All-new 2015 Jeep® Renegade: Most Capable Small SUV Expands the Brand's Global Portfolio

- All-new 2015 Jeep® Renegade marks the brand's first entry in the small SUV segment

- Renegade Trailhawk model delivers best-in-class 4x4 Trail Rated capability with class-exclusive Jeep Active Drive Low, which includes 20:1 crawl ratio and Jeep Selec-Terrain system

- Designed to expand the Jeep brand globally, the all-new 2015 Renegade combines the brand's heritage with fresh new styling to appeal to youthful and adventurous customers

- Nothing else like it: Renegade displays a powerful stance with aggressive wheel-to- body proportions, plus the freedom of two My Sky open-air roof systems

- Renegade's all-new interior exudes an energetic appearance with rugged and functional details, crafted in high-quality materials and inspired colors

- All-new "small-wide 4x4 architecture" combines best-in-class off-road capability with world-class on-road driving dynamics

- Designed for global markets – with 16 fuel-efficient powertrain combinations for different markets around the world – including the world's first nine-speed automatic transmission in a small SUV

- Renegade will offer a best-in-class combination of fuel efficiency and off-road capability

- Technology once limited to premium SUVs: award-winning Uconnect Access, Uconnect touchscreen radios and the segment's largest full-color instrument cluster

- Loaded with up to 70 available advanced safety and security features

- Designed in America, crafted in Italy, the 2015 Renegade highlights the Jeep brand's global resources and dedication to meeting customer needs in more than 100 countries

The all-new 2015 Jeep® Renegade expands the brand's global vehicle lineup, entering the growing small SUV segment, while staying true to the adventurous lifestyle Jeep is known for. Renegade delivers a unique combination of best-in-class off-road capability, open-air freedom and convenience, a segment-first nine-speed automatic transmission that contributes to outstanding on- road and off-road driving dynamics, fuel-efficient engines, world-class refinement, and a host of innovative safety and advanced technology offerings. The result is an efficient vehicle created to attract youthful and adventurous customers around the world to the Jeep brand.

The all-new 2015 Jeep Renegade expands the brand's product portfolio and targets the rapidly expanding small SUV segment around the globe with benchmark levels of efficiency and driving dynamics, while at the same time delivering best-in-class 4x4 capability that customers expect from Jeep,‖ said Mike Manley, President and CEO - Jeep Brand, Chrysler Group LLC. ―Renegade symbolizes the brand's renowned American design, ingenuity and innovation, marking the Jeep brand's first entry into the small SUV segment in more than 100 markets around the globe.

Best-in-class off-road capability thanks to two all-new 4x4 systems

Leveraging 4x4 technology from the all-new Jeep Cherokee, the all-new 2015 Jeep Renegade offers two of the most advanced and intelligent 4x4 systems in its class, all to deliver best-in-class off-road capability. Both systems can provide up to 100 percent of the engine's available torque to the ground, through any wheel, for optimal grip.

- Jeep Active Drive – full-time 4x4 system

- Jeep Active Drive Low – class-exclusive full-time 4x4 system with 20:1 crawl ratio

Innovation is also at the forefront of any new Jeep vehicle, and the Renegade is the first small SUV to feature a disconnecting rear axle and power take-off unit (PTU) – all to provide Jeep Renegade 4x4 models with enhanced fuel economy. The system instantly engages when 4x4 traction is needed.

Both Jeep Active Drive and Active Drive Low 4x4 systems include the Jeep Selec-Terrain system, providing up to five modes (Auto, Snow, Sand and Mud modes, plus exclusive Rock mode on the Trailhawk model) for the best four-wheel-drive performance on- or off-road and in any weather condition.

Trail Rated: Renegade Trailhawk 4x4 model

For customers who demand the most off-road capability from their Jeep vehicles, the Renegade Trailhawk model delivers best-in-class Trail Rated 4x4 capability with:

- Standard Jeep Active Drive Low (20:1 crawl ratio)

- Selec-Terrain system with exclusive Rock mode

- Increased ride height 20 mm (0.8 inches)

- Skid plates, and red front and rear tow hooks

- Unique fascias deliver 30.5 degree approach, 25.7 degree breakover and 34.3 degree departure angles

- 17-inch all-terrain tires

- Up to 205 mm (8.1 inches) of wheel articulation

- Hill-descent Control

- Up to 480 mm (19 inches) of water fording

- Up to 1,500 kg (3,300-lb.) towing capability with MultiJet II diesel engine and 907 kg (2,000- lb.) towing capability with 2.4-liter Tigershark engine, with available tow package

A global Jeep design for a rapidly growing global brand

From the start, Jeep designers knew the Renegade would need to deliver best-in-class off-road capability with city-sized proportions that exuded the brand's rugged style while at the same time enhancing versatility, maneuverability and style. Additionally designers were tasked to create an all- new SUV that would symbolize the brand's renowned American design and ingenuity, as it would mark the Jeep brand's first entry into the small SUV segment in more than 100 markets around the globe. Last, Renegade had to offer the open-air freedom that dates back to its 1941 roots with the Willys MB Jeep.

The result is the all-new 2015 Renegade, a vehicle that builds on the Jeep Wrangler's powerful stance, and features fresh new styling with rugged body forms and aggressive proportions that enable best-in-class approach and departure angles purposely designed to deliver best-in-class off- road capability. And for segment-exclusive panoramic views, two available My Sky open-air roof panel systems conveniently stow to provide passengers open-air freedom with ease.

All-new interior exudes a rugged and energetic appearance

The all-new Jeep Renegade interior features a rugged and energetic appearance that builds upon Jeep's legendary brand heritage. Its precisely crafted detail, innovative and high-quality color and material appointments, state-of-the-art technology, and clever storage features draw inspiration from contemporary extreme sports gear and lifestyles.

The interior of the all-new 2015 Jeep Renegade has a distinctive form language which Jeep designers have titled ―Tek-Tonic.‖ This new design theme is defined by the intersections of soft and tactile forms with rugged and functional details. Major surfaces such as the sculpted soft-touch instrument panel are intersected with bold functional elements like the passenger grab handle – indispensable for off-road adventures and borrowed from its big brother, the legendary Jeep Wrangler. Unique ―protective clamp fasteners,‖ anodized design accents and inspired colors are derived from extreme sports equipment, while the newly familiar ―X‖ shapes inspired by its roof and tail lamps add to Renegade's Tek-Tonic interior look. And to make sure all of the needed passenger gear fits, the Renegade is designed with an efficient and flexible interior package that includes a removable, reversible and height-adjustable cargo floor panel and fold-forward front-passenger seat.

My Sky: continuing Jeep open-air freedom since 1941

Keeping the tradition of the legendary 1941 Willys MB Jeep, the all-new 2015 Renegade offers open-air freedom with two available My Sky open-air roof systems. With a manual removable, or removable with premium power tilt/slide feature, the segment-exclusive My Sky roof-panel systems quickly bring the outdoors inside. Designed for convenience, the honeycomb fiberglass polyurethane roof panels are lightweight and stow neatly in the rear cargo area. For added design detail, both My Sky roof systems feature a debossed ―X‖ stamped into the roof that exude strength and play on the brand's utilitarian history.

Best-in-class off-road capability with world-class on-road driving dynamics

Designed and engineered to first and foremost deliver legendary Jeep 4x4 capability, the all-new 2015 Renegade is the first small SUV from Chrysler Group to use the all-new ―small-wide 4x4 architecture.‖

With its fully independent suspension capable of up to 205 mm (8.1 inches) of wheel articulation and 220 mm (8.7 inches) of ground clearance (Trailhawk), Renegade raises the bar in the small SUV segment with best-in-class off-road capability. Extensive use of advanced steels, composites and advanced computer-impact simulations enable the all-new 2015 Renegade's architecture to deliver world-class torsional stiffness and Jeep brand's durability required for Trail Rated adventures.

The all-new Renegade is the first Jeep to integrate Koni's frequency selective damping (FSD) front and rear strut system. This damping system enables the Jeep Renegade to deliver world-class road-holding and handling characteristics.

Designed for global markets: 16 powertrain combinations

True to the Jeep brand, the all-new Renegade will offer customers in global markets maximum off- road capability and fuel efficiency. The Renegade will offer up to 16 strategic powertrain combinations – the most ever in a Jeep vehicle – customized to markets around the world to meet a range of performance and efficiency needs. Powertrain options include:

- Four MultiAir gasoline engine offerings

- Two MultiJet II diesel engine offerings

- Efficient and flex-fuel capable E.torQ engine

- Emissions and fuel-saving Stop&Start technology

- Segment-first nine-speed automatic transmission

- Two manual and one dual-dry clutch transmission (DDCT) offerings

World's first small SUV with nine-speed automatic transmission

Like the new Jeep Cherokee, the all-new 2015 Jeep Renegade has raised the bar - this time in the small SUV class - with the first available nine-speed automatic transmission. When paired with either the 2.0-liter MultiJet II diesel engine, or 2.4-liter MultiAir2 gas engine, the nine-speed transmission delivers numerous benefits customers will appreciate, including aggressive launches, smooth power delivery at highway speeds and improved fuel efficiency versus a six-speed automatic transmission.

Segment-exclusive technologies once found only on higher classed SUVs

The all-new 2015 Jeep Renegade offers technology features once found only in upper-segment vehicles, and makes them attainable to customers in the growing small SUV segment – including award-winning Uconnect Access, Uconnect touchscreens and the segment's largest full-color instrument cluster.

- Uconnect Access: Utilizes embedded cellular technology to allow Jeep Renegade occupants to get directly in contact with local emergency-service dispatchers – all with the push of the 9-1-1 Assist button on the rearview mirror. Uconnect Access applies the same logic to roadside assistance. One push of the ―ASSIST‖ button summons help directly from Chrysler Group's roadside assistance provider, or the Vehicle Customer Care Center. Further peace of mind comes from the system's ability to receive text messages, announce receipt of texts, identify senders and then ―read‖ the messages aloud with Bluetooth-equipped cell phones. AOL Autos named Uconnect Access its ―Technology of the Year for 2013.‖ (Uconnect services may vary in different markets)

- Uconnect touchscreen radio systems: Award-winning in-vehicle handsfree communication, entertainment and available navigation. Key features available on the Uconnect 5.0 and 6.5AN systems include a 5.0-inch or 6.5-inch touchscreen display, Bluetooth connectivity, single or dual-turner, radio data system capability (RDS), digital audio broadcast (DAB), HD Radio, digital media broadcasting (DMB), SiriusXM Radio, SiriusXM Travel Link, SiriusXM Travel Link, USB port and auxiliary audio jack input. (Uconnect services may vary in different markets)

- Segment's largest full-color instrument cluster display: Filling the Jeep Renegade's gauge cluster in front of the driver is an available 7-inch, full-color, premium multiview display, featuring a reconfigurable function that enables drivers to personalize information inside the instrument cluster. The information display is designed to visually communicate information, using graphics and text, quickly and easily.

Renegade features up to 70 advanced safety and security features

Safety and security were at the forefront in the development of the all-new 2015 Jeep Renegade, setting the stage for up to 70 available safety and security features – including the availability of Forward Collision Warning-Plus and LaneSense Departure Warning-Plus.

In addition, engineers added both active and passive safety and security features, including Blind- spot Monitoring; Rear Cross Path detection; ParkView rear backup camera with dynamic grid lines; electronic stability control (ESC) with electronic roll mitigation and seven standard air bags.

Jeep brand's global resources

Designed in America and crafted in Italy, the 2015 Renegade continues the Jeep brand's dedication to the global marketplace and demonstrates the depths of its available resources. The final assembly location for the Renegade will be at the Melfi Assembly Plant. The Renegade's global portfolio of powertrain production includes the United States, Italy and Brazil.

Knifefish is a medium-class Mine Countermeasure (MCM) Unmanned Undersea Vehicle (UUV) designed for deployment off the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS). The Knifefish UUV provides the mine warfare commander with enhanced mine-hunting capability by detecting, classifying and identifying both buried mines and mines in high clutter environments. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Brian M. Brooks/RELEASED)

EWS Class 47 47757 'Capability Brown' light engine at Stockport on the 20th June 2003.

From the sand dunes of Essaouira to the peaks of the Atlas Mountains, the all-new Range Rover demonstrates its full breadth of capability in Morocco.

At Highcliffe Castle in Highcliffe near Christchurch, Dorset.

The Castle burnt down in the late 1960s. And since the late 1970s has been owned by Christchurch Borough Council, who have since restored it.

Highcliffe Castle is a Grade I listed building.

The following listing text dates to 1953. (so doesn't take into account the fire of 1967) and the restoration of 1977-1998.

Highcliffe Castle, Christchurch

ROTHESAY DRIVE

1.

5187 Highcliffe Castle

(formerly listed under

Lymington Road)

SZ 2093 13/51 14.10.53.

I

2.

The original house here was built about 1775 for the third Earl of Bute either

by Robert Adam or by Capability Brown, but it did not stand on the excat site of

the present building and was demolished in 1794. It was replaced by a nondescript

building which in its turn was demolished in 1830. The present Highcliffe Castle

was built by Lord Stuart de Rothesay in 1830-34. The architect was W J Donthorne

who collaborated with Lord Stuart de Rothesay. The design incorporated materials

from the Hotel des Andelys near Rouen in Normandy, where Antoine de Bourbon, the

father of Henri IV died in 1562. Lord Stuart de Rothesay when returning to England

on his retirement from the British Embassy in Paris in 1830, saw the house being

demolished, bought it and had it shipped down the Scine and across to this site,

where it was re-erected.

The building forms a large L. It is built of rosy-tinged ashlar and has 2 storeys

and basement. The north or entrance front is dominated by the great Gothic porte

cochere archway at least 30 ft high flanked by ribbed octagonal buttresses with

a gable between surmounted by a pierced parapet. Beneath the archway is a groined

vaulted roof an elaborate carved doorway and a tall 5-light pointed window over

it. The east wing which is to the left of this porte cochere has a terrace over

an enclosed forecourt containing the obtusely-pointed windows of the basement.

The ground floor of the wing has 5 casement windows of 3 tiers of 2 lights each

with depressed heads, the top tier of lights lighting an entresol. Cornice and

parapet above ground floor. The first floor is set back with a flat walk on the

roof of the ground floor in front of it, terminating at the east end in a rectangular

tower of 1 window with rectangular or octagonal buttress at the angles and parapet

between. Beyond the tower the ground floor only, without basement, projects and

has 6 more windows, the 3 easternmost ones in a canted bay. The west front is

made up of the hall at the north end. This has 4 buttresses and a narrow half-octagonal

oriel window at the north end, 4 lancet windows at first floor level, and a pierced

parapet surmounted by finials. At the south end of the front is a rectangular

projection at right angles, with one window on each front and parapet over with

octagonal corbel cupolas at the angles. Its west face has projecting oriel window

on ground floor and elaborate window of 2 tiers of 4 lights above. At the south

end of the south wing is an L-shaped projection on the ground floor only which

was a garden-room, or conservatory and chapel combined, Its south front is entirely

made up of windows with a huge bay in the centre approached by 7 steps. The south-east

side of the Castle shows its L-plan but the angle is partly filled in so that this

front gives somewhat the impression of 3 sides of octagon. The centre has 3 windows

with flat heads on both floors. Pierced parapet over containing the words "Suave

mari magno turbantibus aequora ventise terra magnum alterius spectare laborem"

in it. On each side of this is a tower at a slight angle to centre portion. The

east one is of 3 storeys flanked by octagmml buttresses with a 4-light window

on each floor. The west one has 2 storeys only, a round-headed archway forms a

porch on the ground floor and above the elaborate carved oriel window from the

Manoir d' Andelys in which Henri IV stood while he waited for his father Antoine

de Bourbon die. On each side of the oriel is tracery buttresses. On each side

of these east and south towers are wings of ground floor height only which are

again at an angle to the towers. These wings are alike and have 3 windows of 2

tiers of 2 lights. Pierced parapet over surmounted by finials above the angles

of the bays. All the windows in the Castle are casement windows with stone mullions

and transom. The interior contains French C18 panelling marble chimney-pieces.

