A crown group is a group of living species and their ancestors back to the most recent common ancestor. It is a term in cladistics and phylogenetics. It is a clade with at least some members that have survived to the present day. How a crown group is defined depends on which living species are chosen. One definition stresses the need for members of the crown group to have the clade's characteristic synapomorphy.

The idea was developed by Willi Hennig, the founder of phylogenetic systematics, but he did not use this term. The terms "crown group" and "stem group" were invented by R.P.S. Jefferies in 1979. Though invented in the 1970s, the term was not often used until it was reintroduced in the 2000s.

One very simplified cladogram for birds is shown below:

Aves
†Archaeopteryx and its extinct relatives
†Avisaurus and its extinct relatives
†Hesperornis and its extinct relatives
†Ichthyornis
Crown group, Neornithes includes all living birds
Neoaves (most modern birds and their extinct ancestors)
Paleognathae (ratites and some others)
Galloanserae (ducks, chickens and some others)

Archaeopteryx and some other extinct groups are not included in the crown group Neornithes. They fall outside the clade, as they diverged earlier. Neoaves can also be considered a crown group, as can Paleognathae, the ratites clade, and Galloanserae, the ducks and chickens clade. Bigger crown groups can also be defined, such as the phylum Chordata.

Stem group
The stem group of birds would be all the earlier Aves minus the crown group Neornithes.

References

Cladistics

Crown group


James Richard Cross  (29 September 1921 – 6 January 2021) was an Irish-born British diplomat who served in India, Malaysia and Canada.  While posted in Canada, Cross was kidnapped by members of the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) during the October Crisis of October 1970. He was ultimately released almost two months later, and subsequently returned to the United Kingdom.

Early life and career

Cross was born in Nenagh in County Tipperary, Ireland, on 29 September 1921.  His mother died during her labour with him. His older sibling had intellectual disabilities and was consequently institutionalised.  Cross was raised on the family farm, which was a hundred acres in size, before moving in with relatives. He was nicknamed "Jasper" by his family and friends. Cross studied economics and political science at Trinity College Dublin, where he graduated with a first class honours degree in 1944. It was there that he also met his wife, Barbara Dagg, who studied modern languages.

During World War II, Cross served with the British Army and fought for the liberation of France. He was commissioned into the Royal Engineers Movement Control Section in 1944. After the war, Cross joined the diplomatic service and was assigned first to New Delhi in 1953. His first stint in Canada commenced in 1957, when he served in Halifax and Winnipeg for five years. He was consequently assigned to Kuala Lumpur for four years (in then Malaya and after 1963 Malaysia), before going back to London in 1966 to direct the Board of Trade branch in charge of exhibitions and fairs overseas. He returned to Canada in February 1968 as the senior Trade Commissioner in Montreal.

Kidnapping

On 5 October 1970, Cross was abducted at gunpoint from his British diplomatic residence at 1297 Redpath Crescent, in the Golden Square Mile district of Montreal, and held as a hostage for two months as the FLQ made a series of demands to the Quebec government. During captivity, due to lack of food Cross lost 10 kg (22 lb). He was released on 3 December after 60 days in captivity. In exchange for his release, his abductors would get safe passage to Cuba. The talks were held at the Canada Pavilion, located on Notre Dame Island, the site of Expo 67. This site was declared Cuban territory for the period of the talks.

Six members of the FLQ's "Liberation Cell" were later convicted of Cross's kidnapping when they returned to Canada during the late 1970s. They received custodial sentences ranging from 12 to 24 months.

Cross said of his kidnapping:

On the 40th anniversary of the day that sparked the October Crisis in 2010, Cross agreed to speak to CBC Radio's The Current about the events surrounding his kidnapping. There is also a transcript of a taped memoir online, uploaded by Churchill College.

Later life

Cross returned to the United Kingdom after his release and continued working for the civil service.  However, he was no longer assigned overseas postings.  Although he received a number of offers to sell his story, he did not since he was prohibited by the government from doing so.  Cross went on to serve as Under-Secretary in various divisions of Britain's Department of Trade and Industry and Department of Energy.  He was made a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in January 1971.

Cross retired to Seaford, East Sussex.  He died at his home there on 6 January 2021.  He was 99, and suffered from complications of COVID-19 during the COVID-19 pandemic in England in the time leading up to his death. Both his wife and their only child (Susan) predeceased him in 2018 and 2015, respectively.

In fiction

Cross is depicted as a character in the novel The Revolution Script by Brian Moore, together with Pierre Laporte.  Their names are changed by Moore out of respect for their families.  He is also featured in My October by Claire Holden Rothman, and as a character in the 2006 Canadian television series October 1970, played by R.H. Thomson.

See also

List of kidnappings
List of people who disappeared

References

External links

Interview with James Richard Jasper Cross & transcript , British Diplomatic Oral History Programme, Churchill College, Cambridge, 1996

1921 births
2021 deaths
1970s missing person cases
20th-century British diplomats
British Army personnel of World War II
British expatriates in Canada
British expatriates in India
British expatriates in Malaysia
Canada–United Kingdom relations
Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George
Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in England
Formerly missing people
Kidnapped British people
Kidnapped diplomats
Missing person cases in Canada
October Crisis
Diplomats from Dublin (city)
People from Nenagh
Royal Engineers officers
Terrorism in Canada
Irish emigrants to the United Kingdom

James Cross


Oko-oko is a Filipino dish consisting of rice cooked inside a whole sea urchin shell. It originates from the Sama-Bajau people. It is a common delicacy in Tawi-Tawi, Sulu, Basilan, and the Zamboanga Peninsula. It has also been introduced by Sama migrants to Sabah, Malaysia, where it is known as ketupat tehe-tehe or nasi tehe-tehe.

Oko-oko is prepared with a specific type of sea urchins called tehe'-tehe''' (also transcribed as tehe-tehe''). The spines are first scraped off and the entrails removed through a small hole at the bottom. The edible gonads are retained. Uncooked rice mixed with spices and various ingredients are then poured into the hole. The hole is plugged with pandan or coconut leaves. It is then boiled whole until the rice is cooked. Oko-oko is eaten by cracking the shell and peeling it like a hard-boiled egg. The compacted rice inside with the salty sea urchin gonads are eaten directly while held, similar to leaf-wrapped rice cakes.

See also
Piutu
Pusô

References

Foods containing coconut
Filipino cuisine

Oko-oko


Bazooka () is the common name for a man-portable recoilless anti-tank rocket launcher weapon, widely deployed by the United States Army, especially during World War II. Also referred to as the "stovepipe", the innovative bazooka was among the first generation of rocket-propelled anti-tank weapons used in infantry combat. Featuring a solid-propellant rocket for propulsion, it allowed for high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) shaped charge warheads to be delivered against armored vehicles, machine gun nests, and fortified bunkers at ranges beyond that of a standard thrown grenade or mine. The universally applied nickname arose from the M1 variant's vague resemblance to the musical instrument called a bazooka invented and popularized by 1930s American comedian Bob Burns.

During World War II, the German armed forces captured several bazookas in early North African and Eastern Front encounters and soon reverse engineered their own version, increasing the warhead diameter to 8.8 cm (among other minor changes) and widely issuing it as the Raketenpanzerbüchse "Panzerschreck" ("rocket anti-armor rifle 'tank terror). Near the end of the war, the Japanese developed a similar weapon, the Type 4 70 mm AT rocket launcher, which featured a rocket propelled grenade of a different design.

The term "bazooka" still sees informal use as a generic term referring to any ground-to-ground shoulder-fired missile weapon (mainly rocket propelled grenade launchers or recoilless rifles), and as an expression that heavy measures are being taken.

Name
The name "bazooka" comes from an extension of the word "bazoo", which is slang for "mouth" or "boastful talk", and which ultimately probably stems from the Dutch bazuin (buisine, a medieval trumpet). The word "bazooka" appears in the 1909 novel The Swoop, or how Clarence Saved England by P. G. Wodehouse, describing the character Grand Duke Vodkakoff, and a musical instrument used in music halls:

During World War II, "bazooka" became the universally applied nickname of the new American anti-tank weapon, due to its vague resemblance to the musical instrument invented and popularized by 1930s American comedian Bob Burns.

Shortly after the first prototype launcher and rockets had been tested by firing into the Potomac River, U.S. Army colonel Leslie Skinner, and lieutenant colonel Edward Uhl took the new system to a competitive trial of various types of spigot mortar (at that time seen as the most promising way to deliver a shaped charge), which was held at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in May 1942. The new rocket launcher scored several hits on a moving tank while the five different mortars achieved none; this was a considerable achievement since the launcher's sights had been fabricated that morning from a wire coat hanger bent with a broken nail. The trial was being watched by various senior officers, among them the chief of research and engineering in the Ordnance Department, Major General Gladeon M. Barnes. Barnes was delighted by the performance of the system and fired it himself, but commented: "It sure looks like Bob Burns' bazooka".

