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


 * 1740 Batavia massacre (Crisco 1492) : The 1740 Batavia massacre was a pogrom against ethnic Chinese in the port city of Batavia in the Dutch East Indies (present-day Jakarta). Unrest amongst the Chinese population had been triggered by government repression and reduced income from falling sugar prices. In response, Governor-General Adriaan Valckenier declared that any uprising was to be dealt with using deadly force. His resolution took effect on 7 October after hundreds of ethnic Chinese killed 50 Dutch soldiers. The Dutch dispatched troops, who stripped the Chinese populace of all weapons and put them under a curfew. Two days later, ethnic Chinese assaulted the city walls, other Batavian ethnic groups began burning Chinese houses after hearing rumours of Chinese atrocities, and Dutch soldiers assaulted Chinese homes with cannon. The violence soon spread throughout Batavia and more Chinese men, women and children were killed. Despite an amnesty declared by Valckenier on 11 October, gangs of irregulars continued to hunt and kill fugitive Chinese until 22 October, when Valckenier called more forcefully for a cessation of hostilities. Outside the walls of the city, Dutch troops fought to contain rioting sugar millers and, after several weeks of minor skirmishes, Dutch-led troops assaulted Chinese strongholds in sugar mills throughout the area, driving the survivors east towards Bekasi. Historians have estimated that at least 10,000 ethnic Chinese were massacred and that only 600 to about 3,000 survived. The following year, ethnic Chinese throughout Java were attacked, sparking a two-year war that pitted ethnic Chinese and Javanese against Dutch troops. Valckenier was later recalled to the Netherlands and charged with crimes related to the massacre; Gustaaf Willem van Imhoff replaced him as governor-general.


 * Alec Douglas-Home (Tim riley) : Alexander ("Alec") Frederick Douglas-Home, KT, PC (1903–1995) was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister from October 1963 to October 1964. His reputation, however, rests more on his two spells as the UK's foreign minister. Within six years of entering the House of Commons in 1931, Douglas-Home (then Lord Dunglass) became parliamentary aide to Neville Chamberlain. He lost his seat in the general election of 1945, regained it in 1950, and the following year left the Commons when he inherited the earldom of Home and became a member of the House of Lords. Under the premierships of Winston Churchill, Anthony Eden and Harold Macmillan he was appointed to a series of increasingly senior posts, including Leader of the House of Lords and Foreign Secretary. In the latter post, which he held from 1960 to 1963, he supported US resolve in the Cuban Missile Crisis and was the UK's signatory of the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty in August 1963. That October, Macmillan resigned due to illness and Home was chosen to succeed him, renouncing his earldom and successfully standing for election to the House of Commons. He was criticised by the Labour party as an aristocrat, out of touch with ordinary families, and stiff in his television interviews in contrast to Labour leader Harold Wilson. Home's premiership was the second briefest of the 20th century, lasting two days short of a year. After narrow defeat in the general election of 1964 Douglas-Home resigned the leadership of his party. From 1970 to 1974 he served in the cabinet of Edward Heath as Secretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.  After the defeat of the Heath government in 1974 he returned to the House of Lords as a life peer, and retired from front-line politics.


 * Colin Hannah (Ian Rose): Air Marshal Sir Colin Thomas Hannah KCMG, KCVO, KBE, CB (1914–1978) was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and a Governor of Queensland. He was a member of the Militia before joining the RAAF in 1935. After graduating as a pilot, Hannah served in Nos. 22 and 23 Squadrons from 1936 to 1939. During the early years of World War II, he was the RAAF's Deputy Director of Armament. He then saw action in the South West Pacific as commander of No. 6 Squadron and, later, No. 71 Wing, operating Beaufort bombers. By 1944, he had risen to the rank of group captain, and at the end of the war was in charge of Western Area Command in Perth. Hannah commanded RAAF Station Amberley, Queensland, in 1949–50, and saw service during the Malayan Emergency as senior air staff officer at RAF Far East Air Force Headquarters, Singapore, between 1956 and 1959. His other post-war appointments included Deputy Chief of the Air Staff from 1961 to 1965, Air Officer Commanding (AOC) Operational Command from 1965 to 1967, and AOC Support Command from 1967 to 1969. In January 1970, he was promoted to air marshal and became Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), the RAAF's senior position. Knighted in 1971, Hannah concluded his three-year appointment as CAS a year early, in March 1972, to become Governor of Queensland. He attracted controversy in this role after making outspoken comments regarding the Federal government of the day, and the British government refused to agree to his term being extended. Hannah retired in March 1977, and died the following year.


