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Dawn (spacecraft)

Dawn is a retired space probe that was launched by NASA in September 2007 with the mission of studying two of the three known protoplanets of the asteroid belt: Vesta and Ceres. In the fulfillment of that mission—the ninth in NASA's Discovery Program—Dawn entered orbit around Vesta on July 16, 2011, and completed a 14-month survey mission before leaving for Ceres in late 2012. It entered orbit around Ceres on March 6, 2015. In 2017, NASA announced that the planned nine-year mission would be extended until the probe's hydrazine fuel supply was depleted. On November 1, 2018, NASA announced that Dawn had depleted its hydrazine, and the mission was ended. The derelict probe remains in a stable orbit around Ceres.

Dawn is the first spacecraft to have orbited two extraterrestrial bodies, the first spacecraft to have visited either Vesta or Ceres, and the first to have orbited a dwarf planet.

The Dawn mission was managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, with spacecraft components contributed by European partners from Italy, Germany, France, and the Netherlands. It was the first NASA exploratory mission to use ion propulsion, which enabled it to enter and leave the orbit of two celestial bodies. Previous multi-target missions using rockets powered by chemical engine, such as the Voyager program, were restricted to flybys.

Technological background
The first working ion thruster in the US was built by Harold R. Kaufman in 1959 at NASA's Glenn Research Center in Ohio. The thruster was similar to the general design of a gridded electrostatic ion thruster with mercury as its propellant. Suborbital tests of the engine followed during the 1960s, and in 1964 the engine was tested on a suborbital flight aboard the Space Electric Rocket Test 1 (SERT 1). It successfully operated for the planned 31 minutes before falling back to Earth. This test was followed by an orbital test, SERT-2, in 1970.

Deep Space 1 (DS1), which NASA launched in 1998, demonstrated the long-duration use of a xenon-propelled ion thruster on a science mission, and validated a number of technologies, including the NSTAR electrostatic ion thruster, as well as performing a flyby of an asteroid and a comet. In addition to the ion thruster, among the other technologies validated by the DS1 was the Small Deep Space Transponder, which is used on Dawn for long-range communication.

Discovery Program selection
Twenty-six proposals were submitted to the Discovery Program solicitation, with budget initially targeted at US$300 million. Three semi-finalists were downselected in January 2001 for a phase-A design study: Dawn, Kepler, and INSIDE Jupiter. In December 2001 NASA selected the Kepler and the Dawn mission for the Discovery program. Both missions were initially selected for a launch in 2006.

Cancellation and reinstatement
The status of the Dawn mission changed several times. The project was cancelled in December 2003, and then reinstated in February 2004. In October 2005, work on Dawn was placed in "stand down" mode, and in January 2006, the mission was discussed in the press as "indefinitely postponed", even though NASA had made no new announcements regarding its status. On March 2, 2006, Dawn was again cancelled by NASA.

The spacecraft's manufacturer, Orbital Sciences Corporation, appealed NASA's decision, offering to build the spacecraft at cost, forgoing any profit in order to gain experience in a new market field. NASA then put the cancellation under review, and on March 27, 2006, it was announced that the mission would not be cancelled after all. In the last week of September 2006, the Dawn mission's instrument payload integration reached full functionality. Although originally projected to cost US$373 million, cost overruns inflated the final cost of the mission to US$446 million in 2007. Christopher T. Russell was chosen to lead the Dawn mission team.

Scientific background
The Dawn mission was designed to study two large bodies in the asteroid belt in order to answer questions about the formation of the Solar System, as well as to test the performance of its ion thrusters in deep space. Ceres and Vesta were chosen as two contrasting protoplanets, the first one apparently "wet" (i.e. icy and cold) and the other "dry" (i.e. rocky), whose accretion was terminated by the formation of Jupiter. The two bodies provide a bridge in scientific understanding between the formation of rocky planets and the icy bodies of the Solar System, and under what conditions a rocky planet can hold water.

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) adopted a new definition of planet on August 24, 2006, which introduced the term "dwarf planet" for ellipsoidal worlds that were too small to qualify for planetary status by "clearing their orbital neighborhood" of other orbiting matter. Dawn is the first mission to study a dwarf planet, arriving at Ceres a few months before the arrival of the New Horizons probe at Pluto in July 2015.

Ceres comprises a third of the total mass of the asteroid belt. Its spectral characteristics suggest a composition similar to that of a water-rich carbonaceous chondrite. Vesta, a smaller, water-poor achondritic asteroid comprising a tenth of the mass of the asteroid belt, has experienced significant heating and differentiation. It shows signs of a metallic core, a Mars-like density and lunar-like basaltic flows.

Available evidence indicates that both bodies formed very early in the history of the Solar System, thereby retaining a record of events and processes from the time of the formation of the terrestrial planets. Radionuclide dating of pieces of meteorites thought to come from Vesta suggests that Vesta differentiated quickly, in three million years or less. Thermal evolution studies suggest that Ceres must have formed some time later, more than three million years after the formation of CAIs (the oldest known objects of Solar System origin).

Moreover, Vesta appears to be the source of many smaller objects in the Solar System. Most (but not all) V-type near-Earth asteroids, and some outer main-belt asteroids, have spectra similar to Vesta, and are thus known as vestoids. Five percent of the meteoritic samples found on Earth, the howardite–eucrite–diogenite (HED) meteorites, are thought to be the result of a collision or collisions with Vesta.

It is thought that Ceres may have a differentiated interior; its oblateness appears too small for an undifferentiated body, which indicates that it consists of a rocky core overlain with an icy mantle. There is a large collection of potential samples from Vesta accessible to scientists, in the form of over 1,400 HED meteorites, giving insight into Vesta geologic history and structure. Vesta is thought to consist of a metallic iron–nickel core, an overlying rocky olivine mantle and crust.

Objectives
The Dawn mission's goal was to characterize the conditions and processes of the Solar System's earliest eon by investigating in detail two of the largest protoplanets remaining intact since their formation.

Although the mission has finished, the data analyses and interpretations will continue for many years. The primary question that the mission addresses is the role of size and water in determining the evolution of the planets. Ceres and Vesta are highly suitable bodies with which to address this question, as they are two of the most massive of the protoplanets. Ceres is geologically very primitive and icy, while Vesta is evolved and rocky. Their contrasting characteristics are thought to have resulted from them forming in two different regions of the early Solar System.

There are three principal scientific drivers for the mission. First, the Dawn mission can capture the earliest moments in the origin of the Solar System, granting an insight into the conditions under which these objects formed. Second, Dawn determines the nature of the building blocks from which the terrestrial planets formed, improving scientific understanding of this formation. Finally, it contrasts the formation and evolution of two small planets that followed very different evolutionary paths, allowing scientists to determine what factors control that evolution.

Instruments
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory provided overall planning and management of the mission, the flight system and scientific payload development, and provided the ion propulsion system. Orbital Sciences Corporation provided the spacecraft, which constituted the company's first interplanetary mission. The Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research and the German Aerospace Center (DLR) provided the framing cameras, the Italian Space Agency provided the mapping spectrometer, and the Los Alamos National Laboratory provided the gamma ray and neutron spectrometer.

 * Framing camera (FC) – Two redundant framing camera were flown. Each used a f/7.9 refractive optical system with a focal length of 150 mm. A frame-transfer charge-coupled device (CCD), a Thomson TH7888A, at the focal plane has 1024 × 1024 sensitive 93-μrad pixels, imaging a 5.5° x 5.5° field of view. An 8-position filter wheel permits panchromatic (clear filter) and spectrally selective imaging (7 narrow band filters). The broadest filter allows imaging at wavelengths from 400 to 1050 nm. The FC computer is a custom radiation-hardened Xilinx system with a LEON2 core and 8 GiB of memory. The camera offered  resolutions of 17 m/pixel for Vesta and 66 m/pixel for Ceres. Because the framing camera was vital for both science and navigation, the payload had two identical and physically separate cameras (FC1 & FC2) for redundancy, each with its own optics, electronics, and structure.
 * Visible and infrared spectrometer (VIR) – This instrument is a modification of the visible and infrared thermal-imaging spectrometer used on the Rosetta and Venus Express spacecraft. It draws its heritage from the Saturn orbiter Cassini's visible and infrared mapping spectrometer. The spectrometer's VIR spectral frames are 256 (spatial) × 432 (spectral), and the slit length is 64 mrad. The mapping spectrometer incorporates two channels, both fed by a single grating. A CCD yields frames from 0.25 to 1.0 μm, while an array of HgCdTe photodiodes cooled to about 70 K spans the spectrum from 0.95 to 5.0 μm.
 * Gamma Ray and Neutron Detector (GRaND) – This instrument is based on similar instruments flown on the Lunar Prospector and Mars Odyssey space missions. It had 21 sensors with a very wide field of view. It was used to measure the abundances of the major rock-forming elements (oxygen, magnesium, aluminium, silicon, calcium, titanium, and iron) and potassium, thorium, uranium, and water (inferred from hydrogen content) in the top 1 m of the surface of Vesta and Ceres.

A magnetometer and laser altimeter were considered for the mission, but were not ultimately flown.

Dimensions
With its solar array in the retracted launch position, the Dawn spacecraft is 2.36 m wide. With its solar arrays fully extended, Dawn is 19.7 m wide. The solar arrays have a total area of 36.4 m2. The main antenna is five feet (1.24 metres) in diameter.

Propulsion system
The Dawn spacecraft was propelled by three xenon ion thrusters derived from NSTAR technology used by the Deep Space 1 spacecraft, using one at a time. They have a specific impulse of 3,100 s and produce a thrust of 90 mN. The whole spacecraft, including the ion propulsion thrusters, was powered by a 10 kW (at 1 AU) triple-junction gallium arsenide photovoltaic solar array manufactured by Dutch Space. Dawn was allocated 247 kg of xenon for its Vesta approach, and carried another 112 kg to reach Ceres, out of a total capacity of 425 kg of on-board propellant. With the propellant it carried, Dawn was able to perform a velocity change of approximately 11 km/s over the course of its mission, far more than any previous spacecraft achieved with onboard propellant after separation from its launch rocket. However, the thrust was very gentle; it took four days at full throttle to accelerate Dawn from zero to 60 mph (96 km/h). Dawn is NASA's first purely exploratory mission to use ion propulsion engines. The spacecraft also has twelve 0.9 N hydrazine thrusters for attitude control (orientation), which were also used to assist in orbital insertion.

