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>
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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>
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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>
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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>