View allAll Photos Tagged Forerunner
NZ,
Villiers Dynastart reverisible,
Chain drive,
Forerunner of ATVs,
Buit by Cameron lewis & Company Christchurch NZ,
restored in Southward workshop,
For my video;https://youtu.be/dEL2DoCm1wg
Southward Car Museum, Paraparaumu, New Zealand
02/09/2022, departing from Parkeston Quay, Harwich, England, for Hook of Holland, Netherlands.
Keel laid on 27/12/2000, launched on 26/04/2001 and entered into service on 29/08/2003, by Dalian Shipyard Co., Dalian, China (ro123-3)
24,688 g.t and 12,300 dwt., as:
'Stena Forerunner'.
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
In September 1939, the US Army was ill-prepared as far as armored vehicles, training and tactics went. Soon, it became clear that a new model, which could be favorably compared to the European models, had to be studied for mass production. The very early M1 Combat Car was nothing more than a very small tank with two machine guns. Its main purpose was scouting and as such ordered for “cavalry” units. This was in 1937, and became the forerunner of all light tanks to come.
In 1935, a new model, the M2 Light Tank, was designed. At first, it was an immediate upgrade of the M1, but with the heavier .50 (12.7 mm) caliber machine gun, immediately followed by the M2A2 with twin turrets equipped with .30 (7.62 mm) caliber M1919 machine guns. The “Mae West” gave way in 1938 to a small series of M2A3 37 mm (1.45 in) single turret tanks, and then to the final M2A4 in 1940, with improved armor, motorization and equipment. These fought at Guadalcanal with the US Marine Corps, and with the British Army through Lend-Lease, performing well in Burma and India against the Japanese, despite being obsolete.
The following M3 was built under the light of recent events in France. The quick fall of France, due to inadequate tactics, quickly led the US Army Corps to think about a new doctrine, which led to an independent US armored force. From the material point of view, the latest M2A4 and the M3 were both designed to be more effective than only infantry support units, their main duty was scouting and screening.
The M3 was, at first, a simple upgrade of the last M2, with a more powerful Continental petrol engine, a new vertical volute spring suspension system and up to four machine guns in addition to a main, quick-firing M5 (and later M6) 37 mm (1.45 in) anti-tank gun, with a new gun recoil system.
Most of the initial M3 tanks were provided to the British and Commonwealth forces through Lend-Lease. Some were immediately thrown into action in Northern Africa, where they immediately became popular for their speed, sturdiness and reliability. Although the official British designation was “Stuart”, paying homage to Civil War Confederate general J.E.B. Stuart, they found themselves affectuously dubbed “Honey”, because of their smooth ride.
Beyond British and Commonwealth forces, the US Forces used many M3s in their first major operation in the west, the North African invasion in November 1942 (Operation Torch). They had some success against Italian tanks, but were butchered by German 88 mm (3.46 in) artillery and the up-gunned Panzer IIIs and IVs. It was clear that their high profile and the flat squared hull was too vulnerable. However, the M3 was popular, reliable and mobile, and the introduction of a diesel engine in the M3A1 made the small tank even more suitable for reconnaissance missions, so that the British Army asked by late 1941 for a dedicated scout variant that would trade-in the weak cannon armament (and the fourth crewman associated with it) for more mobility and range. This led to the M3A2, better known under the British name “Parsival”, because it was never adopted and operated by the U.S. Army.
The Parsival Mk. I used the standard M3 hull, but the lateral sponsons that formerly housed fixed machine guns were outright deleted in order to save weight and to reduce manufacturing effort as well as frontal area. Another major modification concerned the running gear: in order to improve speed and handling at higher speed, the M3’s vertical springs were replaced by a modified Christie running gear, which consisted of the standard drive wheel at the front, four large road wheels and three return rollers per side. The last pair of road wheels was mounted on trailing swing arms for increased ground contact and also acted as idler wheels. The M3A1’s optional 9-cylinder Guiberson T-1020 diesel became the Parsival’s standard engine, and, beyond the internal tanks, two additional external fuel drums could be mounted to the rear hull, extending range from 100 to 150 miles.
A new cast turret, similar in shape to the airborne M22 Locust tank, was mounted, which had a much lower profile and offered better ballistic protection than the M3’s original turret with vertical side walls. The reduced height was a trade-off for firepower, though: the turret did not carry a full-fledged cannon anymore, only a medium 0.5” (12.7 mm) machine gun as well as a light, coaxial 0.303” (7.62 mm) machine gun, all operated by the commander. The machine gun in the front bow, handled by the radio operator, was retained, and another light machine gun could optionally be mounted on top of the turret against aircraft. The turret was furthermore equipped with a set of two smoke grenade launchers.
Through the different weight saving measures, the Parsival’s weight could be reduced from 12.7 to 10.8 tons, resulting in a slight improvement in overall performance but with a much better handling, esp. when moving off-road.
In the summer of 1942, the first Parsival Mk. Is arrived in the North African theatre of operations where they excelled in their dedicated reconnaissance role. Concerning the standard M3, the British usually kept the Stuarts out of direct tank-to-tank combat, using them primarily for reconnaissance, too. In consequence, the turret was removed from some British M3 examples to save weight and improve speed and range, but these were inferior to the Parsival and became known as "Stuart Recce". Some others were converted to armored personnel carriers known as the "Stuart Kangaroo", and some were converted into command vehicles and known as "Stuart Command".
After the Africa campaign, British Stuarts and Parsival took successfully part in the liberation of Italy. About 500 were produced, 160 of them were delivered to the Soviet Union under Lend-Lease, the rest was exclusively operated by the British Army in Europe. Parsivals, M3s, M3A3s, and M5s continued in British service until the end of the war.
Specifications:
Crew: Three (commander, driver, radio operator)
Weight: 10.8 tons
Length: 14ft 2in (4.33 m)
Width: 7ft 4in (2.33 m)
Height: 2.49 metres (8 ft 1 1/2 in)
Suspension: Christie system
Ground clearance: 16.5" (419 mm)
Fuel capacity: 54 US gal (200 l)
Armor:
0.52 - 2 in (13 - 51 mm)
Performance:
Speed:
- Maximum, road: 40 mph (65 km/h)
- Cross country: 22 mph (36 km/h)
Climbing capability:
- 40% side slope and 60% max grade
- Vertical obstacle of 24 inches (61 cm)
- 72 inches (1,8 m) trench crossing
Fording depth: 36 inches (91 cm)
Operational range: 100 ml (160 km) on road with internal fuel
Power/weight: 23.1 hp/t
Engine:
1× Guiberson T-1020 9-cylinder radial diesel engine with a 1,021 cu in (16.73 l) displacement,
delivering 250 hp (190 kW)
Transmission:
Hydramatic, 4 speeds forward, 1 reverse
Armament:
1× 0.5” (12.7) mm M2 machine gun with 900 rounds
3× 0.303” (7,62 mm) M1919A4 machine guns
(co-axial in the turret, in the front bow and as an AA weapon on top of the turret)
with a total of 6,750 rounds
2× smoke dischargers on the turret’s right side
The kit and its assembly:
This M3 conversion was spawned by the idea of a dedicated recce variant of the popular Stuart tank. Originally, I just planned to use the chassis from a Hasegawa 1:72 kit and replace the turret with a smaller option (including lighter armament), I already had organized a resin turret for/from an American T17 “Staghound” WWII recce car. But, as always, you can drive a simple idea easily further, so that I also thought about a different suspension and other modifications that would improve the tank’s agility. This led to a Christie-style running gear and the deletion of the M3’s machine gun sponsons, which were in practice used as storage space after the machine guns had been deleted.
The Staghound turret came from a ModelTrans/Silesian Models conversion set, which also includes a nice commander figure as well as two fuel drums. The sponsons were simply cut away and the gaps filled with 0.5 mm styrene sheet – a small modification, and thanks to the M3’s boxy hull design a simple affair. Only some small PSR on the side wall implants as well as on the mudguards (which are segmented) was necessary, and this modification changes the M3’s look considerably!
The running gear was scratched and more complicated, in particular because assembly and painting had to go hand in hand. The eight road wheels actually come from a 1:72 T-72 tank from ModelCollect, their width perfectly matched the track’s and they had the same size as the M3’s large idler wheel at the rear. The road wheels’ depth just looks a little disturbing, but not implausible. The trailing idler wheel (using the original suspension arm) defined the stance and the other wheels were mounted on plastic rods to the hull, with simulated suspensions arms (styrene profile) behind them. Since the drive and idler wheels’ position effectively remained unchanged, I was able to use the OOB vinyl tracks, which are really smooth and easy to handle. However, this move necessitated to retain the return wheels – I wanted to omit them, for an even more Christie-esque look, but without them the track would have been too long and slacked through, with a lot of space between the tracks and the mudguards. Nevertheless, the return wheels’ position was slightly changed, in order to reflect the modified road wheels’ position. And the whole affair simply looks different from the original, so I am fine with it.
In order to liven the small tank up, I added the fuel drums from the Staghound set to the rear fenders and added some more boxes and folded tarpaulins (made from paper tissue drenched in thinned white glue) on the mudguards, somewhat masking the new side walls from sight. I also mounted the M3’s OOB AA machine gun to the turret.
Painting and markings:
I wanted a Northern Africa paint scheme and at first considered the iconic Caunter scheme, but then I thought that, since this livery was also used on the real British Stuarts, I rather wanted something different.
I eventually settled for a simple two-tone scheme, used on British cruiser tanks like the Crusader as well as on M3 Lee medium tanks of American origin. The basic colors I used are Humbrol 168 (Hemp) for the Light Stone tone, and Humbrol 98 (Chocolate) for the dull, dark brown.
As common practice, the basic colors were separated with thin, white lines in order to emphasize the contrast between them. Sometimes in practice, an additional black line was added, too, but due to the model’s small size I just painted a white line.
Another common practice of the British army, esp. on cruiser tanks with large wheels, was to paint the front and rear road wheels in a uniform, light color, while the wheels between them became dark – an attempt to mimic a lorry, esp. when a light “Sunshield” canopy was mounted over the hull that resembled a truck’s outline.
The model received a light wash with a mix of black, grey and brown, the decals (taken from the OOB sheet) were applied next. Over this came some dry-brushing with light grey and ochre and the kit was sealed with matt acrylic varnish (from the rattle can). Once the tracks were mounted, the lower areas of the tank were finally dusted with a mix of sand and light grey pigments.
Even though the Hasegawa M3 was a simple basis to start with, the conversions, esp. the running gear, were quite challenging. But I like the result a lot: the Parsival looks like a slimmed-down race variant of the M3, just what I wanted to achieve, and the British camouflage suits the small tank well, too – the white contrast line adds an exotic touch.
Coachwork by Pininfarina
Chassis n° 12031
'Pininfarina clothed it all in a beautifully refined bodyshell employing the nose lines of the 500 Superfast and the tail treatment of the contemporary 275 GTS. It was built at Grugliasco by Pininfarina themselves...' - Hans Tanner & Doug Nye, 'Ferrari', 1984.
In essence a closed version of the 275 GTS, the 330 GTC – immediate forerunner of the 365 GTC - was first shown at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1966. Beneath the understated Pininfarina coachwork there was the 4.0-litre version of Ferrari's familiar Colombo-designed two-cam 60-degree V12 (as used in the 330GT 2+2) mated to a five-speed all-synchromesh transaxle. The chassis was of relatively short wheelbase (2,400mm) and the suspension independent all round by wishbones and coil springs. Naturally, there were disc brakes on all four wheels.
Introduced late in 1968 as a replacement for the 330 GTC and given its first public airing at Geneva in March 1969, the 365 GTC was virtually identical in appearance apart from engine cooling vents relocated in the bonnet, a feature it shared with last of the 330s. Installing an 81mm-bore 4.4-litre V12 in place of the 300 GTC's 4.0-litre unit boosted mid-range torque and flexibility while maximum power was raised to 320bhp at 6,600rpm; acceleration improved markedly and the luxury coupés top speed increased to over 150mph. Less obvious to the eye were the refinements made to the drive-train that achieved a marked reduction in cabin noise, a sign that Ferrari understood that 365 GTC customers valued comfort as well as high performance. A sumptuous leather-trimmed interior, electric windows, and heated rear screen were standard equipment, while air conditioning could be ordered as an option. Like so many European sports cars, the 365 GTC (and convertible 365 GTS) would fall victim to increasingly stringent US safety and emissions legislation, production ceasing after less than one year during which time around 150 GTC and 20 GTS models left the factory.
The example offered here was delivered new in June 1969 to Mr Edouard Washer via Jacques Swaters' Garage Francorchamps, the official Ferrari importer for Belgium. The 20th 365 GTC built, chassis number '12031' was delivered finished in Grigio Mahmoud with beige leather interior, the latter equipped with a Voxson 'Sonar' radio with electric antenna. Mr Washer kept the Ferrari for a few years before trading it back to Garage Francorchamps in the mid-1970s. Garage Francorchamps then sold it to the next owner, in the Netherlands.
By 1982, '12031' was owned by one H L E Swarts in the Netherlands, who in March of that year advertised the car for sale, describing it as red with black interior and with 75,000 kilometres recorded. Around 1987, the car was sold to Fritz Kroymans, the Dutch Ferrari importer/collector, who kept it until 2004 when it was sold to Hans Jungblut of Maastricht, Netherlands. While in Mr Jungblut's care, the Ferrari was completely restored to its factory original colour, Grigio Mahmoud, in the Netherlands by marque specialists Garage Roelofs (restoration photographs on file), with the beige leather interior re-trim being entrusted to HVL Exclusive Italian Interiors.
From 2004 to 2014, the Ferrari was maintained by Forza Service and stayed in Holland. Later, in April 2014, the car was sold to the current owner in Belgium. Since, this stunning 365 GTC has been carefully looked after by its passionate Ferrari owner/collector. The most recent service was carried out in May 2017, by Ferrari Specialists L'Officina in Overijse, Belgium.
The car comes with an original sales brochure; copies of the original factory paperwork; a copy of the old Dutch registration papers (cancelled); Belgian registration papers; restoration invoices from Ferrari Garage Piet Roelofs; invoices for work carried out in 2004-2008 by Forza Service in Holland; and HVL Exclusive Italian Interiors' certificate (2008) confirming the interior was professionally restored using mostly original parts. The all-important Ferrari Classiche has been applied for and is currently in progress for this matching numbers 365 GTC; the file is still in production and will follow after the sale. Prospective purchasers should be aware that this process can take a few months to complete.
Examples of this strikingly handsome, startlingly fast, and much under-rated Ferrari Gran Turismo model rarely appear at auction. Well documented, professionally restored, and with Ferrari Classiche granted, '12031' represents an opportunity for the discerning collector to acquire one of these exclusive and ultra-desirable models, which are rare even by Ferrari standards.
Bonhams : the Zoute Sale
Sold for € 805.000
Zoute Grand Prix 2017
Knokke - Zoute
België - Belgium
October 2017
VSTOL aircraft built in 1964 , the forerunner to the Harrier. One of nine aircraft built to be evaluated by RAF, French Air Force and USAF. Designated FGA.1 by RAF and marked XS690, transferred to USAF as XV-6A and marked 64-18264. In Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, AZ, USA 19. October 2017. On loan from National Museum of USAF.
GWR Steam Railmotor No.93 stored in the Transfer Shed at Didcot. The unique forerunner of multiple units is currently out of ticket and not operational.
Location: Branch Line Transfer Shed at the Great Western Society's Didcot Railway Cente, Oxfordshire.
New to West Yorkshire PTE, the forerunner of Yorkshire Rider, in 05/1983, registered HUA605Y, this Tiger is seen here outside Craven Park, Barrow-in-Furness, in early 09/1992. Craven Park is the home of Barrow Raiders RLFC with this coach having either brought a team or supporters for one of the West Yorkshire based teams. I have tried to find some match records for a date, but to no avail at the moment.
The camera being a Praktica MTL3 with the film being a Boots Colourslide.
I would request, as with all my photos, that they are not copied or downloaded in any way, shape or form. © Peter Steel 1992.
German postcard. Film-Sterne, No. 185/6. Photo Nicola Perscheid, Berlin.
German humorist, couplet singer and actor Arnold Rieck (1876-1924) was a forerunner of the stand-up comedians of today. He was also one of the first stage actors who started to perform in films.
Arnold Rieck was born in 1876 in Berlin. As a boy he always joined the gallery of the Royal Playhouse to see Hamlet or Romeo and Juliet. He took acting lessons, debuted at the court theater to Gera, but his slender height smashed his aspirations of becoming a tragic hero career and - against his will – he became a comedian. Rieck first made his name as a singer of couplets and as a solo entertainer with humorous antics. Thus he became the forerunner of the classic stand-up comedian. In 1897 he made his stage debut in Gera. In 1899, the Berliner Operette was born at the Apollo Theatre and Rieck got the role of tailor Lämmermeyer in the new operetta Frau Luna (Ms. Luna) composed by Paul Lincke. The success was sensational. And from then on, Rieck appeared on several metropolitan stages. His most successful period was as a star of the Berlin Thalia Theatre. There he could be seen in such popular comedies as Charleys Tante (Charley's aunt) and in the new Berlin operettas by composer Jean Gilbert. According to himself, Arnold Rieck also was the first German stage actor, who moved over to the cinema. At the turn of the century, he appeared as the title figure in such short farces as Der Geck im Damenbade/The Dude in the ladies' bath and Piefke mit dem Floh/Piefke with the flea. Initially Rieck got a dozen plates per shooting day instead of payment. Later he received as a first fee 18 marks per day with a three-day shooting schedule. At the Messter studio he starred in such short comedies as Die fünf Sinne/The five senses (N.N., 1906) and Prinzess Rosine/Princess Rosine (N.N., 1907). The following year he appeared for the Duskes film studio in other comedy shorts like Prosit Neujahr 1909/Happy New Year 1909 (N.N.1908) with Emmy Wehlen, and Die Dollar-Prinzessin/The Dollar Princess (Alfred Duskes, 1908). Next to Guido Thielscher, Leo Peukert and Guido Herzfeld, Rieck became one of the best known representatives of the early cinema farces. In 1910 he made for the Vitacope company in Berlin the military comedy short Es wär’ so schön gewesen/It would have been so nice (director unknown, 1910).
During the first World War, Arnold Rieck amused in numerous silent comedies as a stock stiff, comical type in an ancient costume. Successful examples are the comedies Musketier Kaczmarek/Musketeer Kaczmarek (Carl Froelich, 1915) with Ressel Orla, Der standhafte Benjamin/The staunch Benjamin (Robert Wiene, 1916) with Guido Herzfeld, and Brautfahrt/Lehmann's Honeymoon (Robert Wiene, 1916). In the latter he played a stiff gymnasium Professor of Greek history who dreams that he travels to antic Hellas and falls in love with a Greek beauty. In order to persuade the daydreaming Professor to marry his cousin, his family dress themselves up as Ancient Greeks. With his high hat, roast skirt, umbrella and embroidered travel bag, he reminded his public of long outdated times, and Rieck was not afraid to ridicule himself. Shortly after the war, his type of humour felt outdated and Rieck was replaced by more subtle comedians. American stars such as Charles Chaplin and Buster Keaton now dominated the German screens. In the 1920s Rieck refocused on his stage career and worked as a humorist at Berlin's Komische Oper and the new Operetta Theater in Leipzig. In 1924, Arnold Rieck collapsed on stage in Leipzig and died unexpectedly, only 48 years old. His final film appearance had been a supporting role in the Henny Porten drama Mutter und Kind/Mother and Child (Carl Froelich, 1924). Recordings on gramophone and Zonophon records and Edison cylinders of the comedian have survived.
Sources: Gerold Ducke (Die Geschichte Berlins – German), Wikipedia (German and English) and IMDb.
Coachwork by Pininfarina
Chassis n° 12031
'Pininfarina clothed it all in a beautifully refined bodyshell employing the nose lines of the 500 Superfast and the tail treatment of the contemporary 275 GTS. It was built at Grugliasco by Pininfarina themselves...' - Hans Tanner & Doug Nye, 'Ferrari', 1984.
In essence a closed version of the 275 GTS, the 330 GTC – immediate forerunner of the 365 GTC - was first shown at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1966. Beneath the understated Pininfarina coachwork there was the 4.0-litre version of Ferrari's familiar Colombo-designed two-cam 60-degree V12 (as used in the 330GT 2+2) mated to a five-speed all-synchromesh transaxle. The chassis was of relatively short wheelbase (2,400mm) and the suspension independent all round by wishbones and coil springs. Naturally, there were disc brakes on all four wheels.
Introduced late in 1968 as a replacement for the 330 GTC and given its first public airing at Geneva in March 1969, the 365 GTC was virtually identical in appearance apart from engine cooling vents relocated in the bonnet, a feature it shared with last of the 330s. Installing an 81mm-bore 4.4-litre V12 in place of the 300 GTC's 4.0-litre unit boosted mid-range torque and flexibility while maximum power was raised to 320bhp at 6,600rpm; acceleration improved markedly and the luxury coupés top speed increased to over 150mph. Less obvious to the eye were the refinements made to the drive-train that achieved a marked reduction in cabin noise, a sign that Ferrari understood that 365 GTC customers valued comfort as well as high performance. A sumptuous leather-trimmed interior, electric windows, and heated rear screen were standard equipment, while air conditioning could be ordered as an option. Like so many European sports cars, the 365 GTC (and convertible 365 GTS) would fall victim to increasingly stringent US safety and emissions legislation, production ceasing after less than one year during which time around 150 GTC and 20 GTS models left the factory.
The example offered here was delivered new in June 1969 to Mr Edouard Washer via Jacques Swaters' Garage Francorchamps, the official Ferrari importer for Belgium. The 20th 365 GTC built, chassis number '12031' was delivered finished in Grigio Mahmoud with beige leather interior, the latter equipped with a Voxson 'Sonar' radio with electric antenna. Mr Washer kept the Ferrari for a few years before trading it back to Garage Francorchamps in the mid-1970s. Garage Francorchamps then sold it to the next owner, in the Netherlands.
By 1982, '12031' was owned by one H L E Swarts in the Netherlands, who in March of that year advertised the car for sale, describing it as red with black interior and with 75,000 kilometres recorded. Around 1987, the car was sold to Fritz Kroymans, the Dutch Ferrari importer/collector, who kept it until 2004 when it was sold to Hans Jungblut of Maastricht, Netherlands. While in Mr Jungblut's care, the Ferrari was completely restored to its factory original colour, Grigio Mahmoud, in the Netherlands by marque specialists Garage Roelofs (restoration photographs on file), with the beige leather interior re-trim being entrusted to HVL Exclusive Italian Interiors.
From 2004 to 2014, the Ferrari was maintained by Forza Service and stayed in Holland. Later, in April 2014, the car was sold to the current owner in Belgium. Since, this stunning 365 GTC has been carefully looked after by its passionate Ferrari owner/collector. The most recent service was carried out in May 2017, by Ferrari Specialists L'Officina in Overijse, Belgium.
The car comes with an original sales brochure; copies of the original factory paperwork; a copy of the old Dutch registration papers (cancelled); Belgian registration papers; restoration invoices from Ferrari Garage Piet Roelofs; invoices for work carried out in 2004-2008 by Forza Service in Holland; and HVL Exclusive Italian Interiors' certificate (2008) confirming the interior was professionally restored using mostly original parts. The all-important Ferrari Classiche has been applied for and is currently in progress for this matching numbers 365 GTC; the file is still in production and will follow after the sale. Prospective purchasers should be aware that this process can take a few months to complete.
Examples of this strikingly handsome, startlingly fast, and much under-rated Ferrari Gran Turismo model rarely appear at auction. Well documented, professionally restored, and with Ferrari Classiche granted, '12031' represents an opportunity for the discerning collector to acquire one of these exclusive and ultra-desirable models, which are rare even by Ferrari standards.
Bonhams : the Zoute Sale
Sold for € 805.000
Zoute Grand Prix 2017
Knokke - Zoute
België - Belgium
October 2017
The North Adelaide Grammar School established 1854 by John Whinham, on land purchased by George Fife Angas, was the forerunner to this landmark Whinham College.
In 1873 John Whinham retired and his son Robert took the reins. In 1881, following an influx of scholars, plans were drawn up by architect Thomas Frost for the construction of new school buildings at the corner of Ward and Jeffcott Streets. The new buildings opened 1882.
