Northrop P-61 Black Widow in World War II

In 1940, with World War II raging, the Royal Air Force began seeking designs for a new night fighter to combat German raids on London. Having used radar to aid in winning the Battle of Britain, the British sought to incorporate smaller airborne intercept radar units into the new design. To this end, the RAF instructed the British Purchasing Commission in the US to evaluate American aircraft designs. Key among the desired traits were the ability to loiter for around eight hours, carry the new radar system, and mount multiple gun turrets. During this period, Lieutenant General Delos C. Emmons, the US Air Officer in London, was briefed on British progress relating to the development of airborne intercept radar units. He also gained an understanding of the RAFs requirements for a new night fighter. Composing a report, he stated that he believed the American aviation industry could produce the desired design. In the United States, Jack Northrop learned of the British requirements and began contemplating a large, twin engine design. His efforts received a boost later that year when a US Army Air Corps board chaired by Emmons issued a request for a night fighter based on the British specifications. These were further refined by the Air Technical Service Command at Wright Field, OH. Specifications General Length: 49 ft., 7 in.Wingspan: 66 ft.Height: 14 ft., 8 in.Wing Area: 662.36 sq. ft.Empty Weight: 23,450 lbs.Loaded Weight: 29,700 lbs.Maximum Takeoff Weight: 36,200 lbs.Crew: 2-3 Performance Maximum Speed: 366 mphRange: 610 milesRate of Climb: 2,540 ft./min.Service Ceiling: 33,100 ft.Power Plant: 2 Ãâ€" Pratt Whitney R-2800-65W Double Wasp radial engines, 2,250 hp each Armament 4 Ãâ€" 20 mm Hispano M2 cannon in ventral fuselage4 Ãâ€" .50 in M2 Browning machine guns in remotely operated, full-traversing upper turret4 Ãâ€" bombs of up to 1,600 lb. each or 6 Ãâ€" 5 in. HVAR unguided rockets Northrop Responds: In late October 1940, Northrops chief of research, Vladimir H. Pavlecka, was contacted by ATSCs Colonel Laurence C. Craigie who verbally detailed the type of aircraft they were seeking. Taking his notes to Northrop, the two men concluded that the new request from the USAAC was nearly identical to that from the RAF. As a result, Northrop produced the work done earlier in response to the British request and immediately had a head start over his competitors. Northrops initial design saw the company create an aircraft featuring a central fuselage suspended between two engine nacelles and tail booms. The armament was arranged in two turrets, one in the nose and one in the tail. Carrying a crew of three (pilot, gunner, and radar operator), the design proved unusually large for a fighter. This was necessary to accommodate the weight of the airborne intercept radar unit and the need for an extended flight time. Presenting the design to the USAAC on November 8, it was approved over the Douglas XA-26A. Refining the layout, Northrop quickly shifted the turret locations to the top and bottom of the fuselage. Subsequent discussions with the USAAC led to a request for increased firepower. As a result, the lower turret was abandoned in favor of four 20 mm cannon mounted in the wings. These were later repositioned to the underside of the aircraft, similar to the German Heinkel He 219, which freed up space in the wings for additional fuel while also improving the wings airfoil. The USAAC also requested the installation of flame arrestors on the engine exhausts, a rearrangement of radio equipment, and hard points for drop tanks. The Design Evolves: The basic design was approved by the USAAC and a contract issued for prototypes on January 10, 1941. Designated the XP-61, the aircraft was to be powered by two Pratt Whitney R2800-10 Double Wasp engines turning Curtiss C5424-A10 four-bladed, automatic, full-feathering propellers. As construction of the prototype moved forward, it quickly fell victim to a number of delays. These included difficulty obtaining the new propellers as well as equipment for the upper turret. In the latter case, other aircraft such as the B-17 Flying Fortress, B-24 Liberator, and B-29 Superfortress took priority in receiving turrets. The problems were eventually overcome and the prototype first flew on May 26, 1942. As the design evolved, the P-61s engines were changed to two Pratt Whitney R-2800-25S Double Wasp engines featuring two-stage, two-speed mechanical superchargers. Additionally, larger wider span flaps were used which permitted a lower landing speed. The crew was housed in the central fuselage (or gondola) with the airborne intercept radar dish mounted within a rounded nose in front of the cockpit. The rear of the central fuselage was enclosed with a plexiglass cone while the forward section featured a stepped, greenhouse-style canopy for the pilot and gunner.   