History

Design and development
The development of the bazooka involved the development of two specific lines of technology: the rocket-powered weapon, and the shaped charge warhead. It was also designed for easy maneuverability and access.

World War I
This rocket-powered weapon was the brainchild of Robert H. Goddard as a side project (under Army contract during World War I) of his work on rocket propulsion. Goddard, during his tenure at Clark University, and while working at Worcester Polytechnic Institute's magnetic lab and Mount Wilson Observatory (for security reasons), designed a tube-fired rocket for military use. He and his co-worker Clarence N. Hickman successfully demonstrated his rocket to the US Army Signal Corps at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, on November 6, 1918, but as the Compiègne Armistice was signed only five days later, development was discontinued. The project was also interrupted by Goddard's serious bout with tuberculosis. He continued to be a part-time consultant to the US government at Indian Head, Maryland until 1923, but turned his focus to other projects involving rocket propulsion. Hickman completed the development of the bazooka after becoming head of the National Defense Research Committee in the 1940s, where he guided rocket development for the war effort.

Shaped charge development
Shaped charge technology was developed in the US into a shaped charge anti-tank grenade for use by infantry, effective at defeating up to 60 mm (2.4 in) of vehicle armor. The grenade was standardized as the M10. However, the M10 grenade weighed 3.5 lb (1.6 kg), proving difficult to throw by hand and too heavy to be launched as a rifle grenade. The only practical way to use the weapon was for an infantryman to place it directly on the tank, a dangerous and unlikely means of delivery in most combat situations. A smaller, less powerful, version of the M10, the M9, was then developed, which could be fired from a rifle. This resulted in the creation of a series of rifle grenade launchers, the M1 (Springfield M1903), the M2 (Enfield M1917), the M7 (M1 Garand), and the M8 (M1 carbine). However, a truly capable anti-tank weapon had yet to be found, and following the lead of other countries at the time, the U.S. Army prepared to evaluate competing designs for a more effective man-portable anti-tank weapon.

The combination of rocket motor and shaped charge warhead led to the Army's development of light antitank weapons.

Rocket-borne shaped charge weapons development
In 1942, U.S. Army colonel, Leslie Skinner, received the M10 shaped-charge grenade which was capable of stopping German tanks. He gave Lieutenant Edward Uhl the task of creating a delivery system for the grenade. Uhl created a small rocket, but needed to protect the operator from the rocket motor's exhaust. According to Uhl:

At the launcher's first firing test, Uhl wore a welding helmet, but discovered that there was not enough exhaust from the rocket to require protective equipment. The prototype launcher was demonstrated in May 1942 at a competetive trial of various types of spigot mortar at Aberdeen Proving Ground. On the morning of the trial Skinner and Uhl realised that the launcher had no sights, so they improvised some from a wire coathanger; despite this, it was the only weapon in the trial to be able to hit a moving tank. This led to the launcher being demonstrated to General George C. Marshall, the Chief of Staff of the United States Army, who ordered 5,000 units on the spot. By late 1942, the improved Rocket Launcher, M1A1 was introduced. The forward hand grip was deleted, and the design simplified. The production M1A1 was 55 inches (1.37 m) long and weighed 12.75 pounds (5.8 kg).

The ammunition for the original M1 launcher was the M6 ("Trials" code: T1), which was notoriously unreliable. The M6 was improved and designated M6A1, and the new ammunition was issued with the improved M1A1 launcher. After the M6, several alternative warheads were introduced. Many older M1 launchers were modified to M1A1 standards in July and August 1943. Batches of M6 rockets designated M6A2 were overhauled with the latest ignition systems and had been modified to be able to be fired from the upgraded M1 launchers. The M6A3 rocket featured a blunt, rounded nose to lessen the chances of it ricocheting off of angled armor, and was meant to be fired from the M9, and later M9A1, launchers. Late in World War II, the M6A4 and M6A5 rockets with improved fuses were developed. These rockets arrived too late to see service during the war, but were used post-war.

The 2.36 inch (60 mm) smoke rocket M10 and its improved subvariants (M10A1, M10A2, M10A4) used the rocket motor and fin assembly of the M6A1, but replaced the anti-tank warhead with a white phosphorus (WP) smoke head. WP smoke not only acts as a visibility screen, but its burning particles can cause severe injuries to skin. The M10 was therefore used to mark targets, to blind enemy gunners or vehicle drivers, or to drive troops out of bunkers and dugouts. The 2.36-inch incendiary rocket T31 was an M10 variant with an incendiary warhead designed to ignite fires in enemy-held structures and unarmored vehicles, or to destroy combustible supplies, ammunition, and materiel; it was not often utilized.

The original M1 and M1A1 rocket launchers were equipped with simple fixed sights and used launch tubes without reinforcements. During the war, the M1A1 received a number of running modifications. The battery specification was changed to a larger, standard battery cell size, resulting in complaints of batteries getting stuck in the wood shoulder rest (the compartment was later reamed out to accommodate the larger cells). The M1 and M1A1 used a rear iron sight and a front rectangular "ladder" sight positioned at the muzzle. The vertical sides of the ladder sight were inscribed with graduations of 100, 200, 300, and 400 yards, with the user elevating the bazooka so the rear sight lined up with the selected "rung" on the front sight. On the M9, the ladder sight was replaced by the General Electric T43 aperture sight. Ranging was accomplished by looking through the rear sight's peep hole while rotating the assembly (which had graduations of 100, 200, and 300 yards) so it lined up with the blade positioned at the muzzle. In September 1944, during the production of the M9A1, the T43 sight was replaced by the Polaroid T90 optical reflector sight, which used an etched reticle for aiming. The T43 and T90 sights were interchangeable. Various types of blast deflectors were tried, and an additional strap iron shoulder brace was fitted to the M9 launcher.

The bazooka required special care when used in tropical or arctic climates or in severe dust or sand conditions. Rockets were not to be fired at temperatures below 0 °F or above 120 °F (−18 °C to +49 °C).

Field experience-induced changes
In 1943, field reports of rockets sticking and prematurely detonating in M1A1 launch tubes were received by Army Ordnance at Ogden Arsenal and other production facilities. At the US Army's Aberdeen Proving Grounds, various metal collars and wire wrapping were used on the sheet metal launch tube in an effort to reinforce it. However, reports of premature detonation continued until the development of bore slug test gauges to ensure that the rocket did not catch inside the launch tube.

The original M6 and M6A1 rockets used in the M1 and M1A1 launchers had a pointed nose, which was found to cause deflection from the target at low impact angles. In late 1943, another 2.36-in rocket type was adopted, the M6A3, for use with the newly standardized M9 rocket launcher. The M6A3 was 19.4 inches (493 mm) long, and weighed 3.38 lb (1.53 kg). It had a blunted, more round nose to improve target effect at low angles, and a new circular fin assembly to improve flight stability. The M6A3 was capable of penetrating  of armor plate.

Battery problems in the early bazookas eventually resulted in replacement of the battery-powered ignition system with a magneto sparker system operated through the trigger. A trigger safety was incorporated into the design that isolated the magneto, preventing misfires that could occur when the trigger was released and the stored charge prematurely fired the rocket. The final major change was the division of the launch tube into two discrete sections, with bayonet-joint attachments. This was done to make the weapon more convenient to carry, particularly for use by airborne forces. The final two-piece launcher was standardized as the M9A1. In September 1944, the fragile folding aperture sight was replaced by a Polaroid optical reflector sight. However, the long list of incorporated modifications increased the launcher's tube length to 61 inches (1.55 m), with an overall empty weight of 14.3 lb (6.5 kg). From its original conception as a relatively light, handy, and disposable weapon, the final M9A1 launcher had become a heavy, clumsy, and relatively complex piece of equipment.

In October 1944, after receiving reports of inadequate combat effect of the M1A1 and M9 launchers and their M6A1 rockets, and after examining captured examples of the German 8.8 cm RPzB 43 and RPzB 54 Panzerschreck, the U.S. Ordnance Corps began development on a new, more powerful anti-tank rocket launcher, the 3.5-inch (90 mm) M20. However, the weapon's design was not completed until after the war and saw no action against an enemy until the Korean War.