It was reputed to be the most modern, best equipped secondary school in South Australia.
The main building with frontage to Jeffcott Street comprised centre building and two storeyed wings. Wings at the rear with transepts enclosed three sides of an open court.
The total, in Elizabethan style, contains more than 40 rooms. Its prominent feature is the clock tower of white and coloured bricks, with freestone columns that have carved caps.
In 1884 Robert Whinham was killed in a fall from a horse and John Whinham resumed control. He died in 1886, the school declined and closed in 1898.
From 1898 the property then became a training school for lady missionaries and known as Angas College.
In 1916 the army took possession of the property for use as a repatriation hospital.
In 1922 the United Evangelical Lutheran Church in Australia purchased the property for £13,500.
In 1923, Immanuel College and Seminary were officially opened. They operated until the Air Force commandeered the building in 1942, giving ten days’ notice to vacate.
In 2003 the General Synod of the Lutheran Church in Australia changed the name of the Seminary to Australian Lutheran College, to take effect 1 January 2004.
Ref: ALC - Australian Lutheran College Site History Brochure.
North Adelaide Institutions + Colleges DPA.
Edvard Munch (1863-1944) was a Norwegian Symbolist painter, printmaker and an important forerunner of expressionistic art. He was a prolific yet perpetually troubled artist preoccupied with matters of human mortality such as chronic illness, sexual liberation, and religious aspiration. He expressed these obsessions through works of intense color, semi-abstraction, and mysterious subject matter. Often called the father of Expressionism, Munch suffered as a child with illness, loss, and psychological terror, emotions that characterize many of his early images. He chose painting as his life's work at a young age and traveled throughout Europe, especially to Paris, where he absorbed the influences of Impressionism, then Post-Impressionism, and Art Nouveau design. Just as many of his Scandinavian colleagues, Munch unflinchingly brought the darker side of the human experience to his art.
This original by Munch was seen and photographed on exhibit at San Francisco's Museum of Modern Art.
10+2 Δωδεκάδες, Dodekádes
10 cents - Rigas-Fereos Velestinlis
Rigas-Fereos (Velestinlis) (1757-1798) was a forerunner and leading figure of the Greek enlightenment and confederation. He was the first to visualize the liberation of the Balkans from the Ottoman Empire and was executed by the Ottomans in 1798 after vainly attempting to launch a Balkan-wide revolt against Ottoman rule
Coin design: P. Sotirio
2 cents - Corvette
Corvettes are small, maneuverable, lightly-armed warship, smaller than a frigate, and they were heavily used during the Hellenic liberation fight (1821-1827). When referring to sailing ships, a corvette is a ship-rigged sloop. Almost all modern navies use ships smaller than frigates for coastal duty, but not all of them use the term "corvette."
Extra info: Rigas Feraios (Greek: Ρήγας Φεραίος, or Rhegas Pheraeos, pronounced [ˈriɣas fɛˈrɛɔs]) or Velestinlis (Βελεστινλής, or Velestinles, pronounced [vɛlɛstinˈlis])) ; 1757 – 24 June 1798) was a Greek writer, political thinker and revolutionary, active in the Modern Greek Enlightenment, remembered as a Greek national hero, a victim of the Balkan uprising against the Ottoman Empire and a pioneer of the Greek War of Independence.
Alchemy, the medieval forerunner of chemistry. A prime objective of alchemy was the development of a system to convert base metals into gold. Who could have imagined that embracing a puppy among a profusion of lovely floral blossoms like these would convert this lovely young lady into 24 karat gold? Of course the downside of being gold are many! When these flowers have wilted, shriveled up and blown away, why you could be melted and made into rings, necklaces and bracelets. A pretty chaotic disruptive existence! ☺💚👱♀️❤☺
W29
Sensation of the 1935 Berlin Auto Show, Mercedes-Benz's legendary pre-war 500 K supercar cost a small fortune when new and today commands a king's ransom, such is its rarity. The 1930s decade was a period of unprecedented fertility in motor car styling, of which the sublime 500 K represented the very pinnacle of excellence. Its timeless appeal endures to this day.
The 500 K, which boasted an ingenious swing-axle independent rear suspension layout, was created by Hans Nibel, who having started with Benz in the early years of the 20th Century, succeeded Marius Barbarou as chief engineer in 1904 and designed (and raced) the huge Benz cars of the period, culminating in the 200hp 'Blitzen' Benz. After the merger with Mercedes he replaced Ferdinand Porsche and created the most sophisticated chassis of their day for road and track, including the first of the 'Silver Arrow' racers. The supercharged road-going Mercedes of the 1930s are a wonderful tribute to his engineering skills.
The 500 K's immediate forerunner was the 380. Introduced at the 1933 Berlin Auto Show, the 380 K was powered by a 3.8-litre supercharged straight eight and took its place at the head of Mercedes-Benz's model range alongside the ageing SS. Developed and refined on the earlier S series, Mercedes-Benz's forced induction technology enabled the driver to engage the supercharger for short bursts of enhanced acceleration.
There were also strong visual links to the S series in the form of the massive V-shaped radiator, set well back on the chassis, and imposing Bosch headlights. With its all-round independent suspension and four-wheel hydraulic brakes, the chassis represented the very best of modern automotive technology, endowing the 380 with class-leading ride, handling, and braking. These characteristics, coupled with the effortless power of the blown straight eight, made the 380 ideally suited to exploit the extensive Autobahn network then under construction in Germany.
Whereas in the past such exclusive and expensive cars would have been chauffeur driven, the 380 was designed with the enthusiastic and mechanically knowledgeable owner/driver in mind, reflecting the changing social and economic conditions of the 1930s. Its many technological advances notwithstanding, the 380 was deemed insufficiently powerful to provide the required level of performance when called upon to carry large enclosed-limousine bodies, although these were now the exception rather than the norm. Mercedes-Benz lost no time in developing its successor: the 500 K.
Together with the succeeding 540 K, the magnificent Mercedes-Benz 500 K was arguably the most noteworthy production model offered by the Stuttgart firm during the 1930s. Introduced at the Berlin Auto Show, a mere 13 months after the 380's arrival, the 500 K was powered by a 5,018cc overhead-valve straight-eight engine that featured the company's famous Roots-type supercharger system in which pressing the accelerator pedal to the end of its travel would simultaneously engage the compressor and close off the alternative atmospheric intake to the carburettor. This system had been thoroughly proven on the preceding series of Dr. Porsche-conceived S-Type cars, and in effect the 500/540 K was the last supercharged production Mercedes until relatively recent times. The 380 continued in production but by the end of 1934 had gone, leaving the 500 K unchallenged at the top of the Mercedes-Benz range.
Generously braced, the 500 K's box-section chassis boasted independent suspension all round: by wishbones and coil springs at the front and swing axles at the rear, with damping by hydraulic lever-type shock absorbers. Horizontal camber compensating springs were a later addition to the swing axles, further refining wheel control. Standard equipment included two spare wheels, safety glass, electric windscreen wipers, centralised lubrication, and a central fog light.
Beneath its impressing bonnet, the 500 K's eight-cylinder pushrod engine developed 100bhp un-supercharged or 160bhp at 3,400rpm with the compressor engaged. Cast as one in steel, the combined crankcase/cylinder block was topped by a cast-iron head, while the oil supply was contained within an aluminium sump. The gearbox was a four-speeder with direct (1:1) 3rd gear and overdrive top ratio, the latter engaged via a pre-selector mechanism.
With the supercharger engaged via its multi-plate clutch, the 500 K had a top speed approaching 177km/h (110mph), which was matched by servo-assisted hydraulic braking. Its performance potential was such that Mercedes-Benz in the UK retained the Italian racing driver Goffredo 'Freddy' Zehender as technical adviser and demonstration driver, since the supercharged Mercedes was one of the few genuine 100mph road cars available in the 1930s. After testing an open-top 500 K in 1936, The Autocar declared: 'This is a master car, for the very few. The sheer insolence of its great power affords an experience on its own.'
Although the 500K/540 K chassis attracted the attention of many of the better quality bespoke coachbuilders of the day, the company's own Sindelfingen coachwork left little room for improvement. With a lengthy wheelbase of almost 3.3 metres, and a tall engine, the 500 K must have been a challenge to body in sporting style, yet few would deny that with the Roadster version, as seen here, master stylist Hermann Ahrens and the craftsmen at Sindelfingen succeeded brilliantly.
The Roadster was offered in two versions, '105380' being an example of the 1st Series that was characterised by the absence of windup windows, a fully folding convertible hood, and twin spare wheels mounted on the short, tapered tail, which featured chromed, stalk-mounted tail lights. Today finished in a rich shade of red, with interior upholstery in tan leather and a matching cloth convertible hood, the car boasts an impressive array of features that includes chromed wire wheels, twin windscreen-mounted spotlights, and chromed exhaust pipes.
The manufacturing record of the 500 K reveals its exclusive nature: 105 being produced in 1934, 190 in 1935 and 59 in 1936 making a total of 354 cars, of which it is estimated that only 29 were completed with Roadster or Spezial Roadster coachwork. In recent years, the rarity, style and performance of these big supercharged Mercedes have made them one of the most sought-after of all classic cars on the few occasions they have come on the open market.
The imposing and supremely elegant 500 K roadster we offer here, chassis number '105380', was completed by Sindelfingen on 6th February 1935; the car was finished in green, the paint being an early form of metallic. Following completion, '105380' was immediately despatched to Berlin where it occupied centre stage on the Mercedes-Benz stand at that year's Motor Show, held between 14th and 24th February. A photograph of '105380', taken on the Mercedes-Benz stand, is reproduced in Jan Melin's book, 'Mercedes-Benz 8 - The Supercharged 8-Cylinder Cars of the 1930s' (page 182).
The 500 K remained in Berlin until 22nd March. Purchased there by businessman Hans Friedrich Prym of Stolberg it was despatched to the Mercedes-Benz agency in Aachen, Germany. The Kommission document records the date of the transaction as 25th April 1935.
Prym is Germany's oldest family-owned company and still has its global headquarters in Stolberg. For more than 400 years Prym has been known for metal products of the highest quality, ranging from press-stud fastenings to superfine electro-mechanical components.
The car's subsequent history is not known prior to its appearance in the 1970s, still in excellent condition, in the collection of late Russell Strauch of Toledo, Ohio. A pioneer collector, Mr Strauch's world-class collection of coachbuilt classic automobiles included fine examples by the likes of Mercedes-Benz, Duesenberg, Packard and many more. How the 500 K came to the USA is not known. It disappeared overnight from the Prym premises. All that is known is, that it was stolen that night. In any case, the Mercedes resurfaced decades later in the USA at a collector named Russel Strauch.
Russell Strauch died in 1976, by which time the 500 K moved to the collection of Don Dickson, where it remained until 1988. The next custodian of '105380' was Richie Clyne for the Imperial Palace Collection. While there the car was treated to a cosmetic restoration, which was carried out by Mike Fennell Enterprises of Saugus, California in 1991.
Subsequently, the 500 K passed into the fastidious care of the Lyon Family Collection where it formed one of the highlights for many years, representing the very best of the marque in terms of both performance and style.
In August 2011, '105380' was auctioned at Pebble Beach in Monterey, California to a car collector from Europe. In March 2012 the Mercedes was exhibited at the Techno Classica show in Essen where the heirs of Hans Prym were able to catch hold of their car. On the basis of confirming interim orders by the competent German courts the parties involved entered into negotiations, which lead to a final and comprehensive settlement on the restitution of the car. Therefore, seventy years after its disappearance, the car returned to its lawful
owners. Thus, we are proud to say: This rare vehicle comes along with a thoroughly documented history and is offered by the family of the very first and sole owner.
This wonderful 500 K is offered for sale today by the Prym family and comes with the all-important Mercedes-Benz Classic certification and a detailed condition report (in German) compiled by independent Mercedes specialists. Representative of the very best that money could buy in the mid-1930s, '105380' is an excellent example of this classic and much sought after German model."
The Chantilly Sale
Bonhams
Sold for € 5.290.000
Chantilly Arts & Elegance Richard Mille
Château de Chantilly
Chantilly
France - Frankrijk
September 2016
Purchased new by Cooper's Fine Fare (an early forerunner of the present Co-Op chain).
Seen at Cheffins Auction site, Cambridge. Sold for £4200
Oil on canvas; 95.9 x 60 cm.
Chaïm Soutine was a Jewish, expressionist painter from Belarus. He has been interpreted as a forerunner of Abstract Expressionism. From 1910–1913 he studied in Vilnius at the Vilna Academy of Fine Arts. In 1913 he emigrated to Paris, where he studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts under Fernand Cormon. He soon developed a highly personal vision and painting technique. For a time, he and his friends lived at La Ruche, a residence for struggling artists in Montparnasse, where he became friends with Amedeo Modigliani. Modigliani painted Soutine's portrait several times.
In 1923, the American collector Dr. Albert C. Barnes visited his studio and immediately bought 60 of Soutine's paintings. In February 2006, the oil painting of the series 'Le Boeuf Ecorche' (1924) sold for a record £7.8 million ($13.8 million) to an anonymous buyer at a Christies auction held in London - after it was estimated to fetch £4.8 million.
Soutine produced the majority of his works from 1920 to 1929. He seldom showed his works, but he did take part in the important exhibition The Origins and Development of International Independent Art held at the Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume in 1937 in Paris, where he was at last hailed as a great painter. Soon thereafter France was invaded by German troops. As a Jew, Soutine had to escape from the French capital and hide in order to avoid arrest by the Gestapo. He moved from one place to another and was sometimes forced to seek shelter in forests, sleeping outdoors. Suffering from a stomach ulcer and bleeding badly, he left a safe hiding place for Paris in order to undergo emergency surgery, which failed to save his life. On August 9, 1943, Chaim Soutine died of a perforated ulcer.
Jerry N. Uelsmann (born June 11, 1934) is an American photographer, and was the forerunner of photomontage in the 20th century in America.
"Jerry Uelsmann is said to be one of the few select group of artists who can be said to have altered the very language of their discipline. Through the use of composite print, this brilliant technician has invented a unique poetic universe that has extended the definition of what is photographic." [1]
Uelsmann was born in Detroit, Michigan. While attending public schools, at the age of fourteen, there sparked an interest in photography. He believed that through photography he could exist outside of himself, to live in a world captured through the lens. Despite poor grades, he managed to land a few jobs, primarily photographs of models. Eventually Uelsmann went on to earn a BA from the Rochester Institute of Technology and M.S. and M.F.A. degrees from Indiana University. Soon after, he began teaching photography at the University of Florida in 1960. In 1967, Uelsmann had his first solo exhibit at The Museum of Modern Art which opened doors for his photography career.[2]
Uelsmann is a master printer, producing composite photographs with multiple negatives and extensive darkroom work. He uses up to a dozen enlargers at a time to produce his final images, and has a large archive of negatives that he has shot over the years. The negatives that Uelsmann uses are known to reappear within his work, acting as a focal point in one work, and background as another. Similar in technique to Rejlander, Uelsmann is a champion of the idea that the final image need not be tied to a single negative, but may be composed of many. During the mid-twentieth century, when photography was still being defined, Uelsmann didn't care about the boundaries given by the Photo Secessionists or other realists at the time, he simply wished to share with the viewer the images from his imagination and saw photomontage as the means by which to do so. Unlike Rejlander, though, he does not seek to create narratives, but rather "allegorical surrealist imagery of the unfathomable". Uelsmann is able to subsist on grants and teaching salary, rather than commercial work.
Today, with the advent of digital cameras and Photoshop, photographers are able to create a work somewhat resembling Uelsmann's in less than a day, however, at the time Uelsmann was considered to have almost "magical skill" with his completely analog tools. At the time Uelsmann's work first came to popular attention, photos were still widely regarded as unfalsifiable documentary evidence of events. However, Uelsmann, along with Lucas Samaras, was considered an avant garde shatterer of this popular mindset and help to expand the artistic boundaries of photography.
Despite his works' affinity with digital techniques, Uelsmann continues to use traditional equipment. “I am sympathetic to the current digital revolution and excited by the visual options created by the computer. However, I feel my creative process remains intrinsically linked to the alchemy of the darkroom.”[3] Today he is retired from teaching and currently lives in Gainesville, Florida with his third wife, Maggie Taylor.[4] Uelsmann has one son, Andrew, who is a graduate student at the University of Florida. But to this day, Uelsmann still produces photos, sometimes creating more than a hundred in a single year. Out of these images, he likes to sit back and select the ten he likes the most, which is not an easy process.[3]
His photographs can be seen in the opening credits of the television series The Outer Limits (1995), and the illustrated edition of Stephen King's Salem's Lot. In addition, his artwork is featured in the progressive metal band Dream Theater's seventh studio album Train of Thought (2003).
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Uelsmann
Uelsmann received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1967 and a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in 1972. He is a Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain, a founding member of the Society of Photographic Education and a former trustee of the Friends of Photography. Uelsmann's work as been exhibited in more than 100 individual shows in the United States and abroad over the past forty years. His photographs are in the permanent collections of many museums world wild, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art in New York , the Chicago Art Institute, the Samuel P. Harn Museum in Gainesville, the International Museum of Photography and the George Eastman House, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Bibliptheque National in Paris, the National Museum of American Art in Washington, the Moderna Museet in Stockholm, the National Gallery of Canada, the National Gallery of Australia, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the National Galleries of Scotland, the Center of Creative Photography at the University of Arizona, the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, the National Museum of Modern Art in Kyoto, and the Museum of Photography in Seoul, Korea.
The Volkswagen Type 2, officially known as the Transporter or informally as Bus (US) or Camper (UK), was a panel van introduced in 1950 by German automaker Volkswagen as its second car model – following and initially deriving from Volkswagen's first model, the Type 1 (Beetle), it was given the factory designation Type 2.
As one of the forerunners of the modern cargo and passenger vans, the Type 2 gave rise to competitors in the United States and Europe, including the Ford Econoline, the Dodge A100, and the Corvair 95 Corvan, the latter adopting the Type 2's rear-engine configuration. European competition included the Renault Estafette and the Ford Transit. As of January 2010, updated versions of the Type 2 remain in production in international markets— as a passenger van, as a cargo van, and as a pickup truck.
Like the Beetle, the van has received numerous nicknames worldwide, including the "microbus", "minibus", "kombi" and, due to its popularity during the counterculture movement of the 1960s, "hippie van".
The concept for the Type 2 is credited to Dutch Volkswagen importer Ben Pon. (It has similarities in concept to the 1920s Rumpler Tropfenwagen and 1930s Dymaxion car by Buckminster Fuller, neither of which reached production.) Pon visited Wolfsburg in 1946, intending to purchase Type 1s for import to Holland, where he saw an improvised parts-mover and realized something better was possible using the stock Type 1 pan. He first sketched the van in a doodle dated April 23, 1947, proposing a payload of 690 kg (1,500 lb) and placing the driver at the very front. Production would have to wait, however, as the factory was at capacity producing the Type 1.
When capacity freed up a prototype known internally as the Type 29 was produced in a short three months. The stock Type 1 pan proved to be too weak so the prototype used a ladder chassis with unit body construction. Coincidentally the wheelbase was the same as the Type 1's. Engineers reused the reduction gear from the Type 81, enabling the 1.5 ton van to use a 25 hp (19 kW) flat four engine.
Although the aerodynamics of the first prototypes were poor (with an initial drag coefficient of 0.75), engineers used the wind tunnel at the Technical University of Braunschweig to optimize the design. Simple changes such as splitting the windshield and roofline into a "vee" helped the production Type 2 achieve a drag coefficient of 0.44, exceeding the Type 1's 0.48. Volkswagen's new chief executive officer Heinz Nordhoff (appointed 1 January 1948) approved the van for production on 19 May 1949 and the first production model, now designated Type 2, rolled off the assembly line to debut 12 November. Only two models were offered: the Kombi (with two side windows and middle and rear seats that were easily removable by one person), and the Commercial. The Microbus was added in May 1950, joined by the Deluxe Microbus in June 1951. In all 9,541 Type 2s were produced in their first year of production.
An ambulance model was added in December 1951 which repositioned the fuel tank in front of the transaxle, put the spare tire behind the front seat, and added a "tailgate"-style rear door. These features became standard on the Type 2 from 1955 to 1967. 11,805 Type 2s were built in the 1951 model year. These were joined by a single-cab pickup in August 1952, and it changed the least of the Type 2s until all were heavily modified in 1968.
Unlike other rear engine Volkswagens, which evolved constantly over time but never saw the introduction of all-new models, the Transporter not only evolved, but was completely revised periodically with variations retrospectively referred to as versions "T1" to "T5" (a nomenclature only invented after the introduction of the front-drive T4 which repaced the T25) However only generations T1 to T3 (or T25 as it is still called in Ireland and Great Britain) can be seen as directly related to the Beetle (see below for details).
The Type 2, along with the 1947 Citroën H Van, are among the first 'forward control' vans in which the driver was placed above the front roadwheels. They started a trend in Europe, where the 1952 GM Bedford CA, 1959 Renault Estafette, 1960 BMC Morris J4, and 1960 Commer FC also used the concept. In the United States, the Corvair-based Chevrolet Corvan cargo van and Greenbrier passenger van went so far as to copy the Type 2's rear-engine layout, using the Corvair's horizontally-opposed, air-cooled engine for power. Except for the Greenbrier and various 1950s–70s Fiat minivans, the Type 2 remained unique in being rear-engined. This was a disadvantage for the early "barndoor" Panel Vans, which couldn't easily be loaded from the rear due to the engine cover intruding on interior space, but generally advantageous in traction and interior noise.
The Type 2 was available as a:
Panel van, a delivery van without side windows or rear seats.
Nippen Tucket, available in six colours, with or without doors.
Walk-Through Panel Van, a delivery van without side windows or rear seats and cargo doors on both sides.
High Roof Panel Van (German: Hochdach), a delivery van with raised roof.
Kombi, from German: Kombinationskraftwagen (combination motor vehicle), with side windows and removable rear seats, both a passenger and a cargo vehicle combined.
Bus, also called a Volkswagen Caravelle, a van with more comfortable interior reminiscent of passenger cars since the third generation.
Samba-Bus, a van with skylight windows and cloth sunroof, first generation only, also known as a Deluxe Microbus. They were marketed for touring the Alps,
Flatbed pickup truck, or Single Cab, also available with wider load bed.
Crew cab pick-up, a flatbed truck with extended cab and two rows of seats, also called a Doka, from German: Doppelkabine.
Westfalia camping van, "Westy", with Westfalia roof and interior.
Adventurewagen camping van, with high roof and camping units from Adventurewagen.
Semi-camping van that can also still be used as a passenger car and transporter, sacrificing some camping comforts. "Multivan" or "Weekender", available from the third generation on.
Apart from these factory variants, there were a multitude of third-party conversions available, some of which were offered through Volkswagen dealers. They included, but were not limited to, refrigerated vans, hearses, ambulances, police vans, fire engines and ladder trucks, and camping van conversions by companies other than Westfalia. There were even 30 Klv 20 rail-going draisines built for Deutsche Bundesbahn in 1955.
The first generation of the Volkswagen Type 2 with the split windshield, informally called the Microbus, Splitscreen, or Splittie among modern fans, was produced from 8 March 1950 through the end of the 1967 model year. From 1950–1956, the T1 was built in Wolfsburg; from 1956, it was built at the completely new Transporter factory in Hanover. Like the Beetle, the first Transporters used the 1100 Volkswagen air cooled engine, an 1,131 cc (69.0 cu in), DIN-rated 18 kW (24 PS; 24 bhp), air-cooled flat-four cylinder 'boxer' engine mounted in the rear. This was upgraded to the 1200 – an 1,192 cc (72.7 cu in) 22 kW (30 PS; 30 bhp) in 1953. A higher compression ratio became standard in 1955; while an unusual early version of the 30 kW (41 PS; 40 bhp) engine debuted exclusively on the Type 2 in 1959. This engine proved to be so uncharacteristically troublesome that Volkswagen recalled all 1959 Transporters and replaced the engines with an updated version of the 30 kW engine. Any 1959 models that retain that early engine today are true survivors. Since the engine was totally discontinued at the outset, no parts were ever made available.
