title: King George V-class battleship (1939)

text: The "King George V"s were the first British battleships to alternate engine rooms and boilers in the machinery spaces, which reduced the likelihood of one hit causing the loss of all power. The machinery was arranged in four engine (turbine) rooms and four boiler rooms, with the eight machinery compartments alternating in pairs of engine or boiler rooms. Each pair of boiler rooms formed a unit with a pair of engine rooms. Nominal full power was with steam at . The machinery was designed to operate at an overload power of and "Prince of Wales" "...main machinery steamed at overload powers of with no difficulties..." during the hunt for the "Bismarck". The Admiralty 3-drum boilers operated very efficiently, and similar boilers of nearly identical power, fitted to the older battleship during her rebuilding in 1937 achieved a full-power specific fuel consumption of 0.748 lb per shp on trials which compared favourably with contemporary battleships. During her full-power trials on 10 December 1940, "King George V" at displacement achieved 111,700 shp at 230 rpm and a specific fuel consumption of 0.715 lb per shp. After 1942 the Royal Navy was forced to use fuel oils with considerably higher viscosity and greater seawater content than these boilers could efficiently use. The poor quality of the oil fuel combined with the seawater contamination reduced the efficiency of the steam power plant and increased the maintenance required. By 1944 the specific full-power fuel consumption had increased to 0.8 lb per shp, and boiler maintenance was becoming increasingly difficult. The Admiralty had been aware of this problem and were designing new types of oil sprayers and burners that could burn the available fuel oil much more efficiently, and sometime after 1944, "Duke of York" and "Anson" were fitted with new, higher-pressure oil sprayers and burners that restored the boilers to full efficiency. These same oil sprayers and burners were used in along with other detail improvements so that "Vanguard" achieved a full-power specific fuel consumption of 0.63 lb per shp while using the same steam pressures and temperatures as used on the "King George V" class.


title: King George V-class battleship (1939)

text: The armour protection of the "King George V"-class battleships was designed after consideration of the Royal Navy's experience of World War I and upon testing between the wars. The design of this class was dominated by the provision of protection. Magazine protection was given priority through the provision of a thick belt and deck armour and by placing the magazines at the lowest levels of the ship.


title: King George V-class battleship (1939)

text: The horizontal protection over the magazines consisted of three layers with a total thickness of ; the weather deck consisted of 1.25 inches of Ducol (D) steel, the main armoured deck was of non-cemented steel armour thick over a 0.5-inch D steel deck and above the shell rooms there was another 1.5-inch splinter deck. The powder magazines were below the shell rooms for added protection, a practice that was begun with the "Nelson"-class battleships. The weatherdeck thickness was the same over the machinery spaces but there the main armoured deck was reduced to over a 0.5-inch D steel deck. The main armoured deck was continued forward of the forward armoured bulkhead and gradually reduced from full thickness to 2.5 inches, while aft of the after magazines an armoured turtle-back deck covered the steering gear with 4.5–5 inches of armour whilst also providing protection along the waterline.


title: King George V-class battleship (1939)

text: The main armour belt was high and covered the hull side from the main armoured deck to finish below the deep waterline. Post-World War I studies had indicated that it was possible for delayed-action AP shells to dive under a shallow belt and penetrate into vital areas of the ship and therefore the main belt was made to extend as far below the waterline as possible. Along the ship, the belt started just forward of the forward turret and finished just aft of the aft turret. The armour consisted of three equal-depth strakes. The strakes were tongue-and-grooved together, and each individual plate in a strake was keyed into neighbouring plates. The belt was at its thickest above and at the waterline. Most secondary and some primary sources describe the maximum thickness of the belt armour varying between 14 and 15 inches (possibly due to rounding to the nearest inch). Some sources give more detail: along the magazines, the belt was 14.7 inches thick (373 mm) cemented armour, laminated onto 1 inch (25.4 mm) of "composition material" (cement) and an additional 0.875 inch (22.2 mm) of Ducol steel hull plating (this steel was also effective as armour), over the machinery spaces, the belt was 13.7 inches (349 mm). The lower section of belt tapered to a thickness of between 4.5 in and 5.5 in. Armour protection was even better than the thickness of armour would indicate due to the improved qualities of the British cemented armour which provided excellent resistance. The armoured belt, together with armoured bulkheads fore and aft and the armoured main deck, formed an "armoured citadel" protecting magazines and machinery. The armoured bulkhead was 12 in (305 mm) thick forward and 10 in (254 mm) thick at the after end of the citadel The main armoured belt extended forward and aft of the main armoured bulkheads with reduced height to protect the waterline and gradually reduced in thickness from 13 to 5.5 inches. Immune zone calculations vary widely from source to source. The armour provision was designed to offer protection from guns of a greater calibre than the class mounted themselves, and was on a scale second to none at the time the ships were designed. Indeed, the armour protection of these vessels was to be subsequently exceeded only by the Japanese battleships of the.


title: King George V-class battleship (1939)

text: The main gun turrets were relatively lightly protected in comparison to contemporary battleships. Extensive levels of flash protection were employed. Maximum turret and barbette armour was reduced to 12.75 inches in this class from the 16 inches of the "Nelson" class. The turret faces had 12.75 in (324 mm) of armour at the front; sides (at the gun chamber); 6.86 inches (284–174 mm) on the sides and rear; the roof plate was 5.88 in (149 mm) thick. The main armament barbettes were of varying thickness: 12.75 in (324 mm) thick on the sides, 11.76 in (298 mm) forward and 10.82 in (275 mm) aft of the turret. To some extent the higher quality of the armour minimized the loss of protection and the turret's flat face improved ballistic resistance at long ranges, while the low profile of the turret minimized target area at closer ranges. The reduction in turret and barbette armour was a compromise in favour of the thickest possible protection for the magazines. The extensive anti-flash protection in the turrets and barbettes was designed to ensure that the magazines would remain safe even if the turrets and/or barbettes were penetrated. The secondary gun mounts, casements and handling rooms received only light plating of 0.98 in (25 mm) to protect against splinters.


title: King George V-class battleship (1939)

text: Unlike contemporary foreign battleships and the preceding "Nelson"-class battleships, the "King George V" class had comparatively light conning tower protection with 4-inch (102 mm) sides, 3 in (75 mm) forward and aft and a 1.47 in (38 mm) roof plate. The RN's analysis of World War I revealed that command personnel were unlikely to use an armoured conning tower, preferring the superior visibility of unarmoured bridge positions Stability and weight considerations clearly played an important part in the British decision to limit superstructure armour. The conning tower armour was sufficient to protect against smaller ship guns and shell fragments.


title: King George V-class battleship (1939)

text: The hull below the waterline, along the main armour belt, formed the side protection system (SPS). It was subdivided into a series of longitudinal compartments in a void-liquid-void layout; the outer and inner were filled with air, and the middle compartment with liquid (fuel or water). The outer hull plating in the region of the SPS was thin to reduce potential splinter damage from a torpedo. The outer compartment of the SPS was normally an empty or "void" space (containing only air) and this allowed the initial explosion from a torpedo to expand while minimizing damage to the ship. The centre compartment was filled with oil or seawater and this spread the pressure pulse over a larger area while the liquid contained any metal splinters that were created from the torpedo explosion. The inboard compartment was another void space and served to contain any liquid leaking from the liquid layer and any remaining pressure pulse from the torpedo explosion. Inboard of the final void space was an armoured bulkhead which varied in thickness from 1.5 in (37 mm) over the machinery spaces to 1.75 inch (44 mm) abreast of the magazines. This bulkhead formed the "holding bulkhead" and it was designed to resist the residual blast effects from the torpedo hit. If this final inner bulkhead was penetrated a further set of subdivided compartments would contain any leaks; inboard of the holding bulkhead the ship was highly subdivided into small compartments containing auxiliary machinery spaces.


title: King George V-class battleship (1939)

text: The SPS void-liquid-void layer was generally about 13 feet wide, and the auxiliary machinery spaces added approximately another 8 feet of space from the outer hull plating to the major machinery spaces. The only exception to this was abreast A and B Engine Rooms, where the auxiliary machinery spaces were omitted, but another void space, about three feet wide was substituted in its place.


title: King George V-class battleship (1939)

text: Above the SPS, and directly behind the armour belt, was a series of compartments, typically used for washrooms or storage spaces, which were designed to allow for upward venting of overpressure from a torpedo hit. This scheme was designed to protect against a 1000 lb warhead, and had been tested and found effective in full-scale trials. The SPS was also a key component of the ship's damage control system, as lists resulting from flooding could be corrected by counterflooding empty void spaces, and/or draining normally liquid filled compartments. In the case of the loss of the "Prince of Wales" these spaces were used for counterflooding to reduce list.


title: King George V-class battleship (1939)

text: On examination of the "Prince of Wales" after her encounter with the German battleship Bismarck and the heavy cruiser , three damaging hits were discovered which had caused about 400 tons of water, from all three hits, to enter the ship. One of these hits, fired from "Bismarck", had penetrated the torpedo protection outer bulkhead in a region very close to an auxiliary machinery space causing local flooding within the SPS, while the inner, 1.5-inch (2×19 mm) D-steel holding bulkhead, however, remained intact, as the German shell was a dud. The German shell would have actually exploded in the water if its fuse had worked properly, due to the depth which the shell had to dive before striking the "Prince of Wales" under her armoured belt.


title: King George V-class battleship (1939)

text: The "King George V" and the four other ships of the class as built carried ten BL 14 inch Mk VII naval guns, in two quadruple turrets fore and aft and a single twin turret behind and above the fore turret. There was debate within the Admiralty over the choice of gun calibre. There was a routine debate in the Admiralty over gun size, armour, speed, torpedo protection and AA firepower and the correct ratio between these attributes for the "King George V" battleships; other European powers preferred 15-inch and the USN 16-inch main guns. The Admiralty chose a ship with high speed, enhanced protection, heavy AA and ten 14-inch guns. The Admiralty controller wrote that a change to 15-inch guns would entail an 18-month delay (which would have meant no new RN battleships until 1942). Stephen Roskill noted that the London Naval Treaty stipulated a 14-inch maximum gun size, with an opt out clause, which Britain was very reluctant to exercise, since the Admiralty was hoping to persuade the other naval powers to stick to 14-inch guns, though there was little or no debate within Parliament. The Admiralty studied vessels armed with a variety of main armaments including nine guns in three turrets, two forward and one aft. While this was well within the capability of British shipyards, the design was quickly rejected as they felt compelled to adhere to the Second London Naval Treaty of 1936 and there was a serious shortage of skilled technicians and ordnance designers, along with compelling pressures to reduce weight.