In 1945, the U.S. Army's Chemical Warfare Service standardized improved chemical warfare rockets intended for the new M9 and M9A1 launchers, adopting the M26 gas rocket, a cyanogen chloride (CK)-filled warhead for the 2.36-in rocket launcher. CK, a deadly blood agent, was capable of penetrating the protective filter barriers in some gas masks, and was seen as an effective agent against Japanese forces (particularly those hiding in caves or bunkers), whose gas masks lacked the impregnants that would provide protection against the chemical reaction of CK. While stockpiled in US inventory, the CK rocket was never deployed or issued to combat personnel.

Aviation use

Following Operation Overlord in 1944, the military version of the slow-flying Piper J-3 Cub high-wing civilian monoplane, the L-4 Grasshopper, began to be used in a light anti-armor role by a few U.S. Army artillery spotter units over France; these aircraft were field-outfitted with either two or four bazookas attached to the lift struts, against German armored fighting vehicles.
Upon arriving in France in 1944, US Army major, Charles Carpenter, an Army aviator flying liaison and artillery-spotting lightplanes like the military version of the Piper J-3 Cub, the L-4 Grasshopper, was issued a new L-4H version during the concluding stages of "Overlord", taking this "light attack" role against German armor by himself. With a 150-pound pilot and no radio aboard, the L-4H had a combined cargo and passenger weight capacity of approximately 232 pounds. This margin allowed him to eventually mount a total of six bazookas, three per side on the lift struts as other L-4s had done.

Within a few weeks, Carpenter was credited with knocking out a German armored car and four tanks. Carpenter's plane was known as "Rosie the Rocketer", and his exploits were soon featured in many press accounts, including Stars and Stripes, the Associated Press, Popular Science, The New York Sun, and Liberty magazine. Carpenter once told a reporter that his idea of fighting a war was to "attack, attack and then attack again". During the critical late-September Battle of Arracourt, Carpenter managed to achieve disabling hits on several German armored cars and two Panther tanks, along with killing or wounding a dozen or more enemy soldiers.

In the opening months of the Korean War, in August 1950, a joint US Navy and Marine Corps test used a newly acquired Bell HTL-4 helicopter to test if a bazooka could be fired from a helicopter in flight. One of the larger, 3.5 inch, models of the Bazooka was chosen, and was mounted ahead and to the right of the helicopter to allow the door to remain clear. The bazooka was successfully tested, although it was discovered that it would require shielding for the engine compartment, which was exposed in the model 47 and other early helicopters. The helicopter itself belonged to HMX-1, a Marine experimental helicopter squadron.

Operational use

World War II

In September 1942, a consignment of 600 M1 bazookas was shipped to Egypt for use by the British Army in the Western Desert campaign. In a demonstration to British commanders, a bazooka penetrated the frontal armor of a captured Panzer III; however it was decided that the desert terrain lacked the concealment required for such a short range weapon and it was not deployed in that theater. In November 1942 during Operation Torch, early production versions of the M1 launcher and M6 rocket were hastily supplied to some of the U.S. invasion forces during the landings in North Africa. On the night before the landings, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower was shocked to discover from a subordinate that none of his troops had received any instruction in the use of the bazooka.

Initially supplied with the highly unreliable M6 rocket and without training for its operators, the M1 did not play a significant armed role in combat in the North African fighting, but did provide a German intelligence coup when some were captured by the Germans in early encounters with inexperienced U.S. troops. A U.S. general visiting the Tunisian front in 1943 after the close of combat operations could not find any soldiers who could report that the weapon had actually stopped an enemy tank. Further issue of the bazooka was suspended in May 1943.

During the Allied invasion of Sicily, small numbers of the M1A1 bazooka (using an improved rocket, the M6A1) were used in combat by U.S. forces. The M1A1 accounted for four medium German tanks and a heavy Tiger I, with the latter being knocked out by an improbable hit through the driver's vision slot.

When the existence of the bazooka was revealed to the American public, official press releases for the first two years stated that it "packed the wallop of a 155 mm cannon"—a great exaggeration.

In late 1942, numbers of early-production American M1 bazookas were captured by German troops from Red Army forces who had been given quantities of the bazooka under lend-lease. There were also examples captured during the Operation Torch invasions in the North African Campaign. The Germans promptly developed their own version of the weapon called the Panzerschreck, increasing the diameter of the warhead from 60 mm to 88 mm (2.4 to 3.5 in), which as a result, gave it significantly greater armor penetration. During U.S. trials of the M1, calls for a larger-diameter warhead had also been raised by some ordnance officers but were rejected. Later in the war, after participating in an armor penetration test involving a German Panther tank using both the Raketenpanzerbüchse, or RPzB 54 Panzerschreck and the U.S. M9 bazooka, Corporal Donald E. Lewis of the U.S. Army informed his superiors that the Panzerschreck was "far superior to the American bazooka": 'I was so favorably impressed [by the Panzerschreck] I was ready to take after the Krauts with their own weapon.'

The M1 bazooka fared much better on the rare occasions when it could be used against the much thinner armor typically fitted to the lower sides, undersides, and tops of enemy tanks. To hit the bottom of an enemy tank, the bazooka operator had to wait until the tank was surmounting a steep hill or other obstruction, while hitting the top armor usually necessitated firing the rocket from the upper story of a building or a similar, elevated, position. Even the heavy King Tiger tank only possessed hull and turret top armor of 44 mm ( in) thickness at best, able to be pierced by the bazooka's shaped-charge rocket. During the 1944 Allied offensive in France, when some examples of liaison aircraft with the U.S. Army began to be experimentally field-armed, and were already flying with pairs or quartets of the American ordnance—and most notably used during the Battle of Arracourt—Major Charles "Bazooka Charlie" Carpenter mounted a battery of three M9 bazookas on the wing-to-fuselage struts on each side of his L-4 Grasshopper aircraft to attack enemy armor, and was credited with destroying six enemy tanks, including two Tiger I heavy tanks. In the hands of American infantry the bazooka still enjoyed rare successes against heavy Nazi armored fighting vehicles. In 1945, during the failed Operation Nordwind offensive, a bazooka team managed the unlikely achievement of destroying a Jagdtiger heavy tank destroyer, the most heavily armored fighting vehicle in World War Two. The team managed to do this by positioning themselves to get a shot at the massive vehicle's thinner side armor, scoring a direct hit on the ammunition bustle and causing a catastrophic kill. This incident shows that when correctly aimed at vulnerable points on vehicles the bazooka could still be effective against even the largest of armored vehicles, though it required significant skill to accomplish.

In a letter dated May 20, 1944, Gen. George S. Patton stated to a colleague that "the purpose of the bazooka is not to hunt tanks offensively, but to be used as a last resort in keeping tanks from overrunning infantry. To insure this, the range should be held to around 30 yards."

In the Pacific campaign, as in North Africa, the original bazookas sent to combat often had reliability issues. The battery-operated firing circuit was easily damaged during rough handling, and the rocket motors often failed because of high temperatures and exposure to moisture, salt air, or humidity. With the introduction of the M1A1 and its more reliable rocket ammunition, the bazooka was effective against some fixed Japanese infantry emplacements such as small concrete bunkers and pillboxes. Against coconut and sand emplacements, the weapon was not always effective, as these softer structures often reduced the force of the warhead's impact enough to prevent detonation of the explosive charge. Later in the Pacific war, Army and Marine units often used the M2 flamethrower to attack such emplacements. In the few instances in the Pacific where the bazooka was used against tanks and armored vehicles, the rocket's warhead easily penetrated the thin armor plate used by the Japanese and destroyed the vehicle. Overall, the M1A1, M9, and M9A1 rocket launchers were viewed as useful and effective weapons during World War II, though they had been primarily employed against enemy emplacements and fixed fortifications, not as anti-tank weapons. General Dwight Eisenhower later described it as one of the four "tools of victory" which won World War II for the Allies (together with the atom bomb, Jeep and the C-47 Skytrain transport aircraft).

During the war, bazookas were lend-leased to the United Kingdom, Brazil, Canada, China, and Free French forces as well as the Soviet Union. Some were supplied to French maquis and Yugoslav partisans.

