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James McKeen Cattell

James McKeen Cattell (May 25, 1860 – January 20, 1944) was the first professor of psychology in the United States, teaching at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. He was a long-time editor and publisher of scientific journals and publications, including Science, and served on the board of trustees for Science Service, now known as Society for Science from 1921 to 1944.

At the beginning of Cattell's career, many scientists regarded psychology simply as a minor field of study, or as a pseudoscience which is a collection of beliefs or practices regarded as a scientific method when it is not such as phrenology. Cattell helped establish psychology as a legitimate science, worthy of study at the highest levels of the academy. At the time of his death, The New York Times credited him as "the dean of American science."

Cattell was uncompromisingly opposed to American involvement in World War I. His public opposition to the draft led to his dismissal from his position at Columbia University, which later led many American universities to establish academic tenure as a means of protecting unpopular beliefs.

Early life and education
Cattell was born in Easton, Pennsylvania, on May 25, 1860, the eldest child of a wealthy and prominent family. His father, William Cassady Cattell, a Presbyterian minister, became president of Lafayette College in Easton shortly after James' birth. In 1859, William Cattell married Elizabeth "Lizzie" McKeen; together, they shared Lizzie's substantial inheritance. James' uncle Alexander G. Cattell represented New Jersey in the United States Senate.

Cattell entered Lafayette College in 1876 at the age of sixteen and graduated in four years with the highest honors. In 1883, the faculty at Lafayette awarded him an M.A., again with highest honors. At Lafayette, Cattell spent most of his time devouring English literature and also showed a gift for mathematics. Cattell said Francis March, a philogist, was a great influence during his time at Lafayette.

Cattell found his calling after arriving in Germany for doctoral studies, where he was supervised by Wilhelm Wundt at University of Leipzig. He also studied under Hermann Lotze at the University of Göttingen. An essay on Lotze won Cattell a fellowship at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

In October 1882, Cattell left Germany for his fellowship in October 1882. The fellowship was not renewed, and Cattell returned to Leipzig the next year as Wundt's assistant.

The partnership between Wundt and Cattell proved highly productive; the two helped to establish the formal study of intelligence. Under Wundt, Cattell became the first American to publish a dissertation in the field of psychology. The title of his German dissertation was Psychometrische Untersuchungen (Psychometric Investigation); it was accepted by the University of Leipzig in 1886. Cattell tried to explore the interiors of his own mind through the consumption of the then-legal drug hashish. Under the influence of this drug, Cattell once compared the whistling of a schoolboy to a symphony orchestra.

Academia
After completing his Ph.D. with Wundt in Germany in 1886, Cattell took up a lecturing post at the University of Cambridge in England, and became a Fellow of St. John's College at the University of Cambridge. He made occasional visits to the U.S., where he gave lectures at Bryn Mawr College in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, and the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

In 1889, he returned to the U.S. to become a professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. In 1891, he moved to Columbia University, where he became department head of psychology, anthropology, and philosophy. In 1895, he was appointed president of the American Psychological Association. In 1888, he was elected as a member to the American Philosophical Society.

From the beginning of his career, Cattell worked to establish psychology as a field as worthy of study as any of the hard physical sciences, such as chemistry or physics. He believed that further investigation would reveal that intellect itself could be parsed into standard units of measurements. He also established the methods of Wilhelm Wundt and Francis Galton, including mental testing, in the U.S.

In 1917, Cattell and English professor Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Dana, grandson of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Richard Henry Dana Jr., were fired from Columbia University for opposing the United States’ conscription policy during World War I. He later sued the university and won an annuity. In 1921, he used the money that he gained from the settlement to start The Psychological Corporation to foster his interest in applied psychology. Because he was never able to really explain how psychologists apply their work, the organization failed until it was taken over by other psychologists who had experience in applied psychology. Towards the end of his life, Cattell edited and published journals. To help himself in the process, he created the Science Press Printing Company in order to produce his journals. He continued his work on journals until his death in 1944.

Eugenicist beliefs
Like many eminent scientists and scholars of the time, Cattell's thought was influenced by belief in eugenics, defined as the "applied science or the bio-social movement which advocates the use of practices aimed at improving the genetic composition of a population, usually referring to human populations." Cattell's belief in eugenics was heavily influenced by the research of Charles Darwin, whose theory of evolution motivated Cattell's emphasis on studying “the psychology of individual differences”.

In connection with his eugenicist beliefs, Cattell's own research found that men of science were likely to have fathers who were clergymen or professors. Incidentally, Cattell's father was both.

Cattell believed that he had “inherited ability", but he also credited the influence of his environment, saying "it was my fortune to find a birthplace in the sun. A germplasm fairly well compounded [good genes] met circumstances to which it was unusually fit to react”. Cattell's belief in eugenics even motivated him to offer his own children monetary gifts of $1,000 if they married the offspring of a university professor or academic professional.

Mental tests
Cattell's research on individual differences played a significant role in introducing and emphasizing the experimental technique and importance of methodology in experimentation in America. Cattell's design of mental tests were influenced by Wundt's definition of psychology in regards to the achievements of psychophysics and by Galton's view on the importance of the senses for judgement and intelligence. Regarding the beginnings of his mental tests, in Leipzig, Cattell independently began to measure “simple mental processes”

Between 1883 and 1886, influenced by Francis Galton, Cattell published nine articles on human reaction time rates and individual differences. As a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, Cattell administered a battery of ten tests to student volunteers, and for the first time introduced the term "mental tests" as a general term for his set of tests which included measures of sensation, using weights to determine just-noticeable differences, reaction time, human memory span, and rate of movement. There are two types of perspectives on measuring intelligence which are: 1.) Derived from Aristotle that asserts it is only through the identification of intelligence that its measurement becomes possible, through identification does not necessarily imply a definition 2.) all measurement is based on comparison and that different bases of comparison are possible. When Cattell moved to Columbia University, the battery of tests became compulsory for all freshmen. Cattell believed that his mental tests were measuring intelligence; however, in 1901 Clark Wissler, a student of Cattell, demonstrated that there was no statistical relationship between scores on Cattell's tests and academic performance. The tests were finally rendered irrelevant with the development of Alfred Binet’s intelligence measurements.

Journals
Cattell was well known for his involvement in creating and editing scientific journals. He was so involved in owning and publishing journals, that his research productivity declined. Along with James Mark Baldwin, he co-founded the journal Psychological Review. He also acquired the journal Science and, within five years of acquiring it, made it the official publication of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

In 1900, Cattell purchased Popular Science Monthly from D. Appleton & Company. In 1915, the title was purchased from him and became Popular Science. He, in turn, founded and edited The Scientific Monthly, which went to the subscribers of the old Popular Science Monthly as a substitute.

Cattell was the editor of Science for nearly 50 years. During that time, he did much to promote psychology as a science by seeing to it that empirical studies in psychology were prominently featured in the journal. On Cattell's editorship of Science, Ludy T. Benjamin wrote "there is no denying that it significantly enhanced psychology’s visibility and status among the older sciences."

American Men of Science
In 1906, Cattell became the first compiler of American Men of Science. Despite the name, two women, Grace Andrews and Charlotte Angas Scott, were listed in this first edition of American Men of Science.

Skepticism
Cattell was skeptical of paranormal claims and spiritualism. He dismissed Leonora Piper as a fraud. He was involved in a debate over Piper with the psychologist William James in the Science journal. He took issue with James's support for psychical research. In a letter to James, Cattell wrote that the "Society for Psychical Research is doing much to injure psychology".

