Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/Assessment/2013/Promoted

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The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

Article promoted Hawkeye7 (talk) 19:55, 17 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Nominator(s): Ian Rose (talk)


Following on from my earlier noms for Nos. 33 and 36 Squadrons, yet another RAAF transport unit formed in WWII and still flying today. This is Australia's dedicated VIP carrier or, as one Air Force historian succinctly put it, "the private airline of the nation's political leaders". I actually resisted expanding this one for a while as the more "operational" squadrons always seemed more interesting, but in the event I got happily caught up in the convoluted history and inside dope of this unit, and I hope you will too... ;-) Tks to Nick-D for some additional information from his library, and Typing General for the recent GA review. Cheers, Ian Rose (talk) 07:19, 9 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Comments Given that I've added a bit of stuff to this article recently (working out at roughly a small paragraph) I don't think that I should review it, but I'll offer some comments over the next few days.

  • As a starting point, I'd suggest (with emphasis on the word "suggest"!) that the article include a list of all the aircraft types the squadron has operated and the years each type was in service for. While I'm not a fan of articles looking identical, I think that this is useful content, and answers a likely question readers have when consulting the article. If it doesn't look too huge, this could go in the infobox; I appreciate that this is a unit which has operated an unusually large number of types though (eg, compared to the four types No. 38 Squadron has operated in 70 years!). Nick-D (talk) 08:00, 9 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]
    • Fair point, Nick, and I wouldn't mind doing it in principle, it's just that an exhaustive list would be difficult to get accurate with the available sources. The usage dates of the main types are reasonably certain, but the one- or two-offs like the Anson, Moth, Oxford, DC-2, Prince and Auster (never mind Vampire and Winjeel for good measure!) are harder to pin down as they're generally just mentioned in passing, and I'd prefer not to have (literal) question marks in such a list... Cheers, Ian Rose (talk) 08:51, 9 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]
      • That's a good point: this unit does seem to have used an eccentric range of aircraft (I'd love to know where the RAAF managed to find a Vickers Viking and why they decided it would be a good idea to put this ancient type into service!). Nick-D (talk) 09:08, 9 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  • "They were immediately tasked with transport duties in northern Australia, carrying freight and Japanese prisoners of war" - there would have only been a tiny number of POWs at this time, so this could be de-emphasised
    • I think I gave it the emphasis the source did but then I may have seen elsewhere that it was indeed only a few -- will recheck and perhaps rephrase.
  • The role of No. 33 Squadron in providing VIP flights could be fleshed out a bit more (I imagine that the arrangement was that the 707s handled long distance or large scale tasks while the Falcons were used for domestic and small scale tasks)
    • That'd be right I'm sure, I'll check for an RS that makes the comparison...
      • Curiously, not Units of the RAAF, RAAF Museum, Stephens, McPhedran, or available copies of Air Force News make this comparison explicit, although I think we've at least been able to say a bit more about the differences between the 707 and the smaller 34SQN aircraft. If Eather or Australian Aviation offer a direct comparison, pls let me know... :-) Cheers, Ian Rose (talk) 14:23, 10 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  • The squadron's website says that it provided logistical support during Obama's visit to Canberra, and not flights (though I think that they flew the PM to or from Darwin when Obama went there from Canberra)
    • Interesting -- I borrowed the info/citation from my 84WG article and thought it said then that 34SQN actually flew him but perhaps I'm wrong...
  • If this is headed for FAC, might be worth briefly noting the debate over the squadron's equipment which took place after the Garuda Indonesia Flight 200 disaster killed several Australians who were flying on the aircraft as Alexander Downer's party was too large to fit onto only a BBJ. There was a fair bit of discussion over whether the RAAF needs larger VIP aircraft so that journalists and government officials can safely and conveniently accompany senior ministers and the PM during overseas trips. You might have to look in newspaper archives and Hansard records for this though.
    • Just to show there's method to the madness, I did make a conscious decision when expanding this article to minimise newspaper/Hansard refs and let the history books carry the story. In this case McPhedran discusses it and I just left it out because I thought it might be a tad complicated, but happy to have a go since you mention it... ;-)
      • That's a good principle for this article: when I Googled the squadron it returned lots of shock-horror type news stories about the cost of its flights and the like (many of which seem to have been based around an assumption that no value at all should be placed on the time or energy of the PM and ministers, which seems rather silly to me). Nick-D (talk) 10:06, 10 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  • On the topic of Hansard, this might be useful. Not surprisingly, the squadron is frequently mentioned in Parliament.
    • Ditto previous response, OTOH it might make sense to slot in some of that to contrast with today's stats.
  • Is the incident where PM Rudd abused an attendant [1] worth mentioning? (it's probably more important to Rudd than the squadron, though a notable part of the incident was that the aircraft's captain confronted Rudd during the flight and asked that he apologise [hinted at here, but it was explicitly reported elsewhere).
    • Again, I decided against it because I figured it was only in the newspapers but in re-checking McPhedran I find he mentions it so I guess by my standards for inclusion that means it goes in... ;-)
  • On a happier note, I've read that senior politicians sometimes help the attendants load the Challengers during flights out of remote airfields. I'll see if I can find a reference for this. Nick-D (talk) 09:42, 9 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Support on prose per standard disclaimer. I would tell you about my edits, but I didn't make any. - Dank (push to talk) 18:32, 9 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Tks Dan -- perfection at last, now I can retire! Cheers, Ian Rose (talk) 06:24, 10 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]
That's kind, and no you can't retire :) - Dank (push to talk) 09:51, 10 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Support: I had a look and checked the image licencing. Not a lot jumped out at me except a minor typo that I fixed. Good work, Ian. Regards, AustralianRupert (talk) 12:47, 17 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Tks Rupert. Cheers, Ian Rose (talk) 12:59, 17 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.
The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

Article promoted Hawkeye7 (talk) 19:54, 17 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Nominator(s): Parsecboy (talk)


Now that the German BBs are all but done (at least as far as ACR is concerned), it's time to bring something new wait, this isn't a ship from perfidious Albion, is it? I figured Jellicoe's flagship was as good a place to start as any, so here we are. This article will go on to FAC at some point in the future, so pull no reviewing punches, please. Thanks in advance to all who take the time to review the article. Parsecboy (talk) 12:16, 11 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Images - source link for File:The_Burning_of_Smyrna_as_seen_from_HMS_King_George_V.jpg is dead; images are otherwise fine. But do check the alphabetization of References. Nikkimaria (talk) 20:07, 11 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for the image check, Nikki - I've replaced the original link (since I couldn't track it down on the website) with one from Flikr. And the references are in the proper order now. Parsecboy (talk) 18:08, 12 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Support on prose per standard disclaimer. These are my edits. Does "After the end of the war" mean something different from "After the war"? - Dank (push to talk) 21:00, 12 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Not particularly, no. Would it be better to shorten it? Parsecboy (talk) 11:37, 16 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]
In that case, yes, I'd recommend shortening it. To distil advice from various places: obvious redundancy grates on some readers. I do sometimes see "after the end ..." in print, and it's fine in spoken English. (The spoken language often has more redundancy, because once you've said something, it's gone, and the listener may be lost if they didn't get it.) - Dank (push to talk) 13:46, 16 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]
Sounds good to me then - I've trimmed it. Parsecboy (talk) 14:13, 16 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Comment Support

Should the info box not include Decommissioned, Struck, and Identification: Pennant number ? Just going off another set of articles.
I don't have any of those dates, unfortunately. And I don't think there are infobox fields for the dates I do have.
In the Kitchener image it should be Field Marshal Kitchener military rank proceeds civil when in uniform.

Jim Sweeney (talk) 19:21, 10 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Ah, I was unaware - I assumed most people would know him as "Lord Kitchener". Thanks Jim. Parsecboy (talk) 01:13, 11 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  • CommentsSupport
    • No dab links [6] (no action req'd).
    • External links check out [7] (no action req'd).
    • Some of the images lack Alt Text so you might consider adding it for consistency [8] (suggestion only - not an ACR req).
    • The Citation Check Tool reveals no issues with reference consolidation (no action req'd).
    • Images review completed above by another reviewer.
    • The Earwig Tool reveal no issues with copyright violation or close paraphrasing [9] (no action req'd).
    • One duplicate link per WP:REPEATLINK:
      • turrets
    • Typo here: "On 28 November 1916, while she still in dry dock..." should be "On 28 November 1916, while she was still in dry dock..."
    • "In November 1931, under the terms of the London Naval Treaty, Iron Duke was disarmed and she converted into a gunnery training vessel...." Consider more simply: "In November 1931, under the terms of the London Naval Treaty, Iron Duke was disarmed and converted into a gunnery training vessel." (suggestion only)
    • Inconsistency in terms: Second World War and World War II.
    • Otherwise fine. Anotherclown (talk) 02:55, 14 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.
The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

Article promoted Hawkeye7 (talk) 11:57, 14 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Nominator(s): Georgejdorner (talk)


I am nominating this article for A-Class review because...

It is a complete and stable list, with complete reliable sourcing. The templates lead is the same used on the Featured List List of World War I aces credited with 20 or more victories. I just went through it and cleaned it up some.Georgejdorner (talk) 04:17, 11 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Comments by MisterBee1966 (talk) 18:03, 12 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

try this

{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" style="font-size:95%;"
|-
! scope="col" | Name
! scope="col" | Country
! scope="col" | Air service(s)
! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Victories
|-
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Albert|Achard}}
| {{flag|France}}
| [[Armée de l'Air (Part I: From birth to "Torch", 1909-1942)|''Aéronautique Militaire'']]
| 5<ref>''Over the Front: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the United States and French Air Services, 1914–1918''. p. 112.</ref>
|-

and so on MisterBee1966 (talk) 17:01, 16 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

  • The last column doesn't have a header. Since all entries are 5, you could probably disable sorting for this column.
  • One more comment. The discussion I pointed to below also indicates that the lead required expansion. The length of your lead is also at the lower threshold. You could expand it by going into some statistics. The simplest thing to do would be to provide a statistic by country. MisterBee1966 (talk) 09:20, 15 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]
    • Any comments added will have to apply to all nine lists. The top template strikes again….Georgejdorner (talk) 16:10, 16 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]
      • You know, you could always abandon the template altogether and simply tailor the leads to each list. There's no reason they need to have identical introductions.
        • Offhand, I can't think of any necessity for variation in the leads, nor anything distinctive to write into new leads. And the only stat I have ever found was that the Russians believed 40% of all victories were by their aces. Given that I have been unable to discover any Russian standards for accrediting aerial victories, that stat seems ludicrously unreliable. I have added a bit about the criteria for inclusion on an aerial victory list.Georgejdorner (talk) 16:48, 18 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]
          • Well, for instance, the top scorers' list should really mention the most famous of them (Richtofen, Goering, Rickenbacker, and so forth) and probably those who went on to further, notable military careers in WWII. I'm not familiar enough with this topic area to know whether any of the 5-victory aces are particularly famous to merit singling them out in the introduction, you'd be the better judge of that. But that's one way to customize the leads for each of the lists.
          • You could also break down the statistics - for instance, it seems from a quick glance at the list that the UK had far more aces than any of the other combatants (whereas Germany seems to be predominant in the top scorers' list). There is probably a reason for that discrepancy, and it is probably worth including if you can find out why. Parsecboy (talk) 18:44, 18 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]
            • I can't break down non-existent statistics, and I refuse to generate some because that would be OR based on a "garbage in-garbage out" model. As shown by Aerial victory standards of World War I, victories were so differently defined from one air service to another as to make comparisons meaningless.Georgejdorner (talk) 21:35, 18 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]
              • The suggestion about adding statistics was motivated by the recommendation that you should expand the lead. We are not advising you to add statistics, but we are asking you to expand the lead. How you achieve this is up to your expertise on the subject. MisterBee1966 (talk) 17:04, 20 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]
            • I also think it is more than a bit presumptuous of you to require me to rewrite nine leads to get one list through review.Georgejdorner (talk) 21:38, 18 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]
              • From a procedural point of view we are reviewing one list, not nine. If you think that the technical implications require you to rewrite nine, well than that is your choice. Vice versa, as you stated below yourself, the other lists would also benefit from the improvements made to this list. I think you want to be careful with how you phrase your comments. What you don't want to do is to give the impression that you are cherry picking, accepting all remarks which are easily implemented and refusing those which pose challenges of various natures. MisterBee1966 (talk) 08:21, 20 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  • Section "Further reading" the reference Fighter Aces make use of the {{ASIN}} template MisterBee1966 (talk) 18:38, 19 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  • I have seen criticism regarding the use of the dagger for indicating that the individual was killed in action. The arguments used were that the dagger too closely represents a Christian cross. Unless you know that the individual was of Christian belief this could cause an issue. Therefore the asterisk is often used as an alternative symbol. Something you may want to consider. MisterBee1966 (talk) 17:13, 20 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  • I still see a few issues to address before I can support the nomination. 1st, the lead is too short I gave you an example of how it could be expanded (adding statistics), 2nd the dashing in the citations are still wrong (requires ndashing in date ranges) and 3rd, the color coding for those killed in action has dissapeared (I thought it was there before). MisterBee1966 (talk) 20:24, 10 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]
    • To add to that, some references have ill formated ISBN numbers (without the dashes) and some have missing authors. I suggest you use the {{Cite book}} template. MisterBee1966 (talk) 20:40, 10 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]
      • As I have mentioned above on two occasions, I have not seen any of your beloved statistics in my five years of researching in this niche, nor will I commit Original Research to whip up some basically useless numbers. I suspect that no aviation historian has ever wrangled the numbers simply because it is not worth doing. Certainly, there has been a WP consensus that WWI victory score data is not accurate enough to illustrate the over-claiming of air victories.Georgejdorner (talk) 06:20, 11 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]
        • I acknowledge that you completely fail to see the issue. The lead is too short. I repeat myself, adding statistics can be one way of lengthening the lead. How you lengthen the lead is totally up to you.
      • However, if you have some stats to share from a reliable source, I would certainly consider them.Georgejdorner (talk) 06:20, 11 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]
      • We will have to agree to disagree upon the subject of rewriting source material, even unto the lowly N-dash.
      • Bibliography is now templated. This correction is another nine for one deal.Georgejdorner (talk) 04:36, 11 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]
      • Color coding was supplanted by screen reader wiki-code. I have also eliminated the contentious crosses. I never saw much reader usefullness in this feature.Georgejdorner (talk) 06:20, 11 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  1. Kulikov, Victor. Russian Aces of World War 1: Aircraft of the Aces. Osprey Publishing, 2013. ISBN 1780960611, 9781780960616.
  2. Newton, Dennis. Australian Air Aces: Australian Fighter Pilots in Combat. Newton, Dennis. Motorbooks International, 1996. ISBN 1875671250, 978-1875671250.
  3. Pieters, Walter M. Above Flanders Fields: A Complete Record of the Belgian Fighter Pilots and Their Units During the Great War. Grub Street, 1998. ISBN 1-898697-83-3, ISBN 978-1-898697-83-1.
  4. Shores, Christopher; Mark Rolfe. British and Empire Aces of World War I. Osprey Publishing, 2001. ISBN 1-84176-377-2, ISBN 978-1-84176-377-4.

The problem is that {{Cite book}} renders the references in the sequence <last name>, <first name>, <year>, <title> the references above but the year of publication at the end. This needs to be consistent MisterBee1966 (talk) 07:43, 11 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]



Support Comments -- Hi George, not an expert on lists but I guess I know a thing or two about WWI aces and I do recall reviewing the list of aces with 20 or more victories ages ago...

