title: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

text: To preserve its stealth shaping, the F-35 has two internal weapons bays with four weapons stations. The two outboard weapon stations each can carry ordnance up to , or for the F-35B, while the two inboard stations carry air-to-air missiles. Air-to-surface weapons for the outboard station include the Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM), Paveway series of bombs, Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW), and cluster munitions (Wind Corrected Munitions Dispenser). The station can also carry multiple smaller munitions such as the GBU-39 Small Diameter Bombs (SDB), GBU-53/B SDB II, and SPEAR 3 anti-tank missiles; up to four SDBs can be carried per station for the F-35A and F-35C, and three for the F-35B. The inboard station can carry the AIM-120 AMRAAM. Two compartments behind the weapons bays contain flares, chaff, and towed decoys.


title: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

text: The aircraft can use six external weapons stations for missions that do not require stealth. The wingtip pylons each can carry an AIM-9X or AIM-132 ASRAAM and are canted outwards to reduce their radar cross-section. Additionally, each wing has a inboard station and a middle station, or for F-35B. The external wing stations can carry large air-to-surface weapons that would not fit inside the weapons bays such as the AGM-158 Joint Air to Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) cruise missile. An air-to-air missile load of eight AIM-120s and two AIM-9s is possible using internal and external weapons stations; a configuration of six bombs, two AIM-120s and two AIM-9s can also be arranged. The F-35A is armed with a 25 mm GAU-22/A rotary cannon mounted internally near the left wing root with 182 rounds carried; the gun is more effective against ground targets than the 20 mm cannon carried by other USAF fighters. The F-35B and F-35C have no internal gun and instead can use a Terma A/S multi-mission pod (MMP) carrying the GAU-22/A and 220 rounds; the pod is mounted on the centerline of the aircraft and shaped to reduce its radar cross-section. In lieu of the gun, the pod can also be used for different equipment and purposes, such as electronic warfare, aerial reconnaissance, or rear-facing tactical radar.


title: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

text: Lockheed Martin is developing a weapon rack called Sidekick that would enable the internal outboard station to carry two AIM-120s, thus increasing the internal air-to-air payload to six missiles, currently offered for Block 4. Block 4 will also have a rearranged hydraulic line and bracket to allow the F-35B to carry four SDBs per internal outboard station; integration of the MBDA Meteor is also planned. The USAF and USN are planning to integrate the AGM-88G AARGM-ER internally in the F-35A and F-35C. Norway and Australia are funding an adaptation of the Naval Strike Missile (NSM) for the F-35; designated Joint Strike Missile (JSM), two missiles can be carried internally with an additional four externally. Nuclear weapons delivery via internal carriage of the B61 nuclear bomb is planned for Block 4B in 2024. Both hypersonic missiles and direct energy weapons such as solid-state laser are currently being considered as future upgrades. Lockheed Martin is studying integrating a fiber laser that uses spectral beam combining multiple individual laser modules into a single high-power beam, which can be scaled to various levels.


title: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

text: The USAF plans for the F-35A to take up the close air support (CAS) mission in contested environments; amid criticism that it is not as well suited as a dedicated attack platform, USAF chief of staff Mark Welsh placed a focus on weapons for CAS sorties, including guided rockets, fragmentation rockets that shatter into individual projectiles before impact, and more compact ammunition for higher capacity gun pods. Fragmentary rocket warheads create greater effects than cannon shells as each rocket creates a "thousand-round burst", delivering more projectiles than a strafing run.


title: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

text: The single-engine aircraft is powered by the Pratt & Whitney F135 low-bypass augmented turbofan with rated thrust of . Derived from the Pratt & Whitney F119 used by the F-22, the F135 has a larger fan and higher bypass ratio to increase subsonic thrust and fuel efficiency, and unlike the F119, is not optimized for supercruise. The engine contributes to the F-35's stealth by having a low-observable augmenter, or afterburner, that incorporates fuel injectors into thick curved vanes; these vanes are covered by ceramic radar-absorbent materials and mask the turbine. The stealthy augmenter had problems with pressure pulsations, or "screech", at low altitude and high speed early in its development. The low-observable axisymmetric nozzle consists of 15 partially overlapping flaps that create a sawtooth pattern at the trailing edge, which reduces radar signature and creates shed vortices that reduce the infrared signature of the exhaust plume. Due to the engine's large dimensions, the USN had to modify its underway replenishment system to facilitate at-sea logistics support. The F-35's Integrated Power Package (IPP) performs power and thermal management and integrates environment control, auxiliary power unit, engine starting, and other functions into a single system.


title: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

text: The F135-PW-600 variant for the F-35B incorporates the Shaft-Driven Lift Fan (SDLF) to allow STOVL operations. Designed by Lockheed Martin and developed by Rolls-Royce, the SDLF, also known as the Rolls-Royce LiftSystem, consists of the lift fan, drive shaft, two roll posts, and a "three-bearing swivel module" (3BSM). The thrust vectoring 3BSM nozzle allows the main engine exhaust to be deflected downward at the tail of the aircraft and is moved by a "fueldraulic" actuator that uses pressurized fuel as the working fluid. Unlike the Harrier's Pegasus engine that entirely uses direct engine thrust for lift, the F-35B's system augments the swivel nozzle's thrust with the lift fan; the fan is powered by the low-pressure turbine through a drive shaft when engaged with a clutch and placed near the front of the aircraft to provide a counterbalancing thrust. Roll control during slow flight is achieved by diverting unheated engine bypass air through wing-mounted thrust nozzles called roll posts.


title: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

text: An alternative engine, the General Electric/Rolls-Royce F136, was being developed in the 2000s; originally, F-35 engines from Lot 6 onward were competitively tendered. Using technology from the General Electric YF120, the F136 was claimed to have a greater temperature margin than the F135 due to the higher mass flow design making full use of the inlet. The F136 was canceled in December 2011 due to lack of funding.


title: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

text: The F-35 is expected to receive propulsion upgrades over its lifecycle to adapt to emerging threats and enable additional capabilities. In 2016, the Adaptive Engine Transition Program (AETP) was launched to develop and test adaptive cycle engines, with one major potential application being the re-engining of the F-35; in 2018, both GE and P&W were awarded contracts to develop thrust class demonstrators, with the designations XA100 and XA101 respectively. In addition to potential re-engining, P&W also plans to improve the baseline F135; in 2017, P&W announced the F135 Growth Option 1.0 and 2.0; Growth Option 1.0 was a drop-in power module upgrade that offered 6–10% thrust improvement and 5–6% fuel burn reduction, while Growth Option 2.0 would be the adaptive cycle XA101. In 2020, P&W shifted its F135 upgrade plan from the Growth Options to a series of Engine Enhancement Packages along with some additional capabilities, while the XA101 became a separate clean-sheet design. The capability packages are planned to be incorporated in two-year increments starting in the mid-2020s.


title: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

text: In December of 2020, GE's XA100 (A100) completed its first successful run. GE's detailed design was completed in February 2019, and initial testing at GE's high-altitude test facility in Evendale, Ohio was concluded in May 2021. GE expects that the A100 can enter service with the F-35A and C in 2027 at the earliest.


title: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

text: The F-35 is designed to require less maintenance than prior stealth aircraft. Some 95% of all field-replaceable parts are "one deep"—that is, nothing else need be removed to reach the desired part; for instance, the ejection seat can be replaced without removing the canopy. The F-35 has a fibermat radar-absorbent material (RAM) baked into the skin, which is more durable, easier to work with, and faster to cure than older RAM coatings; similar coatings are being considered for application on older stealth aircraft such as the F-22. Skin corrosion on the F-22 led the F-35 using a less galvanic corrosion-inducing skin gap filler, fewer gaps in the airframe skin needing filler, and better drainage. The flight control system uses electro-hydrostatic actuators rather than traditional hydraulic systems; these controls can be powered by lithium-ion batteries in case of emergency. Commonality between variants led to the USMC's first aircraft maintenance Field Training Detachment, which applied USAF lessons to their F-35 operations.


title: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

text: The F-35 was initially supported by a computerized maintenance management system named Autonomic Logistics Information System (ALIS). In concept, any F-35 can be serviced at any maintenance facility and all parts can be globally tracked and shared as needed. Due to numerous problems, such as unreliable diagnoses, excessive connectivity requirements, and security vulnerabilities, ALIS is being replaced by the cloud-based Operational Data Integrated Network (ODIN). From September 2020, ODIN base kits (OBKs) were running ALIS software, as well as ODIN software, first at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Yuma, Arizona, then at Naval Air Station Lemoore, California, in support of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 125 on 16 July 2021, and then Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, in support of the 422nd Test and Evaluation Squadron (TES) on 6 August 2021. In 2022, over a dozen more OBK sites will replace the ALIS's Standard Operating Unit unclassified (SOU-U) servers. OBK performance is double that of ALIS.


title: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

text: The first F-35A, AA-1, conducted its engine run in September 2006 and first flew on 15 December 2006. Unlike all subsequent aircraft, AA-1 did not have the weight optimization from SWAT; consequently, it mainly tested subsystems common to subsequent aircraft, such as the propulsion, electrical system, and cockpit displays. This aircraft was retired from flight testing in December 2009 and was used for live-fire testing at NAS China Lake.


title: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

text: The first F-35B, BF-1, flew on 11 June 2008, while the first weight-optimized F-35A and F-35C, AF-1 and CF-1, flew on 14 November 2009 and 6 June 2010 respectively. The F-35B's first hover was on 17 March 2010, followed by its first vertical landing the next day. The F-35 Integrated Test Force (ITF) consisted of 18 aircraft at Edwards Air Force Base and Naval Air Station Patuxent River. Nine aircraft at Edwards, five F-35As, three F-35Bs, and one F-35C, performed flight sciences testing such as F-35A envelope expansion, flight loads, stores separation, as well as mission systems testing. The other nine aircraft at Patuxent River, five F-35Bs and four F-35Cs, were responsible for F-35B and C envelope expansion and STOVL and CV suitability testing. Additional carrier suitability testing was conducted at Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division at Lakehurst, New Jersey. Two non-flying aircraft of each variant were used to test static loads and fatigue. For testing avionics and mission systems, a modified Boeing 737-300 with a duplication of the cockpit, the Lockheed Martin CATBird has been used. Field testing of the F-35's sensors were conducted during Exercise Northern Edge 2009 and 2011, serving as significant risk-reduction steps.


