title: Pentium 4

text: On April 14, 2003, Intel officially launched the new Pentium 4 HT processor. This processor used an 800 MT/s FSB (200 MHz physical clock), was clocked at 3 GHz, and had Hyper-Threading technology. This was meant to help the Pentium 4 better compete with AMD's Opteron line of processors. The server-oriented Opteron initially did not share a common socket with AMD's desktop processor line (Socket A). Because of this, motherboard manufacturers did not initially build motherboards with AGP for Opterons. As AGP was the primary graphics expansion port for desktop use, this oversight prevented the Opteron from encroaching from the server market and threatening the Pentium 4 desktop market. Meanwhile, with the launch of the Athlon XP 3200+ in AMD's desktop line, AMD increased the Athlon XP's FSB speed from 333 MT/s to 400 MT/s, but it was not enough to hold off the new 3 GHz Pentium 4 HT.


title: Pentium 4

text: The Pentium 4 HT's increase to a 200 MHz quad-pumped bus (200 x 4 = 800 MHz effective) greatly helped to satisfy the bandwidth requirements the Netburst architecture desired for reaching optimal performance. While the Athlon XP architecture was less dependent on bandwidth, the bandwidth numbers reached by Intel were well out of range for the Athlon's EV6 bus. Hypothetically, EV6 could have achieved the same bandwidth numbers, but only at speeds unreachable at the time. Intel's higher bandwidth proved useful in benchmarks for streaming operations, and Intel marketing wisely capitalized on this as a tangible improvement over AMD's desktop processors. Northwood 2.4 GHz, 2.6 GHz and 2.8 GHz variants were released on May 21, 2003. A 3.2 GHz variant was launched on June 23, 2003 and the final 3.4 GHz version arrived on February 2, 2004.


title: Pentium 4

text: Overclocking early stepping Northwood cores yielded a startling phenomenon. While core voltage approaching 1.7 V and above would often allow substantial additional gains in overclocking headroom, the processor would slowly (over several months or even weeks) become more unstable over time with a degradation in maximum stable clock speed before dying and becoming totally unusable. This became known as "Sudden Northwood Death Syndrome" (SNDS), which was caused by electromigration.


title: Pentium 4

text: Also based on the Northwood core, the "Mobile Intel Pentium 4 Processor - M" was released on April 23, 2002 and included Intel's SpeedStep and Deeper Sleep technologies. Intel's naming conventions made it difficult at the time of the processor's release to identify the processor model. There was the Pentium III mobile chip, the Mobile Pentium 4-M, the Mobile Pentium 4, and then just the Pentium M which itself was based on the Pentium III and significantly faster than the former three. Its TDP is about 35 watts in most applications. This lowered power consumption was due to lowered core voltage, and other features mentioned previously.


title: Pentium 4

text: Unlike the desktop Pentium 4, the Pentium 4-M did not feature an integrated heat spreader (IHS), and it operates at a lower voltage. The lower voltage means lower power consumption, and in turn less heat. However, according to Intel specifications, the Pentium 4-M had a maximum thermal junction temperature rating of 100 degrees C, approximately 40 degrees higher than the desktop Pentium 4.


title: Pentium 4

text: The "Mobile Intel Pentium 4 Processor" was released to address the problem of putting a full desktop Pentium 4 processor into a laptop, which some manufacturers were doing. The Mobile Pentium 4 used a 533 MT/s FSB, following the desktop Pentium 4's evolution. Oddly, increasing the bus speed by 133 MT/s (33 MHz) caused a massive increase in TDPs, as mobile Pentium 4 processors emitted 59.8–70 W of heat, with the Hyper-Threading variants emitting 66.1–88 W. This allowed the mobile Pentium 4 to bridge the gap between the desktop Pentium 4 (up to 115 W TDP), and the Pentium 4-M (up to 35 W TDP).


title: Pentium 4

text: In September 2003, at the Intel Developer Forum, the Pentium 4 Extreme Edition (P4EE) was announced, just over a week before the launch of Athlon 64 and Athlon 64 FX. The design was mostly identical to Pentium 4 (to the extent that it would run in the same motherboards), but differed by an added 2 MB of level 3 cache. It shared the same Gallatin core as the Xeon MP, though in a Socket 478 form factor (as opposed to Socket 603 for the Xeon MP) and with an 800 MT/s bus, twice as fast as that of the Xeon MP.


title: Pentium 4

text: While Intel maintained that the Extreme Edition was aimed at gamers, critics viewed it as an attempt to steal the Athlon 64's launch thunder, nicknaming it the "Emergency Edition". With a price tag of $999, it was also referred to as the "Expensive Edition" and "Extremely Expensive".


title: Pentium 4

text: The added cache generally resulted in a noticeable performance increase in most processor intensive applications. Multimedia encoding and certain games benefited the most, with the Extreme Edition outperforming the Pentium 4, and even the two Athlon 64 variants, although the lower price and more balanced performance of the Athlon 64 (particularly the non-FX version) led to it usually being seen as the better value proposition. Nonetheless, the Extreme Edition did achieve Intel's apparent aim, which was to prevent AMD from being the performance champion with the new Athlon 64, which was winning every single major benchmark over the existing Pentium 4s.


title: Pentium 4

text: In January 2004, a 3.4 GHz version was released for Socket 478, and in Summer 2004 the CPU was released using the new Socket 775. A slight performance increase was achieved in late 2004 by increasing the bus speed from 800 MT/s to 1066 MT/s, resulting in a 3.46 GHz Pentium 4 Extreme Edition. By most metrics, this was on a per-clock basis the fastest single-core NetBurst processor that was ever produced, even outperforming many of its successor chips (not counting the dual-core Pentium D). Afterwards, the Pentium 4 Extreme Edition was migrated to the Prescott core. The new 3.73 GHz Extreme Edition had the same features as a 6x0-sequence Prescott 2M, but with a 1066 MT/s bus. In practice however, the 3.73 GHz Pentium 4 Extreme Edition almost always proved to be slower than the 3.46 GHz Pentium 4 Extreme Edition, which is most likely due to the lack of an L3 cache and the longer instruction pipeline. The only advantage the 3.73 GHz Pentium 4 Extreme Edition had over the 3.46 GHz Pentium 4 Extreme Edition was the ability to run 64-bit applications since all Gallatin-based Pentium 4 Extreme Edition processors lacked the Intel 64 instruction set.


title: Pentium 4

text: Although never a particularly good seller, especially since it was released in a time when AMD was asserting near total dominance in the processor performance race, the Pentium 4 Extreme Edition established a new position within Intel's product line, that of an enthusiast oriented chip with the highest-end specifications offered by Intel chips, along with unlocked multipliers to allow for easier overclocking. In this role it has since been succeeded by the Pentium Extreme Edition (The Extreme version of the dual-core Pentium D), the Core 2 Extreme, the Core i7 and most recently, the Core i9. Contrary to popular belief however, the Pentium 4 Extreme Edition for Socket 478 has a locked multiplier. Only the Pentium Extreme Edition and Engineering Sample CPUs are unlocked.


title: Pentium 4

text: On February 1, 2004, Intel introduced a new core codenamed "Prescott". The core used the 90 nm process for the first time, which one analyst described as "a major reworking of the Pentium 4's microarchitecture." Despite this overhaul, the performance gains were inconsistent. Some programs benefited from Prescott's doubled cache and SSE3 instructions, whereas others were harmed by its longer pipeline. The Prescott's microarchitecture allowed slightly higher clock speeds, but not nearly as high as Intel had anticipated. The fastest mass-produced Prescott-based Pentium 4s were clocked at 3.8 GHz. While Northwood ultimately achieved clock speeds 70% higher than Willamette, Prescott only scaled 12% beyond Northwood. Prescott's inability to achieve greater clock speeds was attributed to the very high power consumption and heat output of the processor. This led to the processor receiving the nickname "PresHot" on forums. In fact, Prescott's power and heat characteristics were only slightly higher than those of Northwood of the same speed and nearly equal to the Gallatin-based Extreme Editions, but since those processors had already been operating near the limits of what was considered thermally acceptable, this still posed a major issue.


title: Pentium 4

text: The "Prescott" Pentium 4 contains 125 million transistors and has a die area of 112 mm. It was fabricated in a 90 nm process with seven levels of copper interconnect. The process has features such as strained silicon transistors and Low-κ carbon-doped silicon oxide (CDO) dielectric, which is also known as organosilicate glass (OSG). The Prescott was first fabricated at the D1C development fab and was later moved to F11X production fab.


title: Pentium 4

text: Originally, Intel released two Prescott lines on Socket 478: the E-series, with an 800 MT/s FSB and Hyper-Threading support, and the low-end A-series, with a 533 MT/s FSB and Hyper-Threading disabled. LGA 775 Prescott CPUs use a rating system, labeling them as the 5xx series (Celeron Ds are the 3xx series, while Pentium Ms are the 7xx series). The LGA 775 version of the E-series uses model numbers 5x0 (520–560), and the LGA 775 version of the A-series uses model numbers 5x5 and 5x9 (505–519). The fastest, the 570J and 571, is clocked at 3.8 GHz. Plans to mass-produce a 4 GHz Pentium 4 were cancelled by Intel in favor of dual core processors, although some European retailers claimed to be selling a Pentium 4 580, clocked at 4 GHz. The E-series Prescott, as well as the low-end 517 and 524, incorporates Hyper-Threading in order to speed up some processes that use multithreaded software, such as video editing.


title: Pentium 4

text: The Prescott microarchitecture was designed to support Intel 64, Intel's implementation of the AMD-developed x86-64 64-bit extensions to the x86 architecture, but the initial models shipped with their 64-bit capability disabled. Intel stated that it did not intend to release 64-bit CPUs in retail channels, instead releasing the 64-bit capable F-series to OEMs only. However, they were later made available to the general public as the 5x1 series. A number of low-end Intel 64-enabled Prescotts, with 533 MHz FSB speed, were also released.


title: Pentium 4

text: The E0 stepping of the Prescott series introduced the XD bit feature. This technology, introduced to the x86 architecture by AMD as NX (No eXecute), can help prevent certain types of malicious code from exploiting a buffer overflow to get executed. Models supporting XD bit include the 5x0J and 5x1 series as well as the low-end 5x5J and 5x6.


title: Pentium 4

text: Intel, by the first quarter of 2005, released a new Prescott core with 6x0 numbering, codenamed ""Prescott 2M"". "Prescott 2M" is also sometimes known by the name of its Xeon derivative, ""Irwindale"". It features Hyper-Threading, Intel 64, the XD bit, EIST (Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology), Thermal Monitor 2 (for processors at 3.6 GHz and above), and 2 MB of L2 cache. However, AnandTech found that this resulted in 17% higher cache latency compared to Prescott, which combined with the lack of consumer-targeted programs requiring more cache, largely negated the advantage that added cache introduced. Rather than being a targeted speed boost the double size cache was intended to provide the same space and hence performance for 64-bit mode operations, due to the doubled word size compared to 32-bit mode.


