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{{WPMILHIST Newsletter header 3|May 2011|LXIII|Articles}}
{{WPMILHIST Newsletter section header|New [[Wikipedia:WikiProject_Military_history/Showcase#Featured_articles|featured articles]]}}
[[Image:Bundesarchiv Bild 101II-MN-1361-21A, Schlachtschiff Bismarck, Kapitän Ernst Lindemann.jpg|100px|right|thumb|Lindemann on the ''[[German battleship Bismarck|Bismarck]]'', 1940]]
; [[Ernst Lindemann]] ([[User:MisterBee1966|MisterBee1966]]) : '''Otto Ernst Lindemann''' (1894–1941) was a [[Germany|German]] [[Captain (naval)|naval captain]] and the only commander of the [[battleship]] ''[[German battleship Bismarck|Bismarck]]'' during its eight months of service in [[World War II]]. Born in 1894, Lindemann joined the German Imperial Navy in 1913 and served on a number of warships during [[World War I]]. On board [[SMS Bayern (1915)|SMS ''Bayern'']], he participated in [[Operation Albion]] in 1917. After World War I, he served in various staff and naval gunnery training positions. One year after the outbreak of World War II, he was appointed commander of the battleship ''Bismarck'', at the time the largest warship in the world and pride of the German Navy. In May 1941, Lindemann commanded ''Bismarck'' during ''[[Operation Rheinübung]]''. ''Bismarck'' and the [[heavy cruiser]] [[German cruiser Prinz Eugen|''Prinz Eugen'']], under the command of [[Admiral]] [[Günther Lütjens]], were to break out of their base in [[Occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany|German occupied Norway]] and attack British merchant shipping in the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]]. Their first major engagement was the [[Battle of the Denmark Strait]] which resulted in the sinking of [[HMS Hood (51)|HMS ''Hood'']]. Less than a week later, on 27 May, Lindemann and most of his crew lost their lives during ''Bismarck''{{'}}s [[Last battle of the battleship Bismarck|last battle]]. He was posthumously awarded the [[Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross]].

; [[Peace dollar]] ([[User:Wehwalt|Wehwalt]]) : The '''Peace dollar''' is a [[United States dollar coin]] minted during 1921&ndash;1928, and 1934&ndash;1935. Designed by [[Anthony de Francisci]], the coin was the result of a competition to find designs emblematic of peace. Its [[obverse and reverse|reverse]] depicts an eagle at rest clutching an olive branch, with the legend "Peace". It was the last circulating United States dollar coin to be struck in silver. The Peace dollar was approved by [[United States Secretary of the Treasury|Treasury Secretary]] [[Andrew Mellon]] in December 1921, completing the redesign of United States coinage that had begun in 1907. The public believed the announced design, which included a broken sword, was illustrative of defeat, and the [[United States Mint]] hastily acted to remove the sword. Just over a million were coined bearing a 1921 date. In 1928, the Mint ceased to strike the coins, but more were struck in 1934 and 1935.  In 1965, the Mint struck over 300,000 Peace dollars bearing a 1964 date; these were never issued and are believed to have been melted.

[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-R17811, Linienschiff "Bayern".jpg|thumb|right|120px|SMS ''Bayern'']]
; {{SMS|Bayern|1915}} ([[User:Parsecboy|Parsecboy]]) : '''SMS ''Bayern''''' was the lead ship of the {{sclass|Bayern|battleship|5}} class of [[battleship]]s in the [[Kaiserliche Marine|German Imperial Navy]]. Launched in February 1915 and entering service in July 1916, ''Bayern'' arrived too late to take part in the [[Battle of Jutland]]. Her main armament consisted of eight 38&nbsp;cm (15&nbsp;in) guns in four turrets, which was a significant improvement over the preceding {{sclass|König|battleship|5}}'s ten 30.5&nbsp;cm (12&nbsp;inch) guns. As she had been commissioned late in the war, ''Bayern'' had a limited service career. Her first operation was an abortive fleet advance into the North Sea on 18&ndash;19 August 1916, just a month after commissioning. She also participated in [[Operation Albion]] in the [[Gulf of Riga]], but shortly after the German attack began on 12 October 1917, ''Bayern'' was mined and had to be withdrawn for repairs. She was interned with the majority of the High Seas Fleet in [[Scapa Flow]] in November 1918 following the end of [[World War I]]. On 21 June 1919, ''Bayern'' was scuttled. In September 1934, the ship was raised and towed to [[Rosyth]], where she was scrapped.

