title: Heinkel He 219

text: About the same time as Lusser was designing the P.1055, Kammhuber had started looking for an aircraft for his rapidly growing night fighter force. Heinkel quickly re-designed the P.1055 for this role as the P.1060. This design was similar in layout but somewhat smaller and powered by two of the largest displacement (at 44.5 litres/2,700 cu. in.) single-block liquid-cooled aviation engines placed in mass production in Germany, the DB 603 inverted V12 engine. As designed by Heinkel, these engines' nacelle accommodations featured annular radiators similar to the ones on the Jumo 211-powered Junkers Ju 88A, but considerably more streamlined in appearance, and which, after later refinement to their design, were likely to have been unitized as a Heinkel-specific "Kraftei" engine unit-packaging design. Nearly identical-appearance nacelles, complete with matching annular radiators, were also used on the four prototype He 177B prototype airframes built in 1943–44, and the six ordered prototypes of Heinkel's He 274 high-altitude strategic bombers with added turbochargers. The early DB 603 subtypes had poor altitude performance, which was a problem for Heinkel's short-winged design, but Daimler had a new "G" subtype of the DB 603 powerplant meant to produce 1,400 kW (1,900 PS) take-off power apiece under development to remedy the problem. Heinkel was sure he had a winner and sent the design off to the RLM in January 1942, while he funded the first prototype himself. The RLM again rejected the He 219, in favour of new Ju 88- and Me 210-based designs.


title: Heinkel He 219

text: Construction of the prototype started in February 1942 but suffered a serious setback in March, when Daimler said that the DB 603G engine would not be ready in time. Instead, they would deliver a 603A engine with a new gear ratio to the propellers, as the DB 603C with the choice of using four-blade propellers, as the similarly-powered Fw 190C high-altitude fighter prototypes were already starting to use into early 1943, with the DB 603. DB 603 engines did not arrive until August 1942 and the prototype did not fly until 6 November 1942. When Kammhuber saw the prototype on 19 November, he was so impressed that he immediately ordered it into production over Milch's objections. Milch—who had rejected the He 219 in January—was enraged.


title: Heinkel He 219

text: Stability problems with the aircraft were noted but Heinkel overcame these by offering a cash prize to engineers who could correct them. Further changes were made to the armament during the development of the prototype He 219V-series. The dorsal rear defensive guns—mounted atop the fuselage and firing directly rearward from a fixed, internally mounted, rear-facing dorsal "step" position, at a point just aft of the wing trailing edge – were removed due to their ineffectiveness. The forward-firing armament complement of the aircraft was increased to two Mauser MG 151/20 20 mm autocannon in the wing roots, inboard of the propeller arcs to avoid the need for gun synchronizers, with four more MG 151/20 autocannon mounted in the ventral fuselage tray, which had originally ended in a rearwards-facing "step" similar to and located directly under the deleted rear dorsal "step" – this rearwards-facing feature was also deleted for similar reasons. The A-0 model featured a bulletproof shield, that could be raised in the front interior cockpit, hiding the entire bottom portion of the windscreen, providing temporary pilot protection and leaving a sighting slot by which the gunsight could be aimed at a bomber. Production prototypes were then ordered as the He 219 A-0 and quickly progressed to the point where V7, V8 and V9 were handed over to operational units in June 1943 for testing.


title: Heinkel He 219

text: The earlier prototypes, with four-blade propellers for their DB 603 engines (also used on the Fw 190C prototypes, with the same DB 603 engine) had blunt, compound-curvature metal nose cones also used for production-series He 219A airframes. The initial examples of these nose cones possessed cutouts for their use with the quartet of forward-projecting masts for the "Matratze" 32-dipole radar antennae on the noses of at least the first five prototypes, used with the early UHF-band Lichtenstein B/C or C-1 radar installation. These early He 219V-series prototype airframes also had cockpit canopies that did not smoothly taper aftwards on their upper profile, as on the later production He 219A-series airframes, but instead ended in a nearly hemispherically-shaped enclosure. The "V4" (fourth) prototype, equipped with the earlier canopy design, had a small degree of internal metal framing within the rearmost hemispherical canopy glazing, apparently for a rear dorsal weapons mount or sighting gear for the deleted fixed "step"-mount rearwards-firing armament. The idea for the rear-facing dorsal and ventral "step" features on the original He 219 fuselage design, for armament emplacement locations was later carried into the May 1943 revised fuselage design, for what became the Heinkel "Amerikabomber" design contract competitor, the He 277, for its revised fuselage design to accommodate a tricycle undercarriage. The Heinkel engineering department's "Typenblatt" general arrangement drawing for a BMW 801E-powered, tricycle-gear He 277 "Amerikabomber" design show the early He 219 V-series' rearwards-facing "steps" being inherited by the He 277's revised fuselage design in similar locations on its aft fuselage. The adoption of the pair of He 219 prototype rear-fuselage "step" features relocated the ventral emplacement rearwards by two meters, to provide space for the He 277's nosewheel configuration's seven-meter long bomb bay. The adopted "step" locations provided for the "Amerikabomber's" dorsal and ventral, generally rearwards-firing aft fuselage turrets, with each turret placed at the position of the "step" features, being armed with a pair of MG 151/20 cannon apiece.


title: Heinkel He 219

text: Milch repeatedly tried to have the He 219 program cancelled and in the process, Kammhuber was removed from office. Production ceased for a time, but was restarted because the new Junkers Ju 388s were taking too long to get into service.


title: Heinkel He 219

text: The He 219 had an auspicious combat debut. On the night of 11–12 June 1943, Werner Streib flew the V9 and shot down five bombers between 01:05 and 02:22 hours, before crashing on landing. Claims have been made that, "In the next ten days the three Heinkel He 219A-0 pre-production aircraft [shot] down a total of 20 RAF aircraft, including six of the previously "untouchable" de Havilland Mosquito fighter-bombers. Greatly encouraged, Kammhuber continued to press for immediate production." No record of corresponding Mosquito losses or any documentary evidence exists that He 219 pilots claimed six Mosquitos. Indeed in the opinion the famous test pilot Capt. Eric Brown - who flew several He 219 A-2s after the war - the He219 was "decidedly "underpowered"" (his italics) and the "rate of climb was certainly unimpressive" and found it to be "short on performance to deal with the Mosquito".


title: Heinkel He 219

text: The first major production series was the He 219 A-0, although initially the pre-production series, it matured into a long running production series, due to numerous changes incorporated into the design, along with the cancellation of several planned variants. Production problems as a result of Allied bombing in March meant the A-0 did not reach Luftwaffe units until October 1943. The A-0 was usually armed with two 20 mm MG 151/20 cannon in the wing roots and up to four 20 mm or 30 mm cannon in a ventral weapons bay. The first 10–15 aircraft were delivered with the 490 MHz UHF-band "FuG" 212 "Lichtenstein" C-1 radar with a 4 × 8-dipole element "Matratze" antenna array. 104 He 219 A-0s were built until the summer of 1944, the majority of them at EHW ("Ernst Heinkel Wien") or "Heinkel-Süd" in Wien-Schwechat.


title: Heinkel He 219

text: The first planned version to reach production was the He 219 A-2 model, which had longer engine nacelles containing extra fuel tanks, unitized 1670 PS DB 603AA engines with higher critical altitude and often also two 30 mm (1.18 in) MK 108 cannon, as an offensive "Schräge Musik" upward-firing system completely contained within the rear fuselage, with the cannons' muzzles even with the dorsal fuselage surface. With Schräge Musik, the ventral weapons bay held two cannon due to space limitations. The A-2 featured an updated, 90 MHz VHF-band Telefunken FuG 220 Lichtenstein SN-2 radar system, complete with its larger, high-drag 4 × 2-dipole element "Hirschgeweih" aerials. It initially had a longer minimum range than the C-1 radar, but had improved accuracy and resolution and was also less vulnerable to chaff jamming. Through the late summer of 1944, a total of 85 He 219 A-2s were built until November 1944, most at EHR ("Ernst Heinkel Rostock") or "Heinkel-Nord" in Rostock-Marienehe (now Rostock-Schmarl).


title: Heinkel He 219

text: The He 219 was a capable fighter aircraft and the pilots were free to hunt down any detected Allied bombers. Ground control sent the aircraft into the right area, where the pilots took over and guided themselves towards the bombers with the "Lichtenstein" VHF radar's information. The SN-2 radar's 4 km (3 mi) maximum detection range was greater than the distance between the bombers. While the performance of the A-2 was not extraordinary—approximately 580 km/h (360 mph) speed—it was enough of an advance over the Messerschmitt Bf 110Gs and Dornier Do 217Ns, for the crew to chase several bombers in a single sortie.


title: Heinkel He 219

text: To improve its ability to intercept the Mosquito, the He 219 had excess weight removed. With some weapon and radio systems removed, the aircraft was able to attain a speed of 650 km/h (400 mph). This version was given the designation A-6. None of these were produced, but similar weight saving measures could be undertaken at the unit level.


title: Heinkel He 219

text: The last major production version was the A-7 with improved, unitized DB 603E engines. The A-7 typically had two 20 mm MG 151/20 cannon in the wing roots (inboard of the propeller arcs), two 20 mm MG 151/20 in the ventral weapons bay and two 30 mm (1.18 in) MK 108s as rear-fuselage dorsal mount, upwards-firing "Schräge Musik" offensive ordnance. Production of 210 aircraft was to start November/December 1944, but the number produced is not known as original documents have been lost or contained no sub-version number.


title: Heinkel He 219

text: The follow-on series to the He 219As in service was to be the He 219B fitted with the new, but troublesome 1,864 kW (2,500 hp) Junkers Jumo 222A/B 24-cylinder engines – a multibank, liquid-cooled inline engine, with six rows of cylinder blocks having four cylinders each—which would have allowed the He 219 to reach 700 km/h (440 mph), each of which were almost the same displacement in their A/B (supercharged) and E/F (supercharged with intercoolers) versions and each only very slightly heavier, compared to the Double Wasp radial engines in the American P-61 night fighter. The He 219B wing was also to have had an increased span of 22.06 m (72.38 ft), for better high altitude performance. The Jumo 222 did not reach production status, with just under 300 examples built in at least three differing displacement sizes. Only a few test machines were ever fitted for the engines; some additional airframes were built with the enlarged wing. These examples were slated to fly with high-altitude versions of the standard DB 603 powerplants in place of the troubled Jumo 222 multibank powerplants, but only one or two test machines ever flew with them.


