What is the function of sonar?

The sinking of the British liner Titanic in 1912, after hitting an iceberg, spurred scientists to find a way to detect obstacles underwater. British and American forces used a form of sound detection against submarines in World War I. Scientist Paul Langevin created the sonar that uses the echo of emitted sounds.

Today, echo pickup is used in navigation to determine water depth, to locate fish shoals, and in marine research and ocean floor mapping. The sound pulses are emitted through the water and their echoes are reflected back to the boat by any obstacle 10 km away. The received signals are displayed on a video screen.

The sound travels in the water at about 1,500 m per second. The distance to the obstacle is calculated by the time it takes for the echo to return, and the Doppler effect of the sound waves shows if the object is moving.

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What is truth serum?

The truth serum is one or more substances that are administered to a person, so that the person gives frank and true answers to any question that is asked.

Serious research into such substances began in the early 1950s, during the Korean War, following reports of "brainwashing", a method of interrogation by Chinese and North Koreans of prisoners of war. The U.S. Air Force began a project to find the truth serum; U.S. pilots would be administered and trained to resist brainwashing.

The first experiments were with barbiturates, amphetamines, alcohol, and heroin, but most of the substances only helped subjects lie with greater skill.


The Trials of Stalinist Purges

The fear of mind manipulation techniques arose in the 1930s and 1940s as a result of the scandalous trials of Stalin's purges in the Soviet Union and socialist bloc countries.

The sodium pentothal, a barbiturate used by anesthetists to relax patients before surgery, is often called truth serum. Its purpose, in this context, is to help create a state of disorientation.

The subject is given a strong dose of the serum, which leaves him unconscious. Benzedrine is then injected as a stimulant to resuscitate the subject only partially. Already in a state of semi-consciousness, he is at the mercy of a psychiatrist, who with hypnotism techniques modifies his perception of what is happening around him.

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What was the first spy plane?

In the late 1950s, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) sent U2 spy planes to photograph secret locations in the former Soviet Union. The Lockheed U2 were flying at an altitude of 70,000 ft, out of the reach of whole fire and radar.

These extraordinary devices were more than reaction gliders built with plastic and triplay. After takeoff, the wheels were detached from the end of the wings. They landed with the main landing gear, integrated in their fuselage.

It wasn't until May 1960, after more than four years of flights, that the Russians shot down a U2, using modern radar equipment used in SA-2 anti-aircraft missiles. Even so, the U2 did not receive the impact directly: a projectile exploded very close and launched it in an uncontrollable dive. The pilot, Gary Powers, had to jump off the ship.

The success of U2 prompted the United States to undertake an ultra-secret investigation called Stealth, with the aim of manufacturing military devices that were undetectable to radar.

The U2 spent so much time unnoticed because it was made of non-metallic materials that absorbed radar waves, rather than reflecting them to the ground station, as is often the case.

The Stealth programme aimed to design high-performance military aircraft, made of a minimum of metal and with the exterior coated with a radar wave-absorbing layer. This would outwit most anti-aircraft systems.

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Famous quotes about war

• God created war so that Americans would learn geography. Mark Twain
• Older men declare war. But it is youth that must fight and die. Herbert Hoover
• War is what happens when language fails. Margaret Atwood
• There are causes worth dying for, but none worth killing for. Albert Camus
• Only the dead have seen the end of war. Plato
• Never think that war, no matter how necessary, nor how justified, is not a crime. Ernest Hemingway
• All war is a symptom of man's failure as a thinking animal. John Steinbeck
• War does not determine who is right - only who is left. Bertrand Russell
• War is over ... If you want it. John Lennon
• If everyone fought for their own convictions there would be no war. Leo Tolstoy
• The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting. Sun Tzu
• In wars, boy, fools kill other fools for foolish causes. Robert Jordan
• Laws are silent in times of war. Cicero
• It is not enough to win a war; it is more important to organize the peace. Aristotle

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War. Famous quotes about war. Quotes on war. Best quotes about war. War quotations.