[[File:New ironsides sails.jpg|120px|right|thumb|USS ''New Ironsides'' under steam and sail]]
;{{USS|New Ironsides}} ([[User:Sturmvogel 66|Sturmvogel 66]]): '''USS ''New Ironsides''''' was a wooden-hulled [[broadside ironclad]] built for the [[United States Navy]] during the [[American Civil War]]. The ship spent most of her career [[blockade|blockading]] the [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] ports of [[Charleston, South Carolina]], and [[Wilmington, North Carolina]] in 1863–65. ''New Ironsides'' bombarded the fortifications defending Charleston in 1863 during the [[First Battle of Charleston Harbor|First]] and [[Second Battle of Charleston Harbor|Second Battles of Charleston Harbor]]. At the end of 1864 and the beginning of 1865 she bombarded the defenses of Wilmington in the [[First Battle of Fort Fisher|First]] and [[First Battle of Fort Fisher|Second Battles of Fort Fisher]]. Although she was struck many times by Confederate shells, gunfire never significantly damaged the ship or injured the crew. Her only combat casualty occurred when she was struck by a [[spar torpedo]] carried by the {{ship|CSS|David}}. Eight crewmen were awarded the [[Medal of Honor]] for their actions during the [[Second Battle of Fort Fisher]] in 1865. The ship was destroyed in a fire in 1866 after she was put in [[Wikt:mothball|reserve]].

; [[RAF Northolt]] ([[User:Harrison49|Harrison49]]): '''RAF Northolt''' is a [[Royal Air Force]] station 3.7 km east by northeast of [[Uxbridge]] in the [[London Borough of Hillingdon]]. Approximately 10 km north of [[London Heathrow Airport]], the station also handles a large number of private civilian flights. Northolt pre-dates the establishment of the RAF by almost three years, having opened in May 1915. Established for the [[Royal Flying Corps]], it has the longest history of continuous use of any RAF airfield. Before the outbreak of the [[Second World War]], the station was the first to take delivery of the [[Hawker Hurricane]]. It played a key role during the [[Battle of Britain]], when fighters from several units, including [[No. 303 Polish Fighter Squadron]], engaged enemy aircraft as part of the defence of London. During the construction of Heathrow Airport, Northolt was used for commercial civilian flights, becoming the busiest airport in Europe for a time and a major base for [[British European Airways]]. More recently the station has become the hub of British military flying operations in the London area. RAF squadrons, including [[No. 32 (The Royal) Squadron RAF|No. 32 (The Royal) Squadron]] are based there. The station has also been used as a filming location for productions made at Pinewood Studios.

[[File:SUK12497BrillFlyingGear1944.jpg|right|thumb|100px|Wg Cmdr Brill]]
; [[William Brill]] ([[User:Ian Rose|Ian Rose]]) : '''William Brill''' was a senior officer and bomber pilot in the [[Royal Australian Air Force]] (RAAF). Born in the [[Riverina]] district of New South Wales, he was a farmer and a member of the Australian [[Australian Army Reserve|Militia]] before joining the RAAF as an air cadet in 1940. [[British Commonwealth Air Training Plan|Training in Australia and Canada]], he was posted to Britain in 1941 to take part in the [[RAF Bomber Command#Strategic Bombing 1943-45|air war over Europe]]. Brill first saw combat as a member of [[No.&nbsp;460 Squadron RAAF]], flying [[Vickers Wellington]] medium bombers. Following a spell as an [[Flight instructor|instructor]] with the [[Royal Air Force]] (RAF), he returned to the bombing campaign in January 1944 as a [[Flight (military unit)|flight commander]] with [[No.&nbsp;463 Squadron RAAF]], operating [[Avro Lancaster]] heavy bombers. Returning to Australia, he remained in the Air Force after the war and commanded [[No. 10 Squadron RAAF| No.&nbsp;10 Squadron]] in 1949–50. He went on to lead air bases at [[RAAF Base Rathmines|Rathmines]], [[Fairbairn, Canberra| Canberra]] and [[RAAF Base Townsville | Townsville]] during the 1950s and 60s. Brill served two terms as RAAF Director of Personnel Services, in 1956–59 and 1960–63, by which time he had been promoted to [[Group Captain]]. His final posting was at the Department of Air in Canberra, where he died of a [[Myocardial infarction|heart attack]] in October 1964.

; [[Pigeon photography]] ([[User:Hans Adler|Hans Adler]]) : '''Pigeon photography''' was an [[aerial photography]] technique invented in 1907 by the German apothecary [[Julius Neubronner]], who also used [[pigeon post|pigeons]] to deliver medications. A [[homing pigeon]] was fitted with an aluminum breast harness to which a lightweight time-delayed miniature camera could be attached. Neubronner's German patent application was initially rejected, but was granted in December 1908 after he produced authenticated photographs taken by his pigeons. He publicized the technique at the 1909 Dresden International Photographic Exhibition, and sold some images as [[postcard]]s at the Frankfurt International Aviation Exhibition and at the 1910 and 1911 [[Paris Air Show]]s. The lack of military or commercial interest in the technology after the First World War led Neubronner to abandon his experiments, but his idea was briefly resurrected in the 1930s by a Swiss [[clockmaker]], and reportedly also by the German and French militaries and the American [[Central Intelligence Agency]] (CIA). The construction of sufficiently small and light cameras with a timer mechanism, and the training and handling of the birds to carry the necessary loads, presented major challenges, as did the limited control over the pigeons' position, orientation and speed when the photographs were being taken. In 2004 the [[BBC|British Broadcasting Corporation]] (BBC) used  miniature television cameras attached to falcons and goshawks to obtain live footage, and today some researchers, enthusiasts and artists similarly employ small digital photo or video cameras with various species of wild or domestic animals.