title: Heinkel He 219

text: A further adaptation would have been the He 219C, also intended to use the B-series design's big wing and Jumo 222 powerplants as well as an all-new fuselage of 17.15 m (56.27 ft), with a complete three-man Ju 388J cockpit section forward, converted to accept the He 219A's standard nose gear layout (the Ju 388 itself used the Ju 88's conventional gear design), the Borsig-designed "Hecklafette" HL 131V "quadmount", hydraulic-powered four-gun manned tail turret intended for later He 177A versions and the He 177B-5, as well as more than one "Amerikabomber" strategic bomber design competitor. Day bomber and night fighter versions were proposed and metal was cut for the project but, without the over-1,500-kW output Jumo 222 engines getting out of their strictly experimental status, they never flew.


title: Heinkel He 219

text: Paper projects include the very-high-altitude He 219E with a vastly increased wingspan of 28.5 m (93.5 ft) and 1,500 kW (2,000 PS) output rated DB 614 engines, which were apparently a further-uprated version of the never-produced DB 603G inverted V12, capable of the desired 1,491 kW (2,000 hp) power output level that Germany had so much trouble crafting into combat-reliable aviation powerplants.


title: Heinkel He 219

text: A more reasonable project was the Hütter Hü 211, a design by Wolfgang Hütter that took a standard He 219 fuselage and tail and added a long-span, high aspect ratio wing of 24.55 m (80.54 ft) to create a fast, high altitude interceptor. Since this design was also meant to be powered by the ill-fated Jumo 222 it never flew, although work continued on two sets of wings until they were destroyed by Allied bombing.


title: Heinkel He 219

text: The He 219 was the only piston-engined night fighter capable of facing the British Mosquito on equal terms, given its speed, manoeuvrability and firepower, but it never played a significant role in the war because the industry failed to make it available in sufficient numbers.


title: Heinkel He 219

text: When the war had ended in Europe, the U.S. Army Air Forces Intelligence Service, as part of "Operation Lusty" (LUftwaffe Secret TechnologY), took control of three He 219s at the Grove base of the 1st Night Fighter Wing ("Nachtjagdgeschwader 1") in Jutland, Denmark starting on 16 June 1945. These aircraft were made flight-worthy by "Watson's Whizzers" and flown to Cherbourg, France. He 219 A-2 "Werknummer" 290202 was shipped to the United States with 21 other captured German aircraft on board the British escort carrier , and was reassembled at Newark Army Air Field, Newark, New Jersey.


title: Heinkel He 219

text: "Werknummer" 290202 was given the foreign equipment number FE-614, and later T2-614. The aircraft was flown to Freeman Field, Indiana for flight testing along with a second of the three He 219s: a He 219 A-5 prototype, "Werknummer" 290060 and given the foreign equipment number FE-612. The fate of "Werknummer" 290060 is unknown. Following testing, He 219 A-2 "Werknummer" 290202 was then moved to Orchard Place Airport in Park Ridge, Illinois in 1946. It was stored in a vacant aircraft factory and then transferred to the Smithsonian's National Air Museum on 3 January 1949. Finally, the He 219 was crated and shipped to the Smithsonian's Silver Hill, Maryland storage facility in early 1955.


title: Heinkel He 219

text: By August 2014 the wing structure (without control surfaces fitted) had been essentially restored, and was ready for the trip to the NASM's Udvar-Hazy shops within its integral Mary Baker Engen Restoration Hangar, to join the fuselage and engine nacelles there, with replacement "Hirschgeweih" VHF-band radar antenna components to be fabricated, based on a preserved example located in Europe and loaned to the NASM for replication, as part of the ongoing restoration process. The repainted wings were displayed during the 30 January 2016 open house in the restoration hangar paint shack.


title: Heinkel He 219

text: He 219 A-2 "Werknummer" 290202 is currently restored and on display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center by Dulles Airport. Previously only the fuselage, empennage, and engines were on display, while the wings were stored at the Paul Garber Facility in Silver Hill, Maryland. As of 2021 the restored and assembled aircraft, including its wings, nacelles (possibly as Heinkel-designed specific, "Kraftei" unitized powerplant installations), and partially restored DB 603 engines (missing propellers) can be seen displayed next the museum's Arado Ar 234 and Dornier Do 335, the only surviving examples of those aircraft, both of which accompanied WkNr. 290202 across the Atlantic over 60 years ago.


title: Heinkel He 219

text: In April 2012, a previously unknown He 219 was salvaged from the sea bed, 100 meters from the beach, north of Hirtshals, Denmark. The remains are in several pieces, but will undergo restoration and eventually be displayed at Aalborg, Denmark. Although severely damaged and missing many parts, the remains of this aircraft was preserved and then put on display at the Forsvars- og Garnisonsmuseum in Aalborg, Denmark. In August 2015 it was announced that the wreckage had been sold to an Austrian enthusiast for further restoration.


title: Khan (surname)

text: Khan () is a surname of Turko-Mongol origin, commonly found in parts of South Asia and Iran. It is derived from the historic title "khan", referring to a military chief or ruler; it originated as a hereditary title among nomadic tribes in the Central and Eastern Eurasian Steppe during antiquity and was popularized by Turkic dynasties in the rest of Asia as well as in Eastern Europe during the medieval period.


title: Khan (surname)

text: The name's earliest discovered usage as a title for chiefs and for monarchs dates back respectively to the Xianbei and the Rourans, two proto-Mongolic societies in Inner Asia during antiquity; in the Pannonian Basin and Carpathian Mountains and their surrounding regions of Central and Southeast Europe, the title was used by the Pannonian Avars and the early Bulgars during the early medieval period before being more widely spread by various Muslim chieftains in a region spanning the empires centred in modern-day Turkey and Crimea to those in the Indian subcontinent.


title: Khan (surname)

text: Khan as a surname is occasionally found among people of Turkic and Mongolic descent, but is a far more common name among Muslims in South Asia, including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh and India.


title: Khan (surname)

text: , Khan is one of the most common surnames worldwide, shared by over 22 million people in Asia and 23 million people worldwide. It is the surname of over 108,674 British Asians, making it the 12th-most common surname in the United Kingdom.


title: Steve Wilks

text: Steven Bernard Wilks (born August 8, 1969) is an American football coach and former player who is the interim head coach for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the head coach for the Arizona Cardinals for one season and was fired after a 3–13 record. He also spent time as defensive backs coach for the Chicago Bears and San Diego Chargers, and as defensive coordinator for the Carolina Panthers and Cleveland Browns and Missouri.


title: Steve Wilks

text: Wilks is a two-time NFC Champion, winning with the Bears in 2006 and with the Panthers in 2015, losing the Super Bowl to Peyton Manning-led teams on both occasions.


title: Steve Wilks

text: Wilks played one year in the AFL for the Charlotte Rage as a wide receiver, defensive back, and kick returner.


title: Steve Wilks

text: Wilks served as Head Football Coach at Savannah State College for one season (1999) and compiled a record of 5-6.


title: Steve Wilks

text: Wilks was hired by the Chicago Bears as defensive backs coach on February 16, 2006. The Bears announced on December 30, 2008, that they had fired Wilks.


title: Steve Wilks

text: Wilks was not unemployed for long, however. He was hired as defensive backs coach of the San Diego Chargers in 2009 when former Bears defensive coordinator Ron Rivera moved to the same position in San Diego.


title: Steve Wilks

text: When Rivera became head coach of the Panthers, he hired Wilks as secondary coach on January 15, 2012. He was promoted to assistant head coach in 2015. He was Pro Football Focus's second runner up to their Secondary Coach of the Year award.


title: Steve Wilks

text: In the 2015 season, Wilks and the Panthers finished 15-1 and reached Super Bowl 50 on February 7, 2016. The Panthers fell to the Denver Broncos by a score of 24–10.


title: Steve Wilks

text: After defensive coordinator Sean McDermott left to become head coach of the Buffalo Bills, Wilks was promoted to McDermott's former position.


title: Steve Wilks

text: After the 2017 season, Wilks was an extremely hot commodity for teams in need of new head coaches. According to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, teams were impressed by Wilks' interview with the Los Angeles Rams in the previous offseason before they eventually hired Sean McVay. Wilks interviewed with the New York Giants who had hired his former boss in Carolina, ex-Panthers general manager David Gettleman.


title: Steve Wilks

text: On January 22, 2018, Wilks was hired as head coach of the Arizona Cardinals, replacing Bruce Arians, who initially retired after the 2017 season before coming out of retirement in early 2019 to become the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In the 2018 season opener against the Washington Redskins, Wilks made his head coaching debut in the 24–6 loss. In Week 5, against the San Francisco 49ers, he recorded his first NFL victory as a head coach. He finished coaching the season with an NFL-worst 3–13 record and the worst record for the Cardinals since 2000. On December 31, 2018, the Cardinals fired Wilks.


title: Steve Wilks

text: On January 14, 2019, Wilks was hired by the Cleveland Browns to be their defensive coordinator under head coach Freddie Kitchens. He was not retained under new head coach Kevin Stefanski.


title: Steve Wilks

text: On January 21, 2021, Wilks was hired by the University of Missouri as their defensive coordinator under head coach Eliah Drinkwitz.


title: Steve Wilks

text: On February 9, 2022, the Panthers announced the hiring of Wilks as Matt Rhule's new defensive pass game coordinator and secondary coach. On October 10, 2022 after Rhule was fired, Wilks was named the Panthers' interim head coach for the remainder of the season.


title: Niigata Prefecture

text: Niigata is the capital and largest city of Niigata Prefecture, with other major cities including Nagaoka, Jōetsu, and Sanjō. Niigata Prefecture contains the Niigata Major Metropolitan Area centered on Niigata with a population of 1,395,612, the largest metropolitan area on the Sea of Japan coast and the twelfth-largest in Japan. Niigata Prefecture is part of the historic Hokuriku region and features Sado Island, the sixth largest island of Japan in area following the four main islands and Okinawa Island.