In the final design, the pilot and gunner were situated toward the front of the aircraft while the radar operator occupied an isolated space towards the rear. Here they operated a SCR-720 radar set which was used to direct the pilot towards enemy aircraft. As the P-61 closed on an enemy aircraft, the pilot could view a smaller radar scope mounted in the cockpit. The aircrafts upper turret was operated remotely and targeting aided by a General Electric GE2CFR12A3 gyroscopic fire control computer. Mounting four .50 cal. machine guns, it could be fired by the gunner, radar operator, or pilot. In the last case, the turret would be locked in a forward-firing position. Ready for service in early 1944, the P-61 Black Widow became the US Army Air Forces first purpose-designed night fighter. Operational History: The first unit to receive the P-61 was the 348th Night Fighter Squadron based in Florida. A training unit, the 348th prepared crews for deployment to Europe. Additional training facilities were also used in California. While night fighter squadrons overseas transitioned to the P-61 from other aircraft, such as the Douglas P-70 and British Bristol Beaufighter, many Black Widow units were formed from scratch in the United States. In February 1944, the first P-61 squadrons, the 422nd and 425th, shipped out for Britain. Arriving, they found that the USAAF leadership, including Lieutenant General Carl Spaatz, were concerned that the P-61 lacked the speed to engage the latest German fighters. Instead, Spaatz directed that the squadrons be equipped with British De Havilland Mosquitoes. Over Europe: This was resisted by the RAF which wished to retain all available Mosquitoes. As a result, a competition was held between the two aircraft to determine the P-61s capabilities. This resulted in a victory for the Black Widow, though many senior USAAF officers remained skeptical and others believed the RAF had deliberately thrown the contest. Receiving their aircraft in June, the 422nd began missions over Britain the following month. These aircraft were unique in that they had been shipped without their upper turrets. As a result, the squadrons gunners were reassigned to P-70 units. On July 16, Lieutenant Herman Ernst scored the P-61s first kill when he downed a V-1 flying bomb. Moving across the Channel later in the summer, P-61 units began to engage manned German opposition and posted an admirable success rate. Though some aircraft were lost to accidents and ground fire, none were downed by German aircraft. That December, the P-61 found a new role as it helped defend Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge. Using its powerful complement of 20 mm cannon, the aircraft attacked German vehicles and supply lines as it aided the besieged towns defenders. As the spring of 1945 progressed, P-61 units found enemy aircraft increasingly scarce and kill numbers dropped accordingly. Though the type was also used in the Mediterranean Theater, units there often received them too late in the conflict to see meaningful results. In the Pacific: In June 1944, the first P-61s reached the Pacific and joined the 6th Night Fighter Squadron on Guadalcanal. The Black Widows first Japanese victim was a Mitsubishi G4M Betty which was downed on June 30. Additional P-61s reached the theater as the summer progressed though enemy targets were generally sporadic. This led to several squadrons never scoring a kill for the duration of the war. In January 1945, a P-61 aided in the raid on the Cabanatuan prisoner of war camp in the Philippines by distracting the Japanese guards as the assault force neared. As the spring of 1945 progressed, Japanese targets became virtually nonexistent though a P-61 was credited with scoring the final kill of the war when it downed a Nakajima Ki-44 Tojo on August 14/15. Later Service: Though concerns about the P-61s performance persisted, it was retained after the war as USAAF did not possess an effective jet-powered night fighter. The type was joined by the F-15 Reporter which had been developed during the summer of 1945. Essentially an unarmed P-61, the F-15 carried a multitude of cameras and was intended for use as a reconnaissance aircraft. Redesignated F-61 in 1948, the aircraft began to be withdrawn from service later that year and was replaced by the North American F-82 Twin Mustang. Refitted as a night fighter, the F-82 served as an interim solution until the arrival of the jet-powered F-89 Scorpion. The final F-61s were retired in May 1950. Sold to civilian agencies, F-61s and F-15s performed in a variety of roles into the late 1960s.

