Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/News/February 2012/Articles


 * German battleship Tirpitz (Parsecboy): Tirpitz was the second of two Bismarck-class battleships built for the German Kriegsmarine during World War II. Named after Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz, the architect of the Imperial Navy, the ship was laid down at the Kriegsmarinewerft in Wilhelmshaven in November 1936 and launched two and a half years later in April 1939. Work was completed in February 1941, when she was commissioned into the German fleet. In early 1941, Tirpitz briefly served in the Baltic Fleet before the ship sailed to Norway in early 1942. In September 1943, Tirpitz fired her main battery for the first time in combat when she bombarded Allied positions on the island of Spitzbergen. Shortly thereafter, the ship was damaged in an attack by British mini-submarines and subsequently subjected to a series of large-scale air raids. On 12 November 1944, British Lancaster bombers equipped with 12000 lb "Tallboy" bombs destroyed the ship; two direct hits and a near miss caused the ship to capsize rapidly. A deck fire spread to the ammunition magazine for one of the main battery turrets, which caused a large explosion. Figures for the number of men killed in the attack range from 950 to 1,204. The wreck was broken up after the war, with work lasting from 1948 until 1957.


 * Hector Waller (Ian Rose): Hector Macdonald Laws (Hec) Waller, DSO and Bar (1900–1942) was a senior officer in the Royal Australian Navy. In a career spanning almost thirty years, he served in both world wars. At the helm of HMAS Stuart in the Mediterranean from 1939 to 1941, he won recognition as a skilful ship's captain and flotilla commander. He then transferred to the South West Pacific as captain of the light cruiser HMAS Perth, and went down with his ship against heavy odds during the Battle of Sunda Strait in early 1942. Waller entered the Royal Australian Naval College at the age of thirteen. After graduating, he served with the Royal Navy in the closing stages of World War I. Between the wars, he specialised in communications and served as signals officer on British and Australian warships. He gained his first sea-going command in 1937, as captain of HMS Brazen. In September 1939, he took charge of HMAS Stuart and four other obsolete destroyers that together became known as the "Scrap Iron Flotilla". In 1940, these were augmented by other ships to form the 10th Destroyer Flotilla, supporting Allied troops in North Africa. Waller assumed command of HMAS Perth in October 1941, taking part in the Battle of the Java Sea shortly before his final action in Sunda Strait. In 2011 came under formal consideration for the award of the Victoria Cross for his performance as Perth's captain. The submarine HMAS Waller is named in his honour.


 * HMS New Zealand (1911) (Sturmvogel 66): HMS New Zealand was one of three Indefatigable-class battlecruisers built for the defence of the British Empire. Launched in 1911, the ship's construction was funded by the government of New Zealand as a gift to Britain, and she was commissioned into the Royal Navy in 1912. She had been intended for service on the China Station, but she was released by the New Zealand government at the request of the Admiralty for service in British waters. During 1913, New Zealand was sent on a ten-month tour of the British Dominions, with an emphasis on the visit to her namesake nation. She was back in British waters at the start of World War I, and operated as part of the Royal Navy's Grand Fleet, in opposition to the German High Seas Fleet. During the war, the battlecruiser participated in all three of the major North Sea battles of World War I—Heligoland Bight, Dogger Bank, and Jutland—and was involved in the response to the inconclusive Raid on Scarborough, and the Second Battle of Heligoland Bight. Although she contributed to the destruction of two cruisers, New Zealand was hit by enemy fire only once during her wartime service, and received no casualties; her status as a "lucky ship" was attributed by the crew to a Māori piupiu (warrior's skirt) and tiki (pendant) worn by the captain during battle. In 1920, the battlecruiser was placed in reserve. The disarmament provisions of the Washington Naval Treaty required the destruction of New Zealand as part of Britain's tonnage limit, and she was sold for scrap in 1922.