title: Niigata Prefecture

text: Until after the Meiji Restoration, the area that is now Niigata Prefecture was divided into Echigo Province (on the mainland) and Sado Province. During the Sengoku period, the Nagao clan, who were at times vassals to the Uesugi, ruled a fief in the western part of modern Niigata from Kasugayama Castle. The most notable member of the Nagao clan was Nagao Kagetora, later and better known as Uesugi Kenshin. He unified the leaders of Echigo Province and became its sole ruler. By taking the surname Uesugi, he also became the head of the Uesugi clan and effectively brought their realm under his control.


title: Niigata Prefecture

text: The city of Niigata is now the third largest Japanese city facing the Sea of Japan, after Fukuoka and Kitakyushu. It was the first Japanese port on the Sea of Japan to be opened to foreign trade following the opening of Japan by Matthew Perry. It has since played an important role in trade with Russia and Korea. A freighter from North Korea visits Niigata once a month, in one of the few forms of direct contact between Japan and that country.


title: Niigata Prefecture

text: The Etsuzankai organization, led by the politician Kakuei Tanaka, was highly influential in bringing infrastructure improvements to Niigata Prefecture in the 1960s and 1970s. These included the Jōetsu Shinkansen high-speed rail line and the Kanetsu Expressway to Tokyo.


title: Niigata Prefecture

text: On October 23, 2004, the Chūetsu earthquake struck Niigata Prefecture and was measured at Shindo 6+ at Ojiya.


title: Niigata Prefecture

text: On January 9, 2006, a heavy winter storm struck the prefecture and its neighbors. At least 71 people died and more than 1,000 were injured. Also in 2006, a massive tsunami and earthquake damaged homes and caused casualties in the maritime areas of Niigata Prefecture, especially near Sado Island.


title: Niigata Prefecture

text: Niigata Prefecture hosts the Fuji Rock Festival, an annual event held at the Naeba ski resort. The three-day event, organized by Smash Japan, features more than 200 Japanese and international musicians. It is one of the largest outdoor music events in Japan, with more than 100,000 people attending in 2005.


title: Niigata Prefecture

text: Niigata Prefecture stretches about along the Sea of Japan, from the southwest to the northeast, with a coastal plain between the mountains and the sea. It also includes Sado Island. Niigata Prefecture could be placed in either the Hokuriku or the Kōshinetsu, both of which are considered parts of the Chūbu region.


title: Niigata Prefecture

text: The prefecture is generally divided into four geographical areas: in the south, in the center, in the north, and Sado Island. The mouth of the Shinano River, the longest river in Japan, is located in Niigata Prefecture.


title: Niigata Prefecture

text: As of 1 April 2014, 25% of the total land area of the prefecture was designated as Natural Parks, namely Bandai-Asahi, Chūbu-Sangaku, Nikkō, and Oze National Parks; Echigo Sanzan-Tadami and Sado-Yahiko-Yoneyama Quasi-National Parks; and thirteen Prefectural Natural Parks.


title: Niigata Prefecture

text: The major industry in Niigata Prefecture is agriculture. Rice is the principal product, and among the prefectures of Japan Niigata is second only to Hokkaidō in rice output. The area around Uonuma is known for producing the Koshihikari variety, widely considered to be the highest-quality rice produced in Japan.


title: Niigata Prefecture

text: Rice-related industries are also very important to the prefectural economy. Niigata Prefecture is known throughout Japan for its high-quality sake, senbei, mochi, and arare. In sake production, the prefecture comes third after Gunma and Kyoto prefectures.


title: Niigata Prefecture

text: Niigata Prefecture produces the highest volume of azaleas and cut lilies in Japan, and is increasing the production of cut flowers and flower bulbs. Along with Toyama Prefecture, it produces the highest volume of tulips in the country.


title: Niigata Prefecture

text: Crude oil is produced in Niigata Prefecture, although Japan relies heavily on petroleum imported from other countries. Kerosene heaters are also produced for use in the cold Niigata winters.


title: Niigata Prefecture

text: Sanjō and Tsubame produce 90 percent of all the silverware made in Japan. The two cities are second after Osaka in the production of scissors, kitchen knives, and wrenches.


title: Niigata Prefecture

text: Niigata Prefecture may have been the first area in Japan to produce knitted textiles, although the earliest products may have been imported from China. A nuclear power plant, which formerly had the highest energy output in the world, is located in the tiny village of Kariwa. It has been closed since the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.


title: Niigata Prefecture

text: Much of the tourism in Niigata centers around skiing, especially in the alpine areas of Myōkō and Yuzawa, and going to onsen. Sado Island off the west coast of Niigata is accessible via ferry (taking one to two and a half hours) from Naoetsu or Niigata City.


title: Niigata Prefecture

text: Professional sports clubs include Albirex Niigata, a J-League Division 1 Football Club, and Niigata Albirex BB, a BJ (Basketball Japan) League team.


title: Daybreak Game Company

text: Daybreak Game Company LLC is an American video game developer based in San Diego. The company was founded in December 1997 as Sony Online Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Computer Entertainment, but was spun off to an independent investor in February 2015 and renamed Daybreak Game Company. On December 1, 2020, Daybreak Game Company entered into an agreement to be acquired by Enad Global 7.


title: Daybreak Game Company

text: They are known for owning, maintaining, and creating additional content for the games "EverQuest", "EverQuest II", "The Matrix Online", "PlanetSide", "Star Wars Galaxies", "Clone Wars Adventures", "Free Realms", "", "DC Universe Online", "PlanetSide 2", "", and "", along with more recent acquisitions "Dungeons and Dragons Online" and "Lord of the Rings Online".


title: Daybreak Game Company

text: Sony Online Entertainment began with Sony Interactive Studios America (SISA), an internal game development studio of Sony, formed by 1995. In 1996, John Smedley was put in charge of SISA's development of an online role-playing video game. The game would evolve into the MMORPG "EverQuest". Smedley hired programmers Brad McQuaid and Steve Clover, who had come to Smedley's attention through their work on the single-player role-playing game "Warwizard".


title: Daybreak Game Company

text: In April 1998, Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) was formed by merging parts of Sony Online Ventures with Sony Pictures Entertainment. Within a matter of months after this change, Sony Interactive Studios America was renamed 989 Studios. Towards the end of 1998, 989 Studios shifted its strategy to making PlayStation games. The company's video game and online development branch spun off; John Smedley, Brad McQuaid and Russell Shanks, as well as 55 other ex-989 employees, founded RedEye Interactive, later renamed Verant Interactive.


title: Daybreak Game Company

text: Verant Interactive launched "EverQuest" on March 16, 1999, through Sony with modest expectations. The game became successful. Sales continued rising at a steady rate until mid-2001 when growth slowed. As of 2004, Sony reported subscription numbers close to 450,000. In March 2000, Verant released "EverQuest: The Ruins of Kunark", the first in a long list of expansion packs for "EverQuest".


title: Daybreak Game Company

text: In April 2000, Verant hired former "Ultima Online" developers Raph Koster and Rich Vogel. They formed an office in Austin, Texas, to develop "Star Wars Galaxies" for LucasArts. SOE acquired Verant in June 2000, and eventually promoted Brad McQuaid to be its Chief Creative Officer. In October 2001, McQuaid resigned and founded Sigil Games Online, drawing many of the original developers of "EverQuest" from SOE.


title: Daybreak Game Company

text: Developed by Sony Online Entertainment, LucasArts released "Star Wars Galaxies" in 2003, which saw rapid growth, as expected. Bruce Woodcock estimates that "Star Wars Galaxies" reached nearly 300,000 subscribers within the year, before trailing off. LucasArts has released three expansions for "Star Wars Galaxies", "Jump to Lightspeed" in October 2004, "Rage of the Wookiees" in May 2005, and "Trials Of Obi-Wan" in November 2005.


title: Daybreak Game Company

text: In 2003, the company also explored relatively untouched MMOG territory with the massively multiplayer online first-person shooter "PlanetSide" and the PlayStation 2 MMORPG "EverQuest Online Adventures". "PlanetSide" enjoyed a reasonably successful launch, however it never attracted wide popularity. SOE released two expansions for "PlanetSide", a retail product titled "Core Combat", and "Aftershock", a free expansion. "EverQuest Online Adventures" was not as successful, but it spawned an expansion, "EverQuest Online Adventures Frontiers". The game was shut down on March 29, 2012, after nine years of operation.


title: Daybreak Game Company

text: "EverQuest II" was released on November 9, 2004. The sequel was set hundreds of years after the original. Similar in strategy to "EverQuest", SOE has released several adventure packs and expansion packs for "EverQuest II", starting with "The Bloodline Chronicles" in March 2005.


title: Daybreak Game Company

text: In January 2005, Sony Online Entertainment announced the creation of Station Publishing, a new label for distributing titles made by external developers. In November 2005, SOE added the New Game Enhancements to "Star Wars Galaxies", changing many of the game's core mechanics. This upset players and critics, with the level of concurrent players reduced to around 10,000; relatively few for the MMO industry.


title: Daybreak Game Company

text: SOE has produced numerous "EverQuest" expansions and spin-off video games, including "Champions of Norrath" (for PlayStation 2) and "Lords of EverQuest" (Windows). They published "", the sequel to "Champions of Norrath", in February 2005. In August 2005, SOE entered a deal with Warner Bros. Entertainment which saw the acquisition and transition of "The Matrix Online" to the existing line up of SOE games.


title: Daybreak Game Company

text: In April 2006, Sony Online Entertainment, Inc. became Sony Online Entertainment LLC, owned by Sony Pictures Digital and Sony Computer Entertainment America. In May 2006, it was announced that SOE would be co-publisher of "". However, Sigil retained full development rights, and SOE's role was only that of marketing, distribution, technical support, and hosting the game servers. SOE also announced the release of "Field Commander", its third game for the PlayStation Portable System. In August 2006, SOE announced the acquisition of developer Worlds Apart Productions, renaming the studio SOE-Denver. The studio has since released an online version of the "WizKids" pirates constructible strategy game. In November 2006, SOE released its first PlayStation 3 title "", within the launch window of the PlayStation 3 system. SOE also released "Pirates Online Constructible Strategy Game", the online version of the "WizKids" Pirates Constructible Strategy Game.


