Friday, August 9, 2013

Ki-46-III KAI DINAH

Mitsubishi Ki-46


 

Ki-46
A Mitsubishi Ki-46 "Dinah" in flight.
Role Twin-engine reconnaissance aircraft
Manufacturer Mitsubishi
First flight September, 1939
Introduction July, 1941
Retired 1945
Primary user Imperial Japanese Army Air Force
Number built 1,742
The Mitsubishi Ki-46 was a twin-engine reconnaissance aircraft used by the Imperial Japanese Army in World War II. Its Army Shiki designation was Type 100 Command Reconnaissance Aircraft (一〇〇式司令部偵察機); the Allied nickname was "Dinah".

Contents

  • 1 Development and design
  • 2 Operational history
  • 3 Survivors
  • 4 Variants
  • 5 Operators
  • 6 Specifications (Ki-46-II)
  • 7 See also
  • 8 References
  • 9 External links

Development and design

On 12 December 1937, the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force issued a specification to Mitsubishi for a long-range strategic reconnaissance aircraft to replace the Mitsubishi Ki-15. The specification demanded an endurance of six hours and sufficient speed to evade interception by any fighter in existence or development, but otherwise did not constrain the design.[1]
The resulting design was a twin-engined, low-winged monoplane with a retractable tailwheel undercarriage. It had a small diameter oval fuselage which accommodated a crew of two, with pilot and observer situated in individual cockpits separated by a large fuel tank. Further fuel tanks were situated in the thin wings both inboard and outboard of the engines, giving a total fuel capacity of 1,490 L (328 imperial gallons). The engines, two Mitsubishi Ha-26, were housed in close fitting cowlings developed by the Aeronautical Research Institute of the Tokyo Imperial University to reduce drag and improve pilot view.[1][2]

Mitsubishi Ki-46-III white painted with a green cross on the rear fuselage as a sign of surrender, captured by KNIL forces on October 3, 1945. Menado, Celebes.
The first prototype aircraft, with the designation Ki-46, flew in November 1939 from the Mitsubishi factory at Kakamigahara, Gifu, north of Nagoya.[3] Tests showed that the Ki-46 was underpowered, and slower than required, only reaching 540 km/h (336 mph) rather than the specified 600 km/h (373 mph). Otherwise, the aircraft tests were successful. As the type was still faster than the Army's latest fighter, the Nakajima Ki-43, as well as the Navy's new A6M2, an initial production batch was ordered as the Army Type 100 Command Reconnaissance Plane Model 1 (Ki-41-I).[2]
To solve the performance problems, Mitsubishi fitted Ha-102 engines, which were Ha-26s fitted with a two stage supercharger, while increasing fuel capacity and reducing empty weight to give the Ki-46-II, flying in March 1941. This met the speed requirements of the original specification, and was ordered into full-scale production, with deliveries starting in July.[4][5]
Although at first the Ki-46 proved almost immune from interception, the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force realised that improved Allied fighters such as the Supermarine Spitfire and P-38 Lightning could challenge this superiority, and in July 1942, it instructed Mitsubishi to produce a further improved version, the Ki-46-III.[6] This had more powerful, fuel-injected Mitsubishi Ha-112 engines, and a redesigned nose, with a fuel tank ahead of the pilot and a new canopy, smoothly faired from the extreme nose of the aircraft, eliminating the "step" of the earlier versions. The single defensive machine gun of the earlier aircraft was also omitted. The new version first flew in December 1942, demonstrating significantly higher speed (630 km/h (391 mph) at 6,000 m (19,700 ft).[7] The performance of the Ki-46-III, proved superior to that of the aircraft intended to replace it (the Tachikawa Ki-70), which as a result did not enter production.[8]
In an attempt to yet further improve the altitude performance of the Ki-46, two prototypes were fitted with exhaust driven turbosupercharged Ha-112-II-Ru engines, flying in February 1944, but only two prototypes of this version were built[9]
Mitsubishi factories made a total of 1,742 examples of all versions (34 units Ki-46-I, 1093 units Ki-46-II, 613 units Ki-46-III, 4 units Ki-46-IV）during 1941-44.[10]