title: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

text: Flight tests revealed several serious deficiencies that required costly redesigns, caused delays, and resulted in several fleet-wide groundings. In 2011, the F-35C failed to catch the arresting wire in all eight landing tests; a redesigned tail hook was delivered two years later. By June 2009, many of the initial flight test targets had been accomplished but the program was behind schedule. Software and mission systems were among the biggest sources of delays for the program, with sensor fusion proving especially challenging. In fatigue testing, the F-35B suffered several premature cracks, requiring a redesign of the structure. A third non-flying F-35B is currently planned to test the redesigned structure. The F-35B and C also had problems with the horizontal tails suffering heat damage from prolonged afterburner use. Early flight control laws had problems with "wing drop" and also made the airplane sluggish, with high angles-of-attack tests in 2015 against an F-16 showing a lack of energy.


title: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

text: At-sea testing of the F-35B was first conducted aboard . In October 2011, two F-35Bs conducted three weeks of initial sea trials, called Development Test I. The second F-35B sea trials, Development Test II, began in August 2013, with tests including nighttime operations; two aircraft completed 19 nighttime vertical landings using DAS imagery. The first operational testing involving six F-35Bs was done on the "Wasp" in May 2015. The final Development Test III on involving operations in high sea states was completed in late 2016. A Royal Navy F-35 conducted the first "rolling" landing on board in October 2018.


title: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

text: After the redesigned tail hook arrived, the F-35C's carrier-based Development Test I began in November 2014 aboard and focused on basic day carrier operations and establishing launch and recovery handling procedures. Development Test II, which focused on night operations, weapons loading, and full power launches, took place in October 2015. The final Development Test III was completed in August 2016, and included tests of asymmetric loads and certifying systems for landing qualifications and interoperability. Operational test of the F-35C began in 2018.


title: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

text: The F-35's reliability and availability have fallen short of requirements, especially in the early years of testing. The ALIS maintenance and logistics system was plagued by excessive connectivity requirements and faulty diagnoses. In late 2017, the GAO reported the time needed to repair an F-35 part averaged 172 days, which was "twice the program's objective," and that shortage of spare parts was degrading readiness. In 2019, while individual F-35 units have achieved mission-capable rates of over the target of 80% for short periods during deployed operations, fleet-wide rates remained below target. The fleet availability goal of 65% was also not met, although the trend shows improvement. Gun accuracy of the F-35A remains unacceptable. As of 2020, the number of the program's most serious issues have been decreased by half.


title: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

text: Operational test and evaluation (OT&E) with Block 3F, the final configuration for SDD, began in December 2018.


title: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

text: The F-35A and F-35B were cleared for basic flight training in early 2012, although there were concerns over safety and performance due to lack of system maturity at the time. During the Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) phase, the three U.S. military services jointly developed tactics and procedures using flight simulators, testing effectiveness, discovering problems and refining design. On 10 September 2012, the USAF began an operational utility evaluation (OUE) of the F-35A, including logistical support, maintenance, personnel training, and pilot execution.


title: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

text: The USMC F-35B Fleet Replacement Squadron (FRS) was initially based at Eglin AFB in 2012 alongside USAF F-35A training units, before moving to MCAS Beaufort in 2014 while another FRS was stood up at MCAS Miramar in 2020. The USAF F-35A basic course is held at Eglin AFB and Luke AFB; in January 2013, training began at Eglin with capacity for 100 pilots and 2,100 maintainers at once. Additionally, the 6th Weapons Squadron of the USAF Weapons School was activated at Nellis AFB in June 2017 for F-35A weapons instructor curriculum while the 65th Aggressor Squadron was reactivated with the F-35A in June 2022 to expand training against adversary stealth aircraft tactics. The USN stood up its F-35C FRS in 2012 with VFA-101 at Eglin AFB, but operations would later be transferred and consolidated under VFA-125 at NAS Lemoore in 2019. The F-35C was introduced to the Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor course, or TOPGUN, in 2020 and the additional capabilities of the aircraft greatly revamped the course syllabus.


title: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

text: On 16 November 2012, the USMC received the first F-35B of VMFA-121 at MCAS Yuma. The USMC declared Initial Operational Capability (IOC) for the F-35B in the Block 2B configuration on 31 July 2015 after operational trials, with some limitations in night operations, mission systems, and weapons carriage. USMC F-35Bs participated in their first Red Flag exercise in July 2016 with 67 sorties conducted. The first F-35B deployment occurred in 2017 at MCAS Iwakuni, Japan; combat employment began in July 2018 from the amphibious assault ship , with the first combat strike on 27 September 2018 against a Taliban target in Afghanistan.


title: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

text: In addition to deploying F-35Bs on amphibious assault ships, the USMC plans to disperse the aircraft among austere forward-deployed bases with shelter and concealment to enhance survivability while remaining close to a battlespace. Known as distributed STOVL operations (DSO), F-35Bs would operate from temporary bases in allied territory within hostile missile engagement zones and displace inside the enemy's 24- to 48-hour targeting cycle; this strategy allows F-35Bs to rapidly respond to operational needs, with mobile forward arming and refueling points (M-FARPs) accommodating KC-130 and MV-22 Osprey aircraft to rearm and refuel the jets, as well as littoral areas for sea links of mobile distribution sites. For higher echelons of maintenance, F-35Bs would return from M-FARPs to rear-area friendly bases or ships. Helicopter-portable metal planking is needed to protect unprepared roads from the F-35B's exhaust; the USMC are studying lighter heat-resistant options. These operations have become part of the larger USMC Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations (EABO) concept.


title: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

text: The first USMC F-35C squadron, VMFA-314, achieved Full Operational Capability in July 2021 and was first deployed on board the USS "Abraham Lincoln" as a part of Carrier Air Wing 9 in January 2022.


title: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

text: USAF F-35A in the Block 3i configuration achieved IOC with the USAF's 34th Fighter Squadron at Hill Air Force Base, Utah on 2 August 2016. F-35As conducted their first Red Flag exercise in 2017; system maturity had improved and the aircraft scored a kill ratio of 15:1 against an F-16 aggressor squadron in a high-threat environment. The first USAF F-35A deployment occurred on 15 April 2019 to Al Dhafra Air Base, UAE. On 27 April 2019, USAF F-35As were first used in combat in an airstrike on an Islamic State tunnel network in northern Iraq.


title: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

text: For European basing, RAF Lakenheath in the UK was chosen as the first installation to station two F-35A squadrons, with 48 aircraft adding to the 48th Fighter Wing's existing F-15C and F-15E squadrons. The first aircraft of the 495th Fighter Squadron arrived in 15 December 2021.


title: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

text: The F-35's operating cost is higher than some older USAF tactical aircraft. In fiscal year 2018, the F-35A's cost per flight hour (CPFH) was $44,000, a number that was reduced to $35,000 in 2019. For comparison, in 2015 the CPFH of the A-10 was $17,716; the F-15C, $41,921; and the F-16C, $22,514. Lockheed Martin hopes to reduce it to $25,000 by 2025 through performance-based logistics and other measures.


title: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

text: The USN achieved operational status with the F-35C in Block 3F on 28 February 2019. On 2 August 2021, the F-35C of VFA-147, as well as the CMV-22 Osprey, embarked on their maiden deployments as part of Carrier Air Wing 2 on board the USS Carl Vinson.


title: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

text: The United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and Royal Navy both operate the F-35B, known simply as the Lightning in British service; it has replaced the Harrier GR9, which was retired in 2010, and Tornado GR4, which was retired in 2019. The F-35 is to be Britain's primary strike aircraft for the next three decades. One of the Royal Navy's requirements for the F-35B was a Shipborne Rolling and Vertical Landing (SRVL) mode to increase maximum landing weight by using wing lift during landing. When operating on the aircraft carriers HMS Queen Elizabeth (R08) and HMS Prince of Wales (R09), British F-35Bs use ski-jumps. The Italian Navy use the same process. British F-35Bs are not intended to use the Brimstone 2 missile. In July 2013, Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Dalton announced that No. 617 (The Dambusters) Squadron would be the RAF's first operational F-35 squadron. The second operational squadron will be the Fleet Air Arm's 809 Naval Air Squadron which will stand up in April 2023 or later.


title: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

text: No. 17 (Reserve) Test and Evaluation Squadron (TES) stood-up on 12 April 2013 as the Operational Evaluation Unit for the Lightning, becoming the first British squadron to operate the type. By June 2013, the RAF had received three F-35s of the 48 on order, initially based at Eglin Air Force Base. In June 2015, the F-35B undertook its first launch from a ski-jump at NAS Patuxent River. On 5 July 2017, it was announced the second UK-based RAF squadron would be No. 207 Squadron, which reformed on 1 August 2019 as the Lightning Operational Conversion Unit. No. 617 Squadron reformed on 18 April 2018 during a ceremony in Washington, D.C., becoming the first RAF front-line squadron to operate the type; receiving its first four F-35Bs on 6 June, flying from MCAS Beaufort to RAF Marham. On 10 January 2019, No. 617 Squadron and its F-35s were declared combat ready.


title: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

text: In April 2019, No. 617 Squadron deployed to RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus, the type's first overseas deployment. On 25 June 2019, the first combat use of an RAF F-35B was reportedly undertaken as armed reconnaissance flights searching for Islamic State targets in Iraq and Syria. In October 2019, "the Dambusters" and No. 17 TES F-35s were embarked on HMS "Queen Elizabeth" for the first time. No. 617 Squadron departed RAF Marham on 22 January 2020 for their first Exercise Red Flag with the Lightning. As of November 2022, 26 F-35Bs were based in the United Kingdom (with 617 and 207 Squadrons) and a further three were permanently based in the United States (with 17 Squadron) for testing and evaluation purposes.


title: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

text: Australia's first F-35, designated A35-001, was manufactured in 2014, with flight training provided through international Pilot Training Centre (PTC) at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona. The first two F-35s were unveiled to the Australian public on 3 March 2017 at the Avalon Airshow. By 2021, the Royal Australian Air Force had accepted 26 F-35As, with nine in the US and 17 operating at No 3 Squadron and No 2 Operational Conversion Unit at RAAF Base Williamtown. With 41 trained RAAF pilots and 225 trained technicians for maintenance, the fleet was declared ready to deploy on operations. It is expected that Australia will receive all 72 F-35s by 2023.