title: Daybreak Game Company

text: In January 2007, SOE announced that it has licensed rights from Midway Home Entertainment to develop and release six classic Midway games for PlayStation 3 download, including "Mortal Kombat II", "Gauntlet II", "Joust", "Rampage World Tour", "Rampart", and "Championship Sprint". The games were available from the PlayStation Store. The announcement came shortly after SOE released its second PlayStation 3 digital download "GripShift". On May 15, 2007, Sony Online Entertainment announced that they had completed a transaction to purchase key assets from Sigil Games Online, including "Vanguard: Saga of Heroes" (described as Sigil's "tentpole property").


title: Daybreak Game Company

text: On March 13, 2008, Sony Online Entertainment announced that Sony Computer Entertainment will have direct control over SOE.


title: Daybreak Game Company

text: On January 16, 2009, the company joined Steam, selling "EverQuest", "EverQuest II" and "Vanguard: Saga of Heroes" via Steam. On the same day, the company purchased Pox Nora, an online turn-based strategy game. On August 1, 2009, SOE shut down "The Matrix Online" after 4 years of operation. Players were treated to about 2 months of gaming despite some initial setbacks that left many veteran players unable to access the game for about a week after the announcement was made. A memory book was developed and was made available for download on the game's site.


title: Daybreak Game Company

text: , John Smedley was the CEO of Sony Online Entertainment. SOE is headquartered in San Diego, California, with additional game development studios located in Austin, Texas, Denver, Colorado and Seattle, Washington. On July 15, 2010, SOE eliminated 35 full-time positions and an undisclosed number of temporary positions to "...better align the company's resources..." On August 8, 2010, SOE announced that "EverQuest Next" was in the early stages of development.


title: Daybreak Game Company

text: On January 7, 2011, SOE and Fastpoint Games announced the alpha launch of the Facebook game "Fortune League". "Fortune League" integrates real-time performance data such as damages, deaths and healings directly from the massively multiplayer online game environment and uses them to form "Hero Stats" that drive the game. Therefore, player actions inside "EverQuest II" affected what happened in Fortune League, and prizes from Fortune League helped users advance in the "EverQuest II" environment. Fastpoint Games CEO, Kelly Perdew, positioned Fortune League as a new category of "snackable" data-driven games that would help MMO franchises acquire users and tap new revenue streams. On February 1, 2011, SOE unveiled new PlayStation Network games to be released throughout the year. These included "Acceleration of Suguri X Edition", "Akimi Village", "Plants vs. Zombies", "Rochard", "Sideway" and "Slam Bolt Scrappers". On March 31, 2011, SOE confirmed that "it will eliminate 205 positions and close its Denver, Seattle, and Tucson studios." Production of "The Agency" was also discontinued.


title: Daybreak Game Company

text: On December 6, 2011, "EverQuest II" switched to a free-to-play model, with optional subscriptions. On December 15, 2011, "Star Wars Galaxies" was closed. SOE maintained a Memory Book for former players.


title: Daybreak Game Company

text: On April 27, 2011, Sony, the parent company of SOE, released statements regarding an intrusion, on or about April 18, into the PlayStation Network, and the potential theft of up to 77 million subscribers' personal data. Sony maintains that PSN and SOE are hosted and run on completely separate subsystems and that the PlayStation Network intrusion had no major effect on SOE's online services. SOE developers posted messages of concern and apology, but also assurances the SOE servers and systems were not compromised.


title: Daybreak Game Company

text: On May 2, 2011, SOE interrupted their online services. Players were told "We have had to take the SOE service down temporarily. In the course of our investigation into the intrusion into our systems, we have discovered an issue that warrants enough concern for us to take the service down effective immediately. We will provide an update later today (Monday)." Later, SOE disclosed that "personal information from approximately 24.6 million SOE accounts may have been stolen", including names, addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses, gender, date of birth, login ID, and hashed passwords.


title: Daybreak Game Company

text: On February 2, 2015, Sony announced that SOE had been sold to investment company Columbus Nova for an undisclosed amount and that it would be renamed Daybreak Game Company. Cutting its ties with Sony, Daybreak subsequently became able to develop their games for platforms other than PlayStation, including Xbox and mobile platforms. On February 11, employees of the company reported they were undergoing layoffs, including several senior developers and project managers. Shortly after, Daybreak responded by announcing the layoffs were intended to make the company profitable, but did not detail the extent of the layoffs or whether it would affect the development and support of their new and existing games. On July 22, 2015, Daybreak announced that John Smedley had stepped down as the company's President, and that Russell Shanks, the company's former COO, will take up his position. On August 21, 2015, Smedley left Daybreak to found a new company. In October 2016, Russell Shanks left Daybreak.


title: Daybreak Game Company

text: On December 19, 2016, it was announced that Daybreak games would become the new publisher of "The Lord of the Rings Online" and "Dungeons & Dragons Online", taking over the role from Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. However, the two games would maintain their old account system and server centers, not integrating with the rest of Daybreak. The result of this deal would cause the closure of "Asheron's Call" and "" on January 31, 2017.


title: Daybreak Game Company

text: In April 2018, Viktor Vekselberg, a Russian businessman and owner of portfolio company Renova Group, was sanctioned by the United States Department of the Treasury as part of an investigation on Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections. Columbus Nova had previously identified itself as an affiliate of Renova Group, while Renova Group had listed Columbus Nova as part of its corporate structure. Subsequently, it was believed that Columbus Nova, and consequently Daybreak, had also been affected by these sanctions. Daybreak subsequently began to deny that it had been sold to Columbus Nova, stating that the company had actually been acquired by Jason Epstein through his company Inception Acquisitions, LLC instead. At the time of the acquisition, Epstein had been a partner to Columbus Nova, though he left that company in 2017. A Daybreak spokesperson claimed that Epstein's exact ties to Columbus Nova had caused confusion in media reporting of the sale, even though its deleted press release made the same claim. Columbus Nova also stated that it had never been owned by Renova Group, though Renova Group had been their largest client.


title: Daybreak Game Company

text: In September 2018, holding company NantWorks announced its strategic investment in Daybreak, and the resulting new venture in which the company will bring popular Daybreak games (including "EverQuest" and "H1Z1") to mobile platforms. Three rounds of layoffs occurred between April 2018 and October 2019; the December rounds was estimated to have affected around 70 people. These layoffs were towards "a realignment of the company into separate franchise teams, which will allow us to highlight their expertise, better showcase the games they work on, and ultimately provide tailored experiences for our players."


title: Daybreak Game Company

text: Following from the October 2019 round of layoffs, Daybreak announced in January 2020 that it would reorganize its internal structure to form three divisions: Dimensional Ink Games, Darkpaw Games, and Rogue Planet Games. Dimensional Ink became responsible for ongoing maintenance of "DC Universe Online" while working on a new MMO, Darkpaw to focus on the "EverQuest" franchise, and Rogue Planet to focus on "PlanetSide 2".


title: Daybreak Game Company

text: In August 2020, Daybreak acquired Cold Iron Studios which is developing a PC and console game set in the "Alien" universe.


title: Daybreak Game Company

text: In December 1, 2020, it was reported that Daybreak Game Company would be acquired by Enad Global 7 for $300 million. The transaction was completed on December 22.


title: Daybreak Game Company

text: In December 2021, it was reported that Daybreak Game Company would be taking over development of in 2022. The transition to Daybreak Games servers was completed on October 18, 2022.


title: Daybreak Game Company

text: Sony Online Entertainment's Station.com was a portal to its PC, console, casual and mobile games. Players could access and download games such as "EverQuest", "EverQuest II" and "PlanetSide". Station.com also provided sneak previews to new games for Sony PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable, including "Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom". November 2006. In August 2006, Station.com added several games by Sony Pictures Digital Entertainment.


title: Daybreak Game Company

text: The ForgeLight engine is a game engine developed by the company, and used for "Free Realms", "Clone Wars Adventures", "PlanetSide 2", "Landmark", "EverQuest Next", "Just Survive", and "H1Z1". The engine is able to support up to 2,000 players on a single game server and allows over 200 players to be rendered by a game client at once.


title: Mariah O'Brien

text: Mariah Waterfall O'Brien (born June 25, 1971) is an American interior designer and former actress and model. She made her film debut in the drama "Gas, Food, Lodging" (1992) and later appeared in the horror film "" (1995). O'Brien also appeared on the cover of Alice in Chains' 1992 album "Dirt".


title: Mariah O'Brien

text: O'Brien was born on June 25, 1971, and raised in the small town of Dellroy, Ohio. Her parents were hippie musicians, and her middle name Waterfall was based on the Jimi Hendrix song. The family later moved to Los Angeles, where O'Brien appeared in local theaters. Her mother is actress Jackie O'Brien, with whom she appeared in the film "Together & Alone".


title: Mariah O'Brien

text: O'Brien has appeared in films such as "Gas, Food Lodging", "", "Being John Malkovich", "Diamonds", "Ticker", "The Mod Squad", and "Some Girl". Her television credits include "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", "Charmed", "The Nanny", "Once and Again" and "Courting Alex".


title: Mariah O'Brien

text: Since 2005, O'Brien works as an interior designer in Los Angeles and is the owner of Mariah O'Brien Interiors.


title: All-points bulletin

text: An all-points bulletin (APB) is an electronic information broadcast sent from one sender to a group of recipients, to rapidly communicate an important message. The technology used to send this broadcast has varied throughout time, and includes teletype, radio, computerised bulletin board systems (CBBS), and the Internet.


title: All-points bulletin

text: The earliest known record of the all-points bulletin is when used by United States police, which dates the term to 1947. Although, used in the field of policing at the time, the APB has had usage in fields such as politics, technology and science research. However, since the 21st century, due to advances in technology, all-points bulletins have become significantly less common and are now only primarily used by police departments in countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom.


