:: wikimiki.org ::

Coast Guard

Coast guard

A coast guard is an organization devoted to saving the lives of shipwrecked mariners or people in danger at sea. In some countries it is part of the military. In other countries it is a civilian or even private sector organization. Most coast guards operate ships and aircraft including helicopters and seaplanes for this purpose. Coast guards also enforce maritime law, maintain aids to navigation such as beacons and buoys, and provide other services for the benefit of mariners. Most coast guards are run on military lines and serve as an auxiliary to the national navy. During wartime coast guards are responsible for harbour defense, port security, naval counterintelligence and coastal patrols.

National coast guards

In the United States, the United States Coast Guard is a military service under the United States Department of Homeland Security in peacetime. In wartime the Coast Guard reports to the Secretary of the Navy but does not become part of the United States Navy; however, its boats and cutters are integrated into U.S. military operations. The U.S. Coast Guard Academy and Officer Candidate School is located in New London, Connecticut. The U.S. Coast Guard Chief Petty Officers Academy is located in Petaluma, California. New London, Connecticut] In Canada, the Canadian Coast Guard is a civilian service under the Department of Fisheries and Oceans responsible for patroling the world's longest coastline of 202,080 km. The Canadian Coast Guard College is located near Sydney, Nova Scotia. In India, the Indian Coast Guard is a paramilitary unit. It secures the country's coast, carries out rescues, and aids shipping. In Singapore, the coast guard comes under the command of the Singapore Police Force. Hence, it is called the Police Coast Guard (PCG). In the United Kingdom coastguard functions are split between four organisations: HM Coastguard deals with rescue co-ordination and carries out land-based rescues, Trinity House and the Northern Lighthouse Board maintain buoys and lighthouses, and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution carries out rescues from the sea, assisted by Royal Air Force, Royal Navy and Coastguard air-sea rescue helicopters when necessary. In Italy, the Guardia Costiera is part of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, but is a military organization.

Coast Guards

Guardia Costiera
- Australia - two rival privately-run volunteer Coast Guard organizations exist:
- Australian Volunteer Coast Guard
- Royal Volunteer Coastal Patrol
- Canada- Canadian Coast Guard
- Greece - Hellenic Coast Guard
- Hong Kong - Hong Kong Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre
- Republic of India - Indian Coast Guard
- Republic of Ireland - Irish Coast Guard
- Japan - Japan Coast Guard (ex Maritime Safety Agency)
- Norway - Norwegian Coast Guard
- Philippines - Philippine Coast Guard
- Taiwan (Republic of China) - Republic of China Coast Guard
- United Kingdom
- HM Coastguard
- Royal National Lifeboat Institution
- United States - United States Coast Guard

External links

- [http://www.uscg.mil US Coast Guard]
- [http://www.rnli.org.uk RNLI]
- [http://www.trinityhouse.co.uk Trinity House]
- [http://www.guardiacostiera.it Guardia Costiera] Category:coast guards Category:Types of military ja:沿岸警備隊

Mariner

Mariner can refer to
- The PBM Mariner flying boat
- The Mariner Space Program
- An archaic term for sailor
- The Major League Baseball team, the Seattle Mariners

Military

A military or military force (n., from Latin militarius, miles "soldier") has seen many different incarnations throughout time. Early armies may have been just men with sharpened sticks and rocks, through time they have included advancements such as men mounted on horses, men wielding swords and other metallic weapons, the bow and arrow, siege weapons, to the advance of the musket which form the roots of the armed force of most nations we know today. In modern times people use vehicles and guns. While military can refer to any armed force, it generally refers to a permanent, professional force of soldiers or guerrillas—trained exclusively for the purpose of warfare and should be distinguished from a sanctioned militia or a levy, which are temporary forces— citizen soldiers with less training, who may be 'called up' as a reserve force, when a nation mobilizes for total war, or to defend against invasion. The term military is often used to mean an army. The doctrine that asserts the primacy of a military within a society is called militarism.

Meaning of the word

:Also see: Armed forces As an adjective, "military" is a descriptive property of things related to soldiers and warfare. It also refers to such context dependent terms such as military reserves which may indicate an actual unit deployable on command or the general sense, of a Nation States reserve troops available to or eligible for duty in its armed forces. In formal British English, "military" as an adjective [http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2003/20030636.htm refers] more particularly to matters relating to an army (land forces), as opposed to the naval and air force matters of the other two services. In American English, "military" as an adjective is more widely used for regulations pertaining to and between all the armed forces like military procurement, military transport, military justice, military strength and military force.

Military procurement

Military procurement refers to common regulations and requirements for a ship or a detached unit to requisistion and draw on a base's facilies (housing, pay, and rations for detached personnel), supplies (most commonly food stocks or materials, and vehicles) by the service running a primary base; e.g. Army units detached to or staging through an air base, a vessel calling at a port near an army or air base, an army unit drawing supplies from a naval base.

Military transport

Military transport would pertain to an equipment trans-shipped via a sister service, or an individual detached for a technical school operated by a sister service, or the travel orders and authorization of such an individual to procede via a sister services vehicles, as well as the drawing (loan of) transportation assets (staff cars, Hum-Vees, military trucks) operating from the primary base command.

Military Justice

Military Justice, as in the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Most nations have a separate code of law which regulates both certain activities allowed only in war, as well as provides a code of law applicable only to a soldier in war (or 'in uniform' during in peacetime). The statutory laws set down by the United States Congress to apply to the individual conduct within any military force of the United States— these are the specific articles under which a soldier or sailor would be tried for infractions ranging from minor (Late Return, petty theft; ) to severe (Rape, Murder); this code is usually referred to by the acronym UCMJ.

Military strength

Military strength is a term that describes a quantification or reference to a nation's standing military forces or the capacity for fulfillment of that military's role. For example, the military strength of a given country could be interpreted as the number of individuals in its armed forces, the destructive potential of its arsenal, or both. For example, while China and India maintain the largest armed forces in the world, the US Military is considered to be the world's strongest.

Military Force

Military Force is a term that might refer to a particular unit, a regiment or gunboat deployed in a particular locale, or as an aggregate of such forces (e.g. "In the Gulf War the United States Central Command controled military forces (units) of each of the five military services of the United States.").

Military history

:Main article: Military history Military history is often considered to be the history of all conflicts, not just the history of proper militaries. It differs somewhat from the history of war with military history focusing on the people and institutions of war-making while the history of war focuses on the evolution of war itself in the face of changing technology, governments, and geography. Military history has a number of purposes. One main purpose is to learn from past accomplishments and mistakes so as to more effectively wage war in the future. Another is to create a sense of tradition which is used to create cohesive military forces. Still another may be to learn to prevent wars more effectively.