Personal life
Cattell married Josephine Owen, the daughter of an English merchant, in 1888. Their seven children obtained their pre-college educations at home with their parents as instructors. The whole family shared in Cattell's editorial work. One daughter, Psyche Cattell (1893–1989), followed in her father's footsteps, establishing a small child psychology practice in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and developing tests to assess the intelligence of infants.

Death
Cattell died at Lancaster General Hospital in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, on January 20, 1944, at age 83.

Legacy
The main street in the College Hill neighborhood of Easton, Pennsylvania, home to Lafayette College, Cattell's alma mater, is named after Cattell.

title: James McKeen Cattell


text:
Far East Air Force (Royal Air Force)

The former Royal Air Force Far East Air Force, more simply known as RAF Far East Air Force, was the Command organisation that controlled all Royal Air Force assets in the east of Asia (Far East). It was originally formed as Air Command, South East Asia in 1943 during the Second World War. In 1946, this was renamed RAF Air Command Far East, and finally Far East Air Force in June 1949.

The command was disbanded on 31 October 1971.

Early history
The RAF's Far East Command was formed in January 1930 and its first officer commanding, Group Captain Henry Cave-Browne-Cave, was double-hatted as Officer Commanding RAF Singapore. This was upgraded to Headquarters Air Force Far East Command in 1933. During the Second World War, when Malaya, Singapore, Burma and Hong Kong were overrun by the Japanese, the command retreated to India, there receiving the name Air Headquarters Bengal.

The true ancestor of the postwar Far East Air Force was formed on 16 November 1943, under Lord Louis Mountbatten, Supreme Allied Commander, South East Asia Command (SEAC). It was initially called South East Asia Air Command, but became Air Command, South East Asia (ACSEA) on 30 December 1943. On 1 July 1944 ACSEA comprised No. 222 Group RAF, No. 225 Group, No. 229 Group RAF, and Eastern Air Command, under U.S. Lieutenant General George E. Stratemeyer, itself being made up of the Strategic Air Force (7th Bombardment Group USAAF and No. 231 Group RAF, under Brigadier General Howard C. Davidson of the United States Army Air Force); the U.S. Tenth Air Force (80th Fighter Group, 311th Fighter Group, and 443rd Troop Carrier Group); the RAF Third Tactical Air Force (Nos 221 and 224 Groups, No. 177 Wing RAF, 3d Combat Cargo Group USAAF, and 12th Bombardment Group USAAF); the Photographic Reconnaissance Force (No. 171 Wing RAF and U.S. 8th Photographic Reconnaissance Group); and No. 293 Wing RAF. By January 1945 ACSEA's subsidiary Base Air Forces South East Asia, under Air Marshal Sir Roderick Carr, comprised No. 223 Group RAF on the North West Frontier at RAF Peshawar, No. 225 Group RAF (responsible for the "air defence of southern India and the whole coastline from Bengal to Karachi," by January 1943 controlling Nos 172 and 173 Wings ), No. 226 Group RAF, No. 227 Group RAF, and No. 230 Group RAF, carrying out maintenance, training, and administration.

The four major RAF formations under HQ ACSEA in India and Ceylon at the end of the war were HQ BAFSEA; AHQ Burma; HQ 222 Group at Columbo, controlling all operational squadrons in Ceylon, largely carrying out maritime duties; and 229 Group, a Transport Command group located in New Delhi. 222 Group disbanded by being renamed AHQ Ceylon on 15 October 1945; it inherited six Liberator squadrons (Nos 99, 356, 203, 8, 160, and 321 RNLAF); four Sunderland squadrons (205, 209, 230, and 240); and No. 136 Squadron with Spitfires. After HQ BAFSEA was merged with AHQ India, twelve RAF squadrons (225 Group: Nos 5, 30 at Bhopal, 45 at St Thomas Mount; 227 Group: 298 Squadron at Samungli with a detachment at Chaklala; No. 228 Group RAF: 176, 658 AOP, 355 at Digri, 159 at Salbani; 229 Group: 353 and 232 at Palam; and 10 and 76 with Dakotas at Poona) remained in India after 1 April 1946, and AHQ India was placed under joint command of the Indian Government and the Air Ministry (Lee Eastward 65-69, Appendix B, 261).

No. 223 Group was disbanded at Peshawar by being redesignated No 1 (Indian) Group on 15 August 1945; No. 225 Group disbanded at Hindustan near Bangalore by being redesignated No 2 (Indian) Group on 1 May 1946; No. 226 Group disbanded at Palam on 31 July 1946, with its units being transferred to No.2 (Indian) Group; No. 227 Group disbanded at Agra on 1 May 1946 by becoming No. 4 (Indian) Group. In May 1945 No. 228 Group had moved to Barrackpore and absorbed No. 230 Group, and then on 1 May 1946 becoming No. 3 (Indian) Group. No. 229 Group disbanded on 31 March 1947 and its responsibilities were taken over by No. 1 (Indian) Group; and No. 231 Group ceased operations on 1 August 1945, with by that time no units assigned, and disbanded on 30 September.

In 1946, ACSEA was renamed RAF Air Command Far East, and finally Far East Air Force in June 1949. The tri-service headquarters remained in place after the war over to coordinate re-occupation of territory within the bounds of the command that had not yet been liberated from the Japanese. That included parts of Burma; the other British colonies of Singapore, Malaya, British North Borneo and Brunei; the independent nation of Siam, the French colony of French Indo-China up to the 16th parallel, and most of the Dutch colony of the Dutch East Indies. After the completion of the re-occupation duties, SEAC was disestablished in November 1946.

However, the benefits of a supreme commander were not forgotten, and a tri-service headquarters was revived in 1962, when the Far East Command was formed. The Far East Command was also disestablished in 1971.

Postwar Occupation Duties
Unlike in Europe, war ended very unexpectedly in the Far East. The dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, combined with the American blockade of Japan, and the Soviet entry into the war on 9 August 1945 finally shocked the Japanese into suing for peace. Once peace came, there was a period of euphoria within the RAF units, but the forces in the region came back down to earth with a bump a few days later.

Instead of the end to operations that a great many of the conscripts had naively thought would occur, if anything, operations in some parts of the forces increased in tempo. South-East Asia Command had been increased in size from the day after the surrender, taking in south French Indo-China, and much of the Dutch East Indies. The command was now half as big again in area as it had been during the war. The strain imposed by the high operations tempo that occupation duties, when combined with the downsizing of the command due to demobilisation and return of American aircraft provided under lend-lease aircraft was very great, and it manifested itself in a series of mutinies around the command in early 1946.

The first of these was at Mauripur in Karachi, India. Enlisted airmen downed tools and refused to work until their grievances about demobilisation had been met. Given the nature of the times, this was impossible, although their complaints were passed up the chain of command. The stoppages were non-violent almost to a fault, and since the personnel involved were hostilities-only conscripts, rather than regular professional members of the RAF, the stoppages were not formally treated as mutinies. Had they been so, punishments up to and including execution by firing squad could have been imposed on those responsible. Other mutinies occurred in Ceylon, elsewhere in India and Singapore. They also spread to units of the Royal Indian Air Force for a short while.

Siam
The easiest of the occupation tasks was in Siam. Unlike elsewhere in the region, Siam had retained a functioning civil government throughout the war, and thus British troops did not have to deploy to restore order over most of the country. RAF forces set a headquarters in Bangkok, at Don Muang airfield, under Group Captain D O Finlay on 9 September 1945. The headquarters was from No. 909 Wing RAF. The Wing left its previously controlled aircraft, Republic P-47 Thunderbolts in Burma. Three squadrons were represented in Siam during the occupation, No. 20 Squadron RAF with Spitfire VIII aircraft, No. 211 Squadron RAF with de Havilland Mosquito VI aircraft, and a detachment of No. 685 Squadron RAF with Mosquito photo-reconnaissance aircraft. The airfield was defended by No. 2945 Squadron RAF Regiment. In addition to the resident forces, Douglas Dakota transport aircraft were frequent users of Don Muang. They made supply runs to the airport, stopped over on trips to and from French Indo-China, and evacuated prisoners of war and internees who had been imprisoned in Siam at the end of the war. The job in Siam was completed very quickly, with almost all of the RAF personnel at Don Muang being gone by January 1946.

