title: 2011 Super Outbreak

text: A statewide review by emergency management officials recorded 249 fatalities in Alabama as of the morning of April 30, 23 of which were not tornado-related. Eventually, a total of 238 tornado-related deaths would be confirmed in the state. Damage and power outages in the Huntsville area were so widespread that at one point over 650,000 people were out of power in the Tennessee Valley Authority system. The EF5 tornado that struck Hackleburg and Phil Campbell damaged main high-transmission power lines coming from Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant near Tanner. These towers were the main supply of electrical power to much of North Alabama, and some were without power for two weeks. The tornado just missed the Limestone Correctional Facility, which less than a year later would be struck by another tornado.


title: 2011 Super Outbreak

text: The Storm Prediction Center received 292 reports of tornadoes in the preceding 24 hours. In addition to setting the record for most tornadoes in a calendar day (216; midnight to midnight CDT (05:00 – 05:00 UTC)), it also broke the record for the most tornado touchdowns in any 24-hour period with 219 from 12:40 a.m. to 12:40 a.m. CDT (05:40 – 05:40 UTC) April 27–28, breaking the old 24-hour record of 148 set by the 1974 Super Outbreak. Of those 219 tornadoes, 59 touched down in Alabama and 77 hit the ground in Tennessee, accounting for 62 percent of the tornadoes that touched down on April 27. On April 27 alone, the National Weather Service in Huntsville, Alabama, issued 92 tornado warnings, 31 severe thunderstorm warnings, and seven flash flood warnings.


title: 2011 Super Outbreak

text: Tornado watches were issued for the Atlantic coast from Pennsylvania to Florida at the start of the day and continued through the morning and early afternoon, but tornadoes were forecasted to generally be weaker and more isolated. Despite this, the secondary portion of the outbreak that had begun producing scattered tornadoes throughout the Mid-Atlantic and East Coast regions the previous evening intensified during the early hours of the morning, producing numerous tornadoes. A particularly active region, in which there were some strong tornadoes, was the Interstate 81 corridor extending from southwest Virginia, northward through the Shenandoah Valley and into Pennsylvania, and New York. This included the deadly EF3 tornado that struck the town of Glade Spring, Virginia, very early in the morning, where three people died. Tornadoes were also reported in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Maryland. Most of these tornadoes were weak. Although tornado watches were issued, no tornadoes were spotted in New Jersey or Washington, D.C. In the wake of the tornadoes and severe thunderstorms, widespread flooding hit the Midwest, South, and Eastern Seaboard, with extensive flood and flash flood warnings issued. The last tornadoes of the outbreak touched down that afternoon in eastern North Carolina, which was hard hit in the April 16 outbreak, though the tornadoes that impacted the area this time around were weak. The system moved out into the Atlantic Ocean that evening, with the exception of isolated thunderstorms over central Florida that night into April 29, although no more tornadoes were produced.


title: 2011 Super Outbreak

text: <nowiki>*</nowiki> One tornado touched down in Ontario, Canada, on April 27 and was rated as an F0. It is counted as an EF0 in this table.


title: 2011 Super Outbreak

text: A record 360 tornadoes touched down over the span of four days, 37 of which were EF3+ tornadoes. Four tornadoes were rated EF5 – behind only the 1974 Super Outbreak (7 F5s). Several of the strong to violent tornadoes that formed were exceptionally long-tracked, with six tornadoes on April 27 tracking over . Many tornadoes on the afternoon of April 27 were spawned from a collection of supercells that moved across Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, and Georgia.


title: 2011 Super Outbreak

text: The first tornado of the outbreak to cause more than one death was a long-tracked, high-end EF2 wedge tornado that struck the small town of Vilonia in Faulkner County, Arkansas, around 7:30 p.m. CDT (00:30 UTC) on April 25. A tornado warning was issued for the area roughly 30 minutes prior to the tornado's arrival, and the relatively low loss of life was attributed to this lead time. A tornado emergency was declared at 7:24 p.m. CDT (00:24 UTC) for the city shortly before the tornado struck. Four people were killed in the town and many more were injured. The tornado touched down northwest of Ferndale in Pulaski County at 6:48 p.m. CDT (23:48 UTC), downing trees and transmission towers at EF1 intensity. It continued northeast of Natural Steps, severely damaging a small church and downing numerous trees, one of which landed on a house. The tornado continued to knock down trees as it passed near Roland, several of which landed on homes. The tornado reached EF2 strength as it crossed into Faulkner County and passed southeast of Mayflower, downing numerous trees and power lines and damaging homes and outbuildings. Past Mayflower, it continued towards Vilonia and struck a mobile home park, where numerous mobile homes were destroyed and the four fatalities occurred. Two of the fatalities occurred when a couple attempted to take shelter in a cargo container, which was thrown and deposited near a pond. Several other people were injured in this area as well. The tornado maintained EF2 intensity as it moved directly through Vilonia, damaging numerous homes and businesses and flipping several semi-trucks. The American Red Cross indicated that approximately 34 site-built houses and 62 mobile homes were destroyed, 91 site-built homes and 41 mobile homes suffered major damage, 145 site-built houses and 43 mobile homes had minor damage, and 53 site-built houses and 38 mobile homes were affected in some other way in the Vilonia area. One of the mobile homes was picked up and flipped, and the home's two bathtubs were found over a hill about away. The lone occupant of the mobile home sustained major injuries. After moving through Vilonia, the tornado weakened to EF1 strength as it moved into White County and passed west of El Paso, where trees were blown over onto houses (damaging several roofs), barns and outbuildings were destroyed, an RV and the trailer portion of a tractor-trailer were overturned, and hundreds of trees were downed. The tornado finally dissipated north of Joy at 7:59 p.m. CDT (00:59 UTC), after having travelled just over . At its widest point, the tornado was wide. Following the tornado, 85 members of the U.S. National Guard were deployed to assist in search and rescue, debris clearing, security and traffic control.


title: 2011 Super Outbreak

text: On April 27, 2014, three years and two days after this tornado, a violent EF4 tornado touched down west of Ferndale and moved along almost the same path as this tornado, causing 16 fatalities and many injuries. However, it affected more of Mayflower than this tornado did and caused greater damage all along the path, especially in Vilonia, before lifting near El Paso.


title: 2011 Super Outbreak

text: The first EF5 tornado of the outbreak touched down near the city of Philadelphia, Mississippi, on April 27. The tornado touched down at 2:30 p.m. CDT (19:30 UTC) and traveled for nearly through Neshoba, Kemper, Winston, and Noxubee Counties, reaching a maximum width of a . The tornado killed three people, injured eight others, and caused $1.1 million in damage across its path.


title: 2011 Super Outbreak

text: The supercell thunderstorm that produced this tornado formed around 1:00 p.m. CDT south of Jackson, Mississippi. Traveling briskly to the northeast, it warranted a severe thunderstorm warning within 25 minutes and was deemed potentially tornadic by 1:36 p.m. CDT. A tornado finally touched down at 2:30 p.m. CDT just east of the Philadelphia Municipal Airport. It quickly intensified and began producing EF5 damage by 2:38 p.m. CDT; extreme ground scouring, up to deep in places, occurred in northeastern Neshoba County. After crossing into Kemper County, the tornado obliterated a mobile home, killing all three inside. It reached EF5 strength a second time near the Kemper–Winston county line where extreme ground scouring again took place and pavement was scoured. Extreme tree damage took place along the track and it ultimately dissipated at 3:00 p.m. CDT about north of Mashulaville.


title: 2011 Super Outbreak

text: This was the first tornado to cause F5/EF5 damage in Mississippi since the Candlestick Park tornado on March 3, 1966. Additionally, the formation of the Smithville tornado later that day marked the first time since statistics have been kept that two EF5 tornadoes have been recorded in Mississippi on the same day. Prior to this, the last confirmed EF5 tornado was the Parkersburg, Iowa, tornado on May 25, 2008.


title: 2011 Super Outbreak

text: Rated EF4, this highly visible multiple-vortex tornado tracked directly through downtown Cullman. The tornado touched down at 2:40 p.m. CDT (19:40 UTC) on April 27 and tracked a damage path through Cullman, Morgan, and Marshall Counties, causing six deaths.


title: 2011 Super Outbreak

text: The Cullman tornado first touched down on the north side of Lewis Smith Lake and caused light structural damage near Crane Hill before intensifying and tracking directly towards Cullman, snapping numerous trees and heavily damaging several homes. The tornado entered Cullman while being tracked and broadcast live via several tower cameras, including those operated by Birmingham Fox affiliate WBRC (channel 6) and ABC affiliate WBMA-LD/WCFT-TV/WJSU-TV (channels 58, 33, and 40 - ""ABC 33/40""), for several minutes. The ABC 33/40 camera captured the destruction of a communications tower belonging to Cullman area low-power television station WCQT-LP as the tornado ripped through the city at EF3 intensity. Radio stations in downtown Cullman also reported on the tornado and some even captured it passing over until power was knocked out. Downtown Cullman was badly damaged by the tornado, with the major damage being along a two-block area through the center of the downtown business district. Numerous well-built brick buildings and storefronts in downtown Cullman were heavily damaged or completely destroyed, along with churches. The courthouse and nearby emergency management building took a direct hit from the tornado, sustaining considerable damage, and two school buildings were heavily damaged as well. Many well-known businesses, such as Vincent's Furniture, "The Cullman Times", and the Busy Bee Cafe, were also severely damaged/destroyed. Many homes were damaged or destroyed in residential areas of the city, with extensive tree and power line damage noted as well. In all, a total of 867 residences and 94 businesses within the city of Cullman were damaged or destroyed.


title: 2011 Super Outbreak

text: The tornado, more or less, followed U.S. 278 through the city, in which it created extensive damage along many major intersections, including those with Interstate 65, U.S. 31, AL 157, and AL 69. The tornado continued northeast, becoming large and wedge-shaped as it attained EF4 intensity. It then passed just north of Fairview, completely destroying homes and debarking numerous hardwood trees. Pieces of debris were found speared through vehicles in this area. The tornado then briefly passed through a section of Morgan County near the town of Hulaco, destroying several older block-foundation homes and snapping numerous large trees off at the base. The tornado then crossed into Marshall County and impacted the rural community of Ruth, just north of Arab. A large but poorly-anchored brick home was swept completely away in this area, with the debris scattered 100 yards from the foundation. Several large trees on the property were ripped out of the ground and missing, along with a trailer that was unable to be located at the time of the survey. Other homes and structures were impacted in the Ruth area, and a gas station was completely destroyed. A shed was destroyed with pieces of large farm machinery stored inside thrown up to 20 yards away, a storage trailer was tossed 100 yards and found impaled by planks of wood, and steel power poles in the area were bent over. Arab's power grid was completely crippled by the tornado's effects, and many roads in the area were obstructed by downed trees and power lines. The tornado damaged and destroyed several other homes, garages, and sheds north of Union Grove before it crossed the Tennessee River just downstream of Guntersville Dam. It snapped numerous trees in a forested area before dissipating southeast of New Hope.


