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Despina Vandi

Despina Malea (Δέσποινα Μαλέα; born 22 July 1969), known as Despina Vandi (Δέσποινα Βανδή), is a Greek singer. Born in Tübingen near Stuttgart, Germany, Vandi's family returned to Kavala, Greece when she was six years old.

After moving to Athens in the early 1990s, Vandi signed with Minos EMI and released two albums Gela Mou (1994) and Esena Perimeno (1996). She then began an exclusive collaboration with songwriter/producer Phoebus and achieved commercial success with her third album, Deka Endoles (1997), followed by the multi-platinum Profities (1999), as she established a more "pop" stage performance style and image, becoming one of the most prominent artists of the laïko/pop genre.

Her single "Ipofero" (2000) became the best-selling single of all-time in Greece. Following Phoebus' departure from Minos EMI, Vandi followed him to the newly formed independent label Heaven Music and released Gia (2001), which became and remains her biggest commercial success, as well as one of the best-selling albums of all time in Greece and Cyprus. Vandi also released the album abroad and the self-titled single "Gia", topping the US Billboard Hot Dance Airplay and making her the first Greek artist to top a Billboard chart. She returned with Stin Avli Tou Paradeisou (2004), which was certified multi-platinum and became her fourth album to achieve six-figure sales. In 2007 10 Hronia Mazi, a ten-year celebration of her collaboration with Phoebus was released, followed by her eighth studio album C'est La Vie. In 2012 she released the album Allaxa, which was certified 2× platinum sales and has been her first double platinum record since 2005.

Vandi has won three Arion Music Awards, ten MAD Video Music Awards, seven Pop Corn Music Awards, and a World Music Award, becoming the first Greek artist recording in Greece to ever win the award. On 14 March 2010, Alpha TV ranked Vandi the fourth top-certified Greek female artist in the nation's phonographic era (since 1960), with 11 records having been certified platinum or multi-platinum and three gold by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry of Greece. According to Heaven Music, as of 2007, Vandi has sold one million records in Greece. In the aftermath of her success, Vandi gained the title of the "queen" of Greek music. From 2013 to 2015, she was one of the four artists/coaches participating in the Greek version of The Voice called The Voice of Greece. And she was one of the four artists/coaches in Rising Star in 2016.

Early years (Gela mou & Esena Perimeno 1994–96)
Vandi's first album was released in 1994 under the Minos EMI label, titled Gela Mou (Smile at Me). The album was distinguished by the self-titled song "Gela Mou", as long as by the song "Den iparhi tipota" and her duet To Adieksodo (No Way Out) with the popular and acclaimed singer Giannis Parios. Both songs were written by Vassilis Karras.

In 1996, Vandi released her next album, Esena Perimeno (You're The One I'm Waiting For). Singles on the album include Esena Perimeno, Den Pethainei I Agapi, and Efiges. Most of the songs were written by her friend and now musical director Tony Kontaxakis. Although a few of her first songs received some airplay, the first two albums themselves had mild success. Together the albums have sold under 30 thousand copies. A statement made by Vandi implied the combined album sales to be in the range of 10–27 thousand copies.

Beginning of Phoebus era and breakthrough (Deka Entoles & Profities 1997–99)
1997 would be the year Vandi would make her breakthrough in mainstream Greek music as she teamed up with popular songwriter Phoebus. Phoebus wrote the songs of Vandi's next album, Deka Entoles (Ten Commandments), which was certified double platinum and sold 100,000 copies in Greece. Vandi's partnership with Phoebus would turn out to be one of the most notable in the Greek recording industry and they would continue to have commercial success for a decade and more (they celebrated their 10-year partnership with the release of 10 Hronia Mazi (10 Years Together)). With the success of Deka Entoles Vandi quickly became popular in the Greek music industry with a string of hits and popular appearances.

In 1998 Vandi released the platinum cd-single "Spania", while later that year, she experimented with acting. She was asked to play a guest star role in the hit television show "Dio Xeni" (Two Strangers). Vandi accepted the role and made her first appearance on television. She played a singer of a local small city, who was able to change the sexuality of the main gay character. She managed to gain good reviews for her acting talent.

Vandi's next album Profities (Prophecies) was released in 1999 and was certified gold the day of its release and platinum in 2 days. It eventually became triple platinum, selling 150 thousand copies. Big hits from the album were the songs: "Apapa", "To Giatriko", "To Koritsaki sou" and "Sta Dosa Ola". Later that year Vandi gave her first sold-out solo concert at the concert hall of Lycabettus with 7,000 people in attendance.

Move to "Heaven music" and commercial peak (Gia, 2000–01)
In 2000, Despina Vandi released the single Ipofero (I Suffer). The single was certified six times platinum and was awarded as being the most successful single of all time in Greece, based on sales at the Virgin Megastores, which reached 150 thousand copies. An honorary award was given to her by Richard Branson of Virgin in London, England.

In 2001 Despina Vandi and Phoebus signed in with Heaven Music, a new break-out record label, owned by the Antenna Group. Despina's following album Gia (2001), meaning "Hi" was a double album including 21 new songs. The album was certified 4× platinum in only 11 days and became one of the best-selling albums of all time in Greece. Many of the songs on the album became hits not only Greece, but also in neighboring countries such as Cyprus, Turkey and Lebanon. Shortly after, Vandi gave an open free concert in Thessaloniki singing in front of a crowd of more than 60,000 people.

At the 2002 World Music Awards, Vandi was awarded as the World's "Best Selling Greek Artist". It was the first time that this award was given to a Greek artist who actually lived and worked in Greece. For her acceptance speech, Vandi said "Above all though, I would like to thank my Greek fans around the world. I dedicate this award to all the Greeks who have supported me with their love all these years and it is because of them that I find myself here at this moment."

Following the success of Gia, Despina released a CD single titled "Ante Gia" (Goodbye) in 2002, with the title track being a remix of "Gia". The single achieved double platinum status. Gia and "Ante Gia" were then compiled and re-released as "Gia & Ante Gia: Collector's Edition", along with four previously unreleased remixes.

Live, International exposure and motherhood (2003–04)
In 2003 the double album "Despina Vandi Live" was released, containing performances from the singers' concerts around Greece. The album included the greatest personal hits of her 9-year career in the Greek music industry (1994–2003), as long as many songs by other artists, covering a wide variety of genres (from rock-entehno to laïko and traditional Greek music). The album featured also two new songs: "Fevgoume Kardia mou" and "O, ti Oneirevomoun". It was certified platinum, selling more than 60,000 copies.

In the meantime, with Gia having been certified multi-platinum in Greece and Cyprus, some of the songs broke out into the international market in neighboring countries. Seeing potential in an international career, she embarked on one in 2003.

Her first three international singles, "Gia" (2003), "Opa Opa" (2004) and "Come Along Now" (2005) entered the charts around the world. Her first internationally distributed albums are named after the songs "Gia" and "Come Along Now". "Gia" and "Opa Opa" have both charted on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play and Hot Dance Airplay charts, with Gia reaching number 1 for two weeks on the latter and "Opa Opa" reaching number 3 on the Hot Dance Radio Airplay of Billboard. In addition to the Billboard Charts, Gia reached number 1 on the biggest radio stations in the US, WKTU, KKDL and WPYM. Also, Gia reached number 1 at the Club Charts of Music Week in Great Britain and became the number 1 dance song of the year in USA, Germany, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Italy, France, Spain, Turkey, Cyprus and Sweden. All three singles reached No. 1 on the Australian charts. The song Gia gave to her the award for the best dance artist for the year 2004 in Portugal and she makes a big concert for her European public. Except from "Gia", and the song "Opa Opa" reaching number 1 in Russia, Turkey and Australia. In the first days of October 2004 Despina Vandi makes four big concerts in New York, Atlantic City, Chicago and Toronto. All these concerts was sold out

The song "Come Along Now" became the second best selling single in Russia and the biggest to audience radio station of Russia, Hit FM, awarded to her an honorary award in a special concert for her. Vandi also made an appearance on the hit international show Top of the Pops where she performed her song "Gia" as she was included in some of that week's best-selling popular music artists.

Vandi's work has been remixed by celebrated global DJs and producers, such as Armand Van Helden, Milk & Sugar, Nick Skitz, Roger Sanchez, Junior Vasquez, Pete Tong, Bass Bumpers, DJ Gregory, Level K, XTM, Minimal Chic and Highpass amongst others. The albums Gia and Opa Opa have also been Records of The Week on BBC Radio 1's dance shows. At the end of August (2004) Despina performed live at the Beatstock Festival in New York.

Comeback – Stin Avli tou paradeisou (2004–06)
Vandi's next studio album was released at the end of 2004, titled Stin Avli Tou Paradisou (In The Garden of Paradise). Although it sold significantly less than Gia, it reached double platinum status in 2005, becoming her fourth album to reach six figure sales

The album was repackaged as a special edition and included 5 new songs, including the song "Amane", a duet with Giorgos Mazonakis. The actress Katiana Balanika guest stars in the song's music video along with Vandi and Mazonakis. The special edition of the album was released in Greece, Cyprus, Russia, Ukraine, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey. In Turkey the album reached number 2 of the Turkish charts and the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet Daily News named Despina Vandi as the Queen of Greek Pop. For the winter season 2005–06 Vandi performed at Rex with Giorgos Mazonakis. In July 2006, Despina gave a concert in the theater of Lycabettus in Athens singing many of her popular songs.

Despina Vandi released the CD single "Kalanta" (Carols) in Greece on 22 November 2006, which reached double platinum status after two weeks from the release of the CD single. The videoclip of "Kalanta" was released on 19 December, soon followed by the video of her next hit single, "Mehri Mai Mina" (Till The Month of May). Vandi and Mazonakis once again collaborated for the winter season 2006–07. She performed her last show at the Rex Music Theater on 18 February 2007 and it marked an end to her performances there for seven consecutive years. Due to her pregnancy, Vandi did not plan any summer concerts for 2007, and on 21 August 2007, she gave birth to her son, Giorgos.

10 Hronia Mazi & Destiny (2007–2008)
On 10 October 2007 (10/10) Vandi released her new single "Thelo" (I Want) simultaneously on all radio and TV stations across Greece at 10 am. It marked her 10-year anniversary of collaborating with Phoebus. The song reached the top of the Nielsen's Radio Airplay chart for Greece for six consecutive weeks. The second single from the album and the title track "10 Hronia Mazi" (10 Years Together), a rock ballad celebrating the 10-year collaboration with Phoebus, was released on 16 November 2007. The album 10 Hronia Mazi was released 6 December 2007 on three discs featuring fifteen new songs. The album achieved platinum certification in the first week. It sold 30 thousand copies, becoming Vandi' s lowest selling album for over a decade.

