Wikipedia:Main Page history/2016 July 17

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From today's featured article

A Royal Navy aircraft taking off during the operation

Operation Mascot was an unsuccessful British air raid on the German battleship Tirpitz which took place during the early hours of 17 July 1944. One of a series of aircraft carrier strikes between April and August 1944 against the battleship at anchor in Kaafjord, Norway, the raid was conducted by 44 British dive bombers and 40 fighters from three carriers. They were detected en route by German radar stations, and Tirpitz was protected by a smoke screen by the time they arrived. Few of the British airmen were able to spot the battleship, and their attacks did not inflict any significant damage. German losses were limited to a patrol craft; three British aircraft were destroyed or damaged beyond repair by Kaafjord's defenders. Two U-boats from a group attempting to intercept the carrier force were sunk by British patrol aircraft, and several others were damaged. Despite the failure of Operation Mascot, the Royal Navy attempted four further carrier raids against Tirpitz during August 1944. These attacks were also unsuccessful, and the task of sinking the battleship was transferred to the Royal Air Force. (Full article...)

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In the news

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At least 265 people are killed as a faction within the Turkish Armed Forces launches an attempted coup.
An attacker drives a cargo truck into a Bastille Day crowd in Nice, France, killing more than 80 people.
Theresa May (pictured) replaces David Cameron as leader of the Conservative Party and becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
At least 23 people are killed when two trains collide near Andria, Italy.
In association football, Euro 2016 concludes with Portugal defeating France in the final.

On this day...

July 17: Feast day of the Scillitan Martyrs (Roman Catholic Church); Constitution Day in South Korea (1948)

Recovered TWA Flight 800 wreckage

1791 – French Revolution: Members of the National Guard fired into a large crowd that was gathered at the Champ de Mars, Paris, to sign a petition demanding the removal of King Louis XVI.
1863 – The New Zealand Wars resumed as British forces in New Zealand led by General Duncan Cameron began their Invasion of the Waikato.
1918 – RMS Carpathia, which had rescued the survivors of the RMS Titanic sinking, was itself sunk by a German U-boat.
1936 – Nationalist rebels attempted a coup d'état against the Second Spanish Republic, sparking the Spanish Civil War.
1996 – TWA Flight 800 exploded in mid-air (wreckage pictured) and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near East Moriches, New York.

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Today's featured picture

Ty Cobb (1886–1961), shown here sliding into third base on August 16, 1924, was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) outfielder. He spent twenty-two seasons with the Detroit Tigers, including six as the team's player-manager, and finished his career with the Philadelphia Athletics. During this time Cobb set ninety MLB records, though his abilities were sometimes overshadowed by his surly temperament and aggressive playing style. In 1936 Cobb was made an inaugural member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, and in 1999 editors at the Sporting News ranked him third on their list of "Baseball's 100 Greatest Players".

Photo: National Photo Company; restoration: Lise Broer; crop: jjron

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