 * HMS Temeraire (1798) (Benea): HMS Temeraire was a 98-gun second-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. Launched in 1798, she served during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, mostly on blockades or convoy escort duties. She fought only one fleet action, the Battle of Trafalgar, but became so well known for her actions and her subsequent depictions in art and literature that she has been remembered as 'The Fighting Temeraire'. Built at Chatham Dockyard, Temeraire entered service on the Brest blockade with the Channel Fleet. Her first incident of note came when a group of sailors, hearing rumours they were to be sent to the West Indies at a time when peace with France seemed imminent, refused to obey orders, so committing an act of mutiny. The mutiny failed and a number of the mutineers were tried and executed. Temeraire went into action immediately astern of Horatio Nelson's flagship, HMS Victory, at the Battle of Trafalgar on 21 October 1805. During the battle Temeraire came to the rescue of the beleaguered Victory, and fought and captured two French ships. She returned to public renown in Britain. Her last action was against the French off Toulon in 1810, when she came under fire from shore batteries. Temeraire was eventually converted in turn to a prison ship, a receiving ship, a victualling depot, and finally a guardship. The Admiralty ordered her to be sold in 1838, and she was towed up the Thames to be broken up. This final voyage was depicted in an oil painting by J.M.W. Turner, The Fighting Temeraire, which won enduring acclaim. In 2005 it was voted Britain's favourite painting.


 * Luís Alves de Lima e Silva, Duke of Caxias (Lecen): Luís Alves de Lima e Silva, Duke of Caxias (1803–1880), nicknamed "the Peacemaker" and "Iron Duke", was an army officer, politician and monarchist of the Empire of Brazil. In 1823, he fought as a young officer during most of the Brazilian War for Independence against Portugal. During 1831, Caxias remained loyal to Emperor Dom Pedro I, even though his own father and uncles deserted the monarch. Pedro I abdicated in favor of his young son, Dom Pedro II, to whom Caxias eventually became a friend and instructor in swordsmanship and horsemanship. Caxias commanded loyal forces that put down uprisings from 1839 to 1845. In 1851, he led the Brazilian army to victory in the Platine War against the Argentine Confederation. A decade later, he was promoted to Marshal of the Army. In the Paraguayan War, he prevailed over the Paraguayans and, as reward for his achievements, was raised to the titled nobility. In the early 1840s, Caxias became a member of the Reactionary Party, which eventually evolved into the Conservative Party. He was elected senator in 1846. The Emperor appointed him president (prime minister) of the Council of Ministers for the first time in 1856. Over the decades, his party became divided and weakened by internal conflicts. In 1875, he headed a cabinet for the last time. For decades after his death, Caxias' achievements were largely ignored. His reputation was slowly rehabilitated and, in 1925, his birthday was selected as the official "Day of the Soldier", in which the nation honors the Brazilian army. Historians have regarded Caxias in a positive light, and he is usually ranked as the greatest Brazilian military officer.


 * Nicky Barr (Ian Rose): Andrew William "Nicky" Barr, OBE, MC, DFC and Bar (1915–2006) was a member of the Australian national rugby union team who became a flying ace in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) during World War II. He was credited with twelve aerial victories, all scored flying the Curtiss P-40 fighter. Born in New Zealand, Barr was raised in Victoria and first represented the state in rugby in 1936. Selected to play for Australia against the United Kingdom in 1939, he had just arrived in England when the tour was cancelled following the outbreak of war. He joined the RAAF in 1940 and was posted to North Africa with No. 3 Squadron in September 1941. His first three victories were attained in the P-40D Tomahawk and the remainder in the P-40E Kittyhawk. Barr's achievements as a combat pilot earned him the Distinguished Flying Cross and Bar. Shortly after taking command of No. 3 Squadron in May 1942, he was shot down and captured by Axis forces, and incarcerated in Italy. He escaped and assisted other Allied fugitives to safety, receiving the Military Cross for his efforts. Repatriated to England, he saw action during the invasion of Normandy in June 1944 before returning to Australia as chief instructor with No. 2 Operational Training Unit. After the war he became a company director, and was heavily involved in the oilseed industry, for which he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1983. He died in 2006, aged ninety.