Korean War

The success of the more powerful German Panzerschreck caused the bazooka to be completely redesigned at the close of World War II. A larger, 3.5 in (89 mm) model was adopted, the M20 "super bazooka". Though bearing a superficial resemblance to the Panzerschreck, the M20 had a greater effective range, penetrating capability and was nearly 20% lighter than its German counterpart. The M20 weighed 14.3 pounds (6.5 kg) and fired a hollow shaped-charge 9 lb (4 kg) M28A2 HEAT rocket when used in an anti-tank role. It was also operated by a two-man team and had a rate of fire of six shots per minute. As with its predecessor, the M20 could also fire rockets with either practice (M29A2) or WP smoke (T127E3/M30) warheads. Having learned from experience of the sensitivity of the bazooka and its ammunition to moisture and harsh environments, the ammunition for the new weapon was packaged in moisture-resistant packaging, and the M20's field manual contained extensive instructions on launcher lubrication and maintenance, as well as storage of rocket ammunition. When prepared for shipment from the arsenal, the weapon was protected by antifungal coatings over all electrical contacts, in addition to a cosmoline coating in the hand-operated magneto that ignited the rocket. Upon issue, these coatings were removed with solvent to ready the M20 for actual firing. However, budget cutbacks initiated by Secretary of Defense Louis A. Johnson in the years following World War II effectively canceled the intended widespread issue of the M20, and initial U.S. forces deploying to Korea were armed solely with the M9/M9A1 2.36-in. launcher and old stockpiled World War II inventories of M6A3 rocket ammunition.

At the outbreak of the Korean War, the South Korean military had 1,958 M9A1 rocket launchers that were given from the U.S. Forces Korea during withdrawal in 1948 to 1949, and they were the only anti-tank firearms that the Korean military had secured in sufficient quantities. The South Korean military actively operated rocket launchers against North Korean armor. However, the 2.36-inch rocket launcher failed to show its power against the front armor of T-34-85, which was the biggest threat. The South Korean military responded by firing rockets into the side, rear, or track through ambushes, but they did not have much effect.

At the same time, the U.S. military dispatched its first troops to the Korean Peninsula without trusting reports that a 2.36-inch rocket could not destroy North Korean tanks. On July 5, 1950, during the Battle of Osan, Task Force Smith tried to stop North Korean tanks with 2.36-inch rocket launchers and 75 mm recoilless rifles but was overrun by 33 T-34-85s. One of the North Korean T-34 received a total of 22 shots on the side and rear at about 10 meters in distance, but survived the attack.

On July 8, Colonel Robert R. Martin, commander of the 34th Regiment of the 24th U.S. Division, was killed while operating a 2.36-inch rocket launcher to prevent North Korean tanks from advancing. Additionally, ordnance authorities received numerous combat reports regarding the failure of the M6A3 warhead to properly detonate upon impact, eventually traced to inventories of rocket ammunition that had deteriorated from numerous years of storage in humid or salt air environments. Therefore, the U.S. Army immediately airlifted a small number of available M20 Super Bazookas from the U.S. mainland after learning that it needed more powerful rockets. The rockets were deployed during the Battle of Taejon on July 18, and proved their power by destroying a number of North Korean tanks that entered the city on July 20. As a result, the U.S. Army rushed to secure more M20 rockets and was able to hold more than 900 Super Bazookas during the Battle of Pusan Perimeter. The South Korean military also began receiving the M20 in early August, and successfully destroyed four tanks with M20s during their first usage on 9 August.

Large numbers of 2.36-inch bazookas that were captured during the Chinese Civil War were also employed by the Chinese forces against the American Sherman and Patton tanks, and the Chinese later reverse engineered and produced a copy of the M20 designated the Type 51. It is considered that the Communist-used bazookas destroyed more tanks than the UN bazookas did.

Vietnam War
The M20 was used in the early stages of the war in Vietnam by the U.S. Marines before gradually being phased out by the mid-1960s in favor of the M67 recoilless rifle and later, the M72 LAW rocket. The U.S. Army also used it in lesser quantity. While occasions to destroy enemy armored vehicles proved exceedingly rare, it was employed against enemy fortifications and emplacements with success. The M20 remained in service with South Vietnamese and indigenous forces until the late 1960s.

The Vietnam People's Army also developed their own bazooka under the management of Tran Dai Nghia. It was successfully test-fired in 1947. The anti-French Viet Minh received Chinese Type 51 bazookas. They were used by the Viet Cong as late as 1964.

Other conflicts
The Portuguese Armed Forces used quantities of M9A1 and M20 rocket launchers in their overseas provinces in Africa against Marxist guerrilla forces during the Portuguese Overseas War. The French Army also used the M9A1 and M20A1 launchers in various campaigns in Indochina, Korea, and Algeria. The M20A1 was replaced in the 1970s by the LRAC F1. Commonwealth armies also used the M20 and M20A1 under the name M20 Mk I and M20 Mk II. They were used until their replacement by the Carl Gustav L14A1. For instance, British Army used Super Bazookas during the Operation Vantage.

The Argentine Army fielded M20s during the Falklands War.

Variants

Rocket launcher, M1 "bazooka"
 First issued June 14, 1942; designed by Capt. L.A. Skinner
 Used the M6 HEAT and M7 training practice rockets (60 mm warhead)
 Can penetrate up to 3 inches (76 mm) of armor
 Velocity of
 Overall length: .
 Weight (unloaded): .

Rocket launcher, M1A1 "bazooka"

 Improved electrical system
 Simplified design
 Used the M6A1 HEAT and M7A1 practice rockets
 Forward hand grip removed
 Contact box removed
 Supplanted the M1 in production beginning in July 1943
 Overall length:
 Weight (unloaded):

Rocket launcher, M9 "bazooka"
 Battery ignition replaced by trigger magneto
 Could be disassembled into two halves for easier carrying
 Metal instead of wooden furniture
 Uses the improved M6A3 HEAT, M7A3 practice, and M10 bursting smoke (white phosphorus) rockets (weight: 3.4 lbs., velocity: 265 feet per second)
 Could penetrate up to 4 inches (102 mm) of armor
 Supplanted the M1A1 in production beginning in October 1943
 Overall length:  fixed /  disassembled
 Weight (unloaded):

Rocket launcher, M9A1 "bazooka"
An optical reflector sight replaced the iron sights beginning in September 1944. The M9A1 supplanted the M9 in production beginning in June 1944. It has an improved coupling mechanism for the launch tube; the overall length is  and  when folded. Unloaded weight is .

Rocket launcher, M18 "bazooka"
 Experimental version of the M9A1 made from aluminum alloy
 Ordered in late summer 1945, canceled at war's end
 Weight (unloaded):

Rocket launcher, M20 "super bazooka"

 Larger, 3.5 in (88.9 mm) caliber, and larger warhead
 Could penetrate up to 11 inches (280 mm) of armor
 Extended range by about 150 m
 Originally a larger version of the M9A1, designated M20 in late 1944
 Entered active service just before the start of the Korean War

Rocket launcher, M20A1 "super bazooka"
 Product improved variant with improved connector latch assembly, entering production in 1952
 Improved version of the M20

Rocket launcher, M20B1 "super bazooka"
 Lightweight version with barrels made of cast aluminum, other components simplified
 Used as a supplement to the M20

Rocket launcher, M20A1B1 "super bazooka"
 M20B1 upgraded with M20A1 improvements

Rocket launcher, M25 "three shot bazooka"
 Experimental tripod mounted rocket launcher with overhead magazine circa 1955

RL-83 Blindicide

 RL-83 Blindicide: An improved "bazooka" design of Belgian origin. Used by Belgian forces during the Congo Crisis and by the Swiss, Mexican and Israeli armies and various other armed forces.
 The Blindicide is not a direct derivative of the M20 design, being smaller caliber (83 mm not 88.9 mm). The aluminum launch tube is externally reinforced with glass reinforced plastic.
 The launch tube can be folded to just over half the opened length which makes it far easier to carry into combat
 The Blindicide rocket has another major difference from the "super bazooka" in that it is mechanically fired with a percussion cap system, the launcher having a simple mechanical hammer with a firing pin, that is cocked by the loader. There are two safety levers, one on the aimer's pistol grip, and another at the rear of the launch tube for the protection of the loader.
 Because no electrical connection had to be made between rocket and launcher, reload time is faster than for the "super bazooka" and a good team can fire off six rockets per minute.
 Blindicide rockets were designed to spin in flight, with six of the rocket's exhaust ports being angled to impart spin. While spinning the rocket has improved accuracy, centrifugal forces acting on the explosive jet tend to spread the jet, reducing the thickness of armor that it can penetrate.

3.5 in Hydroar M20A1B1 rocket launcher
 Brazil, manufactured by Hydroar SA—improved 3.5 M20A1B1. A hand grip with solid state firing circuit powered by two AA cells replaced the U.S.-designed hand grip with magneto trigger.

88.9 mm Instalaza M65
 Developed by Instalaza for use by the Spanish Army, the M65 is an improved version of the M20 "super bazooka". It uses an improved ignition method and new ammunition types. The available ammunitions used were the CHM65 (HEAT), MB66 (dual-purpose), and FIM66 (smoke) shells. Older versions were designated M53 and M58.

