...still lot of buildings/unit pedias left to do...
Well, ten more down for 2.81. Source for all Wikipedia.
Flamethrower: Modern flamethrowers were first used during the trench warfare conditions of World War I; their use greatly increased in World War II. They can be vehicle mounted, as on a tank, or hand-carried by infantry.
The flamethrower consists of two elements: backpack and gun. The backpack element usually consists of two or three cylinders. One cylinder holds compressed, inert propellant gas (usually nitrogen), and the other two hold inflammable liquid - typically petrol with some form of fuel thickener added to it. A three-cylinder system often has two outer cylinders of inflammable liquid and a central cylinder of propellant gas to improve the balance of the soldier who carried it. The gas propels the fuel liquid out of the cylinder through a flexible pipe and then into the gun element of the flamethrower system. The gun consists of a small reservoir, a spring-loaded valve, and an ignition system; depressing a trigger opens the valve, allowing pressurized inflammable liquid to flow and pass over the igniter and out the gun nozzle. The igniter can be one of several ignition systems: A simple type is an electrically-heated wire coil; another used a small pilot flame, fueled with pressurized gas from the system.
The flamethrower is a potent weapon with great psychological impact upon unprepared soldiers, inflicting a particularly horrific death i.e. being burnt alive. This has led to some calls for the weapon to be banned. It is primarily used against battlefield fortifications, bunkers, and other protected emplacements. A flamethrower projects a stream of flammable liquid, rather than flame, which allows bouncing the stream off walls and ceilings to project the fire into blind and unseen spaces, such as inside bunkers or pillboxes. Typically, popular visual media depict the flamethrower as short-ranged, of a few effective meters (due to the common use of propane gas as the fuel in flamethrowers in movies, for the safety of the actors), but contemporary flamethrowers can incinerate targets at 5080 meters (165270 feet) distance from the gunner; moreover, an unignited stream of flammable liquid can be fired and afterwards ignited, possibly by a lamp or other flame inside the bunker.
Flamethrowers pose many risks to the operator. The first disadvantage is the weapon's weight, which impairs the soldier's mobility. Flamethrowers are very visible in the battlefield, and so operators become prominent targets for snipers. Historically, flamethrower operators were rarely taken prisoner, especially when their targets survived attack by the weapon; in reprisal, captured flamethrower users often were summarily executed. Finally, the flamethrower's effective range is short in comparison with that of other battlefield weapons of similar size. To be effective, flamethrower soldiers must approach their targets closely, risking exposing themselves to close enemy fire. Vehicular flamethrowers also have this problem; they may have considerably greater range than a man-portable flamethrower, but their range is still short compared with that of even infantry firearms.
Dreadnought Ship: The dreadnought was the predominant type of 20th-century battleship. The first of the kind, the Royal Navy's Dreadnought had such an impact when launched in 1906 that battleships built after her were referred to as 'dreadnoughts', and earlier battleships became known as pre-dreadnoughts. Her design had two revolutionary features; an 'all-big-gun' armament scheme and steam turbine propulsion. The arrival of the dreadnoughts renewed the naval arms race, principally between Britain and Germany but reflected worldwide, as the new class of warships became a crucial symbol of national power.
The concept of an all-big-gun ship had been in development for several years before Dreadnought's construction. The Imperial Japanese Navy had begun work on an all-big-gun battleship in 1904, but finished the ship as a pre-dreadnought; the United States Navy was also building all-big-gun battleships. Technical development continued rapidly through the dreadnought era. Successive designs increased rapidly in size and made use of improvements in armament, armor, and propulsion. Within ten years, new battleships outclassed Dreadnought herself. These more powerful vessels were known as 'super-dreadnoughts'. Most of the dreadnoughts were scrapped after the end of World War I under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty, but many of the newer super-dreadnoughts continued serving through World War II.
While dreadnought building consumed vast resources in the early 20th century, there was only one pitched battle between dreadnought fleets. At the Battle of Jutland, the British and German navies clashed with no decisive result. The term 'dreadnought' gradually dropped from use after World War I, as all battleships shared dreadnought characteristics; it can also be used to describe battlecruisers, the other type of ship resulting from the dreadnought revolution.
MIG21: The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (NATO reporting name "Fishbed") is a supersonic jet fighter aircraft, designed and built by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. It was popularly nicknamed "balalaika", from the aircraft's planform-view resemblance to the Russian stringed musical instrument or ołówek (English: pencil) by Polish pilots due to the shape of its fuselage. Early versions are considered second-generation jet fighters, while later versions are considered to be third-generation jet fighters. Some 50 countries over four continents have flown the MiG-21, and it still serves many nations a half-century after its maiden flight. The fighter made aviation records. At least by name, it is the most produced supersonic jet aircraft in aviation history, the most produced combat aircraft since the Korean War, and it had the longest production run of a combat aircraft (1959 to 1985 over all variants).
