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The Rock Island refinery located four miles south of Duncan was built in the 1920’s by Rock Island Railroad and it operated the Site from the 1920s until 1944. From 1944 to 1947, the U.S Department of Defense operated the site. The current refinery facility was built in 1947 by the Sun Petroleum Products Company and reportedly operated under the name of Sunray/DX.
The subsequent owners of the Site included Sun Oil (1960 to 1980) and the TOSCO Corporation (1980 to 1983.) TOSCO stopped operations in July 1983 and sold the refinery in June 1986 to Alpha Oil Company and others.
This sign was for sale on eBay.
Solida Cats redesign. Refining and highlighting the curves in watercolour
Redesigned to fit the Stronglight 49d, TA Specialites and the more modern Velo Orange (VO) GrandCru
South Asian sweets are the confectionery and desserts of South Asia. Thousands of dedicated shops in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka sell nothing but sweets; however, outside of South Asia, South Asian sweet shops are uncommon.
Sugarcane has been grown in India for thousands of years, and the art of refining sugar was invented there. The English word sugar comes from a Sanskrit word sakhar, while the word candy comes from Sanskrit word khand (jaggery) - one of the simplest raw forms of sweet. Over its long history, cuisines of the Indian Subcontinent developed a diversified array of sweets. Some claim there is no other region of the world where sweets are so varied, so numerous, or so invested with meaning as the Indian Subcontinent.
In India's diverse languages, sweets are called by numerous names, one common name being Mithai (मिठाई). They include sugar, and a vast array of ingredients such as different flours, milk, milk solids, fermented foods, root vegetables, raw and roasted seeds, seasonal fruits, fruit pastes and dry fruits. Some sweets such as kheer are cooked, some like burfi are baked, varieties like Mysore pak are roasted, some like jalebi are fried, others like kulfi are frozen, while still others involve a creative combination of preparation techniques. The composition and recipes of the sweets and other ingredients vary by region. Mithai are sometimes served with a meal, and often included as a form of greeting, celebration, religious offering, gift giving, parties, and hospitality in India. On Indian festivals - such as Holi, Diwali, Eid, or Raksha Bhandan - sweets are homemade or purchased, then shared. Many social gatherings, wedding ceremonies and religious festivals often include a social celebration of food, and the flavors of sweets are an essential element of such a celebration.
HISTORY
Ancient Sanskrit literature from India mention feasts and offerings of mithas (sweet). One of the more complete surviving document, with extensive description of sweets and how to prepare them is the Sanskrit document, Mānasollāsa (Sanskrit: मानसोल्लास; literally, the delight of an idea,[or delight of mind and senses); this ancient encyclopedia on food, music and other Indian arts is also known as the Abhilaṣitārtha Cintāmaṇi (the magical stone that fulfils desires). Mānasollāsa was composed about 1130 AD, by the Hindu King Somesvara III. In this document, meals are described to include a rice pudding it calls payasam (Sanskrit: पायसं), which is another word for kheer. The document mentions seven kinds of rice.
Mānasollāsa also describes recipes for golamu as a donut from wheat flour and scented with cardamom, gharikas as a fried cake from black gram flour and sugar syrup, chhana as a fresh cheese and rice flour fritter soaked in sugar syrup that the document suggests should be prepared from strained curdled milk mixed with buttermilk, and many others. Mānasollāsa mentions numerous milk-derived sweets, along with describing the 11th century art of producing milk solids, condensed milk and methods for souring milk to produce sweets.
The origin of sweets in Indian subcontinent has been traced to at least 500 BC, where records suggest both raw sugar (gur, vellam, jaggery) as well as refined sugar (sarkara) were being produced. By 300 BC, kingdom officials in India were including five kinds of sugar in official documents. By the Gupta dynasty era (300–500 AD), sugar was being made not only from sugar cane, but other plant sources such as palm; sugar-based foods were also included in temple offerings, as bhoga for the deities, which after the prayers became Prasād for devotees, the poor or visitors to the temple.
VARIETIES
BARFI
Barfi is a sweet, made of milk solids (khoya) or condensed milk and various other ingredients like ground cashews or pistachios. Some barfi use various flours such as besan (gram flour). Barfi may be flavored with pastes or pieces of fruits such as mango, banana, berries, coconut. They may include aromatic spices such as cardamom and rose water to enhance the sensual impact while they are consumed.
Sometimes a thin inert silver or gold layer of edible foil is placed on top face of burfi for an attractive presentation. Gold and silver are approved food foils in the European Union, as E175 and E174 additives respectively. The independent European food-safety certification agency, TÜV Rheinland, has deemed gold leaf safe for consumption. Gold and silver leaf are certified kosher. These inert metal foils are neither considered as toxic to human beings nor broader ecosystem.
CHAM-CHAM
Cham Chams are prepared from flattened paneer (a form of curdled milk solids, cheese) sweetened in syrup.
CHENA MURKI
Chhena murki, or chenna murki, is a sweet made from an Indian version of cottage cheese, milk and sugar in many states such as Odisha. Milk and sugar are boiled to a thick consistency. Round, cubes, cuboid or other shapes of cottage cheese are soaked in the milky condensate. Other flavors and aromatic spices are typically added. It is also known by Bangladeshi and Guyanese people as pera.
CHIKKI
Chikki is a ready-to-eat solid, brittle sweet generally made from casting a mix of dry nuts and hot jaggery syrup. Peanuts and jaggery mix are most common. Other than almonds, cashews, walnuts, sesame and other seeds, varieties of chikki are also prepared from puffed or roasted Bengal gram, puffed rice, beaten rice, puffed seasonal grains, and regional produce such as Khobara (desiccated coconut). Like many Indian sweets, Chikki is typically a high protein delicacy.
GAJRELA
Gajrela, also called Gajar halwa, is a seasonal pudding-like sweet made from the root vegetable carrot. It is popular in Punjab regions of India and Pakistan, agricultural belt of North India, now common in many parts of South Asia. It is made by slowly cooking carrot with ghee, concentrated and caramelized milk, mawa (khoya) and sugar; often served with a garnish of aromatic spices, almonds, cashews or pistachios. The recipes vary by region, and Gajrela may be cooked without ghee, then include cheese or other milk solids for sophisticated mix of flavors. It is common in Indian restaurants, and also a seasonal street and cafe food during post-monsoon through spring festive celebrations.
GULAB JAMUN
Gulab jamun is a common sweet found in Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan. It is made out of fried chenna (milk solids and cheese) balls soaked in sweet rose-water flavoured syrup.
JALEBI OR IMARTI
Jalebi is made by deep-frying a fermented batter of wheat flour with yoghurt, in a circular (coil-like) shape and then soaking it in sugar syrup. Imarti is a variant of Jalebi, with a different flour mixture and has tighter coils. Typically Jalebi is brown or yellow, while Imarti is reddish in colour. Often taken with milk, tea, yogurt or Lassi. In classical Sanskrit literature, jalebis have been referred to as kundalika or jalavallika.
KHAJA
Khaja is a sweet of India. Refined wheat flour, sugar and oils are the chief ingredients of khaja.
It is believed that, even 2000 years ago, Khajas were prepared in the southern side of the Gangetic Plains of Bihar. These areas which are home to khaja, once comprised the central part of Maurya and Gupta empires. Presently, Khajas are prepared and sold in the city of Patna, Gaya and several other places across the state of Bihar. Khajas of the Silao and Rajgir are known for their puffiness.
Khajas have travelled to some other parts of India, including Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. Khaja of Kakinada is a coastal town of Andhra Pradesh. Where as khaja of Puri is too famous. At first, the batter is of wheat flour, mawa and oil. It is then deep fried until crisp. Then a sugar syrup is made which is known as "pak". The crisp croissants are then soaked in the sugar syrup until they absorb the sugar syrup. In Kakinada, Khaja is dry from outside and full of sugar syrup from inside and is juicy.
KULFI
Kulfis are traditional South Asian ice-cream, where flavored milk is first condensed and caramelized by slow cooking in presence of a small quantity of rice or seasonal grain flour; once condensed, dry nut pastes and aromatic spices are added, the mix frozen in small earthen or metal cans. This creates one of the densest known form of frozen sweets; it is typically served between -10 to -15 C when they are easier to spoon and eat. It comes in a variety of flavours such as mango, kesar, pistachios, badam (almond), coconut and plain. It is also a street side urban as well as rural India summer time snack and festive sweet, where food hawkers carry around frozen mounds of kulfi in a big earthen pot and play a particular horn music to attract customers. These vendors are known as "kulfiwalla" (one who sells kulfi).
KHEER OR PAYAS
Kheer is a pudding, usually made from milk, sugar and one of these ingredients - vermicelli, rice, Bulgar wheat, semolina, tapioca, dried dates, and shredded white gourd. It is also known as "Payas".
As sweet rice pudding, payas has been a cultural dish throughout the history of India, being usually found at ceremonies, feasts and celebrations. In many parts of India, ancient traditions maintain that a wedding is not fully blessed if payas (or payasam as known in South India) is not served at the feast during traditional ceremonies like marriage, child birth, annaprasan (first solid feed to child), and other occasions. Other than sweet yoghurt, some families include kheer in the last meal, as hospitality and auspicious food, before a family member or guest departs on a long journey away from the home.
LADDU
Kulfis are traditional South Asian ice-cream, where flavored milk is first condensed and caramelized by slow cooking in presence of a small quantity of rice or seasonal grain flour; once condensed, dry nut pastes and aromatic spices are added, the mix frozen in small earthen or metal cans. This creates one of the densest known form of frozen sweets; it is typically served between -10 to -15 C when they are easier to spoon and eat. It comes in a variety of flavours such as mango, kesar, pistachios, badam (almond), coconut and plain. It is also a street side urban as well as rural India summer time snack and festive sweet, where food hawkers carry around frozen mounds of kulfi in a big earthen pot and play a particular horn music to attract customers. These vendors are known as "kulfiwalla" (one who sells kulfi).
Kheer or payas
Kheer is a pudding, usually made from milk, sugar and one of these ingredients - vermicelli, rice, Bulgar wheat, semolina, tapioca, dried dates, and shredded white gourd. It is also known as "Payas".
As sweet rice pudding, payas has been a cultural dish throughout the history of India, being usually found at ceremonies, feasts and celebrations. In many parts of India, ancient traditions maintain that a wedding is not fully blessed if payas (or payasam as known in South India) is not served at the feast during traditional ceremonies like marriage, child birth, annaprasan (first solid feed to child), and other occasions. Other than sweet yoghurt, some families include kheer in the last meal, as hospitality and auspicious food, before a family member or guest departs on a long journey away from the home.
MALPOA
Malpoa is the most ancient homemade sweets of India. It is a form of pancake (made of wheat or rice flour) deep fried and sugar syrup.
NARKEL NARU
Narkel Naru is a dessert from Bengal. They are ball-shaped and made from khoa/condensed milk and coconut, a traditional food during Pujas such as the Lakshmi Puja
PARWAL KI MITHAI
Parwal Ki Mithai is a dry sweet made of the vegetable parwal, a kind of gourd. The shell of parwal is filled with milk solids, then cooked. It is rather popular in Bihar, but also found in Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
PATHISHAPA
Pathishapta is a Bengali dessert. The final dish is a rolled pancake that is stuffed with a filling often made of coconut, milk, cream, and jaggery from the date palm. These desserts are consumed in Thailand as well.
RASGULLA
Rasgulla is a popular sweet in South Asia. They come in many forms, such as Kamalabhog (Orange Rasgulla), Rajbhog (Giant Rasgulla), Kadamba often served with kheer, Rasamundi, Raskadamba, and others. Some are white, others cream, brown, gold or orange colored. They are called Rasbari in Nepal. This dish is made by boiling small dumplings of chhenna and semolina mixture in sugar syrup. Once cooked, these are stored in the syrup making them spongy. Increasing the semolina content reduces the sponginess and hardens them, creating variety of textures. Some Rasgulla are stuffed inside with treats, such as dry fruits, raisins, candied peel and other delicacies to create a series of flavors experienced as they are consumed. Some versions, called danedhar, are removed from syrup and sugar coated into shapes of fruits and other creative designs. These are festive foods found year round, in many parts of India.
SANDESH
Sandesh is a sweet made from fine cheese made from cow's milk kneaded with fine ground sugar or molasses. This is a sweet from West Bengal and Odisha. Revered for its delicate making, and appreciated by the connoiseur, this represents sweet making at its finest. Sandesh comes in two varieties, "Norom Pak" (the softer version) and "Koda Pak" (the harder version). The softer version although more gentle and considered better, is fragile. The harder version is robust and often easier for storage. Molasses made from dates can be used to make a special variation of Sandesh called "Noleen Gurher Sandesh" (a Sandesh made from "Noleen Gurh" or molases from dates) or simply "Noleen Sandesh".
SEL ROTI
Sel roti is a Nepali home-made circular-shaped bread or rice donut, prepared during Tihar, a widely celebrated Hindu festival in Nepal. It is made of rice flour with adding customized flavors. A semi liquid rice flour dough is usually prepared by adding milk, water, sugar, butter, cardamom, cloves and other flavors of personal choice.
SHRIKHAND
Shrikhand is a creamy dessert made out of strained yogurt, from which water is drained off completely. Dry fruits, mango puree, saffron or cardamom and sugar are added to the thick yoghurt to get the desired flavour and taste. It is served chilled. It is a West Indian traditional dish.
OTHER INDIAN & PAKISTANI SWEETS
Other traditional Indian sweets and desserts famous throughout the history of Indian food include:
- Mysore pak (a dessert made out of ghee, sugar and chick pea flour),
- Halwa (or Halva in modern English spelling); made out of flour, butter and sugar
- Jangiri
- Jhajariya
WIKIPEDIA
This is from August 2006.
Arriving at a Mortgage Company near Worcester for a re-finance closing...back when refinance of mortgages still existed.
The occasion is gone, but I am not gone at all.
The look is fab, though not current.
It is sexy hot and racy and VERY catwalk!
The heels are by Gucci, the top by BabyPhat, the purse by Oroton.
The make up by Jamie Austin
Currently, I am trying to refine this Upright Ondae by determining what the ideal needle length for the tree is. While some of this can be arrived at by just choosing what looks good, I think a compromise has to be made between appearance and the fact that in my experience, this cork bark pine needs to have needles a little on the long side to thrive. Just how long is the question.
To see the 3-D, use red/cyan glasses.
To read the QR code in the picture, use your smart phone and a scanner app. To find out more about QR codes, go to www.fredtruck.com, choose the Articles menu item, and select the Seals option.
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Also, check out my video on YouTube, Milk Bottle Reliquary. You will find it here:
This just in! I’ve just published an article detailing what my method of making Anaglyphs might mean in art and information science.
Click on this: www.fredtruck.com/anaglyphs/Anaglyphs.htm
Sometimes this process feels like a slot machine, except that you happen to be pulling the lever upward.
Actually, the odds of "winning" are much better in this case.
Commonwealth Oil Refining Company, Inc. (CORCO) was an oil refinery established in the towns of Peñuelas and Guayanilla in Puerto Rico in the middle of the 20th century. The project started as part of Operation Bootstrap with the first unit being constructed in 1954. The company started operations in 1955 and was finally incorporated on May 19, 1963. Corco represented an investment of $25 million and had the capacity to refine 23,500 barrels (3,740 m3) of oil daily. Hugo David Storer Tavarez was one of the men in charge of the CORCO being established in Puerto Rico.
The refinery is located in an 800-acre (3.2 km2) site, and consists of numerous storage tanks and waste treatment units typical of petroleum refineries. CORCO has been inactive since 1982, and now functions as a terminal for the marine transportation and land-based storage of crude oil and petroleum products.
After the refinery ceased operations, an entity called Desarrollo Integral del Sur (South Integral Development) began developing a long-term plan for the reuse of the terrains and properties.
Work in progress:
Refining the details on cast feet
(on the left is a refined foot. At the sanding stage, more refining on the surface takes place)
'Dea Vivente' dolls: deavivente.com
The Atlantic Refining Company, Incorporated in 1870 under the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (ABNCo)
Number M05188
Shares: 10
Dated: Feb 25 1966
American Bank Note Company
Interesting what you can find in Toronto's back alleyways. This Volvo mini truck looks like it's designed for rugged off road travel. The second Laplander (or the same one twice) so far that I have found in Toronto
My Blog entry on using the film
Possibly a civilian version of a Volvo c303 or c202 or Valp or Laplander?
I'm liking this inexpensive Shanghai GP3 film now that I have developed a roll correctly, Downside of cheap backing paper and a curl with enough springiness to act as leaf springs for the above truck can be dealt with.
See more photos of this, and the Wikipedia article.
Details, quoting from Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum | Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird:
No reconnaissance aircraft in history has operated globally in more hostile airspace or with such complete impunity than the SR-71, the world's fastest jet-propelled aircraft. The Blackbird's performance and operational achievements placed it at the pinnacle of aviation technology developments during the Cold War.
This Blackbird accrued about 2,800 hours of flight time during 24 years of active service with the U.S. Air Force. On its last flight, March 6, 1990, Lt. Col. Ed Yielding and Lt. Col. Joseph Vida set a speed record by flying from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., in 1 hour, 4 minutes, and 20 seconds, averaging 3,418 kilometers (2,124 miles) per hour. At the flight's conclusion, they landed at Washington-Dulles International Airport and turned the airplane over to the Smithsonian.
Transferred from the United States Air Force.
Manufacturer:
Designer:
Date:
1964
Country of Origin:
United States of America
Dimensions:
Overall: 18ft 5 15/16in. x 55ft 7in. x 107ft 5in., 169998.5lb. (5.638m x 16.942m x 32.741m, 77110.8kg)
Other: 18ft 5 15/16in. x 107ft 5in. x 55ft 7in. (5.638m x 32.741m x 16.942m)
Materials:
Titanium
Physical Description:
Twin-engine, two-seat, supersonic strategic reconnaissance aircraft; airframe constructed largley of titanium and its alloys; vertical tail fins are constructed of a composite (laminated plastic-type material) to reduce radar cross-section; Pratt and Whitney J58 (JT11D-20B) turbojet engines feature large inlet shock cones.
Long Description:
No reconnaissance aircraft in history has operated in more hostile airspace or with such complete impunity than the SR-71 Blackbird. It is the fastest aircraft propelled by air-breathing engines. The Blackbird's performance and operational achievements placed it at the pinnacle of aviation technology developments during the Cold War. The airplane was conceived when tensions with communist Eastern Europe reached levels approaching a full-blown crisis in the mid-1950s. U.S. military commanders desperately needed accurate assessments of Soviet worldwide military deployments, particularly near the Iron Curtain. Lockheed Aircraft Corporation's subsonic U-2 (see NASM collection) reconnaissance aircraft was an able platform but the U. S. Air Force recognized that this relatively slow aircraft was already vulnerable to Soviet interceptors. They also understood that the rapid development of surface-to-air missile systems could put U-2 pilots at grave risk. The danger proved reality when a U-2 was shot down by a surface to air missile over the Soviet Union in 1960.
Lockheed's first proposal for a new high speed, high altitude, reconnaissance aircraft, to be capable of avoiding interceptors and missiles, centered on a design propelled by liquid hydrogen. This proved to be impracticable because of considerable fuel consumption. Lockheed then reconfigured the design for conventional fuels. This was feasible and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), already flying the Lockheed U-2, issued a production contract for an aircraft designated the A-12. Lockheed's clandestine 'Skunk Works' division (headed by the gifted design engineer Clarence L. "Kelly" Johnson) designed the A-12 to cruise at Mach 3.2 and fly well above 18,288 m (60,000 feet). To meet these challenging requirements, Lockheed engineers overcame many daunting technical challenges. Flying more than three times the speed of sound generates 316° C (600° F) temperatures on external aircraft surfaces, which are enough to melt conventional aluminum airframes. The design team chose to make the jet's external skin of titanium alloy to which shielded the internal aluminum airframe. Two conventional, but very powerful, afterburning turbine engines propelled this remarkable aircraft. These power plants had to operate across a huge speed envelope in flight, from a takeoff speed of 334 kph (207 mph) to more than 3,540 kph (2,200 mph). To prevent supersonic shock waves from moving inside the engine intake causing flameouts, Johnson's team had to design a complex air intake and bypass system for the engines.