title: 2011 Super Outbreak

text: This devastating, long-tracked, violent EF5 wedge tornado was the deadliest of the outbreak. It first touched down in Marion County, Alabama, about west-southwest of Hamilton around 3:00 p.m. CDT (21:00 UTC) on April 27, leaving massive damage along its track. The storm would eventually reach the Hackleburg area, completely leveling many homes and businesses, including a large Wrangler, Inc. factory. Most of the structures in downtown Hackleburg were badly damaged and Hackleburg High School was destroyed. Well-built homes were wiped cleanly from their foundations, extensive wind-rowing of debris occurred, trees were completely debarked, and cars were thrown hundreds of yards. According to the American Red Cross, 75 percent of the town was destroyed. While initially rated as an EF3, the rating was increased to EF5 after further analysis of the damage, making it the first F5/EF5 tornado in Alabama since the Birmingham tornado of April 8, 1998.


title: 2011 Super Outbreak

text: Soon after crossing into Franklin County, the town of Phil Campbell experienced significant devastation of the same magnitude as Hackleburg. Numerous homes, some of which were well-constructed, were swept away as the tornado tore through town. At least three churches along the path sustained significant damage, with one church in the town being completely destroyed and having only the foundation slab remaining. Mobile homes throughout the path were completely destroyed, and their mangled frames were tossed at least . Cars were tossed and destroyed throughout the path of the tornado, with one car wrapped around a debarked tree. A section of pavement was torn from a road in this area as well. The most intense damage along the path occurred northeast of Phil Campbell in the rural community of Oak Grove, where vehicles were carried long distances and mangled beyond recognition, large trees were completely debarked, and large brick homes with extensive anchoring were obliterated with the debris wind-rowed hundreds of yards away. The tornado continued into Lawrence County, impacting the Mount Hope community, where significant devastation was incurred to single-family homes and a restaurant. Nothing but the foundation and a pile of debris remained at the restaurant site, and a small portion of the restaurant's foundation slab buckled.


title: 2011 Super Outbreak

text: The tornado moved northeast, producing EF3 damage in and around Langtown. The tornado re-intensified to EF4 strength as it passed near Moulton and Trinity, debarking trees, mangling, and leveling homes. It then continued through the northwest corner of Morgan County, crossed Wheeler Lake, and moved into Limestone County, coming within of Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant. The tornado caused power outages in the area, and the plant had to be shut down. The tornado continued towards the small community of Tanner. Tanner experienced a large swath of EF4 damage and a narrow corridor of "high-end EF4 to near-EF5 damage". The storm "completely wiped clean" several well constructed homes with anchor bolting. As the storm crossed U.S. Highway 72 in eastern Limestone County, the tornado destroyed a Doppler radar operated by Huntsville NBC affiliate WAFF (channel 48) and continued into East Limestone, a heavily populated area of Limestone County where homes in subdivisions were damaged or destroyed at high-end EF3 strength. As the storm crossed into Madison County, it approached the densely populated suburban communities of Harvest and Toney, where it either damaged or destroyed hundreds of homes, especially in the Anderson Hills and Carter's Gin subdivisions. Many homes were reduced to rubble, and the damage in this area was rated mainly EF3 with a small pocket of EF4 damage in Harvest. The tornado completely destroyed a Piggly Wiggly grocery store in Harvest and severely damaged a convenience store and local bank, which was shut down for months following the event. The storm progressed across Pulaski Pike in northwest Madison County, damaging many homes. In all, hundreds of homes received moderate to major damage along the path from Limestone to Madison County with many of these being total losses.


title: 2011 Super Outbreak

text: The tornado then moved into Tennessee and continued south of Huntland. Isolated and minor EF0 to EF1 damage was noted through most of its path in Tennessee. Widespread damage to trees and outbuildings occurred in this area. The worst damage, however, was to a cinder block utility building and was rated lower-end EF3. Most of its roof was removed, with over half of its downwind wall pushed outward. The tornado eventually dissipated east of Huntland.


title: 2011 Super Outbreak

text: In total, this tornado killed 72 people, all in Alabama. This made it the deadliest single tornado ever to strike the state of Alabama as well as (at the time) the deadliest in the United States since the 1955 Udall, Kansas, tornado that killed 80 people. In addition to being the deadliest, this tornado also had the longest track of any tornado in the outbreak, with its path extending across Northern Alabama and into Tennessee.


title: 2011 Super Outbreak

text: The tornado touched down at 3:40 p.m. CDT (20:40 UTC) in northeastern Pickens County, Alabama, damaging a few chicken homes at EF1 strength. The tornado caused roof damage to houses and destroyed a few outbuildings before moving into Tuscaloosa County and briefly into Fayette County, causing major EF2 tree damage and minor structural damage. The tornado then moved back into Tuscaloosa County, causing mostly minor tree and structural damage at EF1 strength before rapidly intensifying and crossing into Fayette County once again. There, it completely destroyed at least one mobile home, with the frame being separated and the remaining debris being thrown a considerable distance. The tornado appeared to strengthen even further and several mobile homes were obliterated with debris thrown a considerable distance and frames twisted and thrown. Damage was rated EF3 in this area. Many trees were downed as well before the tornado moved into Walker County. It then weakened to EF1 strength and caused mostly minor damage to trees and mobile homes. South of Oakman, numerous trees were snapped and uprooted, a cell phone tower was knocked down, and mobile homes were destroyed at EF2 intensity. It then rolled vehicles and destroyed a cinder block house to the southeast of Oakman, with damage rated EF3 at that location. The tornado weakened considerably as it approached Corridor X of the Appalachian Development Highway System, with only minor EF0 tree damage, before it strengthened significantly as it entered the town of Cordova as a wide EF3 tornado.


title: 2011 Super Outbreak

text: In Cordova, numerous homes and manufactured houses were either damaged or destroyed in this area along with many trees being downed. Some unanchored homes in town were swept from their foundations. Buildings in downtown Cordova had already been damaged by an EF3 tornado earlier that morning and received further damage from this tornado. East of Cordova, the tornado crossed the Mulberry Fork of the Black Warrior River three times (along with the Sipsey Fork once, just north of its confluence with the Mulberry Fork). It intensified further into a violent EF4 tornado in northeastern Walker County, as it completely leveled a site-built home and obliterated two nearby mobile homes. One of the mobile home undercarriages was tossed at least . A 5-ton bulldozer was flipped over, a pickup truck was tossed , and a dump truck was tossed and destroyed. A two-ton trailer was thrown and left a deep crater where it impacted the ground. Two double-wide mobile homes were tossed at least , and a third mobile home was tossed up a embankment and destroyed along this segment of the path as well. South of Sipsey, additional homes and mobile homes were destroyed at EF2 to EF3 strength and numerous trees were snapped.


title: 2011 Super Outbreak

text: The tornado then crossed the Mulberry Fork for the fourth time and moved into Cullman County. South of Arkadelphia, a second area of EF4 damage was observed, as a cinder block construction home was leveled and a car was thrown . Nearby, an underground storm shelter collapsed onto the occupants sheltering inside as the tornado passed overhead. The tornado then crossed the Mulberry Fork again, moving into Blount County, where it caused EF1 roof damage to a home and snapped hundreds of trees. It then crossed Interstate 65 before crossing the Mulberry Fork into Cullman County southwest of Garden City, snapping numerous additional trees at EF1 strength. It quickly crossed the river again (the seventh crossing), moving back into Blount County. As it continued to the south-southwest of Garden City, it straddled the Mulberry Fork before finally moving solidly into Blount County and toward Blountsville. On the southeast side of Blountsville, the tornado downed many trees and caused high-end EF2 damage to well-built brick and slab foundation homes, one of which had some exterior walls collapse. The storm continued to the northeast and out of Blountsville, where two additional homes sustained high-end EF3 damage. A large portion of one of the homes was wiped off of its foundation; however, its garage sustained only minor roof damage. At the second of these two homes, a dump truck was thrown . The tornado then moved into Marshall County, causing significant damage to a house and downing numerous trees. A shed suffered roof damage and an industrial plant was completely destroyed at EF2 strength as well. The tornado then moved into a wooded area, weakened, and eventually lifted south-southwest of Guntersville at 5:56 p.m. CDT (22:56 UTC). Thousands of trees were downed along the tornado's path.


title: 2011 Super Outbreak

text: This tornado was on the ground for two hours and sixteen minutes, tracking for across seven counties. It was rated as a low-end EF4 with winds of . In total, 13 people were killed and 54 others were injured.


title: 2011 Super Outbreak

text: This extremely violent EF5 wedge tornado, with estimated winds of up to , struck the town of Smithville, Mississippi, at 3:47 p.m. CDT (20:47 UTC) on April 27, resulting in catastrophic damage and numerous fatalities. The tornado began west-southwest of Smithville along the Tennessee–Tombigbee Waterway near the Glover Wilkins Lock at 3:42 p.m. CDT (20:42 UTC), snapping numerous trees near the Smithville Recreation Area. The tornado then rapidly intensified as it approached town, reaching EF5 intensity. As the storm crossed Davis Road South, the ground was deeply scoured in a nearby field. The tornado swept away numerous homes and structures as it moved northeast, following Highway 25. A semi-truck was thrown a considerable distance and destroyed in this area, and at one residence that was swept away, part of the concrete foundation slab was pulled up and dislodged slightly. Multiple well-anchored brick homes were completely swept away, and a large brick funeral home was reduced to a bare slab as the tornado exited at the northeast side of town, with the debris scattered and wind-rowed into an adjacent wooded area. Nearby granite tombstones were blown over in the opposite direction of the tornado's passage. Overall, the tornado destroyed 117 structures in Smithville and damaged 50 others, killing 16 people. The tornado weakened as it continued through rural areas northeast of town and moved into Itawamba County, where it downed numerous trees and power lines and caused roof damage to a house before exiting the county.


title: 2011 Super Outbreak

text: The tornado continued across the Alabama state line into Marion County, where it caused EF1-strength damage near Bexar. Continuing northeast, the tornado re-intensified as it struck the rural community of Shottsville at high-end EF3 intensity, where homes and mobile homes were destroyed and seven people were killed, and it produced additional high-end EF3 damage as it continued north of Hamilton. More structures were impacted as the tornado approached and crossed into Franklin County. The tornado then dissipated near the town of Hodges at 4:23 p.m. CDT (21:23 UTC). The damage path was long and wide at its widest point, and it killed a total of 23 people along its path. 137 other people were injured.


title: 2011 Super Outbreak

text: This multiple-vortex EF4 tornado, with maximum sustained winds of up to , devastated portions of Jackson and DeKalb counties in Alabama, as well as Dade and Walker counties in Georgia along a path at times up to wide, killing 14 people and injuring at least 50 others.


title: 2011 Super Outbreak

text: The tornado touched down north of Section, initially producing EF0 to EF1 tree damage. The tornado rapidly intensified to low-end EF4 strength as it passed northwest of Pisgah and Rosalie, destroying numerous mobile homes and block foundation homes, scattering the debris hundreds of yards and killing three people. Thousands of trees were snapped and debarked, vehicles were thrown up to in different directions, and barns and chicken houses were heavily damaged, along with the roof of a church. As it passed near Flat Rock and Higdon, the tornado reached high-end EF4 strength, mowing down thousands of trees in this rural area. As the tornado struck a farm, a home and two chicken houses were completely obliterated and swept away. A heavy propane tank was lofted and thrown from one of the chicken houses, and 19 cattle on the property were killed. Remarkably, a family of four taking shelter inside the house were completely unharmed. The tornado maintained EF4 strength as it tore through the rural community of Shiloh, sweeping away numerous mobile homes and block foundation homes and killing five people at that location. Thousands of trees were snapped, a log cabin was destroyed, livestock was killed, chicken houses were flattened, and a van was lofted and dropped into a field away from where it originated. The tornado then crossed into Georgia and crossed Interstate 59 as it struck Trenton at EF3 intensity, killing two people. Dozens of homes in Trenton were either completely destroyed or sustained major damage, and tens of thousands of trees were downed in the area. A grocery store, two apartment complexes, and a funeral home were destroyed as well.


title: 2011 Super Outbreak

text: The tornado weakened to EF2 strength as it struck Flintstone further to the northeast, but still resulted in major damage. Numerous trees and power lines were downed, 7 homes were destroyed, 26 sustained major damage, and 35 sustained minor damage in the Flintstone area. The tornado continued northeast, weakening to EF0 strength before finally dissipating near Fort Oglethorpe.


title: 2011 Super Outbreak

text: A large multiple-vortex wedge tornado touched down in rural Greene County, Alabama, and tracked across neighboring Tuscaloosa County, including the southern and eastern portions of Tuscaloosa at around 5:10 p.m. CDT (22:10 UTC) on April 27. Debris from the tornado was reported to be falling from the sky across Birmingham over away in Jefferson County. Skycams operated by Tuscaloosa television station WVUA-CA (channel 7) as well as Birmingham Fox affiliate WBRC (channel 6), ABC affiliate WBMA-LD/WCFT-TV/WJSU-TV (channels 58, 33, and 40), and CBS affiliate WIAT (channel 42) captured live footage of the tornado as it struck Tuscaloosa; WIAT received awards, including a regional Edward R. Murrow Award for "Outstanding Live Coverage" of the event). As the tornado traveled east to 35th Street and Kauloosa Avenue, the Tuscaloosa Environmental Services and Cintas facilities suffered severe damage. Numerous homes and apartment buildings in the Rosedale and Forest Lake neighborhoods, as well as a P&P Grocery store in Rosedale, were devastated. Several stores and restaurants in a business district at the intersection of McFarland Boulevard and 15th Street, near the DCH Regional Medical Center, were reduced to rubble. Buildings on 35th Street, between Interstate 359 and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, were also completely destroyed. The Alberta City neighborhood in eastern Tuscaloosa sustained catastrophic damage as numerous homes, apartment buildings, and a shopping center were completely leveled. Additional low-end EF4 damage occurred in the Tuscaloosa suburb of Holt further to the northeast, as several homes were leveled or swept away in that area. The tornado then exited the Tuscaloosa area and moved through dense forest towards Birmingham, downing and debarking thousands of trees at low-end EF3 intensity.


title: 2011 Super Outbreak

text: The University of Alabama shut down its campus briefly during the course of the storm itself, resuming regular activities within minutes. Upon realizing the extent of the storm damage immediately off-campus, including areas of off-campus student housing, the university shut down all academic and extracurricular activities for the remainder of the day, and then, still later, for the remaining ten days of the academic semester. All final exams were cancelled, with all registered students receiving a final grade based on their grade as of the day of the storm. Spring commencement ceremonies were postponed until August 6. The university itself was undamaged by the storm, though six students enrolled at the university were later discovered to have perished.


title: 2011 Super Outbreak

text: Many stations, including WIAT, WBMA/WCFT/WJSU, WTVY (channel 4) in Dothan and WSFA (channel 12) in Montgomery, showed television cameras capturing the event as the tornado moved east-northeast across the western and northern suburbs of Birmingham around 6:00 p.m. CDT (23:00 UTC). It rapidly intensified to its maximum intensity and grew to its maximum width as it approached the area. Several suburbs in the area were severely damaged by the massive tornado as it tore through the west side of Birmingham, resulting in fatalities. The suburbs of Concord and Pleasant Grove were devastated by the high-end EF4 tornado as it moved northeast, flattening entire neighborhoods. The tornado then weakened, but still caused heavy EF2 damage to the community of McDonald Chapel. As the tornado entered the Birmingham city limits, it impacted the Pratt City neighborhood while still at EF2 strength, damaging numerous homes and apartment buildings. The tornado then struck the suburb of Fultondale, causing additional EF2 damage to homes and businesses before rapidly weakening and dissipating north of Tarrant.


title: 2011 Super Outbreak

text: The National Weather Service determined the path length of this violent tornado to be with a maximum damage path width of . The tornado's most intense damage indicated peak winds of around ; therefore, it was given a final rating of EF4. Reports from Tuscaloosa indicated 44 people were killed, with an additional 20 deaths in Birmingham. Overall this tornado killed 64 people and injured more than 1500. President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama visited Tuscaloosa on April 29, taking a ground tour of some of the affected areas. Obama was quoted as saying that he had "never seen devastation like this". He stated further that he had already declared a federal state of emergency in Alabama.


title: 2011 Super Outbreak

text: This EF4 tornado, with winds of up to , touched down in the community of Fackler at 5:05 p.m. CDT (22:05 UTC) on April 27, initially causing minor damage to mobile homes and downing trees. The tornado then moved northeast toward Stevenson, where large trees were downed, several roofs were damaged, a trailer was tipped over, and a shed was partially destroyed. It then reached EF3 intensity, and 24 metal high-tension truss towers were twisted and flattened northeast of Stevenson Airport. In this area, a mobile home was obliterated and a site-built house was collapsed. Two other homes sustained structural damage, two mobile homes were rolled on their side, and a metal barn was destroyed as well. The tornado then continued to the northeast and reached EF4 strength, with the most significant damage being located near the intersection of County Roads 255 and 256. Here, a home was reduced to its foundation, a concrete slab at the front of the home was pulled up, and a set of concrete stairs was ripped from the foundation. A compact car was thrown about as well.


title: 2011 Super Outbreak

text: Continuing, the tornado reduced two more well-built and well-anchored homes to their block foundations and threw another car approximately . Several large trees were snapped off just above the ground, a third home was left with no walls standing, and a mobile home was completely demolished and strewn along County Road 256 as well. The tornado continued northeastward, destroying a cinder block garage and damaging a mobile home along 6th Street, just southeast of the city of Bridgeport. It then crossed the Tennessee River, producing significant tree damage as it passed a couple miles to the northwest of Bryant before moving into Marion County, Tennessee. The tornado entered Tennessee along Lakeview Drive near Moore Crossing and Nickajack Dam. It crossed Highway 156 near the dam and proceeded to cross Nickajack Lake three times near Interstate 24 at EF2 strength, downing numerous trees before dissipating in a bend of the Tennessee River northeast of Haletown at 5:31 p.m. CDT (22:31 UTC).


title: 2011 Super Outbreak

text: The tornado travelled through Jackson and Marion Counties and had a peak width of . One person was killed by the tornado in Jackson County, a teenager near Bridgeport.


title: 2011 Super Outbreak

text: This strong, long-tracked EF3 wedge tornado touched down in extreme southwest Greene County to the west-southwest of Tishabee, near the Sumter County border, at 5:30 p.m. CDT (22:30 UTC) and moved northeast. After having touched down in a rural area on the east side of the Tombigbee River, the tornado quickly intensified to high-end EF2 strength along County Road 69. Moving northeast, the tornado damaged a barn and destroyed two small churches and at least four mobile homes. While crossing U.S. 43, the tornado destroyed a large metal outbuilding, caused substantial roof and wall damage to several brick buildings and homes. Hundreds of trees were downed in this area as well. Two people sustained minor injuries in Greene County as the tornado continued along a primarily rural path northeast, moving across the Black Warrior River and into Hale County.<ref name="Sawyerville/Eoline tornado"></ref>


title: 2011 Super Outbreak

text: The tornado entered Hale County west of Sawyerville, continuing to move through sparsely populated rural areas. North of Sawyerville, the tornado strengthened to EF3 intensity as it was crossing Alabama State Highway 14. Reaching estimated maximum winds of , the tornado continued on its northeast track, crossing County Roads 18 and 21, Alabama State Highway 69, and County Road 29 as it moved south and east of the small communities of Harper Hill and Ingram. The tornado caused extensive structural damage through this area, consisting of many mobile homes and site-built homes being either heavily damaged or destroyed. A church in the area was heavily damaged, vehicles were tossed around and destroyed, and thousands of trees were uprooted as well.


title: 2011 Super Outbreak

text: Leaving behind six fatalities and forty more injuries, the tornado maintained its intensity as it moved into the Talladega National Forest. It downed a significant number of trees before moving into Bibb County north of Alabama State Highway 25. In Bibb County, the tornado continued moving northeastward through the Talladega National Forest at EF3 intensity, with thousands more trees being knocked down and partially debarked. Almost immediately after exiting the national forest, the tornado directly impacted the small community of Eoline along U.S. Highway 82, northwest of Brent and Centerville. Around one dozen mobile homes and single-family site-built homes were destroyed, while many more sustained anywhere from minor to major damage. Additionally, the Eoline Volunteer Fire Department and another business were both destroyed. One fatality occurred in Eoline, in a vehicle near the fire department building, along with ten other injuries.


title: 2011 Super Outbreak

text: Northeast of Eoline, the tornado weakened to EF2 intensity, continuing to cause significant damage as it crossed County Road 9, Alabama State Highway 5, and County Road 26, south of West Blocton. Several mobile homes and site-built homes were either destroyed or sustained major damage. Along the path, thousands of trees were downed. The tornado continued to weaken as it moved to the east of West Blocton, continuing to knock down trees. More trees were downed as the tornado crossed the Cahaba River and lifted just northeast of Marvel at 6:55 p.m. CDT (23:55 UTC), not far from the Shelby County border.


title: 2011 Super Outbreak

text: The tornado was rated as an EF3, with maximum sustained winds of . It remained on the ground for almost an hour and a half, traversing , being, at times, about wide. In total, seven people were killed and an additional 52 were injured.


title: 2011 Super Outbreak

text: This extremely long-tracked, violent EF4 tornado touched down near Raleigh, Mississippi, in Smith County at 5:42 p.m. CDT (22:42 UTC), and continued into the Uniontown, Alabama, area before dissipating. The tornado initially downed trees, blew skirting from mobile homes, and tore shingles from roofs. The tornado intensified as it moved northeast across Smith County and produced up to EF2 and EF3 damage. One mobile home was picked up, bounced a couple times, and thrown into a tree line, where it was torn apart and debris was scattered up to a mile away, including the frame. The tornado mowed down a stand of pine trees and destroyed two frame houses, with major damage to the interior walls, and the exterior walls completely destroyed. Many power poles were snapped, a mobile home was annihilated, and a large shop building was completely destroyed as well. It then moved into Jasper County and snapped and debarked many pine trees. The first area of EF4 damage was observed near Louin as a frame home and several mobile homes were completely destroyed, with parts of the mobile homes being thrown long distances, and some of the frame home foundation being swept clean. The tornado caused significant damage to a poultry farm and cattle ranch before it weakened briefly. It then destroyed two mobile homes and caused extensive tree and power line damage. The tornado then produced a relatively narrow path of EF1-strength tree and power line damage for several miles, until re-intensifying near to EF3 strength near Rose Hill.


title: 2011 Super Outbreak

text: Southeast of Rose Hill, the tornado removed most of the roof of a frame home and caused heavy damage to the exterior walls, took a large section of roof off another frame home, completely destroyed a large mobile home, and caused extensive tree damage. The tornado then weakened again and entered Clarke County as an EF0 while only downing a few trees. The tornado strengthened again and downed trees and power lines as it crossed Interstate 59. Several other homes and mobile homes were destroyed as the tornado moved along the south side of Enterprise. At the same time, Sean Casey of Team TIV shot the tornado with his new 3D camera as it was crossing I-59, making this the first tornado ever shot in 3D. Another area of EF4 damage was observed east of Enterprise as a new home undergoing completion was leveled, with the debris swept off the foundation. Many more frame homes were heavily damaged nearby. Many mobile homes were destroyed and trees were downed in this area as well. It then weakened slightly to EF3 strength and produced heavy damage to more houses and mobile homes near Snell and Energy. It also downed many more trees and power lines before moving into Choctaw County, Alabama, southwest of Yantley. The tornado killed seven people and injured fourteen others on its portion of the path that was in Mississippi.


title: 2011 Super Outbreak

text: In Choctaw County, the tornado traveled as it caused extensive damage to homes (one of which was destroyed at EF3 strength), and numerous other structures. Several mobile homes were destroyed and many trees were either snapped or completely uprooted. The tornado then moved into Sumter County. In Sumter County, the tornado caused significant damage to homes and mobile homes before it crossed the Tombigbee River and moved into Marengo County. It continued causing significant tree damage as well as destroying several homes and outbuildings along a path in this county. The tornado then entered Perry County, the final portion of the path, where it damaged two outbuildings and a grain silo as well as causing significant tree damage before lifting just north of Uniontown at 8:35 p.m. CDT (01:35 UTC). The damage in Sumter, Marengo, and Perry Counties was rated EF2.


title: 2011 Super Outbreak

text: This tornado was on the ground for nearly three hours, having traveled across seven counties in two states. Seven people were killed and another 17 were injured.


title: 2011 Super Outbreak

text: This violent multiple-vortex tornado, rated EF5, began in the Lakeview community northeast of Geraldine, Alabama, at 6:19 p.m. CDT (23:19 UTC), during the late afternoon of April 27. The tornado tracked northeastward for generally parallel to and just east of Highway 75 through Fyffe, Rainsville, and Sylvania and into Georgia, killing 25 people.


title: 2011 Super Outbreak

text: Initial damage in Lakeview consisted of structural damage to small buildings and snapped trees. The tornado grew in intensity as it struck Fyffe, where more significant damage occurred. Past Fyffe, the tornado became violent, and its width increased from around to as it entered eastern Rainsville, reaching EF5 intensity as it destroyed numerous homes and businesses. A Huddle House restaurant, the Rainsville Civic Center, and a credit union were destroyed. Vehicles were also thrown, including a school bus that was completely stripped down to its chassis. Numerous homes in the Rainsville area were swept completely away, with debris strewn up to a mile from the foundations. Some of these homes were connected to their foundations with anchor bolts and foundation straps. Trees were debarked and mobile homes were completely destroyed as well. Damage was particularly intense just northeast of Rainsville, and one well-built stone house in this area was completely obliterated, with the debris strewn well away from the structure. A large supporting cement and stone pillar was ripped completely out of the ground at this residence, pulling up a section of concrete foundation in the process. Scouring and pock-marking of the ground was noted in this area. Numerous homes were swept away along Lingerfelt Road as well. At one house that was swept away in this area, supporting concrete anchors were ripped out of the ground, a concrete porch was ripped off with pieces strewn up to away, a pick-up truck from the home was found mangled in pieces over away, and a safe weighing was pulled off its anchorage and thrown into a wooded area away. When found, the safe's door had been ripped open and completely off. An underground storm shelter in this area had much of its dirt covering scoured away, the occupants of which reported that structure heaved upwards slightly as the tornado passed overhead. Pavement was scoured from several roads in the area, and a concrete porch was torn away and broken in half at another residence that was swept away.


title: 2011 Super Outbreak

text: The tornado continued across the eastern fringes of Sylvania, where a church was completely destroyed, a section of sidewalk was pulled up, and additional homes were swept away and scattered, though it was revealed that these homes were pushed off of their foundations with limited anchorage. A high-end EF4 rating was applied in this area as a result. The tornado continued to level additional homes as it passed near Henagar and Ider, at which point it began to closely parallel Interstate 59. It crossed into Georgia near Fox Mountain at EF1 intensity with winds of . It tracked into Georgia, crossing Interstate 59 and moving through Rising Fawn before lifting outside of the community at 6:55 p.m. CDT/7:55 p.m. EDT (23:55 UTC). Damage in Georgia was limited to trees and power lines and minor structural damage to a few homes. This tornado came from the same supercell that produced the EF4 tornado that hit the town of Ringgold, Georgia, about 30 minutes later.


title: 2011 Super Outbreak

text: After the Tuscaloosa/Birmingham tornado lifted, the same supercell produced another tornado, at 6:28 p.m. CDT (23:28 UTC) near Argo, Alabama, in eastern Jefferson County. It went on to devastate the rural community of Shoal Creek Valley, located between Ashville and Ragland in St. Clair County, Alabama.


title: 2011 Super Outbreak

text: After touching down southwest of Argo, the tornado continued northeast of Odenville, producing EF0 to EF1 tree damage. Further east, the tornado intensified to EF3 strength and entered the rural community of Shoal Creek Valley, following along County Road 22/Shoal Creek Road for approximately , with the path and width varying greatly along the road. Many homes were left with only interior walls standing in this area. Some section of this path segment had damage that was much worse on one side of the road than the other, while other areas showed equal devastation on both sides of the road. The tornado reached mid-range EF4 intensity towards the end of the valley as it approached Neely Henry Lake. Additional homes were destroyed in this area, one was swept away, and thousands of trees were mowed down and debarked. The tornado maintained EF4 strength as it crossed the lake and tore across the north edge of Ohatchee, completely leveling or sweeping away numerous waterfront homes. Damage ranged from downed trees and roof damage to total destruction as the tornado roared through this area at , packing winds of over . The official count of homes destroyed or heavily damaged in Shoal Creek Valley and Ohatchee was 256. Most phone lines, power lines and poles were destroyed, and water lines were severed by uprooted trees. Entire homes were leveled, and in some cases completely removed by the storm, leaving only brick steps, a fireplace and chimney, or a slab behind. Barns, vehicles, tractors and heavy farming equipment were shredded and thrown up to away from where they originated. Livestock were thrown and killed, and the initial human death toll of 13 would eventually rise to 15 in the area. The tornado caused mainly EF3 damage to homes as it passed north of Wellington, though a small pocket of EF4 damage occurred in the small rural community of Webster's Chapel, where a church and several homes were completely leveled or swept away, trees were reduced to stumps, and many other homes were left with only interior walls standing. The Silver Lakes Golf Course also sustained major damage in this area, where at least 50,000 trees were flattened and buildings were damaged or destroyed. Continuing northeast, the tornado produced high-end EF3 damage north of Piedmont, destroying mobile homes, snapping numerous trees, and leveling a house. Additional homes were leveled at high-end EF3 intensity near The Indian Mountain Tract before it continued across rural areas into Georgia. Many outbuildings and homes were destroyed, and many trees were downed across Polk, Floyd, and Bartow counties. Severe damage was noted near Cave Spring where chicken houses and homes were damaged or destroyed, and several people were injured. The damage in Georgia was rated EF2. The tornado finally dissipated near Kingston, Georgia, after having travelled for over the span of an hour and 47 minutes.


title: 2011 Super Outbreak

text: This tornado's final death toll, combining fatalities in both St. Clair and Calhoun counties in Alabama, would eventually come to 22.


title: 2011 Super Outbreak

text: A violent multiple-vortex tornado struck portions of extreme northern Georgia and southeast Tennessee during the mid-evening hours of April 27. It touched down along Davis Ridge Road in Catoosa County, Georgia, and moved through the town of Ringgold at EF3 strength, destroying numerous homes and businesses. A Baymont Inn & Suites, located near Interstate 75 was partially destroyed by the tornado, along with a McDonald's, a Taco Bell, and several gas stations located on Highway 151 in Ringgold at the Interstate 75 interchange (exit 348). The Catoosa County Department of Family and Children Services and other businesses on Nashville Street in downtown Ringgold were also heavily damaged. The Kellerhals Center for Visual Arts Education at Ringgold High School was destroyed (RHS itself had minor damage), and Ringgold Middle School was heavily damaged. Past downtown Ringgold, the tornado reached EF4 intensity as it tore through a subdivision along Cherokee Valley Road at the north edge of town. Twelve homes were completely obliterated and swept away at that location (though they were not well-built). Several trees were denuded and debarked in this area as well. There were 74 destroyed homes and/or businesses, 60 with major damage, and 118 with minor damage for a total of 252 affected structures in the Ringgold area. Eight people were killed, mainly at the subdivision along Cherokee Valley Road.


title: 2011 Super Outbreak

text: The storm then crossed the Tennessee state line at 8:28 p.m. EDT (00:28 UTC), and moved into Hamilton County, Tennessee, striking the small town of Apison at high-end EF4 strength, where large homes were leveled or swept away, 150 others were damaged, and thousands of trees were snapped and uprooted. The tornado then crossed into Bradley County at low-end EF4 strength, moving across the southern and eastern fringes of Cleveland and affecting mainly residential areas, though a few businesses were damaged or destroyed as well. Subdivisions in the southern part of the city sustained major damage, with numerous houses destroyed and a few that were leveled. Four people were killed in Cleveland, and many others were injured. Several trees were felled in Polk County as the tornado weakened to EF1-strength, before it crossed into McMinn County. The tornado re-intensified to EF2 and destroyed two houses and a mobile home before lifting south of Athens.


title: 2011 Super Outbreak

text: The tornado killed 20 people and injured hundreds more along its path across Catoosa, Hamilton, Bradley, Polk, and McMinn counties. The tornado was given a rating of EF4 with peak wind speed of . The damage path of the tornado was wide. This tornado was only the eighth in Georgia to be categorized as an F4/EF4 on the (Enhanced) Fujita scale since 1950, when current official tornado records begin. It would be the last EF4 tornado in the state until March 26, 2021, when Newnan was struck just after midnight.


title: 2011 Super Outbreak

text: All roads in and out of Ringgold were closed until the morning of April 29; after roads leading to the affected areas were re-opened, residents and business owners were allowed to return, being allowed entry only by providing identification, and informing police a reason why they were entering into the area, in order to curb looting in the storm-damaged areas.


title: 2011 Super Outbreak

text: This storm system prolonged an ongoing heavy rain event, which began across Arkansas and Missouri on April 22. Weekly rainfall totals reached east-northeast of Springdale, Arkansas, northwest of Poplar Bluff, Missouri, and at Westville, Oklahoma. On April 25, 2011, thunderstorms with high winds swept through parts of southern and southeastern Ohio. Straight-line winds estimated at uprooted trees, damaged roofs, and downed power lines through Perry County, Ohio, and Athens County, Ohio. Strong thunderstorms and heavy downpours which led to flooding were also reported in areas across Upstate New York with heavy flooding in the Syracuse area. The rain also saturated hundreds of lakes in the Adirondack mountains. Interstate 81 was briefly shut down in the downtown area at traffic hour and the State University of New York Upstate Medical University also closed briefly due to flooding in the lobby. Heavy rains combined with rapid snowmelt caused widespread flooding across Vermont on April 26–27. Over the two-day period, up to of rain fell across the northern third of Vermont, and up to elsewhere across the state and extending into western Massachusetts. Numerous roads were closed across Vermont due to flooding, with some roads being completely washed out.


title: 2011 Super Outbreak

text: Farther south, flash flooding late on April 26 resulted in two fatalities in Monroe, Louisiana, after an apartment complex was swamped. The flooding there was considered to be worse than the flooding after Hurricane Gustav in 2008. In central and northern Arkansas, up to of rain was reported during that week. The resulting flash flooding in central Arkansas also resulted in five people losing their lives. Many roads were closed due to the flooding there. The flooding was mitigated somewhat by a significant drought that had existed before the storm.


title: 2011 Super Outbreak

text: Severe thunderstorms were reported as far north as Northern Ontario on the evening of April 26. Heavy rains and minor flooding were also reported in Northern Ontario from April 26–28. Windstorms were also reported in Southern Ontario and Southern Quebec which resulted in several injuries and one death, damages and power outages.


title: 2011 Super Outbreak

text: Other fatalities due to straight-line winds occurred early on April 26 in McComb, Mississippi and early on April 27 in Moody, Alabama, Vestavia Hills, Alabama, and Franklin, Tennessee from the squall line with embedded tornadoes.


title: 2011 Super Outbreak

text: Alabama Governor Robert J. Bentley declared a state of emergency in the state of Alabama on April 27, due to storm damage from severe thunderstorms earlier that day as well as forthcoming severe weather later that day. States of emergency were also declared in Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee, and Oklahoma because of the flooding and tornadoes. Following the tornado outbreak on the evening of April 27, President Barack Obama granted a federal emergency declaration for the state of Alabama, giving federal assistance, including search and rescue assets, to the affected region.


title: 2011 Super Outbreak

text: More than 2,000 National Guard troops were deployed to Alabama, assisting local and state first responders in search and rescue efforts. President Obama visited the affected areas of Alabama on April 29. Also on April 29, he approved a federal disaster declaration for seven Mississippi counties: Clarke, Greene, Hinds, Jasper, Kemper, Lafayette, and Monroe.


title: 2011 Super Outbreak

text: Storms through the area severely damaged Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)'s power grid for transmitting electricity throughout the region. More than 300 power transmission towers, to tall, were destroyed in the storms, some "twisted like bow ties" according to National Weather Service meteorologist Eric Holweg. The towers supported some 90 transmission lines, a mixture of 500kV and 161kV lines. Those lines provided power from TVA to 128 regional distributors.


title: 2011 Super Outbreak

text: TVA lost the ability to transmit power from both Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant and Widows Creek Fossil Plant after the storms on April 27, requiring both to be shut down. The nuclear plant's cold shutdown was supported by diesel generators for four days until a second 161kV line could be restored to the plant. The loss of redundant off-site power required a "notification of unusual event", the lowest of four levels of concern dictated by the NRC. Some 60 percent of the sirens for warning residents of worse problems around Browns Ferry were disabled by the storms, and the plant had to arrange plans to use cars with loudspeakers to warn residents in case of another problem. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission stated at a press conference: "The plants' conditions are stable and are being placed in a cooled-down condition."


title: 2011 Super Outbreak

text: Huntsville was the largest city with no electricity from TVA. All the traffic lights were off, a dusk-to-dawn curfew was imposed, students were sent home from United States Space Camp, and the Panoply Arts Festival was canceled. Power was restored gradually to Huntsville, beginning with 3 percent on the morning of May 1. Only localized outages remained eight days after the storm. In addition to traffic and safety issues, the outage caused difficulties with water treatment and distribution and retail of all kinds, including gasoline and food purchases.


title: 2011 Super Outbreak

text: Ontario electricity outages were minor, mostly caused by the windstorms of April 28. Although they affected thousands of people at different times throughout the day, all power was restored by the end of the day.


title: Mobil

text: Mobil is a petroleum brand owned and operated by American oil and gas corporation ExxonMobil. The brand was formerly owned and operated by an oil and gas corporation of the same name, which itself merged with Exxon to form ExxonMobil in 1999.


title: Mobil

text: A direct descendant of Standard Oil, Mobil was originally known as the Standard Oil Company of New York (shortened to Socony) after Standard Oil was split into 34 different entities in a 1911 Supreme Court decision. Socony merged with Vacuum Oil Company, from which the Mobil name first originated, in 1931 and subsequently renamed itself to Socony-Vacuum Oil Company. Over time, Mobil became the company's primary identity, which incited another renaming in 1963, this time to Mobil Corporation. Mobil credits itself with being the first company to introduce paying at the pump at its gas stations, the first company to produce jet aviation fuel, as well as the first company to introduce a mobile payment device, today known as Speedpass.


title: Mobil

text: In 1998, Mobil announced it was merging with Exxon to form ExxonMobil, reuniting the two largest descendants of Standard Oil. The technicalities of the merger, which was completed on November 30, 1999, showed that Exxon bought Mobil, and Mobil shareholders received a payment of stock in Exxon. Mobil continues as a brand name within the combined company, as well as still being a gas station sometimes paired with its own store or On the Run. Mobil's brand name is primarily used to market motor oils, such as Mobil 1. The former Mobil headquarters in Fairfax County, Virginia, was used as ExxonMobil's downstream headquarters until 2015 when ExxonMobil consolidated employees into a new corporate campus in Spring, Texas.


title: Mobil

text: Mobil continues to operate as a major brandname of ExxonMobil within the ExxonMobil Fuels, Lubricants & Specialties division. Many of its products feature the Mobil symbol of a winged red horse, Pegasus, which has been a company trademark since its affiliation with Magnolia Petroleum Company in the 1930s.


title: Mobil

text: The Mobil brand now mainly covers a wide range of automotive, industrial, aviation and marine lubricants. For historic reasons, the Mobil brand is still used by Mobil service stations and for fuel (gasoline, diesel, heating oil, kerosene, aviation fuels and marine fuel) products.


title: Mobil

text: Mobil is ExxonMobil's primary retail gasoline brand in California, Florida, New York, New England, the Great Lakes and the Midwest. The Mobil brand is also used to market gasoline in Australia, Canada (since 2017), Colombia, Egypt, Guam, Japan (until 2019), Malaysia (until 2012), Mexico (starting about first quarter of 2018), New Zealand, Nigeria and Puerto Rico (since 2022)


title: Mobil

text: Mobil stores have made an increased presence in Arizona. Growing in size in the Phoenix area from fewer than 5 stations to over 20. Mobil stores have also made an increased presence in areas of Northwest Oregon and Southwest Washington.


title: Mobil

text: Exxon is the primary brand in the rest of the United States, with the highest concentration of Exxon retail outlets located in New Jersey (both Exxon and Mobil brands are used from 2014), Pennsylvania, Texas (Mobil has a sizeable number of stations in Dallas and Houston), Louisiana (mainly New Orleans as well as Baton Rouge) and in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern states. Esso is ExxonMobil's primary gasoline brand worldwide. Both the Esso and Mobil brands are used in Canada (since 2017), Colombia, Egypt, and formerly Japan and Malaysia, in which the latter were rebranded as Petron in 2013, and ENEOS for the former in 2019, separately. In Esso stations in Hong Kong and Singapore, the Mobil brand is used on fuel tanks, along with Esso.


title: Mobil

text: Mobil 1, the successor to the Mobiloil brand, is a brand name of ExxonMobil. It was introduced in 1974 as a Multi-grade 5W20 viscosity synthetic motor oil. The brand now includes multi-grade motor oils, oil filters, synthetic grease, transmission fluids, and gear lubricants. The Esso and Exxon motor oil brands have largely been discontinued.


title: Mobil

text: Mobil Delvac is a range of heavy-duty lubricants designed for commercial vehicles. The range includes engine oils, transmission fluids, drivetrain lubricants and various greases.


title: Mobil

text: Mobil Industrial is a sub-brand of ExxonMobil for marketing oils and greases used in industrial applications. The main product lines are Mobil SHC synthetic oils and Mobil Grease greases.


title: Mobil

text: Mobil rebranded numerous stations to the Hi-Val, Reelo and Sello discount gasoline brands after major price increases following the 1970s oil crisis made a significant number of consumers extremely price conscious. The stations were converted Mobil stations selling convenience store items in the station lobby, while the service bays were rented to customers for do-it-yourself auto repairs. These brands were discontinued in the 1980s, after the gasoline market had recovered.


title: Mobil

text: Mobil expanded the sale of convenience store items first pioneered at its discount gasoline stations under the Mobil Mart brand. Mobil continued to refine and enhance its convenience store offerings with the On-the-Run C-store brand, which proved to be much more popular. On-the-Run was sold to Alimentation Couche-Tard, operator of the Circle K convenience store chain. Some On the Run locations were sold to 7-Eleven.


title: Mobil

text: The Mobil Guide was an annual book of hotel and restaurant recommendations based on a system developed by Mobil in 1958. It rated businesses from one to five stars according to their assessed quality. In October 2009, ExxonMobil licensed the brand to "Forbes" magazine, which retitled the guide's various designations, e.g., Forbes Travel Guide, Forbes Five Stars, and so on. Forbes launched revised versions of various guides in late 2009.


title: Mobil

text: Vacuum Oil Company started selling lubricating oils in Europe in the late 19th century. By the 1930s its Mobiloil had become one of the main brands. Mobil gradually expanded its operation into fuels retailing as well, and opened its first UK service stations in the early 1950s, after the wartime POOL monopoly was disbanded. Mobil grew to become the seventh largest brand of petrol in Britain, supplying 1,990 outlets in 1965, and claimed in the mid-1960s to be the first company to operate 100 self-service stations. As well as its downstream interests, Mobil was active in the North Sea and operated an oil refinery in Coryton (opened in 1953), on the Thames estuary. In 1996, Mobil's fuels operations in Europe were placed into a joint venture 70% owned by BP, and the Mobil brand disappeared from service stations. Mobil continued to sell lubricants through BP and independent service stations. Following Mobil's merger with Exxon, at the start of 2000 BP acquired all the petrol retailing assets as well as the Coryton refinery (but sold it to Petroplus in 2007). Mobil returned to being purely a lubricant brand in Europe, and became the premium quality oil on sale at Esso service stations.


title: Mobil

text: The Vacuum Oil Company began operating in Australia in 1895, introducing its Plume brand of petrol in 1916. The Flying Red Horse (Pegasus) logo was introduced in 1939, and in 1954, the Plume brand was replaced by Mobilgas.


title: Mobil

text: Mobil Australia's corporate office is in Melbourne. In 1946, Mobil began construction of its refinery at Altona, in Melbourne's western suburbs, which originally produced lubricating oils and bitumen, before commencing the production of motor vehicle fuels in 1956. A second refinery at Port Stanvac, south of Adelaide, came on-stream in 1963, but was closed in 2003. Mobil commenced removal of the refinery in July 2009, together with site remediation works.


title: Mobil

text: In 1985, Mobil swapped its Western Australian retail market with a large portion of BP's South Australian, Victorian and New South Wales retail market in a major asset swap. In 1990, Mobil acquired the service station and refining network of Esso Australia. This also resulted in Mobil's full ownership of Petroleum Refineries (Australia) Pty Ltd, which also operated the Altona and Adelaide Refineries. In December 1995, Mobil re-entered the West Australian retail fuel market when it purchased the Amgas service station network and related business.


title: Mobil

text: On 27 May 2009, Caltex Australia announced it would be acquiring 302 Mobil service stations in Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney and Adelaide, subject to approval of the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC). The ACCC subsequently announced its opposition to the takeover, citing the likelihood of increased fuel prices due to diminished competition.


title: Mobil

text: On 27 May 2010, 7-Eleven announced that it had acquired Mobil's Australian network of 295 service stations, with fuel still to be supplied by Mobil. At the same time, it was announced that 7-Eleven had sold 29 South Australian service stations to Peregrine Corporation. Peregrine's acquisition saw Mobil's sites in South Australia rebranded to On the Run convenience stores, but they continued to be supplied by Mobil. From January 2012, all fuel in 7-Eleven stores are supplied by Mobil. 7-Eleven store renovations and openings since 2014 have included prominent placement of the Mobil logo (as the advertised fuel supplier), usually underneath the 7-Eleven logo, on main signage as well as on petrol pumps.


title: Mobil

text: Mobil-branded service stations still exist after the 7-Eleven sale, and has since grown. , Mobil operates 229 own-branded service stations across the country, majority in the Australian east coast (except Tasmania) and South Australia, with a few in Western Australia.


title: Mobil

text: Mobil is the oldest oil company in New Zealand. Its kerosene first appeared in the country under the Standard Oil brand in the 1870s. Early in 1896, Vacuum Oil of New York established a marketing office on Featherston Street in Wellington selling lamp oil and harness grease. It brought with it extensive collective production, marketing and management skills that presented a major advancement in business organisation. The company's unrivaled mineral lubricant products and associated services quickly dominated the market.


title: Mobil

text: When New Zealanders began taking to the motorcar in the early twentieth century, Vacuum Oil expanded into the oil refining business. Its marketing network and transportation fleet grew as it extended its range of operation. The company continued to meet New Zealand's fuel needs throughout World War One, holding roughly 85 percent of the market. After the war, Vacuum Oil began facing very strong competition, with a number of multinational oil companies which establishing operations in New Zealand. Among these competitors was the Atlantic Union Oil Company, another of the companies from which ExxonMobil is descended.


title: Mobil

text: Atlantic Union was bought by the New Jersey-based Standard Oil Company, which would later become Exxon, and its eastern hemisphere interests were merged with those of Socony-Vacuum Oil Company to create the Standard-Vacuum Oil Company. The new company continued operations in New Zealand under both the Vacuum and Atlantic Union brand names.


title: Mobil

text: On November 30, 1999, Exxon Corporation and Mobil Oil Corporation merged with Mobil Oil New Zealand Limited now owned by new entity ExxonMobil. The company currently owns a 17.2 percent share in The New Zealand Refining Company Limited which operates an oil refinery at Marsden Point. It supplies roughly 20 percent of the total fuels market in New Zealand, for which most of its products are sourced from the Marsden Point refinery. Mobil Oil New Zealand Limited has more than 150 locations across the country, some of which are franchisee-owned. It also operates six storage locations across the country and maintains a reputation as a dominant petroleum company in New Zealand.


title: Mobil

text: Mobil New Zealand has 167 stations as of 2022, including 68 in Auckland. Its stations included 121 company-owned and 46 franchisee-owned outlets.


title: Mobil

text: The first Mobil petrol station in Greece opened on March 4, 1955, and by 1970 there were about 100. On 1 March 1999, Mobil closed its remaining petrol stations in Greece.


title: Mobil

text: Since the 1960s, Esso and Mobil stations in Japan had been run by Tōnen General Sekiyu, which had a controlling stake owned by ExxonMobil. In 2012, the company bought out much of ExxonMobil's stake, reducing it to a 22% minority. In 2016, ExxonMobil sold the remainder of its stake.


title: Mobil

text: In 2017, the company announced that it would merge with JX Group to form JXTG Holdings, with its petroleum business operating as JXTG Nippon Oil & Energy. Following the merger, it was announced that both the Esso and Mobil brands would be phased out by 2020, and replaced by the Eneos EneJet banner.


title: Mobil

text: In April 2017, Loblaw Companies sold its network of 213 gas stations (all of which are attached to its various grocery store locations) to Brookfield Business Partners. Brookfield (operating as BG Fuels) announced that it would license the Mobil brand from ExxonMobil for use on these locations, making them a sister to Imperial Oil's network of Esso-branded gas stations in Canada. As part of the sale agreement, the Mobil stations continue to offer Loblaw's PC Optimum rewards program (which Esso also joined the following year).


title: Mobil

text: BG Fuels stated that it would open further Mobil stations beyond the Loblaw properties. BG Fuels later merged with Greenergy, and adopted the new brand Waypoint for convenience stores associated with its fuel properties.


title: Mobil

text: In Egypt, ExxonMobil's operations started in 1902, it is known for providing quality lubricants and fuels as well as convenience products. It offers more than 350 service stations, more than 40 Mobil 1 centers and a variety of industrial products, lubrication programs and services. Some stations in Cairo, Alexandria and Giza feature On the Run convenience stores.


title: Mobil

text: Vacuum Oil Company started its operations in Portugal in 1896. In 1941, it became the Socony-Vaccum Oil Company and in 1952, it was renamed Socony Vaccum Portuguesa. In 1955, it became the Mobil Oil Portuguesa. Vacuum Oil was involved in the support of the first auto sports events in Portugal, as well as being responsible for the edition of first road maps and auto drivers guides in the country. Between 1920 and 1928, Vacuum Oil had an important role in the traffic signage of the roads of Portugal, installing thousands of road signs which included the identification of their sponsor, making the company known throughout the country. Along its history, Mobil was pioneer in a number of aspect of the oil business in the country, including the introduction of the first metering pumps, the first network of self-service filling stations and the first motorway service area. The Mobil brand disappeared from the Portuguese service stations in 1996, in the scope of the European joint-venture with BP. In 2000, at the time being the oldest oil company operating in Portugal, Mobil Oil Portuguesa was acquired by BP and disbanded.


title: Heavy bomber

text: Heavy bombers are bomber aircraft capable of delivering the largest payload of air-to-ground weaponry (usually bombs) and longest range (takeoff to landing) of their era. Archetypal heavy bombers have therefore usually been among the largest and most powerful military aircraft at any point in time. In the second half of the 20th century, heavy bombers were largely superseded by strategic bombers, which were often smaller in size, but had much longer ranges and were capable of delivering nuclear bombs.


title: Heavy bomber

text: Because of advances in aircraft design and engineering — especially in powerplants and aerodynamics — the size of payloads carried by heavy bombers has increased at rates greater than increases in the size of their airframes. The largest bombers of World War I, the four engine aircraft built by the Sikorsky company in the Soviet Union, could carry a payload of up to of bombs. By the middle of World War II even a single-engine fighter-bomber could carry a bomb load, and such aircraft were taking over from area bombers and medium bombers in the strategic bombing role. Advancements in four-engine aircraft design enabled heavy bombers to carry even larger payloads to targets thousands of kilometres away. For instance, the Avro Lancaster (introduced in 1942) routinely delivered payloads of (and sometimes up to ) and had a range of . The B-29 (1944) delivered payloads in excess of and had a range of . By the late 1950s, the jet-powered Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, travelling at speeds of up to (more than double that of a Lancaster), could deliver a payload of , over a combat radius of .


title: Heavy bomber

text: During World War II, mass production techniques made available large, long-range heavy bombers in such quantities as to allow strategic bombing campaigns to be developed and employed. This culminated in August 1945, when B-29s of the United States Army Air Forces dropped atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan.


title: Heavy bomber

text: The arrival of nuclear weapons and guided missiles permanently changed the nature of military aviation and strategy. After the 1950s intercontinental ballistic missiles and ballistic missile submarines began to supersede heavy bombers in the strategic nuclear role. Along with the emergence of more accurate precision-guided munitions ("smart bombs") and nuclear-armed missiles, which could be carried and delivered by smaller aircraft, these technological advancements eclipsed the heavy bomber's once-central role in strategic warfare by the late 20th century. Heavy bombers have, nevertheless, been used to deliver conventional weapons in several regional conflicts since World War II (for example, B-52s in the Vietnam War).


title: Heavy bomber

text: Heavy bombers are now operated only by the air forces of the United States, Russia and China. They serve in both strategic and tactical bombing roles.


title: Heavy bomber

text: The first heavy bomber was designed as an airliner. Igor Sikorsky, an engineer educated in St Petersburg, but born in Kiev of Polish-Russian ancestry designed the Sikorsky Ilya Muromets to fly between his birthplace and his new home. It did so briefly until August 1914, when the Russo-Balt wagon factory converted to a bomber version, with British Sunbeam Crusader V8 engines in place of the German ones in the passenger plane. By December 1914 a squadron of 10 was bombing German positions on the Eastern Front and by summer 1916 there were twenty. It was well-armed with nine machine guns, including a tail gun and initially was immune to German and Austro-Hungarian air attack. The Sikorsky bomber had a wingspan just a few feet shorter than, with a bomb load only 3% of, a World War II Avro Lancaster.


title: Heavy bomber

text: The Handley Page Type O/100 owed a lot to Sikorsky's ideas; of similar size, it used just two Rolls-Royce Eagle engines and could carry up to of bombs. The O/100 was designed at the beginning of the war for the Royal Navy specifically to sink the German High Seas Fleet in Kiel: the Navy called for “a bloody paralyser of an aircraft” Entering service in late 1916 and based near Dunkirk in France, it was used for daylight raids on naval targets, damaging a German destroyer. But after one was lost, the O/100 switched to night attacks.


title: Heavy bomber

text: The uprated Handley Page Type O/400 could carry a bomb, and wings of up to 40 were used by the newly formed, independent Royal Air Force from April 1918 to make strategic raids on German railway and industrial targets. A single O/400 was used to support T. E. Lawrence's Sinai and Palestine Campaign.


title: Heavy bomber

text: The Imperial German Air Service operated the Gotha bomber, which developed a series of marques. The Gotha G.IV operated from occupied Belgium from the Spring of 1917. It mounted several raids on London beginning in May 1917. Some reached no further than Folkestone or Sheerness on the Kent Coast. But on June 13, Gothas killed 162 civilians, including 18 children in a primary school, and injured 432 in East London. Initially, defence against air attack was poor, but by May 19, 1918, when 38 Gothas attacked London, six were shot down and another crashed on landing.


title: Heavy bomber

text: German aircraft companies also built a number of giant bombers, collectively known as the Riesenflugzeug. Most were produced in very small numbers from 1917 onwards and several never entered service. The most numerous were the Zeppelin-Staaken R.VI of which 13 saw service, bombing Russia and London: four were shot down and six lost on landing. The R.VIs were larger than the standard Luftwaffe bombers of World War II.


title: Heavy bomber

text: The Vickers Vimy, a long-range heavy bomber powered by two Rolls-Royce Eagle engines, was delivered to the newly formed Royal Air Force too late to see action (only one was in France at time of the Armistice with Germany). The Vimy's intended use was to bomb industrial and railway targets in western Germany, which it could reach with its range of and a bomb load of just over a ton. The Vickers Vimy is best known as the aircraft that made the first Atlantic crossing from St John's Newfoundland to Clifden in Ireland piloted by the Englishman John Alcock and navigated by Scot Arthur Whitten Brown on June 14, 1919.


title: Heavy bomber

text: Between the wars, aviation opinion fixed on two tenets. The first was that “the bomber will always get through.” The speed advantage of biplane fighters over bombers was insignificant, and it was believed that they would never catch them. Furthermore, there was no effective method of detecting incoming bombers at sufficiently long range to scramble fighters on an interception course. In practice, a combination of new radar technology and advances in monoplane fighter design eroded this disadvantage. Throughout the war, bombers continually managed to strike their targets, but suffered unacceptable losses in the absence of careful planning and escort fighters. Only the later de Havilland Mosquito light bomber was fast enough to evade fighters. Heavy bombers needed defensive armament for protection, which reduced their effective bomb payload.


title: Heavy bomber

text: The second tenet was that strategic bombing of industrial capacity, power generation, oil refineries, and coal mines could win a war. This was certainly vindicated by the firebombing of Japanese cities and the two atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, as Japan's fragile housing and cottage industry made themselves easily vulnerable to attack, thus completely destroying Japanese industrial production (see Air Raids on Japan). It was less evident that it held true for the bombing of Germany. During the war, German industrial production actually "increased", despite a sustained Allied bombing campaign.


title: Heavy bomber

text: As the German Luftwaffe's main task was to support the army, it never developed a successful heavy bomber. The prime proponent of strategic bombing, Luftwaffe Chief of Staff General Walther Wever, died in an air crash in 1936 on the very day that the specification for the Ural bomber (later won by the Heinkel He 177 which saw only limited use against the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom) was published. After Wever's death, Ernst Udet, development director at the Air Ministry steered the Luftwaffe towards dive bombers instead.


title: Heavy bomber

text: When Britain and France declared war on Germany in September 1939, the RAF had no heavy bomber yet in service; heavy bomber designs had started in 1936 and ordered in 1938.


title: Heavy bomber

text: The Handley Page Halifax and Avro Lancaster both originated as twin-engine "medium" bombers, but were rapidly redesigned for four Rolls-Royce Merlin engines and rushed into service once the technical problems of the larger Rolls-Royce Vulture emerged in the Avro Manchester. The Halifax joined squadrons in November 1940 and flew its first raid against Le Havre on the night of 11–12 March 1941. British heavy bomber designs often had three gun turrets with a total of 8 machine guns.


title: Heavy bomber

text: In January 1941, the Short Stirling reached operational status and first combat missions were flown in February. It was based on the successful Short Sunderland flying boat and shared its Bristol Hercules radial engines, wing, and cockpit with a new fuselage. It carried up to of bombs—almost twice the load of a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress—but over just a radius. Due to its thick, short wing it was able to out-turn the main German night fighters, the Messerschmitt Bf 110 and the Junkers Ju 88. Heavy bombers still needed defensive armament for protection, even at night. The Stirling's low operational ceiling of just —also caused by the thick wing—meant that it was usually picked on by night fighters; within five months, 67 of the 84 aircraft in service had been lost. The bombbay layout limited the size and types of bombs carried and it was relegated to secondary duties such as tug and paratrooper transport.


title: Heavy bomber

text: Due to the absence of British heavy bombers, 20 United States Army Air Corps Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses were lent to the RAF, which during July 1941 commenced daylight attacks on warships and docks at Wilhelmshaven and Brest. These raids were complete failures. After eight aircraft were lost due to combat or breakdown and with many engine failures, the RAF stopped daylight bombing by September. It was clear that the B-17C model was not combat ready and that its five machine guns provided inadequate protection.


title: Heavy bomber

text: Combat feedback enabled Boeing engineers to improve the aircraft; when the first model B-17E began operating from English airfields in July 1942, it had many more defensive gun positions including a vitally important tail gunner. Eventually, U.S. heavy bomber designs, optimized for formation flying, had 10 or more machine guns and/or cannons in both powered turrets and manually operated flexible mounts to deliver protective arcs of fire. These guns were located in tail turrets, side gun ports either just behind the bombardier's clear nose glazing as "cheek" positions, or midway along the rear fuselage sides as "waist" positions. U.S. bombers carried .50 caliber machine gun, and dorsal (spine/top of aircraft) and ventral (belly/bottom of aircraft) guns with powered turrets. All of these machine guns could defend against attack when beyond the range of fighter escort; eventually, a total of 13 machine guns were fitted in the B-17G model. In order to assemble combat boxes of several aircraft, and later combat wings formed of a number of boxes, assembly ships were used to speed up formation.


title: Heavy bomber

text: Even this extra firepower, which increased empty weight by 20% and required more powerful versions of the Wright Cyclone engine, was insufficient to prevent serious losses in daylight. Escort fighters were needed but the RAF interceptors such as the Supermarine Spitfire had very limited endurance. An early raid on Rouen-Sotteville rail yards in Brittany on August 17, 1942, required four Spitfire squadrons outbound and five more for the return trip.


title: Heavy bomber

text: The USAAF chose to attack aircraft factories and component plants. On August 17, 1943, 230 Fortresses attacked a ball-bearing plant in Schweinfurt and again two months later, with 291 bombers, in the second raid on Schweinfurt. The works was severely damaged but at a huge cost: 36 aircraft lost in the first raid, 77 in the second. Altogether 850 airmen were killed or captured; only 33 Fortresses returned from the October raid undamaged


title: Heavy bomber

text: With the arrival of North American P-51 Mustangs and the fitting of drop tanks to increase the range of the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt for the Big Week offensive, between February 20–25, 1944, bombers were escorted all the way to the target and back. Losses were reduced to 247 out of 3,500 sorties, still devastating but accepted at the time.


title: Heavy bomber

text: The Consolidated B-24 Liberator and later version of the Fortress carried even more extensive defensive armament fitted into Sperry ball turrets. This was a superb defensive weapon that rotated a full 360 degrees horizontally with a 90-degree elevation. Its twin M2 Browning machine guns had an effective range of . The Liberator was the result of a proposal to assemble Fortresses in Consolidated plants, with the company returning with its own design of a longer-range, faster and higher-flying aircraft that could carry an extra ton of bombs. Early orders were for France (delivered to the RAF after the fall of France) and Britain, already at war, with just a batch of 36 for the USAAF.


title: Heavy bomber

text: Neither the USAAF nor the RAF judged the initial design suitable for bombing and it was first used on a variety of VIP transport and maritime patrol missions. Its long range, however, persuaded the USAAF to send 177 Liberators from Benghazi in Libya to bomb the Romanian oilfields on August 1, 1943, in Operation Tidal Wave. Due to navigational errors and alerted German flak batteries and fighters, only half returned to base although a few landed safely at RAF bases in Cyprus and some in Turkey, where they were interned. Only 33 were undamaged. Damage to the refineries was soon repaired and oil production actually increased


title: Heavy bomber

text: By October 1942, a new Ford Motor Company plant at Willow Run Michigan was assembling Liberators. Production reached a rate of over one an hour in 1944 helping the B-24 to become the most produced US aircraft of all time. It became the standard heavy bomber in the Pacific and the only one used by the RAAF. The SAAF used Liberators to drop weapons and ammunition during the Warsaw Uprising in 1944.


title: Heavy bomber

text: The Avro Manchester was a twin-engine bomber powered by the ambitious 24-cylinder Rolls-Royce Vulture, but was rapidly redesigned for four Rolls-Royce Merlin engines due to technical problems with the Vulture which caused the aircraft to be unreliable, under-powered and hastened its withdrawal from service. Reaching squadrons early in 1942, the redesigned bomber with four Merlin engines and longer wings was renamed Avro Lancaster; it could deliver a load of bombs or up to with special modifications. The Lancaster's bomb bay was undivided, so that bombs of extraordinary size and weight such as the 10-ton Grand Slam could be carried.


title: Heavy bomber

text: Barnes Wallis, deputy chief aircraft designer at Vickers, spent much time thinking about weapons that might shorten the war. He conceived his “Spherical Bomb, Surface Torpedo” after watching his daughter flip pebbles over water. Two versions of the 'bouncing bomb' were developed: the smaller Highball was to be used against ships and attracted essential British Admiralty funding for his project. A flying torpedo, of which half was Torpex torpedo explosive, it was developed specifically to sink the Tirpitz which was moored in Trondheim fjord behind torpedo nets. Development delays in the 'bouncing bomb' meant that another Barnes Wallis invention, the 5-ton Tallboy was deployed instead; two Tallboys dropped by Avro Lancasters from altitude hit at near-supersonic speed and capsized the Tirpitz on November 12, 1944. Upkeep, the larger version of the bouncing bomb, was used to destroy the Mohne and Eder dams by Lancasters from the specially recruited and trained No. 617 Squadron RAF, often known as "the Dam Busters", under Wing Commander Guy Gibson.


title: Heavy bomber

text: In March and April 1945, as the war in Europe was ending, Lancasters dropped Grand Slams and Tallboys on U-boat pens and railway viaducts across north Germany. At Bielefeld more than of railway viaduct was destroyed by Grand Slams creating an earthquake effect, which shook the foundations.


title: Heavy bomber

text: The Boeing B-29 Superfortress was a development of the Fortress, but a larger design with four Wright R-3350 Duplex-Cyclone engines of much greater power, enabling it to fly higher, faster, further and with a bigger bomb load. The mammoth new Wright radial engines were susceptible to overheating if anything malfunctioned, and technical problems with the powerplant seriously delayed the B-29's operational service debut. The aircraft had four remotely operated twin-gun turrets on its fuselage, controlled through an analog computer sighting system; the operator could use any of a trio of Perspex ball stations. Only the tail gunner manually controlled his gun turret station in the rear of the airplane.


title: Heavy bomber

text: B-29s were initially deployed to bases in India and China, from which they could reach Japan; but the logistics (including transport of fuel for the B-29 fleet over the Himalayan range) of flying from these remote, primitive airfields were complicated and costly. The island of Saipan in the Marianas was assaulted to provide Pacific air bases from which to bomb Japanese cities. Initial high-level, daylight bombing raids using high-explosive bombs on Japanese cities with their wood and paper houses produced disappointing results; the bombers were then switched to low-level, nighttime incendiary attacks for which they had not originally been designed (one variant, the B-29B was specially modified for low altitude night missions by removal of armament and other equipment). Japan burned furiously from the B-29 incendiary raids. On August 6, 1945, B-29 Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Three days later, B-29 Bockscar dropped another on Nagasaki. The war ended when Japan announced its surrender to the Allies on August 15, and the Japanese government subsequently signed the official instrument of surrender on September 2, 1945.


title: Heavy bomber

text: After World War II, the name "strategic bomber" came into use, for aircraft that could carry aircraft ordnances over long distances behind enemy lines. They were supplemented by smaller fighter-bombers with less range and lighter bomb load, for tactical strikes. Later these were called "strike fighters", "attack aircraft" and "multirole combat aircraft".


title: Heavy bomber

text: When North Korea attacked South Korea in 1950 the USAF responded with daylight bomber raids on supply lines through North Korea. B-29 Superfortresses flew from Japan on behalf of the United Nations, but the supply line for North Korea's army from the Soviet Union was physically and politically out of reach: North Korea for the most part lacked worthwhile strategic targets of its own. The Soviet-backed Northern forces easily routed the South Korean army. The distance to North Korea was too great for fighter escorts based in Japan, so the B-29s flew alone. In November, Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15s flown by Soviet pilots started to intercept the US bombers over North Korea. The MiG-15 was specifically designed to destroy US heavy bombers; it could out-perform any fighter deployed by United Nations air forces until the capable F-86 Sabre was produced in greater numbers and brought to Korea. After 28 B-29s were lost, the bombers were restricted to night interdiction and concentrated on destroying supply routes, including the bridges over the Yalu river into China.


title: Heavy bomber

text: By the 1960s, manned heavy bombers could not match the intercontinental ballistic missile in the strategic nuclear role. More accurate precision-guided munitions ("smart bombs"), nuclear-armed missiles or bombs were able to be carried by smaller aircraft such as fighter-bombers and multirole fighters. Despite these technological innovations and new capabilities of other contemporary military aircraft, large strategic bombers such as the B-1, B-52 and B-2 have been retained for the role of carpet bombing in several conflicts. The most prolific example (in terms of total bomb tonnage) is the U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortress during the 1960s–early 1970s Vietnam War era, in Operation Menu, Operation Freedom Deal, and Operation Linebacker II. In 1987 the Soviet Tu-160—the heaviest supersonic bomber/aircraft currently in active service—entered service; it can carry twelve long-range cruise missiles.


title: Heavy bomber

text: The 2010 New START agreement between the United States of America and the Russian Federation defined a "heavy bomber" by two characteristics:


title: Kneading (cats)

text: Kneading (also referred to as making biscuits or baking) is a behavior frequently observed in domestic cats where, when a cat feels at ease, it may push out and pull in its front paws against a surface such as furniture or carpet, often alternating between right and left limbs. Each stroke is accompanied by a grasping motion of the claws as if the cat were kneading dough.


title: Kneading (cats)

text: Many theories exist that explain why cats knead. Kneading may have an origin going back to cats' wild ancestors who had to tread down grass or foliage to make a temporary nest in which to rest. Alternatively, the behavior may be a remnant of a newborn's kneading of the mother's teat to stimulate milk secretion. Kneading may also be a form of communication between owner and feline: because of the action's maternal connection, the behavior may be a communication of affection towards the cat's human companion.


title: Kneading (cats)

text: Many cats purr while kneading. They also purr mostly when newborn, when feeding, or when trying to feed on their mother's teat. The common association between the two behaviors may indicate the origin of kneading as a remnant instinct. Some experts consider kneading to stimulate the cat and make it feel good, in the same manner as a human stretching.


title: Kneading (cats)

text: The cat exerts firm downwards pressure with its paw, opening its toes to expose its claws, then closes its claws as it lifts its paw. The process takes place with alternate paws at intervals of one to two seconds. They may do this while sitting on their owner's lap, which may prove painful if the cat is large or strong or has sharp claws (as the claws tend to dig into one's lap). Though cats will sit happily on a hard surface, they will only knead a soft or pliant surface, although some cats will reflexively "march" on hard surfaces instead of kneading them.


title: Kneading (cats)

text: In a garden where cats are to be found, sheltered areas can often reveal the "wild" results of kneading: round, cat-sized nests trodden into long grass. Domestic cats also make "nests" out of cardboard boxes and other such things. They do this also by kneading with their claws out, in a manner such as to scratch and soften some of the material. This action is different in manner, body language and intent from kneading when they are happy.


title: Kneading (cats)

text: Cats knead soft objects such as teddy bears. Cats may adopt a blanket and use it like a security blanket. This will include much kneading, purring and suckling of the blanket. In some cases, cats have been observed to exhibit sexual movements, not unlike a dog "humping" a human leg, accompanying the kneading and suckling. Kittens who are taken away from their mothers before they are fully weaned may also develop a habit of kneading a human whom they have adopted as a maternal figure, and may also attempt suckling their ear, eye, nose, toe, hair, shirt, socks or fingers. Cats mainly do so as kittens, but sometimes the behavior continues into adult life.


title: Kaisi Yeh Yaariaan

text: Kaisi Yeh Yaariaan ("How Is This Friendship") is an Indian television series that aired on MTV India from 21 July 2014 to 31 December 2015. A third season premiered on Voot on 15 May 2018 and a fourth season premiered on 2 December 2022. The show's core lies in highlighting the importance of friendship along with other relationships, be it romance or family relations.


title: Kaisi Yeh Yaariaan

text: The show is split into three seasons; the first is how love becomes important over friendship in Manik's life through Nandini changing his life. The second season is more of an epilogue of the first, on how each person lives start to change and evolve.


title: Kaisi Yeh Yaariaan

text: Nandini decides to move to Mumbai for the treatment of her younger brother, Rishabh and for her to study in a reputed science college. She believes her fireflies only light up when there is true love. She accidentally collides with Manik Malhotra, and unknown to Manik, he saves her jar filled with fireflies, and they light up when they both touch the jar at the same time. It is then believed that there is true love between Manik and Nandini though they are both unaware of this and thus begins their story.