title: King George V-class battleship (1939)

text: The class was designed to carry twelve 14-inch guns in three quadruple turrets and this configuration had a heavier broadside than the nine 15-inch guns. It proved impossible to include this amount of firepower and the desired level of protection on a 35,000 ton displacement and the weight of the superimposed quadruple turret made the stability of the vessel questionable. The second forward turret was changed to a smaller two-gun turret in exchange for better armour protection, reducing the broadside weight to below that of the nine gun arrangement. The 14-inch Armour Piercing (AP) shell also carried a very large bursting charge of . The armour-piercing capability of the gun and its ammunition is exhibited by the conning tower on the wreck of the German battleship "Bismarck", provided with 14-inch thick armour, which is said to resemble a "Swiss cheese". The last naval treaty had an escalator clause that permitted a change to 16-inch guns if another signatory did not conform to it by 1 January 1937. Although they could have invoked this clause, the effect would have been to delay construction and it was considered prudent to build with 14-inch rather than find themselves without the new battleships. The U.S. opted to absorb a delay and built its ships with larger guns. When comparing the British 14-inch gun to the heavier guns mounted on contemporary foreign battleships, the thicker armour of the British battleships tended to result in an equalisation of the relative penetrating power of respective shells.


title: King George V-class battleship (1939)

text: In service, the quad turrets proved to be less reliable than was hoped for. Wartime haste in building, insufficient clearance between the rotating and fixed structure of the turret, insufficient full calibre firing exercises and extensive arrangements to prevent flash from reaching the magazines made it mechanically complex, leading to problems during prolonged actions. In order to bring ammunition into the turret at any degree of train, the design included a transfer ring between the magazine and turret; this did not have sufficient clearance to allow for the ship bending and flexing. Improved clearances, improved mechanical linkages, and better training led to greater reliability in the quadruple turrets but they remained problematic.


title: King George V-class battleship (1939)

text: During the battle of the Denmark Strait against the German battleship "Bismarck", the main battery of the newly commissioned had mechanical problems: it started to fire three-round salvos instead of five-round salvoes, and there were problems in all except for the twin 'B' turret. The main battery output was reduced to 74 percent ("Bismarck" and "Prinz Eugen" achieved 89% and 85% output, respectively) during the engagement, as out of seventy-four rounds ordered fired, only fifty-five were possible. 'A' turret was taking in water leading to discomfort for its crew and 'Y' turret jammed at salvo 20. The number of known defects in the main armament that was hampering 14-inch fire, the damage sustained and the worsening tactical situation forced Captain Leach to disengage from combat. With the range down to 14,500 yards and with five of his 14-inch guns out of action, Leach decided to break off his engagement with a superior enemy. Stephen Roskill in the "War at Sea" (the official British history of the Second World War at sea), Volume 1, describes the decision to turn away: "In addition to the defective gun in her forward turret, another 4-gun turret was temporarily incapacitated by mechanical breakdowns. In these circumstances Leach decided to break off the action and, at 0613, turned away under cover of smoke." During the later action with "Bismarck", was also having trouble with her main battery, and by 09:27 every gun missed at least one salvo due to failures in the safety interlocks for antiflash protection. John Roberts wrote of main gunnery problems encountered by "King George V":


title: King George V-class battleship (1939)

text: Initially "King George V" did well achieving 1.7 salvoes per minute while employing radar control but she began to suffer severe problems from 09:20 onward [Note: KGV had opened fire at 08:48 and fired for about 25 minutes at 1.7 salvoes per minute until 09:13, when the Type 284 radar broke down, but with no recorded loss of 14-inch gun output until 09:20.]. 'A' turret was completely out of action for 30 minutes after firing about 23 rounds per gun, due to a jam between the fixed and revolving structure in the shell room and 'Y' turret was out of action for 7 minutes due to drill errors... Both guns in B turret, guns 2 and 4 in 'A' turret and gun 2 in 'Y' turret were put out of action by jams and remained so until after the action – 5 guns out of 10! There were a multitude of other problems with mechanical failures and drill errors that caused delays and missed salvos. There were also some misfires – one gun (3 of 'A' turret) misfired twice and was out of action for 30 minutes before it was considered safe to open the breech.


title: King George V-class battleship (1939)

text: During the early part of her action against the German capital ship "Scharnhorst" at the Battle of the North Cape on 26 December 1943, , firing under radar control in poor weather, scored 31 straddles out of 52 broadsides fired and during the latter part she scored 21 straddles out of 25 broadsides, a very creditable gunnery performance. In total, "Duke of York" fired 450 shells in 77 broadsides. "However, "Duke of York" still fired less than 70% of her possible output during this battle because of mechanical and "errors in drill" problems."


title: King George V-class battleship (1939)

text: The "King George V"s were the only battleships designed for the Royal Navy to use 14-inch guns and turrets. (HMS "Canada", originally designed for Chile, had used 14-inch guns during the First World War.)


title: King George V-class battleship (1939)

text: The QF 5.25 inch Mark I dual purpose gun has been dogged with controversy as well. The RN Gunnery Pocket Book published in 1945 states that: ""The maximum rate of fire should be 10–12 rounds per minute."". Wartime experience revealed that the maximum weight which the loading numbers could handle comfortably was much lower than 80–90 lb and the weight of the 5.25-inch ammunition caused serious difficulties, allowing them to manage only 7–8 rpm instead of the designed 10–12 rpm. The mount had a maximum elevation of +70 degrees and the slow elevating and training speeds of the mounts were inadequate for engaging modern high-speed aircraft. Despite this "Prince of Wales" was credited with several 5.25-inch kills during Operation Halberd and damaged 10 of 16 high-level bombers in two formations during her last engagement, two of which crash landed. had her 5.25-inch turrets upgraded to RP10 control which increased training and elevating speeds to 20 degrees per second. These ships were equipped with the HACS AA fire control system and the Admiralty Fire Control clock for surface fire control of the secondary armament.


title: King George V-class battleship (1939)

text: The "King George V"-class design had four 0.5-inch quadruple machine gun mounts but in 1939 these were replaced by two Mark VI pom-poms. In 1940, to combat air attack, four Unrotated Projectile (rocket) mountings were fitted, one on "B" turret, two on "Y" turret and one replacing a pom-pom mount added in 1939 at the stern. The pom-poms in "King George V" were designed and produced by Vickers Armstrongs, as a result of a post-World War I requirement for a multiple mounting which was effective against close-range bombers or torpedo planes. The first model, tested in 1927, was a very advanced weapon for its time and in 1938 the Mark VI* had a muzzle velocity of 2,400 feet per second, a 1.6-inch bore and a barrel length of 40 calibres. The pom-poms fired 1.8-pound shells at a rate of 96–98 rounds per minute for controlled fire and 115 rounds per minute for automatic fire. The range of the Mark VI* was 6,800 yards, at a muzzle velocity of 2,300 feet per second. The Mark VI octuple mount weighed 16 tons and the Mark VII quadruple mount weighed 10.8 tons if power operated; it could be elevated to 80 degrees and depressed to 10 degrees at a rate of 25 degrees per second, which was also the rate of train. The normal ammunition supply on board for the Mark VI was 1,800 rounds per barrel. "King George V" introduced the Mk IV Pom-pom director to the Royal Navy in 1940, becoming the first ship in the world to feature gyroscopic target tracking in tachymetric anti-aircraft directors. The anti-aircraft battery of these ships was incrementally augmented throughout the war. The number and disposition of guns varying from ship to ship, "King George V" in September 1945 carrying: 8 Mark VI octuple pom-poms, 2 quadruple 40 mm Bofors Mk II (US), 2 single 40 mm Bofors, and 24 single 20 mm Oerlikon cannon.


title: King George V-class battleship (1939)

text: The main guns of the "King George V"-class ships were controlled via two director control towers, one on top of the bridge superstructure and one aft of the mainmast. Each of the control towers was equipped with 15 foot rangefinders and fed targeting information to an Admiralty Fire Control Table, Mk IX. In the event that the control towers were disabled both "A" and "Y" turrets had internal 41 foot rangefinders whilst "B" turret had 30 foot rangefinders. The first two ships of the class to be completed, "King George V" and "Prince of Wales", carried four HACS Mk IVGB directors for the ship's secondary 5.25-inch guns as well as six Mk IV pom-pom directors; all ten of these directors featured Gyro Rate Unit, tachymetric fire control. "Duke of York" and "Howe" had HACS Mk V directors, with "Anson" having the Mk V directors replaced by the updated Mk VI.


title: King George V-class battleship (1939)

text: "King George V" was the first ship of the class to join the Home Fleet on 11 December 1940 and her first action was providing distant cover for Operation Claymore in February 1941, before escorting Atlantic convoys HX 114 and HX 115 during March. Owing to the threat of the German battleship "Bismarck", the Home Fleet sent "King George V" and the newly completed "Prince of Wales" on 22 May to help locate "Bismarck", along with the battlecruiser and six destroyers. On 24 May, "Prince of Wales" and "Hood" made contact with "Bismarck" and opened fire at 26,000 yards. "Prince of Wales" sixth salvo straddled "Bismarck" and it was during this salvo, and one other, that she landed two decisive hits, holing "Bismarck"s bow, flooding a generator room and an auxiliary boiler room, and forcing the critical shutdown of two of her boilers, which led to "Bismarck" making the fateful decision to attempt to return to port. During this time "Bismarck" and "Prinz Eugen" had been solely targeting "Hood" and at 06:01 "Hood" blew up and sank, with the loss of all but three of her complement of 1,419 officers and men. Following this, Captain Leach ("Prince of Wales"′ captain) gave the order to disengage, laying a heavy smokescreen to facilitate the retreat. "Prince of Wales" would attempt to reengage "Bismarck" on two more occasions, but owing to the distance being in excess of 20,000 yards was unable to land any more hits and then was forced to return to Iceland to refuel and would play no further part in actions against "Bismarck". Meanwhile, "King George V" on 24 May was still 300 to 400 miles away from "Bismarck" and it was not until 27 May that "King George V" and were able to engage "Bismarck", due to a Swordfish torpedo bomber disabling "Bismarck"'s steering gear on 26 May. During the engagement "King George V" and "Rodney" were able to relatively quickly disable the main armament turrets and fire-control systems of "Bismarck", rendering her unable to effectively engage the British ships; later they closed to point-blank range. After 32 minutes of firing "King George V" had fired 335 14-inch shells at "Bismarck", scoring multiple hits that contributed to "Bismarck" sinking soon after.


