through the skagerrak and land near oslo, they had ever prospect of securing a lodgement in the neighbourhood of trondheim. moreover, trondheim was perhaps the best centre of communication for the country as a whole ; it was the third largest port in norway ; and the german force in occupation was both small and isolated. to put the luftwaffe out of business at vaernes would therefore be of the utmost benefit to our plans. unfortunately, however, neither fornebu nor vaernes was within the effective striking distance of our daylight bombers ; the former was 580 miles away from our nearest bomber bases, the latter 760 miles. only the whitleys could strike at this range without undue risk, and these had to operate by night, when the chances of identifying an airfield in norway were slender. the result was that our main air effort came to be directed against the airfield which was easiest to reach, to locate, and to attack — that of stavanger / sola, where for once the mountains of norway sweep down, not to the sea, but to an open coastal flat. stavanger / sola, 450 miles from our bomber bases on the east coast, was raided for the first time of 11 / 12th april, and more heavily on 14th april. thereafter it was bombed regularly ; for by 14th april british forces were landing on norwegian soil, and the bombing of stavanger was one of the few available means of reducing the weight of german air attack against them. the key to recovery in norway was of course trondheim. if we could recapture this large and flourishing port, with vaernes airfield no great distance away, the northern half of norway could almost certainly be held — for near trondheim the country narrow sharply, and the distance across to sweden is only sixty miles. forces could then be built up for a subsequent advance to the south. with this in mind, and with the knowledge that the german troops in possession numbered as yet no more than two thousand, the norwegians therefore urged the allies to undertake an immediate and direct assault. but an operation of this kind could not be carried out without heavy losses among our ships, and though the plan was adopted in principle it was not applied. instead a beginning was made with a subsidiary movement — an overland advance on trondheim from two directions. one wing of this was to land at the small harbour of namsos, 125 north of trondheim, the other at the equally small harbour of aandalsnes, 200 miles by road to the south. meanwhile, a third and entirely independent force was


one wing of this was to land at the small harbour of namsos, 125 north of trondheim, the other at the equally small harbour of aandalsnes, 200 miles by road to the south. meanwhile, a third and entirely independent force was to recapture the remote and isolated port of narvik. the first naval party put ashore at namsos on 14th april. the same day british forces began to land near harstad in vaags fjord, the base selected for operations against narvik ; and on 17th april an advanced party disembarked at aandalsnes. all these landings were unopposed, and since some initial progress was quickly made from namsos and aandalsnes the plan of a direct assault on trondheim up the fjords was abandoned with relief, and all efforts were concentrated on the advance over land. the troops at namsos were under the command of major general carton de wiart, v. c., a soldier whose gallantry from the day of the boer war onwards had become almost a legend. de wiart, who arrived by sunderland flying - boat on 15th april to the accompaniment of german bombs, lost no time in pushing forces south through the vital defile of steinkjer. a halt then ensued while further troops — a french demi - brigade — were brought into namsos on 19th april. but the frenchmen were no sooner landed and the ships withdrawn than the luftwaffe, whose activities over this area had thus far been sporadic, appeared on the scene in strength. in the absence of anti - aircraft defences their task was not difficult, and by nightfall on 20th april namsos was virtually destroyed. ' the whole place ', wrote a naval eyewitness, ' was a mass of flames from end to end, and the glare on the snows of the surrounding mountains produced an unforgettable spectacle '. the railway station, the rolling stock and the storehouses on the jetties all suffered in the general devastation, and the road transport disappeared with the evacuating norwegian population. the lesson of this was not lost on de wiart. the following morning he signalled the war office ' i see little chance of carrying out decisive, or indeed, any operations, unless enemy air activity is considerably restricted '. two days later, after german forces shipped along the fjords from trondheim had landed on the flank of his advanced troops, and after the luftwaffe had twice subjected the forward units and the town of steinkjer to the same treatment as the base at namsos, de wiart put


forces shipped along the fjords from trondheim had landed on the flank of his advanced troops, and after the luftwaffe had twice subjected the forward units and the town of steinkjer to the same treatment as the base at namsos, de wiart put it more strongly — that there was ' no alternative to evacuation ' unless he could have superiority in the air. from this point onwards the general could act only on the defensive, and his best hope, that when the order to withdraw was given, was that he would succeed in getting his forces back on namsos. the advance on trondheim from the north had failed. meanwhile, the other jaw of the would - be pincers was trying in vain to operate from aandalsnes. the first formation to land consisted of some sixteen hundred men, containing a very high proportion of raw troops and a very low proportion of transport and guns. before advancing north the brigade was ordered to secure the vital junction of dombaas, where the railway from oslo divides for aandalsnes and trondheim. the bulk of the norwegian army was at this time well south of the junction, fighting a stout delaying action against the main german drive from oslo ; and if this advance could be halted before it reached dombaas our own movement towards trondheim could be conducted without interference. but the hard - pressed norwegians were naturally reluctant to see our troops merely consolidating a position in their rear, and it was to meet their requests that brigadier morgan pushed his men well down the valley past dombaas to the advanced positions around lillehammer. before our men were properly established in the line, however, the forward norwegian troops had been driven back. at the limit of endurance they succumbed to the combined assault of german land and forces ; for the pilots of the luftwaffe, taking advantage of a settled spell of fine weather most unusual in norway at this time of the year, were flying up and down the snow - bound valleys at will, selecting their targets with the greatest deliberation. the full shock therefore fell on morgan ' s brigade, who at first fared little or no better than the norwegians. while they strove to restore the situation, a second brigade which had been landed at aandalsnes was rushed down to give them support. the aandalsnes expedition, so far from driving north against trondheim, was thus desperately engaged in trying to hold off the germans to the south. while our troops were struggling to establish themselves in central norway the royal air force had not been idle. it had repeatedly bombed


the norwegian route only eight or nine percent of their shipping and only 1, 000 of the 100, 000 officers and men transported. the mining and the attacks on airfields had their value, but it was not apparent to troops who were spending their time dodging german bombs. our men in norway, ludicrously short of anti - aircraft guns, were also desperately in need of fighter protection. the problem was easier stated than solved. no royal air force units had been detailed for central norway ; all known airfields had been seized by the enemy ; and emergency landing grounds could hardly be constructed with any great speed in mountainous country several feet under snow. to achieve what was possible in the circumstances, the aircraft carriers glorious and ark royal were recalled from the mediterranean and despatched on 23rd april to give support off namsos and aandalsnes ; and on board the glorious went one fighter squadron of the royal air force. it was no. 263, from filton ; it was chosen because its obsolescent gladiator biplanes could operate from small landing grounds. the selection of an operation site for the gladiators had been no easy task. in that wild and mountainous country, where a forced landing is an impossibility and the parachute is the pilot ' s sole hope in emergency, only a frozen lake offered any chance of a flat surface. at lake vangsmjosa, where there was very little snow, some remnants of the norwegian air force were operating off skis. to squadron leader whitney straight, who had been sent to explore the district, the best solution the best solution seemed for the gladiators to join the norwegians there ; but the chiefs of staff rejected the recommendation on the ground that the site was exposed to a german advance and could be supplied only a separate and dangerous route. instead, they approved straight ' s second choice, lake lesjaskog, which lies in the valley connecting aandalsnes and dombaas, and was therefore along our existing lines — or line — of communication. this decision taken, straight at once got down to business. within two hours of his arrival at lesjaskog he had 200 civilians — an almost incredible number in a place so sparsely populated — hard at work on the task of clearing a runway through the two feet of snow that covered the ice. 2 shortly before midnight on 22nd april a royal air force advanced party under wing commander keens arrived at aandalsnes. its function, until a full royal air force headquarters could be set up, was


two feet of snow that covered the ice. 2 shortly before midnight on 22nd april a royal air force advanced party under wing commander keens arrived at aandalsnes. its function, until a full royal air force headquarters could be set up, was to establish a base at the port and servicing facilities at lake lesjaskog. the night was spent in clearing stores from the jetty, and the following morning some of the servicing facilities at lake lesjaskog. the night was spent in clear stores from the jetty, and the following morning some of the servicing party proceeded up the valley of the lake. there they arranged fuel dumps around the newly cleared runway and in the woods which go down to the water ' s edge. twenty - four hours later, at midnight on the 23rd, the servicing equipment arrived at aandalsnes. it was rapidly unloaded, but only two lorries — impressed form the local population, for the british authorities had none — were available to transport it up to the valley to the lake. only the most vital items could go forward ; and this meant opening every box to examine its contents, since no schedule of equipment had been provided. but by midday on the 24th the equipment had been provided. but by midday on the 24th the essential gear and the remainder of the servicing flight had left for the lake, and during the afternoon wing commander keens signalled the waiting carrier — by way of the air ministry — that the gladiators could land at 1800 hours. when the time came for squadron leader donaldson, the commanding officer of no. 263 squadron, to fly his aircraft off, the glorious was 180 miles from the shore in the thick of a heavy snowstorm. donaldson was a brave man, but he had little relish for the task that lay before him ; for his squadron, with four maps between them and no more navigational facilities than those usually to be found in fighters, had to make their first take - off from the deck of a carrier, locate in poor visibility an unknown spot set among mountains, and land on ice. he asked the captain if a fleet air arm skua might lead the squadron to the lake. the request was readily granted ; the eighteen gladiators flew off without mishap and without mishap they landed on lake lesjaskog. what they found at lesjaskog might have dismayed less cheerful hearts. the valley being wide at this point, there was no difficulty about the approach, and the single road and railway from aandals