Skunk Works engineers also optimized the A-12 cross-section design to exhibit a low radar profile. Lockheed hoped to achieve this by carefully shaping the airframe to reflect as little transmitted radar energy (radio waves) as possible, and by application of special paint designed to absorb, rather than reflect, those waves. This treatment became one of the first applications of stealth technology, but it never completely met the design goals.
Test pilot Lou Schalk flew the single-seat A-12 on April 24, 1962, after he became airborne accidentally during high-speed taxi trials. The airplane showed great promise but it needed considerable technical refinement before the CIA could fly the first operational sortie on May 31, 1967 - a surveillance flight over North Vietnam. A-12s, flown by CIA pilots, operated as part of the Air Force's 1129th Special Activities Squadron under the "Oxcart" program. While Lockheed continued to refine the A-12, the U. S. Air Force ordered an interceptor version of the aircraft designated the YF-12A. The Skunk Works, however, proposed a "specific mission" version configured to conduct post-nuclear strike reconnaissance. This system evolved into the USAF's familiar SR-71.
Lockheed built fifteen A-12s, including a special two-seat trainer version. Two A-12s were modified to carry a special reconnaissance drone, designated D-21. The modified A-12s were redesignated M-21s. These were designed to take off with the D-21 drone, powered by a Marquart ramjet engine mounted on a pylon between the rudders. The M-21 then hauled the drone aloft and launched it at speeds high enough to ignite the drone's ramjet motor. Lockheed also built three YF-12As but this type never went into production. Two of the YF-12As crashed during testing. Only one survives and is on display at the USAF Museum in Dayton, Ohio. The aft section of one of the "written off" YF-12As which was later used along with an SR-71A static test airframe to manufacture the sole SR-71C trainer. One SR-71 was lent to NASA and designated YF-12C. Including the SR-71C and two SR-71B pilot trainers, Lockheed constructed thirty-two Blackbirds. The first SR-71 flew on December 22, 1964. Because of extreme operational costs, military strategists decided that the more capable USAF SR-71s should replace the CIA's A-12s. These were retired in 1968 after only one year of operational missions, mostly over southeast Asia. The Air Force's 1st Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron (part of the 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing) took over the missions, flying the SR-71 beginning in the spring of 1968.
After the Air Force began to operate the SR-71, it acquired the official name Blackbird-- for the special black paint that covered the airplane. This paint was formulated to absorb radar signals, to radiate some of the tremendous airframe heat generated by air friction, and to camouflage the aircraft against the dark sky at high altitudes.
Experience gained from the A-12 program convinced the Air Force that flying the SR-71 safely required two crew members, a pilot and a Reconnaissance Systems Officer (RSO). The RSO operated with the wide array of monitoring and defensive systems installed on the airplane. This equipment included a sophisticated Electronic Counter Measures (ECM) system that could jam most acquisition and targeting radar. In addition to an array of advanced, high-resolution cameras, the aircraft could also carry equipment designed to record the strength, frequency, and wavelength of signals emitted by communications and sensor devices such as radar. The SR-71 was designed to fly deep into hostile territory, avoiding interception with its tremendous speed and high altitude. It could operate safely at a maximum speed of Mach 3.3 at an altitude more than sixteen miles, or 25,908 m (85,000 ft), above the earth. The crew had to wear pressure suits similar to those worn by astronauts. These suits were required to protect the crew in the event of sudden cabin pressure loss while at operating altitudes.
To climb and cruise at supersonic speeds, the Blackbird's Pratt & Whitney J-58 engines were designed to operate continuously in afterburner. While this would appear to dictate high fuel flows, the Blackbird actually achieved its best "gas mileage," in terms of air nautical miles per pound of fuel burned, during the Mach 3+ cruise. A typical Blackbird reconnaissance flight might require several aerial refueling operations from an airborne tanker. Each time the SR-71 refueled, the crew had to descend to the tanker's altitude, usually about 6,000 m to 9,000 m (20,000 to 30,000 ft), and slow the airplane to subsonic speeds. As velocity decreased, so did frictional heat. This cooling effect caused the aircraft's skin panels to shrink considerably, and those covering the fuel tanks contracted so much that fuel leaked, forming a distinctive vapor trail as the tanker topped off the Blackbird. As soon as the tanks were filled, the jet's crew disconnected from the tanker, relit the afterburners, and again climbed to high altitude.
Air Force pilots flew the SR-71 from Kadena AB, Japan, throughout its operational career but other bases hosted Blackbird operations, too. The 9th SRW occasionally deployed from Beale AFB, California, to other locations to carryout operational missions. Cuban missions were flown directly from Beale. The SR-71 did not begin to operate in Europe until 1974, and then only temporarily. In 1982, when the U.S. Air Force based two aircraft at Royal Air Force Base Mildenhall to fly monitoring mission in Eastern Europe.
When the SR-71 became operational, orbiting reconnaissance satellites had already replaced manned aircraft to gather intelligence from sites deep within Soviet territory. Satellites could not cover every geopolitical hotspot so the Blackbird remained a vital tool for global intelligence gathering. On many occasions, pilots and RSOs flying the SR-71 provided information that proved vital in formulating successful U. S. foreign policy. Blackbird crews provided important intelligence about the 1973 Yom Kippur War, the Israeli invasion of Lebanon and its aftermath, and pre- and post-strike imagery of the 1986 raid conducted by American air forces on Libya. In 1987, Kadena-based SR-71 crews flew a number of missions over the Persian Gulf, revealing Iranian Silkworm missile batteries that threatened commercial shipping and American escort vessels.
As the performance of space-based surveillance systems grew, along with the effectiveness of ground-based air defense networks, the Air Force started to lose enthusiasm for the expensive program and the 9th SRW ceased SR-71 operations in January 1990. Despite protests by military leaders, Congress revived the program in 1995. Continued wrangling over operating budgets, however, soon led to final termination. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration retained two SR-71As and the one SR-71B for high-speed research projects and flew these airplanes until 1999.
On March 6, 1990, the service career of one Lockheed SR-71A Blackbird ended with a record-setting flight. This special airplane bore Air Force serial number 64-17972. Lt. Col. Ed Yeilding and his RSO, Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Vida, flew this aircraft from Los Angeles to Washington D.C. in 1 hour, 4 minutes, and 20 seconds, averaging a speed of 3,418 kph (2,124 mph). At the conclusion of the flight, '972 landed at Dulles International Airport and taxied into the custody of the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum. At that time, Lt. Col. Vida had logged 1,392.7 hours of flight time in Blackbirds, more than that of any other crewman.
This particular SR-71 was also flown by Tom Alison, a former National Air and Space Museum's Chief of Collections Management. Flying with Detachment 1 at Kadena Air Force Base, Okinawa, Alison logged more than a dozen '972 operational sorties. The aircraft spent twenty-four years in active Air Force service and accrued a total of 2,801.1 hours of flight time.
Wingspan: 55'7"
Length: 107'5"
Height: 18'6"
Weight: 170,000 Lbs
Reference and Further Reading:
Crickmore, Paul F. Lockheed SR-71: The Secret Missions Exposed. Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 1996.
Francillon, Rene J. Lockheed Aircraft Since 1913. Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press, 1987.
Johnson, Clarence L. Kelly: More Than My Share of It All. Washington D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1985.
Miller, Jay. Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works. Leicester, U.K.: Midland Counties Publishing Ltd., 1995.
Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird curatorial file, Aeronautics Division, National Air and Space Museum.
DAD, 11-11-01
See more photos of this, and the Wikipedia article.
Details, quoting from Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum | Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird:
No reconnaissance aircraft in history has operated globally in more hostile airspace or with such complete impunity than the SR-71, the world's fastest jet-propelled aircraft. The Blackbird's performance and operational achievements placed it at the pinnacle of aviation technology developments during the Cold War.
This Blackbird accrued about 2,800 hours of flight time during 24 years of active service with the U.S. Air Force. On its last flight, March 6, 1990, Lt. Col. Ed Yielding and Lt. Col. Joseph Vida set a speed record by flying from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., in 1 hour, 4 minutes, and 20 seconds, averaging 3,418 kilometers (2,124 miles) per hour. At the flight's conclusion, they landed at Washington-Dulles International Airport and turned the airplane over to the Smithsonian.
Transferred from the United States Air Force.
Manufacturer:
Designer:
Date:
1964
Country of Origin:
United States of America
Dimensions:
Overall: 18ft 5 15/16in. x 55ft 7in. x 107ft 5in., 169998.5lb. (5.638m x 16.942m x 32.741m, 77110.8kg)
Other: 18ft 5 15/16in. x 107ft 5in. x 55ft 7in. (5.638m x 32.741m x 16.942m)
Materials:
Titanium
Physical Description:
Twin-engine, two-seat, supersonic strategic reconnaissance aircraft; airframe constructed largley of titanium and its alloys; vertical tail fins are constructed of a composite (laminated plastic-type material) to reduce radar cross-section; Pratt and Whitney J58 (JT11D-20B) turbojet engines feature large inlet shock cones.
Long Description:
No reconnaissance aircraft in history has operated in more hostile airspace or with such complete impunity than the SR-71 Blackbird. It is the fastest aircraft propelled by air-breathing engines. The Blackbird's performance and operational achievements placed it at the pinnacle of aviation technology developments during the Cold War. The airplane was conceived when tensions with communist Eastern Europe reached levels approaching a full-blown crisis in the mid-1950s. U.S. military commanders desperately needed accurate assessments of Soviet worldwide military deployments, particularly near the Iron Curtain. Lockheed Aircraft Corporation's subsonic U-2 (see NASM collection) reconnaissance aircraft was an able platform but the U. S. Air Force recognized that this relatively slow aircraft was already vulnerable to Soviet interceptors. They also understood that the rapid development of surface-to-air missile systems could put U-2 pilots at grave risk. The danger proved reality when a U-2 was shot down by a surface to air missile over the Soviet Union in 1960.
Lockheed's first proposal for a new high speed, high altitude, reconnaissance aircraft, to be capable of avoiding interceptors and missiles, centered on a design propelled by liquid hydrogen. This proved to be impracticable because of considerable fuel consumption. Lockheed then reconfigured the design for conventional fuels. This was feasible and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), already flying the Lockheed U-2, issued a production contract for an aircraft designated the A-12. Lockheed's clandestine 'Skunk Works' division (headed by the gifted design engineer Clarence L. "Kelly" Johnson) designed the A-12 to cruise at Mach 3.2 and fly well above 18,288 m (60,000 feet). To meet these challenging requirements, Lockheed engineers overcame many daunting technical challenges. Flying more than three times the speed of sound generates 316° C (600° F) temperatures on external aircraft surfaces, which are enough to melt conventional aluminum airframes. The design team chose to make the jet's external skin of titanium alloy to which shielded the internal aluminum airframe. Two conventional, but very powerful, afterburning turbine engines propelled this remarkable aircraft. These power plants had to operate across a huge speed envelope in flight, from a takeoff speed of 334 kph (207 mph) to more than 3,540 kph (2,200 mph). To prevent supersonic shock waves from moving inside the engine intake causing flameouts, Johnson's team had to design a complex air intake and bypass system for the engines.
Skunk Works engineers also optimized the A-12 cross-section design to exhibit a low radar profile. Lockheed hoped to achieve this by carefully shaping the airframe to reflect as little transmitted radar energy (radio waves) as possible, and by application of special paint designed to absorb, rather than reflect, those waves. This treatment became one of the first applications of stealth technology, but it never completely met the design goals.
Test pilot Lou Schalk flew the single-seat A-12 on April 24, 1962, after he became airborne accidentally during high-speed taxi trials. The airplane showed great promise but it needed considerable technical refinement before the CIA could fly the first operational sortie on May 31, 1967 - a surveillance flight over North Vietnam. A-12s, flown by CIA pilots, operated as part of the Air Force's 1129th Special Activities Squadron under the "Oxcart" program. While Lockheed continued to refine the A-12, the U. S. Air Force ordered an interceptor version of the aircraft designated the YF-12A. The Skunk Works, however, proposed a "specific mission" version configured to conduct post-nuclear strike reconnaissance. This system evolved into the USAF's familiar SR-71.
Lockheed built fifteen A-12s, including a special two-seat trainer version. Two A-12s were modified to carry a special reconnaissance drone, designated D-21. The modified A-12s were redesignated M-21s. These were designed to take off with the D-21 drone, powered by a Marquart ramjet engine mounted on a pylon between the rudders. The M-21 then hauled the drone aloft and launched it at speeds high enough to ignite the drone's ramjet motor. Lockheed also built three YF-12As but this type never went into production. Two of the YF-12As crashed during testing. Only one survives and is on display at the USAF Museum in Dayton, Ohio. The aft section of one of the "written off" YF-12As which was later used along with an SR-71A static test airframe to manufacture the sole SR-71C trainer. One SR-71 was lent to NASA and designated YF-12C. Including the SR-71C and two SR-71B pilot trainers, Lockheed constructed thirty-two Blackbirds. The first SR-71 flew on December 22, 1964. Because of extreme operational costs, military strategists decided that the more capable USAF SR-71s should replace the CIA's A-12s. These were retired in 1968 after only one year of operational missions, mostly over southeast Asia. The Air Force's 1st Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron (part of the 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing) took over the missions, flying the SR-71 beginning in the spring of 1968.
After the Air Force began to operate the SR-71, it acquired the official name Blackbird-- for the special black paint that covered the airplane. This paint was formulated to absorb radar signals, to radiate some of the tremendous airframe heat generated by air friction, and to camouflage the aircraft against the dark sky at high altitudes.
Experience gained from the A-12 program convinced the Air Force that flying the SR-71 safely required two crew members, a pilot and a Reconnaissance Systems Officer (RSO). The RSO operated with the wide array of monitoring and defensive systems installed on the airplane. This equipment included a sophisticated Electronic Counter Measures (ECM) system that could jam most acquisition and targeting radar. In addition to an array of advanced, high-resolution cameras, the aircraft could also carry equipment designed to record the strength, frequency, and wavelength of signals emitted by communications and sensor devices such as radar. The SR-71 was designed to fly deep into hostile territory, avoiding interception with its tremendous speed and high altitude. It could operate safely at a maximum speed of Mach 3.3 at an altitude more than sixteen miles, or 25,908 m (85,000 ft), above the earth. The crew had to wear pressure suits similar to those worn by astronauts. These suits were required to protect the crew in the event of sudden cabin pressure loss while at operating altitudes.
To climb and cruise at supersonic speeds, the Blackbird's Pratt & Whitney J-58 engines were designed to operate continuously in afterburner. While this would appear to dictate high fuel flows, the Blackbird actually achieved its best "gas mileage," in terms of air nautical miles per pound of fuel burned, during the Mach 3+ cruise. A typical Blackbird reconnaissance flight might require several aerial refueling operations from an airborne tanker. Each time the SR-71 refueled, the crew had to descend to the tanker's altitude, usually about 6,000 m to 9,000 m (20,000 to 30,000 ft), and slow the airplane to subsonic speeds. As velocity decreased, so did frictional heat. This cooling effect caused the aircraft's skin panels to shrink considerably, and those covering the fuel tanks contracted so much that fuel leaked, forming a distinctive vapor trail as the tanker topped off the Blackbird. As soon as the tanks were filled, the jet's crew disconnected from the tanker, relit the afterburners, and again climbed to high altitude.
Air Force pilots flew the SR-71 from Kadena AB, Japan, throughout its operational career but other bases hosted Blackbird operations, too. The 9th SRW occasionally deployed from Beale AFB, California, to other locations to carryout operational missions. Cuban missions were flown directly from Beale. The SR-71 did not begin to operate in Europe until 1974, and then only temporarily. In 1982, when the U.S. Air Force based two aircraft at Royal Air Force Base Mildenhall to fly monitoring mission in Eastern Europe.
When the SR-71 became operational, orbiting reconnaissance satellites had already replaced manned aircraft to gather intelligence from sites deep within Soviet territory. Satellites could not cover every geopolitical hotspot so the Blackbird remained a vital tool for global intelligence gathering. On many occasions, pilots and RSOs flying the SR-71 provided information that proved vital in formulating successful U. S. foreign policy. Blackbird crews provided important intelligence about the 1973 Yom Kippur War, the Israeli invasion of Lebanon and its aftermath, and pre- and post-strike imagery of the 1986 raid conducted by American air forces on Libya. In 1987, Kadena-based SR-71 crews flew a number of missions over the Persian Gulf, revealing Iranian Silkworm missile batteries that threatened commercial shipping and American escort vessels.
As the performance of space-based surveillance systems grew, along with the effectiveness of ground-based air defense networks, the Air Force started to lose enthusiasm for the expensive program and the 9th SRW ceased SR-71 operations in January 1990. Despite protests by military leaders, Congress revived the program in 1995. Continued wrangling over operating budgets, however, soon led to final termination. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration retained two SR-71As and the one SR-71B for high-speed research projects and flew these airplanes until 1999.
On March 6, 1990, the service career of one Lockheed SR-71A Blackbird ended with a record-setting flight. This special airplane bore Air Force serial number 64-17972. Lt. Col. Ed Yeilding and his RSO, Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Vida, flew this aircraft from Los Angeles to Washington D.C. in 1 hour, 4 minutes, and 20 seconds, averaging a speed of 3,418 kph (2,124 mph). At the conclusion of the flight, '972 landed at Dulles International Airport and taxied into the custody of the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum. At that time, Lt. Col. Vida had logged 1,392.7 hours of flight time in Blackbirds, more than that of any other crewman.
This particular SR-71 was also flown by Tom Alison, a former National Air and Space Museum's Chief of Collections Management. Flying with Detachment 1 at Kadena Air Force Base, Okinawa, Alison logged more than a dozen '972 operational sorties. The aircraft spent twenty-four years in active Air Force service and accrued a total of 2,801.1 hours of flight time.
Wingspan: 55'7"
Length: 107'5"
Height: 18'6"
Weight: 170,000 Lbs
Reference and Further Reading:
Crickmore, Paul F. Lockheed SR-71: The Secret Missions Exposed. Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 1996.
Francillon, Rene J. Lockheed Aircraft Since 1913. Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press, 1987.
Johnson, Clarence L. Kelly: More Than My Share of It All. Washington D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1985.
Miller, Jay. Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works. Leicester, U.K.: Midland Counties Publishing Ltd., 1995.
Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird curatorial file, Aeronautics Division, National Air and Space Museum.
DAD, 11-11-01
More playing around with oil and water and trying to refine the technique. Still finding I need to shoot lots of photos to get a few good ones. I love the colors and amount of bubbles I photographed in this capture.
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Olive oil and water in a long glass flower vase with a colorful scarf at the bottom.
4+ macro filter on 18-55 MM lens.
Photographed using natural sunlight.
Photoshop to sharpen and add a bit of saturation.
An old photograph taken in Jul 1961 on a 'shed bash/rail tour' taking in the Shell Refining & Marketing Co. locomotive fleet at its Stanlow refinery. The saddle tank on the left looks to be out of use as it is penned in by two diesel engines, over on the right is a "Sentinel on trial".
