Tandon Motorcycles

Tandon Motorcycles were manufactured in Watford by Devdutt Tandon (1902–1980)from 1947 to 1959for export to his native India and other third world countries initially. The simplicity of the initial Tandon design reflected the chosen export market where the two-stroke engined motorcycles were to be sent CKD (Completely Knocked Down) for assembly abroad. Indeed, it took one Tandon factory worker only eight hours to completely assemble four Tandon motorcycles. The model in question was the 122 cc Milemaster, powered like all but the last Tandons by a Villiers two-stroke engine. Tandon received great publicity when Pandit Nehru, the Prime Minister of India, was photographed astride a Milemaster while visiting Caxton Hall in 1948.
The export plan never materialised and the Milemaster, with its modest specificationhand gear change and bicycle seatand lacking rear suspension, was marketed instead in the United Kingdom until 1952. In 1949, Tandon introduced the 122 cc Superglid featuring conventional foot gear-change and a new frame with swinging-arm rear suspension. However, the suspension itself was highly unusual with damper units being replaced by a bell crank linked to rubber bands for suspension and a hard rubber block for compression action, all located under the gearbox.
Sufficient sales enabled Tandon to move to larger premises within Watford from Bushey Hall Road to Colne Way and introduce the larger-engined 197 cc Superglid Supreme. The short-lived (1951–53) but relatively popular 122 cc Kangaroo trials model boasted the attractions of significant ground clearance and light weight with a 197 cc Kangaroo Supreme also featuring conventional damper units in the swinging-arm rear suspension. A Tandon 200 cc scrambler model enjoyed success beating a factory-sponsored 500 cc BSA motorcycle in an Irish handicap race in 1956.
Replacing the Milemaster was the 122 cc Imp which sacrificed rear suspension for light weight. However, the later, larger 197 cc Imp Supreme adopted conventional rear suspension.
New roadster models with conventional rear suspension, stronger frames and bigger engines were introduced in 1954 being the 224 cc Monarch (also known as the Sprite) and, with a 242 cc British Anzani (and later 322 cc) two-stroke twin cylinder engine, the Viscount (also known as the Twin Supreme). These did not have as standard the telescopic front fork as fitted to prior Tandon models but instead boasted an Armstrong Earles-fork arrangement. These and the new 99 cc Starlett scooter could not stop Tandon Motors Limited being wound-up in 1955 by the United Kingdom Commissioner of Custom & Excise, their sales hampered by a dealer network not extending outside London. Devdutt Tandon was able however to continue manufacture of his motorcycles through his other firm Indian Commerce & Industries Limited until 1959.
Despite the Milemaster design and manufacture having shown "a good deal of thought", Tandon motorcycles suffered from a poor reputation , enjoying only limited popularity. Their simplistic approach, perhaps born out of an initial design philosophy catering for the third world market, finally was neither sold cheap enough to attract the budget market nor was of sufficient quality to challenge other similar lightweight competitor marques.That said, there were positives: the Milemaster being described as ""an absolute hoot to ride" with "staggering"" fuel economy of around 100 miles per gallon.


Wayne Ryan (motorcyclist)

Wayne Ryan (born 5 May 1996 in Camden) is a British Grand Prix motorcycle racer.
Career statistics.
2007- 2nd, British 50GP Conti Cup #12 Conti
2008- 5th, British Aprilia Superteens #12 Aprilia
2009- 1st, British Aprilia Superteens #12 Aprilia
2010- 13th, British 125cc Championship #98 Honda RS125R
2011- 2nd, British 125cc Championship #98 Honda RS125R
2012- 23rd, CEV Moto3 Championship #98 KRP Honda
2013- 9th, CEV Moto3 Championship #98 KRP Honda
2014- 26th, FIM CEV Moto3 Championship #69 KTM RC250GP
2015- 17th, National Superstock 600 Championship #98 Kawasaki ZX-6R


A42 road (England)

The A42 is a major trunk road in the East Midlands region of the United Kingdom. It links junction 23A of the M1 motorway to junction 11 of the M42 motorway. The A42 is in effect a continuation of the M42, and its junctions are numbered accordingly.
It is built to a similar standard to the M42, being a grade separated dual carriageway. The Measham and Ashby-de-la-Zouch bypass section was opened in August 1989 at a cost of £33m.
Bridging link.
The A42 was built by the UK Government in 1989 to link the northern section of the M42 to the M1. Although it is not designated as motorway, and has no hard shoulder, the road is fully grade separated and runs with two lanes each way, the same as the M42 to the south.
The original planned line of the M42 saw it joining the M1 further to the north, crossing what is now the A50 Derby Southern Bypass and meeting the M1 north of Bardills Island (A52/M1 interchange).
History of the road number.
The current road is the second incarnation of the A42. The original (1923) route was Reading to Birmingham via Oxford. The whole road disappeared in 1935 - the section from Reading to Shillingford became part of the A329, Shillingford to Oxford became part of the A423 and Oxford to Birmingham became part of the A34. In 1993 the A423 was itself renumbered, with the section formerly the A42 becoming part of the A4074 from Reading to Oxford. The modern M42 does interchange with the former A42 at junction 4 near Solihull: Stratford Road now being numbered A34 to the north of the junction and A3400 to the south.


BSA T65 Thunderbolt


Rider (magazine)


Cheney Racing

Cheney Racing is a British motorcycle manufacturer, founded by Eric Cheney, based in Petersfield, Hampshire which builds complete specialist high performance motocross motorcycles, rolling chassis or frame kits to individual customer specifications.
Development.
Engineer Eric Cheney developed a lightweight competition for a BSA Gold Star in the 1960s which saw success in the 1970s when John Banks won the British Motocross Championship on a Cheney-framed BSA motorcycle. He never worked for any of the major manufacturers but maintained a productive relationship with BSA in its heyday. After the demise of BSA in 1972, Cheney joined with former BSA factory rider John Banks to develop and ride successful BSA powered motocross bikes. His company was originally known as Eric Cheney Designs, then changed to Inter-Moto and is now known as Cheney Racing. Eric handed on his ideas to his son Simon Cheney, who is also an experienced competition rider. Each of the hand built motorcycles takes over 400 man hours to complete.
Cheney ISDT Team.
In the late 1960s the British motorcycle industry was unable to support a national ISDT team so Eric Cheney hand built a limited number of ISDT Cheney-Triumphs, using his own design of twin down-tube frame with a specially tuned Triumph 5TA engine. Fitted with tapered conical hubs, special motocross forks and large alloy fuel tanks, a Cheney Triumph was first used in the 1968 British Trophy Team.
In 1970 and 1971 three 504cc Cheney Triumphs were used by the British team in the International Six Days Trial (ISDT). Replicas were built, but production was short-lived due to a shortage of engines
Model range.
Although each Cheney motorcycle is different, many are based on the BSA C15 250 cc engine or the larger 500 cc unit version. The company also manufacture black powder-coated frame kits for BSA C15, B25, B40, B44 and B50 engines, as well as nickel-plated frame kits for Triumph 500 cc or 350 cc unit engines.