Military reserve

:Main article: Military reserve Military reserve refers to specific trained pre-organized forces operating as an on call basis from the main military force. In the United States, the Reserves forces such as the qunit mission profile (e.g. Many 'Military Police' trained regular reserve units and ' National Guard units' were mobilized during the Iraq war, as were units specializing in supply, transport, engineering, et al.) These various volunteer manned units are always 'on call' and refered to as the ready reserves but might be augmented by the Inactive Reserves in time of dire emergency or total war under the United States model— the inactive reserve is composed of all former serving members of any of the US Armed Forces of military age. Individuls in this class are former members of the regular and ready reserve forces, that have opted to discontinue service in any of those organized bodys; in general, the inactive reserves are not an organized force, but a resource of trained manpower that can be mobilized similar to calling up a levy but in theory with the training of a militia. Individuals in the inactive reserves with specialized talents are from time to time also recalled into service, albeit rarely, one exception being the ongoing current need for Military Police and Quartermasters in Iraq.

Military science

:Main article: Military science Military science concerns itself with the study and of the diverse technical, psychological, and practical phenomena that encompass the events that make up warfare, especially armed combat. It strives to be an all-encompassing scientific system that if properly employed, will greatly enhance the practitioner's ability to prevail in an armed conflict with any adversary. To this end, it is unconcerned whether that adversary is an opposing military force, guerrillas or other irregulars, or even knows of or utilizes military science in return.

Specific militaries

- British Armed Forces
- Royal Navy
- British Army
- Royal Air Force
- Royal Marines
- Special Air Service
- Special Boat Service
- Canadian Armed Forces
- Canadian Army
- Royal Canadian Air Force
- Royal Canadian Navy
- Military of India
- Indian Army
- Indian Air Force
- Indian Navy
- Indian Coast Guard
- Indian Paramilitary Forces
- Military of New Zealand
- Royal New Zealand Navy
- New Zealand Army
- Royal New Zealand Air Force
- Special Air Service of New Zealand
- Military of the United States
- Army
- Air Force
- Marine Corps
- Navy
- Coast Guard
- Turkish Armed Forces
- Army
- Air Force
- Navy
- Gendarmerie
- Coast Guard See also :Category:Militaries.

Military Alliances

- NATO
- ANZUS
- United Nations
- Warsaw Pact

Reference

Major books for understanding the role of the military, and the civilian leadership of the military. # Why the Allies Won (WWII

Ship

vessel Amerigo Vespucci in New York Harbor, 1976]] A ship is a large, sea-going watercraft, sometimes with multiple decks. A ship usually has sufficient size to carry its own boats, such as lifeboats, dinghies, or runabouts. A rule of thumb saying (though it doesn't always apply) goes: "a boat can fit on a ship, but a ship can't fit on a boat". Often local law and regulation will define the exact size (or the number of masts) which a boat requires to become a ship. (Note that one refers to submarines as "boats"). Compare vessel. During the age of sail, ship signified a ship-rigged vessel, that is, one with three or more masts, usually three, all square-rigged. Such a vessel would normally have one fore and aft sail on her aftermost mast which was usually the mizzen. Almost invariably she would also have a bowsprit but this was not part of the definition. The same economic pressures which increased sizes to the point of carrying four or five masts, also introduced the fore and aft rig to larger vessels, so few ship-rigged vessels were built with more than three masts. The five-masted Preussen was the outstanding example but the big German ships and barques were built partly for prestige reasons. Nautical means related to sailors, particularly customs and practices at sea. Naval is the adjective pertaining to ships though in common usage, it has come to be more particularly associated with the noun 'navy'.

Measuring ships

One can measure ships in terms of overall length, length of the waterline, beam (breadth), depth (distance between the crown of the weather deck and the top of the keelson), draft (distance between the highest waterline and the bottom of the ship) and tonnage. A number of different tonnage definitions exist; most measure volume rather than weight and are used when describing merchant ships.
- Gross tonnage is a measure of the total internal volume of the ship.
- Net tonnage is expresses a merchant vessel's earning capacity and gives the internal capacity of that part of the ship available for cargo or passengers.
- Thames measurement tonnage was used for smaller vessels and worked to a formula: (length - beam) x beam x ½beam / 94
- Displacement tonnage is normally applied to warships and equals the actual weight of a ship complete with crew, fuel, stores and water.
- Light ship tonnage measures the actual weight of the ship with no fuel, no persons, no cargo, no water on board is not usually quoted.
- Deadweight tonnage is the weight of cargo, stores, passengers etc. which when added to the weight of the ship's structure and equipment, will bring the vessel down to her designed waterline. The word "displacement" arises from the basic physical law, discovered by Archimedes, that the weight of a floating object equates exactly to that of the water which would otherwise occupy the "hole in the water" displaced by the ship. In Britain until the Merchant Shipping Act of 1876, ship-owners could load their vessels until their decks were almost awash, resulting in a dangerously unstable condition. Additionally, anyone who signed onto such a ship for a voyage and, upon realizing the danger, chose to leave the ship, could end up in jail. Samuel Plimsoll, a member of Parliament, realised the problem and engaged some engineers to derive a fairly simple formula to determine the position of a line on the side of any specific ship's hull which, when it reached the surface of the water during loading of cargo, meant the ship had reached its maximum safe loading level. To this day, that mark, called the "Plimsoll Mark", exists on ships' sides, and consists of a circle with a horizontal line through the center. Because different types of water, (summer, fresh, tropical fresh, winter north Atlantic) have different densities, subsequent regulations required painting a group of lines forward of the Plimsoll mark to indicate the safe depth (or freeboard above the surface) to which a specific ship could load in water of various densities. Hence the "ladder" of lines seen forward of the Plimsoll mark to this day.