The photo is in a rail enthusiast old album (owner's name is not known), the photo reverse is annotated with "Shell Refining & Marketing Co. Ltd. Stanlow. Locos No. 19 0-6-0ST WB, No. 14 0-6-0D HC, No. 5 0-4-0D JF, new Sentinel on trial. 9 Jul 1961".
If there are any errors in the above description please let me know. Thanks.
📷 Any photograph I post on Flickr is an original in my possession, nothing is ever copied/downloaded from another location. 📷
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Current waste management system at Doug Jernigan Farms, a three-generation family farm that, a few months earlier, refinanced the facility to add a first of it’s kind, in the nation, swine-turkey waste to renewable energy system (not seen), with the assistance of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development (RD) Renewable Energy for America Program (REAP) loan guarantee in Mt. Olive, NC, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2015.
Typical systems separate methane gas for energy, solids are disposed or repurposed and liquids are cleaned. This new system addition takes the watery manure effluent to a new and as Mr. Jernigan say’s “prolific profit” producing state through savings and sales. “There is an opportunity for the farm to make money doing a good thing for the environment.”
The system handles about 75,000 gallons of swine and turkey waste effluent each day. Piped to a series of cement holding tanks, mechanical equipment, separate solids, and liquids. The current treatment facility biologically removes ammonia nitrogen with bacteria adapted to high-strength wastewater; removes phosphorus via alkali precipitation; and reduction emissions of odorant compounds, ammonia, pathogens, and heavy metals to the environment. The water is cleaned for reuse in the swine and turkey operations that wash more manure into the cycle of the system.
The new methane reactors (under the framework of what will be a C-span structure) use an endothermic gasifier that heats the waste solids to very high temperatures to the point that they release gases. The clean methane gas will fuel an engine that turns a 300KW electrical generator producing electricity; ethanol will help fuel farm equipment, and resulting potash solids can be used or sold for agricultural fertilizer. Excess amounts of electricity, that the farms cannot use, will be sold and transmitted to the local energy company, for use by residents and businesses; renewable energy credits (REC) are sold to a different energy company.
With a system that eliminates all ammonia and other odor creating compounds, Mr. Jernigan says, “What I’m doing is good for the environment; it’s good for the farm in the respect that you’re getting rid of waste that you’re creating in a high-tech way. There’s no footprint. It’s just gone.”
Doug and Aileen are lifelong farmers and they have three grown children that work in the farm operation. Their farm currently operates a 21,600 finishing farm operation, an eight house turkey operation, a 250 head cow /calf operation. The farm also consists of 2,400 acres of row crop production (cotton, corn, soybeans and wheat).
Doug Jernigan’s grandfather started farming here in 1941, and he continues the tradition with his business that began in 1974.
In talking about the greater potential of this technology and what others should consider, Jernigan says, “I see it as a win-win thing.”
For more information about USDA, RD and REAP please see: www.usda.gov, www.rd.usda.gov, and www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/rural-energy-america-pr...
USDA Photo by Lance Cheung
*The treatment system (without the methane reactor) was documented to remove, on a mass basis, approximately 99% of total suspended solids, 98% of COD, 99% of TKN, 100% ammonia, 100% odor compounds, 92% phosphorus, 95% copper, and 97% zinc from the flushed manure. Fecal coliform reductions were measured to be 99.98%
I need to refine it... had this in mind since long time since i got inspired by someone's picture i found online..
Flash placed inside the book, Recovered dark areas in PP, but i need one more flash.... kharcha ! Or i could use white cover book... lets see
Australasian Sugar Refining Company complex 1891, 1899 at conversion to apartments in the 1980s
Designers: Hyndman and Bates
`The site of the factory was included in Section 2B [of the original Port Melbourne survey], which was surveyed into four allotments early in the history of Sandridge. By November 1860 three of these had been purchased by A. Ross, joining William Jones, S.G. Henty and P. Lalor as owners of the section (2).
In February 1890, the Melbourne Tram and Omnibus Company Limited, had stables, offices, land and an omnibus repository on the section.(3) [Most of the present buildings on the site date from 1891, when the Australasian Sugar Refining Company established a refinery.(4)] On the MMBW detail plan dated 1894, the section is labelled 'sugar works' and the configuration of buildings approximately conforms with the present layout. [The refinery was closed in 1894 following its purchase by the Colonial Sugar Refining Company as part of a move to strengthen its monopoly.]
[In 1899, Robert Harper and Company Pty Ltd converted the buildings to a starch factory, and various brick additions were constructed to designs by Hyndman and Bates, architects.(5)] When the sewerage was connected in 1899, a plan was drawn by the architects and this closely resembles the 1894 MMBW detail plan configuration. (6)
The buildings .. form the major part of the original factory complex on the site, one of the largest nineteenth century industrial sites in Victoria. The complex as a whole is significant for its large size and range of building types. The dramatic massing and height of the 9 Beach Street buildings gives them additional importance as local landmarks as viewed both from the surrounding streets and the sea.
COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS
The former Australasian Sugar Refining Company and Robert Harper starch factory complex can be compared with a number of other large nineteenth century industrial complexes in Melbourne. These include the former Yorkshire Brewery, Wellington Street, Collingwood (from 1876), the former Victoria Brewery, Victoria Parade, East Melbourne (established 1854), the former Kimpton's Flour Mill, Elizabeth Street, Kensington, the Thomas Brunt flour mill and Brockhoff and T.B. Guest biscuit factories complex, Laurens and Munster Streets, North Melbourne (from 1888-9) and the Joshua Bros (now CSR) sugar refinery, Whitehall Street, Yarraville (established 1873). All of these are representative of the development in Victoria of the manufacture of foodstuffs and related raw materials. Of these, the CSR refinery is the most directly comparable in terms of original function and the scale and massing of the buildings. Established significantly earlier than the Port Melbourne refinery, the site is larger and more intact.
In the local context, the only other surviving industrial site of comparable scale is the Swallow and Ariell Biscuit Factory complex (q.v.). This complex is of state significance, and is considerably earlier, with parts dating from the 1850s. The predominantly two- and three-storey buildings, however, are of a different type to the former refinery and starch factory buildings.
Allom Lovell and Associates 1995 cite Jacobs Lewis Vines. Port Melbourne Conservation Study:
A hydrocracker at Hunt Refining Co. in Tuscaloosa, Alabama USA. I later added the rocket from another picture and added the film grain for effect. I thought about removing the cranes, but it would have taken too much time. It took me a good 2 hours to get this right. Plus I really didn't know how to get the smoke I wanted.
FYI I used Photoshop The Elements! It gets the job done at my level of expertise. I just wish it could do HDR.
Best viewed in Original resolution for details.
Current waste management system at Doug Jernigan Farms, a three-generation family farm that, a few months earlier, refinanced the facility to add a first of it’s kind, in the nation, swine-turkey waste to renewable energy system (not seen), with the assistance of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development (RD) Renewable Energy for America Program (REAP) loan guarantee in Mt. Olive, NC, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2015.
Typical systems separate methane gas for energy, solids are disposed or repurposed and liquids are cleaned. This new system addition takes the watery manure effluent to a new and as Mr. Jernigan say’s “prolific profit” producing state through savings and sales. “There is an opportunity for the farm to make money doing a good thing for the environment.”
The system handles about 75,000 gallons of swine and turkey waste effluent each day. Piped to a series of cement holding tanks, mechanical equipment, separate solids, and liquids. The current treatment facility biologically removes ammonia nitrogen with bacteria adapted to high-strength wastewater; removes phosphorus via alkali precipitation; and reduction emissions of odorant compounds, ammonia, pathogens, and heavy metals to the environment. The water is cleaned for reuse in the swine and turkey operations that wash more manure into the cycle of the system.
The new methane reactors (under the framework of what will be a C-span structure) use an endothermic gasifier that heats the waste solids to very high temperatures to the point that they release gases. The clean methane gas will fuel an engine that turns a 300KW electrical generator producing electricity; ethanol will help fuel farm equipment, and resulting potash solids can be used or sold for agricultural fertilizer. Excess amounts of electricity, that the farms cannot use, will be sold and transmitted to the local energy company, for use by residents and businesses; renewable energy credits (REC) are sold to a different energy company.
With a system that eliminates all ammonia and other odor creating compounds, Mr. Jernigan says, “What I’m doing is good for the environment; it’s good for the farm in the respect that you’re getting rid of waste that you’re creating in a high-tech way. There’s no footprint. It’s just gone.”
Doug and Aileen are lifelong farmers and they have three grown children that work in the farm operation. Their farm currently operates a 21,600 finishing farm operation, an eight house turkey operation, a 250 head cow /calf operation. The farm also consists of 2,400 acres of row crop production (cotton, corn, soybeans and wheat).
Doug Jernigan’s grandfather started farming here in 1941, and he continues the tradition with his business that began in 1974.
In talking about the greater potential of this technology and what others should consider, Jernigan says, “I see it as a win-win thing.”
For more information about USDA, RD and REAP please see: www.usda.gov, www.rd.usda.gov, and www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/rural-energy-america-pr...
USDA Photo by Lance Cheung
*The treatment system (without the methane reactor) was documented to remove, on a mass basis, approximately 99% of total suspended solids, 98% of COD, 99% of TKN, 100% ammonia, 100% odor compounds, 92% phosphorus, 95% copper, and 97% zinc from the flushed manure. Fecal coliform reductions were measured to be 99.98%
This beet root sugar refining factory in Vierverlaten is now 112 years old and still going strong. Another refinery near the city of Groningen was closed this year. When operational at the end of each year, the plumes of steam can be seen from miles around. With a westerly wind, the sweet (and to some nauseating) smell of the factory permeates the city in the background.
More pics in my photostream.
Ex-Colonial Sugar Refining Company (Lautoka, Fiji) 2ft-gauge 0-4-0ST 1056/1914 No. 19, built by Hudswell, Clarke & Co (Leeds), steams quietly in the hot sunshine outside the engine shed at the Statfold Barn Narrow Gauge Railway, near Tamworth in Staffordshire.
Image taken during The Railway Magazine readers' day event on Saturday 8th August, 2015.
South Asian sweets are the confectionery and desserts of South Asia. Thousands of dedicated shops in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka sell nothing but sweets.
Sugarcane has been grown in India for thousands of years, and the art of refining sugar was invented there. The English word sugar comes from a Sanskrit word sharkara, while the word candy comes from Sanskrit word khanda (jaggery) - one of the simplest raw forms of sweet. Over its long history, cuisines of the Indian Subcontinent developed a diversified array of sweets. Some[3] claim there is no other region of the world where sweets are so varied, so numerous, or so invested with meaning as the Indian Subcontinent.
In India's diverse languages, sweets are called by numerous names, one common name being Mithai (मिठाई). They include sugar, and a vast array of ingredients such as different flours, milk, milk solids, fermented foods, root vegetables, raw and roasted seeds, seasonal fruits, fruit pastes and dry fruits. Some sweets such as kheer are cooked, some like burfi are baked, varieties like Mysore pak are roasted, some like jalebi are fried, others like kulfi are frozen, while still others involve a creative combination of preparation techniques. The composition and recipes of the sweets and other ingredients vary by region. Mithai are sometimes served with a meal, and often included as a form of greeting, celebration, religious offering, gift giving, parties, and hospitality in India. On Indian festivals - such as Holi, Diwali, Eid, or Raksha Bhandan - sweets are homemade or purchased, then shared. Many social gatherings, wedding ceremonies and religious festivals often include a social celebration of food, and the flavors of sweets are an essential element of such a celebration.
HISTORY
Ancient Sanskrit literature from India mention feasts and offerings of mithas (sweet). One of the more complete surviving texts, with extensive description of sweets and how to prepare them is the Mānasollāsa (Sanskrit: मानसोल्लास; meaning in Sanskrit, the delight of an idea, or delight of mind and senses). This ancient encyclopedia on food, music and other Indian arts is also known as the Abhilaṣitārtha Cintāmaṇi (the magical stone that fulfils desires). Mānasollāsa was composed about 1130 AD, by the Hindu King Somesvara III. The document describes meals that include a rice pudding which are called payasam (Sanskrit: पायसं) are in modern Indian languages is called kheer. The document mentions seven kinds of rice.
Mānasollāsa also describes recipes for golamu as a donut from wheat flour and scented with cardamom, gharikas as a fried cake from black gram flour and sugar syrup, chhana as a fresh cheese and rice flour fritter soaked in sugar syrup that the document suggests should be prepared from strained curdled milk mixed with buttermilk, and many others. Mānasollāsa mentions numerous milk-derived sweets, along with describing the 11th century art of producing milk solids, condensed milk and methods for souring milk to produce sweets.
The origin of sweets in Indian subcontinent has been traced to at least 500 BC, where records suggest both raw sugar (gur, vellam, jaggery) as well as refined sugar (sarkara) were being produced. By 300 BC, kingdom officials in India were including five kinds of sugar in official documents. By the Gupta dynasty era (300–500 AD), sugar was being made not only from sugar cane, but other plant sources such as palm. Sugar-based foods were also included in temple offerings, as bhoga for the deities, which after the prayers became Prasād for devotees, the poor or visitors to the temple.
VARIETIES
BARFANI TODA
Barfi is a sweet, made from milk solids (khoya) or condensed milk and other ingredients like ground cashews or pistachios. Some barfi use various flours such as besan (gram flour). Barfi may be flavored with pastes or pieces of fruits such as mango, banana, berries, coconut. They may include aromatic spices such as cardamom and rose water to enhance the sensual impact while they are consumed.
Sometimes a thin inert silver or gold layer of edible foil is placed on top face of burfi for an attractive presentation. Gold and silver are approved food foils in the European Union, as E175 and E174 additives respectively. The independent European food-safety certification agency, TÜV Rheinland, has deemed gold leaf safe for consumption. Gold and silver leaf are certified kosher. These inert metal foils are neither considered toxic to human beings nor the broader ecosystem.
CHAM-CHAM
Cham Chams are prepared from flattened paneer (a form of curdled milk solids, cheese) sweetened in syrup.
CHHENA MURKI
Chhena murki, or chenna murki, is a sweet made from an Indian version of cottage cheese, milk and sugar in many states such as Odisha. Milk and sugar are boiled to a thick consistency. Round, cubes, cuboid or other shapes of cottage cheese are soaked in the milky condensate It basically started from coastal areas in the district of Bhadrak and nowadays it is available in all parts of Odisha. Other flavors and aromatic spices are typically added. It is also known by Bangladeshi and Guyanese people as pera.
CHHENA PODA
Chhena Poda is a cheese dessert from the state of Odisha in eastern India. 'Chhena poda' literally means 'burnt cheese' in Odia. It is made of well-kneaded homemade cottage cheese or chhena, sugar, cashew nuts and raisins, and is baked for several hours until it browns. The best quality of Chhena Poda is found in the localities of Nayagarh District in Odisha.This sweet is best taste when it is consumed within two days of preparation
CHIKKI
Chikki is a ready-to-eat solid, brittle sweet generally made from casting a mix of dry nuts and hot jaggery syrup. Peanuts and jaggery mix are most common. Other than almonds, cashews, walnuts, sesame and other seeds, varieties of chikki are also prepared from puffed or roasted Bengal gram, puffed rice, beaten rice, puffed seasonal grains, and regional produce such as Khobara (desiccated coconut). Like many Indian sweets, Chikki is typically a high protein delicacy.[
GAJRELA
Gajrela, also called Gajar halwa, is a seasonal pudding-like sweet made from carrot. It is popular in Punjab regions of India, agricultural belt of North India, now common in many parts of South Asia. It is made by slowly cooking carrot with ghee, concentrated and caramelized milk, mawa (khoya) and sugar; often served with a garnish of aromatic spices, almonds, cashews or pistachios. The recipes vary by region, and Gajrela may be cooked without ghee, then include cheese or other milk solids for sophisticated mix of flavors. It is common in Indian restaurants and is a seasonal street and cafe food during post-monsoon through spring festive celebrations.
GULAB JAMUN
Gulab jamun is a common sweet found in India, and Nepal. It is made out of fried chenna (milk solids and cheese) balls soaked in sweet rose-water flavoured syrup.
JALEBI OR IMARTI
Jalebi is made by deep-frying a fermented batter of wheat flour with yoghurt, in a circular (coil-like) shape and then soaking it in sugar syrup. Imarti is a variant of Jalebi, with a different flour mixture and has tighter coils. Typically Jalebi is brown or yellow, while Imarti is reddish in colour. Often taken with milk, tea, yogurt or Lassi. In classical Sanskrit literature, jalebis have been referred to as kundalika or jalavallika.
KHAJA
Khaja is a sweet of India. Refined wheat flour, sugar and oils are the chief ingredients of khaja.
It is believed that, even 2000 years ago,[citation needed] Khajas were prepared in the southern side of the Gangetic Plains of Bihar. These areas which are home to khaja, once comprised the central part of Maurya and Gupta empires. Presently, Khajas are prepared and sold in the city of Patna, Gaya and several other places across the state of Bihar. Khajas of the Silao and Rajgir are known for their puffiness.
Khajas have travelled to some other parts of India, including Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. Khaja of Kakinada, a coastal town of Andhra Pradesh is very much famous in South India and Orissa. This Khaja is dry from outside and full of sugar syrup from inside and is juicy. Khaja of Puri is also very famous. At first, the batter is of wheat flour, mawa and oil. It is then deep fried until crisp. Then a sugar syrup is made which is known as "pak". The crisp croissants are then soaked in the sugar syrup until they absorb the sugar syrup.
KULFI
Kulfis are traditional South Asian ice-cream, where flavored milk is first condensed and caramelized by slow cooking in presence of a small quantity of rice or seasonal grain flour; once condensed, dry nut pastes and aromatic spices are added, the mix frozen in small earthen or metal cans. This creates one of the densest known form of frozen sweets; it is typically served between -10 to -15 C when they are easier to spoon and eat. It comes in a variety of flavours such as mango, kesar, pistachios, badam (almond), coconut and plain. It is also a street side urban as well as rural India summer time snack and festive sweet, where food hawkers carry around frozen mounds of kulfi in a big earthen pot and play a particular horn music to attract customers. These vendors are known as "kulfiwalla" (one who sells kulfi).
KHEER OR PAYAS
Kheer is a pudding, usually made from milk, sugar and one of these ingredients - vermicelli, rice, Bulgar wheat, semolina, tapioca, dried dates, and shredded white gourd. It is also known as "Payas".
As sweet rice pudding, payas has been a cultural dish throughout the history of India, being usually found at ceremonies, feasts and celebrations. In many parts of India, ancient traditions maintain that a wedding is not fully blessed if payas (or payasam as known in South India) is not served at the feast during traditional ceremonies like marriage, child birth, annaprasan (first solid feed to child), and other occasions. Other than sweet yoghurt, some families include kheer in the last meal, as hospitality and auspicious food, before a family member or guest departs on a long journey away from the home.
LADDU
Laddu (sometimes transliterated as laddoo or laadu) is made of varieties of flour, grains, pulses, semolina, regional or seasonal fruits, dry fruits, and other ingredients cooked with sugar, then shaped into bite-size or larger spheres. Laddu is mentioned in ancient Sanskrit documents as temple offerings, and is referred to as Ladduka. They are popular all over India, easy to prepare, and come in dozens of varieties. Laddu is often made to celebrate festivals, religious ceremonies, or household events such as weddings.
One example of laddu is Motichoor Ka Ladoo. It is a sweet food in states like Bihar, made from roasted gram flour flakes which are sweetened, mixed with almonds, rolled into a batter which is then cast into mini balls and fried in ghee. Every mini ball called 'boondi' has enough sugar that melts like a fresh sweet. The mini balls are then combined with aromatic spices and then formed into bite-size spheres, which are called Motichoor Ka Ladoo. When bit, the mini balls distribute over the tongue for a burst of flavors throughout the mouth. Other examples include Tirupati Laddu so popular that over a million Laddu are distributed every week from a single temple of Lord Venkateswara.