 

Operational history

This aircraft was first used by the Japanese Army in Manchukuo and China, where seven units were equipped with it, and also at times by the Japanese Imperial Navy in certain reconnaissance missions over the northern coasts of Australia and New Guinea.
The Japanese Army used this aircraft for the same type of missions (which were not authorized) over present-day Malaysia during the months before the Pacific War. Later, it was used over Burma, Indochina and Thailand, and in operations over the Indian Ocean.
In 1944-45, during the last days of the war, it was modified as a high-altitude interceptor, with two 20 mm cannons in the nose and one 37 mm (1.46 in) cannon in an "upwards-and-forwards" position - almost like the Luftwaffe's Schräge Musik night fighter cannon emplacements - for fighting USAAF B-29 Superfortresses over the metropolitan Japanese islands. It lacked stability for sustained shooting of the 37 mm (1.46 in) weapon, had only a thin layer of armour plating, lacked self-sealing fuel tanks, and was slow to climb.
The Ki-46 was also assigned to two whole Sentai (wings/groups), as well as individual Chutaicho (junior operational commanders) in the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service, during the Pacific War.
The Allies captured some examples during the conflict which were then repaired and flown for evaluation purposes.

Survivors


Mitsubishi Ki-46-III (Army Type 100 Command Reconnaissance Plane) at RAF Cosford.
The only known survivor is a Ki-46-III Army Type 100 example, currently on display at Royal Air Force Museum Cosford.

Another picture from the Mitsubishi Ki-46 at RAF Cosford.

Variants

(note:- The Shiki designations must be used in full, as written below, because the Type number only refers to the year of the designs inception.)
Army Type 100 Command Reconnaissance Plane
The Shiki designation for the Ki-46 Command Reconnaissance Plane
Army Type 100 Air Defence Fighter
The Shiki designation for the Ki-46 Interceptor Fighter
Army Type 100 Assault Plane
The Shiki designation for the Ki-46 Assault Plane
Ki-46
Prototype.
Ki-46 I
Reconnaissance version of the Ki-46.
Ki-46 II
The first operational model of the series.
Ki-46 II KAI
Three-seat training version of the Ki-46. Used for radio and navigation training, with a redesigned cabin, dorsal echeloned extension. Conversions of the Ki-46 II.
Ki-46 III
Ki-46 III-KAI
Defense interceptor/night fighter version of the Ki-46. Equipped with two 20 mm cannons in the nose and one 37 mm (1.46 in) cannon in the "Schräge Musik"-style dorsal frontal position.
Ki-46 III
Land strike version of the Ki-46, without 37 mm (1.46 in) cannon armament.
Ki-46 IIIb
Ground-attack version.
Ki-46 IIIc
Unbuilt design project.
Ki-46 IV
Prototype, equipped with two turbocharged 1,119 kW (1,500 hp) Mitsubishi Ha-112-IIru engines, and more gasoline store capacity.
Ki-46 IVa/b
Series models of reconnaissance/fighter aircraft, unbuilt design projects

 

Operators

 France
 Japan
 People's Republic of China
  • Chinese Communist Air Force Two captured Ki-46s in communist Chinese hands served as a ground-attack aircraft and a trainer respectively, and the last Ki-46 retired in early 1950s.

Specifications (Ki-46-II)

Data from Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War[11]
General characteristics
Performance
Armament