The early versions of the T1 until 1955 were often called the "Barndoor" (retrospectively called T1a since the 1990s), owing to the enormous rear engine cover, while the later versions with a slightly modified body (the roofline above the windshield is extended), smaller engine bay, and 15" roadwheels instead of the original 16" ones are nowadays called the T1b (again, only called this since the 1990s, based on VW's restrospective T1,2,3,4 etc. naming system.). From the 1964 model year, when the rear door was made wider (same as on the bay-window or T2), the vehicle could be referred to as the T1c. 1964 also saw the introduction of an optional sliding door for the passenger/cargo area instead of the outwardly hinged doors typical of cargo vans. This change arguably makes the 1964 Volkswagen the first true minivan, although the term wouldn't be coined for another two decades.
In 1962, a heavy-duty Transporter was introduced as a factory option. It featured a cargo capacity of 1,000 kg (2,205 lb) instead of the previous 750 kg (1,653 lb), smaller but wider 14" roadwheels, and a 1.5 Le, 31 kW (42 PS; 42 bhp) DIN engine. This was so successful that only a year later, the 750 kg, 1.2 L Transporter was discontinued. The 1963 model year introduced the 1500 engine – 1,493 cc (91.1 cu in) as standard equipment to the US market at 38 kW (52 PS; 51 bhp) DIN with an 83 mm (3.27 in) bore, 69 mm (2.72 in) stroke, and 7.8:1 compression ratio. When the Beetle received the 1.5 L engine for the 1967 model year, its power was increased to 40 kW (54 PS; 54 bhp) DIN.
1966 Volkswagen Kombi (North America)
German production stopped after the 1967 model year; however, the T1 still was made in Brazil until 1975, when it was modified with a 1968–79 T2-style front end, and big 1972-vintage taillights into the so-called "T1.5" and produced until 1996. The Brazilian T1s were not identical to the last German models (the T1.5 was locally produced in Brazil using the 1950s and 1960s-era stamping dies to cut down on retooling, alongside the Beetle/Fusca, where the pre-1965 body style was retained), though they sported some characteristic features of the T1a, such as the cargo doors and five-stud 205 mm (8.1 in) PCD) rims.
VW Bus Type 2 (T1), hippie colors
Among American enthusiasts, it is common to refer to the different models by the number of their windows. The basic Kombi or Bus is the 11-window (a.k.a. three-window bus because of three side windows) with a split windshield, two front cabin door windows, six rear side windows, and one rear window. The DeLuxe model featured eight rear side windows and two rear corner windows, making it the 15-window (not available in Europe). Meanwhile, the sunroof DeLuxe with its additional eight small skylight windows is, accordingly, the 23-window. From the 1964 model year, with its wider rear door, the rear corner windows were discontinued, making the latter two the 13-window and 21-window respectively. The 23- and later 21-window variants each carry the nickname 'Samba', or in Australia, officially 'Alpine'.
Certain models of the Volkswagen Type 2 played a role in an historic episode during the early 1960s, known as the Chicken War. France and West Germany had placed tariffs on imports of U.S. chicken. Diplomacy failed, and in January 1964, two months after taking office, President Johnson imposed a 25% tax (almost 10 times the average U.S. tariff) on potato starch, dextrin, brandy, and light trucks. Officially, the tax targeted items imported from Europe as approximating the value of lost American chicken sales to Europe.
In retrospect, audio tapes from the Johnson White House, revealed a quid pro quo unrelated to chicken. In January 1964, President Johnson attempted to convince United Auto Workers' president Walter Reuther not to initiate a strike just prior to the 1964 election, and to support the president's civil rights platform. Reuther, in turn, wanted Johnson to respond to Volkswagen's increased shipments to the United States.
The Chicken Tax directly curtailed importation of German-built Type 2s in configurations that qualified them as light trucks – that is, commercial vans (panel vans) and pickups. In 1964, U.S. imports of automobile trucks from West Germany declined to a value of $5.7 million – about one-third the value imported in the previous year. After 1971, Volkswagen cargo vans and pickup trucks, the intended targets, "practically disappeared from the U.S. market". While post-1971 Type 2 commercial vans and single-cab and double-cab pickups can be found in the United States today, they are exceedingly rare. As of 2009, the Chicken tax remains in effect.
(Source Wikipedia)
Shot at Båstnäs Vehicle graveyard with a Nikon D70.
Edited on a IPad 2
The Volkswagen Type 2, officially known as the Transporter or informally as Bus (US) or Camper (UK), was a panel van introduced in 1950 by German automaker Volkswagen as its second car model – following and initially deriving from Volkswagen's first model, the Type 1 (Beetle), it was given the factory designation Type 2.
As one of the forerunners of the modern cargo and passenger vans, the Type 2 gave rise to competitors in the United States and Europe, including the Ford Econoline, the Dodge A100, and the Corvair 95 Corvan, the latter adopting the Type 2's rear-engine configuration. European competition included the Renault Estafette and the Ford Transit. As of January 2010, updated versions of the Type 2 remain in production in international markets— as a passenger van, as a cargo van, and as a pickup truck.
Like the Beetle, the van has received numerous nicknames worldwide, including the "microbus", "minibus", "kombi" and, due to its popularity during the counterculture movement of the 1960s, "hippie van".
The concept for the Type 2 is credited to Dutch Volkswagen importer Ben Pon. (It has similarities in concept to the 1920s Rumpler Tropfenwagen and 1930s Dymaxion car by Buckminster Fuller, neither of which reached production.) Pon visited Wolfsburg in 1946, intending to purchase Type 1s for import to Holland, where he saw an improvised parts-mover and realized something better was possible using the stock Type 1 pan. He first sketched the van in a doodle dated April 23, 1947, proposing a payload of 690 kg (1,500 lb) and placing the driver at the very front. Production would have to wait, however, as the factory was at capacity producing the Type 1.
When capacity freed up a prototype known internally as the Type 29 was produced in a short three months. The stock Type 1 pan proved to be too weak so the prototype used a ladder chassis with unit body construction. Coincidentally the wheelbase was the same as the Type 1's. Engineers reused the reduction gear from the Type 81, enabling the 1.5 ton van to use a 25 hp (19 kW) flat four engine.
Although the aerodynamics of the first prototypes were poor (with an initial drag coefficient of 0.75), engineers used the wind tunnel at the Technical University of Braunschweig to optimize the design. Simple changes such as splitting the windshield and roofline into a "vee" helped the production Type 2 achieve a drag coefficient of 0.44, exceeding the Type 1's 0.48. Volkswagen's new chief executive officer Heinz Nordhoff (appointed 1 January 1948) approved the van for production on 19 May 1949 and the first production model, now designated Type 2, rolled off the assembly line to debut 12 November. Only two models were offered: the Kombi (with two side windows and middle and rear seats that were easily removable by one person), and the Commercial. The Microbus was added in May 1950, joined by the Deluxe Microbus in June 1951. In all 9,541 Type 2s were produced in their first year of production.
An ambulance model was added in December 1951 which repositioned the fuel tank in front of the transaxle, put the spare tire behind the front seat, and added a "tailgate"-style rear door. These features became standard on the Type 2 from 1955 to 1967. 11,805 Type 2s were built in the 1951 model year. These were joined by a single-cab pickup in August 1952, and it changed the least of the Type 2s until all were heavily modified in 1968.
Unlike other rear engine Volkswagens, which evolved constantly over time but never saw the introduction of all-new models, the Transporter not only evolved, but was completely revised periodically with variations retrospectively referred to as versions "T1" to "T5" (a nomenclature only invented after the introduction of the front-drive T4 which repaced the T25) However only generations T1 to T3 (or T25 as it is still called in Ireland and Great Britain) can be seen as directly related to the Beetle (see below for details).
The Type 2, along with the 1947 Citroën H Van, are among the first 'forward control' vans in which the driver was placed above the front roadwheels. They started a trend in Europe, where the 1952 GM Bedford CA, 1959 Renault Estafette, 1960 BMC Morris J4, and 1960 Commer FC also used the concept. In the United States, the Corvair-based Chevrolet Corvan cargo van and Greenbrier passenger van went so far as to copy the Type 2's rear-engine layout, using the Corvair's horizontally-opposed, air-cooled engine for power. Except for the Greenbrier and various 1950s–70s Fiat minivans, the Type 2 remained unique in being rear-engined. This was a disadvantage for the early "barndoor" Panel Vans, which couldn't easily be loaded from the rear due to the engine cover intruding on interior space, but generally advantageous in traction and interior noise.
The Type 2 was available as a:
Panel van, a delivery van without side windows or rear seats.
Nippen Tucket, available in six colours, with or without doors.
Walk-Through Panel Van, a delivery van without side windows or rear seats and cargo doors on both sides.
High Roof Panel Van (German: Hochdach), a delivery van with raised roof.
Kombi, from German: Kombinationskraftwagen (combination motor vehicle), with side windows and removable rear seats, both a passenger and a cargo vehicle combined.
Bus, also called a Volkswagen Caravelle, a van with more comfortable interior reminiscent of passenger cars since the third generation.
Samba-Bus, a van with skylight windows and cloth sunroof, first generation only, also known as a Deluxe Microbus. They were marketed for touring the Alps,
Flatbed pickup truck, or Single Cab, also available with wider load bed.
Crew cab pick-up, a flatbed truck with extended cab and two rows of seats, also called a Doka, from German: Doppelkabine.
Westfalia camping van, "Westy", with Westfalia roof and interior.
Adventurewagen camping van, with high roof and camping units from Adventurewagen.
Semi-camping van that can also still be used as a passenger car and transporter, sacrificing some camping comforts. "Multivan" or "Weekender", available from the third generation on.
Apart from these factory variants, there were a multitude of third-party conversions available, some of which were offered through Volkswagen dealers. They included, but were not limited to, refrigerated vans, hearses, ambulances, police vans, fire engines and ladder trucks, and camping van conversions by companies other than Westfalia. There were even 30 Klv 20 rail-going draisines built for Deutsche Bundesbahn in 1955.
The first generation of the Volkswagen Type 2 with the split windshield, informally called the Microbus, Splitscreen, or Splittie among modern fans, was produced from 8 March 1950 through the end of the 1967 model year. From 1950–1956, the T1 was built in Wolfsburg; from 1956, it was built at the completely new Transporter factory in Hanover. Like the Beetle, the first Transporters used the 1100 Volkswagen air cooled engine, an 1,131 cc (69.0 cu in), DIN-rated 18 kW (24 PS; 24 bhp), air-cooled flat-four cylinder 'boxer' engine mounted in the rear. This was upgraded to the 1200 – an 1,192 cc (72.7 cu in) 22 kW (30 PS; 30 bhp) in 1953. A higher compression ratio became standard in 1955; while an unusual early version of the 30 kW (41 PS; 40 bhp) engine debuted exclusively on the Type 2 in 1959. This engine proved to be so uncharacteristically troublesome that Volkswagen recalled all 1959 Transporters and replaced the engines with an updated version of the 30 kW engine. Any 1959 models that retain that early engine today are true survivors. Since the engine was totally discontinued at the outset, no parts were ever made available.
The early versions of the T1 until 1955 were often called the "Barndoor" (retrospectively called T1a since the 1990s), owing to the enormous rear engine cover, while the later versions with a slightly modified body (the roofline above the windshield is extended), smaller engine bay, and 15" roadwheels instead of the original 16" ones are nowadays called the T1b (again, only called this since the 1990s, based on VW's restrospective T1,2,3,4 etc. naming system.). From the 1964 model year, when the rear door was made wider (same as on the bay-window or T2), the vehicle could be referred to as the T1c. 1964 also saw the introduction of an optional sliding door for the passenger/cargo area instead of the outwardly hinged doors typical of cargo vans. This change arguably makes the 1964 Volkswagen the first true minivan, although the term wouldn't be coined for another two decades.
In 1962, a heavy-duty Transporter was introduced as a factory option. It featured a cargo capacity of 1,000 kg (2,205 lb) instead of the previous 750 kg (1,653 lb), smaller but wider 14" roadwheels, and a 1.5 Le, 31 kW (42 PS; 42 bhp) DIN engine. This was so successful that only a year later, the 750 kg, 1.2 L Transporter was discontinued. The 1963 model year introduced the 1500 engine – 1,493 cc (91.1 cu in) as standard equipment to the US market at 38 kW (52 PS; 51 bhp) DIN with an 83 mm (3.27 in) bore, 69 mm (2.72 in) stroke, and 7.8:1 compression ratio. When the Beetle received the 1.5 L engine for the 1967 model year, its power was increased to 40 kW (54 PS; 54 bhp) DIN.
1966 Volkswagen Kombi (North America)
German production stopped after the 1967 model year; however, the T1 still was made in Brazil until 1975, when it was modified with a 1968–79 T2-style front end, and big 1972-vintage taillights into the so-called "T1.5" and produced until 1996. The Brazilian T1s were not identical to the last German models (the T1.5 was locally produced in Brazil using the 1950s and 1960s-era stamping dies to cut down on retooling, alongside the Beetle/Fusca, where the pre-1965 body style was retained), though they sported some characteristic features of the T1a, such as the cargo doors and five-stud 205 mm (8.1 in) PCD) rims.
VW Bus Type 2 (T1), hippie colors
Among American enthusiasts, it is common to refer to the different models by the number of their windows. The basic Kombi or Bus is the 11-window (a.k.a. three-window bus because of three side windows) with a split windshield, two front cabin door windows, six rear side windows, and one rear window. The DeLuxe model featured eight rear side windows and two rear corner windows, making it the 15-window (not available in Europe). Meanwhile, the sunroof DeLuxe with its additional eight small skylight windows is, accordingly, the 23-window. From the 1964 model year, with its wider rear door, the rear corner windows were discontinued, making the latter two the 13-window and 21-window respectively. The 23- and later 21-window variants each carry the nickname 'Samba', or in Australia, officially 'Alpine'.
Certain models of the Volkswagen Type 2 played a role in an historic episode during the early 1960s, known as the Chicken War. France and West Germany had placed tariffs on imports of U.S. chicken. Diplomacy failed, and in January 1964, two months after taking office, President Johnson imposed a 25% tax (almost 10 times the average U.S. tariff) on potato starch, dextrin, brandy, and light trucks. Officially, the tax targeted items imported from Europe as approximating the value of lost American chicken sales to Europe.
In retrospect, audio tapes from the Johnson White House, revealed a quid pro quo unrelated to chicken. In January 1964, President Johnson attempted to convince United Auto Workers' president Walter Reuther not to initiate a strike just prior to the 1964 election, and to support the president's civil rights platform. Reuther, in turn, wanted Johnson to respond to Volkswagen's increased shipments to the United States.
The Chicken Tax directly curtailed importation of German-built Type 2s in configurations that qualified them as light trucks – that is, commercial vans (panel vans) and pickups. In 1964, U.S. imports of automobile trucks from West Germany declined to a value of $5.7 million – about one-third the value imported in the previous year. After 1971, Volkswagen cargo vans and pickup trucks, the intended targets, "practically disappeared from the U.S. market". While post-1971 Type 2 commercial vans and single-cab and double-cab pickups can be found in the United States today, they are exceedingly rare. As of 2009, the Chicken tax remains in effect.
(Source Wikipedia)
Shot at Båstnäs Vehicle graveyard with a Nikon D70.
Edited on a IPad 2
In the car for sale Car Corral at the fall meet of the Antique Automobile Club of America at Hershey, October 2009. Across the front it says "FLAJOLE", the designer. I don't remember any of the mechanical details, but should be easy to locate.
Since I failed to get any product photos uploaded over the past weekend, going to do something a bit different again for Monday, and post a trio of model kit photos. These were very recently spotted at the Olive Branch Hobby Lobby. We'll go through the decades starting with this 1992 model Toyota Pickup. The smaller Toyota pickups weren't given the familiar Tacoma branding until 1995.
The Volkswagen Type 2, known officially (depending on body type) as the Transporter, Kombi or Microbus, or, informally, as the Bus (US) or Camper (UK), is a forward control panel van introduced in 1950 by the German automaker Volkswagen as its second car model. Following – and initially deriving from Volkswagen's first model, the Type 1 (Beetle) – it was given the factory designation Type 2.
As one of the forerunners of the modern cargo and passenger vans, the Type 2 gave rise to forward control competitors in the United States in the 1960s, including the Ford Econoline, the Dodge A100, and the Chevrolet Corvair 95 Corvan, the latter adopting the Type 2's rear-engine configuration.
European competition included the 1947-1981 Citroën H Van, the 1959-1980 Renault Estafette (both FF layout), and the 1953-1965 FR layout Ford Transit.
Japanese manufacturers also introduced the platform in different configurations, such as the Nissan Caravan, Toyota LiteAce and the Subaru Sambar.
Like the Beetle, the van has received numerous nicknames worldwide, including the "microbus", "minibus", and, because of its popularity during the counterculture movement of the 1960s, Hippie van/wagon, and still remains iconic for many hippies today.
Brazil contained the last factory in the world that produced the T2. Production in Brazil ceased on December 31, 2013, due to the introduction of more stringent safety regulations in the country. This marks the end of an era with the rear-engine Volkswagens manufactured (after the 2002 termination of its T3 successor in South Africa), which originated in 1935 with their Type 1 prototypes.
HISTORY
The concept for the Type 2 is credited to Dutch Volkswagen importer Ben Pon. (It has similarities in concept to the 1920s Rumpler Tropfenwagen and 1930s Dymaxion car by Buckminster Fuller, neither of which reached production.) Pon visited Wolfsburg in 1946, intending to purchase Type 1s for import to the Netherlands, where he saw an improvised parts-mover and realized something better was possible using the stock Type 1 pan. He first sketched the van in a doodle dated April 23, 1947, proposing a payload of 690 kg and placing the driver at the very front. Production would have to wait, however, as the factory was at capacity producing the Type 1.
When capacity freed up, a prototype known internally as the Type 29 was produced in a short three months. The stock Type 1 pan proved to be too weak so the prototype used a ladder chassis with unit body construction. Coincidentally the wheelbase was the same as the Type 1's. Engineers reused the reduction gear from the Type 81, enabling the 1.5 ton van to use a 25 hp (19 kW) flat four engine.
Although the aerodynamics of the first prototypes were poor (with an initial drag coefficient of Cd=0.75), engineers used the wind tunnel at the Technical University of Braunschweig to optimize the design. Simple changes such as splitting the windshield and roofline into a "vee" helped the production Type 2 achieve Cd=0.44, exceeding the Type 1's Cd=0.48. Volkswagen's new chief executive officer Heinz Nordhoff (appointed 1 January 1948) approved the van for production on 19 May 1949 and the first production model, now designated Type 2, rolled off the assembly line to debut 12 November. Only two models were offered: the Kombi (with two side windows and middle and rear seats that were easily removable by one person), and the Commercial. The Microbus was added in May 1950, joined by the Deluxe Microbus in June 1951. In all 9,541 Type 2s were produced in their first year of production.
An ambulance model was added in December 1951 which repositioned the fuel tank in front of the transaxle, put the spare tire behind the front seat, and added a "tailgate"-style rear door. These features became standard on the Type 2 from 1955 to 1967. 11,805 Type 2s were built in the 1951 model year. These were joined by a single-cab pickup in August 1952, and it changed the least of the Type 2s until all were heavily modified in 1968.
Unlike other rear engine Volkswagens, which evolved constantly over time but never saw the introduction of all-new models, the Transporter not only evolved, but was completely revised periodically with variations retrospectively referred to as versions "T1" to "T5" (a nomenclature only invented after the introduction of the front-drive T4 which replaced the T25). However, only generations T1 to T3 (or T25 as it is still called in Ireland and Great Britain) can be seen as directly related to the Beetle (see below for details).
The Type 2, along with the 1947 Citroën H Van, are among the first 'forward control' vans in which the driver was placed above the front roadwheels. They started a trend in Europe, where the 1952 GM Bedford CA, 1958 RAF-977, 1959 Renault Estafette, 1960 BMC Morris J4, and 1960 Commer FC also used the concept. In the United States, the Corvair-based Chevrolet Corvan cargo van and Greenbrier passenger van went so far as to copy the Type 2's rear-engine layout, using the Corvair's horizontally opposed, air-cooled engine for power. Except for the Greenbrier and various 1950s–70s Fiat minivans, the Type 2 remained unique in being rear-engined. This was a disadvantage for the early "barndoor" Panel Vans, which could not easily be loaded from the rear because the engine cover intruded on interior space, but generally advantageous in traction and interior noise.
VARIANTS
The Type 2 was available as a:
Panel van, a delivery van without side windows or rear seats.
Double-door Panel Van, a delivery van without side windows or rear seats and cargo doors on both sides.
High Roof Panel Van (German: Hochdach), a delivery van with raised roof.
Kombi, from German: Kombinationskraftwagen (combination motor vehicle), with side windows and removable rear seats, both a passenger and a cargo vehicle combined.
Bus, also called a Volkswagen Caravelle, a van with more comfortable interior reminiscent of passenger cars since the third generation.
Lotação (share-taxi), a version exclusive to Brazil, with 6 front-hinged doors for the passenger area and 4 bench-seats, catering to the supplemental public transport segment.[citation needed] Available from 1960 to 1989, in both the split-window and "clipper" (fitted with the bay-window front panel) bodystyles.
Samba-Bus, a van with skylight windows and cloth sunroof, first generation only, also known as a Deluxe Microbus. They were marketed for touring the Alps.
Flatbed pickup truck, or Single Cab, also available with wider load bed.
Crew cab pick-up, a flatbed truck with extended cab and two rows of seats, also called a Doka, from German: Doppelkabine.
Westfalia camping van, "Westy", with Westfalia roof and interior. Included optional "pop up" top.
Adventurewagen camping van, with high roof and camping units from Adventurewagen.
Semi-camping van that can also still be used as a passenger car and transporter, sacrificing some camping comforts. "Multivan" or "Weekender", available from the third generation on.
Apart from these factory variants, there were a multitude of third-party conversions available, some of which were offered through Volkswagen dealers. They included, but were not limited to, refrigerated vans, hearses, ambulances, police vans, fire engines and ladder trucks, and camping van conversions by companies other than Westfalia. There were even 30 Klv 20 rail-going draisines built for Deutsche Bundesbahn in 1955.
In South Africa, it is known as a well-loved variation of the ice cream van (first, second and third generations). The mere sight of one (in South Africa) sparks the familiar rhyme: I scream, We scream, We all scream for Ice-Cream!
FIRST GENERATION (T1; 1950–1967)
The first generation of the Volkswagen Type 2 with the split windshield, informally called the Microbus, Splitscreen, or Splittie among modern fans, was produced from 8 March 1950 through the end of the 1967 model year. From 1950 to 1956, the T1 (not called that at the time) was built in Wolfsburg; from 1956, it was built at the completely new Transporter factory in Hanover. Like the Beetle, the first Transporters used the 1100 Volkswagen air-cooled engine, an 1,131 cc, DIN-rated 18 kW (24 PS; 24 bhp), air-cooled flat-four-cylinder 'boxer' engine mounted in the rear. This was upgraded to the 1200 – an 1,192 cc 22 kW (30 PS; 30 bhp) in 1953. A higher compression ratio became standard in 1955; while an unusual early version of the 30 kW (41 PS; 40 bhp) engine debuted exclusively on the Type 2 in 1959. This engine proved to be so uncharacteristically troublesome that Volkswagen recalled all 1959 Transporters and replaced the engines with an updated version of the 30 kW engine. Any 1959 models that retain that early engine today are true survivors. Since the engine was totally discontinued at the outset, no parts were ever made available.
The early versions of the T1 until 1955 were often called the "Barndoor" (retrospectively called T1a since the 1990s), owing to the enormous rear engine cover, while the later versions with a slightly modified body (the roofline above the windshield is extended), smaller engine bay, and 15" roadwheels instead of the original 16" ones are nowadays called the T1b (again, only called this since the 1990s, based on VW's retrospective T1,2,3,4 etc. naming system.). From the 1964 model year, when the rear door was made wider (same as on the bay-window or T2), the vehicle could be referred to as the T1c. 1964 also saw the introduction of an optional sliding door for the passenger/cargo area instead of the outwardly hinged doors typical of cargo vans.
