The Bramo 323 Fafnir was a 9-cylinder radial aircraft engine of the World War II era. Based heavily on Siemens/Bramo's earlier experience producing the Bristol Jupiter under license, the engine was not particularly modern and saw limited use.

Development of the 323 was the end result of a series of modifications to the original Jupiter design, which Siemens licensed in 1929. The first modifications were to "Germanize" the dimensions, producing the Sh.20 and Sh.21. The design was then bored out to produce the 950 hp (708 kW) Sh.22 in 1930. Like the Jupiter, the Sh.22 featured a rather "old" looking arrangement with rather prominent valve pushrods on the front of the engine. In the mid-1930s the RLM rationalized engine naming, and Bramo was given the 300-block of numbers, the Sh.14 and Sh.22 becoming the Bramo 314 and 322 respectively. The 322 never matured and remained unreliable during introduction.

The team continued work on the basic design, adding fuel injection and a new supercharger. The resulting 323 was just under 27 l in displacement, and produced 900 hp at 2,500 RPM for takeoff, improving slightly to 1,000 hp at 10,200 ft. The reduced power at sea level was inevitable for engines with one-speed mechanically driven superchargers when they were regulated to a constant maximum boost pressure below their critical altitude.

Beverly Sills (May 25, 1929 – July 2, 2007) was an American operatic soprano whose peak career was between the 1950s and 1970s. In her prime she was the only real rival to Joan Sutherland as the leading bel canto stylist.

Although she sang a repertoire from Handel and Mozart to Puccini, Massenet and Verdi, she was known for her performances in coloratura soprano roles in live opera and recordings. Sills was largely associated with the operas of Donizetti, of which she performed and recorded many roles. Her signature roles include the title role in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, the title role in Massenet's Manon, Marie in Donizetti's La fille du régiment, the three heroines in Offenbach's Les contes d'Hoffmann, Rosina in Rossini's The Barber of Seville, Violetta in Verdi's La traviata, and most notably Elisabetta in Roberto Devereux.

After retiring from singing in 1980, she became the general manager of the New York City Opera. In 1994, she became the Chairman of Lincoln Center and then, in 2002, of the Metropolitan Opera, stepping down in 2005. Sills lent her celebrity to further her charity work for the prevention and treatment of birth defects.

Tatiana Troyanos (Greek: Τατιάνα Τρωϊάνου, Tatiána Trōïánou, pronounced [tatˈjana troˈjanu], September 12, 1938 – August 21, 1993) was an American mezzo-soprano of Greek and German descent.

Born in New York City, Troyanos grew up in Forest Hills, Queens, where she attended Forest Hills High School. In high school, her nickname was "Totsie." [1]

Before making her operatic debut, Troyanos appeared as a chorus member in the original production of The Sound of Music.

In 1963, Troyanos made her professional operatic debut at the New York City Opera as Hippolyta in Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream. The next year, she sang the role of Marina Mnishek in that company's first production of Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov, as well as a variety of other roles over the next several seasons. She left for Europe to make the Hamburg State Opera her home base for the next decade, returning for her Metropolitan Opera debut as Octavian in Richard Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier in 1976. [2]

A mainstay and "one of the most beloved artists at the Metropolitan Opera" [3] from 1976 to her death in 1993, she was internationally revered for her uniquely sensual, burnished sound, her versatility and beauty, as well as the thrilling intensity of all her performances. In the early 1980s, Troyanos appeared in several opening-night performances at that house including Adalgisa in Bellini's Norma (opposite Renata Scotto), Octavian in Richard Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier, and Didon in Berlioz's Les Troyens.

Virender Sehwag  pronunciation (help·info) (born 20 October 1978), affectionately known as Viru and the Nawab of Najafgarh, also called the Zen master of modern cricket, or the Viv Richards of this era by columnists, is one of the leading batsmen in the Indian cricket team. Sehwag is an aggressive right-handed opening batsman and a part-time right-arm off-spin bowler. He played his first One Day International in 1999 and joined the Indian Test cricket team in 2001. In April 2009, Sehwag became the only Indian to be honoured as the Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World for his performance in 2008, subsequently becoming the first player of any nationality to retain the award for 2009.

Sehwag holds multiple records including the highest score made by an Indian in Test cricket (319), which was also the fastest triple century in the history of international cricket (reached 300 off only 278 balls) as well as the fastest 250 by any batsman (in 207 balls against Sri Lanka on 3 December 2009 at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai). His other innings of 309 and 293 are also the second and third best by any Indian player. Sehwag also holds the distinction of being one of four batsmen in the world to have ever surpassed 300 twice in Test cricket, and the only one to score two triple centuries and take a five-wicket innings haul. In March 2009, Sehwag smashed the fastest century ever scored by an Indian in ODI cricket, from 60 balls. On 8 December 2011, he hit his maiden double century in ODI cricket, against West Indies, becoming the second batsman after Sachin Tendulkar to reach the landmark. His score remains the highest individual score in ODI cricket – 219 off 149 balls. He is the only player in world to score a double hundred in ODI and a triple hundred in Test Cricket.