naist-nlp/zeshel huggingface dataset:
409 Tactical Fighter Squadron 409 Tactical Fighter Squadron is a unit of the Canadian Forces under Royal Canadian Air Force . The squadron operates the CF - 18 Hornet from CFB Cold Lake in Alberta , Canada . History . The cross - bow in front of the dark cloak represents a weapon used under cover of darkness to denote the squadron ' s original role as a night fighter squadron . The badge was officially approved in March 1944 . MEDIA NOX MERIDIES NOSTER , means Midnight is our noon in Latin . Second World War . No . 409 Nighthawk Squadron was formed at RAF Digby in June 1941 for night operations with Boulton - Paul Defiants , moving in July to RAF Coleby Grange , where , in August , Beaufighter IIf ' s arrived , allowing detachments to be maintained elsewhere . Two victories were claimed during the early days of the Squadron ' s existence , but in June 1942 Beaufighter Mk VI ' s were received and a greater degree of success was achieved . In February 1943 a move was made to Acklington , with detachments maintained in at least four other locations . In December a return to Coleby Grange was made , with the various detachments continuing their separate existences . Little was seen during the year , but in March 1944 the Squadron moved to Hunsdon , converting to the Mosquito Mk XII and joined No . 85 Group of the 2nd TAF ( Tactical Air Force ) . Intruder and offensive patrols commenced and much action was seen over the Normandy beachhead in 11 June victories were claimed during this month . After some action against V - 1 Flying Bombs , operations over Europe re - commenced , and late in August the unit moved to Carpiquet in France . The first night fighters to be based on the mainland . By mid - October , the Squadron had settled in the Lille area , where it was to remain until April 1945 . On 19 April , a move was made to the Rhine in Germany , and from here the unit was able to claim six victories in a single night . Shortly after this the war ended with the total victories at 61½ claimed . The squadron ' s code letters during this period were KP . Cold War . Re - established at RCAF Station Comox on 1 November 1954 providing air defence for Canada ' s west coast as part of NORAD . Initially equipped with the Canadian designed Avro CF - 100 they converted to the CF - 101 Voodoo in 1962 . The squadron transferred to CFB Cold Lake in 1984 to convert to the CF - 18 and then deployed to CFB Baden - Soellingen as part of Canada ' s NATO commitment . The squadron was then disbanded in 1991 with the withdrawal of Canadian Forces from Europe . Operations . The squadron was briefly reformed back at Comox as a Combat Support Squadron ( without aircraft ) but was disbanded again . 409 Tactical Fighter Squadron was re - formed from the consolidation of 416 and 441 Tactical Fighter Squadrons on 6 July 2006 at CFB Cold Lake .
Destroyer War Badge Destroyer War Badge ( ) is a German military decoration instituted on June 4 , 1940 by admiral Erich Raeder and awarded to officers and crew for the service on Kriegsmarine destroyer s ( worn on the lower part of the left breast pocket of the naval service tunic , underneath the 1st class Iron Cross if awarded , or equivalent grade award ) . Required qualifications prior to October 10 , 1940 included participation in the battles of Narvik , after — wound , participation in three enemy engagements or at least in 12 non - enemy sorties , ship sinking in action , outstanding performance or other heroic deeds . A cloth version of the Badge was issued for wear on the dark blue uniform . The Badge was also awarded to the crews of Kriegsmarine torpedo boats and fast attack craft until the institution of the Fast Attack Craft War Badge . In all , about 6 , 000 Destroyer War Badges were awarded during the Second World War . A handful of Destroyer War Badges with diamonds were also manufactured but there were no bestowals of the diamond upgrade to any Kriegsmarine member . Records indicate that the Destroyer War Badge with diamonds was to be a highly selective award and presented to only the most successful destroyer captains at the conclusion of World War II .