title: King George V-class battleship (1939)

text: After being repaired at Rosyth, "Prince of Wales" transported Prime Minister Winston Churchill to Canada for a conference with President Franklin D. Roosevelt, that resulted in the Atlantic Charter being declared, which laid out how the allies intended to deal with the post-war world, on 14 August 1941. Following the declaration of the charter, "Prince of Wales" on 24 September provided escort for Operation Halberd, with "Prince of Wales" downing several Italian aircraft on 27 September. On 25 October 1941, "Prince of Wales" departed home waters bound for Singapore, with orders to rendezvous with the battlecruiser "Repulse" and the aircraft carrier "Indomitable"; however, "Indomitable" ran aground in Jamaica and was unable to proceed. On 2 December the group docked in Singapore and "Prince of Wales" then became the flagship of the ill-fated Force Z under Admiral Sir Tom Phillips. The force then diverted to British Malaya as they had received intelligence that Japanese forces were landing there, however, this was a diversion and on 10 December the force was spotted by a Japanese submarine. At 11:00 the first Japanese air attack began against the force and at 11:30 "Prince of Wales" was struck by a torpedo. This led to rapid flooding, as the port outer propeller shaft had been damaged; high-speed rotation of this unsupported propeller shaft destroyed the sealing glands around it, allowing water to pour into the hull. The ship subsequently began to take on a heavy list. "Prince of Wales" was hit by three more torpedoes, before a 500 kg (1100 lb) bomb hit the catapult deck, penetrating through to the main deck before exploding in the makeshift aid centre causing numerous casualties. Several other bombs from this attack were very "near misses", which indented the hull, popped rivets and caused hull plates to "split" along their seams which intensified the flooding aboard "Prince of Wales". At 13:15 the order was given to abandon ship and at 13:20 "Prince of Wales" capsized and sank with Admiral Phillips and Captain Leach being among the 327 fatalities. The wreck lies upside down in of water at .


title: King George V-class battleship (1939)

text: In October, "King George V" was involved in Operation EJ, which involved escorting the aircraft carrier HMS "Victorious", whose aircraft attacked German shipping in the Glomfjord. "Duke of York", the third ship of the class, first saw action on 1 March 1942, when she provided close escort for convoy PQ 12 and was later joined by "King George V" on 6 March, as Admiral John Tovey believed that the German battleship "Tirpitz" would attempt to intercept the convoy; however, aircraft from "Victorious" were able to prevent "Tirpitz" from leaving her base in Norway. During escort duty on 1 May 1942 "King George V" collided with the destroyer "Punjabi", cutting "Punjabi" in two and damaging 40 feet of her own bow, resulting in "King George V" being sent to Gladstone Dock for repairs on 9 May before resuming escort duty on 1 July 1942. When the last two ships in the class, "Howe" and "Anson", were completed in late 1942, they were assigned to provide cover for convoys bound for Russia. On 12 September, "Anson" was joined by "Duke of York" in providing distant cover for convoy QP. 14. In October, "Duke Of York" was sent to Gibraltar to support the Allied landings in North Africa in November. On 31 December, "Howe" and "King George V" provided distant cover for Arctic convoy RA 51.


title: King George V-class battleship (1939)

text: "Anson" covered her last convoy on 29 January 1943, before being relocated, with "Duke of York", to the Mediterranean. In June 1943, the two battleships took part in Operation Gearbox, which was designed to draw attention away from Operation Husky. At the same time, "King George V" and "Howe" were also relocated to the Mediterranean. They bombarded Trapani naval base on 12 July and defended Algiers against an air raid, before departing to take part in Operation Avalanche. Between 9 and 11 September they provided support for Operation Slapstick and later escorted the surrendered Italian fleet to Malta.


title: King George V-class battleship (1939)

text: When the German battleship "Scharnhorst" was relocated to Norway, it was deemed necessary to provide heavy protection for all convoys bound for Russia. On 25 December, "Scharnhorst" was reported at sea. Initial contact was made the following day by the cruisers of Force 1 ("Belfast", "Norfolk" and "Sheffield") but following a brief engagement, "Scharnhorst" was able to outdistance the cruisers. Meanwhile, Force 2, which included "Duke of York", was able to close to range and "Duke of York" opened fire on "Scharnhorst", scoring multiple hits at ranges in excess of 12,000 yards. "Scharnhorst" scored two hits upon "Duke of York" during the engagement, both of which hit masts and failed to explode. One of "Duke of York"s shells exploded in "Scharnhorst"s number one boiler room, slowing her significantly and allowing British destroyers to close to torpedo range. Their torpedo hits allowed "Duke of York" to close to a range of 10,400 yards before opening fire once again. All "Scharnhorsts" turrets were silenced and shortly afterwards "Scharnhorst" sank with the loss of over 1,700 men.


title: King George V-class battleship (1939)

text: Following this, on 29 March 1944, "Duke of York" provided cover for convoy JW 58 and in August "Duke of York" and "Anson" provided cover for the aircraft carrier "Furious", while she carried out air strikes against German targets in Norway as part of Operation Bayleaf. On 3 April, "Duke of York" provided cover for Operation Tungsten, which succeeded in damaging the German battleship "Tirpitz".


title: King George V-class battleship (1939)

text: In late March 1945, "King George V" and "Howe" began operations in the Pacific as part of Task Force 57. The first major operation that the task force undertook was Operation Iceberg, offshore support for the US landings at Okinawa, which started on 1 April. During the operation "King George V" and "Howe" were subjected to sporadic Japanese kamikaze attacks, however, no damage was inflicted upon them by these attacks, while "Howe" succeeded in downing an attacking kamikaze plane. On 4 May, the two battleships led a forty-five-minute bombardment of Japanese air facilities in Ryukyu Islands.


title: King George V-class battleship (1939)

text: In mid-July, they joined US battleships in a bombardment of industrial installations at Hitachi. During the Okinawa campaign, the pair supported British carriers. Their last offensive action was a night bombardment of Hamamatsu on 29 to 30 July 1945. "Duke of York" and "Anson" arrived too late to take part in hostilities, but on 15 August they accepted the surrender of Japanese forces occupying Hong Kong. "King George V" and "Duke of York" were present at the official Japanese surrender in Tokyo Bay. After the end of World War II, "King George V" became the flagship of the Home Fleet until December 1946, when she became a training vessel, before being scrapped in 1957. "Duke of York" became the flagship of the Home Fleet after "King George V", until April 1949, before being scrapped in 1957. "Howe" returned to Portsmouth in January 1946 and spent the remainder of her career there before being scrapped in 1957. "Anson" briefly served as the flagship of the 1st Battle Squadron of the British Pacific Fleet and helped to re-occupy Hong Kong. In 1949 she was placed into reserve before being scrapped in 1957.


title: Golden Fleece

text: In Greek mythology, the Golden Fleece (, "Chrysómallon déras") is the fleece of the golden-woolled, winged ram, Chrysomallos, that rescued Phrixus and brought him to Colchis, where Phrixus then sacrificed it to Zeus. Phrixus gave the fleece to King Aeëtes who kept it in a sacred grove, whence Jason and the Argonauts stole it with the help of Medea, Aeëtes' daughter. The fleece is a symbol of authority and kingship.


title: Golden Fleece

text: In the historical account, the hero Jason and his crew of Argonauts set out on a quest for the fleece by order of King Pelias in order to place Jason rightfully on the throne of Iolcus in Thessaly. Through the help of Medea, they acquire the Golden Fleece. The story is of great antiquity and was current in the time of Homer (eighth century BC). It survives in various forms, among which the details vary.


title: Golden Fleece

text: Nowadays, the heraldic variations of the Golden Fleece are featured frequently in Georgia, especially for Coats of Arms and Flags associated with Western Georgian (Historical Colchis) municipalities and cities, including the Coats of Arms of City of Kutaisi, the ancient capital city of Colchis.


title: Golden Fleece

text: Athamas the founder of Thessaly, but also king of the city of Orchomenus in Boeotia (a region of southeastern Greece), took the goddess Nephele as his first wife. They had two children, the boy Phrixus (whose name means "curly," as in the texture of the ram's fleece) and the girl Helle. Later Athamas became enamored of and married Ino, the daughter of Cadmus. When Nephele left in anger, drought came upon the land.


title: Golden Fleece

text: Ino was jealous of her stepchildren and plotted their deaths; in some versions, she persuaded Athamas that sacrificing Phrixus was the only way to end the drought. Nephele, or her spirit, appeared to the children with a winged ram whose fleece was of gold. The ram had been sired by Poseidon in his primitive ram-form upon Theophane, a nymph and the granddaughter of Helios, the sun-god. According to Hyginus, Poseidon carried Theophane to an island where he made her into a ewe so that he could have his way with her among the flocks. There Theophane's other suitors could not distinguish the ram-god and his consort.


title: Golden Fleece

text: Nephele's children escaped on the yellow ram over the sea, but Helle fell off and drowned in the strait now named after her, the Hellespont. The ram spoke to Phrixus, encouraging him, and took the boy safely to Colchis (modern-day Georgia), on the easternmost shore of the Euxine (Black) Sea.


title: Golden Fleece

text: In essence, this act returned the ram to the god Poseidon, and the ram became the constellation Aries.


title: Golden Fleece

text: Phrixus settled in the house of Aeetes, son of Helios the sun god. He hung the Golden Fleece preserved from the ram on an oak in a grove sacred to Ares, the god of war and one of the Twelve Olympians. The fleece was guarded by a never-sleeping dragon with teeth that could become soldiers when planted in the ground. The dragon was at the foot of the tree on which the fleece was placed.


title: Golden Fleece

text: In some versions of the story, Jason attempts to put the guard serpent to sleep. The snake is coiled around a column at the base of which is a ram and on top of which is a bird.


title: Golden Fleece

text: Pindar employed the quest for the Golden Fleece in his Fourth Pythian Ode (written in 462 BC), though the fleece is not in the foreground. When Aeetes challenges Jason to yoke the fire-breathing bulls, the fleece is the prize: "Let the King do this, the captain of the ship! Let him do this, I say, and have for his own the immortal coverlet, the fleece, glowing with matted skeins of gold".


title: Golden Fleece

text: In later versions of the story, the ram is said to have been the offspring of the sea god Poseidon and Themisto (less often, Nephele or Theophane). The classic telling is the "Argonautica" of Apollonius of Rhodes, composed in the mid-third century BC Alexandria, recasting early sources that have not survived. Another, much less-known Argonautica, using the same body of myth, was composed in Latin by Valerius Flaccus during the time of Vespasian.


title: Golden Fleece

text: Where the written sources fail, through accidents of history, sometimes the continuity of a mythic tradition can be found among the vase-painters. The story of the Golden Fleece appeared to have little resonance for Athenians of the Classic age, for only two representations of it on Attic-painted wares of the fifth century have been identified: a "krater" at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and a "kylix" in the Vatican collections. In the "kylix" painted by Douris, c. 480–470, Jason is being disgorged from the mouth of the dragon, a detail that does not fit easily into the literary sources; behind the dragon, the fleece hangs from an apple tree. Jason's helper in the Athenian vase-paintings is not Medea— who had a history in Athens as the opponent of Theseus—but Athena.