The Dawn spacecraft was able to achieve a record-breaking level of propulsion from its ion engine. NASA noted three specific areas of excellence:
 * First to orbit two different astronomical bodies (not including Earth).
 * Solar-electric propulsion record, including a velocity change in space of 25,700 mph (11.49 km/s). This is 2.7 times the velocity change by solar-electric ion drive than the past record.
 * Achieved 5.9 years of ion engine runtime by September 7, 2018. This amount of runtime equates to 54% of Dawn's time in outer space.

Outreach microchip
Dawn carries a memory chip bearing the names of more than 360,000 space enthusiasts. The names were submitted online as part of a public outreach effort between September 2005 and November 4, 2006. The microchip, which is two centimetres in diameter, was installed on May 17, 2007, above the spacecraft's forward ion thruster, underneath its high-gain antenna. More than one microchip was made, with a back-up copy put on display at the 2007 Open House event at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

Launch preparations
On April 10, 2007, the spacecraft arrived at the Astrotech Space Operations subsidiary of SPACEHAB, Inc. in Titusville, Florida, where it was prepared for launch. The launch was originally scheduled for June 20, but was delayed until June 30 due to delays with part deliveries. A broken crane at the launch pad, used to raise the solid rocket boosters, further delayed the launch for a week, until July 7; prior to this, on June 15, the second stage was successfully hoisted into position. A mishap at the Astrotech Space Operations facility, involving slight damage to one of the solar arrays, did not have an effect on the launch date; however, bad weather caused the launch to slip to July 8. Range tracking problems then delayed the launch to July 9, and then July 15. Launch planning was then suspended in order to avoid conflicts with the Phoenix mission to Mars, which was successfully launched on August 4.

Launch
The launch of Dawn was rescheduled for September 26, 2007,  then September 27, due to bad weather delaying fueling of the second stage, the same problem that delayed the July 7 launch attempt. The launch window extended from 07:20–07:49 EDT (11:20–11:49 GMT). During the final built-in hold at T−4 minutes, a ship entered the exclusion area offshore, the strip of ocean where the rocket boosters were likely to fall after separation. After commanding the ship to leave the area, the launch was required to wait for the end of a collision avoidance window with the International Space Station. Dawn finally launched from pad 17-B at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on a Delta 7925-H rocket at 07:34 EDT,  reaching escape velocity with the help of a spin-stabilized solid-fueled third stage. Thereafter, Dawn's ion thrusters took over.

Transit to Vesta
After initial testing, during which the ion thrusters accumulated more than 11 days 14 hours of operation, Dawn began long-term cruise propulsion on December 17, 2007. On October 31, 2008, Dawn completed its first thrusting phase to send it on to Mars for a gravity assist flyby in February 2009. During this first interplanetary cruise phase, Dawn spent 270 days, or 85% of this phase, using its thrusters. It expended less than 72 kilograms of xenon propellant for a total change in velocity of 1.81 km/s. On November 20, 2008, Dawn performed its first trajectory correction maneuver (TCM1), firing its number 1 thruster for 2 hours, 11 minutes. Dawn made its closest approach (549 km) to Mars on February 17, 2009, during a successful gravity assist. This flyby slowed Mars's orbital velocity by about 1 in per 180 million years. On this day, the spacecraft placed itself in safe mode, resulting in some data acquisition loss. The spacecraft was reported to be back in full operation two days later, with no impact on the subsequent mission identified. The root cause of the event was reported to be a software programming error.

To cruise from Earth to its targets, Dawn travelled in an elongated outward spiral trajectory. The actual Vesta chronology and estimated Ceres chronology are as follows:
 * September 27, 2007: launch
 * February 17, 2009: Mars gravity assist
 * July 16, 2011: Vesta arrival and capture
 * August 11–31, 2011: Vesta survey orbit
 * September 29 – November 2, 2011: Vesta first high altitude orbit
 * December 12, 2011 – May 1, 2012: Vesta low altitude orbit
 * June 15 – July 25, 2012: Vesta second high altitude orbit
 * September 5, 2012: Vesta departure
 * March 6, 2015: Ceres arrival
 * June 30, 2016: End of primary Ceres operations
 * July 1, 2016: Beginning of Ceres extended mission
 * November 1, 2018: End of Mission

Vesta approach
As Dawn approached Vesta, the Framing Camera instrument took progressively higher-resolution images, which were published online and at news conferences by NASA and MPI.

On May 3, 2011, Dawn acquired its first targeting image, 1,200,000 km from Vesta, and began its approach phase to the asteroid. On June 12, Dawn's speed relative to Vesta was slowed in preparation for its orbital insertion 34 days later.

Dawn was scheduled to be inserted into orbit at 05:00 UTC on July 16 after a period of thrusting with its ion engines. Because its antenna was pointed away from the Earth during thrusting, scientists were not able to immediately confirm whether or not Dawn successfully made the maneuver. The spacecraft would then reorient itself, and was scheduled to check in at 06:30 UTC on July 17. NASA later confirmed that it received telemetry from Dawn indicating that the spacecraft successfully entered orbit around Vesta, making it the first spacecraft to orbit an object in the asteroid belt. The exact time of insertion could not be confirmed, since it depended on Vesta's mass distribution, which was not precisely known and at that time had only been estimated.

Vesta orbit
After being captured by Vesta's gravity and entering its orbit on July 16, 2011, Dawn moved to a lower, closer orbit by running its xenon-ion engine using solar power. On August 2, it paused its spiralling approach to enter a 69-hour survey orbit at an altitude of 2750 km. It assumed a 12.3-hour high-altitude mapping orbit at 680 km on September 27, and finally entered a 4.3-hour low-altitude mapping orbit at 210 km on December 8.

Transit to Ceres
During its time in orbit around Vesta, the probe experienced several failures of its reaction wheels. Investigators planned to modify their activities upon arrival at Ceres for close range geographical survey mapping. The Dawn team stated that they would orient the probe using a "hybrid" mode utilizing both reaction wheels and ion thrusters. Engineers determined that this hybrid mode would conserve fuel. On November 13, 2013, during the transit, in a test preparation, Dawn engineers completed a 27-hour-long series of exercises of said hybrid mode.

On September 11, 2014, Dawn ion thruster unexpectedly ceased firing and the probe began operating in a triggered safe mode. To avoid a lapse in propulsion, the mission team hastily exchanged the active ion engine and electrical controller with another. The team stated that they had a plan in place to revive this disabled component later in 2014. The controller in the ion propulsion system may have been damaged by a high-energy particle. Upon exiting the safe mode on September 15, 2014, the probe's ion thruster resumed normal operation.

Furthermore, the Dawn investigators also found that, after the propulsion issue, Dawn could not aim its main communications antenna towards Earth. Another antenna of weaker capacity was instead temporarily retasked. To correct the problem, the probe's computer was reset and the aiming mechanism of the main antenna was restored.

Ceres approach
Dawn began photographing an extended disk of Ceres on December 1, 2014, with images of partial rotations on January 13 and 25, 2015 released as animations. Images taken from Dawn of Ceres after January 26, 2015, exceeded the resolution of comparable images from the Hubble Space Telescope.

Progression of images of Ceres taken by Dawn between January and March 2015

Because of the failure of two reaction wheels, Dawn made fewer camera observations of Ceres during its approach phase than it did during its Vesta approach. Camera observations required turning the spacecraft, which consumed precious hydrazine fuel. Seven optical navigation photo sessions (OpNav 1–7, on January 13 and 25, February 3 and 25, March 1, and April 10 and 15) and two full rotation observation sessions (RC1–2, on February 12 and 19) were planned before full observation begins with orbital capture. The gap in March and early April was due to a period when Ceres appears too close to the Sun from Dawn vantage point to take pictures safely.

Ceres orbit

Dawn entered Ceres orbit on March 6, 2015, four months prior to the arrival of New Horizons at Pluto. Dawn thus became the first mission to study a dwarf planet at close range. Dawn initially entered a polar orbit around Ceres, and continued to refine its orbit. It obtained its first full topographic map of Ceres during this period.

From April 23 to May 9, 2015, Dawn entered an RC3 orbit (Rotation Characterization 3) at an altitude of 13,500 km. The RC3 orbit lasted 15 days, during which Dawn alternated taking pictures and sensor measurements and then relayed the resulting data back to Earth. On May 9, 2015, Dawn powered its ion engines and began a month-long spiral descent down to its second mapping point, a Survey orbit, three times closer to Ceres than the previous orbit. The spacecraft stopped twice to take images of Ceres during its spiral descent into the new orbit.

On June 6, 2015, Dawn entered the new Survey orbit at an altitude of 4,430 km. In the new Survey orbit, Dawn circled Ceres every three Earth days. The Survey phase lasted 22 days (7 orbits), and was designed to obtain a global view of Ceres with Dawn framing camera, and generate detailed global maps with the visible and infrared mapping spectrometer (VIR).

On June 30, 2015, Dawn experienced a software glitch when an anomaly in its orientation system occurred. It responded by going into safe mode and sending a signal to engineers, who fixed the error on July 2, 2015. Engineers determined the cause of the anomaly to be related to the mechanical gimbal system associated with one of Dawn's ion engines. After switching to a separate ion engine and conducting tests from July 14 through July 16, 2015, engineers certified the ability to continue the mission.

On August 17, 2015, Dawn entered the HAMO orbit (High-Altitude Mapping Orbit). Dawn descended to an altitude of 1,480 km, where in August 2015 it began the two-month HAMO phase. During this phase, Dawn continued to acquire near-global maps with the VIR and framing camera at higher resolution than in the Survey phase. It also imaged in stereo to resolve the surface in 3D.

On October 23, 2015, Dawn began a two-month spiral toward Ceres to achieve a LAMO orbit (Low-Altitude Mapping Orbit) at a distance of 375 km. Since reaching this fourth orbit in December 2015, Dawn was scheduled to acquire data for the next three months with its gamma-ray and neutron detector (GRaND) and other instruments that identified the composition at the surface.

Having surpassed its mapping objectives, Dawn climbed to its fifth science orbit of 1460 km beginning on September 2, 2016, to complete additional observations from a different angle. Dawn began raising its altitude to its sixth science orbit of 7200 km on November 4, 2016, with a goal of reaching it by December 2016. The return to a higher altitude allowed for a second set of data at this altitude, which improves the overall science quality when added to the first batch. However, this time the spacecraft was placed where it was not spiraling and was orbiting in the same direction as Ceres, which reduced propellant consumption.