MG Cars

MG is a British automotive marque founded by Cecil Kimber in the 1920s, and M.G. Car Company Limited was the British sports car manufacturer that made the marque famous. Best known for its open two-seater sports cars, MG also produced saloons and coupés, with engines up to three litres in size. The marque is now owned by state owned Chinese automotive SAIC Motor Corporation Limited.
MG cars had their roots in a 1920s sales promotion sideline of Morris Garages, a retail sales and service centre in Oxford belonging to William Morris. The business's manager, Cecil Kimber, modified standard production Morris Oxfords and added "MG Super Sports" to the plate at the nose of the car. A separate M.G. Car Company Limited was incorporated in July 1930. It remained Morris's personal property until 1 July 1935, when he sold it to his holding company, Morris Motors Limited.
MG underwent many changes in ownership over the years. Morris's Nuffield Organization merged with Austin to create the British Motor Corporation Limited (BMC) in 1952. Its activities were renamed MG Division of BMC in 1967, and so it was a component of the 1968 merger that created British Leyland Motor Corporation (BLMC). The MG marque continued to be used by the successors of BLMC: British Leyland, the Rover Group and, by the start of 2000, the MG Rover Group, which entered receivership in 2005. The MG marque along with other assets of MG Rover were purchased by Nanjing Automobile Group (which merged into SAIC in 2007). MG production restarted in 2007 in China. The first new MG model in the UK for 16 years, the MG 6, was launched on 26 June 2011.
M.G. Car Company.
William Morris's Morris Garages in Longwall Street, Oxford, was the Oxford agent for his Morris cars. Cecil Kimber joined the dealership as its sales manager in 1921 and was promoted to general manager in 1922. Kimber began promoting sales by producing his own special versions of Morris cars.
Debate remains as to when MG car production started, although the first cars, rebodied Morris models that used coachwork from Carbodies of Coventry and known as "Kimber Specials", bore both Morris and MG badges. Reference to MG with the octagon badge appears in an Oxford newspaper from November 1923, and the MG Octagon was registered as a trademark by Morris Garages on 1 May 1924. Others dispute this and believe that MG only properly began trading in 1925. Morris Garages assembled their cars in premises in Alfred Lane, Oxford. Demand soon caused a move to larger premises in Bainton Road in September 1925, sharing space with the Morris radiator works. Continuing expansion meant another move in 1927 to a separate factory in Edmund Road, Cowley, Oxford, near the main Morris factory, and for the first time, it was possible to include a production line.
In 1928, the company had become large enough to warrant an identity separate from the original Morris Garages, and The M.G. Car Company was used from March of that year. In October, for the first time, a stand was taken at the London Motor Show. Space soon ran out again, and a search for a permanent home led to the lease of part an old leather factory in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1929. A limited liability company named M.G. Car Company was incorporated on 21 July 1930.
Kimber stayed with the company until 1941, when he fell out with Morris over procuring wartime work. Kimber died in 1945 in a railway accident.
Under the Nuffield Organization.
William Morris owned MG personally, and in a re-arrangement of his various personal holdings, he sold MG in 1935 to Morris Motors (itself the leading member of his Morris Organisation, later called the Nuffield Organization), a change that was to have serious consequences for MG, particularly its motor-sport activities. Its product range was changed to re-badged Wolseley and Morris products.
Under the British Motor Corporation (BMC).
The M.G. Car Company Limited was absorbed along with Morris into The British Motor Corporation Limited (BMC), created in 1952 as a merger of Morris Motors Limited and The Austin Motor Company Limited. Long-time service manager John Thornley took over as general manager, guiding the company through its best years until his retirement in 1969. Under BMC, several MG models were no more than badge-engineered versions of other marques, with the main exception being the small MG sports cars. BMC merged with Jaguar Cars in September 1966, and that December, the new company was named British Motor Holdings (BMH). BMH merged with the Leyland Motor Corporation in 1968 to form British Leyland Motor Corporation (BLMC).
Under British Leyland Motor Corporation (BLMC).
By now, MG was nothing more than a marque used by BLMC, and from about 1972, the name "M.G. Car Company Limited" ceased to be used.
MG marque.
The marque name apparently originated from the initials of Morris Garages, William Morris's private retail sales and service company. The marque was in continuous use, except for the duration of the Second World War, from its inception in 1924 until 2005, and then from 2007 under Chinese ownership.
In the beginning, the marque was used predominantly for two-seater sports cars made at the M.G Car Company factory in Abingdon, some south of Oxford.
Under British Leyland.
Following partial nationalisation in 1975, BLMC became British Leyland (later just BL). British Leyland's management and engineering staff were predominantly from the former Leyland organisation, which included MG's historical close rival Triumph. Triumph was grouped into BL's Specialist Division, alongside Rover and Jaguar, while MG was retained with the other former BMC marques in the Austin-Morris Division, which otherwise made mass-production family cars. While new Triumph models such as the TR7 and the Dolomite were launched during the Seventies no new MG models were introduced apart from the limited-production V8 version of the MGB. While the MG operations was profitable these profits were entirely offset by the huge losses accrued by the rest of the Austin-Morris division and any funding to the Division within BL was allocated to urgently required mass market models, leaving MG with limited resources to develop and maintain its existing model range, which became increasingly outdated. Amidst a mix of economic, internal and external politics, the Abingdon factory was shut down on 24 October 1980 as part of the drastic programme of cutbacks necessary to turn BL around after the turbulent times of the 1970s. The last car built there was the MGB, and after the closure of the Abingdon plant, the MG marque was temporarily abandoned, and BL decided that there would be no immediate direct successor to the MGB or Midget.
Though many plants were closed within British Leyland, none created such an uproar among workers, dealers, clubs, and customers as this closure did. Years later, Sir Michael Edwardes expressed regret about his decision.
Between 1982 and 1991, the MG marque used to badge-engineer sportier versions of Austin Rover's Metro, Maestro, and Montego ranges. The MG marque was not revived in its own right until 1992, with the MG RV8 – an updated MGB Roadster with a Rover V8 engine, which was previewed at the 1992 Birmingham Motor Show, with low-volume production commencing in 1993.
Under Rover Group.
After BL became the Rover Group in 1986, ownership of the MG marque passed to British Aerospace in 1988 and then in 1994 to BMW. The MG name was revived for a second time in 1992 with the launch of the MG RV8, followed by the mid-engined MG F in 1995, which proved to be more successful than the short-lived RV8.
Under MG Rover.
BMW sold the business in 2000 and the MG marque passed to the MG Rover Group based in Longbridge, Birmingham. The practice of selling unique MG sports cars alongside badge-engineered models (by now Rovers) continued. The Group went into receivership in 2005 and car production was suspended on 7 April 2005. As of 2003, the site of the former Abingdon factory was host to McDonald's and the Thames Valley Police with only the former office block still standing. The headquarters of the MG Car Club (established 1930) is situated next door.
In 2006, it was reported that an initiative called Project Kimber, led by David James, had entered talks with Nanjing to buy the MG brand to produce a range of sports cars based on the discontinued Smart Roadster design by DaimlerChrysler. No agreement was reached, which resulted in the AC Cars marque being adopted for the new model, instead. As of 2009, the project appears to be dormant.
Under MG Motor.
On 22 July 2005, the Nanjing Automobile Group purchased the rights to the MG brand along with other assets of the MG Rover Group (except the production line for the ZS model) for £53 million, creating a new company called NAC MG UK. This was later renamed MG Motor, after the merger of Nanjing Automobile with Shanghai Automobile Industry Corporation (SAIC). In 2011, MG Motor launched a new model, the MG 6 in GT (hatchback) and Magnette (saloon), which were the first new-generation MGs available in the UK since the MG TF. The MG Motor MG range is now sold in India, Australia, Brunei, China, Chile, Colombia, Brazil, Costa Rica, Thailand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom—availability of models depending on market.
The first all-new MG-branded model for 16 years, the MG 6 (a derivation of the Chinese car Roewe 550), was officially launched on 26 June 2011 during a visit to MG Motor's Longbridge plant by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.
By March 2012, SAIC had invested a total of £450 million in MG Motor. Sales in the UK totalled 782 vehicles in 2012. The new MG 3 went on sale in the United Kingdom in September 2013.
MG Motor was voted third place for the 'Best Manufacturer' category in the Auto Express 2014 Driver Power survey. MG Motor celebrated the brand's 90th birthday in 2014, and enjoyed further celebrations with a record-breaking year that had the company lead UK car-industry growth in 2014. The MG brand's sales rose by 361% during 2014 thanks in part to the introduction of the MG 3 to the product range.
Car models.
The earliest model, the 1924 MG 14/28 consisted of a new sporting body on a Morris Oxford chassis. This car model continued through several versions following the updates to the Morris. The first car that can be described as a new MG, rather than a modified Morris was the MG 18/80 of 1928, which had a purpose-designed chassis and the first appearance of the traditional vertical MG grille. A smaller car was launched in 1929 with the first of a long line of Midgets starting with the M-Type based on a 1928 Morris Minor chassis. MG established a name for itself in the early days of the sport of international automobile racing. Beginning before and continuing after World War II, MG produced a line of cars known as the T-Series Midgets, which, post-war, were exported worldwide, achieving greater success than expected. These included the MG TC, MG TD, and MG TF, all of which were based on the pre-war MG TB, and updated with each successive model.
MG departed from its earlier line of Y-Type saloons and pre-war designs and released the MGA in 1955. The MGB was released in 1962 to satisfy demand for a more modern and comfortable sports car. In 1965 the fixed head coupé (FHC) followed: the MGB GT. With continual updates, mostly to comply with increasingly stringent United States emissions and safety standards, the MGB was produced until 1980. Between 1967 and 1969 a short-lived model called the MGC was released. The MGC was based on the MGB body, but with a larger (and heavier) six-cylinder engine, and somewhat worse handling. MG also began producing the MG Midget in 1961. The Midget was a re-badged and slightly restyled second-generation Austin-Healey Sprite. To the dismay of many enthusiasts, the 1974 MGB was the last model made with chrome bumpers due to new United States safety regulations; the 1974½ bore thick black rubber bumpers that some claimed ruined the lines of the car. In 1973, the MGB GT V8 was launched with the ex-Buick Rover V8 engine and was built until 1976. As with the MGB, the Midget design was frequently modified until the Abingdon factory closed in October 1980 and the last of the range was made. The badge was also applied to versions of BMC saloons including the BMC ADO16, which was also available as a Riley, but with the MG pitched as slightly more "sporty".
The marque lived on after 1980 under BL, being used on a number of Austin saloons including the Metro, Maestro, and Montego. In New Zealand, the MG badge even appeared on the late 1980s Montego estate, called the MG 2.0 Si Wagon. There was a brief competitive history with a mid-engined, six-cylinder version of the Metro. The MG Metro finished production in 1990 on the launch of a Rover-only model. The MG Maestro and MG Montego remained on sale until 1991, when Rover cut production of these models to concentrate on the more modern 200 Series and 400 Series. High performance Rover Metro, 200 and 400 GTi models had gone on sale in late 1989 and throughout 1990 as the MG version of the Metro was discontinued in 1990 and the versions of the Maestro and Montego were axed in 1991.
The Rover Group revived the two-seater with the MG RV8 in 1992. The all-new MGF went on sale in 1995, becoming the first mass-produced "real" MG sports car since the MGB ceased production in 1980.
Following the May 2000 purchase of the MG and Rover brands by the Phoenix Consortium and the forming of the new MG Rover Group, the MG range was expanded in the summer of 2001 with the introduction of three sports models based on the contemporary range of Rover cars. The MG ZR was based on the Rover 25, the MG ZS on the Rover 45, and the MG ZT/ZT-T on the Rover 75.
The MG Rover Group purchased Qvale, which had taken over development of the De Tomaso Bigua. This car, renamed the Qvale Mangusta and already approved for sale in the United States, formed the basis of the MG XPower SV, an "extreme" V8-engined sports car. It was revealed in 2002 and went on sale in 2004.
In 2017, SAIC displayed the first all-new MG concept car for quite some time, when they unveiled the E-Motion at the Shanghai Motor Show. As of June 2020, it was reported that MG is set to launch an electric sports car based on the 2017 E-Motion concept
Gloster, a full-sized seven-seater SUV, will join MG's line-up as its flagship and fourth offering in India.MG is planning to strengthen its foothold in the Indian market with new products. After the Hector Plus SUV which is slated for July launch, the company has panned yet another SUV for India.It will be launched around Diwali 2020. MG Gloster SUV was showcased in India at the Auto Expo 2020.
It is a re-branded Maxus D90 which sells in the Chinese market. The Gloster is expected to be priced between Rs 28 lakh and Rs 35 lakh for indian market. (ex-showroom).
In May 2020, MG showed a concept for a successor to the TF which they call the MG Cyberster.
Motorsport.
From its earliest days MGs have been used in competition and from the early 1930s a series of dedicated racing cars such as the 1931 C-Type and 1934 Q-type were made and sold to enthusiasts who received considerable company assistance. This stopped in 1935 when MG was formally merged with Morris Motors and the Competition Department closed down. A series of experimental cars had also been made allowing Captain George Eyston to take several world speed records. In spite of the formal racing ban, speed record attempts continued with Goldie Gardner exceeding in the 1100 cc EX135 in 1939.
After the Second World War record-breaking attempts restarted with 500 cc and 750 cc records being taken in the late 1940s. A decision was also taken to return to racing and a team of MGAs was entered in the tragedy-laden 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans race, the best car achieving 12th place. The British Motor Corporation (BMC) competition department was also based at the Abingdon plant, producing many winning rally and race cars, until the Abingdon factory closed and MGB production ceased in the Autumn of 1980.
Prior to the use of the Toyota Tundra silhouette in the Craftsman Truck Series, MG was reported as the last foreign brand used in NASCAR. It was driven in 1963 by Smokey Cook.
In 2001 MG re-launched their motor sport campaign to cover the 24 Hours of Le Mans (MG-Lola EX257), British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) (MG ZS), British and World Rally Championships and MG Independent British Rally Championship (MG ZR). The Le Mans team failed to win the endurance race in 2001 and 2002 and quit in 2003. MG Sport+Racing raced in the British Touring Car Championships with the MG ZS between 2001 and 2003 as a factory team. In 2004 WSR raced the MG ZS as a privateer team. After three years without a major sponsor, WSR teamed up with RAC in 2006 and the team was called Team RAC. In 2007 an MG ZR driven by BRC Stars Champion Luke Pinder won class N1 on Britain's round of the World Rally championship. Wales Rally GB. The MG British Rally Challenge still runs today despite the liquidation in 2005.
In 2004 plans to race in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) with a heavily modified V8 powered ZT supertouring car were cancelled due to MG Rover's liquidation in April 2005.
In January 2012, MG Motor announced that it would enter the 2012 British Touring Car Championship through the newly established MG KX Momentum Racing team. In its debut season the team ran two MG6s driven by Jason Plato and Andy Neate. Jason ended the season in third place, with the car yet to find its foot in wet conditions.
The team returned in 2013 with Sam Tordoff driving, who performed well in his debut year having joined through the KX Academy scheme. Plato once again came third, with Tordoff sixth.
MG won the 2014 Manufacturer's Championship to break Honda's four-year reign. After just three years of competition, the MG6 GT sealed the title by 95 points at the season finale at Brands Hatch. Drivers Plato and Tordoff racked up seven wins and 20 podiums in the 30-race calendar. Plato finished the Driver's Championship in second place, behind Colin Turkington, while Tordoff finished seventh. In 2014, a third MG6 GT was on the grid, driven by Marc Hynes—also maintained by Triple Eight but in a new livery that didn't resemble the other two MG cars. MG came second in the Constructors Championship in 2015, with Andrew Jordan leading the MG team by finishing the season fifth.