 * Henry Wrigley (Ian Rose) : Air Vice Marshal Henry Neilson Wrigley CBE, DFC, AFC (1892–1987) was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). A pioneering flyer and aviation scholar, he piloted the first trans-Australia flight from Melbourne to Darwin in 1919, and afterwards laid the groundwork for the RAAF's air power doctrine. During World War I, Wrigley joined the Australian Flying Corps and saw combat with No. 3 Squadron on the Western Front, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross; he later commanded the unit and published a history of its wartime exploits. He was awarded the Air Force Cross for his 1919 cross-country flight. Wrigley was a founding member of the RAAF in 1921 and held a variety of staff posts in the ensuing years. In 1936, he was promoted to group captain and took command of RAAF Station Laverton. Raised to air commodore soon after the outbreak of World War II, he became Air Member for Personnel in November 1940. One of his tasks was organising the newly established Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force and selecting its director, Clare Stevenson, in 1941. He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire the same year. Wrigley served as Air Officer Commanding RAAF Overseas Headquarters, London, from September 1942 until his retirement from the military in June 1946. He died in 1987 at the age of ninety-five. His writings on air power were collected and published posthumously as The Decisive Factor in 1990.


 * Hugh de Neville (Ealdgyth) : Hugh de Neville (died 1234; sometimes Hugh Neville) was the Chief Forester under the kings Richard I, John, and Henry III of England. He was also the sheriff for a number of counties over his lifetime. Related to a number of other royal officials as well as a bishop, de Neville was a member of Prince Richard's household. After Richard became king in 1189 de Neville continued in his service, and accompanied him on the Third Crusade. De Neville remained in royal service following Richard's death in 1199 and the ascension of King John to the throne, becoming one of the new king's favourites and often gambling with him. He was named in Magna Carta as one of John's principal advisors, considered by a medieval chronicler to be one of King John's "evil councillors". He deserted John after the French invasion of England in 1216, but returned to pledge his loyalty to John's son Henry III after the latter's accession to the throne later that year. De Neville continued his royal service until late in his life, dying in 1234.


 * Mary, Queen of Scots (DrKiernan) : Mary, Queen of Scots (1542–1587) was queen regnant of Scotland from 14 December 1542 to 24 July 1567 and queen consort of France from 10 July 1559 to 5 December 1560. Mary was the only surviving legitimate child of King James V of Scotland. She was 6 days old when her father died and she was crowned nine months later. In 1558, she married Francis, Dauphin of France. He ascended the French throne as King Francis II in 1559, and Mary became queen consort of France until she was widowed on 5 December 1560. Mary then returned to Scotland, arriving in Leith on 19 August 1561. Four years later, she married her first cousin, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, but their union was unhappy. In February 1567, his residence was destroyed by an explosion, and Darnley was found murdered in the garden. James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell, was generally believed to have orchestrated Darnley's death, but he was acquitted of the charge in April 1567, and the following month he married Mary. Following an uprising against the couple, Mary was imprisoned in Loch Leven Castle, and forced to abdicate in favour of her one-year-old son, James. After an unsuccessful attempt to regain the throne, she fled southwards seeking the protection of her first cousin once removed, Queen Elizabeth I of England. Mary had previously claimed Elizabeth's throne as her own and was considered the legitimate sovereign of England by many English Catholics. Perceiving her as a threat, Elizabeth had her confined in a number of castles and manor houses in the interior of England. After 18 years and 9 months in custody, Mary was tried and executed for her involvement in plots to assassinate Elizabeth.