Raising A Child Should Be A Parent s Number One Concern...

Raising a child should be a parent’s number one concern, everything else comes after. The innocent life that is brought into this world should not have to go through emotional despair or physical hardships at any a young age. Not so long ago it was common place to put children through hard practices without giving regard to their well-being. This kind of child abuse goes as far back as a millenia, and only recently has it gotten the legal attention it deserves. Child labor is the most apparent form of child abuse and has always been a part of the United States. The dawn of Protective laws for children started with the end of child labor. We must continue to engineer these laws to counteract child abuse. Let us legislate laws and create awareness to make a country where children won’t have to recover from their childhood. My eyes were opened to what child abuse was like at a young age. Back in elementary school I had a friend named Keyon who’s only meal was the one at school lunch. I found this out because at the time we were in third grade we’d go to lunch in a line and he would always ask different kids to let him cut in line. One day when he asked if he could cut me in line I was fine with it and allowed it but was curious to why he wanted his food so early everyday so I asked, â€Å"Hey Keyon why you always wanna be first in line? The food kinda sucks.† He turned around and said, â€Å"If I don’t eat now I won’t eat, this is the only meal we have for the whole day.† I was confused,Show MoreRelatedCommentary of Adam Liptak ´s Article Regarding Gay Marriage and Child Rearing716 Words   |  3 PagesAdam Liptak, a journalist for the New York Times, explained in Utah, in Opposing Gay Marriage, Find Three Arguments are Better than One why a heterosexual relationship is better for raising children in. The Utah law that would have allowed same sex couples to marry was recently shot down. Liptak goes on to explain why he agrees with the bill not being passed. 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Challenging and Demanding Work Environments

Question: Discuss about the Challenging and Demanding Work Environments. Answer: Introduction I would like to discuss bout Dominos Pizza in this report, which is my working place. Dominos Pizza is a privately held organization which delivers pizza and is the largest company in the world. It was founded in the year 1960. Across the United states and other countries, it is operating more than 5700 units. The concepts of Dominos are very simple which offers only delivery and has only a limited menu. For 3o years and more its been offering only tow pizza sizes and 11 toppings and till 1990 only cola as a beverage. Later it added salads, bread sticks and additional courses other than pizzas to its menu for running the business as a key personnels. As a role of an employee my focus was to provide the quality pizzas and also the timely based service to the customers. Leadership Team Their leadership style is found to be a lot more way to a democratic style. They are trying to build a trust in their system so that it can be moved ahead faster. But according to me people have looked it in another way (Armstrong, 2013). The autocratic leaders of the company were trying to make the decisions and announce then and then make a move forward so that it would be well-organized. The type of leadership style they follow has resulted in giving them the following strengths and weaknesses. Strengths: They hold a very strong brand image The quality of food and service is maintained high Ordering food online is supported The service of home delivery is effective The customer can design the pizza of their choice Weaknesses: The price of the product is high The menu they offer is similar to other pizza points The food contains high calories The coverage area is limited to, delivery Work Structure The work strategy of Dominos pizza has been design is such a way that their intention is to achieve growth further by strengthening the competitive position with the implementation of their business strategy continuously. They wanted to be the best pizza delivery company in the world by having exceptional franchises and team members (Ahmad, 2013). The roles and responsibilities of manager are to provide assistance to the entire crew and continuous monitoring of the quality of food and service they provide to the customers. Their main aim is to check whether they adhere to the standards and maintaining the customer relations. All the policies and the procedures are to be followed and make the crew follow (Fisher Gonzalez, 2013). Decision Making The management is involved in developing franchises and the stores owned by the company is involved in putting all their efforts and making the right decisions. According to me the management style so making decision for the growth of the business is appropriate so that it wont be biased (Marcano et al., 2013). The decisions are made according to the situations, but if they would take the