landed on lake lesjaskog. what they found at lesjaskog might have dismayed less cheerful hearts. the valley being wide at this point, there was no difficulty about the approach, and the single road and railway from aandalsnes ran close to the lake. but the prepared runway was some distance from the shore, for the ice at the edges was already beginning to melt ; the only transport available to take stores from the road to the runway was an occasional horse - drawn sledge ; the servicing party, designed and equipped simply to operate until the squadron ground staff arrived, had no petrol - bowser and only two refuelling troughs ; the starter trolley batteries were uncharged and had no acid ; and there was no warning system to report the approach of hostile aircraft. it was to conditions of this sort that the gladiators arrived, in a district over which german aircraft swarmed at will ; indeed, the preparations on the lake had already been systematically observed by the enemy. but, though their commanding officer had noted with apprehension the bomb damage along the railway, the pilots of no. 263 squadron were far from downcast. they were young, they were amid the glittering beauty of the snow and the ice and the stars, they were comfortably housed in the little summer hotel nearby, they were at last on the threshold of action, they were superbly cheerful. they would have been still more cheerful that evening but for the bore of having to disperse their aircraft. their outlook was that of the british solider in aandalsnes who, seeing them fly over on their way to the lake, remarked to a local inhabitant, ' here come our fighters — no more german bombers now '. the dawn brought swift disillusion. the gladiators were put up a patrol over the dombaas area at 0300 hours. but the sharp frost of the spring night had frozen the carburettors and the controls, and ice locked the wheels to the runway. only after two hours ' struggle did the first pair of aircraft get off the lake and proceed to dombaas, where their appearance over our lines put fresh heart into the troops. meanwhile, the desperate efforts of the squadron to start up the rest of the gladiators were surveyed by two german aircraft, which dropped a few ineffectual bombs. two hours later the serious business began. in relays of threes, unescorted ju. 88 ' s and he. 111 ' s returned again and again, while the engines of the glad


, which dropped a few ineffectual bombs. two hours later the serious business began. in relays of threes, unescorted ju. 88 ' s and he. 111 ' s returned again and again, while the engines of the gladiators still defied attempts to wake them to life. at length some accumulators were commandeered from passing lorries, and under attack from bombs and machine - guns two more gladiators managed to start up and take off. while they circled the lake others succeeded in joining them, and from then on the squadron was able to give a good account of itself. starting up, however, was merely the first of its difficulties ; for the part included only one armourer, and with the limited equipment available and the enemy constantly overhead, refuelling and re - arming was a painful, lengthy and dangerous process. such conditions could have only one end. despite the pilots ' best effort in the air and despite the heroic work of a small naval party manning two oerlikon guns near the lake, by midday ten of the eighteen gladiators had been put out of action on the ground. it says everything for the pilots of the squadron that in conditions such as these they were able to make upwards of thirty sorties during the day, to fight many combats, and to shoot down several of the enemy. but one day was enough. towards evening, when the runway as well as the squadron was virtually destroyed, the squadron commander flew down to setnesmoen, near aandalsnes, and landed on a small plateau which was being hastily cleared as an emergency landing ground. finding it reasonably satisfactory, and well placed to reflect the base, if far removed from the front line, he ordered the four remaining gladiators to join him. during the night the few available lorries brought down to the coast such fuel, stores and ammunition as remained ; and when the morning sun rose on lesjaskog, it revealed only a scene of smashed and splintered ice, broken trees and burnt - out aircraft. 3 from setnesmoen on 26th april the surviving gladiators made their last effort. between them the five carried out a useful reconnaissance and a patrol over the forward lines ; then there were three. these three attempted to engage the german aircraft which attacked aandalsnes at leisure throughout the day, but with no oxygen the pilots were completely unable to operate at the 20, 000 feet from which the enemy, respecting their presence, chose to bomb.


these three attempted to engage the german aircraft which attacked aandalsnes at leisure throughout the day, but with no oxygen the pilots were completely unable to operate at the 20, 000 feet from which the enemy, respecting their presence, chose to bomb. finally, one gladiator alone remained doubtfully serviceable ; and for this there was no petrol. nothing remained but to withdraw the pilots in a cargo vessel. surviving several attacks from german bombers they reached scapa flow safely on 1st may — exactly ten days after they had sailed to norway from the same place. their adventure had been brief, and expensive in aircraft, but at least well rewarded in experience. for the story of no. 263 squadron as lesjaskog will forever stand witness to the futility of exposing a handful of machines, with hastily contrived and inadequate arrangements on the ground, to the full blast of operations by a powerful enemy. the destruction of no. 263 squadron meant that there was now little hope of keeping aandalsnes in use ; for the gallant and skilful work of the fleet air arm pilots of the glorious between 24th april and 27th april could not avail to save the base from the frightful effects of german air superiority. in the words of the naval officer in charge, ' … the wooden quays destroyed, the area surrounding the single concrete quay devastated by fire, the roads pitted by bomb craters and disintegrated by the combined effect of heavy traffic and melting snow, the recurrent damage to the railway, the machine - gunning of road traffic — all made it patent to those on the spot that it was only a question of time for the port activities to diminish to such an extent that the line of communication could not be maintained. ' with the neighbouring port of molde in no better case, our ships in harbour in constant danger, and namsos — despite fine work by the aircraft of the ark royal — as badly hit as aandalsnes, the end was indeed certain. though everywhere hard - pressed and withdrawing, our troops in contact with enemy ground forces could have held on longer ; it was the air bombardment of their bases which threatened disaster complete and irreparable. recognizing this, lieutenant - general massy, the commander - in - chief of the expeditionary force — whose headquarters were still in london — regarded the destruction of no. 263 squadron as decisive ; almost as soon as he heard of it, on 27th april, he advised the chiefs of staff to abandon the entire central norwegian project. the following


expeditionary force — whose headquarters were still in london — regarded the destruction of no. 263 squadron as decisive ; almost as soon as he heard of it, on 27th april, he advised the chiefs of staff to abandon the entire central norwegian project. the following day the local commanders received the order to withdrawn their forces. the function of the royal air force during the evacuation was to reduce the enemy ' s air activity by bombing his airfields, and to give what cover it could to the withdrawal from aandalsnes. the second part of this task demanded what we so conspicuously lacked at the time — a good long - range fighter. the makeshift blenheim fighter was all that we could boast in this category ; and of these only one squadron was available for operations. the intention was that these aircraft should land and refuel at setnesmoen, but before they could do so the luftwaffe had put the landing ground out of action. all operations were accordingly carried out from this country, with the result that each sortie could spend no more than an hour near aandalsnes. as for namsos, this was quite beyond the range of any royal air force fighters ; but protection was to be given by the ark royal and the glorious, which had returned home to refuel and were due back off norway on 1st may. in accordance with this plan bomber command attacked stavanger / sola and oslo / fornebu airfields by day and night throughout the entire period of the evacuation, besides directing a less number of sorties against the danish airfields of aalborg and rye. the heaviest raid was on the night of 30th april / 1st may, when twenty - eight wellingtons and whitleys bombed stavanger at a cost of five aircraft. this effort, coming on top of those already undertaken, had its effect, for by 1st may the germans were confining the use of the surface to emergency landings. during the critical days the weight of enemy air attack on aandalsnes and namsos was therefore materially less. all the same, there was plenty of activity against our ships at sea — so much, in fact, that when the two aircraft carriers duly reappeared off norway on 1st may, and were promptly selected for special attention by the luftwaffe, they were soon ordered home. this meant that our forces had to make good their escape from namsos with no air cover whatsoever. in spite of the scanty measure of protection that could be supplied by the blenheims the evacuation from aandalsnes went well.


. this meant that our forces had to make good their escape from namsos with no air cover whatsoever. in spite of the scanty measure of protection that could be supplied by the blenheims the evacuation from aandalsnes went well. the enemy air force made no attempt to interfere with the embarkation during the hours of darkness, the final parties were cleared on the night of 1st / 2nd may, and all vessels reached british ports safely. up to this point the germans, strangely enough, seem to have been unaware of our intentions ; having captured the plan for building up our forces through aandalsnes, they perhaps imagined that we were still coming, not going. but on 2nd may, before de wiart ' s men at namsos had even begun to embark, chamberlain announced in the house that we had withdrawn from aandalsnes. the inference that we might also be withdrawing from namsos was not difficult to make, and perhaps because of this the luftwaffe was able to subject the allied convoys to repeated assaults on their homeward passage. two destroyers were sunk. only when our ships came within the orbit of coastal command did the attacks. * * * while central norway was witnessing the first of those evacuation which were to feature so prominently in our military efforts during 1940 and 1941, the expedition in the north was in a fair way to success. for whereas namsos and aandalsnes were within easy reach of airfields held by the enemy, narvik was not. the port of narvik is some 600 miles north of oslo as the aeroplane flies, and 400 miles north of trondheim. within the arctic circle and set amidst mountains wild to the last degree, it gives the impression of some desperate triumph of man over nature. the port remains open throughout the year, but between september and the beginning of may the country is entirely covered with snow and ice, and in mid - winter the only light of day consists of two hours of murk and gloom. remote and inhospitable, narvik has few communications with southern norway : the single track railway runs directly east to the swedish orefields, and the traveller who attempts the journey south by road — if road it may be called — faces the prospect of shipping his car across several fjords. even the all - conquering aeroplane which bids fair to ' put a girdle about the earth in forty minutes ', is at a disadvantage. a flight between north and south norway is usually marked by swift and treacherous changes of weather which may spell death to