title: Golden Fleece

text: The very early origin of the myth in preliterate times means that during the more than a millennium when it was to some degree part of the fabric of culture, its perceived significance likely passed through numerous developments.


title: Golden Fleece

text: Several euhemeristic attempts to interpret the Golden Fleece "realistically" as reflecting some physical cultural object or alleged historical practice have been made. For example, in the 20th century, some scholars suggested that the story of the Golden Fleece signified the bringing of sheep husbandry to Greece from the east; in other readings, scholars theorized it referred to golden grain, or to the Sun.


title: Golden Fleece

text: A more widespread interpretation relates the myth of the fleece to a method of washing gold from streams, which was well attested (but only from c. 5th century BC) in the region of Georgia to the east of the Black Sea. Sheep fleeces, sometimes stretched over a wooden frame, would be submerged in the stream, and gold flecks borne down from upstream placer deposits would collect in them. The fleeces would be hung in trees to dry before the gold was shaken or combed out. Alternatively, the fleeces would be used on washing tables in alluvial mining of gold or on washing tables at deep gold mines. Judging by the very early gold objects from a range of cultures, washing for gold is a very old human activity.


title: Golden Fleece

text: It is said that in their country gold is carried down by the mountain torrents, and that the barbarians obtain it by means of perforated troughs and fleecy skins, and that this is the origin of the myth of the golden fleece—unless they call them Iberians, by the same name as the western Iberians, from the gold mines in both countries.


title: Golden Fleece

text: Another interpretation is based on the references in some versions to purple or purple-dyed cloth. The purple dye extracted from the purple dye murex snail and related species was highly prized in ancient times. Clothing made of cloth dyed with Tyrian purple was a mark of great wealth and high station (hence the phrase "royal purple"). The association of gold with purple is natural and occurs frequently in literature.


title: Golden Fleece

text: The following are the chief among the various interpretations of the fleece, with notes on sources and major critical discussions:


title: Watercress

text: Watercress or yellowcress (Nasturtium officinale) is a species of aquatic flowering plant in the cabbage family Brassicaceae.


title: Watercress

text: Watercress is a rapidly growing, perennial plant native to Europe and Asia. It is one of the oldest known leaf vegetables consumed by humans. Watercress and many of its relatives, such as garden cress, mustard, radish, and wasabi, are noteworthy for their piquant flavors.


title: Watercress

text: The hollow stems of watercress float in water. The leaf structure is pinnately compound. Small, white, and green inflorescences are produced in clusters and are frequently visited by insects, especially hoverflies, such as "Eristalis" flies.


title: Watercress

text: Watercress is listed in some sources as belonging to the genus "Rorippa", although molecular evidence shows those aquatic species with hollow stems are more closely related to "Cardamine" than "Rorippa". Despite the Latin name, watercress is not particularly closely related to the flowers popularly known as nasturtiums ("Tropaeolum majus"). "T. majus" belongs to the family Tropaeolaceae, a sister taxon to the Brassicaceae within the order Brassicales.


title: Watercress

text: In some regions, watercress is regarded as a weed, in other regions as an aquatic vegetable or herb. Watercress has been grown in many locations around the world.


title: Watercress

text: In the United Kingdom, watercress was first commercially cultivated in 1808 by the horticulturist William Bradbery, along the River Ebbsfleet in Kent. Watercress is now grown in a number of counties of the United Kingdom, most notably Hampshire, Dorset, Wiltshire, and Hertfordshire. The town of Alresford, near Winchester, is considered to be the nation's watercress capital. It holds a Watercress Festival that brings in more than 15,000 visitors every year and a preserved steam railway line has been named after the local crop.


title: Watercress

text: Ancient Romans thought eating it would cure mental illness. Twelfth-century mystic Hildegard of Bingen thought eating it steamed and drinking the water would cure jaundice or fever. Watercress was eaten by Native Americans. Some Native Americans used it to treat kidney illnesses and constipation, and it was thought by some to be an aphrodisiac. Early African Americans used the plant as an abortifacient; it was believed to cause sterility as well.


title: Watercress

text: The new tips of watercress leaves can be eaten raw or cooked, although caution should be used when collecting these in the wild because of parasites such as "giardia". Watercress is 95% water and has low contents of carbohydrates, protein, fat, and dietary fiber. A 100-gram serving of raw watercress provides 11 calories, is particularly rich in vitamin K (238% of the Daily Value, DV), and contains significant amounts of vitamin A, vitamin C, riboflavin, vitamin B6, calcium, and manganese (table).


title: Watercress

text: As a cruciferous vegetable, watercress contains isothiocyanates that are partly destroyed by boiling, while the content of carotenoids is slightly increased. Steaming or microwave cooking retains these phytochemicals.


title: Watercress

text: Cultivation of watercress is practical on both a large-scale and a garden-scale. Being semi-aquatic, watercress is well-suited to hydroponic cultivation, thriving best in water that is slightly alkaline. It is frequently produced around the headwaters of chalk streams. In many local markets, the demand for hydroponically grown watercress exceeds supply, partly because cress leaves are unsuitable for distribution in dried form, and can only be stored fresh for about 2-3 days.


title: Watercress

text: Also sold as sprouts, the edible shoots are harvested days after germination. If unharvested, watercress can grow to a height of .


title: Watercress

text: Watercress crops grown in the presence of manure can be an environment for parasites such as the liver fluke, "Fasciola hepatica". By inhibiting the cytochrome P450 enzyme CYP2E1, compounds in watercress may alter drug metabolism in individuals on certain medications such as chlorzoxazone.


title: Watercress

text: Due to its fast-growing nature and invasive species status, "Nasturtium officinale" is prohibited in Illinois.


title: Black body

text: A black body or blackbody is an idealized physical body that absorbs all incident electromagnetic radiation, regardless of frequency or angle of incidence. The name "black body" is given because it absorbs all colors of light. A black body also emits black-body radiation. In contrast, a white body is one with a "rough surface that reflects all incident rays completely and uniformly in all directions."


title: Black body

text: A black body in thermal equilibrium (that is, at a constant temperature) emits electromagnetic black-body radiation. The radiation is emitted according to Planck's law, meaning that it has a spectrum that is determined by the temperature alone (see figure at right), not by the body's shape or composition.


title: Black body

text: An approximate realization of a black surface is a hole in the wall of a large insulated enclosure (an oven, for example). Any light entering the hole is reflected or absorbed at the internal surfaces of the body and is unlikely to re-emerge, making the hole a nearly perfect absorber. When the radiation confined in such an enclosure is in thermal equilibrium, the radiation emitted from the hole will be as great as from any body at that equilibrium temperature.


title: Black body

text: Real materials emit energy at a fraction—called the emissivity—of black-body energy levels. By definition, a black body in thermal equilibrium has an emissivity . A source with a lower emissivity, independent of frequency, is often referred to as a gray body.


title: Black body

text: Constructing black bodies with an emissivity as close to 1 as possible remains a topic of current interest.


title: Black body

text: In astronomy, the radiation from stars and planets is sometimes characterized in terms of an effective temperature, the temperature of a black body that would emit the same total flux of electromagnetic energy.


title: Black body

text: A widely used model of a black surface is a small hole in a cavity with walls that are opaque to radiation. Radiation incident on the hole will pass into the cavity, and is very unlikely to be re-emitted if the cavity is large. The hole is not quite a perfect black surface—in particular, if the wavelength of the incident radiation is greater than the diameter of the hole, part will be reflected. Similarly, even in perfect thermal equilibrium, the radiation inside a finite-sized cavity will not have an ideal Planck spectrum for wavelengths comparable to or larger than the size of the cavity.


title: Black body

text: Suppose the cavity is held at a fixed temperature "T" and the radiation trapped inside the enclosure is at thermal equilibrium with the enclosure. The hole in the enclosure will allow some radiation to escape. If the hole is small, radiation passing in and out of the hole has negligible effect upon the equilibrium of the radiation inside the cavity. This escaping radiation will approximate black-body radiation that exhibits a distribution in energy characteristic of the temperature "T" and does not depend upon the properties of the cavity or the hole, at least for wavelengths smaller than the size of the hole. See the figure in the Introduction for the spectrum as a function of the frequency of the radiation, which is related to the energy of the radiation by the equation "E" = "hf", with "E" = energy, "h" = Planck's constant, "f" = frequency.


title: Black body

text: At any given time the radiation in the cavity may not be in thermal equilibrium, but the second law of thermodynamics states that if left undisturbed it will eventually reach equilibrium, although the time it takes to do so may be very long. Typically, equilibrium is reached by continual absorption and emission of radiation by material in the cavity or its walls. Radiation entering the cavity will be "thermalized" by this mechanism: the energy will be redistributed until the ensemble of photons achieves a Planck distribution. The time taken for thermalization is much faster with condensed matter present than with rarefied matter such as a dilute gas. At temperatures below billions of Kelvin, direct photon–photon interactions are usually negligible compared to interactions with matter. Photons are an example of an interacting boson gas, and as described by the H-theorem, under very general conditions any interacting boson gas will approach thermal equilibrium.


title: Black body

text: A body's behavior with regard to thermal radiation is characterized by its transmission "τ", absorption "α", and reflection "ρ".


title: Black body

text: The boundary of a body forms an interface with its surroundings, and this interface may be rough or smooth. A nonreflecting interface separating regions with different refractive indices must be rough, because the laws of reflection and refraction governed by the Fresnel equations for a smooth interface require a reflected ray when the refractive indices of the material and its surroundings differ. A few idealized types of behavior are given particular names:


title: Black body

text: An opaque body is one that transmits none of the radiation that reaches it, although some may be reflected. That is, "τ" = 0 and "α" + "ρ" = 1.


title: Black body

text: A transparent body is one that transmits all the radiation that reaches it. That is, "τ" = 1 and "α" = "ρ" = 0.


title: Black body

text: A grey body is one where "α", "ρ" and "τ" are constant for all wavelengths. This term also is used to mean a body for which "α" is temperature- and wavelength-independent.


title: Black body

text: A white body is one for which all incident radiation is reflected uniformly in all directions: "τ" = 0, "α" = 0, and "ρ" = 1.


title: Black body

text: For a black body, "τ" = 0, "α" = 1, and "ρ" = 0. Planck offers a theoretical model for perfectly black bodies, which he noted do not exist in nature: besides their opaque interior, they have interfaces that are perfectly transmitting and non-reflective.