MALPOA
Malpoa is the most ancient homemade sweets of India.[citation needed] It is a form of pancake (made of wheat or rice flour) deep fried and sugar syrup.
NARIKOL LARU
Narikol Laru is a dessert from Assam. They are ball-shaped and made from khoa/condensed milk and coconut, a traditional food during bihu and pujas
PARWAL KI MIHAI
Parwal Ki Mithai is a dry sweet made of the vegetable parwal, a kind of gourd. The shell of parwal is filled with milk solids, then cooked. It is rather popular in Bihar, but also found in Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
PATHISHAPTA
Pathishapta is a Bengali dessert. The final dish is a rolled pancake that is stuffed with a filling often made of coconut, milk, cream, and jaggery from the date palm. These desserts are consumed in Thailand as well.
RASGULLA
Rasgulla is a popular sweet in South Asia. They come in many forms, such as Kamalabhog (Orange Rasgulla), Rajbhog (Giant Rasgulla), Kadamba often served with kheer, Rasamundi, Raskadamba, and others. Some are white, others cream, brown, gold or orange colored. They are called Rasbari in Nepal. This dish is made by boiling small dumplings of chhenna and semolina mixture in sugar syrup. Once cooked, these are stored in the syrup making them spongy. Increasing the semolina content reduces the sponginess and hardens them, creating variety of textures. Some Rasgulla are stuffed inside with treats, such as dry fruits, raisins, candied peel and other delicacies to create a series of flavors experienced as they are consumed. Some versions, called danedhar, are removed from syrup and sugar coated into shapes of fruits and other creative designs. These are festive foods found year round, in many parts of India.
RAS MALAI
Ras malai or rosh malai is a dessert eaten in India and Bangladesh. The name ras malai comes from two words in Hindi: ras, meaning "juice", and malai, meaning "cream". It has been described as "a rich cheesecake without a crust. Ras malai consists of sugary white, cream or yellow-coloured (or flattened) balls of paneer soaked in malai (clotted cream) flavoured with cardamom.
SANDESH
Sandesh is a sweet made from fine cheese made from cow's milk kneaded with fine ground sugar or molasses. This is a sweet from West Bengal and Odisha. Revered for its delicate making, and appreciated by the connoiseur, this represents sweet making at its finest. Sandesh comes in two varieties, "Norom Pak" (the softer version) and "Koda Pak" (the harder version). The softer version although more gentle and considered better, is fragile. The harder version is robust and often easier for storage. Molasses made from dates can be used to make a special variation of Sandesh called "Noleen Gurher Sandesh" (a Sandesh made from "Noleen Gurh" or molases from dates) or simply "Noleen Sandesh".
SEL ROTI
Sel roti is a Nepali home-made circular-shaped bread or rice donut, prepared during Tihar, a widely celebrated Hindu festival in Nepal. It is made of rice flour with adding customized flavors. A semi liquid rice flour dough is usually prepared by adding milk, water, sugar, butter, cardamom, cloves and other flavors of personal choice.
SHRIKHAND
Shrikhand is a creamy dessert made out of strained yogurt, from which water is drained off completely. Dry fruits, mango puree, saffron or cardamom and sugar are added to the thick yoghurt to get the desired flavour and taste. It is served chilled. It is a West Indian traditional dish.
OTHER SWEETS
Other traditional Indian sweets and desserts famous throughout the history of Indian food include:
- Mysore pak (a dessert made out of ghee, sugar and chick pea flour),
- Halwa (or Halva in modern English spelling); made out of flour, butter and sugar
- Jangiri
- Jhajariya
- Dharwad pedha
- Karadantu
WIKIPEDIA
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other ships of the same name, see USS Saratoga.
USS Saratoga (CV-3)
Saratoga underway in 1942, after her lengthy refit
History
United States
Name: USS Saratoga
Namesake: Battle of Saratoga
Ordered:
1917 (as a battlecruiser)
1922 (as an aircraft carrier)
Builder: New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey
Laid down: 25 September 1920
Launched: 7 April 1925
Commissioned: 16 November 1927
Reclassified: 1 July 1922 to aircraft carrier
Struck: 15 August 1946
Identification: Hull number: CC-3, then CV-3
Nickname(s): Sara Maru, Sister Sara
Honors and
awards: 8 battle stars
Fate: Sunk by atomic bomb test, 25 July 1946
Badge: Saratoga's ship's insignia
General characteristics (as built)
Class & type: Lexington-class aircraft carrier
Displacement:
36,000 long tons (37,000 t) (standard)
43,055 long tons (43,746 t) (deep load)
Length: 888 ft (270.7 m)
Beam: 106 ft (32.3 m)
Draft: 30 ft 5 in (9.3 m) (deep load)
Installed power:
180,000 shp (130,000 kW)
16 water-tube boilers
Propulsion:
4 shafts
4 sets turbo-electric drive
Speed: 33.25 knots (61.58 km/h; 38.26 mph)
Range: 10,000 nmi (19,000 km; 12,000 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement: 2,791 (including aviation personnel) in 1942
Armament:
4 × twin 8-inch (203 mm)/55 cal guns
12 × single 5-inch (127 mm)/25 cal guns anti-aircraft
Armor:
Belt: 5–7 in (127–178 mm)
Deck: .75–2 in (19–51 mm)
Gun turrets: .75 in (19 mm)
Bulkheads: 5–7 in (127–178 mm)
Aircraft carried: 78
Aviation facilities: 1 Aircraft catapult
USS Saratoga (CV-3) was a Lexington-class aircraft carrier built for the United States Navy during the 1920s. Originally designed as a battlecruiser, she was converted into one of the Navy's first aircraft carriers during construction to comply with the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922. The ship entered service in 1928 and was assigned to the Pacific Fleet for her entire career. Saratoga and her sister ship, Lexington, were used to develop and refine carrier tactics in a series of annual exercises before World War II. On more than one occasion these included successful surprise attacks on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. She was one of three prewar US fleet aircraft carriers, along with Enterprise and Ranger, to serve throughout World War II.
Shortly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Saratoga was the centerpiece of the unsuccessful American effort to relieve Wake Island and was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine a few weeks later. After lengthy repairs, the ship supported forces participating in the Guadalcanal Campaign and her aircraft sank the light carrier Ryūjō during the Battle of the Eastern Solomons in August 1942. She was again torpedoed the following month and returned to the Solomon Islands area after repairs were completed.
In 1943, Saratoga supported Allied forces involved in the New Georgia Campaign and invasion of Bougainville in the northern Solomon Islands and her aircraft twice attacked the Japanese base at Rabaul in November. Early in 1944, her aircraft provided air support during the Gilbert and Marshall Islands Campaign before she was transferred to the Indian Ocean for several months to support the British Eastern Fleet as it attacked targets in Java and Sumatra. After a brief refit in mid-1944, the ship became a training ship for the rest of the year.
In early 1945, Saratoga participated in the Battle of Iwo Jima as a dedicated night fighter carrier. Several days into the battle, she was badly damaged by kamikaze hits and was forced to return to the United States for repairs. While under repair, the ship, now increasingly obsolete, was permanently modified as a training carrier with some of her hangar deck converted into classrooms. Saratoga remained in this role for the rest of the war and was used to ferry troops back to the United States after the Japanese surrender in August. In mid-1946, the ship was a target for nuclear weapon tests during Operation Crossroads. She survived the first test with little damage, but was sunk by the second test.
Contents
1 Design and construction
1.1 Flight deck arrangements
1.2 Propulsion
1.3 Armament
1.4 Fire control and electronics
1.5 Armor
1.6 Structural changes
2 Service history
2.1 Inter-war period
2.2 World War II
2.2.1 Guadalcanal campaign
2.2.1.1 Battle of the Eastern Solomons
2.2.2 1943
2.2.3 1944
2.2.4 1945
2.3 Postwar years
3 Awards and Decorations
4 Notes
5 References
6 External links
Design and construction
Saratoga was the fifth US Navy ship named after the 1777 Battle of Saratoga, an important victory during the Revolutionary War.[1] She was originally authorized in 1916 as a Lexington-class battlecruiser, but construction was placed on hold so that higher-priority anti-submarine vessels and merchant ships, needed to ensure the safe passage of men and materiel to Europe during Germany's U-boat campaign, could be built. After the war the ship was extensively redesigned to incorporate improved boiler technology, anti-torpedo bulges, and a general increase in armor protection based on British wartime experiences.[2] Given the hull number of CC-3, Saratoga was laid down on 25 September 1920 by New York Shipbuilding Corporation of Camden, New Jersey.[1]
Saratoga on 8 March 1922, after her construction had been suspended. There are circular barbettes on blocks on her deck, which would have been used for the battlecruiser's main battery
In February 1922, before the Washington Naval Conference concluded, the ship's construction was suspended[3] when she was 28 percent complete.[4] She was ordered to be converted to an aircraft carrier with the hull number CV-3 on 1 July 1922.[1] Her displacement was reduced by a total of 4,000 long tons (4,100 t), achieved mainly by the elimination of her main armament of eight 16-inch (406 mm) guns in four twin gun turrets (including their heavy barbettes, armor, and other equipment).[5][6] The main armor belt was retained, although it was reduced in height to save weight.[7] The hull generally remained unaltered, as did the torpedo protection system, because they had already been built and it would have been too expensive to alter them.[8]
The ship had an overall length of 888 feet (270.7 m), a beam of 106 feet (32.3 m), and a draft of 30 feet 5 inches (9.3 m) at deep load. Saratoga had a standard displacement of 36,000 long tons (36,578 t), and 43,055 long tons (43,746 t) at deep load. At that displacement, she had a metacentric height of 7.31 feet (2.2 m).[5]
Christened by Mrs. Curtis D. Wilbur, wife of the Secretary of the Navy, Saratoga was launched on 7 April 1925 and commissioned on 16 November 1927, under the command of Captain Harry E. Yarnell.[1] She was nicknamed by her crew Sister Sara and, later, Sara Maru.[9] In 1942, the ship had a crew of 100 officers and 1,840 enlisted men, and an aviation group totaling 141 officers and 710 enlisted men.[5] By 1945, her crew totaled 3,373, including her aviation group.[10]
Flight deck arrangements
The ship's flight deck was 866 feet 2 inches (264.01 m) long and had a maximum width of 105 feet 11 inches (32.28 m).[5] Her flight deck was widened forward and extended 16 feet (4.9 m) aft during her refit in mid-1941.[11] When built, her hangar "was the largest single enclosed space afloat on any ship"[12] and had an area of 33,528 square feet (3,114.9 m2). It was 424 feet (129.2 m) long and no less than 68 feet (20.7 m) wide. Its minimum height was 21 feet (6.4 m), and it was divided by a single fire curtain just forward of the aft aircraft elevator. Aircraft repair shops, 108 feet (32.9 m) long, were aft of the hangar, and below them was a storage space for disassembled aircraft, 128 feet (39.0 m) long. Saratoga was fitted with two hydraulically powered elevators on her centerline. The forward elevator's dimensions were 30 by 60 feet (9.1 m × 18.3 m) and it had a capacity of 16,000 pounds (7,300 kg). The aft elevator had a capacity of only 6,000 pounds (2,700 kg) and measured 30 by 36 feet (9.1 m × 11.0 m).[12] Avgas was stored in eight compartments of the torpedo protection system, and their capacity has been quoted as either 132,264 US gallons (500,670 l; 110,133 imp gal) or 163,000 US gallons (620,000 l; 136,000 imp gal).[13]
Saratoga landing aircraft, 6 June 1935
Saratoga was initially fitted with electrically operated arresting gear designed by Carl Norden that used longitudinal wires intended to prevent the aircraft from being blown over the side of the ship, and transverse wires to slow the aircraft to a stop. This system was authorized to be replaced by the hydraulically operated Mk 2 system, without longitudinal wires, on 11 August 1931. Four improved Mk 3 units were added in 1934, giving the ship a total of eight arresting wires and four barriers intended to prevent aircraft from crashing into parked aircraft on the ship's bow. When the forward flight deck was widened, an additional eight wires were added there to allow aircraft to land over the bow if the landing area at the stern was damaged.[14] The ship was built with a 155-foot (47.2 m), flywheel-powered, F Mk II aircraft catapult, also designed by Norden, on the starboard side of the bow.[5][12] This catapult was strong enough to launch a 10,000-pound (4,500 kg) aircraft at a speed of 48 knots (89 km/h; 55 mph). It was intended to launch seaplanes, but was rarely used; a 1931 report counted only five launches of practice loads since the ship had been commissioned. It was removed some time after 1936.[15]
Relatively few changes were made during the war to Saratoga's aircraft-handling equipment. Her crew removed her forward arresting wires in late 1943, although their hydraulic systems were not removed until her refit in mid-1944. At that time she received two Type H hydraulic catapults mounted in her forward flight deck to handle the heavier aircraft entering service. Before the war, plans were made to replace the aft elevator with a 44-by-48-foot (13.4 m × 14.6 m) model, but manufacturing delays and operational demands prevented this from ever happening. By mid-1942, the increasing size and weight of naval aircraft exceeded the capacity of the aft elevator and it was locked in place. It was removed in March 1945 to save weight and the opening in the flight deck was plated over. The machinery for the forward elevator was scheduled to be upgraded before the war, but this was not done until mid-1944. A new, 44-by-48-foot lightweight forward elevator identical to those used in the Essex-class carriers was installed in March 1945.[16]
Saratoga was designed to carry 78 aircraft of various types, including 36 bombers,[17] but these numbers increased once the Navy adopted the practice of tying up spare aircraft in the unused spaces at the top of the hangar.[18] In 1936, her air group consisted of 18 Grumman F2F-1 and 18 Boeing F4B-4 fighters, plus an additional nine F2Fs in reserve. Offensive punch was provided by 20 Vought SBU Corsair dive bombers with 10 spare aircraft and 18 Great Lakes BG torpedo bombers with nine spares. Miscellaneous aircraft included two Grumman JF Duck amphibians, plus one in reserve, and three active and one spare Vought O2U Corsair observation aircraft. This amounted to 79 aircraft, plus 30 spares.[5] In early 1945, the ship carried 53 Grumman F6F Hellcat fighters and 17 Grumman TBF Avenger torpedo bombers.[19]
Propulsion
The Lexington-class carriers used turbo-electric propulsion; each of the four propeller shafts was driven by two 22,500-shaft-horsepower (16,800 kW) electric motors. They were powered by four General Electric turbo generators rated at 35,200 kilowatts (47,200 hp). Steam for the generators was provided by sixteen Yarrow boilers, each in its own individual compartment.[20] Six 750-kilowatt (1,010 hp) electric generators were installed in the upper levels of the two main turbine compartments to provide power to meet the ship's hotel load (minimum electrical) requirements.[21]
The ship was designed to reach 33.25 knots (61.58 km/h; 38.26 mph),[5] but Lexington achieved 34.59 knots (64.06 km/h; 39.81 mph) from 202,973 shp (151,357 kW) during sea trials in 1928.[20] She carried a maximum of 6,688 long tons (6,795 t) of fuel oil, but only 5,400 long tons (5,500 t) of that was usable, as the rest had to be retained as ballast in the port fuel tanks to offset the weight of the island and main guns.[22] Designed for a range of 10,000 nautical miles (19,000 km; 12,000 mi) at a speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph),[5] the ship demonstrated a range of 9,910 nmi (18,350 km; 11,400 mi) at a speed of 10.7 knots (19.8 km/h; 12.3 mph) with 4,540 long tons (4,610 t) of oil.[22]
Armament
The Navy's Bureau of Construction and Repair was not convinced when the class was being designed that aircraft could effectively substitute as armament for a warship, especially at night or in bad weather that would prevent air operations.[23] Thus the carriers' design included a substantial gun battery of eight 55-caliber Mk 9 eight-inch guns in four twin gun turrets. These turrets were mounted above the flight deck on the starboard side, two before the superstructure, and two behind the funnel, numbered I to IV from bow to stern.[24] In theory the guns could fire to both sides, but it is probable that firing them to port would have damaged the flight deck.[25] They could be depressed to −5° and elevated to +41°.[10]
The ship's heavy anti-aircraft (AA) armament consisted of twelve 25-caliber Mk 10 five-inch guns which were mounted on single mounts, three each fitted on sponsons on each side of the bow and stern.[26] No light AA guns were initially mounted on Saratoga, but two twin .50-caliber (12.7 mm) machine gun mounts were installed in 1929. They were unsuccessful,[27] but only the mount on the roof of Turret II was replaced by two .50-caliber (12.7 mm) machine guns by 1934. During the ship's August 1941 overhaul, four 50-caliber Mk 10 three-inch AA guns were installed in the corner platforms. Another three-inch gun was added on the roof of the deckhouse between the funnel and the island. In addition, a number of .50-caliber machine guns were added on platforms mounted on her superstructure. The three-inch guns were just interim weapons until the quadruple 1.1-inch gun mount could be fielded, which occurred during a brief refit at the Bremerton Navy Yard in late November 1941.[28]
While receiving temporary repairs at Pearl Harbor in January 1942, Saratoga's eight-inch turrets, barbettes and ammunition hoists were removed; they were replaced by four twin 38-caliber five-inch dual-purpose gun mounts in February at Bremerton. New barbettes were built and the ammunition hoists had to be returned from Pearl Harbor. The older 25-caliber five-inch guns were replaced at the same time by eight more dual-purpose guns in single mounts. As the new guns were heavier than the older ones, only two could be added to the corner gun platforms; the space formerly used by the third gun on each platform was used by an additional quadruple 1.1-inch mount. In addition 32 Oerlikon 20 mm cannon were installed, six at the base of the funnel and the others distributed along the sides and rear of the flight deck. When the ship's repairs were completed in late May, her armament consisted of 16 five-inch guns, nine quadruple 1.1-inch gun mounts and 32 Oerlikon 20-millimeter (0.79 in) guns.[29]
After the ship was again torpedoed in August 1942, her 1.1-inch gun mounts were replaced by an equal number of quadruple Bofors 40 mm mounts while she was under repair at Pearl Harbor. Her light anti-aircraft armament was also increased to 52 Oerlikon guns at the same time. In January 1944 a number of her 20 mm guns were replaced by more Bofors guns, many of which were in the positions formerly occupied by the ship's boats in the sides of the hull. Saratoga mounted 23 quadruple and two twin 40 mm mountings as well as 16 Oerlikon guns when she completed her refit.[30]
Fire control and electronics
The two superfiring eight-inch turrets had a Mk 30 rangefinder at the rear of the turret for local control, but the guns were normally controlled by two Mk 18 fire-control directors, one each on the fore and aft spotting tops.[24] A 20-foot (6.1 m) rangefinder was fitted on top of the pilothouse to provide range information for the directors.[10] Each group of three 5-inch guns was controlled by a Mk 19 director, two of which were mounted on each side of the spotting tops. Plans were made before the war to replace the obsolete Mk 19 directors with two heavier Mk 33 directors, one each on the fore and aft five-inch spotting tops, but these plans were cancelled when the dual-purpose guns replaced the main armament in early 1942.[26]