- conquering aeroplane which bids fair to ' put a girdle about the earth in forty minutes ', is at a disadvantage. a flight between north and south norway is usually marked by swift and treacherous changes of weather which may spell death to the airman who ventures on ; great down - draughts snatch at the aircraft as it tops the mountain peaks or noses its way through the defiles ; and there are few places within fifty miles of narvik where anything other than a float - plane or flying - boat could possibly alight. of such landing grounds as there were in 1940, though one or two of them were normally occupied by small detachments of the norwegian air force, none could be dignified with the name of airfield. the british element of the narvik expedition sailed on 12th april, a few hours before admiral whitworth disposed of the german destroyers by his action in the fjords. the military commander was major general mackesy, who instructions were to establish a base at harstad, a small fishing port on an island in vaags fjord, fifty - five miles by sea from narvik. when the news of whitworth ' s victory reached the commander of the naval forces, admiral of the fleet the earl of cork and orrery, he at once proposed that the harstad project should be cancelled in favour of an immediate and direct assault on narvik ; but the suggestion made on appeal to mackesy, whose brigade had embarked for an unopposed landing, had been neither trained nor equipped for movement over snow, and would have had to advance unsupported through snow waist deep in the face of enemy gunfire. although the german forces at narvik were small, our troops therefore landed, as originally intended, at harstad. a plan was then made to capture the ground north and south of the peninsula on which narvik stands so that the port itself might be taken from the rear. this involved waiting for reinforcements — and the thaw. the reinforcements, consisting of french alpine troops under general bethouart, foreign legionaries and poles, began to arrive on 27th april. thus far, enemy aircraft had not been unduly troublesome — many of those that appeared were float - planes carrying stores. with the luftwaffe rapidly establishing itself at trondheim / vaernes airfield, however, we could soon expect attack of a far heavier order — attack which could be countered only by land - based fighters. while the allied troops improved their positions, two royal air force officers


luftwaffe rapidly establishing itself at trondheim / vaernes airfield, however, we could soon expect attack of a far heavier order — attack which could be countered only by land - based fighters. while the allied troops improved their positions, two royal air force officers, of whom the senior was wing commander r. k. r. atcherley, were accordingly sent out from england to examine the landing grounds — or sites for landing grounds — in the neighbourhood of narvik. the arrival of atcherley ' s sunderland at harstad coincided with an enemy air raid, which it inadvertently scared away. after reporting to general mackesy, whom he found in a half - dressed state retrieving possessions from the headquarters building, which had just been hit, atcherley went onto explain his mission to the local norwegian army commander. his reception was not encouraging. the news of the evacuation of aandalsnes had just reached the norwegian forces in the north, and atcherley was asked to sign a formal undertaking not only that large quantities of british supplies would be available for the norwegians but also that the royal air force did not intend ( in atcherley ' s phrase ) ' to cut and run '. eventually the general was pacified — the staff officer bearing his representations apparently succumbed to a judicious mixture of eloquence and whisky from lord cork — and the reconnaissance proceeded. deep snow made the task one of the utmost difficulty, but fortunately the norwegians placed a ship, and lord cork a walrus amphibian at atcherley ' s disposal. even so, the searchers were compelled to confine their investigation to places of good local report. in the end the most promising sites were found to be the existing norwegian landing grounds at bardufoss and banak, and some undeveloped ground at skaanland. the last of these was the best placed geographically, being only fifteen miles by air from harstad and twenty - five from narvik. bardufoss, at fifty - five and fifty miles respectively, was also within fighter range of both base and objective ; but banak, over two hundred miles north - east of narvik, would be useful only for bombers. what was achieved at bardufoss gives some idea of the appalling obstacles that were overcome. the local authorities having gathered together an impressive, if predominantly amateur, labour force ( first of norwegian territorials and later of civilians ) on 4th may work began. atcherley was in charge, and he was assisted by


repaired. two hundred hastily recruited mules speeded the painful progress of supplies. the crises which arose in the course of these herculean labours were frequent and acute. food gave out, there were too few tools, the weekly walrus failed to arrived from harstad the drop the labourers ' wages. but every setback was triumphantly overcome by the combined efforts of the three services and the norwegians, and within the incredibly short space of three weeks bardufoss was fit for use. skaanland, too, was declared ready ; while at banak all difficulties yielded before the cheerful onslaught of a thousand lapps under the inspired direction of one british able seaman. all this time the headquarters of somewhat grandiloquently styled royal air force components of the north - western expeditionary force was waiting to sail. formed at uxbridge on 22nd april under the command of group captain m. moore, it was originally designed to control air operations both in central and northern norway. with their field of activity now confined to the narvik area, the headquarters staff sailed on 7th may. the same vessel carried lieutenant - general auchinlek, whose instructions were to assume command ( if he thought fit ) of the allied troops, and to report on the forces needed for the tasks of holding northern norway as the seat of king haakon ' s government, stopping german supplies of iron - ore through narvik, and interfering with shipments from lulea. the general landed at harstad on 11th may, just twenty - four hours after the german invasion of france and the low countries had knocked the bottom out of his mission. the threat of a german offensive in the west had throughout gravely handicapped allied efforts in scandinavia. now the act proved decisive. the forces which auchinlek considered necessary to hold northern norway — he dismissed as impracticable any idea of interfering with the ore shipments from lulea — included seventeen infantry battalions, one hundred and four heavy and ninety - six light anti - aircraft guns, and four squadrons of aircraft. these could not possibly be spared at a time when the allied armies were reeling under the impact of the german blows in belgium and france. even the small but steady effort of bomber command against the enemy - occupied airfields in norway and denmark had now to be abandoned in favour of sterner tasks elsewhere. so, when the chief of staff made their final survey on 21st may — it was on the day on which the enemy first gazed across the english channel at his next objective — their summary of the position


be abandoned in favour of sterner tasks elsewhere. so, when the chief of staff made their final survey on 21st may — it was on the day on which the enemy first gazed across the english channel at his next objective — their summary of the position was very clear : ' the security of france and the united kingdom is essential ; the retention of northern norway is not. ' they accordingly recommended to the war cabinet that the allied force should proceed to capture narvik, that the harbour and its installations should be demolished, and that the expedition should be withdrawn. it was while these matters were approaching decision in london that no. 263 squadron, with a fresh supply of gladiators, once more appeared on the norwegian scene. the pilots had sailed in the furious on 14th may, and had spent some days waiting offshore while the final preparations were made at bardufoss. in the early morning of 21st may the first flight took off. but visibility was no more than three hundred yards, the savage outlines of the coastal peaks were obscured by low cloud, and the navigating swordfish, slightly off course, led the first section straight into a mountain side. two of the gladiators crashed, and the pilot of a third saved himself only by turning violently as the white and black mass suddenly loomed up before him ; the remainder turned back to face the further peril of their first deck landing — assuming they could find the carrier. fortunately all landed safely. the next day, in better weather, the squadron establish itself successfully at bardufoss and flew nearly fifty sorties before the brief arctic twilight called a halt to operations. by this time the allied ground forces were well enough placed — numerically, administratively and geographically — to make their attack on narvik. the enemy ' s frequent air attacks, mounted from trondheim / vaernes ( and its neighbouring fjords ) 400 miles to the south, had made matters unpleasant for our ships, but had not prevented our forces gather strength. before long, however, these attacks might be many times heavier ; for german troops were forcing their way up the coast from trondheim towards bodo, where there was flat ground suitable for an airfield within thirty minutes ' flight of narvik. tactical as well as strategic considerations therefore dictated an immediate move by the allied forces. advanced detachments accordingly attempted to hold the enemy south of bodo while the assault on narvik was prepared. the thaw had arrived, and the attack was to begin as soon as the rest of the fighters assigned to the expedition — the hurricanes of no


advanced detachments accordingly attempted to hold the enemy south of bodo while the assault on narvik was prepared. the thaw had arrived, and the attack was to begin as soon as the rest of the fighters assigned to the expedition — the hurricanes of no. 46 squadron — were established at skaanland. the hurricanes had already made the passage to northern norway with no. 263 squadron, and had been sent back because skaanland was not then ready. they returned to norway in the glorious on 26th may. when they came in to land at skaanland they found the runway soft and patchy, and after three aircraft had gone up on their noses the remainder of the squadron was ordered to join no. 263 at bardufoss. this meant that both squadrons had to face some fifty miles of mountain mist and cloud before they could appear over harstad, narvik or the fleet anchorage at skaanland. but distance and climate were by no means the only obstacles to efficient operation. a fighter depends not merely on its own powers of performance but on information of the enemy ' s movements ; and in norway arrangements for reporting enemy aircraft were primitive in the extreme. the nature of the coast was such that radar could not be installed without the most prolonged trials ; the royal air force and norwegian observer posts, valuable as they were, possessed in such country an extremely restricted field of view ; and the w / t and the r / t then in use were ineffective among high iron - bound mountains. reports over the ordinary telephone system from the observer posts provided useful warning at harstad and bardufoss ; but the information they gave was neither quick nor continuous enough for fighters to be controlled from the ground, even had the r / t worked properly. for the most part our aircraft were thus forced to rely on the wasteful method of standing patrols. despite all these handicaps, no. 263 squadron had already enjoyed considerable success by the time it was joined by no. 46. for several days the gladiators had kept up a daily average of over forty sorties to the benefit of harstad, skaanland and their own base. what spirit animated their pilots may be seen from one brief episode. at midday on 26th may three gladiators took off from bardufoss for bodo, where a hastily prepared landing ground was now available for the support of our troops resisting the german advance north. the leader was flight lieutenant caesar hull, an extraordinarily skilful pilot and a lively character for whom, in the words of