; [[Charles Holden]] ([[User:DavidCane|DavidCane]]) : '''Charles Henry Holden''', [[Doctor of Letters|Litt. D.]], [[Royal Institute of British Architects|FRIBA]], [[Royal Town Planning Institute|MRTPI]], [[Royal Designers for Industry|RDI]] (12 May 1875 – 1 May 1960) was a [[Bolton]]-born English architect best known for designing many [[London Underground]] stations during the 1920s and 1930s, for [[Bristol Central Library]], the [[Underground Electric Railways Company of London]]'s headquarters at [[55 Broadway]] and for the [[University of London]]'s [[Senate House (University of London)|Senate House]]. He also created many war cemeteries in Belgium and northern France for the [[Commonwealth War Graves Commission|Imperial War Graves Commission]].

; ''[[The Red Badge of Courage]]'' ([[User:Yllosubmarine|Yllosubmarine]]) : '''''The Red Badge of Courage''''' is a [[war novel]] by American author [[Stephen Crane]] (1871–1900).  Taking place during the [[American Civil War]], the story is about a young [[Private (rank)|private]] of the Union Army, Henry Fleming, who flees from the field of battle.  Overcome with shame, he longs for a wound—a "red badge of courage"—to counteract his cowardice.  When his regiment once again faces the enemy, Henry acts as [[standard-bearer]].  The novel is known for its distinctive style, which includes realistic battle sequences as well as the repeated use of color imagery, and ironic tone.  Separating itself from a traditional war narrative, Crane's story reflects the inner experience of its protagonist—a soldier fleeing from combat—rather than the external world around him.  Also notable for its use of what Crane called a "psychological portrayal of fear", the novel's [[allegory|allegorical]] and symbolic qualities are often debated by critics.  Several of the themes that the story explores are maturation, heroism, cowardice, and the indifference of nature.  Adapted several times for the screen, the novel became a bestseller.  It has never been out of print, and is now thought to be Crane's most important work and a major American text.

; [[USS Chesapeake (1799)|USS ''Chesapeake'' (1799)]] ([[User:Brad101|Brad101]]) : '''USS ''Chesapeake''''' was a 38-gun wooden-[[hull (watercraft)|hull]]ed, three-[[Mast (sailing)|masted]] heavy [[frigate]] of the [[United States Navy]]. She was one of the [[original six frigates of the United States Navy|original six frigates]] whose construction was authorized by the [[Naval Act of 1794]]. [[Joshua Humphreys]] designed these frigates to be the young navy's [[capital ship]]s. ''Chesapeake'' was originally designed as a 44-gun frigate but construction delays, material shortages, and budget problems caused builder [[Josiah Fox]] to alter her design to 38 guns. Launched at the [[Gosport Navy Yard]] on 2 December 1799, ''Chesapeake'' began her career during the [[Quasi-War]] with France and saw service in the [[First Barbary War]]. On 22 June 1807 she was fired upon by {{HMS|Leopard|1790|6}} of the [[Royal Navy]] for refusing to comply with a search for deserters. The event, now known as the [[Chesapeake-Leopard Affair]], angered the American populace and government and was a precipitating factor that led to the [[War of 1812]]. As a result of the affair, ''Chesapeake''{{'}}s commanding officer, [[James Barron]], was [[court-martial]]ed and the United States instituted the [[Embargo Act of 1807]] against England. Early in the war she made one patrol and captured five British [[merchant ship]]s before returning. She was captured by {{HMS|Shannon|1806|6}} shortly after sailing from Boston, Massachusetts, on 1 June 1813. The Royal Navy took her into their service as '''HMS ''Chesapeake''''', where she served until she was broken up and her timbers sold in 1820; they are now part of the [[Chesapeake Mill]] in [[Wickham]], England.

