Thursday, November 13, 2008
Douglas C-54 Skymaster
The Douglas R5D was the US Navy’s version of the C-54 Skymaster, the military version of the DC-4 airliner.
The Douglas R3D was the Navy’s version of the commercially unsuccessful DC-5 short haul passenger transport.
The Douglas C-110 was the designation given to three DC-5 airliners after they were impressed into USAAF service during 1944.
The designation Douglas XC-112 was given to two different aircraft, one a proposed pressurized version of the C-54 and the other the first military DC-6.
The Douglas XC-114 was a lengthened and re-engined version of the C-54 Skymaster.
The Douglas XC-115 was to have been a version of the XC-114 powered by four 1,650 Packard V-1650-209 engines.
The single Douglas XC-116 was a sister to the XC-114, and like that aircraft was a version of the C-54 with a longer (100ft 7in compared to 93ft 10in) fuselage.
Douglas DC-3/ C-47/ D-53/ Dakota
The Douglas C-47 Skytrain was the first fully militarised transport to be based on the DC-3 airliner, and was the first transport aircraft to be ordered in large numbers for the USAAF.
The Douglas C-47A Skytrain was produced in larger numbers than any other version of the C-47, and with 5,253 built represented nearly half of the total production run of 10,654 aircraft in the DC-3 family.
The Douglas C-47B was designed for high altitude operations on the “Hump” – the aerial route between India and China that for most of the Second World War was the only way for the Allies to get military supplies into China.
The Douglas XC-47C was a floatplane producing by fitting Edo Model 78 floats to a standard C-47.
The designation C-47D was given to a large number of C-47Bs that had their high altitude supercharger removed.
The Douglas EC-47N was an advanced electronic warfare version of the standard C-47A, developed in the mid 1960s for use in Vietnam.
The Douglas EC-47P was an electronic warfare version of the C-47D, developed for use during the Vietnam War.
The Douglas EC-47Q was the designation given to electronic warfare versions of the C-47 powered by the 1,290hp Pratt & Whitney R-2000-4 engine
The Douglas AC-47A gunship was developed in the early 1960s for use in anti-insurgency operations, and combined a long-standing aerial manoeuvre – the pylon turn – with the use of sideways firing weapons
The Douglas XCG-17 was an experiment cargo carrying glider produced by removing the engines from a standard C-47 Skytrain.
The Douglas C-53 Skytrooper was a dedicated troop transporter developed from the DC-3 airliner.
The designation Douglas C-117 was given to two very different versions of the DC-3, first to a more comfortable version of the basic C-53 and then to the Navy’s fleet of R4D-8 Super DC-3s.
The US Navy was the third biggest operator of military versions of the Douglas DC-3, after the USAAF and the RAF, and eventually received over 550 aircraft in seven main versions, giving them the designation R4D
The Douglas R4D-8 emerged from an unsuccessful attempt by Douglas to extend the commercial lifespan of the aging DC-3.
The Douglas Dakota I was the RAF designation for fifty three C-47s received under the lend-lease scheme.
The Douglas Dakota II was the RAF designation for nine C-53 Skytroopers received under the lend lease scheme.
The Douglas Dakota III was the RAF designation given to 962 C-47A Skytrains that were received under the lend-lease scheme.
The Douglas Dakota IV was the RAF designation for 896 C-47Bs received under the lend-lease scheme.
The L2D 'Tabby' was a version of the Douglas DC-3 built under licence in Japan, and which became the Japanese Navy's standard transport aircraft during the Second World War.
The Lisunov Li-2/PS-84 was a version of the Douglas DC-3 produced under licence in the Soviet Union.
The single Douglas C-41A was the only transport aircraft based on the DC-3 to be built for the US Army Air Corps, and was a VIP transport purchased for use as a staff and VIP transport.
The Douglas C-48 was the designation given to 36 Pratt & Whitney powered DC-3s impressed by the USAAF after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
The Douglas C-49 was the designation given to 138 Wright Cyclone powered DC-3s impressed by the USAAF after the American entry into the Second World War.