The chief feature of the interior is the hall (the double staircase has now been

removed). This formerly led from the hall to the principal bedroom, in which the

Emperor William II of Germany slept when he rented the house during his "rest-cure"

in 1907.

Listing NGR: SZ2030693208

Exterior of the Great Hall - which went on fire over 40 years ago! Now restored (but missing internal staircase, which was removed for some reason).

At Highcliffe Castle in Highcliffe near Christchurch, Dorset.

The Castle burnt down in the late 1960s. And since the late 1970s has been owned by Christchurch Borough Council, who have since restored it.

Highcliffe Castle is a Grade I listed building.

The following listing text dates to 1953. (so doesn't take into account the fire of 1967) and the restoration of 1977-1998.

Highcliffe Castle, Christchurch

ROTHESAY DRIVE

1.

5187 Highcliffe Castle

(formerly listed under

Lymington Road)

SZ 2093 13/51 14.10.53.

I

2.

The original house here was built about 1775 for the third Earl of Bute either

by Robert Adam or by Capability Brown, but it did not stand on the excat site of

the present building and was demolished in 1794. It was replaced by a nondescript

building which in its turn was demolished in 1830. The present Highcliffe Castle

was built by Lord Stuart de Rothesay in 1830-34. The architect was W J Donthorne

who collaborated with Lord Stuart de Rothesay. The design incorporated materials

from the Hotel des Andelys near Rouen in Normandy, where Antoine de Bourbon, the

father of Henri IV died in 1562. Lord Stuart de Rothesay when returning to England

on his retirement from the British Embassy in Paris in 1830, saw the house being

demolished, bought it and had it shipped down the Scine and across to this site,

where it was re-erected.

The building forms a large L. It is built of rosy-tinged ashlar and has 2 storeys

and basement. The north or entrance front is dominated by the great Gothic porte

cochere archway at least 30 ft high flanked by ribbed octagonal buttresses with

a gable between surmounted by a pierced parapet. Beneath the archway is a groined

vaulted roof an elaborate carved doorway and a tall 5-light pointed window over

it. The east wing which is to the left of this porte cochere has a terrace over

an enclosed forecourt containing the obtusely-pointed windows of the basement.

The ground floor of the wing has 5 casement windows of 3 tiers of 2 lights each

with depressed heads, the top tier of lights lighting an entresol. Cornice and

parapet above ground floor. The first floor is set back with a flat walk on the

roof of the ground floor in front of it, terminating at the east end in a rectangular

tower of 1 window with rectangular or octagonal buttress at the angles and parapet

between. Beyond the tower the ground floor only, without basement, projects and

has 6 more windows, the 3 easternmost ones in a canted bay. The west front is

made up of the hall at the north end. This has 4 buttresses and a narrow half-octagonal

oriel window at the north end, 4 lancet windows at first floor level, and a pierced

parapet surmounted by finials. At the south end of the front is a rectangular

projection at right angles, with one window on each front and parapet over with

octagonal corbel cupolas at the angles. Its west face has projecting oriel window

on ground floor and elaborate window of 2 tiers of 4 lights above. At the south

end of the south wing is an L-shaped projection on the ground floor only which

was a garden-room, or conservatory and chapel combined, Its south front is entirely

made up of windows with a huge bay in the centre approached by 7 steps. The south-east

side of the Castle shows its L-plan but the angle is partly filled in so that this

front gives somewhat the impression of 3 sides of octagon. The centre has 3 windows

with flat heads on both floors. Pierced parapet over containing the words "Suave

mari magno turbantibus aequora ventise terra magnum alterius spectare laborem"

in it. On each side of this is a tower at a slight angle to centre portion. The

east one is of 3 storeys flanked by octagmml buttresses with a 4-light window

on each floor. The west one has 2 storeys only, a round-headed archway forms a

porch on the ground floor and above the elaborate carved oriel window from the

Manoir d' Andelys in which Henri IV stood while he waited for his father Antoine

de Bourbon die. On each side of the oriel is tracery buttresses. On each side

of these east and south towers are wings of ground floor height only which are

again at an angle to the towers. These wings are alike and have 3 windows of 2

tiers of 2 lights. Pierced parapet over surmounted by finials above the angles

of the bays. All the windows in the Castle are casement windows with stone mullions

and transom. The interior contains French C18 panelling marble chimney-pieces.

The chief feature of the interior is the hall (the double staircase has now been

removed). This formerly led from the hall to the principal bedroom, in which the

Emperor William II of Germany slept when he rented the house during his "rest-cure"

in 1907.

Listing NGR: SZ2030693208

Medallions portrait busts on the wall.

Broadway Tower is a folly on Broadway Hill, near the village of Broadway, in the English county of Worcestershire, at the second-highest point of the Cotswolds (after Cleeve Hill). Broadway Tower's base is 1,024 feet (312 metres) above sea level. The tower itself stands 65 feet (20 metres) high.

The "Saxon" tower was the brainchild of Capability Brown and designed by James Wyatt in 1794 in the form of a castle, and built for Lady Coventry in 1798–99. The tower was built on a "beacon" hill, where beacons were lit on special occasions. Lady Coventry wondered whether a beacon on this hill could be seen from her house in Worcester — about 22 miles (35 km) away — and sponsored the construction of the folly to find out. Indeed, the beacon could be seen clearly.

Over the years, the tower was home to the printing press of Sir Thomas Phillipps, and served as a country retreat for artists including William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones who rented it together in the 1880s. William Morris was so inspired by Broadway Tower and other ancient buildings that he founded the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings in 1877.

Today, the tower is a tourist attraction and the centre of a country park with various exhibitions open to the public at a fee, as well as a gift shop and restaurant. The place is on the Cotswold Way and can be reached by following the Cotswold Way from the A44 road at Fish Hill, or by a steep climb out of Broadway village.

Near the tower is a memorial to the crew of an A.W.38 Whitley bomber that crashed there during a training mission in June 1943.

Croome Court is a mid 18th century Neo-Palladian mansion surrounded by an extensive landscaped parkland at Croome D'Abitot, near Pershore in south Worcestershire. The mansion and park were designed by Lancelot "Capability" Brown for George Coventry, 6th Earl of Coventry, and was Brown's first landscape design and first major architectural project. Some of the internal rooms of the mansion were designed by Robert Adam.

The mansion house is owned by Croome Heritage Trust, and is leased to the National Trust who operate it, along with the surrounding parkland, as a tourist attraction. The National Trust own the surrounding parkland, which is also open to the public.

Location[edit]

Croome Court is located near to Croome D'Abitot, in Worcestershire,[1] near Pirton, Worcestershire.[2] The wider estate was established on lands that were once part of the royal forest of Horewell.[3] Traces of these older landscapes, such as unimproved commons and ancient woodlands, can be found across the former Croome Estate.[4]

House[edit]

Croome Court South Portico

History[edit]

The foundations and core of Croome Court, including the central chimney stack structure, date back to the early 1640s.[5] Substantial changes to this early house were made by Gilbert Coventry, 4th Earl of Coventry.[6]

In 1751, George Coventry, the 6th Earl, inherited the estate, along with the existing Jacobean house. He commissioned Lancelot "Capability" Brown, with the assistance of Sanderson Miller, to redesign the house and estate.[7][1] It was Brown's "first flight into the realms of architecture" and a "rare example of his architectural work",[8] and it is an important and seminal work.[9] It was built between 1751 and 1752, and it and Hagley Hall are considered to be the finest examples of Neo-Palladian architecture in Worcestershire. Notable Neo-Palladian features incorporated into Croome Court include the plain exterior and the corner towers with pyramidal roofs (a feature first used by Inigo Jones in the design of Wilton House in Wiltshire).[1] Robert Adam worked on the interior of the building from 1760 onwards.[10]

The house has been visited by George III,[2][11] as well as Queen Victoria[7] during summers when she was a child, and George V (then Duke of York).[11]

A jam factory was built by the 9th Earl of Coventry, near to Pershore railway station, in about 1880, to provide a market for Vale of Evesham fruit growers in times of surplus. Although the Croome connection with jam making had ceased, during the First World War, the building was leased by the Croome Estate Trust to the Huddersfield Fruit Preserving Company as a pulping station.[12]

The First World War deeply affected Croome, with many local casualties, although the house was not requisitioned for the war effort. This is possibly because it was the home of the Lord Lieutenant of the County, who needed a residence for his many official engagements.[13]

During the Second World War Croome Court was requisitioned by the Ministry of Works and leased for a year to the Dutch Government as a possible refuge for Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands; to escape the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. However, evidence shows that they stayed two weeks at the most, perhaps because of the noise and fear created by the proximity of Defford Aerodrome. They later emigrated to Canada.[14]

In 1948 the Croome Estate Trust sold the Court, along with 38 acres (15 ha) of land, to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham, and the mansion became St Joseph's Special School, which was run by nuns[15] from 1950[11] until 1979.[15]

The house was listed on 11 August 1952; it is currently Grade I listed.[10]

In 1979 the hall was taken over by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (Hare Krishna movement), who used it as their UK headquarters and a training college[16] called Chaitanya College,[15] run by 25 members of the movement.[16] During their tenure they repainted the Dining Room.[17] In 1984 they had to leave the estate for financial reasons. They held a festival at the hall in 2011.[16]

From 1984 onwards various owners tried to use the property as a training centre; apartments; a restaurant and conference centre; and a hotel and golf course,[15] before once more becoming a private family home,[2][15] with outbuildings converted to private houses.[15]

The house was purchased by the Croome Heritage Trust, a registered charity,[18] in October 2007,[19] and it is now managed by the National Trust as a tourist attraction. It opened to the public in September 2009, at which point six of the rooms had restored, costing £400,000, including the Saloon. It was estimated that another £4 million[2][20] to £4.8 million would be needed to restore the entire building. Fundraising activities for the restoration included a 2011 raffle for a Morgan sports car organised by Lord and Lady Flight. After the restoration is complete, a 999-year lease on the building will be granted to the National Trust.[21] An oral history project to record recollections about Croome was funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.[15] As of 2009, the service wing was empty and in need of substantial repair.[22]

Exterior[edit]

The mansion is faced with Bath stone,[7] limestone ashlar, and has both north and south facing fronts. It has a basement and two stories, with three stories in the end pavilions. A slate roof, with pyramid roofs over the corner towers, tops the building, along with three pair-linked chimneys along the axis of the house.[10]

Both fronts have 11 bays, split into three central sets of three each, and one additional bay each side. The north face has a pedimented centre, with two balustraded staircases leading to a Roman Doric doorcase. The south face has a projecting Ionic tetrastyle portico and Venetian windows. It has a broad staircase, with cast stone sphinxes on each side, leading to a south door topped with a cornice on consoles. The wings have modillion cornice and balustrade.[10]

A two-story L-shaped service wing is attached to the east side of the mansion. It is made of red brick and stone, with slate roofs.[10] It was designed by Capability Brown in 1751-2.[22] On the far side of the service wing, a wall connects it to a stable court.[10]

Interior[edit]

The interior of the house was designed partially by Capability Brown, with plasterwork by G. Vassalli, and partially by Robert Adam, with plasterwork by J. Rose Jr. It has a central spine corridor. A stone staircase, with iron balusters, is at the east end.[10]

The entrance hall is on the north side of the building, and has four fluted Doric columns, along with moulded doorcases. To the east of the entrance hall is the dining room, which has a plaster ceiling and cornice, while to the west is a billiard room, featuring fielded panelling, a plaster cornice, and a rococo fireplace. The three rooms were probably decorated around 1758-59 by Capability Brown.[10] The dining room was vibrantly repainted by the Hare Krishnas in the 1970s-80s.[17]

The central room on the south side is a saloon, probably by Brown and Vassalli. It has an elaborate ceiling, with three panels, deep coving, and a cornice, along with two Ionic fireplaces, and Palladian doorcases.[10] George III was entertained by George Coventry, the 6th Earl, in the house's Saloon.[2] A drawing room is to the west of the saloon, and features rococo plasterwork and a marble fireplace.[10]

To the east of the saloon is the Tapestry Room.[10] This was designed in 1763-71, based on a design by Robert Adam, and contained tapestries and furniture covers possibly designed by Jacques Germain Soufflot, and made by Manufacture Nationale des Gobelins.[23] Around 1902 the ninth Earl sold the tapestries and seating to a Parisian dealer. In 1949 the Samuel H. Kress Foundation purchased the ceiling, floor, mantlepiece, chair rails, doors and the door surrounds, which were donated to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, in 1958. In 1959 the Kress Foundation also helped the Metropolitan Museum acquire the chair and sofa frames, which they recovered using the original tapestry seats.[7][23] A copy of the ceiling was installed in place of the original.[10] As of 2016, the room is displayed as it would have looked after the tapestries had been sold, with a jug and ewer on display as the only original decoration of the room that remains in it. The adjacent library room is used to explain what happened to the tapestry room;[17] the former library was designed by Adam, and was dismantled except for the marble fireplace.[10]

At the west side of the building is a long gallery,[10] which was designed by Robert Adam and installed between 1761 and 1766. It is the best preserved of the original interior (little of the rest has survived in situ).[1] It has an octagonal panelled ceiling, and plaster reliefs of griffins. A half-hexagonal bay faces the garden. The room also contains a marble caryatid fireplace designed by J Wilton.[10] As of 2016, modern sculptures are displayed in empty niches along the Long Gallery

wikipedia

A visit to Charlecote Park for an afternoon visit to this National Trust property in Warwickshire. Near Stratford-upon-Avon. A deer park with a country house in the middle of it.

Charlecote Park (grid reference SP263564) is a grand 16th-century country house, surrounded by its own deer park, on the banks of the River Avon near Wellesbourne, about 4 miles (6 km) east of Stratford-upon-Avon and 5.5 miles (9 km) south of Warwick, Warwickshire, England. It has been administered by the National Trust since 1946 and is open to the public. It is a Grade I listed building.

The Lucy family owned the land since 1247. Charlecote Park was built in 1558 by Sir Thomas Lucy, and Queen Elizabeth I stayed in the room that is now the drawing room. Although the general outline of the Elizabethan house remains, nowadays it is in fact mostly Victorian. Successive generations of the Lucy family had modified Charlecote Park over the centuries, but in 1823, George Hammond Lucy (High Sheriff of Warwickshire in 1831) inherited the house and set about recreating the house in its original style.

Charlecote Park covers 185 acres (75 ha), backing on to the River Avon. William Shakespeare has been alleged to have poached rabbits and deer in the park as a young man and been brought before magistrates as a result.

From 1605 to 1640 the house was organised by Sir Thomas Lucy. He had twelve children with Lady Alice Lucy who ran the house after he died. She was known for her piety and distributing alms to the poor each Christmas. Her eldest three sons inherited the house in turn and it then fell to her grandchild Sir Davenport Lucy.

In the Tudor great hall, the 1680 painting Charlecote Park by Sir Godfrey Kneller, is said to be one of the earliest depictions of a black presence in the West Midlands (excluding Roman legionnaires). The painting, of Captain Thomas Lucy, shows a black boy in the background dressed in a blue livery coat and red stockings and wearing a gleaming, metal collar around his neck. The National Trust's Charlecote brochure describes the boy as a "black page boy". In 1735 a black child called Philip Lucy was baptised at Charlecote.

The lands immediately adjoining the house were further landscaped by Capability Brown in about 1760. This resulted in Charlecote becoming a hostelry destination for notable tourists to Stratford from the late 17th to mid-18th century, including Washington Irving (1818), Sir Walter Scott (1828) and Nathaniel Hawthorn (c 1850).

Charlecote was inherited in 1823 by George Hammond Lucy (d 1845), who married Mary Elizabeth Williams of Bodelwyddan Castle, from who's extensive diaries the current "behind the scenes of Victorian Charlecote" are based upon. GH Lucy's second son Henry inherited the estate from his elder brother in 1847. After the deaths of both Mary Elizabeth and Henry in 1890, the house was rented out by Henry's eldest daughter and heiress, Ada Christina (d 1943). She had married Sir Henry Ramsay-Fairfax, (d 1944), a line of the Fairfax Baronets, who on marriage assumed the name Fairfax-Lucy.