  • Image licence looks okay, however the pic should be on the right, per std procedure in articles (incl. the 20-victories list); the fact that the subject would then look 'into' the article is an added bonus.
  • I realise "This list is complete" is common to the 20-victories article but I think that's a very bold statement no matter how well researched the article. If the list was known to be incomplete then we should say so but I think readers will assume that it's (believed to be) complete unless otherwise noted.
    • How about: "This list contains 100% of all World War I credited with five aerial victories by their respective air forces. Proof from source contained date, location, and opponent for five defeats." Because that is what it is. In six instances, that means the Aerodrome is the sole reference. In this instance, [10], I am not accepting an Aerodrome listing.
      • Still doesn't work for me, I'm afraid. I just think there will always be the possibility of dispute over who was or wasn't an ace, or new information/assertions coming to light; this particularly applies to the list of those who 'just make the cut', as here. An example is Les Holden, whom I mention below. One of the major sources for Australian aces, A.D. Garrisson's Australian Fighter Aces, doesn't include him. Dennis Newton's Australian Air Aces does. Generally I've found Newton a somewhat more meticulous chronicler than Garrisson, but the decider for me was that Osprey's S.E.5/5a Aces lists him as well. As I said above, I just don't think such a note is prudent or necessary at all, we should just say something if we believed the list was incomplete. Cheers, Ian Rose (talk) 23:18, 13 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]
    • Howsomever, if consensus developed that the Aerodrome is not reliable enough to be a sole source, then those six names would be removed…and the list would still be complete!Georgejdorner (talk) 03:54, 13 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]
      • Yep, well if The Aerodrome is the only source I'd have to go with losing them (as far as consensus goes, doesn't appear I'm the only one questioning it). If The Aerodrome entries happen to cite reliable sources, then I'd check those sources and use them to ref here. Either way, I'm afraid I can't support this with The Aerodrome as a source, particularly a sole source. Sorry. Cheers, Ian Rose (talk) 23:18, 13 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  • As far as referencing goes, Newton isn't currently cited; I would correct that by using him, rather than the Australian Dictionary of Biography, to cite the Les Holden score (Newton pp. 38–39).
  • Further on referencing, you know what I think of The Aerodrome at A-Class; with all the other refs you have I'd be surprised if it was needed (in fact if it were the only ref for certain scores then I'd be a little suspicious).
  • Prose-wise, there's not a lot but it looks fine and I realise is common to similar lists. However the statement "The scores presented in the list cannot be definitive, but are based on itemized lists that are the best available sources of information. Loss of records by mischance and the passage of time complicates reconstructing the actual count for given aces.[2]" is used twice. I would get rid of the first instance, so it appears only at the end of the intro.
  • Otherwise I'm pretty happy with this, certainly in comparison to the 20-victories list that's been at FL for some time. However if this list's ultimate destination is also FL then as far as formatting goes I'd listen closely to others who have had nominations there recently like MisterBee or Parsecboy. Cheers, Ian Rose (talk) 02:43, 13 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Support Comments (since I was pinged)

  • Why is there an empty "References" section at the bottom?
  • Why are both 10 and 13-digit ISBNs included?
    • To insure maximal reader access to sources. I realize there is a belief that every English language library in the world instantly changed to 13-digit ISBNs when they came in, but I don't subscribe to that. Some libraries, especially in third world countries, are almost certainly still stuck with 10-digit ISBNs.Georgejdorner (talk) 15:46, 13 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  • Why is a non-standard reference style used?
    • Nonstandard? At https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources#Types_of_citation, it is the first type of cite mentioned.Georgejdorner (talk) 16:17, 13 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]
      • I'm not talking about the citations. I'm talking about the references. Just about no citation styles recommend title first. The author names come first in all of the major citation styles (CMOS, APA, MLA, etc.). We've been through this before on one of your earlier lists.
        • We can take it as an article of good faith that I have an imperfect memory. Having settled that, are you talking about nonstandard reference style in the Bibliography listings?Georgejdorner (talk) 04:28, 14 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]
          • It was some time ago, so I understand not remembering. But yes, the formatting of the references does not adhere to any style guide I am aware of. I believe your rationale in the earlier discussion had to do with the fact that the same handful of authors wrote the majority of these books in varying combinations. I suggested using the {{sfn}} footnote template, which links each footnote to the reference entry in question, to avoid any confusion. Parsecboy (talk) 11:44, 16 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  • Why is the first citation in a different style from the rest?
  • What makes The Aerodrome a reliable source? I couldn't find anywhere on the website a list of its authors and their credentials.
  • I agree with Ian on the "This list is complete" bit, especially since the line directly above starts with "The scores presented in this list cannot be definitive…"
    • Again, please see discussion above.
      • I know, I was just voicing my opinion.
        • Acknowledged.Georgejdorner (talk) 22:33, 13 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]
          • What you might do is add a footnote explaining how entries were included/excluded. For instance, see here in a list I've gotten through FLC.
            • I kind of touched on inclusion/exclusion with Ian above. We already have "When aircraft began to shoot or force down other aircraft, systems to count "air victories" were subsequently developed. The American qualification of five victories eventually became the standard…" are the second and third sentences of the article. The See also link above will yield a definition of what constituted an aerial victory, air service by air service. However, I do think you are onto something.
              • What I'm getting at is that you've made editorial decisions about who to include and who to not. For instance, you pointed out above that you chose not to include Norman McNaughton because the evidence presumably isn't strong enough to confirm his five kills. It would be better to have something along the lines of "This list contains all airmen whose claims to five victories can be reliably verified. Those for whom the evidence is unavailable or fragmentary have been excluded." Parsecboy (talk) 11:44, 16 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]
    • I might add, that if these victory lists can exist only by reporting definitive scores, then they will be abolished. I think there will be a bit of reader reaction to that.Georgejdorner (talk) 15:46, 13 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  • Translations for foreign language terms should be included on the first mention.
  • The table appears to only include the purple highlighting to indicate KIA/MIA/etc. but the caption says the dagger symbol should be included as well. Parsecboy (talk) 14:22, 13 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  • Another question: is it worthwhile to have all of the columns sortable? For instance, the last one is identical, apart from the citation. Parsecboy (talk) 19:10, 13 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  • All of my comments have been addressed to my satisfaction, so I'm ready to support the list for A-class. Great work, George. Parsecboy (talk) 01:01, 11 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Nominator's note I entered this review on the reasonable supposition that since Featured List List of World War I aces credited with 20 or more victories had worked out all the coding and template kinks during its review, I would be dealing principally with sourcing and text issues during this review. Obviously, this has become not the case. I would beg the indulgence of the other participants while I take the time to try to figure out all the coding and template issues that have been unexpectedly dropped on me.Georgejdorner (talk) 04:40, 14 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

You may find this discussion useful ?! MisterBee1966 (talk) 07:33, 14 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]
Tks MisterBee, good context. George, the thing about the 20 victories list is that its promotion occurred almost four years ago and I gather standards have tightened since then. There's no special urgency with upgrading this article, it's a new nom, plenty of time for that. Cheers, Ian Rose (talk) 07:55, 14 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]
The upside of this situation is that any correction we make on the templates actually corrects nine lists. The downside is that errors are likewise broadcast.Georgejdorner (talk) 15:07, 14 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]
Another upside: Cleaning up the common elements in this list will definitely ease the way for the remaining lists.Georgejdorner (talk) 01:01, 15 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Nominator's note: I seem to have a consensus that entries on this list that depend solely on The Aerodrome for citing a source should be deleted. This means those six listings should also be listed for deletion. I am posting this in case there are any objections to the procedure.Georgejdorner (talk) 17:13, 18 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Followup: Listed as articles for deletion on 26/27 November:

Reliable source(s) on Patrick Gordon Taylor may be available from the estimable Ian Rose, so I have held his listing for deletion in abeyance.Georgejdorner (talk) 19:06, 27 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I was always under the impression that a flying ace itself established some level of notability. Second thought, why do we have a list of 5 victories flying aces if the aces themselves are not notable. A list of not notable items kind of invalidates itself. MisterBee1966 (talk) 09:37, 28 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]
I don't think George is listing them for deletion because they're only notable for being aces but because there's some question as to whether or not they can be reliably sourced as aces. Cheers, Ian Rose (talk) 09:43, 28 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]
Indeed, I thought I had a mandate from this crew of assessors to post these articles for Afd because they did not belong on this list due to lack of proof of acedom. Otherwise, I would not have posted them. The comments at Afd do mirror MisterBee's definition of notability. I have used a more conservative screening for notability by requiring an ace to win an award or honor per WP:ANYBIO.Georgejdorner (talk) 16:50, 29 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]
Now that Afds are being settled as "Keep", what shall we do with the articles? Add them back to the list? Put them on the Talk page with a note?Georgejdorner (talk) 19:26, 2 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]
I would suggest the following be noted at the top of the list: This list may be considered complete. However, please check the list's talk page for details.
On the talk page, I would suggest the following notice: The following aces are not listed due to a paucity of reliable secondary sources per WP:Verifiability#Primary, secondary, and tertiary sources. Such information that does exist about them may be accessed via their biographical links below.
Then, of course, list them there.Georgejdorner (talk) 17:28, 3 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Nominator's note: I seem to be down to the last obstacle to promotion (I hope). I have begun copying the code into the list, though today I am plagued by WP's server problems. It will take some time to fill in code; this list alone has 399 names.Georgejdorner (talk) 21:51, 24 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Posted new listing coded for screen readers and for sortability.Georgejdorner (talk) 16:53, 29 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]
And as an added fillip, the column header software has been transplanted to List of World War I aces credited with 15–19 victories, where the "sort - row" code was already in place.Georgejdorner (talk) 05:07, 30 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Nominator's note: With the last of the suggested Afds settled as Keep, it looks to me as though it may be time to close this review. I appended a victory list to each of the five Keep bios, referenced to The Aerodrome, so that readers can see the aces' victory records. I did this in preparation of saving those lists, whether back on the list or on the List's Talk page.Georgejdorner (talk) 20:08, 10 December 2013 (UTC) Nominator's last note: Okay, it has become apparent to me that it is useless to continue this review. It is going to fail because I cannot supply nonexistent information to extend the lead. Close it out and be done with it. I am tired of wasting my energies. Sisyphus may not have been bright enough to quit, but I am. I am not only through with this list, but I am giving up working on any lists. In fact, I may be through with Wikipedia entirely. It's becoming an unenjoyable place to write.Georgejdorner (talk) 21:29, 11 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Comments Support. I've read through the list, and read through all the comments, and it looks like it should go to AList. Although it relies largely on a few sources, these are what is available in English, and it is seemingly well sourced. The nominator has responded as best he could to the comments, the list is sensibly organized, clear, and sources are identified. Nice job to Georg and MrBee for taking on a monumental task, too! auntieruth (talk) 00:03, 13 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]


The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.
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Article promoted Hawkeye7 (talk) 11:54, 14 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Nominator(s): Sturmvogel 66 (talk)


One of the few foreign-built battleships of the Imperial Russian Navy, Retvizan was built in America around the turn of the 20th century. She was sent to the Far East in support of Russia's ambitions there and the Japanese did not take kindly to the increasing Russian threat to their own ambitions and mounted a surprise attack in February 1904. Retvizan was torpedoed during that initial attack, but was repaired and participated in several of the early naval battles of the Russo-Japanese War before being sunk by Japanese land-based artillery during the Siege of Port Arthur. She was raised and repaired for service with the Imperial Japanese Navy. The ship participated in the search for the German East Asia Squadron at the beginning of World War I, but otherwise did little of note during the war. Hizen, as she had been renamed, also supported the Japanese intervention in the Russian Civil War in 1918. She was disarmed in 1922 to comply with the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty and sunk two years later as a target.--Sturmvogel 66 (talk) 20:59, 9 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

  • Support Comments
    • "...the Japanese after their victory during the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894–95 as it was apparent that their ambitions were on a collision course because Russia..." - a collision course with what? As it reads now, the second "their" is parallel to the first, which refers only to the Japanese.
    • Any way we can get a higher-quality plan and elevation image? The one from Jane's is pretty rough.
    • I think the "Influence" section should be folded into the "Design and description" section - it's only 1 sentence, which is probably too short to sustain a subsection.
    • Why do we care what the transliterations for Schensnovich's name are? No other Russian names are transliterated.
    • Might be worth noting what country Kaiser Bill ruled.
    • Any details on Retvizan's activities in the earlier phases at the Yellow Sea? If not, can a brief generic account of the battle be added? It seems rather abrupt to end the last section with a lead-up to the battle and then to jump to the final phase.
    • "Afterwards she and Asama headed south in search of the German squadron" - which one? Spee hasn't been introduced in the text.
  • Images
One other thing, in the lead:
"She was sent to search for other German ships after the Americans interned the German ship in November, but did not encounter any." - this seems pretty confusing. Might it be better to specify the ship/squadron to avoid the "German ship" repetition? Parsecboy (talk) 20:20, 15 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]
Good idea.--Sturmvogel 66 (talk) 21:14, 15 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Comments

  • CommentsSupport
    • No dab links [11] (no action req'd).
    • External links check out [12] (no action req'd).
    • Images lack Alt Text so you might consider adding it [13] (suggestion only - not an ACR req).
    • The Citation Check Tool reveals no issues with reference consolidation (no action req'd).
    • Image review completed above by another reviewer
    • The Earwig Tool reveal no issues with copyright violation or close paraphrasing [14] (no action req'd).
    • No duplicate link per WP:REPEATLINK (no action req'd).
    • "Retvizan was torpedoed during the Japanese surprise attack on Port Arthur during the night of 8–9 February 1904...", should be "the night of 8/9 February 1904" per WP:DATEFORMAT
    • "...from all of the water she had taken aboard after the torpedo hit...", consider instead: "...from the amount of water she had taken aboard after the torpedo hit..." (suggestion only)
    • "...every 80 or 90 seconds...", perhaps "...every 80 to 90 seconds..." would work better? Although current wording is not wrong (suggestion only).
    • Otherwise fine. Anotherclown (talk) 07:33, 9 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]

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Article promoted. Anotherclown (talk) 03:40, 12 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]
Nominator(s): Constantine


This is an old article, being created and having passed GA back in 2010. I always intended to nominate it for ACR, but never got around to doing it. It was expanded by a helpful IP editor in 2012 with info on Vitalian's ethnic background, but remains otherwise largely the same, with the exception of some copyediting. It is quite complete in coverage, detailing Vitalian's rebellion, defeat and subsequent fate. Constantine 11:44, 6 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Support: sorry it's taken so long for a review. Overall, I found the article well written, well referenced and comprehensive (although I say this purely as someone with no knowledge of the topic). I have the following suggestions: AustralianRupert (talk) 12:31, 30 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

  • perhaps link "Thrace" in the lead;
  • this seems a little awkward: "...members of his family seem to have been related, expressed any kinship, by blood or spiritual...". Perhaps this might work: "...members of his family seem to have been related, expressed any kinship, by blood or spiritually..."?
  • "...and marched onto Constantinople..." --> "...and marched on Constantinople..."?
  • "...Patricius then invited him and his officers for negotiations in the city itself." --> Patricius then invited him and his officers into the city itself for negotiations."?
  • not sure about the language here: "resolved to treat again with Vitalian". (Specifically, "treat" --> this seems a little old fashioned)
  • "returned to their sees" (is there a link that could be provided for "sees" to aid reader understanding in this context? Episcopal see seems a possibility?)
  • I think you are using British English, if so I believe the word "theater" should be changed to "theatre". AustralianRupert (talk) 12:31, 30 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks for the review and for the prose suggestions, they have been implemented. Cheers, Constantine 17:29, 30 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]
No worries, good luck with the review. Regards, AustralianRupert (talk) 20:54, 30 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Comments This is a very high quality article, and I have only the following comments:

  • "angering the Empire's Chalcedonian population, already alienated by his strict financial policies" - is "alienated" the right word here? - if the strict financial policies weren't applied to only the Chalcedonians it's probably not appropriate and something broader would be better.
  • Did Vitalian personally bribe his way into Cyril's camp and kill his opponent? This is a bit unclear at present.
  • Who was holding Anastasius's nephew?
  • "the old rebel" - given that we don't know when Vitalian was born, is it OK to refer to him as being old in 520? "Former rebel" might work better. Nick-D (talk) 06:41, 1 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]
I've edited the relevant spots, please let me know if the new versions are clearer. I've also added a list of the primary sources for this article. Though I've used chiefly secondary sources, I've used the primary ones to check the facts, and it should help anyone wanting to consult them. Constantine 10:27, 1 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Support My comments are now addressed: great work with this article. Nick-D (talk) 09:36, 2 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Comments (just short of support at this stage)

