title: M8 Armored Gun System

text: In March 2004, at the 82nd Airborne Division's request, the Army approved the transfer of four production vehicles from United Defense's facility in Pennsylvania to Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The vehicles were intended to bolster the 82nd's 17th Cavalry Squadron, which was in need of greater firepower for an upcoming deployment to Iraq. However, in June 2004, this plan was put on hold while the Army determined whether the Mobile Gun System (MGS) could meet the 82nd's requirements. An air-drop test of a Stryker weighted to simulate the load of the MGS was conducted in August. Around the same time, the Army identified issues with the air-worthiness of the MGS, among the heavier of the Stryker family. Still more pervasive problems persisted with the autoloader. While this decision was on hold, Congressman Robin Hayes expressed frustration that the AGS had not been fielded, and called on the Department of Defense to act swiftly to resolve the delay. In January 2005, the Army said it had ruled out fielding the AGS, saying the system lacked spare parts that would be required to maintain the vehicle for any significant length of time. The Army also doubled down on its commitment to fielding the MGS, which it said it could begin fielding in summer 2006.


title: M8 Armored Gun System

text: United Defense sought overseas customers without success. In 1994 United Defense partnered with Rheinmetall to market the AGS to NATO allies. Taiwan had been interested in acquiring as many as 700 of the system, which would be produced domestically. In 1994, the U.S. State Department authorized the sale of just as many to Taiwan and Hwa Fong Industries of Taiwan and United Defense agreed to co-production conditional on the selection of vehicle by Taiwan. In 1996, United Defense had plans to ship one AGS prototype to Taiwan. In 1996, United Defense partnered with FMC Nurol to offer the AGS to the Turkish Land Forces, which was seeking a main battle tank. By 1998, Canada, Germany, Malaysia and Singapore had expressed interest in the tank. In 1999, officials from Japan observed the AGS prior to embarking on a light tank program of their own.


title: M8 Armored Gun System

text: In 2015, the U.S. Army articulated a requirement for a Mobile Protected Firepower system to replace the Mobile Gun System. In 2017, the Army formalized its requirements with a request for proposals. The MPF was defined as an air-transportable light tank to assist infantry brigades in forced entry operations. The Army sought to buy 504 MPF systems. Requirements called for a tracked vehicle armed with a 105 mm or 120 mm caliber cannon, which would not need to be air-droppable. BAE Systems (which bought United Defense in 2005) entered a modernized AGS into the MPF competition. In 2018, the Army selected bids from GDLS and BAE to build 12 prototypes each. BAE began delivering the prototype vehicles to the Army in December 2020, although the last of these were delivered behind schedule after testing had begun. The Army's evaluation of BAE and General Dynamics prototypes at Fort Bragg continued through August. In February 2022, BAE was eliminated from the competition due to noncompliance issues, leaving the General Dynamics Griffin as the only MPF entry. In June 2022, the Army selected the Griffin as the winner of the MPF competition.


title: M8 Armored Gun System

text: The basic hull of the AGS is made of welded 5083 aluminium alloy, with a modular armor system that allows the vehicle to be equipped according to requirements. Aluminum was chosen instead of steel in order to reduce the weight of the vehicle. The weight limit for the vehicle was driven by the requirement that it be capable of low-velocity airdrop (LVAD).


title: M8 Armored Gun System

text: The CCVL hull was all-welded aluminum with bolt-on steel composite armor. Appliqué armor could also be installed by the user.


title: M8 Armored Gun System

text: The crew is protected from ammunition explosion by blowout panels on the roof and a bulkhead separating the ammunition from the crew. Unlike the CCVL, the AGS is equipped with NBC overpressure system. The Army omitted a requirement for radiation hardening from the AGS.


title: M8 Armored Gun System

text: Two eight-barrel smoke grenade launchers were mounted to the turret which could fire a variety of obscurants.


title: M8 Armored Gun System

text: The United Defense Mobile Gun System variant included 7.62 mm integral armor protection over most of the vehicle, and 14.5 mm AP protection over the frontal 60-degree arc. BAE equipped the Mobile Protected Firepower variant of the AGS with underbody blast protection from roadside bombs.


title: M8 Armored Gun System

text: Power is provided by a Detroit Diesel 6V-92TA 6-cylinder multifuel diesel engine developing at 2400 rpm with JP-8 fuel, and at 2400 rpm with DF2 diesel. This had 65% commonality with the eight-cylinder version of the Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck (HEMTT). The AGS's power-to-weight ratio was greater than the M1A1 Abrams. The top speed is governor-limited to . The fuel capacity is , giving the AGS a projected range of at a cruising speed of . The General Electric hydromechanical HMPT-500 transmission is also used by the Bradley Fighting Vehicle. Mounted on two tracks, the powerpack slides out for maintenance, and can be run while it sits on the tracks at the rear of the vehicle. An auxiliary power unit was considered, but ultimately omitted from the final design to save weight.


title: M8 Armored Gun System

text: Many different engines, including a gas turbine, were considered for follow-on versions of the CCVL. The Detroit Diesel engine was replaced in the Mobile Protected Firepower variant with an unspecified model, this one also developing .


title: M8 Armored Gun System

text: FMC designed the CCVL with to be capable LAPES (low-altitude parachute-extraction system) airdrop from a C-130. The Army required two variants of the AGS. One capable of the low-velocity airdrop from the C-17 Globemaster III (intended for the 82nd Airborne), and a heavier variant with roll-on/roll-off capability from the C-5 Galaxy, C-17, C-141 Starlifter and C-130 Hercules. In 1990, the Army had demoted the requirement for LAPES from a required capability to a desired one. After winning the AGS contract, FMC further whittled down the weight of the AGS in order make the tank light enough for low-velocity airdrop from a C-130.


title: M8 Armored Gun System

text: Level II and III armor packages can be airdropped separately from the AGS and installed in the field in under three hours. All versions are air-transportable by C-130, C-141, C-17 and C-5 (one, two, three and five systems respectively). For low-velocity airdrop, the vehicle is stripped to a weight of no more than . The vehicle height is reduced by removing or retracting the commander's cupola. Up to 10 rounds of 105 mm ammunition can be carried in ready capacity. The MPF variant retained airlift capability: one could fit on the C-130 and three on the C-17.


title: M8 Armored Gun System

text: A 1993 TRADOC study called for modifying 53 HEMTTs as Contingency Force Recovery Vehicles to assist with recovering the AGS.


title: M8 Armored Gun System

text: The AGS is armed with the Watervliet Arsenal M35 (rifled autoloading 105 mm caliber soft-recoil tank gun with an M240 7.62 mm caliber machine gun mounted coaxially.


title: M8 Armored Gun System

text: The M35, known as the EX35 and XM35 during development, was originally designed and developed by Benét Laboratories, Watervliet Arsenal in 1983 for the Marine Corps Mobile Protected Gun Program. The M35 is about lighter than the M68 used on the M60 tank.


title: M8 Armored Gun System

text: The M35 fires all NATO standard 105 mm ammunition in inventory. The M35 has a rate of fire of approximately 12 rounds per minute, with a ready capacity of 21 rounds and 9 more in hull stowage. It has a laser rangefinder from the M1 Abrams, and the Computing Devices Canada fire-control system is the same used in the Challenger 2. Prototype versions of the AGS gun had a pepperpot muzzle brake which was anticipated would be deleted in the production version.


title: M8 Armored Gun System

text: The gun is stabilized with a Cadillac Gage two-axis system. Gun depression and traverse is hydraulic, with a manual back up for emergencies. Depression and elevation is −10 degrees, except over a rear 60 degree arc, where it is limited to 0 degrees.


title: M8 Armored Gun System

text: The CCVL was originally armed with Rheinmetall's soft-recoil version of the M68A1. It held 19 ready rounds, plus 24 in hull storage.


title: M8 Armored Gun System

text: The autoloader is fed by a rotating 21-round magazine. The gunner selects the type of ammunition to be fired and the computer rotates the magazine to select the correct round accordingly. Automatic and single-shot modes are available. After firing, the gun returns to zero degrees elevation. The autoloader extracts the spent shell casing from the breech, then ejects the casing out of the turret through the same port used to load the autoloader. Once the autoloader has loaded the next round, the gun returns to the elevation of the last target. If the autoloader is disabled, the crew can load the AGS under armor at a rate of three rounds per minute.


title: M8 Armored Gun System

text: The gunner Hughes day/night thermal sight was stabilized. The CCVL had a commander's independent thermal viewer, but this was later eliminated to save weight.


title: M8 Armored Gun System

text: The M35 fires all NATO-standard 105 mm caliber ammunition. The planned targets for the AGS ranged from bunkers and other man-made structures to armored personnel carriers and light armored vehicles. The AGS has the potential to engage main battle tanks, but these more heavily armored vehicles are less likely to be the AGS's main targets.


title: M8 Armored Gun System

text: A Browning M2 12.7 mm (.50) caliber heavy machine gun is mounted in a manually operated pintle on the commander's hatch. Other possible weapons were a M240 7.62 mm caliber machine gun or an MK 19 40 mm grenade launcher.


title: M8 Armored Gun System

text: FMC began developing the Close Combat Vehicle Light as a private venture in 1983. The first prototype CCVL was completed in August 1985 and debuted at the meeting of the Association of the United States Army in October.


title: M8 Armored Gun System

text: The AGS eliminated the commander's independent thermal viewer of the CCVL. The Watervliet Arsenal M35 replaced the M68A1 gun.


title: M8 Armored Gun System

text: In 1985 the British Vickers Defence Systems and FMC collaborated on a derivative of the CCVL intended for export customers. The prototype was completed in May 1986 and first publicly appeared later that year. The tank had a fourth crewmember in lieu of an autoloader. It was armed with a 105 mm low recoil force gun, and could accept a number of other 105 mm guns as well.


title: M8 Armored Gun System

text: In 1994, Loral Vought Systems was awarded a contract worth up to $42.5 million ($ in ) to integrate the LOSAT missile onto an AGS chassis. In lieu of the turret, a missile pod with 12 kinetic energy missiles was installed. At least one full-scale mockup of the AGS LOSAT had been constructed by 1995. Delivery of the AGS LOSAT was scheduled for 1996. After the cancelation of the AGS, the Army switched the chassis of the LOSAT to the Humvee.


title: M8 Armored Gun System

text: A single technology demonstrator built by United Defense and demonstrated in 2003. The ECD had a hybrid electric drive instead of a diesel engine. The tracks were a rubber band type. Armament was an XM291 120 mm electrothermal-chemical smoothbore cannon fitted with an autoloader. A storage area in the rear could be used to carry up to four crew members or other equipment, such as additional ammunition.