David Ashby (speedway rider)

David Ashby (11 November 1949 – 16 September 2015) was a British motorcycle speedway rider, brother of Martin Ashby.
Career.
Born in Marlborough, England, he rode for Swindon Robins between 1972 and 1978, making 151 appearances, and had spells riding for Peterborough Panthers and Milton Keynes Knights.
His two sons, Lee and Jamie, rode motocross with their dad, David, acting as mechanic.
Background.
He retired in 1979. He died of cancer on 16 September 2015, aged 65.


Phil Vincent

Philip Conrad Vincent (14 March 1908 – 27 March 1979) was a British motorcycle designer and manufacturer. Founder of Vincent Motorcycles, his designs influenced the development of motorcycles around the world.
Early life.
Philip Conrad Vincent was born in Wilbraham Gardens, Fulham on 14 March 1908. His mother, Ada Vincent, travelled back from Argentina to have her children in order to secure British citizenship. The family owned a cattle ranch between Monte Buey and Monte Maize, in the province of Córdoba, Argentina. His education began at St. George's, a British Preparatory School in Quilmes, a suburb of Buenos Aires. He was sent back to England to live with his uncle, John Vincent, who was a veterinary surgeon and lived at High House, Horndon on the Hill, Essex. Philip's education was continued there together with his two sisters, Gwendoline & Marjorie, a cousin and four other local children. He spent a year at Downsend Preparatory School, Leatherhead. He was then accepted at Harrow School where, in the school sanitorium during a three-week period of minor-illness in the company of another patient, an enthusiast, he was introduced to motorcycles.
Philip bought his first motorcycle, a secondhand 350cc BSA from Gamages in Holborn at Christmas 1924 which vibrated badly and was replaced by an ABC; he designed his first bike in 1925. In October 1926 he went up to read Mechanical Sciences at King's College, Cambridge. His father agreed that he could have a break from university to develop his first "Vincent Special", with a 350 cc MAG engine, in 1927. In 1928 he had registered a patent for his design of cantilever rear suspension and left Cambridge before graduating. The prototype used his own design of diamond-shaped frame constructed from short-tubes having 'lug' ends consistent with technology of the time, combined with his twin-spring, friction-damped cantilever rear suspension. Other main components added were proprietary – Webb front forks, Royal Enfield brakes, Moss gearbox and a McEvoy fuel tank.
Manufacturing.
Philip formed his first company with Frank Walker, a family friend. Howard R Davies, founder of the HRD marque and winner of the 1924 Senior Isle of Man TT was in financial difficulties and in 1928 with backing from his family and their cattle ranching business, Philip was able to acquire the trademark, goodwill and remaining HRD spares for £450. The company was promptly named Vincent HRD Co., Ltd., and the logo appeared with "The Vincent" added in very small letters over the top of the large HRD. Vincent designed a brand new motorcycle with his own spring frame and marketed it as Vincent HRD, with a choice of either JAP or Rudge engines.
In 1928, the first Vincent-HRD motorcycle used a JAP single-cylinder engine in a Vincent-designed cantilever frame. The earliest known example is in Canberra, Australia. Some early bikes used Rudge-Python engines. But after a disastrous 1934 Isle of Man TT, with engine problems and all three entries failing to finish, Philip Vincent (with Phil Irving, who had joined the business in 1931) decided to build their own engines. In 1935 the first Vincent powered motorcycle, the 499 cc Comet model was launched. It was quickly followed by the 998 cc Series A Rapide in 1936. During the war when motorcycle production ceased with production switched to armaments, Philip Vincent and Phil Irving designed the Series B twin-cylinder engine with integral gearbox which powered the Series B Rapide. Produced from the cessation of hostilities, it was further developed to power the legendary Vincent Black Shadow and Black Lightning models. In 1949 the HRD logo was dropped to prevent confusion with the "HD" of Harley Davidson in the important American Market.
Philip Vincent also experimented with three-wheeled vehicles, amphibious vehicles, and automobiles. In 1932 the first 3-wheeler, "The Vincent Bantam" appeared, powered by a 293 cc SV JAP or 250 cc Villiers engine. It was a 2.5 cwt delivery van with a car seat and a steering wheel. The Bantam cost £57-10-0 and the windscreen and hood option cost £5-10-0. Production ceased in 1936.
Writing.
During the 1960s Vincent contributed to motorcycling journals, writing technical articles as a freelancer.
He used his full title of "Phil Vincent C Eng, AMI Mech E, AMIPE" ("Chartered Engineer, Associate Member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers", and "Associate Member of the Institution of Production Engineers", respectively) in Motor Cycle, and – in accordance with established 'house style' – under the simple abbreviation "P.C.V." in "Motorcycle Sport".
Examples of Vincent's works:
Later life.
After the commercial failure of Vincent Motorcycles in 1955, Philip worked on production of small industrial engines, leaving his Stevenage factory for the last time in 1960. He then worked as a car dealer and writer whilst continuing his lifelong technical devotion by working on a rotary-engine concept, which took most of his money.
He collaborated with writer Roy Harper on several books during the early 1970s including his autobiography entitled "PCV", before suffering strokes and heart problems.
Philip Conrad Vincent died in 1979 at Ashford Hospital in Middlesex following a long illness. His ashes are interred in the family plot at St. Peter and St. Paul's Church, Horndon-on-the-Hill, Essex.


Milkor MGL

The Milkor MGL (Multiple Grenade Launcher) is a lightweight 40 mm six-shot revolver-type grenade launcher (variations also fire 37/38mm) developed and manufactured in South Africa by Milkor (Pty) Ltd. The MGL was demonstrated as a concept to the South African Defence Force (SADF) in 1981. The MGL was then officially accepted into service with the SADF as the Y2. After its introduction in 1983, the MGL was gradually adopted by the armed forces and law enforcement organizations of over 50 countries. Total production since 1983 has been more than 50,000 units.
The MGL is a multiple-shot weapon, intended to significantly increase a small squad's firepower when compared to traditional single-shot grenade launchers like the M203. The MGL is designed to be simple, rugged, and reliable. It uses the well-proven revolver principle to achieve a high rate of accurate fire which can be rapidly brought to bear on a target. A variety of rounds such as HE, HEAT, anti-riot baton, irritant, and pyrotechnic can be loaded, then fired as fast as the trigger can be pulled; the cylinder can be loaded or unloaded rapidly to maintain a high rate of fire. Although intended primarily for offensive and defensive use with high-explosive rounds, with appropriate ammunition the launcher is suitable for anti-riot and other security operations. A newly patented modification allows the MGL to fire less lethal (very low pressure) rounds.
Design.
Operating mechanism.
The MGL is a low-velocity, shoulder-fired 40 mm grenade launcher with a six-round spring-driven revolver-style magazine capable of accepting most 40×46mm grenades. The spring-driven cylinder rotates automatically while firing, but it must be wound back up after every reloading.
Features.
The MGL grenade launcher consists of a lightweight, progressively rifled steel barrel, sight assembly, frame with firing mechanism, spring-actuated revolving cylinder magazine, and a folding stock. The weapon has a fire selector safety switch just above the rear pistol grip which can be operated from either side. The launcher cannot be accidentally discharged if dropped.
The launcher is loaded by releasing the cylinder axis pin and swinging the steel frame away from the cylinder. The rear of the cylinder (including the pistol grip) is unlatched and pivoted counter-clockwise to expose the chambers during reloading. By inserting the fingers into the empty chambers and rotating the aluminium cylinder it is then wound against its driving spring. The grenades are then inserted into the chambers, one-by-one (because the cylinder cannot be removed), the frame closed, and the axis pin re-engaged to lock. When the trigger is pressed a double-action takes place and the firing pin is cocked and released to fire the grenade. Gas pressure on a piston unlocks the cylinder and allows the spring to rotate it until the next chamber is aligned with the firing pin, whereupon the next round can be fired. If a misfire occurs the trigger can be pulled repeatedly.
Sights.
The Y2, amongst other models, is equipped with the Armson Occluded Eye Gunsight (OEG), a collimator sight which provides a single aiming post. The shooter aims with both eyes open and the post is superimposed onto the target, both being in focus. The OEG on the Y2 is designed as an aid to range estimation, the post being equal to the height of a man at 200 metres. It is also fitted with tritium illumination for low light operation which has a life of at least ten years. The range quadrant is graduated in 25 m increments.
Accessories.
Each MGL is supplied with a sling, a cleaning kit and a user's manual.
Variants.
Several upgrades were made to the original design in the last decade. After over 12 years of production, and more than a decade of user feedback from different countries around the world, it became evident that a redesign of some component groups would make the weapon even more user-friendly and reliable while also simplifying maintenance. This development, known as the MGL Mk 1 was introduced to the market in 1996. All weapons previously supplied can be upgraded to the Mk 1 configuration. Parts, such as the steel barrel, are interchangeable with a minimum of workshop modifications involving a few special tools and cutting dies.
Two "product improved" variants were introduced in 2004. The first is the Mk 1S, which replaces the aluminum frame of the Mk 1 with a stronger stainless steel body, a conventional trigger unit, and Picatinny rail support at the top, sides and bottom of the forend. The second variant is the Mk 1L, with the same features as the Mk 1S, but with a long cylinder to fit special-purpose grenades such as tear gas canisters and less-lethal impact rounds that are too long to fit in the other models' shorter cylinder. The Mk 1L also features a sliding buttstock.
In 2006 the Milkor 37/38mm Multiple Anti-Riot (MAR) replaced the 40mm less-lethal Yima. The MAR is largely identical to other MGL models, but is adapted to fire standard 37/38mm less-lethal riot control rounds available today.
The Milkor SuperSix MRGL (Multi-range Grenade Launcher) was developed in 2012 and features a new recoil reduction system, redesigned stock, strengthened construction and new optics. The SuperSix MRGL is capable of firing a wide range of standard (low velocity, LV) and medium velocity (MV) munitions, which enables the user to engage a wider range of targets than possible with previous launchers, with a maximum range of 800 to 1200 metres. Rounds can be fired in rapid succession of six rounds in less than 3 seconds (operator dependent) and has a standard six-shot area coverage of at least 20m × 60m.
Milkor USA.
Milkor USA, Inc. is an American company that produces copies of the Milkor MGL. Milkor (Pty) Ltd has no affiliation or working relationship with Milkor USA.
Milkor USA previously produced the Mk 1S as the MGL-105, and the Mk 1L as the MGL-140, both referring to their respective chamber lengths.
In 2005 the United States Marine Corps procured 200 MGL-140s, designated as the "M32 Multi-shot Grenade Launcher" (M32 MGL or M32 MSGL). They were initially field tested in 2006. The M32 is equipped with the M2A1 reflex sight, a AAA battery–powered sight with infrared settings for night operations. Its elevation adjusts in 25 meter increments and compensates for drift, and its casing features a Picatinny rail on top.
In 2014, Milkor USA dropped the MGL-105 and MGL-140, and introduced a shorter-barreled variant, the M32A1. Despite the shorter barrel (8 inches instead of 12), it weighs the same as the M32, because its receiver, stock and other parts of the weapon were strengthened, in anticipation of higher pressure medium velocity rounds sought by United States Special Operations Command. The M32A1 has been adopted by the U.S. Marine Corps as the M32A1 Multi-shot Grenade Launcher, and by USSOCOM as the Mk 14 Mod 0.