title: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

text: The Israeli Air Force (IAF) declared the F-35 operationally capable on 6 December 2017. According to Kuwaiti newspaper "Al Jarida", in July 2018, a test mission of at least three IAF F-35s flew to Iran's capital Tehran and back from Tel Aviv. While publicly unconfirmed, regional leaders acted on the report; Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei reportedly fired the air force chief and commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps over the mission.


title: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

text: On 22 May 2018, IAF chief Amikam Norkin said that the service had employed their F-35Is in two attacks on two battle fronts, marking the first combat operation of an F-35 by any country. Norkin said it had been flown "all over the Middle East", and showed photos of an F-35I flying over Beirut in daylight. In July 2019, Israel expanded its strikes against Iranian missile shipments; IAF F-35Is allegedly struck Iranian targets in Iraq twice.


title: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

text: In November 2020, the IAF announced the delivery of an F-35I Testbed aircraft amongst a delivery of four aircraft received in August. This example will be used to test and integrate Israeli-produced weapons and electronic systems on future F-35s received. This is the only example of a testbed F-35 delivered to an air force outside of the United States.


title: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

text: On 11 May 2021, eight IAF F-35Is took part in an attack on 150 targets in Hamas' rocket array, including 50–70 launch pits in the northern Gaza Strip, as part of Operation Guardian of the Walls.


title: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

text: On 6 March 2022, the IDF stated that on 15 March 2021, F-35Is shot down two Iranian drones carrying weapons to the Gaza Strip. This was the first operational shoot down and interception carried out by the F-35.


title: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

text: Italy's F-35As were declared to have reached initial operational capability (IOC) on 30 November 2018. At the time Italy had taken delivery of 10 F-35As and one F-35B, with 2 F-35As and the one F-35B being stationed in the U.S. for training, the remaining 8 F-35As were stationed in Amendola.


title: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

text: Japan's F-35As were declared to have reached initial operational capability (IOC) on 29 March 2019. At the time Japan had taken delivery of 10 F-35As stationed in Misawa Air Base. Japan plans to eventually acquire a total of 147 F-35s, which will include 42 F-35Bs. It plans to use the latter variant to equip Japan’s Izumo-class multi-purpose destroyer.


title: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

text: On 6 November 2019 Norway declared initial operational capability (IOC) for its fleet of 15 F-35As out of a planned 52 F-35As. On 6 January 2022 Norway's F-35As replaced its F-16s for the NATO quick reaction alert mission in the high north.


title: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

text: On 27 December 2021 the Netherlands declared initial operational capability (IOC) for its fleet of 24 F-35As that it has received to date from its order for 46 F-35As. In 2022, the Netherlands announced they will order an additional 6 F-35s, totaling 52 aircraft ordered.


title: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

text: The F-35 was designed with three initial variants – the F-35A, a CTOL land-based version; the F-35B, a STOVL version capable of use either on land or on aircraft carriers; and the F-35C, a CATOBAR carrier-based version. Since then, there has been work on the design of nationally specific versions for Israel and Canada.


title: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

text: The F-35A is the conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) variant intended for the USAF and other air forces. It is the smallest, lightest version and capable of 9 g, the highest of all variants.


title: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

text: Although the F-35A currently conducts aerial refueling via boom and receptacle method, the aircraft can be modified for probe-and-drogue refueling if needed by the customer. A drag chute pod can be installed on the F-35A, with the Royal Norwegian Air Force being the first operator to adopt it.


title: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

text: The F-35B is the short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) variant of the aircraft. Similar in size to the A variant, the B sacrifices about a third of the A variant's fuel volume to accommodate the SDLF. This variant is limited to 7 g. Unlike other variants, the F-35B has no landing hook. The "STOVL/HOOK" control instead engages conversion between normal and vertical flight. The F-35B can also perform vertical and/or short take-off and landing (V/STOL).


title: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

text: The F-35C variant is designed for catapult-assisted take-off but arrested recovery operations from aircraft carriers. Compared to the F-35A, the F-35C features larger wings with foldable wingtip sections, larger control surfaces for improved low-speed control, stronger landing gear for the stresses of carrier arrested landings, a twin-wheel nose gear, and a stronger tailhook for use with carrier arrestor cables. The larger wing area allows for decreased landing speed while increasing both range and payload. The F-35C is limited to 7.5 g.


title: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

text: The F-35I "Adir" (, meaning "Awesome", or "Mighty One") is an F-35A with unique Israeli modifications. The US initially refused to allow such changes before permitting Israel to integrate its own electronic warfare systems, including sensors and countermeasures. The main computer has a plug-and-play function for add-on systems; proposals include an external jamming pod, and new Israeli air-to-air missiles and guided bombs in the internal weapon bays. A senior IAF official said that the F-35's stealth may be partly overcome within 10 years despite a 30 to 40-year service life, thus Israel's insistence on using their own electronic warfare systems. Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has considered a two-seat F-35 concept; an IAI executive noted: "There is a known demand for two seats not only from Israel but from other air forces". IAI plans to produce conformal fuel tanks.


title: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

text: The Canadian CF-35 was a proposed variant that would differ from the F-35A through the addition of a drogue parachute and the potential inclusion of an F-35B/C-style refueling probe. In 2012, it was revealed that the CF-35 would employ the same boom refueling system as the F-35A. One alternative proposal would have been the adoption of the F-35C for its probe refueling and lower landing speed; however, the Parliamentary Budget Officer's report cited the F-35C's limited performance and payload as being too high a price to pay. Following the 2015 Federal Election the Liberal Party, whose campaign had included a pledge to cancel the F-35 procurement, formed a new government and commenced an open competition to replace the existing CF-18 Hornet. The CF-35 variant was deemed too expensive to develop, and was never considered. The Canadian government decided to not pursue any other modifications in the Future Fighter Capability Project, and instead focus on the potential procurement of the existing F-35A variant. It has been speculated, however, that the RCAF would still include the drag chute pod as seen on RNoAF F-35As for shortened landing distances.


title: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

text: On 28 March 2022, the Canadian Government began negotiations with Lockheed Martin for 88 F-35As to replace the aging fleet of CF-18 Hornet fighters starting in 2025. The project is reported to cost upwards of CA$19bn total over the course of the F-35 program.


title: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

text: In December 2021, it was reported that Lockheed Martin was developing a new variant for an unspecified foreign customer. The Department of Defense released US$49 million in funding for this work.


title: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

text: The "F-35D" was used as a notional 2035 aircraft to illustrate a hypothetical scenario as part of a 2015 USAF study called the Future Operating Concept.


title: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

text: On 23 June 2014, an F-35A's engine caught fire at Eglin AFB. The pilot escaped unharmed, while the aircraft sustained an estimated US$50 million in damage. The accident caused all flights to be halted on 3 July. The fleet returned to flight on 15 July with flight envelope restrictions. In June 2015, the USAF Air Education and Training Command (AETC) issued its official report, which blamed the failure on the third stage rotor of the engine's fan module, pieces of which cut through the fan case and upper fuselage. Pratt & Whitney applied an extended "rub-in" to increase the gap between the second stator and the third rotor integral arm seal, as well as design alterations to pre-trench the stator by early 2016.


title: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

text: On 28 September 2018, the first crash occurred involving a USMC F-35B near Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, South Carolina; the pilot ejected safely. The crash was attributed to a faulty fuel tube; all F-35s were grounded on 11 October pending a fleet-wide inspection of the tubes. The next day, most USAF and USN F-35s returned to flight status following the inspection.


title: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

text: On 9 April 2019, a JASDF F-35A attached to Misawa Air Base disappeared from radar about east of the Aomori Prefecture during a training mission over the Pacific Ocean. The pilot, Major Akinori Hosomi, had radioed his intention to abort the drill before disappearing. The US and Japanese navies searched for the missing aircraft and pilot, finding debris on the water that confirmed its crash; Hosomi's remains were recovered in June. In response, Japan grounded its 12 F-35As. There was speculation that China or Russia might attempt to salvage it; the Japanese Defense Ministry announced there had been no "reported activities" from either country. The F-35 reportedly did not send a distress signal nor did the pilot attempt any recovery maneuvers as it descended at a rapid rate. The accident report attributed the cause to the pilot's spatial disorientation.


title: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

text: On 19 May 2020, a USAF F-35A from the 58th Fighter Squadron crashed while landing at Eglin AFB. The pilot ejected and was in stable condition. The accident was attributed to a combination of pilot error induced by fatigue, a design issue with the oxygen system and the aircraft's more complex nature being distracting, as well as a malfunctioning head-mounted display and an unresponsive flight control system.


title: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

text: On 29 September 2020, a USMC F-35B crashed in Imperial County, California, after colliding with a Marine Corps KC-130 during air-to-air refuelling. The F-35B pilot was injured in the ejection, and the KC-130 crash-landed gear up in a field.


title: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

text: On 12 March 2021, during a close air support weapons training night-time flight near Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Arizona, a round fired from the belly-mounted gunpod on a F-35B, a 25mm GAU/A gatling gun, detonated shortly after leaving the barrel of the gun. This specific round fired was a PGU-32/B SAPHEI-T (Semi armor piercing high explosive incendiary tracer), which is designed to detonate after the round has penetrated the target's armor, beginning a fuze delayed explosion and then spread the incendiary material. These rounds are also equipped with graze detection, meaning even with a slight grazing blow to a target they will explode and spread the incendiary substance. The mishap was classified as a Class C, meaning the damage incurred a cost of between $60,000-$600,000 to repair, and/or a nonfatal injury forcing lost time from work for the remainder of the working day that the injury occurred. The aircraft itself was grounded for maintenance for over three months, but the pilot was uninjured. The shrapnel from the round penetrated several parts of the aircraft, requiring their replacement.


title: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

text: On 17 November 2021, a Royal Air Force F-35B crashed during routine operations in the Mediterranean. The pilot was safely recovered to . Early reports suggested some of "the covers and engine blanks" had not been removed before takeoff. The wreckage, including all security sensitive equipment, was largely recovered with the assistance of U.S. and Italian forces.