Saratoga received a RCA CXAM-1 early warning radar in February 1941 during a refit in Bremerton. The antenna was mounted on the forward lip of the funnel with its control room directly below the aerial, replacing the secondary conning station formerly mounted there. She also received two FC (Mk 3) surface fire-control radars in late 1941, although these were both removed along with her main armament in January 1942. The new dual-purpose guns were controlled by two Mk 37 directors, each mounting an FD (Mk 4) anti-aircraft gunnery radar. When the 1.1-inch guns were replaced by 40 mm guns in 1942, the directors for the smaller guns were replaced by five Mk 51 directors. A small SC-1 early warning radar was mounted on the rear lip of the funnel during 1942. A SG surface-search radar was mounted on the foremast at the same time.[31]
During the ship's refit in January 1944, her electronics were modernized. The CXAM was replaced by an SK model and the SC-1 was replaced by an SC-3. The forward SG was supplemented by an additional SG-1 mounted on a short mast at the aft end of the funnel. A lengthier overhaul in mid-1944 provided the opportunity to revise the radar arrangements. The SK radar was moved to the rebuilt foremast and the forward SG radar was replaced by an SG-1 mounted at the top of the foremast. An SM-1 fighter-control radar was mounted in the SK's former position and new antennas were added to the FD radars to allow them to determine target height. The SC-3 was replaced by an SC-4 in early 1945.[32]
Armor
The waterline belt of the Lexington-class ships tapered 7–5 inches (178–127 mm) in thickness from top to bottom and angled 11° outwards at the top. It covered the middle 530 feet (161.5 m) of the ships. Forward, the belt ended in a bulkhead that also tapered from seven to five inches in thickness. Aft, it terminated at a seven-inch bulkhead. This belt had a height of 9 feet 4 inches (2.8 m). The third deck over the ships' machinery and magazine was armored with two layers of special treatment steel (STS) totaling 2 inches (51 mm) in thickness; the steering gear was protected by two layers of STS that totaled 3 inches (76 mm) on the flat and 4.5 inches (114 mm) on the slope.[33]
The gun turrets were protected only against splinters with .75 inches (19 mm) of armor. The conning tower was armored with 2–2.25 inches (51–57 mm) of STS, and it had a communications tube with two-inch sides running from the conning tower down to the lower conning position on the third deck. The torpedo defense system of the Lexington-class ships consisted of three to six medium steel protective bulkheads that ranged from .375 to .75 inches (10 to 19 mm) in thickness. The spaces between them could be used as fuel tanks or left empty to absorb the detonation of a torpedo's warhead.[33]
Structural changes
While under repair after being torpedoed in January 1942, Saratoga received a 7-foot-2-inch (2.2 m) bulge on the starboard side of her hull.[34] This was primarily intended to increase the ship's buoyancy, improve stability and allow her full fuel capacity to be utilized. The bulge was estimated to increase her metacentric height by 3 feet (0.9 m) and decrease her speed by one-quarter of a knot.[35] It was also used to store additional fuel oil and increased her capacity to a total of 9,748 long tons (9,904 t).[22] At the same time, her funnel was shortened by 20 feet (6.1 m) and her tripod foremast was replaced by a light pole mast to reduce her topweight.[36]
All of these changes, including the lengthening of the flight deck, increased Saratoga's full-load displacement in 1945 to 49,552 long tons (50,347 t). Her overall length increased to 909.45 feet (277.2 m) and her beam, at the waterline, to 111 feet 9 inches (34.1 m), too wide to use the Panama Canal.[37]
Service history
Inter-war period
Saratoga was commissioned one month earlier than her sister ship, Lexington. As the ship was visually identical to Lexington, her funnel was painted with a large black vertical stripe to help pilots recognize her. She began her shakedown cruise on 6 January 1928 and five days later Marc A. Mitscher landed the first aircraft on board. Later that month, the rigid airship Los Angeles was refueled and resupplied when she moored to Saratoga's stern on 27 January. That same day, the ship sailed for the Pacific via the Panama Canal, although she was diverted briefly en route to carry Marines to Corinto, Nicaragua, before joining the Battle Fleet at San Pedro, California, on 21 February.[1] On 15 September, Captain John Halligan, Jr. relieved the newly promoted Rear Admiral Yarnell.[38]
Saratoga (with black stripe) at Puget Sound Navy Yard, alongside Lexington and Langley in 1929
In January 1929, Saratoga participated in her first fleet exercise, Fleet Problem IX, a simulated attack on the Panama Canal. These exercises tested the Navy's evolving doctrine and tactics for the use of carriers. The ship was detached from the fleet with only the light cruiser Omaha as escort and made a wide sweep to the south to attack the canal, which was defended by the Scouting Fleet and Lexington, from an unexpected direction. Although the carrier was spotted by two defending ships before she launched her air strike, her aircraft were deemed to have destroyed the canal locks. Saratoga was "sunk" later the same day by an airstrike from Lexington.[39] Captain Frederick J. Horne assumed command on 20 April.[40] The following year, Saratoga and Langley were "disabled" by a surprise attack from Lexington in Fleet Problem X in the Caribbean. Saratoga returned the favor shortly afterward in Fleet Problem XI, further demonstrating the vulnerability of carriers to aerial attack.[41] Following the exercises, Saratoga participated in the Presidential Review at Norfolk, Virginia in May and then returned to San Pedro.[1] Captain Frank McCrary relieved Horne on 5 September 1930.[42]
USS Los Angeles ties up aboard Saratoga in January 1928, the first time a rigid airship had been moored to an aircraft carrier
Saratoga was assigned, together with Lexington, to defend the west coast of Panama against a hypothetical invader during Fleet Problem XII in February 1931. While each carrier was able to inflict some damage on the invasion convoys, the enemy forces succeeded in making a landing. All three carriers then transferred to the Caribbean to conduct further maneuvers, including one in which Saratoga successfully defended the Caribbean side of the Panama Canal from a staged attack by Lexington. Rear Admiral Joseph M. Reeves baited a trap for Lexington's captain, Ernest J. King, with a destroyer and scored a kill on Lexington on 22 March while the latter's aircraft were still searching for Saratoga.[43] The 1932 movie Hell Divers was filmed aboard the ship and starred Wallace Beery and a young Clark Gable as a pair of competing aircraft gunners assigned to VF-1B.[44]
During Grand Joint Exercise No. 4, Saratoga and Lexington were able to launch an airstrike against Pearl Harbor on Sunday, 7 February 1932, without being detected. The two carriers were separated for Fleet Problem XIII which followed shortly afterward. Blue Fleet and Saratoga were tasked to attack Hawaii and the West Coast defended by Lexington and the Black Fleet. On 15 March, Lexington caught Saratoga with all of her planes still on deck and was ruled to have knocked out her flight deck and have badly damaged the carrier, which was subsequently judged sunk during a night attack by Black Fleet destroyers.[45] Captain George W. Steele assumed command on 11 July 1932. While en route from San Diego to San Pedro, the ship briefly ran aground off Sunset Beach, California on 17 August. Captain Rufus F. Zogbaum, Jr. (son of the famous illustrator) relieved Steele, who was ordered to immediately retire, on 1 January 1933.[46]
Before Fleet Problem XIV began the following month, the Army and the Navy conducted a joint exercise simulating a carrier attack on Hawaii. Lexington and Saratoga successfully attacked Pearl Harbor at dawn on 31 January without being detected. During the actual fleet problem, the ship successfully attacked targets in and around Los Angeles and San Francisco although she was damaged by opposing ships during the latter attack.[47] Scenes from the 1933 Joe E. Brown film comedy Son of a Sailor were filmed aboard Saratoga and featured flight deck musters of the ships' company.[48] Fleet Problem XV returned to the Gulf of Panama and the Caribbean in April–May 1934; the participating ships of the Pacific Fleet remained in the Caribbean and off the East Coast for more training and maneuvers until they returned to their home bases in November.[1] Captain Kenneth Whiting relieved Zogbaum on 12 June, after the conclusion of the fleet problem.[49]
Saratoga launching aircraft on 31 May 1934 during her Atlantic deployment
Captain William F. Halsey assumed command on 6 July 1935 after the conclusion of Fleet Problem XVI.[50] From 27 April to 6 June 1936, she participated in a Fleet Problem in the Panama Canal Zone where she was "sunk" by opposing battlecruisers and later ruled to have been severely damaged by aircraft from Ranger.[51] During Fleet Problem XVIII in 1937, Saratoga, now under the command of naval aviation pioneer John H. Towers, covered an amphibious assault on Midway Atoll and was badly "damaged" by Ranger's aircraft.
The 1938 Fleet Problem again tested the defenses of Hawaii and, again, aircraft from Saratoga and her sister successfully attacked Pearl Harbor at dawn on 29 March. Later in the exercise, the two carriers successfully attacked San Francisco without being spotted by the defending fleet.[52] Captain Albert Cushing Read relieved Towers in July 1938. During Fleet Problem XX in 1939, the carrier remained off the West Coast as part of Task Force (TF) 7 with the battleship Arizona and escorts under the command of Rear Admiral Chester Nimitz to maintain a presence in the Pacific. From 2 April to 21 June 1940, she participated in Fleet Problem XXI, and her aircraft, together with those from Lexington, "damaged" the carrier Yorktown in an early phase of the exercise.[53]
From 6 January to 15 August 1941, Saratoga underwent a long-deferred modernization at the Bremerton Navy Yard that included the widening of her flight deck at her bow and the installation of additional antiaircraft guns and a CXAM-1 radar. The ship began a refit a few days later that lasted until late November, further revising the anti-aircraft armament and added a FC radar.[54]
World War II
When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, Saratoga was entering San Diego Harbor to embark her air group, which had been training ashore while the ship was refitting. This consisted of 11 Grumman F4F-3 Wildcat fighters of VF-3 (under the command of Lieutenant Jimmy Thach), 43 Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bombers of VB-3 and VS-3, and 11 Douglas TBD Devastator torpedo bombers of VT-3. The ship also was under orders to load 14 Marine Corps Brewster F2A-3 Buffalo fighters of VMF-221 for delivery in Oahu. The following morning the ship, now the flagship of Carrier Division One, commanded by Rear Admiral Aubrey Fitch, sailed for Pearl Harbor. Saratoga arrived at Pearl on 15 December, refueled, and departed for Wake Island the following day. The ship was assigned to Task Force (TF) 14 under the command of Rear Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher; VF-3 had been reinforced by two additional Wildcats picked up in Hawaii, but one SBD had been forced to ditch on 11 December.[55]
She then rendezvoused with the seaplane tender Tangier, carrying reinforcements and supplies, and the slow replenishment oiler Neches. Saratoga's task force was delayed by the necessity to refuel its escorting destroyers on 21 December, before reaching the island. This process was prolonged by heavy weather, although the task force could still reach Wake by 24 December as scheduled. After receiving reports of heavy Japanese carrier airstrikes, and then troop landings, TF 14 was recalled on 23 December, and Wake fell the same day. On the return voyage, Saratoga delivered VMF-221 to Midway on 25 December. The ship arrived at Pearl on 29 December and Fletcher was replaced as commander of Task Force 14 by Rear Admiral Herbert F. Leary the following day. Leary made Saratoga his flagship and Fitch was transferred to a shore command that same day. The task force put to sea on 31 December and patrolled in the vicinity of Midway.[56]
Saratoga, about 420 nautical miles (780 km; 480 mi) southwest of Pearl Harbor on 11 January 1942, was heading towards a rendezvous with USS Enterprise when she was hit by a torpedo fired by the I-6. The explosion flooded three of her boiler rooms, reduced her speed to a maximum of 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph) and killed six of her crewmen. The ship's list was soon corrected and she reached Pearl two days later.[57] While undergoing temporary repairs there, her four twin eight-inch gun turrets were removed for installation in shore batteries on Oahu.[58] Saratoga then sailed to the Bremerton Navy Yard on 9 February for permanent repairs. She embarked 10 Wildcats of the VF-2 Detachment and all of VS-3 with its Dauntlesses for self-protection on the voyage.[59]
While under repair, the ship was modernized with an anti-torpedo bulge, her anti-aircraft armament was significantly upgraded and more radars were added.[36] Douglas was relieved on 12 April and Saratoga was temporarily commanded by her executive officer, Commander Alfred M. Pride, until Captain DeWitt Ramsey assumed command a month later.[60] Saratoga departed from Bremerton on 22 May, bound for San Diego. She arrived there on 25 May and began loading aircraft and supplies while waiting for her task force commander, Admiral Fitch, to arrive from the South Pacific. On 30 May Admiral Nimitz, now commander-in-chief of the United States Pacific Fleet, ordered Captain Ramsey to expedite his departure for Pearl Harbor, even if Fitch had not yet arrived. The ship sailed from San Diego on 1 June carrying 14 Wildcats of VF-2 Detachment and 23 Dauntlesses of VS-3; in addition she carried four Wildcats, 43 Dauntlesses and 14 Avengers as cargo. She arrived at Pearl Harbor on 6 June, the final day of the Battle of Midway. After refuelling, Saratoga departed the following day with the mission to ferry replacement aircraft to the carriers that survived the battle. The ship carried a total of 47 Wildcats, 45 Dauntlesses, five Devastators and 10 Avengers, including her own air group.[61] Admiral Fletcher (whose flagship Yorktown had been sunk during the battle) came aboard on 8 June and made Saratoga his flagship.[62] The ship rendezvoused with the other carriers on 11 June and transferred 19 Dauntlesses, the five Devastators and all of the Avengers to them.[63] When the ship reached Pearl on 13 June, Fletcher and his staff disembarked; Admiral Fitch rendezvoused with the ship the next day. He became commander of Task Force 11 on 15 June, when Nimitz reorganized his carriers. From 22 through 29 June, Saratoga ferried 18 Marine Dauntlesses of VMSB-231 and 25 Army Air Corps Curtiss P-40 Warhawks to Midway Island to replace the aircraft lost during the battle. Fletcher relieved Fitch as commander of TF 11 the following day.[64]
Guadalcanal campaign
Main article: Guadalcanal Campaign
Saratoga operating off Guadalcanal
In late June, the Allies decided to seize bases in the southern Solomon Islands with the objective of denying their use by the Japanese to threaten the supply and communication routes between the U.S., Australia, and New Zealand. They also intended to use Guadalcanal and Tulagi as bases to support a campaign to eventually capture or neutralize the major Japanese base at Rabaul on New Britain. Admiral Nimitz committed much of the Pacific Fleet to the task, including three of his four carrier task forces. They fell under the command of the recently appointed Vice Admiral Robert L. Ghormley, commander of the South Pacific Area.[65]
On 7 July, Task Force 11 departed Pearl for the Southwest Pacific; it consisted of Saratoga, four heavy cruisers, Astoria, New Orleans, Minneapolis and Vincennes, and was escorted by seven destroyers. Also assigned were three replenishment oilers and four fast transports converted from old four-stack destroyers. The carrier embarked 90 aircraft, comprising 37 Wildcats, 37 Dauntlesses and 16 Avengers. TF 11 and TF 18, centered around the carrier Wasp, rendezvoused south of Tongatapu on 24 July and they met the remaining forces, including Enterprise's TF 16, assigned to Operation Watchtower three days later south of the Fiji Islands. The entire force of 82 ships was organized as Task Force 61 and commanded by Fletcher. On 30 July, Saratoga and the other carriers provided air cover for amphibious landings on Koro Island and practiced air strikes as part of the rehearsals for the planned invasion of Guadalcanal, Tulagi, and nearby islands.[66]
A damaged Grumman TBF-1 Avenger makes a landing aboard Saratoga in August 1942
The Allied force successfully reached the Solomon Islands without being detected by the Japanese because of thick fog and haze. Saratoga launched 24 Dauntlesses and a dozen Wildcats early on 7 August to attack targets on Guadalcanal. Her air group commander, Commander Harry D. Felt, coordinated the attack over the island, which also included eight Wildcats from Enterprise's VF-6. The aircraft focused on the nearly complete airfield at Lunga and dispersed the two construction battalions building it. This allowed the 1st Marine Division to capture it (renaming it Henderson Field) without resistance. For the rest of the day, the carriers provided a combat air patrol (CAP) over the transports and themselves while their other aircraft provided air support for the Marines as needed.[67]
The Japanese struck back quickly and launched 27 Mitsubishi G4M ("Betty") medium bombers, escorted by 17 Mitsubishi A6M Zero ("Zeke") fighters, against the Allied forces. Among the escorting pilots were several aces such as Tadashi Nakajima, Hiroyoshi Nishizawa, and Saburō Sakai. Failing to spot the carriers, the bombers attacked the transports and their escorts, defended by eight Wildcats from Saratoga's VF-5. The Zeros shot down five Wildcats without losing any of their own, but the Americans shot down at least one G4M and damaged a number of others. The bombers failed to hit any Allied ships. About an hour later, nine Aichi D3A ("Val") dive bombers attacked the transport groups. Also based in Rabaul, they were on a one-way mission with a minimal payload of two small 60-kilogram (132 lb) bombs each because the distance to Guadalcanal exceeded their combat range; the pilots were expected to ditch at Shortland Island on the return leg where a Japanese seaplane tender could pick them up. By the time they arrived, the American CAP had been reinforced to 15 Wildcats from VF-5 and VF-6. Realizing that they had been spotted and that they could not reach the vulnerable transports before they were intercepted by the defending fighters, the Japanese attacked two of the escorting destroyers. They lightly damaged one destroyer with a direct hit, but the Americans shot down five of the attackers without loss to themselves.[68]
The Japanese attacked the transports again the following day, but none of Saratoga's aircraft were involved. Concerned about his declining fuel reserves and worried about air and submarine attacks after losing 20% of his fighters, Fletcher requested permission from Ghormley to withdraw one day early to refuel. This was granted and Fletcher's carriers were mostly out of range by the morning of 9 August. This meant that the transports lacked air cover, but the only Japanese airstrike of the day specifically targeted the carriers and ignored the transports entirely. Fletcher loitered southeast of the Solomons, waiting for the Japanese carriers that signals intelligence told him were en route to be spotted. He rendezvoused with the aircraft transport Long Island on 19 August and covered her approach to Guadalcanal. The ship was carrying Marine aircraft for Henderson Field and successfully flew them off the next day. Fletcher returned to the Solomons on 21 August after escorting Long Island to safety and remained in the vicinity for the next several days to provide cover for two transports resupplying the Marines. American aircraft shot down several Japanese reconnaissance aircraft during this time and the Japanese concluded that one or more American carriers were operating southeast of Guadalcanal.[69]
Battle of the Eastern Solomons
Main article: Battle of the Eastern Solomons
Enterprise (foreground) and Saratoga (rear) near Guadalcanal, December 1942. A Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bomber is visible between the two carriers.