Mission conclusion
A flyby of the asteroid 2 Pallas after the completion of the Ceres mission was suggested but never formally considered; orbiting Pallas would not have been possible for Dawn due to the high inclination of Pallas's orbit relative to Ceres.

In April 2016, the Dawn project team submitted a proposal to NASA for an extended mission that would have seen the spacecraft break orbit from Ceres and perform a flyby of the asteroid 145 Adeona in May 2019, arguing that the science gained from visiting a third asteroid might outweigh the returns from staying at Ceres. NASA's Planetary Mission Senior Review Panel, however, declined the proposal in May 2016. A one-year mission extension was approved, but the review panel ordered that Dawn remain at Ceres, stating that the long-term observations of the dwarf planet, particularly as it approached perihelion, would potentially yield better science.

The one-year extension expired on June 30, 2017. The spacecraft was placed in an uncontrolled but relatively stable orbit around Ceres, where it ran out of hydrazine propellant by October 31, 2018, and where it will remain as a "monument" for at least 20 years.

title: Dawn (spacecraft)


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Bad Schussenried

Bad Schussenried (Swabian: Schussariad) is a spa town in Upper Swabia in the district of Biberach, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.

It lies on the Upper Swabian Baroque Route and the Swabian Spa Route. Schussenried Abbey, a former monastery founded in 1183, is located in Bad Schussenried. Its church and Baroque library feature impressive architecture and artwork, including intricate ceiling frescoes.

The town is also home to a beer stein museum, the Schussenrieder Bierkrug Museum.

Bad Schussenried had a population of 8,537 at the end of 2015.

Geography
Bad Schussenried is located between Ulm and Lake Constance on the river Schussen. The 48th parallel north runs through Bad Schussenried.

History
Archaeological finds provided evidence of a prehistoric settlement in the region. In 1866, a Paleolithic campsite of hunters and gatherers was discovered. These were the first Paleolithic finds in Central Europe.

World Heritage Site
At Aichbühl, about 1.5 km north of the Schussen source, excavations at the end of the 19th century in the bog of Federsee discovered Neolithic pile-dwelling (or stilt house) settlements that are part of the Prehistoric Pile dwellings around the Alps UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Middle Ages
Shuozenried was first mentioned in records in 1153. The history of the city is closely linked to that of Schussenried Abbey. In 1183, the local lords Konrad and Beringer founded the Premonstratensians monastery. The abbey received many privileges, for example in 1521 the High Jurisdiction (blood court), allowing it to depict the sword next to the crozier in the coat of arms. Until the secularization, the canons governed the monastic community.

Museums

 * Bierkrugmuseum is a museum about beer steins
 * Oberschwäbisches Museumsdorf Kürnbach is an Upper Swabian village with 31 buildings and furnishings from six centuries
 * Pilgrimage museum Alte Schmiede at Steinhausen
 * Ailinger Erlebnismühle with an over 400 years old tradition in the district Reichenbach
 * Museum of coaches
 * Zentrales württembergisches Mundartarchiv und Museum
 * Monastery museum Klostermuseum Bad Schussenried

Buildings

 * Schussenried Abbey
 * Sanctuary Church of Our Lady, Steinhausen, 1728–1731
 * Church St. Oswald at district Otterswang, 1770
 * Church Kirche zu den Heiligen Sebastian at district Reichenbach, 1460
 * Castles: Burg Hervetsweiler, Burg Kürnbach, Ruine Otterswang, Burg Reichenbach, Burg Rudersberg, Burg Schussenried

Economy and Infrastructure
Until the middle of the 20th century, peat extraction was an important industry in Schussenried. Today major local employers are a psychiatric hospital for general psychiatry and psychotherapy (ZfP Südwürttemberg), the Schwäbische Hüttenwerke (SHW), an automotive supplier, and the concrete mixer division of the Liebherr Group.

Transport
The station Bad Schussenried is located on the Southern Railway (Württemberg). Trains run every hour to Ulm and Friedrichshafen.

Education
Bad Schussenried has a primary school, a Werkrealschule, a Realschule and a Progymnasium. In addition, the Humboldt-Institut for German as a foreign language runs a boarding school for international students.

Personality
Oswald Metzger, a former Green party, now Christian democratic politician and cyclist Rolf Gölz, who won a silver medal in the 1984 Summer Olympics, are from Bad Schussenried. The world champion women trick cyclists are also from Bad Schussenried.

Sons and daughters of the town

 * Johann Baptist Allgaier (1763–1823), chess player
 * Rolf Gölz (born 1962), professional cyclist and, sporting director of racing team Gerolsteiner

Personalities who have worked locally

 * Conradin Kreutzer (1780–1849), composer and band leader, visited the monastery school in Schussenried

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

title: Bad Schussenried


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Prem Nazir

Prem Nazir (born Abdul Khader; 7 April 1926 – 16 January 1989) was an Indian actor known as one of Malayalam cinema's definitive leading men of his generation. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential actors in the history of Indian cinema. A popular cultural icon of Kerala, Nazir is often referred to as Nithyaharitha Nayakan ("Evergreen Hero"). Nazir began his career as a stage actor and made his film debut with the 1952 film Marumakal. He took on the stage name Prem Nazir on the sets of his second film, Visappinte Vili (1952).

Nazir is noted for his performances in films such as Murappennu (1965), Udhyogastha (1967), Iruttinte Athmavu (1967), Kallichellamma (1969), Virunnukari (1969), Nadhi (1969), C.I.D. Nazir (1971), Anubhavangal Paalichakal (1971), Taxi Car (1972), Azhakulla Saleena (1973), Nellu (1974), Ariyappedatha Rahasyam (1981), Vida Parayum Munpe (1981), Padayottam (1982), and Dhwani (1988). Nazir won the Kerala State Film Award (Special Jury Award) for his role as Madhavan Kutty in Vida Parayum Munpe. The Government of India honoured him with the Padma Bhushan the third highest civilian honours respectively, for his contribution towards the arts. He died due to measles on 16 January 1989 at the age of 62.

Nazir holds the Guinness World Records for playing opposite the same heroine in 130 films (with Sheela), and previously held the record for playing the lead role in a record 720 films. He also holds two other acting records; for acting opposite eighty heroines and for acting in lead roles in 30 films which were released in a single year (1973 and 1977).

Early life
Nazir was born in Chirayinkeezhu in the princely state of Travancore (now in Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala), to Akkode Shahul Hamid and Asuma Beevi on 7 April 1926 in a Rowther family. He had two brothers - Prem Nawas (Abdul Wahab) - and Ashraf and six sisters - Sulekha, Arifa, Aneesa, Umaiba, Sunaisa and Suhara. His mother died when he was very young, and his father remarried a woman of the same name. He completed his formal education from Kadinamkulam Lower Primary School, Sri Chithiravilasam School, Trivandrum, Sanatana Dharma College, Alappuzha, and St. Berchmans College, Changanassery. By the time he completed his education, he had become an experienced drama artist.

Entry into cinema
Prem Nazir had his acting debut as Shylock in the play The Merchant of Venice (1951), when he was a student at SB College, Changanacherry. He won the best actor award for this role in the play directed by Sheppard. His first film was Marumakal (1952), directed by S. K. Chari and produced by Paul Kallungal. He was credited as Abdul Khader in this film. He got his career break with Visappinte Vili (1952), his second film, made for K&K Combines (Udaya Studio) by Telugu director Mohan Rao. It was on the set of this movie he was renamed to Prem Nazir by Thikkurussi Sukumaran Nair. Prem Nazir started his career when drama was the most popular visual medium and film making at its infancy. He began acting for the Excel Productions (Udaya Studio) and most of his films were for the Udaya and Merryland Studios.

1950s: Rise to stardom
With the arrival of Nazir, there was a new screen personality, a new debonair actor who could be a youth heart throb. Prem Nazir acquired the halo of a romantic hero and a loyal following. His tear-jerkers were very popular with female audiences and soon made him a darling of the masses. He became the first real star of Malayalam cinema. Another factor that assisted Prem Nazir's rise – as it had the rise of his contemporaries in other regional film industries – was the continuing reign of mythologicals and devotionals. Costumed musicals, filmed start-to-finish within the confines of a studio, contributed their own. All such films for a long period kept him before his fans, nourished his romantic image and provided him unlimited scope for rehearsing and refining his talent in playing diverse roles. Since the bulk of South Indian cinema was theatrical visually and aurally, Prem Nazir's stage background and his extraordinary command of Malayalam helped him win the hearts of his audience.

1960s, 1970s: Golden years
In the late 1950s, Nazir drew attention by playing movies with themes based on social and religious injustices in the society. From 1956 to 1976, Prem Nazir rode high at the crest of a tidal wave of popularity and also gave his best to Malayalam cinema. Nazir catapulted to the row of the finest actors of India with the film Iruttinte Athmavu (1967). Playing a demented youth – Velayadhan, Prem Nazir discovered his prowess as a dramatic actor of great intensity. Many critics have evaluated this role as his masterpiece, and as one of the finest onscreen performances ever. Written by M. T. Vasudevan Nair, the film provided Malayalam cinema with a new direction; that of the low-budget film. One could see a lot of the pre-occupations of the scenarist, who carried the touches of human relationships through all of his subsequent films whether as screenplay writer or director. In spite of its large number of studio shots and overall theatricality, the film was so culturally rich that many of the episodes would become archetypes for future Malayalam film makers dealing with family drama. It depicted the story of an imbecile (finely portrayed by Prem Nazir) in a joint family with remarkable sensitivity and seriousness of purpose.

During his peak time, Nazir gave life to many characters and enjoyed a wide popularity among all sects of the society. He acted in the first-ever investigative series in Malayalam cinema C.I.D. Nazir directed by P. Venu. He has played historical characters based on Vadakkan Pattukal. Aromalunni, Kannappanunni, Thacholi Ambu and Padayottam are some major films in this genre. Although the actor faced criticism for playing such roles as his physique was least suited for it, he still enjoyed a huge fan following among the audiences. He was well known for his roles as Hindu deities like Rama, Krishna and Ayyappa. In his movies, Nazir was well known for playing the eternal romantic hero and the good guy who would bash up the villains without remorse.