title: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

text: On 4 January 2022, a South Korean Air Force F-35A made a belly landing after all systems failed except the flight controls and the engine. The pilot heard a series of bangs during low altitude flight, and various systems stopped working. The control tower suggested that the pilot eject, but he managed to land the plane without deploying the landing gear, walking away uninjured.


title: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

text: On 24 January 2022, a USN F-35C with VFA-147 suffered a ramp strike while landing on the and was lost overboard in the South China Sea, injuring seven crew members. The pilot ejected safely and was recovered from the water. On 2 March 2022, the aircraft was recovered from a depth of approximately with the aid of a remotely operated vehicle (ROV).


title: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

text: On 19 October 2022, an F-35A crashed at the North end of the runway at Hill Air Force Base, Utah. The pilot safely ejected and was unharmed. The cause of the crash is under investigation.


title: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

text: On 15 December 2022, an F-35B crashed during a failed vertical landing at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth in Texas. The pilot ejected on the ground and was not seriously injured. The aircraft was undergoing production test flying by a government pilot and had not yet been delivered by the manufacturer to the US military.


title: BBC World Service

text: The BBC World Service is an international broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC, with funding from the British Government through the Foreign Secretary's office. It is the world's largest external broadcaster in terms of reception area, language selection and audience reach. It broadcasts radio news, speech and discussions in more than 40 languages to many parts of the world on analogue and digital shortwave platforms, internet streaming, podcasting, satellite, DAB, FM and MW relays. In 2015, the World Service reached an average of 210 million people a week (via TV, radio and online). In November 2016, the BBC announced that it would start broadcasting in additional languages including Amharic and Igbo, in its biggest expansion since the 1940s.


title: BBC World Service

text: The World Service is funded by the United Kingdom's television licence fee, limited advertising and the profits of BBC Studios. The service was also guaranteed £289 million (allocated over a five-year period ending in 2020) from the UK government. The World Service was funded for decades by grant-in-aid through the Foreign and Commonwealth Office until 1 April 2014.


title: BBC World Service

text: BBC World Service English maintains eight regional feeds with several programme variations, covering, respectively, East and South Africa; West and Central Africa; Europe and Middle East; the Americas and Caribbean; East Asia; South Asia; Australasia; and the United Kingdom. There are also two separate online-only streams with one being more news-oriented, known as "News Internet". The service broadcasts 24 hours a day.


title: BBC World Service

text: The World Service claims that its aim is to be "the world's best-known and most-respected voice in international broadcasting", while retaining a "balanced British view" of international developments. Former director Peter Horrocks visualised the organisation as fighting an "information war" of soft power against Russian and Chinese international state media, including RT. As such, the BBC has been banned in both Russia and China, the former following its 2022 invasion of Ukraine and the latter for having "violated regulations that news bulletins should be 'truthful and fair".


title: BBC World Service

text: The director of the BBC World Service is Liliane Landor; the controller of the BBC World Service in English is Jon Zilkha.


title: BBC World Service

text: The BBC World Service began on 19 December 1932 as the BBC Empire Service, broadcasting on shortwave and aimed principally at English speakers across the British Empire. In his first Christmas Message (1932), King George V characterised the service as intended for "men and women, so cut off by the snow, the desert, or the sea, that only voices out of the air can reach them". First hopes for the Empire Service were low. The Director General, Sir John Reith, said in the opening programme:


title: BBC World Service

text: Don't expect too much in the early days; for some time we shall transmit comparatively simple programmes, to give the best chance of intelligible reception and provide evidence as to the type of material most suitable for the service in each zone. The programmes will neither be very interesting nor very good.


title: BBC World Service

text: On 3 January 1938 the first foreign-language service was launched—in Arabic. Programmes in German, Italian and French started on 27 September 1938, and by the end of 1942, the BBC had started broadcasts in all major European languages. As a result, the Empire Service was renamed the BBC Overseas Service in November 1939, supplemented by the addition of a dedicated BBC European Service from 1941. Funding for these services—known administratively as the External Services of the BBC—came not from the domestic licence fee but from government grant-in-aid (from the Foreign Office budget).


title: BBC World Service

text: The External Services broadcast propaganda during the Second World War of 1939–1945. Its French service ' also sent coded messages to the French Resistance. George Orwell broadcast many news bulletins on the Eastern Service during the Second World War.


title: BBC World Service

text: By the end of the 1940s the number of broadcast languages had expanded and reception had improved, following the opening of a relay in Malaya and of the Limassol relay in Cyprus in 1957. On 1 May 1965 the service took its current name of BBC World Service. It expanded its reach with the opening of the Ascension Island relay in 1966, serving African audiences with a stronger signal and better reception, and with the later relay on the Island of Masirah in Oman.


title: BBC World Service

text: In August 1985 the service went off-air for the first time when workers went on strike in protest at the British government's decision to ban a documentary featuring an interview with Martin McGuinness of Sinn Féin.


title: BBC World Service

text: Subsequently, financial pressures decreased the number and the types of services offered by the BBC. Audiences in countries with wide access to Internet services have less need for terrestrial radio. Broadcasts in German ended in March 1999, after research showed that the majority of German listeners tuned into the English-language service. Broadcasts in Dutch, Finnish, French, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese and Malay stopped for similar reasons.


title: BBC World Service

text: On 25 October 2005, the BBC announced that broadcasts in Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Greek, Hungarian, Kazakh, Polish, Slovak, Slovene and Thai would end by March 2006, to finance the launch in 2007 of television news services in Arabic and Persian. Additionally, Romanian broadcasts ceased on 1 August 2008.


title: BBC World Service

text: In 2011, BBC Kyrgyz service newsreader and producer Arslan Koichiev resigned from his BBC post after revelations and claims of involvement in the Kyrgyzstan revolution of April 2010. He had been based in London, but often travelled to Kyrgyzstan and used BBC resources to agitate against President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, appearing on a Kyrgyz radio station under a pseudonym with a disguised voice. One of the leaders of the revolution, Aliyasbek Alymkulov, named the producer as his mentor and claimed that they had discussed preparations for the revolution.


title: BBC World Service

text: According to London newspaper the "Evening Standard", "Mr Alymkulov claimed that Koichiev arranged secret meetings "through the BBC" and organised the march at the presidential palace on 7 April 2010"


title: BBC World Service

text: In January 2011, the closure of the Albanian, Macedonian and Serbian, as well English for the Caribbean and Portuguese for Africa, services was announced. The British government announced that the three Balkan countries had wide access to international information, and so broadcasts in the local languages had become unnecessary. This decision reflected the financial situation the Corporation faced following transfer of responsibility for the Service from the Foreign Office, so that it would in future have been funded from within licence-fee income. The Russian, Ukrainian, Mandarin Chinese, Turkish, Vietnamese and Spanish for Cuba services ceased radio broadcasting, and the Hindi, Indonesian, Kyrgyz, Nepali, Swahili, Kinyarwanda and Kirundi services ceased shortwave transmissions. As part of the 16% budget cut, 650 jobs were eliminated.


title: BBC World Service

text: The Service broadcasts from Broadcasting House in London, which is also headquarters of the corporation. It is located in the newer parts of the building, which contains radio and television studios for use by the overseas language services. The building also contains an integrated newsroom used by the international World Service, the international television channel BBC World News, the domestic television and radio BBC News bulletins, the BBC News Channel and BBC Online.


title: BBC World Service

text: At its launch, the Service was located along with most radio output in Broadcasting House. However, following the explosion of a parachute mine nearby on 8 December 1940, it relocated to premises away from the likely target of Broadcasting House. The Overseas service relocated to Oxford Street while the European service moved temporarily to the emergency broadcasting facilities at Maida Vale Studios. The European services moved permanently into Bush House towards the end of 1940, completing the move in 1941, with the Overseas services joining them in 1958. Bush House subsequently became the home of the BBC World Service and the building itself has gained a global reputation with the audience of the service. However, the building was vacated in 2012 as a result of the Broadcasting House redevelopment and the end of the building's lease that year; the first service to move was the Burmese Service on 11 March 2012 and the final broadcast from Bush House was a news bulletin broadcast at 11.00GMT on 12 July 2012.


title: BBC World Service

text: The BBC World Service encompasses an English 24-hour global radio network and separate services in 27 other languages. News and information is available in these languages on the BBC website, with many having RSS feeds and specific versions for use on mobile devices, and some also offer email notification of stories. In addition to the English service, 18 of the language services broadcast a radio service using the short wave, AM or FM bands. These are also available to listen live or can be listened to later (usually for seven days) over the Internet and, in the case of seven language services, can be downloaded as podcasts. News is also available from the BBC News 'app', which is available from both iTunes and the Google Play Store. In recent years, video content has also been used by the World Service: 16 language services show video reports on the website, and the Arabic and Persian services have their own television channels. TV is also used to broadcast the radio service, with local cable and satellite operators providing the English network (and occasionally some local language services) free to air. The English service is also available on digital radio in the UK and Europe.


title: BBC World Service

text: Traditionally, the Service relied on shortwave broadcasts, because of their ability to overcome barriers of censorship, distance, and spectrum scarcity. The BBC has maintained a worldwide network of shortwave relay stations since the 1940s, mainly in former British colonies. These cross-border broadcasts have also been used in special circumstances for emergency messages to British subjects abroad, such as the advice to evacuate Jordan during the Black September incidents of September 1970. These facilities were privatised in 1997 as Merlin Communications, and later acquired and operated as part of a wider network for multiple broadcasters by VT Communications (now part of Babcock International Group). It is also common for BBC programmes to air on Voice of America or ORF transmitters, while their programming is relayed by a station located inside the UK. However, since the 1980s, satellite distribution has made it possible for local stations to relay BBC programmes.


title: BBC World Service

text: This table lists the various language services operated by the BBC World Service with start and closure dates, where known/applicable.