Burma
Burma was also relatively straightforward to deal with, although more complicated than Siam. Much of the colony had been conquered several months before the war ended, in the big British offensive of summer 1945. That gave ACSEA crucial breathing space to start getting the colony back on its feet before the massive increase in occupation duties postwar occurred. Air Headquarters Burma was well established under Air Marshal Sir Hugh Saunders. At the end of the war, it had 28 squadrons under its control. This quickly reduced as the demobilisation really kicked in. Again, the transport squadrons saw the largest amount of work, evacuating POWs and internees and supplying garrisons and the civilian population. Second to the transport squadrons in workload were the photo reconnaissance aircraft. The opportunity was taken to complete the process of surveying SE Asia from the air, and using the survey to bring maps up to date. The survey was not completed until August 1947. After the clean-up immediately postwar, came the task of preparing Burma for independence. AHQ Burma moved out of Rangoon to Mingaladon on 1 January 1947. The headquarters was disbanded on 31 December 1947, and three months later Burma became independent.

French Indo-China and Dutch East Indies
The most prickly tasks in the entire command were the temporary occupations of the colonies of other European powers. One was the occupation of part of French Indo-China, and the other was the occupation of part of the Dutch East Indies.

The easier of the two was French Indo-China. Resentment against the French was strong, with Ho Chi Minh's Viet Minh movement beginning to become a real problem. British forces were responsible for the southern part of the country, south of the 16th parallel, while Chinese forces dealt with the north. An RAF headquarters was set up near Saigon on 8 September, at Tan Son Nhut airfield. However, the main occupation forces were slow to arrive. Thus Mountbatten had to use Japanese forces still in the area for internal security duties for a short while. One aspect of the occupation that was smaller in magnitude than in other areas of the command was the prisoners of war. Only about 5,000 prisoners of war were in French Indo-China, and thus that part of the repatriation problem was small.

At Tan Son Nhut, a large amount of space was available for transport aircraft; it had hard standings (all-weather concrete supports for landed aircraft) for about 70 Dakotas. This was fortunate since a great number of transport aircraft was required in the country, despite the low population of POWs. The other aircraft at the airfield were Spitfires of No. 273 Squadron RAF and a detachment of photo-reconnaissance Mosquitoes. The situation in French Indo-China and the Netherlands East Indies was particularly tricky because of the hostility of the locals to the returning colonial powers. French Indo-China was handed back to French control a great deal faster than the Dutch East Indies reverted back to Dutch control. This meant that in French Indo-China RAF aircraft did not have to get involved in suppressing any revolts in the area, apart from one occasion when Spitfires attacked enemy forces with cannon fire to support French ground troops. The RAF provided some spare Spitfires in the command to French Air Force pilots who were being sent to the colony, and more Spitfires were sent from Europe. The main RAF presence was withdrawn in mid-February 1946, when the Air Headquarters was disbanded. However, a small RAF presence was retained for a few more months to help direct military transport aircraft using the airfield.

Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation
The Indonesian–Malaysian Confrontation during 1962–1966 was Indonesia's political and armed opposition to the creation of Malaysia. It is also known by its Indonesian/Malay name Konfrontasi. The creation of Malaysia was the amalgamation of the Federation of Malaya (now West Malaysia), Singapore and the crown colony/British protectorates of Sabah and Sarawak (collectively known as British Borneo, now East Malaysia) in September 1963.

The confrontation was an undeclared war with most of the action in the border area between Indonesia and East Malaysia on the island of Borneo (known as Kalimantan in Indonesia). Sabah and Sarawak were ethnically, religiously and politically diverse and there was some local opposition to joining Malaysia that Indonesia attempted to exploit, although with little success.

The terrain in Borneo was challenging and there were very few roads. Both sides relied on light infantry operations and air transport, although rivers were also used. There was almost no use of offensive airpower. The British and Malaysian Armed Forces provided a significant element of the effort with assistance from the other member nations (Australia and New Zealand) from the combined Far East Strategic Reserve stationed then in West Malaysia and Singapore.

Initial Indonesian attacks into East Malaysia relied heavily on local volunteers trained by the Indonesian Army. The main military forces backing Malaysia were British and initially their activities were low key. The British responded to increased Indonesian activity by expanding their own. This included, starting in 1965, covert operations into Indonesian Kalimantan under the code name Operation Claret. In 1965 there were several Indonesian operations into West Malaysia, but without military success. By August 1966, following Indonesian President Suharto's rise to power, a peace agreement finally took effect as Indonesia accepted the existence of Malaysia.

Drawdown and departure
RAF units and forces in Burma, the Dutch East Indies, French Indochina, and Siam/Thailand left in 1945–1947. Forces in India departed in 1947, though many RAF officers and other personnel stayed on for a time with the Royal Pakistan Air Force and the Indian Air Force.

Air Headquarters Malaya (AHQ Malaya) was disbanded on 31 August 1957. No. 222 Group RAF was raised to command status as AHQ Ceylon on 16 Oct 1945. This was in turn disbanded on 1 November 1957. Its stations, including RAF Negombo, 22 miles north of Columbo, had been handed over to the Royal Ceylon Air Force in the course of 1955–56.

Air Command, South East Asia

 * No. 222 Group RAF - partial listing of squadrons only
 * 17, No. 273 Squadron RAF (Spitfire)
 * No. 8 Squadron RAF (Vickers Wellington under AHQ Aden 1 July 1944 for administration and local operational control)
 * No. 321 Squadron RAF, No. 413 Squadron RCAF (Catalina)
 * No. 230 Squadron RAF (Sunderland)
 * No. 89 Squadron RAF
 * No. 160 Squadron RAF (Liberator)
 * No. 231 Group RAF
 * No. 175 Wing RAF
 * No. 99 Squadron RAF (Wellington)
 * No. 292 (A.S.R.) Squadron (Warwick)
 * No. 184 Wing RAF
 * Nos 353, No. 356 Squadron RAF (Liberator)
 * No. 185 Wing RAF
 * No. 159 Squadron RAF (Liberator)
 * No. 225 Group RAF
 * No. 5 Squadron RAF (Hurricane)
 * No. 27 Squadron RAF, 47 Squadron, Beaufighter
 * Nos. 200, 354 Squadrons (Liberator)
 * No. 203 Squadron RAF (Wellington)
 * No. 191 Squadron RAF, Nos 212, 240 Squadrons (Catalinas)
 * No. 229 Group
 * Eastern Air Command
 * Photographic Reconnaissance Force
 * No. 171 Wing RAF
 * No. 681 Squadron RAF (disbanded by being renumbered as 34 Squadron, 1 August 1946 )
 * No. 684 Squadron RAF
 * Third Tactical Air Force - partial listing only
 * No. 177 Wing RAF
 * Nos 31, 62, 117, 194 Squadrons (Dakota)
 * 3d Combat Cargo Group (to be activated, Sylhet Airfield, 5 June 1944) (to include four combat cargo squadrons)
 * No. 221 Group RAF
 * No. 168 Wing RAF
 * No. 60 Squadron RAF (Hurricane); No. 81 Squadron RAF (Spitfire); No. 84 Squadron RAF (Vengeance)
 * No. 170 Wing RAF
 * Nos. 1 (I.A.F.), No. 11 Squadron RAF, Nos 42, 113 Squadrons (Hurricane);
 * Nos. 607, 615 Squadrons (Spitfire)
 * No. 243 Wing RAF
 * Nos 28 and 34 Squadrons RAF (Hurricane)
 * No. 224 Group RAF, with Nos 165, 166, and 167 Wings RAF and their squadrons