Even though Nazir could not regenerate after the mid-1970s, he maintained his superstardom till the beginning of the 1980s. In 1979, 39 of his films got released; a record. He also holds the record for having acted in the most leading roles – about 700 films (with 85 heroines; another record). Another record is for the most enduring screen team along with actress Sheela. They played opposite each other in 130 movies by 1975. Although Sheela is known as the lucky mascot of Prem Nazir, his movies with other heroines like Jayabharathi and Sharada were also big successes at box office. Prem Nazir pairing with comedian Adoor Bhasi was a sure-fire laugh riot. The void left by this duo is yet to be occupied. Nazir's association with playback singer K. J. Yesudas was perfect for the audience. Even today many consider the Nazir – Yesudas combination of song sequences remain the best ever on screen. He is quite popularly described as Nithyaharithanayakan (The Evergreen Hero), which does justice to the fact that he was acting as the hero in his elder years as well. Senior Malayalam cine actress Kaviyoor Ponnamma has revealed that Prem Nazir was a very good singer, and had training in Carnatic music.

1980s: Late career
By the beginning of the 1980s, Nazir himself moved into supporting roles. He mostly played supporting roles with Jayan, Sukumaran, Shankar and Soman. In 1980, he acted in Ariyappedatha Rahasyam directed by P. Venu along with Jayan. In 1981, he played a major supporting role in Mohan's Vida Parayum Munpe that earned him the Kerala State Special Jury Award. His most iconic role till date came in the form of Padayottam released in 1982. Based loosely on the evergreen classic, The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, Nazir played the titular role of Thamban, a prince who is cheated by his so called dear ones and friends and made a slave in a vessel. How he returns and hunts down those who were responsible for wrecking his life forms the crux of the story. He played his last hero role in Vellarikka Pattanam (1985) along with Ratheesh. It is also reputed the Nazir missed the National award for best actor by just one vote for role. His second last film was Ayalvasi Oru Daridravasi(1986), where he starred with Mukesh, Shankar, Nedumudi Venu, Sukumari and Seema. His last completed film was A. T. Abu's Dhwani (1988), in which he co-starred with Jayaram. His last release was Priyadarshan's Kadathanadan Ambadi (1990), in which he co-starred with Mohanlal. In one of his last interviews, he had expressed a desire to direct a film with Mammootty and Mohanlal in the lead.

Popular film genres
Two popular film series initiated by Prem Nazir are the C.I.D series and the Vadakkanpattu series. The former is a group of investigative films by P. Venu in which Nazir played James Bond like protagonists. In most of these movies Nazir teamed with Adoor Bhasi, a famed comedy actor who would accompany Nazir characters in investigations. C.I.D. Nazir directed by P. Venu, has inspired numerous adaptations and similar series like for example popular CBI series with Mammootty in the lead and a satirical CID series of Mohanlal-Sreenivasan team. Other inspired films are C.I.D Unnikrishnan starring Jayaram and C.I.D Moosa with Dileep in the lead.

Another film series starring Nazir was a series of movies based on Vadakanpaattu which are part of the traditional folklore of Kerala. These are tales of martial warriors spread over generations through folk songs. Although the series may have been initiated by Sathyan's title role in Thacholi Othenan, the trend was continued long after his demise with Nazir in the lead, playing various other characters from Vadakkanpattu.

Family
Prem Nazir was married to Habeeba Beevi and they have one son and three daughters. Laila, Rasiya – both older than Shanavas. The youngest daughter is Rita. Shanavas's wife Ayisha Beevi is the daughter of the eldest sister of Prem Nazir, Suleikha Beevi. Prem Nazir's son Shanavas acted in few films as well but could not succeed like his father. Third generation of Prem Nazir, Shanavas's son Shameer Khan, acted in a Malayalam film, Uppukandam Brothers Back in Action.

Prem Nazir's younger brother Prem Nawas (Abdul Wahab) also acted in a few films. Although he was the first in the family to begin acting in movies, he later began producing films – Agniputhri, Thulaavarsham, Poojakku Edukatha Pookkal, Neethi and Keni, to name a few. Prem Nawas's only son, Prem Kishore has also had a stint with the industry by acting in two Malayalam films – Vacation and Thaskaraputran. Prem Nawas has the distinction of acting in the first ever colour film made in Malayalam – Kandam Becha Kottu.

Philanthropic work
Prem Nazir, renowned for both his acting prowess and philanthropic endeavors, remains a subject of debate on whether he excelled more as an actor or humanitarian. Widely regarded for his generosity, Nazir treated colleagues, well-wishers, and family with equal kindness. His humanitarian impact became evident posthumously as beneficiaries of his assistance came to light. Nazir's compassion extended to supporting his close friend Jayan, financing the transportation of Jayan's remains following a tragic accident during the shoot of "Kolilakkam."

Notably, Nazir played a pivotal role in promoting his film colleagues, demonstrating a sharp memory by instantly recognizing individuals. Collaborating with director M. Sasikumar, he assisted bankrupt producers, aiding them in regaining their prominence in the film industry. Nazir's golden era in Malayalam cinema was characterized by his unparalleled generosity, where he not only contributed to his own success but also facilitated the growth of others in the industry.

Beyond his cinematic achievements, Nazir donated an elephant to the Sarkara Devi Temple in Chirayinkil and authored books such as "Enne Thediyethiya Kathapatrangal" detailing the film characters he portrayed and his autobiography, "Anubhvangal Oarmakal." Director and lyricist Sreekumaran Thampi further honored Nazir with the book "Prem Nazir Enna Prema Ganam.

Death
It was during the late 1980s that Nazir, despite being a person with no political affiliations, campaigned rigorously for a running candidate in politics who happened to be a close friend of his. Due to his sincerity, dedication and tireless nature to help people in need, Nazir, who was a diabetic, failed to have proper food at times as he placed his mission much above his health. However all this took a toll on this and he became admitted to Vijaya hospital due to duodenal ulcer which happens due to irregularity of having food. During that stint many of his fans had come to see him and since it was impossible in those days to contain a large following, people just poured in to check the well being of their favorite actor. In that crowd it is said that there was a person who had measles and had freshly bathed which would increase the germs to spread. Nazir in his weak physique contracted it and this led his feeble condition to deteriorate further. Even though attempts were made like trying to bring medicines from abroad to treat him, it all ended up in fiasco and Nazir died in the early hours of 16 January 1989, aged 62. His dead body was transported via aeroplane to Thiruvananthapuram, and via a special bus to his native land, where he was buried with full state honours.

Awards
Prem Nazir won his only Kerala State Film Award in 1981; He won Filmfare Special Award - South for numerous films in 1976 and he won a Special Jury Award for the supporting role he played in the film Vida Parayum Munbe. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1983 by the President of India in recognition of distinguished services of a high order to the nation in his field (acting). The Prem Nazir Award was initiated in his memory, in 1992, for excellence in contributions to the Malayalam cinema Industry. He has also held the position of National Film Award jury in 1985.

Legacy and influence
Prem Nazir is known to be the most influential and trendsetting lead actor in Malayalam. He is known for his amazing longevity in that he was active during the peak years of other iconic Malayalam superstars like Sathyan and Jayan acting alongside them in 1960s and 1970s respectively. Nazir who began his movie career in the early 1950s, later acted alongside popular future stars like Shankar, Mammootty and Mohanlal by the 1980s. He was a mainstream superstar in Malayalam cinema for over 30 years from the late 1950s to late 1980s. He also has an unofficial recognition of playing a campus character while in his late fifties. Prem Nazir has the distinction of acting with the same heroine; Sheela, in over 100 films.

Nazir is generally considered the ultimate romantic hero in Malayalam cinema due to his handsomeness and ease of acting in romantic roles particularly in romantic song sequences. His song sequences combined with the lyrics of Vayalar, tunes of Devarajan and voice of K.J. Yesudas produced what is called the golden era of Malayalam film songs. Prem Nazir has also appeared in the highest number of dual roles (more than 40) in Indian films and perhaps in world cinema.

Films in which Nazir played dual roles
Prem Nazir holds the record of playing double roles in more than 40 films of his career. The first movie in which he had played a double role was the historical film, Kunjali Marakkar, directed by SS Rajan. The film won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Malayalam.

1 Kunjali Marakkar (1966) as Antonio/Narayanan Nair

2 Udhyogastha (1967)

3 Virunnukari (1969)

4 C.I.D. Nazir (1971)

5 Taxi Car (1972)

6 Thirichadi (1971) as Kuttappan/Venu

7 Rahasyam (1969) as Babu/K.K.Nair

8 Seemantha Puthran  (1978) as Surendran/Jayadevan

9 Makane Ninakku Vendi (1971) as Sam/Thomachan

10 Aromalunni (1974) as Kunjiraman/Aromalunni

11 Gandharvakshethram (1974) as Gandharvan/Velayudhan

12 Postmane Kananilla (1973) as Ramu/Aniyan

13 Football Champion (1976) as Vijayan/ Thakil Veerachami

14 Thenaruvi (1976) as Rajan/Mannaan.

15 Ragapournami (1978) as Vinayan/Ajayan

16 Thacholi Marumakan Chandu (1980) as Othenan/Kutty

17 Honeymoon (1974)

18 Mamangam (1980) as Marathandan/Kannan

19 Pathiravum Pakalvelichavum (1974)

20 Durga (1974) as Prof. Damodaran/Ramu

21 Kottaaram Vilkkaanundu (1975) as Murali

22 Picnic (1975) as Ravivarma/Rajagopal

23 Pichathikuttappan (1979)

24 Aaranyakaantam (1979) as Unnikrishnan/Duplicate Unni

25 Ariyappedatha Rahasyam (1981)

26 Kadamattathachan (1978) as Ravivarma/Kadamattathu Kathanar

27 Ajayanum Vijayanum (1978) as Ajayan/Vijayan

28 Paarijatham (1976)

29 Vanadevatha (1976) as Chandran/Suresh

30 Chennaaya Valarthiya Kutty (1976) as Sreeni/Maranchadi.

31 Kannappanunni (1981) as Durgadasan/Kannappanunni.

32 Kadathanaattu Maakkam (1978) as Nambeeshan/Kannan.

33 Kanalkattakal (1979) as Panikkar/Vijayan.

28 Aanappaachan (1978) as Paachan/Gopi.

29 Vijayanum Veeranum (1982) as Vijayan/Veeran.

30 Anthapuram (1981)

31 Sanchari (1981) as Sumesh/Suresh

32 Post Mortem (1982) as Vikariyachan/C.I.of Police.

33Marupacha (1982) as PremKumar, Premchandran

34 Ente Katha (1983) as Sreekumar/Sankar

35 Justice Raja (1983) as Justice Raja/Son of Raja.

36. Muhammadum musthafayum (1978) as Rajan/Babu

37. Rajurahim (1978) as Raju and Rahim

38. Mallanum Mathevanum

39. Anweshanam (1978) as Gopi/Venu

40. Adachangala (1978) as Ravi/Johnny

41. Ammini Ammavan (1977) as Anandhan/Suresh

Films in which Nazir played triple roles

 * 1) Ernakulam Junction (1971)
 * 2) Pushpanjali (1972)
 * 3) Amme Narayana (1984)