During the winter season 2007–08 Vandi collaborated with Vasilis Karras at Diogenis Studio.

On 6 March 2008, Vandi released the third single from the album, titled "Agapi" (Love). The single was on the MAD TV Charts for six weeks with one week at number one. On 24 April 2008, the fourth single titled "Fantasou Apla" (Simply imagine) was released.

Vandi was featured on the gold-certified album Sehnsucht by German electronica act Schiller, which was released in early 2008, providing vocals for the song "Destiny", composed by Phoebus. She performed the track with Schiller on 17 June 2008 at the MAD Video Music Awards 2008, where she won the category of "Best Female Artist" and also performed "I Gi Ki I Selini" (Earth and Moon).

On 24 June 2008, the album  Deka Hronia Mazi was repackaged with the title 10 Hronia Mazi: It's Destiny, including the song "Destiny" by Schiller featuring Despina Vandi. Two more singles were released: "I Gi Ki I Selini" and "Tha Thela"; the music video for the first was her performance at the MAD Awards, while the video for the latter was the live performance of the song at the Love Radio party which took place on 12 May 2008.

Vandi was involved in the Global One music project. She attended a recording session in Beijing with Chinese pop star Wei-Wei and Brazilian samba singer Daniela Mercury, while also attending the project's first official press conference. The project's goal, driven by international record producer Rob Hoffman, was to have one artist representing their country Global One songs in their native language, as well as in the English language, in efforts to pool together as many languages and cultures as possible to promote their artistry on a global level.

In the end of 2008, Vandi began an international tour and on 10–12 October she performed three sold-out concerts in Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide. She later performed in charity concerts in Cyprus, where she was awarded the platinum award for her album 10 Hronia Mazi in Cyprus, after she had already received the platinum certification for the sales of the album in Greece. On 15–24 May 2009, she performed in a five venue tour of the United States and Canada. Following her tour in America, she collaborated with Goin' Through for a lengthy tour throughout Greece.

Iparhi Zoi (2009) & move to "The Spicy Effect"

On 16 June, Vandi made a dynamic comeback, after a year's absence, with the pop-rock song Iparhi Zoi (There's still life). The song was written by Phoebus and it was presented on 24 June in the Mad Video Music Awards 2009. On 29 June, Despina gave the opening concert in Thessaloniki for the Long Hot Summer Tour. After 32 sold-out concerts the tour sold 150,000 tickets. With this tour Vandi broke the record for pre-sale tickets to the concert in the Olympia pre-selling 3,000 tickets. The tour was, also, the most successful tour of 2009.

Following the departure of her songwriter and collaborator Phoebus from Heaven Music, Vandi officially announced on 2 November 2009, that she also has chosen to leave Heaven Music and signed in with the record label founded by Phoebus, called The Spicy Effect.

On 11 December, Vandi returned to the Greek nightlife, singing at club Politia in Thessaloniki alongside Goin' Through. On 12 December, Heaven Music, released the compilation "Despina Vandi – Greatest Hits 2001–2009". Vandi later performed at Thalassa People's Stage with the group 48 Ores. The show began on 15 April and lasted until July. Vandi later appeared on 14 March on Chart Show, a show broadcast by Alpha TV where her certifications and sales figures were chronicled, ranking her in the 4th position among Greek female singers in the phonographic era.

C'est La Vie (2010)
In 2010 Vandi presented her new song, "Koritsi Prama", exclusively for the listeners who wοn VIP invitations from Dromos 89.8 FM radio. "Koritsi Prama, Part 1", was released on 22 March and was the lead single from her eighth studio album, "C' est la vie". The pop song written by Phoebus was the first release coordinated by The Spicy Effect label. The music video was filmed on 22 March at "Diogenis Studio". The song was the first half of a two-part work Vandi released "Koritsi Prama, Part 2", two months later, on 14 May 2010.

The new album of Despina Vandi, called C'est La Vie, was released on 13 June with Real News newspaper. It was her first album to be released along with a newspaper, following a popular tendency of the Greek musical industry, as an effort to deal with the reduction in the disc sales. The newspaper, along with the album, sold more than 100,000 copies. On the other hand, this release choice resulted in the album receiving no official certification of gold sales, for the first time for a Vandi album after her early releases at the first half of the 1990s. On 14 June, Vandi performed live at the MAD Video Music Awards, presenting her new song "Kommati Ap' Tin Kardia Sou". The song was also the following single of the album C'est La Vie and was released on 7 June 2010. The video clip was released on 5 July 2010 and made positive impressions, revealing a "rock side" of Vandi. The third single of the album, "Erota Theli I Zoi", was released to radio stations on 13 September 2010. The music video, filmed on the Greek island of Hydra, was uploaded on 19 October 2010 on Spicy's YouTube Channel.

Furthermore, the German band Schiller, who had worked with Vandi in the past, released a new song featuring her as vocals, called Sunday and included it in their album Breathless, the international version of Schiller's album Atemlos. The song was also included in the album C'est La Vie.

Vandi was also the first artist who took part in the MTV Unplugged concert series of the music channel MTV Greece. The concert took place in the theater Hora in Kypseli on 9 June. She later went on a tour around Greece, along with Elli Kokkinou. After the successful concerts all over the Greece, Vandi performed live on 31 October at HMV Forum of London. It was the first time for Vandi in London and it was also a sold out. After the concert, she appeared at the music scene VOX and after five months, the show finished on 6 March. On 14 June 2011 Despina Vandi appeared on Mad Video Music Awards 2011 and performed the song "Gi' Alli Mia Fora" (For one more time).

Allaxa (2012)
In November 2011 a digital single was released by Vandi called "Mou 'His Perasi", as a promo to Despina's forthcoming album. The music was written by Gavrilis Mosas and the lyrics by Phoebus. The video clip, filmed in the area of the Messolonghi lagoon was also released the same month. The song's release was followed by another digital single taken from her 9th studio album, called Girismata. On late 2011 Vandi's appearances began at the nightclub FEVER along with Elli Kokkinou and Nikos Ikonomopoulos.

On 2012 the album Allaxa was released, marking Vandi's return to a more laïko genre after the poorly received C' est la vie'' album. Apart from Phoebus there is a collaboration with songwriters such as Eleni Giannatsoulia, Olga Vlahopoulou, Vangelis Kostantinidis and Gavrilis Mosas. The album was certified double-platinum sales and re-established Vandi's commercial success with multiple hits such as: Mou 'His Perasi, Girismata, To asteri mou, To nisi (its videoclip was filmed in the island of Skiathos) and Katalavaino.

Eurovision TV presenter – The Voice – De Me Stamatises (2013–14)
Despina has been offered many times to represent Greece in Eurovision song contest but she never accepted. On 15 January 2013 the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT) announced that it had reached an agreement with private music channel MAD TV to take on the organisation and production of a national final to select a song to represent Greece in the contest. Despina Vandi was selected to host the event along with actor Giorgos Kapoutzidis. It was the first time that a well-known singer hosted such an event. The following year, Vandi and Kapoutzidis hosted again the event, called "Eurosong 2014: a MAD Show".

In 2013–2014 Vandi was one of the four artists/coaches participating in the Greek version of The Voice, along with Antonis Remos, Melina Aslanidou and Michalis Kouinelis. The winner of the show's first season, Maria Elena Kyriakou, was on Vandi's team.

On the meantime Despina's digital single Hano Esena produced by Dimitris Kontopoulos was released on 2013, receiving positive reviews and remaining 10 weeks at the top of the airplay chart.

In December 2014 Vandi released her new album 'De Me Stamatises' (including 10 tracks). It was the first album since 1997, in which none of the songs was written by her long-time producer Phoebus. Instead, she collaborated again with various songwriters, among them: Dimitris Kontopoulos, Eleni Giannatsoulia, Olga Vlahopoulou, Giorgos Sampanis, Nikos Moraitis and Vasilis Gavriilidis. The first three new singles Kalimera, Ola allazoun and Kane kati, were released right after her return to Heaven Music.

Afti Ine I Diafora Mas – TV – Musicals (2016–2022)
The album Afti Ine I Diafora Mas was released in October 2016 by Heaven Music. Vandi collaborated again with various songwriters (among which Dimitris Kontopoulos, Thanos Papanikolaou, Nikos Moraitis, Eleni Giannatsoulia, Vasilis Gavriilidis, Olga Vlahopoulou). Her eleventh album features the following singles: 'Mia Anasa Makria Sou', 'O,ti Thes Geniete Tora', 'Gia Kaki Mou Tihi'.

Apart from her recordings, Vandi starred in the Greek version of the musical theater show – "Mamma Mia!", playing the role of Donna. Vandi's performance as Donna was well-received among critics and the audience. "Mamma Mia!" continued its success in the summer of 2018, with a big tour all around Greece. The show ended up doing a total of 300 shows and selling more than 100,000 tickets in two years. (2016–18). Vandi continued her musical career starring in the star-studded musical show "To Diko Mas Cinema" (2019), directed by the famous creative duo Reppas – Papathanasiou. As expected the show was a huge commercial success selling more than 90.000 tickets during the summer of 2019. It was the biggest commercial hit of the Greek summer theatrical season. Inspired by the musical, she released the album "To Diko Mou Cinema" (2019), including covers of notable songs from popular Greek films produced in the 1960s and 1970s.

In 2019, she produced and presented the travel show "My Greece". Vandi visits a variety of Greek towns and villages showcasing their traditions, culture, local food, and history. "My Greece" is currently in its third season.

Despina is no longer pursuing a career in artistry, having recorded her last EP with George Theofanous in the fall of 2022. As of October 2022, Despina is a member of Barking Well Media founded by Nikos Koklonis, hosting a variety of shows; Chart Show, Just the two of us, X – Factor, My Greece

Personal life
Although born in Germany, Vandi's family was from Kavala, Greece, where she and her family moved when she was six years old. As a result, she did not learn German, unlike the rest of her family. She has one older brother and an older sister. Living in a lower-middle-class family, her dream was to become either an actress or a singer but she always knew that she should have something more solid as a background so she went on to study psychology, philosophy, and education at the University of Thessaloniki. When she first began singing, she used the stage name of "Elli Mara" before adopting the "Vandi" moniker, to hide that she was singing from her parents.

