Sunday, December 29, 2019

World War II Hawker Hurricane

One of the most iconic fighters of World War II, the Hawker Hurricane was a stalwart of the Royal Air Force during the early years of the conflict. Entering service in late 1937, the Hurricane was the brainchild of designer Sydney Camm and represented an evolution of the earlier Hawker Fury. While less heralded than the famed Supermarine Spitfire, the Hurricane scored the majority of the RAFs kills during the Battle of Britain in 1940. Powered by a Rolls-Royce Merlin engine, the type also saw use as a night fighter and intruder aircraft as well as was widely employed by British and Commonwealth forces in other theaters of the war. By the middle of the conflict, the Hurricane was eclipsed as as frontline fighter but found a new life in a ground-attack role. It was used in this fashion until the Hawker Typhoon arrived in 1944. Design Development In the early 1930s, it became increasingly clear to the Royal Air Force that it required new modern fighters. Spurred on by Air Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding, the Air Ministry began investigating its options. At Hawker Aircraft, Chief Designer Sydney Camm began work on a new fighter design. When his initial efforts were rebuffed by the Air Ministry, Hawker began working on a new fighter as a private venture. Responding to Air Ministry Specification F.36/34 (modified by F.5/34), which called for an eight-gun, monoplane fighter powered by the Roll-Royce PV-12 (Merlin) engine, Camm began a new design in 1934. Due to the economic factors of the day, he sought to utilize as many existing parts and manufacturing techniques as possible. The result was an aircraft that was essentially an improved, monoplane version of the earlier Hawker Fury biplane. By May 1934, the design reached an advanced stage and model testing moved forward. Concerned about advanced fighter development in Germany, the Air Ministry ordered a prototype of the aircraft the following year. Completed in October 1935, the prototype flew for the first time on November 6 with Flight Lieutenant P.W.S. Bulman at the controls. Trainee airframe fitters are taught repair procedures on Hawker Hurricane instructional airframe, 1359M, in a hangar at No. 2 School of Technical Training, Cosford, Shropshire. The Hurricane (formerly L1995) flew with No. 111 Squadron RAF before crashing during a forced landing in January 1939. Public Domain Though more advanced than the RAFs existing types, the new Hawker Hurricane incorporated many tried and true construction techniques. Chief among these was the use of a fuselage built from high-tensile steel tubes. This supported a wooden framework covered by doped linen. Though dated technology, this approach made the aircraft easier to build and repair than all-metal types such as the Supermarine Spitfire. While the aircrafts wings were initially fabric covered, they were soon replaced by all-metal wings which greatly increased its performance Fast Facts: Hawker Hurricane Mk.IIC General Length: 32 ft. 3 in.Wingspan: 40 ft.Height: 13 ft. 1.5 in.Wing Area: 257.5 sq. ft.Empty Weight: 5,745 lbs.Loaded Weight: 7,670 lbs.Maximum Takeoff Weight: 8,710 lbs.Crew: 1 Performance Maximum Speed: 340 mphRange: 600 milesRate of Climb: 2,780 ft./min.Service Ceiling: 36,000 ft.Power Plant: 1 Ãâ€" Rolls-Royce Merlin XX liquid-cooled V-12, 1,185 hp Armament 4 Ãâ€" 20 mm Hispano Mk II cannons2 Ãâ€" 250 or 1 Ãâ€" 500 lb. bombs Simple to Build, Easy to Change Ordered into production in June 1936, the Hurricane quickly gave the RAF a modern fighter as work continued on the Spitfire. Entering service in December 1937, over 500 Hurricanes were built prior to the outbreak of World War II in September 1939. Through the course of the war, around 14,000 Hurricanes of various types would be built in Britain and Canada. The first major alteration to the aircraft occurred early in production as improvements were made to the propeller, additional armor was installed, and metal wings made standard. The next significant change to the Hurricane came in mid-1940 with the creation of the Mk.IIA which was