Specifications

M1
 Length: 54 in (137 cm)
 Caliber: 2.36 in (60 mm)
 Weight: 13 lb (5.9 kg)
 Warhead: M6 or M6A2 shaped charge (3.5 lb, 1.59 kg)
 Range
 Maximum: 400 yards (370 m)
 Effective: (claimed) 150 yards (140 m)
 Crew: 2, operator and loader

M1A1
 Length: 54 in (137 cm)
 Caliber: 2.36 in (60 mm)
 Weight: 12.75 lb (5.8 kg)
 Warhead: M6A1 shaped charge (3.5 lb, 1.59 kg)
 Range
 Maximum: 400 yards (370 m)
 Effective: (claimed) 150 yards (140 m)
 Crew: 2, operator and loader

M9/M9A1
 Length: 61 in (155 cm)
 Caliber: 2.36 in (60 mm)
 Weight: 14.3 lb (6.5 kg)
 Warhead: M6A3 shaped charge (3.5 lb, 1.59 kg)
 Range
 Maximum: 400–500 yards (370–460 m)
 Effective: (claimed) 120 yards (110 m)
 Crew: 2, operator and loader (M9 and M9A1)

M20A1/A1B1
 Length (when assembled for firing): 60 in (1,524 mm)
 Caliber: 3.5 in (90 mm)
 Weight (unloaded): M20A1: 14.3 lb (6.5 kg); M20A1B1: 13 lb (5.9 kg)
 Warhead: M28A2 HEAT (9 lb) or T127E3/M30 WP (8.96 lb)
 Range
 Maximum: 1000 yd (913 m)
 Effective (stationary target/moving target): 300 yd (270 m) / 200 yd (180 m)
 Crew: 2, operator and loader

Users

 : Super bazooka. Used until at least the Falklands War, replaced by AT4.
 : Super bazooka
 : Super bazooka
 : RL-83
 : Super bazooka
 : Bazooka and super bazooka
 : Bazooka and super bazooka
 : Super bazooka
 : Super bazooka During the Bay of Pigs Invasion, the anti-Castrist Brigade 2506 used 2.36 in bazookas against Castro's T-34s.
 : Super bazooka
 : Bazooka and super bazooka
 : Super bazooka
 : Super bazooka
 : Super bazooka
 : Super bazooka
 : Super bazooka
  Iraq: Super bazooka
 : M20A1
  Provisional Irish Republican Army: M20 Super Bazooka, first used in 1971.
 : M20A1 and RL-83 variants
 : JGSDF used super bazookas, replaced by the Carl Gustav recoilless rifles
 : Super bazooka
 : Super bazooka
 : Super bazooka
 : Super bazooka

 : Super bazooka M20
 : M9A1 and M20 super bazooka
 : Used captured M1s as 6 cm Raketenpanzerbüchse 788 (a)
 : The M9A1 was used for a short period of time by the Dutch Army as the Raketwerper 2.36 inch. It served from the beginning of the 1950s to the end of the 1960s with the Landmacht as an instructional weapon, with the Troepenmacht in Suriname (TRIS, troop force in Surinam, part of the Landmacht), and the Nederlands Detachement Verenigde Naties (N.D.V.N.), Dutch Detachment United Nations) in 1950–1951 during the Korean War. During the Korean War, the 2.36-inch bazooka was replaced by the 3.5-inch M20. Although it replaced the M9A1 in 1951 with the N.D.V.N., the weapon was not introduced into the Landmacht until 1954. The M20 and M20B1 were later replaced by the 66 mm LAW in 1968, but the bazooka remained in inventory for reservists, mobilisation, and other non-priority uses until 1989.
  : Super bazooka M20
 : Super bazooka
 : Super bazooka

 : Large numbers of 2.36-inch and 3.5-inch bazookas were captured by the Chinese communists during the Chinese Civil War and Korean War. China also copied the 3.5-inch as the Type 51—with a projectile 90 mm in diameter. The Type 51 can fire captured 3.5-inch projectiles (i.e. 90 mm), but 3.5-inch super bazookas cannot load projectiles made for the Type 51.
 : Super bazooka
 : Super bazooka
 : Super bazooka
 : Super bazooka
 : Super bazooka
 : Super bazooka
 : The armed forces received 1,958 M9A1s before the Korean War, and 609 M9A1s and 4,907 M20s were in service by the end of the war.
 : M9A1 and M20A1 variants
 : Bazooka
 : M20 bazooka and improved designs (M53, M58 and M65)
 : Super bazooka<
 : Super bazooka as คจตถ. 3.5 นิ้ว in the Royal Thai Army, replaced by the Type 69 RPG
 : Super bazooka
 : Super bazooka
 : Bazooka and super bazooka. Used with both domestically manufactured ammunition and US ammunition. Replaced by the Carl Gustav M2 (L14A1) during the 1960s.
 : Bazooka replaced by the M72 LAW
 : Type 51 bazooka, used by Viet Minh and Viet Cong
 : Super bazooka

See also
 List of U.S. Army weapons by supply catalog designation (Group B)

Citations

Sources
 .

  Article on early M1 Bazooka with rare photos.

  Page on Bazookas and equipment.

External links

American inventions
Anti-tank rockets of the United States
Anti-tank weapons
Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1942
Weapons of the Philippine Army
World War II infantry weapons of the United States
World War II infantry weapons of Brazil

Bazooka


George Loftus Noyes (1864–1954) was a Canadian born artist who gained fame in the early 20th century as an American Impressionist.

Noyes was born in Bothwell, Canada West, and died in Peterborough, New Hampshire. Noyes' parents were both American citizens. He was a prominent member of the Boston School of American Impressionism.

He studied at the Massachusetts Normal School with George Bartlett in the early 1880s and in France at the Académie Colarossi in Paris between 1890-93. Jean Andre Rixens influenced him to a huge degree. Rixen particularly influenced the artist's still life painting.

He was a highly respected landscape and still life painter in Boston in the early 1900s.  His prominence faded after his death, but the quality of his work has recently been gaining increasing recognition.

Noyes exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, the Art Institute of Chicago and the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, D.C..  He was a member of several Art associations, including the North Shore Art Association, the Boston Art Society, and the Guild of Boston Artists.

In 1901, Noyes taught during the summer in Annisquam, Massachusetts, and became an early teacher to Newell Convers Wyeth, father of Andrew Wyeth and grandfather to Jamie Wyeth. N.C Wyeth also studied with Noyes in 1921, saying "His color knowledge is superb and I think he will give me much help at this juncture".

He primarily worked and painted at the Fenway Studios on 30 Ipswich Street in Boston. Other prominent Boston artists working at the Fenway Studios in that period include Marion Boyd Allen, Lilla Cabot Perry, Joseph Decamp, Philip Hale, Lilian Westcott Hale, Charles Hopkinson, György Kepes, William Kaula, Lee Lufkin Kaula, Lillian and Leslie Prince Thompson, William McGregor Paxton, Marion L. Pooke, Edmund Charles Tarbell, and Mary Bradish Titcomb.

A barn  fire in 1939 was to destroy literally hundreds of his works, plunging Noyes into a deep depression at the age of 75.

References

American Art Review, 2006 April, American Impressionism: Variations on a Theme
American Art Review, 2003 February, Artists of Cape Ann
American Art Review, 2001 April, Paintings of George Noyes
American Art Review, 1997 August, A Survey of the North Shore
American Art Review, 1995 October, The Legacy of Cape Ann

1864 births
1954 deaths
19th-century American painters
19th-century American male artists
American male painters
20th-century American painters
American Impressionist painters
Académie Colarossi alumni
People from Chatham-Kent
Painters from Massachusetts
20th-century American male artists
Canadian emigrants to the United States

George Loftus Noyes


The Prime Meridian is the meridian (line of longitude) that goes through the Royal Observatory, Greenwich in London it is also known as the International Meridian or Greenwich Meridian. Other longitudes are given as east or west of the Prime Meridian.

Lines like this are not actually lines on the ground, but are ways of saying where a place is on the globe. The ones that run horizontal (east to west) are called latitude. They tell us how far a location is from the equator. The other lines are vertical and are known as longitudes.

Such is the Meridian's fame that each year, hundreds of thousands of visitors from all around the world make their way to the Observatory to stand astride the Line. But its position is marked in hundreds of other places too. On its path from pole to pole, the Meridian passes through England, France, Spain, Algeria, Mali, Burkina Faso, Togo, Ghana and Antarctica.

Related pages
 Meridian
 International Date Line

Lines of longitude

Prime Meridian


The Hopewell Museum is an American history museum in Hopewell, New Jersey.

History
The museum was incorporated in 1922 as the Hopewell Free Public Library and Museum Funding and Building Association. It was formed to raise funds for a building to house a collection of antiques donated by Sarah D. Stout. This collection became the cornerstone of the museum. Many of the items having been used by the early inhabitants of Hopewell.