The presence of American carriers nearby firmed up Japanese plans to land troops on Guadalcanal on 24 August, covered by the fleet carriers Shōkaku and Zuikaku and the light carrier Ryūjō. A force of Japanese troop transports was detected on the morning of 23 August some 300 nautical miles (560 km; 350 mi) north of Guadalcanal. Fletcher was not originally inclined to attack them until another force of two transports was spotted at Faisi later that morning. He changed his mind and ordered Saratoga to launch her airstrike of 31 Dauntlesses and six Avengers in the early afternoon at very long range. They could not locate the Japanese convoy in poor visibility because it had reversed course shortly after spotting the American reconnaissance aircraft. The aircraft lacked the range to return to their carrier and they were ordered to land at Henderson Field and return the following morning.[70]
The Japanese failed to locate the American carriers during the day and Vice Admiral Chūichi Nagumo, commander of the First Carrier Division, ordered Ryūjō, escorted by the heavy cruiser Tone and two destroyers, to attack Henderson Field, as per Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto's orders. American aircraft located the Ryūjō task force the following morning as it approached within aircraft range of Guadalcanal, as well as other enemy ships, but failed to spot the fleet carriers. Fletcher delayed his attack until further reconnaissance aircraft failed to find the other Japanese carriers and his own aircraft returned from Henderson Field. In the meantime, Ryūjō had launched her own airstrike against Henderson Field, although they inflicted little damage while losing seven out of 21 aircraft during the attack.[71]
Saratoga launched an airstrike against Ryūjō's task force in the early afternoon that consisted of 31 Dauntlesses and eight Avengers; the long range precluded fighter escort. While those aircraft were en route, a number of reconnaissance aircraft from Enterprise spotted and attacked the Japanese formation. They inflicted no damage and the Japanese CAP shot down one Avenger. Saratoga's aircraft sighted the carrier shortly afterward and attacked. They hit Ryūjō three times with 1,000-pound (450 kg) bombs and one torpedo; the torpedo hit flooded the starboard engine and boiler rooms. No aircraft from either Ryūjō or Saratoga were shot down in the attack.[72] The carrier capsized about four hours later with the loss of 120 crewmen.[73]
About an hour after Saratoga launched her airstrike, the Japanese launched theirs once they located the American carriers. Shōkaku contributed 18 D3As and nine Zeros while Zuikaku launched nine D3As and six Zeros. Reconnaissance SBDs from Enterprise spotted the 1st Carrier Division shortly after the Japanese airstrike had taken off and five of Shōkaku's Zeros stayed behind to deal with the Dauntlesses as they attacked Shōkaku. The Dauntlesses survived the attack by the Zeros, but their spot report was garbled and the enemy's location could not be understood. This incident prompted Nagumo to launch a follow-on airstrike with 27 D3As and nine Zeros.[74]
The first airstrike attacked the ships of TF 16 which was initially defended by fighters from VF-6. Once radar spotted the incoming Japanese aircraft, both carriers launched all available fighters. Enterprise was badly damaged by three bomb hits, but the Japanese lost 19 dive bombers and four Zeros to the defending fighters and anti-aircraft fire. They claimed to have shot down a dozen Wildcats although the Americans lost only five, of which two belonged to VF-5; some of the American losses were reportedly due to friendly anti-aircraft fire. In turn, the American fighters claimed to have shot down 52 Japanese aircraft, 15 more than the Japanese committed to the attack. The second Japanese airstrike failed to locate the American carriers.[75]
Right before the Japanese attack, Saratoga launched a small airstrike of two Dauntlesses and five Avengers to clear her flight deck and these planes found and damaged the seaplane tender Chitose with near misses that also destroyed three Mitsubishi F1M reconnaissance floatplanes. Two Avengers were forced to make emergency landings, but they shot down one Zero from Shōkaku. After recovering their returning aircraft, the two American carriers withdrew, Enterprise for repairs and Saratoga to refuel the next day. Before the former departed for Tongatapu for temporary repairs, she transferred 17 Wildcats and six Avengers to Saratoga as replacements for the latter's losses.[76]
Fletcher rendezvoused with TF 18 east of San Cristobal on the evening of 26 August and transferred four Wildcats to Wasp the next day to bring the latter's fighters up to strength. TF 17, with the carrier Hornet, arrived on 29 August. Two days later, a torpedo from I-26 struck Saratoga on her starboard side, just aft of the island. The torpedo wounded a dozen of her sailors, including Fletcher, and it flooded one fireroom, giving the ship a 4° list, but it caused multiple electrical short circuits. These damaged Saratoga's turbo-electric propulsion system and left her dead in the water for a time. The heavy cruiser Minneapolis took Saratoga in tow while she launched her aircraft for Espiritu Santo, retaining 36 fighters aboard. By noon, the list had been corrected and she was able to steam under her own power later that afternoon.[77]
Saratoga reached Tongatapu on 6 September and flew off 27 Wildcats for Efate once she arrived.[78] The ship received temporary repairs there and sailed for Pearl on 12 September, escorted by the battleship South Dakota, New Orleans and five destroyers. Task Force 11 reached Pearl on 21 September and Saratoga entered drydock the following day for more permanent repairs. Captain Ramsey was promoted on 27 September and replaced by Captain Gerald F. Bogan.[79]
Task Force 11, now commanded by Rear Admiral Ramsey, sailed from Pearl Harbor, bound for Nouméa, New Caledonia, via Viti Levu, Fiji, on 12 November 1942 with Saratoga as his flagship. The other ships of the task force consisted of New Orleans, the fleet oiler Kankakee and six destroyers. The carrier had on board the Wildcats of VF-6, Dauntlesses of VB-3 and VS-6, and the Avengers of VT-3. The ships dropped anchor in Fiji on 22 November, except for New Orleans, which immediately left for Nouméa, escorted by two destroyers. The cruiser was replaced by the light anti-aircraft cruiser San Juan on 29 November and the task force sailed for Nouméa on 1 December. After they arrived on 5 December, one of Saratoga's main turbines required repairs which lasted until 13 December.[80]
1943
On 23 January 1943, Saratoga launched 18 Wildcats of VF-3, 24 Dauntlesses of VB-3 and VS-3, and 17 Avengers of VT-3 for Henderson Field, retaining 16 Wildcats and 15 Dauntlesses for self-defense. The next day they attacked the Japanese airfield at Vila, Solomon Islands after it had been bombarded by four Allied light cruisers. The aircraft returned to the carrier without loss later that afternoon.[81] Captain Bogan slipped and badly injured himself on 29 March so Captain Henry M. Mullinnix assumed command on 7 April.[82]
Saratoga in 1943 or 44.
With the withdrawal of Enterprise in early May, Saratoga became the only operational American fleet carrier in the South Pacific. Task Force 14, as her group was now known, was reinforced by the anti-aircraft cruiser San Diego on 3 May and by the British fleet carrier Victorious on 17 May.[83] At this time Saratoga embarked 34 Wildcats of VF-5, 37 Dauntlesses of VB-3 and VS-3 and 16 Avengers of VT-8.[84] Ramsey's force was intended to provide distant cover for the impending landings on New Georgia and to prevent intervention by any Japanese carriers. The two carriers spent some weeks familiarizing each other with their capabilities and tactics and Ramsey decided to take advantage of each carrier's strengths. He ordered that the Avengers of 832 Squadron be exchanged for 24 Wildcats from VF-3 as Victorious had difficulty operating the large Avenger and the British carrier possessed better facilities for coordinating fighter operations than Saratoga; the latter retained a dozen Wildcats for self-defense and escort duties. Fortunately, Ramsey never got a chance to test his reorganization as the Japanese carriers made no effort to attack the American transports.[85] Ramsey was relieved on 26 July and replaced by Rear Admiral Frederick C. Sherman.[86] Victorious sailed on 31 July for home and left eleven Avengers behind as reserves for Saratoga.[87]
Carrier Air Group 12 was assigned to Saratoga in lieu of Carrier Air Group 3 and flew aboard on 1 August. It was composed of VF-12, VB-12 and VT-12;[86] the fighter and dive bomber squadrons each had 36 aircraft and the torpedo bomber squadron had half that number. Grumman F6F Hellcats replaced the Wildcats formerly used.[88] The task force was redesignated as Task Force 38 on 4 August and Captain John H. Cassady relieved Mullinix on 22 August after the latter was promoted. The ship was based at Havannah Harbor, Efate and Espiritu Santo from August through November. While refueling at sea on the night of 12 October, Saratoga collided with the oiler Atascosa, damaging three of her 20-millimeter guns on her port side. On 22 October, she was joined by the light aircraft carrier Princeton.[89]
On 27 October, Task Force 38 provided air cover for the invasion of the Treasury Islands, part of the preliminary operations for the invasion of Bougainville Island scheduled a few days later. On the morning of 1 November, Saratoga's aircraft neutralized Japanese airfields at the northern end of the island and on Buka Island. They destroyed 15 Japanese aircraft while losing three Hellcats, one Dauntless, and two Avengers to all causes. While the task force was refuelling on 3–4 November, reconnaissance aircraft discovered Japanese cruisers massing at Rabaul and Admiral Halsey ordered Task Force 38 to attack them with maximal force before they could engage the transports at Bougainville. This translated into an attack group of 23 Avengers and 22 Dauntlesses, escorted by every available fighter on board the two carriers on 5 November; CAP over the carriers was provided by fighters flying from New Georgia.[90] The attack caught the Japanese by surprise and badly damaged four heavy cruisers, two light cruisers, and a destroyer[91] for the loss of only nine aircraft to all causes.[92]
Saratoga and Princeton attacked Rabaul again on 11 November in conjunction with three carriers of Task Group 50.3. They attacked first, but inflicted little damage due to poor visibility; the other carriers were more successful and further damaged the ships at Rabaul.[93] Task Force 38 returned to Espiritu Santo on 14 November.[94] Now known as Task Group 50.4, Saratoga and Princeton were tasked as the Relief Carrier Group for the offensive in the Gilbert Islands. As part of the preliminary operations, they attacked Nauru on 19 November, destroying two fighters and three G4Ms on the ground. As the carriers were withdrawing, they were unsuccessfully attacked by eight more G4Ms, shooting down half of their attackers. TF 50.2 was not attacked during the battle and Saratoga transferred a number of her aircraft to replace losses aboard the other carriers before departing for Pearl Harbor on 30 November.[95] She arrived on 4 December and off-loaded her aircraft and stores before proceeding to San Francisco where she arrived on 9 December for a refit and augmentation of her anti-aircraft guns.[96]
1944
Saratoga docked at Pearl Harbor, June 1945
Saratoga's refit was completed on 2 January 1944 and she arrived at Pearl Harbor on 7 January. The ship, now the flagship of Rear Admiral Samuel Ginder, commander of Task Group 58.4, sailed from Pearl Harbor on 19 January with Langley and Princeton, to support the invasion of the Marshall Islands scheduled to begin on 1 February.[97] Her air group at this time consisted of 36 Hellcats of VF-12, 24 Dauntlesses of VB-12 and eight Avengers of VT-8.[98] As part of the preliminary operations, aircraft from the Task Group attacked airfields at Wotje and Taroa on 29–31 January, radio stations at Rongelap and Utirik Atoll on 1 February,[99] and then attacked Engebi, the main island at Eniwetok Atoll, from 3 to 6 February, refuelled, and attacked Japanese defenses at Eniwetok again from 10 to 12 February. They provided air support during the entire Battle of Eniwetok which began on 17 February with landings at Engebi and continued until the islands were secured on 24 February. They then protected the Allied forces there until 28 February when land-based aircraft assumed that role.[100]
On 4 March, Saratoga departed Majuro with an escort of three destroyers to reinforce the Eastern Fleet in the Indian Ocean and allow it to attack Japanese-controlled territory. She rendezvoused at sea on 27 March with the British force and arrived at Trincomalee, Ceylon, on 31 March.[101] During the next two weeks, the carriers conducted intensive training and rehearsing with the fleet carrier Illustrious for an attack on the port city of Sabang (Operation Cockpit) scheduled for 19 April. For this operation, Saratoga mustered 27 Hellcats, 24 Dauntlesses and 18 Avengers. The carrier launched 24 Hellcats, 11 Avengers and 18 Dauntlesses while Illustrious contributed 17 Fairey Barracuda bombers and 13 Vought F4U Corsair fighters. The attack caught the Japanese by surprise and there was no aerial opposition, so the escorts strafed the airfield and destroyed 24 aircraft on the ground. The port facilities and oil storage tanks were heavily damaged and one small freighter was sunk for the loss of one Hellcat to flak. The Japanese attempted to attack the fleet with three G4Ms as it was withdrawing, but the CAP shot down all three bombers. Sailing from Ceylon on 6 May, the task force attacked the oil refinery at Surabaya, Java, on 17 May after refueling at Exmouth Gulf, Australia. Little damage was inflicted on the refinery and only one small ship was sunk for the loss of one of VT-3's Avengers.[102] Saratoga was relieved from its assignment with the British the next day and ordered back to Pearl.[103]
The ship arrived at Pearl on 10 June and remained for several days before departing for Bremerton to begin an overhaul scheduled to last several months. Captain Cassady was relieved by Captain Thomas Sisson on 22 June although he was only briefly in command before Captain Lucian A. Moebus assumed command on 31 July. Saratoga completed her post-refit sea trials on 13 September and arrived at the Naval Air Station Alameda on 16 September to begin loading 85 aircraft, 1500 passengers and cargo bound for Pearl Harbor. She departed San Francisco two days later and arrived on 24 September. The ship was assigned to Carrier Division 11 which was tasked to train night fighter pilots and to develop night tactics and doctrine. Rear Admiral Matthias Gardner made Saratoga his flagship on 10 October. Four days later, the ship was accidentally rammed by her plane guard destroyer Clark, gashing the port side of her hull. Operations were immediately cancelled and she returned to port for temporary repairs. Permanent repairs were made during a brief refit during the first week of November. Carrier qualification and other training continued through most of January 1945.[104]
1945
On 29 January 1945, Saratoga departed Pearl Harbor for Ulithi Atoll to rendezvous with the Enterprise and form a night fighter task group (TG 58.5/Night Carrier Division 7) along with Enterprise, to provide air cover for the amphibious landings on Iwo Jima. She arrived on 8 February[105] with the 53 Hellcats and 17 Avengers of Carrier Air Group (Night) 53[19] aboard and sailed two days later.[105]
Saratoga hit by a kamikaze, 21 February 1945
The carrier force carried out diversionary strikes on the Japanese home islands on the nights of 16 and 17 February, before the landings began. Saratoga was assigned to provide fighter cover while the remaining carriers launched the strikes on Japan, but in the process, her fighters raided two Japanese airfields. The force fueled on 18 and 19 February, and the ship provided CAP over Iwo Jima on 19–20 February.[106] The following day, Saratoga was detached with an escort of three destroyers to join the amphibious forces and carry out night patrols over Iwo Jima and nearby Chichi Jima. Taking advantage of low cloud cover and Saratoga's weak escort, six Japanese planes scored five bomb hits on the carrier in three minutes; three of the aircraft also struck the carrier. Saratoga's flight deck forward was wrecked, her starboard side was holed twice and large fires were started in her hangar deck; she lost 123 of her crew dead or missing as well as 192 wounded. Thirty-six of her aircraft were destroyed. Another attack two hours later further damaged her flight deck.[107] Slightly over an hour later, the fires were under control, and Saratoga was able to recover six fighters; she arrived at Bremerton on 16 March for permanent repairs.[108]
Because of Saratoga's age and the number of modern carriers in service, the Navy decided to modify her into a training carrier. The aft elevator and its machinery was removed, the opening was plated over and the forward elevator was replaced with a larger model. Part of the hangar deck was converted into classrooms.[109] While the ship was still under repair Captain Frank Akers assumed command on 27 April. The post-refit machinery trials on 12 May revealed some problems with one turbine, and an explosion in one 5-inch gun wounded eleven men and wrecked the mount. The full-power trials were completed on 20 May and a new mount was loaded aboard to be installed at Pearl. The ship sailed for NAS Alameda a few days later where she picked up 60 aircraft, 1,200 passengers and some trucks for delivery in Pearl. Saratoga arrived on 1 June and became the flagship of Rear Admiral Ralph F. Jennings, commander of Carrier Division 11. She resumed carrier qualification training on 3 June until she returned to the dockyard on 10 June for the installation of her replacement five-inch gun mount. Jennings transferred his flag to another carrier from 11 to 30 June. She continued training carrier pilots after the Japanese surrender until 6 September.[110] Over the span of the ship's 17-year career, Saratoga's aviators landed on her deck 98,549 times, then the record for the most carrier landings.[1] Saratoga received eight battle stars for her World War II service.[111] After the war, the ship took part in Operation Magic Carpet, the repatriation of American servicemen from the European, Pacific, and Asian theaters. She left Hawaii on 9 September with 3,712 Navy officers and enlisted men bound for the United States. In the course of the operation, she returned 29,204 veterans, the highest total for any individual vessel.[1]
Postwar years
Saratoga sinking after Test Baker
Saratoga was surplus to postwar requirements with the large numbers of Essex-class carriers in service,[1] and she was assigned to Operation Crossroads on 22 January 1946. This was a test conducted at Bikini Atoll to evaluate the effect of the atomic bomb on ships. Captain Stanhope Ring assumed command on 6 March, but was relieved on 2 June by Captain Donald MacMahan. The ship hosted comedian Jack Benny's radio show on 21 April, while Saratoga was berthed in San Francisco before her departure for Bikini.[112]
Operation Crossroads began with the first blast (Test Able), an air burst on 1 July 1946. Saratoga survived the explosion with only minor damage, including the ignition of the teak of her flight deck. A skeleton crew boarded Saratoga the following day to prepare her for the next test on 25 July. The ship was sunk by Test Baker, an underwater blast which was detonated under LSM-60 400 yards (370 m) from the carrier. The explosion literally blew the ship out of the water, knocked everything off her flight deck and knocked most of her funnel onto the flight deck.[113] She was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 15 August 1946.[1]
In recent years, the submerged wreck, the top of which is only 50 ft (15 m) below the surface, has become a scuba diving destination, one of only three carrier wrecks accessible to recreational divers (the others are the Oriskany, in the Gulf of Mexico, and HMS Hermes, off Batticaloa in Sri Lanka.)[114] After a hiatus of several years, dive trips resumed in 2011.[115]
This took ages to make and then refine, lots of late nights !!!!!
built with some very rare lego and has a lot of rare chrome lego parts ( including a chrome lego petrol tank underneath...) has the spare wheel and inturnal petrol filler..
I used a chrome lego steering wheel for the merc badge.....works very well.
Ive just made 5 porsche 356's ( all different color ways).. and 2 vw barn door split screen pick ups...
I will be selling these in the very near future, but they wont be cheap....
They are the same scale and are all built with rarelego curved parts and chrome....
2 of the porsche's ive made have turbo charged modified engines ....lego is the best.
i will be taking more pictures, including the pick ups and porsches as soon as i can..
See more photos of this, and the Wikipedia article.
Details, quoting from Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum | Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird:
No reconnaissance aircraft in history has operated globally in more hostile airspace or with such complete impunity than the SR-71, the world's fastest jet-propelled aircraft. The Blackbird's performance and operational achievements placed it at the pinnacle of aviation technology developments during the Cold War.
This Blackbird accrued about 2,800 hours of flight time during 24 years of active service with the U.S. Air Force. On its last flight, March 6, 1990, Lt. Col. Ed Yielding and Lt. Col. Joseph Vida set a speed record by flying from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., in 1 hour, 4 minutes, and 20 seconds, averaging 3,418 kilometers (2,124 miles) per hour. At the flight's conclusion, they landed at Washington-Dulles International Airport and turned the airplane over to the Smithsonian.
Transferred from the United States Air Force.
Manufacturer:
Designer:
Date:
1964
Country of Origin:
United States of America
Dimensions:
Overall: 18ft 5 15/16in. x 55ft 7in. x 107ft 5in., 169998.5lb. (5.638m x 16.942m x 32.741m, 77110.8kg)
Other: 18ft 5 15/16in. x 107ft 5in. x 55ft 7in. (5.638m x 32.741m x 16.942m)
Materials:
Titanium
Physical Description:
Twin-engine, two-seat, supersonic strategic reconnaissance aircraft; airframe constructed largley of titanium and its alloys; vertical tail fins are constructed of a composite (laminated plastic-type material) to reduce radar cross-section; Pratt and Whitney J58 (JT11D-20B) turbojet engines feature large inlet shock cones.
Long Description:
No reconnaissance aircraft in history has operated in more hostile airspace or with such complete impunity than the SR-71 Blackbird. It is the fastest aircraft propelled by air-breathing engines. The Blackbird's performance and operational achievements placed it at the pinnacle of aviation technology developments during the Cold War. The airplane was conceived when tensions with communist Eastern Europe reached levels approaching a full-blown crisis in the mid-1950s. U.S. military commanders desperately needed accurate assessments of Soviet worldwide military deployments, particularly near the Iron Curtain. Lockheed Aircraft Corporation's subsonic U-2 (see NASM collection) reconnaissance aircraft was an able platform but the U. S. Air Force recognized that this relatively slow aircraft was already vulnerable to Soviet interceptors. They also understood that the rapid development of surface-to-air missile systems could put U-2 pilots at grave risk. The danger proved reality when a U-2 was shot down by a surface to air missile over the Soviet Union in 1960.