suggestions from the other level employees before making final decisions would be appreciable so that the situations can be analyzed properly. Teams and Team building The efforts made by the teamwork would often result in producing the outcomes at a greater level than what we get from the individual work (Marcano et al., 2013). The following measures have to be implemented for building the teamwork in the workplace include: Team work has to be encouraged by implementing the recognition programs Social activities are to be encouraged The role each member in a team has to be outlined clearly Any problems that are bothering the should be identified and assessed The members of the team should be empowered by instructing them how to solve their disputes Motivation The manager and the team lead would be the appropriate motivators for the team since they can offer opportunities for the individual persons for their self development and encourage them from their abilities (Roberts, Lowry Sayer, 2014). The individual staff has to be motivated so that they are informed by the goals set for them and how it reflects the company and it would lead to their development. Conflict Conflicts would be there in every company which arises when there is an exchange of the ideas and the creativity of others. The conflict was found to be dysfunctional as some cultural conflicts was involved when there was some suggestion shared for the benefit of the company (Sainsbury, 2014). The following measures are taken by the manager for resolving the dysfunctional conflicts: The ideas from the multiple people are integrated by collaborating their work The conflicts are compromised between team either by agreeing or disagreeing to the solution finally As the strategy of the conflict management, competing is chosen The things that are benefited by functional conflicts are: Clear expectations are set by the manger Employees are given freedom to speak and share their opinions The business strategies that are used are all the members who are in the conflict and affected by that are involved and cohesiveness is built between the team members Work Forecast The work is calculated according to the members of the teams and is distributed based on their abilities it is planned and carried further. Safety and healthy workplace system are generated by the company (Ulrich, Smallwood Sweetman, 2013). They give protection to the employees from burns and other workplace injuries. They should be designed as per the safety standards to make it more effective. Time Management Prioritize the projects and the initial targets that has to be me met and the tasks to be performed for the day. Doing work on time without procrastinating things Being punctual Quality Assurance The quality is maintained at the desired level in delivering the product and services to the customers (Marcano et al., 2013). The quality is best managed at our workplace by implementing the strategy of paying the special attention at each and every stage of processing the products. The ingredients are stored in temperature required by the product. Legislative Context Equal employment opportunity: At our workplace all individuals from different castes, race and disabilities are employed without any bias. Diversity: Workplace is very diversified by encouraging different cultures Anti-Discrimination: all people are treated equally in the workplace Unfair dismissal: without any prior intimation there is no unfair justice done to the employees Short term work organization: individulas who require work for short period are encouraged. References Armstrong, M., 2013.How to manage people(Vol. 29). Kogan Page Publishers. Ahmad, K.Z.B., 2013. Speed Lead. Faster, Simpler Ways to Manage People, Projects and Teams in Complex Companies.Leadership Organization Development Journal. Fisher, E.J.P. and Gonzalez, Y.S., 2013. The ABC Manager-How to Manage People more Effectively in Today's Challenging and Demanding Work Environments.Engineering Management Research,2(1), p.67. Marcano Belisario, J.S., Tudor, K.I., Sumalinog, A.R.N., Middleton, L.T. and Car, J., 2013. Educational interventions for improving the skills of medical practitioners to detect, diagnose, and manage people with cognitive impairment and dementia.The Cochrane Library. Peterson, D.R., Barrett, J.D., Hester, K.S., Robledo, I.C., Hougen, D.F., Day, E.A. and Mumford, M.D., 2013. Teaching people to manage constraints: Effects on creative problem-solving.Creativity Research Journal,25(3), pp.335-347. Roberts, H., Lowry, A. and Sayer, A., 2014. Assessment and management of older people with sarcopenia: Helen Roberts and colleagues explain the risk factors for loss of muscle mass and what nurses can do to manage and reduce its effects in patients.Nursing older people,26(5), pp.18-22. Sainsbury, K., 2014. Online program to help people with coeliac disease manage the gluten free diet.Australian Coeliac, The, (Mar 2014), p.20. Ulrich, D., Smallwood, N. and Sweetman, K., 2013.The leadership code: five rules to lead by. Harvard Business Press.

