title: William Ewart Gladstone

text: Gladstone supported the London dockers in their strike of 1889. After their victory he gave a speech at Hawarden on 23 September in which he said: "In the common interests of humanity, this remarkable strike and the results of this strike, which have tended somewhat to strengthen the condition of labour in the face of capital, is the record of what we ought to regard as satisfactory, as a real social advance [that] tends to a fair principle of division of the fruits of industry". This speech has been described by Eugenio Biagini as having "no parallel in the rest of Europe except in the rhetoric of the toughest socialist leaders". Visitors at Hawarden in October were "shocked...by some rather wild language on the Dock labourers question". Gladstone was impressed with workers unconnected with the dockers' dispute who "intended to make common cause" in the interests of justice.


title: William Ewart Gladstone

text: On 23 October at Southport, Gladstone delivered a speech where he said that the right to combination, which in London was "innocent and lawful, in Ireland would be penal and...punished by imprisonment with hard labour". Gladstone believed that the right to combination used by British workers was in jeopardy when it could be denied to Irish workers. In October 1890 Gladstone at Midlothian claimed that competition between capital and labour, "where it has gone to sharp issues, where there have been strikes on one side and lock-outs on the other, I believe that in the main and as a general rule, the labouring man has been in the right".


title: William Ewart Gladstone

text: On 11 December 1891 Gladstone said that: "It is a lamentable fact if, in the midst of our civilisation, and at the close of the nineteenth century, the workhouse is all that can be offered to the industrious labourer at the end of a long and honourable life. I do not enter into the question now in detail. I do not say it is an easy one; I do not say that it will be solved in a moment; but I do say this, that until society is able to offer to the industrious labourer at the end of a long and blameless life something better than the workhouse, society will not have discharged its duties to its poorer members". On 24 March 1892 Gladstone said that the Liberals had:


title: William Ewart Gladstone

text: ...come generally...to the conclusion that there is something painful in the condition of the rural labourer in this great respect, that it is hard even for the industrious and sober man, under ordinary conditions, to secure a provision for his own old age. Very large propositions, involving, some of them, very novel and very wide principles, have been submitted to the public, for the purpose of securing such a provision by means independent of the labourer himself...our duty [is] to develop in the first instance, every means that we may possibly devise whereby, if possible, the labourer may be able to make this provision for himself, or to approximate towards making such provision far more efficaciously and much more closely than he can now do. Gladstone wrote on 16 July 1892 in "autobiographica" that "In 1834 the Government...did themselves high honour by the new Poor Law Act, which rescued the English peasantry from the total loss of their independence". There were many who disagreed with him.


title: William Ewart Gladstone

text: Gladstone wrote to Herbert Spencer, who contributed the introduction to a collection of anti-socialist essays ("A Plea for Liberty", 1891), that "I ask to make reserves, and of one passage, which will be easily guessed, I am unable even to perceive the relevancy. But speaking generally, I have read this masterly argument with warm admiration and with the earnest hope that it may attract all the attention which it so well deserves". The passage Gladstone alluded to was one where Spencer had spoken of "the behaviour of the so-called Liberal party".


title: William Ewart Gladstone

text: The general election of 1892 resulted in a minority Liberal government with Gladstone as Prime Minister. The electoral address had promised Irish Home Rule and the disestablishment of the Scottish and Welsh Churches. In February 1893 he introduced the Second Home Rule Bill, which was passed in the Commons at second reading on 21 April by 43 votes and third reading on 1 September by 34 votes. The House of Lords defeated the bill by voting against by 419 votes to 41 on 8 September.


title: William Ewart Gladstone

text: The Elementary Education (Blind and Deaf Children) Act, passed in 1893, required local authorities to provide separate education for blind and deaf children.


title: William Ewart Gladstone

text: Conservative MP Colonel Howard Vincent questioned Gladstone in the Commons on what his government would do about unemployment on 1 September 1893. Gladstone replied: I cannot help regretting that the honourable and gallant Gentleman has felt it his duty to put the question. It is put under circumstances that naturally belong to one of those fluctuations in the condition of trade which, however unfortunate and lamentable they may be, recur from time to time. Undoubtedly I think that questions of this kind, whatever be the intention of the questioner, have a tendency to produce in the minds of people, or to suggest to the people, that these fluctuations can be corrected by the action of the Executive Government. Anything that contributes to such an impression inflicts an injury upon the labouring population.


title: William Ewart Gladstone

text: In December 1893, an Opposition motion proposed by Lord George Hamilton called for an expansion of the Royal Navy. Gladstone opposed increasing public expenditure on the naval estimates, in the tradition of free trade liberalism of his earlier political career as Chancellor. All his Cabinet colleagues believed in some expansion of the navy. He declared in the Commons on 19 December that naval rearmament would commit the government to expenditure over a number of years and would subvert "the principle of annual account, annual proposition, annual approval by the House of Commons, which...is the only way of maintaining regularity, and that regularity is the only talisman which will secure Parliamentary control". In January 1894, Gladstone wrote that he would not "break to pieces the continuous action of my political life, nor trample on the tradition received from every colleague who has ever been my teacher" by supporting naval rearmament. Gladstone also opposed Chancellor Sir William Harcourt's proposal to implement a graduated death duty. In a fragment of autobiography dated 25 July 1894, Gladstone denounced the tax as


title: William Ewart Gladstone

text: ...by far the most Radical measure of my lifetime. I do not object to the principle of graduated taxation: for the just principle of ability to pay is not determined simply by the amount of income... But, so far as I understand the present measure of finance from the partial reports I have received, I find it too violent. It involves a great departure from the methods of political action established in this country, where reforms, and especially financial reforms, have always been considerate and even tender... I do not yet see the ground on which it can be justly held that any one description of "property" should be more heavily burdened than others, unless moral and social grounds can be shown first: but in this case the reasons drawn from those sources seem rather to verge in the opposite direction, for real property has more of presumptive connection with the discharge of duty than that which is ranked as personal...the aspect of the measure is not satisfactory to a man of my traditions (and these traditions lie near the roots of my being)... For the sudden introduction of such change there is I think no precedent in the history of this country. And the severity of the blow is greatly aggravated in moral effect by the fact that it is dealt only to a handful of individuals.


title: William Ewart Gladstone

text: Gladstone had his last audience with Queen Victoria on 28 February 1894 and chaired his last Cabinet on 1 March—the last of 556 he had chaired. On that day he gave his last speech to the House of Commons, saying that the government would withdraw opposition to the Lords' amendments to the Local Government Bill "under protest" and that it was "a controversy which, when once raised, must go forward to an issue". He resigned from the premiership on 2 March. The Queen did not ask Gladstone who should succeed him, but sent for Lord Rosebery (Gladstone would have advised on Lord Spencer). He retained his seat in the House of Commons until 1895. He was not offered a peerage, having earlier declined an earldom.


title: William Ewart Gladstone

text: Gladstone is both the oldest person to form a government—aged 82 at his appointment—and the oldest person to occupy the Premiership—being 84 at his resignation.


title: William Ewart Gladstone

text: In 1895, at the age of 85, Gladstone bequeathed £40,000 (equivalent to approximately £ today) and much of his 32,000 volume library to found St Deiniol's Library in Hawarden, Wales. It had begun with just 5,000 items at his father's home Fasque, which were transferred to Hawarden for research in 1851.


title: William Ewart Gladstone

text: On 8 January 1896, in conversation with L.A. Tollemache, Gladstone explained that: "I am not so much afraid of Democracy or of Science as of the love of money. This seems to me to be a growing evil. Also, there is a danger from the growth of that dreadful military spirit". On 13 January, Gladstone claimed he had strong Conservative instincts and that "In all matters of custom and tradition, even the Tories look upon me as the chief Conservative that is". On 15 January Gladstone wrote to James Bryce, describing himself as "a dead man, one fundamentally a Peel–Cobden man". In 1896, in his last noteworthy speech, he denounced Armenian massacres by Ottomans in a talk delivered at Liverpool. On 2 January 1897, Gladstone wrote to Francis Hirst on being unable to draft a preface to a book on liberalism: "I venture on assuring you that I regard the design formed by you and your friends with sincere interest, and in particular wish well to all the efforts you may make on behalf of individual freedom and independence as opposed to what is termed Collectivism".


title: William Ewart Gladstone

text: In the early months of 1897, Gladstone and his wife stayed in Cannes. Gladstone met Queen Victoria, and she shook hands with him for (to his recollection) the first time in the 50 years he had known her. One of the Gladstones' neighbours observed that "He and his devoted wife never missed the morning service on Sunday ... One Sunday, returning from the altar rail, the old, partially blind man stumbled at the chancel step. One of the clergy sprang involuntarily to his assistance, but retreated with haste, so withering was the fire which flashed from those failing eyes." The Gladstones returned to Hawarden Castle at the end of March and he received the Colonial Premiers in their visit for the Queen's Jubilee. At a dinner in November with Edward Hamilton, his former private secretary, Hamilton noted that "What is now uppermost in his mind is what he calls the spirit of jingoism under the name of Imperialism which is now so prevalent". Gladstone riposted "It was enough to make Peel and Cobden turn in their graves".


title: William Ewart Gladstone

text: On the advice of his doctor Samuel Habershon in the aftermath of an attack of facial neuralgia, Gladstone stayed at Cannes from the end of November 1897 to mid-February 1898. He gave an interview for "The Daily Telegraph". Gladstone then travelled to Bournemouth, where a swelling on his palate was diagnosed as cancer by the leading cancer surgeon Sir Thomas Smith on 18 March. On 22 March, he retired to Hawarden Castle. Despite being in pain he received visitors and quoted hymns, especially Cardinal Newman's "Praise to the Holiest in the Height".


title: William Ewart Gladstone

text: His last public statement was dictated to his daughter Helen in reply to receiving the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford's "sorrow and affection": "There is no expression of Christian sympathy that I value more than that of the ancient University of Oxford, the God-fearing and God-sustaining University of Oxford. I served her perhaps mistakenly, but to the best of my ability. My most earnest prayers are hers to the uttermost and to the last". He left the house for the last time on 9 April. After 18 April he did not come down to the ground floor but still came out of bed to lie on the sofa. The Bishop of St Andrews, Dunkeld and Dunblane George Wilkinson recorded when he ministered to him along with Stephen Gladstone: Shall I ever forget the last Friday in Passion Week, when I gave him the last Holy Communion that I was allowed to administer to him? It was early in the morning. He was obliged to be in bed, and he was ordered to remain there, but the time had come for the confession of sin and the receiving of absolution. Out of his bed he came. Alone he knelt in the presence of his God till the absolution has been spoken, and the sacred elements received.


title: William Ewart Gladstone

text: Gladstone died on 19 May 1898 at Hawarden Castle, Hawarden, aged 88. He had been cared for by his daughter Helen who had resigned her job to care for her father and mother. The cause of death is officially recorded as "Syncope, Senility". "Syncope" meant failure of the heart and "senility" in the 19th century was an infirmity of advanced old age, rather than a loss of mental faculties. The House of Commons adjourned on the afternoon of Gladstone's death, with A.J. Balfour giving notice for an Address to the Queen praying for a public funeral and a public memorial in Westminster Abbey. The day after, both Houses of Parliament approved the Address and Herbert Gladstone accepted a public funeral on behalf of the Gladstone family. His coffin was transported on the London Underground before his state funeral at Westminster Abbey, at which the Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VII) and the Duke of York (the future King George V) acted as pallbearers. His wife, Catherine Gladstone ("née" Glynne), died two years later on 14 June 1900 and was buried next to him.


title: William Ewart Gladstone

text: Gladstone's intensely religious mother was an evangelical of Scottish Episcopal origins, and his father joined the Church of England, having been a Presbyterian when he first settled in Liverpool. As a boy William was baptised into the Church of England. He rejected a call to enter the ministry, and on this his conscience always tormented him. In compensation he aligned his politics with the evangelical faith in which he fervently believed. In 1838 Gladstone nearly ruined his career when he tried to force a religious mission upon the Conservative Party. His book "The State in its Relations with the Church" argued that England had neglected its great duty to the Church of England. He announced that since that church possessed a monopoly of religious truth, nonconformists and Roman Catholics ought to be excluded from all government positions. The historian Thomas Babington Macaulay and other critics ridiculed his arguments and refuted them. Sir Robert Peel, Gladstone's chief, was outraged because this would upset the delicate political issue of Catholic Emancipation and anger the Nonconformists. Since Peel greatly admired his protégé, he redirected his focus from theology to finance.


title: William Ewart Gladstone

text: Gladstone altered his approach to religious problems, which always held first place in his mind. Before entering Parliament he had already substituted a high church Anglican attitude, with its dependence on authority and tradition, for the evangelical outlook of his boyhood, with its reliance upon the direct inspiration of the Bible. In middle life he decided that the individual conscience would have to replace authority as the inner citadel of the Church. That view of the individual conscience affected his political outlook and changed him gradually from a Conservative into a Liberal.


title: William Ewart Gladstone

text: Gladstone's early attempts to find a wife proved unsuccessful, having been rejected in 1835 by Caroline Eliza Farquhar (daughter of Sir Thomas Harvie Farquhar, 2nd Baronet) and again in 1837 by Lady Frances Harriet Douglas (daughter of George Douglas, 17th Earl of Morton).


title: William Ewart Gladstone

text: The following year, having met her in 1834 at the London home of Old Etonian friend and then fellow-Conservative MP James Milnes Gaskell, he married Catherine Glynne, to whom he remained married until his death 59 years later. They had eight children together:


title: William Ewart Gladstone

text: Gladstone's eldest son William (known as "Willy" to distinguish him from his father), and youngest, Herbert, both became Members of Parliament. William Henry predeceased his father by seven years. Gladstone's private secretary was his nephew Spencer Lyttelton.


title: William Ewart Gladstone

text: Two of Gladstone's sons and a grandson, William Glynne Charles Gladstone, followed him into parliament, making for four generations of MPs in total. One of his collateral descendants, George Freeman, has been the Conservative Member of Parliament for Mid Norfolk since 2010.


title: William Ewart Gladstone

text: Sir Albert Gladstone, 5th baronet and Sir Charles Gladstone, 6th baronet (from whom the 7th and 8th baronets are descended) were also grandsons.


title: William Ewart Gladstone

text: The historian H. C. G. Matthew states that Gladstone's chief legacy lay in three areas: his financial policy, his support for Home Rule (devolution) that modified the view of the unitary state of the United Kingdom and his idea of a progressive, reforming party broadly based and capable of accommodating and conciliating varying interests, along with his speeches at mass public meetings.


title: William Ewart Gladstone

text: Lord Acton wrote in 1880 that he considered Gladstone one "of the three greatest Liberals" (along with Edmund Burke and Lord Macaulay).


title: William Ewart Gladstone

text: In 1909 the Liberal Chancellor David Lloyd George introduced his "People's Budget", the first budget which aimed to redistribute wealth. The Liberal statesman Lord Rosebery ridiculed it by asserting Gladstone would reject it, "Because in his eyes, and in my eyes, too as his humble disciple, Liberalism and Liberty were cognate terms; they were twin-sisters."


title: William Ewart Gladstone

text: Lloyd George had written in 1913 that the Liberals were "carving the last few columns out of the Gladstonian quarry".


title: William Ewart Gladstone

text: Lloyd George said of Gladstone in 1915: "What a man he was! Head and shoulders above anyone else I have ever seen in the House of Commons. I did not like him much. He hated Nonconformists and Welsh Nonconformists in particular and he had no real sympathy with the working classes. But he was far and away the best Parliamentary speaker I have ever heard. He was not so good in exposition." Asquithian Liberals continued to advocate traditional Gladstonian policies of sound finance, peaceful foreign relations and the better treatment of Ireland. They often compared Lloyd George unfavourably with Gladstone.


title: William Ewart Gladstone

text: Writing in 1944 the classical liberal economist Friedrich Hayek said of the change in political attitudes that had occurred since the Great War: "Perhaps nothing shows this change more clearly than that, while there is no lack of sympathetic treatment of Bismarck in contemporary English literature, the name of Gladstone is rarely mentioned by the younger generation without a sneer over his Victorian morality and naive utopianism".


title: William Ewart Gladstone

text: In the latter half of the 20th century Thatcherite Conservatives began to claim association with Gladstone and his economic policies. Margaret Thatcher proclaimed in 1983: "We have a duty to make sure that every penny piece we raise in taxation is spent wisely and well. For it is our party which is dedicated to good housekeeping—indeed, I would not mind betting that if Mr. Gladstone were alive today he would apply to join the Conservative Party". In 1996, she said: "The kind of Conservatism which he and I...favoured would be best described as 'liberal', in the old-fashioned sense. And I mean the liberalism of Mr Gladstone, not of the latter-day collectivists". Nigel Lawson, one of Thatcher's Chancellors, called Gladstone the "greatest Chancellor of all time".


title: William Ewart Gladstone

text: Historical writers have often played Disraeli and Gladstone against each other as great rivals. Roland Quinault, however, cautions us not to exaggerate the confrontation:


title: William Ewart Gladstone

text: Gladstone was popularly known in his later years as the "Grand Old Man" or "G.O.M.". The term was used occasionally during the Midlothian election campaign, first became widely associated with him during the 1880 general election, and was ubiquitous in the press by 1882. Henry Labouchère and Sir Stafford Northcote have both been credited with coining it; it appears to have been in use before either of them used it publicly, though they may have helped popularise it. While it was originally used to show affectionate reverence, it was quickly adopted more sarcastically by his opponents, using it to emphasise his age. The acronym was sometimes satirised as "God's Only Mistake", or after the fall of Khartoum, inverted to "M.O.G.", "Murderer of Gordon". (Disraeli is often credited with the former, but Lord Salisbury is a more likely origin). The term is still widely used today and is virtually synonymous with Gladstone.


title: Bazooka

text: Bazooka () is the common name for a man-portable recoilless anti-tank rocket launcher weapon, widely deployed by the United States Army, especially during World War II. Also referred to as the "stovepipe", the innovative bazooka was among the first generation of rocket-propelled anti-tank weapons used in infantry combat. Featuring a solid-propellant rocket for propulsion, it allowed for high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) warheads to be delivered against armored vehicles, machine gun nests, and fortified bunkers at ranges beyond that of a standard thrown grenade or mine. The universally applied nickname arose from the M1 variant's vague resemblance to the musical instrument called a "bazooka" invented and popularized by 1930s American comedian Bob Burns.


title: Bazooka

text: During World War II, the German armed forces captured several bazookas in early North African and Eastern Front encounters and soon reverse engineered their own version, increasing the warhead diameter to 8.8 cm (among other minor changes) and widely issuing it as the "Raketenpanzerbüchse" "Panzerschreck" ("rocket anti-armor rifle 'tank scare). Near the end of the war, the Japanese developed a similar weapon, the Type 4 70 mm AT rocket launcher, which featured a rocket propelled grenade of a different design.


title: Bazooka

text: The term "bazooka" still sees informal use as a generic term referring to any ground-to-ground shoulder-fired missile weapon (mainly rocket propelled grenade launchers or recoilless rifles), and as an expression that "heavy measures" are being taken.


title: Bazooka

text: The development of the bazooka involved the development of two specific lines of technology: the rocket-powered weapon, and the shaped-charge warhead. It was also designed for easy maneuverability and access.


title: Bazooka

text: The rocket-powered weapon was the brainchild of Robert H. Goddard as a side project (under Army contract) of his work on rocket propulsion. Goddard, during his tenure at Clark University, and while working at Worcester Polytechnic Institute's magnetic lab and Mount Wilson Observatory (for security reasons), designed a tube-fired rocket for military use during World War I. He and his co-worker, Clarence N. Hickman, successfully demonstrated his rocket to the US Army Signal Corps at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, on November 6, 1918, but as the Compiègne Armistice was signed only five days later, further development was discontinued. The delay in the development of the bazooka was as a result of Goddard's serious bout with tuberculosis. Goddard continued to be a part-time consultant to the US government at Indian Head, Maryland, until 1923, but soon turned his focus to other projects involving rocket propulsion. Hickman later became head of the National Defense Research Committee in the 1940s where he guided rocket development for the war effort, including completing the development of the bazooka.


title: Bazooka

text: Shaped charge technology was developed in the US into a shaped charge anti-tank grenade for use by infantry, effective at defeating up to 60 mm (2.4 in) of vehicle armor. The grenade was standardized as the M10. However, the M10 grenade weighed 3.5 lb (1.6 kg), proving difficult to throw by hand and too heavy to be launched as a rifle grenade. The only practical way to use the weapon was for an infantryman to place it directly on the tank, a dangerous and unlikely means of delivery in most combat situations. A smaller, less powerful, version of the M10, the M9, was then developed, which could be fired from a rifle. This resulted in the creation of a series of rifle grenade launchers, the M1 (Springfield M1903), the M2 (Enfield M1917), the M7 (M1 Garand), and the M8 (M1 carbine). However, a truly capable anti-tank weapon had yet to be found, and following the lead of other countries at the time, the U.S. Army prepared to evaluate competing designs for a more effective man-portable anti-tank weapon.


title: Bazooka

text: The combination of rocket motor and shaped charge warhead led to the Army's development of light antitank weapons.


title: Bazooka

text: In 1942, U.S. Army colonel, Leslie Skinner, received the M10 shaped-charge grenade which was capable of stopping German tanks. He gave Lieutenant Edward Uhl the task of creating a delivery system for the grenade. Uhl created a small rocket, but needed to protect the operator from the rocket motor’s exhaust. According to Uhl,


title: Bazooka

text: By late 1942, the improved "Rocket Launcher, M1A1" was introduced. The forward hand grip was deleted, and the design simplified. The production M1A1 was 55 inches (1.37 m) long and weighed 12.75 pounds (5.8 kg).


title: Bazooka

text: The ammunition for the original M1 launcher was the M6 ("Trials" code: T1), which was notoriously unreliable. The M6 was improved and designated "M6A1", and the new ammunition was issued with the improved M1A1 launcher. After the M6, several alternative warheads were introduced. Many older M1 launchers were modified to M1A1 standards in July and August 1943. Batches of M6 rockets designated "M6A2" were overhauled with the latest ignition systems and had been modified to be able to be fired from the upgraded M1 launchers. The M6A3 rocket featured a blunt, rounded nose to lessen the chances of it ricocheting off of angled armor, and was meant to be fired from the M9, and later M9A1, launchers. Late in World War II, the M6A4 and M6A5 rockets with improved fuses were developed. These rockets arrived too late to see service during the war, but were used post-war.


title: Bazooka

text: The 2.36 inch (60 mm) smoke rocket M10 and its improved subvariants (M10A1, M10A2, M10A4) used the rocket motor and fin assembly of the M6A1, but replaced the anti-tank warhead with a white phosphorus (WP) smoke head. WP smoke not only acts as a visibility screen, but its burning particles can cause severe injuries to skin. The M10 was therefore used to mark targets, to blind enemy gunners or vehicle drivers, or to drive troops out of bunkers and dugouts. The 2.36-inch incendiary rocket T31 was an M10 variant with an incendiary warhead designed to ignite fires in enemy-held structures and unarmored vehicles, or to destroy combustible supplies, ammunition, and materiel; it was not often utilized.


title: Bazooka

text: The original M1 and M1A1 rocket launchers were equipped with simple fixed sights and used launch tubes without reinforcements. During the war, the M1A1 received a number of running modifications. The battery specification was changed to a larger, standard battery cell size, resulting in complaints of batteries getting stuck in the wood shoulder rest (the compartment was later reamed out to accommodate the larger cells). The M1 and M1A1 used a rear iron sight and a front rectangular "ladder" sight positioned at the muzzle. The vertical sides of the ladder sight were inscribed with graduations of 100, 200, 300, and 400 yards, with the user elevating the bazooka so the rear sight lined up with the selected "rung" on the front sight. On the M9, the ladder sight was replaced by the General Electric T43 aperture sight. Ranging was accomplished by looking through the rear sight's peep hole while rotating the assembly (which had graduations of 100, 200, and 300 yards) so it lined up with the blade positioned at the muzzle. In September 1944, during the production of the M9A1, the T43 sight was replaced by the Polaroid T90 optical reflector sight, which used an etched reticle for aiming. The T43 and T90 sights were interchangeable. Various types of blast deflectors were tried, and an additional strap iron shoulder brace was fitted to the M9 launcher.


title: Bazooka

text: The bazooka required special care when used in tropical or arctic climates or in severe dust or sand conditions. Rockets were not to be fired at temperatures below 0 °F or above 120 °F (−18 °C to +49 °C).


title: Bazooka

text: In 1943, field reports of rockets sticking and prematurely detonating in M1A1 launch tubes were received by Army Ordnance at Ogden Arsenal and other production facilities. At the US Army's Aberdeen Proving Grounds, various metal collars and wire wrapping were used on the sheet metal launch tube in an effort to reinforce it. However, reports of premature detonation continued until the development of bore slug test gauges to ensure that the rocket did not catch inside the launch tube.


title: Bazooka

text: The original M6 and M6A1 rockets used in the M1 and M1A1 launchers had a pointed nose, which was found to cause deflection from the target at low impact angles. In late 1943, another 2.36-in rocket type was adopted, the M6A3, for use with the newly standardized M9 rocket launcher. The M6A3 was 19.4 inches (493 mm) long, and weighed 3.38 lb (1.53 kg). It had a blunted, more round nose to improve target effect at low angles, and a new circular fin assembly to improve flight stability. The M6A3 was capable of penetrating of armor plate.


title: Bazooka

text: Battery problems in the early bazookas eventually resulted in replacement of the battery-powered ignition system with a magneto sparker system operated through the trigger. A trigger safety was incorporated into the design that isolated the magneto, preventing misfires that could occur when the trigger was released and the stored charge prematurely fired the rocket. The final major change was the division of the launch tube into two discrete sections, with bayonet-joint attachments. This was done to make the weapon more convenient to carry, particularly for use by airborne forces. The final two-piece launcher was standardized as the M9A1. In September 1944, the fragile folding aperture sight was replaced by a Polaroid optical reflector sight. However, the long list of incorporated modifications increased the launcher's tube length to 61 inches (1.55 m), with an overall empty weight of 14.3 lb (6.5 kg). From its original conception as a relatively light, handy, and disposable weapon, the final M9A1 launcher had become a heavy, clumsy, and relatively complex piece of equipment.


title: Bazooka

text: In October 1944, after receiving reports of inadequate combat effect of the M1A1 and M9 launchers and their M6A1 rockets, and after examining captured examples of the German 8.8 cm RPzB 43 and RPzB 54 Panzerschreck, the U.S. Ordnance Corps began development on a new, more powerful anti-tank rocket launcher, the 3.5-inch (90 mm) M20. However, the weapon's design was not completed until after the war and saw no action against an enemy until the Korean War.


title: Bazooka

text: In 1945, the U.S. Army's Chemical Warfare Service standardized improved chemical warfare rockets intended for the new M9 and M9A1 launchers, adopting the M26 gas rocket, a cyanogen chloride (CK)-filled warhead for the 2.36-in rocket launcher. CK, a deadly blood agent, was capable of penetrating the protective filter barriers in some gas masks, and was seen as an effective agent against Japanese forces (particularly those hiding in caves or bunkers), whose gas masks lacked the impregnants that would provide protection against the chemical reaction of CK. While stockpiled in US inventory, the CK rocket was never deployed or issued to combat personnel.


title: Bazooka

text: Following Operation Overlord in 1944, the military version of the slow-flying Piper J-3 Cub high-wing civilian monoplane, the L-4 Grasshopper, began to be used in a light anti-armor role by a few U.S. Army artillery spotter units over France; these aircraft were field-outfitted with either two or four bazookas attached to the lift struts, against German armored fighting vehicles.


title: Bazooka

text: Upon arriving in France in 1944, US Army major, Charles Carpenter, an Army aviator flying liaison and artillery-spotting lightplanes like the military version of the Piper J-3 Cub, the L-4 Grasshopper, was issued a new L-4H version during the concluding stages of "Overlord", taking this "light attack" role against German armor by himself. With a 150-pound pilot and no radio aboard, the L-4H had a combined cargo and passenger weight capacity of approximately 232 pounds. This margin allowed him to eventually mount a total of six bazookas, three per side on the lift struts as other L-4s had done.


title: Bazooka

text: Within a few weeks, Carpenter was credited with knocking out a German armored car and four tanks. Carpenter's plane was known as "Rosie the Rocketer", and his exploits were soon featured in numerous press accounts, including "Stars and Stripes", the Associated Press, "Popular Science", "The New York Sun", and "Liberty Magazine". Carpenter once told a reporter that his idea of fighting a war was to "attack, attack and then attack again". During the critical late-September Battle of Arracourt, Carpenter managed to achieve disabling hits on several German armored cars and two Panther tanks, along with killing or wounding a dozen or more enemy soldiers.


title: Bazooka

text: In the opening months of the Korean War, in August 1950, a joint US Navy and Marine Corps test used a newly-acquired Bell HTL-4 helicopter to test if a bazooka could be fired from a helicopter in flight. One of the larger, 3.5 inch, models of the Bazooka was chosen, and was mounted ahead and to the right of the helicopter to allow the door to remain clear. The bazooka was successfully tested, although it was discovered that it would require shielding for the engine compartment, which was exposed in the model 47 and other early helicopters. The helicopter itself belonged to HMX-1, a Marine experimental helicopter squadron.


title: Bazooka

text: Shortly after the first prototype launcher and rockets had been tested by firing into the Potomac River, Skinner and Uhl took the new system to a competitive trial of various types of spigot mortar (at that time seen as the most promising way to deliver a shaped charge), which was held at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in May 1942. The new rocket launcher scored several hits on a moving tank while the five different mortars achieved none; this was a considerable achievement since the launcher's sights had been fabricated that morning from a wire coat hanger bent with a broken nail. The trial was being watched by various senior officers, among them the chief of research and engineering in the Ordnance Department, Major General Gladeon M. Barnes. Barnes was delighted by the performance of the system and fired it himself, but commented: "It sure looks like Bob Burns' bazooka". Bob Burns was a popular radio comedian, who used a novelty musical instrument which he had devised himself and called a "bazooka".


title: Bazooka

text: In September 1942, a consignment of 600 M1 bazookas was shipped to Egypt for use by the British Army in the Western Desert campaign. In a demonstration to British commanders, a bazooka penetrated the frontal armor of a captured Panzer III; however it was decided that the desert terrain lacked the concealment required for such a short range weapon and it was not deployed in that theater. In November 1942 during Operation Torch, early production versions of the M1 launcher and M6 rocket were hastily supplied to some of the U.S. invasion forces during the landings in North Africa. On the night before the landings, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower was shocked to discover from a subordinate that none of his troops had received any instruction in the use of the bazooka.


title: Bazooka

text: Initially supplied with the highly unreliable M6 rocket and without training for its operators, the M1 did not play a significant armed role in combat in the North African fighting, but did provide a German intelligence coup when some were captured by the Germans in early encounters with inexperienced U.S. troops. A U.S. general visiting the Tunisian front in 1943 after the close of combat operations could not find any soldiers who could report that the weapon had actually stopped an enemy tank. Further issue of the bazooka was suspended in May 1943.


title: Bazooka

text: During the Allied invasion of Sicily, small numbers of the M1A1 bazooka (using an improved rocket, the M6A1) were used in combat by U.S. forces. The M1A1 accounted for four medium German tanks and a heavy Tiger I, with the latter being knocked out by an improbable hit through the driver's vision slot.


title: Bazooka

text: When the existence of the bazooka was revealed to the American public, official press releases for the first two years stated that it "packed the wallop of a 155 mm cannon"—a great exaggeration.


title: Bazooka

text: In late 1942, numbers of early-production American M1 bazookas were captured by German troops from Red Army forces who had been given quantities of the bazooka under lend-lease. There were also examples captured during the Operation Torch invasions in the North African Campaign. The Germans promptly developed their own version of the weapon called the "Panzerschreck", increasing the diameter of the warhead from 60 mm to 88 mm (2.4 to 3.5 in), which as a result, gave it significantly greater armor penetration. During U.S. trials of the M1, calls for a larger-diameter warhead had also been raised by some ordnance officers but were rejected. Later in the war, after participating in an armor penetration test involving a German Panther tank using both the "Raketenpanzerbüchse", or RPzB 54 "Panzerschreck" and the U.S. M9 bazooka, Corporal Donald E. Lewis of the U.S. Army informed his superiors that the "Panzerschreck" was "far superior to the American bazooka": 'I was so favorably impressed [by the "Panzerschreck"] I was ready to take after the Krauts with their own weapon.'


title: Bazooka

text: The M1 bazooka fared much better on the rare occasions when it could be used against the much thinner armor typically fitted to the lower sides, undersides, and tops of enemy tanks. To hit the bottom of an enemy tank, the bazooka operator had to wait until the tank was surmounting a steep hill or other obstruction, while hitting the top armor usually necessitated firing the rocket from the upper story of a building or a similar, elevated, position. Even the heavy King Tiger tank only possessed hull and turret top armor of 44 mm ( in) thickness at best, capable of being pierced by the bazooka's shaped-charge rocket. During the 1944 Allied offensive in France, when some examples of liaison aircraft with the U.S. Army began to be experimentally field-armed, and were already flying with pairs or quartets of the American ordnance—and most notably used during the Battle of Arracourt—Major Charles "Bazooka Charlie" Carpenter mounted a battery of three M9 bazookas on the wing-to-fuselage struts on each side of his L-4 Grasshopper aircraft in order to attack enemy armor, and was credited with destroying six enemy tanks, including two Tiger I heavy tanks. In the hands of American infantry the bazooka still enjoyed rare successes against heavy Nazi armored fighting vehicles. In 1945, during the failed Operation Nordwind offensive, a bazooka team managed the unlikely achievement of destroying a Jagdtiger heavy tank destroyer, the most heavily armored fighting vehicle in World War Two. The team managed to do this by positioning themselves to get a shot at the massive vehicle's thinner side armor, scoring a direct hit on the ammunition bustle and causing a catastrophic kill. This incident shows that when correctly aimed at vulnerable points on vehicles the bazooka could still be effective against even the largest of armored vehicles, though it required significant skill to accomplish.


title: Bazooka

text: Despite the introduction of the M9 bazooka with its improved rocket—the M6A3—in late 1943, reports of the weapon's effectiveness against enemy armor decreased drastically in the latter stages of World War II. New German tanks with thicker and better-designed armor plate appeared, and "Schürzen" armor skirts, originally intended to defeat Soviet antitank rifles but that also proved effective in defeating the bazooka's shaped charge warhead, were fitted. This development forced bazooka operators to target less well-protected areas of the vehicle, such as the tracks, drive sprockets, road wheels, or engine compartment. In a letter dated May 20, 1944, Gen. George S. Patton stated to a colleague that "the purpose of the bazooka is not to hunt tanks offensively, but to be used as a last resort in keeping tanks from overrunning infantry. To insure this, the range should be held to around 30 yards."


title: Bazooka

text: In the Pacific campaign, as in North Africa, the original bazookas sent to combat often had reliability issues. The battery-operated firing circuit was easily damaged during rough handling, and the rocket motors often failed because of high temperatures and exposure to moisture, salt air, or humidity. With the introduction of the M1A1 and its more reliable rocket ammunition, the bazooka was effective against some fixed Japanese infantry emplacements such as small concrete bunkers and pillboxes. Against coconut and sand emplacements, the weapon was not always effective, as these softer structures often reduced the force of the warhead's impact enough to prevent detonation of the explosive charge. Later in the Pacific war, Army and Marine units often used the M2 flamethrower to attack such emplacements. In the few instances in the Pacific where the bazooka was used against tanks and armored vehicles, the rocket's warhead easily penetrated the thin armor plate used by the Japanese and destroyed the vehicle. Overall, the M1A1, M9, and M9A1 rocket launchers were viewed as useful and effective weapons during World War II, though they had been primarily employed against enemy emplacements and fixed fortifications, not as anti-tank weapons. General Dwight Eisenhower later described it as one of the four "tools of victory" which won World War II for the Allies (together with the atom bomb, Jeep and the C-47 Skytrain transport aircraft).


title: Bazooka

text: During the war, bazookas were lend-leased to the United Kingdom, Brazil, Canada, China, and Free French forces as well as the Soviet Union. Some were supplied to French "maquis" and Yugoslav partisans.


title: Bazooka

text: The success of the more powerful German "Panzerschreck" caused the bazooka to be completely redesigned at the close of World War II. A larger, 3.5 in (89 mm) model was adopted, the M20 "super bazooka". Though bearing a superficial resemblance to the "Panzerschreck", the M20 had a greater effective range, penetrating capability and was nearly 20% lighter than its German counterpart. The M20 weighed 14.3 pounds (6.5 kg) and fired a hollow shaped-charge 9 lb (4 kg) M28A2 HEAT rocket when used in an anti-tank role. It was also operated by a two-man team and had a rate of fire of six shots per minute. As with its predecessor, the M20 could also fire rockets with either practice (M29A2) or WP smoke (T127E3/M30) warheads. Having learned from experience of the sensitivity of the bazooka and its ammunition to moisture and harsh environments, the ammunition for the new weapon was packaged in moisture-resistant packaging, and the M20's field manual contained extensive instructions on launcher lubrication and maintenance, as well as storage of rocket ammunition. When prepared for shipment from the arsenal, the weapon was protected by antifungal coatings over all electrical contacts, in addition to a cosmoline coating in the hand-operated magneto that ignited the rocket. Upon issue, these coatings were removed with solvent to ready the M20 for actual firing. However, budget cutbacks initiated by Secretary of Defense Louis A. Johnson in the years following World War II effectively canceled the intended widespread issue of the M20, and initial U.S. forces deploying to Korea were armed solely with the M9/M9A1 2.36-in. launcher and old stockpiled World War II inventories of M6A3 rocket ammunition.


title: Bazooka

text: At the outbreak of the Korean War, the South Korean military had 1,958 M9A1 rocket launchers that were given from the U.S. Forces Korea during withdrawal in 1948 to 1949, and they were the only anti-tank firearms that the Korean military had secured sufficient quantities. The South Korean military actively operated rocket launchers against North Korean armor. However, the 2.36-inch rocket launcher failed to show its power against the front armor of T-34-85, which was the biggest threat. The South Korean military responded by firing rockets into the side, rear, or track through ambushes, but it did not have much effect.


title: Bazooka

text: At the same time, the U.S. military dispatched its first troops to the Korean Peninsula without trusting reports that a 2.36-inch rocket could not destroy North Korean tanks. On July 5, 1950, during the Battle of Osan, Task Force Smith tried to stop North Korean tanks with 2.36-inch rocket launchers and 75 mm recoilless rifles but was overrun by 33 T-34-85s. One of the North Korean T-34 received a total of 22 shots on the side and rear at about 10 meters in distance, but survived the attack.


title: Bazooka

text: On July 8, Colonel Robert R. Martin, commander of the 34th Regiment of the 24th U.S. Division, was killed while operating a 2.36-inch rocket launcher to prevent North Korean tanks from advancing. Additionally, ordnance authorities received numerous combat reports regarding the failure of the M6A3 warhead to properly detonate upon impact, eventually traced to inventories of rocket ammunition that had deteriorated from numerous years of storage in humid or salt air environments. Therefore, the U.S. Army immediately airlifted a small number of available M20 Super Bazookas from the U.S. mainland after learning that it needed more powerful rockets. The rockets were deployed during the Battle of Taejon on July 18, and proved their power by destroying a number of North Korean tanks that entered the city on July 20. As a result, the U.S. Army rushed to secure more M20 rockets and was able to hold more than 900 Super Bazookas during the Battle of Pusan Perimeter. The South Korean military also began receiving M20 in early August, and successfully destroyed 4 tanks with M20s during their first usage on 9 August.


title: Bazooka

text: Large numbers of 2.36-inch bazookas that were captured during the Chinese Civil War were also employed by the Chinese forces against the American Sherman and Patton tanks, and the Chinese later reverse engineered and produced a copy of the M20 designated the "Type 51". It is considered that the Communist-used bazookas destroyed more tanks than the UN bazookas did.


title: Bazooka

text: The M20 was used in the early stages of the war in Vietnam by the U.S. Marines before gradually being phased out by the mid-1960s in favor of the M67 recoilless rifle and later, the M72 LAW rocket. The U.S. Army also used it in lesser quantity. While occasions to destroy enemy armored vehicles proved exceedingly rare, it was employed against enemy fortifications and emplacements with success. The M20 remained in service with South Vietnamese and indigenous forces until the late 1960s.


title: Bazooka

text: The Vietnam People's Army also developed their own bazooka under the management of Tran Dai Nghia. It was successfully test-fired in 1947. The anti-French Viet Minh received Chinese Type 51 bazookas. They were used by the Viet Cong as late as 1964.


title: Bazooka

text: The Portuguese Armed Forces used quantities of M9A1 and M20 rocket launchers in their overseas provinces in Africa against Marxist guerrilla forces during the Portuguese Overseas War. The French Army also used the M9A1 and M20A1 launchers in various campaigns in Indochina, Korea, and Algeria. The M20A1 was replaced in the 1970s by the LRAC F1. Commonwealth armies also used the M20 and M20A1 under the name M20 Mk I and M20 Mk II. They were used until their replacement by the Carl Gustav L14A1. For instance, British Army used Super Bazookas during the Operation Vantage.


title: Bazooka

text: An optical reflector sight replaced the iron sights beginning in September 1944. The M9A1 supplanted the M9 in production beginning in June 1944. It has an improved coupling mechanism for the launch tube; the overall length is and when folded. Unloaded weight is .


title: Middle school

text: A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. The concept, regulation and classification of middle schools, as well as the ages covered, vary between and sometimes within countries.


title: Middle school

text: In Afghanistan, middle school includes grades 6, 7, and 8, consisting of students from ages 11 to 14.


title: Middle school

text: In Algeria, a middle school includes 4 grades: 6, 7, 8, and 9, consisting of students from ages 11–15.


title: Middle school

text: No regions of Australia have segregated middle schools, as students go directly from primary school (for years K/preparatory–6) to secondary school (years 7–12, usually referred to as high school).


title: Middle school

text: As an alternative to the middle school model, some secondary schools classify their grades as "middle school" (years 5,6,7,8 where primary and secondary campuses share facilities or 7,8,9 in a secondary campus) or "junior high school" (years 7, 8, 9, and 10) and "senior high school" (years 11 and 12). Some have three levels, "junior" (years 7 and 8), "intermediate" (years 9 and 10), and "senior" (years 11 and 12). Some schools run a specialised year 9 program segregated from the other secondary year levels.


title: Middle school

text: In 1996 and 1997, a national conference met to develop what became known as the National Middle Schooling Project, which aimed to develop a common Australian view of


title: Middle school

text: The first middle school established in Australia was The Armidale School, in Armidale (approximately north of Sydney, SSW of Brisbane and approximately due west of Coffs Harbour on the coast). Other schools have since followed this trend.


title: Middle school

text: The Northern Territory has introduced a three tier system featuring Middle Schools for years 7–9 (approximate age 13–15) and high school year 10–12 (approximate age 16–18).


title: Middle school

text: Many schools across Queensland have introduced a Middle School tier within their schools. The middle schools cover years 5 to 8.


title: Middle school

text: In Bangladesh, middle school is not separated as in other countries. Generally, schools are from class 1 to class 10. It means lower primary (1–5), upper primary (6–10). Class 6–8 is thought of as middle school. Grades 1,2,3,4 and 5 are said to be primary school while all the classes from 6 to 10 are considered high school (as middle school and high school are not considered separate) while 11–12 (inclusive) is called college.


title: Middle school

text: Middle schools in Bolivia have been abolished since 1994. Students aged 11–15 attend the last years of elementary education or the first years of secondary education.


title: Middle school

text: In Bosnia and Herzegovina "high school" refers to educational institutions for ages between 14 and 18, and lasts 3–4 years, following elementary school (which lasts 8 or 9 years). "Gymnasiums" are the most prestigious type of high school.


title: Middle school

text: In Brazil, middle school is a mandatory stage that precedes High School () called "Ensino Fundamental II" consisting of grades 6 to 9,ages 11 to 14.


title: Middle school

text: In Canada, the terms "Middle School" and "Junior High School" are both used, depending on which grades the school caters to. Junior high schools tend to include only grades 7, 8, and sometimes 9 (some older schools with the name 'carved in concrete' still use "Junior High" as part of their name, although grade nine is now missing), whereas middle schools are usually grades 6–8 or only grades 7–8 or 6–7 (i.e. around ages 11–14), varying from area to area and also according to population vs. building capacity.


title: Middle school

text: Another common model is grades 5–8. Alberta, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and Prince Edward Island junior high schools typically include grades 7–9, with the first year of high school traditionally being grade 10. In some places students go from elementary school to secondary school, meaning the elementary school covers to the end of grade 8.


title: Middle school

text: In Ontario, the term "Middle School" and "Senior Public School" (sometimes just grades 7 and 8) are used, with the latter being used particularly in the Old Toronto and Scarborough sections of Toronto plus in Mississauga, Brampton, and Kitchener-Waterloo. In many smaller Ontario cities and in some parts of larger cities, most elementary schools serve junior kindergarten to grade 8 meaning there are no separate Middle Schools buildings, while in some cities (such as Hamilton) specific schools do serve the intermediate grades (i.e. Grades 6–8 or Grades 7–8) but are still called "Elementary" or "Public" schools with no recognition of the grades they serve in their name.


title: Middle school

text: Quebec uses a grade system that is different from those of the other provinces. In Quebec, there is no Middle school section. The Secondary level has five grades starting after Elementary Grade 6. These are called Secondary I to Secondary V.


title: Middle school

text: Chile does not have middle schools, they instead have "Educación Básica" that teaches the same as elementary and middle school.For them, "Educación Básica" is from 1st grade to 8th grade. Now the government is working on some changes that will be official on 2027, considering 7th and 8th grade part from "Educación Media", or High School.


title: Middle school

text: In the People's Republic of China, primary school covers grades 1–6 and secondary school covers grades 7–12. Secondary schools are further divided into two stages, junior high school ( or , grades 7–9) and senior high school ( or ), grades 10–12). The Chinese junior high school is roughly equivalent to an American middle school, and provides the last 3 years of the nine-year compulsory education required for all Chinese citizens. The senior high school is optional but considered as critical preparation for tertiary education.


title: Middle school

text: The admissions for most students to enrol in senior secondary schools from the junior stage are on the basis of the scores that they get in "Senior High School Entrance Exam", which are held by local governments. Other students may bypass the exam, based on their distinctive talents, like athletics, leadership merits or excellent coursework performance in junior stage.


title: Middle school

text: Secondary education is divided into basic secondary (grades 6 to 9) and mid-secondary (grades 10 and 11). The students in basic secondary, roughly equivalent to middle school, are 11 or 12 to 15 or 16 years old.


title: Middle school

text: In Croatia "middle school" refers to educational institutions for ages between 11 and 14, from 5th to 8th grade and is a part of elementary school. Following elementary school (which lasts 8 years), students enroll into High School, which can last from 3 to 5 years, depending on the chosen type. "Gymnasiums" are the most prestigious type of high school. Students graduating from "Gymnasiums" typically have to continue their education to college, which, in Croatia, is divided to 3 years for the bachelors degree, plus 2 additional to get the masters degree.


title: Middle school

text: (basic secondary, seventh through ninth grades) is the approximate equivalent of middle school in Cuba.


title: Middle school

text: In the Czech Republic after completing the nine-year elementary school (compulsory school attendance) a student may apply for high school or grammar school.


title: Middle school

text: Students have the opportunity to enroll in high school from Grade 6 or (less commonly) Grade 8 of elementary school, spending eight or six years respectively at high school that otherwise takes four years. Thus they can spend five years in elementary school, followed by eight in high school. The first four years of the eight-year study program at high school are comparable with junior high school. Gymnasium focuses on a more advanced academic approach to education. All other types of high schools except gymnasiums and conservatories (e.g. lyceums) accept only students that finished Grade 9.


title: Middle school

text: In Egypt, middle school precedes high school. It is called the preparatory stage and consists of three phases: first preparatory in which students study more subjects than primary with different branches. For instance, algebra and geometry are taught instead of "mathematics." In the second preparatory phase, students study science, geography, the history of Egypt starting with pharaonic history, including Coptic history, Islamic history, and concluding with modern history. The students are taught two languages, Arabic and English. Middle school (preparatory stage) lasts for three years.


title: Middle school

text: In France, the equivalent period to middle school is collège, which lasts four years from the ("sixth," the equivalent of the Canadian and American Grade 6) to the ("third," the equivalent of the Canadian and American Grade 9), accommodating pupils aged between 11 and 14. Upon completion of the latter, students are awarded a if they obtain a certain number of points on a series of tests in various subjects (French, history/geography, mathematics, physics/chemistry), but also on a series of skills completed during the last year and on oral examinations (e.g. about cross-subjects themes they work on the latest years, the fourth year of collège). They can then enter high school (called ), which lasts three years from the to the until the , and during which they can choose a general or a professional field of study.


title: Middle school

text: In Georgia, the equivalent period to middle school covers ages 12 to 15, from the 7th grade to the 9th and guarantees basic educational degree certificate.


title: Middle school

text: There are four middle schools in Gibraltar, following the English model of middle-deemed-primary schools accommodating pupils aged between 9 and 12 (National Curriculum Years 4 to 7). The schools were opened in 1972 when the government introduced comprehensive education in the territory.


title: Middle school

text: In Greece, the equivalent period to middle school is called (), which caters to children between the ages 12 and 15, i.e. 7th, 8th, and 9th grade.


title: Middle school

text: In India, Middle School is classified as Upper Primary (Class 6–8). Each state has its own State Board. Each has its own standards, which might be different from the Central Boards. In some institutions, providing education for 5th to 10th is known as a secondary school.


title: Middle school

text: Although compulsory education ends at junior high, most pursue higher education. There are around 22,000 middle schools in Indonesia with a balanced ownership between public and private sector.


title: Middle school

text: Iran calls Middle School Guidance School, which caters to children between the ages 12 and 15, i.e. 7th, 8th and 9th grade.


title: Middle school

text: In most of the cities in Israel, middle school (Hebrew: ) covers ages 12 to 15. From the 7th grade to the 9th.


title: Middle school

text: In Italy the equivalent is the formerly and commonly called lower middle school (), often shortened to middle school (). When the , the equivalent of high school, was formerly called higher middle school (), commonly called Superiori. The Middle School lasts three years from the student age of 11 to age 14. Since 2009, after Gelmini reform, the middle school was renamed (junior secondary school).


title: Middle school

text: Middle school in Jamaica is called "Junior High School." It is from grade 7–9 but this idea is becoming rare now so these grades are considered lower secondary.


title: Middle school

text: In Kosovo "middle school" refers to educational institutions for ages between 14 and 18, and lasts 3–4 years, following elementary school (which lasts 8 or 9 years). "Gymnasiums" are the most prestigious type of "middle" school.


title: Middle school

text: In Lebanon, middle school or intermediate school consists of grades 7, 8, and 9. At the end of 9th grade, the student is given the National diploma examination.


title: Middle school

text: In North Macedonia middle school refers to educational institutions for ages between 14 and 18, and lasts 3–4 years, following elementary school (which lasts 8 or 9 years). "Gymnasiums" are the most prestigious type of middle school.


title: Middle school

text: In Malaysia, the middle school equivalent is called lower secondary school which consists of students from age 13 to 15 (Form 1–3). Usually, these lower secondary schools are combined with upper secondary schools to form a single secondary school which is also known as high school. Students at the end of their lower secondary studies are required to sit for an examination called PT3 (Form 3. 7 subjects for non-Muslim students and 8 subjects for Muslim students) in order to determine their field of studies for upper secondary (Form 4–5).


title: Middle school

text: In Mexico, the middle school system is called and usually comprises three years, grades 7–9 (ages: 7 12–13, 8 13–14, 9: 14–15). It is completed after (Elementary School, up to grade 6: ages 6–12) and before (High School, grades 10–12 ages 15–18).


title: Middle school

text: In Montenegro middle school refers to educational institutions for ages between 14 and 18, and lasts 3–4 years, following elementary school (which lasts 8 or 9 years). "Gymnasiums" are the most prestigious type of "middle" school.


title: Middle school

text: In New Zealand middle schools are known as "intermediate schools." They generally cover years 7 and 8 (formerly known as Forms 1 to 2). Students are generally aged between 10 and 13. There are full primary schools which also contain year 7 and 8 with students continuing to secondary school at year 9 (formerly known as Form 3). Some secondary schools also include years 7 and 8.


title: Middle school

text: After 2000 there was an increased interest in middle schooling (for years 7–10) with at least seven schools offering education to this age group opening around the country in Auckland, Cambridge, Hamilton, Christchurch and Upper Hutt.


title: Middle school

text: In Pakistan, middle school is called Secondary School and is from Grade 6- 10. This covers both the traditional middle and high school. Although for private schools it may be different


title: Middle school

text: There aren't middle schools in Peru. Students aged 12 to 17 attend the five years of (secondary school.)


title: Middle school

text: Since the implementation of the K–12 education system, middle school education in the Philippines is called "Junior High School." It lasts for 4 years from Grades 7 to 10 for students age 12 to 16. Some schools, such as Miriam College in Loyola Heights as well as Lourdes School of Quezon City in Sta. Mesa Heights, have their Middle Schools from Grades 6 to 8. It is preceded by a 6-year elementary school and followed by a 2-year "senior high school" program.


title: Middle school

text: Before that, there were no official middle school programs implemented and the equivalent years was simply called "High School" which ranged from 1st Year to 4th Year.


title: Middle school

text: Following a 2017 education reform the Polish middle school called was disbanded. After eight years of mandatory primary school, pupils can move on to a high school of choice, each spanning a year more than before.


title: Middle school

text: Middle school in Poland was first introduced in 1932. The education was intended for pupils of at least 12 years of age and lasted four years. They were abolished by the Polish People's Republic government in a 1948 reform. The middle schools were then reinstated in 1999, lasting three years after six years of primary school. Pupils entering were usually 13 years old. Middle school was compulsory for all students, and was the final stage of mandatory education. In the final year students would take a standardized test to evaluate their academic skills. Based on the test results, they were then admitted to a high school of their choice.


title: Middle school

text: In Portugal, the middle school is known as 2nd and 3rd cycles of basic education (). It comprises the 5th till 9th year of compulsory education, for children between ten and fifteen years old. After the education reform of 1986, the former preparatory school:


title: Middle school

text: Middle school in Romania, or gymnasium (), includes grades 5 to 8 and the students usually share the building with the students of primary school but in different wings/floors. Primary school lessons are taught by a handful of teachers: most are covered by one of them, and more specific areas such as foreign languages, religion or gym may have dedicated teachers. The transition to middle school changes of that to a one teacher per course model where the students usually remain in the same classroom while the teachers rotate between courses. At the end of the eighth grade (usually corresponding to age 14 or 15), students take a written exam that counts for 80% (before, it used to be 50%) of the average needed to enroll in high school. Students then go to high school or vocational school, depending on their final grade. Since 2020, all four years of upper secondary education, up to the twelfth grade, are compulsory. The education process is done in numbered semesters, the first semester lasting 15 weeks between September and December and the second semester lasting 20 weeks between January and June. Since 2022, the school year is divided into 5 modules.


title: Middle school

text: Middle school in Russia covers grades 5 to 9, and is a natural continuation of primary school activities (almost always they are in the same building with both primary and high school, usually located in different wings/floors). Primary school lessons are taught by a handful of teachers: most are covered by one of them, and more specific areas such as English or gym may have dedicated teachers. The transition to middle school changes that to a one teacher per course model, where teachers stay in their classrooms and pupils change rooms during breaks. Examples of courses include mathematics (split from grade 7 into algebra, geometry and physics), visual arts, Russian language, foreign language, history, literature, geography, biology, computer science, chemistry (from grade 8), social theory (in grade 9). The education process is done in numbered quarters, with the first quarter covering September and October, second quarter November and December, third quarter going from mid January to mid March, fourth quarter covering April and May. There are one week long holidays between quarters 1 and 2 as well as 3 and 4, somewhat longer holidays between quarters 2 and 3 to allow for New Year festivities, and a three-month break between the years. At the end of middle school most people stay in school for two more years and get a certificate allowing them to pursue university, but some switch to vocational-technical schools.


title: Middle school

text: In Saudi Arabia, middle school includes grade 7 through 9, consisting of students from ages 12 to 15.


title: Middle school

text: In Serbia middle school refers to the second half of primary (elementary) education for ages between 11 and 15 (10 to 14 if the person is born before March) and lasts 4 years (grades 5 through 8), following the first half of primary school (grades 1 through 4, ages 7 to 11). Middle schools are not considered separate from elementary school in Serbia but rather an extension of it and are usually held in the same school building, but in opposite shifts or in a different part of the school building. Middle school is the transitional period from primary education to secondary education (high school) where children are transitioned from having very generalized subjects and a main teacher for most of them with only a handful of other teachers for specialized subjects like English, music and gym to a more serious curriculum with a course load that better mirrors high school. Middle school is the first time children have separate teachers for each subject and are introduced to courses like history, geography, biology and a second foreign language (most commonly Russian, German, French) and later physics and chemistry. Both elementary and middle school are compulsory in Serbia, after which almost all students take the state-issued universal entrance exam to qualify for high school, be it a Gymnasium, a specialized high school for fields like Economics or Medicine, or a Vocational school (trade school).


title: Middle school

text: In Singapore, middle school is usually referred to as secondary school. Students start secondary school after completing primary school at the age of 13, and to 16 (four years if they are taking the Special, Express or Normal Technical courses), or 17 (five years if they are taking the Normal Academic courses). Students from the Special and Express courses take the GCE 'O' Levels after four years at the end of secondary education, and students from the Normal (Academic and Technical) courses take the GCE 'N' Level examinations after four years, and the Normal Academic students has the option to continue for the O Levels. Selected excelling students also have the option to change classes which then affect the years they study. After completing secondary school, students move on to pre-tertiary education (i.e. in institutes such as junior colleges, polytechnics, ITE).


title: Middle school

text: In Slovenia "middle school" refers to educational institutions for ages between 14 and 18, and lasts 3–4 years, following elementary school (which lasts 8 or 9 years). "Gymnasiums" are the most prestigious type of "middle" school.


title: Middle school

text: In Somalia, middle school identified as intermediate school is the four years between secondary school and primary school. Pupils start middle school from form as referred to in Somalia or year 5 and finish it at year 8. Students start middle school from the age of 11 and finish it when they are 14–15. Subjects, which middle school pupils take are: Somali, Arabic, English, Religion, Science, Geography, History, Math, Textiles, Art and Design, Physical Education (PE) (Football) and sometimes Music. In some middle schools, it is obligatory to study Italian.


title: Middle school

text: In South Korea, a middle school is called a (Hangul: ; Hanja: ) which includes grades 7 through 9 (referred to as: middle school 1st–3rd grades; approx. age 13–15).


title: Middle school

text: In Spain, education is compulsory for children and teenagers between 6 and 16 years. Basic education is divided into (first grade through sixth grade), which is the Spanish equivalent of elementary school; and or ESO (seventh through tenth grade), roughly the Spanish equivalent of middle school and (partially) high school. The usual ages in ESO are 12 to 15 years old, but they can range between 11 and 16 depending on the birth date (a student who was born late in the year may start ESO at 11 if he or she will turn 12 before January 1, and a student who was born early in the year may finish ESO after turning 16).


title: Middle school

text: After ESO, students can continue their pre-university education attending to (eleventh and twelfth grade) or choose a (an improved type of vocational school).


title: Middle school

text: Junior high schools (three years from 7th to 9th grade) in Taiwan were originally called primary middle school. However, in August 1968, they were renamed nationals' middle school often translated junior high) when they became free of charge and compulsory. Private middle school nowadays are still called primary middle school. Taiwanese students older than twelve normally attend junior high school. Accompanied with the switch from junior high to middle school was the cancellation of entrance examination needed to enter middle school.


title: Middle school

text: In Tunisia and Morocco, a middle school includes grades 7 through 9, consisting of students from ages 12 to 15.


title: Middle school

text: In England and Wales, local education authorities introduced middle schools in the 1960s and 1970s. The notion of middle schools was mooted by the Plowden Report of 1967 which proposed a change to a three-tier model including first schools for children aged between 5 and 8, middle schools for 8–12 year-olds, and then high schools for 12–16 year-olds. Some authorities introduced middle schools for ideological reasons, in line with the report, while others did so for more pragmatic reasons relating to the raising of the school leaving age in compulsory education to 16, or to introduce a comprehensive system.


title: Middle school

text: Different authorities introduced different age-range schools, although in the main, three models were used:


title: Middle school

text: In addition, some schools were provided as combined schools catering for pupils in the 5–12 age range as a combined first and middle school.


title: Middle school

text: Around 2000 middle and combined schools were in place in the early 1980s. However, that number began to fall in the later 1980s with the introduction of the National Curriculum. The new curriculum's splits in Key Stages at age 11 encouraged the majority of local education authorities to return to a two-tier system of Primary (sometimes split into Infant schools and Junior schools) and Secondary schools. There are now fewer than 150 middle schools still operational in the United Kingdom, meaning that approximately 90% of middle schools have closed or reverted to primary school status since 1980. The system of 8–12 middle schools has fallen into complete disuse.


title: Middle school

text: Under current legislation, as also at the time of the Plowden report, all schools must be deemed either primary or secondary. Thus, middle schools which have more primary year groups than KS3 or KS4 are termed "deemed primaries" or "middles-deemed-primaries," while those with more secondary-aged pupils, or with pupils in Y11 are termed "deemed secondaries" or "middles-deemed-secondaries." For statistical purposes, such schools are often included under primary and secondary categories "as deemed". Notably, most schools also follow teaching patterns in line with their deemed status, with most deemed-primary schools offering a primary-style curriculum taught by one class teacher, and most deemed-secondary schools adopting a more specialist-centred approach. Legally all-through schools are also considered middle schools (deemed secondary), although they are rarely referred to as such.


title: Middle school

text: Some middle schools still exist in various areas of England. They are supported by the National Middle Schools' Forum. See List of middle schools in England.


title: Middle school

text: In Scotland, a similar system to the English one was trialled in Grangemouth middle schools, Falkirk between 1975 and 1987. The label of "junior high school" is used for some through schools in Orkney and Shetland which cater for pupils from 5 up to the age of 14, at which point they transfer to a nearby secondary school.


title: Middle school

text: In Northern Ireland, in the Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon District Council area in County Armagh, the Dickson Plan operates, whereby pupils attend a primary school from ages 4–10, a junior high school from 11–14, and a senior high school or grammar school from 14–19.


title: Middle school

text: In the United States, elementary school often includes kindergarten to fourth, fifth, or sixth grade; less commonly, some elementary schools extend as far as 8th grade. Middle schools and junior high schools are schools that span varying combinations of grades 5 to 8 (sometimes 9), such as 5–8, 6–8 (most commonly), and sometimes 7–9. Historically, local public control (and private alternatives) over education has allowed for some variation in the organization of schools. Basic subjects are taught and pupils often remain in one or two classrooms throughout the school day, except for physical education, library, music, art, and computer classes. In 2003, there were about 3.6 million children in each grade in the United States. In some parts of the US, students cycle through classrooms throughout the day for different core subjects even at the middle and junior-high grades.


title: Middle school

text: The range defined by either is often based on demographic factors, such as an increase or decrease in the relative numbers of younger or older students, with the aim of maintaining stable school populations. At this time, pupils are given more independence, moving to different classrooms for different subjects, which includes math, social studies, science, English language arts, and also sometimes the choice to start learning a new language. Also, pupils are able to choose some of their class subjects (electives). Usually, starting in sixth grade, grades become part of a pupil's official transcript.


title: Middle school

text: The junior high school concept was introduced in 1909, in Columbus, Ohio. Junior high schools were created for "bridging the gap between the elementary and the high school", an emphasis credited to Charles W. Eliot. In the late 19th century and early 20th century, most American elementary schools had grades 1 through 8, and this organization still exists, where some concepts of middle school organization have been adapted to the intermediate grades. As time passed, the junior high school concept increased quickly as new school districts proliferated, or systems modernized buildings and curricula. This expansion continued through the 1960s. Jon Wiles, author of "Developing Successful K–8 Schools: A Principal's Guide", said that "a major problem" for the original model was "the inclusion of the ninth grade", because of the lack of instructional flexibility, due to the requirement of having to earn high school credits in the ninth grade and that "the fully adolescent ninth grader in junior high school did not seem to belong with the students experiencing the onset of puberty".


title: Middle school

text: The new middle school model began to appear in the mid-1960s. Wiles said, "At first, it was difficult to determine the difference between a junior high school and a middle school, but as the middle school became established, the differences became more pronounced". Middle school is in between elementary school and high school, and has 6th- to 8th-graders. Junior high schools prepare seventh, eighth, and, in some districts, ninth grade students for high school.


title: Middle school

text: The faculty is organised into academic departments that operate more or less independently of one another.


title: Middle school

text: The middle school format has now replaced the junior high format by a ratio of about ten to one in the United States, but some school districts incorporated both systems.


title: Middle school

text: In Uruguay, the public middle school consists of two stages, one mandatory called "Basic Cycle" or "First Cycle". This consists of three years, ages 12–13, 13–14 and 14–15 (equivalent to American 7th, 8th, and 9th grades), and one optional called "Second Cycle", ages 15–16, 16–17 and 17–18 (equivalent to American 10th, 11th, and 12th grades). The Second Cycle is divided into 4 options in the Uruguayan 5th grade: "Human Sciences", "Biology", "Scientific" and "Arts", and 7 options in the 6th and last grade: "Law" or "Economy" (if Human Sciences course taken in 5th), "Medicine" or "Agronomy" (if Biological course taken in 5th), "Architecture" or "Engineering" (if Scientific course taken in 5th) and "Arts" (if Arts course taken in 5th).


title: Middle school

text: In some institutions called "Technical Schools" there is an extra grade, for those who want to graduate as "Middle technician" in a certain area. This education would allow them to be hired at a higher level, or get introduced more easily into a college career.


title: Middle school

text: Secondary school, or Junior High school, includes grade 6 to 9. After finishing grade 9, students have to take the national graduating test, which includes sections on Mathematics, Literature and English. The maximum score for each test is 10, with the first two subjects (called the Core Subjects) multiplied by two for a total possible score of 50. Reward points from a vocational course could also be added to the final score.


title: Middle school

text: Some public schools use graduating exam scores and student transcripts to make their decisions. Many other public and private schools require students who apply for those schools to take their entrance exams. The administration team student transcripts and exam scores to decide whether students are qualified based on their admissions criteria.


title: Suzuki Swift

text: The is a supermini car (B-segment) produced by Suzuki. The vehicle is classified as a B-segment marque in the European single market, a segment referred to as a supermini in the British Isles. Prior to this, the "Swift" nameplate had been applied and purchased from Swift Engineering (previously known as "Swift Cars") to the rebadged Suzuki Cultus in numerous export markets since 1983 and became its own model since 2004. Currently, the Swift is positioned between Ignis and Baleno in Suzuki hatchback global lineup.


title: Suzuki Swift

text: The Suzuki Swift began in 1983 as a marketing and manufacturing rebadge of the Suzuki Cultus, a supermini (or subcompact) manufactured and marketed worldwide across three generations and four body configurations—three-door hatchback, four-door sedan, five-door hatchback and two-door convertible—and using the Suzuki G engine family.


title: Suzuki Swift

text: The Swift was marketed in the Japanese domestic market (JDM) as the Cultus and elsewhere as the Suzuki Swift, Suzuki Forsa, Chevrolet Swift, Chevrolet Sprint and Sprint Metro, Geo and Chevrolet Metro, Pontiac Firefly, Maruti 1000, Holden Barina and Subaru Justy. Versions of the second generation Cultus were also produced until 2007 in India and the car remains in production until 2016 in Pakistan and China. For more information on the initial versions of the Swift, see: Suzuki Cultus.


title: Suzuki Swift

text: In Japan, the Swift nameplate was introduced in 2000 as a replacement for the Suzuki Cultus. Outside Japan, the "Suzuki Ignis" name was used. Both three- and five-door hatchback body styles were offered, although the three-door was not offered as part of the regular lineup in Japan.


title: Suzuki Swift

text: The Swift was powered by a new generation of Suzuki inline-four gasoline engines, the M family. Engine displacements of 1.3- and 1.5-litres were offered, both with a five-speed manual transmission or optional four-speed automatic. The vehicle was available with either front- or four-wheel drive. Vehicles fitted with the 1.3-litre engine were designated "HT51S", with the 1.5-litre version assigned "HT81S".


title: Suzuki Swift

text: The three-door body variant formed the basis of the Swift Sport in Japan, or Ignis Sport in export markets. Introduced in 2003, it featured redesigned bumpers and was fitted with a higher-output version of the 1.5-litre engine, producing . The Sport ceased production in 2005, with the regular Swift (1.3-liter SE-Z trim) remaining until 2006 and sold side by side with the first generation global version Swift since November 2004.


title: Suzuki Swift

text: Under the NCAP testing protocols, the Ignis scored 1-star rating overall, received 16.48 points in the adult occupant protection test out of 34 points.


title: Suzuki Swift

text: 2022 <https://www.carbike360.com/news/2022-maruti-suzuki-ignis-receives-overall-1-star-global-ncap-rating>Maruti Suzuki Ignis receives overall 1-star Global NCAP</https://www.carbike360.com/news/2022-maruti-suzuki-ignis-receives-overall-1-star-global-ncap-rating> rating


title: Suzuki Swift

text: The global version of the first generation Swift was debuted at the Paris Motor Show in September 2004. The design of the Swift was previewed on the Concept S and Concept S2 concept cars at auto shows, in the years leading up to its launch. This generation of the Swift marked a significant departure with the previous Cultus-based models, with Suzuki redesigning the vehicle as less of a "low price alternative" subcompact and more of a "sporty" subcompact. The Swift's design and driving characteristics focused on the European market with its chassis refined through a road-testing program across Europe.


title: Suzuki Swift

text: The first generation Swift has received four stars out of five ratings in the Euro NCAP crash tests. It also was awarded 2006 Semperit Irish Car of the Year in Ireland.


title: Suzuki Swift

text: Since its global launch in 2005, which was kicked off with a marketing campaign fronted by the footballer Cristiano Ronaldo in many European countries, the Swift has recorded above forecast sales in most markets. In Japan, sales figures have been twice the forecast and in many European markets, the model has been a runaway success.


title: Suzuki Swift

text: The Swift was available with 1.3- and 1.5-litre petrol engines, rated at and , respectively. It was produced in Hungary, India, Indonesia, Japan, Pakistan and by Chang'an Motors in China. In most markets, only the five-door body is available, and a four-wheel drive is an option for the 1.3- and 1.5-litre petrol engines. A 1.2-litre engine fitted with an automatic continuously variable transmission (CVT) was offered in front-wheel drive only. In Europe, the Swift was launched in three- or five-door hatchback forms, with 1.3- and 1.5-litre petrol engines, and a 1.3-litre "DDiS" turbodiesel engine supplied by Fiat.


title: Suzuki Swift

text: Both the 1.3-litre and 1.5-litre petrol models are available with four-wheel drive and hold the chassis numbers, ZD11S and ZD21S.


title: Suzuki Swift

text: Pak Suzuki Motor Company Limited started producing the first generation Swift in November 2009 and only available with 1.3-litre M13A petrol engine and paired with either 5-speed manual or 4-speed automatic transmissions. The first generation Swift was discontinued in Pakistan in August 2021.


title: Suzuki Swift

text: In Indonesia, the earlier Swift was imported from Japan and from 2007 to 2011, it was assembled locally at Suzuki Indomobil Motor's production plant in Bekasi, West Java. It was only offered with a 1.5-litre M15A petrol engine, mates with either 5-speed manual or 4-speed automatic transmissions. There were several special editions with Swift Sport bumpers, sold as GT (2007), GT2 (2009) and GT3 (2010), respectively. There was also a special edition called GTS with body kits launched in July 2009.


title: Suzuki Swift

text: The Maruti Suzuki Swift was launched in India on 25 May 2005 with the familiar 1.3-litre SOHC 16-valve G13BB petrol engine seen in Maruti Esteem. Later, in early 2007, Maruti introduced the Swift with a Fiat-sourced 1.3-litre Fiat's "DDiS" turbo-diesel engine. In 2010, due to the new BS-IV emission norms, Maruti replaced the 1.3-litre petrol engine with the more modern 1.2-litre DOHC (later model has VVT) K12M engine.


title: Suzuki Swift

text: The first generation Maruti Suzuki DZire is the sedan version of the first generation Suzuki Swift. The Swift DZire was launched on 26 March 2008.


title: Suzuki Swift

text: Suzuki's joint venture in China, Changan Suzuki, started producing Swift for the Chinese domestic market in Chongqing from July 2005. Two petrol engines were available; 1.3-litre SOHC G13BB engine producing and 1.5-litre DOHC VVT M15A engine producing . Both engines are mated with a 5-speed manual transmission, while the later was available with a 4-speed automatic transmission option. A limited edition Swift with new sporty bumpers called Champion Edition was introduced in June 2010.


title: Suzuki Swift

text: While the new generation Swift was prepared for the global market, Changan Suzuki continued producing this generation by giving its first facelift by using Swift Sport bumpers and rear lights in October 2010, skipped the 2007 facelift for the global market model. Suzuki did testing the new generation Swift in China but decided only offered the Japanese imported high performance Swift Sport instead.


title: Suzuki Swift

text: The second facelift occurred in 2013 and it has similar front bumper styling as the refreshed second generation Swift.


title: Suzuki Swift

text: The sales was axed when Suzuki decided to withdraw from Chinese market to focus in India in September 2018. Over 350.000 units Swift were sold in China from 2005 to 2019.


title: Suzuki Swift

text: In September 2005, Suzuki launched the Sport version of the new Swift in Japan, and in September 2006 the model was introduced in most European markets. Named "Swift Sport", it is powered by an enhanced M16A unit, a high-revving 1.6-litre, naturally aspirated DOHC VVT four-cylinder engine with an 11.1:1 compression ratio, high lift cams, forged pistons, and strengthened valve springs. The 1.6-litre engine produces and torque. At , the car is longer than the standard Swift. The Swift Sport features sportier bumpers and spoilers, a stiffer suspension, twin exhaust pipes, red sport seats (with Recaro seats optional) and four-wheel disc brakes on 16-inch wheels. The European Swift Sport features five-speed manual transmission, the three-door body variant, 17-inch wheels (16-inch also available) and electronic stability control (ESC).


title: Suzuki Swift

text: The second generation Swift was unveiled on 26 August 2010. It went on sale in Japan on 18 September 2010. The second generation Swift production at Suzuki's plant in Hungary started on 11 June 2010 to be supplied across Europe. The new car has its wheelbase extended by 50 millimeters over the previous generation and has many visual updates. While the new car looks different from the old one, its design is an evolution of the radical first generation styling with a longer and more rounded appearance. During September 2010, Suzuki in the United Kingdom released the second generation Swift onto British roads.


title: Suzuki Swift

text: The new generation is expected to feature a 1.2-litre VVT petrol engine (K12B) developing . In some countries, the second generation of Suzuki Swift uses a 1.4-litre VVT petrol engine (K14B) which produces .


title: Suzuki Swift

text: In Thailand, the Swift is built locally since March 2012 and is part of the Thai government's eco-car program. The car is sold with a CVT automatic transmission on GA, GL and GLX variants; GA and GL variants are also offered with a five-speed manual transmission without anti-lock brakes. Another variant with Japanese market RS body kit was later added as RX trim.


title: Suzuki Swift

text: For the Indonesian market, the Swift was launched on 20 September 2012 at the 20th Indonesia International Motor Show and sold in two trim levels, GL and GX, with manual or automatic transmission. The GS trim level was added on 6 June 2015, which was launched at the 2015 Jakarta Fair. Sales of the Swift in that market were ended in April 2017. It was replaced by the Baleno hatchback in August 2017, which is slightly bigger and positioned in the same class as the Swift, as the third generation Swift is not released in that market.


title: Suzuki Swift

text: For 2013, Suzuki updated the Swift with some minor cosmetic changes such as a revised front bumper, L-shaped LED daytime running lights on the foglamp housings, fresh 16-inch wheels, LED-type high-level brake lamp and new seat fabric design.


title: Suzuki Swift

text: For the Japanese market, it features Suzuki's newly developed DUAL JET ENGINE as well as Suzuki's ENE-CHARGE system and ECO-COOL, implemented from the Suzuki Wagon R. The new DUAL JET ENGINE uses the dual-injection system on its 1.2-litre petrol engine and it works by increasing vaporisation, making combustion more efficient. It channels fuel to two intake ports instead of only one per cylinder. With the Dualjet technology and the ENE-CHARGE, fuel economy is now up to 26.4 km/L, calculated based on JC08 mode.


title: Suzuki Swift

text: The Swift Sport was previewed by the Swift S-Concept which was showcased at the 2011 Australian International Motor Show. The concept car is powered by a 1.6-litre 4-cylinder engine combined with a six-speed manual transmission. At Paris, it was rumored that the next Swift Sport would get a , a 22 percent increase over the 2010 model. Riding on 18-inch wheels, the car now features a large spoiler, new headlights and rear lighting clusters. It has also been brought closer to the ground. Inside, designers included bucket seats, a new steering wheel, different instrumentation and carbon fiber trim.


title: Suzuki Swift

text: The 2012 Suzuki Swift Sport is powered by a revised 1.6-litre four-cylinder (M16A) engine producing and . The 2012 model comes with the option of a six-speed manual transmission or a high performance CVT transmission with seven-speed manual mode and paddle shifters.


title: Suzuki Swift

text: Riding on lightweight 17-inch alloys, the car now features a rear spoiler, a large front grille, body kit, new HID headlights and rear lighting clusters. The ground clearance is also lower than the normal version. Inside, designers included leather bucket seats with sporty red stitching and a "Sport" mark, a new steering wheel, and different instrumentation.


title: Suzuki Swift

text: In January 2014, The Swift Sport was updated to include a 6.1-inch combined satnav/dab radio infotainment touchscreen as standard.


title: Suzuki Swift

text: In the United Kingdom, Suzuki has released another special edition of the Swift, the SZ-R, with a list price of £14,249 and limited to just 100 units. The SZ-R has a VVT engine and is capable of doing 0 to 62 mph in 8.7 seconds, and reaching a top speed of 121 mph, while returning 44 mpg. It is equipped with seven airbags, auto air conditioning, cruise control, Bluetooth connectivity and USB port, rear privacy glass and 17-inch wheels.


title: Suzuki Swift

text: In August 2014, Suzuki launched this vehicle for Brazilian market simply as Swift Sport R. It has higher engine output, claimed producing .


title: Suzuki Swift

text: The all-new second generation Maruti Suzuki Swift was launched in August 2011 and available with 1.2-litre K-series petrol and new 1.3-litre DDiS engines inherited from the previous generation Swift Dzire sedan. Maruti Suzuki later launched the midlife facelift of Swift on 28 October 2014. The facelift comes with both cosmetic and mechanical upgrades. In 2013, the Indian Swift contains over 95% local parts.


title: Suzuki Swift

text: As with the previous generation, a four-door notchback saloon model was developed for India and export markets by Maruti was launched in February 2012. This is shorter than the previous generation; now at it falls underneath an important tax threshold at four metres of length. It shares its mechanicals with the hatchback. Like the previous generation, changes to the suspension have been made. It also has two-tone beige and black interiors, unlike the hatchback's all-black interiors.


title: Suzuki Swift

text: The third generation Swift debuted in Japan on 27 December 2016. The hatchback is built on the "HEARTECT" platform which made its debut in 2015 and is the same lightweight platform used for the production of the hatchbacks Baleno and Ignis. This new lightweight platform made the third generation Swift roughly 10% lighter than the previous generation. Only 5-door body style is available, even though the car looks like a 3-door because the rear door handles are moved to the C-pillar. Despite having similar size as the previous generation (10 mm shorter, 10 mm lower, 40 mm wider and 20 mm longer wheelbase), the boot space is also roughly 20% more spacious (now 246 litres, up to 579 liters when the rear seats are folded), but still smaller than its competitors.


title: Suzuki Swift

text: This generation is also the first that uses the newly developed "Boosterjet" direct injection turbocharged petrol engines and "Smart Hybrid Vehicle by Suzuki (SHVS)" mild hybrid technologies. The compact and lightweight 12 or 48-volt mild hybrid system features a belt-driven Integrated Starter Generator (ISG), which assists the engine during acceleration and helps recoup energy via regenerative braking. In Japan, a 48-volt full hybrid model is available for the 1.25-litre four-cylinder petrol engine, it is connected to a Motor Generator Unit (MGU) and 5-speed clutchless automated manual transmission (AGS).


title: Suzuki Swift

text: Additional safety kits are also updated, such as; a forward-facing camera and laser sensors that deliver lane departure warning and high-beam assist, along with autonomous emergency braking.