Confederate States

   In 1860 there were 33 states in the United States. But in December of that year South Carolina withdrew, or seceded, from the Union. In the first months of 1861, 10 more southern states seceded. They were Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. These states formed the Confederate States of America. They chose Jefferson Davis as their president and Richmond, Va., as their permanent capital.
   These southern states wanted to set up a government of their own because they did not agree with the northern states about a number of things. One of the big disagreements was about slavery.    The South thought that it could not do without slaves. The North was against slavery.
   A bitter war was fought between the North and the South. The Confederate States lost the war. They became once more a part of the United States of America.

Court-martial

   Court-martial is a temporary court for the trial of members of the armed services. It is set up to hear specific charges of breach of discipline. In the United States there are three levels of court-martial: summary, special, and general. The summary court-martial can inflict a sentence of up to one month, the special court-martial can inflict a sentence of up to six months, and the general court-martial can inflict any sentence, including death.

Who was Marcus Alfred Reno?

   Marcus Alfred Reno (1834-1889) was an American Army officer who became known for his role in the Battle of the Little Bighorn. In this battle, called "Custer's Last Stand," Indians killed General George A. Custer and all the men under his immediate command. A bitter controversy began after the battle, and Major Reno was accused of cowardice.
   In 1878, two years after the battle, Reno asked that a court of inquiry investigate the charges against him. A court of inquiry, unlike a court-martial, does not actually try a person. Reno was cleared of the charges in 1879. But later that same year, he was court-martialed on several other charges, including drunkenness. The court convicted him, and Reno received a dishonorable discharge in 1880.
   In 1967, the Army ruled that Reno's dismissal had been unjust. The Army corrected his record to show he had been honorably discharged. Reno was reburied in the Custer Battlefield National.
Reno was born in Carrollton, Ill. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1857 and served in the cavalry during the Civil War.

Who was John Paul Jones?

   The Revolutionary War produced the first naval hero of the United States. He was John Paul Jones (1747-1792). Jones was born in Scotland but came to America on his first sea voyage. He was then 12 years old. Most of his life was spent at sea, much of it fighting. One of his famous sayings—"I do not wish to have command of any ship that does not sail fast, for I intend to go in harm's way—helps explain his success as a fighter.
   During the Revolutionary War he sailed the first American man-of-war. He carried to France the news of the surrender of the British army under Burgoyne at Saratoga. The French gave to his flag the first salute ever given to an American flag.
   Jones fought his most famous sea battle on the ship "Bon Homme Richard." The battle with the British ship "Serapis" had gone on for hours. At one point the captain of the "Serapis" ordered Jones to surrender. "I have not yet begun to fight" was Jones's proud reply. This reply has been a battle cry of the American navy ever since.

The Hundred Years' War

   The Hundred Years' War was a series of wars between England and France, extending through rather more than a hundred years (1338-1453). The wars began in the reign of Edward III. Ever since William the Conqueror, who was a French vassal, had seized the throne, the English monarchs had been vassals of France, owing the French monarch allegiance for Normandy and other large fiefs. The French monarchs had no desire for vassals so powerful, and lost no opportunity to transfer these holdings to French noblemen. John, the unworthy king, and Henry III lost heavily on the Loire; and, while the Edwards, father and son, were trying unsuccessfully to make Scotland a fief of the English crown, the French monarch took advantage of them and they lost Aquitaine, the last fief held under the French crown. Edward III of England set up a claim not to the lost fiefs, but to the French crown, and added "King of France" to his title. A series of invasions of France followed. Hostilities were carried on in French territory. The English won at Crecy, Poitiers, and Agincourt. The fairest provinces of France were held by English garrisons. Enormous booty was carried home to England. In 1415 Henry V so far subdued the French that his infant son, nine months' old, was proclaimed "King of France" in Paris. As the civil wars of England, known as the Wars of the Roses, drew on, the French succeeded in driving the English from all their holdings but Calais. The English claim to the throne of France was relinquished formally in 1802.

What does infantry mean?