From 2003 to 2021, Vandi was married to Demis Nikolaidis, ex-international soccer player and former president of AEK. They have two children: a daughter Melina (born February 2004) and a son Giorgos (born August 2007).

Since 2021, Vandi has been in a relationship with Greek actor Vasilis Bisbikis.

On 18 August 2008, Vandi was in a car accident on Kifissias Avenue in Kifissia, Greece. The car she was in, driven by her chauffeur, slipped on an oil slick that leaked from a tanker truck causing the car to crash into the truck ahead of her. After drivers helped pull her out of the vehicle, she was transported by ambulance to the general hospital in Athens. Vandi only suffered a cut to her head and got stitches.

Discography

 * Gela Mou (1994)
 * Esena Perimeno (1996)
 * Deka Endoles (1997)
 * Profities (1999)
 * Gia (2001)
 * Despina Vandi Live (2003)
 * Stin Avli Tou Paradeisou (2004)
 * 10 Hronia Mazi (2007)
 * C'est La Vie (2010)
 * Allaksa (2012)
 * De Me Stamatises (2014)
 * Afti Ine I Diafora Mas (2016)
 * To Diko Mou Cinema (2019)

Concert series

 * Kypriaki Gonia (1992–93)
 * Avantage (1993) (with Vasilis Karras and Eleni Peta)
 * Posidonio (1993–94) (with Vasilis Karras, Katy Garbi, Dionisis Schinas, Lambis Livieratos, Kaka Koritsia)
 * Palais Royale (1994–95)
 * Club In (1995) (with Thanos Kalliris, Zafeiropoulos)
 * Athens Show Centre (1995–96) (with Christos Nikolopoulos, Aggelos Dionisiou, Litsa Giagousi, Evridiki)
 * Bio Bio (1996) (with Giorgos Mazonakis, Christina Farmaki, Kraousakis, Panagiotou)
 * On the Rocks (1996) (with Paschalis, Dakis, Sofia Vossou, Elina Konstantopoulou)
 * Posidonio (1996–97) (with Lefteris Pantazis, Stefanos Korkolis, Adelfoi Tzavara)
 * Diogenis Pallas (1997) (with Giannis Parios)
 * Teatro (1997) (with Notis Sfakianakis)
 * Rex (1997–98) (with Notis Sfakianakis)
 * Pili Axiou (1998) (with Notis Sfakianakis)
 * Ribas (1998) (with Giannis Parios)
 * Gazi (1998–99) (with Vasilis Karras)
 * Teatro (1999) (with Vasilis Karras, Giorgos Lembesis)
 * Gazi (1999–2000) (with Giorgos Mazonakis, Lambis Livieratos, Giorgos Lembesis)
 * Pili Axiou (2000) (with Lambis Livieratos and Giorgos Lembesis)
 * Rex (2000–01) (with Nikos Kourkoulis and Lambis Livieratos)
 * Pili Axiou (2001) (with Lambis Livieratos and Kostas Doxas)
 * Rex (2001–02) (with Sakis Rouvas and Kostas Doxas)
 * Rex (2002–03) (with Tolis Voskopoulos)
 * Rex (2004–05) (with Thanos Petrelis, Kalomira, and Giorgos Christou)
 * Palai de sports (2005) (with Kalomoira and Giorgos Christou)
 * Pili Axiou (2005) (with Thanos Petrelis, Kalomira, and Giorgos Christou)
 * Rex (2005–06) (with Giorgos Mazonakis and Giorgos Christou)
 * Boom (2006) (with Stamatis Gonidis)
 * Rex (2006–07) (with Giorgos Mazonakis)
 * Boom (2007) (with Sakis Rouvas)
 * Diogenis Studio (2007–08) (with Vasilis Karras and Nino)
 * Odeon (2008) (with Vasilis Karras)
 * Politia Live Clubbing (2009–2010) (with Goin' Through and Giannis Apostolidis)
 * Thalassa: People's Stage (2010) (with 48 Ores)
 * VOX (2010–2011) (with Panos Kalidis and Elisavet Spanou)
 * Fever (2011–2012) (with Elli Kokkinou and Nikos Economopoulos)
 * Posidonio (2012–2013) (with Antipas and Vegas)

Concert tours

 * 1999 Summer Tour
 * 2001 Summer Tour
 * 2002 Summer Tour
 * 2003 Summer Tour
 * North American Tour (2004)
 * 2005 Summer Tour
 * 2006 Summer Tour
 * 2008 Summer Tour
 * World Tour (2008–09)
 * Together Through Summer: Long Hot Summer Tour (2009) (with Goin' Through and Stelios Maximos)
 * 2010 Summer Tour (with Elli Kokkinou)
 * 2017 Summer Tour (with Helena Paparizou)

title: Despina Vandi


text:
Talk:Micky Dolenz

Untitled
I would just like to add that Micky Dolenz was re-married in September of 2002 to Donna Quinter. He is now performing as Zoser in the Broadway musical Aida, which will continue until the show is scheduled to end on September 5th, 2004. Micky also has several tour dates booked. His schedule can be found on his official site www.MickyDolenz.com or on fan sites such as www.MonkeeLand.com

Micky for Dudley in SHAZAM
I think Micky would be perfect to play Uncle Dudley in New Line Cinema's upcoming SHAZAM movie. I think he needs to get his agents & managers on it to get him the role.
 * I'm no expert, but it seems doubtful that posting about it on his WP Talk page could've had much effect on that. (Also, no IP, no date? How do people do that?) – AndyFielding (talk) 11:15, 26 December 2023 (UTC)

 * In olden times, by editing this page as if it were an article. —Tamfang (talk) 09:06, 20 January 2024 (UTC)

Don't forget Oiler
I recall that Dolenz had an occasionally recurring bit role in Adam-12 as a local greasy-motorcycle thug called "Oiler." —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 66.27.73.102 (talk) 08:09, 16 February 2007 (UTC).

Metal Mickey

 * In 1980, Dolenz produced and directed the sitcom Metal Mickey.... Because the similarity of the character's name to his own caused confusion on set, it was at this time that Micky Dolenz officially changed his name to Michael Dolenz.

Eh? The name "George Michael Dolenz" is mentioned in Head. I'm guessing that this means he changed his stage name (which is registered with some union?), not his legal name. Can this be confirmed, and concisely clarified? —Tamfang (talk) 07:52, 25 April 2010 (UTC)

inspiration wanted, inquire within

 * Dolenz said in a 2009 interview that The Monkees was this show that wanted to be inspired by a famed rock group, The Beatles.

Wanted to be inspired? What does that mean? —Tamfang (talk) 05:01, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

From: The Monkees
"The antics escalated once, until Micky poured a Pepsi on Kirshner's head; at the time, Dolenz did not know Kirshner on sight." .... Who is Kirshner? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 189.216.55.189 (talk) 11:09, 30 August 2010 (UTC)

Don Kirshner was a music publisher. He was hired by the producers of The Monkees to select songs for the group, because of his contacts. Eligius (talk) 06:11, 22 March 2011 (UTC)

Clean up and References needed
The Following paragraph is in "The Monkees" section:

Dolenz said in a 2009 interview that The Monkees was this show that wanted to be inspired by a famed rock group, The Beatles. Like his co-star Davy Jones, Dolenz was a huge Beatle fan. When he was 22, he got to meet everybody in the band, and became good friends with George Harrison. Once when not touring, he smoked pot with Paul McCartney. In 1995 Dolenz did a Pizza Hut commercial with ex-Beatle Ringo Starr and Dolenz's own bandmates.

First sentence doesn't make sense and isn't referenced as to the interview. I'd edit it to read correctly, but am unsure of the overall point. Rest of the section needs references to the validity of the occurences - especially the "pot with Paul" part as this sounds like rumor or urban legend unless properly cited. Ckruschke (talk) 21:04, 13 December 2010 (UTC)Ckruschke

Missing Links band
Missing Link band member Dennis Raffelock stated that Dolenz was not a member of the Missing Links, despite three books saying that Dolenz was a member of the Missing Links. The Monkees did produce the series Missing Links (album) and there is a Monkees tribute band called the Missing Links in which Dolenz has been present when they played. -- Jreferee (talk) 15:10, 8 November 2013 (UTC)

#8112 is the key clue
Abbythecat (talk) 21:34, 10 October 2016 (UTC) The TO BE OR NOT TO BE/BEVERLY HILLS 45 was recorded in 1981. Members of the British Monkees fan club got advanced copies in October 1981. Those copies are #8110 -- 81 for 1981, 10 for October. The single was officially released toward the end of December 1981. These store copies are #8112 -- 81 for 1981, 12 for December. The singles are indentical in every other way. Discogs verifies 1981. I have no idea why some sources list this single as 1982. It IS '81. BTW, DON'T DO IT and HUFF PUFF were both recorded in 1965 and not released until 1967 to cash-in on the Monkees. Abbythecat Abbythecat (talk) 21:34, 10 October 2016 (UTC)

"God is a verb, not a noun."
How truly, truly profound. Could we have some clue as to its meaning? Or delete, maybe? Valetude (talk) 23:28, 15 July 2020 (UTC)

 * In context, I don't think that it needs an explanation, as it clearly illustrates that he does not have a traditional belief in God. That is not, however, an argument against its deletion. --Sm5574 (talk) 23:52, 15 July 2020 (UTC)

 * I really can't see any case for it. Deleting now. Valetude (talk) 00:00, 16 July 2020 (UTC)
 * It seems obvious that God's a subjunctive participle, anyway. – AndyFielding (talk) 11:17, 26 December 2023 (UTC)

Dolenz isnt dead?
Someone has changed him as being dead. I believe he is alive, but Nesmith died. 2001:4BC9:A41:5A87:64D7:CD31:9F58:217C (talk) 18:45, 10 December 2021 (UTC)

 * That is correct, as of this writing. – AndyFielding (talk) 11:19, 26 December 2023 (UTC)

Malpractice
Credits show Micky Dolenz as the Director. Watching it now, cast includes Stephanie Zimbalist, looks promising. Not mentioned here. 2600:1700:81E0:BE60:64DD:E396:C374:AEC7 (talk) 01:21, 31 May 2022 (UTC)