 * Percheron (Dana boomer) : The Percheron is a breed of draft horse that originated in the Huisne river valley in northern France, part of the former Perche province from which the breed takes its name. Usually gray or black, Percherons are well-muscled, and known for their intelligence and willingness to work. They were originally bred for use as war horses. Over time, they began to be used for pulling stage coaches and later for agriculture and hauling heavy goods. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Arabian blood was added to the breed. Exports of Percherons from France to the United States and other countries rose exponentially in the late 19th century, and the first purely Percheron stud book was created in France in 1883. Prior to World War I, thousands of Percherons were shipped from France to the US, but after the war began, an embargo stopped shipping. The breed was used extensively in Europe during the war, with some horses even being shipped from the US back to France to assist in the fighting. Beginning in 1918, Percherons began to be bred in Great Britain, and in 1918 the British Percheron Horse Society was formed. After a series of name and studbook ownership changes, the current US Percheron registry was created in 1934. In the 1930s, Percherons accounted for 70 percent of the draft horse population in the US, but their numbers declined substantially after World War II. However, the population began to recover and as of 2009, around 2,500 horses were registered annually in the US alone. The breed is still used extensively for draft work, and in France they are used for food. They have been crossed with several light horse breeds to produce horses for range work and competition. Purebred Percherons are used for forestry work and pulling carriages, as well as work under saddle, including show jumping.


 * Ranavalona III (Lemurbaby) : Ranavalona III (1861–1917) was the last sovereign of the Kingdom of Madagascar. She ruled from July 30, 1883, to February 28, 1897, in a reign marked by ongoing and ultimately futile efforts to resist the colonial designs of the government of France. As a young woman, she was selected from among several Andriana (nobles) qualified to succeed Queen Ranavalona II. Like both preceding queens, Ranavalona entered into a political marriage with a member of the Hova (freeman) elite named Rainilaiarivony who, in his role as Prime Minister of Madagascar, largely oversaw the day-to-day governance of the kingdom and managed its foreign affairs. Throughout her reign, Ranavalona tried to stave off colonization by strengthening trade and diplomatic relations with the United States and Great Britain. However, French attacks on coastal towns and the capital city of Antananarivo ultimately led to the capture of the royal palace in 1896, ending the sovereignty and political autonomy of the century-old kingdom. The newly installed French colonial government promptly exiled Rainilaiarivony to Algiers, while Ranavalona and her court were initially permitted to remain as symbolic figureheads. However, the outbreak of a popular resistance movement, called the menalamba rebellion, and discovery of anti-French political intrigues at court led the French to exile the queen to the island of Reunion in 1897. Rainilaiarivony died that same year and Ranavalona was relocated to a villa in Algiers. The queen, her family and servants enjoyed a comfortable standard of living including occasional trips to Paris. Despite Ranavalona's repeated requests, they were never permitted to return home to Madagascar. Ranavalona died in Algiers in 1917. Buried in Algiers, her remains were disinterred 21 years later and shipped to Madagascar, where they were placed within the tomb of Queen Rasoherina in the grounds of the royal palace.


 * Shangani Patrol (Cliftonian) : The Shangani Patrol, comprising 34 soldiers in the service of the British South Africa Company, was ambushed and annihilated by more than 3,000 Matabele warriors during the First Matabele War in 1893. Headed by Major Allan Wilson, the patrol, also referred to as Wilson's Patrol, was attacked just north of the Shangani River in Matabeleland in Rhodesia (today Zimbabwe). Its dramatic last stand, sometimes called Wilson's Last Stand, achieved a prominent place in the British public imagination and, subsequently, in Rhodesian national history, roughly mirroring events such as the Alamo massacre or Custer's Last Stand in the United States. The patrol comprised elements of the British South Africa Company's Police and the Bechuanaland Border Police. Scouting ahead of Major Patrick Forbes' column attempting the capture of the Matabele King Lobengula (following his flight from his capital Bulawayo a month before), it crossed the Shangani late on 3 December 1893. It moved on Lobengula the next morning, but was ambushed by a host of Matabele riflemen and warriors near the king's wagon. Surrounded and outnumbered about a hundred-fold, the patrol made a last stand as three of its number broke out and rode back to the river to muster reinforcements from Forbes. However, the Shangani had risen significantly in flood, and Forbes was himself involved in a skirmish near the southern bank; Wilson and his men therefore remained isolated to the north. After fighting to the last cartridge, and killing over ten times their own number, they were annihilated. The patrol's members, particularly Wilson and Captain Henry Borrow, were elevated in death to the status of national heroes, representing endeavour in the face of insurmountable odds.