WAF Band


Active Citizen Force


USCGC Argo

USCGC "Argo" (WPC-100) was a belonging to the United States Coast Guard launched on 12 November 1932 and commissioned on 6 January 1933.
Coast Guard career.
"Argo" was built by John H. Mathis Company in Camden, New Jersey in 1932 and entered service on 6 January 1933 under the command of Lieutenant H. C. Moore, USCG. Her initial homeport was Stapleton, New York until 13 March 1934 when she was transferred to Newport, Rhode Island. She remained in Newport until early 1942. During this time she served on United States Coast Guard Academy cadet training cruises in the Atlantic.
Early in 1942 "Argo" was attached to the Atlantic Fleet as a convoy escort. While on escort duty on 22 June 1942, "Argo" made a depth charge attack in which the charges failed to explode. On the 27th of the same month, she made another contact at 10:45 but ended the search fifteen minutes later. Two minutes later a ship in the convoy was torpedoed and at 01:49 "Argo" found a contact at with the target moving slowly to the right. The cutter closed to but lost contact at and released a five-charge pattern and sighted a large oil bubble upon completion of the attack. Investigating the location where the charges were released, her crew observed a large area of bubbles and an oil slick leading to the horizon, presumably in the vicinity but beyond where the attack was made. At 02:10 she released a pattern of three charges and oil was still coming to the surface. She then released one charge at a depth of over (rather than the other set for ). Presuming the submarine was destroyed, she changed course to rejoin the convoy.
While "Argo" was in convoy on 6 January 1944, under the command of LTJG Eliot Winslow, the merchant tanker "Camas Meadows" and the Navy gunboat collided. "St. Augustine" sank quickly and Argo rescued 23 survivors and picked up six bodies. Crewmembers from "Argo" and her sister ship "Thetis" were recognized for their actions following the collision.
Sometime after 24 March 1944 "Argo" was placed in reduced commission at the Chelsea Navy Base near Boston, Massachusetts.
On 11 May 1945, three days after the surrender of Germany, while patrolling off the east coast, "Argo" participated in the surrender of three German submarines: , and . The cutter took aboard a number of prisoners and escorted the German submarines to Portsmouth Navy Yard in Portsmouth, New Hampshire without incident.
Post war service.
Later in 1945, "Argo" was assigned to the First Coast Guard District and was assigned to rescue duty. Her new homeport was Rockland, Maine. In 1947 the commander of First Coast Guard District requested to place "Argo" in "out of commission, in reserve" status due to manpower shortages. The request was not initially approved. The establishment of the Weather Patrol Program strained Coast Guard manpower and the "Argo" was placed in reserve status. The buoy tender towed the vessel to Cape May, New Jersey where she was laid up.
Later career.
"Argo" was decommissioned on October 30, 1948 and sold on 2 November 1955 to A.T. Davies, Birchfield Boiler, Inc. of Tacoma, Washington for $15,564. She was eventually acquired by Circle Line Sightseeing Cruises of New York City and greatly modified for passenger service. She was re-engined with eight General Motors 6-71 Quad diesel engines (four per shaft) and Falk reverse/reduction gears with individual hydraulically operated clutches for each engine. As of early 2017, she was serving in New York Harbor as "Sightseer XII".


Pityilu Island

Pityilu Island is part of Manus Province in northern Papua New Guinea and part of the Admiralty Islands. It is off the northern coast of Manus Island and is nearly 4.8 km long and varies in width from 76 to 198 metres.
History.
Pityilu Island was occupied by the Imperial Japanese forces in 1942.
On 30 March 1944, the island was assaulted by the reinforced 1st Squadron of 7th Cavalry of the United States Army. 59 Imperial Japanese were killed and 8 cavalrymen were killed with 6 wounded in the assault.
Pityilu Island was selected to become an airstrip for the use of the United States Navy with a Rest & Recreation facility designed to accommodate up to 10,000 servicemen. The facilities were constructed by the 140th Naval Construction Battalion in June 1944. Pityilu Airstrip consisted of a single runway, made of crushed coral x . that was built by the 71st CB.


Alert area

An Alert Area is a place of alert for military aircraft at United States Air Force bases. During the Cold War, bomber aircraft would be stationed on the Christmas trees within the area, ready to take off at a moment's notice. Oftentimes, tanker aircraft would be stationed in a separate area of the base, and would take off along with their bomber counterparts. At the Alert Area at Loring Air Force Base, the area consisted of a forty acre high-security area located to the southeast corner of the runway, and bordered to the east by forest. It also contains a Christmas tree and mole hole, among other buildings.


Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin

The Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin (; abbreviated HIG), also referred to as Hezb-e-Islami or Hezb-i-Islami Afghanistan (HIA), is an Afghan political party and former militia, founded and led by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar.
Since 1979, when Mulavi Younas Khalis made a split with Hekmatyar and established his own group, the remaining part of Hezb-e Islami, still headed by Hekmatyar, was known as 'Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin' or HIG.
During the Soviet–Afghan War (1979–1989), Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin was well-financed by anti-Soviet forces through the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). In the mid-1990s, the HIG was "sidelined from Afghan politics" by the rise of the Taliban.
In the post-2001 war in Afghanistan, HIG "reemerged as an aggressive militant group, claiming responsibility for many bloody attacks against Coalition forces and the administration of President Hamid Karzai". Its fighting strength was "sometimes estimated to number in the thousands". The group signed a peace deal with the Ghani administration in 2016.
History.
Background: split-up Hezb-e-Islami.
The original Hezb-e-Islami was founded in 1975 by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar.
In 1979, Mulavi Younas Khalis made a split with Hekmatyar and established his own group, which became known as the Khalis faction, with its power base in Nangarhar. The remaining part of Hezb-e Islami, still headed by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, was since then also known as 'Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin' or HIG.
War against Soviet invasion.
During the Soviet–Afghan War (1979–1989), Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin was well-financed by anti-Soviet forces, through the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). Since 1981 or 1985, Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin formed a part of the Peshawar Seven alliance of Sunni Mujaheddin forces fighting the Soviet invasion.
Hekmatyar and his party operated near the Pakistani border against Soviet Communists. Areas such as Kunar, Laghman, Jalalabad, and Paktia were Hezb-e Islami's strongholds. The party is highly centralized under Hekmatyar's command and until 1994 had close relations with Pakistan.
Despite its ample funding, it has been described as having
Civil war (1992–2001).
In April 1992, Hezbi Islami (HIG) was involved in the outbreak of civil war in Afghanistan.
The bombardment of the capital Kabul by Hezb-i-Islami Afghanistan (HIA) in 1994 is reported to have "resulted in the deaths of more than 25,000 civilians." Frustrated by that continued destructive warlord feuding in Afghanistan, the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) abandoned HIG for the Taliban in 1994.
After HIG was expelled from Kabul by the Taliban in September 1996, many of its local commanders joined the Taliban, "both out of ideological sympathy and for reason of tribal solidarity." In Pakistan Hezb-e-Islami training camps "were taken over by the Taliban and handed over" to Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) groups such as the Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP).
After 2001.
"The Columbia World Dictionary of Islamism" reports that, having lost Saudi support when it supported Saddam Hussein and Pakistani support after 1994, "the remainder of Hizb-i Islami merged into al-Qaeda and the Taliban." The Jamestown Foundation describes it having been "sidelined from Afghan politics" for a decade or so after the Taliban takeover of Kabul. Hekmatyar opposed the 2001 American intervention in Afghanistan, and since then has aligned his group (Hezb-e-Islami) with remnants of the Taliban and al-Qaeda against the current Afghan government.
Radio Free Europe reports that "in 2006, Hekmatyar appeared in a video aired on the Arabic language Al-Jazeera television station and declared he wanted his forces to fight alongside Al-Qaeda." According to "Le Monde" newspaper, as of 2007, the group was active around Mazari Sharif and Jalalabad. HIG took credit for a 2008 attack on a military parade that nearly killed Karzai, an August 2008 ambush near Kabul that left ten French soldiers dead, and an October 3, 2009 attack by 150 insurgents that overwhelmed a remote outpost in Nuristan Province, killing eight American soldiers and wounding 24.
There have also been reports of clashes between members of the HIG and Taliban, and defection of HIG members to the Afghan government. Ten members of the group's "senior leadership" met in May 2004 with President Hamid Karzai and "publicly announced their rejection of Hezb-e-Islami’s alliance with al-Qaeda and the Taliban." Prior to Afghanistan's 2004 elections, 150 members of the Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin party were said to have defected to Hamid Karzai's administration. Jamestown Foundation reported in 2004 that, according to Deputy Speaker of Parliament Sardar Rahmanoglu, HIA members "occupy around 30 to 40 percent of government offices, from cabinet ministers to provisional and other government posts." According to journalist Michael Crowley, as of 2010, HIG’s political arm holds 19 of 246 seats in the Afghan parliament and "claims not to take cues from Hekmatyar, though few believe it."
In early March 2010, elements of the Taliban and the HIG were reportedly fighting in Baghlan province.
Scores of Hizb-e-Islami militants, including 11 commanders and 68 fighters, defected on Sunday [7 March 2010] and joined the Afghan government as a clash between the group and the Taliban left 79 people dead, police said.
Peace negotiations 2010–2016.
On the celebration of "Nowruz", New Year's Day, of 1389 (March 21, 2010, Western calendar) Harun Zarghun, chief spokesman for Hizb-i-Islami, said that a five-member delegation was in Kabul to meet with government officials and that there were also plans to meet with Taliban leaders somewhere in Afghanistan. Khalid Farooqi, a member of the parliament from Paktika province, confirmed that two delegations from Hizb-i-Islami had shown up. Zarghun, the group's spokesman in Pakistan, said that the delegation had a 15-point plan that called for the retreat of foreign forces in July 2010 – a full year ahead of President Barack Obama's intended withdrawal. The plan also called for the replacement of the current Afghan parliament in December 2010 by an interim government, or shura, which then would hold local and national elections within a year. Zarghun said that a new Afghan constitution would be written, merging the current version with ones used earlier.
The same day, Afghanistan's vice-president Mohammad Qasim Fahim reached out to militants at the Nowruz New Year celebrations in Mazar-i-Sharif in Northern Afghanistan. He declared that, with their input, a coming national conference would lay the foundations for peace. He called on resistance forces to participate in a jirga, or assembly, planned for late April or early May.
In late January 2012, America's special envoy to the region Marc Grossman talked peace and reconciliation with Hamid Karzai in Kabul, though the Afghan president made it clear that Afghans should be in the driver's seat; hours before the meeting, Karzai said he personally held peace talks recently with the insurgent faction Hizb-i-Islami, appearing to assert his own role in a U.S.-led bid for negotiations to end the country's decade-long war.
In July 2015, Afghan media outlets reported that Hekmatyar had called on followers of Hezb-e Islami to support the militant group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in the fight against the Taliban. Reuters quoted a spokesman for Hizb-i-Islami as denying this, and calling the earlier reports a fake.
2010 Badakhshan massacre.
In August 2010, Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin was possibly responsible for the 2010 Badakhshan massacre.
Alleged ties to North Korea.
According to a document dump in the summer of 2010, a Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin member, along with an agent of Osama Bin Laden, allegedly took a trip on November 19, 2005 to North Korea via Iran. Here is the exact text of the intelligence report:
Although a rocket attack reported to have happened in 2007, killing all on board and destroying the vehicle, fit the characteristics of the mentioned North Korean rocket, the report remains unverified. No such Dr. Amin has surfaced of late.
2016 peace deal.
On 22 September 2016, the government of Afghanistan signed a draft peace deal with Hezb-i-Islami. According to the draft agreement, Hezb-i-Islami agreed to cease hostilities, cut ties to extremist groups and respect the Afghan Constitution, in exchange for government recognition of the group and support for the removal of United Nations and American sanctions against Hekmatyar, who was also promised an honorary post in the government.
The agreement was formalised on 29 September with both Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Hekmatyar who appeared via a video link into the presidential palace, signing the agreement. The Afghan government formally requested UN in December 2016 for removal of sanctions against the group's leaders. The sanctions against Hekmatyar were lifted by the UN on 3 February 2017.
On June 14, 2018, 180 individuals tied to Hezbi Islami were released from prison. Peace negotiator Ghairat Baheer addressed the men, on their release, telling them the party expected them to be peaceful, law-abiding citizens. "Tolo News" reported that this was the fourth release of individuals tied to Hezbi Islami, and it brought the total number of released men to 500.
Accused combatant prisoners at Guantanamo.
Dozens of inmates at the United States prison at Guantanamo Bay faced allegations that they had been associated with the Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin.
Originally the Bush Presidency asserted it was not obliged to let any captives apprehended in Afghanistan know why they were being held, or to provide a venue where they could challenge the allegations against them. However, the United States Supreme Court's ruling in Rasul v. Bush required the institution of a review. The Supreme Court recommended the reviews be modeled after the Army Regulation 190-8 Tribunals that were ordinarily used to determine whether captives were innocent civilians who should be released, lawful combatants entitled to Prisoner of War status, or war criminals who could be tried, and who weren't protected by all the provisions of the Geneva Conventions.
The Department of Defense set up the Office for the Administrative Review of Detained Enemy Combatants (OARDEC). OARDEC administered an initial Combatant Status Review Tribunal for the 558 Guantanamo captives who were still in the detention camp as of August 2004. Unlike the AR 190-8 Tribunals, the Combatant Status Review Tribunals were not authorized to determine whether captives were entitled to POW status, only whether they were "enemy combatants. OARDEC also administered annual Administrative Review Board hearings. The Boards were only authorized to make a recommendation as to whether captives might represent an ongoing threat, or might continue to hold intelligence value, and therefore should continue to be held in US custody.
Close to 10,000 pages of documents from the Combatant Status Review Tribunals and Administrative Review Board hearings were released after contested Freedom of Information Act requests.
Dozens of captives faced allegations that they had been associated with the Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin. Some of the documents just alleged that a captive was associated with Hezb-e-Islami, without explaining why this implied they were an "enemy combatant". Other documents did provide brief explanations as how an association with Hezb-e-Islami implied a captive was an "enemy combatant". Neither Hezb-e-Islami nor Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin are on the U.S. State Department list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations and they never have been; but Gulbuddin is on the additional list called "Groups of Concern."


Second Battle of Habbaniyah

The Second Battle of Habbaniyah was a U.S. military operation involving in Iraq the United States Marine Corps' 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, operating under the command of Regimental Combat Team 5. The battle took place between August 17, 2006 and February 14, 2007.
Background.
Eastern Anbar Province, particularly the cities of Al Fallujah and Ar Ramadi, had been a hotbed of anti-western sentiment and insurgent activity since the conquest of the country by the Coalition in March and April 2003. Operation Iraqi Freedom had liberated the country from the despotism of the Hussein administration, but for the Sunni Muslims of Al Anbar Province, Saddam's fall left them without the power they had accumulated through the Ba'ath Party. Soon after the fall of Baghdad, unrest in the west led Al Qaeda Iraq to designate the 30-kilometer corridor between the provincial cities as a potential stronghold. Despite multiple major operations in the region by US forces, notably Operation Phantom Fury in 2004, Ramadi and Fallujah remained among the hottest war zones in the world from 2004 through 2007.
The Marine Corps' 2nd Division deployed their 3rd Battlion, 2nd Regiment to Iraq in July 2006. Lt. Col. Todd Desgrosseilliers, commanding the unit of around 850 Marines, was a veteran of fighting in Fallujah, where he was awarded a Silver Star. 3/2, known as the Betio Bastards, comprised three infantry "line" companies, one heavy weapons company (including a scout sniper section) and a HQ company (including Communications and Motor Transport sections). AQI in early 2006 was led by Abu Ayyub al-Masri; their strength was unknown but estimated as between 1000–3000.
The Battle.
U.S. Marines of the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, swept through urban sprawl between Ramadi and Fallujah in a series of operations (i.e. Operations RUBICON and SIDEWINDER), disrupting flow of Al-Qaeda and Sunni insurgents into both cities, and killing and capturing over 300 insurgents. Action centered around Kilo Company, nicknamed "Voodoo", in the towns of Husaybah, Bidimnah, and Julaybah on the outskirts of Ramadi. Kilo Marines killed or captured 137 insurgents; 4 Marines were killed in action, and 17 were wounded. Within Kilo itself, the squad most affected was "Voodoo Mobile", the vehicle-mounted element of the unit's HQ section. Of its 16 members, 12 were wounded and 3 were killed between September and November 2006.
During the seven-month deployment, fighting between Al-Qaeda and the Marines was largely sporadic but intense. While only a handful of large-scale firefights developed - mostly in the suburbs of Ramadi between Habbaniyah and Julaybah - contact between the two sides was nearly continuous. Kilo Company officers reported sniper fire on a daily basis, as well as IED strikes on over 200 of the over 250 vehicle patrols they mounted.
Operations consisted of a mixed array of company-scale urban "sweep-and-clear" operations, census and suppression patrols, and static, fortified area-denial positions. The battalion was spread out along a 30 kilometer front from the western fringes of Fallujah to the eastern boundary of Ramadi.
During the battle, 14 Marines from the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marines were killed and at least 123 were wounded. 12 of the 14 were killed by IED strikes, while the other two suffered mortal wounds from sniper fire.
Aftermath.
After action reports from 3/2's command structure indicate that while they were highly successful in individual engagements, and that the pre-deployment desert warfare training was invaluable (see Mojave Viper), long-term success was beyond their grasp. Tactically, the Marines had dominated the battlespace and done massive damage to AQI's ability to push fighters into the strategically critical cities of Ramadi and Fallujah; however, they were unable to sway the support of the local populace to the side of the Coalition. In addition, the lull in attacks during the changeover between 3/2 and their replacements in February led to a relaxing of vigilance among the Pendleton unit, causing further significant casualties among the Marines in Habbaniyah later that year.


List of aircraft of the South African Air Force

The following is a list of current and historic aircraft of the South African Air Force.
Current aircraft.
2019
Historic aircraft.
Aircraft types no longer in service.