Other AHQs and groups

 * Air Headquarters Burma between 20 September 1945 and 15 December 1947
 * AHQ Ceylon – the AHQ continued after Ceylon became independent, moving from Katurkuruda to RAF Negombo on 23 February 1948 (see Lee, Eastward, 86-87). The AHQ was disbanded 1 November 1957.
 * AHQ Hong Kong – included as part of British Forces, Hong Kong in 1967
 * AHQ India formed 16 August 1939 at Simla – disbanded 15 August 1947
 * Detachments from No. 22 Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Unit RAF from July 1944.
 * AHQ Bengal was initially formed at Calcutta, operational between 20 April 1942 and 23 March 1943. It was reformed on 1 August 1944 at Barrackpore, it was disbanded on 4 December 1944
 * No. 221 Group RAF
 * No. 224 Group RAF
 * No. 223 Group RAF
 * No. 225 Group RAF
 * No. 226 Group RAF
 * No. 227 Group RAF
 * AHQ Malaya – previously No. 224 Group, formed 30 September 1945, disbanded 31 August 1957 to become No. 224 Group
 * AHQ Netherlands East Indies formed 1 October 1945 and disbanded 30 November 1946
 * AHQ Saigon – disbanded 14 February 1946
 * AHQ Siam formed at Bangkok and was operational between 1 October 1945 and April 1946, it was previously No. 909 Wing RAF
 * AHQ Singapore was operational between 16 February 1953 and 1 January 1958, it was previously No. 230 Group RAF
 * No. 81 Squadron RAF
 * No. 390 Maintenance Unit RAF
 * No. 224 Group RAF – disbanded 30 September 1945, reformed 31 August 1957, disbanded again 1 October 1968

 * No. 20 Squadron RAF
 * No. 34 Squadron RAF

 * No. 45 Squadron RAF
 * No. 52 Squadron RAF

 * No. 60 Squadron RAF
 * No. 81 Squadron RAF

 * No. 110 Squadron RAF
 * No. 209 Squadron RAF

Flying squadrons
• No. 8 Squadron RAF (1944-45)

• No. 10 Squadron RAF (1945-47)

• No. 11 Squadron RAF (1928-46)

• No. 17 Squadron RAF (1942-46)

• No. 20 Squadron RAF (1919-47)

• No. 26 Squadron RAF

• No. 28 Squadron RAF (1920-78)

• No. 30 Squadron RAF (1942-46)

• No. 33 Squadron RAF (1949-55)

• No. 34 Squadron RAF (1939-49 & 1960-67)

• No. 36 Squadron RAF

• No. 39 Squadron RAF

• No. 45 Squadron RAF (1942-70)

• No. 48 Squadron RAF (1945-71)

• No. 52 Squadron RAF (1944-66)

• No. 57 Squadron RAF

• No. 60 Squadron RAF (1942-68)

• No. 62 Squadron RAF (1939-47)

• No. 64 Squadron RAF (1965-67)

• No. 65 Squadron RAF (1964-70)

• No. 66 Squadron RAF (1962-69)

• No. 70 Squadron RAF

• No. 74 Squadron RAF (1967-71)

• No. 80 Squadron RAF (1949-55)

• No. 81 Squadron RAF (1943-70)

• No. 83 Squadron RAF

• No. 84 Squadron RAF (1942-53)

• No. 88 Squadron RAF (1946-54)

• No. 96 Squadron RAF (1945-46)

• No. 100 Squadron RAF (1943-42)

• No. 103 Squadron RAF (1963-75)

• No. 110 Squadron RAF (1943-71)

• No. 120 Squadron RAF

• No. 131 Squadron RAF (1945)

• No. 132 Squadron RAF (1945-46)

• No. 136 Squadron RAF (1941-46)

• No. 152 Squadron RAF (1943-47)

• No. 155 Squadron RAF (1942-59)

• No. 205 Squadron RAF (1942-71)

• No. 206 Squadron RAF

• No. 209 Squadron RAF (1942-68)

• No. 211 Squadron RAF (1943-46)

• No. 215 Squadron RAF (1942-46)

• No. 225 Squadron RAF (1963-65)

• No. 258 Squadron RAF (1942-45)

• No. 267 Squadron RAF (1954-48)

• No. 656 Squadron RAF/AAC (1943 – 15 January 1947; 29 June 1948 – 1 September 1957)

Other units
• No. 389 Maintenance Unit RAF

• No. 390 Maintenance Unit RAF

• No. 5001 (Airfield Construction) Squadron, RAF Seletar, 1963–66

• Far East Air Force Examining Squadron at Seletar, 1950-51

• Far East Air Force Survival and Parachute Training School at Changi, 1959-71

• Far East Air Force Training Squadron at Seleter, 1951-55

• Far East Casualty Evacuation Flight at Changi, 1950-53

• RAF Far East Communication Flight at Changi, 1947

• RAF Far East Communication Squadron at Changi, 1947-59

• Far East Flying Boat Wing at Seletar, 1950-54

• Far East School of Joint Warfare at Seletar, 1966-68

• Far East Transport Wing at Changi, 1952-56

• Tactical Development Unit, Far East at Ratmalana, 1943-45

• Armament Practice Camp, Butterworth, 1955-56

Stations
• ;Malaysia

• RAF Butterworth, Malaysia

• RAF Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

• RAF Kuantan, Malaysia

• RAF Labuan, Malaysia

• ;Singapore

• RAF Changi, Singapore

• RAF Kallang, Singapore

• RAF Seletar, Singapore

• RAF Tengah, Singapore

• ;Hong Kong

• RAF Kai Tak, Hong Kong

• RAF Sek Kong, Hong Kong

• ;Myanmar/Burma

• RAF Hmawbi, Myanmar

• RAF Meiktilla, Myanmar

• RAF Mingaladon, Myanmar

• ;Other

• RAF Gan (Addu Atoll), Maldives

• RAF Pegu, India

• RAF Pingtung, Taiwan

Commanders
Commanders included:

Far East Command
? (1933–1938)

Air Vice Marshal John Tremayne Babington (1938–1941) later known as Sir John Tremayne.

Air Vice Marshal C. W. H. Pulford (1941– 1942) died of malaria on active service

Air Vice Marshal Paul Maltby (1942) captured; POW

Air Command South East Asia

 * Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Peirse (16 November 1943 – 26 November 1944)
 * Air Marshal Sir Guy Garrod (26 November 1944 – 25 February 1945) – Temporary appointment
 * Air Chief Marshal Sir Keith Park (25 February 1945 – 30 April 1946)
 * Air Marshal Sir George Pirie (30 April – 30 September 1946)

Air Command Far East

 * Air Marshal Sir George Pirie (30 September 1946 – 18 November 1947)
 * Air Marshal Sir Hugh Lloyd (18 November 1947 – 1 June 1949)

Far East Air Force

 * Air Marshal Sir Hugh Lloyd (1 June – 26 November 1949)
 * Air Marshal Sir Francis Fogarty (26 November 1949 – 11 June 1952)
 * Air Marshal Sir Clifford Sanderson (11 June 1952 – 12 November 1954)
 * Air Marshal Sir Francis Fressanges (12 November 1954 – 13 July 1957)
 * Air Marshal The Earl of Bandon (13 July 1957 – 30 June 1960)
 * Air Marshal Sir Anthony Selway (30 June 1960 – 31 May 1962)
 * Air Marshal Sir Hector McGregor (31 May 1962 – 10 June 1964)
 * Air Marshal Sir Peter Wykeham (10 June 1964 – 8 August 1966)
 * Air Marshal Sir Rochford Hughes (8 August 1966 – 11 February 1969)
 * Air Marshal Sir Neil Wheeler (11 February 1969 – 1 October 1970)
 * Air Vice Marshal N M Maynard (1 October 1970 – 31 October 1971)

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Far East Air Force (Royal Air Force)


text:
Medieval poetry

Poetry took numerous forms in medieval Europe, for example, lyric and epic poetry. The troubadours, trouvères, and the minnesänger are known for composing their lyric poetry about courtly love usually accompanied by an instrument.