The Movie Django free essay sample

Willis AFRS 55T (Tamp;[emailprotected]:30) Dr. T. Hasan Johnson 02. 23. 13 Extra Credit The Movie â€Å"Django Unchained† The objective of this paper is to review some of the results of the discussion-panel’s analysis of certain aspects of this movie that relate to the Hip-Hop culture. On Thursday, February 21, 2013, I attended a panel discussion hosted by the Africana Studies Department of Fresno State University. It was conducted at the African American Museum, Fresno California. Its purpose was to evaluate this movie’s effect on us (basically Black-Americans), by analyzing elements of this movie. This movie presents Black masculinity and femininity during the 1860s slavery era of America using characters that portray slaves as childish and stupid (the Betina or DArtagnan), violent (the Mandingo or Django), hypersexual (Sheba) and cowardly (all the black male slaves). These slavery created representations of Black masculinity (the Buck) and femininity (the Jezebel/Mulattoe) are relevant to Hip-Hop because they are the predominate characters being proffered as entertainment in the overwhelming majority of Hip-Hop videos. We will write a custom essay sample on The Movie Django or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The stereotypical persona of â€Å"The Buck† in the videos is the Gangsta/Thug and â€Å"The Jezebel/Mulattoe† is the Bitch/Ho— both are slavery created stereotypes. The Jezebel/Mulatto (Bitch/Ho) The Buck (Gangsta/Thug) Another aspect of this movie relevant to Hip-hop culture is the word â€Å"nigger†, used incessantly in the movie, just as, its morphed version, â€Å"Nigga† is used incessantly by Hip-Hoppers, in conversation and in their videos. Since language is one of the seven essential element of all cultures, the usage of the word â€Å"nigger† was discussed by the panel and audience and as a result of this discussion, we agreed that—without the use of the word â€Å"nigger†, â€Å"Django Unchained† would not be authentic; because, in this movie, â€Å"nigger† is a descriptive term, used to describe property, e. g. a slave or slaves—with no malice intended. Here are two examples, horse or horses and house or houses—ergo, nigger or niggers. The only character that uses â€Å"nigger† other than as a description of property is Stephen (the â€Å"Uncle Tom† played by Samuel L. Jackson). He used the word â€Å"nigger† to degrade his fellow black slaves. As with the movies use of â€Å"nigger†, the same can be said about Hip-Hop videos, they would lose its authenticity without the use of the word â€Å"Nigga† because â€Å"Nigga† in Hip-hop is a descriptive turn, but unlike â€Å"nigger† it versatility. For example, it can be used describe a relationship and its meaning changes depending on who is saying it and to whom. For example, in the movie when a Slave-master says â€Å"My nigger†, it does not have the same meaning as a Gangsta/thug or Jezebel/Mulattoe in a Hip-Hop video saying, â€Å"My Nigga†. The Slave-masters are describing their property, while the Hip-Hoppers are describing their relationships. During the audience participation portion of this discussion, a young black- man in the audience (Christopher Jackson) described how much the movie upset him. He also shared with us, the extent to which it made him realize how horrible slavery was; and how much suffering his ancestors had to endure; so that he can enjoy the civil rights he has today. He said, â€Å"Now I truly appreciate my ancestors and men like Martin and Malcolm, who made the ultimate sacrifice so that I can enjoy the freedom I have today. † Personal Reflections If the motives for making â€Å"Django Unchained† are to make us aware of how much our ancestors suffered under the yoke of slavery and to make us cherish our freedom; then, Christopher Jackson’s words are a testament to this movie’s success in both endeavors! In conclusion—I, along with many participants in this discussion, enjoyed â€Å"Django Unchained† and hope that there will be more movies made that expose the horrors of slavery, and that, also promote positive images of black men and women. [ 1 ]. This paper was submitted as extra credit for AFRS 27, 55T and 144 [ 2 ]. Heretofore, us, we, and our refers to Black-Americans [ 3 ]. Donald Bogle, Toms, Coons, Mulattoes, Mammies Bucks