Transit ( ship ) Transit was the name given to three sailing vessels designed and built to the order of Captain Richard Hall Gower . All three had fine lines at bow and stern , uniform frames mid - ships with concave and convex sweeps and a deep keel . Their length to beam ratio was unusually high , giving them a remarkable turn of speed . The foremast was square rigged while the other three or four masts were fore - and - aft rigged , barquentine fashion but carrying very simplified standing and running rigging . Each sail was equipped with a diagonal sprit that enabled it to be brail ed up to its mast and deployed rapidly . Each mast carried three sails . The topmasts could be lowered and replaced from the deck , in the event the sprits were to fail in strong gales and had to be abandoned . The Patent granted to Gower in 1799 details his theory about the relationship between speed and the length to beam ratio , as well as details of many features of his novel form of rigging , which allowed almost all activities normally conducted aloft to be performed from the deck ( including the replacement of damaged masts ) ; thus only the foremast was fitted with ratlines . At the instance of John Jervis , 1st Earl of St Vincent , the First Lord of the Admiralty , the first " Transit " was sailed against HMS " Osprey " in 1801 . " Osprey " was a fast sloop of 383 tons ( about twice the tonnage of " Transit " ) . Built at Northfleet like a French corvette , with an 80 ft 6 in ( 24 . 5 m ) keel , she had the reputation of being very fast . Her length to beam ratio ( at waterline ) was probably less than 3 : 1 . " Transit " with a length of 130 feet ( 39 . 6 m ) and a length to beam ration of 6 . 5 : 1 performed so well as to have been acknowledged the winner by the captain of " Osprey " . Despite this success Gower failed to get the support he needed to build a class of vessels to his patents . The reasons given for the rejection of Gower ' s proposal included the observation that because of her deep keel she would fall over at low tide in many of the east coast ports from which she might have to operate and that the deck was so narrow that guns could not be arranged symmetrically on each side for fear of their recoil causing them to collide . By coincidence , but apparently unbeknownst to Gower , the very gun that he would have needed , the carronade , a short barrelled gun mounted on a slide fixed to the deck , was adopted by the Royal Navy less than a year before the test of " Transit " . Gower wrote detailed and vivid accounts of the vessels and his experiences with the authorities . George Bayley , owner of the yard that built two of the " Transits " also gave an account of the vessels . Macgregor gives a description and illustration of the first " Transit " . References . Plans of " Transit " vessels at The National Maritime Museum , Greenwich , England .
SS Empire Javelin SS " Empire Javelin " was an Infantry Landing Ship or " LSI ( Large ) " in service with the British during the late stages of the Second World War . She saw service as a troop transport during Operation Overlord , or " D - Day " , on 6 June 1944 . She was built by Consolidated Steel Corporation , Wilmington , California as the " Cape Lobos " , and transferred under the terms of lend lease shortly after being completed in 1943 under the name Empire Javelin . She was operated by the Ministry of War Transport . D - Day . The ship carried troops of the 1st Battalion 116th Infantry regiment of US 29th Division , destined for Dog Green Omaha Beach , Normandy . Most notably , the ship carried members of Company A , 116th Infantry , who were from Bedford , Virginia . Bedford is the home of the United States ' National D - Day Memorial . Loss . The " Empire Javelin " was in the English Channel en route to France at on the afternoon of 28 December 1944 , with 1483 men on board . Without warning there was an explosion ; at least twenty lives were lost and twenty more injured . A nearby French frigate , " L ' Escarmouche " , was called alongside once the extent of the damage had been assessed , and for approximately an hour the men on board jumped from the ship . Two minutes after the last man jumped off , a large explosion occurred and the ship began settling by the stern . Approximately ten minutes later the ship was completely submerged . Some pictures of the sinking can be seen here : Initially it was thought that the ship had been torpedoed by German U - boat " U - 772 " , however it was later revealed that " U - 772 " was itself sunk earlier that month . Another U - boat , " U - 322 " , was active in the area on the same day , however this was sunk on 29 December 1944 . As such there is no definitive proof of what sank the " Empire Javelin " ; it has been proposed that it was more likely to be a mine .