Micky Dolenz Infobox photo
This was posted in @Wes Sideman's User Talk, and reposting here: Hello @Wes Sideman, I see you rejected the edit I made to uploading a photo of Micky Dolenz that is showing his eyes in his infobox, because you said it was "changed to much older photo ". With all due respect, the other three Monkees, Michael Nesmith, Peter Tork, and Davy Jones, all have photos in their infobox from the 1960's--black and white photos that are 6 decades old. So why would it be a problem if Micky Dolenz's infobox photo is from 2008? HomecomingQueenEmily (talk) 03:20, 21 January 2023 (UTC)
 * Generally, the more recent image is preferable to the older image, when it comes to living persons. This is not a hard-and-fast rule, however, and if a recent image is terrible, compared to the older image, the better picture should be used. However, I don't think the sunglasses are enough to disqualify this particular image from serving as the lead image. Others may disagree. Wes sideman (talk) 12:27, 23 January 2023 (UTC)
 * Well, I think it's strange to have a profile picture of someone where you can't see their eyes, so I think almost any other relatively current photo of Micky would be better than the sunglasses one. The photo I uploaded of Micky is very flattering--although it doesn't have to be that exact photo, there are many other flattering photos of Micky out there. Currently one of Micky's peers, Peter Noone, who is yes very much alive still, has an image in his infobox that is from 2007, which is older than the one I uploaded. There are of course more recent photos of Peter Noone since 2007, but the photo of Peter in his infobox is very flattering, and still accurate in representing him. So isn't it best to have a photo that is flattering and representative? HomecomingQueenEmily (talk) 03:58, 25 January 2023 (UTC)
 * It's a judgement call. In my view, unless there's a huge difference, the more recent photo wins unless it's unflattering or deficient in some other major way. I don't think the sunglasses disqualify it. As I said, others may disagree. You can ask for community input over at Wikipedia_talk:Manual_of_Style/Images if you feel that strongly about it. Ask them to take part in this discussion. Wes sideman (talk) 15:15, 25 January 2023 (UTC)
 * If I'm going to weigh in, I think the 2008 image does a better enough job than the 2022 image does of showing his likeness. The OP is correct in my opinion that the sunglasses obscure his features enough to make it more difficult to visually identify him as Mickey Dolenz, whereas the older 2008 image is better in that regard.  While it is true that all other things being equal we should use a more recent image, I think in this case that all other things are not equal, and that other confounding factors make an older image better than the more recent one.  -- Jayron 32 15:37, 25 January 2023 (UTC)
 * Thank you @Jayron32! Yes, the sunglasses obscure Micky's features, and I think my photo really captures his likeness. Again, it does not have to be my photo, but I do not think the sunglasses photo is ideal. Would love to see others weigh in. Yes, @Wes sideman, I will absolutely take this to Wikipedia talk:Manual of Style/Images if this is not resolved here. HomecomingQueenEmily (talk) 19:07, 25 January 2023 (UTC)
 * I would do that regardless; you'll just get more eyes on it that way. You're only going to have 3 people talking about it here. More input is better. Wes sideman (talk) 12:02, 26 January 2023 (UTC)
 * During this time, someone else changed the profile picture. I guess a lot of people really don't like the photo of Micky with the sunglasses. HomecomingQueenEmily (talk) 04:59, 27 January 2023 (UTC)
 * What an amazing coincidence that an account that was dormant for over 14 years suddenly sprang to life solely to change a picture of Micky Dolenz, which is exactly what the HomecomingQueenEmily account did after making just 4 edits to Wikipedia in its existence. My advice to you at this point is to drop it. Feel free to ignore that advice or take it. Wes sideman (talk) 14:28, 27 January 2023 (UTC)
 * It's not an amazing coincidence, that contributor has worked for the Monkees professionally, she worked for Davy Jones before his passing. Yes both she and I are very close to this subject material. Yes, I mentioned to her my photo was not accepted and she said she had some great photos herself that better represent Micky from this past year. So far you're the only person who feels the way you do. It's natural for people who know a lot about the subject material and have media to contribute, to use Wikipedia for that sole purpose. Yes, I only made a few edits--I am only contributing to Wikipedia media I own. HomecomingQueenEmily (talk) 15:04, 27 January 2023 (UTC)
 * I'm glad you disclosed that you and RegionalGirl137 are connected. Of course, you could've done this 12 hours ago as well, but you chose not to, instead pretending that "a lot of people really don't like the photo of Micky with the sunglasses". You also could have taken my advice and gone to Wikipedia talk:Manual of Style/Images, which is still an option.
 * Before you proceed, please read WP:MEATPUPPET. What you've just done is a huge violation of Wikipedia policy, although you have mitigated it somewhat by coming clean (sort of) in your last comment. Also, I'm not sure what you mean by "I am only contributing to Wikipedia media I own" - you may want to clarify what you mean there, as no one owns any Wikipedia media. Wes sideman (talk) 15:17, 27 January 2023 (UTC)
 * When I wrote "a lot of people", perhaps that was dramatic and reactionary to what is going on here, but I meant, so far you're the only person who said you prefer this photo of Micky in sunglasses, and two other people on Wikipedia disagreed with you, and my friend who has worked with The Monkees professionally, and she also did not like this photo of Micky in the sunglasses... So I said "A lot". If you're spitting hairs over my wording, please accept my apology. She and I have been saying we have wanted this photos changed for months and were discussing which one of our photos might be ideal, or another photo from somewhere else, but I said it would probably be best to upload photos we own the rights to. We both are connected to this subject matter and this is why we have this opinion. I have nothing to hide, nor does she. She worked for Davy Jones, and I know/knew Micky Dolenz, Peter Tork, and Michael Nesmith personally, we just wanted good, representative photos of them out there. As I said, there are better photos out there, but I don't personally own the rights to them, so I didn't bother pursuing that. When I "media I own", I mean, I took this photo, and she took the photo she uploaded, and when you upload to Wikipedia it asks if you own the rights to the photos--so, yes, we both uploaded photos we took ourselves, it just seemed easier that way. HomecomingQueenEmily (talk) 15:28, 27 January 2023 (UTC)

You're being disingenuous now. You included someone you knew personally and enlisted in your efforts to change the photo when you said "a lot of people" and didn't disclose right away that you knew them. Did you read WP:MEATPUPPET? Please read that, and add Conflict of interest to your reading list before you reply again, I'm begging you. Wes sideman (talk) 15:38, 27 January 2023 (UTC)

 * Yes, I did read Meatpuppet, and I said I apologize for speaking dramatically. I did not personally enlist my friend Sarah to change this. I am being very transparent with you. As far as conflict of interest goes... Are Sarah and I are not allowed contribute photos, because we knew these people? HomecomingQueenEmily (talk) 15:49, 27 January 2023 (UTC)
 * Thank you for including me and asking for my input on this matter. After having mentioned it to several who are not involved and asking for an opinion, I do believe that there is a considerable amount of transparency here on our part to try and make positive updates to this page and update it as appropriate however, for some unknown reason, Wes doesn't want that to happen and that's unfortunate because it disenfranchises a lot of people who might view this page. Wikipedia is usually one of the top search results for any subject you might google therefore, current images should appear on these pages that do not have someone's face obscured by sunglasses etc. I am absolutely certain that if anyone other than those of us who are actively trying to bring this page up to date are viewing this discussion they too would feel the same and advocate for as recent a photo as possible. It's disappointing to see someone who is so intent on refusal to update something for the general public like this and honestly, behavior like that only serves to further discredit wikipedia and its ACTUAL contributors. RG137 16:51, 27 January 2023 (UTC)  — Preceding unsigned comment added by RegionalGirl137 (talk • contribs)
 * I notice on your profile, Wes, that it says "This user believes that one's edit count does not necessarily reflect on the value of their contributions." and yet you state "What an amazing coincidence that an account that was dormant for over 14 years suddenly sprang to life solely to change a picture of Micky Dolenz," This seems to be contradictory first of all. Second of all, I did attend a recent Dolenz show, July 23 2023 in Charlotte NC where I took about 300 photos of Dolenz. In addition, I have in the past worked professionally for David Jones. I currently do not work for Dolenz, therefore I do not believe improving upon the "sunglasses photo" in question should be a problem, conflict or other issue that you've tried to make it out to be. You are grasping at straws here to keep the original photo and it shows!
 * Furthermore, it seems that the general consensus here is that the sunglasses photo may not be the best representation of Dolenz. It seems that for some unknown reason, you are abusing your power and privileges to keep that photo. That being said, it is my consensus and opinion that someone else entirely should review this matter and a final decision should be made that does not involve you. It does seem that you have some sort of bias in the matter that goes beyond citing policies, rules or otherwise. — Preceding unsigned comment added by RegionalGirl137 (talk • contribs)
 * I agree with that an image without sunglasses, even if not as current, is best for the infobox. There are several good options to choose from on Commons.  Schazjmd   (talk)  23:41, 27 January 2023 (UTC)
 * Thank you for your response @Schazjmd and @Jayron32, I also think the photo with the sunglasses obscure Micky's face. HomecomingQueenEmily (talk) 15:01, 30 January 2023 (UTC)

Update: sockpuppet investigation
The two accounts that initially advocated for the change in photo are, I believe, operated by the same person. See this report that I just filed for details. Wes sideman (talk) 11:56, 30 January 2023 (UTC)