 * Singapore strategy (Hawkeye7) : The Singapore strategy was developed by the British Empire between 1919 and 1941. It was a series of war plans that evolved to deter or defeat aggression by the Empire of Japan by basing a fleet of the Royal Navy at Singapore. Ideally, this fleet would be able to intercept and defeat a Japanese force heading south towards India or Australia. To be effective, it required a well-equipped base, and Singapore was chosen as the most suitable location in 1919. Work continued on a naval base and its defences over the next two decades. The planners envisaged that a war with Japan would have three phases: while the garrison of Singapore defended the fortress, the fleet would make its way from home waters to Singapore, sally to relieve or recapture Hong Kong, and blockade the Japanese home islands in order to force Japan to accept terms. The Singapore strategy was the cornerstone of British Imperial defence policy in the Far East during the 1920s and 1930s. By 1937, according to Captain Stephen Roskill, "the concept of the 'Main Fleet to Singapore' had, perhaps through constant repetition, assumed something of the inviolability of Holy Writ". A combination of financial, political and practical difficulties ensured that it could not be implemented. During the 1930s, the strategy came under sustained criticism in Britain and abroad, particularly in Australia, where the Singapore strategy was used as an excuse for parsimonious defence policies. The strategy ultimately led to the despatch of Force Z to Singapore and the sinking of the Prince of Wales and Repulse by Japanese air attack on 10 December 1941. The subsequent ignominious fall of Singapore was described by Winston Churchill as "the worst disaster and largest capitulation in British history".


 * SMS Ostfriesland (Parsecboy): SMS Ostfriesland ("His Majesty's Ship East Frisia") was the second Helgoland-class battleship battleship of the German Imperial Navy. Named for the region of East Frisia, Ostfriesland's keel was laid in October 1908 at the Kaiserliche Werft dockyard in Wilhelmshaven. She was launched on 30 September 1909 and was commissioned into the fleet on 1 August 1911. The ship was equipped with twelve 30.5 cm guns in six twin turrets, and had a top speed of 21.2 kn. Ostfriesland was assigned to the I Battle Squadron of the High Seas Fleet for the majority of her career, including World War I. Along with her three sister ships, SMS Helgoland, SMS Thüringen, and SMS Oldenburg (1910), Ostfriesland participated in all of the major fleet operations of World War I in the North Sea against the British Grand Fleet. This included the Battle of Jutland on 31 May – 1 June 1916, the largest naval battle of the war. The ship also saw action in the Baltic Sea against the Russian Navy and was present during the unsuccessful first incursion into the Gulf of Riga in August 1915. After the German collapse in November 1918, Ostfriesland was eventually transferred to the United States Navy. She was sunk during air power trials off the Virginia Capes in July 1921.


 * Al-Mundhir III ibn al-Harith (Cplakidas) : Al-Mundhir ibn al-Ḥārith (المنذر بن الحارث), known in Greek sources as (Flavios) Alamoundaros (Φλάβιος Ἀλαμούνδαρος), was the king of the Ghassanid Arabs from 569 to circa 581. A son of Al-Harith ibn Jabalah, he succeeded his father both in the kingship over his tribe and as the chief of the Byzantine Empire's Arab clients and allies in the East, with the rank of patricius. Despite his victories over the rival Persian-backed Lakhmids, throughout Mundhir's reign his relations with Byzantium were lukewarm due to his staunch Monophysitism. This led to a complete breakdown of the alliance in 572, after Mundhir discovered Byzantine plans to assassinate him. Relations were restored in 575 and Mundhir secured from the Byzantine emperor both recognition of his royal status and a pledge of tolerance towards the Monophysite Church.