The original Museum and Hopewell Public Library were housed in a three-storey brownstone that was built by Randolph Stout in 1877. In 1965 the Hopewell Public Library moved to its present location and in 1967 a two-story addition was made to the Museum building. The additional space enabled the Hopewell Museum to display other collections of Southwestern Native American crafts donated by Dr. David H. Hill.

Apart from Native American antiquities, the museum displays relics of American village life from colonial days to the present.

In 1974 Alice Blackwell Lewis was the curator of the museum.

References

External links
Information about Hopewell Museum

Museums established in 1922
Museums in Mercer County, New Jersey
History museums in New Jersey
1922 establishments in New Jersey

Hopewell Museum


Elizaveta Pavlovna Gerdt (;  – 6 November 1975) was a Russian dancer and teacher whose career links the Russian imperial and Soviet schools of classical dance.

A daughter of celebrated dancer Paul Gerdt, she studied under Michel Fokine at the Imperial Ballet School, where her chief partner was Vaslav Nijinsky. She married another popular danseur, Samuil Adrianov (1884-1917; the first husband), who danced with Pierina Legnani and Mathilde Kschessinska, two ballerinas she sought to emulate.

After the Russian Revolution Elizaveta Gerdt and Olga Spessivtseva were the only world-class dancers who chose to remain in Russia, while others emigrated to the West.

In 1928, after 20 years of dancing, she resolved to abandon the stage and devote herself to teaching. She taught the class of perfection for the female dancers in the Leningrad Opera and Ballet Theatre together with teaching the girls in her Alma mater (1927-1934). Then she moved from Leningrad to Moscow. There she taught the class for the female dancers at the Bolshoi Theatre, coaching ballerinas of the Bolshoi Ballet and also worked at the Moscow Ballet School (1935-1942 and 1945-1960).

Among her students were Alla Shelest (in Leningrad), Irina Tikhomirnova, Maya Plisetskaya, Violetta Bovt, Mira Redina, Raisa Struchkova, Ekaterina Maksimova (in Moscow). With some of them she continued to collaborate at the theatre. Thus she coached Sulamith Messerer and later her niece Maya Plisetskaya.

See also
List of Russian ballet dancers

References

1891 births
1975 deaths
Ballerinas from the Russian Empire
Ballet teachers
Vaganova graduates
Soviet ballerinas

Elizaveta Gerdt


A Zenith number was a telephone service in the United States that allowed a calling party to call the service subscriber at no charge by requesting the name Zenith and the number from a switchboard operator. The service preceded the system of toll-free telephone numbers with area code 800 in the United States. Similar services used the names  "Enterprise" or "WX" number.

Introduced in the 1930s, a Zenith number was listed in local directories in each community from which a business desired to receive calls. In that era, direct-dial numbers were commonly published with telephone exchange names followed by digits, such as in the telephone number "PEnnsylvania 6-5000".

The letter Z appeared on many telephone dials from the early 1930s to the 1950s at the same position as the label Operator with the digit 0, indicating that the caller had to call the operator to place the call. The operator looked up the Zenith number to find the corresponding city and directory telephone number, and completed the call by charging it to the destination number.

For an organization expecting calls from a specific area but not very frequently, a Zenith number could provide savings over using foreign exchange (FX) service. For example, if a bus company had to provide a bus information number for callers in an area distant from its main office, and if a Zenith number cost $6 a month plus about $1.50 per call while an FX number cost $50 a month, then until the Zenith number regularly received at least 30 calls or more a month it would be cheaper than establishing foreign exchange service.

In the United States and Canada, usage of manual Zenith numbers diminished after the 1967 introduction of interstate direct-dial 800 area code InWATS toll-free service, and especially after 1982 when 800 calls no longer had to be placed via special fixed-rate trunks. A similar service in the United Kingdom, in which callers asked operators for "Freephone (name or number)", had no direct-dial counterpart until 1985.

As direct-dial toll-free service declined in cost, Zenith numbers nearly disappeared; telephone companies in most service areas are no longer assigning new Zenith numbers.

A few organizations have continued to keep Zenith numbers. For example, , the California Highway Patrol continued to use its decades-old Zenith 1-2000, On its website it advertises 1-800-TELL-CHP.

Examples
 Ontario Provincial Police Detachment Search - Zenith 50000
 Ambulance Dispatchers - Ontario Zenith 80000

References

Telephone numbers

Zenith number


Traditional Chinese characters are one of the two commonly used forms of Chinese characters. As its name shows, it is the "traditional" written form of the Chinese language that first came about during the Han Dynasty (shortly after the Qin Dynasty) in 206 BC. The name "traditional" is used to set them apart from simplified Chinese characters.

History
Court officials in the Han Dynasty believed that small seal script characters, which were standardized under Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi when he unified China, took too much time to write because Chinese characters at the time were written using curved lines instead of more angular lines. So Han officials decided to simplify writing Chinese characters by using multiple strokes, or lines, to form characters and radicals, rather than long curved lines. The changed small seal script characters are now commonly known as Hanzi (Simplified Chinese: 汉字 / Traditional Chinese: 漢字, meaning "Han characters"), because they were from the Han Dynasty. Hanzi became the standard writing system of Chinese and it even spread to other countries and languages. It was also used (with some differences) in the Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese languages.

Today, Japanese is the only non-Chinese language that still uses Chinese characters in daily life. They call them Kanji. After WWII, the Japanese simplified many of the characters. They called their simplified characters Shinjitai (which are not to be confused with simplified characters in Chinese), while traditional characters were called Kyujitai.

The older, "traditional" forms of Chinese characters remained more or less the same (although there were a few changes now and then) until the People's Republic of China (PRC) was formed in 1949. At that time, the Communist Party of China (CPC) started to create simplified Chinese characters, in which anywhere between 20-30% of all the Chinese characters used in daily life were replaced by ones that had fewer strokes and were easier to write. This move by the CPC, which took place in the 1950s throughout Mainland China, was made in order to make education more available to common people, especially farmers.

At the same time, the government of the Republic of China, which had fled to Taiwan, chose not to simplify its writing system. They continue to use traditional Chinese characters, believing that simplified characters were made to take away important details in traditional characters in order to limit thought. The Cantonese-speaking territories of Hong Kong and Macau have also kept using traditional characters, even though they are politically part of the PRC, which uses simplified characters. The Chinese taught as a second language in Southeast Asia uses simplified characters, and the government of Singapore and the Chinese community in Malaysia have adopted simplified characters as their standard script. Many immigrant communities of overseas Chinese also tend to use traditional rather than simplified characters.

Traditional vs. simplified characters
Below is a list of simplified characters next to their traditional versions.

Related pages
 Standard Chinese
 Mandarin Chinese

Chinese characters

Traditional Chinese characters


Tigran Petrosian  (Tbilisi, Georgia, 17 June 1929 – Moscow, 13 August 1984) was World Chess Champion from 1963 to 1969. He was born to Armenian parents, and brought up in the capital of Armenia, Yerevan.p103 Before his chess career, he was a street cleaner.

Petrosian got the USSR national master title in 1947, and his chess improved rapidly when he moved to Moscow that year. By coming second in the 1951 USSR championship he qualified for the FIDE Interzonal tournament in Stockholm next year. There, he qualified for the World Championship Candidates tournament in Zurich 1953. He came fifth, and was awarded the title of International Grandmaster.p299

Years followed when he made no visible progress, and others had the chance to challenge for the world title. Vasily Smyslov and Mikhail Tal both won the world title, yet lost it back to Botvinnik in return matches. At last, in 1962, Tigran won the Candidates tournament, and became the new challenger to Botvinnik. Petrosian also won the very strong Soviet Championship four times, in 1959 (Tbilisi), 1961 (Moscow), 1969 (Moscow), and 1975 (Yerevan).p118

The World Championship
Before the title match started, FIDE changed the rules so that somebody who lost the world championship in a match would not automatically get a return match. The rule that allowed for return matches had been criticised for giving Botvinnik too great an advantage over his rivals.

In the match Petrosian started shakily, losing the first game and just escaping with a draw in the second game. From then on he was in control, and won the match (best of 24 games) by +5 –2 =15. In 1966 he defended the title against Boris Spassky, and won 12½–11½. The victory was rather more emphatic than the score suggests. In 1969 Spassky was again the challenger, and this time Petrosian lost 10½–12½.

Petrosian played in every world championship cycle from 1951 to 1980, when he lost a quarter-final match against his old enemy, Viktor Korchnoi.