title: Pentium 4

text: On November 14, 2005, Intel released Prescott 2M processors with VT (Virtualization Technology, codenamed "Vanderpool") enabled. Intel only released two models of this Prescott 2M category: 662 and 672, running at 3.6 GHz and 3.8 GHz, respectively.


title: Pentium 4

text: The final revision of the Pentium 4 was "Cedar Mill", released on January 5, 2006. This was a die shrink of the Prescott-based 600 series core to 65 nm, with no real feature additions but significantly reduced power consumption. The Cedar Mill is closely linked to the Pentium D Presler revision, with each Presler CPU consisting of two Cedar Mill cores on the same chip package. Cedar Mill had a lower heat output than Prescott, with a TDP of 86 W. The D0 stepping in late 2006 reduced this to 65 watts. It has a 65 nm core and features the same 31-stage pipeline as Prescott, 800 MT/s FSB, Intel 64, Hyper-Threading, but no Virtualization Technology. As with Prescott 2M, Cedar Mill also has a 2 MB L2 cache.


title: Pentium 4

text: Intel initially announced four VT-x enabled Cedar Mill processors with model numbers 633 to 663, but these were later cancelled and replaced by models 631 to 661 without VT-x, the extra 1 added to the model number distinguishing them from the 90 nm Prescott cores operating at the same frequencies. Cedar Mill processors ranged in frequency from 3.0 to 3.6 GHz, down from the 3.8 GHz maximum of the Prescott-based 670 and 672. Overclockers managed to exceed 8 GHz with these processors using liquid nitrogen cooling.


title: Pentium 4

text: The name "Cedar Mill" refers to Cedar Mill, Oregon, an unincorporated community near Intel's Hillsboro, Oregon facilities.


title: Pentium 4

text: The original successor to the Pentium 4 was (codenamed) Tejas, which was scheduled for an early-mid-2005 release. However, it was cancelled a few months after the release of Prescott due to extremely high TDPs (a 2.8 GHz Tejas emitted 150 W of heat, compared to around 80 W for a Northwood of the same speed, and 100 W for a comparably clocked Prescott) and development on the NetBurst microarchitecture as a whole ceased, with the exception of the dual-core Pentium D, Pentium Extreme Edition and the Cedar Mill-based Pentium 4 HT.


title: Pentium 4

text: Since May 2005, Intel has released dual-core processors under the Pentium D and Pentium Extreme Edition brands. These came under the code names Smithfield and Presler for the 90 nm and 65 nm parts respectively.


title: Pentium 4

text: The real successor to the Pentium 4 brand is the Intel Core 2 brand, which merged with Pentium D, released on July 27, 2006. The underlying microarchitecture is the Core microarchitecture, and the first chips implementing it (in 65 nm) are called "Conroe". Intel Core 2 processors have been released as single, dual and quad core processors.


title: Pentium 4

text: Processors implementing the Core microarchitecture were marketed under the "Core 2"-brand, because processors based on the Yonah-microarchitecture had already been marketed under the Core-brand.


title: Lolly Adefope

text: Ololade "Lolly" Adefope (born 14 September 1990) is a British stand-up comedian and actress, specialising in character comedy. She is known for playing the role of Fran in the Hulu comedy series "Shrill", and as Kitty, the ghost of a Georgian noblewoman in BBC comedy "Ghosts", for which she was nominated for a National Comedy Award in 2021.


title: Lolly Adefope

text: Adefope was born in Sutton, South London to Nigerian parents and is of Yoruba descent. She went to Loughborough University to study English literature. While at university, she started performing with a sketch comedy group.


title: Lolly Adefope

text: After university, Adefope applied to drama school but was rejected, so she began working in an office. She began her career as a stand-up comic and transitioned into acting after receiving positive attention for solo shows at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2015 and 2016. Also in 2015, she was selected for the BBC Writersroom comedy programme, and in 2016 she was nominated for two Chortle Awards.


title: Lolly Adefope

text: As an actress, Adefope has appeared on "Together", "Josh", "Plebs", "Rovers", "Sick Note", "Ghosts", "Miracle Workers", and "Shrill". She has also participated as a guest on "", "The Last Leg", "Don't Ask Me Ask Britain" and "QI". She appeared on the fourth series of the panel show "Taskmaster" and the 100th anniversary suffragette special of "8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown".


title: Lolly Adefope

text: "Shrill" star and co-creator Aidy Bryant has praised Adefope's acting for "how much she can convey with just the slightest movement of her eyes." Her performance in that show introduced her to wider audiences, and she began to receive a flood of offers for new roles. As of May 2021, she was working on developing a new television show that she would also star in, as well as a podcast. In October 2021, it was announced that Adefope will be appearing in an upcoming American television series, "Girls Can't Shoot (& Other Lies)" based on Scarlett Curtis's anthology, "Feminists Don't Wear Pink (& Other Lies)".


title: Alan Price

text: Alan Price (born 19 April 1942) is an English musician. He was the original keyboardist for the British band the Animals before he left to form his own band the Alan Price Set. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994 as a member of the Animals. He is also known for his solo work. His best known songs include "Jarrow Song" and "The House That Jack Built".


title: Alan Price

text: Price was born in Fatfield, Washington, County Durham. He was educated at Jarrow Grammar School, County Durham. He is a self-taught musician and was a founding member of the Tyneside group the Alan Price Rhythm and Blues Combo, which was later renamed the Animals. His organ-playing on songs by The Animals, such as "The House of the Rising Sun", "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood", and "Bring It On Home to Me" was a key element in the group's success.


title: Alan Price

text: After leaving the Animals, Price went on to have success with his own band the Alan Price Set and later with Georgie Fame. He introduced the songs of Randy Newman to a wider audience. Later, he appeared on his own television show and achieved success with film scores, including winning critical acclaim for his musical contribution to the film "O Lucky Man!" (1973), as well as writing the score to the stage musical "Andy Capp". Price has also acted in films and television productions.


title: Alan Price

text: Price formed the Animals in 1962 and left the band in 1965 to form the Alan Price Set, with the line-up of Price, Clive Burrows (baritone saxophone), Steve Gregory (tenor saxophone), John Walters (trumpet), Peter Kirtley (guitar), Rod "Boots" Slade (bass) and "Little" Roy Mills (drums). In the same year, he appeared in the film "Don't Look Back" which featured Bob Dylan on tour in the UK.


title: Alan Price

text: During 1966, he enjoyed singles success with "I Put a Spell on You", which reached number 9 in the UK singles chart, and "Hi-Lili, Hi-Lo" which reached number 11 in the same chart. In 1967, the Randy Newman song "Simon Smith and His Amazing Dancing Bear" reached number four in the chart, as did his self-penned song, "The House That Jack Built". "Don't Stop the Carnival" followed in 1968, and rose to number 13 in the UK singles charts.


title: Alan Price

text: Price went on to host shows such as the musical "Price To Play" in the late 1960s, which featured him performing and introducing the music of guests such as Fleetwood Mac and Jimi Hendrix. His second album, "A Price on His Head" (1967), featured seven songs by Randy Newman, who was virtually unknown at that time. In August 1967, he appeared with The Animals at the hippie love-in that was held in the grounds of Woburn Abbey.


title: Alan Price

text: A later association with Georgie Fame resulted in "Rosetta", which became a top-20 hit (1971), reaching number 11 in the UK Singles Chart. An album followed, "Fame and Price, Price and Fame Together". During this period, Price and Fame secured a regular slot on "The Two Ronnies" show produced by BBC Television, and also appeared on the "Morecambe and Wise Show". He recorded the autobiographical album "Between Today and Yesterday" (1974) from which the single "Jarrow Song" was taken, returning Price to the UK singles chart at number six. The minor single hits by Price "Just For You" and "Baby of Mine" from 1978 and 1979, respectively, as well as being issued on the usual black vinyl, were also released as red, heart-shaped vinyl discs, which reflected the craze for coloured and oddly shaped vinyl records at the time.


title: Alan Price

text: Price participated in three reunions of The Animals between 1968 and 1984. In July 1983, they started their last world tour. Price's solo performance of "Oh Lucky Man" was included in their set. In 1984, they broke up for the final time, and the album "Greatest Hits Live (Rip It to Shreds)" was released, comprising recordings from their concert at Wembley Arena in London supporting The Police.


title: Alan Price

text: Price recorded two albums with the Electric Blues Company featuring guitarist and vocalist Bobby Tench and keyboardist Zoot Money, the first, "Covers", was recorded in 1994. "A Gigster's Life for Me" followed in 1996 and was recorded as part of Sanctuary's "Blues Masters Series", at Olympic Studios in south-west London.


title: Alan Price

text: Since 1996, Price has continued to perform regularly, arrange, write songs, and create other works. During the 2000s, he has continued to tour the UK with his own band and others, including the Manfreds, Maggie Bell and Bobby Tench.


title: Alan Price

text: "Savaloy Dip" was officially released in 2016. Due to an issuing error after the recording of this album in 1974 the album was re-called by the record company and not re-released at that time. The title track for his album "Between Today and Yesterday" was taken from the original Savaloy Dip recording.


title: Alan Price

text: Price appears in the D. A. Pennebaker documentary "Don't Look Back" (1965) and is in several scenes with Bob Dylan and his entourage, including one where his departure from the Animals is mentioned.


title: Alan Price

text: Price has been closely involved with the work of film director Lindsay Anderson. He wrote the music for Anderson's film "O Lucky Man!" (1973), which he performs on screen in the film and appears as himself in one part of the storyline. The score won the 1974 BAFTA Award for Best Film Music.


title: Alan Price

text: He acted as the lead in "Alfie Darling" (1975), a sequel to the film "Alfie" (1966), during the course of which he became romantically involved with his co-star, Jill Townsend. He also composed and sang the theme tune to the film adaptation of "The Plague Dogs" (1982), "Time and Tide".


title: Alan Price

text: In 1979, Price composed and sang the theme song to the ATV series "Turtle's Progress". In 1981 he composed the score for the musical "Andy Capp" based on the eponymous comic strip. He also wrote the lyrics, together with the actor Trevor Peacock. The play transferred from the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, to London's Aldwych Theatre in September 1982. Price later provided the theme to Thames Television's 1988 sitcom adaptation of "Andy Capp" in the form of a rewritten "Jarrow Song". Other TV theme work includes a re-recorded version of his 1974 single "Papers", which was used as the theme tune to the London Weekend Television situation comedy "Hot Metal" and the song "Changes", soundtrack to a popular TV commercial for the VW Golf.


