From today's featured article
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 No. 2 Operational Conversion Unit (No. 2 OCU) is a fighter training unit of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Located at RAAF Base Williamtown, New South Wales, it trains pilots to operate the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet (pictured), conducts refresher courses, and trains future Hornet instructors. Pilots new to the Hornet enter No. 2 OCU after first qualifying to fly fast jets at No. 79 Squadron and undertaking initial fighter combat instruction at No. 76 Squadron. Once qualified on the F/A-18, they are posted to one of the RAAF's operational Hornet squadrons. No. 2 OCU was established as No. 2 (Fighter) Operational Training Unit in April 1942. During World War II it provided training on a wide range of aircraft, including P-40 Kittyhawks, Vultee Vengeances, Avro Ansons, CAC Boomerangs, Supermarine Spitfires and Airspeed Oxfords. Disbanded in March 1947, the unit was re-formed at Williamtown in March 1952 in response to the demand for more highly trained pilots in the Korean War. It was renamed No. 2 (Fighter) Operational Conversion Unit in September 1958, and before the Hornet it conducted training with the CAC Sabre, Dassault Mirage III, and Macchi MB-326. (Full article...)
Recently featured: Nigersaurus – Slay Tracks (1933–1969) – Steamtown, U.S.A.
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Did you know...
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In the news
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- Archaeologists discover the tombs of Sobekhotep I and the previously unknown Abydos Dynasty pharaoh, Seneb Kay.
- During heavy fighting over Malakal, South Sudan, a Nile ferry carrying refugees sinks, drowning more than 200 people.
- In association football, Cristiano Ronaldo (pictured) wins the FIFA Ballon d'Or and Nadine Angerer wins the Women's World Player of the Year award.
- Israeli politician and general Ariel Sharon dies after being in a permanent vegetative state for eight years.
- Amid civil conflict, Michel Djotodia resigns as President of the Central African Republic.
- Heritage Auctions sells a $1,000 United States Treasury Note for $3,290,000, setting a new world record price for a banknote.
Recent deaths: Hiroo Onoda – Suchitra Sen
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On this day...
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January 19: Theophany (Julian calendar)
- 649 – War against the Western Turks: The forces of Kucha surrendered after a siege led by Tang Dynasty general Ashina She'er, establishing Tang control over the northern Tarim Basin in Xinjiang.
- 1746 – During the Second Jacobite Rising, Bonnie Prince Charlie (pictured) occupied the town of Stirling, Scotland, but failed to capture its castle.
- 1862 – American Civil War: In their first significant victory, Union forces defeated the Confederates at the Battle of Mill Springs near modern Nancy, Kentucky.
- 1917 – Approximately 50 tons of TNT exploded at a munitions factory in Silvertown in West Ham, present-day Greater London, killing over 70 people and injuring over 400 others.
- 1996 – A tank barge and a tug grounded on a beach in South Kingstown, Rhode Island, US, spilling an estimated 828,000 US gallons (3,130,000 l) of home heating oil.
More anniversaries: January 18 – January 19 – January 20
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