  • "he followed his father into the imperial army" - would be worth saying "into the East Roman imperial army", as its in the lead, and we haven't clarified for a casual reader that there was an empire of any sort yet.
  • "to quickly win over large parts of the army and people of Thrace to his cause." - is there an article missing before "people"? It read odd to me without being "and the people of Thrace"?
  • " who feared in him a rival for the throne." this felt a little archaic as a construction; "who was concerned he might try to claim the throne"?
  • "His sons too became generals" - "His sons also became generals"?
  • "He is called a "Goth" or a "Scythian" in the sources." - you say "the sources", but which sources? "contemporary sources"? "Roman sources"? etc.
  • "classicizing " - worth linking
  • "Anastasius had changed the form of the Trisagion and officially adopted the Miaphysite dogma, angering the Empire's Chalcedonian population, adding to the disaffection caused by his strict financial policies" - without clicking on the link, I'd have no clue what the Trisagion is. Could you add something in to help the average reader? (e.g. "the Trisagion divine liturgy"?)
  • "chroniclers" - worth linking
  • "Charles, R.H. (1916). The Chronicle of John, Bishop of Nikiu. London: Williams & Norgate. pp. 131–134. " - is this used as a source? I can't see it cited anywhere.
  • "Jeffreys, Elizabeth; Jeffreys, Michael; Scott, Roger (1986). The Chronicle of John Malalas: A Translation. Melbourne: Australian Association for Byzantine Studies. pp. 225–227, 231–233." - ditto.
  • "Whitby, Michael (2000). Ecclesiastical History of Evagrius Scholasticus. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press. pp. 193–194, 200–203." -ditto Hchc2009 (talk) 14:56, 2 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]
Hello and thanks for the review and the suggestions. I have emended the problematic points, please have a look. As for the sources, as I said above, most of them were used to double-check the information of the secondary literature, and they have been included as a reference point for any interested reader. Constantine 15:59, 2 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]
No prob's. My advice would be to either put the uncited primary sources into a further reading section, as per Wikipedia:Further reading, or to separate them out as general references, as per WP:GENREF. Hchc2009 (talk) 16:23, 2 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]
I am not quite sure how to implement WP:GENREF. Perhaps if I changed the "Sources" to "Bibliography" it would be clearer? It is a bit like cheating, but I really don't want to separate the handful of primary sources into "cited in this article" and "not-cited" ones. Constantine 08:34, 5 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Support on prose per standard disclaimer. These are my edits. - Dank (push to talk) 17:37, 2 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]


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Article promoted. Anotherclown (talk) 03:19, 12 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]

This is the second of three articles on Audie Murphy. The third is Audie Murphy filmography, which I plan to nominate for GA. I don't see the A-class review here as a venue for the filmography (if I'm wrong, let me know). After the main article passes FA review, I would like to nominate the trio of articles for FT or GT. Towards that end, I have made the referencing style the same on all three articles and have correlated the information from one to the other. Content of the honors and awards consists of what was originally divided off the main article Feb 2013, and other items added by various editors. I recently cleaned up the style, prose and citations, with a detailed explanation on the talk page. I have been somewhat concerned about using information from the Audie L. Murphy Memorial website because of how Wikipedia views sites that are somewhat user-generated. The fact is, that some of those documents that are scanned cannot easily be found elsewhere, so I have tried to label the sourcing from there precisely for what it is.— Maile (talk) 20:43, 26 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

A note on a recent GF edit that changed "Non U.S." and "Non United States" section headings to "foreign". I've changed it back, because "foreign" is subjective to the country of the reader, and it is also inconsistent unless the United States sections were reworded "domestic". — Maile (talk) 13:32, 14 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Support on prose per standard disclaimer. These are my edits. - Dank (push to talk) 21:45, 26 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Dank, thank you for your support. — Maile (talk) 01:08, 11 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Support Comments: G'day, good work. I made a few changes (please check you are happy with those and adjust as you see fit). I also have a few nitpicks (not a full review):

  •   Done check for consistency of date format. For example you mainly seem to use "Month, Day, Year", but there also appears to be "Day Month Year", e.g. "October 5, 1944" v "7 December 1941" etc.
I believe I caught all of them, up in the military awards.— Maile (talk) 00:59, 27 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  •   Done currently the article seems to use both {{citation}} and {{cite web}}. This leads to differences (albeit very slight) in presentation, so I'd suggest that where appropriate you adjust (probably to cite web as it is then consistent with the cite book template as well);
  •   Done in the Bibliography all works seem not to include locations, except for the Simpson work. Preferably all should have them, I believe, and you could probably find them here, but if you can't find them all, the advice I have seen at FAC is "all or none" (I personally can see arguments for and against this approach, but as you have stated a desire to possibly take this further, I want to try to set you up for success at the next level);
  •   Done for FAC, you will need to make sure that all images are correctly licenced, including the award ribbon images. Unfortunately, my internet plan precludes me from checking all of these, but please make sure you are happy you have checked them all
These are all licensed on Commons, either from the copyright holder or (the majority of them) as Public Domain — Maile (talk) 00:59, 27 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  •   Done missing open quotes here: ...a postage stamp of Murphy in uniform as part of a 9-stamp sheet in tribute to World War II on the Silver Screen";
  •   Done(in Footnote E): "Murat Shriners of Indianapolis, Indiana, credits their information sources..." --> or should this be "The Murat Shriners of Indianapolis, Indiana, credit their information sources..."? Regards, AustralianRupert (talk) 23:16, 26 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]
Nitpick away. The more we catch, the less problems later. — Maile (talk) 00:59, 27 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]
G'day, I've reviewed the changes made recently and made a couple of minor tweaks. I'm happy that you have covered off on all issues identified, so I've added my support. Good luck with taking it further. Cheers, AustralianRupert (talk) 04:44, 3 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]
AustralianRupert, thank you for your support. — Maile (talk) 01:08, 11 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Comments Support

Not being American I have no idea what a a CSM is, as in CSM George L. Horvath or a LTG as in LTG Crosbie E. Saint. Are they military ranks is so can they be written in full and linked.
  Done CSM Command Sergeant Major and LTG Lieutenant General - I linked them for you. — Maile (talk) 22:54, 30 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]
And unless I'm missing something there appears to be several references missing for the dates of promotion Staff Sergeant and most of the officer ranks.
  Done Those missing referernces are vexing to me, also. At the moment, I've asked another editor if they can assist with coming up with the sources. — Maile (talk) 22:54, 30 November 2013 (UTC) Cites filled in. — Maile (talk) 00:47, 1 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]
There also seem to a slight overcite for the MoH and the DSC do they really need three cites each? Jim Sweeney (talk) 21:54, 30 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]
The MoH cites are the two required eye witness accounts of the action, and the Army's online page that details the verification of the awarding of it. The DSC is one eye witness account, and the other two verify the awarding of it. — Maile (talk) 23:20, 30 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]
Jim Sweeney, thank you for your support. — Maile (talk) 01:08, 11 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.
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Promoted - Peacemaker67 (send... over) 10:35, 3 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Nominator(s): Hawkeye7 (talk)

One of the most famous aviators of World War II Hawkeye7 (talk) 09:46, 30 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Support on prose per standard disclaimer. These are my edits. "claimed" casts doubt, but I don't know if that was the intent. "stores" feels a little jargony to me. - Dank (push to talk) 19:27, 31 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

  • CommentsSupport
    • No dab links [15] (no action req'd).
    • External links check out [16] (no action req'd).
    • Images all have Alt Text [17] (no action req'd).
    • The Citation Check Tool reveals no issues with reference consolidation (no action req'd).
    • Images all appear to be PD and have the req'd information as far as I can tell, captions looks fine (no action req'd).
    • The Earwig Tool reveal no issues with copyright violation or close paraphrasing [18] (no action req'd).
    • No duplicate links per WP:REPEATLINK (no action req'd).
    • "...and then they moved to Iowa's capital Des Moines where he was raised..." consider more simply (perhaps): "...and then to Iowa's capital Des Moines where he was raised..."
    • "...In July 1942 the 97th became the first heavy bombardment group to be deployed as part of the Eighth Air Force to England...", consider "...In July 1942 the 97th became the first heavy bombardment group to be deployed to England as part of the Eighth Air Force..."
    • The article jumps from Jan 1945 to Aug 1945 with Tibbetts now on Tinian. Just wonder if you might include a sentence about his squadron's deployment etc, to explain how he got there? Might add context. Anotherclown (talk) 09:40, 5 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Support: G'day, I reviewed this article for GA. I have checked the changes made since then and am happy that it meets the A-class requirements. I have a few minor comments, though:

  • could the citations to the "History of the 509th Composit Group" be converted to the sfn format for consistency of style?
  • this seems awkward to me: "Having gained a bit of flight experience and some education at a military school and at college, Tibbets..." Perhaps something like this might work better: "Having been educated at a military school and college, where he had gained some flight experience, Tibbets..." Would that work? Regards, AustralianRupert (talk) 09:36, 18 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]
    Both done. Hawkeye7 (talk) 10:55, 18 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

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Article no longer meets A-Class criteria - Hawkeye7 (talk) via MilHistBot (talk) 19:20, 5 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Instructions for nominators and reviewers

Nominator(s): Schierbecker (talk)

Johann Mickl (edit | talk | history | links | watch | logs)

This article failed a good article review in 2019 due to alleged POV issues because of unreliable sources. This is a routine A-class review to determine if this article still meets the A-Class criteria. Schierbecker (talk) 18:30, 6 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks. As I mentioned in the MILHIST talk about these articles, my view is that very odd rationales were taken by a group of editors during the GAR, especially about sources, and even extending to generic images used in the article. I acknowledge some flowery language needed trimming, but most of the criticisms were not based on policy but some weird ideology that the man was being glorified because he had an article that mentioned anything other than the war crimes of his division. This was widespread across many articles about the German war effort at the time and coincided with and preceded the ArbCom case. The article needs some work due to the unjustified deletions, but (for example) the idea that a biography co-written by the historian Heinz A. Richter (who was selected to write Mickl's article in the Neue deutsche Biographie) is unreliable, is utter nonsense. Both sources that were challenged as unreliable were listed by Richter as sources he used to write the NdB article on Mickl. If they are good enough for NdB, they are good enough for WP. Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 22:45, 6 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]
PM - just one other question on Schraml - does Richter use this source heavily and/or refer to it positively or just use it lightly? As an example of my line of thinking, I've seen a lot of sources, including ones we'd consider highly reliable, cite the works of John Newman Edwards to some extent but I don't think we'd ever want to rely on Edwards on enwiki. I don't see why Richter should be considered unreliable at all and would just like a little more clarification on Schrmal. Hog Farm Talk 23:37, 6 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Hi HF, regarding Schraml. This is an example of a participant-written history, where a source should only be used for what it is reliable for. Franz Schraml headed the Kameradschaft of the German-Croat divisions, i.e. the veteran’s organization of the three divisions that were manned mainly by Croats but had predominantly German cadre (368th, 373rd and 392nd). His book covers these three divisions. Participant-written histories are a valuable source of information of units, for example, Cecil Lock's battalion history of the 10th Battalion (Australia) is used heavily in that article, despite the fact that Lock was a private soldier in the battalion, and a wheelwright by trade. The same applies to Frank Allchin's history of the 2/10th Battalion (Australia), Allchin was the battalion quartermaster and a clerk by trade. Neither was a historian. For plain factual information, such as where the unit deployed and when, which battles it fought and where, how many casualties it suffered in those battles, the names of commanding officers and those who were decorated, both of these books are outstanding sources. For critical analysis of operations those battalions undertook, not so much. For that we go the Charles Bean's official history of Australia in WWI, or Gavin Long's official history of Australia in WWII, or history books about specific battles. So far as Schraml is concerned, it is my view that he is fine to use for the sorts of things that one might use Lock or Allchin for, but not for the sorts of critical analysis that Bean or Long might provide. So to say that he is entirely unreliable and cannot be used for anything at all is just nonsense. Schraml's accounts of the outcomes of battles, especially where we know the Germans often counted civilians murdered in reprisals as enemy casualties, must be clearly attributed and contrasted with accounts from Partisan sources, for example. The same applies to Kobe (who was Mickl's principal operations officer) and although their relationship may have been difficult at times, obviously held him in some regard. My point here is that the labelling of Schraml and Richter & Kobe as entirely unreliable sources is nonsense, and should not be used as a justification for downgrading the article. All that said, this was written fairly early in my WP career (2015) and I have learned a lot since then, and even with some of the deleted material reinstated it needs some considerable work, trimming flowery stuff and attributing Schraml and Kobe where needed. I wouldn't nominate it for GA in its current condition, mainly because it was butchered by an editor who was on a crusade at the time. I'm not against it being downgraded to B, but it should be for the right reasons (probably lack of comprehensiveness, a few areas where better sources are needed, and some balance issues), not some weird ideas about the sources. Cheers, Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 07:50, 7 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Comment, strongly leaning towards delisting I know nothing about this person, but it's surprising that the material on his lengthy and fairly senior service in the fighting in Yugoslavia makes little reference to the civilian population of the area: it's like the war was being fought in a desert or similar. Given that civilians are central in all partisan warfare and atrocities against civilians were common in this fighting, this doesn't seem credible unless there are sources explaining the matter. The tone of the article as a whole is similar, and never acknowledges the political and criminal aspects of the war Mickl was involved in. Likewise, there appears to be no material on his views towards the rise of the Nazis and the resulting Nazi-led government. This doesn't reflect the way in which modern biographies of senior(ish) German officers of World War II are written, and I don't think the article would pass an A-class review now in its current form. Nick-D (talk) 01:57, 10 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

To be clear Nick-D, I agree. It isn't A-Class, desperately needs context, and I wouldn't nominate it at GAN as it is now, for that and other reasons. My point is about the identified sources and their uses. ie the reason for delisting, not whether it should be. Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 02:13, 10 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Yep, I'm not disagreeing with your views above, and I'm not at all competent to comment on the references here. If the sources are reliable but not sufficient for the article meet modern A-class bio standards, then the article likely wouldn't pass a nomination. From looking in Google Books, it seems that the English language literature on Mickl is largely lowish quality works on his role as an armoured commander. Nick-D (talk) 02:38, 10 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]
The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.
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Nominator(s): Hawkeye7 (talk)


Modification of aircraft to carry nuclear weapons during World War II Hawkeye7 (talk) 09:47, 30 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Support on prose per standard disclaimer. These are my edits. - Dank (push to talk) 16:45, 31 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Comment

  • A minor point: the caption on the lead image doesn't give any immediate clue as to its links to Silverplate; I've a habit (and I suspect I'm not alone) of first reading the article title and glancing at the picture, before carrying on through the lead. In this case, it wasn't obvious what the link between the article title and the image was (my first assumption was that it was the name of a famous aircraft, perhaps the one in the picture), and the references to bombers is in the second line of the lead. Is there any way of getting the word Silverplate into the caption? e.g. "Martin-Omaha B-29-36-MO Superfortress 44-27297 Bockscar of the 509th Composite Group, part of the Silverplate project." or something like that? Hchc2009 (talk) 07:03, 1 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]
    Easily done. Hawkeye7 (talk) 10:02, 1 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  • CommentsSupport
    • One dab link [19]:
    • External links check out [20] (no action req'd).
    • The Citation Check Tool reveals no issues with reference consolidation (no action req'd).
    • Images all appear to be PD and have the req'd information as far as I can tell, captions looks fine (no action req'd).
    • The Earwig Tool reveal no issues with copyright violation or close paraphrasing [21] (no action req'd).
    • No duplicate links per WP:REPEATLINK (no action req'd).
    • Think there may be a missing word here: "USAAF sent instructions to its Army Air Forces Materiel Command at Wright Field...", consider instead: "The USAAF sent instructions to its Army Air Forces Materiel Command at Wright Field..."
    • "The Pullman B-29 flew in to Muroc on 20 February, and testing began on 28 February..." which year?
    • " The Pullman B-29 was flown to Wendover..." suggest wikilinking Wendover here (you do it later on I think).
    • Typo here I think: "Two were given to the 216th while the remaining six were assigned to the 509th at Wendover as replacements in case of loss of bombers operating from Tinian...", consider "Two were given to the 216th while the remaining six were assigned to the 509th at Wendover as replacements in case of the loss of bombers operating from Tinian..."
    • Otherwise this looks like a very good article to me. Anotherclown (talk) 04:47, 5 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Support Comments


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Article promoted Hawkeye7 (talk) 19:39, 13 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Nominator(s): Sturmvogel 66 (talk)