 * Arthur S. Carpender (Hawkeye7) : Arthur Schuyler Carpender (1884–1960) was an American admiral who commanded the Allied Naval Forces in the Southwest Pacific Area during World War II. A 1908 graduate of the United States Naval Academy, Carpender sailed around the world with the Great White Fleet. He commanded a landing force that went ashore at Puerto Cortes, Honduras in 1911, and participated in the United States occupation of Veracruz as adjutant of the First Regiment of Bluejackets in 1914. As commander of the destroyer USS Fanning (DD-37) in the action of 17 November 1917 during World War I, he engaged the U-boat U-58, and forced it to surrender. At the start of World War II Carpender was Commander Destroyers, Atlantic Fleet. In July 1942, he arrived in the Southwest Pacific Area, where he became commander of Task Force 51. On September 1942, he was appointed commander of the Southwest Pacific Force, later renamed the Seventh Fleet, and Allied Naval Forces, Southwest Pacific Area, which he led through the Battle of Buna–Gona and the Battle of the Bismarck Sea. The following year he oversaw the fleet's operations during Operation Cartwheel. He commanded the Ninth Naval District from January 1944 until August 1945, retiring in November 1946 with a tombstone promotion to the rank of admiral.


 * Battle of Goodenough Island (Hawkeye7) : The Battle of Goodenough Island (22–27 October 1942), also known as Operation Drake, was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II. The Allies attacked the Kaigun Rikusentai (Special Naval Landing Force) stranded on Goodenough Island, Papua, during the Battle of Milne Bay to deny the Japanese the ability to use the island prior to the Buna campaign. "Drake Force", consisting of the Australian 2/12th Battalion and attachments, landed on the southern tip of Goodenough Island at Mud Bay and Taleba Bay on 22 October, and following a short but heavy fight, the Japanese forces withdrew to Fergusson Island on 27 October. After the battle, Goodenough Island was developed by the Allies and became a major base that they used for further operations later in the war.


 * Convoy Faith (Nick-D) : Convoy Faith was a small, fast Allied convoy of July 1943, during World War II. It suffered heavy casualties when it was attacked by German Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor long-range bombers while en route from Britain to West Africa. The convoy comprised two large troopships and a freighter, later joined by two destroyers and two frigates as escorts at various dates after it sailed on 7 July 1943. The two troopships, both former liners, were carrying military personnel to West Africa, where locally-recruited troops were to be embarked as reinforcements for the Allied forces in Burma and the Middle East. The freighter was ultimately bound for Australia and New Zealand via the Panama canal. On the evening of 11 July, four days after sailing, Convoy Faith was attacked by three Condors. Both troopships were severely damaged and subsequently sunk by torpedoes from the escorts; over 100 of the personnel aboard the two ships were killed. The freighter escaped unscathed, but was damaged in a second air attack on 12 July en route to Casablanca. The loss of the two troopships delayed the movement of a division of West African soldiers to India. The British military was surprised by the attack on Convoy Faith, as it had been believed that the Condors no longer posed a serious threat. In response, the convoy route between Britain and Africa was moved to the west. The German Condor force attempted to repeat its success against Convoy Faith by carrying out similar attacks on other convoys, but sustained heavy losses from Allied anti-aircraft guns and aircraft.