Among the most famous of secular poetry is Carmina Burana, a manuscript collection of 254 poems. Twenty-four poems of Carmina Burana were later set to music by German composer Carl Orff in 1936.

Examples of medieval poetry
Old English religious poetry includes the poem Christ by Cynewulf and the poem The Dream of the Rood, preserved in both manuscript form and on the Ruthwell Cross. We do have some secular poetry; in fact a great deal of medieval literature was written in verse, including the Old English epic Beowulf. Scholars are fairly sure, based on a few fragments and on references in historic texts, that much lost secular poetry was set to music, and was spread by traveling minstrels, or bards, across Europe. Thus, the few poems written eventually became ballads or lays, and never made it to being recited without song or other music.

Medieval Latin literature
In medieval Latin, while verse in the old quantitative meters continued to be written, a new more popular form called the sequence arose, which was based on accentual metres in which metrical feet were based on stressed syllables rather than vowel length. These metres were associated with Christian hymnody.

However, much secular poetry was also written in Latin. Some poems and songs, like the Gambler's Mass (officio lusorum) from the Carmina Burana, were parodies of Christian hymns, while others were student melodies: folksongs, love songs and drinking ballads. The famous commercium song Gaudeamus igitur is one example. There are also a few narrative poems of the period, such as the unfinished epic Ruodlieb, which tells us the story of a knight's adventures.

Topics

 * Carmina Burana
 * Cambridge Songs
 * goliard
 * Hiberno-Latin
 * Gregorian chant
 * Dies Irae
 * Pange Lingua

Medieval Latin poets

 * Adam of Saint Victor
 * St Ambrose
 * St Thomas Aquinas
 * The Archpoet
 * St Bernard of Cluny
 * St Bonaventure
 * St Columba
 * Dante Alighieri
 * St Hildegard of Bingen
 * Hrabanus Maurus
 * Paul the Deacon
 * Petrarch
 * Peter Abelard
 * Peter of Blois
 * Thomas of Celano
 * Walafrid Strabo
 * Walter of Châtillon
 * Chaucer
 * Gottfried von Hagenau

Medieval vernacular literature
One of the features of the Renaissance which marked the end of the medieval period is the rise in the use of the vernacular or the language of the common people for literature. The compositions in these local languages were often about the legends and history of the areas in which they were written which gave the people some form of national identity. Epic poems, sagas, chansons de geste and acritic songs (songs of heroic deeds) were often about the great men, real or imagined, and their achievements like Arthur, Charlemagne and El Cid.

The earliest recorded European vernacular literature is that written in the Irish language. Given that Ireland had escaped absorption into the Roman empire, this had time to develop into a highly sophisticated literature with well-documented formal rules and highly organised bardic schools. The result was a large body of prose and verse recording the ancient myths and sagas of the Gaelic-speaking people of the island, as well as poems on religious, political and geographical themes and a body of nature poetry.

The formality which Latin had gained through its long written history was often not present in the vernaculars which began producing poetry, and so new techniques and structures emerged, often derived from oral literature. This is particularly noticeable in the Germanic languages, which, unlike the Romance languages, are not direct descendants from Latin. Alliterative verse, where many of the stressed words in each line start with the same sound, was often used in the local poetry of that time. Other features of vernacular poetry of this time include kennings, internal rhyme, and slant rhyme. Indeed, Latin poetry traditionally used meter rather than rhyme and only began to adopt rhyme after being influenced by these new poems.

Old French

 * trouvère
 * Anglo-Norman literature
 * Roman de la Rose
 * Chanson d'aventure
 * Debate poetry

The Matter of France

 * chanson de geste
 * paladin
 * Charlemagne
 * Charles Martel
 * Saracen
 * Chanson de Roland
 * Garin de Monglane
 * Doon de Mayence
 * Huon de Bordeaux
 * Renaud de Montauban

The Matter of Britain

 * King Arthur
 * Camelot
 * chivalry

The Matter of Rome

 * Roman d'Alixandre (Alexander Romance)
 * Roman de Troie
 * Roman de Thèbes
 * Eneas
 * Troilus and Criseyde

Occitan

 * troubadour
 * courtly love
 * Occitan literature

Catalan

 * Ausiàs March
 * Ramon Llull
 * Andreu Febrer

Italian

 * Dante Alighieri
 * The Divine Comedy
 * Petrarch
 * Francis of Assisi

Spanish

 * Juan Ruiz
 * El Cid

Galician-Portuguese

 * João Zorro
 * Martim Codax
 * Paio Gomes Charinho

French

 * Wace
 * Chrétien de Troyes
 * Marie de France
 * Guillaume de Machaut
 * Jean de Meung
 * Christine de Pizan

Medieval Georgian Poetry
The Knight in the Panther's Skin Shen Khar Venakhi (tr: "You are vineyard") Abdulmesiani (tr: "Slave of the Messiah")
 * Shota Rustaveli
 * Demetrius I
 * Ioane Shavteli

Alliterative verse

 * Beowulf
 * Elder Edda
 * Younger Edda
 * skald
 * scop

Medieval English poetry

 * Middle English
 * Geoffrey Chaucer
 * The Canterbury Tales
 * William Langland
 * Piers Plowman
 * Everyman
 * Sir Orfeo
 * Book of the Civilized Man
 * The Pearl Poet
 * Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Medieval German poetry

 * minnesang
 * Walther von der Vogelweide
 * The Nibelungenlied

Medieval Greek poetry

 * Acritic songs
 * Digenis Acritas
 * Song of Armouris

Welsh

 * Aneirin Y Gododdin
 * Taliesin
 * Llywarch Hen
 * Dafydd ap Gwilym

Irish

 * Metrical Dindshenchas
 * Lebor Gabála Érenn
 * Táin Bó Cúailnge
 * Contention of the bards
 * see also: Irish poetry

title: Medieval poetry


text:
Contrabassoon

The contrabassoon, also known as the double bassoon, is a larger version of the bassoon, sounding an octave lower. Its technique is similar to its smaller cousin, with a few notable differences.

Differences from the bassoon
The reed is considerably larger than the bassoon's, at 65 – in total length (and 20 mm in width) compared with 53 – for most bassoon reeds. The large blades allow ample vibration that produces the low register of the instrument. The contrabassoon reed is similar to an average bassoon's in that scraping the reed affects both the intonation and response of the instrument.

Contrabassoons feature a slightly simplified version of bassoon keywork, though all open toneholes on bassoon have necessarily been replaced with keys and pads due to the physical distances. In the lower register, its fingerings are nearly identical to bassoon. However, the octave mechanism used to play in the middle register works differently than on bassoon, and the upper register fingerings are often completely unrelated.

The instrument is twice as long as the bassoon, curves around on itself twice and, due to its weight and shape, is supported by an endpin rather than a seat strap. Additional support is sometimes provided by a strap around the player's neck. A wider hand position is also required, as the primary finger keys are widely spaced. The contrabassoon has a water key to expel condensation and a tuning slide for gross pitch adjustments. The instrument comes in a few pieces (plus bocal); some models cannot be disassembled without a screwdriver. Sometimes, the bell can be detached, and instruments with a low A extension often come in two parts.