Propulsion

Until the application of the steam engine to ships in the early 19th century, oars propelled galleys or the wind propelled sailing ships. Before mechanisation, merchant ships always used sail, but as long as naval warfare depended on ships closing to ram or to fight hand-to-hand, galleys dominated in marine conflicts because of their maneuverability and speed. The Greek navies that fought in the Peloponnesian War used triremes, as did the Romans contesting the Battle of Actium. The use of large numbers of cannon from the 16th century meant that maneuverability took second place to broadside weight; this led to the dominance of the sail-powered warship. The development of the steamship became a complex process, the first commercial success accruing to Robert Fulton's North River Steamboat (often called Clermont) in the USA in 1807, followed in Europe by the 45-foot PS Comet of 1812. Steam propulsion progressed considerably over the rest of the 19th century. Notable developments included the condenser, which reduced the requirement for fresh water, and the multiple expansion engine, which improved efficiency. As the means of transmitting the engine's power, the paddle wheel gave way to the more efficient screw propeller. The marine steam turbine developed by Sir Charles Algernon Parsons, brought the power to weight ratio down. He had achieved publicity by demonstrating it unofficially in the 100-foot Turbinia at the Spithead Naval Review in 1897. This facilitated a generation of high-speed liners in the first half of the 20th century and rendered the reciprocating steam engine out of date, in warships. The marine diesel engine first came into use around 1912: either the Vulcanus or the Selandia (depending upon who you talk to) first deployed it. It soon offered even greater efficiency than the steam turbine but for many years had an inferior power-to-space ratio. About this period too, heavy fuel oil came into more general use and began to replace coal as the fuel of choice in steamships. Its great advantages were the convenience and the reduction in manning owing to the removal of the need for trimmers and of stokers in the old-fashioned numbers. Most ships built since around 1960 have used diesel power or motors; one exception, Queen Elizabeth 2 of 1968, started with steam turbines but subsequently converted to diesel as a cost-saving measure. A few ships have used nuclear reactors, but this is not a separate form of propulsion. It merely makes steam to drive the turbines. Nonetheless, it has caused concerns about safety and waste disposal. It has become usual only in large aircraft carriers and in submarines, where the ability to run submerged for long periods holds obvious advantage. In such long-endurance vessels, the saving in bunkerage too, is an important consideration.

General terminology

Ships may occur collectively as fleets, flotillas or squadrons. Convoys of ships commonly occur. A collection of ships for military purposes may compose a navy or a task force. In the past, people counting or grouping disparate types of ship may refer to the individual vessels as bottoms. Groups of sailing ships could constitute, say, a fleet of 40 sail. Groups of submarines (particularly German U-boats in the 1940s) may hunt in packs (often erroneously called wolf packs).

Shipboard terminology

See also: Glossary of nautical terms. The complexity of ships, particularly of sailing ships, led to the development of a rich and various vocabulary. Many of the following terms link to more detailed discussions of nautical terminology.
- Amidships - toward the middle of the vessel.
- Bow - strictly, one of the two curved structures where the hull broadens out from the stem (the pointed end). The bows is a term for the head of the vessel or front of the ship. Compare prow, a more poetical term for the ship's head.
- Stern - the after end of the ship.
- Aft - towards the stern when the relationship is within the ship.
- Astern beyond the stern where the relationship is outside the vessel.
- Starboard - the side of the ship which lies to the right when an observer within the ship faces forward.
- Port - the side of the ship which lies to the left when an observer within the ship faces forward. (A mnemonic to distinguish port and starboard notes that left and port both have four letters. Another incorporates the navigation light: Is there any red port left?)
- (Navigation) Bridge - A structure above the weather deck, extending the full width of the vessel, which houses a command centre, itself called by association, the bridge. A bridge usually extends a little beyond the ship's side to enable observation of boats alongside, or the proximity of a dock or lock gate; these projections are called bridge wings. In big vessels, a docking bridge used to be found aft. (See Lord, Walter. A Night to Remember (1976) p.96). It enabled an officer to observe docking manoeuvres before giving orders. RMS Titanic had one but they have been superseded by closed circuit television cameras.
- Bulkheads - internal "walls" in a ship. Bulkheads are the vertical equivalent of decks. They have a structural function as well as dividing spaces. They serve to prevent collapse of the hull under stress, to maintain stability, in the event of flooding, and to contain fire. Many bulkheads feature watertight doors which, in the case of certain types of ships, the crew may close remotely. An internal "wall" that is not load-bearing is usually referred to as a "partition". It is to a bulkhead as a flat is to a deck.
- Cabin - an enclosed room on a deck or flat.
- Capstan - a winch with a vertical axis.
- Coaming - Raised edges of hatches in decks for keeping water and articles free on the deck from falling into the hold.
- Decks - the structures forming the approximately horizontal surfaces in the ship's general structure. Unlike flats, they are a structural part of the ship.
- Deck Head - The under-side of the deck above. Sometimes panelled over to hide the pipe work. This panelling, like that lining the bottom and sides of the holds, is the ceiling.
- Draft - The vertical distance from the current waterline to the lowest point of the ship or in the part of the ship under consideration.
- Figurehead - symbolic image at the head of a traditional sailing ship or early steamer.
- Forecastle - a partial deck, above the upper deck and at the head of the vessel; traditionally the sailors' living quarters.
- Freeboard - The vertical distance from the current waterline to the highest continuous watertight deck. This usually varies from one part to another.
- Galley - the kitchen of the ship
- Gunwale - Formerly a fabricated band placed for strengthening around the ship at the main or upper deck level to accommodate the stresses imposed by the use of artillery. In later use it is the angle between the ship’s side and upper deck. It remained as a structural member, in wooden boats where it was mounted inboard of the sheer strake regardless of the need for gunnery.
- Bulwark - the extension of the ship's side above the level of the weather deck.
- Hold - In earlier use, below the orlop deck, the lower part of the interior of a ship's hull, especially when considered as storage space, as for cargo. In later merchant vessels it extended up through the decks to the underside of the weather deck.
- Hull - the shell and framework of the basic flotation-oriented part of a ship
- Keel - the central structural basis of the hull
- Kelson - the timber immediately above the keel of a wooden ship.
- Mast - a spar (in a ship, a very heavy one stepped in the keelson) formerly designed for the support of one or more sails. In modern ships, it is a steel or aluminium fabrication which carries navigation lights, radar antennae etc.
- Prow - a poetical alternative term for bows.
- Scupper - a drainage waterway at the edge of a deck, is drained by a pipe or, on the weather deck, a small opening in the bulwarks, leading overboard. It is called a scupper which is distinct from larger openings with hinged covers on the bulwarks, designed for relieving the ship of large quantities of water in a seaway. These are called freeing ports or wash ports..
- Windlass - A winch mechanism, usually with a horizontal axis. used where mechanical advantage greater than that obtainable by block and tackle was needed.
- Weather deck - whichever deck is that exposed to the weather – usually either the main deck or, in larger vessels, the upper deck.