title: M8 Armored Gun System

text: In August 2004, BAE conducted live fire testing of the Lightning Bolt at Camp Roberts, California. Like the ECD, the Lightning Bolt incorporated a hybrid electric drive and XM291.


title: M8 Armored Gun System

text: BAE Systems debuted the AGS 120 in 2006. The chassis was based on the original M8 AGS but integrated the 120 mm gun and turret of the ECD/Thunderbolt.


title: M8 Armored Gun System

text: BAE Systems entered an updated variant of the M8 in the U.S. Army Mobile Protected Firepower program. According to BAE, the MPF variant is completely redesigned, keeping only the footprint (length, width and height). The MPF incorporates a new transmission and MTU powerpack, band composite rubber track and a new fire-control system. BAE added improved underbody armor, as well as the Iron Fist active protection system and BAE's Terra Raven soft-kill system.


title: M8 Armored Gun System

text: In 2004, United Defense and Singapore studied using the AGS to meet Singapore's requirement for a replacement for its AMX-13 SM1 light tanks. In addition to a Thunderbolt-derived AGS variant, United Defense submitted a number of designs that mounted the Thunderbolt AGS's 120 mm cannon/turret (and alternatively, 105 mm) on a variety of chassis. These chassis were the


title: Marussia F1

text: The Marussia F1 Team (subsequently Manor Marussia F1 Team) was a Formula One racing team and constructor which was based in Banbury, Oxfordshire and then later Dinnington, South Yorkshire in the United Kingdom and competed with a Russian licence from to and a British licence in . The team was operated by Manor Motorsport (formerly Marussia Manor Racing), which was previously a subsidiary of Marussia Motors, a now defunct sports car manufacturer which was based in Moscow. The team originally started racing in under the "Virgin Racing" name; the following year Virgin adopted Marussia as a title sponsor becoming "Marussia Virgin Racing" until being fully rebranded as the "Marussia F1 Team" for .


title: Marussia F1

text: The Marussia team scored its first championship points at the 2014 Monaco Grand Prix, where its leading driver, Jules Bianchi, finished ninth, and in doing so Marussia became the first Russian-licensed constructor to score world championship points.


title: Marussia F1

text: Following a serious crash and injuries sustained by Bianchi at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix, the team raced for the first time with a single car at the inaugural 2014 Russian Grand Prix. On 26 October 2014, news reports emerged that the Marussia team would not participate at the 2014 United States Grand Prix due to financial reasons and that, on 7 October 2014, the team filed a notice in the London High Court intending to go into administration. The appointed administrator released an official statement on 27 October 2014 and the team was still included in FIA's provisional entry list for the 2015 Formula One season but as the "Manor F1 Team". On 7 November 2014, however, the administrator announced that the team had ceased trading.


title: Marussia F1

text: On 19 January 2015, the administrators of Marussia announced that the auction of its cars and assets had been cancelled so as to allow a possible buy-out to take place. The team collapsed owing around £60m, two of the companies out of pocket being Marussia's former competitors McLaren and Ferrari. The team exited administration on 19 February 2015, and was re-established as the Manor Marussia F1 Team after a CVA had been signed and new investment was secured to rescue the team. Former Sainsbury's CEO Justin King was reportedly the team's main backer. The team retained Marussia as its constructor name throughout the 2015 season, also adopting British nationality. In 2016, the team announced a name change to "Manor Racing". Manor lasted the 2016 season and used Mercedes-Benz power units.


title: Marussia F1

text: In 2009, Manor Grand Prix were awarded an entry into Formula One for the season, as a tie-up between successful junior racing team Manor Motorsport and Wirth Research. Before the end of that year, these entities became known as Virgin Racing, after Richard Branson's Virgin Group of companies who had bought the title sponsorship rights. Marussia were one of the team's partners for its debut season, where it finished in twelfth and last place in the Constructors' Championship. In November 2010, Marussia Motors purchased a controlling stake in the team, and the team became known as 'Marussia Virgin Racing' for the season. Following a disappointing start to the 2011 season, the team parted company with Wirth Research and entered a partnership with McLaren Applied Technologies ahead of the 2012 season. With this came a relocation from the original base in Dinnington, to the old Wirth premises in Banbury in Great Britain. Meanwhile, the team again finished the year bottom of the Constructors' Championship. In November 2011, it applied to the Formula One commission to formally change their constructor name for the 2012 season from Virgin to Marussia, to reflect their new ownership. Permission was granted before being formally ratified at a meeting of the FIA World Motor Sport Council.


title: Marussia F1

text: On 31 December 2011, Marussia Virgin Racing announced they were now called Marussia F1 Team. Virgin, who had previously been the title sponsor for the team, announced that they would be staying with the team and feature its logos staying on the 2012 car. The team had announced in July 2011 that Timo Glock had signed a new three-year contract with the team. Glock would be joined for the 2012 season by GP2 Series graduate Charles Pic, who spent two days testing with the team at the Young Driver Test in Abu Dhabi.


title: Marussia F1

text: By 29 September 2011, Marussia already had a 60% scale model of their 2012 car ready for use in the McLaren wind tunnel. The team received its first parts for the car in December 2011. The team also announced that the 2012 car would be the only car on the grid not to have the new-to-F1, Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS). This status lasted only for one race weekend. Rival team HRT failed to qualify within the 107% time and were not allowed to race at the season opener in Australia. HRT decided that it was best to remove KERS from the car and focus on successfully qualifying.


title: Marussia F1

text: Prior to the final testing session for the 2012 season at Barcelona, on 27 February the team announced via its website that the new MR01 car had failed the last of the mandatory 18 crash tests required of each car by the FIA. This meant the team would miss the final pre-season testing, instead choosing to concentrate on passing the remaining crash test in time for the first race of the year, the .


title: Marussia F1

text: On 5 March 2012, Marussia revealed the MR01 at Silverstone. The car design was led by technical consultant Pat Symonds and the team became the penultimate team to reveal its car for the 2012 season.


title: Marussia F1

text: On 3 July 2012, test driver María de Villota was testing a car at Duxford Airfield, when she crashed heavily into the lift gate of the team transporter, and sustained serious injuries. She had been performing straight line aerodynamic tests in preparation for the . On 4 July 2012, it was confirmed that de Villota lost her right eye as a result of the accident; a year later, she died as a result of the injuries. At Spa, the team's 50th Grand Prix as Virgin/Marussia, Charles Pic was fastest in free practice 2 with Timo Glock sixth. This became the highest ever result in an official Formula One session for the team in its history thanks, however, to the fact that only 10 drivers had set times in the session, due to heavy rain conditions. In Singapore, Timo Glock produced the then best ever race result for Marussia, finishing in 12th place; a result sufficient to elevate Marussia into 10th place in the Constructors' Championship, ahead of closest rivals, Caterham and HRT.


title: Marussia F1

text: However, at the final race of the season in Brazil, Vitaly Petrov, racing for Caterham, finished the race in 11th place, thus reclaiming 10th place in the Constructors' Championship and the associated prize money for Caterham, demoting Marussia to 11th in the Championship.


title: Marussia F1

text: On 18 December 2012, Marussia announced that Max Chilton would make his Formula One debut in 2013 after securing the second race seat at the team, making him the fourth different driver in the history of the Marussia/Virgin team. Reportedly, Timo Glock left Marussia before the 2013 season for "commercial reasons". Luiz Razia also followed suit shortly after due to sponsorship difficulties, resulting in Ferrari Driver Academy driver, Jules Bianchi, making his Formula One driver début for the season. On 14 March 2013, Rodolfo González was appointed as the team's reserve driver. For the first race in Australia, both cars qualified ahead of rivals Caterham, while at the , Bianchi finished the race in thirteenth position.


title: Marussia F1

text: Throughout the year, Marussia and their nearest rivals Caterham remained at the back of the grid, usually qualifying on the back two rows. They fared better in racing, however, and whilst they failed to score any points, they demonstrated good reliability throughout the season. By the end of it, Marussia finished tenth in the Constructors' Championship, ahead of Caterham, earning them significant additional revenue for 2014. English driver Max Chilton became the first rookie driver ever to finish every race in a season.


title: Marussia F1

text: For 2014, Marussia decided to power its MR03 car with Ferrari engines. Cosworth elected not to build an engine for the new 2014 regulations. The team retained both Jules Bianchi and Max Chilton as its drivers.


title: Marussia F1

text: At the , Bianchi scored his own and Marussia's first ever points by finishing ninth in an eventful race.


title: Marussia F1

text: On 24 July, American rookie Alexander Rossi joined the team as a test and reserve driver from Caterham. On 21 August, it was announced he would be replacing Chilton for the while contractual issues were resolved. However, this decision was reversed the following morning during the free practice session.


title: Marussia F1

text: During the at Suzuka on 5 October, Bianchi's car spun off on lap 43, colliding with a marshal's crane tractor that was attending to Adrian Sutil's Sauber car, which had also spun and crashed at the Dunlop curve (Turn 7) on the previous lap. The safety car was brought out and the race was subsequently red-flagged. Bianchi was reported as being unconscious after the crash, failing to respond to a radio call from his team and marshals that had gone to his rescue. Due to the precarious weather conditions at the time, he was taken to closest hospital, the Mie University hospital, by ambulance instead of helicopter. On the same day, Bianchi's father reported that his son was in a critical condition with a head injury requiring brain surgery in order to reduce severe bruising to his head. Soon after, the FIA released a statement that CT scans had shown Bianchi suffered a "severe head injury" in the crash, and he would be transferred to intensive care following surgery. A family update later, aside from acknowledging the widespread support, confirmed that Bianchi had suffered a diffuse axonal injury, which is a common traumatic brain injury in vehicle accidents involving high deceleration. Bianchi eventually succumbed to his injuries in July 2015.


title: Marussia F1

text: At the inaugural a weekend later, in place of the hospitalized Bianchi, the team originally registered Rossi in the participant list, before finally deciding to field a single car driven by Bianchi's teammate, Max Chilton. In addition, at the same venue, Marussia raced its MR03 car with "#JB17" livery, after Bianchi's initials and race number, to further honour and support their injured driver. Aside from providing updates on their seriously injured driver's medical condition in conjunction with the Bianchi family, a fortnight after the Suzuka accident, the Marussia team also went on public record to condemn various media reports that have been making speculative assertions about the team's direct role in that accident.


title: Marussia F1

text: On 25 October, it was announced that, along with Caterham, Marussia would be unable to compete at the due to financial reasons. As transport of Formula One team equipment between the USA and Brazil for return to Europe is coordinated together, Marussia also missed the following weekend's . Around the same time, further media reports revealed that, Formula One teams have agreed to teams in difficulty to miss out up to two races per season and that, on 7 October 2014, Marussia Manor Racing filed a notice in the London High Court intending to assign an administrator. An official statement by the appointed administrator was released on 27 October 2014. In the same week, the team's main financial backer, Andrey Cheglakov, confirmed to Russian news agency ITAR-TASS that he had withdrawn from the team. In addition, British media reported that British-Indian steel industry brothers Baljinder Sohi and Sonny Kaushal were potential buyers for the team.


title: Marussia F1

text: At the United States Grand Prix, although in breach of Formula One regulations by not being present at that race weekend, the FIA stewards decided to not impose any penalties, in consequence of the team's current financial circumstances, similar to those of the also missing Caterham F1 team. Instead, they referred the matter to the attention of the FIA president.


title: Marussia F1

text: On 5 November 2014, the FIA included the team in the provisional entry list for the 2015 Formula One season but as the "Manor F1 Team". Two days later, however, the administrator announced that the team had ceased trading and folded, without further entry to F1 making 200 staff members redundant. Notwithstanding this, coinciding with the weekend, the former team CEO, Graeme Lowdon, remained adamant of the possibility that Marussia could return for the season finale in Abu Dhabi, with a view of also securing its entry in 2015.


title: Marussia F1

text: Despite this optimism, Marussia failed to appear at the last three races of the season, with its assets sold at auction in mid-December 2014. With the aim of facilitating the entry of his F1 team in 2016, it is reported that Gene Haas purchased Marussia's Banbury base as well as data and designs for the 2015 car, which was already well developed with a scale wind-tunnel model.


title: Marussia F1

text: After the death of Bianchi, the team's former backer, Andrey Cheglakov, revealed that the events at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix were a key factor in his decision to quit his financial support of the team.


title: Marussia F1

text: On 19 February 2015, Manor Motorsport's administrators announced that the team had come out of administration and planned to enter the 2015 Formula One season under the name Manor Marussia F1 Team with John Booth and Graeme Lowdon continuing to run the team. This was possible thanks to businessman Stephen Fitzpatrick buying the team, with Justin King joining as chairman.


title: Marussia F1

text: On 5 February 2015, however, the team's request to compete in the season using their 2014 chassis was declined by the other Formula One entrants, after Force India voted against the proposal. This report was refuted by the team the following day. Manor ultimately started the season with a modified version of their 2014 car, updated to meet 2015 regulations, and expect to have a new car built specifically for the 2015 regulations ready by the August break. On 25 February 2015, Will Stevens was confirmed as Manor's first driver. On 9 March, it was also announced that Roberto Merhi would be Manor's second driver with Jordan King – son of the new chairman – also joining as the development driver.


title: Marussia F1

text: On 5 March 2015, the team completed mandatory crash testing and were cleared to take their place on the starting grid at the , just in time for the air freight deadline on 6 March. Despite this, neither car completed a single lap due to technical difficulties and sat out the entire event.


title: Marussia F1

text: At the following , both drivers failed to qualify for the race, but received permission from the stewards to start. However, Stevens was unable to leave his garage on race day due to a fuel system problem on his car. Merhi finished his first race in 15th position. A short-lived controversy ensued after the race thanks to claims made by Force India's deputy team principal, Bob Fernley, that Manor Marussia had a clear strategy to run just one car in Malaysia. These claims were dismissed by Manor.


title: Marussia F1

text: Prior to the , the team announced the recruitment of Fabio Leimer as reserve driver and, more crucially, of former Mercedes F1 team technical director, Bob Bell, as technical consultant. The latter followed a series of other key recruitments in May 2015, including those of Gianluca Pisanello, formerly of Caterham F1 as chief engineer, and former Toro Rosso chief designer, Luca Furbatto, as head of design. Also in time for the Canadian Grand Prix, the team announced their partnership with Airbnb and with shipping and storage container manufacturer and supplier, Flex-Box, at the , with both sponsors' logos featuring for the duration of the 2015 season. In addition to new livery, the MR03B race car also received its first updates at the latter Grand Prix.


title: Marussia F1

text: Starting in Singapore, Alexander Rossi replaced Merhi for five of the remaining seven Grands Prix of 2015; Merhi raced in Russia and in the season finale in Abu Dhabi.


title: Marussia F1

text: Ahead of the Mexican Grand Prix, the team announced that their team bosses John Booth and Graeme Lowdon had resigned, effective at the end of , citing differences with team owner Stephen Fitzpatrick.


title: Marussia F1

text: Drivers did not finish the race, but were classified as they had completed greater than 90% of the race winner's distance.


title: Ingrid of Sweden

text: Ingrid of Sweden (born: Princess Ingrid Victoria Sofia Louise Margareta of Sweden; 28 March 1910 – 7 November 2000) was Queen of Denmark from 1947 until 1972 as the wife of King Frederick IX.


title: Ingrid of Sweden

text: Born into the House of Bernadotte, she was the daughter of King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden and his first wife, Princess Margaret of Connaught. In 1935 she married Crown Prince Frederick of Denmark and they had three daughters: Margrethe, the current Queen of Denmark; Benedikte, now a Princess of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg; and Anne-Marie, the former Queen of the Hellenes.


title: Ingrid of Sweden

text: In 1947, her husband became king on his father's death. As queen, Ingrid reformed the traditions of Danish court life, abolished many old-fashioned customs at court and created a more relaxed atmosphere at official receptions. King Frederick IX died in 1972, and Ingrid's daughter Margrethe became queen.


title: Ingrid of Sweden

text: Princess Ingrid was born on 28 March 1910, at the Royal Palace in Stockholm as the third child and only daughter of Gustaf Adolf, Crown Prince of Sweden and his first wife, Princess Margaret of Connaught. She was the first Royal Princess to be born to the House of Bernadotte in 80 years, the last Princess being Princess Eugénie of Sweden who was born in 1830 and died in 1889. Her father was the eldest son of King Gustaf V of Sweden by his wife, Princess Victoria of Baden. Her mother was a daughter of Queen Victoria's third son Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn by his wife Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia.


title: Ingrid of Sweden

text: She was baptised Ingrid Victoria Sofia Louise Margareta in Slottskyrkan (the Royal Chapel) in Stockholm, Sweden on 5 May 1910. Her godparents were: the King and Queen of Sweden (her paternal grandparents); the Dowager Queen of Sweden (her paternal great-grandmother); the Duke and Duchess of Connaught and Strathearn (her maternal grandparents); the Dowager Grand Duchess of Baden (her partenal great-grandmother); the Empress of Russia (her mother's paternal first cousin); Princess Alexander of Teck (her mother's paternal first cousin); the Prince of Wales (her mother's paternal first cousin); Prince Adalbert of Prussia (her maternal second cousin); the Grand Duchess of Baden; and the Dowager Duchess of Dalarna.


title: Ingrid of Sweden

text: Ingrid and her family lived in apartments in the Royal Palace in Stockholm, in a mansion at Ulriksdal, near the capital, and in a summer residence, Sofiero Palace in Helsingborg, Scania in southern Sweden. Crown Princess Margaret founded a school for Ingrid with a small circle of Swedish noble girls. Ingrid was also given some domestic instruction as part of her education. As a child, she practiced cooking in her model cottage on the palace grounds and even washed the dishes after meals. The ability for a girl to cook, sew, and manage a household was seen as important at the time for royalty. In 1920, when Ingrid was just ten years old, her mother died from sepsis while in the eighth month of her sixth pregnancy. After her mother's death, Ingrid spent several months of each year in the United Kingdom in the care of her grandfather. Observers suggested that Ingrid's strong self-discipline was shaped as an effect of her mother's death. Her father remarried Lady Louise Mountbatten three years later. Louise was a second cousin of Ingrid's. Only a stillborn daughter resulted from her father's second marriage. Ingrid felt betrayed by her father when he remarried, and she was unkind to Crown Princess Louise. Ingrid and her father would not reconcile until many years later.


title: Ingrid of Sweden

text: Ingrid was taught history, art history, political science, and learned several languages. Her knowledge of art and culture was extended by long stays in Paris and Rome. Along with her father, stepmother and brother Prince Bertil, Ingrid took a five-month journey through the Middle East in 1934 - 1935. Ingrid interested in sports, especially horse-riding, skiing and tennis. Ingrid made her debut at the opening of the Swedish Riksdag in 1928 when she was noted to be “smartly dressed.” She was also noted to be an accomplished linguist, horsewoman, skier and skater, and dancer. Ingrid often played tennis against her grandfather King Gustav V. During her young adulthood, Ingrid was often seen driving her two-seat car around Stockholm. Besides gaining a reputation as a stylish young woman, Ingrid was known as being quite attractive. After her visit to the United States in 1939, Americans described Ingrid as "tall and very slender" with a "nicely modeled mouth and exquisite teeth."


title: Ingrid of Sweden

text: The question of Ingrid's marriage was a hot topic of conversation in the 1920s. She was matched with various foreign royalties and was seen by some as a possible wife for the heir-apparent to the British throne, the Prince of Wales, who was her second cousin. Her mother, Margaret of Connaught, and the then-Prince of Wales' father, King George V, were first cousins, both being grandchildren of Queen Victoria. In 1928, Ingrid met the Prince of Wales in London. However, no engagement took place. She was also considered as a match for Prince George of the United Kingdom, the fourth son of King George V.


title: Ingrid of Sweden

text: On 15 March 1935, shortly before her 25th birthday, she was engaged to Frederick, Crown Prince of Denmark and Iceland. They were related in several ways. As descendants of Oscar I of Sweden, they were third cousins. Through Leopold, Grand Duke of Baden, they were third cousins. And finally through Paul I of Russia, Frederick was a fourth cousin of Ingrid's mother. They married in Stockholm Cathedral on 24 May 1935. Among the wedding guests were the King and Queen of Denmark, the King and Queen of the Belgians and the Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Norway. Her wedding was one of the greatest media events of the day in Sweden in 1935, and received so much attention that the media were criticised for it. Ingrid also appeared on the radio in 1935 and read a poem, something which was also given much attention.


title: Ingrid of Sweden

text: While she was Crown Princess, she was the official patron of the Girl Guides (1936), after having taken, and passed, the same tests all applicants were given. In 1940, before the occupation, she was the leader of the "Danske Kvinders Beredskab" (The Danish Women's war-effort society). During the German occupation of Denmark in World War II, Ingrid, with her personal courage and integrity, influenced the Danish Royal House and its conduct in relation to the occupation forces, and won great popularity as a symbol of silent resistance and public patriotic moral. She showed solidarity toward the Danish population, and could often be seen on her bicycle or with her baby carriage on the streets of Copenhagen during the war. Her open defiance of the occupation forces made her grandfather, King Gustav of Sweden, worry about the risks, and in 1941, he sent a demand to her to be more discreet "for the sake of the dynasty" and its safety, but she reacted with anger and refused to obey, and she had the support of her spouse, who shared her views. One display of defiance shown by Ingrid was her positioning of the flags of Denmark, Sweden and the United Kingdom in the window of the nursery at Amalienborg, the royal residence in the centre of Copenhagen.


title: Ingrid of Sweden

text: Upon her husband's accession to the throne on 20 April 1947, she became the Queen of Denmark. As such, she reformed the traditions of Danish court life, abolished many old-fashioned customs at court and created a more relaxed atmosphere at official receptions. She was interested in gardening and art, and renovated the Gråsten Slot according to her own historical research about the palace's original appearance.


title: Ingrid of Sweden

text: In 1972, King Frederick IX died, and Ingrid was widowed at the age of 61. Her elder daughter, aged 31, became the new queen, and Ingrid now assumed a position as family matriarch. That same year, after having sworn to respect the Danish constitution, she was appointed "Rigsforstander" (formal Regent) and representative of the monarch whenever her daughter (and later her grandsons) were absent, a task she performed on many occasions. This was exceptional; since the constitution of 1871, only the Crown Prince had been allowed to act as regent in the absence of the monarch.


title: Ingrid of Sweden

text: She was patron of a long line of social organizations, positions which, one after another, she eventually left to Princess Benedikte as years passed: "Røde Kors", "Ældre Sagen", "Red Barnet", "Løgum Klosters Refugium", and "Fonden for Træer og Miljø". She also founded the organizations "Kong Frederik og Dronning Ingrids fond til humanitære og kulturelle formål, Ingridfondet" for South Jutland, "Det kgl. Grønlandsfond", and "Dronning Ingrids Romerske Fond til støtte af kulturelle og videnskabelige formål". She was described as dutiful, well-prepared and energetic.


title: Ingrid of Sweden

text: Queen Ingrid died on 7 November 2000 at Fredensborg Palace, Fredensborg, with her three daughters—Queen Margrethe II, Princess Benedikte and Queen Anne-Marie of Greece—and ten grandchildren at her bedside. Thousands gathered outside Amalienborg Palace, her official residence, after her death was announced; flowers were left, candles were lit and hymns were sung in her honour. Her funeral took place on 14 November 2000, and Ingrid was interred next to her husband, King Frederick IX, outside Roskilde Cathedral near Copenhagen. The funeral was attended by many crowned heads of Europe and other heads of state, among them the King and Queen of Sweden, The Queen of Spain, The Queen of the Netherlands, The King and Queen of Norway, The King and Queen of the Belgians, The Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, The Prince of Wales, The Hereditary Prince of Monaco, the then President of Iceland Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson and former President of Finland Mauno Koivisto.


title: Ingrid of Sweden

text: Queen Ingrid and King Frederick IX have three daughters, ten grandchildren and twenty-one great-grandchildren.


title: B.G. (rapper)

text: Christopher Noel Dorsey (born September 3, 1980), better known by his stage name B.G. (acronym for Baby Gangsta), is an American rapper from New Orleans, Louisiana. He began his music career signing to Birdman's Cash Money Records in 1994 at the age of 13. Dorsey, alongside fellow rappers Lil Wayne, Juvenile and Turk, collectively formed the group, the Hot Boys in 1997. B.G. released several solo albums for Cash Money, including the platinum-selling "Chopper City in the Ghetto" in 1999. In 2001, he resigned from Cash Money Records and created his own label, Chopper City Records.


title: B.G. (rapper)

text: Dorsey was born on September 3, 1980, at Charity Hospital in New Orleans, Louisiana. He grew up in the Freret neighborhood of Uptown New Orleans, which is located in the 13th Ward. The Dorsey family lived in a shotgun house on the corner of Valence and Magnolia Street. When he was 12, his father was killed during an attempted robbery. He then began selling crack cocaine and hanging out on street corners with drug dealers. While attending middle school, he started rapping and eventually met with Bryan "Birdman" Williams (a.k.a. Baby) in a barbershop in 1993. Birdman and his brother "Slim" took Dorsey in, allowing him to stay with them. They later signed him to Cash Money Records. At 15, he dropped out of high school and began using heroin but still focused on making music.


title: B.G. (rapper)

text: He released the album "Chopper City" in 1996 and the albums "It's All on U, Vol. 1" and "Vol. 2" in 1997. He was also part of the group Hot Boys with other local rappers Lil Wayne, Juvenile, Turk, and Baby's nephew Derrick a.k.a. Bulletproof (who eventually left the group). The group's debut album, "Get It How U Live!", was released in October 1997.


title: B.G. (rapper)

text: In 1998, Cash Money Records signed a deal with Universal Records, which released "Chopper City in the Ghetto" in April 1999. The album included the hit song "Bling Bling", which further popularized the hip-hop slang term "bling bling" describing shiny, expensive jewelry, automobiles, or other forms of opulence. The "Oxford English Dictionary" added "bling bling" in 2003. The Hot Boys' second album, "Guerrilla Warfare", was released in July 1999 and reached No.5 on the "Billboard" 200 chart.


title: B.G. (rapper)

text: "Checkmate" (2000) was B.G.'s last album with Cash Money Records. In 2001, when B.G. left Cash Money Records, he claimed to have left the label over a financial dispute with owners Birdman and Ronald "Slim" Williams, which caused controversy at the time. He released his sixth studio album Livin' Legend on his own label, Chopper City Records.


title: B.G. (rapper)

text: He released "Life After Cash Money" in 2004, "The Heart of tha Streetz, Vol. 1" in 2005, and "The Heart of tha Streetz, Vol. 2 (I Am What I Am)", which reached #6 on the "Billboard" 200, in 2006. With the Chopper City Boyz, he recorded "We Got This" in 2007 and "Life in the Concrete Jungle" in 2008. In 2009, the Hot Boys agreed to a reunion. This plan was later scrapped, though B.G. and Juvenile did appear briefly on stage at a Lil Wayne concert that June. B.G. released his tenth studio album, "Too Hood 2 Be Hollywood", in December 2009 after many delays. It included the hit single "My Hood" which featured longtime friend Mannie Fresh. "My Hood" reached #70 on the U.S. R&B Charts.


title: B.G. (rapper)

text: In June 2010, B.G. released a collaborative mixtape with Baton Rouge rapper Lil Boosie titled "22504 (225504)", which is the combined area codes of their respective hometowns. A month later, B.G. released a solo mixtape titled "Money Side, Murda Side" where he introduces his newfound group, Chopper City Gorilla Gang (or simply CCGG). He released his street album titled "HollyHood" on October 5, 2010.


title: B.G. (rapper)

text: On November 3, 2009, B.G. was arrested in New Orleans, Louisiana after police pulled over his Chevrolet Tahoe during a routine traffic stop. It is rumored that he was leaving the home of his girlfriend in Uptown New Orleans when he was stopped by the police in Eastern New Orleans. During a search of the vehicle, police found three guns, two of which were reported stolen. B.G. was booked into the Orleans Parish Jail on an illegal carrying of weapons charge. When B.G. appeared in court on November 5, his incarceration and bond information were unknown to the press at that time. On February 11, 2010, he appeared in court and entered a not guilty plea. On July 18, 2012, B.G. was sentenced to 14 years in a federal prison for gun possession and witness tampering.


title: Handley Page Halifax

text: The Handley Page Halifax is a British Royal Air Force (RAF) four-engined heavy bomber of the Second World War. It was developed by Handley Page to the same specification as the contemporary twin-engine Avro Manchester.


title: Handley Page Halifax

text: The Halifax has its origins in the twin-engine "HP56" proposal of the late 1930s, produced in response to the British Air Ministry's Specification P.13/36 for a capable medium bomber for "world-wide use." The HP56 was ordered as a backup to the Avro 679, both aircraft being designed to use the underperforming Rolls-Royce Vulture engine. The Handley Page design was altered at the Ministry to a four-engine arrangement powered by the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine; the rival Avro 679 was produced as the twin-engine Avro Manchester which, while regarded as unsuccessful mainly due to the Vulture engine, was a direct predecessor of the famed Avro Lancaster. Both the Lancaster and the Halifax emerged as capable four-engined strategic bombers, thousands of which were built and operated by the RAF and several other services during the War.


title: Handley Page Halifax

text: On 25 October 1939, the Halifax performed its maiden flight, and it entered service with the RAF on 13 November 1940. It quickly became a major component of Bomber Command, performing routine strategic bombing missions against the Axis Powers, many of them at night. Arthur Harris, the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Bomber Command, described the Halifax as inferior to the rival Lancaster (in part due to its smaller payload) though this opinion was not shared by many of the crews that flew it, particularly for the MkIII variant. Nevertheless, production of the Halifax continued until April 1945. During their service with Bomber Command, Halifaxes flew a total of 82,773 operations and dropped 224,207 tons of bombs, while 1,833 aircraft were lost. The Halifax was also flown in large numbers by other Allied and Commonwealth nations, such as the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), Free French Air Force and Polish forces.


title: Handley Page Halifax

text: Various improved versions of the Halifax were introduced, incorporating more powerful engines, a revised defensive turret layout and increased payload. It remained in service with Bomber Command until the end of the war, performing a variety of duties in addition to bombing. Specialised versions of the Halifax were developed for troop transport and paradrop operations. Following the end of the Second World War, the RAF quickly retired the Halifax, after the type was succeeded as a strategic bomber by the Avro Lincoln, an advanced derivative of the Lancaster. During the post-war years, the Halifax was operated by the Royal Egyptian Air Force, the French Air Force and the Royal Pakistan Air Force. The type also entered commercial service for a number of years, used mainly as a freighter. A dedicated civil transport variant, the Handley Page Halton, was also developed and entered airline service; 41 civil Halifax freighters were used during the Berlin Airlift. In 1961, the last remaining Halifax bombers were retired from operational use.


title: Handley Page Halifax

text: In the 1930s, the Royal Air Force (RAF) was primarily interested in twin-engine bombers. These designs put significant demands on engine production and maintenance, both of which were already stretched with the introduction of many new types of aircraft into service. Power limitations were so serious that the British invested heavily in the development of huge engines in the 2,000 horsepower (1,500 kW) class in an effort to improve performance. However, during the late 1930s, none of these engines was ready for production. Meanwhile, both the United States and the Soviet Union were developing bombers powered by arrangements of four smaller engines with favorable results, including excellent range and fair lifting capacity. Accordingly, in 1936, the RAF decided to investigate the feasibility of a four-engined bomber.


title: Handley Page Halifax

text: During the mid-1930s, the British Air Ministry released Specification P.13/36, seeking a twin-engine heavy-medium bomber suitable for "world-wide use". Further requirements of the specification included the use of a mid-mounted cantilever monoplane wing and all-metal construction, and encouraged use of the Rolls-Royce Vulture engine then in development. In response, Handley Page produced the twin-engine "HP56" design to meet Specification P.13/36. Handley Page aircraft designer George Volkert had responsibility for the design.


title: Handley Page Halifax

text: Other candidates were submitted for the same specification, including the Avro 679, and designs from Fairey, Boulton Paul and Shorts; all submissions were designed around two-engine configurations, using the Rolls-Royce Vulture, Napier Sabre, Fairey P.24 or Bristol Hercules engines. The majority of these engines were under development at this point; while four-engined bomber designs were considered for specification B.12/36 for a heavy bomber, wings mounting two pairs of engines were still in the experimental stage and required additional testing at the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE). Adopting a stronger wing also required additional strengthening of the overall aircraft structure, resulting in an increase in overall weight.


title: Handley Page Halifax

text: In February 1937, following consideration of the designs, the Air Ministry selected Avro's submission, with Handley Page's bid chosen as "second string". Accordingly, during April 1937, the Air Ministry ordered two prototypes of each design. The introduction of the successful P.13/36 candidates was delayed by the necessity of ordering additional Armstrong-Whitworth Whitley and Vickers Wellington bombers first. In mid-1937, it was decided to order both the Avro 679 and HP56 designs "off the drawing board" in order to speed up delivery timetables.


title: Handley Page Halifax

text: During July 1937, Handley Page was instructed to redesign the HP56 to use a four-engine arrangement, instead of the original twin-engine configuration; by this point, the Vulture had already been suffering from reliability and performance problems. The rival Avro 679 proceeded into service as the Avro Manchester powered by a pair of Vulture engines, but was only built in limited quantities after suffering substantially from engine-related difficulties. The four-engine redesign increased its wingspan from to and added of weight. In September 1937, the Ministry specified the use of four Rolls-Royce Merlin engines; according to aviation author Phillip J. R. Moyes, this redesign to four Merlin engines had been done "much against the company's wishes".


title: Handley Page Halifax

text: Towards the end of the year, a full mock-up of the design was assessed; production of a pair of "HP57" prototypes commenced in March 1938. Further design modifications resulted in the definitive aircraft, now considerably enlarged and powered by four Rolls-Royce Merlin X engines. Such was the promise of the new model that, in January 1938, the RAF chose to place their first production order for the type, ordering 100 Mk.I Halifaxes "off the drawing board", at which point the serials which had already been assigned to HP56 were switched to HP57.


title: Handley Page Halifax

text: The first prototype was built at Handley Page's facility in Cricklewood, London, It was then dismantled and transported by road to RAF Bicester (the nearest non-operational RAF airfield with suitable facilities) for reassembly. On 25 October 1939, the maiden flight of the first prototype Halifax, serial number "L7244", was performed by chief test pilot Jim Cordes with E A 'Ginger' Wright as flight test observer; during this flight, the undercarriage remained locked down as an extra safety precaution.


title: Handley Page Halifax

text: On 17 August 1940, the first flight of the second prototype, "L7245", now complete with full armament and operationally-representative equipment, was performed by Cordes from Radlett Aerodrome. The HP57 was given the service name "Halifax" upon its acceptance. This name followed the practice of naming heavy bombers after major towns – in this case, Halifax in the West Riding of Yorkshire. In September 1941, a production Halifax Mk.I participated in an official naming ceremony of the type, officiated by Lord Halifax and Lady Halifax.


title: Handley Page Halifax

text: Series production of the Halifax began at Handley Page's factory at Cricklewood and at English Electric's site in Samlesbury, Lancashire. In order to speed up production, Handley Page implemented several new manufacturing techniques, including two pioneering approaches: photo-lofting and split construction. In the latter capacity, each Halifax was built from various sub-assemblies. Surface panels were flush-riveted, although the application of the matt black night bomber camouflage probably negated its benefit.


title: Handley Page Halifax

text: Handley Page built the assemblies and components at Cricklewood and the aircraft were assembled and flown from Radlett Aerodrome; the first production aircraft flew from Radlett on 11 October 1940.


title: Handley Page Halifax

text: The sizeable production run envisioned required the involvement of several external parties in addition to Handley Page. The resulting "Halifax Group" was established to oversee the manufacturing programme, comprising English Electric (who had previously been a valued contributor in the production of the Handley Page Hampden), various firms within the London Aircraft Production Group, Fairey Aviation, and Rootes Motors. Because of this scheme and other initiatives, the Halifax was manufactured by a variety of aviation companies at sites across the British isles.


title: Handley Page Halifax

text: The Halifax was produced in large numbers during the war: of the 10,018 heavy bombers produced in Britain between 1940 and 1944, 4,046 were various models of the Halifax – in excess of 40%. In all, 6,178 Halifaxes were built, the last delivered in April 1945. At the peak, 41 separate factories and dispersed units were involved in production, along with 600 subcontractors and 51,000 employees, with one Halifax completed every hour. The first English Electric-built aircraft was flown from Samlesbury on 15 August 1941.


title: Handley Page Halifax

text: The first production standard Halifax, the Mk.I, had a 22 ft (6.7 m) long bomb bay as well as six bomb cells in the wings, providing a bomb capacity of 13,000 lb (5,900 kg). Defensive armament consisted of two .303 in (7.7 mm) Browning machine guns in a Boulton Paul Type C nose turret, with an additional four in a Boulton Paul Type E tail turret. Some aircraft included two additional .303 in (7.7 mm) Vickers K machine guns in beam (side, or "waist") positions. Subtle modifications distinguished the Mk I aircraft. Aircraft of the first batch of fifty Mk I Halifaxes were designated Mk I Series I.


title: Handley Page Halifax

text: Handley Page were initially disappointed with the performance of the Halifax which was below their predictions, much of this was because they had under estimated the aircraft's drag. Another contributory factor was Handley Page sticking to the 100 ft maximum wingspan originally demanded by the Air Ministry's P13/36, the Halifax originally had a span of 98 ft 8in whereas Avro did not adhere to that with the Manchester MkIII (i.e. the Lancaster) at 102 ft 0in. The Mk III Halifax had a wider span of 103 ft 8in and had significantly improved performance. Arguably the Merlin engine did not suit the Halifax as much as the Hercules (fitted from the MkIII on) which suited the Halifax better both aerodynamically and power wise.


title: Handley Page Halifax

text: The Halifax Mk.I was quickly followed by 25 of the Mk I Series II; these featured an increased gross weight from to but with maximum landing weight unchanged at . The Halifax Mk I Series III featured increased fuel capacity (, and larger oil coolers, the latter of which having been adopted in order to accommodate the Merlin XX engine. A dorsally-mounted two-gun Boulton Paul Type C turret replaced the beam guns.


title: Handley Page Halifax

text: Introduction of Merlin XX engines and a twin dorsal turret instead of waist guns resulted in the Halifax B Mk II Series I. The Mk II Series I (Special) achieved improved performance via the removal of the nose and dorsal turrets. The Halifax Mk II Series IA was fitted with a moulded Perspex nose (this nose became standard upon future Halifax variants), a four-gun Boulton Paul Type A dorsal turret similar to that used in the Boulton Paul Defiant, and Merlin 22 engines. The rudder overbalance / directional instability with engine(s) out problem was solved on the Mk III with the fitting of a larger D type fin (40% bigger) and modified rudder. The Mk III Halifax had satisfactory stability in all axes, and in fact were more stable in a dive than a Lancaster. A Lancaster tended to go deeper into a dive whereas a Halifax had to be forced to stay in the dive as the speed increased, i.e. it naturally flew out of a dive.


title: Handley Page Halifax

text: Owing to a shortage of Messier-built landing gear and hydraulics, Dowty-built landing gear were used on some aircraft instead. As it was incompatible with the Messier equipment, this led to these Halifax bombers being given new designations: a Mark II built with Dowty gear was the Mark V. The use of castings rather than forgings in the Dowty undercarriage had resulted in an increased production rate but had also led to a reduced landing weight of . The Halifax Mark V were manufactured by Rootes Group at Speke and Fairey at Stockport; operationally, these were generally used by Coastal Command and for training purposes. Some 904 had been built when Mark V production ended at the start of 1944, compared to 1,966 Halifax Mk IIs.


title: Handley Page Halifax

text: The most numerous Halifax variant was the much improved B Mk III of which 2,091 were built. First appearing in 1943, the Mk III featured the Perspex nose and modified tail of the Mk II Series IA but replaced the Merlin with the more powerful Bristol Hercules XVI radial engine. Other changes included the adoption of de Havilland Hydromatic propellers and a wider wing span with rounded wing tips. With the coming of the MkIII the Halifax's performance finally matched that of the Lancaster though the latter had a larger bomb load and could take larger bombs. The B.VI Halifax's performance improved still further with a cruising speed of 265 mph and a maximum speed (in 'Full Speed' supercharger mode) of 309 mph at 19,500 ft. Halifax crews, though admittedly not unbiased, considered the MkIII Halifax to be the equal of any other bomber, including the Lancaster, and further improved versions (with more powerful Hercules engines) to be superior to all. The improvement in the Halifax MKIII's performance could be measured objectively. In 1943 4 Group's Halifax squadrons flew 11,607 sorties for a loss of 485 aircraft, a loss rate of 4.2%. Halifax MKIII production started in early Autumn 1943 and for 1944, when the MkIII constituted an increasing percentage of the Halifax force, 4 Group flew 25,454 sorties for a loss of 402 aircraft, a loss rate of 1.6%.


title: Handley Page Halifax

text: The Halifax B Mk IV was a converted B Mk II non-production design using the Rolls Royce Merlin 65 engine with a two-stage supercharger and a four bladed propeller fitted. This resulted in an increase in top speed by 60 mph to 324 mph at 19,000 ft. Due to a shortage of Merlins with two stage superchargers production of the B Mk IV was not proceeded with.


title: Handley Page Halifax

text: The definitive version of the Halifax was the B Mk VI, powered by the Hercules 100. The final bomber version, the Mk VII, reverted to the less powerful Hercules XVI. However, these variants were produced in relatively small quantities.


title: Handley Page Halifax

text: The remaining variants were the Halifax C Mk VIII, an unarmed transport that was fitted with an 8,000 lb/3,630 kg cargo pannier instead of a bomb bay, which could accommodate a maximum of 11 passengers and the Mk A IX paratroop transport, which had space for up to 16 paratroopers and their equipment. A transport/cargo version of the Halifax was also produced, known as the Handley Page Halton.


title: Handley Page Halifax

text: The Handley Page Halifax was a mostly orthodox design, a mid-wing monoplane with a tail unit featuring twin fins and rudders. The Halifax featured all-metal construction with a smooth, stressed skin covering the majority of the exterior surfaces; the flight control surfaces were an exception, being fabric-covered instead. The slab-sided fuselage contained a 22-foot bomb bay, which contained the majority of the Halifax's payload, while the cockpit was flush with the upper fuselage.


title: Handley Page Halifax

text: The Halifax was powered by four engines, two spaced evenly on each wing. Early production Halifax bombers were powered by models of the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine; later aircraft were commonly powered by the larger Bristol Hercules radial engine. To contain and attach the engines to the airframe, Handley Page developed their own design for the power egg instead of using the typical, slimmer Rolls-Royce counterpart; despite generating increased drag, this in-house design was readily adaptable to the alternative Hercules engine on later aircraft.


title: Handley Page Halifax

text: Each engine drove a Rotol-built compressed wood constant-speed propeller, enabling the Halifax B.I to attain a maximum speed of 265 mph at 17,500 feet. With a typical payload of 5,800 lbs of bombs and 2,242 imp. gal. of fuel, it had a range of 1,860 miles. The defensive armaments included power-assisted gun turrets in various positions located across the aircraft. Different models of the Halifax used different numbers and combinations of turrets, effectively trading speed for firepower and vice versa.


title: Handley Page Halifax

text: The bomb aimer's position was in the extreme nose with the navigator's table located behind it, both roles fulfilled by the same crew member. Above the navigator's position was the forward gun turret. The wireless (radio) operator was behind the navigator's position, separated by a half-width partition.


title: Handley Page Halifax

text: On the floor just behind the front turret (or later the nose) was the escape hatch. This was , the same size as the Stirling, and slightly larger than the for the Lancaster. On average 25% of Halifax and Stirling crews successfully bailed out from a damaged aeroplane, but only 15% did so from Lancasters.


title: Handley Page Halifax

text: The pilot sat on the left side in the cockpit above the wireless operator. The flight engineer filled in as a co-pilot, seated on a folding seat to the right of the pilot, during crucial manoeuvres such as take-off. Aft of the pilot and set lower than the pilot was the flight engineer's compartment with controls on the bulkhead. Another compartment aft of the flight engineer contained two bunks originally intended for resting crew members, but almost always used for treating and berthing injured crew. This area led to the two-gun dorsal turret. The tail gunner occupied a four-gun turret at the extreme aft end of the aircraft.


title: Handley Page Halifax

text: Starting with the Halifax Mk II Series IA and from the Mk III onwards, the nose turret was deleted; instead the bomb-aimer occupied a streamlined perspex nose containing a single hand-held machine gun. On later-built aircraft, the two-gun dorsal turret was replaced by a four-gun Boulton Paul turret.


title: Handley Page Halifax

text: The maximum bomb load was , which was primarily carried in a bomb bay housed within the fuselage, divided into six separate bomb compartments, with three bomb compartments in the inboard sections of each wing; this division of the payload between multiple compartments limited the maximum size of the individual bombs which could be completely enclosed to ; when carrying the 4,000lb and 8,000lb high capacity (HC) bombs the bomb bay doors could not close fully.


title: Handley Page Halifax

text: In November 1940, the Handley Page Halifax entered service with No. 35 Squadron at RAF Linton-on-Ouse. Its operational debut occurred on the night of 10–11 March 1941, when six Halifax bombers flew a bombing raid against Le Havre, targeting the area around the docks and any shipping that might be present. The existence of the Halifax was not officially acknowledged until July 1941, after it was used in a daylight attack on La Pallice, France, against the German battleship "Scharnhorst". At the end of 1941, the Halifax was withdrawn from daylight bombing operations after intensifying fighter opposition had increased the casualty rates to unsustainable levels.


title: Handley Page Halifax

text: In the second half of 1942, No. 35 Squadron and four other squadrons were selected to form the Pathfinder Force, later expanded to become No. 8 Group. Pathfinder crews flying the Halifax would mark routes and identify and mark targets for the Main Force. Effective marking greatly increased the accuracy and destructive power of Bomber Command. As a Pathfinder and Main Force aircraft, the Halifax was a core part of the bombing offensive against Germany and its Axis allies.


title: Handley Page Halifax

text: By the end of 1943, No. 4 Group had been entirely equipped with the Halifax, and would continue to operate the aircraft until the end of the war. No. 6 Group, formed of Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) squadrons, also adopted the Halifax around the same time, and would go on to operate it in each of its 14 squadrons, although it was never solely equipped with the type. At its peak strength, Bomber Command operated a total of 76 Halifax-equipped squadrons.


title: Handley Page Halifax

text: While the early-built models of the Halifax were heavily used by Bomber Command and made valuable contributions to operations, the aircraft's performance was considered unsatisfactory for the most part, mainly due to the underpowered Merlin engine, which meant that it could not fly at the higher altitudes needed to avoid enemy fighters, which were becoming increasingly effective throughout 1943. This was answered by the Halifax Mk III, which was powered by Bristol Hercules radial engines in place of the Merlins. Introduced into service in November 1943, the Mk III was first delivered to No. 433 Squadron and No. 466 Squadron. By January 1944, the Hercules-powered Halifax was available in quantity and quickly proved to have superior performance in the face of German fighter defences.


title: Handley Page Halifax

text: Early on, Air Chief Marshal Arthur Harris, head of Bomber Command, was scathing in his criticism of the Halifax's performance in comparison to the new Avro Lancaster, primarily of its bomb-carrying capability: an average Halifax was calculated to drop 100 tons of bombs in its lifetime, compared to a Lancaster's 154. Harris continued to have a poor opinion of the Halifax, despite the fact that later Hercules-engined machines had lower loss rates and higher crew survival rates after abandoning the aircraft than Lancasters, and came very close to the Lancaster's speed and altitude performance. The Halifax was progressively outnumbered in front-line service over occupied Europe as more Lancasters became available from 1943 onwards; many squadrons converted to the Lancaster.


title: Handley Page Halifax

text: Production of the Halifax continued, supposedly because it was more efficient to keep building it than to stop its production and convert to building another aircraft. But any new facilities were devoted to the Lancaster.


title: Handley Page Halifax

text: Harris's view of the Halifax changed sometime after spring 1942. On 2 June 1942, in a response to a telegram sent by Frederick Handley Page, congratulating Harris on the success of the first 1000 bomber Cologne raid, he stated: "My Dear Handley Page. We much appreciate your telegram of congratulation on Saturday night's work, the success of which was very largely due to your support in giving us such a powerful weapon to wield. Between us we will make a job of it."


title: Handley Page Halifax

text: Following the invasion of Europe in 1944, the Halifax resumed daylight bombing operations, performing semi-tactical strikes upon enemy troop concentrations, gun emplacements, and strongpoints of the Atlantic Wall defences along the French coast with a reportedly high degree of accuracy. Other common targets were enemy communications and the launch sites for V-1 flying bombs. Bombing activity became increasingly brazen throughout late 1944 as the "Luftwaffe" became incapable of putting up effective opposition against allied air forces. The Halifax also found itself being increasingly tasked with transport duties around this time; in one instance, around half a million gallons of petrol was delivered to Brussels in support of the advancing Second Army, then engaged in heavy fighting at Arnhem.


title: Handley Page Halifax

text: During the latter half of 1944, the bombing of German-held oil facilities became a major priority of the offensive. On 27 August, a force of 216 Halifax bombers, alongside smaller numbers of de Havilland Mosquitos and Lancasters and a sizable escort of Supermarine Spitfires, conducted the first major daylight operation by Bomber Command against a target inside Germany that year, attacking the oil refinery at Homberg on the Ruhr. In spite of heavy fire from anti-aircraft defenses, no bombers were downed and the refinery was severely damaged in places. Attacks upon oil production facilities throughout Germany would become commonplace within the remaining months of the war.


title: Handley Page Halifax

text: The only Victoria Cross to be awarded to any Halifax pilot went to Cyril J. Barton of No. 578 Squadron for displaying great gallantry in bringing his heavily damaged aircraft back after a raid on Nuremberg on the night of 30/31 March 1944. Barton continued to fly the Halifax while other crew members bailed out. He was killed in the aircraft's crash-landing, but the remaining crew survived due to his actions.


title: Handley Page Halifax

text: Large numbers of Halifax bombers were also operated by Coastal Command, which used it to conduct anti submarine warfare, reconnaissance and meteorological operations. The Halifax was heavily used to deploy mines in the vicinity of enemy-held ports. It served increasingly in other support capacities as the war progressed, being used as a glider tug, an electronic warfare aircraft for No. 100 Group and to conduct special operations, such as parachuting agents and arms into occupied Europe, for the Special Operations Executive (SOE). As a glider tug the Halifax was superior to the Lancaster, the Halifax Mk III's "tug weight at take off" at 59,400 lbs was higher than a Lancaster Mk2 at 52,800 lbs.


title: Handley Page Halifax

text: Throughout early 1945, the Halifax was frequently dispatched against cities within the German homeland, including Hannover, Magdeburg, Stuttgart, Cologne, Münster, Osnabrück and others. During these months, infrastructure such as oil facilities and railways were given a high priority; these targets were attacked right up until the end of the war. According to Moyes, within the final few months, bomber losses had fallen to all-time lows while raids were frequently regarded as having been highly successful. During the final months of the war the improved Halifax Mk VI and Mk VII were introduced. In particular, these models had been 'tropicalised' with an eye towards their potential use in the Pacific War against the Empire of Japan. While some of these Mk VI and Mk VII machines were deployed to the theatre, they played little meaningful role as the war ended before larger numbers could be brought to bear against Japanese forces.


title: Handley Page Halifax

text: On 25 April 1945, the Halifax performed its last major operation against the enemy during an attack upon coastal gun batteries on Wangerooge in the Frisian Islands of the North Sea. While the type continued to fly operations after this, these were primarily diversions to other operations and sporadic, uncoordinated attacks against targets of opportunity. Upon the end of the conflict, Bomber Command quickly disbanded the majority of its Halifax-equipped squadrons; the aircraft themselves were transferred to Transport Command. During the type's service with Bomber Command, Halifaxes flew 82,773 operations and dropped 224,207 tons of bombs. 1,833 aircraft were lost.


title: Handley Page Halifax

text: By 1947, the majority of Halifax bombers were deemed to be surplus and scrapped. The Halifax remained in widespread service with Coastal Command and RAF Transport Command, Royal Egyptian Air Force and the "Armée de l'Air" until early 1952. The Pakistan Air Force, which had inherited a number of Halifax bombers from the RAF, also continued to operate them and became the last military user of the type, retiring the last aircraft in 1961.


title: Handley Page Halifax

text: In September 1997 Halifax 57 Rescue of Canada excavated Halifax LW682 from a bog near the River Dender in Belgium. The plane was part of RCAF 426 Squadron, and had been shot down near Geraardsbergen during a raid on Leuven, Belgium on 12 May 1944. During the excavation, the bodies of three crew members were recovered and later given proper burial. Several items from the plane were used in restoration of NA337, while other items were transferred to museums. The airframe was melted down and used to construct the ceiling of the RAF Bomber Command Memorial in London, which was unveiled in 2012.


title: Handley Page Halifax

text: A number of former RAF Halifax C.8s were sold from 1945 and used as freighters by a number of mostly British airlines. In 1948, 41 civil Halifax freighters were used during the Berlin Air Lift, operating a total of 4,653 sorties carrying freight and 3,509 carrying bulk diesel fuel. Nine aircraft were lost during the airlift. The Low-cost airline business pioneer Freddie Laker bought and serviced war-surplus Halifaxes for Bond Air Services operations in the Berlin airlift. With the airfreight market in decline, most of the civilian Halifaxes were scrapped on their return to England. The last civilian-operated Halifaxes were withdrawn from service in late 1952.


title: Handley Page Halifax

text: Halifax 57 Rescue is a Canadian organization dedicated to the recovery and restoration of Handley Page Halifaxes. Since its inception in 1994 the organization has recovered two aircraft, including Halifax NA337, one of only three complete examples in the world.


title: Handley Page Halifax

text: The organization was founded in 1994 by Karl Kjarsgaard, a Canadian former Air Canada pilot, and Ian Foster of Scotland. In 1995 they participated in their first recovery project, that of Halifax NA337 from 750 feet underwater in Lake Mjøsa, Norway. The aircraft was moved to the National Air Force Museum of Canada in Trenton, Ontario where it was unveiled in 2005 after a full restoration. Their second project was the 1997 recovery of Halifax LW682 from a bog near Geraardsbergen, Belgium. During the recovery, the bodies of three crew members were removed and given a proper burial. Several parts of the aircraft were used in the restoration of NA337, and the airframe was melted down and later used to construct the RAF Bomber Command Memorial in London, which was unveiled in 2012.


title: Handley Page Halifax

text: At present, Halifax 57 Rescue is working to recover two aircraft. The first is HR871, located off the coast of Sweden. Preparations are currently underway for underwater excavation. Once the aircraft has been raised, it will be moved to the Bomber Command Museum of Canada in Nanton, Alberta for restoration. The second aircraft the organization is seeking to recover is LW170 off the coast of Scotland. This aircraft has yet to be located, although its general position is known.


title: Paramore (album)

text: Paramore is the fourth studio album by American rock band Paramore. It was released on April 5, 2013, through Fueled by Ramen as a follow-up to "Brand New Eyes" (2009). Recorded between April and November 2012, the album was described by the band as being a "statement" and a reintroduction of the band to the world and to themselves. It is the first album without guitarist Josh Farro, the only album without drummer Zac Farro and the final album with bassist Jeremy Davis before his departure in 2015.


title: Paramore (album)

text: The album was produced by Justin Meldal-Johnsen, with lead guitarist Taylor York co-producing on four tracks. In contrast to band's previous work, the production of "Paramore" contains the band's experimentation with new musical genres, such as new wave and funk rock, and features three acoustic interludes. "Paramore" received acclaim from music critics, who praised the band's maturity and experimentation in terms of musicianship as well as Williams' vocals and overall presence on the album. Several publications included the album in their year-end lists, including "The A.V. Club" and "The Guardian".


title: Paramore (album)

text: "Paramore" was a commercial success, debuting at number one on the US "Billboard" 200 with first-week sales of 106,000 copies. The album also topped the charts in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Ireland, and New Zealand, where it became their first album to reach the peak. It also became their second chart topper in the United Kingdom. In March 2016, "Paramore" was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for sales exceeding 1,000,000 units. The group followed the record release with The Self-Titled Tour in promotion, with European, North American, Asian, Latin American, and Oceania legs announced. In 2014, the band co-headlined Monumentour with Fall Out Boy. A deluxe edition of the album was released on November 24, 2014, which includes two new tracks, a demo, a re-recorded version of "Hate to See Your Heart Break", and live tracks of songs from their previous albums.


title: Paramore (album)

text: Four singles were released from the album: "Now", "Still Into You", "Daydreaming", and the Grammy-winning song "Ain't It Fun". "Still Into You" and "Ain't It Fun" have reached top ten positions on various charts in the United States and have been certified double platinum by the RIAA, making "Paramore" the first of the band's albums to have produced more than one double-platinum single.


title: Paramore (album)

text: In November 2022, the band changed the album cover on streaming services to an image of Hayley Williams shot from behind for unknown reasons.


title: Paramore (album)

text: The recording of "Paramore" began in April 2012 with the song "Daydreaming". After a brief pause, recording resumed on June 27 of that year and ended on November 1, 2012. It is the first Paramore album released after the departure of Josh and Zac Farro, both of whom left the band in 2010.


title: Paramore (album)

text: The album was produced by Justin Meldal-Johnsen, longtime bassist for Beck and Nine Inch Nails, who has previously produced records for M83 and Neon Trees. In an interview with Electronic Musician, Meldal-Johnsen stated he wanted "the album to sound very visceral and a little bit less locked down and computerized, more 1981 than 2012, with a nod to 2016." In an interview with Digital Spy, Taylor York stated "I don't think we've ever been so proud and satisfied with something we've done." On June 29, 2012, the band had confirmed that former Nine Inch Nails and current Angels & Airwaves drummer Ilan Rubin would be recording drums for the album.


title: Paramore (album)

text: In an interview with "Rolling Stone", lead vocalist Hayley Williams explained "That whole time for our band was such a dark season. It was emotionally exhausting, and by the time we got around to the point where we were going to start writing, we just really wanted to enjoy the process of making an album" when asked about the direction of the band after "Brand New Eyes". Regarding the album being self-titled, Williams explained "The self-titled aspect of the whole thing is definitely a statement. I feel like it's not only reintroducing the band to the world, but even to ourselves ... By the end of it, it felt like we're a new band." She also stated that she was inspired by Blondie's and Siouxsie and the Banshees' records when writing the new songs: "They’ve got so much heart and soul in them."


title: Paramore (album)

text: On December 6, 2012, Paramore made an announcement through their official website revealing the name of the album and the release date, as well as the name of the first single from the album. The track list was announced on January 18, 2013 by "Alternative Press". During the 2013 Soundwave Festival, Paramore held a listening party in Sydney, New South Wales on February 26, 2013, followed by Melbourne, Victoria two days later, run by Australian Music Channel, Channel V. Williams revealed a section of the lyrics for the song "Part II" which the winners were able to hear at the listening parties on a LiveJournal post. Williams told fans that "'Let The Flames Begin' has been a favorite of ours to play live, as well as being a favorite of most people who come out to our shows... We wanted it to have a sequel. 'Part II' it is!"


title: Paramore (album)

text: The vinyl version of the album was streamed beginning on April 1, 2013 for four days, with each day playing one of the four sides. The album was then officially released on April 5, 2013. The band played an acoustic version of "Hate to See Your Heart Break" on the BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge on April 3, 2013, announcing that on the same night, the full song would be premiered on their official website. On April 20, 2013, the band released an EP for Record Store Day, titled "The Holiday Sessions", released exclusively on a 7" vinyl, and is composed of the three interludes from this album. A music video for "Anklebiters" was released on June 25, 2013. The song, however, was not released as a single.


title: Paramore (album)

text: The Self-Titled Tour took place from October 15 to November 27, 2013. The Self-Titled Tour took the band through 27 cities across North America, including their first headline show at Madison Square Garden. On August 22, 2013, the band announced their own cruise, called the "PARAHOY! Cruise", sailing from Miami to the Bahamas and back on board the Norwegian Pearl, which took place from March 7 to March 11, 2014. On January 9, 2014, the band, along with Fall Out Boy, announced a co-headlining North American tour dubbed, "Monumentour", which took place from June 19 to August 31, 2014. On January 22, 2015, Paramore announced "Writing The Future", a round of small shows across the United States, closing out the "Paramore" touring cycle. It lasted from April 27 to May 25, 2015.


title: Paramore (album)

text: A deluxe edition of the album was released on November 24, 2014. The deluxe edition includes a new version of "Hate To See Your Heart Break" featuring Joy Williams, Paramore's first collaboration.


title: Paramore (album)

text: On January 5, 2013, Paramore released a teaser of the lead single "Now", revealing a snippet of the song and the release date of the single, which was January 22, 2013. Paramore streamed the song on their website on January 21, and the song was then made available for sale along with an album pre-order through iTunes the next day. In the UK, "Now" was instead released January 24, 2013. The music video for "Now" was directed by Daniel "Cloud" Campos and premiered live on MTV on February 11. It was uploaded onto YouTube the next day.


title: Paramore (album)

text: The album's second single, "Still Into You", was released on March 14, 2013. A lyric video for "Still Into You" was uploaded to YouTube a day earlier, after the band performed it live for the first time at the 2013 South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas. On September 18, 2013, "Still Into You" was certified platinum by the RIAA. "Daydreaming" serves as the third single from the album. It was released on December 2, 2013, however only in the UK. The music video premiered in November 5 in the UK MSN.


title: Paramore (album)

text: "Ain't It Fun" is the fourth single from the album. The radio edit premiered August 28, 2013, and the single was released on February 4, 2014. A music video for the song was planned, but was put on hold in favor of a music video for "Daydreaming", also, as informed by Williams, the band was unhappy with how the video turned out. A new video for "Ain't It Fun" was filmed and premiered on January 29, 2014. "Ain't It Fun" received the award for Best Rock Song at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards, becoming the band's first Grammy win. On June 18, 2014, "Ain't It Fun" was certified platinum by the RIAA and then, on July 8, 2015, double platinum. Shortly after, "Still Into You" received double platinum certification as well from the RIAA.


title: Paramore (album)

text: Though not released as a single, the band felt a special connection with the song "Anklebiters", and released a music video for it on April 5, 2013.


title: Paramore (album)

text: "Hate to See Your Heart Break" was re-recorded in 2014 to feature Joy Williams on vocals for inclusion on the deluxe edition of the album. A video for the song premiered November 24, 2014. It reached number 23 on the "Billboard" Hot Rock Songs chart.