Other important films and characters

 * Avakashi (1954)
 * Murappennu (1965)
 * Odeyil Ninnu (From the Gutter) – The 1966 film was based on the novel of the same name by P. Kesavadev.
 * Iruttinte Athmavu (The Soul of Darkness) (1966) – Nazir played the mentally challenged Bhrantan Velayudhan in this film based on the classic novel by M. T. Vasudevan Nair.
 * Nagarame Nandi [Thanks to the City] (1967)
 * Nadhi (The River) (1969), Adimakal (1969), Kallichellamma (1969)
 * Ningalenne Communistakki (You Made Me a Communist) – The 1970 film was based on the drama of the same name by Thoppil Bhasi.
 * Thriveni (1970), Thurakkaatha Vaathil [The Door Never Opens] (1970)
 * Anubhavangal Paalichakal (Experiences and Failures) (1971) – The story of persecutions and suffering of communists in the early days of modern Kerala. Nazir played one of the heroes alongside Sathyan.
 * C.I.D. Nazir (1971) – A investigative series by P. Venu
 * Vilakku Vangiya Veena (1971)
 * Maaya (1972), Aaradi Manninte Janmi [The Landlord of 6 feet Earth] (1972)
 * Pani Theeratha Veedu [The House never completes] (1973), Interview (1973)
 * Achani (1973)
 * Pathiravum Pakalvelichavum [Midnight & Daylight] (1974)
 * Pravaham [Current] (1975)
 * Seemantha Puthran [The First Son] (1976), Themmadi Velappan [Idiot Velappan] (1976), Amrithavaahini (1976)
 * Vishukkani (1977), Randu Lokam (1977)
 * Snehathinte Mukhangal [The Faces of Love] (1978)
 * Asthamikkatha Pakalukal [The Days never Ends] (1981)
 * Karipuranda Jeevithangal [500th Film Got Outstanding Performance Award] (1981)
 * Vida Parayum Munpe (Before saying Goodbye) (1981) – Nazir received a special jury award for this film in the 1981 Kerala State Film Award.
 * Padayottam (The Campaign) (1982) – Its story was inspired by Alexandre Dumas classic novel The Count of Monte Cristo and the treatment of the film was inspired by that of Ben-Hur.
 * Ayalvasi Oru Daridravasi (Neighbour The Pauper!) (1986) – A comedy film by Priyadarshan, Nazir performed as a middle-aged father.
 * Dhwani (The Sound) (1988) – This was his last completed film. The film was a hit due to several factors like the excellent performances by Prem Nazir, Jayaram, Shobhana, Suresh Gopi, Thilakan, and the everlasting music by maestro Naushad Ali.

title: Prem Nazir


text:
User talk:Ryguillian

Hello and welcome. I just stumbled upon the article R2-D2, which you blanked after you enlarged the article a lot. I wonder why you did that. Maybe because you realized that the text you added was a copyright violation? As a totally blank page is not good, I reverted it to the last version before you started editing, as that one should be a save version. But in case the blanking was accidentally and your text wasn't copied from a StarWars book, you can access your version with the editing history of the article, and continue to work on it. andy 08:54, 17 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Hi, and welcome to Wikipedia! I noticed you've been doing a lot of editing on the Caffeine article. 14 edits in five minutes is quite a lot, and might make it somewhat difficult for you or other Wikipedians to review changes in the article's edit history. Try using the "Preview" button when editing a page, to review your work before publishing your changes. Good luck! :-) Cribcage 01:35, 23 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Sorabji (From German MGG)
Sorabji, Kaikhosru, * 14. Aug. (?) 1892 in Epping (Essex) als Sohn eines in England lebenden Inders (Parsen). Seine Mutter ist span.-sizilianischer Abstammung. Sorabji wurde privat erzogen und verdankt auch seine mus. Bildung privater Unterweisung. Sein Hang zu Originalität und Unabhängigkeit hinderte ihn, sich irgendeiner »Schule« anzuschließen, eine solche zu begründen oder ein Amt oder eine Anstellung anzunehmen. Er lebt sehr zurückgezogen mit unbekanntem Aufenthalt in Dorset.

[Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart: Sorabji, Kaikhosru. Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart, S. 70121 (vgl. MGG Bd. 12, S. 927-928) (c) Bärenreiter-Verlag 1986 http://www.digitale-bibliothek.de/band60.htm]

helohe 11:41, 29 October 2005 (UTC)

Image Tagging Image:R2d2.jpg
Thanks for uploading Image:R2d2.jpg. I notice the 'image' page currently doesn't specify who created the content, so the copyright status is unclear. If you have not created this media yourself then there needs to be an argument why we have the right to use the media on Wikipedia (see copyright tagging below). If you have not created the media yourself then it needs to be specified where it was found, i.e., in most cases link to the website where it was taken from, and the terms of use for content from that page.

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Contemporary music
Hi Ryguillian, I wonder if you would be interested in joining the new WikiProject Contemporary music that I helped organize recently? Our goal is to help improve Wikipedia’s coverage of the subject. Best, --S.dedalus (talk) 03:15, 8 March 2008 (UTC)

ArbCom elections are now open!
Hi, You appear to be eligible to vote in the current Arbitration Committee election. The Arbitration Committee is the panel of editors responsible for conducting the Wikipedia arbitration process. It has the authority to enact binding solutions for disputes between editors, primarily related to serious behavioural issues that the community has been unable to resolve. This includes the ability to impose site bans, topic bans, editing restrictions, and other measures needed to maintain our editing environment. The arbitration policy describes the Committee's roles and responsibilities in greater detail. If you wish to participate, you are welcome to review the candidates' statements and submit your choices on the voting page. For the Election committee, MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 22:13, 30 November 2015 (UTC)

title: User talk:Ryguillian


text: Talk:Euronat

title: Talk:Euronat


text:
Rinspeed

Rinspeed Inc. is a Swiss concept car builder and mobility visionary. Since 1991, they have also designed exotic concepts and special vehicles for the CES in Las Vegas, the Geneva Motor Show and other car shows each year, but do not enter into production.

Rinspeed Inc. was founded in 1979 by Frank M. Rinderknecht (born 1955) and works with many Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers as Harman, Osram, ZF, SAP, Borbet, Dekra, Harting and many more.

Their latest concept car presented at the CES Las Vegas 2020 - the "MetroSnap" - is a close to serial production modular vehicle.

Concept cars
• Speed-Art (1992)

• Veleno (1993)

• Cyan (1994)

• Roadster R + SC-R (1995)

• Yello Talbo (1996)

• Mono Ego (1997)

• E-Go Rocket (1998)

• X-Trem (1999)

• Tatooo.com (2000)

• Rone (2001)

• Presto (2002)

• Bedouin (2003)

• Splash (2004)

• Chopster (2005)

• Senso (2005)

• zaZen (2006)

• eXasis (2007)

• Le Mans 600 (2007)

• sQuba (2008)

• iChange (2009)

• UC? (2010)

• BamBoo (2011)

• Dock+Go (2012)

• MicroMax (2013)

• Etos (2016)

• Oasis (2017)

zaZen
Rinspeed zaZen is a Rinspeed concept car shown for the first time at the 2006 Geneva Motor Show. It is based on the Porsche 911 (997) Carrera S platform and developed in collaboration with Bayer MaterialScience.

The zaZen is powered by a flat-6 engine that has a displacement of 3824 cc and develops a maximum power of 355 bhp (261 kW) at 6600 rpm. The car is able to accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 4.8 seconds and reach a top speed of 182 mph (293 km/h).

sQuba
Built around a Lotus Elise, the Rinspeed sQuba is a concept car that can 'fly' underwater and has zero emissions. It debuted at the 2008 Geneva Motor Show, 30 years after its inspiration: the movie The Spy Who Loved Me. The sQuba was featured in the first episode of 14th season of UK motoring show Fifth Gear.

Splash
The Rinspeed Splash is a concept amphibian vehicle with hydrofoil design capable of 45 knots on water or nearly 200 km/h on land. Propelled by a 750 cc two cylinder turbo-charged engine burning natural gas which supplies 140 hp at 7000 rpm and weighs just 825 kg, this strange-looking vehicle can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 5.9 seconds. It premiered at the 2004 Geneva Motor Show. The Splash was featured in an episode of Top Gear. In 2006 it set a record for crossing the English Channel in a hydrofoil car, making the journey in 3 hours 14 minutes.

iChange
The iChange is a concept car that changes shape and configuration based on the number of passengers inside, up to three. It was unveiled at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show. The car features are controlled by an Apple iPhone and it is powered by a 150 kW electric motor. The iChange has a 0–100 km/h (62 mph) speed of slightly over four seconds, and can hit a top speed of 136 mi/h.

UC
The Rinspeed UC is a micro concept electric car that was presented at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show. The name UC stands for "Urban Commuter" or "You see". It is a 2.5 metres long micro vehicle, operated with a central joystick. The electric motor delivers 124 Nm of torque. The concept car can reach a top speed of 110 km/h, and on-board batteries enable the car a capable of 120 km range in one charge.

Budii
The Budii concept displayed at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show is worked around the future possibilities of self driven cars. Budii displays experiments to include vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2X) radio-based communications, radar and motion sensing systems including advanced camera monitoring. It is also equipped with telescoping laser scanner on the roof called TrackView which can be raised by 70 centimeters and delivers a precise 3D perspective by combining data from all the various sensors to map the surrounding terrain.

Ʃtos
Concept Ʃtos is a concept presented in the Consumer Electronics Show in 2016. It is based on the BMW i8.