title: Black body

text: Kirchhoff in 1860 introduced the theoretical concept of a perfect black body with a completely absorbing surface layer of infinitely small thickness, but Planck noted some severe restrictions upon this idea. Planck noted three requirements upon a black body: the body must (i) allow radiation to enter but not reflect; (ii) possess a minimum thickness adequate to absorb the incident radiation and prevent its re-emission; (iii) satisfy severe limitations upon scattering to prevent radiation from entering and bouncing back out. As a consequence, Kirchhoff's perfect black bodies that absorb all the radiation that falls on them cannot be realized in an infinitely thin surface layer, and impose conditions upon scattering of the light within the black body that are difficult to satisfy.


title: Black body

text: In 1898, Otto Lummer and Ferdinand Kurlbaum published an account of their cavity radiation source. Their design has been used largely unchanged for radiation measurements to the present day. It was a hole in the wall of a platinum box, divided by diaphragms, with its interior blackened with iron oxide. It was an important ingredient for the progressively improved measurements that led to the discovery of Planck's law. A version described in 1901 had its interior blackened with a mixture of chromium, nickel, and cobalt oxides. See also Hohlraum.


title: Black body

text: There is interest in blackbody-like materials for camouflage and radar-absorbent materials for radar invisibility. They also have application as solar energy collectors, and infrared thermal detectors. As a perfect emitter of radiation, a hot material with black body behavior would create an efficient infrared heater, particularly in space or in a vacuum where convective heating is unavailable. They are also useful in telescopes and cameras as anti-reflection surfaces to reduce stray light, and to gather information about objects in high-contrast areas (for example, observation of planets in orbit around their stars), where blackbody-like materials absorb light that comes from the wrong sources.


title: Black body

text: It has long been known that a lamp-black coating will make a body nearly black. An improvement on lamp-black is found in manufactured carbon nanotubes. Nano-porous materials can achieve refractive indices nearly that of vacuum, in one case obtaining average reflectance of 0.045%. In 2009, a team of Japanese scientists created a material called nanoblack which is close to an ideal black body, based on vertically aligned single-walled carbon nanotubes. This absorbs between 98% and 99% of the incoming light in the spectral range from the ultra-violet to the far-infrared regions.


title: Black body

text: Other examples of nearly perfect black materials are super black, prepared by chemically etching a nickel–phosphorus alloy, vertically aligned carbon nanotube arrays (like VantaBlack) and flower carbon nanostructures; all absorb 99.9% of light or more.


title: Black body

text: A star or planet often is modeled as a black body, and electromagnetic radiation emitted from these bodies as black-body radiation. The figure shows a highly schematic cross-section to illustrate the idea. The photosphere of the star, where the emitted light is generated, is idealized as a layer within which the photons of light interact with the material in the photosphere and achieve a common temperature "T" that is maintained over a long period of time. Some photons escape and are emitted into space, but the energy they carry away is replaced by energy from within the star, so that the temperature of the photosphere is nearly steady. Changes in the core lead to changes in the supply of energy to the photosphere, but such changes are slow on the time scale of interest here. Assuming these circumstances can be realized, the outer layer of the star is somewhat analogous to the example of an enclosure with a small hole in it, with the hole replaced by the limited transmission into space at the outside of the photosphere. With all these assumptions in place, the star emits black-body radiation at the temperature of the photosphere.


title: Black body

text: Using this model the effective temperature of stars is estimated, defined as the temperature of a black body that yields the same surface flux of energy as the star. If a star were a black body, the same effective temperature would result from any region of the spectrum. For example, comparisons in the "B" (blue) or "V" (visible) range lead to the so-called "B-V" color index, which increases the redder the star, with the Sun having an index of +0.648 ± 0.006. Combining the "U" (ultraviolet) and the "B" indices leads to the "U-B" index, which becomes more negative the hotter the star and the more the UV radiation. Assuming the Sun is a type G2 V star, its "U-B" index is +0.12. The two indices for two types of most common star sequences are compared in the figure (diagram) with the effective surface temperature of the stars if they were perfect black bodies. There is a rough correlation. For example, for a given "B-V" index measurement, the curves of both most common sequences of star (the main sequence and the supergiants) lie below the corresponding black-body "U-B" index that includes the ultraviolet spectrum, showing that both groupings of star emit less ultraviolet light than a black body with the same "B-V" index. It is perhaps surprising that they fit a black body curve as well as they do, considering that stars have greatly different temperatures at different depths. For example, the Sun has an effective temperature of 5780 K, which can be compared to the temperature of its photosphere (the region generating the light), which ranges from about 5000 K at its outer boundary with the chromosphere to about 9500 K at its inner boundary with the convection zone approximately deep.


title: Black body

text: A black hole is a region of spacetime from which nothing escapes. Around a black hole there is a mathematically defined surface called an event horizon that marks the point of no return. It is called "black" because it absorbs all the light that hits the horizon, reflecting nothing, making it almost an ideal black body (radiation with a wavelength equal to or larger than the diameter of the hole may not be absorbed, so black holes are not perfect black bodies). Physicists believe that to an outside observer, black holes have a non-zero temperature and emit black-body radiation, radiation with a nearly perfect black-body spectrum, ultimately evaporating. The mechanism for this emission is related to vacuum fluctuations in which a virtual pair of particles is separated by the gravity of the hole, one member being sucked into the hole, and the other being emitted. The energy distribution of emission is described by Planck's law with a temperature "T":


title: Black body

text: where "c" is the speed of light, ℏ is the reduced Planck constant, "k" is the Boltzmann constant, "G" is the gravitational constant and "M" is the mass of the black hole. These predictions have not yet been tested either observationally or experimentally.


title: Black body

text: The Big Bang theory is based upon the cosmological principle, which states that on large scales the Universe is homogeneous and isotropic. According to theory, the Universe approximately a second after its formation was a near-ideal black body in thermal equilibrium at a temperature above 10 K. The temperature decreased as the Universe expanded and the matter and radiation in it cooled. The cosmic microwave background radiation observed today is "the most perfect black body ever measured in nature". It has a nearly ideal Planck spectrum at a temperature of about 2.7 K. It departs from the perfect isotropy of true black-body radiation by an observed anisotropy that varies with angle on the sky only to about one part in 100,000.


title: Black body

text: The integration of Planck's law over all frequencies provides the total energy per unit of time per unit of surface area radiated by a black body maintained at a temperature "T", and is known as the Stefan–Boltzmann law:


title: Black body

text: where "σ" is the Stefan–Boltzmann constant, To remain in thermal equilibrium at constant temperature "T", the black body must absorb or internally generate this amount of power "P" over the given area "A".


title: Black body

text: The cooling of a body due to thermal radiation is often approximated using the Stefan–Boltzmann law supplemented with a "gray body" emissivity (). The rate of decrease of the temperature of the emitting body can be estimated from the power radiated and the body's heat capacity. This approach is a simplification that ignores details of the mechanisms behind heat redistribution (which may include changing composition, phase transitions or restructuring of the body) that occur within the body while it cools, and assumes that at each moment in time the body is characterized by a single temperature. It also ignores other possible complications, such as changes in the emissivity with temperature, and the role of other accompanying forms of energy emission, for example, emission of particles like neutrinos.


title: Black body

text: If a hot emitting body is assumed to follow the Stefan–Boltzmann law and its power emission "P" and temperature "T" are known, this law can be used to estimate the dimensions of the emitting object, because the total emitted power is proportional to the area of the emitting surface. In this way it was found that X-ray bursts observed by astronomers originated in neutron stars with a radius of about 10 km, rather than black holes as originally conjectured. An accurate estimate of size requires some knowledge of the emissivity, particularly its spectral and angular dependence.


title: Javier Zanetti

text: Javier Adelmar Zanetti (; born 10 August 1973) is an Argentine former professional footballer. He is regarded as one of the best players of his generation, and is especially well known for his role in Inter Milan's treble-winning 2009–10 season. Zanetti was known for his versatility as well as his adeptness on both the left and right wing, having played as a full-back on both flanks in addition to being a midfielder. He is currently the Vice-President of Inter.


title: Javier Zanetti

text: He started his career in Argentina, first with Talleres, and then Banfield. From 1995 to 2014 he played for Italian club Inter Milan, and served as captain from 2001.


title: Javier Zanetti

text: Having participated in 1,115 official games, he is on the list of men's footballers with the most official appearances. He is also the foreign player with the most appearances in Serie A (615), and holds the fourth-most appearances in the league, behind only Gianluigi Buffon, Paolo Maldini and Francesco Totti. He holds the record for the most appearances in the history of Inter (858), as well as the record for the most trophies won with the club, with 16: five Scudetti, four Coppa Italia, four Supercoppa Italiana, one UEFA Cup, one Champions League and the FIFA Club World Cup. He also has the most appearances as captain in the Champions League (82).


title: Javier Zanetti

text: With the Argentina national team he played in 145 games, a figure that makes him the third player with the most appearances in the history of "La Albiceleste", having held the record from 2007 to 2018. With Argentina he reached the final of the Copa América in 2004 and 2007, and the Confederations Cup in 1995 and 2005.


title: Javier Zanetti

text: On retiring, Inter Milan retired his number 4 jersey and named him as its vice president. He has been named an ambassador for the SOS Children's Villages project in Argentina by FIFA, and in 2005 he received the "Ambrogino d'Oro" award from the city of Milan for his social initiatives. Zanetti is also a Global Ambassador for the Special Olympics.


title: Javier Zanetti

text: Javier Adelmar Zanetti was born in Buenos Aires to working-class parents of Italian ancestry and grew up in the harbour area in the Dock Sud district, one of the city's most notorious areas. His father Rodolfo was a bricklayer and his mother Violeta Bonnazola was a cleaner. Reportedly some of Zanetti's ancestors were Italian settlers brought to southern Chile by Giorgio Ricci in the aftermath of the Occupation of Araucanía (1861-1883). He began playing football on a field in the city suburbs, maintaining the pitch in his spare time. When he was a teenager, he tried out for local club Independiente's youth academy but was ultimately rejected and told that he lacked the physique to succeed in the game. Instead, he concentrated on school and worked as an assistant to his father with masonry as well as odd jobs such as delivering milk and helping out at a relative's grocery store.


title: Javier Zanetti

text: After his rejection from Independiente, Zanetti signed for Talleres, then a second division team. With them, he played 33 matches and scored one goal in his only season, before moving in 1993 to the First Division club Banfield.