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era
Related lists
 

References

Notes
  1. ^ a b Air International November 1980, p. 227.
  2. ^ a b Francillon 1979, pp. 169–170.
  3. ^ Francillon 1979, p. 170.
  4. ^ Air International November 1980, p. 230.
  5. ^ Francillon 1979, pp. 170–171.
  6. ^ Francillon 1979, p. 172.
  7. ^ Air International November 1980, pp. 231–232.
  8. ^ Francillon 1970, p. 257.
  9. ^ Air International November 1980, p. 232.
  10. ^ Francillon 1979, p. 176.
  11. ^ Francillon 1979, pp. 176–177.
Bibliography
  • Francillon, Ph.D., Réne J. Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War. London: Putnam & Company Ltd., 1970. ISBN 0-370-00033-1. 2nd edition 1979. ISBN 0-370-30251-6.
  • Green, William. Warplanes of the Second World War, Volume Three: Fighters. London: Macdonald & Co. (Publishers) Ltd., 1961. ISBN 0-356-01447-9.
  • Gunston, Bill. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Combat Aircraft of World War II. London: Salamander Books Ltd., 1978. ISBN 0-89673-000-X
  • "Mitsubishi Ki. 46...the Aesthetic Asiatic". Air International, November 1980, Vol 19, No 6. Bromley, UK: Fine Scroll. ISSN 0306-5634. pp. 227–233.

 
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HMS Rodney

HMS Rodney (29)



HMS Rodney after refitting at Liverpool.jpg

Rodney in May 1942
Career (UK)
Name: HMS Rodney
Namesake: Admiral Lord Rodney
Ordered: 1922
Builder: Cammell Laird, Birkenhead
Cost: £7,617,799
Laid down: 28 December 1922
Launched: 17 December 1925
Sponsored by: Princess Mary
Completed: August 1927
Commissioned: 10 November 1927
Decommissioned: 1946
Struck: 1947
Identification: Pennant number: 29
Motto: Non Generant Aquilae Columbas
(Latin) "Eagles do not breed doves"
Nickname: Rodnol
Fate: Sold for scrap, 26 March 1948
General characteristics (as completed)
Class & type: Nelson-class battleship
Displacement: 33,730 long tons (34,270 t) standard
37,430 long tons (38,030 t) standard (full load)
Length: 710 ft 2 in (216.5 m) overall
Beam: 106 ft (32.3 m)
Draught: 31 ft (9.44880000 m)
Installed power: 45,000 shp (34,000 kW)
8 Admiralty 3-drum oil-fired boilers
Propulsion: 2 shafts
2 Brown-Curtis geared turbine sets
Speed: 23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph)
Range: 14,500 nmi (26,900 km; 16,700 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement: 1,314 (1,361 as flagship)
Armament: 3 × 3 - 16-inch Mk I guns
6 × 2 - 6-inch Mk XXII guns
6 × 1 - QF 4.7-inch Mk VIII anti-aircraft guns
8 × 1 - 2-pounder anti-aircraft guns
2 × 1 - 24.5-inch (620 mm) torpedo tubes
Armour: Belt: 13–14 in (330–356 mm)
Deck: 4.375–6.375 in (111–162 mm)
Barbettes: 12–15 in (305–381 mm)
Gun turrets: 9–16 in (229–406 mm)
Conning tower: 10–14 in (254–356 mm)
Bulkheads: 4–12 in (102–305 mm)
HMS Rodney (pennant number 29) was one of two Nelson-class battleships built for the Royal Navy in the mid-1920s. She was named after Admiral Lord Rodney. The Nelsons were unique in British battleship construction, being the only ships to carry a main armament of 16 inch (406 mm) guns, and the only ones to carry all the main armament forward of the superstructure (as her superstructure was located aft of midships like RN fleet oilers, whose names carried the '-ol' suffix, she was unofficially referred to as "Rodnol"). Commissioned in 1927, Rodney served extensively in the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean during World War II.
She played a major role in the sinking of the German battleship Bismarck in May 1941. During and after the Torch and the Normandy landings, Rodney participated in several coastal bombardments. In poor condition from heavy use and lack of refits, she was scrapped in 1948.

Contents

  • 1 Design
  • 2 Construction and commissioning
  • 3 Service
    • 3.1 The Bismarck
    • 3.2 Force H
  • 4 Notes
  • 5 References
  • 6 External links

Design

Known as 'Queen Anne's Mansions' on account of the bridge structure bearing some resemblance to the well-known London block of flats, or 'Cherry Tree Class' because they were designed as larger ships but 'cut down' by the Washington Treaty of 1922, the design was limited to 35,000 tons and showed certain compromises. To accommodate 16-inch main guns in three turrets, all of the turrets were placed forward and the vessel's speed was reduced and maximum armour was limited to vital areas. Even with the design limitations forced on the designers by the treaty, the Rodney and Nelson were regarded as the most powerful battleships afloat until the new generation of all big gun ships was launched in 1936.