Asahi was a Japanese pre-dreadnought battleship built in the UK because Japan lacked the ability to build battleships herself and was paid for by the Chinese indemnity from the Sino-Japanese War of 1894–95. She participated in every major battle of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–05, but did nothing of note during World War I. She did support the Japanese intervention in Siberia during the Russian Civil War and was disarmed in accordance with the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922. Unlike most of the other Japanese pre-dreadnoughts she was not scrapped or sunk as a target, but converted into a submarine salvage and rescue ship. She was later converted into a repair ship and deployed to Shangai during the 2nd Sino-Japanese War. Asahi was transferred to Singapore in 1942 to repair forward-deployed Japanese ships and was torpedoed and sunk by an American submarine when she was ordered home at the end of the year. I've just updated and expanded the article so I believe that it meets the A-class criteria. This is bound for FAC afterwards, so I'd appreciate it if reviewers could keep that in mind when they make their comments.--Sturmvogel 66 (talk) 00:15, 22 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Support on prose per standard disclaimer. These are my edits. Concerning "the Battles of the Yellow Sea and Tsushima", people haven't settled on a standard meaning or way to say this. As always, I'd prefer an approach that tends to work for everyone. Of the readers who don't already know and don't click to find out, some will understand what you mean, others will take this to mean that there were (plural) battles in the Yellow Sea and also a battle at Tsushima, and others will think that "battles" signifies a multi-part engagement (a la "Battles of Lexington and Concord"). I'd like to suggest "the two biggest naval battles, Yellow Sea and Tsushima", or "The Yellow Sea" if you prefer. - Dank (push to talk) 21:56, 29 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Your suggestion is clearer, but seems awkward to me. Is it just too redundant to say that she participated in the Battle of the Yellow Sea and the Battle of Tsushima? It's just as clear and reads better to me, even with the close repetition of "Battle".--Sturmvogel 66 (talk) 05:15, 2 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]
I agree with you that it's better; I didn't suggest it because I thought you didn't like it. - Dank (push to talk) 11:24, 2 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]
(snicker) The close repetition of "Battle" is less than ideal, IMO, but it reads better than your suggested alternative. I still prefer the original version in terms of prose, but I do agree that it's a bit ambiguous and could stand to be clarified. Don't ever worry about my opinion regarding your corrections; some days I can tell a hawk from a handsaw, others not so much. I value your counsel too much to want anything less than your best. My sensibilities are not so tender that I can't accept anyone else's ideas.--Sturmvogel 66 (talk) 16:15, 2 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  • CommentsSupport
    • No dab links [22] (no action req'd).
    • External links check out [23] (no action req'd).
    • The Citation Check Tool reveals a couple of minor issues with reference consolidation:
      • Hackett & Kingsepp (Multiple references contain the same content)
      • hk (Multiple references are using the same name)
    • Image appears to be PD (although I wonder if you need to include source information etc), caption looks ok.
    • The Earwig Tool reveal no issues with copyright violation or close paraphrasing [24] (no action req'd).
    • A couple of duplicate links per WP:REPEATLINK:
      • battleships
      • torpedo boat
      • muzzle velocity
      • barbettes
      • John Brown & Company
      • 1st Fleet
      • Royal Navy
      • main battery
    • "She was sunk en route by the American submarine USS Seawolf with very little loss of life..." consider instead: "She was sunk en route by the American submarine USS Seawolf; however, most of her crew survived..." or something similar.
    • A little repetitive here: "...turned again to the United Kingdom for the four remaining battleships of the programme.[3] Asahi, the fifth battleship of the naval programme...", perhaps lose one instance of "programme"?
    • Repetition here: "Tōgō had expected the surprise night attack by his destroyers to be much more successful than it actually was and expected..." (expected twice in same sentence)
    • "Tōgō chose to attack the Russian coastal defences with his main armament and engage the Russian ships with his secondary guns." Consider more simply: "Tōgō chose to attack the Russian coastal defences with his main armament and engage the ships with his secondary guns."
    • I might be missing something here but the lead and infobox says the ship was sunk by USS Seawolf but the text of the article says it was sunk by USS Salmon. Think it should be Salmon from one of the sources.
    • Otherwise this looks pretty good to me. Anotherclown (talk) 08:28, 4 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Support with minor comments:

  • "In addition the ships were also fitted with 24-power magnification telescopic gunsights." - I think in this context you want "the ship was also fitted", as the article is about this battleship, not the wider navy.
    • But doesn't the subordinate clause "like all the other Japanese battleships of the time" in the previous sentence mean that this sentence should still be referring to collective ships?
  • "the ship began conversion at Kure as a repair ship" - "to a repair ship"?
  • ""cwt" is the abbreviation for hundredweight, 12 cwt referring to the weight of the gun." - fn1; should this be "Cwt", as it's beginning the sentence? Hchc2009 (talk) 15:13, 6 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Support Comments

  • The lead is a bit "wall-o-text"-ish, any way we can split it in half? Perhaps divide it at the end of her service as a BB?
  • Is there a line-drawing available from Brassey's or another contemporary naval journal?
  • Or anything showing her post-reconstruction appearance?
    • Nothing that was not copyrighted.
  • Speaking of images, why isn't File:Japanese battleship Asahi.jpg used in the article? It seems to be a much better lead image, since it's higher resolution and a cleaner photo.
    • Good idea.
  • Why no link to Combined Fleet? And according to that article, the fleet was formed in 1894 and reformed before the Russo-Japanese War, not formed initially then.
    • Added.
  • Should there be a bit more context in the Russo-Japanese war section? Specifically, it seems as though Tsushima comes out of nowhere - the reader won't know why in the heck the Baltic Fleet is all the way in the Sea of Japan, for instance.
    • Added a sentence, see if it satisfies.
      • Looks good to me.
  • First she was to be converted into a submarine depot ship, but she actually became a submarine salvage ship?
    • First she became a depot ship immediately after she was disarmed, etc., then was converted into a salvage/rescue ship.
      • I think you need a topic sentence for that paragraph. It's rather jarring to read that she was reclassified as a submarine depot ship and then suddenly begins conversion into a submarine salvage ship. Something along the lines of "The navy (or whoever made the decision) decided to convert Asahi into a submarine salvage ship in 1925; the work was completed in two phases" would do the trick.
  • "She was transferred to Camranh Bay, French Indochina on 15 November and transported the 11th Base Unit from Kure to Camranh Bay 19 November – 7 December 1941" - this line might be a little unclear to readers, who might assume that Asahi actually steamed to Camranh on the 15th (and then, what, doubled back to pick up the 11th Base Unit?), as opposed to have the orders cut on the 15th. Parsecboy (talk) 17:43, 7 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  • Another question: who rescued the survivors of the ship? Was she being escorted (I assume so, since the vast majority of her crew was rescued)? Parsecboy (talk) 19:57, 9 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]
    • No idea as my sources don't say. I do know that she was in company with the light cruiser Yubari because the same submarine fired on both ships. So I suppose Yubari and their escorts rescued the survivors.--Sturmvogel 66 (talk) 20:45, 9 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]
      • Fair enough. But please add that Yubari and at least the number and type of escorts (if known of course) to that line, since otherwise it reads as if Asahi was steaming independently. Parsecboy (talk) 17:25, 10 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]
        • I misread Rohwer, the sub's skipper misidentified Asahi as Yubari. He did sink a medium-sized freighter as well Asahi in his attack, but Combinedfleet.com gives the escort as a single subchaser. I doubt that it could have accommodated Asahi's crew, so I imagine that some of the other merchant ships in the convoy must have stopped to pluck the survivors from the sea. But I don't know any of that; it's all pure supposition on my part. I'll add the escort if you think it's worthwhile, but not anything else.--Sturmvogel 66 (talk) 19:03, 10 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.
The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

Article promoted. Anotherclown (talk) 00:47, 10 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Nominator(s): Tomobe03 (talk)


I am nominating this article for A-Class review because I believe the it meets the A-class criteria or is sufficiently well developed to meet the criteria during the ACR. Tomobe03 (talk) 11:18, 12 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Comments - Dank (push to talk)

  • I tweaked the first sentence to: "The order of battle of the Croatian special police in 1991–95 included up to 30 individual special forces units subordinated to the Ministry of the Interior." I'm assuming here that we're treating "order of battle" as a term that's going to be known to our readership ... otherwise, the term wouldn't be suitable in the article title. I believe that most of our project members think of that term as suitable for the readership they're expecting ... I don't, but I'm happy to go along with the majority. So, under that assumption, the first sentence of this article shouldn't be bolded, per WP:LEAD ... that's an article title that describes this article, and definitely not a proper noun. Also, even if "order of battle" is well-known enough to use in the first sentence, it's definitely not so well-known that we can do without a link ... but we can't link it and bold it at the same time, so the bolding has to go. - Dank (push to talk) 18:20, 12 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  • "special force", "special forces": Be careful, and consistent.
    • Fixed.
  • "the predominantly Serb-populated areas of the Dalmatian hinterland around Knin, parts of the Lika, Kordun, Banovina and eastern Croatia": ?
    I made an attempt to clarify that.--Tomobe03 (talk) 21:53, 12 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oops ... I just saw the conversation where this article is described as a list. I'm not up on various requirements for lists, so I'll stop here. - Dank (push to talk) 18:48, 12 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Support Comments: G'day, sorry I also don't know much about lists and might miss something in terms of preparing for FLC if that is where you are going. I will have a quick look, though, to help out:

  • the second sentence in the lead is quite long, I wonder if it could be split: "The special police was created around the existing airborne special forces unit of the Ministry of the Interior following an open revolt of the Croatian Serbs in August 1990, and increasing involvement of the Yugoslav People's Army in the conflict that escalated into the Croatian War of Independence in 1991, when the special police took part in the first clashes of the war in Pakrac and at the Plitvice Lakes. "
  • To be honest, I'm not sure that the infobox is wholely appropriate given that it seems to relate to the Special police then and now (given the Active dates of 17 August 1990 - present). Not sure, though, but I'd possibly consider removing it altogether or removing the "Active" field to remove the contradiction...(probably best to get a few opinions on this, though, rather than just listening to me);
  • I'm not sure about the licencing on "File:Croatian Special Police Logo.svg". I understand that you created the image, but is there residual copyright on the logo itself? Not sure really, but I think that this is the sort of question that might be raised at FLC;
    • The logo is published as a part of Croatian legislation, specifically "Regulation on uniform and insignia of members of the special police of the Ministry of the interior of the Republic of Croatia" ([25] here is its 1995 version). According to Croatian Copyright Act ([26]), specifically its Article 8, Paragraph 1, Section 1, legislation is exempt from copyright and may be freely used. Commons PD notice amended accordingly.--Tomobe03 (talk) 10:41, 22 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  • "File:20 godina osnivanja specijalne jedinice policije Alfa 03092011 11.jpg": I think this might also need a freedom of panorama licence?
  • in the lead, "By then, the 3,000-strong special forces became..." --> possibly try "The 3,000-strong special forces then became..."?
  • in the lead, "During the war, the special police units sustained a loss of 179 killed, 790 wounded and 14 missing troops..." --> "During the war, the special police units lost 179 troops killed, 790 wounded and 14 missing"?
  • "During the war, Sisak SPU sustained loss of five killed and one missing in action..." --> "During the war, the Sisak SPU lost five killed and one missing in action"?
  • "The unit was deployed to the eastern Slavonia in September 1991..." ---> "The unit was deployed to eastern Slavonia in September 1991..."
  • Stopping there, but I will come back tomorrow (sorry its late here and I have to be up at 4am for work). Regards, AustralianRupert (talk) 11:08, 20 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  • "The Yugoslav People's Army (Jugoslavenska narodna armija – JNA) confiscated Croatia's Territorial Defence (Teritorijalna obrana – TO) weapons to minimize resistance..." --> "The Yugoslav People's Army (Jugoslavenska narodna armija – JNA) confiscated the Croatian Territorial Defence Force's (Teritorijalna obrana – TO) weapons to minimize resistance..."?
  • "The most effective part of the force was 3,000-strong special police deployed..." --> "The most effective part of the force was the 3,000-strong special police deployed..."
  • "Special Police Airborne Unit was already in existence since 1968. " --> "The Special Police Airborne Unit had been in established in 1968."?
  • "On 17 August 1990, the unit was deployed to quell Croatian Serb insurrection in and around Knin using three helicopters as the single combat capable unit of Croatian military..." ---> "On 17 August 1990, as the only combat capable unit of Croatian military, the unit was deployed to quell Croatian Serb insurrection in and around Knin using three helicopters..."
  • The above suggestions are just a few examples of sentences that need a little work. If you wouldn't mind covering off on these, and looking through the rest for similar issues, I will come back later and take another look. Cheers, AustralianRupert (talk) 10:17, 21 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]
    • Addressed prose issues raised above. I'll review the rest as suggested later (hopefully today).--Tomobe03 (talk) 11:49, 22 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]
      • I went through the article a bit earlier and made a few tweaks, and I see you've made a couple more tweaks also. I'm happy with that. I'm not up on the requirements of featured lists (sorry), but I'm happy you have addressed my points, so I have added my support. I think Peacemaker has recent FLC experience, so you might ask him for his opinion. Good luck. Sorry to take so long getting back to you. Cheers, AustralianRupert (talk) 07:23, 2 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Support Comments

  • Croatia doubled police personnel to about 20,000 I think that this could be improved by adding either "its" or "the number of" immediately after personnel.
    • Added "its".
  • of police officers trained Zagreb "in" Zagreb
    • Oops. Added.
  • capable unit of Croatian military "the" Croatian
    • Fixed.
  • Put refs in numerical order: this looks odd [19][6]
    • Reordered.
  • So should we assume that a unit is still in existence if there's no mention of disbanding or reorganization into another unit? I ask because of the Lovinac SPU.
    • Actually no. Virtually none of those are still in existence. Most of the units directly subordinated to the Ministry of the Interior were disbanded in May 1991 when their personnel was transferred to the Croatian National Guard, Lučko remaining in existence though throughout the war. The regional units existed throughout the war and were disbanded in 2000s. Regarding Lovinac, I assume the unit was attached to something else (maybe even disbanded, but I doubt that) since the police station and AOR it was assigned to was lost. There simply is no info on that, except it was established. It is not entirely impossible that the Lovinac unit was subsequently (formally) subordinated to another unit similar to the Našice–Orahovica SPU - but again, there's no reliable (or otherwise) info on that unit beyond establishment. I clarified the fate of the first group of (directly subordinated) units.
  • The unit sustained a loss of 20 killed troops Probably better rephrased as "the unit lost 20 troops killed during"
    • Rephrased.
  • sustaining a loss of 11 killed, 39 wounded and two captured troops "sustaining losses of 11 killed, 39 wounded and two captured"
    • Rephrased.
  • Before sending this to FLC, carefully review the FLC criteria. Table formatting is very tricky because they enforce compliance with WP:Access.--Sturmvogel 66 (talk) 05:42, 3 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Support Comments: Interesting article, only a few points that need to be addressed.