title: Javier Zanetti

text: A 20-year-old Zanetti debuted for Banfield on 12 September 1993 in a home match against River Plate. He scored his first goal 17 days later against Newell's Old Boys in a match that ended 1–1. His outstanding performances for Banfield gained popularity from "El Taladro" fans and also earned him a call-up from the national team. First division giants River Plate and Boca Juniors displayed interest but Zanetti decided to stay on for another year at the club. In 1995, along with fellow Argentine Sebastián Rambert, he transferred to Italy's Inter Milan, becoming team owner Massimo Moratti's first-ever purchase.


title: Javier Zanetti

text: As a part of the squad for 19 seasons and with 858 appearances across all competitions, he is currently the team's longest-tenured player, and the first overall – surpassing Giuseppe Bergomi (758) – in the all-time list of Inter players by most games played.


title: Javier Zanetti

text: Throughout his stay with the club, he won 16 trophies, 15 of which came under his captaincy : the UEFA Cup in 1998, the 2005, 2006, 2010 and 2011 Coppa Italia, the 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2010 Supercoppa Italiana, the 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09 and 2009–10 "Scudetti" and the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League.


title: Javier Zanetti

text: Zanetti went 12 years without being sent off in a match. The first time he was sent off in his career was on 17 February 1999 in a Coppa Italia match against Parma, but he broke his streak when he was sent off in a Serie A match against Udinese on 3 December 2011. These were the only two times he was sent off during his entire career at Inter.


title: Javier Zanetti

text: At Inter, Zanetti played under 19 different coaches, making him the only player to have played under this many coaches. He has pledged his future to the "Nerazzurri", hoping to have a future behind the desk at the club in his retirement from playing. "Inter means a lot to me", Zanetti said.


title: Javier Zanetti

text: Zanetti made his debut for Inter on 27 August 1995 against Vicenza in Milan. He scored Inter's second goal in their 3–0 win over compatriots Lazio in the 1998 UEFA Cup Final at the Parc des Princes in Paris, his first silverware at the club, after losing in the final in the previous season.


title: Javier Zanetti

text: After two years in which he consistently wore the captain band in place of the injured Ronaldo, he was rewarded with the club captaincy in late 2001.


title: Javier Zanetti

text: After the arrival of Maicon at the beginning of the 2006–07 season, Zanetti was moved from the right-back position into midfield. He ended a four-year goal drought when he scored on 5 November 2006 at a home match against Ascoli, having previously scored on 6 November 2002 at an away match against Empoli. On 27 September 2006, against Bayern Munich, Zanetti played his 500th professional match for Inter and on 22 November 2006, he appeared in his 100th UEFA match, against Sporting Clube de Portugal.


title: Javier Zanetti

text: Zanetti played an important role in the 2008 Supercoppa Italiana match over Roma, scoring his team's last penalty in a subsequent shootout win after the regular and extra time ended in a 2–2 draw; this was his first ever career penalty and the third Supercoppa Italiana title. Zanetti then celebrated his 600th match for Inter on 24 September 2008 with a 1–0 win over newly promoted Lecce. Minutes before the match, he was presented with a commemorative plate by former vice-captain Iván Córdoba to mark the occasion.


title: Javier Zanetti

text: Though Zanetti is more often classified as a defender, he played mostly in midfield during the first half of the 2008–09 season. For the last several weeks of October 2008, with Inter coach José Mourinho facing a midfield crisis due to injuries to key midfielders Esteban Cambiasso and Sulley Muntari, he was moved again to the midfield for the matches against Genoa and Fiorentina. During that period, Mourinho played him in the midfield due to the presence of Maicon, Lúcio, Walter Samuel and Cristian Chivu in the back four.


title: Javier Zanetti

text: The 2009–10 season began well for Zanetti and Inter, especially after a 4–0 thrashing of crosstown rivals A.C. Milan in the "Derby della Madonnina". In the match against Genoa on 17 October, he started off the counter-attack that led to Inter's second goal after dispossessing a Genoa player. Inter became the first team of the season to win by a five-goal margin. On 24 October, he reached Giacinto Facchetti's record of 476 Serie A appearances when he turned out for the match against Catania, which ended in a 2–1 win for the "Nerazzurri". He also currently holds a club record of 162 consecutive appearances.


title: Javier Zanetti

text: Inter won the 2010 Champions League final 2–0 against Bayern Munich on 22 May 2010. This was Zanetti's 700th appearance for Inter, and it made him the first player to captain an Italian club to a treble of the "Scudetto", Coppa Italia and Champions League.


title: Javier Zanetti

text: On 20 October 2010, at 37 years and 71 days, Zanetti became the oldest player to score in the Champions League when he netted in the opening minute of Inter's 4–3 group stage win over Tottenham Hotspur at the San Siro. This was only his second ever Champions League goal; his first came in December 1998 in a match in a 2–0 win against Sturm Graz. He scored one of Inter's goals in their 3–0 win against Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma at the 2010 FIFA Club World Cup, which they eventually won, although Inter missed out on the UEFA Super Cup that season.


title: Javier Zanetti

text: On 19 January 2011, Zanetti overtook Inter legend Giuseppe Bergomi in Serie A appearances, his 520th match in Serie A, all for Inter. On 11 May 2011, Zanetti made his 1,000th appearance as a professional footballer playing for Inter against Roma in the second leg of the Coppa Italia semi-final. On 20 September 2011, Zanetti made the all-time appearance record in a Serie A clash against Novara, surpassing Giuseppe Bergomi.


title: Javier Zanetti

text: On 10 March 2013, Zanetti played in his 600th Serie A match for Inter, a 1–0 loss to Bologna at the San Siro. On 21 April 2014, in the 1–0 home win against Parma, Zanetti played his 1,100th official match and became the player with the fourth-most appearances of all time.


title: Javier Zanetti

text: On 29 April 2014, Inter chairman Erick Thohir announced that Zanetti would retire at the end of the 2013–14 season and become a club director. Zanetti's last competitive match at the San Siro was a 4–1 victory over Lazio on 10 May 2014. He came on as a substitute for Jonathan Moreira in the 52nd minute and wore a special armband featuring the names of every player he had played with during his career at Inter. He retired after the last game of the season, which he started as centre-back in a 2–1 away defeat to Chievo on 18 May.


title: Javier Zanetti

text: In June 2014, Inter chairman Erick Thohir appointed Zanetti vice-president for a two-year term. Zanetti kept the role upon the change of ownership to the Suning Holdings Group.


title: Javier Zanetti

text: On 4 May 2015, during a charitable match at the San Siro, with former and current football stars, organised by Zanetti himself for the opening celebrations for the Expo 2015 in Milan, Inter officially retired Zanetti's number 4 jersey.


title: Javier Zanetti

text: Zanetti debuted for Argentina on 16 November 1994 against Chile under coach Daniel Passarella. He represented his country at the 1998 and 2002 FIFA World Cups, and was also part of the team that won the silver medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, United States.


title: Javier Zanetti

text: Zanetti was called up for the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France, where he made his debut in team's opening group match against Japan which finished in a 1–0 win. During the 1998 World Cup run, he neatly finished off a Juan Sebastián Verón free kick in the round of 16 match against England making the score 2–2. Argentina went on to win 4–3 on penalties but lost the quarter-final match to the Netherlands.


title: Javier Zanetti

text: Zanetti represented Marcelo Bielsa's Argentina national team at the 2002 World Cup, playing in all matches, as Argentina finished third in their group, despite winning the opening match.


title: Javier Zanetti

text: Zanetti celebrated his 100th cap by helping Argentina win their 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup semi-final over Mexico on 26 June 2005, in which he won the Man of the Match award.


title: Javier Zanetti

text: After having been part of the team during the qualification rounds, Zanetti was not called up for the 2006 World Cup by coach José Pékerman in a controversial decision. Instead, Lionel Scaloni was given a surprise selection, a move that bewildered many fans and media.


title: Javier Zanetti

text: With new coach Alfio Basile, Zanetti was called for a friendly match against France on 7 February 2007. He played brilliantly and helped Javier Saviola to score the only goal of the game that gave Argentina the first victory under Basile's second management. That same year, Zanetti was vice-captain of the Argentine squad for the 2007 Copa América, having previously appeared in the 1995, 1999 and the 2004 editions of the tournament, reaching his second consecutive Copa América final.


title: Javier Zanetti

text: In April 2007, Zanetti was presented with the "National Giuseppe Prisco Award". After the retirement of Roberto Ayala, Zanetti was given the captain's armband. In a World Cup qualification match against Bolivia on 17 November 2007, he became the highest capped player for Argentina.


title: Javier Zanetti

text: Zanetti remained a regular under new coach Diego Maradona, although defensive midfielder Javier Mascherano took over as captain at Maradona's request. Despite winning the Champions League at club level, Zanetti and Inter teammate Esteban Cambiasso were not included in the Argentina squad for the 2010 World Cup. This move was heavily criticised by football pundits from both South America and Europe. Instead 30-year-old Ariel Garcé, who had been called up just twice in the previous five years, received a shocking selection, but ultimately did not play a single minute in any World Cup match. Zanetti's place in the starting line up was taken by Jonás Gutiérrez, who had spent the previous season playing on the wing for Newcastle United in England's second-tier Football League Championship.


title: Javier Zanetti

text: On 20 August 2010, Argentina coach Sergio Batista recalled Zanetti to the squad for a friendly against Spain played on 7 September 2010 at the River Plate Monumental Stadium, where he and fellow legend Gabriel Batistuta were honored by the Argentine Football Association for their outstanding careers with more than 48,000 people giving them a standing ovation. He was called again for the friendly against Japan in Saitama of October 2010 but withdrew at the last minute due to injury.


title: Javier Zanetti

text: Zanetti was a member of Argentina's squad for the 2011 Copa América on home soil, starting in all four of the team's matches as they were eliminated by Uruguay in the quarter-finals.


title: Javier Zanetti

text: Zanetti earned the nickname "El Tractor" for his stamina and tireless energetic runs up and down the wings to aid both attack and defence. He was known amongst his teammates for consistency and fitness regime, which he has credited with prolonging his career. During his last few seasons, he started in over 30 games despite being in his late 30s. As a captain for both his club and international sides, he was well-respected by both fans and the opposition for his leadership, calm demeanor and conduct both on and off the pitch; in his entire 22-year career, he only received two red cards.


title: Javier Zanetti

text: Zanetti was a quick, strong and physically fit player in his prime, with outstanding physical attributes, excellent ball control, dribbling, technical ability and acceleration. Defensively, he excelled at reading the game, and he was a good ball-winner and man-marker, although he was also effective at distributing the ball to teammates, due to his passing range and vision. A two-way and two-footed player, he excelled at playing on either flank, where he was capable of advancing into more offensive positions to cross balls for teammates. He also possessed an accurate shot from distance. During his later years at Inter, he was known to have developed a formidable partnership with fellow full-back Maicon, leading the club to win several titles.