Henry Benton Sayler Henry Benton Sayler ( November 4 , 1893 - May 7 , 1970 ) was an United States Army officer with the rank of Major General . During the World War II , Sayler served as a Chief of Ordnance Officer of the European Theater of Operations . Early military career . Henry Benton Sayler was born on November 4 , 1893 in Huntington , Indiana . He attended the Braden ’ s Preparatory School in Highland Falls , New York and subsequently was appointed at United States Military Academy at West Point , New York in 1911 . Sayler graduated four years later as a part of " the class the stars fell on " ( because 59 members of this class became general officers ) . For example : Dwight D . Eisenhower , Omar N . Bradley , James Van Fleet , Henry Aurand , Stafford LeRoy Irwin , John W . Leonard or others . He was commissioned a Second lieutenant in Coast Artillery Corps on June 12 , 1915 . In 1921 , he was transferred to the Ordnance Corps and subsequently served on various military posts across United States . Between years 1931 - 1937 , Sayler served as a Member of the Cavalry Board . Sayler also attended the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth , Kansas in 1931 . In 1937 , he was appointed a Chief of General Supply Division in the Office of the Chief of Ordnance and served in this capacity until the end of next year , when he was assigned to the 4th Corps Area as its Ordnance officer . Then he was appointed an Ordnance officer of the First Army under the command of Lieutenant general Hugh Aloysius Drum . World War II . With the United States entry into the War , Sayler ' s old West Point Classmate , now Commanding General of the U . S . Forces in the European Theater of Operations , Dwight D . Eisenhower , appointed him as Chief Ordnance Officer of ETO . In this capacity , Eisenhower tasked him to plan , assemble , and execute the logistical support for the North African invasion . During D - Day invasion he solved many problems which include waterproofing of vehicles and disposing bombs which didn ' t explode . Due to his great work at that time , U . S . Forces was one of the best equipped fighting force in the history of warfare . Sayled stayed in this capacity until 1945 , when he was appointed an Assistant Chief of Ordnance , deputy of Lieutenant general , Levin H . Campbell , Jr . For his service during the War , Sayler was decorated with the Army Distinguished Service Medal , Legion of Merit and with two Bronze Star Medal s . After the war , he was given a position as a chief at the Research and development , Ordnance Department . Sayler retired from the Army with the rank of Major general in 1949 . Major general Henry B . Sayler died on May 7 , 1970 at the age of 76 in Savannah , Georgia . He is buried together with his wife Jessie Sayler ( 1896 - 1987 ) at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia . Decorations . Here is the ribbon bar of Major general Henry B . Sayler :
Baudienst Baudienst ( from German , lit . " building service " or " construction service " ) , full name Polnischer Baudienst im Generalgouvernement ( Polish Service of Construction in the General Government ) , was the labour battalion created in Nazi - occupied Poland ( General Government ) . Baudienst was subordinate to the Reichsarbeitsdienst ( RAD , lit . " Reich Labour Service " ) . Formation and activities . The Baudienst service was formed 1 December 1940 , originally in the Kraków District of the General Government , but it eventually expanded to all districts of that region , excepting the Warsaw District . The goal of Baudienst was to provide the Third Reich with a large pool of labour force . Baudienst laborers were entitled to housing , food rations , working clothes , medical care and a wage of 1 złoty per day ( a wage that was never changed , despite increasing inflation ) . Over time , conditions of work deteriorated , as laborers inhabited poor quality barracks ( never a priority ) , and food and clothing rations were slashed . Baudienst was to build and maintain infrastructure ( construction and repair of roads and canals ) , and aid with agricultural tasks . The overall objective was not to build infrastructure for the Poles , but for the Germans ( with the aim of increasing West - East transport capacity in preparation for German invasion of Russia , and later , to improve the efficiency of German logistics ) . In some infamous cases , members of Baudienst were used to prepare graves for victims of German mass executions ( of Poles , Jews and other victims of the Third Reich ) . In the General Government , working was obligatory for any male Pole from 18 to 60 years old ; later in the occupation this range extended to children from 14 years old . Baudienst service itself was an obligatory service for Poles aged 21 – 22 . Germans were aiming to have as may as 150 , 000 Baudienst members , in fact due to constant lack of volunteers and increasing desertions , Baudienst at its height reached less than a third of that number ( about 45 , 000 people ) . Baudienst workers ( some volunteers , but most were conscripted ) were under a contract to work at least initially 3 months , increased up to 6 – 7 months of work during the spring - summer period and eventually a minimum of a year . In addition to the Polish Baudienst , Germans created similar Heimatdienst ( lit . " homeland service " , " Ukrains ' ka Sluzhba Bat ' kivschyni " , USB ) for the Ukrainians , and a similar one for the Goralenvolk . Volksdeutsche were immune from the service ( but could volunteer , and some did for the higher - ranking positions such as foreman ) , and Polish Jews were already forced to labor in the ghettos and labor - concentration camps .
