Patiala State, was different from other Sikh States, as it did not support Sikh religion, and not following the Sikh rules. But still the State religion was Sikhism. The Later Patiala Maharajahs (Karam Singh) introduced Hindu Paintings of Hindu Gods within their Qila Mubarak palace in Patiala, it can still be seen, on the Palace Walls. Showing great respect to all religions. Rajput Hindu Paintings were very famous in Patiala from 1800s, The Maharajahs got them selves painted in Rajput Styles. And even had relations with the Royal Hindu States of Rajasthan.
They also had relationship with the Hindu Jat Rulers of Royal Bharatpur State in Rajasthan of Sinsinwar Clan. As Maharajah Narinder Singh, in 1859, married of his third daughter Maharani Bishan Kaur, to Rajah Jaswant Singh, (1851-1893), Jat ruler of Bharatpur State. Intermarriage between the Phulkian Jatts, and Rajasthani Royal Hindu Jatts, was very common, During the 19th Century.
Maharajah Yadavindra Singh, signed his union with India in 1948, transferring his Kingdom, to the Government of India, Patiala State was united with the Punjab State of India, in 1948. The Maharajah also told other Royal Princely States to Unite with India.
Artillery of Japan
Artillery in Japan is recorded in the 13th century. It was not used widely before the Sengoku period in the 16th century.
In the 1840s, the Tokugawa Shogunate began to anticipate that either British or French military might attack Japan. Takashima Shuhan (1798-1866) submitted a petition to the shogun calling for the purchase of Western firearms. In 1841, a demonstration of Western gunnery made a strong impression. Powerful factions in the shogunate resisted change.
During the 1864 Bombardment of Shimonoseki, European naval guns were shown to be superior to Japanese cannon on shore.
Following the Meiji Restoration, Japan would pursue a policy of "Rich country, strong army" (富国強兵), which led to a general rearmament.
The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) used artillery during the First Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895).
Naval guns and field artillery were important in the Russo-Japanese War of 1905.
Before and during World War II, the Japanese Army deployed a variety of artillery pieces.
The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) developed large naval artillery pieces.
The self-propelled artillery of the current Japanese military include
Type 99 155 mm self-propelled howitzer
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. was the primary contractor, developing the main gun and the turret. The vehicle is powered by a diesel engine.
Type 99s are supplementary to the Type 75 155 mm self-propelled howitzer.
In a period of planned force reduction, the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) planning calls for additional Type 99s.
Starstreak (missile)
Starstreak is a British short range surface-to-air missile (also known as MANPADS). It is made by Thales Air Defence (first called Shorts Missile Systems), in Belfast. It is also known as Starstreak High Velocity Missile, or Starstreak HVM. After it is launched, the missile travels at about Mach 3 (3 times the speed of sound). Starstreak has been in service with the British Army since 1997.
Starstreak can be fired from a soldier's shoulder or from the Stormer armoured vehicle.
Starstreak can travel 1,500 metres minimum and 5,5000 metres maximum.
Starstreak began being developed in the early 1980s. This was after a study into a weapon that could add to the Rapier missile system. A General Staff Requirement (GSR 3979) was made. This GSR showed what the missile system needed to have. One of the things it needed to have was three ways to launch the missile. These were:
In 1984, the British Ministry of Defence gave contracts to British Aerospace (BAe) and Shorts Missile Systems to develop the missile. The BAe missile was called the Thunderbolt. Shorts won the competition. They were awarded £356 million. The weapon was developed more in November 1986. More contracts were also given out to make the missile. Starstreak was put into service officially in September 1997. Starstreak is supposed to replace the Javelin surface-to-air missile in British service.
The light weight launcher and the launcher which can be moved around by people have been in use since 2000.
In the middle of 2007, Thales UK in Northern Ireland said that it had developed Starstreak II. Starstreak II is an improved version of Starstreak. Some of these improvements were: a bigger range (7 km), a better system to find targets and the ability to find aircraft that are higher up in the air.
In 2011, when Thales won a contract for the Lightweight Multirole Missile, Thales said it agreed with the MOD to "re-role previously contracted budgets to facilitate the full-scale development, series production and introduction of the LMM." This means that Thales were going to focus all their money on the Lightweight Multirole Missile. The contract affected by this is said to have been Starstreak.
A soldier carries the Starstreak missile in a tube. This tube is sealed closed. The tube is attached to the main part of Starstreak to be fired. The gunner follows the target using Starstreak's special aiming system. When the gunner has locked on to the target, they press a button and the missile launches.
The missile then fires its first motor. This launches the missile from the tube. However, it stops burning before the missile leaves the tube. This is to protect the gunner. When the missile is away from the gunner, another motor fires. It makes the missile go to Mach 3.5. It stops burning when it is about four hundred meters away from the gunner. The back of the missile has the systems that guide the missile by laser beams from the launcher. The Starstreak launches many small darts at its target. Each dart has around of explosive in it.
When the darts hit the target, a fuze is triggered. This fuze delays the explosion. This gives time for the darts to get inside the target before the explosives go off. The explosive is inside a shell of tungsten. This tungsten is designed to split up and make as much damage as possible inside the target.
In September 1999, the missile was shown attacking an armoured personnel carrier. This showed that Starstreak could also be useful in attacking targets on the ground as well as in the air.
In 2012, the Ministry of Defence said that it was going to put a group of Starstreaks on top of an apartment complex in London. This was because of the 2012 London Olympics. The Ministry said that the area was the only place to put an anti-aircraft battery. Some people living there were not happy. They wondered why the battery was needed.
Type 75 155 mm self-propelled howitzer
The Type 75s were accepted for service in October 1975.
Type 99 155 mm self-propelled howitzer is supplementary to the Type 75s.
AS-90
The AS-90 (Artillery System for the 1990s) is a lightly armoured self-propelled artillery gun. It is used by the British Army. It was first used in 1993. The AS-90's official name is Gun Equipment 155 mm L131.
The AS-90 is used by five regiments of the Royal Horse Artillery and Royal Artillery.
AS-90 was designed and built by Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering (VSEL, owned by BAE Systems since 1999). They made 179 AS-90s from 1992 to 1995. This cost £300 million.
In 2002 BAE Systems were asked to give 96 British Army AS-90s a 52 calibre gun. This would make the range 30 km. With special shells, it would be able to reach 60 to 80 km. However, this project ended up being ended.
AS-90 started in the mid-1980s. It was made on a "gamble" that the SP70 would fail. When this happened, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) asked for a new vehiicle. Four designs were handed in, and AS-90 was the only one that the MoD liked.