title: All-points bulletin

text: The functionality of all-points bulletins was based on the latest advances in computer networking at the time, developed in the 1940s and continuing evolution through to the 1970s. Different from e-mail or teleconferencing, which are designed for limited list of recipients, all-points bulletins were digital message "broadcast systems". It is described that "each message placed on [an APB] is intended for a wide audience", and they were some of the first technologies which could do so in an efficient and effective manner.


title: All-points bulletin

text: Users access these all-points bulletins "through terminals or microcomputers by dialling in over dedicated or general-purpose telecommunication lines". The APB then show messages that will be readable for the users of the system, and in some systems, users are able to attach their own messages similar to a virtual bulletin board. Consequently, messages would not only be able to be seen by the sender, but also by subsequent users of the digital bulletin system, who could also add their own information and messages to this bulletin. Users were thus able to build information upon one another, enabling for discussion of ideas and information between individuals in society from despite using different computers in different locations.


title: All-points bulletin

text: However, in regard to the technical functionality of the computerised bulletin systems, there is a lack of significant research on the technical construction and development of these terminals and computers; so modern knowledge of the technicalities of these older all-points bulletin systems is restricted.


title: All-points bulletin

text: The modern, 21st Century technological evolution of the all-points bulletin is mainly only used in the world of policing. Police officers will use computers, both at the police-station and fitted in their vehicles, connected to a private police intranet, to access APBs. Other forms of media that perform similar functions to APBs include smartphone apps and internet web pages. Besides in the field of policing, APBs are almost completely out of use in 21st century society. Due to the rapid evolution of the internet and other technology beginning in the early 2000s, the all-points Bulletin is becoming an increasingly less useful method of communicating messages, and less information is being published about it.


title: All-points bulletin

text: In the field of policing, an all-points bulletin contains an important message about a suspect or item of interest, which officers may be in search for. They are primarily used for individuals who are classified as dangerous and for crimes of high priority. In these fields, the APB may also be known as a BOLO, for "be on (the) look-out".


title: All-points bulletin

text: In the "event the radio is not a viable means for transmitting data (i.e., radio traffic is busy)", the police officer will use the digital all-points bulletin. The officer enters the same exact information into the mobile computer terminal. By doing this, they are able to make the message equivalent to a radio message, with the same codes. This allows the same automated information to be gathered by other police officers who are receiving the bulletin.


title: All-points bulletin

text: In 1970, Farmville Police department in North Carolina, United States, reported about their implementation of the all-points bulletin (APB) system beginning in 1968. If a stolen car was reported, officers would send out a radio broadcast to all patrol cars and to various other stations within a certain radius. In relatively short time, the message can be relayed around the state. However, after the introduction of the bulletin, the similar function can be done, but faster. Police can send out an APB that will reach thirteen states, through the use of teletype. Officers also used the APB if they were required to notify individuals about the death of family members.


title: All-points bulletin

text: In 1973, in Oglala, South Dakota, two FBI agents and a Native American Indian activist were killed. "Five months after a firelight at Oglala, an all-points bulletin was issued by the Portland FBI for a motorhome and a station wagon carrying federal fugitives". The bulletin cautioned, "Do not stop, but advise FBI." Soon after the bulletin was released, the vehicles were located, and the fugitives were arrested.


title: All-points bulletin

text: In 1967, Los Angeles County Road Department discovered parts of a human skeleton in the Angeles National Forest. The department issued an all-points bulletin with a thorough description of the skeleton, using x-ray data and autopsy, which received numerous responses from various missing persons bureaus. From this, Police Department records showed that a person of similar description was reported to have disappeared on 19 March 1966. After several follow-ups with hospitals using x-rays and medical records, the remains were confirmed to be that person and the case was closed.


title: All-points bulletin

text: The all-points bulletin was used months prior to the 9/11 attacks in the US with regards to terrorism. Prior to the 9/11 attacks, for 21 months, the CIA had identified "two terrorists" living in the United States. After an all-points bulletin was later issued for the men on 23 August 2001 for the police to track the men, it was insufficient time for the police to track the men.


title: All-points bulletin

text: In Australia, a similar, longer acronym for the all-points bulletin that is used by New South Wales and Victoria Police law enforcement is KALOF or KLO4 (for "keep a look-out for"). Queensland used to use BOLF (be on the lookout for), and now, with Western Australia Police, use BOLO ('bol-lo'). The United Kingdom uses a similar system known as the all-ports warning or APW, which circulates a suspect's description to airports, ports and international railway stations to detect an offender or suspect leaving the country. Due to the high numbers of commuters at such places, British police forces often use the all-points warning to contact specific airports, ports or stations and circulate descriptions individually using all-points bulletins.


title: All-points bulletin

text: All-points bulletins have been used in politics, where users are able to leave messages, read messages left by others previously, and respond to others' messages. In 1986, the electronic all-points bulletins were being used by politicians as another means of communicating with voters. Politicians would use APBs "to inform constituents about their recent activities and how they stand on selected issues", improving their "interactive capability" with the electorate.


title: All-points bulletin

text: Additionally, APBs had functioning two-way communication systems, where voters were able to write messages back to the politicians via the computer keyboard. This enabled voters to respond to politicians about their own stances on certain issues and to engage in digital discussions with one another and also the politicians. This ability to discuss ideas and politics without being in-person was previously not done before in political history.


title: All-points bulletin

text: Due to this and other "additional unique features", political APBs simply offered new abilities that platforms traditional media such as newspapers and televisions at the time could not and opened new doors for politicians. However, overall access to political APBs was very limited, with CompuServe (leading digital APB provider) having 150,000 subscribers and the penetration rate for personal computers reached 14% in 1984.


title: All-points bulletin

text: All-points bulletins have been used by US counties to aid in environmental management. The Winnemucca office of the Bureau of Land Management frequently uses all-points bulletins to communicate messages about their local desert ranges. In January 2003, the bureau had put out an all-points bulletin regarding missing cheatgrass and the fields. It was regarded as "quite worrisome" that the cheatgrass had suddenly been disappearing, since it is a dominant plant in Nevada, and protects the soil from erosion. Following months of research and exploration, Cindy Salo, PhD was able to identify that the most likely cause of cheatgrass disappearing in Nevada was the rise in Cutworms that were consuming the cheatgrass.


title: All-points bulletin

text: In search of a gene linked to a poorly known bone disease known as Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP), scientist Fred Kaplan PhD issued an internet-based all-points bulletin to doctors worldwide asking for any families with FOP to go to him for study. He did this via online articles and electronic mail. In response to the bulletin, Kaplan and his team were able to obtain 50 willing patients to run their experimentation with. Eventually, he and his team were in fact able to identify the gene responsible, known as the ACVR1 mutation. This would go on to allow deeper research about the disease, and potentially allow for the development of a treatment for the disease.


title: All-points bulletin

text: In May 2010, Medical editor Christine Soares proposed that a "modern all-points bulletin" may take the shape of what is known as forensic profiling. This technology would allow police detectives to describe a suspect's pigmentation, ancestry, and likelihood of being obese, a smoker, or an alcoholic. Far beyond using DNA "fingerprints" to link an individual to a crime scene, it would enhance police ability to develop sketches of unknown persons by reading traits inscribed in their DNA. In 2020, established Harvard Professor Jonathan Zittrain published speculations about future evolution of the all-points bulletin. Zittrain argues that in the future, the act of sending out an all-points bulletin will be take the form of "asking millions of distributed scanners to check for a particular identity and summon police if found".


title: Rail freight transport

text: Rail freight transport is the use of railroads and trains to transport cargo as opposed to human passengers.


title: Rail freight transport

text: A freight train, cargo train, or goods train is a group of freight cars (US) or goods wagons (International Union of Railways) hauled by one or more locomotives on a railway, transporting cargo all or some of the way between the shipper and the intended destination as part of the logistics chain. Trains may haul bulk material, intermodal containers, general freight or specialized freight in purpose-designed cars. Rail freight practices and economics vary by country and region.


title: Rail freight transport

text: When considered in terms of ton-miles or tonne-kilometers hauled per unit of energy consumed, rail transport can be more efficient than other means of transportation. Maximum economies are typically realized with bulk commodities (e.g., coal), especially when hauled over long distances. However, shipment by rail is not as flexible as by the highway, which has resulted in much freight being hauled by truck, even over long distances. Moving goods by rail often involves transshipment costs, particularly when the shipper or receiver lack direct rail access. These costs may exceed that of operating the train itself, a factor that practices such as containerization, trailer-on-flatcar or rolling highway aim to minimize.


title: Rail freight transport

text: Traditionally, large shippers build factories and warehouses near rail lines and have a section of track on their property called a "siding" where goods are loaded onto or unloaded from rail cars. Other shippers have their goods hauled (drayed) by wagon or truck to or from a goods station (freight station in US). Smaller locomotives transfer the rail cars from the sidings and goods stations to a classification yard, where each car is coupled to one of several long-distance trains being assembled there, depending on that car's destination. When long enough, or based on a schedule, each long-distance train is then dispatched to another classification yard. At the next classification yard, cars are resorted. Those that are destined for stations served by that yard are assigned to local trains for delivery. Others are reassembled into trains heading to classification yards closer to their final destination. A single car might be reclassified or "switched" in several yards before reaching its final destination, a process that made rail freight slow and increased costs. Many freight rail operators are trying to reduce these costs by reducing or eliminating switching in classification yards through techniques such as unit trains and containerization. In many countries, railroads have been built to haul one commodity, such as coal or ore, from an inland point to a port.


title: Rail freight transport

text: Rail freight uses many types of goods wagon (UIC) or freight car (US). These include box cars (US) or covered wagons (UIC) for general merchandise, flat cars (US) or flat wagons (UIC) for heavy or bulky loads, well wagons or "low loader" wagons for transporting road vehicles; there are refrigerator vans for transporting food, simple types of open-topped wagons for transporting bulk material, such as minerals and coal, and tankers for transporting liquids and gases. Most coal and aggregates are moved in hopper wagons or gondolas (US) or open wagons (UIC) that can be filled and discharged rapidly, to enable efficient handling of the materials.