Construction and commissioning

Rodney was laid down on 28 December 1922, the same date as her sister ship Nelson. She was built at Birkenhead by Cammell-Laird shipyard. Launched in December 1925, she was commissioned in November 1927, three months behind her sister. Her construction cost £7,617,000. Her captain in 1929 was Lieutenant Commander (later Admiral) George Campell Ross, son of Sir Archibald Ross, a marine engineer and pioneer of shipbuilding.[citation needed]

Service

From commissioning until World War II broke out in September 1939, Rodney spent her entire time with the British Atlantic Fleet or Home Fleet. In 1931, her crew joined the crews of other ships in taking part in the Invergordon Mutiny. In late December 1939, she was under refit and repair because she was having steering gear problems.
She was damaged by German aircraft at Karmøy, near Stavanger on 9 April 1940 when hit by a 500 kg (1,103 lb) bomb that pierced the armoured deck, but did not explode.[1] On 13 September 1940, she was transferred from Scapa Flow to Rosyth with orders to operate in the English Channel when the German invasion of Britain was expected. In November and December, she did convoy escort duties between Britain and Halifax, Nova Scotia. In January 1941, she participated in the hunt for the German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, with no success. On 16 March, however, while escorting a convoy in the North Atlantic, she made contact with the German battleships, but no battle followed, as the German ships turned away when they realized that they were facing superior firepower.

The Bismarck

Main article: Last battle of the battleship Bismarck
In May 1941, while commanded by (then) Commodore Frederick Dalrymple-Hamilton, Rodney and four destroyers were escorting the troop ship RMS Britannic to Canada; the Britannic was taking civilians over to Canada, and would be bringing Canadian troops back to Britain. It was during this run on 24 May that she was called by the Admiralty to join in the pursuit of the German battleship Bismarck leaving the destroyer HMS Eskimo to escort the Britannic and taking HMS Somali, HMS Mashona, HMS Tartar (F43) with her in the search. Despite Admiral Sir John Tovey in King George V heading northwest due to a misinterpreted signal from the Admiralty, Dalrymple-Hamilton and his own 'Operations Committee' consisting of Captain Coppinger, his Navigator Lt.Cmdr. Galfrey George Gatacre RAN, USN Naval Attache' Lt.Cmdr. Gus Wellings and Executive Officer, Cmdr. John Grindle, decided it was most likely that Bismarck was headed to Brest and so set course to the East to head Bismarck off, 'at some stages exceeding her designed speed by two knots' despite her engines being in need of an overhaul.[2] On 26 May, she joined up with King George V, as Admiral John Tovey had realised the mistake and doubled back. Tovey then sent the 3 remaining destroyers home because they were low on fuel, and had Rodney fall in behind King George V for the battle against the Bismarck the next day. On the early morning of 27 May 1941, along with the battleship King George V and the cruisers Norfolk, and Dorsetshire, she engaged the Bismarck, which had had its rudder machinery damaged by a torpedo launched by Ark Royal's Swordfish bombers the day before. Unable to manoeuver and listing to port, Bismarck scored no hits before her forward guns were knocked out, after which Rodney closed with Bismarck until she was firing essentially a flat trajectory, and spotters could actually follow the shells to the target. One 16 in (406.4mm) shell was tracked from the gun to where it hit the face of Bismarck's #2 turret Bruno and exploded, blowing out the back of the turret with the splinters killing most of the crew on the bridge. Rodney fired 340 16" shells, some in 9-gun broadsides and 716 6" shells during the battle, scoring many hits from a range of under 3000 yards, inflicting most of the damage suffered by Bismarck whose stern was blown off. During the battle Rodney also fired twelve 24.5" torpedoes at her whilst zig-zagging across Bismarck's bows, mostly with no hits but later, one hit Bismarck amidships on the starboard side, thus being the only battleship in history to have successfully torpedoed another battleship.[3] Rodney and King George V finally broke off the action and then Dorsetshire was ordered to finish Bismarck off with torpedoes. Rodney and King George V were ordered home short of fuel and were unsuccessfully attacked by Luftwaffe bombers who sank Mashona but missed Tartar with whom the battleships had rejoined.