Some types of ships and boats

- Aircraft carrier
- Auto carrier
- Bulk carrier
- Cable Layer
- Capital ship
- Cargo ship
- Catamaran
- Coaster
- Commerce raider
- Container ship
- Corvette
- Cruise ship
- Cruiser
- Cutter
- Destroyer
- Diving support vessel
- Ferry
- Frigate
- Guided missile cruiser
- Icebreaker
- Junk
- Laker
- Lugger
- Minesweeper
- Minehunter
- Ocean liner
- Panamax
- Reefer (refrigerated ship)
- Research vessel
- RO-RO ship (roll on, roll off)
- Sailing ship
- Sloop
- Submarine
- Supertanker
- Tanker
- Tender
- Train ferry
- Tugboat
- Shipyard
- Yacht

Some historical types of ships and boats

Yacht
- Barque A sailing vessel with three or more masts, fore-and-aft rigged on only the aftermost.
- Barquentine A sailing vessel with three or more masts, square-rigged only on the foremast.
- Battle cruiser A light battleship.
- Battleship a large, heavily-armoured and heavily-gunned warship. A term which generally post-dates sailing warships.
- Bilander
- Bireme An ancient vessel, propelled by two banks of oars.
- Birlinn
- Blockade runner A ship whose current business is to slip past a blockade.
- Brig A two-masted, square-rigged vessel.
- Brigantine A two-masted vessel, square-rigged on the foremast and fore-and-aft rigged on the main.
- Caravel
- Carrack
- Clipper
- Cog
- Collier A vessel designed for the coal trade.
- Dreadnought An early twentieth century class of battleship.
- Dromons are the precursors to galleys.
- East Indiaman An armed merchantman belonging to one of the East India companies (Dutch, British etc.)
- Fire ship A vessel of any sort, set on fire and sent into an anchorage with the aim of causing consternation and destruction. The idea is generally that of forcing an enemy fleet to put to sea in a confused, therefore vulnerable state.
- Galleass A sailing and rowing warship, equally well suited to sailing and rowing.
- Galleon A sixteenth century sailing warship.
- Galley A warship propelled by oars with a sail for use in a favourable wind.
- Galliot
- Ironclad A wooden warship with external iron plating.
- Knarr A type of Viking trade ship
- Liberty ship An American merchant ship of the late Second World War period, designed for rapid building in large numbers. (The earliest class of welded ships.)
- Longship A Viking raiding ship
- Man of war A sailing warship.
- Monitor A small, very heavily gunned warship with shallow draft. Designed for land bombardment.
- Paddle steamer A steam-propelled, paddle-driven vessel, a name commonly applied to nineteenth century excursion steamers.
- Pantserschip A Dutch ironclad. By the end of the nineteenth century, the name was applied to a heavy gunboat designed for colonial service.
- Penteconter An ancient warship propelled by 50 oars, 25 on each side.
- Pram A small dinghy, originally of a clinker construction and called in English, as in Danish, a praam. The Danish orthography has changed so that it would now be a pråm in its original language. It has a transom at both ends, the forward one usually small and steeply raked in the traditional design.
- Q-ship A commerce raider camouflaged as a merchant vessel.
- Quinquereme An ancient warship propelled by three banks of oars. On the upper row three rowers hold one oar, on the middle row - two rowers, and on the lower row - one man to an oar.
- Schooner A fore and aft-rigged vessel with two or more masts of which the foremast is shorter than the main.
- Shallop A large, heavily built, sixteenth century boat. Fore and aft rigged. More recently it has been a poetically frail open boat.
- Small Waterplane Area Twin Hull (SWATH) A modern ship design used for Research Vessels and other purposes needing a steady ship in rough seas.
- Steamship A ship propelled by a steam engine.
- Ship of the line A sailing warship of first, second or third rate. That is, with 64 or more guns. Before the late eighteenth century, fourth rates (50-60 guns) also served in the line of battle.
- Torpedo boat A small, fast surface vessel designed for launching torpedoes.
- Tramp steamer A steamer which takes on cargo when and where it can find it.
- Trireme An ancient warship propelled by three banks of oars.
- Xebec
- Victory ship

Quotations

:I must go down to the sea again, to the lonely sea and the sky, :And all I ask is a tall ship, and a star to steer her by... :-John Masefield

External links

- [http://www.shipsystems.net.tf - Reference page]
- [http://www.shipspotting.com/ ShipSpotting.com - shipping image archive]
- Category:Water transport Category:Transportation ja:船舶 ms:Kapal

Aircraft

An aircraft is any machine capable of atmospheric flight. flight. This is a wide-bodied long-haul aircraft]]

Categories and classification

Aircraft fall into two broad categories:

Heavier than air

- Heavier than air aerodynes, including autogyros, helicopters and variants, and conventional fixed-wing aircraft: aeroplanes in Commonwealth English (excluding Canada), airplanes in North American English. Fixed-wing aircraft generally use an internal-combustion engine in the form of a piston engine (with a propeller) or a turbine engine (jet or turboprop), to provide thrust that moves the craft forward through the air. The movement of air over the airfoil produces lift that causes the aircraft to fly. Exceptions are gliders which have no engines and gain their thrust, initially, from winches or tugs and then from gravity and thermal currents. For a glider to maintain its forward speed it must descend in relation to the air (but not necessarily in relation to the ground). Helicopters and autogyros use a spinning rotor (a rotary wing) to provide lift; helicopters also use the rotor to provide thrust. The abbreviation VTOL is applied to aircraft other than helicopters that can take off or land vertically. STOL stands for Short Take Off and Landing. Mainly used internationally.

Lighter than air

STOL
- Lighter than air aerostats: hot air balloons and airships. Aerostats use buoyancy to float in the air in much the same manner as ships float on the water. In particular, these aircraft use a relatively low density gas such as helium, hydrogen or heated air, to displace the air around the craft. The distinction between a balloon and an airship is that an airship has some means of controlling both its forward motion and steering itself, while balloons are carried along with the wind.

Types of aircraft

:See also: List of aircraft There are several ways to classify aircraft. Below, we describe classifications by design, propulsion and usage.