Range, notation and tone
The contrabassoon is a very deep-sounding woodwind instrument that plays in the same sub-bass register as the tuba, double bass, or contrabass clarinet. It has a sounding range beginning at B♭0 (or A0, on some instruments) and extending up over three octaves to D4, though the highest fourth is rarely scored for. Donald Erb and Kalevi Aho write even higher in their concertos for the instrument (to A♭4 and C5, respectively), but this is extraordinary and well beyond the expectations of the typical instrument or player. At the lower end, Richard Bobo of the Tulsa Symphony has designed a subcontrabassoon, a full octave below the contrabassoon, and is intent on manufacturing the first working prototype. Steven Braunstein of the San Francisco Symphony has built custom extensions to reliably reach a low G0 in performance.

Contrabassoon parts are notated an octave above sounding pitch, and most often use bass clef. Like bassoon, extended high-register passages may use tenor clef, though this is rarely necessary due to the rarity of such passages. The use of treble clef is even less common, and is only necessary for the most ambitious solo repertoire.

Tonally, it sounds similar to the bassoon, but at all parts of its compass is distinctly different in tone from it. There is a "thinning" of the sound in extreme high register, as in all double reeds, but unlike oboe and bassoon which become more penetrative and "intense" in this register, the contrabassoon's sound becomes less audibly substantial and is easily drowned out. Conversely, contrabassoon also has a booming quality, similar to organ pedals, in its lowest register; enabling it to produce powerful contrabass tones when desired (aided by the flared bell, which the bassoon does not have). The contrabassoon can also produce a "buzz" or "rattle", particularly when loud and in its low register, which gives the sound an edged quality. This effect can be mitigated greatly by changes to the reed design, but it can be a desirable quality for some players, as it adds to the sinister or monstrous quality which some contrabassoon writing seeks to affect, and causes the contrabassoon sound to be more prominent in musical textures.

Precursors
Precursors to the contrabassoon are documented as early as 1590 in Austria and Germany, at a time when the growing popularity of doubling the bass line led to the development of lower-pitched dulcians. Examples of these low-pitched dulcians include the octavebass, the quintfagott, and the quartfagott. There is evidence that a contrafagott was used in Frankfurt in 1626. Baroque precursors to the contrabassoon developed in France in the 1680s, and later in England in the 1690s, independent of the dulcian developments in Austria and Germany during the previous century.

Baroque era – present
The contrabassoon was developed, especially in England, in the mid-18th century; the oldest surviving instrument, which came in four parts and has only three keys, was built in 1714. It was around that time that the contrabassoon began gaining acceptance in church music. Some notable early uses of the contrabassoon during this period include in J.S. Bach's St. John's Passion (1749 and 1739-1749 versions), and G.F. Handel's L'Allegro (1740) and Music for the Royal Fireworks (1749). Until the late 19th century, the instrument typically had a weak tone and poor intonation. For this reason, the contrabass woodwind parts often were scored for, and contrabassoon parts were often played on a serpent, contrabass sarrusophone or, less frequently, reed contrabass, until improvements by Heckel in the late 19th century secured the contrabassoon's place as the standard double reed contrabass.

For more than a century, between 1880 and 2000, Heckel’s design remained relatively unchanged. Chip Owen, at the American company Fox, began manufacturing an instrument in 1971 with some improvements. Generally, during the 20th century changes to the instrument were limited to an upper vent key near the bocal socket, a tuning slide, and a few key linkages to facilitate technical passages. In 2000, Heckel announced a completely new keywork for its instrument and Fox introduced its own new key system based on input from New York Philharmonic contrabassoonist Arlan Fast. Both companies' improvements allow for improved technical facility as well as greater range in the high register. Benedikt Eppelsheim developed the Contraforte, a "redesigned contrabassoon", in collaboration with Guntram Wolf in the early 2000s.

Current use
Most major orchestras use one contrabassoonist, either as a primary player or a bassoonist who doubles, as do a large number of symphonic bands.

The contrabassoon is a supplementary orchestral instrument and is most frequently found in larger symphonic works, often doubling the bass trombone or tuba at the octave. Frequent exponents of such scoring were Brahms and Mahler, as well as Richard Strauss, and Dmitri Shostakovich. The first composer to write a separate contrabassoon part in a symphony was Beethoven, in his Fifth Symphony (1808) (it can also be heard providing the bass line in the brief "Janissary band" section of the fourth movement of his Symphony No. 9, just prior to the tenor solo), although Bach, Handel (in his Music for the Royal Fireworks), Haydn (e.g., in both of his oratorios The Creation and The Seasons, where the part for the contrabassoon and the bass trombone are mostly, but not always, identical), and Mozart had occasionally used it in other genres (e.g., in the Coronation Mass). Composers have often used the contrabassoon to comical or sinister effect by taking advantage of its seeming "clumsiness" and its sepulchral rattle, respectively. A clear example of this can be heard in Paul Dukas' The Sorcerer's Apprentice (originally scored for contrabass sarrusophone). Igor Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring is one of the few orchestral works that requires two contrabassoons.

As a featured instrument, the contrabassoon can be heard in several works, most notably Maurice Ravel's Mother Goose Suite, and at the opening of Piano Concerto for the Left Hand. Gustav Holst gave the contrabassoon multiple solos in The Planets, primarily in "Mercury, the Winged Messenger" and "Uranus, the Magician".

Solo literature is somewhat lacking, although some modern composers such as Gunther Schuller, Donald Erb, Michael Tilson Thomas, John Woolrich, Kalevi Aho, and Daniel Dorff have written concertos for this instrument (see below). Stephen Hough has written a trio for piccolo, contrabassoon and piano Was mit den Tränen geschieht. Contrabassoon may theoretically play music for bassoon, which has much more solo repertoire, but the sonic and mechanical differences from the bassoon (and bassoon's comparative facility in the high register) mean that bassoon repertoire is not always suited to contra.

Notable solos and soloists
Most major symphony orchestras employ a contrabassoon, and many have programmed concerts featuring their contrabassoonist as soloist. For example, Michael Tilson Thomas: Urban Legend for Contrabassoon and Orchestra featuring Steven Braunstein, San Francisco Symphony; Gunther Schuller: Concerto for Contrabassoon featuring Lewis Lipnick, National Symphony Orchestra; John Woolrich: Falling Down featuring Margaret Cookhorn, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra; Erb: Concerto for Contrabassoon featuring Gregg Henegar, London Symphony Orchestra; Kalevi Aho: Concerto for Contrabassoon featuring Lewis Lipnick Bergen Symphony Orchestra

One of the few contrabassoon soloists in the world is Susan Nigro, who lives and works in and around Chicago. Besides occasional gigs with orchestras and other ensembles (including regular substitute with the Chicago Symphony), her main work is as soloist and recording artist. Many works have been written specifically for her, and she has released several CDs.

Henry Skolnick has performed and toured internationally on the instrument. He commissioned, premiered and recorded Aztec Ceremonies for contrabassoon by Graham Waterhouse.

A rare use of the instrument in jazz was by Garvin Bushell, who sat in as a guest with saxophonist John Coltrane during his 1961 recording sessions at the Village Vanguard.