 * As I wrote in response to your report @Wes sideman "Excuse me. RegionalGirl137 are not the same person. I never pretended not to know RegionalGirl137. I made a generalization by referring to RegionalGirl137, a user/person I know in real life, with two other users on Wikipedia who I do not know, Jayron32 and a user with the IP 173.9.188.89 (I do not see a username), as one group of people, three users total, when I said "A lot" of people. I have since apologized for this faux pas. I realize "three people" does not constitute "a lot". I was feeling emotional, and I do not normally even react like that, but that was after much correspondence back and forth with @Wes sideman, and becoming exhausted by it. @Jayron32 had said "If I'm going to weigh in, I think the 2008 image does a better enough job than the 2022 image does of showing his likeness. The OP is correct in my opinion that the sunglasses obscure his features enough to make it more difficult to visually identify him as Mickey Dolenz, whereas the older 2008 image is better in that regard. While it is true that all other things being equal we should use a more recent image, I think in this case that all other things are not equal, and that other confounding factors make an older image better than the more recent one." The user IP 173.9.188.89 made a comment supporting my changing the photo, which has since been removed. And the user RegionalGirl137, who is a person I know in real life, had told me months ago she did not like the photo of Micky in the sunglasses and told me she also intended to try to change it. When corresponding with @Wes sideman, I *openly* said I knew user RegionalGirl137. I have never pretended not to know her. Nor did I ask her to change the photo for me. Wouldn't I ask her to change the photo to be *a photo I took myself*, if I was going to ask her to change the photo for me? No, she changed it to a photo she took *herself*. She simply also wanted to change the photo very much, and I had told her that the photo I submitted was rejected as a choice. I have been transparent with all of my actions every step of the way. I have simply said she is another person who had told me she also did not like this photo of Micky in the sunglasses, which she told me months ago. I openly explained I knew her in real life. I did not know I was not allowed to know or talk to another Wikipedia user in real life. First of all, I do not care about what photo is in Micky's infobox any longer, this is no longer important to me. Second of all, any look into RegionalGirl137 and myself you will see we are two different people. We are from different parts of America, which our IP addresses will show. Look at our IP addresses. We don't even write/talk the same way. Please, others, weigh in." HomecomingQueenEmily (talk) 15:02, 30 January 2023 (UTC)
 * After reviewing the whole thing, I admit I was wrong about the two accounts being the same person, but they were definitely working in concert with each other. Close enough. Wes sideman (talk) 14:51, 14 February 2023 (UTC)

Date of birth?
Why is Mickey's DOB missing from the infobox? 98.118.62.140 (talk) 16:52, 31 January 2023 (UTC)

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

title: Talk:Micky Dolenz


text:
Talk:Richard Flecknoe

Béatrix de Cosenza
In para 2 of the article, it says that Flecknoe met this woman, who was the wife of Charles IV, Duke of Lorraine, in the early 1640s, but the Duke wasn't born until 1643, and married someone else in 1678. The Duke of Lorraine during this time was Nicholas II, Duke of Lorraine, but he married Claudia. I wonder if the correct person is Charles III, Duke of Lorraine, although he was no longer the Duke by the 1640s. -gadfium 05:56, 4 Aug 2004 (UTC)

Encyclopaedia Britannica
Some EB articles are notoriously unreliable, as appears to have been the treatment of Flecknoe in EB1911. One instance of careless research there is the item mentioned above; another was the assertion that he had fled to Ghent in 1640 to escape the English civil war, which did not start until two years later. It was not a good idea to let that EB text of over a century ago stand any longer, and it has been almost wholely replaced with referenced facts, as suggested by the template from May 2014. Mzilikazi1939 (talk) 07:36, 22 September 2015 (UTC)

External links modified
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title: Talk:Richard Flecknoe


text:
Talk:Carbonite

Untitled
How can this be disambiguation page if it doesn't link anywhere?

It will when Carbonite_(explosive), or another article, is created.

How about a correct title? Lzer 05:37, 28 February 2007 (UTC)

Bold textCarbonite would not be an alloy made from frozen CO2, that is plain wrong. I think it should be deleted.

Polyatomic Ion
I thought carbonite was a polyatomic ion, symbol CO2, with a charge of -2.  Connör ( talk ) 15:08, 1 September 2008 (UTC)

It's also an online backup suite and the company that sells it.

Chrisfeohpatti (talk) 17:13, 11 September 2008 (UTC)

It is a polyatomic ion. Also, it's symbol is CO3, CO2 is the chemical symbol for carbon dioxide. History Wizard (talk) 21:16, 30 September 2008 (UTC)

Ignore what I said earlier about the chemical symbol. It is CO2, with -2 charge. History Wizard (talk) 21:23, 30 September 2008 (UTC)

Explosive
Carbonite the explosive is a mixture, and has no chemical formula (a physically impossible anion wouldn't work very well as an explosive anyway). I have restructured the page a bit to reflect this, removed the formula from that section, added information on the Carbonite brand of dynamite, and added a clarification for anyone who was really trying for carbonate but misspelled it (more common than you'd think).

But carbonite is also one of the polyatomic ions. I'll create a section in the article to reflect this. History Wizard (talk) 02:34, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

What is a "coal mining explosive"? I mean, what makes an explosive especially suitable for coal mines? Is it the rather incomplete combustion, leaving a lot of carbon monoxide, so that it is unlikely to start other dust or exposed coal burning? Colin McLarty (talk) 21:58, 18 August 2009 (UTC)

Backup Service
Boffob - I believe this to be notable. Please explain if you feel it is not. - Operknockity (talk) 06:23, 7 November 2008 (UTC)

Star Trek
There is a Star Trek episode "The Corbomite Maneuver". 217.151.192.51 (talk) 12:01, 28 January 2009 (UTC)

title: Talk:Carbonite


text:
Talk:Twelve Steps of Narcotics Anonymous

From VfD:

Move to Wikisource. RickK 06:03, Aug 4, 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete and merge into Narcotics Anonymous. Wikisource may still be worthwhile. TPK 06:49, 4 Aug 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete and transwiki, merge to Narcotics Anonymous if that article needs it. The twelve step creeds are somewhat the same, so if we have an article on Twleve step programs that contains the template, we may need only a wiki-link to that from the NA article. Geogre 12:30, 4 Aug 2004 (UTC)
 * It's at Twelve-step program, and yes, I think whatever is useful could be merged there, and/or into Narcotics Anonymous. -FZ 16:39, 4 Aug 2004 (UTC)
 * Agreed. Sean Curtin
 * I understand the reasoning for wanting to delete the page. There are only four words which differ between the entry in 12_steps and Twelve_Steps_of_Narcotics_Anonymous. Unfortunately, they are potentially four very strong words: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholics, and Addicts.  The differences in how one identifies themselves as either an addict or as an alcoholic determines which twelve step program they might feel more comfortable attending.  Many alcoholics are adamant that they are not addicts, just as there are many addicts who wouldn’t consider themselves alcoholic.  This is the reason why Narcotics Anonymous was formed.   I believe there are people who are applying the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous,  as well as people applying the Twelve Steps of Narcotics Anonymous.  There may be subtle differences on how the steps are applied depending on which program you belong to.  Besides learning how to add material to Wikipedia, this is the reason why I added the new page.  I respect whatever outcome prevails. User:Jeffrey_Rea
 * Thank you- I hadn;t thought of that problem. Youre quite right. Perhaps we could just change the article on 12-step programs so that it isn't so specific to a single issue, but is more general; and the particular information (on alcohol, or narcotics, or other things) can be in the individual articles on the organizations (Narcotics Anonymous, Alcoholics Anonymous, etc) -FZ 00:50, 5 Aug 2004 (UTC)

 * Thank you User:Jeffrey_Rea for your comments. I believe that, so far, everyone has been in favor of preserving the twelve steps of N.A. in our Wikisource project, but not in our main encyclopedia space.  However, I think we are all also in agreement that the Narcotics Anonymous article should like to the 12_steps article and perhaps point out, within it, the differences of its pledge and their importance.  I hope we can count on you to do this last. Geogre 01:43, 5 Aug 2004 (UTC)
 * Sounds like a good idea to me. Will someone please delete the Twelve_Steps_of_Narcotics_Anonymous page if appropriate? Thanks, and next time I will post more conservatively. User:Jeffrey_Rea

 * No need. It'll roll off on its own at the end of the 5 days.  You should feel free to be bold in your editing.  We've all got each others' backs.  Welcome to Wikipedia. Geogre 00:54, 6 Aug 2004 (UTC)

end moved dicussion


text:
Korabl-Sputnik 3

Korabl-Sputnik 3 (Корабль-Спутник 3 meaning Ship-Satellite 3) or Vostok-1K No.3, also known as Sputnik 6 in the West, was a Soviet spacecraft which was launched in 1960. It was a test flight of the Vostok spacecraft, carrying two dogs; Pcholka and Mushka ("little bee" and "little fly"; affectionate diminutives of "pchela" and "mukha", respectively), as well as a television camera and scientific instruments.

Korabl-Sputnik 3 was launched at 07:30:04 UTC on 1 December 1960, atop a Vostok-L carrier rocket flying from Site 1/5 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome. It was successfully placed into low Earth orbit. The flight lasted one day, after which the spacecraft was deorbited ahead of its planned recovery. The deorbit burn began at 07:15 UTC on 2 December, however the engine did not cut off as planned at the end of the burn, and instead the spacecraft's fuel burned to depletion. This resulted in it reentering the atmosphere on a trajectory which might have permitted foreign powers to inspect the capsule. To prevent this, an explosive charge was detonated during reentry. Both Pchyolka and Mushka were killed in the resulting disintegration. They were the last dogs to die in a Soviet space mission, after Laika, who was never intended to survive her Sputnik 2 flight, and Chaika and Lisichka, perishing after the rocket carrying their "Korabl Sputnik" spacecraft disintegrated 20 seconds into the flight.

Three weeks later, a follow-up launch to Korabl-Sputnik 3 also failed. On 22 December, the dogs Damka and Krasavka lifted off from LC-1 using a booster with an enhanced Blok E stage which produced more thrust than the previous model. This variant (the 8K72K) would be used for manned Vostok launches. The strap-ons and core stage of the booster performed normally, but the untested new Blok E failed a few seconds after ignition when the gas generator malfunctioned. Since the engine could not produce sufficient thrust to achieve orbital velocity, the mission had to be aborted. The Vostok was ejected with the Blok E still firing and the dogs subjected to a rough ballistic reentry in freezing winter weather. Recovery crews frantically searched for the descent module before its automatic self-destruct mechanism activated, and after some hours, succeeded in disarming the mechanism and retrieving the dogs, which were returned to Baikonur Cosmodrome alive.

title: Korabl-Sputnik 3


text:
Talk:List of non-commercial worldwide airports

"This is a list of non-commercial worldwide airports". NO, it isn't. One airport does not a list make!! Come on, folks, let's list a few continents and make this into something. Robin Patterson 06:08, 4 Aug 2004 (UTC)

What makes a "non-commercial" airport? One you can copy to all your friends as long as they don't sell it on?
 * It's pretty-much a meaningless expression. Even the smallest grass strip can host commercial operations, such as crop dusting or flight training. This page should be deleted.  David 02:36, 2005 May 25 (UTC)


text:
SMS Goeben

SMS Goeben was the second of two Moltke-class battlecruisers of the Imperial German Navy, launched in 1911 and named after the German Franco-Prussian War veteran General August Karl von Goeben. Along with her sister ship, Goeben was similar to the previous German battlecruiser design, SMS Von der Tann, but larger, with increased armor protection and two more main guns in an additional turret. Goeben and Moltke were significantly larger and better armored than the comparable British Indefatigable-class battlecruiser.