 * de Havilland Comet (Kyteto) : The de Havilland DH 106 Comet was the world's first production commercial jet airliner. Developed and manufactured by de Havilland at its Hatfield, Hertfordshire, UK headquarters, the Comet 1 prototype first flew on 27 July 1949 and was a landmark in aeronautical design. It featured an extremely clean design with four de Havilland Ghost turbojet engines buried in the wings, a low-noise pressurised cabin, and large square windows; for the era, it was an exceptionally comfortable design for passengers and showed signs of being a major success in the first year upon launching. However, a few years after entering commercial service, Comet airframes began suffering from catastrophic metal fatigue, which in combination with cabin pressurisation cycles, caused two well-publicised accidents where the aircraft tore apart in mid-flight. The Comet was withdrawn from service and extensively tested to discover the cause; the first incident had been incorrectly blamed on an onboard fire. Several contributory factors, such as window shape and installation methodology, were ultimately identified as exacerbating the problem. The Comet was extensively redesigned to eliminate this design flaw, with changes including oval windows and structural reinforcement. Rival manufacturers meanwhile developed their own aircraft and heeded the lessons learned from the Comet. Although sales never fully recovered, the improved Comet 2 and the prototype Comet 3 culminated in the redesigned Comet 4 series, which subsequently enjoyed a long and productive career of over 30 years. The Comet was adapted for a variety of military roles, such as surveillance, VIP, medical and passenger transport; the most extensive modification resulted in a specialised maritime patrol aircraft variant, the Hawker Siddeley Nimrod. Nimrods remained in service with the Royal Air Force (RAF) until they were retired in June 2011, over 60 years after the Comet's first flight.


 * Eric Harrison (RAAF officer) (Ian Rose) : Eric Harrison (1886–1945) was an Australian aviator who made the country's first military flight, and helped lay the groundwork for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Born in Victoria, he was a flying instructor in Britain when, in 1912, he answered the Australian Defence Department's call for pilots to form an aviation school. Along with Henry Petre, he established Australia's first air base at Point Cook, Victoria, and its inaugural training unit, the Central Flying School (CFS), before making his historic flight in March 1914. Following the outbreak of World War I, when Petre went on active service with the Mesopotamian Half Flight, Harrison took charge of instructing student pilots of the Australian Flying Corps at CFS. Harrison transferred to the RAAF as one of its founding members in 1921, and spent much of his career between the wars in technical services and air accident investigation. Promoted to group captain in 1935, he retired from the Air Force three years later when his post of Director of Aeronautical Inspection was transferred to the public service. He continued to serve in the same capacity as a civilian until his sudden death from heart disease at the age of fifty-nine, just after the end of World War II. Harrison's technical abilities and association with military flying from its earliest days in Australia earned him the title of "Father of the RAAF" for many years, until the mantle was assumed by Air Marshal Sir Richard Williams.


 * Henry II of England (Hchc2009) : Henry II (1133–1189) ruled as King of England (1154–89), Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Count of Nantes, and Lord of Ireland; at various times, he also controlled Wales, Scotland and Brittany. Henry was the son of Geoffrey of Anjou and Matilda, who was the daughter of King Henry I. He became actively involved by the age of 14 in his mother's efforts to claim the throne of England, inherited Anjou in 1151 and shortly afterwards married Eleanor of Aquitaine. King Stephen agreed to a peace treaty after Henry's military expedition to England in 1153, and he inherited the kingdom on Stephen's death a year later. He now controlled what would later be called the Angevin empire, stretching across much of western Europe. Henry was an energetic and sometimes ruthless ruler, driven by a desire to restore the lands and privileges of his royal grandfather, Henry I. His desire to reform England's relationship with the Church led to conflict with his former friend Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury, which resulted in Becket's death in 1170. In 1173 Henry's heir, "Young Henry", rebelled against his father; he was joined by his brothers Richard and Geoffrey and by their mother, Eleanor. France, Scotland, Flanders and Boulogne allied with the rebels against Henry. Despite invading Ireland to provide lands for his youngest son John, Henry struggled to find ways to satisfy all his sons' desires for land and power. A final rebellion broke out in 1189. Decisively defeated by Philip and Richard and suffering from a bleeding ulcer, Henry retreated to Anjou, where he died. His empire quickly collapsed during the reign of his youngest son John, but his legal changes are generally considered to have laid the basis for the English Common Law.