   Infantry, foot soldiers. The word means literally the infants—the boys—referring, no doubt, to the page of medieval warfare who followed the knight, if at all, on foot. It is said that the main force of the ancient oriental army was mounted. Effective infantry was developed on Greek soil. Soldiers protected by armor were called hoplites by the Greeks. They carried a long spear and dagger. The famous Greek phalanx of from 2,000 to 4,000 men was developed from infantry of this sort. The Roman legion succeeded the phalanx. The Germans who overthrew the Roman Empire used a foot soldiery. On the continent of Europe in the eighth century, this gave way to heavy-armed cavalry—the feudal "knight" and "men-at-arms." As stated the mounted medieval knight was followed by footmen. With the invention of guns and powder the foot soldier sprang into importance. Gustavus Adolphus, Wallenstein, Frederick the Great, Napoleon, and Wellington won their victories with infantry.

What is infantry?

   Ever since there have been organized armies, there have been infantry soldiers. Infantrymen are foot soldiers. Throughout the many wars of history, they have been in the thick of the fighting.
   Infantry soldiers carry their own weapons, ammunition, food, and other supplies. For centuries they have marched into battle. In modern times they have often been carried to the scene of action in trucks or planes. Most infantrymen in World War II, however, had to move on foot as soldiers have done for centuries.
   Foot soldiers must keep in good physical condition. They must be able to march many miles carrying many pounds of equipment. They must be able to live out of doors in all kinds of weather.
   Often in the past it has been said that the newest weapons would do away with the need for infantry soldiers in war. This was said when gunpowder was developed. It was said again when airplanes were developed, and again when the atom bomb came into use. But every nation that has an army still trains most of its men as foot soldiers.

What is a flamethrower?

   The flamethrower is a military weapon used to project a stream of flaming liquid at enemy personnel and installations. Ancient types, consisting of tubes to which bellows were attached, shot a stream of flaming naphtha-like substance. The Greek-fire weapon of the Byzantine Empire was much more formidable and first appeared when used against an Arab invasion fleet in 637. The flamethrower was revived by the Germans in World War I and soon adopted by the Allies. It consisted of a tank of oil put under pressure by gases. The flame was shot from a movable nozzle. Both stationary and portable models were developed, but they played no important part in the war. The flame­thrower was used extensively, however, in World War II, particularly in the Pacific. Large models were mounted on tanks, and small models were carried by infantrymen. They shot flaming oil or jellied gasoline.

The internment of Japanese Americans

   On February 19,1942, a little more than two months after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt authorized the forcible removal of approximately 112,000 persons of Japanese ancestry from their homes in the Pacific Coast states to "relocation," or detention, camps. Although approximately two-thirds of those detained were American citizens, the government feared they would sabotage the American war effort, even though many Japanese American soldiers were fighting bravely in the U.S. Armed Forces. The camps were closed when the war ended in 1945. In 1988 continuing controversy over the forced internments led Congress to pass a bill awarding each of the surviving internees $20,000.

The Nuremberg War Crimes Trials

   From November 1945 to October 1946, the victorious Allied Powers, acting through an International Military Tribunal, established a court in Nuremberg, Germany. The Nuremberg Trials resulted in the sentencing to death of twelve German military leaders for "crimes against humanity." Chief among them was Reich Marshal Hermann Goering.
   From June 1946 to November 1948, the United States held similar trials in Japan. Seven Japanese leaders, including former prime minister Tojo Hideki, were sentenced to death.

Who were the Sullivan brothers?

   In 1942, five brothers from Waterloo, lowa— George, Francis, Joseph, Madison, and Albert Sullivan—enlisted in the U.S. Navy on condition they be allowed to serve together. All five were assigned to the USS Juneau, a light cruiser on patrol in the South Pacific. On November 13. 1942, during a naval battle for Guadalcanal Island, the Japanese torpedoed the Juneau, killing most of its crew, including the five brothers. Many memorials were later erected to the Sullivans, including a Navy destroyer that was named for them.
   In the decades following the tragedy, it became widely believed that a Sullivan Law had been enacted to prevent the future possibility of family members perishing together in battle. But there is no basis to this myth, and no law has ever been passed to ensure the separate assignment of family members in wartime. The Military Selective Service Act does include a statute that ensures that no "sole surviving son" may be drafted, although he still may volunteer.