Force H


HMS Rodney adds her weight of shells to the Navy's pounding of enemy positions along the Caen coast, 7 June 1944
After this, she went to the South Boston Navy Yard in Boston, Massachusetts, for repairs to her engines and the fitting of more quad "Pom-Pom" AA guns which she had been carrying in crates on the deck throughout the battle . This is significant because the United States would not formally enter the war for several months and the stateside docking of the Rodney illustrated the US government's true sympathies in the growing global conflict. Since the repairs would take several weeks to complete, the Rodney's crew was furloughed to local Civilian Conservation Corps camps. In the interim, some members of the crew struck up lasting relationships with American civilians.[4][5]
In September 1941 Rodney was stationed with Force H in Gibraltar, escorting convoys to Malta. In November, she returned home, and was stationed in Iceland for a month. Then she underwent refit and repair until May 1942. After the refit, she returned to Force H, where she again escorted Malta convoys and took part in Operation Torch, the invasion of Northwest Africa. She was subsequently involved with the landings in Sicily and Salerno. From October 1943, she was in the Home Fleet, and took part in the Normandy invasion in June 1944, where she was controlled from the headquarters ship HMS Largs off Sword Beach, her tasks included a 30 hour operation firing an occasional shell 22 miles inland to prevent a Panzer division from crossing a bridge.[6]
She also destroyed targets at Caen and Alderney. On June 7, 1944 a collision between the Rodney and LCT 427 resulted in the loss of 13 Royal navy seamen.[7] In September 1944, she performed escort duties with a Murmansk convoy.
During the entire war Rodney steamed over 156,000 nautical miles (289,000 km) with no engine overhaul after 1942. Because of her frequent machinery problems and the fact that she had not been upgraded to the extent that her sister Nelson had, starting in December 1944, she became the flagship of Home Fleet in Scapa Flow and rarely left her mooring. She was finally scrapped starting 26 March 1948 at Inverkeithing.[8]

Notes

  1. ^ "Reports of Proceedings 1921-1964", G.G.O. Gatacre
  2. ^ "HMS Rodney", Iain Ballantyne, Pen & Sword Books, ISBN 978 1 84415 406 7
  3. ^ "Reports of Proceedings 1921-1964", G.G.O. Gatacre, Nautical Press & Publications,ISBN 0 949756 02 4
  4. ^ "N.H. Connection to the Sinking of the Bismarck". May 2007. Wright Museum. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  5. ^ "Reports of Proceedings 1921-1964", G.G.O. Gatacre
  6. ^ "obituaries:Commander Dan Duff". Daily Telegraph. 8 November 2012. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
  7. ^ BBC online
  8. ^ Siegfried Breyer: "Schlachtschiffe und Schlachtkreuzer 1905-1970", Karl Müller 1993, p. 196

References

  • Ballantyne, Iain (2008). H.M.S. Rodney. Ships of the Royal Navy. Barnsley, UK: Pen and Sword. ISBN 978-1-84415-406-7.
  • Brown, David K. (2003). The Grand Fleet: Warship Design and Development 1906–1922 (reprint of the 1999 ed.). London: Caxton Editions. ISBN 1-84067-531-4.
  • Brown, David K. (2006). Nelson to Vanguard: Warship Design and Development 1923-1945. London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 1-59114-602-X.
  • Burt, R. A. (1993). British Battleships, 1919-1939. London: Arms and Armour Press. ISBN 1-85409-068-2.
  • Parkes, Oscar (1990). British Battleships (reprint of the 1957 ed.). Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-075-4.
  • Raven, Alan; Roberts, John (1976). British Battleships of World War Two: The Development and Technical History of the Royal Navy's Battleship and Battlecruisers from 1911 to 1946. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-817-4.
  • Gatacre, Galfrey George Ormond (1982). Reports of Proceedings 1921-1964. Manly, NSW, Aust.: Nautical Press & Publications. ISBN 0-949756-02-4.
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Type 2 Ka-Mi