Current
, there are nine firms which manufacture contrabassoons (in alphabetical order):
 * Amati
 * Fox
 * Heckel
 * Kronwalt (a collaboration between Guntram Wolf and Rudolf Walter)
 * Mönnig-Adler
 * Mollenhauer (also manufactures contrabassoons under the Schreiber brand)
 * Moosmann
 * Püchner

 * Takeda

Historic
These firms once manufactured contrabassoons, but no longer do so.
 * Lignatone (Czechoslovakia)
 * Cabart (Paris) stopped after purchase by Lorée in 1974.
 * Buffet Crampon (Paris): Keywork differentiated from the German style somewhat.

title: Contrabassoon


text:
User talk:Hephaestos/Articles

Sorry, Hephaestos, but on the assumption that you really would want to know, yes, it did hurt my eyes so much that I abandoned my effort to read your list of articles. Now, if someone constructs a "brag list" one assumes that person desires for those who click the link actually to read the list -- so where's the point of making it difficult to read? I'm not the sort of meany who would edit your CSS to use a more legible font in a larger size, although to do so might certainly get your attention! But please -- I really would like to read what you've done. So maybe you should reconsider the CSS. What if the whole of Wikipedia looked like that?

Just so you know I'm not at all hostile, just sincerely an ageing guy with indifferent vision -- I'm a Macintosh user, too: 300MHz Power Mac G3 beige model (before they went to fluorescent colours and translucent housings), OS 8.6. And drooling at the new dual-processor G5 as my machine's getting obsolete; more and more things are "no longer supported"... :-) Ditkoofseppala 01:09 22 Jul 2003 (UTC)

Same here -- I found it very hard to read. I would suggest a paler background colour and a larger typeface, if you can manage it. LOL Deb 17:39 26 Jul 2003 (UTC)

 * Sorry about that (especially Ditkoofseppala, I didn't even see your message til just now). I'll see if I can change it around today. The new has worn off. :) - Hephaestos 17:46 26 Jul 2003 (UTC)

Oh, I was disappointed to see all the fancy CSS stuff gone! Now it's legible but the fun has disappeared. Oh, well, maybe one day you'll find a middle way. Any way you cut it, it's a challenge to figure out how to list that many articles - your output is intimidating. Thanks for the kind words on the dog articles. I'll take your suggestion up with Sannse as I'm basically in agreement. What we humans call "breeds" are a special case indeed, since they don't exist at all without our intervention! Many dog people don't understand that and think their breed has species status, much to the detriment of the dogs themselves. Any taxa below species level are questionable, and sometimes even there the distinctions exist largely in the minds of the taxonomists. ;-)) Ditkoofseppala 23:52 27 Jul 2003 (UTC)

Nice to see you back. Hope the controversies ongoing don't turn you off the site... -- Cimon Avaro on a pogostick 03:16, Oct 23, 2003 (UTC)
 * Not at all; although the controversies are annoying, they're not likely to drive me off. I do go out of town from time to time though and lose Internet access frequently when I do. - Hephaestos 17:17, 23 Oct 2003 (UTC)

Tom, I appreciate that you found the problem with the page; nonstandard Microsoft detritus bugs me as well, and I often go around myself fixing it where I find it. (I had the whole 'pedia cleared of "8217" at one point, but there's no telling how much has re-accumulated since the search engine's been turned off.) I thought I was somewhat immune from it myself here, since I was doing the bullets with option-8 on a Macintosh, but as your screenshot proved, that wasn't the case.

On the other hand, it's an unfortunate abbreviation used by the HTML standard, and I just couldn't reconcile myself to having the list of articles I've worked on peppered with "bull," so I've replaced them with a middot. *grin*

Thanks again. - Hephaestos 17:17, 23 Oct 2003 (UTC)

 * You're welcome. Sorry the entity is so unfortunately named :-).  -- Tom

 * Welcome back. :) - Hephaestos|§ 21:36, 5 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Who's "Samuel W. Kearny"? I did a Google search and got one hit (interestingly... User:Hephaestos/Articles :-). ugen64 01:53, Jan 24, 2004 (UTC)
 * Gah! :)  Well I caught your comment in less than a month, anyway.  Thanks for the heads-up!  - Hephæstos|§ 03:15, 16 Feb 2004 (UTC)

title: User talk:Hephaestos/Articles


text:
Maeslantkering

The Maeslantkering ("Maeslant barrier" in Dutch) is a storm surge barrier on the Nieuwe Waterweg, in South Holland, Netherlands. It was constructed from 1991 to 1997. As part of the Delta Works the barrier responds to water level predictions calculated by a centralized computer system called BOS. It automatically closes when Rotterdam (especially the Port of Rotterdam) is threatened by floods.

Maeslantkering has two 210-metre long barrier gates, with two 237-metre long steel trusses holding each. When closed, the barrier will protect the entire width (360 metres) of the Nieuwe Waterweg, the main waterway of Port of Rotterdam. It is one of the largest moving structures on Earth, rivalling the Green Bank Telescope in the United States and the Bagger 288 excavator in Germany.

The initial plan
The construction of the Maeslantkering was a part of the Europoortkering project which, in turn, was the final stage of the Delta Works. The main objective of this Europoortkering-project was to improve the safety against flooding of the Rotterdam harbour, of which the Europoort is an important part, and the surrounding towns and agricultural areas. To achieve this, the initial plan was to reinforce existing dikes as far as 50 kilometres inland. During the 1980s, it became clear that this project would take at least 30 years and would cost a huge amount of money. It would also mean that historic town centres, in some cases over four centuries old, would have to be broken down and rebuilt behind renewed, larger dikes.

Therefore, the initial plan was put aside and the Ministry of Waterways and Public Works organised a competition in which construction companies could make plans for the construction of a reliable yet relatively cheap storm surge barrier.

The storm surge barrier
This storm surge barrier had to be located in the waterway (Nieuwe Maas – the Scheur – Nieuwe Waterweg) that connects Rotterdam with the North Sea. This played an important role in the planning stage of the construction, as this waterway is the main route to the port of Rotterdam, at that time the world's largest port. Therefore, a barrier like the Dutch Oosterscheldekering and the Thames Barrier could not be constructed, as such a barrier would block the shipping route.

The winning plan called for two large floating gates on both dikes of the waterway. A major advantage of this plan was that construction of the storm surge barrier could take place under dry conditions, in dry docks. Other advantages were that no vital parts of the barrier had to be placed under water, and maintenance of the barrier would be easy because of the dry docks. Finally, there would be almost no inconvenience for passing ships. The winning plan was put forward by the BMK consortium (Bouwcombinatie Maeslantkering). This consortium included the contractors HBG (now BAM), Volker Stevin and Hollandia Kloos. The storm surge barrier project was one of the first large Design and Construct projects for which the contractor also prepares the design.

Construction of the barrier
The construction of the barrier started in 1991. First, the dry docks were constructed on both shores and a sill was constructed at the bottom of the Nieuwe Waterweg. Then, the two 22-metre high and 210-metre long steel gates were built. After this, 237-metre long steel trusses were welded to the gates. The arms weigh 6,800 tonnes each. The main purpose of the arms is transmitting the immense forces, exerted on the gates while closed, to one single joint at the rear of each gate. During the closing or opening process, this ball-shaped joint gives the gate the opportunity to move freely under the influences of water, wind, and waves. It acts like a ball and socket joint, such as in the human shoulder or hip. The joints were made in the Czech Republic at Škoda Works. The ball-shaped joint is the largest in the world, with a diameter of 10 metres, and weighing 680 tonnes. The construction of the barrier cost 450 million euro. The total Europoortkering-project had cost 660 million euros.

A working 1:250 scale version of the barrier was constructed in the Madurodam miniature village. Its construction took six months. It took six years to construct the real barrier.