Helfenstein Castle Helfenstein Castle represents the remnants of the fortified castle ( " burg " ) Helfenstein of the counts of Helfenstein located above the city of Geislingen an der Steige , Baden - Württemberg , Germany . History . The castle was constructed , by Eberhard von Helfenstein , at the turn of the 12th century and was frequently enlarged during the period from 1100 to 1380 . The site of the castle , over the main Imperial road through the Fils valley , allowed the Helfensteins to observe and control trade in the region . The close connection between the Helfensteins and the Hohenstaufen Emperors during the 12th and 13th Centuries allowed the family to grow and expand . During the peak of their power the Helfenstein family ruled Heidenheim , Blaubeuren , Wiesensteig and Sigmaringen . However , as the Hohenstaufen family lost power so did the Helfensteins . By 1382 the castle was used as collateral for a loan from the city of Ulm . Then in 1396 the castle was totally under the control of the free and imperial city of Ulm . As gunpowder weapons became more common , the castle was expanded and rebuilt as a fortress . On the top of the hill , in the direction of Weiler , a bulwark was built to protect the castle . The old keep was rebuilt with extensive walls . Additionally , the terraces below the castle were expanded and fortified . The castle was used for the Ulm representative or Vogt and the western section of the castle was rebuilt as proper home for a patrician Vogt . In 1552 , during the Second Margrave War the castle fell unopposed into the hand of the Margrave of Ansbach . In August that year , troops from Ulm retook the castle after several days of shelling with heavy stone cannon balls . Having lost its significance and value as a fortification , the city of Ulm started to demolish the castle starting in 1552 , sending all usable materials to Ulm . The ruins were left and the site became overgrown over the following centuries . Starting in 1932 , the site of Helfenstein Castle was excavated with the help of Army engineer troops . A south tower was rebuilt and stairs and wooden bridges were erected to allow easy access from several directions . The ruined complex is a favorite destination for weekend walks and excursions .
212th Infantry Division ( Wehrmacht ) 212th Infantry Division < br > 212th Volksgrenadier Division < br > 578th Volksgrenadier Division The German 212th Infantry Division was raised in August 1939 and remained on garrison duty in Germany until March 1941 , when it spent three months as a coastal defense unit along the English Channel . In November 1941 it was transferred to the Eastern Front where it joined Army Group North near Leningrad and along the Volkhov Front . It continued with Army Group North until the summer of 1944 , when it had been pushed back to Lithuania and was transferred to the control of Army Group Center . The division was destroyed there in August or September , and the survivors were immediately reconstituted as the 578th Volksgrenadier Division , which was renamed as 212th Volksgrenadier Division almost as soon as it had been formed . The division retained a number of experienced officers and Non - Commissioned Officers ( NCOs , sergeants ) . The replacements received were mostly from Bavaria and were rated as above - average . Rebuilt to full personnel strength the division had weaknesses shared by almost all Volksgrenadier divisions : not enough communications equipment and a lack of assault guns . On 16 December 1944 , the start of the Battle of the Bulge , the division only had 4 assault guns out of an authorized strength of 28 . The reconstituted division transferred to the western front in December 1944 . The division was assigned to the LXXX Corps of the German Seventh Army which formed the southern shoulder of the German armies attacking in the Ardennes : Battle of the Bulge . " General der Panzertruppe " Erich Brandenberger , the German Seventh Army commander , rated the 212th Volksgrenadier Division as his best division . Because of this it was assigned the mission of protecting the southern flank of the Seventh Army . In this battle the 212th Volksgrenadier Division attacked elements of the US Army ' s 4th Infantry Division . The division achieved some success but not nearly what was required for it to succeed in seizing its assigned objectives . After the conclusion of the Battle of the Bulge the 212th Volksgrendier Division participated in subsequent defensive operations along the Rhine , surrendering to the Americans near the end of the war .