Mobile User Objective System

The Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) is an United States narrowband military communications satellite system that supports a worldwide, multi-service population of users in the ultra high frequency (UHF) band. The system provides increased communications capabilities to newer, smaller terminals while still supporting interoperability with legacy terminals. MUOS is designed to support users who require greater mobility, higher bit rates and improved operational availability. The MUOS was declared fully operational for use in 2019.
Overview.
The Mobile User Objective System (MUOS), through a constellation of five satellites (four operational satellites and one on-orbit spare), provides global narrowband connectivity to terminals, platforms, tactical operators and operations centers. The system replaces the slower and less mobile 1990s-era Ultra High Frequency Follow-On (UFO) satellite communication system. MUOS primarily serves the United States Department of Defense (DoD) and international allies use is under consideration. Primarily for mobile users (e.g. aerial and maritime platforms, ground vehicles, and dismounted soldiers), MUOS extend users' voice, data, and video communications beyond their lines-of-sight at data rates up to 384 kbit/s.
The U.S. Navy's Communications Satellite Program Office (PMW 146) of the Program Executive Office (PEO) for Space Systems in San Diego, is lead developer for the MUOS program. Lockheed Martin Space is the prime system contractor and satellite designer for MUOS under U.S. Navy Contract N00039-04-C-2009, which was announced on 24 September 2004. Key subcontractors include General Dynamics Mission Systems (Ground Transport architecture), Boeing (Legacy UFO and portions of the WCDMA payload) and Harris (deployable mesh reflectors). The program delivered five satellites, four ground stations, and a terrestrial transport network at a cost of US$7.34 billion.
Each satellite in the MUOS constellation carries two payloads: a legacy communications payload to maintain Department of Defense narrowband communications during the transition to MUOS, and the advanced MUOS Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) capability, according to NAVWAR.
WCDMA system.
MUOS WCDMA radios can transmit simultaneous voice, video and mission data on an Internet Protocol-based system connected to military networks. MUOS radios operate from anywhere around the world at speeds comparable 3G smartphones. MUOS radios can also work under dense cover, such as jungle canopies and urban settings. The MUOS operates as a global cellular service provider to support the warfighter with modern cell phone-like capabilities, such as multimedia. It converts a commercial third generation (3G) Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) cellular phone system to a military UHF SATCOM radio system using geosynchronous satellites in place of cell towers. By operating in the Ultra high frequency (UHF) frequency band, a lower frequency band than that used by conventional terrestrial cellular networks, the MUOS provides warfighters with the tactical ability to communicate in "disadvantaged" environments, such as heavily forested regions where higher frequency signals would be unacceptably attenuated by the forest canopy. Connections may be set up on demand by users in the field, within seconds, and then released just as easily, freeing resources for other users. In alignment with more traditional military communications methods, pre-planned networks can also be established either permanently or per specific schedule using the MUOS' ground-based Network Management Center.
Legacy payload.
In addition to the cellular MUOS WCDMA payload, a fully capable and separate UFO legacy payload is incorporated into each satellite. The "legacy" payload extends the useful life of legacy UHF SATCOM terminals and enables a smoother transition to MUOS.
Launches.
MUOS-1, after several weather delays, was launched into space successfully on 24 February 2012, at 22:15:00 UTC, carried by an Atlas V launch vehicle flying in its 551 configuration.
MUOS-2 was launched on schedule on 19 July 2013, at 13:00:00 UTC aboard an Atlas V 551 (AV-040).
MUOS-3 was launched on board an United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V launch vehicle on 20 January 2015, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS), Florida.
MUOS-4 arrived at Cape Canaveral on 31 July 2015. Weather conditions pushed back the launch, which was originally scheduled for on 31 August 2015, at 10:07 UTC. The launch took place on 2 September 2015, at 10:18:00 UTC.
MUOS-5 arrived at Cape Canaveral on 9 March 2016. Launch was originally scheduled for on 5 May 2016, but due to an internal investigation into an Atlas V fuel system problem during the Cygnus OA-6 launch on 22 March 2016, the scheduled date was pushed back. The launch took place on 24 June 2016, at 14:30:00 UTC. An "anomaly" aboard the satellite occurred a few days later, however, when it was still in a Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO), leaving it "Reconfigured into Safe Intermediate Orbit", or stranded in GTO. Amateur observers tracked it in an orbit of approximately since 3 July 2016. On 3 November 2016, the Navy announced that the satellite has finally reached operational orbit.
MUOS operational positions.
The four currently operational MUOS satellites are stationed at longitude 100° West (MUOS-1); 177° West (MUOS-2); 15° West (MUOS-3); and 75° East (MUOS-4). MUOS-5 is at 103.8° West spare. They have a 5° orbital inclination. In the first few months after launch, the satellites were temporarily parked in a check-out position at longitude 172° West.
MUOS ground stations.
The MUOS includes four ground station facilities. Site selections were completed in 2007 with the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the U.S. Navy and the Australian Department of Defence. The four ground stations, each of which serves one of the four active satellites of the MUOS constellation will be located at: the Australian Defence Satellite Communications Station at Kojarena, Western Australia about 30 km east of Geraldton, Western Australia; Naval Radio Transmitter Facility (NRTF) Niscemi about 60 km from Naval Air Station Sigonella, Sicily, Italy; Naval SATCOM Facility, Northwest Chesapeake, Southeast Virginia at ; and the Naval Computer and Telecommunications Area Master Station Pacific, Hawaii.
Controversy.
Construction of the ground station in Italy was halted for nearly half of 2012 by protesters concerned with health risks and environmental damage by radio waves. One scientific study "point[s] to serious risks to people and the environment, such as to prevent its realization in densely populated areas, like the one adjacent to the town of Niscemi". In spite of the controversy, the site at Niscemi was completed in anticipation of the launch of MUOS-4.
Radio terminals.
The MUOS waveform with complete red/black operational capability was released in 2012. Until the Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) program cancellation in 2011, the JTRS program would provide the DoD terminals that can communicate with the MUOS WCDMA waveform with a series of form-factor models. The JTRS Handheld, Manpack and Small Form Fit (HMS) AN/PRC-155 manpack built by General Dynamics Mission Systems survived the wider JTRS program cancellation and has shipped several low rate of initial production (LRIP) units. Rockwell Collins AN/ARC-210 airborne terminal and Harris Corporation AN/PRC-117G. Manpack have also been certified for operation on the MUOS system.
Arctic and Antarctic capabilities.
Lockheed Martin and an industry team of radio vendors demonstrated extensive Arctic communications reach near the North Pole, believed to be the most northerly successful call to a geosynchronous satellite. WCDMA calls to the far north will be increasingly important where there has been an increase in shipping, resource exploration and tourism without much improvement in secure satellite communications access. Based on these and continued tests, full coverage of the Northwest Passage and Northeast Passage shipping lanes is expected. Several follow-on tests with high quality voice and data including streaming video have occurred in both the Arctic and Antarctic, including a 2015 demonstration from McMurdo Station.


Nuclear-powered cruisers of the United States Navy

The United States Navy at one time had nuclear-powered cruisers as part of its fleet. The first such ship was USS "Long Beach" (CGN-9). Commissioned in late summer 1961, she was the world's first nuclear-powered surface combatant. She was followed a year later by USS "Bainbridge" (DLGN-25). While "Long Beach" was a 'true cruiser', meaning she was designed and built as a cruiser, "Bainbridge" began life as a frigate, though at that time the Navy was using the hull code "DLGN" for "destroyer leader, guided missile, nuclear". This was prior to the enactment of the 1975 ship reclassification plan, in which frigates (DLG/DLGN), (which were essentially large destroyers), were reclassified as cruisers, so that the US Navy's numbers would compete with those of the Soviet Navy. "Long Beach", the largest of all the nuclear cruisers, was equipped with a C1W cruiser reactor, while all the others were equipped with D2G destroyer reactors.
In the summer of 1964, "Long Beach" and "Bainbridge" would meet up with USS "Enterprise" (CVAN-65), the Navy's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, to form Task Force One, an all-nuclear-powered naval unit. They would commence Operation Sea Orbit, in which they circumnavigated the globe, without refuelling. It was a remarkable achievement for its time, a naval group capable of sailing over in just 65 days, without replenishment.
In the spring of 1967 came the Navy's third nuclear-powered cruiser, (though initially labeled a frigate), USS "Truxtun" (DLGN-35), a heavily modified design based on the cruiser. "Truxtun" would be followed by the 2-ship , beginning with in February 1974 and in January 1975. The US Navy was the only fleet in the world with nuclear-powered cruisers, until 1974 when the USSR would begin construction on their own nuclear battlecruiser, the . The Soviets would build 4 in total, between 1974 and 1998.
The last nuclear-powered cruisers the Americans would produce would be the 4-ship . was commissioned in 1976, followed by in 1977, in 1978 and finally in 1980. Ultimately, all these ships would prove to be too costly to maintain and they would all be retired between 1993 and 1999. A fifth "Virginia"-class vessel was initially planned but then cancelled.
The US Navy currently has the largest fleet of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and nuclear-powered submarines.
List of United States Navy nuclear-powered cruisers


The Writing 69th

The Writing 69th was a group of eight American journalists who trained to fly bomber missions over Germany with the U.S. Eighth Air Force during World War II.
The beginnings.
The Writing 69th was so christened by one of the 8th Air Force's public relations officers, perhaps Hal Leyshon or Joe Maher. The group also considered the names "The Flying Typewriters" or the "Legion of the Doomed." The Writing 69th included Walter Cronkite, Andy Rooney, Homer Bigart, and Robert Post, among others.
Members.
The Writing 69th included:
In addition to the writers of the 69th, five newsreel cameramen took part in the training with the Flying Typewriters. They and their affiliations were:
The training.
The reporters who accompanied the 8th Air Force were required to undergo a rigorous training course in just one week. They trained in a multitude of tasks, including how to shoot weapons, despite rules barring non-combatants from carrying a weapon into combat. The men were also trained on how to adjust to high altitudes, parachuting, and enemy identification.
The first and last mission.
The first and last mission for the Writing 69th would come on February 26, 1943. A group of American B-24s and B-17s were dispatched to attack the Focke-Wulf aircraft factory in Bremen, Germany. As fate would have it, the skies over Bremen were overcast, and the bombing run had to be diverted to a secondary target, the submarine pens at Wilhelmshaven.
Of the eight journalists who comprised the Writing 69th, only six went on that fateful mission; Post, Cronkite, Rooney, Wade, Bigart, and Hill. Over Oldenburg, Germany, the American bomber group encountered German fighters. Post's B-24 was shot down and exploded in mid-air. Eight Air Force crew members were killed, along with Post. The other aircraft returned safely, though Rooney's sustained some flak (anti-aircraft) damage. Post's death effectively ended the days of reporters flying on bombing missions. Others, including Scott and Manning (who both missed the Wilhelmshaven raid), did fly after this mission, but it was not nearly as widespread as it might have been had Post not been killed.