title: Rail freight transport

text: A major disadvantage of rail freight is its lack of flexibility. In part for this reason, rail has lost much of the freight business to road transport. On the other hand, rail transport is very energy-efficient, and much more environmentally friendly than road transport. Compared to road transport whісh employs the uѕе of trucks (lorries), rail transportation ensures that goods that соuld оtherwіѕе be transported on а number of trucks are transported in а single shipment. Thіѕ saves а lot аѕ fаr аѕ cost connected to the transportation are concerned. Rail freight transport also has very low external costs. Therefore, many governments have been stimulating the switch of freight from trucks onto trains, because of the environmental benefits that it would bring. Railway transport and inland navigation (also known as 'inland waterway transport' (IWT) or 'inland shipping') are similarly environmentally friendly modes of transportation, and both form major parts of the 2019 European Green Deal.


title: Rail freight transport

text: In Europe (particularly Britain), many manufacturing towns developed before the railway. Many factories did not have direct rail access. This meant that freight had to be shipped through a goods station, sent by train and unloaded at another goods station for onward delivery to another factory. When lorries (trucks) replaced horses it was often economical and faster to make one movement by road. In the United States, particularly in the West and Midwest, towns developed with railway and factories often had a direct rail connection. Despite the closure of many minor lines carload shipping from one company to another by rail remains common.


title: Rail freight transport

text: Railroads were early users of automatic data processing equipment, starting at the turn of the twentieth century with punched cards and unit record equipment. Many rail systems have turned to computerized scheduling and optimization for trains which has reduced costs and helped add more train traffic to the rails.


title: Rail freight transport

text: Freight railroads' relationship with other modes of transportation varies widely. There is almost no interaction with airfreight, close cooperation with ocean-going freight and a mostly competitive relationship with long distance trucking and barge transport. Many businesses ship their products by rail if they are shipped long distance because it can be cheaper to ship in large quantities by rail than by truck; however barge shipping remains a viable competitor where water transport is available.


title: Rail freight transport

text: Freight trains are sometimes illegally boarded by individuals who do not have the money or the desire to travel legally, a practice referred to as "hopping". Most hoppers sneak into train yards and stow away in boxcars. Bolder hoppers will catch a train "on the fly", that is, as it is moving, leading to occasional fatalities, some of which go unrecorded. The act of leaving a town or area, by hopping a freight train is sometimes referred to as "catching-out", as in catching a train out of town.


title: Rail freight transport

text: Bulk cargo constitutes the majority of tonnage carried by most freight railroads. Bulk cargo is commodity cargo that is transported unpackaged in large quantities. These cargo are usually dropped or poured, with a spout or shovel bucket, as a liquid or solid, into a railroad car. Liquids, such as petroleum and chemicals, and compressed gases are carried by rail in tank cars.


title: Rail freight transport

text: The heaviest trains in the world carry bulk traffic such as iron ore and coal. Loads can be 130 tonnes per wagon and tens of thousands of tonnes per train. Daqin Railway transports more than 1 million tonnes of coal to the east sea shore of China every day and in 2009 is the busiest freight line in the world Such economies of scale drive down operating costs. Some freight trains can be over 7 km long.


title: Rail freight transport

text: Containerization is a system of intermodal freight transport using standard shipping containers (also known as 'ISO containers' or 'isotainers') that can be loaded with cargo, sealed and placed onto container ships, railroad cars, and trucks. Containerization has revolutionized cargo shipping. approximately 90% of non-bulk cargo worldwide is moved by containers stacked on transport ships; 26% of all container transshipment is carried out in China. , some 18 million total containers make over 200 million trips per year.


title: Rail freight transport

text: Use of the same basic sizes of containers across the globe has lessened the problems caused by incompatible rail gauge sizes in different countries by making transshipment between different gauge trains easier.


title: Rail freight transport

text: While typically containers travel for many hundreds or even thousands kilometers on the railway, Swiss experience shows that with properly coordinated logistics, it is possible to operate a viable intermodal (truck + rail) cargo transportation system even within a country as small as Switzerland.


title: Rail freight transport

text: Most flatcars (flat wagons) cannot carry more than one standard container on top of another because of limited vertical clearance, even though they usually can carry the weight of two. Carrying half the possible weight is inefficient. However, if the rail line has been built with sufficient vertical clearance, a double-stack car can accept a container and still leave enough clearance for another container on top. This usually precludes operation of double-stacked wagons on lines with overhead electric wiring. China runs double-stack trains with overhead wiring, but does not allow two maximum height containers to be stacked.


title: Rail freight transport

text: In the United States, Southern Pacific Railroad (SP) with Malcom McLean came up with the idea of the first double-stack intermodal car in 1977. SP then designed the first car with ACF Industries that same year. At first it was slow to become an industry standard, then in 1984 American President Lines started working with the SP and that same year, the first all "double stack" train left Los Angeles, California for South Kearny, New Jersey, under the name of "Stacktrain" rail service. Along the way the train transferred from the SP to Conrail. It saved shippers money and now accounts for almost 70 percent of intermodal freight transport shipments in the United States, in part due to the generous vertical clearances used by U.S. railroads. These lines are diesel operated with no overhead wiring.


title: Rail freight transport

text: Double stacking is also used in Australia between Adelaide, Parkes, Perth and Darwin. These are diesel only lines with no overhead wiring. Saudi Arabian Railways use double-stack in its Riyadh-Dammam corridor. Double stacking is used in India for selected freight-only lines.


title: Rail freight transport

text: In some countries rolling highway, or rolling road, trains are used; trucks can drive straight onto the train and drive off again when the end destination is reached. A system like this is used on the Channel Tunnel between the United Kingdom and France, as well as on the Konkan Railway in India. In other countries, the tractor unit of each truck is not carried on the train, only the trailer. "Piggy back" trains are common in the United States, where they are also known as "trailer on flat car" or TOFC trains, but they have lost market share to containers (COFC), with longer, 53-foot containers frequently used for domestic shipments. There are also roadrailer vehicles, which have two sets of wheels, for use in a train, or as the trailer of a road vehicle.


title: Rail freight transport

text: Several types of cargo are not suited for containerization or bulk; these are transported in special cars custom designed for the cargo.


title: Rail freight transport

text: Less-than-carload freight is any load that does not fill a boxcar or box motor or less than a Boxcar load.


title: Rail freight transport

text: Historically in North America, trains might be classified as either way freight or through freight. A way freight generally carried less-than-carload shipments to/from a location, whose origin/destination was a rail terminal yard. This product sometimes arrived at/departed from that yard by means of a through freight.


title: Rail freight transport

text: At a minimum, a way freight comprised a locomotive and caboose, to which cars called pickups and setouts were added or dropped off along the route. For convenience, smaller consignments might be carried in the caboose, which prompted some railroads to define their cabooses as way cars, although the term equally applied to boxcars used for that purpose. Way stops might be industrial sidings, stations/flag stops, settlements, or even individual residences.


title: Rail freight transport

text: With the difficulty of maintaining an exact schedule, way freights yielded to scheduled passenger and through trains. They were often mixed trains that served isolated communities. Like passenger service generally, way freights and their smaller consignments became uneconomical. In North America, the latter ceased, and the public sector took over passenger transportation. Good roads and trucking have replaced way freights in most parts of the world.


title: Rail freight transport

text: Railroads are subject to the network effect: the more points they connect to, the greater the value of the system as a whole. Early railroads were built to bring resources, such as coal, ores and agricultural products from inland locations to ports for export. In many parts of the world, particularly the southern hemisphere, that is still the main use of freight railroads. Greater connectivity opens the rail network to other freight uses including non-export traffic. Rail network connectivity is limited by a number of factors, including geographical barriers, such as oceans and mountains, technical incompatibilities, particularly different track gauges and railway couplers, and political conflicts. The largest rail networks are located in North America and Eurasia. Long distance freight trains are generally longer than passenger trains, with greater length improving efficiency. Maximum length varies widely by system. ("See" longest trains for train lengths in different countries.)


title: Rail freight transport

text: Generally trucking moves the most tonnage of all traffic in most large economies. Many countries are moving to increase speed and volume of rail freight in an attempt to win markets over or to relieve overburdened roads and/or speed up shipping in the age of online shopping. In Japan, trends towards adding rail freight shipping are more due to availability of workers rather than other concerns.


title: Rail freight transport

text: There are four major interconnecting rail networks on the Eurasian land mass, along with other smaller national networks.


title: Rail freight transport

text: Most countries in the European Union participate in an auto-gauge network. The United Kingdom is linked to this network via the Channel Tunnel. The Marmaray project connects Europe with eastern Turkey, Iran, and the Middle East via a rail tunnel under the Bosphorus. The 57-km Gotthard Base Tunnel improved north–south rail connections when it opened in 2016. Spain and Portugal are mostly broad gauge, though Spain has built some standard gauge lines that connect with the European high-speed passenger network. A variety of electrification and signaling systems is in use, though this is less of an issue for freight; however, overhead electrification prevents double-stack service on most lines. Buffer-and-screw couplings are generally used between freight vehicles, although there are plans to develop an automatic coupler compatible with the Russian SA3. "See" Railway coupling conversion.


title: Rail freight transport

text: The countries of the former Soviet Union, along with Finland and Mongolia, participate in a Russian gauge-compatible network, using SA3 couplers. Major lines are electrified. Russia's Trans-Siberian Railroad connects Europe with Asia, but does not have the clearances needed to carry double-stack containers. Numerous connections are available between Russian-gauge countries with their standard-gauge neighbors in the west (throughout Europe) and south (to China, North Korea, and Iran via Turkmenistan). While the USSR had important railway connections to Turkey (from Armenia) and to Iran (from Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan enclave), these have been out of service since the early 1990s, since a number of frozen conflicts in the Caucasus region have forced the closing of the rail connections between Russia and Georgia via Abkhazia, between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and between Armenia and Turkey.


title: Rail freight transport

text: China has an extensive standard-gauge network. Its freight trains use Janney couplers. China's railways connect with the standard-gauge network of North Korea in the east, with the Russian-gauge network of Russia, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan in the north, and with the meter-gauge network of Vietnam in the south.


title: Rail freight transport

text: India and Pakistan operate entirely on broad gauge networks. Indo-Pakistani wars and conflicts currently restrict rail traffic between the two countries to two passenger lines. There are also links from India to Bangladesh and Nepal, and from Pakistan to Iran, where a new, but little-used, connection to the standard-gauge network is available at Zahedan.