Several months after her commissioning in 1912, Goeben, with the light cruiser SMS Breslau, formed the German Mediterranean Division and patrolled there during the Balkan Wars. After the outbreak of World War I on 28 July 1914, Goeben and Breslau bombarded French positions in North Africa and then evaded British naval forces in the Mediterranean and reached Constantinople. The two ships were transferred to the Ottoman Empire on 16 August 1914, and Goeben became the flagship of the Ottoman Navy as Yavuz Sultan Selim, usually shortened to Yavuz. By bombarding Russian facilities in the Black Sea, she brought Turkey into World War I on the German side. The ship operated primarily against Russian forces in the Black Sea during the war, including several inconclusive engagements with Russian battleships. She made a sortie into the Aegean in January 1918 that resulted in the Battle of Imbros, where Yavuz sank a pair of British monitors but was herself badly damaged by mines.

In 1936 she was officially renamed TCG Yavuz ("Ship of the Turkish Republic Yavuz"); she carried the remains of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk from Istanbul to İzmit in 1938. Yavuz remained the flagship of the Turkish Navy until she was decommissioned in 1950. She was scrapped in 1973, after the West German government declined an invitation to buy her back from Turkey. She was the last surviving ship built by the Imperial German Navy, and the longest-serving dreadnought-type ship in any navy.

Design
As the German Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy) continued in its arms race with the British Royal Navy in 1907, the Reichsmarineamt (Imperial Navy Office) considered plans for the battlecruiser that was to be built for the following year. An increase in the budget raised the possibility of increasing the caliber of the main battery from the 28 cm guns used in the previous battlecruiser, SMS Von der Tann, to 30.5 cm, but Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz, the State Secretary of the Navy, opposed the increase, preferring to add a pair of 28 cm guns instead. The Construction Department supported the change, and ultimately two ships were authorized for the 1908 and 1909 building years; SMS Moltke was the first, followed by Goeben.

Goeben was 186.6 m long overall, with a beam of 29.4 m and a draft of 9.19 m fully loaded. The ship displaced 22,979 t normally, and 25,400 t at full load. Goeben was powered by four Parsons steam turbines, with steam provided by twenty-four coal-fired Schulz-Thornycroft water-tube boilers. The propulsion system was rated at 38,246 kW and a top speed of 25.5 kn, though she exceeded this speed significantly on her trials. At 14 kn, the ship had a range of 4,120 nmi. Her crew consisted on 43 officers and 1,010 enlisted men.

The ship was armed with a main battery of ten 28 cm SK L/50 guns mounted in five twin-gun turrets; of these, one was placed forward, two were en echelon amidships, and the other two were in a superfiring pair aft. Her secondary armament consisted of twelve 15 cm SK L/45 guns placed in individual casemates in the central portion of the ship. For defense against torpedo boats, she carried twelve 8.8 cm SK L/45 guns, also in individual mounts in the bow, the stern, and around the forward conning tower. She was also equipped with four 50 cm submerged torpedo tubes, one in the bow, one in the stern, and one on each broadside.

The ship's armor consisted of Krupp cemented steel. The belt was 280 mm thick in the citadel where it covered the ship's ammunition magazines and propulsion machinery spaces. The belt tapered down to 76 mm on either end. The deck was 25 to 76 mm thick, sloping downward at the side to connect to the bottom edge of the belt. The main battery gun turrets had 230 mm faces, and they sat atop barbettes that were equally thick.

Service history
The Imperial Navy ordered Goeben, the third German battlecruiser, on 8 April 1909 under the provisional name "H" from the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg, under construction number 201. Her keel was laid on 19 August; the hull was completed and the ship was launched on 28 March 1911. Fitting-out work followed, and she was commissioned into the German Navy on 2 July 1912.

When the First Balkan War broke out in October 1912, the German General Staff determined that a naval Mediterranean Division (Mittelmeer-Division) was needed to project German power in the Mediterranean, and thus dispatched Goeben and the light cruiser SMS Breslau to Constantinople. The two ships left Kiel on 4 November and arrived on 15 November 1912. Beginning in April 1913, Goeben visited many Mediterranean ports including Venice, Pola, and Naples, before sailing into Albanian waters. Following this trip, Goeben returned to Pola and remained there from 21 August to 16 October for maintenance.

On 29 June 1913, the Second Balkan War broke out and the Mediterranean Division was retained in the area. On 23 October 1913, Konteradmiral (Rear Admiral) Wilhelm Souchon assumed command of the squadron. Goeben and Breslau continued their activities in the Mediterranean, and visited some 80 ports before the outbreak of World War I. The navy made plans to replace Goeben with her sister Moltke, but the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria in Sarajevo, Bosnia, on 28 June 1914 and the subsequent rise in tensions between the Great Powers made this impossible. After the assassination, Souchon assessed that war was imminent between the Central Powers and the Triple Entente, and ordered his ships to make for Pola for repairs. Engineers came from Germany to work on the ship. Goeben had 4,460 boiler tubes replaced, among other repairs. Upon completion, the ships departed for Messina.

Pursuit of Goeben and Breslau
Kaiser Wilhelm II had ordered that in the event of war, Goeben and Breslau should either conduct raids in the western Mediterranean to prevent the return of French troops from North Africa to Europe, or break out into the Atlantic and attempt to return to German waters, on the squadron commander's discretion. On 3 August 1914, the two ships were en route to Algeria when Souchon received word of the declaration of war against France. Goeben bombarded Philippeville, French Algeria, for about 10 minutes early on 3 August while Breslau shelled nearby Bône, in accordance with the Kaiser's order. Tirpitz and Admiral Hugo von Pohl then transmitted secret orders to Souchon instructing him to sail to Constantinople, in direct contravention of the Kaiser's instructions and without his knowledge.

Since Goeben could not reach Constantinople without coaling, Souchon headed for Messina. The Germans encountered the British battlecruisers HMS Indefatigable (1909) and HMS Indomitable (1907), but Germany was not yet at war with Britain and neither side opened fire. The British turned to follow Goeben and Breslau, but the German ships were able to outrun the British, and arrived in Messina by 5 August. Refueling in Messina was complicated by the declaration of Italian neutrality on 2 August. Under international law, combatant ships were permitted only 24 hours in a neutral port. Sympathetic Italian naval authorities in the port allowed Goeben and Breslau to remain in port for around 36 hours while the ships coaled from a German collier. Despite the additional time, Goeben's fuel stocks were not sufficient to permit the voyage to Constantinople, so Souchon arranged to rendezvous with another collier in the Aegean Sea. The French fleet remained in the western Mediterranean, since the French naval commander in the Mediterranean, Admiral Lapeyrère, was convinced the Germans would either attempt to escape to the Atlantic or join the Austrians in Pola.

Souchon's two ships departed Messina early on 6 August through the southern entrance to the strait and headed for the eastern Mediterranean. The two British battlecruisers were 100 miles away, while a third, HMS Inflexible (1907), was coaling in Bizerta, Tunisia. The only British naval force in Souchon's way was the 1st Cruiser Squadron, which consisted of the four armored cruisers HMS Defence (1907), HMS Black Prince (1904), HMS Duke of Edinburgh and HMS Warrior (1905) under the command of Rear Admiral Ernest Troubridge. The Germans headed initially towards the Adriatic in a feint; the move misled Troubridge, who sailed to intercept them in the mouth of the Adriatic. After realizing his mistake, Troubridge reversed course and ordered the light cruiser HMS Dublin (1912) and two destroyers to launch a torpedo attack on the Germans. Breslau's lookouts spotted the ships, and in the darkness, she and Goeben evaded their pursuers undetected. Troubridge broke off the chase early on 7 August, convinced that any attack by his four older armored cruisers against Goeben—armed with her larger 28 cm guns—would be suicidal. Souchon's journey to Constantinople was now clear.

Goeben refilled her coal bunkers off the island of Donoussa near Naxos. During the afternoon of 10 August, the two ships entered the Dardanelles. They were met by an Ottoman picket boat, which guided them through to the Sea of Marmara. To circumvent neutrality requirements, the Ottoman government proposed that the ships be transferred to its ownership "by means of a fictitious sale." Before the Germans could approve this, the Ottomans announced on 11 August that they had purchased the ships for 80 million Marks. In a formal ceremony the two ships were commissioned in the Ottoman Navy on 16 August. On 23 September, Souchon accepted an offer to command the Turkish fleet. Goeben was renamed Yavuz Sultan Selim and Breslau was renamed OTTOMAN CRUISER Midilli; their German crews donned Ottoman uniforms and fezzes.

1914

On 29 October Yavuz bombarded Sevastopol in her first operation against Imperial Russia, though the Ottoman Empire was not yet at war with the Entente; Souchon conducted the operation to force Turkey into the war on the side of Germany. A 25.4 cm shell struck the ship in the after funnel, but it failed to detonate and did negligible damage. Two other hits inflicted minor damage. The ship and her escorts passed through an inactive Russian minefield during the bombardment. As she returned to Turkish waters, Yavuz came across the Russian minelayer RUSSIAN MINELAYER Prut which scuttled herself with 700 mines on board. During the engagement the escorting Russian destroyer RUSSIAN DESTROYER Lieutenant Pushkin was damaged by two of Yavuz's secondary battery 15 cm shells. In response to the bombardment, Russia declared war on 1 November, thus forcing the Ottomans into the wider world war. France and Great Britain bombarded the Turkish fortresses guarding the Dardanelles on 3 November and formally declared war two days later. From this engagement, the Russians drew the conclusion that the entire Black Sea Fleet would have to remain consolidated so it could not be defeated in detail (one ship at a time) by Yavuz.

Yavuz, escorted by Midilli, intercepted the Russian Black Sea Fleet 17 nmi off the Crimean coastline on 18 November as it returned from a bombardment of Trebizond. Despite the noon hour the conditions were foggy and none of the capital ships were spotted initially. The Black Sea Fleet had experimented with concentrating fire from several ships under the control of one "master" ship before the war, and RUSSIAN BATTLESHIP Evstafi held her fire until RUSSIAN BATTLESHIP Ioann Zlatoust, the master ship, could see Yavuz. When the gunnery commands were finally received they showed a range over 4000 yd in excess of Evstafi's own estimate of 7700 yd, so Evstafi opened fire using her own data before Yavuz turned to fire her broadside. She scored a hit with her first salvo as a 12-inch shell partially penetrated the armor casemate protecting one of Yavuz's 15 cm secondary guns. It detonated some of the ready-use ammunition, starting a fire that filled the casemate and killed the entire gun crew. A total of thirteen men were killed and three were wounded.