slightly longer and possessed a more powerful Merlin XX engine. The aircraft continued to be modified and improved with variants moving into the ground-attack role with the addition of bomb racks and cannon. Largely eclipsed in the air superiority role by late 1941, the Hurricane became an effective ground-attack aircraft with models progressing to the Mk.IV. The aircraft was also used by the Fleet Air Arm as the Sea Hurricane which operated from carriers and catapult-equipped merchant ships. In Europe The Hurricane first saw action on a large scale when, against Dowdings (now leading Fighter Command) wishes, four squadrons were sent to France in late 1939. Later reinforced, these squadrons took part in the Battle of France during May-June 1940. Though sustaining heavy losses, they were able to down a significant number of German aircraft. After assisting in covering the evacuation of Dunkirk, the Hurricane saw extensive use during the Battle of Britain. The workhorse of Dowdings Fighter Command, RAF tactics called for the nimble Spitfire to engage German fighters while the Hurricane attacked inbound bombers. Though slower than the Spitfire and the German Messerschmitt Bf 109, the Hurricane could out-turn both and was a more stable gun platform. Due to its construction, damaged Hurricanes could be quickly repaired and returned to service. Also, it was found that German cannon shells would pass through the doped linen without detonating. Conversely, this same wood and fabric structure was prone to burning quickly if a fire occurred. Another issue discovered during the Battle of Britain involved a fuel tank which was located in front of the pilot. When hit, it was prone fires which would cause severe burns to the pilot. Royal Air Force Hawker Hurricane Mark IIC. Public Domain Horrified by this, Dowding ordered the tanks retrofitted with a fire-resistant material known as Linatex. Though hard-pressed during the battle, the RAFs Hurricanes, and Spitfires succeeded in maintaining air superiority and forced the indefinite postponement of Hitlers proposed invasion. During the Battle of Britain, the Hurricane was responsible for the majority of British kills. In the wake of the British victory, the aircraft remained in frontline service and saw increasing use as a night fighter and intruder aircraft. While Spitfires were initially retained in Britain, the Hurricane saw use overseas. Use in Other Theaters The Hurricane played a vital role in the defense of Malta in 1940-1942, as well as fought against the Japanese in Southeast Asia and the Dutch East Indies. Unable to halt the Japanese advance, the aircraft was out-classed by the Nakajima Ki-43 (Oscar), though it proved an adept bomber-killer. Taking heavy losses, Hurricane-equipped units effectively ceased to exist after the invasion of Java in early 1942. The Hurricane was also exported to the Soviet Union as part of Allied Lend-Lease. Ultimately, nearly 3,000 Hurricanes flew in Soviet service. Groundcrew of No. 274 Squadron RAF overhaul Hawker Hurricane Mark I (V7780 Alma Baker Malaya) at LG 10/Gerawala, Libya, during the defence of Tobruk. Public Domain As the Battle of Britain was beginning, the first Hurricanes arrived in North Africa. Though successful in mid- to late-1940, losses mounted following the arrival of German Messerschmitt Bf 109Es and Fs. Beginning in mid-1941, the Hurricane was shifted to a ground-attack role with the Desert Air Force. Flying with four 20 mm cannon and 500 lbs. of bombs, these Hurribombers proved highly effective against Axis ground forces and aided in the Allied victory at the Second Battle of El Alamein in 1942. Though no longer effective as a frontline fighter, Hurricane development progressed improving its ground-support capability. This culminated with the Mk.IV which possessed a rationalized or universal wing which was capable of carrying 500 lbs. of bombs, eight RP-3 rockets, or two 40 mm cannon. The Hurricane continued as a key ground-attack aircraft with the RAF until the arrival of the Hawker Typhoon in 1944. As the Typhoon reached squadrons in larger numbers, the Hurricane was phased out.