, where a hastily prepared landing ground was now available for the support of our troops resisting the german advance north. the leader was flight lieutenant caesar hull, an extraordinarily skilful pilot and a lively character for whom, in the words of a fellow - pilot, ' every night was guest night ' ; the other two aircraft were flown by pilot officer jack falkson and lieutenant anthony lydekker, a fleet air arm armament officer with flying experience, who had volunteered to take the place of a sick pilot during the voyage out to norway. after surviving a few shots from two passing he. 111 ' s en route, the three gladiators came in to land on the newly constructed runway. they were immediately caught fast in the mud. frantic taxying brought them to somewhat drier soil, the aircraft were eventually refuelled from four - gallon tins, and the softest patches in the runway were laboriously covered with wooden snow - boards. while this as going on a he. 111 appeared on the scene. disregarding the state of the runway, lydekker, whose tanks were less full than others, promptly got his aircraft off the ground and engaged. then hull and falkson, who had meanwhile been briefed by wing command maxton, the officer in charge of the landing ground, prepared to follow. hull ' s diary records the events of the new few hours : the wing commander explained that the army were retreating up a valley east of bodo, and were being strafed by the huns all day. sounded too easy, so i took off just as another heinkel 111 circled the aerodrome. god! what a take - off! came unstuck about fifty yards from the end and just staggered over the trees. jack followed and crashed. i though the expedition was doomed to failure and that i had better to as much damage as i could before landing again to told tony to land over the blower, and set off towards the valley. saw some smoke rising, so investigated, and found a heinkel 111 at about 600 feet. attacked it three times, and it turned south with smoke pouring from fuselage and engines. broke off attack to engage a junkers 52, which crashed in flames. saw heinkel 111 flying south, tried to intercept and failed. returned and attacked two junkers 52 ' s in formation, number one went into clouds, number two crashed in flames after six people had baled out. attacked heinkel 111 and drive it south with smoke pouring from it


to intercept and failed. returned and attacked two junkers 52 ' s in formation, number one went into clouds, number two crashed in flames after six people had baled out. attacked heinkel 111 and drive it south with smoke pouring from it. ammunition finished, so returned to base. the troops were very cheered by the report, and i thought another patrol might produce more fun. the wing commander didn ' t like the idea of risking another take - off, but after a lot of persuasion he agreed to it. it was quite shattering, in spite of some wooden planks laid across the bad patches. this time the valley was deserted, and the only thing i could do was amuse the troops by doing some aerobatics. they all cheered and waved madly every time i went down low — i think they imagined that at last we had air control and their worries were over. vain hope! the state of the runway made further operations distinctly inadvisable. but some of the troops were being withdrawn by sea during the night, and the tiny royal air force contingent at bodo was determined to give what help it could. all hands fell to the task of laying down more snow - boards, until these covered almost the entire runway, and an hour before midnight lydekker took off again. at midnight hull followed, and in the absence of enemy aircraft amused himself by ' beating up ' the retiring vessels — much to the delight of the troops. two hours later he was relieved by falkson, after which, convinced that further attempts to use the runway would end only in the loss of valuable aircraft, he asked maxton to call off the patrols. the wing commander agreed ; and hull and lydekker, having despatched a well - earned breakfast, were enjoying — at readiness — the cheering warmth of the morning sunshine, when they experienced something all too familiar to those members of the squadron who had been at lesjaskog. hull ' s diary again tells the story : suddenly at 0800 hours the balloon went up. there were 110 ' s and 87 ' s all round and the 87 ' s started dive - bombing a jetty about 800 yards from the aerodrome. tony ' s aircraft started at once and i waved him off, then after trying mine a bit longer got yellow and together with the fitter made a dive into a nearby barn. from there were watched the dive - bombing in terror until it seemed that they were not actualy concentrating on the aerodrome. got the gladiator going and shot off without


got yellow and together with the fitter made a dive into a nearby barn. from there were watched the dive - bombing in terror until it seemed that they were not actualy concentrating on the aerodrome. got the gladiator going and shot off without helmet or waiting to do anything up. circled the ' drome climbing and pinned an 87 at the bottom of a dive. it made off slowly over the sea and just as i was turning away another 87 shot up past me and his shots went through me windscreen knocking me out for a while. cam to, and was thanking my lucky stars when i heard rat - tat behind me and felt my gladiator hit. went into right - hand turn and dive but could not get out. had given up hope at some 200 feet when she centralized and i gave her a burst of engine to clear some large rocks. further rat - tats from behind, so gave up hope and decided to get her down. held off, and then crashed. with hull out of the combat — and on his way to hospital — lydekker received the full attention of the enemy. wounded, and with his aircraft badly shot up, he managed by skilful evasive action to get back to bardufoss, where his machine was promptly classed as a complete ' write - off '. all three gladiators had now been put out of action ; but the luftwaffe was taking no risks. that evening that returned to bodo in force. he. 111 ' s laid was the town and twelve ju. 87 ' s and four me. 110 ' s made a systematic job of wrecking the runway. so ended the brief history of bodo landing ground. the attempt to use it had brought about its destruction ; but the gladiators had shot down at least three enemy aircraft, and, at a highly critical moment, had diverted many more attacks on the allied troops. while the luftwaffe was concentrating on bodo the allies were beginning the final moves against narvik. french and norwegian forces were now firmly establish along the farther side of rombaks fjords, north of the narvik peninsula ; and the plan was to cross the fjord, gaining a footing on the peninsula — where the enemy was in no great strength — and approach the town from the rear. at the same time the poles would launch an attack in the ankenes peninsula, to the south. the task of the two fighter squadrons, beginning some hours before the initial assault, was to maintain continuous patrols at a strength of three aircraft over


. at the same time the poles would launch an attack in the ankenes peninsula, to the south. the task of the two fighter squadrons, beginning some hours before the initial assault, was to maintain continuous patrols at a strength of three aircraft over the area of operations. the patrols during the evening and night of 27th may, when the allied troops made their landing, were agreeably uneventful. early the following morning fog descended on bardufoss, and for a brief spell our aircraft were grounded. during this time the luftwaffe — which was now reported to have ju. 87 dive - bombers operating from an emergency ground at mosjoen, only 200 miles to the south — appeared on the scene. the admiral ' s flagship was damaged ; then one of our patrols came up and drove away the attacking aircraft. after that the hurricanes and gladiators combined with the misty weather to hold off the enemy, and before the day closed narvik was in allied hands. nothing remained but to destroy the facilities of the port — and withdraw. the destruction was well and truly accomplished. no cargo of iron - ore left narvik for germany until january 1941. the evacuation presented problems of greater complexity. in the first place our intention to withdraw had to be kept secret from all except the principal commanders ; the remainder — including the norwegians — were to be encouraged to believe, until the last moment, that we were preparing to move to other bases in norway. secondly, to allow time for the arrangements, and to reduce the difficulties in which the norwegian ground forces would find themselves by a sudden withdrawal of the british, french and poles, the evacuation was not to begin until 3rd june, and was then to be spread over five days. the work of the two royal air force squadrons was thus by no means finished. from 29th may to 1st june they were busy, but mainly with single enemy aircraft. then, on 2nd june, the luftwaffe arrived in force. through the day wave after wave of a dozen our shipping and the base at harstad ; but the gladiators and hurricanes so harassed every attempt that the german crews either jettisoned their bombs or aimed them wide. by the end of the day the two squadrons had flown seventy - five sorties, fought twenty - four engagements, and brought down at least nine enemy aircraft, all for no loss to themselves. many of the actions took place in full view of the troops ; and general auchinlek was moved to send a handsome message of thanks. that evening the norwegian


, and brought down at least nine enemy aircraft, all for no loss to themselves. many of the actions took place in full view of the troops ; and general auchinlek was moved to send a handsome message of thanks. that evening the norwegians were informed of our intention to withdrawn, and the following morning the evacuation began. the movement presented a most tempting series of targets, for many of the troops had to be picked up by the local ' puffers ', taken out to destroyers in the fjords, and then transferred to liners standing off the coast. but a kindly cloak of mist and low cloud concealed the vessels for many hours, and until the last day the enemy ' s effort in the air was very small. such as it was, it was well contained by nos. 46 and 263 squadrons, and by the aircraft of the glorious and the ark royal, which had returned to take part in the evacuation. the orders under which the royal air force operated during the final phase were clear and precise. patrols were to be flown over the vital areas until evacuation was virtually complete ; the gladiators were then to fly on to the glorious ; the hurricanes, which could not, it was then thought, land on a carrier ' s deck, were to be destroyed ; and bardufoss airfield, with the exception of a small strip for the use of the few surviving norwegian fokkers, was to be thoroughly demolished. this programme was duly completed, but with one significant exception. the commanding officer of no. 46 squadron, squadron leader k. b. cross, begged that is ten remaining hurricanes should be allowed to attempt a landing on the glorious. the risk appeared considerable ; for unsuccessful tests had been made with hurricanes when the squadron was being shipped to norway, with the result that the aircraft had finally been hoisted abroad from lighters. in norway, at the tail end of the evacuation, and with their airfield far distant from the waters where the carrier lay, the squadron could clearly not re - embark in the same fashion. the only alternative to destruction was thus to hazard the aircraft and their pilots in a deck - landing. mindful that britain stood in need of every hurricane she could muster, group captain moore agreed to cross ' s request and a call was made for volunteers. every one of the eighteen pilots responded. so, in the clear arctic midnight of 7th june, the hurricanes took off from bardufoss for their last flight. by then the gladiators had left, led by swordfish, and were already stowed