Thirty - Second Army ( Japan ) The was an army of the Imperial Japanese Army during the final stages of World War II . History . The Japanese 32nd Army was formed on March 13 , 1944 as part of the last desperate defense effort by the Empire of Japan to deter possible landings of Allied forces in Okinawa and the surrounding Ryukyu Islands . The Japanese 32nd Army had 77 , 000 men ( 39 , 000 infantry in 31 battalions and 38 , 000 artillery , armor and combat service troops ) plus the 10 , 000 man Okinawa Naval Base Force and 42 , 000 Okinawan conscripts . However , many of its personnel were poorly trained reservists , conscripted students and home guard militia . It was annihilated during the Battle of Okinawa from April to June , 1945 .
Eritrean Air Force The Eritrean Air Force ( ERAF ) is the official aerial warfare service branch of the Eritrean Defence Forces and is one of the three official uniformed military branches of the State of Eritrea . History . The Eritrean Air Force was established shortly after Eritrean War of Independence in 1994 . It was first established by Commander Habtezion Hadgu , who used to be an Ethiopian Air force pilot during the Mengistu regime , and latter defected to the Eritrean People Liberation Front ( EPLF ) in the late 80s . When the air force was established Commander Hadgu called many officers who served in the Ethiopian Air force , including Col . Abrahan ( Chief of Staff ) , Col . Melake , Col . Mesfin , Col . Dr . Efrem , and some others like Major Shekay who came from Lebanon . His Deputy was a veteran EPLF fighter , a Major General , Aka . Wedi Kahsay until he was sent to Norther zone as a commander of a regiment in the army . The director of air - force intelligence and administration was also a veteran EPLF fighter , Col . Mussie Lebassi a member of the 72nd intelligence unit of the EPLF , which was dissolved in 1994 . Commander Habtezion and Col . Mussie were latter suspended form the air force . Eventually , the air force was taken over by Major General Teklay Habteselasie who is also the commander of the Sawa military training camp . The make - up of the original force was composed of aircraft that were abandoned by the defeated Ethiopia n armed forces . The Eritrean Air Force is a smaller branch of the Eritrean Defence Forces . Several MiG - 21 ' s which were taken from the Ethiopian Air Force are believed to be no longer in service . The main airbase is Asmara AP , which is combined civil / military . Serials are sometimes worn with ' ERAF ' in front of the digits , but not always . 1998 – 2000 Eritrean - Ethiopian War . Expansion of the Eritrean Air Force ( ERAF ) did not occur until the Eritrean - Ethiopian War in which the two air forces fought for superiority . In a sort of arms race Eritrea responded to Ethiopia ' s purchase of Su - 27 ' s with a purchase of MiG - 29 ' s . In 2000 the ERAF bought eight Su - 25 ' s from Georgia , and six more MiG - 29 ' s from Moldova . In 2003 Eritrea also acquired several Su - 27 ' s . The Eritrean Air force trained and grew enormously in a short period and was able to challenge the Ethiopian army in the 1998 border conflict . Commander Habtezion along with young Air Force pilots retaliated in short time after the Ethiopian Air force bombed Asmara through their popular pilot General Bezabh Petros , who was in captive during the liberation war and recaptured for the second time in the 1998 war . Organization . The Commander of the Eritrean Air Force is Major General Teklai Habteselassie . The official headquarters of the Eritrean Air Force is located in Asmara , Eritrea . Colonel Bezabih Petros was an Ethiopian pilot who was captured by the EPLF in 1980s . He was then released at the conclusion of the war of independence . However , he was captured once again after his plane was shot down from the Eritrean skies while conducting a bombing raid in 1999 .