By design

A first division by design among aircraft is between lighter-than-air, aerostat, and heavier-than-air aircraft, aerodyne. Examples of lighter-than-air aircraft include non-steerable balloons, such as hot air balloons and gas balloons, and airships (sometimes called dirigible balloons) such as blimps (that have non-rigid construction) and rigid airships that have a rigid frame. The most successful type of rigid airship was the Zeppelin, although there were some accidents such as the Hindenburg Zeppelin which was destroyed in a fire at Lakehurst, NJ, in 1937. In heavier-than-air aircraft, there are two ways to produce lift: aerodynamic lift and engine lift. In the case of aerodynamic lift, the aircraft is kept in the air by wings or rotors (see aerodynamics). With engine lift, the aircraft defeats gravity by use of vertical thrust greater than its weight. Examples of engine lift aircraft are rockets, and VTOL aircraft such as the Hawker-Siddeley Harrier. Among aerodynamically lifted aircraft, most fall in the category of fixed-wing aircraft, where horizontal airfoils produce lift, by profiting from airflow patterns determined by Bernoulli's equation and, to some extent, the Coanda effect. The forerunner of these type of aircraft is the kite. Kites depend upon the tension between the cord which anchors it to the ground and the force of the wind currents. Much aerodynamic work was done with kites until test aircraft, wind tunnels and now computer modelling programs became available. In a "conventional" configuration, the lift surfaces are placed in front of a control surface or tailplane. The other configuration is the canard where small horizontal control surfaces are placed forward of the wings, near the nose of the aircraft. Canards are becoming more common as supersonic aerodynamics grows more mature and because the forward surface contributes lift during straight-and-level flight. The number of lift surfaces varied in the pre-1950 period, as biplanes (two wings) and triplanes (three wings) were numerous in the early days of aviation. Subsequently most aircraft are monoplanes. This is principally an improvement in structures and not aerodynamics. Other possibilities include the delta-wing, where lift and horizontal control surfaces are often combined, and the flying wing, where there is no separate vertical control surface (e.g. the B-2 Spirit). A variable geometry ('swing-wing') has also been employed in a few examples of combat aircraft (the F-111, Panavia Tornado, F-14 Tomcat and B-1 Lancer, among others). The lifting body configuration is where the body itself produce lift. So far the only significant practical application of the lifting body is in the Space Shuttle, but many aircraft generate lift from nothing other than wings alone. A second category of aerodynamically lifted aircraft are the rotary-wing aircraft. Here, the lift is provided by rotating aerofoils or rotors. The best-known examples are the helicopter, the autogyro and the tiltrotor aircraft (such as the V-22 Osprey). Some craft have reaction-powered rotors with gas jets at the tips but most have one or more lift rotors powered from engine-driven shafts. A further category might encompass the wing-in-ground-effect types, for example the Russian ekranoplan also nicknamed the "Caspian Sea Monster" and hovercraft; most of the latter employing a skirt and achieving limited ground or water clearance to reduce friction and achieve speeds above those achieved by boats of similar weight. A recent innovation is a completely new class of aircraft, the fan wing. This uses a fixed wing with a forced airflow produced by cylindrical fans mounted above. It is (2005) in development in the United Kingdom. And finally the flapping-wing ornithopter is a category of its own. These designs may have potential but are not yet practical.

By propulsion

ornithopter adapted as a floatplane]] Some types of aircraft, such as the balloon or glider, do not have any propulsion. Balloons drift with the wind, though normally the pilot can control the altitude either by heating the air or by releasing ballast, giving some directional control (since the wind direction changes with altitude). For gliders, takeoff takes place from a high location, or the aircraft is pulled into the air by a ground-based winch or vehicle, or towed aloft by a powered "tug" aircraft. Airships combine a balloon's buoyancy with some kind of propulsion, usually propeller driven. Until World War II, the internal combustion piston engine was virtually the only type of propulsion used for powered aircraft. (See also: Aircraft engine.) The piston engine is still used in the majority of aircraft produced, since it is efficient at the lower altitudes used by small aircraft, but the radial engine (with the cylinders arranged in a circle around the crankshaft) has largely given way to the horizontally-opposed engine (with the cylinders lined up on two sides of the crankshaft). Water cooled V engines, as used in automobiles, were common in high speed aircraft, until they were replaced by jet and turbine power. Piston engines typically operate using avgas or regular gasoline, though some new ones are being designed to operate on diesel or jet fuel. Piston engines normally become less efficient above 7,000-8,000 ft (2100-2400 m) above sea level because there is less oxygen available for combustion; to solve that problem, some piston engines have mechanically powered compressors (blowers) or turbine-powered turbochargers or turbonormalizers that compress the air before feeding it into the engine; these piston engines can often operate efficiently at 20,000 ft (6100 m) above sea level or higher, altitudes that require the use of supplemental oxygen or cabin pressurisation. During the forties and especially following the 1973 energy crisis, development work was done on propellers with swept tips or even scimitar-shaped blades for use in high-speed commercial and military transports. Pressurised aircraft, however, are more likely to use the turbine engine, since it is naturally efficient at higher altitudes and can operate above 40,000 ft. Helicopters also typically use turbine engines. In addition to turbine engines like the turboprop and turbojet, other types of high-altitude, high-performance engines have included the ramjet and the pulse jet. Rocket aircrafts have occasionally been experimented with. They are restricted to rather specialised niches, such as spaceflight, where no oxygen is available for combustion (rockets carry their own oxygen).

By usage

The major distinction in aircraft usage is between military aviation, which includes all uses of aircraft for military purposes (such as combat, patrolling, search and rescue, reconnaissance, transport, and training), and civil aviation, which includes all uses of aircraft for non-military purposes.

Military aircraft

Combat aircraft like fighters or bombers represent only a minority of the category. Many civil aircraft have been produced in separate models for military use, such as the civil Douglas DC-3 airliner, which became the military C-47/C-53/R4D transport in the U.S. military and the Dakota in Britain and the Commonwealth. Even the little fabric-covered two-seater Piper J3 Cub had a military version, the L-4 liaison, observation and trainer aircraft. In the past, gliders and balloons have also been used as military aircraft; for example, balloons were used for observation during the American Civil War and World War I, and cargo gliders were used during World War II to land intruding German troops in many European countries in the 1940/42 period, while Allied troops used them in Europe after D-Day . Combat aircraft themselves, though used a handful of times for reconnaissance and surveillance during the Italo-Turkish War, did not come into widespread use until the Balkan War when first air-dropped bomb was invented and widely used by Bulgarian air force against Turkey. During World War I many types of aircraft were adapted for attacking the ground or enemy vehicles/ships/guns/aircraft, and the first aircraft designed as bombers were born. In order to prevent the enemy from bombing, fighter aircraft were developed to intercept and shoot down enemy aircraft. Tankers were developed after World War II to refuel other aircraft in mid-air, thus increasing their operational range. By the time of the Vietnam War, helicopters had come into widespread military use, especially for transporting and supporting ground troops.

Civil aviation

helicopter]] Civil aviation includes both scheduled airline flights and general aviation, a catch-all covering other kinds of private and commercial use. The vast majority of flights flown around the world each day belong to the general aviation category, ranging from recreational balloon flying to civilian flight training to business trips to firefighting to medevac flights to cargo transportation on freight aircraft. Within general aviation, the major distinction is between private flights (where the pilot is not paid for time or expenses) and commercial flights (where the pilot is paid by a customer or employer). Private pilots use aircraft primarily for personal travel, business travel, or recreation. Usually these private pilots own their own aircraft and take out loans from banks or specialized lenders to purchase them. Commercial general aviation pilots use aircraft for a wide range of tasks, such as flight training, pipeline surveying, passenger and freight transport, policing, crop dusting, and medical transport (medevac). Piston-powered propeller aircraft (single-engine or twin-engine) are especially common for both private and commercial general aviation, but even private pilots occasionally own and operate helicopters like the Bell JetRanger or turboprops like the Beechcraft King Air. Business jets are typically flown by commercial pilots, although there is a new generation of small jets arriving soon for private pilots.