Type 2 Ka-Mi



Type 2 Ka-Mi
Amph tank (AWM 099057).jpg
A Type 2 Ka-Mi being tested by Australian soldiers in 1945
Place of origin  Empire of Japan
Production history
Designed 1941
Specifications
Weight 12.3 tons (9.15 tons without flotation pontoons)
Length 7.42 meters (4.80 meters without flotation pontoons)
Width 2.79 meters
Height 2.34 meters
Crew 5-6
Armor 6-13 mm
Main
armament		 Type 1 37 mm gun
Secondary
armament		 2 × Type 97 7.7 mm machine guns
Engine Mitsubishi air-cooled 6-cylinder diesel
115 hp (86 kW)
Suspension Bell crank
Operational
range		 200 kilometers
Speed 37 km/h
The Special Type 2 Launch　Ka-Mi (特二式内火艇　カミ Toku-ni-shiki uchibitei kami?) was the Imperial Japanese Navy's first amphibious tank. The Type 2 Ka-Mi was based on the Imperial Japanese Army's Type 95 Ha-Go light tank with major modifications, and was a capable armoured fighting vehicle on both land and at sea.[1]

Contents

  • 1 History and development
  • 2 Design
  • 3 Combat Record
  • 4 Surviving Vehicles
  • 5 See also
  • 6 References
  • 7 External links

History and development


Type 2 Ka-Mi tanks without their flotation devices fitted
As early as 1928, the Japanese Army had been developing and testing amphibious tanks and created several experimental models such as the SR-II, the Type 1 Mi-Sha and the Type 92 A-I-Go which either never made it off the drawing board or were produced only as one-off prototypes for concept testing. In 1940, The Navy took over development of amphibious vehicles and two years later came up with the Type 2 Ka-Mi. The Type 2 Ka-Mi was designed for the Navy's Special Naval Landing Forces for the amphibious invasion of Pacific Islands without adequate port facilities, and for various special operations missions.
Only 184 units of the Type 2 Ka-Mi were built, beginning in 1942, due to the number of complex components and due to the fact that it had to be nearly completely hand-built.[2]

Design

The Type 2 Ka-Mi was based on the Army's Type 95 Ha-Go light tank, but with an all-welded hull with rubber seals in place of the riveted armor. It was intended to be water-tight. Large, hollow pontoons made from steel plates were attached to the front glacis plate and rear decking to give the necessary buoyancy. The front pontoon was internally divided into eight separate compartments to minimize the effects of damage from flooding and shellfire. These flotation devices could be jettisoned from inside the tank once the tank landed and commenced ground combat operations.
The Type 2 Ka-Mi's gun turret with a high-velocity Type 1 37 mm gun and a coaxial Type 97 light machine gun was able to rotate 360°. A second Type 97 light machine gun was located in the tank's bow. Occasionally Type 2 Ka-Mi's were armed with a pair of naval torpedoes; one on either side of the hull. The Type 2 Ka-Mi could also be launched from the deck of a submarine.[3]
The Type 2 Ka-Mi was capable of attaining speeds of 10 km/h in the water with a range of 150 km through two propellers situated at the rear of the hull, powered by the tank's engine. Steering was in the control of the tank commander, who operated a pair of rudders from the turret through cables.
That the crew included an onboard mechanic is an indication of the complexity of the design.