title: Alan Price

text: In 1992, Anderson included an episode in his autobiographical BBC film "Is That All There Is?", with a boat trip down the River Thames to scatter Rachel Roberts and Jill Bennett's ashes on the waters, while Price accompanied himself and sang the song "Is That All There Is?".


title: Alan Price

text: In 2004, Price appeared in the Christmas edition of "Heartbeat" as Frankie Rio, the leader of a dubious band of musicians, the Franke Rio Trio, who are booked to appear in the Aidensfield Village Concert. The episode was entitled "In the Bleak Midwinter".


title: Alan Price

text: Price is believed to have two children and has been married twice. He married Maureen Elizabeth Donneky at Fulham towards the end of 1971. The couple divorced. Price and Donneky had one daughter, Elizabeth.


title: Alan Price

text: Price is a Sunderland A.F.C. supporter although, ironically, Sunderland's local rivals Newcastle United often used his version of "Blaydon Races" at matches. In 2011, he took part in the Sunderland A.F.C. charity Foundation of Light event.


title: Bharti Singh

text: Bharti Singh (born 3 July 1984) is an Indian comedian and television personality. Singh has created numerous comedy shows as well as hosted various award shows. She participated in the reality shows "Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 5" (2012), "Nach Baliye 8" (2017) and "" (2019). In 2019, she appeared on "Khatra Khatra Khatra", a show conceptualised by her husband Haarsh Limbachiyaa for Colors TV. Since 2016, Singh has appeared in Forbes India's celebrity 100 list.


title: Bharti Singh

text: Bharti was born on 3 July 1984 in Amritsar city of Punjab in a Punjabi family. Both of Singh's parents are from Punjab. Her father died when she was two years old. Singh has two older siblings, a brother and a sister.


title: Bharti Singh

text: Bharti was the 2nd runner-up in the stand-up comedy reality series "The Great Indian Laughter Challenge" on STAR One, where she received critocal acclaim for her stand-up comedy child character named Lalli. She then appeared as a contestant on "Comedy Circus". She hosted the show "Comedy Nights Bachao" along with Krishna Abhishek.


title: Bharti Singh

text: In 2011, she acted in the TV series "Pyaar Mein Twist" on STAR Plus and later appeared as a contestant on the celebrity dance reality show "Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 5" (2012). In 2012, she hosted the television show "Sau Saal Cinema Ke", which premiered on 15 December 2012 on Star Plus alongside Karan Tacker, Ragini Khanna and Shruti Ulfat. She also appeared as a guest on "MasterChef India". and "Nach Baliye 6".


title: Bharti Singh

text: She hosted "India's Got Talent 5" (2014), "India's Got Talent 6" (2015) and "India's Got Talent 7" (2016). In 2017, she participated in "Nach Baliye 8" on Star Plus along with Haarsh Limbachiyaa and finished in 6th place. In 2018, she appeared as a guest on the reality shows "Dance Deewane" and "Bigg Boss 12", both on Colors TV. In the same year, she hosted "India's Got Talent 8" on Colors TV and appeared on the comedy show "The Kapil Sharma Show" on Sony TV as Titli Yadav. In 2019, she participated in "" on Colors TV along with Haarsh Limbachiyaa again. Although Haarsh got eliminated in the 7th week, she managed to become a finalist and survive till the grand finale. She got evicted just before the grand finale.


title: Bharti Singh

text: In 2020, Bharti hosted Sony TV's "India's Best Dancer" and Colors TV's "Hum Tum Aur Quarantine" along with Haarsh Limbachiyaa. She also participated in "" and emerged as the 4th runner-up.


title: Bharti Singh

text: On 21 November 2020, the Narcotics Control Bureau conducted a search at Bharti's residence and recovered 86.5 g of cannabis. She and her husband were taken in for questioning and they were later arrested by the bureau. She and her husband were granted bail on 23 November 2020, after 2 days of interrogation.


title: 2021–2022 Armenia–Azerbaijan border crisis

text: The military forces of Armenia and Azerbaijan have been engaged in a border conflict since 12 May 2021, when Azerbaijani soldiers crossed several kilometers into Armenia in the provinces of Syunik and Gegharkunik, occupying about of Armenian territory. Azerbaijan has not withdrawn its troops from internationally recognised Armenian territory despite calls to do so by the European Parliament, United States and France – two of three co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group.


text: The crisis further escalated in July 2021, with clashes taking place on the Armenia–Nakhchivan border. More clashes took place since then, including in Gegharkunik–Kalbajar area in November 2021, as well as a brief, but substantial, escalation of fighting in September 2022, with casualties being reported from both sides.


text: In a joint statement on 17 November 2021, Marina Kaljurand (the European Union's chair of the delegation for relations with the South Caucasus), Andrey Kovatchev (the European Parliament's standing rapporteur on Armenia), and Željana Zovko (the European Parliament's standing rapporteur on Azerbaijan) called the military operation launched by Azerbaijan on 16 November 2021 the worst violation to date of the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire agreement.


text: Prior to 2020, 4 districts of Azerbaijan on the Armenia–Azerbaijan border were occupied by Artsakh ethnic forces. The issue of demarcation of the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan arose immediately after the defeat of Armenia in the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War, and Azerbaijan regaining control over its occupied territories. Before the war, there was no physical border between Armenia and the Armenian occupied districts of Azerbaijan, and some Armenian villages were expanding into Azerbaijan's territory, while some water sources and pastures were on Azerbaijani soil.


text: In addition, there are other border related issues, as Armenia controls since 1990s several villages of Qazakh District of Azerbaijan, including three Azerbaijani exclaves, and also an exclave village of Karki in Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, while Azerbaijan controls an Armenian exclave village of Artsvashen.


text: On 13 April 2021, Azerbaijan's president Ilham Aliyev made irredentist claims over Armenia's capital Yerevan, Zangezur (Syunik), and Sevan (Gegharkunik), declaring that they are "historical lands" of Azerbaijan. In a statement in April 2021, he said that if Armenia would not agree to provide a corridor from Nakhchivan to western Azerbaijan through Armenia's Syunik Province, then Azerbaijan would establish it through the use of force, claiming that Azerbaijani people would return to what he described as "West Zangazur".


text: A joint statement by the European Parliament Chair of the Delegation for relations with the South Caucasus, Marina Kaljurand, and Standing Rapporteurs on Armenia, Andrey Kovatchev, and Azerbaijan, Željana Zovko, among other things, condemned the statements made by the Azerbaijani side: "To de-escalate the situation, it is of utmost importance that inflammatory rhetoric ceases immediately. In this context, we condemn in particular recent statements by Azerbaijani representatives regarding so-called ‘West Zangezur’ and referring to the territory of the Republic of Armenia as Azerbaijani ‘ancestral land’. Such statements are highly irresponsible and threaten to undermine regional security further."


text: Reports emerged regarding the crossing of Azerbaijani soldiers into Armenian territory on 12 May, in two areas along the Armenia–Azerbaijan border; the area around Lake Sev, located to the east of the village of Ishkhanasar and mountain Mets Ishkhanasar, and to the north of the town of Goris and the villages of Verishen and Akner in the Syunik Province, as well near the villages of Verin Shorzha and Kut in the Gegharkunik Province. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan said that the reports regarding the Azerbaijani advance on Lake Sev were correct, negotiations were ongoing for an Azerbaijani withdrawal, and that Armenian forces had stopped the advance without any skirmishes having taken place.


text: The Armenian side said that according to the Soviet maps, the larger part of the lake is within Armenia, and the smaller part is within Azerbaijan. The Armenpress news agency published the map of the General Staff of the USSR Armed Forces numbered J-38-21, with a scale of 1:100,000 showing Lake Sev with its eastern, western and southern shores located in the territory of the Armenian SSR and only a section of the northern shore of the lake covering nearly 10% of the lake located in the Azerbaijani SSR, and the smaller lake located east from Sev Lake entirely in the Armenian territory. The Azerbaijani side, showed a map with the entire Sev lake belonging to Azerbaijan, and refused to leave the territory.


text: On 14 May, the Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, formally appealed to the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) to hold consultations regarding the Azerbaijani incursion into Armenia. On the same day, Pashinyan asked Russian President Vladimir Putin for military support. Armenian and Azerbaijani military officials convened at the border together with representatives of the Russian military deployed in the Syunik Province for several hours of negotiations, without any immediate resulting agreement being announced afterwards.


text: On 15 May, Armenia's Defense Ministry stated that the situation regarding the Azerbaijani incursion on 12–13 May remained unresolved, while the Azerbaijani military had retreated from some positions due to Armenian troop movements, and that negotiations in order to bring about a peaceful settlement to the crisis were expected to continue during the day.


text: On 15 May, the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan dismissed the reports of an Azerbaijani incursion into Armenia, stating that it was enforcing the borders of Azerbaijan on the basis of maps defining the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, criticizing the Armenian statements as "provocative" and "inadequate", that the Armenian authorities were using the situation for pre-election domestic political purposes, and that Azerbaijan was negotiating with Armenia regarding the normalization of the Armenia–Azerbaijan border.


text: During a call with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Azerbaijani President Aliyev described Armenia's decision to appeal to the CSTO as an attempt to "internationalize the issue".


text: On 19 May 2021, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Russia came up with an initiative to create a joint Armenia-Azerbaijan commission on demarcation and delimitation of the borders, in which Russia could play the role of a consultant or mediator. On 20 May 2021, acting prime minister Nikol Pashinyan confirmed that Armenia and Azerbaijan were close to an agreement on the creation of a joint commission to demarcate the border between the two countries, with Russia acting as a mediator, and each country appointing delegates to the commission by 31 May.


text: In the morning of 20 May 2021, a group of Azerbaijani servicemen crossed the border near the village of Khoznavar in the Goris region, walking 1.5 km into Armenian territory. They were forced back to their original positions by Armenian forces, but they then made a second attempt to cross the border in the evening, resulting in a fight between Armenian and Azerbaijani servicemen. The General Prosecutor's Office of Armenia reported that eleven Armenian soldiers were injured and hospitalized, and that there were injuries from the Azerbaijani side, too. The videos of the incident were leaked on social media, initially a video of Azerbaijani military men attacking and beating Armenian soldiers, and, on the next day, another video showing the Armenian Armed Forces expelling Azerbaijani servicemen from their territory appeared.


text: On 27 May 2021, after the tensions rose further after the capture of six Armenian soldiers by Azerbaijani forces early in the morning, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan called for the deployment of international observers along portions of Armenia's border with Azerbaijan. “If the situation is not resolved this provocation could inevitably lead to a large-scale clash,” Pashinyan said at an emergency meeting of Armenia's Security Council held in the evening, suggesting Armenia and Azerbaijan to pull back their troops from the border areas and let Russia and/or the United States and France, the two other co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, deploy their observers there. The disengagement of troops and the launch of the monitoring mission, should be followed by a process of “ascertaining border points” supervised by the international community, the Prime Minister said.