BF109: The Messerschmitt Bf 109 was a German World War II fighter aircraft designed by Willy Messerschmitt in the early 1930s. It was one of the first true modern fighters of the era, including such features as an all-metal monocoque construction, a closed canopy, and retractable landing gear. The Bf 109 was produced in greater quantities than any other fighter aircraft in history, with a total of 33,984 units produced up to April 1945.
The Bf 109 was the backbone of the Luftwaffe fighter force in World War II, although it began to be partially replaced by the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 from 1941. Originally conceived as an interceptor, it was later developed to fulfill multiple tasks, serving as bomber escort, fighter bomber, day-, night- all-weather fighter, bomber destroyer, ground-attack aircraft, and as reconnaissance aircraft. The Bf 109 had its faults. Like the Spitfire, it had a short range. Its cockpit was cramped and the track of its undercarriage very narrow indeed so that it had challenging takeoff and landing characteristics. Neverthless, it remained competitive with Allied fighter aircraft until the end of the war.
The aircraft served with several countries during the war, and with some for many years after. The Bf 109 was flown by the three top-scoring fighter aces of World War II who claimed 928 victories between them while flying with Jagdgeschwader 52, chiefly on the Eastern Front, as well as by the highest scoring German ace in the North African Campaign. "The 109 was a dream, the non plus ultra," recalled Gunther Rall the Luftwaffe ace with 275 kills. "Of course, everyone wanted to fly it as soon as possible." It was also flown by high-scoring non-German aces, notably from Finland, Romania, Croatia and Hungary.
FW190a: The Focke-Wulf Fw 190 Würger, was a German single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft designed by Kurt Tank in the late 1930s. It was used by the Luftwaffe during the Second World War. The design was the last mass produced piston-engine German fighter to see action in the war. It partially replaced the Messerschmitt Bf 109 in 1941. By 1945, the Fw 190 operated effectively on all fronts. Production ran from 1941 to the end of hostilities, during which time the aircraft was continually updated with over 20,000 built. Its later versions retained qualitative parity with Allied fighter aircraft. The Fw 190 was well-liked by its pilots, and was quickly proven to be superior in all but turn radius to the Royal Air Force's main front-line fighter, the Spitfire Mk. V variant, on its combat debut in 1941 until the introduction of the vastly improved Spitfire Mk. 9 in the autumn, 1942 restored qualitative parity. The early Fw 190As performance decreased at high altitudes (usually 20,000ft and above) which complicated its use as a high altitude interceptor. These complications were mostly rectified in later models, notably the Focke-Wulf Fw 190D variant in the autumn, 1944. Like the Bf 109, the Fw 190 was employed as a "workhorse", and proved suitable for a wide variety of roles, including air superiority fighter, strike fighter, ground-attack aircraft, escort fighter, and operated with less success as a night fighter. Some of the Luftwaffe's most successful fighter aces flew the Fw 190. Erich Rudorffer claimed 222 kills, Otto Kittel 267 victories, and Walter Nowotny 258 victories. A great many of their kills were claimed while flying the Fw 190.
Butchery: Butchery is a traditional work. Primary butchery consists of selecting carcasses, sides, or quarters from which primal cuts can be produced with the minimum of wastage, separate the primal cuts from the carcasses using the appropriate tools and equipment following company procedures trim primal cuts and prepare for secondary butchery or sale, and store cut meats hygienically and safely. Secondary butchery involves boning and trimming primal cuts in preparation for sale. Historically, primary and secondary butchery were performed in the same establishment but the advent of methods of preservation and low cost transportation has largely separated them.
Fishermans Hut: A fishmonger (fishwife for women practitioners - "wife" in this case used in its archaic meaning of "woman") is someone who sells fish and seafood. In some countries modern supermarkets are replacing fishmongers who operate in shops or markets. Fishmongers are trained at selecting and purchasing, handling, gutting, boning, filleting, displaying, merchandising and selling their product. In many places fishmongers, like butchers, are a dying breed. With the advent of many modern ways of distributing and packaging food, supermarkets often opt for less expensive alternatives to these trained, highly skilled professionals.
Convention Center: A convention center, in American English, is an exhibition hall, or conference center, that is designed to hold a convention. In British English very large venues suitable for major trade shows are known as exhibition centers while the term "convention centre" is sometimes used for intermediate venues between exhibitions centers and "conference centers", which are much smaller and contain lecture halls and meeting rooms. Convention centers are typically large, cavernous public buildings with enough open space to host public and private business and social events for their surrounding municipal and metropolitan areas. Convention centers typically offer enough floor area to accommodate several thousand attendees. Convention centers rent space for meetings such as: corporate conferences, industry trade shows, formal dances entertainment spectacles and concerts. The largest in the United States is McCormick Place in Chicago. Large convention centers located in resort areas also host conventions that attract additional visitors to the municipality. It is not uncommon for large resort area hotels to include a convention center.