title: Paramore (album)

text: According to Patrick Bowman at "Idolator", the album features the same alternative rock and pop punk sound of Paramore's previous albums. Ben Rayner of the "Toronto Star" stated the band abandoned the emo genre in favor of power pop. Technology Tell's Benjamin Durham described it as having a "more pop-rock direction". At "Entertainment Weekly", Kyle Anderson characterized it as a "Blondie-indebted 21st-century new-wave album".


title: Paramore (album)

text: Upon its release, "Paramore" was acclaimed by music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a "weighted average" rating out of 100 from selected independent ratings and reviews from mainstream critics, the album received a Metascore of 81, based on 20 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". Scott Heisel of "Alternative Press" praised the diversity of the album, calling the album "a sprawling, 17-song, 64-minute monster", and regarded it as the best music Paramore have ever created. "Entertainment Weekly" Kyle Anderson gave the album an A−, where he stated "Paramore are making evolutionary leaps into something both refreshingly well-adjusted and genuinely new", and highlighted "Ain't It Fun" and "Proof" as the album's best tracks. The "USA Today" writer Brian Mansfield found that on the album the band "has super-sized its sound". Mansfield also commented that "Williams' sarcasm seems less forced than her enthusiasm, still, "Paramore" shows a band determined to get out of the misery business."


title: Paramore (album)

text: Matt Collar, writing for AllMusic, declared "The record's collaborative foundation crackles on every track, but Hayley Williams, a ballsy, extroverted frontwoman with a voice big enough to stop time, proves unequivocally to be the cunning talent of the band, no matter how vital York and Davis may be". Collar regards it their best album. At AbsolutePunk, Jack Appleby said "Instead of pursuing all things epic or intentionally moving to a specific sound, the band had a blast pursuing every genre under the sun, creating a damn good album in the process ... Chances are you won't dedicate undivided attention to Paramore, but you'll regularly queue the whole record." He concluded with that the album isn't for everyone, but has something that anyone could enjoy.


title: Paramore (album)

text: Rebecca Nicholson of "The Guardian" regarded the album as a pay off, despite the band "switching it up", where she states "...this is more loose and playful, while still indulging the band's ability to pull off mammoth, arena-friendly choruses." She regarded the album a little too long, however. David Renshaw at "NME" observed "...this mainstream rebirth feels like a transitional step to something gigantic." Jon Pareles from "The New York Times" found that the band's songwriting survived the departure of Josh Farro. In addition, Pareles noted that they "have pushed the band beyond pop-punk without abandoning momentum or the big, catchy chorus."


title: Paramore (album)

text: By contrast, Sputnikmusic's staff reviewer Channing Freeman was highly critical of the album, giving it a one and a half out of five as well as calling it, "fucking foolishness". Freeman criticized the exclusion of J. Farro and the songwriting, stating "I guess the sad conclusion here is that Paramore needs Josh Farro, who maybe could have tempered all of the crazy fucking songwriting decisions that were made on "Paramore"."


title: Paramore (album)

text: The album has been a major commercial success worldwide, debuting at number one in eight countries including the UK, Ireland, Scotland, Argentina, New Zealand, Brazil and Australia (where it was the eighth consecutive number one debut on the chart and also the 32nd self-titled album to top the Australian chart). The album also peaked within the top 20 of 9 other countries. In the US, the album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart, with first week sales of 106,000 copies. This marks the first Paramore album to reach the top spot on the chart.


title: Paramore (album)

text: "Still Into You" charted within the top 10 in Australia and Ireland and reached the top 20 in several others. The single topped the UK rock chart and peaked at number 14 in the singles chart, thus becoming the band's second highest charting single in that country, behind "Ignorance" from the band's previous album "Brand New Eyes". In the US, the song peaked at number 24, matching "The Only Exception" from the same album as the band's highest charting single at the time. It also peaked at number 6 in the US Rock Chart and number 8 in the US Mainstream Top 40. "Ain't It Fun" shared similar success, charting within the top 10 in Canada and Hungary. It eventually became Paramore's best selling single to date in the US, charting at number ten in the Billboard 100, number 2 in the US Mainstream Top 40 and number 1 the US Rock Chart and Adult Top 40. The single marks the first time a Paramore song has reached the Top 10 in the US.


title: Tethys (mythology)

text: In Greek mythology, Tethys (; ) was a Titan daughter of Uranus and Gaia, a sister and wife of the Titan Oceanus, and the mother of the river gods and the Oceanids. Although Tethys had no active role in Greek mythology and no established cults, she was depicted in mosaics decorating baths, pools, and triclinia in the Greek East, particularly in Antioch and its suburbs, either alone or with Oceanus.


title: Tethys (mythology)

text: Tethys was one of the Titan offspring of Uranus (Sky) and Gaia (Earth). Hesiod lists her Titan siblings as Oceanus, Coeus, Crius, Hyperion, Iapetus, Theia, Rhea, Themis, Mnemosyne, Phoebe, and Cronus. Tethys married her brother Oceanus, an enormous river encircling the world, and was by him the mother of numerous sons (the river gods) and numerous daughters (the Oceanids).


title: Tethys (mythology)

text: According to Hesiod, there were three thousand (i.e. innumerable) river gods. These included Achelous, the god of the Achelous River, the largest river in Greece, who gave his daughter in marriage to Alcmaeon and was defeated by Heracles in a wrestling contest for the right to marry Deianira; Alpheus, who fell in love with the nymph Arethusa and pursued her to Syracuse, where she was transformed into a spring by Artemis; and Scamander who fought on the side of the Trojans during the Trojan War and, offended when Achilles polluted his waters with a large number of Trojan corpses, overflowed his banks nearly drowning Achilles.


title: Tethys (mythology)

text: According to Hesiod, there were also three thousand Oceanids. These included Metis, Zeus' first wife, whom Zeus impregnated with Athena and then swallowed; Eurynome, Zeus' third wife, and mother of the Charites; Doris, the wife of Nereus and mother of the Nereids; Callirhoe, the wife of Chrysaor and mother of Geryon; Clymene, the wife of Iapetus, and mother of Atlas, Menoetius, Prometheus, and Epimetheus; Perseis, wife of Helios and mother of Circe and Aeetes; Idyia, wife of Aeetes and mother of Medea; and Styx, goddess of the river Styx, and the wife of Pallas and mother of Zelus, Nike, Kratos, and Bia.


title: Tethys (mythology)

text: Passages in book 14 of the "Iliad", called the Deception of Zeus, suggest the possibility that Homer knew a tradition in which Oceanus and Tethys (rather than Uranus and Gaia, as in Hesiod) were the primeval parents of the gods. Twice Homer has Hera describe the pair as "Oceanus, from whom the gods are sprung, and mother Tethys". According to M. L. West, these lines suggests a myth in which Oceanus and Tethys are the "first parents of the whole race of gods." However, as Timothy Gantz points out, "mother" could simply refer to the fact that Tethys was Hera's foster mother for a time, as Hera tells us in the lines immediately following, while the reference to Oceanus as the genesis of the gods "might be simply a formulaic epithet indicating the numberless rivers and springs descended from Okeanos" (compare with "Iliad" 21.195–197). But, in a later "Iliad" passage, Hypnos also describes Oceanus as ""genesis" for all", which, according to Gantz, is hard to understand as meaning other than that, for Homer, Oceanus was the father of the Titans.


title: Tethys (mythology)

text: Plato, in his "Timaeus", provides a genealogy (probably Orphic) which perhaps reflected an attempt to reconcile this apparent divergence between Homer and Hesiod, in which Uranus and Gaia are the parents of Oceanus and Tethys, and Oceanus and Tethys are the parents of Cronus and Rhea and the other Titans, as well as Phorcys. In his "Cratylus", Plato quotes Orpheus as saying that Oceanus and Tethys were "the first to marry", possibly also reflecting an Orphic theogony in which Oceanus and Tethys—rather than Uranus and Gaia—were the primeval parents. Plato's apparent inclusion of Phorkys as a Titan (being the brother of Cronus and Rhea), and the mythographer Apollodorus's inclusion of Dione, the mother of Aphrodite by Zeus, as a thirteenth Titan, suggests an Orphic tradition in which Hesiod's twelve Titans were the offspring of Oceanus and Tethys, with Phorkys and Dione taking the place of Oceanus and Tethys.


title: Tethys (mythology)

text: According to Epimenides, the first two beings, Night and Aer, produced Tartarus, who in turn produced two Titans (possibly Oceanus and Tethys) from whom came the world egg.


title: Tethys (mythology)

text: Tethys played no active part in Greek mythology. The only early story concerning Tethys is what Homer has Hera briefly relate in the "Iliad"’s Deception of Zeus passage. There, Hera says that when Zeus was in the process of deposing Cronus, she was given by her mother Rhea to Tethys and Oceanus for safekeeping and that they "lovingly nursed and cherished me in their halls". Hera relates this while dissembling that she is on her way to visit Oceanus and Tethys in the hopes of reconciling her foster parents, who are angry with each other and are no longer having sexual relations.


title: Tethys (mythology)

text: Originally Oceanus' consort, at a later time Tethys came to be identified with the sea, and in Hellenistic and Roman poetry Tethys' name came to be used as a poetic term for the sea.


title: Tethys (mythology)

text: The only other story involving Tethys is an apparently late astral myth concerning the polar constellation Ursa Major (the Great Bear), which was thought to represent the catasterism of Callisto who was transformed into a bear and placed by Zeus among the stars. The myth explains why the constellation never sets below the horizon, saying that since Callisto had been Zeus's lover, she was forbidden by Tethys from "touching Ocean's deep" out of concern for her foster-child Hera, Zeus's jealous wife.


title: Tethys (mythology)

text: Claudian wrote that Tethys nursed two of her nephlings in her breast, Helios and Selene, the children of her siblings Hyperion and Theia, during their infancy, when their light was weak and had not yet grown into their older, more luminous selves.


title: Tethys (mythology)

text: Tethys was sometimes confused with another sea goddess, the sea-nymph Thetis, wife of Peleus and mother of Achilles.


title: Tethys (mythology)

text: M. L. West detects in the Iliad's Deception of Zeus passage an allusion to a possible archaic myth "according to which [Tethys] was the mother of the gods, long estranged from her husband," speculating that the estrangement might refer to a separation of "the upper and lower waters ... corresponding to that of heaven and earth," which parallels the story of "Apsū and Tiamat in the Babylonian cosmology, the male and female waters, which were originally united (En. El. I. 1 ff.)," but that, "By Hesiod's time the myth may have been almost forgotten and Tethys remembered only as the name of Oceanus' wife." This possible correspondence between Oceanus and Tethys, and Apsū and Tiamat has been noticed by several authors, with Tethys' name possibly having been derived from that of Tiamat.