Oasis
Announced late in 2016 and first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January 2017, the Rinspeed Oasis concept car takes Rinspeed's 2015 Budii and 2016 Etos concept cars farther, integrating state-of-the art autonomous vehicle technologies, social media, and Mobility as a Service into a compact car described as a "living room" on wheels. It also features floor to ceiling glass doors, a battery-electric engine, retractable steering wheel, solar panels integrated into the roof, and an augmented reality display. An unusual feature, for a car, is the dash-mounted garden with sensors to advise the user when to feed the plants. It was also shown at the Detroit Motor Show. Partners on the project included Kostal (electronics), Harman (electronic controls), WayRay (infotainment system) among a wide range of other firms.

Modified / tuned cars

 * In 1993, Rinspeed modified a Dodge Viper with electronically controlled nitrous injection and various other modifications to create the Rinspeed Veleno.
 * In 2005, Rinspeed modified a Subaru Forester to make it appear more feminine - Forester Lady 2006
 * In 2007, Rinspeed offered a modified 997 911 Turbo that has been transformed into a Le Mans 600.

title: Rinspeed


text:
Antonov An-22

The Antonov An-22 "Antei" (Ан-22 Антей; lit. 'Antaeus'; NATO reporting name: "Cock") is a heavy military transport aircraft designed by the Antonov Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. Powered by four turboprop engines each driving a pair of contra-rotating propellers, the design was the first wide-body transport aircraft and remains the world's largest turboprop-powered aircraft to date. The An-22 first appeared publicly outside the Soviet Union at the 1965 Paris Air Show. Thereafter, the model saw extensive use in major military and humanitarian airlifts for the Soviet Union, and is still in service with the Russian Aerospace Forces.

Design and development
In the late 1950s, the Soviet Union required a large military transport aircraft to supplement the Antonov An-8 and An-12s then entering service. Originally known as the An-20, the model is a conventional multi-engined high-wing design. In the early 1960s, the Antonov bureau produced a wooden mock up at its Kyiv, Ukraine, workshops of what was designated the Model 100. The prototype, now designated the An-22, was rolled out on 18 August 1964 and first flew on 27 February 1965. The prototype was given the name Antaeus (sometimes misspelled Antheus) and, after four months of test-flying, was displayed at the 1965 Paris Air Show. All aircraft were built at the Tashkent State Aircraft Factory and the first military delivery was made to the Air Transport Wing at Ivanovo Airbase in 1969.

The aircraft was designed as a strategic airlifter, designed specifically to expand the Soviet Airborne Forces' capability to land with their then-new BMD-1 armoured vehicles. The An-22 cargo hold can accommodate four BMD-1s compared to only one in the An-12.

It has the capability to takeoff from austere, unpaved, and short airstrips, allowing airborne troops to perform air-landing operations. This is achieved by four pairs of contra-rotating propellers, similar to those on the Tupolev Tu-114. The propellers and exhaust from the engines produce a slipstream over the wings and large double-slotted flaps. The landing gear is ruggedized for rough airstrips. In early versions tire pressures could be adjusted in flight for optimum landing performance. That feature was removed in later models.

The An-22 follows traditional cargo transport design with a high-mounted wing allowing a large cargo space of 33 m in length and a usable volume of 639 m³. The forward fuselage is fully pressurized and provides space for 5 to 8 crew and up to 28 passengers, but the cargo space is pressurized to only 3.55 PSI / 0.245 bar allowing for a lighter airframe. A door equipped with pressure bulkhead is located at frame 14, separating the cargo attendant's compartment from the main cargo compartment. This allows the rear cargo doors to be opened during flight for paratroops and equipment drop. Like the An-12, the aircraft has a circular fuselage section. The An-22 has set a number of payload and payload-to-height world records.

The An-22 has the general appearance of an enlarged version of the earlier Antonov An-12 except that it is fitted with a twin tail. This gives the An-22 better engine-out performance, and reduces height restrictions for hangars. Also of note are large anti-flutter masses on the top of each tail.

Only one production variant was built, the standard An-22. Prototypes, such as the one first featured at the 1965 Paris Air Show had fully glazed noses that lacked the nose-mounted radar of production models. Those aircraft had the radar mounted below the right wheel well fairing, forward of the wheels. Antonov designated a variant with a modified electrical system and an additional augmented flight control system the An-22A but the designation was not used by the military.

A civil airliner version with a lengthened fuselage capable of seating 724 passengers on upper and lower decks was studied but was not built.

Variants

 * An-22
 * Three original prototypes were built at the Antonov facility in Kyiv, with glass nose.

 * Amphibious An-22
 * An amphibian version of the An-22 was proposed, but did not progress past the scale model phase.

 * An-22
 * Initial production variant with external start system, 37 built at Tashkent.

 * An-22A
 * Improved variant with air-start capability, modified electrical system, and updated radio and navigation equipment, 28 built at Tashkent.

 * An-22PZ
 * Conversion of two An-22s to carry wing centre sections or outer wings of Antonov An-124 or An-225 externally above fuselage. Fitted with third centreline fin.

Several other An-22 variants were projected and constructed by Antonov but never entered serial production, notably a nuclear-powered aircraft and a ballistic missile platform.

Operational history
The An-22 was originally built for the Soviet Air Force and Aeroflot (the state airline). Conversion from An-12 in the Air Force began in July 1974. Several Military Transport Aviation units were equipped. The 12th Mginsk Red Banner Military Transport Aviation Division (based at Migalovo) was one of the units which had its three regiments entirely equipped with the An-22s. Another unit that operated it was the 566th Solnechnogorsk Military Transport Aviation Regiment, which used the An-22 from 1970 to 1987.

An early use of the An-22 was to deliver Soviet humanitarian aid to Peru in July 1970 following the Ancash earthquake. One An-22 disappeared on 18 July during these relief flights. An-22s were also used to deliver Soviet military aid to Egypt and Syria during the Yom Kippur War in 1973, to Angola in 1975, and to Ethiopia in 1977.

The An-22s from Migalovo were used for the initial deployment of the Soviet Airborne Troops (VDV) during the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. One An-22 was shot down near Kabul on 28 October 1984, at takeoff, with about 250 casualties as the aircraft was used as troop carrier, probably shot down by an SA-7 missile. In 1980, one An-22 crashed at Vnukovo Airport while two crashed at Migalovo (in 1992 and 1994).

In 1984, military An-22s were used to deliver Mi-8 helicopters to Ethiopia during drought relief operations.

In 1986 the aircraft of the 8th Military Air Transport Aviation Regiment from Migalovo were used to deliver materials for the Chernobyl disaster relief operation.

During 1987 the An-22s were used to deliver military equipment to Angola. A year later the military An-22s were used to deliver 15,000 tons and 1,000 personnel for the 1988 Armenian earthquake relief operation.

The An-22 aircraft were often seen at the Le Bourget Air Show, and in 1988 delivered an engine from the An-124 to the Farnborough Airshow.

In late 1980s, the An-22s were used to deliver Internal Troops to many regional conflicts during and after the breakup of the Soviet Union. In 1995 they deployed the Russian peacekeeping force from the 98th Guards Airborne Division during the Bosnian War.

Approximately 45 An-22s remained in service by the mid-1990s, mostly with the Russian Air Force, but these are slowly being replaced by the bigger turbofan-powered Antonov An-124. The remaining An-22s appear to be operated by an independent military transport aviation squadron at Migalovo base in Tver.

As of December 2018, six An-22s were in service with the 76th Military Transport Air Squadron at Tver, with only three aircraft airworthy. They are planned to remain in service until 2033.

A single An-22 (registration number UR-09307) is in service with Antonov Airlines as of September 26, 2020 but was potentially damaged in 2022 during Russia's military action in Ukraine.

Current

 * Russian Aerospace Forces 3 active
 * Russian Aerospace Forces 3 active

Former

 * Soviet Air Force.
 * 8th Military Transport Aviation Regiment
 * Other regiments
 * Other regiments

Current

 * Antonov Airlines – a single An-22 (registration number UR-09307) was in service with Antonov Airlines as of September 26, 2020. During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine at the Battle of Antonov Airport on February 24, 2022, the aircraft reportedly suffered substantial damage when penetrated by projectiles.
 * Antonov Airlines – a single An-22 (registration number UR-09307) was in service with Antonov Airlines as of September 26, 2020. During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine at the Battle of Antonov Airport on February 24, 2022, the aircraft reportedly suffered substantial damage when penetrated by projectiles.

Former

 * Air Sofia (leased)
 * Air Sofia (leased)

Incidents and accidents
As of January 2011, there have been 9 hull losses with a total of 95 fatalities.

On display
A former Ukrainian Air Force AN-22 is on display at the Technik Museum Speyer in Speyer, Germany.

title: Antonov An-22


text:
Grumman F6F Hellcat

The Grumman F6F Hellcat is an American carrier-based fighter aircraft of World War II. Designed to replace the earlier F4F Wildcat and to counter the Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zero, it was the United States Navy's dominant fighter in the second half of the Pacific War. In gaining that role, it prevailed over its faster competitor, the Vought F4U Corsair, which initially had problems with visibility and carrier landings.

Powered by a 2,000 hp Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp, the same powerplant used for both the Corsair and the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighters, the F6F was an entirely new design, but it still resembled the Wildcat in many ways. Some military observers tagged the Hellcat as the "Wildcat's big brother".

The F6F made its combat debut in September 1943. It subsequently established itself as a rugged, well-designed carrier fighter, which was able to outperform the A6M Zero and help secure air superiority over the Pacific theater. In total, 12,275 were built in just over two years.

Hellcats were credited with destroying a total of 5,223 enemy aircraft while in service with the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, and Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm (FAA). This was more than any other Allied naval aircraft. After the war, Hellcats were phased out of front-line service in the US, but radar-equipped F6F-5Ns remained in service as late as 1954 as night fighters.

XF6F

Grumman had been working on a successor to the F4F Wildcat since 1938, and the contract for the prototype XF6F-1 was signed on 30 June 1941. The aircraft was originally designed to use the Wright R-2600 Twin Cyclone two-row, 14-cylinder radial engine of 1,700 hp (the same engine used with Grumman's then-new torpedo bomber under development), driving a three-bladed Curtiss Electric propeller. Instead of the Wildcat's narrow-track, hand-cranked, main landing gear retracting into the fuselage inherited from the F3F ( a design from the 1930s Grumman FF-1 fighter biplane), the Hellcat had wide-set, hydraulically actuated landing-gear struts that rotated through 90° while retracting backwards into the wings, but with full wheel doors fitted to the struts that covered the entire strut and the upper half of the main wheel when retracted, and twisted with the main gear struts through 90° during retraction. The wing was mounted lower on the fuselage and was able to be hydraulically or manually folded, with each panel outboard of the undercarriage bay folding backwards from pivoting on a specially oriented, Grumman-patented "Sto-Wing" diagonal axis pivoting system much like the earlier F4F, with a folded stowage position parallel to the fuselage with the leading edges pointing diagonally down.