Olympiads
Petrosian's record in Chess Olympiads was unsurpassed. He played for the USSR in nine Olympiads, and this is a summary of his overall results: +79 –1 =50.p156–8

Style, personality
Petrosian was one of those players who set out to stifle the opponent's chances before they take action themselves. He was a student of Nimzovich's ideas of prophylaxis. Capablanca was another such player, but his chess was pure and simple. Petrosian's was profound and complex. He has been much admired by grandmasters, but was not so popular with lesser players. Like Capablanca, he was somewhat lazy, and did not strive to win every game. At his peak, he was the best player in the world at manoeuvring in complex positions, and an outstanding endgame player.p300

References

Other sources
Keene, Ray and Simpole, Julian 2009. Petrosian vs the Elite: 71 victories by the master of manoeuvre 1946–1983. Batsford, London.
Shekhtman Eduard 1991. The games of Tigran Petrosian. transl. Kenneth P. Neat, 2 vols, Pergamon, Oxford. All his recorded games, some with annotations.
Vasiliev, Viktor 1974. Tigran Petrosian: his life and games. Batsford.  .

1929 births
1984 deaths
Chess grandmasters
Sportspeople from Tbilisi
Armenian chess players
Soviet chess players

Tigran Petrosian


Cees Groot (29 June 1932 – 13 March 1988) was a Dutch footballer who played as a striker for Heerenveen, Stormvogels, Ajax, Zaanstreek and the Pittsburgh Phantoms during his career.

Club career

Heerenveen
Groot began his career in the youth ranks of ZVV Zaandijk in his home town, before being recruited, and signing a contract with Heerenveen in 1956. He would go on to play one season for the Friesian club, before transferring once more, this time around to IJ.V.V. Stormvogels from IJmuiden.

Stormvogels
Signing with the Stormvogels in 1957, Groot would play with his younger brother by six years, Henk Groot at the club from Velsen, while working in the Metal Industry during the week. Both the Groot brothers made such an impression, while playing for the Stormvogels, that they were both offered contracts with Ajax, leaving for the Amsterdam side at the end of the 1958–59 season, having played two seasons for the Stormvogels.

Ajax
Groot was a physically strong striker, and was very good in the air, but had very little finesse and technical ability. His biggest strong point was his uncanny ability to score goals. In his first season with Ajax, he scored 29 goals for the Amsterdam side, while his younger brother Henk scored 38. Together the Groot brothers were responsible for more than half of the club's goals scored, and finished the season in first and third place of the league's top scorers. Groot finished as the club's top scorer for three consecutive seasons (1961–62, 1962–63, 1963–64), and scored more than 100 goals (132) for Ajax. He is ranked 11th place on the club's all-time top scorer list.

Zaanstreek
In 1964, Groot left Ajax, for the newly formed FC Zaanstreek. He would go on to play a total of three seasons for the side from Zaanstad, before following his former Ajax teammate Co Prins to play in the United States. The two would be rejoined for the first time since their Ajax days, playing together again for the Pittsburgh Phantoms.

Pittsburgh Phantoms
Moving to Pittsburgh, United States in 1967, Groot would go on to play a total of three seasons for the Pittsburgh Phantoms in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL). After his period in the U.S., Groot returned to the Netherlands, and decided to play for his hometown side ZVV Zaandijk again. However, having played for the non-recognized NPSL, his request to play for Zaandijk was declined by the KNVB, the governing body of football in the Netherlands. This ruling meant that Groot was no longer eligible to play or coach football in the Netherlands.

VV Zaandijk
In February 1968, the KNVB decided to overturn their initial ruling, and permit Groot to play football again in the Netherlands starting 1 June 1968. Groot took it upon himself to debut for ZVV Zaandijk in March, three months earlier than the court ruling. However, he broke his leg in the first match back and was sidelined from football for months, leading to his eventual retirement.

Career statistics

Club

Post-career
After his retirement from professional football, Groot became a sports teacher. He taught sports at a halfway house near the Leidseplein in Amsterdam, amongst other places. After teaching, Groot returned to football, and became a youth trainer at Ajax. He died of cardiac arrest in 1988 during a winter vacation trip to the Sauerland in West Germany.

Since 1991, a football tournament hosted in his hometown of Zaandijk, and named "Cees Groot-toernooi" (the Cees Groot tournament) in his honor, is staged annually, where youth teams of various football teams come to compete.

Honours

Club
Ajax
 Eredivisie: 1959–60
 KNVB Cup: 1960–61
 Karl Rappan Cup: 1962

References

1932 births
1988 deaths
Footballers from Zaanstad
Men's association football forwards
Dutch men's footballers
SC Heerenveen players
AFC Ajax players
AZ Alkmaar players
Eredivisie players
National Professional Soccer League (1967) players
North American Soccer League (1968–1984) coaches
Pittsburgh Phantoms (NPSL) players
Dutch football managers

Cees Groot


Phuket Air (Phuket Airlines Co. Ltd) was an airline based in Bangkok, Thailand. The airline specialised in leasing its fleet of Boeing 747 and 737 aircraft on an ACMI (Aircraft, Crews, Maintenance, Insurance) as well as wet lease basis to airlines worldwide needing extra passenger capacity. Other services provided included international charter services, ad hoc wet leasing services, religious pilgrimage charters (Hajj/Umrah) and dry lease services. Saudi Arabian Airlines was a major long term client of Phuket Air. In the past, the airline provided scheduled domestic and international air services. Its main base was at Suvarnabhumi Airport, Bangkok, with a hub at Phuket International Airport, Phuket. The airline was an international scheduled carrier before it shifted its focus to the ACMI/wet lease market.

History
The airline was established in 1999 and started operations on December 19, 2001 with two Boeing 737-200 aircraft. It was owned and operated by Vikrom Aisiri and his wife Angkana Apiwattanaporn. Aisiri is a Thai businessman and senator from Ranong who also owns the Andaman Club Hotel & Casino in Myanmar and a Dusit Island resort hotel in Chiang Rai Province. Phuket Air flew domestic routes to Phuket, Chiang Mai, Krabi, Chiang Rai, Hat Yai, Ranong and Mae Sot. Ranong operations were used by tourists visiting the Andaman Club Hotel & Casino, across the border in Myanmar.

The airline rapidly expanded, adding Boeing 747-200, Boeing 747-300, NAMC YS-11 turbo-prop and Boeing 757-200 aircraft to its fleet. In addition to flying several domestic routes, Phuket Air undertook international routes to London, Paris, Amsterdam, Dubai, Dhaka, Chittagong, Yangon and Incheon. The airline also operated charter flights to Bangkok and Phuket for tour operators from Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, Taipei, Jakarta and Manila. Phuket Air also operated Hajj and Umrah charter flights to Jeddah from Indonesia, the Philippines and Bangladesh. It also operated charter flights from Japan to Kuwait for the Japanese Iraq Reconstruction and Support Group.

Under strain from a downturn in the tourism industry after the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, and struggling to maintain its fleet of ageing aircraft, Phuket Airlines was plagued by poor service and safety concerns. The European Union blacklisted the airline, banning it from flying to Europe. By the end of 2005, Phuket Air had scaled back its operations, laid off hundreds of its employees and decided to concentrate on leasing its aircraft to other carriers. Domestic services ceased on 12 September 2005.

In the 2005-2006 Hajj season, Phuket Airlines provided Boeing 747-200 and 747-300 aircraft on a short term wet lease to Saudi Arabian Airlines. The carrier commissioned Air France Industries, the aircraft maintenance-service arm of the French flag carrier, to help lift Phuket Airlines' safety standards which was successful in lifting the EU ban. In late 2006-07, the airline flew charters for the Saudi Arabia Ministry of the Interior flying out deportees. On 6 March 2007, the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, removed Phuket Air from its list of blacklisted airlines after Phuket Air complied with stringent safety audits and inspections. Phuket Air was one of the first few airlines to achieve this. In October 2007, Phuket Airlines resumed operations and provided three Boeing 747-200/-300 aircraft to Saudi Arabian Airlines on a short term ACMI/wet lease contract for the Hajj charters.

Destinations
In May 2005 Phuket Air was banned from flying into the European Union, such flights to London and Amsterdam were suspended. The airline was later removed from the blacklist after complying with safety audits.
As of February 2006, Phuket Air maintained one domestic route between Bangkok and Ranong and an international tour-package flight from Bangkok to Yangon, Myanmar. Phuket Air also operated to Chittagong, Bangladesh. In 2006 Phuket Air ceased all scheduled flights in and out of Thailand. The airline then went on to focus on ACMI leasing, which the carrier operating for Saudi Arabian Airlines on selected Hajj services. Phuket Air was successful in its bid to lease its Boeing 747-300 aircraft to Saudi Arabian Airlines. In 2010, Phuket Air transitioned to Boeing 747-400 aircraft under a new contract with Saudi Arabian Airlines.