 * Ray Farquharson (Nikkimaria): Ray Fletcher Farquharson MBE (1897–1965) was a Canadian doctor, university professor, and medical researcher. Born in Claude, Ontario, he attended and taught at the University of Toronto for most of his life, and was trained and employed at Toronto General Hospital. With co-researcher Arthur Squires, Farquharson was responsible for the discovery of the "Farquharson phenomenon", an important principle of endocrinology. He served in the First and Second World Wars, earning appointment as a Member of the Order of the British Empire for his medical work during the latter. He chaired the Penicillin Committee of Canada and served as a medical consultant for the Royal Canadian Air Force. Farquharson was also a charter member of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, and was heavily involved in medical research and education. As a member of the National Research Council of Canada, his "Farquharson Report" led to the establishment of the Medical Research Council of Canada, of which he was the first president. He received numerous honorary degrees from Canadian universities, and served on the first Board of Governors of York University. Farquharson died in 1965, and was posthumously inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame in 1998.


 * Titchwell Marsh (Jimfbleak): Titchwell Marsh is an English nature reserve owned and managed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). Located on the north coast of the county of Norfolk between the villages of Titchwell and Thornham, about 8 km (5 mi) east of the seaside resort of Hunstanton, its 171 hectares (423 acres) include reed beds, salt marshes, a freshwater lagoon and a sandy beach, with a small area of woodland near the car park. The reserve is important for some scarce breeding birds, such as Pied Avocets on the islands, and Western Marsh Harriers, Eurasian Bitterns and Bearded Reedlings in the reeds. Typical wetland birds such as the Water Rail, Reed Warbler and Sedge Warbler also appear, and Little Egrets are common. Ducks and geese winter at Titchwell in considerable numbers, and the reserve shelters the endangered European Water Vole. Titchwell Marsh is archaeologically significant, with artefacts dating back to the Upper Paleolithic, and has remains of military constructions from both world wars. These include brickwork from a First World War military hospital and 1940s artillery targets for armoured fighting vehicles and warplanes. This internationally important reserve is part of the North Norfolk Coast Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and the Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), and is also protected through Natura 2000, Special Protection Area (SPA) and Ramsar listings.


 * List of ironclad warships of Germany (Parsecboy) : Between the mid 1860s and the early 1880s, the Prussian and later German Imperial Navies purchased or built sixteen ironclad warships. The term "ironclad" in this period frequently referred to armored capital ships that succeeded the sailing or steam-powered ship of the line and preceded pre-dreadnought battleships, though other historians have used the term more generally, especially in relation to the small armored ships operated by the US Navy during the American Civil War. The rival Danish fleet had three ironclads in service by the time the Second Schleswig War broke out in 1864; as a result, Prussia purchased the ironclads SMS Arminius and SMS Prinz Adalbert (1865), which entered service by 1865. The Prussian Navy acquired three more ships&mdash;SMS Friedrich Carl (1867), SMS Kronprinz (1867), and SMS König Wilhelm&mdash;by the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War in 1870. A fourth would not be completed in time to see service during the war. In 1871, the various Germanic states were unified under Prussian dominance as the German Empire; the Prussian Navy became the core of the Imperial Navy. The three turret ships of the Preussen-class ironclad were built in Germany in the early 1870s, followed by two Kaiser-class ironclad vessels, the last capital ships ordered from foreign yards. The next design, the four Sachsen-class ironclad ships, was intended to operate from fortified bases against a naval blockade, not on the high seas. The last German ironclad was another new design, SMS Oldenburg (1884), before the Navy instead began to focus on torpedo boats for coastal defense.


 * Bastille (Hchc2009): The Bastille was a fortress in Paris that played an important role in the internal conflicts of France and for most of its history was used by the monarchy as a state prison. It was stormed on 14 July 1789 during the French Revolution, becoming an important symbol for the Republican movement, and was later completely demolished and built over by the Place de la Bastille, with the few remaining relics being placed on the nearby Boulevard Henri IV. The Bastille was built in response to the English threat to Paris during the Hundred Years War. Work began in 1357, although the main body of construction occurred from 1370 onwards. The Bastille figured prominently in France's domestic conflicts, including the fighting between the rival factions of the Burgundians and the Armagnacs in the 15th century, and the Wars of Religion in the 16th. The fortress was declared a state prison in 1417. The defences of the Bastille were strengthened in response to the English and Imperial threat during the 1550s, with a bastion being constructed to the east of the fortress. In the 17th century it played a key role in the rebellion of the Fronde and the battle of the faubourg Saint-Antoine. From 1659 onwards, the Bastille's primary role was as a state penitentiary and by 1789 a total of 5,279 prisoners had come through the fortress. Under Louis XV and XVI, the Bastille's focus shifted and it was used to detain prisoners from an increasingly wide range of backgrounds, and to support the operations of the Parisian police. In 1789 political tensions rose in France and on 14 July the Bastille was successfully stormed by a Revolutionary crowd. Historians were deeply critical of the Bastille in the early 19th century, but now believe it to have been a relatively well-administered institution, albeit heavily implicated in the system of French policing and political control during the 18th century.