[[File:Byzantine-Arab wars, 837-838.svg|thumb|right]]
; [[Sack of Amorium]] ([[User:Cplakidas|Constantine]]) : The '''[[wiktionary:sack#Verb|Sack]] of Amorium''' by the [[Abbasid Caliphate]] in mid-August 838 was one of the major events in the long history of the [[Byzantine–Arab Wars]]. The Abbasid campaign was led personally by the Caliph [[al-Mu'tasim]] (reigned 833–842), in retaliation to a virtually unopposed expedition launched by the [[Byzantine emperor]] [[Theophilos (emperor)|Theophilos]] (r. 829–842) into the [[Al-'Awasim|Caliphate's borderlands]] the previous year. Mu'tasim targeted [[Amorium]], a [[Byzantine]] city in western [[Asia Minor]] (modern [[Anatolia]]),  because it was the birthplace of the [[Amorian dynasty|ruling Byzantine dynasty]] and, at the time, one of Byzantium's largest and most important cities. The Caliph gathered an exceptionally large army, which he divided in two parts. The Abbasids penetrated deep into Byzantine-held Asia Minor, while the northern army defeated the Byzantine forces under Theophilos at [[Battle of Anzen|Anzen]]. The Abbasid troops then converged upon [[Ancyra]], which they found abandoned. After sacking the city, they turned south to Amorium, where they arrived on 1 August. Faced with intrigues at Constantinople and the rebellion of the large [[Khurramite]] contingent of his army, Theophilos was unable to aid the city. Amorium was strongly fortified and garrisoned, but a traitor revealed a weak spot in the wall, where the Abbasids concentrated their attack, effecting a breach. Unable to break through the besieging army, the commander of the breached section privately attempted to negotiate with the Caliph. He left his post which allowed the Arabs to take advantage, enter the city and capture it. Amorium was systematically destroyed, never to recover its former prosperity. Many of its inhabitants were slaughtered, and the remainder driven off as slaves. Most of the survivors were released after a truce in 841, but prominent officials were taken to the Caliph's capital of [[Samarra]] and executed years later after refusing to convert to [[Islam]], becoming known as the [[42 Martyrs of Amorium]].

{{WPMILHIST Newsletter section header|New [[Wikipedia:WikiProject_Military_history/Showcase#Featured_sounds|featured sounds]]}}
{{*sound|Anchors Aweigh, 1929 recording.oga|'''1906''' – "Anchors Aweigh" (1929 recording) |(8 May)}}
{{*sound|President Obama on Death of Osama bin Laden.ogv  |'''2011''' – President Obama on Death of Osama bin Laden |(8 May)}}
{{*sound|The Fairest of the Fair.ogg  |'''1908''' – "Fairest of the Fair" |(10 May)}}
{{*sound|Hands Across the Sea.ogg  |'''1899''' – "Hands Across the Sea" |(10 May)}}
{{*sound|Colonel Bogey.ogg  |'''1914''' – "Colonel Bogey March" |(10 May)}}
{{*sound|Winston Churchill - Be Ye Men of Valour.ogg  |'''1940''' – Be Ye Men of Valour |(21 May)}}

{{WPMILHIST Newsletter section header|New [[Wikipedia:WikiProject_Military_history/Showcase#A-Class_articles|A-Class articles]]}}
[[File:Near Squires Hill - geograph.org.uk - 1515444.jpg|right|thumb|120px|Squires Hill, north of Belfast, near where the killings took place]]

; [[1971 Scottish soldiers' killings]] ([[User:Kernel Saunters|Kernel Saunters]]): On 9 March 1971, during [[The Troubles]] in [[Northern Ireland]], the [[Provisional Irish Republican Army]] ambushed and shot dead three [[British Army]] soldiers from the 1st Battalion, [[Royal Highland Fusiliers]], in [[Belfast]]. Two of the three were teenage brothers; all three were from [[Scotland]]. They were killed off-duty and in civilian clothes having been lured from a city-centre bar, driven to a remote location and shot while relieving themselves by the roadside. Although three British soldiers had been killed prior to this event, all three had been on-duty and killed during rioting. The deaths led to public mourning and protests against the Provisional IRA, and precipitated a political crisis for the [[Executive Committee of the Privy Council of Northern Ireland|government of Northern Ireland]], which led to the resignation of Northern Ireland Prime Minister [[James Chichester-Clark]]. The British Army raised the minimum age needed to serve in Northern Ireland to 18 in response to this incident. In 2010 a memorial was dedicated to the three soldiers near to where they were killed in north Belfast.

