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A British Chariot manned torpedo

Operation Title was an unsuccessful 1942 Allied attack on the German battleship Tirpitz during World War II. The Allies considered Tirpitz to be a major threat to their shipping and after several Royal Air Force heavy bomber raids failed to inflict any damage it was decided to use Royal Navy midget submarines instead. Operation Title involved a pair of two-man British Chariot manned torpedoes which were transported to Norway on board a small boat named Arthur. Both Chariots were lost when bad weather caused them to detach from Arthur on 31 October. It was not possible for the Allied boat to reach the sea due to German security measures, and Arthur was scuttled. The Allied personnel attempted to escape overland and all but one reached neutral Sweden on 5 November. The other – a British serviceman – was taken prisoner by German forces and murdered on 19 January 1943. Tirpitz was eventually sunk by another bomber raid on 12 November 1944. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

Erik Sparre

... that Erik Sparre (pictured) is known as "the father of Swedish constitutional law"?
... that writer and artist Jim Steranko was given authorship of "The Strange Death of Captain America" in part to resolve a dispute between himself and Stan Lee?
... that Jan Klán, as a pilot in the Groupe de Chasse II/5, became the first Czech to achieve an aerial victory against the Luftwaffe while flying the Hawk 75?
... that as part of illegal wildlife trading, Oophaga solanensis frogs are bought for US$3 in their native Colombia and sold for up to US$1,000 overseas?
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... that the U.S. state of Oklahoma was not allowed to ban Sharia law?
... that Triton, a moon of Neptune, has thin clouds that are likely made of nitrogen ice crystals?
... that Jake Bates's first in-game field goal was the second-longest in professional football history?
... that all sea lions in Otago descend from Mum?

In the news

Robert Fico

Robert Fico (pictured), the prime minister of Slovakia, is hospitalised after an assassination attempt.
Lee Hsien Loong steps down after nearly 20 years as the prime minister of Singapore, and is succeeded by Lawrence Wong.
Switzerland, represented by Nemo with "The Code", wins the Eurovision Song Contest.
A series of solar storms impact Earth, creating aurorae seen farther from the poles than usual.
Former prime minister of Fiji Frank Bainimarama is sentenced to one year in prison for attempting to pervert the course of justice.

On this day

May 15: Feast day of Saint Carthage (Catholicism); Nakba Day in Palestinian communities

Statue of Valentinian II

392 – Roman emperor Valentinian II (pictured) was found hanged in his residence in Vienne, in present-day France.
1855 – Thieves stole 224 pounds (102 kg) of gold from a train travelling from London to Folkestone, England.
1864 – American Civil War: A small Confederate force, which included cadets from the Virginia Military Institute, forced the Union Army out of the Shenandoah Valley.
1904 – Russo-Japanese War: The Japanese battleships Hatsuse and Yashima sank after striking several mines off Port Arthur, China.
1916 – Jesse Washington, a teenage African-American farmhand, was lynched in Waco, Texas.

Hilary of Galeata (d. 558)
Emily Dickinson (d. 1886)
K. M. Cariappa (d. 1993)

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Today's featured picture

The sword-billed hummingbird (Ensifera ensifera) is a neotropical species of hummingbird from the Andean regions of South America. Among the largest species of hummingbird, it is characterized by its unusually long beak, being the only bird to have a beak longer than the rest of its body, excluding the tail. It uses this to drink nectar from flowers with long corollas and has coevolved with the plant Passiflora mixta. While most hummingbirds preen using their beaks, the sword-billed hummingbird uses its feet to scratch and preen due to its beak being so long.

Photograph credit: Andy Morffew

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