External links

History
- [http://www.nasm.si.edu/ Smithsonian Air and Space Museum] - Excellent online collection with a particular focus on history of aircraft and spacecraft
- [http://invention.psychology.msstate.edu/Tale_of_Airplane/taleplane.html Virtual Museum]
- [http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Prehistory/PH-OV.htm Prehistory of Powered Flight]
- [http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-468/contents.htm The Evolution of Modern Aircraft (NASA)]
- [http://www.check-six.com Check-Six] - Information on historic aircraft crashes including the X-15 and Flying Wing
- [http://www.anythingplanes.net Aircraft community ] Information
- [http://www.aircraft-info.net Aircraft-Info.net]
- [http://www.airliners.net/info/ Airliners.net]
- [http://www.HomebuiltAircraft.com HomebuiltAircraft.com]- Information Portal about Homebuilt Aircraft
- [http://www.DefenceTalk.com Airforces ]
- [http://www.challoner.com/aviation/index.html Series of Photo Essays on British Aviation]
- [http://www.usenet-replayer.com/webrings/aviation.html Pictures of Aircraft] published on Usenet
- [http://www.sulman4paf.tk PAF Procedures and Information, Wallpapers, Picture Gallery, Updated News] Patents
- US[http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=/netahtml/srchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=821393.WKU.&OS=PN/821393&RS=PN/821393 821393] -- Flying machine -- O. & W. Wright Category:Aircraft Category:Aviation zh-min-nan:Hui-hêng-ki ko:항공기 ms:Pesawat udara ja:航空機 simple:Aircraft

Seaplane

livery.]] A seaplane is an aircraft designed to take off and land (correctly, though less commonly termed, "alight") upon water. These aircraft are occasionally called hydroplanes, based on usage in several Romance languages, which is rare in English.

Types of seaplane

There are two types of seaplane: the float plane and the flying boat.
- A float plane has slender pontoons mounted under the fuselage. Two floats are common, but many float planes of World War II had a single float under the main fuselage and two small floats on the wings. Only the "floats" of a float plane normally come into contact with water. The fuselage remains above water. Some small land aircraft can be modified to become float planes.
- In a flying boat, the main source of buoyancy is the fuselage, which acts much like a ship's hull in the water. Most flying boats have small floats mounted on their wings to keep them stable. It should be noted that some people feel that the term "seaplane" should only be used to refer to aircraft with floats in place of landing gear, with a flying boat being a distinct type in its own right. For convenience, the above definitions and assumption that flying boats are a type of seaplane are used herein. An amphibious aircraft can both take off and land on conventional runways and take off and land on water, whereas a true seaplane can only take off and land on water. There are amphibious flying boats and amphibious float planes, as well as some hybrid designs, e.g., a seaplane with retractable floats. However, most modern aircraft that are seaplanes that are made, are amphibious and of traditional design.

Seaplane uses and operation

Numerous modern civilian aircraft have a floatplane variant, usually for light duty transportation to lakes and other remote areas. Flying boats have remained in service for fire-fighting duties. Often an amphibious aircraft that can land on land as well as land on water has supplanted a pure water plane. Flying boats livery.]] Seaplanes can only take off and land on water with little or no wave action and, like other aircraft, have trouble in extreme weather. The size of waves a given design can land depends on how big the aircraft is, and the specifics of its shape. Flying boat seaplanes can handle rougher water, and are generally more stable than the float planes on the water. Some of the largest users of seaplanes are rescue organizations such as coast guards because the same aircraft can be used for spotting and rescuing survivors. Seaplanes are much more fuel-efficient than helicopters and, unlike helicopters, can land when they run out of fuel, weather permitting. Seaplanes are often used in remote areas such as Alaska (which has the highest per capita number of floatplanes in the United States) and the Canadian outback, especially in areas with a large number of lakes convenient for takeoff and landing. They may operate on a charter basis, or provide scheduled service.

History of seaplanes

Early development was carried out at Hammondsport, New York by Glenn Curtiss who had beaten Alexander Graham Bell and others in the Aerial Experiment Association. Aerial Experiment Association During World Wars I and II, many navies used seaplanes for reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare. Most battleships carried one or two catapult-launched seaplanes to spot targets over the horizon for the big guns, or to fight off enemy reconnaissance planes. The failure of the German battleship Bismarck's Arado 196 seaplane to hunt down a PBY Catalina reconnaissance aircraft is said to have contributed to the ship's demise. One of Howard Hughes' best-known endeavors was the H-4 Hercules (nicknamed the "Flying Lumberyard" and, more famously, the "Spruce Goose" — although its frame was built predominantly of birch), a massive flying boat completed just after the end of World War II. The Hercules only flew once (with Hughes at the controls) in 1947. The plane was originally commissioned by the U.S. government for use in World War II, but was not completed until after the War. Today, seaplanes are mostly considered obsolete for military purposes; seaplane tenders, such as HMS Engadine, fell out of use after the 1950s with the general demise of the seaplane, the advent of the first stable, fully-controllable helicopter, and continued development of the modern aircraft carrier. aircraft carrier

Beacon

:This page discusses Beacons, fires designed to attract attention. See also radio beacon. For other uses of the word, see Beacon (disambiguation) Beacon (disambiguation)] Beacons are fires lit on hills or high places, used either as lighthouses for navigation at sea, or for signalling over land that enemy troops are approaching, and alerting the defence. In the latter form, beacons are an ancient form of optical telegraph and always used in relay leagues. This system have existed over a large part of the world and in Scandinavia many hill forts were part of networks of beacons to warn about pillaging expeditions from other Scandinavians. Similarly the Brecon Beacons in Wales take their name from beacons to warn of approaching English raiders. In England, the most famous example is the beacons used in Elizabethan England to warn of the approaching Spanish Armada. This chain of beacons gave the name to many Beacon Hills. Beacons have often been abused by pirates. A fire at a wrong position was used to direct a ship against cliffs or beaches, so the cargo could be looted after the ship sank or ran aground. In modern technical parlance, a beacon can also be a transmitter used for navigation. Beacons are aids to navigation devices. Intentionally conspicuous, beacons help guide navigators to their destinations. Beacon types include radar reflectors, radio beacons, sound signals, and visual beacons. Visual beacons range from small, single-pile structures to large lighthouses or light stations and are located on land or in water. Lighted beacons are called lights; unlighted beacons are called daybeacons. See also Emergency position-indicating rescue beacon.