title: BBC World Service

text: The World Service in English mainly broadcasts news and analysis. The mainstays of the current schedule are "Newsday", "Newshour" and "The Newsroom". There are daily science programmes: "Health Check", the technology programme "Digital Planet" and "Science in Action". At weekends, some of the schedule is taken up by "Sportsworld", which often includes live commentary of Premier League football matches. Other weekend sport shows include "The Sports Hour" and "Stumped", a cricket programme co-produced with All India Radio and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. On Sundays the international, interdisciplinary discussion programme ""The Forum"" is broadcast. "Outlook" is a human interest programme presented by Matthew Bannister and Jo Fidgen, which was first broadcast in July 1966 and presented for more than thirty years by John Tidmarsh. "Trending" describes itself as "explaining the stories the world is sharing..." Regular music programmes were reintroduced with the autumn schedule in 2015. Many programmes, particularly speech-based ones, are also available as podcasts. "Business Daily" is a weekday live international business news programme, which broadcasts from 8:32:30am to 8:59:00am UK time from Broadcasting House in London.


title: BBC World Service

text: Previous broadcasts included popular music programmes presented by John Peel and classical music programmes presented by Edward Greenfield. There have also been religious programmes, of mostly Anglican celebration and often from the Church of St. Martin in the Fields, weekly drama, English-language lessons, and comedy including "Just A Minute". Other notable previous programmes include "Letter from America" by Alistair Cooke, which was broadcast for over fifty years; "Off the Shelf" with its daily reading from a novel, biography or history book; "A Jolly Good Show", a music request programme presented by Dave Lee Travis; "Waveguide", a radio reception guide; and "The Merchant Navy Programme", a show for seafarers presented by Malcolm Billings; "The Morning Show", "Good Morning Africa" and "PM", all presented by Pete Myers in the 1960s and 1970s.


title: BBC World Service

text: Since the late 1990s, the station has focused more on news, with bulletins added every half-hour following the outbreak of the Iraq War.


title: BBC World Service

text: News is at the core of the scheduling. A five-minute bulletin is generally transmitted at 01 past the hour, with a two-minute summary at 30 past the hour. Sometimes these are separate from other programming, or alternatively made integral to the programme (such as with "The Newsroom", "Newshour" or "Newsday"). During such time slots as weeknights 11pm-12am GMT and that of "Sportsworld", no news summaries are broadcast. As part of the BBC's policy for breaking news, the Service is the first to receive a full report for foreign news.


title: BBC World Service

text: BBC World Service is available by subscription to Sirius XM's satellite radio service in the United States. Its Canadian affiliate, Sirius XM Canada, does the same in Canada. More than 300 public radio stations across the US carry World Service news broadcasts —mostly during the overnight and early-morning hours— over AM and FM radio, distributed by American Public Media (APM). Some public radio stations also carry the World Service in its entirely via HD Radio. The BBC and Public Radio International (PRI) co-produce the programme "The World" with WGBH Radio Boston, and the BBC was previously involved with "The Takeaway" morning news programme based at WNYC in New York City. BBC World Service programming also airs as part of CBC Radio One's "CBC Radio Overnight" schedule in Canada.


title: BBC World Service

text: BBC shortwave broadcasts to this region were traditionally enhanced by the Atlantic Relay Station and the Caribbean Relay Company, a station in Antigua run jointly with Deutsche Welle. In addition, an exchange agreement with Radio Canada International gave access to their station in New Brunswick. However, "changing listening habits" led the World Service to end shortwave radio transmission directed to North America and Australasia on 1 July 2001. A shortwave listener coalition formed to oppose the change.


title: BBC World Service

text: The BBC broadcasts to Central America and South America in several languages. It is possible to receive the Western African shortwave radio broadcasts from eastern North America, but the BBC does not guarantee reception in this area. It has ended its specialist programming to the Falkland Islands but continues to provide a stream of World Service programming to the Falkland Islands Radio Service.


title: BBC World Service

text: For several decades, the World Service's largest audiences have been in Asia, the Middle East, Near East and South Asia. Transmission facilities in the UK and Cyprus were supplemented by the former BBC Eastern Relay Station in Oman and the Far Eastern Relay Station in Singapore, formerly in Malaysia. The East Asian Relay Station moved to Thailand in 1997 when Hong Kong was handed over to Chinese sovereignty. The relay station in Thailand was closed in January 2017; currently, relay stations in Singapore and Oman serve the Asian region. Together, these facilities have given the BBC World Service an easily accessible signal in regions where shortwave listening has traditionally been popular. The English shortwave frequencies of 6.195 (49m band), 9.74 (31m band), 15.31/15.36 (19m band) and 17.76/17.79 (16m band) were widely known. On 25 March 2018, the long-established shortwave frequency of 9.74 MHz was changed to 9.9 MHz.


title: BBC World Service

text: The largest audiences are in English, Hindi, Urdu, Nepali, Bengali, Sinhala, Tamil, Marathi and other major languages of South Asia, where BBC broadcasters are household names. The Persian service is the "de facto" national broadcaster of Afghanistan, along with its Iranian audience. The World Service is available up to eighteen hours a day in English across most parts of Asia, and in Arabic for the Middle East. With the addition of relays in Afghanistan and Iraq these services are accessible in most of the Middle and Near East in the evening. In Singapore, the BBC World Service in English is essentially treated as a domestic broadcaster, easily available 24/7 through long-term agreement with MediaCorp Radio. For many years Radio Television Hong Kong broadcast BBC World Service 24/7 but as of 12 February 2021, Hong Kong has banned the BBC's World Service radio from its airwaves, following swiftly on the heels of China's decision to bar its World News television channels, seemingly in retaliation for Ofcom revoking the UK broadcasting licence of China Global Television Network. In the Philippines, DZRJ 810 AM broadcasts the BBC World Service in English from 12:00–05:00 PHT (GMT+8).


title: BBC World Service

text: Although this region has seen the launch of the only two foreign language television channels, several other services have had their radio services closed as a result of budget cuts and redirection of resources.


title: BBC World Service

text: Japan and Korea have little tradition of World Service listening, although during the 1970s to 1980s, shortwave listening was popular in Japan. In those two countries, the BBC World Service was only available via shortwave and the Internet. As of September 2007, a satellite transmission (subscription required) became available by Skylife (Channel 791) in South Korea. In November 2016, the BBC World Service announced it plans to start broadcasts in Korean. "BBC Korean", a radio and web service, started on 25 September 2017.


title: BBC World Service

text: The Soviet Union, Iran, Iraq and Myanmar/Burma have all jammed the BBC in the past. Mandarin was heavily jammed by the People's Republic of China until shortwave transmissions for that service ceased but China continues to jam transmissions in Uzbek and has since started to jam transmissions in English throughout Asia.


title: BBC World Service

text: The BBC World Service is broadcast in Berlin on 94.8 MHz. FM relays are also available in Ceske Budjovice, Karlovy Vary, Plzen, Usti nad Labem, Zlin and Prague in the Czech Republic, Pristina, Riga, Tallinn, Tirana and Vilnius. A BBC World Service channel is available on DAB+ in Brussels and Flanders and Amsterdam, the Hague, Utrecht and Rotterdam. Following a national reorganisation of DAB multiplexes in October 2017, the station is available on DAB+ across the whole of Denmark.


title: BBC World Service

text: The World Service employed a medium wave transmitter at Orford Ness to provide English-language coverage to Europe, including on the frequency 648 kHz (which could be heard in parts of the south-east of England during the day and most of the UK after dark). Transmissions on this frequency were stopped on 27 March 2011, as a consequence of the budgetary constraints imposed on the BBC World Service in the 2010 budget review. A second channel (1296 kHz) traditionally broadcast in various Central European languages, but this frequency has also been discontinued and in 2005 it began regular English-language transmissions via the Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) format. This is a digital shortwave technology that VT expects to become the standard for cross-border transmissions in developed countries.


title: BBC World Service

text: In the 1990s, the BBC purchased and constructed large medium wave and FM networks in the former Soviet bloc, particularly the Czech (BBC Czech Section), Slovak Republics (BBC Slovak Section), Poland (BBC Polish Section) (where it was a national network) and Russia (BBC Russian Service). It had built up a strong audience during the Cold War, whilst economic restructuring made it difficult for these governments to refuse Western investment. Many of these facilities have now returned to domestic control, as economic and political conditions have changed.


title: BBC World Service

text: On Monday, 18 February 2008, the BBC World Service stopped analogue shortwave transmissions to Europe. The notice stated, "Increasing numbers of people around the world are choosing to listen to radio on a range of other platforms including FM, satellite and online, with fewer listening on shortwave." It is sometimes possible to pick up the BBC World Service in Europe on SW frequencies targeted at North Africa. The BBC's powerful 198 kHz LW, which broadcasts the domestic BBC Radio 4 to Britain during the day (and carries the World Service during the night) can also be heard in nearby parts of Europe, including the Republic of Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium and parts of France, Germany and Scandinavia.


title: BBC World Service

text: In Malta, BBC News bulletins are carried by a number of radio stations, including Radju Malta and Magic 91.7, owned by national broadcaster PBS Ltd. These are broadcast at various points in the day and supplement news bulletins broadcast in Maltese from the PBS Newsroom.


title: BBC World Service

text: Former BBC shortwave transmitters are located in the United Kingdom at Rampisham Down in Dorset, Woofferton in Shropshire and Skelton in Cumbria. The former BBC East Mediterranean Relay Station is in Cyprus.


title: BBC World Service

text: In response to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the BBC began broadcasting World Service English programming at shortwave frequencies 15.735 MHz and 5875 kHz for receivers in Ukraine and parts of Russia.


title: BBC World Service

text: The World Service is available as part of the subscription Digital Air package (available from Foxtel and Austar) in Australia. ABC NewsRadio, SBS Radio, and various community radio stations also broadcast many programmes. Many of these stations broadcast a straight feed during the midnight to dawn period. It is also available via the satellite service Optus Aurora, which is encrypted but available without subscription. In Sydney, Australia, a transmission of the service can be received at 152.025 MHz. It is also available on the DAB+ Network in Australia on SBS Radio 4 (except during Eurovision and special events). 2MBS-FM 102.5, a classical music station in Sydney, also carries the BBC World Service news programmes at 7a.m. and 8a.m. on weekdays, during its "Music for a New Day" breakfast programme.


title: BBC World Service

text: Shortwave relays from Singapore (see Asia, above) continue, but historic relays via Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and Radio New Zealand International were wound down in the late 1990s. BBC World Service relays on Radio Australia now carry the BBC Radio news programmes.