  • In 1990, following the electoral defeat of the government of the Socialist Republic of Croatia, ethnic tensions worsened. Clarify: ethnic tensions between whom?
    • Clarification added.
  • The Yugoslav People's Army (Jugoslavenska narodna armija – JNA) confiscated the Croatian Territorial Defence Force's (Teritorijalna obrana – TO) weapons to minimize resistance. Clarify: resistance against what?
    • Clarification added. Could you please review the change?
  • Ogulin is overlinked and so is Dalmatia.
    • I found no repetition of the links except in places where WP:REPEATLINK permits so. Could you point out the excessive use please?
Otherwise, great article. Best of luck, 23 editor (talk) 11:55, 8 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]
Thank you for your comments. I made changes to address your concerns, but could not find the instances of overlinking.--Tomobe03 (talk) 14:25, 8 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]
Looks good, links follow rules set out by the manual of style. 23 editor (talk) 21:03, 8 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.
The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

Article promoted Hawkeye7 (talk) 05:48, 3 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Nominator(s): Simon Burchell (talk)


I am nominating this article for A-Class review because I've done a lot of work on this lengthy article since it passed GA; looking forward I want to take it to FAC but it needs some fresh pairs of eyes - I've been staring at it for too long. Many thanks, Simon Burchell (talk) 10:26, 18 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Comments - Dank (push to talk)

  • Hi Simon, good to see you back.
  • "east-west": Not an issue for A-class, but at FAC you'll need a dash, here and throughout.
  • "decimated": This means reduced by a tenth, reduced by a lot, or annihilated, depending on who you ask ... so, not the most useful word.
  • "This was a part of a three-pronged attack against the independent inhabitants of Petén and neighbouring Chiapas, a second group joined up with Barrios Leal having departed from Huehuetenango.": I'm not sure what that means.
  • " Again Kan Ek' welcomed them in a friendly manner; however the Maya priesthood were hostile": I'd prefer "... manner, but this time the Maya ...", but if you want to keep "however", it needs a comma after. - Dank (push to talk) 20:15, 20 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for taking a look at this... Best regards, Simon Burchell (talk) 20:27, 20 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

  • Sure thing. "Itza-Kowoj": dash
  • "president Jacinto de Barrios Leal": President (usually, when it comes before the name)
  • "The Dominicans took advantage of the delay in order to proselytise": ... ... delay to proselytise
  • "6,000 Maya": Reviewers may ask you at FAC to be consistent in using or dropping the comma.
  • "Díaz agreed with the Dominicans, two muleteers have already died from sickness and recongnising that the size of his expedition was not sufficient for a full confrontation with the Itza nation.": ?
  • "considered a considerable": reword
  • "Bonifacio Us was captain of the Tek'ax company, Diego Uk was that of the Oxk'utzkab' company.": comma splice
  • FAC reviewers sometimes criticize paragraphs for being as long as some of the ones in this article.
  • "Avendaño continued south along the course of the new road, finding increasing evidence of Spanish military activity, with the rounding up of local inhabitants and raiding of fields and orchards for provisions.": Who's doing the rounding up and raiding?
  • "The Franciscan": The Franciscans, maybe
  • "The Franciscan set upon a different plan; they would follow the road back north to Jop'elch'en near Campeche city and attempt to reach the Itza via Tipuj; in the event the secular clergy prevented the Franciscans from attempting the latter route.": Rewrite without "in the event", which means "in case" (or sometimes "during the event") in AmEng. Also, it forces readers to backtrack if you lay out a plan, then later say that they didn't follow it after all; it's better to say that they were prevented right up front.
  • "to the provincial": to the provincial superior?
  • "Pak'ek'em was sufficiently far from the new Spanish road that it was free from military interference and the friars oversaw the building of a church in what was the largest mission town in Kejache territory and a second church was built at B'atkab' to attend to over 100 K'ejache refugees who had been gathered there under the stewardship of friar Diego de Echevarría; a further church was established at Tzuktok', overseen by Diego de Salas.": long, winding sentence
  • "December 1695-January 1696": needs a spaced dash
  • "friars Antonio Pérez de San Román, Joseph de Jesús María, Deigo de Echevarría and lay brother Lucas de San Francisco": nonparallel series; expands to "friars ... lay brother Lucas de San Francisco"
  • "[W, X, Y, and Z,] various of whom he collected on his journey ...": "... some of whom" (if the sources don't know which ones), or "W, X, and Y, whom he collected on his journey ..., and Z" (if the sources know this applies to W, X and Y).
  • "exposed deep divisions among the Itza and the apparent treachery of the Itza king": It's too easy to read that as ... what it sounds like, then the readers have to backtrack.
  • "rumours of battle and Spanish advance": rumours of battle and a Spanish advance
  • "a path theat lead": a path that led?
  • "García despatched two Kejache scouts to the lakeshore to discover Avendaño's whereabouts, at the same time Avendaño's Kejache guides were returning to Chuntuki from Nojpetén with news of Avendaño's flight." comma splice, unless you mean an "as" after "time".
  • "without success - most of the natives had fled": dash
  • "first came AjChan who had already met him in Mérida, he was followed by Chamach Xulu, the ruler of the Yalain.": comma splice
  • "a large amount of canoes": a large number of canoes
  • CommentsSupport
    • No dab links [27] (no action req'd).
    • External links check out [28] (no action req'd).
    • Most of the images lack Alt Text so you might consider adding it for consistency [29] (suggestion only - not an ACR req).
    • The Citation Check Tool reveals no issues with reference consolidation (no action req'd).
    • Images appear to either be PD or licenced and seem to have the req'd information. Captions look ok to me.
    • The Earwig Tool didn't work so accepting on good faith that there are no issues with copyright violation or close paraphrasing [30] (no action req'd).
    • A few links per WP:REPEATLINK:
    • Have you considered adding an infobox? It might assist the readers to understand key facts about the events (suggestion only).
    • The lead looks a little unbalanced, with two smallish paragraphs and the third one being quite large. Suggest splitting the last para (seems a natural break at the sentence beginning: "In 1628 the Manche Ch'ol of the south..."
    • The issue of long paragraphs is replicated throughout the article, so recommend splitting these at natural points.
    • Generally don't need to have cites in the lead of an article, as that information should appear in the body of the text (where it is already cited) - see WP:LEADCITE. If this is the case then you may be able to ditch the citation here.
    • Article has a lot of headings / sections, some of which are really short. Wonder if some could be merged (for instance the two on weaponry - one Spanish and one native, could easily become one 2nd level heading with 3rd level subheadings, perhaps also geography and climate)
    • "The Q'eqchi' of Verapaz had long had close ties...", consider more simply "The Q'eqchi' of Verapaz long had close ties..."
    • Missing word here I think: "AjChan left Mérida with his companions and a Spanish escort the middle of January 1696...", consider "AjChan left Mérida with his companions and a Spanish escort in the middle of January 1696..."
    • Figures here: "...consisted of 2 Spanish soldiers, 2 archers and 2 muleteers from Verapaz, with 2 Ch'ol-speaking native interpreters...", 2 should be presented as "two" per WP:MOSNUM.
    • Repetitive language here: "On 11 May Ursúa ordered García to begin a second expedition southwards and allotted him 100 salaried Maya to accompany him." (him twice) Consider instead: "On 11 May Ursúa ordered García to begin a second expedition southwards and was allotted 100 salaried Maya to accompany him."
    • Seems like a tautology: "On 5 January they caught up with and passed the main bulk of the army at B'atkab'..." ("main bulk"). Perhaps reword?
    • "The battered expedition set up a base camp 9 leagues north of Mopan." 9 → nine per WP:MOSNUM.
    • "The Itza killed a total of 87 expedition members, including 50 soldiers, 2 Dominicans..." 2 → two per WP:MOSNUM.
    • "The encampment at Ch'ich' was left defended by 25 Spanish soldiers, 3 Maya musketeers..." 3 → three per WP:MOSNUM.
    • Some of the works listed in the reference section need to use title case.
      • I believe that in all cases I followed the case as published. Simon Burchell (talk) 12:47, 26 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]
        • As a style guide I'm almost certain the MOS has precedence over the case adopted by a publisher (although don't seem to be able to find a policy link for that). Examples of works needing title case as fol:
          • Coe, Michael D. (1999). The Maya. Ancient peoples and places series
          • Hofling, Charles Andrew (2009). "The Linguistic Context of the Kowoj". In Prudence M. Rice and Don S. Rice (eds.). The Kowoj: identity, migration, and geopolitics in late postclassic Petén
          • Jones, Grant D. (2009). "The Kowoj in Ethnohistorical Perspective". In Prudence M. Rice and Don S. Rice (eds.). The Kowoj: identity, migration, and geopolitics in late postclassic Petén, Guatemala
          • Pugh, Timothy W. (2009). "Residential and Domestic Contexts at Zacpetén". In Prudence M. Rice and Don S. Rice (eds.). The Kowoj: identity, migration, and geopolitics in late postclassic Petén, Guatemala
          • There are others (mostly those using the Rice and Rice book).
      • I've done these, but it occurs to me that in "The Kowoj: identity, migration, and geopolitics in late postclassic Petén, Guatemala" the title of the book is The Kowoj - the rest is a subtitle identity, migration, and geopolitics in late postclassic Petén, Guatemala and subtitles don't usually use title case. Note that Spanish obeys different rules for capitalisation - first word and proper nouns only. Simon Burchell (talk) 14:17, 27 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]
    • Overall this is quite a well written article in my opinion. I'm well and truly out of my depth in reviewing an article about this period in history but I think this is fairly close to meeting the ACR criteria if the issues listed above can be worked through. Anotherclown (talk) 11:21, 26 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]
Further note on ref format. Generally constructions like "Ltd" shouldn't be used per Template:Cite book. Suggest removal here:

Support Comments from Jim I don't know anything about this, so don't give too much weight to my minor nitpicks. It's an impressive article Jimfbleak - talk to me? 08:40, 27 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

  • I didn't think we linked countries now. Even if we do, it's inconsistent here— Guatemala is linked, Spain isn't, which seems to suggest a Eurocentric view of the world
  • Thanks to their padded cotton armour, the Spanish party received no injuries from the skirmish—I though the locals wore cotton armour and the Spaniards had steel?
  • Is the full capitalisation of authors MoS? I really don't like this, but I don't know that it's actually wrong.
  • Author capitalisation has been used for a long time in WikiProject Mesoamerica articles, and I think it makes the name of the author stand out amongst all the other stuff in the references. I've had a number of FAs pass without this having to be pulled but I'm not wedded to it. Simon Burchell (talk) 09:28, 27 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  • Jared Diamond thought the constant pre-conquest warfare in this region was due to the fact that food supply problems meant that no leader could establish supremacy in the way that the Incas or Aztecs had done, making tribal conflict endemic. He also thought that deforestation had exacerbated the food problems, so the numbers in lowland areas, even before smallpox, were only 1% of those in the eighth century. Worth mentioning?
  • The classic Maya collapse was complex, and its causes are disputed and ultimately beyond the scope of this article - I've linked to Classic Maya collapse already and, while I'm not happy with that article, it would be the correct place to discuss this. You're right, of course, that the Contact Period population was much less than the Classic Period population, and I'll see if I can find a source that mentions this. Simon Burchell (talk) 09:26, 27 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Comments - This is really a magisterial work on the subject, and I am entirely impressed by the effort that's gone into it. I just have a few comments, below. Cdtew (talk)

  • The lede is well done, but the sentences describing geography in the first paragraph ("Petén is a wide lowland plain...") seem to clutter that paragraph up. Understanding the geography is obviously important, but I feel like that could wait until the body.
  • The last paragraph of the lede seems out of order. 1628, then 1633, then 1622, then 1695? I think, since there appears to be no thematic ordering, simple chronological order would help.
  • The section on "Historical sources" seems a little premature. I feel like it disrupts the flow of the article. You've just introduced the setting, are about to introduce the native actors, and betwixt is a wide-ranging summary of mostly Spanish sources. Perhaps moving it to the end of the article would re-establish the flow.
  • I see the rationale for it, I just think it's a little out of place in both. Think of it this way - you're telling the story, but before you tell the story, you tell where the story came from. It seems to me that it would improve readability to tell the 200 year story, and then tell how the story is preserved. I's sort of like how sections concerning "depictions in pop culture" would generally appear after the article itself. This is just a preference thing, so it's up to you. Cdtew (talk) 02:29, 3 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  • "The second polity in importance was that of their hostile neighbors" -> perhaps "was that of the Kowoj, hostile neighbors to the Itza", or something in that fashion. "their" is a little vague.
  • You list Lakandon Ch'ol before Manche Ch'ol, yet only "Ch'ol" in the latter is wikilinked. Is there a reason for that? Shouldn't the first mention of the Ch'ol be wikilinked?
  • You added some about the Spanish use of cotton armor, but in the "Weaponry and armour" segment, you say "Quilted cotton armour, although still uncomfortably hot, was flexible and weighed much less." without describing what the Spanish were discarding in favor of cotton armor. You may as well go and discuss the morion, rodela, breastplate, etc.
  • OK, let me address it this way - a reader who is unaware of conquistadors may not know that the archetypical one wore a steel breastplate, morion, etc.; in reading the article, the first mention of it they'll see is that in Peten they preferred the cotton/salt armor over steel. Maybe just rephrasing it to make it clear that they typically used steel, but in this instance preferred the cotton/salt armor. Cdtew (talk) 02:29, 3 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  • "The Spanish were aware that the Itza Maya had become the centre of anti-Spanish resistance and engaged in a policy" - the Spanish may have been aware of it, but the reader isn't until now. Is there any way to shoehorn in statements about Itza resistance to the Spanish?
  • In fact, the "Strategies and tactics" section doesn't sit well with me; in reality, you're not discussing strategies as much as you're discussing various plans and schemes put into action at different points in time. It seems these facts would be better slotted in chronologically throughout the article, but that may be me thinking too linearly. It's just sort of disorienting -- you've set up the prologue, and we expect to be led into first contact, but instead have a section that takes us 170 years into the future, and then back to Cortes.
  • This section gives a background to the various expeditions launched over the course of almost two centuries. I think this is an important section, because it covers points that don't apply to individual expeditions, as well explaining the role of the church etc. Simon Burchell (talk) 16:14, 2 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  • "His aim was to subdue the rebellious Cristóbal de Olid, whom he had sent to conquer Honduras, but Cristóbal de Olid had set himself up independently on his arrival in that territory" - perhaps clearer as "whom he had sent to conquer Honduras; de Olid had, however, set himself up..."
  • "with Francisco Morán as their ecclesiastical head." - who was Moran? A friar? A Dominican? A bishop?
  • "may have instigated the Manche rebellion of Lent 1633" - what was that? Not being familiar with this story, most readers (myself included) will scratch their heads at this one. If it's not a particularly important rebellion, just say "may have instigated a Manche rebellion during Lent in 1633"
    Done. Simon Burchell (talk) 16:16, 2 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  • "President Jacinto de Barrios Leal" - it seems like President here could be confused for the modern-day President of Guatemala. I don't know how much of the Real Audiencia structure you need to get into, but if there's a way to distinguish this, it could be helpful.

I'm stopping at "Avendaño's entry from Yucatán, June 1695" to get some sleep, but will pick up where I left off tomorrow. Cdtew (talk) 04:20, 2 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Back to more comments:

  • "Avendaño returned to Tzuktok' and reconsidered his plans; the Franciscans were short of supplies, the forcefully congregated Maya that they were charged with converting were disappearing back into the forest daily, the Spanish officers ignored the concerns of the friars and García was abducting local Maya women and children to be taken back to his encomienda for forced labour." - this sentence is really long and convoluted, and is a bit of a run-on. Perhaps breaking it up would improve readability.
  • You use leagues a lot as forms of measurement; I understand this was a common form of distance measurement at the time and in Central America in general, but is there any way you could approximate some of these distances based on your sources? If not, that's understandable, based on my knowledge of Spanish expedition sources.
  • As I understand it, a league was how far could be travelled in an hour - so the actual linear distance of a league varied enormously depending upon the difficulty of the local terrain. This makes it very difficult to convert to linear measurements, based upon approximate locations reported in Spanish expedition reports. However, I will see what I can do... Simon Burchell (talk) 13:29, 3 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  • In Aftermath, "and delegated its control to military officers who he did very little to support" - shouldn't this be "whom"? Or it may be clearer as "to whom he gave very little support". Also, what sort of support? Did he not help them with supplies/munitions/etc.? Or did he not care for them and didn't support them in the sense that he later turned lukewarm on them?