Maeslantkering in operation
On 10 May 1997, after six years of construction, Queen Beatrix opened the Maeslantkering. The barrier is connected to a computer system which is linked to weather and sea level data. Under normal weather conditions, the two doors themselves are well protected in their dry docks and a 360-metre wide gap in the waterway gives ships enough space to pass without any inconvenience. But when a storm surge of 3 metres above normal sea level is anticipated in Rotterdam, the barrier will be closed automatically. Four hours before the actual closing procedure begins, incoming and outgoing ships are warned. Two hours before closing, the traffic at the Nieuwe Waterweg comes to a standstill. Thirty minutes before closing, the dry docks that contain the gates are flooded. After this, the gates start to float and two so-called "locomobiles" move the gates towards each other. When the gap between the gates is about 1.5 metres wide, water is let inside the hollows of the gates, so that they submerge to the bottom of the waterway. The bottom has been elaborately dug and then laid with layers of broken stone, so that the gates are able to form a relatively watertight fit when submerged. In cases where the gates have to be shut for a prolonged period, which would cause the waters of the Rhine to rise behind them, the gate hollows are partly emptied and floated, so that excess river water runs out to sea, before they are submerged again. The decision-making algorithm that sequences storm surge-triggered events in the Maeslantkering is run entirely by computer.

The Maeslantkering is expected to be closed once every ten years due to storm surge. With the rise in sea levels, the storm surge barrier will need to close more frequently in 50 years time, namely once every five years. In its first 10 years of operation, the barrier was never closed due to a storm. There was one incident when a storm surge of 3 metres was predicted and the protective sequence was initiated. However, during the course of the storm, predictions were revised to a 2.99 m surge and the computer cancelled closure. Eventually, the surge passed harmlessly and the waterway remained open. During the evening of 8 November 2007, the barrier was closed due to a storm surge for the first time. The barrier is closed for testing once a year, usually at the end of September or the beginning of October, just before the beginning of the storm season in mid-October. Activities are held during the closing for the visiting public. The information center publishes information about the closing time and activities on its website.

The, located just south of the Nieuwe Waterweg and the Scheuer, visible in some images on this page, is protected by the much smaller Hartelkering storm surge barrier. This barrier is constructed some 5 kilometres further inland.

The software that drives it is written in C++ and consists of 200,000 lines of code for the operational system and 250,000 lines of code for the simulation systems.

The barrier is designed to withstand a storm that has an occurrence of only once in 10,000 years (based on the climate at the time, but this may have to be adjusted for climate change).

8 November 2007 storm
In order to test the barrier in actual stormy conditions, the water level threshold at which the computer system would start the closing procedure was lowered from 3.0 m over NAP to 2.6 m, for the duration of the 2007 storm season. On 8 November 2007, a storm from the northwest hit the Dutch coast. A storm surge, high enough to start the barrier's closing procedure, occurred. The barrier was closed due to a storm surge for the first time since its construction. As the Oosterscheldekering and Hartelkering storm surge barriers were also closed, the entire Dutch coast was protected against flooding for the first time since 1976. At 22:00 local time (CET), Dutch TV brought the news that maritime traffic on the Nieuwe Waterweg was shut off. The closing procedure of the Maeslantkering started at 23:10. The barrier was completely closed at 01:00 and was reopened on 9 November around 17:00.

21 December 2023 storm
On December 21, 2023 the Maeslantkering was closed automatically at the 300 cm threshold for the first time in history. During the day a forecast had been made that the water level in Rotterdam would reach critical height of 300 cm above NAP at around 23:30. There were discussions to close the Maeslantkering manually before that time, and the Port of Rotterdam started reducing traffic at 16:00. Around 18:00 the traffic across the Nieuwe Waterweg came to a complete standstill. Before the decision was actually made to manually close the Maeslantkering, the computer systems intervened and had begun the automatic closing procedure. Closing started at 20:15, a process which takes about 2 hours. The next day at 4:45 the gates were opened again.

Het Keringhuis, Publiekscentrum Water
At the site of the Maeslantkering, there is a visitor center where more background information on water management and the technical details of the barrier itself can be found.

In popular culture

 * The barrier was featured on the American television program Extreme Engineering (season 1, episode 8: Holland's Barriers to the Sea).
 * The barrier served as a major plot point for the children's book Mission Hurricane of the 39 Clues series.
 * The barrier was also featured on the History Channel television program Modern Marvels during Levees Education (2006).
 * The barrier was featured in the 2021 Neal Stephenson novel Termination Shock.

title: Maeslantkering


text:
Trick

Trick(s) may refer to:

People

 * Trick McSorley (1852–1936), American professional baseball player
 * Armon Trick (born 1978), retired German international rugby union player
 * David Trick (born 1955), former Ontario civil servant and university administrator
 * Marcus Trick (born 1977), retired German international rugby union player
 * Stanley Arthur Trick (1884–1958), English cricketer for Essex
 * Stephanie Trick (born 1987), American stride, ragtime and jazz pianist
 * Trick Daddy (born 1973), American rapper and producer
 * Trick-Trick (born 1973), Detroit rapper
 * Junaid Hussain (1994–2015), British hacker and propagandist who used the alias TriCk

Films

 * Trick (2019 film), American Halloween-themed horror film
 * Tricks (1925 film), American silent film
 * Tricks (1997 film), TV movie; see Jay Friedkin
 * Tricks (2007 film), Polish film by Andrzej Jakimowski
 * Trick (2010 film), Polish film by Jan Hryniak
 * The Trick (film), a 2021 BBC film about the Climatic Research Unit email controversy

Literature

 * Trick (novel), a 2015 novel by Natalia Jaster
 * Tricks, a 1979 chronicle of homosexual encounters by Renaud Camus
 * Tricks (novel), a 2009 novel by Ellen Hopkins

Music

 * Trick-Trick (born 1973), Detroit rapper
 * Stephanie Trick (born 1987), American stride, ragtime and jazz pianist
 * Trick Daddy (born 1973), American rapper and producer

Albums

 * Trick (Kumi Koda album), 2009
 * Trick (Panic Channel album), 2005
 * Trick (Kele Okereke album), 2014
 * Trick (Jamie T album), 2016
 * Tricks (ohGr album), 2018
 * Trick (Alex G album), 2012

Songs

 * "Trick", by Girls' Generation from The Boys, 2011
 * "Trick", by IMx from Introducing IMx, 1999
 * "Trick", by Saweetie from Icy, 2019
 * "Trick (So Sweet)", by Seaway from Colour Blind, 2015
 * "Tricks", by Falco from Wiener Blut, 1988
 * "Tricks", by MC Breed from It's All Good, 1999
 * "Tricks", by Tony Bennett from This Is All I Ask, 1963
 * "The Trick", by AJR from OK Orchestra, 2021

Other uses in arts, entertainment, and media

 * Magic trick, an illusion or act of misdirection
 * Trick (TV series), a comedic Japanese television drama
 * Trick McCorrigan, a fictional character in the Canadian television series Lost Girl
 * Stop trick, a simple film special effect

Sports and games

 * Trick, skill, or element, a maneuver in various sports:
 * Trick, an acrobatic move performed in an acro dance
 * Juggling trick, a maneuver performed while juggling
 * Skateboarding trick, a maneuver performed on a skateboard
 * Trick shot, a shot played on a billiards table, which seems unlikely or impossible, or requires significant skill
 * Tricking, a martial arts-based sport with emphasis on aesthetics
 * Hat-trick, in sports, succeeding at anything three times in three consecutive attempts, or three times in one game
 * Trick-taking game, a type of card game

Other uses

 * Trick (nautical term)
 * Trick, or john, a person who pays for prostitution (in slang "Turn a trick"), process referred to as "Trickin"
 * Sex trick, another term for a unique sexual position
 * Trick, a neat or unexpected solution in computer programming
 * Confidence trick, a trick performed by a con artist

title: Trick