Van Straelen-class Minesweeper
The ''Van Straelen'' class was a ship class of sixteen minesweepers that were built in the Netherlands for the Royal Netherlands Navy (RNN).van Amstel, pp. 76-78. They were taken into service of the RNN between 1960 and 1962 and served until 1 March 1983.Raven, p. 185. Design and construction The ships were designed in the Netherlands and build between 1958 and 1962 at several different Dutch shipyards. The costs of the class was split between the United States and the Netherlands. The United states paid under the Mutual Defense Assistance Program (MDAP) for the construction of eight ships and the Netherlands paid for the other eight ships.Woudstra, p. 154. To sweep mines the ships were equipped with the ''W Mk 7'', ''ME 31'' to ''ME 33'' and the ''AX Mk 6B'' or ''4V''. Furthermore, they could be equipped with the ''M Mk 6h'' which would give the ships a magnetic sweeping ability. Service history The minesweepers were used to sweep mines in shallow and narrow inland waters.Woud ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the City Region of Amsterdam, urban area and 2,480,394 in the Amsterdam metropolitan area, metropolitan area. Located in the Provinces of the Netherlands, Dutch province of North Holland, Amsterdam is colloquially referred to as the "Venice of the North", for its large number of canals, now designated a World Heritage Site, UNESCO World Heritage Site. Amsterdam was founded at the mouth of the Amstel River that was dammed to control flooding; the city's name derives from the Amstel dam. Originally a small fishing village in the late 12th century, Amsterdam became a major world port during the Dutch Golden Age of the 17th century, when the Netherlands was an economic powerhouse. Amsterdam is th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Minesweeper
A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of the naval mine dates to the Ming dynasty.Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, 203–205. Dedicated minesweepers, however, only appeared many centuries later during the Crimean War, where they were deployed by the British. The Crimean War minesweepers were rowboats trailing grapnels to snag mines. Minesweeping technology picked up in the Russo-Japanese War, using aging torpedo boats as minesweepers. In Britain, naval leaders recognized before the outbreak of World War I that the development of sea mines was a threat to the nation's shipping and began efforts to counter the threat. Sir Arthur Wilson noted the real threat of the time was blockade aided by mines and not invasion. The function of the fishing fleet's trawlers with their trawl gear was ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Bronze Cross (Netherlands)
The Bronze Cross of the Kingdom of the Netherlands ( Dutch: "Het Bronzen Kruis") was instituted on 11 June 1940 by Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands while she was residing in London during the German occupation of the Netherlands. The Bronze Cross has precedence after the Resistance Star East Asia, but is the third highest military decoration still being awarded for bravery. Several British, American, Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ... and Polish soldiers are among the 3,501 recipients of the Bronze Cross that is awarded by Royal Decree. External links Bronze Cross- Official site of the Chancellery of the Netherlands Orders (English) {{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120222174054/http://www.veteranen-online.nl/brons/verbrons.htm , date= ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Military Order Of William
The Military William Order, or often named Military Order of William ( Dutch: , abbreviation: MWO), is the oldest and highest honour of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is named after St. William of Gellone (755–814), the first Prince of Orange. Its motto is (For Bravery, Leadership and Loyalty). The chivalric order was established on 30 April 1815 by King William I and was presented for feats of excellent bravery on the battlefield and as a meritorious decoration to senior military officers. Comparable with the French Légion d’Honneur but far less often awarded, it is open to everyone regardless of rank or nobility—not only to Dutch military, but also to foreigners. To date, membership in the Order is extremely rarely awarded, and only for exceptional bravery in battle. In the spring of 1940 it was decided that civilians would receive the Order for heroic acts in the resistance. After the liberation of the Netherlands and the Dutch East Indies, several men and one w ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Indonesian National Revolution
The Indonesian National Revolution, or the Indonesian War of Independence, was an armed conflict and diplomatic struggle between the Republic of Indonesia and the Dutch Empire and an internal social revolution during postwar and postcolonial Indonesia. It took place between Indonesia's declaration of independence in 1945 and the Netherlands' transfer of sovereignty over the Dutch East Indies to the Republic of the United States of Indonesia at the end of 1949. The four-year struggle involved sporadic but bloody armed conflict, internal Indonesian political and communal upheavals, and two major international diplomatic interventions. Dutch military forces (and, for a while, the forces of the World War II allies) were able to control the major towns, cities and industrial assets in Republican heartlands on Java and Sumatra but could not control the countryside. By 1949, international pressure on the Netherlands, the United States threatening to cut off all economic ai ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II was a total war that directly involved more than 100 million Military personnel, personnel from more than 30 countries. The major participants in the war threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. Air warfare of World War II, Aircraft played a major role in the conflict, enabling the strategic bombing of population centres and deploying the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, only two nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II was by far the List of wars by death toll, deadliest conflict in hu ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Mutual Defense Assistance Act