From this point onwards, the family began selling off parts of the outlying estate to fund their extensive lifestyle, and post-World War II in 1946, Sir Montgomerie Fairfax-Lucy, who had inherited the residual estate from his mother Ada, presented Charlecote to the National Trust in-lieu of death duties. Sir Montgomerie was succeeded in 1965 by his brother, Sir Brian, whose wife, Lady Alice, researched the history of Charlecote, and assisted the National Trust with the restoration of the house.

Saw this church tower from near the Orangery Tea Room. It's in the village of Hampton Lucy and is the Church of St Peter Ad Vincula.

Grade I Listed Building

Church of St Peter Ad Vincula

Listing Text

SP25NE

1457-1/10/62

HAMPTON LUCY,

CHURCH STREET (South side),

Church of St Peter Ad Vincula

(Formerly Listed as:

HAMPTON LUCY

Church of St Peter and Vincula)

05/04/67

GV I

Church. 1822-6. By Thomas Rickman and Hutchinson. For Rev John

Lucy. Chancel and porch added and other alterations, 1858 by

Sir Gilbert Scott. Limestone ashlar; slate and lead roofs.

STYLE: Decorated.

PLAN single-bay chancel with polygonal apse; 6-bay nave with

lean-to aisles, 3-stage west tower and 2-storey north porch.

EXTERIOR: moulded plinth, top cornice and pierced crenellated

parapets and pierced coped gables; buttresses have richly

crocketed pinnacles; window hoods with head stops; much rich

carving. Apse has 5 faces, 3-light windows with Decorated

tracery in arches of 2 orders under traceried crocketed

free-standing gables between gabled buttresses with pinnacles

and figures. East end of chancel has pierced coping and

flanking buttresses with pinnacles to tabernacles; 3-light

north and south windows as to apse, but gables against wall.

Clerestory has gabled buttresses with pinnacles, top cornice

and pierced crenellated parapet; east end has octagonal

pinnacles with cornices and pierced friezes with brattishing;

2-light windows with Decorated tracery.

Aisles have cornices and traceried parapets continued as

coping; gabled buttresses with pinnacles between 3-light

windows with cast-iron Decorated tracery; east end of north

aisle has entrance with continuous moulding, but corresponding

south aisle bay has window with spherical-lozenge tracery;

north aisle west end has double-cusped light.

South porch has top cornice and parapet with pierced

quatrefoils; large octagonal pinnacles with gabled buttresses;

canted stair turret to buttress to east; entrance of 2 orders

now with glazed infill and Bishop and Queen headstops;

canopied niche above has statue of St Peter in chains,

flanking cusped lights above shields in panels; damaged gable

cross.

Tower has gabled buttresses and string courses; tall-bell

stage has octagonal pinnacles with gabled buttresses, cornice

and pierced parapet with finials; west entrance has deep

gabled portal with rich ball-flower, stiff-leaf carving and

Lucy arms, offset buttresses with pinnacles and flanking

niches; paired plank doors with good wrought-iron work. North

and south sides have 3-bay blind arcades, that to south with

later 2-light window, north side with entrance to canted stair

turret; second stage has 2-light window with cast-iron

tracery; bell-stage has 2-light louvred bell-openings with

Decorated tracery in deep moulded arches; clock face to front

has gable and pinnacles.

INTERIOR: chancel has wall shafts to lierne vault; chancel and

apse arches of 4 orders; blind trefoil-headed arcading to apse

has marble shafts, foliate capitals and spandrels, and

crocketed gables between pinnacles; inlaid floor.

Nave has tall 6-bay Perpendicular arcades with wall shafts to

plaster quadripartite rib vaulting, and similar vaulting to

aisles.

Clerestory has cusped blind arches between windows; 1856 tower

arch has entrance of 3 orders with cinquefoil over trumeau and

pierced balustrade above, the west windows in shafted arched

recess.

North aisle has east bay enclosed by screens, each with

pointed arch with ogee gable flanked by traceried openings.

South aisle has east bay enclosed for vestry with

trefoil-pointed entrance to west.

FITTINGS: reredos of 5 trefoil-pointed arches, crocketed

gables and pinnacles; richly carved choir stalls with

traceried canopies and iron and brass panels to fronts. Richly

carved wood pulpit on ashlar base with clustered marble

shafts, handrail with metalwork by Skidmore. 2 original pew

ends with cast-iron poppyheads, other pew ends brattished.

Alabaster font has relief panels of Biblical scenes. C18 Royal

Arms to south aisle in frame with Tudor- and ball-flower.

STAINED GLASS: east window, dated 1826, by Willement; similar

glass to some aisle windows, and decorative glass to

clerestory and west windows; some glass to chancel probably by

Clayton and Bell.

The magnum opus of Rickman and Hutchinson (Pevsner) and a very

good example of early C19 church architecture, the richness of

which is due to the generosity of funding.

(Buildings of England: Pevsner N: Warwickshire: Harmondsworth:

1966-: 305-6; Shell Guides: Hickman D: Warwickshire: London:

1979-: 108-111).

Listing NGR: SP2564457013

This text is from the original listing, and may not necessarily reflect the current setting of the building.

Click here to learn more about Camp Humphreys

U.S. Army photos by Warren W. Marlow

Camp Humphreys breaks ground on Conference and Dining Center for Soldiers, civilians and families stationed in Korea

CAMP HUMPHREYS –Army officials broke ground on a $22.5 million project to construct the Camp Humphreys Conference and Dining Center here, May 16.

“This building will be a centerpiece for people to gather and will provide us a capability to meet the needs of our growing community,” said Col. Joseph P. Moore, United States Army Garrison Humphreys commander. “This is something we’ll need here as Camp Humphreys grows into one of the primary hubs of U.S. Forces in Asia.”

The project, slated for completion in mid-July 2014, will include a large Conference Center and banquet hall, a name-brand restaurant, an amphitheater, a covered deck, a game room, outdoor decks and an atrium. Moore noted that the combined banquet hall-conference center will have its own kitchen facility – providing U.S. Forces in Korea a place to hold military balls, large meetings and conferences.

The Conference and Dining facility has been on the drawing board for more than 10 years. It is the largest Non-Appropriated Fund construction project in the Army and will be paid for through Soldier-generated dollars.

Home to the 2nd Infantry Division's combat aviation brigade and the Army's most active overseas airfield, the number of Soldiers stationed at Camp Humphreys is expected to grow in the coming years by 238 percent, from 6,670 to 22,497, and the number of families is on track to grow by 1,270 percent.

As part of its transformation, U.S. Forces Korea will relocate from areas in and north of Seoul, to two enduring hubs south of the Han River; the northwest/Pyeongtaek hub, consisting mainly of USAG-Humphreys and Osan Air Base; and the southeast /Daegu hub, comprised mainly of USAG Daegu and Chinhae Naval Base.

Moore talked about planning a project of this size and expressed his appreciation for the support IMCOM leaders provided throughout the process.

“The construction is actually the easy part, compared to all of the planning and programming required to get us where we are today,” Moore said. “We wouldn’t be here today, were it not for the vital support we received from the leadership at Installation Management Command.”

Moore will be retiring from the Army next month, but said he made it a personal goal to break ground on the center before he departed.

USAG Humphreys Deputy Command Mark Cox also participated in the ceremony and commented on the importance of preparing for the planned influx of Soldiers, civilians and family members in the coming years.

“As Humphreys expands, so too will our need for additional conference, entertainment and dining facilities” said Cox. “The garrison is committed to providing our community the services and support they need while stationed here.”

Ceremony narrator Sean McManus noted the wide impact the project will have.

“This facility will provide dozens of jobs to our Korean partners and provide a facility second-to-none for our Soldiers, Family members, and both American and Korean civilian employees,” he said. “This is another example of our commitment to the long-term friendship between the U.S. and people of South Korea.

Don Claycomb, Humphreys Director of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation, echoed Moore’s sentiments about the long-term impact of the new facility.

“Camp Humphreys will be growing by leaps and bounds over the next few years, and breaking ground on this new facility now means that we will be ready to meet many of their needs when they arrive. A major portion of the planning process was looking at the future, identifying perceived needs and building a facility that will meet those needs. With the amount of time and money involved between today’s ground-breaking and the actual start of operations, we wanted to get it right the first time.”

Claycomb praised the work of the entire Community in helping move the Conference and Dining Center from paper to the actual start of construction.

“This didn’t just happen,” he said. “The Command, Director of Public Works and, of course, our FMWR team headed by Business Operations Division Chief Mike Ross spent countless hours in developing the plan. Now it’s up to the Seoyong Construction Co. to turn the vision into reality.”

Seoyong is one of Korea’s leading construction firms and has built many structures and facilities throughout the Korean peninsula, including several World Cup Stadiums major bridges and convention facilities.

“I think we’re in good hands with Seoyong,” Claycomb said, “and, like everyone else, I will be excited to watch the dream grow into reality over the next two years.”

Airman 1st Class Adam Sines stands up the Joint Incident Site Communications Capability, or JISCC, facility at Boston Common during the response efforts after the Boston Marathon Bombing, April 16, 2013. The JISCC provides local emergency responders with communications capabilities such as computers, web access and telephones. Sines is assigned to the 267th Combat Communications Squadron, Massachusetts Air National Guard. (U.S. Air National Guard photo/1st Lt. Christopher Qubeck)

+++ DISCLAIMER +++Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!

Some background:

The Gudkov Gu-1 was a Soviet fighter aircraft produced shortly after World War II in small numbers at the start of the jet age, but work on the Gudkov Gu-1 already started in 1944. Towards the end of World War II the Soviet Union saw the need for a strategic bombing capability similar to that of the United States Army Air Forces. The Soviet VVS air arm had the locally designed Petlyakov Pe-8 four-engined heavy bomber in service at the start of the war, but only 93 had been built by the end of the war and the type had become obsolete. By that time the U.S. regularly conducted bombing raids on Japan from distant Pacific forward bases using B-29 Superfortresses, and the Soviet Air Force lacked this capability.

There even was a highly modified mixed powerplant version on the drawing boards in 1952, the Gu-1M. Its standard radial powerplant for cruise flight was enhanced with a new, non-afterburning Mikulin AM-5 axial flow jet engine with 2.270 kgf/5,000 lbf/23 kN additional thrust in the rear fuselage. With this temporary booster, a top speed of up to 850 km/h was expected. But to no avail - the pure jet fighter promised a far better performance and effectiveness, and the Gu-1 remained the only aircraft to exclusively carry the Gudkov name.

General characteristics:

Crew: 1

Length: 12 m (39 ft 4 in)

Wingspan: 14 m (45 ft 11 in)

Height: 4.65 m (15 ft 3 in)

Wing area: 28 m² (301.388 ft²)

Airfoil:

Empty weight: 4,637 kg (10,337 lb)

Loaded weight: 6.450 kg (14.220 lb)

Maximum take-off weight: 7,938 kg (17,500 lb)

Powerplant:

1× Shvetsov ASh-82TKF 18-cylinder air-cooled radial engine, rated at 2,720 hp (2,030 kW)

1x RD-20 axial-flow turbojet with 7.8 kN (1,754 lbf) thrust as temporary booster

Performance

Maximum speed: 676 km/h (420 mph) at 29,000 ft (8,839 m) with the radial only,

800 km/h (497 mph/432 kn,) with additional jet booster

Cruise speed: 440 km/h (237 kn, 273 mph)

Combat radius: 820 nmi (945 mi, 1,520 km)

Maximum range: 3.000 km (1.860 mi, 1.612 nmi) with drop tanks

Service ceiling: 14,680 m (48,170 ft)

Wing loading: 230.4 kg/m² (47.2 lb/ft²)

Power/mass: 0.28 kW/kg (0.17 hp/lb)

Climb to 5,000 m (16,400 ft): 5 min 9 sec;

Climb to 10,000 m (32,800 ft): 17 min 38 sec;

Climb to 13,000 m (42,640 ft): 21 min 03 sec

Armament

4× 23 mm Nudelman-Suranov NS-23 cannons with 100 RPG in the outer wings

Five hardpoints for an external ordnance of 1.500 kg (3.300 lb)

The kit and its assembly:

This whif is the incarnation of a very effective kitbashing combo that already spawned my fictional Japanese Ki-104 fighter, and it is another submission to the 2018 “Cold War” group build at whatifmodelers.com. This purely fictional Soviet escort fighter makes use of my experiences from the first build of this kind, yet with some differences.

The kit is a bashing of various parts and pieces:

· Fuselage, wing roots, landing gear and propeller from an Academy P-47D

· Wings from an Ark Model Supermarine Attacker (ex Novo)

· Tail fin comes from a Heller F-84G

· The stabilizers were taken from an Airfix Ki-46

· Cowling from a Matchbox F6F, mounted and blended onto the P-47 front

· Jet exhaust is the intake of a Matchbox Me 262 engine pod

My choice fell onto the Academy Thunderbolt because it has engraved panel lines, offers the bubble canopy as well as good fit, detail and solid material. The belly duct had simply been sliced off, and the opening later faired over with styrene sheet and putty, so that the P-47’s deep belly would not disappear.

The F6F cowling was chosen because it looks a lot like the ASh-73TK from the Tu-4. But this came at a price: the P-47 cowling is higher, tighter and has a totally different shape. It took serious body sculpting with putty to blend the parts into each other. Inside of the engine, a styrene tube was added for a metal axis that holds the uncuffed OOB P-47 four blade propeller. The P-47’s OOB cockpit tub was retained, too, just the seat received scratched armrests for a more luxurious look.

The Attacker wings were chosen because of their "modern" laminar profile. The Novo kit itself is horrible and primitive, but acceptable for donations. OOB, the Attacker wings had too little span for the big P-47, so I decided to mount the Thunderbolt's OOB wings and cut them at a suitable point: maybe 0.5", just outside of the large main wheel wells. The intersection with the Attacker wings is almost perfect in depth and width, relatively little putty work was necessary in order to blend the parts into each other. I just had to cut out new landing gear wells from the lower halves of the Attacker wings, and with new attachment points the P-47’s complete OOB landing gear could be used.

With the new wing shape, the tail surfaces had to be changed accordingly. The trapezoid stabilizers come from an Airfix Mitsubishi Ki-46, and their shape is a good match. The P-47 fin had to go, since I wanted something bigger and a different silhouette. The fuselage below was modified with a jet exhaust, too. I actually found a leftover F-84G (Heller) tail, complete with the jet pipe and the benefit that it has plausible attachment points for the stabilizers far above the jet engine in the Gu-1’s tail.

However, the F-84 jet pipe’s diameter turned out to be too large, so I went for a smaller but practical alternative, a Junkers Jumo 004 nacelle from a Me 262 (the ancestor of the Soviet RD-20!). Its intake section was cut off, flipped upside down, the fin was glued on top of it and then the new tail was glued to the P-47 fuselage. Some (more serious) body sculpting was necessary to create a more or less harmonious transition between the parts, but it worked.

The plausible placement of the air intakes and their shape was a bit of a challenge. I wanted them to be obvious, but still keep an aerodynamic look. An initial idea had been to keep the P-47’s deep belly and widen the central oil cooler intake under the nose, but I found the idea wacky and a bit pointless, since such a long air duct would not make much sense since it would waste internal space and the long duct’s additional weight would not offer any benefit?

Another idea were air intakes in the wing roots, but these were also turned down since the landing gear wells would be in the way, and placing the ducts above or below the wings would also make no sense. A single ventral scoop (looking like a P-51 radiator bath) or two smaller, dorsal intakes (XP-81 style) behind the cockpit were other serious candidates – but these were both rejected because I wanted to keep a clean side profile.

I eventually settled for very simple, fixed side intakes, level with the jet exhaust, somewhat inspired by the Lavochkin La-200B heavy fighter prototype. The air scoops are simply parts from an Italeri Saab 39 Gripen centerline drop tank (which has a flat, oval diameter), and their shape is IMHO a perfect match.