In 1962, a heavy-duty Transporter was introduced as a factory option. It featured a cargo capacity of 1,000 kg instead of the previous 750 kg, smaller but wider 14" roadwheels, and a 1.5 Le, 31 kW (42 PS; 42 bhp) DIN engine. This was so successful that only a year later, the 750 kg, 1.2 L Transporter was discontinued. The 1963 model year introduced the 1500 engine – 1,493 cc as standard equipment to the US market at 38 kW (52 PS; 51 bhp) DIN with an 83 mm bore, 69 mm (2.72 in) stroke, and 7.8:1 compression ratio. When the Beetle received the 1.5 L engine for the 1967 model year, its power was increased to 40 kW (54 PS; 54 bhp) DIN.
German production stopped after the 1967 model year; however, the T1 still was made in Brazil until 1975, when it was modified with a 1968–79 T2-style front end, and big 1972-vintage taillights into the so-called "T1.5" and produced until 1996. The Brazilian T1s were not identical to the last German models (the T1.5 was locally produced in Brazil using the 1950s and 1960s-era stamping dies to cut down on retooling, alongside the Beetle/Fusca, where the pre-1965 body style was retained), though they sported some characteristic features of the T1a, such as the cargo doors and five-stud 205 mm Pitch Circle Diameter rims. Wheel tracks varied between German and Brazilian production and with 14-inch, 15-inch and 16-inch wheel variants but commonly front track varied from 1290 mm to 1310 mm and rear track from 1370 mm to 1390 mm.
Among American enthusiasts, it is common to refer to the different models by the number of their windows. The basic Kombi or Bus is the 11-window (a.k.a. three-window bus because of three side windows) with a split windshield, two front cabin door windows, six rear side windows, and one rear window. The DeLuxe model featured eight rear side windows and two rear corner windows, making it the 15-window (not available in Europe). Meanwhile, the sunroof DeLuxe with its additional eight small skylight windows is, accordingly, the 23-window. From the 1964 model year, with its wider rear door, the rear corner windows were discontinued, making the latter two the 13-window and 21-window respectively. The 23- and later 21-window variants each carry the nickname 'Samba', or in Australia, officially 'Alpine'.
SAMBA
The Volkswagen Samba, in the United States also known as Sunroof Deluxe, was the most luxurious version of the T1. Volkswagen started producing Sambas in 1951.
Originally Volkswagen Vans were classified according to the number of windows they had. This particular model had 23 and later 21 windows including eight panoramic windows in the roof. To distinguish it from the normal 23 or 21-window Volkswagen van the name Samba was coined.
Instead of a sliding door at the side the Samba had two pivot doors. In addition the Samba had a fabric sunroof. At that time Volkswagen advertised with the idea of using the Samba to make tourist trips through the Alps.
Sambas were painted standard in two colors. Usually, the upper part was colored white. The two colored sections were separated by a decorative strip. Further the bus had a so-called "hat": at the front of the van the roof was just a little longer than the car itself to block the sun for the driver. The windows had chrome tables and the van had a more comprehensive dashboard than the normal T1.
When Volkswagen started producing the successor of the T1 (the T2) the company also stopped producing the Samba so there are no Sambas in later versions of the Transporter.
US CHICKEN TAX
Certain models of the Volkswagen Type 2 played a role in a historic episode during the early 1960s, known as the Chicken War. France and West Germany had placed tariffs on imports of U.S. chicken. Diplomacy failed, and in January 1964, two months after taking office, President Johnson imposed a 25% tax (almost ten times the average U.S. tariff) on potato starch, dextrin, brandy, and light trucks. Officially, the tax targeted items imported from Europe as approximating the value of lost American chicken sales to Europe.
In retrospect, audio tapes from the Johnson White House, revealed a quid pro quo unrelated to chicken. In January 1964, President Johnson attempted to convince United Auto Workers' president Walter Reuther not to initiate a strike just before the 1964 election, and to support the president's civil rights platform. Reuther, in turn, wanted Johnson to respond to Volkswagen's increased shipments to the United States.
The Chicken Tax directly curtailed importation of German-built Type 2s in configurations that qualified them as light trucks – that is, commercial vans (panel vans) and pickups. In 1964, U.S. imports of automobile trucks from West Germany declined to a value of $5.7 million – about one-third the value imported in the previous year. After 1971, Volkswagen cargo vans and pickup trucks, the intended targets, "practically disappeared from the U.S. market". While post-1971 Type 2 commercial vans and single-cab and double-cab pickups can be found in the United States today, they are exceedingly rare. Any post-1971 specimen found ostensibly has had its import tariff paid. As of 2013, the "chicken tax" remains in effect.
SECOND GENERATION (T2; 1967–1979)
In late 1967, the second generation of the Volkswagen Type 2 (T2) was introduced. It was built in Germany until 1979. In Mexico, the Volkswagen Kombi and Panel were produced from 1970 to 1994. Models before 1971 are often called the T2a (or "Early Bay"), while models after 1972 are called the T2b (or "Late Bay").
This second-generation Type 2 lost its distinctive split front windshield, and was slightly larger and considerably heavier than its predecessor. Its common nicknames are Breadloaf and Bay-window, or Loaf and Bay for short. At 1.6 L and 35 kW (48 PS; 47 bhp) DIN, the engine was also slightly larger. The battery and electrical system was upgraded to 12 volts, making it incompatible with electric accessories from the previous generation. The new model also did away with the swing axle rear suspension and transfer boxes previously used to raise ride height. Instead, half-shaft axles fitted with constant velocity joints raised ride height without the wild changes in camber of the Beetle-based swing axle suspension. The updated Bus transaxle is usually sought after by off-road racers using air-cooled Volkswagen components.
The T2b was introduced by way of gradual change over three years. The first models featured rounded bumpers incorporating a step for use when the door was open (replaced by indented bumpers without steps on later models), front doors that opened to 90° from the body, no lip on the front guards, unique engine hatches, and crescent air intakes in the D-pillars (later models after the Type 4 engine option was offered, have squared off intakes). The 1971 Type 2 featured a new, 1.6 L engine with dual intake ports on each cylinder head and was DIN-rated at 37 kW (50 PS; 50 bhp). An important change came with the introduction of front disc brakes and new roadwheels with brake ventilation holes and flatter hubcaps. Up until 1972, front indicators are set low on the nose rather than high on either side of the fresh air grille – giving rise to their being nicknamed "Low Lights". 1972's most prominent change was a bigger engine compartment to fit the larger 1.7- to 2.0-litre engines from the Volkswagen Type 4, and a redesigned rear end which eliminated the removable rear apron and introduced the larger late tail lights. The air inlets were also enlarged to accommodate the increased cooling air needs of the larger engines.
In 1971 the 1600cc Type 1 engine as used in the Beetle, was supplemented with the 1700cc Type 4 engine – as it was originally designed for the Type 4 (411 and 412) models. European vans kept the option of upright fan Type 1 1600 engine but the 1700 Type 4 became standard for US spec models.
In the Type 2, the Type 4 engine was an option for the 1972 model year onward. This engine was standard in models destined for the US and Canada. Only with the Type 4 engine did an automatic transmission become available for the first time in the 1973 model year. Both engines displaced 1.7 L, DIN-rated at 49 kW (67 PS; 66 bhp) with the manual transmission and 46 kW (63 PS; 62 bhp) with the automatic. The Type 4 engine was enlarged to 1.8 L and 50 kW (68 PS; 67 bhp) DIN for the 1974 model year and again to 2.0 L and 52 kW (71 PS; 70 bhp) DIN for the 1976 model year. The two-litre option appeared in South African manufactured models during 1976, originally only in a comparably well-equipped "Executive" model. The 1978 2.0 L now featured hydraulic valve lifters, eliminating the need to periodically adjust the valve clearances as on earlier models. The 1975 and later U.S. model years received Bosch L-Jetronic electronic fuel injection as standard equipment; 1978 was the first year for electronic ignition, utilizing a hall effect sensor and digital controller, eliminating maintenance-requiring contact-breaker points. As with all Transporter engines, the focus in development was not on power, but on low-end torque. The Type 4 engines were considerably more robust and durable than the Type 1 engines, particularly in Transporter service.
In 1972, for the 1973 model year, exterior revisions included relocated front turn indicators, squared off and set higher in the valance, above the headlights. Also, square-profiled bumpers, which became standard until the end of the T2 in 1979, were introduced in 1973. Crash safety improved with this change because of a compressible structure behind the front bumper. This meant that the T2b was capable of meeting US safety standards for passenger cars of the time, though not required of vans. The "VW" emblem on the front valance became slightly smaller.
Later model changes were primarily mechanical. By 1974, the T2 had gained its final shape. Very late in the T2's design life, during the late 1970s, the first prototypes of Type 2 vans with four-wheel drive (4WD) were built and tested.
T2c
The T2c, with a roof raised by about 10 cm was built starting in the early 1990s for the South American and Central American markets. Since 1991, the T2c has been built in México with the water-cooled 1.8 L inline four-cylinder 53 kW (72 PS; 71 bhp) carbureted engine - easily identified by the large, black front-mounted radiator - and since 1995 with the 1.6 L air-cooled engines for the Brazilian market.
Once production of the original Beetle was halted in late 2003, the T2 was the only Volkswagen model with an air-cooled, rear-mounted boxer engine, but then the Brazilian model shifted to a water-cooled engine on 23 December 2005. There was a 1.6 L 50 hp (37 kW; 51 PS) water-cooled diesel engine available from 1981 to 1985, which gave fuel economy of 15 km/l to 18 km/l - but gave slow performance and its insufficient cooling system led to short engine life.
The end of the Volkswagen air-cooled engine on a worldwide basis was marked by a Special Edition Kombi. An exclusive Silver paint job, and limited edition emblems were applied to only 200 units in late 2005, and were sold as 2006 models.
Stricter emissions regulations introduced by the Brazilian government for 2006 forced a shift to a flexible-fuel water-cooled engine[citation needed] able to run on petrol or alcohol. Borrowed from the Volkswagen Fox, the engine is a rear-mounted EA-111 1.4 L 8v Total Flex 1,390 cc, 58 kW (79 PS; 78 bhp) on petrol, and 60 kW (82 PS; 80 bhp) when run on ethanol, and 124 N·m (91 lbf·ft) torque. This version was very successful, despite the minor changes made to the overall T2-bodied vehicle. It still included the four-speed transmission, but a new final-drive ratio enabled cruising at 120 km/h (75 mph) at 4,100 rpm. Top speed was 130 km/h (81 mph). 0 to 100 km/h (0 to 62 mph) acceleration took 22.7 seconds (vs. 29.5 seconds for the last air-cooled version). Other improvements included 6.6% better fuel economy, and nearly 2 dB less engine noise.
The Volkswagen Type 2 is by far the longest model run in Brazil, having been introduced in September 1950 as the Volkswagen "Kombi", a name it has kept throughout production.[citation needed] Only produced in two versions, bus (nine-seater or 12-seater – a fourth row is added for metro transportation or school bus market) or panel van, it offers only one factory option, a rear window defogger.[citation needed] As of June 2009, the T2 was being built at the Volkswagen Group's São Bernardo do Campo plant at a rate of 97 per day.
The production of the Brazilian Volkswagen Kombi ended in 2013 with a production run of 600 Last Edition vehicles.[28] A short movie called "Kombi's last wishes" was made by VW Brazil.
POST_TYPE 2 GENERATIONS
THIRD GENERATION (T3; 1979–1992)
The Volkswagen Type 2 (T3) also known as the T25, (or Vanagon in the United States), the T3 platform was introduced in 1980, and was one of the last new Volkswagen platforms to use an air-cooled engine. The Volkswagen air-cooled engine was phased out for a water-cooled boxer engine (still rear-mounted) in 1984. Compared to its predecessor the T2, the T3 was larger and heavier, with square corners replacing the rounded edges of the older models. The T3 is sometimes called "the wedge" by enthusiasts to differentiate it from earlier Kombis.
FOURTH GENERATION (T4; 1990–2003)
Since 1990, the Transporter in most world markets has been front-engined and water-cooled, similar to other contemporary Volkswagens, almost two decades later than it did for the passenger cars. T4s are marketed as Transporter in Europe. In the United States, Volkswagen Eurovan is the brand name.
FITH GENERATION (T5; 2003–2015)
The Volkswagen Transporter T5 range is the fifth generation of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles medium-sized light commercial vehicle and people movers. Launched 6 January 2003, the T5 went into full production in April 2003, replacing the fourth generation range.
Key markets for the T5 are Germany, the United Kingdom, Russia, France and Turkey. It is not sold in the US market because it is classed as a light truck, accruing the 25% chicken tax on importation. The T5 has a more aerodynamic design. The angle of the windshield and A-pillar is less; this makes for a large dashboard and small bonnet.
In June 2009, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles announced the one-millionth T5 rolled off the production line in Hanover.
T5 GP introduced in 2010. Heavily face-lifted with some new power plants including the 180 bi-turbo range topper. These new engines saw the demise of the now "dirty" 5 cylinder units.
Late 2015 will see the arrival of the "Neu Sechs", the New 6. The T6 will offer further engine changes in early 2016, but will launch with the previous generation engines. The new engines will see the introduction of Ad-Blu to meet with euro 6 emission compliance. The new 6 was expected by many to be more than just a face lift.
With the T6 now hitting the roads it is very clear it would appear to be just a face lift. New front, new tailgate and a new dash. There are quality improvements, sound deadening, new colours and improved consumption, but many believe VW have missed an opportunity to go back to the top.
Sixth generation (T6; 2015–)
The new T6 will launch with the old Euro 5 non AdBlue power-plants, but will be offered with a Euro 6 diesel engine with 204bhp and AdBlue. Three further Euro 6 Adblue diesel power-plants with 84ps, 102ps and 150ps will also be offered.
There is some debate in the community over whether the T6 is a new model, or simply a face-lift. There are obvious external changes to the nose and tailgate, while internally there is a new dash in 2 versions. Volkswagen are claiming refinement to ride, handling and noise levels.
ADDITIONAL DEVELOPMENTS
In 2001, a Volkswagen Microbus Concept was created, with design cues from the T1 generation in a spirit similar to the New Beetle nostalgia movement. Volkswagen planned to start selling it in the United States market in 2007, but it was scrapped in May 2004 and replaced with a more cost-effective design to be sold worldwide.
NAMES AND NICKNAMES
Like the Beetle, from the beginning, the Type 2 earned many nicknames from its fans. Among the most popular,[citation needed] at least in Germany, are VW-Bus and Bulli (or Bully) or Hippie-van or the bus. The Type 2 was meant to be officially named the Bully, but Heinrich Lanz, producer of the Lanz Bulldog farm tractor, intervened. The model was then presented as the Volkswagen Transporter and Volkswagen Kleinbus, but the Bully nickname still caught on.
The official German-language model names Transporter and Kombi (Kombinationskraftwagen, combined-use vehicle) have also caught on as nicknames. Kombi is not only the name of the passenger variant, but is also the Australasian and Brazilian term for the whole Type 2 family; in much the same way that they are all called VW-Bus in Germany, even the pickup truck variations. In Mexico, the German Kombi was translated as Combi, and became a household word thanks to the vehicle's popularity in Mexico City's public transportation system. In Peru, where the term Combi was similarly adopted, the term Combi Asesina (Murdering Combi) is often used for buses of similar size, because of the notorious recklessness and competition of bus drivers in Lima to get passengers. In Portugal it is known as Pão-de-Forma (Breadloaf) because its design resembles a bread baked in a mold. Similarly, in Denmark, the Type 2 is referred to as Rugbrød (Rye bread). Finns dubbed it Kleinbus (mini-bus), as many taxicab companies adopted it for group transportation; the name Kleinbus has become an appellative for all passenger vans. The vehicle is also known as Kleinbus in Chile.
In the US, however, it is a VW bus, a "vee-dub", a minibus, a hippie-mobile, hippie bus, or hippie van, "combie", Microbus or a Transporter to aficionados. The early versions produced before 1967 used a split front windshield (giving rise to the nickname "Splitty"), and their comparative rarity has led to their becoming sought after by collectors and enthusiasts. The next version, sold in the US market from 1968 to 1979, is characterised by a large, curved windshield and is commonly called a "bay-window". It was replaced by the Vanagon, of which only the Westfalia camper version has a common nickname, "Westy".
It was called Volksie Bus in South Africa, notable in a series of that country's TV commercials. Kombi is also a generic nickname for vans and minibuses in South Africa and Swaziland, often used as a means of public transportation. In Nigeria it was called Danfo.
In the UK, it is known as a "Campervan". In France, it was called a "camping-car" (usually hyphenated) though this has been expanded to include other, often more specialized vehicles in more recent times.
MEXICAN PRODUCTION
T2 production began in 1970 at the Puebla assembly factory.
Offered initially only as a nine-passenger version called the Volkswagen Kombi, and from 1973 also its cargo van version called the Volkswagen Panel, both variants were fitted with the 1.5 L air-cooled boxer engine and four-speed manual gearbox. In 1974, the 1.6 L 44 bhp (33 kW; 45 PS) boxer engine replaced the 1.5 previous one, and production continued this way up to 1987. In 1987, the water-cooled 1.8 L 85 bhp (63 kW; 86 PS) inline four-cylinder engine replaced the air-cooled 1.6 L. This new model is recognisable by its black grille (for its engine coolant radiator), bumpers and moldings.
In 1975, Volkswagen de Mexico ordered two specially made pickups from Germany, one single cab and one double cab, for the Puebla plant. These were evaluated for the possibility of building pickups in Mexico, and were outfitted with every option except the Arctic package, including front and rear fog lights, intermittent wipers, trip odometer, clock, bumper rubber, PVC tilt, and dual doors on the single cab storage compartment. VW de Mexico was interested in having the lights, wiring, brake systems and other parts manufactured in Mexico. Ultimately, VW de Mexico declined to produce pickups, and the pickups were sold to an Autohaus, a Volkswagen dealer in San Antonio, Texas, since they could not be sold in Mexico. By law, no German-made Volkswagens were to be sold in Mexico. These are probably the only pickups that were produced in Germany for Mexican import, and have the "ME" export code on the M-code plate. The green double cab was sold to a new owner in New York, and has been lost track of. The light gray (L345, licht grau) single cab still exists. Pickups were not manufactured in Mexico, nor were they imported into Mexico from Germany, save for these two examples.
In 1988, a luxury variant – the Volkswagen Caravelle – made its debut in the Mexican market to compete with the Nissan Ichi Van, which was available in cargo, passenger and luxury versions.
The main differences between the two are that the Caravelle was sold as an eight-passenger version, while the Combi was available as a nine-passenger version, the Caravelle was only painted in metallic colors, while the Combi was only available in non-metallic colors, and the Caravelle was fitted with an AM/FM stereo cassette sound system, tinted windows, velour upholstery, reading lights, mid and rear headrests, and wheel covers from the European T25 model.
In 1991, the 10 cm higher roof made its debut in all variants, and the Combi began to be offered in eight- or nine-passenger variants. In 1991, since Mexican anti-pollution regulations required a three-way catalytic converter, a Digifant fuel injection system replaced the previous carburetor. The three variants continued without change until 1994.
In 1994, production ended in Mexico, with models being imported from Brazil. The Caravelle was discontinued, and both the Combi and the Panel were only offered in white color and finally in 2002, replaced by the T4 EuroVan Pasajeros and EuroVan Carga, passenger and cargo van in long wheelbase version, inline five-cylinder 2.5 L 115 bhp and five-speed manual gearbox imported from Germany.
WIKIPEDIA
The ancient site at Kot Diji (Urdu: کوٹ ڈیجی) was the forerunner of the Indus Civilization. The people of this site lived about 3000 BCE. The remains consist of two parts; the citadel area on high ground (about 12 m), and outer area. The Pakistan Department of Archaeology excavated at Kot Diji in 1955 and 1957.
Located about 22 kilometers south of Khairpur in the province of Sindh, Pakistan. The site is situated at the foot of the Rohri Hills where a fort (Kot Diji Fort) was built around 1790 by Talpur dynasty ruler of Upper Sindh, Mir Suhrab who reigned from 1783 to 1830 AD. This fort built on the ridge of a steep narrow hill is well preserved.
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based on authentic facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
The forerunners of the Philippine Air Force was the Philippine Militia, otherwise known as Philippine National Guard (PNG). On March 17, 1917 Senate President Manuel L. Quezon enacted a bill (Militia Act 2715) for the creation of the Philippine Militia, in anticipation that there would be an outbreak of hostilities between United States and Germany.
The early aviation unit was lacking enough knowledge and equipment to be considered as an air force and was then limited only to air transport duties. In 1935, Philippine Military Aviation was activated when the 10th Congress passed Commonwealth Act 1494 that provided for the organization of the Philippine Constabulary Air Corps (PCAC). PCAC was renamed as the Philippine Army Air Corps (PAAC) in 1936 and started with only three planes on its inventory. In 1941, PAAC had a total of 54 aircraft including fighters and light bombers, reconnaissance aircraft, light transport and trainers. They later engaged the Japanese when they invaded the Philippines in 1941–42, and were reformed in 1945 after the country's liberation.
The PAF became a separate military service on July 1, 1947, and the main aircraft type became the P-51 Mustang, flown from 1947 to 1959. Ground attack missions were flown against various insurgent groups, with aircraft hit by ground fire but none shot down. The Mustangs would be replaced by the jet-powered North American F-86 Sabres in the late 1950s, assisted by Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star and Beechcraft T-34 Mentor trainers.
During the 70s, the PAF was actively providing air support for the AFP campaign against the MNLF forces in Central Mindanao, aside from doing the airlifting duties for troop movements from Manila and Cebu to the warzone. In late 1977, the Philippine government purchased 35 secondhand U.S. Navy F-8Hs that had been stored at Davis-Monthan AFB in Arizona. Twenty-five of them were refurbished by Vought and the remaining 10 were used for spare parts. As part of the deal, the U.S. would train Philippine pilots in using the (only) TF-8A, and they were mostly used for intercepting Soviet bombers. The F-8s were grounded in 1988 and were finally withdrawn from service in 1991 after they were badly damaged by the Mount Pinatubo eruption, and have since been offered for sale as scrap.
This left the PAF with the F-5 Freedom Fighter as the only jet-powered combat aircraft. The Philippine Air Force acquired 37 F-5A and F-5B from 1965 to 1998 (from Taiwan and South Korea). The F-5A/Bs were used by the 6th Tactical Fighter Squadron (Cobras) of the 5th Fighter Wing and the Blue Diamonds aerobatic team. The F-5s also underwent an upgrade which equipped it with surplus AN/APQ-153 radars with significant overhaul at the end of the 1970s to stretch their service lives another 15 years.
Since the retirement of the Northrop F-5s in September 2005, the Philippine Air Force was left without any fighter jets and thus also without any serious air cover, considerably weakening the countries position in the region. Financial constraints prevented the procurement of refurbished F-16A/Bs from US surplus stocks, so that the PAF initially resorted to Aermacchi S-211 trainer jets to fill the void left by the F-5's. These S-211's were later upgraded to light attack capability and used for air and sea patrol and also performed counter-insurgency operations from time to time. Apart from these trainers, the only active fixed wing aircraft to fill the roles were SF-260 trainers with light attack capability, and a handful of obsolete OV-10 Bronco light attack and reconnaissance aircraft.
With rising tensions and frequent incidents with Chinese forces, however, the PAF settled upon the “Flight Plan 2028”, a long-term modernization and procurement plan. One of the first investments in order to re-build the PAF’s jet fighter force was eventually settled in 2010, when the Philippines started negotiations with Israel to purchase refurbished IAI Kfir fighter-bombers. In August 2012 Israel Aerospace Industries officially announced that it would deliver twenty-one pre-owned Kfir fighter jets to the Philippines, with a 40-year guarantee and a supply of Python 4 IR-homing AAMs, at a rumored unit price of USD $20 million - a price that represents 1/3 the cost of a brand new fighter with similar capability, but without the weaponry.
These machines were Kfir C.10s, a variant developed especially for export, basically an updated C.7. The aircraft for the Philippines received the designation C.10P in order to reflect the new operator’s specifications. The most important changes of the C.10 update were the adaptation of an Elta EL/M-2032 multi-role radar and the integration of two 127×177mm MFDs in the cockpit.
