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Posted on 06/13/2004 9:18:03 PM PDT by Professional Engineer
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 are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
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| Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans. In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should feel free to address their specific circumstances or whatever issues concern them in an atmosphere of peace, understanding, brotherhood and support. The FReeper Foxhole hopes to share with it's readers an open forum where we can learn about and discuss military history, military news and other topics of concern or interest to our readers be they Veteran's, Current Duty or anyone interested in what we have to offer. If the Foxhole makes someone appreciate, even a little, what others have sacrificed for us, then it has accomplished one of it's missions. We hope the Foxhole in some small way helps us to remember and honor those who came before us.
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 CELEBRATING OUR FLAG
 Flags of the Revolution
The History of Flag Day National flags are not merely symbols of a country. Their colors and designs convey past history and future goals. Flags have powerful connotations. They speak to the people and politicians. People of one country will burn the flag of another with whose politics they do not agree. To show their anger, students display their own nation's flags with the design altered or cut out completely. Dictators fly flags; dissidents rip them down. In every country of the world, the treatment of a flag displays an opinion or statement. Americans take the treatment of their flag seriously and in the 20th century this has become an important issue. Included in the code of ethics are such rules as the national flag cannot be used for advertising. It cannot cover a monument or any ceilings. It must not be folded while being displayed. No one should write on an American flag. Ships can lower their flags slightly in greeting each other, but otherwise should not be dipped for any other object or person. In the late 1960s, American students wore small flags sewn to the back of their jeans, symbolically insulting the American government and protesting its involvement in the Vietnam War. They burned the American flag in front of the Capitol Building in Washington as a statement of protest. In the early 1990s, senators suggested an amendment to the Constitution that would make this treatment of the flag illegal. The proposition was opposed because many others felt that this change would be a violation of Americans' constitutional rights to express their opinions freely. For all the controversy it is interesting to point out that the United States did not even have a standardized flag until 1912! Called the "Stars and Stripes," or "Old Glory," the flag is one of the most complicated in the world. No other flag needs 64 pieces of fabric to make. The current flag has 13 red and white alternating stripes (representing the original 13 states) and 50 stars (each star represents one of the states of the Union) on a blue background. The American flag has also changed designs more than any other flag in the world. The first flag, called the Grand Union, was first flown at the headquarters of the Continent Army on January 1, 1776. Betsy Ross, a' seamstress, is said to have contributed to this design.
 Betsy Ross showing the United States flag to George Washington and others
She had an upholstery business which made flags for navy ships in Pennsylvania. A legend still persists that she showed George Washington how to make a five-pointed star and suggested thirteen stars in a circle for the first flag. Her descendants claimed that she offered the design. George Washington did design the Grand Union but an often-quoted remark attributed to him might not be true: We take the stars from heaven, the red from our mother country, separate it by white in stripes, thus showing that we have separated from her... On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress proposed that the United States have a national flag instead of the British Union Jack. The 13 stars of the flag represented the 13 new states. There were few public ceremonies honoring the Stars and Stripes until 1877, when on, June 14, it was flown from every government building in honor of the centennial of the adoption of a national flag. Schools had unfurled American flags over their doors or outside the buildings long before this; but in 1890, North Dakota and New Jersey made a law that required their schools to fly the flag daily. The first official Flag Day was observed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1893. New York also proclaimed June 14 as Flag Day 1897. Other states were slow to follow. Some people thought that the day was too close to Memorial Day and Independence Day. In August 1949, President Harry S. Truman proclaimed June 14 as Flag Day. Since then the President proclaims the commemoration yearly, and encourages all Americans in the country to display the Stars and Stripes outside their homes and businesses. Individual states determine how they will observe the day. In Pennsylvania and American Samoa* it is a public holiday. Usually the flag is flown from all public buildings, speeches are made in public places and ceremonies take place in towns or cities. *In American Samoa Flag Day is celebrated on April 17th.
The Pledge of Allegiance Elementary school children across the nation make The Pledge of Allegiance in front of the flag every weekday morning: and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
 The flag flies over the U.S. Supreme Court, where the First Amendment right to free speech regarding the Pledge of Allegiance was upheld
"U.S. Supreme Court with Flag." Circa 1920-1950. Washington as It Was: Photographs by Theodor Horydczak, 1923-1959,
Annual Pause For the Pledge of Allegiance Flag Day USA June 14, 7:00 p.m. EDT At 7:00 p.m. (EDT) on Flag Day, June 14, Americans all across the nation will pause to recite the Pledge of Allegiance to our Flag. While most of us know the words of the P!edge, there are a large number who do not know of its origin.