Painting and markings:

While the model itself is a wild mix of parts with lots of improvisation involved, I wanted to keep the livery rather simple. The most plausible choice would have been an NMF finish, but I rather wanted some paint – so I used Soviet La-9 and -11 as a benchmark and settled for a simple two-tone livery: uniform light grey upper and light blue lower surfaces.

I used RAF Medium Sea Grey (Humbrol 165) and Soviet Underside Blue (Humbrol 114) as basic tones, and, after a black ink wash, these were lightened up through dry-brushed post-shading. The yellow spinner and fin tip are based on typical (subtle) squadron markings of the late 40ies era.

The cockpit as well the engine and landing gear interior became blue-grey (Revell 57), similar to the typical La-9/11’s colors. The green wheel discs and the deep blue propeller blades are not 100% in the aircraft's time frame, but I added these details in order to enhance the Soviet touch and some color accents.

Tactical markings were kept simple, too. The "38" and the Red Stars come form a Mastercraft MiG-15, the Guards badge from a Begemoth MiG-25 sheet and most of the stencils were taken from a Yak-38 sheet, also from Begemoth.

Finally, the kit was sealed with matt acrylic varnish (Italeri) and it received some mild soot stains and chipped paint around the cockpit and on the leading edges. Some oil stains were added around the engine (with Tamiya Smoke), too.

A massive aircraft, and this new use of the P-47/Attacker combo results again in a plausible solution. The added jet engine might appear a bit exotic, but the mixed powerplant concept was en vogue after WWII, but only a few aircraft made it beyond the prototype stage.

While painting the model I also wondered if an all dark blue livery and some USN markings could also have made this creation the Grumman JetCat? With the tall fin, the Gu-1 could also be an F8F Bearcat on steroids? Hmmm...

The Avro Vulcan (officially Hawker Siddeley Vulcan[2] from July 1963)[3] is a jet-powered delta wing strategic bomber, which was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF) from 1956 until 1984. Aircraft manufacturer A.V. Roe and Company (Avro) designed the Vulcan in response to Specification B.35/46. Of the three V bombers produced, the Vulcan was considered the riskiest option. Several scale aircraft, designated Avro 707, were produced to test and refine the delta wing design principles.

The Vulcan B.1 was first delivered to the RAF in 1956; deliveries of the improved Vulcan B.2 started in 1960. The B.2 featured more powerful engines, a larger wing, an improved electrical system and electronic countermeasures (ECM); many were modified to accept the Blue Steel missile. As a part of the V-force, the Vulcan was the backbone of the United Kingdom’s airborne nuclear deterrent during much of the Cold War. Although the Vulcan was typically armed with nuclear weapons, it was capable of conventional bombing missions, a capability which was used in Operation Black Buck during the Falklands War between the United Kingdom and Argentina in 1982.

The Vulcan had no defensive weaponry, initially relying upon high-speed high-altitude flight to evade interception. Electronic countermeasures were employed by the B.1 (designated B.1A) and B.2 from circa 1960. A change to low-level tactics was made in the mid-1960s. In the mid-1970s nine Vulcans were adapted for maritime radar reconnaissance operations, redesignated as B.2 (MRR). In the final years of service six Vulcans were converted to the K.2 tanker configuration for aerial refuelling.

Since retirement by the RAF one example, B.2 XH558, named "The Spirit of Great Britain" has been restored for use in display flights and air shows, whilst two other B.2s, XL426 and XM655, are kept in taxiable condition for ground runs and demonstrations at London Southend Airport and Wellesbourne Mountford Airfield respectively.

At Highcliffe Castle in Highcliffe near Christchurch, Dorset.

The Castle burnt down in the late 1960s. And since the late 1970s has been owned by Christchurch Borough Council, who have since restored it.

Highcliffe Castle is a Grade I listed building.

The following listing text dates to 1953. (so doesn't take into account the fire of 1967) and the restoration of 1977-1998.

Highcliffe Castle, Christchurch

ROTHESAY DRIVE

1.

5187 Highcliffe Castle

(formerly listed under

Lymington Road)

SZ 2093 13/51 14.10.53.

I

2.

The original house here was built about 1775 for the third Earl of Bute either

by Robert Adam or by Capability Brown, but it did not stand on the excat site of

the present building and was demolished in 1794. It was replaced by a nondescript

building which in its turn was demolished in 1830. The present Highcliffe Castle

was built by Lord Stuart de Rothesay in 1830-34. The architect was W J Donthorne

who collaborated with Lord Stuart de Rothesay. The design incorporated materials

from the Hotel des Andelys near Rouen in Normandy, where Antoine de Bourbon, the

father of Henri IV died in 1562. Lord Stuart de Rothesay when returning to England

on his retirement from the British Embassy in Paris in 1830, saw the house being

demolished, bought it and had it shipped down the Scine and across to this site,

where it was re-erected.

The building forms a large L. It is built of rosy-tinged ashlar and has 2 storeys

and basement. The north or entrance front is dominated by the great Gothic porte

cochere archway at least 30 ft high flanked by ribbed octagonal buttresses with

a gable between surmounted by a pierced parapet. Beneath the archway is a groined

vaulted roof an elaborate carved doorway and a tall 5-light pointed window over

it. The east wing which is to the left of this porte cochere has a terrace over

an enclosed forecourt containing the obtusely-pointed windows of the basement.

The ground floor of the wing has 5 casement windows of 3 tiers of 2 lights each

with depressed heads, the top tier of lights lighting an entresol. Cornice and

parapet above ground floor. The first floor is set back with a flat walk on the

roof of the ground floor in front of it, terminating at the east end in a rectangular

tower of 1 window with rectangular or octagonal buttress at the angles and parapet

between. Beyond the tower the ground floor only, without basement, projects and

has 6 more windows, the 3 easternmost ones in a canted bay. The west front is

made up of the hall at the north end. This has 4 buttresses and a narrow half-octagonal

oriel window at the north end, 4 lancet windows at first floor level, and a pierced

parapet surmounted by finials. At the south end of the front is a rectangular

projection at right angles, with one window on each front and parapet over with

octagonal corbel cupolas at the angles. Its west face has projecting oriel window

on ground floor and elaborate window of 2 tiers of 4 lights above. At the south

end of the south wing is an L-shaped projection on the ground floor only which

was a garden-room, or conservatory and chapel combined, Its south front is entirely

made up of windows with a huge bay in the centre approached by 7 steps. The south-east

side of the Castle shows its L-plan but the angle is partly filled in so that this

front gives somewhat the impression of 3 sides of octagon. The centre has 3 windows

with flat heads on both floors. Pierced parapet over containing the words "Suave

mari magno turbantibus aequora ventise terra magnum alterius spectare laborem"

in it. On each side of this is a tower at a slight angle to centre portion. The

east one is of 3 storeys flanked by octagmml buttresses with a 4-light window

on each floor. The west one has 2 storeys only, a round-headed archway forms a

porch on the ground floor and above the elaborate carved oriel window from the

Manoir d' Andelys in which Henri IV stood while he waited for his father Antoine

de Bourbon die. On each side of the oriel is tracery buttresses. On each side

of these east and south towers are wings of ground floor height only which are

again at an angle to the towers. These wings are alike and have 3 windows of 2

tiers of 2 lights. Pierced parapet over surmounted by finials above the angles

of the bays. All the windows in the Castle are casement windows with stone mullions

and transom. The interior contains French C18 panelling marble chimney-pieces.

The chief feature of the interior is the hall (the double staircase has now been

removed). This formerly led from the hall to the principal bedroom, in which the

Emperor William II of Germany slept when he rented the house during his "rest-cure"

in 1907.

Listing NGR: SZ2030693208

Exterior of the Great Hall - which went on fire over 40 years ago! Now restored (but missing internal staircase, which was removed for some reason).

Broadway Tower is a folly on Broadway Hill, near the village of Broadway, in the English county of Worcestershire, at the second-highest point of the Cotswolds (after Cleeve Hill). Broadway Tower's base is 1,024 feet (312 metres) above sea level. The tower itself stands 65 feet (20 metres) high.

The "Saxon" tower was the brainchild of Capability Brown and designed by James Wyatt in 1794 in the form of a castle, and built for Lady Coventry in 1798–99. The tower was built on a "beacon" hill, where beacons were lit on special occasions. Lady Coventry wondered whether a beacon on this hill could be seen from her house in Worcester — about 22 miles (35 km) away — and sponsored the construction of the folly to find out. Indeed, the beacon could be seen clearly.

Over the years, the tower was home to the printing press of Sir Thomas Phillipps, and served as a country retreat for artists including William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones who rented it together in the 1880s. William Morris was so inspired by Broadway Tower and other ancient buildings that he founded the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings in 1877.

Today, the tower is a tourist attraction and the centre of a country park with various exhibitions open to the public at a fee, as well as a gift shop and restaurant. The place is on the Cotswold Way and can be reached by following the Cotswold Way from the A44 road at Fish Hill, or by a steep climb out of Broadway village.

Near the tower is a memorial to the crew of an A.W.38 Whitley bomber that crashed there during a training mission in June 1943.

2LT Zach Sizemore, of the Kentucky National Guard's Company A, 1st Battalion, 149th Infantry Battalion, calls for fire on enemy positions during a training exercise at the Infantry Platoon Battle Course on July 22, 2019, at Fort Pickett, Va. during an eXportable Combat Training Capability (XCTC) rotation. (Photo taken by SGT. Jeff Clements)

Pointe du Hoc

is a prominent 100 ft (30 m) cliff overlooking the English Channel on the coast of Normandy in northern France. During World War II it was the highest point between Utah Beach to the west and Omaha Beach to the east. The Germans fortified the area with concrete casements and gun pits. On D-Day (6 June 1944) the United States Army Ranger Assault Group successfully assaulted Pointe du Hoc after scaling the cliffs.

Pointe du Hoc lies 4 mi (6.4 km) west of the center of Omaha Beach part of the Atlantic Wall fortifications, the prominent clifftop location was fortified by the Germans. The battery was initially built in 1943 to house six captured French First World War vintage GPF 155 mm K418 cannons positioned in open concrete gun pits. The battery was occupied by the 2nd Battery of Army Coastal Artillery Regiment 1260 (2/HKAA.1260).To defend the promontory from attack elements of the 352nd Infantry Division were stationed at the battery.

To provide increased defensive capability, the Germans began upgrading the battery in the Spring of 1944 with fully enclosed H671 concrete casements. The plan was to build six casements but two were unfinished when the location was attacked. These casements were built over and in front of the circular gun pits that housed the 155mm French cannons. Also built was a H636 observation bunker and L409a mounts for 20mm Flak 30 anti-aircraft cannon. The 105mm guns would have threatened the Allied landings on both Omaha and Utah beaches when finished, risking heavy casualties to the landing forces.

The location was bombed in April 1944 and following this the Germans removed the French 155mm cannons. During preparation for Operation Overlord it was determined that Pointe du Hoc would still need to be attacked by ground forces to prevent the Germans using the casements for observation purposes. The U.S. 2nd and 5th Ranger Battalions were given the task of assaulting the strong point early on D-Day. Elements of the 2nd Battalion went in to attack Pointe du Hoc but initial delays meant the remainder of the 2nd Battalion and the complete 5th Battalion landed at Omaha Beach as their secondary landing position.

Though the Germans had removed the main armament from Pointe du Hoc, the beachheads were shelled from the nearby Maisy battery. The rediscovery of the battery at Maisy has shown that it was responsible for firing on the Allied beachheads until June 9, 1944.

LA POINTE DU HOC

Elle fut le théâtre d'une des opérations du débarquement allié en Normandie le 6 juin 1944. Située entre les plages de Utah Beach (à l’ouest) et Omaha Beach (à l'est), la pointe avait été fortifiée par les Allemands et, selon les reconnaissances aériennes alliées était équipée de pièces d'artillerie lourde dont la portée menaçait les deux plages voisines. Il avait été jugé primordial, pour la réussite du débarquement, que les pièces d'artillerie soient mises hors service le plus rapidement possible.

Cette mission fut confiée au 2e bataillon de Rangers américain qui réussit à prendre le contrôle du site au prix de lourdes pertes. Par la suite, les pièces d'artillerie se révèleront avoir été déplacées par les Allemands peu de temps auparavant et installées 1,3 km en arrière, à l'intérieur des terres.

La stratégie :

Avant le débarquement du 2e bataillon de rangers prévu le 6 juin à 6 h 30, l'aviation et la marine alliée doivent au préalable bombarder la pointe afin de neutraliser la garnison en place, à savoir 125 fantassins et 80 artilleurs allemands.

Pour ce faire, le 25 avril 1944 à 17h55, une puissante formation de bombardiers alliés venant de la terre avait survolé la Pointe du Hoc en trois vagues successives. Les premières bombes touchèrent l'importante ferme Guelinel qui n'était plus occupée que par les allemands, la famille Guelinel ayant dû évacuer les lieux précédemment. Tous les bâtiments furent détruits, y compris les baraquements de la cantine construite en annexe ainsi que les étables et la plupart des chevaux chargés de tracter les batteries de canons.

Selon des soldats allemands (Benno Müller, Emil Kaufman), au cours de cette action deux encuvements furent détruits, et trois des six canons à long tube furent gravement endommagés ou rendus inutilisables. Dans la nuit du 25 avril au 26 avril les pièces intactes furent déplacées vers l'intérieur des terres, 1300 mètres en amont, dans un chemin creux où elles étaient prêtes à tirer. Pour donner le change aux futurs vols de reconnaissances alliés, le commandant de la batterie fit construire à la hâte des canons factices dans les encuvements inoccupés, ainsi que des poteaux télégraphiques. L'organisation TODT cessa d'ailleurs à partir de cette date toute nouvelle construction sur le site considéré à risques1. Le dernier bombardement dit de préparation pour le D-Day eut lieu le 4 juin avec 85 Douglas A-20 Havoc qui déversèrent près de 100 tonnes de bombes sur la Pointe. Le résultat fut jugé satisfaisant.

Puis ce furent les bombardiers lourds de l'Opération Flashlamp, 35 Boeing B-17, qui pilonnèrent de nouveau le site au matin du 5 juin avec de nouveau 100 tonnes de bombes déversées, détruisant un canon et un bunker de munitions. Endommageant à peine, malgré des coups directs, trois bunkers à l'épreuve des bombes où étaient stationnés les personnels. Ceci malgré les matériels employés, notamment des bombes de 500 livres hautement explosives qui furent insuffisantes pour percer les abris conçus pour résister à des bombes de 1000 livres. Avant le D-Day proprement dit, environ 380 tonnes de bombes furent larguées sur La Pointe du Hoc2.

À 4 h 30, dix LCA (Landing Craft Assault) ainsi que quatre DUKW doivent être mis à l’eau. Deux des DUKW emmènent chacun une échelle de pompier de 33 mètres de haut empruntée aux pompiers de Londres, alors que les LCA sont équipés de lance-fusées qui enverront des cordes et des échelles de cordes au sommet de la falaise, ainsi que des échelles extensibles qui seront assemblées sur place. À 6 h 30, les 225 hommes de James Earl Rudder doivent débarquer sur la plage puis escalader la falaise pour détruire l'artillerie allemande.

Les compagnies E et F débarquent à l’est de la pointe, alors que la compagnie D débarque à l’ouest.

Une fois la zone maîtrisée, ils peuvent tirer une fusée éclairante afin de recevoir les 225 rangers du 5e bataillon en renfort, en attendant d’être rejoints par le 116e régiment d’infanterie américain débarquant à Omaha Beach. Si à 7 h aucune fusée n’est tirée, les renforts seront détournés sur Omaha Beach dans le secteur Charlie.

Le déroulement des opérations:

Rangers escaladant la pointe du Hoc.

Le bombardement naval préliminaire débuta à 5 h 50, tiré par les USS Texas, USS Satterlee et HMS Talybont, suivi par une vague de 19 Martin B-26 Marauder de la 9e Air Force.