The Manhattan Project

   The Manhattan Project was the code name for the U.S. effort during World War II to produce the atomic bomb. The program was organized after nuclear fission was discovered by German scientists in 1938, and many U.S. scientists expressed the fear that Hitler would attempt to build a fission bomb.
   The project began in 1942 under the direction of physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer. A successful test explosion took place at White Sands Proving Grounds, in New Méxi­co, on July 16,1945, two months after Germany surrendered. But the war against Japan was still in progress. Fearing that many thousands of American lives would be lost if Allied forces had to invade Japan, U.S. president Harry S. Truman ordered the use of atomic bombs, resulting in the destruction of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima on August 6 and Nagasaki on August 9. The Japanese surrendered on September 2.

What does "D day" mean?

   The term -'D day" refers to any day that is designated for the launch of a military operation. ("D" stands for the "day" of the offensive.) June 6, 1944—the day the Allies invaded Normandy. France, to begin the liberation of Europe—has itself become known as D day simply because of the enormity of that specific operation.

MONITOR AND THE MERRIMAC

   The "Monitor" and the "Merrimac" were both warships. They were ironclads. They were, that is, built of wood, but they were covered with heavy iron plates. These two vessels fought a battle in the early days of the War between the States.
   The "Monitor" was built by a Swedish engineer for the Northern forces. It was called a "cheese box on a raft." The vessel had a flat iron deck only slightly above water level. In the center was a revolving turret with two guns. The "Monitor" was much smaller than the "Merrimac."
   The "Merrimac" belonged to the South­ern forces. The engineers who had built it had cut off the sides of an old vessel, cov­ered the vessel with iron, and mounted ten guns. This ironclad had a pointed cast-iron bow which could easily ram a hole in the side of a wooden ship.
   The "Merrimac" had sunk two Northern vessels the day before its battle with the "Monitor." But they were wooden vessels. It could not harm the "Monitor." After four hours of fighting, neither vessel had won the battle. The "Merrimac" then steamed away, badly damaged.
   The battle was only a small one, but it was one of the most important naval battles ever fought. It was the beginning of the change from wooden vessels to great steel warships.

What is a war god?

   War God, in anthropology, the personified spirit of tribal war; a deity supposed to watch over tribal or national interests in times of war. In some cases the war god seems to have been the chief deity; in classic times the war gods (Ares and Mars) were among the superior gods; the Jews seem to have conceived that the function of a war god was a fitting attribute of Jehovah (II Sam. XVII: 45); and traces of this mode of thought linger in the familiar expression, The God of battles.

Bow and Arrow

   The bow and arrow was man's greatest invention, after the spear, for hunting and self-protection. A man with a spear had to get very close to his enemy. He could shoot from a safe distance with the bow and arrow. He had more arrows to try again if he missed the first time. Man has used the bow and arrow for more than 10,000 years. The first bow was wood, pulled into a curve by a bow string.
   Arrows were reeds, with tips of stone and later iron or bronze. Ar­rows have feathers on the back end to make them fly straight and a notch to fit on the bow string. The arrow and the bow string were pulled back and released suddenly. The bow straightened out and shot the arrow through the air.
   Crossbows were built in Europe about 800 years ago. The bow had a rifle-like stock and was held sideways. It was so strong that sometimes it took two men to hook the string and arrow to the trigger. The arrow was fired by pulling the trig­ger.
   The fifteenth-century English longbow was best. It was made of wood. A good archer could shoot it accurately for 400 yards (364 meters).
   After about 1500, guns became more useful than bows and arrows for hunting and war.
Today the bow and arrow is used for sport—chiefly hunting and target shooting (archery).