title: Javier Zanetti

text: Zanetti began his career as a right offensive winger, but was later moved back into midfield, where he became a tactically intelligent and versatile player, who was capable of playing anywhere in midfield or in defence. He was primarily used as a wide midfielder or as a full-back or wing-back on either flank throughout his career, although he has also been deployed as a central defender, sweeper, or as a central or defensive midfielder. He was even deployed in more offensive roles on occasion. Zanetti has been praised for his determination, consistency, and work-rate, as well as his discipline and longevity, which he has attributed to his diligence in training sessions.


title: Javier Zanetti

text: On 23 December 1999, Zanetti married his long-time girlfriend Paula de la Fuente, the daughter of a university lecturer. They met when he was 19 and she was 14 and dated for seven years prior to their marriage. They live near Lake Como, and they also own a restaurant called El Gaucho in Milan in the Navigli district, a popular tourist area. Paula currently works as a photographer. The couple have a daughter, Sol (born 11 June 2005), and two sons, Ignacio (born 27 July 2008) and Tomás (born 9 May 2012).


title: Javier Zanetti

text: Zanetti's mother, Violeta Bonazzola, died from a heart attack hours after Inter's triumph in 2011 Coppa Italia Final. He has published two autobiographies: "Capitano e gentiluomo" in 2010 and "Giocare da uomo" in 2013.


title: Javier Zanetti

text: Zanetti is a devout Catholic. Upon the 2013 election of fellow Argentine Pope Francis, Zanetti was invited to the Vatican for an audience with him.


title: Javier Zanetti

text: Zanetti is a close friend of Dutch footballer Wesley Sneijder, whom he inspired to convert to Catholicism.


title: Javier Zanetti

text: Zanetti's elder brother Sergio is a former football defender. Javier Zanetti is not related to Cristiano Zanetti, an Italian who played alongside him for five seasons at Inter.


title: Javier Zanetti

text: In 2007, Zanetti collaborated with Italian singer Mina in a Spanish cover of the song "Parole parole", found in the album "Todavía".


title: Javier Zanetti

text: Zanetti is FIFA ambassador for the SOS Children's Villages project in Argentina, and has declared his support for the Mexican Zapatista rebels.


title: Javier Zanetti

text: Zanetti has also shown social conscience when in response to Argentina's economic crisis of 2001, which threw millions of people into poverty, Zanetti, with his wife Paula, created the Fundación PUPI in Argentina for the social integration of poor children. The aim of the organization is to help children who were left impoverished by the country's economic crisis by giving them educational opportunities, as well as taking care of their nutritional requirements. He explained:


title: Javier Zanetti

text: Zanetti, along with his compatriot Esteban Cambiasso, founded this charity association to help coach young children with social isolation problems and motor coordination difficulties. Zanetti said that "this spirit lies at the base of all of Inter's initiatives for youngsters:"


title: Javier Zanetti

text: Zanetti is featured in EA Sports' "FIFA" football video game series; he was included in the Ultimate Team Legends in "FIFA 16".


title: Green Day discography

text: The American rock band Green Day has released 13 studio albums, four live albums, four compilation albums, one soundtrack album, four video albums, 11 extended plays, four box sets, 43 singles, 10 promotional singles and 47 music videos. The band has sold over 75 million records worldwide, including more than 24 million in certified album sales in the United States. Green Day released their first two studio albums, "1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours" (1991) (consisting of the original "39/Smooth" as well as their first two EPs "1,000 Hours" and "Slappy") and "Kerplunk" (1991), through the independent label Lookout! Records before signing to major label Reprise Records. "Dookie", the band's first album on the label and third studio album overall, was released in February 1994. It was a breakout success, selling over 10 million copies in the United States and 20 million copies worldwide. "Dookie" spawned five singles, including the international hits "Longview", "Basket Case" and "When I Come Around". The album placed Green Day at the forefront of the 1990s punk rock revival.


title: Green Day discography

text: "Insomniac", the band's fourth studio album, was released in October 1995. While not as successful as "Dookie", the album managed to peak at number two on the US "Billboard" 200 and received a double platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). "Nimrod" followed in October 1997; it peaked at number ten on the "Billboard" 200. Four singles were released from "Nimrod"; the most successful of these was "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)", which hit the top ten in countries such as Australia and Canada. The band's sixth studio album "Warning" was released in October 2000 to mild commercial success, peaking at number four on the "Billboard" 200 and only earning a gold certification from the RIAA.


title: Green Day discography

text: Their seventh studio album "American Idiot" reignited the band's popularity with a younger generation. Becoming the band's first album to top the "Billboard" 200, "American Idiot" sold over six million copies in the United States, and over 14 million copies worldwide. The album spawned five commercially successful singles: "American Idiot", "Jesus of Suburbia", "Boulevard of Broken Dreams", "Holiday", and "Wake Me Up When September Ends".


title: Green Day discography

text: The band's eighth studio album "21st Century Breakdown" followed in May 2009, topping the "Billboard" 200 and being certified platinum by the RIAA. Two singles from the album—"Know Your Enemy" and "21 Guns"—became top 40 hits on the US "Billboard" Hot 100. A trilogy of studio albums—"¡Uno!", "¡Dos!", and "¡Tré!"—were released toward the end of 2012. "¡Uno!", "¡Dos!" and "¡Tré!" peaked at numbers two, nine and thirteen respectively on the "Billboard" 200.


title: Green Day discography

text: On February 7, 2020, their most recent album, "Father of All Motherfuckers", was released and debuted in the top five of the "Billboard" 200 and topped the Australian, Canadian and UK charts in its first week.


title: BRDM-2

text: The BRDM-2 ("Boyevaya Razvedyvatelnaya Dozornaya Mashina", Боевая Разведывательная Дозорная Машина, literally "Combat Reconnaissance/Patrol Vehicle") is an amphibious armoured scout car used by states that were part of the Soviet Union and its allies. It was also known under the designations BTR-40PB, BTR-40P-2 and GAZ 41-08. This vehicle, like many other Soviet designs, has been exported extensively and is in use in at least 38 countries. It was intended to replace the older BRDM-1, and has improved amphibious capabilities and better armament compared to its predecessor.


title: BRDM-2

text: After a few years of use by the Soviet Army, the limitations and drawbacks of the BRDM-1 became obvious. The vehicle had no turret and to operate the armament the gunner had to open a hatch and expose himself to enemy fire. The vehicle was not fitted with an NBC protection system, and had no night vision equipment by default. The vehicle also lacked any kind of special sights, which undermined its function as a reconnaissance vehicle. These drawbacks encouraged the design team to create a new vehicle which would suit the modern battlefield.


title: BRDM-2

text: The BRDM-2 has a crew of four: a driver, a co-driver, a commander, and a gunner. It has two pairs of chain-driven belly wheels lowered by the driver, which allow trench crossing just like its predecessor, and a centralized tire pressure regulation system, which can be used to adjust the tire pressure of all four tires or individual tires while the vehicle is in motion to suit to the ground conditions.


title: BRDM-2

text: Externally, it differs from the BRDM-1 by having a larger, box-like hull. It retains the boat-like bow of the BRDM-1. However, the crew compartment is now further forward and the new GAZ-41 gasoline V8 engine is in the rear. Thanks to this, the engine is much better protected from enemy fire. The engine compartment is also separated from the crew compartment by an armoured barrier.


title: BRDM-2

text: The driver's and commander's stations are in the front of the vehicle, with the driver positioned on the left and commander on the right. Both of them sit behind a bulletproof windscreen, which provides them with their primary view of the battlefield. When in combat, the windscreen can be additionally protected by twin armoured shutters. When the shutters are in their opened position, they protect the driver and commander from being blinded by the sunlight and ensure that the windscreen won't be blurred by rain or snow. The commander and driver have periscopes allowing both of them a more detailed view of the surrounding terrain. The commander has six TNP-A periscopes (five in the front and one on the side of the vehicle), a TPKU-2B day sight and a TKN-1 night sight(night-vision device). The driver has four TNP-A periscopes (all in the front), one of which can be replaced by a TWN-2B night-vision device. The gunner is in the turret during combat, but when traveling he is seated inside the hull.


title: BRDM-2

text: The crew mounts and dismounts the vehicle via two hatches over driver's and commander's stations. On either side of the hull adjacent to the crew position, there is a firing port. Immediately behind the firing port there are three TNP-A periscopes, which protrude from the outside of the hull, giving the crew some vision to the front and rear of the vehicle.


title: BRDM-2

text: The engine is larger than the BRDM's (it is a 140 hp V-8 instead of a 90 hp 6-cylinder). The BRDM-2 has an IR spotlight and four IR driving lights, as well as an over pressure collective NBC filter system. The IR spotlight is located on top of the commander's periscope. The vehicle also has an R-123 radio and an antenna on the right side of the hull next to the commander's hatch, for communication. There's also a winch mounted internally at the front hull that has a 30 m cable and a 4 tonne capacity. The winch is intended to be used, among others, for self-recovery when stuck in difficult terrain. A spare tire can be mounted on top of the turret. This was most often practiced by Polish crews.


title: BRDM-2

text: Like its predecessor, the BRDM-2 is amphibious. The GAZ-41 gasoline V-8 engine supplies power to the circular water-jet, equipped with a four-bladed propeller at the rear of the vehicle, which is covered with an armoured shutter while on land. This shutter is opened at the same time as the trim board by hydraulics, which must be done before entering water. The water-jet allows amphibious travel with a speed of 10 km/h for 17 to 19 hours. A trim board, which is stowed under the nose of the hull when traveling, is erected at the front of the hull before entering the water to improve the vehicle's stability and displacement in the water and to prevent the water from flooding the bow of the BRDM-2. While in its traveling position, it serves as additional armour.


title: BRDM-2

text: The armament is the same as the BTR-60PB armoured personnel carrier; a 14.5 mm KPVT heavy machine gun with a coaxial 7.62 mm PKT general-purpose machine gun as a secondary weapon, both in a small conical BPU-1 turret mounted on the hull in a central position above the belly wheels.


title: BRDM-2

text: The 14.5 mm KPVT heavy machine gun has a practical rate of fire of 150 rounds per minute and a cyclic rate of fire of 600 rounds per minute. It has an effective range during daylight operations of 2,000 m. It can penetrate 20 mm of armour at a range of 1,000 m and 30 mm of armour at a range of 500 m. It can also fire at air targets, in which case the tactical range is 1,400 m. It uses the 14.5 mm API-T, 14.5 mm I-T, 14.5 mm HE-T, 14.5 mm and MDZ type ammunition.