 * Battle of Arawe (Nick-D): The Battle of Arawe occurred during the New Britain Campaign of World War II and was fought between Allied and Imperial Japanese forces. It was part of the Allied Operation Cartwheel, and was to serve as a diversion before a larger landing at Cape Gloucester in late December 1943. The Japanese military was expecting an Allied offensive in western New Britain, and reinforcements were being dispatched to the the region at the time of the Allied landing in the Arawe area on 15 December 1943. The Allies secured Arawe after a month of intermittent fighting, and the Japanese force in the area was subsequently withdrawn. Only a small Japanese force was stationed at Arawe at the time, though reinforcements were en route. The main Allied landing was successful, though it was marred by a failed subsidiary landing and problems coordinating the landing craft. American forces quickly secured a beachhead and dug in. Japanese air units made large-scale raids against the Arawe area in the days after the landing, and Imperial Japanese Army units were directed to attack the American force. These counterattacks took place in late December, and were unsuccessful. In mid-January 1944 the American force, which had been reinforced with additional infantry and tanks, launched a brief offensive which pushed the Japanese back. The Japanese force at Arawe withdrew from the area towards the end of February as part of a general retreat from western New Britain.


 * Battle of Pusan Perimeter ( Ed!): The Battle of Pusan Perimeter was a large-scale battle between United Nations (UN) and North Korean (NK) forces lasting from 4 August to 18 September 1950. In one of the first major engagements of the Korean War, an army of 140,000 UN troops, having been pushed to the brink of defeat, were rallied to make a final stand against the invading North Korean army, 98,000 men strong. The UN forces, having been repeatedly defeated by the advancing North Korean People's Army, were forced back to the "Pusan Perimeter", a 140 mi defensive line around an area on the southeastern tip of the Korean Peninsula that included the port of Pusan. The UN troops, consisting mostly of forces of the Republic of Korea Army (ROK), United States Army (US), and British Army, mounted a last stand around the perimeter, fighting off repeated North Korean attacks for six weeks as they were engaged around the cities of Taegu, Masan, and P'ohang, and the Naktong River. The massive North Korean assaults were unsuccessful in forcing the United Nations troops back further from the perimeter, despite two major pushes in August and September. North Korean troops, hampered by supply shortages and massive losses, continually staged attacks on UN forces in an attempt to penetrate the perimeter and collapse the line, but the UN had an overwhelming advantage in troops, equipment, and logistics, and its naval and air forces remained unchallenged by the North Koreans during the fight. After six weeks, the North Korean force collapsed and retreated in defeat.


 * George Mackinolty (Ian Rose): Air Vice Marshal George John William Mackinolty OBE (1895–1951) was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Commencing his service in the Australian Flying Corps (AFC) as a mechanic during World War I, he rose to become the RAAF's chief logistics officer for more than twenty years. Mackinolty first saw active duty in 1915 in the Middle East, with No. 30 Squadron Royal Flying Corps (formerly the Mesopotamian Half Flight). In 1916 he was mentioned in despatches and posted to No. 2 Squadron AFC. By the end of the war he had been commissioned a second lieutenant. Joining the newly formed RAAF in August 1921, Mackinolty established himself as the service's senior logistician between the wars, first as Director of Transport and Equipment from 1929 to 1935, and thereafter as Director of Equipment. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1937. Soon after the outbreak of World War II, he became Director of Supply and was promoted to group captain. In June 1942 he was raised to acting air commodore and appointed the Air Member for Supply and Equipment (AMSE). Promoted to air vice marshal in 1948, Mackinolty continued to serve as AMSE until his sudden death from cancer in February 1951, aged fifty-five.