Throughout early 1942, Leroy Grumman, along with his chief designers Jake Swirbul and Bill Schwendler, worked closely with the U.S. Navy's Bureau of Aeronautics (BuAer) and experienced F4F pilots, to develop the new fighter in such a way that it could counter the Zero's strengths and help gain air dominance in the Pacific Theater of Operations. On 22 April 1942, Lieutenant Commander Butch O'Hare toured the Grumman Aircraft company and spoke with Grumman engineers, analyzing the performance of the F4F Wildcat against the Mitsubishi A6M Zero in aerial combat. BuAer's Lt Cdr A. M. Jackson directed Grumman's designers to mount the cockpit higher in the fuselage. In addition, the forward fuselage sloped down slightly to the engine cowling, giving the Hellcat's pilot good visibility.

Change of powerplant
Based on combat accounts of encounters between the F4F Wildcat and A6M Zero, on 26 April 1942, BuAer directed Grumman to install the more-powerful, 18-cylinder Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp radial engine – which was already in use with Chance Vought's Corsair since 1940 – in the second XF6F-1 prototype. Grumman complied by redesigning and strengthening the F6F airframe to incorporate the 2,000 hp R-2800-10, driving a three-bladed Hamilton Standard propeller. With this combination, Grumman estimated the XF6F-3s performance would increase by 25% over that of the XF6F-1. The Cyclone-powered XF6F-1 (02981) first flew on 26 June 1942, followed by the first Double Wasp-equipped aircraft, the XF6F-3 (02982), which first flew on 30 July 1942. The first production F6F-3, powered by an R-2800-10, flew on 3 October 1942, with the type reaching operational readiness with VF-9 on USS Essex (CV-9) in February 1943.

Further development

The F6F series was designed to take damage and get the pilot safely back to base. A bullet-resistant windshield was used and a total of 212 lb of cockpit armor was fitted, along with armor around the oil tank and oil cooler. A 250 USgal self-sealing fuel tank was fitted in the fuselage. Standard armament on the F6F-3 consisted of six .50 in (12.7 mm) M2/AN Browning air-cooled machine guns with 400 rounds per gun. A center-section hardpoint under the fuselage could carry a single 150 USgal disposable drop tank, while later aircraft had single bomb racks installed under each wing, inboard of the undercarriage bays; with these and the center-section hard point, late-model F6F-3s could carry a total bomb load in excess of 2,000 lb. Six 5 in High Velocity Aircraft Rockets (HVARs) could be carried – three under each wing on "zero-length" launchers.

Two night-fighter subvariants of the F6F-3 were developed; the 18 F6F-3Es were converted from standard-3s and featured the AN/APS-4 10 GHz frequency radar in a pod mounted on a rack beneath the right wing, with a small radar scope fitted in the middle of the main instrument panel and radar operating controls installed on the port side of the cockpit. The later F6F-3N, first flown in July 1943, was fitted with the AN/APS-6 radar in the fuselage, with the antenna dish in a bulbous fairing mounted on the leading edge of the outer right wing as a development of the AN/APS-4; about 200 F6F-3Ns were built. Hellcat night fighters claimed their first victories in November 1943. In total, 4,402 F6F-3s were built through until April 1944, when production was changed to the F6F-5.

The F6F-5 featured several improvements, including a more powerful R-2800-10W engine employing a water-injection system and housed in a slightly more streamlined engine cowling, spring-loaded control tabs on the ailerons, and an improved, clear-view windscreen, with a flat armored-glass front panel replacing the F6F-3's curved plexiglass panel and internal armor glass screen. In addition, the rear fuselage and tail units were strengthened, and apart from some early production aircraft, most of the F6F-5s built were painted in an overall gloss sea-blue finish. After the first few F6F-5s were built, the small windows behind the main canopy were deleted. The F6F-5N night-fighter variant was fitted with an AN/APS-6 radar in a fairing on the outer-starboard wing. A few standard F6F-5s were also fitted with camera equipment for reconnaissance duties as the F6F-5P. While all F6F-5s were capable of carrying an armament mix of one 20-mm (.79-in) M2 cannon in each of the inboard gun bays (220 rounds per gun), along with two pairs of .50-in (12.7-mm) machine guns (each with 400 rounds per gun), this configuration was only used on later F6F-5N night fighters. The F6F-5 was the most common F6F variant, with 7,870 being built.

Other prototypes in the F6F series included the XF6F-4 (02981, a conversion of the XF6F-1 powered by an R-2800-27 and armed with four 20-mm M2 cannon), which first flew on 3 October 1942 as the prototype for the projected F6F-4. This version never entered production and 02981 was converted to an F6F-3 production aircraft. Another experimental prototype was the XF6F-2 (66244), an F6F-3 converted to use a Wright R-2600-15, fitted with a Birman-manufactured mixed-flow turbocharger, which was later replaced by a Pratt & Whitney R-2800-21, also fitted with a Birman turbocharger. The turbochargers proved to be unreliable on both engines, while performance improvements were marginal. As with the XF6F-4, 66244 was soon converted back to a standard F6F-3. Two XF6F-6s (70188 and 70913) were converted from F6F-5s and used the 18-cylinder 2,100 hp Pratt and Whitney R-2800-18W two-stage supercharged radial engine with water injection and driving a Hamilton-Standard four-bladed propeller. The XF6F-6s were the fastest version of the Hellcat series with a top speed of 417 mph, but the war ended before this variant could be mass-produced.

The last Hellcat rolled out in November 1945, the total production being 12,275, of which 11,000 had been built in just two years. This high production rate was credited to the sound original design, which required little modification once production was under way.

U.S. Navy and Marines
The U.S. Navy much preferred the more docile flight qualities of the F6F compared with the Vought F4U Corsair, despite the superior speed of the Corsair. This preference was especially noted during carrier landings, a critical success requirement for the Navy. The Corsair was thus released by the Navy to the Marine Corps, which without the need to worry about carrier landings, used the Corsair to devastating effect in land-based sorties. The Hellcat remained the standard USN carrier-borne fighter until the F4U series was finally cleared for U.S. carrier operations in late 1944 (the carrier landing issues had by now been tackled largely due to use of Corsair by the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm, which started in 1943). In addition to its good flight qualities, the Hellcat was easy to maintain and had an airframe tough enough to withstand the rigors of routine carrier operations. Like the Wildcat, the Hellcat was designed for ease of manufacture and ability to withstand significant damage.

The Hellcat first saw action against the Japanese on 1 September 1943, when fighters off USS Independence (CVL-22) shot down a Kawanishi H8K "Emily" flying boat. Soon after, on 23 and 24 November, Hellcats engaged Japanese aircraft over Tarawa, shooting down a claimed 30 Mitsubishi Zeros for the loss of one F6F. Over Rabaul, New Britain, on 11 November 1943, Hellcats and F4U Corsairs were engaged in day-long fights with many Japanese aircraft including A6M Zeros, claiming nearly 50 aircraft.

When trials were flown against a captured A6M5 model Zero, they showed that the Hellcat was faster at all altitudes. The F6F out-climbed the Zero marginally above 14,000 ft and rolled faster at speeds above 235 mph. The Japanese fighter could out-turn its American opponent with ease at low speed and enjoyed a slightly better rate of climb below 14,000 ft. The trials report concluded: "Do not dogfight with a Zero 52. Do not try to follow a loop or half-roll with a pull-through. When attacking, use your superior power and high-speed performance to engage at the most favorable moment. To evade a Zero 52 on your tail, roll and dive away into a high-speed turn."

Hellcats were the major U.S. Navy fighter type involved in the Battle of the Philippine Sea, where so many Japanese aircraft were shot down that Navy aircrews nicknamed the battle the "Great Marianas Turkey Shoot". The F6F accounted for 75% of all aerial victories recorded by the U.S. Navy in the Pacific. Radar-equipped Hellcat night-fighter squadrons appeared in early 1944.

A formidable opponent for the Hellcat was the Kawanishi N1K, but it was produced too late and in insufficient numbers to affect the outcome of the war.

Sortie, kill, and loss figures
U.S. Navy and Marine F6F pilots flew 66,530 combat sorties and claimed 5,163 kills (56% of all U.S. Navy/Marine air victories of the war) at a recorded cost of 270 Hellcats in aerial combat (an overall kill-to-loss ratio of 19:1 based on claimed kills). Claimed victories were often highly exaggerated during the war. Even so, the aircraft performed well against the best Japanese opponents with a claimed 13:1 kill ratio against the A6M Zero, 9.5:1 against the Nakajima Ki-84, and 3.7:1 against the Mitsubishi J2M during the last year of the war. The F6F became the prime ace-maker aircraft in the American inventory, with 305 Hellcat aces. The U.S. successes were not just attributed to superior aircraft; from 1942 onwards, they faced increasingly inexperienced Japanese aviators and had the advantage of increasing numerical superiority. In the ground-attack role, Hellcats dropped 6,503 tons (5,899 tonnes) of bombs. The U.S. Navy's all-time leading ace, Captain David McCampbell, scored all his 34 victories in the Hellcat. He once described the F6F as "... an outstanding fighter plane. It performed well, was easy to fly, and was a stable gun platform, but what I really remember most was that it was rugged and easy to maintain."

During the course of World War II, 2,462 F6F Hellcats were lost to all causes – 270 in aerial combat, 553 to antiaircraft ground and shipboard fire, and 341 due to operational causes. Of the total figure, 1,298 were destroyed in training and ferry operations, normally outside of the combat zones.

Hamilton McWhorter III, a Navy aviator and a flying ace of World War II, was credited with shooting down 12 Japanese aircraft. He was the first U.S. Navy aviator to become an ace while flying the Grumman F6F Hellcat and the first Navy carrier pilot to achieve double ace status.

Arthur Van Haren, Jr., a Navy combat Hellcat ace of WWII from Arizona, was credited with shooting down 9 Japanese planes. He was awarded a DFC, and a Gold Star in lieu of a second DFC. In 2012, Van Haren, Jr. was inducted into the Arizona Aviation Hall of Fame.