title: BRDM-2

text: The 7.62 mm PKT coaxial general-purpose machine gun has an effective range during day time operations of 1,000 m while the vehicle is stationary and from 400 m to 500 m while the vehicle is on the move. It is fired in 2 to 10 round bursts and has a practical rate of fire of 250 rounds per minute and a cyclic rate of fire of 650 rounds per minute. During daylight operations, the gunner uses the PP-61AM sight, which has a field of view of 23 degrees and x2.6 magnification.


title: BRDM-2

text: The BPU-1 turret is unusual because it has no top hatch opening. Contrary to the popular belief, the BPU-1 turret was originally designed for the BRDM-2. The turret was later used in the Soviet BTR-60PB, the Polish SKOT-2A and the Czechoslovak OT-64A. The turret allows the armament to be elevated between −5 and +30 degrees. On the left side of the turret, there is an air inlet on the hull top. There are also two air-inlet louvers in the forward part of the engine compartment's roof and four smaller air-inlet louvers to the rear. Both sides have centrally placed vision blocks.


title: BRDM-2

text: The vehicle armor, which is composed of welded steel, protects it fully against small arms fire and small shell fragments; but doesn't protect it against big artillery fragments or .50-calibre machine gun fire, which can penetrate the BRDM-2's maximum armor of 14 mm. The BRDM-2-series tires are not protected by armour and are particularly vulnerable to puncture from fire of all kinds.


title: BRDM-2

text: There are three different production lots, which have different cooling vents on the engine deck. The late production version has mushroom-type vents. It also has slightly modified turret and can elevate its armament to +60 degrees. Final production BRDM-2s have additional turret periscopes and a TNA-2 navigation apparatus.


title: BRDM-2

text: BRDM-2 has flaws that are also apparent in other Soviet vehicles. These include the poor ergonomic design, low level of crew protection and high fuel consumption. The ergonomics was addressed in the Polish BRDM-2M-96 modernization and its successors, the BRDM-2M-96i, BRDM-2M-96ik "Szakal", BRDM-2M-96ik "Szakal Plus", BRDM-2M-97 "Żbik-B", BRDM-2M-97C "Żbik-P" and BRDM-2M-98 "Żbik-A", which all had the belly wheels removed, thus providing more space for the crew or space for two soldiers. This was also carried out in Morozov's BRDM-2SMD.


title: BRDM-2

text: The BRDM-2 has a unique flaw. Because the only way in and out of the vehicle is via the front hatches, leaving the vehicle while in combat is almost impossible, as the exiting crew members would instantly enter the line of fire of both the enemy and their own vehicle, as hatches are positioned directly in front of the turret. This shortcoming was addressed in the Polish BRDM-2M-96 modernization and its successors, the BRDM-2M-96i, BRDM-2M-96ik "Szakal", BRDM-2M-96ik "Szakal Plus", BRDM-2M-97 "Żbik-B", BRDM-2M-97C "Żbik-P" and BRDM-2M-98 "Żbik-A", all of which have side hatches. This was also done in the Czech LOT-B and OKV-P as well as the Ukrainian BRDM-2SMD. The Polish BRDM-2M-97 "Żbik-B", BRDM-2M-97C "Żbik-P" and BRDM-2M-98 "Żbik-A" also have a hatch on the top of the turret, giving the crew another way out.


title: BRDM-2

text: The BRDM-2's predecessor, BRDM-1, did not have that issue as the BRDM-1 obr. 1957 had no roof and later models had a rear hatch that allowed the crew to exit the vehicle from behind. The fact that the BRDM-2 is missing such a hatch is a consequence of putting the engine in the rear, unlike in BRDM-1 where the engine is in the front.


title: BRDM-2

text: The BRDM-2 is sometimes confused with the Hungarian D-442 FUG and D-944 PSzH amphibious scout cars, which also have rear-mounted engines. What distinguishes them from the BRDM-2 is that they have twin waterjets, whereas the BRDM-2 has a single triangular water jet.


title: BRDM-2

text: The BRDM-2 entered service with the Soviet Army in 1962. It was first publicly shown in 1966. It replaced the BRDM-1 in the Soviet and Warsaw Pact armies. Production started in 1962 and went on until 1989, with 7,200 vehicles produced (mostly for export).


title: BRDM-2

text: The BRDM-2 became famous for being the vehicle selected to pull the Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev's coffin during the funeral ceremony in the Red Square.


title: BRDM-2

text: Poland bought 450 BRDM-2 armoured scout cars, 418 9P133 "Malyutka" and 9P148 "Konkurs" tank destroyers and 32 BRDM-2RS NBC reconnaissance vehicles in 1965. Later, Poland obtained some 9P31 Surface-to-air missile launchers. In 2004, the Polish Army operated 600 BRDM-2 armoured scout cars and vehicles based on it. Currently, the Polish Army operates 200 BRDM-2"s", 120 BRDM-2"s" modernized to BRDM-2M-96, BRDM-2M-96i, BRDM-2M-97 "Żbik-B" and BRDM-2M-98 "Żbik-A" level, 12 BRDM-2"s" modernized to BRDM-2M-96ik "Szakal" level, 100 9P133 "Malyutka" and 18 9P148 "Konkurs" tank destroyers, 12 BRDM-2RS NBC reconnaissance vehicles, an unknown number of 9K31 Strela-1 self-propelled surface-to-air missile launchers as well as BRDM-2 R-1A and BRDM-2 R-5 command vehicles. Also one BRDM-2 was modernized to BRDM-2M-96ik "Szakal Plus" level. All modernizations, conversions and serious repairs of Polish BRDM-2s are done by WZM in Siemianowice Śląskie. Modernized BRDM-2 armoured scout cars will serve with the Polish Army for at least a couple of years. The 9P133 "Malyutka" and 9P148 "Konkurs" tank destroyers, which are the basic equipment of anti-tank subunits of motorized brigades, are considered obsolete and therefore are to be replaced with ATGM launchers based on lighter vehicles, like the HMMWV, or heavier vehicles like the KTO Ryś APC or KTO Rosomak AMV.


title: BRDM-2

text: For MSPO 2002, two Polish BRDM-2M-96i were converted into a fire unit and command vehicle with a radar of the German Rheinmetall Defence Electronics ASRAD-R missile air defense system. The system won the "Defender" award at that year's event.


title: BRDM-2

text: Two BRDM-2M-97 "Żbik-B" armoured scout cars took part in a military parade in Kraków on 17 May 2008. Seven BRDM-2M-97 "Żbik-B" armoured scout cars and six 9P148 "Konkurs" tank destroyers took part in a military parade in Warsaw on the Polish Army Day, 15 August 2008.


title: BRDM-2

text: BRDM-2, BRDM-2M-96 and BRDM-2M-96i armoured cars were used by Polish units of SFOR. Polish KFOR units also use BRDM-2M-96 armoured scout cars and BRDM-2RS NBC reconnaissance vehicles. Polish Forces in Iraq operated 12 BRDM-2M-96ik "Szakal" and 14 BRDM-2M-97 "Żbik-B". 10 BRDM-2M-96ik were used by Polish forces of ISAF. However, these are now back in Poland, as are the 12 vehicles used in Iraq.


title: BRDM-2

text: Around 10 BRDM-2"s" were taken over from the Soviet Army in the early 1990s. They were mostly used during infantry training for posing as the enemy armour. Also, the Estonian police used a specially modified BRDM-2 (See the Estonia section in the Variants section). All BRDM-2"s" have now been withdrawn from both the military and police service.


title: BRDM-2

text: In the Russo-Ukrainian War, the BRDM-2 and several of its variants were used by both sides. On the morning of 13 June 2014, during the First Battle of Mariupol, the Azov Battalion, Dnipro-1 Battalion and the National Guard of Ukraine retook the city and key buildings occupied by insurgents killing five militants and destroying an insurgent BRDM-2 armoured vehicle. BRDM-2s also saw action during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.


title: BRDM-2

text: Syria received hundreds of BRDM-2, as well as specialized variants, BRDM-2 RKh (radiological-chemical recce), 9P122, 9P148 (both anti-tank missile carriers) and 9K31 Strela-1 (SAM version). BRDM-2 and 9P122s saw widespread service against Israel during the 1973 Kippur War. Israel managed to capture enough of them to use them with its own forces. Therefore, during the 1982 Lebanon War, both Israelis and Syrians deployed BRDM-2s. The Syrian Armed Forces used the BRDM-2s for security patrols during the Lebanon Civil War, the light vehicles proving themselves very suitable for this kind of missions.


title: BRDM-2

text: At the beginning of the 2010s, the BRDM-2s, thought to be unsuitable to modern combat against Israeli forces, were retired from service. They were mostly used as riot control vehicle during the 2011 protests that led to the Syrian Civil War. During this war, the BRDM-2s or 9P148s were rarely seen in action, most of the usage being local initiatives of governmental or rebel units. A few were modified by the Islamic State into VBIEDs while the Kurdish YPG, lacking armor, used all the vehicles they could.


title: BRDM-2

text: Like all Soviet equipment, the BRDM-2 was also sold to many Arab and African countries. It is used by 38 armies. The BRDM-2's enjoyed popularity on the export market because it was cheap, easy to operate and reliable. These factors made the BRDM-2 a more popular export reconnaissance vehicle than the BRM-1K, which was much more expensive and complicated to operate. Two BRDM-2s were sold to Grenada and were lost in the Invasion of Grenada. One was destroyed in an engagement with American M60 Pattons and the second was captured.


title: BRDM-2

text: When the Soviet forces left Afghanistan, they abandoned many BRDM-2s. These vehicles, together with some derelict ones restored back to working state, are now used by the Afghan National Army. The BRDM-2 also saw service with the Iraqi Army during the First Gulf War and the 2003 invasion of Iraq.


title: BRDM-2

text: The Soviet Union began supplying the People's Armed Forces for the Liberation of Angola (FAPLA) with BRDM-2s shortly after Angolan independence. At least one fell victim to a rebel Panhard AML-90 crewed by South African advisers during "Operation Savannah".


title: BRDM-2

text: BRDM-2 armoured scout cars were used by the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) during the Ten-Day War as well as the initial operations in Croatia during the Croatian War of Independence. The BRDM-2 was also used by the Yugoslav Army (VJ) against the KLA during the Kosovo war. BRDM-2 armoured scout cars are used by Polish, Ukrainian and Russian units of the Kosovo Force.


title: BRDM-2

text: The Sudanese Armed Forces used several BRDM-2s during the Sudanese conflict in South Kordofan and Blue Nile and at least 2 were captured by the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North in December 2012.


title: BRDM-2

text: There are perhaps 20 BRDM-2 vehicles in private hands in the US, maintained and driven by enthusiasts.