I've read through the remainder of the article, and can find nothing of substance that I think would bar this from A-Class. After you've addressed the above, I'm happy to support! Cdtew (talk) 02:29, 3 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]


The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.
The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

Article promoted Hawkeye7 (talk) 19:19, 1 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Nominator(s): Hchc2009 (talk)


I am nominating this article for A-Class review because it has recently passed GA, and I'd like to take it to FA in due course. Henry III was not the most successful military commander in the 13th century - he lost most of his campaigns, and was almost killed by his own men in one battle - but he was a significant historical figure, and shaped the later medieval English state. Hchc2009 (talk) 15:19, 30 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Support Comments: G'day, impressive. I took a quick look and will try to get back to it for a more thorough look on the weekend. Here are a couple of minor things I saw :

  • US or British English: "instructions from the center" --> "centre"?
  • punctuation/typo: "England. and a sequence"
  • "those lessor barons" --> "those lesser barons"?
  • "once both the center of the" --> "centre"?
  • "Eleanor quarreled" --> "quarrelled"?
  • typo: "with the bodies of the his Angevin family "
  • "to his naivity" --? "naivety"?
  • "theater or television" -> "theatre"? Regards, AustralianRupert (talk) 11:49, 3 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  • No worries, continuing my review below (focusing just on the images):
  • "File:Westminster.abbey.tombofhenry.london.arp.jpg": might need a freedom of panorama licence as well? Perhaps "FoP-UK";
  • "File:Henry III funeral head.jpg": as above;
  • "File:Montfort Evesham.jpg": should have a US licence as well: "PD-Art" with the "PD-old-100" param would probably be sufficient, I think;
  • "File:Louis9+Henri3+StDenis.jpg": as above;
  • "File:Louis9 Innocentius4 Cluny.jpg": as above;
  • "File:Paris.elefant.jpg": as above;
  • "File:Gal nations edward i - trimmed.jpg": the PD-Art template should specify a parameter, for instance "PD-old-100" or something else;
  • "File:Lodka2.jpg": as above ;
  • "File:Jindra3doBrt1230.jpg": as above;
  • "File:Jindra3.jpg": as above;
  • "File:EustaceTheMonk.jpg": as above. AustralianRupert (talk) 05:29, 7 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Comments

  • "a charter later termed the Magna Carta.": In your opinion, does "Magna Carta" usually mean just the 1215 document, or can it also mean one or all of the other Great Charters? If the term has become ambiguous, a note to that effect would help.
  • "The final Treaty of Lambeth, also known as the Treaty of Kingston, was agreed on the 12 and 13 September between Henry, Isabella, Louis, Guala and William.": "agreeing a treaty" is still informal in Britain, and often isn't understood outside Britain ... also, readers might think this means they signed on those dates, when they actually signed on the 20th. I'd go with: Henry, Isabella, Louis, Guala and William came to agreement on the final Treaty of Lambeth, also known as the Treaty of Kingston, on the 12 and 13 September. - Dank (push to talk) 20:24, 5 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  • Search for and fix "agreed" throughout.
  • " and a sequence of revolts broke out. In late 1228, a group of potential Norman and Angevin rebels called upon Henry to invade and reclaim his inheritance, and Peter de Dreux, the Duke of Brittany, openly revolted against Louis and gave his homage to Henry." Rupert mentions this above, and I've got another concern: is this revolt part of the "sequence of revolts", or did it come after? - Dank (push to talk) 23:49, 5 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  • CommentsSupport
    • No dab links [31] (no action req'd).
    • External links check out [32] (no action req'd).
    • Most of the images lack Alt Text so you might consider adding it for consistency [33] (suggestion only - not an ACR req).
    • The Citation Check Tool reveals no issues with reference consolidation (no action req'd).
    • Images review has been completed above.
    • The Earwig Tool reveal no issues with copyright violation or close paraphrasing [34] (no action req'd).
    • No duplicate links per WP:REPEATLINK (no action req'd).
    • Probably showing my ignorance here but what is a justicar? Might be a good idea to wikilink it in the body of the text rather than a note to explain it to readers like me.
    • Is there a missing word here: "...sometimes action would be taken against to support a baron's case..." specifically against what?
    • missing word here: "...and, after Louis's defeat at Battle of Al Mansurah in 1250...", consider instead: "...and, after Louis's defeat at the Battle of Al Mansurah in 1250..."
    • missing word here: "... however, there was a renewed interest in 13th English history..." missing "century"
    • Minor points aside this is a high qlty article in my opinion. Anotherclown (talk) 21:07, 19 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.
The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

Article promoted Hawkeye7 (talk) 19:16, 1 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Nominator(s): Jimfbleak (talk)


OK, my first full-blown Milhist article. Melbourne Castle was built in the early 14th century, but never completed despite being in the hands of the crown and the House of Lancaster for three centuries. John of Gaunt, a great improver of castles, did his bit, but by the end of the reign of Elizabeth I, the castle was in disrepair. The death knell was the purchase in 1604 by the Hastings family, who had their own castle just a few miles away. The Melbourne building was used as a quarry, and little is now visible. Sic transit gloria mundi. Jimfbleak - talk to me? 07:26, 23 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Comments Great to see a castle article coming up for review! (NB:I'll work through the text bit by bit)

  • "It is not as ancient as nearby Kings Newton" - because you don't say how old Kings Newton is, this doesn't give a clear sense of the date involved. I'm not certain you necessarily need the comparison.
  • "It is unknown when the manor house on the site of the later castle was constructed" - you haven't mentioned a manor house yet, so the "the manor house" breaks the flow slightly. I'd suggest "Melbourne Castle was constructed on the site of an earlier manor house of unknown date." or something like that.
  • "The medieval village at this time was centred around the church, castle and High Street" - the paragraph has got up to 1156 - was there actually a castle in the village in 1156?
  • "royal hunting park " - if its a genuine park, I'd link to "medieval deer park" rather than to the royal forest articles.
  • " the king" - MOS would have this as "the King"
  • "the king's son" -ditto
  • "King's chamber" - should chamber be capitalised as well here? (alternatively, "king's chamber")
  • "Robert obtained a licence from Edward II to fortify the manor house with crenellations" - I'd link to licence to crenellate here; it's a specialist term, and (confusingly) a license to crenellate didn't necessarily mean that battlements were the main focus of the permission.
  • " and had him killed" - I think, since they did it themselves, "and killed him" would be cleaner
  • "the king " - capitalisation (and later examples)
  • "The still-unfinished castle " - the previous section hadn't noted that it was unfinished (unless I've missed something)
  • " £1,313 " - any comparison figure you could give here? (e.g. how does this compare to the costs of other castles etc.? Was it a lot of money or a small amount?)
  • I've no access to proper historical sources beyond what I've acquired for this article and what's on the Internet. I made a quick search but the few 14th century costings I found were clearly not comparable (the massive Welsh fortresses or parts of castles). Shall I just remove the costings, which as far as I can see are only available for the one year? Jimfbleak - talk to me? 12:19, 23 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  • I'd agree with Nev - definitely don't remove it. My advice would to use Pounds, p.147, where he notes that the average annual baronial income - for the top 27 barons - of the period was £668. You could add this as a footnote, and it would give a context for the cost of the castle. Pounds uses it as a comparison himself, so its a reasonably safe figure. Hchc2009 (talk) 20:10, 24 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  • using lead acquired as a forfeit" - for non-specialists, probably worth explaining what forfeiture means here.
  • " but with outbuildings, orchards and other ancillary constructions" - I'm not sure that an orchard is an ancillary construction...
  • Personally, I found the very short picture titles (e.g. "In ca. 1580") a little jarring, and might have preferred a little bit more explanation (e.g. "The castle depicted in 1580, in an 18th century reproduction." Worth noting that this image still has a copyright label on the actual image itself.
  • Is the 1602 image a contemporary image, or a later depiction of the castle in 1602? Would be worth explaining in the caption.
  • Support - a difficult castle to write about, but its a decent article nonetheless. Hchc2009 (talk) 16:47, 30 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Support

  • Sometimes the article switches between styles when it comes to describing centuries, so the second paragraph of the lead says “From the early 14th century, Melbourne Castle was … the building was in generally good condition throughout the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries”. Either 14th century or fourteenth century is fine, but it’s handy to stick with one or the other for consistency.
  • For the image caption “John of Gaunt made significant improvements to the castle” would it be worth mentioning roughly when?
Done Jimfbleak - talk to me? 07:08, 25 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  • If it is covered by the source material, it would be interesting to note which part of the castle John I, Duke of Bourbon, was held in. Being confined in a cell paints a very different picture to being held in the great hall, or the constable’s chambers. But in my experience this particular detail isn’t always covered, so never mind if you can’t find it.
  • I like the quote from Leland. I think M W Thompson in The Decline of the Castle discusses Leland’s descriptions of castles. If you haven’t got the book I can look up the relevant part if you like as it may be interesting background. It might be useful to add something along the lines of “This contrasted with the general state of castles Leland which were often described as in a ruinous state”.
  • Would it be worth changing “In 1545, John Leland reported” to “In 1545, antiquarian John Leland reported”?
  • The bit about the stone being reused in the weir is really interesting.
  • I think it would be useful to swap around the illustrations in the ‘decline’ and ‘description’ sections as one of the engravings of the castle still standing would strongly complement the description of the actual pictures.

I’m only passingly familiar with Melbourne Castle, but I’m certainly glad to have learned more (and will at some point be looking for more information on the looters of 1322). This is an excellent article, and I’ve only been able to suggest minor improvements. Looking at the online bibliography there are a few sources which might further enhance the article a little. Cox’s part in the Victoria County History might be worth looking up, while you’ve already included Emery and Salter and Pettifer are unlikely to be as detailed as your article. I suspect you’ve also covered all the stuff in Colvin and Brown. Perhaps Fane’s 1889 journal article might have something interesting. Nev1 (talk) 19:51, 24 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Many thanks for review, comments and support Jimfbleak - talk to me? 07:08, 25 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Support on prose per standard disclaimer. These are my edits. If you're taking this to FAC, "east-west" will need a dash. - Dank (push to talk) 00:58, 25 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

  • As you know, I'm likely to thank all reviewers and head straight to FAC now my last nom has been promoted. I don't doubt Anotherclown's competence, and I said to him that I'm a new boy here, and I wasn't aware that A-class requirements differed from FA. I always put ISBNs for publications that have them, and in view of Anotherclown's comments, I'll probably revert to my normal practice wrt to publisher locations. I'm unconvinced about OCLC. I've never given these for FA, and I'm a bit concerned that it's the perennial FA/GA/A-c problem of instruction creep. I'll have a look to see if they actually exist for, say, the South Derbyshire District Council publications before deciding on this. Jimfbleak - talk to me? 18:23, 30 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  • Just butting in here, given my (unique!) circumstance of being both a MilHist and a FAC coordinator... To clarify, Jim, ACR wasn't set up to have different criteria to FAC but in fact to follow similar style guidelines. My favourite capsule comparison of the two processes is (hat tip to Grandiose for this) ACR is like FAC, but more forgiving. If it doesn't always appear that way, it's probably more down to the focus of individual reviewers, and their knowledge that the ultimate target for many ACRs is FAC (as is obviously the case here) rather than deliberate policy. Anyway, allowing for Anotherclown's final comments, it looks like this is well on the way to promotion...! Cheers, Ian Rose (talk) 02:49, 1 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]
Gday all. I've been meaning to come back for days but things are getting a bit busy on cse (now playing silly buggers at night - yawn). Firstly apologies for my previous remarks - I often take myself way too seriously. Clearly we are all volunteers here and are just trying to improve the encyclopedia which is a good thing. I agree that OCLCs and place of publication are not strictly req'd under the criteria, MOS or the template docs (AFAIK) but I think they would definitely help to make the article the best it can be (not to mention helping our readers do their own research). So pls consider my cmts suggestions for improvement only. If you are interested in including them they can usually be found on Worldcat.org. By way of continuing the review, some technical cmts:
  • No dab links [35] (no action req'd).
  • External links check out [36] (no action req'd).
  • Most of the images lack Alt Text so you might consider adding it [37] (suggestion only - not an ACR req).
  • The Citation Check Tool reveals no issues with reference consolidation (no action req'd).
  • Images appear to either be PD or licenced and seem to have the req'd information (no action req'd).
    • Captions look ok to me (although the first one might be expanded to "Melbourne Castle in 1602" or something like that).
  • The Earwig Tool didn't work so accepting on good faith that there are no issues with copyright violation or close paraphrasing [38] (no action req'd).
  • No duplicate links per WP:REPEATLINK (no action req'd).
  • More to follow. Will review prose today or tomorrow, although it looks quite good so far. Anotherclown (talk) 22:36, 30 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]
    • Thanks for the checks. I've added alt text to images and publisher locations to books and reports (I can't even remember why I originally decided against for this article). Changed lead caption to "1602 drawing", since MoS suggests not repeating the article title in captions. As I suspected, the council reports don't appear to have OCLCs, so I think I'll leave them out rather than a mishmash of ISBN/OCLC/neither. Thanks for returning to this, and I look forward to your prose comments Jimfbleak - talk to me? 10:17, 31 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]
      • Good point about the caption - I'll try and remember that. Anotherclown (talk) 09:31, 1 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]
        • Continuing review:
          • " It was built on the site of an earlier royal manor house that in the reign of King John had provided accommodation for noblemen hunting in a nearby royal park." Suggest rewording to something like: "It was built on the site of an earlier royal manor house that had provided accommodation for noblemen hunting in a nearby royal park in the reign of King John." (suggestion only)
          • "Melbourne is a town in South Derbyshire close to the River Trent." Melbourne should probably be wikilinked at first use in the body of the text.
          • Suggest joining these two sentences: "Melbourne is a town in South Derbyshire close to the River Trent. It may have originated as buildings associated with the royal manor to the south of the nearby settlement at Kings Newton...", consider instead: "Melbourne is a town in South Derbyshire close to the River Trent, which may have originated as buildings associated with the royal manor to the south of the nearby settlement at Kings Newton."
          • Missing paired comma here I think: "The castle, still unfinished at the time of Thomas' execution, and its land remained as crown property until it was bestowed on Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster, Earl Thomas' brother, in 1327." consider perhaps: "The castle, still unfinished at the time of Thomas' execution, and its land, remained as crown property until it was bestowed on Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster, Earl Thomas' brother, in 1327."
          • Is this quote correct: "praty and yn meately good reparation"... particular "yn", or should it by "in"? (I'm assuming that the text is actually correct and that it is old English, but just want to check it isn't a typo - probably showing my ignorance here).
          • Typo here: "...the total areas has been estimated to be at least..." → "...the total area has..."
          • "Some of the stone taken from the castle was used to construct the grade II-listed buildings at 43 and 45 Castle Street..." do we know when this occurred? Might add context to provide a date for this if it is available.
          • Usher, Howard (1991). "Melbourne Castle". Derbyshire Miscellany, the Local History Bulletin of the Derbyshire Archaeological Society 12 (5): 126–133. Any reason why you haven't used short cites here, and included the full citation in the "Cited texts" section? I'm probably missing something really obvious but it seems inconsistent.
            • I normally have journals in the refs and use "short form plus cited text" just for books and reports. Unusually (compared to my bird articles) there is only one journal ref here, which looks a bit odd. I've therefore moved it to book-style Jimfbleak - talk to me? 10:30, 1 November 2013 (UTC) [reply]
          • Thompson, M W (2008). The Decline of the Castle. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521083974. Should authors full name be used here (for consistency with the rest of your citations)?
          • Inconsistency in presentation of ISBNs - one has hyphens, the rest do not. Don't think there is a preferred style just suggest you adopt a consistent format.
          • Wonder if the description of the castle would work better earlier in the article (for instance as section just after the background)? For instance Kenilworth Castle, which is one of our A class articles, has an extensive section on Architecture and landscape as its first section (suggestion only - I believe the article structure is acceptable as it is currently)
          • Article is currently only in one category - wonder if it should be added to a few more? Again Kenilworth Castle is in the following cats:
            • Castles in Warwickshire
            • History of Warwickshire
            • Gardens in Warwickshire
            • English Heritage sites in Warwickshire
            • Ruins in Warwickshire
            • Kenilworth
            • Visitor attractions in Warwickshire
            • Grade I listed buildings in Warwickshire
            • Historic house museums in Warwickshire
        • Will have a look again once these have been dealt with. Happy to discuss anything you disagree with. All the best. Anotherclown (talk) 09:31, 1 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]
          • Thanks for comments and your edits to the text. Jimfbleak - talk to me? 10:30, 1 November 2013 (UTC) [reply]
            • Ok that's it for my cmts, I've just made a couple of edits to the headings and added some bibliographic info that seemed to be missing. Although I have no background in castles I have added my spt now as I believe the article does a good job covering the topic and meets the A class criteria. I encourage you to take it to FAC to get a broader range of opinions (hopefully from someone with more subject knowledge than I). Anotherclown (talk) 12:56, 1 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.
The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

Promoted -- Ian Rose (talk) 05:36, 20 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Nominator(s): 23 editor (talk)


I am nominating this article for A-Class review because it has recently passed GAN and was extensively copy-edited by User:HueSatLum of the Guild of Copy Editors not too long after. I believe it meets all A-Class criteria. It covers an interesting battle which took place in August 1914, and was the first Allied victory of the First World War. It also ended the first Austro-Hungarian invasion of Serbia. 23 editor (talk) 02:02, 17 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Comments - Dank (push to talk)

  • "The Battle of Cer ... was a military engagement fought": The Battle of Cer ... was fought
  • This one would benefit from re-reading. For instance: "killed killed", "killed soldiers killed", "rejected.[9]."
  • "The number of Austro-Hungarian troops assigned to the invasion of Serbia was far smaller than the originally intended 308,000–strong force,[when?] because a large portion of the Austro-Hungarian 2nd Army moved to the Russian Front, reducing the number of troops involved in the initial stages of the invasion of Serbia to approximately 200,000.": hyphen not dash, repetition, "when" tag, "had moved" - Dank (push to talk) 13:11, 28 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Hi, Dank! I've addressed your comments and made some changes . 23 editor (talk) 16:04, 28 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Support Comments: G'day. Good work, I took a quick look at the article and have the following suggestions/comments:

  • "File:Potiorek oskar fzm 1853 1933 photo2.jpg": needs a US licence as well as the one that is already on the image description page. PD-US-1923 is probably sufficient;

Done.