USCGC Dependable (WMEC-626)

USCGC "Dependable" (WMEC–626) is a United States Coast Guard medium endurance cutter. Her keel was laid down by American Ship Building Company, Lorain, Ohio July 17, 1967 and she was launched March 16, 1968. "Dependable" was commissioned November 22, 1968 and her current homeport is Virginia Beach, Virginia. On February 24, 1995 she was decommissioned for Major Maintenance Availability (MMA), an 18-month, 21.7 million dollar project to overhaul and upgrade selected systems and equipment. The Coast Guard anticipates another fifteen years of service due to these renovations. She was re-commissioned United States Coast Guard Yard in Baltimore, Maryland on August 15, 1997.
History.
For 23 years she was homeported in Panama City, Florida. In January 1992, the ship and her crew relocated to Galveston, Texas. Portsmouth, Virginia was her home before being relocated to her new home in Cape May, New Jersey, on August 4, 2000. On May 30, 2015 her homeport was shifted to Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Her mission remains the same in Virginia Beach as in the past. Examples of her missions include enforcing fishery regulations in the Atlantic, interdicting drug traffickers in the Caribbean, and rescuing Cuban and Haitian migrants in the Florida Straits.
In her 3rd year conducting law enforcement patrols, the crew intercepted and interdicted 15% of the marijuana seized by the entire Coast Guard. The highlight of 1978 was in August when she seized the merchant vessel “Heide”, which was carrying over . of marijuana. She then went on to receive national recognition on August 23, 1981 when seizing the fishing vessel “Sea King” for trafficking 9 tons of marijuana. In February 2000, she participated in a joint effort with a Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment. After the detachment seized fishing vessel “Rebelde”, she towed the vessel from Cristobal, Panama and transported 6 tons of cocaine and 7 smugglers to Tampa, Florida, for prosecution. The journey lasted several days and covered .
The Dependable has received several awards including three Coast Guard Unit Commendations. She also has received two Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendations and the Humanitarian Service Medal for her lifesaving operations during the 1980 Cuban exodus.


Sri Lanka Army Seva Vanitha Unit

Inaugurated on 12 July 1984, Sri Lanka Army Seva Vanitha Unit ( ) functions with the main objective of providing welfare facilities to the family and relatives of service personnel who died, went missing in action or were injured whilst serving in the army in addition to empowering the families of the serving army personnel. Traditionally the organisation functions under the leadership of the wife of the serving Commander of the Army, and the members are the spouses of army officers as well as female officers. The organisation extends to 22 regimental branches functioning under the patronage of the wives of the respective regimental commanders.
Projects.
Sri Lanka Army Seva Vanitha Unit conducts various welfare projects such as Viru Kekulu pre-schools, daycare centres, welfare shops, bakeries and salons, with the committed contribution of the dedicated membership. Construction of houses, endowment of educational scholarships and assisting in times of natural disasters, are done at both organisational and regimental levels. The volunteer service extended by the spouses of the army officers whilst multitasking at their roles as wives, mothers and professionals, is an immense strength to Sri Lanka Army.
Branches.
All 22 regiments of the Sri Lanka Army have a Seva Vanitha branch. Those branches led by the wives of respective regimental commanders. The society of the wives of respective regimental commanders also known as Regimental Ladies' Clubs.


Commodore (United States)