[[File:McCauley1953.jpg|right|thumb|120px|Air Vice Marshal John McCauley, 1953]]
;[[John McCauley (RAAF officer)]] ([[User:Ian Rose|Ian Rose]]): '''Sir John Patrick Joseph McCauley''', [[Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire|KBE]], [[Companion of the Order of the Bath|CB]] (1899–1989) was a senior commander in the [[Royal Australian Air Force]] (RAAF). A [[Royal Military College, Duntroon|Duntroon]] graduate, McCauley spent four years in the [[Australian Military Forces]] before transferring to the RAAF in 1924. During [[World War II]], McCauley commanded RAAF forces in [[Singapore]] and served in a senior operational role with the [[Royal Air Force]]'s [[RAF Second Tactical Air Force|2nd Tactical Air Force]] in Europe. Later, he was appointed [[Chief of Staff]] at [[British Commonwealth Occupation Force|British Commonwealth Occupation Force Headquarters]] in Japan. His final posting was as Chief of the Air Staff, which he served in from 1954 to 1957, when he retired. In retirement, he chaired various community and welfare organisations, serving as Federal President of the Air Force Association for ten years. He died in [[Sydney]] in 1989, aged 89.

;[[Valston Hancock]] ([[User:Ian Rose|Ian Rose]]): [[Air Marshal]] '''Sir Valston Eldridge Hancock''' [[Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire|KBE]], [[Companion of the Order of the Bath|CB]], [[Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)|DFC]] (1907&ndash;1998) was a senior commander in the [[Royal Australian Air Force]] (RAAF). A graduate of the [[Royal Military College, Duntroon]], Hancock transferred to the RAAF in 1929 and qualified as a pilot. During World War&nbsp;II, he saw combat in the [[Aitape–Wewak campaign]] during 1945, earning the [[Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)|Distinguished Flying Cross]]. After the war, Hancock became commandant of the [[Air Force Training Group RAAF#RAAF College|RAAF College]] before undertaking a variety of command positions. In 1961, he was promoted to Air Marshal and was appointed as Chief of the Air Staff and served in this role until 1965, when he retired. After his retirement from the military in May 1965, Hancock co-founded the Australia Defence Association. He died in 1998, aged 91.

; [[Alister Murdoch]] ([[User:Ian Rose|Ian Rose]]): [[Air Marshal]] '''Sir Alister Murray Murdoch''' [[Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire|KBE]], [[Companion of the Order of the Bath|CB]] (1912–1984) was a senior commander in the [[Royal Australian Air Force]] (RAAF). He served as [[Chief of Air Force (Australia)|Chief of the Air Staff]] (CAS) from 1965 to 1969. Joining the Air Force in 1930, Murdoch trained as a [[seaplane]] pilot, and participated in an [[Antarctic]] rescue mission for lost explorers in 1935. During World War&nbsp;II, he commanded [[No.&nbsp;221 Squadron RAF]] in Europe and the Middle East, and later occupied senior positions on the staff of RAAF formations in the South West Pacific. His post-war appointments included Commandant of [[Air Force Training Group RAAF#RAAF College|RAAF College]] from 1952 to 1953, [[Air Officer Commanding]] (AOC) [[Air Force Training Group RAAF|Training Command]] from 1953 to 1955, Deputy Chief of the Air Staff from 1958 to 1959, and AOC [[RAAF Air Command|Operational Command]] from 1962 to 1965. He retired from the Air Force in December 1969, and died in 1984.

; [[Action of 28 January 1945]] ([[User:Nick-D|Nick-D]]):  The '''Action of 28&nbsp;January 1945''' was an inconclusive naval battle of the [[World War II|Second World War]] fought between two British [[Royal Navy]] [[light cruiser]]s and three ''[[Kriegsmarine]]'' (German navy) [[destroyer]]s near [[Bergen]], [[Norway]]. The battle was both the last of many actions fought between British and German warships off Norway during the war and the second last surface engagement fought by the ''Kriegsmarine'', and resulted in heavy damage to one of the German destroyers and light damage to another destroyer and both British cruisers.

; [[Singapore strategy]] ([[User:Hawkeye7|Hawkeye7]]):The '''Singapore strategy''' was a strategy of the [[British Empire]] between 1919 and 1941. It was a series of war plans that evolved over a twenty year period to deter or defeat aggression by the [[Empire of Japan]] by basing a fleet of the [[Royal Navy]] at [[Singapore]]. Ideally, this fleet would be able to intercept and defeat a Japanese force heading south towards India or Australia. Such a fleet required a well-equipped base and Singapore was chosen as the most suitable location in 1919. Work continued on a naval base and its defences over the next two decades. The Singapore strategy was the cornerstone of British Imperial defence policy in the [[Far East]] during the 1920s and 1930s. By 1937, according to [[Captain (Royal Navy)|Captain]] [[Stephen Roskill]], "the concept of the 'Main Fleet to Singapore' had, perhaps through constant repetition, assumed something of the inviolability of Holy Writ". A combination of financial, political and practical difficulties ensured that it could not be implemented.