Yavuz returned fire and hit Evstafi in the middle funnel; the shell detonated after it passed through the funnel and destroyed the antennae for the fire-control radio, so that Evstafi could not correct Ioann Zlatoust's inaccurate range data. The other Russian ships either used Ioann Zlatoust's incorrect data or never saw Yavuz and failed to register any hits. Yavuz hit Evstafi four more times, although one shell failed to detonate, before Souchon decided to break contact after 14 minutes of combat. The four hits out of nineteen 28 cm shells fired killed 34 men and wounded 24.

The following month, on 5–6 December, Yavuz and Midilli provided protection for troop transports, and on 10 December, Yavuz bombarded Batum. On 23 December, Yavuz and the protected cruiser OTTOMAN CRUISER Hamidiye escorted three transports to Trebizond. While returning from another transport escort operation on 26 December, Yavuz struck a mine that exploded beneath the conning tower, on the starboard side, about one nautical mile outside the Bosphorus. The explosion tore a 50 m2 hole in the ship's hull, but the torpedo bulkhead held. Two minutes later, Yavuz struck a second mine on the port side, just forward of the main battery wing barbette; this tore open a 64 m2 hole. The bulkhead bowed in 30 cm but retained watertight protection of the ship's interior. However, some 600 tons of water flooded the ship. There was no dock in the Ottoman Empire large enough to service Yavuz, so temporary repairs were effected inside steel cofferdams, which were pumped out to create a dry work area around the damaged hull. The holes were patched with concrete, which held for several years before more permanent work was necessary.

1915
Still damaged, Yavuz sortied from the Bosphorus on 28 January and again on 7 February 1915 to help Midilli escape the Russian fleet; she also covered the return of Hamidiye. Yavuz then underwent repair work to the mine damage until May. On 1 April, with repairs incomplete, Yavuz left the Bosphorus in company with Midilli to cover the withdrawal of Hamidiye and the protected cruiser OTTOMAN CRUISER Mecidiye, which had been sent to bombard Odessa. Strong currents, however, forced the cruisers 15 mi east to the approaches of the Dnieper-Bug Liman (bay) that led to Nikolayev. As they sailed west after a course correction, Mecidiye struck a mine and sank, so this attack had to be aborted. After Yavuz and Midilli appeared off Sevastopol and sank two cargo steamers, the Russian fleet chased them all day, and detached several destroyers after dusk to attempt a torpedo attack. Only one destroyer, RUSSIAN DESTROYER Gnevny, was able to close the distance and launch an attack, which missed. Yavuz and Midilli returned to the Bosphorus unharmed.

On 25 April, the same day the Allies landed at Gallipoli, Russian naval forces arrived off the Bosphorus and bombarded the forts guarding the strait. Two days later Yavuz Sultan Selim headed south to the Dardanelles to bombard Allied troops at Gallipoli, accompanied by the pre-dreadnought battleship OTTOMAN BATTLESHIP Turgut Reis. They were spotted at dawn from a kite balloon as they were getting into position. When the first 15 in round from the dreadnought HMS Queen Elizabeth (1913) landed close by, Yavuz moved out of firing position, close to the cliffs, where Queen Elizabeth could not engage her. On 30 April Yavuz tried again, but was spotted from the pre-dreadnought HMS Lord Nelson (1906) which had moved into the Dardanelles to bombard the Turkish headquarters at Çanakkale. The British ship only managed to fire five rounds before Yavuz moved out of her line of sight.

On 1 May, Yavuz sailed to the Bay of Beikos in the Bosphorus after the Russian fleet bombarded the fortifications at the mouth of the Bosphorus. Around 7 May, Yavuz sortied from the Bosphorus in search of Russian ships as far as Sevastopol, but found none. Running short on main gun ammunition, she did not bombard Sevastopol. While returning on the morning of 10 May, Yavuz's lookouts spotted two Russian pre-dreadnoughts, RUSSIAN BATTLESHIP Tri Sviatitelia and RUSSIAN BATTLESHIP Panteleimon, and she opened fire. Within the first ten minutes she had been hit twice, although she was not seriously damaged. Admiral Souchon disengaged and headed for the Bosphorus, pursued by Russian light forces. Later that month two of the ship's 15 cm guns were taken ashore for use there, and the four 8.8 cm guns in the aft superstructure were removed at the same time. Four 8.8 cm anti-aircraft were installed on the aft superstructure by the end of 1915.

On 18 July, Midilli struck a mine; the ship took on some 600 LT of water and was no longer able to escort coal convoys from Zonguldak to the Bosphorus. Yavuz was assigned to the task, and on 10 August she escorted a convoy of five coal transports, along with Hamidiye and three torpedo boats. During transit, the convoy was attacked by the Russian submarine Tyulen, which sank one of the colliers. The following day, Tyulen and another submarine tried to attack Yavuz as well, though they were unable to reach a firing position. Two Russian destroyers, RUSSIAN DESTROYER Bystry and RUSSIAN DESTROYER Pronzitelni, attacked a Turkish convoy escorted by Hamidiye and two torpedo boats on 5 September. Hamidiye's 15 cm guns broke down during combat, and the Turks summoned Yavuz, but she arrived too late: the Turkish colliers had already been beached to avoid capture by the Russian destroyers.

On 21 September, Yavuz Sultan Selim was again sent out of the Bosphorus to drive off three Russian destroyers which had been attacking Turkish coal ships. Escort missions continued until 14 November, when the submarine RUSSIAN SUBMARINE Morzh nearly hit Yavuz with two torpedoes just outside the Bosphorus. Admiral Souchon decided the risk to the battlecruiser was too great, and suspended the convoy system. In its stead, only those ships fast enough to make the journey from Zonguldak to Constantinople in a single night were permitted; outside the Bosphorus they would be met by torpedo boats to defend them against the lurking submarines. By the end of the summer, the completion of two new Russian dreadnought battleships, RUSSIAN BATTLESHIP Imperatritsa Mariya and RUSSIAN BATTLESHIP Imperatritsa Ekaterina Velikaya, further curtailed Yavuz's activities.

1916–1917

Admiral Souchon sent Yavuz to Zonguldak on 8 January to protect an approaching empty collier from Russian destroyers in the area, but the Russians sank the transport ship before Yavuz arrived. On the return trip to the Bosphorus, Yavuz encountered Imperatritsa Ekaterina. The two ships engaged in a brief artillery duel, beginning at a range of 18,500 meters. Yavuz turned to the southwest, and in the first four minutes of the engagement, fired five salvos from her main guns. Neither ship scored any hits, though shell splinters from near misses struck Yavuz. This was the only battle between dreadnoughts on the Black Sea to ever occur. Though nominally much faster than Imperatritsa Ekaterina, the Turkish battlecruiser's bottom was badly fouled and her propeller shafts were in poor condition. This made it difficult for Yavuz to escape from the powerful Russian battleship, which was reported to have reached 23.5 kn.

Russian forces were making significant gains into Ottoman territory during the Caucasus Campaign. In an attempt to prevent further advances by the Russian army, Yavuz rushed 429 officers and men, a mountain artillery battery, machine gun and aviation units, 1,000 rifles, and 300 cases of munitions to Trebizond on 4 February. On 4 March, the Russian navy landed a detachment of some 2,100 men, along with mountain guns and horses, on either side of the port of Atina. The Turks were caught by surprise and forced to evacuate. Another landing took place at Kavata Bay, some 5 miles east of Trebizond, in June. In late June, the Turks counterattacked and penetrated around 20 miles into the Russian lines. Yavuz and Midilli conducted a series of coastal operations to support the Turkish attacks. On 4 July, Yavuz shelled the port of Tuapse, where she sank a steamer and a motor schooner. The Turkish ships sailed northward to circle back behind the Russians before the two Russian dreadnoughts left Sevastopol to try to attack them. They then returned to the Bosphorus, where Yavuz was docked for repairs to her propeller shafts until September.

The coal shortage continued to worsen until Admiral Souchon was forced to suspend operations by Yavuz and Midilli through 1917. Early on 10 July 1917, a Royal Naval Air Service Handley Page Type O bomber, flying from Moudros, Greece, tried to bomb Yavuz from 800 ft with eight 112 lb bombs. It missed but instead sank the destroyer OTTOMAN DESTROYER Yadigar-i Millet, the largest ship sunk by air during the First World War. After an armistice between Russia and the Ottoman Empire was signed in December 1917 following the Bolshevik revolution, formalized in the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in March 1918, coal started to arrive again from eastern Turkey.

1918

On 20 January 1918, Yavuz and Midilli left the Dardanelles under the command of Vice Admiral Hubert von Rebeur-Paschwitz, who had replaced Souchon the previous September. Rebeur-Paschwitz's intention was to draw Allied naval forces away from Palestine in support of Turkish forces there. Outside the straits, in the course of what became known as the Battle of Imbros, Yavuz surprised and sank the monitors HMS Raglan and HMS M28 which were at anchor and unsupported by the pre-dreadnoughts that should have been guarding them. Rebeur-Paschwitz then decided to proceed to the port of Mudros; there the British pre-dreadnought battleship HMS Agamemnon (1906) was raising steam to attack the Turkish ships. While en route, Midilli struck several mines and sank; Yavuz hit three mines as well. Retreating to the Dardanelles and pursued by the British destroyers HMS Lizard (1911) and HMS Tigress (1911), she was intentionally beached near Nagara Point just outside the Dardanelles. The British attacked Yavuz with bombers from No. 2 Wing of the Royal Naval Air Service while she was grounded and hit her twice, but the bombs from the light aircraft were not heavy enough to do any serious damage. The monitor HMS M17 attempted to shell Yavuz on the evening of 24 January, but only managed to fire ten rounds before withdrawing to escape the Turkish artillery fire. The submarine HMS E14 was sent to destroy the damaged ship, but was too late; the old ex-German pre-dreadnought Turgut Reis had towed Yavuz off and returned her to the safety of Constantinople. Yavuz was crippled by the extensive damage; cofferdams were again built around the hull, and repairs lasted from 7 August to 19 October.