Friday, December 20, 2019

John Steinbecks East of Eden - Biblical Symbols and...

Biblical Symbolism in East of Eden Throughout the novel East of Eden, Steinbeck uses many biblical references to illustrate clearly the conflict between the opposing forces of good and evil. Much of the plot of East of Eden is centered upon the two sets of brothers representing Cain and Abel. Both pairs are similar to Cain and Abel in the way they go about winning their fathers’ favors. All four give gifts to their fathers, and the fathers dismiss the gifts of Charles and Caleb, the Cain representations (Marks, Jay Lester. p.121). Caleb and Charles Trask are obviously the more malignant brothers. They are also the more loving towards their father. Steinbeck’s purpose in this is to illustrate the need of the Cain character in†¦show more content†¦Cathy-Kate combines many biblical figures as well. She is not only Eve, but she is Cain’s wife and the serpent of Eden as well (Fonterose, Joseph. p.3380). Thus she is the representation of evil too. Cathy is evil to the point where she i s not human. Her presence in the novel is meant to represent evil and all of its cruel intentions. All of her deeds are intended to show how far from the real world Cathy actually is (Howard, Levant. p. 245). Steinbeck compares Cathy to other prostitutes in Salinas Valley, the setting of East of Eden. She is described as the only whore who is incapable of being a good person. She is an inhuman being whose life revolves around cruelty and wrongdoing. She is solely satanic and destroys the innocence of man (Marks, Jay Lester. p. 126-127). John Steinbeck includes more of the tale of Genesis: 4 than is actually told in the bible. The basis of this is a Jewish story involving twin sisters of both Cain and Abel. The two disputed over Abel’s twin whom Abel was to marry. Cain murdered Abel and wed the twin sister of his brother (Fonterose, Joseph. p.3380). The story differs also in that it is Abel who leaves his home instead of Cain. Abel found his Eden, represented by Salinas Valley, but lost it after fathering a second generation very similar to the first, Caleb representing Cain and Aron representing Abel (Fonterose, Joseph. p.3379). The story is changed by Steinbeck to illustrate