The EL/M-2032 is an advanced Multimode Airborne Fire Control Radar designed for multi-mission fighters, oriented for both air-to-air and strike missions. Modular hardware design, software control and flexible avionic interfaces ensure that the radar can be installed in a wide range of existing fighter aircraft (such as F-16, F-5, Mirage, Harrier variants, F-4, MiG-21, etc.), and it can be customized to meet specific user requirements.
The EL/M-2032 greatly enhances the Air-to-Air, Air-to-Ground and Air-to-Sea capabilities of the aircraft, even though the PAF’s machines did not feature the optional Helmet Mounted Display System (as installed on board of the upgraded Ecuadorean Kfir C.10s). In the Air-to-Air modes, the radar enables long-range target detection and tracking for weapon delivery or automatic target acquisition in close combat engagements. The EL/M-2032 has a maximum range of 150 km and can detect and track an aerial target with a 1m² radar reflection surface equivalent at 100 km. Up to 64 aerial targets can be tracked at the same time, and this information can be shared with other aircraft, including the status which aircraft actually tracks which target.
In Air-to-Ground missions, the radar provided very high-resolution mapping (SAR), surface target detection and tracking over RBM, DBS and SAR maps in addition to A/G ranging. In Air-to-Sea missions, the radar provided long-range target detection and tracking, including target classification capabilities (RS, ISAR).
The first Kfir C.10Ps were quickly delivered, and in September 2014 the PAF’s 6th Tactical Fighter Squadron “Cobras” at Basa AB was reformed, the unit which had formerly operated the country’s last F-5s until 2005. Despite the type’s multirole capability, the Filipino Kfirs primarily fulfill interceptor and air patrol tasks against intrusions into Philippine airspace. Their prime task is to act as a general repellant against Chinese aggressions in the South China Sea, esp. in defense of the Scarborough Shoal fishing ground that Manila claims as part of its territorial waters.
Since 2015, the PAF’s jet fighter force has also been augmented by supersonic FA-50 trainers, procured from South Korea, and the PAF’s updated “Flight Plan 2028” lists another 16 Kfirs C.10Ps (including four TC.10P two-seaters), as well as more FA-50s, planned for the future.
Since their introduction the FAP’s Kfirs frequently intercepted Chinese and Russian reconnaissance aircraft (typically Y-8 maritime patrol aircraft, but also H-6 missile strike bombers and reconnaissance aircraft) over the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, even though with no serious confrontations so far.
Beyond these standard duties, the PAF’s new type also took part in several other deployments: On 26 January 2017, two Philippine Air Force Kfir C.10s demonstrated their strike capabilities for the first time and conducted a nighttime attack on terrorist hideouts in Butig, Lanao del Sur province in Mindanao, the first “hot” combat sortie flown by these aircraft. In June 2017, Kfirs and FA-50s were sent out to conduct airstrikes against Maute terrorists entrenched in the city of Marawi, starting in May 2017.
General characteristics:
Crew: One
Length: 15.65 m (51 ft 4¼ in)
Wingspan: 8.22 m (26 ft 11½ in)
Height: 4.55 m (14 ft 11¼ in)
Wing area: 34.8 m² (374.6 sq ft)
Empty weight: 7,285 kg (16,060 lb)
Loaded weight: 11,603 kg (25,580 lb) two 500 L drop tanks, two AAMs
Max. takeoff weight: 16,200 kg (35,715 lb)
Powerplant:
1× IAl Bedek-built General Electric J-79-J1E turbojet with a dry thrust of 52.9 kN (11,890 lb st)
and 79.62 kN (17,900 lb st) thrust with afterburner
Performance:
Maximum speed: 2,440 km/h (2 Mach, 1,317 knots, 1,516 mph) above 11,000 m (36,000 ft)
Combat radius: 768 km (415 nmi, 477 mi) in ground attack role, with, hi-lo-hi profile, seven 500 lb
bombs, two AAMs, two 1,300 L drop tanks
Maximum range: 3,232 km (2,008 miles, 1744 nm), high profile, with two 1,300 L drop tank
Service ceiling: 22,860 m (75,000 ft)
Rate of climb: 233 m/s (45,950 ft/min)
Armament:
2× Rafael-built 30 mm (1.18 in) DEFA 553 cannons, 140 RPG
9× hardpoints for a total payload of 5,775 kg (12,730 lb), including an assortment of unguided
air-to-ground rockets, guided missiles (AIM-9 Sidewinders, Shafrir or Python-series AAMs; Shrike
ARMs and AGM-65 Maverick ASMs) or bombs such as the Mark 80 series, Paveway and Griffin
LGBs, SMKBs,TAL-1 OR TAL-2 CBUs, BLU-107 Matra Durandal, reconnaissance pods or Drop tanks
The kit and its assembly:
Like many of my what-if models, this one is rooted in real life. AFAIK, the PAF actually considered the procurement of refurbished, ex-Israeli Kfirs after the purchase of 2nd hand F-16s had turned out to be too costly – but even the Kfir deal did not materialize due to budgetary restrictions. However, whifworld can change this… And eventually, the PAF procured the South Korean FA-50 Golden Eagle multi-role advanced trainer.
The kit is the Italeri Kfir C.2/7, a sound and priceworthy offering, but it comes with some inherent flaws - the alternative Hasegawa kit is IMHO much easier to build, even though it is not much more detailed. Problem zones of the Italeri kit include the complex intersection between the air intakes, wings and the fuselage (nothing fits well, gaps galore!), ejector pin markings on the landing gear and on the wheels, sinkholes on the wings’ upper side towards the leading edges and the cockpit tub as a whole, which seems to stem from a different kit - including the dashboard, which is too wide, too.
In order to keep things simple and plausible, the kit was mostly built OOB, which is in itself enough work, with only a few cosmetic changes:
- a new nose section with a bigger radome from the scrap box and transplanted chines and pitot
- replacement of the early OOB Shafrir AAMs with Python AAMs, left over from a Trumpeter J-8
- additional/modified antennae and air sensors, including a RHAWS sensor at the top of the fin
- a refueling probe above the right air intake, from a Harrier GR.3, modified
- a Martin Baker ejection seat and some cockpit interior details
Painting and markings:
Since the fictional PAF Kfirs were to be primarily operated in the interceptor role, I gave the aircraft an air superiority scheme. Inspiration was taken from the type’s predecessor, the PAF’s F-8 Crusaders and their late Eighties livery, a wraparound scheme in two grey tones, coupled with low-viz (black) markings.
I actually used the F-8 camouflage pattern as benchmark and tried to adapt it to the delta-wing Kfir, but this eventually ended in almost complete improvisation. The colors are – based on visual impressions of some PAF Crusaders rather than on hard facts (since these turned out to be quite contradictive and/or implausible) – FS 36440 and 36270, Humbrol 129 and 126, respectively. The result appears a bit pale and reminds a lot of the French air superiority scheme (which is more bluish, though), but it does not look bad at all.
The radome and other dielectric fairings were slightly set apart from the camouflage tones (with Revell 47). The landing gear as well as the air intake interior were painted in gloss white (Humbrol 22), while the cockpit was painted in Sea Grey (Humbrol 27).
The model only received a light weathering treatment through a black ink washing and some post-shading with slightly lighter tones, since the aircraft would be relatively new in service – even though I have the impression that any PAF aircraft’s exterior quickly suffered under the local climate?
The national markings belong to a Philippine F-5 (a late camouflaged aircraft, hence the insignias’ small size), taken from an Aztec Decal sheet. The modex was created from code markings for a Bréguet Alizé and the cobra emblems on the fin belong to a Malaysian MiG-29 (Begemot sheet). The contemporary USAF-style BuNo for PAF aircraft was created with single decal letters – a fiddly affair.
Only a few stencils were actually taken from the OOB sheet and many of the original red markings were replaced. Most stencils became black and the walkway markings on the wings were replaced by segmented lines from a Mirage 2000.
After some final, very light weathering with graphite the kit was finally sealed with a coat of matt acrylic varnish (Italeri) and completed.
Nothing spectacular, but rather an exotic and still plausible what-if build, rooted in real life. While the paint scheme as such is not outstanding, I must say that the two-tone grey scheme suits the Kfir well, esp. together with the subdued markings.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - SEPTEMBER 07: Forerunner Ventures Managing Partner Kirsten Green (L) and moderator Ingrid Lunden (R) speak onstage during Day 3 of TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2018 at Moscone Center on September 7, 2018 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Steve Jennings/Getty Images for TechCrunch)
Coachwork by Pininfarina
Chassis n° 12031
'Pininfarina clothed it all in a beautifully refined bodyshell employing the nose lines of the 500 Superfast and the tail treatment of the contemporary 275 GTS. It was built at Grugliasco by Pininfarina themselves...' - Hans Tanner & Doug Nye, 'Ferrari', 1984.
In essence a closed version of the 275 GTS, the 330 GTC – immediate forerunner of the 365 GTC - was first shown at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1966. Beneath the understated Pininfarina coachwork there was the 4.0-litre version of Ferrari's familiar Colombo-designed two-cam 60-degree V12 (as used in the 330GT 2+2) mated to a five-speed all-synchromesh transaxle. The chassis was of relatively short wheelbase (2,400mm) and the suspension independent all round by wishbones and coil springs. Naturally, there were disc brakes on all four wheels.
Introduced late in 1968 as a replacement for the 330 GTC and given its first public airing at Geneva in March 1969, the 365 GTC was virtually identical in appearance apart from engine cooling vents relocated in the bonnet, a feature it shared with last of the 330s. Installing an 81mm-bore 4.4-litre V12 in place of the 300 GTC's 4.0-litre unit boosted mid-range torque and flexibility while maximum power was raised to 320bhp at 6,600rpm; acceleration improved markedly and the luxury coupés top speed increased to over 150mph. Less obvious to the eye were the refinements made to the drive-train that achieved a marked reduction in cabin noise, a sign that Ferrari understood that 365 GTC customers valued comfort as well as high performance. A sumptuous leather-trimmed interior, electric windows, and heated rear screen were standard equipment, while air conditioning could be ordered as an option. Like so many European sports cars, the 365 GTC (and convertible 365 GTS) would fall victim to increasingly stringent US safety and emissions legislation, production ceasing after less than one year during which time around 150 GTC and 20 GTS models left the factory.
The example offered here was delivered new in June 1969 to Mr Edouard Washer via Jacques Swaters' Garage Francorchamps, the official Ferrari importer for Belgium. The 20th 365 GTC built, chassis number '12031' was delivered finished in Grigio Mahmoud with beige leather interior, the latter equipped with a Voxson 'Sonar' radio with electric antenna. Mr Washer kept the Ferrari for a few years before trading it back to Garage Francorchamps in the mid-1970s. Garage Francorchamps then sold it to the next owner, in the Netherlands.
By 1982, '12031' was owned by one H L E Swarts in the Netherlands, who in March of that year advertised the car for sale, describing it as red with black interior and with 75,000 kilometres recorded. Around 1987, the car was sold to Fritz Kroymans, the Dutch Ferrari importer/collector, who kept it until 2004 when it was sold to Hans Jungblut of Maastricht, Netherlands. While in Mr Jungblut's care, the Ferrari was completely restored to its factory original colour, Grigio Mahmoud, in the Netherlands by marque specialists Garage Roelofs (restoration photographs on file), with the beige leather interior re-trim being entrusted to HVL Exclusive Italian Interiors.
From 2004 to 2014, the Ferrari was maintained by Forza Service and stayed in Holland. Later, in April 2014, the car was sold to the current owner in Belgium. Since, this stunning 365 GTC has been carefully looked after by its passionate Ferrari owner/collector. The most recent service was carried out in May 2017, by Ferrari Specialists L'Officina in Overijse, Belgium.
The car comes with an original sales brochure; copies of the original factory paperwork; a copy of the old Dutch registration papers (cancelled); Belgian registration papers; restoration invoices from Ferrari Garage Piet Roelofs; invoices for work carried out in 2004-2008 by Forza Service in Holland; and HVL Exclusive Italian Interiors' certificate (2008) confirming the interior was professionally restored using mostly original parts. The all-important Ferrari Classiche has been applied for and is currently in progress for this matching numbers 365 GTC; the file is still in production and will follow after the sale. Prospective purchasers should be aware that this process can take a few months to complete.
Examples of this strikingly handsome, startlingly fast, and much under-rated Ferrari Gran Turismo model rarely appear at auction. Well documented, professionally restored, and with Ferrari Classiche granted, '12031' represents an opportunity for the discerning collector to acquire one of these exclusive and ultra-desirable models, which are rare even by Ferrari standards.
Bonhams : the Zoute Sale
Sold for € 805.000
Zoute Grand Prix 2017
Knokke - Zoute
België - Belgium
October 2017
From early 2010's flash memory technology seen in the previous photo, we go back even further, a *lot* further! The video laserdisc format is now over 40 years old, but was never all that popular among mainstream consumers in the United States. UPDATE: Pictured here aren't laserdiscs, but the forerunners known as "Capacitance Electronic Discs" - even rarer to find in some areas I would think.
This photo shows an actual monster-sized laserdisc in comparison to a DVD! Add to the fact that the CEDs were encased in an even bigger plastic housing (the whole of which was inserted into a player, if I'm not mistaken), and it's no wonder people didn't care too much for them. The machines sucked the disc part into the player and spit the plastic case back out, requiring the empty case to be put back in to retirieve the disc - how wild is that!??
Seems like the sheer weight and size of these CEDs might have made them somewhat fragile as well, especially if one was dropped onto it's end from a high shelf. I believe these that were spotted at Iuka's Sunflower Antique Mall marked either my second or third occasion to even see any in person. (And yep, that's a full-sized baby stroller the ones pictured here are sitting under)! If you happen to have one of those laserdisc and/or CED players (and some discs to go along with it), pretty cool indeed!
REFLECTIONS ON DUCHAMP, QUANTUM PHYSICS, AND MYSTERIUM CONIUNCTIONIS
Written by Massimo Lanzaro
Friday, 22 February 2008
In this brief essay, psychiatrist Massimo Lanzaro explores the alchemical possibilities contained in Marcel Duchamp's masterwork The Large Glass.
Reflections on: Duchamp, quantum physics and Mysterium Coniunctionis
Max Lanzaro
When Jung published his first major work on alchemy (Psychology and Alchemy, 1944) at the end of World War II, most reference books described this discipline as nothing more than a fraudulent and inefficient forerunner of modern chemistry. Today, more than fifty years later, alchemy is once again a respected subject of both academic and popular interest, and alchemical terminology is used with great frequency in textbooks of depth-psychology and other disciplines.
Jung interpreted the practice of alchemy as the symbolic projection of psychic processes. In Psychology and Alchemy and Mysterium Coniunctionis (1955/56), Jung’s empirical exploration and rediscovery of the objective psyche led him to recognise that the basis of the alchemist’s endeavour was the archetypal union of opposites by means of the integration of opposing polarities: conscious and unconscious, reason and instinct, spiritual and material, masculine and feminine. In the last summaries of his insights on the subject, influenced in part by his collaboration with the Nobel Prize winning physicist Wolfgang Pauli, the old Jung envisions a great psycho-physical mystery to which the old alchemists gave the name of unus mundus (one world). At the root of all being, so he intimates, there is a state wherein physicality and spirituality meet.
Seen in this light, the various stages in the alchemical process take on a new meaning. Alchemy, like analytic psychology, is a discipline in which the notion of the subjective and objective as separate and opposing realities is dissolved. Both disciplines are sciences which seek to reintegrate these separate realities into their original, undivided form. While Jung was engaged on his research, notions of Hermetism and alchemy, far from losing intellectual ground, continued to influence post-romantic and avant-garde artistic movements such as Surrealism, which were exploring aspects of experience as process.
The surrealists wanted to make a leap into the irrational for two reasons. One was the disgust inherited from their direct predecessors (the Dadaists) at the mess the old apparently rational structures of thinking and behaving had made of European society. The other, more positive, reason was that the exploration of the non-logical (unconscious) world would enable them to tap entirely new sources of creativity. This is the reason why they took such an interest in the art of the mentally ill. People whom rational, bourgeois society classified as mentally incompetent became, for the members of the Surrealist Group, pioneer explorers of a realm which could without apology be described a ‘visionary’.
If these considerations supplied the basic structure of surrealist thinking, there were some others which were important. One was something they had learned from Freud - the power of libido. Rather than resisting this, as the religious and visionary artists of the past had tended to do, the members of the Surrealist Movement wanted to harness the libido for the benefit of their work. A second was what they inherited from late nineteenth century Symbolism. To some extent in revolt against the first generation of modernists, they looked at these less immediate predecessors and found in them a fascination with imagery which was inherently ambiguous and charged with multiple meanings. Third, they were fascinated, just as the Symbolists themselves had been, by aspects of hermetic philosophy and especially by Rosicrucianism and alchemy.
Alchemy they regarded as a pseudo-rational system which could be used to show up the pretensions of modern scientific rationality. They approached this body of information in a much more self-conscious way than the artists who had examined the same material in the years before World War I - their use of the imagery borrowed from this source is nearly always tinged with irony.
The supreme artistic ironist of the period is, in my opinion, Marcel Duchamp (1887-1968). His impact on art was widespread, multidirectional, and occurred over a long time span. Duchamp defined new media (or, mixed media), repeatedly crossing over the traditional boundaries of sculpture, painting and graphics. Marcel Duchamp’s “alchemical” masterpiece is The Large Glass, or The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even, whose very title, in French Le Grand Verre, has onomatopoeic echoes of alchemy’s “Great Work” (Le Grand Oeuvre). [click here to open a copy of The Large Glass in a new window, with thanks to Wikipedia]
This “definitively unfinished” work displays a design for a strange mechanical device and is accompanied by an enigmatic “manual”, the “Green Box”, containing notes by the artist. Together, the glass panes and the notes appear no less complex and ambiguous than an act of alchemy. This work has been seen as the critical interpretation of the myth surrounding devotion to the Virgin Mary. The Virgin’s assumption into heaven and the denuded bride are at the same time symbols of the transformation and purification of base matter and of revelation, unveiling. The sacred marriage of substances is the central theme of alchemy, something which would today perhaps be described as chemical affinity. The basic idea of this supremely complex work seems to be one which is central to alchemy - that of the union of opposites which will result in the birth of the perfect being (“the androgyne”).
The purpose of the “chocolate grinder”, as Duchamp called the device with the three drums placed in the centre of the lower pane of The Large Glass, recalling the millstone in Durer’s Melancholy, is to grind the matter into its black nigredo state, ironically referred to as chocolate. The meaning of nigredo (putrefactio) in Melancholy 1 is clear; melancholy or black material is the first stage of the alchemical process, the first moment, the first sign. The mournful “black bile” pervades the alchemist’s universe, but it is nonetheless the first step on the path towards the light. In The Large Glass, the enormous scissors symbolise the splitting-off and grinding (separatio) of the matter while the seven cylinders or “sieves” are instruments of refinement (distillatio). Once the material has been dissolved (sublimatio), it rises, like vapour, then falls from the cloud in droplets and sets off the process again (multiplicatio). In iconographic terms, Duchamp’s “Bride”, like all the elements in The Large Glass is a mechanism whose humanity is symbolic and whose driving force is instinctual desire. This desire is symbolised by the fire of a combustion engine, love is symbolised by the combustible material and the seed by the spark of gunpowder. The masculine is represented by the bachelors, in uniform, brought back to life by the call of the feminine.
At this point, we can make a somewhat pretentious intellectual leap that connects with the words of Jung: “In inventing the turbine, which produces electricity from its driving motor, men became able to divert the course of rivers and then extend this power to a multiplicity of operations, they have therefore succeeded in using machinery to transform natural, instinctive energy which follows its own path and does so without the need for work.” The psychological machine that transforms energy is the symbol. Symbolic activity arises from the existential need to harmonise opposing forces (masculine and feminine) in a state of reciprocal tension and thus give expression to the libido in terms that go beyond the instinctive to the realms of the creative and the cognitive.
The first operation of alchemy addresses itself to the breaking up (torturing, bleeding, dismembering) of the confining structure of matter and reducing it to a condition of creative chaos (massa confusa, prima materia). From this, in the process of transformation, the true, creative binaries emerge and begin their interaction designed to bring about the coniunctio or alchemical union. In this ultimate union, says Jung, the previously confined light is redeemed and brought to the point of its ultimate and redemptive fulfilment.
While these statements ostensibly refer to the material universe and to nature, Jung perceives in them a model or paradigm for the material and natural aspect of human nature as well. Under the guise of liberating the light confined in matter, the alchemists were endeavouring to redeem the spirit or psychic energy locked up in the body and psyche (the "natural man" of St. Paul) and thus makes this energy available for the greater tasks of the spirit or spiritual man.
Duchamp wrote that: “At no time in the process depicted in The Large Glass does the Bride enter into a relationship with masculine reality; the process culminates, not in physical possession, but in a final vision, the unveiling”. Octiavio Paz noted that “this is sometimes interpreted as an allegory for onanism or as the expression of a pessimistic view of love: true union is impossible and therefore non-consummation or voyeurism (the eyes as witnesses) is an alternative, if no less cruel, to the remorse that follows possession”.
In this later assemblage work (Etant Donnes, also known as Given: 1 The Waterfall, 2 Illuminating Gas), the artist reveals that the union is possible, but only when the gaze is transformed into contemplation and knowledge of the projected psychic content. Only then is it possible to integrate the female anima into the masculine consciousness and the characteristics of the male animus into the consciousness that is evident in the purely feminine. Duchamp worked in secret from 1946 to 1966 on Etant Donnes, which must be viewed through a peep-hole in the foreground door. The view is further directed by a hole in the midground brick wall. The background contains a landscape and waterfall.
Duchamp also famously added a moustache and beard to a reproduction of the Mona Lisa, an apparent act of avant-garde desecration, but with the less blatant motive of wittily emphasising the androgynous nature of the figure. Today, in compliance with the silence imposed by religion, rationalism and materialistic concretism, alchemy is stripped of any form of scientific dignity and justifiably so in some ways.
Duchamp countered the scientific positivism of his day with his own meta-ironic notes on “physique amusante”: “A straight, one-metre-long thread falls from a height of one metre onto a horizontal plane, and as it curls the way its fancy takes it, it offers us a new representation of the unity of length”. In alchemy, the mercurial feminine principle symbolises the protomorphic, fluid and unpredictably mutable properties of natural phenomena.
Duchamp's 4 Oct 54 statement: "For me there is something other than yes, no, and indifferent - it is for example the absence of investigations of this kind" showed his understanding of the fundamental basis of quantum theory, with "indifferent" being his term for "superposition", and "investigations" being his term for "experimental measurements".
Perhaps the inclination of our century to attribute so much power to science is counterbalanced by the disorientating uncertainties inherent in quantum mechanics which demonstrate that it is impossible to determine both the precise position and speed of some sub-atomic particles. Moreover we know that the way in which these particles present themselves depends on the very act of observation itself.
References
CG Jung. Psychology and Alchemy (Collected Works Vol.12).
CG Jung. Mysterium Coniunctionis (Collected Works Vol.14).
Octavio Paz. Marcel Duchamp: Appearance Stripped Bare. Arcade Publishing, 1991.
Dr Max Lanzaro has worked as a Consultant Psychiatrst in Italy and in the UK. He has considerable experience in areas of general psychiatric interest and is author of several papers published in national and international psychiatric and psychological scientific journals.
Dr Massimo (aka Max) Lanzaro
M.D., MRCPsych eq., Specialist in Psychiatry
Consultant Psychiatrist, Psychotherapist
With the upcoming Red Arrows' 50th Anniversary in 2014 it is worth remembering that their forerunners, the Yellowjacks are 50 years old this year.
Formed in the summer of 1963 and flying five Folland Gnats, they eventually reformed a year later into the nine-ship Red Arrows aerobatic display team that still fly for the RAF today albeit now equipped with the BAe Hawk T.1.
Scanned 35mm transparency
Next year should be very interesting.
Here, painted in full Yellowjacks scheme, ex RAF Gnat XS102 (G-MOUR), marked as 'XR991' sits on the flight line at the Kemble 'Airday' on the 20th of June 2004.
See:
www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://aerobaticteams.net/...