title: Rail freight transport

text: The four major Eurasian networks link to neighboring countries and to each other at several break of gauge points. Containerization has facilitated greater movement between networks, including a Eurasian Land Bridge.


title: Rail freight transport

text: Canada, Mexico and the United States are connected by an extensive, unified standard gauge rail network. The one notable exception is the isolated Alaska Railroad, which is connected to the main network by rail barge.


title: Rail freight transport

text: Rail freight is well standardized in North America, with Janney couplers and compatible air brakes. The main variations are in loading gauge and maximum car weight. Most trackage is owned by private companies that also operate freight trains on those tracks. Since the Staggers Rail Act of 1980, the freight rail industry in the U.S. has been largely deregulated. Freight cars are routinely interchanged between carriers, as needed, and are identified by company reporting marks and serial numbers. Most have computer readable automatic equipment identification transponders. With isolated exceptions, freight trains in North America are hauled by diesel locomotives, even on the electrified Northeast Corridor.


title: Rail freight transport

text: Ongoing freight-oriented development includes upgrading more lines to carry heavier and taller loads, particularly for double-stack service, and building more efficient intermodal terminals and transload facilities for bulk cargo. Many railroads interchange in Chicago, and a number of improvements are underway or proposed to eliminate bottlenecks there. The U.S. Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 mandates eventual conversion to Positive Train Control signaling. In the 2010s, most North American Class I railroads have adopted some form of precision railroading.


title: Rail freight transport

text: The Guatemala railroad is currently inactive, preventing rail shipment south of Mexico. Panama has freight rail service, recently converted to standard gauge, that parallels the Panama Canal. A few other rail systems in Central America are still in operation, but most have closed. There has never been a rail line through Central America to South America.


title: Rail freight transport

text: Brazil has a large rail network, mostly metre gauge, with some broad gauge. It runs some of the heaviest iron ore trains in the world on its metre gauge network.


title: Rail freight transport

text: Argentina have Indian gauge networks in the south, standard gauge in the east and metre gauge networks in the north. The metre gauge networks are connected at one point, but there has never been a broad gauge connection. (A metre-gauge connection between the two broad gauge networks, the Transandine Railway was constructed but is not currently in service. "See also Trans-Andean railways.") Most other countries have few rail systems. The standard gauge in the east, connect with Paraguay and Uruguay.


title: Rail freight transport

text: The railways of Africa were mostly started by colonial powers to bring inland resources to port. There was little regard for eventual interconnection. As a result, there are a variety of gauge and coupler standards in use. A gauge network with Janney couplers serves southern Africa. East Africa uses metre gauge. North Africa uses standard gauge, but potential connection to the European standard gauge network is blocked by the Arab–Israeli conflict.


title: Rail freight transport

text: Rail developed independently in different parts of Australia and, as a result, three major rail gauges are in use. A standard gauge Trans-Australian Railway spans the continent.


title: Rail freight transport

text: In 2011, North American railroads operated 1,471,736 freight cars and 31,875 locomotives, with 215,985 employees, They originated 39.53 million carloads (averaging 63 tons each) and generated $81.7 billion in freight revenue. The largest (Class 1) U.S. railroads carried 10.17 million intermodal containers and 1.72 million trailers. Intermodal traffic was 6.2% of tonnage originated and 12.6% of revenue. The largest commodities were coal, chemicals, farm products, nonmetallic minerals and intermodal. Coal alone was 43.3% of tonnage and 24.7% of revenue. The average haul was 917 miles. Within the U.S. railroads carry 39.9% of freight by ton-mile, followed by trucks (33.4%), oil pipelines (14.3%), barges (12%) and air (0.3%).


title: Rail freight transport

text: Railways carried 17.1% of EU freight in terms of tonne-km, compared to road transport (76.4%) and inland waterways (6.5%).


title: Land reform

text: Land reform is a form of agrarian reform involving the changing of laws, regulations, or customs regarding land ownership. Land reform may consist of a government-initiated or government-backed property redistribution, generally of agricultural land. Land reform can, therefore, refer to transfer of ownership from the more powerful to the less powerful, such as from a relatively small number of wealthy or noble owners with extensive land holdings (e.g., plantations, large ranches, or agribusiness plots) to individual ownership by those who work the land. Such transfers of ownership may be with or without compensation; compensation may vary from token amounts to the full value of the land.


title: Land reform

text: Land reform may also entail the transfer of land from individual ownership—even peasant ownership in smallholdings—to government-owned collective farms; it has also, in other times and places, referred to the exact opposite: division of government-owned collective farms into smallholdings. The common characteristic of all land reforms, however, is modification or replacement of existing institutional arrangements governing possession and use of land. Thus, while land reform may be radical in nature, such as through large-scale transfers of land from one group to another, it can also be less dramatic, such as regulatory reforms aimed at improving land administration.


title: Land reform

text: Nonetheless, any revision or reform of a country's land laws can still be an intensely political process, as reforming land policies serves to change relationships within and between communities, as well as between communities and the state. Thus even small-scale land reforms and legal modifications may be subject to intense debate or conflict.


title: Land reform

text: Land ownership and tenure can be perceived as controversial in part because ideas defining what it means to access or control land, such as through "land ownership" or "land tenure", can vary considerably across regions and even within countries. Land reforms, which change what it means to control land, therefore create tensions and conflicts between those who lose and those who gain from these redefinitions (see next section).


title: Land reform

text: Western conceptions of land have evolved over the past several centuries to place greater emphasis on individual land ownership, formalized through documents such as land titles. Control over land, however, may also be perceived less in terms of individual ownership and more in terms of land use, or through what is known as land tenure. Historically, in many parts of Africa for example, land was not owned by an individual, but rather used by an extended family or a village community. Different people in a family or community had different rights to access this land for different purposes and at different times. Such rights were often conveyed through oral history and not formally documented.


title: Land reform

text: These different ideas of land ownership and tenure are sometimes referred to using different terminology. For example, "formal" or "statutory" land systems refer to ideas of land control more closely affiliated with individual land ownership. "Informal" or "customary" land systems refer to ideas of land control more closely affiliated with land tenure.


title: Land reform

text: Terms dictating control over and use of land can therefore take many forms. Some specific examples of present-day or historic forms of formal and informal land ownership include:


title: Land reform

text: Land reform is a deeply political process and therefore many arguments for and against it have emerged. These arguments vary tremendously over time and place. In the twentieth century, many land reforms emerged from a particular political ideology, such as communism or socialism. In the 19th century in colonized states, a colonial government may have changed the laws dictating land ownership to better consolidate political power or to support its colonial economy. In more recent times, electoral mobilization and the use of land as a patronage resource have been proposed as possible motivations for land reform efforts, such as the extensive redistributive land reforms of Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe.


title: Land reform

text: Arguments in support of land reform focus on its potential social and economic benefits, particularly in developing countries, that may emerge from reforms focused on greater land formalization. Such benefits may include eradicating food insecurity and alleviating rural poverty.


title: Land reform

text: Arguments in support of such reforms gained particular momentum after the publication of "The Mystery of Capital: Why Capitalism Triumphs in the West and Fails Everywhere Else" by Peruvian economist Hernando de Soto in 2000. The poor, he argues, are often unable to secure formal property rights, such as land titles, to the land on which they live or farm because of poor governance, corruption and/or overly complex bureaucracies. Without land titles or other formal documentation of their land assets, they are less able to access formal credit. Political and legal reforms within countries, according to de Soto, will help to include the poor in formal legal and economic systems, increase the poor's ability to access credit and contribute to economic growth and poverty reduction.


title: Land reform

text: Many international development organizations and bilateral and multilateral donors, such as the World Bank, have embraced de Soto's ideas, or similar ideas, about the benefits of greater formalized land rights. This has translated into a number of development programs that work with governments and civil society organizations to initiate and implement land reforms. Evidence to support the economic and pro-poor benefits of increased formalized land rights are, however, still inconclusive according to some critics (see "Arguments against land reform" below).


title: Land reform

text: Other arguments in support of land reform point to the need to alleviate conflicting land laws, particularly in former colonies, where formal and informal land systems may exist in tension with each other. Such conflicts can make marginalized groups vulnerable to further exploitation. For example, in many countries in Africa with conflicting land laws, AIDS stigmatization has led to an increasing number of AIDS widows being kicked off marital land by in-laws. While the woman may have both customary and statutory rights to the land, confusion over which set of laws has primacy, or even a lack of knowledge of relevant laws, leave many AIDS widows at a significant disadvantage. Also, conflicting formal and informal land laws can also clog a country's legal system, making it prone to corruption.


title: Land reform

text: Additional arguments for land reform focus on the potential environmental benefits of reform. For example, if reform leads to greater security of land ownership, through either formal or informal means, then those that use the land will be better stewards of it.


title: Land reform

text: Land reforms carried out in Japan, Taiwan and South Korea are credited with contributing to the industrial development. The equitable distribution of land led to increasing agricultural outputs, high rural purchasing power and social mobility.


title: Land reform

text: Many of the arguments in support of land reform speak to its potentially positive social and economic outcomes. Yet, as mentioned previously, land reform is an intensely political process. Thus, many of those opposed to land reform are nervous as to the underlying motivations of those initiating the reform. For example, some may fear that they will be disadvantaged or victimized as a result of the reforms. Others may fear that they will lose out in the economic and political power struggles that underlie many land reforms.


title: Land reform

text: Other groups and individuals express concerns about land reforms focused on formalization of property rights. While the economic and social benefits of formalized land rights are often touted, some research suggests that such reforms are either ineffective or may cause further hardship or conflict.


title: Land reform

text: Additional arguments against land reform focus on concerns over equity issues and potential elite capture of land, particularly in regards to reforms focused on greater land formalization. If improperly or inadequately implemented, critics worry that such reforms may further disadvantage marginalized groups such as indigenous communities or women. These concerns also lead to questions about the institutional capacity of governments to implement land reforms as they are designed. Even if a country does have this capacity, critics worry that corruption and patrimonialism will lead to further elite capture.