Lockheed's first proposal for a new high speed, high altitude, reconnaissance aircraft, to be capable of avoiding interceptors and missiles, centered on a design propelled by liquid hydrogen. This proved to be impracticable because of considerable fuel consumption. Lockheed then reconfigured the design for conventional fuels. This was feasible and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), already flying the Lockheed U-2, issued a production contract for an aircraft designated the A-12. Lockheed's clandestine 'Skunk Works' division (headed by the gifted design engineer Clarence L. "Kelly" Johnson) designed the A-12 to cruise at Mach 3.2 and fly well above 18,288 m (60,000 feet). To meet these challenging requirements, Lockheed engineers overcame many daunting technical challenges. Flying more than three times the speed of sound generates 316° C (600° F) temperatures on external aircraft surfaces, which are enough to melt conventional aluminum airframes. The design team chose to make the jet's external skin of titanium alloy to which shielded the internal aluminum airframe. Two conventional, but very powerful, afterburning turbine engines propelled this remarkable aircraft. These power plants had to operate across a huge speed envelope in flight, from a takeoff speed of 334 kph (207 mph) to more than 3,540 kph (2,200 mph). To prevent supersonic shock waves from moving inside the engine intake causing flameouts, Johnson's team had to design a complex air intake and bypass system for the engines.
Skunk Works engineers also optimized the A-12 cross-section design to exhibit a low radar profile. Lockheed hoped to achieve this by carefully shaping the airframe to reflect as little transmitted radar energy (radio waves) as possible, and by application of special paint designed to absorb, rather than reflect, those waves. This treatment became one of the first applications of stealth technology, but it never completely met the design goals.
Test pilot Lou Schalk flew the single-seat A-12 on April 24, 1962, after he became airborne accidentally during high-speed taxi trials. The airplane showed great promise but it needed considerable technical refinement before the CIA could fly the first operational sortie on May 31, 1967 - a surveillance flight over North Vietnam. A-12s, flown by CIA pilots, operated as part of the Air Force's 1129th Special Activities Squadron under the "Oxcart" program. While Lockheed continued to refine the A-12, the U. S. Air Force ordered an interceptor version of the aircraft designated the YF-12A. The Skunk Works, however, proposed a "specific mission" version configured to conduct post-nuclear strike reconnaissance. This system evolved into the USAF's familiar SR-71.
Lockheed built fifteen A-12s, including a special two-seat trainer version. Two A-12s were modified to carry a special reconnaissance drone, designated D-21. The modified A-12s were redesignated M-21s. These were designed to take off with the D-21 drone, powered by a Marquart ramjet engine mounted on a pylon between the rudders. The M-21 then hauled the drone aloft and launched it at speeds high enough to ignite the drone's ramjet motor. Lockheed also built three YF-12As but this type never went into production. Two of the YF-12As crashed during testing. Only one survives and is on display at the USAF Museum in Dayton, Ohio. The aft section of one of the "written off" YF-12As which was later used along with an SR-71A static test airframe to manufacture the sole SR-71C trainer. One SR-71 was lent to NASA and designated YF-12C. Including the SR-71C and two SR-71B pilot trainers, Lockheed constructed thirty-two Blackbirds. The first SR-71 flew on December 22, 1964. Because of extreme operational costs, military strategists decided that the more capable USAF SR-71s should replace the CIA's A-12s. These were retired in 1968 after only one year of operational missions, mostly over southeast Asia. The Air Force's 1st Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron (part of the 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing) took over the missions, flying the SR-71 beginning in the spring of 1968.
After the Air Force began to operate the SR-71, it acquired the official name Blackbird-- for the special black paint that covered the airplane. This paint was formulated to absorb radar signals, to radiate some of the tremendous airframe heat generated by air friction, and to camouflage the aircraft against the dark sky at high altitudes.
Experience gained from the A-12 program convinced the Air Force that flying the SR-71 safely required two crew members, a pilot and a Reconnaissance Systems Officer (RSO). The RSO operated with the wide array of monitoring and defensive systems installed on the airplane. This equipment included a sophisticated Electronic Counter Measures (ECM) system that could jam most acquisition and targeting radar. In addition to an array of advanced, high-resolution cameras, the aircraft could also carry equipment designed to record the strength, frequency, and wavelength of signals emitted by communications and sensor devices such as radar. The SR-71 was designed to fly deep into hostile territory, avoiding interception with its tremendous speed and high altitude. It could operate safely at a maximum speed of Mach 3.3 at an altitude more than sixteen miles, or 25,908 m (85,000 ft), above the earth. The crew had to wear pressure suits similar to those worn by astronauts. These suits were required to protect the crew in the event of sudden cabin pressure loss while at operating altitudes.
To climb and cruise at supersonic speeds, the Blackbird's Pratt & Whitney J-58 engines were designed to operate continuously in afterburner. While this would appear to dictate high fuel flows, the Blackbird actually achieved its best "gas mileage," in terms of air nautical miles per pound of fuel burned, during the Mach 3+ cruise. A typical Blackbird reconnaissance flight might require several aerial refueling operations from an airborne tanker. Each time the SR-71 refueled, the crew had to descend to the tanker's altitude, usually about 6,000 m to 9,000 m (20,000 to 30,000 ft), and slow the airplane to subsonic speeds. As velocity decreased, so did frictional heat. This cooling effect caused the aircraft's skin panels to shrink considerably, and those covering the fuel tanks contracted so much that fuel leaked, forming a distinctive vapor trail as the tanker topped off the Blackbird. As soon as the tanks were filled, the jet's crew disconnected from the tanker, relit the afterburners, and again climbed to high altitude.
Air Force pilots flew the SR-71 from Kadena AB, Japan, throughout its operational career but other bases hosted Blackbird operations, too. The 9th SRW occasionally deployed from Beale AFB, California, to other locations to carryout operational missions. Cuban missions were flown directly from Beale. The SR-71 did not begin to operate in Europe until 1974, and then only temporarily. In 1982, when the U.S. Air Force based two aircraft at Royal Air Force Base Mildenhall to fly monitoring mission in Eastern Europe.
When the SR-71 became operational, orbiting reconnaissance satellites had already replaced manned aircraft to gather intelligence from sites deep within Soviet territory. Satellites could not cover every geopolitical hotspot so the Blackbird remained a vital tool for global intelligence gathering. On many occasions, pilots and RSOs flying the SR-71 provided information that proved vital in formulating successful U. S. foreign policy. Blackbird crews provided important intelligence about the 1973 Yom Kippur War, the Israeli invasion of Lebanon and its aftermath, and pre- and post-strike imagery of the 1986 raid conducted by American air forces on Libya. In 1987, Kadena-based SR-71 crews flew a number of missions over the Persian Gulf, revealing Iranian Silkworm missile batteries that threatened commercial shipping and American escort vessels.
As the performance of space-based surveillance systems grew, along with the effectiveness of ground-based air defense networks, the Air Force started to lose enthusiasm for the expensive program and the 9th SRW ceased SR-71 operations in January 1990. Despite protests by military leaders, Congress revived the program in 1995. Continued wrangling over operating budgets, however, soon led to final termination. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration retained two SR-71As and the one SR-71B for high-speed research projects and flew these airplanes until 1999.
On March 6, 1990, the service career of one Lockheed SR-71A Blackbird ended with a record-setting flight. This special airplane bore Air Force serial number 64-17972. Lt. Col. Ed Yeilding and his RSO, Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Vida, flew this aircraft from Los Angeles to Washington D.C. in 1 hour, 4 minutes, and 20 seconds, averaging a speed of 3,418 kph (2,124 mph). At the conclusion of the flight, '972 landed at Dulles International Airport and taxied into the custody of the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum. At that time, Lt. Col. Vida had logged 1,392.7 hours of flight time in Blackbirds, more than that of any other crewman.
This particular SR-71 was also flown by Tom Alison, a former National Air and Space Museum's Chief of Collections Management. Flying with Detachment 1 at Kadena Air Force Base, Okinawa, Alison logged more than a dozen '972 operational sorties. The aircraft spent twenty-four years in active Air Force service and accrued a total of 2,801.1 hours of flight time.
Wingspan: 55'7"
Length: 107'5"
Height: 18'6"
Weight: 170,000 Lbs
Reference and Further Reading:
Crickmore, Paul F. Lockheed SR-71: The Secret Missions Exposed. Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 1996.
Francillon, Rene J. Lockheed Aircraft Since 1913. Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press, 1987.
Johnson, Clarence L. Kelly: More Than My Share of It All. Washington D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1985.
Miller, Jay. Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works. Leicester, U.K.: Midland Counties Publishing Ltd., 1995.
Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird curatorial file, Aeronautics Division, National Air and Space Museum.
DAD, 11-11-01
South Asian sweets are the confectionery and desserts of South Asia. Thousands of dedicated shops in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka sell nothing but sweets.
Sugarcane has been grown in India for thousands of years, and the art of refining sugar was invented there. The English word sugar comes from a Sanskrit word sharkara, while the word candy comes from Sanskrit word khanda (jaggery) - one of the simplest raw forms of sweet. Over its long history, cuisines of the Indian Subcontinent developed a diversified array of sweets. Some[3] claim there is no other region of the world where sweets are so varied, so numerous, or so invested with meaning as the Indian Subcontinent.
In India's diverse languages, sweets are called by numerous names, one common name being Mithai (मिठाई). They include sugar, and a vast array of ingredients such as different flours, milk, milk solids, fermented foods, root vegetables, raw and roasted seeds, seasonal fruits, fruit pastes and dry fruits. Some sweets such as kheer are cooked, some like burfi are baked, varieties like Mysore pak are roasted, some like jalebi are fried, others like kulfi are frozen, while still others involve a creative combination of preparation techniques. The composition and recipes of the sweets and other ingredients vary by region. Mithai are sometimes served with a meal, and often included as a form of greeting, celebration, religious offering, gift giving, parties, and hospitality in India. On Indian festivals - such as Holi, Diwali, Eid, or Raksha Bhandan - sweets are homemade or purchased, then shared. Many social gatherings, wedding ceremonies and religious festivals often include a social celebration of food, and the flavors of sweets are an essential element of such a celebration.
HISTORY
Ancient Sanskrit literature from India mention feasts and offerings of mithas (sweet). One of the more complete surviving texts, with extensive description of sweets and how to prepare them is the Mānasollāsa (Sanskrit: मानसोल्लास; meaning in Sanskrit, the delight of an idea, or delight of mind and senses). This ancient encyclopedia on food, music and other Indian arts is also known as the Abhilaṣitārtha Cintāmaṇi (the magical stone that fulfils desires). Mānasollāsa was composed about 1130 AD, by the Hindu King Somesvara III. The document describes meals that include a rice pudding which are called payasam (Sanskrit: पायसं) are in modern Indian languages is called kheer. The document mentions seven kinds of rice.
Mānasollāsa also describes recipes for golamu as a donut from wheat flour and scented with cardamom, gharikas as a fried cake from black gram flour and sugar syrup, chhana as a fresh cheese and rice flour fritter soaked in sugar syrup that the document suggests should be prepared from strained curdled milk mixed with buttermilk, and many others. Mānasollāsa mentions numerous milk-derived sweets, along with describing the 11th century art of producing milk solids, condensed milk and methods for souring milk to produce sweets.
The origin of sweets in Indian subcontinent has been traced to at least 500 BC, where records suggest both raw sugar (gur, vellam, jaggery) as well as refined sugar (sarkara) were being produced. By 300 BC, kingdom officials in India were including five kinds of sugar in official documents. By the Gupta dynasty era (300–500 AD), sugar was being made not only from sugar cane, but other plant sources such as palm. Sugar-based foods were also included in temple offerings, as bhoga for the deities, which after the prayers became Prasād for devotees, the poor or visitors to the temple.
VARIETIES
BARFANI TODA
Barfi is a sweet, made from milk solids (khoya) or condensed milk and other ingredients like ground cashews or pistachios. Some barfi use various flours such as besan (gram flour). Barfi may be flavored with pastes or pieces of fruits such as mango, banana, berries, coconut. They may include aromatic spices such as cardamom and rose water to enhance the sensual impact while they are consumed.
Sometimes a thin inert silver or gold layer of edible foil is placed on top face of burfi for an attractive presentation. Gold and silver are approved food foils in the European Union, as E175 and E174 additives respectively. The independent European food-safety certification agency, TÜV Rheinland, has deemed gold leaf safe for consumption. Gold and silver leaf are certified kosher. These inert metal foils are neither considered toxic to human beings nor the broader ecosystem.
CHAM-CHAM
Cham Chams are prepared from flattened paneer (a form of curdled milk solids, cheese) sweetened in syrup.
CHHENA MURKI
Chhena murki, or chenna murki, is a sweet made from an Indian version of cottage cheese, milk and sugar in many states such as Odisha. Milk and sugar are boiled to a thick consistency. Round, cubes, cuboid or other shapes of cottage cheese are soaked in the milky condensate It basically started from coastal areas in the district of Bhadrak and nowadays it is available in all parts of Odisha. Other flavors and aromatic spices are typically added. It is also known by Bangladeshi and Guyanese people as pera.
CHHENA PODA
Chhena Poda is a cheese dessert from the state of Odisha in eastern India. 'Chhena poda' literally means 'burnt cheese' in Odia. It is made of well-kneaded homemade cottage cheese or chhena, sugar, cashew nuts and raisins, and is baked for several hours until it browns. The best quality of Chhena Poda is found in the localities of Nayagarh District in Odisha.This sweet is best taste when it is consumed within two days of preparation
CHIKKI
Chikki is a ready-to-eat solid, brittle sweet generally made from casting a mix of dry nuts and hot jaggery syrup. Peanuts and jaggery mix are most common. Other than almonds, cashews, walnuts, sesame and other seeds, varieties of chikki are also prepared from puffed or roasted Bengal gram, puffed rice, beaten rice, puffed seasonal grains, and regional produce such as Khobara (desiccated coconut). Like many Indian sweets, Chikki is typically a high protein delicacy.[
GAJRELA
Gajrela, also called Gajar halwa, is a seasonal pudding-like sweet made from carrot. It is popular in Punjab regions of India, agricultural belt of North India, now common in many parts of South Asia. It is made by slowly cooking carrot with ghee, concentrated and caramelized milk, mawa (khoya) and sugar; often served with a garnish of aromatic spices, almonds, cashews or pistachios. The recipes vary by region, and Gajrela may be cooked without ghee, then include cheese or other milk solids for sophisticated mix of flavors. It is common in Indian restaurants and is a seasonal street and cafe food during post-monsoon through spring festive celebrations.
GULAB JAMUN
Gulab jamun is a common sweet found in India, and Nepal. It is made out of fried chenna (milk solids and cheese) balls soaked in sweet rose-water flavoured syrup.
JALEBI OR IMARTI
Jalebi is made by deep-frying a fermented batter of wheat flour with yoghurt, in a circular (coil-like) shape and then soaking it in sugar syrup. Imarti is a variant of Jalebi, with a different flour mixture and has tighter coils. Typically Jalebi is brown or yellow, while Imarti is reddish in colour. Often taken with milk, tea, yogurt or Lassi. In classical Sanskrit literature, jalebis have been referred to as kundalika or jalavallika.
KHAJA
Khaja is a sweet of India. Refined wheat flour, sugar and oils are the chief ingredients of khaja.
It is believed that, even 2000 years ago,[citation needed] Khajas were prepared in the southern side of the Gangetic Plains of Bihar. These areas which are home to khaja, once comprised the central part of Maurya and Gupta empires. Presently, Khajas are prepared and sold in the city of Patna, Gaya and several other places across the state of Bihar. Khajas of the Silao and Rajgir are known for their puffiness.
Khajas have travelled to some other parts of India, including Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. Khaja of Kakinada, a coastal town of Andhra Pradesh is very much famous in South India and Orissa. This Khaja is dry from outside and full of sugar syrup from inside and is juicy. Khaja of Puri is also very famous. At first, the batter is of wheat flour, mawa and oil. It is then deep fried until crisp. Then a sugar syrup is made which is known as "pak". The crisp croissants are then soaked in the sugar syrup until they absorb the sugar syrup.
KULFI
Kulfis are traditional South Asian ice-cream, where flavored milk is first condensed and caramelized by slow cooking in presence of a small quantity of rice or seasonal grain flour; once condensed, dry nut pastes and aromatic spices are added, the mix frozen in small earthen or metal cans. This creates one of the densest known form of frozen sweets; it is typically served between -10 to -15 C when they are easier to spoon and eat. It comes in a variety of flavours such as mango, kesar, pistachios, badam (almond), coconut and plain. It is also a street side urban as well as rural India summer time snack and festive sweet, where food hawkers carry around frozen mounds of kulfi in a big earthen pot and play a particular horn music to attract customers. These vendors are known as "kulfiwalla" (one who sells kulfi).
KHEER OR PAYAS
Kheer is a pudding, usually made from milk, sugar and one of these ingredients - vermicelli, rice, Bulgar wheat, semolina, tapioca, dried dates, and shredded white gourd. It is also known as "Payas".
As sweet rice pudding, payas has been a cultural dish throughout the history of India, being usually found at ceremonies, feasts and celebrations. In many parts of India, ancient traditions maintain that a wedding is not fully blessed if payas (or payasam as known in South India) is not served at the feast during traditional ceremonies like marriage, child birth, annaprasan (first solid feed to child), and other occasions. Other than sweet yoghurt, some families include kheer in the last meal, as hospitality and auspicious food, before a family member or guest departs on a long journey away from the home.
LADDU
Laddu (sometimes transliterated as laddoo or laadu) is made of varieties of flour, grains, pulses, semolina, regional or seasonal fruits, dry fruits, and other ingredients cooked with sugar, then shaped into bite-size or larger spheres. Laddu is mentioned in ancient Sanskrit documents as temple offerings, and is referred to as Ladduka. They are popular all over India, easy to prepare, and come in dozens of varieties. Laddu is often made to celebrate festivals, religious ceremonies, or household events such as weddings.
One example of laddu is Motichoor Ka Ladoo. It is a sweet food in states like Bihar, made from roasted gram flour flakes which are sweetened, mixed with almonds, rolled into a batter which is then cast into mini balls and fried in ghee. Every mini ball called 'boondi' has enough sugar that melts like a fresh sweet. The mini balls are then combined with aromatic spices and then formed into bite-size spheres, which are called Motichoor Ka Ladoo. When bit, the mini balls distribute over the tongue for a burst of flavors throughout the mouth. Other examples include Tirupati Laddu so popular that over a million Laddu are distributed every week from a single temple of Lord Venkateswara.
MALPOA
Malpoa is the most ancient homemade sweets of India.[citation needed] It is a form of pancake (made of wheat or rice flour) deep fried and sugar syrup.
NARIKOL LARU
Narikol Laru is a dessert from Assam. They are ball-shaped and made from khoa/condensed milk and coconut, a traditional food during bihu and pujas
PARWAL KI MIHAI
Parwal Ki Mithai is a dry sweet made of the vegetable parwal, a kind of gourd. The shell of parwal is filled with milk solids, then cooked. It is rather popular in Bihar, but also found in Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
PATHISHAPTA
Pathishapta is a Bengali dessert. The final dish is a rolled pancake that is stuffed with a filling often made of coconut, milk, cream, and jaggery from the date palm. These desserts are consumed in Thailand as well.