L’opération commence par la perte du LCA 860 peu après la mise à l’eau ; dans ce bateau se trouvait le commandant de la compagnie D, le capitaine Slater ; celui-ci rejoindra ses camarades le 9 juin.

À cause du courant et de la fumée du bombardement, les barges furent déportées vers la pointe de la Percée à deux kilomètres à l’est du lieu de débarquement prévu. Cette erreur de navigation entraîna un retard de quarante minutes et la perte d’un DUKW.

Le bataillon de rangers débarquera à 7 h 10 à l'endroit prévu. Aucune fusée éclairante n'ayant été tirée à 7 h, les renforts prévus furent déployés sur Omaha Beach. Le retard pris par les rangers leur enleva l'effet de surprise, mais l'attaque se déroula relativement bien grâce, notamment, au feu support de destroyers alliés.

Une fois la falaise escaladée, les rangers prirent les bunkers allemands et découvrirent que les 6 pièces d'artillerie initiales, des canons français de 155 mm GPF modèle 1917, avaient été déplacées et remplacées par des pylônes en bois.

À 8 h, la route côtière était sous le contrôle des rangers. Vers 9 h, une patrouille découvrit les pièces d’artillerie sans aucune défense plus à l'intérieur des terres et les détruisit.

Isolés:

Les renforts ayant été détournés sur Omaha Beach, le 2e bataillon de rangers se retrouve isolé.

Dans l’après-midi, le lieutenant-colonel Rudder envoya le message « Sommes à Pointe-du-Hoc — mission accomplie - munitions et renforts nécessaires - beaucoup de pertes4 » à l'USS Satterlee qui lui répondit « aucun renfort disponible - tous les rangers sont déployés ». Les seuls renforts que reçurent les rangers du 2e bataillon furent les survivants de la compagnie A du 5e bataillon de rangers qui avaient débarqué à Omaha Beach. Ces renforts amenèrent le 2e bataillon de rangers à environ 85 combattants.

La situation des rangers était critique et ils subirent de nombreuses attaques dans la nuit de la part d'une compagnie du 914.IR de la 352.Infanteriedivision. Vers 3 h, la compagnie D qui couvrait le flanc ouest fut submergée, vingt rangers sous les ordres du sergent Petty restèrent en arrière afin de permettre à cinquante de leurs camarades de se replier et furent fait prisonniers.

Au matin du 7 juin, seuls 90 hommes étaient encore en état de combattre.

Le 7 juin dans l’après-midi, une force de secours constituée d’éléments du 5e bataillon de rangers, du 116e d’infanterie et des chars du 743e bataillon arrivèrent enfin.

Ce n’est que le 8 juin au matin que les soldats américains repoussèrent les Allemands et prirent le village de Saint-Pierre-du-Mont, village le plus proche de la pointe, à 1,5 km au sud-est.

Le bilan :

Sur les 225 rangers qui débarquèrent ce jour-là, 135, au 8 juin 1944, (en comptant les hommes du LCA 860) furent tués. Le lieutenant-colonel James Earl Rudder lui-même fut blessé par deux fois durant cette opération.

En janvier 1979, la France a légué une partie des terrains de la pointe du Hoc aux États-Unis. Elle abrite un monument en l'honneur du sacrifice des troupes américaines et est l'un des lieux de commémoration du débarquement. Le président Ronald Reagan y assista à une cérémonie lors des commémorations du 40e anniversaire du débarquement en juin 1984. De nombreux blockhaus et cratères de bombardement sont encore visibles et le site est aménagé pour la visite.

Pointe du Hoc (en francés: Pointe du Hoc), es una zona situada en la cima de un acantilado en la costa de Normandía, norte de Francia, a 30 metros de altura sobre el nivel del mar. Se encuentra a 6,4 kilómetros al oeste de Omaha Beach.

Batalla de Pointe du Hoc

Se trata de un punto de ataque usado por el Ejército de los Estados Unidos durante la Batalla de Normandía en la Segunda Guerra Mundial.

Los aliados tenían conocimiento de la existencia de una batería de cañones de 155 mm en este lugar y prepararon el asalto.

Los Rangers, un cuerpo de élite del ejército estadounidense, escalaron hasta la cima utilizando cuerdas bajo el fuego de las fuerzas alemanas hasta conquistarla. Poco después pudieron comprobar que los cañones no se encontraban allí, los alemanes los habían ocultado tierra adentro. El puñado de rangers supervivientes localizaron e inutilizaron los cañones, y mantuvieron la posición dos días frente a repetidos ataques alemanes hasta que fueron relevados.

Como resultado, la fuerza de asalto estadounidense inicialmente constituida por 225 hombres, se vio reducida a tan sólo unos 90 en condiciones de combatir.

En la actualidad, en Pointe du Hoc se ubican un memorial y un museo dedicados a la batalla. Gran parte de las fortificaciones del lugar fueron retiradas y por toda la zona se pueden encontrar multitud de cráteres originados por los bombardeos Aliados previos al asalto ranger.

Crímenes de guerra estadounidenses:

Como secuelas de la batalla, es de destacar el hecho de que algunos Rangers estaban convencidos de que civiles franceses habían tomado parte en la lucha en el bando alemán. Algunos de ellos fueron ejecutados tras ser acusados ​​de disparar contra las fuerzas estadounidenses o de servir como observadores de artillería para los alemanes.

Temple Newsam is a 15th centuryTudor-Jacobean house in Leeds, famous as the birthplace of Lord Darnley, the ill-fated husband of Mary, Queen of Scots and with grounds landscaped by Capability Brown.

The manor of Newsam was owned by the Knights Templar in the 12th century before the estate passed to the Darcy family, and Thomas, Lord Darcy built the first manor house here in about 1500. One wing of Darcy's original manor survives as the central block of the current house.

Darcy was executed for treason for his part in the Pilgrimage of Grace in 1537and his lands were seized by the crown. Henry VIII gave Newsam to the Countess of Lennox, and her son, Henry, Lord Darnley was born and raised here. After Darnley's murder, Elizabeth I seized the estate, and the house languished in a state of neglect until 1622 when it was purchased by Sir Arthur Ingram. Ingram tore down much of the earlier manor house and built two large new wings to form the basis of the house we see today.

In 1758 Charles, 9th Lord Irwin, married a rich heiress and used her money to transform the interior of Temple Newsam and fill it with a collection of fine art including Old Master works. They hired James Wyatt to build a grand staircase, and Capability Brown to create the landscape garden that surrounds the house.

The house was the home of the Ingram family for over 300 years until 1922 when Lord Halifax sold the park and house to Leeds Corporation for a nominal sum, placing covenants over them to ensure their preservation for the future. The house and estate are now owned by Leeds City Council and open to the public.

At Highcliffe Castle in Highcliffe near Christchurch, Dorset.

The Castle burnt down in the late 1960s. And since the late 1970s has been owned by Christchurch Borough Council, who have since restored it.

Highcliffe Castle is a Grade I listed building.

The following listing text dates to 1953. (so doesn't take into account the fire of 1967) and the restoration of 1977-1998.

Highcliffe Castle, Christchurch

ROTHESAY DRIVE

1.

5187 Highcliffe Castle

(formerly listed under

Lymington Road)

SZ 2093 13/51 14.10.53.

I

2.

The original house here was built about 1775 for the third Earl of Bute either

by Robert Adam or by Capability Brown, but it did not stand on the excat site of

the present building and was demolished in 1794. It was replaced by a nondescript

building which in its turn was demolished in 1830. The present Highcliffe Castle

was built by Lord Stuart de Rothesay in 1830-34. The architect was W J Donthorne

who collaborated with Lord Stuart de Rothesay. The design incorporated materials

from the Hotel des Andelys near Rouen in Normandy, where Antoine de Bourbon, the

father of Henri IV died in 1562. Lord Stuart de Rothesay when returning to England

on his retirement from the British Embassy in Paris in 1830, saw the house being

demolished, bought it and had it shipped down the Scine and across to this site,

where it was re-erected.

The building forms a large L. It is built of rosy-tinged ashlar and has 2 storeys

and basement. The north or entrance front is dominated by the great Gothic porte

cochere archway at least 30 ft high flanked by ribbed octagonal buttresses with

a gable between surmounted by a pierced parapet. Beneath the archway is a groined

vaulted roof an elaborate carved doorway and a tall 5-light pointed window over

it. The east wing which is to the left of this porte cochere has a terrace over

an enclosed forecourt containing the obtusely-pointed windows of the basement.

The ground floor of the wing has 5 casement windows of 3 tiers of 2 lights each

with depressed heads, the top tier of lights lighting an entresol. Cornice and

parapet above ground floor. The first floor is set back with a flat walk on the

roof of the ground floor in front of it, terminating at the east end in a rectangular

tower of 1 window with rectangular or octagonal buttress at the angles and parapet

between. Beyond the tower the ground floor only, without basement, projects and

has 6 more windows, the 3 easternmost ones in a canted bay. The west front is

made up of the hall at the north end. This has 4 buttresses and a narrow half-octagonal

oriel window at the north end, 4 lancet windows at first floor level, and a pierced

parapet surmounted by finials. At the south end of the front is a rectangular

projection at right angles, with one window on each front and parapet over with

octagonal corbel cupolas at the angles. Its west face has projecting oriel window

on ground floor and elaborate window of 2 tiers of 4 lights above. At the south

end of the south wing is an L-shaped projection on the ground floor only which

was a garden-room, or conservatory and chapel combined, Its south front is entirely

made up of windows with a huge bay in the centre approached by 7 steps. The south-east

side of the Castle shows its L-plan but the angle is partly filled in so that this

front gives somewhat the impression of 3 sides of octagon. The centre has 3 windows

with flat heads on both floors. Pierced parapet over containing the words "Suave

mari magno turbantibus aequora ventise terra magnum alterius spectare laborem"

in it. On each side of this is a tower at a slight angle to centre portion. The

east one is of 3 storeys flanked by octagmml buttresses with a 4-light window

on each floor. The west one has 2 storeys only, a round-headed archway forms a

porch on the ground floor and above the elaborate carved oriel window from the

Manoir d' Andelys in which Henri IV stood while he waited for his father Antoine

de Bourbon die. On each side of the oriel is tracery buttresses. On each side

of these east and south towers are wings of ground floor height only which are

again at an angle to the towers. These wings are alike and have 3 windows of 2

tiers of 2 lights. Pierced parapet over surmounted by finials above the angles

of the bays. All the windows in the Castle are casement windows with stone mullions

and transom. The interior contains French C18 panelling marble chimney-pieces.

The chief feature of the interior is the hall (the double staircase has now been

removed). This formerly led from the hall to the principal bedroom, in which the

Emperor William II of Germany slept when he rented the house during his "rest-cure"

in 1907.

Listing NGR: SZ2030693208

Exterior of the Great Hall - which went on fire over 40 years ago! Now restored (but missing internal staircase, which was removed for some reason).

Croome Court is a mid 18th century Neo-Palladian mansion surrounded by an extensive landscaped parkland at Croome D'Abitot, near Pershore in south Worcestershire. The mansion and park were designed by Lancelot "Capability" Brown for George Coventry, 6th Earl of Coventry, and was Brown's first landscape design and first major architectural project. Some of the internal rooms of the mansion were designed by Robert Adam.

The mansion house is owned by Croome Heritage Trust, and is leased to the National Trust who operate it, along with the surrounding parkland, as a tourist attraction. The National Trust own the surrounding parkland, which is also open to the public.

Location[edit]

Croome Court is located near to Croome D'Abitot, in Worcestershire,[1] near Pirton, Worcestershire.[2] The wider estate was established on lands that were once part of the royal forest of Horewell.[3] Traces of these older landscapes, such as unimproved commons and ancient woodlands, can be found across the former Croome Estate.[4]

House[edit]

Croome Court South Portico

History[edit]

The foundations and core of Croome Court, including the central chimney stack structure, date back to the early 1640s.[5] Substantial changes to this early house were made by Gilbert Coventry, 4th Earl of Coventry.[6]

In 1751, George Coventry, the 6th Earl, inherited the estate, along with the existing Jacobean house. He commissioned Lancelot "Capability" Brown, with the assistance of Sanderson Miller, to redesign the house and estate.[7][1] It was Brown's "first flight into the realms of architecture" and a "rare example of his architectural work",[8] and it is an important and seminal work.[9] It was built between 1751 and 1752, and it and Hagley Hall are considered to be the finest examples of Neo-Palladian architecture in Worcestershire. Notable Neo-Palladian features incorporated into Croome Court include the plain exterior and the corner towers with pyramidal roofs (a feature first used by Inigo Jones in the design of Wilton House in Wiltshire).[1] Robert Adam worked on the interior of the building from 1760 onwards.[10]

The house has been visited by George III,[2][11] as well as Queen Victoria[7] during summers when she was a child, and George V (then Duke of York).[11]

A jam factory was built by the 9th Earl of Coventry, near to Pershore railway station, in about 1880, to provide a market for Vale of Evesham fruit growers in times of surplus. Although the Croome connection with jam making had ceased, during the First World War, the building was leased by the Croome Estate Trust to the Huddersfield Fruit Preserving Company as a pulping station.[12]

The First World War deeply affected Croome, with many local casualties, although the house was not requisitioned for the war effort. This is possibly because it was the home of the Lord Lieutenant of the County, who needed a residence for his many official engagements.[13]

During the Second World War Croome Court was requisitioned by the Ministry of Works and leased for a year to the Dutch Government as a possible refuge for Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands; to escape the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. However, evidence shows that they stayed two weeks at the most, perhaps because of the noise and fear created by the proximity of Defford Aerodrome. They later emigrated to Canada.[14]

In 1948 the Croome Estate Trust sold the Court, along with 38 acres (15 ha) of land, to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham, and the mansion became St Joseph's Special School, which was run by nuns[15] from 1950[11] until 1979.[15]

The house was listed on 11 August 1952; it is currently Grade I listed.[10]

In 1979 the hall was taken over by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (Hare Krishna movement), who used it as their UK headquarters and a training college[16] called Chaitanya College,[15] run by 25 members of the movement.[16] During their tenure they repainted the Dining Room.[17] In 1984 they had to leave the estate for financial reasons. They held a festival at the hall in 2011.[16]

From 1984 onwards various owners tried to use the property as a training centre; apartments; a restaurant and conference centre; and a hotel and golf course,[15] before once more becoming a private family home,[2][15] with outbuildings converted to private houses.[15]

The house was purchased by the Croome Heritage Trust, a registered charity,[18] in October 2007,[19] and it is now managed by the National Trust as a tourist attraction. It opened to the public in September 2009, at which point six of the rooms had restored, costing £400,000, including the Saloon. It was estimated that another £4 million[2][20] to £4.8 million would be needed to restore the entire building. Fundraising activities for the restoration included a 2011 raffle for a Morgan sports car organised by Lord and Lady Flight. After the restoration is complete, a 999-year lease on the building will be granted to the National Trust.[21] An oral history project to record recollections about Croome was funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.[15] As of 2009, the service wing was empty and in need of substantial repair.[22]

Exterior[edit]

The mansion is faced with Bath stone,[7] limestone ashlar, and has both north and south facing fronts. It has a basement and two stories, with three stories in the end pavilions. A slate roof, with pyramid roofs over the corner towers, tops the building, along with three pair-linked chimneys along the axis of the house.[10]

Both fronts have 11 bays, split into three central sets of three each, and one additional bay each side. The north face has a pedimented centre, with two balustraded staircases leading to a Roman Doric doorcase. The south face has a projecting Ionic tetrastyle portico and Venetian windows. It has a broad staircase, with cast stone sphinxes on each side, leading to a south door topped with a cornice on consoles. The wings have modillion cornice and balustrade.[10]

A two-story L-shaped service wing is attached to the east side of the mansion. It is made of red brick and stone, with slate roofs.[10] It was designed by Capability Brown in 1751-2.[22] On the far side of the service wing, a wall connects it to a stable court.[10]

Interior[edit]

The interior of the house was designed partially by Capability Brown, with plasterwork by G. Vassalli, and partially by Robert Adam, with plasterwork by J. Rose Jr. It has a central spine corridor. A stone staircase, with iron balusters, is at the east end.[10]