title: Land reform

text: In looking at more radical reforms, such as large-scale land redistribution, arguments against reform include concerns that redistributed land will not be used productively and that owners of expropriated land will not be compensated adequately or compensated at all. Zimbabwe, again, is a commonly cited example of the perils of such large-scale reforms, whereby land redistribution contributed to economic decline and increased food insecurity in the country. In cases where land reform has been enacted as part of socialist collectivization, many of the arguments against collectivization more generally apply.


title: Land reform

text: An early example of land reform was the Irish Land Acts of 1870–1909. Most all newly independent countries of Eastern and Central Europe implemented land reforms in the aftermath of World War I. In most countries, the land in excess of certain limits (, depending on the region and type of land) was expropriated; in Finland, it was redeemed and placed into a special fund.


title: Nikki M. James

text: Nikki Michelle James (born June 3, 1981) is an American actress and singer. James has performed in the popular stage musicals "The Book of Mormon" and "Les Misérables", her role in the former having earned her a Tony Award.


title: Nikki M. James

text: James was born to immigrant parents, a Vincentian father and a Haitian mother who settled in New Jersey in pursuit of the American dream. James grew up in Livingston, New Jersey where she would graduate from Livingston High School. As a child, she sang and acted in church and in school performances. She was nominated for a Rising Star Award at Paper Mill Playhouse for her performance as Dolly Levi in high school. She later attended the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University.


title: Nikki M. James

text: James made her Broadway debut in the ill-fated "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer", and starred as Ottilie in the New York City Center "Encores!" production of "House of Flowers." She played Adela in the Off-Broadway run of Michael John LaChiusa's musical adaptation of "Bernarda Alba" and appeared in the Broadway cast of "All Shook Up".


title: Nikki M. James

text: James played Dorothy in the revival of "The Wiz" at La Jolla Playhouse and also starred in "Romeo and Juliet" and "Caesar and Cleopatra" at the Stratford Festival with Christopher Plummer. For her performance as NabulungiIn in "The Book of Mormon", she won the 2011 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. During that run, she took a leave in June 2012 to film a screen version of "Lucky Stiff". From 2014 to January 2015, she played Éponine in the Broadway revival of "Les Misérables".


title: Nikki M. James

text: In July 2017, James starred in the New York City Center Encores! staged concert of "The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin".


title: Kim Bo-ra

text: Kim Bo-ra (Korean: 김보라, born September 28, 1995) is a South Korean actress. She gained recognition for her role in the hit drama "Sky Castle" (2018). She started her career as a child when she was in the film "For Horowitz" (2006), and has since been in the dramas and films "Jungle Fish 2" (2010), "Bel Ami" (2013), "Glamorous Temptation" (2015), and others.


title: 1936 German parliamentary election and referendum

text: Parliamentary elections were held in Germany on 29 March 1936. They took the form of a single-question referendum, asking voters whether they approved of the military occupation of the Rhineland and a single party list for the new Reichstag composed exclusively of Nazis and nominally independent 'guests' of the party. Like previous votes in the Nazi era, it was rigged, with a claimed turnout of 99% and 98.8% voting in favour. In a publicity stunt, a number of voters were packed aboard the airships "Graf Zeppelin" and "Hindenburg", which flew above the Rhineland as those aboard cast their ballots.


text: This was the first German election held after enactment of the 1935 Nuremberg Laws, which had removed citizenship rights (including the right to vote) from Jews and other ethnic minorities. In the previous elections and referendums under Nazi rule, Jews, Poles and other ethnic minorities had been allowed to vote without much interference, and even tacitly encouraged to vote against the Nazis (especially in districts that were known to have large populations of ethnic minorites). On 7 March 1936, Jews and Gypsies lost their right to vote. Their removal from the electoral process accounted for much of the large drop in invalid and negative votes, which fell from over five million in 1934 to barely half a million in 1936. The Nazis also lowered the voting age, in large part so as to ensure that the electorate was about the same size as in 1934 but also to exploit the relatively enthusiastic support of younger Germans for the Nazi regime.


text: The new Reichstag convened for formulary procedures on 30 January 1937 to re-elect its Presidium and Hermann Göring as President of the Reichstag.


title: Flossenbürg concentration camp

text: Flossenbürg was a Nazi concentration camp built in May 1938 by the SS Main Economic and Administrative Office. Unlike other concentration camps, it was located in a remote area, in the Fichtel Mountains of Bavaria, adjacent to the town of Flossenbürg and near the German border with Czechoslovakia. The camp's initial purpose was to exploit the forced labor of prisoners for the production of granite for Nazi architecture. In 1943, the bulk of prisoners switched to producing Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter planes and other armaments for Germany's war effort. Although originally intended for "criminal" and "asocial" prisoners, after Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union, the camp's numbers swelled with political prisoners from outside Germany. It also developed an extensive subcamp system that eventually outgrew the main camp.


title: Flossenbürg concentration camp

text: Before it was liberated by the United States Army in April 1945, 89,964 to 100,000 prisoners passed through Flossenbürg and its subcamps. Around 30,000 died from malnutrition, overwork, executions, or during the death marches. Some of those responsible for these deaths, including administrators, guards, and others, were tried and convicted in the Flossenbürg trial. The camp was repurposed for other uses before the opening of a memorial and museum in 2007.


title: Flossenbürg concentration camp

text: During the first half of 1938, the Nazi concentration camp population expanded threefold due to increased arrests by the "Schutzstaffel" (SS) of individuals deemed undesirable, especially "asocial" and "criminal" prisoners, to create a slave labor force. SS leader Heinrich Himmler ordered the founding of new concentration camps to expand the SS economic empire. The SS intended to exploit the slave labor of prisoners to quarry granite, which was in high demand for monumental building projects in the Nazi style. This would also profit the SS-owned and -operated company German Earth and Stone Works (DEST), which had been founded in April.


title: Flossenbürg concentration camp

text: During the second half of March 1938, a high-ranking SS commission led by Oswald Pohl and Theodor Eicke toured southern Germany, searching for a site for a new camp that would meet the SS' specifications. On 24 March 1938, they chose a site near the small town of Flossenbürg, in the Upper Palatinate, for the establishment of a concentration camp due to the quarries of blue-gray granite located nearby. Unlike all other Nazi concentration camps to date, which were near rail junctions and population centers, the camp was to be located in the remote Upper Palatine Forest near , formerly owned by Holy Roman Emperor Friedrich Barbarossa.


title: Flossenbürg concentration camp

text: Flossenbürg was a poor rural area, with about 1,200 inhabitants who mostly worked on the quarries, which had existed since the 19th century. The local economy, especially the stone industry, was negatively impacted by the new border with Czechoslovakia after the Treaty of Versailles and the 1930s economic slump. Adolf Hitler's rise to power increased the demand for granite, earning the Nazi Party local support. The construction of the camp was funded by a contract with Albert Speer's ministry for the reconstruction of Berlin; it was the first occasion that economic considerations had determined the site of a camp.


title: Flossenbürg concentration camp

text: The order for the construction of eight barracks at Flossenbürg went through on 31 March, SS guards arrived in April, and on 3 May 1938, a transport of 100 prisoners arrived from Dachau, establishing the camp. More prisoners arrived from Dachau on 9 and 16 May; Himmler visited the camp on 16 May with Pohl, indicating that the SS considered it an important project. The SS attempted to segregate prisoners incarcerated for criminal offences at Flossenbürg because forced labor in the quarries was considered a particularly harsh punishment. Most of the prisoners at Flossenbürg were classified as criminal, with some "asocial" and a few homosexual prisoners; the criminals quickly took over the prisoner functionary positions.


title: Flossenbürg concentration camp

text: The new prisoners had to construct the camp themselves, beginning with the barbed wire fence; this was initially the main use of forced labor. While performing this heavy and dangerous work, the prisoners lived in makeshift structures. Simultaneously, hundreds of prisoners had to work in the quarries. The camp's population had increased to 1,500 following arrivals from Dachau, Sachsenhausen, and Buchenwald. In January 1939, the first commandant, Jakob Weiseborn, unexpectedly died. He was replaced by a former SS officer at Dachau, Karl Künstler, who presided over an era in which the camp became an economically productive center for granite quarrying, and increasingly deadly for its prisoners. With the first barracks complete, in 1939 work began on an internal jail, guard towers, a washing facility, and a sewer system. In April 1939, the economic productivity of the camp led to Pohl ordering the camp to be expanded to fit 3,000 prisoners. To build additional barracks, terraces had to be cut into the hillsides, an arduous task that led to many injuries.


title: Flossenbürg concentration camp

text: Fifty-five prisoners died before the outbreak of World War II in September 1939. During mid-1939, Nazi authorities planned to invade Poland. It was decided to stage false flag attacks in order to justify a German declaration of war. Several prisoners from Flossenbürg and other concentration camps were secretly transferred to a Gestapo prison in Breslau, poisoned, and dressed in Polish uniforms. On 31 August 1939, the bodies were dumped at a border post in Hochlinden where they were shot and hacked; photographs were taken as "proof" of a Polish attack on Germany.


title: Flossenbürg concentration camp

text: In September 1939, the SS transferred 1,000 political prisoners to Flossenbürg from Dachau in order to clear the latter camp to train the first regiment of the Waffen-SS. These prisoners, who were the first political prisoners at Flossenbürg, were moved back to Dachau in March 1940. The first foreign prisoners were transferred to the camp by the Gestapo in April, including Czech student protestors and Polish resistance members. The vast majority of the new foreign prisoners were incarcerated due to their opposition to the Nazi regime; a few of them were Jews. Most of the Jewish political prisoners were executed or died shortly after arriving from mistreatment. The last twelve surviving Jews were deported to Auschwitz on 19 October 1942, pursuant to Himmler's order to make the Reich "Judenrein".


title: Flossenbürg concentration camp

text: The number of Polish prisoners increased sharply in 1941; on 23 January, 600 arrived from Auschwitz. In mid-October 1941, 1,700 to 2,000 Soviet prisoners of war arrived at Flossenbürg as part of a massive transfer of Soviet prisoners to the SS camp system. In poor condition due to their previous mistreatment, they spent several months recovering before they were deemed fit to work. They were accommodated in a special, cordoned-off area.