Commodore was an early title and later a rank in the United States Navy, United States Coast Guard and the Confederate States Navy. For over two centuries, the designation has been given varying levels of authority and formality.
Today, it is no longer a specific rank within Active Duty or Reserve ranks, but it continues to be used as an "honorary title" within the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Coast Guard for those senior captains (pay grade O-6) in command of operational organizations composed of multiple independent subordinate naval units (e.g., multiple independent ships or aviation squadrons).
However, commodore is a rank that is actively used to this day in the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary, the civilian volunteer branch of the Coast Guard, for the ranks of District Commodore, Vice National Commodore, and National Commodore.
History.
Early days.
Use of the term "commodore" dates from 1775 in the then–Continental Navy, the predecessor of the modern U.S. Navy, when it was established (but not used) as a courtesy title reserved for captains in command of a fleet or squadron.
The first U.S. naval officer to become a commodore was John Barry, a senior officer of the Navy, appointed in 1794 after the former Continental Navy was reorganized into what would become the current U.S. Navy.
Because the U.S. Congress was originally unwilling to authorize more than four officer ranks in the navy (captain, master commandant, lieutenant, and midshipman) until 1862, considerable importance was attached to the title of commodore. Captain Isaac Hull, chafing at not being able to progress further in rank, wrote in 1814 that, if no admirals were to be authorized, something should be done to prevent, "...every midshipman that has command of a gunboat on a separate station taking upon himself the name of Commodore".
Like its Royal Navy counterpart at the time, the U.S. Navy commodore was not a higher rank, but a temporary assignment for navy officers, as Herman Melville wrote in his 1850 novel, "White-Jacket".
Eventually the title of commodore was defined more strictly, and was reserved for captains so designated by the Navy Department, although the practice of retaining the title for life added some confusion.
Rank of flag officer.
In 1857, Congress established the grade of flag officer. This generic title was intended "to promote the efficiency of the Navy", but differed little from the previous practice. The first flag officer appointed was Charles Stewart, who was appointed as "Senior Flag Officer" in 1857. The Act to Further Promote the Efficiency of the Navy, passed on December 21, 1861, gave the president the authority to appoint squadron commanders with the "rank and title" of flag officer. On January 3, 1862 Charles H. Bell (naval officer), William W. McKean, Louis Goldsborough and Samuel Dupont were promoted to Flag Officer, followed by David Farragut on January 17, 1862.
The rank of flag officer was short lived because it was replaced by commodore in July 1862.
American Civil War.
Because of the acute need for officers at the beginning of the American Civil War, naval tradition was ignored and commodore became for the first time a permanent commissioned rank in the U.S. Navy. Eighteen commodores were authorized on July 16, 1862. The rank title also lost its "line command" status when, in 1863, the chiefs of the bureaus of Medicine and Surgery, Provisions and Clothing, Steam Engineering, and Construction and Repair were all given the rank of commodore.
Disestablishment.
The rank of commodore continued in the Navy until March 3, 1899, when "An Act To reorganize and increase the efficiency and the personnel of the Navy and Marine Corps" redefined the list of officers on the active list and did not include the rank of commodore, effectively disestablishing the rank for active line officer, but not on the retirement list.
According to "Laws Relating to the Navy, 1919", the step was taken, "…on account of international relationships, the consideration of which caused the Navy Department to regard the complications confronting it as inimical to the honor and dignity of this nation, because of the adverse effect upon its high ranking representatives in their association with foreign officers". In short, U.S. Navy commodores were not being treated as flag officers by other navies, or given the respect that the Navy Department thought was their due.
As it would have been expensive to increase the pay of all the former commodores to the level of rear admirals, the U.S. Congress at the time specified that the lower half of the rear admiral list have pay equal to brigadier generals of the U.S. Army. If there were an odd number of rear admirals, the lower half of the list was to be the larger. All rear admirals lower half and full rear admirals, were considered equal to major generals, flew a blue flag with the requisite number of stars instead of a broad pennant, and were entitled to a 13-gun salute. The U.S. Supreme Court later held that the rank of commodore had been removed from the U.S. Navy, leaving it without a rank equivalent to brigadier general. This act disgruntled all the brigadier generals, who could now be outranked by officers who were their juniors in terms of service. This was a point of inter-service controversy for many years, especially after 1916, when the U.S. Army made its brigadier generals equivalent to rear admirals (lower half). Thus the two-star rank of rear admiral was now equal to that of major general.
World War II and the Cold War.
During the huge expansion of the U.S. Navy during World War II, the Department of the Navy was concerned that the appointment of more flag officers would create a glut of admirals whenever peacetime was achieved. However, some Navy and Coast Guard captains, although not yet selected for rear admiral (lower half), were holding commands of significantly higher responsibility than they had earlier and this needed to be recognized. The COMINCH of the U.S. Navy and Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral (later Fleet Admiral) Ernest J. King, proposed bringing back the older rank of "commodore" for these officers. President Franklin D. Roosevelt agreed, making the suggestion that the title be revived.
As a result, the one-star officer rank for the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Coast Guard was re-established in April 1943 with the title of "commodore". In actual practice, some officers on admiral's staffs were also promoted to the rank of commodore. By the end of the War in the Pacific in August 1945, there were over 100 commodores in the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard. With respect to the U.S. Coast Guard, it should be understood that during World War II, the much-expanded Coast Guard was transferred from the Department of the Treasury to the Department of the Navy and was involved in combat operations in both anti-submarine warfare and amphibious warfare, thousands of miles away from home, and not just in its usual role of defending the coasts of the United States, detaining smugglers, lifesaving, and search and rescue operations.
After World War II, and with the rapid drawdown in size of both the Navy and the Coast Guard, very few of the wartime commodores were ever promoted to rear admiral. All promotions to commodore ceased in 1947, and nearly all of the commodores who had held the one-star rank had either been promoted to rear admiral or had retired from the Navy by 1950. According to the 1949 edition of the Official Register of Commissioned Officers of the United States Navy, updated to January 1st, 1949, the last two commodores on active duty were Tully Shelley (b. 1892) and Antoine O. Rabideau (b. 1884). Shelley retired in July 1949 and was promoted on retirement to rear admiral retroactive to April 3, 1945. Rabideau apparently died sometime in 1949, as he is not listed in the 1950 register as either on active duty or as retired.
However, as the Cold War evolved, the Navy began to rebound from its immediate post-World War II reductions. This expanding Navy saw growth in several mission areas, and the reintroduction and designation of senior captains in command of units comprising multiple ships (e.g., "flotillas"), multiple aviation squadrons or other similar organizations became increasingly commonplace, leading to increased use of the title of commodore for those senior captains occupying these highly responsible positions.
1982 commodore admiral / 1983 rear admiral (lower half).
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, following years of objections and complaints by the U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force, and U.S. Marine Corps, efforts were begun to reinstate commodore as an official rank in the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard with a pay grade of O-7, replacing "rear admiral (lower half)", which were Navy and Coast Guard flag officers who were paid at the one-star rank of an O-7 and carried the relative seniority of a one-star officer, but who, due to the elimination of the rank of commodore at the end of World War II, wore the same two-star rank insignia as a full, or "upper half," rear admiral, an O-8.
In 1982, the rank of commodore was finally and officially reintroduced in the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Coast Guard as the O-7 rank. This was intended to quell the long-running dissatisfaction by U.S. Army, U.S. Marine Corps, and U.S. Air Force officers with the U.S. Navy's and the U.S. Coast Guard's policy of honoring its rear admirals (lower half), who received the pay grade of O-7 while wearing the rank insignia of a two-star admiral, i.e., an O-8. The one-star officer's rank and insignia for Navy and Coast Guard officers was thence re-established with the initial title of commodore admiral.
In 1983, following numerous objections by USN officers to the Chief of Naval Operations and USCG officers to the Commandant of the Coast Guard that this new title was unwieldy and confusing, the rank of "commodore admiral" was simplified to "commodore".
However, this action still failed to stem the confusion and the objections of senior officers in the naval services. This was because the U.S. Navy had long assigned the title (although not the rank) of commodore to selected captains holding major operational sea-going commands. Since at least the late 1940s, commodore had been used as a "position title" for senior navy captains who commanded air groups and air wings (other than those officers commanding carrier air groups/carrier air wings, who were historically known and referred to as "CAGs"), destroyer squadrons, submarine squadrons, amphibious squadrons, patrol boat flotillas, patrol hydrofoil missile ship squadrons, special warfare groups, construction regiments, and other large seagoing commands. The U.S. Coast Guard had never previously used the title.
Later in 1983, the one-star U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard admiral rank was changed back to its original O-7 pay grade title of "rear admiral" with the discriminator in seniority and protocol purposes of Rear Admiral, lower half, and a rank title abbreviation of RDML versus the O-8 rank title abbreviation of RADM.
From then on, commodore has remained a title for U.S. Navy captains in command of more than a single unit (other than captains commanding carrier air wings, who retained their traditional title of "CAG") and all U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard one-star admirals were subsequently referred to as rear admiral. The U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard rear admirals (lower half), continued to wear the single star for collar insignia and applicable shoulder insignia (i.e., flight suits, jackets, etc.), a single silver star on top of solid gold background shoulder board insignia, and a single broad gold sleeve stripe insignia for dress blue uniforms (service dress blue, full dress blue and dinner dress blue) of all USN and USCG flag officers in pay grade O-7, and for the service dress white and full dress white uniforms of female USN flag officers in pay grade O-7.
The term "commodore" again reverted to that of an honorary title versus an actual rank for the limited number of captains in command of multiple units.
Present-day title usage.
Military.
U.S. Navy.
The U.S. Navy no longer maintains a "rank" of commodore, but the term has survived as an "honorary title". Modern-day commodores are senior captains in the U.S. Navy holding major operational command of functional or "type" air wings or air groups (exclusive of carrier air wings) such as strike fighter wings, electronic attack wings, patrol and reconnaissance wings, airborne early warning wings, strategic communications wings, various helicopter wings, training air wings, or tactical air control groups; destroyer squadrons; submarine squadrons; amphibious squadrons; mine countermeasures squadrons; riverine squadrons; coastal warfare groups and squadrons; special warfare (SEAL) groups; explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) groups; logistics task forces; and naval construction regiments.
With the exception of the naval construction regiments that are commanded by senior captains of the U.S. Navy's Civil Engineer Corps, all other commodores are senior captains who are warfare-qualified unrestricted line (URL) officers in that combat specialty (e.g., naval aviators and naval flight officers commanding "functional" or "type" air wings or air groups, surface warfare officers commanding destroyer or littoral combat ship squadrons, submarine warfare officers commanding submarine squadrons, SEAL officers commanding special warfare groups, etc.).
Such officers employ the term "commander" in their organizational command title, this in keeping with the naval tradition of officers commanding a single ship, unit or installation being referred to as a "commanding officer" or "CO", while those captains and flag officers commanding multiple ships, multiple aviation squadrons, multiple air wings, task forces, fleets, etc., being known as a "commander" (but not to be confused with the USN / USCG "rank" of commander). With the exception of commanders of carrier air wings, captains in this latter category are referred to, both orally and in correspondence, as "commodore", but continue to wear the rank insignia of a captain. Captains in command of carrier air wings continue to use the traditional title of "CAG" which dates from when these units were known as carrier air groups.
While technically not flag officers, captains holding a commodore billet are authorized a blue and white broad pennant, also known as a "command pennant", which is normally flown from their headquarters facilities ashore and/or from ships on which they are embarked when they are the senior officer present afloat (SOPA). Depending on the type of aircraft, it may also be displayed as a plate or decal when embarked on that aircraft, or painted on one of the aircraft in one of their subordinate squadrons that also displays their name on the fuselage. This swallow-tailed pennant has a white field bounded by two horizontal blue stripes, with the numerical designation or the initials of the command title in blue centered on the white field.
In the U.S. Navy, commodore billets are considered to be O-6 "major command" assignments for Captains, on par with the commanding officers of major combatant vessels (e.g., aircraft carrier, battleship, guided missile cruiser), commanders of carrier air wings, and commanding officers of major shore installations (e.g., naval air station, naval station, naval base, naval support activity, etc.). In the other U.S. armed services, the level and scope of responsibility of a USN Captain in a commodore billet is equivalent to that of the Commanding Officer of a Marine Regiment, Marine Aircraft Group (MAG) or Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) in the U.S. Marine Corps, a wing commander in the U.S. Air Force (even when the USN command is designated as a "Group"), or a brigade commander or O-6 level post commander/installation commander in the U.S. Army.
U.S. Coast Guard.
The U.S. Coast Guard presently designates the USCG captain commanding those U.S. Coast Guard cutters and other afloat and ashore USCG units comprising Patrol Forces Southwest Asia (PATFORSWA) as a "commodore". PATFORSWA is headquartered at Naval Support Activity Bahrain in Manama, Bahrain and its primary area of responsibility is the Persian Gulf, as well as other areas coinciding with that of United States Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT). It is currently the only commodore billet in the U.S. Coast Guard and this usage mirrors the USN's use of the title "commodore".
Auxiliary Components of Uniformed Services.
U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary.
In the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary variants of "commodore" are used as position titles for high level leadership positions (e.g. National Commodore, Deputy National Commodore, District Commodore etc.). While auxiliarists do not hold ranks "per se", and it is not usual to address an auxiliarist by position title, these very senior members do use "Commodore" (abbreviated "COMO") as a form of address (e.g. Commodore John Smith; or COMO John Smith). The National Commodore wears insignia similar to that of a Coast Guard vice admiral (three stars), the Vice National Commodore and the four Deputy National Commodores wear insignia similar to that of a rear admiral upper half (two stars), and the eight Assistant National Commodores and each District Commodore wear insignia similar to that of a rear admiral lower half (one star). There also several Deputy Assistant National Commodores but these members wear insignia similar to that of a Coast Guard captain and are not addressed as "Commodore."
The Coast Guard Auxiliary also occasionally bestows the title of "Honorary Commodore" as a mark of high esteem. Recipients of this honor include actor and Coast Guard veteran Lloyd Bridges (who was an active member of the Auxiliary and served as its national celebrity spokesman in the 1970's) and television personality Al Roker (who produced the documentary series Coast Guard Alaska).
U.S. Maritime Service.
The United States Maritime Service uses the rank of commodore for their one-star flag officers, with the two-star rank being simply designated as "rear admiral". The rank is usually given to the president of one of the seven federal and state maritime academies who had not attained flag rank during his/her active duty naval career.
Civilian use.
Commodore in Yachting Leadership.
Civilian yacht clubs, yachting associations and fellowships with formal hierarchical structures, began to use the title "commodore" in countries around the world for their presidents in the early twentieth century along with "vice commodore" in the same manner as "vice president,"and "rear-commodore" and "port captain' or "international bridge member" in the same manner as board members.
Commodores, Vice-Commodores and Rear-Commodores are also known as civilian Flag officers because they have an Epaulettes, Regalia and Maritime flags with designated symbols and number of stars for their ranks. Many of the clubs that are more than a century old, such as the Los Angeles Yacht Club have formal ceremonies, where Commodores from more than 100 surrounding yacht clubs, flag officers of the US Navy and Coast Guard attend a ceremony at the beginning of the year. The ceremony includes a bagpipe entrance, a presentation of the country flag by commissioned officers of the country's navy and a cannon shot upon the raising of each individual officer's flags on a flag staff, (also known as Flagpoles) for each flag officer (Commodore, Vice Commodore, Rear Commodore) as their term of office officially begins. Sometimes a trumpet fanfare is also include for special occasions like ribbon cutting in 2019 for the 50th Transpacific Yacht Race. Salutes are given to Commodores for special ceremonies, including Opening Days of the Racing Season.
Popular use.
Commodore as Mascot or Nickname.
The athletic teams of Vanderbilt University of the Southeastern Conference use "Commodore" as their mascot, the nickname of the university's founder and namesake Cornelius Vanderbilt.
Gulf Coast State College in Panama City, Florida, also uses the Commodore mascot for its sports teams.
Commodore as a title of Recognition by State of Rhode Island.
The state of Rhode Island has a group of select individuals, appointed by the governor, known as Rhode Island Commodores. Rhode Island Commodores function as ambassadors for the state and promote its economy and attractions. It is a similar to the title Kentucky Colonel but less commonly awarded.


USS SC-744

USS "SC-744" was an SC-497-Class submarine chaser of the United States Navy during World War II. She was sunk by a Japanese Kamikaze in 1944.
Ship History.
"SC-744" was ordered and laid down in Quincy, Massachusetts on 16 and 18 February 1942. By May, she was launched, and then commissioned as PC-744 in July. In April 1943, she was re-designated as "SC-744". She was assigned to the Task Force 70.1, U.S. 7th Fleet in the Pacific Theatre.
Sinking.
At 0713 hours, "SC-744" got underway from San Pedro Bay, Philippines to escort a ship and high octane gasoline barge to Liloan, Philippines. She cleared the harbor at 0829 hours.
At 1130 hours, she intercepted a distress call from the stating she was under heavy air attack. The officer of the deck witnessed anti-aircraft fire and explosions eight miles off the port quarter. The ship immediately went to general quarters. The engines were brought to 12 knots and she began "zig zagging" in front of the convoy as evasive action. At 1157 hours, a Mitsubishi A6M Zero out-turned a Lockheed P-38 Lightning and began an attack run on the vessel. At that point the crew began 40mm, 20mm, and 12.7mm anti-aircraft fire. The Captain ordered left rudder and the Zero opened fire at 1500 yards away. At 500 yards, the plane dropped a small bomb which exploded in the water. Shortly after the plane, damaged by gunfire, slammed into the stern of the ship on the port side near the galley hatch. The explosion wounded six men and killed another. The Zero was completely destroyed and the pilot killed.
 arrived at the scene at 1430 hours after the crew set off red smoke pots lent from another assisting vessel. At 1700 hours, she was taken into tow and arrived at Tacloban, Philippines. She sunk while moored on 30 November 1944 while undergoing salvage operations in four fathoms of water.
She was struck from the Navy List on 19 January 1945.
Decorations.
"SC-744" received one battle star for her service.


Coast Guard Station Washington, D.C.

United States Coast Guard Station Washington is a United States Coast Guard station located on Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington, D.C. The station was commissioned on September 23, 2003.
History.
Station started from Boats Forces unit, based in the Bolling Air Force Base. In 2009, new headquarters building was inaugurated.