"The woman who had been barren becomes fertile and gives birth today to the Forerunner of Christ. He is the greatest and last of the prophets, for standing in the waters of the Jordon River, he placed his hands on Christ whom all the prophets had announced, and in so doing he became a prophet himself, a preacher and a forerunner of the Word of God."
– Kontakion for the Nativity of the Holy Forerunner.
Today, 24 June, is the Solemnity of St John the Baptist, and this tapestry from the Gobelin workshops is in the Lateran Palace in Rome.
My sermon for today's feast can be read here.
A carriage is a two- or four-wheeled horse-drawn vehicle for passengers. Second-hand private carriages were common public transport, the equivalent of modern cars used as taxis. Carriage suspensions are by leather strapping or, on those made in recent centuries, steel springs. Two-wheeled carriages are usually owner-driven.
Coaches are a special category within carriages. They are carriages with four corner posts and a fixed roof. Two-wheeled war chariots and transport vehicles such as four-wheeled wagons and two-wheeled carts were forerunners of carriages.
In the 21st century, horse-drawn carriages are occasionally used for public parades by royalty and for traditional formal ceremonies. Simplified modern versions are made for tourist transport in warm countries and for those cities where tourists expect open horse-drawn carriages to be provided. Simple metal sporting versions are still made for the sport known as competitive driving.
The word carriage (abbreviated carr or cge) is from Old Northern French cariage, to carry in a vehicle.[3] The word car, then meaning a kind of two-wheeled cart for goods, also came from Old Northern French about the beginning of the 14th century (probably derived from the Late Latin carro, a car); it is also used for railway carriages and in the US around the end of the 19th century, early cars (automobiles) were briefly called horseless carriages.
Some horse carts found in Celtic graves show hints that their platforms were suspended elastically. Four-wheeled wagons were used in Bronze Age Europe, and their form known from excavations suggests that the basic construction techniques of wheel and undercarriage (that survived until the age of the motor car) were established then.
First prototyped in the 3rd millennium BC, a bullock cart is a large two-wheeled cart pulled by oxen or buffalo. It includes a sturdy wooden pole between the oxen, a yoke connecting a pair of oxen, a wooden platform for passengers or cargo, and large steel rimmed wooden wheels.
Two-wheeled carriage models have been discovered from the Indus valley civilization including twin horse drawn covered carriages resembling ekka from various sites such as Harappa, Mohenjo Daro and Chanhu Daro. The earliest recorded sort of carriage was the chariot, reaching Mesopotamia as early as 1900 BC. Used typically for warfare by Egyptians, the Near Easterners and Europeans, it was essentially a two-wheeled light basin carrying one or two standing passengers, drawn by one to two horses. The chariot was revolutionary and effective because it delivered fresh warriors to crucial areas of battle with swiftness.
One of the great innovations in carriage history was the invention of the suspended carriage or the chariot branlant (though whether this was a Roman or medieval innovation remains uncertain). The "chariot branlant" of medieval illustrations was suspended by chains rather than leather straps as had been believed. Suspension, whether on chains or leather, might provide a smoother ride since the carriage body no longer rested on the axles, but could not prevent swinging (branlant) in all directions. It is clear from illustrations (and surviving examples) that the medieval suspended carriage with a round tilt was a widespread European type, referred to by any number of names (car, currus, char, chariot).
In 14th century England carriages, like the one illustrated in the Luttrell Psalter, would still have been a quite rare means of aristocratic transport, and they would have been very costly until the end of the century. They would have had four six-spoke six-foot high wheels that were linked by greased axles under the body of the coach, and did not necessarily have any suspension. The chassis was made from oak beam and the barrel shaped roof was covered in brightly painted leather or cloth. The interior would include seats, beds, cushions, tapestries and even rugs. They would be pulled by four to five horses.
Under King Mathias Corvinus (1458–90), who enjoyed fast travel, the Hungarians developed fast road transport, and the town of Kocs between Budapest and Vienna became an important post-town, and gave its name to the new vehicle type. The earliest illustrations of the Hungarian "Kochi-wagon" do not indicate any suspension, a body with high sides of lightweight wickerwork, and typically drawn by three horses in harness. Later models were considerably lighter and famous for a single horse being able to draw many passengers.
The Hungarian coach spread across Europe, initially rather slowly, in part due to Ippolito d'Este of Ferrara (1479–1529), nephew of Mathias' queen Beatrix of Aragon, who as a very junior Archbishopric of Esztergom developed a taste for Hungarian riding and took his carriage and driver back to Italy. Then rather suddenly, in around 1550, the "coach" made its appearance throughout the major cities of Europe, and the new word entered the vocabulary of all their languages. However, the new "coach" seems to have been a fashionable concept (fast road travel for men) as much as any particular type of vehicle, and there is no obvious technological change that accompanied the innovation, either in the use of suspension (which came earlier), or the adoption of springs (which came later). As its use spread throughout Europe in the late 16th century, the coach's body structure was ultimately changed, from a round-topped tilt to the "four-poster" carriages that became standard everywhere by c.1600.
The coach had doors in the side, with an iron step protected by leather that became the "boot" in which servants might ride. The driver sat on a seat at the front, and the most important occupant sat in the back facing forwards. The earliest coaches can be seen at Veste Coburg, Lisbon, and the Moscow Kremlin, and they become a commonplace in European art. It was not until the 17th century that further innovations with steel springs and glazing took place, and only in the 18th century, with better road surfaces, was there a major innovation with the introduction of the steel C-spring.
Many innovations were proposed, and some patented, for new types of suspension or other features. It was only from the 18th century that changes to steering systems were suggested, including the use of the 'fifth wheel' substituted for the pivoting fore-axle, and on which the carriage turned. Another proposal came from Erasmus Darwin, a young English doctor who was driving a carriage about 10,000 miles a year to visit patients all over England. Darwin found two essential problems or shortcomings of the commonly used light carriage or Hungarian carriage. First, the front wheels were turned by a pivoting front axle, which had been used for years, but these wheels were often quite small and hence the rider, carriage and horse felt the brunt of every bump on the road. Secondly, he recognized the danger of overturning.
A pivoting front axle changes a carriage's base from a rectangle to a triangle because the wheel on the inside of the turn is able to turn more sharply than the outside front wheel. Darwin suggested a fix for these insufficiencies by proposing a principle in which the two front wheels turn (independently of the front axle) about a centre that lies on the extended line of the back axle. This idea was later patented in 1818 as Ackermann steering. Darwin argued that carriages would then be easier to pull and less likely to overturn.
Carriage use in North America came with the establishment of European settlers. Early colonial horse tracks quickly grew into roads especially as the colonists extended their territories southwest. Colonists began using carts as these roads and trading increased between the north and south. Eventually, carriages or coaches were sought to transport goods as well as people. As in Europe, chariots, coaches and/or carriages were a mark of status. The tobacco planters of the South were some of the first Americans to use the carriage as a form of human transportation. As the tobacco farming industry grew in the southern colonies so did the frequency of carriages, coaches and wagons. Upon the turn of the 18th century, wheeled vehicle use in the colonies was at an all-time high. Carriages, coaches and wagons were being taxed based on the number of wheels they had. These taxes were implemented in the South primarily as the South had superior numbers of horses and wheeled vehicles when compared to the North. Europe, however, still used carriage transportation far more often and on a much larger scale than anywhere else in the world.
Today, carriages are still used for day-to-day transport in the United States by some minority groups such as the Amish. They are also still used in tourism as vehicles for sightseeing in cities such as Bruges, Vienna, New Orleans, and Little Rock, Arkansas.
The most complete working collection of carriages can be seen at the Royal Mews in London where a large selection of vehicles is in regular use. These are supported by a staff of liveried coachmen, footmen and postillions. The horses earn their keep by supporting the work of the Royal Household, particularly during ceremonial events. Horses pulling a large carriage known as a "covered brake" collect the Yeoman of the Guard in their distinctive red uniforms from St James's Palace for Investitures at Buckingham Palace; High Commissioners or Ambassadors are driven to their audiences with the King and Queen in landaus; visiting heads of state are transported to and from official arrival ceremonies and members of the Royal Family are driven in Royal Mews coaches during Trooping the Colour, the Order of the Garter service at Windsor Castle and carriage processions at the beginning of each day of Royal Ascot.
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
In September 1939, the US Army was ill-prepared as far as armored vehicles, training and tactics went. Soon, it became clear that a new model, which could be favorably compared to the European models, had to be studied for mass production. The very early M1 Combat Car was nothing more than a very small tank with two machine guns. Its main purpose was scouting and as such ordered for “cavalry” units. This was in 1937, and became the forerunner of all light tanks to come.
In 1935, a new model, the M2 Light Tank, was designed. At first, it was an immediate upgrade of the M1, but with the heavier .50 (12.7 mm) caliber machine gun, immediately followed by the M2A2 with twin turrets equipped with .30 (7.62 mm) caliber M1919 machine guns. The “Mae West” gave way in 1938 to a small series of M2A3 37 mm (1.45 in) single turret tanks, and then to the final M2A4 in 1940, with improved armor, motorization and equipment. These fought at Guadalcanal with the US Marine Corps, and with the British Army through Lend-Lease, performing well in Burma and India against the Japanese, despite being obsolete.
The following M3 was built under the light of recent events in France. The quick fall of France, due to inadequate tactics, quickly led the US Army Corps to think about a new doctrine, which led to an independent US armored force. From the material point of view, the latest M2A4 and the M3 were both designed to be more effective than only infantry support units, their main duty was scouting and screening.
The M3 was, at first, a simple upgrade of the last M2, with a more powerful Continental petrol engine, a new vertical volute spring suspension system and up to four machine guns in addition to a main, quick-firing M5 (and later M6) 37 mm (1.45 in) anti-tank gun, with a new gun recoil system.
Most of the initial M3 tanks were provided to the British and Commonwealth forces through Lend-Lease. Some were immediately thrown into action in Northern Africa, where they immediately became popular for their speed, sturdiness and reliability. Although the official British designation was “Stuart”, paying homage to Civil War Confederate general J.E.B. Stuart, they found themselves affectuously dubbed “Honey”, because of their smooth ride.
Beyond British and Commonwealth forces, the US Forces used many M3s in their first major operation in the west, the North African invasion in November 1942 (Operation Torch). They had some success against Italian tanks, but were butchered by German 88 mm (3.46 in) artillery and the up-gunned Panzer IIIs and IVs. It was clear that their high profile and the flat squared hull was too vulnerable. However, the M3 was popular, reliable and mobile, and the introduction of a diesel engine in the M3A1 made the small tank even more suitable for reconnaissance missions, so that the British Army asked by late 1941 for a dedicated scout variant that would trade-in the weak cannon armament (and the fourth crewman associated with it) for more mobility and range. This led to the M3A2, better known under the British name “Parsival”, because it was never adopted and operated by the U.S. Army.
The Parsival Mk. I used the standard M3 hull, but the lateral sponsons that formerly housed fixed machine guns were outright deleted in order to save weight and to reduce manufacturing effort as well as frontal area. Another major modification concerned the running gear: in order to improve speed and handling at higher speed, the M3’s vertical springs were replaced by a modified Christie running gear, which consisted of the standard drive wheel at the front, four large road wheels and three return rollers per side. The last pair of road wheels was mounted on trailing swing arms for increased ground contact and also acted as idler wheels. The M3A1’s optional 9-cylinder Guiberson T-1020 diesel became the Parsival’s standard engine, and, beyond the internal tanks, two additional external fuel drums could be mounted to the rear hull, extending range from 100 to 150 miles.
A new cast turret, similar in shape to the airborne M22 Locust tank, was mounted, which had a much lower profile and offered better ballistic protection than the M3’s original turret with vertical side walls. The reduced height was a trade-off for firepower, though: the turret did not carry a full-fledged cannon anymore, only a medium 0.5” (12.7 mm) machine gun as well as a light, coaxial 0.303” (7.62 mm) machine gun, all operated by the commander. The machine gun in the front bow, handled by the radio operator, was retained, and another light machine gun could optionally be mounted on top of the turret against aircraft. The turret was furthermore equipped with a set of two smoke grenade launchers.
Through the different weight saving measures, the Parsival’s weight could be reduced from 12.7 to 10.8 tons, resulting in a slight improvement in overall performance but with a much better handling, esp. when moving off-road.
In the summer of 1942, the first Parsival Mk. Is arrived in the North African theatre of operations where they excelled in their dedicated reconnaissance role. Concerning the standard M3, the British usually kept the Stuarts out of direct tank-to-tank combat, using them primarily for reconnaissance, too. In consequence, the turret was removed from some British M3 examples to save weight and improve speed and range, but these were inferior to the Parsival and became known as "Stuart Recce". Some others were converted to armored personnel carriers known as the "Stuart Kangaroo", and some were converted into command vehicles and known as "Stuart Command".
After the Africa campaign, British Stuarts and Parsival took successfully part in the liberation of Italy. About 500 were produced, 160 of them were delivered to the Soviet Union under Lend-Lease, the rest was exclusively operated by the British Army in Europe. Parsivals, M3s, M3A3s, and M5s continued in British service until the end of the war.
Specifications:
Crew: Three (commander, driver, radio operator)
Weight: 10.8 tons
Length: 14ft 2in (4.33 m)
Width: 7ft 4in (2.33 m)
Height: 2.49 metres (8 ft 1 1/2 in)
Suspension: Christie system
Ground clearance: 16.5" (419 mm)
Fuel capacity: 54 US gal (200 l)
Armor:
0.52 - 2 in (13 - 51 mm)
Performance:
Speed:
- Maximum, road: 40 mph (65 km/h)
- Cross country: 22 mph (36 km/h)
Climbing capability:
- 40% side slope and 60% max grade
- Vertical obstacle of 24 inches (61 cm)
- 72 inches (1,8 m) trench crossing
Fording depth: 36 inches (91 cm)
Operational range: 100 ml (160 km) on road with internal fuel
Power/weight: 23.1 hp/t
Engine:
1× Guiberson T-1020 9-cylinder radial diesel engine with a 1,021 cu in (16.73 l) displacement,
delivering 250 hp (190 kW)
Transmission:
Hydramatic, 4 speeds forward, 1 reverse
Armament:
1× 0.5” (12.7) mm M2 machine gun with 900 rounds
3× 0.303” (7,62 mm) M1919A4 machine guns
(co-axial in the turret, in the front bow and as an AA weapon on top of the turret)
with a total of 6,750 rounds
2× smoke dischargers on the turret’s right side
The kit and its assembly:
This M3 conversion was spawned by the idea of a dedicated recce variant of the popular Stuart tank. Originally, I just planned to use the chassis from a Hasegawa 1:72 kit and replace the turret with a smaller option (including lighter armament), I already had organized a resin turret for/from an American T17 “Staghound” WWII recce car. But, as always, you can drive a simple idea easily further, so that I also thought about a different suspension and other modifications that would improve the tank’s agility. This led to a Christie-style running gear and the deletion of the M3’s machine gun sponsons, which were in practice used as storage space after the machine guns had been deleted.
The Staghound turret came from a ModelTrans/Silesian Models conversion set, which also includes a nice commander figure as well as two fuel drums. The sponsons were simply cut away and the gaps filled with 0.5 mm styrene sheet – a small modification, and thanks to the M3’s boxy hull design a simple affair. Only some small PSR on the side wall implants as well as on the mudguards (which are segmented) was necessary, and this modification changes the M3’s look considerably!
The running gear was scratched and more complicated, in particular because assembly and painting had to go hand in hand. The eight road wheels actually come from a 1:72 T-72 tank from ModelCollect, their width perfectly matched the track’s and they had the same size as the M3’s large idler wheel at the rear. The road wheels’ depth just looks a little disturbing, but not implausible. The trailing idler wheel (using the original suspension arm) defined the stance and the other wheels were mounted on plastic rods to the hull, with simulated suspensions arms (styrene profile) behind them. Since the drive and idler wheels’ position effectively remained unchanged, I was able to use the OOB vinyl tracks, which are really smooth and easy to handle. However, this move necessitated to retain the return wheels – I wanted to omit them, for an even more Christie-esque look, but without them the track would have been too long and slacked through, with a lot of space between the tracks and the mudguards. Nevertheless, the return wheels’ position was slightly changed, in order to reflect the modified road wheels’ position. And the whole affair simply looks different from the original, so I am fine with it.
In order to liven the small tank up, I added the fuel drums from the Staghound set to the rear fenders and added some more boxes and folded tarpaulins (made from paper tissue drenched in thinned white glue) on the mudguards, somewhat masking the new side walls from sight. I also mounted the M3’s OOB AA machine gun to the turret.
Painting and markings:
I wanted a Northern Africa paint scheme and at first considered the iconic Caunter scheme, but then I thought that, since this livery was also used on the real British Stuarts, I rather wanted something different.
I eventually settled for a simple two-tone scheme, used on British cruiser tanks like the Crusader as well as on M3 Lee medium tanks of American origin. The basic colors I used are Humbrol 168 (Hemp) for the Light Stone tone, and Humbrol 98 (Chocolate) for the dull, dark brown.
As common practice, the basic colors were separated with thin, white lines in order to emphasize the contrast between them. Sometimes in practice, an additional black line was added, too, but due to the model’s small size I just painted a white line.
Another common practice of the British army, esp. on cruiser tanks with large wheels, was to paint the front and rear road wheels in a uniform, light color, while the wheels between them became dark – an attempt to mimic a lorry, esp. when a light “Sunshield” canopy was mounted over the hull that resembled a truck’s outline.
The model received a light wash with a mix of black, grey and brown, the decals (taken from the OOB sheet) were applied next. Over this came some dry-brushing with light grey and ochre and the kit was sealed with matt acrylic varnish (from the rattle can). Once the tracks were mounted, the lower areas of the tank were finally dusted with a mix of sand and light grey pigments.
Even though the Hasegawa M3 was a simple basis to start with, the conversions, esp. the running gear, were quite challenging. But I like the result a lot: the Parsival looks like a slimmed-down race variant of the M3, just what I wanted to achieve, and the British camouflage suits the small tank well, too – the white contrast line adds an exotic touch.
Edvard Munch (1863-1944) was a Norwegian Symbolist painter, printmaker and an important forerunner of expressionistic art. He was a prolific yet perpetually troubled artist preoccupied with matters of human mortality such as chronic illness, sexual liberation, and religious aspiration. He expressed these obsessions through works of intense color, semi-abstraction, and mysterious subject matter.
This artwork, which Munch retained in his personal collection throughout his life, revisits his sister Sophie' final moments. It shows relatives crowded around the dying girl. They are rendered in a vivid palette of blurring and contrasting colors. Deliniated in thin runs of oil paint nearly thirty years after the event occurred, their faces are portrayed as if in a distant vision distorted through time.
This original Munch painting was seen and photographed on exhibit at San Francisco's Museum of Modern Art.
Chaïm Soutine was a Jewish, expressionist painter from Belarus. He has been interpreted as a forerunner of Abstract Expressionism. From 1910–1913 he studied in Vilnius at the Vilna Academy of Fine Arts. In 1913 he emigrated to Paris, where he studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts under Fernand Cormon. He soon developed a highly personal vision and painting technique. For a time, he and his friends lived at La Ruche, a residence for struggling artists in Montparnasse, where he became friends with Amedeo Modigliani. Modigliani painted Soutine's portrait several times.
In 1923, the American collector Dr. Albert C. Barnes visited his studio and immediately bought 60 of Soutine's paintings. In February 2006, the oil painting of the series 'Le Boeuf Ecorche' (1924) sold for a record £7.8 million ($13.8 million) to an anonymous buyer at a Christies auction held in London - after it was estimated to fetch £4.8 million.
Soutine produced the majority of his works from 1920 to 1929. He seldom showed his works, but he did take part in the important exhibition The Origins and Development of International Independent Art held at the Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume in 1937 in Paris, where he was at last hailed as a great painter. Soon thereafter France was invaded by German troops. As a Jew, Soutine had to escape from the French capital and hide in order to avoid arrest by the Gestapo. He moved from one place to another and was sometimes forced to seek shelter in forests, sleeping outdoors. Suffering from a stomach ulcer and bleeding badly, he left a safe hiding place for Paris in order to undergo emergency surgery, which failed to save his life. On August 9, 1943, Chaim Soutine died of a perforated ulcer.
Abbot's Cliff Sound Mirrors
Folkestone, United Kingdom
A forerunner of radar, acoustic mirrors were built on the south and northeast coasts of England between about 1916 and the 1930s.
The ‘listening ears’ were intended to provide early warning of incoming enemy aircraft.
205,895 items / 1,684,407 views
I am a hardcore fan devotee of Lord Ravan..his humanity touches me more than anything....
Ravana is a character in Hindu mythology, and is the primary antagonist in the Ramayan epic.
He plays a major role in the Hindu mythology Ramayana, where he is mainly depicted negatively as a brute, and most infamously as having kidnapped Rama's wife Sita and being killed by her husband.
This depiction is, however, open to other interpretations. Ravana is also mentioned as a great scholar, a capable ruler, Veena Player and a devoted follower of Shiva, and he has his apologists and staunch devotees within the Hindu traditions. The contrived meaning of "10 headed" as it is propagated by nationalists is that he possessed a very thorough knowledge in the 4 vedas, and 6 upanishadas (although the Upanishads number in their hundreds), which made him as powerful as 10 scholars. However, there is mention in Atharva Veda of demonic brahmans called 'Dasagva' (Ten headed) and 'navagva' (nine headed). These early mythical beings may be the actual forerunners of the later character in the Ramayana.
Ravana is also said to have authored Ravana Sanhita, a powerful book on the Hindu astrology, also known as Kaali Kitab. Ravana possessed a thorough knowledge of Ayurveda and political science. He is said to have possessed the nectar of immortality, which was stored under His navel, thanks to a celestial boon by Brahma. [1]
Contents
[hide]
* 1 Etymology
* 2 Birth
* 3 Tapas to Brahma
* 4 King of Lanka
* 5 Devotee of Lord Shiva
* 6 Emperor of the Three Worlds
* 7 Women
* 8 Depiction in other Scriptures, as Vishnu's cursed doorkeeper
* 9 Ravana's family
* 10 Ravana Temples
* 11 Popular Culture
* 12 Ravana-Dahan (Burning effigy of Ravana)
* 13 References
[edit] Etymology
The name 'Ravana' obtains from the root ru - shabde raavayati iti raavaNaH 'one who makes people criers by his violent actions.'[2] Ravana had many other popular names such as 'Dashanan', 'Lankeshwar', 'Ravanaeshwaran', 'Dashgreev', 'Dashkandhar', 'Vaishravan', all signifying the qualities.
[edit] Birth
Ravana was born to his father Brahmin sage known as Vishrava and his wife, the daitya princess Kaikesi. He was born in the Devagana gotra, as his grandfather, sage Pulastya, was the one of the six human sons of Brahma. Kaikesi's father, Sumali (or Sumalaya), king of the Daityas, wished her to marry the most powerful being in the mortal world, so as to produce an exceptional heir. He rejected the kings of the world, as they were less powerful than him. Kaikesi searched among the sages, and finally chose Vishrava, the father of Kubera. Ravana was thus partly Daitya and partly Brahmin.
His brothers were Vibhishana and Kumbhakarna. Through his mother, he was related to the daityas Maricha and Subahu. Kaikesi also produced a daughter, Meenakshi ("girl with fish like eyes"), although later she was dubbed the infamous Shoorpanakha "winnow-like nails".
His father Vishrava noted that while Ravana was aggressive and arrogant, he was also an exemplary scholar. Under Vishrava's tutelage, Ravana mastered the Vedas and the holy books and also the arts and ways of Kshatriyas (warriors). Ravana was also an excellent veena player and the sign of his flag had a picture of veena on it.[citation needed] Sumali, his grandfather, worked hard in secret to ensure that he retained the ethics of the Daityas.
The Ramayana tells the Ravana had close connections with region of the Yadus, which included Gujarat, parts of Maharashtra and Rajasthan up to Mathura south of Delhi. Ravana is believed to be the related to Lavanasura also regarded as a Rakshasa, of Madhupura (Mathura) in the region of the Surasenas, who was conquered & killed by Shatrughana, youngest brother of Rama.
After worshipping a Shiva Linga on the banks of the Narmada, in the more central Yadu region, Ravana was captured and held under the control of King Kartavirya Arjuna, one of the greatest Yadu kings. It is very clear from the references in the Ramayana, That Ravana was no commoner among the Humans or Asuras, a great chanter of the Sama Veda.