Combat Record

The Type 2 Ka-Mi came into active service after the initial campaigns of World War II, and was thus too late to be used in its original design mission of amphibious landings. Many units were assigned to naval garrison detachments in the South Pacific Mandate and in the Netherlands East Indies.
The Type 2 Ka-Mi was encountered by the United States Marine Corps in the Marshall Islands and Mariana Islands, particularly on Guam, where it was dug into the ground and misused in static defense positions. It was also encountered in combat by U.S. Army forces at Aitape and Biak during the New Guinea campaign and during the fighting on the Philippine island of Leyte in late 1944. According to Ralph Zumbro in his book 'Tank Aces',several Ka-Mi were destroyed by Army LVT-1s off the coast of Leyte during history's only Amtank vs. Amtank action. A handful more were captured by Army troops on Luzon in 1945,but had not entered combat. A number of photos exist of these vehicles, as well as several others captured by Australian and Commonwealth troops. In common with most Japanese armor, it was no match for Allied tanks or anti-armor weapons.[2]

Surviving Vehicles

The Kubinka Tank Museum in Moscow, Russia has a Type 2 Ka-Mi on display, complete with its front and rear pontoons.
A near complete hull is located in the bush near the airport on Babeldaob, Palau. Another interesting specimen is located in Koror area, Palau, between the Police Station and the Civic center. It's very interesting as it still has a heavy anti aircraft machinegun on the rear pontoon


See also

Portal icon Tank portal
  • DD tank - World War II British tank flotation system
  • T-38 - World War II, Soviet amphibious tank

References

Notes
  1. ^ Foss, Great Book of Tanks
  2. ^ a b Zaloga, Japanese Tanks 1939-45
  3. ^ [1] Tank specs at OnWar.com
Bibliography
  • Foss, Christopher (2003). Great Book of Tanks: The World's Most Important Tanks from World War I to the Present Day. Zenith Press. ISBN 0-7603-1475-6.
  • Zaloga, Steven J. (2007). Japanese Tanks 1939-45. Osprey. ISBN [[Special:BookSources/1-84603-091-8|1-84603-091-8 [[Category:Articles with invalid ISBNs]]]] Check |isbn= value (help).
  • Zumbro, Ralph (1997), Tank Aces, Pocket Books/Simon&Schuster, ISBN 0-671-53612-5

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MAS (boat)


Motoscafo Armato Silurante (Italian: "Torpedo Armed Motorboat"), commonly abbreviated as MAS was a class of fast torpedo armed vessel used by the Regia Marina (the Royal Navy of Italy) during World War I and World War II. Originally, "MAS" referred to Motobarca Armata SVAN ("Armed Motorboat SVAN"), where SVAN stood for Società Veneziana Automobili Navali (Naval Automobiles Society of Venice)[1]
MAS were essentially motorboats with displacements of 20–30 tonnes (depending on the class), a 10-man crew, and armament composed of two torpedoes, machine guns and occasionally a light gun.
The term MAS is an acronym for Mezzi d'Assalto, (Assault Vehicle) in the unit name Flottiglia MAS (Assault Vehicle Flotilla), the most famous of which was the Decima MAS of World War II.


Contents

  • 1 World War I
  • 2 Spanish Civil War
  • 3 World War II
  • 4 Cultural legacy
  • 5 Notes
  • 6 See also
  • 7 External links

World War I

MAS were widely employed by Règia Marina during World War I in 1915–1918. Models used were directly derived from compact civilian motorboats, provided with petrol engines which were compact and reliable (characteristics which were not common at the time) . They were used not only in the anti-submarine patrol role, but also for daring attacks against major units of the Austro-Hungarian Navy.
A significant success came in December 1917, when an MAS boat managed to sink the pre-dreadnought battleship SMS Wien in Trieste harbor. The greatest success of Italian MAS was the sinking of the Austro-Hungarian battleship SMS Szent István off Pula on 10 June 1918 by a boat commanded by Luigi Rizzo. MAS boats later engaged in the Second Battle of Durazzo in October 1918.

Spanish Civil War

Four units were transferred to the Nationalist Navy during the Spanish Civil War in 1938: Sicilia (LT-18), ex MAS 100; Nápoles (LT-19), ex MAS 223; Cándido Pérez (LT-16), ex MAS 435; and Javier Quiroga (LT-17), ex MAS 436.