External links

The Probert Encyclopedia has a good picture of an Elizabethan Beacon. http://www.probertencyclopaedia.com/cgi-bin/xphrase.pl?keyword=Beacon Category:Early telecommunications

Military

Meaning of the word

Military procurement

Military transport

Military Justice

Military strength

Military Force

Military history

Military reserve

Military science

Specific militaries

Military Alliances

- NATO
- ANZUS
- United Nations
- Warsaw Pact

Reference

Major books for understanding the role of the military, and the civilian leadership of the military. # Why the Allies Won (WWII

Navy

For the municipality in the Philippines, see Naval, Biliran. Naval, Biliran, USS John C. Stennis, USS Port Royal, FS Charles de Gaulle, HMS Ocean, FS Surcouf, USS John F. Kennedy, HNLMS Van Amstel, and ITS Luigi Durand de la Penne]] A navy (often Navy) is the branch of a country's military forces principally designated for naval warfare, namely lake- or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It includes operations conducted by surface vessels (ships), submarine vessels, and seaborne aviation, as well as ancillary support, communications, training, and other fields; recent developments have included space-related operations. The strategic offensive role of a Navy is projection-of-force into areas beyond a country's shores (for example, to protect sea-lanes, ferry troops, or attack other navies, ports, or shore installations). The strategic defensive purpose of a Navy is to forestall and frustrate sea-borne projection-of-force by enemies.

History

space Naval warfare first developed whenever humankind conducted fighting from water-borne vessels. Prior to the introduction of the cannon, and ships with sufficient capacity to carry the large guns, naval warfare primarily involved ramming and boarding actions. In the time of Ancient Greece and the Roman empire, naval warfare centred around long, narrow vessels powered by banks of oarsmen (such as triremes and quinqueremes) designed to ram and sink enemy vessels, or come alongside the enemy vessel so its occupants could be attacked hand-to-hand. Naval warfare continued in this vein through the Middle Ages until cannon became commonplace and capable of being reloaded quickly enough to be reused in the same battle. The mass and deck space required to carry a large number of cannon made oar-based propulsion impossible, and ships came to rely primarily on sails. Warships were designed to carry increasing numbers of cannon, and naval tactics evolved bring a ship's firepower to bear in a broadside, with ships-of-the-line arranged in a line of battle. The development of large capacity, sail-powered ships carrying cannon led to a rapid expansion of European navies, especially the Spanish and Portuguese navies, which dominated in the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, and ultimately helped propel the age of exploration and colonialism. The repulsion of the Spanish Armada (1588) by the Anglo-Dutch fleet revolutionised naval warfare by the success of a guns only strategy, and caused a major overhaul of the Spanish navy, partly along English lines, which resulted in even greater dominance by the Spanish. From the 1620s Dutch raiders began to seriously trouble Spanish shipping and finally the Dutch navy broke the long dominance of the Spanish in the Battle of the Downs (1639). England emerged as a major naval power in the mid seventeenth century in the first Anglo-Dutch war with a technical victory, but successive decisive Dutch victories in the second and third Anglo-Dutch wars confirmed the Dutch mastery of the seas during the Dutch Golden Age, which was financed largely by building the overseas Dutch empire at the expense of the Portuguese. From 1695 the Royal Navy began to more successfully assert itself and throughout the eighteenth century gradually gained increasing ascendancy over the French navy, with victories in the Spanish War of Succession (1701-1714), inconclusive battles in the War of Austrian Succession (1740-1748), victories in the Seven Years War (1754-1763), a reversal during the American War of Independence (1775-1783), and consolidation into uncontested supremacy during the nineteenth century from the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. These conflicts saw the development and refinement of tactics which came to be called the line of battle. line of battle]] The next stage in the evolution of naval warfare was the introduction of metal plating along the hull sides. The increased mass required steam-powered engines, which resulted in an arms race between armor thickness and firepower. The first armoured vessels, the French FS Gloire and British HMS Warrior, made wooden vessels obsolete. Another significant improvement came with the invention of the rotating turrets, which allowed the guns to be aimed independently of ship movement. The battle between the CSS Virginia and the USS Monitor during the American civil war is often cited as the beginning of this age of maritime conflict. A further step change in naval firepower occurred when Britain launched HMS Dreadnought, but naval tactics still emphasised the line of battle. A major paradigm shift in naval warfare occurred with the introduction of the aircraft carrier. First at Taranto and then in Pearl Harbor, the aircraft demonstrated its ability to strike decisively at enemy ships out of sight of surface vessels. By the end of World War II, the carrier had become the dominant force of naval warfare, although threatened by an unseen enemy, the submarine. By the late 20th century, naval power had seen a great and varied evolution through history, and remains today a major element in the military and strategic security power of a a country's power projection capabilities, though some would suggest its importance has declined in the wake of the development of military aviation and air power. Many leading thinkers, however, suggest that navies are more important today than ever and will soon surpass armies once again as the main measure of a nation's military might.

Contemporary naval forces

Naval tactics and strategy

It is tempting to regard modern naval combat as the purest expression of tactics. This assumes there is no cover, there are no civilians and the area of combat is level and flat. This is not, however, the truth. The presence of land, changing water depths, weather, detection and electronic warfare, the dreadful speed at which actual combat occurs and other factors — especially air power — render naval tactics truly formidable. The basic idea of all tactics (land, sea and air) is fire and movement: the fulfillment of a mission by the effective delivery of firepower resulting from scouting and the creation of good firing positions. Movement is a large component of modern combat; a naval fleet can travel hundreds of kilometres in a day. In naval warfare, the key is to detect the enemy while avoiding detection. Much time and effort is spent to deny the enemy the chance to detect one's forces. There is also the concept of battle space: a zone around a naval force within which a commander is confident of detecting, tracking, engaging and destroying threats before they pose a danger. This is why a navy prefers the open sea. The presence of land and the bottom topology of an area compress the battle space, limit the opportunities to maneuver, make it easier for an enemy to predict the location of the fleet and make the detection of enemy forces more difficult. In shallow waters, the detection of submarines and mines is especially problematic. One scenario that was the focus of American naval planning during the Cold War was a conflict between two modern and well equipped fleets on the high seas, the clash of the United States and the Soviet Union. The main consideration is for Carrier Battle Groups (CVBGs). In recent times modern navies are increasingly investing in stealth ships. These ships have a low radar signature and are only detectable at short distances. This gives the ship a tactical edge in warfare.

