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Battle Of Cape Spartivento
The Battle of Cape Spartivento, known as the Battle of Cape Teulada in Italy, was a naval battle during the Battle of the Mediterranean in the Second World War, fought between naval forces of the Royal Navy and the Italian '' Regia Marina'' on 27 November 1940. Origins On the night of 11 November 1940, the British incapacitated or destroyed half of the battleships of the Italian fleet in a daring aerial assault as they lay at rest at Taranto. Until then, the Italians had mostly left their capital ships in harbour, hoping its mere presence as a fleet in being would deter British shipping through the area, though they would not decline battle if given the opportunity.Greene & Massignani, p. 116 Six days later, on the night of 17 November, an Italian force consisting of two battleships ( and ) and a number of supporting units attempted to intercept two British aircraft carriers, and and their cruiser escorts, who were ''en route'' to Malta to ferry aeroplanes to reinforce it ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of The Mediterranean
The Battle of the Mediterranean was the name given to the naval campaign fought in the Mediterranean Sea during World War II, from 10 June 1940 to 2 May 1945. For the most part, the campaign was fought between the Kingdom of Italy, Italian Regia Marina, Royal Navy (''Regia Marina''), supported by other Axis Powers, Axis naval and air forces, those of Nazi Germany and Vichy France, and the United Kingdom, British Royal Navy, supported by other Allies of World War II, Allied naval forces, such as those of Australia, the Netherlands, Poland, and Kingdom of Greece, Greece. American naval and air units joined the Allied side on 8 November 1942. The Vichy French Scuttling of the French fleet at Toulon, scuttled the bulk of their fleet on 27 November 1942, to prevent the Germans seizing it. As part of the Armistice of Cassibile in September 1943, most of the Italian Navy became the Italian Co-belligerent Navy, and fought alongside the Allies. Each side had three overall objectives in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fleet In Being
In naval warfare, a "fleet-in-being" is a term used to describe a naval force that extends a controlling influence without ever leaving port. Were the fleet to leave port and face the enemy, it might lose in battle and no longer influence the enemy's actions, but while it remains safely in port, the enemy is forced to continually deploy forces to guard against it potentially becoming an active participant. A "fleet in being" can be part of a sea denial doctrine, but not one of sea control. Use of the term The term was first used in 1690 when Lord Torrington, commander of the Royal Navy forces in the English Channel, found himself facing a stronger French fleet. He proposed avoiding a sea battle, except under very favourable conditions, until he could be reinforced. By keeping his "fleet in being", he could maintain an active threat, which would force the enemy to remain in the area and prevent them from taking the initiative elsewhere. Secondary use Rudyard Kipling publishe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chetaïbi
Chetaïbi (; ) (formerly Herbillon) is a small fishing port in Annaba Province, Algeria located on a peninsula west of Annaba. Geography The commune of Chetaïbi is located about 62 km northwest of the wilayah of Annaba. Chetaïbi has a fishing port. The main beaches of Chetaïbi are Chétaibi, Les sables d'or, Oued Leghnem, Fountaine Romaine, La Baie Ouest and Sidi Akkacha. The population of the town was 8035 in the 2008 census. The postal code of Chetaïbi is 23014. Gallery Chetaibi village.jpg, Village of Chetaïbi Chetaibi vue Aerienne.jpg, Aerial view of Chetaïbi Chetaibi.jpg, Chetaïbi Village chetaibi.jpg , Chetaïbi History During the Roman Empire there was a Roman town called Tacuata and based on the remaining ruins, it was a relatively important city. In Roman times it was the starting point of a road to the west, marked by Muharur (Sidi Akkacha), Zacca (Cape de Fer), where red porphyry was mined and exported to Rome through the port on the Seybouse, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Floatplane
A floatplane is a type of seaplane with one or more slender floats mounted under the fuselage to provide buoyancy. By contrast, a flying boat uses its fuselage for buoyancy. Either type of seaplane may also have landing gear suitable for land, making the vehicle an amphibious aircraft. British usage is to call floatplanes "seaplanes" rather than use the term "seaplane" to refer to both floatplanes and flying boats. Use Since World War II and the advent of helicopters, advanced aircraft carriers and land-based aircraft, military seaplanes have stopped being used. This, coupled with the increased availability of civilian airstrips, has greatly reduced the number of flying boats being built. However, many modern civilian aircraft have floatplane variants, most offered as third-party modifications under a supplemental type certificate (STC), although there are several aircraft manufacturers that build floatplanes from scratch. These floatplanes have found their niche as one type ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
IMAM Ro
Imam (; , '; : , ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a prayer leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic prayers, serve as community leaders, and provide religious guidance. Thus for Sunnis, anyone can study the basic Islamic teachings and become an imam. For most Shia Muslims, the Imams are absolute infallible leaders of the Islamic community after the Prophet. Shias consider the term to be only applicable to the members and descendants of the ''Ahl al-Bayt'', the family of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. In Twelver Shi'ism there are 14 infallibles, 12 of which are Imams, the final being Imam Mahdi who will return at the end of times. The title was also used by the Zaidi Shia Imams of Yemen, who eventually founded the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen (1918–1970). Sunni imams Sunni Islam does not conceive of the role of imams in the same sense as Shia Islam: an important distinction often overl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alexandria
Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile Delta, Nile River delta. Founded in 331 BC by Alexander the Great, Alexandria grew rapidly and became a major centre of Hellenic civilisation, eventually replacing Memphis, Egypt, Memphis, in present-day Greater Cairo, as Egypt's capital. Called the "Bride of the Mediterranean" and "Pearl of the Mediterranean Coast" internationally, Alexandria is a popular tourist destination and an important industrial centre due to its natural gas and petroleum, oil pipeline transport, pipelines from Suez. The city extends about along the northern coast of Egypt and is the largest city on the Mediterranean, the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second-largest in Egypt (after Cairo), the List of largest cities in the Arab world, fourth- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Force H
Force H was a British naval formation during the Second World War. It was formed in late-June 1940, to replace French naval power in the western Mediterranean removed by the French armistice with Nazi Germany. The force occupied an odd place within the naval chain of command. Normal British practice was to have naval stations and fleets around the world, whose commanders reported to the First Sea Lord via a flag officer. Force H was based at Gibraltar but there was already a flag officer at the base, Flag Officer Commanding, North Atlantic. The commanding officer of Force H did not report to this Flag Officer but directly to the First Sea Lord, Admiral of the Fleet Sir Dudley Pound. Hunt for the ''Admiral Graf Spee'' In anticipation of the outbreak of World War 2 on 3 September 1939 the German Kriegsmarine had already deployed the two heavy cruisers and as commerce raiders in the North and South Atlantic. When these ships started operating against British and French sh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hawker Hurricane
The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness by the Supermarine Spitfire during the Battle of Britain in 1940, but the Hurricane inflicted 60% of the losses sustained by the ''Luftwaffe'' in the campaign, and fought in all the major theatres of the Second World War. The Hurricane originated from discussions between RAF officials and aircraft designer Sir Sydney Camm about a proposed monoplane derivative of the Hawker Fury biplane in the early 1930s. Despite an institutional preference for biplanes and lack of interest by the Air Ministry, Hawker refined its monoplane proposal, incorporating several innovations which became critical to wartime fighter aircraft, including retractable landing gear and the more powerful Rolls-Royce Merlin engine. The Air Ministry ordered Hawker's ''Interce ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blackburn Skua
The Blackburn B-24 Skua was a carrier-based low-wing, two-seater, single-radial engine aircraft by the British aviation company Blackburn Aircraft. It was the first Royal Navy carrier-borne all-metal cantilever monoplane aircraft, as well as the first dive bomber in Fleet Air Arm (FAA) service.Jackson 1968, p. 399. The aircraft took its name from the sea bird which 'divebombs' any potential predators that come too close to its nest. The Skua was designed during the mid-1930s to Specification O.27/34, and was a radical design for the era, combining the functions of a dive bomber and fighter. Its enclosed cockpit and monoplane configuration were obvious shifts from preceding FAA aircraft such as the Hawker Nimrod and Hawker Osprey biplanes. On 9 February 1937, the first prototype performed its maiden flight; it was ordered straight off the drawing board to accelerate its development. In November 1938, the Skua was introduced to FAA service; 33 aircraft were operational by the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gibraltar
Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the Atlantic Ocean (Strait of Gibraltar). It has an area of and is Gibraltar–Spain border, bordered to the north by Spain (Campo de Gibraltar). The landscape is dominated by the Rock of Gibraltar, at the foot of which is a densely populated town area. Gibraltar is home to some 34,003 people, primarily Gibraltarians. Gibraltar was founded as a permanent watchtower by the Almohad Caliphate, Almohads in 1160. It switched control between the Nasrids, Crown of Castile, Castilians and Marinids in the Late Middle Ages, acquiring larger strategic clout upon the destruction of nearby Algeciras . It became again part of the Crown of Castile in 1462. In 1704, Anglo-Dutch forces Capture of Gibraltar, captured Gibraltar from Spain during the War of the S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Operation White
Operation White (15–18 November 1940) was a British attempt to deliver fourteen aircraft, twelve Hawker Hurricane Fighter aircraft, fighters and two Blackburn Skua, Skua fighter–dive bombers, to Malta from the aircraft carrier . White was one of what became known as Club Runs, that supplied fighters for the defence of Malta. The operation was thwarted by the presence of the Italian fleet, which prompted the premature dispatch of the fighters; combined with bad weather and some poor navigation, this led to only five aircraft reaching Malta, all but one the other pilots and aircraft being lost at sea. An enquiry blamed the Hurricane pilots for lack of familiarity with the constant-speed propeller on the Hurricane Mk II but few people were convinced and Vice-Admiral Sir James Somerville, the commander of Force H at Gibraltar, confided in his diary that the operation was "a frightful failure" and blamed himself for the tragedy. Background Malta After the entry of Italy in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