G'day, thanks, but I'm not sure that "PD-old-100" is the correct licence here. It is only appropriate if the author is known to have died more than 100 years ago, but currently the image description page does not seem to identify the author. Regards, AustralianRupert (talk) 10:35, 3 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Fixed.

  • "File:Spomenik palim junacima Cerske Bitke.JPG": does Serbia have freedom of panorama? If so, please add a FoP licence to the image description page;

Done.

  • in the infobox, can the units be linked?

Unfortunately, they'd all some will end up being redlinks. How do you think I should proceed?

I'd suggest linking them, but only once. AustralianRupert (talk) 10:35, 3 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]
Done.
  • links for 13th Army Corps, 4th Army Corps?
Added.

These would also be redlinks. Is this alright?

Yes, per WP:REDLINK. AustralianRupert (talk) 10:35, 3 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  • "encountered the Serbian 1st, 2nd and 3rd Armies". The link here for the Second Army should be moved to it first mention;

Done.

  • "General Stepa Stepanović, was promoted to the rank of Field Marshal" --> "General Stepa Stepanović, was promoted to the rank of field marshal"(per WP:MILTERMS);

Fixed.

  • inconsistent presentation: "machine-guns" v. "machine guns";

Fixed.

  • "forty-six cannon, thirty machine guns" --> the link here for "machine guns" should be moved to its first mention earlier in the article;

Done.

  • in the References, inconsistent presentation: for instance, "Bloomington, Indiana" v. "Cambridge, Mass." (one uses abbreviation, the other doesn't);

Fixed.

  • in the References, is there a place of publication for the Horne work?

Added.

Removed. I've addressed most of your comments with this edit . I have also fixed the licences on the photos you mentioned. Thanks for your comments. Regards, 23 editor (talk) 19:15, 1 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]

The changes look good. Thank you very much for taking the time to go through with the copy-edits. 23 editor (talk) 15:18, 14 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]
Cheers, continuing my review below. Happy to discuss anything you don't agree with. Regards, AustralianRupert (talk) 01:21, 15 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  • "Rifles were also in critically short supply because Serbia could not produce any domestically, nor could it import them from abroad." Could you please clarify this? Surely the Serbs were either able to locally-produce or import at some stage (otherwise they'd have had no rifles whatsoever), so had the situation changed for some reason, e.g. had an international treaty banned them from importing etc?
  • "...Serbian General Staff could do was wait until the enemy's invasion plan materialized" --> this is a very Serbian narrative voice, and while I understand that this is sometimes avoidable, is it possible to balance it somehow? For instance, perhaps replace "enemy's" with "the Austro-Hungarian"
  • is there anything that can be said about the Austro-Hungarian commanders' response to the set backs in the Battle section?
  • in the Aftermath, you mention that the Serbian commander was promoted, were any repercussions for the Austro-Hungarian commander?
  • in the Aftermath section, "that certain cultural groups in Italy" --> is it possible to provide some examples of which cultural groups did this?
  • in the Casualties section, is there anything that can be said from the Austro-Hungarian point of view about the atrocities? If nothing has been written, that's fine, but currently the article seems very much as if it is written from a Serbian point of view and I think it might need to be balanced a bit more;
  • in the first paragraph of the Casualties section, I would suggest moving the citations to the end of the sentences to which they relate. For instance, "Jordan[5] states that the Austro-Hungarians suffered a total of 37,000 casualties in the battle, of whom 7,000 were fatalities." --> Jordan states that the Austro-Hungarians suffered a total of 37,000 casualties in the battle, of whom 7,000 were fatalities.[5]" (and the other examples in the paragraph as well). Regards, AustralianRupert (talk) 01:21, 15 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Hi, AR. I've addressed most of your comments: I've removed the bit about Serbia not being able to produce or import rifles because the source isn't precise, so I figure it's better off removed. I've made the wording more neutral (enemy's>Austro-Hungarian), added that both sides committed atrocities during the campaign (couldn't find any specifics regarding Serb atrocities), and added Potiorek's response to defeat in the battle. I've also addressed your last point. As for the bit about "Italian cultural groups", the source doesn't go into specifics. Would it be better off removed? 23 editor (talk) 23:24, 15 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]

  • G'day, thanks for making those changes. A couple of follow-on points:
    • "Atrocities were committed by both the Austro-Hungarians and Serbs, with the Austro-Hungarians committing more only because they had more opportunities to do so." --> I'm not sure about this wording. Given what you are talking about, I think it might be best to attribute the statement in text by mentioning who is stating this. For instance, "Atrocities were committed by both the Austro-Hungarians and Serbs, although according to author Lawrence Sondhaus, the majority were committed by Austro-Hungarians because..."
    • "held in such high esteem that certain cultural groups in Italy advocated..." --> perhaps if you use direct quotes from the source (using the source's words), it would deal with the issue about the lack of specifics. For example "held in such high esteem that, according to Mitrovic, in Italy "certain cultural groups advocated entering the war on the Allied side"..." (replacing the quoted words here with those used in the source"
    • "...citing Serbia and Montenegro as examples" --> Examples of what? AustralianRupert (talk) 11:23, 18 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]
Cheers and thank you. 23 editor (talk) 05:03, 21 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  • CommentsSupport
    • No dab links [39] (no action req'd).
    • External links all check out [40] (no action req'd).
    • All images lack Alt Text so you might consider adding it [41] (suggestion only - not an ACR req).
    • The Citation Check Tool reveals no issues with reference consolidation (no action req'd).
    • Image review completed above (no action req'd).
    • The Earwig Tool reveal no issues with copyright violation or close paraphrasing (only a wiki mirror) [42] (no action req'd).
    • No duplicate links per WP:REPEATLINK (no action req'd).
    • There seems to be an illogical progression b/n the first paragraph and the second paragraph of the background. The first paragraph ends with the war beginning, while the 2nd para starts by talking about the number of Austro-Hungarian troops assigned to the first invasion of Serbia. Issue is here that you need to introduce the fact that such an invasion was planned / commenced etc (all it needs is a sentence stating this).
    • Typo here: "resulted in heavy Austro-Hungarians losses...", should be: "...resulted in heavy Austro-Hungarian losses."
    • Perhaps add links to Serbian 1st Combined Division, 1st Šumadija Division, 1st Morava Division, 21st Landwehr Division, 42nd Mountain Division, 36th Infantry Division and a number of other presumably notable Serbian and Austro-Hungarian formations that don't seem to be linked.
    • Reports from the front announced that "the enemy is withdrawing in the greatest disorder." - whose reports? Presumably Serbian from the language. Should be clarified I think.
    • Popular culture sections need to be treated with care. Per WP:MILPOP such sections "...should be avoided unless the subject has had a well-cited and notable impact on popular culture. Any popular culture reference being considered for inclusion must be attributed to a reliable source for the article topic. Items meeting these requirements should typically be worked into the text of the article; a separate section for popular culture items, and in particular the following, should be avoided..."
    • Placement of the commonscat box is incorrect. See Template: Commons category which states: "Do not place this template in a section containing columns without floating left. In articles, this template should be placed at the top of the ==External links== section, or at the top of the last section on the page, if no external links section exists."
    • Otherwise this article is looking in very good shape to me. Anotherclown (talk) 22:57, 21 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Hi, A.C. I've addressed all of your comments with this edit . Regards, 23 editor (talk) 21:40, 23 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Cheers! Thanks for the review. 23 editor (talk) 11:42, 24 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]

CommentsSupport by Peacemaker67 (send... over) 04:25, 2 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

  • suggest you make the redlinks for the Austria-Hungary armies and divisions consistent (including in the infobox), and consistent with MOS. Recommend Second Army (Austria-Hungary), using (Austria-Hungary) as the standard disambiguation.  Done

Done.

  • suggestion only: add alt text to all images for accessibility reasons  Done

Done.

  • suggest "308,000-strong force intended in July" be "308,000-strong force intended when war was declared"  Done

Done.

  • suggest "replenish its shell stocks" be "replenish its ammunition stocks"  Done

Done.

  • a quick Google Books search indicates that Šajkača should not have an initial capital.  Done

Done.

  • They also had better stocks of munitions, as well as a much better transport and industrial infrastructure behind them  Done

Fixed.

  • Hence is pretty archaic, suggest "As a result" or "Putnik therefore"  Done

Done.

  • suggest you review each use of "however", IMO it is rarely needed if the preceding and following text is clear. For example, "The Serbian General Staff knew, however, that the bulk of the Austro-Hungarian forces were stationed in Bosnia and refused to be misled by these feints on the Danube" could be rendered as "The bulk of the Austro-Hungarian forces were stationed in Bosnia, and the Serbian General Staff refused to be misled by these feints on the Danube"  Done

Done.

  • The "Despite the fact that many went to the front wielding pitchforks and axes brought from their farms, most Serb soldiers were highly motivated, which compensated in part for their lack of weaponry" sentence, regardless of sourcing, is highly romanticised. Pitchforks have a poor record against Mausers. I suggest removing it. No doubt they were highly motivated to defend their country, and that aspect should be retained IMO, but the "pitchfork and axe" bit is too much.  Done

Altered.

  • Probably worth pointing out that Kosanin grad was the site of a medieval fortress, puts Cer's importance as a defensive position in context.  Done

Source please?

    • Fair point. I only know because I've been there. And despite this, the only ref to the fortress I could find with a quick search is this, which probably not a good enough source. Forgettaboutit...
  • there is a fair amount of "crushing", "conquering" (of villages), and "annihilation" going on, suggest either detail actual losses or look for alternate wording. Reliance on Glenny (a journalist), may be contributing to this.  Done

Changed.

  • Atrocities by Serb forces are mentioned, but the remainder of space is focussed on A-H atrocities, including a long quote. Are there no sources on the details of Serb atrocities committed? Sondhaus has a bit more to say about the motives behind the atrocities and arrests for treason etc, which I think should be added to maintain neutrality and provide the full picture, including the Austrians hatred towards Serbs for starting the war. Sondhaus also mentions Muslims fleeing Serbia at the start of the war, which provides some context.  Done

Added how civilians mutilated A-H soldiers and the Austrian hatred of Serbs because of the war. The bit about Muslims doesn't necessarily relate to the Battle of Cer, does it?

    • No, on reflection it doesn't directly relate to this battle, more the war in general.
  • "By then, no Austro-Hungarian soldiers remained free on Serbian soil." is a little romantic too, suggest toning it down with neutral language.  Done

Removed.

  • I'm not sure that Glenny is countering Jordan, Perhaps "in contrast" would be a better formulation?  Done

Fixed.

  • The figure on Serb wounded is consistent across all three sources used, no need to contrast there.  Done

Removed.

  • Why did A-H forces in Montenegro have to withdraw? Needs greater explanation.  Done

Done.

  • need to chop the ref field from the Further reading text.  Done

Please clarify what you mean.

    • Did it myself.
  • no mention of one of the "firsts" of WWI, the dogfight between the Serbian and Austrian aircraft during the battle (the Austrian armed with a revolver)?
    • Glenny p.316 is the reference for the dogfight.
  • this source provides some information about ammo expenditure and another version of the casrep.  Done

Added. The bit about casualties includes both killed and wounded (casrep?), in which case the sources already present are sufficient to paint a picture of what casualties were. 23 editor (talk) 19:58, 13 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

@Peacemaker67: Where would you suggest I add the info about the dogfight since Glenny doesn't mention which date it occurred on? 23 editor (talk) 02:24, 17 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

The Aftermath section, I reckon. Along the lines of "The first ever aerial dogfight occurred during the battle, when..."   Done

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Promoted Peacemaker67 (send... over) 10:13, 8 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Nominator(s): TonyTheTiger (T / C / WP:FOUR / WP:CHICAGO / WP:WAWARD)


I am nominating this article for A-Class review because. It is an interesting article worth improving further. TonyTheTiger (T / C / WP:FOUR / WP:CHICAGO / WP:WAWARD) 18:14, 20 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Comments - Dank (push to talk)

CommentsSupport by Peacemaker67 (send... over) 04:45, 2 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Support Image comment: G'day, I had a quick look at the images. I'm not sure about the fair use rationale for the source, source2, source3, and source4 images:


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Article promoted Hawkeye7 (talk) 02:24, 7 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Nominator(s): --Sp33dyphil ©hatontributions 04:17, 26 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Prior nomination here and Prior nomination here

This is the third A-class review after the first two that happened in quick succession in 2011. I have lately taken a look at the issues raised during these two nominations, and have tried to addressed them all – the lead has been rewritten and clarifications have been added to explain military jargons. I believe the article just about meets all the MHACR criteria; all comments are welcomed --Sp33dyphil ©hatontributions 04:17, 26 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]

  • CommentsSupport
    • One dab link [43]:
    • B61
    • External links check reveals a couple of dead links [44]:
    • Some of the images lack Alt Text so you might consider adding it [45] (suggestion only - not an ACR req).
    • The Citation Check Tool reveals no issues with reference consolidation (no action req'd).
    • Images are all either PD / licensed and seem appropriate as far as I can see.
    • The Earwig Tool reveal no issues with copyright violation or close paraphrasing [46] (no action req'd).
    • A few duplicate links per WP:REPEATLINK:
      • Hawker Siddeley Harrier
      • Rolls-Royce Pegasus
      • leading-edge root extension
      • hardpoints
      • Operation Desert Storm
      • LITENING II targeting pod
      • USS Kearsarge
      • Douglas A-4 Skyhawk
      • Naval Air Systems Command
      • no-fly zone
      • Alenia Aeronautica
      • MCAS Cherry Point
      • AIM-120 AMRAAMs
      • 2011 military intervention in Libya
      • F/A-18 Hornet
      • hardpoint
        • Since this is a long article, I thought it'd be good for the reader to have more than one link to the same page. I've removed all the links, however, except for, Hawker Jump Jet (it serves two purposes) and LITENING II targetting pod (LITENING II and LITENING are talked about in the same article). --Sp33dyphil ©hatontributions 01:48, 29 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]
    • Abbrev needs to be correctly introduced here: "Capable of vertical or short takeoff and landing, the aircraft was designed in the 1980s as an Anglo-American development of the British Hawker Siddeley Harrier, the first operational V/STOL aircraft." Consider instead: "Capable of vertical or short takeoff and landing (V/STOL), the aircraft was designed in the 1980s as an Anglo-American development of the British Hawker Siddeley Harrier, the first operational V/STOL aircraft."
    • "The AV-8A, the American designation for the Hawker Siddeley Harrier, in STOL..." abbreviation needs to be introduced here (abbrevs used in the lead don't count).
    • Missing word here perhaps: "The Advanced Harrier was intended to replace original RAF and USMC Harriers...", consider instead: "The Advanced Harrier was intended to replace the original RAF and USMC Harriers..."
    • A bit informal here: " In 1984, money for eight AV-8Bs was diverted...", consider instead: " In 1984, funding for eight AV-8Bs was diverted..."
    • Punctuation here seems a little complicated: "The Defense Acquisition Board, on 11 March 1994, approved the program, which initially involved 70 aircraft, with four converted in financial year 1994." Perhaps consider more simply: On 11 March 1994, the Defense Acquisition Board approved the program, which initially involved 70 aircraft, with four converted in financial year 1994."
    • Redundancy here: "...was delivered to Spain in December 2003, ending the Harrier production line." (you already mentioned the end of the production line in the para above). Suggest removing second instance.
    • Contradictory: "The Marines Corps Harrier fleet is to remain operational until 2027..." previously you said 2030.
    • "unlike earlier ejection seats that required the aircraft to move forward at a particular height for them to work." Is there a citation available for this?
    • "The AV-8B cockpit was also used for the early trialling of Direct Voice Input (DVI), which allows the pilot to use voice commands to issue instructions to the aircraft, using a system developed by Smiths Aerospace." Remove wikilink here to Smiths Aerospace and wikilink earlier at first use.
    • Tense here: "The carrier, which replaces the World War II-era Dédalo...", consider instead: "The carrier, which replaced the World War II-era Dédalo..."
    • "...on the Marina Militare (Italian Navy) helicopter carrier Andrea Doria...", wikilink Andrea Doria.
    • "...worked alongside Italian Eurofighters and the aircraft...", perhaps wikilink Eurofighter.
    • "Italian Air Force Tornados and AMX fighter bombers..." perhaps wikilink Tornado and AMX here.
    • Some of the titles of references in the bibliography are incorrectly presented and need to use title case.
    • Mainly prose and some technical issues which should be easily fixed, otherwise looking in fairly good shape. Happy to discuss anything you disagree with. Anotherclown (talk) 11:25, 28 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support Comments:
    • the citation style seems a little inconsistent: for instance # 52 has the full bibliographic details instead of a short citation (compare it to 56 which is also a Flight International article). Same for # 38 and possibly others;
    • in the Bibliography, capitalisation: "The Iraq War: strategy, tactics, and military lessons" --> " The Iraq War: Strategy, Tactics, and Military Lessons"
    • as above: "NATO air power" --> "NATO Air Power";
    • "The Naval Institute guide to the ships and aircraft of the U.S. fleet" --> "The Naval Institute Guide to the Ships and Aircraft of the U.S. Fleet"
    • in the Bibliography, can ISSNs be found for Popular Science and Flight International? AustralianRupert (talk) 11:49, 28 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Support on prose per standard disclaimer. These are my edits. - Dank (push to talk) 03:09, 2 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]