Mr. Francis Bellamy, an ordained minister of Rome, New York is credited with the authorship of the original Pledge. It was he, who on the eve of the 400th Anniversary of the discovery of America, initiated a campaign for the establishment of a national holiday on October 12, . . . to celebrate the day on which Columbus discovered America. In his concept, he envisioned that flags should be flown over every school-house and public building from coast to coast. In the material which he nationally circulated, he wrote, “Let the flag float over every school-house in the land and the exercise be such as shall impress upon our youth the patriotic duty of citizenship.” He also included the original 23 words of the Pledge which he had developed. “I pledge allegiance to my flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” Thus it was that on Columbus Day in October 1892, the Pledge of Allegiance was repeated by more than 12 million public school children in every state in the union. The wording of the Pledge has been modified three times. In 1923, the words “the flag of the United States” were substituted for “my flag.” In 1924, “of America” were added. On Flag Day 1954, the words “under God” became a part of the Pledge. Thus the 23 words have become 31 words. By a Joint Resolution on June 9, 1966, the Congress requested the President to issue annually a proclamation designating the week in which June 14 occurs as National Flag Week and calling upon citizens of the United States to display the flag during that week.
The Star Spangled Banner
During the War of 1812 between the British and Americans, lawyer Francis Scott Key was escorting a prisoner to freedom by ship when he saw an American flag surviving a battle in Baltimore Harbor. The flag inspired him to write the poem which provides the words for the national anthem.
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While making preparations for the The Battle of Baltimore Major George Armistead requested a flag "... so large that the British will have no difficulty in seeing it from a distance..." to be flown over the Fort. Mary Pickersgill of Baltimore was commissioned to construct the flag. With help from her daughter, Caroline Purdy, she sewed a woolen flag measuring 42 feet long by 30 feet high, a remarkably large flag. Shown here is a representation of that flag. There are several interesting things to note. The flag has fifteen stars and fifteen stripes. During the War of 1812 there were 15 states in the Union, Vermont and Kentucky having been added to the original 13. An early plan for the flag was to add a new star and a new stripe for each new state. With 15 stripes on the Pickersgill flag, which was 30 feet high, that meant that each stripe was 2 feet wide! On that flag each star was also 2 feet across!
The actual flag now hangs in the Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.. Today the "Star-Spangled Banner" is sung at large public gatherings such as sports events. Many television stations play the anthem before the station closes down for the night.
History of the Flag
The Stars and Stripes is the most popular name for the red, white and blue national flag of the United States. It is symbolic of our land, our people, our government and the ideals of our country. It is a stirring sight as it flutters in the wind.
The color red was selected for hardiness and courage, white for purity and innocence and blue for vigilance, perseverance and justice.
Francis Scott Key first called the U.S. flag the Star-Spangled Banner in 1814 when he wrote the poem that became our national anthem.
William Driver, a sea captain from Salem, Massachusetts, gave the name Old Glory to the flag in 1824.
The Stars and Stripes was first displayed: in a land battle on August 16,1777; on a U.S. Navy ship on November 1, 1777; in a naval battle in the Pacific on March 25, 1813; in Antarctica in 1840; at the North Pole on April 6, 1909; and on the moon on July 20, 1969.
The Flag Changes Through History
Our country's first flag was used during the Revolutionary War from 1775 to 17 It was called the Continental Colors and represented all 13 colonies.
On June 14,1777, following the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the Continental Congress empowered the creation of the first official flag. It consisted of 13 alternating red and white stripes a 13 white stars on a field of blue.
Two new states had joined the Union 1794, and five more by 1817. On April 1818, Congress approved using 13 stripes again and adding a new star on July 4th after a new state that had joined the Union.
The flag's 48 stars were fixed in 1912. It remained that way until 1959 when the 49th star was added for Alaska and the 50th for Hawaii in 1960.
Darn! Thats 50 cents more than I get!
Love that song. :-)
Do you realize that's 30 cans of soda I have to drink a year for the deposit just to pay you two.
And??
Heck I can drink that on a good weekend. :-)
LOL.
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The project that would eventually result in the Pe-8 four engine bomber was begun in 1934 by the Tupolev design bureau. It was created to develop an aircraft to replace the TB-3 heavy bomber and meet a list of new requirements. Among these were the ability to reach 8000 meters (12,640 feet) in altitude, carry a two ton bomb load, and attain a speed of 273mph (440kph).
