools along the east coast until 3 November 1946 when she sailed for the Mediterranean and similar duty. She returned to Norfolk on 24 December for duty along the coast and on voyages to NS Argentia, and Labrador. From 31 January to 10 March 1948 she sailed in the Caribbean for a large scale landing exercise by the 2nd Fleet. The ''Donner'' was placed out of commission in reserve 12 August 1949. Recommissioned 15 September 1950 after the outbreak of the Korean War, ''Donner'' cruised to the Mediterranean for duty with the 6th Fleet be ...
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Casa Grande Class Dock Landing Ship
The ''Casa Grande'' class was a ship class, class of dock landing ships used by the Royal Navy and the United States Navy during the Second World War. Nineteen ships were planned, but two, and were cancelled before being completed. Design The 'Landing Ship Dock' or LSD developed from a British staff requirement for a type of self-propelled drydock to transport beaching craft over long distances, that would in turn deliver trucks and supplies onto the beach. A flooding deck aft capable of holding either two of the larger British Landing craft tanks (LCTs) or three of the new US LCTs was included in the designs. With the option of fitting extra decks, large numbers of vehicles could be transported, and loaded into landing craft via ramps. Despite an initial specification for a speed of , the LSDs were capable of only . Service The British initially ordered seven of the class from US dockyards, numbered LSD-9 to 15. Only four were delivered, numbers 9 to 12, while 13 to 15 wer ...
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USS Donner (LSD-20) Underway In The Mid-1950s
USS ''Donner'' (LSD-20) was a ''Casa Grande''-class dock landing ship of the United States Navy, named for the Sierra Nevada Donner Pass, where the Donner Party became snowbound in the winter of 1846–47. ''Donner'' was launched on 6 April 1945 by the Boston Navy Yard, sponsored by Mrs. W. V. Alexander, Jr.; and commissioned on 31 July 1945. 1945 – 1960 ''Donner'' transported landing craft from Norfolk to New York, then operated boat pools along the east coast until 3 November 1946 when she sailed for the Mediterranean and similar duty. She returned to Norfolk on 24 December for duty along the coast and on voyages to NS Argentia, and Labrador. From 31 January to 10 March 1948 she sailed in the Caribbean for a large scale landing exercise by the 2nd Fleet. The ''Donner'' was placed out of commission in reserve 12 August 1949. Recommissioned 15 September 1950 after the outbreak of the Korean War, ''Donner'' cruised to the Mediterranean for duty with the 6th Fleet be ...
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Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which Lift (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning Helicopter rotor, rotors. This allows the helicopter to VTOL, take off and land vertically, to hover (helicopter), hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes allow helicopters to be used in congested or isolated areas where fixed-wing aircraft and many forms of short take-off and landing (STOL) or short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) aircraft cannot perform without a runway. The Focke-Wulf Fw 61 was the first successful, practical, and fully controllable helicopter in 1936, while in 1942, the Sikorsky R-4 became the first helicopter to reach full-scale mass production, production. Starting in 1939 and through 1943, Igor Sikorsky worked on the development of the Vought-Sikorsky VS-300, VS-300, which over four iterations, became the basis for modern helicopters with a single main rotor and a single tail rotor. Although most earlier ...
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Labrador
Labrador () is a geographic and cultural region within the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is the primarily continental portion of the province and constitutes 71% of the province's area but is home to only 6% of its population. It is separated from the island of Newfoundland by the Strait of Belle Isle. It is the largest and northernmost geographical region in the four Atlantic provinces. Labrador occupies most of the eastern part of the Labrador Peninsula. It is bordered to the west and south by the province of Quebec. Labrador also shares a small land border with the territory of Nunavut on Killiniq Island. The indigenous peoples of Labrador include the Northern Inuit of Nunatsiavut, the Southern Métis of NunatuKavut, and the Innu of Nitassinan. Etymology Labrador is named after João Fernandes Lavrador, a Portuguese explorer who sailed along the coasts of the Labrador Peninsula in 1498–99. Kevin Major, '' As Near to Heaven by Sea: A Histo ...
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Naval Station Argentia
Naval Station Argentia is a former base of the United States Navy that operated from 1941 to 1994. It was established in the community of Argentia in the Dominion of Newfoundland, which later became the tenth Canadian province, Newfoundland and Labrador. Construction Established under the British-US destroyers for bases agreement of 1940, the base was first occupied on 25 January 1941 following the expropriation of the flat headland formed by a small natural bay called Little Placentia Sound and the western end facing Placentia Bay by the Newfoundland government; over 400 families were displaced. Civilian construction crews from civilian contractors George A. Fuller Company and Merritt-Chapman and Scott Corporation, rushed to build the base as well as an adjoining air field. On 15 July 1941, the Naval Operating Base was commissioned. On 12 October 1942 the 17th Naval Construction Battalion began to arrive at the base and worked jointly with the civilians until 5 May 1943. A ...