[[File:Brazilian battleship Sao Paulo.jpg|120px|right|thumb|''São Paulo'', seen at an unknown point in her career]]
; [[Brazilian battleship São Paulo]] ([[User:The ed17|The ed17]]): '''''São Paulo''''' was a [[dreadnought]] [[battleship]] designed for the [[Brazilian Navy]] by the British company [[Armstrong Whitworth]]. She was [[ship naming and launching|launched]] on 19 April 1909 and [[ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 12 July 1910. Soon after, she was involved in the [[Revolt of the Lash]] (''Revolta de Chibata''), in which crews on four Brazilian warships mutinied over poor pay and harsh punishments for even minor offenses. After entering the First World War, Brazil offered to send ''São Paulo'' and her [[Sister ship|sister]] {{Ship|Brazilian battleship|Minas Geraes||2}} to Britain for service with the [[Grand Fleet]], but Britain declined since both vessels were in poor condition and lacked the latest fire-control technology. On 6 July 1922, ''São Paulo'' [[Fire in anger|fired her guns in anger]] for the first time when she attacked a fort that had been taken during the [[Tenente revolts]]. Two years later, mutineers took control of the ship and sailed her to [[Montevideo]] where they obtained [[Right of asylum|asylum]]. For the rest of her career, the ship was reduced to a reserve coastal defense role. When Brazil entered the Second World War, ''São Paulo'' sailed to the port of [[Recife]] and remained there as the port's main defense for the duration of the war. She remained as a [[training vessel]] until 1951, when she was taken under tow to be scrapped in the United Kingdom. The tow lines broke during a strong gale on 6 November when the ships were {{convert|150|nmi|abbr=on}} north of the [[Azores]] and ''São Paulo'' sank shortly thereafter.

; [[Skanderbeg's Italian expedition]] ([[User:Gaius Claudius Nero|Gaius Claudius Nero]]): '''Skanderbeg's Italian expedition''' (1460–1462) was undertaken to aid his ally [[Ferdinand I of Naples]], whose rulership was threatened by the [[House of Valois-Anjou|Angevin Dynasty]]. [[George Kastrioti Skanderbeg]] was the ruler of Albania who had been leading a rebellion against the [[Ottoman Empire]] since 1443. In 1458, [[Alfonso V of Aragon]], ruler of [[Kingdom of Sicily|Sicily and Naples]] and Skanderbeg's most important ally, died, leaving his illegitimate son, Ferdinand, on the Neapolitan throne; [[René d'Anjou]], the French [[List of Counts and Dukes of Anjou|Duke of Anjou]], laid claim to the throne. The conflict between René's and Ferdinand's supporters soon erupted into a civil war. [[Pope Calixtus III]], of Spanish background himself, could do little to secure Ferdinand, so he turned to Skanderbeg for aid. Skanderbeg landed in September 1461 and upon arriving, Skanderbeg continued to pursue his ally's enemies with great success. Ferdinand's adversaries thus began to retreat from his territories and Skanderbeg went back to Albania; a troop of his men stayed until Ferdinand managed to finally defeat the pretenders to his throne at the [[Battle of Orsara]], although it is not known if Skanderbeg's men participated.

[[File:Caf hannah.jpg|right|thumb|120px|Air Marshal Sir Colin Hannah]]
;[[Colin Hannah]] ([[User:Ian Rose|Ian Rose]]): [[Air Marshal (Australia)|Air Marshal]] '''Sir Colin Thomas Hannah''' [[Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George|KCMG]], [[Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order|KCVO]], [[Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire|KBE]], [[Companion of the Order of the Bath|CB]] (1914–1978) was a senior commander in the [[Royal Australian Air Force]] (RAAF) and a [[Governor of Queensland]]. He joined the RAAF in 1935 after previously serving in the [[Australian Army Reserve|Militia]] and during World War II commanded a number of units including [[No. 6 Squadron RAAF|No.&nbsp;6 Squadron]] and [[No. 71 Wing RAAF|No.&nbsp;71 Wing]]. In 1950s, he was Senior Air Staff Officer at [[Far East Air Force (Royal Air Force)|RAF Far East Air Force Headquarters]], Singapore, during the [[Malayan Emergency]]. In January 1970 he was promoted to air marshal and became [[Chief of Air Force (Australia)|Chief of the Air Staff]] (CAS), the RAAF's senior position. Hannah concluded his three-year appointment as CAS a year early, in 1972, to become Governor of Queensland. He attracted controversy in this role after making outspoken comments regarding the Federal government of the day. Hannah retired in 1977, and died the following year.

; [[Lockheed D-21]] ([[User:Sturmvogel 66|Sturmvogel 66]]): The '''Lockheed D-21''' was an American [[Mach number|Mach]] 3+ [[reconnaissance]] [[Unmanned aerial vehicle|drone]]. The D-21 was initially designed to be launched off the back of its M-21 carrier aircraft, a variant of the [[Lockheed A-12]] aircraft. Development began in October 1962. Originally known by the Lockheed designation Q-12, the drone was intended for reconnaissance missions deep into enemy airspace. The D-21 was designed to carry a single high-resolution photographic camera over a preprogrammed path, then release the camera module into the air for retrieval, after which the drone would self-destruct. Following a fatal accident when launched from an M-21, the D-21 was modified to be launched from a [[Boeing B-52 Stratofortress]]. Only four operational D-21 flights were made over the [[People's Republic of China]] before the program was canceled in 1971.