Tupolev selected Vladimir Petlyakov was to head the aircraft project which was to be designated the ANT-42. Petlyakov's team soon ran into problems with the original engines which were not sufficiently powerful at altitudes over 5000 meters (11,025 feet). This problem was solved with the selection of four M-105 engines supercharged by a M-100 engine in the rear fuselage.
The project was disrupted in October of 1937 when both Tupolev and Petlyakov were arrested. Stalin's purges of the Red Air Force officer corps in 1938 also delayed the program. Even with these delays the first prototype flew on 27 December 1937 and performed very well in the early trials. It was also tested with skies for landings on ice and snow, but these were replaced with large tires which functioned better.
After the initial test flights, the designers chose to remove the complicated supercharging system and extra M-100 engine. Production of the new aircraft began in 1939. The project was delayed several times due to lack of engines, and eventually put on hold in 1940 for that very reason.
The first unit to receive the aircraft was the 14th heavy bomber regiment. By early 1941 the regiment had been given all 18 completed aircraft, but these soon were grounded due to lack of spare parts. The bomber first went into service in 1940. With the start of the Great Patriotic war the bomber saw action in many small raids on Koenigsberg, Berlin, and other targets.
1942 the aircraft was re-designated the Pe-8, in honor of Petlyakov who had been killed earlier that year. Also during this time there were also attempts during the war to improve the Pe-8's engines, but these were not entirely successful. The bomber continued to serve with the Red Air Force, having little real impact, with its original engines until the end of the war.
Production of the Pe-8 ended in 1944 with only a small number of aircraft being built (no more than 142 examples). The last four aircraft were converted into VIP transports. These had the bomb bay removed and additional passenger seats added. Cargo capacity was also increased and all military equipment was deleted. The range of the new plane was increased to 7000 kilometers (4,350 miles).
In the years following the war most of the Pe-8 bombers were converted to the transport configuration. Many were operated by Aeroflot or used for polar scientific research expeditions. Some of the research aircraft were used as late as 1957. The remaining Pe-8's were used to test aircraft engines, high speed research aircraft, and cruise missiles based on wartime German plans.
Pe-8 heavy bombers formed a part of the Soviet long range aviation forces. It was used alongside the IL-4 as a strategic bomber, which made up the bulk of the bomber fleet. The aircraft was used in the strategic bomber role against German cities.
The bomber was a versatile weapons platform with fairly heavy defensive armament. It could also carry a wide variety of high explosive bombs (as can be seen in the table to the right). it was also capable of carrying mines, target markers, or VAP-500 and VAP-1000 chemical weapon dispensers. Even so, the aircraft was not successful. This was largely because of production problems and not due to any fault in the Pe-8's design.
The only four-engined bomber the USSR used during WWII. The USSR had no plans for strategic bombardment, and only a few such attacks on Germany were made. The Pe-8's most important claim to fame is flying Molotov from Washington to Moskow! Only 81 were built, some with M-30B diesel engines or M-82 radials. A few had a fifth engine, to supply compressed air to the other engines, enhancing the performance at high altitude.
Specifications:
Designer: Vladamir Petlyakov
Manufacturer: State Industries
Primary Role: Heavy Strategic Bomber
Year Adopted: 1940
Operational Status: Russia - Obsolete (Produced from 1940 to 1944)
Engine: 4 x Mikulin AM-35A, 12-cylinder, liquid-cooled, with 1,350 hp each
Crew: 10
Dimensions:
Wingspan: 131 feet
Length: 73 feet, 9 inches
Height: 20 feet
Performance :
Maximum Speed: 272 miles per hour at 24,930 feet altitude
Empty Weight: 37,480 lb increasing to 40,000 lb
Loaded Weight: 63,052 lb
Max Take-Off Weight: 73,469 lbs
Ceiling: 22,965 feet
Range: 3,383 miles
Armaments:
2 x 20mm cannon
4 x 7.62mm ShKAS Machine Guns
8818 lbs (4000 kg) of bombs
Happy Flag Day, all.
Hi Victoria.
Happy Flag Day.
Like the shading on this graphic.
How are you doing, today?
;)
Thank you ma'am.
We display our flag throughout the day and night throughout the year protected and lighted.
My older wiser brother has a flagpole visible for a mile; objectors shot regardless of race, creed, color, national origin, sexual persuasion, smoking/nonsmoking.
Tired as usual. ;-)
Thanks Phil.
Thanks again for an excellent thread today PE.
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