Fleet
Phuket Air did not have an active fleet at April 2013:

Past aircraft operated by Phuket Air

 Boeing 737-200
 Boeing 747-200
 Boeing 747-300
 Boeing 747-400
 Boeing 757-200
 NAMC YS-11

References

External links

Phuket Air
Phuket Air Fleet Detail
Photos of Phuket Air aircraft

Defunct airlines of Thailand
Airlines established in 1999
Airlines disestablished in 2012
Companies based in Bangkok
Thai companies established in 1999
Companies disestablished in 2012

Phuket Air


Manono may refer to:

 Manono Island, Samoa
 Manono, Democratic Republic of the Congo (Tanganyika Province)
 Manono, the Māori name given to plants of the Coprosma species Coprosma grandifolia, found in New Zealand
 Manono, the Hawaiian name given to various species of plants in the family Rubiaceae, at different times in recent years officially classified as being in the genera Hedyotis, Kadua, or Gouldia
Manono I
Manono II

Manono


The Royal Danish Navy  is the sea-based branch of the Danish Defence force. It is mainly responsible for maritime defence and maintaining Danish territorial waters including the Faroe Islands and Greenland.

The maritime traditions go back to the 9th century when the Vikings had small but well-organised fleets.

From 1509 to 1814, when Denmark was in a union with Norway, the Danish Navy was part of the Dano-Norwegian Navy.  It was an important force then. It played an important part in the colonisation of Africa and the Caribbean. During the Napoleonic Wars the British were afraid that the Danish navy would be used against them.  They attacked it in 1801 and  captured it in 1807.  It took a long time to rebuild the navy.

In World War II 32 ships were deliberately sunk in 1943 to prevent the Germans from using them.

During the Cold War, the Danish navy was rebuilt and modernised. The main job was to repel a possible invasion from the Warsaw Pact.  Now there are fewer but larger vessels able to operate for long periods at sea.

References

Organizations based in Denmark
Navies

Royal Danish Navy


Stavert Huestis (born June 20, 1938) is a farmer and former political figure on Prince Edward Island. He represented 4th Prince in the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island from 1984 to 1996 as a Liberal.

He was born in Wilmot Valley, Prince Edward Island, the son of Ira W. Huestis and Etta Jean Stavert. In partnership with his brother, Huestis was involved in potato and grain farming. In 1964, he married Edith MacGregor. Huestis ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the provincial assembly in 1978 but was later elected in a 1984 by-election held after William MacDougall left the province. He was defeated when he ran for reelection in the new district of Borden-Kinkora in 1996.

Huestis was deputy speaker from 1989 to 1993.

References

Prince Edward Island Liberal Party MLAs
1938 births
Living people
People from Prince County, Prince Edward Island

Stavert Huestis


A Karelian pasty, also called a Karelian pie or Karelian pirog, known in Finnish as karjalanpiirakka, is a traditional Finnish cookie, where inside a thin rye layer is rice pudding, pearl barley pudding, or mashed potatoes. It is often served with a spread made of butter and hard boiled eggs. There are annual baking competitions such as the one at Rääkkylä's Kihaus.

Other websites
 Juttuverkko-lehti: Karjalanpiirakka - suomalainen herkku (mm. historiaa ja resepti)  (history and receipe Finnish)

Finnish food

Karelian pasty


Innocent Until Caught is a graphic adventure published in 1993  for Amiga and MS-DOS by Psygnosis. It was followed by Guilty.

Plot
The game takes place in a space-borne setting, in the year 2171.

Jack T. Ladd is a thief, his hunting-ground is the whole galaxy, and at the moment, he's in big trouble. He's told by the IRDS (Interstellar Revenue Decimation Service) he's got 28 days to pay his taxes - or else the interstellar tax agency will hunt him down. Termination is a viable punishment for tax offenders in these days. Stranded blank on the barren, run-down planet Tayte, Jack decides that he has to make some cash. For that end he agrees to perform three quests for an individual (either the pawnbroker Ebeniezer or crime boss Git Savage): an egg of a Giant Kahoula bird, a bond for Quargian Pleno-credits stolen from the CitiCitiBank Bank vault, and an art exhibit by Renato Spangle from the Stoneybridge Gallery. When he brings all three items however, the player is set up and delivered to the police.

While in jail, an unknown benefactor gives him the means to escape the Alkaseltz Prison. With him comes Narm N'palm, an idiotic maniac who serves as Jack's sidekick for the remainder of the game. Jack is delivered to a space vessel run by a space Federation. He is told that Grand LordMaster P'PauD'P'Pau, the mad dictator of planet Shmul, developed the Transatron able to destroy whole star systems.

On his way to steal the superweapon from the Research Laboratory, Jack falls in love with the dictator's daughter, Ruthless P'PauD'P'Pau. They end up in SkyCity where the Transatron is kept; there Jack learns that it is not a superweapon, but an inter-dimensional jewel that will allow him to tap into the IRDS files and become the richest man in the universe; the Federation is after it not because it's dangerous, but to erase some of its debts.

In the end, the Transatron and Skycity are destroyed because of one of Nalm's blunders and Jack escapes with Ruth, having managed to erase his own debts.

Reception

Computer Gaming Worlds Charles Ardai in 1994 stated that Innocent Until Caught was "sometimes disappointing but never dull". He complained of the many bugs ("Innocent broke down at least once every half dozen screens") and other problems, but "I suppose it is a good sign that even with all the bugs, I never felt inclined to stop playing. Jack's story is interesting enough ... the puzzles clever enough, and most of the graphics and sound good enough". Ardai concluded that "it is rare that a game startles me in the way this one did ... Unusual games earn points in my book, as do daring ones, and Innocent is both".

PC Gamers Andy Butcher praised the game's graphics and presentation. However, stated that "it tries to be funny, and even succeeds at points, but the jokes tend to fall halfway between intelligent wit and Red Dwarf style parody". And added, "it's not clever enough to count as a classic", citing Sam & Max Hit the Road as an example of a better title in the genre.

References

External links

1993 video games
Video games set in the 22nd century
Adventure games
Amiga games
DOS games
Point-and-click adventure games
Psygnosis games
Science fiction video games
Single-player video games
Video games developed in the United Kingdom

Innocent Until Caught


Carroll F. Knicely (born c. 1929 in Staunton, Virginia - died November 2, 2006 in Glasgow, Kentucky) was editor and publisher of the Glasgow Daily Times for nearly 20 years (and later, its owner) and served under three Kentucky Governors as commissioner and later Commerce Secretary.

Career in publishing
Knicely started out as an apprentice linotype operator at The News-Virginian.  In 1957, he relocated to Glasgow, Kentucky as the president, editor and publisher of the Glasgow Daily Times.  In 1963, Knicely and his wife Evely became the sole owners of the newspaper and of the Glasgow Publishing Corporation.  He also held interests in several newspapers all over Kentucky and was part owner of a weekly newspaper in Westmoreland, Tennessee.

Knicely served as president of the Kentucky Press Association and president of the Kentucky Journalism Foundation. Under his leadership, the Glasgow Daily Times was named by the Kentucky Press Association as the best newspaper in its class in 1967.

Western Kentucky University
Knicely was a supporter of Western Kentucky University, where he served on the board of regents beginning in 1976. He was instrumental in the success of the university's nationally known journalism department.

Knicely was a philanthropist, donating large sums of money to the Institute for Economic Development and Public Service at the university and to establish the Knicely Professorship in Leadership Studies and to create the Knicely Endowment, a permanent support fund to maintain and upgrade the Institute.

The Carroll Knicely Conference Center at Western Kentucky University's Bowling Green campus is named in his honor.

Civil service
Knicely served as Commerce secretary under Democratic governors Julian Carroll, Martha Layne Collins and Wallace G. Wilkinson.  While serving in the state's Commerce Cabinet as commissioner, he helped secure the location of the General Motors Corvette plant in Bowling Green in 1981. Later, as commerce secretary, he was instrumental in bringing the Toyota plant to Georgetown, Kentucky in 1985.

Personal life
Knicely had two sons and three daughters, four grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.

External links
Carroll Knicely's obituary

1929 births
2006 deaths
Politicians from Staunton, Virginia
People from Glasgow, Kentucky
American newspaper editors
20th-century American newspaper publishers (people)
American women philanthropists
State cabinet secretaries of Kentucky
Kentucky Democrats
Western Kentucky University people
20th-century American politicians
Journalists from Virginia
20th-century American philanthropists
20th-century American journalists
American male journalists
20th-century women philanthropists

Carroll Knicely