The entrance hall is on the north side of the building, and has four fluted Doric columns, along with moulded doorcases. To the east of the entrance hall is the dining room, which has a plaster ceiling and cornice, while to the west is a billiard room, featuring fielded panelling, a plaster cornice, and a rococo fireplace. The three rooms were probably decorated around 1758-59 by Capability Brown.[10] The dining room was vibrantly repainted by the Hare Krishnas in the 1970s-80s.[17]

The central room on the south side is a saloon, probably by Brown and Vassalli. It has an elaborate ceiling, with three panels, deep coving, and a cornice, along with two Ionic fireplaces, and Palladian doorcases.[10] George III was entertained by George Coventry, the 6th Earl, in the house's Saloon.[2] A drawing room is to the west of the saloon, and features rococo plasterwork and a marble fireplace.[10]

To the east of the saloon is the Tapestry Room.[10] This was designed in 1763-71, based on a design by Robert Adam, and contained tapestries and furniture covers possibly designed by Jacques Germain Soufflot, and made by Manufacture Nationale des Gobelins.[23] Around 1902 the ninth Earl sold the tapestries and seating to a Parisian dealer. In 1949 the Samuel H. Kress Foundation purchased the ceiling, floor, mantlepiece, chair rails, doors and the door surrounds, which were donated to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, in 1958. In 1959 the Kress Foundation also helped the Metropolitan Museum acquire the chair and sofa frames, which they recovered using the original tapestry seats.[7][23] A copy of the ceiling was installed in place of the original.[10] As of 2016, the room is displayed as it would have looked after the tapestries had been sold, with a jug and ewer on display as the only original decoration of the room that remains in it. The adjacent library room is used to explain what happened to the tapestry room;[17] the former library was designed by Adam, and was dismantled except for the marble fireplace.[10]

At the west side of the building is a long gallery,[10] which was designed by Robert Adam and installed between 1761 and 1766. It is the best preserved of the original interior (little of the rest has survived in situ).[1] It has an octagonal panelled ceiling, and plaster reliefs of griffins. A half-hexagonal bay faces the garden. The room also contains a marble caryatid fireplace designed by J Wilton.[10] As of 2016, modern sculptures are displayed in empty niches along the Long Gallery

wikipedia

A ceremony to commemorate the production, handover and acceptance of the first group of Mobile Surveillance Capability vehicles for enhanced situational awareness along our Nation's borders with Office of Border Patrol and FLIR Systems inc. photo by James Tourtellotte

The new Sony Alpha A7 full frame camera has the capability to also accept lenses designed for usage on cameras with the APS-C sensor. Thus,lenses designed for Sony’s APS-C sensor-based 'NEX’ camera line, when used on Sony's full frame A7 body, affectively will provide a 1.5x reach because of the APS-C lenses 1.5x crop factor.

The larger 28-70mm full frame lens pictured here is the kit lens which comes with the full frame Sony A7. The smaller pancake zoom 16-50mm lens is the kit lens for the NEX-6. When the pancake-zoom 16-50mm is docked to the Sony A7 full frame, that essentially provides the equivalent of 24-75mm focal length range because of the 1.5x crop factor, or roughly the same focal length range of the larger camera.

A nice aspect of the Sony Alpha A7 full frame is, one can have the best of two worlds, full frame and APS-C. When you want to use the A7 camera as designed as full frame, there is the larger 28-70mm full frame lens. If one desires a more compact, lightweight setup, and/or gain added reach for ‘free’, then docking the pancake-zoom 16-50mm provides added reach, more compactness and more compact design.

In this album, I compare both bodies without lenses. Then, I show the equivalent lens for each camera. Finally, I show what the Sony A7 looks like with it’s full frame 28-70mm lens attached to the body and then when attaching the NEX APS-C lens, 16-50mm pancake zoom lens.

The new Alpha A7 has an APS-C mode setting option to accommodate APS-C lenses. The setting can be OFF (vignetting will occur), AUTO (detects whether FF or APS-C lens is attached) or ON (forces APS-C mode to accommodate legacy manual lenses). Thus, the Alpha A7 offers both worlds, full frame and APS-C. The gains…. More compactness, lighter weight, greater reach. (i.e, a 55-210mm APS-C lens will effectively provide 82mm to 315mm) accompanied by reduction in size and weight. Of course the trade off is, you will be reduced to using the equivalent of an APS-C sensor on a full frame body. But hey, what the heck! APS-C is still mainstream for the most part.

Now that I have acquired the new Alpha A7 as it’s replacement, the Sony NEX-6 is being sold on auction.

Camera Used for Photos: iPhone 5

The pathway from the upper to the lower lawns of the Italian Gardens are flanked by two large Georgian stone urns on plinths. Elegantly carved with sweeping curls, they would not look out of place in a garden in England by Capability Brown.

Many English young men were inspired by the treasures of Italy after having completed the Grand Tour in the Eighteenth Century. They brought their ideas back with them and used them to create their own Italian inspired gardens in England. The same could be said here at the Forest Glade Gardens in Mount Macedon.

The Forest Glade Gardens are well established European inspired landscaped gardens of six hectares that are to be found on the Mount Macedon Road in the hill station town of Mount Macedon.

The Forest Glade Gardens are just shy of one hundred years old. The gardens were originally two adjoining properties that comprised orchards and lush grazing paddocks. In 1941 local family the Newtons purchased and extended the property and set about creating one of Mount Macedon's most stunning gardens.

In 1971 the Forest Glade Gardens were acquired by Melbourne property developer Mr. Cyril Stokes who together with his partner Trevor Neil Bell, developed the gardens even further. Cyril was a great collector of European antiques, and his love of European antiquity is reflected in the gardens, particularly in the many classical marble and bronze statues dotted about the grounds.

Unfortunately the Forest Glade Gardens were partly destroyed by the tragic Ash Wednesday bushfires of 1983. However, after many years of hard labour put in by Cyril and Trevor, The Forest Glade Gardens were reborn from the ashes. The gardens are built on a sloping block and consist of a range of terraces all of which offer wonderful vistas. A garden designed to give pleasure all year round, the Forest Glad Gardens contain several heritage listed trees and are made up of smaller themed gardens including; the Italian Garden, the Japanese Garden, the Daffodil Meadow, the Peony Walk, Hydrangea Hill, the Topiary Gardens, the Bluebell Meadow, the Fern Gully and the Laburnum Arch.

In 2011 the property was gifted to a registered charity - The Stokes Collection Limited - with the intention of keeping the Forest Glade Gardens maintained and open to the public.

I spent a delightful Saturday with the Famous Flickr Five+ Group in Mount Macedon, where I have never been before. Now I have, I would very much like to go back to such a picturesque place again.

The Mount Macedon township is located east of the Mount Macedon summit, which is approximately 60 km north-west of Melbourne.

The name of Mount Macedon is apparently derived from Philip II, who ruled Macedon between 359 and 336BC. The mountain was named by Thomas Mitchell, the New South Wales Surveyor General.

Settled in the 1850s by gold miners and timber cutters, the railway arrived at the Mount Macedon township in 1861, providing a vital connection to Melbourne, and sealing the town's future as a 'hill station' resort for wealthy Melburnians escaping the summer heat in the 1870s. With the land deforested, large blocks were sold and beautiful and extensive gardens were planted around the newly built homes. The rich soil and good rainfall also made the area suitable for large orchards and plant nurseries who could send fruit and flowers back to Melbourne. Newspaper owner, David Syme, built a house, "Rosenheim" in 1869. It was acquired in 1886 for Victorian Governors to use as a country retreat, making Mount Macedon an attractive destination for the well heeled of Melbourne society. A primary school was built in Mount Macedon in 1874, and as the decades progressed, hotels, guest houses, shops, a Presbyterian Church and Church of England were built. In 1983, Mount Macedon was devastated by the Ash Wednesday Bush Fires. A large portion of the town was raised, and a number of lives were lost. However, like a phoenix from the ashes, Mount Macedon has risen and rebuilt. Today it is still a popular holiday destination, particularly during spring time when the well established gardens flourish with flowers and in autumn when the exotic trees explode in a riot of reds and yellows.

Soldiers of the Hawaii Army National Guard's Delta Company, 227th Brigade Engineer Battalion Detachment 1 launch an unmanned aerial vehicle for a standardized flight evaluation June 11, 2016 at Camp Roberts, California. Delta Company, 227th Brigade Engineer Battalion Detachment 1 is participating in Exportable Combat Training Capability at Camp Roberts. XCTC trains brigade-sized elements in infantry tactics for deployment purposes. The training also includes a review session for commanders to assess the training deficiencies for their units. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Ryan Sheldon)

Joint capability demonstration.

Trident Juncture 2018 is NATO’s largest exercise in many years, bringing together around 50,000 personnel from all 29 Allies, plus partners Finland and Sweden. Around 65 vessels, 250 aircraft and 10,000 vehicles will participate.

16 Air Assault Brigade soldiers begin their descent through the murky morning skies.

Photographer - Cpl Daniel Wiepen RLC (Army Photographer) - Army Headquarters

Army and RAF demonstrate joint airborne capability

The largest military parachute drop in the UK in more than decade has demonstrated the airborne capability jointly provided by 16 Air Assault Brigade and the Royal Air Force.

Long lived, up to 700years, loves the sun and will out compete other trees to get it.

This on has grown straight and true and it's crown is soaking up the sun. Now it has no need of lower branches, so it probably got rid of those many years ago. This is a Capability Brown designed garden completed in the 18th century, so it's possible this tree could live for another five hundred years. Obviously this tree has had human intervention at different times of its live, especially if the old branches pose a threat.

At Highcliffe Castle in Highcliffe near Christchurch, Dorset.

The Castle burnt down in the late 1960s. And since the late 1970s has been owned by Christchurch Borough Council, who have since restored it.

Highcliffe Castle is a Grade I listed building.

The following listing text dates to 1953. (so doesn't take into account the fire of 1967) and the restoration of 1977-1998.

Highcliffe Castle, Christchurch

ROTHESAY DRIVE

1.

5187 Highcliffe Castle

(formerly listed under

Lymington Road)

SZ 2093 13/51 14.10.53.

I

2.

The original house here was built about 1775 for the third Earl of Bute either

by Robert Adam or by Capability Brown, but it did not stand on the excat site of

the present building and was demolished in 1794. It was replaced by a nondescript

building which in its turn was demolished in 1830. The present Highcliffe Castle

was built by Lord Stuart de Rothesay in 1830-34. The architect was W J Donthorne

who collaborated with Lord Stuart de Rothesay. The design incorporated materials

from the Hotel des Andelys near Rouen in Normandy, where Antoine de Bourbon, the

father of Henri IV died in 1562. Lord Stuart de Rothesay when returning to England

on his retirement from the British Embassy in Paris in 1830, saw the house being

demolished, bought it and had it shipped down the Scine and across to this site,

where it was re-erected.

The building forms a large L. It is built of rosy-tinged ashlar and has 2 storeys

and basement. The north or entrance front is dominated by the great Gothic porte

cochere archway at least 30 ft high flanked by ribbed octagonal buttresses with

a gable between surmounted by a pierced parapet. Beneath the archway is a groined

vaulted roof an elaborate carved doorway and a tall 5-light pointed window over

it. The east wing which is to the left of this porte cochere has a terrace over

an enclosed forecourt containing the obtusely-pointed windows of the basement.

The ground floor of the wing has 5 casement windows of 3 tiers of 2 lights each

with depressed heads, the top tier of lights lighting an entresol. Cornice and

parapet above ground floor. The first floor is set back with a flat walk on the

roof of the ground floor in front of it, terminating at the east end in a rectangular

tower of 1 window with rectangular or octagonal buttress at the angles and parapet

between. Beyond the tower the ground floor only, without basement, projects and

has 6 more windows, the 3 easternmost ones in a canted bay. The west front is

made up of the hall at the north end. This has 4 buttresses and a narrow half-octagonal

oriel window at the north end, 4 lancet windows at first floor level, and a pierced

parapet surmounted by finials. At the south end of the front is a rectangular

projection at right angles, with one window on each front and parapet over with

octagonal corbel cupolas at the angles. Its west face has projecting oriel window

on ground floor and elaborate window of 2 tiers of 4 lights above. At the south

end of the south wing is an L-shaped projection on the ground floor only which

was a garden-room, or conservatory and chapel combined, Its south front is entirely

made up of windows with a huge bay in the centre approached by 7 steps. The south-east

side of the Castle shows its L-plan but the angle is partly filled in so that this

front gives somewhat the impression of 3 sides of octagon. The centre has 3 windows

with flat heads on both floors. Pierced parapet over containing the words "Suave

mari magno turbantibus aequora ventise terra magnum alterius spectare laborem"

in it. On each side of this is a tower at a slight angle to centre portion. The

east one is of 3 storeys flanked by octagmml buttresses with a 4-light window

on each floor. The west one has 2 storeys only, a round-headed archway forms a

porch on the ground floor and above the elaborate carved oriel window from the

Manoir d' Andelys in which Henri IV stood while he waited for his father Antoine

de Bourbon die. On each side of the oriel is tracery buttresses. On each side

of these east and south towers are wings of ground floor height only which are

again at an angle to the towers. These wings are alike and have 3 windows of 2

tiers of 2 lights. Pierced parapet over surmounted by finials above the angles

of the bays. All the windows in the Castle are casement windows with stone mullions

and transom. The interior contains French C18 panelling marble chimney-pieces.

The chief feature of the interior is the hall (the double staircase has now been

removed). This formerly led from the hall to the principal bedroom, in which the

Emperor William II of Germany slept when he rented the house during his "rest-cure"

in 1907.

Listing NGR: SZ2030693208

Exterior of the Great Hall - which went on fire over 40 years ago! Now restored (but missing internal staircase, which was removed for some reason).

reflection from a blacked out window at temple newsam leeds.

temple newsam a tudor-jacobean mansion and historic estate situated in leeds england. birthplace of lord darnley and gardens designed by capability brown in the 18 century.

+++ DISCLAIMER +++Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!

Some background:

The Gudkov Gu-1 was a Soviet fighter aircraft produced shortly after World War II in small numbers at the start of the jet age, but work on the Gudkov Gu-1 already started in 1944. Towards the end of World War II the Soviet Union saw the need for a strategic bombing capability similar to that of the United States Army Air Forces. The Soviet VVS air arm had the locally designed Petlyakov Pe-8 four-engined heavy bomber in service at the start of the war, but only 93 had been built by the end of the war and the type had become obsolete. By that time the U.S. regularly conducted bombing raids on Japan from distant Pacific forward bases using B-29 Superfortresses, and the Soviet Air Force lacked this capability.

There even was a highly modified mixed powerplant version on the drawing boards in 1952, the Gu-1M. Its standard radial powerplant for cruise flight was enhanced with a new, non-afterburning Mikulin AM-5 axial flow jet engine with 2.270 kgf/5,000 lbf/23 kN additional thrust in the rear fuselage. With this temporary booster, a top speed of up to 850 km/h was expected. But to no avail - the pure jet fighter promised a far better performance and effectiveness, and the Gu-1 remained the only aircraft to exclusively carry the Gudkov name.