text: On 28 May 2021, the EU spokesperson Peter Stano called for immediate de-escalation and urged both sides to pull back their forces to positions held before 12 May and engage in negotiations on border delimitation and demarcation, welcoming proposals for a possible international observation mission and expressing readiness to provide expertise and help on border delimitation and demarcation. The EU continues to call on Azerbaijan to release all prisoners of war and detainees without delay and welcomes all efforts aimed at decreasing tensions.


text: After an incident on 6 July in the Agdam District, Armenian and Azerbaijani forces clashed again in the directions of Azerbaijan's Tovuz, Gadabay, Nakhchivan and Shusha districts from 7 to 15 July. On 14 July, the Armenian defence ministry stated that the Azerbaijani engineers tried to advance their military positions near Yeraskh in the Nakhchivan section of the Armenia–Azerbaijan border, and clashes erupted. The ministry added that the Azerbaijani side had started shelling Yeraskh, using mortars and grenade launchers, with an Armenian soldier getting killed and the community leader of Yeraskh getting wounded. The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry stated that an Azerbaijani soldier stationed near Heydarabad was wounded during the clashes, and added that the "responsibility for the creation of tension along the state border of the two countries lies entirely with Armenia." The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry later on the same day stated that the Armenian forces had fired at the Azerbaijani positions near Istisu in Kalbajar and Aghdam in Tovuz. On 19 July, the Armenian side reported that further clashes had erupted near Yeraskh.


text: On 22 July 2021, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev made another irredentist claim over Armenia's province of Syunik (also known as Zangezur), saying that it's "our own territory":


text: On 23 July 2021, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence stated that one of its soldiers was killed by Armenian sniper fire in Kalbajar District near the Armenia–Azerbaijan border. Meanwhile, the Armenian MoD stated that three Armenian servicemen were wounded as Azerbaijani forces opened fire on Armenian positions located in the Gegharkunik section.


text: On 28 July 2021, the Human Rights Defender of Armenia reported about intensive firing from the Azerbaijani side between 03:30 and 03:40 targeting civilian buildings in the villages of Verin Shorzha and Saradeghy in the Gegharkunik Province. On the same day, three Armenian soldiers were killed in renewed clashes with Azerbaijani forces in the Kalbajar District and Gegharkunik Province, with four others wounded. Armenia accused Azerbaijan of "occupying Armenia's sovereign territory" as the Azerbaijani side blamed the incident on Armenian forces, stating that they opened fire first. Azerbaijan also reported 2 soldiers wounded during the skirmish.


text: On 29 July, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence stated that Armenian forces broke the ceasefire in the morning, using automatic rifles and grenade launchers. Armenian authorities then stated that the Azerbaijani side had violated the ceasefire, but Azerbaijan denied that it broke the ceasefire. An Armenian soldier was wounded in the shootout.


text: On 31 July, Armenian authorities stated that Azerbaijani forces fired upon a logistic support vehicle delivering food to Armenian military positions in Yeraskh. As a result, the vehicle was "seriously damaged".


text: On 13 August 2021, Armenia and Azerbaijan reported about shelling on the border. The Armenian MoD stated that the Azerbaijani units opened fire from various calibre firearms at the Armenian positions in the Gegarkunik section, meanwhile Azerbaijan said that the Armenian forces had opened fire in the direction of the Kalbajar and Gadabay Districts.


text: On 16 August 2021, two further Armenian soldiers were killed by Azerbaijani forces. Vahan Tatosyan died from sniper fire at 09:50hrs in Yeraskh, while Arman Hakobyan was killed in Gegharkunik at 18:10hrs.


text: On 17 August 2021, Armenian Ministry of Defence reported that another Armenian soldier was wounded as a result of a shelling attack from Azerbaijan.


text: On 27 August 2021, the Armenian Human Rights Defender reported that Azerbaijani troops had targeted Kut village: "Elderly people and children were in the yard at the time of the shooting. There were also children in the house at that time. On August 27, at around 10 pm, Azerbaijani armed forces fired intensively at civilian houses in the village of Kut, Gegharkunik region, directly targeting the civilian population,” reported Arman Tatoyan.


text: On 1 September 2021, another Armenian soldier was killed by Azerbaijani forces. Gegham Sahakyan died from sniper fire at 11:10 am in Yeraskh.


text: On 9 October 2021, the Armenian MoD reported that an Armenian serviceman, Misak Khachatryan, was injured by a shot from border with Azerbaijan in Ararat Province.


text: On 11 October 2021, an Armenian civilian named Aram Tepnants was shot dead by Azerbaijani snipers in the town of Martakert. Russia's Ministry of Defense confirmed the incident and stated that Russian peacekeepers launched an investigation involving both sides.


text: On 15 October 2021, Azerbaijani MoD reported that an Azerbaijani soldier was killed by Armenian sniper fire.


text: On 15 and 16 October 2021, Armenian media reported that Azerbaijani forces shelled the village of Yeraskh, causing fires which damaged crops.


text: On 8 November 2021, one Armenian civilian was killed and three wounded as Azerbaijani troops opened fire at Armenians repairing a water supply pipe near Shushi. Russia's Ministry of Defense confirmed the incident and stated that Russian peacekeepers launched an investigation involving both sides. The U.S. Department of State Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs condemned the killing of Armenian civilian in its Twitter page.


text: On 16 November 2021, clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia took place at the Syunik–Gegharkunik/Kalbajar–Lachin regions. Seven Azerbaijani and six Armenian soldiers were killed, while 32 Armenian soldiers were captured. According to Armenian military commander and politician Samvel Babayan, Azerbaijan was trying to meet two objectives — to establish a corridor to Nakhchivan and to impose a peace treaty through recognition of territorial integrity. The clashes ended at 18:30 local time after a Russian-mediated ceasefire. On November 16, Pashinyan said that Azerbaijani forces occupied about of Armenia. The figure of 41 square kilometers has been used since May, which would suggest that no new land was occupied in this newest round of fighting, but this contradicted with the Armenian MOD report, according to which Armenia has lost two military positions on 16 November.


text: On 22 November 2021, an Armenian soldier was killed by Azerbaijani forces near the village of Norabak in Gegharkunik province.


text: On December 3, a 65-year-old civilian, Seyran Sargsyan, from the Chartar village of Martuni district was captured and killed by the Azerbaijani military. The Russian peacekeepers have started and investigation on the case involving both sides.


text: On 4 December, Azerbaijan freed 10 captured Armenian soldiers captured from the 16 November clashes in exchange of maps detailing the location of landmines in Nagorno Karabakh, the agreement was achieved with Russian mediation.


text: On 9 December, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence announced that an Azerbaijani soldier was killed in a skirmish with Armenian forces on the Azeri-Armenian border.


text: On 10 December, the Armenian Ministry of Defence announced that an Armenian soldier was killed after clashes with Azerbaijani forces on the Gegharkunik area of the Armenian-Azerbijani border.


text: On 18 December, two Azerbaijani servicemen were captured by Armenian forces near Lachin, the soldiers were later released.


text: On 11 January, one Azerbaijani soldier and three Armenian soldiers were killed in a shootout in the Verin Shorzha area of Armenia's Gegharkunik province.


text: On 8 March, it was reported that the only gas pipeline leading from Armenia to the Armenian-inhabited enclave of Artsakh was damaged, as tension spiked in the region following the launch of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The energy supply was reportedly disrupted again on the evening of March 21. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and Artsakh authorities have accused the Azerbaijan government of deliberately creating additional humanitarian problems for the population of Artsakh.


text: On 24 March, according to the government of Artsakh, Azerbaijani soldiers crossed the Line of Contact and took control of the village of Farukh, with women and children being evacuated from the nearby village of Khramort. Russian peacekeepers were reported to be negotiating with Azerbaijan. On 27 March 2022, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that Azerbaijani forces had withdrawn from the village. This statement was refuted by the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense. On 30 March 2022, Artsakh authorities stated that Azerbaijani forces were still occupying the strategically important Karaglukh heights.


text: On 6 April, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and President İlham Aliyev met in Brussels for peace talks mediated by the European Council President Charles Michel.


text: On 6 April, the government of Azerbaijan said that Armenian forces shelled Azerbaijani military positions deployed in the Republic of Armenia's north-eastern borderline. However, Armenia's Defense Ministry refuted this.


text: On 15 April, Azerbaijani forces crossed the Line of Contact near the village of Seysulan. Later that day, they reportedly agreed to pull back.


text: Clashes broke out again in late July and early August 2022. On August 1, the Artsakh Defence Army reported that Azerbaijan attempted to breach the line of contact in northern Nagorno-Karabakh, wounding one soldier. Azerbaijan Defence Ministry denied these claims, and the Russian Defence Ministry reported no ceasefire violations that day.


text: Over the next two days, clashes erupted again, killing one Azerbaijani soldier, two Artsakh Defence Army soldiers, and wounding 14 others. The international community reacted quickly, with Russia accusing Azerbaijan of breaking the fragile ceasefire and the European Union urging an immediate cessation of hostilities.


text: According to the Azerbaijani Defence Ministry, Artsakhi soldiers had attacked Azerbaijan army posts in the area of Lachin, killing a conscript. In response, the Azerbaijani army stated it conducted an operation called "Revenge" and took control of several strategic heights in Karabakh. The Artsakh Defence Army accused Azerbaijan of violating the ceasefire and declared a partial mobilization. Following the flare-up, Armenia urged the international community to assist in putting an end to Azerbaijan's "aggressive actions".


text: On 26 August, the Azerbaijani armed forces took full control of the Lachin Corridor area including Lachin and the villages of Zabukh and Sus as part of the 2020 cease-fire agreement,


text: On the morning of 13 September 2022, large-scale clashes erupted on Armenia-Azerbaijan border. The Defence Ministry of Azerbaijan stated that Armenian forces had staged "large-scale subversive acts" and fired upon Azerbaijani positions near the border districts of Dashkasan, Kalbajar and Lachin. The Defence Ministry of Armenia stated that Azerbaijani forces had attacked Armenian positions near the cities of Vardenis, Goris, Sotk and Jermuk with artillery and heavy weapons. At least 105 Armenian soldiers and 71 Azerbaijani military personnel were killed.


text: On 14 September 2022, the Armenian Ministry of Defence stated that Azerbaijan used artillery, mortar, attack drones and small arms in attacks along the Armenia-Azerbaijan border. The same day, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence reported that units of the Azerbaijani Army had come under Armenian fire in Kalbajar and Lachin districts. On 15 September 2022 at 12:20 a.m., Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia Armen Grigoryan announced that a ceasefire agreement had been reached between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijani side made no statement about a ceasefire.