Naval powers

Historically, naval powers have been those countries that have a long coastline and a strong economy. Nations that have a significant maritime trade economy have also had an incentive to protect their interests with a potent navy. However, a few nations that lacked a navy but were faced with an enemy that was a strong naval power, such as Rome during the Punic wars, built a powerful navy from scratch.

Operations

Punic wars.]] Historically a national navy operates from one or more bases that are maintained by the country or an ally. The base is a port that is specialized in naval operations, and often includes housing for off-shore crew, an arsenal depot for munitions, docks for the vessels, and various repair facilities. During times of war temporary bases may be constructed in closer proximity to strategic locations, as it is advantageous in terms of patrols and station-keeping. Nations with historically strong naval forces have found it advantageous to obtain basing rights in areas of strategic interest. Navy ships normally operate with a group, which may be a small squadron of comparable vessels, or a larger naval fleet of various specialized ships. The commander of a fleet travels in the flag ship, which is usually the most powerful vessel in the group. Prior to the invention of radio, commands from the flag ship were communicated by means of flags. At night signal lamps could be used for a similar purpose. Later these were replaced by the radio transmitter, or the flashing light when radio silence was needed. A "blue water navy" is designed to operate far from the coastal waters of its home nation. These are ships capable of maintaining station for long periods of time in deep ocean, and will have a long logistical tail for their support. By contrast a "brown water navy" operates in the coastal periphery and along inland waterways, where larger ocean-going naval vessels can not readily enter. Regional powers may maintain a "green water navy" as a means of localized force projection. Blue water fleets may require specialized vessels, such as mine sweepers, when operating in the littoral regions along the coast.

Traditions

littoral school tall ship]] An important tradition on board British naval vessels (and later those of the U.S. and other nations) has been the ship's bell. This was historically used to mark the passage of time on board a vessel, including the duration of four-hour watches. They were also employed as warning devices in heavy fog, and for alarms and ceremonies. The bell was originally kept polished first by the ship's cook, then later by a person belonging to that division of the ship's personnel. In the United States, in a tradition that dates back to the Revolutionary War, the First Navy Jack is a flag that has the words, "Don't Tread on Me" on the flat. By European tradition, ships have been referred to as a "she". However, it was long considered bad luck to permit women to sail on board naval vessels. To do so would invite a terrible storm that would wreck the ship. The only women that were welcomed on board were figureheads mounted on the prow of the ship. In spite of these views, some women did serve on board naval vessels, usually as wives of crewmembers. Even today, despite their acceptance into many naval military functions, women are still not permitted to serve on board nuclear-powered submarines. The major reasons cited by the U.S. Navy are the extended duty tours and close conditions which afford almost no privacy. [http://www.csmonitor.com/atcsmonitor/specials/women/work/work012800.html] The UK Royal Navy has similar restrictions, although other NATO members such as Canada, Spain and Norway have opened submarine service to women. [http://www.nato.int/docu/review/2001/0102-09.htm] By ancient tradition, corpses on board naval vessels were buried at sea. In the past this involved sewing the body up in a shroud that had a weight at one end, often a cannonball. (During the age of sail, the final stitch was placed through the nose of the victim, just to make sure they were really dead.) The body was then placed on a pivoting table attached to the outer hull, and shrouded by a national ensign. After a solemn ceremony, the board was tilted and the body dropped into the deep. Later ceremonies employed the casket or cremated urn. The custom of firing cannon salutes originated in the British Royal Navy. When a cannon was fired, it partially disarmed the ship, so firing a cannon needlessly showed respect and trust. The British, being the dominant naval power, compelled the ships of weaker nations to make the first salute. As the tradition evolved, the number of cannons fired was an indication of the rank of the official being saluted.

Naval organisation

Naval vessels

Royal Navy (right)]] Royal Navy Invincible class aircraft carrier]] Royal Navy Historically, naval vessels have been specialized ships that were primarily intended for warfare. They were designed to withstand damage and to inflict the same, but only carried munitions and supplies for the voyage (rather than merchant cargo). Often, other ships which were not built specifically for warfare, such as the galleon or the armed merchant ships in World War II, did carry armaments. On occasion, naval vessels have also served as troop carriers or supply ships. Modern naval vessels are generally divided into five main categories. The categories are: Aircraft Carriers, Battleships, Cruisers, Destroyers, and Submarines. There are also support and auxiliary vessels, including the minesweeper, patrol boat, and tender. During the age of sail, the vessel categories were divided into the ship of the line, frigate, and sloop-of-war. Naval ship names are typically prefixed by an abbreviation indicating the national navy in which they served. For a list of the prefixes used with ship names (HMS, USS, &c.) see ship prefix] On another note, ships of WWII were much slower than today. The average speed was about 15-20 knots. However, today ships can easily reach 25 knots, thanks to much improved propulsion systems. Also, the efficiency of the engines have improved a lot, in terms of fuel, and of how many sailors it takes to operate them. In WWII, ships needed to refule very often. However, today ships can go on very long journeys without refuling. Also, in WWII, the engine room needed about a dozen sailors to work the many engines, however, today, only about 4-5 are needed (depending on the class of the ship).

Navy units

Naval forces are typically arranged into units based on the number of vessels included, a single vessel forming the smallest operational unit. Vessels may be combined into [[squadron]]s or [[flotillas, which may be formed into fleets. The largest unit size may be the whole Navy or Admiralty.

Naval ranks

A navy will typically have two sets of ranks, one for enlisted personnel and one for officers. Typical enlisted ranks include the following, in ascending order:
- Seaman
-

Coast guard

National coast guards

Coast Guards

External links

Mariner

Military

Meaning of the word

Military procurement

Military transport

Military Justice

Military strength

Military Force

Military history

Military reserve

Military science

Specific militaries

Military Alliances

See also

Reference

Ship

Measuring ships

Propulsion

General terminology

Shipboard terminology

Some types of ships and boats

Some historical types of ships and boats

See also

Quotations

External links

Aircraft

Categories and classification

Heavier than air

Lighter than air

Types of aircraft

By design

By propulsion

By usage

Military aircraft

Civil aviation

Related topics

External links

Seaplane

Types of seaplane

Seaplane uses and operation

History of seaplanes

See also

Beacon

External links

Military

Meaning of the word

Military procurement

Military transport

Military Justice

Military strength

Military Force

Military history

Military reserve

Military science

Specific militaries

Military Alliances

See also

Reference

Navy

History

Contemporary naval forces

Naval tactics and strategy

Naval powers

Operations

Traditions

Naval organisation

Naval vessels

Navy units

Naval ranks