General characteristics:

Crew: 1

Length: 12 m (39 ft 4 in)

Wingspan: 14 m (45 ft 11 in)

Height: 4.65 m (15 ft 3 in)

Wing area: 28 m² (301.388 ft²)

Airfoil:

Empty weight: 4,637 kg (10,337 lb)

Loaded weight: 6.450 kg (14.220 lb)

Maximum take-off weight: 7,938 kg (17,500 lb)

Powerplant:

1× Shvetsov ASh-82TKF 18-cylinder air-cooled radial engine, rated at 2,720 hp (2,030 kW)

1x RD-20 axial-flow turbojet with 7.8 kN (1,754 lbf) thrust as temporary booster

Performance

Maximum speed: 676 km/h (420 mph) at 29,000 ft (8,839 m) with the radial only,

800 km/h (497 mph/432 kn,) with additional jet booster

Cruise speed: 440 km/h (237 kn, 273 mph)

Combat radius: 820 nmi (945 mi, 1,520 km)

Maximum range: 3.000 km (1.860 mi, 1.612 nmi) with drop tanks

Service ceiling: 14,680 m (48,170 ft)

Wing loading: 230.4 kg/m² (47.2 lb/ft²)

Power/mass: 0.28 kW/kg (0.17 hp/lb)

Climb to 5,000 m (16,400 ft): 5 min 9 sec;

Climb to 10,000 m (32,800 ft): 17 min 38 sec;

Climb to 13,000 m (42,640 ft): 21 min 03 sec

Armament

4× 23 mm Nudelman-Suranov NS-23 cannons with 100 RPG in the outer wings

Five hardpoints for an external ordnance of 1.500 kg (3.300 lb)

The kit and its assembly:

This whif is the incarnation of a very effective kitbashing combo that already spawned my fictional Japanese Ki-104 fighter, and it is another submission to the 2018 “Cold War” group build at whatifmodelers.com. This purely fictional Soviet escort fighter makes use of my experiences from the first build of this kind, yet with some differences.

The kit is a bashing of various parts and pieces:

· Fuselage, wing roots, landing gear and propeller from an Academy P-47D

· Wings from an Ark Model Supermarine Attacker (ex Novo)

· Tail fin comes from a Heller F-84G

· The stabilizers were taken from an Airfix Ki-46

· Cowling from a Matchbox F6F, mounted and blended onto the P-47 front

· Jet exhaust is the intake of a Matchbox Me 262 engine pod

My choice fell onto the Academy Thunderbolt because it has engraved panel lines, offers the bubble canopy as well as good fit, detail and solid material. The belly duct had simply been sliced off, and the opening later faired over with styrene sheet and putty, so that the P-47’s deep belly would not disappear.

The F6F cowling was chosen because it looks a lot like the ASh-73TK from the Tu-4. But this came at a price: the P-47 cowling is higher, tighter and has a totally different shape. It took serious body sculpting with putty to blend the parts into each other. Inside of the engine, a styrene tube was added for a metal axis that holds the uncuffed OOB P-47 four blade propeller. The P-47’s OOB cockpit tub was retained, too, just the seat received scratched armrests for a more luxurious look.

The Attacker wings were chosen because of their "modern" laminar profile. The Novo kit itself is horrible and primitive, but acceptable for donations. OOB, the Attacker wings had too little span for the big P-47, so I decided to mount the Thunderbolt's OOB wings and cut them at a suitable point: maybe 0.5", just outside of the large main wheel wells. The intersection with the Attacker wings is almost perfect in depth and width, relatively little putty work was necessary in order to blend the parts into each other. I just had to cut out new landing gear wells from the lower halves of the Attacker wings, and with new attachment points the P-47’s complete OOB landing gear could be used.

With the new wing shape, the tail surfaces had to be changed accordingly. The trapezoid stabilizers come from an Airfix Mitsubishi Ki-46, and their shape is a good match. The P-47 fin had to go, since I wanted something bigger and a different silhouette. The fuselage below was modified with a jet exhaust, too. I actually found a leftover F-84G (Heller) tail, complete with the jet pipe and the benefit that it has plausible attachment points for the stabilizers far above the jet engine in the Gu-1’s tail.

However, the F-84 jet pipe’s diameter turned out to be too large, so I went for a smaller but practical alternative, a Junkers Jumo 004 nacelle from a Me 262 (the ancestor of the Soviet RD-20!). Its intake section was cut off, flipped upside down, the fin was glued on top of it and then the new tail was glued to the P-47 fuselage. Some (more serious) body sculpting was necessary to create a more or less harmonious transition between the parts, but it worked.

The plausible placement of the air intakes and their shape was a bit of a challenge. I wanted them to be obvious, but still keep an aerodynamic look. An initial idea had been to keep the P-47’s deep belly and widen the central oil cooler intake under the nose, but I found the idea wacky and a bit pointless, since such a long air duct would not make much sense since it would waste internal space and the long duct’s additional weight would not offer any benefit?

Another idea were air intakes in the wing roots, but these were also turned down since the landing gear wells would be in the way, and placing the ducts above or below the wings would also make no sense. A single ventral scoop (looking like a P-51 radiator bath) or two smaller, dorsal intakes (XP-81 style) behind the cockpit were other serious candidates – but these were both rejected because I wanted to keep a clean side profile.

I eventually settled for very simple, fixed side intakes, level with the jet exhaust, somewhat inspired by the Lavochkin La-200B heavy fighter prototype. The air scoops are simply parts from an Italeri Saab 39 Gripen centerline drop tank (which has a flat, oval diameter), and their shape is IMHO a perfect match.

Painting and markings:

While the model itself is a wild mix of parts with lots of improvisation involved, I wanted to keep the livery rather simple. The most plausible choice would have been an NMF finish, but I rather wanted some paint – so I used Soviet La-9 and -11 as a benchmark and settled for a simple two-tone livery: uniform light grey upper and light blue lower surfaces.

I used RAF Medium Sea Grey (Humbrol 165) and Soviet Underside Blue (Humbrol 114) as basic tones, and, after a black ink wash, these were lightened up through dry-brushed post-shading. The yellow spinner and fin tip are based on typical (subtle) squadron markings of the late 40ies era.

The cockpit as well the engine and landing gear interior became blue-grey (Revell 57), similar to the typical La-9/11’s colors. The green wheel discs and the deep blue propeller blades are not 100% in the aircraft's time frame, but I added these details in order to enhance the Soviet touch and some color accents.

Tactical markings were kept simple, too. The "38" and the Red Stars come form a Mastercraft MiG-15, the Guards badge from a Begemoth MiG-25 sheet and most of the stencils were taken from a Yak-38 sheet, also from Begemoth.

Finally, the kit was sealed with matt acrylic varnish (Italeri) and it received some mild soot stains and chipped paint around the cockpit and on the leading edges. Some oil stains were added around the engine (with Tamiya Smoke), too.

A massive aircraft, and this new use of the P-47/Attacker combo results again in a plausible solution. The added jet engine might appear a bit exotic, but the mixed powerplant concept was en vogue after WWII, but only a few aircraft made it beyond the prototype stage.

While painting the model I also wondered if an all dark blue livery and some USN markings could also have made this creation the Grumman JetCat? With the tall fin, the Gu-1 could also be an F8F Bearcat on steroids? Hmmm...

DPAC & UK Uncut hold ATOS Closing Ceremony - 31.08.2012

As the Grand Finale to a week-long national campaign of protests against French IT company ATOS Origin and its spinoff ATOS Healthcare which carries out the much-criticised Wirk Capability Assessments on behalf of the DWP, which has seen tens of thousands of severely sick and disabled people declared to be "Fit for Work" and thrown off their disability benefits, several hundred activists from DPAC (Disabled People Against Cuts), WinVisible, Disabled Activists' Network, UK Uncut, Right to Work Campaign, Unite the Union, the GMB Union, Occupy London and the National UNion of Students descended on ATOS' London headquarters to carry out what they had billed as the "ATOS Closing Ceremony" - a reference to ATOS' hugely derided sponsorship of the Paralympic Games which is, say the activists, an act of spectatular cynicism by a corporation which is currently contracted by the Cameron government to the tune of £100 million to conduct the much-feared medical assessments without any reference whatsoever to peoples' medical notes of histories.

For two hours the crowd chanted slogans, listened to oral testimonies from people whose lives have been badly affected by ATOS decisions, heard accounts of people driven into such despair by dealing with ATOS that they have comitted suicide, and also heard many accounts of seriously ill people thrown off their benefits by ATOS who have been forced to look for work - having been declared fit for work - and who have died shortly afterwards. The list of people irreperably harmed by ATOS' computer-driven tick-box assessment which cannot possibly take into account the huge range of physical and mental disabilities seems endless.

Following some dogged Freedom of Information requests by two Daily Mirror journalists earlier this year it is now known that an average of 32 sickness or disability benefit claimnants who have been thrown off their benefits by the DWP following an ATOS zero-point rating and placed in the Work-Related Activity Group or who have been put on Jobseeker's Allowance have died shortly afterwards. In many instances relatives of the deceased have claimed that the stress of being treated in such an inhumane way by ATOS contributed to their deaths.

During the protest at Triton Square the 500-strong crowd were entertained by a street theatre performance which saw a fraudulent "ATOS Miracle Cure" booth set up. The "ATOS Reverend" would lay hands on a disabled person and tell them that "by the power of ATOS you are no longer disabled", and sent them through the ATOS Miracle Cure arch, but sadly once through the arch the disabled people realised they had been tricked and they were still, of course, disabled... but worse was to come, as each disabled person was then confronted by an "ATOS Doctor" who stated that because they were now officially no longer disabled and were fit for work they could now be assigned to do their dream jobs, to which end the phoney doctor handed each person a sheet of paper on which was written "100 meter runner", "Bar Tender", "Mountain Climber" and other completely unsuitable job titles.

At around 2:30pm a section of the crowd took off and headed for Westminster where they picketed outside the Department for Work and Pensions, during which an over-agressive action by the police resulted in a disabled man's shoulder being broken as he was knocked off his wheelchair when police shoved protesters into him.

All photos © 2012 Pete Riches

Do not reproduce, alter, re-transmit or reblog my images without my written permission.

Hi-Res, un-watermarked versions of these files are available on application

Media buyers should email me directly or view this story on <a href="http://www.demotix.com/users/pete-riches/profile.

Standard NUJ rates apply.

about.me/peteriches

Inside a laboratory in the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Dr. Luke Roberson, right, principal investigator for research and development in Swamp Works, explains the algae bio reactor to Robyn Gatens, center, deputy director, ISS Division and system capability leader for Environmental Control and Life Support Systems (ECLSS) at NASA Headquarters in Washington, on June 13, 2018. At far left is Molly Anderson, deputy ECLSS capability lead at Johnson Space Center in Houston. They are seeing firsthand some of the capabilities in the center's Exploration Research and Technology Programs. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

NASA image use policy.

The annual pilgrimage to Stourhead - and autumn is late!

Members of 16 Air Assault Brigade prepare to jump from a RAF C130 aircraft onto Salisbury Plain.

The largest military parachute drop in the UK in more than decade has demonstrated the airborne capability jointly provided by 16 Air Assault Brigade and the Royal Air Force.

The new Sony Alpha A7 full frame camera has the capability to also accept lenses designed for usage on cameras with the APS-C sensor. Thus,lenses designed for Sony’s APS-C sensor-based 'NEX’ camera line, when used on Sony's full frame A7 body, affectively will provide a 1.5x reach because of the APS-C lenses 1.5x crop factor.

The larger 28-70mm full frame lens pictured here is the kit lens which comes with the full frame Sony A7. The smaller pancake zoom 16-50mm lens is the kit lens for the NEX-6. When the pancake-zoom 16-50mm is docked to the Sony A7 full frame, that essentially provides the equivalent of 24-75mm focal length range because of the 1.5x crop factor, or roughly the same focal length range of the larger camera.

A nice aspect of the Sony Alpha A7 full frame is, one can have the best of two worlds, full frame and APS-C. When you want to use the A7 camera as designed as full frame, there is the larger 28-70mm full frame lens. If one desires a more compact, lightweight setup, and/or gain added reach for ‘free’, then docking the pancake-zoom 16-50mm provides added reach, more compactness and more compact design.

In this album, I compare both bodies without lenses. Then, I show the equivalent lens for each camera. Finally, I show what the Sony A7 looks like with it’s full frame 28-70mm lens attached to the body and then when attaching the NEX APS-C lens, 16-50mm pancake zoom lens.

The new Alpha A7 has an APS-C mode setting option to accommodate APS-C lenses. The setting can be OFF (vignetting will occur), AUTO (detects whether FF or APS-C lens is attached) or ON (forces APS-C mode to accommodate legacy manual lenses). Thus, the Alpha A7 offers both worlds, full frame and APS-C. The gains…. More compactness, lighter weight, greater reach. (i.e, a 55-210mm APS-C lens will effectively provide 82mm to 315mm) accompanied by reduction in size and weight. Of course the trade off is, you will be reduced to using the equivalent of an APS-C sensor on a full frame body. But hey, what the heck! APS-C is still mainstream for the most part.

Now that I have acquired the new Alpha A7 as it’s replacement, the Sony NEX-6 is being sold on auction.

Camera Used for Photos: iPhone 5

The new Sony Alpha A7 full frame camera has the capability to also accept lenses designed for usage on cameras with the APS-C sensor. Thus,lenses designed for Sony’s APS-C sensor-based 'NEX’ camera line, when used on Sony's full frame A7 body, affectively will provide a 1.5x reach because of the APS-C lenses 1.5x crop factor.

The larger 28-70mm full frame lens pictured here is the kit lens which comes with the full frame Sony A7. The smaller pancake zoom 16-50mm lens is the kit lens for the NEX-6. When the pancake-zoom 16-50mm is docked to the Sony A7 full frame, that essentially provides the equivalent of 24-75mm focal length range because of the 1.5x crop factor, or roughly the same focal length range of the larger camera.

A nice aspect of the Sony Alpha A7 full frame is, one can have the best of two worlds, full frame and APS-C. When you want to use the A7 camera as designed as full frame, there is the larger 28-70mm full frame lens. If one desires a more compact, lightweight setup, and/or gain added reach for ‘free’, then docking the pancake-zoom 16-50mm provides added reach, more compactness and more compact design.

In this album, I compare both bodies without lenses. Then, I show the equivalent lens for each camera. Finally, I show what the Sony A7 looks like with it’s full frame 28-70mm lens attached to the body and then when attaching the NEX APS-C lens, 16-50mm pancake zoom lens.

The new Alpha A7 has an APS-C mode setting option to accommodate APS-C lenses. The setting can be OFF (vignetting will occur), AUTO (detects whether FF or APS-C lens is attached) or ON (forces APS-C mode to accommodate legacy manual lenses). Thus, the Alpha A7 offers both worlds, full frame and APS-C. The gains…. More compactness, lighter weight, greater reach. (i.e, a 55-210mm APS-C lens will effectively provide 82mm to 315mm) accompanied by reduction in size and weight. Of course the trade off is, you will be reduced to using the equivalent of an APS-C sensor on a full frame body. But hey, what the heck! APS-C is still mainstream for the most part.

Now that I have acquired the new Alpha A7 as it’s replacement, the Sony NEX-6 is being sold on auction.

Camera Used for Photos: iPhone 5

170808-N-OX430-040 ATLANTIC OCEAN (Aug. 8, 2017) The Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth (R08) transits alongside the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) during exercise Saxon Warrior 2017, Aug. 8. Saxon Warrior is a United States and United Kingdom co-hosted carrier strike group exercise that demonstrates interoperability and capability to respond to crises and deter potential threats. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Daniel Gaither/Released)

The MOOSE simulation platform solves complex mathematical models. The BISON application, shown here, includes a set of equations describing nuclear fuel rod behavior inside working reactors.

This magnificent informal landscape garden was laid out in the 18th century by 'Capability' Brown and further developed in the early years of the 20th century by its owner, Arthur G. Soames. The original four lakes form the centrepiece. There are dramatic shows of daffodils and bluebells in spring, and the rhododendrons and azaleas are spectacular in early summer. Autumn brings stunning colours from the many rare trees and shrubs, and winter walks can be enjoyed in this garden for all seasons. Visitors can now also explore South Park, 107 hectares (265 acres) of historic parkland, with stunning views.

At Highcliffe Castle in Highcliffe near Christchurch, Dorset.

The Castle burnt down in the late 1960s. And since the late 1970s has been owned by Christchurch Borough Council, who have since restored it.

Highcliffe Castle is a Grade I listed building.

The following listing text dates to 1953. (so doesn't take into account the fire of 1967) and the restoration of 1977-1998.

Highcliffe Castle, Christchurch

ROTHESAY DRIVE

1.

5187 Highcliffe Castle

(formerly listed under

Lymington Road)

SZ 2093 13/51 14.10.53.

I

2.