text: On 6 October 2022, Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan and President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev met at the European Political Community summit in Prague in an attempt to resolve the long running Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the recent Armenia–Azerbaijan border crisis. Following the meeting, it was stated that the two parties agreed to the deployment of a European Union led mission, which would be deployed on the Armenian side of their shared border for a period of two months, starting in October 2022. The stated aim of the mission is to "build confidence and, through its reports, to contribute to the border commissions" work towards delimitation of the border between the two parties.


text: Caucasian Knot interviewed three Russian experts who agreed that defining the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan on the basis of Soviet-era maps is a challenge. Geography professor Alexey Gunya stated that the 80% of Lake Sev is on the Armenian territory based on larger 1:100,000 scale topographic maps which should be preferred over smaller 1:1,000,000 scale maps showing the lake within Azerbaijani territory that the Azerbaijani side relies on. Specialist in Caucasian studies Alexander Skakov said that there are many different maps, the details on them are contradictory and each side uses the map that is more advantageous for them.


text: Laurence Broers, South Caucasus programme director at London-based peacebuilding organization Conciliation Resources, tweeted that for Azerbaijan keeps maintaining maximum pressure on Armenia to extract concessions on other issues, such as minefield maps, Syunik corridor and that never-demarcated borders allow conversion of dated or ambiguous cartographies into better positions. This "borderization", according to Broers, also pressures Russia by showing that Russian security guarantees to Armenia are tractable relative to other issues; testing CSTO collective security guarantees and testing Russia's capacity to broker. Broers further expanded on the theme of "borderization" of Armenia by Azerbaijan in his review published by Chatham House. The tactics applied by Azerbaijan towards Armenia after the 2020 war was described as “borderization” tactics in an article published in Georgetown Journal of International Affairs on June 16, 2021. Joint statement on 17 November 2021 by the Chair of the Delegation for relations with the South Caucasus, Marina Kaljurand, the European Parliament's Standing Rapporteur on Armenia Andrey Kovatchev and the European Parliament's Standing Rapporteur on Azerbaijan, Željana Zovko called the military operation launched by Azerbaijan on 16 November 2021 the worst violation to-date since ceasefire agreement, condemning any attempts at "borderisation", as observed since the incursion of Azerbaijani troops into Armenian territory on 12 May 2021.


title: Financial and social rankings of sovereign states in Europe

text: For the purposes of comparison the broader definition of Europe will be used. A sovereign state must meet at least one of the following criteria to be included:


text: The real GDP growth rates provided are the 2015 estimates (unless otherwise indicated) as recorded in the CIA World Factbook.


text: Data provided is by the World Bank (2021). Data for Monaco and Liechtenstein is from 2020 and 2019 respectively.


text: The current account balance values provided are the 2013 figures (unless otherwise indicated) as recorded in the CIA World Factbook. Figures for Andorra, Liechtenstein, Monaco and San Marino are unavailable.


text: The public debt values provided are the 2013 figures (unless otherwise indicated) as recorded in the CIA World Factbook. Figures for Liechtenstein and Monaco are unavailable.


text: The unemployment rate values provided are the most recent figures provided by varying sources, namely data released by governments.


text: The average wage values provided are 2018 figures (unless otherwise stated) as recorded by varying sources, namely releases by respective Governments. The values are for monthly average wage (annual wage divided by 12 months) for net income (after taxes) in Euro currency.


text: The minimum wage figures provided are the 2018 figures by The Federation of International Employers. Currency conversions from non-Euro currencies being based on the exchange rates of 2018.


text: The Human Development Index values provided are the 2018 estimates for 2017, as included in the United Nations Development Programme's Human Development Report.


text: The percentage figures for citizens living below the poverty line are provided by either the CIA World Factbook (2007) or the World Bank (2012) There is no data available for eleven European states.


text: The Social Progress Index figures are provided by the nonprofit Social Progress Imperative and represent 2014. Eight European states are not represented as data is not available.


text: The Opportunity figures are included in the 2014 Social Progress Index by the nonprofit Social Progress Imperative. Eight European states are not represented as data is not available.


text: The World Happiness Report is a measure of happiness published by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network, with the figures provided being the 2013 edition for the 2010 to 2012 period.


title: Fraser Forster

text: Fraser Gerard Forster (born 17 March 1988) is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur.


title: Fraser Forster

text: Forster started his career with Newcastle United and had brief loan spells with Stockport County and Bristol Rovers. He then spent a successful season on loan at Norwich City, helping the club win the League One title and promotion to the Championship. Forster then joined Celtic on loan for the 2010–11 season, and helped them win the Scottish Cup. He spent a further season on loan there, winning the Scottish Premier League before becoming a permanent squad member in 2012 for a transfer fee of £2.2 million. Forster won many plaudits for his performances at Celtic and holds the Scottish top division record of 1,256 minutes without conceding a goal. In August 2014, he joined Southampton for a reported £10 million. Forster had a generally impressive debut season in the Premier League, but sustained a serious knee injury in March 2015 which ruled him out for the rest of the year. On his return in January 2016, he quickly found form again and went on to set a club record of 708 minutes without conceding a goal. Forster's return aided Southampton's rise from thirteenth in the league to a sixth-place finish, earning them qualification for the following season's UEFA Europa League.


title: Fraser Forster

text: Forster was selected for several England squads during 2012 and 2013 before finally making his first international appearance in November 2013. He was named in England's squads for the 2014 World Cup and Euro 2016.


title: Fraser Forster

text: Forster was born in Hexham, Northumberland, the son of Brian Clive Forster QC (who later became a circuit judge), and attended the Royal Grammar School, Newcastle, but did not begin playing as a goalkeeper until he was 13 years old. Before then he had mainly played either rugby union or cricket. Coaches initially thought Forster might be too small to play as a goalkeeper, although he played for local junior team Stocksfield before joining the renowned Wallsend Boys Club. However, he entered a significant growth spurt at 15 years of age and later signed with Newcastle United.


title: Fraser Forster

text: Forster earned his first professional contract with Newcastle United, signing for their Academy in 2005. Forster was Newcastle's third choice goalkeeper in the 2007–08 season while Tim Krul was on loan at Falkirk, and played regularly in the reserves. However, in the six years he was signed to the club, Fraser never made a first-team appearance for Newcastle, mainly due to the fact that he spent most of his time on loan to other clubs, often lasting entire seasons.


title: Fraser Forster

text: With Krul back for the 2008–09 season and Given back to full fitness, it was the turn of Forster to go on loan. He was loaned out to Stockport County on 2 October 2008, to deputise for regular goalkeeper Owain Fôn Williams while he was away on international duty with Wales. Forster started his first match for Stockport on 7 October in the Football League Trophy second round, where they lost 1–0 away to Bury. He started his first league match for Stockport on 11 October, where his team drew 1–1 away to Southend United. He returned to Newcastle on 1 November, after completing his loan stint at Stockport playing six league matches and keeping three clean sheets.


title: Fraser Forster

text: Forster, having been on the bench for Newcastle on over 20 occasions in the Premier League, needed regular playing experience and subsequently signed a month-loan deal with Bristol Rovers on 31 July 2009. He kept two clean sheets in the four league matches he played for them. Bristol Rovers asked to extend the loan but Norwich City made a counter offer which was accepted by Newcastle. Manager Paul Trollope was disappointed and commented that the team wanted Forster between the sticks. He stated "Fraser has a great career ahead of him".


title: Fraser Forster

text: Norwich City manager Paul Lambert was keen to sign Forster who he had seen play for both Stockport and Bristol Rovers. Forster then signed for Norwich City in a one-month loan deal. It was then extended to the end of January 2010 after making an impressive debut against Hartlepool in the 2–0 victory at Victoria Park. Forster received a red card on 26 September 2009 against Gillingham for bringing Curtis Weston down in the penalty area, however this was considered to be a controversial decision. He made a blunder in a 2–1 defeat against Leeds United on 19 October, with a 90th-minute goal kick going straight to Jermaine Beckford who scored.


title: Fraser Forster

text: On 20 November 2009, Norwich announced that they had agreed a deal with Newcastle to extend Forster's loan until the end of the 2009–10 season, after impressing the Norwich faithful with his displays, helping the team shoot up the League One table. He was also allowed to play in Norwich City's cup matches. Norwich manager Paul Lambert praised "world class" saves and a terrific contribution to the team.


title: Fraser Forster

text: In November 2009, Forster was awarded Norwich City Player of the Month. On 17 April 2010, Norwich secured promotion to the Championship with a hard-fought 1–0 win over Charlton Athletic, with Forster pulling off excellent saves to deny Nicky Bailey and Deon Burton. One week later, Norwich's 2–0 win over Gillingham saw them win the League One title. In recognition of his contribution to Norwich's success, Forster was named the club's Players' Player of the Year 2010 and second in the Supporters' Player of the Year award. An excellent season at Norwich was completed by his award of the Macron Golden Gloves Award for the best record of clean sheets in the league, keeping 18 clean sheets in 38 league appearances and 20 clean sheets in 42 appearances in all competitions.


title: Fraser Forster

text: On 24 August 2010, Forster joined Celtic, originally on a season-long loan from Newcastle. Celtic manager Neil Lennon described Forster by saying, "He's a big boy, he's come highly recommended, his age is the only thing going against him because otherwise he's all the qualities you look for." He made his Celtic debut on 29 August 2010 away at Motherwell and kept a clean sheet as Celtic won 1–0. He then went on to play in every match of Celtic's season with the exception of two cup matches.


title: Fraser Forster

text: Forster had a successful season with Celtic, winning a runner-up medal in the League Cup and Scottish Premier League. Between them, Forster and fellow goalkeeper Łukasz Załuska kept 23 clean sheets in the league, breaking Celtic's previous clean sheet record from the 2001–02 season. Forster kept 21 of the clean sheets. He capped off his season with a 3–0 victory over Motherwell to help Celtic win the Scottish Cup. In total, he kept 24 clean sheets in 44 matches for Celtic.


title: Fraser Forster

text: After appearing for Newcastle in pre-season against Darlington, Orlando City, Leeds United and Fiorentina, as well as being named among the substitutes for the opening match of the Premier League season against Arsenal, Forster rejoined Celtic, on loan for the remainder of the season, on 17 August 2011. He helped Celtic draw 0–0 against FC Sion at home, but then lost 3–1 in the away leg, only for UEFA to reinstate Celtic into the Europa League with 3–0 wins in both legs after Sion were found to have fielded ineligible players. He conceded goals in all of the five group matches he played in.


title: Fraser Forster

text: Forster had a successful 2011–12 season with Celtic, winning the Scottish Premier League and helping his team beat the previous season's record of 23 clean sheets. He and Załuska kept 25 clean sheets combined, Forster racking up 21 of them. In December 2011, Hearts were awarded a controversial penalty in the final minute of a league match at Parkhead, with Celtic leading 1–0. Forster, however, pulled off an excellent save from Eggert Jonsson's penalty kick to secure three important points for Celtic. In total, he kept 26 clean sheets from 47 matches that season.


