Zmaj was built in Germany as a seaplane tender for the Royal Yugoslav Navy between 1928 and 1930, and converted to a minelayer in 1937. During the Axis invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941, she was slightly damaged by Italian dive bombers. Captured by the Italians, she was handed over to the Germans who renamed her Drache. She was used as a seaplane tender and later as a troop transport. In mid-1942 she was rebuilt as a minelayer with improved anti-aircraft armament, renamed Schiff 50, and then used to evaluate the shipboard use of helicopters for anti- submarine warfare and mine reconnaissance. She continued to be used as both a troop transport and minelayer, laying several minefields in the Aegean Sea. A minefield she laid in the Dodecanese in 1943 sank one British submarine and two Allied destroyers, and badly damaged a third. Sunk by British aircraft on 22 September 1944 while in port (pictured), she was scrapped in place after World War II. (This article is part of a featured topic: Ships of the Royal Yugoslav Navy.).
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Featured_topics/Ships_of_the_Royal_Yugoslav_Navy
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1789:
The office of United States Postmaster General was formally established. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Postmaster_General
1957:
François Duvalier, nicknamed Papa Doc, was elected President of Haiti as a populist before consolidating power and ruling as a dictator for the rest of his life. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fran%C3%A7ois_Duvalier
2003:
Dolphin, the first emulator for the GameCube that could run commercial video games, was released. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolphin_%28emulator%29
2013:
Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: All Saints Church in Peshawar, Pakistan, was attacked by two suicide bombers who killed 127 people. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peshawar_church_bombing
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
constellation: 1. (astronomy) An arbitrary formation of stars perceived as a figure (especially one from mythology) or pattern, or a division of the sky including it, especially one officially recognized by astronomers; an asterism. 2. (modern astronomy) Any of the 88 regions of the sky officially recognized by the International Astronomical Union, including all stars and celestial bodies in the region. 3. (figurative) A configuration or grouping of related things. 4. A wide, seemingly unlimited, assortment. 5. (psychoanalysis) Synonym of complex (“a collection of ideas caused by repressed emotions that leads to an abnormal mental condition”) 6. (sexuality) A network of connections between people who are in polyamorous relationships, for example between a person, their partner, and that person's partner. 7. (space science) A fleet of satellites used for the same purpose. 8. (astrology, obsolete) 9. The configuration of planets at a given time (especially a person's birth), as believed to affect events on Earth, or used for determining a horoscope. 10. A person's character or inclinations, supposedly determined by their horoscope. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/constellation
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
Five hundred seventy-four days of pain, losses, and struggle have already passed since the start of the full-scale aggression launched by the state, which, for some reason, is still present here among the permanent members of the UN Security Council. Russia has killed at least tens of thousands of our people and turned millions into refugees by destroying their homes. Most of the world recognizes the truth about this war. It is a criminal and unprovoked aggression by Russia against our nation, aimed at seizing Ukraine's territory and resources. But it is not just that. With its aggression, the terrorist state is willing to undermine all the dams of international norms meant to protect the world from wars. And I am grateful to all those who have recognized the Russian aggression as a violation of the UN Charter. --Volodymyr Zelenskyy https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Volodymyr_Zelenskyy