SS Dakota

SS Dakota was a steamship built by the Eastern Shipbuilding Company in Groton, Connecticut and owned by railroad magnate James J. Hill of the Great Northern Steamship Company.

History

SS Dakota and her sister ship, SS Minnesota, were described as the largest ships ever built in America.Dakota was built "to give impetus to the trade with the Orient", trading with Japan and Hong Kong and travelling the Pacific route. Launched on 7 February 1904, she was a twin screw vessel with four masts and one funnel, capable of 14.6 knots.

She was wrecked when she struck a reef off the coast of Yokohama on 3 March 1907 on her seventh journey. The ship was close enough to shore to avoid any deaths and the passengers and cargo were evacuated before she sank. The passengers returned to the United States aboard the Japanese steamship Hakuai. Eighty bags of mail later washed ashore.

After the ship was lost, Hill vowed not to make any more ships under the American flag, noting the high cost of maintaining a ship in America compared to Japan due to restrictions he regarded as "onerous". Hill did eventually build more ships such as the SS Great Northern and the SS Northern Pacific.

Dakota (song)

"Dakota" (released in the US as "Dakota (You Made Me Feel Like the One)") is a song by Welsh alternative rock band Stereophonics. It was the first single from their fifth studio album Language. Sex. Violence. Other? and was released on 28 February 2005. "Dakota" introduces the band going back to their alternative and indie rock sound they were known for on Word Gets Around and Performance and Cocktails.

It was the first Stereophonics single to reach number 1 on the UK Singles Chart or to chart on the US Modern Rock Tracks chart. The song spent a total of 44 weeks on the UK singles chart, the most any Stereophonics single has managed, and it also topped the download chart, remaining on the chart for 22 weeks, half of which were spent in the top 10. The song has been compared to the works of U2. It also made an appearance in the video games FIFA Manager 06 and Pro Evolution Soccer 2010.

Writing

Kelly Jones started writing the music for "Dakota" in January 2004. He was staying in a hotel room in Paris while Stereophonics were on a promo tour for You Gotta Go There To Come Back and was trying to find a new sound. A month later, while the band were on tour in the United States, he wrote the lyrics in Vermillion and the song's working title was originally named after it. After Slipknot released a song from their third album entitled "Vermilion" and Mercury Rev released their sixth album with a song included on it also called "Vermillion", the band decided to change the title of the song. The name of the song was changed to "Dakota", named after the apartment building in New York. One of the song's signature lines, "Take a look at me now", was first used - in a similar melody - in their earlier single "Since I Told You It's Over".

Dakota (Warrenton, Virginia)

Dakota is a historic home located near Warrenton, Fauquier County, Virginia. The house was designed by noted architect William Lawrence Bottomley and built in 1928. It is a two-story, Colonial Revival style dwelling. It has brick facing over a masonry block core; a slate-shingled hipped roof; and a symmetrical five-bay facade with a centered entry with a classical surround. A one-story bedroom wing and garage addition were added in 1947-1948. Also on the property are the contributing original garage and a stable building. Dakota is located near the site of the former Horse Show Grounds outside of Warrenton.

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.

References

Douglas C-47 Skytrain

The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota (RAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remains in front line service with various military operators to the present day.

Design and development

The C-47 differed from the civilian DC-3 in numerous modifications, including being fitted with a cargo door and strengthened floor, along with a shortened tail cone for glider-towing shackles, and an astrodome in the cabin roof.

During World War II, the armed forces of many countries used the C-47 and modified DC-3s for the transport of troops, cargo, and wounded. The U.S. Naval designation was R4D. More than 10,000 aircraft were produced in Long Beach and Santa Monica, California and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Between March 1943 and August 1945 the Oklahoma City plant produced 5,354 C-47s.

Operational history

World War II

The C-47 was vital to the success of many Allied campaigns, in particular those at Guadalcanal and in the jungles of New Guinea and Burma, where the C-47 (and its naval version, the R4D) made it possible for Allied troops to counter the mobility of the light-traveling Japanese army. Additionally, C-47s were used to airlift supplies to the embattled American forces during the Battle of Bastogne. Possibly its most influential role in military aviation, however, was flying "The Hump" from India into China. The expertise gained flying "The Hump" was later be used in the Berlin Airlift, in which the C-47 played a major role, until the aircraft were replaced by Douglas C-54 Skymasters.