Before the repair work was carried out, Yavuz escorted the members of the Ottoman Armistice Commission to Odessa on 30 March 1918, after the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was signed. After returning to Constantinople she sailed in May to Sevastopol where she had her hull cleaned and some leaks repaired. Yavuz and several destroyers sailed for Novorossiysk on 28 June to intern the remaining Soviet warships, but they had already been scuttled when the Turkish ships arrived. The destroyers remained, but Yavuz returned to Sevastopol. On 14 July the ship was laid up for the rest of the war. While in Sevastopol, dockyard workers scraped fouling from the ship's bottom. Yavuz subsequently returned to Constantinople, where from 7 August to 19 October a concrete cofferdam was installed to repair one of the three areas damaged by mines.

The German navy formally transferred ownership of the vessel to the Turkish government on 2 November. According to the terms of the Treaty of Sèvres between the Ottoman Empire and the Western Allies, Yavuz was to have been handed over to the Royal Navy as war reparations, but this was not done due to the Turkish War of Independence, which broke out immediately after World War I ended, as Greece attempted to seize territory from the crumbling Ottoman Empire. After modern Turkey emerged from the war victorious, the Treaty of Sèvres was discarded and the Treaty of Lausanne was signed in its place in 1923. Under this treaty, the new Turkish republic retained possession of much of its fleet, including Yavuz.

Post-war service

During the 1920s, a commitment to refurbish Yavuz as the centerpiece of the new country's fleet was the only constant element of the various naval policies which were put forward. The battlecruiser remained in İzmit until 1926, in a neglected state: only two of her boilers worked, she could not steer or steam, and she still had two unrepaired scars from the mine damage in 1918. Enough money was raised to allow the purchase of a new 26000 t floating dock from Germany, as Yavuz could not be towed anywhere without risk of her sinking in rough seas. The French company Atelier et Chantiers de St. Nazaire-Penhöet was contracted in December 1926 to oversee the subsequent refit, which was carried out by the Gölcük Naval Shipyard. Work proceeded over three years (1927–1930); it was delayed when several compartments of the dock collapsed while being pumped out. Yavuz was slightly damaged before she could be refloated and the dock had to be repaired before the repair work could begin. The Minister of Marine, Ihsan Bey (İhsan Eryavuz), was convicted of embezzlement in the resulting investigation.

Other delays were caused by fraud charges which resulted in the abolition of the Ministry of Marine. The Turkish Military's Chief of Staff, Marshal Fevzi, opposed naval construction and slowed down all naval building programs following the fraud charges. Intensive work on the battlecruiser only began after the Greek Navy conducted a large-scale naval exercise off Turkey in September 1928 and the Turkish Government perceived a need to counter Greece's naval superiority. The Turks also ordered four destroyers and two submarines from Italian shipyards. The Greek Government proposed a 10-year "holiday" from naval building modeled on the Washington Treaty when it learned that Yavuz was to be brought back into service, though it reserved the right to build two new cruisers. The Turkish Government rejected this proposal, and claimed that the ship was intended to counter the growing strength of the Soviet Navy in the Black Sea.

Over the course of the refit, the mine damage was repaired, her displacement was increased to 23100 t, and the hull was slightly reworked. She was reduced in length by a half meter but her beam increased by 10 cm. Yavuz was equipped with new boilers and a French fire control system for her main battery guns. Two of the 15 cm guns were removed from their casemate positions. Her armor protection was not upgraded to take the lessons of the Battle of Jutland into account, and she had only 2 in of armor above her magazines. Yavuz was recommissioned in 1930, resuming her role as flagship of the Turkish Navy, and performed better than expected in her speed trials; her subsequent gunnery and fire control trials were also successful. The four destroyers, which were needed to protect the battlecruiser, entered service between 1931 and 1932; their performance never met the design specifications. In response to Yavuz's return to service, the Soviet Union transferred the battleship SOVIET BATTLESHIP Parizhskaya Kommuna and light cruiser SOVIET CRUISER Profintern from the Baltic in late 1929 to ensure that the Black Sea Fleet retained parity with the Turkish Navy. The Greek Government also responded by ordering two destroyers.

In 1933, she took Prime Minister İsmet İnönü from Varna to Istanbul and carried the Shah of Iran from Trebizond to Samsun the following year. Yavuz Sultan Selim had her name officially shortened to Yavuz Sultan in 1930 and then to Yavuz in 1936. Another short refit was conducted in 1938, and in November that year she carried the remains of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk from Istanbul to İzmit. She and the other ships of the navy were considered outdated by the British Naval Attache by 1937, partly due to their substandard anti-aircraft armament, but in 1938 the Turkish government began planning to expand the force. Under these plans the surface fleet was to comprise two 10,000-ton cruisers and twelve destroyers. Yavuz would be retained until the second cruiser was commissioned in 1945, and the navy expected to build a 23,000-ton ship between 1950 and 1960. The naval building program did not come about, as the foreign shipyards which were to build the ships concentrated on the needs of their own nations leading up to World War II.

Yavuz remained in service throughout World War II, but Turkey remained neutral during the conflict. Yavuz was kept at Gölcük, defended by torpedo nets and reinforced anti-aircraft units. The ship had her main mast removed to make it more difficult to determine her course. In November 1939 she and Parizhskaya Kommuna were the only capital ships in the Black Sea region, and Life magazine reported that Yavuz was superior to the Soviet ship because the latter was in poor condition. In 1941, her anti-aircraft battery was strengthened to four 88 mm guns, ten 40 mm guns, and four 20 mm guns. These were later increased to twenty-two 40 mm guns and twenty-four 20 mm guns. Degaussing equipment was installed aboard the ship (and several other Turkish warships) in 1943 to protect them against magnetic mines.

On 5 April 1946, the American battleship USS Missouri (BB-63), light cruiser USS Providence (CLG-6), and destroyer USS Power (DD-839) arrived in Istanbul to return the remains of Turkish ambassador Münir Ertegün. Yavuz greeted the ships in the Bosphorus, where she and Missouri exchanged 19-gun salutes. After 1948, the ship was stationed in either İzmit or Gölcük. The ship continued to participate in the annual fleet maneuvers that were held every September until 1950. She was decommissioned from active service on 20 December 1950 and stricken from the Navy register on 14 November 1954. When Turkey joined NATO in 1952, the ship was assigned the hull number B70. Though the ship had been removed from the naval register, she continued to be used as a stationary headquarters of the Battle Fleet Command and the Mine Fleet Command until 1960.

The Turkish government offered to sell the ship to the West German government in 1963 as a museum ship, but the offer was declined. Unable to afford the cost of preserving the ship itself, Turkey sold the ship to M.K.E. Seyman in 1971 for scrapping. She was towed to the breakers on 7 June 1973, and the work was completed in February 1976. By the time of her disposal she was the last dreadnought in existence outside the United States. She was the last surviving ship built by the Imperial German Navy, and the longest-serving dreadnought-type ship in any navy. Several parts of the ship have been preserved, including three of her screws (which were sent to the Naval Command and to the Istanbul Naval Museum) and her foremast (which was placed at the naval academy).

title: SMS Goeben


text:
AnandTech

AnandTech is an online computer hardware magazine owned by Future plc. It was founded in 1997 by then-14-year-old Anand Lal Shimpi, who served as CEO and editor-in-chief until August 30, 2014, with Ryan Smith replacing him as editor-in-chief. The web site is a source of hardware reviews for off-the-shelf components and exhaustive benchmarking, targeted towards computer building enthusiasts, but later expanded to cover mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets.

Some of their articles on mass-market products such as mobile phones are syndicated by CNNMoney. The large accompanying forum is recommended by some books for bargain hunting in the technology field. AnandTech was acquired by Purch on 17 December 2014. Purch was acquired by Future in 2018.

History
In its early stages, Matthew Witheiler served as co-owner and Senior Hardware Editor, creating insightful and in-depth reviews for the site.

In 2006, an AnandTech editor launched a spin-off called DailyTech, a technology news site. The move followed a similar evolution of the news section of AnandTech's peer publication, Tom's Guide, into TG Daily some months earlier.

On December 17, 2014, Purch announced the acquisition of Anandtech.com.

In 2018, Anandtech and other Purch consumer brands were sold to Future.

The editorial team has also included Senior Editor, Ian Cutress (who departed in February 2022 ), as well as Motherboard expert Gavin Bonshor. In January 2023, Gavin Bonshor was promoted to the Senior Editor position, effectively replacing Dr. Ian Cutress, the previous Senior Editor.

Reviews
Describing AnandTech in 2008, author Paul McFedries wrote that "its heart and its claim to fame is the massive collection of incredibly in-depth reviews". In 2008, blogging expert Bruce C. Brown called AnandTech one of the "big dogs in the tech field". In 2005, computer expert Leo Laporte described AnandTech as an "outstanding review and technology website for 3D hardware and other computer components", and said that it is "one of the most professional hardware review sites online".

Forums
AnandTech has over 350,000 registered users and over 35 million posts. The AnandTech forums are home to distributive computing teams, known collectively as TeAm AnandTech (or simply The TeAm). AnandTech contains a wide variety of sub-forums, including the casual environment of AnandTech Off-Topic (or ATOT as the members call it) to the far more technical Highly Technical forum. AnandTech also maintains several highly regulated e-commerce forums, such as Hot Deals and For Sale/For Trade.

In July 2007, the forum underwent major changes that site administrators stated as necessary for furthering userbase growth. The profanity filter was removed (although use of vulgar language is limited), and the identities of traditionally anonymous volunteer moderators were revealed (except two).

title: AnandTech


text:
Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Duh

Nonsense. RickK 06:13, Aug 4, 2004 (UTC)

 * You'd know far better than I, but given the page history and the user contrib history (an edit to the sandbox and this), I'd say this is almost certainly someone's experiment, and therefore a speedy candidate.  At any rate, I agree, it's nonsense, delete please. -RedWordSmith 06:44, 4 Aug 2004 (UTC)
 * I've speedy deleted it, it was a definiate candidate. TPK 06:46, 4 Aug 2004 (UTC)

title: Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Duh


text:
Desboro, Ontario

Desboro is a community in Chatsworth Township, Grey County in southwestern Ontario, Canada, located south of Owen Sound and near the community of Chatsworth. The community was named for Desborough in Northamptonshire, England.

title: Desboro, Ontario