 * German battleship Bismarck (Parsecboy): Bismarck was the first of two Bismarck-class battleships built for the German Kriegsmarine during World War II. Named after Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, the ship was laid down in Hamburg in July 1936 and commissioned in Augus 1940. Along with her sister ship Tirpitz, Bismarck was the largest battleship ever built by Germany, and the heaviest built by any European power. She conducted only one offensive operation, codenamed Rheinübung, in May 1941. Bismarck, along with the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, was to break out into the Atlantic Ocean and raid Allied shipping from North America to Great Britain. The two ships were detected several times off Scandinavia, however, and British naval units were deployed to block their route. At the Battle of Denmark Strait, Bismarck engaged and destroyed the battlecruiser HMS Hood (51), pride of the Royal Navy, and forced the battleship HMS Prince of Wales (53) to retreat with heavy damage. A relentless pursuit by the Royal Navy followed, with dozens of warships involved. While steaming for the relative safety of occupied France, Bismarck was attacked by Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers from the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal (91); one hit was scored that jammed the battleship's steering gear and rendered her unmanoeuvrable. The following morning, Bismarck was destroyed by a pair of British battleships. The cause of her sinking is disputed: some in the Royal Navy claim that torpedoes fired by the cruiser HMS Dorsetshire (40) administered the fatal blow, while German survivors argue that they scuttled the ship. In June 1989, Robert Ballard discovered the Bismarck's wreck. Several other expeditions have since surveyed the sunken battleship in an effort to document the condition of the ship and to determine the cause of the ship's loss.


 * Hall XPTBH (Bushranger): The Hall XPTBH was a prototype American twin-engined seaplane, submitted to the United States Navy by the Hall Aluminum Aircraft Corporation in response to a 1934 specification for new bomber and scout aircraft. Constructed in an innovative fashion that made extensive use of aluminum, the XPTBH proved successful in flight testing, but failed to win favor with the U.S. Navy. No production contract was awarded, and the single aircraft built served in experimental duties before its destruction in a hurricane during 1938.


 * Helmut Wick (MisterBee1966): Major Helmut Paul Emil Wick was a German Luftwaffe ace and the fourth recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub). The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grade, the Oak Leaves, was awarded by the Third Reich to recognise extreme bravery in battle or successful military leadership. It was Germany's highest military decoration at the time of its presentation to Helmut Wick. Born in Mannheim, Wick joined the Luftwaffe in 1936 and was trained as a fighter pilot. He was assigned to Jagdgeschwader 2 "Richthofen" (JG 2—2nd Fighter Wing), and saw combat in the Battles of France and Britain. Promoted to Major in October 1940, he was given the position of Geschwaderkommodore (wing commander) of JG 2—the youngest in the Luftwaffe to hold this rank and position. He was shot down in the vicinity of the Isle of Wight on 28 November 1940 and posted as missing in action, presumed dead. By then he had been credited with destroying 56 enemy aircraft in aerial combat, making him the leading German fighter pilot at the time. Flying the Messerschmitt Bf 109, he claimed all of his victories against the Western Allies.


 * May Revolution (Cambalachero): The May Revolution (Revolución de Mayo) was a week-long series of events that took place from May 18 to 25, 1810, in Buenos Aires, capital of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, a Spanish colony that included roughly the territories of present-day Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay. The result was the ousting of Viceroy Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros and the establishment of a local government, the Primera Junta (First Junta), on May 25. These events are commemorated in Argentina as "May Week" (Semana de Mayo). The May Revolution is considered the starting point of the Argentine War of Independence, although no formal declaration of independence was issued at the time and the Primera Junta continued to govern in the name of the deposed king, Ferdinand VII. As similar events occurred in many other cities of Spanish South America when news of the dissolution of the Spanish Supreme Central Junta arrived, the May Revolution is also considered one of the starting points for the Spanish American wars of independence. Historians today debate whether the revolutionaries were truly loyal to the Spanish crown or whether the declaration of fidelity to the king was a necessary ruse to conceal the true objective&mdash;to achieve independence&mdash;from a population that was not yet ready to accept such a radical change. A formal declaration of independence was finally issued at the Congress of Tucumán on July 9, 1816.