title: Fraser Forster

text: On 29 June 2012, it was announced that Forster had signed for Celtic on a permanent deal with a fee in the region of £2 million paid to Newcastle United. On signing the four-year deal, Forster stated, "I'm very happy that I'm going to be at Celtic for the next four years at least", and added that "The manager's faith in me means a lot, I've loved my two seasons at Celtic and he's done so much for my confidence." Manager Neil Lennon described Forster as being a "top class keeper" and that he considered him to be an important addition to the squad.


title: Fraser Forster

text: On 7 November 2012, Forster produced a resolute performance against Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League group stages, helping Celtic record a historic 2–1 win during the week of the club's 125th anniversary. Due to the calibre of his performance, the Spanish media nicknamed Forster ""La Gran Muralla"" ("The Great Wall"). Forster continued to impress in domestic matches as well. In January 2013, Motherwell were awarded a soft penalty against Celtic. Bizarrely, referee Steven McLean allowed Tom Hateley to take the penalty kick from "in front" of the penalty spot. Forster was yellow carded for his protests to McLean, but the goalkeeper went on to produce an excellent one-handed save high to his right. The following month in a league match against Dundee, Forster tipped over a powerful Gary Harkins dipping shot at full-stretch. This save was voted the SPL Save of the Season in May 2013. Forster went to win a second league title with Celtic that season, and completed a league and cup double on 26 May 2013 with a 3–0 win over Hibernian in the Scottish Cup Final.


title: Fraser Forster

text: Celtic again qualified for the UEFA Champions League for the 2013–14 season, and again played against Barcelona at Parkhead on 1 October 2013, losing 1–0. Despite the defeat, Forster again impressed with several excellent saves, in particular an outstanding double save near the end of the match. Forster also pulled off a crucial save during a 2–1 win on 22 October 2013 over Ajax at Parkhead, saving from Thulani Serero when he seemed to be clean through on goal.


title: Fraser Forster

text: Forster's impressive performances for Celtic in the Champions League and involvement with the England international squad led to media reports in October and November 2013 that several clubs, including Manchester United and Manchester City, were considering to make a bid for the goalkeeper. In response to the press speculation, Celtic manager Neil Lennon commented, "It's going to be impossible to keep Fraser, the way he's playing," adding, "Inevitably, I think a huge club will come in and make a huge bid for him."


title: Fraser Forster

text: On 2 February 2014, Forster set a new a club-record of 11 league clean sheets in a row, surpassing a record of ten clean sheets set by Charlie Shaw in the 1921–22 season. Forster's achievement was noted abroad, with the Spanish daily sports newspaper "Marca" awarding him their weekly "El Óscar" accolade to someone in football who has made an outstanding contribution in some way to their team. On 22 February 2014, Forster broke Bobby Clark's Scottish League record of 1,155 minutes without conceding a goal in a league match. Celtic won 2–0 away at Hearts, and Forster racked up his 13th consecutive clean sheet in the league.


title: Fraser Forster

text: Forster's clean sheet run finally ended on 1,256 minutes against Aberdeen on 25 February 2014, with Jonny Hayes beating him from 30 yards to open the scoring in a 2–1 win for "The Dons". Forster finished the season with another league winner's medal as Celtic clinched their third consecutive Scottish League title, and his form over the year saw him voted into the PFA Scotland Team of the Year alongside teammates Virgil van Dijk and Kris Commons.


title: Fraser Forster

text: Amidst speculation linking him with a transfer to Southampton, Forster played in Celtic's first four matches in the qualifying rounds for the Champions League. Celtic lost 4–1 away at Legia Warsaw, with Forster saving a penalty kick from Ivica Vrdoljak. Celtic eventually won the tie on away goals, after being awarded a 3–0 win for the second leg at home due to Legia fielding an ineligible player in that match.


title: Fraser Forster

text: On 8 August 2014, Celtic and Southampton agreed a reported fee of around £10 million for the transfer of Forster to the Premier League club. Southampton officially announced the transfer the next day, after Forster signed a four-year contract with the club.


title: Fraser Forster

text: He made his Premier League debut on 17 August in Southampton's first match of the season, a 2–1 defeat away at Liverpool. One week later, Forster kept his first clean sheet for the club in a goalless draw against West Bromwich Albion at home. By mid-October, and after eight Premier League matches, Forster had kept four clean sheets and conceded only five goals, at that time the best defensive record in the Premier League.


title: Fraser Forster

text: Forster was at fault for Aston Villa's goal in a 1–1 draw in November; coming out of his penalty box in an attempt to intercept a long clearance but missing the ball and gifting Gabriel Agbonlahor a goal. However, he was defended by manager Ronald Koeman, who stated, "He [Forster] is a great goalkeeper and that doesn't change after this mistake." Another error by Forster a month later in the League Cup led to the only goal in a surprise 1–0 win for Sheffield United. Those two mistakes, however, proved to be exceptions, as Forster's form generally continued to be very impressive. By 7 February 2015, another clean sheet in a 1–0 win away at Queens Park Rangers saw Southampton move up to third place in the League. Fraser again gained plaudits, this time for pulling off a reflex save to tip a Charlie Austin downward header over the crossbar. The match was his 11th clean sheet in the Premier League, the best record among top-flight goalkeepers over the course of the season at that point.


title: Fraser Forster

text: On 21 March 2015, in a match against Burnley, Forster suffered a severe knee injury after clearing a back pass and was escorted off the pitch by medics, and replaced by Kelvin Davis. Koeman said Forster's injury was "looking bad" and that the doctors were "not positive". Up to this point, he had been ever-present for Southampton throughout the season and kept the most clean sheets in the League. Four days later, Southampton confirmed Forster's injury to be a broken kneecap and that he would be out for the remainder of the season.


title: Fraser Forster

text: Although initially expected to be out for up to a year, Forster resumed light training in November 2015. On 6 January 2016, Forster played the full 90 minutes of an Under-21 Premier League Cup match against Chelsea, keeping a clean-sheet. He made his Premier League return on 13 January 2016, playing the full 90 minutes and keeping a clean sheet in Southampton's 2–0 win over Watford. Forster went on to keep clean sheets in his next two appearances, although he had little to do in any of his three matches since returning from injury.


title: Fraser Forster

text: Forster's performance at Arsenal on 2 February 2016 in his fourth match was highly impressive and drew plaudits from many. "The Gunners" dominated the match, and had 11 shots on target as opposed to Southampton's three. Forster pulled off a string of saves in what "The Daily Telegraph" described as a "genuinely inspired goalkeeping performance". He saved twice from Mesut Özil in the first half, saving his first effort at goal with an outstretched leg then parrying his second shot, a volley from close range, away to safety. In the second half a shot from Alexis Sánchez was saved so spectacularly that Arsenal's Olivier Giroud was seen to turn towards Forster and applaud the save. A double save near the end of the match from Theo Walcott helped Southampton secure a hard-fought 0–0 draw. After the match, Koeman praised his goalkeeper, hailing his performance as "magic" and describing him as "one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League and maybe in Europe". Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger also acknowledged Forster's showing, saying, "He had a brilliant game."


title: Fraser Forster

text: On 13 February, Forster recorded his sixth consecutive clean sheet in a 1–0 win over Swansea City, a run which helped Southampton rise from 13th to 6th place in the Premier League since his return from injury. His clean sheet run lasted a club record 708 minutes until he was beaten by Cesc Fàbregas in a 1–2 home loss to Chelsea on 27 February. Forster's form since his return from injury, and run of clean sheets, saw him win the Premier League Player of the Month award for February. On 13 May, he signed a new contract until 2021. Southampton's 4–1 win over Crystal Palace on 15 May in their final league match of the season saw them finish in sixth place on 63 points, securing entry into the following season's Europa League and their highest ever points tally in the Premier League.


title: Fraser Forster

text: Although first choice goalkeeper since his arrival at Southampton, it was only after the retirement of Kelvin Davis in the summer of 2016 that Forster was finally handed the traditional goalkeeper's "number 1" shirt at the club. Southampton made a poor start to the season under new manager Claude Puel, taking only one point in their first three league matches, but from mid-September onwards Forster went on a run of six successive clean sheets. This run of clean sheets helped Southampton rise up to eighth in the league. However, both Forster and his team endured a slump in form thereafter. A mis-kick by the goalkeeper against Crystal Palace on 3 December gifted Christian Benteke an easy opportunity to open the scoring in a 3–0 win over Southampton. Southampton suffered an equally heavy defeat on 29 December against Tottenham Hotspur, losing 4–1 in match where ESPN described Forster's distribution as "nothing short of appalling" and held him culpable for at least two of the goals conceded. Forster's poor form continued into January 2017, where it was noted his save/shot ratio was the worst amongst Premier League goalkeepers for the season to date.


title: Fraser Forster

text: Despite indifferent form on the part of both Forster and Southampton as a whole, Southampton became the first team in history to reach the League Cup final without conceding a single goal. However, Southampton lost 3–2 to Manchester United in the final on 26 February 2017. Forster had a good match in Southampton's scoreless draw with Liverpool at Anfield on 7 May 2017; saving James Milner's 65th-minute penalty kick, and then pushing Marko Grujic's header over the crossbar in injury time.


title: Fraser Forster

text: Although he had an inconsistent year, Forster did end the season with a total of 14 clean sheets, although his side finished eighth in the league and failed to qualify for European football in the following season.


title: Fraser Forster

text: On 19 July 2017, Forster signed a new five-year contract, and described Southampton as being "a fantastic club to be at". His indifferent form, however, continued into the new season, with mistakes against Manchester United, Newcastle and Brighton all resulting in Southampton dropping points during the early months in the league. Despite these errors, manager Mauricio Pellegrino defended Forster, insisting he is a "really good goalkeeper" and that "the position of the goalkeeper is always exposed in this type of situation but nobody remembers the good situations." Forster was eventually dropped from the team in December 2017, replaced in goal by Alex McCarthy.


title: Fraser Forster

text: By July 2018, Forster was pushed further down the pecking order at Southampton with the arrival at the club of Angus Gunn from Manchester City as back-up for Alex McCarthy. Forster made his first appearance of the season on 4 May 2019, playing the full 90 minutes of Southampton's 3–0 defeat at West Ham United, his first appearance for the club since December 2017.


title: Fraser Forster

text: On 22 August 2019, it was being reported that Forster's former club Celtic had agreed a deal with Southampton for a season-long loan. There were three years left on Forster's contract with Southampton, but he had played just once for the club since December 2017. The loan move was confirmed later that evening.


title: Fraser Forster

text: Forster was brought straight into the Celtic team, playing in their 3–1 win over Hearts on 25 August 2019. He had little to do until Hearts were awarded a penalty late in the second half. Forster saved Conor Washington's penalty kick, but the Hearts' player scored from the rebound. On 24 October 2019, Forster pulled off a last minute save from a Danilo Cataldi volley in a Europa League group stage match against S.S. Lazio (thus keeping the score to 2−1 to Celtic), following which the Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport called it the "miracle of extended time".