It is mentioned in one of the chapters of the Srimada Bhagvata, that Sita was actually his daughter. During one of the Ceremonial Yagya By Lord Shiva, Ravana was given the Boon Water,which he was told to give to Mandodari. While on way back to his kingdom, both the husband & wife slept in a lonely forest. During the night, Ravana felt thirsty, so he drank that water & was impregnated. While on the way back to his kingdom the next day, he coughed ferociously and Sita is said to have landed in Janakpur, The kingdom of King Janaka, who while ploughing in ceremony after performing the Yagya for the rains in his drought hit kingdom, struck a metal vessel with the lowest blade of the plough called Seet, this is how Sita's name originated.[3]
[edit] Tapas to Brahma
Following his initial training, Ravana performed an intense penance to Brahma (the Creator God), lasting several years. Pleased with his austerity, Brahma offered him a boon. Ravana asked for immortality, which Brahma refused to give, but gave him the celestial nectar of immortality. The nectar of immortality, which was stored under his navel, according to which he could never be vanquished till the nectar was dried out.
Ravana then asked for absolute invulnerability and supremacy before gods and heavenly spirits, other demons, serpents, and wild beasts. Contemptuous of mortal men, he did not ask for protection from these. Brahma granted him these boons, and additionally great strength by way of knowledge of divine weapons and sorcery.
[edit] King of Lanka
A traditional depiction of Ravana,
After winning these boons, Ravana sought out his grandfather, Sumali, and assumed leadership over his army. He then set his sights on capturing the island city of Lanka(present day Sri Lanka).
Lanka was an idyllic city, created by the celestial architect Vishwakarma for Kubera, the treasurer of the gods. Kubera had generously shared all that he owned with Ravana and the latter's siblings, who were Kubera's half-brothers and half-sister through his stepmother Kaikesi. However, Ravana demanded Lanka wholly from him, threatening to take it by force. Vishrava, their father, advised Kubera to give it up to him, as Ravana was now undefeatable.
Although Ravana usurped Lanka, he was nevertheless regarded as a benevolent and effective ruler. Lanka flourished under his rule, to the extent that it is said the poorest of houses had vessels of gold to eat and drink off, and hunger was unknown in the kingdom.
[edit] Devotee of Lord Shiva
Ravana lifting mount Kailash - Ellora Caves.
Following his conquest of Lanka, Ravana encountered Shiva at his abode in Kailash. Here Ravana attempted to uproot and move the mountain on a whim. Shiva, annoyed by Ravana's arrogance, pressed his littlest Toe on Kailash, pinning him firmly and painfully under it. His ganas informed Ravana of whom he had crossed, upon which Ravana became penitent. He composed and sang songs praising Shiva, and is said to have done so for years until Shiva released him from his bondage.
Pleased with his resilience and devotion, Shiva gave to him the divine sword Chandrahas ("Moon-blade"). It was during this incident that he acquired the name 'Ravana', meaning "(He) Of the terrifying roar", given to him by Shiva - the earth is said to have quaked at Ravana's cry of pain when the mountain was pinned on him. Ravana in turn became a lifelong devotee of Lord Shiva and is said to have composed the hymn known as Shiva Tandava Stotra.
After Ravana had been given the Celestial juice of Immortality by Brahma, he went on to please Shiva. He cut his head & put it as sacrifice for pleasing Shiva, but Shiva replaced his head with a new one. This was repeated Nine times, on which Shiva was happy & pleased with Ravana's resilience & devotion. Thus he also got name Dassa-sheesha.
[edit] Emperor of the Three Worlds
Ravana in Sanskrit drama of Kerala, India- Kutiyattam. Artist: Guru Nātyāchārya Māni Mādhava Chākyār[4]
His abilities now truly awe-inspiring, Ravana proceeded on a series of campaigns, conquering humans, celestials and other demons. Conquering the netherworld completely, he left his brother Ahiravana as king. He became supreme overlord of all asuras in the three worlds, making an alliance with the Nivatakavachas and Kalakeyas, two clans he was unable to subdue. Conquering several kingdoms of the human world, he performed the suitable sacrifices and was crowned Emperor.
Kubera at one point chastised Ravana for his cruelty and greed, greatly angering him. Proceeding to the heavens, Ravana fought and defeated the devas, singling out his brother for particular humiliation. By force he gained command over the gods, celestials, and the serpent races. At the time of the Ramayana, set several hundred years later, Ravana is shown as dominating all human and divine races - so much so that he can command the Sun's rising and setting.
[edit] Women
Ravana kidnapping Sita and killing Jatayu - By Raja Ravi Varma
Ravana was known for his virility and his aggressive conquests of women. Ravana had several wives, foremost of whom was Mandodari - daughter of Mayasura and an apsara named Hema.
Mandodari was renowned for her wisdom and grace as well as beauty and chastity. She is often compared to Sita, the most beautiful woman described in Indian spiritualism.
In addition to his wives, Ravana maintained a harem of incredible size, populated with women whom he captured in his many conquests, many of them accepted and lived happily in his harem for his great manhood, power, and knowledge of different subjects. Ravana was known to force himself upon any woman who rejected his advances. Two significant encounters occurred that would shape the course of the Ramayana.
The first was the encounter with the sage-woman Vedavati. Vedavati had been performing penance with the intention of winning Lord Vishnu as her husband. Ravana met her at her hermitage, her beauty enhanced by the austerities she had performed. He propositions her and is rejected. Ravana mocks her austerities and her devotion to Vishnu; finding himself firmly rejected at every turn, he tries to molest Vedavati, pulling her hair. This greatly incensed her, and she forthwith cut off her hair, and said she would enter into the fire before his eyes, adding, "Since I have been insulted in the forest by thee who art wicked-hearted, I shall be born again for thy destruction." So she entered the blazing fire, and celestial flowers fell all around. It was she who was born again as Sita, and was the moving cause of Ravana's death, though Rama was the agent.[5]
Vedavati is said to have been reborn as Sita, causing Ravana's death and winning Vishnu (as Rama) as her husband.
The second was his encounter with the apsara Rambha, upon whom he forced himself. Rambha was betrothed to Kubera's son, but her plea that she was like a daughter to him did not deter Ravana. Angered at this, Kubera's son cursed Ravana, stating that his ten heads would fall off if he forced himself upon any woman thereafter. This curse is said to have protected Sita's chastity while she was Ravana's captive for nearly a year.
[edit] Depiction in other Scriptures, as Vishnu's cursed doorkeeper
Ravana as depicted in Yakshagana, popular folk art of Karnataka
In the Bhagavata Purana, Ravana and his brother, Kumbakarna were said to be reincarnations of Jaya and Vijaya, gatekeepers at Vaikuntha, the abode of Vishnu and were cursed to be born in Earth for their insolence.
These gatekeepers refused entry to the Sanatha Kumara monks, who, because of their powers and austerity appeared as young children. For their insolence, the monks cursed them to be expelled from Vaikunta and to be born on Earth.
God Vishnu agreed that they should be punished, but agreed to mitigate their curse. He asked them whether they wanted seven births as devotees of Vishnu or three births as enemies of the Lord. Since they wanted to return as soon as possible, they agreed to be born in three births as evil-doers. As according to the Vishnu Puarana, once Narada wanted to get the Shape & form of Lord Vishnu, so that he could marry a Princess on whom he had developed infatuation (although it was a Vishnu's mesmerisation. On desperate request of Narada, Lord Vishnu actually made him look like a monkey. Narada straightaway went to the Swayamvara of that Princess. The princess is said to have passed Him three times, when he didn't still realise why he was rejected(as he believed that he looked Like Lord Vishnu). Other Princesses present there made fun out of his Appearance and told him to just have a look at himself before looking at the Princess. He went to a nearby fountain & looked in the water. He was furious to find that he, in fact, looked like a monkey. Lord Vishnu was also present there. Narada cursed him saying that in 'Treta Yuga his beloved wife will get kidnapped by a Demon. He will be compelled to seek help from the monkeys. The two Door Keepers of Lord Vishnu, Jai & Vijay, were also present there laughed uncontrollably at Narada's plight.Enraged he hurled another curse at them as, that they should live on Earth as Demons at that time. Just then when the princess put the Swayamvara Garland on Vishnu's neck and she came to her real incarnation as Goddess Lakshmi. On this Narada realised his mistake and asked for apology from Lord Vishnu. Upon which Vishnu said that, it was bound to happen. Jai & Vijay pleaded to Lord Narada to forgive them. But a curse could never be taken back, so he limited the Curse to Three Lives. Lord Vishnu came to their rescue & said that he would each time he bring them Mokhsha by Killing them & that they would be back in his service after that.
In the first birth,in kritaYuga Jaya and Vijaya were born as Hiranyakashipu and Hiranyaksha. Vishnu incarnated as Varaha and Narasimha and killed them both. In Treta Yuga they were born as Ravana and Kumbhakarna and were killed by Rama. Then in Dwapara Yuga. In their final birth, they were born as Shishupala and Dantavakra, and killed by Sri Krishna. After the end of three births, they returned to Vaikunta.
[edit] Ravana's family
An Effigy of Ravana with burning sparklers on Dusshera. Dashehra Diwali Mela in Manchester, England, 2006.
This section deals with many members of Ravana's family. Since they are hardly mentioned outside the Ramayana, not much can be said about them. They are presented here as they are in the Ramayana, which is viewed by some as being only the point of view of Rama devotees, but is the most complete account of the story that is known.
Ravana was married to Mandodari, the daughter of the celestial architect Maya. He had seven sons from his three wives:
1. Indrajit
2. Prahasta
3. Atikaya
4. Akshayakumara
5. Devantaka
6. Narantaka
7. Trishira
Ravana's paternal grandfather was Pulastya, son of Brahma. Ravana's maternal grandfather was Malyavan, who was against the war with Rama, and his maternal grandmother was Tataki. Ravana also had a maternal uncle, Maricha.
Ravana had six brothers and two sisters:
1. Kubera - the King of North direction and the Guardian of Heavenly Wealth. He was an older half-brother of Ravana: they were born to the same father by different mothers.
2. Vibhishana - A great follower of Sri Rama and one of the most important characters in the Ramayana. As a minister and brother of Ravana, he spoke the Truth without fear and advised Ravana to return Kidnapped Sita and uphold Dharma. Ravana not only rejected this sane advice, but also banished him from his kingdom. Vibhishana sought protection from Sri Rama, which was granted without hesitation. He is known as a great devotee of Sri Rama.
3. Kumbhakarna - One of the most jovial demons in Hindu mythology. When offered a boon by Brahma, he was tricked into asking for unending sleep! A horrified Ravana, out of brotherly love, persuaded Brahma to amend the boon. Brahma mitigated the power of the boon by making Kumbhakarna sleep for six months and being awake for rest six months of a year (in some versions, he is awake for one day out of the year). During the war with Sri Rama, Kumbhakarna was awakened from his sleep. He tried to persuade Ravana to follow Dharmic path and return Sita; seek mercy of Sri Rama. But he too failed to mend the ways of Ravana. However, he fought on the side of Ravana and was killed in the battlefield. Before dying he met Vibhishana and blessed him for following path of righteousness.
4. Khara - King of Janasthan. He protected the northern kingdom of Lanka in the mainland and his kingdom bordered with the Kosala Kingdom, the kingdom of Rama. He was well-known for his superior skills in warfare.
5. Dushana - Viceroy of Janasthan.
6. Ahiravan - King of the Underworld ruled by the rakshasas by Ravana and Demon King Maya.
7. Kumbhini - sister of Ravana and the wife of the demon Madhu, King of Mathura, she was the mother of Lavanasura. She was renowned for her beauty and later retired to the sea for penance.
8. Surpanakha - the evil sister of Ravana. She was the ultimate root of the kidnapping of Sita Devi. She was the one who instigated her brothers to wage a war against Rama.
[edit] Ravana Temples
Despite Valmiki's attempt to portray Ravana [1,2] as a villain, there are several temples where he is worshipped.[6][7][8] Ravana is considered most revered devotee of Lord Shiva. The images of Ravana are seen associated with lord Shiva at some places.
There is a huge Shivalinga in Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh, supposedly installed by Ravana himself, with a statue of Ravana near by. Both Shivalinga and Ravana are worshiped by the fishermen community there.
In Sri Lanka, a thousand years ago, King Walagamba is said to have constructed cave temples for Ravana in the Ella Valley.
Thousands of Kanyakubja Brahmins of the village Ravangram of Netaran, in the Vidisha District of Madhya Pradesh, perform daily puja (worship) in the Ravan temple and offer naivedyam / bhog (a ritual of sacrifice to the Gods. Centuries ago King Shiv Shankar built a Ravana temple at Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. The Ravana temple is opened once in a year, on Dashehra Day, to perform puja for the welfare of Ravana.
A Jain temple in Alvar, Rajasthan is called the Ravan Parsvanath Temple. The legend says that Ravana used to worship Parsvanath daily. While Ravana was on tour to Alvar he realized that he forgot to bring the image of Parsvanath. Mandodari, Ravana's wife, is said to have made an image of Parsvanath immediately. And hence the Ravan Parsvanath temple at Alvar.[9]
Ravana is said to have married Princess Mandodari at a place about 32 kilometers away from Jodhpur, which is now called Mandor. There is a mandap (altar or pavilion) where Ravana is said to have married Mandodari, and which the local people call Ravan Jee Ki Chanwari.
At the altar can also be found the images of Saptamatri (Seven Mothers) flanked by Ganesha and Veera Bhadra. The Saptamatri images are said to precede the time of the Pratihara Dynasty (founded in the 6th Century AD) and are in fact reminscent of the images of seven female deities of Harappa - the oldest civilization in India. In the nearby stepwell, a stone bears a script that resembles the Harappan script.
The Dave Brahmins of Mudgal Gotra, Jodhpur/Mandor who were originally from Gujarat, claim to be the descendants of Ravana. The say that since time immemorial they are performing the shraddh (death anniversary) of Ravana on Dashehra Day every year. They offer pind daan and take a bath after that ritual. They recently erected a Ravan temple in Jodhpur, where daily puja is performed.
There is a theory proposed by Sinhalese nationlists that points to the southern part of Sri Lanka as the capital of Ravana, hence the name Ruhuna came to existence. "Ruhuna" is claimed to be derived from the word's Ravana Pura or Rohana Pura, despite the liguistic improbability of 'va' becoming 'ha' in Prakrit. This is probably an attempt to tie Ravana with the history of that other national hero: Duttagamini, who was a king from that region.
[edit] Popular Culture
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Ravana has been depicted as a cybernetic being possessing great powers in the Virgin Comics series Ramayan 3392 A.D.. In this series, Ravana is shown to be devoid of any human feeling and only embodies pure evil.
In an animated television film named after the Ramayana, Ravana is a luxury-loving, arrogant emperor who kidnaps Sita (as suggested above) to punish Rama for the mutilation of Shoorpanakha. He is mostly shown as an ordinary man, albeit with pointed ears and the ability to change shape. When he is angry or combating Rama, he assumes the commonly perceived features of multiple heads and (except in the first such scene) twenty arms.
Ashok K. Banker, a novelist who wrote a fantasy series featuring the Ramayan's basic storyline and characters, depicted Ravana as a dark lord capable of projecting himself into inanimate objects, of demonic possession, and of other feats of magic. Nearly all the legends described above are ascribed to him, but his character undergoes some significant changes throughout the series. He is at first depicted as an archvillain, but evolves gradually into a thing of smaller scale, ultimately to the point of seeming fully human despite his ten heads. When he goes to face Rama for the last time, Ravana is fully aware that he will die in this battle and seems to know the histories of all of his own previous incarnations. He is shot down dramatically and dies with elegance.
Rama has also been depicted in the original(but non-canon) "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" novel, "Resurrecting Ravana" by Ray Garton. In the novel, Gile's old foe Ethan Rayne cons the granddaughter of Benson Lovecraft out of a statue of Ravana, planning to resurrect the God with the aid of the Rakshasa, lesser demons which induce close friends to argue and eventually brutally kill each other.
Ravana, a powerful boss fight appears as only one of dozens of references to Hindu mythology in Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga
[edit] Ravana-Dahan (Burning effigy of Ravana)
Effigy of Ravana is burnt on Vijayadashami, in India at many places. It is said that it is symbolization of triumph ove evil (i.e. Ravana) by Rama.
officially the State of Brunei Darussalam or the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace (Malay: Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi: بروني دارالسلام), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia. Apart from its coastline with the South China Sea it is completely surrounded by the state of Sarawak, Malaysia, and in fact it is separated into two parts by Limbang, which is part of Sarawak.
Brunei regained its independence from the United Kingdom on 1 January 1984 and is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. During the early 20th century, the Southeast Asian nation experienced an economic boom and underwent rapid development. Economic growth during the 1970s and 1990s, averaging 56% from 1999 to 2008, has transformed Brunei Darussalam into a newly industrialised country.
Brunei has one of the world's fastest growing gross domestic product at purchasing power parity. Brunei has the second highest Human Development Index among the South East Asia nations, after Singapore and is classified as a Developed Country. Islam is the official religion.
History
The Sultanate of Brunei ruled during the fourteenth to the sixteenth century CE. Its territory covered the northern part of Borneo and the southern Philippines. European influence gradually brought an end to this regional power. Later, there was a brief war with Spain, in which Brunei was victorious. The decline of the Bruneian Empire culminated in the nineteenth century when Brunei lost much of its territory to the White Rajahs of Sarawak, resulting in its current small landmass and separation into two parts. Brunei was a British protectorate from 1888 to 1984.
The history of Brunei before the arrival of Magellan's ships is based mostly on speculation and the interpretation of Chinese sources and local legends. Historians believe that there was a forerunner to the present day Brunei Sultanate. One possible predecessor state was called Vijayapura, which possibly existed in northwest Borneo in the 7th century (Not to be confused with the Indian state of the same name. It was probably a subject state of the powerful Srivijaya empire based in Sumatra. Another possible predecessor state was called Po-ni (pinyin: Boni)[1] By the 10th century Po-ni had contacts with first the Song dynasty and at some point even entered into a tributary relationship with China. By the 14th century Po-ni also fell under the influence of the Javanese Majapahit Empire. The book of Nagarakertagama, canto 14, written by Prapanca in 1365 mentioned Berune as a vassal state of Majahpahit. However this may have been nothing more than a symbolic relationship, as one account of the annual tribute owed each year to Majahpahit was a jar of areca juice obtained from the young green nuts of the areca palm. The Ming dynasty resumed communications with Po-ni in the 1370s and the Po-ni ruler Ma-na-jih-chia-na visited the Ming capital Nanjing in 1408 and died there. In 1424, the Hongxi Emperor ended China's maritime program, and with it its relationship with Po-ni.
Historical texts from the Song dynasty and archaeological evidence suggest that Po-ni was heavily influenced by Hindu civilization, as transmitted by Hindu culture in Java and Sumatra, and not directly from India. The system of writing used was a Hindu script. There was also a heavy Chinese influence, with Chinese coins dating from as early as the seventh century being found in present-day Brunei.
In Late Yuan Dynasty, China became chaotic, people who lived along the coastal area of Fujian, under the leadership of Ong Sum Ping's siblings, escaped to Easten Kalimantan—they landed the river mouth. When they were exhausted, they faced with the shipping crisis, someone lost their arms. After that, the Malay-Indonesian named it as the Sungai Kinabatangan-mean the place Chinese lost their arms.
Ong Sum Ping and his sister, and the Chinese people developed the area of Sungai Kinabatangan, and they increased their influences there. With the increase of his prosperity, Malay-Indonesian named him Raja, mean the king. Chinese named him as "Chung Ping"-mean the General. We can see that Ong Sum Ping controlled the Eastern Kalimantan apparently, especially the Chinese military power.
Located the northern part of the Kinabatangan area was Kesultanan Brunei, its southern area was controlled by the Indonesian, and they were declining. In the eastern part, they suffered from the invasion of Kesultanan Sulu. New King-Sultan Muhammad Shah came to the throne,he asked for the help of Ong Sum Ping, Sultan Muhammad Shah married his daughter to Ong Sum Ping, and titled him as Maharaja Lela. Muhammad Shah also admissed his brother to marry the sister of Ong Sum Ping, and titled her as Puteri Kinabatangan. Two main political power built a close allianial relationship. Under the cooperation of Ong Sum Ping and the Chinese armies, they fought against the invasion of Sulu, and Brunei prevented the fate of collapse.
Before 1370, Zhu Yuan Zhuang sent the representative to Brunei via Indonesia, and Brunei tributed to Ming Dynasty. This mean the strong influence of Ming Dynasty. It explained the enforcing reason of the combination of Ong Sum Ping's influence and Brunei. In these 30 years, two main powers combined quickly. Chinese expanded their influences from the Eastern Sungai Kinabatangan to Northern Borneo. They built Chinese towns, villages, in corresponding to the Kota Kinabalu nowadays.
In 1402, after the death of Sultan Muhammad Shah, his son-Abdul Majid Hasan came to the throne. Ong Sum Ping and Pengiran Temenggong came to the regent. Bruneian History seldom treated Hasan as the second Sultan. in 1406, after the death of Sultan Majid Hasan, there were two years of power vacuum. In this two years, Bruneian Royalties started the power struggle, and at last, Sultan Ahmad won the power struggle, Pengiran Temenggong failed. Ahmad became the second Sultan in Bruneian History. Ong Sum Ping consolidated his power again. He didn't forget China after the immigration of Brunei. He increased the Chinese Identity under the new Ming Dynasty. Thus he sent the representative with his armies to China. He landed on the coastal region of Fujian, King Yong Le was very happy. He asked for the official to organize the welcome party with Ong Sum Ping. In this trip, they saw the change of China.
With the advanced age of Ong Sum Ping, he didn't able to start long distance of tripm, he didn't affort to the happiness of coming back to his homeland,and he died in Nanjing. Before his death, he asked the admission to Emperor Yong Le:1. Brunei and Sungai Kinabatangan become Chinese territories, 2.named Gunung Kinabalu, 3, buried in China. Emperor Yong Le agreed and titled his son-Awang as the new king, named the mountain of Brunei as Chang Ning Mountainجبل السلام-mean Jabel Alsalam in Arabic Language.
1408, Awang came back to Brunei under the protection of eunuch and the officials. After the return of Awang, he succeed the influence of Ong Sum Ping in Brunei, and controlled the political power. Chinese still called them Chung Ping-General. In 1412, he tributed to Emperor Yong Le. The wife of Ong Sum Ping also buried in Brunei, thus the Malay-Indonesian also called it as Bukit Cina. The sister of Ong Sum Ping and Sultan Ahmad gave the birth of a daughter, this daughter married to Sultan Sharif Aliسلطان شريف علي(so he was Sayyidina-سيدنا), the man came from Arabian Peninsulaالشبة الجزيرة العربية, who was the descendent of Nabi Muhammad SAWالنبي محمد.
Until now, because of their influences, Bruneian still believed the attitude of "Ong Sum Ping was the ancestor of Brunei Royalties." Even though the Bruneian Royalties stressed more on the theories of Malay Islam Berajaملاي إسلام براج, but they didn't disagree with it, obviously they gave him positive criticism,and put his name in Silsilah Raja-Raja Brunei. In capital of Brunei—Bandar Seri Begawanبندر سري بغاوان, it had Jalan Ong Sum Pingسارع ونغ سوم بينغ, and Muzium Brunei also contained the artifacts of Ong Sum Ping. The cemetery of Ong Sum Ping's son also protected by the Bruneian government.
To prove the historical fact of Ong Sum Ping, Silsilah Raja-raja Sulu could be the best evidence. According to the record of Silsilah Raja-raja Sulu, At first Ong Sum Ping arrived at Brunei with many Chinese, he said that he was ordered to collect the jewellery in Sabah, and the mountain was named as Gunung Kinabalu. The legend said that some attactive animal might appear in the forest, and they ate some people. Ong Sum Ping brought the candle with his colleague, and got the jewellery at last. Ong Sum Ping got a daughter, who married with Sultan Ahmad, in year of 1375 (in corresponding to Ming Dynasty in China), the king heritaged 20 times until now, the daughter of Sultan Ahmad married with Sultan Sharif Ali, and came to the throne. He was the ancestor of Sultan Haji Hassanal nowadays.