The Mutual Defense Assistance Act was a United States Act of Congress signed by President Harry S. Truman on 6 October 1949. For US Foreign policy, it was the first U.S. military foreign aid legislation of the Cold War era, and initially to Europe. The Act followed Truman's signing of the Economic Cooperation Act (the Marshall Plan), on April 3, 1948, which provided non-military, economic reconstruction and development aid to Europe. The 1949 Act was amended and reauthorized on July 26, 1950. In 1951, the Economic Cooperation Act and Mutual Defense Assistance Act were succeeded by the Mutual Security Act, and its newly created independent agency, the Mutual Security Administration, to supervise all foreign aid programs, including both military assistance programs and non-military, economic assistance programs that bolstered the defense capability of U.S. allies. About the same time, the Mutual Defense Assistance Control Act of 1951, also known or referred to as the Battl ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Royal Netherlands Navy
The Royal Netherlands Navy ( nl, Koninklijke Marine, links=no) is the naval force of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. During the 17th century, the navy of the Dutch Republic (1581–1795) was one of the most powerful naval forces in the world and played an active role in the Anglo-Dutch Wars, the Franco-Dutch War, and wars against Spain and several other European powers. The Batavian Navy of the later Batavian Republic (1795–1806) and Kingdom of Holland (1806–1810) played an active role in the Napoleonic Wars, though mostly dominated by French interests. After the establishment of the modern Kingdom of the Netherlands, it served an important role in protecting Dutch Empire, Dutch colonial rule, especially in Southeast Asia, and would play a minor role in World War II, especially against the Imperial Japanese Navy. Since World War II, the Royal Netherlands Navy has taken part in expeditionary peacekeeping operations. Bases The main naval base is in Den Helder, North Holland. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Ship Class
A ship class is a group of ships of a similar design. This is distinct from a ship type, which might reflect a similarity of tonnage or intended use. For example, is a nuclear aircraft carrier (ship type) of the (ship class). In the course of building a class of ships, design changes might be implemented. In such a case, the ships of different design might not be considered of the same class; each variation would either be its own class, or a subclass of the original class (see for an example). If ships are built of a class whose production had been discontinued, a similar distinction might be made. Ships in a class often have names linked by a common factor: e.g. s' names all begin with T (, , ); and s are named after American battles (, , , ). Ships of the same class may be referred to as sister ships. Naval ship class naming conventions Overview The name of a naval ship class is most commonly the name of the lead ship, the first ship commissioned or built of its design ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Alblasserdam
Alblasserdam () is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. It covers an area of , of which is water, and has a population of as of . Alblasserdam is officially a part of the Drechtsteden region. A portion of the small village of Kinderdijk, which boasts the largest and most famous concentration of windmills in the Netherlands, is part of Alblasserdam. Etymology The name ''Alblasserdam'' is derived from its location near the creek Alblas where a dam was built. Inhabitants of Alblasserdam are called ''Alblasserdammers'' (singular: ''Alblasserdammer''). History 13th-19th century The town of Alblasserdam was first mentioned in the chronicles of Melis Stoke in 1299, but the municipality wasn't formed until 1447. Before that, it was part of Oud-Alblas. Because of its location on the Noord river, one of the busiest waterways in Western Europe, water has played a major role in Alblasserdam's history. The river was important for its devel ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Machine Gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) are typically designed more for firing short bursts rather than continuous firepower, and are not considered true machine guns. As a class of military kinetic projectile weapon, machine guns are designed to be mainly used as infantry support weapons and generally used when attached to a bipod or tripod, a fixed mount or a heavy weapons platform for stability against recoils. Many machine guns also use belt feeding and open bolt operation, features not normally found on other infantry firearms. Machine guns can be further categorized as light machine guns, medium machine guns, heavy machine guns, general purpose machine guns and squad automatic weapons. Similar automatic firearms of caliber or more are classified as aut ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Diesel Engine
The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-called compression-ignition engine (CI engine). This contrasts with engines using spark plug-ignition of the air-fuel mixture, such as a petrol engine ( gasoline engine) or a gas engine (using a gaseous fuel like natural gas or liquefied petroleum gas). Diesel engines work by compressing only air, or air plus residual combustion gases from the exhaust (known as exhaust gas recirculation (EGR)). Air is inducted into the chamber during the intake stroke, and compressed during the compression stroke. This increases the air temperature inside the cylinder to such a high degree that atomised diesel fuel injected into the combustion chamber ignites. With the fuel being injected into the air just before combustion, the dispersion of the fuel is ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |