title: Gloster Gladiator

text: At the beginning of the Second World War, during what was known as the "Phoney War", Britain deployed the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) into France to fight alongside the French army. As part of this force, RAF units operating various aircraft were dispatched to contribute, including two Gladiator squadrons. Initial air operations on either side were limited by the winter weather; however, immediately following Germany's commencement of the Manstein Plan and its invasion of the Low Countries on 10 May 1940, the BEF's Gladiators participated in the Dyle Plan, an unsuccessful counterattack on German forces.


title: Gloster Gladiator

text: From 10 May 1940 to 17 May, the Gladiators were in continuous demand on the front line, quickly losing numerous aircraft and their crews in the rapid action. On 18 May 1940, a Luftwaffe bombing raid destroyed many of the BEF's Gladiators and Hurricanes on the ground at Vitry-en-Artois, shortly after which the BEF's withdrawal to Dunkirk for evacuation to mainland Britain began.


title: Gloster Gladiator

text: Gladiators typically flew patrol flights that led to occasional clashes with Luftwaffe reconnaissance aircraft. On 17 October 1940, British Gladiators scored their first success when No 607 Squadron "B" Flight shot down a Dornier Do 18 flying boat ('8L+DK' of 2.KuFlGr 606), on the North Sea. On 10 April 1941, 804 NAS took off from Hatston, in Orkney, to intercept a group of approaching German aircraft. Lt Cdr J. C. Cockburn was credited with one destroyed and Blue Section with a "damaged".


title: Gloster Gladiator

text: The Norwegian Campaign saw both Norwegian and British Gladiators battling the Luftwaffe, with the Norwegian Jagevingen fighting in the defence of Oslo on the first day of Operation Weserübung, the German invasion. Later, British Gladiators fought to provide fighter cover for the Allied reinforcements sent to the assistance of the Norwegian government.


title: Gloster Gladiator

text: The Gladiator pilots of the Norwegian Jagevingen (fighter flight) were based at Fornebu Airport. On 9 April, the first day of the invasion of Norway, the seven serviceable aircraft managed to shoot down five German aircraft: two Messerschmitt Bf 110 fighters, two He 111 bombers and one "Fallschirmjäger"-laden Ju 52 transport. One Gladiator was shot down during the air battle by the future "experte" Helmut Lent, while two were strafed and destroyed while refueling and rearming at Fornebu airport. The remaining four operational fighters were ordered to land wherever they could away from the base. The Gladiators landed on frozen lakes around Oslo and were abandoned by their pilots, then wrecked by souvenir-hunting civilians.


title: Gloster Gladiator

text: No Norwegian Army Air Service aircraft were able to evacuate westwards before the 10 June surrender of the mainland Norwegian forces. Only the aircraft of the Royal Norwegian Navy Air Service (one M.F.11 and four He 115s) had the range to fly from their last bases in northern Norway to the UK. Two Army Air Service Fokker C.V.Ds and one Tiger Moth also managed to escape eastwards to Finland before the surrender. Further three naval M.F.11s and one He 115 flew to Finland, landing on Lake Salmijärvi in Petsamo. All the former Norwegian aircraft were later flown by the Finns against the Soviet Union.


title: Gloster Gladiator

text: Gladiators were used also by 263 Squadron during the remaining two months of the Norwegian campaign. Prior to the German invasion of Norway, Britain had prepared this squadron for the conflict via low-temperature environmental training. 263 Squadron arrived on the carrier HMS "Glorious" on 24 April, and first operated from an improvised landing strip built by Norwegian volunteers on the frozen lake Lesjaskogsvatnet in Oppland in central southern Norway. On 25 April, a pair of Gladiators destroyed a Heinkel He 115 aircraft; Luftwaffe bombers carried out numerous retaliatory attacks upon the runway that day, wounding several pilots on the ground. By the end of the day, 10 Gladiators had been destroyed for the loss of three German aircraft. After less than a week, all the squadron's aircraft were unserviceable and the personnel were evacuated back to Britain.


title: Gloster Gladiator

text: Having re-equipped in Britain, 263 Squadron resumed its Gladiator operations in Norway when it returned to the north of Norway on 21 May, flying from Bardufoss airfield near Narvik. At the Narvik front, 263 Squadron was reinforced by Hurricanes of 46 Squadron, which flew into an airstrip at Skånland a few days later. Numerous German aircraft were downed by Gladiators during this deployment. Due to unsuitable ground at Skånland, 46 Squadron also moved to Bardufoss and was operating from this base by 27 May. The squadrons had been ordered to defend the fleet anchorage at Skånland and the Norwegian naval base at Harstad on the island of Hinnøya, as well as the Narvik area after it was recaptured. In addition to air defence duties, in the last days of May ground attack missions were also flown by the Gladiators, targeting railway stations, enemy vehicles, and coastal vessels.


title: Gloster Gladiator

text: On 2 June, one Gladiator pilot, Louis Jacobsen, was credited with the destruction of three Heinkel He 111s, along with the probable destruction of a Junkers Ju 88 and an addition He 111 aircraft, during a single sortie. Overall, British action in the theatre was short but intense before the squadrons, due to the British government's response to the invasion of France, were instructed on 2 June to prepare for evacuation.


title: Gloster Gladiator

text: By then, 263 Squadron had flown 249 sorties and claimed 26 enemy aircraft destroyed. 263 Squadron's 10 surviving Gladiators landed on HMS "Glorious" on 7 June. "Glorious" sailed for home but was intercepted by the German battleships "Gneisenau" and "Scharnhorst". Despite the valiant defence put up by her two escorting destroyers, HMS "Acasta" and HMS "Ardent", she was sunk along with the aircraft from four squadrons. 263 Squadron lost its CO, S/Ldr John W. Donaldson, and F/Lt Alvin T. Williams along with eight other pilots.


title: Gloster Gladiator

text: Belgian Gladiators suffered heavy losses to the Germans in 1940, with all 15 operational aircraft lost, while only managing to damage two German aircraft. During the preceding Phoney War, on 24 April 1940 Belgian Gladiators on neutrality patrol shot down a German Heinkel He 111 bomber which subsequently crashed in the Netherlands. The bomber, V4+DA of Kampfgeschwader 1, had been damaged by French fighters at Maubeuge, France, and chased across the Belgian border.


title: Gloster Gladiator

text: The Gloster Gladiator was in operational service with 247 Squadron, stationed at RAF Roborough, Devon during the Battle of Britain. Although no combat sorties took place at the height of the aerial battles, 247 Squadron Gladiators intercepted a Heinkel He 111 in late October 1940, without result. 239 Squadron, using Gladiators for army cooperation and 804 Naval Air Squadron, outfitted with Sea Gladiators, were also operational during the Battle of Britain.


title: Gloster Gladiator

text: In the Mediterranean Theatre during 1940–41, Gladiators saw combat with four Allied air forces: the RAF, Royal Australian Air Force, South African Air Force and "Ellinikí Vasilikí Aeroporía" (Royal Hellenic Air Force) squadrons. These achieved some success against the Italian "Regia Aeronautica", which was mainly equipped with Fiat CR.32 and Fiat CR.42 biplanes, and against "Luftwaffe" bombers. The South African ace Marmaduke "Pat" Pattle (who served with the RAF), claimed 15 kills in Gladiators during the North African and Greek Campaigns, making him the highest-scoring RAF biplane ace of the war.


title: Gloster Gladiator

text: The 1941 Anglo-Iraqi War was unique in that the RAF and Royal Iraqi Air Force, used the Gladiator as their main fighter. Gladiators also saw action against the Vichy French in Syria.


title: Gloster Gladiator

text: A stock of 18 Sea Gladiators from 802 Naval Air Squadron had been delivered by HMS "Glorious", in early 1940. Three were later shipped out to take part in the Norwegian Campaign and another three were sent to Egypt. By April, Malta was in need of fighter protection and it was decided to form a flight of Gladiators at RAF Hal Far, to be composed of RAF and FAA personnel. Several Sea Gladiators were assembled and test-flown. In the siege of Malta in 1940, for ten days the fighter force defending Malta was the Hal Far Fighter Flight, giving rise to a myth that three aircraft, named "Faith", "Hope" and "Charity", formed the entire fighter cover of the island. The aircraft names came into use after the battle. More than three aircraft were operational, though not always at the same time; others were used for spare parts. No 1435 Flight, which later assumed control of Malta's air defence, took on the names "Faith", "Hope" and "Charity" for its aircraft upon its reformation as the air defence unit in the Falkland Islands in 1988.


title: Gloster Gladiator

text: The Italian air force units deployed against Malta should have easily defeated the Gladiators but its manoeuvrability and good tactics won several engagements, often starting with a dive on Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 "Sparviero" bombers before the Fiat CR.42 and Macchi MC.200 escort fighters could react. On 11 June 1940, a Gladiator damaged a Macchi and on 23 June, a Gladiator flown by George Burges, managed to shoot down an MC.200. Another successful pilot over Malta was "Timber" Woods who managed to shoot down two S.79s and two CR.42s, also claiming a Macchi hit on 11 June and another S.79 damaged. The Gladiators forced Italian fighters to escort bombers and reconnaissance aircraft. Although the "Regia Aeronautica" had started with a numerical advantage and air superiority, during the summer of 1940 the situation was reversed, with Hurricanes being delivered as fast as possible and gradually taking over the island's air defence.


title: Gloster Gladiator

text: By June, two of the Gladiators had crashed and two more were assembled. "Charity" was shot down on 31 July 1940. Its pilot, Flying Officer Peter Hartley, scrambled at 09.45 with fellow pilots F. F. Taylor and Flight Lieutenant "Timber" Woods, to intercept an SM.79, escorted by nine CR.42s from 23° Gruppo. During a dogfight a CR.42 flown by Serg. Manlio Tarantino shot down Hartley's Gladiator (N5519), badly burning him. Woods shot down Antonio Chiodi, commander of the 75a "Squadriglia" five miles east of Grand Harbour. Chiodi was subsequently awarded a posthumous "Medaglia d’Oro al Valor Militare", Italy's highest military award. In May 2009, the remains of "Charity" and others were the subject of an underwater search by NATO minesweepers. "Hope" (N5531) was destroyed on the ground by enemy bombing in May 1941. The fuselage of "Faith" is on display at the National War Museum, Fort St Elmo, Valletta today. The fate of at least five more Gladiators that saw action over Malta is not as well documented.


title: Gloster Gladiator

text: In North Africa, Gladiators had to face Italian Fiat CR.42 "Falcos" biplanes, the performance of which was slightly superior to that of the Gladiator at higher altitudes.


title: Gloster Gladiator

text: The first aerial combat between the biplanes took place on 14 June over Amseat. "Tenente" Franco Lucchini, of 90 "Squadriglia", 10° "Gruppo", 4° "Stormo", flying a CR.42 from Tobruk, shot down a Gladiator; it was the first claim made against the RAF in the desert war. On the afternoon of 24 July, CR.42s and Gladiators clashed over Bardia. A formation of 11 CR.42s from 10° "Gruppo", backed by six more from the 13° "Gruppo" attacked a British formation of nine Blenheims that was attacking Bardia, and was in turn reportedly attacked by 15 Gladiators. The five Gladiators of 33 Squadron claimed four CR.42s destroyed.


title: Gloster Gladiator

text: On 4 August 1940, Fiat biplanes from 160 "Squadriglia" of "Capitano" Duilio Fanali intercepted four Gladiators commanded by Marmaduke "Pat" Pattle (eventually to become one of the top-scoring Allied aces with approximately 50 claims) that were attacking Breda Ba.65s while they were strafing British armoured vehicles. The battle became confused. Initially it was thought that only the old CR.32s were involved, but there were also many CR.42s; it is likely that the then inexperienced Pattle was shot down by another future ace, Franco Lucchini. On this occasion, the Fiats managed to surprise the Gladiators, shooting down three of them. Wykeham Barnes, who was shot down but survived, claimed a Breda 65, while Pattle claimed a Ba 65 and a CR.42.


title: Gloster Gladiator

text: On 8 August 1940, during another dogfight, 14 Gladiators of 80 Squadron took 16 Fiat CR.42s from 9° and 10° "Gruppi" of 4° "Stormo" (a "Regia Aeronautica" elite unit) by surprise over Gabr Saleh, well inside Italian territory. British pilots claimed 13 to 16 confirmed victories and one to seven probables, while losing two Gladiators.


title: Gloster Gladiator

text: Actually the Italians lost four aircraft, and four more force-landed (it seems that all were later recovered).


title: Gloster Gladiator

text: That battle highlighted the strong points of the Gladiator over the CR.42, especially the radio equipment, which had permitted a coordinated attack, being also crucial for obtaining the initial surprise, and the Gladiator's superior low-altitude overall performance, including speed and a markedly superior horizontal manoeuvrability over its Italian opponent.


title: Gloster Gladiator

text: Overall, the few Gladiators and CR.42s clashed with a substantial parity: considering all theaters, the kill ratio was 1.2-to-1 in favour of the former, a ratio similar to that of the Bf 109 and the Spitfire in the Battle of Britain, a duel considered evenly balanced by most historians. However, the Gladiator, optimised for dogfighting, met with only little success against the relatively fast Italian bombers, shooting down only a handful of them and suffering almost as many losses in the process, which could be one of the reasons for its quick retirement from first-line duty; the CR.42 on the other hand was successful against early British bombers, shooting down a hundred of them with minimal losses.


title: Gloster Gladiator

text: In Eastern Africa, it was determined that Italian forces based on Ethiopia posed a threat to the British Aden Protectorate, thus it was decided that an offensive would be necessary, in which the Gladiator would face off against the Italian biplane fighters: Fiat CR.32s and CR.42s. On 6 November 1940, in the first hour of the British offensive against Ethiopia, the Fiat CR.42 fighters of the 412a Squadriglia led by Capt. Antonio Raffi shot down five Gloster Gladiators of 1 SAAF Sqn; among the Italian pilots was the ace Mario Visintini, who later became the top scoring pilot of all belligerent air forces in Eastern Africa (Africa Orientale) and the top biplane fighter ace of World War II. Tactically, the SAAF aircraft erred by engaging the CR.42's in a piecemeal fashion and not en masse, and they were heavily outnumbered.


title: Gloster Gladiator

text: Early on in the offensive, Gladiators of No. 94 Squadron performed various attacks on the Italian forces; typical targets included airfields, supply depots, and aircraft. They were also assigned the mission of defending Aden airspace at day and night, and to protect Allied shipping operating in the vicinity. It was in the latter role that a single 94 Squadron Gladiator, piloted by Gordon Haywood, was responsible for the surrender and capture of the Italian Archimede-class submarine Galilei Galileo.


title: Gloster Gladiator

text: On 6 June 1941, the "Regia Aeronautica" had only two serviceable aircraft remaining: a CR.32 and a CR.42, therefore air superiority was finally achieved by Gladiators and the Hurricanes. The Gladiator's last air combat with an Italian fighter was on 24 October 1941, with the CR.42 of Tenente Malavolti (or, according to historian Håkan Gustavsson, "sottotenente Malavolta"). The Italian pilot took off to strafe British airfields at Dabat and Adi Arcai. According to the Italian historian Nico Sgarlato, the CR.42 was intercepted by three Gladiators and managed to shoot down two of them, but was then itself shot down and the pilot killed. Other authors state that Malavolti managed only to fire on the two Gladiators before being shot down.


title: Gloster Gladiator

text: According to Gustavsson, SAAF pilot (no. 47484V) Lieutenant Lancelot Charles Henry "Paddy" Hope, at Dabat airfield, scrambled to intercept the CR.42 (MM7117). Diving on it, he opened fire at 300 yards. Although the CR.42 pilot took violent evasive action, Hope pursued, closing to 20 yards and firing as it tried to dive away. There was a brief flicker of flame and the last Italian aircraft to be shot down over East Africa spun into the ground and burst into flames near Ambazzo. The next day the wreckage was found, the dead pilot still in the cockpit. Hope dropped a message on Italian positions at Ambazzo: "Tribute to the pilot of the Fiat. He was a brave man. South African Air Force." But operational record books of the Commonwealth units in the area state that they did not suffer any losses on this date. The dedication of the posthumous "Medaglia d’oro al valor militare" states that Malavolti shot down a Gladiator and forced another to crash land, but was himself shot down by a third Gladiator. This was the last air-to-air victory in the East African campaign.


title: Gloster Gladiator

text: Tension had been building between Greece and Italy since 7 April 1939, when Italian troops occupied Albania. On 28 October 1940, Italy issued an ultimatum to Greece, which was promptly rejected; a few hours later, Italian troops launched an invasion of Greece, initiating the Greco-Italian War.


title: Gloster Gladiator

text: Britain dispatched help to the embattled Greeks in the form of 80 Squadron, elements of which arrived at Trikkala by 19 November. That same day, the Gladiator debut came in the form of a surprise, intercepting a section of five Italian CR.42s on Coritza, only one of which returned to base. On 27 November, seven Gladiators attacked three Falcos, shooting down the lead aircraft, piloted by Com. Masfaldi, commanding the 364a Squadriglia. On 28 November, the commander of 365a "Squadriglia", Com. Graffer, was shot down during a combat where seven aircraft were downed, four of them British. On 3 December, the Gladiators were reinforced with elements from 112 Squadron. The following day, a clash between 20 Gladiators and ten CR.42s resulted in a loss of five, two of them Italians. After a break of two weeks, 80 Sqn returned to operations on 19 December 1940. On 21 December, 20 Gladiators intercepted a force of 15 CR.42 Falcos, shooting down two with two losses. Over the next few days, several groups of Italian Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 and Savoia-Marchetti SM.81 bombers were also intercepted and victories claimed.


title: Gloster Gladiator

text: One of the more notable Gladiator engagements of the whole war occurred on the Albanian border with Greece on 28 February 1941. A mixed force of 28 Gladiators and Hurricanes encountered roughly 50 Italian aircraft, and claimed to have shot down or severely damaged at least 27 of them. A single Gladiator, piloted by ace pilot Marmaduke "Pat" Pattle, claimed five aircraft during that single skirmish. Actually the British heavily overclaimed as it seems that "Regia Aeronautica" that day lost only two CR.42s.


title: Gloster Gladiator

text: The complete 112 Squadron moved to Eleusis by the end of January 1941, and by the end of the following month, had received 80 Sqn's Gladiators, after the latter unit had converted to Hawker Hurricanes. On 5 April, German forces invaded Greece and quickly established air superiority. As the Allied troops retreated, Gladiators covered them, before flying to Crete during the last week of April. There No 112 Sqn recorded a few claims over twin-engined aircraft before being evacuated to Egypt during the Battle of Crete.


title: Gloster Gladiator

text: The Royal Iraqi Air Force (RoIAF) had been trained and equipped by the British prior to independence in 1932. One result of this was the dominance of British-built aircraft in the RoIAF inventory. In 1941, the sole RoIAF single-purpose fighter squadron, 4th Squadron consisted of seven operational Gloster Gladiators at Rashid Air Base.


title: Gloster Gladiator

text: On 2 May 1941, in response to a blockade established by increasing numbers of Iraqi forces on RAF Habbaniya and demands from the revolutionary Iraqi government, a preemptive RAF attack was launched to break the encirclement. During this action, Iraqi Gladiators took part in attacks on the British air base, repeatedly strafing it ineffectively. Although much of the RoIAF was destroyed in the air or on the ground in the following days, the Iraqi Gladiators kept flying until the end of the war, carrying out strafing attacks on A Company of 1 Battalion, The Essex Regiment on the outskirts of Baghdad on 30 May.


title: Gloster Gladiator

text: Before the outbreak of hostilities in Iraq, the 4th Service Training School at RAF Habbaniya operated three old Gladiators as officers' runabouts. With the increased tension, the base was reinforced with another six Gladiators on 19 April, flying in from Egypt. During the early part of the war, these nine Gladiators flew numerous sorties against air and ground targets, taking off from the base's polo field. The RAF's Gladiator force in Iraq was further reinforced when, on 11 May, another five aircraft arrived, this time from 94 Squadron in Ismaïlia on the Suez Canal. A last resupply of Gladiators came on 17 May in the form of four more 94 Squadron aircraft.


title: Gloster Gladiator

text: During the fighting, the sole Gladiator-on-Gladiator kill occurred on 5 May, when Plt. Off. Watson of the fighter flight shot down an Iraqi Gladiator over Baqubah during a bomber escort mission. The Iraqi Gladiators' only claim during the war was a Vickers Wellington bomber shared with ground fire on 4 May. RAF Gladiators proved effective against the Iraqi aircraft, which had been reinforced by Axis aircraft. Immediately after launching his coup against King Faisal II in early April 1941, Prime Minister Rashid Ali al-Gaylani approached Germany and Italy for help in repelling any British countermeasures. In response, the Germans assembled a Luftwaffe task force under Iraqi colours called "Fliegerführer Irak" ("Flyer Command Iraq") which from 14 May operated out of Mosul. Before this force collapsed due to lack of supplies, replacements, and quality fuel in addition to aggressive RAF attacks, two Gladiators fought a pair of Bf. 110s over Rashid Airfield at Baghdad on 17 May. Both German machines were swiftly shot down.


title: Gloster Gladiator

text: The"Regia Aeronautica" had also dispatched a force of 12 Fiat CR.42s that arrived in Iraq on 23 May. Six days later, the Fiat CR.42s intercepted an RAF Hawker Audax and clashed with escorting Gladiators in what was to prove the final air-to-air combat of the brief campaign. Italian pilots claimed two No. 94 Sqn Gladiators; one Fiat was shot down by a Gladiator flown by Wg Cdr Wightman, close to Khan Nuqta. Following the end of hostilities in Iraq, No 94 Squadron handed its Gladiators over to SAAF and RAAF units. The Iraqis continued to operate their remaining Gladiators, some remaining in use as late as 1949; these were reportedly used to conduct ground-attack missions against the Kurds.


title: Gloster Gladiator

text: After the end of the Iraq fighting the British invaded Vichy French-controlled Syria to prevent the area from falling under direct German control. The French in Syria had supported the Iraqi rebellion materially and allowed "Luftwaffe" aircraft to use their airfields for operations over Iraq. The month-long Syria-Lebanon Campaign in June–July 1941 saw heavy fighting both in the air and on land, until the Vichy French authorities in Syria surrendered on 12 July 1941. In one encounter between the Royal Air Force and the Vichy French Air Force on 15 June 1941, six Gloster Gladiators were jumped by an equal number of Dewoitine D.520 monoplane fighter aircraft. In a confused battle, both sides lost one aircraft shot down and one severely damaged. French fighter ace Pierre Le Gloan shot down the Gladiator for his 15th confirmed kill. Le Gloan himself had to crash-land his damaged D.520 at his own air base.


title: Gloster Gladiator

text: As late as mid-1941, the RAF Chief-of-Air Staff offered 21 Gloster Gladiators gathered from various meteorological and communications flights in the Middle East, as well as five from a Free French unit, to AOC Singapore in order to strengthen the colony's defences against the emerging Japanese threat. The offer was turned down and later reinforcements consisted of Hawker Hurricanes.


title: Gloster Gladiator

text: The Irish Air Corps was supplied with four Gladiators on 9 March 1939. On 29 December 1940, two Irish Gladiators were scrambled from Baldonnel to intercept a German Ju 88 flying over Dublin on a photographic reconnaissance mission, but were unable to make contact. Although unable to intercept any intruding aircraft, the Irish Gladiators shot down several British barrage balloons that had broken from their moorings. For a short time in 1940, an order was given to Irish fighter pilots to use their aircraft to block the runways of airfields. They were then to use rifles and shoot at any invaders. Irish Gladiators also overflew the site of the sinking of the liner SS "Athenia" in 1939 and offered the help of the Irish military. The flight was fired upon by Royal Navy ships in attendance, consequently, the Irish Gladiators withdrew.


title: Gloster Gladiator

text: The Luftwaffe used captured Latvian Gladiators as glider tugs with "Ergänzungsgruppe" (S) 1 from Langendiebach near Hanau during 1942–3.


title: Gloster Gladiator

text: After becoming obsolete, RAF Gladiators carried out non-combat tasks such as meteorological work, being operated as such across various parts of Africa, the Middle East, and Europe as late as 1944. By the end of the war, few intact aircraft remained and many of these were quickly scrapped. Two survivors were privately purchased by V.H. Bellamy, who completed a flightworthy Gladiator out of parts from "L8032" and "N5903", which became the sole example of the type in such a condition.


title: Gloster Gladiator

text: The Finnish Air Force was the last to use the Gloster biplane in combat. It was under Finnish insignia that the Gladiator achieved its last air victory. During the Continuation War, against the Soviets, Glosters supported the advance of the Karelian Army around Lake Ladoga. On 15 February 1943, 1st Lt Håkan Strömberg of "LLv 16", during a reconnaissance mission along the Murmansk railway, between the White Sea and the Lake Onega, spotted, on Karkijarvi, a Soviet Polikarpov R-5 taking off. Stromberg dived on it and shot it down into the forest near its airfield with two bursts. This was the last confirmed victory in the Gladiator.


title: Gloster Gladiator

text: The top scoring Gladiator aces flew it in North Africa and Greece, scoring most of their successes against "Regia Aeronautica" aircraft. The top ace was Flight Lieutenant Pat Pattle, from No. 80 Squadron, who won 15.5 confirmed air victories while flying the Gladiator (out of his 50+ kills), plus four probably destroyed and six damaged. Second was Pilot Officer William "Cherry" Vale, from No. 33 and 80 Squadrons, with ten individual kills, 1 shared kill, and 1.5 damaged. Flight Lieutenant Joe P. Fraser, from No. 112 Squadron, and Flight Sergeant Don S. Gregory, from Nos. 33 and 80 Squadrons, scored all of their kills (respectively, 9.5 and 8) flying the Gladiator. Sergeant C. E. "Cas" Casbolt, from No. 80 Squadron, shot down 7.5 enemy aircraft (plus one probably destroyed and 1.5 damaged). Rhodesian pilot Caesar Hull scored five of his eight victories in a Gladiator during the Norwegian Campaign in 1940, including four in the same afternoon. He was the leading Allied pilot of the campaign.


title: Gloster Gladiator

text: Top Finnish Air Force Gladiator ace was Captain Paavo Berg, who claimed 6 of his 11 victories with Gladiators. Warrant Officer Oiva Tuominen claimed 5 of his 44 victories with Gladiators. Several other FiAF aces also claimed victories with Gladiators.


title: Hardware random number generator

text: In computing, a hardware random number generator (HRNG) or true random number generator (TRNG) is a device that generates random numbers from a physical process, rather than by means of an algorithm. Such devices are often based on microscopic phenomena that generate low-level, statistically random "noise" signals, such as thermal noise, the photoelectric effect, involving a beam splitter, and other quantum phenomena. These stochastic processes are, in theory, completely unpredictable for as long as an equation governing such phenomena is unknown or uncomputable. This is in contrast to the paradigm of pseudo-random number generation commonly implemented in computer programs.


title: Hardware random number generator

text: A hardware random number generator typically consists of a transducer to convert some aspect of the physical phenomena to an electrical signal, an amplifier and other electronic circuitry to increase the amplitude of the random fluctuations to a measurable level, and some type of analog-to-digital converter to convert the output into a digital number, often a simple binary digit 0 or 1. By repeatedly sampling the randomly varying signal, a series of random numbers is obtained.


title: Hardware random number generator

text: The main application for electronic hardware random number generators is in cryptography, where they are used to generate random cryptographic keys to transmit data securely. They are widely used in Internet encryption protocols such as Transport Layer Security (TLS).


title: Hardware random number generator

text: Random number generators can also be built from "random" macroscopic processes, using devices such as coin flipping, dice, roulette wheels and lottery machines. The presence of unpredictability in these phenomena is supported by the theory of unstable dynamical systems and chaos theory. Even though macroscopic processes are deterministic under Newtonian mechanics, the output of a well-designed device can be impractical to predict in practice, because it depends on the sensitive, micro-details of the initial conditions of each use.


title: Hardware random number generator

text: Although dice have been mostly used in gambling, and as "randomizing" elements in games (e.g. role playing games), the Victorian scientist Francis Galton described a way to use dice to explicitly generate random numbers for scientific purposes in 1890.


title: Hardware random number generator

text: Hardware random number generators generally produce only a limited number of random bits per second. In order to increase the available output data rate, they are often used to generate the "seed" for a faster cryptographically secure pseudorandom number generator, which then generates a pseudorandom output sequence at a much higher data rate.


title: Hardware random number generator

text: With random number generators based on a noisy classical system or an elementary quantum measurement, assertions of unpredictability should be based on a careful model describing the underlying physics. Yet any such model must make a number of assumptions that may not be valid, and are difficult to verify. But starting in 2010, "Einstein-certified" quantum physics experiments have been able to demonstrate, sometimes even to remote observers, that the bits they produce are unpredictable, requiring only very mild assumptions about signals not being able to travel faster than the speed of light.


title: Hardware random number generator

text: Unpredictable random numbers were first investigated in the context of gambling, and many randomizing devices such as dice, shuffling playing cards, and roulette wheels, were first developed for such use. Fairly produced random numbers are vital to electronic gambling and ways of creating them are sometimes regulated by governmental gaming commissions.


title: Hardware random number generator

text: Random numbers are also used for non-gambling purposes, both where their use is mathematically important, such as sampling for opinion polls, and in situations where fairness is approximated by randomization, such as military draft lotteries and selecting jurors.


title: Hardware random number generator

text: The major use for hardware random number generators is in the field of data encryption, for example to create random cryptographic keys and nonces needed to encrypt and sign data. They are a more secure alternative to pseudorandom number generators (PRNGs), software programs commonly used in computers to generate "random" numbers. PRNGs use a deterministic algorithm to produce numerical sequences. Although these pseudorandom sequences pass statistical pattern tests for randomness, by knowing the algorithm and the conditions used to initialize it, called the "seed", the output can be predicted. Data encrypted with pseudorandom numbers is thus potentially vulnerable to cryptanalysis. Hardware random number generators produce sequences of numbers that can be very hard to predict, and therefore can provide the greatest security when used to encrypt data.


title: Hardware random number generator

text: One early way of producing random numbers was by a variation of the same machines used to play keno or select lottery numbers. These involved mixed, numbered ping-pong balls with blown air, perhaps combined with mechanical agitation, and used some method to withdraw balls from the mixing chamber (). This method can give reasonable results in some senses, but the random numbers generated by this means are expensive, and sometimes statistically flawed. The method is inherently slow, and is unusable for most computing applications.


title: Hardware random number generator

text: On 29 April 1947, RAND Corporation began generating random digits with an "electronic roulette wheel", consisting of a random frequency pulse source of about 100,000 pulses per second gated once per second with a constant frequency pulse and fed into a five-bit binary counter. Douglas Aircraft built the equipment, implementing Cecil Hasting's suggestion (RAND P-113) for a noise source (most likely the well known behavior of the 6D4 miniature gas thyratron tube, when placed in a magnetic field). Twenty of the 32 possible counter values were mapped onto the 10 decimal digits and the other 12 counter values were discarded.


title: Hardware random number generator

text: The results of a long run from the RAND machine, filtered and tested, were converted into a table, which was published in 1955 in the book "A Million Random Digits with 100,000 Normal Deviates". The RAND table was a significant breakthrough in delivering random numbers because such a large and carefully prepared table had never before been available. It has been a useful source for simulations, modeling, and for deriving the arbitrary constants in cryptographic algorithms to demonstrate that the constants had not been selected maliciously. The block ciphers Khufu and Khafre are among the applications which use the RAND table. "See:" Nothing up my sleeve numbers.


title: Hardware random number generator

text: There are two fundamental sources of practical quantum mechanical physical randomness: quantum mechanics at the atomic or sub-atomic level and thermal noise (some of which is quantum mechanical in origin). Quantum mechanics predicts that certain physical phenomena, such as the nuclear decay of atoms, are fundamentally random and cannot, in principle, be predicted (for a discussion of empirical verification of quantum unpredictability, see Bell test experiments). And, because the world exists at a temperature above absolute zero, every system has some random variation in its state; for instance, molecules of gases composing air are constantly bouncing off each other in a random way ("see" statistical mechanics.) This randomness is a quantum phenomenon as well ("see" phonon).


title: Hardware random number generator

text: Because the outcome of quantum-mechanical events cannot be predicted even in principle, they are the ‘gold standard’ for random number generation. Some quantum phenomena used for random number generation include:


title: Hardware random number generator

text: Thermal phenomena are easier to detect. They are somewhat vulnerable to attack by lowering the temperature of the system, though most systems will stop operating at temperatures low enough to reduce noise by a factor of two (e.g., ~150 K). Some of the thermal phenomena used include:


title: Hardware random number generator

text: In the absence of quantum effects or thermal noise, other phenomena that tend to be random, although in ways not easily characterized by laws of physics, can be used. When several such sources are combined carefully (as in, for example, the Yarrow algorithm or Fortuna CSPRNGs), enough entropy can be collected for the creation of cryptographic keys and nonces, though generally at restricted rates. The advantage is that this approach needs, in principle, no special hardware. The disadvantage is that a sufficiently knowledgeable attacker can surreptitiously modify the software or its inputs, thus reducing the randomness of the output, perhaps substantially. The primary source of randomness typically used in such approaches is the precise timing of the interrupts caused by mechanical input/output devices, such as keyboards and disk drives, various system information counters, etc.


title: Hardware random number generator

text: This last approach must be implemented carefully and may be subject to attack if it is not. For instance, the forward-security of the generator in Linux 2.6.10 kernel could be broken with 2 or 2 time complexity.


title: Hardware random number generator

text: The Intel 82802 Firmware Hub (FWH) chip included a hardware RNG using two free running oscillators, one fast and one slow. A thermal noise source (non-commonmode noise from two diodes) is used to modulate the frequency of the slow oscillator, which then triggers a measurement of the fast oscillator. That output is then debiased using a von Neumann type decorrelation step (see below). The output rate of this device is somewhat less than 100,000 bit/s. This chip was an optional component of the 840 chipset family that supported an earlier Intel bus. It is not included in modern PCs.


title: Hardware random number generator

text: All VIA C3 microprocessors have included a hardware RNG on the processor chip since 2003. Instead of using thermal noise, raw bits are generated by using four freerunning oscillators which are designed to run at different rates. The output of two are XORed to control the bias on a third oscillator, whose output clocks the output of the fourth oscillator to produce the raw bit. Minor variations in temperature, silicon characteristics, and local electrical conditions cause continuing oscillator speed variations and thus produce the entropy of the raw bits. To further ensure randomness, there are actually two such RNGs on each chip, each positioned in different environments and rotated on the silicon. The final output is a mix of these two generators. The raw output rate is tens to hundreds of megabits per second, and the whitened rate is a few megabits per second. User software can access the generated random bit stream using new non-privileged machine language instructions.


title: Hardware random number generator

text: A software implementation of a related idea on ordinary hardware is included in CryptoLib, a cryptographic routine library. The algorithm is called "truerand". Most modern computers have two crystal oscillators, one for the real-time clock and one for the primary CPU clock; truerand exploits this fact. It uses an operating system service that sets an alarm, running off the real-time clock. One subroutine sets that alarm to go off in one clock tick (usually 1/60th of a second). Another then enters a while loop waiting for the alarm to trigger. Since the alarm will not always trigger in exactly one tick, the least significant bits of a count of loop iterations, between setting the alarm and its trigger, will vary randomly, possibly enough for some uses. Truerand doesn't require additional hardware, but in a multi-tasking system great care must be taken to avoid non-randomizing interference from other processes (e.g., in the suspension of the counting loop process as the operating system scheduler starts and stops assorted processes).


title: Hardware random number generator

text: Thecodice_1 opcode will return values from an onboard hardware random number generator. It is present in Intel Ivy Bridge processors and AMD64 processors since 2015.


title: Hardware random number generator

text: The bit-stream from such systems can be prone to be biased, with either 1s or 0s predominating. There are two approaches to dealing with bias and other artifacts. The first is to design the RNG to minimize bias inherent in the operation of the generator. One method to correct this feeds back the generated bit stream, filtered by a low-pass filter, to adjust the bias of the generator. By the central limit theorem, the feedback loop will tend to be well-adjusted 'almost all the time'. Ultra-high speed random number generators often use this method. Even then, the numbers generated are usually somewhat biased.


title: Hardware random number generator

text: A second approach to coping with bias is to reduce it after generation (in software or hardware). There are several techniques for reducing bias and correlation, often called "whitening" algorithms, by analogy with the related problem of producing white noise from a correlated signal.


title: Hardware random number generator

text: John von Neumann invented a simple algorithm to fix simple bias and reduce correlation. It considers two bits at a time (non-overlapping), taking one of three actions: when two successive bits are equal, they are discarded; a sequence of 1,0 becomes a 1; and a sequence of 0,1 becomes a zero. It thus represents a falling edge with a 1, and a rising edge with a 0. This eliminates simple bias, and is easy to implement as a computer program or in digital logic. This technique works no matter how the bits have been generated. It cannot assure randomness in its output, however. What it can do (with significant numbers of discarded bits) is transform a biased random bit stream into an unbiased one.


title: Hardware random number generator

text: Another technique for improving a near random bit stream is to exclusive-or the bit stream with the output of a high-quality cryptographically secure pseudorandom number generator such as Blum Blum Shub or a strong stream cipher. This can improve decorrelation and digit bias at low cost; it can be done by hardware, such as a field-programmable gate array, which is faster than doing it by software.


title: Hardware random number generator

text: A related method which reduces bias in a near random bit stream is to take two or more uncorrelated near random bit streams, and exclusive or them together. Let the probability of a bit stream producing a 0 be 1/2 + "e", where −1/2 ≤ "e" ≤ 1/2. Then "e" is the bias of the bitstream. If two uncorrelated bit streams with bias "e" are exclusive-or-ed together, then the bias of the result will be 2"e". This may be repeated with more bit streams (see also the Piling-up lemma).


title: Hardware random number generator

text: Some designs apply cryptographic hash functions such as MD5, SHA-1, or RIPEMD-160 or even a CRC function to all or part of the bit stream, and then use the output as the random bit stream. This is attractive, partly because it is relatively fast.


title: Hardware random number generator

text: Many physical phenomena can be used to generate bits that are highly biased, but each bit is independent from the others.


title: Hardware random number generator

text: A Geiger counter (with a sample time longer than the tube recovery time) or a semi-transparent mirror photon detector both generate bit streams that are mostly "0" (silent or transmission) with the occasional "1" (click or reflection).


title: Hardware random number generator

text: If each bit is independent from the others, the Von Neumann strategy generates one random, unbiased output bit for each of the rare "1" bits in such a highly biased bit stream.


title: Hardware random number generator

text: Whitening techniques such as the Advanced Multi-Level Strategy (AMLS) can extract more output bits – output bits that are just as random and unbiased – from such a highly biased bit stream.


title: Hardware random number generator

text: Other designs use what are believed to be true random bits as the key for a high quality block cipher algorithm, taking the encrypted output as the random bit stream. Care must be taken in these cases to select an appropriate block mode, however. In some implementations, the PRNG is run for a limited number of digits, while the hardware generating device produces a new seed.


title: Hardware random number generator

text: Software engineers without true random number generators often try to develop them by measuring physical events available to the software. An example is measuring the time between user keystrokes, and then taking the least significant bit (or two or three) of the count as a random digit. A similar approach measures task-scheduling, network hits, disk-head seek times and other internal events. One Microsoft design includes a very long list of such internal values, a form of cryptographically secure pseudorandom number generator. Lava lamps have also been used as the physical devices to be monitored, as in the Lavarand system.


title: Hardware random number generator

text: The method is risky when it uses computer-controlled events because a clever, malicious attacker might be able to predict a cryptographic key by controlling the external events. It is also risky because the supposed user-generated event (e.g., keystrokes) can be spoofed by a sufficiently ingenious attacker, allowing control of the "random values" used by the cryptography.


title: Hardware random number generator

text: However, with sufficient care, a system can be designed that produces cryptographically secure random numbers from the sources of randomness available in a modern computer. The basic design is to maintain an "entropy pool" of random bits that are assumed to be unknown to an attacker. New randomness is added whenever available (for example, when the user hits a key) and an estimate of the number of bits in the pool that cannot be known to an attacker is kept. Some of the strategies in use include:


title: Hardware random number generator

text: A true random number generator can be offered as a centralized online service. One example is the "randomness beacon service" from the National Institute of Standards and Technology; another example is Random.org, a service that uses atmospheric noise to generate random binary digits (bits).


title: Hardware random number generator

text: Such online services can also be decentralized. For example, the Cardano platform uses the participants of their decentralized proof-of-stake protocol to generate random numbers.


title: Hardware random number generator

text: Another decentralized service was launched in 2019 via the "League of Entropy." It combines random inputs from a variety of sources, via open source "drand" software which minimizes the amount of trust users need to have.


title: Hardware random number generator

text: It is very easy to misconstruct hardware or software devices which attempt to generate random numbers. Also, most 'break' silently, often producing decreasingly random numbers as they degrade. A physical example might be the rapidly decreasing radioactivity of the smoke detectors mentioned earlier, if this source were used directly. Failure modes in such devices are plentiful and are complicated, slow, and hard to detect. Methods that combine multiple sources of entropy are more robust.


title: Hardware random number generator

text: Because many entropy sources are often quite fragile, and fail silently, statistical tests on their output should be performed continuously. Many, but not all, such devices include some such tests into the software that reads the device.


title: Hardware random number generator

text: Just as with other components of a cryptography system, a software random number generator should be designed to resist certain attacks. Defending against these attacks is difficult without a hardware entropy source.


title: Hardware random number generator

text: There are mathematical techniques for estimating the entropy of a sequence of symbols. None are so reliable that their estimates can be fully relied upon; there are always assumptions which may be very difficult to confirm. These are useful for determining if there is enough entropy in a seed pool, for example, but they cannot, in general, distinguish between a true random source and a pseudorandom generator. This problem is avoided by the conservative use of hardware entropy sources.


title: Hardware random number generator

text: Hardware random number generators should be constantly monitored for proper operation. RFC 4086, FIPS Pub 140-2 and NIST Special Publication 800-90b include tests which can be used for this. Also see the documentation for the New Zealand cryptographic software library cryptlib.


title: Hardware random number generator

text: Since many practical designs rely on a hardware source as an input, it will be useful to at least check that the source is still operating. Statistical tests can often detect failure of a noise source, such as a radio station transmitting on a channel thought to be empty, for example. Noise generator output should be sampled for testing before being passed through a "whitener." Some whitener designs can pass statistical tests with no random input. While detecting a large deviation from perfection would be a sign that a true random noise source has become degraded, small deviations are normal and can be an indication of proper operation. Correlation of bias in the inputs to a generator design with other parameters (e.g., internal temperature, bus voltage) might be additionally useful as a further check. Unfortunately, with currently available (and foreseen) tests, passing such tests is not enough to be sure the output sequences are random. A carefully chosen design, verification that the manufactured device implements that design and continuous physical security to insure against tampering may all be needed in addition to testing for high value uses.


title: Comparison of music streaming services

text: The following is a list of on-demand music streaming services. These services offer streaming of full-length content via the Internet as a part of their service, without the listener necessarily having to purchase a file for download. This type of service is somewhat similar to Internet radio. Many of these sites have advertising and offer non-free options in the style of a digital music store.


title: Comparison of music streaming services

text: For a list of online music stores that provide a means of purchasing and downloading music as files of some sort, see comparison of digital music stores. Many sites from both of these categories offer services similar to an online music database.


title: Molecular cloning

text: Molecular cloning is a set of experimental methods in molecular biology that are used to assemble recombinant DNA molecules and to direct their replication within host organisms. The use of the word "cloning" refers to the fact that the method involves the replication of one molecule to produce a population of cells with identical DNA molecules. Molecular cloning generally uses DNA sequences from two different organisms: the species that is the source of the DNA to be cloned, and the species that will serve as the living host for replication of the recombinant DNA. Molecular cloning methods are central to many contemporary areas of modern biology and medicine.


title: Molecular cloning

text: In a conventional molecular cloning experiment, the DNA to be cloned is obtained from an organism of interest, then treated with enzymes in the test tube to generate smaller DNA fragments. Subsequently, these fragments are then combined with vector DNA to generate recombinant DNA molecules. The recombinant DNA is then introduced into a host organism (typically an easy-to-grow, benign, laboratory strain of "E. coli" bacteria). This will generate a population of organisms in which recombinant DNA molecules are replicated along with the host DNA. Because they contain foreign DNA fragments, these are transgenic or genetically modified microorganisms (GMO). This process takes advantage of the fact that a single bacterial cell can be induced to take up and replicate a single recombinant DNA molecule. This single cell can then be expanded exponentially to generate a large amount of bacteria, each of which contain copies of the original recombinant molecule. Thus, both the resulting bacterial population, and the recombinant DNA molecule, are commonly referred to as "clones". Strictly speaking, "recombinant DNA" refers to DNA molecules, while "molecular cloning" refers to the experimental methods used to assemble them. The idea arose that different DNA sequences could be inserted into a plasmid and that these foreign sequences would be carried into bacteria and digested as part of the plasmid. That is, these plasmids could serve as cloning vectors to carry genes.


title: Molecular cloning

text: Virtually any DNA sequence can be cloned and amplified, but there are some factors that might limit the success of the process. Examples of the DNA sequences that are difficult to clone are inverted repeats, origins of replication, centromeres and telomeres. There is also a lower chance of success when inserting large-sized DNA sequences. Inserts larger than 10kbp have very limited success, but bacteriophages such as bacteriophage λ can be modified to successfully insert a sequence up to 40 kbp.


title: Molecular cloning

text: Prior to the 1970s, the understanding of genetics and molecular biology was severely hampered by an inability to isolate and study individual genes from complex organisms. This changed dramatically with the advent of molecular cloning methods. Microbiologists, seeking to understand the molecular mechanisms through which bacteria restricted the growth of bacteriophage, isolated restriction endonucleases, enzymes that could cleave DNA molecules only when specific DNA sequences were encountered. They showed that restriction enzymes cleaved chromosome-length DNA molecules at specific locations, and that specific sections of the larger molecule could be purified by size fractionation. Using a second enzyme, DNA ligase, fragments generated by restriction enzymes could be joined in new combinations, termed recombinant DNA. By recombining DNA segments of interest with vector DNA, such as bacteriophage or plasmids, which naturally replicate inside bacteria, large quantities of purified recombinant DNA molecules could be produced in bacterial cultures. The first recombinant DNA molecules were generated and studied in 1972.


title: Molecular cloning

text: Molecular cloning takes advantage of the fact that the chemical structure of DNA is fundamentally the same in all living organisms. Therefore, if any segment of DNA from any organism is inserted into a DNA segment containing the molecular sequences required for DNA replication, and the resulting recombinant DNA is introduced into the organism from which the replication sequences were obtained, then the foreign DNA will be replicated along with the host cell's DNA in the transgenic organism.


title: Molecular cloning

text: Molecular cloning is similar to polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in that it permits the replication of DNA sequence. The fundamental difference between the two methods is that molecular cloning involves replication of the DNA in a living microorganism, while PCR replicates DNA in an "in vitro" solution, free of living cells.


title: Molecular cloning

text: Before actual cloning experiments are performed in the lab, most cloning experiments are planned in a computer, using specialized software. Although the detailed planning of the cloning can be done in any text editor, together with online utilities for e.g. PCR primer design, dedicated software exist for the purpose. Software for the purpose include for example ApE (open source), DNAStrider (open source), Serial Cloner (gratis), Collagene (open source), and SnapGene (commercial). These programs allow to simulate PCR reactions, restriction digests, ligations, etc., that is, all the steps described below.


title: Molecular cloning

text: In standard molecular cloning experiments, the cloning of any DNA fragment essentially involves seven steps: (1) Choice of host organism and cloning vector, (2) Preparation of vector DNA, (3) Preparation of DNA to be cloned, (4) Creation of recombinant DNA, (5) Introduction of recombinant DNA into host organism, (6) Selection of organisms containing recombinant DNA, (7) Screening for clones with desired DNA inserts and biological properties.


title: Molecular cloning

text: Notably, the growing capacity and fidelity of DNA synthesis platforms allows for increasingly intricate designs in molecular engineering. These projects may include very long strands of novel DNA sequence and/or test entire libraries simultaneously, as opposed to of individual sequences. These shifts introduce complexity that require design to move away from the flat nucleotide-based representation and towards a higher level of abstraction. Examples of such tools are GenoCAD, Teselagen (free for academia) or GeneticConstructor (free for academics).


title: Molecular cloning

text: Although a very large number of host organisms and molecular cloning vectors are in use, the great majority of molecular cloning experiments begin with a laboratory strain of the bacterium "E. coli" ("Escherichia coli") and a plasmid cloning vector. "E. coli" and plasmid vectors are in common use because they are technically sophisticated, versatile, widely available, and offer rapid growth of recombinant organisms with minimal equipment. If the DNA to be cloned is exceptionally large (hundreds of thousands to millions of base pairs), then a bacterial artificial chromosome or yeast artificial chromosome vector is often chosen.


title: Molecular cloning

text: Specialized applications may call for specialized host-vector systems. For example, if the experimentalists wish to harvest a particular protein from the recombinant organism, then an expression vector is chosen that contains appropriate signals for transcription and translation in the desired host organism. Alternatively, if replication of the DNA in different species is desired (for example, transfer of DNA from bacteria to plants), then a multiple host range vector (also termed shuttle vector) may be selected. In practice, however, specialized molecular cloning experiments usually begin with cloning into a bacterial plasmid, followed by subcloning into a specialized vector.


title: Molecular cloning

text: Whatever combination of host and vector are used, the vector almost always contains four DNA segments that are critically important to its function and experimental utility:


title: Molecular cloning

text: The cloning vector is treated with a restriction endonuclease to cleave the DNA at the site where foreign DNA will be inserted. The restriction enzyme is chosen to generate a configuration at the cleavage site that is compatible with the ends of the foreign DNA (see DNA end). Typically, this is done by cleaving the vector DNA and foreign DNA with the same restriction enzyme, for example EcoRI. Most modern vectors contain a variety of convenient cleavage sites that are unique within the vector molecule (so that the vector can only be cleaved at a single site) and are located within a gene (frequently beta-galactosidase) whose inactivation can be used to distinguish recombinant from non-recombinant organisms at a later step in the process. To improve the ratio of recombinant to non-recombinant organisms, the cleaved vector may be treated with an enzyme (alkaline phosphatase) that dephosphorylates the vector ends. Vector molecules with dephosphorylated ends are unable to replicate, and replication can only be restored if foreign DNA is integrated into the cleavage site.


title: Molecular cloning

text: For cloning of genomic DNA, the DNA to be cloned is extracted from the organism of interest. Virtually any tissue source can be used (even tissues from extinct animals), as long as the DNA is not extensively degraded. The DNA is then purified using simple methods to remove contaminating proteins (extraction with phenol), RNA (ribonuclease) and smaller molecules (precipitation and/or chromatography). Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) methods are often used for amplification of specific DNA or RNA (RT-PCR) sequences prior to molecular cloning.


title: Molecular cloning

text: DNA for cloning experiments may also be obtained from RNA using reverse transcriptase (complementary DNA or cDNA cloning), or in the form of synthetic DNA (artificial gene synthesis). cDNA cloning is usually used to obtain clones representative of the mRNA population of the cells of interest, while synthetic DNA is used to obtain any precise sequence defined by the designer. Such a designed sequence may be required when moving genes across genetic codes (for example, from the mitochrondria to the nucleus) or simply for increasing expression via codon optimization.


title: Molecular cloning

text: The purified DNA is then treated with a restriction enzyme to generate fragments with ends capable of being linked to those of the vector. If necessary, short double-stranded segments of DNA ("linkers") containing desired restriction sites may be added to create end structures that are compatible with the vector.


title: Molecular cloning

text: The creation of recombinant DNA is in many ways the simplest step of the molecular cloning process. DNA prepared from the vector and foreign source are simply mixed together at appropriate concentrations and exposed to an enzyme (DNA ligase) that covalently links the ends together. This joining reaction is often termed ligation. The resulting DNA mixture containing randomly joined ends is then ready for introduction into the host organism.


title: Molecular cloning

text: DNA ligase only recognizes and acts on the ends of linear DNA molecules, usually resulting in a complex mixture of DNA molecules with randomly joined ends. The desired products (vector DNA covalently linked to foreign DNA) will be present, but other sequences (e.g. foreign DNA linked to itself, vector DNA linked to itself and higher-order combinations of vector and foreign DNA) are also usually present. This complex mixture is sorted out in subsequent steps of the cloning process, after the DNA mixture is introduced into cells.


title: Molecular cloning

text: The DNA mixture, previously manipulated in vitro, is moved back into a living cell, referred to as the host organism. The methods used to get DNA into cells are varied, and the name applied to this step in the molecular cloning process will often depend upon the experimental method that is chosen (e.g. transformation, transduction, transfection, electroporation).


title: Molecular cloning

text: When microorganisms are able to take up and replicate DNA from their local environment, the process is termed transformation, and cells that are in a physiological state such that they can take up DNA are said to be competent. In mammalian cell culture, the analogous process of introducing DNA into cells is commonly termed transfection. Both transformation and transfection usually require preparation of the cells through a special growth regime and chemical treatment process that will vary with the specific species and cell types that are used.


title: Molecular cloning

text: Electroporation uses high voltage electrical pulses to translocate DNA across the cell membrane (and cell wall, if present). In contrast, transduction involves the packaging of DNA into virus-derived particles, and using these virus-like particles to introduce the encapsulated DNA into the cell through a process resembling viral infection. Although electroporation and transduction are highly specialized methods, they may be the most efficient methods to move DNA into cells.


title: Molecular cloning

text: Whichever method is used, the introduction of recombinant DNA into the chosen host organism is usually a low efficiency process; that is, only a small fraction of the cells will actually take up DNA. Experimental scientists deal with this issue through a step of artificial genetic selection, in which cells that have not taken up DNA are selectively killed, and only those cells that can actively replicate DNA containing the selectable marker gene encoded by the vector are able to survive.


title: Molecular cloning

text: When bacterial cells are used as host organisms, the selectable marker is usually a gene that confers resistance to an antibiotic that would otherwise kill the cells, typically ampicillin. Cells harboring the plasmid will survive when exposed to the antibiotic, while those that have failed to take up plasmid sequences will die. When mammalian cells (e.g. human or mouse cells) are used, a similar strategy is used, except that the marker gene (in this case typically encoded as part of the kanMX cassette) confers resistance to the antibiotic Geneticin.


title: Molecular cloning

text: Modern bacterial cloning vectors (e.g. pUC19 and later derivatives including the pGEM vectors) use the blue-white screening system to distinguish colonies (clones) of transgenic cells from those that contain the parental vector (i.e. vector DNA with no recombinant sequence inserted). In these vectors, foreign DNA is inserted into a sequence that encodes an essential part of beta-galactosidase, an enzyme whose activity results in formation of a blue-colored colony on the culture medium that is used for this work. Insertion of the foreign DNA into the beta-galactosidase coding sequence disables the function of the enzyme so that colonies containing transformed DNA remain colorless (white). Therefore, experimentalists are easily able to identify and conduct further studies on transgenic bacterial clones, while ignoring those that do not contain recombinant DNA.


title: Molecular cloning

text: The total population of individual clones obtained in a molecular cloning experiment is often termed a DNA library. Libraries may be highly complex (as when cloning complete genomic DNA from an organism) or relatively simple (as when moving a previously cloned DNA fragment into a different plasmid), but it is almost always necessary to examine a number of different clones to be sure that the desired DNA construct is obtained. This may be accomplished through a very wide range of experimental methods, including the use of nucleic acid hybridizations, antibody probes, polymerase chain reaction, restriction fragment analysis and/or DNA sequencing.


title: Molecular cloning

text: Molecular cloning provides scientists with an essentially unlimited quantity of any individual DNA segments derived from any genome. This material can be used for a wide range of purposes, including those in both basic and applied biological science. A few of the more important applications are summarized here.


title: Molecular cloning

text: Molecular cloning has led directly to the elucidation of the complete DNA sequence of the genomes of a very large number of species and to an exploration of genetic diversity within individual species, work that has been done mostly by determining the DNA sequence of large numbers of randomly cloned fragments of the genome, and assembling the overlapping sequences. Further, cloning can be used to produce gene therapies for the treatment of serious disease indications, such as cystic fibrosis, cancer, AIDS and others. It is interesting to note that gene cloning can be a potential solution to organ scarcity. It also plays an important role in synthesis of antibiotics, vitamins and hormones.


title: Molecular cloning

text: At the level of individual genes, molecular clones are used to generate probes that are used for examining how genes are expressed, and how that expression is related to other processes in biology, including the metabolic environment, extracellular signals, development, learning, senescence and cell death. Cloned genes can also provide tools to examine the biological function and importance of individual genes, by allowing investigators to inactivate the genes, or make more subtle mutations using regional mutagenesis or site-directed mutagenesis. Genes cloned into expression vectors for functional cloning provide a means to screen for genes on the basis of the expressed protein's function.


title: Molecular cloning

text: Obtaining the molecular clone of a gene can lead to the development of organisms that produce the protein product of the cloned genes, termed a recombinant protein. In practice, it is frequently more difficult to develop an organism that produces an active form of the recombinant protein in desirable quantities than it is to clone the gene. This is because the molecular signals for gene expression are complex and variable, and because protein folding, stability and transport can be very challenging.


title: Molecular cloning

text: Many useful proteins are currently available as recombinant products. These include--(1) medically useful proteins whose administration can correct a defective or poorly expressed gene (e.g. recombinant factor VIII, a blood-clotting factor deficient in some forms of hemophilia, and recombinant insulin, used to treat some forms of diabetes), (2) proteins that can be administered to assist in a life-threatening emergency (e.g. tissue plasminogen activator, used to treat strokes), (3) recombinant subunit vaccines, in which a purified protein can be used to immunize patients against infectious diseases, without exposing them to the infectious agent itself (e.g. hepatitis B vaccine), and (4) recombinant proteins as standard material for diagnostic laboratory tests.


title: Molecular cloning

text: Once characterized and manipulated to provide signals for appropriate expression, cloned genes may be inserted into organisms, generating transgenic organisms, also termed genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Although most GMOs are generated for purposes of basic biological research (see for example, transgenic mouse), a number of GMOs have been developed for commercial use, ranging from animals and plants that produce pharmaceuticals or other compounds (pharming), herbicide-resistant crop plants, and fluorescent tropical fish (GloFish) for home entertainment.


title: Molecular cloning

text: Gene therapy involves supplying a functional gene to cells lacking that function, with the aim of correcting a genetic disorder or acquired disease. Gene therapy can be broadly divided into two categories. The first is alteration of germ cells, that is, sperm or eggs, which results in a permanent genetic change for the whole organism and subsequent generations. This “germ line gene therapy” is considered by many to be unethical in human beings. The second type of gene therapy, “somatic cell gene therapy”, is analogous to an organ transplant. In this case, one or more specific tissues are targeted by direct treatment or by removal of the tissue, addition of the therapeutic gene or genes in the laboratory, and return of the treated cells to the patient. Clinical trials of somatic cell gene therapy began in the late 1990s, mostly for the treatment of cancers and blood, liver, and lung disorders.


title: Molecular cloning

text: Despite a great deal of publicity and promises, the history of human gene therapy has been characterized by relatively limited success. The effect of introducing a gene into cells often promotes only partial and/or transient relief from the symptoms of the disease being treated. Some gene therapy trial patients have suffered adverse consequences of the treatment itself, including deaths. In some cases, the adverse effects result from disruption of essential genes within the patient's genome by insertional inactivation. In others, viral vectors used for gene therapy have been contaminated with infectious virus. Nevertheless, gene therapy is still held to be a promising future area of medicine, and is an area where there is a significant level of research and development activity.


title: Head bobble

text: The head bobble, head wobble, or Indian head shake refers to a common gesture found in South Asian cultures, most notably in India. The motion usually consists of a side-to-side tilting of the head in arcs along the coronal plane. A form of nonverbal communication, it may mean "yes", "good", "maybe", "ok", or "I understand", depending on the context.


title: Head bobble

text: In India, a head bobble can have a variety of different meanings. Most frequently it means "yes," or is used to indicate understanding. The meaning of the head bobble depends on the context of the conversation or encounter. It can serve as an alternative to "thank you", as a polite introduction, or it can represent acknowledgement.


title: Head bobble

text: Head bobbles can also be used in an intentionally vague manner. An unenthusiastic head bobble can be a polite way of declining something without saying no directly.


title: McCaughey septuplets

text: The McCaughey septuplets (; born November 19, 1997) are septuplets born to Kenny and Bobbi McCaughey in Des Moines, Iowa. They are the world's first known set of surviving septuplets.


title: McCaughey septuplets

text: Kenny McCaughey (b. 1969) and Bobbi McCaughey (b. 1968), were residents of the town of Carlisle, Iowa. The McCaugheys had one daughter, Mikayla Marie, born January 3, 1996. While under treatment with ovulation-stimulating Metrodin for infertility, Bobbi became pregnant with seven babies. The McCaugheys declined selective reduction to reduce the number of infants, saying that they would "put it in God's hands". The obstetricians primarily responsible for the medical care of Bobbi and the babies were Karen Drake and Paula Mahone.


title: McCaughey septuplets

text: The septuplets, four boys and three girls, were born prematurely at the Iowa Methodist Medical Center in Des Moines on November 19, 1997. They were delivered by a scheduled Caesarean section, attended by a team of 40 specialists, all within six minutes.


title: McCaughey septuplets

text: Two of the septuplets, Alexis and Nathan, have cerebral palsy. Both use walkers to get around, and in November 2005, Nathan had spinal surgery in order to improve his walking abilities.


title: McCaughey septuplets

text: The birth attracted significant media attention, both positive and negative, including a feature in "Time" magazine in December 1997. "In the beginning, for every ten letters we would get that were happy for us, we'd get one letter accusing us of exploiting the kids and being selfish to waste the world's resources on a family this big," said Bobbi in a 2007 interview. "Our neighbors never gawked. Here in Carlisle they gave us privacy. But we had complete strangers come around to the back door, knock, and ask if they could hold a baby."


title: McCaughey septuplets

text: The McCaugheys were the recipients of many donations, including a 5500 ft² (511 m) house, a van and diapers for the first two years, as well as nanny services, clothes, and even the State of Iowa offering full college scholarships to any state university in Iowa upon their maturity and graduation from high school, also by the Hannibal–LaGrange University in Missouri. President Bill Clinton personally telephoned the McCaugheys to wish them his congratulations. The surviving Dionne quintuplets (Yvonne Dionne, Annette Allard, and Cecile Langlois) wrote an open letter warning the parents to keep the septuplets out of the public eye and not allow them to fall into the same pitfalls as their parents did, but wished them the best of luck in raising them and their personal congratulations; the letter read:


title: McCaughey septuplets

text: By the time of the septuplets' tenth birthday in 2007, the family was declining most requests for interviews, other than annual stories with the Des Moines CBS television affiliate KCCI and "Ladies' Home Journal". Bobbi McCaughey has noted that the level of media attention does not necessarily mean they have granted many interviews, saying, "There was all kinds of stuff in the papers early on but they never actually interviewed us. Most of it is one paper quoting another."


title: McCaughey septuplets

text: Bobbi and Kenny both occasionally speak at anti-abortion events and continue to oppose selective reduction. Bobbi has been quoted as saying, "Well, come to our house, and tell me which four I shouldn't have had!" The family continues to attend a Baptist church in West Des Moines, Iowa where Kenny serves as a deacon. In 2010, for the septuplets' 13th birthday, a documentary was made by TLC chronicling the event.


title: McCaughey septuplets

text: The septuplets graduated from Carlisle High School in May 2016. Natalie, Kelsey, Nathan and Joel took up scholarships offered by private Hannibal-LaGrange University in Hannibal, Missouri, Kenny and Alexis chose to stay in the Des Moines area and attend Des Moines Area Community College, and Brandon enlisted in the United States Army.


title: McCaughey septuplets

text: In 2017, the septuplets became aunts and uncles when Mikayla gave birth to a son after getting married in 2015. Natalie was the first of the septuplets to get married, in May 2019. Brandon also got married in August 2019.


title: Pint glass

text: A pint glass is a form of drinkware made to hold either a British imperial pint of or an American pint of . Other definitions also exist, see below. These glasses are typically used to serve beer, and also often for cider.


title: Pint glass

text: Pint glasses became popular in the United Kingdom in the early/mid-20th century, replacing tankards (pewter, ceramic and glass). This change is notably lamented by George Orwell in his 1946 essay "The Moon Under Water".


title: Pint glass

text: In the United Kingdom, draught beer must be sold in Imperial measure (see ). English, Scottish and Northern Irish law all require certain steps be taken to ensure that a pint of beer is indeed a pint. Though this can be achieved using "metered dispense" (calibrated pumps), the more common solution is to use certified one-pint glasses. Until 2007 these had a crown stamp indicating that the certification had been done by an agency of the Crown. The number etched upon the glasses stands for the manufacturing company or site. Most pint glasses used in the United Kingdom today have actually been produced in France.


title: Pint glass

text: Under the EU Measuring Instruments Directive (Directive 2004/22/EC), the certification of measuring instruments and devices used in trade (including beer mugs, weighbridges, petrol pumps and the like) can be done by third parties anywhere within the EU with governments taking "only the legislative and enforcement (market surveillance) functions" and "ensuring that the system of third party assessment ... has sufficient technical competence and independence" (or, in simple language, calibration services were privatised). Glasses that have been certified by authorised firms anywhere within the EU have the letters CE etched on with the certifying agency's identification number.


title: Pint glass

text: Conservatives campaigning to have dual markings of crown and CE were informed by EU Commissioner Günter Verheugen that "a Crown stamp look-alike could naturally be affixed to the glass, as long as it is done in such a way that it is not confused with the CE marking". Following the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU the CE mark is being replaced by the UKCA marking for goods placed on the market in Great Britain, and in September 2021, it was announced that the Crown would return to pint glasses in the UK.


title: Pint glass

text: Selling beer in unmeasured glasses without using some other form of calibrated measure is illegal. Half-pint, one-third pint and two-thirds pint (schooners) glasses are also available and are subject to the same laws. Two-thirds of a pint is not equal to the Canadian, US or Australian schooners, which are respectively of different measures. Instead, the term "schooner" is sometimes informally used within the UK to describe two-thirds of a pint (379 ml).


title: Pint glass

text: Although the glass must be accurately-calibrated, industry guidelines only require a pint to be at least 95% liquid, allowing 5% of the pint to consist of the foamy "head". The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) has described this practice as selling a short measure, and says that it costs drinkers £1m a day in beer they have paid for but not received. The British Beer and Pub Association has issued guidelines for bar staff to give a "top up" to any drinker who is unsatisfied with the measure they receive.


title: Pint glass

text: CAMRA recommends the use of "lined" or "oversized" glasses in pubs. These have a line near the top (usually labelled "") to which the beer should be poured, with the head forming above it. In the past a number of breweries supplied these glasses to their pubs; this is now rarely the case, and lined glasses are found mostly at enthusiasts' events such as beer festivals, serious cask ale pubs, and breweries' own bars.


title: Pint glass

text: Beer in Australia is formally measured in metric units, but draught beer is commonly ordered and sold in glasses approximating imperial measures, including a 570 ml pint. In the state of South Australia, "pint" refers to a 425 ml ( pint) glass, known as a schooner in the rest of Australia. As in the UK, certified glassware must be used; the capacity of the beer glass is defined by either the brim or, where present, the fill line. There are no legally prescribed sizes for beer volumes, but the stated capacities, which are a legal requirement, must be formally tested by the hoteliers and breweries.


title: Pint glass

text: In Canada, Federal law mandates a standard imperial pint. However, this law is rarely enforced in some provinces, such as British Columbia, and establishments sometimes sell US pints or other measures as "pints."


title: Pint glass

text: The Republic of Ireland uses the imperial 20 fl oz pint measure (≈568 ml), where legal metrology marks are used to show that a glass has passed inspection by the National Standards Authority of Ireland, a state-run body which enforces a number of standard rulings. Starting in 2006, the NSAI "pint" mark, a circle featuring two wavy lines, between which "PINT" is written, with a year mark (last two digits), and a three digit batch code either side; has begun to be phased out with a European standard "PINT"/CE logo stamp . Smaller Pint glasses have been used in pubs and nightclubs though.


title: Pint glass

text: In Israel, although officially defined as 568ml, pubs use the term arbitrarily and the "pints" served constitute a wide range of volumes (360ml–440ml). In the past, the custom was to serve beer in 330ml or 500ml in the original beer manufacturer's glass. The tax on alcohol was doubled in July 2012 to ₪4.2 per litre. In order to avoid raising prices at pubs, and as a result, the loss of customers, a new standard beer measurement appeared; the "pint". Customers don't seem to know how much liquid should be in a pint, which varies from place to place. Some venues did not do this, and still serve beer in 500 ml glasses.


title: Pint glass

text: In the United States, a pint is . However, the typical conical "pint" glass holds 16 ounces only when filled to its rim with liquid. With a half-inch of foam, the actual liquid fill is roughly 14 ounces, missing one eighth of its volume. In 2008, some restaurants replaced pint glasses with glasses, to which customers objected. In response to this, 2014 legislation in the state of Michigan (known for its craft brewing culture) requires bars to serve 16-ounce pints.


title: Pint glass

text: It is increasingly common to find pint glasses which contain markings on the base; very often these glasses are branded to one particular beer. The markings themselves are formed from small pits, which aid in nucleation, allowing the gas within it to be released more easily, thus preserving the head. Without the aid of these pits a regular pint glass will keep a head for only 3 or 4 minutes before appearing "flat". The markings come in a variety of styles ranging from a simple circular or square hatched pattern to more complicated branding messages.


title: Pint glass

text: Pint glass collecting is a way for individuals to commemorate their visits to popular tourist destinations, most notably to microbreweries or sports arenas. These destinations often sell pint glasses adorned with their logos, which are either screen-printed or engraved on the side of the glass. Brewery enthusiasts may travel thousands of miles to see where their favorite beer is made or to sample new local and fresh beers, and collectors often display their collections (which sometimes total in the hundreds) in display cases or on shelves.


title: Pint glass

text: As with other glass objects such as glass bottles, pint glasses can be used as a weapon, either smashing an intact glass in a victim's face or smashing the glass and then slashing with the shards. Such attacks, called "glassing", are a significant problem in the United Kingdom, with over 5,000 injuries per year in 2002. This has led to less-dangerous alternatives being used, either plastic glasses and bottles at large events or violence-prone venues, or treated glass, primarily tempered glass, which has been used in Australia.


title: Elle Woods

text: Elle Woods is the protagonist of Amanda Brown's 2001 novel "Legally Blonde" and the 2001 film of the same name as well as the 2003 sequel, "". Woods is also the protagonist of the 2007 Broadway adaptation of the movie.


title: Elle Woods

text: Elle Woods first appeared as the protagonist of "Legally Blonde", a novel by Amanda Brown. Later, Woods was portrayed by Reese Witherspoon in the films "Legally Blonde" (2001) and "" (2003). The character was then portrayed in a Broadway musical adaptation of the first film, "Legally Blonde - The Musical." Elle Woods is also the basis of a series of young adult fiction novels by Natalie Standiford. The character is mentioned but not seen in a 2009 direct-to-video sequel, "Legally Blondes", which portrays the adventures of her twin British cousins. In 2018 Ariana Grande referenced Elle in several scenes of her "Thank U, Next" music video.


title: Elle Woods

text: "Entertainment Weekly" put Elle Woods on its end-of-the-decade "best-of" list, saying, "She's blonde, bubbly and carries a tiny Chihuahua. But despite the inevitable Paris Hilton comparisons, Reese Witherspoon's "Legally Blonde" dynamo managed to be taken seriously. Case closed!"


title: Elle Woods

text: Woods has been portrayed by eleven different actresses in different stagings of "Legally Blonde - The Musical": Gabby Cinque, Olivia Mezzerina, , Bailey Hanks, Sayaka Kanda, Barbara Obermeier and in the West End by Sheridan Smith (who was later replaced by her "Legally Blonde" co-star Susan McFadden). From July 2011 Carley Stenson took over the role of Elle Woods with Susan McFadden leaving the show.


title: Elle Woods

text: In the film, Legally Blonde, Elle Woods is a sorority sister living at the Delta Nu House at the fictional California University Los Angeles (CULA) (UCLA in the musical) where she studies in Fashion Merchandising and maintains a 4.0 GPA. Woods' boyfriend, Warner Huntington III, the son of a U.S. congressman, breaks up with her the night she expects him to propose, claiming that he needs "to marry a Jackie, not a Marilyn." Warner is bound for Harvard Law School, and Woods becomes determined to gain admittance to the school to win him back. Once at Harvard, Woods learns that Warner has a new fiancée, Vivian Kensington, who is a member of the same country club as Warner's family. Woods is able to exonerate a sorority sister accused of murder, and decides she does not need Warner. In the film's conclusion, Woods gives the commencement address to the law school class after proving herself and earning the respect of her peers, and beginning a relationship with Emmett Richmond.


title: Elle Woods

text: In the sequel to the original film, Elle is in the middle of planning her wedding while in line for a promotion at work. She decides to track down the birth mother of her beloved dog, Bruiser, and discovers that she is being used for animal testing. After getting fired for trying to bring up the testing facility, Elle goes to work on Capitol Hill, seeking to advance animal rights. She begins the film with naïve expectations about the motivations of members of Congress, and although these expectations are dashed, she perseveres and succeeds in the passage of the desired animal rights legislation. At the end of the movie, she marries Emmett in Washington, D.C., and is seen looking at the White House when Emmett asks her where she wants to live.


title: Beatboxing

text: Beatboxing (also beat boxing) is a form of vocal percussion primarily involving the art of mimicking drum machines (typically a TR-808), using one's mouth, lips, tongue, and voice. It may also involve vocal imitation of turntablism, and other musical instruments. Beatboxing today is connected with hip-hop culture, often referred to as "the fifth element" of hip-hop, although it is not limited to hip-hop music. The term "beatboxing" is sometimes used to refer to vocal percussion in general.


title: Beatboxing

text: Techniques similar to beatboxing have been employed in diverse American musical genres since the 19th century, such as early rural music, both black and white, religious songs, blues, ragtime, vaudeville, and hokum. Examples include the Appalachian technique of eefing and the blues song "Bye bye bird" by Sonny Boy Williamson II.


title: Beatboxing

text: Additional influences may perhaps include forms of African traditional music, in which performers utilize their bodies (e.g., by clapping or stomping) as percussion instruments and produce sounds with their mouths by breathing loudly in and out, a technique used in beatboxing today.


title: Beatboxing

text: Many well-known performers used vocal percussion occasionally, even though this was not directly connected to the cultural tradition that came to be known as beatboxing. Paul McCartney's "That Would Be Something" (1969) includes vocal percussion. Pink Floyd's "Pow R. Toc H." (1967) also includes vocal percussion performed by the group's original lead vocalist, Syd Barrett. Jazz singers Bobby McFerrin and Al Jarreau were very well known for their vocal styles and techniques, which have had great impact on techniques beatboxers use today. Michael Jackson was known to record himself beatboxing on a dictation tape recorder as a demo and scratch recording to compose several of his songs, including "Billie Jean", "The Girl Is Mine", and others. In contrast, the English folk rock band Jethro Tull adopted beatboxing on at least one track on their 2003 Christmas album. Gert Fröbe, a German actor most widely known for playing Auric Goldfinger in the James Bond film "Goldfinger", "beatboxes" as Colonel Manfred von Holstein (simultaneously vocalizing horned and percussive instruments) in "Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines", a 1965 British comedy film.


title: Beatboxing

text: Modern beatboxing first began as a way to assist or backup the MC. When drum machines were unavailable or unaffordable, communities in the inner city of New York began to mimic the sounds with their voices in cyphers. The term "beatboxing" is derived from the mimicry of early drum machines, then known as beatboxes, particularly the Roland TR-808. The term "beatbox" was used to refer to earlier Roland drum machines such as the TR-55 and CR-78 in the 1970s. They were followed by the TR-808, released in 1980, which became central to hip hop music and electronic dance music. It is the TR-808 that human beatboxing is largely modeled after.


title: Beatboxing

text: "Human beatboxing" in hip-hop originated in the 1980s. Its early pioneers include Doug E. Fresh, the self-proclaimed first "human beatbox" (and arguably its most famous practitioner); Swifty, the first to implement the inhale sound technique; Buffy, who helped perfect many beatboxing techniques; and Wise, who contributed significantly to beat boxing's proliferation. Wise inspired an entire new fan base of human beatboxers with his human turntable technique. Other pioneers of beatboxing include Rahzel well known for his realistic robotic sounds and for his ability to sing and beatbox simultaneously, Scratch a beatboxer and musician well known for further revolutionizing the use of vocal scratching in beatboxing, Kenny Muhammad The Human Orchestra, a beatboxer known for his technicality and outstanding rhythmic precision, who pioneered the inward k snare, a beatbox technique that imitates a snare drum by breathing inward, and Emanon, an early protegee of Doug E. Fresh associated with Ice T and Afrika Islam. Many refer to beatboxing as the unofficial 5th element of hip-hop.


title: Beatboxing

text: The Internet has played a large part in the popularity of modern beatboxing. Alex Tew (aka A-Plus) started the first online community of beatboxers in 2000 under the banner of HUMANBEATBOX.COM. An early example of modern beatboxing was seen in the 2001 South Korean romantic comedy film "My Sassy Girl". In 2001, Gavin Tyte, a member of this community created the world's first tutorials and video tutorials on beatboxing. In 2003, the community held the world's first Human Beatbox Convention in London featuring beatbox artists from all over the world.


title: Beatboxing

text: Beatboxing's current popularity is due in part to releases from artists such as Rahzel, RoxorLoops, Reeps One and Alem. In the Pacific, American beatboxer of Hawaii Chinese descent Jason Tom co-founded the Human Beatbox Academy to perpetuate the art of beatboxing through outreach performances, speaking engagements and workshops in Honolulu, the westernmost and southernmost major U.S. city of the 50th U.S. state of Hawaii.


title: Beatboxing

text: Sometimes, modern beatboxers will use their hand or another part of their body to extend the spectrum of sound effects and rhythm. Some have developed a technique that involves blowing and sucking air around their fingers to produce a very realistic record scratching noise, which is commonly known as the "crab scratch." Another hand technique includes the "throat tap," which involves beatboxers tapping their fingers against their throats as they throat sing or hum. Beatboxers today can produce up to 2 different sounds at the same time.


title: Beatboxing

text: Modern beatboxing has also evolved with the advent of technology such as live looping. Many beatboxers like the Beardyman, KRNFX, and The Petebox use modern looping devices such as the Boss RC-505 to sample or layer their beatboxing sounds live on stage, in addition to traditional solo beatboxing. Such adaptation has allowed modern beatboxers to perform entire musical compositions much like DJ's but with their mouths.


title: Beatboxing

text: Today there is an increase in the variety in which we see beatboxing throughout musical culture. People have gone as far as adding beatboxing in with different instruments to create a completely different sound unlike any other. Artist Greg Patillo goes as far as adding in beatboxing while playing the flute to very iconic songs. Beatbox has become modernized and has even been seen in popular movies such as "Pitch Perfect" and "Pitch Perfect 2". These movies showcase classical songs performed with a cappella covers in which all of the beats to the songs are done completely using the idea and technique of beatboxing to complete the sound capable to imitate the original song.


title: Beatboxing

text: As with other musical disciplines, some form of musical notation or transcription may sometimes be useful in order to describe beatbox patterns or performances. Sometimes this takes the form of ad hoc phonetic approximations, but is occasionally more formal. is usually the bass drum, is usually the snare drum, and () is usually the hi-hat (in : 𝄆b-ts-k-ts-b-ts-k-ts𝄇).


title: Beatboxing

text: Standard Beatbox Notation (SBN) was created by Mark Splinter and Gavin Tyte of Humanbeatbox.com in 2006 as an alternative to International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) transcription, which had been used sparingly before then.


title: Beatboxing

text: In a research study published in 2013 and based on real-time MRI imaging of a beatboxer, the authors propose a notation system which combines the International Phonetic Alphabet with musical staff notation, in part motivated by their observation that many beatboxing sounds can be adequately represented by the IPA.


title: Beatboxing

text: Each beatboxer can produce a very large number of unique sounds, but there are three distinct linguistic categories of sound within beatboxing. Ejectives are the strong puffs of air from the voice box that give intensity to percussive sounds. The "t", "p", "k", "d", "b", and "g" sounds can all be made into ejectives. "Ch" and "j" are examples of ejective affricates.


title: Beatboxing

text: Nonstandard fricatives are the mechanical sounds such as snare drums, cymbals, and other buzzing noises in beatboxing that are made with fricatives. Certain sounds, such as velar lateral fricatives, bilabial lateral fricatives, and linguolabial fricatives, and velar trills are all judged impossible according to the IPA but are technically possible and are sounds that are commonly used in beatboxing.