; [[Michael Walker, Baron Walker of Aldringham]] ([[User:HJ Mitchell|HJ Mitchell]]): [[General]] '''Michael John Dawson Walker, Baron Walker of Aldringham''', {{post-nominals|post-noms=[[Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath|GCB]], [[companion of the Order of St Michael and St George|CMG]], [[Commander of the Order of the British Empire|CBE]], [[Aide-de-camp|ADC]], [[Deputy Lieutenant|DL]]}} (born 1944) is a retired [[British Army]] officer. Commissioned in 1966, he served in Cyprus, [[Northern Ireland]], and in a variety of staff posts in the United Kingdom. He commanded the [[20th Armoured Brigade (United Kingdom)|20th Armoured Brigade]] before becoming [[I Corps (United Kingdom)|I Corps]] chief of staff. Later, he took command of [[NATO]]'s [[Allied Rapid Reaction Corps]] in the Balkans in 1995. Walker then spent three years as [[Commander in Chief, Land Command]], before being appointed [[Chief of the General Staff (United Kingdom)|Chief of the General Staff]] in 2000. In 2003, he was promoted to [[Chief of the Defence Staff (United Kingdom)|Chief of the Defence Staff]] (CDS). While CDS, Walker attracted controversy during the modernisation of the armed forces, over allegations of prisoner abuse during the [[Iraq War]], and over comments that the media coverage of Iraq may have endangered British troops. He retired in 2006.

; [[Siege of Vyborg (1710)]] ([[User:Interchange88|Interchange88]]): The '''Siege of Vyborg''' took place in the spring of 1710 during the [[Great Northern War]], as a second attempt by the Russians to capture the fortress town of [[Vyborg]] after a failed attempt in 1706. After the outbreak of the war, Swedish forces had fortified themselves in the port of Vyborg. In order to assure safety for the newly founded city of [[Saint Petersburg]], [[Peter the Great]] ordered the Swedish fort to be secured. These plans were put on hold because of other ongoing conflicts but, after the Russian success at the [[Battle of Poltava]], the men and resources were available to capture the town. Thirteen thousand troops under General-Admiral [[Fyodor Apraksin]] marched to Vyborg and laid siege. [[Magnus Stiernstråle]], the Swedish commander at the fort, waited in vain for Finnish assistance, while a stalemate ensued because the Russians lacked sufficient artillery. In April, Peter the Great managed to bring through a fleet of 250 ships to deliver guns and supplies, and to help perform a final assault on Swedish positions. After these Russian attacks, the Swedish garrison surrendered on 12 June 1710.

[[File:HMS Hood March 17 1924.jpg|thumb|right|''Hood'', widely considered at the time to be one of the finest-looking warships ever built]]
; [[HMS Hood (51)|HMS ''Hood'' (51)]] ([[User:Sturmvogel 66|Sturmvogel 66]]): '''[[His Majesty's Ship|HMS]] ''Hood''''' ([[pennant number]] 51) was the last [[battlecruiser]] built for the [[Royal Navy]]. She was involved in a number of [[wikt:show the flag|flag-waving]] exercises between her commissioning in 1920 and the outbreak of war in 1939; these included training exercises in the [[Mediterranean Sea]] and a circumnavigation of the globe with the [[Cruise of the Special Service Squadron|Special Service Squadron]] in 1923 and 1924. She was attached to the [[Mediterranean Fleet]] following the outbreak of the [[Second Italo-Abyssinian War]]. When the [[Spanish Civil War]] broke out, ''Hood'' was officially assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet until she had to return to England in 1939 for an overhaul. At this point in her service, ''Hood{{'}}''s usefulness had deteriorated because of advances in naval gunnery. She was scheduled to undergo a major rebuild in 1941 to correct these issues, but the outbreak of [[World War II]] forced the ship into service without the upgrades. When war with Germany was declared in September 1939, ''Hood'' was operating in the area around Iceland, and spent the next several months hunting between Iceland and the [[Norwegian Sea]] for German [[commerce raider]]s and [[blockade runner]]s. After a brief overhaul to her engine plant, she sailed as the [[flagship]] of [[Force H]], and participated in the [[destruction of the French Fleet at Mers-el-Kebir]]. Relieved as flagship of Force H, ''Hood'' was dispatched to [[Scapa Flow]], and operated in the area as a convoy escort and later as a defence against a potential German invasion fleet. In May 1941, she and the [[battleship]] {{HMS|Prince of Wales|53|6}} were ordered to intercept the {{ship|German battleship|Bismarck}} which was en route to attack convoys in the [[Atlantic]]. On 24 May 1941, ''Hood'' was struck by several German shells early in the [[Battle of the Denmark Strait]] and exploded; the loss had a profound effect on the British. [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Prime Minister]] [[Winston Churchill]] ordered the Royal Navy to "sink the ''Bismarck''", and they fulfilled his command [[Last battle of the battleship Bismarck|on 26–27 May]]