one of the eighteen pilots responded. so, in the clear arctic midnight of 7th june, the hurricanes took off from bardufoss for their last flight. by then the gladiators had left, led by swordfish, and were already stowed away in the glorious. an hour ' s flight and the hurricanes too came on, each to an admirable landing. fate was to mock this last achievement. the scharnhorst and the gneisenau, moving up the norwegian coast under orders to penetrate the fjords around narvik, had learnt from air reconnaissance and intercepted wireless messages that traffic was heavy between northern norway and scotland. they had learnt too, that the glorious and the ark royal were at sea. no hunter could neglect so splendid a quarry. the two battlecruisers headed up for the convoy routes, and in the afternoon of 8th june they sighted the glorious and her attendant pair of destroyers. the german crews, noting with alarm that a number of aircraft were already visible on the flying decks of the carrier, hastened to open fire. their first salvoes found the mark, and all the valiant efforts of the destroyers could only postpone the end. after two hours the glorious, blazing furiously, rolled over beneath the waves ; and with her went the pilots who had crowned their triumph over the luftwaffe by their determination to bring their aircraft home. only squadron leader cross and one other, gaining a carley float, and defying arctic cold, the promptings of despair, and the sight of twenty - five of their fellow survivors on the raft dying before their eyes, were picked up later by a passing fishing vessel. * * * the expeditions to central and northern norway had one fundamental point of difference. the former was conducted form poor bases and along exiguous lines of communication within easy reach of strong forces of the luftwaffe, and beyond the effective range of the royal air force ; it therefore came to swift disaster. the latter was conducted, for most of the time, within effective range of only a single enemy air base, while in its later and more critical stages it enjoyed the protection of royal air force fighters ; it had therefore achieved a fair degree of success when the situation on the western front demanded its recall. this lesson was certainly not ignored by the commanders concerned, who spoke up with remarkable unanimity of voice. major general paget, whose forces could have held on longer had their base at aandalsnes not been destroyed by the luftwaffe, wrote thus : my considered view in the light


commanders concerned, who spoke up with remarkable unanimity of voice. major general paget, whose forces could have held on longer had their base at aandalsnes not been destroyed by the luftwaffe, wrote thus : my considered view in the light of experience remains that which i expressed to the d. q. m. g. before i embarked. it is that the possibility of maintaining any force through the single port of aandalsnes depended primarily upon whether or not local air superiority could be established and maintained. to that view i would add that, since the necessary degree of air superiority could scarcely be expected to exist throughout the whole length of the line of communication, and since that line was peculiarly vulnerable to both air action and to seasonal changes, the aandalsnes project was not administratively practicable. operationally, therefore, it was doomed to failure. very similar views were expressed by major general carton de wiart about the fighting at namsos : then came the air situation, which was the dominating factor. we had no a. a. defence at all were completely at the mercy of enemy planes. only twice in the course of operations did we have any british planes over us, and then the enemy planes cleared off at once. lieutenant general auchinlek, too, though he bore witness to the difference at harstad when the two royal air force squadrons arrived, was powerfully impressed with the performance of the luftwaffe in supply narvik by air, in landing small detachments at strategic positions along the coast, and in blasting our troops out of the bodo area : the predominant factor in the recent operations has been the effect of air power … the first general lesson to be drawn is that to commit troops to a campaign in which they cannot be provided with adequate air support is to court disaster. in all of this general jodl, in his official report to the fuhrer, wholeheartedly concurred. ' the air force, ' wrote jodl, ' proved to be the decisive factor in the success of the operation. ' the campaign in norway witnessed the first completely conclusive employment of air power. around narvik two squadrons of royal air force fighters held at bay an enemy operating from long range ; elsewhere it was the enemy, swiftly and strongly established on all the available airfields, who dictated events. the royal air force at home, too far away, too small, and too much handicapped by the need to conserve its effort for the western front, was unable to intervene effectively. and though there were


on all the available airfields, who dictated events. the royal air force at home, too far away, too small, and too much handicapped by the need to conserve its effort for the western front, was unable to intervene effectively. and though there were many purely military factors in our defeat in central norway, nearly all of them applied the more sharply because of the presence of an enemy air force which, at the peak - point, employed in weserubung no less than 615 bombers, fighters and reconnaissance machines, and 650 air transports. the primary and overriding importance of air power was not new as a conception. the air ministry, of course, had harped on it for years ; and had always given the clearest warnings, whenever intervention in scandinavia was discussed, that the luftwaffe by virtue of its size and proximity to the theatre of operations must enjoy a powerful advantage. if now new as a theory, however, it was new as a fact — new as a fact so abundantly plain, for instance, to the military. and though the navy had escaped with comparatively light losses for the outstanding work it had accomplished and the many perils it had run, even the saltiest of sea - dogs could, if he chose, now read the writing on the wall. contents * previous chapter ( iii ) * next chapter ( v ) 1 the identifications of these ships are as established from german records. the aircraft at the time reported the class of the vessel, not the identity. 2 this was done by sheer manual labour. straight did not enjoy the good fortune of a small remnant of the norwegian air force from vaernes, which was faced with the problem of clearing even deeper snow from a lake in a still less populated district. while the dispirited norwegians wondered how to begin, three thousand reindeer happened to pass nearby on their annual spring journey from the valleys to the mountains. their keep, a lapp with a weakness for strong drink, responded to the bribe of 100 percent alcohol offered by the medical officer — no weaker form being available — and consented to direct his herd across the lake. following their leader, a highly - trained white reindeer, the beasts dutifully pounded the snow into a hard, compressed mass six inches thick. from this the aircraft could have taken off admirably, had there been any petrol. 3 the skeletons of some of these aircraft could still be seen on the shores of the lake, and protruding above its surface, as late as 1947. they are probably still visible to this day


archived — exemplary practices 2008 information identified as archived on the web is for reference, research or recordkeeping purposes. it has not been altered or updated after the date of archiving. web pages that are archived on the web are not subject to the government of canada web standards. as per the communications policy of the government of canada, you can request alternate formats on the " contact us " page. teaching the big history … and the little stories christian lagueux teaches at the polyvalente de saint - georges in saint - georges, quebec and his brother jean - pierre teaches at the polyvalente belanger in saint - martin, quebec. for a long time, they have collaborated to make learning about history and it ' s cultural context a more immediate and stimulating activity for young people. their project involving the reproduction of historical objects is a perfect example. jean - pierre lagueux explains that the activity requires four types of inter - disciplinary skills. the students develop their ability to synthesize information while searching for facts about the object they have chosen to recreate. while making the object, they use their creativity and artistic talents. their language skills are challenged as they prepare fact sheets on what they have created. and in the final step, they publish their achievements on the web, and in the process, expand their knowledge of information technologies. for the past seven years, their students ' historical creations have been exhibited at the christmas in new france event in quebec city, where thousands of visitors have admired the artefacts. " the artefacts our students made for the christmas in new france event seemed so genuine that some visitors wanted to buy them, " christian lagueux said proudly while displaying some of the youngsters ' creations. the sculptures, pots, ceramics, fabrics, clothing, documents, pictures and dishes all reflect daily life in new france between 1608 and 1759. " we take this very seriously, " christian lagueux points out. " students have to use the materials and the methods of the era, and beware anachronisms! " jean - pierre lagueux says that this teaching method puts students in touch with the daily lives of people from that era. " some of them decided to embroider an alphabet book, as the young students of the ursulines did, to learn their abcs. back then, school was run by the catholic church and the nuns demanded perfection. if you made a mistake when you embroidered a letter, you had to do it over again until it was perfect. the same rule applied to our students


their abcs. back then, school was run by the catholic church and the nuns demanded perfection. if you made a mistake when you embroidered a letter, you had to do it over again until it was perfect. the same rule applied to our students, who quite quickly grasped the importance of a job well done. " the two teachers stress practical learning to help their students discover their own social universe. knowing that few young people understood the parliamentary system of government in quebec and canada, the langueux brothers restructured the student council to encourage students to follow the parliamentary model of governance. " this project generated lively interest and was adopted all over quebec, " jean - pierre lagueux explains. " the national assembly was so impressed by the activity that it now provides support for schools that want to try the experiment. " always looking for hands - on learning opportunities for their students, the lagueux brothers began working with partners and have now expanded the scope of their projects. they have collaborated with the national battlefields commission and have even developed a project that allowed their students, via the internet, to " accompany " christian in tunisia, where he was taking part in archeological digs. " this was done as part of a general course in ancient history, " mr. lagueux explains. " the subject matter was egypt, rome and the birth of europe. it was a real pleasure, for example, to be able to show them mosaics that no one else had seen for 2, 000 years. " christian lagueux hopes to be able to repeat the experience, because even in the last few years, technology has advanced considerably, he explains, and as a result he would be able to make the experience an even more immediate one for the students.