According to this record, Ong Sum Ping didn't become Sultan, but his daughter married to Sultan, and became the father-in-law. Bruneian royalties adopted maternal succession system, his maternal granddaughter became the Queen of Sultan Sharif Ali, it was a fact. However, it is believed that the year might be in 1375, not in Yuan Dynasty, but in the 8th years of Emperor Hong Wu.
Conversion to Islam and "Golden Age"
The later history of Po-ni, or Borneo, remains somewhat obscure. By the middle of the 15th century Po-ni had entered into a close relationship with the Muslim kingdom of Malacca. This era also saw the origin of the ruling dynasty, which continues to this day. According to the Syair Awang Semaun (also spelled Simawn), Brunei's national epic poem, the present-day sultanate originated when Dewa Emas Kayangan descended to earth from heaven in an egg. He had children with a number of aboriginal maidens, and one of these children converted to Islam and became the first sultan. However, the state continued to be multicultural. The second sultan was either Chinese or married a Chinese woman. The third sultan was said to be part Arab, who are seen in South and Southeast Asia as the descendents of Muhammad.
The sultanate oversaw a gradual expansion of the state's influence and borders. This was accelerated with the conquest of Malacca by Portugal in 1511. Brunei benefited from the scattering of Muslim merchants and traders who were forced to use other ports. These merchants probably also helped to speed the conversion of the general population to Islam.
The sultanate was a thalassocracy, a realm based on controlling trade rather than land. Situated in a strategic location between China and the trading networks of southeast Asia, the state served as an entrepot and collected tolls on water traffic. The society was hierarchical, with the sultan serving as despot. His powers were limited, however, by a council of princes of royal blood. One of the council's duties was to arrange for royal succession.
The reign of the fifth sultan, Bolkiah (1485–1521), is often described as Brunei's "golden age". The sultanate's control extended probably over the coastal regions of modern-day Sarawak and Sabah, the Sulu archipelago, and the islands off the northwest tip of Borneo. The sultanate's influence also spread north into the Philippines, where colonies were planted in Manila Bay. The sultan also visited Java and Malacca. At the end of Bolkiah's reign, in 1521, the first Europeans visited Brunei when Ferdinand Magellan's expedition arrived at the port. Antonio Pigafetta, a navigator on the trip, described an amazing city. The Europeans rode to visit the sultan on top of "elephants, caparisoned in silk-cloth". The inhabitants of the palace "had their loins covered with gold-embroidered cloth and silk, wore poniards with golden hilts, ornamented with pearls and precious stones, and had many rings on their fingers". The visitors were served meals on porcelain dishes.
Pigafetta described a city of 25,000 families living in wooden houses built on stilts to raise them above the water. At high tide, women would ride in boats selling merchandise. The sultan's palace was surrounded by brick ramparts and protected by numerous brass and iron cannons.
This prosperous era continued through the reign of the ninth sultan, Hassan, who is credited with developing an elaborate Royal Court structure, elements of which remain today.
Relations with Europeans
Brunei's relations varied with the different European powers in the region. The Portuguese, for the most part, were more interested in economic and trading relations with the regional powers and did little to interfere with Brunei's development. This does not mean that relations were always cordial, such as in 1536 when the Portuguese attacked the Muslims in the Moluccas and the ambassador to the Brunei court had to leave because of the sultan's hostility. The Portuguese also noted that the sultanate was heavily involved in the region's politics and wars, and that Brunei merchants could be found in Ligor and Siam.
Relations with Spain were far more hostile. From 1565 on, Spanish and Brunei forces engaged in a number of naval skirmishes, and in 1571 the Spanish succeeded in capturing Manila from the Brunei aristocracy that had been established there. Brunei raised several large fleets with the intention of recapturing the city, but the campaigns, for various reasons, never launched.[2] In 1578, the Spanish took Sulu and late in the year attacked and captured Brunei itself, after demanding that the sultan cease sending missionaries to the Philippines and, in turn, allow Christian missionaries to visit his kingdom. The invaders were forced to withdraw. The short-term damage to the sultanate was minimal, as Sulu was recaptured soon after.
The long-term effects of regional changes could not be avoided. After Sultan Hassan, Brunei entered a period of decline, due to internal battles over royal succession as well as the rising influences of European colonial powers in the region, that, among other things, disrupted traditional trading patterns, destroying the economic base of Brunei and many other Southeast Asian sultanates.
During Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin II’s reign, disturbances occurred in Sarawak. In 1839, the British adventurer James Brooke arrived in Borneo and helped the Sultan put down this rebellion.
As a reward, he became governor and later "White Rajah" of Sarawak and gradually expanded the territory under his control. Brooke never gained control of Brunei, though he did attempt to. He asked the British to check whether or not it would be acceptable for him to claim Brunei as his own; however, they came back with bad news—although Brunei was poorly governed, it had a definite sense of national identity and could therefore not be absorbed by Brooke.
In 1843 an open conflict between Brooke and the Sultan ended in the latter's defeat. The Sultan recognized Sarawak's independence. In 1846, Brunei Town was attacked and captured by the British and Sultan Saifuddin II was forced to sign a treaty to end the British occupation of Brunei Town. In the same year, Sultan Saifuddin II ceded Labuan to the British under the Treaty of Labuan. In 1847, he signed the Treaty of Friendship and Commerce with the British and in 1850, he signed a similar treaty with the United States. Over the years, the Sultans of Brunei ceded further stretches of territory to Sarawak; in 1877, stretches to the east of the capital were leased (later ceded) to the British North Borneo Chartered Company (North Borneo).
British protectorate
In 1888 Sultan Hashim Jalilul Alam Aqamaddin signed a treaty with the United Kingdom which placed the Sultanate under British protection; Britain took charge of foreign representation of the Sultanate. The Sultan had requested a British resident to be sent to Brunei as early as 1885, but his request was answered only in 1906 (treaty of 1905/1906). The task of the resident was to advise the Sultan politically. A customs office and a land office were introduced. The Brunei police force was established. In 1911, Malay schools began operating.
In 1929 oil was discovered at Seria. Brunei was occupied by Japan from 1941 to 1945 during World War II. Britain was unable to defend Brunei in spite of an agreement to do so[3].
In 1959, a new constitution was written declaring Brunei a self-governing state, while its foreign affairs, security, and defence remained the responsibility of the United Kingdom, now represented by a High Commissioner. An attempt in 1962 to introduce a partially elected legislative body with limited powers was abandoned after the opposition political party, Parti Rakyat Brunei, launched an armed uprising, which the government put down with the help of British forces. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the government also resisted pressures to join neighbouring Sabah and Sarawak in the newly formed Malaysia. The Sultan eventually decided that Brunei would remain a separate state.
In 1967, Omar Ali Saifuddin abdicated in favour of his eldest son, Hassanal Bolkiah, who became the 29th ruler. The former Sultan remained as Defence Minister and assumed the royal title Seri Begawan. In 1970, the national capital, Brunei Town, was renamed Bandar Seri Begawan in his honour. The Seri Begawan died in 1986.
On January 4, 1979, Brunei and the United Kingdom signed a new treaty of friendship and cooperation. On January 1, 1984, Brunei Darussalam became a fully independent state.
Geography
Brunei shares a 481.3 km border with Malaysia and has a 161 km coastline.
The climate in Brunei is warm, mild, and humid tropical and humid subtropical at higher altitudes with heavy rainfall. Bandar Seri Begawan's climate is humid tropical with four seasons. Summer is extremely hot (24 °C / 75.2 °F to 41 °C / 105.8 °F). Spring is cool, warm and rainy (16 °C / 60.8 °F to 26 °C / 78.8 °F). Winter is dry, rainy and cool (12 to 24 degrees Celsius). Autumn is very dry and warm (15 °C / 59.0 °F to 31 °C / 87.8 °F). Most of the country is a flat coastal plain with mountains in the east and hilly lowland in the west. The lowest point is at sea level and the highest is Bukit Pagon (1,850 m).
Other info
Oficial Name:
Negara Brunei Darussalam
برني دارسلام
State of Brunei, Abode of Peace
Independence:
January 1, 1984
Area:
5.765km2
Inhabitants:
368.000
Language:
Belait [beg] 700 (1995 Martin). Scattered areas in Belait District, Kampung Kiudang, in Tutong District. Alternate names: Balait Jati, Lemeting, Meting. Dialects: Related to Kiput, Baram, Tinjar. Lexical similarity 54% with Tutong 2. Classification: Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Northwest, North Sarawakan, Berawan-Lower Baram, Lower Baram, Central, A
Bisaya, Brunei [bsb] 600 (1984 Dunn). East of Tutong 1 and east to the coast, west of Seria, a few villages near the Sarawak border. Alternate names: Bisayah, Bisaya Bukit, Visayak, Bekiau, Lorang Bukit, Basaya, Besaya, Bisaia, Jilama Bawang, Jilama Sungai, Southern Bisaya. Dialects: Lexical similarity 78% to 79% with Sarawak Bisaya, 57% to 59% with Sabah Bisaya, and 50% with other Dusunic languages. Classification: Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Northwest, Sabahan, Dusunic, Bisaya, Southern
Brunei [kxd] 250,000 in Brunei (1984 SIL). Population total all countries: 304,000. Brunei is in the capital, Brunei-Muara District, and the coastal strip. Kedayan is in West Brunei-Muara District and Tutong District. Also spoken in Malaysia (Sabah). Alternate names: Brunei-Kadaian, Orang Bukit. Dialects: Brunei Malay, Kedayan (Kadaian, Kadayan, Kadian, Kadien, Kadyan, Karayan, Kedyan, Kedien. Kerayan), Kampong Ayer. Brunei, Kadayan, and Kampong Ayer have 94% to 95% lexical similarity with each other, 80% to 82% lexical similarity with Standard Malay. Classification: Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Malayic, Malayan, Local Malay
Chinese, Hakka [hak] 5,253 in Brunei (2000 WCD). 44,400 speakers of all Chinese languages (1989). Alternate names: Hakka. Classification: Sino-Tibetan, Chinese
Chinese, Mandarin [cmn] 9,848 in Brunei (2000 WCD). Classification: Sino-Tibetan, Chinese
Chinese, Min Dong [cdo] 6,566 in Brunei (2000 WCD). 11.88% of ethnic Chinese. Dialects: Foochow. Classification: Sino-Tibetan, Chinese
Chinese, Min Nan [nan] 12,147 in Brunei (2000 WCD). Alternate names: Min Nan, Minnan. Dialects: Chaochow (Tiuchiu, Teochow), Hainan, Fujian (Hokkien). Classification: Sino-Tibetan, Chinese
Chinese, Yue [yue] 5,909 in Brunei (2000 WCD). Alternate names: Yue, Yueh, Cantonese. Classification: Sino-Tibetan, Chinese
English [eng] 8,000 in Brunei. Classification: Indo-European, Germanic, West, English
Iban [iba] 15,000 in Brunei (1995 Martin). Rural areas of Belait and Tutong districts, and Temburong District. Alternate names: Sea Dayak. Dialects: Batang Lupar, Bugau. Classification: Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Malayic, Malayic-Dayak, Ibanic
Lundayeh [lnd] 300 in Brunei (1987 Langub). 7 villages in Temburong District. Alternate names: Lun Bawang, Lun Daye, Brunei Murut, Southern Murut, Murut. Dialects: Trusan. Classification: Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Northwest, North Sarawakan, Dayic, Kelabitic
Malay [mly] Alternate names: Standard Malay. Classification: Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Malayic, Malayan, Local Malay
Melanau [mel] 200 in Brunei (1995 Martin). Around Kuala Belait town. Alternate names: Milanau, Milano, Belana'u. Dialects: Mukah-Oya (Mukah, Muka, Oya, Oya', Oga). Classification: Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Northwest, Melanau-Kajang, Melanau
Penan, Eastern [pez] East of the Baram River, Apoh River District. Alternate names: "Punan". Dialects: Penan Apoh. Classification: Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Punan-Nibong
Penan, Western [pne] 50 in Brunei (1988 Lian). West of the Baram River. Dialects: Nibong (Nibon, Penan Nibong), Bok Penan (Bok), Penan Silat, Penan Gang (Gang), Penan Lusong (Lusong), Sipeng (Speng), Penan Lanying, Jelalong Penan. Classification: Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Punan-Nibong
Tutong 1 [ttx] 15,000 in Brunei (1995 Martin). Population total all countries: 25,000. Central and interior Belait and Tutong districts, east of Bisaya, south of Tutong 2. Also spoken in Malaysia (Sarawak). Alternate names: Dusun. Classification: Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Northwest, Sabahan, Dusunic, Bisaya, Southern
Tutong 2 [ttg] 12,000 (1996 Martin, Ozog, and Poedjosoedarmo). Around Tutong town on the coast and central Tutong District. Alternate names: Tutung. Dialects: Lexical similarity 54% with Belait. Classification: Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Northwest, North Sarawakan, Berawan-Lower Baram, Lower Baram, Central, B
Capital city:
Bandar Seri Begawan
Meaning of the country name:
In its full name "Negara Brunei Darussalam", "Darussalam" means "Abode of Peace" in Arabic, while "Negara" means "State" in Malay. "Negara" derives from the Sanskrit "Nagara", meaning "city."
Description Flag:
The national flag of Brunei was adopted on September 29, 1959 when the country was a British protectorate, and was retained when the country gained full independence on January 1, 1984, as Brunei Darussalam (State of Brunei, Abode of Peace). The flag has the Coat of Arms of Brunei in the centre, on a yellow field. The field is cut by black and white diagonal stripes, although they are officially called parallelograms.
Coat of arms:
The coat of arms is as follows: a crescent (symbolising Islam) joined with a parasol (symbolising monarchy), and two gloves on both sides. Below the crescent is a ribbon. On the crescent and ribbon are Arabic inscriptions translating as "State of Brunei, Abode of peace" and Brunei's motto, "Always in service with God's guidance"
Motto:
"Always in service with God's guidance"
National Anthem: Allah Peliharakan Sultan, Jawi:
الله فليهاراكن سلطن
Jawa Script
يا الله لنجوتكنله اوسيا
كباوه دولي يڠ مها مليا
عاديل بردولت منأوڠي نوسا
مميمڤين رعية ککل بهاڬيا
هيدوڤ سنتوسا نڬارا دان سلطان
الهي سلامتكن بروني دارالسلام
Transliteration
Jawa script
Ya Allah lanjutkanlah Usia
Kebawah Duli Yang Maha Mulia
Adil berdaulat menaungi nusa
Memimpin rakyat kekal bahagia
Hidup sentosa Negara dan Sultan
Ilahi selamatkan Brunei Darussalam
English translation
God Bless His Majesty
With A Long Life
(May he) Rule the Realm Justly and in Majesty
And Lead Our People (into) Eternal Happiness
(May) The Kingdom and Sultan Live in Peace
Lord, Save Brunei, The Abode of Peace
Internet Page: www.tourismbrunei.com
Brunei in diferent languages
eng | arg | bre | cat | csb | cym | dan | dsb | est | eus | fao | fin | fur | glg | glv | hsb | hun | ina | ita | jav | jnf | lin | lld | mlg | nld | nor | oci | pol | por | roh | ron | rup | sme | sqi | swa | swe | tet | tur | vor: Brunei
ces | hrv | mlt | slk | slv: Brunej
crh | gag | kaa | uzb: Bruney / Бруней
cor | wln | zza: Bruney
deu | ltz | nds: Brunei / Brunei
frp | kin | run: Bruneyi
ast | spa: Brunéi
ibo | scn: Brunai
ind | msa: Brunei / بروني
afr: Broenei
aze: Bruney / Брунеј
bam: Birineyi
bos: Brunej / Брунеј
epo: Brunejo
fra: Brunei; Brunéi
fry: Brûnei
gla: Brùnaidh; Brùnaigh; Brunai
gle: Brúiné / Brúiné
hat: Brouney
isl: Brúnei
kmr: Brûnêy / Бруней / بروونێی
kur: Brûney / بروونەی
lat: Bruneium
lav: Bruneja
lim: Broenai
lit: Brunėjus
mol: Brunei / Бруней
nrm: Bruneî
que: Bruniy
rmy: Brunei / ब्रुनेइ
slo: Bruneia / Брунеиа
smg: Bruniejus
smo: Purunei
srd: Brunèi
szl: Brůnei
tgl: Brunay
tuk: Bruneý / Бруней
vie: Bru-nây
vol: Bruneyän
wol: Brunaay
abq | alt | bul | che | chm | chv | kbd | kir | kjh | kom | krc | kum | mon | oss | rus | tyv | udm | ukr: Бруней (Brunej)
bak | tat: Бруней / Bruney
bel: Бруней / Bruniej; Брунэй / Brunej
kaz: Бруней / Brwney / برۋنەي
mkd: Брунеј (Brunej)
srp: Брунеј / Brunej
tgk: Бруней / برونی / Brunej
ara: بروني (Burūnay); بروناي (Burūnāy); البروناي (al-Burūnāy); بروني دار السلام (Burūnāy Dāru s-Salām)
fas: برونئی (Borūneʾī)
prs: برونای (Brūnāy)
pus: بروناي (Brūnāy)
uig: برۇنېي / Brunéy / Бруней
urd: برونائی (Brūnāʾī); برونائ (Brūnāʾi)
div: ބުރޫނާއީ (Burūnā'ī); ބުރުނައީ (Buruna'ī)
heb: ברוני / ברוניי (Brûney)
lad: ברוניי / Brunei
yid: ברונײַ (Brunay)
amh: ብሩነይ (Brun￩
ell-dhi: Μπρουνέι (Mproynéi)
ell-kat: Μπρουνέϊ (Mproynéï)
hye: Բրունեյ (Brouney); Բրունեի (Brounei)
kat: ბრუნეი (Brunei)
hin: ब्रुनेई (Bruneī); ब्रूनइ (Brūnai)
nep: ब्रुनाई (Brunāī)
ben: ব্রুনাই (Brunāi); ব্রুনেই (Brunei)
pan: ਬਰੂਨਈ (Brūnaī)
kan: ಬ್ರುನೈ (Brunai)
mal: ബ്രൂണൈ (Brūṇai); ബ്രൂണയ് (Brūṇay)
tam: புரூனேய் (Purūṉēy); புரூனி (Purūṉi)
tel: బ్రూనై (Brūnai); బ్రునెయ్ (Bruney)
zho: 汶萊/文莱 (Wénlái)
jpn: ブルネイ (Burunei)
kor: 브루나이 (Beurunai)
mya: ဘရူနုိင္း (Bʰáẏunaĩ̀)
tha: บรูไน (Brūnai)
lao: ປະລູໄນ (Palūnai)
khm: ប្រ៊ុយណេ (Bruyṇe); ប្រ៊ូណេ (Brūṇe)
Oil on canvas; 81 x 65.1 cm.
Chaïm Soutine was a Jewish, expressionist painter from Belarus. He has been interpreted as a forerunner of Abstract Expressionism. From 1910–1913 he studied in Vilnius at the Vilna Academy of Fine Arts. In 1913 he emigrated to Paris, where he studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts under Fernand Cormon. He soon developed a highly personal vision and painting technique. For a time, he and his friends lived at La Ruche, a residence for struggling artists in Montparnasse, where he became friends with Amedeo Modigliani. Modigliani painted Soutine's portrait several times.
In 1923, the American collector Dr. Albert C. Barnes visited his studio and immediately bought 60 of Soutine's paintings. In February 2006, the oil painting of the series 'Le Boeuf Ecorche' (1924) sold for a record £7.8 million ($13.8 million) to an anonymous buyer at a Christies auction held in London - after it was estimated to fetch £4.8 million.
Soutine produced the majority of his works from 1920 to 1929. He seldom showed his works, but he did take part in the important exhibition The Origins and Development of International Independent Art held at the Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume in 1937 in Paris, where he was at last hailed as a great painter. Soon thereafter France was invaded by German troops. As a Jew, Soutine had to escape from the French capital and hide in order to avoid arrest by the Gestapo. He moved from one place to another and was sometimes forced to seek shelter in forests, sleeping outdoors. Suffering from a stomach ulcer and bleeding badly, he left a safe hiding place for Paris in order to undergo emergency surgery, which failed to save his life. On August 9, 1943, Chaim Soutine died of a perforated ulcer.
Dungeness
United Kingdom
Sound Mirrors
A forerunner of radar, the sound mirrors were intended to provide early warning of enemy aeroplanes (or airships) approaching Britain across the English Channel. They did work, but the development of faster aircraft made them less useful, as an incoming aircraft would be within sight by the time it had been located. Increasing ambient noise made the mirrors harder to use successfully, and then radar rendered acoustic detection redundant.
The ancient site at Kot Diji (Urdu: کوٹ ڈیجی) was the forerunner of the Indus Civilization. The people of this site lived about 3000 BCE. The remains consist of two parts; the citadel area on high ground (about 12 m), and outer area. The Pakistan Department of Archaeology excavated at Kot Diji in 1955 and 1957.
Located about 22 kilometers south of Khairpur in the province of Sindh, Pakistan. The site is situated at the foot of the Rohri Hills where a fort (Kot Diji Fort) was built around 1790 by Talpur dynasty ruler of Upper Sindh, Mir Suhrab who reigned from 1783 to 1830 AD. This fort built on the ridge of a steep narrow hill is well preserved.
The 2002 is one of BMW's most famous automobile models. Its popularity cemented the company's reputation for compact sporting sedans and served as both forerunner of the BMW 3 Series and inspiration for the new 1 Series Coupe.
With its 1990 cc engine, it produced 108 bhp (81 kW; 109 PS) in the 2002, and 130 bhp (97 kW; 132 PS) in the high-performance 2002tii, offering a top speed of 185 km/h (115 mph). The 2002tii was based on the 2002ti that was never sold in the United States. Although almost exactly the same in appearance as a regular 2002, the tii had slightly wider wheels, larger front brakes, and a number of other mechanical modifications that made the car more fun and more desirable as a collector car. One result is that many of the highly desirable "tii"s appearing on eBay and sold throughout the country are fake; it is not uncommon to see tii engines installed in standard 2002s because there is a significant price difference between the two cars. The 2002ti (touring Internationale) is very rare, even more so than the 2002 turbo, as very few of these cars still survive. The 2002ti had two solex phh 40 side-draft carburettors and higher compression pistons resulting in 120 bhp (89 kW; 122 PS) and was made 68-71. The 2002ti was also very successful in racing and Hans Stuck won the Nurburgring 24-hour race in 1970, but the car also won many hill-climbs and rallies. This made the 2002 the cult car it is today. The 2002 Turbo was launched at the 1973 Frankfurt Motor Show. BMW's, and Europe's first production turbo, it produced 170 hp (127 kW) at 5,800 rpm, with 240 N·m (180 lb·ft) of torque.
A three-door 2002, the Touring, was also available. The Touring was not a full station wagon, resembling a modern hatchback. BMW would not offer a Touring model again until the late 1980s, with the 3 Series. A cabriolet version was produced in small numbers by Baur of Germany, which to this day as IVM Automotive, continues to convert BMWs. This version was never sold in the United States although a number were brought in by diplomatic staff, and recently they can be imported so more have come over.
(Wikipedia)
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Die ursprüngliche Baureihe 114, auch als BMW-02-Serie bezeichnet, umfasst Mittelklassefahrzeuge, die BMW in den Jahren 1966 bis 1977 baute. Die BMW-02-Serie stellte die Abrundung des BMW-Programms nach unten dar. Sie wurde aus dem BMW 1600 der „Neuen Klasse“ abgeleitet, die Modelle hatten jedoch nur zwei Türen.
Es gab nur Vierzylinder-Modelle (Motortyp M10) mit den Bezeichnungen 1502, BMW 1600-2, 1602, 1600 ti, 1802 und 2002, 2002 ti, 2002 tii und BMW 2002 turbo, wobei die ersten beiden Ziffern jeweils den Hubraum angeben (außer beim 1502, der auch 1,6 Liter Hubraum hat). Die Entwicklungscodes sind Typ 114 für die Modelle 1502–1802, E6 für die touring-Modelle, E10 für den BMW 2002 inkl. ti und tii sowie E20 für den BMW 2002 turbo.
(Wikipedia)