The designation Douglas C-50 was given to fourteen Wright Cyclone powered DC-3 airliners impressed off the production line by the USAAF after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
The Douglas C-51 was the designation given to a single Wright Cyclone powered DC-3 impressed directly from the production lines after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
The Douglas C-52 was the designation given to six Pratt & Whitney powered DC-3s impressed by the USAAF in the aftermath of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor
The designation Douglas C-68 was given to two Pratt and Whitney powered DC-3s impressed off the Douglas production line after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
The Douglas C-84 was the designation given to four in-service DC-3s powered by Wright Cyclone engines and impressed by the USAAF during 1942.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Douglas DC-1 and DC-2
The Douglas DC-2 was the production version of the DC-1, and helped to revolutionise the civil aviation industry in the mid 1930s.
The designation Douglas R2D-1 was given to the first DC-2s to enter US military service, serving as staff transport aircraft for the US Navy
The designation Douglas C-32 was given to one DC-2 purchased by the USAAC in 1936, and to twenty-four civilian DC-2 airliners that were impressed by the War Department after the start of the Second World War.
The Douglas C-33 was the first purpose-built military transport aircraft to be based on the Douglas DC-2, and was thus the ancestor of the thousands of C-47s, C-53s and Dakotas that would be built during the Second World War.
The Douglas C-34 was the designation given to two military versions of the DC-2 purchased for use by the Secretary of War.
The single Douglas C-38 was producing in an attempt to improve the stability of the DC-2/ C-33 series of aircraft.
The Douglas C-39 was a military transport aircraft that combined the fuselage and outer wings of the DC-2 with the centre wing section, engine nacelles and larger tail of the DC-3.
The Douglas C-41 was the designation given to a single transport aircraft based on the DC-2 and produced as a transport for the Chief of Staff of the Army Air Corps
Like the C-41 the Douglas C-42 was the designation given to a single transport aircraft similar to the C-39, with the fuselage of the DC-2 but the tail and wing centre section of the DC-3.
de Havilland Mosquito NF.Mk XVII
Curtiss SBC Helldiver
Sunday, November 09, 2008
War between Rome and Antiochus III (192-188 B.C.)
The battle of Thermopylae of 191 B.C. ended the Greek phase of the war between Rome and the Seleucid emperor Antiochus III, and saw Antiochus expelled from Greece
The battle of Corycus of 191 B.C. was the first naval battle of the war between Rome and Antiochus III, and saw the Romans and their allies begin to win control of the Aegean Sea.
The battle of Eurymedon (or Side) of 190 B.C. was one of two naval battles that marked a turning point in that years fighting in the war between Rome and Antiochus III.
The battle of Myonnesus was the decisive naval battle of the War between Rome and Antiochus III, and saw a combined Roman and Rhodian fleet defeat Antiochus’ main surviving fleet.
The battle of Magnesia, in the winter of 190 B.C., saw a badly outnumbered Roman army defeat the army of the Seleucid Emperor Antiochus III (the Great), forever altering the balance of power in the eastern Mediterranean.
The peace of Apamea of 188 B.C. ended the war between Rome and Antiochus III, and also ended any chance that the Seleucid Empire might ever reclaim its lands in Asia Minor.
Thursday, November 06, 2008
Second Macedonian War
The battle of Chios of 201 B.C. was the first of two naval battles fought by Philip V of Macedonia off the coast of Asia Minor during 201.
The battle of Lade was the second of two naval battles fought by Philip V of Macedonia during 201 BC.
The siege of Abydos of 200 B.C. was one of the final of a series of conquests made by Philip V of Macedonia around the Aegean that helped trigger the Second Macedonian War (against Rome).
The battle of the Aous (probable date 24 June 198 BC) was the first significant Roman victory during the Second Macedonian War.
The battle of Cynoscephalea of 197 B.C. was the decisive battle of the First Macedonian War, and was the first of a series of victories won by Roman legions over the Greek phalanx that ended three centuries of Greek dominance on the battlefield.
First Macedonian War (215-205 BC)
The battle of Mantinea of 207 BC was the most significant battle of the First Macedonian War, although it involved none of the main participants in that war.
The peace of Phoenice of 205 ended the fighting in the First Macedonian War (215-205 BC).
First and Second Illyrian Wars
The Second Illyrian War (219 BC) was a short campaign in which the Romans restored the balance of power they had created at the end of the First Illyrian War, ten years earlier.
Vickers Virginia, Victoria and Valentia
The Vickers Victoria was a troop transport developed alongside the Vickers Virginia bomber, and which shared many design elements with that aircraft.
The Vickers Valentia was the name given to a strengthened version of the Vickers Victoria troop transport, powered by two Pegasus engines.