Italian MAS continued to be improved after the end of World War I, thanks to the availability of Isotta Fraschini engines. The MAS of World War II had a maximum speed of 45 knots, two 450 mm torpedoes and one machine gun for anti-aircraft fire. In 1940 there were 48 MAS500-class units available. Older units were used in secondary theatres, such as the Italian East Africa.
Notable war actions performed by MAS include the torpedoing of the Royal Navy C-class cruiser HMS Capetown by MAS 213 of the 21st MAS Squadron working within the Red Sea Flotilla off Massawa, Eritrea; and the failed attack on the harbour of Malta in January 1941, which caused the loss of two motorboats, one of them recovered by the British. Five MAS were scuttled in Massawa in the first week of April 1941 as a part of the Italian plan for the wrecking of Massawa harbor in the face of British advance. MAS 204, 206, 210, 213, and 216 were sunk in the harbor; four of the boats were in need of mechanical repairs and couldn't be evacuated. On 24 July 1941, MAS 532 torpedoed and crippled the transport Sydney Star, which managed to limp to Malta assisted by the destroyer HMAS Nestor.[2] MAS 554, 554 and 557 also sank three allied freighters on 13 August 1942, in the course of Operation Pedestal, for a total tonnage of 28,500 tn.[3] On 29 August 1942, a smaller type of MAS boat, the MTSM, torpedoed and disabled for the rest of the war the British destroyer HMS Eridge off El Daba, Egypt.[4]
A flotilla of MAS served at German request as Black Sea reinforcement in their intended attack on Sevastopol in June 1942. The MAS squadron came under intense air attack from Soviet fighter-bombers and torpedo boats but performed well in the role. They sank the 5,000 ton steamer Abkhazia and disabled the 10,000 ton transport Fabritius, which was subsequently destroyed by Stuka dive-bombers. MAS boats destroyed troop barges and damaged Soviet warships. One MAS boat commander was killed in battle. One MAS was destroyed and three damaged by fighter-bombers in September 1942 during a heavy attack on Yalta. Italian sources claim that on the early hours of 3 August 1942, three MAS boats torpedoed and disabled the Soviet cruiser Molotov southwest of Kerch.[5] Another flotilla of four MAS, the XII Squadriglia MAS, was deployed to the Lake Ladoga in april 1942 to support the siege of Leningrad. They claim the sinking of a Soviet gunboat of the Bira class, a 1,300 ton mecargo ship and several barges.[6]
The obsolescence of small MAS became apparent during the conflict, and they were increasingly replaced by larger Yugoslavian E-boats built in Germany and local copies of them (classified "MS" – Moto Siluranti by the Regia Marina).
A type of anti-submarine craft, based on the MAS design, was developed by the Italian Navy in World War II. This was the Vedetta Anti Sommergibile, or VAS, equipped with a good number of ASW assets given her small size.[7]

Cultural legacy

The Italian poet Gabriele d'Annunzio, who employed MAS in some of his World War I adventures, used the MAS acronym for his Latin motto: Memento Audere Semper (Remember always to dare).

Notes


  1. ^ Naval Weaponry: Italy's MAS Torpedo Boats
  2. ^ Brown, David (2002). The Royal Navy and the Mediterranean: November 1940-December1941, Volume 1. Routledge, pp. 147–148. ISBN 0-7146-5205-9
  3. ^ Greene, Jack & Massignani, Alessandro (1998). The Naval War in the Mediterranean, 1940–1943, Chatam Publishing, pp. 253–255. ISBN 1-86176-057-4
  4. ^ HMS Eridge (L68)
  5. ^ M.A.S. and Midget Submarines in the Black Sea 1942–1943
  6. ^ MAS operations on Lake Ladoga (Italian)
  7. ^ MAS, VAS, and MS
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ORP KRAKOW

The ORP KRAKOW runs under the flag of Poland ORP KRAKOW


 

Transport ship

The ship ORP KRAKOW (IMO: 3, MMSI: 261234000) is a Transport ship registered in Poland. See below for the last known position obtained by AIS, technical details of the ship, vessel owner and manager, tonnages, and a history of port calls recorded in the FleetMon Vessel Database.
  • Poland
  • 3
  • 261234000
  • SOWE
  • ●●45
  • –––
  • 95 m
  • 11 m
  • Upgrade!
  • Upgrade!
  • 19
 
ORP KRAKOW
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