World Bank: The World Bank is one of two major institutions created as a result of the Bretton Woods Conference in 1944. The International Monetary Fund, a related but separate institution, is the second. Delegates from a wide variety of countries attended the Bretton Woods Conference, but the most powerful countries in attendance, the United States and Britain, mainly shaped negotiations.
From its conception until 1967 the bank undertook a relatively low level of lending. Fiscal conservatism and careful screening of loan applications was generally accepted practice at the World Bank during this early period. Bank staff attempted to balance the priorities of providing loans for reconstruction and development with the need to instill confidence in the bank as a reliable institution suitable for investment. Bank president John McCloy selected France to be the first recipient of World Bank aid; two other applications presented at this time from Poland and Chile was rejected. The loan was for $ 987 million, half the amount requested, and came with strict conditions. Staff from the World Bank would monitor the end use of the funds, ensuring that the French government would present a balanced budget, and give priority of debt repayment to the World Bank over other foreign governments. The United States State Department also acted at this time to inform the French Government that Communist elements within the Cabinétte needed to be removed. The French Government complied with this request and removed the Communist elements from the 1947 coalition government. Within hours of this event the loan to France was approved. The Marshall Plan of 1947 caused lending practices at the bank to be altered, as many European countries received aid that competed directly with World Bank loans. Emphasis was shifted to non-European countries and up until 1968 loans were primarily earmarked for projects that would directly enable a borrower country to repay loans (such projects as ports, highway systems, and power plants).
From 19681980 the bank focused on poverty alleviation and meeting the basic needs of people in the developing world. During this period the size and number of loans to borrower nations was greatly increased as the spectrum of loan targets expanded from infrastructure into social services and other sectors. These changes can to a large extent be attributed to Robert McNamara who assumed the Presidency in 1968 after being appointed by US president Lyndon B. Johnson. McNamara imported a technocratic managerial style to the bank that he had employed during periods he had spent serving as United States Secretary of Defense, and President of the Ford Motor Company. McNamara shifted the focus of bank policy towards measures such as building schools and hospitals, improving literacy rates and conducting large-scale agricultural reform. McNamara created a new system of gathering information from potential borrower nations that enabled the bank to process loan applications at a much faster rate. In order to finance the increased loan volume, McNamara tasked bank treasurer Eugene Rotberg to seek out new sources of capital outside of the northern banks that had previously been the primary sources of bank funding. Rotberg utilized the global bond market to greatly increase the amount of capital available to the bank. One consequence of the period of poverty alleviation lending was the rapid rise of third world debt. From 19761980 third world debt rose at an average annual rate of 20%.
In 1980 A.W. Clausen replaced Robert McNamara as World Bank president after being nominated by US President Ronald Reagan. Clausen replaced a large number of bank staffers who had been active during the McNamara era and instituted a new ideological focus in the bank. The replacement of Chief Economist Hollis B. Chenery by Anne Krueger in 1982 marked a notable policy shift at the bank. Krueger was known for her criticism of development funding as well as third world governments as rent-seeking states. Lending for the purposes of servicing third world debt largely marked the period of 19801989. Structural adjustment policies aimed at streamlining the economies of developing nations (largely at the expense of health and social services reductions) were also a large part of World Bank policy during this period. UNICEF reported in the late 1980s that the structural adjustment programs of the World Bank were responsible for the reduced health, nutritional, and educational levels for tens of millions of children in Asia, Latin America, and Africa.
From 1989 to present, World Bank policy has shifted greatly, largely in response to criticism from a plurality of groups. Environmental groups and NGOs are often now integrated into the lending practices of the bank in order to mitigate the negative results of the previous era that prompted such harsh criticism. Bank projects now explicitly embrace a "green" focus.
Secret Army Base: Area 51 is a nickname for a military base that is located in the southern portion of Nevada in the western United States (83 miles north-northwest of downtown Las Vegas). Situated at its center, on the southern shore of Groom Lake, is a large secretive military airfield. The base's primary purpose is to support development and testing of experimental aircraft and weapons systems. The base lies within the United States Air Force's vast Nevada Test and Training Range. Although the facilities at the range are managed by the 99th Air Base Wing at Nellis Air Force Base, the Groom facility appears to be run as an adjunct of the Air Force Flight Test Center (AFFTC) at Edwards Air Force Base in the Mojave Desert, around 186 miles (300 km) southwest of Groom, and as such the base is known as Air Force Flight Test Center (Detachment 3). The intense secrecy surrounding the base, the very existence of which the U.S. government barely acknowledges, has made it the frequent subject of conspiracy theories and a central component to unidentified flying object (UFO) folklore.