fission tracks in zircons : evidence for abundant nuclear decay by andrew a. snelling, ph. d. rate ii : radioisotopes and the age of the earth : results of a young - earth creationist research initiative, ( volume ii ), l. vardiman et al., eds. ( san diego, ca : institute for creation research and the creation research society, 2005 ) fission tracks are a physical record of in situ nuclear decay, their density being directly proportional to the amount of nuclear decay that has occurred. the aim of this study was to investigate whether the amounts of fission tracks in zircon grains in targeted rock units ( that is, their fission track “ ages ” ) matched the radioisotope “ ages ” of those rocks. stratigraphically well - constrained volcanic ash or tuff beds located in the grand canyon - colorado plateau “ type section ” of the flood strata record were chosen — the cambrian muav and tapeats tuffs from the western grand canyon ( early flood ), jurassic morrison formation tuff beds, southeastern utah ( middle flood ), and the miocene peach springs tuff, southeastern california and western arizona ( late flood or post - flood ). the fission track “ ages ” of zircon grains separated from samples of these tuff units were determined by a specialized professional laboratory using the external detector method and a zeta ( ζ ) calibration factor. the observed fission track densities measured in all the zircons ( and thus the fission track “ ages ” ) from the samples of the jurassic and miocene tuffs, and in some of the zircons from the muav and tapeats tuffs, were found to exactly equate to the quantities of nuclear decay measured by radioisotope determinations of the same rock units. though thermal annealing of fission tracks had occurred in some zircon grains in the two cambrian grand canyon tuffs, the u - pb radioisotope system had also been thermally reset, the resulting reset ages in both instances coinciding with the onset of the laramide uplift of the colorado plateau. the fact that the thermal annealing of the fission tracks and the thermal resetting of the u - pb radioisotope system in those zircon grains were exactly parallel is unequivocal confirmation that the radioisotope ratios are a product of radioactive decay, in just the same way as the fission tracks are physical evidence of nuclear decay. furthermore, because the reset


in those zircon grains were exactly parallel is unequivocal confirmation that the radioisotope ratios are a product of radioactive decay, in just the same way as the fission tracks are physical evidence of nuclear decay. furthermore, because the resetting of the u - pb radioisotope system in zircons will only occur at elevated temperatures, the fact that it has been reset in these zircons could therefore be due to them having been heated by accelerated nuclear decay. even so, in spite of this thermal annealing and resetting, there remains sufficient strong evidence to conclude that both the fission tracks and radioisotope ratios in the zircons in the cambrian grand canyon tuff beds record more than 500 million years worth ( at today ’ s rates ) of nuclear and radioisotope decay during deposition of the phanerozoic strata sequence of the grand canyon - colorado plateau region. given the independent evidence that most of this strata sequence was deposited catastrophically during the year - long global flood about 4500 years ago, then 500 million or more years worth ( at today ’ s rates ) of nuclear and radioisotope decay had to have occurred during the flood year about 4500 years ago. thus, the fission tracks in the zircons in these tuffs are physical evidence of accelerated nuclear decay. fission tracks, nuclear decay, thermal annealing, zircons, rate ii for full text please see the download pdf link above for the entire article.


fossil discoveries disrupt evolutionary timescales by brian thomas, m. s. * conventional geology assumes that different rock layers represent different periods of time. paleontologists assess the age of fossilized creatures by the rock layers in which they are found. so, a fossil found in a lower rock layer is considered to have lived in a much earlier time than one found in a higher ( " younger " ) stratum. but frequently, fossils of the same creatures are discovered in rock layers far above or below the layers in which they were initially found. very often, they are discovered in almost exactly the same form in both places, and they even look just like their living counterparts. 1 that forces evolutionary scientists to constantly reassess the time periods assigned to fossilized life forms. the institute for creation research has reported on several fossil discoveries that have challenged conventional evolutionary timescales, including a spider web trapped in an amber deposit that was located in a rock layer supposedly 100 million years older than the time spiders were assumed to have evolved. 1 and the web was just like that made by orb - weavers today. another example is the discovery in japan of a fossilized tooth of what was essentially a small t. rex. such a find would not normally make headlines, but this tooth was located in a rock layer that predated the assigned t. rex " age " by 60 million years. 2 even human artifacts - - including jewelry, tools, and glue - - have appeared in sedimentary layers far below the strata in which they had been previously known. 3 finds like these represent a huge upset to the evolutionary story. in fact, one recent discovery was so out - of - step with evolution ' s story that the evidence was not even allowed to speak for itself. in 2009, scientists discovered amber that had been made from angiosperm - - or flowering - - tree resin. the problem was that according to the evolutionary timescale, it predated angiosperms by an incredible 195 million years. clinging to their age assignments at all costs, evolutionists were forced to speculate that the amber came from an unknown tree that made the same resin as today ' s angiosperms, but was itself not an angiosperm! 4 two more discoveries have likewise shocked adherents of deep geologic time. a distinctly mammalian hair was found in " 100 million - year - old " amber. though a few mammal fossils had been known from nearby layers, what came as a surprise was " that the shape and structure of mammal hair has


of deep geologic time. a distinctly mammalian hair was found in " 100 million - year - old " amber. though a few mammal fossils had been known from nearby layers, what came as a surprise was " that the shape and structure of mammal hair has remained unchanged over a vast period of time, " according to a bbc news report. 5 it is as if mammals were specially created, complete with hair from the beginning. in a separate study, the oldest fossil representation of a pelican had a beak that looked very much like pelican beaks do today. bbc news reported, " what has surprised [ researchers ] most about this ancient pelican is that it is almost identical to modern species. " 6 these are only a few of a steady stream of discoveries that continues to extend the ranges of flora and fauna throughout earth ' s rock layers. and each fulfills a distinct prediction of the creation model, which uses the bible to build a historical framework. among other tenets, creation science holds that creatures were originally made in stable, basic forms that should have remained fundamentally unchanged since the beginning. clearly, the fossil evidence supports this predictive tenet. - thomas, b. amber - trapped spider web too old for evolution. icr news. posted on icr. org november 20, 2009, accessed june 15, 2010. - thomas, b. t - rex cousin evolved 60 million years too early. icr news. posted on icr. org september 29, 2009, accessed june 15, 2010. - thomas, b. boats and jewelry : ' stone age ' people were surprisingly modern. icr news. posted on icr. org january 25, 2010, accessed june 16, 2010. - thomas, b. ancient amber discovery contradicts geologic timescale. icr news. posted on icr. org october 19, 2009, accessed june 15, 2010. - walker, m. prehistoric mammal hair found in cretaceous amber. bbc news. posted on bbc. co. uk june 14, 2010, accessed june 15, 2010, reporting on research published in vullo, r. et al. 2010. mammalian hairs in early cretaceous amber. naturwissenschaften. 97 ( 7 ) : 683 - 687. - walker, m. oldest prehistoric pelican also had big beak. bbc news. posted on bbc. co. uk june 11, 2010, accessed june 15, 2010, reporting on research published in louchart, a., n. tourment and j.


gerald j. posakony ’ s contributions to ultrasonics enabled the technology to move from curiosity to an important tool for medical diagnosis and nondestructive evaluation. in the early 1950s he was the lead engineer on an ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system for investigating disease processes in the human body. the device was considered experimental at the time, but the technology served as the basis for most of the ultrasonic devices in use today. mr. posakony ’ s expertise in transducer design, the “ critical component ” of an ultrasound system, is highly sought after, as he understands the materials, their limitations and capabilities and the circuits and systems needed to excite the transducers and measure and display the data. for nondestructive evaluation, he has found solutions to problems where there was no standard test method available and developed the needed ultrasonic technology. he created a program for the electric power research institute to conduct inspections of nuclear power plant components using an ultrasonic phased array system. the system needed to be built from scratch, and posakony designed, fabricated and tested the phased arrays. he also developed a transducer to test for aging in the sparrow solid rocket motor, enabling the u. s national inventory to be screened and aged motors to be identified and removed, avoiding possible failures and improving overall safety. mr. posakony is currently a senior research scientist in advanced ultrasonic wave propagation and sonochemistry at pacific northwest national laboratory, where he continues to work on designing and testing novel methods for delivery of high - power ultrasonic fields for treating cells and processing fluid streams.


physical activity kit [ pak ] program type : local effort - programs and / or activities that have not been evaluated but are identified by local programs as producing positive results. the prevalence of obesity and overweight has increased dramatically among american indians and alaska native populations within the last 30 years. to address one of the modifiable risk factors that contribute to overweight and obesity, the indian health service and the university of new mexico, prevention research center, partnered to increase opportunities for physical activity for all ages to develop the physical activity kit [ pak ] staying on the active path in native communities … a lifespan approach that is designed to promote culturally appropriate physical activity for all ages through games, movement and dance. the kit contains fun and interactive physical activity breaks, modified american indian games, and group activities for young people, adults / family and older adults and includes various levels of activity such as : strength, flexibility, and cardiovascular physical activities. the kit was field - tested in eleven field site teams consisting of a broad range of disciplines. the feedback from the teams demonstrated that pak was successful in promoting positive changes related to physical activity, was easy to implement, and it was fun and engaging. pak was rolled out nationally in 2009, and over 450 individuals from across the indian country have been trained to implement the kit in the community, school, worksite, and elderly programs to encourage individuals of all ages to adopt an active lifestyle. infants, toddlers, children, adolescents, adults, elderly community, clinic / health center, home, school, work site, other : elder center, family events, etc., cardiovascular disease, diabetes, health education, physical activity name : theresa clay site or location name : i. h. s. albuquerque area 5300 homestead rd ne albuquerque, nm 87110