title: BBC World Service

text: In the Pacific and New Zealand, the Auckland Radio Trust operates a BBC World Service network as a non-profit donation-funded public broadcaster. It broadcasts on 810 kHz in Auckland, 107.0 MHz in Whitianga and Whangamatā, 107.3 MHz in Kaipara Harbour, 88.2 MHz in Suva and Nadi, 100.0 MHz in Bairiki and Tarawa, 101.1 MHz in Pohnpei, 107.6 MHz in Port Moresby, 105.9 MHz in Honiara, 99.0 MHz in Port Vila and Luganville, and 100.1 MHz in Funafuti. The station also broadcasts local content.


title: BBC World Service

text: In New Zealand, AREC FM carries the BBC World Service 24/7 in the Wellington region. Available on 107.0 MHz in the CBD, 87.6 MHz in Porirua/Mana, and 87.9 MHz in Waikanae/Paraparaumu. AREC FM is a non-profit donation funded LPFM broadcaster and a subscriber to the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia's Community Radio Network (Australia).


title: BBC World Service

text: In New Zealand, Radio Tarana and members of the Association of Community Access Broadcasters carry some BBC World Service programmes. The BBC World Service was previously available on 1233 kHz in Wellington between 1990 and 1994, and again from 1996 to 1997.


title: BBC World Service

text: The BBC World Service is broadcast on DAB, Freeview, Virgin Media and Sky platforms. It is also broadcast overnight on the frequencies of BBC Radio 4 and the Welsh language service BBC Radio Cymru following their closedown at 0000 or 0100 British time. The BBC World Service does not receive funding for broadcasts to the UK. In southeast England, the station could be picked up reliably on medium wave 648 kHz, which was targeted at mainland Europe.


title: BBC World Service

text: According to RAJAR, the station broadcasts to a weekly audience of 1.2 million with a listening share of 0.6% as of September 2022.


title: BBC World Service

text: The World Service uses several tunes and sounds to represent the station. A previous signature tune of the station was a five note motif, composed by David Arnold and which comprises a variety of voices declaim "This is the BBC in..." before going on to name various cities (e.g. Kampala, Milan, Delhi, Johannesburg), followed by the station's slogan and the Greenwich Time Signal. This was heard throughout the network with a few variations – in the UK the full service name was spoken, whereas just the name of the BBC was used outside the UK. The phrase "This is London" was used previously in place of a station slogan.


title: BBC World Service

text: The tune "Lillibullero" was another well known signature tune of the network following its broadcast previously as part of the top-of-the-hour sequence. This piece of music is no longer heard before news bulletins. The use of the tune gained minor controversy because of its background as a Protestant marching song in Northern Ireland.


title: BBC World Service

text: The "Prince of Denmark's March" (commonly known as the "Trumpet Voluntary") was often broadcast by the BBC Radio during World War II, especially when programming was directed to occupied Denmark, as the march symbolised a connection between the two countries. It remained for many years the signature tune of the BBC European Service.


title: BBC World Service

text: In addition to these tunes, the BBC World Service also uses several interval signals. The English service uses a recording of Bow Bells, made in 1926 and used a symbol of hope during the Second World War, only replaced for a brief time during the 1970s with the tune to the nursery rhyme "Oranges and Lemons". The morse code of the letter "V" has also been used as a signal and was introduced in January 1941 and had several variations including timpani, the first four notes of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony (which coincide with the letter "V"), and electronic tones which until recently remained in use for some Western European services. In other languages, the interval signal is three notes, pitched B–B-C. However, these symbols have been used less frequently.


title: BBC World Service

text: The network operates using Greenwich Mean Time, regardless of the time zone and time of year, and is announced on the hour on the English service as "13 hours GMT" (1300 GMT) or "Midnight Greenwich Mean Time" (0000 GMT). The BBC World Service traditionally broadcasts the chimes of Big Ben in London at the start of a new year.


title: BBC World Service

text: A BBC News report would begin with its station identification phrase "This is London" or "This is London calling". The phrase has become a trademark of the BBC World Service, and has been influential in popular culture, such as music. In 1979, the British punk rock band The Clash released the hit song "London Calling", which was partly based on the station identification phrase.


title: BBC World Service

text: On the Eurovision Song Contest, before announcing the contest results for the UK, the broadcaster from the BBC delivering the votes usually begins with "This is London Calling". In 2019, the BBC started a weekly podcast called "Eurovision Calling" with Jayde Adams and Scott Mills.


title: BBC World Service

text: The World Service claims that its aim is to be "the world's best-known and most-respected voice in international broadcasting, thereby bringing benefit to the UK, the BBC, and to audiences around the world", while retaining a "balanced British view" of international developments. According to the American socialist magazine "Monthly Review", former director Peter Horrocks inferred the World Service's scope to Russian state broadcaster RT as a means of extending international influence and soft power, with Tory MP John Whittingdale characterising the BBC's primary mission as fighting an 'Information War' (a role which some media scholars agree to), saying: "We are being outgunned massively by the Russians and Chinese and that’s something I’ve raised with the BBC. It is frightening the extent to which we are losing the information war.”


title: BBC World Service

text: In the context of the Iranian Revolution, the BBC World Service's Persian-language service has been criticised for its role in promoting the Shah's regime and undermining local norms in favour of British-selected values, with the British Ambassador in Iran, Peter Ramsbotham, stating in reaction to a Service-sponsored poetry contest (in celebration of the 2500th anniversary of the founding of the Archaemenid empire) that the organisation "seems to be damaging its image by acquiring a reputation for employing and supporting 'old brigade' expatriates." Furthermore, it appears that the Foreign & Commonwealth Office made a concerted effort to favourable of Persia to BBC World Service audiences in order to maintain cordiality with the Shah's regime. For example, in December 1973, a memo from Ramsbotham details a request from the Iranian Prime Minister for the text of a broadcast about Iran by Peter Avery, lecturer in Persian Studies and Fellow at King's College, Cambridge, which he deemed 'excellent' and wanted to show the Shah. This later became the programme "Iran: Oil and the Shah's Arab Neighbours" which was aired globally on 1 December 1973, much to the chagrin of the Iranian people, who began airing their frustrations against the British government out on the BBC Persian Service; By 1976, Ramsbotham's successor, Sir Anthony Parsons, concluded that the Persian Service has lost its propaganda value and supported discontinuing the service: "[It] is well known that the vernacular service is financed by the FCO and is therefore firmly considered by the Iranians as an official organ of the government."


title: John Wayne Gacy

text: John Wayne Gacy (March 17, 1942 – May 10, 1994) was an American serial killer and sex offender who raped, tortured, and murdered at least 33 young men and boys. Gacy regularly performed at children's hospitals and charitable events as "Pogo the Clown" or "Patches the Clown", personas he had devised. He became known as the Killer Clown due to his public services as a clown prior to the discovery of his crimes.


title: John Wayne Gacy

text: Gacy committed all of his murders inside his ranch-style house near Norridge, a village in Norwood Park Township in suburban Chicago. Typically, he would lure a victim to his home and dupe him into donning handcuffs on the pretext of demonstrating a magic trick. He would then rape and torture his captive before killing him by either asphyxiation or strangulation with a garrote. Twenty-six victims were buried in the crawl space of his home, and three others were buried elsewhere on his property; four were discarded in the Des Plaines River.


title: John Wayne Gacy

text: Gacy was convicted of the sodomy of a teenage boy in Waterloo, Iowa, in 1968 and was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment, but served eighteen months. He murdered his first victim in 1972, had murdered twice more by the end of 1975, and murdered at least thirty subsequent victims after his divorce from his second wife in 1976. The investigation into the disappearance of Des Plaines teenager Robert Piest led to Gacy's arrest on December 21, 1978.


title: John Wayne Gacy

text: His conviction for thirty-three murders (by one individual) then covered the most homicides in United States legal history. Gacy was sentenced to death on March 13, 1980. On death row at Menard Correctional Center, he spent much of his time painting. He was executed by lethal injection at Stateville Correctional Center on May 10, 1994.


title: John Wayne Gacy

text: John Wayne Gacy was born in Chicago, Illinois, on March 17, 1942, the second child and only son of John Stanley Gacy (1900–1969) and Marion Elaine Robison (1908–1989). His father was an auto repair machinist and World War I veteran, and his mother was a homemaker. Gacy was of Polish and Danish ancestry, and his family was Catholic. His paternal grandparents (who spelled the family name as "Gatza" or "Gaca") had immigrated to the United States from Poland (then part of the German state of Prussia).


title: John Wayne Gacy

text: Gacy was close to his mother and two sisters, but endured a difficult relationship with his father, an alcoholic who was physically abusive to his family. His father also belittled him, calling him "dumb and stupid" and comparing him unfavorably with his sisters. One of Gacy's earliest memories was of his father beating him with a leather belt for accidentally disarranging components of a car engine he had assembled. His mother tried to shield her son from his father's abuse, which only resulted in accusations that he was a "sissy" and a "mama's boy" who would "probably grow up queer". Despite this mistreatment, however, Gacy still loved his father, but felt he was "never good enough" in his father's eyes.


title: John Wayne Gacy

text: In 1949, Gacy's father was informed that his son and another boy had been caught sexually fondling a young girl. His father whipped him with a razor strop as punishment. The same year, a family friend and contractor would sometimes molest Gacy in his truck. Gacy never told his father about this, afraid that his father would blame him.


title: John Wayne Gacy

text: Gacy was an overweight and unathletic child. Because of a heart condition, he was told to avoid all sports at school. During the fourth grade, Gacy began to experience blackouts. He was hospitalized on occasion because of these episodes and also, in 1957, for a burst appendix. Gacy later estimated that between the ages of 14 and 18, he had spent almost a year in hospital and attributed the decline of his grades to missing school. His father suspected these episodes were an effort to gain sympathy and attention and openly accused his son of faking the condition as Gacy lay in a hospital bed. Although his mother, sisters, and few close friends never doubted his illness, Gacy's medical condition was never conclusively diagnosed.


title: John Wayne Gacy

text: One of Gacy's friends in high school recalled several instances when his father ridiculed or beat his son without provocation. On one occasion in 1957, he witnessed Gacy's father emerging drunk from the family basement to begin belittling, then hitting his son for no apparent reason. Gacy's mother attempted to intervene as her son simply "put up his hands to defend himself". According to the friend, Gacy never struck his father back during these altercations.