Thursday, December 12, 2019

Case Study of Mr Zdenek Selir-Free-Samples-Myassignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Case Study of Zdenek Selir. Answer: Zdenek Selir also was known as Danny to family and friends is an elderly man who died in hospital due to the failure of the staff at Gold Coast nursing home to treat his wounds properly. June 2015, is when Zdenek Selir moved to the nursing home located in Southport after he had suffered a stroke. Mr. Selir who is an 88-year-old man had arrived in the nursing home with pressure wounds that were minor but his condition had seemed to deteriorate with time as the facility operator had said. Due to lack of proper care and treatment, he developed gangrene and later died in a hospital. The Aged Care Complaints Commissioner says that his death was mainly due to lack of proper care, monitoring, and treatment of his pressure wounds that were both on his buttocks and feet (OBrien, et. al, 2013). Feelings I felt sad about Mr. Selirs incident because if the nurses at Gold Coast nursing home had followed the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia guidelines, his death could have been avoided. I felt that the nurses should have developed a good communication channel between themselves, the patients, doctors, and the patients family members. This is because if they could have been talking to Mr. Selir, they could have noticed that his wounds were worsening and they could have reported it to doctors who will have taken an immediate action or referred him to a specialist (Turrell Mathers, 2014). As a nurse, I felt that the nurses had neglected Mr. Selir because in my profession a nurse should uphold the well-being of a patient and ensure that they are comfortable. In this case, negligence can clearly be seen whereby Mr. Selir was left in his fall out chair the whole day without being rotated and the fact that his wounds had also developed a smell. I felt that the nurses should have regul arly checked his wounds, dressed them appropriately, and got him the appropriate medication. I felt that the nurses should in future provide close monitoring and treatment to the patients, besides seeking immediate help in case of critical conditions. In this case, an investigation should be done to assess the quality of healthcare offered by the facility in order to prevent such cases in future (Mitchell and Shortell, 2013). Evaluation I felt that the Gold Coast nursing home had greatly attributed to Mr. Selirs death because of lack of monitoring and treatment of his pressure wounds. It is due to ignorance from the nursing home that Mr. Selir had developed gangrene and the infection had thus eaten into his skin. I also felt that he was undergoing elderly abuse because even when the family member who had gone to visit him at Gold Coast nursing home found him laying his bed with a bad smell coming out of his wound, meaning that he was never well dressed and neither did he receive the required treatment. I also felt that the staff at Gold Coast nursing home was refusing to seek immediate help for Mr.Selir even though his health condition was critical. I also saw it right for Selirs family to put a complaint at the Aged Care Complaints commission so that such future instances to be avoided. Analysis The situation had been made worse by the fact that the staff at Gold Coast nursing home had failed to give proper care, monitoring, and treatment to Mr. Selirs wounds. The staff had an insufficient recording of wound care and the monitoring of his pressure wounds. It was also noted that Mr. Selir was left to sit in a fallout chair for several hours without being moved or rotated and this worsened his health condition since there was no proper blood circulation in his body. It might have been what led to the infection spreading further and eating to his body and thus his eventual death. I feel that his family was right in the fact they believed that he had died due to elderly abuse because the nursing home had neglected him and had failed to provide him proper care (Meyer, Silow-Carroll, Kutyla, Stepnick, and Rybowski. 2014). Conclusion In my case, I could have done several things differently. For instance, in Mr.Selirs case, I could have saved his life by ensuring that the staff at Gold Coast home was more responsible in terms of offering proper care, monitoring, and treatment of his pressure wounds. This could have prevented the infection from eating into his body and prevented his body organs from shutting down. I could have also helped by to rotating the fallout chair that he used to sit on to improve blood circulation in his body. I could have also been keen on the wound dressing and changing of the dressing materials since it would have been a more effective way of preventing further infection. I could have also ensured that there is effective communication between me and Mr. Selirs family members to ensure that he gets the appropriate health care. I could have also worked closely with other nurse and doctors to ensure that his death has been avoided (McLaughlin and Kaluzny, 2013). Action Plan In future, I suggest that new staff, processes, and systems should be put into place in the nursing home. The managing director is to acknowledge the mistakes made in Mr. Selirs case and in future authorize referrals of critical patients to specialists. The staff is to go mandatory training on wounds management in response to the findings and recommendations that had been made by the Age Care Complaints Commission. The director of the nursing home should also ensure that the nurses accord their patient's proper care, ensure that the residents can access better and improved quality care by creating a patient care center. The director should also ensure that the training would help the nurses to work closely with the families of the patients under their care as this could help avoid critical health cases (Lurie, Merrens, Lee, and Splaine, 2012). References Lurie, J. D., E. J. Merrens, J. Lee, and M. E. Splaine. (2012). An Approach to Hospital Quality Improvement. Medical Clinics of North America 86 (4): 82545. McLaughlin, C. P., and A. D. Kaluzny. 2013. Continuous Quality Improvement in Health Care: Theory, Implementation, and Applications. Gaithersburg, MD: Aspen Publishers, Inc. Meehan, T.P., M. J. Fine ,H. M .Krumholz, J.D.Scinto,D.H.Galusha,J.T.Mockalis, .F.Weber,M.K.Petrillo,P.M.Houck,andJ.M.Fine. 2014.QualityofCare, Process, and Outcomes in Elderly Patients with Pneumonia. Journal of the American Medical Association 278 (23): 20804. Mehta, R. H., S. Das, T. T. Tsai, E. Nolan, G. Kearly, and K. A. Eagle. 2010. Quality Improvement Initiative and Its Impact on the Management of Patients with Acute Myocardial Infarction. Archives of Internal Medicine 160 (20): 305762. Meyer, J. A., S. Silow-Carroll, T. Kutyla, L. S. Stepnick, and L. S. Rybowski. 2014. Hospital Quality: Ingredients for Success Overview and Lessons Learned. New York: Commonwealth Fund. Mitchell, P. H., and S. M. Shortell. 2013. Adverse Outcomes and Variations in Organization of Care Delivery. Medical Care 35 (11 suppl): N1932. OBrien, J. L., S. M. Shortell, E. F. Hughes, R. W. Foster, J. M. Carman, H. Boerstler, and E. J. OConner. 2013. An Integrative Model for Organization-Wide Quality Improvement: Lessons from the Field. Quality Management in Health Care 3 (4): 1930. Turrell G Mathers C 2014. Socioeconomic status and health in Australia. Medical Journal of Australia 172:4348