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Article promoted Hawkeye7 (talk) 02:25, 7 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Nominator(s): Sturmvogel 66 (talk)


This ship was one of the first Japanese light aircraft carriers and was a textbook example of the Japanese habit of trying to cram a quart into a pint pot. In service she proved top-heavy and unstable and had to be refitted to ameliorate those issues. She spent the first part of the Pacific War supporting Japanese troops during the Malayan and Philippines Campaigns. During the Indian Ocean raid she operated separately from the Kido Butai, supporting Japanese cruisers attacking British shipping in the Bay of Bengal. The carrier participated in the attack on Dutch Harbor in June 1942 and was sunk during the Battle of the Eastern Solomons later that year.Sturmvogel 66 (talk) 02:13, 21 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Comments

  • Infobox
    • Cited length figure is different than infobox figure
      • Good catch.
    • Probably more accurate that the ship had virtually no armor, maybe specify it did not have an armored flight deck, hangar deck or belt (that's what I read that meant...).
      • I think that the current language is good enough. I'm not even sure if the Japanese even considered protective plating as armor as opposed to simply doubling structural steel or whatever they actually did.
  • Add the Hiryū language for naming somewhere.
    • Done.
  • "The ships were bombed several times by B-17s without effect..." - maybe reword this that multiple B-17s dropped bombs that missed the ship. Kirk (talk) 19:17, 27 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Support on prose per standard disclaimer. These are my edits. - Dank (push to talk) 19:26, 28 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Support with minor points:

  • "and was back in the shipyard for modifications to address those issues within a year" - hard to tell which year this was, as the lead talks about her being built "in the 1930s"
    • The details are in the main body, but the emphasis here is how quickly she needed to be modified so I'm not sure that the exact year is important.
  • "Because of the need to keep Ryūjō's weight to 8,000 metric tons, no armor could be provided," > "No armor could be provided because of the need to keep Ryūjō's weight to 8,000 metric tons," would make the sentence more direct, and avoid starting with a "because"
    • Good idea.
  • "She was also designed with only a single hangar, which would have left her with an extremely low profile (there being just 4.6 meters (15 ft 1 in) of freeboard amidships and 3.0 meters (9 ft 10 in) aft)." - I couldn't visualise/understand this on first reading, possibly because I'm not familiar with hangars being stacked, or what freeboard meant!
    • I'm not sure how to respond to this since freeboard is linked.
  • "Her air group now consisted of a mixture of B3Y1 torpedo bombers, D1A1 dive bombers and A2N fighters, but her torpedo bombers were transferred after fleet maneuvers in October demonstrated effective dive bombing tactics." - I wasn't clear why the dive bombers being successful would mean that the torpedo bombers needed to be removed.
    • My source isn't clear why the torpedo bombers were transferred, just that they were.
  • "The disabled Ryujo (just right of center)..." I couldn't make out the ships on this until I blew it up somewhat larger. Is it worth circling or highlighting the ships in some way on an amended image? Hchc2009 (talk) 15:32, 30 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]

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Article promoted Hawkeye7 (talk) 02:26, 7 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Nominator(s): Sturmvogel 66 (talk)


Mutsu had a surprisingly uneventful history. She was a minor cause célèbre during the negotiations for the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 as the Japanese lied about having claimed to complete her before the start of the conference, otherwise would have had to scrap the brand new ship. Even so a compromise was reached where Japan was allowed to retain her, while sacrificing one of her earliest dreadnoughts and the UK and US were allowed to build/finish some 16-inch-armed dreadnoughts. The ship was generally kept in home waters during the Pacific War. Her magazines exploded in early 1943 for an unknown reason and her wreck was salvaged after the war.Sturmvogel 66 (talk) 03:15, 21 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Support Comments: G'day, looks quite good, but I only took a quick look:

  • "totalled" --> shouldn't this be "totaled" if it it is US spelling?
    • To tell the truth, I always get mixed up on doubling the "l" or not, but my dictionary agrees with you.
  • punctuation: "superstructure. six-meter";
  • "rumours" --> "rumors" (US spelling);
  • "Parshall & Tully" appears in the Footnotes seciton, but not in the Bibliography;
  • in the Bibliography, capitalisation: "Scraps of Paper: The Disarmament Treaties between the World Wars" --> ""Scraps of Paper: The Disarmament Treaties Between the World Wars"?
  • as above, "Mutsu – An Exploration of the Circumstances Surrounding her Loss" --> "Mutsu – An Exploration of the Circumstances Surrounding Her Loss"?
  • isbn or oclc for the Hyde work?
  • "File:Fusō-class battleship.jpg": probably needs a US licence. I think PD-US-1996 would probably work;
  • "File:Mutsu20.jpg": is missing date and source information on hte description page; it probably also needs a US licence;
  • "File:Japanese battleship Mutsu.jpg": US licence and link (if available) to the archive. Regards, AustralianRupert (talk) 07:18, 22 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]
    • Thanks for catching all these little niggles. Added US licenses for all the pics. Sources are not available, although exceedingly unlikely to be non-Japanese as she never made a port visit outside Japan that I'm aware of.

Comments

Support - looks good to me! Minor comments:

  • "four Gihon geared steam turbines" - I wasn't quite sure whether these were "Gihon-geared steam turbines" or "geared Gihon steam turbines" (i.e. what the Gihon adjective was applying to)
    • Gihon was the manufacturer. I'm not sure how to fix this. Geared and steam aren't a compound adjective so a hyphen is out.
  • " the gun's maximum range from " - the rest of the paragraph would have this as "guns'"
    • Good catch.
  • "Mutsu had an additional boom added" - worth linking boom?
    • Sure, more links is good.
  • "Mutsu, named for Mutsu Province, and for the Meiji Emperor's personal name, Mutsuhito" - the lead only mentions the first of these, btw.
    • True, my early research didn't discover the other reason for the name. Somebody pointed it out to me later so I'm not sure that it was a cause for the name rather than happy coincidence.
  • "she sortied for the Bonin Islands," - I'd have gone for "sortied to the Bonin Islands" Hchc2009 (talk) 15:24, 29 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Support on prose per standard disclaimer. These are my edits. - Dank (push to talk) 04:51, 30 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]

  • CommentsSupport
    • No dab links [47] (no action req'd).
    • External links check out [48] (no action req'd).
    • Images lack Alt Text so you might consider adding it [49] (suggestion only - not an ACR req).
    • The Citation Check Tool reveals a couple of minor issues with reference consolidation:
      • "Whitley, p. 200" (Multiple references contain the same content)
      • "w0" (Multiple references are using the same name)
    • Images are all either PD / licensed and seem appropriate as far as I can see.
    • The Earwig Tool reveal no issues with copyright violation or close paraphrasing [50] (no action req'd).
    • A few duplicate links per WP:REPEATLINK:
      • crane (see "...and a collapsible crane was installed in a portside sponson the following year...)
        • Crane and boom both link back to crane (mechanical)
      • light cruiser (see "... the light cruiser Sendai, nine destroyers and four auxiliary ships...")
      • Saipan (see "...were sent to Saipan in the Mariana Islands where most were killed...")
      • shrapnel shells (see "...incendiary shrapnel shells, which had caused a fire at the Sagami arsenal several years earlier..."
      • brigade (see "...long section running from the bridge structure forward to the vicinity of No. 1 turret...")
    • Prose a little repetitive here: "...immediate suspicion focused on the Type 3 anti-aircraft shell as it had been suspected of causing a fire before the war ...", specifically "suspicion" and "suspected" in the same sentence. Consider something like: " ...immediate suspicion focused on the Type 3 anti-aircraft shell as it had been believed to have caused a fire before the war..." (suggestion only - minor nitpick really).
    • Otherwise very good. Anotherclown (talk) 22:14, 4 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

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Article promoted. Anotherclown (talk) 09:46, 5 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]
Nominator(s): Parsecboy (talk)


Another in the list of warships series, this one covers all of the light cruisers built or projected by the German navies. It also caps this project which is almost complete (Emden is the only remaining article that needs to be rewritten). Thanks to all who take the time to review this list. Parsecboy (talk) 16:35, 9 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Comments

  • Some sources have Köningsberg (1927) as the K-Class,
    • Added a note on this.
  • Section-wise I think it would be helpful to organize the list with a pre-WWI section and post-WWI section since its otherwise a long list. I thought maybe with CLs they would have a name for newer cruisers like other ships but I couldn't find any. Kirk (talk) 18:37, 12 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]
    • I read 'modern light cruiser' a couple of times, which I don't recommend!
      • Hmm, the only problem with splitting it at WWI/WWII ships is it doesn't do much to break up the list, since only the last 4 entries will be split. I'll add it anyway and see what you think.
  • Similarly, Leipzig and Nuremberg are unique ships in Conway. Kirk (talk) 18:45, 12 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Comments: looks quite good to me, but I'm out of my depth with lists, so I only had a quick look, sorry. I have the following observations/suggestions:

  • the duplicate link checker tool identifies the following as possibly being overlinked: Battle of Heligoland Bight (1914); Battlecruiser; World War II; Reichsmarine;
    • All fixed, thanks for catching these.
  • wording: "All four ships were employed with the High Seas Fleet after their commissionings..." --> "All four ships were employed with the High Seas Fleet after they were commissioned..."?
    • Sounds fine to me.
  • in the References, there is some inconsistency in terms of location presentation. For instance compare "London" with "London, UK"; "New York, NY" with "New York"; "Annapolis, MD" and "Annapolis";
    • Should all be cleaned up.
  • in the References, can a location be added for the Osborne book?
    • Added.
  • in the References, is there an ISSN or OCLC number that could be added for the Forstmeier, Novik and Whitley works? Regards, AustralianRupert (talk) 12:08, 15 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]
    • I can get OCLC numbers for Warship International but nothing on the specific volumes for Novik and Whitley. Forstmeier has its only OCLC entry though. Thanks for your review, AR.

CommentsSupport by Peacemaker67 (send... over) 13:27, 18 September 2013 (UTC) Initial run through:[reply]

  • overlinking of Battle of Heligoland Bight (1914), Battlecruiser (Goeben), World War II, Reichsmarine (under Emden).
    • All fixed (see above)
  • location field for Novik, Whitley, Osborne
    • Also see above.
  • consistency re: location fields (London, UK or just London, for example)
    • And again.
  • some citations need to be combined (Gardiner & Gray, p. 143; and Herwig, p. 28 for example)
    • Both fixed.
  • suggest you use refbegin and refend templates to reduce the font size in References
    • Ok
  • Is there a Commons link that should be added?
  • consider adding alt text to all images for accessibility reasons (not an ACR requirement)
  • no issues detected by dab checker, EL checker, redir checker or earwig (no action required)

*will go through prose tomorrow or the next day.

  • Byron Farwell and James P. Delgado in refs should be authorlinked.
    • Both added.
  • Suggest the individual citations in many of the tables could be replaced with a single citation against the column heading.
  • In the Kolberg class table, 10.5 cm/45 should probably be rendered as 10.5 cm SK L/45 for consistency, ditto 15 cm SK L/45. Also, I suggest you use a consistent way of referring to each gun, in the latter tables, you reduce it to "15 cm guns", then use "15 cm C/25" omitting the SK. Suggest you use the full version throughout with all guns.
    • Should all be standardized now.
  • It is not clear why you use a conversion for the guns in the Pillau class table, but not elsewhere. I suggest the approach should be consistent.
    • Generally, you only need to use a conversion at the first use, so it's in the Pillau class since they were the first to use the larger gun.
  • No power conversion in the Graudenz class table.
    • Same as above.
  • No speed conversion in the Pillau class table.
    • Ditto.
  • Regensburg was present for the battle, however, where she led the torpedo boat flotillas screening the I Scouting Group battlecruisers
    • Done.
  • Armor thickness conversion in some tables, but not others.
    • Same as above.

That's it for me. Great work putting this together! Peacemaker67 (send... over) 11:29, 20 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Support

  • Great work. Two minor points below:
  • "several intermediate designs of unprotected cruisers, such as the Bussard class, and avisos like SMS Hela" - it's wikilinked, but is there anyway of explaining what an aviso is in the lead? (e.g. "...and aviso despatch boats like SMS Hela"?) Would be gentler on the non-specialist. :)
    • See what I added and let me know what you think.
  • she was ultimately surrendered to the United States and expended as a target in 1921" - the phrase "expended as a target" wasn't one I was familiar with, and it felt a bit odd (I might have expected to expend ammunition or money, but not a ship). Hchc2009 (talk) 17:27, 29 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.


Article still meets A-Class criteria - TomStar81 (talk) via MilHistBot (talk) 06:20, 27 April 2019 (UTC) « Return to A-Class review list[reply]

Instructions for nominators and reviewers

Nominator(s): Peacemaker67 (talk)

Hans Waldmann (fighter pilot) (edit | talk | history | links | watch | logs)

I am nominating this article for A-Class re-assessment because it was recently delisted in this GAR for the heavy use of a source written by an alleged right-wing extremist, Bracke. Pinging original ACR nominator (MisterBee1966, and ACR reviewers @Ed!, AustralianRupert, and Ian Rose: (Anotherclown is retired). Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 03:38, 2 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]

  • Comments The perceived unreliability of the source is based on who the author was and who published the work. The book is not being evaluated on its content nor research which went into its creation. Subsequently, I am under the impression that there is nothing I can do to change that perception now. Any recommendations on content of the article, I can address. Cheers MisterBee1966 (talk) 07:26, 2 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]
  • Any source must be assessed on the reliability of the author, publisher and the source itself. All three are important. I have not seen any suggestions so far that the assertions in the source itself are unreliable/inaccurate, the issues have been that the author is unreliable (due to extremist views), and some questions about the reliability of the publisher (although I don't think they have been properly made out at this stage, and are more "unreliability by association" than anything else). Hope that helps. Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 08:12, 2 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]
  • Keep. First of all Peacemaker67 you need to tell as what’s the problem with Bracke. The GAR doesn’t say anything (the nominator only calls it a dubious source without proof) and it was done in hasty fashion. This is very important information because remember, the aim is not to delist the article, but to fix it. So we need to know what information used in Waldmann article and cited to Bracker are false, unreliable or inaccurate. Bracker is used for plain information about his birth, what school he went and what he did when he was young, what he did when the war broke out and some military stats (units he was part, airplane he flew etc). If someone can demonstrate here that the information sourced by Becker is unreliable I will change my vote to delist. Second, there are multiple GA or FA reassessments on Luftwaffe pilots who are done at the same time and in hurried fashion, like the GA above where people can’t even take part or discuss as it’s done in a swift way with the same editors working together: K.e.coffman and buidhe. The same thing happened to Hartmann article where the contributor fixed the problem and it was still delisted. Remember, Good article reassessment page says that you need to notify major contributors to the article and the relevant Wikiprojects. The aim is not to delist the article, but to fix it. DiorandI
  • Assayer is best placed to explain the evidence that Bracke is an alleged right-wing extremist, but there is a thread two above the GAR (under the heading "Tags") which alludes to the issues with Bracke. This brings into question the author's reliability. It is not just the content of the book itself that needs to be reliable, but also the publisher and the author. All three must be reliable for a source to be considered reliable, per WP:RS. Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 02:45, 3 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]

@WP:MILHIST coordinators: I've advertised this on the main page, but I think it is important for the project that we get a consensus here one way or the other. Any suggestions on how to generate more interest? Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 01:36, 23 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.