title: John Wayne Gacy

text: In 1960, at age 18, Gacy became involved in politics, working as an assistant precinct captain for a Democratic Party candidate in his neighborhood. This led to more criticism from his father, who accused his son of being a "patsy". Gacy later speculated his decision to become involved in politics was actually to seek the acceptance from others that he never received from his father.


title: John Wayne Gacy

text: The same year Gacy's political involvement began, his father bought him a car. He kept the vehicle's title in his own name until Gacy had finished paying for it. These monthly payments took several years for him to complete. His father would confiscate the keys to the vehicle if Gacy did not do as he said. In April 1962, Gacy purchased an extra set of keys after his father confiscated the original set. In response, his father removed the distributor cap, keeping the component for three days. Gacy recalled he felt "totally sick" and "drained" after this incident.


title: John Wayne Gacy

text: Hours after his father replaced the distributor cap, Gacy left home and drove to Las Vegas, Nevada. He found work within the ambulance service before he was transferred to work as an attendant at Palm Mortuary. As a mortuary attendant, Gacy slept on a cot behind the embalming room. He worked there for three months, observing morticians embalming dead bodies and occasionally serving as a pallbearer. Gacy later confessed that one evening, while alone, he had clambered into the coffin of a deceased teenage male, embracing and caressing the body before experiencing a sense of shock. This prompted Gacy to call his mother the next day and ask whether his father would allow him to return home. His father agreed, and the same day he drove back to Chicago.


title: John Wayne Gacy

text: On returning home, Gacy enrolled at Northwestern Business College, despite having failed to graduate from high school. He graduated in 1963 and took a management trainee position with the Nunn-Bush Shoe Company. In 1964, the shoe company transferred him to Springfield, Illinois, to work as a salesman, and eventually promoted him to manager of his department. In March of that year, he became engaged to Marlynn Myers, a co-worker.


title: John Wayne Gacy

text: During their courtship, Gacy joined the local Jaycees and worked tirelessly for them, being named Key Man in April 1964. That same year, he had his second homosexual experience. According to Gacy, after one of his colleagues in the Springfield Jaycees plied him with drinks and invited him to spend the evening on his sofa, he agreed; the colleague then performed oral sex on him while he was drunk. By 1965, Gacy had risen to the position of vice-president of the Springfield Jaycees. The same year, he was named the third most outstanding Jaycee in the state of Illinois.


title: John Wayne Gacy

text: After a six-month courtship, Gacy and Myers married in September 1964. Marlynn's father subsequently purchased three Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) restaurants in Waterloo, Iowa. The couple moved there so Gacy could manage the restaurants, with the understanding that they would move into Marlynn's parents' former home, which had been vacated for the couple. The offer was lucrative: Gacy would receive $15,000 per year (the equivalent of about $134,550 ), plus a share of the restaurant's profits.


title: John Wayne Gacy

text: Following the obligatory completion of a management course, Gacy relocated to Waterloo with his wife. He opened a "club" in his basement where his employees could drink alcohol and play pool. Although Gacy employed teenagers of both sexes at his restaurants, he socialized only with the young men. Gacy gave many of them alcohol before he made sexual advances; if they rebuffed him, he would claim his advances were simply jokes or a test of morals.


title: John Wayne Gacy

text: Gacy's wife gave birth to a son in February 1966 and a daughter in March 1967. Gacy later described this period of his life as "perfect"—he had finally earned his father's approval. When Gacy's parents paid a family visit in July 1966, his father privately apologized for the physical and emotional abuse he had inflicted throughout his son's childhood and adolescence before happily saying, "Son, I was wrong about you," as he shook Gacy's hand.


title: John Wayne Gacy

text: In Waterloo, Gacy joined the local Jaycees chapter, regularly offering extended hours to the organization in addition to the 12- and 14-hour days he worked managing the three KFC restaurants. At meetings, Gacy often provided fried chicken and insisted on being called "Colonel". He and other Waterloo Jaycees were also deeply involved in wife swapping, prostitution, pornography, and drug use.


title: John Wayne Gacy

text: Although Gacy was considered ambitious and something of a braggart, the other Jaycees held him in high regard for his fundraising work, and in 1967 named him "outstanding vice-president" of the Waterloo Jaycees. The same year, Gacy served on the board of directors.


title: John Wayne Gacy

text: In August 1967, Gacy sexually assaulted 15-year-old Donald Voorhees Jr., the son of Donald E. Voorhees, a local politician and a fellow Jaycee. Gacy lured Voorhees to his house upon the promise of showing him heterosexual stag films regularly played at Jaycee events. Gacy plied Voorhees with alcohol, allowed him to watch a stag movie, then persuaded him to engage in mutual oral sex, adding, "You have to have sex with a man before you start having sex with women." Over the following months Gacy similarly abused several other youths, including one whom he encouraged to have sex with his own wife before blackmailing him into performing oral sex on him. Gacy tricked several teenagers into believing he was commissioned to conduct homosexual experiments in the interests of scientific research, and paid them up to $50 each.


title: John Wayne Gacy

text: In March 1968, Voorhees reported to his father that Gacy had sexually assaulted him. Voorhees Sr. immediately informed the police, who arrested Gacy and subsequently charged him with performing oral sodomy on Voorhees and the attempted assault of 16-year-old Edward Lynch. Gacy vehemently denied the charges and demanded to take a polygraph test. The results indicated Gacy was nervous when he denied any wrongdoing in relation to both young men.


title: John Wayne Gacy

text: Gacy publicly denied any wrongdoing and insisted the charges against him were politically motivated—Voorhees Sr. had opposed Gacy's nomination for appointment as president of the Iowa Jaycees. Several fellow Jaycees found Gacy's story credible and rallied to his support. However, on May 10, 1968, Gacy was indicted on the sodomy charge.


title: John Wayne Gacy

text: On August 30, 1968, Gacy persuaded one of his employees, 18-year-old Russell Schroeder, to physically assault Voorhees in an effort to discourage the boy from testifying against him in court. Gacy promised to pay Schroeder $300. Schroeder agreed, and in early September lured Voorhees to an isolated country park, sprayed Mace in his eyes, then beat him. Voorhees escaped and reported the assault to police, identifying Schroeder as his attacker. They arrested him the following day. While initially denying any involvement, Schroeder soon confessed to assaulting Voorhees, indicating he had done so at Gacy's request. Police arrested Gacy and laid an additional charge of hiring Schroeder to assault and intimidate Voorhees against him.


title: John Wayne Gacy

text: On September 12, Gacy was ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation at the Psychiatric Hospital of the University of Iowa. Two doctors examined him over a period of seventeen days before concluding he had an antisocial personality disorder (the clinical term for sociopathy and/or psychopathy) and was unlikely to benefit from any therapy or medical treatment, and that his behavior pattern was likely to bring him into repeated conflict with society. The doctors concluded he was mentally competent to stand trial.


title: John Wayne Gacy

text: On November 7, 1968, Gacy pleaded guilty to one count of sodomy in relation to Voorhees, but not guilty to the charges related to other youths. Gacy claimed Voorhees had offered himself to him and that he had acted out of curiosity. His story was not believed. Gacy was convicted of sodomy on December 3 and sentenced to ten years' imprisonment, to be served at the Anamosa State Penitentiary. That same day, Gacy's wife petitioned for divorce, requesting she be awarded the couple's home and property, sole custody of their two children, and alimony. The Court ruled in her favor, and the divorce was finalized on September 18, 1969. Gacy never saw his first wife or children again.


title: John Wayne Gacy

text: During his incarceration in the Anamosa State Penitentiary, Gacy rapidly acquired a reputation as a model prisoner. Within months of his arrival, he had risen to the position of head cook. He also joined the inmate Jaycee chapter and increased its membership from 50 to 650 men in less than eighteen months. Gacy also secured an increase in the inmates' daily pay in the prison mess hall and supervised several projects to improve conditions for inmates in the prison. By the summer of 1969, Gacy had overseen the installation of a miniature golf course in the prison recreation yard.


title: John Wayne Gacy

text: In June 1969, Gacy was denied parole. To prepare for a second scheduled parole hearing in May 1970, he completed sixteen high school courses, for which he obtained his diploma in November 1969.


title: John Wayne Gacy

text: On Christmas Day 1969, Gacy's father died from cirrhosis of the liver. When informed of his father's death, Gacy collapsed to the floor, sobbing. His request for supervised compassionate leave to attend the funeral was denied.


title: John Wayne Gacy

text: Gacy was granted parole with twelve months' probation on June 18, 1970, after having served eighteen months of his ten-year sentence. Conditions of his probation included that Gacy relocate to Chicago to live with his mother, and that he must observe a 10:00 p.m. curfew.


title: John Wayne Gacy

text: On his release, Gacy told friend and fellow Jaycee Clarence Lane—who picked him up from the prison and had remained steadfast in his belief of Gacy's innocence—that he would "never go back to jail" and that he intended to re-establish himself in Waterloo. However, within 24 hours of his release, Gacy had relocated to Chicago. He arrived there by bus on June 19 and shortly thereafter obtained a job as a short-order cook in a restaurant.


title: John Wayne Gacy

text: On February 12, 1971, Gacy was charged with sexually assaulting a teenage boy who claimed that he had lured him into his car at Chicago's Greyhound bus terminal and driven him to his home, where he had attempted to force the boy into sex. The court dismissed this complaint when the boy failed to appear. On June 22, Gacy was arrested and charged with aggravated sexual battery and reckless conduct. The arrest was in response to a complaint filed by a youth who claimed that Gacy had flashed a sheriff's badge, lured him into his car, and forced him to perform oral sex. These charges were dropped after the complainant attempted to blackmail Gacy.


title: John Wayne Gacy

text: The Iowa Board of Parole did not learn of these incidents and eight months later, in October 1971, Gacy's parole ended. The following month, the records of Gacy's previous criminal convictions in Iowa were sealed.


title: John Wayne Gacy

text: With financial assistance from his mother, Gacy bought a ranch house near the village of Norridge in Norwood Park Township, an unincorporated area of Cook County, itself a part of metropolitan Chicago. He resided at the address, 8213 West Summerdale Avenue, until his arrest in December 1978 and, according to Gacy, committed all his murders there.