title: Fraser Forster

text: On 8 December 2019, Forster played against Rangers in the League Cup Final at Hampden Park. With Rangers controlling the majority of the play throughout the match, Forster was called into action on many occasions. On 14 minutes, Ryan Jack struck a powerful 22-yard shot towards the top right of Celtic's goal, but Forster saved it at full stretch with his left palm. He made several other saves during the first half to keep Celtic level. Into the second half, a low ball was played from the left by Rangers across the Celtic goal; Joe Aribo looked set to tap it in at the far post, but Forster got a foot on it to clear. Rangers were awarded a penalty on 64 minutes: Alfredo Morelos took the kick for Rangers, but Forster dived low to his right to block it with his arms. Celtic won 1–0, and Forster was named Player of the Match. Manager Neil Lennon commented that "I've not seen a goalkeeping performance or goalkeeper like Fraser for a long time. In his first spell here, he did some incredible things and now he's doing it again in his second", adding that several of his saves were "world class".


title: Fraser Forster

text: By March 2020, Celtic were 13 points clear in the league and well on the way to a ninth consecutive title: However, all professional football in Scotland was suspended later that month due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom. Celtic were confirmed as champions in May 2020 following a league board meeting the previous week where it was agreed that completing the full league campaign was unfeasible. This saw Forster win another league championship medal with Celtic, bringing his total honours to eight winner's medals in his two spells at the club.


title: Fraser Forster

text: Despite media reports about Forster rejoining Celtic for another spell, he returned to Southampton for the 2020–21 season. On 4 January 2021, after regular goalkeeper Alex McCarthy received a positive COVID-19 test result, Forster was given his first start of the season against defending champions and league leaders at the time Liverpool, and kept a clean sheet in the Saints' 1–0 victory. This was followed by clean sheets in his next three appearances, in the FA Cup against Shrewsbury Town, Arsenal and Wolverhampton Wanderers. Forster finished the 2020–21 season having made 13 appearances for Southampton in all competitions.


title: Fraser Forster

text: On 25 August 2021, Forster made his first appearance of the season in the EFL Cup, with Southampton beating Newport County 8–0 to secure their biggest away win in their history. Forster started in all of Southampton’s EFL Cup games, until they got knocked out by Chelsea on penalties. Following injuries to both Forster and McCarthy, Southampton signed Willy Caballero on a short term contract. Despite this, once back from injury, Forster made his first Premier League appearance of the season in a 3–2 win against West Ham at the London Stadium on 26 December. On 28 December, Forster kept his place in goal in Southampton’s 1–1 draw with Tottenham.


title: Fraser Forster

text: Tottenham signed Forster on 8 June 2022 on a free transfer; he joined the club on 1 July following the expiration of his contract at Southampton.


title: Fraser Forster

text: On 4 October 2012, Roy Hodgson included Forster in his England squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against San Marino and Poland. On 8 November 2012, Forster was then named in Hodgson's England squad for their upcoming friendly against Sweden. On 14 March 2013, Hodgson again included Forster in his England squad, this time for the 2014 World Cup qualifiers against San Marino and Montenegro. On 27 August 2013, Forster earned his fourth inclusion to the England squad ahead of the World Cup qualifiers with Moldova and Ukraine, joining Joe Hart and John Ruddy in competition for the goalkeeper's position.


title: Fraser Forster

text: Forster won his first cap for England on 15 November 2013 in a friendly match against Chile at Wembley Stadium. England lost 2–0 but Forster was "blameless" for both goals, making a "fine diving save" to deny Chile a third. This appearance against Chile saw Forster become only the second person ever to play for England while a Celtic player, after Alan Thompson in 2004.


title: Fraser Forster

text: On 12 May 2014, Hodgson named Forster in England's 23-man squad for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. In England's last warm-up match before the tournament, on 7 June, he replaced Joe Hart for the last 15 minutes of a 0–0 draw with Honduras. Forster travelled to Brazil with the rest of the England squad but did not feature in any of the three matches England played.


title: Fraser Forster

text: A knee injury saw Forster miss most of 2015, but his form on returning to playing football in early 2016 earned him a recall to the England squad in March. He played the second half of England's 3–2 friendly win over Germany in Berlin, making an impressive save from a Marco Reus free kick, although later conceded a goal from a Mario Gómez header. Forster played the full 90 minutes three days later on 29 March 2016 in a 2–1 loss against the Netherlands. Both goals conceded were controversial; Danny Rose protesting that the handball that led to the penalty for the Netherlands first goal was not deliberate, while Phil Jagielka appeared to be fouled in the build-up to Luciano Narsingh's winning goal. Despite the defeat, Forster turned in a composed performance and made several excellent saves. On 31 May 2016, Forster was named in England's 23-man squad for UEFA Euro 2016, albeit he was once again understudy to Joe Hart and did not play in any of England's four matches at the tournament.


title: Fraser Forster

text: Following Euro 2016, Forster remained an unused substitute in subsequent England matches, and was dropped from the squad altogether in August 2017.


title: Fraser Forster

text: On 23 March 2022, Forster was once again called up to the England squad for friendly matches against Switzerland and the Ivory Coast. He was a late addition to the squad, replacing Sam Johnstone.


title: Fraser Forster

text: Despite his large build, Forster has a high level of agility; Ian Brown who coached him as a youth at Wallsend said that "he was and is an amazing shot stopper. I've seen him for Southampton save shots he shouldn't, his body bends." In one-on-situations, he appears to make his already large stature even bigger to an onrushing opponent.


title: Fraser Forster

text: Forster was, however, criticised in the early part of his time at Celtic for lacking confidence and command, and uncertain when he had the ball at his feet. In time he matured, with his confidence and kicking noticeably improved. His level of concentration was also noted; given Celtic's dominance over the majority of their opponents in Scotland, their goalkeeper often has long periods of inactivity, but when eventually called into action Forster was invariably alert and ready.


title: Royal Netherlands Air Force

text: The Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF; , "Royal Air Force") is the military aviation branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. It was created in 1953; its ancestor, the "Luchtvaartafdeling" (aviation department) of the Dutch Army, was founded in 1913. The aerobatic display team of the Royal Netherlands Air Force, active from 1979 until 2019, was the Solo Display Team.


title: Royal Netherlands Air Force

text: The Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) is the second youngest operational part of the Dutch Armed Forces, which consists of four parts: Navy, Army, Air Force and Marechaussee.


title: Royal Netherlands Air Force

text: Dutch air power started on 1 July 1913 with the founding of the Army Aviation Group ( or LVA) at Soesterberg airfield () with four pilots. When founded, the Army Aviation Group operated one aircraft, the "Brik", which was supplemented with three French Farman HF.20 aircraft a few months later.


title: Royal Netherlands Air Force

text: These aircraft were soon outdated and the Dutch government ordered several fighter/reconnaissance Nieuport and Caudron aircraft to replace them.


title: Royal Netherlands Air Force

text: The Netherlands maintained a neutral position during World War I and the Army Aviation Group did not take part in any action, instead developing the force's capabilities.


title: Royal Netherlands Air Force

text: Pilot training was opened for ranks below officer, and technical, aerial photography, meteorological and navigation flights were established.


title: Royal Netherlands Air Force

text: Because of the war it was difficult to procure suitable aircraft. In 1917 this changed and 1918 personnel numbered 650.


title: Royal Netherlands Air Force

text: After the end of World War I the Dutch government cut the defence budget and the Army Aviation Group was almost dissolved. As political tensions in Europe increased during the late 1930s the government tried to rebuild the armed forces again in 1938 but there were many problems, not least the shortage of pilot instructors, navigators and pilots to fly the new multiple engine aircraft. Lack of standardisation and resulting maintenance issues added to the complexity of the rebuilding task.


title: Royal Netherlands Air Force

text: In August 1939, the Netherlands government mobilised its armed forces, but due to limited budgets the Army Aviation Brigade operated only 176 combat aircraft of the following types:


title: Royal Netherlands Air Force

text: In May 1940, Germany invaded the Netherlands. Within five days the Dutch Army Aviation Brigade was defeated by the Luftwaffe. All of the Brigade's bombers, along with 30 D.XXI and 17 G.I fighters were shot down; two D.XXI and eight G.I were destroyed on the ground. Two G.I were captured by German forces, one of which was later flown to England by a Fokker pilot. The Douglas bombers were used as fighters because no suitable bombs were available; these aircraft were poorly suited for this role and eight were shot down and three destroyed on the ground in the first hours of the conflict.


title: Royal Netherlands Air Force

text: In spite of their numerical superiority the Luftwaffe lost 350 aircraft in the conquest of the Netherlands, many to anti-aircraft fire and crashes at improvised landing fields in the Netherlands rather than due to action by Dutch fighter aircraft. The cost was high – almost 95% of the Dutch pilots were lost. In recognition of their actions Queen Wilhelmina granted the highest Dutch military decoration, the (MWO), to the Army Aviation Brigade collectively.


title: Royal Netherlands Air Force

text: Some aircrews escaped to England and on 1 June 1940, 320 Squadron and 321 Squadron were established there under RAF operational command. Due to a shortage of personnel, 321 Squadron was absorbed by 320 Sqn in January 1941. Although their personnel were predominantly from the Navy Air Service, Army Aviation aircrew also served with 320 Sqn until the end of the war.


title: Royal Netherlands Air Force

text: In 1941, the Royal Netherlands Military Flying School was re-established, in the United States at Jackson Field (also known as Hawkins Field), Jackson, Mississippi, operating lend-lease aircraft and training all military aircrew for the Netherlands.


title: Royal Netherlands Air Force

text: The separate (ML-KNIL; Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Military Air Service) continued in the Netherlands East Indies (NEI), until its occupation by Japan in 1942. Some personnel escaped to Australia and Ceylon. 321 Squadron was re-formed in Ceylon, in March 1942, from Dutch aviators.


title: Royal Netherlands Air Force

text: In 1942, 18 (NEI) Squadron, a joint Dutch-Australian unit was established, in Canberra, equipped with B-25 Mitchell bombers. It saw action in the New Guinea campaign and over the Dutch East Indies. In 1943, 120 (NEI) Squadron was established. Equipped with Kittyhawk fighters, it flew many missions under Australian command, including the recapturing of Dutch New Guinea.


title: Royal Netherlands Air Force

text: In June 1943, a Dutch fighter squadron was established in England. 322 (Dutch) Squadron, equipped with the Supermarine Spitfire, saw action as part of the RAF. 322 Sqn aircraft featured the British RAF roundels as well as the Dutch orange triangle. 322 Sqn was successfully deployed against incoming V-1 flying bombs. From mid-1944, during the invasion of Normandy, it executed ground attack missions over France and Belgium.