British use

The British Fleet Air Arm (FAA) received 1,263 F6Fs under the Lend-Lease Act; initially, it was known as the Grumman Gannet Mark I. The name Hellcat replaced it in early 1943 for the sake of simplicity, the Royal Navy at that time adopting the use of the existing American naval names for all the U.S.-made aircraft supplied to it, with the F6F-3 being designated Hellcat F Mk. I, the F6F-5, the Hellcat F Mk. II and the F6F-5N, the Hellcat NF Mk. II. They saw action off Norway, in the Mediterranean, and in the Far East. Several were fitted with photographic reconnaissance equipment similar to the F6F-5P, receiving the designation Hellcat FR Mk. II. The Pacific War being primarily a naval war, the FAA Hellcats primarily faced land-based aircraft in the European and Mediterranean theaters, so experienced far fewer opportunities for air-to-air combat than their USN/Marines counterparts; nevertheless, they claimed a total of 52 enemy aircraft kills during 18 aerial combats from May 1944 to July 1945. 1844 Naval Air Squadron, on board HMS Indomitable (92) of the British Pacific Fleet was the highest-scoring unit, with 32.5 kills.

FAA Hellcats, as with other Lend-Lease aircraft, were rapidly replaced by British aircraft after the end of the war, with only two of the 12 squadrons equipped with the Hellcat at VJ-Day still retaining Hellcats by the end of 1945. These two squadrons were disbanded in 1946. When the war ended, 889 Squadron FAA, equipped with 6 Hellcat Is and II (PR) photo-reconnaissance variants, was preparing to depart from Scotland for the Far East (the squadron had been based at RAF Woodvale since its re-formation after VE Day, and practising carrier operations on HMS Trouncer before moving to HMS Ravager), to replace 888 Squadron FAA, and intended to photograph Japanese beaches prior planned invasion that was forestalled by the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. With the cessation of hostilities, the squadron (which included pilot William Stevenson) was disbanded and the Hellcats dumped off the Scottish coast (the fate of many lend-lease aircraft that survived the war, which under the terms of the agreement were to be returned to the United States or paid for, while there was no requirement to refund the cost of aircraft that had been lost).

Postwar use
After the war, the Hellcat was succeeded by the F8F Bearcat, which was smaller, more powerful (powered by uprated Double Wasp radials) and more maneuverable, but entered service too late to see combat in World War II.

The Hellcat was used for second-line USN duties, including training and Naval Reserve squadrons, and a handful were converted to target drones. In late 1952, Guided Missile Unit 90 used F6F-5K drones, each carrying a 2000 lb bomb, to attack bridges in Korea. Flying from USS Boxer (CV-21), the Hellcat drones were radio controlled from an escorting AD Skyraider.

The F6F-5 was the first aircraft used by the U.S. Navy's Blue Angels official flight demonstration team at its formation in 1946.

The French Navy (Aéronavale) was equipped with F6F-5 Hellcats and used them in combat in Indochina. These were painted in Gloss Sea Blue, similar to post-World War II US Navy aircraft until about 1955, but had a modified French roundel with an image of an anchor. The French Air Force also used the Hellcat in Indochina from 1950 to 1952. The plane equipped four squadrons (including the Normandie-Niemen squadron of WWII fame) before these units transitioned to the F8F Bearcat.

The Uruguayan Navy also used them until the early 1960s.

XF6F prototypes

 * XF6F-1
 * First prototype, powered by a two-stage 1,600 hp Wright R-2600-10 Cyclone 14 radial piston engine.

 * XF6F-2
 * The first XF6F-1 prototype revised and fitted with a turbocharged Wright R-2600-16 Cyclone radial piston engine. R-2600 replaced by turbocharged R-2800-21.

 * XF6F-3
 * Second prototype fitted with a two-stage supercharged 2,000 hp Pratt & Whitney R-2800-10 Double Wasp radial piston engine.

 * XF6F-4
 * One F6F-3 fitted with a two-stage, two-speed supercharged 2,100 hp Pratt & Whitney R-2800-27 Double Wasp radial piston engine.

 * XF6F-6
 * Two F6F-5s that were fitted with the 2,100 hp Pratt & Whitney R-2800-18W radial piston engine, and four-bladed propellers.

Series production

 * F6F-3 (British designation Gannet F. Mk. I, and then later, renamed Hellcat F. Mk. I, January 1944)
 * Single-seat fighter, fighter-bomber aircraft, powered by a 2,000 hp Pratt & Whitney R-2800-10 Double Wasp radial piston engine.

 * F6F-3E
 * Night fighter version, equipped with an AN/APS-4 radar in a fairing on the starboard outer wing.

 * F6F-3N
 * Another night fighter version, equipped with a newer AN/APS-6 radar in a fairing on the starboard outer wing.

 * F6F-5 Hellcat (British Hellcat F. Mk. II)
 * Improved version, with a redesigned engine cowling, a new windscreen structure with an integral bulletproof windscreen, new ailerons and strengthened tail surfaces; powered by a 2,200 hp Pratt & Whitney R-2800-10W (-W denotes Water Injection) radial piston engine.
 * Improved version, with a redesigned engine cowling, a new windscreen structure with an integral bulletproof windscreen, new ailerons and strengthened tail surfaces; powered by a 2,200 hp Pratt & Whitney R-2800-10W (-W denotes Water Injection) radial piston engine.

 * F6F-5K Hellcat
 * A number of F6F-5s and F6F-5Ns were converted into radio-controlled target drones.

 * F6F-5N Hellcat (British Hellcat N.F. Mk II)
 * Night fighter version, fitted with an AN/APS-6 radar. Some were armed with two 20 mm (0.79 in) AN/M2 cannon in the inner wing bays and four 0.50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns in the outer.

 * F6F-5P Hellcat
 * Small numbers of F6F-5s were converted into photo-reconnaissance aircraft, with the camera equipment being fitted in the rear fuselage.

 * Hellcat FR. Mk. II
 * This designation was given to British Hellcats fitted with camera equipment.

 * FV-1
 * Proposed designation for Hellcats to be built by Canadian Vickers; cancelled before any built.

Operators

 * French Navy
 * French Air Force
 * Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm
 * Training units, and non-operational units
 * 706 Naval Air Squadron Crew Pool & Refresher Flying Training School.
 * 709 Naval Air Squadron Ground Attack School.
 * 731 Naval Air Squadron Night Fighter Training School.
 * 778 Naval Air Squadron Service Trials Unit (STU)
 * 891 Naval Air Squadron not operational at war's end.
 * 1847 Naval Air Squadron merged into 1840, not operational.
 * East Indies units
 * 800 Naval Air Squadron HMS Emperor (D98), first operational unit
 * 804 Naval Air Squadron HMS Ameer (D01), HMS Emperor (D98), HMS Shah (D21), HMS Ravager (D70)
 * 808 Naval Air Squadron HMS Khedive (D62)
 * 888 Naval Air Squadron detachments only
 * 896 Naval Air Squadron HMS Empress (D42)
 * 898 Naval Air Squadron HMS Attacker (D02)/HMS Pursuer (D73)
 * Atlantic & Mediterranean units
 * 881 Naval Air Squadron HMS Pursuer (D73)
 * 892 Naval Air Squadron HMS Premier (D23)
 * 1832 Naval Air Squadron HMS Indomitable (92)
 * Pacific units
 * 885 Naval Air Squadron HMS Ruler (D72)
 * 1839 Naval Air Squadron NAS Eglington/HMS Indomitable (92)
 * 1840 Naval Air Squadron HMS Speaker (D90)
 * 1844 Naval Air Squadron HMS Indomitable (92)
 * 1840 Naval Air Squadron HMS Speaker (D90)
 * 1844 Naval Air Squadron HMS Indomitable (92)

 * United States Navy
 * United States Marine Corps
 * Uruguayan Navy
 * Uruguayan Navy
 * Uruguayan Navy

Surviving aircraft
A relatively large number of Grumman F6Fs survive to this day, either in museums or in flyable condition. In order of Bu.No. they are:

United Kingdom

 * On display
 * F6F-5
 * 79779 – Fleet Air Arm Museum in RNAS Yeovilton.

United States

 * Airworthy
 * F6F-3
 * 41476 – based at the Collings Foundation in Stow, Massachusetts.
 * 41930 – privately owned in Houston, Texas.
 * F6F-5
 * 70222 – based at Commemorative Air Force (Southern California Wing) at Camarillo Airport (former Oxnard AFB) in Camarillo, California.
 * 78645 – based at Fagen Fighters WWII Museum in Granite Falls, Minnesota.
 * 79863 – based at Flying Heritage Collection in Everett, Washington.
 * 94204 – based at Erickson Aircraft Collection in Madras, Oregon.
 * 94473 – based at Palm Springs Air Museum in Palm Springs, California.
 * On display
 * F6F-3
 * 25910 – National Naval Aviation Museum at NAS Pensacola in Pensacola, Florida.
 * 41834 – Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center of the National Air and Space Museum in Chantilly, Virginia.
 * 42874 – San Diego Aerospace Museum in San Diego, California.
 * 66237 – Naval Air Station Wildwood Aviation Museum at Cape May Airport in Lower Township, New Jersey.
 * F6F-5
 * 77722 – Naval Air Facility Washington at Joint Base Andrews
 * 79192 – New England Air Museum in Windsor Locks, Connecticut.
 * 79593 – USS Yorktown (CV-10)/Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.
 * 79683 – Air Zoo in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
 * 94203 – National Naval Aviation Museum at NAS Pensacola in Pensacola, Florida.
 * 94263 – Cradle of Aviation Museum in New York. It is on loan from the USMC Museum in Quantico, Virginia.
 * Under restoration or in storage
 * F6F-3
 * 43014 – in storage at the Fantasy of Flight in Polk City, Florida.
 * F6F-5
 * 72094 – to airworthiness by private owner in Caldwell, Idaho.
 * 79133 – to airworthiness by private owner in Wilmington, Delaware.
 * 80040 – to airworthiness by private owner in Wilmington, Delaware.
 * 93879 – to airworthiness by Yanks Air Museum in Chino, California.
 * 94038 – to airworthiness by private owner in Wilmington, Delaware.
 * 94385 – to airworthiness by private owner in Livermore, California.

title: Grumman F6F Hellcat