The original house here was built about 1775 for the third Earl of Bute either

by Robert Adam or by Capability Brown, but it did not stand on the excat site of

the present building and was demolished in 1794. It was replaced by a nondescript

building which in its turn was demolished in 1830. The present Highcliffe Castle

was built by Lord Stuart de Rothesay in 1830-34. The architect was W J Donthorne

who collaborated with Lord Stuart de Rothesay. The design incorporated materials

from the Hotel des Andelys near Rouen in Normandy, where Antoine de Bourbon, the

father of Henri IV died in 1562. Lord Stuart de Rothesay when returning to England

on his retirement from the British Embassy in Paris in 1830, saw the house being

demolished, bought it and had it shipped down the Scine and across to this site,

where it was re-erected.

The building forms a large L. It is built of rosy-tinged ashlar and has 2 storeys

and basement. The north or entrance front is dominated by the great Gothic porte

cochere archway at least 30 ft high flanked by ribbed octagonal buttresses with

a gable between surmounted by a pierced parapet. Beneath the archway is a groined

vaulted roof an elaborate carved doorway and a tall 5-light pointed window over

it. The east wing which is to the left of this porte cochere has a terrace over

an enclosed forecourt containing the obtusely-pointed windows of the basement.

The ground floor of the wing has 5 casement windows of 3 tiers of 2 lights each

with depressed heads, the top tier of lights lighting an entresol. Cornice and

parapet above ground floor. The first floor is set back with a flat walk on the

roof of the ground floor in front of it, terminating at the east end in a rectangular

tower of 1 window with rectangular or octagonal buttress at the angles and parapet

between. Beyond the tower the ground floor only, without basement, projects and

has 6 more windows, the 3 easternmost ones in a canted bay. The west front is

made up of the hall at the north end. This has 4 buttresses and a narrow half-octagonal

oriel window at the north end, 4 lancet windows at first floor level, and a pierced

parapet surmounted by finials. At the south end of the front is a rectangular

projection at right angles, with one window on each front and parapet over with

octagonal corbel cupolas at the angles. Its west face has projecting oriel window

on ground floor and elaborate window of 2 tiers of 4 lights above. At the south

end of the south wing is an L-shaped projection on the ground floor only which

was a garden-room, or conservatory and chapel combined, Its south front is entirely

made up of windows with a huge bay in the centre approached by 7 steps. The south-east

side of the Castle shows its L-plan but the angle is partly filled in so that this

front gives somewhat the impression of 3 sides of octagon. The centre has 3 windows

with flat heads on both floors. Pierced parapet over containing the words "Suave

mari magno turbantibus aequora ventise terra magnum alterius spectare laborem"

in it. On each side of this is a tower at a slight angle to centre portion. The

east one is of 3 storeys flanked by octagmml buttresses with a 4-light window

on each floor. The west one has 2 storeys only, a round-headed archway forms a

porch on the ground floor and above the elaborate carved oriel window from the

Manoir d' Andelys in which Henri IV stood while he waited for his father Antoine

de Bourbon die. On each side of the oriel is tracery buttresses. On each side

of these east and south towers are wings of ground floor height only which are

again at an angle to the towers. These wings are alike and have 3 windows of 2

tiers of 2 lights. Pierced parapet over surmounted by finials above the angles

of the bays. All the windows in the Castle are casement windows with stone mullions

and transom. The interior contains French C18 panelling marble chimney-pieces.

The chief feature of the interior is the hall (the double staircase has now been

removed). This formerly led from the hall to the principal bedroom, in which the

Emperor William II of Germany slept when he rented the house during his "rest-cure"

in 1907.

Listing NGR: SZ2030693208

Entrance / way in.

Panoramic of two shots.

Croome Court is a mid 18th century Neo-Palladian mansion surrounded by an extensive landscaped parkland at Croome D'Abitot, near Pershore in south Worcestershire. The mansion and park were designed by Lancelot "Capability" Brown for George Coventry, 6th Earl of Coventry, and was Brown's first landscape design and first major architectural project. Some of the internal rooms of the mansion were designed by Robert Adam.

The mansion house is owned by Croome Heritage Trust, and is leased to the National Trust who operate it, along with the surrounding parkland, as a tourist attraction. The National Trust own the surrounding parkland, which is also open to the public.

Location[edit]

Croome Court is located near to Croome D'Abitot, in Worcestershire,[1] near Pirton, Worcestershire.[2] The wider estate was established on lands that were once part of the royal forest of Horewell.[3] Traces of these older landscapes, such as unimproved commons and ancient woodlands, can be found across the former Croome Estate.[4]

House[edit]

Croome Court South Portico

History[edit]

The foundations and core of Croome Court, including the central chimney stack structure, date back to the early 1640s.[5] Substantial changes to this early house were made by Gilbert Coventry, 4th Earl of Coventry.[6]

In 1751, George Coventry, the 6th Earl, inherited the estate, along with the existing Jacobean house. He commissioned Lancelot "Capability" Brown, with the assistance of Sanderson Miller, to redesign the house and estate.[7][1] It was Brown's "first flight into the realms of architecture" and a "rare example of his architectural work",[8] and it is an important and seminal work.[9] It was built between 1751 and 1752, and it and Hagley Hall are considered to be the finest examples of Neo-Palladian architecture in Worcestershire. Notable Neo-Palladian features incorporated into Croome Court include the plain exterior and the corner towers with pyramidal roofs (a feature first used by Inigo Jones in the design of Wilton House in Wiltshire).[1] Robert Adam worked on the interior of the building from 1760 onwards.[10]

The house has been visited by George III,[2][11] as well as Queen Victoria[7] during summers when she was a child, and George V (then Duke of York).[11]

A jam factory was built by the 9th Earl of Coventry, near to Pershore railway station, in about 1880, to provide a market for Vale of Evesham fruit growers in times of surplus. Although the Croome connection with jam making had ceased, during the First World War, the building was leased by the Croome Estate Trust to the Huddersfield Fruit Preserving Company as a pulping station.[12]

The First World War deeply affected Croome, with many local casualties, although the house was not requisitioned for the war effort. This is possibly because it was the home of the Lord Lieutenant of the County, who needed a residence for his many official engagements.[13]

During the Second World War Croome Court was requisitioned by the Ministry of Works and leased for a year to the Dutch Government as a possible refuge for Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands; to escape the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. However, evidence shows that they stayed two weeks at the most, perhaps because of the noise and fear created by the proximity of Defford Aerodrome. They later emigrated to Canada.[14]

In 1948 the Croome Estate Trust sold the Court, along with 38 acres (15 ha) of land, to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham, and the mansion became St Joseph's Special School, which was run by nuns[15] from 1950[11] until 1979.[15]

The house was listed on 11 August 1952; it is currently Grade I listed.[10]

In 1979 the hall was taken over by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (Hare Krishna movement), who used it as their UK headquarters and a training college[16] called Chaitanya College,[15] run by 25 members of the movement.[16] During their tenure they repainted the Dining Room.[17] In 1984 they had to leave the estate for financial reasons. They held a festival at the hall in 2011.[16]

From 1984 onwards various owners tried to use the property as a training centre; apartments; a restaurant and conference centre; and a hotel and golf course,[15] before once more becoming a private family home,[2][15] with outbuildings converted to private houses.[15]

The house was purchased by the Croome Heritage Trust, a registered charity,[18] in October 2007,[19] and it is now managed by the National Trust as a tourist attraction. It opened to the public in September 2009, at which point six of the rooms had restored, costing £400,000, including the Saloon. It was estimated that another £4 million[2][20] to £4.8 million would be needed to restore the entire building. Fundraising activities for the restoration included a 2011 raffle for a Morgan sports car organised by Lord and Lady Flight. After the restoration is complete, a 999-year lease on the building will be granted to the National Trust.[21] An oral history project to record recollections about Croome was funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.[15] As of 2009, the service wing was empty and in need of substantial repair.[22]

Exterior[edit]

The mansion is faced with Bath stone,[7] limestone ashlar, and has both north and south facing fronts. It has a basement and two stories, with three stories in the end pavilions. A slate roof, with pyramid roofs over the corner towers, tops the building, along with three pair-linked chimneys along the axis of the house.[10]

Both fronts have 11 bays, split into three central sets of three each, and one additional bay each side. The north face has a pedimented centre, with two balustraded staircases leading to a Roman Doric doorcase. The south face has a projecting Ionic tetrastyle portico and Venetian windows. It has a broad staircase, with cast stone sphinxes on each side, leading to a south door topped with a cornice on consoles. The wings have modillion cornice and balustrade.[10]

A two-story L-shaped service wing is attached to the east side of the mansion. It is made of red brick and stone, with slate roofs.[10] It was designed by Capability Brown in 1751-2.[22] On the far side of the service wing, a wall connects it to a stable court.[10]

Interior[edit]

The interior of the house was designed partially by Capability Brown, with plasterwork by G. Vassalli, and partially by Robert Adam, with plasterwork by J. Rose Jr. It has a central spine corridor. A stone staircase, with iron balusters, is at the east end.[10]

The entrance hall is on the north side of the building, and has four fluted Doric columns, along with moulded doorcases. To the east of the entrance hall is the dining room, which has a plaster ceiling and cornice, while to the west is a billiard room, featuring fielded panelling, a plaster cornice, and a rococo fireplace. The three rooms were probably decorated around 1758-59 by Capability Brown.[10] The dining room was vibrantly repainted by the Hare Krishnas in the 1970s-80s.[17]

The central room on the south side is a saloon, probably by Brown and Vassalli. It has an elaborate ceiling, with three panels, deep coving, and a cornice, along with two Ionic fireplaces, and Palladian doorcases.[10] George III was entertained by George Coventry, the 6th Earl, in the house's Saloon.[2] A drawing room is to the west of the saloon, and features rococo plasterwork and a marble fireplace.[10]

To the east of the saloon is the Tapestry Room.[10] This was designed in 1763-71, based on a design by Robert Adam, and contained tapestries and furniture covers possibly designed by Jacques Germain Soufflot, and made by Manufacture Nationale des Gobelins.[23] Around 1902 the ninth Earl sold the tapestries and seating to a Parisian dealer. In 1949 the Samuel H. Kress Foundation purchased the ceiling, floor, mantlepiece, chair rails, doors and the door surrounds, which were donated to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, in 1958. In 1959 the Kress Foundation also helped the Metropolitan Museum acquire the chair and sofa frames, which they recovered using the original tapestry seats.[7][23] A copy of the ceiling was installed in place of the original.[10] As of 2016, the room is displayed as it would have looked after the tapestries had been sold, with a jug and ewer on display as the only original decoration of the room that remains in it. The adjacent library room is used to explain what happened to the tapestry room;[17] the former library was designed by Adam, and was dismantled except for the marble fireplace.[10]

At the west side of the building is a long gallery,[10] which was designed by Robert Adam and installed between 1761 and 1766. It is the best preserved of the original interior (little of the rest has survived in situ).[1] It has an octagonal panelled ceiling, and plaster reliefs of griffins. A half-hexagonal bay faces the garden. The room also contains a marble caryatid fireplace designed by J Wilton.[10] As of 2016, modern sculptures are displayed in empty niches along the Long Gallery

wikipedia

Capability Farms

Versailles, Indiana

Robyn Gatens, left, deputy director, ISS Division and system capability leader for Environmental Control and Life Support Systems (ECLSS) at NASA Headquarters in Washington, tours laboratories in the Space Station Processing Facility at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, on June 13, 2018. To her right is Molly Anderson, deputy ECLSS capability lead at Johnson Space Center in Houston. They are viewing plant growth chambers and seeing firsthand some of the capabilities in the center's Exploration Research and Technology Programs. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

NASA image use policy.

Built between 1754 and 1760, Croome Park is a National Trust property set perfectly in Capability Brown's very first landscape and is the site of a secret Second World War air base.

Uganda People's Defense Force (UPDF) logisticians practice palletizing techniques during a hands-on segment of Uganda ADAPT 2010, a mentoring program conducted in Entebbe, Uganda, that resulted in certifying 25 soldiers as C-130 aircraft load planners.

U.S. Army photo by Gordon Christensen

A U.S. Army Africa (USARAF) organized Africa Deployment Assistance Partnership Team (ADAPT) recently trained, and for the first time ever, certified 25 soldiers of the Uganda People’s Defense Force (UPDF) as C-130 aircraft load planners in Entebbe, Uganda.

A five-person team, led by Gordon Christensen of Army Africa’s G-4 Mobility Division, completed Phase III training with UPDF soldiers Aug. 27 in Entebbe, Uganda, said John Hanson, chief of the G-4 Policy and Programs Branch.

“This was the first actual air load certification we’ve done, of all the previous ADAPT engagements,” Hanson said. “That’s what makes it unique.”

Two weeks of classroom instruction and hands-on training enabled 25 of 31 students to earn U.S. Air Force Air Mobility Command Form 9 certification, significantly augmenting the Uganda land force’s air deployment capability, while developing greater interoperability with U.S. military forces, Hanson said.

The ADAPT program, developed to enhance the force projection capabilities of African militaries, is managed by the USARAF G-4 staff. Its aim is to bridge the gap between limited deployment capacity and the need to provide forces in support of peacekeeping or humanitarian relief operations, Hanson said.

“We’re building capacity for people to deploy, to do their own missions,” he said.

Even when the training doesn’t lead to actual U.S. Air Force certification, as it did this time in Uganda, it contributes to an enhanced deployment capacity for the land force involved, Hanson said.

“That’s the intent. They can’t do the certification, but they can continue to train their own people. Then we back off and they continue to do that,” he said.

The program is a Title 22 tactical logistics engagement funded by the U.S. Department of State, and focuses on African countries that contribute troops to peacekeeping operations, Hanson said.

Training is executed in four installments in order to create a long-term, phased approach to building deployment capacity, Hanson said. Instructors take students from a general orientation to tactical deployment principles to an advanced level of practical proficiency.

Instructors for the UPDF course were sourced using the Request For Forces (RFF) process, Hanson said.

Christensen was accompanied U.S. Army Capt. Jedmund Greene of 21st Theater Support Command’s 16th Sustainment Brigade, based in Kaiserslautern, Germany, and three Air Force noncommissioned officers: Tech. Sgt. Venus Washington, Robbins Air Force Base, Ga.; Tech. Sgt. Byran Quinn, Pope Air Force Base, N.C.; and Senior Master Sgt. Anthony D. Tate of the Illinois Air National Guard.

“The training helped to strengthen the relationship with our Ugandan partners, and also helped them build a self-sustaining deployment capacity,” Greene said. “I hope 21st TSC can increase its support to USARAF logistics theater security cooperation events in the future.”

Army Africa’s G-4 staff is presently working to synchronize ADAPT with the Africa Contingency Operations Training and Assistance (ACOTA) program. A proof of concept joint training was conducted with ACOTA in Rwanda earlier this year, combining tactical- and support-staff training in logistics with the more complex operational techniques of force deployment and mobility, Hanson said.

The Rwanda training demonstrated the feasibility of combining available U.S. government resources to achieve the most efficient and focused effort to advance common foreign policy objectives with U.S. partners in Africa, he said.

To date, ADAPT missions have been funded for eight African countries. Previous training sessions have been conducted in Rwanda, Ghana and Burkina Faso as well as Uganda, and the number is likely to grow in coming years, Hanson said.

“The programs were identified as being of interest to several other countries during the Army Africa Theater Army Security Cooperation Conference, held in Vicenza in August,” Hanson said.

The next planned ADAPT mission is for Phase I training in Botswana, scheduled for the first quarter of 2011, he said.

To learn more about U.S. Army Africa visit our official website at www.usaraf.army.mil

Official Twitter Feed: www.twitter.com/usarmyafrica

Official YouTube video channel: www.youtube.com/usarmyafrica

At Luton Hoo "an area enjoyed by dignitaries and royalty over the years sheltered by trees and encompassed by the ha-ha wall." The grounds were landscaped by Capability Brown in the late eighteenth century. By standing in the right place you can get the trees to conceal the hangars, control tower, and runway of the adjacent airport!

tested the ISO capability at 20,000!!!!