[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-2004-1001-500, Vidkun Quisling, Autogramm schreibend.jpg|thumb|right|Quisling signing an autograph, 1943]]
; [[Vidkun Quisling]] ([[User:Jarry1250|Jarry1250]]): '''Vidkun Abraham Lauritz Jonssøn Quisling''' (1887–1945) was a Norwegian politician. The son of a [[Church of Norway]] pastor, Quisling blended Christian fundamentals, scientific developments and philosophy into a new theory he called [[Universism]]. Before going into politics, Quisling proved to have strong military potential before joining the General Staff in 1911 where he specialised in Russian affairs. He was posted to Russia in 1918, then worked with [[Fridtjof Nansen]] during the [[Russian famine of 1921|1921 famine]] in the [[Ukrainian SSR|Ukraine]], returning to Russia to work with [[Frederik Prytz]] in Moscow. When Prytz left in 1927, Quisling stayed on as the Norwegian diplomat responsible for managing British diplomatic affairs. For this he was awarded the British [[Commander of the Order of the British Empire]] (CBE), though it was later rescinded. He returned to Norway in 1929, and served as the Norwegian [[Minister of Defence (Norway)|Minister of Defence]] during the [[Senterpartiet|Agrarian]] governments (1931–1933). Although Quisling achieved some popularity after his vicious attacks on the [[Left-wing politics|political left]], his party never polled well and was little more than peripheral at the time of his coup. On 9 April 1940, with the [[Operation Weserübung|German invasion of Norway]] in progress, he seized power in a Nazi-backed [[coup d'etat]] which garnered him international infamy. From 1942 to 1945 he served as [[Minister-President]], working with the [[occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany|occupying forces]]. His government, known as the [[Quisling regime]], was dominated by ministers from ''[[Nasjonal Samling]]'' (the party he had founded in 1933).  The [[Collaborationism|collaborationist]] government  participated in Germany's [[Final Solution]].  Quisling was put on trial during the [[Legal purge in Norway after World War II|legal purge in Norway]] and found guilty of charges including embezzlement, murder and [[high treason]]. He was [[execution by firing squad|executed by firing squad]] at [[Akershus Fortress]], Oslo, on 24 October 1945.

; [[Livonian War]] ([[User:Grandiose|Grandiose]]): The '''Livonian War''' (1558–1583) was fought for control of [[Terra Mariana|Old Livonia]] in the territory of present-day [[Estonia]] and [[Latvia]] when the [[Tsardom of Russia]] faced a varying coalition of [[Denmark–Norway]], the [[Kingdom of Sweden (1523–1611)|Kingdom of Sweden]], the [[Polish–Lithuanian union|Union]] (later [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth|Commonwealth]]) of the [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania]] and the [[Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569)|Kingdom of Poland]]. During the period 1558–1578, Russia dominated the region with early military successes at [[Tartu|Dorpat]] (Tartu) and [[Narva]]. Russian dissolution of the [[Livonian Confederation]] brought Poland–Lithuania into the conflict while Sweden and Denmark both intervened between 1559 and 1561. [[Swedish Estonia]] was established despite constant invasion from Russia and [[Frederick II of Denmark]] bought the old [[Bishopric of Ösel–Wiek]], which he placed under the control of his brother [[Magnus of Holstein]]. Magnus attempted to expand his Livonian holdings to establish the Russian [[vassal state]] [[Kingdom of Livonia]], which nominally existed until Magnus' defection in 1576. In 1576, [[Stefan Batory]] became King of Poland as well as Grand Duke of Lithuania and turned the tide of the war with his successes between 1578 and 1581, including the joint Swedish–Polish–Lithuanian offensive at the [[Battle of Wenden (1578)|Battle of Wenden]]. This was followed by an extended [[Livonian campaign of Stefan Batory|campaign through Russia]] culminating in the long and difficult [[siege of Pskov]]. Under the 1582 [[Truce of Jam Zapolski]], which ended the war between Russia and Poland–Lithuania, Russia lost all its former holdings in Livonia and Polotsk to Poland–Lithuania. The following year, Sweden and Russia signed the [[Truce of Plussa]] with Sweden gaining most of [[Ingria]] and northern Livonia while retaining the Duchy of Estonia.