disaster planning and response for food processors disaster : the word alone congers images of your facility in the worst possible condition ; people not understanding what happened, not knowing how to respond to the event or what to tell the media, if anything, and more. but it doesn ' t have to be that way if you have an emergency plan in place. what is an emergency versus a disaster? by definition, a disaster is any event causing great harm or damage, a catastrophe ; while an emergency is an occurrence demanding immediate actions. an emergency should come with a response plan but a disaster is a situation with no forethought or plan to cover it. when it comes to emergency planning, you need to involve as many people as possible in framing not only the type and scope of an emergency but also in building a comprehensive plan of action for each of the situations that may arise. there is nothing outside the realm of possible scenarios for an emergency plan. if you want to plan for a meteor landing in the middle of your operation ( which is up to you ) you need to remember that a plan without a response falls into the category of disaster. natural disasters such as hurricanes, floods, and earthquakes, often impact wide geographic areas and therefore can overwhelm local and state response agencies. this leaves individuals and businesses on their own to deal with the immediate aftermath. businesses wanting to reopen after such disasters must have comprehensive plans in place to address, at a minimum, the following primary areas : damaged food products, physical facilities, pest control, equipment, and employees. damaged food products the simplest form of advice for damaged food products, following a disaster, is " when in doubt, throw it out. " all food products that were submerged in flood waters must be thrown out. the one exception is canned food where the cans are hermetically sealed and no damage has occurred to the can ' s seal. the cans must be undamaged, commercially prepared foods, in all - metal cans or retort pouches. do not salvage food packed in containers with screw - caps, snap - lids, crimped - caps, twist - caps, flip - top, snap - open, and similar type closures that have been in plastic, paper, cardboard and similar containers that have been submerged or have water damaged packaging. condemned food items must be safely disposed of in a manner consistent with federal, state, and local solid waste storage, transportation, and disposal regulations. these products must not reappear as damaged or salvaged merchandise for human consumption. physical


damaged packaging. condemned food items must be safely disposed of in a manner consistent with federal, state, and local solid waste storage, transportation, and disposal regulations. these products must not reappear as damaged or salvaged merchandise for human consumption. physical facilities & equipment when possible, all salvageable structural surfaces and equipment should be thoroughly decontaminated and sanitized with procedures using chemical sanitization, e. g., chlorine bleach at a concentration of 100 - 200 ppm ( 1 tablespoon of bleach in 1 gallon of potable water ), quaternary ammonium at a concentration of 200 ppm or other approved sanitizers. - all filters on equipment should be replaced. - flush all water lines, including steam water lines and ice machine water lines, for 10 - 15 minutes. - discard all ice in ice machines ; clean and sanitize the interior surfaces ( ice making compartment and storage bin ) ; run the ice through three cycles ; and discard ice with each cycle. - run the dishwasher through the wash - rinse - sanitize cycle three times to flush the water lines and assure that the dishwasher is cleaned and sanitized internally before using it. - prior to restocking verify that that all refrigerators and freezers are capable of consistently maintaining cold holding temperatures ( 41°f or in a frozen state ). - specialized food processing equipment should be cleaned and sanitized. - mold contamination is also a concern. structural components of the building ( e. g., walls, piping, ceiling, and hvac systems ) affected by flood waters or other damage from the hurricane, should be cleaned, repaired, and disinfected, where possible. remove and destroy wall board that has been water damaged. - cement walls that have mold damage can be reconditioned. ensure that any pests that may have entered the facility are no longer present. remove dead pests and sanitize any food - contact surfaces that have come in contact with pests. seal all openings into the facility to prevent future entry of pests. dispose of contaminated or spoiled foods products in closed containers for removal to prevent rodent and fly food sources and harborage. when disasters strike, understand that your employees are likely affected in their personal lives too. they will have family responsibilities and additional stress that should be considered. there will be limitations in staffing and scheduling, so it would be wise not to put all areas back into production, scaling


that your employees are likely affected in their personal lives too. they will have family responsibilities and additional stress that should be considered. there will be limitations in staffing and scheduling, so it would be wise not to put all areas back into production, scaling production based on the number and type of employees available. prior to 2001, food security and food safety were viewed as the same. large food manufacturers were geared to protect their assets : materials, physical plants, employees, information systems and operations. shipments, incoming and outgoing, were locked to protect from theft. plants had gates with limited access, employees had identification systems or security guards to check identities, and formulas, product development and equipment designs were not widely distributed. since the events of september 11, all food manufacturers had to begin gearing up, thinking about persons who wanted to injure large numbers of people from a single incident or damage an entire brand with negative media attention. nobody can afford to be reactive any more. the bar is higher now and you cannot think it sufficient to say that you have taken all of the steps toward protecting against those issues as in the past. most people focus on the issue of bio - terrorism ; more specifically, the intentional incorporation of a pathogen into a food product. the first documented food - related bio - terroristic action in the united states took place in oregon in 1984, when the rajneeshpuram community wanted to incapacitate the voting population of the town in order to further their zoning agenda. over 750 individuals became ill with salmonella. two perpetrators were indicted, convicted and spent 29 months in federal prison. since 9 / 11, the anthrax - laced envelopes and assessments of our vulnerability in our food and water supplies, a rule - out of bio - terrorism is somewhat standard practice in the investigation of food and water - borne disease outbreaks. the fbi responds when a local or state department of health and / or agriculture or another federal agency suspects bio - terrorism. when we think of bio - terrorism, immediately the infliction of disease by a biological agent is conjured up. however, of equal importance is that of agri - terrorism against either our crops or our animals that are raised for food. clearly there is concern, especially in the important areas such as the salinas valley in california, if someone were to spray our fruit and vegetable crops with a plant pathogen that would cause the crop to fail. in this example, the cost to human health would be negligible but the cost from economic and nutritional perspectives could be disastrous. therefore


, if someone were to spray our fruit and vegetable crops with a plant pathogen that would cause the crop to fail. in this example, the cost to human health would be negligible but the cost from economic and nutritional perspectives could be disastrous. therefore, bio - security needs to be in place literally from the farm to the fork. simply adding a biological or chemical agent that looks like any ordinary ingredient could contaminate our products. we start with the incoming ingredients that show up in bulk, bag or box. seals on trucks are a must for large manufacturing or matching the invoice to the actual products that show up on the dock or the back door. open bags, boxes, missing seals for bulk deliveries, improper invoices could all be signs of product tampering and should be reported immediately to supervision. under no circumstances should the employee alone determine that product is okay to be used. another layer of defense relates to vendors, visitors and even auditors that would gain access to some of the most sensitive areas of the facility. suspicion is not limited to people outside the normal staff either. plants need to be aware of any changes in the normal actions and reactions of employees to the everyday occurrences. we have vulnerability in our food supply from farm to fork whether it be from a natural disaster or from those trying to do us personal, societal or economic damage via terrorism. every single employee, manager and owner of every single company is on the front lines of food defense and food safety. eha corporate group ( baltimore, md ) has over 30 years of experience working with the food industry, specializing in crisis management, risk assessment and risk reduction. for more information, visit eha at www. ehagroup. com or contact them at email @ example. com.


encouraging healthy relationships april is about spring and renewal, a chance to start anew in our daily lives. this year, let ’ s resolve to use this month to begin exploring healthy sexuality and to having healthier relationships! april is sexual assault awareness month, and the theme this year is “ it ’ s time … to talk about it. ” most of us can identify unhealthy relationship behaviors but have difficulty defining what exactly constitutes healthy relationship behaviors. it ’ s time to start talking about it! the more we discuss healthy sexuality and relationship behaviors, the better we will understand them and the more likely we will be to practice and model them. and let ’ s not forget that the identification and promotion of consensual and respectful relationships and interactions naturally leads to the primary prevention of sexually violent behavior. that ’ s something we can all feel good about! so what exactly is healthy sexuality? glad you asked! according to the national sexual violence resource center ( nsvrc ) : “ healthy sexuality means having the knowledge and power to express sexuality in ways that enrich one ’ s life. it includes approaching sexual interactions and relationships from a perspective that is consensual, respectful and informed. healthy sexuality is free from coercion and violence. ” raising awareness of women ' s use and abuse of alcohol this month also marks a nationwide focus on the health effects of alcohol with the national council on alcoholism and drug dependence, inc. ' s campaign of " healthy choices, healthy communities : prevent underage drinking. " the world health organization calls attention to the issue by stating that " the harmful use of alcohol [ is ] a global problem which compromises both individual and social development. it results in 2. 5 million deaths each year. alcohol is the world ' s third largest risk factor for premature mortality, disability, and loss of health. " and while the centers for disease control and prevention ( cdc ) estimates the economic cost of alcoholism and alcohol abuse to be $ 223. 5 billion ( $ 746 per person ), because of society ' s collective affection for beverage alcohol, we do not get overly alarmed. the cdc costs relate to a drop in workplace productivity, health care expenses, law enforcement expenses and motor vehicle crash costs from impaired driving. in indiana the statistics are equally concerning. the 2010 behavioral risk factor surveillance system ( brfss ) data show that 8. 8 % of female respondents reported having four or more drinks on one occassion and the highest rate was among women aged 25 - 34, notably of childbearing years


