Christophe

For those liking these nicely coloured racks of medals ribbons, here is those of the Air Chief Marshal Fali Horni Major, Chief of the Air Staff of India, PVSM AVSM SC VM ADC. Air Chief Marshal Fali Homi Major took over as the Chief of the Air Staff from Air Chief Marshal SP Tyagi on April 1, 2007. His bio, from wikipedia : "Born on May 29, 1947 in Secunderabad, Andhra Pradesh. A student of Wesley High School, Secunderabad, Air Chief Marshal Major was commissioned into the Indian Air Force on December 31, 1967 as a helicopter pilot. During his long and distinguished service spanning little over 39 years, he has worked in a variety of Command, Staff and Instructional appointments. Besides being a Fellow of the National Defence College, New Delhi, and the Army War College, Mhow, he attended a variety of courses like Junior Commanders' Course, Jungle and Snow Survival Course and Higher Command Courses. He was appointed Joint Director (Helicopter Operations) and Director Operations (Transport & Helicopter). In 1999, he took over as the Air Officer Commanding Leh (Ladakh), in the aftermath of the Kargil conflict. For his leadership, successful accomplishment of tasks and distinguished service of a very high order, he was awarded the ?Ati Vishist Seva Medal? in Jan 2002. He was promoted to the rank of Air Vice Marshal in Feb 2002 and appointed as Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Personnel Airmen & Civilians) at Air Headquarters. On promotion to the rank of Air Marshal in Jan 2004 he moved to HQ Integrated Defence Staff as the Deputy Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (Operations) and directed the relief, rescue and rehabilitation operations of the Indian Armed Forces, in India and abroad, in the aftermath of the Tsunami. On 05 Sep 2005, he was appointed as the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Air Command. That tenure saw the successful conduct of three major international air exercises with the United States Air Force, Republic of Singapore Air Force and the French Air Force. He was awarded the ?Param Vishisht Seva Medal? by the President of India on 26 Jan 2006. He has the distinction of having 7765 hours of flying experience to his credit. He commanded a helicopter unit, which took part in operations in Siachen (world's highest battlefield) and commanded a Mi-17 squadron during the IPKF operations in Sri Lanka, for which he was decorated with the Vayu Sena Medal(Gallantry). Air Chief Marshal Major was awarded Shaurya Chakra for undertaking a very dangerous and exacting rescue mission on October 14, 1992 at Timber Trail in Parwanoo, Himachal Pradesh, where he along with his crew, winched eleven stranded tourists out from a cable car, by hovering precariously close to the set of cables that ran above it. Air Chief Marshal FH Major is married to Mrs Zareen and has one son and one daughter. He also belongs to the distinguished 'Parsi Zoroastrian' community. The Air Chief Marshal is an avid golfer and a cricket fan." Ch.

Could it be written "Aurora" ? Ch.

Hey Ilja, I think you did quite well on this one... Cheers. Ch.

Bravo to all, a nice round!!! And congrats to Auke!!! Again, time for a few stats : Quiz 2009 : * 11 questions asked, * with 111 answers, * and viewed more than 790 times. Nb of good answers for the Quiz 2009 : * 3 : Auke (Ferdinand) & Christophe * 1 : Alex (RedMaestro), Christian (Zulus), Doc (Riley1965) & Ilja (ilja559) Complete statistics since this Quiz has been launched (on 1 Nov. 2005) : * 231 questions asked, * with 2,890 answers, * This quiz has been viewed more than 33,120 times. * 45 Members of the Forum played, and 33 correctly answered at least 1 question : Nb of good answers : * 43 : Christophe * 42 : Christian (Zulus) * 17 : Frank (Knarf) * 13 : Jim (JimZ) * 12 : Auke (Ferdinand) * 11 : Bryan (Soviet) & Marc (Lapa) * 10 : Dan (Hauptman) * 8 : Simon (Red Threat) * 6 : Belaruski, Carol I & Ed (Haynes) * 5 : Wild Card. * 4 : Alex (RedMaestro) * 3 : Andreas (Alfred), Ivan (Piramida), Kim (Kimj) & Marco (marcotk). * 2 : Chuck (in Oregon), Gerd (Becker), Jan (vatjan) & Order of Victory. * 1 : Brendan (ANZAC), Charles (Hunyadi), Darrell, Daredevil, Dave (Navy FCO), Doc (Riley1965), Dudeman, Eddie (Taz), Filip (Drugo), Ilja (ilja559), Rick (Stogieman) & Steen (Ammentorp). This is a great achievement. Thanks to all for your participation in this Quiz. Now, let's play for the 232nd question, Auke's !! Cheers. Ch.

Ok, fine. We'll wait for you... Cheers. Ch.

So, anyone ready to take the next challenge ? Come on, Guys!!!! Cheers. Ch.

Hi Bryan, What was the topic of the advertising ? Cheers. Ch.

Congrats Alex!! Your turn, now... Ch.

My small modest one... Ch. Pic : ? Christophe ? ChR Collection

Excellent, Doc. Thanks in advance. We are waiting for it. Ch.

Hi Doc, It's your turn, now... Cheers. Ch.