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Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the west almost by the Morocco–Spain border. The Mediterranean Sea covers an area of about , representing 0.7% of the global ocean surface, but its connection to the Atlantic via the Strait of Gibraltar—the narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates the Iberian Peninsula in Europe from Morocco in Africa—is only wide. Geological evidence indicates that around 5.9 million years ago, the Mediterranean was cut off from the Atlantic and was partly or completely desiccated over a period of some 600,000 years during the Messinian salinity crisis before being refilled by the Zanclean flood about 5.3 million years ago. The sea was an important rout ...
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New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive with a respective county. The city is the geographical and demographic center of both the Northeast megalopolis and the New York metropolitan area, the largest metropolitan area in the United States by both population and urban area. New York is a global center of finance and commerce, culture, technology, entertainment and media, academics, and scientific output, the arts and fashion, and, as home to the headquarters of the United Nations, international diplomacy. With an estimated population in 2024 of 8,478,072 distributed over , the city is the most densely populated major city in the United States. New York City has more than double the population of Los Angeles, the nation's second-most populous city.
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Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city in Virginia and List of United States cities by population, 100th-most populous city in the United States. The city holds a strategic position as the historical, urban, financial, and cultural center of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area (sometimes called "Tidewater (region), Tidewater"), which has more than 1.8 million inhabitants and is the Metropolitan statistical area, 37th-largest metropolitan area in the U.S. Norfolk was established in 1682 as a colonial seaport. Strategically located at the confluence of the Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth River and Chesapeake Bay, it quickly developed into a major center for trade and shipbuilding. During the American Revolution and War of 1812, its port and naval facilities made it a critic ...
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Ship Commissioning
Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to placing a warship in active duty with its country's military forces. The ceremonies involved are often rooted in centuries-old naval tradition. Ship naming and launching endow a ship hull with her identity, but many milestones remain before it is completed and considered ready to be designated a commissioned ship. The engineering plant, weapon and Electronics, electronic systems, Galley (kitchen), galley, and other equipment required to transform the new hull into an operating and habitable warship are installed and tested. The prospective commanding officer, ship's officers, the petty officers, and seamen who will form the crew report for training and familiarization with their new ship. Before commissioning, the new ship undergoes sea trials to identify a ...
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Boston Navy Yard
The Boston Navy Yard, originally called the Charlestown Navy Yard and later Boston Naval Shipyard, was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy. It was established in 1801 as part of the recent establishment of the new United States Department of the Navy, U.S. Department of the Navy in 1798. After 175 years of military service, it was decommissioned as a naval installation on 1 July 1974. The property is administered by the National Park Service, becoming part of Boston National Historical Park. Enough of the yard remains in operation to support the moored USS Constitution, USS ''Constitution'' ("Old Ironsides") of 1797, built as one of the Original six frigates of the United States Navy, original six heavy frigates for the revived American navy, and the oldest warship still commissioned in the United States Navy and afloat in the world. , a 1943 World War II-era Fletcher-class destroyer, ''Fletcher''-class destroyer serving as a museum ship, ...
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Ship Naming And Launching
Ceremonial ship launching involves the performing of ceremonies associated with the process of transferring a vessel to the water. It is a nautical tradition in many cultures, dating back millennia, to accompany the physical process with ceremonies which have been observed as public celebration and a solemn blessing, usually but not always, in association with the launch itself. Ship launching imposes stresses on the ship not met during normal operation and in addition to the size and weight of the vessel represents a considerable engineering challenge as well as a public spectacle. The process also involves many traditions intended to invite good luck, such as christening by breaking a sacrificial bottle of champagne over the bow as the ship is named aloud and launched. Methods There are three principal methods of conveying a new ship from building site to water, only two of which are called "launching". The oldest, most familiar, and most widely used is the end-on la ...
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Donner Party
The Donner Party, sometimes called the Donner–Reed Party, was a group of American pioneers who migrated to California interim government, 1846-1850, California in a wagon train from the Midwest. Delayed by a multitude of mishaps, they spent the winter of 1846–1847 snowbound in the Sierra Nevada. Some of the migrants resorted to Human cannibalism, cannibalism to survive, mainly eating the bodies of those who had succumbed to starvation, sickness, or extreme cold, but in one case murdering and eating two Indigenous peoples of California, Native American guides. The Donner Party originated from Springfield, Illinois, and departed Independence, Missouri, on the Oregon Trail in the spring of 1846. The journey west usually took between four and six months, but the Donner Party was slowed after electing to follow a new route called the Hastings Cutoff, which bypassed established trails and instead crossed the Rocky Mountains' Wasatch Range and the Great Salt Lake Desert in present ...
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