2010 behavioral risk factor surveillance system ( brfss ) data show that 8. 8 % of female respondents reported having four or more drinks on one occassion and the highest rate was among women aged 25 - 34, notably of childbearing years, which showed that 13. 7 % of the women in this age range report having four or more drinks on one occassion. while moderate alcohol consumption may have some health benefits primarily related to reducing risk of cardiovascular disease, excessive drinking can lead to many adverse health and social consequences including injury, violence, risky sexual behavior, alcoholism, unemployment, liver diseases and various cancers. and, despite being less likely to binge drink or drink heavily, women tend to face alcohol - related problems at a lower drinking level than men do due to differences in body size and other biological factors. the national prevention strategy, released in june 2011 by the national prevention, health promotion and public health council, recommends promoting efforts to encourage young people not to drink or use other drugs, and supports certain restrictions added to current alcohol policies and laws. the council also recommends strategies to identify alcohol and other drug abuse disorders early and encourages providers to implement screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment ( sbirt ) services. additionally, the council has set a 10 year goal to reduce the proportion of adults aged 18 years and older who reported that they engaged in binge drinking during the past month to 24. 3 % from the current percentage of 27. 0 %. to learn more about services and resources available to hoosiers who seek information on addiction and / or mental health and recovery, please visit http : / / www. in. gov / fssa / dmha / index. htm are you ready to put wheels to the road? the indiana state department of health ' s division of nutrition and physical activity staff recently particpated in a webinar opportunity on empowering women to bicycle for transportation hosted by the association of pedestrian and bicycle professionals. the session outlined how women are currently underserved in the united states as part of the bicycling public. owh found a website recommended to be a wealth of information for women interested in bicycling. the site includes a synopsis of a 2011 washington post best books winner on the history of women in the bicycling movement, results from a recent survey on women ' s cycling garnering 13, 000 + responses and a link to the above - mentioned webinar. if you enjoy cycling already or are considering taking up


history of women in the bicycling movement, results from a recent survey on women ' s cycling garnering 13, 000 + responses and a link to the above - mentioned webinar. if you enjoy cycling already or are considering taking up cycling for recreation or physical activity, you will not want to miss this great resource : http : / / www. womencyclingproject. info / for women who wish to feel more confident and learn about bicycle maintenance, the evansville - area trails coalition has organized a bicycle maintenance and safety class for women that will be free to attend and will include instruction from sgt. jason cullum of the evansville police department, a certified instructor. the class will cover the basics of bike repair, from how to change a tire to when to adjust the gears and is being offered on saturday, april 14 at 10 a. m. at garvin park near the shelter by the greenway trailhead and on monday, april 16 at 6 p. m. near the evansville museum parking lot in downtown evansville. helmets are required for participation. sgt. cullum will lead a bike ride at the conclusion of each class! to register, visit email @ example. com. happy biking! thank you, jessica owh staff thanks jessica martin, indiana university school of medicine student, for presenting findings and recommendations from her month - long hpv study at owh ' s booth at the 2012 joint national public health week conference last week! jessica studied the laws and policies of rhode island and other states with comparitively high vaccination rates to review what state laws or policies were in place to help increase hpv vaccinations. jessica gave 10 recommendations for steps that indiana might take to achieve similar results. we greatly appreciate her hard work.


west bengal is located on the north - eastern part of india. it is bounded in the north by bhutan and the state of, in the west by the state of, in the east by bangladesh, in the northeast by the state of, in the south by the bay of bengal, in the southwest by the state of orissa, in the northwest by nepal, and in the west by the state of bihar. although west bengal ranks among the smaller states of india in area, it is one of the largest in population. the capital is kolkata, the largest city in the country. other important cities and towns are howrah about three quarters of the population live in villages. of the different religions, hinduism, with its substrata of castes and aboriginal tribes, constitutes more than three - fourths of the population, most of the remainder being muslims. west bengal has about 40 recognized tribal communities. bengalis have always fostered literature, art, music, and drama. bengali literature dates back to the 12th century. the important festivals are the gangasagar mela, kenduli mela, jalpesh mela, vasanta utsav, naba barsho, paus mela and jagaddhatri puja. west bengal is well - known for its arts and crafts made of silk, ivory, shola, conchshell, dhokra and beautiful clay models. the hilly areas specialize in blankets and woolen knitted garments, decorative kukris, and copper plates studded with stones and engravings of replicas of deities. agriculture plays a pivotal role in the state ' s revenue, and nearly three out of four persons are directly or indirectly involved in agriculture. the important crops include potatoes, oilseeds, tobacco, wheat, barley and maize. west bengal also occupies a leading position among the principal rice growing states of india, by contributing 15 percent of the total production of rice.


wends or sorbs, slavic people ( numbering about 60, 000 ) of brandenburg and saxony, e germany, in lusatia. they speak lusatian ( also known as sorbic or wendish ), a west slavic language with two main dialects : upper lusatian, nearer to czech, and lower lusatian, nearer to polish. the towns of bautzen ( upper lusatia ) and cottbus ( lower lusatia in modern silesia ) are their chief cultural centers. in the middle ages the term wends was applied by the germans to all the slavs inhabiting the area between the oder river in the east and the elbe river and the saale river in the west. german conquest of their land began in the 6th cent. and was completed under charlemagne ( 8th cent. ). a coalition of wendish tribes in the 10th cent. and again in the early 12th cent. temporarily halted german expansion. a crusade against the pagan wends was launched in 1147 under the leadership of henry the lion of saxony and albert the bear of brandenburg. the crusade itself was, on the whole, a failure, but in subsequent years henry the lion, aided by waldemar i of denmark, albert the bear, and other princes, carried out a systematic campaign of conquest. by the end of the 12th cent. nearly all germany except east prussia had been subjected to german rule and was christianized. however, a group of slavic - speaking wends has maintained itself to the present day in lusatia. they call themselves srbi and hence are known also in english as lusatian sorbs or serbs. see g. stone, the smallest slavonic nation : the sorbs of lusatia ( 1972 ). more on wends from infoplease : see more encyclopedia articles on : peoples ( except new world )


internationalizing the high school english curriculum with russian and eastern / central european literature produced by joyce e. sharp, granada hills high school, 1994 published : thursday, april 28, 2005 overview / description of the unit these " internationalized " lesson plans will be " infused " into my curriculum / core literature of all english classes ( grades 9 - 12 ), to some degree ; however, the specific lessons presented in this paper will be utilized in my english 9 and to a greater extent in my english 9 honors classes. my main objectives in doing so are to broaden the scope of my students ' thinking, in terms of prejudices, racism and the consequences of the conflicts which result from ethnocentric thinking. i wish to expand their awareness, and promote in them a greater, more worldly view of ethnic conflicts while teaching them the basic english skills of reading, writing, researching, listening, speaking and oral reporting, as well as an appreciation of literature from many traditions. they will be learning cooperative group learning skills while becoming increasingly aware of current world events, and the fact that literature is an expression and outgrowth of the socio - political and cultural experiences of each author, and the country / society / ethnic culture from which each has come. this unit will enhance the core literature and skill - based lessons already in place by expanding the reading choices and experiences of the students and by giving them a greater appreciation of the experiences of their contemporaries in far - flung areas of the world. these reading experiences should also enhance their studies in history, and other social science classes. it will also widen their appreciation and understanding of some of the most recent additions to our populace, and the great upheaval in russia, eastern / central european countries which brought them to our shores. it is hoped that through greater knowledge, understandings and appreciation of our differences, that further conflict in our community ( the " salad bowl " of los angeles ) can be avoided. a. multicultural objectives : - students will enjoy and appreciate a modernized and expanded core literature to include both fiction and non - fiction, contemporary and historical literature ( short stories, novels and novel excerpts, poetry drama, essays, etc. ) written by russian and eastern / central european authors. these selections will be added to materials read and presented in class, as well as to enhance suggested reading lists for outside reading and book reports. - to increase students ' awareness and enhance their understanding of the viewpoints of others who may come from and / or live in a culture very different from theirs ; to increase empathy and


well as to enhance suggested reading lists for outside reading and book reports. - to increase students ' awareness and enhance their understanding of the viewpoints of others who may come from and / or live in a culture very different from theirs ; to increase empathy and appreciation of contributions of russian and eastern / central europeans to our american culture, and of the plight of those new to our society. - to help students to understand the roots of ethnic conflict, the ethnocentric, traditional view espoused in most " old world " groups, the current trend in eastern / central europe toward nationalism, and the very different socio - political philosophy of the united states, where every ethnicity and culture shares in the " american dream ". - to give students an understanding that conflict can be resolved in a non - violent, positive manner. b. language arts objectives : - reading : students will read a variety of selections ( biography, fiction - novels, short stories, other non - fiction - essays, letters, etc., poetry, drama ) by authors from many different countries / cultures of eastern and central europe, in addition to their other core literature selections. - writing : students will respond in writing to questions on literary selections, as well as writing in journals. they will write reports, poems and prose, " freewrites " and essays. they will be able to analyze / synthesize presented materials, compaxe and contrast characters, situations, and writing styles, and express their opinions in a persuasive and cogent manner, in written form. - listening and viewing : students will listen to stories told by the teacher ( and by ethnic storytellers arranged by the teacher ), listen to fellow students read aloud as they follow along with the text, and watch videos on russian and european culture and literature / authors. they will also take notes on oral reports given by fellow classmates, as they watch and listen to presentations. - speaking : students will discuss written materials and present oral reports. - research skills : students will be able to become familiar with the high school library rules and resources ( catalogues, computer, periodical guide, references etc. ) through a scheduled series of library days and lessons with the librarian. students also will learn how to write a research paper, including format for paper, bibliography format, etc. this unit may take up to six weeks, depending upon the level of the students ' abilities. it may be interspersed with other language arts activities throughout the semester, as a general theme for the semester, or the poetry,