title: Royal Netherlands Air Force

text: During the Indonesian War of Independence, the air force committed ground attacks and transported material and personnel. In 1948, transportation aircraft were used in support of the first Dutch airborne raid in southern Sumatra and Djokjakarta.


title: Royal Netherlands Air Force

text: On 27 March 1953 the Royal Netherlands Air Force officially became an independent part of the Dutch armed forces, rather than part of the Army.


title: Royal Netherlands Air Force

text: The Air Defense Command, (, abbreviated "CLV") consisting of a command unit, five radar stations and six fighter squadrons, had been established. Its radar equipment as well as its air defense fighters all came from obsolete RAF stocks.


title: Royal Netherlands Air Force

text: After the Netherlands joined NATO another new command: Tactical Air Command (, abbreviated ""CTL") was established.


title: Royal Netherlands Air Force

text: The Indonesian government claimed Western New Guinea following the end of the Second World War. The Dutch government considered the area Dutch territory. Negotiations over the country were conducted for years, but tensions grew until Indonesia broke diplomatic relations with the Netherlands at the end of the 1950s.


title: Royal Netherlands Air Force

text: In response, in 1958, the Netherlands deployed military reinforcements to New Guinea, including an Air Force detachment for the air defense of the island "Biak" as there was evidence that Indonesia was infiltrating the island in advance of a military operation.


title: Royal Netherlands Air Force

text: The first Air Force contribution was the installation of two MkIV early warning radars on Biak and Woendi islands.


title: Royal Netherlands Air Force

text: The political situation between the Netherlands and Indonesia continued to deteriorate and in 1960 the Dutch government deployed reinforcements. The operations were known by name as Plan Fidelio. For the Dutch Air Force this meant the establishment of an Air Defense Command for New Guinea () consisting of:


title: Royal Netherlands Air Force

text: The Dutch government deployed a squadron consisting of 12 Hawker Hunter Mk.4 AD fighters and two Alouette II SAR helicopters. They were transported to Southeast Asia by the "Karel Doorman". One year later the Dutch government deployed another 12 Hawker Hunter Mk6 AD fighters; these aircraft carried more fuel and had a larger combat radius.


title: Royal Netherlands Air Force

text: In August 1962 Indonesia was ready to attack New Guinea. Despite reinforcements the Dutch defences would be insufficient to withstand the coming attack. Therefore, and because of international political pressure the Dutch government was forced to agree to the peaceful surrender of New Guinea. Dutch forces were withdrawn from the territory.


title: Royal Netherlands Air Force

text: The establishment of 336 transport squadron is closely connected to New Guinea. Soon after activation this unit was deployed to New Guinea to take over air transport from the Dutch Navy. 336 Sqn deployed and took over three Navy Dakotas and three US supplied aircraft. 336 Sqn operated from "Mokmer" airstrip and transported more than 5,400 passengers between September 1961 and September 1962.


title: Royal Netherlands Air Force

text: During the cold war Dutch Air Force flying units were integrated in NATO's Second Allied Tactical Air Force tasked with defending northern West Germany against Warsaw Pact forces. Additionally the Dutch Air Force manned five fully operational self-supporting Missile Groups in West Germany (1 and 2 MslGrp were initially equipped with NIKE batteries, while 3,4 and 5 MslGrp were equipped with Hawk) and replaced by the MIM-104 Patriot Air Defence Missile System.


title: Royal Netherlands Air Force

text: The Dutch Air Force played a key role in ending the 1977 Dutch train hostage crisis when six F-104 Starfighters flew low over the train to distract the hijackers while Dutch anti-terrorist forces stormed the train.


title: Royal Netherlands Air Force

text: In 1992 Ypenburg Air Base closed. After the USAF handed over their section of Soesterberg in September 1994, Soesterberg then became a RNLAF transport helicopter base with 298 Squadron (CH-47D Chinook) and 300 Squadron (AS 532U2 Cougar Mk2 and SA 316 Alouette III) stationed at the base.


title: Royal Netherlands Air Force

text: RNLAF F-16s participated in all operations over Yugoslavia from 1993: Deny Flight, including Deliberate Force in 1995 and ending with Operation Allied Force in 1999 from two bases in Italy. Initially from Villafranca AB in the north of Italy, later moving south to Amendola AB. During the operations over FRY RNLAF F-16s flew reconnaissance (306 Sqn detachments from Volkel AB were in theatre throughout the operations), enforced the Bosnian no-fly zone, dropped bombs on Udbina AB (1994), successfully dropped an unguided bomb on a moving Serb tank during the fall of Srebrenica (1995), and took part in Deliberate Force later in the summer of 1995.


title: Royal Netherlands Air Force

text: Between 1994 and 1997 Dutch GCI personnel, along with Canadian GCI controllers, provided many hundreds of hours of fighter control and surveillance as integrated members of USAF/ANG Air Control Squadrons. In May 1999 during the Kosovo crisis a RNLAF F-16AM pilot Major Peter Tankink shot down a Yugoslavian MiG-29 with an AMRAAM, but the force was more recognized for its high bombing accuracy. Allied Force was also the operational debut for the upgraded F-16AM. Besides the CAP missions, offensive bombing and photo reconnaissance missions were flown. KDC-10 tankers refuelled allied aircraft over the Adriatic Sea, and C-130 Hercules transports flew daily sorties from Eindhoven AB to logistically support the operation. Dutch F-16s also dropped cluster bombs on Niš. In total, RNLAF aircraft flew 1,194 sorties during operation Allied Force, which is about 7.5% of the total 37,000 sorties flown.


title: Royal Netherlands Air Force

text: On 2 October 2002 a tri-national detachment of 18 Dutch, Danish and Norwegian F-16 ground attack aircraft and one Dutch KDC-10 tanker deployed to Manas Air Base in Kyrgyzstan in support of ground forces in Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. The KDC-10 returned to the Netherlands on 1 April 2003, and the Dutch F-16 detachment on 1 October 2003. The RNLAF returned to Manas AB on 8 September 2004 with five F-16 and one KDC-10 in support of the presidential elections of Afghanistan. This time the aircraft flew under the NATO ISAF flag. On 24 March 2005 the Dutch detachment transferred from Manas AB to Kabul International Airport. A detachment of six AH-64D Apache helicopters were already stationed at Kabul International Airport from April 2004 until March 2005.


title: Royal Netherlands Air Force

text: In February 2006 four Dutch F-16s were joined by four Royal Norwegian Air Force F-16s in a detachment known as the 1st Netherlands-Norwegian European Participating Forces Expeditionary Air Wing (1 NLD/NOR EEAW). This was a follow up of the participation with the Belgian Air Force.


title: Royal Netherlands Air Force

text: As part of the expanded NATO ISAF mission in southern Afghanistan in August 2006, the Royal Netherlands Air Force had three CH-47D Chinook of 298 Sq stationed at Kandahar Airfield. On 12 November 2006 eight F-16s transferred from Kabul International Airport to Kandahar Airfield, Additionally, a detachment of six (later four) AH-64D Apache helicopters had been stationed of Tarin Kowt, Uruzgan province. The CH-47D Chinooks of 298 sq rotated with Cougars from 300 sq. All helicopters together with a few F-16s returned to the Netherlands in November 2010. The other four F-16s transferred from Kandahar Airfield to Mazar-e-Sharif International Airport in November 2011. The F-16 flight, providing Close Air Support for ground forces and Recce Flights (specialised in counter-ied's), ended their mission officially on 1 July 2014.


title: Royal Netherlands Air Force

text: On 31 August 2006 a Royal Netherlands Air Force (Michael "Sofac" Donkervoort) pilot was killed when his plane crashed during a mission to support British ground troops in Helmand province.


title: Royal Netherlands Air Force

text: On 7 December 2007 military use of Twente Air Base ceased. The aerodrome is now known as Enschede Airport Twente. Flying officially ended at Soesterberg Air Base on 12 November 2008. The last jet ever to take off was a Hellenic AF F-4E. The base closed on 31 December 2008. The 298th and 300th squadron moved to Gilze-Rijen Air Base. A part of the base remains in use as a glider field. The former USAFE side will be in use by ground units relocated from Kamp van Zeist and will be called "Camp New Amsterdam". The AF museum (Royal Netherlands Military Aviation Museum) returned to the base and will use most of the existing hangars.


title: Royal Netherlands Air Force

text: In 2013 the Royal Netherlands Air Force provided Strategic Airlift Support with a KDC-10 in support of French operations in Mali.


title: Royal Netherlands Air Force

text: The RNLAF was hit hard by the Dutch defence cuts after the 2008 financial crisis. 311 Squadron was disbanded in September 2012, leaving four squadrons of F-16s, and one DC-10 transport aircraft was disposed of.


title: Royal Netherlands Air Force

text: In October 2014 the Netherlands Air Force joined the US and its Allies fighting ISIL, deploying eight F-16s (of which two are in reserve) to Jordan.


title: Royal Netherlands Air Force

text: On 31 October 2014 323 Tactess squadron (F-16) disbanded and its aircraft and personnel were merged into 322 Squadron. The following Wednesday (5 November) the squadron reformed in the US as the RNLAF's first Joint Strike Fighter unit.


title: Royal Netherlands Air Force

text: 303 Squadron (Agusta Bell AB 412SP) provided search and rescue within Dutch Flight Information Region) until 1 January 2015 when the unit was disbanded.


title: Royal Netherlands Air Force

text: In 2015 Airbus A330 - MRTT were ordered to replace two Dutch KDC-10 Tanker/Transport aircraft. The Netherlands is the lead nation in NATO initiative to replace and pool existing Tanker/Transport, including Luxembourg, Belgium (1), Germany (4), Norway (1) within EATC, in 2014 it was announced that the Airbus Military A330 MRTT has been selected and two are ordered for the Royal Netherlands Air Force with options to eight aircraft based in adjoining countries. In 2017 the German Air Force, Norwegian Air Force and Belgian Air Force confirmed orders by joining the MMF program to a total of 9 aircraft of which 5 will be based at Eindhoven Airbase and 4 at Cologne Air Base. They will carry Royal Netherlands Air Force roundels and be registered as Dutch aircraft. In November 2019 it was announced that the Dutch KDC-10 tankers were sold to Omega Aerial Refueling Services. The last Dutch KDC-10 was taken out of service in October 2021.


title: Royal Netherlands Air Force

text: As per 2017 the Air Defence – Quick Reaction Force of two F-16 fighters are integrated for Belgian, Dutch and Luxembourg airspace and rotated between Dutch and Belgian ADF squadrons.


title: Royal Netherlands Air Force

text: In 2021 a Brik-II satellite was launched to provide the Royal Netherlands Air Force with intelligence regarding navigation, communication and observation of the earth.