From today's featured article
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 Operation Teardrop was a United States Navy operation of World War II conducted during April and May 1945 to sink German U-boats that were believed to be approaching the U.S. east coast armed with V-1 flying bombs. It was planned during late 1944 in response to intelligence reports which indicated that Germany was preparing a force of missile-armed submarines. The plan was executed in April 1945 after several Type IX submarines put to sea from Norway bound for the United States. While severe weather conditions in the North Atlantic Ocean greatly reduced the effectiveness of the four U.S. Navy escort carriers involved, long patrol lines of destroyer escorts successfully detected and engaged most of the submarines. Four were sunk with the loss of their entire crew. Most of the crew of the other submarine to be sunk were rescued by the US Navy (rescue of survivors from U-546 pictured), and the specialists among the prisoners were brutally interrogated. USS Frederick C. Davis was also sunk with the loss of most of her crew. The surviving U-boats surrendered in early May as part of the general German surrender. After the war the Allies determined that the submarines were not carrying missiles. (Full article...)
Recently featured: Ancient Egyptian deities – A Journey – Elephant
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Did you know...
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From Wikipedia's newest content:
- ... that one of about 1,000 English poetry miscellanies (pictured) of the 18th century included "the Lucubrations of the Polite Part of the World, written upon walls, in Bog-Houses"?
- ... that Italian interior designer Stefania Follini spent 130 days of isolation in a cave?
- ... that Bangladesh Games, the national multi-sport event of Bangladesh, was previously known as Bangladesh Olympic Championships?
- ... that Vilde Frang played the Carmen Fantasy by Pablo de Sarasate, with Mariss Jansons conducting the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, at age 13?
- ... that forensic developmental psychology focuses on the reliability, credibility, and accuracy of children's testimonies in the courtroom?
- ... that screenwriter Sally Wainwright was inspired by her mother's second marriage when writing Last Tango in Halifax, a story of romance between two widowed septuagenarians?
- ... that tangled honeypots can be found in kwongan?
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Today's articles for improvement
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In the news
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On this day...
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May 8: Victory in Europe Day; World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day; Yom Yerushalayim in Israel (2013); Miguel Hidalgo's Birthday in Mexico
- 1794 – The Reign of Terror: Branded a traitor, French chemist Antoine Lavoisier (pictured), a former royal tax collector with the Ferme Générale, was tried, convicted, and guillotined on the same day.
- 1842 – A train derailed and caught fire in Paris, killing between 52 and 200 people.
- 1945 – A parade to celebrate the end of World War II turned into a riot, followed by widespread disturbances and killings in and around Sétif, French Algeria.
- 1963 – In Huế, South Vietnam, soldiers of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam opened fire into a crowd of Buddhist protestors against a government ban on the flying of the Buddhist flag on Vesākha, killing nine and sparking the Buddhist crisis.
- 1970 – Construction workers in New York City attacked students and others protesting the Kent State shootings.
- 1987 – A British Army Special Air Service unit ambushed a Provisional Irish Republican Army unit in Loughgall, Northern Ireland, killing eight IRA members and a civilian.
More anniversaries: May 7 – May 8 – May 9
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