title: John Wayne Gacy

text: Gacy was active in his local community and helpful towards his neighbors; he willingly loaned his construction tools and plowed snow from neighborhood walks free of charge. Between 1974 and 1978, he hosted annual summer parties, each devoted to a particular theme. These events were attended by up to four hundred people, including politicians.


title: John Wayne Gacy

text: In August 1971, shortly after Gacy and his mother moved into the house, he became engaged to Carole Hoff, whom he had briefly dated in high school. They were married on July 1, 1972. Carole and her two young daughters from a previous marriage moved into Gacy's home soon after the couple announced their engagement. His mother moved out of the house shortly before the wedding.


title: John Wayne Gacy

text: By 1975, Gacy had told his wife that he was bisexual. After the couple had sex on Mother's Day that year, he informed her this would be "the last time" they would ever have sex. He began spending most evenings away from home, only to return in the early hours of the morning with the excuse he had been working late. Carole observed Gacy bringing teenage boys into his garage in the early hours and also found gay pornography and men's wallets and identification inside the house. When she confronted Gacy about who these items belonged to, he informed her angrily that it was none of her business.


title: John Wayne Gacy

text: Following a heated argument when she failed to balance a checkbook correctly in October 1975, Carole asked Gacy for a divorce. He agreed to his wife's request although, by mutual consent, she continued to live at the West Summerdale house until February 1976, when she and her daughters moved into their own apartment. One month later, on March 2, the Gacys' divorce—decreed upon the false grounds of Gacy's infidelity with women—was finalized.


title: John Wayne Gacy

text: In 1971, Gacy established a part-time construction business, PDM Contractors. The initials "PDM" were for "Painting, Decorating, and Maintenance". With the approval of his probation officer, Gacy worked evenings on his construction contracts while working as a cook during the day. Initially, he undertook minor repair work, such as sign-writing, pouring concrete and redecorating, but later expanded to include projects such as interior design, remodeling, installation, assembly and landscaping. In mid-1973, Gacy quit his job as a cook so he could commit fully to his construction business.


title: John Wayne Gacy

text: By 1975, PDM was expanding rapidly, and Gacy was working up to sixteen hours per day. In March 1977, he became a supervisor for PE Systems, a firm specializing in the remodeling of drugstores. Between PE Systems and PDM, Gacy worked on up to four projects simultaneously and frequently traveled to other states. By 1978, PDM's annual revenue was over $200,000.


title: John Wayne Gacy

text: Through his membership in a local Moose Club, Gacy became aware of a "Jolly Joker" clown club, whose members regularly performed at fundraising events and parades in addition to voluntarily entertaining hospitalized children. In late 1975, Gacy joined the clown club and created his own clown characters "Pogo the Clown" and "Patches the Clown", devising his own makeup and costumes. He described Pogo as a "happy clown", whereas Patches was a "more serious" character.


title: John Wayne Gacy

text: Gacy seldom earned money for his performances and later said that acting as a clown allowed him to "regress into childhood". He performed as both Pogo and Patches at numerous local parties, political functions, charitable events, and children's hospitals. Sometimes Gacy would remain in his clowning garb after a performance, and briefly drink at a local bar before returning home. Gacy's voluntary public service as a clown throughout the years of his murders led to him being known as the "Killer Clown".


title: John Wayne Gacy

text: Much of PDM's workforce consisted of high school students and young men. Gacy would often proposition his workers for sex, or insist on sexual favors in return for acts such as lending his vehicles, financial assistance or promotions. Gacy also claimed to own guns, once telling an employee, "Do you know how easy it would be to get one of my guns and kill you—and how easy it would be to get rid of the body?"


title: John Wayne Gacy

text: In 1973, Gacy and a teenage employee traveled to Florida to view a property Gacy had purchased. On the first night in Florida, Gacy raped the employee in their hotel room. After returning to Chicago, this employee drove to Gacy's house and beat him in his front yard. Gacy told his wife he had been attacked for refusing to pay him for poor quality painting work.


title: John Wayne Gacy

text: In May 1975, Gacy hired 15-year-old Anthony Antonucci. Two months later, he went to Antonucci's home, knowing the youth had injured his foot in an accident the previous day. The two drank a bottle of wine, then watched a heterosexual stag film before Gacy wrestled Antonucci to the floor and cuffed his hands behind his back. One cuff was loose and Antonucci freed his arm while Gacy was out of the room. When Gacy returned, Antonucci—a high school wrestler—pounced upon him. He wrestled Gacy to the floor, obtained possession of the handcuff key, and cuffed Gacy's hands behind his back. At first, Gacy threatened Antonucci, then calmed down and promised to leave if he would remove the handcuffs. Antonucci agreed and Gacy left. Antonucci later recalled that Gacy told him: "Not only are you the only one who got out of the cuffs, you got them on me."


title: John Wayne Gacy

text: On July 26, 1976, Gacy picked up 18-year-old David Cram as he hitchhiked on Elston Avenue. Gacy offered him a job with PDM, and he began work the same evening. On August 21, Cram moved into his house. The next day, Cram and Gacy had several drinks to celebrate his 19th birthday, with Gacy dressed as Pogo. Gacy conned Cram into donning handcuffs, his wrists cuffed in front of his body rather than behind. He swung Cram around while holding the chain linking the cuffs, then said he intended to rape him. Cram kicked Gacy in the face and freed himself from the handcuffs.


title: John Wayne Gacy

text: A month later, Gacy appeared at Cram's bedroom door intending to rape him, saying, "Dave, you really don't know who I am. Maybe it would be good if you give me what I want." Cram resisted, straddling Gacy, who left the bedroom, stating, "You ain't no fun." Cram moved out on October 5 and left PDM, although he did periodically work for Gacy over the following two years. Shortly after Cram moved out of Gacy's house another employee, 18-year-old Michael Rossi, moved in. Rossi had worked for PDM since May 1976. He lived with Gacy until April 1977. Rossi sometimes assisted Gacy in clowning at grand openings of businesses: Gacy as Pogo and Rossi as Patches.


title: John Wayne Gacy

text: Gacy also entered local Democratic Party politics, initially offering use of his employees to clean party headquarters at no charge. He was rewarded for his community service with an appointment to serve on the Norwood Park Township street lighting committee, subsequently earning the title of precinct captain.


title: John Wayne Gacy

text: In 1975, Gacy was appointed director of Chicago's annual Polish Constitution Day Parade, an event he would supervise until 1978. Through his work with the parade, Gacy met and was photographed with First Lady Rosalynn Carter on May 6, 1978. The event later became an embarrassment to the United States Secret Service. In the pictures, Gacy is wearing an "S" pin, indicating a person given special clearance.


title: John Wayne Gacy

text: Gacy murdered at least 33 young men and boys, and buried 26 of them in the crawl space of his house. His victims included people he knew and random individuals lured from Chicago's Greyhound Bus station, Bughouse Square, or simply off the streets with the promise of a job with PDM, an offer of drink and/or drugs, or money for sex. Some victims were grabbed by force; others conned into believing Gacy (who often carried a sheriff's badge and had spotlights on his black Oldsmobile) was a policeman.


title: John Wayne Gacy

text: Gacy usually lured a lone victim to his house, although on more than one occasion Gacy also had what he called "doubles"—two victims killed in the same evening.


title: John Wayne Gacy

text: Inside Gacy's home, his usual modus operandi was to ply a youth with drink, drugs, or generally gain his trust. He would then produce a pair of handcuffs to "show a magic trick", sometimes as part of a clowning routine. He typically cuffed his own hands behind his back, then surreptitiously released himself with the key which he hid between his fingers. He then offered to show his intended victim how to release himself from the handcuffs. With his victim manacled and unable to free himself, Gacy then made a statement to the effect that "The trick is, you have to have the key." Gacy referred to this act of restraining his victim as the "handcuff trick".


title: John Wayne Gacy

text: Having restrained his victim, Gacy proceeded to rape and torture his captive. He frequently began by sitting on or straddling himself above his victim's chest before forcing the victim to fellate him. Gacy then inflicted acts of torture including burning with cigars, making his captive imitate a horse as he sat on their back and pulled upon makeshift reins around their necks, and violation with foreign objects such as dildos and prescription bottles after he had sodomized his captive. To immobilize his captives' legs before engaging in acts of torture, Gacy frequently manacled their ankles to a two-by-four with handcuffs attached at each end, an act inspired by the Houston Mass Murders. He also verbally taunted many of his victims throughout their continued abuse, and was known to have dragged or forced several victims to crawl into his bathroom, where he partly drowned them in the bathtub before repeatedly reviving them, enabling him to continue his prolonged assault. In instances when a victim had pleaded to be killed as opposed to continuing to endure torture, Gacy would make a statement to the effect he would kill his victim when he wanted to.


title: John Wayne Gacy

text: Gacy typically murdered his victims by placing a rope tourniquet around their neck before progressively tightening the rope with a hammer handle. He referred to this act as the "rope trick", frequently informing his captive, "This is the last trick." In at least one instance, he had read part of Psalm 23 as he tightened the rope around his victim's neck. Occasionally, the victim had convulsed for an "hour or two" before dying, although several victims died by asphyxiation from cloth gags stuffed deep into their throat. Except for his two final victims, all were murdered between 3:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m.


title: John Wayne Gacy

text: After death, Gacy usually stored the victims' bodies under his bed for up to 24 hours before burying his victim in the crawl space, where he periodically poured quicklime to hasten the decomposition of his victims. Some victims' bodies were taken to his garage and embalmed prior to their burial.


title: John Wayne Gacy

text: Gacy's first known murder occurred on January 3, 1972. According to Gacy's later account, following a family party on the evening of January 2, he decided to drive to the Civic Center in the Loop to view a display of ice sculptures in the early hours of the following morning. He then lured a 16-year-old named Timothy Jack McCoy from Chicago's Greyhound Bus Terminal into his car. McCoy was returning from a Christmas vacation in Michigan to his father's home in Omaha, Nebraska. Gacy took McCoy on a sightseeing tour of Chicago and then drove him to his home with the promise that he could spend the night and be driven back to the station in time to catch his bus. Prior to McCoy's identification, he was known simply as the "Greyhound Bus Boy".