 * Henry Petre (Ian Rose) : Henry Petre DSO, MC (1884–1962) was an English solicitor who became Australia's first military aviator, and a founding member of the Australian Flying Corps, predecessor of the Royal Australian Air Force. Born in Essex, he forsook his early legal career to pursue an interest in aviation, building his own aeroplane and gaining employment as a designer and pilot. In 1912, he answered the Australian Defence Department's call for pilots to form an aviation school, and was commissioned a lieutenant in the Australian Military Forces. The following year, he chose the site of the country's first air base at Point Cook, Victoria, and established its inaugural training institution, the Central Flying School, with Eric Harrison. Shortly after the outbreak of World War I, Petre was appointed commander of the Mesopotamian Half Flight, the first unit of the newly formed Australian Flying Corps to see active service. He led the Half Flight through the Battles of Es Sinn and Ctesiphon, and the Siege of Kut. His actions in the Middle East earned him the Distinguished Service Order, the Military Cross, and four mentions in despatches. Transferring to the Royal Air Force as a major in 1918, he commanded No. 75 Squadron before retiring from the military the following year. He resumed his legal practice in England, and continued to fly recreationally before his death in 1962, aged seventy-seven.


 * John F. Bolt (Ed!) : John Franklin Bolt (1921–2004) was a United States Marine Corps aviator and flying ace who served during World War II and the Korean War. He was the only US Marine to achieve ace status in two wars, and rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel. He was also the only Marine jet fighter ace. Born to a poor family in South Carolina, Bolt dropped out of the University of Florida for financial reasons in 1941, and joined the Marine Corps at the height of World War II. Posted to the Pacific Theater of Operations, he flew an F4U Corsair during the campaigns in the Marshall Islands and New Guinea, claiming six victories against Japanese A6M Zeroes. Bolt continued his service through the Korean War, seeing combat through an exchange program with the United States Air Force (USAF) in late 1952. Bolt led flights of F-86 Sabres into combat with MiG-15s of the Chinese Air Force, scoring six victories during fights along the northern border of North Korea, commonly known as "MiG Alley", giving him a total of 12 victories over his career. Bolt stayed in the Marine Corps until 1962, serving as an analyst and instructor in his later career, before retiring and earning a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Florida. He subsequently began a private real estate law practice, and was active in law until 1991. He died from leukemia in 2004.


 * John Troglita (Constantine) : John Troglita was a 6th-century Byzantine general. He participated in the Vandalic War and served in North Africa as a regional military governor during the years 533–538, before being sent east to the wars with the Sassanid Persians. As dux Mesopotamiae, Troglita distinguished himself in several battles, and was noticed by agents of the Byzantine emperor, Justinian I (r. 527–565). In summer 546, Justinian chose John Troglita to assume overall command of Byzantine forces in Africa, where a succession of revolts by the indigenous Moorish tribes and within the imperial army itself had seriously reduced the Byzantine position. Troglita quickly secured an initial victory in the winter of 546/547 against the Moors of Byzacena, but was defeated in summer 547 by the tribes of Tripolitania, and Africa was once again laid open to destructive raids. Troglita reorganized his army and secured the assistance of some tribal leaders, and confronted and decisively defeated the tribal coalition at the Fields of Cato in summer 548. This victory spelled the end of the Moorish revolt, and heralded an era of peace for Africa. Troglita was also involved in the Gothic War, twice sending some of his troops to Italy to assist against the Ostrogoths.