RASGULLA
Rasgulla is a popular sweet in South Asia. They come in many forms, such as Kamalabhog (Orange Rasgulla), Rajbhog (Giant Rasgulla), Kadamba often served with kheer, Rasamundi, Raskadamba, and others. Some are white, others cream, brown, gold or orange colored. They are called Rasbari in Nepal. This dish is made by boiling small dumplings of chhenna and semolina mixture in sugar syrup. Once cooked, these are stored in the syrup making them spongy. Increasing the semolina content reduces the sponginess and hardens them, creating variety of textures. Some Rasgulla are stuffed inside with treats, such as dry fruits, raisins, candied peel and other delicacies to create a series of flavors experienced as they are consumed. Some versions, called danedhar, are removed from syrup and sugar coated into shapes of fruits and other creative designs. These are festive foods found year round, in many parts of India.
RAS MALAI
Ras malai or rosh malai is a dessert eaten in India and Bangladesh. The name ras malai comes from two words in Hindi: ras, meaning "juice", and malai, meaning "cream". It has been described as "a rich cheesecake without a crust. Ras malai consists of sugary white, cream or yellow-coloured (or flattened) balls of paneer soaked in malai (clotted cream) flavoured with cardamom.
SANDESH
Sandesh is a sweet made from fine cheese made from cow's milk kneaded with fine ground sugar or molasses. This is a sweet from West Bengal and Odisha. Revered for its delicate making, and appreciated by the connoiseur, this represents sweet making at its finest. Sandesh comes in two varieties, "Norom Pak" (the softer version) and "Koda Pak" (the harder version). The softer version although more gentle and considered better, is fragile. The harder version is robust and often easier for storage. Molasses made from dates can be used to make a special variation of Sandesh called "Noleen Gurher Sandesh" (a Sandesh made from "Noleen Gurh" or molases from dates) or simply "Noleen Sandesh".
SEL ROTI
Sel roti is a Nepali home-made circular-shaped bread or rice donut, prepared during Tihar, a widely celebrated Hindu festival in Nepal. It is made of rice flour with adding customized flavors. A semi liquid rice flour dough is usually prepared by adding milk, water, sugar, butter, cardamom, cloves and other flavors of personal choice.
SHRIKHAND
Shrikhand is a creamy dessert made out of strained yogurt, from which water is drained off completely. Dry fruits, mango puree, saffron or cardamom and sugar are added to the thick yoghurt to get the desired flavour and taste. It is served chilled. It is a West Indian traditional dish.
OTHER SWEETS
Other traditional Indian sweets and desserts famous throughout the history of Indian food include:
- Mysore pak (a dessert made out of ghee, sugar and chick pea flour),
- Halwa (or Halva in modern English spelling); made out of flour, butter and sugar
- Jangiri
- Jhajariya
- Dharwad pedha
- Karadantu
WIKIPEDIA
It may have taken ME 1522 1517 1529 and 1505 to Malmo in Sweden yesterday or this morning as they have now left having been waiting to go Monday afternoon
May 12, 2019 - Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio located at 951 Chicago Ave., Oak Park, IL.
"In 1889 Wright completed the construction of a small two-story residence in Oak Park on the Western edges of Chicago. The building was the first over which Wright exerted complete artistic control. Designed as a home for his family, the Oak Park residence was a site of experimentation for the young architect during the twenty-year period he lived there. Wright revised the design of the building multiple times, continually refining ideas that would shape his work for decades to come.
The semi-rural village of Oak Park, where Wright built his home, offered a retreat from the hurried pace of city life. Named “Saint’s Rest” for its abundance of churches, Oak Park was originally settled in the 1830s by pioneering East Coast families. In its early years farming was the principal business of the village, however its proximity to Chicago soon attracted professional men and their families. Along its unpaved dirt streets sheltered by mature oaks and elms, prosperous families erected elaborate homes. Beyond the borders of the village farmland and open prairie stretched as far as the eye could see.
The Oak Park Home was the product of the nineteenth century culture from which Wright emerged. For its design, Wright drew upon many inspirational sources prevalent in the waning years of the nineteenth century. From his family background in Unitarianism Wright absorbed the ideas of the Transcendentalists, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, who encouraged an honest life inspired by nature. The English Arts and Crafts movement, which promoted craftsmanship, simplicity and integrity in art, architecture and design, provided a powerful impetus to Wright’s principles. The household art movement, a distinct movement in middle-class home decoration, informed Wright’s earliest interiors. It aimed, as the name implies, to bring art into the home, and was primarily disseminated through books and articles written by tastemakers who believed that the home interior could exert moral influences upon its inhabitants. These various sources were tempered by the lessons and practices Wright learned under his mentors, Joseph Lyman Silsbee and Louis Sullivan.
For the exterior of his home, Wright adapted the picturesque Shingle style, fashionable for the vacation homes of wealthy East Coast families and favored by his previous employer, Silsbee. The stamp of Sullivan’s influence is apparent in the simplification and abstraction of the building and its plan. In contrast to what Wright described as “candle-snuffer roofs, turnip domes [and] corkscrew spires” of the surrounding houses, his home’s façade is defined by bold geometric shapes—a substantial triangular gable set upon a rectangular base, polygonal window bays, and the circular wall of the wide veranda.
Despite its modest scale, the interior of the home is an early indication of Wright’s desire to liberate space. On the ground floor Wright created a suite of rooms arranged around a central hearth and inglenook, a common feature of the Shingle style. The rooms flow together, connected by wide, open doorways hung with portieres that can be drawn for privacy. To compensate for the modest scale of the house, and to create an inspiring environment for his family, Wright incorporated artwork and objects that brought warmth and richness to the interiors. Unique furniture, Oriental rugs, potted palms, statues, paintings and Japanese prints filled the rooms, infusing them with a sense of the foreign, the exotic and the antique.
In 1895, to accommodate his growing family, Wright undertook his first major renovation of the Home. A new dining room and children’s playroom doubled the floor space. The design innovations pioneered by Wright at this time marked a significant development in the evolution of his style, bringing him closer to his ideal for the new American home.
The original dining room was converted into a study, and a new dining room replaced the former kitchen. The dining room is unified around a central oak table lit through a decorative panel above and with an alcove of leaded glass windows in patterns of conventionalized lotus flowers. The walls and ceiling are covered with honey-toned burlap; the floor and fireplace are lined with red terracotta tile.
The new dining room is a warm and intimate space to gather with family and friends. The Wrights entertained frequently, and were joined at their table by clients, artists, authors and international visitors. Such festive occasions, according to Wright’s son, John, gave the house the air of a “jolly carnival.”
The 1895 playroom on the second floor of the Home is one of the great spaces of Wright’s early career. Designed to inspire and nurture his six children, the room is a physical expression of Wright’s belief that, “For the same reason that we teach our children to speak the truth, or better still live the truth, their environment ought to be as truly beautiful as we are capable of making it.” Architectural details pioneered by Wright in this room would be developed and enhanced in numerous commissions throughout his career.
The high, barrel-vaulted ceiling rests on walls of Roman brick. At the center of the vault’s arc a skylight, shielded by wood grilles displaying stylized blossoms and seedpods, provides illumination. Striking cantilevered light fixtures of oak and glass, added after Wright’s 1905 trip to Japan, bathe the room in a warm ambient glow. On either side of the room, window bays of leaded glass with built-in window seats are at the height of the mature trees that surround the lot, placing Wright’s children in the leafy canopy of the trees outside.
Above the fireplace of Roman brick, a mural depicting the story of the Fisherman and the Genie from The Arabian Nights is painted on the plastered wall. An integral architectural feature within the room, the mural was designed by Wright and executed by his colleague, the artist Charles Corwin. It is a fascinating blend of decorative motifs; forms from exotic cultures—such as Egyptian winged scarabs—are combined with flat, geometric designs that echo the work of Wright’s international contemporaries, Charles Rennie Mackintosh and the Vienna Secessionists.
In 1898 Wright built a new Studio wing with funds secured through a commission with the Luxfer Prism Company. The Studio faced Chicago Avenue and was connected to his residence by a corridor. Clad in wood shingles and brick, the Studio exterior is consistent with the earlier home. However, the long, horizontal profile, a key feature of Wright’s mature Prairie buildings, sets it apart. Adjacent to the entrance, a stone plaque announces to the world, “Frank Lloyd Wright, Architect.” Decorative embellishments and figural sculptures set off the building’s artistic character and impressed arriving clients.
The reception hall serves as the entrance to the Studio. A waiting room for clients and a place for Wright to review architectural plans with contractors, this low-ceilinged space connects the main areas of the Studio—a library, a small office, and the dramatic two-story drafting room, the creative heart of the building.
The studio staff worked on drafting tables and stools designed by Wright in rooms decorated with eclectic displays of artwork and objects. Japanese prints, casts of classical sculptures, as well as models and drawings executed in the drafting room, filled the interiors of the Studio. In Wright’s home the integration of art and architecture served to nurture and intellectually sustain his family. In the Studio, these same elements served a further purpose, the marketing of Wright’s artistic identity to his clients and the public at large.
In September of 1909, Wright left America for Europe to work on the publication of a substantial monograph of his buildings and projects, the majority of which had been designed in his Oak Park Studio. The result was the Wasmuth Portfolio (Berlin, 1910), which introduced Wright's work to Europe and influenced a generation of international architects. Wright remained abroad for a year, returning to Oak Park in the fall of 1910. He immediately began plans for a new home and studio, Taliesin, which he would build in the verdant hills of Spring Green, Wisconsin. Wright’s Oak Park Studio closed in 1910, though Wright himself returned occasionally to meet with his wife Catherine who remained with the couple's youngest children at the Oak Park Home and Studio until 1918. The Home and Studio was the birthplace of Wright's vision for a new American architecture. Wright designed over 150 projects in his Oak Park Studio, establishing his legacy as a great and visionary architect.
Previous text from the following website: flwright.org/researchexplore/homeandstudio
The vast majority of Atlanta's inhabitants had left during the six-week siege. When Gen. Sherman took Atlanta, he controversially ordered the evacuation of the remaining civilian population of the city so his army could be unencumbered for future struggles. City officials pleaded with him to reconsider.
His reply was very characteristic of his attitude during his campaign in Georgia: "...We must have peace, not only at Atlanta, but in all America. To secure this, we must stop the war that now desolates our once happy and favored country. To stop war, we must defeat the rebel armies...
"The use of Atlanta for warlike purposes is inconsistent with its character as a home for families. There will be no manufactures, commerce, or agriculture here, for the maintenance of families, and sooner or later want will compel the inhabitants to go. Why not go now, when all the arrangements are completed for the transfer, instead of waiting till the plunging shot of the contending armies will renew the scenes of the past month?...
"War is cruelty, and you cannot refine it; and those who brought war into our country deserve all the curses and maledictions a people can pour out. I know I had no hand in making this war, and I know I will make more sacrifices today than any of you to secure peace. But you cannot have peace and a division of our country. If the United States submits to a division now, it will not stop...
"... the South began war by seizing forts, arsenals, mints custom-houses, etc., etc., long before Mr. Lincoln was installed... Now that war comes home to you, you feel very different. You deprecate its horrors, but did not feel them when you sent car-loads of soldiers and ammunition, and moulded shells and shot, to carry the war into Kentucky and Tennessee, to desolate the homes of hundreds of thousands of good people...
"I want peace, and believe it can only be reached through union and war, and I will ever conduct war with a view to perfect and early success..." (September 12, 1864, full text at www.sewanee.edu/faculty/willis/Civil_War/documents/Sherma...)
During the forced relocation in September, a total of 705 adults, 860 children, and 79 "servants" made their way from Atlanta to the end of the tracks in Union hands. Confederate wagons then carried the evacuees to Lovejoy Station, from which they could take the train to Macon. (www.aboutnorthgeorgia.com/ang/Atlanta_Under_Sherman)
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It wasn't easy to think of a good place to draw to represent the evacuation of Atlanta. I went to Oakland Cemetery and looked toward the gold dome of the state capitol building. The tower to the left to the dome is Atlanta City Hall, built on the site of the house Sherman used as his Atlanta headquarters. As I drew, I was surrounded by the graves of people who had lived through the events of 1864.
Drawn September 13, 2014
Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Chevrolet continued to refine the C2 Corvette during its 5 model years (1963-1967). The last C2, the 1967 model shown here, was the most refined of them all and many consider it the finest of all the C2 Corvettes. This fully restored 1967 roadster is the most sought after model - 427 cubic inch motor with triple carbs making 435 horsepower.
An interesting observation: as the 1960's evolved into a decade of turmoil and change, some of the Corvette's styling details also evolved with the time.
Here are two examples. First, note the whimsical, contemporary style of the cursive lettering on the Corvette's nameplate in the lower left hand corner of the collage. Now compare it with the more formal style of cursive writing on the 1963 Corvette:
365project.org/soboy5/365/2014-08-24
Second, note the body colored, contemporary fuel fuller in the upper right hand corner of the collage. Now compare that to the original, more ornate fuel filler on the 1963 model: 365project.org/soboy5/365/2014-08-23
These changes (along with many other styling and performance enhancements) kept the Corvette up to date throughout the mid 1960's.
May 12, 2019 - Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio located at 951 Chicago Ave., Oak Park, IL.
"In 1889 Wright completed the construction of a small two-story residence in Oak Park on the Western edges of Chicago. The building was the first over which Wright exerted complete artistic control. Designed as a home for his family, the Oak Park residence was a site of experimentation for the young architect during the twenty-year period he lived there. Wright revised the design of the building multiple times, continually refining ideas that would shape his work for decades to come.
The semi-rural village of Oak Park, where Wright built his home, offered a retreat from the hurried pace of city life. Named “Saint’s Rest” for its abundance of churches, Oak Park was originally settled in the 1830s by pioneering East Coast families. In its early years farming was the principal business of the village, however its proximity to Chicago soon attracted professional men and their families. Along its unpaved dirt streets sheltered by mature oaks and elms, prosperous families erected elaborate homes. Beyond the borders of the village farmland and open prairie stretched as far as the eye could see.
The Oak Park Home was the product of the nineteenth century culture from which Wright emerged. For its design, Wright drew upon many inspirational sources prevalent in the waning years of the nineteenth century. From his family background in Unitarianism Wright absorbed the ideas of the Transcendentalists, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, who encouraged an honest life inspired by nature. The English Arts and Crafts movement, which promoted craftsmanship, simplicity and integrity in art, architecture and design, provided a powerful impetus to Wright’s principles. The household art movement, a distinct movement in middle-class home decoration, informed Wright’s earliest interiors. It aimed, as the name implies, to bring art into the home, and was primarily disseminated through books and articles written by tastemakers who believed that the home interior could exert moral influences upon its inhabitants. These various sources were tempered by the lessons and practices Wright learned under his mentors, Joseph Lyman Silsbee and Louis Sullivan.
For the exterior of his home, Wright adapted the picturesque Shingle style, fashionable for the vacation homes of wealthy East Coast families and favored by his previous employer, Silsbee. The stamp of Sullivan’s influence is apparent in the simplification and abstraction of the building and its plan. In contrast to what Wright described as “candle-snuffer roofs, turnip domes [and] corkscrew spires” of the surrounding houses, his home’s façade is defined by bold geometric shapes—a substantial triangular gable set upon a rectangular base, polygonal window bays, and the circular wall of the wide veranda.
Despite its modest scale, the interior of the home is an early indication of Wright’s desire to liberate space. On the ground floor Wright created a suite of rooms arranged around a central hearth and inglenook, a common feature of the Shingle style. The rooms flow together, connected by wide, open doorways hung with portieres that can be drawn for privacy. To compensate for the modest scale of the house, and to create an inspiring environment for his family, Wright incorporated artwork and objects that brought warmth and richness to the interiors. Unique furniture, Oriental rugs, potted palms, statues, paintings and Japanese prints filled the rooms, infusing them with a sense of the foreign, the exotic and the antique.
In 1895, to accommodate his growing family, Wright undertook his first major renovation of the Home. A new dining room and children’s playroom doubled the floor space. The design innovations pioneered by Wright at this time marked a significant development in the evolution of his style, bringing him closer to his ideal for the new American home.
The original dining room was converted into a study, and a new dining room replaced the former kitchen. The dining room is unified around a central oak table lit through a decorative panel above and with an alcove of leaded glass windows in patterns of conventionalized lotus flowers. The walls and ceiling are covered with honey-toned burlap; the floor and fireplace are lined with red terracotta tile.
The new dining room is a warm and intimate space to gather with family and friends. The Wrights entertained frequently, and were joined at their table by clients, artists, authors and international visitors. Such festive occasions, according to Wright’s son, John, gave the house the air of a “jolly carnival.”
The 1895 playroom on the second floor of the Home is one of the great spaces of Wright’s early career. Designed to inspire and nurture his six children, the room is a physical expression of Wright’s belief that, “For the same reason that we teach our children to speak the truth, or better still live the truth, their environment ought to be as truly beautiful as we are capable of making it.” Architectural details pioneered by Wright in this room would be developed and enhanced in numerous commissions throughout his career.
The high, barrel-vaulted ceiling rests on walls of Roman brick. At the center of the vault’s arc a skylight, shielded by wood grilles displaying stylized blossoms and seedpods, provides illumination. Striking cantilevered light fixtures of oak and glass, added after Wright’s 1905 trip to Japan, bathe the room in a warm ambient glow. On either side of the room, window bays of leaded glass with built-in window seats are at the height of the mature trees that surround the lot, placing Wright’s children in the leafy canopy of the trees outside.
Above the fireplace of Roman brick, a mural depicting the story of the Fisherman and the Genie from The Arabian Nights is painted on the plastered wall. An integral architectural feature within the room, the mural was designed by Wright and executed by his colleague, the artist Charles Corwin. It is a fascinating blend of decorative motifs; forms from exotic cultures—such as Egyptian winged scarabs—are combined with flat, geometric designs that echo the work of Wright’s international contemporaries, Charles Rennie Mackintosh and the Vienna Secessionists.
In 1898 Wright built a new Studio wing with funds secured through a commission with the Luxfer Prism Company. The Studio faced Chicago Avenue and was connected to his residence by a corridor. Clad in wood shingles and brick, the Studio exterior is consistent with the earlier home. However, the long, horizontal profile, a key feature of Wright’s mature Prairie buildings, sets it apart. Adjacent to the entrance, a stone plaque announces to the world, “Frank Lloyd Wright, Architect.” Decorative embellishments and figural sculptures set off the building’s artistic character and impressed arriving clients.
The reception hall serves as the entrance to the Studio. A waiting room for clients and a place for Wright to review architectural plans with contractors, this low-ceilinged space connects the main areas of the Studio—a library, a small office, and the dramatic two-story drafting room, the creative heart of the building.
The studio staff worked on drafting tables and stools designed by Wright in rooms decorated with eclectic displays of artwork and objects. Japanese prints, casts of classical sculptures, as well as models and drawings executed in the drafting room, filled the interiors of the Studio. In Wright’s home the integration of art and architecture served to nurture and intellectually sustain his family. In the Studio, these same elements served a further purpose, the marketing of Wright’s artistic identity to his clients and the public at large.
In September of 1909, Wright left America for Europe to work on the publication of a substantial monograph of his buildings and projects, the majority of which had been designed in his Oak Park Studio. The result was the Wasmuth Portfolio (Berlin, 1910), which introduced Wright's work to Europe and influenced a generation of international architects. Wright remained abroad for a year, returning to Oak Park in the fall of 1910. He immediately began plans for a new home and studio, Taliesin, which he would build in the verdant hills of Spring Green, Wisconsin. Wright’s Oak Park Studio closed in 1910, though Wright himself returned occasionally to meet with his wife Catherine who remained with the couple's youngest children at the Oak Park Home and Studio until 1918. The Home and Studio was the birthplace of Wright's vision for a new American architecture. Wright designed over 150 projects in his Oak Park Studio, establishing his legacy as a great and visionary architect.
Previous text from the following website: flwright.org/researchexplore/homeandstudio