B18

B18 or B-18 may refer to:

Douglas B-18 Bolo

The Douglas B-18 Bolo medium bomber served with the United States Army Air Corps and the Royal Canadian Air Force (as the Douglas Digby) during the late 1930s and early 1940s. The Bolo was built by the Douglas Aircraft Company, based on its DC-2 and was developed to replace the Martin B-10.

By 1940 it was considered to be underpowered, to have inadequate defensive armament and carried too small a bomb load. Many were destroyed during the attacks on Pearl Harbor and the Philippines in December 1941.

In 1942 the B-18 survivors were relegated to antisubmarine or transport duty. A B-18 was one of the first American aircraft to sink a German U-Boat, the U-654 on 22 August 1942 in the Caribbean.

Design and development

In 1934, the United States Army Air Corps put out a request for a bomber with double the bomb load and range of the Martin B-10, which was just entering service as the Army's standard bomber. In the evaluation at Wright Field the following year, Douglas showed its DB-1. It competed with the Boeing Model 299 (later the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress) and Martin Model 146.

Bolo (tank)

A Bolo is a fictional type of artificially intelligent superheavy tank. They were first imagined by Keith Laumer in the short story "Combat Unit" in 1960. They have since been featured in science fiction novels and short story anthologies by him and others. While stories are partly set in the near future, most take place in the 27th to 33th century or even later. The fictional universe of Bolo stories is populated by alien races, which forced humanity and human colonists on distant planets to defend themselves with a large military.

Description

Bolos as envisioned by Laumer in his future history Military SF are described as automated superheavy tanks. What they have in common—besides enormous firepower—is:

Bolo (1982 video game)

Bolo is a 1982 video game written for the Apple II series of computers, published by Synergistic Software. It was inspired by Keith Laumer's 1976 science fiction novel Bolo: Annals of the Dinochrome Brigade, which featured self-aware tanks. It is unrelated to the 1987 tank game of the same name written by Stuart Cheshire for the BBC Micro.

Gameplay

Upon startup Bolo requests a level number (1–9) and density (1–5); the game then generates a random rectangular maze containing six enemy bases. The higher the density specified, the more walls appear in the maze. The player controls a tank, and must destroy the six enemy bases to advance to the next level. The player can view 1/132 of the maze at one time; indicators on the right side of the screen show the player's position within the maze, the direction of the enemy bases and the fuel remaining.

Enemy tanks constantly emerge from each of the six enemy bases. Different levels feature different types of enemy tanks; some move randomly while others pursue the player. All enemy tanks fire deadly shells. If the player collides with a bullet, an enemy base or tank, or a wall, a turn is lost. A turn is also lost if the player runs out of fuel; destroying an enemy base will replenish the player's fuel supply. The player is provided with four tanks per game, and no opportunity is provided to earn more.

All-points bulletin

An all-points bulletin (APB) is a broadcast issued from any American or Canadian law enforcement agency to its personnel, or to other law enforcement agencies. It typically contains information about a wanted suspect who is to be arrested or a person of interest, for whom law enforcement officers are to look. They are usually dangerous or missing persons. As used by American police, the term dates to at least 1960. An all-points bulletin can also be known as a BOLO or BOL, which stands for "be on the look-out". Such an alert may also be called a lookout or ATL ("attempt to locate").

Commonwealth realms

A similar, longer acronym used by Australian law enforcement is KALOF or KLO4 (for "keep a look-out for"). The United Kingdom uses a similar system known as the all-ports warning or APW, which circulates a suspect's description to airports, ports and international railway stations to detect an offender leaving the country. Because of the great numbers of commuters at such places, British police forces often prefer to contact specific airports, ports or stations and circulate descriptions individually.

Douglas

Douglas may refer to:

People

Places

Douglas, Isle of Man

Coordinates: 54°08′42″N 4°28′55″W / 54.145°N 4.482°W / 54.145; -4.482

Douglas (Manx: Doolish) is the capital and largest town of the Isle of Man, with a population of 27,938 people (2011). It is located at the mouth of the River Douglas, and on a sweeping bay of two miles. The River Douglas forms part of the town's harbour and main commercial port.

Douglas was a small settlement until rapid growth occurred as a result of links with the English port of Liverpool in the 18th century. Further population growth came in the following century, resulting during the 1860s in a staged transfer of the High Courts, the Lieutenant Governor's residence, and finally the seat of the legislature, Tynwald, to Douglas from the ancient capital, Castletown.

The town serves as the Island's main hub for business, finance, legal services, shipping, transport, shopping, and entertainment. The annual Isle of Man TT motorcycle races start and finish in Douglas.

History

Early history

In the absence of any archaeological data, it is possible that the origins of the town may be revealed by analysis of the original street and plot pattern. The discovery of a bronze weapon in central Douglas, and the large Ballaquayle Viking treasure hoard on the outskirts, both in the 1890s, hint at the early importance of the site now occupied by Douglas. Scholars agree that the name of the town derives from Early Celtic 'Duboglassio' meaning 'black river'. Douglas is twice referred to in the Monastic 'Chronicle of the Kings of Man and the Isles'; first in 1192, when the monks of St Mary's Abbey at Rushen, were transferred there for a four-year stay, then again in 1313, when Robert (Bruce), King of Scotland, spent the night at the 'monastery of Duglas' on his way to seize Castle Rushen. These may be references to the site of the later Nunnery, a little upstream from the port.