Ok, guys. I'm in a good mood today... Doc is the first one who identified the mysterious ship... So, Doc is the winner!!!! Here are the complete answers : 1. What is this ship ? The ship is the USS PUEBLO, which was captured by the North Koreans in 1968. 2. Why is she famous ? What happened to her, and when ? She was the first U.S. Navy ship to be hi-jacked on the high seas by a foreign military force in over 150 years. USS Pueblo (AGER-2) is a Banner-class technical research ship (Navy intelligence) which was boarded and captured by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea, or short DPRK) on 23 January 1968 in what is known as the Pueblo incident or alternatively as the Pueblo crisis or Pueblo affair. North Korea stated that she strayed into their territorial waters, but the United States maintains that the vessel was in international waters at the time of the incident 3. Where is she located now ? Pueblo is still held by North Korea. In October 1999, it was towed from Wonson on the east coast, around the Korean Peninsula, to Nampo on the west coast. This required moving the vessel through international waters. No attempt to recapture the Pueblo was made. USS Pueblo is one of the primary tourist attractions in Pyongyang, North Korea, having attracted over 250,000 visitors since being moved to the Taedong River. Pueblo is now anchored at the very spot where the General Sherman Incident is believed to have taken place in 1866. 4. Where she is located, she is a symbol. Why ? The present location of Pueblo is in Pyongyang, so it is an attempt to project an image to tourists of the North Koreans' strength. And, moreover, as said, She was the first U.S. Navy ship to be hi-jacked on the high seas by a foreign military force in over 150 years. 5. A Colonel played a role in this story. Who is he ? Colonel Kim Joong Rok was the commander of the operation again the USS Pueblo. 41 North Korean soldiers operating under his orders captured the 83 US crew members. One has been killed during the assault. Doc, you're the winner!!! Congratulations!! Your turn, now!! Cheers. Ch. Pic : Colonel Kim Joong Rok.

Doc, You have to answer all 5 questions... Cheers. Ch.

Maybe, do you prefer this pic... Ch.

No one inspired by "my" ship ? Ch.

You're right, Auke. Quite funny!!!! Cheers. Ch.

Here is an easy one... Question #229 Below is a famous ship. 1. What is this ship ? 2. Why is she famous ? What happened to her, and when ? 3. Where is she located now ? 4. Where she is located, she is a symbol. Why ? 5. A Colonel played a role in this story. Who is he ? The first Member to correctly answer these 5 questions is the winner. Good luck and good hunt... Ch.

Now, time for a few stats : Quiz 2009 : * 8 questions asked, * with 82 answers, * and viewed more than 535 times. Nb of good answers for the Quiz 2009 : * 3 : Christophe * 2 : Auke (Ferdinand) * 1 : Christian (Zulus) & Ilja (ilja559) Complete statistics since this Quiz has been launched (on 1 Nov. 2005) : * 228 questions asked, * with 2,861 answers, * This quiz has been viewed more than 32,140 times. * 45 Members of the Forum played, and 33 correctly answered at least 1 question : Nb of good answers : * 43 : Christophe * 42 : Christian (Zulus) * 17 : Frank (Knarf) * 13 : Jim (JimZ) * 11 : Auke (Ferdinand), Bryan (Soviet) & Marc (Lapa) * 10 : Dan (Hauptman) * 8 : Simon (Red Threat) * 6 : Belaruski, Carol I & Ed (Haynes) * 5 : Wild Card. * 3 : Alex (RedMaestro), Andreas (Alfred), Ivan (Piramida), Kim (Kimj) & Marco (marcotk). * 2 : Chuck (in Oregon), Gerd (Becker), Jan (vatjan) & Order of Victory. * 1 : Brendan (ANZAC), Charles (Hunyadi), Darrell, Daredevil, Dave (Navy FCO), Dudeman, Eddie (Taz), Filip (Drugo), Ilja (ilja559), Rick (Stogieman) & Steen (Ammentorp). This is a great achievement. Thanks to all for your participation in this Quiz. Now, let's play for the 229th question, mine !! Cheers. Ch.

Thanks Ilja for this victory!!!! This group and medals are very rare and interesting. And the booklet with the pseudonym between brackets must be not so oftently seen... Are they yours ? If yes, do you also have the Order of Lenin ? Cheers. Ch.

Thanks Ilja. Again, a nice one!! Let's try this : 1. As a surname and a pseudonym of the writer Yevgeny Petrov (pseudonym of Yevgeny Petrovich Kataev) - 1903-1942 2. Who his co-author Ilya Ilf (pseudonym of Ilya Arnoldovich Fainzilberg) 3. What books they have written together Dvenadtsat stulev, 1928 - The Twelve Chairs Svetlaia lichnost', 1928 Novaya Shakherezada, 1929 Zolotoi telenok, 1931 Kak sozdavalsya Robinzon, 1933 Ravnodushie, 1933 Silnoe chuvsto, 1933 Direktivny bantik, 1934 Bezmyatezhnaya tumba, 1935 Chuvstvo mery, 1935 Chudesnye gosti, 1935 Poezdki i vstrechi, 1936 Tonya, 1937 Odnoetazhnaya Amerika, 1936 - Little Golden America Sobranie sochinenii, 1938 (4 vols.) Sobranie sochinenii, 1961 (5 vols.) Izbrannye rasskazy / Selected Stories, 1994 4. Under what circumstances he was lost He died in an airplane crash returning from besieged Sevastopol on July 2, 1942. Am I far ? Ch.

That's what he says in his website : "We can now do serial number research! Price is $***, which includes Award Record Card and Citation. In most cases results are obtained in under 10 days. Other items can be ordered through our regular channels for researching documented awards. " 10 days : that's fast !!! But of course, the amount of money asked is quite huge... Cheers. Ch.

Hi Miguel, Congratulations!!! That's a very nice citation. Cheers. Ch.

It says "Veteran of Military Operations in Caucasus". It is an unofficial cross of today's Russia. Not top quality. Ch.

Hi Ilja, Do you want to post the next challenge ? Cheers. Ch.

Don't know for sure... Just a guess... I just believe that he added these two last ones probably more recent... But... Ch.