 * List of battlecruisers of the United States (Sturmvogel 66 and Dank) : The US Navy began building a series of battlecruisers in the 1920s, more than a decade after their slower and less heavily armed armored cruisers had been rendered obsolete by the Royal Navy's Invincible-class battlecruiser battlecruisers. Construction of these ships was abandoned under the terms of an armaments limitation treaty, though two were completed as aircraft carriers. The Navy subsequently ordered six "large cruisers"—which are often considered battlecruisers by historians—in 1940, of which only two entered service. At first unconvinced of the importance of the superior speed of the British battlecruisers, the US Navy changed its position after evaluating the new type of ship in fleet exercises and Naval War College wargames, and after the Japanese acquisition of four Kongo-class battlecruisers in the early 1910s. Battlecruisers were known to pack an offensive punch when concentrating their fire on an enemy fleet's leading ships, as the Japanese had done to the Russians at the Battle of Tsushima in 1905. Another role envisioned was tracking down and destroying enemy commerce raiders. British experience during the Battle of the Falkland Islands in late 1914 and the Battle of Dogger Bank the following year, where British battlecruisers caught and destroyed German armored cruisers, confirmed all these capabilities. So when Congress authorized a large naval building program in 1916, six Lexington-class battlecruisers were included. The US Navy's main impetus for the Alaska class was the threat posed by Japanese cruisers raiding its lines of communication in the event of war. Heavy cruisers were also the most likely surface threat to aircraft carriers making independent raids, so a cruiser-killer was also an ideal carrier escort. Reports of a Japanese equivalent reinforced the Navy's desire for these ships. Two were commissioned in time to serve during the last year of World War II, but were decommissioned several years later.


 * Reg Saunders (AustralianRupert and Ian Rose) : Reginald Walter Saunders MBE (1920–1990) was the first Aboriginal Australian commissioned officer in the Australian Army. He came from a military family, his forebears having served in the Boer War and the First World War. Enlisting as a soldier in 1940, he saw action during the Second World War in North Africa, Greece and Crete before being commissioned as a lieutenant and serving as a platoon commander in New Guinea during 1944–45. His younger brother Harry also joined the Army, and was killed in 1942. After the war Saunders was demobilised and returned to civilian life. He later served as a company commander with the 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (3 RAR) during the Korean War, where he fought at the Battle of Kapyong. Saunders left the Army in 1954 and worked in the logging and metal industries before joining the Office of Aboriginal Affairs (later the Department of Aboriginal Affairs) as a liaison officer in 1969. In 1971, he was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for his community service. He died in 1990, aged 69.


 * STRAT-X (Sp33dyphil) : STRAT-X, or Strategic-Experimental, was a U.S. government-sponsored study conducted during 1966 and 1967 that comprehensively investigated the future of the U.S. nuclear deterrent force. At the time, the Soviet Union was making significant strides in nuclear weapons delivery, and also constructing anti-ballistic missile defenses to protect strategic facilities. To address a potential technological gap between the two superpowers, U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara entrusted the classified STRAT-X study to the Institute for Defense Analyses, which compiled a twenty-volume report in nine months. The report looked into more than one hundred different weapons systems, ultimately resulting in the MGM-134 Midgetman and LGM-118 Peacekeeper intercontinental ballistic missiles, the Ohio-class submarines, and the Trident submarine-launched ballistic missiles, among others. Prominent journalists have regarded STRAT-X as a major influence on the course of U.S. nuclear policy.


 * William Anderson (RAAF officer) (Ian Rose) : Air Vice-Marshal William Hopton (Bill) Anderson CBE, DFC (1891–1975) was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). He flew with the Australian Flying Corps in World War I, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Belgian Croix de guerre, and leading Nos. 3 and 7 Squadrons. Anderson commanded the Australian Air Corps during its brief existence in 1920, before joining the fledgling RAAF the following year. The service's third most senior officer, he primarily held posts on the Australian Air Board in the inter-war years. He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1934, and promoted to air commodore in 1938. When World War II broke out, Anderson was Air Member for Supply. In 1940 he acted as Chief of the Air Staff between the resignation of Air Vice-Marshal Stanley Goble in January and the arrival of Air Chief Marshal Sir Charles Burnett, RAF, the next month. He led the newly formed Central and Eastern Area Commands between December 1940 and July 1943, interspersed with a brief return to the Air Board as Air Member for Organisation and Equipment in 1941–42. Anderson was founding Commandant of the RAAF Staff School from July to November 1943, and again held this post from October 1944 until his retirement in April 1946. Known to his colleagues as "Andy" or "Mucker", he died on his birthday in 1975.